The Immaculate Collection is the first greatest hits album by American singer Madonna, released on November 9, 1990, by Sire Records. It contains new remixes of fifteen of her hit singles from 1983 to 1990, as well as two new songs. Its title is a pun on the Immaculate Conception, the conception of the Virgin Mary without the stain of original sin. An extended play titled The Holiday Collection was released in Europe to accompany the compilation and the re-release of "Holiday", which included three hits not included on the main compilation. It is the first album ever to use the audio technology QSound.
In the United States, The Immaculate Collection reached number two on the Billboard 200, while topping the album charts in the United Kingdom. It became Madonna's second album to be certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of over ten million copies in the United States. It also spent the second highest number of consecutive weeks at number one for a female solo artist in the United Kingdom, being at number one for a nine-week stint, before being surpassed by Adele's 21. Additionally, the album topped the charts in Australia, Canada and Finland, and reached the top five in France, the Netherlands and Spain.

Metallica is the self-titled fifth studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica. Released on August 12, 1991, by Elektra Records, it is commonly referred to as The Black Album because of its packaging design. Its recording took place at One on One Studios in Los Angeles over an eight-month span that frequently found Metallica at odds with their new producer Bob Rock. The album marked a change in the band's music from the thrash metal style of their previous four albums to a slower, heavier, and more refined sound.

The Resistance is the fifth studio album by English alternative rock band Muse, released in Europe on 14 September 2009, and in North America on 15 September 2009. Upon its release, it topped the album charts in 19 countries. It also debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 128,000 copies during the first week. It also surpassed its predecessor, Black Holes and Revelations, in album sales in its debut week in the UK, selling approximately 148,000 copies, as well as worldwide, with 479,000 copies sold. Critics were mostly complimentary about the album, with much of the praise directed towards its ambition and classical music influences.

The 2nd Law is the sixth studio album by English rock band Muse. It was released on 1 October 2012 in the United Kingdom and elsewhere on 28 September, 2 and 3 October under Warner Bros. Records and the band's own Helium-3 imprint. The title of the album refers to the second law of thermodynamics and the album's cover art features a map of the human brain's pathways, which was taken from the Human Connectome Project.

Visions of the Emerald Beyond is an album by the jazz fusion group Mahavishnu Orchestra, and the second released by its second incarnation.
According to the liner notes, the album was recorded at Electric Lady Studios in New York City from December 4 until December 14, 1974. It was then mixed at Trident Studios in London from December 16 until December 24, 1974.

Birds of Fire is the second studio album by American jazz fusion band the Mahavishnu Orchestra. It was released on January 3, 1973 by Columbia Records and is the last studio album released by the original band line-up before it dissolved.
As with the group's previous album, The Inner Mounting Flame, Birds of Fire consists solely of compositions by John McLaughlin. This includes the track "Miles Beyond (Miles Davis)", which McLaughlin dedicated to his friend and former bandleader.
A remastered version of the album was released on CD in 2000 by Sony Music Entertainment. It features a new set of liner notes by JazzTimes critic Bill Milkowski, as well as photographs of the band. In 2015 the album was re-issued on Super Audio CD by Audio Fidelity containing both the stereo and quad mixes.
The back cover of the album features the poem "Revelation" by Sri Chinmoy.

Apocalypse is the Mahavishnu Orchestra's fourth album, released in 1974.
It is performed by the second line-up of the Mahavishnu Orchestra and the London Symphony Orchestra. It was produced by George Martin, who regards it as “one of the best records [he has] ever made”.
The back cover features a poem by Sri Chinmoy as well as a group photo of those who created the album.