A more aggressive term there could be “shelved,” albums seemingly complete and ready to be unveiled and subsequently met with a concrete decision that there was some reason they shouldn’t be. Sometimes we simply call them “unreleased,” albums we know were supposed to exist and were supposed to materialize and yet were held back. Sometimes we call these “lost” albums, the works that never quite came into focus, that suggest some path not fully taken. Pop history is littered with the albums that could’ve been, the albums we could’ve heard.

Because there’s a whole other battle to be fought even once an album has been written and recorded: the battle of actually releasing it. There are the ones that get discarded, ones that get edged out and never see the light of day. The ones that get stunted somewhere along the way, never having their chance to reach completion.

There are also the great ones we don’t get. It’s a wonder we get as many great ones as we do. While not quite on the level of, say, a major blockbuster production, it can be dizzying to consider the amount of factors that must fall into place for something as comparatively contained as an album to work. There are the players, the recording circumstances, the money, the ability or luck that results in a once-in-a-lifetime performance. You might come up with seven or 10 brilliant compositions, but then still have nothing lyrically, or vice versa. Every artist must wring something out from deep within themselves and try to make it cohere outside in the world, make it tangible enough that it communicates something to the listener - and even icons have their struggles with writer’s block. Have you ever really stopped and thought about how intricate and difficult the process of making a successful album must be? There is, of course, the basic issue of inspiration.

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