Notorious B.I.G. enter the National Recording Registry

** FILE ** In this Dec. 6, 1995 file photo, Notorious B.I.G., who won rap artist and rap single of the year, clutches his awards at the podium during the annual Billboard Music Awards in New York. The children of late rapper Notorious B.I.G. will star in an animated series about maintaining the hip-hop legend’s Brooklyn recording studio. Ossian Media announced Monday, March 11, 2013, that House of Wallace will feature 16-year-old C.J. and 19-year-old T’yanna Wallace. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)

Some pretty B.I.G. names in music will be preserved in music history. The Library of Congress announced on Tuesday that Notorious B.I.G.‘s “Ready to Die,” ABBA’s “Visitors,” Green Day’s “Dookie,” and Blondie’s “Parallel Lines” are among the works entering the National Recording Registry.

ABBA, Biggie, Blondie, and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer are entering America's audio canon. https://t.co/Oct4nHPM2i

— ABC News (@ABC) April 16, 2024

Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden stated that 25 titles will be entered into the Registry that are

worthy of preservation for all time based on their cultural, historical or aesthetic importance in the nation’s recorded sound heritage.

Other titles entering the Registry include Gene Autry’s version of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” The Chicks’ “Wide Open Spaces,” Jefferson Airplane’s “Surrealistic Pillow,” and Lily Tomlin’s 1971 comedy album “This Is a Recording.”

What do you consider to be a culturally significant recording in music? What else should be added to the Registry?

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