I'll second Kate Bush - The Kick Inside, as well as Rickie Lee Jones self titled.
Tori Amos - Little Earthquakes
Ace of Base - The Sign
Alanis Morissette - Jagged Little Pill. 10 years have passed since it won Grammy for Album of the Year. I picked it up for a listen again not long ago, and from song 1 to song 10, nothing else I've heard still sounds as fresh.
When that album first came out, I must admit I avoided it. I'm not a prude but I didn't like the use of foul language in music, especially when it's repeated just for shock value.
Alanis changed my my mind, however, on the concept of foul language as artistic expression. Go back and listen to "You Ought To Know" and then tell me- out of that much pain, what else would the woman singing the song have said?