For generations music lovers have argued over what is the best album in the world.


Now Shetland man Andrew Irvine has brought the debate up to date, with an internet tool that measures the artistic worth of a users record collection going viral within a week.

More than 700,000 people have accessed the Influential Albums app since Mr Irvine launched it from his office in the tiny settlement of Bigton, on the west of Shetland mainland.

Mr Irvine owns and runs CU Marketing with his sister Christena Irvine in Bigton, which has a population of only a few hundred.

Their normal work is web design and internet marketing for local firms.

But they have been amazed by the global response to their latest activity. The app has been shown on Facebook more than 68 million times, 708,092 people had installed it and 335,382 shared their results. The figures are still rising.

Mr Irvine said: “I made up a list of 100 albums and created an app where people can say which of them they own. 

The list is made up of some of my favourite albums and a few others picked up from lists.  

“The only relevant website domain name I could find was www.influentialalbums.com, so I just went with it.”

He said he did not claim to be a musical expert, adding: “The whole point was to learn more about Facebook apps. I had no idea it would annoy music buffs so much that they would write blogs about it.  Some of the comments have been very amusing, there was one that said the development must have taken ‘big marketing bucks’ and a couple of people said the app must have been created by the director of HMV to clear some old albums.”

Mr Irvine hopes his app will reach one million users and has started letting people suggest their own albums for inclusion.

“Hopefully, that will appease the music experts who weren’t impressed with my choice of music.”