The Guardian's 1000 albums to hear before you die continues its inescapable path to a date with 'Z' with the reaches the letters 'M' to 'S' today. Factory entries are slightly thin on the ground (and the first entry seems to be a bit of a cop-out too). The FACts are:
New Order 'Substance' (1987)
"A superb sashay through one of British pop's most sublime catalogues, this collection outlines New Order's progression from scratchy post-punk uncertainty (Ceremony) through glacial electro classicism ('Blue Monday', 'Thieves Like Us') and on to euphoric, disco-fied pop ('True Faith'). A copy of 1989's 'Technique', though, is its essential companion."
Section 25 'From the Hip' (1984)
"Although the former Blackpool guitar band's pulsating 'Looking From a Hilltop' became an unlikely hit in New York clubs, their Bernard Sumner-produced electronica experiment was initially ignored. However, sampled by Orbital and the Shamen, From the Hip's trance states and 303 drum machines now sound like an accidental prototype for techno."