Before I talk about the album itself, let me share about the rabbit hole I fell down. I was about halfway through the first track, Melody, when I thought, “Man, this song *really* sounds like Beck’s song Paper Tiger. Then I remembered that Beck once produced an album for a French Singer named Charlotte Gainsbourg… I look it up, and sure enough, Charlotte is Serge’s daughter. Just an interesting couple of facts (I think this is what happens when an INTP is a big fan of music) . By the way, I looked it up and Beck actually sampled the Serge Gainsbourg track on Paper Tiger, which explains their startling similarity. The article in which I found that information about Beck sampling Serge pointed something out that hit home for me. It said that the two are rare amongst singer-songwriters in that they are as attracted to sound as they are to song. That really spells out why I don’t like most singer-songwriter music, it seems like for many of them the music is merely a vehicle for them to present their lyrics. One could say they are just poets masquerading as musicians. But there is an album of the day to talk about! To borrow a word from the succeeding generation, this album slaps. I didn’t know I needed an album that sounds like George Baker’s Little Green Bag overlaid with whispered, French, spoken-word vocals and orchestral blasts, but here I am. Serge is apparently considered the greatest musician France ever produced, and has influenced many that came after him, so he definitely belongs on the list My personal enjoyment: 4/5 Did it belong on this list: 5/5

This album broke my heart. Tracy has a strong, unique voice, and a gift for storytelling. The problem is, the stories she weaves are often about people experiencing domestic violence and poverty. I spend my days talking to murderers, pedophiles, people experiencing homelessness and extreme poverty, and domestic violence sufferers; when I punch out at the end of the day and throw on some jams, I want something that helps me escape the real world for awhile, not give me poignant reminders of its ugliness (to be fair, it wasn't all doom and gloom, and there were healthy doses of hope as well in the lyrics). All that being said, these stories do need to be told, and Tracy tells them brilliantly. Music isn't just about escapism, it is often about activism and speaking truth to power as well. This album is brims with that energy, and its value can't be overstated. My personal enjoyment: 2.5/5 Did it belong on this list: 5/5

A story problem: If a Parliament record averages 100bpm, and has a runtime of 38 minutes, how many involuntary head bobs will the listener experience? (The answer is 7600, because you'll listen to the whole thing twice). My personal enjoyment: 4.5/5 Did it belong on this list: 5/5

Putting it simply, I just hated this album. Putting it not so simply... This album sounded like the results of a music comp teacher telling their class to create a song that is dance music that you are unable to dance to. It sounds like what Norwegians think peak dance music is. I don't know who this appeals to. It was too atmospheric to groove to. It was too shrill and discordant to chill to. There were a couple parts of a couple songs that I actually liked, but the songs are soooooo long, it was like going to a theme park when it's too busy and you stand in line for 2 hours for a 30 second ride. As the final 12 minute song wore on, all I could think about was how much I wanted it to end, like it was the last 5 minutes of a lecture and I really have to pee. Does this album belong on the list of 1001 albums you need to listen to before you die? No, I guess? It was released in 2017, a time in which there is practically infinite music. It's better than the stuff I hear when I put Bandcamp on shuffle, but that's about all I can say about it. Listen to something else. My personal enjoyment: 0.5/5 Does it belong on this list: 1/5

Listening to this album reminds me that if I had embarked on this musical journey a decade ago, it would have gone far differently. And by differently, I mean worse. Generally my attitude toward listening to music has been the same attitude that I have about eating at restaurants: when I take the time to leave the house, drive somewhere, and pay all that extra money for restaurant service, I want to be absolutely crazy about that food. And if I am going to purchase music, and listen to it when I could be listening to literally anything else, it ought to be damn good. Is there anything worse than a $15 burger that’s dry, or a record with one hit and nine forgettable tracks? The difference between “current me” and “10 years ago me” is that now I recognize that there is another tier of music that, while not my favorite, can be very enjoyable in certain settings, primarily those settings where the music is in the background (like during a game night with friends). So what does all this have to do with The Human League’s album Dare? Well, there was a time where I absolutely hated all music that even had hints of an 80’s feel. Synthesizers, that 80’s drum sound (I looked it up and it’s called gated reverb), all of it made me cringe. Nowadays I am better at appreciating a good pop song despite its particular textures, and so I’m actually able to get some enjoyment out of a record like this. This is early 80’s synth-pop with a sinister flair to it, with a good amount of dark lyrics. I think the sound of both vocalists really goes well with the music, and I’m always happy to hear a vocalist sing in lower registers. Like probably everyone, I was familiar with the song Don’t You Want Me, but I was surprised that there weren’t many other monster choruses here. 80’s pop will never be my favorite, but overall I didn’t hate this, and its inclusion on this list seems pretty obvious to me. My personal enjoyment: 3/5 Did it belong on this list: 4.5/5

I don't like this genre of music, generally. That being said, I didn't hate this, and I can see why it made the list. There were a few times where she started a melodic progression that sounded like it was really going to resonate with me, but every time she went in a direction that I didn't find so compelling. My personal enjoyment: 1.5/5 Did it belong on this list: 4/5

This was a fun album! After listening to this, I can now hear the fingerprints of The Go Go's on many more modern bands, including one of my favorites, Harvey Danger. I assume this album made the list because it was one of the first albums with this sound, which, with a 1981 release date, would make sense to me based on my limited musical knowledge Also, great album title. My personal enjoyment: 3/5 Did it belong on this list: 4/5

Now here we go! I'm not going to lie, I haven't listened to a lot of heavy metal albums in their entirety ("heavy metal" in this case referring to the specific metal genre of heavy metal instead of the colloquial definition describing most aggressive music as heavy metal), but I think it is safe to say that this is the best heavy metal album I've listened to. I've sang the lyrics "Breaking the law, breaking the law," since I was a kid, after watching Beavis and Butt-Head sing it when Beavis chopped off Butt-Head's fingertip with a chainsaw. Anyway, one of the interesting things about this album being so good is that it is apparently the band's 6th release. In my experience the vast majority of bands are in decline at that point in their career, so it's cool to see such an iconic release at that stage of their career. My personal enjoyment: 4/5 Did it belong on this list: 4/5

A story problem: If a Parliament record averages 100bpm, and has a runtime of 38 minutes, how many involuntary head bobs will the listener experience? (The answer is 7600, because you'll listen to the whole thing twice). My personal enjoyment: 4.5/5 Did it belong on this list: 5/5

Putting it simply, I just hated this album. Putting it not so simply... This album sounded like the results of a music comp teacher telling their class to create a song that is dance music that you are unable to dance to. It sounds like what Norwegians think peak dance music is. I don't know who this appeals to. It was too atmospheric to groove to. It was too shrill and discordant to chill to. There were a couple parts of a couple songs that I actually liked, but the songs are soooooo long, it was like going to a theme park when it's too busy and you stand in line for 2 hours for a 30 second ride. As the final 12 minute song wore on, all I could think about was how much I wanted it to end, like it was the last 5 minutes of a lecture and I really have to pee. Does this album belong on the list of 1001 albums you need to listen to before you die? No, I guess? It was released in 2017, a time in which there is practically infinite music. It's better than the stuff I hear when I put Bandcamp on shuffle, but that's about all I can say about it. Listen to something else. My personal enjoyment: 0.5/5 Does it belong on this list: 1/5

Every song on this album sounded the same, it barely registered to me where one song ended and the next began. Good news is, all of these "different" songs were pretty pleasant, and I honestly can't say anything bad about it. Whatever I was doing while I was listening to this album was just a little but more enjoyable for it.

Maybe I should have expected it, but I was surprised to find an artist on this definitive list that I hadn't even heard of before. I was going to post a brief note about how this was a nice acoustic album, and how it reminded me of Junip without drums a little bit, and how it would have been better with drums. But after this brief, 28 minute collection of very minimalist songs was done, I was curious to learn more about this artist I had never heard of, and so I got to learn about the sad, short life of Nick Drake. His story was a lot like Van Gogh's: an artist suffering from significant mental illness and unappreciated during his own lifetime. I wish he could have gotten the help that he needed to have a better life. Nick received a great deal more recognition as the years went on after his passing, and many famous musicians consider him to be an important influence to them, so it definitely makes sense in hindsight to find him here. My personal enjoyment: 3/5 Did it belong on this list: 4.5/5

Another band I hadn't heard of! I was going to ding this album because of the production value and the fact that, as a 1973 album, it wasn't quite in the first wave of proto-metal bands like Deep Purple, Sabbath, and Iron Butterfly (probably missing a ton of crucial bands with those examples, sorry about that). But then I looked it up and this is actually a live album, which explained the production quality, and being a live album it was a collection of previously recorded songs, meaning that this band was more innovative and "first wave" than I realized. As for my enjoyment, it wasn't my favorite early 70's proto-metal. The songs tended to go on way too long and not go anywhere. The sci-fi spoken word segments between some songs were interesting, but I'd rather just hear those sci-fi references of the lyrics of the songs. My personal enjoyment: 3/5 Did it belong on this list: 4/5

This album broke my heart. Tracy has a strong, unique voice, and a gift for storytelling. The problem is, the stories she weaves are often about people experiencing domestic violence and poverty. I spend my days talking to murderers, pedophiles, people experiencing homelessness and extreme poverty, and domestic violence sufferers; when I punch out at the end of the day and throw on some jams, I want something that helps me escape the real world for awhile, not give me poignant reminders of its ugliness (to be fair, it wasn't all doom and gloom, and there were healthy doses of hope as well in the lyrics). All that being said, these stories do need to be told, and Tracy tells them brilliantly. Music isn't just about escapism, it is often about activism and speaking truth to power as well. This album is brims with that energy, and its value can't be overstated. My personal enjoyment: 2.5/5 Did it belong on this list: 5/5

This was a weird one. I can definitely see how a high schooler in 1992 would have loved this album. It's absurd, irreverent, immature, and high energy. Musically, I enjoyed this. The group has a DJ but a lot of the drums sure sounded live and originally recorded for this album, but I can't be sure. Overall the beats were a big plus for me. The album is a product of its time, however. We get an entire verse centered around transphobia ala Charlie Daniels's Uneasy Rider '88, and we get jokes about the MC's sexually assaulting women. I'm not going to clutch my pearls and pretend that I never engage in or enjoy edgy humor, but I guess those lines just left me cringing more than laughing. As for importance, this is a debut album released in the golden age of hip hop that has a unique feel, so to me it makes sense to see it on this list. My personal enjoyment: 2.5/5 Did it belong on this list: 4/5

I first listened to this album a few years ago, and remember not liking it. When this album came up on this list, as I knew it would, I hoped that with my expectations lowered it would be an improvement for me. It wasn’t. The album was full of midtempo tracks that were neither particularly rocking or particularly chill. I don’t like Brian Wilson’s voice when he sings with more drawn out notes. The reputation of this album proceeded it, but it just wasn’t for me. My personal enjoyment: 1.5/5 Did it belong on this list: 5/5

I like this more than I thought I would. I am glad that this album was selected instead of one of the folk albums, since I tend to not be a big fan of folk. "Like a Rolling Stone" is on this one, and it is the greatest song ever written, according to Rolling Stone (seems sus, but whatever). I'm more of a, "A Change is Gonna Come" guy myself. My personal enjoyment: 3/5 Did it belong on this list: 5/5

When I started doing these, I thought about have a "will I look for it on vinyl," as part of my ratings. This one will for sure be one that I would love have in the background while hangout out with friends. I kind of rushed the Bob Dylan review (I was really trying not to skip a day with these, but I realize I will get more of out them if I don't rush) so I didn't mention that I found his lyrics to be strange to the point of opacity. Tom's lyrics, however, manage to be both brilliant, and understandable, which to me was a lot more enjoyable. As for the music itself, I remember someone mentioned to me years ago that Tom's early recordings were "lounge singer stuff," and I see now what they meant. This isn't something I would listen to in my car, but as the cover art suggests, it's the perfect soundtrack to midnight "eggs and sausage and a side of toast." My personal enjoyment: 4/5 Did it belong on this list: 5/5

Another band I never heard of!. Wikipedia says these guys are art pop or synth pop, and that feels pretty accurate. I wasn’t a big fan of the singer’s voice, but as always that is just a taste thing. The first track, which was also the title track, really drew me in. It had a very minimal feel, with the different instruments coming in one at a time. I wonder if this is where Spoon got the idea from. I loved both the tone of the bass, and the bass lines themselves, especially in the songs that were more musically spare where it could shine. The way the bass line hit in the title track reminded me a little bit of the way it comes in in Beck’s Soldier Jane, satisfyingly filling a rift in the song that you didn’t even know was there. Of the seven songs on this album, only 2-3 were in that sparse groovy style, with the others feeling too slow for my taste, or too much like other 80’s synth music. I would recommend listening to that title track, but not much else. As for belonging on this list, well, they don’t seem to be very well known, or very influential, or very consistent, to my ear. I think the list could have done without it. My personal enjoyment: 2/5 Did it belong on this list: 2/5

I love me some Stevie, and seeing him on this list will likely surprise no one. I think I actually own this record, but hadn't listened to it before today. I own and have listened to Songs in the Key of Life, and Hotter Than July, the latter of which I bought in a head shop in Macomb along with a book on how propaganda was making men's fashion more feminine (I threw away the book, still have the record). Anyway, based on my limited experience with his discography, Stevie's music is super consistent, and a joy. When I go back to hosting game nights again, I will be sure to dust off my copy of Talking Book. My personal enjoyment: 4/5 Did it belong on this list: 5/5

Here's my hot take on The Beatles. Everything I hear about them centers around how excellent/original they were, or how overrated they are, or the dynamics between the band members, or hidden messages in their songs. No one talks about just how freaking weird their music is. I can't think of too many bands that have lyrics as strange as The Beatles. I was surprised to see that The White Album was 31 tracks long, especially since there weren't really any "filler" tracks. So from a value perspective, this record was an A+. The album was eclectic, as only a 31 song album could be, and I liked most of it. Back in the USSR is probably my favorite Beatles song (what can I say, I like jams) so that was a nice way to start off the record. Paul and John have near perfect rock music vocals, to my ear, which adds to the quality of the record. Overall, I think this lived up to the hype. My personal enjoyment: 3.5/5 Did it belong on this list: 5/5

Before I talk about the album itself, let me share about the rabbit hole I fell down. I was about halfway through the first track, Melody, when I thought, “Man, this song *really* sounds like Beck’s song Paper Tiger. Then I remembered that Beck once produced an album for a French Singer named Charlotte Gainsbourg… I look it up, and sure enough, Charlotte is Serge’s daughter. Just an interesting couple of facts (I think this is what happens when an INTP is a big fan of music) . By the way, I looked it up and Beck actually sampled the Serge Gainsbourg track on Paper Tiger, which explains their startling similarity. The article in which I found that information about Beck sampling Serge pointed something out that hit home for me. It said that the two are rare amongst singer-songwriters in that they are as attracted to sound as they are to song. That really spells out why I don’t like most singer-songwriter music, it seems like for many of them the music is merely a vehicle for them to present their lyrics. One could say they are just poets masquerading as musicians. But there is an album of the day to talk about! To borrow a word from the succeeding generation, this album slaps. I didn’t know I needed an album that sounds like George Baker’s Little Green Bag overlaid with whispered, French, spoken-word vocals and orchestral blasts, but here I am. Serge is apparently considered the greatest musician France ever produced, and has influenced many that came after him, so he definitely belongs on the list My personal enjoyment: 4/5 Did it belong on this list: 5/5

Listening to this album reminds me that if I had embarked on this musical journey a decade ago, it would have gone far differently. And by differently, I mean worse. Generally my attitude toward listening to music has been the same attitude that I have about eating at restaurants: when I take the time to leave the house, drive somewhere, and pay all that extra money for restaurant service, I want to be absolutely crazy about that food. And if I am going to purchase music, and listen to it when I could be listening to literally anything else, it ought to be damn good. Is there anything worse than a $15 burger that’s dry, or a record with one hit and nine forgettable tracks? The difference between “current me” and “10 years ago me” is that now I recognize that there is another tier of music that, while not my favorite, can be very enjoyable in certain settings, primarily those settings where the music is in the background (like during a game night with friends). So what does all this have to do with The Human League’s album Dare? Well, there was a time where I absolutely hated all music that even had hints of an 80’s feel. Synthesizers, that 80’s drum sound (I looked it up and it’s called gated reverb), all of it made me cringe. Nowadays I am better at appreciating a good pop song despite its particular textures, and so I’m actually able to get some enjoyment out of a record like this. This is early 80’s synth-pop with a sinister flair to it, with a good amount of dark lyrics. I think the sound of both vocalists really goes well with the music, and I’m always happy to hear a vocalist sing in lower registers. Like probably everyone, I was familiar with the song Don’t You Want Me, but I was surprised that there weren’t many other monster choruses here. 80’s pop will never be my favorite, but overall I didn’t hate this, and its inclusion on this list seems pretty obvious to me. My personal enjoyment: 3/5 Did it belong on this list: 4.5/5

I’ve always loved the title track, Green Onions. To me it’s always been more than just a fun song to hear in movies, but just a really good listen on its own merits. I like the tone of the guitar and organ, and I really enjoy drums like this, where they are both assertive in the mix and also really simple. The only real problem I have with this record is that it is instrumental. Plenty of the songs hold up without vocals, but I felt a few tracks would have been improved by them. Also, is there a music genre whose meaning has evolved more than R&B? My personal enjoyment: 4/5 Did it belong on this list: 4.5/5

My first real exposure to Iggy Pop & the Stooges was circa 2007, when a cover of Search and Destroy appeared on Guitar Hero 2. I really liked that song, but I never looked more into the band. I first listened to this record about 5-6 years ago when I rented it from a library on CD and listened to it in my car. I didn’t care for it back then. Listening to it today was a much improved experience. It’s a little hard to believe that this album was produced in 1972. We look back at many albums from that time and call them proto-this or proto-that, but several of the songs on this album just sound like full blown punk rock to me. Bowie produced this album, but I am not not familiar enough with either his music or his production credits to be able to perceive any of his fingerprints on the record. My only quibble actually has to do with the song with which I am most familiar: Search and Destroy. That song is so high energy, and I will never understand why Iggy chose to sing the verses and pre- choruses in such a meek voice. He spends so much of the record, including parts of that same song, with much more aggressive vocals, so I don’t know why he used the soft ones there, where it feels like it really clashes with the music and takes some of the energy out of it. Since I was given Tom Waits and Iggy Pop so close together on this list, I am including a bonus link of a wonderfully awkward movie scene between the two of them. My personal enjoyment: 3.5/5 Did it belong on this list: 5/5

I was actually dreading the inevitable Leonard Cohen album, since I feel he is kind of the epitome of a singer/songwriter who cares more about song than sound, a topic I discussed a few reviews back. And sure enough, the album was what I expected it to be: a collection of barely-sung poetic lyrics over simple music. What I didn’t expect was how much I didn’t hate it. The feeling I got was kind of like a more melancholy version of the way I felt about the Sinatra album: it was just a nice thing to have in the background that doesn’t really intrude. My only disappointment was the lyrics. All the reviews and notes refer to his wit and wordsmithing in superlative terms, but honestly I feel like a lot of more recent lyrics, especially rap lyrics, are more impressive. He does tell a good story through. My personal enjoyment: 2.5/5 Did it belong on this list: 5/5

After hearing the cover of Black Steel on the Tricky album (it was probably my favorite track), I was excited to listen to a Public Enemy record. The beats were high energy and very 1991, which is basically my ideal when it comes to rap. I liked the voices of the MC’s although one or two of them I couldn’t always understand, which was a shame, because the lyrics I did hear were great. I didn’t know that Public Enemy would have such political lyrics. It was interesting and sad how many of the lyrics felt like they could have been written in 2021. The work is never done. My personal enjoyment: 3.5/5 Did it belong on this list: 5/5

I’m having trouble describing how I feel about ZZ Top. For the most part I love their hits, and so Sharp Dressed Man and Gimme All Your Lovin’ were great listens, as always. I really don’t care for their slower songs, and this album has two of those, including the hit, Legs. The rest of their songs kind of feel like slightly less good clones of their hits, making this a pretty consistent record, I suppose. For me that was really frustrating. Listening to the deep cuts was king of like… listening to your favorite song on a radio station whose range you are on the very edge of, so you’re getting some static and maybe someone reading off baseball scores. It would be better to just change the station rather than try and listen in those circumstances. And so as I made my way through this album, I just found myself wanting to go back to the singles at the top of the record, or not listen to it at all. By the way, all their records are like this for me, and I hope another one doesn’t show up on here. The exception that proves the rule is their greatest hits, which is pure fire. As far as belonging on this list, it’s mf’ing ZZ Top. It’s worth pointing out that basically all of my favorite artists list Billy Gibbons as a massive influence to them, so for that I am grateful. My personal enjoyment: 3/5 Did it belong on this list: 5/5

It sucks that I can’t do these a day in advance anymore, it means that crazy days like today cause me to rush these things. But I did listen today’s album! I liked it more than I thought I would. It started off a little too avant-garde for me but quickly settled down into just a good early 70’s rock album. This generator apparently has 9 Bowie albums on it, so I’ll definitely get another chance to talk more about him another day My enjoyment: 4/5 Did it belong: 5/5

This is the first soundtrack I encountered on the list, a "genre" that I didn't even consider finding here. I wonder when I will get my first country album? Anyway, I never saw The Virgin Suicides, and I suspect I would have liked this album more if I did. I also suspect that these songs actually made a pretty great soundtrack for the movie. However, I did not see the movie, and I am judging this as everything else on the list: a music album, listened to in one sitting. And with that method, well, this didn't blow my hair back. Air is a French electronic band I had never heard of. The songs were mostly instrumental, with some spoken word vocals from the movie toward the end. The music itself was fine. There were some good drum and bass grooves. One song really sounded like one track from the Final Fantasy X soundtrack. Basically, this was good music to have in the background. Which as a soundtrack makes it a resounding success? I guess I question why this is on the list? 1001 albums sounds like a lot, but there are quite a few bands with 3 or more albums on the list. What's going to happen is by the end of this there are going to be some omissions that I take issue with, and I suspect this album will be one of the first I would take off the list to make room for those. My personal enjoyment: 3/5 Did it belong on this list: 2/5

When it comes to the two-sided coin that is Parliament-Funkadelic, it appears that my preference falls heavily on the Parliament side. This was a 7 track rock album (don't let the band name fool you) clocking in at around 37 minutes of runtime. The album is bookended by two 10-minute songs, the first being one long guitar solo with minimal instrumental backing, and the last being mostly an instrumental, frenetic jam filled with tons of off-putting sound effects, including cows mooing and loud, juicy farts. Seriously. That leaves 5 tracks spanning a mere 17 minutes as the meat of the album. One of those songs has a strange metallic instrument warbling the entire song, which kind of ruins it. The remaining 4 songs were good and groovy, but this is easily the most bipolar album I've listened to so far. How do you rate an album made of only 1 star and 4 star songs? My personal enjoyment: 3/5 Did it belong on this list: 5/5

I was really surprised that there was a band that was prolific, part of the early 2000's rock revival, and enjoyable to listen to that I had never heard of. These guys really felt unique amongst many of their peers, and I see why they made this list, even though either I am just ignorant of they didn't achieve nearly the fame of bands like The White Stripes or The Strokes. My Personal Enjoyment: 4/5 Did it belong on this list: 4.5/5

I don't think that I actually know that the two big hits on this album were by Jefferson Airplane. Basically when it comes to certain strains of classic rock, there is a big batch of songs whose artists I don't know and a big batch of artist names I know whose songs I can't identify. I didn't listen to this album as closely as some others, but I did listen to it 3-4 times, and I liked it. The rest of the songs fit right in with the hits. My personal enjoyment: 4/5 Did it belong on this list: 5/5