I was surprised that it wasn’t this System Of A Down record that was on the original list. I’m happy to see it here at least. Nu-metal gets a lot of flak - especially from me - but the deranged symphony presented here deserves serious credit for re-envisioning the heavy sound for the new millennium. It’s a gas.

I cannot believe that this album was NOT initially written as a Broadway show. I enjoyed it; I got mostly grown-up Nightmare Before Xmas vibes from it. One of my wife’s faves; one of mine.

There’s that famous scene in The Blues Brothers movie where they’re playing at the country (and western!) bar and they wind up playing the theme from Rawhide repeatedly as their playlist. The band gets showered with broken glass through chicken wire when the audience doesn’t enjoy their music, and similarly gets showered with broken glass through chicken wire when the audience enjoys their music. This live album reminded me of that scene. I wonder if it was an inspiration for it.

Inspirational and random. I enjoyed the pastiche but I don’t know if I’ll crave it in the future. I know where to find it if I do.

Wow. I listened and then went right back and listened again. This album distills the angst of its time and place with surgical precision. I mean - it’s punk and ska-infused so I’m already on board but goddamn is its content bang-on. How did I miss this dear disc?

Melancholy electro-pop dream buzz. It’s got swing and soul but it unfortunately also has drone. Still, I would have never heard of it had it not been recommended. A fun go-round.

Oh yeah! Any list that includes more B-52s is a list that I want to be on. It’s not as uniformly-amazing as their first album, but there’s nothing else like the B-52s, so the only comparison is to themselves. Private Idaho can be on permanent repeat in my head. That counts for something.

Ah - nu-metal for the MENSA crowd. I thought that this album needed to be in this list. Just a densely-beautiful and surprising explosion of noise.

Eh. I appreciate the Canterbury Tales feel of this album but the wandering and whining vocals and the strange strings just irritate.

Yeah. Hunh. Not necessarily the most interesting album. It’s ok. Hunh.

Like many albums on this list that have grown on me like a fungus, this one demanded a re-listen as soon as I was done with it. And then another. I saw a comparison to Kid A, but I’d say a comparison to Trout Mask Replica is more apt. This thing is so brainy and beautiful and different. I love it. Colour me a Bon Iver Bonhomme.

It’s a lovely chapter in the gothic metal genre. I appreciate the campy nature of the album - especially the Addams Family nod in Black No. 1. I felt lots of Danzig influence. The band lists Duran Duran as an influence. I did not feel that.

If Sum 41, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, and My Chemical Romance had a ménage a trois…. Hey! I like all of those bands.

It’s definitely got Elvis Costello vibes to it and I appreciate that. The title track bops a bit and I like the lead singer’s authentic delivery. I had never heard of this band or their songs before - it just never made the jump to America, I guess. It would scratch an imaginary itch. How’s that?

The singer reminds me of the Modern Lovers and Counting Crows put together and the lyrics remind me of Alice in Chains insofar as every single song is about drug use. I do like the dense jangle of their jam but they stray dangerously close to Hipster-ville. Maybe that’s not so bad - someone has to live there.

It sounds like the Dutch version of Fishbone - but less impactful. Like frenetically unfocused jam music that you don’t remember when your high ends.

It’s straight-up-and-down rock with definite Led Zeppelin influences. I liked the slower and minor key songs better than the ZZ Top-type stuff.

Hunh. Jam bands have rabid followings but their albums never really capture the trance that they cast on their enraptured fans. It’s another funk band from the 1990s without much major media exposure. Ok but derivative of RHCPs.

There’s that famous scene in The Blues Brothers movie where they’re playing at the country (and western!) bar and they wind up playing the theme from Rawhide repeatedly as their playlist. The band gets showered with broken glass through chicken wire when the audience doesn’t enjoy their music, and similarly gets showered with broken glass through chicken wire when the audience enjoys their music. This live album reminded me of that scene. I wonder if it was an inspiration for it.

Inspirational and random. I enjoyed the pastiche but I don’t know if I’ll crave it in the future. I know where to find it if I do.

Melancholic and mellifluous. There’s this thing about precious-pop Montreal bands showing up on this list of project participants’ lists. I’ve got one word: meh.

An enjoyable bit of pseudo-Sonic Youth noise rock, this one. I wasn’t super keen and then I hit a few riff tracks that made me tap my toes. Some of the tunes had well-crafted structure and I liked the guitar-centric creativity. But what do I know?

It’s a feast of Southern-fried blues if you’re hungry for it. I would’ve enjoyed Alabama Shakes or Johnny Lang just as easily. Or maybe even Blues Traveler. Yup

They said that the band took inspiration from Queen, Supertramp, and Pet Sounds-era Beach Boys but dear God it’s like they were possessed by those bands on different tracks. Truly this is a lost pop classic, completely overshadowed by the grunge/Britpop movement of the early 90s. It’s sad to hear that the band didn’t survive the lacklustre reception of this album but it makes sense and makes for a good story. The cover art for the album screams Blind Melon - a contemporary for Jellyfish. I wonder why?

I am struggling to get through this breakup album and it shouldn’t be that way as I’m going through a breakup right now. I blame the falsetto.

A modern pop classic in so many ways. I fully expect it to be updated onto the next version of the proper 1001 Albums list.

I cannot believe that this album was NOT initially written as a Broadway show. I enjoyed it; I got mostly grown-up Nightmare Before Xmas vibes from it. One of my wife’s faves; one of mine.

Nearly 2hrs of prog rock, hunh? I’m going to struggle with this homework, methinks.

It’s ok for late 80s pop. I’d prefer Exposé or Jody Watley but this list continues to show its UK roots.

I liked this Eels album more than Beautiful Freak. More heartfelt, more earwormy, more kitschy.

Eh. Didn’t enjoy.

I owned this one 30yrs ago - eep! Loved playing this during laundry days. The mix of genres and instruments on display is staggering, I think. Never really enjoyed Phish outside of this album.

A lovely bit of shoegaze to ease through the week.

Wow. RIP SOPHIE. What would’ve come of a full career of albums like this electro-pop-ambient-Gaga-esque funky thing? I lived.

I had no clue that this album was so rhythmically inflected. I’ve never found “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Me” particularly amazing but “Wouldn’t It Be Good” is a song that I revisit every 3yrs or so and wonder how it can be so catchy. This is New Wave manna. Eat it up!

It feels like Jimi and Sly had a child and let him write an album with auto-tune. I’m not complaining. It’s boppy! Some people get all the artistic brilliance.

Interesting. A stepping stone between Wilco and The Flaming Lips. Liked the instrumentals. Yeah.

I’m honestly surprised that there were no Death Cab For Cutie selections on the list. This DCFC-adjacent selection make me pleased if only such that I get to hear Ben Gibbard’s glorious tenor. Such Great Heights is an Aughts masterpiece as well.

I dunno. I would rather have full-on emo than some hybrid-emo-hardcore album. Some of the songs hit me well; some of them sounded like whiny noise. I know it’s well-regarded by many but I’m just not feeling anything more than a bunch of angry kids in the basement.

I hear The Teardrop Explodes; I hear Echo and the Bunnymen. I know the critics all heard Joy Division but that’s probably because they hadn’t heard anything else yet. I knew nothing of this band and feel bad that many don’t. This is post-punk excellence.

Emo music is a thief. It steals your thoughts and emotions, replacing them with halcyon sensations of loss and abandonment that you possibly never knew. This album is a master cat-burglar.

Ah, the summer of 2010 was awash with Vampire Weekend jams, not the least of which was a single not on this album: A-Punk. The infectious rhythm guitar and percussion makes me jiggle with joy. I could use some summer sometimes.

It’s honking weird; that’s what it is. I can appreciate the novel musical structures and the unique lyricism and singing but I just can’t get my head around its iconoclastic take on rock. I’m not likely to want a re-visit.

PRIMUS SUCKS!!!

Wow. I listened and then went right back and listened again. This album distills the angst of its time and place with surgical precision. I mean - it’s punk and ska-infused so I’m already on board but goddamn is its content bang-on. How did I miss this dear disc?

This album is heart-breaking. I thought initially that the harsh scream vocals were annoying but then, upon re-listen, I liked their impact more than the sung vocals of other tracks. Such a thematic wonder and a glowing tribute to someone truly loved and lost.

Snarly death metal with an operatic feel? Yeah, I’m here for that. It wouldn’t be something that I’m going to enjoy while I chill out at the end of the day, but when I’m up for adrenalinisation, I’ll be glad it’s here. Yes, that’s not a word.

There are distinct Norah Jones flavours to this and that’s probably the most charitable that I can be. I found it most intetesting that she was Jeff Buckley’s girlfriend when he drowned. That’s a level of morose that you won’t get from more-tactful reviewers.

I was surprised that it wasn’t this System Of A Down record that was on the original list. I’m happy to see it here at least. Nu-metal gets a lot of flak - especially from me - but the deranged symphony presented here deserves serious credit for re-envisioning the heavy sound for the new millennium. It’s a gas.

Is he the British Ludacris? (An aside: why isn’t Luda on here?) I also got flavours of Eminem. That makes sense given the year of the release. This dude feels like the new hip-hop multidimensional auteur a la Childish Gambino, save he predated Donald Glover by a decade. Ah! The Streets produced and collaborated here and Kano guest-starred on some remixes from The Street’s A Grand Don’t Come For Free. Now I’m seeing the Brit-hop pedigree.

Smooth. Perhaps a bit too smooth. I like crunchy peanut butter.

My eyes feel a bit violated by the album cover. My ears are lulled by the fin-de-siècle DJ- driven electronica. I’d rather be listening to the Propellerheads. It’s another Montreal techno album on this “alternates” list. It’s fine, he says dismissively.

This felt unimpressive and unfocussed.

Having difficulty moving through this album. Might be me. Might be the album.

There’s the DOOM. That was amazing. Silky and silly flow with unique and wacky beats. I can see how this launched hip-hop into the new millennium. It’s simply a shame that it didn’t get enough love when it dropped. DOOM was a consummate wordsmith. I don’t think I will ever tire of checking out the lyric sheet of this album. Rest in Power.

1996?? This album sounds like the band took a trip a decade in the future, recorded it, then brought it back to the old millennium. That’s pretty cool. So’s this album.

Damnit. Does this mean that I’m an S Club 7 fan now? That was Pop Wonderland and I’m not even British.

Yeah - it’s Pink Floyd-adjacent psychedelia and I’m not really here for it. Sorry not sorry.

I enjoyed the cerebral dance vibes but not as much as their 1998 album on this list. I am enjoying the image of people deep in thought wigging out on the dance floor to this, though.