1001 Albums Summary

The album that defined the modern pop genre. Instant classics such as Thriller, Beat It, Billy Jean, and P.Y.T. all help make this one of the most influential and commercially successful albums of all time. The excellent bass lines and arrangements in many of these tracks are overshadowed by MJ's iconic singing. Truly an album that deserves at least one listen by any music lover.

My favorite Led Zeppelin album as well as one of my favorite albums of all time, hands down. The rhythm section of John Bonham and John Paul Jones manages to perfectly meld American blues and gospel influences with the new wave of rock n' roll that was emerging during the British Invasion of the 60s. Jimmie Page, with his legendary guitar riffs and solos, and Robert Plant, with his bombastic vocals, play off of each other with a sense of freedom around the rock-solid rhythm section. Tracks like Heartbreaker, Lemon Song, and Moby Dick all show off the pioneering talents of Page, Jones, and Bonham, respectively. With so many incredible moments on this timeless album, I believe it is deserving of no less than 5 stars, and furthermore I believe every self-proclaimed fan of rock n' roll should listen to this album. How can Zeppelin fans say tjat Physical Graffiti is better than Led Zeppelin II? The world may never know.

Bjork's unique diction and style of singing sound vaguely like how I'd imagine Lorde would sing if she were Werner Herzog's daughter. The instrumentals and production on this album were most likely a significant early influence on the low-fi alternative genre. Overall a surprisingly enjoyable and original album for anyone who doesn't mind Bjork's unconventional singing style.

I understand that late 70s punk rock was just as much about making a political statement as well as an artistic one, and that blurring the line between music and noise was an intentional way of expressing emotion, however it's quite possible that this is the worst album I've heard on this list so far. A substantial portion of this 40-minute album is made up of discordant and over-distorted guitar behind what can barely be described as singing. At some points, the lead vocalist will simply scream as hard as they can into the microphone without any rythym or melody to the point that just listening to this man damage his vocal chords became physically discomforting. The drums were solid throughout and the bassist was pretty much the sole reason this album had any semblance of a melody at all. The last track is particularly annoying. The vocalist just makes noises and adlibs high-pitched voices over a simple disco beat for nearly 8 minutes. It should be said that "Religion I" was an enjoyable spoken word interlude and "Low Life" was a decent tune. Other than that, I am genuinely surprised that I listened to this whole album and wish that I could somehow get those 40 minutes of my life back.