That segway from the first song, Sgt Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band to With a little help from my friends is foreshadowing that this album will be special. After hearing thru so many different genres that followed this in the 70s and 80s such as psychedelic, prog, World, and avant-garde this album may not sound too innovative, but when I stop to think that this is the OG that started it all, it's influence and importance comes into perspective. There are 13 songs on this album, 12 are killer and deserve 5 stars, with only Being the benefit of Mr Kite being a miss, but the album closes with a Sgt Pepper's reprise with another brilliant segway into their best song ever IMO, A Day in the Life and then to top it off this fricking masterpiece of a record ends with perhaps the most incredible ending notes of any song, EVER. So it makes up for Mr Kite, and how! So I'm happy to give my first 5 star rating to this album.

I never could understand all the hype about Nirvana and Cobain, but since the band and this album are so highly rated on 1,001 I figured it deserved a good listen. Well, I still don’t get all the hype. I also think you need to be a fan to like hearing them do stripped down versions of their hits because I think the studio versions are better. The best song on this album IMO is The Man Who Sold The World, and that’s Bowie song, so take that for what is worth.

This album struck a wrong chord with me, a Scottish musician with Ghanaian roots playing pseudo reggae with a fake Jamaican accent. I was born in Jamaica so I just found it to be so wrong from the get go. This was a big miss for me

Yesterday it was Britney Spears, today its Christina Aguilera. Dammit 1,001 this is not what I signed up for.

IMO Stevie is at his best when he does the funky soul numbers. Superstition is one of his most iconic songs, with killer guitar hooks and I love his funky snarling voice. But this album is marred by syrupy maudlin commercial tracks meant to sell records such as You are the sunshine, You and I, Looking for another pure love, and I believe. Yuck. If it had more Superstition it would be a 4 but the dreck pulls it down unfortunately

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Another "acquired taste" but at least its better than Billy Bragg

Another acquired taste, but better than say Billy Bragg. Nice jazz influences here

I find it difficult to rate albums on their musical merits alone and ignore the dated sound or if you don't like the genre

I hope the choices improve soon

Nuanced, layered, complex

skilled performance, well written but annoying AF to listen to 3/5

This is the first album I ever bought. Some classic power rock anthems here. This is really the Phil Lynott show. 3/5

Noisy and angry

Sounds like just another Oasis, but with an even more annoying lead singer

Hugely influential dance group, probably second only to Kraftwerk, but this isn't their best.

So twee and light. But beneath those delightful melodies lurks some sharp satire and hipster angst.

This old school hip hop is certainly more accessible than the stuff we hear today, album has a few nice tunes such as Ready or Not but most of it sounds meh now.

I can't believe this was released in 98! This was so influential when it came out, I was into Sophia Coppola's films at the time also, particularly Virgin Suicides so this really hit the spot. The way they were able to blend groovy sounds from the 60s and 70s into this new \"chill out\" sound was really innovative and this album holds up surprisingly well today.

From the first few notes and the pounding drums of Race for the Prize you know this album has chops. The Lips toned it down from their harsher punkier origins for this album and introduced some very nice catchy melodies. This album was a harbinger of even greater things to come.

I'm not a Gershwin fan nor this era of big band sound, but I must say that no one has a voice as silky smooth as Ella.

Although from 1980 (OMG 40 yrs old!) this holds up pretty well against other albums eg Pulp's Hardcore which I couldn't get thru. This album has the hallmark early goth/new wave sound that was prevalent in the day and they did it better than anyone else. Not their best but a sign of even greater things to come

Ground breaking in its day I'm sure, but all of the songs sound the same

Superbly produced album with expert musicmanship. I read a long time ago that Deacon Blues has the best lyrics ever and I can't argue with Learn to work the saxophone (I) I play just what I feel Drink Scotch whiskey all night long And die behind the wheel They got a name for the winners in the world (I) I want a name when I lose They call Alabama the Crimson Tide Call me Deacon Blues The rest of the album is not as brilliant, but it is still pretty darned good so it gets a 4/5 from me

I've never been a Black Sabbath fan, but when listening to this album I can understand the appeal. This is a pretty seminal recording of early heavy metal with some pretty kick ass tracks that stand up well 50 yrs later. I finally know what those metal heads were going on about now.

The the intro to Stay with the funky guitar riffs by Earl Slick and Carlos Alomar is probably the most scintillating minute I've ever heard. Bowie's Berlin era albums are some of my favs, and you can hear the Eno and Kraftwerk influences here. Station to Station, TVC15 and Wild is the Wind are brilliant, but one of my least favourite Bowie songs -Golden years is on here so its doesn't quite get a perfect score from me

If Krautrock and fringe rock had a baby it would be Stereolab. Most of the hipster indie groups today were influenced by Stereolab in some form, whether they realize it or not. Love the pulsating beat of Les Yper sound, tres chic

Bittersweet symphony is good, and they show some potential there. But I found the rest of the album to be a meh version of Oasis, who I don't even like.

If the Red hot chili peppers and the Beastie Boys got amped up with some coke at a backyard bbq... I listen to most of my music while at my desk working and this was a bit too angry for me to focus on spreadsheets

And I thought Rage at the Machine was angry. I guess I like post-punk if its a bit more melodic like the Clash, Gang of Four, The Stranglers etc.

Although this sounds good on speakers, maaan it must have been something to see JB's energy live on stage. I bet this concert was legendary

I was never a fan of CCR or hillybilly music so I went into this with some trepidation. However, I was pleasantly surprised, Ramble Tamble had a nice jangly geetar and I was surprised at the number of classic hits I recognized - Looking out my back door, Who'll stop the rain and Up around the bend, but my favourite was the groovy vintage 10 speed with chrome forks and clip on pedals on the cover. If there were half stars I'd give it 3.5, but I'll round it up for its historical significance

Did I think it was good? Yes Did I like it? No. Its hard to separate personal bias when rating an album but I'm trying. I give it a 3 for these reasons

Not a fan of glam rock.

Loving the cool funky ghetto vibe on this album which ushered in the Blaxpoitation films of the 70s. Supercool.

Like listening to a chick flick, not that there's anything wrong with that.

From angry white punks of The Fall to the other extreme, angry black gangstas from the 'hood. Again, if we could rate half stars I'd give this a 3.5 but given that this is the OG Grandaddy of gangsta rap I'll round it up to 4

This starts out great with Playground Love, it imbues such a languid chill-out mood, but then it kinda drifts off into a pretty typical movie score. The soundtrack to this movie is actually much better with classics by 10CC, Todd Rundgren, Al Green, and Sloan. Lovely film too.

Cheap Chilis

Another album that I would never be exposed to were it not for this website. I think the songs that Rod sings on are vastly superior to the ones featuring Ronnie Lane. Stay with me is most definitely the killer track here with a raucous bluesy guitars and piano.

This must have been an absolutely electrifying live concert. So much energy!

When i was 10 yrs old I heard the opening lines.. Sitting on a park bench Eyeing little girls with bad intent Snot's running down his nose Greasy fingers smearing shabby clothes.... and then with all those tempo changes and crazy instruments, I mean a flute??!!! I knew this was something special. This gets 4 stars because of four iconic songs, Aqualung, Cross eyed Mary and Locomotive Breath

Was a bit apprehensive after getting yet another Fela Kuti album but this one is very different, much less frenetic Afro-beat and more Afro-jazz, it meanders at a more relaxed pace and has a more serious political tone.

Melancholy pop about fun topics such as unrequited love, suicide and mental illness is usually a downer, but Eels does a great job here on their debut album. Their sound becomes more fully formed in their later releases but this is solid effort. You can hear the late 90s lofi influences here ... Sparklehorse, Mercury Rev, Yo La Tengo etc, it was a pretty good time for the indie music scene IMO.

Queen was my favourite group when I was in High School. They certainly had style and flair, plus some pretty darned good musicmanship and of course the inimitable Freddie.

Breezy summery songs for the early 80s. I'm surprised at how many of these songs I recall, I must have played Fantastic Day a thousand times in my yute when hanging out with my Uni girlfriend. I really could use the half star rating system here, so my 3.5 becomes a 4 purely for nostalgic reasons.

The Wiki for this ground-breaking album is interesting. I knew that this was the 19 year old Oldfield's debut album but I didn't realize that it put Virgin Records on the map. Also Branson wanted vocals so that he could release a single, Oldfield was pissed at this so he got drunk and started to grunting nonsense which explains the Piltdown Man garble on side 2. If I heard this album today I would think it was gimmicky and silly, but back in 73 it was a tour-de-force and hugely innovative. This is another album that I must have listened to a thousand times.

This album starts out brilliantly with a hommage to the Peter Gunn theme with Planet Claire, legs are a' moving and head is a' bopping. Funky, punky, kitchy and so much fun. To this day Rock Lobster still gets everyone on the dancefloor.

Not very offensive, but not very memorable either. Just a bunch of very similar sounding ez listening Brit pop songs from the 80s.

the Wiki for this album is very interesting, I didn't realize that it was spawned from so much conflict, chaos, drug addition and talk of suicide. I also like Rolling Stone's description that its closer to progressive rock than punk or grunge

I guess this is a bit of a let down after Elvis' simply brilliant debut album - My aim is true. The songs are pleasant enough but don't have the same bite, so this is only a 3 from me.

This beautifully melancholic record grows on you. The Way to blue is mournful but lovely and River man is Drake at his best. If you're in the mood for chill folky music you can't go wrong with this record.

When I first came to Canada in 1973 Led Zep was all the rage with the stoner crowd at school and I never really understood the attraction and I never was too enthusiastic their sound. So almost 50 yrs later I'm forced to listen to this album and I can confirm that I still don't know what the big deal is. Kashmir is good, but apart from that it doesn't really turn my crank

Rikki is of course the best song on this album, years later when I was listening to Horace Silver’s 1965 Songs for my father I realized that they cribbed the opening riffs from it. Major disappointment. Any major dude is also good, but the rest of the album doesn’t quite live up to those two songs

Roots Reggae and Dub are my favourite types of Reggae as you can really settle into the hypnotic groove. This record starts off great with Marcus Garvey but it after that it gets a bit preachy and one note sounding.

How to rate something that I couldn't listen to for more than 3 songs? Its not necessarily bad, just not to my taste. Trying to be as objective as possible

I'm done with glam rock

I agree with MG's assessment. Black guys rocking out is a nice change of pace, but it gets tiresome pretty quick.

This is some dark Krautrock. Again you have to be in the mood and I wasn't.

starts off with a bang with the nonsense dadaist lyrics of I Zimbra... Gadji beri bimba clandridi Lauli lonni cadori gadjam A bim beri glassala glandride E glassala tuffm I zimbra. Like, how does Byrne come up with this brilliant shit? Life during Wartime is also one of their best singles with a funky jerky African rhythm. I like how their sound is evolving with the Eno collaboration also. This is a great album, but not their best, I would rank Remain in Light, 77 ahead of this, so it gets a sold 4 from me.

Ugh

According to Wiki Nas is a brilliant poet lyricist and this is one of the greatest and most influential hip hop albums of all time. I think I would have appreciated more if I had listened more carefully and not just had it playing in the background while I worked. The lyrics may have been great but the beats were just ok.

This is an astonishing debut album. Totally new and original sound, Art Punk is an apt description. Killer songs include Don’t worry about the government, no compassion, pulled up and of course, one of their very best Psycho Killer. I really wish they have half stars as this is a clear 4.5 for me. Yes it’s very good but not quite perfect. I’ll reserve that for another talking heads album, so to differentiate it this gets a really high 4

The first song IGY is pleasant enough, Steely Dan lite. But I wasn't engaged for the rest of the album because all the songs sounded the same to me.

This sound did not date well.

This album was really out there, psychadelic Brazilian folk music and I hear influences from the Mamas and the Papas, Zappa and Beatles. This one is quite dense and very inventive so I think it will get even better with repeated listenings.

Boy here's another album that didn't age well. I guess in the early 80s after Punk had run its course this was a bridge and precursor to New Wave. Thankfully it was a mercifully short bridge. Back then cultural appropriation wasn't a thing, but Adam and the Ants did it in spades with Burundi drums and Native American costumes, what a hot mess. Back in the 80s it may have been novel, but its too gimmicky for me now.

Although this album is pretty inoffensive, nothing much on it grabbed me.

I have an aversion to HUGE stadium rock groups that take themselves too seriously and songs that are overplayed so I have to check my bias when rating this album and pretend that I'm listening to it for the first time instead of the kazillionth. So on that basis I must acknowledge that there a quite a few good songs on this album. The Edge's guitar on Zoo Station and Until the end of the world are notable and I grudgingly acknowledge that One is a pretty good song.

Maggie May is wonderful for sure. Yup there with his best

Sandy Denny truly has a transcendental voice and the band wisely lets her take centre stage with most of the instruments playing lo-key in the background. The only song I didn't like was Cajun woman. In case you're interested, my rating criteria is: 1 Star - I hated it, 2 Stars - it has good qualities, but overall I'm indifferent, 3 Stars - its a very good album, respect, but I probably wouldn't play it again; 4 Stars - Love it, definitely on my repeat list; 5 Stars - An iconic album, every song is perfect, without any weak songs.

I'm getting a whole lot of Thurston Moore vibes here.

Pretty aggressive sound, Wiki says that if you feel Iike getting slapped upside the head while dancing all night this is the album for you. I feel like I just got slapped upside the head.

I can see how this slickly produced album went on to influence popular acts in the 70s and 80s such as Whitney Huston, Lionel Ritchie et al. Most of it was too mainstream for me, but the 70s jazz fusion of Contusion surprised me and I had no idea that Eminem sampled Pastime Paradise!

This failed to grab me and I lost interest fairly quickly

I still really don't like this group. Although this album sounds more psychadelic/spacey a la Flaming Lips and is better than Fuzzy Logic, I still find the lead vocalist's singing to be annoying and I could barely make it thru the entire album.

With Bowie's help Iggy punches out some raucous, raunchy rock with Lust for life. The Passenger is also a classic song. Turn blue is an interesting.... well turn, but it almost sounds like a fish out of water on this album. Overall a solid effort.

Some great samples, innovative beats and witty lyrics on this album. I really like some of their singles but after awhile their in yo face style can be a bit grating.

Oh Lordy, I did try to get through this but the only song that I could listen to in its entirety was Sinister Purpose, probably because it had less of Fogerty's singing. I know they sold a whack of records back in '69 but this is just not my cup of tea

Debut album from a band that I've never heard of. Its pretty good early 90's alternative rock with some good driving guitar melodies. They were nominated for a Mercury prize, but it seems that they were a one-hit wonder?

1001 forces you to listen to records that you'd never willingly subject yourself to. I've never actually listened to Iron Maiden in my life and I'm happy to say I didn't miss anything. I can handle some metal, but this is just Pop Metal with some corny guitar riffs in a formulaic style. Meh.

I didn't realize that Cream was regarded as the World's first Super group given its all-star line up: Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce. That much talent and ego usually means that they self-destruct and true to form Cream didn't last too long. There are some real classics on this album so it gets a solid 7/10

That segway from the first song, Sgt Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band to With a little help from my friends is foreshadowing that this album will be special. After hearing thru so many different genres that followed this in the 70s and 80s such as psychedelic, prog, World, and avant-garde this album may not sound too innovative, but when I stop to think that this is the OG that started it all, it's influence and importance comes into perspective. There are 13 songs on this album, 12 are killer and deserve 5 stars, with only Being the benefit of Mr Kite being a miss, but the album closes with a Sgt Pepper's reprise with another brilliant segway into their best song ever IMO, A Day in the Life and then to top it off this fricking masterpiece of a record ends with perhaps the most incredible ending notes of any song, EVER. So it makes up for Mr Kite, and how! So I'm happy to give my first 5 star rating to this album.

This is a landmark free jazz album, simply brilliant musicianship and improvisation, very different from Ah Um but still very good

Theres one good song on this album, Mother and Child reunion, but it’s guilty of massive cultural appropriation. The fact that it was made back in 72 before cultural appropriation was a thing allows it to slide though. Funny how attitudes and times change. Anyways the rest of the album didn’t grab me and I wouldn’t listen to it again so this gets two stars

I remember how huge Tainted Love was on the dance floor with its bleepy innovative beats. Sex Dwarf is also good but Say Hello Wave Goodbye is an underrated and excellent song that really showcases Marc Almond's voice.

I may have had more tolerance to listen to this when I was younger. Not my jam

Interesting trivia... apart from Levon Helm, all members of the Band were Canadian, most notably Robbie Robertson. The Weight is greight, and the organ intro to Chest Fever is pretty epic.

I was pleasantly surprised by this. Folk with a hint of prog with some fine arrangements

Excellent songwriting and impassioned singing. I can hear how she influenced female singers that followed her eg Sarah McLachlan with her soulful, wavering singing style.

I was never a fan of the Britpop sound, and after trying to listen to this its confirmed. I couldn’t listen to any of the songs all the way though without being thoroughly bored

I remember almost 40 years ago (OMG!) first listening to this album and being completely blown away by it. So much that I wrote a letter to the band gushing about how brilliant it was. That was a first (and last) for me. Back then I would have given it 5 stars instantly. Listening to it again now I find that some of the singles such as Promised you a miracle didn’t age too well and I cringe a bit at the overly pretentious lyrics and Jim Kerr’s 80s “New Romantic” singing style. However there are some real gems on this and I really like the more atmospheric and moody pieces such as Someone Somewhere, Big Sleep, Somebody up there and Hunter and the Hunted. It’s good to hear that the deep and propulsive bass and drums throughout the album still hit the spot.

After the relative softer edge of Ziggy Stardust Bowie really rocks out with this album. I don't think it achieves the same heights as Ziggy, but it has some great tracks including Jean Genie and Panic in Detroit. I prefer Bowie's other phases: Mod/ Space oddity, and his experimental Berlin stage but this is still a pretty solid effort.

An unholy, noisy mess. Daft Punk did it better. I gave it 1.5 stars but rounded it up because its a nice sunny day today.

The Boys sound sooo soft and smooth on this album, this is perfect music for shopping at a luxury department store as you sashay through the aisles, if that's your thing. There's nothing offensive on this album, but nothing inspiring either.

I was really excited when this popped up this morning, but on closer inspection I saw it was recorded at San Quentin and not the legendary Folsom Prison. The Spotify version has a lot of "heavy" country filler from other artists that weren't my jam, so I've excluded them from this rating. But even then this was disappointing as it didn't seem to have much passion or energy and the editing of the songs to be frank, really sucks. The cover art is really iconic though!

For me Karen O’s wonderful voice has always been the most notable thing about this band. She can rock out with the best of them and then completely soften her tough edge with mellower songs like Little Shadow and Skeleton.

El Paso was nice for the novelty of listening to a ballad from a byegone era. But listening to 13 other songs that sound virtually identical to it gets old pretty fast

Yikes, another reminder that I’m getting old and certain things just don’t age well. New Gold Dream is of similar vintage but it sounds way fresher and more innovative than this. I really liked Poppies in the field back in the day, but the driving beat that I recalled now sounds muffled and uninspired. The synth keyboard also sounds lame. It was a struggle to get thru the 17 songs on this album

Oh boy, if there ever was a polarizing album... Fans of his earlier phases, Be-bop, Hard-bop and Modal will probably hate this. But what you have to respect about Miles is that he's always pushing the boundaries and charting new territory, too bad if its out of your comfort zone. Get uncomfortable mofos! I think this would have been a cracker single album but it drags a bit as a double, so I would give it a 3 +1 for its influence on jazz/rock fusion and just because Miles is the OG badass mofo. If you like this check out the album Miles from India, a compilation of Miles' music mostly performed by excellent Indian musicians.

Scorching driving guitars and wicked bass from Lemmy. I think to appreciate this you'd need to be banging your head in a room smoking some weed, the folks talking between the song are certainly high on something. Can hear the early origins of prog metal here. The first half dozen songs were great, but after that it got very repetitive.

Probably the greatest post-punk band ever. This album has so many great singles, Pictures of You, Lovesong, Fascination Street, Disintegration, but the other tracks are also really really strong. Standouts for me are the strings on Lullaby, the guitar hook and sad lament on Untitled, the Wall of sound on Plainsong, the Thunderous drums in Closedown and their classic gothy dark sound in Deep Water and Pray for rain. I'd give this album a 9/10 but on the 5 star scale its not quite "perfection" so I must sadly round it down to a 4.

Thundercat where have you been all my life? Never heard of this band and its great! Nice prog-soul grooves with some excellent musicmanship.

This ain’t Harvest as Neil goes full grungy garage on this record. Definitely not dinner music. Not my fav Neil Young but he still shows his brilliance

When I come around is good. The rest is meh. Not a fan.

I was never a fan of Brit pop. After listening to this I can confirm that I'm still not a fan.

Killer debut album by Jimi, with very little filler. Innovative mix of blues and psychedelic rock, believe the hype!

Too sugary for me. Not a fan.

I liked Seen your video the best, probably because it was mostly instrumental - good driving post punk music. The rest was not very exciting

My fav Van Morrison album, it flits and dances around like a butterfly on a sunny spring day. Although he sings like he's got a mouthful of cotton balls, it works with the soulful music and it still holds up really well considering its over 50 years old. The only miss is Slim Slow Slider which sounds like an afterthought to the 7 brilliant songs that preceded it, so I give it a 4.5 and round it up to a 5 because its a sunny Spring day.

Starts off with a bang with Shining Star, mellows out with That's the way of the world, gets funky with Happy Feelin' so hey I'm thinking this album has some bangers, could be a classic, could it be 4 stars? But then it gets weighed down by the saccharine goop of All about love. But then Reasons shows that slow soul songs can still have redeeming qualities. The rest is ok, so overall this is a 3 from me.

I never liked the Seattle Grunge sound and I find Eddie Vedder’s voice annoying. I also found all of the songs on this album repetitive

Gotta love fashion and style maven Bowie for his chameleon-like changes every few albums. The only other musician that I can think of that does it as well is Neil Young and he's a bloody legend also. However, in this "Soul" phase apart from the wonderful single Young Americans and the lovely song Right, this album has quite a few misses, especially the execrable Fame. Gawd I hate that song. So some great, some bad, some ok means this is 3 stars from me.

Iconic psychedelic funk album. All killah no fillah

Gotta admit that Relax is a pretty iconic 80s dance tune that I played about a kazillion times back in the day. Also Despite the goofy narration over War, the bass line has chops and there are some good covers of Born to run and San Jose. But overall this is like watching the original Lethal Weapon or Diehard movies, it’s pretty dated and doesn’t hold up well today

Very cool Indian Indie sound, kinda like Talvin Singh blended with Thievery Corporation. I can see this album being very influential in Raga Rock

After A night at the opera hit like an atom bomb in the early 70s I quickly gobbled up their earlier albums: Queen, Queen II and Sheer Heart Attack and I was a huge fan of their bombastic glam/prog/metal sound with tons of vocal over-dubs. You can hear them starting to gain traction in this album and there are some real gems including Father to son, Ogre Battle, White Queen and Fairy Feller. But the best was yet to come

Just as gloomy as I remember it, but still a pretty seminal piece of goth/post punk music considering that it was released just after Ian Curtis committed suicide. Did I mention that it was gloomy? The graphics and photo on the album cover are one of my all time favourites though.

Fun album that must have been pretty daring and controversial in its day. Some real classics here. A great soundtrack to a mafia movie.

Many, many, short snippets of lo-fi songs sounds like an interesting idea for an album so I tried really hard to like this, but as soon as I got into a groove with anything it abruptly ended. Many with no fadeouts, just a slammed door. This was a frustrating listen for me.

This Brazilian pop album is pleasant enough, Regina has a lovely voice and range but I don’t think it is up to the high standards of David Byrne’s Lauka Bop label where complies a killer record featuring seminal Brazilian artists like Caetano Veloso, Jorge Ben, Gilberto Gil, Milton Nascimento etc. Now that is a banger of a Brazilian record.

Wonderfully quirky and inventive. I think The Dirty Projectors and Grizzly Bear were two of the best indie acts of the early 2000s. Like any offbeat and complex works it’ll take a few lessons to grow on me but then it’s gonna stick for a long time, unlike the formulaic pop on mainstream radio

There were a couple of songs that I thought were fine but this one failed to hold my attention. I see lots of folks complaining about his monotonous voice and I can’t disagree

I was surprised to read in Wiki that his debut album, Astral Weeks was a commercial flop because it's my fav Van Morrison album. Van went back to the drawing board and wrote more commercial sounding songs for this album and completely knocks it out of the park with the first 5 songs. It flags a bit with Come Running and These Dreams, but he closes it out nicely with Everyone and Glad tidings. I don't think this is as strong as the seminal Astral Weeks but this is still a very strong effort.

I was really looking forward to discovering some gems here because I like some good ol' soul and funk but I found this boring and repetitive and not very imaginative. I mean they probably say the "F" word on this record more times than the other "F" word was uttered in the movie Scarface. George Clinton should have done better.

An unholy mess

This is a new listen for me, sad music that can make you happy. Nice melancholy vibe that can get under your skin.

I had too much to drink is a classic but the rest was meh

One of the most memorable scenes in the movie Almost Famous was when the band and groupies were singing Tiny Dancer on the team bus. Just a brilliant song by Elton John. Levon also shows off his excellent vocal range and Bernie Taupin’s song writing skills. This album isn’t their best but it’s still a very strong effort

This was a difficult one to rate for me. I recognize the huge historical significance that this early super group has wrought, but some songs with the Glorious Harmonies, in particular Carry on just grate on me. There are a lot of standout songs though like Almost cut my hair and all the Neil Young songs that pull it way up.

When it comes to the Goth/dance sound this pales in comparison to the Cure and New Order. I found the vocals annoying and the drums way too amped. Not a fan.

I've read the glowing reviews and I've listened to this 3-4 times now thinking huh, WTF am I missing? But I still don't get it. I suppose it was highly innovative for its time but I just don't like the glorious harmonies, corny arrangements and sappy lyrics. Many others give it a 5 calling it a masterpiece but this is not Sgt Pepper, DSOTM or Ziggy Stardust. I give it a 1, +1 for its production values.

One of Kate’s very best and also of the 80s IMO. Her voice has never been more powerful, crystalline, clear and pure. And her writing is simply in a class of its own. The brilliant singles from this album speak for themselves but the experimental Side B is also a revelation. I’d give this a 4.5 but since I was so hard on Pet Sounds yesterday I’ll round this up to a 5

Best listened to while violently slamming into others in a mosh pit. First few songs are ok but it gets boring fast due to lack of variety

Someone mentioned that the Fleet Foxes are kinda like a blend of CSNY and Beach Boys, both of who I don't like, specifically because of their \"glorious harmonies\". I know many of their fans will think this is blasphemous as their harmonies are their calling card. I didn't mind the instrumental songs and I can appreciate the strong production and musicmanship throughout and also the nice Flemish woodblock cover so I'll give this a 3

This sounds like a soundtrack from the Matrix and similar to that series it hasn’t aged very well and sounds dated. The beats and loops are incessantly driving and propulsive but there simply isn’t enough variety in tempo or mood. Kraftwerk and Aphex Twin did it much better. Apparently they mix it up near the end of the album but I fell asleep by song 6, too little too late for me.

Well she has a good singing voice but her campy, bouncy jazzy pop style was really grating and annoying to me. I couldn’t get thru this one

Now this is how you do synth-pop proper! Not like that Chemical Bros crap I just listened to. How do you sleep, Tonite are standouts.

Solid American bluesy rock and roll here. It flags a bit with Move it down the line which includes cliched riffs and lyrics like “big wheels keep on turning” 🙄 but its saved by the excellent single La Grange with the signature ZZ Top geetar sound. I like how they mixed up the tempo and mood with Sheik also.

It’s Interesting how polarizing this band is. Their musicianship is good, the production by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno is certainly good but after hearing the singles from this album for the gazillionth time and Bono acting like a douche I’ve put up a mental wall against them. But I’m trying to be objective here in rating this album so I’ll bump it up to a 3.

An interesting turn for OMD as they abandon their electro dance roots for a darker more experimental sound. Some of it works well but some leaves me cold

I tried, I really tried but I find his vocals really annoying. I respect him as a poet but as a musician he just doesn’t do it for me, too much of the same wailing In his songs made this impossible for me to get through.

This album didn’t seem like much to write home about. Nothing that struck me as being outstanding. There have been many comparisons to the Beatles and I just think the Beatles did it way better

EBTG basically pioneered the English downtempo drum and bass sound and everyone but EBTG were influenced by their lounging in the coffee shop style. Although this doesn't have anything as good as their big hit Missing you, the first three songs set the mood nicely. However I found my attention lagging for the rest of the album as the drum and bass in every song started to meld together.

This album is hard for me to enjoy. But I will give it a knowing nod for its groundbreaking post punk sound that influenced many bands that followed in the 80s. I used to think HK Garden was catchy and cute but it’s faux Asian melodies are now cringe worthy. It’s funny how mores change so much over time. Just like my musical tastes.

You really need to be at a rave, sweating and high on acid to be into this music. Sitting at home reading the paper it was a bit too high NRG and it got really repetitive. It’s better than Chemical Bros but not as good as say Daft Punk or the OGs Kraftwerk

Not my jam. Not into his vocals and the incessant horns. Their best with Come on Eileen was yet to come.

Astonishing that this debut album has so many solid, solid tracks. This is probably the only mainstream easy-listening jazz/pop album that I'll ever admit to liking. I was also surprised that its from 1984, I thought it was from the 90s, so that cheezy sax didn't date it too much.

Streets of your town is very well written and pleasant, the rest of the album was meh. Nothing offensive here, but nothing inspiring either.

Some of Beck’s mellower songs are incredible, with tremendous writing and vocals. But those songs are not on this album. I just couldn’t get into this record and I am not a fan

I respect Cash for his ability to connect with the audience and his showmanship but I’m not a fan of Country and this is pretty Deep South Country. Respect and Acknowledgement, but I wouldn’t seek it out to be honest

My kid brother is huge Pavement fan, but I could never catch the contagion like him. Pavement's jangly guitar and jerky vocals have some charming appeal though. I found 5-4 Unity to be the most interesting song with its Brubeck-esque tempo, Range life, Gold songs and Silence Kid are also good.

I can’t believe this is on the list. G&R epitomize the cliched overblown 80s hair band. Every song sounds the same and his voice is annoying AF

This debut album is pleasant enough. Good early indie music with a nice vibe that foreshadows even better things to come from this band. However it gets repetitive very soon.

Just three guys on acoustic instruments playing their hearts out and it shows. Classic organic lo-fi punk with some great hooks, eg Add it up, Blister in the Sun and Go daddy go.

There’s not much for me to add here as there’s no question that this is an iconic pop/rock album. Dreams and Go your own way are probably two of the best pop tracks ever written, but IMO You make loving fun is right up there with them. The album isn’t perfect though and I would argue that it shouldn’t be ranked higher than DSOTM, Wish you were here, Ziggy Stardust or Sgt Peppers so it gets a 4 from me

First time hearing these guys, gotta giving them credit for pushing the envelope here. Quite experimental for its time, with musique concrète influences from Stockhausen and early Zappa. I also hear some Stereolab in some tracks. Although very interesting, overall its not very engaging and I can't say I loved any particular song or would seek it out again.

I must have worn out my original copy of this album I played it so much in the 80s. It’s a big improvement over their prior release with some real cracking tracks including 2 great cover songs. Plus it’s also got Come on Eileen which is a classic. I’d give this a solid 3.5, but round up to 4 for old times sakes.

I tend to avoid over hyped bands so I’ve never actually listened to this album. Must concede that there are some good tracks here, but Plant’s piercing screams are a bit much, especially when he does his “ooooooohhhh, baaaaby!” yell. Better than I expected though and these boys do indeed have talent so it gets a passing grade from me.

I was surprised to read that this is the only Tangerine Dream album on this list because I think their later work is better, eg Stratosfear, Cyclone and Force Majeure but I guess it’s because this album was highly influential and important in the annals of Krautrock and electronic music with the early use of sequencers. Also it’s interesting that along with Mike Oldfield, TD was one of the first bands that Richard Branson signed to his fledgling Virgin Records label.

Couldn’t get through this. Not a fan

Nice little gem here from Mercury Rev. They're often compared to a mellower Flaming Lips which is understandable. Some great post rock, psychadelic song-writing and melodies here and Holes, Goddess on a hiway and Opus 40 are highlights.

This is one of those bands that get real annoying fast. Must be the U2 and Coldplay effect. This album is 3 hrs long, (eye roll) but I could only get thru a few songs before I threw in the towel.

The Time of the season is pretty much a perfect pop song, beautiful vocals and instrumental solos. Just perfect. The remainder of the album though doesn't live up to the same standard. I hear lots of early Kinks, Beatles and Beach Boys, but most of it is pretty homogenous and nothing really stands out. But the Time of the Season, wow!

I got sick of all the Brit Pop bands in the 90s (yes, you Oasis) so I tuned them out and missed out on this band. The scorching guitars in the first song grabbed my attention and I was intrigued for the rest of the ride. I read that they were a bunch of 17 yr olds that made this, impressive. Great driving guitars with a melodic vocal overlay. They did it way better than Oasis and Blur IMO. I also hear some Dinosaur Jr, Ramones and Buzzcocks here, but hey if you have to steal, might as well be from the best. This is a FUN record!

I tried, but I just couldn’t complete this homework assignment

This album is a huge leap from Murmer which I recently rated a 3. Much more mature writing and performances here with quite a few very solid songs.

If Blondie got together with the Sex Pistols this would be their lovechild. Kudos for their audacity and energy. Poly Styrene is a great front-woman and the cheap sounding sax is a refreshing change.

I can't say I'm a fan of big band and crooning ballads, which basically describes both sides of this record. I prefer Charles' later material where he gets more rock n' roll

Highly influential album due to their innovative use of the 808 drum machine but it didn’t age well and most of it is a noisy unholy mess. The best track is Pacific 202.

Brilliant corners is simply a brilliant album. Monk's style may be off putting for some with his crunchy dissonant, off kilter dissonant piano playing, but therein also lies his genius. Allstar band. Highlight for me is Bemsha Swing.

The title song is iconic. The rest is meh

Nice sixties crooning with some good arrangements and vocals. This harkens back to an era when the lyrics were nice, the singing was nice and everyone looked nice. Overall a nice album.

Coldplay without being annoying and cloying. Doves are a good indie Brit band with some pretty decent songs, particularly There goes the fear. This is a strong 2.5 but I'll round it up because its a nice day again.

Horrible pseudo multi-cultural rave music. Truly execrable.

Simply could not get into this. I’m getting tired of Brit pop

These guys invented chill.

I try and try but I just can’t do Bob Dylan 🤷‍♂️ His voice is annoying and that damned harmonica, sheesh

I grew up listening to Kraftwerk and it shaped my musical taste profoundly. They were so innovative in the 70s that this sound must have blown everyone’s mind. However the irony is that because they were so influential that you hear this style almost everywhere now so the their unique groundbreaking sound is lost on most new listeners. This album is great but I think Man Machine and Computer World are better so it only gets a 4 from me.

A lot has been said about this album so I don’t need to repeat it. I would say that Meddle, DSOTM, Animals and The Wall are all excellent but Wish you were here may just edge out the others, ever so slightly.

Some tracks sound embarrassingly dated but Holding back the years and Moneys too tight manage to hold up well. Credit to Mick Hucknall for his strong vocals and for a good effort for a debut album.

This is a perhaps the most iconic solo piano album ever. It was interesting to read on Wiki about all the screw-ups that preceded this concert, very impressive that he was able to pull it off despite all the adversity. My only complaint is Jarrett's trademark moaning and wailing while he plays which is a bit distracting. Favourite track for me is Pt II, C.

In the movies you see the Americans torturing their POWs by blasting death metal at them while they’re chained up in the dark. Pretty sure this would be effective as a torture device as it makes me want to slit my wrists.

As an intro to Indian Sitar music this is great, I mean who is more qualified than Ravi Shankar? But is it really his best work and is it a seminal album in this genre? I'm not an expert on Indian music but I suspect there are more iconic albums in this genre that could have been on this list.

The songs start off fine with pleasant instrumentals but then his Gawdawful voice comes in and it’s like nails against the blackboard for me. He may be a good poet but his singing and phrasing are not my cup of tea. Like a rolling stone and Ballad of a thin man are slightly more bearable.

I’m not a huge fan of blues, but when combined with rock like this its much more accessible to me. This must have been a legendary concert to see live with those long guitar jam sessions but when listening to it at low volume at home while reading the Saturday paper I think most of it got lost in translation. I’m sure this is a you had to be there situation.

This was a nice surprise find for me. The vocals were a bit offbeat but that’s ok, others hate it but i don’t mind them at all. Reminds me a lot of Cocorosie with the quirky falsetto. I think this will grow on me with repeated listenings

Starts off great with the opening track -Yes, cool guitar hooks and impassioned vocals. But it goes downhill fast afterwards, all the songs sounds the same and just a Green Day knock off. Also the news audio clips before the songs doesn’t add anything and is just gimmicky.

I really like Killing Joke’s single - Love like blood it’s propulsive and has great guitar and bass hooks. Most of this album doesn’t come close to this benchmark and all of the songs sound pretty much the same to me. The exceptions are Requiem, Wardance and Change but it just isn’t enough for me to seek this out to listen to unfortunately.

I’m not a fan of country or Billy Bragg but because it features Wilco I have it a go. Turns out it was a pleasant surprise. The background story of this album is quite interesting also. California Stars and song featuring Natalie Merchant were very nice.

IMO Stevie is at his best when he does the funky soul numbers. Superstition is one of his most iconic songs, with killer guitar hooks and I love his funky snarling voice. But this album is marred by syrupy maudlin commercial tracks meant to sell records such as You are the sunshine, You and I, Looking for another pure love, and I believe. Yuck. If it had more Superstition it would be a 4 but the dreck pulls it down unfortunately

I really struggled to get through this album, the only thing that excited or interested me was the sign showing that rooms at this hotel were $2.50, which is mind boggling! But for the music, I was totally dis-engaged and it did not resonate with me at all.

I groaned when this came up today as it was the second Doors album in as many days. But to my surprise it was much better than Morrison hotel. Even more impressive is the fact that this was their debut album. Morrison’s powerful voice and Manzarek’s keyboard playing are standouts. The highlight for me are the organ and guitar solos in Light my fire. The only song that I really didn’t like is the Bertold Brecht / Kurt Weill inspired Whisky Bottle.

Most of this sounds pretty much the same and the production values are really rough, much like the group and the music so I guess that's fitting. I'll boost this up by one star given its influence on the punk genre, but this isn't something that I'll seek out in the future.

the first thing that comes to mind is "Impassioned singing". Very wide range of styles here and he was a huge talent that was taken too soon, but I'm not a fan of some of his more maudlin material. This may grow on me with repeated listenings but it doesn't move me as much as many others have mentioned.

Perfectly bookended by Hey,Hey… and My, My … Neil never fails to disappoint or astonish with his huge range and ability to change like a chameleon. Powderfinger is one of my fav Young songs with a blistering guitar. Interestingly when Neil sings country/folk and plays his harmonica I I love it. But when that Dylan guy does the same thing it drives me crazy. Go figure.

Very pleasant African pop that makes you wanna shake your booty. Nice rhythms and good vocals. But I would reach for some Miriam & Amadou or Fela Kuti before this

Raucous honky tonk rock n roll. But a double album was a bit too much for me. The songs seemed to run together with a very similar sound. Shake your hips and Sweet Virginia were the exceptions and the ones I liked best. I’ve always thought that I respect the Stones but I just don’t love them and this still holds true.

I was a heavy listener of Japan in the late 70s so I've tried to get past my early fan bias. Now I also have to get past the silly hair, makeup and New Romantic costumes. Actually it wasn't as bad as I expected with some songs holding up pretty good eg All Tomorrow's Parties. Kudos to them for being such early pioneers in the Synth-Pop genre and influencing groups such as Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, ABC, Human League etc. But is there anything gloomier sounding than David Sylvain’s voice?

I was hoping this album would feature their cover of Brian Eno's "Third Uncle" as its my fav Bauhaus song, but no such luck. Unfortunately this album didn't have anything to hook me and I think The Cure and Joy Division were much better at the Dance/Goth thingy. I also penalize it for sounding so dated today.

Raw, nasty, visceral energy. I wouldn't know that Bowie produced this if I didn't see it in Wiki. Although this was highly influential proto-punk its not my jam.

I'm not a fan of metal but this album is one of the few that I can listen to in its entirety. Smoke on the water and Highway Superstar are iconic head-banger tracks of course, but I also enjoyed Lazy and Space Truckin' and especially the amped up organ which gives them a very distinctive sound. The background story on Smoke is interesting - how some idiot with a flare gun at a Frank Zappa concert burned their concert venue down. This is a solid 3.5 for me, but I'll round it up because its iconic and still rocks 50 years later.

Ahh classic Roxy with Eno and Manzanera before they sold out and started playing elevator music. The guitar solo after “but you blew my mind” In Every home a heartache and then the fade out/ reprise is a highlight for me. This was Roxy near its best, if this album had my fav track Both Ends Burning I would have given it a 5

Give these guys credit for creating a distinctive chill, mellow folk/pop genre. If you’re in the mood for this on a rainy Sunday afternoon, this album fits the bill perfectly.

From reading the reviews I see that you either love or hate Depeche Mode. Personally I find them a bit too pretentious, the brooding lyrics and the lead vocalist’s dis-embodied robotic voice is annoying. Other bands eg Kraftwerk can do electronic and not have it come off sounding so contrived and emotionless.

Better than expected. Starts off with a bang with Apache, this may be an interesting trip. In-a-gadda-da-vida may also actually be better than the original. However Satisfaction isn’t. Overall feeling groovy, more so than when I was listening to Simon & Garfunkel recently. Drags a bit by the end but a novel idea

The singles from this album are pretty iconic and seared into our collective sub-conscious. I’m not a huge fan of Big Beats but I prefer this to its peers such as Chemical Bros or The Prodigy. I got bored with a few of the other tracks because they were so repetitive but this music was made to be danced to at a rave and not while having your morning coffee. Props for being so influential 20 yrs ago though

This was a pretty ok album. For grunge it was better than average though and I prefer them to say Soundgarden or Pearl Garden, probably because they’re not as overplayed. Lousy cover art though.

Sadly his third album was his last. We’ll never know what other brilliant songs he could have given us. Watchtower, Voodoo Child and Crosstown traffic are all very solid songs and rank amongst his very best. His cover of Watchtower is actually much better than Dylan’s original. How do you like dem apples Bob?

She has a truly lovely voice, but the arrangements and song writing are nothing to write home about.

This is certainly an iconic jazz album but I think his earlier work eg Giant steps, Ole, My favourite things and the monumental Blue Train are better.

I enjoy reading the 5 star and 1 star reviews for each album just to see the contrasts of how some folks will absolutely love it while others will detest the same album. The difference in musical taste for folks is fascinating. Bjork is certainly one of the more polarizing artists out there. I really respect her talent for painting impressionistic soundscapes with her songs, but a the same time her singing style can be very unsettling. So I'm not in the 5 star or 1 star camp, I'm pretty much in the middle, I love her AND I hate her.

This album is a bit frustrating for me because it has one absolutely brilliant masterpiece - Jesus etc, but its pulled down by a bunch of mediocre-good songs. Jesus etc probably ranks as one of my all-time favourite songs by ANY band and its on par with Wilco's other masterpiece Impossible Germany. Jesus starts out with some lovely violin-viola strings and a melancholic string guitar solo around mid-way but what really pulls the song together is Jeff Tweedy's bobbing vocals that paints a very bitter-sweet background. The rest of the album is merely good. You can hear Jim O'Rourke's influence in the mixing with lots of experimental loops and ambient background noise, but it doesn't quite make for a consistent or coherent album, so that gets a one star deduction from me.

I’m a huge fan of Kate Bush but I think this is one of her weakest albums. There aren’t any bad songs, but no absolute knockouts either. This is probably her most commercially appealing work which is also probably why I’m not as enthusiastic about it. I would give this a 3.5 but round up because I’m not sure if her iconic albums like Never Forever, The Dreaming, Hounds of Love or Aerial will show up on this list

It’s incredible that Bowie released this Swan Song when he was 69 yrs old and only days before he died from cancer. What a prolific genius he was. Wiki mentions the jazz influence but I don’t hear any, but it’s definitely his darkest and most experimental album.

Pretty raw Brit Punk/Indie that sounds all the same so by the fourth song I was getting bored. Would it kill them to throw a bit of variety in there?

When I was growing up in Jamaica as a boy Bob Marley and Peter Tosh were a big deal, homegrown talent that were international stars. I was quite young so I didn’t quite get the hype. Listening to Tosh now I still don’t quite get the hype. It’s fairly pleasant sounding roots reggae but there’s nothing here to get excited about either.

Initially I thought the songs on this album were too frenetic and whimsical, with too many ideas crammed into each song. But then it seemed to settle down or maybe I got used to the pace. I recognize Wall Street shuffle from back in the day when Toronto Alt-rock station CFNY used to have it on heavy rotation and I appreciate the very witty lyrics. Creme and Godley obviously had loads of talent and that was going to become more evident in their later albums: eg The Original Soundtrack (with I’m not in love and Life is a minestrone), Deceptive Bends and Bloody Tourists that features my fav 10CC song, Dreadlock Holiday. This album is a solid 3 from me

I remember listening to my crappy AM radio in bed many years ago when I was 13 yrs old and the DJ introduced this new song by Queen that was really “different”. I was only a kid but I realized that nothing was gonna be the same after Bohemian Rhapsody. That song changed my perception of music and it opened the door to prog, art rock and opera. BR is a 600 lb gorilla of a song and there are also a few other great tracks on this album but it just misses out on a perfect 5 score because there are a few clangers on it. I get that they wanted to be experimental and whimsical but the album is not 100% cohesive. But that 600 lb Gorilla though!

They saved the best for first. Nile Rogers plays some mean guitar licks and Bernard Edwards also lays down some great bass tracks on the first song - Good Times. I must admit that this is a pretty iconic disco anthem. But after this it just got hella repetitive, like very very very repetitive.

I’m not a fan of grunge but their jangly, discordant sound appealed to me. After a first listen I liked it better than their peers eg Pavement, Dinosaur Jr. Very similar to the Eels too in their softer songs. I also like how they slow down/ speed up the tempo for some songs.

this starts of with Elton's magnum opus - Funeral for a friend/love lies bleeding which in my opinion is one of his very best. The album also has some killer songs: Bennie, Candle in the wind and Saturday night. If he had released this as a single LP and left out some of the filler crap such as Jamaica jerk off and Roy Rogers this album would deserve serious consideration to be a 5 star album.

I’m not a huge fan of punk but this is amongst the best punk albums I’ve heard. These guys can actually play their instruments and write greats songs with hooks. Their cover of Junior Murvin’s Police and Thieves has always been a favourite of mine and shows their range

Very nice dance music but the brassy horns and similar tempo for all the songs got old real quick

Prog post-punk, heavy shoegaze. I’ve had Teenage riot on heavy rotation for years because I just cant get enough of Thurston Moore’s scintillating guitar shredding. The rest of the album is very solid as well if you’re in the mood for some NOIZE!

What impresses me most about this album is how Moby mixes so many disparate styles: American gospel, blues, found music, hip hop and electronica in one record and it all still sounds so cohesive. Its over 20 yrs old but the songs still sound pretty fresh, testament to just how good this album is

I like some of the Magnetic Fields' other songs so I really tried to give this a chance. But this is a classic case of quantity over quality. After about 10 songs they get so monotonous and the voices are so freaking annoying I really couldn't continue. This is a cute gimmick that has gone badly off the rails.

Give Boy George credit for being a trans gender pioneer and having a sweet pop voice. But this album is just too sachrinne sweet for me and not my jam.

I like this new direction that they take in this album, some really good classic 60s music here with Out of time, Sweet lady Jane and my fav, Under my thumb. Interesting that the UK version that I listened to on Youtube didn't have Paint it Black. I'll assume that song is on this LP which would elevate this to a 4 star record.

I assume I have Daniel Lanois to thank for getting Dylan to ditch his wretched harmonica and annoying AF singing style on this album. Merci beaucoup Danny Boy! Frank Zappa also nails it in his brilliant Dylan parody in “Flakes”, if you’ve heard it you’ll know what I mean. Although this is more listenable than his 29 other previous albums I’m still not a fan. I know this is Bob Fucking Dylan so I made the effort to listen to the entire album. But that’s my point, it shouldn’t be an effort to listen to.

Cute pop album, Lovefool is a fun breezy song with nice hooks. Their cover of Iron Man is also an interesting take. If you’re in the mood for some Euro pop this one should fit the bill. This is a 2.5 star album, that I’ll round up.

I’m so done with 90s Brit-pop. They all sound like cheap Oasis knock offs and this was the least inspiring one yet.

Quite pleasant with nothing too offensive, but nothing overly exciting either. Marlene is a nice song though. A respectable debut album.

This one is so familiar and so good that I didn’t have to listen to it in order to rate it, but I played it anyways. Consistently excellent throughout, with no filler. One of the all time greatest albums IMO

I'm a huge fan of Electronica, but BoC simply leaves me cold. Their music is just devoid of any emotion and feeling. I'd much rather listen to say, Aphex Twin instead for an example of music in this genre that can move you without being so pretentious.

If I was a disenfranchised young white kid living in the suburbs I might be able to relate and get into this more but all I hear is a ton of guitar and a whiney punk pop voice for an hour

What an incredible debut from a totally unique and groundbreaking artist. There was never anything like Bjork before, and there will never be another Bjork

I have 4 different pressings of this album on vinyl and two on CD so I may be biased. So What (sorry) happens when you assemble a crack all-star ensemble led by Miles at his technical and artistic peak? You get an iconic, genre defining album for the ages of course. I'm pretty miserly about handing out 5 star ratings and have only given out a few so far, but this is a no-brainer for me.

Some folks have complained about Martyn's mumbling, drunken singing style, which sounds like a hybrid of Nick Drake and Tom Waits, but its quite distinctive and I like it. He's a master songwriter and guitar player too. My fav track is Small Hours with the looping guitar feedback.

Although I love Neil Young, these guys just rub me the wrong way. So without Neil, CSN is a chore. It's just excruciating for me to listen to their hillybilly harmonies and I couldn’t listen to the entire album

I’m not a fan of hip hop but this is probably my favourite hip hop album because the Boys show their range and mix it up with punk, jazz, funk and classical influences to keep it interesting. This is a really fun and creative album. And Sabotage absolutely rocks!

This is a very low key, subtle and melancholic album that needs careful and repeated listening to be appreciated. I can see how Emo and Shoegaze were influenced by the VU so these guys were way ahead of their time.

I recognize a few of these songs from the 80s ie Underwater moonlight and I got the hots but they really didn’t do much for me back then and they certainly don’t excite me now either. Just not my jam, Waaay to long so I couldn’t get thru it all.

This was much better than expected. I really liked the Kraut rock influence of the driving guitars on Regular John, and just when it starts to get samey sounding they really mix it up with I was a teenage hand model. Very creative writing and arrangements for a debut album and their post grunge sound is much more appealing to me than the bigger and more popular Grunge bands out there.

This was a more accessible hip hop album for me because the rapping is relatively subdued and the instrumental music is more melodic. I think if I could read the lyrics to follow along I would appreciate this record much more though because Common has a lot to say thru his musical poetry, although it does get a bit preachy at times.

Jumping Jack Flash was an interesting start, but when Light my fire came on it started to sound gimmicky and was cringe worthy. I actually like the traditional Indian songs better than the cheesy covers of Western Rock songs. Not sure that this record belongs on this list though.

This seminal album is by the OG of Electronica. There are some great hooks and melodies buried in these tracks and many of them have gone on to become classics. I think the title is misleading though as its more Electronica Lite rather than Ambient music

Talk about polarizing groups, lots of 5 and 1 stars here. Ok the single Hotel California is a 800 lb monster gorilla, one of the best rock singles ever, nuff said. But the remainder of the album is over-wrought Dad rock that hasn't aged well. This gets 3 stars only because of the gorilla.

Bloo’y brill’iant innit! This album was on heavy rotation in the late 70’s by CFNY in Toronto and it still sounds fresh today. Love the jazz and funk influences overlaying the punk and Drury’s cockney accent singing very witty lyrics. Hit me with your rhythm stick isn’t here but other great songs such as Wake up and make love, Sex and Drugs, and Clever Trever are pretty damned great

I love these groups that are hard to categorize, I would say they are Chamber/Folk/Rock. I particularly like them in their later albums when they become more minimalistic, similar to Glass or Nyman, but always very melodic and fairly accessible. This was a great debut by the Penguins, and I really enjoyed The Sound of someone you love and when it becomes very dissonant at around the 7 min mark. I'm glad they got recognized by 1,001.

I've actually never listened to the entire album because so many of the tracks from it are widely available. I found a lot of filler, but also a lot of nice gems. Revolution 1 is a nice alt version. Revolution 9 is an interesting avant garde track that is sure to raise a few eyebrows. I had to check twice that Good Night was by them because its sounded so different, Wiki informs me that the vocals are by Ringo and he can actually sing! Long, long, long and Yer Blues are good. But despite the filler there's a lot of killer. The strength of this album is the fact that its all over the map but it still hangs together quite well.

Very unforgettable but mercifully short

This was fairly nice 60’s pop album and she covers a few nice soul songs quite well. She indeed has a good voice but I started to lose interest after about half an hour as it needs more variety. 2.5 out of 5

In the early 80s when punk was fading and new wave synth pop was ascending, we got this brilliant post-punk debut album by the The. It perfectly captures the zeitgeist of the era: angsty despair, fear and paranoia, but held together by deep danceable percussion and bass beats. Pretty much every song on this album is killer, the singles are well known but my favourite has to be Giant, especially how it ends with its astonishing tribal percussion and chanting. This is one of my absolute favourite albums from this era, right up there with the best material produced by The Cure and that's saying a lot.

When there are a 1,001 albums to listen to you irnevitably get some gems and some dreck. This is the latter unfortunately.

Back in 97 this drum and bass album may have been very influential and innovative but 2 hrs of it, really? I could only listen to a few tracks before boredom set in.

The harmonies are well done and performed but a cappella music just isn’t my jam.

The issue with listening to highly influential and groundbreaking music is that you need to put yourself back to the period that it came out to appreciate just how new and innovative it was back in the day because folks would copy this new style so it gets lost in history. Fats was in this category. So although I wouldn’t seek this out to listen to it, I recognize it for being groundbreaking

I guess his single Short People soured me on Randy Newman. I simply don’t like his singing style, and this record doesn’t change my mind

This album has not aged well. Everything about it just reeks of Americana and is clichéd.

This album struck a wrong chord with me, a Scottish musician with Ghanaian roots playing pseudo reggae with a fake Jamaican accent. I was born in Jamaica so I just found it to be so wrong from the get go. This was a big miss for me

I imagine if Sade’s dog died and she was tripping on downers she would sound like this. Most of the album is one note, very dark and moody, but hey if that note works why not stick with it eh? However The best songs IMO are the ones that deviate from the formula a bit: Glory Box and Sour times. They could lose the fake scratched vinyl sound though, it really dates the album. However it’s definitely well produced and performed, this record ain’t no Dummy.

This was too raw and unfinished for my taste, he sounded like he slapped together these songs while high, or performed them stoned, or all of the above.

This album is noisy AF but surprisingly listenable. I think Kool Thing is equal to Daydream Nation's Teen Age Riot, and the rest of this album is pretty solid also. Getting your head and bashed by a wall of guitar sound is offset nicely by Kim Gordon's laid back vocals eg on Tunic. According to Wiki, at one point Moore's amplifier overheated and exploded but they were fascinated by the results so they kept it for Scooter and Jinx. That's the stuff of legend.

When she started to sing I immediately got turned off by her voice. I really dislike this genre of commercial music that sounds like its being sung by a 14 yr old girl. I suppose the great majority of listeners like it and it sells tons, but its not for me. Its good to see some newer albums on this list but I cannot fathom why this particular album made it.

Wiki informs me that Vincebus Eruptum means "Controlled chaos" in Latin. I also see that the band is a trio with only one guitarist but it sounded like a dozen guitars to me. The album sounds like it was recorded in someone's basement with no production values and with the mics buried deep in the Marshall amps. I must give it a knowing nod though, the thunderous blues guitar signals some pretty epic sounding proto-metal. Many have mentioned that they hear Black Sabbath and Cream , but I also hear Deep Purple which was formed around the same time. So despite the crudeness of the recording I'll bump my rating up to a 3 because of its provenance and influence on things to come.

This is a solid album with some fine songs, but it doesn’t have any knock out punches that we got on his debut album Are you experienced or his 3rd release Electric Ladyland. She’s so fine and Exp seem out of place and result in an uneven effort.

At first I was hesitant to listen to this because I'm not a fan of Folk or Country, but I was pleasantly surprised. This album was made in 1974 but it's held up really well and sounds like it could have been made yesterday. The only dated thing about it is the cheesy Art Deco design of the album cover. Excellent songwriting and performances are highly evident here and I actually listened to this record twice this morning. I particularly like the Strength of Strings, which was subsequently covered by This Mortal Coil. This one takes a few listenings to appreciate which is always the case for really good music with depth and subtle nuance.

The Canadian Bob Dylan. I intensely dislike Dylan so you know where this is going. I know Cohen is greatly revered and has influenced many great artists so I think if I was to read and ponder his lyrics I would appreciate him more. But Gawd he has such a dreary maudlin whiny voice that I can’t even go there. You mean people actually seek out this music and claim they enjoy it? He only gets 2 stars for his lyrical poetry. Major deductions for his one note sad boy delivery.

The two bookends on this album are arguably the Stones' best songs ever so 'nuff said about them. Then there's a few solid Tier 2 songs on the album, Monkey Man, Let it Bleed and Midnight Rambler which are pretty damned good. Unfortunately the rest of the album is essentially filler. Also I'm not sure how I feel about some blokes from London appropriating Blues that was originally done by Blacks in the American south. I have mixed feelings about this as they certainly gave this genre a huge worldwide audience, but they also sold a shit-ton more records than the OGs. Oh well, I guess that's show biz. I think overall this is a 3.5 star album but the sheer weight of the book-ends elevates this to a 4.

Reminds me of the Pogues and Dexy’s. I’m bewildered by two comments that say that they sound like the Talking Heads though, huh?? I just can’t relate to country or punk so this is not my jam.

I didn't really need to listen to this seminal electronic album from the 70s because I think I've already listened to it a thousand times over the past 45 years. But it never gets old for me so it was a nice refresher over breakfast. Some of the early moog effects such as the laser beam pew pew and ocean sounds are cringe-worthy today, but back in the day this was a really groundbreaking futuristic sound. Along with his peers such as Mike Oldfield and Tangerine Dream, Jarre was on the forefront of electronic music and would go on to influence numerous other electronic bands and what you kids know as EDM. Jarre's sound evolved over the next few albums and his best work was yet to come with Equinoxe, Zoolook and the Concert in China but the ground-breaking influence of this album cannot be denied.

Ich bin ein Berliner. This is the pinnacle of Bowie’s Berlin Trilogy. It was a master stroke to have Fripp and Eno collaborate on this album. It starts off with a few weak songs but the title track is perhaps the best song of his stellar career, and surpassed only by the alt version sung in German. The 2nd side is very Eno influenced and the sense of Cold War angst and foreboding is palpable. In my view A sign of a true genius is an artist that can radically change their style over time to reflect or even lead the zeitgeist of the times. Bowie is one such chameleon, others that come to mind are Miles Davis and Neil Young.

This was a fun listen and The Message is still one of the all-time greatest rap songs, its held up remarkably well after all these years.

I tend to push back against Classic rock hits that have become over played monster hits, eg Layla, Stairway to Heaven, Freebird. But when I think about it, this isn’t the fault of the band, it’s the radio stations that are to blame for over playing a great song so much that it becomes a cliche. When I heard these songs for the first time I was blown away at their epicness. But decades later they’re considered washed up Dad Rock has beens, again it isn’t the fault of the songwriter, they did their job which was to craft a giant hit. This album seems disconnected from Layla, it’s mostly Blues Rock (as interpreted by some English blokes again) and then the aforementioned 800 lb gorilla. I found most of the Blues to be uninspired, Hendrix or even Blue Cheer did it way better IMO. So this gets 3 stars simply from the gorilla song

I’m only familiar with their Woodstock era hit All together, so this record was a pleasant surprise for me. It’s really well written and performed, especially the drumming. I especially like the musical numbers that flit from psychedelic folk to prog to jazz such as Francis Drake and Trillium. I think if I was exposed more to this back in 1969 I would have really dug it man.

I now realize that 60s psychadelic rock with lots of vocal harmonies is not for me. The only saving grace on this album for me was I can see for miles. I can also here some foreshadowing of Tommy on Rael but I’m not a fan of the Who in this guise

This album bore 5 singles and three of them were monster hits for Bob so there’s that. But apart from those singles I found the songs to be too preachy and political and basically complaining about the same thing, ad nauseum, so it gets tiresome after awhile. However, there were those monster hits that must be acknowledged.

This was a challenging listen, very off the wall vocals, dissonant and unsettling so it was very difficult to enjoy.

Well that was certainly an impressive onslaught of guitars and noise. I think they even outdid the noise meisters Sonic Youth on this album. However, I prefer their latter day work that is more melodic, check out J Mascis' later solo works like his cover of Fade Into You or the beautiful ditties such as Me Again or Wide Awake for a completely different sound.

Most of the songs start out with some cool beats and hooks but then they seem to keep going on forever and overstay their welcome. If they mixed it up a bit and threw in some variety this album would have been far better. When the last song, NY I love you came on the change of pace was a blessed relief but alas it came too late.

I thought Frankie was way ahead of the curve and pushing boundaries with a title like Swingin’ lovers! But unfortunately not, it was just boring Vegas type tunes for Grandpa. I’ve never understood his appeal and I guess I never will

Many reviewers have complained that all the songs sound the same and I can’t disagree. This is fast becoming one of my pet peeves. I understand that bands have a signature sound but can they not mix it up a bit? They just sound like amped up Chili Peppers.

I never could understand all the hype about Nirvana and Cobain, but since the band and this album are so highly rated on 1,001 I figured it deserved a good listen. Well, I still don’t get all the hype. I also think you need to be a fan to like hearing them do stripped down versions of their hits because I think the studio versions are better. The best song on this album IMO is The Man Who Sold The World, and that’s Bowie song, so take that for what is worth.

The beauty of 1,001 is that it exposes you to artists that you probably would never listen to in your lifetime. Good or bad, its always educational. The other day it was Frank Sinatra, today its Napalm Death. I have to give these guys credit for their commitment to the craft. They've certainly carved out a unique niche for themselves with grindcore. This was an absolute and brutal assault on the senses but that's their point innit? I'd love to meet someone who listens to this for recreational purposes though, just to understand what's going through their head.

Methinks the 1,001 algorithms are have a bit of fun by giving me Napalm Death and Isaac Hayes back to back. But hey, variety is the spice of life and Hayes' Hot buttered soul album is one of my all-time favourite soul albums. Side A truly deserves the over-used and cliche'd adjective Epic. His cover of Burt Bacharach's Walk on by is a magnificent psychadelic trip and those string and vocal arrangements! As an aside, the Stranglers' cover of this same song is very different and equally good IMO as they give Bacharach's light pop song some real edge. Side B flails a bit, and gets a bit self-indulgent, so this baby gets a minor deduction and just misses perfection.

I’m not a fan of Big Band Jazz but I appreciate these well arranged songs and expert musicianship. This band is toight! Halfway thru it all sort of blends together and when the tempo slows down I got to catch my breath and enjoy Lil Darling. But those loud brassy horns don’t do it for me.

I managed to listen to the entire album and I confirmed that I'm just not a fan of Paul Simon's brand of folk/pop/rock. Something about his voice and his style just doesn't work for me.

This was fine, but in think White Lines was a better effort.

It takes great talent to sample from so many sources and then stitch them together into a(semi) coherent whole. So I must give them credit for that. I thought Since you left me and Psychiatrist were excellent, and I may have enjoyed the disco dance beats more, say 20 yrs ago when this first came out. My reference album for sampled music is still KLF’s seminal “Chill out” though. But this was still a pretty good effort

GSH has such a sweet voice, even when he’s simply speaking it’s mellifluous. I agree that Pieces of a man is a superior album and should have been on this list instead. I also prefer his last album, I’m not here to this. But his influence and artistry cannot be denied.

this was a tepid listen, easy listening pop jazz is not my jam.

Interestingly I've never owned or sat down to listen to the All-time best selling album, but since there was a shit-ton of top-10 singles from it I recognize most of the songs. I've tried to separate the artist from a pretty freaky human with peculiar proclivities for sleeping with young boys (PYT takes on a whole new meaning now) so I can say this is a pretty dog-gone good album. The production (by Quincy Jones), writing and performances are all top drawer. He read the room right and sensed that disco was on the way out so he included harder pop/rock songs and having Eddie Van-Halen do a guitar solo on Beat it was a stroke of genius and Billie Jean is a killer song no matter how you cut it. And then there's also the massive influence he had on the growth of MTV and music videos and dance choreography, even fashion, remember that red leather jacket and the glove? There are a few lame-ass songs on the album though and because of that it doesn't get a perfect score.

An interesting attempt at a rock opera concept album, but I think it wears out its welcome and got very repetitive fast and could have been shortened to just one album. I look forward to hearing their later efforts which are much better eg Quadrophenia

When I saw the clean Simple album cover I thought this was a modern EDM or electronic band. Wrong! Frenetic and very very samey. The pace didn’t let up and sound different until around the 10th song but by then I had tuned out. I think the Ramones did it much better

Let’s get it on is a great soul song. Full stop. Marvin found huge success with his OG hit What's going on two years prior and you can’t help but notice that he’s milking that theme for all that it’s worth. I found the rest of the album to be quite uninspiring. The lyrics are quite banal, for fun I tried counting how many times he sang the phrase “oooh Baby” but I lost count. An entire album about ballin’ is a bit much for me.

Since I'm a white collar Canadian I'm certainly not the demographic that Springsteen is targeting so its hard for me to relate to his songs about racing big V8s, working on the farm, and general Murican mythology. But I must say that this album is a landmark achievement in American Rock. Wiki tells me that he spent over 14 months in the studio recording this album, and over 6 months on the song Born To Run alone! Well he certainly got his "wall of sound" effect with standout performances by Roy Bittan on piano and Clarence Clemons on Sax. Bruce's gruff voice is in itself another instrument able to convey tremendous passion and emotion. There are many really solid songs on this album, but the highlight for me is Jungle Land with multiple tempo and mood changes. But his mic drop moment comes at the 8:38 mark when the piano builds to an incredible crescendo and he howls with incredible passion.... and that's why they call him The Boss. This could have been a 5 star album but it falters a bit with Night and She's the one, so there's a minor deduction for that.

Fun, irreverent West Coast hip hop that sounds like a cross between Frank Zappa's sophomoric lyrics and the Beastie Boys. I like this more laid back rap style that doesn't take itself so seriously, yes Gangsta Rap I'm looking at you. Sure, it was misogynistic and sophomoric, but it was a fun listen. My favourite track was Passing me by, its such a classic song and has also been sampled tons of times over the years, testament to how cool it is. I had to Google the lyrics of the songs and read along to appreciate their wit

Mama always told me that if you can’t say anything nice…. And seeing that this album was completed only 17 days before his death, I’ll bite my tongue. Suffice to say I’m still not a Leonard Cohen fan.

I just finished watching the series The Vietnam War in HD on Prime and that war ends in 1975 so this album which was also recorded in 75 fits right in with my mood. Lots of folks complain about Young’s voice but I think ol’ Shakey’s voice is part of his charm and distinguishes him from the rest. I’m Canadian so we naturally think he’s a national treasure and although I’m a big fan, I didn’t think there wasn’t any brilliant standout tracks on this record. I know it was written right after the death of two friends so it reflects a lot of grief and sadness, but I think he has many better records.

I’ll separate the music producer genius from the piece of shit here. There are only two Christmas albums that I can stand listening to, this one and Vince Guaraldi’s Charlie Brown Christmas. I must say the Wall of Sound here is amazing. Reading Wiki its also incredible how many other artists that he influenced. I love Veronica Bennett’s (the Ronnettes) voice. This is a classic Christmas record for a reason, but I did get creeped out when we got a personal message from Spector at the end of the record though.

It’s hard to believe I used to love this band, I must have listened to this record a thousand times when it first released. I even had a nice Patrick Nagel print hanging in my bedroom. But now I find Simon Lebon’s voice annoying AF and the arrangements very cheesy, esp that 80’s sax, ugh. They only song that I still like is Save a prayer because it’s the least formulaic sounding. The other new wave pop groups of the era did better work and don’t sound nearly as dated now, eg OMD, The Cure, Tears for Fears, The The etc.

This was much better than expected. I was never a fan of Janis Joplin but after listening to this full album I have a much better appreciation of her now. Summertime and Piece of my Heart are a wicked one-two punch and Ball and Chain is the knockout. I’m not crazy about the Robert Crumb artwork but I guess it’s iconic and emblematic of those hazy hippie days. After listening to this for the second time my 3 gets raised to a 4.

This was neither entertaining nor enjoyable. The most interesting song was the last one: Pas Mal, but it was too little too late, I already tuned out.

I remember seeing a video of them playing live years ago, crazy kinetic energy, I bet they would be super fun live. Ma and Pa is a really fun song and the best one on the album. But their adoption of so many styles in one album makes it less cohesive and somewhat gimmicky eg the Van Halen like cover of Freddie’s Dead and the EWF-esque Boning in the Boneyard.

She undoubtedly has a lovely voice. But the album wasn’t very inspiring, it was quite boring actually.

I’ve never been a fan of Shoegaze but since this album is so well regarded I made the effort to listen to it once again. Nope, still don’t like it. This takes the Wall of Sound concept to an entirely new level. One of my pet peeves is albums where every song sounds the same and this one is massively guilty. The only song that has any discernible melody was Soon, but it was the last song and once again it was too little, too late.

This just gives me bad memories from High School, especially Brian Johnson’s voice. Eg the intro to Hell’s Bells is alright, especially at a Basketball game, but when he starts singing I just have to shut it down. Sheesh.

This is a fun listen. I’ve had a few of their songs appear on my Spotify playlists, but listening to this entire album gives me a better appreciation for them. This early shoegaze is not as annoying as My Bloody Valentine because it’s more melodic and you can actually hear what they’re singing. There are so many influences here, or were they the influencers? I’m too lazy to check the timelines. I hear Weezer, Foo Fighters, Oasis, Beatles and Beach Boys harmonies. A lot of great indie rock here, particularly the Concept and Star Sign,

This was a surprisingly stripped down album from Drake, much different from the post punk sound that I’m accustomed to from him. Stuff that you would expect him to play at a friend’s funeral, and that is exactly what he actually did. This album allows his powerful voice to shine and his lyrics are even more poignant. However I found 52 minutes of basically the same mood and tempo to be a bit much.

Silly me, I got confused and thought the American Ryan Adams was the same person as the Canadian Bryan Adams. In my defense, I think its understandable given the similarities in their names and the generic formulaic rock that they both produce. Someone on this site aptly described Ryan as a smoother Bruce Springsteen and a less intelligent Neil Young. I'm not much for alt-Country Rock but this was a bit better than expected and I liked his less mainstream songs like Sylvia Plath and La Cienega. The rest was mostly forgettable though.

Malcolm McLaren is a certified genius. Kudos to him for capturing the zeitgeist of the era so well and creating and marketing a Boy Band for angry, disenfranchised and rebellious teens. They could barely play their instruments but it didn’t matter, this was all part of their schtick. Bands such as the Ramones or the Stooges actually has more talent. And coming up with Pro-wrestling like stage names like Johnny Rotten and Sid Vicious was another stroke of marketing genius. And like the saying goes, there’s no such thing as bad publicity. The semi controversial album name, “bollocks” getting banned by the BBC, mocking the beloved Queen, the wild hair and costume all added fuel to the fire and the the kids loved and lapped it all up. They were probably a handful to manage though, so poor Malcolm could only squeeze one studio album out of them before they self-destructed. And the album wasn’t half bad, it had a few memorable singles and it sold millions. This gets one star for the content and two for its huge influence on music and culture.

When Julian Cope was with the Teardrop Explodes they released Poppies in the Field which I really like so I was interested in hearing his solo work here. This album has some very interesting tracks, but as many here have complained this album is too long, and on Spotify we have the "Deluxe" extended edition which is even frigging longer! I couldn't maintain my attention for the duration of this Deluxe edition so it eventually was relegated to background music. If the filler had been culled this would have been a really great album. Safesurfer for example is a killer track.

Hazey Jane II is probably my favourite Nick Drake song. When listening to it I picture myself driving a convertible along the seaside on a sunny day with my long hair flowing in the wind, haha. The rest of the album is fine, very chill folk

This band is like the Fight Club movie, you either love it or you don’t. I’ve tried really hard to like this venerated post punk band but after every listen I still find them just ok. I would rather listen to some Sonic Youth or Pumpkins if I was in the mood for this genre. But I must admit that Frank Black is a great guitarist and he’s a great frontman with lots of energy. Like most folks on this site I think Where is my mind is the best track here, and Vamos was a bit experimental and a nice change of pace, but the rest of the album fails to move me much.

I was reading that they rejigged folk songs into this new genre of 60’s pop with harmonies. Quite impressive. Another interesting tidbit from Wiki was that the album cover showing the toilet was actually banned for being offensive! Wow. I find this flavour of vocal harmonies much more palatable than what the Beach Boys were doing. Wong Kar Wei used California Dreaming to brilliant effect in his Chungking Express, that song really made that film, it wouldn’t be the same without that song

Brian Eno and David Byrne are both certified musical geniuses in my book, so one would expect something really special when they collab on an album. They (mostly) deliver here with truly innovative (for its time) samples from obscure songs and exorcisms and add atmospheric African beats and rhythms. Some of it is brilliant like Jezebel, but some falls flat unfortunately. This album went on to influence a host of others that also sampled arcane audio recordings and imbue their sound with African grooves. Of note was KLF who did a bang up job with their seminal Chill Out album. This album sags a bit in spots so it’s a 3.5 to me but I’ll round up because of its groundbreaking sound and influence

If my kids ever want to embarrass me they’d just need to pull this album out and point to the silly hair, costumes and corny songs. Hard to believe I used to listen to this (incessantly) when I was younger. In the 80’s if you didn’t listen to Punk, this was your scene. There are a few songs with good hooks and the production by legendary producer Trevor Horn is pretty slick. But I gave Duran Duran’s Rio two stars so to be fair this get a deuce also.

Timeless album that certainly doesn't sound like its from 1984, and holds up really well today. I like how compact this album is, only 4 songs, no fat. I also like the joyous vibe from this album, really chill guitar especially on Pitche Mi and the brass isn't in your face like some of his contemporaries, eg Hugh Masakela and Fela Kuti.

This is nice proto-pop-punk, pretty accessible to the masses with decent energy and catchy melodies. These guys remind me of a blend of the Buzzcocks and the Ramones. Lead singer Feargal Sharkey went on to do more commercial material with the Assembly and Yazoo. Google "Never Never" by The Assembly if you want to hear how far he strayed from his punk roots. But the Undertones straddles the angry sound of the Sex Pistols and the more accessible pop punk that was yet to come.

I don't get all the hate for this, I found it to be quite good, but then again I'm a big fan of film scores/soundtracks. A really good soundtrack can elevate a crappy movie eg Gladiator. Some of my favourite albums of all-time are by the OG of film scores his-self, Ennio Morricone, and Hans Zimmer also made quite a few epic soundtracks in his early days, before he started turning out rubbish like Batman, Inception, Interstellar etc. When listening to Moss Side Story I can almost see a noirish detective movie with lots of shadows, wet streets and tension filled chases down dark alleys and stairs. Its too bad the film never got made.

Giant Steps - I immediately thought of John Coltrane's seminal album by the same name. Then I read the description, nope its not jazz its Shoegaze and Brit-Pop, yuk! I'm not a fan of those genres so I was expecting the worst. But what a nice surprise it turned out to be, this is a really good album. A lot of it is derivative from other bands but it all sounds very cohesive. Lazarus, White Noise, Wish I was skinny are all great, I can definitely favourite this on Spotify for future listenings.

I thought I would like this more since I'm a fan of the sad boy indie emo sound from groups like Sparklehorse, Sufjan Stevens, Grandaddy, Red house painters etc, but this didn't do much for me unfortunately. I tried really hard to like it but after the second time listening to it I found it to be inoffensive but still very meh.

I’m really done with Shoegaze. It seems that every other album that comes up is either Shoegaze or Brit-pop so this band is collateral damage.

Surfer Rosa was a fine debut album and they got even better with this their second. They released three solid singles from this album, and IMO Monkey is the best song in their canon. Unfortunately the rest of the album doesn’t live up to the same standard as the three singles so I “like” this album, which indicates a three star rating, but I don’t “love” it which would have bumped them up to four stars in my book.

Ok so notwithstanding the fact that the title track has been grossly overplayed it’s still a classic. Is not Don’s fault that everyone overplayed it amirite? It’s also one of the most annoying earworms ever, again that’s not Don’s fault. The song has some wonderful tempo changes throughout and I like the clever references to other bands: Byrds/eight miles high, Jack Flash/The Devil, Sargeants/Helter Skelter. The rest of the album is another matter though. Boring sleepy time sachrine that brings its overall score way down.

The colour palette on the album cover describes the music within very well, bland like oatmeal. And boy do they ever sound like a MOR knock off of Radiohead. I think I would still live a fruitful and rewarding life if I died without hearing this record too.

I wonder what Joy Division member Ian Curtis would think if he were alive to hear what his post punk group had morphed into? I was actually a big fan of early New Order and I think they made some of the best dance music in the early 80s. Blue Monday and their earlier albums like Movement, Substance, Low Life, Power Corruption and Lies etc were on heavy rotation for me back in the day. I really hope some of their earlier material appear on this list because I really lost interest in the band when this album came out. It seems that they completely lost their bearings after spending 4 months partying on Ibiza. Hell they even got caught stealing from John Denver’s Leaving on a Jetplane. Apart from Round & Round this album doesn’t appeal to me as it deviates too far from their post punk synth sound to appeal to a very commercial radio listener

She undoubtedly has lovely voice and I like her sense of humour and unflappability when she messed up her lines on Willow Weep for me. Also she gave a nice shout-out to her contemporary Ella Fitzgerald doing some scatting along the way. Her backing trio basically stays out of the way so the spotlight can shine on her which is fine. However, the material that she sings is pretty piss boring and not very cutting edge. 1957 was one of the greatest years in Jazz history and there was some really innovative jazz released that year, eg Thelonius Monk - Brilliant Corners, Miles - Round about Midnight, Cookin', and Walkin', Sonny Rollins - Way out West, Charles Mingus - The clown etc., I hope those albums appear on this list because I'd much rather listen to them than this middle of the road stuff.

I was a bit put off to learn that Otis only penned 3 out of the eleven songs so this is basically a cover album. He does a credible job covering them though and puts a nice spin on most of them. And today I learned that he wrote Respect. Aretha so totally owns that song that like many others I thought it was her baby. Go figure. This is a good album though.

This was a big departure from their debut ska album which I really like. Their debut had some killas like Rudy, Ghost Town and Gangsters and it really put them on the map along with the other big Brit ska band Madness. This album has a few fun songs though, and I think I'd like Enjoy Yourself to be played at my funeral (with a marching brass band N'awlins style). But I'm getting ahead of myself. Unfortunately there are a few duds on this album also so it only gets a 2.5, but I'll round up since I've been pretty miserly lately.

This was quite boring

Good lyrics and samples but it wore on me after awhile. It was a relief when Latin Lingo came on to shake things up a bit. This is a strong 2.5 and I was heatedly debating with myself whether to round up or down. I gave The Pharcyde and Outcast both a 3 but I think those two are better records so this gets a 2.

These guys really knocked it out of the park with Wolf like me on their debut album. This, their second album doesn’t have a similar killer track but it’s still pretty damned good. I love how they distill so many musical influences into a distinctive and unique sound. There really isn’t another group that sounds like TVotR, and I especially love the lead vocalist Tunde Adebimpe’s vocals, he’s got the perfect voice for the modern age. Released in 2008 this album sounds like it could have been released yesterday.

This is dark, raw and provocative. What’s with that album cover with the disembodied head? Do I think that she is good? Yes. Did I enjoy it? Nope.

This album gives the impression that the 60s were an innocent happy time when the sun shone everyday. But then they had the Vietnam war, several high profile political assassinations, the Cuban Missile crisis, etc so it wasn’t all just Beach parties with Gidget. Most of the album is pretty plain vanilla and not very exciting, except Groovin’ which is a real standout, You Better Run is also good.

This was a fine funk album from a white dude from London but nothing really stood out for me. The comparison to Stevie Wonder is not a surprise and I wish that he would mix up his singing style some more because all the songs basically sound very similar to each other.

I don’t like 60’s jangly guitars or harmonic singing so this album was a chore for me to get thru. Give me more 8 Miles and I’m good though

I detect hints of Glam-rock with Brit-pop top notes. It has a nice shoegaze finish but unfortunately the lead vocalist’s singing style leaves a bitter aftertaste. This hasn’t aged very well and should be returned to the cellar.

Today I learned that there's Tim Buckley and also a Jeff Buckley. And the reason that they sound so similar is because Jeff is Tim's son. What a time to be alive huh? Undeniably, Pops is a talented singer and songwriter, but personally I prefer Junior. I believe that Jeff's album -Grace is also on this list and its a better record IMO. The music on this album didn't hit me at all and I can't say I would ever pull out this record to listen to it voluntarily.

I think his sampling of Issac Hayes on Hell is Round the Corner is pretty damned cool. Its also the best song on the album IMO. My main beef with trip hop though is the cooler than thou vibe that it tries to project resulting in very detached, unemotional music that is best left to hotel lobbies or snotty fashion boutiques. I used to really like this genre when I was younger but now its not so alluring.

I'm not a fan of grunge but Sonic Youth's take on grunge is better than what was coming out of Seattle in the early 90s IMO. This album hits you with the a wall of sound in spots, eg Orange Rolls and Theresa's Sound-World and they really punk out with Nic Fit. I see they used 3, count 'em 3 guitars and it shows. Sugar Kane is the best song on this album IMO but it's not quite up there with Kool Thing or Teenage Riot. This is a decent effort from the yutes though.

There are a few artists that I respect because they’re good songwriters and lyricists but I hate their voice or their singing so I just can’t listen to them. This list includes Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Thom Yorke, and Morrissey. This guy is so whiney, he moans and complains on practically every song. He would not be fun at a dinner party.

This is a very good band with some high quality output. But you have to be in the mood for them though because Matt Berninger's deep baritone voice singing very melancholic songs for an entire album can wear on you after awhile. Personally I think their previous album Boxer was better but maybe High Violet is a grower and I need to listen to it more.

I was expecting to hear Drugs in my pocket when I saw that today’s album was by the Monks. But alas this is the 1966 Monks (US soldiers stationed in Germany) not the 1979 Monks (The Brit group Strawbs). This proto punk band must have been pretty rad in the 60’s as their sound is pretty unique and they feature a Hammond organ no less! I’ll give them credit for being groundbreaking.

This is such clichéd music. I tried to give it a fair shake but I had to fast forward through every single song. This review was done in about 9 minutes.

This was a nice find. I don't usually like acid jazz, but this has some nice downtempo beats with a laid back Brazilian samba vibe and also a bit of experimental electronic so it was a nice change from the usual insipid and pretentious lounge music that’s so prevalent out there. I listed to it twice, once with headphones while spinning and also at my desk while working and I can say that it sounds a lot better with headphones on.

this was a miss for me, nothing really grabbed me and like most have noted this album is waaay too long at 71 mins.

Someone mentioned that this is like Pavement meets the Pixies and that is a very apt description. I must say I like their later albums better, eg Feel the pain is probably my fave Dinosaur jr song, and I’m a huge fan of J Mascis’ solo work which is very different from their early noise rock sound. Don’t could be traumatizing to listen to.

Oh boy, Johnny cleaned up real good for the album cover didn’t he. I’m not quite sure what message he’s trying to send, but there’s a message there for sure. Punk is dead perhaps? And the music is all Anti capitalism anti religion perhaps. It’s good that he moved away into post punk though because the Pistols burned out pretty fast. He explores some interesting tropes here but they’re not quite fully fleshed out. Interesting album but not my cuppa

I've heard their singles over the years but I've never had a chance to listen to the full album previously but I'm happy to discover that this is a really good album! I've been listening to Damon Albarn lately but I'm not as familiar with his early stuff with Gorillaz but this seems to be a great place to start. Love the nods to Ennio Morricone and Augustus Pablo's recorder on Clint Eastwood and Tomorrow comes today. Really good arrangements and clever writing throughout. Nice to see that this still sounds pretty fresh despite the fact that its over 20 yrs old.

This was ok, The Singles are decent but nothing here really gets me excited. Shirley Manson uses a distinct snarl in her singing that sounds very mid-90’s and dated today

Wiki shows that Stuart Price has produced a lot of albums for big artists. He should stick to just producing records IMO. This is one of those albums that makes you wonder what the authors of 1001 Albums were thinking when they included this as it really adds nothing new and there's nothing here that we haven't heard before. Propah good EDM bands like Daft Punk don't have anything to worry about here.

Well this was certainly different. I'm not a big fan of this genre but it was better than expected. The ironic lyrics and nice orchestration gave it a passing grade.

I previously complained that the earlier Cohen material sounded so bloody gloomy. He must have heard me so he tried to update his sound and make it more upbeat. Unfortunately this sounds like what middle-aged suburban housewives would listen to. So campy that I was cringing. Some of my esteemed friends love Leonard Cohen but I, for the life of me cannot understand the appeal.

Tom Waits is about as polarizing an artist you can get. I see lots of 1s and 5s here. It’s so hard to peg his style and that’s probably what I like most about him. But I get it, he’s not for everyone and is an acquired taste. Art rock, blues, jazz, spoken world, you name it, it’s here. This is a minor masterpiece.

Another album that really makes me wonder what drugs the Authors of 1001 were on when they included this Yeah I get that it ushered in the Brit Garage genre, but thank Gawd that execrable genre had a relatively short life. This is a boring album.

After a week of receiving dubious albums this was a nice surprise. I'm a big fan of music from Mali but there's no delicate string sounds of the Kora here, this is predominantly pretty heavy blues infused electric guitar. Wiki shows that they started out covering Ali Farka Toure, but despite having the same surname there isn't any relation. I guess Toure is the Smith of Mali. I shake my head when I read that many folks dismissed this album because they don't understand the lyrics. I guess they're also the same folks that also don't watch foreign flicks with subtitles. Oh well, their loss, they're missing out on some pretty soulful and glorious music.

This is some surprisingly nuanced post hardcore punk. They show some really good writing and their musicmanship is also pretty good. Their sound is pretty stripped down and fairly straightforward, just a guitarist/vocalist, bass player and drummer but they all rock out pretty good. Repeater shows some great chops and Song 1 sounds like a punked out Beastie Boys.

Long time lurker, first time listener ... to an entire Eminem album. Whoa this is one angry white dude. His lyrical dexterity is pretty impressive though, he seemingly can make any sentence rhyme and he sprays the room with words like it’s from an AK47. His misogynistic, homophobic and sophomoric schtick gets old after awhile though, or is he actually railing against all that, dunno because it’s a fine line. Dude needs to chill a bit though. I thought Stan which sampled Dido was nice.

I respect her for standing alongside Neil Young in protesting against Rogan, and since she’s a Canadian legend, I tried, I really tried. But I really can’t get past her voice and her annoying vibrato yodelling skatting singing style. Her voice just overshadows her reportedly wonderful lyrics and song writing. Sorry.

I had forgotten just how good this album was. A very impressive debut album that really showed their range, they can really rock out, post punk and then switch to a nice top 40 ballad. Everyone talks about Brass in Pocket but maybe I've heard it too much because I think a lot of the other songs are better. They even managed to out Police the Police on Private Life and then they close out the album magnificently with an absolute killer song - Mystery Achievement. OMG that driving bass plus the guitar solo at the end! The common denominator in all the songs though, the glue that holds it all together, is Chrissie Hynde's incredible voice. I see that she wrote most of the songs too, so extra kudos to her.

Folksy 60s music is just not my bag.

I really enjoy psychadelic music, from its early origins with Pink Floyd to spacey ambient music and Jazz like Sun Ra which they cite as influences. But I find this to be neither here nor there, and quite boring. I think they get a bit better in their later incarnation as Spiritulized, but in this current state it’s just half baked.

Wow, this album is 35 yrs old, this is OG as OG gets. Its interesting how rap has changed over the years but its still a fun and somewhat cheezy romp. I hate Aerosmith but I must say this restyling of Walk this way is pretty good and a helluva lot better than the original version.

Morrissey is like a few other talented douchie artists out there, yes I'm talking to you Van Morrison. Its hard to separate the art from the artist, but yet we must try to preserve the integrity of 1,001 rating system. That being said, I really find Morrissey's voice annoying and he seems to put out albums with one decent song and the rest is just dreck. Eg on this album its Everyday is like Sunday. On The Queen is Dead its only saved by There is a light that never goes out. Unfortunately one good song does not an album (that you have to listen to before you die) make.

Why do all these groups doing this electro/ trance / ambient dreck all have similar names and sound the same, William Orbit, The Orb, Orbital? Not very original IMO. Its also hard to distinguish them from each other because not only do they have similar names but they all seem to play the same cheezy dated electro music that you typically hear at a posh hotel bar or poolside.

I see that lots of folks love this album but it simply did not resonate with me.

There's a lot of hate for Coldplay and I can see why, to me they're U2 for the older crowd that likes mellow mainstream rock. If I close my eyes I can definitely see them playing to a huge stadium crowd that's holding up lighters. Clocks is a very good song with a great hook, but unfortunately the rest of the album is very plain oatmeal. But hey, it sells. If not for Clocks this would get 2 stars

This is their debut album and it really shows. We recently got Raising Hell and that was vastly superior to this very simplistic and low budget sounding record. I must give them props for being major influencers and trailblazers in this genre though.

Kudos to her for being brave enough to release an acapella album. She gathers an eclectic mix of artists including human beat-box Rahzel and Inuit throat singer Tanya Tagac. She references many styles including Gregorian Chants and Bulgarian women's choir music. Overall its a pretty impressive and ambitious project, but in all honesty I would never seek this record out for listening pleasure, its just a bit too inaccessible for me.

The title track is a pretty iconic psychedelic rock anthem, but the rest of the album doesn't quite stand up and sounds horribly dated today.

I can appreciate that he's got good song-writing skills and has street cred being that he was one of the founders of the Velvet Underground, but this really did not resonate with me.

Many of the reviews here use the terms: raw, sleazy, gritty, loud and they're all apt. This proto-punk record influenced a lot of subsequent bands so it has to be recognized, but much if it is repetitive and the closing song, LA Blues is close to being unlistenable. This is the type of music that definitely needs to be listened live to see the skinny shirtless white guy prancing about the stage to be fully appreciated. I must admit I prefer Iggy when he collabed with Bowie in the late 70s in the Berlin Years and his Party album in the 80s when he mellowed out and refined his sound.

The obvious comparisons here are Tommy and Sgt Peppers. I see that this album predates Tommy but was released just a year after Sgt Peppers, but nevertheless it’s a pretty impressive and an ambitious proto-rock opera. I’ve never heard this album before so it was a nice surprise. It doesn’t have the complexity of the Beatles but I think it could be a grower.

I assume that in the 50’s this orchestral jazz would be considered pop to appeal to the masses. Personally I find that every song sounds the same and I prefer the more edgy sound of the Be-bop or Hard bop era. Holiday’s voice is also an acquired taste, and apparently I haven’t acquired it yet.

She had a tough early life with that douche Ike, but she's a survivor and kudos to her. She was also smart to team up with some pretty slick producers, Rupert Hine and Martyn Ware, who were some of the best in the biz in the 80s and they put out this monster album full of poppy hooks and covers of some fan favourites that sold a shit-ton and got lots of air-play so again, good for her. But musically this is really not my jam, too cheezy and AOR for me. I much prefer her material when she was doing R&B and more edgy rock. They didn't call her the Queen of rock and roll back then for nothing. Unfortunately this is smaltz.

This is getting close to Peak Beatles. There are a lot of really solid songs on this album as Lennon really comes into his own as a master songwriter here with Norwegian Wood, Nowhere Man, and probably the most beautiful song he’s ever written with In My Life. Must be the effect of all that acid he reportedly took during this time. This would get a five but for a few clunkers, especially What Goes On, they really should keep Ringo away but I guess they had to throw him a bone.

Back in the day when this came out I was wow'ed that they sampled the iconic melody from Trans Europe Express. They also gave sly nods to YMO and Ennio Morricone so they scored some major points in my book. So although this is arguably one of the most influential proto-rap and hip hop records, the rest of the album doesn't quite hold up well today. The cheesy lyrics, drum beats and scratching sound pretty antiquated. So this is a 2 but +1 for having the audacity to sample Kraftwerk.

It started out pretty good, but 90+ mins of this Joe Walsh sound-alike band was too much to bear. That Canadian, Neil Young did the Southern Rock thing much better IMO.

Sting once said, there's nothing wrong with Pop music because there's Good Pop and there's Bad Pop, I would consider this to be Good Pop. Everyone seems to talk about King of Pain (with over 1m listens on Spotify!) but I think the best song on this album is Wrapped around your finger, with its somewhat atmospheric/ pseudo-dub sound which builds to an emotional crescendo several times in the song. Also kudos to them for experimenting with a bit of jazz in Murder by Numbers, but it foreshadows Sting's soft rock sound that he would employ ad nauseum a few years later. I'm not sure why they stuck Mother in there though, its just experimental filler.

A real cacophony of Art-noise here. But there’s no Teenage Riot, Dirty Boots or Kool Thing on this album to hang onto. Some of the experimental noodles are very interesting but this album doesn’t spark as much joy in me as some of their other albums such as Goo and Daydream Nation which I gave both 4s so this is a 3.

There are a few Live Concerts where it would be remembered for the rest of your life. I think this one would be on that list. Sam Cooke is just a fantastic vocalist and he made such happy songs that folks love to sing along to.

The only good thing about this album is Nile Rodgers' signature guitar riffs. Unfortunately everything else on it is unintentionally campy and cheesy.

I sure hope that the PSB's previous four albums appear on this list because they are all superior than this one. My favourite was their debut, Please which spawned 4 killer singles, including the iconic West End Girls. Wiki tells me that this album was their first album to go to No. 1 on the UK charts, so I guess that's telling. I really didn’t enjoy this "new" commercial sound that they adopted for this album. Not a single banger on the entire album.

This was a nice surprise. I listened to it twice and found it Multi-layered and nuanced. I liked the more atmospheric and experimental tracks more.

When I was in high-school Yes was my favourite group so I reckon I've listened to this album several hundred times and can play all of the songs on air guitar with my eyes closed. This is close to peak Yes, their Zenith would be their next album Close to the Edge, but this is still pretty damned good. Get 'em while you can because unfortunately they go to shit in the 80s starting with Drama. However, I can thank Yes for opening my mind and ears and allowing me to appreciate Jazz, Classical and experimental music. I also like how on this album, each band member composes at least one track which naturally highlights their extraordinary musicmanship. Standouts are South Side of the Sky, The Fish, Long Distance Runaround, and Heart of the Sunrise. Roundabout isn't a bad single either.

Gimmicky power pop that wasn't very good in the studio and even worse live. I really wonder what the authors were thinking when they included this in the list.

This is seminal synth-pop. A logical evolution from Kraftwerk with enough danceable hooks and melodies to make it appealing to the masses. I think they did it better than many of their contemporaries, eg Duran Duran, Gary Numan and Depeche Mode. I really like it when they get a bit darker on Seconds. They only had relatively simple electronic instruments but they really make the best of it with some very humanistic melodies.

This brand of progressive soul / alt R&B isn't my cuppa but when this album was released back in 2010 I remember that my socks were blown off when I first listened to it. I was really impressed by her ambitious audacity and her creativity. To base a series of albums on the 1927 Fritz Lang film Metropolis featuring a messianic android sent to free the citizens of Metropolis is pretty damned ambitious. The production of this album, the music videos, costumes and orchestration are also top shelf. I wonder who was bankrolling this debut album?

This was quite alright, but as many others have mentioned, Take me out is a good single, but apart from that much of the album sounds very samey. I won't be inspired to seek this out anytime soon.

Lanois and Eno are favs of mine but they're totally wasted on this feeble effort from U2. This album reeks of a tired old band simply phoning it in to fulfill their contract obligations to the record company. Its funny how this band really brings out the hate in people.

Back in '97 I can see this being a well received album because the drum and bass beats and trip hop still sounded pretty cool back then. I see that he also did the soundtrack to Soderbergh's Out of Sight, which was a great caper film with a pretty good soundtrack too. Since Holmes is from Belfast he probably thought inserting the ramblings from various NYC street people would be interesting, but the novelty wears off fast for me. Rodney Yates has a nice chill vibe, but I think the best track is Don't Die Just Yet where he samples and channels the uber cool Serge Gainsbourg.

Nice slappy bass and funky grooves. Sly was apparently stoned out of his gourd when recording this so his vocals here aren’t his best work, I think Stand was a better record overall but this has some nice moments.

This is a pretty good post punk record, but the title song Marquee Moon just elevates this album to iconic status. The guitar interplay between Verlaine and Richard Lloyd is just the stuff of legend. The song sounds like it ends 3-4 times but it just keeps going and building into sonic musical bliss. If there was ever a song that deserves the descriptor Fucking Epic, it’s Marquee Moon.

This was quite an audacious debut by a bunch of Jewish kids from NYC who loved hip hop and rock. Brash and obnoxious lyrics delivered with an "in yo face" style. Sampling Black Sabbath and Led Zep on She's Crafty and When the Levee Breaks no doubt adds to their street cred. Eminem said this album changed Hip Hop and who am I to disagree.

Today I learned that a bandoneon isn't an accordion. I was never a big fan of Piazzolla's brand of tango / jazz and although Gary Burton adds some welcome variety, this album didn't resonate with me.

I've always found that Radiohead albums take an extra bit of effort for me to get into them. But once I get over Thom Yorke's whiney voice I can say that the music is undoubtedly nuanced and complex and they certainly have musical chops. This album is very understated and nothing jumps out at you, but there are some very good keepers here, including Weird Fishes/Apeggi, Videotape, and Nude.

Like a caterpillar metamorphosing into a butterfly, this is a beautiful transitional album for Talk Talk. Mark Hollis is slowly moving the band from their early synth-pop to a more progressive, atmospheric sound and they’re getting there on this album. They will peak with their later albums, Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock but this is a fine effort.

Neil Young is arguably the greatest Canadian musician ever. I really can't think of anyone that can compare with his prolific output of consistently great music over so many years. Wiki describes Harvest as his "signature" album, and that's apt since it has a few of his most popular songs on it. As good as this album is though it still has a few filler songs, so it just misses out on a perfect 5 score according to my admittedly overly rigid scoring criteria.

Neil Young really knocks it out of the park with this album with three incredible songs: Cinnamon Girl, Down by the River and Cowgirl in the Sand. I like the other country/folk songs less but when he rocks out there's nothing like it. The guitar counter play and solo on Cowgirl is simply brilliant and iconic Young.

Röyksopp are like a commercial version of Boards of Canada, who I dislike so they don’t have too much going for them. Mindless, cold, detached and incredibly boring electronica.

Despite the rather long and pretentious title, this is a pretty good debut album by the Tribe. Back in the day, all these samples would have been cool. Bonita Applebaum and Kick it are highlights.

Intro is the best intro song of all time. There I said it. It's also the best song of the album, pity that its less than 3 mins, but then again it leaves you wanting more. When this debut album from The xx was first released I thought it was Everything But the Girl for the aughts, it captured the zeitgiest of the time perfectly: spare, subdued, melancholic, minimalist and disaffected vocals. 13 years later the world has changed and this unfortunately sounds somewhat dated.

Smooth vocals with some fine beats. I never cease to be amazed by how many people dismiss a musician just because they don’t understand the lyrics. I guess these ppl also don’t listen to any instrumental music or watch films with subtitles either. Their loss.

When Stevie lays down some funky grooves eg Too High, Living for the City, Higher Ground he's at his best. But when he veers from that path and gets all sacchariney and mainstream I lose interest fast. So I thought half the album was great, the other half was meh.

Seminal sampling album, its hard to tell what influenced DJ Shadow and what he influenced because this is such a mish mash. I enjoyed Building Steam the most. This album would probably be even more impactful if I listened to it cranked up with headphones, there's some thunderous bass here.

This album starts off with a bang with the frenetic African polyrhythms of Born Under Punches. Fela Kuti’s influence is unmistakeable. The chemistry of the band and guests is also magic in a bottle: Eno, Belew, Hendryx and Hassell’s trumpet! The intensity is maintained with the next few songs: Crosseyed, The Great Curve and Once in a lifetime. In particular Adrian Belew’s guitar is astonishing on the Great Curve. The pace slowly gets turned down with each successive song but the incredible quality of the songs is maintained throughout right to the end. Seen and not Seen is the perfect bridge between the more upbeat African polyrhythmic songs to the two sonic masterpieces The Listening Wind and The Overload. Talking Heads put out many really great albums but this is their very best, and that is saying a lot. One of my favourite albums of all time.

I’m lactose intolerant so I can’t handle this much cheese. But I must admit they do have nice singing voices.

I like how they reference schlocky chop socky Kung Fu movies from the 70s and the album title is pretty damned cool, but I didn't care much for the music. A bit too raw and minimalist for me.

When Ry Coder travelled to Havana to record a collab featuring Malian and Cuban musicians there was a last minute glitch when the Africans had visa issues so he went ahead and recorded just the Cubans. Fortunately for us, he captured the sounds of some aging local legends before they disappeared and left this gem for us to enjoy. The highlight of the album by far is Chan Chan which is the opener and sung by the octogenarian Compay Segundo. The rest of the album kinda meanders a bit and showcases the local repertoire and it also captures a wonderful performance by Reuben Gonzalez who unfortunately died a few years after this record was released. Overall, this is a solid outing and a fine example of Cuban Trova and Filin songs.

Hip hop is not my favourite genre but dang, this is a great album. I also like his To Pimp a Butterfly but I think this album is almost its equal. This record is nuanced, layered and complex and that's just what I've picked up while listening to it in the background while I work so I haven't even begun to really dig into his lyrics and masterful storytelling.

The album cover jarred me back to some bad 80s clubs and parties that involved dubious fashion choices. There were some moments in the 80s that are best forgotten and this album is on that list. Like WTF were they thinking back then? Cheesy, cliched lyrics and licks that add nothing to music history IMO and I can't understand for the life of me why this album is on this list.

this album features decent performances by all band members and also from Billy Corgan who helped write a few of the songs. Overall it's a fine grunge album, but unfortunately I was never a bing fan of grunge.

Early Sonic Youth is pretty raw, dissonant, experimental and somewhat disturbing so it takes some effort to get into it. I must admit that I prefer their latter material such as Sister, Goo, Daydream and Rather Ripped which is more melodic and less dissonant. Its interesting that Wiki describes them as moving from their experimental No Wave roots to a greater pop sensibility because I only hear No Wave here and no pop at all.

The legendary guitars on Maggot brain is the highlight here

This is quite an audacious debut album and I think her rendition of Gloria surpasses Van Morrison’s in terms of passion and emotion.

This album, along with Power Corruption and Lies is peak New Order. By their third album they've made a complete and smooth transition from dark, post-punk to producing perhaps the best dance music ever released in the mid-eighties. There are some real classics here and that despite having some dated 80's hooks and motifs, it still holds up remarkably well. In particular The Perfect Kiss is indeed a perfect dance song for a nice summer day. Love Vigilantes and Sooner than you think are also very strong tracks.

I'm so glad to find Tortoise on this list as they're not very well known, but are one of my favourite post-rock bands. The bandleader and multi-instrumentalist John McEntire has been so influential in the post-rock world lending his hand to some great groups such as the Sea and Cake, Gastr del sol, and many of Jim O'Rourke's works. The music here is complex, multi-layered and very atmospheric. I think their next album, TNT is slightly better (with one of my all time fav songs I set my face to the hillside), but Millions is also a real gem.

There are a few albums that are really highly regarded and highly rated but I just don’t get. This is one of them. I think I’ve listened to this 10 times over the years but I still don’t like it. I particularly dislike Nico’s voice and think her rendition of All tomorrow's parties is horrible. I think I’ll just have to agree to disagree with all the fans of this record.

Back in the day, local Toronto radio station had the Punk band the Buzzcocks on heavy rotation. But punk fizzled pretty quickly and it was time for something new so bandleader Howard Devoto left and formed the Post-Punk band, Magazine. This album bridges the gap between punk and new-wave nicely with a liberal dose of synths, keyboards, and guys who could actually play their instruments. Since this was their debut their sound wasn't fully fleshed out yet but they still had some good ideas, IMO The Light Pours out of me is the strongest song on the album and should have been released as the single. The rest of the album is pretty decent, but I'm really looking forward to their latter albums which feature their best music, eg Song from under the floorboards and About the weather.

Not my jam

I guess Rumours was a tough act to follow because this is a pretty mediocre effort. The only bright spot were Stevie Nicks and Christine McVie who both have really lovely voices. It's almost unfair for one band to have two solid lead vocalists such as these two. A surfeit of riches really. Apparently the band was going through some turmoil during this time and it shows, this album is pretty uneven and damned long. Even the album cover is quite underwhelming.

This wasn't bad, but it's really not my jam so I couldn’t get thru it. But what I heard was a solid 2

This album is a departure from Harvest and it again shows the genius of Neil Young. Throughout his long career he’s often diverged from the path and explored a new theme with a different style of music, but he always pulls it off spectacularly. This album keeps it relatively simple but the songs hit, and some hit hard! Not only is he a Canadian legend, but he’s one of the all time greats.

Nothing interesting. Ferrell’s voice is also grating. A nope for me.

This early 90s acid house / rave party sound has really outlived its welcome. Really uninspired, boring and most notably a very dated sound. If I never hear another record sounding like this before I die I would be a very happy man.

I'm embarrassed to say that this was one of the first albums I owned and since I didn't have too many records in my collection at the time I actually liked it and played this one to death. I guess my musical taste has matured because I now find everything about this record to be cringeworthy, from the horrible cover/costumes, the cliched lyrics and hooks and just gawd-awful singing. The only song that is passable is Detroit Rock City which manages to rescue this album from a goose-egg to a 1.

This is an impressive debut album from Ms Chapman. Her song-writing and lyrics are impassioned and she pours her heart out, especially for the two singles which are the best songs on the album. The rest of the album wasn't up to the same standard, but overall it is a strong effort.

These garage punks really rock out with lots of energy. If they mixed it up a bit more like on The Hives are Law it would have held my interest more though.

I can’t say enough about Papa was a rolling stone. It’s a monster song of epic proportions. They threw everything into it, brilliant song-writing, singing and orchestration and it results in one of the greatest funk/soul R&B songs of all time. The rest of the album doesn’t rise to the same level unfortunately, and its just mediocre filler.

Did they say Thrash or Trash Metal? This just gave me a frigging headache.

Personally I don't like anything fusion. I hate fusion food and fusion music is the same. In many cases 1+1 equals less than 2. I do like symphonic music and I think Metallica is one of the better metal bands out there but combining these two was a pretentious marketing gimmick gone awry. There are a lot of 1 star ratings here that I agree with so I won't re-hash them, but I agree with all the harsh ratings, this is an over-bloated, over-long money-grabbing mess.

This album is lush and complex. It foreshadows quirky, witty and nuanced indie groups like Dirty Projectors, Grizzly Bear, The Antlers etc. XTC was definitely ahead of their time.

I recently watched and enjoyed the very lengthy and detailed documentary Brian Eno- The man who fell to earth 1971-1977. So I was happy to see this album which was produced at the end of this period before the branched out with his solo ambient works which are a completely different kettle of fish. I think the last three albums that he produced in this period, which includes Taking Tiger Mountain and Another Green World are amongst his very best. Eno's stature in the business is apparent simply by how many crack musicians he was able to gather together on this record: Fripp, Frith, Roedelius, Moebius, Jaki Leibezeit, Conny Plank, Phil Manzanera... Wow! Side 1 of this record rocks out more, and Side 2 is more languid and pastoral and foreshadows the ambient themes that was to come. The highlight for me is By This River, which is so simple, yet one of the most beautiful songs ever written. The Satie-esque piano and his gentle humming typically stays in my head days after listening to it.

While listening to this I was looking at my notes to Born to Run and trying to decide which was the better album, but it's a toss-up. Roy Bittan on piano and Clarence Clemons on sax are featured prominently on both records to good effect. Bruce also continues with his paean to Mid-American working class hero. I didn't live that life, but I can almost experience it vicariously through his heart-felt music.

That drum and bass and those vocal are annoying as hell.

It’s too bad this isn’t an instrumental album because Johnny’s excellent guitar playing is Marred by Morrisey’s brooding, whining voice.

This is a decent debut post punk record with Rescue being the highlight. Their later albums are better eg with the Killing Moon, but they get an extra point for being one of the pioneers of the post punk sound with driving bass / guitars and drums. I do think the Cure and New Order were on a higher level though.

For me the frustrating thing about Wilco, is despite their huge talent they produce albums with maybe one or two absolutely monster songs, but the rest of the album is essentially mediocre filler. Case in point - A Ghost is Born has At least that's what you said; Yankee Hotel Foxtrot has Jesus etc/Kamera; Summerteeth has How to fight loneliness; Wilco (the album) has I'll fight, and Sky Blue Sky has Impossible Germany/Either way, I could go on but you get the idea. If they put out a Greatest Hits album it would be absolutely essential listening as it would weed out all the dreck. Since Being There is only their second album, they still haven't fleshed out their sound despite this being 19 songs long. This album promises a bright future but it doesn't quite excite me.

I first got introduced to Brazilian music when I picked up David Byrne's excellent Luaka Bop series in the early 90s and Jorge Ben was featured prominently on the Brazilian Classics discs. Ponta de lanca Africano (Umbabaruama) is a classic track that doesn't seem to age. I also love Jorge Ben's smooooth voice, come to think of it all Brazilian singers seem to have velvety smooth voices, dunno if its the culture or the language that causes this. Taj Mahal is a playful tune and its more fun than Rod Stewart's knock-off.

Gotta acknowledge the ground-breaking beats and lyrics and how influential this album was when it was released 30 yrs ago. However, I'm not a huge fan of hip hop so I found it overly repetitive. But again, this was a biggie.

For the life of me I can't understand why Aerosmith is on this list, surely there are more worthy bands. I particularly hate this brand of screamo pop rock and Steven Tyler's vocals. Nothing redeeming here folks, keep moving.

Chicago really jumped the shark at around Chicago X , but before that they really kicked ass. The singles from this album are great: Does anybody really know what time it is, Beginnings and I'm a man. But I've never sat down to listen to this entire album so I was pleasantly surprised to see that it's more experimental than their later sacchariney-sweet offerings. Introduction has a really nice segue into nice horn and guitar solos. Questions 67 and 68, Listen are very good and Poem 58, Free form guitar and Liberation rock out in psychedelic bliss reminiscent of some of the old Zappa guitar solos. But I think you have to be of a "certain age" to enjoy them.

Quirky and disjointed post punk with dub influences. I heard it thru the grapevine is an inspired cover but the rest of the album doesn’t excite me much.

Landmark proto-heavy metal blues album that is stacked with all stars before they were stars. Rod Stewart almost steals the show from Beck here, how does a 20 yr old guy have such a raspy voice? Must be from lots of Dunhills and booze. Whatever, it suits the music perfectly. Although many of the songs are covers Beck reinterprets them well and makes them his own. You can hear how Zep was influenced by this sound but I actually prefer this to Led Zep.

This debut album from this post Brit-pop band is pretty ok innit. They are insouciant and full of attitude and it comes out in their music. Just when Brit-pop was waning in the early 80s the Monkeys came to the rescue with a more aggressive, harder sound. There's some decent guitar and drumming on this record.

I had this record on high rotation when it was released back in 78, its incredible to think that its 44 years old! This astonishingly good debut album was instrumental in ushering the New Wave movement. Side 1 starts off with 3 bangers but the momentum flags a bit with I'm in touch and Don't cha stop. But they make it up on Side 2 with four of the most iconic new wave songs that seem to flow together so naturally: You're all I've got tonight, Bye Bye Love, Moving in Stereo and All Mixed up. If it wasn't for the two fillers this album would score five stars easily.

This album marks their evolution towards psychedelic soul which would later result in their monster song Papa was a rollin' stone. The second side leans towards their traditional Motown side and is pretty ok. I really tried to like this so I listened to it 3 times and found that this album is pleasant enough but nothing to knock your socks off either.

Ugh, I’m Not a fan of this type of Britpop

I think Elvis Costello's best work appeared on his first three albums. His debut album is my fav but his second album - This year's model features some real bangers with sweet hooks: This year's girl, The Beat, Pump it up, I don't want to go to Chelsea, Lipstick Vogue and Radio Radio. These songs were veritable anthems in the pop-punk era.

I'm a bit late to the Radiohead party but after repeated listenings its slowing worming its way into my head. I think OK Computer is more accessible, and Kid A is a shift towards a more experimental sound, but it is equally good if you give it a chance. I like the Mingus influence in The National Anthem and Everything in its right place is a pretty good song to kick off the album.

It was nice to recognize the theme to Vikings here. Scandinavian artists just seem to put out the most creative and different sounding albums and this one is certainly unique sounding. This has a Bjork vibe but much more accessible, I quite like it and will check out her former band Knife as well.

This was very good, until it wasn’t. There are 10 songs so this is easy to rate. It kicks off with a bang with Don’t stop, and doesn’t let up with some great pop-funk for the next 5 songs. But then he falls off a Cliff with four maudlin saccharine coated dirges. He manages a slight redemption with the last song, Burn this Disco Out. It’s just too bad that he couldn’t maintain the quality of the first 6 songs.

I’m definitely not a fan of Grunge and Soundgarden. People love the guitars and the vocals but I really couldn’t get thru this.

Ugh, more Brit-pop

If I listened to this rap metal style when I was much younger I may have fallen for the soft/quiet -> hard/loud -> soft/quiet changes within most of the songs, but now I find it to be cliched and just plain gimmicky. So... nope.

This is a solid follow-up only 8 months after their audacious debut album. You can see that they've been working on their song writing skills even though only 8 out of the 14 songs are originals. But these originals are pretty damned good, Although Beatle-mania had started, I don't think anyone had any inkling of the mega-ton atomic explosion that was coming from their subsequent albums and how they would shape music history in a few years.

I really like Womack's early soul offerings such as Across 110th Street (what a great song to kick off Tarantino's Jackie Brown). He's a prolific songwriter with a great raspy voice, but this 80s shiny suit pop soul doesn't do anything for me unfortunately.

I’ve never been a big fan of Led Zep so 1,001 has forced me to listen to a Zep album for the first time in its entirety. Turns out it wasn’t too bad and I recognize most of the songs. I find the heavy blues / hard rock mix to be interesting, but I can do without Plant’s shrill vocals.

The themes here about Satan, blood, death etc are so cliched that this almost seems like a parody album, but I think the metal heads that revere this album will be seriously offended by that comment. This record is incredibly repetitive but also mercifully short.

I was really happy to see this record appear on this list because it was such a huge influence on developing my musical tastes, I particularly love the ambient/tribal sounds of Obatala and Legba. This was made years before Paul Simon (similarly stole from South African musicians) but I won’t go there. This is also worlds away from the Sex Pistols and it is one of the groundbreaking records that ushered in hip hop, even though the scratching and lyrics are pretty dated. McLaren gets an extra point for recruiting some top shelf talent - Trevor Horn, Anne Dudley, and JJ Jeczalik who would go on to form the 80s seminal group, The Art of Noise, and also notable pop culture artist Keith Haring for the album cover.

This album by a bunch of Riot Grrls is pretty cool. It pre dates another feminist band that I really love- Electrelane but they can both rock out real good. It starts off with a real bang with Deceptacon but lags a bit after that but I did enjoy their witty lyrics and social commentary.

If Billie Holiday put out a record in 2006 I suspect it would sound much like this, with a blend of unique vocals, motown/blues and lyrics about drug abuse. This is a solid album and Rehab, You know I'm no good and Back to Black are fine, but the rest of the songs kind of blend together with no distinguishing marks.

Brazilian singers have the most mellifluous voices and I think Caetano Veloso is the smoothest of them all. This debut album by him would go perfectly with lounging on Ipanema beach on a beautiful sunny morning while sipping a pina colada. This is a decent debut but its a bit inconsistent and it doesn't features any keepers like his later material, eg O Leaozinho, or Sonho Meu. But that voice.... ahhh.

I didn’t have time for a proper listen but what I heard was Heartfelt, passionate and soul baring. Billy Jack and So I love were great. First impression is 3 stars but I think when I listen to it more carefully I might find it to be as good as Superfly so I’ll bump the score up another point now.

I think the single Take Five was the song that first got me into Jazz, many years ago. This is one of my favourite jazz albums and is arguably one of the most influential ever, its right up there with Kind of Blue and Giant Steps. Incorporating some unusual time signatures and crack playing by Brubeck, Desmond and Morello it has really stood the test of time and it still sounds fresh today.

This was an angry dystopian onslaught of noise that I found virtually unlistenable.

Everytime I listen to this record I'm immediately impressed with the first few songs: Wesley's Theory, For Free, King Kunta... because of their brilliant blend of hip hop and jazz. If there is ever a Progressive Hip Hop genre, then this record is it. However, this is a long album so after awhile the songs start to blend together and I get bored and my attention wanders. Props to Lamar for his creativity and masterful blending of genres here though.

I'm not a fan of Paul Simon, but this was better than expected. I'm pretty impressed with the crack musicians that he was able to recruit for this album: its like a who's who... Nile Rodgers, Al Dimeola, Eric Gale, Airto Moriera, Steve Gadd, Marcus Miller, so he gets an extra point for that.

Early hip hop and drum and beat that hasn’t aged well.

This started off nice, with some good vibes. But it gradually trailed off into very sugary and tepid mediocrity that was hard to finish. Ok I’ll fess up, I couldn’t finish it, but what I heard was a solid 2 stars.

Yes she has a lovely voice but most of the songs were written by others, eg Burt Bacharach and one is a lame Beatles cover. But they did crack the code for mellow 70s pop that sold a bajillion records. Definitely not my jam, but I’ll be generous here just because of her voice.

There are some good tunes here. The Pixies definitely have a distinctive styles and cadence, The problem is that they use the same style throughout the album so it all blends together after awhile.

When it comes to rock songs that generate a lot of hate because they're over-played, Freebird is often at the top of the list along with Stairway and Layla. But is it the fault of the band that these songs are overplayed and have become veritable musical cliches? They're played far too often because they're iconic and simply great rock songs. Skynrd's music is far too deep fried southern for me but I must give them credit for putting together a pretty gosh-darned good debut album that also features Tuesdays Gone and Simple man.

Thank you 1,001 for this nice new find. The lead guitarist is featured prominently and he’s pretty darned good. Interesting mix of indie, garage blues and prog.

Even the 15 year old me didn't like this. Very mundane goth/rock that is reminiscent of boring hair bands like Kiss, Aerosmith etc. I always thought he was too gimmicky with the ambiguous female name, hair, goofy make-up and costumes. I can see how he influenced the other goof, Marilyn Manson. I'm definitely not his target audience.

Mmmnaah

The first three songs are solid, especially No woman no cry, but then it starts to flounder under the weight of its preachiness and loses its momentum. I’m also not a big fan of the I Threes background singing.

Here's another polarizing artist. There seems to be an equal number of folks that either love and despise KW. Personally I have never sat down to properly listen to his music because I've been turned off by his obnoxious public persona and all the bullshit that he spews. But I must admit that this is a well written and produced album that's jammed packed with good songs. So since we're rating albums and not the douchebag that produced them I'm separating the two and giving this 3 stars. It still doesn't change my impression of him and I still probably won't listen to his music, but I must acknowledge his talent.

My fellow 1,001 Albums colleague mgravelle59 and I recently saw Kraftwerk live in Toronto and it was a fantastic show. To think that these funky septuagenarians put out this album almost 50 yrs ago is mind boggling. To a new listener this album may sound quite primitive and simplistic but back in 1974 no one was doing anything like this. This album was a radical change from their earlier experimental electronic and Krautrock sound as it incorporated synthesizer beats that were eminently danceable and which would go on to influence disco, hip-hop, prog, glam, synth-pop, electronic, EDM, techno and trance. There's a reason why many critics say that Kraftwerk ranks up there with the Beatles as one of the most important music groups of all time. This album is very good, but its just notch below their very best which comes later (Man-Machine, Trans-Europe Express and Computer World).

The influence of Presley on Rock & Roll is undeniable. But I also see that these are all covers and he didn't write any original material so that must be factored in. I'm not sure if he credited and/or paid royalties to the Black musicians that originally wrote most of these songs either (see Led Zeppelin), but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. For me, the only stand-out song on this album is Blue Suede Shoes and the other songs are pretty meh, but I'm sure lots of girls swooned and fainted when he performed them live back in the day.

I listened to a lot of Krautrock in the 70s but I favoured the more electronic sounds of Tangerine Dream, Kraftwerk, Ash Ra Tempel etc. But there’s no doubt that Neu was one of the seminal bands of this era. There are some good driving, propulsive rhythms here and they would have been cool to listen to while cruising down the autobahn, but there’s also quite a bit of filler here so it gets a middling 3 stars.

This is an ambitious project that deserves more than one listen to appreciate. I’ve noted before that Brazilian singers, both male and female have the smoothest most mellifluous voices, and Nacimento is no exception. I was pressed for time but what I heard was very lush and vibrant, so my 3 star rating is probably too conservative.

I typically get sick of albums if I listen to them to often but Close to the edge is an exception, probably due to the fact that it’s so multi-layered and complex, and EVERY single band member is on top of his virtuosic game on this album. I wish I had some sort of counter so I could keep track of how many times I’ve played this since I discovered the band in the 70s. The 18 min opener is probably Yes’ magnum opus, it’s so chaotic yet so magnificently coherent when it gets going, and the climactic singing near end at the 17 minute mark never fails to give me goosebumps, every single fricking time! The other songs are all very solid, Siberian Khatru. This is Peak Prog and Peak Yes folks.

There are a few musical artists that are able to capture the zeitgeist of the moment and chart new territory with their vision, radically changing their style over the decades and also changing music, art and fashion at the same time. I would put Miles in this category, along with Neil Young and David Bowie. Every time they changed their style listeners would be challenged but after other groups follow their lead, time would show that they were bleeding edge and way ahead of their time. Over 5 decades Miles would go from Big Band to Be-bop, to Cool, to Modal to Electric rock fusion. This album is basically a collection of material he did in the late 40s and shows his transition to Cool. Although it's a solid album, my favourite works by him were yet to come in his Modal period.

This noise rock band is loud, aggressive and in your face. I was surprised to read that it consists of only two members, a drummer and a guitarist. It was also surprising to read that they cite Philip Glass and Sun Ra as influences. But after listening more closely I can hear Glass’ repetitive driving rhythms and Sun Ra’s psychedelic improvisations, all amped up on speed of course. Despite the chaotic onslaught of noise I was surprised at how listenable this was. I won’t seek this out normally but if I’m ever in the mood for some noise this is quite good.

This starts out good with Crucify, but after that she sounds like a bargain bin Kate Bush. There's too much piano and its all one-note, so it got boring real fast. TBH As an older male it was hard for me to identify with songs about her traumatic childhood and adolescence. So this was a slog to listen to for me.

When I heard Lana's Video Games back in 2012 I was immediately captured by her haunting vocals and lovely arrangements, so I had high hopes for her. Unfortunately after 10 years she is basically putting out the same material and this album really failed to capture my attention as all the songs flowed together into one schmaltzy mass. Its interesting to see the debate about why an album that came out in 2021 shouldn't be on this list. I have no problem with that because brilliant albums are released every year. But based on merit, I was say no to this one. This is slightly better than yesterday's Tori Amos, but only barely.

It's inevitable that the Kinks would get compared to the Beatles because they both had a very similar Baroque pop sound in the mid 60s. However, when the Beatles were putting out Revolver in 1966, the Kinks released Face to Face. Apart from Sunny Afternoon and the pretty album cover nothing on this album really sticks out or catches my attention though.

Not my jam, not much here resonated with me.

I like their energy but after awhile the vocals became quite shouty and annoying. Someone else here mentioned quite aptly that its like your girlfriend yelling at you for an hour. After this album was finished, Spotify continued to play similar riot grrl style music by the Breeders and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and I must say that I enjoyed them much more.

Even though I'm not a Blues guy, I have to acknowledge his massive influence on the rockers. The likes of Led Zep, the Stones and even Jimi Hendrix basically electrified his sound to create 60s rock music.

Fake Plastic Trees and High and Dry are excellent and the other songs rock out pretty good. However I prefer later Radiohead which is more experimental but this, their second album is still a strong effort that hints of greater things to come.

As far as Punk goes this was much more accessible than most as the lead vocalist actually was singing and not screaming.

After getting two punk albums on consecutive days I’m all plunked out

I really didn’t need to hear this before I die.

I can hear the roots of psychedelic prog here, but most of this is too folksy for me. I enjoyed the instrumental pieces more eg Section 43, and I can see the Doors being influenced by this. But the very 60's style hippie vocals were a turn off for me.

I've actually never listened to Kanye West before, well because he's such a monumentally arrogant, narcisstic douche. I avoided anything to do with him and the Kardashian clan like the plague because to me they epitomize everything that is wrong with this world. But 1,001 gave it to me for my homework assignment so I had to give it a spin. Right off the bat, Dark Fantasy samples a relatively obscure piece from Mike Oldfield's In High Places, hey that's pretty cool. POWER then samples King Crimson's 21st Century Schizhoid man, and its seamlessly integrated into the song so it sounds like its been part of that song forever. Whoa, that's impressive! I also hear samples taken from some of my favourite pieces, eg April 14 from Aphex Twin, and You are, I am from Manfred Mann. There are also samples from Gil Scott Heron, Smokey Robinson and Iron Man from Black Sabbath that are really well done. As a self confessed music geek, hearing these samples from obscure musical gems being so well integrated into his songs is truly impressive. And the music itself is also really well done, its complex and superbly produced: All of the Lights, Devil in a New Dress, Runaway, they are all so good. After over 500 albums so far, this is the most impressive new (to me) album that I've heard so far.

After their brilliant debut album with the iconic single West End Girls, you kinda expect a let down. This second album features a picture of one of them yawning on the cover. Of course it’s meant to be ironic, but it’s also very apt. They’ve got the bored, ironic synth pop sound down pat here, but this was a bit of a snooze fest for me. It’s too bad they peaked so early and were never able to strike lightning again

Goldfrapp’s airy voice just doesn’t do it for me

Today I learned about the psychobilly genre. Today I also learned that I don’t like psychobilly.

Although this album is over 50 years old it still sounds fresh and kicks ass. The singles still get me playing air guitar and bongos whenever I hear them. Apart from the virtuosic guitar, which is obvious, The percussion is just brilliant. Definitely one of Santana’s best, if not his best album.

Lots of accolades and adoration for this album, but it’s just not for me. You really needed to be a fan of it growing up in the 80’s to like it now because Gawd is it ever cheesy and dated sounding now. I thought it was overrated back then, and I still do.

One of my favourite genres is Post Rock / Math Rock and these guys were pioneers, influencing many groups that I love. This album is dissonant and experimental with many quiet passages. Kudos to them for influencing so much great music in the 90s

In the early 70’s ELO was one of my favourite bands, and I must say they were the gateway to Classical music for me. Their first few albums were truly innovative - ELO, ELO 2, Eldorado, and especially Face The Music with Evil Woman, Strange Magic and my all time fav ELO song - Fire On High. Unfortunately they peaked with that album and became spectacularly popular and began putting out dreck like Out Of The Blue. This album is only saved by Mr Blue Sky.

If I were to spoof a heavy metal group it would sound like this and I couldn't possibly top the juvenile album cover. Their sound is so cliched and repetitive, its hard to get any sillier than this.

I sometimes wonder what the authors of 1,001 were thinking with certain albums and this is one of them. Waterfalls is the big hit that everyone talks about but I found it to be your typical pop R&B song that did nothing for me... and then it got worse.

For me they weren’t able to replicate the lightning in a bottle of Sultans of swing. This album has quite a few singles but I find them all to be tepid and bland.

Back in the late 90s and early naughts the Hotel Costes, Buddha Bar lounge music was all the rage and I bought a whack of these CDs. Gotan Project had a slightly different sound, with its Argentinian tango vibe. Someone aptly described it as Astor Piazzolla IDM Music. Unfortunately 20 yrs later it hasn’t aged well, sounding vapid and repetitive. This would be fine in a hotel bar or at a dinner party but I would want something more substantive myself. The cover of Zappa’s Chungas Revenge is also vastly inferior to the original as accordions and dance beats just don't capture the mood of Max Bennett’s bass lines and Zappa’s guitar.

Similar to another reviewer, I thought this was an album by the Canadian band Teenage Head that was called Flamin' Groovies. I wouldn't be surprised if the Canadian band got their name from this album. Overall, this is a solid, straight-ahead rock and roll album. I also immediately thought they sounded very similar and maybe even better than the Rolling Stones and with Mick Jagger his royal-self saying that he thought they did a better take on classic blues and rock and roll who am I to argue. Shaking' all over and Whiskey Woman were standouts for me.

Ok there's no denying that she has a fab voice, I would say she's up there with Amy Winehouse in terms of talent, but they both target mainstream audiences (which I'm not) and kudos to her for selling a gazillion albums. The most interesting song here for me was her cover of Lovesong, which was originally done by the Cure, so there ya go. Since her voice here is the main attraction, the production features her voice very prominently in all the songs but its almost too amped up for me, but her legions of fans will no doubt disagree with me.

Witty lyrics but his munchkin voice grates after awhile. Won’t be seeking this out I’m sure.

Like all Radiohead albums this takes some effort on the listener's part to appreciate as this isn't background music. To give it a fair shake I listened to this 3 times and I think it's good, but not quite as good as Kid A which I recently reviewed and gave 4 stars. This album is not as cohesive and jumps around a bit, almost sounding like a bunch of out-takes from Kid A. There are some brilliant moments though, like Pyramid Song and Knives out. Maybe a 4th listen will reveal its brilliance, who knows.

This was better than expected, folksy but not too folksy and thankfully not very country either. Everybody's talking is of course the stand-out track here, a really simple but lovely song. He goes against the folk stereotype and gets a bit experimental with Cynicrustpetefredjohn Raga.

Oh boy I thought Iron Maiden was a joke, this is even less funny. Everything about this, the the cover, album title and the arrangements all scream cliche'd overwrought commercial metal. It is truly execrable.

Its back to basics for the Stones and it results in this truly classic rock album with several of their best songs. When they were at the top of their game they were quite arguably the greatest rock and roll band in the world.

Kiwanuka’s absolutely magnificent Cold little heart (especially the extended version) from his second album was no doubt a tough a act to follow. But he somehow pulls it off on this, his third album. It features heartfelt lyrics, sublime arrangements and production, and also his wonderfully emotional voice is a joy to listen to. His Mercury Prize for this album was totally deserved.

I still vividly remember first listening to this album over 40 years ago and it instantly became seared into my consciousness. It's been decades since I've listened to it in its entirety so thank you 1,001. One thing that strikes me is that its held up remarkably well over the years and damn there's no filler here. Even the non-musical sound effects and recordings between songs seem so right, everything flows seamlessly and very naturally. Roger Waters may be a dick, and the band may have been on the edge of imploding because of his douchery, but maybe that tension resulted in some artistic alchemy because it resulted in a masterpiece here. I'm pretty miserly so I give a very good albums 4 stars. But if they are truly, uniquely iconic they get 5.

Isaac Hayes has some pretty impressive albums, my fav being the magnificent Hot Buttered Soul which has some epic psychedelic soul jams such as Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic, Walk on by and By the time I get to Phoenix. This album has one song at that level and that's of course the Theme from Shaft, which is one of most iconic film scores ever done and is instantly recognizable. Do your thing is also quite good given that its one of the more adventurous songs on this album. Unfortunately the rest of the album is corny muzak better suited for elevators or cheesey 70s porn films. I gave Hot Buttered Soul 4 stars and since this is a one-hit album it gets a 3 from me.

Its interesting how my tastes have changed over the years. When this came out in the late 70s my friends and I thought this was the shit. The robotic singing, heavy synth melodies and beats were so cool sounding and a nice reprieve from the punk scene that so popular during this time. I guess if you weren't a punk in high school, you were a New Waver. Freak or Geek. Many folks talk about how influential Numan was to electronic music in the 80s, but I see him as a poor copy of the real innovators like Kraftwerk. He relies far too much on the heavy handed use of the polymoog on this album and most of the songs sound the same because of it. I guess he intentionally wanted to sound robotic but other bands were still able to imbue a sense of humanity into their electronic music and as a result their music doesn't sound so dated as this.

When this came out I was in my serious "audiophile" phase, where I was listening to the equipment instead of the music. Along with the likes of Patricia Barber, Dianne Krall, Melody Gardot and Madelaine Peyroux, she was popular with the audio geeks who wanted to test their systems because it was well recorded and her voice is quite pleasant. But gawwwd is it ever tepid, bland and totally lacking in passion. I soon got tired of this genre and sold all my audiophile CDs and moved on to music with actual content. This album is not actually "bad" so I can't give it a 1, but a 2 is far as I can muster.

Aerosmith represents the worst type of ‘Murican rock. This is pure shite.

The jingly jangly guitar is the signature of this band. The title track is the highlight of this album, but the rest was less inspiring. I wouldn’t normally seek this out but I gotta acknowledge their influence on the folk rock genre

I’m assuming that this was the studio’s attempt to bring Bossa nova to the masses, or maybe Old Blue eyes got tired of crooning about his usual tripe? I’ve never been a fan of Sinatra and when he goes an ruins some of the best songs in that genre it rankles me even more.

Kudos to her for being adventurous and pushing the envelope here. The music is quirky and unconventional so that's good. But unfortunately it doesn't really resonate with me. Lots of folks seem to like this so maybe its me.

I saw the light and Hello it’s me are really great sngles that have stood the test of time and they sound pretty fresh even today. The rest of the album is full of pop ballads and even gasp, show tunes that aren’t as notable, but kudos to him for playing most of the instruments on 3/4 of this double album release.

It was interesting to read the reviews for this one, lots of loving 5s but also lots of hateful 1s. She definitely captures the angst and zeitgeist of the 90s, maybe that’s why there are so many 5s. My complaint is a common one, her annoying shrieky, whiney voice which I really couldn’t get past. Isn’t it ironic was a catchy single when it first came out but the intervening 27 years have not been kind to it, and that’s the best song on the album.

Not too unpleasant but not too exciting either

I’m not into Country but Hurt is by far the best cover song I’ve ever heard, this is a case of a cover song that surpasses the original. In my Life isn’t quite up there with Hurt, but it’s also very good. Given that this was his last album, this very sparse and stripped down album gives his voice centre stage and it captures years of pain and emotion with great poignancy. The other covers aren’t as effective unfortunately, Personal Jesus in particular just doesn’t work.

I’m so glad that this criminally underrated album made this list. It’s unfortunate that so many people have never heard of Shuggie Otis, a child prodigy that played with Frank Zappa when he was only a teen, and you know that Zappa only recruited the best musicians. He also played most of the instruments and wrote most of the songs on this album. Aht uh mi hed is one of my all time fav soul songs, and Inspiration Information and Strawberry Letter 23 are also great. I think it’s unfair that the Brothers Johnson’s interior cover of the latter gets more airplay and recognition than the original. This album is a real hidden gem.

Two Adele records in one month are far too many for me. She has the same affliction that singers with good pipes have, the compulsion to show off the fact that they can sing by bellowing and yelling too much. This has infected the likes of Whitney Houston, Celine Dionne, Maria Carey and others. I just couldn’t bear to listen to this so I tuned out and turned this off after a few songs

Wiki mentions the bands that influenced Muse and I was very surprised that they didn’t mention Radiohead. The lead vocalists of Muse whines and wails exactly like Thom Yorke. I listened to this album twice and both times when it was done Spotify sequed seamlessly into Radiohead and Muse sounded almost the same. A noisy pompous Radiohead though. This album was much more listenable when there was less singing, eg Knights of Cydonia, but I’d rather have the original

Another reviewer mentioned that if you like the Siouxsie sound you'll love this album, but if not, this album will be grating. I'm totally in the latter camp. In the early 80s when punk was rapidly fading the post-punk/goths bands came out of the woodwork - The Cure, Siouxsie, Bauhaus, Sisters of Mercy.... etc The only one that caught my attention back then was the Cure. Flash forward 40 years and their vocal stylings, drum and guitar work all sound so dated today, their sound was very trendy at the time, but not made to last, all except for the Cure which sounds surprisingly fresh and listenable today. I wasn't a fan of this band back then and I'm still not a fan today.

This is an iconic prog album, certainly in the top 5 of all time. I can't decide which is the best song on the albu: the Firth of Fifth, Battle of Epping Forest or Cinema Show. They are all monster songs and truly epic in scope (in this case the use of epic is not cliched, but truly appropriate). Here, on their fifth album all band-members are basically in peak form. Firth features lovely piano and guitar solos by Banks and Hackett, Battle of Epping Forest has some of my favourite lyrics / wordplay sung magnificently by Peter Gabriel, and Cinema Show closes with an incredible 4.5 minute keyboard solo by Rutherford. The album lags slightly in certain sections but the sheer weight of the above 3 songs more than compensates for any shortcomings. Peak Prog indeed.

After the success of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy KW decided to piss off his fans by putting out an intentionally abrasive and off-putting album. He's quoted as "I got to fuck shit up" and "I'm gonna take my ball home". There's no doubt that this egotistic narcissist is brilliant, but does the emperor have no clothes? He's so full of contempt for his fans that it's really hard to like this guy. This album is seriously over-produced, with literally 4-8 producers on EACH song. I view this album like how I view his forays into fashion where he intentionally puts out really fugly clothing and sells it at exorbitant prices to his gullible fans. I'm not gonna bite.

I'm a big fan of Neil Young, but less so for Buffalo Springfield and CSN, so this was a mixed bag for me. So not surprisingly I really enjoyed the Neil Young songs: Mr Soul, Expecting to Fly and Broken Arrow but the other songs just don't resonate with me.

This post punk - proto new wave album is a nice segueway for the two genres. The guitar intro to Another Girl Another planet is pretty awesome and that song rocks. It’s also the only song where the lead vocalist’s voice doesn’t annoy me. Although they first wrote The Whole of the Law I prefer Yo La Tengo’s cover better. The rest of the album isn’t very memorable unfortunately.

Well these guys can certainly play fast. Lots of energy here and this is much more listenable than say the Sex Pistols. Jello Biafra’s warbling vibrato singing and their political lyrics that try to shock seem very quaint and cliched today though. Not my jam but I’ll give a nod since they can actually play.

I always thought Stevie was drunk because of the way he sings /slurs "boogieonreggaaaawuman". Overall this was a fine album, nothing offensive but also not quite the same standard as Innervisions or Songs in the key of life.

I will try to be professional here and separate the douchey artist from the art. In the early naughts I remember browsing at the local Sunrise Records in Toronto (yes vinyl!) and they were playing music from a new band with a \"huge sound\" it indie rock but totally distinct from anything I had heard before. I asked the clerk who it was and he showed me Arcade Fire's debut album, Funeral. The guitar intro to Wake Up and the ensuing chorus literally made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Needless to say I bought the album and devoured it when I got home. Funeral was a very special album, this their second effort isn't quite up there, but it has some strong songs with No Cars and My Body is a Cage. Overall their debut was much stronger and I would give it 4 stars, so this one is slightly lower at 3.

I'm not a fan of predictable, formulaic pop and this is Exhibit 1. Move along folks, nothing to see or hear here. It must have been a stretch to include this album in the book.

His voice is pleasant enough, and the beats are pretty chill. But this album is sounds like one long 60 minute song.

Wiki labels this punk folk, it's definitely folk, but not sure how punk this is. Perhaps they're referring to its punk sensibilities and snarling attitude. Nevertheless this is a fun album with a lot more energy than the typical folk albums that I hear. If I should fall and Fairytale of NY are outstanding. The latter is probably the only Christmas song that I actually like. Yes, I'm a grinch. The rest of the album is fine also.

This is a decent post- punk album. The lead guitar is ubiquitous but I think the real star is the bassist. A bit too cacophonous for me but I can see their appeal.

Not very inspiring

Even though these guys are immensely talented, a bunch of Brits doing American Blues just sounds off to me.

In the 70s the local indie radio station, CFNY played a lot of Sparks, particularly This Town and Talent is an asset. They were quirky glam-rock tunes that was pretty emblematic of that era. Bowie, 10cc and Roxy Music were some of the bigger names also doing this genre back then. These two tunes are IMO the best on this album, but unlike their peers, their sound hasn't aged very well I'm afraid. The cheap pun in the album title also sub-par.

This album is way ahead of its time, very interesting pulsating beats with otherworldly vocals. It's not as bad as some say, but it would be much better if it had a bit of variety. This is a solid 2.5 but I'll round it up due to their originality.

Well to state the obvious, the title song Sweet Dreams is a monster hit, easily one of the top 10 songs of the 80s I recon. Its only surpassed by their even better hit - Here comes the rain again. Annie Lennox's voice simply soars on Sweet Dreams. However, some of the other songs like Wrap it Up, Somebody told me and This is the house are painfully 80s sounding. Cringe! Fortunately there is some minor redemption with Love is a stranger and the atmospheric, This city never sleeps. 5 stars for Sweet Dreams but its pulled down by the 6 weak songs on the album.

I just don’t get the hype for this band and this record. The singles are fine but nothing really excites me here.

Lovely voice and the first song is pleasant enough, but all the songs blend together after awhile

Pretty good aggressive rock

This was fine but I think his contemporaries like Otis Redding, Sam Cooke, Ray Charles etc put out more interesting material, hence the reason why he’s not as well known.

If I had to imagine what German Industrial sounded like, it would be exactly like this.

There sure is a lot of hate for this record, so much that it's the lowest rated song on the entire list. I think that's a bit overstated as this isn't a "bad" record per se, it's definitely challenging though and it will necessitate that you adjust your expectations of what "music" is. IMO there are a lot of more unlistenable albums on this list, eg Black Death Metal. I found the second side with the instrumental songs without any vocals to be the most interesting. Particularly the 7 songs that end in "dub", with the best being Gastarbeiterdub with some very interesting percussive beats. I probably wouldn't seek this out to listen to it but I found it to be quite interesting.

Contrary to what other reviewers have said, I think this nearly 30 yr old album has aged well. It features a shit-ton of hits and the performances by the band are excellent, most notably Anthony Kiedis on vocals. This is a strong 3.5 but I’ll round it up

Couldn’t get thru this. I much prefer her early material

Its funny how some albums age gracefully, and some simply don't. While you see a chance has an iconic synth intro and just screams the 80s! But it's still a fine song though as Winwood's soulful tenor voice is one of the hallmarks of this song. The best song on the album IMO however, is Night Train, with some great guitar and keyboard playing. However, as typical for the 80s when CDs were all the rage, this recording its very "tinny" and compressed so there is almost no bass. Boo. There is some nice album artwork by the prolific artist Tony Wright though.

Long time lurker, first time listening to Taylor swift. It wasn’t that bad, but not very exciting either. She sounds like every other female pop/indie singer out there, particularly Del Rey. Don’t believe the hype.

This is a pretty damned good debut album, their top notch song writing skills and musicianship are highly evident here, American easy listening Dad rock at its finest. Their later albums are great also, particularly Royal Scam, Katy Lied and Aja, but this is right up there. It lags a tiny bit for a few songs, eg Change of the guard, Midnite Cruiser and Brooklyn (where Hodder and Palmer do lead vocals instead of Fagen). Also an album of this calibre deserves a much better album cover. Hell even Fagen and Becker called it one of “ the most hideous album cover of the 70’s. But overall this is a strong 4.

Nilsson has shown that he can put out high quality material like Everybody’s Talking (Theme from Midnight Cowboy) but this album is just classic dreck with songs like Without you and Coconut. Even the Spanish version Si no estas is pure shmaltz.

I often complain about albums that sound very “samey”, where the entire album sounds like one long interminable song. However this album is not guilty of this. They mix it up with a wide variety of styles here, but most importantly it all flows cohesively. The exception may be the last song which is a live cover of Bye Bye Love that kind of sticks out but this can be forgiven. Interestingly I’m not a fan of the title song, Bridge over troubled waters, perhaps it’s been overplayed, but to me it verges on being a “weenie song” as one of my esteemed colleagues in this journey calls songs like this. I think the best track here, and maybe S&G’s best ever, is the Boxer. Overall, this is a solid album.

After listening to Trout Mask Replica this seems almost quaint and accessible. But that being said, psychedelic delta blues isn't my jam so it didn't move me much. I find the album cover pic showing them all clean cut and in suits to be a pretty interesting contrast to their latter day hippie counter-culture personas.

This album started off rocky, but as it progressed it slowly improved and these guys really show the breadth of their artistic talent. This is a very diverse album that showcases a huge range of styles, so it can be accused of lacking cohesion. I didn't like all of it, but what I liked was very good.

How many of you think that he sounds just like Patti Smith when he's singing Breakdown? Anyways, I think that's the best song on the album. The rest of the songs aren't terribly exciting nor terrible either so he gets a lukewarm rating from me.

Quite an audacious debut by these lads. Their heavy sound must have turned heads back in the mud 60s. My Generation is still an iconic song

After splitting from Genesis, Gabriel took a break and then released this solo album. And boy what a debut solo it was. Although he was essentially the leader of proggy Genesis for years he completely re-vamped his sound and this album sounds nothing like Genesis. So extra kudos to him for that. There are so many great songs here: Modern love, Down the dolce vita, Here comes the flood, Humdrum etc, but Solsbury Hill has to be one of his all time greatest songs. Overall this is a tremendous debut.

Although this wasn't a "bad" album, Salsa really isn't my jam, after a few songs it becomes annoyingly repetitive for me.

This is fairly typical mid 90s grunge, as most reviewers have mentioned, the lead vocalist's voice is somewhat off putting. So much that the most interesting song for me was the instrumental Brother Woodrow. The album cover is a bit unsettling also, and I see in Wiki that it was influenced by a photo by controversial photographer Nan Goldin.

The first two songs are serious bangers - Hanging on the Telephone and One Way or Another. Debbie Harry has a killer voice here, full of spunk, verve and attitude. I think Telephone is their all-time best song actually. The rest of the album, including Heart of Glass is fine, but not as outstanding as the first two killers. Along with the Cars and Devo, Blondie was part of the big trifecta of American new wave bands in the 70's.

I have to give a nod to this album for its cutting edge influence on punk in the early 70s when everyone else was into prog, but I think the Velvet Underground, Iggy and the Ramones did it better.

I'm guessing that this is probably the most accessible and fun hip hop record on the list. Its refreshing that every second word isn't mofo or the N word. Their sample of Steely Dan's Peg on Eye Know was probably one of the most seamless mashups ever and Jenifa taught me is also a ton of fun.

I don’t like country but when Willie does it it’s bearable because he has such an iconic voice. But when he does covers of shmaltzy pop songs it becomes unbearable. This sounds like a lazy money grab to me.

This was so unexpectedly good that I had to listen to it twice. I also learned that Adamson is ex Magazine, which explains his chops. I prefer the more experimental and jazzier numbers here, in particular his Miles which is a wonderful homage to Milestones. Miles Davis his royal self would approve I’m sure. Adamson’s soundtracks are so good that they should make movies based on his records instead of the other way around.

Manu Chao first came to my attention when he produced Miriam and Amadou's Dimanche a Bamako. That 2004 record is probably my all-time favourite World Music record and it continues to be on high rotation today. Manu Chao epitomizes World Music, he was born in Bilbao (Basque country) and grew up in France and speaks like 10 languages. He also infuses his music with a huge range of styles: reggae, salsa, French chanson, Afro-Cuban, latin, ska etc., but the common denominator is that it is all undeniably catchy and fun.

Her voice is fine, but her song writing is mediocre. Constant craving is good but the rest of the album is one note. Perhaps this appeals to the wine drinking mommy set?

Tom Waits is in fine form here, quirky and offbeat. The first side hits you with a barrage of brilliant songs, but it falters slightly on the second side. Scanning the reviews of the others I mostly see 4 and 5 star ratings, so I'm surprised this album doesn't have a higher global rating. This record is essential listening.

These boys are the OG of the big folk/country/rock infused with traditional Celtic sound that so many bands today are emulating. Just a solid album that starts out with a bang with Fisherman's Blues and We will not be lovers. They also do a very credible cover of Van Morrison's Sweet Thing where Steve Wickham's violin absolutely shines and where the lyrics to Blackbird unexpectedly show up, but somehow this weird mashup works. It ends nicely with an epic 12 minute jam of a track with Soon as I get home. If the traditional Irish/Scottish folk sound isn't your jam you might find that it drags a bit since this double album is long.

Easy listening hip hop, it blends in with the background smoothly but doesn’t do much to stand out either.

He takes his time to develop the songs on this album, slowly building them up so a bit of patience is required. His high pitched voice can be grating after awhile though.

For me the 60s is like a lost decade. I prefer the music from the 50’s and 70’s instead. In the 60s many bands were transitioning to proto garage/psychedelic and this album exemplifies this. For some reason music in the 70s just sounds more appealing to me.

This is decent American power pop. If you're into Pavement, Dinosaur Jr etc this will probably appeal to you. The title song and their Mrs Robinson cover are quite nice. Spotify features some demo versions and the acoustic version of Ray is a pleasant diversion.

Wow, all I see are 4 and 5 star ratings for this so I'll probably take flak for this. Someone already stole my line that he's a less interesting and cheesier version of Elton John and I fully concur. There's no doubt that he has a knack for writing catchy pop songs, but the shmaltz factor here is simply too high for me. He somewhat redeems himself with the less commercial songs like the Stranger and Get it right. But he knows his audience and and I guess he hits the nail right on the head with this album that is loaded with bestsellers.

I came to hear this music backwards because I first heard This Mortal Coil’s covers of Kangaroo and Holocaust back in 1984. Those covers were spectacular, and now I know where they came from. This is a somewhat quirky non commercial album and I can see why it’s become a cult favourite. It’s a grower for sure.

I can't think of a more audaciously good debut album. I also think this is Costello's best album which is saying a lot since he's super prolific with over 25 studio albums. He read the room perfectly in 1977 when he put out this rockabilly/punk record that foreshadowed the New Wave movement that was picking up steam. Alison and Watching the detectives are two of my all time favourite Costello tracks, but this record is chock full gems like I'm not Angry, Mystery dance, Angels, Sneaky feelings, Miracle man and Welcome to the working week. This is just a solid solid record.

The Jam are one of the better UK bands that punk begat, I would put them up there with the Clash, Joy Division, Magazine and the Cure. Paul Weller is also immensely talented as can be seen by his later solo efforts. This is a decent effort by them

What’s going on? I do like Gaye’s early music, but this is just weenie soul. I see that it was a flop when it was first released, but got critical acclaim after he died. But this album is so boring I simply don’t have it in me to put in the effort to listen to it again.

Harrison's music is just less joyful and fun compared to Lennon and McCartney. His songs come of as being whiney to me. Isn't it a pity is probably the best song on this overlong album but some songs, particularly Wah Wah are just plain annoying.

Although this came out in 2010 it really captures the mood of deep south Delta Blues. The vocals and lead guitar come off sounding distorted but I think that adds more "texture" and grittiness to the music. Most of the album is pretty damned solid with not much filler.

Waits is certainly an American original, there really isn't anyone else out there like him. The simulated jazz club with a studio audience works pretty well in this case as the crowd is engaged and responsive to his bawdy humour and story-telling. The musicians are also top-notch, in particular the piano and bass players. My only complaint about this album is that it's a bit long, and if it was cut down it would have been just right.

I love the album cover, its an optical illusion appears to be animated and moving, but its actually not. I also love 2000's Indie music and if your Fleet Foxes or Panda Bear fan you would probably like this, but the vocal harmonies here and the dreamy psychedelic sound is not my jam. The vocals by other Indie bands of this era such as Grizzly Bear (no relation to Panda Bear) or say Dirty Projectors are much more enjoyable.

I see that this album's genesis was as demo music for the audiophile stereo brand Linn. I used to be heavily into audio gear back in the day and we would typically play really well produced music that had good dynamic range to demonstrate and test the equipment. But although it "sounded good" alas the content was lacking. This album is better than most (I'm looking at you Patricia Barber, Rebecca Pidgeon, Three Blind Mice etc). The heavy reliance on synths here also unfortunately makes this record sound extremely dated. If you like this band, their subsequent album Hats is much better IMO, check out Over the hillside and The Downtown Lights.

For me this is probably the most listenable and accessible hip hop album ever. I always liked Outkast’s playful melodies and beats. A fun listen

This was a very interesting new discovery for me. Folk music that evolves into psychedelic /experimental rock that foreshadows many of today’s best Indie acts like Radiohead and Sparklehorse. I hear a Not of Nick Drake here also. Skip was way ahead of his time and I wouldn’t be surprised if it was met with a muted reaction when it was released in the 60s.

I was never a fan of Punk, but post punk is another story, especially when it’s done well with intelligent (and intelligible) lyrics, good musicianship, and great hooks. Damaged Goods has always been a favourite of mine and over 50 years later it still kicks ass. A lot of folks say that this sounds a lot like the Killers, LCD Soundsystem, Wire, etc but I think they’ve got it backwards, THEY all sound like the OGs of this genre, The Gang of Four.

I see that this album has the 6th lowest global score at 2.13 and its headlined by Nick Cave so this should be interesting. The horrible album cover doesn't set expectations too high either, and from that perspective it doesn't disappoint. Dark and challenging music, that's also horribly recorded, it sounds like the drums and guitars are 10 feet away from the mic. You really need to be in the mood for this, and I wasn't.

The first song, Rhapsodia was good and so was the last song, Triblin cantore because it had bit more variety with a guitar. But I wasn't moved by the other 6 songs in the middle. I am a big jazz fan but Afro-Cuban jazz just doesn't do it for me. I found the recording of the congas here to be too forward and prominent and it just dominates the sound.

I'm not a fan of the VU and this album was even more unlistenable due to the terribly distorted recording.

Wow, this is pure execrable dreck. It combines the worst of the 70s genres - disco and easy-listening "jazz". Folks, this is NOT Jazz, its made for people who hate jazz. I'm absolutely shocked at how many folks gave this 5 stars, but not surprised at all the 1s and they were quite a few. Really 1,001, really? [face palm and SMH]

This is a remarkable album. Powerful, haunting, emotional music. It’s definitely a heavy listen and I would only play it when I’m in a proper frame of mind. So much respect for artists that can switch up their work like this. And what a gorgeous lush album cover also!

I’m still not into hip hop but this album was certainly interesting. I would almost call it Industrial Hip Hop. Hard mechanical abrasive beats. Kudos to him for pushing the envelope and not sounding like all the other mainstream hip hop artists.

If the Cocteau Twins and the Fleet Foxes had a love child it would be Beach House. This style of dream pop is like mellow shoegaze. The first track is the best song on the album, but the dreamy vocals and the “wall of sound” effect wears out its welcome fast. I could have sworn that the lead vocalist was a guy but it’s a woman. Kinda like how I always thought the lead singer of Rhye was female 🤷‍♂️

Under the pressure is fine, but like many others have said, they use the same drum beat throughout and every song sounds the same. The lead vocalist sounds so much like Dylan, but that’s strike because I hate Dylan’s voice.

Once again I have to wonder what the authors of 1001 were smoking when they compiled this list. Although they're Norwegian they sound like your average American metal group from the 90s. Inane lyrics and cliched guitar riffs. I think I would prefer Norwegian Death Metal to this.

I must admit that Prog is my guilty pleasure, heck two of my fav bands are Genesis and Yes. ELP OTOH epitomize what folks hate about Prog - they're bombastic, pretentious and bloated. There's no doubt that they're a talented trio and they were labeled a "supergroup" when these three previous members of the Nice, Atomic Rooster and King Crimson got together. Individually they are immensely talented, but as a band I think they've let their egos get a bit ahead of themselves. They cover Mussorgsky's Pictures at an exhibition here and although the grandiose Promenade sounds great on synths the rest of the album doesn't fare too well unfortunately. ELP did some nice work on Tarkus and Works, but this album is not one of their best I'm afraid.

Quiet meh. The biggest hit on this album, I shot the sheriff is a Bob Marley cover that hasn't aged well either.

Since Sawhney is a Indian living in England its fitting that he's fused Indian music with English downtempo music (which was big in the 90s due to bands such as Massive Attack, Morcheeba, Bonobo etc). When this came out I had this album on heavy rotation, I really enjoyed the more traditional Indian songs with tablas, ragas and sufi type chanting. Homelands IMO is the best song on the album and instrumental Tides is lovely. I really like the heavy Indian influence on Nadia and the vocal counterplay on The Conference is really fabulous. However, the more commercial English songs featuring the female singer are just God-awful - eg Broken Skin, Letting go and Immigrant and really ruin this album for me. If those songs had been left out I would have given this one more star.

There’s no doubt that Paul Weller is immensely talented. He founded the punk group The Jam and then did basically a 180 with The Style Council, and although they sound diametrically opposed, both were great groups. He also has a knack for recruiting top shelf musicians such as Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt from Everything But the Girl, who are also a great band. This album starts off rocking with Mick’s Blessings, but where it really shines is with the downtempo tunes like The whole point of no return, Blue cafe, Paris Match (with Tracey Thorn’s lively crooning). The best songs IMO are his slimmed down cover of My ever changing moods and You’re the best thing. I also really enjoyed the up-tempo jazz numbers like Dropping bombs and Council Meetin’. It’s too bad that he dropped a couple of rap songs in here that just sound completely out of place here.

This album is about Synergy. Although its pretty stripped down with only piano, bass and drums, the interaction and synergy between the three band members is lighting in a bottle. The other secret ingredient here is the venue. I've been fortunate to catch some jazz acts at the Village Vanguard and the intimate ambience of the club adds mystique and even more magic to the performance. This album is pretty iconic, but what I wouldn't give to have seen and heard this live.

Lots of folks are saying that the Modern Lovers are indebted to the Velvet Underground but personally I prefer the Modern Lovers to the VU. This proto-punk album influenced a ton of bands and I see that it features Jerry Harrison from Talking Heads and David Robinson from the Cars and they ain't no slouches. If you're a fan of Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations you'll be familiar with the best track - Roadrunner. I love the driving guitars and Richman's voice perfectly captures the pre-punk NY scene.

Interesting that this comes a few days after Nitin Sawhney's Beyond Skin. Singh and Sawhney are very similar given that they are both Indian/English artists that blend classical Indian music with modern electronica and their albums were released about a year apart in the late 90s. This album starts out fabulously with Traveller, which features mostly classical Indian ambience but then gorgeous lush strings come in at the 8 minute mark. Butterfly is also a very nice fusion of tabla with dance beats. But the album falters after that and the remaining songs are bit of an incoherent mess with too much drum and bass for my tastes. I prefer Beyond skin to this but it is saved by a few very nice tracks so it also gets 3 stars.

I would have to say that Sufjan Stevens is my favourite indie artist. And although he has quite a few doozies out there, Illinoise is probably my favourite album of his. His brand of chamber indie pop is marked by quirky lyrics, weird time signatures and the judicious use of horns, strings and vocal choir that produces a chaotic disjointed sound, but somehow it all flows together so well. Like a good wine with complex notes and multiple layers his music may take a few listenings to get into your head, but once it does, its remarkable.

There are some nice moments on this indie dream pop record, but most of it is simply too dreamy for me. When they pick up the pace on Desire Lines and He would have laughed it improves immensely. Basement scene sounds like a blatant knock off of the Everly Brothers Dream. Helicopter is also quite ok. I still find the album cover by George Mitchell to be a bit unsettling though.

I always get Orbital confused with The Orb and William Orbit. Not just for the obvious reason - that their names are so similar but also because their brand of electronic trance music all sounds painfully the same. I present Exhibit one - this album by Orbital. Maybe if I was at a rave taking ecstasy it might be more interesting, but I am sitting in my living room utterly bored.

Bland Company, Bad Music, all of the above. I hated this bad when I was a teen and almost 50 yrs later it sounds even worse now. Nuff said.

Well we certainly have had some bad albums recently, but this one takes the cake. Someone mentioned this is pop trying to be heavy metal and that's a good description, but they should have also added that its shite. Everything about this starting from the horrible cover, inane lyrics and hackneyed guitar riffs and choruses scream CLICHE! Truly execrable.

This is music from a bygone era that seems pretty quaint by today's standards. I imagine this was quite popular back in the day though. Ray Price certainly has a good voice and is a great crooner. His song writing is pretty formulaic though, and as someone else mentioned all the songs sound the same. This is definitely not my jam, but it wasn't terrible either, so two stars from me.

The title of this album is apt as it represents a significant departure from Beck's typical sound which is more dance and white hip hop oriented. I guess breaking up with a long-time girlfriend will do that to a guy. There's nothing as high energy as Loser, or with the abrasiveness of E-Pro, but there are some real gems here like The Golden Age, Guess I'm doing fine and Lonesome tears where his mournful voice really shines. Unfortunately this album doesn't have my favourite Beck song which is the brilliant Everybody's gotta learn sometime, which was one of the most memorable moments in the film The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless mind. That song alone is worth five stars IMO.

I've never really been a metal-head so this album is new to me. Is it ever heavy and dark. But in a good way. Ozzie has always come across as a bit of a flake to me since I only know him from the Osbornes reality show, but I can see that he and his band actually had real talent. If I'm ever in the mood for some head banging music this would fit the bill nicely. Thank you 1,001 for introducing me to something that I would have never think of playing.

Apart from Neil Young I don't think there are too many Canadian bands on this list, so I'm tempted to be a bit more generous than usual here. This is only their fourth album, so somewhat still in their formative years, and Geddy is still young so his voice is even more high pitched than normal. Kate Bush is similar with almost an unbearably screechy voice for the first few albums, but they mellow out as they mature. I think their later albums are better, eg Hemispheres (with La Villa Strangiato) or Moving Pictures (with Tom Sawyer, Red Barchetta, YYZ and probably my fav Rush song Limelight). The opening 20 min opus could be great, but its only mediocre. Tears evokes King Crimson, and Something for Nothing has the classic Rush sound. But overall, this album doesn't have a killer track that I would go back to again.

There's a ton of love for the Beach Boys and Brian Wilson but it just doesn't do anything for me. I'm not a fan of this the harmonic vocals and the showtime sound. I see a whack of 5 stars and also an equal number of 1 and 2 star ratings, so I guess this just another love it or hate it album.

Easy listening pop isn’t my jam but if you put a gun to my head and forced me to listen to this genre it would probably be this album. She certainly has a talent for writing songs with great hooks, as evidenced by the sheer number of monster hits here. The hit singles were solid, so this gets a solid 3

some folks here are saying that he sounds like a whiney wanker. I can't disagree

I like their youthful exuberance - lots of brash energy and they sound like their channeling the Buzzcocks. Alright, is well, alright, but the rest of the album isn't very memorable and doesn't quick stick.

Well this was a pleasant surprise. It seems that Joni has moderated her annoying vocal style here and the jazz accompaniment alongside is very nice. and the record is also superbly produced. Edith and the Kingpin is as smooth as silk and would be perfect background music on a lazy Sunday afternoon by a lake. The best song on the album is the title track IMO featuring a languorous and dreamy chorus. Harry's House is also lovely.

There aren't too many American Prog bands as most of them seem to be from Europe and particularly England, so this is a bit of a novelty. Mars Volta sound like an amped up Porcupine Tree, with more shouty vocals. I think if I could read and ponder the lyrics I would appreciate their music more. The song-writing is fairly complex, jammed packed with dissonant melodies and time changes so repeated listenings... like maybe 10 times would also help me appreciate this more. But as it is I don't have that much time to invest in one band so they get a middle of the road rating from me.

I honestly don’t understand all the fuss over Prince. His hits here are pretty mediocre and dated sounding, especially the percussion. I wanted to give it 1 star but since I couldn’t make it all the way thru the album I’ll round it up in case I actually missed something of substance.

There are two good songs on this album, the title track and Broken Heart. I like them because they don’t have the trade mark Brit-pop sound where everyone sings like Oasis.

Back in the mid-80s I was a huge fan of a group that Tony Mansfield headed up called New Musik. Yeah I know that's not a very inspiring name. They were an early synthpop band from London that released the pioneering album, From A to B that actually was one of the best of this emerging genre. But unfortunately most people have never heard of them. Gawd I'm sure I wore out the copy of that album because I was heavily into this "new wave" thing that was sweeping the airwaves back then. I'm bringing him up because Mansfield went on to produce this album from the Norwegian band, A-ha. Much of his strong production values are evident here, but it's also obviously geared towards mainstream airplay so this album is quite "poppy" sounding. Take on me might be their biggest hit, but IMO the Sun always shines on TV is definitely their best song. Unfortunately, the rest of the album sounds like a very commercial and dated sounding Depeche mode and is not very compelling to listen to.

The Twins are the OG dream-pop band that influenced other bands such as This Mortal Coil (who I love), Beach House and shoegaze bands such as My Bloody Valentine (who give me a headache). TIL from Wiki that they're Scottish, which explains why I don't understand a word that they're singing, although that's probably intentional since their style is an ethereal wall of sound and a tapestry of echoey and dreamy vocals. Since 1,001 lets us listen to a lot of bands from years ago, I've noticed that some music sounds so dated while others can stand the test of time and sound fresh as ever. Unfortunately the music by the Cocteau Twins sounds very dated today.

For some reason latter day Elvis Costello doesn't click with me. I think his earlier albums were da bomb, in fact his debut album, My aim is true is my favourite of his but they gradually go downhill from there for me. I much prefer his post-punk energy and snarling vocals on Welcome to the working week, Miracle Man, Watching the detectives etc and I think they are peak Declan Patrick MacManus. Maybe because he got married to snore-fest jazz crooner Dianne Krall he mellowed out because his mellower songs just don't do it for me and I find his crooning to be downright annoying at times.

Back in high school the cool kids were mad about this album. I didn’t understand the hype about it then, and 45 yrs later I still don’t see what all the fuss was about. At least now I can confidently say that I wasn’t missing anything. This is a pretty bog standard rock/pop record and a terrible live recording to boot.

This is a pretty fine post punk record. Very solid Side A but B slips up. I’ll give them kudos for having an original sound and good energy.

After their brilliant debut album with 3 impressive singles, they did it again with this their second album. This one kicks it off with Shout, one of my all time favourites from them. The album is relatively short at only 42 mins but there’s not much wasted space here. They avoid a lot of the cliched synth pop beats that prematurely dates many of their contemporaries and this album sounds remarkably fresh today. A very solid effort here.

I like how the interweb explains that their name is a "disemvowelment of Management" very witty. These kids put out a decent psychedelic indie record, Kids and Electric feel have got some catchy hooks. The rest of the record is fairly pedestrian though. The exception is the last half of Of the Moon, which features lovely almost proggy instrumental. I liked that so much that I rounded it up to a 3.

Although this is their 7th album I still don’t think they have mastered putting the “feelz” into their synth pop. For example Kraftwerk is arguably more robotic and mechanical sounding but they’re able to imbue more soul and humanism into their music. Depeche Mode OTOH sound so soulless and hollow to me. Enjoy the silence is a fine song, probably one of their best actually, but the rest of the album is meh to me.

One of my favourite directors is Sophia Coppola, not only does she produce sumptuous visuals but she also has great taste and music so the soundtracks to her films are also fabulous. I’m meaning this because her Lost in Translation (a wonderful film btw) featured Death in Vegas’ Girls and that scene just captured the mood of Americans lost in Tokyo perfectly. Girls is actually from their subsequent album Scorpio Rising, but the Contino Sessions is also a fine album. I’m not a fan of shoegaze but this album could almost convert me.

Afro Cuban music is really not my jam and this album is an extreme version of this genre. This record is too frenetic and brassy for me, and all the songs sound the same with no distinguishing features.

I was excited to see that she's covering songs by respectable artists such as Nick Cave, Elvis Costello, Philip Glass, Tom Waits, Scott Walker and Kurt Weill. How could you miss right? It turns out she should have named the album Punishing Tripe instead. Gawd this was awful, pure dreck. The aforementioned artists should sue to have their names removed from the credits.

Political rap that’s very preachy. It’s fine to be socially conscious but this album beats you over the head, again and again. And once more again for good measure. I think that Gil Scott Heron and Public Enemy did it better though.

If Patti Smith and Nick Cave had a love child, it would be PJ Harvey. Also, TIL that PJ stands for Polly Jean. I find this album to be a exercise in contrasts, the more introspective songs such as We Float, Horses in my Dreams and and particularly the ones featuring Thom Yorke such as This Mess are excellent. But when she rocks out its a completely different vibe for me and I have a hard time liking those songs.

This is Kate at her absolute creative peak. After releasing three previous albums and having established her artistic cred, the record label let her go wild on this one. She is also almost schizophrenic on this album, with weird screeching background vocal overdubs on many songs and she also affects foreign accents - eg French (and also Donkey) in Get out of my house, Cockney in There goes a tenner and Aussie in The Dreaming. The album starts out with thunderous percussion on Sat in your lap and you just know that its gonna be a wild ride. I can see why some folks think this album is strange or eccentric, but after a repeated listenings (probably 100s in my case) it will grow on you. I can also see how she was a major influence on other eccentric artists such as Bjork. I think this was a landmark work of art, but its not quite her best work - that would probably be Hounds of Love and the sinfully under-rated Aerial.

In the late 70's Thatcher's England was a powder keg about to explode. In this volatile environment three British ska bands were able to fuse 60's Jamaican music, 70's British dance music and 80's punk to create a wonderful blend of highly danceable and politically relevant music - The English Beat, Madness and The Specials. The Specials were probably the most legit of the three (with two Jamaicans on board) and their hit single - A message to you Rudy is still pretty timeless. The rest of the record has great energy and is highly danceable and I would consider it to be one of the best of this genre.

I prefer latter day Banhart that is not stripped down low-fi folk like most of this album is. For example check out Sea Horse from his 2007 album Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon which features multiple instruments with lovely Brubeck-esque jazz/waltz time signatures. Or the playful Never seen such good things from his 2013 album Maia. The fella has real talent and can write beautiful songs, but on this album it's often just him and a guitar so its very bare bones. I get some Cocorosie, Joanna Newsome and Sufjan Stevens vibes here but ultimately this record is a light snack that's not very satisfying. The exception is the last song, Autumn's Child which is really lovely and somewhat redeems this album.

This is pretty solid punk-blues revival-rock with Jack White shredding his guitar on most of the songs. Seven Nation Army is the highlight of course, but his cover of Burt Bacharach's I just don't know is a nice touch also.

There’s some interesting material here, but as others have said I think you need to be high on acid to really get it. The album is redeemed by the long mashup medley which is probably his finest work

I’m embarrassed to say that I have this album. I think I played it once when I first got it and it’s been collecting dust ever since. 1001 forced me to re-listen to it again so I tried to go in with an open mind. Nope, it’s still mind numbingly boring and repetitive. If you’re looking for electronica or techno music there are many better alternatives.

Damon Albarn has a great voice but I prefer his latter day material with the Gorrilaz. I must also admit that I'm getting annoyed with all the Brit-pop on this list, so this will probably unduly influence my rating of this album. Beetlebum is a good opener and Song 2 undeniably has a catchy hook, but the rest of the album doesn't grab my interest at all.

Although I'm not a fan of the Beach Boys, this was more listenable to me since he's toned down the annoying Beach Boy sound which I’m sure is big brother Brian's influence (vocal harmonies). His voice is a bit gravelly though and I understand that it had begun to deteriorate after a motorcycle accident in the early 70s. As a result, I like the instrumental pieces such as Holy man and Common better. IMO the best song on this very long album is Time, it has a very nice orchestral arrangement and is very different sounding from the rest of the album that basically just blends together for me. He could have just dumped the filler and made this a solid single album. For me, the most interesting thing about Dennis Wilson is his history on Wiki, particularly the Manson section, wow what a trip!

I would say Wobble was one of the earliest and more influential purveyors of the emerging genre of World Music back in the 80s'. Him along with David Byrne perhaps. Kudos to him for being able to attract top vocal talent including Sinead O'Connor and Natasha Atlas, and later Delores O'Riordan. Coming from PiL you wouldn't guess that Wardle would be a fan of Jamaican reggae and dub but he was and and he plays his bass guitar here with aplomb channeling Robbie Shakespeare (of Sly and Robbie fame). I also really enjoy him mixing Latin and Middle-Eastern music seamlessly into this album. Spotify's algorithms also gave me some tracks from his 2004 album The Celtic Poets and I thought that was an even better album. Wobble's sound also reminds me a lot of Malcolm McLaren's forays into tribal/world music on his Duck Rock album. Overall, this album works really well and was quite enjoyable.

This album is No. 14 on the list and the only rock and rollers that precede him are Elvis and Fats Domino. Notably, Ray Charles and James Brown follow him so Little Richard was one of the Originals. When listening to oldies like this I consciously try ignore the cliched melodies and hooks that sound so overdone today because back in '57 this was cutting edge and original material. So although a lot of this album sounds samey now, it influenced a shit-ton of black and wanna-be black artists, yes I'm looking at you Beatles and Rolling Stones.

Sure, Byrd and Getz ripped off Carlos Jobin and other Brazilian artists and repackaged samba into a new genre. But this album, probably more than any other, put bossa nova into the living rooms of jazz neophytes all over the world, so credit must be given for that. Desifinado (and later, The Girl from Ipanema) are classic bossa nova tracks that still sound pretty fresh today. Samba de Uma nato so is also a nice song that went on to chart well. This album doesn't try to push the envelope at all, the vibe is insouciant and carefree - perfect for a casual sunday afternoon brunch, and there ain't nothing wrong with that.

Ornette Coleman's brand of free jazz can be described as "challenging" to listen to. Having John Zorn, the self-proclaimed enfant terrible of American avant garde and improvised music cover Coleman's work is sure to raise eyebrows. I'm surprised that 1,001 included this album from him, I would have thought they would have added something a bit more accessible such as his brilliant The Big Gundown which covers the music of the legendary Ennio Morricone, or even The Naked City. Both of those albums showcase the brilliance of the musicians and are less cacophonic and dissonant. If you're a bit adventurous and interested in something more experimental I would suggest giving those a listen. I note that this is one of the lowest ranked albums on this site, and understandably so because it won't be everyone's cup of tea. But if you dissect the music and listen with an open mind what they've achieved is pretty impressive. There are only 5 musicians here, but the two sax players, two drummers and one bassist create a holy hell assault on the senses. This is not my favourite Zorn album, but since its probably the only entry from him, I'll give him an extra point for audacity and originality so he gets three stars.

I think I slightly prefer the first two Roxy albums that featured Brian Eno - where their songs had a harder "edge" to them. But this album starts out with a real banging sizzler - The Thrill of it all, which I think is one of their very best songs. Out of the Blue is another cracker and Eddie Jobson shows that he's also a great keyboard/synth player and more than a capable replacement for Eno. The line-up is also super talented, with guys that went on to make waves on their own - Phil Manzanera on guitars and Andy Mackay on oboe/sax and Paul Thompson on drums. There's a slight turn in their sound after Eno departed, but they're now forging a new path that's more proggy and also laying the groundwork for glam/new wave bands like Duran Duran, Ultravox and Human League. In the early 70s Roxy's only competition in the glam/prog rock arena was David Bowie who released killer albums like Ziggy Stardust and Hunky Dory during this time. But I would say these two bands were the undisputed kings of this era.

I've been putting off listening to this album for the past few years because I wanted to listen to it with "fresh" ears when it eventually came up on 1,001. Well, after 723 albums it's finally arrived in my inbox. This one is actually difficult to review because what can I say that hasn't already been said about it before? After listening to it I am reminded that yes, this is a monumental album that basically changed (prog) rock forever. I don't give out 5 star ratings too often because I basically use this album as my 5 star reference point, and not too many albums can legit compare to it. Only Sgt Pepper, Ziggy Stardust, Kind of Blue, The Wall and Wish You Were Here immediately come to mind. This a truly iconic album that your really need to listen to before you die.

Just another generic sounding American blues rock band that listened to a lot of Rolling Stones and Led Zep when they were growing up. Meh.

Very nice change of pace from Pulp for Hawley. I’ve always loved The Ocean and the rest of the album is similarly lush and romantic. Great baritone voice also.

If it wasn't for 1,001 and this cool website I wouldn't listen to albums that are not on my radar such as this. Because of 1,001 I've found some hidden gems so I thank them for that. For example, I would never have listened to Kanye's Dark Twisted Fantasy because I think he's a douche, but I was genuinely surprised at how good that album was. He really is a crazy genius mofo. Unfortunately Taylor Swift isn't in that category it reinforces why I was correct in avoiding it for all those years. Damn you 1,001, this was pure shite

If the Beach Boys did Shoegaze they would probably sound like this jangly indie band. To me, I wanna be adored is their best song and it came out on their debut album no less. This is a solid 2.5 for me, but since we're not doing decimals it gets rounded up.

Rolling Stone Magazine recently listed the top 200 singers of all time, guess who was number 1? There’s no doubt that Aretha is a force of nature, possessing a truly powerful yet soulful voice. Lots of hits here, but it’s too bad that most of them are covers. If she wrote more of her own material she would have gotten more stars from me.

I'm not a fan of hip hop so I've never actually listened to Jay Z. I was hoping that it would turn out to be a pleasant surprise like Kanye's Dark Twisted Fantasy. My hopes were high since Kanye also produced this. But unfortunately this didn't resonate with me. This is not nearly as complex or brilliant as Dark Twisted Fantasy. Pretty run of the mill stuff.

Campy, creepy and crappy Casanova music. Way too dramatic and not even a wink to the listener, this dude takes himself far too seriously.

This album, perhaps more than any other can claim to have introduced jazz to the masses. I'm sure most folks have heard the catchy Birdland. Although it sometimes veers dangerously close to sounding like the schmaltzy easy listening jazz of the 70's ala Kenny G, Chuck Mangione, it redeems itself with some crack musicians playing - Joe Zawinul on keyboards, Wayne Shorter on sax, but the best is Jaco Pastorius on bass. Jaco's playing on Havona is simply brilliant. Material - 2, Musicmanship - 4, so overall this gets a 3.

Black man covers country and makes it almost listenable. Laudable!

I can’t say this was fun to listen to. An assault on the senses.

The album cover sucks, the title "slippery when wet" is cliched and the music is an abomination. Why 1,001 decided that this horrible hair-band album deserved inclusion is beyond me. This is one of the worst that I've heard yet.

I recon Victoria is one of their top songs, alongside Waterloo Sunset, Lola and You really got me. I get a lot of CCR vibes from this song also, which is interesting coming from a 60s Brit band. The rest of the album didn’t resonate with me though

Gotta give credit to Lauper for brining the New Wave music and its sensibilities to the masses. The singles were decent enough pop songs so I won't give them much air time, but she shows a bit of edge with her snarling voice, (kinda a female equivalent of Billy Idol) in She Bop and I'll kiss you. Witness has a pseudo reggae vibe. He's so Unusual is oddly out of place, but it's mercifully short at least. This is a solid 2.5 but since its her debut and she arguably opened the gates for synth-pop I'll round it up.

I've never listened to Beyonce or Destiny's Child before, but with sales of over 10M, it's worth a shot right? Wrong - I couldn't make it past the third song. Next please.

I'm not a fan of the Velvet Underground, but when Reed got Bowie and Mick Ronson to produce this album its golden. Walk on the wild side is his best song (ever) of course, but you can hear Bowie's influence on Vicious and Satellite of love. The remainder of the album is just aight though. I would almost give this album 4 stars for Walk on the wild side alone, but my criteria for 4 stars is an album that I would put on repeat.. repeatedly, but alas this doesn't quite get there for me.

This is the Who's best album IMO. It's bookended by two of their best songs, and Behind Blue Eyes is also right up there. I'm glad they've finally said goodbye to their Mod roots and have incorporated their signature Proto-Prog /hard rock sound, complete with the use of an Arp synthesizer. I also like the nod and wink to minimalist composer Terry Riley in both the song name, "Babo O'Riley" and also the repetitive and hypnotic beats that Riley pioneered. One complaint, or maybe it's just an observation is that the Who seem to recycle much of their music so a lot of their songs sound alike - eg Babo O'Riley and Won't get fooled again have a very similar high tempo keyboards, but they do mix it up enough to keep it interesting. Tell me who hasn't channeled Keith Moon and played air drums at the 7:30 mark of Won't get fooled again and then screamed "Yeaaaahhhhhhhh!", its truly an iconic rock moment. Not to sound sexist but this album is truly masculine sounding, everything is right in your face and amped up - Moon's drumming, Entwistle's bass Townshend's guitar and keyboards and Daltrey's screaming and booming vocals. They don't make 'em like this anymore.

I remember walking into my local record store back in 2004 and the music playing stopped me in my tracks. I had never heard such a glorious wall of sound. I asked who it was and the clerk showed me Arcade Fire's debut album Funeral. I immediately bought it and couldn't wait to get home to play it. Mind Blown. Their second album Neon Bible was pretty good too with the magnificent No cars go - it was anthemic rock at its best. It also has My body is a cage and Keep the car running which are quite good. Unfortunately they peaked early though because I find their third album The Suburbs to be just ok. The title track and Ready to start are good, but the rest of the album fizzles out a bit for me.

I would have thought a notable proto punk album like this would have been more exciting. Overall it was quite meh.

The album title sounds quaintly twee today. For some reason music from the 60s is probably my least favourite, I like the 50s and 70s plenty, but the the 60's is just too much flower power for me. The saving grace (pun intended) on this album is Ms. Slick herself. Her strong vocals elevate Somebody to love and White Rabbit way above the other hippie songs. The bolero theme on White Rabbit is also quite memorable and as a result its an iconic 60's song. It's a shame that they didn't give Grace more opportunity to shine on this album.

She has an unique voice, I'll give her that and comparisons to Billie Holiday are inevitable and her talent is undeniable. This is the first time I've ever actually listened to a full album by her, Lord knows I tried, but nothing on this album really grabbed my attention. As a debut album from a 19 year old this is commendable , but it is a bit one dimensional and still needs some fleshing out IMO. Her next album was better.

This Neo soul is really not my jam. Couldn't get thru this one and for the record, the Stones did Brown Sugar better.

I must admit I'm one of those weenies that likes Prog. And of all the Prog groups, King Crimson is one of the best IMO, just behind Genesis and Yes. This group never ceases to impress, constantly evolving and changing their line-up, with Robert Fripp the band leader being the only constant. This iteration brings in one of my favourite drummers, Bill Bruford and bassists, John Wetton. David Cross' violin adds another interesting dimension to their sound. I think the two bonus tracks that Spotify tagged on to the end are really good, but to be fair they shouldn't be rated with the original album material. Their almost heavy metal prog sound was highly influential on bands like Porcupine Tree and Dream Theatre and the improv noodling shows that they can push the envelope. However, I think In the Court of the Crimson King and Red are better albums so I hope they show up on this list.

Today I learned that the four singers are actually sisters so We are Family brings a new meaning to me. The only bright spot on this album is Nile Rodgers' inimitable guitar playing. When he's playing the tunes have an infectious funky beat that really elevates it from the detritus of this pop/soul album. There are two passable songs on this album so it gets two stars.

This is one of the Grand Daddy’s of modern ambient music. A remarkable evolution from his earlier rock music, it’s not as saccharine sweet or commercial as some of the “New Age” artists that followed, nor as controversial or mind bending as say John Cage’s 4’33” where there’s nothing but silence for the duration. This album never gets old, and I think it’ll always be as essential hundreds of years from now.

Wow, seven top 10 hits from this album! It’s a sure thing right? Nope, this is probably the Boss’ most commercial album so it doesn’t appeal to me at all. This is far too redneck and Murican heartland for me. Give me Born to Run or Darkness on the edge of town instead any day.

Swamp rock is really not my thing. Just couldn't do it.

I've favourited the opening track Negative Space on Spotify so it comes up quite often on my playlists, but I hadn't heard the rest of the album until now. Its actually quite decent, I get some Built to Spill x MGMT x Tame Impala vibes, with some hints of Krautrock. The hypnotic driving beats are pretty mesmerizing. Opener is also a banger of a song, its great if you crank it up.

He can write. He can play. But he can’t sing.

I was creeped out thinking that it was a topless 15 yr old girl holding a doll on the cover, but I was relieved to find out that his 25 yr old girlfriend Jane Birkin was actually the model. There's no way that anyone would be able to put out an album about their Lolita-esque obsession with a 15 yr old today, oh boy, how times have changed. But apart from that, this is a fine album. Gainsbourg went on to influence a ton of artists with this Gallic/psychedelic/funk style with lush strings and spoken word ramblings. He's basically the French Issac Hayes and this album could be described as music for sex. Interesting to see violinist Jean Luc Ponty on En Melody also, but he gets only a bit part so his talents are wasted. I think Gainsbourg's Je t'aime moi non plus and Bonny and Clyde are better than Melody, but overall this is tres bien.

So George Clinton says to Eddie Hazel, play your guitar like your mother just died so we got this 10 minute minor masterpiece. The rest of the album is uneven and not very cohesive unfortunately. The album is book-ended by another 10 min opus, Wars of Armageddon that was supposedly recorded when Clinton was high on LSD - and it sounds like it, full of crazy lyrics, and fart sounds. More pussy to the people!

ELP's brand of prog is often accused of being pretentious, bombastic and overblown and I can't argue with that. However, the 20 min title song Tarkus is in my humble opinion one of their best songs, right up there with Lucky Man. It's unfortunate that they couldn't maintain this level of excellence for the next 18 minutes because the quality falls off a cliff starting with Jeremy Bender and ends with a rock n' roll number where they try to channel Jerry Lee Louis in Are you ready Eddy. I'm still shaking my head at that last number.

I really think Paul Weller is hugely talented and I do enjoy his work with the Jam and the Style Council, so I was looking forward to this. But unfortunately I didn't find any songs to be inspiring or even close to catching my attention so I listened to it twice. Still nada, maybe i need to listen to it for a third time, but for now it only gets 2

This album starts out really great with Highway star, Child in time and Smoke on the Water which are probably their three best songs and they're well recorded and well played. Unfortunately it falls off precipitously after that and I found the drum and guitar solos to be overly indulgent TBH. And then I noticed that this was a double album, ugh!! This is really for fans only.

The only song here that I really enjoyed was Stepping Stone and that was actually written by Boyce and Hart who were the songwriters for the Monkees. The rest of the album was fairly unremarkable 60s pop.

The title track Pink Moon is a timeless classic and IMO is his best song. I was shocked to learn that he was only 26 when he recorded this and that he would die only two years later. Taken far too soon, he was a true musical genius. This album is sparse but not lacking, understated but it still says a lot. And the album cover is lovely also.

This proto-punk/garage band sounds suitably raw and the recording is pretty piss poor, but I guess their target audience wasn't too fussed about that. I lost count of how many times the lead singer went "Waaaah!!!" Most of their covers are pretty serviceable, but they would get more points from me if they wrote more than four out of 12 songs.

Joni Mitchell has always been difficult for me to listen to. Similar to say, Bob Dylan, I acknowledge that she's a terrific song-writer and hugely talented, but her singing style just grates me. This is Mitchell's 6th album and you can hear her segueing away from folk to jazz and that's good news because I think her talking/scat type of singing is more suitable for jazz. This wasn't as bad as I was expecting.

I have tremendous respect for artists that can read the zeitgeist of the times and lead the way by pushing boundaries. Their long-time fans may initially get upset because it may totally different from what they're used to or expecting, but history usually proves them right and their genius only becomes apparent many many years later, sometimes after they die. A few of the artists that come to mind here are David Bowie, Neil Young and Miles Davis. Miles has shifted once again here, completely changing his line-up, bringing on some young guys and moving from hard bop and acoustic jazz to this proto-ambient, electronic jazz/rock fusion. These young guys would eventually go on to establish themselves and make their own great music and show how precient Miles was - Wayne Shorter, John McLaughlin, Tony Williams, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Joe Zawinul and Dave Holland - wow! After first opening the door to this new electric fusion style with the Filles de Kilimanjaro in 1968, Miles explores more ambient and introspective vibes here but its still pretty accessible. He wouldn't go totally bat-shit crazy until the following year when he released the earth shaking Bitches Brew.

Yet another Brit rock group from the 60's that are laying down some heavily blues influenced rock. I guess its akin to white guys today doing rap, hopefully they aren't guilty of cultural appropriation, they were simply playing homage to the hip sound of the era, or so we hope. This album is fine, and the late great Jeff Beck is as scintillating as ever on lead guitar. Over, under, sideways down is a memorable single. 2.5 stars rounded up to 3 for its influence.

This has a couple of their biggest hits but the rest of the album fails to impress

S/He has a fairly good pop voice, but therein lies the rub, it's so smoothly inoffensive that it gets boring real fast. And the slickly produced backing synth/instruments are so generic every song basically melds into the other so you can't really distinguish them. For some reason I keep getting reminded of Michael Jackson, but at least MJ had a bit of edge to his music. This was just profoundly boring and Spotify even gave us two Discs of it, ugh.

This review may be heavily tainted by nostalgia but I'll try to be as objective as possible. I was 11 yrs old when this album came out and I thought it was McCartney's best work, ever, and that includes the Beatles. I couldn't guess how many times I played it on my crappy turntable, probably in the hundreds I recon. I mean, Band on the Run and Jet to lead off was a monster one-two punch. The album flags a bit in the middle though, and Picasso's last words seems to go on forever, but then he closes with another banger, 1985. I didn't know about his Lagos fiasco until I just read it in Wiki, but the fact that he could produce such a solid album despite such adversity also adds to the legendary status of this album.

This was a difficult album for me to rate. I think it was well done, but I didn’t particularly enjoy it. Nothing really jumps out like Seven Nation Army. I’m sure I’ll never seek it out to play on my own so I think it’s a 2.5, but I decided to round up instead of down in this case.

Why do these heavy metal bands all sound the same, you know the usual trope - quiet passage with soft singing, then heavy guitars and drums with loud singing. Rinse and repeat for all songs, and their fans all seem to lap it up. SMH.

For a small island of only about 375,000 people Iceland really punches above its weight. Maybe because it's so isolated it produces really unique music. Their most famous export is probably Bjork, love her or hate her, but you have to admit she's original. Gus Gus, Olafur Arnaulds, Emiliana Torrini, Of Monsters and Men are also great Icelandic artists. But my all time favourite from that island is Múm - hard to describe their music, maybe indietronica, very ethereal and dreamy at times, similar vibe as Sigur Ros. It's too bad that they're not on this list. I think Sigur Ros is still decent and they have some very good songs and sonic tapestries here. It doesn't matter that we can't understand Jon Birgisson's vocals because he's imparting a mood with the wall of sound with his cello bowed guitar. This album is a solid 3 for me, but I'm bumping it up another star to compensate for the egregious omission of so many other Icelandic artists from the list.

I let out an audible groan when I saw another metal album pop up this morning. However, it wasn't as bad as I expected, these guys can seriously thrash and shred their instruments and the vocals weren't as obnoxious as some other bands out there. The cover is typical metal though, cliched and dated. I definitely won't be seeking this out to play on my own, but I'll give a slight nod for their talent.

Well this band has evolved quite a bit over the years. In the early 80's their debut album With Sympathy was basically a Brit synth pop clone with the dance hit Work for love. Wiki informs that they record company wanted them to sound like Wham! and Jourgenson even adopted a fake British accent. Their sound started to harden over time and in 87 they released the bangers like Everyday is like halloween and All day. On their next album - Land of rape and honey they really got aggressive with Stigmata which IMO is probably the most listenable industrial single ever. On their next album, the Mind is a terrible thing to waste I think they really went whole hog into speed industrial death metal sound with jackhammering guitars/drums and hyper aggressive vocals. Which brings us to this album. I can't say it was a fun listen and I know I'll sound like an old fart when I say that I liked them better back in the day.

In the early 90s, Massive Attack and Portishead from Bristol kicked off the British trip-hop/downtempo movement and they quickly became ubiquitous in the tiki lounges and bars everywhere. They blended hip-hop with jazz, soul, electronic and reggae and slowed down the beats, waaaay down to create a languorous sophisticated mood. My favourite songs on this album are Be thankful for what you've got (a nice cover of William DeVaughan's hit) and Safe from harm with its thunderous bass. The other songs with the male singers softly rapping with their Bri'ish accents don't work as well for me though. I wish Shara Nelson's vocals were featured on more of these songs. Three stars for their influence in creating this new genre though.

Gritty, passionate and raw. There's no doubt that Joplin was certainly an original but this just isn't for me so I just couldn't get into it.

It’s too bad this album doesn’t feature 7 seconds, (with Youssou N’Dour) which IMO is her best song. Buffalo Stance is a decent cover of Malcolm Mclaren’s hit, but the rest of this album sounds dated and doesn’t grab me at all.

Eno has released many excellent records but I think this one is my favourite. It spans his more aggressive rock side eg the manic frenzy of Baby’s on Fire or Third uncle and his somnolent ambient masterpieces, eg Music for Airports. Don’t mistake the quieter songs for being simple, he packs incredible beauty in those simple sparse notes. For some reason Spotify didn’t play any other music when the album was a finished but just kept repeating it and before I knew it, I had listened to it three times. It never got boring and was the perfect background to a languid Sunday morning. I’ve always loved St Elmo’s fire, but I was reminded how great the Big Ship and Golden Hours are. This is simply a masterpiece.

The pseudo bootleg album cover is a cute touch. How many of you kids even know what a bootleg record is though? There's no doubt that The Who have a handful of monster rock songs, I consider them their Tier 1 songs. But all their other material is Tier 2 and pretty middling at best. In addition I find that they tend to recycle their songs so a lot of them sound alike, eg the repetitive minimalist keyboards on Baba O'Reily, Won't get fooled again and Eminence Front, although good, are all very similar. I see that the original 1970 release was only 37 mins long, but subsequent releases got really bloated and range from 77 mins to a soul crushing 239 mins for the 2010 re-issue! Also, and this may be blasphemous to some but I find Keith Moon's drumming to be over-rated, they give him way too much prominence in the mix and he tends to keep repeating the same flourishes and fills over and over again. This live album was released a year before they knocked it out out of the park with their studio album - Who's Next, so this record doesn't feature some of their best material. They do a decent cover of Johnny Kidd's Shakin' all over, but I think Van Morrison's live version (on Van Morrison Live in San Francisco) and the Guess Who's versions are better. Funny story about that song - Randy Bachman from the Canadian Band The Guess Who? once told John Entwistle that people constantly got The Who and The Guess Who mixed up. Tired of being yelled at for not playing Shakin' all over, the Who started playing it just to keep the crowd happy. Bachman responded that the Guess Who had the same reasons for playing "My Generation". Methinks those audiences were all stoned out of their minds. Anyways, this album is more for hard core Who fans as it doesn't make a compelling argument for needing to listen to this vs their studio albums.

In a conversation about the best female songwriters/musicians, Joan Armatrading's name should be there. Her talent as a musician and song-writer is hugely apparent here, with excellent lyrics, affecting vocals and a crack ensemble behind her. She definitely wears her heart-felt emotions sleeve. I was shocked to see that this record is 47 years old, but her music has held up just fine over the years.

Damn, how old is this guy anyways, 12 yrs old? Gimmicky, sophomoric and crude lyrics. The intro that sounds like its from a porn flick made me roll my eyes but the worst song is I got to tell you which drops infantile bombs referring to doo doo and pee pee with Pachelbel's Canon in the background (ie., Classical music for people who don't know shit about Classical music). Also, the cover and name of the album sucks.

This is an interesting concept, and I hear the roots of dub step forming. Unfortunately I didn't have the time or patience to listen carefully to the story that he was weaving so I let it play in the background. As background music it got pretty boring fast though as there's not a lot of variety going on here.

If you're a fan of Dylan and appreciate folksy music accented with heart-felt songwriting and imagery you'll also love this. Thing is though, I hate Dylan and I also don't like Cohen. He's another of those polarizing artists, you either love him or hate him. Someone here also wrote that if you find Dylan too exciting, then Cohen is for you... which I found hilarious. His lyrics may be good, but he's the Dark Prince of Gloom and his maudlin, gloomy voice throughout just makes me want to slice open my veins now.

This was a nice surprise because it was a lot less redneck sounding than the recent offerings by the Boss on this list. Maybe it was more reflective of the post 9/11 zeitgeist. After a long hiatus the Boss shows that he can still write some solid songs.

This record really captures the mood and spirit of the 50’s. Whoops this was released in 1960, so you could say it was already getting dated. And boy is it ever an anachronism now. Well although the music isn’t very exciting and the lyrics are pretty lame, I have to admit they had nice voices.

This is the second Prince album that I've received and I still fail to see what all the hype is about. To me he's just a hyper-sexualized, edgier version of Michael Jackson. Its interesting to see a full drum kit prominently featured on the album cover because most of the songs feature an annoying electronic drum kit. I'm also not a fan of his alter ego "Camille" with his higher pitched voice, it's a bit creepy. Thank gawd the record company convinced him to strip down his triple album concept to a "mere double" album because this was a chore to get through.

Low end theory is nice low key hip hop, with influences from hard and be-bop Jazz and smooth socially conscious lyrics it is much more accessible than the harder gangster rap that followed it. It's too bad this album doesn't have a killa tune like Can I kick it from their debut album. Most of this album is well done, but so low key that nothing really jumps out and grabs my attention. A solid 2.5 that gets rounded up for its influence.

Does bubble gum pop deserve to be on the list? I think not.

Yesterday it was Britney Spears, today its Christina Aguilera. Dammit 1,001 this is not what I signed up for.

Well this is a change from the bubble gum pop we've been receiving lately. At first it was refreshing to hear the driving jackhammer guitars and edgier vocals, but then they repeated it again.....and again...... and again. The only song that sounded different was United, but boy was that ever a clunker. This album has a lot of cliched guitar riffs and metal style vocals but I'll concede that if they were amongst the first groups to do this back in 1980 then they were actually innovative, so I'll give them an extra point for that.

The star here is obviously Steve Winwood, really great vocals and writing. Glad is a classic prog folk song that ages very gracefully. Kudos to Traffic for creating a really original sound that no other group was able to imitate.

I've always respected artists that are able to change their styles over time to suit the zeitgeist of the moment. Ones that come to mind are Bowie, Miles and Neil Young. Now it may be a stretch to include Paul Weller with those august names, but I must say he's still immensely talented. IMO, along with the Clash they are two of the best groups to come out of the Brit punk rock movement. The Jam's first single In the City is where they sound like a cross between the Clash and the Sex Pistols. Later they would release their anthemic Eton Rifles, and Going Underground. Paul Weller's latter day material with The Style Council and his soulful solo material is vastly different but equally good. Their third album, All Mod Cons was released when they were transitioning away from punk but it bears all the hallmarks of Weller's excellent song-writing.

I've generally been cool on Iggy Pop, but I'm a big Bowie fan, so I think this collab is one of Pop's better efforts. A few of Bowie's rhythm section appears here also, Dennis Davis, Carlos Alomar, George Murray (the DAM trio) and producer Tony Visconti. Bowie was in his Krautrock /Pre Berlin phase so this album reflects a lot of the sound of that period. You can really hear Bowie's influence on Sister Midnight and Nightclubbing. The original version of China Girl on this album is interesting, less cultural appropriation and not as polished as Bowie's version that released a few years later but it has its charm. Wiki mentions that Iggy was in love with a Vietnamese woman Kuelan Nguyen. When he professed his love for her, she replied "shhhh". But for some inexplicable reason he called her a "China girl", but I digress.

During the post punk period of the late 80s The The was one of the better bands out there. They were on par with Tears for Fears I recon. I do prefer their debut album, Soul mining though, that album had some monster singles including This is the day and Uncertain Smile and my all time favourite song by them, Giant which has some really epic percussion. Here on their sophomore album Matt Smith's writing is a bit more sophisticated with the jazzy Heartland and the percussive, almost industrial Infected. But although it doesn't capture the lighting in a bottle of its predecessor, this still a solid record overall and worth a listen before you die.

A few folks have mentioned that the first few songs are ok, but then it gets a bit samey. I concur.

I was a bit embarrassed that I've never heard of this band, but then I see that they have very few listens on Spotify, so I guess it;s not just me. Lots of White Stripes vibes here, minus the enjoyment.

This is very Anglocentric Britpop that just failed to resonate with me. No Woohoo here.

Although I'd rank Selling England and Trick of the Tail ahead of Lamb, this is truly epic in its scope and ambition. I get that Gabriel needed two albums to tell this fanciful tale of Rael, but it does have some filler and that's where it lags. But there are some real killer songs, oh my! They are truly some of the best that Genesis has ever released. Carpet Crawlers, Hairless Heart, and the magnificent It to close things out. If this were a single album it would be a fiver for sure.

I've always thought that Feargal Sharkey had the perfect punk voice, with his warbley Northern Irish accent. You may also recognize him from his appearance on the Assembly's big hit Never Never. Also he has a really cool sounding name. This is good post punk music, the Irish Ramones, if you will.

Better than expected and better than the popular music that the mellenials listen to these days. It does get a bit formulaic at times though.

This album was a fun listen and a refreshing change from the very negative vibes from the Gangsta rap that was prevalent in this period. Lotsa A Tribe Called Quest and Outkast vibes here and samples from the who's who of Black and soul music such as Sly and the Family, James Brown, Earth Wind and Fire, Kurtis Blow etc.

This is a big improvement over the more modern music that we've received lately, yes I'm looking at you Lorde. This album is multi-layered, complex and very well produced. A modern day Kate Bush or Bjork with some dubstep beats mixed it. It could use a bit more variety though.

Yet another album by Cohen, I was starting to think that its me, that I just don't get him, but then again I counted 41 one-star ratings, so maybe its not just me. This album was morbidly morose, maudlin and a real chore to listen to. Stick to writing poetry Lenny.

I’ll admit to being a Bowie fanboy, but only for his music from the 60’s-80’s. His last few albums ie The last day and Darkstar have a very different sound though and nothing really jumps out and resonates with me like his earlier work. Also, I’m quite disappointed in the album “art”, which is basically Heroes with a large portion whited out by a large square, wtf?

After two uninspiring albums, Yes recruited Steve Howe and the band was immediately elevated. Combined with Chris Squire’s melodic bass and one of Jon Anderson’s best performances they really hit it out of the park with this one. They peaked later with Fragile and Close to the Edge but this is still a fine album. The album lags a bit with A Venture but other 5 / 6 songs are real bangers.

I recall reading an article on Reddit recently asking which group has released the best three album streak. The usual suspects like the Beatles and Led Zep were in that list, but Talking Heads also got a lot of votes and deservedly so. Actually they one upped those legendary bands with four consecutive monster albums starting with their astonishing debut, Talking Heads 77, then More Songs about buildings and food, Fear of Music and Remain in light. More Songs was also the first of three produced by Brian Eno and it was a stroke of genius to combine them in the studio, truly lightning in a bottle. This album is unrelentingly brilliant, every fricking song is a killer, absolutely no filler. Also, some of the segueways are also a match made in heaven, flowing so effortlessly into each other eg. The Good thing --> Warning Sign, I'm not in love ---> Stay Hungry. Tina Weymouth's bass is so infectious, Chris Franz' drumming is tight and punky and Byrne's funky jerky guitar riffs are a perfect foil to his equally herky jerky singing style. And I haven't even mentioned their hit single Take me to the river yet, but thats moot since I've already said enough to give this album 5 stars.

I'm not sure if Live and Greatest Hits albums should be on this list. And given that this is hella looong and improvised to boot, I wasn't too keen on it. I think that you also have to be a dead-head and fan of this group to appreciate it.

I recently posted about how Talking Heads had an incredible streak of four consecutive brilliant albums and I think Supertramp can be included in that conversation also, with Crime of the Century kicking it off, then followed by Crisis, what crisis?, Even in the quietest moments and then Breakfast in America. All four albums have several truly memorable tracks, but for some reason it seems that only this album made the cut for this list, truly the crime of the century, boomtish! Wiki labels them a prog band but I think they are probably the least proggy of the big British bands, being much more accessible to mainstream audiences than say early Yes or Genesis. So to account for the sinful omission of their other albums that feature truly great songs such as: Take the long way home, Breakfast in America, Even in the quietest moments, Fool's overture and Babaji, this one gets a slight bump up to 5 stars.

Well electronic music is one of my favourite genres, but this drum and bass shit is my least favourite. I find this sound incredibly annoying, its just too in your face and anxiety inducing. Music for obnoxious yobs.

This is slightly better than yesterday's The Prodigy, but it has very similar frenetic beats that are anxiety producing. It hasn't held up well over the years and is very dated sounding and annoying, but it gets one more star than the Prodigy.

I guess credit must be given for their influence on the psychedelic/garage sound but it did not resonate with me.

This is a cut above Green Day, but this shouty adolescent pop/punk sound is not my jam.

This was repetitive, boring and left me cold. Yet another "WTF were the authors thinking when they added this album to the list"? I can think of many other dance oriented albums that should have been on the list instead of this.