1001 Albums Summary

Best Track: Where Did You Sleep Last Night

I always thought The Who were supposed to be some kind of hard rock rebels... aside from the title track this sounded like a knock-off early Beatles act. Some of the cover songs were slightly embarassing, too. Best track: My Generation

Ennio Morricone has a writing credit on this album... Mind. Blown. Best track: It's A Sin

An absolute pop classic. Best track: The Way You Make Me Feel

One note throughout; take a gentle orchestral backing and sing about love. If the band hadn't stopped playing between songs then I don't think I would've noticed if it was one long 45 minute song. Great voice though. Best track: The End of a Love Affair

Another boring one-note album. Best track: The Girl from Ipanema

Solid rock album with a handful of great tunes (barring the album closer). Best track: Sunshine of Your Love

Quite simply one of the greatest albums of all-time with some of Springsteen's most evocative lyrics. Best track: Thunder Road

Admittedly had this playing as more of a background album so didn't really take in many of the lyrics. Some solid early 90s hip-hop sounds, though. Best track: Around the Way Girl

Nowhere near as dreary as I was fearing with a few nice upbeat tracks. Not necessarily my kind of thing but it was decent enough for a one-off listen. Best track: Stupidity Tries

Pretty meh. "I've been working on a cocktail called grounds for divorce" has to be the worst lyric in this project so far. Best track: One Day Like This

Too repetitive for me. Felt like a random jam session with no real sense of direction. Best track: Zombie

Part of me wishes I could get on-board with jazz but I just find it stressful more than anything. Bits of this sounded like a bunch of guys trying to learn their instruments for the first time. Best track: Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-Lues-Are

Nice sounds but I felt like the beats/tempo got a little samey after a while. I like the dynamic between the 3 though, especially when Lauryn Hill utilises her singing voice. Best track: Fu-Gee-La

Better than I was expecting, some nice surprises but the opener is the easy highlight. Best track: Tiny Dancer

Some great riffs and lead guitar work in parts but the constant blast beats and wanky solos get a bit much after a while. The growling vocals is what really holds it back for me though, that style of vocals is just beyond the cusp of what I can tolerate when it comes to metal. Best track: Desperate Cry

One of the greatest debut albums ever - I can only imagine how much more I'd enjoy this if I did psychedelics. Morrison's voice is obviously iconic and although I don't know what he's singing about half the time, I'm fully down with the ethereal imagery it creates. It is Manzarek's work on the keys, however, that really helps elevate and define the sound of The Doors here. Best track: The End

Yawn. Pretty much what I expected after seeing the album cover. The chorus' and outro for Lonesome Tears were pretty strong though. Best track: Lonesome Tears.

Some great jams counterbalanced by some absolutely bat shit ones. Best track: Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Pelvis

Not 100% sure what I listened to here. Best track: Buffalo Gals

Sheryl's voice doesn't half strain when she tries giving it some. A decent variety of tunes though. Best track: The Na-Na Song.

Lead singers voice felt too try-hard and put me off a lot of the songs. Sounded like a continous soundtrack to Scott Pilgrim. Best track: Y Control

Didn't think pop could be so drab. Best track: Ray of Light

Often regarded as Deep Purple's best album but it doesn't quite hit for me. Blackmore rips it up as usual, though. Best track: Speed King

Nice and upbeat but not my kinda thing. Best track: No One in the World

Pretty middle of the road, her voice grated after a while too. Best track: Dress

Instrumentally it hits in parts, a bit reminiscent of Queen at times. Lyrically it creates too much of a novelty record feel. Interesting, at least, for the majority though. Best track: The Wall Street Shuffle

Tough one to rate - really enjoyed it but upon discovering after listening that it's mostly a covers album then it almost feels like a bit of a cheat? Rated solely for that initial listening but I'm still none the wiser to any talent Stewart may or may not have. Best track: Gasoline Alley

Really don't get this get this genre, it's just a mess. Best track: Betray

A bit wanky and pretentious. Tight as fuck rhythm section, though. Best track: Blues Variation

Just a bloody great blues rock album. Best track: La Grange

Another album of mostly covers - mad how you could get away with that so easily back then. Still some good tunes on here, though. Best track: Wishin' and Hopin'

Starts off quite promising but then just becomes a bit wishy washy. Best track: Seagull

Admittedly, this is not what I was expecting from a Kate Bush album. I was expecting something dreary but instead I got what sounded like a 45-minute bad dream, I'm just not sure if that's a good or a bad thing. A bit too kooky for me overall, though. Best track: Leave It Open

Queen playing some thrash metal before thrash metal even existed (Stone Cold Crazy). As with most Queen album it's a mad mish-mash of various genres with some hits and some duds. Fortunately the hits outweigh the duds on this one. Best track: Stone Cold Crazy

I've tried getting into Rush a few times before but Geddy Lee's voice is just far too annoying to tolerate. Best track: YYZ

Didn't do much for me and had nothing that really stood out. Best track: Chemical World (+ Intermission)

Second Bowie album for me from this list now and neither have done much for me, starting to think he probably ain't my bag. Best track: Golden Years

Sounded pretty samey to me. Best track: All I Need

Some fun tunes but feels like it takes itself too seriously at times in thinking it's an operatic masterpiece, the ballads especially. Top artwork, though. Best track: Bat out of Hell

As great as this is, it doesn't quite hit the heights of it's predecessor (Born to Run) due to a few too many tracks that only hit the above-average mark (Something in the Night, Racing in the Street, Factory). Badlands, Adam Raised a Cain, The Promised Land and the title track are some of Bruce's very best though so it's only a fraction away from hitting full marks. Best track: The Promised Land

My first 5* new discovery (although hardly a hidden gem) and of all the artists for it to be... not a weak song in sight though and there's just a weird kind of atmosphere throughout which I can't pinpoint but I'm all in for. Best track: I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For

It's not something that I'd ever listen to again but I still kind of enjoyed it as an imaginary sci-fi soundtrack. Best track: Oxygène (Part V)

Like the previous Bowie albums I've already tried, this starts off quite promising from a musical viewpoint but then quickly becomes somewhat tiresome and flat. Best track: Speed of Life

A great pop album with great vocals. Best track: California Dreamin'

A bunch of ideas that were never developed beyond that which is a shame as there are a few things in here that could've been somewhat decent. Best track: Motor Away

Nothing special. Best track: Buried Alive in the Blues

As with the last Fela Kuti album, this had some good funky moments but ultimately becomes a bit repetitive after a while. Saying that though, I did enjoy this one more and I've always got time for some live call and response. Best track: Egbe Mi O (Carry Me I Want to Die)

As the name suggests, just a fun album. Best track: The Fun Lovin' Criminal

Best track: Jungle Music

Bit too prog for this guy.

Alright as background music but that's about it.

Fuck Courtney Love. Best track: Violet

I'm still only really of the opinion that the Stones are one of the best greatest hits bands. One of the best album openers of all-time and a great closing track but with a collection of middle of the road rock tunes in between. Best track: Gimme Shelter

An absolute masterclass in rock musicianship and virtuosity without becoming overbearing or wanky. Every band member brings a tour de force performance, complimenting everyone else perfectly and the only negative is that they didn’t include When A Blind Man Cries on the original release. Best track: Highway Star

I know it's cool to hate on Coldplay but you can't deny there are some anthems in here. It just peters out a bit in the second half. Best track: The Scientist

The rock and blues numbers are top-tier Hendrix. The psychedelic ones are a little bit too far out for me but are fortunately limited in their numbers. Possibly the greatest album closer of all-time, too. Best track: Voodoo Child (Slight Return)

Already listened to it once when I started this project with another group, I ain't listening again.

Some good tunes, some bland ones. Best track: Nothing Compares 2 U

It's no Chocolate Salty Balls but it's still damn funky. First 3 tracks are real good but my word does that closer drag. Best track: Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic

Fuck Courtney Love. Best track: Celebrity Skin

Boring. Best track: Zebra

Didn't offend me but it just ain't my thing. Best track: Brown Sugar

Slowly grew on me but just way too many tracks and ultimately ends up feeling baggy. Best track: Fiddle Riddle

All sounded a bit generic to me.

This one caught me off-guard, some great pop tunes and I'm a big fan of those synth sounds. Best track: Style

Better than the last Yes album we had but still a bit too prog for me. Best track: Starship Trooper

Pretty much what I expected from a Kinks album, very safe rock n roll. In the words of the great Anatoly Dyatlov: "not great, not terrible". Best track: Rainy Day in June

I'm still not sold on the idea of live albums being on this list but as far as live albums go, this is pretty damn strong. Sure, it can be guilty of self-indulgence in parts but the band is tight as fuck despite seemingly constantly going off on a tangent. You'd be fuming if you went to a gig these days though and only got 7 songs. Best track: Highway Star

Top album, can imagine a lot of these blaring out on a Friday night down at the 42nd Street discotheque back in the day. Best track: Peaches

First half is decent, second half drags a bit. Best track: Subterranean Homesick Blues

First half was a struggle, second half was more my kind of Dylan. Best track: Like a Rolling Stone

Formulaic and unremarkable. 'Let Me Entertain You' is a tune though.

The pop tracks are great, the lounge tracks are not

Big fan of the overall sound/feel. Can imagine Joseph Gordon-Levitt's character in (500) Days of Summer listening to this a lot.

The rock aspect and production are great but the lyrical content and structure feels juvenile.

Pretty standard across the board, nothing exciting.

Top album. Touches upon themes and topics that feel very different from other hip hop albums I'm familiar with, great structure and the instrumental side hits on pretty much every track.

Top tier Hendrix. Some of the songwriting is still mindblowing.

The first time I listened to this I thought I was about to listen to a live album and that Utero was the name of a city. I'm glad it wasn't.

OK as background music but I wouldn't consciously decide to listen again.

Sounds like something you'd hear in a Northern Quarter vintage clothes shop.

I'd be more than happy if music still sounded like this.

Not great, not terrible.

I didn't hate it. Ice Cube was the last person I was expecting to pop up after those opening few tracks.

Pretty unremarkable. Even the 'big hit' isn't that much of a draw.

Chiquitos: Official Soundtrack

Dreary pop

Couldn't finish it. Dross.

Sounds like something you'd find in a Sofia Coppola movie and that can only be a good thing.

Not the greatest ABBA album by any stretch of the imagination but it has it's moments. Strays a little too far from their signature disco/pop sound and never quite hits the same heights of those earlier records.

Chavviest album so far.

What a drag.

I'm quite partial to a good instrumental but you better make sure they're pretty next level if you plan on making an entire album of them. This didn't.

As with most punk, this just ends up sounding samey.

Quite a fun listen but I don't see the appeal of early Beatles; every song is about love and doesn't really sound too dissimilar from other artists of the time.

It gets a little samey after a while (like most punk) but the songs are that great that it doesn't really matter.

A fun listen but I just can't give any real credibility to an album of (mostly) covers.

Didn't think I was gonna rate this but it ended up being pretty great. Relentless from the get-go.

Gets a bit samey and doesn't seem to have the layers that Slim's next album possesses.

Not my thing but I can appreciate the craft.

50% absolute classics, 50% slightly above average middle-of-the-road rock.

Far too long.

Big fan of that lead in to 'Head Over Heels' from 'Broken'.

Got a little dull after a while but I do like Cohen's voice and the overall atmosphere he creates.

A lot better than I was expecting

Sounds pretty dated now but still some solid tracks

Solid rock n roll album

What. In the blue fuck. Was that?

Glossy but soulless. Still fun, though.

I'm only really familiar with Steely Dan's greatest hits collection and with that I found a handful of amazing tracks mixed in with a collection of wishy-washy ones. The same can be said about this studio album.

I've never really listened to Soundgarden but have always wanted to so I was quite looking forward to this. Aside from a couple of great tracks, though, this just sounded fairly generic (except Cornell's vocals, of course)

After the first 5 seconds you know exactly what you're gonna get for the rest of the album, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Kick. Kick-kick. Snare. If it ain't broke then don't fix it.

This is more my kinda jazz in comparison to the other entries we've had so far. I can imagine Terence Fletcher playing this down at the local jazz club.

I'd listened to this one in passing a couple of times but was never sure whether it had the makings of a varsity athlete. Listening to it 'properly' to it this time and it has swayed me. The first half especially is stellar and right up there in the 5* basket. The second half loses momentum slightly, though, and is the only thing keeping it from hitting the heights of full marks.

Just too funky for me

Inoffensive yet ultimately uninspired. Background music at best.

Quite enjoyed this as background music but wouldn't call it anything more.

Much better (and completely different) than the previous Blur album we've had. Some great tunes although it did feel like it lost momentum a bit towards the back end. Perhaps it needs a second listen.

Just sounds like every other band from that era.

Opening track is a banger but unfortunately the rest doesn't hit the same heights.

Metallica at their most progressive and arguably their most aggressive. From a musical perspective this is them at the top of their game; the compositions, time signatures, tempo changes and guitar harmonies are all next level and it's clear to see how the band thought they'd taken this approach to songwriting as far as they could with this album.

It may be glam but it's a whole load of fun and you can't deny that there are a handful of absolute anthems here.

Pretty generic.

Noisy sound effects. Mostly garbage.

Never really listened to Grateful Dead before always imagined them to be somewhat rebellious. This was just spineless.

Pretty samey but Mule Skinner's Blues is a great little ditty.

Did nothing for me

Never really connected with reggae but this still sounds smooth nonetheless

Pleasant album to be driving through the snowy suburbs and highways of Greater Manchester to.

I prefer my Frank with a bit of swing and some brass

Probably my favourite of the Bowie albums we've had so far in this project but I still don't really get the hype. Shout-out to the riff in 'Andy Warhol' being good enough for Metallica to steal it, though.

The overall sound of Madness doesn't actually sound that much like a novelty act when in the context of a full album (for the most part) and actually has a few moments of musical brilliance.

Doesn't have the magic of Simon and Garfunkel but there's still some nice tunes in there

Might as well just copy and paste my review from the last Cohen album we had: Got a little dull after a while but I do like Cohen's voice and the overall atmosphere he creates.

Not quite the 5* I thought it was: forgot how much of a drag the ballads/slower songs can be in the second half. But the rest are absolute jams.

Big fan of the sound of this one. Atmospheric and slightly dystopian. Bring on more Kraftwerk!

Gets a stronger rating for Do It Again, Dirty Work and Reelin' in the Years which are all classics. The rest was fairly forgettable.

Probably the best jazz album we've had so far - I just need a bit of structure and order to my jazz.

Doesn't quite have that classic legacy for me as it's reputation suggests it should. Solid record but probably doesn't squeeze into my top 3 Motörhead albums.

My Pogues kick gets stronger

Did nothing for me: generic and repetitive and way too long.

Title track is obviously a classic but otherwise it's a fairly standard blues rock album with uninspired guitar noodling. Never really seen the appeal in Clapton.

Just an all-round great rock album

A little too long for my liking and a few filler tracks, but when there's also Trampled Under Foot, Kashmir, In The Light, The Wanton Song and my anthem Boogie With Stu then that's more than enough to boost it up.

Unremarkable.

Too much cheese but the title track is a stone cold classic.

Not my thing

Boring.

Nothing really stood out except for 'Brass in Pocket'

Never really understood how Kiss are so massive and I still don't. Not as cheesy as I was expecting but nothing special at all.

Meh. Instantly forgettable.

Not as bad as I was fearing (although that bar was quite low). It started off quite well but then the ballads crept in more frequently and eventually sapped any life out of proceedings. I did actually like her voice on the tracks when she let it sit with the rest of the band to create an overall song and wasn't all about showmanship but it's the ballad tracks where the vocals have to take centre stage that just puts me off completely.

A blend of dated 80s sounds and casual cultural appropriation. Sounds like a Sting record.

Pretty bland for an 80s pop record

Nights out in the 50s must have been an absolute blast.

Liked the sound of this one and some tracks have the potential to be growers, especially 'how do you sleep'.

This is probably one of the most ignorant things I could ever say but I genuinely reckon that if I knew how to technically play a trumpet then I could do what Miles does here. Inane.

Doesn't possess the same dystopian quality I liked about The Man-Machine and is instead a lot more experimental so doesn't quite hit the same heights.

Another album that I'm not sure about how it got a place on this list.

Probably really a 3* album (although there are a handful of great tracks, to be fair) but I listened to this so much as a kid that the nostalgia trip it provided boosted the overall listening experience.

Great album which rarely falters.

Never been a huge AC/DC fan aside from a few big tunes. Same applies here, some great anthems but padded out with fairly generic rock.

First half is stellar and 'Little Wing' alone is worth the price of admission. Second half lags a little though with 'Castles Made of Sand' the only major highlight.

Beyond the 3 staple tracks, there isn't much here beyond generic rock. Some of the numbers almost sound like production library tracks and although the staples are now way overplayed, 'Paradise City' is still an absolute tune.

Easy listening but let's not pretend Elvis wasn't 95% filler (a percentage so high just because of the amount he churned out) and this album is no different. 'In the Ghetto' is obviously a classic but there's nothing else here to get too excited about.

Always got time for a little Muddy Waters. I can't say I've ever heard a live show where they play the same song back-to-back, though. Granted, 'I've Got My Mojo Working' is a tune but it stills seems a little unnecessary.

Never quite got the Prince hype. The American David Bowie, for me.

Bit too long