1001 Albums Summary

By the end it was barely listenable. Hated it. I can hear the good intentions and enthusiasm, but they didn't make up for the bad songs, awful and intrusive drumming, grating vocals, overbearing harsh sounding guitar. I appreciate the idea of a 'back to basics' stripped down sound, but get a producer for God's sake.

Curious amalgam of Frank Sinatra, Frank Ifield and Hank Williams, but considerably inferior to all three. Surely worst version of 'Wild side of life' ever recorded. Very annoying cheesy slide guitar all over everything. This would have been very popular in the early 50/60s but doesn't stand the test of time very well.

Words almost unnecessary. For a teenager, hearing this album for the first time was a life-changing experience. Their best album by a mile in my view.

Mostly innoffensive stuff. Occasionally some jarring, incongruous guitar arrangements, as might be expected from a rock band doing soul, but on the whole they are probably the blackest sounding white men I've heard. David Cassidy was obviously a fan, he covered 2 of their songs. An interesting historical footnote, but not sure why it would be on any list of essential albums.

Don't know how to rate this album. I loathe rap - speaking doggerel very quickly over a drum machine beat and a sample of someone else's creativity is NOT music. It might be poetry, but if that's what you're after, try John Cooper Clarke to see how it should really be done. Having said that, Eminem is the best of a bad bunch. 'My name is' is obviously a cut above - but the competition isn't strong.

Heroic drumming - I would have sworn that was Phil Collins if I didn't already know it wasn't. Whoever it is, I bet he was great at maths in school - that's a guy who really knows how to count. On reflection the vocals are also interesting - I have no idea what any of these songs was about because I couldn't decipher any of the lyrics, but they sounded quite earnest. I absolutely loved lots of little individual sections on lots of tracks - in particular on 'Limelight' and 'The Camera Eye' and.. ..come to think of it, pretty much every track - but when you put the whole thing together it's just a mess. It shouldn't be that complicated: just decide what the sodding song is going to be, then play the damn thing! There's no need to try and cram 12 songs into every track. Yes, I know that's the nature of Prog Rock and it's almost 50 years too late to point out the absurdity of it now, but, come on, nobody really likes this, do they? It's mad. Great technicianship (as opposed to musicianship) and all that, but you can't whistle these tunes, can you? Well, there you are then. If you absolutely must listen to Prog then Genesis is the only sensible, musical, intelligent option available - and even so, you're on thin ice. Oh god, after Led Zep II, this is easily the best so far. Streets ahead. I'll take this to a desert island over the White Stripes every time. I loved it. No, really I did, despite neither expecting nor wanting to. Playing it again now. Maybe one day I'll understand some of it... but if I don't, there's still that heroic drumming... utterly brilliant. Please sir, can I have some more?

Lots of 'too clever by half' but still brilliant lyrics, ridiculously affected but still pleasing vocal style, perfectly delivered but mostly unsatisfying and echoingly repetitive tunes/themes (big boys/good year for the roses, party girl/alison etc), oh yes and the coda to party girls is unforgivably stolen directly from Abbey Road's: \"1234567, all good children go to heaven...\" so overall I ended up just thinking, \"it's sort of good, but not for me, thanks. It's all a bit samey in a different sort of way. I would have stopped listening after 2 or 3 tracks but I didn't want to miss out on something good, but in the end there wasn't anything - except the singles, and the best song was written by Nick Lowe.

Love the singles - the sound of (somebody's, not mine) youthful summers - happy, outdoor music to have in the background - but the three singles are head and shoulders above the rest, though I can't explain to myself why, given that all the songs sounded the same, especially the guitar sound - a sort of Nile Rodgers-type vibe going on - except not in the same league. The rest I can't remember. Why is this an important album? It clearly isn't, it's just pop music, good as singles but nothing else. What next - Boney M? Yes, all right, I loved them too, but I'm never going to sit and listen to any of their albums. Incidentally, I am still listening to Rush and getting worried that I may have contracted some sort of illness. Is there a support group? (no, not that sort, the psychological sort)

What a fab opening riff - followed by another - then another. Three of my favourite songs in a row. Joy. I haven't heard this album since 1980. Sadly not all to that same high standard, but then they couldn't possibly be, and even the duff tracks are pretty good. Loved it. I was also prompted to put some of these onto my running playlist. To criticise, I felt the vocal melody lines weren't always as good as the guitar lines underneath them. I generally like Ric Ocasek's vocals and on some tracks he's perfect for the vibe of the track; when he's right, he's really right; but sometimes he takes the low road when the high road is just inviting him along. I can't help thinking that with a stronger singer, they could have taken over the world - but overall, it's still a great sound.

I'm a fan of old grumpy-boots and I know this is generally accepted amongst the cognoscenti to be his magnum opus, but frankly I don't get it. I was hooked after 3 seconds of the opening bars but after that there was a long wait to hear anything approaching coherence. The influence reaches down the decades though - just try playing David Gray's version of Say Hello Wave Goodbye then Madame George (that's only one example from that album, there are loads). At least half of this album is effectively just a two-chord backing track with The Man wailing nonsense over the top. What a beautiful noise he makes, though. At 2:30am after a couple of spliffs it can't be beaten; at 5:30pm over fish fingers and beans, it just doesn't have the same effect, but still, what a voice. There are better albums in his catalogue, though. Checkout 'Dweller on the threshold' from the opera house live in Belfast rather than this. Of course I could be wrong; I'll just play it again to be sure. Oh wow, that opening track is fantastic..

I hated almost every second of this - although I can't say every second because I couldn't bear to listen to it all. Appalling, jarring, deliberately mad dynamics, this was everything Milly said about Rush, but in a different genre and played less competently and maybe they actually were trying to be funny. The opening track has the worst percussion I've ever heard. Worse, even, than the White Stripes. I'm losing faith in the list - why is this in any way an important album? I don't expect to like lots of stuff but I can still appreciate why it might be significant - even though I may hate it - but this definitely isn't.

My earliest memories are of cowboy songs, so I found this both soothing and sad, a relic of a bygone age when a man's best friend was his horse. Do children still play cowboys and indians? No - and cowboys and native americans just isn't the same You can't even buy caps anymore. All the songs are familiar to me, even the ones that I hadn't heard before. Predictable themes, tunes, the solemn tone - you can almost sing along without knowing the song. Like hymns for the godless. I'll never listen to it again, but I don't need to, it's part of me.

Just awful.

Great as background party music but I can't remember anything at all from it. All the tracks blur into one. This isn't music to listen to, just to dance - which is fine, but I don't dance so that's no use to me, I'll take Samba Pa Ti instead, please. Mind you, it gave me a happy 5 minutes watching Jane dance to it in the kitchen.

Whilst the songs are all likeable, nostalgic little vignettes, the sound is mosty thin and reedy, lacking punch. with the obvious exception of Waterloo Sunset. As an example, compare the Kinks against the Jam's version of David Watts. I love all the Kinks singles right up to Come Dancing, but the album tracks don't enthuse me. Some of them would make great short stories, though.

I think I last listened to this album all the way through when I was about 12 years old (my best friend's older brother had a copy) and I'd forgotten how utterly, utterly brilliant it was and I want to apologise to the world for leaving it so long - I've played it 5 times today to try and make amends. It's just visceral and totally brilliant, the best thing I've heard so far. Can I give 6 stars? (also just noticed that Billy Bragg nicked the riff from 'Oh Yoko' for 'Waiting for the great leap forward'). I wrote loads more (twice) about this album but deleted it all - there was no need, you already knew it all anyway.

Never heard of this band before. "I'll just listen while I'm in the gym", I thought. Wham! First track couldn't have been more apt for the situation. It's great to workout to but I didn't even recognise the genre, never mind the track, so had to look them up to find out what sort of 'music' this is - but I was none the wiser, really. Eurobollocks maybe? Downhill all the way after the first track - I don't dance so this is hopeless. Confirmed all my prejudices about dance music though, so I'm glad I listened to it. Nul points from me.

How have I not heard this before? I loved Lust for Life, but this one had passed me by and it's great. Sister Midnight and Funtime ought to be mainstream rock classics. I guess Iggy just was too far out there to get the mainstream attention he deserves. Jane said 'you can hear Bowie all over this" and she was right, it's almost a Bowie album.

I'm a fan and listen to his music every day, so I'm biased, but the songs are achingly melancholic (eg Johnsburg, Illinois) which (if you like that sort of thing - and I do) hit the spot every time. He is an acquired taste though;.some stuff is very odd (16 shells,,, which is largely about a guitar) but once you accept the strangeness, it's fabulous and occasionally very funny (Frank's wild years). I expect at least another three of his albums to make this list, and I for one, can hardly wait.

Bizarre. I found this simultaneously repugnant and entrancing. Flitting from some sort of mad euro-thrash metal to the avant-garde (at times very much like Tom Waits - except in french, which really doesn't help). I must have played the whole album 4 or 5 times so far but I'm still no nearer to understanding what's going on. I don't even know if I like it or not. It just sits there, demanding to be played (again) and that way madness lies. I'm quite disturbed, both by it and how it makes me feel. I'm going to try never to play it again and to forget I ever heard it.

Massively clichéd, ludicrous lyrics, teenage hair metal, pointless forgettable solos and generally indistinguishable from a dozen other 1980s middle of the road rock bands, (in this case from Sheffield but trying to sound like Americans). It's OK in small doses, just letting it wash over, but nothing stands out or grabs my attention; the songs aren't strong enough to transcend the limitations of the genre. Plastic rock.

A masterpiece from a proper musical genius.

I ain't got time for this, know what I'm sayin'?

Shame, I really wanted to like this. XTC have done some brilliant stuff; 'Love on a farmboy's wages' is still one of my very favourite songs after 30 years and I play several of their other singles regularly. This album was entirely unknown to me and I'm disappointed - I was hoping to discover some new gems. Maybe it needs more time to grow but in comparison to the obvious immediacy of their other work, it seems pretty weak. Some occasional nice stuff, but only serving to highlight how poor the rest is.

Had enough after 30 seconds but I persevered to the end. Was it worth it? Absolutely not. Awful, one-paced, plodding dirges. How did this ever get onto any list that also includes Graceland? Paul Simon should sue the curator.

I appreciate this was a very important album, the dawn of shoegazing. It even got 'best debut album of 1985' in one list and makes lots of other lists put together by music journos of the time, trying to jump on the next bandwagon and not caring whether it sounds good just as long as it's new and hip. Admittedly it is strangely hypnotic and some of it is very good, but overall it just feels like a walI of sound fell on my head. A lot of it is also just unlistenable. 1985 must have been a really bad year for new artists.

Love Jethro Tull. It must be something about standing on one leg and sticking your tongue out, because I also love Loudon Wainright III. Locomotive Breath is just brilliant and very easy to play (badly). Sam likes this album, having discovered it for himself.

This was not a good start to my day. Mindless meanderings, devoid of melody or direction. Some of it was reasonably innoffensive, and after a couple of tracks I was thinking, maybe 3 stars - but who thought 'Freeform guitar' or 'Poem 58' were worthy of inclusion on an album for sale to the public? It just made me cross. Complete rubbish.

The title is a dead giveaway. This might be OK if you are full of E's but otherwise it's just someone messing about in the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Utter tripe.

Pleasant pop, but nothing special.

It's as if 'running away' and 'family affair' are by a different band. The rest of the album never gets close to that level. Some nice grooves, but too slow and ponderous - it needs an injection of energy.

Very clever and quirky - like an early 70s version of XTC. As usual, the singles stand out, though I've always liked 'The worst band in the world', too. Otherwise it just drifted past me.

I knew about this Krautrock band. A mate in school had The Faust Tapes and I remember him talking about it in 1973(ish) Consequently, I can say that this album is way too commercial - I prefer the hardcore early stuff. Lol.

A right load of pretentious bollocks has been written about this band "there's never been music like this, before or since". Well good, because it's shit.

Don 't like the Pet Shop Boys.

I really love 12 bar blues, it's easily my favourite genre, but I don't like the big Chicago sound: saxophone, horns, piano and intrusive American crowds screaming at every little word. When he actually gets round to playing the guitar rather than playing the audience, he's pretty good. B.B.has produced some sublime moments, but not many of them are on display here. This is just cheesy showbiz. The thrill may be gone but it still beats the Pet Shop Boys hands down.

A work of genius and after 30 years I still listen to it regularly. My favourite track has changed several times over the years. Starting with Nightswimming, then moving on to Everybody Hurts (once described by Peter Buck as an example of Michael Stipe "polishing a turd") but lately it's been the amazing and still prescient Ignoreland. And John Paul Jones arranged the strings. This is up there with Graceland and Led Zep II (of what we've heard so far) with a serious claim to be in the top 10 of best albums ever recorded.

It began to grow on me after the second play, but it's not really my type of thing. Reminds me of Screamin' Jay Hawkins/Captain Beefheart. Also very pleased and surprised to discover that 'I walk on gilded splinters' was a Dr John song - love Paul Weller's version from Stanley Road.

It's just average pop.

Enjoyed this way more than expected. Fergal Sharkey's voice is a bit marmite and I'm on the wrong side of that divide, but there's no denying the infectious energy. Interestingly and unusually for rock music, I think almost every song is in 2/4 time. In any event, all the same beat, and all the song lyrics are variations on either "it's not fair, he's got more than me" or "it's not fair, she doesn't love me" but nevertheless I still loved it. Avoided this sort of stuff like the plague in the 70s (along with all punk/new wave) but happy to discover I was wrong.

Thank God that's over with. I feel inadequate just saying it, but really, what's it about? It seems to me to be the jazz equivalent of guitar shredding. No doubt technically amazing, but utterly useless to listen to. Music only to those actually playing it. Fret-wanking (or the sax/drum/piano version). Sorry, but the emperor's wearing no clothes.

Some music requires a completely flat emotionless delivery: gregorian chant for example, so perhaps she should have tried that. Apparently she was unhappy about having flute added to the production, but I bet the flautist was unhappier to have a mad german nihilist droning all over his lovely musings. Occasionally she lights upon suitable material - her versions of All Tomorrow's Parties and My Funny Valentine are both great, but this album is terrible. Music archeologists and Jackson Browne fans can find some interest in his early songwriting here, but this criminal version of These Days shouldn't have been allowed to go unpunished. Nico was culturally important because of those who she moved amongst and this album is similarly important because of its historical context and those involved with it, but on its own merits alone is utterly forgettable.

Q: how many good songs makes a classic album? A: 2, apparently (plus a couple of reasonably good songs) Couldn't remember anything else from this. A very distinctive overall sound, but aside from the obvious contenders for classic status, the material is very weak and mostly just about saved by Slash's savage guitar. Admittedly a cut above the opposition, but that's not saying much. I love Sweet Child and Paradise city as much as anyone and have been trying unsuccessfully to play them for years, but as to the rest, if I never heard it again that would be fine with me. Fast coming to the conclusion that there are very, very, very few albums that are consistently worth listening to.

The music press loved her in the 70s, which was always a bad sign and I never saw the attraction. I remember seeing her doing Horses live on the OGWT and hated it (she also murdered Because the Night). Nothing on this album changes my opinion.

Awful. Hated every second of it.

That's more like it. Not played this for more than 40 years.The vinyl version had a fold-out cover that made a desk. Intro guitar on My Stars was played by Dick Wagner, who was also lead guitar on Rock and roll animal/Lou Reed Live - brilliant. Not Alice Cooper's best, but a decent warm-up for Billion Dollar Babies.

Very interesting. Didn't especially like it, but interesting. Too much guitar pyrotechnics - 'shredding' at the cost of musicality, a pet hate of mine. Very clever but it sounds terrible.

Absolutely not!

Soporific but not unpleasant. Good background music. Played it while working and it didn't interrupt my concentration at all. Feel like I'd heard all the songs before, even though I definitely haven't, they are just oddly familiar.

Street Life is great, but the rest of the album just sounds like an extended instrumental break from that song. You could take any track and insert it into Street Life and it would fit perfectly.

Why? This isn't even music, it's just beats. How does this get on any list? I'm tired of this. Not interested in dance.

I get why The Beasties Boys should be on the list, but not this album. Licensed to Ill was the one. By this album it wasn't new anymore. Originally they were ground-breaking (though personally I'd have preferred it if they had just left the ground where it was) with sampling (including Led Zep riffs) and scratching etc. Swearing a lot in interviews and generally being badly behaved - standard teenager stuff which just screamed 'fake' to me at the time ("Mike D" turns out to be the son of a New York art dealer.. ffs). I hated hip hop and rap then and hate it even more now.

OK. At last something genuinely interesting. Rap with guitars! I really liked this.

I'd been looking forward to this: I knew it would be on the list, and that it is highly regarded, so I was very disappointed to hate it and feel as if it is somehow my fault. Then Sam derided me for not liking it, so I took the pledge to play nothing else for the weekend to see if it would grow on me. By Sunday night I began to hear past the noise to the beauty beneath on a few traccks (still think it would be better without the noise though - a remix would definitely help). Still ddon't like it though.

It's Neil Young, so of course it's good. Not his best, but still pretty good. But if you've heard Unplugged, then this version of World on a String is disappointing. New Mama is great, not heard that before.

The title track is wonderful, one of my favourite tunes for many years. The rest of the album is unremarkable and surprisingly different to the title track. Stevie Winwood is one of the great unsung heroes of rock music, but this is disappointing.

Standard generic 80s sickly soul. Nothing memorable or worth noting.

Good for comedy value. Cliched country, all male voices sound the same, it could be Garth Brooks or Waylon Jennings, I can't tell them apart, not unpleasant but just jaded. Modern (especially female, eg Moll Tuttle) country is way better these days.

Why this album? He's just coasting, there's no fire. All good songs as you'd expect, but this is NOT one his best - there are at least half a dozen Springsteen albums I can name without even pausing for breath that are better than this. It's not that it's bad music (it's fine and I enjoyed it) but it's terrible curation (yet again).

Loved this. No real songs, really, just a bunch of jams, but the vibe is perfect. Great guitar tone, too. Nonsense, but easy listening.

Fantastic. A completely new guitar sound - Sultans of swing is absolutely the best single ever and the backdrop to my friday nights for a decade or so. Down to the waterline and Water of love are also still on my running playlist.

Possibly Manchester's best Stevie Wonder impersonator.

This makes me so angry I can hardly articulate it. Racist, mysoginist in the extreme, boastful, violent and just downright disrespectful all round. Oh yes, and it's also rubbbish musically.

Meh. It's OK, reminiscent of Lou Reed's Coney Island Baby period.

Distinctive discordant guitar and disjointed rhythmns - it sounds like they're playing The Jam's News of the World backwards. The bastard children of The Buzzcocks and Devo. Occasionally interesting but mostly annoying.

Meh. It's just average.

Why? If I released an album of covers played on swanee whistle and kazoo, would that make the list? I love a good raga as much as anyone, but this is just nonsense.

No, sorry, don't like Radiohead. Don't understand all the hype at all. Media darling, whiney college kids. Kid A and OK Computer are always in the 'best albums ever' lists but I hate them and think they're shit.

At last! Something I like.

Some lovely tunes. Not really my thing: file it with Coldplay, Snow Patrol etc. Generally very nice inoffensive AOR with the occasional standout track.

Don't understand freeform jazz. I've tried - I even went to a jazz club specially to try it. Had a great time but not because of the jazz.

Utterly brilliant. Probably my favourite of his albums, though it's hard to choose.

It's OK.

Is this not Oasis in (slight) disguise? Same wall of guitar sound and production, vocal intonation and phrasing, guitar style - all that's missing is an obnoxious twat freeloading as a singer. I quite liked it but clearly the two bands are interchangeable. Occasionally detected a Rolling Stones influence.

Our greatest ever lyricist. Genius. His first 4 albums are all sensational. With some rare artists you can remember exactly where you were when you first heard them and Billy Bragg is one of those. But Train Train is an aberration - it must have been included on the album by mistake!

Other than the eponymous track, complete rubbish. If he hadn't been who he was, this would never have got published. Whining adolescent drivel. So bad it makes me cross.

It's OK. Just average alt rock. I won't listen to it again and don't remember a single note of it.

Iree! Good stuff. Treading familiar ground, but still nice. Makes a giod companion piece to Bob Marley's Uprising.

Not for me. Not outright terrible, just a style I dislike.

Some reasonable songs - Pulp were a sort of modern day Kinks, but (surprise!) I don't like them.

What a mixture - some mad stuff in with the greats. Difficult to rate because this is all just a part of history. It's not their best album but includes some of their best songs. Obviously I love it but I'm torn. 4.5 would be about right, really. 4 isn't eniugh but 5 is too much. oh well..

Not unpleasant as muzak supermarkets an lifts.

Wonderful

Brilliant. Proper rock from when Rod could sing and before it all went gooey (ie everything from Atlantic crossing onwards). Absolutely love The Faces. I haven't played Maggie May for decades because I thought I was bored of it, but the shit this list has put forward so far reminds me that I am so not. It is a world apart and brought a tear to my eye - and what a guitar solo! Mandolin wind, Reason to believe, Every picture... track after track top quality. Just wonderful, wonderful, music. Joy from start to finish. Get in, get up, get out!

This one I get: a radically new sound in rock, clearly an important album. Also, I really like it.

This needs no comment. Top 10 album of all time, without question.

Oh yeah, baby, uhh!

Surprising a d almost funny. Take a Smiths album master tape, go to the mixing desk and slide every channel containing Johnny Marr's guitar parts down to zero. What you will be left with is this album. It's good, but it would have been so much better with him.

This just washed over me. It sounds more like a film score rather than music to actually listen to. Weird ethereal voice effect.

Ridiculous. Why is this on the list? It's just muzak.

Sorry boys, The Beatles got there before you, and did it way, way better. Lots of screaming and faux excitement but the music behind it is flat as a pancake. I'm guessing these are Americans trying to emulate the Mersey sound. Whoever they are, it doesn't work. Just sounds like 10 alternate and inferior versions of Twist and Shout.

It's just a fake film score. I'm sure it would fit a film very well, but why must we hear it without the pictures? Who curated this list?

Awful. Hated it.

Ordinarily I'd ignore stuff like this - preposterous, overblown stadium rock. But my perspective has been damaged by the swathes of utter rubbish we've had forced on us lately. Consequently, this felt like a breath of fresh air. It gets 4 stars, principally for 'Wanted..' which is a real classic (though the live version is better).

Wow! This, I really like. Great ambient music. Played this constantly all day, and despite the repetitive riffs, it never bores - always something new going on behind it. My only disappointment is not being able to make out John McLaughlin's guitar at all over the whole album. One of the greatest ever, and I can't hear him at all! Otherwise, flawless. Just wonderful.

Wrong album. Stranded (the third Roxy Music album) is easily the best. But this is still very good - even avant garde in its day,

What a surprise - McLaren is an infuriating twat, but there's no denying that there's some good stuff on here. It's not Graceland but he was definitely onto something.

Smooth. My employer uses 'Your love is king' as its hold music. Customers have complained that, having had to wait so long, they can't enjoy the song any more. One customer said hearing the song outside of the work environment induced panic attacks.

What a coincidence. I was playing Steely Dan to Sam last week - I chose Aja. This is great and I played it on rotation all day and the rest of the weekend. Fantastic production, these guys were perfectionists. Not unusual for them to change the whole band (they use session musicians, the 'band' was really just Donald Fagen and Walter Becker) from track to track. Songs from the seamy side hidden behind jaunty tunes. Brilliant.

Absolutely nothing special about this - nice enough, if you like that sort of thing. I don't. It's just offensive, passive racist rubbish.

Nice background music for a restaurant, maybe. Don't remember anything about this - instantly forgotten.

Interesting. I liked some of the tracks, especially 'Dirty boots'. Other stuff, bordering on death metal, not so keen.

Another piece of music which is fixed in my memory to the place and time when I first heard it - in this case riding in my geography A level teacher's Alfasud on a field trip to Oxwich Bay (along with Beggars Banquet). A life-shaping experience.

It's OK. Stupid Girl stands out a mile though.

Really good. Not a bad track on it - some better than others, but consistently above average.

For about a year they ruled the world. A string of singles from this album (including the sublime Wild west hero) meant it was impossible to go anywhere without hearing ELO playing. Places me forever in Coventry shopping precinct.

Average whinge-pop.

Sorry, but I just don't like his voice or music. Don't like his Dad's stuff either. I must be wrong because everyone seems to think they are both geniuses.

When she's good, she's unbeatable. Down to zero has been in my personal top 10 for 40+ years and not likely to be shifted, and Love and affection is just completely perfect.

I can see why some would like this - his voice is very 'marmite' - I don't like it at all. The songs are aimless meanderings and I prefer a discernable melody.

Brilliant. Just brilliant.

Lovely guitar and some beautiful songs, though he rewrote Vincent (as Crossroads) and American Pie (as Everybody loves me, baby) - but it's still a great body of work.

Just awful. How did this get on any list?

Like it all. Not a bad track on it.

Grew on me. At first it sounds like a rewrite of Rain Dogs by an old man past his peak (which to an extent is undeniably so) but there are some real gems: who are you is great. Jesus gonna be here (Blind boys of Alabama version) has been a favourite of mine for years without me knowing it was his song.. though their version is definitely better.

I'd forgotten how brilliant this album is. Five absolute belters and the other four are bloody good, too. He said some nasty things about Christie Brinkley, but his music is wonderful.

I'm conflicted about The 'Oo. Daltrey must be the worst singer ever to become a rock Gos after Dylan. Townsend lurches from writing absolute classics to ridiculous nonsense. Most of this album falls into the latter. Sometimes I love them, but other times (like this) I just wonder what they were thinking.. Rock opera? Well if you must, Pete, but I'd prefer Who's Next instead, please.

Loved this. A very clear identity, the guitar and vocal couldn't be mistaken for anyone else. More melodic than the previous album, this was a real surprise and very engaging. I want to give it 4.5 stars, it's better than 4 but not quite 5, but there's no option for that so sorry boys, you're demoted to 4. No I've changed my. mind - I really, really liked this 5 stars it is.

Best new (to me) music I've heard in ages.

Some of the tracks are really good but I don't like Kevin Rowland's voice. Also reminds me of dancing on the tables in the Cellar Bar at B'ham Uni, which I prefer to forget.

Well it's got 3 fantastic songs - the rest are just OK. I'll probably never play it again though those 3 songs are regulars on my playlist already.

Fantastic! What a surprise - all classics, beautifully done.

Everything I said about Jah Wobble applies to this album, too, but even more, I think. Anyone could write this. It's not horrible, it's just nothing. There's no talent behind this that I can see. Practically random music. Choose a key, write some chords on pieces of paper then pick them out of a bowl. Get a competent guitarist to play them repeatedly in a variety of ways in the order they came out. Speak earnest sounding nonsense over it. There's your top 1001 album.

Great band, but wrong album again. Straightshooter is easily their best album. But the title track is magnificent and Paul Rodgers has the best voice in rock - one of the few men in history (and almost certainly the only white man) who really belongs in leather trousers.

Everything I said about Jah Wobble applies to this album, too, but even more, I think. Anyone could write this. It's not horrible, it's just nothing. There's no talent behind this that I can see. Practically random music. Choose a key, write some chords on pieces of paper then pick them out of a bowl. Get a competent guitarist to play them repeatedly in a variety of ways in the order they came out. Speak earnest sounding nonsense over it. There's your top 1001 album.

This is Bone Machine but written by a (slightly) younger man in his prime. Fantastic. When I first heard this in approx 1985, (my Dad played it to me) I didn't understand it at all, it was completely unintelligible to me and I hated it. 10 years later it was one of my favourite albums. Clap Hands - yep, a big round of applause from me.

It's all the very much the same: I have his later album, and 'Becoming More Like God' (my favourite track on it) is great, but it's the same as Visions of You on this album. Layers of sound and vocals over a bass riff which goes diddle-dee, diddle-dee, didddle-diddle-dum-dee. Very nice, but this is the sort of stuff anyone could write, with some studio time and session vocalists. I like it, but is it art? I think not. I'm beginning to think (no, that's a lie - I've always thought) I can do better than at least 25% of the stuff we've had so far.

How did they get away with this? 'Movin' on up' is so Rolling Stones you can hardly believe it isn't them. It's the 'Sympathy for the devil' rhythm track mixed with the 'You can't always get what you want' choir. But it's still great to listen to. 'Loaded' is George Michael's ''Freedom 90' shamelessly stolen (and also is the 'Sympathy for the devil' rhythm track. I can't believe they weren't sued to hell and back. Great to listen to but they stole if all..

Not for me. Don't hate it, some might like it but not me.

Quite pleasant, reminds me of the Moody Blues. Very 'of its time' and that was over 50 years ago. Not that that is necessarily a bad thing, but in this case, it shows its age.

Never understood the fuss about Nirvana. Some fairly good songs on this album (by the way, describing it as "unplugged" is stretching it somewhat. "A bit quieter" would be a better description) but all of them have exactly the same structure, so it all sounds very samey.

Rap, but without the bragadocio, misogyny, racism or swearing, but with some catchy hooks. Very nice, but somehow it feels a bit hollow. Maybe I'm getting unured to the loathsome rap culture. I hope not.

Hard to fault, but James Taylor's original version of 'Don't let me be lonely tonight' is much better, as is The Doobie Brothers' original of 'Listen to the music'. But their versions are OK and the two singles are great.. The guitar on 'whose that lady' is just epic!

Groundbreaking back in the day and set a format very obviously copied by Run DMC, to greater effect. White middle class kids trying too hard to be from the 'hood. Notable for sampling and at least they had the taste to steal from Led Zep. But it's still tap and I hate it.

Fabulous voice and wonderful songwriting.

Annoying dynamics - just when you start to get into the tune, it stops dead. Completely. Then starts off in another direction. But overall its really good, and the sound is unique, in a good way. Mixture of synth/guitar sound is unmistakable and appealing. I really like this, though you definitely have to be in the right mood. It isn't background music.

Ludicrously overblown, sterile, soulless, awful. Dave Lee Roth's vocals are like Mariah Carey's - fabulously technical and gifted, but emotionally dead.Like a pantomime dame. Van Halen's guitar wizardry also leaves me cold - I hate shredding. Play it slowly but with feeling please.

Sexual assault may be the least of his crimes. I can see how a vulnerable teenager could believe these messages of hate and destruction, leading to terrible consequences. Vile disgusting music for depressives. Shame, as some of the riffs are pretty good - it's the lyrical content and vocal delivery that spoils it.

Still don't enjoy his music. It's beter than the previous album, but lyrically dubious and I don't like his voice.

Clocks is an outstanding song, but the rest of the album passed me by. I don't remember a single line, just a general irritation with Chris Martin's vocal style (octave jumping using falsetto)..

Epic! Paradise by the dashboard light is utterly brilliant. Nils Lofgren's guitar is piercing, the vocal delivery amazing and the arrangements are, well, epic.

You can draw a line through Vera Lynn then Shirley Bassey to arrive at k.d.lang. From the 'big note' school of lounge room crooning. I tried to like it, but it's not for me. Constant Craving was OK for the first 70 million plays, but is just tiresome now.

Lots of fun, clever (if occasionally dubious) lyrics, catchy tunes and superb musicianship. What's not to like?

Absolutely brilliant. A masterpiece companion to Innervisions (all recorded pretty much in one go).

Bits of it were OK, but folk music and rock drumming don't really mix. The singer also trying a bit to hard to sound like Bob Dylan. Some nice quiet nice songs, but not enough to save it.

Everything from "once there was a way..." to "the love you take is equal to the love you make" is perfect (that's side 2 in old money). It's my favourite piece of The Beatles music and I'm apparently not alone - that was George Martin's favourite, too. Wonderful. Glorious. Desert island music for me.

I was surprised to really enjoy this. It's pure pop and very well done. All the songs blend into one happy sound and it's not something I would ever normally listen to (and probably never will again) but apart from clubs (obviously) it would make great factory/shop background music. No good for just sitting and listening to, it's music for doing things to.

Patchy. Some of it is excellent, whilst some of it is just noise, bordering on shoegaze. The good stuff I really like, the shoegazey stuff I really hate.

Distinctive voice and well written songs. I don't especially like it, but. I don't hate it either. It's a good album, just not to my taste.

Lovely. Sam introduced me to Sufjan Stevens a couple of years ago and it is just my sort of music. Indie-folk.

Surprised to actually like this. I've always believed I hated Yes, but apparently I don't. I seem to be a closet prog-rocker.

Really couldn't be bothered to listen to all of this, it's very poor. I got as far as Kids, which is a good song, but not this version: but there's an amateur couple on Youtube who do an acoustic version 10 x better than this. Rubbish.

Mostly below average - except they slipped in a beautiful acoustic blues piece (VStapol) amongst the dross. I had to check it wasn't Spotify playing up. Complete personality shift for 2 minutes, then back to more dross. 2 stars just for the that track.

Very much like early Stranglers. Some good riffs and rhythms going on under Mark E Smith's eccentric nonsense vocal delivery. Apparently they were John Peel's favourite band. Better than most of this week's drivel, though not really my cup of tea.

Comment unnecessary. But I'll say it anyway: utterly brilliant.

I couldn't stand to listen past the 4th track, it's just terrible.

Brilliant for cycling to! No good to listen to, it's either dance or exercise

Couldn't get past the second track. Does nothing for me at all.

Lost me in the first 10 seconds. I hate this style of music, I hate it's attitude, I hate it's vocal style - I hate everything about it.

Pretty good, but very 'Blur' - all discordant jerky guitar riffs. Justine was Damon's girlfriend at the time - I wonder who was influencing whom?

Love the voice, don't care for the songs.

Terrible.

Great when you're drunk. Not so much when you're sober and don't drink anymore. It's good, but not for me.

Wow - that is the sound of the Cellar Bar, B'ham Uni, 1979/80. Makes me feel there's something going on, but I'm not part of it.

Great poetic lyrics, and the melodies are pretty good, but combined with the deep bass, almost spoken delivery, the whole is less than the sum of its parts. Maybe someone else should record his songs instead. Still the occasional gem: First We Take Manhattan being the obvious (which has been successfully recorded by others). Tower of Song could be a great upbeat rock song.

It's OK - some good riffs and tunes but I'll never listen to it or them again.

Difficult to rate - he's a genius so I could listen to him noodling all day, but a lot of tracks lacked focus. The ones that had it were fantastic (Me and julio, mother and child...) but the rest were so-so.

Just OK country music, not such good tunes.

Very good. Brown-eyed girl cunningly rewritten as Glad Tidings. He was obviously a huge influence on Loudon Wainwright, who stole Come Running for People in Love. Don't like all the songs but Into the Mystic is worth 4 stars all on its own.

Hypnotic electronic riffs over disturbing and depressing lyrics. I could like the music but the vocal puts me off.

Every one a winner. This music changed everything permanently and deserves 5 stars for that. It's dated now, but still hugely influential and important.

What is this? Death punk metal? Jane's Addiction do it better.

Dreadful dirges. I don't think I like poetry.

Terrible. I'm not listening to this. First 4 tracks were more than enough.

Great if you're in the mood. The Stones with a sense of humour

Pete Townsend is either brilliant or bonkers, sometimes both together. Daltrey is the worst singer ever to front a leading rock band. Entwistle and Moon are utterly amazing virtuosos. Together they all did some great work, but some is very poor, there was never any consistency, with the exception of the incomparable Who's Next. One brilliant track on this album, one very good track and the rest is just filler.

"one of the best hip hop albums ever released". Repetitive, uninspired, looped and sampled with discernable musical input at all - it's hopeless doggerel chanted over snippets of other songs. This isn't music. What's the point? Why does half the world think rap is music? Amazing.

Couldn't get to the end of the first track. Started OK with lush strings, then female voice but soon descended into mad, intrusive drumbeats so the music was lost. Also stops and starts and isn't cohesive at all. I think it's supposed to be dance music, though the constant stop start must make it very difficult to dance to. It got slowly worse. Not really music.

Great drum intro as if about to launch into uptempo rock but then - in comes a downbeat voice followed by electronica of various incongruous sorts. None of the music matches the fabulous rock drumbeat. It's bonkers. Then track two: apparently it's a theme. A human drummer lays down a beat then a voice is introduced which doesn't quite match it, then electronic instruments join in. Eventually track 4 comes up with a decent melody. Voice sounds a lot like Lloyd Cole. I'd had enough by track 6. Don't like it.

More ambient ''music'. It just sounds like somebody mucking about in the BBC Radiophonic workshop. Very nice as background, maybe as a filmscore, but not to be actively listened to.

Spector was a madman. I don't much like his 'wall of sound' and the music is all pure pop - fine for supermarkets and children, but gives the serious listener nothing worth keeping - except the occasional earworm. I've got Frostie the Snowman stuck in my head which is very annoying..

Racist, misogynist, violent, hateful. Great beats and delivery, but whining about how hard it is in the 'hood gets tedious. This isn't improving things is it? Just stirring up more racist hatred. Stupid beyond belief.

Very 1980s vocal style (Lloyd Cole-y), not unpleasant but no stand-out songs- all same standard. Just an average band. Again, the same question keeps cropping up: why is this on the list. I can turn on the radio randomly and hear music like this. Why is this in anyway special? It's not actively bad, so I suppose that's a step up from the avalanche of dross that makes up at least half of this list.

Happy music! I love this style of music - call it soukous or jit, it's impossible not to want to dance

Boring. Beat with rap over it. No melodies, it's just all the same.The best thing I can say is that it doesn't have quite as much swearing as most rap. Also it's intelligible - so all in all, it's the best rap album we've had so far.

Fantastic. I'd forgotten how good this is. Intimate and soulful. Brilliant.

Brilliant socially aware lyrics - 'That's entertainment' should be published separately and added to the National curriculum. I'd forgotten how good The Jam (well, Paul Weller) were.

Rap for rockers. This is as good as rap gets (which isn't saying much). As usual it's all the same - it's a good rhythm but it gets tiresome. Walk this way is fantastic, but nothing else on the album comes close to it.

Superior pop. Difficult to listen objectively to Madonna without being coloured by her ruthless pursuit of fame at any cost and deliberate religious and sexual provocation. She's either an empowering force for femininity or a spoilt brat, depending on your point of view. No denying that the pop is above average, but doubtless she has the means to obtain the best writers/producers. It just isn't authentic. I don't believe she cares about music at all, it's just a means to an end - fame. Look at me everyone, aren't I great?

Meh.

Beautiful harmonies, great guitar sound, several outstanding tracks - helpless, our house, teach your children - don't always like the melodies, but the overall sound is always soothing. I played is on repeat all day and loved every second.

Very fast rock - like Motorhead with a different vocalist. They got through a lot of drummers and I'm not surprised.

Some jaunty beatz and definitely better than most hip-hop/rap - bug that's not saying much. I don't like it.

Still developing as a song writer, this is far from his best. Limp anti-vietnam war protest songs and barely comedic vignettes while still trying to sound like the New Bob Dylan. Unfortunately he succeeds in the latter and loses his own personalty for it. Loudon Wainwright was funnier, more observant and had better melodies.

Undeniably brilliant pop. I'll never listen to it again, but can't think of a reason to deny it 5 stars.

I don't understand this list. Every other Bowie album from Space Oddity to Low is better than this. It's Bowie, so of course it's great, but really? Why this album? This is his worst album of the 1970s - it's down there with Pin-ups. Earl Slick's guitar heroics on Stay are the highlight of the album, but there are much better versions of Stay and Wild is the Wind on the BBC sessions box set. I saw him on the Station to Station tour at Earl's Court and it was not his best performance - it wasn't a good time for him. There are good, even great, tracks on this album, but as a whole it's hopeless.

Springsteen's first 'pop' album. Some good tracks but this was the start of songs in the formulaic Lucky Town mould. Not my favourite album.

Rap is not music.

Appalling. I love the blues, but I've heard many pub bands better than this. How could one of the world's best guitarists combine with one of the best voices ever to produce this? Bowie's version of Shapes of things is better - and that's on pretty much his worst album of the 1970s!! Flashes of brilliance in Blues Deluxe, but not enough.

Is this a joke? she's surely making this up as she goes along. Is it supposed to be art? Avant garde? Rubbish.

As rap goes, this is a cut above. Not my thing, but I can see how it probably shook things up a bit at the time.

Innoffensive but nondescript. Why is this on the list? It's just a (very) average album. I'm told that Blond is much better.

At the risk of sounding like my Dad, this is mostly just a racket.

Breath of fresh air.

A new slant on electric folk - a stunning guitarist.

Not my thing, but it was a surprising album from a punk band: musically very competent and a broad range of styles. Definitely not your average punk band.

Naive but occasionally sweet. Reminds me of Paul McCartney's later Beatles contributions. but doesn't have any edge to it. Even the bluesy Student Demonstration Time just sounds like a protest song that bunch of 13 year olds might write. Weedy. No soul.

At last, something different! Beautiful. To those who think Paul Simon exploited them, note that they had been together since the 1960s and recording from 1973 - yet no-one knew who they were outside of South Africa, until he brought them to worldwide attention practically overnight. Ask how exploited they feel about that.

Some great stuff, but spare me the hippy dipshit nonsense please.

Appalling rubbish. Can't tell one track from another. Mad guitar - very fast but out of rhythm and key. Who likes this stuff apart from sad 13 year old loners?

Undeniably catchy pop. Not my thing, but I can see it has to deserve 5 stars. Not sure 'when I kissed the teacher' could be played in public these days...great tune though. 4 massive international hits, but a purely singles band. Who has ever heard an album track of theirs (unless they actually bought the album, obviously)? 'Dum dum diddle' - really? Practising for the next Eurovision Song Contest, obviously. 'Tiger' could easily have been a single, too.

Terrible. Has nobody noticed that his singing has pitch issues? The lyrics are lame? The music is samey and cliched?

Brilliant - what a voice! At least 7 world-class songs on this album. Shame he went nuts after it.

Meh. I want music to listen to. Dance music does nothing for me at all, it's just pointless if you don't dance.

Run of the mill rap. I hate rap.

Disappointing.

Nice.Close to 5 stars.

Excellent - shame the whole album isn't on spotify...

Great voice, he sounds like the Righteous Brothers and he was hugely influential amongst the Greenwich Village cognoscenti - but although the songs are OK and obviously Everybody's talkin' is a fantastic song, but it isn't a great or even particularly good album.

My wife described this (before being told who it was) as "arty, pretentious shit with a vocalist who can't sing". Hard to argue, really. Dreadful dirges. It wasn't love that tore them apart. Occasional flashes of better to come, but this album doesn't belong on any list. Like the drumming, though - and Hooky's bass is clearly the driving melodic force.

Utterly brilliant. I remember exactly where I was when I first heard Nick Drake: Gatwick Airport HMV. I went straight to the counter and said 'Who's this, it sounds a bit like John Martyn?' The sales assistant said 'It's Nick Drake, he was a friend of John Martyn'. I bought the album and I've been a fan ever since. This is his masterwork. 6 stars.

What a racket!

Mad neo-prog rock. Quiet, spacey intros, then crash! In come the drums and guitars. All the same. Unlistenable racket.

Very much chanson - big theatrical songs, clearly Jacques Brel influenced. I don't like this at all. Great voice but I loathe the material. I managed the first 6 songs, but that was more than enough.

Aside from the title track and Express yourself, there is no music of any interest here, just vacuous fillers. Prince didn't do his reputation any favours appearing on this album, I'm surprised he allowed it to be released.

Some absolutely brilliant bibs (Statesboro Blues) early on in the set, but getting slowly off peak towards the back end, which was a shame - 5 stars for the first half, 2 stars for the second half

Meh. I don't dislike ambient music, I just don't see the point. You can't sit and listen to it. You can't dance to it, unless you're on acid, and it's too intrusive for me to have on while working. It would be fine, but the voice samples are very annoying.

Very shouty, fast guitar rock - sort of post-punk. Nothing special, why is it on this list?

I wasn't expecting this - it's brilliant! The title track owes a lot to white light/white heat, but wow! If you're in the mood for energy, the album title is about as descriptive as it gets. Iggy's bonkers but I love it. Compare this to yesterday's terrible Minor Threat album, why are they both on the list? The guitar is sensational throughout, way ahead of its time and very obviously influential. Why isn't James Williamson better known? This blows any punk album out of the water - and they got there first. Amazing. Note: play the Iggy 'violent' mix- Bowie's earlier mix sounds muffled and though still great, the Iggy mix is much rawer and more powerful.

Very irritating.

Infectious, high energy stuff with great African rhythms.

This is where the silly voices started. Some world-class tracks, but too much filler.

Oh good, I thought after the first track - bangra. I like bangra. But no, it got softer and softer until we get to an execrable version of Imagine. I won't be listening to any more of that.

Death metal - unlistenable rubbish.

This is a joke, right? Why am I listening to this? I'm sure it's great if you like the tango, but I'm really not interested at all.

The blues numbers are great, but I can't ignore his many flaws as a human being (a racist anti-vaxxer) so won't listen to his music any more.

Strangely ethereal warbling. Not unpleasant, but does nothing for me.

Ridiculous.

Desperately sad I don't like all the material, but the voice is incomparable.

Dolly is great. I prefer acoustic guitar-picking country in a bluegrass style (Molly Tuttle), rather than steel, but that's just how country music was at the time. The songs and delivery are really good.

Don't like most of it, but Alison and Red shoes are 2 of my favourite songs ever.

It's just rap. I hate rap.

Cute teenage harmonies.

Brilliant. How have I never heard this before? I don't go for her pop stuff (though it is clearly very good) but these folky singer-songwriter tunes are great.

I have this album on the original vinyl picture disk, never been played, and now I've listened to this, it never will be. I don't like the organ sound. It just isn't suited to rock music in my view. The vocal is too screamy and the lyrics sound very dated and cliched. I don't even like Smoke on the Water these days, I'm bored of it.

Very pleasant, once you get used to Chris Martin's octave-jumping falsetto style, which is irritating to begin with.

Brilliant. Soooo 1980s but who cares? Catchy tunes, all excellent - not a bad track on the album.

White rabbit and Embryonic journey get 5 stars. The rest gets 2. Average 3.5 rounded down.

Oh dear, more dance music. I really don't like dance music in general and the Pet Shop Boys in particular.

Tour de force production, scorching yet melodic guitar lines and memorable songs. Utterly brilliant. I haven't played this whole album at a single sitting for over 30 years, but it was a joy - and it's improved with age.

Great stuff. I didn't know they did so much 12 bar blues.

Brilliant. Bowie's backing vocals on Satellite of Love provide one of rock's priceless moments.

I love the Cure. I had the chance to see them at B'ham Uni in 1980 and didn't take it, and have regretted it ever since.

No, sorry, I'm not even going to listen to this. I've heard enough already.

Another surprise. Never heard of this band, but really enjoyed listening. Infectious post-punk from what sounds like an all female group. Very likeable.

Smooth, beautiful baritone, amazing and very individual guitar style. As laid back as it is possible to get.

We already had one Undertones album, two is probably unnecessary. But Teenage Kicks and Jimmy Jimmy are undeniably perfect. Enjoyed this way more than expected. Fergal Sharkey's voice is a bit marmite and I'm on the wrong side of that divide, but there's no denying the infectious energy. Interestingly and unusually for rock music, I think almost every song is in 2/4 time. In any event, all the same beat, and all the song lyrics are variations on either "it's not fair, he's got more than me" or "it's not fair, she doesn't love me" but nevertheless I still loved it. Avoided this sort of stuff like the plague in the 70s (along with all punk/new wave) but happy to discover I was wrong.

More rap? I hate rap, it hardly qualifies as music. This shouldn't be on any musical 'best of' list.

It's silly, funny, and self-parodying, but the groove is infectious - plus it's very sexy music. Puts me back in teenage mid-seventies discos. Can hardly distinguish one track from another, they all have the same driving rhythm - it's just one long continuous stream of funk - but that's OK because I like it. They must have had a lot of fun playing it. Dig that crazy beat, man!

Probably the best voice there has ever been. Not my sort of music, though.

Why this album? It isn't their best, or anywhere near it. Preposterous.

Appalling rubbish.

Not unpleasant just very dull.

This sounds very much like a modern Black Sabbath. Metal played more competently. Technically excellent, musically hopeless - this is for teenage boys only.

12 bar blues is one of my favourite genres and though a bit tame by todays standards, this is the stuff - and standards is the right word.

A female version of Nirvana - but I don't like their music either. Too shouty, no idea what most of the lyrics are about, but I'm not really interested anyway.

This is mostly just drum and bass with a bunch of electronic effects over the top. Nothing of any interest. Some nice grooves, but going nowhere. I'd had enough after a couple of minutes, but I persevered for half a dozen tracks, getting more and more bored until the vibe changed with Medication. At first it sounded pretty good, I soon realized it was basically just 'rocks off' with different lyrics, so I'm not impressed.

Proto-punk, great stuff. Hi energy (mostly) and competently played. Original version of No Fun interesting to hear, I only knew the Sex Pistols' version.

Personal Jesus is great. The rest doesn't come close. All electronic riffs and beats, trying to write another Personal Jesus, but unfortunately, they only managed it once.

Couldn't stand more than a minute of this - her voice irritates me (and I don't like the music either)

Cool, suave background music for a cocktail bar - the girl from Ipanema in a dozen samba variation. Very nice, but why is it on this list? It's background music.

Surprised to really like this. The first impression was that it's just the usual metal thrashings, but it turns out to be s distinctive cut above. Good stuff.

As rap goes, this is very good, but I really don't like rap at all.

Jangly hippy guitar pop, but sounding a bit dated now.

Fantastic songs, but I don't like the production. Paul Simon sounds way better without: a) Art Garfunkel b) Strings and various wacky sounds

No thanks.

I've played it so often.I think I could name this album from any 2 random seconds play, It is a masterpiece and possibly the greatest ever in the rock canon - certainly top 5 in any informed list.

Another masterpiece from rhe genius Paul Simon, marred only by the presence of Art Garfunkel..

Some good riffs but the melodies don't match up. Take Me Out is great - it's just a shame Led Zeppelin wrote it first (Trampled Underfoot)!

Riff-driven metal, but the riffs aren't good enough. Too complex, jumping around a lot - a substitute for melody. A sort of prog-metal. I'd rather go back to fundamental pentatonics. Occasionally it comes close, but there are no classics here. Music for teenage boys only.

It's just a soundtrack. Not of any interest whatsoever. Why is it on the list?

The opening track 'No action' sounds like an inferior reworking of 'Radio Radio' which is great, as are all the singles. The rest are all unmistakably Elvis Costello in up tempo mood - all jerky aggressive vocal lines and background organ. It's a hard listen.

Loads of enthusiasm, great guitar sound, proper rockers - but apart from I want you to want me and Goodnight, the songs weren't up to scratch. Shame, as they otherwise embody the true spirit of rock.

Brilliant.

Don't care much for The Pogues in general and Shane McGowan in particular. Love traditional music, but not in a punk style. I like my traditional music traditional.

I don't much like her voice. Over-hyped in my view.

Absolutely love Joni Mitchell - Coyote is in my all time top 10 and Amelia isn't far behind.

Genius - I think - or possibly just a great conman. I can never quite decide whether the lyrics are amazinglt insightful and prescient, or just randomly spouted lines. There are so many of them, they are bound to hit a target some of the time.I'll go with genius.

Unintelligible to me. My ears aren't sophisticated enough to decypher this as music - it's just a technically competent jazz noise.

Don't bother.

The two singles are great. The rest of the album is dross.

Appalling rubbish. This can't really be described as music. For teenage sad loner boys only. Can I give no stars?

Very pleasant background music. Lots of african/south american rhythms, similar to Santana but without the blistering guitar. No idea why this would be on the list.

My initial thought was: Aargh! Shoegaze again - what for? Happy to find it's much softer and more melodic than the previous impenetrable offering. Just like normal music, in fact. 'Some Candy talking' written in 10 different ways, plus a bit of the Beach Boys unexpectedly thrown in. I like it - but not enough to ever play it again.

5 fantastic singles on this album. The other tracks didn't excite me at all and it's not really my sort of music but undeniably a great album.

Liked it.

I love Firestarter, but there's only so many times you can put the same track on the same album.

The first discernable word on the album is "niggers" - it lost me at that point (about 20 seconds in). After that it's just spewing doggerel, not music, it seems to be political so why don't you just start a political party and run for office? 'Cos you definitely aren't a musician. I loathe rap. No stars.

One of the albums responsible for the rise of rapping - and for that it deserves one star. A few tracks stand out - like Killing me softly/No woman no cry/Ready or not. I wonder why? Oh yes, that's right - they actually have melody. Remember that? It's called music. Too bad rap forgot that. A political speech/poetry/rant/bragadocio over a beat does not constitute music. Unfortunately all of the actual songs are covers, so this album contains almost nothing new at all.

Revolutionary rock.

A sort of early Eagles, but softer.

Sensational guitarist, hypnotic rhythms and really interesting musically - time signatures, scales and use of intervals entirely different to western ears, but still recognisably the blues - Malian style. I love this.

I found this just dull. It wafted past without leaving a mark.Apparently it's 'alternative country'.

Oh please. Can't I listen to pop after I die? Not before. I can't bear this . It's music for simpletons.

Pretty good, not earth-shaking but just good solid sixties rock, before Argent and Colin Blunstones personal success.

Brown paper bag would make very good telephone hold music.. ..and that's about it for me. Lots of strange noises, beats, electronica - nothing of any interest. Mad cat sounds like a modern version of The Waiting Room from The Lamb.. and that predates this by 45 years - so not as new as he'd like to think.

First three tracks so awful I couln't bear any more.

When love breaks down is head and shoulders above the rest of the album. One hit wonder. A pleasant sound, all very very stylish but very much of its time.

Wonderful musicianship. Dark lyrics obscured by jaunty tunes. Brilliant.

Under pressure is so nearly a classic - the riff is sublime but the verses and lyrics ruin it - a real shame. With a little adjustment it could have been a massive hit. Same with I got the six. When they manage to match verse & lyrics to a riff, the result is spectacular - hence 3 huge singles on the album. Guitar is utterly magnificent all through the album. Billy Gibbons is an awesome riff machine and fab guitarist. The album has a distinctive sound which tore through 1983.

I saw The Stranglers in 1977 and it was terrifying. Respectable looking men went into the toilets in suits to get changed and came out covered in lipstick and safety pins, unrecognisably different. JJ Burnel jumped into the crowd in the middle of a song and beat up someone, no idea why, but the band ignored it and kept on playing. He got back up on stage, plugged back in and resumed playing as if nothing had happened. The music was tremendously exciting, though I didn't like punk until 30 years later.

Excellent, a fresh take on the concept album. Don't much like the dischordant jerky guitars, but this was a ground breaking piece of work.

ok

Sublime. 6 stars.

Bits are really nice, but overall this is just average.

Some of this is truly great (One) others less good but overall very good

I don't need to hear any more rap before I die, thanks. Despite the general lack of misogyny (which is not surprising from a female) I continue to be offended by the casual racism.

Nile Rodgers is a guitar genius. Most of tbe songs on this album are more or less interchangeable, but he invented the new disco soynd so even though it's not what I would choose to listen to, it deserves 5 stars.

Good stuff - proper songwriting. I've had it up to the ears with 'artists' - how about some musicians for a change? This will do as a start.

I like the Cure. It's not their best. but at this point anything that isn't complete rubbish will get 3 or4 stars because I'm so sick of this list pointlessly including terrible albums. Maybe if there was a brief explanation of WHY an album deserved to be on the list it would help.

Steely Dan with less guitar and more saxophone. Brilliant, I love Steely Dan.

Standard 1980s pop, as seen on Top of the Pops week in, week out. Not special in any way.

Guitar-based rock so I ought to like this, but it's utterly uninspiring. Poor songs. Like a college band that's just somehow got access to a recording studio and a producer. So it sounds like a bunch of perfectly competent musicians, playing nondescript songs very well. What on earth made anyone think there were enough adequate songs for a double album? The more I listen, the less I like it. I can go to any number of local pubs and hear songs as good or better than this.

What a fantastic voice and great songwriter.

Middle of the road guitar-based 'geezer' rock. It's OK but nothing special.

Instantly recognisable. Distinctive voice, piano high in the mix. It's all pleasant and comforting, somehow familiar even on tracks never previously heard. There's nothing not to like, but it's not for me. Being so distinctive had its downsides - It all sounds like 'You've got a friend in me' from Monsters Inc.

Wonderful. The first single I ever bought was Life on Mars. Queen Bitch is a staple of my kitchen guitar sessions.

Country music, nothing special. It might have been important at the time, but it's nowhere near as good as the Eagles.

Jeremy was a revelation to me - I'd never heard Pearl Jam before - completely brilliant, so I was looking forward to this album. Disappointed to find this isn't the mix/version I'd heard and it's not as good. Some great tracks, though: Release is a standout. Eddie Vedder's vocals are amazing. As they say, 'it doesn't get Eddie Vedder than that'.

Meh. Liked some of it, disliked some of it. Not quite avant garde indie rock, but getting that way. A bit like Patti Smith, but sadly I'm nit keen on her music either. Apparently this is the 143rd best album of all time, according to Roling Stone. Cancel my subscription please.

Pretty good - very similar to Pearl Jam.

Similar vocal stlyle to the Sisters of Mercy. Not bad, but a bit dirgy - though an incongruous track about pancakes surprised me.

Brilliant. I didn't realise before, but this is very much John Lennon's album. Only a couple of obvious McCartney tracks.

Take out all the niggas, bitches & muthafuckas, and what have you got left? I hate this stuff.

All rhythm and percussion-based grooves, not so much melody - Once in a Lifetime excepted, there's nothing on here I would ever play again. Disappointing.

Rubbish.

Beautiful. Goes a bit too 'poppy' for me over the last few tracks, but the initial two thirds of this album is wonderful. Absolutely loved it - straight onto my playlist.

No sorry, it's better than modern rap, but that's not saying much.

First hip hop album I didn't actively hate. It was pleasnt and washed over me. Smooth and nice background - but no idea why it should be on this list. In the 70s this would be a below average soul album.

Is this a joke? Why must I hear this before I die? I can load Fruity Loops or other programs onto my PC and make this for myself in 15 minutes. Mucking about with drum machines and computer orograms is not music.

A mix between chanson (which I don't like at all) and songs like they come from a musical (which I don't usually like). Very theatrical, as if part of some larger narrative. Maybe they would sound better if I was watching the full production, but not interesting to listen to in isolation. Just way too melodramatic and souless, with uninteresting melodies. Basically I don't like this at all.

Offensive and puerile, but more importantly, as music it's just repetitive, uninventive and devoid of melody. Basically it's just words over rythym. Rap doesn't belong on this list, it isn' music - it should be in a separate poetry list.

Average semi-punk, reminded me of Eddie & The Hot Rods. Not my scene, man.

I love the Stones, but this was a huge diappointment. Tumbling Dice is my all-time favourite track, but the majority of this album is just a shambles - lots of half finished ideas in desperate need of a sober producer and an editor. It just sounds like a bunch of stoned musicians jamming - no focus, some great riffs but a stack of dodgy lyrics, poorly thought out fills, mad bridges, terrible weedy production and overdubbed backing vocals trying to shore up the lack of direction. 3 or 4 finished tracks: tumbling dice, happy, rip this joint - maybe sweet virginia - the rest are unfinished filler. All down the line is the next closest to a fully formulated track - it's telling to see what they subsequently played in concert. With less drugs, a little more work and a whole lot of focus this would have made a really good single album, but a double? You've got to be kidding. Madly self-indulgent. Great riffs and ideas - ZZ Top turned Shake your hips into La Grange, Bob Seger turned Stop breaking down into Fire down below - why didn't the Stones do it first? Clearly too out of it to care.

Love the title track, and lots of other good stuff on the album but not these versions - the production/mix on this album is awful.

Aimless thrash and feedback - rubbish.

This is just dance music and it all sounds the same - nothing remotely memorable. Pointless if you don't dance. No melody, just a beat.Great if you're off your tits but otherwise useless - why is it on this list? Whoever curated this list needs a rethink; ehy should I listen to this?

Big voice, big note balladeer. Very good if you like that sort of thing, but I don't.

Must be the worst opening bars to any album. Terrible drums, terrible singing, mad false accent, poor tune, just nothing to make me want to listen past the first 30 seconds. I loveBillyBragg. His first 4 albums wsre the soundtrack to my coming of age, but this is just awful. Hugely disappointing.Let's be kind and put it alk down to the inclusion of Wilco - I realky didn't like Wilco's own album and now they've ruined this one. Sorry Billy.