Courage (for Gord Downie). Gord Downie and The Tragically Hip are far and away the biggest Canadian musicians to never hit big in the States, but goodness they were huge in Canada. Read about their career success at home. Or Downie’s many philanthropic and Canadian-supporting activities. Or, above all, about the way the country reacted to Downie’s death in 2017. The Hip were terrific, and are more than worthy of being added to the 1001. (And, in fact, they’ve been added twice as of this writing.) “Fully Completely” is as good a place as any to start, with a bit of a Canadian theme and some straightforward rock. Any time I’ve dipped a toe in those Canadian waters it always takes me a bit to warm up to The Hip, but by “Pigeon Camera” I’m fully hooked.

Is Tool the biggest oversight on the list? The finishers so far seem to think so, with three Tool albums being added. Tool have such a unique and powerful sound, it is a major head-scratcher how the 1001 could miss them. I love Australian critic Patrick Donovan’s description of the band as "the thinking person's metal band. Cerebral and visceral, soft and heavy, melodic and abrasive, tender and brutal, familiar and strange, western and eastern, beautiful and ugly, taut yet sprawling and epic, they are a tangle of contradictions." Even though “Ænima” is great, “Lateralus” blows it away. Looking forward to that one, and thanks to all who sought to fix Tool’s snubbing.

With all the unusual spellings of band and stage names these days, I judged Haley Heynderickx too soon. It appears to actually be her given name. A little odd and quirky, but it’s genuinely her. And that’s her music too. Often lovely, sometimes off-kilter, clearly owing a lot to Fiona Apple and many others, maybe a bit of Ani DiFranco, who she toured with while supporting this album. Anyway, I like it. Nice addition, #36.

Thank you for rounding out the Bob Mould trilogy on the list, #191. Hüsker Dü was a band I had always meant to check out, but barely knew. However, I didn't enjoy them as much as I had hoped. I did like them better than Mould's next band, Sugar. But this solo album is better than either of those. I didn't enjoy Mould's voice in those offerings, but it seemed to fit better here, or he improved as a singer over time.

"Post" is the Björk album I would like to see added, but I will gladly listen to "Homogenic" again too. Thanks!

The name Stromae sounded familiar. Turned out it was because my daughter keeps listening to a song by him that’s on the soundtrack for the show “Arcane.” That song actually has a pretty cool vibe that fits the moment in the show well, and while the vibe is a little different on “Racine carrée” it was still a good listen. Stromae brings a great blend of styles, and reading about his life helps to crystallize that aspect. Fascinating though that he has been compared to Jacques Brel, since their music is so different despite both being Belgian.

As on “High Violet,” which was once on the list and then removed, it’s Matt Berninger’s voice that prevents me from liking The National more. In small doses it's ok, but at this point The National have been in plentiful supply for 20 years. “Boxer” was their big breakout, and they were really all over the place that year, with numerous songs not just on the radio but also used in many TV show soundtracks. Ever since it seems like they’ve been one of the most popular, consistent, and ever-present indie rock bands. Berninger aside, it might be Aaron Dessner who is making the bigger impact in music with the number of people he has worked with, written for, and produced for. Again despite Berninger, I dig some of The National’s stuff, on “Boxer” and elsewhere. They certainly deserve an album (or two) on the list, whether “Boxer” or “High Violet” or maybe “Sleep Well Beast.”

I went into Wishbone Ash's "Argus" blind, and thought for a while that I was listening to a modern band doing a nice throwback. I'd never heard of Wishbone Ash, but was surprised to find out they were a 70s band that had escaped my notice. There's a bit of the classic jangly 70s southern rock sound, but it's mixed with harder progressive rock and some great guitar layering and solos. The vocals are better than many of their contemporaries, and they throw in some harmonies to boot. It seems Wishbone Ash deserved a lot more credit and recognition. "Argus" is better than most of the progressive rock that made the list.

Les Sheriff's "Les deux doigts dans la prise" might be one of the best straightforward punk albums I've heard. It might be. But it's in French, and I don't speak French, so I don't know if the lyrics are any good. But they nail the sound and vibe. I continue to wonder about where the users who submit albums are from. After 17 user albums, we've had 2 French, 3 Canadian, 1 Belgian, 1 Spanish, 1 Icelandic, and 1 whatever planet 100 gecs is from. Makes me curious about the geographic diversity of the people completing the 1001 project.

There are some cool aspects to Protomartyr’s sound, but the near-spoken vocals mess things up too often.

Amazon Music labeled "The Evil One" by Roky Erickson as coming from 2013. "What a cool throwback," I thought. It was the second time today I thought a user album was modern, when in fact it was much older. "The Evil One" was recorded in 1979, and Roky Erickson was the founder of the psychedelic rock band 13th Floor Elevators, which do have an album on the list. However, I liked this album by Roky Erickson and the Aliens much more. The psychedelia is toned down, the playing tighter, and Erickson's vocals much better. Most of the user albums are more modern and recent, so the addition of Erickson and Wishbone Ash add some nice balance to the contributions.

This was a terrific find. Atmospheric in a soaring kind of way, with a very Scandinavian vibe. Thank you, adder of Mew!

Justin Vernon can be counted on to sink the listener deep into a mood with his work in Bon Iver. The way he was able to do that single-handedly on his debut, "For Emma, Forever Ago," was remarkable and impactful, and here on "Bon Iver" he follows it up expertly with some help. Nothing Vernon does will probably ever match up to "Skinny Love" and the explosion of popularity he built to off of that first release, but this self-titled follow-up does a pretty good job of attempting it.

Avenged Sevenfold doesn’t seem to know whether they want to be a death metal band or a hair metal band. I know “Bat Country,” and it’s not too bad. But it’s much more consistent than anything before it, which was a constant whiplash of vocal styles.

Seemed like only one goat? But are there mountain goats at all in west Texas? One or two songs of the style are cool, but a whole long album is too much.

I'm really surprised the list didn't include Primus. Seemed all about the provocative artistic weirdness in the 60s and 70s with the Zappas and Beefhearts, but Primus certainly feels like Zappa for the 90s. So credit to the user who submitted it. Primus isn't quite for me, but the bass-heavy zaniness is pretty intriguing for a couple of songs.

As with their self-titled album on the main list, I can’t really explain why I love System of a Down’s absurdist metal. When they let the weirdness fly and pair it with societal criticism, you get unconventional gems like “Prison Song.” When they rein it in but get looser with the lyrics, you get the standout singles of “Chop Suey!,” “Toxicity,” and “Aerials.” I thought I might outgrow SoaD, but it pulls me right back in.

So apparently I was kind of brutal in my review of Teenage Fanclub's "Bandwagonesque" 1000 albums ago. I recall now being astounded that it was so acclaimed that Spin said it was better than "Nevermind," but I don't really remember the record itself. "Grand Prix" isn't really objectionable though. The first few songs had me thinking that it would be some pretty generic Britpop, but by the end my tune had changed. Liam Gallagher once called Teenage Fanclub the second-best band in the world, and Ben Gibbard called them his favorite band of all-time when he covered all of "Bandwagonesque." I don't get the big deal, but I at least thought "Grand Prix" was decent. Another user album that has me wondering where and when the user grew up though.

"Carrie & Lowell" is not an album focused on one of the 50 states, so I'm disappointed. Apparently Sufjan Stevens was only joking when he mentioned he planned on doing an album for every state after "Michigan" and "Illinoise," but wouldn't that have been fascinating? Instead this album explores the death of his mother and relationship with his step-father, which I guess is deservedly more important. I never listened to any post-"Illinoise" Stevens work, so I'm not sure how "Carrie & Lowell" compares, though I have read that he experimented with a more electronic direction before this return to his roots. And I'm glad for that, because his roots are comfortable and comforting.

If you were to encounter God, and you sang “Sing to God” to her, what would her response be? Laughter? Anger? Cast you directly into the Underworld? I don’t know what the Cardiacs are going for here. Progressive rock, apparently. But “Sing to God” has only served to further convince my group members that prog is awful, along with too many of the list’s prog offerings. Prog can be good (would love someone to add Coheed & Cambria), but not the Cardiacs.

I thought certainly The Breeders’ “Last Splash” must have been on the list. But my memory betrayed me. It just seemed like an album that vey much ought to be on the list, and a kind of album the list likes. Then I thought about the broader Breeders “universe,” and wondered if maybe Belly was on the list and that’s the one I was thinking of. But no, though deserving “Star” isn’t on the list either. Anyway, “Last Splash” is great. Of course “Cannonball” is the peak, but maybe too peak as the rest does struggle a bit to ever reach those heights again. Even though I think it’s one of the user albums most deserving of a spot on the list, at the same time it’s not quite exceptional enough all the way through to earn 5 stars.

Talk-singing usually drives me crazy. But not when Courtney Barnett does it. Maybe it’s the accent? Maybe it’s the lyricism? Maybe it’s the great beat or guitar work behind it? Whatever the magic is that makes Barnett’s music work, work it does. I love her stuff, and “Sometimes…” is such an incredible album from that talky start to the subdued “Boxing Day Blues.” Great addition to the list!

The Posies' "Frosting on the Beater" is a pretty solid early 90s alternative rock album. I know the name but don't seem to recall any of their music. Despite coming up in the Washington music scene before and while grunge was emerging, The Posies didn't seem to achieve the same kind of breakthrough that lit up the Seattle scene in the early 90s. "Frosting on the Beater" might kind of show why - I enjoyed it and thought it was really solid and consistent, but nothing really stood out or sounded like a potential 1993 radio/MTV hit.

Bon Iver is one of two artists (I believe) to have three albums placed on the user list. Should have kept it at two. The critical acclaim that "22, A Million" gets is mind-boggling to me. And I'm gonna blame Kanye. After Justin Vernon worked with 'Ye, he put out this record filled with weird vocal effects (I'm assuming auto-tune?) and other head-scratching aural decisions.

Occasionally, when listening to 60's bands on the 1001, I remarked about how prolific their output was. Today's rock bands generally put out an album every two year (I know, there are many exceptions that are more or less frequent), but back then two albums in the same year wasn't uncommon. But the one band holding down that tradition, and exceeding it, is King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard. 27 albums in 13 years!? Their output is insane. A lot of those 60's bands should have pared things down instead of recording everything they wrote or messed around with, and to some extent that's true for KGLW as well. But "Nonagon Infinity" is still a great example of how psychedelic rock and recording all your half-baked ideas can be pretty great, even though some albums on the 1001 tried to convince me otherwise. Thanks for choosing one of those 27 albums to add, glad to finally listen to a full KGLW album, and happy for any additional excuse to say King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard.