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.
Good background music while I worked, but even after added exposure from the 1001 I don't feel like I know afrobeat/desert blues enough to distinguish or evaluate, and not knowing the language makes it hard to keep my attention and focus on the music.
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.
Genre whiplash. And it was tolerable at most genres, if not good at any of them, until the casual stereotyping and accented appropriation of "Banana Man." It's too bad - there's definitely talent there, but it rarely comes through for a full song.
Jam bands are super hit or miss for me. But that dapper pigeon and his jam had me boppin' and groovin' the whole time. Nice to see some Maryland representation. I'd gladly sit on a lawn somewhere on the Bay with a Natty Boh and listen to Pigeons Playing Ping Pong. The "Ghostbusters" cover starting and ending the last track was a bit weird at first, but the guitars in that song actually kind of fit their vibe, so let's roll with the weird.
I didn't really care for The Soft Boys, and Robyn Hitchcock's solo work is worse, mostly due to the vocals and some cringy songwriting.
Jack Johnson always brings great vibes, but I found myself not enjoying or knowing "In Between Dreams" as much as I thought I would. I think I knew "On and On" much better. Still enjoyable, and a style that warrants representation, but I was underwhelmed.
While I'm not a Blink-182 fan, I can certainly understand why they've had two albums placed on the user list, rectifying a major omission on the 1001. Their self-titled fifth album shows some growth, but the trademark Blink immaturity is still present in the lyrics. The music has evolved a bit, and Tom DeLonge's whiny vocals are a little toned down or used to better effect.
The break they took for side projects may have helped, and I've liked what I've heard of Box Car Racer more than Blink so that may have a role in DeLonge's evolution.
In the end, "Blink-182" still has the infectious elements of pop punk that brought them success, with a bit more maturity sprinkled in. I'd rate this narrowly above "Enema of the State," the other Blink album on the user list.
Nothing really grabbed me until "Strangeways Inside," but then the title track "Mull Historical Society" kept the vibes going. Ultimately not enough to recover from a weak first half.
Everyone was having a brat summer in 2024, even Kamala Harris tried to get in on the action. The brat bubble burst that fall though, and I never bothered to check out what the fuss was about. It turns out Charli xcx's "brat" is a tolerable and occasionally enjoyable electropop album. But it hardly felt worthy of a pop sensation of the summer. Then I listened again, and it definitely grew on me. But I guess I missed the moment.
A third Nirvana! Not the 60s British band, or the one from Seattle some have heard of, but a Danish band that changed their name to Kashmir when "Nevermind" hit big. Taking your new name cue from Led Zeppelin is bold, but Kashmir deliver (though sound nothing like Zep). Instead, they sound rather late 90s post-grunge for the first bit, before revealing some distinct Radiohead influences in the second half of "No Balance Palace." I don't think I noticed it until "She's Made of Chalk," but I also didn't go back to listen to the first half again. Either way, I quite dug the back half and am happy to have been introduced to a quality Danish band that fits terrifically in the evolution of post-grunge rock. They've apparently been around since 1991, so I wonder how their sound evolved leading up to this release. (And, once again, I wonder where the user who added this album is from.)
Listening to "Somewhere In The Between" by Streetlight Manifesto, it was immediately clear why they likely have a dedicated following who are passionate about the group and their live shows. It's just that kind of vibe. Loads of energy and controlled chaos. However, not my thing.
Death Cab for Cutie's "Transatlanticism" is one of my favorite additions to the list. I love the enveloping, melancholy mood that DCFC create, with some perfect emo bursts of energetic guitar and another of those voices that shouldn't work but somehow fits the vibe perfectly. I think I personally prefer "Plans" a bit, but they're both two of my favorites.
Fontaines D.C. helped give rock music the shot in the arm it needed in 2019, a fitting successor to IDLES' "Joy Is An Act of Resistance" the year before. When I first heard "Boys in the Better Land" on American radio, it was utterly refreshing. I think this might have been my first time listening to "Dogrel" all the way through (I know "Skinty Fia" better), and I should have sought out the whole thing from that first moment I heard them. Love the energy, love the attitude, love the way they blend influences, and Grian Chatten is one of the few singers I can tolerate doing the talk-singing thing. Rock and punk are alive and well, in Dublin at least.
Savages' "Silence Yourself" continues to grow on me through a third listen. I completely missed this one, and it's not like it was some obscure release either - it was nominated for the Mercury Prize. Some reviewers pointed out Siouxsie Sioux influences, and I can definitely hear that. Another awesome find from the user list, and I'm gonna go all the way to 5 on this one, making it an amazing 3 in a row. Well done users.
I found myself wanting to skip to the next song on every track. Occasionally the folksy, bluegrassy music was ok, but the vocals were usually my breaking point. I read about Michael Hurley, and wondered if his voice in his younger days in the Greenwich folk scene in the 60s and 70s might be better. It seems it was, but he also sometimes exaggerated the vocals in a silly and annoying way. It's also all a very fake Southern accent from a guy from Jersey, and almost feels like its mocking some of the time. This may be my least favorite of the user albums thus far.
"And" is usually represented by +, &, 'n', or maybe even the epsilon with a line through it version of an ampersand. Not usually with an 'x.' So I can't help but read it as Chloe times Halle. Maybe they should multiply instead of adding - it might make for a more interesting album instead of a fairly bland and unimpressive R&B album.
Pedro The Lion is sometimes categorized as "slowcore," and "Control" begins and ends with two tracks that seem to fit the bill. Those are my least favorite songs on the album. But I've always really dug "Rapture," and its emblematic of a strain of emo that I like better than a lot of the loud and whiny stuff.
Is an Ex-Easter Island Head and Easter Island Head that is no longer on Easter Island? If so, I'd rather listen to Dum-Dum sing about his gum-gum.
Growing up in Raleigh in the 90s, I should have heard Polvo. But I was a little too behind the curve, and didn't get into music enough to know the local scene at the time. They probably got played on WKNC 88.1 at NC State and WXYC 88.3 out of UNC, but I was only listening to mainstream radio at the time. It's cool to see NC indie on the user list, but while I wish they weren't new to me I can't say I love "Cor-Crane Secret." Polvo seem to be a step behind the washed out slowcore indie rock darlings of their time period, but listening to more of their songs from other albums did reveal some better stuff.
That's too bad. I really like the guitars on Deafheaven's "Sunbather." But I really don't care for screaming as the sole vocals. All the bits without the screaming are quite good and would be a high 4 stars without the rest.
My favorite style of hip hop from a group previously unknown to me = win. Psyche Origami features some terrific turntablism and beat-making, paired with some great flow and lyricism from MC Wyzsztyk/Mr. Wizard. Could use a little more variety or diverse voices to match up to my faves like J5 and Dilated Peoples, but "Is Ellipsis" is a solid offering that had me bopping for 50 minutes.
Espers is categorized as psychedelic folk, and on "II" its sometimes folk-focused and at other times heavily psychedelic. It rarely felt like there was a good balance between the two.
I'm not a fan of mainstream and popular country music, but the Turnpike Troubadours' roots rock/Americana leanings make it much more tolerable.
I think it says a lot about Medeski Martin & Wood that I have heard of them. Because I'm generally not into jazz or experimental music. But something about their fusion of jazz, hip-hop, soul, and funk must have gotten them on my radar somehow. Maybe their presence on the jam band circuit? Though again, not usually into jam bands.
Regardless, this is my first time intentionally and consciously listening to MMW. And it is actually and clearly all of the things it is described and purported to be. I can hear all of those diverse influences and styles. Which makes it a bit of a mess. But with pretty consistent grooves and rhythms that help me forgive some of the excesses. Honestly, I think I'm more bothered by the lack of commas in their name than their experimental meanderings.
Tosca's "Suzuki" is some pretty chill downtempo electronica. The vocal samples were used to great effect to add layers to a great sound.
Low is the perfect name for a slowcore band. It's an interesting style, too, with much of it feeling very stripped and raw. "Things We Lost In The Fire" was a bit too low-key for me much of the time, but some of Low's other work pick up the tempo or rhythm just a hair for a better effect.
Some of the wailing is a little too much, as is some of the moaning (even for a Thom Yorke fan), but there's a lot to like from Kayo Dot. Better than I was fearing from"avante-garde metal."
Bran Van 3000's "Discosis" is a bunch of genre whiplash with quite the eclectic array of guest artists. Some of it was pretty decent, but some was terrible.
LaBelle's "Nightbirds" is decent at all the things it does - funk, soul, disco, and rock. But none of it really rises above being just fine, in genres that need more than fine to get my attention. "Lady Marmalade" is of course a classic, but I think the cover by Christina Aguilera, Mya, Lil' Kim, and Pink kind of blows the original away.
For the most part, The Alan Parsons Project's "Tales of Mystery and Imagination" isn't the sound I would associate with Edgar Allan Poe. Tracks 3-5 are decent as far as 70s progressive rock goes, but then things go from classical to weird on the extended "Fall of the House of Usher" suite. The whole thing winds up being too disjointed, which is the opposite of what you want from a prog concept album?
Reading about the band made me feel bad for Eric Woolfson, though. The Edgar Allan Poe concept album was his idea, and he co-wrote all the band's songs, but the band's name makes it sound like everything and everyone else was secondary to Alan Parsons' vision.
It's Jaskier from "The Witcher!" Some of these songs definitely have a bit of a Jaskier vibe too. The modern themes and language in a style that reminds me of traditional folk ballads and a bard from a fantasy show felt a bit off a couple of times, but overall I enjoyed The Amazing Devil.
I like bands that play long shows with lots of deep cuts, but a Phish show sounds exhausting. The jazz instrumental breaks don't help. At least I couldn't smell the show while listening, though.
I didn't love the two John Martyn albums on the list, and this one is no more for me than the others.
For as much as I have loved "Dummy," I had never listened to other Portishead beyond the Roseland live album before the 1001. "Third," it turned out, didn't hit the same for me. And "Portishead" is no different. Again, I don't know if it's a nostalgic connection to "Dummy" or an actual difference in quality, but no other Portishead reach those heights for me.
Would be pretty great if it weren't for the growling fantasy villain vocals. The instrumentals are terrific.
Olivia Rodrigo's "GUTS" veers wildly from pop punk to Swiftesque to trendy overly breathy vocals. Yet lots of it is legitimately undeniable pop music.
Pulling off several modern radio hits from a spacey psychedelic pop album is a pretty impressive feat. Tame Impala isn't quite my thing, but "Currents" deserves all the acclaim it has garnered.
It's fine as far as 70s dub music goes, I guess?
There's a pretty narrow range in which the kind of screamed vocals Enter Shikari uses work. And they missed that range. The recently viral Miss World Chile somehow find a nice range of screaming growl that you can't imagine coming out of that person. I don't know what Enter Shikari's Rou Reynolds looks like, but it doesn't matter as I don't want to hear those screams either way.
While the vocals are the big problem on "Take to the Skies," the combination of post-hardcore and trance is intriguing. In theory. But there was only once that the music seemed to touch on the potential of that genre mash-up.
Ween is a band that is perfectly capable of making some well-crafted, terrific, and serious music. Unfortunately, they too rarely seem interested in doing that.
Between Tom DeLonge's whiny vocals and plenty of terrible lyrics, blink-182 should be intolerable. But somehow it still winds up being infectious despite those glaring faults.
The complete absence of blink-182 on the 1001 is an inexcusable oversight. I don't love them, but I can't deny their popularity and impact in the late 2000s. They inspired a lot of other whiny singing and cringy pop punk, so overall a good addition on an album I have very mixed feelings about.
Nothing against artists growing and changing, evolving their sound. Nothing against Arctic Monkeys pushing beyond the styles of their first decade. But much of the style they developed during and after "Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino" doesn't work for me. The lounge pop vibe, in particular, feels pretentious.
The 1975 are pretty decent on their best songs, but their best songs are not on "Being Funny in a Foreign Language." (For the record, I think "Somebody Else," "The Sound," and "Love It If We Made It" are legitimately pretty great, "Chocolate" is admittedly catchy otherwise intolerable, and a lot of the rest of their work seems somewhere in between these extremes.) So I'll grant that they've got a deserved place at the top of modern pop rock, but don't care for this album. I'd begrudgingly grant a place to the obnoxiously named 2016 album "I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it."
I had never heard of STARSET before, and I'm not sure why they'd escaped my notice. I love Coheed and Cambria, and STARSET's alt-metal/prog leanings and sci-fi concepts fit right into that niche. "Transmissions" really grew on me and demanded repeat listens, and then I went and checked out the rest of the band's work.
My first reaction to Vulfpeck's "Live at Madison Square Garden" was to wonder how a jazz-funk indie band I'd never heard of pulled off an MSG show. The research to answer that question was more fulfilling than listening to an hour and 19 minutes of live jazz-funk.
While the music is not for me, I'm quite impressed by the loyal following Vulfpeck built up in just 8 years leading up to this show. They're the first group to ever play MSG without a manager or a record label. Their live show seems to have a lot of energy, and the crowd participation is clearly a highlight.
But I could never really get into the music. Maybe it was different to be there in that crowd. The vocals were often underwhelming or annoying, the jazz parts to jazzy, and the funk not quite funky enough. I saw another reviewer put it better than I could ever - "As if you put P-Funk through a Phish filter."
I vaguely remember Type O Negative having a brief moment of shock value popularity in the mid-90s. I didn't remember their music though. And I kind of wish it had stayed that way. The goth-metal of "Bloody Kisses" is pretty cringy most of the time. "Black No. 1" is almost tolerable, and the "Summer Breeze" cover is pretty hilarious, but the rest was annoying and eye-roll inducing.
Blackalicious fits in the vein of alternative and progressive hip-hop that I prefer. For the first few tracks, I thought they weren't pulling it off quite as well as my favorites in the genre, but then "A to G" and "Cliffhanger" showed off their skills and talents. They finished winning me over by featuring Nikki Giovanni, a terrific poet I met working at the Barnes & Noble in Christiansburg, VA while she was promoting a children's book she wrote about Rosa Parks. Sadly, heading down memory lane led to the discovery that Giovanni died last year, and Blackalicious' equally talented MC Gift of Gab passed away a few years ago. "Nia" will remain as a testament to the talent both.
Tori Amos is definitely one of the artists who is underrepresented by her one album on the list. I'll restate again that I'll take Tori over Kate Bush any day of the week. "Under the Pink" is a worthy addition, though I think I'd personally go with "Boys for Pele."
Quite enjoyable for post-rock instrumentals, which can often go off the rails. But Mogwai's sound is dynamic and approachable, making them a bit of a standard-bearer and gateway to the genre. Apparently they have strayed from that over the years, but here at their start they are tight and terrific.
Alex Cameron's "Forced Witness" toys with the styles of Bruce Springsteen and The Killers (even getting an assist from Brandon Flowers), but nothing is as catchy or undeniable, forcing you to carefully witness Cameron's songwriting. And that's where it falls apart. We're forced to witness Cameron create a variety of unpleasant scenes and characters, sprinkled with edgy language.
As far as I know, I hadn't listened to The Brian Jonestown Massacre before. My first take was that "Take It From The Man" sounded very late 60s, Rolling Stones, blues and psychedelic rock inspired. Which would make sense since the band took part of their name from a Rolling Stone member. But it turns out that wasn't really their original sound or direction. The day after listening to this album, I heard the song "Anemone" on the radio. That song has a much more shoegaze style. Supposedly their earlier work was more shoegazey, but "Anemone" is from the album after this one where the psychedelic shift occurred.
So I gave up trying to understand the style shifts and considered whether I'd really never heard BJM or heard much about them. It was at that point that I remembered something about a mid-concert on stage fight in Australia. Turns out that was about BJM! It's unclear which band member was at fault. But lead singer Anton Newcombe has been the band's only consistent member over their 35 year history. One other original member has returned to the band, but the rest has a long history of rotating members. Is it something about Anton? BJM had a rep for being transgressive and provocative and pushing boundaries. Fairly normal for young alt rock bands. But maybe they (and Anton) never really outgrew it? (See 2008 songs on their 10th album with the n-word and f-word in the titles.)
Which is all too bad. Because I think both their shoegaze style and their psychedelic rock style are pretty good. I enjoyed "Take It From The Man." And enjoyed some of their other stuff (like "Anemone") even more.
I judged this book (album) by it's cover. And I immediately answered "no, I am not shpongled." Then I listened to it. And I was... actually kind of shpongled? Shpongle is allegedly "psybient" - a mix of psychedelic trance and ambient music. It was occasionally too weird, the psychedelic bits and experimentation shining through too much. But it was mostly a pleasant electronica adventure that I often let fade into the background while I worked until one of those aforementioned detours shook me out of it.
Does the atrocity refer to Danny Brown's high-pitched, yelping vocals? I have heard Brown buzzed about for several years, but I must admit to being quite disappointed. Aside from the vocals, there is a lot of promise on "Atrocity Exhibition." The music is a unique mash-up of styles from both outside and within hip hop that occasionally goes off the rails, but is never derailed quite as thoroughly as by Brown's rapping. It is apparently a deliberate choice (you can hear the difference in a couple tracks where he uses a deeper voice), meant to match the manic energy of the lyrics and content. Reviewers have compared this to Eminem and others, but Brown's version is more off-putting than those other rappers. Maybe it's the match that he's looking for, but it's one that's too abrasive for me.
I think it's fascinating that I've even heard of Godspeed You! Black Emperor. They appear to be truly independent and anti-establishment at a level most bands only aspire to, so how does this Montreal band have enough name recognition that I've heard of them? (But never heard them.) I'm glad they've stuck to their principals, even though that led to their current streaming service boycott that made me find them on YouTube and tolerate the interruption of ads. And I'm glad I tolerated it, because "F♯ A♯ ∞" is a great listen. Rewarding if you pay close attention and sink into it; great for setting the vibe if you let it just sink into the background. Post-rock can be too "post," but GY!BE seems to find just the right distance most of the time.
Amyl and the Sniffers are definitely powered by the attitude and gravity of Amy Taylor. She is brash, bold, confident, and undeniable. We saw them perform in 2025, and the live show extended every bit of brilliance that their studio albums barely contain, with Taylor's personality front and center. Her lyrics are bracingly self-aware of her place in a messy society, and in concert she casually chirps about the injustice in the world and how they're getting through it. Taylor's is one of those voices that maybe shouldn't work, or only works in just the right context, but then Amyl and the Sniffers have found that context. With the exception of "Tiny Bikini" from the "Cartoon Darkness" album, but those more exaggerated vocals are paired with a great example of Taylor's blunt dissection of society. We need more Amy Taylors in music.
I narrowly missed out on Debbie Gibson. I heard the radio hits, but as an elementary school boy in the late 80’s I was oblivious to her popularity, talent, and unique place in pop music history. (I probably didn’t pay very much attention to what my female classmates were listening to.)
My parents were listening to pop radio, but mostly in the Madonna and Paula Abdul range. Later on, I wasn’t a fan but knew more about the rise of Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, and later Taylor Swift, Lorde, and Billie Eilish.
But I needed to understand Gibson better, especially after reading a little bit about her early career. So I had an extensive and weird conversation with ChatGPT about her. Weird because of how stunningly informative, quick, and in-depth it was. The amount of information rapidly synthesized was crazy.
And now I’m stunned by how special Gibson’s career was. Writing everything herself, and helping produce it, at age 17. Fitting in a unique niche sound and style wise at a time when that was exactly what pop music needed. Not really evolving beyond that style due to personal desire, timing, and other factors.
It’s a pretty cool bit of music history with an incredibly talented teenager. She’s a pretty egregious omission from the 1001. Not really my jam, but so much respect for her.
Many other reviewers made Tool and/or Mars Volta comparisons, and I can hear it a bit but generally found Karnivool's "Sound Awake" to just miss that mark of progressive experimentation that they frequently seemed on the verge of. Instead, the album only rises a bit above its alt-metal contemporaries of the early 2000s. Almost knocked down to a 3 for the band name, too.
I think I like "The Sunset Tree" a little more than "All Hail West Texas," but there's still nothing to help me understand how The Mountain Goats have inspired two user submissions. It's John Darnielle's vocals that are my biggest hang-up.
The Avett Brothers' "I And Love And You" was generated one day after The Mountain Goats' "The Sunset Tree," and I couldn't help but compare the two 00s indie folk albums. The Mountain Goats has the higher average rating here, but I greatly prefer The Avett Brothers. "I And Love And You" is a great album, one that I've listened to before and will again. Much of it has a welcome pep and pace missing from The Mountain Goats, and that's something that I need to really get into a full folk album. I also greatly prefer the brothers' voices. Pairing those voices and diverse modern folk sensibilities with Rick Rubin's production turned out to be a perfect match. Their work on "Emotionalism" was great, but to my ears this one is even better.
Chuck Berry's omission from the 1001 is a crime. Not as real as the crime he was convicted of before this record came out, but I don't think that's the reason he was left out. There are other rapists, pedophiles, and murderers on the list. But his influence on early rock and roll is too significant to ignore in spite of his transgressions. I would have gone with "Berry on Top," though, on the timeless strength of "Johnny B. Goode" and "Roll Over Beethoven."
Amon Düül II's "Yeti" certainly seems much more progressive than krautrock to me, though the 1001 taught me that krautrock is hardly a definable sound. Much of this prog flirts with the potential of the genre, but alas wanders too much. It was too good to be true, I suppose, much like the yeti.
The 1001 convinced me that I like The Cure and Robert Smith. Well, maybe more accurately "Disintegration" and CHVRCHES "How Not to Drown" were most responsible, since I didn't really get "Seventeen Seconds" and "Pornography."
Along with "How Not to Drown," 2024's "Songs of a Lost World" prove that Smith and The Cure have still got it. It's a little too melodramatic and earnest, particularly amusing from Smith in his mid-60s, but I enjoyed it overall.
Yo La Tengo is a band I've always wanted to get more into, but never dove deeper. I've heard their work on and off over the years, but this might be the first time I've listened to a full album.
I'm left wondering if "I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One" is a good indication of why I've struggled to embrace them more - it's kind of uneven and all over the place and lacking in a consistent identity. Maybe some people love that about them. It's not a bad thing, necessarily, but it can be an obstacle for me when exploring new music. After hearing YLT throughout the years, and listening to this album, I'm still not sure I could consistently identify their songs as theirs. They flip between indie pop, shoegaze, and noise rock often, and each vocalist will disappear sometimes for multiple songs, and one might be forgiven for forgetting it's all the same band.
I did learn a lot about YLT that I never knew before, though. I learned that I like a lot of their work, but would prefer that they not interrupt decent songs with droning noise rock detours. I learned that the core of the band is husband and wife Ira Kaplan and Georgia Hubley, who have been making music together since 1984. I learned that their catalog has a wide range of material, not just the genres they dabble in but also a lot of covers that have me intrigued. And I learned that the name Yo La Tengo comes from attempts by the 1962 New York Mets to reduce outfield miscommunication. That anecdote certainly endears them to me more, and I'll continue to seek out more YLT despite my qualms. A worthy addition to the list, and an important and often overlooked 80s and 90s indie band.
I didn't care for Talk Talk's "Colour of Spring" album on the 1001. So I was surprised at first to see them on the user submission list. "Colour of Spring" was more of the annoying British pop vocals of the 80s, and I'd already had more than enough of that. But Talk Talk went in a wildly different direction with "Spirit of Eden," so much so that they are one of the main bands credited with starting the post-rock genre. The sparseness of what they came up with really worked for me, as did the ebb and flow of the song constructions. Post-rock is really all over the place, and much of it sounds nothing like "Spirit of Eden," but it's a genre that is capable of some pretty interesting stuff. Pleasantly surprised.
Modern Life Is War's "Witness" was a chore to get through, unfortunately. Hardcore with no variety of levels to the vocals, just constant screaming growls, kills the otherwise great guitars. I can only tolerate hardcore and post-hardcore when the screaming is paired with sung vocals. The lyrics also frequently came off as the attempts of an angsty teenager to sound profound.
The 34 minute obnoxious yelling of the name Toussaint L'Ouverture was the breaking point for me. And probably the reason the kid on the cover is crying.
I had heard of Swans, but never heard them. And had no idea what they might sound like. Or that they had been around since 1981. I also had no idea that lead Michael Gira "was also notably confrontational with the audience, such as stepping on people's fingers resting on the stage, pulling people's hair and, notably, physically assaulting anyone caught in the crowd headbanging, something Gira detested." He sounds lovely.
I listened to a couple of Swans' most popular 90s songs. They're more tolerable, but not by much. Way too much of "To Be Kind" is intolerable for me, and while I thank the user who submitted it for the exposure, it's a no from me.
With "Vivid," I remarked that "I kept wanting it to show me something besides the one-note wailing hard rock. Then they did with 'Broken Hearts,' and I quickly regretted my desire." On Living Colour's follow-up, "Time's Up," they break from those genre constraints sooner, more often, and with more success. I understand "Vivid's" place on the list, due to the success of "Cult of Personality," but I found this to be the better album.
I think the success of First Aid Kit owes a lot to Fleet Foxes and Mumford & Sons breaking through into the mainstream just before "The Lion's Roar." Perhaps because of that, I didn't give them a full chance beyond the first two singles, thinking they were just riding the wave even though they were good songs. It turns out that "The Lion's Roar" is worthy of inclusion with the best 2010s indie folk, and while they may have benefitted from timing the music itself is plenty worthy of accolades.
I think its a real shame that Manchester Orchestra have never performed with other Manchester orchestras. Never with the Manchester Camerata. Never with the The Hallé, never with the BBC Philharmonic, never the the Manchester (Indiana) Symphony Orchestra).
I think the band's sound would be a fascinating pairing with an orchestra. But orchestration aside, they're a terrific band. I absolutely loved "Mean Everything to Nothing," but didn't keep up with them the way you would think based on how much I enjoyed it. I know "The Gold" well, as it got a lot of alt rock radio play, but I never sought out the full album. I would rank it below "Mean Everything" (which would be a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️), but still thought it was great.
The Sound have a sound heavily reminiscent of The Cure and Echo & The Bunnymen. Those bands placed 3 albums each on the list, but apparently The Sound were not as commercially successful. That's too bad, because I think I actually enjoyed "From the Lions Mouth" the most. The Cure albums underwhelmed compared to my expectations (the recent one on the user list was better), and E&TB were better than expected. But with no expectations, The Sound mostly nailed the genre's potential.
Apparently "RENAISSANCE" is the first in a trilogy that finds Beyoncé riding on horses unconventionally. Aside from the horses, the described concepts behind "RENAISSANCE" and "Cowboy Carter" seem cool. But the delivery here doesn't match up to Beyoncé's peak. Her self-titled album was on the 1001, and listening to that and "Lemonade" back to back gave me more appreciation for Beyoncé. But very little on "RENAISSANCE" grabbed me.
I already had to make it through 6 Elvis Costello albums, and "Don't Throw Stones" from The Sports felt way too close to those. If it hadn't been for the overexposure of Costello on the list, I wonder if I would have been more receptive to this.
I praised The Tragically Hip in our very first user album, but I didn't find "Up To Here" to be as strong. The Hip are Canadian icons that belong on the list, but maybe they hadn't quite refined their sound until "Fully Completely." "Up To Here" was a little to country for my taste at times, and Gord Downie seemed to still be feeling out his vocal style.
