This is a tough one for me. Not the rating - that's a five, easy. It's tough because I'm trying to listen to this the same way I'm listening to the other 1001 albums, even though I'm a huge fan and I've listened to this album easily 100 times. But, when I think back to my original impressions, I found early Genesis difficult to get into, unlike other early prog bands like King Crimson and Yes. There always seemed to be something a little "off" about early Genesis. They'd mix a surprisingly hard edge with songs that referred to things like "unifauns" and "lily fair." Or, some of the sounds are dated: Hackett's guitar often sounds muffled to me and some of the synth sounds are dated. But their music is the proverbial onion...peel it back and you find layer upon layer (it doesn't make me cry, but there are moments like the middle of Steve Hackett's solo in Firth of Fifth that always give me chills. Their album Foxtrot is not in the 1001 albums or I'd be saying the same about the end of Supper's Ready. Heck, I'd be writing a book about Supper's Ready). What's more is this music is many times better live than recorded. I've seen latter day Genesis play the instrumental parts of Firth of Fifth and Cinema Show. I've seen Steve Hackett and his band play many of these songs. Both are amazing. For a more "historic" version, go see the cover band "The Musical Box" who play an amazing version of the early band that even the band members acknowledge is authentic. So, my listen of this album is colored by my knowledge of just how good it CAN sound. The fact is: this music is amazing. Firth of Fifth is a rock symphony with one of my favorite melodic guitar solos of all time. Dancing with the Moonlit Knight starts with Peter Gabriel a capella and turns into a musical tour de force around 2:25 (listen for Steve Hackett's tapping solo, something he was doing years before Eddie Van Halen made it famous). Listen to Phil Collins' drumming throughout the album - while most people know him from the 80s (with most thinking of the gated reverb fill from In the Air Tonight), this album showcases why he was one of the most in demand session drummers of the 70s and 80s. The man is doing 50 things at once and if you've ever seen video of him playing, you know he looks relaxed as can be. Mike Rutherford lays down backing guitars and excellent driving bass lines throughout much of the album. And then there's Tony Banks, the man who later sticks to "happy chords" and "sad chords" droning over simple hit songs. Listen to his keyboard playing on this album and other early Genesis albums. His solo at the end of The Cinema Show mixes the best of melody and speed and shows he belongs in the conversation of "who is the best prog keyboardist?" Other great examples - everything he plays on Firth of Fifth, the keyboards in Supper's Ready and Watcher of the Skies (sorry, annoyed that Foxtrot isn't in the 1001). For me, the main weak spot on this album is The Battle of Epping Forest. Even after all those listens it still doesn't do much for me, plus it's too long (I don't have a problem with long songs...again, I wish I could write about Supper's Ready!). Bottom line, this is an outstanding band at its best. After one more album, they lose Peter Gabriel. Two more albums after that, they lose Steve Hackett. Then the band starts to become the Genesis most people know. Don't get me wrong - I like that Genesis also. But this Genesis was a prog giant. To those listening to this for the first time, keep listening and unpeel this onion. It's worth it.

Is there any greater opening to a first song on a first album by a legendary band? The opening notes of Good Times Bad Times just ROCK. This is a band that kicked ass from their first moment. The Led Zep sound was there from that first album: Plant's stellar vocals, Page's amazing guitar, JPJ rounding out the sound on bass and keys, and Bonham's thunder. It's also interesting to listen to how they changed the songs they covered (often without attribution...this album includes at least two future lawsuits - Jake Holmes suing over Dazed and Confused and Willie Dixon suing over You Shook Me and I Can't Quit You Babe). Babe I'm Gonna Leave You is a great example of how they took an existing song and made it their own. It was written by Anne Bredon and previously performed by Joan Baez (listen to her 1962 live album). It's a completely different song when Baez sings it and a good example of how a cover that significantly reinterprets another song can practically be considered a new song. In contrast, take a listen to the evolution of Dazed and Confused. The original Jake Holmes version (1967) has different lyrics (except the key "dazed and confused" but even that's slightly different) and a mostly different tune except for the key chromatic bass descent. BUT, the tune Led Zep uses is identical to how the Yardbirds covered it in 1968. To be fair, that was with Jimmy Page...in fact, Led Zep was originally supposed to be "The New Yardbirds" so were they really "stealing" it from the Yardbirds? But anyway, the Led Zep version is nearly identical to the Yardbirds' version (right down to Jimmy doing the violin bow thing) but the Yardbirds used Holmes' lyrics. How did the Yardbirds come to start playing it? Holmes opened for them in 1967. According to Wikipedia, Holmes said, "That was the infamous moment of my life when 'Dazed and Confused' fell in to the loving arms and hands of Jimmy Page." It wasn't until 2012 that Holmes got writing credit from Led Zeppelin. So, were Led Zeppelin inveterate music thieves? Well, yeah. But their originals are amazing (standouts on this album: Communication Breakdown, Good Times Bad Times) and the covered songs are almost always taken to the next level - just a shame they didn't give credit where credit was due (until sued). Either way, over 50 years later their sound remains unique while setting the standard for every hard rock band to follow. And they did it right from their first album. 5 stars.

I kept listening to this album hoping it would eventually grab me. It's not bad, it just doesn't pull me in. I think the issue is, like other bands of this genre, every song is basically built around one riff that repeats over and over - maybe growing or fading, but still the same riff. The riffs are good and at least each song is somewhat unique, but individual songs don't seem to "go anywhere." It didn't help that they started with a lo-fi sound on Terrible Love and I'm not a fan of that style of recording. I liked the second track (Sorrow) much better. I like the singer's voice - reminds me of Mark Sandman from Morphine (particularly on Little Faith). Other songs I liked: Afraid of Everyone, Bloodbuzz Ohio, and England. I'll give it a 3 because I wouldn't mind hearing it again, but don't think I'll seek it out.

I don't know what it is about Neil Young - his songs are not that complicated, the playing is not that flashy, his voice wavers and is almost whiny...but somehow it works. This album is captivating and every track is fantastic. I never heard any of these songs or this album before today, but every song pulled me in. Walk On was a good basic intro, but the Sky About to Rain was the first song to "hit me" - I really liked the Wurlitzer on that track. Revolution Blues had a good, driving theme. I even liked the banjo in For the Turnstiles. Vampire Blues was a very cool track and it was about this point that I said to myself "This is an excellent album"...then I got to On the Beach. It really amazes me how Neil Young can write such a straightforward song yet it carries such powerful emotion. Part of it is clearly his lyrics and vocal style, which is so raw, but it amazes me how much this song pulled me in. Motion Pictures (for Carrie) was another straightforward but captivating song. Finally, I found myself lost in Ambulance Blues. When it was over, I just felt the need to sit in silence. Wow, what a great album.

Fun, fun, fun (or should I say funk, funk, funk?). The only track I disliked was "Night of the Thumpasorus Peoples" because there was some weird deep warbling synthesizer sound that was making my stomach twist. Aside from that, this was just freakin' fun to listen to, particularly Mothership Connection (Star Child), which I've heard sampled a ton ("Swing down sweet chariot, stop, let me ride"), and of course Give Up the Funk which is an awesome classic. Favorite line of the album: "Can you imagine Doobie in your funk?"

Except for the first track, Halo of Ashes, I found myself at first thinking "pretty standard grunge fare." Halo of Ashes was definitely unique with its Eastern-tinged grunge and made for a great opener. The following tracks at first seem to fall into that standard grunge fare category, but it's probably not fair to simply refer to Screaming Trees as Standard Grunge Fare. This band was an early part of the Seattle scene but never broke through like the other bands (but apparently the other bands were fans of Screaming Trees). Articles about the band say the problem was the band was seriously dysfunctional. In fact, this was their last album, released in 1996, followed by two years of touring, a hiatus, and a breakup in 2000. After listening a few times, it's hard not to wonder how they weren't superstars like their contemporaries. The album grew on me, particularly the later tracks. The songs are catchy and the production quality is first class. The singer has a great voice that is definitely part of the grunge sound but is still distinct. On first listen I was going to rate it a 3, which I define as "a good album that I don't mind hearing but wouldn't go out of my way to seek it out." For me a 4 is a great album that maybe has a few weak tracks or requires a particular mood. I'll call this a 3.5 and round up to a 4.

Really interesting album. I never listened to this album before even though I'm familiar with some Roxy Music songs (e.g., Virginia Plain). I found it amusing that the 1001 Albums book describes In Every Dream Home a Heartache as "plain ponderous." I really enjoyed that track! Other standouts were The Bogus Man and For Your Pleasure. The sounds used in the latter track make me think a lot of Eno's solo work. Do the Strand and Beauty Queen have that classic glam sound. Love Phil Manzanera's guitar solos in Editions of You and Grey Lagoons. Bryan Ferry is a great and unique singer and I see he's credited with writing all the songs. There isn't a weak track in the bunch.

Sigh, tough one to rate. I'm not a big rap fan, but he has a unique style that I can appreciate. The issue becomes when you start to pay attention to the lyrics. It helps to know the underlying idea - there's "Slim Shady" who is everything that people criticize Eminem for - misogyny, homophobia, violence, etc. But then there's the suggestion that this is all an act. "Stan" is a good example of how people shouldn't take him so seriously (and a real catchy tune). The video is disturbing and really well done (and got me watching Dido's Thank You video, which is also a good video and a catchy tune). This Genesis fan liked the Phil Collins shout-out. But then there's a track like "Who Knew" where he's like who would ever think people would take me seriously and I'd get this big? And isn't the problem with the kids other people's fault, not mine? Still, does that make it any better? The rest of the album proceeds similarly - it's not my fault that y'all can't get the joke and it's only because of my upbringing and you're all terrible too. I'm giving it a 3 because I appreciate the style and wittiness, but I can't give it more because I can't rate an album I'd be embarrassed to be seen listening to anything higher than a 3.

Is there any greater opening to a first song on a first album by a legendary band? The opening notes of Good Times Bad Times just ROCK. This is a band that kicked ass from their first moment. The Led Zep sound was there from that first album: Plant's stellar vocals, Page's amazing guitar, JPJ rounding out the sound on bass and keys, and Bonham's thunder. It's also interesting to listen to how they changed the songs they covered (often without attribution...this album includes at least two future lawsuits - Jake Holmes suing over Dazed and Confused and Willie Dixon suing over You Shook Me and I Can't Quit You Babe). Babe I'm Gonna Leave You is a great example of how they took an existing song and made it their own. It was written by Anne Bredon and previously performed by Joan Baez (listen to her 1962 live album). It's a completely different song when Baez sings it and a good example of how a cover that significantly reinterprets another song can practically be considered a new song. In contrast, take a listen to the evolution of Dazed and Confused. The original Jake Holmes version (1967) has different lyrics (except the key "dazed and confused" but even that's slightly different) and a mostly different tune except for the key chromatic bass descent. BUT, the tune Led Zep uses is identical to how the Yardbirds covered it in 1968. To be fair, that was with Jimmy Page...in fact, Led Zep was originally supposed to be "The New Yardbirds" so were they really "stealing" it from the Yardbirds? But anyway, the Led Zep version is nearly identical to the Yardbirds' version (right down to Jimmy doing the violin bow thing) but the Yardbirds used Holmes' lyrics. How did the Yardbirds come to start playing it? Holmes opened for them in 1967. According to Wikipedia, Holmes said, "That was the infamous moment of my life when 'Dazed and Confused' fell in to the loving arms and hands of Jimmy Page." It wasn't until 2012 that Holmes got writing credit from Led Zeppelin. So, were Led Zeppelin inveterate music thieves? Well, yeah. But their originals are amazing (standouts on this album: Communication Breakdown, Good Times Bad Times) and the covered songs are almost always taken to the next level - just a shame they didn't give credit where credit was due (until sued). Either way, over 50 years later their sound remains unique while setting the standard for every hard rock band to follow. And they did it right from their first album. 5 stars.

I had never heard this band before (heard of, but not heard). I enjoyed the album - seemed to be like U2 with lots of odd sounds added in (which I enjoyed). It wasn't sticking with me in terms of being memorable but I'd definitely listen again and check out their other albums. I'd say 3.5 rounded up to a 4.

Eh, it was a fun album, but there wasn't much about it that sounded different than any other punk band (including contemporaries). I hear that later albums branched out a bit more, but I haven't gotten a chance to listen to those albums. I'd say 2.5 rounded up to a 3.

Here's another band I've heard of but (thought I) hadn't heard. Loved the first track Beetlebum. Then Song 2 started and I realized "of course I've heard this." I never knew this was the song name (and band) for the "whoo hoo" song. It's interesting how significantly the style changes between songs. Beetlebum is hugely different from Song 2 and both are different than Country Sad Ballad Man (although the Nirvana influence seems pretty evidence in both of the two latter songs).  Then M.O.R. sounds like it could fit with Roxy Music (although this changes later in the song). These guys are all over the place, but I'm mostly enjoying this (Chinese Bombs is a bit of noise, but then I'm Just a Killer for Your Love sounds pretty cool). I'd rate it higher, but I'm having a problem because I have no idea what this band is supposed to be. They are seriously all over the place stylistically. Kudos for variety, but as the Who would sing..."Who are you?"

It was ok. My initial reaction was "I've never heard of this band" and then heard "There She Goes" and said, "Oh, I know this song." I enjoyed the album but don't think I'd go out of my way to listen again.

I was pleasantly surprised by this album. I'm not a big pop fan, but I felt the songwriting and production quality were excellent. I also understand why a lot of people wanted to see him as the new singer for Queen - there were so many moments he sounded like Freddie. Solid 4.

Not a big Janis Joplin fan. There are some things I can appreciate - Piece of My Heart is a classic and deservedly so, but in a lot of cases her voice grates on me. For example, her rendition of Summertime is supposed to be a classic but I couldn't stand her voice on it and even the fuzz guitar was annoying me. I liked a bit of the first track, "Combination of the Two" - it was half good sixties heavy rock and half hippy time. "I Need a Man to Love" had some good funk going on, but it also made me feel that this album is very much of its time. The best albums are timeless. I found Joplin's voice grating again on Ball and Chain, which is a shame because I really like Big Mama Thornton (her original version of Hound Dog blows away Elvis). Not sure if a link will work, but here's how Ball and Chain SHOULD sound: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbdUjHmCHA4 ...take it away Big Mama. Have to call this album a 2, unfortunately.

EVH is called a guitar god for a reason. This album is a showcase for his amazing guitar playing. Listening closely I also have a new appreciation for AVH's drumming. The only thing that keeps me from calling this a 5 are the cheesy lyrics...I realize that's part of Van Halen's thing (mainly thanks to David Lee Roth). But lyrics like "dig that steam, giant butt"? Insert eye roll emoji. Then again, lyrics that could be just as cheesy work in Hot for Teacher: "I brought my pencil...gimme something to write on"..."I don't feel tardy." Now that's just funny. I'll give it a 4 for amazing musicianship and fun songwriting, but the cheesy lyrics on songs like Top Jimmy and Drop Dead Legs keep it from being a 5.

This is a classic album by Hugh Mase...ZZZzzzzzzz. Sorry, not a jazz fan. I'm sure it's great.

Ehhh, not really my thing. I liked "African Dance" and "Feel Free" (plus "Ambition" which was a bonus track) but the rest didn't do much for me. "Dance" which was basically "African Dance" with a spoken vocal sounded almost like a parody. I wanted some Flight of the Conchords type lyrics. Oh, well.

HOW HAVE I NEVER LISTENED TO THIS BAND?? I loved every minute of this album. Another band I had heard of but hadn't heard. This 1001 albums thing is so great for finding music that I haven't listened to but should have. As I listened to the songs and read the lyrics (including looking into the background of a lot of the lyrics) I kept coming back to the phrase "depressing lyrics/soaring songs." It's an unusual juxtaposition that really works. The album background is difficult - their first album after guitarist and songwriter Richey James disappeared without a trace (he was declared dead many years later but never found). I really liked the songwriting and in particular the guitar sound. I kept wondering if guitarist James Dean Bradfield was influenced by Alex Lifeson because he uses a lot of unusual chord voicings similar to Alex...later found an article where the Manics interviewed Rush. Apparently they're huge fans. Makes sense given the guitar sound (but not their songwriting - that's very different). Looking forward to digging into their catalog - I see The Holy Bible is also in the 1001 album list and I'm sure I'll be listening to that soon.

It was the same song 9 times. Giving it a 2 rather than a 1 because at least it was nice background music.

Station to Station is an album I've listened to many times, but made the mistake of never listening closely. I've been missing out. It's an amazing album, particularly when appreciated in the context of Bowie's struggles with drugs at the time. Every track is fantastic...high points for me include the guitar work, particularly the outro for "Stay," Bowie's top-notch singing, and the heartbreaking lyrics. Lyrics that really hit: In "Station to Station": "It's not the side-effects of the cocaine/I'm thinking that it must be love." In "Stay": "Stay - that's what I meant to say or do something/But what I never say is stay this time/I really meant to so bad this time/'Cause you can never really tell when somebody/Wants something you want too." Brilliant album. Easy 5 rating.

Now this is jazz I can get behind. The first track is absolutely gorgeous. I wasn't paying close attention at first (jazz is usually background music to me), but about 4 minutes in I found myself drawn in and captivated. I ended up transfixed the entire time. Beautiful track. The second track is outstanding also, and I love how there were so many unique motifs on this album. Too many jazz albums sound like "more of the same." This album was constantly evolving and flowing. Mind-boggling that this is mostly improvised. I spent the day playing this album on repeat and kept finding new moments that surprised me. This is what jazz should be. Outstanding.

There's plenty to like about this album, but the biggest problem is the similarity of too many of the songs. That said, she has an outstanding voice and powerful lyrics. Fast Car is the most well-known song and it's definitely a great track. There are a few tracks that are "different" from the overall folk/adult contemporary sound (e.g., Mountain O' Things - I really enjoyed the vocal tune and the drums in that song - and She's Got Her Ticket - straight forward reggae but at least different than the rest). The a capella Behind the Wall is certainly powerful...it's sad that my thought was that the lyrics were predictable. They shouldn't be. So, good album, but too much same-same. I don't mind hearing it, but I wouldn't rush to hear it again and that's why I give it a 3.

Previously listened to the second Undertones album. This is their first album and my reaction is pretty much the same. Fun band, catchy tunes, nothing I'd go out of my way to listen to. Solid 3.

My first impression was pretty negative. I really didn't like his growly voice. At about 3:30 into Shore Leave I was basically asking "wtf am I hearing?" I had a similar reaction to 16 Shells from a Thirty-Ought Six. His voice was more tolerable on later songs like Swordfishtrombone and Soldier's Things. I kept thinking "I'd probably like some of this music if it weren't for his voice." On my second listen I found myself getting past his voice and enjoying the music more. On the third listen (I'm persistent) I even started appreciating his voice more (3:30 into Shore Leave still made me say wtf, but I started to like his style on 16 Shells). As I write this, I'm on my fourth listen and this album is growing on me like a fungus. I'd say after one listen I was at a 2 because I liked the music and hated his voice. I wrote a note at the time: "If he wasn't singing like he just gargled battery acid, this might be a good album." By third listen I was at 2.5 and rounding to a 3. On my fourth listen, I'm at 3.5 almost 4. I'm going to keep it at a 4 to acknowledge that this was a difficult album to get into, but it's clearly an album that rewards attention and multiple listens.

Fun, fun, fun (or should I say funk, funk, funk?). The only track I disliked was "Night of the Thumpasorus Peoples" because there was some weird deep warbling synthesizer sound that was making my stomach twist. Aside from that, this was just freakin' fun to listen to, particularly Mothership Connection (Star Child), which I've heard sampled a ton ("Swing down sweet chariot, stop, let me ride"), and of course Give Up the Funk which is an awesome classic. Favorite line of the album: "Can you imagine Doobie in your funk?"

A little too much of all the same. I loved them on Graceland - Homeless and Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes are fantastic. But then this entire album is mostly more of the same. The one track that caught my ear as sounding different was "How Long?" which had a bit of doo wop going on which was fun. Nothing wrong with the album, it was enjoyable to listen to...it just lacked variety.

The album started off ok - "White Light / White Heat" sounded like proto-glam and was promising. "The Gift" had a fun riff and story, with a good punchline. However, underneath both these tracks were hints of the noise that was going to annoy the crap out of me later in the album. "Lady Godiva's Operation" sounded like some decent 60s psychedelia until the doctor part where it got weird. "Here She Comes Now" also had that 60s vibe and wasn't bad. But then the last two tracks brought the noise rock front and center. "I Heard Her Call My Name" had a horrendous almost all-feedback guitar solo that sounded like garbage to me. The jam in the middle of "Sister Ray" was just sloppy and all noise. I wanted to shut off the squealing organ and feedback. The end of "Sister Ray" was even more obnoxious than the middle. I tried to give the album a fair shake - even listened a second time, and that's when I noticed that the noise was present throughout, just not as noticeable on early tracks. I like some Lou Reed solo stuff, but I'm definitely not a fan of this album. Giving it a 2 rather than a 1 solely because there were some redeeming moments.

Another great album. Not a single weak track. Easy 5 stars.

The songs definitely have a cool metal groove. Some of it is the stuff nightmares are made of. I don't mind some growling, but this was a little much for me. Wish I could hear this with a singer who wasn't constantly screaming because the music is pretty awesome. Giving it a 3 but would have given it a 4 with less screaming.

I hated White Light/White Heat but I went into this ready to give it a chance. I'd call Side 1 (the first six tracks) a 4, maybe even a 5. Great song-writing. Venus in Furs is probably the nicest sounding song ever written about BDSM. I really liked the droning viola in this. All Tomorrow's Parties is an excellent song - I knew the cover version by Japan, but never heard the original. Good stuff. Side 2 has way too much annoying feedback and sloppy guitar, similar to White Light/White Heat, which makes me want to give Side 2 a 2 at best. In fact, after listening to these two albums, I think Lou Reed was just a lousy guitarist who covered it up by playing noise solos. Ever time Lou Reed plays a sloppy solo filled with feedback I want to punch him, which would be rude since he's dead. I'll give the whole thing a 3. I understand its influence, but I can't take the noise.

Good power pop. I've been enjoying it on repeat, but none of it is really sticking (i.e., I don't find myself recalling the songs when I'm not playing it). I can definitely see listening to it again but it's strange that I can't seem to keep it in my head. Maybe I need to listen more closely. Giving it a 4 in anticipation of getting into it more over time.

A stone-cold classic. Those first notes of purple haze. The main riff - I still remember how awesome it felt to play that main riff on guitar the first time. So many great tracks. Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell are great, but Jimi soars above it all. He's one of the greatest guitarists of all time and he made it look effortless. I need extra stars for this one because 5 stars doesn't cut it.

Cool avant garde album. The only track I disliked was "Milk" (annoying). Standout tracks include the first track, Surface Tension, and The Sound of Someone... Can't call the album a 5 because I need to be in the right mood to listen - 5's are always great to me.

I bought this when it came out based on liking the song Human Behaviour. My original reaction was that I didn't like the rest and even returned it (my local CD store allowed you to return an opened CD if you simply didn't like it. Needless to say, they had to watch out for people who abused this policy). My reaction re-listening to it now many years later is that I appreciate it a bit more, but still wouldn't buy it (if that were still a thing). I think the problem is that too many songs follow the same formula - a good beat that repeats over and over accompanied by Bjork's unusual singing. That's all well and good, but gets a little old. I give it a solid 3.

Fun album that exists somewhere in the space between classic 50s Rock n' Roll and early punk. Most of the songs are hard-edged covers of classic rock n' roll and the originals fit in pretty seamlessly (really liked "The Witch"). The recording quality is crap but the word that keeps coming to mind is fun. Solid 3.

Really cool music, really uncomfortable lyrics. I can't remotely pretend I can relate with gangsta rap, but I can appreciate it. "The Day the N*****z Took Over" and "Little Ghetto Boy" are particularly powerful. The beats and music on this album are amazing. This album just oozes cool. Glad we recently listened to Parliament's Mothership Connection since it's so prominently sampled here. Loved hearing the drums from "When the Levee Breaks" on "Lyrical Gangbang." Amazing grooves on "A N***a with a Gun" and "Rat-Tat-Tat-Tat" but, again, difficult lyrics. I feel like this album deserves a 5, but I reserve that for albums I can listen to any time...this is not that, but I can definitely appreciate why it's on this list. Solid, powerful 4.

On first listen, I was a little dismissive - yeah, yeah, Big Band, whatever, stuff my 80-something dad likes. On Listen 2 I realized: this album is pretty amazing! It only got better as I listened to it over and over. The word "frenetic" kept coming to mind. I liked learning that the arranger Neal Hefti wrote the Batman TV series theme (Bat Maaaaaan! Bat Maaaaaan! nah-nah, nah-nah, nah-nah, nah-nah Bat MAAAANN!!). To show how these things are generational, I had never heard of Hefti, but when I mentioned his name to my 80-something Dad his response was "of course I know Hefti!" His Wikipedia entry is pretty interesting. They quote Miles Davis saying, "If it weren't for Neal Hefti, the Basie band wouldn't sound as good as it does." Respect. Back to the album, I loved pretty much all the tracks. Flight of the Foo Birds, Double-O (what a sax solo!), and Fantail (drums!!!) really caught my attention. I also really liked the mellow tracks. After Supper had a nice opening piano part, a great tune throughout and I loved the walking bass line. Midnite Blue is clearly a song about a dame, y'know, the broad who came into your life and left it in shambles. The final "Lil' Darling" wraps it up nicely at the end of a wild evening at the club. Maybe you're even finally slow dancing cheek to cheek with the dame from Midnite Blue and all is right in the world. In an earlier review I said I'm simply not a jazz fan. This album (along with Keith Jarrett's The Koln Concert) shows me that I can definitely be a fan of some jazz. I want to dig in a lot deeper now. 5 star wham-bam-POW!

I've been making a point of giving albums more than one chance and there have been a bunch that really hit me on the second or third listen. On first listen, my reaction was this album was ok, but nothing special. Three listens later...no different. It's just not a very interesting album. I like CSNY but this album just didn't do much for me.

I listened to this album numerous times. While I liked the overall vibe of the album, it felt like it all blurred together to the point I couldn't tell you much about it, except the fact that it ends very abruptly. It took a lot of listens before I stopped checking to see if something went wrong.

I'm not really an Elvis fan and this album didn't change that even after multiple listens. The band and Elvis sounded good, but the songs were kind of bland. The two tracks that stood out for me were It Feels So Right and The Girl Next Door Went a'Walking.

Total guilty pleasure - slick production, great songwriting, but definitely 70s power pop cheese. Regardless, More Than Feeling and Peace of Mind alone would make this album a 5. Plenty of great moments aside from that. There are better album I would rate a 5, but 5 seems like the right answer for this one.

Calming, pleasant grooves...about pussy and booty. Sigh.

I can appreciate how ahead of its time it was, but it sounds a little cheesy today. Decent.

Good techno music. Accessible and interesting but nothing really stood out to me. 3.

We just had a couple of electronica albums (Kraftwerk and Orbital) that were a bit out there so seeing Steely Dan come up as a random pick was a relief. Everything they do is sheer gold. Funny thing is I didn't truly appreciate them until I watched the "Yacht Rock" series on Channel 101 (go look it up on YouTube if you haven't seen it - hysterical). Donald Fagen and Walter Becker are outstanding songwriters and musicians. High points for me are Rikki Don't Lose That Number (a classic for a reason), Night by Night (great groove), and Pretzel Logic (one of my favorites -- great groove plus fantastic vocals). Any Major Dude Will Tell You is very 70s (I guess much of their music is), but still great. Heck, even East St. Louis Toodle-Oo, which is basically ragtime, benefits from that unique Steely Dan sound - love the talk box guitar. Easy decision for me - definite 5.

I was expecting this album to be one where I would be looking for more variety, like "ugh, not another reggae beat! Change it up!" I was pleasantly surprised how much variety the album had and I liked it much more than I expected I would. What a great ending - Three Little Birds and One Love/People Get Ready were both fantastic. I think I'm going to listen to Three Little Birds every morning to get in a good mood for the work day ("Don't worry...about a thing...cause every little thing...is gonna be alright"). It's interesting to note how positive and hopeful the last few tracks are considering how dark and political many of the earlier tracks are (like "Guiltiness" and "The Heathen." "So Much Things to Say" also has dark lyrics, but the music is so upbeat...guess that's reggae for you). Very clear why this album is on the list. I'm going to call it a 4.5 rounded up to a 5.

I really liked the first track "Here Come the Rome Plows." My immediate thought was "this is prog punk!" Very dissonant and loved the opening bass line. "Do You Compute" made me think of Tool. I was liking everything until the first 30 seconds of "Super Unison" - thanks for hurting my ears. As the album went on, the word "relentless" came to mind. Too much feedback, too much dissonance, too much screaming. There were a lot of great moments, but I think I can only take this band in small doses. Rating it a three from sheer exhaustion.

This is just a really good album. High points include the hits ("One Way or Another" and "Heart of Glass"), and tracks like "Hanging on the Telephone" and "Fade Away and Radiate" (I hear Fripp, I like). I've been listening to it repeatedly for several days now and I keep noticing all kinds of great touches and I'm not remotely getting tired of it. Most albums I rate as a 5 really have some aspect that blows me away and I can't say this album has that, but it's just good start to finish. That's worth a 5 also.

I generally liked the grooves/samples, but he has a tendency to throw in annoying sounds (like repeating the same sound rapidly over and over forever) or using really annoying effects (like in Kalifornia and Soul Surfing). I'll call it a 2 because I didn't mind hearing it and generally liked the grooves, but I don't have much of an urge to hear it again. But, not gonna lie, in Acid 8000 "If this don't make your booty move your booty must be dead" made me laugh and I was definitely bopping to that song. I'll leave it a mystery whether my booty moved.

This is a tough one for me. Not the rating - that's a five, easy. It's tough because I'm trying to listen to this the same way I'm listening to the other 1001 albums, even though I'm a huge fan and I've listened to this album easily 100 times. But, when I think back to my original impressions, I found early Genesis difficult to get into, unlike other early prog bands like King Crimson and Yes. There always seemed to be something a little "off" about early Genesis. They'd mix a surprisingly hard edge with songs that referred to things like "unifauns" and "lily fair." Or, some of the sounds are dated: Hackett's guitar often sounds muffled to me and some of the synth sounds are dated. But their music is the proverbial onion...peel it back and you find layer upon layer (it doesn't make me cry, but there are moments like the middle of Steve Hackett's solo in Firth of Fifth that always give me chills. Their album Foxtrot is not in the 1001 albums or I'd be saying the same about the end of Supper's Ready. Heck, I'd be writing a book about Supper's Ready). What's more is this music is many times better live than recorded. I've seen latter day Genesis play the instrumental parts of Firth of Fifth and Cinema Show. I've seen Steve Hackett and his band play many of these songs. Both are amazing. For a more "historic" version, go see the cover band "The Musical Box" who play an amazing version of the early band that even the band members acknowledge is authentic. So, my listen of this album is colored by my knowledge of just how good it CAN sound. The fact is: this music is amazing. Firth of Fifth is a rock symphony with one of my favorite melodic guitar solos of all time. Dancing with the Moonlit Knight starts with Peter Gabriel a capella and turns into a musical tour de force around 2:25 (listen for Steve Hackett's tapping solo, something he was doing years before Eddie Van Halen made it famous). Listen to Phil Collins' drumming throughout the album - while most people know him from the 80s (with most thinking of the gated reverb fill from In the Air Tonight), this album showcases why he was one of the most in demand session drummers of the 70s and 80s. The man is doing 50 things at once and if you've ever seen video of him playing, you know he looks relaxed as can be. Mike Rutherford lays down backing guitars and excellent driving bass lines throughout much of the album. And then there's Tony Banks, the man who later sticks to "happy chords" and "sad chords" droning over simple hit songs. Listen to his keyboard playing on this album and other early Genesis albums. His solo at the end of The Cinema Show mixes the best of melody and speed and shows he belongs in the conversation of "who is the best prog keyboardist?" Other great examples - everything he plays on Firth of Fifth, the keyboards in Supper's Ready and Watcher of the Skies (sorry, annoyed that Foxtrot isn't in the 1001). For me, the main weak spot on this album is The Battle of Epping Forest. Even after all those listens it still doesn't do much for me, plus it's too long (I don't have a problem with long songs...again, I wish I could write about Supper's Ready!). Bottom line, this is an outstanding band at its best. After one more album, they lose Peter Gabriel. Two more albums after that, they lose Steve Hackett. Then the band starts to become the Genesis most people know. Don't get me wrong - I like that Genesis also. But this Genesis was a prog giant. To those listening to this for the first time, keep listening and unpeel this onion. It's worth it.

This is a pretty good album. Always enjoyed Sultans of Swing and hadn't really listened to these other tracks. There's a bit of "sameness" to a lot of tracks, but the band is great and Mark Knopfler's guitar playing and singing was excellent from the start. "Setting Me Up" really stood out for some excellent playing. Solid 4.

Great album start to finish. The Cars have a certain sound and a certain formula that can be heard across most of their songs, but it just WORKS. The beginning of Good Times Roll is such a great opening and the song is simply cool all the way through. In fact, the first three tracks (GTR, My Best Friend's Girl", and "Just What I Needed") are such classics I'd call this a 5 just on those tracks alone, but the rest keeps me interested and wanting to hear this album again and again (and of course "You're All I've Got Tonight" and "Bye Bye Love" are also classics). I'll also point out that this is a great pairing with Blondie's Parallel Lines which we randomly got a few days back. Perfect one-two punch of new wave.

This is the second MBV album I've heard and both times I had the same thought - I feel like I *should* like this, but I just don't. I tried to listen closer to this one to figure out why. There's a lot going on in these songs and some of the effects and riffs are cool, but the word that keeps coming to mind as I listen is BORING. Another word is LIFELESS. I think a large part of it is the singing - both singers are pretty dull - but there's also no energy to the music despite all the noise. Not to mention the presence of occasional feedback and noise which lately leads me to an automatic 1-point reduction. The last track added the obnoxiousness of being intentionally out of tune. I'd sum up this album as Whiny Suburban Kid Anthems. I'll give it a 2 rather than 1 solely because of the occasional interesting effects (like on the first track).

Ehhh....it wasn't terrible, but it didn't do much for me. Lazy review today. 2.

Cool grooves, lyrics are pretty rough, but at least they keep the misogyny to a minimum. Enjoyed the unique styles of each rapper. Lots of great (and sometimes obscure) references. Bring da Ruckus and Shame on a N***a are both really cool, but I think if I ever tried to rap along with them where anyone could hear I'd get my ass kicked. Comparing it to contemporaries, I liked the grooves on Dr. Dre's The Chronic a lot more and I felt it had a lot more variety than this album.

Steely Dan's debut and right from the first moment they have that signature sound. Some real classics on this album: Do It Again, Dirty Work, and Reelin' in the Years. Do It Again starts the album with a cool groove and how many songs have such a cool sitar solo? Yes, I said that. I really liked some of the less famous songs also, like “Change of the Guard” and “Fire in the Hole.” “Turn That Heartbeat Over Again” was probably the weakest track which is kind of a shame that an album that starts so strong ends kind of lame. That’s a real minor complaint though. This is a great album. 

Rap without the dirty. Enjoyed it, but can't say it blew me away.

I don't know why - I always like Foo Fighters when I hear them, but they never grab me enough where I want to listen deeper or seek them out. That leaves me at a 3 - good album but nothing I'd go out of my way to listen to - but I feel like I should like it more.

I don't know what it is about Neil Young - his songs are not that complicated, the playing is not that flashy, his voice wavers and is almost whiny...but somehow it works. This album is captivating and every track is fantastic. I never heard any of these songs or this album before today, but every song pulled me in. Walk On was a good basic intro, but the Sky About to Rain was the first song to "hit me" - I really liked the Wurlitzer on that track. Revolution Blues had a good, driving theme. I even liked the banjo in For the Turnstiles. Vampire Blues was a very cool track and it was about this point that I said to myself "This is an excellent album"...then I got to On the Beach. It really amazes me how Neil Young can write such a straightforward song yet it carries such powerful emotion. Part of it is clearly his lyrics and vocal style, which is so raw, but it amazes me how much this song pulled me in. Motion Pictures (for Carrie) was another straightforward but captivating song. Finally, I found myself lost in Ambulance Blues. When it was over, I just felt the need to sit in silence. Wow, what a great album.

The phrase "Casio concerto" kept coming to mind. Maybe the programmed drums were cutting edge in 1974, but this sounds like someone playing tunes on a Casio over some pre-programmed fake drum track. BORING. It's a shame because the album started strong - "Inspiration Information" is a smooth groovy song. I liked "Sparkle City," "Happy House" and "Rainy Day." Pretty sure the one constant across those tracks is real drums, confirming to me that the programmed drums just killed this album.

It's a shame...this isn't better. Soulless slacker pop grunge. It's not bad...it's just not all that good.

Wow, I really enjoyed this album. I've heard of Elvis Costello, but can't say I ever listened to his music (at least if I did, I didn't know about it). This was just a fun, high quality album. It's like a more modern version of classic rock 'n roll (and songs like No Dancing and Less than Zero sound like pure old fashioned Rock n' roll). Favorite tracks were Miracle Man, Waiting for the End of the World, and Pay It Back (which really got stuck in my head). Least favorite were Alison and I'm Not Angry. Both were just a little cheesy, but still enjoyable (and the guitar on I'm Not Angry was pretty good). Looking forward to listening to more of his stuff.

I got worried when I saw they were influenced by the Velvet Underground AND produced by John Cale. There were a few moments of VU-ishness (e.g., "Cracked") and that's not good because I'm not into VU. But, the rest was ok. I wavered between a 2 and 3. I really liked Roadrunner - good track. I kind of laughed at the British punk accent Jonathan Richman affected particularly in the beginning of Astral Plane. Dude, you're from Boston. I think the main reason I'm going with a 2 is that at the end of the day it was mostly the same song over and over, and I'm never a fan of that.

I really enjoyed this album, but I feel it will take a lot of listens to sink in (and I'm about a week behind, so I need to move on!). I'm giving this a 4 mainly because none of it is "sticking with me" but I really enjoyed everything I heard, from the first notes. Interesting to note that this is from the 2011 edition of the book. I have the 2018 edition and this is the first album generated that has been removed from the 1001 albums. Not sure if it's something I had to hear before I die, but I enjoyed it.

NJ represent! It's 80s cheese, but it's got good 80s cheese moments. Songs like You Give Love a Bad Name and Livin' On a Prayer are rock anthems for a good reason. I admit I really like Wanted Dead or Alive. One thing I noticed about the album is the recording qualityis very 80s. It's got that 80s hair metal lack of bass. I've got really good headphones and it's pretty bad how little bass sound comes across on this album. I think the tracks can all be dropped into four categories: Classic 80s rock anthems: You Give Love a Bad Name, Livin' On a Prayer, Wanted Dead or Alive (my favorite track on the album) Not bad, but definitely 80s hair metal cliches: Let It Rock, Raise Your Hands, I'd Die for You, Wild In the Streets Cheesy 80s rock anthems: Without Love, Never Say Goodbye Just plain bad: Social Disease (even if you remove the first 15 second of porn).

I could sum this album up as "Smoove 70s grooves with cool rapping." That theme goes across most of the album, right from the first track. Izzo is real catchy but I don't think I've ever needed Genius lyrics more. All the diss stuff in The Ruler's Back and Takeover was a little lame to me (but I liked the Bowie "Fame" callout in Takeover). Girls Girls Girls was amusing, and gotta like a song that name-drops Deuce Bigalow. It was at this point that the phrase "smoooove grooves" kept popping into my head and stayed there for pretty much the rest of the album. Basically from U Don't Know On I enjoyed every track. Calling it a 4 rather than a 5 because I think the bragging and dissing brings it down.

I wanted to like this one more since it's got a lot of quirks I enjoy, but it was just a little on the corny side to me. Sounded a bit like Roxy Music in a bizzarro lounge. I wasn't really seeing why this was in the 1001 albums and as of the 2018 edition it isn't anymore. Makes sense. My favorite part was the second half of "Through a Long & Sleepless Night." That's where it really showed potential. Giving it a 3 mainly because there were moments I liked. Maybe this would grow on me, but it's time to move on.

Makes you want to put on a zoot suit and swing, baby. Pretty repetitive style. Nothing wrong with it, just wouldn't seek it out again. Songs that caught my ear: Old Devil Moon, Love is Here to Stay, Anything Goes.

This album ROCKS. Sure, John Fogerty was born about as far from the Bayou as possible, but I'll listen to him sing about it any time. All the tracks rock, but my favorites are the stone-cold classics (Born on the Bayou and Proud Mary), plus Bootleg (sounds like he's singing Bouley-Bouley), their cover of Good Golly Miss Molly, and Penthouse Pauper ("If I were a politician I could prove that monkeys talk"). Graveyard Train and Keep on Chooglin' are both pretty good. Yeah, I just said every track is at least pretty good to great. Easy 5.

In general I enjoyed this album. I'm not a huge fan of thrash, but I can appreciate it, particularly the great tone and precision. I have to ding this album for two reasons. The first is probably not fair, but there were times I felt like I was listening to Tenacious D, particularly songs like Holy Wars...the Punishment Due, Take No Prisoners, and Lucretia. These songs made me think of songs like Car Chase City and the Metal. It's not fair to ding an album because of songs that parody the style, but I had a hard time taking it seriously as a result. The other ding is deserved: there's a lot of lyrical cheesiness: "Welcome to our fortress tall" in Hangar 18 (but, to be fair, the song rocks). "A snake you were when we met" in Poison was the Cure. "Thermal count is rising/in perpetual writhing/the primordial ooze/and the sanity they lose" in Dawn Patrol (but I like the bass line in the song). "Immense in my girth, erect I stand tall" (Rust in Peace...Polaris). Ugh.

This is the third Steely Dan album we've had so far (their second chronologically) and I've definitely learned I really like Steely Dan. I liked them before this 1001 Albums thing, but I can't say I listened to their albums closely before - mostly just listened to best of. There's so much I like. Every time they break into an instrumental section, I know I'm going to enjoy it and the songs have such a great groove. Favorite songs on the album: "Bodhisattva" - love the guitar and keys interplay. "The Boston Rag" - the chorus is very CSNY. Great guitar solo. "Show Biz Kids" - Love the beat and the chorus. Of course, I love the repeated "Las Wages" line. Also, did they play a snippet of Reelin' in the Years after the line "They got the Steely Dan t-shirt"? "My Old School" - classic Steely Dan. Great stuff. Easy 5.

Very good album, with a nice amount of variety. Your New Cuckoo makes you think you're about to hear a disco-redux album (not in a bad way - it has some nice twists), but then Been It has a cool hard edge. Their chill cover of Iron Man somehow works. Losers also caught my attention every time I listened. And of course Lovefool is a great song and was rightly a hit. The album doesn't blow me away but I enjoyed it and would definitely listen again.

Rage Against the Machine is my go-to when I'm frustrated. No joke, I wrote my dissertation listening to Rage Against the Machine and Nine Inch Nails. I angry-write, I guess. Listened to this album and Renegades over and over (NIN contributed mostly with Year Zero). The music rocks and the lyrics are thought-provoking. I always find it amusing to watch live videos and see all the angry white frat boys moshing to this - wonder if they realize they're part of the machine the band is raging against (like Paul Ryan being a fan). Pretty sure I'm part of that machine too, but I still like to rock out to some Rage.

Really enjoyed this album. Favorite tracks: Love Vigilantes (I think I've heard another version of this song, but not sure who it was) and Elegia (very nice, simple instrumental). The album doesn't blow me away (so not a 5), but I definitely liked it a lot.

Early on my reactions were: Damn. Cool. Scary. Damn. Damn. Cool. Scary. Damn. Unfortunately the last two tracks killed this album for me. By the end of Scissors the word "relentless" came to mind. By the end of Eeyore, I was simply uncomfortable. On the second listen, I even turned Eeyore off because I couldn't listen anymore. Giving it a 3 because I liked a lot of the earlier tracks, but it just went off the rails by the end.

It's good, but this kind of album just doesn't stick with me. 3.

There's a lot to like about this album. I only knew the hits and I definitely enjoyed most of the rest. It's a little longer than I think it needs to be and some of the lyrics are just awkward ("I wanna f*** the taste out of your mouth"?? Really?). Favorite tracks: 1999 (even though the synths are a little dated, it's still a classic. I really liked the extended outro that you don't get to hear in the single), Little Red Corvette, Delirious, D.M.S.R. (just makes you want to get up and dance...unfortunately, I'm too lazy and you don't want to see me dance anyway), and Lady Cab Driver (good funky song, but I could do without the sex moaning).

Love his voice and his playing and I enjoyed this, but I think I get a lot more out of seeing video of him play than listening to a recording. Hearing the recording is still really good, but not the same as seeing him. I can only imagine what it was like to actually be there when he played.

It's good stuff, but nothing I'd go out of my way to listen to. The classics are certainly good (The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" and "Up On Cripple Creek").

I like Massive Attack, but I like their later albums much better when they introduce a bit of an edge to the music (e.g., Mezzanine and 100th Window). Without that edge this is nice background music but has few moments that make me go "wow." Unfortunately, only this album and Blue Lines are included in the 1001 albums so it looks like we won't be getting any of the later albums. Oh, well. To each their own.

I've loved this album for years. Jeff Buckley's songwriting, singing, and guitar playing are immaculate. There are so many great moments on this album. The song "Grace" is eerily prophetic, mixing uplifting music with lyrics such as "Well it's my time coming/I'm not afraid/afraid to die" "And the rain is falling and I believe my time has come/It reminds me of the pain I might leave/leave behind" and "And I feel them drown my name/So easy to know and forget with this kiss/I'm not afraid to go/but it goes so slow." Those last lines are incredibly tragic given how he died. I always loved the frantic, rocking "Eternal Life" followed by the mysterious sounding "Dream Brother" (love the guitar line). "Last Goodbye" is heartbreaking and beautiful. That song, along with "Lover, You Should Have Come Over" hit a bit too close to home...I listened to this album a lot during a tough period in my life. Buckley's lyrics really hit hard on that feeling of love lost. I don't listen to the album much these days mainly because it pulls me back to feelings I've long since moved on from, but nothing changes the fact that this is a gorgeous, powerful album from an incredibly talented musician who was lost too soon.

This is a perfect album, start to finish. It holds a special place for me, because most of my life I've been listening to decades-old music and this was probably one of the few times in my life I was listening to the most popular music of the day at the time it was popular. Everything about it is great. I remember Even Flow was the first song I heard off the album and was just blown away by the power and groove of the song. Alive is an anthem. Jeremy was overplayed but still holds up as a classic. The non-singles are all classics in their own right. The music and lyrics are powerful throughout and the band members are all outstanding. McCready and Gossard provide an amazing one-two guitar punch. Always loved Jeff Ament's bass style (especially the fretless aspect - I just learned that he was a fan of Japan's Mick Karn) and the drums drive the album along. Of course, a million people tried to sound like Eddie Vedder afterwards, but he remains an original. I find it interesting that the band members feel the album was over-produced - I still think it sounds great - just the right mix of polished and edgy. This will always remain my favorite album of the grunge explosion.

There are some great moments on this album, but it often sounds a bit too much like elevator jazz for me. Favorite moments - Blue Rondo a la Turk has a very promising first half - a wild 9/8 time signature and very interesting, but then the song lost me when it devolved to a simply swing jazz tune. Take Five - deservedly a classic. Clever 5/4 beat plus nice and concise. Pick up sticks - enjoyed the staccato piano solo. Honorable mention - Three to get ready - although it's kind of elevator jazz also, I like how they riff off the initial classical theme. Have to rate the whole album a 3 mainly because it's mostly background elevator music to me.

I had a viscerally negative reaction to this album on first listen. Discord. Chaos. Any time I found myself enjoying it, these intruded. I started writing up a very negative review while listening for a second time, debating whether to give it 1 or 2 stars. At the same time, I started reading up about the background and intentions of the album. About Mingus' life, his anger, his experiences with racism, his illness and death. I found myself appreciating Side 2 (Modes D - F). It still had much of the discord and chaos that was making me uncomfortable, but I could at least appreciate the mastery and composition and the moods it was meant to evoke. I went back to the beginning of the album, closely listening with new ears and started to recognize why this is considered a jazz masterpiece. By the time I returned to Modes D - F, now truly focused on the music, I was blown away. This is a challenging album and clearly isn't background music like so much jazz - it demands attention. It demands struggle. It's worth it and I stand corrected.

I enjoyed this album. Nothing very groundbreaking about the music, but the arrangements are solid and her voice is fantastic. I can't help but wonder about cultural appropriation whenever I'm listening to "blue-eyed soul" so I feel like I should go back to some of the original versions. But she sounds like she belongs in this style (unlike, say, Janis Joplin, who I thought wrecked some good R&B songs). Stand out moments: "You Don't Own Me" sounded like it belongs in a Quentin Tarantino movie (then I saw that Son of a Preacher Man is in Pulp Fiction). "Do Re Mi" had a fun groove and a great piano break in the middle. I really liked "Anyone Who Had a Heart" - unusual voicings and progressions - kudos to Bacharach and David (I saw Dionne Warwick recorded it first so I went to check it out - that version sounds great, but this one has a distinct sound). Solid 4.

This album is a bit of a snooze fest. While the songs were mildly pleasant, they were also nothing great. I found I was more bored with it on the second listen, which isn't a good sign. I liked My Oh My and Silver Lining. Please Forgive Me sounded like an attempt at being Bob Dylan. Babylon is overplayed, but not bad. Overall, it wasn't a terrible album, but I could easily go without ever hearing this album again. Zzzzz.

Good stuff. Love the clean funky guitar and the fat funky bass. It's definitely "of its time" but songs like Le Freak and I Want Your Love are certifiable classics. I wouldn't go out of my way to listen, but I definitely enjoyed it.

This album was at least three years ahead of its time. There were several points where I was thinking I was listening to Nirvana and other big alternative bands of the 90s. Favorite tracks - Bone Machine and Break My Body (both sounded a lot like Nirvana), Where Is My Mind (immediate thought - hey, I know this song!), Cactus (I knew the David Bowie version. For some reason I thought he was covering Neil Young. Very wrong about that one). Really enjoyed this album. I'd say 4 because there was a little too much feedback and a little too much incest.

The music is intensely cool, the lyrics intensely disturbing. The album cover scared my 12 year old. Lots of clear NIN influence (or maybe literally just Trent Reznor adding NIN touches). Can't call it a 5 mainly because of the disturbing lyrics and the fact that Marilyn Manson is individually pretty disturbing. Favorite tracks: Dried Up, Tied and Dead to the World, Tourniquet, Cryptorchid (mellotron!), Deformography, Antichrist Superstar, The Reflecting God.

Ok, yeah it's great rock and roll. But, seriously, a song called "High School Confidential" by a guy who married his 13 year old cousin? That's f'd up. Deducting 1 star for creepiness.

Plenty of laughs and cool grooves on this album. Favorite tracks: Oh Shit (really catchy), Officer, Ya Mama, Passin' Me By, and Otha Fish (really cool groove). It was a fun album - definitely pretty inappropriate, but I've certainly heard worse.

This isn't the first time I've listened to this album. I've tried to figure out why this is considered such a great album and I just don't see it. It's not bad, I just don't see why it's all that. I'm a big prog rock fan and this one just doesn't connect with me at all. I listened three times this time and still don't get it. Oh, well.

This is an album I can appreciate for what it is, but I don't know that I would go out of my way to listen again. I know these guys were rap pioneers and much of the album seems to bridge the gap between 70s funk/R&B and 80s rap. I enjoyed the bass on this album (Doug Wimbish, who later joined Living Colour), particularly on She's Fresh and It's a Shame (especially the last minute of the track). I also liked the Tom Tom Club backing track for It's Nasty. Favorite track was The Message. As soon as I heard the "ah-huh-huh-huh" and "it makes me wonder how I keep from going under" my immediate reaction was, "hey, they did that in Hamilton" (with the line "it makes me wonder why I even bring the thunder" and the laughing when they're singing "you don't have the votes"). I'm not a big rap fan, so I think I missed out on a lot of callbacks in Hamilton...I feel like I'm getting schooled in rap history during the 1001 albums journey and I'm enjoying it more than I expected I would. Calling it a 3 primarily because the album just didn't blow me away but I definitely enjoyed it.

The hits are amazing, the rest of the album is really good. The biggest problem is NOT ENOUGH BASS. It's better than "...And Justice for All" which basically has no bass, but damn this album needs more bottom end. Even the bass drum is too treble-y. Is that a word? Favorite tracks - mostly the hits: Sad But True (extremely cool song then and now), Wherever I May Roam, Enter Sandman (so overplayed at Guitar Center), Nothing Else Matters (also overplayed at Guitar Center). I like The Unforgiven but it was sooo overplayed on MTV in the 90s. Favorite non-hits: Through the Never, The God That Failed. I'd call it a 4.5, but I'll round it to a 5.

Eh...it was fine. Not sure why I had to hear this before I die. Probably would help if I knew what they were saying, so I suppose I have an appreciation for how the 1001 albums thing can be challenging for non-English speakers. The music was good but nothing unique or special to me. Giving it a 3 because there was nothing wrong with it, but no more because I'm fine with never listening to it again.

I know this album was huge, but I could never stand Oasis and their shit attitudes and how they posed as the second coming of the Beatles, right down to the mop tops. I hated it in the 90s and it still annoys me now. Still, I gave the album several listens. The songs are all decent, but Liam's whiny voice bugs me and the album is too damn noisy (these kids with their loud rock n' roll!). Plus, too much of their music is derivative. I'll give it a 3 because it's not *bad*, it's just I can't separate the attitude from the music and the derivative nature of the music keeps me from giving it a higher score. Favorite track - Champagne Supernova. Enjoyed the guitar solo and anthemic ending.

Nice, pleasant music...but it's a good thing I paid attention to the lyrics, because I definitely don't want to play "Rednecks" for the kids. Hey, kids, here's the guy who sang the theme from Toy Story! Oops. Powerful lyrics in that song, but oof. I heard Louisiana 1927 before - that was probably my favorite song, maybe since I was familiar with it. It's a good album, but not something I need to hear again.

My overall reaction is that I'm not sure I needed to hear this before I die, but it's a good album. I decided to dig deeper and learn more about Phil Spector, both his career and his personal life. Here's yet another example where we have to ask the question, can you separate the art from the artist? The guy was a complete piece of shit and died in jail, convicted of killing a woman the same night he met her (he claimed it was an accident, but he had a history of brandishing guns at people). Does that change the music? The production quality and the innovative "Wall of Sound"? No, but it gives you pause. One other note - Clever move by the site organizer to make sure everyone gets this pick on Christmas. Send the guy some beer money for the holidays.

I love when they play that one song, and then they play it again, and again, and again. Sure, they're classic, but they're so repetitive. I'll stick to their greatest hits, one at a time.

I tried to listen to this album many times, because it felt like I should like it more. It never really clicked for some reason. I notice a lot of songs tend to focus on a particular riff and never really change. Maybe that's the problem - the album just doesn't seem dynamic enough. It's not bad, I just don't know that I would seek it out again. Favorite tracks - Wake Up - anthemic and it's probably one of the more dynamic songs on the album. Une annee sans lumieri pulled me in but has the same issue of being essentially one riff all the way through, until the very last minute. Neighborhood #3 (Power Out) - another one that's basically one riff with subtle changes throughout, but it's a very cool riff. In the Backseat was a good closer.

Love me some ELO. I remember listening to this album as a kid (thanks to my older siblings who were ELO fans). Those opening notes of Turn to Stone bring back memories and it's still a great song. ELO is one of those bands where I enjoy everything I hear but have never dug deeply into their catalog. Jeff Lynne is awesome and I appreciate him more every time I hear anything he's involved in. Mr. Blue Sky has been played a million times in my house since my kids got into Guardians of the Galaxy, but it never gets old. Stuff like Sweet Talkin' Woman is very 70s, but still great. Favorite non-hits - Jungle (fun track), Believe Me Now, Sweet is the Night. Basically, there isn't a weak moment on the album, which is even more impressive since it's a double album. Great stuff, easy 5.

This was a fun album, but a little repetitive after a while. It was fun learning he was King Louie from the Jungle Book. I'm sure it was a blast to see him live at the Sahara. Favorite tracks: Just a Gigolo; Jump, Jive, An' Wail (an absolute classic, written by Prima); Night Train.

I feel like I should give this a 5 - after all, it's a classic and includes worthy hits such as Hotel California (love the guitar solos at the end) and Life in the Fast Lane. But there's just something about the album that I find underwhelming. Maybe it's a little too perfect, a little too polished. It just doesn't make me say "I want to listen to this again." I even listened to it multiple times to see if I was missing something, but no. So, I'm giving it a 4. Great songs, including some stone cold classics (I also like Victim of Love), but it's just missing that je ne sais quoi.

The grand question - were the Beatles ever as good solo as they were together? The answer for Paul McCartney is clear. He's got some great solo tracks, but I don't think he was ever as good solo as he was with the Beatles. But that's not really a fair way to judge his solo albums, is it? A-hem, you must be as good as the Beatles to get a 5. So, I'm trying to listen without thinking, "This dude wrote Let it Be and Hey Jude and so on and so on." Great - Band on the Run, Let Me Roll It, Mrs. Vandebilt, Jet (at first, I classified this as "good not great" but then it got stuck in my head). Good - Mamunia (I really like the African stylings), No Words (sounds like it would fit on ELO's Out of the Blue), Picasso's Last Words, Nineteen-Hundred and Eighty-Five. Bluebird is probably the weakest song on the album - meh 70s soft rock. So, 4/9 great, 4/9 good, 1 meh. Probably makes it a 4.5 and now I'm going to add my bias of "but it's not as good as the Beatles" and round it DOWN to a 4. It just doesn't feel like a 5. Sorry, Paul. You're still awesome to me.

Can't believe we got this pick the same week he died. Great album. Totally 70s, but timelessly great. Inappropriate memory: they used to play Paradise by the Dashboard Lights at dances I went to in 8th grade. That's not right. But the girls loved singing the "Stop right there!" part. RIP Jim Steinman and Meat Loaf and thanks for rocking our faces off. Easy 5.

I listened to this album a few times and it's just not taking at all. It's not bad, it's just not clicking. One thought that kept hitting me is that the album is all over the place...I couldn't get a sense of what this album was supposed to be. Definitely didn't need to hear this before I die. Moving on.

This is a seriously cool album. Like the Pixies, about three years ahead of their time. I never really listened to Jane's Addiction because all I heard before was Been Caught Stealing and Jane Says, both of which kind of annoyed me (mostly because of Perry Farrell's voice). It didn't help when I learned what a dick Farrell was to his bandmates about publishing rights. But none of that can change how cool this album is. The whole band is fantastic. I was a fan of Dave Navarro's work with RHCP and I'm embarrassed to say I didn't even know he was part of Jane's Addiction. A great album that I missed out on because I didn't like their popular songs. Great stuff. Favorite tracks: Up the Beach (yeah, I thought this was awesome right from the start), Ocean Size, Ted Just Admit It, Mountain Song, Pigs in Zen.

Man, this 1001 albums thing is getting me to reconsider jazz. Maybe my mood was right today...on another day I might have complained that essentially they're noodling around a couple of themes for 20 minutes, but the word that kept coming to my mind was CAPTIVATING. Both pieces just evoked certain moods and I found myself transfixed throughout my first listen. Time went by faster than I expected - I was actually surprised each piece was over, even though both clock in at almost 20 minutes (can't believe they recorded this thing in a day). Again, maybe I just caught it on exactly the right day at exactly the right time, but it connected with me. Second listen (a little more background this time - I had work to do!) was just as enjoyable and I was again surprised when it was over. Gotta give it a 5 for that captivating feeling. Wow.

Talking Heads is another band I've listened to plenty but haven't listened closely. Great album. The band had their "sound" down from day one. All the tracks are fantastic. Favorites - Psycho Killer (of course), Uh-Oh, Love Comes to Town, No Compassion ("they say compassion is a virtue, but I don't have the time"), Pulled Up. Just so good. Easy 5.

Very very 70s disco. The first track, "When I Kissed the Teacher" is 70s cheese of the highest magnitude. Knowing Me, Knowing You is not bad. Sounds like an early version of an 80s power ballad. I liked Dancing Queen (played a billion times, but good song), Why Did It Have to Be Me (decent rocker), and Arrival. The bonus edition has Fernando on it, which is a good track. I'll call it a solid 3. Not bad, good moments, not really my cup o' Swedish tea.

I liked the first track Teen Age Riot, but then a lot of the album sounded similar. I hate repetition. I also hate noise and feedback and there was way too much of that (like Silver Rocket, The Sprawl, Rain King, and Total Trash - an aptly named song). Oh, and this album is long with its repetition and noise. Giving this a 2 because at least there were moments I liked (Teen Age Riot, Candle), but by the last five songs I just wanted it to end.

An absolute classic. This album is very much of its time, but the songs are SO good. Some of the songs sound better in subsequent live versions. I found myself watching The Concert in Central Park after listening to this - Garfunkel singing Bridge Over Troubled Water in that concert was possibly his crowning moment. Similarly, The Boxer is one of my favorite songs of all time (I love playing it on guitar), but I prefer subsequent live versions (check out the Concert in Hyde Park for a great version). Regardless of version, I get chills every time I hear "In the clearing stands a boxer, and a fighter by his trade/and he carries the reminders/ of every glove that laid him down or cut him till he cried out in his anger and his shame/ "I am leaving, I am leaving" but the fighter still remains." What a moment. Plenty of other great moments: El Condor Pasa takes you somewhere else. This is the first time I listened to the original version by Los Incas which sounds almost identical except the Los Incas version is an instrumental and has a bit of craziness in the last minute. Cecilia is a classic and Keep the Customer Satisfied is a fun little rockabilly song. Baby Driver is a fun classic-sounding rock n roll song (I even originally thought it was a cover, but it's not). The Only Living Boy in NY is a good track - I like the overlaid vocals in that one. The only tracks I find (relatively) weak are So Long Frank Lloyd Wright and Why Don't You Write Me. They could have ended with the live version of Bye Bye Love since it's a callback to their early days and the influence of the Everly Brothers. But Song for the Asking is a nice touch and perhaps it's poignant that the last Simon & Garfunkel album ends on a song that almost sounds like Simon is singing alone (I can barely hear Garfunkel in it). In fact, that's consistent with the cover - Paul Simon appears to be eclipsing Art Garfunkel. It makes sense...Paul Simon wrote pretty much all the music for Simon & Garfunkel and it was time for him to move on, leading to an amazing career. Great album.

Basic 90s rock with way too many crappy sounding moments. I'm going to talk about songs that had moments I couldn't stand: You Would Know, Hispanic Impressions, You Can't Quit Me Baby, These Aren't the Droids You're Looking For, I Was a Teenage Hand Model. Annoying album. I'll give it a 2 because there were a few cool moments. I'm very sparing about giving an album a 1, but this one was up there. Or do I mean "down there"? Who cares. Next.

First, no to the apostrophes in mamas and papas. Second, did I really need to see that scuzzy toilet on the cover? This is a crap cover, literally. Ok, that's out of the way. I like the album a lot. Monday Monday is a beautiful song with fantastic harmonies. Love the vocal line on the phrase "that Monday evening you would still be here with me" (and similar moments through the song). Nice twist. Deservedly a classic. I enjoyed Straight Shooter and Got a Feelin'. I also like their very different approach to the Beatles' I Call Your Name. California Dreamin' is a classic, but sounds very dated. That's probably the biggest issue with the album - the recording style is very dated. I had a problem with Spanish Harlem - I know they didn't write it, but the line "I'm going to pick that rose and watch her as she grows in my garden" is creepy (I also thought that wouldn't be possible, but it is - who knew that the 1001 albums would teach me something about basic horticulture?). I call it a 4 because the harmonies are out-of-this-world good but the album sounds dated.

This is a very cool album. Mambo Sun starts things off great - cool from the first moment. Cosmic Dancer sounds like Bowie (and so does Planet Queen) - I admit I'm not sure who influenced who (whom?). Reading various biographies suggests it was mutual (plus, they both worked with Tony Visconti - heck, Rick Wakeman played with both as well. I also see Ian McDonald was on the album. RIP Ian). Jeepster and Bang a Gong are both classics for good reason. Again, the word that comes to mind over and over is COOL. On my first few listens I thought it was overly repetitive, but on subsequent listens I started to catch the different nuances between songs. Most importantly, I enjoyed the entire album more on every listen. Sounds like a 5 to me.

Free Bird! Ok, now that that's out of the way... Side 1 is PERFECT. Four amazing songs in a row. Tuesday's Gone, Gimme Three Steps, and Simple Man are all stone-cold classics. I didn't know "I Ain't the One" but it absolutely rocks. Love the guitar solo in the middle. The first three songs on Side 2 are not nearly as perfect. All of them are good (my favorite of the three is Poison Whiskey), but it's not at the level of the four songs on Side 1. BUT, then we have Free Bird, which really is one of the greatest rock songs ever (with one of the best guitar solos (plural) ever), so Side 2 averages out to amazing anyway. Between a perfect Side 1 and an amazing Side 2 (thanks to Free Bird), this album is a clear 5.

Van Morrison has a great voice (time to admit I thought "Van Morrison" was his last name (like Van Halen). I had no idea it was short for Ivan Morrison. I'm learning much on this 1001 albums journey). But the songs sound like a lot of other songs (including each other). For example, while I enjoyed the opening "And It Stoned Me" I found myself singing The Band's "The Weight" over it (and The Weight was released 2 years earlier, so I don't have causation backwards). Crazy Love is good, but it also starts with the same essential tune as And It Stoned Me (and therefore, the Weight). Glad Tidings is basically Brown Eyed Girl part 2, so he's derivative of himself. Moondance is definitely different from the other tracks - it's a classic and I always enjoy it, but it's pleasant, not amazing. Overall, I give the album a 3 because it's pleasant, but also far too often derivative and repetitive.

It's all formulaic rock n' roll, but he was one of the primary "architects" of the formula and deserves a lot of credit. Super fun to listen to, but it's all basically the exact same song over and over. His voice and energy are definitely amazing. I'd give it a 3 for repetitiveness, but a 4 for being an original. Plus, I'm pretty sure Tutti Frutti is going to be stuck in my head for the next week.

Pastime Paradise --> Gangsta's Paradise --> Amish Paradise = evolution, fool. Just kidding. This album is longer than it needs to be but there are lots of great moments. Favorite tracks: Sir Duke and I Wish are a one-two punch of coolness. Ordinary Pain - I dig the "response" section. Isn't She Lovely? is a beautiful song but I could do without the crying baby (even if it's about his first daughter). "As" is one of my favorites on the album - no idea why he didn't just title it "Always." Least Favorite - Saturn - um, yeah, those lyrics are pretty bad. Technically this was on a "bonus" disk, so maybe it doesn't count. I'd call this album a 4.5 and I'll round it to a generous 5, because I've been listening to and enjoying it for days.

This album is a master class in how to make an acoustic guitar rock. Pretty much love every track (although the last track is only "ok" in my book). Immigrant Song rocks, even if the lyrics are a little cheesy. Love the strings on Friends. Celebration Day is another cool track and I like how Friends segues into it - very cool slide guitar here (and elsewhere on the album). Since I've Been Loving You is a little on the long side, but is worth listening to closely - great guitar throughout with a fantastic solo in the middle. Out on the Tiles has a great groove. Gallows Pole is a classic - a classic with banjo, no less. Tangerine moves nicely from calm acoustic waves to rocking (with a bit of country twang at the end). That's the Way is very moving and Bron-Y-Aur Stomp is a fun acoustic track. Hats Off to (Roy) Harper is a bit of a meandering ending...really feels tacked on, but overall the album is just great. Easy 5.

I first listened to this as background music and my initial impression was, eh, it's ok. Give it a 3. Then I paid attention to the lyrics. Damn. What a dark album. Bleak. I went back and forth between a 4 and 5. The music isn't exactly groundbreaking (although certainly good), but the lyrics are like a gut punch about what life is like for the downtrodden and the criminal. Bruce has an almost disturbing affinity for people who feel forced into a life of crime. Is there something you want to tell us, Bruce? By the time I reached My Father's House, a truly devastating tale of estrangement, I decided I had to give this a 4 only because I think I'd be hugely depressed if I listened to this album often. (oh, and then, in case you haven't already been devastated by this album, Bruce quickly gives you 4 more depressing stories in Reason to Believe to end the album. Thanks, Bruce).

In my earlier review of Protection, I noted I prefer their later work, like Mezzanine and 100th Window...but I hadn't heard Blue Lines (their debut), so I think the real issue was Protection suffered from the sophomore slump. I liked all the tracks on this album, although it took a little while for me to appreciate it as more than just background music. It's missing a little something that would make me give it a 5, but it's definitely enjoyable and worth hearing again so I'll call it a 4. Favorite tracks: Safe from Harm (cool opening track), Be Thankful for What You've Got (I thought this sounded like a modernized version of a 70s soul song - turns out it is...the original by William DeVaughan is really good, but I also like Massive Attack's take on it), Unfinished Sympathy (love the strings), Hymn of the Big Wheel (this was the track that kept catching my attention the first few times when I was mostly listening to the album as background music).

The music doesn't do much for me (not a country fan except for a few exceptions), but I like her voice and there are some good lyrics. Lazy review today.

I hoped to like this more, given how good the title track is - a classic, deservedly so. I walked away feeling that the album is generally - I'm not a huge fan of 80s electronic pop so I guess it had to get past that first. Favorite tracks: I've Got an Angel, Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This), and This City Never Sleeps. Everything else was ok, it just didn't hook me, even after several listens.

Pleasant. Nice. Nothing bad. Nothing great. That's the definition of a 3 for me.

I kept listening to this album hoping it would eventually grab me. It's not bad, it just doesn't pull me in. I think the issue is, like other bands of this genre, every song is basically built around one riff that repeats over and over - maybe growing or fading, but still the same riff. The riffs are good and at least each song is somewhat unique, but individual songs don't seem to "go anywhere." It didn't help that they started with a lo-fi sound on Terrible Love and I'm not a fan of that style of recording. I liked the second track (Sorrow) much better. I like the singer's voice - reminds me of Mark Sandman from Morphine (particularly on Little Faith). Other songs I liked: Afraid of Everyone, Bloodbuzz Ohio, and England. I'll give it a 3 because I wouldn't mind hearing it again, but don't think I'll seek it out.

The word "genius" is thrown around too easily in music, but there's no other word to describe Bowie. This is dying as performance art. Should we have expected anything less from him? Not only that, but how many musicians are still transforming themselves on their 26th (!) album? Every track is brilliant and all the more deeper for the fact that he knew he was dying (although a few of them predate his cancer diagnosis). The song "Blackstar" is haunting - the 10 minute video is worth watching - disturbing and cool at the same time. "'Tis a Pity She was a Whore" - frenetic jazz over a driving bass line (that makes me think of "The Talking Drum" by King Crimson every time). "Lazarus" - this was the first one I heard off the album, seeing the video just after he died. Watching/listening to him sing "Look up here, I'm in heaven" was eerie (and still is). Again, death as performance art. "Sue (Or In a Season of Crime)" - the lyrics are a fun (?) descent into darkness. Almost like Poe - it also reminds me of some of the music on his album Outside (one of my favorites). "Girl Loves Me" - love the lyrics using words from A Clockwork Orange. Just another incredibly cool track (like all of them - let's also take a moment to acknowledge how awesome his band is on this album - also, how powerful is his singing on this album??). "Dollar Days" - this one is really tough to listen to, knowing that he was dying - the line "I'm dying to..." meant to be heard as "I'm dying, too." Is it a wail of despair or a cry of effort to make his last statement? Plus, that ending is so majestic with the combination of the sax solo, guitar line, and Bowie repeating "I'm trying to, I'm dying to." Man. Finally, "I Can't Give Everything Away" is just a beautiful ending to an amazing album and life. RIP genius and thanks for this beautiful, dark coda.

Proto-punk, which made me wonder what the first punk album was. The Kinks were clearly ahead of their time in the 60s. I noted in my review of Here Are The Sonics (1965) that they were proto-punk. Some articles suggest Louie Louie was the first punk song - don't know if I see that connection as clearly as the Kinks and the Sonics. Anyway, this is clearly one of the major punk precursors. I liked the first four tracks a lot (Side 1 on the original album). Cool stuff. Side two is a little tougher to deal with. 1970 is decent but gets a little crazy in the second half. Fun House is also good for about the first half before it starts to get out of control. L.A. Blues is pure crap. The first time I listened I even skipped over most of L.A. Blues, which is saying something since up until that point I listened to every album I've reviewed in its entirety (120 reviews to date). On my third listen, I managed to sit through the whole track because I want to be able to claim I've listened to 100% of the 1001 albums. But this was barely listenable and that's an automatic 1 point reduction for me. If the album was just the first 4 tracks I'd give it a 5. Add 1970 and Fun House and we're down to a 4. L.A. Blues brings it down to a 3. There's punk and there's crap. This album started punk and descended into crap.

It's a stone cold classic and a ton of fun. So many great tracks, including classics like Killer Queen (Queen's breakthrough, with all the elements that make Queen great), Now I'm Here (Queen goes full glam, even mentioning Mott the Hoople in the song), and Stone Cold Crazy (proto-thrash). Songs I was less familiar with but enjoyed: Tenement Funster - in any other band Roger Taylor would be an impressive lead singer, but hard to beat Freddie! Flick of the Wrist - a cross between Queen and Black Sabbath. Lily of the Valley - sounds like it would fit well on A Night at the Opera. Bring Back that Leroy Brown - fun track. Weakest tracks: Misfire and She Makes Me. Misfire has seriously cheesy lyrics - literally a misfire. She Makes Me sounds like it was recorded in a large room with two small mics. Also, when you have singers like Freddie Mercury and Roger Taylor in the band, maybe Brian May shouldn't sing. Not to insult Brian May - he's the very definition of a guitar god. The guitar solo on Brighton Rock proves it right from the start. In fact, Brian May is outstanding across the entire album. Finally (literally), In the Lap of the Gods...Revisited is a great album closer. Easy 5.

It's like listening to a greatest hits album. There are 9 tracks on this album and at least 6 are greatest hits (Movin' Out, The Stranger, Just the Way You Are, Scenes from an Italian Restaurant, Only the Good Die Young, She's Always a Woman). Crazy. The remaining tracks are all good but simply not as great as the other six. Bottom line is Billy Joel is a great songwriter, so this album is an easy 5.

I never got into R.E.M., but I tend to like everything I hear from them. They just don't make me go "I MUST HEAR THIS!" This album is a good example of what I mean. Everything on it is at least good, but I'm just never blown away. Can't explain why. Most of my favorite tracks are the overplayed ones like Drive, Everybody Hurts, and Man on the Moon, but I also really like Ignoreland, Nightswimming, and Find the River. I'm going to have to go with 4 even though there's really not a weak spot on the album. I'm glad to have listened to it, but I won't lose sleep if I don't hear it again.

I enjoyed the album, but it's a lot of the same song over and over (that's garage rock/punk for you). I'd listen again but wouldn't seek it out, which makes it a 3 for me.

A perfect album. Black Dog and Rock and Roll start it off rocking with everyone in top form. Plant has a great duet with Sandy Denny on the Battle of Evermore, but it's probably my least favorite song on the album. Not that it's bad - as I said, it's a perfect album. Stairway to Heaven is a perfect song, start to finish. Any time I hear it, I have to listen all the way through. The opening riff (which sounds nothing like Spirit's Taurus), the verses as the song builds and builds, that guitar solo - one of the greatest ever - and the powerful ending. Yes, it's overplayed, but for good reason. Misty Mountain Hop - another great rocker, with awesome harmonies. Four Sticks has a great unusual riff and time signature, with amazing drumming. RIP Bonzo. Going to California calms things down...great guitar and mandolin parts and fantastic vocals from Robert Plant (like all of the album). Finally, When the Levee Breaks: possibly the greatest opening drum line of any song ever, followed by a massively cool riff and bass line, harmonica, slide guitar, and moaning wails. Bottom line - this is one of the greatest bands of all time at their peak. Can I score it higher than 5?

This review took me a while because I kept feeling like I was missing something. It could be generational, but I haven't been blown away by much of what I've heard. His version of Hound Dog is a sloppy non-sensical mess next to Big Mama Thornton's. I thought Elvis is Back! (our previous pick) was boring. At least I thought this debut album was better, but I still was having a hard time seeing what was GREAT. So, I did a real deep dive. I compared Elvis's versions of these songs to the previous versions (only 2 songs on the album are debuts, although Elvis didn't write anything - that wasn't a "thing" back then). I also watched some videos to compare. Here are my two main takeaways: 1) In almost all cases, Elvis's version is faster and wilder. In some cases that made the song more exciting, but it wasn't always a better thing. 2) You can't fully appreciate Elvis without the visual part. Elvis had moves and charisma and style. I watched various early performances, focusing on videos around the time this album came out. That's really what I think grabbed people. For example, Carl Perkins' original Blue Suede Shoes is a good track. Slower, but basically the same song. I watched a video of Carl Perkins and he was clearly the superior musician - great voice and really good guitar playing. But then I watched Elvis perform it and he was in a different league when it came to energy and charisma (and I guess sex appeal if that's your thing). So, I think to understand why Elvis was considered GREAT you can't just listen, you have to watch. I'm giving this album a 4 not a 5 because the album is just the music, not the entire package. It's really enjoyable but a lot of the individual tracks are done better by others (for example, Little Richard's original Tutti Frutti is so much better. Then again, Little Richard IS rock & roll). The only track on this debut album I didn't like was Blue Moon. I listened to the first recorded version of this Rodgers & Hart standard (recorded by Ted Fio Rito and His Orchestra) and that was much better than the Elvis version (incidentally, the definitive version of Blue Moon is the later doo wop version by the Marcels with the famous doo wop line that I won't even attempt to type - just go listen). Favorite Tracks: Blue Suede Shoes, I Got a Woman (but go listen to the Ray Charles version!), One-Sided Love Affair (Elvis's singing style on this song is very entertaining), I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Cry (Over You), I'll Never Let You Go (Little Darlin'), Money Honey.

Basically they're a weirder version of U2. That's good, because I like weird and I like U2.

I like his music, but it's fundamentally not much more than good background/mood music.

I always figured Cooper was hard rock, so I was surprised to hear elements of glam (e.g., the opener Hello Hooray) and even prog (e.g., parts of Unfinished Sweet). It definitely had a somewhat dated sound, but it was pretty good overall. I'll give it a 4 because I have a tough time giving a 5 to an album that has an anthemic song about necrophilia. Oh, and the song "Raped and Freezin'" - um, Alice Cooper, are you ok? Favorite tracks: Elected, Billion Dollar Babies, No More Mr. Nice Guy.

I've loved this album for years, so this an easy 5 for me. I love the whole rock-opera concept - I know a lot of people criticize this album as overblown. Yeah, the story is dense and weird (and the movie is even weirder!), but it holds together both musically and thematically. There's so much I love about this album. Favorite moments include all the instrumentals (Overture - love the acoustic guitar part; Sparks; Underture); the thundering bass at 3:25 of Amazing Journey particularly when performed live - John Entwistle was a BEAST; Pinball Wizard (great track); We're Not Gonna Take It including the anthemic ending (this is a week of anthemic endings - at least this one doesn't involve necrophilia like "I Love the Dead"); all the repeating motifs - "see me, feel me" "Tommy can you hear me" plus the repeating musical motifs; Keith Moon's drumming. I also love the line "You've been told many times before, Messiahs pointed to the door, but no one had the guts to leave the temple." I could go on and on. Oh, and TIL that Eyesight to the Blind was a cover. I had no idea. Go check out Sonny Boy Williamson's original. I've listened to this album more times than I can count, but it was fun to dig in again. I ended up watching clips from the movie and from the 1989 all-star performance including Billy Idol, Patti LaBelle, Phil Collins, and Elton John. I remember watching that when it came out. Definitely an album worth hearing many times before I die!

Interesting album. Not something I feel I'll need to come back for, but it definitely sets a chill, funky mood. I liked the opening track, Mama Roux, and the closing track in particular.

This is a fun, cool album. Great debut. I'm not a big fan of 90s britpop, but this is definitely some intelligent fun power pop I can get behind. We previously listened to their second album In It for the Money. I liked that one but none of the music was sticking in my head for some reason. This one seems a bit rawer and pulled me in more than their second album. I liked all the tracks except for "We're Not Supposed To" which was kind of annoying. I watched the video for Alright since that was the big hit - I liked the callbacks to "The Prisoner" (e.g., the Prisoner bicycle and "rover"). I'll call it a 4 - a really good album that I can see coming back to, but not at the same level as a 5 for me.

Pink Floyd was the first band I was ever obsessive about. I collected all their albums (on vinyl). I obsessed over their lyrics. I had music books for piano and would play the Wall (poorly) all the way through. Nobody Home was my favorite to play on piano. The classical guitar part at the end of Is There Anybody Out There? was the first fingerstyle song I could play entirely through on guitar. I drew bricks all over my school notebooks. I would write "Pink Floyd The Wall" in Gerald Scarfe's writing style. I had patches for the Wall and Dark Side of the Moon on my band jacket. I watched the movie of The Wall more times than I can count. I watched Roger Waters perform the Wall Live in Berlin when it was broadcast live in 1990 and, in 2010 I saw Roger Waters perform the Wall in its entirety, a concert I still consider one of the best I've ever seen. So, needless to say, this is an obvious 5 for me. That said, my view of it has changed with age. For one thing, the recording quality leaves a lot to be desired. It's very dated, much more so than albums like Dark Side of the Moon or Animals. Waters later referred to the drums as sounding "boxy" and I would tend to agree. The album lacks a certain expansiveness in its sound. Also, it's a pretty dark album and not one that I casually listen to much anymore. Not that I don't listen to dark albums as an adult...perhaps I simply had my fill of The Wall as a teenager (although I've certainly listened to it plenty of times as an adult, also). But I still view it as an absolute masterpiece. So many favorite moments: Comfortably Numb remains one of my all time favorite songs, with of course one of the greatest guitar solos of all time. To me, Another Brick in the Wall Part II always has to include Part I and The Happiest Days of Our Lives. In my head I like to replace Empty Spaces with the movie version "What Shall We Do Now?" (speaking of tracks only in the movie - When the Tigers Broke Free is a very powerful track. I like that they later included it on reissues of the Final Cut, where it probably belongs). Hey You makes me stop and listen whenever I hear it. In the Flesh, Run Like Hell, and Waiting for the Worms may be fascism in musical form, but all three are amazing. The Trial brings the story to an over-the-top theatrical close followed by Outside the Wall which brings us full circle back to the beginning. On CD I'd often just let it loop right back to the start, creating a never ending album. I know The Wall isn't for everybody (although 30 million copies sold suggests it's for a lot of people), but it will always be an absolute classic to me.

This strikes me as one of those albums that will get dropped in a future edition. Enjoyable, but nothing I needed to hear before I die. Tracks that caught my attention: A Fan's Mail, Friend Zone, and Them Changes.

I'm trying to understand this album in the context of its time - Bob Dylan, folk singer extraordinaire goes electric and his audience goes bonkers. Calls of "Judas!" and heckling fill the air. Ok, but I don't get this, because he had already released his electric Highway 61 Revisited nearly a year earlier to rave reviews. Classics on that album (performed here) include Like a Rolling Stone and Ballad of a Thin Man, both of which were originally recorded electric. So, I can't help but wonder if the audience theatrics are just a whole bunch of pretentiousness. Either way, I found the acoustic side a little dull - I kept thinking, "this is a 3." His singing sounds like a parody of himself. The guitar lines are just the same chords over and over, with an occasional break to blow on the harmonica. Plus, for all the raving about his lyrics, sometimes they're pure cheese: See the primitive wallflower freeze When the jelly-faced women all sneeze Hear the one with the mustache say, “Jeeze I can’t find my knees” [insert eye-roll emoji] Now, I knew some of these acoustic tracks were pretty well-known songs and noticed that many of them were hits for others, so I went listening to other versions. I found in most cases I preferred the covers, such as the hit versions of It's All Over Now, Baby Blue by Them (i.e., Van Morrison) and Mr. Tambourine Man by the Byrds. Both covers led me to conclude that Dylan is an awesome songwriter who should leave the performing to others. Then I hit the electric set. Immediate thought - Dylan can actually sing. Yeah, he still has that weird twangy inflection, but he was belting it out over the band (or I guess, technically, over The Band). But another thing was that these songs had much more character than Dylan with just a guitar. Tell Me, Momma comes across like a slap to the pretentious audience members who only want to hear folk Bob. I Don't Believe You is the first one where I thought Dylan really sang well. Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues and Leopard-Skin Pill-Box are both rockers with great guitar work (Robbie Robertson, presumably?). Ballad of a Thin Man and Like a Rolling Stone are both classics and both sound great here. So, the electric side brought me to a 4. I'm looking forward to hearing more - particularly Highway 61 Revisited (which I've listened to before, but never closely). This live album is probably more important as a historical recording, but it made me want to dig a lot deeper. I'm sure digging deeper will make me better appreciate the "back-story" of this apparently legendary concert.

I feel like I shouldn't like Tom Waits as much as I do. Dude's weird. But I dig it. This is an all-around very cool album. Lots of dark references to death in the middle of some really catchy but odd music. Favorite tracks: Earth Died Screaming, Dirt in the Ground, Such a Scream, All Stripped Down, Who Are You, Going West, I Don't Wanna Grow Up (I also like the well known cover by the Ramones - also check out the cover by Priscilla Ahn - thanks YouTube for that suggestion!). Too weird to call a 5, but definitely a solid 4.

I'm familiar with a lot of Bob Dylan's music and have listened to this album before, but never closely. This is an absolute classic for a reason. Every track is anywhere between really good (e.g., Tombstone Blues, It Takes a Lot to Laugh, From a Buick 6, Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues) to absolutely classic (Like a Rolling Stone, Ballad of a Thin Man, Queen Jane Approximately, Highway 61 Revisited, Desolation Row). Pretty much a perfect album. Probably my only negative comment is that Desolation Row could be shorter - I don't mind long songs, but it's the exact same tune for over 11 minutes. That said, the lyrics are great, so in many ways it's just a long poem. I'd also say the siren whistle on Highway 61 is kind of dumb, but it's such a good song with such great lyrics, so who cares. Also, while I've said that Dylan's voice sometimes sounds like a parody of itself, I really liked his singing on this album. Again, an absolute classic and an easy 5.

Fun, classic album. I know the hits, but I'm not sure I ever listened to the entire album. The Run-DMC influence is very clear, and not just because of Paul Revere (co-written with them) or Slow and Low (Run-DMC cover). The combination of hard rock and rap is what makes the album. Run-DMC was also doing this at the same time, which could lead to questions of cultural appropriation, but it sounds like Run-DMC had mutual respect for the Beasties and they toured together, not to mention Rick Rubin was producing and co-writing for both acts. It's a great album, but I'm giving it a 4 rather than a 5 mainly for many moments of cheesiness and some homophobia and misogyny. Favorite tracks: Rhymin' and Stealin' (love the combination of When the Levee Breaks and Black Sabbath's Sweet Leaf), Fight for Your Right (classic - funny to read that it was meant to parody party songs and became the ultimate part song), No Sleep Till Brooklyn (cool track + Kerry King from Slayer), Paul Revere (love the backwards groove), and Slow and Low.

If I had to pick one word to describe The White Album, it would be UNEVEN. The White Album has some of the Beatles' best songs, a bunch of ok but generally uninspiring (and often derivative) songs, and then some songs they should have left on the cutting room floor (e.g., Wild Honey Pie, Piggies, and Revolution 9). Basically, if they were to take the best songs and a few of the ok songs they'd have a great single album. Maybe the Beatles were over-convinced of their greatness, but someone needed to tell them NO on making it a double album (sounds like George Martin tried unsuccessfully). If I were to pick which songs to turn into an amazing single album, this would be the track listing. I added Hey Jude and the single version of Revolution because they were recorded in the same sessions but only released as singles. I kept the order they used, except for adding Hey Jude. I'd probably find a different spot for Julia because it's just too mellow to have Blackbird followed by Julia. Similarly, Helter Skelter is a little stark following Mother Nature's Son: Back in the USSR Dear Prudence Glass Onion Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da (apparently a lot of people hate this, but I like it). While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Amazing song - of course, everyone should hear Prince's solo in the 2004 Rock Hall Tribute to George Harrison) Blackbird Julia (this is one of the ok ones I pulled in to fill up the single album) Birthday Mother Nature's Son (another ok one to fill the album) Helter Skelter Revolution (single version, but Revolution 1 is still good) Hey Jude (not on the album, but recorded during these sessions) Goodnight (always holds a special place for me because my son used to fall asleep listening to Jason Falkner's Bedtime with the Beatles and his version of Goodnight is magical). Total run time = slightly under 46 minutes. One great album, boys.

Lots of cool smooth grooves - generally one smooth groove per song repeated without much change - with Nas saying a LOT. His words are interesting but overwhelming. I know "historically" this is a key rap album, but it didn't click for me like a lot of the other seminal rap albums on the list. Not bad, but just didn't pull me in. Maybe I need more of an appreciation for how it changed rap or just need to listen more, but I'm moving on.

So much to like about this album. I like B Real's unique rapping style. Lots of cool grooves. This is another example of rappers taking samples and making it their own. This is probably the closest I've gotten to a 5 for a rap album - I just still have a hard time giving a 5 when the lyrics are so coarse (gang killings, sex - and, hey, just because it's in Spanish (Tres Equis) doesn't make it better). But this is one of my favorite rap albums so far. Favorite tracks: How I Could Just Kill a Man (look for the video on YouTube where Cypress Hill played this live with Rage Against the Machine - that version is amazing), Hand on the Pump, Hole in the Head (fun little ditty about getting a hole in your motherfuckin' head), Light Another (great example of taking a direct sample - in this case, Kool & the Gang's Good Times - and clearly making it a new song), The Phunky Feel One, Real Estate, Stoned is the Way of the Walk, Latin Lingo (great drum samples on this one).

The “big” songs off this album are fantastic: Finest Worksong, It’s the End of the World as We Know It, and The One I Love are classics for a reason. The non-hit songs on side one sound formulaic - similar guitar sound, bass line, drum beat, vocal style. It’s a good formula, don’t get me wrong, but very repetitive. The exception is Strange, but that makes sense since it’s a cover (originally by Wire). Side two gets a little less formulaic, but I don't find it all that memorable (except The One I Love, of course). Giving it a 4 because the greats are great, but not a 5 due to the fact that the others just aren't sticking with me as well.

Oh, Tom Waits. Every time I've listened to one of his albums, I need to get past the shock of his voice before I can appreciate the album. That first listen is always rough. But then I listen again and his voice starts to fit his music and his lyrics. With respect to his lyrics - always pay attention to his lyrics. That's where the power is - and then his voice fits. The first time I heard "On the Nickel" I noted "pretty song, weird voice." Then I listened again paying attention to the lyrics, learning that he's talking about being homeless on Skid Row ("on the nickel"). Then you hear his voice singing, "What becomes of all the little boys, who never comb their hair? They're lined up all around the block on the nickel over there." As someone with a teenage son who often seems aimless and sometimes leaves me worried about his future, that line is devastating. And Waits' voice just FITS with these portraits of the downtrodden and the seedy underbelly of life. Other great lines: "Don't you know there ain't no devil? There's just God when he's drunk" and "I'll probably get arrested when I'm in my grave." Also, I personally appreciate the line, "Nothin' else matters in this whole wide world, when you're in love with a Jersey girl." Can confirm.🙂 Overall, my advice is get past the shock of his voice (it's better than you think), pay attention to the lyrics, and enjoy the musical ride. Oh, crap. Am I becoming a Tom Waits fan??

Eh, it's country. Don't get me wrong, if I have to listen to country, Willie's a good choice. But it's country.

Highly influential but not widely known and died of cancer at 49. Very sad. She's got a great voice but I'm not all that into her music, even after multiple listens. Pleasant to hear, but don't need to hear it again, which is the definition of a 3 for me.

Easy 5 - a perfect album. Although it's commonly viewed these days as one of the best albums of all time, it's not my favorite Beatles album (behind Sgt Pepper and Abbey Road for me). But it's still perfect start to finish. Favorite tracks: Eleanor Rigby, Taxman, Tomorrow Never Knows.

Pleasant album, but not sure I needed to hear it before I die. Most fun part was hearing "Mbube" and saying, "hey! That's The Lion Sleeps Tonight!" Turns out "Mbube" means "lion" and the original song was written in 1939 by Solomon Linda (a capella song - check it out on YouTube). And, of course, typical for the music industry, American record companies ripped it off and barely paid him a cent (check out the Wikipedia entry - Pete Seeger tried to share his royalties with Solomon Linda but the publisher never sent the payments). I also learned that "wimoweh" is a mispronunciation of "uyimbube" which means "you are a lion." You learn something new every day. Back to Miriam Makeba, pleasant album, don't need to hear it again. That's a 3.

The music is very 80s, yet unique at the same time. Very harsh lyrics - Infected is apparently about STDs or AIDS more specifically, Heartland is about the decline of England, Sweet Bird of Truth about Western military action in the Middle East, The Mercy Beat sounds like it's about alcoholism. So, under the 80s pop sound, a dark subcurrent. Calling it a 4 - very good, worth hearing again, but the dated sound is the main thing keeping it from a 5.

Good power pop with some songs I could do without. I enjoyed it overall but kind of got tired of it after a while. In particular, I disliked Kung Fu and Innocent Smile (way too much feedback!). I was going to give the album a 4 until I encountered those tracks and after realizing I was getting tired of the album after the third listen. So, it's a 3. Favorite tracks: Lose Control, I'd Give You Anything (this one caught my attention every time I listened - very cool track).

Good musicianship all around, but I find straight blues kind of boring. I don't dislike hearing tracks like these here or there, but a whole album of them is a little much for me.

Pretty straight-forward 70s rock with some great guitar solos. Before listening to this, I couldn't have even told you who played "The Boys are Back in Town." Fun listen, but I was definitely ready to move on by the end. Favorite tracks: Jailbreak, Southbound (really nice guitar solo), Still in Love With You, The Boys are Back in Town.

Damn this is good. Powerful. Smooth grooves over deep lyrics. It's like Rage Against the Machine if the rage was expressed over smooth grooves with a relaxed rap flow. Seriously impressive album and the first rap album I'm rating a 5 (aside from Rage, which I consider to be more rock/metal anyway). Favorite tracks: pretty much all of them, but standouts are Satanic Reverses, Famous and Dandy (particularly the "flavor of the month" section), Television the drug of the nation, Financial Leprosy, and Water Pistol Man.

"And if a double-decker bus crashes into us To die by your side is such a heavenly way to die And if a ten-tonne truck kills the both of us To die by your side, well, the pleasure, the privilege is mine" Such emo glory - The Smiths make emo fun and romantic. I've never listened to the Smiths before the 1001 albums and I know there are some polarizing views about them. My overall impression: this album is a lot simpler in style than their previous album Meat is Murder - I liked the music on Meat is Murder better - but, it's still a great album, with depressing yet amusing lyrics and good songwriting. The title song is a straightforward driving rocker. Good stuff. Frankly Mr Shankly is an amusing ditty aimed at the guy who ran their label. I Know It's Over sounds like an old timey rock and roll ballad about heartbreak and wanting to die. Loved the part where he repeatedly asks "Then why are you on your own tonight?" Then we get even more emo with Never Had No One Ever which moves to the jarringly upbeat emo song Cemetry Gates (really liked this one - good chorus). Bigmouth Strikes Again is a good track (and pretty prophetic as Morrissey became more of an asshole bigmouth as the years went on). Vicar in a Tutu is an amusing song that again sounds like old timey rock and roll. There is a Light That Never Goes Out is pretty straightforward and is the big classic from the album. Good simple tune that gets stuck in your head. The album ends on Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others which feels like a throwaway song with kind of stupid lyrics. It's a shame that they didn't just end with There is Light, but maybe too many listeners would jump off a bridge if they ended there. Instead, it ends on a song that makes you go "huh?" and maybe even laugh a little. Absurd, like life. Excellent album.

This is what it would sound like if you were having a nightmare and someone put a Beach Boys album on in the background (particularly Mrs. O'Leary's Cow - that's some dark stuff for a Beach Boy). Overall, this album is...interesting. Probably more relevant as a musical curiosity (long unfinished album finally gets finished) than as a great album. I also listened to Smiley Smile (the sort-of Smile album the Beach Boys released in 1967) - it's interesting to compare the same tracks on each (where available). Heroes and Villains is a pretty cool track and compares pretty closely to the version on Smiley Smile. Good Vibrations is a classic, of course - interesting that this version has different lyrics from the original. I'm interested enough to want to keep digging into this album, which is usually at least a 4 for me, but it's also seriously weird. I don't necessarily mind weird, but I'm going to have to go with a 3 because it's just a little too weird.

First listen it was kinda, yeah britpop, whatever. Second listen - this album RAWKS. Fun, good stuff. I don't find a whole album on clubbing all that deep, but I'd listen again - hence the 4.

Good grooves and relatively clean lyrics (but not always). The album grew on me with each listen. In fact, I definitely want to keep listening, so that alone kicks it above a 3. I'm finding I enjoy rap a lot more when it's not full of misogyny and violence (and in fact, they call out the latter in "Not that Kind"). Overall, it's a fun ride with a good mix of different rap styles. It's not a 5 for me, but definitely a solid 4. Favorite tracks: Freedom, If You Only Knew, Break, What's Golden (this one caught my attention every time I listened), Sum of Us.

I wasn't a big fan of their second album, so I was pleasantly surprised by this album. Much more variety and just one good track after another. Outstanding musicianship and writing. It's very clear why this album is considered a classic. Favorite tracks: Tears of Rage, To Kingdom Come, Caledonia Mission, The Weight (absolute classic), Chest Fever (I wasn't sure about this one at first, but it really grew on me), We Can Talk. Really no weak songs.

What a voice - such precision, range, and beauty. The music takes you on a calm, beautiful ride and includes some brilliant lyrics. Some examples that stood out: "We love our lovin' but not like we love our freedom" (Help Me), "laughing and crying, you know it's the same release" (People's Parties), "Everything comes and goes/pleasure moves on too early and trouble leaves too slow" (Down to You), "Dreaming of the pleasure I'm going to have/Watching your hairline recede, my vain darling" [I laughed at that one] (Just Like This Train). Favorite tracks - Court and Spark (really sets the mood for the album), Help Me (one other observation - the musicians on this album are so good - not flashy, but just perfect for the music), Down to You, Raised on Robbery (fun track), Troubled Child.

On their second album the Pixies continued to be ahead of their time - so much of grunge can be traced back to their songs. I personally preferred their debut Surfer Rosa - I felt it had stronger individual songs and also a harder edge. This album is definitely a 4 though - a really good album that I'd like to keep listening to. I haven't rated the Pixies a 5 mainly because there's always a little too much screaming and feedback, but not so much for me to dislike it. I will definitely keep listening to both these albums and plan to dig into more of their discography. Favorite tracks - Wave of Mutilation, I Bleed, Monkey Gone to Heaven, Mr. Grieves, No. 13 Baby, and Gouge Away.

I'll start with my only (slight) complaint: it sounds pretty dated. I even thought about dropping the album down to a 4 because of the dated sound, but the songs and musicianship are just too good. Bottom line - once you get past the dated sound, every track is good in its own way. The album has great bookends: Alone Again Or and You Set the Scene are both fantastic songs. Alone Again Or has great guitar playing and you gotta love the Spanish guitar style and mariachi horns. "You Set the Scene" is an epic with some great lyrics. I love the line: "This is the only thing that I am sure of/and that's all that lives is gonna die/And there'll always be some people here to wonder why/and for every happy hello there will be good-bye." Other great moments: A House Is Not a Motel (great guitar work), The Daily Planet, The Red Telephone (super dated, but very psychedelic and again I love the guitar work), Maybe the People... (great rhythm), Live and Let Live (particularly the chorus - "and so the story ended..."), Bummer in the Summer (Arthur Lee does his best Bob Dylan impression...also shades of Hendrix' singing style). Even some of the tracks that pushed my "holy 60s baby" buttons are good. For example, Andmoreagain is a little too "Listen to the Flower People" for me, but it has good moments. The Good Humor Man... also sounded incredibly dated but could easily have been a Burt Bacharach classic. Finally, love the singing throughout and the album gets better with each listen. Definitely a classic and I'll stick to the 5.

Hello there children! Right from the first song you know you're in for a fun ride. Favorite tracks: Theme from Shaft (shut your mouth!), Be Yourself (this one really caught my attention every time), No Name Bar (really like the horns), and Do Your Thing (ahhh, yeah...smooth singing from the man himself, followed by an awesome extended jam).

It's crazy that this is his 15th (!) album, but he's only at the start of his "classic period" albums. Well, that period is aptly named. I only previously heard Innervisions and Songs in the Key of Life and loved them both. This one is right up there with them. What a great album and what an amazing talent - even more amazing when you consider that except for some guitars and some backing vocals everything on the album is him. My favorite track is I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever). I first heard it on the High Fidelity soundtrack and later included it on my wedding celebration playlist. Such a beautiful song (and all him - I had no idea there were no other musicians on that track). I love how it builds until the song is just soaring, and then ends with a great funk jam (does it count as a jam when it's only one person? Maybe it does if it's Stevie Wonder). Superstition is a solid gold classic - the quintessential funky Clavinet track. If you don't at least bop your head when you hear it, you may be dead. You Are the Sunshine of My Life is a classic. Easy listening, sure, but beautiful. All the other tracks are good to great. Maybe Your Baby brings da funk. You and I is schmaltzy but still good (nice use of synths - You've Got it Bad Girl is another good synth track). I also enjoyed Tuesday Heartbreak, Big Brother, Blame It on the Sun, and Lookin' for Another Pure Love (nice guitars, courtesy of Jeff Beck). It's just a great album, and clearly a 5.

The music is intensely cool, the lyrics dark. I read a lot about singer Ian Curtis and his suicide just before this album was released. The album hits a lot harder when you know what was going on at the time. I felt the album started only ok. I didn't like the noisy guitar in the background for Atrocity Exhibition and felt it went on too long without change. I felt Isolation had a good sound but was kind of the same thing over and over, a criticism that could be aimed at most of the songs on this album. However, starting with Passover through The Eternal the album was just one incredibly cool sounding song after another. You could also hear the influence they had on so many bands in the 80s (and even beyond). It ended just ok on Decades - a good track but not as good as the previous - it would have been better if they ended with The Eternal. So, basically 2/3 of the album is absolutely perfect and 1/3 is good. Favorite tracks: While I really like all the songs from Passover to The Eternal, my favorites were Colony (cool, hard edge), Heart and Soul (dark, brooding, and mysterious), Twenty Four Hours (cool bass line throughout), and The Eternal (like a beautiful funeral dirge. Really like the piano in this song).

Lots of great music, but the production on the album is very 80s, with treble in overdrive. Gets a little grating, despite the great songwriting and musicianship. Favorite songs: Cult of Personality, of course - it's a great song and never gets old. Funny Vibe - the lyrics hit hard - make sure to check out the Funky Vibe Mix on the extended version of the album. Memories Can't Wait - great Talking Heads cover. Glamour Boys - For some reason I always thought this was a cover - it's a great example of the wide range on this album. Not a bad song on the album (although I think the beginning of Open Letter (to a Landlord) sounds like Corey Glover doing his best Michael Bolton). I'd give it a 5 but the production style unfortunately takes it down a notch for me.

I like the music, but the lyrics are generally awful. For example, Bring a Friend really caught my ear and I was prepared to list it as a favorite track, until I saw the crass lyrics. Tons of stoner lyrics in other songs. Wrote for Luck is a good song and the lyrics aren't terrible. They occasionally reminded me of the band James who are not on the 1001 albums list but should be (damn, I even just saw that Happy Mondays opened for James. That makes the omission even worse). I'll give it a 3 because the songs sounded good, but no higher because of the lyrics.

It's considered one of the greatest albums of all time for a reason. It was groundbreaking in a ton of different ways. Every song is amazing - when I was a kid I used to skip over Within You Without You because it bored me. I learned to appreciate it much later...I think it was after I heard Dead Can Dance's Indus and learned about its roots in WYWY. There's so much I could say about every song, from the great opening riff right to the final thundering piano chord at the end of A Day in the Life. I've been listening to this album my entire life yet still notice something new every time. Sheer brilliance and an obvious 5. Favorite Tracks - the first three together are perfect (Sgt. Pepper, Little Help, Lucy), She's Leaving Home (which I hear differently as a parent than I did when I was younger), Mr. Kite (along with Lucy, a perfect psychedelic song), When I'm 64 (what can I say, I'm sentimental), A Day in the Life (an absolute masterpiece - the verses, the middle bridge, the "fell into a dream" sequence, the orchestra - that 24 bar build-up, that final E major chord! The song gives me chills every. single. time). Simply amazing.

Wasn't this the big thing around that time, to take a well-known but maybe not as popular as they used to be artist and pair them with current artists? But for all the bells and whistles, my favorite tracks were the last three that were mostly just John Lee Hooker alone. My Dream was the one that most hooked me when I first listened. Of the tracks with guests, I'm in the Mood with Bonnie Raitt was probably my favorite. Cuttin' Out (w/ Canned Heat) was also pretty good. I thought The Healer (with Santana) sounded like they pulled from every 80s soft rock cliche. Enjoyable enough listen, but I don't see myself returning to it.

Punk makes some people want to kick things. Feedback makes me want to kick things. I know they're groundbreaking and this is considered a classic. I'd probably go up to a 4 based on the energy and the fact that they were ahead of their time, but too much feedback is an automatic 1-point deduction (minimum). Favorite tracks: Kick Out the Jams (obviously), Ramblin' Rose (even with the weird high singing), Borderline (rockin' track), Motor City is Burning (good blues). Least favorite - anything with too much feedback, particularly Come Together and Starship.

A few years ago, I listened to ALL the top rock, pop, and alternative song playlists on Apple Music for every year from 1955 to 2018. It was interesting to listen to the ebb and flow of styles and genres at the top of the charts. I recall thinking that the early 2000s were a wasteland of angry frat boy rock at the top of the rock charts. This is a perfect example. It's an aural assault with coarse lyrics. I like a good heavy groove, but I just find the constant cursing and coarse lyrics tiring. I like some of the music, but the lyrics clearly bring it down to a 2. Thankfully this isn't in the 1001 albums anymore. Oh, and the outro made me regret my commitment to listen to every album on the 1001 albums entirely twice - stfu with your stupid looped laugh.

This album is definitely a mood (sometimes a sexually-explicit mood - Bjork was apparently very horny when she wrote this album - see the video for Pagan Poetry). I'm not always a fan of some of the lo-fi sounds she goes with, but this album is ethereal and takes you away somewhere else. Favorite tracks: Hidden Place (haunting and sultry at the same time), It's Not Up To You/Undo (I'm putting these together because they share an important message about letting go of anxiety - both are beautiful entrancing tracks), and Heirloom. Probably my main problem with the album (outside the lo-fi stuff I don't like) is that it's a lot of similar sounding music throughout. I enjoyed the album, but have to go with a 3 - good to hear but I don't think I'll be seeking it out.

This album would get a 5 just for including Kashmir - another candidate for the best song of all time. But then add the fact that there's not a weak song on this double album, not to mention it includes many other amazing songs (e.g., Custard Pie, In My Time of Dying (slide-guitar extraordinaire!), Houses of the Holy, Trampled Under Foot, Bron-Yr-Aur, Ten Years Gone, The Wanton Song). Probably the only questionable part is the lyrics of Sick Again. Yeah, um, no. In the Light has some great moments, but drags on a little. I find it funny that we had the five Led Zep albums in the 1001 Albums randomly appear in order (not one after the other of course). So, this one completes the Zep albums on the list for our group and each was a perfect 5. That's more than half their 9 studio albums and it's 5 out of their first 6 (and frankly Houses of the Holy would have gotten a 5 also - they probably couldn't include it in the 1001 albums because they needed room for another Tom Waits album). It's all been a great reminder of why they're one of the greatest bands of all time.

I always like Depeche Mode's sound but I rarely find myself drawn in enough to want to explore more. Favorite tracks: Never Let Me Down Again, Strangelove, To Have and To Hold. Could do without the annoying breathing in I Want You Now.

I've listened to this album a couple of times in the past but never listened closely. On first listen, my reaction was, "Ok, glam" and I was prepared to move on with a 3. The good news is that the album grew on me more and more with each listen. I haven't listened as deeply as I'd like, but definitely want to listen more, which is a 4 in my book. Favorite tracks - Animal Nitrate, Pantomime Horse, The Drowners. Didn't dislike anything, although the guitars got a little "noisy" in So Young which tends to annoy me.

I have a really good sense of how rock music developed - so when I hear something that sounds like a lot of other things, I can often recognize who the trailblazers of that sound were. I don't have that same sense when it comes to the history of rap. So when I hear an album like this, I feel like I've heard a lot like it already. What I don't know is whether Gang Starr was a leader or follower. I enjoyed it, but it didn't stand out as much as other rap albums I've heard. Nice grooves, interesting lyrics, but doesn't make me want to dig in more. Favorite Tracks: Step in the Arena, Check the Technique, Here Today Gone Tomorrow.

What can you say about an album that starts with a song called "Smack My Bitch Up"? Insert eye roll emoji. Still, it's definitely a fun listen. I don't know that I'd go out of my way to seek it out, but I'd definitely listen again. Favorite tracks: SMBU (minus the lyrics - cool groove), Breathe (very cool dark sound), Mindfields, Firestarter (total earworm). Least favorite track: Serial Thrilla - the beginning and ending sound effects made me think something was wrong with my computer. Not cool. I docked a point just for that.

Wow, I can't believe they removed this from the 1001 albums. Such a poignant album - Johnny died less than a year after its release. While you can hear the pain and age in his voice, he still sounds amazing. In fact, that's one of the reasons I love "Sam Hall" - despite his age and illness he's still got some fun energy to share. The most well known track is his amazing cover of NIN's Hurt. Trent Reznor famously said it was no longer his song after Johnny Cash covered it. The video is painful to watch - June Carter Cash looks on at Johnny in his pain and illness, yet she predeceased him - they both died within the next year. The track is powerful enough without that fact - it becomes devastating with it. Every track is fantastic, but the standouts for me are The Man Comes Around, Hurt, Bridge Over Troubled Water (Johnny's voice makes this and In My Life sound so much more powerful than the originals, both of which I love), I Hung My Head (better than Sting's original - notice a trend here?), First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, In My Life (hearing John Lennon sing it with the Beatles is nice, but he was a young man - it means much more coming from an old man near the end of his life), Sam Hall, Danny Boy (beautiful rendition), Desperado (again, better than the original), I'm So Lonely I Could Cry (I thought it was Bonnie Prince Billy singing with him - listen to "I See a Darkness" on American III - but it turned out to be Nick Cave), We'll Meet Again (what a great song to end the last album released during his lifetime. Great touch that the last song is an optimistic song that sounds free of pain). Did I just name almost all the tracks on the album? Yes, yes I did. Absolute 5.

I wasn't a fan of George Michael when he was all over MTV. I Want Your Sex was soooo overplayed in the 80s and the lyrics are cheesy. But I was really surprised by how much I liked Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1, so I was looking forward to listening to Faith with more open ears. Well, this is a good album, but didn't hit me like Listen Without Prejudice, which seemed like a much deeper album. Favorite tracks: Faith (great song, and the bass and guitar lines are really good), Hard Day (great groove), and Look at Your Hands (catchy track - Rolling Stones vibe). I liked the instrumentation on Sex pt. 2. Similarly, I like the music for Father Figure but lyrics like "I'll be your daddy" are just creepy to me. Monkey has cool music but really weird lyrics (I know it's about a monkey on your back like drugs or something, but the screaming monkeys makes it seem a little too literal). I'll have to go with a 3 on this one. Worth listening to, but wouldn't seek it out again.

Having your personal masterpiece only recognized as a masterpiece posthumously sucks. I had never heard of Gene Clark, so I spent time looking him up. Had no idea he was a founding member of the Byrds and was originally their primary writer (incidentally, I had no idea David Crosby got his start with the Byrds. I need to learn more about them). Probably the most famous song he wrote for the Byrds was "I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better." He considered "No Other" to be his masterpiece but it was panned when it was released and mostly forgotten. The album only garnered critical recognition after he died in 1991 at age 46. Personally, I really enjoyed the album, but it sounded similar to a lot of other acts (e.g., CSNY). Favorite track was the title track - really cool grooves and fuzz guitars. It got stuck in my head after listening. Other high points were "Life's Greatest Fool" (enjoyed the slide guitar solo) and Silver Raven. I noticed the bass in Silver Raven and looked it up - Leland Sklar. Guy's been on everything. According to his Wikipedia entry he's played on over 2000 albums. His discography is so long they have an alphabetical index for the acts he's played with and it's only missing Q, U, and X. C'mon Queen, U2, and XTC! Help a brother out! Oh, back to Gene Clark. I also really liked Some Misunderstanding. Beautiful song. My favorite line (and tough since Clark abused drugs and alcohol, which contributed to his early death): "We all need a fix at a time like this/ But doesn't it feel good to be alive?" I definitely want to dig into his music more. Not a 5 because it's too similar to other music that came before, but definitely a really good album.

I recently read an article that said Lennon talked shit about McCartney's "Let It Be." Listening to the song "Imagine" closely (even though I've heard it a million times) I realized it's fundamentally Lennon's "Let It Be." Some of the musical patterns (e.g., the piano) are very similar to Let It Be. But I'll give Lennon props for consistency - he apparently talked shit about the music for the song Imagine also. In fact, talking shit seems to be how Lennon spent most of the 70s - trashing the Beatles in general and McCartney in particular. How Do You Sleep is pretty over the top - it's a shame that so many people disrespect McCartney's output because Lennon talked trash about it. And he really is just talking trash - McCartney didn't have a good song after Yesterday? What a ridiculous statement. It's hard not to wonder if Lennon would have eventually outgrown his petulance towards McCartney. McCartney claims they put it behind them before Lennon's death, but everything I read right up until 1980 seems to be Lennon pissing all over the Beatles. Maybe he was trying to assert his independence or maybe the interviewers were just trying to get statements that would sell magazines, but what I see in his statements and this album in particular is a guy who was miserable despite all his success. Complaining about the world and life seems to be the overwhelming theme of this album. After Imagine, which sounds almost hopeful, we get Crippled Inside (Lennon says "I'm broken"), Jealous Guy ("I suck"), It's So Hard ("I can barely get up in the morning"), I Don't Wanna Be a Soldier ("I don't want to be anything, actually"), Gimme Some Truth ("Everyone sucks" as he plays his best Holden Caulfield), How Do You Sleep ("Paul sucks"), and How ("I still suck"). The only exceptions are Oh My Love and Oh Yoko, where Lennon says "I love Yoko, she's great. But did I mention in Jealous Guy that I suck?" All that said, I enjoy the music on this album. Some of it is pretty basic (e.g., Crippled Inside, It's So Hard, Oh Yoko), some underdeveloped (I Don't Wanna Be a Soldier, Gimme Some Truth), but some classic Lennon writing (Imagine, Jealous Guy, How Do You Sleep). I'm going to give it a 4 - yes, I know it's an absolute classic, and Imagine is up there in the list of "greatest songs ever," but I'm deducting a point for being one of the most respected musicians in the world but still being a miserable bastard. Hey, I get depression, I really do, but Lennon could afford therapy.

I'm a big Paul Simon fan, but I've never found this album all that exciting. There are some really great songs on here, like Mother and Child Reunion, Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard, and Peace Like a River, but overall the album doesn't have the pull of a lot of his other work. Nothing bad, just nothing all that exciting - most of the other tunes are nice, but they just don't stick with me. Maybe one more exception is Duncan, but it always feels like a song that has potential but doesn't really go anywhere. Overall, I'm not sure why they included this particular solo album in the 1001 albums. The 1001 also has Hearts and Bones and Graceland, which are both amazing albums start to finish. I guess this album is pretty representative of his 70s output: each album has a few amazing songs and then a bunch of decent filler. Personally, if I had to pick one of his 70s solo albums I'd go for the next one, "There Goes Rhymin' Simon" which includes great tracks like Kodachrome, American Tune (one of my favorite Paul Simon songs), and Loves Me Like a Rock. I'd also put "Still Crazy After All These Years" in the running (heck, just for drum part of 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover...such a great beat. Kudos to Steve Gadd). I'll give this album a 4 mainly because I enjoy the album (which I can say for every album he ever put out, either solo or with Garfunkel), but it's just not a 5 for me.

Really digging Elvis Costello. I enjoyed this album a lot but I'm giving it a 4 rather than a 5 because most of the songs aren't sticking with me (except for Pump It Up, which is a major ear worm). But I definitely want to listen more and dig deeper into his catalog. Good stuff. Favorite tracks - Pump It Up (I knew this song previously but didn't know it was Elvis Costello. Excellent song - really fun), No Action (great start to the album), This Year's Girl (Love the start of the song - I notice a lot of similarity to the Cars, who were contemporaries), Little Triggers (nice laid back tune - I really like his singing style), I Don't Want to Go to Chelsea (this one caught my attention every time I listened even when not paying close attention. Cool track).

What a great album. I don't think I've listened to it closely before, but the one thing that stood out is I knew almost all the songs on the album. That's how good it is - nearly all the songs are classics. Favorite tracks (but they're all good to great): Thunder Road ("You ain't a beauty but hey you're alright" - great line), Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out (funny, I didn't know that was the title of this song that I've heard a ton of times because I didn't know what they were saying over and over throughout the song - I thought it was something like "Red devil in the free ride" which makes no sense. Oh, it's "Tenth Avenue Freeze Out"? Oh, ok. Not sure what that means either, but great song either way), Born To Run (stone-cold classic that never, ever gets old), She's the One (another that I recognized but didn't know by its title), and Meeting Across the River (nice track, one I didn't previously know, but really enjoyed the mellow mood, particularly in contrast to all the rocking on the album), Jungleland (Bruce's epic - good stuff). Perfect album - easy 5.

This album may be the 80s-ist album to ever 80s. At first, I thought I Might Have Been Queen was possibly the most 80s song I had ever heard, but then Show Some Respect came on to challenge it. Then I Can't Stand the Rain came on, and then Private Dancer...who will win the 80s crown? If you're a fan of every 80s music cliche, then YOU are the winner. Then again, with those covers of Help! and 1984 we all lose. The only saving grace is that at least Tina Turner has a great voice (but even she managed to sound bad on Help!).

On the one hand, this is the album where Radiohead started to get "weird." Their first two albums were excellent and relatively accessible. Albums after this become much more dense, electronic, and difficult to listen to. On the other hand, it's still a fantastic album and deserves all the accolades. I've listened to this album many times but never once read the lyrics until now. They really add to the overall experience and I think that's the word to describe this album - an experience. The lush instrumentation, creative riffs and hooks, often dark, Yorke's plaintive voice, and the poetic (if dense) lyrics. Clear 5, but best when listened to with intention rather than as background.

It made for some nice background music, but in many ways it just sounded like the same song over and over. It probably didn't help that I also had no idea what he was saying. I'm sure it's really good, but I didn't need to hear it before I die.

I love when I put on an album here thinking I don't know anything about it, and then a song like Green Onions plays and I go, oh, yeah! I know that! Just didn't know the band or the name. The album is enjoyable. I can appreciate it for its historical significance, especially since the band became the "house band" for a ton of great artists. I'd listen again, mainly as background music, but I don't think it's anything I need to hear again.

This album oozes cool. Great tracks throughout including Sabotage - one of the coolest songs ever. Also enjoyed all the musical interludes. Easy 5.

Gotta admit, I never gave Fiona Apple the time of day because I thought she was a whiny poser (the full title of When the Pawn... didn't help). From the moment the album started, though, it was clear this is a pretty amazing album that I should have given a chance long ago. More importantly, reading about her life (on the most authoritative source: Wikipedia), I never realized the struggles she's gone through (I won't summarize them here). She also has done a lot of great charity work. It's all a good reminder not to pre-judge anyone. The 1001 albums continue to help break through my biases and preconceptions. Now that I'm listening to her with fresh and open ears, it's clear why this was such a breakthrough album. So, how to describe the album? Jazzy, sultry, edgy, deep. Her voice is captivating - as in it holds you captive and doesn't let go. There's anger in her voice and knowledge. How the hell was she 17 when she wrote most of this? Also, the instrumentation and production is outstanding (looks like credit to Jon Brion, who has worked with a ton of great acts). I'm regretting dismissing her and will definitely dig in to her catalog. Best tracks: Sleep to Dream, Criminal (what a song, and those lyrics pack a punch - I also noted that it sounded like there was a mellotron on Criminal, but turns out it's a "Chamberlin" which was a precursor to the Mellotron - look it up, it's pretty interesting), Sullen Girl (powerful song and lyrics), The First Taste (nice groove), and Carrion (really like the outro).

Tom Petty was a hit making machine. The rest of his stuff is all good, but not always groundbreaking and this album is a good example. The hits (Breakdown and American Girl) are fantastic, but much of the rest is pretty standard fare (e.g., Rockin' Around (With You) and Anthing That's Rock n Roll). This is probably why in most cases I'd rather listen to a greatest hits album by Tom Petty (or a live collection) than his individual albums. More importantly, I'm surprised THIS is the one Tom Petty album they chose for the 1001 albums. Sure, it has a lot of his signature sound early on, but there are better picks (and I'm including his solo stuff, because he's the primary songwriter and lead either way). Seriously, Full Moon Fever wasn't picked?? It had 7 charting singles on it (incl. 3 #1's and 3 more in the Top 10 of the rock charts) and was great start to finish. If I had to pick one album with the Heartbreakers it would be Damn the Torpedoes (with Refugee, Here Comes My Girl, Even the Losers, and Don't Do Me Like That). This is a good album, but they could have picked better. I would have given Full Moon Fever and easy 5. Calling this one a 4.

Like a lot of teens/twentysomethings in the 90s, my entrance to funk-rock-rap was through RHCP and this album in particular. I thought this album was incredibly cool back then, although Sir Psycho Sexy made me cringe ("There's a devil in my dick and some demons in my semen"??? Made me go ugh then, makes me go ugh now). Some of the tracks continue to blow me away - The Power of Equality, Blood Sugar Sex Magik, Under the Bridge (yes, overplayed and all). Other top tracks include Funky Monks, I Could Have Lied, Breaking the Girl, The Righteous & The Wicked, and Give It Away (another overplayed track, but still love the bass line). The one common trend through pretty much the entire album is outstanding musicianship and very cool writing. Even the lyrics are good for most of the album. I'll move past the lyrics on Sir Psycho Sexy and past the fact that I overplayed it when I was younger and give it the 5 it deserves. It's their breakthrough album for a reason.

I like the White Stripes and I like pretty much every track on this album, but after a while the garage riffs and drums get a little repetitive. Don't get me wrong, the album is a rocker, is highly creative, and deserves the accolades, I just can't give it a 5 because of the repetitiveness, even if it's good repetitiveness. It could also be that Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground starts with a ton of feedback, which I can't stand. Sets the wrong mood for me personally. These kids and their loud rock and roll!! [shakes fist at ceiling]. That said, lots of good stuff on this album. Favorite tracks: Hotel Yorba, I'm Finding it Harder to be a Gentleman, Fell In Love With a Girl (absolutely impossible to understand without the lyrics, but super-cool song), We're Going to Be Friends (I like the mood of this song), Offend in Every Way, Now Mary.

Weird, but cool. I dig it. Favorite tracks: Man, Maps, Y Control. Liked the music to Cold Light, but the lyrics are a little ugh.

Cultural appropriation or beautiful mix of cultures? Far be it from me to decide. I know what I know, as the song goes, and I know this is an absolutely perfect album. We had Ladysmith Black Mambazo as a pick in the 1001 albums and I rated it pretty low because an album of just their singing was kind of meh. Combine them with Paul Simon's voice and writing as well as a wealth of other styles, and suddenly you have a classic. It's all about the synergy of styles that makes it wonderful. It's good to see Paul Simon treated the artists very well - he paid his band far above scale and made sure all the South African acts received writing credits. He received a ton of criticism for violating a cultural boycott of South Africa over apartheid, but it's questionable how it was a good thing to have a cultural boycott of the very people oppressed by apartheid. Regardless, I've loved the album since it came out and never get tired of it. Easy 5. Favorite tracks: The Boy in the Bubble, Graceland, Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes, You Can Call Me Al (even if the video was all kinds of overplayed), Under African Skies (I had no idea that was Linda Rondstadt or that it was so controversial), Homeless.

Ehh...not my thing. I'm not a fan of her style of singing. I liked "Forgive Them Father" - that was a good track that caught my ear, but in general I found the album boring. I'm sure it's great for many people, just not me.

I enjoyed this album a lot more than I thought I would. The lyrics of much of the first half were the main issue I had with the album - I'm all for female sexual empowerment, but from Drunk in Love to Rocket I just wanted to tell Bey and Jay to get a room (Jay-Z: "Your breasteses is my breakfast." Sigh). That said, the music and production are excellent and she has an amazing voice. Don't know if I'd go out of my way to listen to it again, but I wouldn't mind listening more, so I'll call it a 4. Tracks that caught my ear: Haunted (very cool track - also a good spot to acknowledge the visually stunning videos she made for every song on the album), Partition (more sexy-time lyrics, but I like the music), Mine (really like the drum track), XO (anthemic), Flawless, and Heaven (what a great line "Heaven couldn't wait for you. So go on, go on home." I saw some people say it's about a miscarriage, which hits hard, but she says it's about her mother's friend. If it is about a miscarriage, damn that hits you in the feels). Nice ending with Blue - it made me want to go hug my kids, even though they're not so little anymore.

Full disclosure: I'm a huge Rush fan. Moving Pictures is the obvious pick for the 1001 Albums (2112 is in the list also) and deservingly so. Side one is absolutely perfect - every song a masterpiece. Tom Sawyer with its iconic opening chord and, well, iconic moments throughout. Red Barchetta - a great song for an afternoon drive with the windows down. YYZ - Want to pump up any Rush fan? Tap out morse code for Y-Y-Z. This is stupidly one of the first songs I tried to play on bass guitar. Thought I sucked because I couldn't play like Geddy Lee. Duh. Even more stupid, the Grammys chose the Police's lame Behind My Camel as best rock instrumental over YYZ. Seriously?? YYZ is a perfect instrumental and a showcase for the band's amazing musicianship. Limelight - the greatest song ever written about not wanting to talk with fans. Neil Peart turns misanthropy into a hit! Seriously, I love the guitar parts in Limelight. The second side is very good, but not as great as Side 1 (nobody's perfect, I guess). It's also not nearly as accessible to non-Rush fans. The Camera Eye was never one of my favorites - it's good, but to this day doesn't draw me in and always feels too long. Always liked Witch Hunt and its lyrics are as relevant as ever. Finally, Vital Signs is a fun track and a good hint of what was going to come on the next album. If someone were to ask me which Rush album they should start with I'd give a different answer depending on what they like, but you generally can't go wrong with recommending Side 1 of Moving Pictures. I've never gotten tired of this album and never will. Easy 5.

Interesting album, but the main question I had while listening was WHY ON EARTH ARE THERE 3 KRAFTWERK ALBUMS IN THE 1001 ALBUMS?? I get that they were groundbreaking, but we could hear the groundbreaking-ness from one album and that's enough. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed listening to this, but there are an awful lot of albums I enjoy that didn't make the 1001 albums. Anyway, I liked this one more than the previous Trans-Europe Express. The tracks that most caught my ear were Spacelab and Metropolis (shades of Daft Punk and the Stranger Things soundtrack on the latter - both clearly owe a debt to Kraftwerk), but all the tracks were good. Moving on...

Ugh, here we go. Time to separate the art from the piece of shit artist. The presence of autotune makes it even harder. I HATE autotune. That said, after a few listens I started to get his appeal. The music/samples are fantastic. The lyrics, well, what an asshole. But his rapping style is impressive. Going to call it a 3 - autotune is an automatic -1 for me. Being an asshole is at least an additional -1. Standout tracks: On Sight, Black Skinhead, I am a God (except for the obnoxious screaming), New Slaves (until the autotune started - that's a common thread here: song starts cool and then there's some strange twist at the end), I'm In It, Send It Up.

It's amazing to me how this album never seems to draw me in. So much happening, but it never clicks. Could be because many of the songs sound similar to me. Could be the COMPLETE LACK OF BASS. Whatever it is, I've never been big on this album. "One" is a really cool song (particularly the end part), but most of the rest just sounds like the same song over and over. Giving it a 3 because I don't mind hearing it, but never feel an urge to seek it out. Maybe I'd consider a 4, but have to remove at least a star since they removed the bass.

This is the album where Yes became Yes. Sure, it wasn't until the next album that Rick Wakeman cemented the "Classic Yes" lineup, but this album is absolute prog rock perfection. The two previous albums suggested what Yes was going to become, but this album found the missing ingredient with the addition of Steve Howe. Not a weak track on the album. The first four tracks are simply amazing: Yours is No Disgrace rocks. It's about the Vietnam war, but you would probably never guess only by listening to the typical Yes-obtuse lyrics. The fantastic opening riff punches so much harder live, but sounds great here also. The song takes you on a journey of different styles, all fantastic. Then we hear Steve Howe's excellent imitation of Chet Atkins in Clap (as he says, "not THE Clap, thank you very much"). Then one of the absolute Yes greats: Starship Trooper. Man, those guitars - Steve Howe just tears through this song. The last part (Wurm) absolutely takes you into space - every member of the band is on the top of their game in this song (and let's take a moment to acknowledge Tony Kaye - kicked to the curb after this album but did an admirable job here). Of all the songs on the album, this one most shows where Yes was heading from here. I've Seen All Good People is a classic rock radio staple and has so many great moments: The first section has some of the best harmonies in a rock song and then you have to give tons of respect to the jam section at the end. A Venture is the weakest track IMO - not bad, but it has a lot to measure up to on this album. Finally, Perpetual Change is a solid track. It probably took me longer to get into this one than others, but nothing can compare to the first four tracks on this album. Absolutely perfect album and an easy 5.

I generally dig Neil Young - prior to the 1001 albums I hadn't listened closely to much beyond his greatest hits but I was really blown away by On the Beach. This album is good, but not blow me away good. Many of the songs are pretty basic and he seemed to put even less effort into singing quality than usual (and that's saying something). There were some tracks I liked a lot - Borrowed Tune is a beautiful, captivating track...just Neil on piano and harmonica. I liked Tonight's the Night (both versions). Speakin' Out had some great instrumental breaks (great Nils Lofgren guitar solo). I also liked Lookout Joe (particularly the chord progression during the verses). New Mama had a nice a capella ending. So, plenty of good moments, but not 5-worthy.

Eh, it was ok. I suspect this will be dropped from the 1001 albums in future editions. Lazy review today.

Love their harmonies. It's all pretty basic rock and roll, but they sound fantastic. I'm not clear on why the authors chose this album for the 1001 albums and not the Everly Brothers debut album, which includes classics "Bye Bye Love" and "Wake Up Little Susie." Still, this is definitely a good album. Favorite tracks: Love Hurts (I didn't know they debuted Love Hurts - they didn't write it though), Lucille (Little Richard cover), Cathy's Clown (great harmonies again). Some tracks were cheesy: Made to Love ("girls, girls, girls were made to love." Motley Crue has nothing on the Everly Brothers), "Sigh, Cry, Almost Die" just made me think, "gee, it's tough to be a teenager." And I'm sure lots of teenyboppers screamed when they sang "So How Come No One Loves Me." Anyway, calling it a 4 for their fantastic harmonies.

Bowie starts to emerge from the darkness of drug use and rewards us with a fantastic work of art rock. Every track is great, but my favorites of the vocal tracks are Breaking Glass, Sound and Vision, and Always Crashing in the Same Car. The instrumentals may not be for everyone, but I could listen to them for hours - favorites are A New Career in a New Town (I love how the music evokes both optimism and darkness. Also love the plaintive harmonica which later is heard on Bowie's final album Blackstar), Warszawa, Art Decade, and Subterraneans (love the moody ambience). That said, every song on this album is a work of art. Easy 5.

While Eno was involved with so many acts I enjoy (Bowie, Talking Heads, U2, Fripp, so many more), it took me a while to appreciate his solo work. This is definitely one of his best, although I know he's an acquired taste. Favorite tracks - King's Lead Hat (anagram for Talking Heads - nice how Eno even sings like David Byrne on this track. The lyrics are absurd but sound great, like "All I know and all I have is time and time and tide is on my side." Great track), No One Receiving (sounds like it would be right at home on a David Bowie album - great bass and drums on this track, Percy Jones on bass (Brand X and a great session player) and Phil Collins on drums - the guy who wrote the review for this in the 1001 albums book was like "Phil Collins?" This song is a great reminder of how good a drummer Phil Collins was, especially in the 70s), and the trio of Here He Comes, Julie With..., and By This River (these tracks just take you floating away). I don't know if I would have said this 25 years ago, but these days Eno's song-based solo albums are all an easy 5 for me.

I enjoyed the album, but nothing is sticking with me after multiple listens. Somewhere between punk and new wave but after a while everything blended together. Moving on...

This was a pretty challenging album for me. Some of it was simply uncomfortable to listen to (way too much n-word for me - I realize this album wasn't made for me; also, lines like "this dick ain't free" - needless to say I'm not playing this album where anyone else can hear). But the last section, starting with "How Much a Dollar Cost" really blew me away. If the whole album was like the last 6 tracks I'd be calling it a 5. But the earlier stuff often doesn't do it to me. Sometimes really odd (even though I like odd music) or just lyrics I didn't like. So, I was down to a 4 or a 3 and chose 3, mainly because I'm not sure that I want to continue digging into it (which is part of my definition of a 4). But, like I said, I thought the last section was outstanding - powerful lyrics, great music. Maybe I'd feel that way about the earlier tracks if I gave them more time, but I'm kind of done for now. Favorite Tracks: King Kunta, How Much a Dollar Cost, Complexion, The Blacker the Berry, i, Mortal Man.

Fun album. Blister in the Sun is one of those songs where I didn't know the name and then immediately said, "I know this!" Good song. I enjoyed pretty much every track. Not groundbreaking (unless there had never been punk folk before?), but a fun listen. Favorite tracks: Blister in the Sun, Kiss Off, Please Do Not Go (great bass break in the middle), Add It Up. Good stuff - I'd definitely listen again.

Disclaimer: Huge Genesis fan here. I was listening to this in the car with my teenage son recently, as one does, right? Right?? I was surprised that he's been digging early Genesis so we went through this one. It was interesting to listen to it with him and think about how this album sounds to new ears. Album 1 is amazing and my son absolutely loved it. The opening trio of The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, Fly on a Windshield, and Broadway Melody of 1974 is just stunningly good. Chills every freakin' time. Back in NYC, In the Cage, and Carpet Crawlers are all great songs. Album 1 is a clear 5. Album 2...well, it has some great moments: Lilywhite Lilith. the keyboard solo in Riding the Scree...plus "It" is a great closer (both to the album and to Peter Gabriel's time with Genesis). But Album 2 also has a lot of weird moments - I was cringing a few times at how it might be coming across to him and I can imagine that a lot of people end up saying "wtf" many times during Album 2 (and maybe even occasionally on Album 1). Plus, I worried that Album 2 was dragging out too much and the story is, um, awkward to say the least (google Peter Gabriel's slipperman costume. On second thought, don't). But, as we neared the end and I told my son that we were on the second to last song, he was actually disappointing that the album was almost over. Poor kid is going to be a prog fan I guess. I want to make it crystal clear I didn't push him to listen! Anyway (as the song goes)...to give it a 4 or 5? Here's where I'm going to have to let my Genesis freak-flag fly: It's a 5 (it's also chicken, eggs, and in between your legs). Every time I hit the end of the album, I want to listen again. If that isn't a 5, I don't know what is.

Solid outing for Neil Young (and Co.). My My, Hey Hey and Hey Hey, My My are by far the best tracks - both are great, but the acoustic version is more poignant. Neil's singing on this album is solid (for him), a nice improvement from Tonight's the Night. Except for MMHH/HHMM, the lyrics are meh. No clue what's happening with the lyrics for Welfare Mothers ("Welfare mothers make better lovers"??). Sedan Delivery is a cool song and the electric tracks in general are a good reminder of why Neil Young is called the godfather of grunge. Also liked Thrasher and Powderfinger. Overall I enjoyed the album - can't call it a 5, but I'd definitely listen again.

Duhn-Duhn-DUUUHN, Duhn-Duhn-DuUUhn, Duhn-Duhn-DUUUHN, Duhn-Duuuhn. This. Album. Rawks!! A true hard rock classic. Crazy to think this is from 1972. Every song is great, but the standouts for me are Highway Star (Metal-precursor with an awesome organ solo. You heard that right), Maybe I'm a Leo (cool track), Never Before (lots of hard rock/metal cliches both lyrically and musically, but they were one of the first so they get a pass. Also worth noting how good all of the band members are throughout this album), Never Before (cool groove), Smoke on the Water (a classic for a reason. Great song that just gets stuck in your head. Before this listen I never paid attention to the lyrics or knew what they were about it. It's funny how literal they are about their experience of the Montreaux Casino burning down), Space Truckin' (another song that RAWKS and gets stuck in your head). Hmm, yes, I did just call almost every song a standout. Easy, easy 5.

Pleasant enough listen, but too much of same-same throughout. Nothing bad, just not an album I needed to hear before I die. Tracks that caught my ear: If I Should Fall from Grace with God, Turkish Song of the Damned, Battle of Smoke, Metropolis, Streets of Sorrow. Moving on.

Another Neil Young album? And we just recently had Rust Never Sleeps. Here's my problem with this - there are only so many albums you can select for the 1001 albums. If you're going to have multiple from a single artist, there should be a REASON, like every album picked is highly influential or amazing (e.g., The Beatles, Led Zep) or the albums change a lot and it's worth hearing how the artist evolved (Bowie, Bowie, Bowie). But when you have something like Neil Young where many of his albums sound similar, pick a representative one (or two) and let's move on. Rust Never Sleeps was much better than Ragged Glory, so Rust Never Sleeps would have been enough. On the Beach is a very different style, so I support having that, but we didn't need Tonight's the Night. And I haven't reviewed Harvest yet, which I know is a pure classic. So, I really think this album (and Tonight's the Night) were completely unnecessary. Sure, this is all my opinion, but there are so many great artists and albums not included in the 1001 albums and I think they should have been a little more discriminating about what to exclude. Rant over. I like Neil Young, but this album sounds sloppy and I'm not a fan of the guitar tone. Pretty grating. Neil's singing on "Over and Over" is absolutely awful. I liked F*!*!n' Up, but was annoyed at the feedback at the end (which they also did at the end of Farmer John). Many of the songs sound derivative of his earlier songs (e.g., Love to Burn includes similar progressions to the verses in Rockin in the Free World, which came out a year earlier, Mansion on the Hill sounds like earlier stuff, with CSNY harmonies to boot). Just don't know why this album was picked. A 2 seems harsh, but I'm going there.

I generally liked this album, but definitely liked "This Year's Model" much more. Some of the tracks and singing made me think of XTC (not a bad thing). I don't know how much I'd seek this album out again, though, and that makes it a 3 in my book. Tracks that caught my ear: Accidents Will Happen (really like the outro), Busy Bodies, Moods for Moderns, and What's So Funny Bout Peace Love and Understanding.

Wow, very cool album. Heard of her, but never heard her music before. I see there are three more albums here, so looking forward to those. I'll call it a 4 because I don't know if it's an essential album, but I definitely want to listen more. Great voice, cool music. Favorite Tracks - O Stella (awesome bass line), Victory, Happy and Bleeding, Sheela-Na-Gig, Plants and Rags (like the unusual stylings - great use of violin).

Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. What an album. What a mood it sets. Of its time and timeless. Bookended by two gorgeous instrumentals, the album is simply a beautiful journey. That word, "beautiful" kept coming to mind constantly through the album. Spent time reading about Nick Drake - I wonder if he's the only artist to have every studio album in the 1001 albums? Sad life, but amazing music. Favorite tracks: Hazey Jane I (Hazey Jane II seems out of place, but nice to hear an upbeat song in the midst of this album), Fly, Poor Boy (this song got stuck in my head - extra love for the great piano solo and background singers), Northern Sky (captivating song).

Let's start with the obvious - Axl Rose is a trainwreck. The lyrics are disturbing and no one should ever try to imitate the lifestyle they model. But man this album kicks ass. It was a kick in the teeth when it came out and is still a pretty strong album. Welcome to the Jungle is an awesome song right from those iconic first notes. Slash is on fire throughout the album. Paradise City and Sweet Child O' Mine were overplayed ad nauseum but are both great songs. I have to give it a 4 for two reasons: One, I just can't give a 5 to their lyrics (even though let's face it that's part of what gives GNR their edge) and two, the non-hits are pretty cliche 80s hard rock songs (e.g., It's So Easy, Night Train), even if they rock harder than most.

Generally if an album requires a particular mood I don't give it a 5, but this is truly a perfect album. Shine On You Crazy Diamond is just stunningly good. The opening keyboard solo, followed by David Gilmour's tasteful guitar solo, followed by the iconic four notes (B flat, F, G, E - playing the G and E on the open strings. So good). Then some of the best lyrics Roger Waters ever wrote. The whole song is just a wonderful journey. Welcome to the Machine is dark and industrial, again with great lyrics. Have a Cigar is a nice interlude, the only rocking tune on the album (with yet another fantastic Gilmour solo). Then you have Wish You Were Here, another candidate for best song of all time and a must for every guitarist to learn on acoustic guitar. Wish You Were Here swirls back to Shine On You Crazy Diamond and the album ends with an incredibly poignant keyboard solo (as it began) - I always loved the final notes - almost wistful, despite the sad subject (Syd Barrett). Absolute perfection and an easy 5.

I don't really get the whole Deadhead thing, but I really enjoyed this album. While relatively straightforward, the songwriting is great, excellent musicianship and harmony, and good lyrics. Favorite tracks: Box of Rain (nice opener, sad topic - loved the line "Such a long time to be gone and a short time to be there"), Friend of the Devil, Ripple, Attics of My Life (nice vibe - caught my attention every time I listened to the album), Truckin' (classic, and I find it impossible not to bop while it's playing). Giving it a 4 because it's not blow-me-away great, but I will definitely listen again.

Another one I'm not sure I needed to hear before I die. The first half of the album had a lot of good moments - plenty of cool sounding tracks that made me bop (e.g., Move Any Mountain, Omega Amigo, Evil is Even (cool track - properly dark sounding), Hyperreal Orbit, Lightspan, Make It Mine, and Oxygen Restriction). After that, though, it was just a bunch of meh remix-y type stuff. Got pretty boring. So, solid 3, but not planning to revisit.

Wow, came close to making this my first 1 star rating. To me, a 1 is absolutely no redeeming value, and there were a couple of tracks I could tolerate: Block Rockin' Beats (ok track - thought I might be giving this album a 3, but was subsequently proven wrong), Lost in the K-Hole (decent groove), Where Do I Begin (disliked the effects at the end, but liked the beginning), and The Private Psychedelic Reel (but this one had the same damn drum track as every. other. song. Also, the same thing over and over for too damn long). However, I disliked pretty much all the other tracks. Annoying sound effects, pretty much the same beat throughout. Particularly disliked Dig Your Own Hole, It Doesn't Matter, and Get Up On It Like This. Giving it a 2 because it wasn't ENTIRELY crap.

This was a nice palate cleanser after some AWFUL electronica albums. While definitely OF ITS TIME (holy disco, Batman!), it sounds great. Great singing, GREAT bass and guitar (Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers, respectively, who also wrote all the songs - this is basically a Chic album with the Sisters Sledge singing). Probably my only complaint is that the guitar part is pretty repetitive - the same scratching style on every song - I know that's his thing and he's great at it, but after a while it started to sound pretty repetitive. I'd definitely listen again, but not sure I'd go out of my way to seek it out, which would make it a 3 not a 4. But, since I kept listening a lot, I guess it deserves a 4. Favorite tracks - He's the Greatest Dancer (This is what GOOD disco sounds like!), Lost in Music (got stuck in my head), Thinking of You (great guitar groove), We Are Family (truly classic and worth being played a billion times. What a great bass line).

I wasn't expecting the cool 70s funk opening of Cloud Nine (particularly since it came out in 1969!). Very cool unusual track, but then the album settled down to more straightforward tunes. I liked most of it, but there were a few moments I didn't like, such as the "I WANT MY MAMA!!" part of Runaway Child Running Wild. Wut? Also didn't like the high singing in Love is a Hurtin' Thing (when he sang in his regularly range it sounded good). Generally a pleasant album, but nothing I plan to seek out again. Even I Heard It Through the Grapevine wasn't all that memorable (the quintessential Marvin Gaye version came out a year earlier, so it's not even part of the evolution of the song). Clear 3 to me. Tracks that I liked best: Cloud Nine, Why Did She Have to Leave Me, I Need Your Loving, I Gotta Find a Way, Gonna Keep On Tryin' Til I Win Your Love.

Gotta admit, this album grew on me after multiple listens. I don't think I'd seek it out again (which makes it a 3 for me), but it wasn't bad. I liked the first three tracks immediately on first listen (Rolling in the Deep, Rumor Has It - very catchy tune, and Turning Tables). Most of the other songs had to grow on me. I was surprised at the country-ish sound of songs like Don't You Remember and I'll be Waiting. The latter caught my attention after repeated listens - had to admit it's pretty catchy, but I never ended up liking Don't You Remember. One and Only is another one that grew on me, but Take It All and Someone Like You never grew on me. In particular, I didn't like the scratchiness of her singing on Someone Like You. She reminded me at times of Janis Joplin and I'm finding I'm not a Janis Joplin fan. Anyway, overall not bad, but not something I'd seek out again.

Good stuff. I was familiar with several of these songs because I'm a fan of the Velvet Goldmine soundtrack (with Thom Yorke singing them instead, channeling his best Brian Ferry). That made me a little more drawn to those tracks (Ladytron, Virginia Plain, 2 H.B. and Bitters End. 2 H.B. is probably my favorite of those). Of the ones I didn't previously know, I really liked Re-Make/Re-Model (great guitar) and If There is Something (the warbly singing was a little much, but it's a good song and that ending is great). The album didn't blow me away, even after many listens, but I'd definitely listen again which makes it a 4.

On the plus side, this album RAWKS. On the minus side, Liam Gallagher's voice and his behavior annoy the crap out of me. Not to mention all the "second coming of the Beatles" over-hype crap makes me automatically want to knock this down a point or two. Funny thing is I wrote almost the same thing for their second album. At least they're consistent. 3.

I've always liked Lenny but never dug deep into his albums (with the exception of "5", which I've listened to a lot). Great groove, funk, rock, psychedelic. Lots of great moments - I particularly like the transition from Let Love Rule to Freedom Train. Every song is good, but the main strike against the album is a lot of it is pretty derivative. That said, I'd listen again any day, which makes it at least a 4 for me.

This is the fourth Tom Waits album I'm reviewing. For every other one, my first few listens had me deciding whether it should be a 1 or 2 and my last few listens had me deciding between a 4 and 5. This time I decided to skip those first couple of listens and go right to the ones where I like it. Right from the start my reaction was, "Here we go!" "Singapore" sounded like it would make a good Primus song. Really liked "Clap Hands." Very cool song. "Jockey Full of Bourbon" sounds like it belongs in a Quentin Tarantino movie. Tango Till They're Sore got me thinking "He's so weird, but I dig it." Love "Time" - it's an absolutely beautiful song. "Rain Dogs" sounds like it belongs in a Tim Burton movie. Really liked "Blind Love" - it's a case where his voice suits the music (same with "Walking Spanish"). "Downtown Train" was a surprise - I had no idea he wrote it and performed it before Rod Stewart. Don't know what it says about me that I like Tom Waits' version better. The last track "Anywhere I Lay My Head" was definitely pushing how far I can handle his voice, though. I'm giving it a 4 for the same reason as the others - weird stuff, but I continue to dig it.

This is a grower. My first impression was "I didn't need to hear this before I die" and I wasn't surprised to see it was removed from the book. By the third listen, I was really enjoying it and by the fourth listen I was liking every track. I definitely want to keep listening. Tracks I really liked (usually by the third listen): Ready Start, Modern Man, Rococo, City with No Children, Half Light (I and II), Suburban War, We Used to Wait, and Sprawl II (sounds like Daft Punk meets 70s disco - I like).

Absolutely didn't need to hear this before I died, which is probably why it's no longer in the book. Very derivative. Had a few good tracks (Separate and Deadly and The Chamber), but generally completely forgettable. Did my two listens and done.

On my first few listens, I felt this album makes for pleasant background music. I missed out by not listening closely. When I finally focused on it, I found depth and layers worth exploring. Jaco's bass playing certainly impressed right up front, but I appreciated the interplay of his bass and Joni's guitar much better when I focused (e.g., Coyote, Hejira, Refuge of the Roads). Her lyrics are always worth paying attention to. A couple of lines that hit me regarded life and death: "the granite markers / those tribute to finality to eternity / and then I looked at myself here / chicken scratching for my immortality" (Hejira); "It seems we all live so close to that line and so far from satisfaction" (Song for Sharon - after singing about a suicide). Refuge of the Roads made me want to drop everything and go drive aimlessly, even though there's a negative side to travel in this album. Overall, there's lots to like about this album, but I'm giving it a 4 mainly because the music itself was a bit repetitive in style. That said, I definitely will return to this album. Favorite tracks: Coyote (great bass!), Furry Sings the Blues (the background was interesting - seems she ticked off blues musician Furry Lewis by writing about their encounter without his ok), Hejira (this was one well worth focusing on), Song for Sharon, Refuge of the Roads.

I had never listened to the Smiths before, but my daughter is a fan and she's been making me listen to their albums. Who knew emo can be fun! Count me as a big Johnny Marr fan - the guitar playing and songwriting are both outstanding. Lots of variety - fun rockabilly (Rusholme Ruffians), rockers (What She Said), jangle pop (The Headmaster Ritual, Nowhere Fast), funk (Well I Wonder - love the bass at the end), and some songs that just soar (That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore). Lots of powerful lyrics on the album. I Want the One I Can't Have: "A double bed and a stalwart lover, for sure / These are the riches of the poor." Well I Wonder: "Gasping, but somehow still alive / This is the fierce last stand of all I am." Barbarianism Begins at Home: "A crack on the head is what you get for not asking / and a crack on the head is what you get for asking"). The song Meat is Murder is really powerful, but not enough for me to think steak isn't delicious, sorry. Loved every song. This is just a great album that I will definitely return to many times.

Definitely a classic, but I can't call it a 5. I appreciate Nirvana for the way they changed music at the time, but I was never a huge fan of Kurt Cobain's whiney singing (and way too much feedback/sloppiness on their recorded albums - a non-issue here). It has a lot of great moments and I can appreciate it for its historical significance. Certainly worth hearing. Favorite tracks - Come As You Are (great version), The Man Who Sold the World (fantastic Bowie cover), Plateau, Lake of Fire. Least favorite: Pennyroyal Tea - can't stand his voice on this. But RIP. Respect.

Moderately enjoyable album by the Thompson Twins. No? Simple Minds? No? A Flock of Seagulls? Huh? Who? The Triffids? Never heard of them.

By far my favorite Radiohead album, before they went off the electronica deep end (OK Computer is also great, but is more consistent with the direction they were headed). So many great songs: The Bends, High and Dry, Fake Plastic Trees (one of my favorites - love how it builds), Nice Dream, Street Spirit (Fade Out). Not a bad track on the album. Easy 5.

Pretty sure that the Who invented the rock anthem. This album is practically one rock anthem after another. Baba O'Riley is a stone cold classic - the opening is iconic, the "teenage wasteland" section is iconic, the whole song is iconic. Bargain is a fantastic rocker. The Song is Over and Getting in Tune are both also anthemic rockers. Then the album ends with two absolute classics: Behind Blue Eyes and Won't Get Fooled Again. The latter is arguably one of the greatest rock songs ever. Even the "weaker" songs are good. Pretty much a perfect album. Super-easy 5 rating.

Now this is great example of why listening to the 1001 Albums is so worth it. I never heard of Fred Neil and I had no idea what to expect given the album cover, but I'm really glad this is on the list. Here's a guy who invited a young Bob Dylan on stage with him and who influenced Steven Stills, David Crosby, and Joni Mitchell. Wow. Really nice vibe on this album and his voice is outstanding. Great album from start to finish. Everybody's Talkin' became a hit when covered by Harry Nillson in 1969 for the movie Midnight Cowboy. I think the original version on this album is better. His voice is fantastic. Really liked the vibe on songs like I've Got a Secret, Faretheewell, and Green Rocky Road. The Dolphins was a nice chill opener. Cynicrustpetefredjohn Raja has a pretentious name, but it's a cool vibe to end an excellent album.

This is just a fun album. Standout tracks: The Celtic Soul Brothers (More, Please, Thank You) - great opening track, Jackie Wilson Said - fun version of the Van Morrison song, Come On Eileen - a worthy hit. Would definitely revisit.

Mostly harmless. Tracks that caught my ear: Liberation, A Different Point of View, The Theatre. Moving on...

I think that to fully appreciate Dylan, you have to consider context. If you just listen to his music, you might like it, but you might think the music is kinda basic and you might ask "what's the big deal?" You particularly might not like his voice or you might find the whole thing pretentious. But even if you aren't a fan of his voice or music, this is an album you should hear before you die if you truly want to understand how rock evolved. I'm often annoyed by all the "Bob Dylan alienated his fans by going electric on this album" comments. Like, get over yourselves people! But then I watched a video of Dylan at the Newport Folk Festival in 1964 versus 1965. In 1964, he's a folk troubadour. Acoustic guitar, harmonica holder around his neck. But just one year later he's up there with a full band and he's playing a Strat. I suppose it was a jarring change at the time, as if Taylor Swift suddenly switched to death metal (don't knock it - I'm sure it would be catchy). Most importantly, this evolution was an important part of music history and he influenced countless others - the Rolling Stones and The Beatles among them. I like a lot of the tracks, particularly the classics - Subterranean Homesick Blues, Maggie's Farm, Mr. Tambourine Man (I like this version better than the Byrds' version, which is surprisingly toned down compared to Dylan's original, even though Dylan's original is acoustic and the Byrds had a full electric band), and It's All Over Now, Baby Blue, although in that case I marginally prefer the cover by Them (also, check out Marianne Faithfull's cover). Great lyrics on Baby Blue ("Strike another match, go start anew / And it's all over now, Baby Blue"). Of the less famous tracks, I particularly liked Bob Dylan's 115th dream (great lyrics - same with Outlaw Blues). I also don't mind his voice - he later became a parody of himself, but on songs like Love Minus Zero, I think he sounds great. Also liked Gates of Eden. I found a couple of tracks less interesting, including On the Road Again (pretty basic progression and absurd lyrics) and It's Alright Ma (I like the guitar in that song, but it's just too long and repetitive). Personally, I would rate this a 4 to a 4.5 on its own merits. Add its historic significance, and it's a clear 5.

Now is zee time on Sprockets ven ve dance! Why, oh, why did I need to hear 3 Kraftwerk albums before I die? I would have been fine with just The Man Machine, my favorite of the three. I just don't need more Kraftwerk in my life. On this one, the title track was ok, but went for too long. Then a few noodling tracks. I know this album is groundbreaking, but it's just too much.

This album is very similar to the other Randy Newman album we got, Good Old Boys. Neither are bad albums, but I'm unclear why I needed to hear both (and I'd give the edge to Good Old Boys). With limited space in the 1001 albums, there should only be multiple albums by the same artists if either they are essential (e.g., Led Zeppelin) or if each album demonstrates very different sides of the same artist (e.g., Tom Waits...yes, I said it). Some artists tick both boxes (e.g., the Beatles and David Bowie). I just feel it was unnecessary to have two Randy Newman albums on the list (I'm also very sensitive to this issue right now since we just heard our THIRD Kraftwerk album). That said, there were certainly some good songs on the album. God's Song hits hard (and ironic given that this album also has "He Gives Us All His Love"). Political Science is amusing and Sail Away is thought provoking. Most notable song: Simon Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear, but only because I remember the Muppets version: https://youtu.be/SK1HVj3qM-k :D Giving it a 3 because it's not a bad album, but definitely not essential.

Simply one of the best albums of all time, and my personal favorite Beatles album, hands down. Absolutely timeless. Favorite tracks: Come Together (perfect in every way - Ringo's great tom line, the bass-line, everything), Something (love the simple understated guitar solo - Frank Sinatra famously called Something the "greatest love song ever written" and said it was his favorite Lennon-McCartney song - sigh), I Want You (such great guitar lines and composition - the ending repeated motif gets more ominous as it goes, which makes for a great segue into...), Here Comes the Sun (another masterpiece by George Harrison), Golden Slumbers (loved seeing Paul play this live a few years ago), Carry that Weight (really the whole ending medley). It's a little irritating to hear all the shit Lennon said about the album and McCartney's contributions. The more I learn about John Lennon, the more I think he was a sad little man who tragically never got a chance to show maturity and growth. But enough of that - this is a perfect album start to finish. Definition of a 5-star album.

I'm a big classic rock fan, but even though Fleetwood Mac is pretty central in classic rock, they never "did it" for me. At least part of it was Stevie Nicks' warble. Never been a fan of that. However, as always, I'm trying to listen with fresh ears. It's certainly a very good album, with plenty of classic songs. My overall impression is that they have great vocal interplay (with even a bit more appreciation for Stevie Nicks, despite the warble), excellent guitar playing, and very nice composition. The big ding I'll give the album is it's very OF ITS TIME. There are plenty of classic rock albums that still sound fresh...this sounds like peak 70s, and that's what keeps it from a 5 for me. 5's are timeless, and this ain't. Favorite tracks: Dreams (really good lyrics and I like the vocal line), Go Your Own Way (never knew this and Dreams were a pair - Nicks (Dreams) and Buckingham's (Own Way) takes on their breakup - interesting, and must have made for some awkward days at the office), The Chain (dark and brooding with some great musicianship), You Make Loving Fun (very 70s, but nice song), Gold Dust Woman (really like the guitar line and the outro).

This album didn't do much for me on the first listen - decent background music - but I found myself enjoying it on subsequent listens. Nice voice, enjoyable music, and excellent musicianship. Not anything I think I'd go out of my way to hear again, but certainly not bad. Songs that caught my attention: August Day Song, Mais Feliz, Alguem, Lonely (real nice mysterious vibe), Bananeira.

The good: Tracey Thorne has a nice voice. The bad: Elevator Music. Zzzzz. Didn't need to hear this. The only track I really liked was the first one, the Crazy Horse cover "I Don't Want to Talk About It." It had a real nice vibe. The rest was boring adult contemporary music/cheesy 80s pop. Next.

This album grew on me. I've never been huge into Elton John - his hits are good enough, but I never felt I needed to hear anything else. First few listens to this album didn't click either, but eventually I found it growing on me. Definitely a good album, but I don't know that it's one I will go out of my way to listen to again. That usually makes something a 3 in my book, but that doesn't feel right so I'll go with 4. Favorite tracks: Tiny Dancer, Levon, Madman Across the Water, All the Nasties.

On the one hand, this album rawks and it includes stone cold hard rock classics like Hells Bells, Back in Black (one of the coolest, hardest rocking songs EVER), and You Shook Me All Night Long. I also really like Rock and Roll Ain't Noise Pollution. On the other hand, there are a LOT of cringy moments - Let Me Put My Love Into You ("don't you struggle, don't you fight, don't you worry 'cause it's your turn tonight. Ugh), Shoot to Thrill, What Do You Do for Money Honey, Givin' the Dog a Bone...notice a theme here? If I didn't pay attention to the lyrics, I'd give it a 5 for rocking your f'ing socks off. Taking a point off for the lyrics.

I was surprised by how much I liked Beyonce's album on the 1001 albums, so I tried to give this album a fair listen, even though I'm generally not an R&B fan. This album is ok, just not my style. Independent Women Pt 1 and Survivor were catchy and Fancy and Happy Face were ok. The rest I could take or leave. I will say I definitely didn't like Bootylicious, even though it's a hit off the album. Using the guitar riff from Edge of Seventeen (Just Like the White Winged Dove) should have been good, but it was annoying that they never changed from the one note! Bottom line re: this album: Not terrible, just not my thing.

Overall fun album, although a little on the long side. That said, it's got plenty of fun grooves and his rapping style is pretty awesome (Childz Play stands out for some crazy rapping. Also I Am Selling Soul). Same problem I have with a lot of rap albums - too much n**** this and n**** that and a bit too much cursing - it's not made for me, that's for sure. But I can appreciate and enjoy it. Favorite songs were the first few (Soul Machine, The Art of Noise, and Living Again). Liked the grooves on The One, All Day Love Affair (nice singing), and When We Were Friends.

Heard of them, but never heard before. I really like their sound. Perfect balance of industrial, hard rock, post-punk, you name it. Apparently they are pioneers in the industrial sound. Whatever they are, they have a great sound and I'd definitely like to check out more. All the tracks are very cool (although Wardance is a little out there), but my favorite tracks were Requiem, Tomorrow's World, Bloodsport, and Primitive.

So I can appreciate how this was groundbreaking at the time - one of the first psychedelic albums, early use of sitar on a rock album, etc. But man does it sound dated. Legend of a Girl Child Linda sounds like something that would cause John Belushi to grab Donovan's guitar and smash it ("I will bring you gold apples, and grapes made of rubies, that have shone in the eyes of a prince of the breeze - SMASH!! BANG!! TWANG!!!). Three King Fishers sounds like a parody - even though it was probably pretty unique at the time, it just sounds corny to today's ears. That said, there were plenty of great songs. Sunshine Superman has that dated sound, but is a pretty cool song anyway. I can totally see girls dancing in mini-skirts on Top of the Pops to this song (couldn't actually find a video of this - it just has that vibe). Ferris Wheel is a nice mellow song and Bert's Blues is a nice bluesy track, but both have cheesy lyrics. Season of the Witch is rightly a classic. Very cool song. The Trip is a good song to bop to - nice guitar riff - sounds like it could have been a good song by Bob Dylan. Even Guinevere had a nice vibe (the name made me cringe - I expected another cheesy song and the lyrics didn't disappoint from that perspective, but the music is not bad at all). The Fat Angel and Celeste both bring the album to a pleasant ending. Giving it a 4 as appreciation for its place in musical history, but can't go to a 5 given how poorly the lyrics and sound have aged.

I listened several times and it just isn't clicking. Disney Girls is the only one that caught my attention each time I listened. A lot of these songs sound like less-weird outtakes from Smile. It's not bad, I just don't think I'll be revisiting. Feel Flows and Lookin' At Tomorrow were both decent. Moving on.

Damn, what a great album. I only listened to a little Anthrax back in the day - I remember hearing "I'm the Man" a ton of times. This album features a tight band with massive riffs, catchy hooks, great singing, and slightly cheesy lyrics (although songs like Indians, One World, and ADI/Horror of it all certainly take on serious topics). The reliance on pop culture (Judge Dredd, Stephen King books) is probably where it gets cheesiest, but it just ROCKS. Joey Belladonna skirts the line of cheesy metal singer but he's so good it works. This also took me down the rabbit hole watching videos of I'm the Man, I am the Law, Caught in a Mosh, and multiple videos of them playing Bring the Noise with Public Enemy. Awesome. I'll forgive the cheese, because it's part of what makes the album fun, and give it a 5.

Any time an album I know inside and out comes up on the 1001 albums I still give it my minimum two listens. In this case, I listened to the 50th anniversary remaster in Dolby Atmos. It sounds amazing. As to reviewing the album, it's one of those where so much has been said, but I'll throw in my thoughts anyway: It's an absolutely perfect album, start to finish. Sure, the instrumentals can get a little out there, but they work too. We start with Speak to Me: the iconic heartbeat, "I've been mad...", the money sounds, the laughter, the building machine noise, the screaming...and then we begin. Breathe is a beautiful mood with outstanding lyrics ("For long you live and high you fly, but only if you ride the tide / and balanced on the biggest wave, you race toward an early grave"). On the Run is certainly the strangest track, but it maintains the mood that makes this album a journey (and the sound was pretty groundbreaking). Time is absolutely amazing, with one of my favorite Gilmour solos. Again, Waters' lyrics are excellent ("And you run and you run to catch up with the sun but it's sinking / racing around to come up behind you again" - such imagery), and then we return to initial mood with Breathe (Reprise). The Great Gig in the Sky is breathtaking - Wright's beautiful piano composition coupled with Clare Torrey's amazing vocals. Her singing evokes such imagery...I heard it once described as the five stages of grief in vocal form. Money is a classic rock staple - gotta love a hit song in 7. Us and Them is beautiful with incredibly powerful lyrics (and a great sax solo). Any Colour You Like is a groove that takes us into Brain Damage and Eclipse (which MUST be played together). Brain Damage gives us vivid imagery of madness, followed by Eclipse - a song that gives me chills EVERY. FREAKING. TIME: "And all that is now / and all that is gone / and all that's to come / and everything under the sun is in tune / but the sun is eclipsed by the moon." So amazing. Then of course, the final line: "There is no dark side of the moon really. Matter of fact, it's all dark" and the fading heartbeat. Absolute perfect classic.

Started out promising - the first two tracks (Closer and Crawl) had a pretty cool sound. But then the rest of the album (including the "hits" that I'd never heard) got pretty generic 2000s-rock. Not bad or anything, just nothing I'd seek out again. It's removed from the 1001 albums books now, which was a good choice.

Eh, I found this album pretty boring. The lyrics sounded like someone trying really hard to be deep (with a couple of songs that too clearly invoke slitting wrists - man, don't listen to this album if you're depressed). His voice is monotonous and the songs drag out without a lot of change. At least most of the songs are based on a nice riff, especially Avalanche, Love Calls You By Your Name, Joan of Arc, and Famous Blue Raincoat (which had the nicest vocal tune - less monotonous). Not terrible as background sound, I suppose, so I'll go with a 2.

I am a HUGE David Sylvian fan...I've seen him live twice (he rarely tours): 1st with Robert Fripp touring for their album "The First Day" and then 2nd on his Everything and Nothing tour (which to this day I still consider the best vibe I've ever felt at a concert, both the performers and the audience). His solo work is much more atmospheric and mature compared to his work with Japan, but there's a lot of good stuff with Japan. The knock against them on this album is there's still a lot of similarity to some other acts like Roxy Music and Bowie. Plus, Sylvian still had shades of the more "punky/glam" singing style he used on their two earlier albums before embracing his deeper voice. But there's lots to like here - Mick Karn's amazing fretless bass (particularly on In Vogue), Richard Barbieri's atmospheric keys (it's easy to recognize his sound if you're a fan of Porcupine Tree, a band that should be so much better known), Steve Jansen's subtle drumming, and of course Sylvian's voice. The band just gets better and better from here and then David Sylvian went off on his own and created some amazing, varied music. If you want to hear the best of David Sylvian, listen to songs like "Wave", "Orpheus", "God's Monkey" (with Fripp), and "Forbidden Colours" (w/ Ryuichi Sakamoto).

This album has been compared to The Who's Tommy (which came out earlier in the year). I hear it, but it definitely lacks something in comparison. Part of it could just be that there's an element of goofiness to the Kinks' music. The Who are hard hitting, the Kinks are goofy. That said, this is a fun album. The Kinks are a pre-cursor to punk and even though the album doesn't sound all that much like punk (it has a pretty dated 60s sound), it has the punk spirit (a good example is "Yes Sir, No Sir"). Overall, this is a fun album that I might revisit, but definitely not a 5, mainly because I think it lacks depth. Favorite tracks: Victoria (catchy), Australia (the lyrical section is tongue-in-cheek, but it's the instrumental second half that I think is great - awesome, funky, rocking section), Mr. Churchill Says (good rocker), Drivin' (fun music, somewhat dark lyrics - speaking of dark lyrics, Some Mother's Son was pretty powerful, but the song itself was kinda meh), and Brainwashed (another "fun" sounding song with somewhat dark lyrics). I had mixed feelings about Shangri-La. I liked the acoustic guitar part at the beginning, but by the end the song seemed all over the place (and at one point sounded like a rip-off of Tales of Brave Ulysses).

This shouldn't work - Wyatt's voice is warbly, the music is crazed, and the weird Scottish poet is...well, weird. But somehow I find this album captivating. Sea Song is simply beautiful (I heard Tears for Fears' cover version before I heard the original). A Last Straw sounds like a lost early Pink Floyd song. The first Little Red Riding Hood track is insane (those trumpets, the drum beat, fantastic bass line, bizarre backwards singing). Alifib is transfixing and Alifie has an air of mystery (and man that crazy sax solo). Then the second Little Red Riding Hood - the guitars are amazing, the "can't you see them" part just blows me away - the music is so intense - and I even find the weird Ivor Cutler recitation sounds fascinating with the droning underneath. This album shouldn't work, but it does.

Cool grooves, but a little repetitious. I like the chill rapping style. Favorite tracks: Show Business, Jazz (We've Got), Scenario.

Sounds nice, no idea what they're saying. I like the guitars and the singing's fine, I just doubt I will ever go out of my way to listen again. Tracks that caught my attention: Djam Leeli, Sehalam, Daana Lenol.

Hey! It's the troubadour from Gilmore Girls! Or, um, so I've heard. Very, very 90s. Not bad, but nothing I'd go out of my way to listen to again.

I. Hate. Noise. Rock. It's a shame, because there are a few tracks that might have sounded ok without the horrible sounding guitars (e.g., 100%, Theresa's Sound World, Wish Fulfillment, Sugar Kane, Youth Against Fascism, Stalker). Songs that weren't awful: Drunken Butterfly, Chapel Hill. Songs that made me want to tear my ears off: Swimsuit Issue, Drunken Butterfly, Shoot (Kim Gordon sounded horrendous on this one), Orange Rolls Angel's Spit, Nic Fit, On the Strip, JC, Creme Brulee. Giving it a 2 because for me a 1 means there's zero redeeming value - but it was a close thing. In fact, it had the rare distinction of sounding worse on 2nd listen. Not looking forward to hearing more Sonic Youth albums.

If I was only rating the first album, I'd go with a 3...maybe even a 4. It's dated, but has some good grooves. I liked Paperhouse and Halleluhwah a lot. Mushroom sounded like they were on shrooms, but wasn't terrible. Oh Yeah sounded like the shrooms were kicking in, but had a decent groove. But then the second album...absolute pure complete crap. Here are my notes: Aumgn: More shrooms...definitely out there and too long. Somewhat disturbing. Peking O - Pure crap...about halfway in is horrendous. And so on. What a shame. I'd like to give it a 3 as an average, but the second album is so bad I can't go that high. 2 it is.