I have been meaning to listen to more from Chappell Roan as up until today I have only heard portions of her music in clips in the media. I’m very glad this came up here and got me moving on that intention. This is a fantastically crafted album that I instantly loved (I LOVE the opening song - creating and then working the word Femininomenon into the music is pretty impressive!). This is a lot of fun to listen to! Really terrific!

Really nice album! I enjoyed it. I may not know this kind of music, but i know what I like. I liked this a lot!

This album started out like an Australian version of a band like The Killers or something. The first songs were bombastic but didn’t quite live up to my favorite artists of this genre. I braced myself for 80 minutes of slightly disappointing music. Then somewhere in the first third the songs turned much quieter - maybe some Chris Rea undertones were emerging - and I started to really like them more and more. Then about halfway through I was hearing string pieces… when “Le Symbolique” blended into “Let Me Down Easy” the Gang of Youths had fully won me over. I started off thinking this was headed for a 3 rating, but found myself enjoying the album more and more as it went on. If I had a nit to pick it might be that I could have trimmed the runtime down a bit, but the high points more than make up for that tiny critique.

This was a great listen! Lots of variety in the songs that kept things interesting. I can’t imagine ever having listened to this but for the knowledgable person who put this on the list - so thanks! Terrific!

From the “ripped-this-from-a-CD-sometime-near-the-turn-of-the-century-and-have-no-recollection-of-ever-listening-to-it” files… (god I’m getting old and senile) I’m sure I enjoyed this back then and I really enjoyed it now. Starting an album with a big FUCK YOU is awesome. You’d think I’d have remembered that at least. And Shameless is so good - my favorite maybe on this album. Why’d I quit listening to this? Why’d I forget it? What the hell is wrong with me?! I love this album!

Nice pick! I really enjoyed the music - very funky! I can list a lot of albums on the official list that this should replace. I hadn’t listened to Childish Gambino before. I think I had some reluctance because this is the alter-ego of an actor and even though I have nothing against Danny Glover something about that made me suspicious. Glad someone has finally forced me past that preconceived notion because I’ve been a bit funk-deficient lately.

I’ve never heard of this but did read the Wikipedia snippet and was intrigued. This was really interesting and entertaining and I think I kind of love it. Definitely worthy and I love the album cover!

A friend told me I should listen to Pedro the Lion sometime around when this was released but I never did. I feel like a terrible Seattleite! But most importantly I have been missing out on an exceptional album! The music is downbeat perfectly suiting the mood, but it’s the lyrics and the devastating story told on this album that really hooked me. An exploration of love, lust, anger and revenge the songs lay out a tragic story. The first time through I just had a small idea of what it was all about, but I immediately listened a second and third time and the details only increased my love for this album. The opening track Options is such a realistic feeling of love - and doubt. Such an interesting sentiment. Rapture is such a clever description of cheating - “Gideon is in the drawer” letting us know we are in a motel. Complicated feelings abound… “just ten more minutes.” Wow. Then Penetration mixes metaphors or sex and getting fired from a job in a very interesting way. “Cause if it isn’t making dollars then it isn’t making sense… if you aren’t moving units then you’re not worth the expense… if it isn’t penetration then it isn’t worth a kiss.” Another standout was Priests and Paramedics… the lyrics exploring each’s encounters with death and the different ways each must approach and ultimately reacts to it. Haunting. Really I could list great things about every song on here… this album really connected with me. This is the third user-submitted album and so far y’all are batting 1000. This could easily displace dozens of albums that are on the official list. Terrific!

We listened to Garbage’s debut album on the official 1001 list… and I was really happy to see it there… but this is my all-time favorite from Garbage. Perhaps it was because I discovered Garbage when this album came out and spent more than a year with it glued into my CD player… feeling like the baddest badass around… Yes, I love their debut album, but I love this one even more! Thanks for adding it!

Nice, mellow listen that I enjoyed immediately. I think it was well-served by its brevity as the songs were pretty similar in tone to me and if this had gone on for an hour might be too much. But as it is really nice!

Wow… this certainly lived up to the uniqueness the cover might imply. The opening song It’s Okay To Cry was a red herring, as it transitioned into the next clangy two numbers, Ponyboy and Faceshopping. There’s a lot more noise, some near-pop music (Immaterial), then even a track that sounds like it’s out of an Alien film (Pretending). It’s a little all over the place after my first listen, but maybe with more listens (after the initial surprises wore off) this would cohere more. Definitely an interesting album that I’m happy to have been brought to my attention.

Haven’t heard this before that I know of, although it is possible some of these songs were on the radio or something at the time. Although I don’t feel any need to get this into my musical rotation or anything I didn’t mind listening to this. There were even a few catchier numbers to clap along to.

A wild ride! Starting off, I thought this would be rough (someone was yelling at me before they played a note) but it surprised me. I love the opera and the French touches. Very unique!

A close friend in the early 2000s was into Tool, so I heard quite a bit of their music then. It never really was my thing even though I did occasionally listen to one of their albums on my own. I can’t remember if this was one of those or not, but no doubt I’ve heard much of this before. Tool still isn’t a love connection for me, but I will say that I appreciate their music and was surprised they were not on the official 1001 list. That seems like an oversight so I’m glad someone out there put it on this list. The first half of this album felt a little as expected to me, but then the second half reeled me in. And I found the closing track Third Eye completely mesmerizing.

I had this album in the 90s, but lost interest in the ska-ish music despite all the hits on it. A fun return to the era today listening to this even though it isn’t going to become a regular listen.

I have very little familiarity with J-Pop or music from this part of the world. I was happy someone promoted this to the list and think a bonus star is in order for representing a whole unexplored part of the musical world. I don’t know if this is great, good or other J-Pop, but I can say that I enjoyed several songs quite a bit and the album stuck the landing ending on a high note for me.

Another group I swore was on the list. No turns out I must be thinking of The Chemical Brothers. I wasn’t excited to listen until the first song started. Wow that is good! I’m a sucker for a concept album and this is a great one! You’re right… I should listen to this death-themed album before I die! Terrific!

An enjoyable journey - interesting to listen to and definitely feels of its era. Some great flute parts and in particular loved the epic opening and second half “Birdman.” Really lovely listen for this evening.

I bought this on vinyl at a Woolworth’s going-out-of-business sale sometime around 1988 or so. I didn’t know the group or any of the songs. I enjoyed the album but somewhere in the following years lost track of it. It was great to revisit this, and I think I enjoyed it now more than then. I’m always up for a prog-rock concept album loosely based on an LSD trip!

I loved “Awaken, My Love!” when it appeared on this list. This album I enjoyed less. That’s probably more a statement about my musical tastes than anything else, because it sounded like a decent quality album. It just never really got me too excited. Still, well produced and some interesting things going on here, and I enjoyed the last 1/3 more than the first part.

I’m surprised that Procol Harum did not make an appearance on the original 1001. They feel influential enough to get a nod on the list. I was surprised that A Whiter Shade of Pale made no appearance on this. I really liked the orchestral opening track “A Salty Dog.” On the first listen, I was liking the album fine although a few tracks jumped out at me… it was nice to hear that organ in “Too Much Between Us” and “Pilgrim’s Progress”, and I liked “Wreck of the Hesperus.” I put this on again this afternoon and warmed up to it more. Glad to see this group on here.

Stick the lead singer of cake, the crash, test, dummies, and the Barenaked Ladies into a blender and pour over Ontario Then you might end up with The Burning Hell. Groups like this are often overlooked for no other reason than they weren’t “serious enough”. I guess it’s a bit like comedies rarely winning an Academy award. But I enjoyed this a lot. I do think a little wacky rhyming and crazy storytelling has a place on a list like this. Fun!

This was a great listen! Lots of variety in the songs that kept things interesting. I can’t imagine ever having listened to this but for the knowledgable person who put this on the list - so thanks! Terrific!

I started this album in my car without any knowledge of what it was about and was blindsided. This has been a year of upheaval and loss for me and my family and immediately "Death and Dignity" hit me hard and had me a blubbering mess after 30 seconds. This is one of those times I marvel at how an artist can share something so deeply personal and painful with strangers through a work like this. Someone I have never known has reached out to share his deeply personal experience to help me move forward a little bit as I grapple with my own grief. Such a testament to the power of a great artist.

I’ve never heard of this Swedish duo, and my expectations for such an album were nothing like what was delivered. Fortunately, the reality is also a really fantastic album that I’m glad to have in my library. Wow!

This album started out like an Australian version of a band like The Killers or something. The first songs were bombastic but didn’t quite live up to my favorite artists of this genre. I braced myself for 80 minutes of slightly disappointing music. Then somewhere in the first third the songs turned much quieter - maybe some Chris Rea undertones were emerging - and I started to really like them more and more. Then about halfway through I was hearing string pieces… when “Le Symbolique” blended into “Let Me Down Easy” the Gang of Youths had fully won me over. I started off thinking this was headed for a 3 rating, but found myself enjoying the album more and more as it went on. If I had a nit to pick it might be that I could have trimmed the runtime down a bit, but the high points more than make up for that tiny critique.

I was skeptical about the need for me to listen to a 2+ hour live album of Bruce Springsteen. As someone not always fond of live albums and someone not really into Bruce Springsteen this wasn't on my shortlist of listens. This performance from Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band was good. I watched some of this on the video version of the album and these guys put on a great show, so I appreciate this intellectually. I’m not a big Bruce Springsteen fan but have to admit there were some pretty thrilling moments on this. Still, I’d have much preferred a single-album edit of this though.

This was very low key - a bit too much so maybe at times - but mostly lovely listen.

Not really my thing… I believe this is too grimy - like that Dizzee Rascal album I didn’t enjoy. More than an hour of this became a slog for me.

Not at all what I was expecting. I am not sure I entirely enjoyed this but it had some fun guitar rock and then some cinematically instrumental tracks that kept things interesting, so I think its work rounding up.

Ok, but there was a sameness to the songs that started to become a bit dull. Not terrible but not anything that stood out much either.

This perplexed me a little bit - I listened to the first quarter of it without any idea what this was. Coupled with the cover, I was initially a bit turned off at the theme. While I couldn’t catch all the lyrics, the start of this felt decidedly creepy in a way that 40 year old albums themed around a naked hitchhiker might be expected to. Once I was where I could pull up Wikipedia article and was able to get a handle on the concept of the album it started making more sense and gave some excuses to feel a little less creepy about it I guess (“it’s just a dream”). There are some great moments on this album and it had a very obvious Pink Floyd feel. By the end I did warm up to this substantially. I am glad Pink Floyd chose to do The Wall instead of this though.

This was a fun listen! Some of the songs hit better than others, but great overall.

This was a fun rollercoaster of a ride with a mix of styles that kept providing moments of delight throughout. I heard influences of rock, Barry White, George Clinton and lots of other stuff in this interesting mélange.

Another user put Marillion’s “Misplaced Childhood” on the list, an album I was familiar with from back in the day and I liked it. When this appeared I thought (based only on assumptions) that we didn’t need two Marillion albums on this list. And then I pressed play… The album opened up with the rockin’ Gazpacho which felt very much evolved from their album ten years prior. Cannibal Surf Babe then surprised me with its Beach Boys stylings. This album is off to a great start! I probably should pay more attention to Marillion now that I know they can do this. I liked “Misplaced Childhood” a lot, but I love “afraid of sunlight”.

Nice and very different fare from the rest of the albums on this list. One should hear modern classical music before one dies, although I have little experience here so cannot say whether this is THE album or not. Regardless, I enjoyed the mood.

I grew up with this in my family record collection and would play this very often. I loved inventing my own lyrics to these songs and performing them for my sister. This is still delightful to me. I love Herb Alpert’s arrangements, and there’s more complexity to them once you take some time to listen. I have had decades to ponder each note of this and the songs still delight me!

Some of this no-nonsense good old fashioned 70s rock hits the spot, and some of it less so. The muddiness of the recording bothered me occasionally.

This album was all around me back in the day, and of course I was familiar with the hits. While I like INXS, something always held me back a little and I think that’s still true today. But I can see why someone might put this on here.

If you had told me I heard a song off this album sometime in the late 80s, I would have denied it before a friend proved it to me today. Not sure how I forgot this artist’s name… I thought this would be awful, but instead I found it surprising and kind of fun in a twisted way. Who knew I would meet the Manhattan Transfer on my Descent Into the Inferno?

This isn’t really my jam, but I didn’t hate it since they only screamed at me half the time.

At first I was thinking this was going to be a meh listen of some modern post-punk… at least on the first song. By Too Real my interest piqued more - really started to dig this band. I liked Television Screens and Hurricane Laughter as much and my feelings for this band were warming up. Roy’s Tune took things in a very different direction - and when it ended I repeated the song right then. Really nice song and quite unexpected. The rest of the album was really great! Liberty Belle and Boys in a Better Land are fantastic. Then the very Irish-tinged closer Dublin City Sky brought this home in another unexpected but fantastic way. What a terrific album!

Excellent! I like Vampire Weekend but never did take the time to listen to an album from them. Glad to have finally done that! The mix of styles and clever songs are terrific! A joyful way to spend an evening.

I have to admit the cover is darkly ingenious. I have had bits of Korn exposure here and there over the years and presumed this was that unfocused yelling and rage one often finds in this genre. This album surprised me. These songs are really, really personal which I did not at all expect. This isn’t an album of general rage, but some very specific issues that someone seems to be working through. It was heavy but very compelling and I found myself listening to it several times through today - often studying the lyrics. Not what I expected to be doing. Nu metal for the thinker.

This is some wacky fun with crazy songs bordering on lounge music. Like candy, not ever going to be my primary diet… but nice to have once in a while. The songs sometimes struck me as too much… maybe trying a little too hard… but I do appreciate the effort to see what the limits are.

The lead signing has a Dr. John kind of feel, the songs are kind of crazy and very interesting. Dark but catchy, I really thought these guys had to be from around New Orleans… surprisingly they are New Englanders… and the Narcotics: Pit of Despair excerpts were a great addition. Enjoyed this trip from Squaresville… blasting off to Kicksville!

This is the sort of hard rock I can really get into, and get into it I did. There are certainly lots of other more well-known options for this kind of music but this served me well to rock out this afternoon. Fun and a very enjoyable listen!

Turns out I’ve heard Elmer Gantry sing on a couple of Alan Parsons Project songs - although I didn’t know that when I started to listen to this. At first I sort of thought this was a 60s album that I wasn’t sure I needed to hear, but as it went on either I started to change or the music started to improve or both and I liked it more and more. The only thing is, I think I started to really like it after the end of the original album (which turns out was song 13). So make of that what you will. This was reasonably entertaining although I really started to enjoy it more during the additional tracks. There’s probably other 60s albums of this ilk I’d reach for first, but I very much appreciate how one might recommend it.

Very interesting and at times I really liked it, although it was low key and I did tire of the auto tune at times. But still lovely and personal.

For some reason the Dave Matthews Band upsets some people, but I quite enjoyed them in the 90s. While Under The Table and Dreaming is still my favorite, this one was a pretty interesting evolution of the band’s sound that I enjoyed at the time. I didn’t follow the band much after this, my musical tastes wandered in other directions, but it was great to come back to this. The original 1001 list is deficient for not having a single album from Dave Matthews Band so I’ll be rounding this score up!

I definitely get Elvis Costello vibes from this, which isn’t great for me since 6 albums of Elvis Costello on the original list didn’t warm me up to the sound. Most of the songs were ok for me although a few started to wear. And I think that apostrophe in “UFO’s” needs to go.

Some nice rocky bluesy music that was easy to sit back and enjoy.

I love a good concept album, and this is really good! Having the different singers singing specific parts in the story works really well. I really enjoyed the ride. Nice to hear that in the world of streaming the concept album is alive and well. Terrific!

This was interesting, if a bit sparse at times. Not bad…

Not really my jam, although I liked the instrumentation on a lot of these and the cover is certainly interesting. It kept me more interested than reggae usually does when played for an hour, so rounding the score up.

This was awesome! Well named - as it sounded a bit like a circus - a little of this, a little of that - not afraid to be all over the place. I love it!

Wasn’t really thinking I needed to listen to more of this kind of thing, but I did really dig the grooves and it was fun to have on - great background music for doing other things. It was a little long and a little more of this than I need, and I’m probably not going to sit down and listen to it again, but there was some fun stuff to enjoy here.

This was a pretty nice listen for a sleepy morning on a plane. I liked all of it and a few of the songs I thought were particularly good (Eternal Flame comes to mind).

Certainly a unique contribution, this album of Swedish folk songs felt surprisingly modern and interesting in its sort of darkly tinged way. I enjoyed it!

Some silly fun here… kind of reminded me of the Barenaked Ladies or something along those lines. I really liked “Just Apathy” then “Spring and a Storm” had me full on in love. I’m sold on this album. A love song to Mary-Kate and Ashley? I’m in! “Ruler of Everything” is fantastic. The bonus tracks were well worth a listen. I loved the chicken song “Mucka Blucka”. Loads of fun! Catchy and terrific!

From the “ripped-this-from-a-CD-sometime-near-the-turn-of-the-century-and-have-no-recollection-of-ever-listening-to-it” files… (god I’m getting old and senile) I’m sure I enjoyed this back then and I really enjoyed it now. Starting an album with a big FUCK YOU is awesome. You’d think I’d have remembered that at least. And Shameless is so good - my favorite maybe on this album. Why’d I quit listening to this? Why’d I forget it? What the hell is wrong with me?! I love this album!

Really nice album! I enjoyed it. I may not know this kind of music, but i know what I like. I liked this a lot!

This was an interesting addition. Like Brian Eno’s Music for Airports, I can think of a lot of great situations where some ambient music like this would be just the ticket. I kind of loved this for the background, which is likely the point? Terrific!

This was definitely NOT what I was expecting from a band from Portland Oregon. I was a little perplexed at first, but fell into the groove quickly and really enjoyed this album! The cover of Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” surprised me, both in that someone covered it, and that it was really my least favorite song on the album. It’s hard not to pale in Kate’s shadow… but that one ill-advised song choice aside, this is terrific!

Put this one on in the car without reading a thing about it and listened to the first three songs stunned. I had no idea what I was hearing but it was beautiful and arresting. Once I was home and continued the listen and read some background I was even more moved when I discovered this was Australian indigenous music mixed with modern orchestration. This is defintiely something that I cannot imagine would have entered my life but for this project and the user who put it here. What a wonderful gift!

This definitely seems like a worthy addition. Fantastic album that should have made the original list!

Never encountered this band before, so this was new to me. I don't think a live album was the best introduction for me as the muddiness of the recording was a bit grating. I did get to the song "Web" and did like it, so I sought out the studio recording of the song. The experience was much improved for me and I really liked it. Maybe if I was already a fan this would have connected better with me. I suspect seeing this guys live is a great experience which may be why someone chose a live album from Thee Oh Sees. But a live recording may not have been the best starting point for my first introduction. I definitely would have rated this higher had I started with one of their studio albums. As it was this was just too muddy for me to really get into. It's a no on this album, but I think I will be checking out some of the recordings from this band after my good experience with the one studio recording I checked out.

This was a nice album - some early-oughts indie pop that goes down easy. Maybe not earth shattering for me, but I did enjoy. I’m all for a song about Watching Xanadu, and I can relate to the plight of a shopkeeper threatened by supermarkets. So rounding up a bit for those.

Another very nice album from The War on Drugs. There’s a pleasant, laid back feel to this. His voice has tinges of Bryan Adams. I enjoyed this a lot! Perfect to relax to.

I loved this from the jump, and there was something familiar about it… looking further I wasn’t surprised to discover Giorgio Morodor was the producer. When “Beat the Clock” came on I knew the song, but can’t remember from where. Great addition to the list. “Tryouts for the Human Race” and “The Number One Song in Heaven” were particular standouts!

I liked this album quite a lot. Nice songs loaded with surprising little delightful moments.

Hmmmm… didn’t love it but I didn’t hate it.

This was a pretty fun listen. Catchy and entertaining.

This guy sounds a lot like a lot of Jason Mraz. Nice singer songwriter stuff.

Life has been way too depressing and serious. I needed something like this!

Halfway through 3 Years Older I perked up and started to really attend to this album even though not a lyric had yet been delivered. Something special was unfolding here. The music is layered and interesting. Dulcimers! Epic rock organ! Kate Bush-inspired boy choristers! This really engaged me. When I started investigating deeper it did not surprise me in the least that this drew comparisons to The Wall. The story behind this album is so compelling - there are a million ways that attempting to capture this story in a concept album should fail but I was enthralled for the duration. After one listen this album and its story haunts me - I’ll be listening to this a lot more and checking out more from Steven Wilson.

Reminded me of a few other English indie bands I’ve encountered before and perhaps not a critical addition to this list, but enjoyable and well done.

This wasn’t the best choice for me today as I wasn’t really in the mood… so there’s that. Interesting that in the 90s/2000s we heard a lot of this sort of metal that mixes Grover-style screaming with borderline-Christian-rock pure vocals. I did appreciate that these songs seemed to be more positive than I expected. Overall, though, this was not working for me today.

I’ve heard of this group but couldn’t tell you much about them except I had the impression it was one of those early-2000s groups with the guitars and unique drum patterns. Do we need another of these? The opening track was good. Good, but do I need this? But Positive Tension caught my attention. I realized that I was really liking the music - and Banquet sealed the deal. From then on I was all in on this album. I listened a second time and really enjoyed it. There are plenty of things I could imagine booting from the list the make room for this.

Wow… this was a unique album! Sounded absolutely wonderful with that bluegrass-tinted vocal delivery. Wonderful addition to the list.

I was excited and a tad worried when this came up. A close friend submitted this… I’ve never listened to it before …nor anything else from Jellyfish. What if I hate it? The opening was wonderfully theatrical. I opened the user reviews while I listened on… I understand the comparisons to Queen, especially on Joining A Fan Club, which definitely did have the vocal theatrics, harmonies and rock that one might expect from Queen. But it is very misleading to summarize this album as that. Unmistakeable influences from the Beach Boys and Beatles influence also come through in the arrangements and wild collection of sounds and instruments (some seen in the background of the cover art). There are so many musical references peppered throughout that I heard, and no doubt much much more that I missed. I certainly don’t have the musical depth to unearth it all. I feel compelled to mention the cover art that instantly had me inventing backstories for the scene… absolutely loved it. What an interesting and delightful addition to the list. So much here for the intrepid listener. Terrific!

I ended up enjoying this more than I had expected near the outset… noodly jazz fusion is a lot more interesting and engaging than I would have thought. Seems like there should be room on the list for something like this. I’m not familiar enough with this genre to know if this is the best of the best, but it works for me.

Not my favorite genre, although the “Dub” subgenre I’ve only become aware of recently. While my cats seemed a little freaked out by them, the echo effects were psychedelic & groovy (they’d be perfect if someone slipped me a mickey). Still, this isn’t my thing at all.

Haven’t heard of this group before. It’s a bit surprising since I went through a 90s grunge phase. At the outset I wasn’t thrilled with the distortion even though I liked a lot of similar bands in the 90s. I started giving them a closer listen when they briefly turned off the distortion at the end of The Pod and noticed how much I liked that guitar part. The song Stars also deserves the attention it got… great song! I probably have heard it before. I ended up liking this although it took a little while before I could reactivate my grunge-appreciation-circuits and settle in to enjoy this. Even though the window on this genre closed for me years ago and I’m not sure I’m in the market for new grunge experiences, I do see the attraction here. Several songs appealed right away, and I suspect if I listened to this several more times I’d appreciate it more. I started to get into the mellow long ending provided by Songs of Farewell and Departure too. Rounding my rating up a little for the awesome cover art. That’s something I’d hang on the wall, and I was also glad to catch the zebra reference in Suicide Machine. Well played, Hum!

I owned “Welcome to the Beautiful South” and “Choke” in the 90s. Those were two of my favorite albums of my college years. Those albums have such a special connection - when this came up I started listening to them again before playing this and it has been too long. It’s exciting to experience a new-to-me album from this group that I really should have followed but for some reason never did after their second album. I like this album a lot, although I kept wanting to go back to those other two The Beautiful South albums because I like those more. Still, this album has its charms and I’m just so so happy someone put this group on this list. If you like this at all and haven’t listened to Choke (and Welcome To The Beautiful South) then I urge you to queue those up. And for my part I’ll be queuing up all their other albums that I for some reason never listened to.

This is not my genre so when this 1 hour album showed up last night on my to-do list I was not excited. I started this up on a slow Sunday morning and was immediately interested by the opening. It had a strong, 70s cinematic flair that would end up being often explicit throughout the album. Hmmmmm… I’m liking it. As the album went on these songs played around with timing and delivered great rapping with 70s-inspired grooviness that I fell in love with. I had the opportunity to follow along with some of the songs’ lyrics and was impressed when I did. It’s a little tough for this genre to win me over but this one did so at the jump and kept me engaged for the full hour. I don’t often feel like listening to a rap album, but when I do this one will be on the list.

Adding another album from those underrepresented continents to the 1001 list will always set me off with a sympathetic ear, and fortunately this album delivers! I loved the music… the African beats with a twist that I can only assume is at least partially thanks to Manu Chao, this is a groovy good time! Terrific!

I enjoyed this music, although during “Like Herod”, a rather loud and aggressive song, the brining bag on my turkey sprung a leak as I was lifting it and brine sprayed all over my kitchen while I frantically ran around searching for a means to stop the fountain of raw turkey liquid. “Like Herod” was playing loudly as I kept screaming at Siri to stop the music. Other than that, great!

Hooray! An album I have routinely revisited for 32 years... I still can’t listen to “He Thinks He’ll Keep Her” enough, and “Passionate Kisses” is playing in my mind hours after listening to it. But I haven’t thought about those quieter songs in a while and it was so good to reconnect with them! Accompanied by a solo piano, “Only a Dream” is devastating and beautiful. “I Take My Chances” and “Walking Through Fire” gives a nice dose of inspiration. Definitely a welcome addition to the list… terrific!

Death Cab for Cutie was one group I fully expected to make the 1001 list and surprisingly did not. Glad someone suggested them for the list. Great!

When I was writing my note for last night’s album selection (Death Cab for Cutie’s “Transatlanticism”) a big part of my review said that while that album was quite good, if I were to pick a Benjamin Gibbard contribution I’d have put The Postal Service’s Give Up album on the list first. I love its quirky, beepy boopy introspectiveness. It was one of the albums I considered contributing when I completed the project. I deleted the part of the Transatlanticism review that talked about this - it didn’t seem necessary to bring up after a day’s reflection - and submitted. Then look what pops up next! This is an album that helped me weather some challenging times back in the day. I guess the universe (and the person who picked this to add) gave me a little treat tonight. Thank you!

When I think of poppy punk skater music, several songs from this album comes to mind. Blink-182 sort of defined the genre and not having this on the 1001 list is an oversight considering the influence this had on music. All The Small Things and Whats My Age Again? Were monster hits. More reason why leaving this off was an oversight I would think. Not to mention, it’s catchy as all get-out. Fun!

I remember hearing about these guys around this time… heard a couple of music nerds on NPR talking about them. Meant to listen but never did. Now I have. Great!

This has an interesting mix of 60s beach music with a dash of retro tiki-lounge - maybe the Ventures meets Martin Denny? A relaxing and enjoyable listen that I really love! Who knew people were making this sort of thing in this century? Terrific!

I've heard of Bad Religion, and heard songs from them over the years, but hadn't really listened to them. Just from the name I'm surprised they didn't make the 1001 list, and listening to them I'm even more surprised. They seem like pretty influential artists from the 90s. I really enjoyed their harmonic punk rock sound! Some of the reviews were saying this isn't their best album. I don't know, but I liked it a lot. Great!

The Mountain Goats should have had something on the original list. I’ve listened to quite a bit of their music over the years and they have a unique contribution to music that I would think merits a place. What I didn’t realize is that there is a whole lo-fi career for The Mountain Goats in the 90s that culminated in this album. The low-level hum, the sparse and simple recording made on a boom box. It isn’t something that sounds like a winner to me. And yet this album had me enthralled. I thought it would become annoying, but quite the contrary the songs were interesting and that questionable recording quality became part of the atmosphere of the songs in a way that I never expected. What an incredible album. I am very glad The Mountain Goats continued after this with studio-quality equipment and additional instruments, but I think that this phase of their career merits attention and am really glad someone promoted it here. Fantastic addition to the list!

Wasn’t looking forward to a ska punk album, but once I had this playing I enjoyed it a lot. Still not my preferred genre… and not experienced to know if this is the best-of-the-best of ska punk… but it was pretty fun!

Pretty album. Good songs, nice voice. A little low key but I liked it.

Frank Zappa is interesting to me, but this started off rough. I’m not sure a lot of the early songs have aged well, and the potty humor detracted from my enjoyment. There was a lot to like instrumentally, but I didn’t love it as a whole.

Hmmm… I liked some of this but wasn’t blown away by it.

I got into this in 2001 as I was resisting the thought of being in my 30s. I love Jimmy Eat World’s poppy punky fun sound. The songs are great, and I very much enjoyed listening to this again. I love it!

Well, I hate the cover. But I love the song “Blinding Lights.” So who knows where this leads… This was a bit mellower than expected… maybe a bit too much so. I was hoping for more like Blinding Lights. My attention drifted quite a bit during most of the rest of the album. It wasn’t unpleasant, it just didn’t hold my attention and I really lost interest. Bonus star for Blinding Lights.

I guess I didn’t now what Primus was, because I was not expecting this. As a fan of Seas of Cheese, this was a natural fit for me. Strange, interesting and surprisingly enjoyable.

I’ve heard of Chet Baker. Some nice jazz trumpet here! I loved it!

I first heard of this band when I saw they were playing in Seattle and considered getting a ticket. I kind of wish I had, because they have to be interesting to see. At that time I loved the name and previewed several different songs but didn’t listen to a whole album. Glad they came up here, because they are pretty darn unique and I love the manic rock quality of it all. This project has revealed my attraction to psychedelic music as exemplified here, and this album selection has me kicking myself for not going to see this live. Next time… With a name like King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard I expect some weird-ass fun - and they deliver! Some great instruments with unique sounds - and I’m always up for some great organ! All fueled by that manic beat… This album being continuously playable without breaks (for eternity, if desired) is not something my partner is looking for me to play but I think it’s great! Just kept listening around the bend, so to speak, and it kept the energy level up for my activities. It’s kind of cool when Road Train blends back into Robot Stop! I’m going to be trying this one out at the gym to see if it extends my workouts towards infinity… and I can’t wait to play this on my next long drive somewhere… ROAD TRAIN! Terrific! Thank you for selecting this!

It’s been a while since I heard any funk on this project, so this was very welcome! It’s great!!

Seeing this classic of classic rock ignored by the original list seems like a musical felony when you consider Bob Seger’s influence over musical culture. Kid Rock? SIX Elvis Costello albums? FIVE Sonic Youth albums? Deerhunter who? One really should hear all those before they die over this… an album packed to the gills with exceptional rock songs that I still regularly hear out in the world 46 years later?! No way to make some room on that list for this?! Sorry, I had to get that out of my system… I realize that any list of 1001 albums will have some decisions that seem arbitrarily wrong and kind of stupid… and will be subject to the biases of the list makers… but STILL… Stranger in Town is an exceptional example of its genre. Hollywood Nights launches the album like a rocket and Seger keeps it burning bright all the way to the Famous Final Scene. I am a big fan of backup singers, and the backup singers here are truly extraordinary - the definition of perfection with their beautiful harmonies contrasting marvelously with Bob Seger’s rough-hewn, wonderful voice. Hearing this makes me long for the glory days of the backup singer. It might be a bit too easy to take this album for granted today. But what a special moment to have put a needle down on this for the first time and get lost in these instantly timeless songs back in 1978. Stranger In Town is an incredible album -only a Scrooge would deny this at least a 4. Even denying it a 5 seems stingy to me. I’m glad someone had the common sense to suggest this for the list.

Wow! Another really great addition from one of those brilliant folks - this was jazzy at times, covered a variety of styles, and hit me in so many good places! I wanted to DANCE DANCE DANCE!

Some brave soul put this out there… I expected the reaction to be more negative. In college my roommate Don was the world’s biggest Debbie Gibson fan, and I didn’t take to that very well. I’ve become less judgy in my old age, and now better appreciate a young artist who does her own thing - even refusing to cover her focus-pulling knee and starting a face-knee trend. A bit on the sweet side, but hey… there’s room here for sweet.

A girl I met on the debate tournament circuit in high school got me into Nick Kershaw via a mix tape, and Wouldn’t It Be Good? became an immediate favorite of mine. The rest of the album I liked a lot then. I’m not sure this would have bubbled up to the top if I was new to this today, but Wouldn’t It Be Good? is so catchy and Drum Talk is really different. What fun to revisit this old favorite!

Well this was certainly a psychedelic trip down the harder side… groovy!

I’m all for some musique Quebeçois en Français - so I was predisposed to like this. It started off really good, but by the end (with the meditative Intouchable et Immortel then Fugue en Sol Inconnu) I was really digging the groovy electronic music, the flute, and meditative feel of it all. Great stuff!

A very enjoyable if a bit long album of good folk-ish music that had some modern twists. Some of this stood out quite a lot for me!

Such a fantastic groove - another criminal omission from the original list.

Always up for a musical concept album. Liked this quite a bit, now I want to see the musical!

This sort of reminded me of MGMT with a little Empire of the Sun… which is a good thing for me, although I think I would reach for those two first. Still, I really loved the opening song. The bulk of the rest of the album felt kind of mellow, but I enjoyed lolling along with it. Good album!

Got a very strong Elliott Smith vibe from this… low-key, dreamy, a nice rainy day album.

Does the list need another Earth, Wind and Fire album? When that album is home to one of the best dance floor classics ever, “Boogie Wonderland” - YES! Not to mention that perfect slow-dance number “After the Love Is Gone”. I hadn’t listened to this before and it would have been worthwhile with only those two tracks, but the rest of the album is a lot of fun. Nothing but upturned thumbs from me… there’s always room for more Earth, Wind and Fire!

The Posies were popular with some cool friends in college. I recall not being drawn in despite hearing it around me quite a bit. This time felt a lot the same. Some of it was pretty good, but nothing really got me excited and I felt a little bit like I was missing something, which I obviously am.

I fell for the song “You Can Make Him Like You” not long after this was released based on a recommendation on NPR’s Sound Opinions radio show. I liked the album a lot - still the first song I heard from them remains my favorite.

Well, this was quite interesting. I felt a lot of Jim Steinman/Meatloaf quality to this… only a bit less bombast. I did an audio double take several times while listening in my car and went back and realized the icky kind of bro this album satirizes. Kind of a strange juxtaposition with the arrangements but I loved it!

This is an agreeable album with a vibe that started off reminding me of The Beautiful South, but then transitioned into a more experimental sound that was very interesting. While I didn’t have enough time to listen closely to all the lyrics I did give the album a second listen and found more to like. There’s a lot going on here that would benefit from repeated listens - hopefully I remember to get back to this.

This listen felt like work to me. I appreciated it in some way, and there were parts that I think I liked, but the bulk of this took effort to stay with. Not that that is a terrible thing and this album certainly has a strong case for being on a list like this. I wasn’t enthralled. But that’s ok, not all the albums that I should listen to before I die has to enthrall me.

We had one B-52s album on the list already… Well, this one I like a little better so I’m happy to listen! Plus, there are plenty of duplicates from artists on that list that aren’t as good or as fun as this. Still, I think maybe some later-era B-52s would be my choice if I were to have two B-52 albums on this list (“Cosmic Thing” comes to mind). That’s all kind of academic because the truth is I love this album regardless!

This was interesting for sure - and as a fan of Jonny Quest I appreciated the large number of samples from that cartoon. Some of the songs got a little tedious with the same repetitive samples, although that might be less the case if I were to become more familiar with the lyrics I suppose. Not totally my thing, but it was interesting.

Terrific album!

I really enjoyed this album. It seems like something that I could get hooked on after several listens. Go Canada!

I have been meaning to listen to more from Chappell Roan as up until today I have only heard portions of her music in clips in the media. I’m very glad this came up here and got me moving on that intention. This is a fantastically crafted album that I instantly loved (I LOVE the opening song - creating and then working the word Femininomenon into the music is pretty impressive!). This is a lot of fun to listen to! Really terrific!

There is no good reason for Shania not getting some attention on the list! Not only creator of this - one of my favorite country rock albums - Shania became one of my favorite performers after I watched her Canadian Football League Grey Cup performance in 2017 where she arrived resplendent in red fur and glitter on a husky-drawn sled to flawlessly perform a few of her greatest hits in the middle of a snowstorm. Even the drums are covered in a dusting of snow. Look it up if you haven't seen it... and GO CANADA! This album is perfect country/rock that makes me want to get some boots and take a line dancing class. I've loved it since the first time I heard it in 1997 and I think I love it even more today. Taylor and a lot of other huge stars stand on the shoulders of this musical giant! Come On Over is packed with so many great songs and brought me so much joy today! THANK YOU SHANIA, and the person who added this making me aware of yet another musical high crime of omission committed by the original list's creators.

This felt like pastoral electronic music, all the way to its cover photograph in a flowery field. Reading a bit about the background, it does seem to be a response to a depressed and complicated world… it feels very light, aicy and redemptive. Just the light one might need in some dark places. I hope I remember to listen to this again!

This is some really good early 2000s rock with some interesting twists. Like the choir and the orchestral instrumentation supporting the tracks “Living is a Problem Because Everything Dies” and “9/15ths”. I really dig that… and the “bonus hidden track” interludes that make little sense today as such but were nice transitions. Very catchy and I’m sure this would grow on me even more with time. Real-time follow-up - since I wrote this I had the chance to listen again and liked it even more...

This would be just the thing to be listening to in a bar somewhere enjoying the evening with some friends.

This was my ok. Interesting though that I didn’t realize I had the infinite play turned on and I kept thinking the album was getting really good… but found out they were songs by other Norwegian groups Apple served me.

Started playing this and immediately had a bad feeling - not sure I’m up for getting screamed at for 35 minutes. But there was something a little melodious and interesting going on with the vocals, and I was catching some interesting lyrics in the first two songs. Looking at them it was clear there is a lot of pain in those lyrics. Intrigued I pulled up the Wikipedia article and learned more about what was behind those lyrics. This isn’t my genre, screaming vocals aren’t my cup of tea, but the music was good and the lyrics were a real surprise. The occasional moments of regular singing vastly appealed to me. So while I can’t say that I will listen again, it was more interesting than I thought it might be initially.

I think I’m quite happy having this added to the list… it’s a different kind of thing than the contemporaneous Autobahn by Kraftwerk. It’s more atmospheric, not afraid to loll around a bit. By the end I was quite mesmerized! I’m sort of predisposed to enjoy some Moog shenanigans, and enjoy this I did!

I was familiar with Low from their 1999 Christmas album. I love the song “Just Like Christmas.” This album was much more down - had a very depressing tone. Still, I did like it overall. Just not the best music for playing at the gym.

The description “avant garde metal band” made me cringe and I was not looking forward to this listen. But when I put it on in the car it surprised me with how beautiful it was. As I was going through the car wash the crazy metal ending of The Manifold Curiosity created quite the atmosphere! I love this album!

I wasn’t excited at another indie folk band… oh how misguided my brain was. The opening track, Secret Worlds, had me hooked immediately. Quick aside: After listening to over 1200 albums for this project my brain reacts negatively to almost every new thing that pops up here - and yet I end up loving the majority of the selections. Where else would I have discovered a group like The Amazing Devil? Weird though that my brain thinks it’s fatigued every time I get a something new to me here… even after all these great discoveries! As this album progressed I got goosebumps numerous times! Fantastically theatrical and completely riveting. What a great addition to my library!

This was shambolic in a way that made it difficult to connect to. Not for me.

I can’t say I enjoyed this much - not really my thing - although I did kind of like the song “Sunday You Need love.”

This ended up being much better than expected from the description. Listened to it twice and I was liking it more after the second.

I enjoyed listening to this… a bit of variety with even some country and reggae tinges. Good stuff!

Grew up familiar with Billy Squier. I like this!