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!

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!

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’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.

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.