1001 Albums Summary

Moody, plaintive, brooding, contemplative Springsteen

Classic, crisp and snappy punk tunes with witty lyrics. A perfect example of intelligent melodic punk

Perfect harmonies, lush production, and super complex layers, still sounding relevant and contemporary

I remember thinking this was a massive sound when I first heard this in the 80s. Sadly It’s a lot thinner sounding than I remember, but the songwriting, melodic guitars, tempo changes, and pure energy ensure it remains a classic for me.

A little over long, and a few tracks could have been dropped for the sake of conciseness, but overall a great groove with wit and savvy lyrics. Highlight tracks - School Spirit, Two Words

Not an ounce of flab on this album. Crisp, lean, melodic, rhythmic, and incredible management of audio dynamics. One of the best in this genre. Standout tracks: Holy Wars, Take No Prisoners

A little pedestrian and somewhat samey from track to track

Faultless production. It’s packed with smooth synths and bass and crackling drums. His voice is gentle and yet right at the front of the mix which is some trick. A great example of this genre

Lengthy but full of incredible freestyle solos, riffs and licks. The tightness of the songs diminishes as the album progresses but it’s a great snapshot of the best of the genre

Lengthy but full of incredible freestyle solos, riffs and licks. The tightness of the songs diminishes as the album progresses but it’s a great snapshot of the best of the genre

It gets better, a bit grittier, the longer you leave it on. Heading towards their signature, downbeat, negative sound they were most noted for. Perhaps harshly.

At the time, mind blowing, but that was because I had consumed surfer Rosa and Doolittle and wanted just more and more pixies. Over time, I have come to the conclusion that SR and D were the highlight albums for me, and Bossanova was great but not quite hitting those early heights. Still quite fabulous, obvs

The comedy sex bits are a bit tiresome, but the actual tracks are a great listen. This passed me by first time around, glad I got to hear it via albumsgenerator.

Joyful melodies and rocking rhythms. And lyrically so perfect. A true classic and deserving it’s place in this list

Some insane guitar aerobics aside, this is a classic of hair rock, full of energy and virtuoso playing. Great great fun and a template for others to follow

This feels so contemporary, can’t believe I have focused on Unknown Pleasures and not given this the airtime it demands. Gentle in parts, aggressive in others, melodic, rhythmical, just a great example of the start of post punk. Top tracks: Colony, The Eternal, A Means To An End

I loved this album when I first heard it. Then my ear hooked onto something else, and I parked GB until Painted Ruins was released several years later. Painted Ruins was joyous and reminded me just how unique GB were and why I fell in love with them first time around. This is such a beautifully crafted record, with wonderful harmonisation, layering of instruments and voices, and surprising dynamic ranges. Blissful Best tracks: Southern Point Two Weeks Ready, Able

Beautiful production, showcasing every instrument perfectly, with Brian’s vocals sounding crisp and clear. Some absolute crackers on there that have remained in the AC/DC regular set list 30 or 40 years later. Stand out tracks: Hells Bells, Back in Black, You Shook Me All Night Long

Quite beautiful and romantic, while defining the gram rock genre definitively.

Layering emotion and incredible instrumentals, Jeff’s voice is centre stage here. A beautiful collection of original material and covers, complicated and delicate, it gets better and better with more listening as nuance and detail keeps emerging. Top tracks: Mojo Pin, Grace, So Real

As crisp and snappy as an electrified mouse trap baited with Doritos. This is so tight it’s breathless. Fantastically pithy, filthy and fun.

Classic classic classic Pixies. Sexy, dirty, menacing, it has it all. So innovative when it came out and it has aged remarkably well. A true classic Top tracks: Gigantic, Where is my mind, River Euphrates, Oh my golly

A true classic, timeless, innovative and still relevant. Defined this era for Bowie and the yardstick to measure his other works by. Musically diverse and full of hits and hidden gems. Top tracks: Suffragette City, Ziggy Stardust, Star, Starman

Surprisingly enjoyable. Voice not what I expected. Musically and stylistically diverse in parts but quite conservative blue rock soundings across quite a few tracks. Top tracks: Why’d ya do it, Broken English

Sorry. No. Not for me

Noisy fun, a little mixed up at times, with shouty rap, gentler tones and hard rock competing from song to song, and sometimes within each song. Production of instrumentation is strong, but vocals are a little prominent for my taste.

Sublime. Beautiful. Coherent. There is No Other. I discovered this in 2016, and played it to death, from start to finish. It is packed with lush vocals, rich harmonies, crisp instrumentation and perfect dynamic. Putting aside the wonderful magical storytelling, it’s just a Great Wall of beauty. Please try it, from start to end. Top tracks: Strength of Strings, Some Misunderstanding, Lady of the North

Very very good indeed. Still a classic, with an almost constant maintenance of groove, while not ever being repetitive or tired. It felt innovative in 1995, but still bears up to repeated listening; a true classic of dance/dub mash. Top tracks: Inspection, Original

Smooth, joyous melodies, with a mix of serous and light-hearted lyrics covering a wide range of themes. Musically, this is trippy and laid back, but full of crisp and tasteful compositions, slickly produced but seeming almost like an extended jam session. A testament to the confidence of the group. Top tracks: footprints, public enemy, can I kick it?

Some absolute bangers on here and a bunch of hidden gems. Production seems a little thin but I guess that could be down to being exposed to much richer mixes in more recent times. Still a lot of fun!

Some absolute bangers on here and a bunch of hidden gems. Production seems a little thin but I guess that could be down to being exposed to much richer mixes in more recent times. Still a lot of fun!

Incredible use of dynamics and automation. This was such an innovative album and still sounds fresh and relevant. Full of darkness and menace, simply fantastic. Top tracks: Closer, Eraser, Hurt

Bass and drums lead the way here, driving forceful rhythms with precision and uniqueness. Top tracks: Start!, But I’m different now

Probably one of the greatest exponents of Progressive Rock, Rush have created many iconic tracks, melodic and tight, retaining an accessibility that others in this genre often lack. This album is a fantastic example of a band at the heights of their powers. A great recording. Top tracks: Tom Sawyer, Vital Signs

Full of recognisable hits, this was a major transition for the Shamen from a previous incarnation as yet another goth psych band into a fully fledged rave dance act. The album sounds a little dated now, and production, while good, lacks the punch of later dance releases. Possibly also down to the relentless chase to overcompress and maximise the volume that has been a common feature of electronic dance music for the last 20 years. Top tracks: Move Any Mountain, Omega Amigo, Hyperreal Orbit

The voice is wonderful. Gentle, rich, warm. Lyrically curious, with a meandering nature. The music is quite wonderful; the flow through the whole album makes it seem like an extended jam session, with the focus moving from instrument to instrument. Totally relaxed and yet tight and on the groove.

A mixed bag of indie sounds, some still sounding fresh, others dated. Overall quite enjoyable and entertaining

This was HUGE when it was first released. It’s still a pleasant listen although most tracks have been played to death, used by marketing firms to soundtrack visions of cool etc Enjoyable. Top tracks: Poor Leno, A Higher Place

Dark and moody, a fabulous album from start to finish, with Robert Smith’s characteristic vocals present throughout. Musically more down tempo than it’s sister album, Seventeen Seconds, but showcasing the band as they rise to become a global presence. Top tracks: One Hundred Years, The Hanging Garden, Cold

I forgot how good this album is. Full of dreamy vocals, space-soaked theramin weirdness and pulsing beats. I’ve heard Lovely Head just a little too much, but the rest of the album feels really fresh Top tracks: Utopia, Felt Mountain, Human

Nice. Tight. Fun.

Such a great album, bringing back so many great memories, this is The Cure at their very best, rich and melodic, with Robert Smith’s characteristic vocals at the front of the mix, ably supported by a beautifully tight and menacing musical soundtrack. This is a classic Top tracks: Fascination Street, Plainsong, Pictures of You, Disintegration

Never given this band a proper listen before, and dismissed them at noise. Glad it has appeared on my list and I’ve given them a proper bit of attention. Impressive control, tempo and rhythms, and clever use of dynamics and multiple percussion instruments to keep things interesting. I still don’t quite get the vocal style but the musicality is great and I really enjoyed trying this from start to finish. Top tracks: Ratamahatta, Breed Apart

An interesting listen, great lyrics and delivery but not hugely interesting musically. Top tracks: Work it

An incredible album. The voice. Dr Simone’s vocals are spellbinding. So crisp, clear and distinctive. A true milestone. And so far ahead of it’s time. Top tracks: Four Women, What more can I say?

Punchy hits and incredible compositions, the Smiths at their very best. Marr’s guitar layers over Rourke’s and Joyce’s rhythms create such a fantastic counterpoint to Morrissey’s dark and bleak lyrics. A perfect Smiths album Top tracks: The Headmaster Ritual, I want the one I can’t have, Barbarism begins at home, Meat is Murder

Not listened to this before, a real pity. This is a pretty wonderful album, perhaps a few tracks of their time, but many are still fresh sounding. End to end, joyful. Top tracks: Baby’s on fire, On some faraway beach, here come the warm jets

Pleasant listening. At the time it was released, it brought a group of talented but often overlooked musicians from Southern Africa to a huge audience, with follow on success for many. A gentle and beautiful collections of songs.

It’s no Daydream Nation. Lacking melody and Kim’s vocals are … random

Pretty formulaic stuff here. Well produced vanilla indie schmindy punky rocky stuff.

Energetic modern sounding pop for the unmasses. Fabulous as a live band, equally fantastic when recorded, this album has a couple of absolute bangers, and several more contemplative tracks, which as a whole makes for a great balance. Top tracks: Zero, Heads will roll, Shame and fortune

Varied and interesting, really enjoyed listening to it in its entirety, not something I had done before. Top tracks: Gloria, Land: Horses

Forgotten quite how much fun this was. It plays well from start to finish; I thought it was a hits album, but only 3 UK singles are here, the rest of the album is fun, musically and lyrically, and fizzes along at a fair pace. Top tracks: kinky afro, step on, Donovan

Toit as a tiger.

Sounding dated, a little whimsical in parts, but clearly talented composers, however darting about a little too much stylistically for my ear

Pastiche rock. Ramones without the attitude but with heaps of camp. Well recorded and some moments of individual virtuosity.

Magnificent. Layered, complex, clever instrumentation and arrangements. Musically diverse but with Kate’s haunting vocals throughout. Top tracks: cloudbusting, hello earth, hounds of love

Boisterous and fun, this is a cracker of an album, full of groove and sizzle. Highly recommended. Top tracks: Last of the steam-powered trains, Big Sky, The Village Green Preservation Society

Two tracks totalling 38 minutes or so. Both beautiful, varied, lush and full of energy. Never heard these pieces before, and loved listening to them. Highly recommended

Not all tracks available on Spotify. Of the 4 that were, they were funky fun times

Loved rediscovering this classic, as The Cure started their rise to power. Filled with brooding melodies over sparse warm electronic drums, menacing guitar leads and tasteful bass lines. Highly recommended and has aged very well indeed. Top tracks: Play for a day, At night, A Forest

Just lush. A great band at their very best.

Positive vibes here. Top tracks: Concrete Jungle

Smooth. Top tracks: Burn this disco out, don’t stop til you get enough, off the wall

Surprised by this. Very very good indeed. Definitely worth a listen, some blistering bass and drum lines carrying the lyrics along with a sizzle

Before he went all weird, I listened to this a lot on the original vinyl and loved it’s musical variety, despite being crushed that there wouldn’t be anything else from the Smiths. A great collection of tracks and collaborations. One of his best albums. Top tracks: everyday is like Sunday, late night maudlin street, suedehead

The start of something different from Radiohead. Split their fan base massively. In truth, this is quite brilliant, uncommercial and unrepentant, more Radiohead than Radiohead. Still sounds fresh and novel, standing the test of time well, full of unusual time signatures, orchestrations and samples, it’s a modern classic. Top tracks: everything in its right place, the national anthem, how to disappear completely, optimistic, morning bell, motion picture soundtrack

Smooth as silk crème. Top tracks: when did I stop loving you, when did you stop loving me, Here, my dear,

Some interesting parts, a bit formulaic derivative blues rock in others. Vocals a little too front and centre for my taste.

Some great tracks on this album, Bowie shifting styles again. Synths and whispered vocal throughout, guitars a little less to the fore. Top tracks: Sound and Vision, Warszawa, always crashing in the same car

Hip and groovy, some massive hits here but even the fillers are killers. Top tracks: Happy man, I want your love, chic cheer

A modern classic. marking the transition of this band to a more experimental sound but retaining ‘songs’ that others complain they lost on the journey. A huge album and best listened from start to finish rather than picking individual tracks but… Top tracks : Airbag, Exit music (for a film), Let down, Electioneering, No surprises, The tourist

Fun, fun, fun! Packed with energy and joy. A smashing way to start a work day! Percussion is insane btw… Top tracks: Congo Mulence, Kenya

Classic rock here, some absolutely euphoric bangers, Daltrey’s vocals have an epic quality, Townshend’s guitars providing great fills, harmonies and riffs, Entwistle’s shuffling and grooving baselines keeping things moving and Moon’s insane drum fills and cymbal runs make sure the whole album never just settles but crackles and pops all the way through. Varied and always an interesting listen. Top tracks: Won’t Get Fooled Again, Baba O’Riley, Love Ain’t for Keeping, My Wife, Behind Blue Eyes

Bangers, fizzers and crackers throughout. Timely too! A great Christmas album.

A good listen, a lot of melodic work here, and incredible drums. Well produced. Some outstanding tracks, some a little bit forgettable. Top tracks: Battery, Master of Puppets, Disposable Heroes

Plenty of hits here, and latin rhythms, but it felt like more of the same here from Madge.

Relaxing, joyous, blissful human voices in perfect harmony.

Epic epic epic. Loved rediscovering this classic. Beautiful vocals, incredible bass and guitar, perfect production

Played this to death in my late teens, then moved on. Musically it’s great, lyrically I just don’t quite get it anymore, perhaps a little too metaphorical for me now!

Massive energy throughout, still sounds innovative, full of positivity and dynamics. Fabulous

Short songs. Lots of them. Enjoyed a few, wished some were a bit longer, but hey ho.

Loved it. Fresh sounding and laid back, really beautiful compositions, not veering too far into free jazz mumblings, full of joy and groove

Gentle blues rock, somewhat of it’s time, but a fun listen

Unusual vocals, unique and haunting. As a whole, I felt this got better as I worked through the album, not gripped at the start, but really enjoyed it by the end. Musically varied, but all linked by Anohni‘s gifted voice

Didn’t understood a word of it. Beautiful melodies, varied rhythms. Original and much enjoyed

Spicy, shouty, melodic, a heap of fun. Surprisingly well produced, sounding modern, crisp and well-layered

It’s country music. But not the western sort. Pretty lush

Massive massive massive album. Had to put I, III and IV on straight after. Still iconic after all this time

Very cross people made this record. Some iconic bangers here. Breathtaking

Peachy.

Hmmm. Ok. Rushed through it once, the voice is not one of my favourites

Tuneyards, anyone?

Beautiful guitars and voices. Loved it and will definitely revisit

Beautiful guitars and voices. Loved it and will definitely revisit

I’m not a huge fan of female singers but Joni is something else. Wonderful album

Entering the dark Mode here, brilliant, original, grimy classics Just brilliant.

Lovely. Poppy. Jolly

Synthy warped melodies with driving bass and drum Oh and crazy raps all over the top. Actually pretty interesting

More gorgeous lush melodies and drifts from Jason.

Cracking mix of modern and classical tracks.

Musically interesting, lyrically silly

Loved this. Melodic pre-Pavement spiky punky guitar rock. Fantastic

Classic stuff. Groove, baby

Classic template of Dire Straits. Boogie, licks, riffs, they are all here

I don’t get it. I feel that is my shortcoming, not the band’s. But just not for me.

Iconic cover, iconic bangers. Wonder wall to wonder wall hits here. Probably their finest work

Gently rolling country folky fun

A fizzing little cracker of groovy backing tunes with lovely effing and jeffing rap on top. I’ll take it, thanks.

Brilliant speed and rhythms. A little more separation in the mix for lead guitars wouldn’t have harmed, but still a thrill a minute.

Fun, big band country sound. I’d do this live, but found a >2h album a little tiring

Fabulous. Melodic noisy rock, actually tuneful and tasteful. Love it

Their very best. 8 perfect tracks on long play format, enjoy this from start to finish.

Another future classic from the 70s. Silky smooth electronica for the autopeople.

Pretty cool tunes

Sweet, smooth, funky, soulful groove

Still sounds so fresh! Huge classic from the Costellinator!

Nice. Good memories of this first time around. Groovy and still fun times from the baggies

Pop Afro grooves, energetic and hypnotic. And a fantastic live band too.

Beautiful vocal performance by WN, very subtle and classy set of covers here, surprising and really enjoyable

No. Not all that for me, thanks.

Clever lyrics, beautiful melodies and such a great recording. I loved this album from start to finish, a classic

A modern Cash classic. Fully of gritty guitar and vocals. Quite something. Top tracks: Personal Jesus, Hurt

Speed blues at its best. Not a fan of the vocal performances but the backing is goooooood.

The FLC are fun, and this album proves it. Lazy trippy but with some fantastic multi-instrumentalism in there. Good times.

Iconic. One of his best

Good. Lovely country tunes. Very good.

Massive energy. The backing is so full of hooks and great grooves, could listen to it spinning all day long. Lyrics are fast and furious with passion and feeling. Loved this album

A huge album at the time, cementing Dire Straits’ status as one of the top global acts. Heard the first half of this album SO MUCH, one way or another, that even now it’s hard to be objective, so I’ll flip to the second half and say I enjoyed these tracks, a fair bit of variety and tasteful instrumentation and production (perhaps over compressed for my ears now) but overall this was played ALL THE TIME on MTV and became so embedded that I can’t quite take it now…

I loved this album. Polarising as an individual but musically what a talent.

Technically breathtaking but largely unmemorable. Next!

No. Too many notes.

Not too bad. Still pretty fresh sounding. Some decent rock and roll going on here

Sweet melodies and harmonies. Lush and a treat

MOR stuff here. Vocals a little to prominent for my taste

Love this album. Full of joy and hugely uplifting

Hypno-psych-drone groove at its very best. Fresh as a psilocybin enhanced daisy, sprinkled with a mist of LSD for extra feels. Do it.

I love this album. It’s got so much going on. Really expressive drum patterns, fabulous melodies, perfect vocalists. And a damn fine groove all the way through.

Joyful album. Pompous and full of kitsch synth rock. Loved seeing them tour this, adding to the ridiculousness.

Quite enjoyed listening to this one from Van M. Jazzy but not too much, retaining melody and structure. No bad He was a kid when he did this, yes?

This is a beautiful beautiful album. Gently and inspiring, melodic and touching. Heard many of these tracks live but together on this album they fit so well together. A great concept

Pompy pomposity. Quite fun actually.

Fun fun fun! Packed with punch and energy. Short and sweet!

Very varied, moving between country, rock, psychedelic and more. Not heard this before,really fresh sounds

Loved this album. Such. Wide range of styles, full lush production and still sounding modern. A cracker

Smooth and silky, with Bobby’s fantastic soulful voice throughout. Joyous.

Melodic heavy heavy. Good riff times

Prolific album. Lots of tracks. Short. Sweet. Pleasant

Fantastic seedy grooves. Actually not as naughty as I thought it was… Slabby synths, chunky chunk drum sounds. Really rather good.

Jolly good fun!

Pretty enjoyable stuff, but worthy of a place on this list? Hmmm

This is a terrific album. Beautiful lyrics delivered in a timeless style

Achingly good

Terrific music, such a great downtempo feel, sinister and dark

I loved this when it first came out. This was innovative post rock and turned my head (slowly, like a tortoise) Still enjoy hearing this from start to finish. Still sounds fresh and innovative. Brilliant

Jolly stuff

It’s tricky. No it isn’t. It’s fabulous

Lush laid back jazz tones

Huge response to this album, elevating the profile of Nirvana and cementing their reputation as grunge innovators Classic

Rawk violins. Looooong album. Probably had to be there

Shouty. Not bad

Music. Nice.

Classic lo fi moody grooves with some stellar tracks and vocals (Tracey Thorn in particular) Still wonderful after almost 30 years.

Poppy pops

Timbre of the vocals. Wonderful

It’s a country music album

California. Should have warned ya. Played this a lot at the time, too much actually, as it’s over familiar and not in a good way. Still, some impressive riffs and licks and great production

It’s Bob. And a classic one at that

At their height, this is such a great end to end listen, almost a concept album but with several stand-out tracks. Hearing it again, it’s still fantastic, such crisp production, moving between silences and wall of sound

Incoherent crazy. Fantastic energy and surprisingly crisp production for a fuzz album. Very good indeed

It’s ok. A couple of memorable songs, good live band though

Yea yea for Nea Nar

Wishy washy synths

A few bangers and a few misses. Fair to middling

Quite good fun. A couple of his most well known tracks here but the others stand up well on their own. A jam album with some fantastic instrumentalism going on.

Absolute banger. A classic electro lofi triptastic dance monster.

Hits hits hits. Of its time, and was a huge hit. Enjoyable if not my usual cup of tea

Flawless. Such a great collection of lyrics and melodies

A classic live blues album, first heard this 35years ago, and it still brings me out in goosebumps.

Nice

Naaa. Not for me. Thanks

Brilliant. Her voice. Those guitars. The drums. Perfect

A favourite Echo album of mine, I played this to death when it came out. Not listened in years and loved hearing these songs again. Always envied Will Sergeant’s guitar tone

Didn’t feel the classical reimagining was needed, plenty of great original tracks here, hugely influential too.

Not bad bit of sample, remix, and dance. Groovy and was a lovely soundtrack to my yoof.

Well…. It’s a record. Of sounds. And it’s ok, but on this list?!

Heartbreaking opening. Such a great album, full of beautiful words and music. Truly a classic