My 1001 Albums Journey

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3.16

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1032 albums remaining

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1990s

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Wordsmith

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5-Star Albums

1-Star Albums

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Albums

You Love More Than Most

Album	You	Global	Diff
Heaux Tales Jazmine Sullivan	5	2.67	+2.33
Shaft Isaac Hayes	5	3.24	+1.76
The Message Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five	5	3.28	+1.72
Ready To Die The Notorious B.I.G.	5	3.37	+1.63
Play Moby	5	3.47	+1.53
It's Blitz! Yeah Yeah Yeahs	5	3.49	+1.51
The Gershwin Songbook Ella Fitzgerald	5	3.53	+1.47
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill Lauryn Hill	5	3.63	+1.37
Birth Of The Cool Miles Davis	5	3.65	+1.35
Maverick A Strike Finley Quaye	4	2.75	+1.25

You Love Less Than Most

Album	You	Global	Diff
Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo Devo	1	3.13	-2.13
The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn Pink Floyd	1	3.11	-2.11
Bridge Over Troubled Water Simon & Garfunkel	2	3.96	-1.96
Freak Out! The Mothers Of Invention	1	2.84	-1.84
Group Sex Circle Jerks	1	2.74	-1.74
Cut The Slits	1	2.71	-1.71
Definitely Maybe Oasis	2	3.52	-1.52
Disraeli Gears Cream	2	3.47	-1.47
A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector Various Artists	2	3.28	-1.28
Sweet Baby James James Taylor	2	3.24	-1.24

5-Star Albums (9)

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Popular Reviews

Shaft

Isaac Hayes

5/5

Such a soulful album. The use of horns and strings alternates between peeping you up and mellowing you out, much like Shaft himself when he’s on the job. I forgot how much gospel influence there is as well. Use of vocals is smart and timely without overdoing it. I loved this album!

12 likes

Heaux Tales

Jazmine Sullivan

5/5

My eating my change with time, but I loved this album. Or should I say open, honest and profound look at sexuality from a female (black female) lens. The frank discussions and highlighting of double standards between men and women as well as the expectations that we each put on one another (as well as within our own gender) was direct and needed. These discussions (and time for men to shut up and actually listen and process) should really be happening at an earlier age. For all of the comments about “We’ll, I don’t know if this is for me because I’m old/male/white/other excuse” really proves how much it actually is for you and how easy (lazy) it is to pass something off as “not for me” when it makes you uncomfortable or calls out your privilege in a less direct way.

6 likes

Maverick A Strike

Finley Quaye

4/5

Super mellow and smooth, especially for a Sunday afternoon. Very chill with hypnotic (but not numbing) vocals.

4 likes

It's Blitz!

Yeah Yeah Yeahs

5/5

I love this album! It’s rare that I love the studio recorded version of something as much as hearing it live (I used to have a bootleg that was from a concert), but it does it for me. Karen O’s vocals, the strings, the pulsing and the energy! I love it!!!!

2 likes

Emperor Tomato Ketchup

Stereolab

4/5

Somehow I had never heard of Stereolab before. I’m not sure how that was because I simply loved this album. It gave me 18th Street Lounge vibes without the Friday night cover charge. I loved the music from every single track and thought that the vocals were exceptional without being distracting. I’m really not sure how I have gone this long and never heard it before, but I’ll be coming back for more!

1 likes

1-Star Albums (5)

All Ratings

Transformer

Lou Reed

3/5

I actually low key loved this. Reminded me of The Strokes in 2002 (don’t @ me). Sometimes dark, very bouncy, but thoroughly fun and enjoyable. Solid as hell.

Zombie

Fela Kuti

4/5

Rip It Up

Orange Juice

3/5

This reminded me so much of a late 80s soundtrack for a movie involving a Weekend at Bernie’s type of plot. Why? I have absolutely no clue 🤷🏾‍♂️ When they kept it peppy and upbeat, I really enjoyed it. But when they slowed it down, the vocals killed me. Like slowly and painfully.

New Wave

The Auteurs

3/5

Group Sex

Circle Jerks

1/5

I do not love hardcore punk. I really did not like this,

Moon Safari

Air

4/5

Gave me flashbacks to my 20s when I lived in DC. Feels like a Friday night at a lounge or friend’s party. I forgot how much I loved this album. Sets you up for just a real chill, mellow evening.

Shaft

Isaac Hayes

5/5

The Message

Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five

5/5

The influence that this album had not only on so many rappers but music in general can’t be understated! Come for the beats and stay for the content. This is a lecture for your ears and your mind!

The Nightfly

Donald Fagen

2/5

I really wanted to like this. I really did, but I didn’t. It just kept hitting like a guy trying really hard to copy too many one hit wonder R and B singers from the era. It came off as cheap and whiny and something my childhood dentist would have played in the waiting room. No bueno

Here Come The Warm Jets

Brian Eno

2/5

I didn’t really know what to think about this one. It didn’t like it or dislike it really. I was rather indifferent to it. I feel like I’d here this if I was sitting in a hipster bar and as long as the volume wasn’t about like 4 and I could still converse with my friends (fully vaccinated of course), then it’d be cool. I wouldn’t seek it, but I wouldn’t hijack the jukebox to change it either. 🤷🏾‍♂️

Seventeen Seconds

The Cure

3/5

I know it’s blasphemous to be not LOVE The Cure. I simply don’t love them. But I did like this. It actually really made me want to dance in my office at work. I especially wanted to do a slightly unhip two bop to it. I’m not sure about the one angry instrumental interlude. That shit unsettled me, but I would listen to it on repeat likely. The more I think about it, the more I like it. I’m still holding firm on 3 ⭐️….for now 🤔

Birth Of The Cool

Miles Davis

5/5

I love this album! I used to own this album! I don’t know what happens to this album, but I feel like John Hillery stole this album from me! If I see you on the streets John Hillery imma ask you if you have my album and if so, lights out son! That being said, this album gives me life. The energy is outstanding while contained. Had my blood flowing and air playing all the horn section. Perfect for a gathering with some friends or some solo nerding out in your living room. I actually have it on in my office now!

Maverick A Strike

Finley Quaye

4/5

Super mellow and smooth, especially for a Sunday afternoon. Very chill with hypnotic (but not numbing) vocals.

Broken English

Marianne Faithfull

3/5

Good overall album. I loved the instruments and vocals were good as well. I’d dig this on a road trip especially on long stretches of open highway.

The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill

Lauryn Hill

5/5

Iconic. Possibly one of the most iconic albums of all time. Soulful, bopping, energetic and refined all at once. Easiest call yet.

A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector

Various Artists

2/5

Would be good to have on in the background of a holiday party with coworkers and acquaintances. Very cheery, but I like my Christmas music with a little more, how you say, soul.

Something/Anything?

Todd Rundgren

2/5

This was by no means bad, but it needed to be shorter. Like much shorter, because after 45 minutes I said to myself “This is just gonna stay repetitive for another hour huh?” I listened to this while cleaning. That’s not a slight or a compliment.

Disraeli Gears

Cream

2/5

I was able to push through the fact that Eric Clapton is an awful fuck of a person (separate art from the music for melanin challenged folks, I know, I know). The album was ok and I know that people love it so I’m stoked this ain’t Twitter or Facebook so that I can’t get lectured to right now, but I found it monotonous and tiring. Actually, I’m tired writing this write now.

Miriam Makeba

4/5

Great energy. So uplifting and positive! Beautiful voice and music!

Smash

The Offspring

3/5

A little all over the place, but that’s part of its charm. Every song wallops you from the very beginning! This has aged fairly well (and fortunately it didn’t make me want to break out some JNCOs) and still made me boo around my office….until my principal came by and caught me 🤦🏾‍♂️

Highway to Hell

AC/DC

3/5

I love the fact that some of my favorite baseball closers of all time have used some of these tracks. I’m not a huge AC/DC fan, but I thought this album was decent. I’d definitely low key listen to it on the subway bopping my head or on full blast cruising to a game at spring training in Florida with the top down!

It's Blitz!

Yeah Yeah Yeahs

5/5

Wonderful Rainbow

Lightning Bolt

2/5

I tried. I really, really tried. I’m not a punk fan. Like at all. But I really tried with this one. If each song was maybe no more than 2 minutes, then this would be ok. But I don’t need 3 plus minutes of headache inducing music that only gets louder when the headache is getting worse. Maybe if I was in one of those destruction room bars where you can just break a bunch of shit to vent your frustration. But this didn’t do it for me, not one iota. But at least it’s not, shudder, Nightfly

Behaviour

Pet Shop Boys

4/5

I had heard of the Pet Shop Boys, but wasn’t familiar with their music. I loved this. I loved the vocals, but I especially loved the music and the use of the synth (is that a thing? A synth? If not, don’t @ me). Kind of like a more lounge UB40 vibe without being cringe 😬 I really dug this. Being Boring could literally be my theme song (except I am literally boring lol). Great album!

Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo

Devo

1/5

Uhhhhh. Why is this even a thing? “Satisfaction” was wayyyyy too forced and when you have to force satisfaction on someone, it just ain’t it. and Mongoloid made me vomit up my ☕️ Let’s just pretend this album doesn’t exist, k?

At Newport 1960

Muddy Waters

4/5

I love blues, and I especially love it live. This did not disappoint. I could hear the energy and low boil burning in his voice. So soulful and intense without being cliché or generic. Loved it!

In Rainbows

Radiohead

3/5

I really enjoyed this when it came out. The haunting vocals, the alternating dreary and then peppy music. You could actually really FEEL the sounds in your senses. Still a really good album, it just doesn’t have the same feel that it did a decade and a half ago.

Emperor Tomato Ketchup

Stereolab

4/5

GREY Area

Little Simz

4/5

This album was great! Solid hitting lyrics and wordplay, and greats beats without sounding like an overproduced monstrosity. Had me bopping in my chair all morning!

Freak Out!

The Mothers Of Invention

1/5

“I don’t even care if you shave 🪒 your legs”…..Next

Definitely Maybe

Oasis

2/5

90s me would have been way more into this. It was cool, but I needed to be at a 90s Party with Dawsons Creek or something on in the background to get into this. Didn’t dislike, but I wouldn’t seek it either, especially since these guys are assholes as their baseline.

Talking Book

Stevie Wonder

4/5

Bought this album while on a record shopping trip with Elaine pre Rhonda Rona. I love this Stevie. He’s still singing and harmonizing without overwhelming tracks with his vocal power. It’s so beautiful and melodic. Puts me in such a spiritual mood.

Treasure

Cocteau Twins

3/5

I can’t figure this album out. I actually liked it, but I can’t imagine when I would play it again. When relaxing at home? On a train ride or cross country drive? At the club? I dug the vocals and low key was into the vibe, but I have no clue why. Very dreamy. Felt like a soundtrack for a specific kind of 80s fantasy movie. 🧚‍♀️

Searching For The Young Soul Rebels

Dexys Midnight Runners

2/5

I really dug the ska vibe. The music was nice and bouncy….but lawwwwwwd this album was long AND repetitive. I mean, I dug it for the first third and then I had to check to make sure that I wasn’t listening to it on repeat. I’d like to give it a 2.5, maybe a 2.75, but these is ruthless times. It’s a 2 for me dawg.

The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter

The Incredible String Band

3/5

This was cool. I clearly dig anything that involves tons of strings and this did it for me. Not one I’d go back to all the time, but decent.

Elephant Mountain

The Youngbloods

3/5

I did like the music and vocals grew on me after a couple of songs. I need to listen to this again, but I feel like it builds energy and gets better as it goes on. Solid 3

Parklife

Blur

3/5

I liked that it was a concept album and that it was interconnected. I enjoyed parts and then some pieces went well over my head 😂 That being said, I’d give it future listens.

A Love Supreme

John Coltrane

4/5

Great tempo to all four parts. Started mellow and finished with a bang! Absolutely loved ever moment of this!

Siembra

Willie Colón & Rubén Blades

3/5

Very danceable. Love the horns (surprise, surprise) as well as the supple vocals. Makes you want to move your hips and do a little two step, even when you have two left feet like me. Perfect for that salsa night you’ve wanted to hit up as well as that living room dance party you’ve been wanting to have.

Ready To Die

The Notorious B.I.G.

5/5

🎤 🎤 🎤 🎤 🎤

White Blood Cells

The White Stripes

3/5

Great album! Grabs you from the very beginning and never lets go. Jack and Meg just keep hitting you over and over again with raspy vocals and killer drums and strings. Solid album.

The ArchAndroid

Janelle Monáe

4/5

One of the first times I hung out at my wife’s (we had just started dating at the time) apartment, I caught her having a solo dance party to this album. I had loosely heard of Janelle Monáe, but didn’t really know her music. Well, I joined in on this solo dance party and haven’t looked back since. Her voice is beautiful and could stand on its own. But oh no, she decided to throw some amazing background vocals and music into the mix as well. The result is an amazing musical journey that will have you bopping, sliding, spinning and singing likely in public 😂 Excellent album!

The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn

Pink Floyd

1/5

No thank you. Never again. Really, I’m good.

Strange Cargo III

William Orbit

2/5

It was a….vibe. Not my vibe, but it had its moments.

Heaux Tales

Jazmine Sullivan

5/5

Bringing It All Back Home

Bob Dylan

3/5

I’ve never been a big Dylan fan. Maybe it’s the fact that I’m a speech-language pathologist and I always hated hearing a grown ass man mumble incoherently. Anywho, I thought this was pretty decent. His vocals were good and I loved the guitar. I’d play this on a road trip up the Cali coast.

Kid A

Radiohead

3/5

Not as exciting as when I first downloaded this from Napster (yep, Napster), but still an interesting album considering how big of a departure it was from their previous work. I still really enjoy the experimental nature of it, but it’s effect has mellowed on me in the last two decades. I would revisit this in the future though.

The Man Who

Travis

3/5

This was a fun album. I enjoyed the mellow, soothing vocals. Very solid accompanying music that didn’t interfere, but was perfectly complimentary.

Play

Moby

5/5

Play was one of my favorite albums of the late 90s! Loved seeing Moby performing it in concert even more. And then sometime in the 2000s I forgot about it. But I’m glad I got reunited with it. It flows so effortlessly, bouncy one moment to deeply mellow the next. It was a soundtrack for a snapshot in time that could be reimagined as a snapshot for today. Love it!

Crosby, Stills & Nash

4/5

I wasn’t very familiar with Crosby, Stills and Nash beyond knowing the name of the band. Really, that was it. I really enjoyed the melodies and the vocals. Mellow without being whiny. Upbeat without being peppy. Another good road trip or listen to on the morning or afternoon commute kind of album.

The Gershwin Songbook

Ella Fitzgerald

5/5

The warmth, love and just beauty of Ella’s voice is amazing. This album warmed my soul through and through. Loved it!

Bridge Over Troubled Water

Simon & Garfunkel

2/5

I feel like maybe if I had lived in this era as a young adult I’d really vibe with this, but alas I didn’t. Not really my cup of tea, but not all of them can be.

Cut

The Slits

1/5

Not my jam. I don’t think I’d ever listen again

1989

Taylor Swift

3/5

I’m not a huge Taylor Swift fan, but I can appreciate her music and this was a good album. That’s it. It was good and I appreciate her personal solid storytelling (without going overboard) style.

Sweet Baby James

James Taylor

2/5

Just too sugary sweet while trying too hard. It was like Splenda on the ears and not in a good way. My mother-in-law loves this tho, so there’s that 🤷🏾‍♂️

Cypress Hill

3/5

What I remember. Not really gangsta rap, but still loud and edgy enough to make suburban parents freak out and for their kids to want to listen to it. Big beats and some booming vocals.

Cross

Justice

3/5

Vibes, vibes, vibes. I really dig this album. Hasn’t aged as well as I would have liked it too, but still very solid. Beats really get you moving!