A remarkable debut album from a true pioneer, and my introduction to hyperpop (for better or worse). When I first heard this back in 2018 it really blew me away - it was futuristic and noisy as hell but also so catchy when you let those hooks envelop you, unlike anything I’d heard before. I think it’s still arguably the pinnacle of the genre. While SOPHIE had been crafting this sound over years of singles, EPs, and production work with the likes of Charli XCX, this is her first - and tragically only - full length project. It is so assured and stylistically confident and feels simultaneously like a veteran professional at the top of their game and a young, hungry artist carving their space in the industry. The alchemy that makes this project click was made even more prevalent by last year’s disappointing and muddled posthumous SOPHIE album, which had glimmers of greatness but ultimately was clearly not as cared for. I don’t think it’s a perfect album - the middle drags slightly for me - but the opening four songs and the closing two are magnificent. It’s Okay to Cry is ethereally beautiful, Ponyboy and Faceshopping are brutally industrial, and Immaterial is just a massive uplifting bop

An incredibly confident debut album that I enjoy more with each listen. The production and Roan’s songwriting are so strong, and the album combines amazing hooks and danceable pop with more tender and genuinely touching ballads. The lyrics are clever, impactful, and often very very horny, and the songs really stay with you. It does tail off a bit after Pink Pony Club in my opinion - the last three songs are probably the most forgettable on the album which is a bit of a shame as it gets so close to a perfect landing. But it is such a strong debut on the whole and, especially after blowing up even more with last year’s fantastic single Good Luck Babe (her best song by far), I’m very excited to see what Chappell does next. Not only does she write great music but she’s already proven herself to be a significant voice for change in the music industry, whether that’s being very vocal about trans rights and honouring her various influences from queer and drag culture to her recent speech after winning Best New Artist at the Grammys calling on record labels to offer healthcare and other work benefits to their musicians. The Midwest Princess has had a meteoric rise and I do not expect her fall to come any time soon

This was my favourite album of 2022 and one I’ve grown to love even more since. So many highlights and never boring despite its 80 minute run time, it’s Big Thief’s most tender and exciting project, with some absolutely beautiful moments and stellar guitar playing. It’s a pretty strong contender for album of the decade so far

My first of the user-submitted albums! This was a really good way to kick things off, with a fun album by a band I had never heard of The songs cover a really wide range of territory - stylistically and lyrically - and are consistently witty and defy expectations. The performances remind me quite a lot of The Magnetic Fields and similar artists, but the sheer variety on this does see them carve out their own niche within that sarcastic folk space. A good time!

This was great! I’ve heard good things about Robyn Hitchcock before (and embarrassingly somehow got him confused with Robyn of Dancing On My Own fame) but never set aside the time to get into him until now. I also hadn’t realised he was the singer of The Soft Boys (whose album Underwater Moonlight was on the main list and I think I enjoyed??) until today This album was a wild ride - spritely, incredibly varied and with a magnificent presence from the start. He hits an avant-garde folk rock sound somewhere between Richard Thompson and Robert Wyatt that also reminds me a bit of R.E.M and early Radiohead in places. Just a lot of fun and it has definitely inspired me to check out more of his many many albums in the future

My first of the user-submitted albums! This was a really good way to kick things off, with a fun album by a band I had never heard of The songs cover a really wide range of territory - stylistically and lyrically - and are consistently witty and defy expectations. The performances remind me quite a lot of The Magnetic Fields and similar artists, but the sheer variety on this does see them carve out their own niche within that sarcastic folk space. A good time!

Man, in a weird and maybe counterintuitive way I feel like I would have enjoyed this more if it was someone other than Chet The tunes are smooth as hell, with some incredible musicians (including the iconic Evans/Chambers/Jones rhythm section) playing remarkably lovely jazz, and Baker’s trumpet playing is truly wonderful. But once you’ve heard the beautiful 1954 album Chet Baker Sings, it’s not that easy to listen to a Chet Baker album where he doesn’t

This was a pretty lovely discovery. A very soulful kind of country album with eclectic vocals and a vintage style that never felt too over the top and still managed to sound fresh and inspired

I really enjoyed this when it first came out and it was one of my favourite albums of 2023. Spirit 2.0 is a truly beautiful song and the production on the whole album is pristine and fantastic. Unfortunately the songwriting just didn’t really hit for me, and on the relisten I just found it all a bit samey. Would definitely recommend checking out the deluxe version, as those four bonus tracks do elevate it, but yeah - a slightly underwhelming revisit for the standard album

This was an interesting one. Swedish folk with an electronic twist. The first couple of songs were lively and pounding, and while they were fun I thought that style was going to get repetitive quite quickly. I was very pleasantly surprised then when the album suddenly started going into darker territory, with the electronics adding to this eerie soundscape rather than block rocking beats. Something very different and definitely worth checking out

One of the most innovative hip-hop albums of all time. Madlib’s production is remarkable, the supervillain concept is really fun and perfectly executed, and Doom’s rhyme schemes, delivery and lyrics are second to none. Possibly the biggest snub from the original 1001 albums list

Another really fun discovery. Kind of an Andrew Bird vibe, or a less extravagant Father John Misty. Very lovely and well arranged singer songwriter tunes

A fantastic homage to 70s funk with a massive Parliament/Funkadelic and Sly and the Family Stone influence. It’s spacy and groovy and Glover is at his most electric all over this. A massive switch up from the hip-hop and pop bangers of his earlier albums, this is just straight up stank. The first half is incredible, especially the epic opener Me and Your Mama and the massive single Redbone, but the album does kind of drop off in the second half. A couple of songs near the end are a bit forgettable, and the closing track Stand Tall has a perfect hook that just drowns in its overbearing effects and unconvincing key changes. That first half though, god damn

Didn’t really get on with this one. Decent indie rock that reminded me a bit of Pixies if they just did the soft bits of their soft-loud dynamic. Nothing stood out to me much

Blink’s best album and a fantastic slice of energetic and catchy pop-punk, with Travis Barker solidifying his place in the group with some of the most ridiculously quick and technical drumming the genre has ever seen. The only thing keeping this from being a 5 is that there are a couple of songs (especially Mutt and Wendy Clear towards the end) that do absolutely nothing for me. But when the album hits, it really hits. There are the huge singles What’s My Age Again and All the Small Things, the more retrospective Adam’s Song, and the up-tempo ragers Dumpweed and The Party Song - so much variety for a pretty commercial pop-punk record and just a very fun time

A solid and groovy dub record that’s very laid-back and atmospheric, but ultimately a bit too samey throughout to keep me hooked

This was my favourite album of 2022 and one I’ve grown to love even more since. So many highlights and never boring despite its 80 minute run time, it’s Big Thief’s most tender and exciting project, with some absolutely beautiful moments and stellar guitar playing. It’s a pretty strong contender for album of the decade so far

I found the Marillion album on the actual list very underwhelming, but was pleasantly surprised by this one. It’s still got very crisp and clean production but it doesn’t sound as sterile as a lot of the tracks on Misplaced Childhood. It’s arena rock and does have the cheesy elements that can sometimes make that genre quite boring but combines them with interesting prog-inspired guitar licks and grooves, and the strong performances on the ballads stop them veering into schmaltzy territory. In terms of my personal enjoyment it’s probably a 3 but, considering I’m not really into this brand of rock and it surpassed my expectations, I’ll bump it up to a 4

This was great! I’ve heard good things about Robyn Hitchcock before (and embarrassingly somehow got him confused with Robyn of Dancing On My Own fame) but never set aside the time to get into him until now. I also hadn’t realised he was the singer of The Soft Boys (whose album Underwater Moonlight was on the main list and I think I enjoyed??) until today This album was a wild ride - spritely, incredibly varied and with a magnificent presence from the start. He hits an avant-garde folk rock sound somewhere between Richard Thompson and Robert Wyatt that also reminds me a bit of R.E.M and early Radiohead in places. Just a lot of fun and it has definitely inspired me to check out more of his many many albums in the future

A weird album to review. The first half is pretty good if not remarkable prog. The second half is a ridiculous ambitious orchestral suite - it starts amazingly, and then descends into this weird vocoder-driven section. The entire album closes with a pretty weak ballad. There are amazing stretches that I loved and underwhelming stretches that frankly baffled me. I didn’t love it but I sure was entertained

A really solid prog album with fantastic grooves and some really effective more tender moments, though quite a few of these softer parts don’t have as much impact. It’s not Wilson’s strongest work in my opinion, and The Raven Who Refused to Sing or something like In Absentia from his time in Porcupine Tree would be a better example of a more consistent and rewarding project

A remarkable debut album from a true pioneer, and my introduction to hyperpop (for better or worse). When I first heard this back in 2018 it really blew me away - it was futuristic and noisy as hell but also so catchy when you let those hooks envelop you, unlike anything I’d heard before. I think it’s still arguably the pinnacle of the genre. While SOPHIE had been crafting this sound over years of singles, EPs, and production work with the likes of Charli XCX, this is her first - and tragically only - full length project. It is so assured and stylistically confident and feels simultaneously like a veteran professional at the top of their game and a young, hungry artist carving their space in the industry. The alchemy that makes this project click was made even more prevalent by last year’s disappointing and muddled posthumous SOPHIE album, which had glimmers of greatness but ultimately was clearly not as cared for. I don’t think it’s a perfect album - the middle drags slightly for me - but the opening four songs and the closing two are magnificent. It’s Okay to Cry is ethereally beautiful, Ponyboy and Faceshopping are brutally industrial, and Immaterial is just a massive uplifting bop

I’ve listened to more blink-182 this week now than I have done in years. This self-titled (or apparently ‘untitled’) album is a really interesting change of pace for them - at the height of their pop-punk powers, they took a left turn for a moodier emo-inspired sound that must have been a huge inspiration for the wave of mid-‘00s ‘emo’ bands that followed. I think it’s great they did that, as they were already getting diminishing returns with their 2001 album Take Off Your Pants… feeling like a less good version of 1999’s Enema of the State. I was quite excited to give this more mature Blink record another shot now that I’m older, especially as I couldn’t remember much outside of four massive and magnificent tracks. Feeling This is a statement opener and maybe my favourite Blink song, I Miss You is possibly their biggest, Down sounds like a completely different band, and Always is a great song even if it kind of sounds like it could have fit on any of their previous albums. Unfortunately with this latest relisten I had the same take aways - those four songs are still fantastic, but everything else is quite forgettable. There’s interesting stuff going on, such as the hip-hop inspired drum break The Fallen Interlude and the moody track with Robert Smith of all people, but there are also naff lyrics and forgettable hooks. It’s an album I’m very glad they made, I just wish it held up better

I fondly remember being introduced to this album by a former colleague who put it on during an otherwise tedious shift manning our office’s reception area. Very little work was done as we were just vibing out to this. In the Stone is an incredible opener, After the Love Has Gone is a picture perfect ballad, Boogie Wonderland is obviously massive - those are probably my favourite three but there’s really not a bad song on here In my 4-star review of the EWF album on the main list (That’s the Way of the World), I sung its praises but noted it’s not as good as I Am. After relistening to I Am, I definitely stand by that. This shit slaps

This was incredibly fun. I was expecting a grunge or more R.E.M-ish ‘90s indie album but this was like… if Queen did a kind of grungy R.E.M-ish 90s indie album? Lavish production and great hooks with a bit of fuzz and attitude that resulted in a really interesting and unique listen

An incredibly confident debut album that I enjoy more with each listen. The production and Roan’s songwriting are so strong, and the album combines amazing hooks and danceable pop with more tender and genuinely touching ballads. The lyrics are clever, impactful, and often very very horny, and the songs really stay with you. It does tail off a bit after Pink Pony Club in my opinion - the last three songs are probably the most forgettable on the album which is a bit of a shame as it gets so close to a perfect landing. But it is such a strong debut on the whole and, especially after blowing up even more with last year’s fantastic single Good Luck Babe (her best song by far), I’m very excited to see what Chappell does next. Not only does she write great music but she’s already proven herself to be a significant voice for change in the music industry, whether that’s being very vocal about trans rights and honouring her various influences from queer and drag culture to her recent speech after winning Best New Artist at the Grammys calling on record labels to offer healthcare and other work benefits to their musicians. The Midwest Princess has had a meteoric rise and I do not expect her fall to come any time soon

Yeah I didn’t really give Jimmy Eat World enough credit back in the day. They were the band that bridged the gap between that gate kept ‘emo’ sound and the various pop-punk-adjacent bands from the mid-‘00s branded as emo. Their more mature and slightly darker tone put them closer to the former but their urgent drive and knack for catchy choruses meant they were misleadingly marketed as the latter, despite never really fitting solidly into either category. As a fan of your Panic! at the Discos and All Time Lows and the like growing up, a lot of which I no longer listen to, I just never really got into Jimmy Eat World and dismissed them as being quite bland outside of the absolute smash of a track The Middle. I appreciate them a lot more now, as while they were far less theatrical than their Warped Tour contemporaries, the songwriting holds up. The slower moments on this album I never really connected with are actually very emotional and well considered, and provide a nice contrast to the more energetic singles like The Middle and the title track, which opens the album in beautifully sardonic fashion

Another solid country-tinged folk album - this one with gorgeous harmonies and a Conor Oberst jumpscare on the last song - that was really nice to listen to but just didn’t really stick with me

This was pretty good! Grunge-adjacent but more of a power pop sound with very catchy hooks especially on the first three songs (my favourite of which was Solar Sister which had a really fun guitar solo). The album lost a bit of steam after that though, with some hooks that didn’t really land for me, and I wasn’t too enamoured by it until the last two songs which were a lot darker and kind of shoegazy. It was a really welcome change of pace and I’m glad it ended as strongly as it started, even if it didn’t quite hit in the middle

Didn’t get into this one at all I’m afraid. A cheesy ‘80s take on ‘60s-style rock with generic songwriting, rubbish synths and reverse snares all over certain tracks, and really cringy lyrics. The falsetto in the ballad Nobody Knows is pretty painful, and the bass tone in the verses of I Need You sounds so much like a Casio preset it’s actually kind of funny (though otherwise I think it’s a pretty good song and probably my favourite on the album) Apparently two songs from this album have been sampled by Eminem which is fun Also my goodness Billy, please put your dogs away

Another ridiculous snub, I have absolutely no idea how this still isn’t in the 1001 It’s a landmark album that still holds up incredibly well, and is the undisputed highlight of the ‘emo’ genre. It’s theatrical, energetic and packed full of hooks, and every single song on it is a winner.

A really lovely and creative folk album that also contained a couple of punk elements. Great songwriting and singing and lyrics, with inventive rhythm and metre switches (even if a little over-done in one of the songs) and just generally great vibes. I’d never heard of this band going in so this was a very nice discovery

I’ve just never really clicked with Mayer’s music. Great guitar player and the production is solid but his songwriting is just a bit bland

This was really fun in places with some great energy and incredible playing, but certain parts got old very quickly. The interpolation of the Pink Panther theme on Offshoot was a nice little reference but then became the entire B-section of the track for no good reason. The 15 minute Ghostbusters cover was also pretty exhausting by the end That being said, considering the amount of live albums already on the list, I’d much rather have something like this - where the live setting and the jamming it allows space for is the key feature of the music - than the live Cheap Trick album that’s just a rougher performance of their studio tracks

Another really solid Zappa record. Not quite my favourite of his, and I don’t think I’d replace any of the 3 on the main list (even though I don't vibe with Freak Out quite as much, it’s an incredibly important album that deserves its spot), but if you were going to add another this would almost certainly be it It’s also one of his most accessible albums, with genuinely catchy songs like Uncle Remus complementing the usual zaniness like St Alphonsos Pancake Breakfast, and nothing goes too far into full-on freak territory

Avicii was one of the poster boys for a wave of EDM that has just never really been my thing - it’s fun in the right setting but just not something I enjoy listening to on my commute or whatever. The big single on this album is Waiting For Love, which is an alright club banger but not on the level of his previous tracks Levels or Wake Me Up. Elsewhere the album is a bit more adventurous, playing with a country sound on quite a few songs rather than just recycling the same EDM tropes. It was more varied than expected and I appreciate what it was going for, just not one for me

I didn’t really care for side 1 of this project by two former King Crimson members - it was just a lot of noodling without the commanding vocal presence or impactful hooks and stabs that make Crimson’s music stand out. The second side - Birdman - was a step up though. It kicks things off with a really fun and jaunty track, almost like a Kinks song, that then leads into part 2 with a killer funky groove. The next few parts have some more enjoyable soloing and the suite culminates in a rousing and quite lovely anthemic instrumental section

Very fun, eclectic and inventive funk metal with ridiculous bass playing. I don’t enjoy quite as much as their debut Frizzle Fry, but it’s still a wonderfully unique and enjoyable album

A fun, groovy, wavy time as one would expect from the B-52s. It doesn’t quite reach the heights of their staggering debut or their later peak Cosmic Thing but it’s still a grand way to spend 35 minutes

WOOOO!! One of my absolute favourite albums of the last few years. A continuous loop of jams upon jams, ridiculously good 5/4 hooks, devilishly fun guitar playing, and pure energy and good vibes

It’s fun and noisy hyperpop from one of the most eclectic groups out there. I don’t think it’s quite as impactful as their first album - nothing here is on the same level as 745 sticky, money machine, or stupid horse - but it’s still just very enjoyable. The jarring ska of I Got My Toot Removed, the more metal-leaning Billy Knows Jamie, whatever Frog on the Floor is, and the standout pop single Hollywood Baby - it’s all just good dumb fun

Another one I’m quite surprised wasn’t on the original list mainly due to the sheer size of it. According to Wikipedia it’s the 8th highest selling album of all time (putting it ahead of Rumours, Saturday Night Fever, ABBA GOLD, and any one album by The Beatles) and a whopping 12 of its 16 tracks were released as singles It’s probably the peak of pop country, and while there are some elements I’m not a fan of at all - a lot of the production choices are very lifeless or just generic, so many songs have great chorus/boring verse syndrome, and the duet From This Moment On sounds like the big ballad from a forgotten post-Menken Disney film - but Twain has enough presence and charm to pull it off. And when the songs hit, they sure do hit. I think every Shania Twain song I know is on this album, including songs I forgot I knew like Love Gets Me Every Time and When. Some of the songs I didn’t know are a lot of fun, filled with needless stand-up key changes that are all pulled off annoyingly well. It all just sounds so professional and expensive and meticulous, and has enough heart that the downsides that kind of sound can bring are easily overlooked. There are a few weaker songs towards the end, especially the very cringe Rock This Country, but thankfully it pulls things back for the tender closer You’ve Got a Way

Yeah, ambient techno just isn’t really for me, sorry. There were some very interesting textures in this and I appreciate that it was a bit more varied than I initially thought - with the last couple of tracks picking up the tempo- but otherwise it all just kind of blended into one

Fantastic vibes bolstered by ethereal production on what is probably Tame Impala’s strongest album. It opens incredibly strongly with the psychedelic Let It Happen and other highlights include the blissed out Eventually, the swaggering stomp of The Less I Know The Better, and the hazy banger New Person Same Old Mistakes Some songs don’t quite hold up - Past Life has never worked for me and I don’t think Kevin’s vocals are too great on Yes I’m Changing - but it’s mostly pretty consistent with its dreamy sheen and catchy, inventive songwriting