I have listened to this album twice now and I just don't get the generally positive reviews. The album actually makes me almost angry, that's how much I disliked it. This is the epitome of what was wrong in the 80's (even though there also was a lot of great music). It sniffed New Wave but doesn't seem to get it, saw soul from a distance, uses filler sounds like a trumpet or harmonica to make the music sound smarter than it is. Ugh.

It listens as the album where Radiohead mixed the elements from their rockier-oriented career start with their later electronic experimental style. Call it a Kid A meets OK Computer. This was certainly not an album I 'got' in just one listen. It has taken a few proper sessions to get through the somewhat dark and inaccessible layers this album has. Not just musically, but lyrically the band seems to be a lot more cynical and angry than I've known them. But I'm enjoying the album more with every listen, mostly because there's so much to discover with every playthrough. There are so many details that are revealed with each new listen, and those details are presented in a truly varied way. There is rarely any repetition; the variety is huge and you're traveling quickly from one place to another, which sometimes makes the album feel a bit disjointed at the start. But after a few listens I think only We Suck Young Blood is a lesser song on a truly great album. Slowly this might be becoming one of my favourite Radiohead albums. I'm putting it at 4,5*, but this album might end up as a 5* album in a few years if I revisit it.

What a great discovery. This is just a superb album that I kept listening to on repeat. The fretless bass makes this album even one step better than the songwriting already does. I hear influences of Roxy Music and Bowie, and you'll definitely hear where 80's bands like Duran Duran got their inspiration. Absolutely great album from start to end with no bad songs in between. Even as a big VU & Lou Reed fan, I really could appreciate the cover of All Tomorrow's Parties. Fall In Love With Me & In Vogue are my two favourite tracks 4,5*.

Noisy, raw, energetic and with a lot of depth.

Hunting High & Low is very much a mid-80s album. Accessible synth-pop made at a time when it was a commercially safe choice. Nevertheless this album has two things that set it a little apart: Firstly, the beautifully emotional voice of Harket and secondly, the melancholic tone of many of the songs. It ensures that this album goes just a little deeper than many of its contemporaries. And even though there is really nothing wrong with the songwriting, it really does have the 80's issues of filler sounds, the need to fill up silences with an extra synth-trumpet, drumcomputer-loop and background violin. Especially clear in the song Hunting High And Low. Solid Debut for this Norwegian Band and I'm glad to have learned about songs like The Blue Sky and Here I Stand And Face The Rain

The first two songs of the albums are absolute bangers, but after that the quality of the first two doesn't fully hold up.

A live album by one of the best voices to have ever existed with a truly professional band. The chosen songs are some of the more famous jazz songs, but not fully engaging throughout the album. Where they go a bit more uptempo, they band gets to showcase themselves a bit more.

It's an album with lots of collaborations with other artists. Some, like Los Lobos, work a lot better than others, like Santana. After the terrible first song of the album is slowly turns into a real bluesy John Lee Hooker album. 3,5 stars

I can hear where Tom Waits has gotten much inspiration on his slower songs on this concept album by Sinatra But an album full of this gets quite monotonous to me, even though his voice is absolutely stunning and the music is great.

I have never really listened to a Janis Joplin album before, strangely enough. I knew some of the 'hits,' but nothing really more than that. I now know I was missing out. This rocks!

It's one of their rawer albums, but that does not make it one of their better. You clearly hear the mid 90's sound, but, as with a lot of Foo Fighter albums, you have 2 amazing songs, 2 good and the rest barely average.

Clever, musically and lyrically. Not sure how well this album has stood the test of time, but I was fully appreciating it

Was great to listen to this album. It's actually better than I remembered it from when my parents let me listen to it. Ballad of a Thin Man is absolute top

A deserved classic from the 1990's. Beautiful songs, an album that's worth another listen time and time again

I know why people can like this. It's this time where people like Earl blew some fresh air in the country music. It's just still really not for me, and as far as I can tell, musically also nothing special.

I will be honest, and say I'm still not and have never been impressed with "Bridge over Troubled Water". Ofcourse, on this album you'll find several pop classics, but this album is far from a masterpiece. The title-track itself, and quite a few other songs, are immensely overproduced kitsch in my ears. Violins, choirs and the lot. There's a few plus points to the album as well ofcourse. Songs like 'The Only Living Boy In New York' is beautiful, but it doesn't save the album. It feels it's an album on multiple thoughts and might be known as one of the all-time classics. But not for me.

An absolute classic. This might actually have been the first time I've listened to the album in full but I've been aware of every single song, some in different versions. What a quality in songwriting and musicians on this one album.

It's an almost perfect pop album and personally I think Blondies best. With so many known songs songs it's almost a best-off album, and marks the moment where Blondie switched from their punkier side (still to be heard in Hanging On The Telephone) to their poppier side (One Way Or Another) to later do some more disco-ish sounds (Heart Of Glass) Unique pop album that captures the times well.

Listening to this album has brought me to an entire day of Talking Heads and it's a discovery I really enjoyed. Now I've likely listened to most albums once or twice in my life before, but it has made for a great day with some incredible music. First of all, this album itself, it's so incredibly infectious and fun. The basslines are jumpy, the lyrics are different, the music is clever. And, what's more, it's a strong album. There's no song to skip, not even the Al Green cover.

One of the best albums ever made and the showcase of everything Nick Cave has to over.

An absolute amazing Rolling Stones album that has some of their best songs on. "Midnight Rambler" is my favourite Stones song, and classics like "You Can't Always Get What You Want," "Monkey Man," "Gimme Shelter," make this album a pure feast for the ears. An album well worth a listen on headphones as well, there is just so much happening. Only 4* from me though, because as an album, there are songs I already started skipping on second listen, like "Love In Vain" and are not up to the high standard of some of the previous mentioned songs.

The opener Black Sabbath is the most evil this band has ever sounded and is the first doom song ever written. After that incredible opener we have a few great songs (like N.I.B.) and one or two lesser ones (like the cover "Evil Woman") On a seven song album it's just a little too much up and down to be a 5* album, but the dark blues-rock combined with the major influence this has had in retrospect makes this highly enjoyable. 4 1/2*

This is almost the ultimate Britpop album. The lyrics are clever, the music is upbeat but sneering. An album with songs I can dance to and others to sit down and listen.

Even though this is not fully my thing, this is an absolute classic in its genre. From start to finish this is, for me, the best that Pink Floyd has to offer. And Wish You Were Here is just the best song they've ever made. 5*

Even though I really like Belle and Sebastian, this is not the album for me. The lyrics are already great, but for me, Belle and Sebastian still had to grow musically which they more did on their albums following this, Tigermilk and especially The Boy With The Arab Strap.

I grew up with this album on cassette in my early pre-teen years. And it has been fun to re-listen to this after so many years. And interesting how well this music has been ingrained in my memory. It's a great album with some really good songwriting, even better than I remember. But on the other hand Tears for Fears suffers from the thing that's so prevalent in the 80's, and that is that every possible silence had to be filled with another sound. And another. A cowbell here, a trumpet there, a quick voice over the top and then a drumroll. Nothing wrong with their songwriting, clearly talented, but the lesson of 'less is more' never reached them.

I think enough has been said about this album. 4,5*

A high lyrical quality on this album, like NAS on Illmatic, from deeper like So Many Tears to straight up Gangsta. Tupacs technique might not be the best, but his delivery is amazing. And I can now see why he's regarded as one of the greatest. The beats on the other hand are relaxed but simple. Some would say effective, but they don't do anything for me.

It sounds like a great first album of a great artist. Still with a lot of rough edges, and on the balance of the rock 'n' roll and new wave.

Steve Winwood writes nice intros to songs

I'm not a big fan of live albums, but I might make an exception for this one. Where I know Sam Cooke normally from his smooth and somewhat boring studio work, this is something entirely different. There's a lot of soul, swing, power and music in this. It sweats, it cracks, and his voice is great. If I would now have to recommend someone to listen what Sam Cooke is, I'd refer them to this album, and not to any of his studio albums. It has changed my perspective.

An absolute classic and what a debut. After dozens of listens I think The Suburbs might even be the better album, but this is superb.

Another album I'm ad I finally listened to. I'm ashamed to say I don't know much about Springsteen aside from his singles. This album was a bit of an eye-opener. Thunder Road, Backstreets and Jungleland are absolutely amazing. This is 40 minutes of rock classic.

I've played this album till it was worn and grey back in the 90's. Trip Hop at its finest. There's not a bad song on this album.

This was my introduction to Common and it was really quite a pleasure. In the barrage of crap rap and hiphop this was a breath of fresh air. Great lyrics, great music and no need to shout.

A She-bob album by an artist that showed she was 'out there' and that's indeed how the music sounds. There's really nothing wrong with her voice and the songs jump up and down. It's a very happy 80's pop album. I've seen her in concert in the 2010's and later on in life she has gone in a somewhat different direction, with a bit better songs but also a lot less success. Time After Time might be the only song that really holds up after all this time (after time). And the score might've been a bit higher if the album finished after the first 6 songs. Reasonable debut by a talented artist, but not one of the best albums in the world, not even one of the best by Cyndi Lauper.

A strange pick for an Alice Cooper album because this is not even close to his best. Relistening this, I also put on Killer, Billion Dollar Babies and Love It To Death, in my opinion all 3 better albums than this one. The opener, that everyone know, is brilliant. School's Out really is a classic. But the rest of the album is not up to standard of the opening song and plays on 2 minds between rock and musical, and it's just not doing it for me. After 3 listens I put on some of his other work and have been rocking out at my desk this workday

Listened to the album 3 times. It's a good album, with sound collages, incredible harmonies and clever music. It just doesn't do anything for me, doesn't elicit any emotion. In the end I just zone out with this music.

Really one of the best Bowie has released. After the soulful era came this Thin White Duke. 4.5*

The album starts off amazing, but isn't consistent throughout in my opinion. The first 6 tracks are the best of what the French funky techno scene had/has to offer. But after Phantom Pt II the album collapses, and songs like DVNO and Tthhee Ppaarrttyy are just annoying. It goes up a little again with Waters, but not enough. 3,5*

I'm listening to a brilliant songwriter who didn't give two cents about commercialism and that's abundantly clear. It's getting better with every listen. On the 4th listen I still hear more amazing transitions. It's a very curious album that is walking a thin line between unbridled creative genius and rambly outtakes that could've stayed that way. I'm putting it on 4 stars but wouldn't be surprised if I find myself coming back to this album in a few years and giving it the full 5

Probably the most raw Smiths albums, both lyrically as musically. It's a bit harder and a bit more serious than other albums (even though there's still enough humour to be found) The speedy funky basslines on this album in combination with Marr's incredible guitar-work really get a lot more swing going than on other albums. And Morrissey has things to say about hitting children ("Barbarism Begins At Home"), eating meat ("Meat Is Murder"), Depression ("That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore") Homosexuality and also unrequited love in the absolutely beautiful "Well I Wonder". "Gasping - dying - but somehow still alive this is the final stand of all I am Please keep me in mind" An absolute 5* amazing album, front to finish. Even the lesser songs are top.

This really does nothing for me, and I like my hard-rock. It's stock-standard music with lyrical that are utter piffle and are so below par it's painful. I know KISS from their Alive Albums, and am aware they're a great live band. But musically, lyrically and production wise, this is empty for me.

This is a sleazy unremarkable glamrock album which grabs their influences from Alice Cooper to the New York Dolls. The songs are very stock-standard, 13-in-a-dozen. Never bad, but never achieving anything more than mediocrity. Thus far, 50 albums in, I have the feeling that the creators of the list of 1001 albums you must hear before you die never really enjoyed hard rock much because the inclusion of the albums are terrible, even though there's so much greatness to be found in the genre.

Simple music done extremely well, with a voice for the ages. I'm digging it.

Re-listening after years I have to be honest that it has lost quite a bit of its appeal. Now this came out when I was discovering punk and even in those days was not my favourite. Some songs still stand up fiercely over time, like Genocide, Come Out and Play and the title track, but the other half have lost something over time, like It'll Be a Long Time, Self Esteem and Killboy Powerhead. 3,5*

This kind of album really is not my thing normally, but I'll gladly make an exception for this one from here on out. This might be one of the best folk albums ever written. What a stunning and heartfelt album.

It's very decent pop/rock album and Alanis sure can sing. But it never rises above that sublime single "You Oughta Know" with its Chili Pepper basslines and guitar. The rest of the album never gets bad anywhere, but it's all very radio-friendly produced pop music. I would've loved for this album to just be that bit more Flea and Navarro and a little less Glen Ballard. It's an album I wouldn't turn off when it's playing, but also not one I'd put on myself

A tale of two sides. Side A and Side B. Side A of this album is probably the weakest The Police have released in their career. Synchronicity I and II are both nicely rocking songs and save this side a bit. Especially II. The songs "Mother" and "Miss Gradenko" take away at least one star from the album. So incredibly bad. Then comes part B, starting with the overplayed "Every Breath You Take," followed by everything The Police became admired for in "The King Of Pain." "Wrapped Around Your Finger" and "Tea In The Sahara" belong to the best that the Police have ever done and the jazzy "Murder By Numbers," which was, iirc, a b side to Every Breath finished this side strong. 2* for the first half of the album, 5* to the second half.

Music is emotion. And there's a lot of that on this album. Of the darker kind. The album isn't perfect, but almost there. 4.5*

This is the album to introduce people to Frank Zappa with. Especially when you're a rocker and a bit into jazz this is where you start before you dive into the man's immense back catalogue. If you're into instrumental solo's, whether guitar, clarinet, bass, violin, drums, this is the album for you. This album got it all and is likely one of the best Zappa has released.

I kinda only knew Joni Mitchell from that one hit (Taxi) and the Prince cover, but I'm very glad I finally fully listened to some more of her music. The album is an amazing combination of folk and jazz.

It's one of those really good debut albums where you can hear what on later albums will become amazing. But this one is just too disjointed.

A typical Verve album with ups and downs, where you start skipping several songs on the album, but really listen to the few marvels on here (like History)

I was pleasantly surprised by this Kinks album. I mostly knew their rambly (but pretty cool) older era music, but this is more room for the songwriting. The songs become a lot better than I know of them and even though you can hear beatle-esque inspiration on some songs (especially the opener) they're creating an own style. I do want to give the singer a hug though, he really wasn't going through the best of times it seems.

Listened to Die Mensch-Maschine, I just like this album just that little better in the original German, especially Das Model. I grew up with this music, my dad put this in my casette player when I was just 3 years old. And I enjoyed it back then and still do. Classic

I'll be terribly honest, but Leonard Cohens old music never did it for me. And I've given this album another 4 listens and tried. But even though I really enjoy his poetry/lyrics and know how good of a songwriter he is, most of the songs just leave me feeling... nothing. I know I'm probably alone in this, but I like his later work better

The major hit More Than A Feeling and two songs after (Peace Of Mind and Foreplay / Long Time) are really quite good. Everything after that is decidedly mediocre. The production on this album is really quite good, especially for the time. They seem to have been able to get this full bodied sound, where a lot of their contemporaries struggled.

Definitely the album where it all came together for Zeppelin. The mysticism of III, combined with the rock of I & II

At first listen I didn't really know what to do with the album, but with the second and third listen it started to grow on me. The songs are of a high variance in quality, but there's power and emotion enough to be found

What a great discovery. This is just a superb album that I kept listening to on repeat. The fretless bass makes this album even one step better than the songwriting already does. I hear influences of Roxy Music and Bowie, and you'll definitely hear where 80's bands like Duran Duran got their inspiration. Absolutely great album from start to end with no bad songs in between. Even as a big VU & Lou Reed fan, I really could appreciate the cover of All Tomorrow's Parties. Fall In Love With Me & In Vogue are my two favourite tracks 4,5*.

Neil Young, drunk, recording an album in one night, to recover from the loss of 2 of his mates. "I'm singin' this borrowed tune I took from the Rolling Stones, Alone in this empty room Too wasted to write my own." There's a lot of raw emotion here and at times a terrible voice. I get why this a classic and why Neil Young is revered. It's just... not for me.

Well, wasn't that a surprise. Aerosmith does indeed Rocks. I'll be honest, I only really knew the band from their 'MTV-years' and never really had taken the time to listen to their back catalog because of it. Something I wished I knew before I was in my 40's

I have listened to this album twice now and I just don't get the generally positive reviews. The album actually makes me almost angry, that's how much I disliked it. This is the epitome of what was wrong in the 80's (even though there also was a lot of great music). It sniffed New Wave but doesn't seem to get it, saw soul from a distance, uses filler sounds like a trumpet or harmonica to make the music sound smarter than it is. Ugh.

Yeah, I'm glad they got better over time

The album falls short compared to their later work. Safe From Harm and Unfinished Sympathy are beautiful though.

"Sing out loud We all die Laughing into the fire"

The guitar riffs are great, the bassplay is amazing, the lyrics are as non-sensical as always. But the whole thing is flat. From production to songwriting, it's safe and a bit empty.

Sometimes an album just click after a second or third listen. This was one of them. I have owned the album for quite a while and might've listened to it once or twice. Never got into it, I thought The Who had made much better. Now years later re-listening it on a 3rd and 4th listen and it fully clicked. It's an amazing album.

It's beautiful and esoteric. And one of the best singers that's ever graced this earth. But this album is just not their best work.

It's an ok album till Dancewitme, it's very easy soul with just a little flair of funk. But starting from 'Til the Cops Come Knockin' the album collapses into generic RnB. Listened 3 times, and will not put this on ever again.

This was one of the best albums of the genre around that time. Especially when they slow down, with Bittersweet Symphony, Sonnet, Lucky Man and Drugs Don't Work they're at their best. Good album. Not great. 3,5*

It's a hiphop classic, and you know where a lot of famous bands got their sounds from. Still, it' decidedly simplistic album, beats wise and lyric wise. Some songs are quite catchy though. Jay's Game, Rock Box and Sucker MC's in particular.

Singing this album from front to back. It's one of my youth favourites. From Out Of Nowhere grabbed me the first time I heard it. It's album 3 of the band that was still growing. Album 4 was their masterpiece.

5* One of the best albums of the 2000's. The deceptive easiness of the songs will give up their depth after a few listens. City With No Children is a truly amazing song

It's nice and funky, a fun time to find all the samples. The time before hiphop had to be a certain way. And they've got something to say luckily. But it never transcends into a great album. Enjoyable and very listenable. Just not great.

Amazing voice that pulls you into the songs and music

This album sounds a bit as if Elvis Costello felt like starting a punk-rock band in the 90's with a brass section. And there's nothing wrong with that. It rocks away really well. The brass section gives it a little more schwung. But it's not really either catchy or punk enough to really hold interest long.

Back in the 90s I found this a bit of a let down after the great 'Live Through This.' Now listen to this album again. It's just a good alt-rock album that balances between the poppy sound of the era and the grunge of the previous album. It all sounds radio-friendly enough and I think that was the purpose of this album. You can clearly hear the influences of Melissa Auf Der Maur and Billy Corgan in addition to the songwriting violence of Courtney Love. Because of this, the album sometimes sounds a bit limping on different thoughts. But besides the somewhat slick and smooth songs, like Awful, which drag the album down as far as I'm concerned, other songs work a bit better, like Malibu, Reasons To Be Beautiful and the beautiful (and for me best song) Northern Star All in all a little less black and dark than its predecessor, and just a good rock album.

Tja... It's ok folk music. I wouldn't get annoyed if it played somewhere in the background. But I also wouldn't be intrigued to listen to more of it. His original is at least better than Nillsons version.

It's just a really great pop album. Quality.

Listening to this album I think Tom Waits might've listened to it once or twice. It's nicely smooth jazz, but in my limited knowledge of Jazz, nothing really special

This album filled me with an urge to break LP's. This really does nothing for me, just makes me annoyed

This is everything I dislike in Country music. Please no.

Score 4* for the Jamaican version of it, before the additions

This IS the pulsating rhythmical remedy! It's an incredible album and totally blew my mind when it was released. Listening back to it, I am still fully rocking out to the best rave album that was released when the rave-scene was slowly on its way out. It returned to the feelings of anti-authoritarian punk and hiphop, but is a full rave album, with influences from both. The song that brought me to the album 28 years ago was No Good (Start The Dance) with its breakbeats and might for me still be the best dancehall song ever made. Where the album really comes out is in the song that has all the rockrave influence in it: Voodoo People. Other highlights are Break & Enter, Poison and Claustrophobic Sting Why no 5 stars? Even though all 13 songs differ wildly from each other, in this 78 minute opus, there are also a few lesser songs. They could've taken some of the 'fillers' out I'm afraid to make it perfect.

I did. I did listen without prejudice. Didn't dislike it. It's a decent pop album. Cowboys and Angels is a great song. Next.

I really don't know much about Kid Rock, but this album is just one of the worst fake rock/rap albums I've heard in my life. And I finished it even, gave it a full chance. These lyrics are such highschool bullshit, I don't even know where to start on this one.

This is one of the best Salsa albums I've ever heard. Now I don't know much about it, but the complexity and musicality are on par with the best I've heard. Great album!

It's a good album and I remember it slightly from when it was popular. It paved the way for a whole swath of immensely talented musicians from the African continent to get some recognition in Western charts and sales. This album by itself is a bit slick, very 80's, even with the afrobeats.

A great listening experience from a very very talented songwriter.

This album feels quite dated and a bit uninteresting, especially after hearing their B.E.F. sides of 6 months before this.

Elvis Costello is one of the best. And this is one of the best of Elvis Costello. This album doesn't have any hits, or numbers that really stick out, but it's quality throughout the album, with superb lyrics and musical arrangements. I personally prefer the more new wavy and straightforward Costello, but this is a class album

It's a very country & western sound with some folky influences. With the flutes, violin, slide guitar, banjo it has quite a slick Americana sound. The songwriting certainly isn't bad, but this really isn't for me. It's foundation is too much of the twangy country sound.

It's your typical 60's pop album. Really nothing special. There was much more quality around at that time. California Dreaming is still a great song though, but rises above the rest of the album.

Another album where the hand of David Bowie revives a legendary artist, like he did with Lou Reed. This album's A-Side is full of amazing songs, Lust For Life, Sixteen even The Passenger. It falls slowly away during side B with a few missers, so it's a 4* rather than a 5* album.

It's pretty daring starting your album with a Neil Young cover, but it's a fun one! Unfortunately, for me, the album just continues without reaching any heights or standout songs. Sarah Cracknells voice makes it a pleasurable listen. A bit like a less dark and more easy-going poppy Portishead. It's really not a bad album and I didn't mind the 3 full listens, but it has not opened any deeper sound or feeling. A 3,5* album

Tito Puente is apparently the king of latin jazz, but it's a lot less memorable than I thought it would be. I'm not sure who the singer is, but she is definitely a plus to this album, her warm voice really suits the atmosphere of the album. For the rest, I really have heard better latin jazz

The first listen made me prick up my ears, since I am quite fond of what I know of the synth-art-pop genre. But after a third and fourth listen, is really does not leave a lasting impression. The opening two tracks form the highlight of the album, and it goes a little bit down from there. The melancholy that people seem to like from this album sounds a bit too dreary to me after a while. 3,5*

I saw someone else doing this, and decided to keep a score like this as well: Quality of Album: 9/10 1001 album list worthy: 10/10 Personal enjoyment: 8/10 Juanita ; Kiteless ; to Dream of Love is the intense and powerful opener you'd want on any dance album. Followed up by ambient breakbeat of Banstyle / Sappys Curry as second song it almost doesn't get better in the genre. And that's the first half hour already filled. On the bonus CD is the song Cherry Pie and that might be the best Underworld has ever released.

Noisy, raw, energetic and with a lot of depth.

Jazz, funk, soul, electronic and hip-hop, in an electrifying concept album mix. Listening to this I realise what I've missed when I stopped listening to hiphop due to the insane amount of dribble that kept flooding the market. I'm glad to know things like this exist. One of the better hiphop albums I've heard in my life

13 songs in 33 minutes of full blown energetic, raw rock & roll. The guitar sound is sharp, the music rocks and rambles, the drums are loud and Frank Black sounds like he's bordering on a meltdown. The importance of this album in music history, can't be overstated. It's where the 90's began in the 80's. Still, not every song on this album is a bullseye. A song like Cactus feels like filler. And there's one or two other misses. It's such a pleasure listening to it though, it gives off vibes of happiness

I really like Sonic Youth and this is their most accessible I think. It was a bit of a changeover from their earlier albums, and it sounded a bit more clean, especially with the production. It's an album I can still listen to on repeat. Not a masterpiece, but just great noisy rock 'n' roll

Listening to this, it's a fun and uptempo album with a range of good producers, like Timbaland to the Neptunes. And they leave their respective marks on the songs. But the album as a whole has way too much filler in between some really decent songs. Not a standout.

The only positive thing I can say about this is that they really know how to sing in harmony with each other. But that's about all. There has been quite a bit of country in this list, and I've given all albums a fair go, but I just can't. It's not for me, I don't understand it, and I'm even unable to hear if it's good or bad country. Online searches have lead me to believe this is an important album in the genre. Personal Enjoyment: 0/10 1001-list-worthy: 4/10 (I'll take other people's word for it)

From the first to the last minute you're covered in this wall of guitar sound that could either pick you up or annoy the hell out of you. I'm in the former camp and consider this debut of Oasis as their best album. The strong songwriting of Noel and the fact that Liam actually did show up to the studio these years to sing the songs (which he does a lot better than his brother) makes this a raw rock 'n' roll album. Some songs are indeed a bit better than others, but songs like Supersonic, Slide Away and Live Forever are standing strong. And I don't care that Cigarettes and Alcohol is a complete T.Rex ripoff. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Personal Enjoyment: 4/5 1001-Worthy: 5/5

I have always found it hard to rate Boards Of Canada because there is a huge discrepancy between my knowledge of how clever and good this is and my enjoyment of listening to it. I understand the warmth and everything, but the ambient soundscapes of this album just don't do anything for me. Personal Enjoyment: 6/10 1001 Album List-worthy: 10/10

Hunting High & Low is very much a mid-80s album. Accessible synth-pop made at a time when it was a commercially safe choice. Nevertheless this album has two things that set it a little apart: Firstly, the beautifully emotional voice of Harket and secondly, the melancholic tone of many of the songs. It ensures that this album goes just a little deeper than many of its contemporaries. And even though there is really nothing wrong with the songwriting, it really does have the 80's issues of filler sounds, the need to fill up silences with an extra synth-trumpet, drumcomputer-loop and background violin. Especially clear in the song Hunting High And Low. Solid Debut for this Norwegian Band and I'm glad to have learned about songs like The Blue Sky and Here I Stand And Face The Rain

It funks, it rocks, it's a classic.

This really doesn't do it for me and I'm surprised this is still such a revered album. Leonard just hasn't got a voice to carry an album with very mediocre songs. And the clever lyrics are rather dull. The Leonard Cohen that actually became a bit darker and clever later in life is much more up my alley.

It listens as the album where Radiohead mixed the elements from their rockier-oriented career start with their later electronic experimental style. Call it a Kid A meets OK Computer. This was certainly not an album I 'got' in just one listen. It has taken a few proper sessions to get through the somewhat dark and inaccessible layers this album has. Not just musically, but lyrically the band seems to be a lot more cynical and angry than I've known them. But I'm enjoying the album more with every listen, mostly because there's so much to discover with every playthrough. There are so many details that are revealed with each new listen, and those details are presented in a truly varied way. There is rarely any repetition; the variety is huge and you're traveling quickly from one place to another, which sometimes makes the album feel a bit disjointed at the start. But after a few listens I think only We Suck Young Blood is a lesser song on a truly great album. Slowly this might be becoming one of my favourite Radiohead albums. I'm putting it at 4,5*, but this album might end up as a 5* album in a few years if I revisit it.

There's a few things going through my mind for rating this album. Going to take a star off for basically stealing every song and claiming credits Going to put an extra star on because these versions are truly the best versions of these songs Going to take a star off for the song "You Shook Me" Going to have to put 2 stars extra on for the raw and rocking "Babe I'm gonna leave you" Going to take a star off for cringy lyrics like “Every day I work so hard, bringin' home my hard-earned pay/ Try and love you baby but you push me away,” Giving a star back for this being their debut. All in all, this is freaking rocking. The songwriting of Zeppelin definitely became better over time, but never was it this raw, blues and energetic.

The great strength and beauty of this record lies in minimalism. The atmosphere is masterfully portrayed. Every beat and sound is in exactly the right place and hits the spot. Not a note too much or too little. It's for me just unfortunate that the album sounds like it wasn't finished, which, after some Googling, seems to be exactly what happened. Money budget was so short they couldn't re-record songs because the tape ran out. Masterful, minimalistic, atmospheric, mystical, beautiful. 4,5*

This album is pure garage rock 'n' roll. Rhythmically all over the place, with some killer riffs. With just a guitar and drums. I don't think you need to look deeper into it than that. Hardest Button To Button might be my favourite White Stripes song. 4*

It's at least better than the kitschy mess that's A Bridge Over Troubled Water. The music is nothing special, but that's how I've always felt about S&G

I don't think I need to explain this album to anyone. It's an absolute masterpiece, whether you like the Beatles or not. And it would be a 10/10 album if Yellow Submarine wasn't on here. Now it's a 9/10. Taxman is also one of the best songs Harrison ever wrote. The tempo, the bassline, the extra cowbell, the sneering lyrics, the guitar solo. It's nigh on perfect.

Unfortunately only been able to give it one full listen, but was impressed with what I heard.

It's a greatly enjoyable rock-album and probably the best the Manics have ever made, with the pain from all of them on missing Richey Edwards as a guiding thread through the album, even though the songs are quite hopeful. After a while the 'wall-of-sound' production makes the songs sound alike a bit, with only the real standout songs (especially the first three) jumping out. Still, an album I listened to with much pleasure.

This is always the record that I use to introduce people to the wonderful world of PJ Harvey. This is all a bit lighter, rockier and poppier than much of her other work. Although it does a lit less to me than much of her other albums, it is not inferior in quality and always a pleasure to put this on.

An album I've never listened to before now. And I've heard a lot of these songs before because they've been covered by bands I like (This Mortal Coil, Placebo, Jeff Buckley) or are covers themselves like Femme Fatale. A very interesting ramschackle of an album that seems to have had more success among musicians than it did commercially. And now listening to the entire album a 4th time it dawns on me why it is. My first listen was a decidedly 'meh'-experience. But it sure is growing, into an album I would listen to again and again, especially songs like Holocaust and Kanga Roo. It's dark, it's emotional it's terribly played. Absolutely amazing album. 4,5*

A very jazzy album from a talented voice and songwriter. Some great music on this album but my main issue is the Alicia Keys-like drumcomputer in some songs like You Sent Me Flying. Lots of songs could have shone a lot more with a better production. But I know that happened on the next album!

This is the 3rd Elvis Costello album coming past on my list, and I'm only 140 albums in. Side A has two highlights: opening song "Accidents Will Happen", with its lovely melody, and Party Girl, a somewhat languid song, different from the rest of the album with some nice piano work. On the B-side, Busy Bodies in particular stood out, with a faded intro, uptempo and this albums characteristic organ; again that fresh new wave atmosphere. And yet, the other songs do much less for me, even after repeated rotations. While at the same time, they do rise above the average, I hear that. I don't really understand why they bore me faster than most of the songs on the other 2 albums I've heard. This album is a great, fresh, up-tempo and razor-sharp produced record, to which I nevertheless and to my surprise can only award 3*

Brothers in Yawns. I won't give this the long review and multiple listens it (probably) deserves. But this elevator-rock really does nothing for me. 'Brothers in Arms' and 'Money For Nothing' are great tracks in their own right. So there's 2 stars for this album. But 'Walk Of Life' is just annoying, songs like 'Why Worry' and 'Ride Across The River' are nothing more than snoozefests without any depth. 'The Man's Too Strong' and 'One World' are unnecessary tracks.

Dire Straits' first and best album. An album with an atmosphere where you could see Tarantino creating some of his best scenes. It's bit more playful and less boring and perfectionistic than their later work.

Dylan at his best. What a discovery. Of course I knew Dylan from his hits (and the well-known Blonde on Blonde and Highway 61 albums.) But I never really listened to this one and must say I personally think this might be Dylan's best! Sparkling, bitter, sneering, intimate AND intense music.

It's not bad but it really isn't more than that. It's a re-listen because I've heard the album before in the 90's. Even then I had the same feeling. It's not bad, but it never stands out. The single version of Wilmot was a lot more interesting than the version they put on the album.

Even though you're jumping into the hippy-folk from the first tones, I didn't mind this eclectic and inventive folk album. This is especially due to the amazingly talented guitarists on this album who bring a very psychedelic tone to the whole.

The title track is immediately symbolic of the entire record: extremely simplistic, with a different chord only at the end of the third line, continuously repeated riffs, a minimalistic guitar solo, a rustic text full of country town pleasures, an accompaniment that has no frills – but it works. The melodies immediately stick in your head, bobbing along, the voice of Fogerty is honest and superb, the band swings and the overall sound is somewhere between rock and rockabilly, with a little less blues and a bit more country than on earlier albums.

The album starts off really strong (with the exception of her annoying posturing chats in amongst the songs) but after a couple of listens I'd have to say this might be the least of Missy's albums. Timbaland and Elliot's beats are just groovy and they're trying to get a bit of that old school soul and hiphop feeling here, but after a few songs it feel like they just weren't fully in it. As for all the guest appearances, Ludacris has never been one of my favourite rappers, Jay-Z is not adding anything special, 50 Cent is not nearly as bad as most people make him out to be, but it's not a good last song of the album. The TLC colab "Can You Hear Me," would've been a better choice. One good appearance is Method Man though. Love his work in Bring The Pain. Also I'm always smiling with the Beastie Boys references, like in Work It All in all, not a bad album, but not really special either.

What is there to say about this album that hasn't been said so many times before. This album doesn't have a weak moment, all songs are absolutely right. It's an album with the atmosphere of night. One of my few 5*

MC Solaar shows what hip-hop can be, relaxing jazzy beats with incredible raps. Now the message of the album unfortunately passes me by a bit, but that is by no means an obstacle to any enjoyment you can get from the album. The first half of the album, with its Gang Starr influenced eclectic mix of hip hop, jazz, funk, reggae and the French troubadour style, ending with the great hip hop ballad Caroline is a classic in its style and would be a 5* album Unfortunately, there's also the second half of the album, a bit of half-hearted dub style that brings the album down and was a bit unnecessary. So it ends with 4*

On the one hand you have Strange Brew, Sunshine Of Your Love and the best song of the album: Tales Of Brave Ulysses. On the other hand you have Blue Condition and Take It Back which both really shouldn't be on the album. Mother's Lament I can take as a funny, if somewhat discordant ending. And every music lover knows the Bruce, Baker and Clapton story of Cream. But this, to me, is an ok blues-inspired psychedelic rock-album. With hits and misses.

It was 2001, rock music was at its lowest level in decades and all of a sudden there was this album called Is This It by a group called The Strokes, from NYC, that played uncomplicated rock 'n' roll. An album that influenced a lot of new bands in the early 2000's and brought about a revival of the alternative rock-band scene. And this is by no means a bad album, it's simplistic and passionate rock 'n roll. But looking past the immense influence this album had, truth be told, it's not that this has really added something special to the ever-growing rock history. It's good, but it's not great, it's not inventive, it's nothing new. 3,5*

Not a single moment of boredom while listening this album, but it's all a bit too safe. The album feels like a cross between blues-folk-rock bands like The Band and prog acts like early Genesis. And anyone who can appreciate a dash of jazz will also like John Barleycorn Must Die. 3.5*

Tom Waits is one of my favourite artists of all time but this is not one of my favourite albums I'm afraid. I like this as the semi-live showcase for Tom's showmanship it is. His banter is amazingly funny and the jazz quartet he took in the studio with him are incredible. You can quote hundreds of lines from this album. Still, in the end, it's the music that counts and Waits has made better than the ones on this album. Bad? No, it's still Tom Waits. Just a little lower tier than most of his other work.

Everytime I hear an album of Sonic Youth I absolutely adore it and wonder why I'm listening to it more often. Everytime I tell myself to dive deeper into the whole discography and listen to the rest over and over as well till all the creaks and squeeks of every album are ingrained in my head. Until the next time I'm hearing a Sonic Youth album and I tell myself the same again.

I always gave Anthrax a wide berth for one reason or the other. But this album definitely showed why they were considered part of the Big 4 in Thrash Metal.

There are the big four records of the Stones (Beggars Banquet, Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers & Exile On Main St.) and this one is like the Beatle's White Album. And for me that means it's a bit too long and the real fans adore it. I like it. It's rock 'n roll and the band really feels like they know what they're doing at this stage. They're pulling off every genre within the Stone's repertoire. It's a really good album, but I'll let other persuade me why it would be their best, because I can't hear it (yet)

It's a great slick and happy album to listen to. Not as jumpy as their first, but a bit more polished. Good music.

Absolute killer voice. Reasonable songs.

I like me some good hiphop, but overall I just find this a very inconsistent album, with on one hand some absolute great songs (TakeOver, U Don't Know, Renegades) and on the other atrocious missteps like Girls Girls Girls and Never Change. I seem to always be in the minority when it comes to this album. I have a lot of time for Jay-Z, but this isn't just fully it. Would love to see an album with the quality of the top songs throughout. And this just isn't it. 3,5*

This morning I was walking in the nearby wetlands, on a foggy morning. Revisiting this album. I almost forgot how warm, ethereal and beautiful music can make me feel. This is one of the most amazing pieces of music ever made.

It's the famous Beatles White Album. A record I've heard dozens of times during my life, and it's the typical double-album with double-album issues. There are some masterful songs on here, but also some songs I loathe with such a passion I could never rate it as high as some of the Beatles' other works than are just amazing albums start to finish. An album where I start skipping songs is just not worthy of 5*. Still, the album never gets boring and the Beatles play a wide range of songs and styles. Stay for: While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Happiness Is A Warm Gun, I'm So Tired, Julia, Helter Skelter, Long Long Long Skip every time: Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da, The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill, Rocky Raccoon, Honey Pie, Sexy Sadie, Revolution No.9

Normally I would try and write this a bit more subtle and less crude. I actually like symphonic rock but thought this was a whole bunch of wank. One extra star for the musicianship

I have been told by several friends that this is a true masterpiece of its era. But I can't do much with it. I like about half of the songs after 5 listens and the rest either go one ear in, one ear out or I actually dislike them. The psychedelica/folk combo is not for me.

What an amazingly intense album on survival. The songs are incredibly strong, her voice broken and you can feel power, pain and disillusionment throughout the album. And an absolutely haunting version of Working Class Hero to boot. 4,5*

Goo is always my recommendation as a starting point for anyone wanting to go on a Sonic Youth tour. It is rough and - with the layered guitars - noisy enough compared to their previous records. On the other hand, it has acquired a bit more of an alt-rock appeal because there are some more structured songs with a starting and end point. For me this album has the perfect balance between the two giants on both sides of this album (Daydream Nation and Dirty). There really isn't a note wrong on Goo and the song Disappearer is the best they've ever released. And from here you can slowly return to the delicious raw creativity of Sister and EVOL. But this album is rock solid.

You have live albums and then you have live albums

This was a surprisingly good album. I've listened to and not disliked Megadeth whenever one of my friends played it, but this is the first album that really stands out. An absolute masterpiece of the thrash era. Musically, especially the first couple of songs, are the absolute top. And whatever you think of Mustaines voice, it surely adds a uniquely Megadeth sound.

It's the first album where the Beach Boys show a bit more that they're talented. Where Brian Wilson takes the time to write songs. It's the step between their surfpop and Petsounds. You can hear it's coming, it's just not there yet.

Very briefly: Duran Duran popped up and I thought to myself: Ah yes, a nice 3* album, just the standard 80s. I was so terribly wrong, I think this is an incredible album. I really had no idea anymore. How did I dismiss this all these years as 'just another 80's band' The bass, the melodies, everything on this album is just right. I'm not skipping a song. Personal Favorites: My Own Way and New Religion 4.5*

Elvis is great by voice on this album, but I'm just not a fan. Album gets 1 bonus star for the great rendition of fever though.

It's not a bad album, but there's so much better music from Senegal than this specific album.

Aqualung is of course Jethro Tull's best-known album and is generally known and loved by rock fans (The titletrack and Locomotive Breath will still be heard anywhere, and you'll find them on rocklovers lists). It is indeed the best introductory album to Jethro Tull. However, as I've been told by many of Tull fans, this is probably not their best work. That honor goes to the more progressive Thick As a Brick. Still, Aqualung has enough highlights for a successful listen. The title track is magnificent and My God also remains Jethro Tull at their top.

I didn't give this album the listening time it deserved. Only listened to it once during a car trip. Didn't mind it.

The first song is a classic and I really gave the rest of the album several go's, but I can't remember a single note anymore. It's all quite forgettable

It is truly remarkable how many songs and lyrics can be remembered after 35 years. I listened to this album on repeat when it came out; I was only 8 years old and a huge fan of Michael. And after all these years I was able to sing and/or hum along to every song except "Leave Me Alone", which I just discovered wasn't on the cassette (!) release. Listening back now, I really recognize how my music taste and knowledge have changed over the years. Where as a little boy I thought the song "Bad" was by far the best of the album, it is now one of the lesser songs in my ears. BAD is Michael Jackson who became a little less funky and a little more pop/rock. Now the poppy side is ok, but I'm actually more surprised how well his voice fits the more rocking tracks like "Dirty Diana", or the almost prince-esque track of "Speed ​​Demon". And these songs, along with "Man In The Mirror", are real highlights of the album. Other songs that put a smile on my face are "Smooth Criminal" and "The Way You Make Me Feel" But to put the nostalgia aside, this is certainly not a great album in every way. I find songs like "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" a listless trifle, "Just Good Friends?" almost instantly forgettable and "Another Part of Me" feels very strained and unnecessary on the album. Ultimately, the album has more ups and downs, and - since he wrote 9 of the 11 songs himself - it shows that Jackson was a talented songwriter. But even though the album has been hugely influential on pop-music, I can't say it's great throughout.

It just isn't for me. It's good for the style and one of the Byrds' best works as far as I've heard

This is an album that will stay on high rotation for a while

It's never been a love affair and it'll never become anything between S&G and myself. You can hear on this album how Paul Simon is a gifted songwriter and lyricist. And while I appreciate his craft, these albums are just not for me. On album 1 they started off folk. Album 2 became a bit rockier Album 3 (this one) is a bit more poetic, Album 4 is a bit more psychedelic Album 5 was a kitsch monstrosity. I've had 4 of them now in this list. Hopefully this was the last one.

A proto-punk 70's album, somewhere between 1960's The Doors and 1980's Black Flag. A good listen!

A double album of really 4 different themed sides. I would guess that this would make the most sense on the LP's on which this was originally released. If you felt like some bluegrass you'd put on Side 2, if you were in the mood for something heavier, you'd put on Side 4. Which for me would mean I could skip a side because when this album goes from side 1's great latin-rock into the country on side 2, my mind starts wandering and i feel the need to start skipping songs. I recognize the quality of the songs, I hear the amazing songwriting and musicianship, but it's just not my style and will never be. The folk on Side 3 and Bluesrock on Side 4 are once again more to my liking fortunately. All in all is this an incredible album, with quality songs throughout and that's not something you see much on double-albums. This might in fact be one of the best double-albums of all time.

An interesting album by the Temptations. I read about this album being the transition album from Motown to the funk of later years. I would therefore expect that there would be a lot of songs with a combination of styles, but strangely enough the songs are either Motown or funk. The funk, mainly on the A side, appeals to me a lot more than the Motown, especially on the B-side. The cover of 'I Heard it Through the Grapevine' should not have been necessary and is quite poor. All in all, I don't think this is a bad album at all, but for me it's not the masterpiece some people are talking about.

It's a funkadelic funkalicious funktastically funky Parliament album. The Mothership came down and influenced thousands of artists in the years to come.

It's one of the albums out of R.E.M's incredible productive era, 6 albums in 6 years. And this one falls in between the other two great albums Life's Rich Pageant and Green. But where the other two albums are a bit more stable in their quality, does Document have some of the best and worst songs of this period on them. It starts incredibly strong with "Finest Worksong" and "Welcome To The Occupation". It goes down a bit with "Strange" and "Exhuming McCarthy" then picks up immensely with It's The End Of The World As We Know It," "The One I Love" and mostly "Fireplace." Then "Lightning Hopkins" pushes the album down again. It might not be a perfect album, but it's and album I will always listen to with a lot of pleasure. 4,5*

This is like a best-off album of CCR, but to me, it's all the lesser hits. It misses the power and conviction of some of their earlier work. And I know I'm almost alone in this opinion, judging by the average votes

Ah, one of the most famous albums of the 90's. This album shows the Chili Peppers at their peak creative form and thanks to producer Rick Rubin as a cohesive and great sounding band. But, clocking at 72 minutes, it's almost a double album and with it come double album problems. There are songs that feel like filler on this classic, and a small cull to make it 45 minutes might not have been misplaced.

This album has the feeling like you're listening to a theatrical rendition of the stories being relayed. So many songs are heavily orchestrated, some are the intermezzo ballads before bringing you back to movement III. And even though every song is vastly different than the rest and Rufus Wainwright is an incredible vocalist, plus the songs are all quality, this album certainly isn't for everyone. The lamentations, with Rufus and a piano, are overly romantic, and many of the songs are just over-the-top orchestrated. And to be honest, a lot of the songs really aren't all that good, with notable exceptions. Rufus Wainwright is clearly immensely talented, but for me, this album does not showcase that talent well.

I don't think I need to explain much here about this album. It's an absolute influential masterpiece in world music history and Stevie Wonder's Magnum Opus, Even though it's already his 18th(!) album, this has him playing, singing and writing at the peak of his creativity. Before it all crumbles apart and we go into the 80's. Absolutely packed with masterpieces like Sir Duke, I Wish, Pastime Paradise and If It's Magic.

Noise, layers, ethereal. It's such an amazing album.

While I enjoy some of their contemporaries like Genesis, Yes and Rush, I find it really hard to enjoy ELP. Someone on this site called it prog-for-prog sake and I totally agree with that assessment. Yes, they're amazing musicians, but a 20 minute song without start, finish or recurring theme to keep you hooked is just a miss. And side two of the LP didn't get better.

It was a great listen again. The poppy grunge, the clever lyrics and some killer songs

Obnoxious, sleazy, funny, dark, quirky and kitsch. And a bonus-point for Sex Dwarf, the absolute highlight of this album.

"Give the scum a gun and make the bugger fight. And be sure to have deserters shot on sight. If he dies we’ll send a medal to his wife.”

I appreciated this for his great voice, the music history relevance, inventiveness and for the song "You're Good For Me" But in the end all song are pretty much turning into a blur and after 3 listens, nothing really sticks, stands out or made really much impression

I really lost track of Rap / HipHop the last decade and a half because of the insane amount of absolute garbage that is being released in the genre. I'm glad I'm catching up on some excellent albums The production on this album is superb. And what I genuinely like about it is that besides a great flow, and excellent beats and melodies, the lyrics are actually the greatest strength on the album, much more than with a lot of his contemporaries. The Art of Peer Pressure and Money Trees are great coming of age stories. Swimming Pools and Good Kid (with the fantastic Pharell beats) are superb. The only dissonant on this album I find the weak Backseat Freestyle and Compton.

Whatever happened to Chicago if this is their first album? I went into this listen with a bare minimum knowledge of the band, only some of their famous singles of later periods like If You Leave Me Now and Hard To Say I'm Sorry. Songs that are not inviting for a music lover to search deeper into a bands repertoire. How wrong was I. Chicago Transit Authority is a great jazzy and soulful rock album with a copper wind section to boot. Lots of changes in tempo and styles, and some great musicians. It's not a 5* album due to the absolutely terrible "Free For Guitar," and the way too standard "South California Purples" But an amazing album for the rest. And I'll be listening to this again.

I've now listened to the album 4 times and I still don't know how I feel about it. It's got all the ingredients for me to enjoy it, but it has all gone past me very easily and nothing has stuck. A few times my ears pricked up with interesting parts of the (long) songs, but overall it just failed to hold my attention. Enjoyable listen, would never turn it off if it was playing somewhere, but not groundbreaking for me.

It might not be my Tom Waits' best album, but it's one of my favourite listens. It has everything Waits had up till this point. The pumping bluesrock Waits like "Heartattack and Vine" and "Downtown". The Jazzy Waits on a song like "In Shades." Then it has the orchestrated balled Waits on songs like "Saving All My Love For You" and "On The Nickel." Songs so bordering on kitsch that you'll only allow Waits to make them. And then there's the Waits best listened at night like "Ruby's Arms" Is it his best? No. But it's an underrated uncut gem.

A very relaxing and summary bossa-nova/samba album with a flair of jazz. The title of the albums covers what to expect. But with the exception of the opening song, it never gets exciting, it never peaks. It's very decent, but it's a watered down version of authenticity.

In 1996 I heard Novocaine For The Soul and hurried that afternoon to my local record store to listen, and buy, the album. The album with its weird cover, parental advisory sticker and emotional, quirky indie-rock music became one of my most loved albums of that year. And it has not lost any of its power over the years. The clever lyrics, the many beautiful tributes to his mentally ill sister, the wide array of techniques, samples, instrumentation and inspired production makes 'Beautiful Freak' one of the most interesting, and at times haunting, debut albums I've heard in my life. The songs go between samply dreamy to guitar grungy and the tracklist makes it you're never bored by alternating between styles throughout. And to think that this the prelude to Electro-Shock Blues, which might be even a better album.

I don't know what it is with Elliott Smith and me. I understand why people have this in their favourite album lists, I understand why Elliott is regarded as a very talented songwriter. It just never clicked for me. And have listened to the album 3 times over the last day. But it's all going past me.

It's some really nice jazz with the African/Cuban influences, especially on the drums. At times some relaxed jazz to have on in the background, other times uplifting jazz to dance to, but it never really gets special for me. I appreciate the importance of this album in music history and am glad I listened to it a few times, but will likely never put it on again.

A quick note on this album, but I've been enjoying this a lot. And album filled with smart lyrics, great bass and just all-round good musc. That's Entertainment might be one of the best pop songs ever written and the rest of the album is filled with great jams (pun not intended) It seems after the first 200 or so albums in this endeavor I've learned that I'm a bigger fan of New Wave and post-punk than I imagined.

A very enjoyable experience. This is Elvis on his best

This was a great listen. I got to know REM in the early 90's, and have followed them ever since, but never really gotten into Murmer. Glad I did a couple of listens, because it definitely is a grower of an album. Great debut album from a great band

It's been quite a listen for a lazy Sunday afternoon. I've seen the band live a few times because I have a friendgroup that sees the Butthole Surfers as genius. I really don't mind them, but the feeling of 'weird because weird' always keeps persisting.

This was great rock album to listen to. Especially the opening and closing songs are flaming, but I'm quite taken by the stranger songs like Bitter-sweet. Definitely an album that will stay in my playlists

Today, Missy Elliott's debut album is regarded as one of, arguably THE most important R&B and hip-hop albums by a female artist of the 1990s. Despite this, this album is far from flawless. Missy Elliott is still an intriguing character because she writes and—with Timbaland— produces her own songs. Furthermore she's talented in rapping and singing. The song material on the other hand falls short in many ways, especially lyrically, even if you can already tell that the production was ahead of its time in terms of sound. With those great trumpets and the well-crafted chorus, "Sock It 2 Me" is unquestionably the album's highlight. Although "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" makes good use of that sample, the verses that surround it just don't sound right with the background track or the sample lines. The laid-back vibe, along with a gorgeous guitar riff from Eddie Floyd's Check Me Out that plays throughout the song, makes a somewhat darker production like "Why You Hurt Me" appealing. But those stand out as the album's highlights. Although it might possibly be a result of the album's lackluster song selection, there are a lot of guest appearances that don't add anything (read: nothing really). It's also difficult to find anything good in songs like "They Don't Wanna Fuck With Me" because the lyrics are yet another example of how ridiculous they are. A mixed album across the board; so three stars.

A great listen. Busy day, no story attached

It's not an album I was Made To Love. Even though this album only clocks 28 minutes, every new song feels Just Too Much on whiteness and late 50's songwriting. Where the songs kept asking to Just Stick With Me, I couldn't help to Sigh, Cry, Almost Die with every note and harmony that was thrown my way. Even side B - with mostly songs written Felice and Boudleaux Bryant - could not give me a Change Of Heart. So How Come (No One Loves This Album)? The cover of Lucille tells the story. It's without power, without swagger. It's safe. It's plain-oatmeal-for-breakfast-music. The earliest rendition of the Bryant classic Love Hurts can't save the album either. So Baby, What Do You Want Me To Do? 1*

Is it possible to despise Morrissey, but still love The Smiths? The answer is: Yes Ofcourse

The selection of World Music in the 1001 list that I've gotten has been... lacklustre... to put it politely. But luckily I now know that albums like this one have been included as well. 40 minutes of incredible funky, danceable and high tempo afrobeats and samba. Especially the second half of the album with Cavaleiro Do Cavala Imaculado as the final highlight have made a great impression. Great album from, apparently, one of the icons of Brazilian music. I will look into some more of his repertoire.

I don't really mind U2, but there are a few things that make this album not a great album to me. First of all it's the production. The echo, background synth orchestration, extra choir in songs like Red Hill Mining Town really take away from the songs. Secondly, the album drops off after the first four songs. After the absolute highlight of this album (Bullet The Blue Sky) the album becomes a bit forgettable, with the exception of One Tree Hill It's really not bad, but also not great and I've never really understood the U2 fans' reverence for this album.

It's nice background music for a triphop album, but really nothing more. It didn't annoy nor excite me in any way.

It's been a long time I was this impressed with an album on first listen. I have always been aware of Aphex Twin, but never really listened to him. Until now. And it has opened up a whole new world of music. Maybe not all songs are of the same quality of Heliospan, Schottkey 7th Path or Ptolemy, but reading up I certainly see even more how genre defining this work is and where later Radiohead during their Kid A era got their inspiration. This is going to be played a lot more in the coming months and years.

I was happy to have given this a second and third listen, for the first listen did nothing to me. The rambling half punk only did something to me with their great cover of Heard It Through The Grapevine. But the second and third listen brought forth much more of the fun that this album has. Great tunes, great attitude. Punk

It's just a really good pop album. With the exception of clocks, the album flows great and it just really makes me wonder whatever happened to this band.

A great psychedelic garage rock album with some incredible songs like "I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night)" and "Get Me To The World On Time" and some songs that shouldn't have been on the album (Onie) Enjoyed this a lot!

An absolute topalbum in the nu-soul.

The repetitive character of the guitar riffs, the keystrokes and the rousing drumwork have an hypnotic effect on the music, and musically and lyrically it provides a somewhat nihilistic and grey view of the world. It is the link between the punk and the post-punk. Killing Joke succeeds in creating a the atmosphere and sound that is characteristic of the British urban environments in the early 1980s. The album cover also contributes to that feeling. Absolute masterpiece

This became much more of a pleasure to listen to than I thought on first listen. It's wonderfully dreamy, slightly experimental britpop like Elbow or Blur, but with the cheerful gloominess of Coldplay, Travis or The Verve. And then with a hint of Kula Shaker. It's a good blend of all the melancholic and melodic Britpop bands of that era, but this album stands by itself.

Even though the songs are a lot more straightforward than the two previous Velvet Underground albums, the same uneasy feeling of discontent and disconnect flows through me while listening to this album. Opener Candy Says is a bit of a strange one to me, is very slow, but it gets picked up shortly after by What Goes On. Pale Blue Eyes is absolutely beautiful and one of the best love songs ever written, even if it has the Lou Reed strangeness in story. The straightforward songs continue till the strange Murder Mystery - with its several stories and voices at the same time - which would've fitted perfectly on the John Cale experimental beginnings of the band. Only to have the drummer Moe Tucker close the album marvelously with the sweet After Hours. It is a great VU album, even if it doesn't have a Venus In Furs or Heroin on it.

Started this album with a complete open mind, I only really know a few of the singles. The first notes of Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine really surprised me. A great 80's baseline that could have come straight from bands like Duran Duran or Japan. Unfortunately these upbeat danceable tunes are hard to be found in the rest of the album. With the exception of the two major hits, which have justifiably become classics, most songs are songs by a mediocre uni-band. As someone on this site already proclaimed: "A few Killer, but mostly filler"

If this was just the first half of this double album, it would've been a full 5* album. Unfortunately the second half doesn't have the impact of the first half.

'Why can't a rockband sell a record to a Elton John or Michael Jackson-fan without losing your original market?' - Steve Clark (R.I.P) The goal of this album was very clear, make a rock album that would sell millions to a different audience than their contemporaries. And they succeeded insanely well with their hardrock bubble gum pop crossover. Incredibly catchy but with 68 minutes the album might've lost bit of filler to make it not strand into songs that are starting to sound the same in the end. But any band in this era would've loved to be able to pen something down like Gods Of War, which is the highlight of this album

Peter Gabriel's first solo record starts with 'Moribund the Burgermeister' that still contains quite a bit of the Genesis atmosphere of 'Lamb', but with the beautiful 'Solsbury Hill' Gabriel takes a different path. A perfect pop song with great lyrics and a catchy melody. Next song is the Bowie-like rocker 'Modern Love' makes it clear that this is going to be a varied album. When we continue in a kind of vaudeville style song with the somewhat strange 'Excuse Me' we are going all over the place. Together with Side B's 'Slowburn' and 'Waiting For The Big One' these are the songs on the album that drag it down from a superb debut. The songs feel too much all over the place. Closer 'Here Comes the Flood' is once again a brilliant song, and therefore a nice end to a fine solo debut. The stripped-down version of that song on 'Shaking the Tree' is also very worthwhile.

It's an album I'm glad I persisted with. I'm really quite fond of synthpop and new wave, but if it was only for Side A I'd have given up and would've been wondering why in the world this should be on a 1001 greatest album list. It gets interesting on the B Side of this album and the album finally gets lifted out of mediocrity with the last 4 songs, starting with the interesting "I Am The Law", turning into the great "Seconds" and ending in the classic "Don't You Want Me." 4 songs can't save an album, but is does make it stand out among contemporaries.

Listened to it 4 times over 2 days and I just can't get into it. I get it, it just really doesn't hold my attention and I don't really find it all too nice to listen to. Their 'normal' parts are bland, their 'strange' parts are just that.

We are never going to be friends, Amnesiac and I.

Because I had to listen to this album I started reading and now know about the origins of the “Bakersfield Sound". It's the typical country music with the typical themes. Here and there the Honky Tonk is going a bit more rock 'n' roll, like in the song 'Memphis,' and there the music becomes bearable. I'm just not a fan of this kind of music. And Lord knows I've tried.

A unique, sensual and introverted album, that listens best in the late darker hours of the day. Unlike a lot of the other albums of Alison Goldfrapp this one has not lost anything of its strength. Mysterious songs like 'Lovely Head' and 'Human' as highlights still crawl under my skin. It's only unfortunate that the pretentious 'Oompah Radar' breaks the carefully built up magical spell this album has built up. It's not a 5* album because of it. After that break 'Utopia' luckily comes out as the best song of the album. Stellar debut. 4*

Incredibly beautiful. Best folk album I've ever heard. The song Three Hours might've even lasted that amount of time, what a great piece.

Absolutely incredible

According to a lot of fans (and also the 1001-album-list) the best of Earth, Wind & Fire. With delicious funky songs like "Shining Star" and "Yearnin', Learnin'", ballads like "That's the Way of the World" and "All About Love", and jazzy groove songs like "Africano," I can fully understand why this would be the case. On the other hand there's also songs like "Reasons"; the disco ballads style with those abnormally high-pitched vocals, those sterile strings and horns. All in all, a really funky and soulful album. It's just not fully the thing for me.

A really pleasant listen. Not a masterpiece, just good music

This is my 246th album I must hear before I die, and already the 5th Elvis Costello one. Entire genres seem to have been overlooked thus far, but at this rate I'm guessing Costello's entire repertoire has made it onto the list. Now, this might need some culling because not all of them really have the importance or musical need to be there, but at least keep this one on the list. This might just be Elvis Costello's best. Costello, who proves again he's a sort of mix between Graucho Marx and Woody Allen creates razor-sharp songs with rhythm, with a vibe and a sneer here and there. And that sneering clever anger in his lyrics is where his voice lends itself really well for. It's an album that still sounds fresh, even though it's over 40 years old.

It feels like I'm playing the next installment of the Fallout franchise. This is one of the best country albums I've heard and I'm certain there's a place, time and crowd for it. It's just not here, now, and me.

All Directions as an album seems a bit disappointing to me. It remains a collection of covers. But then it has some nice highlights, especially 'Papa Was A Rollin' Stone' of course. You can tell they're stuck in the 60's after all. Artists like Marvin Gaye or Curtis Mayfield moved on to soul and had become a bit more socially critical. That also shows a little bit on this album, but for the majority this remains popular Motown. The music is beautiful and the harmony vocals of The Temptations are certainly good.

I never know what to do with The Doors, I'll be honest. So many of my friends and other people I respect their musical tastes off see this as a landmark in musical history, even calling it the best debut album ever made. But I must be really missing something that everyone else is hearing, because this never clicked with me. I know this album well, I enjoy listening to it, and it has some great moments on it (The organ solo in Light My Fire, and The End of course.) But songs like 'Twentieth Century Fox' or 'Take It As It Comes' are just decent rock songs and I'll always nod my head up and down when I hear them in a pub or a party, but nothing more. It's a 3,5* album and maybe some time in my life it'll click.

'Is That Enough' is an absolute great song, but for the rest it meanders a bit too much for me

I did not think I would like this as much as I did. Only had time to listen to it twice, so will revisit

After having found the original UK version; then onto to American version (with different songs); then falling in the rabbithole of why to listen to which version. Finding out that the song order on the later US version is more to Jimi Hendrix' liking, but that he was pissed the Americans left his songs like "Red House", "Can You See Me" and "Remember" off, I just created my own playlist with all the songs of the original version, added the single's and put them onto the U.S. versions order. And was a great 2 hours of dicking around with an incredible album. So here we are: "Puple Haze" "Manic Depression" "Hey Joe" "Red House" "Love Or Confusion" "May This Be Love" "I Don't Live Today" "Can You See Me" "The Wind Cries Mary" "Fire" "Third Stone From The Sun" "Foxey Lady" "Remember" "Are You Experienced?" Now, Jimi Hendrix has never released that 'perfect' album that some people have, but this one is as close as you're going to get to it. 4,5*

I might've liked this in highschool, but even though the beats were really good in places, the humour got tiresome

A surprisingly good album. Britpop avant la lettre and an almost perfect 90's alt-pop album. Will re-visit!

This album impressed me. I knew Seven Seas and of course Killing Moon, but there were a lot more songs on here that captured a great atmospheric whole.

Even though postpunk seems to be the music I am attracted to more than others, this album took a few listens before the penny dropped. And when it did, it really did. There's a rawness and sometimes a bit of brutality to the songs but still with a poppy edge to it. Channeled energy that hardly ever goes to plain noise and shows how artful most of these songs are made. I enjoyed this a lot. Even with Vixen being a pure ripoff of 'Run, Run, Run' by the Velvet Underground

The slyly catchy "Wishing Well" alone proves that Terence Trent D'Arby, these days known as Sananda Maitreya, was the ambassador of soul at the time. The album still sounds good today, despite the typical production cues of the 80s, such as the drum beat with echo and the keyboards on "If You All Get To Heaven", the album's opening track. The sultry "Sign Your Name" sounds modern still though and is one of the highlights. He also shows remarkable singing talents on the a cappella "As Yet Untitled". Later he would not be a musician so much as a personality with grandiose opinions on himself, which distracted from his work. This multi-platinum and Grammy-winning album is a worthy memento of his considerable talent. 3,5*

Rocketing straight into mediocrity

After a first listen I was really disappointed in the album. The first four songs were incredible, but the album fully dropped off after that. During the second listen new songs like "Ready, Able" and "Cheerleader" popped out of the album. A third listen it finally fully clicked as an entire album. I knew Grizzly Bear from when this album came out and thought for all those years this was one of those boring new-folk albums that were popular in that era. I'm glad to have been proven wrong. Really great. 4,5*

I know Fiona Apple from a few of her singles but mostly from 2020's absolute masterpiece "Fetch The Bolt Cutters." Strangely enough I had never, until now, taken the time to listen to her debut album. What Fiona Apple shows on this debut is astonishing maturity. An atmospheric melodic album with substance, and that for an 18 year old woman. One of the qualities that sets Fiona Apple apart from other female singer-songwriters is her voice. From low and cool in the opener "Sleep to Dream" to darling sweet in the choruses of "Never is a Promise", it contributes to the dark, intimate almost poetic atmosphere that covers the entire album like a veil. There is never any sweetness or tacky romance, instead she gives the listener a sometimes enlightening and sometimes frightening glimpse into her psyche. It's encouraging that she hasn't given up hope for love after a traumatic childhood experience ("but he washed me ashore and he took my pearl and left an empty shell of me") but it's a wry feeling to enjoy music with such a pain in it. Because I know what's about to come afterwards, I know she'll grow even better in voice and especially instrumentation. But this is a stunning debut. 4*

Beautiful melodies telling me terrible things

What do you release after a landmark album like "It Takes A Nation Of Millions..."? You harness all that pent up anger and use it to create "Fear Of A Black Planet." Highly political, powerful, clever and all members are at the top of their game. Hiphop with a message. A true classic in music history.

Yeah, it definitely is an improvement of some of their earlier work, but I truly don't get the high scores for an album that's still decidedly average.

As a teenager I snubbed Oasis. Wonderwall was overplayed, the band didn't deserve all that attention, the music wasn't even that good. I'm glad I re-listened to this album later in life. And I've full come around. I like Definitely Maybe quite a bit, but this album is the best Oasis have released. Yes, Wonderwall is still being overplayed, but I can't really fault the band for writing a song that apparently resonated with so many people. And besides, songs like Hello, Roll With It, Don’t Look Back In Anger, Hey Now!, She’s Electric and Champagne Supernova are just amazing. Happy to have (re-)discovered it and have finally given it the time it deserved

It's a nice heavy late-nite blues rock album that came out in the time when grunge was getting absolutely huge. Lenny Kravitz already showed a year earlier there was still a market for 70's rock. So here The Black Crowes came with an album that really was nothing new, a combination of The Stones, The Faces and Rod Stewart. But it rocked. And still does.

I understand this album is on the list due to its impact on popular culture and the landmark in time. But, it's a soundtrack. And it sounds like one. Probably sounds well as background music for whatever is happening on screen. But aside from the killer opening track and the 20 minute jam-session on Do Your Thing, without the visuals, this album is mostly just funky elevator music. Right on.

My first thought about this is: I know I listened to this album about 15 times in 2009 & 2010. But I can't even remember what kind of music this was. It has left no lasting memory at all. And now that I've re-listened to it a couple of times over the last 2 days that feeling hasn't subsided. It's all pleasant music, I don't dislike listening to it. It's clever enough, musically, rhythmically and lyrically. Musically it's in the Indie style I loved back in the day (Yeasayer, TV On The Radio, the whole Brooklyn scene). But it doesn't do anything for me. It's passing me by. And I don't feel I need to listen to this again.

What an energy. What a raw power. What great riffs. What an absolute legendary album.

This is great jazz

Late in the evening, in the land of one-armed dwarves, broken promises, women with wooden legs and dive-bars, Tom Waits is King. "I like beautiful melodies telling me terrible things"

An album must click with you emotionally. No matter how good the music is, how non-intrusive the listens, when no song makes you listen closer and no lyrics stand really out, there's also not really a use to listen to it anymore after these first 3 playthroughs. The Band does nothing to me.

The final, and best, of his solo albums. It goes downhill after this

How have I've only just discovered the Undertones' Hypnotised album? I can't remember having this much fun listening to an album in a long time. And only 40 years too late! Is this the best album ever made? Absolutely not. But this proto poppunk makes me want to move and makes an bop my head. 4,5*

I never realised that all the Van Halen songs I liked are all from one album. And their debut nonetheless. If your 4 opening songs on your debut album are the classic rocking 'Running With The Devil,' guitar virtuous 'Eruption,' super cover 'You Really Got Me' and one of the best riffs of all time 'Ain't Talking About Love,' than how can this be any less than 4*?

That was a fun listen of two great musicians

Och

Another album from The Fall and another album that took a few listens to 'get'. Superb album

It's a decent enough debut album but honestly nothing more than that. There's a few songs that rise above the mediocrity (American Girl, Strangered In the Night) but how you would open the album with a song like 'Rockin' Around (With You)' is beyond me.

It was good to listen to the album when the Stones stopped being a coverband and started making their own. Brian Jones definitely has a good influence on it, but not all songs are as strong as others. A good debut of their own songs, that's for sure

Such a phenomenally good album. Between the Glam of the 80's and the Grunge of the 90's was a small period with hard rocking alternative music like Sonic Youth, the Pixies and these guys, Jane's Addiction. And they were reinventing music as they went along. This album just rocks. The lyrics are clever and fun, Navarro's guitar solo's are the best he's ever recorded (before the heroin knocked it a bit out of him). Just a straight up classic in the genre, and in music history.

I just can't do it. I really tried to find the positives, but after 4 songs I just had to turn it off. Started it up again the next day at song 5 and it was another half-hearted R&B light with more vocal acrobatics than actual lyrics. I tried, but I just really dislike this.

A masterclass in Texas Blues with a thick layer of Southern Rock, and some funky licks. The songs in the middle get a bit less than the start, but luckily that downward spiral then gets broken by the amazing La Grange - A song I could listen to 5 times in a row and not get sick of. "Hey look! It's ZZ Top! You guys rock! "

TAAAAAAAAAAMMMEEEEE

Another great band that used to be a blindspot of me. I was aware of their existence, and even though they seem to fully fit in my music tastes, I never listened to it. Luckily that's now changed and I've fully enjoyed this.

This 2 hour long triple LP has a five star album in here, but is surrounded in a thick layer of 4 star songs, enclosed by a 2 star jam session.

It really has some amazing highlights, like "Right Here, Right Now" (especially with video clip) "The Rockafeller Skank," and "Love Island" I know this album well and after absolutely adoring it for quite a few years, I now find this album to be dragging on a bit.

Westernized Sitar Music. I can't believe of all the amazing world music there is, this album that has been built on the western poppy influences made the list. 'Metamorphosis' is the only real positive on this album. It's the only song where barriers get broken and Shankar dares to take it a bit further.

This is just not really my thing. I appreciate it for the quality though

This is an album where I really enjoyed the music much much than I enjoyed the vocals. It's the same reason I can't seem to enjoy Anthony and the Johnsons. The music, especially rhythmically, is really good, but the falsetto voice, in my humble opinion, takes too much away from it, stands too much in the foreground and is starting to annoy quite quickly. The few songs where it doesn't happen are my favourites.

There are a few albums in this world that make you shout "WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO YOU GUYS?" every time you hear it. Chicago's 'Transit Authority' and Live's 'Throwing Copper' spring to mind. Parachutes by Coldplay is another one. Do you just enjoy the music, get a little smile when that guitar in 'Don't Panic' starts building up, and sing along with the classic 'Yellow'? Or do you get sad that a band who showcase so much talent and songwriting skills on this debut became what they have become later in their career? Because no matter what comes afterwards, this first Coldplay album is still rock solid, even 20 years afterwards. Listen to songs like 'Shiver' or 'Spies' and there's no denying how incredibly good this is. And anyone can understand why this album became such a hit, with the masses as well as the indie crowds.

It really is an album that jumps between two ideas. The older Britpop era of Blur combined with the more adventurous new era about to come. It makes the album feel a bit disjointed, and not all songs are strong. On the other hand, Beetlebum might be the best song Blur has ever released.

This one is just a bit too much. A bit too much filler, a bit too much extra sounds, a bit too much drumloops.

What is there to say about this that hasn't been said yet in 1000's of articles, hundreds of documentaries and dozens of books on just this album? Mainly my opinion that it's not the Beatles' best work. That would be Revolver.

Interesting to have a bootleg on the 1001 album list Now besides Dylan being overzealous on the harmonica, this is a great time piece of Dylan live.

Teenage angsty straightforward lyrics on music that was the bridge between grunge and alternative rock. With dark over and undertones, superb guitarriffs. A classic from the 90's

Vepsertine might just be Björk's Magnum Opus. Where the albums before fell on occasion more into clubby style electro, this album is organic, warm, subdued, dreamy and mysterious. And every time I hear it I'm amazed at how beautifully everything falls into place. The sudden background chorus in Undo. The incoming bass at Pagan Poetry. The strings that come in to enhance things very tastefully. So there is more than enough to hear. And with every listen I pick something new up. A musical detail or even an atmosphere some song will make me float towards. Details, but also a beautiful tranquility in the songs, even though the electronics simmer happily under the skin. Exciting and restful at the same time. Björk uses her voice in line with the songs as well, so with a lot less reverb. There's no miss on this album. 5*

I started listening to this album fully thinking that this would be an instant 5* for me. I absolutely adore Gary Numans sound that almost feels trademarked. The low droning Vox Humana synth sounds, superb melodies with the Polygoog over the top of simple structured songs. I'm a bit more acquainted with his later work and what I've found during my several listens of this album over the last two days is that Numan has become a much better songwriter over the years. I really enjoyed this, but not all songs are of the highest caliber like Metal, ME, Cars; or than a lot of his later albums.

It really is quite a good album, but that first song just starts it off on the wrong foot for me.

I find Nixon is a highly uneven album, with a strange combination of country and soul. Sometimes it really works out, like on the song 'Up With People,' but other times the falsetto and half-hearted soul just really don't do it for me. Gave it a couple of listens, but it never hit anywhere.

When folk, punk and whisky came together, something brilliant happened. It starts with the rousing title track, after which the musical journey continues through various landscapes. A modern version of the Irish traditional The Broad Majestic Shannon is effortlessly alternated with the dreamy Lullaby of London and the uptempo carnavalesque Fiesta, which again is very different from the melancholy of (Christmas) single Fairytale of New York, in which the late Kirsty MacColl sings. An absolute masterpiece

I know this album quite well from my youth, and the main reason I never listen to this album is due to the immensely overplayed ànd overrated title track. I could never again go past the first track. Now I've listened to it again and with one exception, Life In The Fast Lane, this entire album to me tries to balance the line between emotion and kitsch. But too many times falls over to the latter (Pretty Maids All In A Row, Wasted Time, The Last Resort) that this is an unlistenable mess. It's just really not for me. Glad I did the re-listen though.

All the songs on this album just come at you like a wave of echoey voices, surfing on another wave of additional choirs, bells, string quartets, horn sections on top of another wave of perfectly aligned maracas and other percussion shaking and rattling underneath. Because where in these days Phil Spectors multi-layered, orchestrated, muddy wall of sounds just tires me out, it really did work well on these old mono recordings with the 1960's girl groups where the songs were the focus, not the musicians. This makes this album quite a joy to listen to and is justifiably regarded as the best Christmas album of all time. And the only album I would put on if I absolutely had to listen to any of its music during it.

I was about to write a similar blurb I've done with the other Leonard Cohen albums I've heard on this list. That, even though I appreciate his earlier 60's and 70's work, I'm personally a bigger fan of his later work, from the 80's onwards, and that I find 2010's songs like "You Want It Darker" and "Almost Like The Blues" the best he's made. Where it all lyrically became a bit darker and his voice got that low timbre. But then I listened to this album a few times over. The first set of songs (Avalanche, Last Year's Man & Dress Rehearsel Rag) are the musical equivalent of pure beauty in a successful white / black photo. And where in previous two albums I found the added choirs and female vocals taking away from the beauty, on songs like Last Year's Man they add to the atmosphere. Not all songs are as good as the rest. Diamonds in the Mine feels like a angry country song that with a burst of cynicism feels out of place. Love calls you by your name is a lesser rendition of what was already established on Avalanche. But then we get Famous Blue Raincoat, which is absolute beautiful. It just pours emotion without getting tacky. After that, the album doesn't get to these heights anymore. But for his early period, this is his best

A country & western album that mostly steps in the western spheres. It just makes me want to play Fallout New Vegas again, with the radio off on my pipboy.

Dark, grim, intense, loud, confrontational, lyrically strong, fierce vocals, killer guitar sound. The Holy Bible is an absolute amazing album and the best the Manic Street Preachers have released.

Fun, fast, juvenile, punk. It does miss that extra spark though.

The huge transformation of a band. From the ashen dark wave in 1981 to the acid house in the late 1989's. This is what the new drugs can do and how to keep the 24 hour party people partying. This even was recorded in Ibiza - center of house music. Some really great songs on here, amongst some lesser ones. 'Vanishing Point' lifts this album up an entire point, and 'Fine Time,' 'Round, Round' and 'Mr. Disco' put down a solid base.

Revolutionary album of the first Grindcore band with the mixture of Punk/Hardcore/Death/Metal. 28 songs in 33 minutes. But even though I think it's great material, it has never grabbed me in the least, no matter how groundbreaking and essential it all must have been in 1987 and probably still is.

This one really blew me away and is apparently the absolute best Talk Talk have ever made, there's something new to hear in every song every time I put it on. Definitely an album to keep revisiting

Normally I'm not a big fan of the acoustic singer/songwriter genre. Mostly because those albums lack the actual songwriting to make it good listens. Not this album though, this was stunningly engaging from start to finish, with great lyrics. Beautiful!

Brian Eno fills the A side with nervous funk, rock, new wave and art pop to switch completely in style and then fill the B-side with ambient songs. And even though I keep coming back to this album, I never really jived with this album, but I've switched in my preference over time. It's now the B Side that I appreciate much more than the A side. The A Side is a good idea where Brian Eno and David Byrne would take The Talking Heads later. Fun sidenote: King's Lead Hat is an anagram of said Talking Heads. I'll say 3,5*

Nice and smooth Ramones-like punk rock from 1981 that clearly draws influences from rockabilly, B52's and Roy Orbison ("Adult Books"). And it's clear that the band, on the other hand, also influenced bands that came later. Listen to songs like "We're Desperate" and "I'm Coming Over" and you clearly hear where the Pixies come from. And even though this is really up my alley, it just doesn't click for me.

I'm reading all these immensely positive reviews and calls of 'masterpiece' and I've listened to this album 6 times over 2 days. Apparently I'm missing something. It really is quite pleasant to listen to. The first two tracks really start the album off amazingly but this line is not followed through the rest of the album. I duly recognise how talented the musicianship, how influential and important this album is, but it never really caught me anywhere after a while. Not to say I dislike it and I've become quite curious what their later albums would be like, if they came to perfect their songwriting. I'll start this off as a 3,5*

I am not a big jazz connoisseur. I like to be guided by others who occasionally pass me an album. And now 1001 Albums brought me this one from Thelonious Monk. And I am very happy with this recommendation. To me this sounds like technically challenging jazz with very interesting rhythms, but played so languidly that it seems to come close to a kind of smooth jazz at times, despite the fact that the dissonant tones of the piano always keep you on your toes and make you listen a bit more intensely. Accessible jazz, which reveals more and more the more you listen to it.

I can't say anything here that hasn't been said better by other people before. This album is full of subtle sounds, incredibly atmospheric, it needs headphones and a couple dozens of listens to hear it all. It's a marvel if you give it the time

It's not the best music ever made. It's certainly not the best produced album. The lyrics are simplistic bordering on silly. But not of that even remotely matters. This album is 100% vibe. The mixture of samba, latin, cuban rhythms with French, Spanish, English, Portuguese and Italian lyrics about the joys of life (sex, drugs & music) make this a refreshing, open, relaxing yet danceable album. It there ever was an album that captures the spirit of backpacking, this is it. The album lets its songs flow into one another. Like visiting a new city on the same continent, not too far away. Sometimes just changing a ska-organ for a bossanova guitar and changing languages, while letting the underlying sounds continue and all of a sudden you realise you went into a new song without noticing. I remember the summer of 1999 when this album was everywhere on mainland Europe and probably elsewhere around the world. It captured a vibe and spirit and now, re-listening to it, I can see why. It's clever, worldly and a joy to listen to.

When Trent Reznor brought the industrial sounds to a bigger audience by focusing on songwriting. It's a classic

I will probably be one of the few people here to think this, but this for me is a major step forward after the records he made with Garfunkel. I enjoyed listening to this, both lyrically and musically.

There's not much to add to all that's been said before. Side A and B are different sides of the same story. This is a masterpiece

The album where it all became a bit more experimental, after Black Celebration already made it a bit darker. Not as amazing as the follow-up Violator, but with songs like Behind The Wheel, this is an amazing album and one I like to listen to every now and then.

Really, don't get me wrong. I like this album. I remember when it came out I adored the delicious American blues rock, delivered energetically and contagiously. Especially a song like Howlin' For You got me nodding my head to the music and this album came out at a time when the raw and energetic seemed to be disappearing from rock and indie music - where quite a few bands turned to Synthpop around that time. This was, for that moment, a breath of fresh air, even if the music of course lends heavily from the blues from halfway of the 20th century combined with the T*Rex sounds of the 70's. But now listening back, unfortunately, there are no truly memorable tracks besides the one previously named and there is not enough variation within the song material to keep the album captivating for the full length. After about 10 songs it slowly falls down. Was it a case of style over substance? In 2010 this was my 4* album. Now it's a 3*

At the first tones I really though I would dislike this album. But I kept listening, putting the album on for a second time, a third. And it really kept growing. Some great lyrics, some outstanding song, but also some filler. I can understand why this became a big album and artist - and not just sales wise.

This is just great poppy new wave, under which lingers a dark layer of punk, which is completely in line with their origins in late 1970s LA. Lyrically also certainly much more interesting than the bubblegum from that time. After 3 listens I'm ranking this album up there. Will listen to this a few more times in the near future, but starting this off with a 4*

Sometimes languid, sometimes up tempo, sometimes sensual. One of the best trip hop albums ever made

I went into this thinking I'd really enjoy this. But I've listened to the album 3 times now and I must miss something. It's ok, but not as mind-blowing as some people make it out to be. Enjoyable, but not more than that.

What is there to say about this album that hasn't been said. It's dark, funny, profane, clever and beautiful. Beautiful melodies telling me terrible things.

Tasty, greasy, dirty rock 'n roll nestled somewhere between The Stooges and The Rolling Stones. Wonderfully rattling and rolling and played with style and knowledge of sound and instruments.

I just really don't exactly know what to do with ELO. I've listened to this album a couple of times again (I already knew it from my parents' record player) Jeff Lynne is clearly insanely talented and a great songwriter, but the orchestration an overload of sound takes away from the talent. I liked LP2 of this double LP a lot better than LP 1 though.

A riveting and strange album which I thoroughly enjoyed. But I can't shake the feeling this would be much better experienced live than on record

A really enjoyable 60's sound. Can hear where The Doors got their influence. But Side B really didn't do it for me

Never thought I'd get moved again in such a way by an album. Absolute masterpiece.

What a stunning record by Joni Mitchell, the artwork alone makes me long for a road trip, far away from home. Hejira falls right in between pop songs and some more jazz structures, so that it remains nice and relaxed listening/musing music. This album is especially amazing with the combination of all these songs, written for guitar, with bass, vocal and guitar. After all the (deserved) praise for Jaco Pastorius, I would like to point out that he is not the only bassist on this album. Max Bennett and Chuck Domanico also leave their mark on the songs they play on. Hejira is therefore perhaps the highlight of Joni's impressive discography for me, a beautiful album!

I've heard this exact thing done better by multiple other artists.

A great Side A and a pretty ok Side B.

An absolute mystical album. An A-side where every song is of such high quality that all could be a single (and I think even were) And the B-side with a full concept album of her near-death experience with the woman adrift at sea metaphor. An absolute classic.

I'm reading all these negative reviews here and am thinking I've been listening to an entire different album than the majority here. It's an upbeat album that makes perfect use of these double burundi drums. Adam Ant when he was still good.

2 bangers and for the rest a snorefest.

This is New Order at their finest. With the exception of The Perfect Kiss, every single song deserves several listens to show you their treasure. amazing

It's a good album, but I don't think its Nick Drakes best. This album, for me, just are too many hits or misses. The song One of These Things First is an absolute jewel though. The instrumentation and orchestrations are masterful accompaniments to the song. Unfortunately that's not the case with all songs. The unnecessary instrumentals Bryter Layter and Sundays but especially Poor Boy feel forced. The accompaniment is unfortunately a disturbing factor. Terrible use of trumpets and background choirs. But luckily we still have Northern Sky. A relief from the previous. And maybe one of the best songs Nick Drake has ever written. No matter how beautiful the title track and Northern Sky are, this album is not that strong throughout.

If this album kept the quality of the first four songs over the whole album, this might've been one of the best albums in the (early) metal genre ever made. Rapid Fire is almost speedmetal avant la lettre and feel like where NWOBHM takes off, Metal Gods with its hypnotic rhythm that emanates the relentless march of the robots, Breaking The Law is a Beavis and Butthead classic banger and Grinder with its K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton guitar battle in an almost AC/DC like simplicity is pure rock 'n' roll. I was blown away by this part and then came United. What in the everloving metal hell was that? And The Rage. And the atrocious bonus track Red, White & Blue. Maybe broken up by a few decent tracks, but it really drops the average of this album quite a few points. And that's really too bad.

I wonder how I would've responded to this audible assault back in 1986. This is honestly the first I've even heard of this album and I now know where some of my favourite bands found their inspiration. This is brutal, energetic, noisy and bleak industrial and still sound like it could've been released in this decade, even though it's already 37 years old. What a revelation.

This re-listen of Licensed To Ill was a nostalgia trip. I've listened to this album a LOT in my youth and I still know every song. I very much enjoyed listening to this incredibly fun and energetic album again. Listening and almost giggling to the bashful and playful lyrics. And it certainly belongs on this list due to the impact it had on music. But putting the sentiments of my youth aside - this is not a really good album by itself. Neither is it revolutionary. The music was a couple of white boys doing what Run-DMC had already been doing for years - and was doing better. This brought a bit more punky and ska ('Girls') feeling to it. A few standout songs are still on here, 'No Sleep Till Brooklyn' is still a catchy and hilarious rocky anthem that should bring a smile to anyone's face. 'Paul Revere' and 'Brass Monkey' are standout tracks on this album and are giving a glimpse of what brilliant madness is to come on Paul's Boutique and Check Your Head

A true 5* album. With the mix of Zeppelin like guitars, one of the most breakable voices to have ever sung and the redefining of the song Hallelujah for a new generation, this is a truly superb album

It took me three listens to get into the right mindset to enjoy it. But when I got there, this ambient space rock was a great experience.

The absolute pioneers of the groove and I'm a sucker for a good bassline. And this is about the best of them you can get. The basis of the music is of course Edwards' really fantastic bass and Rodgers' signature guitar playing. The strings and the vocals on Risqué are really great as well and add to the general funk, atmosphere and groove. And it's no wonder this is a classic and one of the most sampled albums I know of. Still. All songs feel about twice as long as they should be. It's made for dancing, but with only 7 songs on the album the long ended repetitions feel contrived. And that puts a little damper on the party for me.

I'll give this a rating between the best song "Everybody's Been Burned" and the atrocity "Mind Gardens."

Ryan Adams is not able to do it for me. Some songs I can listen to, with difficulty. I've given this album a couple of tries, so Ryan has already been in the rematch several times, but I think it is generally too slick. The emotion strikes me as affectation. I simply don't believe him.

I listened to "Listen Without Prejudice" before, and that was a real decent album. This? This isn't it.

I haven't given this album the full attention it deserves in my humble opinion. I've spun it twice, lost track a bit. But what I heard was really enjoyable, well written, and the britpoppunk from The Jam is excellent. Will revisit.

This album is to be listened for the beats, production, invention of the g-funk and the guest-rappers. They make this a very pleasant rapper, and probably the Top-5 of the best West Coast albums ever. But don't listen this album for the sexist and homophobic lyrics or the wooden Dr. Dre raps. Every time Dre opens his mouth, I'm already looking forward to the next verse of Snoop, Kurupt or RBX. And that just takes this album down. Then we have to talk about the skits which are just not funny at all and bordering on infantile and ths bring absolutely nothing extra to this album. The influence this album has had can't be overstated, but when Dre released 2001 about 7 years later it did show he learned from a few of the mistakes of this album (minus the puerile lyrics) and created an even better version of this.

"Highway Star", "Smoke On The Water" and "Lazy" are the highlights on this heavy and well made album. "Never Before" doesn't share in the main prize, and should've been switched for "When A Blind Man Cries" on the album, but even that songs can't diminish the fun in this funky hardrocking 70's classic. 4,5*

Highly energetic and pleasant poppunk album

He has a beautiful voice, but all songs on this country blues pop album are very slick honeyd and smoothed over. It feels empty. I didn't hate it, but also didn't really like it

It's really just not for me. And I just can't hear the quality in it. I must be missing something.

That was a really long elevator ride this album just put me on. It's a little bit of late-night jazzy feel but nothing stands out, nothing makes me listen a little deeper, not even after a few listens. It all just pretty average songwriting, but offset by an amazing voice.

Is it punk? Nah. Are these complex songs with a lot of depth? Also no. Is this an 'anti-american' and political album? Nah, not really. Was this 'punk-opera' the first of its kind? Nope, been done several times before. But is it a fun, catchy and just rocking album? Sure as hell it is!

After a few listens this album was actually a lot better than I gave it credit for at the start. I never really got used to his way of singing, but the songs are diverse and of a high quality

The time in the late 60's where the jazz audience, the cool soul frogs, the blues birds and the hippies all came together and listened to a very stoned David Clayton-Thomas. Because there are so many styles on this album and it jumps from compact jumpy songs to long experimental instrumentals, the album does have a somewhat ambivalent character. But there's something for everyone to be found on this album.

Definitely a bit of a surprise. I was very aware of most of the singles on this album and have heard, and played, them quite a bit in my life. Frozen, Ray Of Light, Power Of Goodbye are one by one incredibly strong songs, written by a very talented songwriter. The album might not be strong throughout - there's certainly some filler on here and the album could lose some minutes - but it also has a few songs that might just be the best Madonna has released in her career, especially the very danceable tracks 'Sky Fits Heaven' and 'Skin' A solid 4*

Not all songs are as memorable as others, but the heights on this album are really worth listening to.

I grew up with people around me worshiping the ground Stephen Malkmus walked on, so I stayed back a bit with my adoration of Pavement. I heard it a lot in my teenage years, never disliked it, but it also never stood out for me, for whatever reason. Still, this is a great album. Unpolished pop songs with barbs here and there, but always melodic. And where the lo-fi sounds really give it its character, I sometimes, blasphemously, wouldn't have minded a little more polished sound.

Point 1: Live albums shouldn't make it on a 1001 album list Point 2: I'e heard The Who better live Point 3: It's still a really good album, a tight and amazing live band So... a 3,5 star?

It's 29 years ago that my brother, who curated the hip-hop part of our teenage years, walked into my room with his new discovery I had to listen to. Re-listening this now, all these years later, I notice that none of the raw, unvarnished grit has worn away from this album. It has fully stood the test of time with its minimalistic samples, spooky piano riffs and most of all the incredible quality of all 9 MC's. A stone cold classic in its genre. And my first 5* for a hiphop album on this list

It's a very disappointing Side A leading into the hippy/stoner/jam anthem Side B

It's a real decent thrash metal album. According to a lot of people their best, but I have a bit of a different opinion. In contrast to the great, hard and atmospheric Beneath the Remains that preceded Arise, I find quite a few songs on Arise unimaginative and log. Chaos AD after this one went in a different direction and for me, that's where they re-found a sense of experimentation, sounds and songwriting. This one falls in-between. Still good. Not great.

25 years old already and still fresh as anything. A classic of the big beat era. And where the big hit at the start of the album has never really done it for me, with third song Elektrobank this album really takes off. And ends in the two masterpieces Where Do I Begin and The Private Psychedelic Reel.

Bossa Nova is a mixture of Brazilian Samba folk music with American smooth jazz influences. And this might just be *THE* Bossa Nova classic. Smooth, ear-pleasing and very accessible music made for total relaxation on a summer evening, preferably in a hammock on a beach, with a coconut in hand and the sound of gently lapping waves in the background. Sometimes this album - and that's mostly due to the sax of Getz - drifts a bit too much into American Lounge music and you feel it might be played in a movie scene where they have to take one of those long 118 storey elevator rides. But it's a very enjoyable warm summer night album nontheless

This album opens with an amazing funky banger with a bass so insanely good you just can't sit still. Unfortunately, it turns out to be a false promise for the album. Its Nasty is also still a decent song, but then comes Scorpio, one of the low points of this album. And it doesn't really get better after that. Side B starts dramatically awful with 2 ballads where the enamel jumps off your teeth. Everything hip-hop on this album is suddenly gone. Luckily we still have "The Message" as the last song. The famed HipHop hit on the record and most likely THE song Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five have ever released. That makes up for a very weak middle half of the album and a reason not to discard this album straight away.

There's just no weak spot to be found on the album. It might not get into the heights of some songs on the predecessor or on the next album, but it's unique, compelling, danceable, maniacal, creative, neurotic, funky and timeless throughout.

I kept coming back to this album and listened it 5 times over the last 24 hours. What a crucial and amazing post punk record. I find it hard to word how this album has been impacting me, but songs like Jigsaw Feeling, Suburban Relapse and Switch make me listen close, to all sounds, cracks and noises. Amazing. I was washing up the dishes / minding my own business / when my string snapped. I had a relapse / a suburban relapse.

Masters of the 3-minute-popsong.

If people still have an opportunity, I can really recommend listening to the 'Original Jamaican Mix' instead of the standard version.

I like Billy Bragg. I like Wilco. I love Woody Guthries lyrics. And yet, this album does not feel like it's the sum of its parts. It's a good album, don't get me wrong, but I do think the album start dragging a bit after the first couple of songs.