1001 Albums Summary

I really enjoyed listening to this one. I had never listened to much Aretha before. Her vocals are incredible and I was surprised at how strong the album was all the way through.

Really cool funky album with some fusion elements.

I liked the use of ambience and space but it was very lacking in dynamics and excitement.

Great album by a great band. Unique mix of punk, dance, funk, as well as rhythmic sounds from all over the world. Layers of subtle instruments. Polyrhythms on top of polyrhythms.

I love this album and was pleasantly surprised to see it was included in this list. The Beach Boys took a darker and more psychedelic turn with a lot of the songs on this album while still doing what they do best - massive vocal harmonies. Carl Wilson (R.I.P.) in particular had some of his best work on this album (Long Promised Road and Feel Flows). I'm giving it 4 only because the consistency could be better and it's only 33 minutes long. Student Demonstration Time is pretty cringe, and there are maybe two other songs that aren't very strong. The rest of the album is excellent and some of the best work The Beach Boys ever did. Favorite song: tie between Feel Flows and Surf's Up

I enjoyed this for the most part and liked how aggressive it was. I'm not a fan of Flavor Flav, but Chuck D is great. I thought the use of sampling was cool and how they built rhythms off of random sounds. The song structures were cool with how the songs flowed together. I thought it got repetitive after a bit.

Enjoyed this much more on the second listen. There were a few tunes that I really liked but I wasn't blown away by most of the album and I know the Stones have much better material. Favorite tunes were Sympathy, Street Fighting Man, and Salt of the Earth.

Not bad but I wasn’t super into it. The KISS cover of Black Diamond was good and a cool surprise. Favorite song was Unsatisfied.

Pretty cool creative psychedelic indie rock. Definitely some good songs but not super consistent. I thought the album started slow and got better as it went along. Favorite songs were Memory Boy, Desire Lines, and Helicopter.

I wasn't super into this other than the hits but I do appreciate the rawness of it. Jack White is a respectable guitar player - he's loud, simplistic, janky, and really gets the point across using tone, feel, and attitude without over-playing. Favorite song: Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground

Not quite their best work, but still a great album. Eddie was such a reckless wizard on guitar. R.I.P. Favorite song: PANAMA

Interesting listen. Janis’ vocals are great, though a bit rough at times. I wasn’t crazy about the songwriting or the instrumentation but really enjoyed the rawness of it. Favorite track: Piece off my Heart

Pretty good overall. The album establishes a nice mood overall. The songs are simple and the instrumentation is very reserved, allowing for Taylor's voice to carry every song.

Didn’t like this one very much. Was able to get through it but I just didn’t care for it. I thought it was kinda creative at times and it made me feel nostalgic for the 90s, but that’s about it.

Pretty enjoyable. Solid folk album all the way through.

Unique, creative, and weird. I loved the mix of styles and the strange beautiful singing. I don’t think I’ve ever listened to Bjork before, so this was a nice surprise.

Pretty enjoyable. I liked the smooth somberness of the songwriting and the slick production. Vocals are very emotional and so is the subject matter. Cool mix of styles, from R&B to reggae.

Solid live rock album. I thought the dual guitars sounded great without sounding too crowded. Thought the album was a bit too long.

Dark, heavy, badass, angry. I loved AIC and this album as a teenager. Bone crushing guitar work, awesome vocals, really cool use of vocal harmonies to darken the sound even more. Favorite song: Would?

Really cool hip hop album. I love the use of real instruments and the creative approach of blending genres. Definitely need to listen to these guys more. Favorite song: Something In The Way of Things

I couldn’t get through this but respect the musicianship.

Very solid rock album with elements of soul and blues.

Pretty cool. I liked the mix of rock, folk, and psychedelic.

Solid pop album

Pretty solid

Pretty cool album. Haven't listened to much Bowie before but I enjoyed this.

Really cool album. I thought the guitar work in particular was really cool.

I wasn’t super into this one but I thought it was good sad 80s alt rock.

Listening to this album made me realize how much I have completely misunderstood Kid Rock. My foolishness and ignorance had long gotten in the way of my willingness to recognize the true artistry of the Redneck Pimp. For so many years, my understanding of the lyrics to Bawitdaba was that the lyrics went like "Bawitdaba-da bang-da-bang-diggy-diggy-diggy Said the boogie-said up chuck the boogie" but the lyrics actually go "Bawitdaba-da bang-da-bang-diggy-diggy-diggy Said the boogie-said up jump the boogie". It still sucks though.

Creative, but I wasn’t into it.

Surprisingly great. I hadn't ever listened to a Bee Gees album before and had no idea they had music that sounded like this. Love the mix of orchestral, baroque pop, country, folk, and other styles. Very rich sound and well-produced.

Haven’t listened to much folk but this was some of the best folk music I’ve ever heard. Loved the general vibe and the lyrics.

Not really into it but thought it was kinda interesting. I liked the blending of African and western styles.

Wasn't expecting to hear any mathcore on this list, but here we are. I thought the guitars were really interesting in this. I appreciated how they used intricate angular guitar riffs to supplement the raw angry sound. To me, it never comes off as brutality for it's own sake, but something more intentional and musical if you listen more closely.

I wasn't super into it but I appreciated the pop/hip-hop sound combined with Indian influences.

Very cool album. Strong dynamics, lots of emotion, good sense of taste, even some interesting instrument choices.

One of the albums that shaped the history of jazz. Not one of my absolute favorite jazz albums to listen to, but definitely a great one and incredibly important.

Neat album, definitely some creative stuff. Clint Eastwood is a great song and a classic from this era. Nothing on the album stood out to me as much as that one but it's got some cool stuff.

I wasn't super into this but appreciated the creativity. This was an influential album in the shoegaze scene, which admittedly I know almost nothing about. Cool mix of noisy guitar textures with softer and more melodic vocals.

Some really good stuff but just not consistent. The guitars sound so clean and crisp and perfect. Favorite was probably Mainline Florida.

Pretty good album. I loved the contrast between the more melodic stuff and the harsh loud stuff and they blended it really well. Never listened to these guys before but I can totally see their influence on 90s bands.

Johnny Cash is a treasure and this album sums up the guy pretty well. If modern country music sounded like this, maybe I would listen to it.

Lots of good stuff on here. Emotional songwriting, great textures with the instruments, great vocals and vocal harmonies. The album really gives off a mood.

Wack

Really enjoyed this. Loved the weird guitar riffs and the nasty yet warm guitar tone. Cool blending of styles from punk to indie rock to rock n roll.

Pretty sold jazz album. Thought it had some unique flavors thrown in.

Really good album. Solid songwriting, very mood-driven. I love the contrast between the jangly guitars and the more melancholy vocals.

This album really challenged my perception of music when I first listened to it. Bitches Brew, while rough around the edges, is a wild experiment in musical abstraction and improvisation filled with virtuosic musicianship, focus, and vision.

Definitely nostalgic for me. Had a few of these tracks on Napster back in the day. Think I still prefer Toxicity tho.

I’d heard a bunch of these songs before and never listened to the full album, but I really enjoyed this. Really good bluesy, soulful pop album.

Neat, chill, interesting. Def want to check out more by these guys.

Pretty interesting album but wasn’t super consistent. Makes me want to check out more trip hop/creative hip hop.

Pretty solid pop/rock album, good songwriting.

Really enjoyed this. Great songwriting, really strong lead and backing vocals, guitars sound really crisp. Really strong pop/rock album with some 90s edge.

Not bad, but stylistically just not my thing.

Some interesting sounds on here like the atmospheric dance stuff, but I just wasn’t into it for the most part.

Really weird, creative, dark, and creepy. This was a great final effort for a legend. RIP David Bowie.

Really good hip hop album. Lyrics are extreme but I understand the context and the point he's trying to make. Big time nostalgia for me on some of the tracks.

Always liked these guys though I never had any of their CDs as a teenager. Really enjoyed this one. Just a great example of raw early 90s pop punk.

Interesting listen, much different from anything I would normally listen to. Not really my thing but I thought some of it was enjoyable. Really impressive that he made the whole album on a laptop in the 90s while traveling the world.

Great sense of rawness and emotion, very moving songwriting. I feel like I need to listen to the lyrics more closely to truly get it, but it's really effective at what it is. There aren't many songwriters that can just ditch the band for a bit and pull off this kind of album.

I had never heard of these guys before and I am now a huge fan. Can't believe I've never come across these guys before. Excellent brit-power-pop that combines great songwriting and interesting song structures with a little 90s punk edge.

Classic blues jams

Never listened to these guys before. Cool album.

Pretty respectable country album to me. Vocals and vocal harmonies are really good. It's not very creative, and sounds pretty typical for an old sappy country album, but it’s really well made.

Pretty solid for the most part. I love the gloomy sound on their early albums. Amsterdam is an incredible song.

Never listened to this before but I loved it. Dark and gloomy with very jangly guitars. Hits and deep tracks were great. And 1987 is the best year.

Legendary stuff. Massively influential to a lot of great artists. Still sounds great too.

Classic Johnny Cash. I thought this was unnecessary though, as we already got the Folsom Prison one, which I think is better.

Wild, creative, and really experimental for it’s time. I don’t understand any of the lyrics and it’s kind of a mess but still interesting as heck.

I was surprisingly blown away by this. I love how it incorporates traditional Italian/Argentinian tango music with the really dramatic classical influence and even some jazz fusion. The dynamics are really engaging and the musicianship/composition is excellent. Totally unlike anything I would have ever come across on my own.

I thought the last track with the sitar was cool but wasn't into this otherwise.

Don’t tell me what to do Loretta

Queen fucking rules. Elaborate, fun, technical, almost absurdly dramatic. Awesome guitar work from Brian May as always. And Freddie just goes without saying.

Neat sounding background music.

One Pink Floyd's best works and one of the greatest concept albums ever. Many of these songs had a major impact on me as a young musician. Every note of the Comfortably Numb guitar solos are imprinted in my brain.

Excellent piano jazz.

Surprisingly great

Weird but interesting mix of rockabilly, surf, punk. Guitars are out of tune. Kinda cool, not great, but I respect the creativity.

Pretty solid britpop album but not super consistent.

Thought this was really good. Kinda reminded me of a whimsical British Elliot Smith.

Great sounding record, it just sounds a little too stiff and processed at times. Appreciate how they bridged the gap between glam rock and 80s pop. Harmonies are great.

Really enjoying all these creative British bands that I had never heard of. This one was really cool, at times reminded me of Talking Heads, sometimes XTC. The horns and funky bass made it all sound so original.

Interesting glimpse into their early sound but not as good as their later stuff.

Aggressive, jazzy, chaotic, kinda funny all at the same time. Pretty interesting contrast.

Really long but great. I definitely liked The Love Below more. Lots of variation and genre blending. The jazz stuff was really cool and unexpected.

I loved this. Great songwriting, really cool use of vocal harmonies and guitar. Kinda all over the place. Creative and charismatic.

Never listened to this one all the way through before. Lots of cool stuff that I wouldn't really expect from Zeppelin.

I wasn't super into it but it's not bad. The singing is really nice.

Can't believe I've never listened to these guys before. I loved the vocals and vocal arrangements. Lots of cool chord voicings and things like that. I just love psychedelic chamber pop stuff like this.

Neat at times and creative but I wasn't super into it.

Sounds really good production-wise. Love the minimalistic ambient sound.

I loved the mix of folk with orchestral stuff. Great variety of instruments without sounding cluttered. Beautiful sound overall.

Interesting at times, especially with the longer song lengths. Includes some classic songs from the era. Didn't find it to be consistently great.

Enjoyable but kinda boring. Production could be better, sounds a bit thin to me.

Pretty badass. I've listened to Machine Head before but not this one. Wasn't familiar with any of these songs. Love the sound of the guitar and organ playing together, often playing the same riff.

Perhaps my favorite album ever. Every songs sends you into another world. Sgt. Pepper is perfect in every way, whether it's writing, singing, performance, production, arrangement, musical vision, or imagination. Exceptionally ambitious for its time and still sounds incredible.

Didn't enjoy it but thought it was good for what it is.

Interesting listen. I didn't particularly like it but I appreciate that this was an early influence on indie & post rock stuff.

Always enjoyed this one. Not super consistent but definitely some great stuff.

Not bad overall, a few great tunes on this one.

Sounds really dated, but interesting to listen to something so popular from such a different time. Mad respect for Buddy Holly and his impact on rock & roll music.

The most chaotic Beatles album. The White Album is masterful, it's ridiculous, it's sentimental, it's goofy, it's obnoxious, then it's 8 minutes of random sound effects, then it's time to say good night. The album that introduced the world to heavy metal also includes multiple classic children's songs. Every song is practically a different genre. Even the low effort songs are awesome. I named my cat Martha because of this album.

Timeless and classic.

Not their best album, and definitely sounds a little dated. But this album is really well made and sounds so good. Vocals and arrangements are spectacular.

Killer riffs, tight grooves, just incredibly brutal sounding. Dimebag was a fucking wicked guitarist. Always liked how these guys had both groove and technical skill. Usually this style of vocal is tough for me to listen to for close to an hour, but the musicality keeps it interesting.

Really solid folky pop album with some cool funk stuff thrown in. Smooth production too. Never heard of this artist before.

Kinda cool but not very exciting to me.

Pretty enjoyable, definitely remember liking these guys in the early 2010s.

Pretty creative and cool sounding. It was neat to hear early Bjork.

Great songwriting, great vibes all around, many classic tunes.

Sounds great production and vocal wise. I think it's very well made pop music but I don't find it very interesting.

Excellent album all the way through. Amazing vocals, amazing groove, great songwriting, tons of soul, everything just sounds perfect.

Lots of weird shit coming together here. The Elvis voice is hilarious and kinda cool. Obnoxious and dumb at times, and too long, but I respect the insanity of it.

Really enjoyed the musical style on this. Lots of cool melodies flying around on different instruments. It's a little out there, and the vocals got a little rough at spots, but I appreciated the creativity and mood changes.

For me, this one always gets overshadowed by Rubber Soul and everything that came after. Obviously not the best of their discography, but certainly a very solid early 60s pop album and a glimpse into their early sound.

Pretty cool to early early lo-fi grungey stuff.

Kinda interesting musically, more so than I was expecting. It gets a bit boring as it moves along. Thought the baroque pop and opera influences were cool and different.

Pretty nice sounding. Not super exciting or anything but just solidly pleasant to listen to.

B.B. is a legend. Blues is all about the feel, and there are few that have ever been on his level.

Really cool album. Never heard of these guys and had no idea who the artist of Our House even was. Can't get enough of these artsy British pop bands.

Some of it sounds nice but it's too sappy for me.

Pretty solid rock album. Sounds really crisp production-wise.

Pretty cool sounding rock album. More varied than I was expecting.

I think I prefer their more structured studio stuff, but this helped me appreciate their more loose live sound.

Such a great band. Super creative and weird. The rhythmic layering is awesome. So many influences and weird qualities all coming together.

Innovative, fearless, beautiful, reckless, soulful, and technical all at the same time. Jimi was an incredible musician who pushed so many boundaries in so many directions. GOAT

Some cool moments and I guess it’s unique, but the vocals are kinda unlistenable.

I appreciate the creativity for its time, but this is tough to listen to.

Sounds great production-wise. The guitar playing is excellent. I loved how subtle they were with embracing quietness at certain parts and not over-playing.

Really cool Stones album. Some of the best music I've heard from them. I was a little surprised at some of the musical directions they went in.

Cool relic from my year of birth.

It is hard to put this one into words that haven't been said before. Abbey Road is one of my all-time favorite albums. I've probably listened to it hundreds of times. Every song is its own little perfectly crafted masterpiece. The mood of the album is so diverse. You'll find some of the darkest Beatles material (Because, I Want You) as well as some of the most uplifting ones (Here Comes the Sun, Octopus's Garden). The production is completely masterful. Hard to believe they were on the verge of breakup during the whole process. It's my cat Maxwell's favorite as well :)

Thought this one was interesting, and a nice surprise as I had never heard of this band before. Kinda rough to listen to at times because of the hard panning.

This is really good. I love the subtle yet effective instrumentation and how well produced it is. They did a great job at adding flavorful effects without going overboard. The guitar parts perfectly compliment the vocals.

Really cool sounding. It's interesting to hear the pioneers of ambient & electronic music. Definitely want to check out more of their stuff.

Overall it's not something I would normally be into, but it's really well-made and the songwriting is not bad.

Terrific album that I have listened to many times. Excellent musicianship between all three guys without overplaying, precise songwriting, great lyrics, legendary riffs. Such a unique band and overall sound. God damn legends. R.I.P. NEIL PEART

Have they tried Jesus?

Really good album. I'm jealous of how great these guys are at making simple songs sound compelling. PHILLY REPRESENT

Really cool and unique artist. Solid songwriting with cool guitar parts. Elliot Smith was really clever with guitar chord voicings and throwing little surprises in. And he played all the instruments himself.

Really interesting concept and sounds great.

Absolutely beautiful sounding. Amazing singing and every instrument is so subtle and perfect.

Pitchfork: 10/10 Rolling Stone: 4/5 Vecna: 0/10

'The Space Between Mr. Frear's Ears' but it takes place in a Nazi occupied war zone in the 1940s. So brutal sounding that it's actually interesting. Erratic mechanical noises, zero concept of melody, maniacal German screaming, songs ending out of nowhere. A compelling experiment in pure musical torture.

Excellent album and massively influential for a lot of my favorite bands. Top-notch level of musicianship and ambition. I fucking love Genesis.

Really solid soul/funk album and super smooth.

Excellent stuff. Beautiful, intricate, smooth. Doesn't sound like it came out in the 60s. To me it sounds like it could be more modern. I will be listening to Nick Drake a lot more.

One of the albums that shaped prog rock as we know it. Not my personal favorite of theirs but it’s one of the GOAT prog rock albums ever and experimental as fuck for it’s time.

These guys are TIGHT. 3 guys who compliment each other really well. Every part is so perfectly precise. I don't normally care much for reggae but I love how they mix it in with rock and pop stuff. Cool subtle use of guitar effects like delay & chorus. Drumming is so good.

Terrific album that just sounds so relaxing and inviting. I love the use of subtle jazzy piano chords to color the sound.

A little corny sounding but I appreciated the orchestral stuff and how dramatic it was. The overall sound is super clean, like it could have come out decades later.

I love how they used the fuck out of that percussion instrument that sounds like a small dog barking.