1001 Albums Summary

You fucking kidding me with this?

Some classic tracks, for sure, but a bit of an uneven album.

Not much to recommend here. It’s got kind of a soft rock, pseudo blues thing going on that really just kind of annoyed me.

At times, this was just kind of generic speed metal and I would think it was fine, but definitely not for me. Then, it would veer into nu metal melodrama and I could not stand it. Another baffling inclusion on the list.

What a quirky little album. There are a couple of throwaway songs on here, but overall, I found this album to be charming and when it really hit for me on songs like Long Promised Road, Disney Girls, and Til I Die, I loved it. Definitely holds up to anything else from this era.

I don’t know what I could write here that has not already been written. This album is perfect and it’s beautiful. The mood it sets is so evocative that this album feels much longer than it’s runtime, but in a good way. You are transported when you listen to it.

Ghostface at the top of his game and some all time classic tracks.

I am not sure there is enough variety in musical styles to justify the bloat of this album. There is some amazing stuff on here, with songs like Sweet Black Angel, Loving Cup, and Ventilator Blues standing out to me. I’ve never been as high on Shine a Light or Soul Survivor. It’s a good album. I can’t say any of the songs are bad, but this album just seems like a lot of variations of the same thing and that might be the idea, but it doesn’t resonate with me as much as other Stones albums.

Didn’t expect to like this, but what can I say? When something kicks ass, it kicks ass.

Pleasure to listen to. Cool and breezy. Makes me feel like it’s the 60s. I just had 3 gibsons and a wedge salad and am ready to take my Seconal before bed.

Sheer perfection.

I get the landmark status of this album, but the vocals are just not for me.

Just a lovely collection of songs with a really interesting lyrical tension from song to song. It’s really a fascinating album. There are very light and beautiful melodies juxtaposed against some pretty dark and even bitter lyrics. It’s as good as Dylan gets.

I am not very familiar with Bobby Womack and do not know if this album is a great example of his body or work. I suspect it is not, but either way, I did not care for this. It’s a very slick 80s production that just does not appeal to me. Other than Womack’s voice, which is indisputably great, nothing here engaged me.

Catchy tunes. Great harmonies. Not exactly my thing, but I get why this was so popular.

KD Lang has an incredible voice, but this album was just a bit too adult contemporary for me. I found it to be somewhat lifeless.

Fuck right off with this.

I have never heard of this, although I kind I remember that Scooby Snacks song being sort of a hit. Regardless, this sucks. I am not going to bother looking anything up, but I assume these guys all met at a frat party. Juvenile lyrics, boring instrumentals, this is just a completely disposable bit of music.

This album rules. Might be the best way to introduce someone to this band.

Some solid grooves and interesting samples. Pleasant enough, but not super engaging.

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the softer numbers, but overall, I still feel like Rod Stewart is pretty bland and whitewashed blues.

Just 28 minutes and every song is a classic.

This is exactly what you want from a live album. It’s crackling with energy

I really enjoyed this album. At times, it can be harrowing, but it can also be beautiful and funny.

I had a lot of fun listening to this. There is a great, pulpy feel to it

This isn’t quite as strong a set of songs as the previous two Stooges albums, but still, this is a visceral and rocking album.

I found this to be a challenging listen, but I also found it to be rewarding and very interesting.

I think Creedence is underrated, in a way, because they have several hits that are fairly played out. Their run of great albums was remarkable and this album is fantastic all the way through. It has that typical swampy, garage rock-ish vibe and a great collection of songs.

This is one of those albums that is pretty hard to listen to objectively, die to its ubiquity and large footprint. It might be Cash’s most famous album and it also might be his best. One of those instances where the live versions of the songs are the definitive versions.

Just a gem of an album. Not all of the baroque, psychedelic pop of this era has ages well, but this is such a strong collection of songs. Just lovely.

Well, I couldn’t understand any of it, but there is some impressive rapping here, nonetheless. Overall, I found this to be quite enjoyable.

Not bad. There is no doubt that this album is extremely well produced, has elaborate arrangements, and has very layered sound. This music is just a bit melodramatic for my taste.

An excellent album. Higher and Everyday People are probably the best known songs, but this album rocks from start to finish. Loved the jam in Sex Machine.

This is a lot of fun and it’s certainly not hard to imagine why this was such a massive hit at the time. Personally, the ballads are not for me, but the rest of it was terrific.

This is incredible. Taking the historic status of the performance out of it, these are just phenomenal renditions of legendary songs. The electric set has a fierce energy to it, and which is aided by the what is perhaps the most overqualified backup group in history.

Police have always been kind of a meh band for me and this is their most meh album.

This was pretty chill, but I did not find it particular engaging. It’s just not for me.

There is no denying Adele’s voice, but this is not really my style of music. I find it a little overwrought.

This just isn’t for me.

This album was entrancing and wonderful. What studio production and electronic additions there are, such as on Daane Lenol, are sparing and don’t get in the way of the songs themselves. Really cool syncopation between the guitars, throughout.

Just so, so good. This kind of hits all the marks for Queen. It’s got fantastic all out rockers like the opening track and Sweet Lady, English music ball homages, and Bohemian Rhapsody, of course.

This completely rocks, although it’s unfortunate that Apple Music does not have the full version and I had to listen on YouTube with ads. I can’t hold that against the music, though. With great versions or his own hits, as well as some choice covers, this album has Jerry Lee Lewis as manic and wild as he will ever sound. In a lot of ways, Lewis was bringing a punk like swagger and attitude long before punk music came around.

Enjoyable, but a bit smooth for my taste. Obviously, Shining Star is a classic.

This has never been my favorite. I find the album to be a bit schizophrenic. There are some great songs, for sure. There, There and Where I End are standouts. Overall, though, this still seems like a bit of a letdown after Kid A and Amnesiac. Can’t really fault any band for a letdown after albums like that, though.

I mean, c’mon. What are we doing here? I really hope this band only has one album on the list.

Exceptional hard pop-punk. This is a great collection of songs and it just rocks.

This is lovely and was a return to form after Hail to the Thief, but I still question giving one band 6 spots on this list. Regardless, this is an excellent album, if not quite as consequential as the band’s earlier work.

An all time classic that only improves with age. It’s like a high concept party album.

I really liked this at first, but the slower stuff wasn’t for me.

There is some cool stuff here, but I can’t see myself wanting to revisit this album. It’s a little proggy for my taste.

Classic. Tons of fun to revisit.

The big hits from this album, the title track, Express Yourself, Cherish are all pretty great. However, I think there is some filler that is not super engaging for me. Still, I think as surprised at how well this album holds up.

This was pretty enjoyable. Very laid back, but engaging.

I wonder if I would look more favorably on this album if I hadn’t already listened to so many lesser Brit Pop bands that came up on this list. I can certainly appreciate the humor on this album and the creativity, but it’s kind of meandering.

I can’t be objective about this album. It’s one of my all time favorites. I love the dreamlike feel of it and I find new things in it every time I listen.

This was great. It’s a great mix of varied covers and obviously, Harris’ voice is incredible. I loved these versions of Coat of Many Colors and For No One.

I really enjoyed this more than I expected. It’s a dark, introspective album.

Parts of this I really liked. Other parts really sounded like 2000s emo to me. Maybe that means this band was ahead of its time. Regardless, I think this is an album I respected more than I liked.

This was fine.

I did not care for the very much. Way too much of a disco feel. Way too smooth. I can’t foresee ever wanting to revisit this album. I’ll credit them with being good musicians, though.

Excellent album. Helpless and Country Girl are standouts for me, but really, every song on here is a classic.

Another one that’s pretty hard to listen to objectively. It’s the Beatles. I’ve been listening to this for my whole life. It’s not my favorite Beatles, but it’s great.

I think this is a bit of a step down from their previous two albums, but it’s still a lot of fun and has some great songs. The opening trio of songs really kick things off with a bang. All in all, this is a really good album.

Joni Mitchell is an incredible songwriter and lyricist. There is a lot going on with this album. I wasn’t as into some of the jazzier arrangements, though.

I didn’t care for this at all. Super abrasive. I do wonder what I would have thought if I had heard this album prior to everything that’s happened with Kanye over the last several years, because in a vacuum, I think the content of this album would still make me think Kanye was an aggrieved megalomaniac. It m giving this an extra star only because I was impressed by some of the arrangements.

Another classic. This is just a great band and I love how their albums have no fluff.

This was a lot of fun, but I don’t think it’s aged particularly well. This band’s lyrics are pretty silly and it’s just not that interesting to me anymore. Of course, my opinion is probably tinted by getting too many Britpop bands from this list, already.

I love this album. It’s got a lot of different moods on it and there is a warmth and humor to it.

It can be a bit of a struggle for me to rate stuff like this, because to me, it sounds pretty dated. There are some really good beats on this, for sure. I really liked the more reggae tinged numbers.

This album just rules. Obviously, Christine’s Song is a banger, but the ballads rule too and I have always loved this cover of Dark End of the Street.

In some ways, this held up better than I expected, but I think the songs get weaker as the album goes on. I think if they’d winnowed down their songs and made a 35 minute album, this might have hit me harder.

So cheesy and so fun. The title track really is where it’s at for me, but the ballads are good.

There comes a time in every man’s life when he has to admit to himself that Abba is good. I’m not familiar with this album and it doesn’t have any of the bangers that I’m familiar with, but it’s a sweet album.

Ethereal, evocative, atmospheric, and perfect.

This is cool for sure. I was into the whole cabaret, show tune kind of feel to it. Definitely did not expect West Side Story music to make an appearance.

This was really terrific. I’d always heard that this was a cool band, but I was impressed by the scope of this album. The opening track and title track were standouts, but I really liked the psychedelic freak out on No Sympathy and also loved A Touch Sensitive.

This doesn’t really do anything for me, but it’s fine.

I love this album. It takes the kind of Phil Spector on acid sound of Soft Bulletin, but strips it down and gives it a metallic, futuristic sheen.

I wasn’t sure about this album at first, but it grew on me as I listened to it. The lyrics are clever and often funny. Overall, this is a very interesting and honest album.

This was alright, but I am just not that into this kind of synth pop.

This album is terrific. Loved the opening track.

Enjoyable, but it is disco, which has to involve at least a one star demerit.

This is the second 80s metal album that I liked a lot more than I expected to. I really like the dual lead guitar that these guys do.

There are some hits and misses on this album.

I don’t know, but I just don’t get Morrisey.

I had never listened to a whole Nick Drake album. There was more humor than I expected, but also the pathos and sadness that I expected. Really good.

What a fantastic, bitter, angry album. This one’s got it all.

It’s not hard to imagine why this album was a big deal. Baez’s voice is unique and these are great interpretations.

There will be stretches where I enjoy this albums, but then Morrisey ruins it. I enjoyed the instrumental section of Death of a Disco Dancer, but then the next track was melodramatic rubbish. I’ve been trying to have an open mind and hear what so many other people hear, but I just don’t get Morrisey.

If I didn’t know better, I would have thought this was a fake band in some square’s interpretation of what acid rock sounds like, like the band playing in the background of a hippie freak out episode of Dragnet or something. Actually, I know there is an episode of Dragnet like that and I’m going to check it out in case that music is better than this. Giving this an extra star for the drum solo.

I guess there are folks who don’t consider this a true Iggy Pop album because Bowie is all over it, but whatever. This album rules from start to finish. Love Nightclubbing and Dum Dum Boys in particular.

My first genuine surprise in a while. I loved this album. It’s noisy and beautiful and lyrical. At any given time, it can give you great power pop hooks and loud, shoegazey instrumentals. Great stuff. I will listen to more from this band.

Not all of this album really engages me. Blue Rondo A La Turk and Take 5 are classics, obviously, and the former is very interesting, but much of the album is a little lounge-y to me.

I remember when this came out and being impressed by it even before realizing that it was a farewell. There are a ton of interesting ideas on this album. Ultimately, it will never rank amongst my favorite Bowie records, but I’m glad it exists. I think I’ll be listening to it more than I have been.

This is a really cool album. It has a bit of a flower power sheen, but the lyrics are a bit stranger and even darker than you would expect. I couldn’t tell if I liked it at first, but after a couple of listens, I think this album is just full of ideas, excellent guitar playing, and deserves its status as a classic.

This is kind of cool. They mix dance music with more experimental sounds.

I loved the first track on this album, but then the rest of it didn’t vibe for me as much. Just kind of smooth 70s folk rock to me.

A classic, for sure.

I was pretty impressed by this, which I know is a silly thing to say about such a well known album. A lot of the songs deal with some pretty dark subject matter, but always with wit and humor.

There is a lot to take in here. This music is kind of confrontational, but it’s always interesting. One thing I noticed was that Nick Cave’s later Grinderman albums seem to harken back to this frenetic and aggressive style.

One of my favorite Zeppelin albums for sure. I like the folkier songs.

Pretty good. Definitely leans much more into straight soul than her earlier work and her backup band is very tight. However, I can’t help but feel like this is just a little bland.

Not bad. Passable funk. Perfectly enjoyable.

Overwrought and overly ambitious. I don’t think the band’s lyrics can back these arrangements up. This felt like listening to a soap opera. There were a couple of songs that were alright, though. Overall, there was nothing on this album that seemed significant to me and I’ve already largely forgotten it.

I went into this expecting some degree of bloat, it being a long double album. I guess it would be silly to say I was surprised at a Stevie Wonder Album being great, but I kind of was. There were a couple of tracks that didn’t hit me quite as hard and of course, some degree of cheesiness is just part of the Stevie Wonder experience, but overall, this is album is amazing.

I just don’t like this band. It’s generic blues rock at best. It’s a mediocre bar band. The only reason this is not a one star album to me is because Sweet Emption is a good song and even that, I am not sure if I really like it, or just have good associations with its use in Dazed and Confused.

Not bad. This seems like kind of an interesting not quite metal, not quite grunge kind of style. Very ridiculous lyrics.

I had one album of theirs and thought it was alright. This was not. I found nothing about this to be compelling or noteworthy. This is another baffling inclusion.

Sometimes, a classic is a classic for a reason.

I really respect his ability to tell a story with each song.

I liked this way more than I expected to. I’ve heard his big hits, but never sat down and listened to an album.

This was really enjoyable. I love Sinatra’s take on the more well known numbers and the songs that were original for this session were really cool. Just a laid back pleasure.

Wow. I will admit that I didn’t know what to expect from an album at the end of a man’s life. This album is upfront and almost confrontational about it. It’s not bitter, though, just honest about regret and loss and love. This album is remarkable.

This was pretty cool. I did find the novelty of it mostly being voices to wear a bit thin by the end, but overall; this is a varied set of songs and is an incredibly creative album.

La Del Ruso is the track that made this album click for me. I was enjoying the album, but nothing about it was a specially compelling to me as more than background music until the last 2 tracks and they are cool enough to elevate this album. In general, this is a cool mix of electronica Latin/South American grooves.

In a lot of ways, this might be the quintessential Stones album. It’s lean, stripped down, and full of menace and snarl. Great album.

Definitely a good time. I don’t really have much to say about this album.

Not bad. Cry Me a River is a banger. I think what I bump against on this album is that while I find the production interesting and creative, I don’t find Timberlake himself to be that compelling as a singer. Technically, he’s good, but I don’t hear a lot of originality. That makes it hard for me to listen to this and think it’s anything other than fine.

I didn’t find every song on this album to be super engaging, but there is a lot of great stuff here. Lasidan and Keito are two standouts for me.

Truly astounding. I actually think the songs songs being pulled from previous seasons is a strength of this album. The breadth and diversity of styles you hear in 40 minutes is incredible. Just greatness from start to finish.

Loved this. Bob Mould just has such a knack for hard, great pop hooks.

I think I was able to apply fresh ears to this one and I really got it. This album is crackling with energy and youth and it made total sense to me why Elvis became what he became. I know this seems like a pretty basic take, but I wouldn’t say that I was ever really an Elvis guy.

There are some fantastic songs on here, with Broken Drum probably being my favorite.

I thought this was pretty good, but I didn’t love it. It was a little poppy for my taste and honestly, I thought some lyrics were a little overly clever.

It’s pretty easy to hear the influence of Buddy Holly in almost any rock or pop song. These songs hold up and have great hooks. The recordings are also interesting and more complex than you would expect. A bona fide classic.

This album is amazing. Yeah, hot take, I know. This album is also horribly sad, partly because the issues that Marvin Gaye addresses on this album are the same now as they were then. This album is beautiful and it’s both a miracle and a tragedy that it was then and will always be the definitive statement on race and the environment in America. Such a bummer, such a great album.

This one was a little tough to rate for me. I went in with great anticipation. However, I don’t particularly like this style of neo Americana. The chemistry in this album is so strong, though, that I was on over, anyway. Each singer gets a chance to take center stage, but at all times, the harmonies are incredible.