My 1001 Albums Journey

Albums Rated

3.52

Average Rating

Complete

1029 albums remaining

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2000s

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Electronica

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Wordsmith

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5-Star Albums

1-Star Albums

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Albums

You Love More Than Most

Album	You	Global	Diff
New Forms Roni Size	5	2.53	+2.47
World Clique Deee-Lite	5	2.87	+2.13
Merriweather Post Pavilion Animal Collective	5	2.91	+2.09
Ambient 1/Music For Airports Brian Eno	5	3.07	+1.93
Teen Dream Beach House	5	3.27	+1.73
Since I Left You The Avalanches	5	3.28	+1.72
Countdown To Ecstasy Steely Dan	5	3.28	+1.72
Come Away With Me Norah Jones	5	3.38	+1.62
Sound of Silver LCD Soundsystem	5	3.42	+1.58
Hounds Of Love Kate Bush	5	3.61	+1.39

You Love Less Than Most

Album	You	Global	Diff
Funeral Arcade Fire	2	3.56	-1.56
Songs Of Leonard Cohen Leonard Cohen	2	3.38	-1.38
Chirping Crickets Buddy Holly & The Crickets	2	3.29	-1.29
Bandwagonesque Teenage Fanclub	2	3.06	-1.06
I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight Richard Thompson	2	3.05	-1.05
Architecture And Morality Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark	2	3.05	-1.05
The Notorious Byrd Brothers The Byrds	2	3.04	-1.04

5-Star Albums (11)

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Popular Reviews

Sound of Silver

LCD Soundsystem

5/5

The best single LCD Soundsystem studio album for sure. I love everything they did through the MSG "farewell" run, shame that James Murphy has become cringe ever since reforming the band

3 likes

World Clique

Deee-Lite

5/5

All-time favorite. This album raised me in a couple ways, probably. Lady Miss Kier an all-time legend. All three Deee-Lite albums rock

3 likes

New Forms

Roni Size

5/5

4.5 stars. Probably not the first drum'n'bass record to have heavy jazz sounds and influences, but certainly the landmark album (and a 2CD behemoth at that!) establishing what is still a very active subgenre and world of music. Classic.

1 likes

Different Class

Pulp

3/5

a few great moments but most of it does little for me :/ I know this is a classic of britpop and I'm supposed to like it. 2.5 stars.

1 likes

All Ratings

Caetano Veloso

3/5

Worth noting that I love all sorts of Brazilian music and that Caetano Veloso is a total legend. Not my favorite album of his though

Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)

Eurythmics

3/5

I feel like this is a weird inclusion on the list. If there's gonna be a Eurythmics album on the 1001 album list, shouldn't it be "Touch"? IDK - there are plenty of contemporaneous synth pop albums that I love, and of course I like the title track as much as anybody else, but this doesn't do a whole lot for me as an album. Great moments: I do really like the Sam & Dave "Wrap It Up" cover and the trumpet solo on "The Walk"

Debut

Björk

4/5

Not my favorite Bjork album (that'd be the next one, "Post") but this is still a fantastic record and so damn ahead of its time for 1993

Psychocandy

The Jesus And Mary Chain

2/5

i mean, respect for being a genre-defining album and everything but uhhh this doesn't do anything for me personally. Also the way it's mixed grates on me, I'd much prefer the way MBV albums sound if we're doing shoegaze

Out of Step

Minor Threat

3/5

I mean... what's not to like about this? Shy of 4 stars for me because I'm more of a Fugazi guy and I'm not into punk enough to stay engaged with such a same-y collection of songs, even at a concise 21min runtime. Is "13 Songs" on this list? That'd probably be a 4-star'er for me.

Songs Of Leonard Cohen

Leonard Cohen

2/5

okay. don't ever see myself reaching for this album again.

Blue Lines

Massive Attack

4/5

It's true - Drew's just not cool enough for it

Sound of Silver

LCD Soundsystem

5/5

The best single LCD Soundsystem studio album for sure. I love everything they did through the MSG "farewell" run, shame that James Murphy has become cringe ever since reforming the band

Funeral

Arcade Fire

2/5

Well.... some parts aged better than others. Some of it holds up. But in its lesser bits, clear inspiration for some of the most vapid indie rock that came 10 years later. Also, kind of weird to be listening to an Arcade Fire album given the extremely recent headlines about Win Butler. Maybe would've been three stars if I didn't have that bad taste in my mouth right now.

Since I Left You

The Avalanches

5/5

Masterpiece. An hour-long journey constructed from small snippets of a few thousand dollar bin records, but crucially, it's a mesmerizing piece of music beyond just the process. Lots of good memories jamming out to this Watch the "Frontier Psychiatrist" music video if you haven't seen it Only topped (arguably) by their subsequent two albums

Fuzzy Logic

Super Furry Animals

3/5

Future Days

Can

4/5

Super vibey. Same superb musicianship as the two Can albums I'm more familiar with, but a much calmer atmosphere throughout. Jaki Liebezeit was such a great drummer, so many super funky pockets all over this album that help keep things moving. A well-paced 40 minutes, will almost definitely listen again soon.

Chirping Crickets

Buddy Holly & The Crickets

2/5

So here's what drives me up a wall about this album - it has 0 swing. On every track the drummer sounds like a 6th grader joining jazz band for the first time and trying to play a swing beat but it comes out all jilted. Even Buddy's vocal phrasing is super square. Compare this original recording of "Not Fade Away" to the Grateful Dead cover (or even the Rolling Stones cover)

The Man Machine

Kraftwerk

3/5

I love Kraftwerk but this one is much more boring than like, Computer World (or even Techno Pop!!)

Water From An Ancient Well

Abdullah Ibrahim

3/5

Embarrassed to admit this is a total blindspot in my jazz knowledge. Overall though this was a solid album ("Tuang Guru" was a standout)

Being There

Wilco

4/5

I was really pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this. I don't really know much Wilco beyond a few tracks from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but there was a lot to like about this.

The Wall

Pink Floyd

4/5

Wow, I have complicated feelings about "The Wall". Undeniably justified in its all-time classic status, and probably the best and most cohesive "rock opera" out there. Lots to love. The ONLY reason it falls short of 5 stars for me is that it's a tough top-to-bottom listen for me - the theatrical elements and vignettes that fascinated me as a kid feel a little cringe-inducing when I'm just trying to sit and enjoy an album. Maybe rock operas just aren't for me. More hits than misses with the songs here, just not one of my personal all-time favorite albums anymore.

Dance Mania

Tito Puente

4/5

Wow I love this album, was a big revelation for me when I picked it up on a recommendation in high school. My second favorite Tito Puente album behind "Puente on Percussion" - highly recommend the expanded "legacy edition" on Spotify for some great b-side cuts like "Baila Como Es"

Low

David Bowie

3/5

3.5 stars. I actually really like the largely-instrumental B side, the album as a whole is a pretty interesting package. Yeah, it's not one of the "biggest" Bowie albums, but I see the artistic significance here. Great work from Eno. Would pair interestingly with "Blackstar"

Eliminator

ZZ Top

4/5

I literally own a vintage Eliminator tour jacket (in slight need of repair, but it kicks ass). Probably says enough about how much I love ZZ Top, even though I'd take Rio Grande Mud or Tres Hombres over the 80s stuff

Haut de gamme / Koweït, rive gauche

Koffi Olomide

2/5

2.5 stars, not my thing

Led Zeppelin IV

Led Zeppelin

4/5

I liked the ZZ Top album better

Germs

3/5

This rocked

Merriweather Post Pavilion

Animal Collective

5/5

4.5 stars, probably the peak Animal Collective album. I think the whole album is fantastic, only thing that detracts a half star is that it's such a maximalist assault on the senses that a full, uninterrupted listenthrough can get a little much for my brain to process. Not quite as many peaks and valleys as an AnCo album like "Strawberry Jam". "My Girls" is one of the most iconic songs of the 00s, "Bluish" one of my favorite love songs, and"Brother Sport" an all-time album closer. Rounding my rating up instead of down this time to help the average against the philistines who will inevitably give this a 2 or something.

Songs For Swingin' Lovers!

Frank Sinatra

3/5

3.5 stars. I like the ones where he is sad much better. For just about every one of these standards, there's a vocalist or arrangement I prefer much more than "ol' blue eyes" (they called him that because he was old and had blue eyes) - e.g. "Too Marvelous for Words" sounds really square here compared to a good Louis Prima live recording during his marriage to Keely Smith where they're just egging each other on onstage

Come Find Yourself

Fun Lovin' Criminals

2/5

It is "criminal" to think that I would be "lovin'" this "fun" (some cool samples though)

La Revancha Del Tango

Gotan Project

4/5

What can I say, I have a soft spot for 00s electronic chillout albums like this, especially for late-night work (it's that or "Gaucho")

The Low End Theory

A Tribe Called Quest

4/5

4.5 stars. (My 5 stars would be reserved for Midnight Marauders)

Central Reservation

Beth Orton

3/5

2.5 stars. Not sure if I'll ever return to this album, but surprisingly enjoyable

Tommy

The Who

3/5

Suffers from the same "rock opera" problem as The Wall, and with way more of an added cringe factor since I was a kid. Still an overall fine album, but let's be honest - what are you reaching for on this record besides "Pinball Wizard"?

Bad

Michael Jackson

3/5

3.5 stars. Not my favorite era of MJ. Honestly would be 3 stars if not for Smooth Criminal

Melody A.M.

Röyksopp

4/5

Oh come on. I'm starting to think that nobody at Cro Metrics likes music. If you can't at least vibe to "Eple" or "Royksopp's Night Out" you are terminally uncool

World Clique

Deee-Lite

5/5

All-time favorite. This album raised me in a couple ways, probably. Lady Miss Kier an all-time legend. All three Deee-Lite albums rock

Innervisions

Stevie Wonder

5/5

I think this is actually my favorite Stevie album, above Songs In The Key Of Life. Anybody who thinks there's any filler on this must've gotten distracted while listening

Trans Europe Express

Kraftwerk

3/5

3 stars

Technique

New Order

3/5

Pleasantly surprised at how enjoyable this New Order album is... even though it's only a few years after the hits everybody knows for some reason I was expecting it to be a letdown? 3.5 stars, somewhat likely to revisit.

New Forms

Roni Size

5/5

Bandwagonesque

Teenage Fanclub

2/5

not for me ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Fun House

The Stooges

4/5

Was only a 3 star album for me until the last two tracks. Unhinged sax work on "Fun House" and I only got more impressed when it went straight from that to the free jazz freakout of "L.A. Blues". The double-tracked drums? Dude. Wild.

Very

Pet Shop Boys

4/5

3.5 stars, definitely not in my top 3 Pet Shop Boys albums but I have a strange soft spot for them apparently

Apocalypse 91… The Enemy Strikes Black

Public Enemy

4/5

Kinda shocked I've never listened to this one vs. "It Takes A Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back" or "Fear of a Black Planet". Pleased to say it holds up equally well alongside those two all-time classics. 4.5 stars

Signing Off

UB40

4/5

Easily 3.75 stars. I had a copy of "Labour of Love" just like everybody else but admittedly have never heard any of UB40's non-cover song work. This came off as a pretty genuine dub record. If I had to pick a reggae band from Birmingham, Steel Pulse would still stand heads and shoulders above IMO, but this was pretty good

Marcus Garvey

Burning Spear

3/5

3.5 stars but ultimatley prefer the spacier, more experimental dub-type stuff like that UB40 album

I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight

Richard Thompson

2/5

Not for me. Can't imagine why I would've needed to hear this before I died.

Halcyon Digest

Deerhunter

3/5

man y'all are just curmudgeons 3 stars

Architecture And Morality

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark

2/5

2.5 stars. i listened weeks ago and barely remember anything about it except going "oh, that's an odd and interesting choice" on a couple songs, so half-star for that.

More Songs About Buildings And Food

Talking Heads

4/5

The Notorious Byrd Brothers

The Byrds

2/5

apparently they fired David Crosby during the recording of this album and this SOUNDS like a band who would fire the coolest guy in it.

Country Life

Roxy Music

3/5

3.5 stars - I prefer "Avalon" but this is still a solid album. Bryan Ferry is nuts

Teen Dream

Beach House

5/5

Beach House put out at least a 3-album run of 5-star gems and this was the first. Hypnotic and beautiful - changed me when I first heard it

Make Yourself

Incubus

4/5

3.5 stars, a truly solid album, elevated to 4 stars by the turntable showcase "Battlestar Scralatchtica" with legends DJ Nu-Mark and Cut Chemist joining Kilmore.

Come Away With Me

Norah Jones

5/5

There are a couple songs in the world that I can't resist cranking the volume up to its max every time I play them, no exceptions. "Don't Know Why" is absolutely one of them. A perfect song. Sets the tone for an incredible album.

Aftermath

The Rolling Stones

3/5

Talking Book

Stevie Wonder

4/5

I really needed some Stevie today :) 4.5 stars, a stellar album that gets just a bit overshadowed by the perfection that follows in "Innervisions" and "Songs In The Key of Life"

Ambient 1/Music For Airports

Brian Eno

5/5

4.5 stars, rating 5 for Drew's sake

Different Class

Pulp

3/5

a few great moments but most of it does little for me :/ I know this is a classic of britpop and I'm supposed to like it. 2.5 stars.

Bat Out Of Hell

Meat Loaf

3/5

3.5 stars

The Stooges

4/5

3.5 stars. Again pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed a Stooges album. Skipped through the rejected John Cale mix for comparison and have to say I have clear preference for the original release. (justice for the Glyn Johns mix of "Let It Be" though!!!)

Countdown To Ecstasy

Steely Dan

5/5

some of y'all nerds must love going back to your old school

Hounds Of Love

Kate Bush

5/5

Art. Fantastic album top-to-bottom