1001 Albums Summary

Common and Kanye really brought out the best in each other here. The opening tracks are untouchable. Starts with a beautiful thesis and swings for the fences on The Corner.

Not my style. But really glad I listened to it.

Still cooks

This doesn't hold up as much as I wanted it to. Still quality, but feels like a time capsule as opposed to a timeless classic.

Very beautiful. Her lyrical construction and turns of phrase are a joy.

Classic

Wonderful. I have very little knowledge of country music. And this is an awesome entry point.

My first concert was Jimmy Cliff, of whom I was totally ignorant. Burning Spear opened and I was blown away by the stage presence and the bass. I got into Jimmy Cliff but never followed up on Burning Spear's work. This is fantastic for a reggae novice like myself. Love the combination of politics and art.

Couldn't get into it. Too dour for this time in my life, but I recognize that it's a very good album.

I forgot how brilliant this album is at times. Sometimes it flags, but mostly it rocks and still feels relevant.

This is an amazing album that somehow didn't speak to me the way OK Computer and The Bends did. National Anthem still cooks, though. SO many great songs.

I wasn't into B.I.G. when he was alive, aside from Hypnotize. Listening more closely, I can see why he was considered one of the all time greatest lyricists. Now that I'm older, I can't get into the more materialistic and misogynistic lyrics - BUT the vulnerability he shows in other songs is very revealing and compelling. The resentment towards his mother, the overwhelming sense of hopelessness leading to a life of risk and excess, and the suicidal compulsions all seem to be overlooked when people talk about him (at least from what I've read). Still not my favorite, but you can't deny his brilliance.

Unable to stream this anywhere, unfortunately. Fortunately, I still have them on CD. This was the first rap album that I got to really listen to, when my older brother borrowed the tape from a friend. I had no idea music could be this eclectic, creative, playful and downright WEIRD. De La Soul definitely matured as artists, but they never lost their sense of humor or creativity. One thing that separates them from other hip hop acts is the variety of different flows/use of meter that they use. Every album features songs that use off-kilter rhyme schemes, and it all started here. There's precise iambic/trochaic delivery on Me Myself and I, a weird thesis statement at the beginning of each couplet on D.A.I.S.Y. Age, and delayed/echoing rhyme payoffs in Potholes in my lawn, just to name three.

Much better, grooving, more focused than their debut album.

As a die hard Native Tongue fan, I wanted to love Jungle Brothers more than I did. Their follow ups weren't stellar, but this album still has several outstanding tracks: Feelin' Alright, Good Newz Comin' and J. Beez Comin' Through still kick ass. The JB's helped educate me about afrocentrism and were a great answer to anyone in the 80's claiming rap music was all violent and negative. They could spit great rhymes, and made some excellent dance tracks, and their positivity and near-wholesomeness were incredibly endearing.

Not my speed.

Stellar

Not as good as I remember it. Bad, Man in the Mirror, Smooth criminal are all still fantastic. The other stuff hasn't aged well, along with his legacy.

With the bombastic political and gangsta lyrics, it's easy to forget how much dance music is on this album. Dre always knew how to get people moving.