It’s an album I know well and it has the sound that at the time propelled them into consciousness but it’s ultimately a bit flat. I don’t think it’s an album I’d keep going back to.

The context of this album was incredible. A surprise launch after years of silence from one of the all time greats. This is a good album but if it wasn’t Bowie and out of the blue would people listen to it over and over? I suspect not.

This is a lovely, gentle piece of work which must have been groundbreaking at the time. I'd listen to this again. 36 minutes long - albums used to be short enough to enjoy them.

Ok the odd great song that we know well but mainly a mess and not something I’d listen to all the way through with any pleasure

Art not the artist ... It's as good as a pop album gets with any number of absolutely fantastic songs.

It’s got a few tunes it’s got some filler - it’s not something I’d go back to.

This was a struggle. Turgid 12 bar blues.

An absolute work of genius. Every moment still as good as the first time I heard it. Came from nowhere and will last forever. Other bands wanted to be Pixies

I love lots of Elton John but I don't love this at all. Only one stand out song - Tiny Dancer - the rest a real struggle.

I struggled through

Lovely album with some great tunes

This is the perfect pop album. An absolute masterpiece and incredibly consistent. Aside from all the singles the rest could have been singles. The high point of 80s production adds a beautiful listening experience. There's a good reason why this album sold so many copies and it still stands up.

Perfectly pleasant but not something that I’d play again

Well this is dreadful self indulgent rubbish. I’m sure may have had some sort of influence at the time for those under the influence. Thank God that’s over.

Of its time. Still a good noise but not a keeper

Slowing down and speeding up the tape is a nice trick on song one, by song 5 it starts to grate a lot. That this is in any list is baffling.

The authentic rock sound they were looking for is great, if only they also had some songs to go with it.

Still a beast of an album. Derivative, yes, some painful lyrics but it's a rock and roll album that evokes an era.

This is a really nice sound. Pleasant background music. Completely fine. No stand out songs and nothing remarkable.

Well, I'm sure it was a thing, but it's not a thing now. I'm glad I listened to it and some bits I remembered but...

Fun album, really didn’t know it at all but recognised the lead single. Sort of a prog funk epic and enjoyed it.

Good standard rock and roll

Some great moments but like a lot of double albums would have made a superb single album

Discordant and tuneless. How the mighty fallen

Couple of good pop songs, some terrible covers and a rehash of an old cover. Mundane production but an extra star for her fabulous voice. Overall though a very bland offering.

Classic metal

I didn't know this album at all - it had completely passed me by - though I did know the big hit when it got to it. I enjoyed this, melodic grunge from an era in which I spent a lot of time buying music and going to indie clubs. Well worth a listen.

An epic album of funk and songs that heralded what was to come

I hadn't even heard of this band before and I sort of liked it in a curiosity way but it didn't have any stand out tracks and I don't think I'd listen to it again

I let this wash over me like a bad background record in a lunchtime diner. It's desperately of its era and woefully short of redeeming features. An album that marked a period of time that has now passed.

Well, what is to be said about a set of turgid one phrase songs that presumably have some vague interest if you are off your tits on E at a club in 1999. Listening to it is one of the most painful experiences I have had in this escapade. Utter rubbish that a child can now do on Garage Band.

Classic rock. I was too young first time round but came back to Neil Young out of curiosity and absolutely loved him.

Lovely listen to the early sounds of rock and roll. Happy days.

This is a stunning albums in many ways. The musicianship, the first tentative sounds of the Fairlight CMI in popular songs. An eclectic album and well worth a listen.

Raw 70s sound, a few tunes, a bit patchy.

I have no idea why anyone would listen to this

Really nice folk rock album, first time to it but I'd definitely listen again.

I was a bit hesitant with this, but it is a fine piece of work. Of course the narrative issues are difficult but done with a fine touch. Very much enjoyed listening to this.

A bit of a mixture this. Some iconic songs and a lot of pretty standard blues numbers. Some fantastic bass and drums and one of the great songs in the history of rock and roll. Curate's egg.

Pleasant distraction I can see why he’s a thing but not enough to make me revisit.

Delightful album. Absolutely lovely in all respects. Fine words, fine tunes and a great sound. First time I’d listened to an album of Dolly and it was a pleasure.

It’s pleasant enough but I have no idea why it’s on this list. A bit of a by numbers electronica pop album. Nice voice, the odd good tune but there’s probably a reason why this has never come up before in my life. It’s Ok, just that.

I liked this, in a gentle and interested way. Not by any means stand out but certainly worth a listen.

I found this much better than I expected. 1979 is one of the great songs of all time but I am a bit meh about the rest of their singles. This thought had a surprising tone - some really good songs.

This is a pleasurable piece of work, for all the bits that are now known there are still musical interludes that are interesting and challenging. That a record company was built on the back of it (and indeed the whole Virgin Branson empire) is amazing in retrospect. However, it's not going to get me to 4 or 5 as I wouldn't listen to it again and again.

To say this isn't my genre is an understatement. So I approached this with some trepidation which was completely unfounded. This is a good album. It's never going to be my thing but it's melodic, interesting, has some good songs and doesn't default to the lazy end of the genre.

I think a little dated. Obviously Message itself as a song is still amazing but the album is a little too soft and underwhelming.

Nice enough but it is absolutely baffling that this made any list of anything of note.

This may well be some maturing directional shift for ABBA, but to my ears it's oompah music on synths. One of Us is still a great single, the rest is for my granny. I never saw ABBA as an albums band - they produced fantastic pop singles but I can't imagine finding depths over the course of a long player. This confirms my breezy prejudice.

Dreary, pedestrian goth music. I don't mind the genre but this is not worth the effort.

Teenage poetry set to Bontempi organ. Indescribable rubbish.

Pleasant enough, not something I'd play again and again.

Pleasant enough. They passed me by at the time. It's a little bit dinner party music for immersion but I didn't not like it.

Sold a lot of records. I wonder if anyone plays it now? It's not exactly a fun listen.

I know people for whom this is a defining album. Maybe if I’d have bought it then it would be for me too. It’s good. It’s just good. Not spectacular.

It’s pleasant enough - for this kind of music it tells decent stories

I am late, or adjacent to Bob Dylan. He's always been there, and I've heard his music all my life. But I've never been a Bob Dylan listener. People tell me I'm wrong and this album backs up that opinion. Musically and lyrically this is an outstanding album.

My heart sinks when I get a recent album I've not heard of and this is no exception. A baffling entry into any list of any albums. It’s ‘OK’ and no better than that

As with all these medium known artists I didn't hate it, but I don't see why I should particularly like it either. Nothing stand out.

What a great band, and A Forest and Play for Today are still fantastic, stand out songs that make me sit up and listen whenever they are played, but this is merely the herald of things to come, not the finished article. It's patchy, and some of it very clearly reflects how cheaply and quickly it was made. I'd love to give this more, but I can't.

Good old fashioned 90s rock and roll album. So good I listened twice.

An artist that of course I am aware of but have never really engaged. This is a lovely album, I enjoyed it greatly.

I wasn't a Dylan fan but everyone is really. This is a superb album, a man at the heights of his lyrical talent. Obviously one of the greats.

It's the Rolling Stones. It's Sticky Fingers. I would love to give it 5 stars but I've never listened to a Stones album and put it on my list of things to listen to over and over again. Great great songs but not a whole album.

Era defining, ground breaking, manufactured indi pop which now sounds like a couple of good songs and a load of filler. Diminished greatly in retrospect.

Jazz, but in a lively tuneful accessible way. Great listen. Will not be on repeat but glad I heard it.

I listened to this quite a lot at the time but in retrospect it's a bit of a bland nothing. The production sound is "terrible" even on the remaster, which I guess is a result of the technology of the time he home recorded it. One or two nice tunes but mainly a bit blah. It's not a 1 star though - there's enough dross in this list to give this two.

It’s music, I guess. I’m sure someone likes it

Good songs good guitar based indie.

It's a magnificent mess. Sound and experience and the genius of Fripp in the background. But it's not complete.

I’m sure someone likes this. The style and mood are something I should like, but there are no songs.

I don't really know what this music is for. Perhaps cooking to? It's nice, but it's not anything.

Still a beautiful album, a really nice musical moment and movement and well worth a listen.

I don't know how people listen to this. I don't know what it is. Is it music? I guess someone thought so.

It was an interesting listen, not something I would obviously seek out. Not something I’d listen to again but was good for one go.

I sort of like this but not enough. It has pleasant moments but never really grabbed me.

Interesting album, enjoyable

Lovely album and a great talent. It’s not his finest work so he loses a star for that but absolutely worth listening to.

Much better than I expected, pretty good all round album and well worth a listen.

Really enjoyed this - I'd never listened to a Siouxsie album and there's no reason why as this is right up my street.

I remember Sonic Youth being a favourite of John Peel and I didn't quite get it at the time. Now I've sat back and listened to this album I still don't get it. It's a sort of mixture of music and throwing stuff together rather lazily. I look back at a lot of the music like this and think that they were just messing with us.

This is the funk, right there.

Absolutely lovely album. I came to Nick Drake late and by chance from the soundtrack to Garden State. Whatever he thought about the orchestrations it's a fine album.

It's the Beatles. Get over yourselves, they are absolutely fundamental to the history of popular music and a hell of a lot of what went after them owes them a debt. After two albums filled with covers (people forget about that) this is the first full set of originals and packed with classics. The harmonies - If I Fell? - the energy - HDN. If Can't Buy Me Love came out now it would be a hit.

I've never been a deep Springsteen fan, though I know some are. Even by my generally ambivalent view I'm not sure there is anything particularly interesting about this album. It's OK.

Banger of an album, great to hear it again.

Really good pop/rock album that still sounds great. Not perfect - there's a couple of so so tunes - but a solid 4

Enjoyable in a m ephemeral way

Pleasant enough but not consistent

Very gentle listening, all very well known songs and stylistically very dated now but not a difficult album to listen to at all

Really good album, one of the true greats of music.

I was listening to this whilst cooking and it was a pleasant background for the mood I was in. I suspect I wouldn't have found it so pleasurable if I'd been listening intently.

Pleasant enough background music.

It's an album I bought at the time and struggled with then. It's one stand out tune and the rest is pretty mixed and feels a bit lazy.

Not really my scene but quite enjoyed it

Still an absolute classic, still a murderer.

It’s always been a difficult album to listen to but prig is prog

Really interesting very jazz based pop.

A slight surprise in that I'd never heard of it, yet it had sold so many copies - though in the USA. When it came to it I knew the signature song, of course, which is fun and prog. Sort of enjoyed it but wouldn't really go back to it.

I turned this on with some trepidation but it was actually quite a fun listen. Mad genre, no idea how people get into it but hey, it's part of music's rich tapestry.

Perfectly agreeable American rock/blues.

Nothing of note here. Quite literally.

Another odd choice of album to laud. Fairly pedestrian tap/hip hop album with no stand out moments at all. Passed me by for a very good reason.

One of the greatest rock and roll albums. Seems unfair to lose a star but I think it’s not quite complete. But still, what a sound. Particularly the production on the drums.

It’s obviously an important and influential album but it’s also self indulgent and ultimately Muzak. Bits of it I love but as a package it’s like the demo album of a special edition.

Really nice album, some good songs and altogether a pleasant listen. Not sure it should make any best ever lists but nice all the same.

It's the blues. Which song is it? Oh it's the last one again. It's a thing I guess.

I enjoyed this a lot more than expected. Double album though, so a lot to chew through. Nothing wrong with a bit of metal in your life

Some absolute stand out songs but some that just are not very interesting. Would be great fun to hear live but on record it’s just a bit flat.

Pleasant listening, much better than I expected, accessible jazz, but it's still a piano for an hour and repeating themes. It's great that this sort of album got made, reached a big audience and exists but it's not something I'm going to play over and over. I can appreciate it but that's as far as it goes.

Majestic genius - a rare fusion of incredible riffs, bass lines that are pivotal to the songs and a lyrical master. I nearly marked this one down for Shankly but, really, this is a great album from a group of youngsters who were in a extraordinary creative spurt. Cemetery Gates is a wonderful song and I still have the memory of hearing "There is a Light" for the first time on John Peel.

I didn't need to listen again to know this is 5 stars, though I did. Three times. Prince is a genius but his albums are a mixed bag as his prolific creativity was not always put into a filter. This, however, is a definite moment when it all worked. Not a single weak song on an imperious album. When Doves Cry without a bass is still spine tingly good. The title track, recorded live, is an epic ending by a band of supremely talented musicians. A perfect album.

Pleasant enough but all merges into one. Needs more barn.

Thank the Lord for "Paper Planes" as the rest of this is rubbish.

Fun, pleasant, not a stand out album but perfectly listenable. I get the left field blues from Mali vibe and it is interesting for that but otherwise a fairly unremarkable blues album.

When I started this I thought it just sounded like De La Soul. Then De La Soul turned up on it. It's fine, I didn't not enjoy it but I wouldn't listen to it again. Fairly generic rap/hip hop with 80s sound.

Bog standard country/rock. Not my thing "at all" but for those that like that. Fill your boots.

Fairly boring standard blues/rock album. A couple of songs stand out from the humdrum but this is not great.

Never really understood the appeal of Arcade Fire. This is a wholly unremarkable set of songs until you get to ‘Wake Up’

This is one of those albums in this list I would never have listened to without it. I think it's also one of those albums that if I'd found at a certain time in my life I'd know it really well. Love the fretless bass, enjoy the discordant bits and amused by Phil Collins playing drums.

Album that sits firmly in my memory of being allowed to listen to it in a Primary School music lesson. The bridge between punk and new wave and that time when everything made the charts because good music was good music. The singles are right there but as an album it drifts a lot.

Really lovely album. Not one I knew and the jazz/fretless bass instrumentation great. Just not the songs.

They didn't invent metal, they just couldn't play or write tunes.

Fun album with some good tunes and the moment of "oh, yes, of course I know this song".

I've always struggled to get into Dylan, whilst of course recognising that what he does is unique and lyrically brilliant. This is a great album though, and reminds me of what I'm missing.

I can't quite get into the Stones as an album band, though they wrote some of the most sublime songs in rock history.

I loved this but I'm a sucker for a good voice. Whether it has a set of songs is a different debate.

A love letter to pain, an album that starts by saying "It doesn't matter if we all die" and that makes a new music form out of destructive thoughts. One of the great bands and one of their most important albums. Yet not quite perfect.

A work of art by one of the great musical geniuses of my lifetime. Outstanding songwriting and a beautiful singer and it is amazing this was not actually a massive hit.

Really good album. Great voice and lyrics. Enjoyable all round

I've tried with this album, I really have. Many times over the years. But it's got three good songs, one of them played 3 times, and a lot of self indulgent meanderings.

A storming beast of an album even now, over 30 years later.