1001 Albums Summary

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.

Definitely better listening to this 25 years later. I didn’t much like it at the time

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.

It's classic hip-hop week for me on the generator and this sounds better to me now than it did when it came out. I didn't quite know what to make of it back then but I really appreciate it now. A fun frenzy of white rap. What a band.

This is simple. It's one of the greatest albums of all time, in my opinion and to my ears. When my first child was born I gave my wife a list of Cocteau Twins songs to choose from and so "Lorelei" is her middle name. A sweeping, storming wall of sonic perfection. I have no idea what she is singing about but it doesn't matter. It's genius. 10/5

Hmm, what's this about ... oh wait I know this song. Oh "that's" Weather Report. Good jazzy fun album. I'm a sucker for fretless bass though.

Started off brightly enough then goes on a bit and meanders to nowhere. It's OK, but I wouldn't listen again.

Jazz improvisation over a repetitive chord change for 20 minutes a song. I know he's a genius, and get the importance of this shift in his music but... well... not for me.

My first experience of him. Good old country music. Not my cup of tea but not unlistenable

Strengthened my belief that Blur wrote some outstanding songs but were a boring album band. It’s full of good lyrics and oh-so tunes. Very English but just not very interesting musically.

A wholly unremarkable album in every possible way. In fact, the only thing that is remarkable about this album is that it is on this list.

Dum de dum de dum de dum. Glass of wine would be lovely thanks. Dum de dum de dum. Who is this album? Ah yes, I heard it at Peter’s house last week, and I think Sarah was playing it too. Dum de dum de dum. mmm Dinner looks lovely thanks. Dum de dum de dum.

I had this album as a kid so know it well. Whether I think it is good or not is dressed up a little bit in nostalgia. I mean, I was 9 years old - what did I know of Ayn Rand? Ok so it's bonkers, and over the top but it's a prog metal album.

Great album, fun bursts of pop and some great tunes. Real attitude and enjoyed it.

Of its genre it's a really good album. Obviously a bit full on lyrically but goes with the terrain.

Some great tunes, great sound. Falls away a bit so not quite four dtars

Fairly tedious by numbers hip hop.

I mean, really? Whatever. Music should have songs, tunes, that sort of thing.

Albums by one hit wonders usually explain why they were one hit wonders and this is unfortunately not an exception. Not terrible and not unlistenable, just not very good.

Nice to hear a bit of rock and roll after a week of blip blip "mood" albums. Very much of its time but hey, it's the rhythm and blues as it should be before the tuneless people stole the genre.

Enjoyable rock for the ages.

I've always loved Madness for their singles but have never listened to an album. They never really struck me as an albums band but this is a beautiful work musically and lyrically. A real gem.

This could have been Life on Mars and a load of filler and I'd still give it 5 just for that extraordinary song. I didn't really get into Bowie until my middle ages and it's been an immense pleasure that I could go through his work and enjoy the changes and shifts in his songs. This is a musical opera and probably my favourite Bowie album.

Green Onions the song is a work of genius. The Stax house band at its finest. These musicians are legendary. This album, not so much. After the high of the iconic title track it quickly descends into elevator music. It's just not that interesting.

The amazing textures here - the different rhythms and light and sound. Lyrically very interesting and ... ... oh wait, no that was another album. It's a load of angry metal stuff. Was pretty good though.

Some people said listen to the end and you would be surprised. I was. It is surprising this ever got released, ever got onto this site and I ever had to listen to it. Not least until the end. For the UK people amongst us, this is the joke band from Jazz Club on the Fast Show.

Good prog is enjoyable. Bad prog is not.

I quite enjoyed this but it came off the back of a week of very difficult listens. Always quite liked the NY new wave/proto punk scene. Apart from Roadrunner it's pretty basic fare but it's come at a time of rare generosity on my marking.

I had this album as a kid and know every sound on it, which must mean it's a five star. A complete album in every sense - story telling, beautiful production and some excellent songs. If you get a chance, see the film that accompanied it.

It's a much better listen than I expected but it suffers from running out of ideas and though there are some good songs, there is a lot of aimless meanderings too.

Pleasant enough, sort of washed over me but a nice listen

I was slightly dreading this, as I'd had their studio album last week which was a sonic mess. However, this was a bit of mad escapist fun. No band would do this now, and sometimes it's worth remembering the joy of music doing things you shouldn't expect. Not by any means a classic, but nevertheless.

Some good songs, some crazy songs, some nice songs. It's hard to hate this but I don't love it either.

The good bit of this process is discovering albums - things that clearly sit in the family tree of music but I didn't know. A lot of them don't stand up but that doesn't mean they are not fun, of the time and of the genre. I've been a bit down on my marking on some of these but this one I'll give a 4 to as it is something I could imagine myself listening to.

I don’t know - it’s an album I might have really liked if I had known at the time but now seems a bit unremarkable. Black Hole Sun is a banger though.

I had this at the time, though it wasn't an obvious album for me. I quite like it, but I'm not sure it stands up to much repeat listening. It's sort of OK, I don't know, maybe now I've got to talk about it maybe it's just quite boring and repetitive. Still like Frontier Psychiatrist though.

It was when this came out, or maybe the second Gorillaz album, that I realised I'd got the Britpop wars all wrong and Damon is the genius from that era. I think you only get to extend a career by taking on new influences and trying new things, and this is a great example. Better than any Blur album with some great songs and still a great listen.

I enjoyed Moon Safari. I'm not sure this adds a lot though. In fact one or two of the tunes sound like pastiches of the first album tracks.

Fun in a random way.

I never really listened to the Gang of Four before - I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Very of its time, and I'm sure plenty of others influenced but not convinced there was much there beyond the sound/vibe.

Not immediately my thing but quite an interesting trip hop feel to a hip hop album. I don't think I'd want to listen again though, so gets a low mark.

It’s a great sound but lots of bands have this sound. Some of them don’t forget that songs need melodies and lyrics too. The Hives were good for one song but their schtick lacks the licks.

I came to Cave late - because I knew him from the Birthday Party which I found too impenetrable. He's a genius, a lyricist up there with the best and an auteur of our age. A beautiful album from a beautiful spirit.

Wasn't expecting much from this, though obviously knew Freak Scene is a banger. I can see why many recoil from his vocals - because he can't actually hold a tune. Weirdly though I didn't mind. It was some pretty good rock and roll indie from the time when guitars ruled the world and for 35 minutes of pure noise enjoyment it was pretty good. Singer aside it was quite tuneful too. Obviously apart from the last track, Don't. Which was a load of noise.

It's not possible to listen to this in 2023 without recoiling from what was considered perfectly normal in lyrics. This is the supreme rap album of all time though. The tightness of the words over the music, the genius of his phrasing, the fun and the craziness of the singles. It's the finest example of its genre and still blows a storm.

A folk singer that can’t write lyrics or melodies. It’s a novel singer and guitar approach… Christ I’m only on the first song. The only positive is that each dreadful, insight free, song is mercifully short before the next tuneless banality begins. Only 25,000 copies sold and I'll take a punt as to how many ended up in charity shops.

I really wanted to listen to this and it started off with a bang. However, over time it really began to be difficult to listen to. I just didn't like it by the end.

Pleasant enough but slightly aimless.

I'm definitely in the set of people that believe The Beatles changed everything and this is, at the end of their career together, the epitome of why they were so good. Three songwriters (OK 4 if you allow Ringo's contribution) desperate to outdo each other. Harrison finally getting his due regard. Something has the most sublime bass line from McCartney which, whatever Harrison thought about it, makes the song. I know "Come Together" was a rip off, but it's still my favourite Beatles song. Golden Slumbers is a beautiful piece of work. "Because" is a beautifully structured song. You know what? I like "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" - McCartney was always keen to nod to the story telling tradition of British music hall and why not? I hadn't listened for a while and the second side is still a whirlwind. The Beatles could throw away songs the best of the rest couldn't imagine writing.

A great example of how you can use mood and noise and guitars and still remember that songs need tunes. Really good album m.

I am sure this is great in a certain situation under a certain influence but it isn't an album to listen to, enjoy or immerse in. It's a songs characterised by a series of repetitive beats. And musical phrases. There's worse dance music, I have had to listen to some of it here, but it's still not interesting to do anything more than dance to.

I liked this a lot more - and knew it a lot better -than I expected. Some good tunes, plenty of good melodies. Obviously the theme is a bit "American" for my interests but that's kind of the point. A good find.

I like the blues but it’s all a bit repeat. Maybe it’s his earlier stuff that I should listen to.

One of the easiest games of ‘guess the rhyme’ so far. Very trite and obvious lyrics backed by unremarkable meanderings.

This isn’t the Love album people should listen to. It’s a bit thin.

It's still a great rock/alternative album that evokes a moment in time in music. Plenty of songs, plenty of anger and passion. Definitely in the top 20% of albums I've listened to so far.

This is where I came to The Beatles as my mum had an original vinyl copy. I played it over and over. Yes it's raw, and they were only starting out as songwriters but it's still got it. The harmonies, the playing. It's not a perfect album but it's a good reminder of how they developed.

Two Beatles albums in a row and from 2nd to 6th is a giant leap. This is the Beatles on the cusp of genius.

It's not really my genre, but this didn't really seem to offer anything musically. I guess if lyrics is your thing it might appeal but I don't think there's anything going on behind them.

Wasn't a band that I was into at the time, but I know all the singles really well. Indie standards. I know there are those that really worship Teenage Fanclub and that great Scottish indie scene. This is a good album, one I am sure if I'd bought at the time I'd have played to death.

Smooooooooth

I guess this could be described as a goth disco album. Unfortunately it's just a dreary shamble through a set of unremarkable songs. Not completely impossible to listen to, just not very rewarding.

It's really hard to listen contemporary albums and wonder whether they will endure, whether people will look back on it as a classic. I thought when I first heard this album it was one of those albums. In an era of music where so much is mood and ambiance without songs this was a stand out of the year it came out and of the decade it came out in. When I first listened I thought that this could have come out in 1973 and we would still be playing it now. There are few new albums that I listen to over and over again in an era of all I can consume streaming. Indeed, I'm doing this project so my average listen to an album I haven't heard before is sharply tending to zero. This, however, is a beautiful piece of work and I don't hesitate to put it in the top 20% of albums on this list.

A few songs, a lot of nurdling, prog/jazz it's the 70s man. Not terrible, not spectacular.

One good song and the rest goes on and on. I’m not buying.

I was a bit of a metal fan as a kid and so this was a rush of memory. I enjoyed it. Metal that is closer to rock.

Pure synth pop from the 80s. There are better albums for sure but few better songs than Take on Me.

A mess, a musical mess of tooting and blowing. Just not my thing at all.

This arrived with a b-b-bang. The greatest debut record of the 21st Century. An absolute explosion of music with lyrics, humour, observation and just the right amount of anger. A group of lads that worked out how to make music in their own way. A classic.

This surprised me - west coast hip hop has good sounds and beats but plenty of anger. The lyrics take a bit of stomach on the first few, but the overall sound is great.

Like many people coming to this for the first time I was completely surprised by the sound and the songs - not what I expected from the Chicago I knew from the late 70s/early 80s. Really interesting music and songs, then it over does the prog and meanders away a bit with guitar solos.

A really interesting album - of course very British in its politics and its music. I enjoyed this. Something about the sound of the dub and the horns and the lyrics.

A beautiful album. The great American song writers, the great American Sound Studios house band. Everything about this oozes the sound of Memphis Soul. Dusty's sound, her voice, her phrasing is all perfect.

This is a lovely, tuneful atmospheric album but drifts around a little over time.

It's probably my least favourite genre of music but this has an astonishing lack of merit. Musically tedious and there are better examples of the genre from that year alone. I don’t believe this will stand any test of time.

I've tried with this album so many times. I've tried to understand why it gets high up all time lists. It's just a rambling sound that offers nothing. No song structures, no songs. Maybe it's something I can't hear but what I can hear bores me.

I kind of liked this in a bouncy fun kind of way. Not something I'll put on my re-spin list but interesting enough.

Another album I wasn't really looking forward to once I'd opened the site. The start was a real surprise - really interesting, great sound. Then it slowly morphed into boring hip hop albeit with some musical interludes though all basic repetitive phrases.

It's an album so tied up with the British music movement of late 80s/90s, that I wonder what other nationalities make of it. Some guys stole some instruments, learned to bash out a tune and worked out that the guy they gave the mic to was a genius. Working class boys played in guitar bands and hoped to be famous and get out of the terrible lives they had. This gang of boys then took some ecstasy, went to the Hacienda and discovered rave. Then rather than throwing their guitars away and becoming a dance band they put it together. OK there were producers that helped, but this was the moment it all worked. They were too much of a shambles to be a stadium band, or to dry out or to keep it all together for a few more albums. But on this album, in that year, they created something absolutely unique and brilliant.

I listened to it twice and mostly it just merged into one long song with the obvious moment Pinball Wizard jumps out at you. Ultimately not a very interesting or listenable album.

I don't expect to convince people that Japan are one of the greatest bands to emerge from the new wave/post glam scene of the 70s but to my ears they were. This album, their musical breakthrough where they worked out their sound, is the bridge between that scene and the New Romantics. Duran Duran came from the image and the crossover disco/new wave sound of Japan. I mean look at them. Japan would make better albums, and they would break up too soon, but from every waaaa of the fretless bass to Sylvian's new found baritone this is a superb example of a band actually doing things to move music on and looking good and sounding good whilst they did it. I think after listening to over 200 albums in this project, I'm more sure of their greatness. But that's to my ears, maybe not yours.

Not sure what I make of this. Some songs, some music, some moments but mainly it drifted past me.

I really enjoyed this - funky, dance sound with a really light feel to it.

I liked this, and may give it another go sometime, but it didn't grab me. He's a fantastic singer, obviously, but there was a groove rather than songs that stood out.

Second Who album in a week and I'm concluding I'm just not a big fan of The Who. This has two absolutely stand out songs and then a lot of not very much.

A perfectly good example of a perfectly good genre of music. Psychobilly by the masters. It's fun, it's got attitude and it's not overall my cup of tea but I'm not put off by it either.

I know it's achingly uncool to like Coldplay but there's a reason an indie band sells 13 million albums and that's because Chris Martin could write tunes. I've never massively been a fan of his voice but this is a great set of songs.

Exactly as expected from the Stooges, some proper shouty garage. A band to see live, I suspect, as on record it lacks much substance.

I'd resisted the obvious charms of Guy Garvey and the lads as it was not quite my kind of thing but this is an undeniably lovely album and very listenable.

It’s a great sound and when they write a tune it works. When they don’t it sort of drags.

I'd never heard this and didn't know of this kind of Velvet Underground. Reading around it, the exit of John Cale allowed Lou Reed to perform songs without the desire to make it knowingly arty. I really enjoyed this, a very nice set of songs. I'll listen to this again.

The singles are great but the album tends to drift a little.

Joyous fun album that is still a good listen

Very American sound of rock that didn’t quite make it in the UK. Some well known tunes, big sound. Not bad

It's a raw, great sound but it's a bit of a dull offer. OK for the once through but I don't think I'd ever listen again. Bit of a novelty record.

His last and one of his best albums. An absolute masterpiece of an album. Something missing in modern music of the experimental never overshadowing the tunes and the songs. A heartbreaking album but an amazing parting gift from one of the greats.

I entered yet another hip hop album with trepidation. It's not my genre and so many of them are just about the words. This though felt a bit more musical, interesting, listenable. I like his rapping style and it has momentum. Look, all rap is of its time and time has moved on, but I enjoyed this.

Great album, plenty of variation, some good songs and fuses styles.

I liked it a lot more than I expected but it sort of drifted nowhere. Repetitive phrases sometimes works but isn't particularly ground-breaking

I know every discordant piano chord, every lick of Paul Desmond's clarinet and honed my chops as a drummer learning 5/4 and 7/8 from the master, Joe Morello. My indie/new wave band introduced me to its genius at the age of 16 and I've loved it ever since. Jazz with a wink and a smile on its face. Pure enjoyment. Go on songwriters, throw a change of time signature in every now and then and make the music interesting.

I don't think this adds much to the history of music. A couple of good songs and then just a turgid rehash over and over.

It's got Bowie and Eno on the desk, it's got attitude and distinct US new wave sound, it's just a bit difficult to listen to without thinking it's all mood and no songs. I get it, I just don't enjoy it.

Constant sound of bongos. It's like sitting in Covent Garden on a Saturday. After a while all you hear is bongo bongo bongo. Bongos are great, in moderation. I was going to give it two stars, on the grounds that at least I can listen to it but, I'm afraid, I really can't. I made it through by mentally blocking the noise out.

Dum de dum de tiddly dum dum. Might sound better with a band.

Beautiful album, great songs, wonderful voice. What a talent George Michael was.

Wasn't my morning for this album. Feels like her voice was losing some strength and the richness it had. Pleasant enough but I don't know whether decent singer knocking out another album of covers is good enough to rate highly.

Good grief, that was hard work. Well done lads, you got someone to pay you for this. Joke's on them.

Great pop album with a few duffers - sadly the two Prince tracks in that. First time I've listened to this and plenty to recommend it but ultimately not perfect pop.

Some classic pop, some slightly going nowhere pop. Very of its time.

I’m assuming they are referring to the sound of children randomly hitting keys. Which appears to be what this is. If music was this easy we would all be making it.

Good melodic metal. Not an album I knew but certainly an enjoyable example of the genre.

Lovely voice, lovely sound, but there is something about 15 minute long songs that don't surprise at any point that is ultimately a bit aimless.

This is a great punk album, songs that stand up and attitude. Unlike a lot of punk they could really write a tune.

Dum Dum Dum Dum tingaling tingaling Dum Dum Dum "Here's some more about me". Tedious

The Police are one of the greatest bands of all time. Three piece that Copeland and Summers filled out to sound amazing. Sting is "a hell" of a songwriter. He was throwing out hits for fun in this period. Message in a Bottle is one of the greatest songs of all time and I never tire of hearing it. I remember this as being a bit patchy but with some real songs. Listening to it again in the middle of this exercise, I realise the difference between good bands and a great band. I've been a bit mean on the 5 stars and wouldn't have given this at the start of listening but this is is as good an album as anything else on this list.

I read the notes and an hour long concept album about poverty slightly terrified me. The resulting album wasn't terrifying at all, a gentle pop album with a smattering of songs and plenty of 80s dance. Obviously the lyrics are ludicrous, but lyrics often are.

Not my thing ‘at all’. Two chords and wailing.

Beautiful album. Absurdly I know some of the songs from listening to Miles of Aisles a lot as a kid but had never listened to this before.

Of course Bowie made the best glam albums of the era. Not consistent but consistently interesting this has two of the greatest - Drive In Saturday and The Jean Genie. A pleasure.

There's something about this album that is joyous. Fun, prog rock with a great sound. They got the Steely Dan T Shirts.

Some good moments, always good lyrics but not quite the standard of songs and consistency of a great album.

It’s hauntingly good. A mad musical experiment but with really good songs peeping through.

It's an interesting listen, to hear where they came from. Covers were a standard thing at the time - the Beatles' early albums were also full of them - so it is not odd that the Stones started with them. I can't mark it up without original songs but the sound is there and we all know where it ended up.

Another bridge between punk and new wave. Fine as it is but there are better examples.

A fine example of noodling without destination. Perfectly pleasant to listen to whilst doing almost anything else, but not interesting in and of itself. Streetlife obviously a banger, the rest of it gentle noodling in the void.

I was surprised by this. Another album of covers of standards never twitches my interest but this was beautifully done. Gentle, sparce and great interpretations.

Looking at the reviews, I'm out of tune with the group on this one. Fairly pedestrian jazz album.

I thought this was a beautiful, gentle album. Lots of artists I know but an album that was new to me. Really enjoyed the harmonies and the general sound.

I guess this means something, I guess it did something at the time. But it's just a series of samples and a drum beat that you could throw together in 5 minutes in Logic Pro now. I don't know why anyone would want to listen to this ever again.

Often the rap albums I've listened to on this project have lacked ambition, texture, tone, musicality. You can't accuse this album of any of these things. Whether it has tried too hard or is too discordant is another matter. I enjoyed listening to something that was different in the rap genre but it was not an ultimately satisfying experience.

Before recorded music had all the tricks a lad with a beautiful voice rolled into a studio and sang like an angel. Such a stunning voice we are so used to it we forget how lucky we were to ever hear it.

It's a great blues album and it is also totally forgettable.

I thought I'd like this, I was a fan as a kid and I always wanted this album but didn't get round to buying it. Starts off well, it's Highway Star, it's fun. Then it goes on, and on and on and on. It even has a long drum solo in one of the tracks that dates it horribly. It's how Prog Metal was, it's great if you are there and in the moment. On record it's a tiresome noise.

One of those unexpectedly fun albums you get from this project. I'm not sure it's a classic, but it was good to listen to.

Enjoyable rock and roll with a few good songs

This is a fairly unremarkable experience. American middle of the road rock.

How to follow Rumours, one of the greatest albums of all time? Well, put together a double album with a load of random songs and sounds including a marching band and produce something so different it's still a fantastic piece of work. An eminent music journalist in the UK said there is never a time when listening to Tusk is wrong. He's absolutely right. Some incredible songs. It's just not Rumours. But nothing is Rumours. Listen to Tusk. Take it all in.

I have a theory that prog like this died out because the boys that were making it and listening to it never got any sex. A tedious album in all respects.

Metal doesn’t get anything like the column inches it deserves. It’s a massively popular genre and this is one of the greatest metal albums of all time. Consistent, powerful and popular for good reason. After a run of pretenders it’s great to hear a proper rock and roll album.

I mean, it's Sgt. Pepper. I used the opportunity to listen yet again to the extraordinary Giles Martin Dolby Atmos remix. The way he lifted and cleaned the bass and the drums is amazing. It sounds clear, open and notes and sounds that I'd not heard in the many times I'd heard the album before appear out of nowhere. The harmonies the Beatles did were brilliant, on this version superlative. They left the singles off the albums, that's how good this album is. Get off with your ideas that they are not the most important band in the history of pop. Of course they are.

I saw the Beatnigs live and I know bits of this album - TV, Drug of the Nation and California Uber Alez so I knew what to expect. I think probably the older me finds it all a bit different to the younger me.

After initial trepidation about yet another unknown hip hop album I really warmed to this. Light tunes, good sound and nicely put together. A real revelation.

A beautiful piece of work. Some lovely instrumentation, lilting harmonies and a handful of stone cold classics. 30 minutes long. How albums should be - here's some great songs, that's enough.

There's some good here, and there is a whole lot of guitar, but ultimately it's a long drawn out blues jam and that can get tiring.

I've never listened to a T Rex album and had no idea he made so many - 12 in total. This is a great album, full of tunes and sound and attitude and a real find.

I can see there's a logic to something that was of the era/genre of the Rolling Stones that might have been part of a scene but I don't think this holds up well as an album not to miss.

Imagine is an overplayed dirge, Crippled Inside a throw away, Jealous Guy a song written by a genius It's So Hard is an unremarkable 12 bar blues. I Don't Wanna be a Soldier Mama, ibid Gimme Some Truth is OK I guess Oh My Love is a really nice song How Do You Sleep is John at his vile, ugly worst How is another good song Oh Yoko is a good closer I felt Lennon phoned in a lot of his last contributions to the Beatles. This has some absolute moments of genius with a couple of not very much but on the whole I'm more positive about it than I expected.

It's folk prog, it's interesting music and interesting lyrics. Those that love it love it, those, like me, that find it a bit much should still be able to recognise that it is worth listening to. Maybe at a different age with time on my hands I could have got into it.

Oh I’m so radical me. There are at least 100 better post-punk albums. Rubbish

Very good debut album. Not quite the highs of Back to Black but good songs.

I was not into MBV at all when younger though I’ve dipped into their more well known offerings. This hints but ultimately the singing is poor, the sound has not developed and so the songs are exposed.

Pretty raw, but still better post punk than a few of the efforts I've heard in this project.

Some nice moments. I never really got into Belle and Sebastian, although I'm going to see them live soon. Light, nice, very British.

A simmering beast of an album. A sonic soundscape of love and misery. The height of goth and The Cure's definitive album. Listen, enjoy, and lose yourself in the mood. Lullaby is one of his highest of high points - though the single version had a much better drum track.

Hi - is it OK if I push past as this is my floor. Many thanks.

This is a good album but not a spectacular one. That said, The Weight is a hell of a song and Dylan's lyrics lift many of the songs.

I understand the reason why Springsteen attracts such devotion, I just can't get into it myself. Yes he has some great songs but broadly the music to me all kind of mushes into one on albums like this. I get it, I just don't get it.

I was unsure whether this was a sprawling work of genius or a sprawling mess and I’ve definitely alighted on the latter.

Well that was interesting enough to listen to but that's as far as it goes.

I don't know why but I've always found Lust for Life to be a tedious song. I know I should like it but I don't. Then the rest of this album just washes over me and again, I should like Iggy. I just don't think it's that interesting.

There are few live albums that really cut through and this is one. It's a gentle and brilliant run across their catalogue and covers that just kind of works.

I loved this album when it came down and it holds up pretty well. Great songs, great sound and pop sounding as good as it can be.

An absolute masterpiece

One of those albums on the list that is difficult for me to place. I’m some ways stunning, in some ways transient. I don’t think I’d listen to it often and yet I can recognise how remarkable Simone was.

One of the greatest pop songs of all time, from a band that released a list of superlative pop songs. Yet as an album it’s really hard work. The lyrics on many of the songs are banal and predictable and the tunes weary. A magnificent singles band , one of the best ever, and a terrible albums band.

Well, I listened to it. They seemed to be enjoying themselves. Probably. Another of the list of very American albums that don't travel, certainly not as far as these ears.

A curiosity. A handful of good songs, an incredible sound and band but overall a bit boring. I don't love it but don't hate it, so it's bang in the middle I'm afraid.

The hi-hat (Stewart Copeland) on the opening track still makes me tingle, as does the flute motif opening up Sledgehammer. Kate Bush still raises goose bumps. Great songs, fantastic musicianship and the most amazing 80s production where everything is so clean & clear. Not a bad song on it. Absolutely his masterpiece. Funny that the slightly off the wall prog of early Genesis ended up in pure pop with each part of its membership.

Sonic Youth were one of those Peel bands I struggled with growing up in the 80s. Too atonal, too based around sound not songs. So I sort of ignored them. This was another one of those albums therefore I had a bit of a sigh when I saw, and when I read the top review. There's not many albums I've found through this process that I don't know yet want to hear again. This is great. I will listen to this again.

Kind of enjoyable, a nice groove but ultimately not very satisfying. Strong on vibe, short on tunes. Nothing to make me want to go back to it.

When Radiohead wrote actual songs they were majestic, epic, peerless. Better than all their peers from Britpop, the band Coldplay and others would dream of being. Everything on here shows the absolute return to structure and melody that they later decided they were against when they drifted into sound and mood. Every track stands up to listening and all the grunge and indie pretenders on this list would dream they had nailed it the way Radiohead did it on this. An absolute masterpiece and deserving of its position in the all time lists.

The only good thing to say about this album is that it is mercifully short.

Oh I love the Carpenters, at least I thought I loved the Carpenters. I mean I love her voice and the songs and the sound but a whole album of it is a challenge. It's beautiful and it's shallow.

A perfect expression of pop with great songs and great lyrics. Much better than some other pretenders (Adele). I’ve no idea whether it stands up long term or how it fits in her catalogue but I enjoyed it.

It starts as it means to go on - a perfect soulful voice against a great sounding rhythm track. Then it starts to repeat and repeat. Each song a two chord four bar repeat and it becomes really difficult to keep listening. The instrumental gives a welcome break as they actually put a few chords and a melody into it then it’s back to the repeat. It’s fantastic but I can’t listen to a whole album of it.

A great advert for double albums that might have made decent single albums. Sprawling, at times repetitive within each of the genres and could have done with a bit of sorting and editing. As a result the good points are diluted in a lot of so so tracks.

I enjoy a bit of post punk and this compared well to a lot of things I've listened to here, including this week. So I listened to it a few times and though it's never going to be a favourite I'm still OK with it.

What a joyous listen. Fun, funky and some great melodies - so good Rod obviously nicked one of them. Really lifted my journey up this morning.

Listening to it again as I have again and again over the years, the one thing that lets it down is the production which is horribly tinny. This is the remaster and it still sounds like he's singing in the bath. That said, their is some monstrous talent on display here. That Joke isn't Funny Any More, Well I Wonder, Barbarism Begins At Home are all superbly crafted songs. It's just not quite there across the whole album - and production.

Every beat seemed exactly the same, just a constant rap over the same drum pattern. Yes, the old bit of levity and the odd hook but mainly just a tedious reboot of the last song.

I subscribe to the view that The Doors were/are massively overrated whilst still comfortably enjoying this album as being a decent set of songs and a decent sound. I'll just not over rate it.

I have a general prejudice about post-melody Radiohead and I don't think I bothered listening to this much after I availed myself of their generous offer to download it for free. However, my reaction to this surprised me. Sure, they were drifting away from songs to sounds and mood scapes, and deep into prog rock, but this is an interesting album. Johnny Greenwood is a genius and I found myself quite immersed in this.

I don't know whether this is genius or madness. It's one of those albums that I think needs a bit more time than the one a day listen. I like that it's playing with chords and structure, but it might just be a mess.

Some classic prog with a lovely voice and totally un-listenable.

I think I've never quite been a Depeche Mode album fan and this is a good example why - it's got some good singles then kind of drifts around a bit going nowhere.

I like second rate Britpop as much as the next person. Unfortunately this is third rate Britpop. It passes my test of being not completely unlistenable, so saves itself from the indignity of 1 star to sit, comfortably, in the cold soup of 2 stars with all the other mediocre lift music.

Standard chord structures, predictable lyrics, nothing to see here.

This is a great album. Lyrically, musically, emotionally all there. Her finest work and also I guess her most accessible. Great to hear this again. This morning I was sure this was a 4 star. It’s now my fourth listen today and it’s a 5.

This would make the top 11 albums of all time. It is an extraordinary piece of work and art. The first side is a smack in the face with a set of perfectly crafted pop songs ending with the sublime Cloudbusting . The second side is an amazing immersive story of musical discovery. I don’t think I understood it properly before I saw it live but it didn’t matter in the hours and hours I spent listening to every mad twist of music before the sublime ‘Hello Earth’ emerges with John Williams on classical guitar. When my daughter was about 5 years old I gave her a turntable and this album. Kate Bush was the first woman singer songwriter to have a number one in the UK. This album is what happens when you give one of the greatest musical talents of my lifetime a studio of their own, a Fairlight and the space to achieve great things What an album.

A gig to be in the room not to listen to on a record. Classic songs, classic voice but everything a bit faster and one paced so ultimately the texture of each song is lost.

I hadn't heard this album before but it's fascinating and friendly on the ear. I came late to Nick Cave. I found The Birthday Party "difficult" so kind of overlooked his following career. This is a great example of his work - an artist and a musician and a really interesting voice but what stands out is his way with words. One of the great lyricists of this era and able to tell a story in music.

I know bits of Neil Young but not the whole potato. Partly because he's always made it a tricky exercise to listen via a streaming service. This is lyrically strong, "it's better to burn out than to fade away" is one of the iconic lyrics in rock music, and musically this is a good set of songs. There's something about Neil Young I think I would have got really into if I'd discovered him when young.

I don’t know, I can respect the musicianship, rate the genre and understand the influence but my oh my I cannot listen to it with anything but ennui.

Great sound and enjoy the single but over a whole album it gets a little one paced and samey.

Iconic and revered but quite a difficult listen. It’s Bowie so it is littered with genius but it’s also dark and moody.

This is one of those US nu metal bands that completely passed me by as we were just never quite into this genre in Blighty. I know of them, and they vaguely make sense but it's the kind of stuff I always equate with turning on the wrong MTV channel and getting some thunderous overblown American roccckkkk. I can pass on this.

First time I've heard this but it's clear from it why this is seen as where metal started. Nothing sounded this heavy before. The blues scale has done plenty of good work in popular music. As always, the lyrics are batshit, but Ozzy is a one off. I enjoyed this. It's also sounding good with the more or less live studio recording under the remaster .

Musically starts out interesting but slowly just repeats itself over and over. However, that's not its problem. It's melodically barren and rendered excruciating by the teenage level "oo England is bad war is bad" lyrics. Dreadful self centred low self-awareness moaning so loved by the kind of people that you should avoid talking to at parties.

They have a sound and it’s unique to them. I like the basics - and the sound and bass/lead interplay are great. It’s just overall it kind of repeats itself. Has some great tunes but not the whole deal.

Slightly emotional to listen to this knowing I’ll never see Terry Hall singing these songs again. The Specials are an iconic band in the UK - musically an important movement, political but in a clever way and just fun. Ska/two tone was a very British moment and it was all because of The Specials. Great album with all the vibe of a live band playing. Nothing quite like it.

I thought I would hate this but really didn’t. I was a big early adopter fan of Bragg but drifted away as he lost his knack for song and lyrics. This is the folk Americana album that Guthrie deserved for his poetry/lyrics.

Great new wave and bonkers sounds from a fairly unique band. Very enjoyable all round.

Great voice and great sound but it’s a covers album. I get how for some of the history of music that’s how it worked but it’s easy to pick any song out and pick a different version that resonates.

Really not my thing at all. I struggled through with the hope of some sort of musical respect but nope, it was terrible.

It’s the 80s and it’s pop and it has some great tunes but it’s too samey and it’s too cold for a whole album. But those pop hits are great.

This really swings. Great to listen to albums like this that laid the ground.

Great lyrics, good tunes, nothing to disagree with here, though nothing to really inspire either. It's a good album.

It's a good glam rock album. It's clear why Bowie liked them. It's also clear why we listen to Bowie and not Mott the Hoople but it's an album that I'm glad I listened to.

Starts off with a banger and maintains a light gray and breezy feel all the way through. I think I enjoyed this though there is a lot to get through.

My uncle lent me his copy of Physical Graffiti when I was a kid and I remember being captivated by the gatefold sleeve. When I finally got to New York years later I did go and take a look at the brownstone building just because. On the music this is a colossus of an album and Kashmir is one of the great moments in rock history. Yes it's bloated and overblown but sometimes you just have to let that pass.

I really like this genre of music but this is such a completely unremarkable album. It has nothing stand out, nothing original and no songs that would justify it being here. It's in that list of albums that wouldn't have made it on this list if it was not from America. Sometimes things don't become hits because they are just not very interesting.

There is no debate about this one being here. Despite being it's actual living demographic - an indi kid turning 19 the year it came out and lapping up its licks and groves - this is a stand out album that stands up now. Ian Brown may not have been able to sing away from a studio but on record he created the melodic and lyrical lines that could be underpinned by the swirling arpeggios of sound from John Squire, the relentless grooves of Mani and Reni. Sometimes everything just works, and this is one of those albums. Rarely it also doesn't have a duffer - we can argue the merits of Don't Stop maybe but let's not get too picky.

Joyous wild fun and cheered up a morning. Sometimes music is just about the fun they are having and letting you listen into.

Shoegaze very much passed me by, though I love The Cure and The Cocteau Twins who were both big influences. I think there's a reason it was never much of a movement and didn't have many successful bands which is that it's not very interesting. Take the songs, take the life out of them and make them so muddy and covered in distortion that you can only take so much. That said Ride have a great song closing this album - Vapour Trail - and a great single in Taste which is added to the extended version. The rest is all a mood and a sound and not a set of songs. I like it, but it's not going to take hold of the conscience. And it didn't.

I loved what I thought was the first Throwing Muses album - I just didn't know about this one at all. I was a big fan of House Tornado/Real Ramona/Hunkpappa and I thought Fat Skier was their first so now I'm totally confused! I saw them live back in 89 and forced my university friends to be fans too. This is great, full of the slightly discordant tempos and melodies over interesting chord structures. I get it won't be to everyone's tastes but it was great to discover this.

Not a Joni album I know, and none of the songs are familiar. Really loved the jazz vibe and the lyrics and music as interesting as ever. Not sure it quite has enough to get to the four stars but I think this is an album I will listen to again so it might just tip over.

I don’t know. It’s a jazz album. I played the version with additional tracks so heard some songs again but didn’t notice. Lovely but not attaching to my mind

An absurdly pretentious load of nonsense. Two really good songs but even one of those was ruined by the acoustic arrangement. I can't quite believe he did this.

Enjoyable blues jangling with one of the great songs of all time. Not the high standard across the album but still an enjoyable listen and a very individual sound.

Stir it up a classic, the sound still as fresh and as fun as the first time I heard the Wailers. Not a consistently great album but a good listen nonetheless.

This is a mad collosus of an album. Something I know I would have got into at the time if I'd come across it. I enjoyed this a lot for all its crazed meanderings.

I like Pet Shop Boys, I like the songs, it's a good sound, they write great tunes and at times interesting lyrics. It's just hard to listen to an album of it because it's very very anchored in the same beat and the same sound and the same compression. It's got no texture at all as an album. It's fun but it's also hard work, which is a shame. Because individually it's a great collection of songs but as a single piece of work it's too homogenous.

Really enjoyable new wave with a banger of a single and some good sound/tunes. Not stand out but enjoyable. A good album rather than a great one.

It’s a classic. It’s not the best album of all time, that’s a nonsense, but it’s a great album.

It’s late era Elvis and it’s as if the Beatles and rock had never happened and he puts out an album for your grandma. Nice enough but the world had moved on.

Not a moment of note. Standard US shouting over loud guitars and drums with hardly a song of note. I’m sure they loved it in the US but it’s not worth any of our time. I don’t actively hate it but nothing happened on it. Nothing at all.

Probably the most English album ever recorded and I'm all in for that. Ray Davies is one of the geniuses of British pop.

My idea of hell. Repetitive sounds made by machines with little artistic merit. Anyone with a synth/sampler and drum machine could do this. Four bar repeats with nothing, but nothing happening. Make this stop

Lovely whimsical album but ultimately forgettable.

An album I enjoyed far more than I expected. Really good example of how hip hop can have texture, sound and melody.

An extraordinary beast of an album. An aural experience and just better than all of that genre.

I can understand the influence of the band and the hype around Clapton. This is the sound of a band at the top of their genre.

This was good but not great, some good songs but not the absolute consistency of a great pop album.

Everything about this is mad, overblown and theatrical and everything about it works. There's a reason it's one of the best selling albums of all time, and who am I to argue. A sprawling colossus of sound.

A good set of songs, good lyrically and overall a fun album. Of course like most I come into it with the Fatboy Slim remix of Brimful and the album version seems thin by obvious comparison. But there's enough here to enjoy.

Ray Charles with his timeless beautiful voice runs through a range of songs with ease. There is always time to listen to Ray Charles.