1001 Albums Summary

Bouncy bouncy but blandy blandy

Starts with a bang but then slowly runs out of ideas and falls into standard r'n'b plinky plonk.

It’s sort of big standard metal. Not a great album.

This was good, and a great sound and I can see all the reasons why people revere it. But the two problems are the vocal wasn't distinctive, almost too nice, but too plain. Lyrically it's not great either. So it's good but it's not good enough.

It's as if Radiohead had never read a book. I mean the sound is good, but my word the lyrics are terrible. Which, sadly, makes it totally unlistenable.

I had forgotten how much I liked this album. The 1001 albums project had a lot of this kind of music from a time in the USA when a lot wasn't travelling to the UK, but for some reason Blink 182 did, or at least they did to me. I really do think this is a fantastic piece of work, sure it's got less of the edge of earlier Blink 182 but it's musically better, more interesting and more textured as an album. It surprised me how much I really liked this album, though of course with the bias of really knowing it well.

This didn't grab me at all. I get it's place in a movement but it was just a weak nothing in the background. Still, I changed the thermostat whilst listening to it so not all bad.

I'm sorry, this is silly and dreadful.

A lovely mournful hymn to the machines

Rubbish

The interweaving with Elvis Costello is very apparent as others have noted. I have a big soft spot for new wave but this really didn't grab me.

A fairly middle of the road indie album. Nice sound and lyrics but nothing stand out here.

It's possible that there is a never ending well of bang average hip hop albums.

I quite like this. It burst with a bit of energy.

Fairly nice fairly bland funk

I can only assume this was uploaded by The Mountain Goats. It’s the only explanation. Grief this is awful.

Absolute bog standard rock

Fairly unremarkable

Quite a quirky punkish jazzish record.

Quite a good all-round album. Too long though

Oh I really liked this. Good choice. I'll put this on my albums list, definitely.

Perfectly pleasant but very bland

Not my cup of tea at all

Nice enough but lacks any stand out tracks.

I just assumed this was American. One of those bands that you might nod along to low in the undercard at a festival but need to write a few songs.

A slightly whimsical one song moment in about 1985 (not one of these songs) in retrospect is a bontempi organ version of some well known songs with 6th form humour lyrics and nobody should have to listen to this again.

Not great, not terrible, a bit confusing about what it wanted to be but perfectly pleasant to listen to.

I like this but the production, as I think they admit, is terrible. Is She Really Going Out With Him is a great song but it sounds really thin. It's not totally consistent but it's a good listen of music from a great era/genre.

I guess I should have listened to hear what it is all about. And this is not an album I ever want to hear again.

Nice gentle drifting background to my day.

I don't dislike Living Colour but I don't quite see the point either. Other bands have better songs than this.

The half time show from Eurovision on a bad loop.

I listened a couple of times and I didn't quite bite on it. It's nice enough but very pedestrian.

I really liked this. Very much in my wheelhouse.

Really interesting album by a really interesting artist. They definitely have a place in modern music. The last song has godawful lyrics though.

Sort of drifts along in a pleasant but aimless way.

I was not expecting anything from this. In fact I thought it was put on as a joke. But this could be the finest electro pop album of all time. Every song an absolute banger. This is absurdly good pop.

A proper album that works as a whole piece.

I think it's legit to put this as something to listen to but reminds me of the tedium of some jazz.

The people who like Vulfpeck seem to be having a good time.

It's a punchy sound but I can't help feeling that this is one of those bands like Catfish and the Bottlemen or Glasvegas. Not enough songs, or any songs, and ultimately forgettable.

I started out optimistic but it got worse with every song.

I quite enjoyed this in a throw away way. Maybe if they were one of my bands I'd know this better.

I absolutely hate this sort of thing. Memories of the world's worst discos in the 80s/90s with the DJ playing mixes like this and shouting "give us the clap". Should be illegal. I’d give it 0 if I could

He’s an important link in the history of American rock and this is a great example of his work.

Starts well but sort of drags a bit. Still, punk with three part harmonies is a thing.

It’s a long way from the dancefloor but a great album in its own way. Just not quite a master

It's an important cultural moment for a certain generation. Unfortunately I'm too old and I'm not American. So it's just a bit rubbish.

I’d almost been tempted to give this two stars for the sheer audacity of mixing metal and electronic. Almost.

One or two good songs but ultimately a bit twee and aimless

Some earthy blues

Rock and Roll is in a lot of trouble.

I started out enjoying it but then it sort of drifted nowhere. Nice but aimless.

I sort of like Big Beat but then I realise I don't as it's actually a bit dull.

I like Blink 182, this is a reasonable pastiche but I wouldn't put yourself out.

More of that period of music when the UK was just not listening to the same thing as the US. So we have no memory burn of this album, we can only listen to it dispassionately, and as such it lacks anything at all to make it worth that listen.

Nice to hear something with a bit of something about it

Lovely but also ultimately a bit boring

Ok it's fun and all that but it's also half an album of covers.

A fun listen, not much by the way of stand out tracks but it's got a great sound.

Falls into the category of instantly forgettable

Sort of middle of the road nothingness

We all obviously know this is a Stones album but it's still interesting and worth a listen. Though it's about 20 minutes too long.

It's a piece of art, it's interesting and it's worth a listen.

The greatest thing about this is how mercifully short it is.

The additional albums to this list are exposing that in the gap between British and US listening they also had a list of bog standard song free albums that people listened to as rites of passage in college. It's like they had 20 or 30 Razorlites and Stereophonics as well. Man this is absolute pub band level.

Well it's a good story and it's always good to listen to something a bit different but it is exactly what you might expect from a 41 year old who works in a post sorting office.

The reviews had promise, then it was just another middle of the road rock album.

You folk are listening to some bang average albums.

I didn't know whether to give this a break because it's a bit different, or treat it with the contempt it deserves. I guess I'll let it slide.

A bouncy fun piece of work.

It's not what I expected My Chemical Romance to be. I'm not sure it gripped me though.

I refuse to believe these are your top recommendations for albums to listen to. It’s just people trying to show how edgy they are.

A few good songs, some nice violin though totally overdone and some terrible singing.

Some good old fashioned country. Nice to listen but wouldn't repeat.

There’s nothing wrong with a bit of out and out pop. I enjoyed this.

I’ve pretty much done my quota of death metal in the main project.

A long bland borefest

Everyone should have a bit of Fado in their lives.

starts off well but tails away very badly. Feels like they ran out of ideas.

Good grief folks. You have some mad ideas.

Really nice album that also doesn't really draw you in. It's sort of aimless.

Fine I guess. Nothing new or interesting.

It's Chuck Berry, it's an important album and rock and roll begain, in a large part, with him.

Shrug

I kind of like this in a mood way. However ultimately it's just four bar repeats with noodling so I'm not sure it's moving music on at all.

I think just a bit ludicrous. Nobody needs to hear this.

Gaaah this is not terrible. I wanted to hate it on the reviews before listening but it’s fine

I really enjoyed this but did wonder whether it got a little bit samey overall. I still think I might listen again

Another album from the period of the great schism in US and UK indie. This is a good album, plenty of cross over appeal to the UK ears.

I absolutely get what they are doing. I really enjoyed it at the start. Then I just couldn't listen to it. The terrible drum machine samples they used were too much.

It's a nice genre that probably deserved something in the main project but my word the lyrics on the songs they write themselves are absoulte dogshit. 12 year old child writing rhyming couplets.

Chugga chugga chugga here comes the chorus chugga chugga chugga here comes the chorus

I like System of a Down but it's of increasing concern to me how many people who did this project and are now picking the albums seem to suffer from borderline anger and sociopathic tendencies. Why so many angry USA albums based on noise and shouting?

I have no idea who Tool are but they seem to be "a thing" Stateside. Enjoy listening lads (and you are obviously lads). Not everything has to have a tune or a melody or be interesting to appeal.

It's interesting as a curiosity and an important band at a time but nobody really needs to hear this. It's so bad. I don't think live albums unless a proper thing (Who at Leeds et al) are worthy of any status, They are for fans.

Cool jazz. Nothing to be annoyed about here.

Great memories of teenage years. I couldn’t afford to go to this gig and to Howard Jones so picked the latter for my first “proper” gig. But let’s face it, this just isn’t good enough.

Drivel

I wanted to like this a lot more. I know a bit about the band and might try to catch them in the UK next year. But this just lacked songs. Still it's a nice sound and innovative music.

Coincidentally I listened to a programme about this show, with Schultz’ son, and about the album oy last week on BBC 6 music. Some solemn beauty in this

If you like bands like The Clash listen to The Clash.

Lads lads lads. Let's choose some albums that are exceptional eh?

Good fun bubble gum

Jolly fun, an interesting album in a sea of mediocrity.

Some pretty nice jazz fusion fun. Enjoyed this.

Not something that particularly grabbed me

Quite a nice listen. Bit affected lyrically but I guess that's the point.

Perfectly nice album that drifted along.

Fairly raucous fun.

Musically interesting but lyrically dreadful. Lots of obvious rhyming couplets that sound like they are written by a 14 year old. I just think you can't do prog rock if you can't write words.

A lively piece of work with some great songs

I have some sympathy for the vibe but just a bit too tuneless for me.

Bog standard rock album with that usual problem of overlooking the need to have some melodies to go with the sound.

Sort of drifted along in a plinky plonk way.

This was a good listen. I enjoyed it.

Japanese female metal is a proper strand of music. I've come across Babymetal before. Not my thing but definitely worth a listen.

Lads. I don't understand why you did this project if you don't like music.

This was a good listen, I wasn't really on top of Mansun at all - passed me by - but overall a good album.

Really good sound, liked this a lot

Proper pop album but tails away in the second half.

It's fun enough to listen to, but they only have one song and, unfortunately, it's not on this album.

À good album and certainly miles better than 3.

Good grief this is awful. It’s a parody record.

Nothing wrong with a bit of punk to blow the cobwebs. Always interesting to hear from the US scene as it didn't carry over.

OK this was my pick. The album I have listened to most in my life is Gone To Earth by David Sylvian. It's a great piece of art (with lots of Robert Fripp too) but I thought it might be a bit too esoteric. If you fancy it, go listen. Instead I picked this, because I think it's the most complete album I've heard in a long time. Musically interesting, lyrically strong, consistent throughout the whole album. And with actual melodies. It's good to have newer albums to listen to that just stand out a bit. I think bands that are prepared to take on new influences, experiment with sound, take their time and get some strong songs together stand out. In a world with beats and vibes with hardly any melody lines, it's just good to hear some bands that stand out. They were a band I'd listened to a bit and thought were OK, then I went to see them live. Live they are outstanding - even if they are not your thing watching musically gifted people play a different setlist every night is the best of live musical experiences. Then this album came out and it was just better than anything else about at the time and also anything they had done. So enjoy.

Bog standard rock album without any stand out tracks. More stuff to play loudly 20 years ago in USA dorm rooms by men.

Pure pop. Who knows whether it will endure, but it's time in the add on game to have some pop after a load of dreary US lad rock albums. It's got tunes, it's got some attitude. She might fade away but she's had a moment here.

OK, it starts with a 3 minute tune which is a one bar repeated bass line. Did he do this on GarageBand on the bus on the way to school? Finally on track five they have two one bar repeats. Oh wait, no it was just an intro then a one bar repeat. Christ this is lazy rubbish.

There’s something about GY!BE that I do enjoy. Of its genre I think they are just a bit more compelling.

Why?

Kind of enjoyable kind of forgettable. Not a bad album but not going to grab me.

A properly interesting piece of work in a sea of user selected dross. I wouldn't choose to listen to it much, but it was at least trying to do something.

It sounds like something I’d have got into if it had been in my sights. Pretty decent album all round.

I was looking down at this album as my served one for the day when in my ears BBC 6 music announced they were celebrating his birthday. So I guess some of us may have got it today. Really good. This is a legitimate ground breaking record.

I'm always a bit more sympathetic to the prog type albums. I didn't know about Steven Wilson but he seems to be a thing. I might explore a bit more.

Maybe I'll listen again when it's finished*. Might be better than this bedroom recorded "sonic ideas" rubbish. I'll give it 1 for being mercifully short. *Actually, I have no intention of listening to anything adjacent to this again.

Sort of interesting sort of annoying sort of ridiculous

Warm, gentle, lovely album. Thanks poster

Proper disco album. Good fun and nothing to complain about here.

An immense album. Really worth listening into. I took "a while" to appreciate it back in the day. I was convinced by the number of people that credited it as a great album. I know a bit about the EMI story - I worked with a senior exec. He kept throwing money at it in a madly uneconomic way as he was personally just a fan. He still loves the album and without him I doubt it would have been made or released. Sometimes music is art. This is a really important album.

It's fair enough but there's nothing stand out and so it's hard to get hooked in. All just a bit thin.

Another one of those albums that's fine and I don't hate it, but it doesn't particularly go anywhere either.

Bang average

I can see why it's interesting, and that Procal Harum are a band of some note. But It's very patchy.

I listened to this but honestly couldn't remember anything about it by the end.

Ah yes! Of course. Absolute classic. Loved this album in my heavy metal phase as a kid. Randy Rhodes is one of the greats. Obviously so is Ozzy. Fine piece of work.

A proper piece of art, a body of work ,a thing. OK it doesn't have the standout classics but it's worth listening to and has a place in UK pop culture.

I don't think this does anything particularly interesting or groundbreaking and the lyrics are a bit banal.

Wholly unremarkable

A delightful change from North American rock slop. More stuff like this.

The first song is the same sentence over and over and over again. I hope this picks up with some actual songs. Nope. It's all just the same thing over and over again. No song ever actually starts. Maybe you had to be there. On drugs.

A bit disappointing from someone I like, have enjoyed some of her music but think she’s run out of ideas here.

Sort of badly produced not very interesting punk.

Quite like Interpol and they are very distinctive but a bit short of stand out songs on this album.

Sort of middling sort of ok album. Hmmm I'd say.

Ah, memories. I know every line of this even still from the recesses of my mind. And the joy of singing Caravan of Love at University in the bar with everyone joining in (and standing up). The Housemartins were a thing at a time for some of us Brits. It's not complicated and they do tend to use the same riff a few times, But it's fun and it's ours. So what. Enjoy.

I mean another third rate rap album, why not.

An interesting addendum to the others of this genre as it has a female co-vocalist and some folk influence. Still not great though

I wasn’t a fan of Depeche Mode but do like a lot of their singles so feel a bit warmer to them than I might. But this is very thin. Couple of great songs and a lot of fairly pedestrian electronica.

It's not my genre but even so, this isn't of note - it's a set of fairly pedestrian songs.

It's a good modern middle of the road rock album.

Song one I thought there might be something here but it nosedived and at points was almost painful. It's a pastiche, sure ,but it's got mediocre lyrics and average songs.

I like Garbage but this isn't quite up to the standard of their first album. A couple of good songs but more patchy.

One of those bands/albums to which I bear no malice. It's pleasant. But it's such a soft, song light, mood nothing that I really can't get into it at all.

I used to go to the Brit Awards for work and every year there would be a high energy song that the pit would scream at and bounce up and down and it would be indistinguishable from the song that did that last year and was instantly forgettable. This is the compilation album of that song.

Really interesting piece of work. Falls away a bit but has its moments up front.

I quite like the sound of Faith No More but there's nothing on this album.

Really interesting album but I'm a sucker for good prog

I guess they are giving it a go but it’s not great

It's a nice sound but it's much too much to be a serious album proposition. It's every thought they ever had.

Sort of nice enough but also incredibly boring.

It was a lot better than I expected but nobody can listen to this more than once, surely?

The world is a better place for having They Might be Giants in it.

It's not music, it's performance art. And that's fine as long as you don't have to listen to it thinking it's music.

It's 'alright' I guess.

Perfectly serviceable plinky plonk music

Many fair comments about the appropriateness of this mess have already been made.

This appears to be an album of note but not notes.

First song is ok but then descends into lounge music with nothing of any interest

Kind of interesting to hear something different and musically this has some stuff going on.

As others have said, nothing fundamentally wrong here. Bounce along blues. I'd rather not listen to covers but fair enough.

Mercifully short

I quite liked this in a syncopated punk way but I think it would wear out soon .

Fairly big standard rock

It’s good pop but I don’t see it lasting. Maybe everyone’s pop has to be at pop age.

I thought there was a bit to this but marked it down for covers.

It's Dolly so nothing fundamental to argue about here.

Sort of Ok jazz in a sort of Ok jazz way

The National have one really good song. That song is not on this album. It's odd that a band with such a successful pop writer writes such dirges for his own band.

I'm well disposed to this album. Yea there are a couple of filler tracks but there's still a lot more to it than some of the indie sludge I've listened to from the picks.

I like Pink Floyd, they are great sounding live, they have a fascinating back catalogue, they are one of the greats. Nobody needs to listen to this record.

There are some songs on this, and it's a lot better musically than a lot of the slop on the long list. I just found it incredibly grating. Very derivative and his singing I "hated". But it's a good album, it's just I can't listen to it. So I'm going easy on it on the marks and giving it a bit more than I personally would give it.

Oh I quite liked this in its way

Weirdly I quite enjoyed this.

It’s fair that there should be more of a nod to Asian artists. It’s also fair that this is absolutely dreadful bottom order throwaway pop.

Pleasant listen, not bad, something different.

Pretty boilerplate metal

Some nice chord progressions overlaid with melodies he can't possibly have bothered even trying to work on. Most of them single note blah. To emphasise this he takes a perfectly good song, Wonderwall, and reduces all the melodic shifts to flatten them and provide a monotone. A really lazy piece of work. I'm with the record company. Don't put this out.

This is a good album. Solid set of songs. Something to enjoy here.

I don't know what this is. It's lots of tedious verbal samples with some music every now and then. How can anyone listen to this more than once?

Angry boy in their bedroom music. I'm just not in that demographic any more.

This is an interesting album, it's a band trying to do something and it stands out. Why not.

I quite liked this in an upbeat mad pop way

I like the Quo. Why not have the Quo. They've been around forever. It's not going to amaze you with its innovation but it's fun.

Not really my scene but a nice album and perfectly good to listen to.

Not my scene but legitimate bit of music history

One of those pleasant wistful albums that doesn’t pain to listen to but doesn’t go anywhere either

More landfill metal

I quite like the 1975 but this isn’t their best and they don’t deserve more than one. It’s also the album where they went full on bring in songwriters. On which I think it’s just a covers album.

I have never really got into R.E.M. They have some good songs, some samey songs and too much bloody mandolin. But I can't disagree that they are an important band who have produced some fine work. It's just not for me broadly. Shiny Happy People is great though, brings back real memories of University.

What a band they could have been. And that band is Blink 182 who do all of this much better. Save yourselves the time and move on to tomorrow’s album.

As with the main project, I don't start or end as a Zappa fan. But when you are served with days of bog standard USA rock/punk/metal albums by bands that might have been important at a college moment to someone who doesn't particularly like music ... Then hearing a Zappa album is a revelation.

It's another metal album, though with a twist in that it's a bit interesting at times.

It's just a bog standard country rock album.

It's not my cup of tea, but it's.a legitimate part of music history and much more important to that story than the acres of US rock slop I've been wading through in the back half of this project.

Very pedestrian musak. Not my jam at all.

It's a nicely muso metal album but you guys have to get together in a forum and decide what are the 20 or 30 definitive albums of this kind because this bit of the project is drowned in them.

It's not my jam but definitely worth listening to as the English Folk revival is an important bit of the jigsaw in the UK.

I might give this a few more tries after reading about how influential it was. I found it a bit plain but then it’s always tricky on one listen.

I found this reasonably unlistenable

Every so often it's refreshing to listen to something out of genre. I'm not a great fan of this but at least it's a challenge to the ears.

I'm done with death metal. I might give it another go given the plaudits but not for some time.

I've found myself accidentally in a post punk/hardcore/metal forum with a load of lonely blokes. Is there a version of this project for people interested in the evolution of modern music?

I like Sam Fender, his music is perfectly fine and inoffensive with the odd raucous singalong and he seems a great man. Even he admits this isn't his best album and was not the album that should have won the Mercury award. I don't think it's breaking any ground but it's a good album.

Just what this project needed - another bang average metal album. To go with the 40 others in the user picks.

Oh this is a great album. I had the first album way back when but didn’t really follow them after the second was a bit disappointing. Really pleased to hear this - musically v good.

Generic pop with the worst cheap drum machine and cheap production

I'm glad I listened to this but I'm not sure whether it's enough to draw me in. It's a bit short of a tune or two which at their best the Floyd could turn their hand to.

Oh it has that song on it. Then about 22 others that are very similar but don't sound quite as good.

This is a Spinal Tap album, surely? Good grief.

I've got a lot of time for Tori Amos. In interviews she's a very endearing character, she's produced some lovely music and Conflake Girl is a top song. I think I wouldn't overplay something like this but it's good that it's there.

I thought this was very pedestrian

I think I've heard every album this genre has to offer. It's been a blast lads.

Really not sure I can keep listening to albums from the same genre every day. I thought people's suggestions might be eclectic. The entire metal community has finished the project.

I like this album, the development of that indie/synth crossover sound and the rudimentary sequencing. It's not their best, but it's a good listen. Barney can't sing, obviously.

It's a sort of self indulgent ambient thing that one might listen to to go to sleep.

A fine album by a fine band. They get better, but this was a good start.

The first track was probably AI generated under the prompt of ‘make the most annoying song possible for this listener’. Tedious repetition of a phrase over tuneless ‘beats’. This might well be the best electronics album ever. I’ll never know. Because there is no way on earth I’m listening to the albums that are worse than this.

I can’t say this really grabbed me but it at least has an interesting sound and well structured songs. Just not quite my thing.

A good band before it with some great songs, this is a complete piece of work - solidly good songs all the way through. Really should have won the Mercury (or CMAT should have) and one of the best albums of the best 5 years. Musically very much a progress on their earlier sound, which was much more raw. Honestly a great album and would have had no qualms picking it myself as an example of music still being interesting.

Do people really choose to listen to this? Is it really a great piece of musical work? Repeating phrases over and over again? It’s hold music. Music for the test card. Stuff they put on in the background in bars. How anyone can feel this is an engaging musical work is beyond me.

Great bit of Australian punk.

Slowdive, shoegaze. It is what it is. I sort of like it more as I've got older and it was a thing.

Perfectly nice, if a little thin

I really liked this and it is something different.

Interesting listen, enjoyed it.

Sort of fun in a throw away way

Straight up and down blues rock without a single memorable song

This is as bad as everyone says it is. I mean really, really bad.

Much better than I expected - very listenable

I think of Muse's work this is the best - without the bombastic of Black Holes and with a bit more rawness. Also Plug in Baby is still their standout song.

I find Pulp deeply annoying. They have one good song, Babies, which isn't really on this album as it wasn't originally included. Then a couple of popular songs I could do without hearing again. I don't like Pulp.

I might tap my feet if these came on as the support act somewhere to a much better band.

I enjoyed this, as the contributor said much like the Django Django album it was a response to.

Quite a surprise this one - eclectic. I might dig around some of their other albums

Really pedestrian album. I really struggled through it. Not a single song.

Queen are an important band and I think all their albums are worth a listen. This is t their strongest, and indeed all their albums are a bit patchy. Then ‘Someone to Love’ comes along and they lift themselves well above the average. Not a classic but definitely a band.

When they write the history of popular music the film of Stop Making Sense will be in it. This album I know so well, the original and the new version with the full setlist. It's such a brilliant album, and the main source material of Speaking in Tongues is a poorer, thin production of songs that have much better space and shape on this album. This is one of the greats, a cultural piece of work that is huge, important, influential and still unique.

Really refreshing, very enjoyable, brings back the child classical guitarist memories in me and it's a very good example of the art.