1001 Albums Summary

Easily my favorite Beastie Boys album. A little bit of novelty, seriousness, and avant-guard experimentation that keeps things interesting. This was at the height of their powers in terms of sampling and playing their own instruments. It's tight and sonically intense. How many kinds of albums are there that have songs that feel as goofy and as threatening as some of these? It also showcases their hardcore punk roots. This is an essential listening, huge in every way, and these guys have shown and been given massive respect in the hip-hop and punk scene where everything started for the new wave of US music in the 80s and 90s. People writing on here need to get off their high horse about their inclusion on the list. These guys probably gave more props and credit to black hip hop artists than any white hip hop artist from the same time period (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong). Watch their speech at the 1999 VMAs for their win on "Intergalactic" as proof. Pioneers and gentlemen all the way.

I love albums that immediately get a 5 star within the first few minutes. Willie is an original. A chief storyteller that evokes the place and time he sings about. As a concept album it kind of fails, but as a whole it really evokes the Wild West he sings about. What a legend. Give this man all the love he deserves. Like Bruce and Cash, he's one of the American greats.

Sad that this is the only Coltrane album on the list. So many amazing albums from him missing that allowed jazz to cross over to the mainstream yet also albums that challenged the very notions of jazz at the time (see: Ascention). As a longtime musician, I owe a lot to Coltrane - he was probably the first jazz frontman that I studied about. This is a wonderful album, a gateway album for many into better jazz music, but woefully overplayed. Psalm is probably my favorite standout track, displaying his entry into more spiritual, esoteric ideas that would most leave their mark on me, musically speaking. For me, this is more of a 4.5 - beautiful and mythical, but just getting started. Hopefully many of you on the website have continued to listen more if this was a first time album.

I love Hendrix but I've never really liked this album. Messy and feels half-finished at times. Must have been GREAT drugs but too many tracks that are corny or a bit amateurish at times. The hits are of course great - and the Voodoo Chile Suite is an extremely underrated blues jam from his band. It was clear that he was moving on from simply being a rock front man here. Such a tragedy that his life was cut so short - apparently there might had been a Miles Davis collaboration if he lived on. Could you imagine??

Hasn't aged well, unfortunately. Must have been really cool when it came out, but we don't really need to listen to zoned out jams with long, noodly guitar solos from guys that aren't the Grateful Dead. And I'm not even a deadhead.

Let me preface by saying that I adore Patti Smith as an artist and a person. Seen her live (amazing), have read a lot about her, and have read her books/poetry, and recognize that she's important in the making of DIY music and punk rock. I have tried but NEVER got into this album since I was 15. I give up. Not sure why it continues to be on lists like this other than the fact that it was racy and bold for its time (especially when it comes to production and its budget). It feels overblown at all the wrong moments and pretentious overall. Everything feels sloppy and half-assed and the poetry is not among her finest. So, what's the story here? Is it like how people drool over "blank canvas" from famous artists and talk about how much of a statement it makes? Maybe the fact that it gets a rise out of me still means that it works. But I'd like to never, ever, listen to it again. 20 something years of trying is enough. Going back to my X-Ray Spex recordings for the time being!

Souvlaki, by Slowdive, was truly a triumph in what made rock music exciting in the early 1990s. Swirling guitars, psychedelic song structures, adding on to the traditions of Great English rock with an entirely new twist. Truly a timeless classic. Oh? Or, just add a generic sounding bar rock album from an English rock star of yesteryear to the list. Um, where's my paycheck??

The fact that no disco music from the Bee Gees is included in this book, and yet, this is, says a lot about what the book wishes to celebrate. I've heard lots of concept albums in my life. A few sincere and emotional moments aside, it's perhaps one of the most painful, pointless, schmalzy things I've ever heard. Not sure what I SUPPOSED to like about it! What did the band want to achieve? Otherwise literally led to the band's breakup! Ego stroking at a max. Prime example of style over substance. Like the Gilded Age in music form. Like a 2000 dollar burgers covered in caviar and gold leaf TikTok trend. Thank God for punk rock.

I get that Adamson did this to get some work with movie soundtracks (it worked, a bit) but maybe he should have just sent it directly to studios instead of imposing it on the greater public. No personality and as banal as it gets.

How to listen to this album: 1) Listen and laugh. 2) Turn off album. 3) Put on Mazzy Star's 2nd album. 4) Realize that the 90s was full of amazing music not included in book. 5) Write Robert Dimery. 6) ??? 7) Profit!

The reviews on this album say more about the average user on the site's database rather than the album itself. I wasn't prepared to enjoy this. I don't really listen to German cabaret music, nor do I enjoy showtunes or (overly) pretentious experimental music. I already was a fan of Krause's work with Slapp Happy and Henry Cow. The fact that no album from either band is on here is pretty criminal (and I don't often listen to either band anyways). As with any "difficult" work, it's important to perhaps read and engage a bit more with it to understand why it's here. In a list that's full of albums only because they were commercially successful or popular for their time, this album pretty much breaks the flow in every way possible. Or does it? Hanns Eisler is a composer that perhaps needs revisiting in the times we live in today. Woes regarding war, propaganda, and social issues in constant fight for recognition were themes that he wrote about, and paid the price for (escaping Germany during the rise of the Nazis). He wrote revolutionary songs (and even composed the national anthem for East Germany upon return), songs of the struggle of the common people, and even a song that advocated for the legalization of abortion and autonomy and protection for women (in the 1930s, no less). The music is, of course, not easy listening. But, the lyrics and music is played by Krause exactly as Eisler intended. She really understands his music. Seething, menacing, often threatening but filled with empathy and lamentation. The music is simply stunning that it was written in post-war Berlin before Hitler's rise. How much creative work was lost from that time period? What can we learn from the themes of the piece today, in the permacrisis that we currently live in? The fact that this is in a book on generally popular music and has been kept in since, with female pop artists such as Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera being cut out of new editions, speaks volumes about what this album can bring to the table of what we deem as "timeless" female artists. No pressings made in the USA whatsoever, no commercial interest, and still wildly ahead of its time given the negative reactions on the website and on YouTube despite being music written nearly over 100 years ago - and on top of that, appealing to myself who's not a fan of this type of music to begin with. This is protest music from another time, yet still representing the fight of our time. More showtune music should be this dark and idiosyncratic. As such, in the spirit of protest, it gets a 5. Post-script: also, not sure how "not being on Spotify" translates as to being album of "no merit whatsoever". Spotify should not be the only way that you have access to albums as a music fan, nor is it a measurement of quality in an album. For those who wrote this, please go to your local record store or library from time to time, or purchase music directly from labels or artists' webpages. You'll be amazed at the great stuff that isn't available on streaming services, waiting to be discovered.

I remember getting in a fight with my ex back in college over this album. She said it was total shit, and I kept defending it as genius. It's in fact, both. But both of us I think missed the point entirely. The Pixies are what they are, an eclectic, bizarre, ironic except non-ironic band with dozens and dozens of influences. There's no way everything will work, and some styles will please you more over others featured in the album, but it's still a wild ride to this day. I love how we never know where the screaming/singing will change and what tempos/chords will intentionally get screwed up. It's masterful because it was entirely controlled in the studio, albeit to the band's eventual demise (this is where they started hating working with each other in the studio). You'd have to be a control freak to make this kind of music sound so tight and cohesive. It's no longer my favorite Pixies album (kind of iffy at certain points), but it was a game changer for me as I started to get into more alternative music. 4.5 stars.

When I was 12, living in Rio, Clint Eastwood played everywhere. Still on the anime high, I loved the music video and watched it religiously. I'm embarrassed to admit that I never heard the album in full until this day. It's a wonderful, quirky little thing. So much talent went into this, as well as a lot of ideas sourced from so many things Albern was certainly exposed to, all used to their advantage. Never will I simply refer to Gorillaz as a simple novelty act. It's a very sophisticated multimedia act from one of the most unlikely rock frontmen from the 90s. Seems to get better with age. So glad I finally listened to the whole thing.

Such a classic. This album changed my life when I listened to it in high school for the first time, just coming off of hardcore punk. What I love about the ratings is that it creates a perfect stabilized pyramid, meaning that this is as divisive as ever. This recording destroys me to this day. Between Lombardo's booming drums, Araya's menacing vocals, and the evil-sounding, wicked guitar playing of King and Hanneman (still can't my guitar to sound as gross to this day) to themes of horror and carnage in human history, it's simply an incredible effort for its time. Scared? Good. Remember that the content is tongue-in-cheek, though the music is not. I really wish I had seen Slayer live - but, Rubin's production makes it feel like they're playing in my living room, destroying everything in sight. So much fun, and so crazy. I still love this album and the reactions it still gives.

As a longtime fan of Marty Robbins, I was shocked that I never given Jones a listen. Truly depressing music at it's finest from one of the most beaten down guys in country. I thought that Haggard's life was tough, but nothing at this level of alcoholism and depression. These songs sound cheery and nice, but the content is as dark as it gets. Country is about hurting. Must have made grown men cry at the time. Just like the blues, it's the American equivalent of fado and raga. Very bold of them to include this. Wish there were more.

No clue why this album is on the list when plenty of other UK and US-worthy hard rock albums were snubbed. Their previous album, Love, would have been at least a decent addition to the Gothic rock sub-genre on the list. Not amazing, but filled with British enough charm and nicely put side by side with bands like the Cure. This is as if they watched This Is Spinal Tap and decided to emulate the band, not realizing that it was a joke. Rubin's production, while solid as usual, sucks out all of the reverb (like what he did with Slayer) and WORSENS the band sound, making them as memorable as every cock-rock band you've ever heard. It makes them seem less threatening, precisely the effect that made Slayer more so. That cover of Born to Be Wild is one of the worst I've ever heard, too. Nothing but clichés and throwaway riffs here. Must be trolling from the part of music critics that added this, as many albums on the list appear to be. Just awful. See: Jet's second album 20 something years later for lessons not learned.

Everything has been written to death about this. It's a perfect pop album, perhaps as important and timeless as anything the great classical composers of history have written before. People focus, ironically (or coincidentally) on the "rumors" surrounding the band members rather than the music first. No, they were not all having sex with each other, but rather having huge problems regarding heartbreak with each other, dealing with divorce, separation, and entering new relationships. Yes, there was cocaine and alcohol and hedonism but not really out of joy, but trying to dull the pain, perhaps clinging to the nostalgia of the 60s counterculture and bohemian times, slipping away in the narrators' minds. This album beautifully celebrates everything that is cruel and beautiful about being human and connecting to one another, and time that slips away where we simply lose connections to wear and tear and time itself. The content is often dismal, they weren't necessarily very likeable people, yet their approach was to celebrate life through music and to keep on going to make one of the most sincere albums we've ever heard. That 5 and the fact that it's the top rated album on this site is not a coincidence.I don't even like Fleetwood Mac all that much and this is one my favorite albums ever. This is something that brings even the bitterest extreme music listener to tears. Shimmering guitars, heavy bass and drums, dense and compact production, happy sounding songs that are depressing and sad sounding songs that are uplifting. This tugs the heartstrings and toys with emotions all the way through. And those melodies are just perfect - every song is a hit. I think this may the only album where I've heard every song on commercial radio. They made something greater than themselves, and all we have is to thank them for it year after year. 50 years on and nary a grey hair in sight (musically speaking). Plus, it gave us the most sold album (ever?) with lavatory handles used as balls on the front cover. So there's that, too.

I love Elvis but couldn't they just have added one or two comps of his (with RCA and Sun) and just be done with this? Yes, maybe it was a success commercially and culturally speaking for the album format, as it sold a lot after Elvis returned from his forced military service abroad. But, it wouldn't be the best introduction to Elvis at all! It shows he was already great at this point, but why are comps not allowed on this list? Do they not count as albums or something? Some of the best releases ever are comps!!

This album is the reason that this project is so interesting yet important to take your time with. I had never heard of Kiwanuka, and the first listen I found it to be decent at best (everything sounded pretty similar) - but, I've already listened to this album 3 times since and it's grown on me each time, going up from a 4 and now finally to a 5. This is an extremely SMART artist, pulling from so many influences both old and new, and connecting the songs together in a way that they create a uniform album, with fascinating chord changes, cryptic lyrics, and lots and lots of textures that remind me far more of what D'Angelo did rather than Bowie, one of his biggest influences. Such cool stuff - really uplifting and, like a good page turner, keeps you coming back again and again, trying to understand what exactly the central plot means by connecting all of the ideas together. So, what does this album mean? Not sure, but it really touches on all of the beauty and uncertainties of being human. Fantastic stuff.

Really a 4.5 if you ask me. I had never given Sade a chance growing up. As a fan of more extreme music, I too was part of the peanut gallery in labeling this as adult alternative muzak. What a load of garbage. This is a beautiful, fantastic, sensual album, that actually touches on social issues in addition to the romantic, slow-moving hits. This simmers all the way through, tight as a well oiled machine. As a musician, I'm impressed with the band's ability to show so much restraint and release with the jazz and pre-trip-hop song structures. The sax solos are a bit of their time, but precisely, the 80s was one of the best times for music anyways, and I'm such a sucker for cheese as long as the music is tough enough. Sade is a strong and focused singer, not at all flat. Like a Billie Holliday 2.0, at times. As my former jazz instructor, Andrew Speight, once told our large class (with people chatting and making noise upon arriving during the first track he would play), "If you shut up and listen, you might learn something." So glad that I held my breath and gave you a listen after all these years, Sade. Can't wait to listen to the rest.

Great addition to the list! Funky, wild, and cool - some filler, but exactly the kind of stuff I wanted to discover. It's a shame that it's the only album from India on the list. So much amazing stull has come out of that continent. Someone should write a book on 1001 Indian albums to listen to before you die (and it will certainly be as controversial as the current book).

As a lifelong Cooke fan, can't believe I had never heard this one before! Raw power to the max, performing in the best possible place and audience, at the peak of his powers. This is what I dreamed of Cooke sounding like on his regular recordings and more. The Man and His Music is a true classic comp to have in every collection, but this is where you crank things up. His party songs sound like revolutionary anthems here. It's the only Sam Cooke album on the list, so it gets an automatic 5 anyways.

It's nice to see an album on the list that I grew up listening to, during its peak moment. I listened to a lot of Animal Collective in college in San Francisco. I was just getting into more alternative music from simply classic rock and punk rock, and starting to enjoy other genres of music, particularly experimental and "anti-rock" groups. SF was perfect for this around 2009, just before the techie explosion. Lots of small venues, house concerts, warehouse spaces, micro labels and record stores, and lots and lots of music swapping. Animal Collective was really popular in the scene and was historically a pretty wild band up to MPP: lots of sound manipulation, heavily reverbed and screaming vocals, lots of odd chord changes and tunings, and also fans of underground bands such as the Residents and Sun City Girls. This album really surprised people because it signaled a different direction for the band to make more poppy, amplified, arena friendly music. They were hinting towards it for a bit but I think at the time it was a wonderful transition. Alas, I feel that it's a wonderful effort if albeit atypical to what they're known for. See: Strawberry Jam and Feels. A lot of the melodies are bright and sunny but lost often times in the reverb and overdubbed vocal harmonies that make it more of a mood board for summertime imagery instead of a consistent selection of memorable hooks. Maybe the hype was a bit too much at the time. With that said, Panda Bear's songs are as delightful as always (following his high from the incredible Person Pitch album) and evoke some very happy, optimistic nostalgia during that time of being young and living through a moment of a lot of creativity and hope. He's the only member of AC whose music I still listen to often - experimental pop masterpieces all the way through. I find the Brian Wilson/Beach Boys comparisons to be lazy. But, in the same level as Pet Sounds or Smile, this is an album that's pretty idiosyncratic - you'd never mistake them for another band. It just doesn't thrill me as it used to. More of a 3.5. Still worth listening to, and glad it's on the list. Hope it made some new AC fans in the process!

This album (as well as the Royal Albert Hall live album) have been my gospel since college. I have never taken psychoactive substances, nor do I need to in order to appreciate this album. Jason Pierce is one of the great UK songwriters of the 80s and 90s. Heavily inspired by multiple influences, his experiences with drugs and anxiety really allow him to go the extra mile when it comes to making complex, rich soundscapes. Everything is here: psychedelic rock, punk, gospel, R&B, jazz, noise, ambiant, etc. - the way he composes is the way that I hear the world. Moments of silence with moments of loudness. This can be challenging but overall rewarding music. It may come off as pretentious and bombastic at times, but the grandeur only elevates the message further. Pierce is, however, a very sentimental person with songs about heartbreak and loneliness. I really feel that everything he added was with sincerity and to push the boundaries of what he was trying to do. This is an album not to be taken lightly, as it makes you feel insignificant facing it head-on. The fact that they could also pull off this sound live makes them second to none. Give it all your attention and face the beauty and chaos of the abyss.

The more time passes, the more that it becomes clear that this is a masterpiece on so many levels. There's so many highlights here, hopping from style to style and setting trends along the way. It was clear to André 3000 that they wanted to be more than just a hip-hop duo. I saw Big Boi recently and while it was great, it's clear that they couldn't keep working together vis-à-vis his traditional hip hop approach VS André 3000's need to continue experimenting. But, while it was good, they truly captured lightning in a bottle here. B.O.B is basically the reason that this album is such a killer. It basically predicted not only the future of pop music, but what pop culture would become. Irreverent, postmodern, with fame and fortune as a weapon to create chaos and dissonance, on others (but also on the self). This is a collage of everything known in music up to this point. An effort that will take another generation to see again, if that.

Reminds me of the stuff I got into in college. More moody, sensitive music. Very much of its time. Also noticed that every artist that won the Mercury Prize in the early 2000s was added on this list? Was there no other "known" artists at the time apart from those that won this prize or something?

I love Amy and honestly am a bit disturbed by the creepy, borderline misogynistic reviews here (and on other parts of this site). So what if the content is about her relationships. Isn't that what, uhhh, MOST OF POP MUSIC IN HISTORY IS ALL ABOUT?? Is moderating reviews simply not cool anymore?? This album shows that she was already greatness in the making, at the age of 19. A crooning voice made in heaven, with eclectic jazzy and trip-hop ideas already at the forefront. Too bad the production is bogged down by "experimentation" that is atmospheric at best and lazy and pointless at worst. In her words: "I've never heard the album from start to finish. I don't have it in my house. Well, the marketing was fucked, the promotion was terrible. Everything was a shambles. It's frustrating, because you work with so many idiots—but they're nice idiots. So you can't be like, "You're an idiot." They know that they're idiots." Hilarious! Can't argue with that! Still gets a 3 for her efforts, too bad it's too spotty. They should have just put Back to Black on the list. Since she's from the UK, I guess both had to be on there. Thanks, Dimery.

I'm giving this a 5 only because the top review giving this a 1 (!!) is the dumbest thing I've read so far on this site (and I'm sure it will get worst). The fact that the "review" is unfunny and mean-spirited is one thing, but its argument is baffling: Rush was the catalyst of a movement that "murdered" prog rock?? Really? HAS to be a troll post. I don't know everything about music but prog and arena rock was already on its way out by the end of the 70s. If anything, punk and new wave (and hard rock and metal, a bit) changed everything in popular rock, and that guy has completed the list, and should know this, but maybe he woke up on the wrong side of the bed the day he wrote the review. Or, maybe, was dumped by someone that was a major Rush fanatic. Who knows. Not a perfect album, but brilliant playing and fantastically smart lyrics (and drumming! That drumming!) from Peart all the way through. I can forgive some of the corny moments for the thick production and heavy riffs. This was the album that made me a Rush fan, and was a perfect use of all of the studio wizardry at the time with top top-notch playing and quirky chord and song structures. Not my favorite Rush album, but a classic and love that Tom Sawyer and Limelight gets love to this day in the sea of terrible radio selections we have to wade through. Also, should note that my former boss is friends with Lee and says that he and Lifeson are really sweet guys for big rock stars. Really humble too if you read interviews with them. Hardly the Judases of prog rock!! Can't wait to see them on tour next year.

This is it: Elvis Costello's one truly great album. Every song is a winner, and I've enjoyed this not as a guilty pleasure, but a genuinely smart and insightful pop rock album with really cool punk, blues, and reggae influences added in spades. My only gripe is the production (a bit tinny) but he literally was broke at the time and did what he could. As a result, it's sincere and authentic as it gets when it comes to the genre. Costello is a knowledgeable guy when it comes to music styles and playing but it doesn't always translate in his albums. Here, hungry and ambitious, he produces probably the best album of his career. I love these melodies and lyrics so much - great when I need to take a break from more complex music. 4.5 stars.