I’m more inclined to electronic music than I was when I was younger. That said, I’ve got more experience listening to music. In 2000, this would have been zero point zero from me. I know this. Now, I find this sort of simplistic and repetitive. I have a hard time fitting it into a spot in my thinking where it was ground breaking or innovative. It’s very much like asking ChatGPT to make me some banging electronic tracks. It is inoffensive, so I might have it on in the background when I’m working because I like to play music that’s not going to distract me.

I totally understand why this was a hit in 1972. Folk was still an influence in popular music that was able to really be put out there. This album doesn't sound dated by any stretch of the imagination. But you can tell from the instrumentation that this is an album that wouldn't have mass appeal in 2023. I like the album, but I don't know that I would need to really listen to this regularly. It is a bit too mellow for me and I prefer Bob Dylan and Neil Young when it comes to things that have the influence of folk to them. I'll give this a solid 83.

This is pretty funky. I love this one. I forgot how badass Erykah Badu was on this album or at this time. This is amazing. When I need to chill and just relax, I'll come back to this one. I'm glad this is in my algorithm now. 95/100 or 5 stars in the 1001 album ranking.

Solid. In retrospect, not spectacular but very good. I love Rod Stewart after reading his book so I’m leaning towards giving it a bit more grace. 3.75/5 77/100

Great album. I’ve had it on reps since I saw the band in Boston in November. Before that I knew of them, but didn’t really know them. Now I listen to them all the time. 5/5 95/100

Great album. So much of 90s hip hop is here. This is FUNKY. 5/5 92/100

I like this. Maybe not the one filled with catchy pop hits but the sonic palette is insane.

5/5 100 Whatever. I’ve been a lifelong Pearl Jam fan at this point. I’ve been to 20+ shows. Everytime I hear Alive it’s a celebration.

Crazy but I’m totally into this. I’d have never thought I’d enjoy it so much. I’d definitely listen to this again.

Great album. Just perfect as an example of raggae.

I’d never pin this as being from 1980. It doesn’t feel 40+ years old. It doesn’t have the same production values minus the drums. I like it. Not a constant but solid stuff. 82/100 4/5

Totally dig this. 4/5

This is excellent. Totally going into my rotation of music to work to.

My grandma loved Elvis. I have watched Blue Hawaii more than I should ever have had to. This is the start of Elvis. It’s wild how wide his influences are. Maybe not as jaw dropping as Little Richard but sort of awesome to hear now.

My first Anthrax album. Very hard. I’m maybe not as big a fan of this as I am of Megadeath or other metal bands. I can appreciate why folks like this though. 3/5

‘Fame’ and ‘Young Americans’ are solid songs. The rest is a vibe, but not a must listen album.

“In da club” is a banger. The beats hit. The guests are great. But on the whole, I feel this is less than the sum of its parts.

I don’t know if I ever listened to the entire album before. But this is raw and intense. These are songs you’ve heard or know the names of in a lot of instances. But I get the hype about this concert now. 5/5

Solid. I like it. Atmospheric. 4/5

2/5

It’s great. It’s too much. It isn’t really an album.

Still sounds fresh.

Not my thing. I was like, “will this ever end?” The sonic landscape is fine. The vocals are fine. Everything is fine, but I think I had higher hopes for a Fleetwood Mac album. In looking at the reviews of others, they put the album in the context of everything happening around the band. I don’t have that historical reference. So, for me, it is just sort of a hodgepodge of sounds, vocals, and styles. Not something I’d come back to… ‘Sara’ is a good song though.

It’s great. It’s important. This album has influenced so many albums and artists and songs. It is also uneven. So I’ll say 4 not 5. But still really cool. So many influences here.

Wouldn’t need to listen to this regularly. It could be because this kind of pop was never my thing but it just sounds like the soundtrack for a forgettable 60s youth movie made in 2015 to be nostalgic.

Strong 4.

Loved it.

I like this. I’ve never listened to this guy before, but I might listen again.

I like this more than I thought I would. The newer British hip hop has been stronger than I might have thought.

4/5 I’d listen again.

Not my thing.

If I knew this was what I was listening to it would be fine. Know it’s some trippy ambient music going in.

I’ve been revisiting Beck lately. This is a funky, wide ranging album. I’d put this up there as one of the best Beck albums from start to finish. I have no problem listening to this over again. 4/5

Listened to this a couple of times. I like it.

2/5

5/5 Great pop album with great production.

Couldn’t do it. One hit. So I’ll give it a 2.

I know the name, but never listened to Marianne Faithful before. Probably cool not listening to this again. There’s not much interesting to me in this one. I’m guessing the atmospheric stuff was rarer in the 70s when this came out. But to me it feels tired and uninteresting.

I enjoy this. I can’t tell if it is dated. Some of it is but a lot of it still feels fresh. It is still an album I can’t divorce from the 90s. I’ll come back to this because it’s catchy. That holds up.

I get the concept but 3 hours of this crap. Come on. I thought this was a joke. The only joke was on me for listening to this crap. Never need to hear this again. 1/5

As funky as it can get. But still a little filler in spots.

It’s bad knockoff Cat Stevens.

4/5

3/5

3/5

Make sure you go for the explicit version. I like the beats and jazz influence. The flow is different compared to the hip-hop I grew up on. But it’s a solid album. 3/5

3/5 Interesting. A bit uneven, but totally radical at the time it was released.

4/5

3/5

This is crazy. I hate to love it, but I do. This is all the best bits of the 80s metal scene in one album. But I know the lyrics are wrong. I know Axl has been a giant jackass. But it is a great bit of music. F*&^

I’ve been on a little of a run with the Pumpkins lately. This is a really great album that doesn’t fit into the grunge mold of the time even if it’s 90s guitar driven rock.

Great hip hop album. One of the most intense concerts I ever saw was the Wu opening for Rage. The Wu’s impact is everywhere still. 5/5

4/5

A little too ‘80s for me, but still fun. 3/5

I enjoyed this more than I might have imagined. But I don't understand how this is on the list. It is just average.

This song has a lot of 80s era bangers on it. I caught myself singing far too loudly to a few of these. Egads!

I reserve 1s for the absolute worst things like Kid Rock and that noise metal thing that was a hate crime. This is awful. There isn't anything worthwhile about it, but I still feel like I will give it a 2. Just a boring and worthless album.

This hits from the opening riff. It is not what you are likely to expect from the album cover. It is blues based rock music from dudes from Mali. It has a really funky beat. It is good. It is fun. And, these guys play...

Pleasant music. Good. Not great. Wouldn’t turn it off. Not sure I’d search it out either.

4

5/5 The voice isn’t great, but these songs are something else. That it’s just one album, wow! Because for most artists this would be enough to make a career.

4/5

4/5

This has always been my favorite Beatles album because I think it was the first one I really got into. I love this one. It is straight ahead catchy pop. It’s just the perfect early Beatles album because you have the drums and bass driving the music. The harmonies. The lyrics. The catchiness. It’s all just there. Do I love other albums by the Beatles? Certainly. But this my first love and my favorite.

Not my thing. I don’t even find this a good example of 80s synth pop. It’s just sort of meh for me.

I’m not sure if I love this or hate it. I don’t know what this is. But I’m kind of into this.

Meh. I was excited because of the song by The National, but it’s kind of generic alt rock or maybe it’s not. 2/5

Great. 5/5

It’s not all bangers. But it’s a solid album. You have interesting influences and the hits are great.

Expansive. Indulgent. But very listenable. Like an exotic ear massage. This is a giant F you to John and Paul were the geniuses of the Beatles.

A banger. Some peak Neil Young and Crazy Horse. A mix of light and loud. 5/5

This has been a favorite since I was a kid. It’s got a bit of everything. It’s pop, but not. Rock, but more. Dance, but something else. 80’s excess, but more sophisticated. Just great. 5/5

Interesting stuff. Never really listened to The Pogues before. My wife’s family is almost 100% Irish and I have a son with a very Irish name. So I have to listen to this and enjoy it. I don’t think it is a full 4 stars for me, but it is more than 3 stars. So I think I will go 4 stars because I would listen to this again.

Love the beats. The lyrics may be a little over my head. Like The Streets, this one may grow on me as I become more familiar with it.

It could be that I’m sitting here on a Saturday night, having a drink, chilling…but this feels pretty good.

Perfectly inoffensive. Nothing much memorable about this at all. Like elevator music from the 90s.

I can’t tell if I love it or hate it. The beats are pretty great. The lyrics are hit or miss. I’m really torn on this one.

This was the first album I really got into U2 on. Seattle, 2000-2001. I had this thing on constantly at the Bauhaus coffee shop. This is U2 at peak preachy, but still catchy.

3/5. I get it. I’m not that much of a hard rocker though.

Interesting. Not electronic. Not entirely vocal driven. Somewhere in the middle. 3/5

I had no idea what I was going to hear when I put this on. It is a really solid synth pop thing. I’d totally listen to this again. I really enjoyed it. It takes the best of dance, synth, and pop and puts it together. The band is quite charismatic and lively. Not quite 5 stars, but solid 4.

Meh. 2/5

3

This still sounds fresh for the most part, especially the hits and more recognizable songs. I like this one. I think I am slightly too willing to drop 5 stars, but this is pretty innovative in the context of rock music and guitar playing...so I think the 5 stars is deserved here. I'll go 90/100.

I've never heard this, but I do know the songs. So, probably better than I imagined. 4/5

From the start with 'The Cisco Kid' this is funky... I'd listen to this again. It is funky and still sounds fresh. The music is great. 5/5

know the Talking Heads, I know 'Once in a Lifetime'. I was excited to listen to this one because my wife went to see David Byrne's show on Broadway on a business trip a few years back. I didn't think this was bad or good. 'Once in a Lifetime' was and is still a good song. The rest of the stuff just kind of blended together for me. I wouldn't need to listen to the full album again. 3/5

Love this one. The first time I listened to this, I had no clue what I was listening to. But it grew on me and it’s in the regular rotation now.

Good. Not the best Black Sabbath album IMO. 3/5

Meh.

Solid 4/5

4

What an album!? I've been a fan of Johnny Cash. Especially the older stuff with Rick Rubin, but I hadn't listened to this in a while or since I can remember. This is just raw and amazing. It is all heart, emotion, and simplicity. Fuck! 5/5

A little dated production wise but the songs hold up well. There are some mid-90s bangers with a little filler but not too much. TBF, almost all of these albums had some filler. I’ll go strong 4.5, but round up to 5 like in school.

Adele has an amazing voice. But it’s also music that is just there.

This is a mix of styles. What I notice most is how rough and energetic this is compared to other Stones albums. Not 5 stars but solid 4.

Remember hearing this around 2004/2005 as an advance thing. I’ve enjoyed it over the years. But always felt like KoL left a little to be seen. Like they only got part of the way to where they could have.

Middle of the road punk for me. Not quite average.

The hits are hits. The rest of the album isn’t as solid.

Swinging country music. I don’t remember listening to Dwight Yoakam but knowing him as Julia Roberts’s ex-husband. This is a good country album, catchy. Kind of higher than a 3.5 and slightly below a 4. I’ll round up because I wasn’t expecting much and got a lot more than I expected.

Is it possible to go higher than 5 stars? This is just a perfect psychedelic rock album. I am not even a Pink Floyd fan and this is just lush, well constructed, anthemic, and timeless.

Started slow for me, but it grew on me.

Chaotic. Not bad. Not as amazing as some of the reviews led me to hope for. Good though.

This is amazing. I was grooving to the entire album. It holds up too. That’s fortunate, but unfortunate as well. This is a straight banger.

Definitely something I appreciate more having worked through this project. Also, when I was younger and this first came out, I didn’t really get past the singles. Now, I appreciate the influences and how subtle a lot of this is. Solid album that’s not what you’d expect from early Beastie Boys albums.

4/5

This is probably the only album besides ‘The Blueprint’ that I’d call perfect of the 200+ I’ve had so far. This is just perfect. It still feels fresh and amazing.

I always walk away from these Adele albums saying she has a great voice and the music is solid, but it’s music that doesn’t move me a lot. There’s always that last step she doesn’t take.

It’s a lot. It’s great. It’s a touch dated. It’s a bit of everything 80’s.

I like it because it’s got groove and funk. It’s also only ok because the songs aren’t that great compared to the hits. It’s something I’d listen to but wouldn’t intentionally put on.

3/5

I mean, this is Mariah...so you know it is going to have a certain amount of vocal quality. It does. But this isn't the album filled with all the poppy, danceable hits that I associate with Mariah. It is a solid album, but not as much fun as I think I want from someone so connected to pop and dance and high flying vocal trilling. It was really more of background music to me. 2/5

That’s a solid 2 from me.

5/5 Still almost perfect. Hasn’t aged a second.

This is the blues. Rock has nothing on the real blues when it comes to soul because this is generational pain coming through in music form. That’s not meant to take away from rock, but just that we might think we know blues based music but we don’t until we hear real blues. 4/5

I’ve only known Lemmy by reputation. But I have to say this doesn’t disappoint. Again, it’s straight ahead rock. The lyrics are out of touch with today but in 1980, this shit must have been poetry.

4 stars

4 stars.

5

Fun. But my French isn’t good enough.

To me this is the peak Pavement album. I loved this one in the 90s. It still holds up and has a freshness to it. It’s likely because it tried so hard to not sound like grunge. Anyway, if I’m listening to a Pavement album, this is it for me.

I’m more inclined to electronic music than I was when I was younger. That said, I’ve got more experience listening to music. In 2000, this would have been zero point zero from me. I know this. Now, I find this sort of simplistic and repetitive. I have a hard time fitting it into a spot in my thinking where it was ground breaking or innovative. It’s very much like asking ChatGPT to make me some banging electronic tracks. It is inoffensive, so I might have it on in the background when I’m working because I like to play music that’s not going to distract me.

I’d be inclined to go 3 here but the title song was so bad. I needed to subtract a point. It’s kind of middling electronic music.

2/5

3

To me peak Dylan. 5/5

Can I go more than 5. This was my first ZZ Top album as a kid. So this wins due to nostalgia.

4/5

3/5

It’s not bad. It’s just not interesting.

4/5

3/5

Not my thing. Loud, abrasive and those are the redeeming qualities of this one. I know it’s Nick Cave, but it’s just too chaotic and incoherent to even be considered something as a jumping off point for me.

Totally fine. Norway, I like. It’s not great or offensive. I would have been fine not listening to this in my lifetime. 3/5

3/5

“I was there. At the first CAN show, in Cologne.” 3 stars. Maybe 2 if it wasn’t due to LCD Soundsystem

I’ll put this on my list of things to work to. It’s just right for deep work and deep thinking. 4/5

I dig it and I don’t know a word of French.

Great stuff.

Can’t find it easily. Gets 1 star.

I enjoy this. It’s interesting and unusual. I like to listen to stuff without words when I work and this fits that bill nicely. 4/5

One star for each hit. But pretty average the rest of the way. 3/5

2/5 Repetitive and a bit lame.

3/5

4/5

This is some good renaissance fair shit.

Not my thing but I did appreciate the creativity.

I’d forgotten about this album but when KoL were first on the scene one of their promoters sent me a copy because I was involved in the entertainment business. I was sworn to not share it with anyone. I had this on a loop for a long time in 2004/2005. Along with Eagles of Death Metal. Laugh. It’s cool. I do as well.

This is some of the dullest music I’ve ever heard. Good god man.

4/5

It’s fine. Not great. I enjoyed it. 3/5

4/5

3/5

These songs are classics. I didn’t realize this album had so many classic Dylan songs on it. This is a 5 from me.

3/5

This is a one hit thing. I was interested due to the name check by LCD soundsystem. But meh.

Meh. 2/5

3/5

This is better than I would have expected. Sure, Smoke on the Water but it’s good blues based rock.

3/5 Nice electronic music but nothing essential.

3/5

2/5

I enjoy this. 4/5

Nothing bad about this. It’s just not my style of music. 2/5

I wouldn’t call this a good album. I wouldn’t call this a bad album. It is kind of repetitive in a unharmful way. I listened. I didn’t think it needed to be on a list of essentials.

Is this supposed to be important? I’ve heard of Killing Joke before, but this doesn’t really make me need to listen to them again. Feels like a suburban form of edgy, even if they are British punks.

This is offensively anodyne. Why is this album on a list of albums I must listen to. 1/5

Some hippy music. Not bad though. Like prog, psychedelic, and pop mixed up in an acid laden vat. 4/5

3/5

It sucks and I don’t know why I have to listen to it as part of this project. Still not the worst thing I’ve heard here.

Totally fine. I enjoyed it. Doesn't need to be on this list...I don't think. 3/5...really 2.5 so I am rounding up.

Great album. This is peak Grunge. I especially like 'Like Suicide' because it has the riffs, bass, and drums that marked a change from the 80s for me. I know that Grunge was a catch-all, but this was always THE grunge album for me.

3/5

If I had to rate it on the idea that my life wouldn't be complete without ever hearing this, it is definitely 1 star. If I rate this as whether or not I did or didn't like it, I'd say it was totally fine and I'd give it an average score...maybe a 2.5. I feel like I give a lot of 3s because stuff is just average. This is another in that line. Not bad, but not essential by any stretch of the imagination.

3/5

Not my style of music but I get it. As I listened to it, I got a bit more into the musicality of it. So I’m going to bump my rating up to a 4. ‘One’ hits.

4

A banger. 5 stars.

I haven't listened to this album in a long time. It is unexpected when you consider it in the context of what Nirvana is known for. They also did a nice job of covers and not playing to the audience. A true work of art.

I like it. It is interesting. Not crazy, earth changing music. But girls doing punk is fun and different for this list. 4/5

4/5

4/5

3

3/5

Fine. 3/5

I try to add context to these things. So I give this a higher rating than I might. Why? Because if you only listen in the moment, you’d say this sounds like a lot of punk. But this is foundational. So 4. Take that back. Knock it down to a 3 due to some production issues.

This isn’t the best thing I’ve heard. I know Robbie Williams more by reputation than anything else. 2/5