1001 Albums Summary

OK, so Pitchfork has this at 8.4/10 and my first impression was that the submitter was in the band? Truth is somewhere in between? I honestly don't know what to make of this. I mean it got better, not to the point of repeat listens but at least bearable. This is my first user submitted album so it has to be a 2, *just in case* I hear something worse than this so i have somewhere to go.

Country isn’t my thing, is this country though? Dunno. But 12 singles off one album is hard to deny, a window to an age long gone. And Mutt Lange is a great producer.

For everything I’d heard about it I was expecting a masterpiece. It’s good, not great. But I’d listen again I think. 3.5 rounded to a generous 4

Felt like I was on hold for an hour. Didn't hate it but it was definitely background music for me.

Really enjoyed that. Can't believe that [according to Last.fm] I'd only played Paramore 4 times in my life (well post 2006) - will do so more from now on.

Against all my expectations, I enjoyed this.

Not bad, never heard them before but have now followed them online. Sounds like a cross between early Tool and every band in my local scene in the mid 90s!

Some great stuff early on but I'm always wary of the double album - you've got to have a lot so say, and I'm not sure M83 has quite enough.

I'm a massive fan of Jason Isbell - I did something with this album I haven't done in a decade or more - pre-order it and listen to it without any advance singles... sadly I was disappointed. I found myself wondering if these were actually b-sides from another project. I like the title track and a few others but nothing comes close to his previous best though

Very familiar sound, loved the opening track!

A few stone cold classic songs here - will "Never Tear Us Apart" ever age? At the same time I think i'm more of a Listen Like Thieves person. The music that was so influential to me couldn't have happened without INXS I'm sure, I was just a little too young to get them back in the day, and now it feels like I've heard half this album (on the radio) 10,000 times. It's hard to be objective, so I'm just going with feels.

Never heard of them but enjoyed it!

Ok, straight up. A 30 minute song is just taking the piss. I gave it a good listen, I know some very nice people with reasonable music taste who love Phish, plus I already listen to Dave Matthews so this is just an extended version of that right. Really extended. But man, it was a lot. Closing track as excellent I will say.

I dig it

This band is great, this album no exception

Really strong production throughout — each track builds its own distinct sound, and there’s a lot to admire in the detail and craft. And yet sometimes I struggle to connect with the music though (not that i'm the target audience); it often doesn’t quite feel *about* anything, even when there’s a clear narrative framework like there is here. Because of that, I respect this more than I like it.

Some of these songs were the soundtrack to my final year of high school. My band tried to play El Scorcho but I could never quite nail that solo. The Good Life remains my favourite ever Weezer song but, relistening for the first time in... i don't know how long... Last.fm says 10 years, I don't feel as connected to these songs (outside of the two mentioned) as I once did. Thanks for the flashback though

Just goes to show that everything can be somebody's favourite. I reviewed this for my university magazine back in the day, I thought it was great I'd get all these CDs for free - then I listened to them. This isn't the worst one I was sent, which says what I need it to say.

Ska punk is not my favourite branch of punk, but it was a decent listen. +1 for the cover of a song from Back to the Future

My housemates asked me to turn it down

I’ve listened to a lot of this band, I feel like they have better records.

Good different

Love the Nick Drake vibes

Many have said it better than me but blues (outside of Robert Johnson and Django - got a soft spot there) I just don't get. This is probably it at it's finest and it's ok. I don't get why this is more important than any other though. Monday open mic nights with 60 minutes blues jams while I was waiting to play next have biased me perhaps.

Album was OK. Didn't move me much either way - the band's Spotify bio though... stat central - tell me why you make music, what it means to you, rather than how many streams you have, Jeez.

Wow, some variety here. I had to turn to Google to convince me I wasn't listening to Jimmy Pop Ali singing here. Interesting, not my thing totally though.

This would go down well at a party I reckon. I'm too old for parties though.

Great story from the submitter - I suspect my submission will be as much story as album quality too. I'd love to give this more but it didn't do much for me, sorry. "Lady in Red" is my karaoke go to though.

There's just something about these guys - there's an edge, but also a beauty

Interesting...

Solid 3/5

I don't mind a bit of doom... some Pallbearer goes over OK, I even sat through that album that had one 70 minutes long song... the name escapes me... but man, I just can't with this.

Nice find!

Reading about this I thought I would hate it, like looking for the zero button. Some of the beats got me though, and i went looking for the lyrics to see if they were as clever as i'd been told. 2.5 but i gotta round down on this one.

This graduated from a 1 to a 3 as it progressed. I can’t see me ever needing to hear it again though.

Bias exists. I love me some PT.

Seasons is an all time banger

Some Aussie representation! Bear with me. This an interesting one for me. Massive early influence, and—at least in my opinion—one of the “big four” of ’90s Australian rock alongside Silverchair, Something for Kate, and You Am I. I’ve got a long history with them. I worked for their publisher, saw them live 20+ times, and was cheering when they topped the Hottest 100. I even played in a Powderfinger tribute band (for 3 rehearsals). But over the years, I’ve started to look at them more critically. I never quite got from the music the same intellectual depth they showed in interviews. At times, it feels like the focus was on writing anthems for the masses—great ones, undeniably—but often without that deeper layer (with a few notable, more personal exceptions in the catalogue). Odyssey Number Five isn’t my favourite of theirs. I’d take Internationalist and Vulture Street over it pretty comfortably. Part of that might just be fatigue—I’ve heard “My Happiness” so many times I can barely hear it anymore. It was a staple of the busking circuit in the early 2000s, back when coins mattered and pubs still shut at midnight. It’s still music I enjoy hearing when it comes on—but I’ve always had this lingering feeling that they could’ve taken more risks. For a band that thoughtful, I sometimes wish they’d aimed less for the middle and more for the edges.

I've sworn to listen to every album, it's someone's favourite after all and I appreciate the dedication you've put in to listening to 1100+ albums. So i tried, 3 restarts. I made it through, but this is too different for me, sorry.

Yeah, this is my jam. Can't believe I've never heard of this before.

I saw this and thought yes! Immediate 5. Mostly based on memories from high school… then I listened, I don’t remember half of these tracks. And some I loved (Spiderwebs mainly) have dated badly IMO. For mine, Don’t Speak and Sunday Morning stand the test, but not much else. Thanks for the flash back though!

Cool

Probs should have been in the main list

Hesistant to be too harsh when I don't speak the language. The production was interesting.

I struggle with musical soundtracks - I love live theatre but the recordings always seem to be missing that vital element of the visual.

This or the next album are hands down peak FF. What I loved about the Foos in the 90s was probably what i came to tire of, you always knew what you were going to get. Few risks, few experiments - a greatest hits act. Which is fine, sometimes I wish i had a band like that. But this takes me back, to jam rooms in high school, painstakingly learning Monkey Wrench only to discover that Hey Johnny Park was far more fun to play.

I like some metal, generally thrash is a bit beyond me but this was ok. It's always the voice though, I'd like a little more grit and a little less opera

Bad Religion are my 11th most listened to artist according to Last fm, so yes, I'm familiar with this record. I haven't listened to them in 18 months since finishing Greg Graffin's book which I found to be a massive disappointment, i wrote on GoodReads "They say don’t meet your idols and maybe don’t read their memoirs either. I wanted to enjoy this book so much and expected to, being that I hold Graffin's lyric writing on the level above a lot of other musicians. This book, however, contained many detailed stories about seemingly irrelevant events and repeated declarations of naïveté or innocence of popular culture, while passing over the creation of five albums in one chapter. I’ve previously read a book bio of the band and much preferred that one." Maybe this is my gateway back in, some cracking tracks here - thanks to the submitter for relighting the fire.

Imagine being in a band with Freddie Mercury and insisting on doing lead vocals yourself. Like write it, demo it but when it comes to recording... I mean... am i wrong? I've seen it written that “Drowse” is probably the least essential track in context—but not because it’s bad. It’s because the rest of the album is absurdly strong and unified. Which the album is. Easy 4.5/5

At one point in my life i thought MCR was just like all the other third grade shit going round in the early 90s. I was pretty wrong there.

Is this actually really good, or was I just surprised by how much I liked it (expecting it to be terrible). Anyway, a good listen!

I struggle with instrumental music. Some of this was beautiful though. I'll admit that 3 songs in i thought i was finished and reluctantly pushed on, but it was worth it.

This tickles my prog metal leanings, some of it a little too intense for me though tbh. It was a cool listen, not sure if I'd revisit, but I'm happy to have this on the list.

I'm not quite sure how to take this record, there’s plenty to admire here — the ambition, the scale, the layered production, the sheer force of personality. It wants to be bold, confrontational and emotionally expansive. But for me, it rarely got me where I wanted it to. There are flashes of something stronger — moments of vulnerability and a few striking arrangements — but as a whole it felt strangely exhausting, i kept checking to see how many tracks were left. I suppose I respect the intent more than I enjoyed the experience.

Ah... i dunno... It’s built to sound big, but maybe not necessarily feel deep? Is this a standout in this genre? Can't say I'm convinced.

Could be the greatest album of it's type ever... i don't know enough to comment accurately. Pretty sleepy now.

Great flashback, used to play Peaches in my high school band

"Progressive Pop" sounds like something that should land right in my lane, but somehow it never quite does.

Aside from 2 streams in 2017, this is the first time I've really heard this band. What a pleasant surprise!

Some good tracks and some wtf ones

Sleepy

not bad

Huh, who knew - this was cool

I do need to listen to more Gurrumul, the voice is healing. I do think that in places the orchestral sound detracts from, rather than adds to the songs. This voice and a guitar any day.

OK, but needed to be 20 mins shorter i reckon

So good

Preface, I do not enjoy reggae. I feel like this album was on the original list 10-15 times.

Last fm tells me i haven't listened to this full album in 15 years. Strap in! Edit: I missed this album ❤️

Well that was better than I expected

Cool but... demo like, hard to get into

Yep, it's NOFX

Music is excellent but the vocals get a little tiring for me. I like a little more melody in my vocals.

Dolly is great, a treasure. Still country though

I teach a lot of students who could be really good artists bit choose to make fun of others instead. Not a fan.

I liked "I Want Your Love" back in the day, always wondered why I never heard more songs. Now I know.

Oh some of these riffs are crushing, but a little more melody please!

Prog metal fan here but this is a little too polished for me. I like rougher edges, and this guys voice, while technically amazing, is not doing it for me. It feels like a bunch of dudes going “look out how good I am” rather than “we’re a band”

Clark is always sold as a blues guitarist, but honestly (aside from my bias against blues - too many pub jam nights with waaaay too long songs) I find his neo soul, funk or harder rock stuff so much more appealing. Also, trivia fact, his wife was born in my hometown.

Some great track here, but 23 songwriters!? On one track. C'mon. And 16 tracks is a touch long. I'd love to hear the single LP version of this... (and most albums truth be told)

Kinda cool, kinda strange

God I listened to this so much when I was in my 20s and hardly ever since. I was surprised (stupidly) by how aged it sounds. Production is fine, but as I got older and snobbier I want a little more politics in my punk and a little less wee and poo

A triple album! That’s like asking someone their favourite holiday spot and being handed a Lonely Planet guidebook for an entire hemisphere.

The last 2 albums I've been served have a run time of more than 3 hours. I feel them washing over me. There is some gold here. Some stuff i could skip too.

Recency bias - Immediate disqualif.... hang on - is this actually pretty good? It's kind of huge, strange, possibly overpraised, maybe I that's what I'm here for? I’m still wary of the recency bias, and part of me wonders whether the sheer ambition is doing some heavy lifting, but this feels far more like an actual *album* than a moment with a few big songs attached — bold, overwhelming, occasionally beautiful, and probably future edition bound for good reason. I mean, these orchestrations alone!

It still hasn't been long enough since I heard these songs multiple times a day on the radio. Sorry. Catchy but I don’t see it standing the test of time.

I remember discovering prog metal and thinking "how good, i'm gonna explore everything that came before" - I didn't like what i found, with very few exceptions. This is not an exception.

I was so confused, Foxing were recommended to me a while back when I was looking for jazzy prog metal adjacent bands (I forgot to listen), then I saw reviews here mentioning Arcade Fire, who I can't stand. So I was worried. Needn't have been, I don't get the comparisons to either of those things i mentioned, but I really liked this record.

Some of these tracks i know, could easily be playing on the radio with other modern pop so that's a +1 2.6/5 rounded up

Nice sound 3.2/5

Strong case for inclusion in the original list IMO Only thing would be can the list sustain 3 Massive Attack albums? I'd argue yes.

A bit sprawling and vibe-heavy. Paul’s Boutique is more formally dazzling, and Ill Communication arguably refines the Check Your Head formula with more obvious hits. An interesting listen but lost in the background a little, I get why the other records made it instead. 2.4/5

Some cool ideas, but fell a bit flat for me

I liked one track, but overall it had the feeling of a virtuosic instrumentalist playing over a $10 MIDI loop pack

It's like an hour long song that I didn't like

One of my long time favourite bands is The Tea Party and they've spoken a lot about Roy Harper, so familiar with the name but not the music. This was a decent introduction.

One of those albums that’s just stacked with great songs. Fun, weird, emotional and still somehow futuristic. Hard to fault it when this many tracks hit. I never gave these guys the time of day back in the day, but i'm all for catching up now

Important, uncompromising and occasionally striking, but far more admirable than listenable for me.

There's genuine talent in “Brian Wilson,” “What a Good Boy,” “Enid” or “The Flag,” but too much of the album feels like novelty music. The jokes age quickly, the arrangements are busy and 15 tracks is far more Barenaked Ladies than I needed. There are thoughtful songs and impressive harmonies underneath it, but the constant mugging and comic cleverness wore me down. I found myself looking at the track queue multiple times.

I didn't enjoy this as much as the other Songs: Ohia record - felt a bit drawn out and darker than I was hoping for.

That’s some energy!

Devin’s a strange one for me, always loved his music philosophy but never connected with his music. At the start this was leaning 1.5/2 for me but thankfully got better as it progressed!

Music is cool, voice is annoying

I dread any time dub or reggae appears on this list. I get it, a lot of people dig it. But every record sounds the same and feels like it goes for ten hours.

Old crows and Otherness are my all time Alexisonfire records. I’m late to the party perhaps. I see the potential here but a lot of this just didn’t do it for me.

That was fun

I’d heard of this band via the Propagandhi connection but hadn’t really listen until now. A bit of a slow start for me but the back end of the record delivers

At the start I was guilty of thinking I’d heard this kinda thing thousands of times before, but I started to dig the variety. Voice is interesting and (after seeing reactions to my own choice) have started to make an effort to research the stories behind albums I don’t know. This guy’s approach appeals to me greatly, so a decent intro - thanks!

Oh cool, my Dad got a pick too.

This was looking a bad match from the start, but vaguely remembering 311 from the mid 90s I tried to have an open mind. I get the FNM comparisons but this is nowhere near as smart, especially considering what FNM would grow to be. More like a K Mart version of Mothers Milk I suppose. I’ll do a bit more digging into its influence but for now…

Yay! My pick. And if you’ll grant me a few minutes, I’d like to try to defend it, as it hasn’t been received quite as I imagined. A lot of the criticism of Diorama seems to come down to one idea: “This isn’t the Silverchair I expected.” I understand that reaction, but for me that is also a huge part of what makes the album special. I don’t come to this as someone who only discovered Silverchair later, either. I bought the “Tomorrow” cassingle with my own pocket money when I was 15. I was there for the teenage grunge version of the band, and I loved that too. That history is part of why Diorama means so much to me: I heard the evolution happen in real time. To me, this is not a failed grunge record or a band abandoning its identity. It is a band refusing to stand still as the version that first made them famous. By this point, Daniel Johns and the band were clearly reaching for something bigger, brighter and more cinematic. The piano-led writing changes the DNA of the songs, and the orchestration is not just decoration; it is central to the album’s emotional world. Yes, it is dramatic. Yes, it is earnest. Yes, it occasionally goes completely over the top. But that is the appeal. I would much rather hear a band swing this big and risk being called cheesy than hear a safe retread of their earlier sound. “Across the Night,” “Tuna in the Brine,” “Luv Your Life,” “World Upon Your Shoulders” and “After All These Years” all sound like a songwriter trying to build an entire world, not just a batch of rock singles. The harmonic devices alone are worthy of study — who writes chord progressions like this? All of my favourite artists are ones who have evolved, and I can’t think of an Australian band that evolved more dramatically than Silverchair did from albums one to four. And I’m all for it. I also don’t really buy the idea that this album has no backbone. “The Greatest View,” “One Way Mule,” “The Lever” and “Too Much of Not Enough” still have plenty of weight. They are just surrounded by colour, melody and arrangement rather than relying only on distortion. I’ve covered some of these songs in bands I’ve been in, and the riffs are huge and intricate — and, I discovered, mostly beyond my skill level. The comparisons to bands like Panic! at the Disco or the more theatrical side of My Chemical Romance are interesting, but they also underline how ahead of its time Diorama was. Silverchair were already blending alt-rock, piano, orchestration, melodrama and huge emotional gestures before that kind of mid-2000s theatrical rock became more common. I get why Diorama alienated some people who wanted the old Silverchair forever. But for me, it is the moment Silverchair became most themselves: ambitious, vulnerable, strange, melodic, excessive and completely committed. Not every big gesture will land for every listener, but the scale of the vision and the strength of the best songs make this an easy 5/5 for me.