921
Albums Rated
2.9
Average Rating
85%
Complete
168 albums remaining
Rating Distribution
Rating Timeline
Taste Profile
2010s
Favorite Decade
Grunge
Favorite Genre
UK
Top Origin
Perfectionist
Rater Style ?
41
5-Star Albums
62
1-Star Albums
Breakdown
By Genre
By Decade
By Origin
Albums
You Love More Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Rock Bottom
Robert Wyatt
|
5 | 2.39 | +2.61 |
|
Antichrist Superstar
Marilyn Manson
|
5 | 2.48 | +2.52 |
|
Music Has The Right To Children
Boards of Canada
|
5 | 2.91 | +2.09 |
|
Spiderland
Slint
|
5 | 2.98 | +2.02 |
|
Killing Joke
Killing Joke
|
5 | 2.99 | +2.01 |
|
Nowhere
Ride
|
5 | 3.01 | +1.99 |
|
Scum
Napalm Death
|
4 | 2.07 | +1.93 |
|
Loveless
My Bloody Valentine
|
5 | 3.17 | +1.83 |
|
Daydream Nation
Sonic Youth
|
5 | 3.3 | +1.7 |
|
Meat Is Murder
The Smiths
|
5 | 3.32 | +1.68 |
You Love Less Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
Arctic Monkeys
|
1 | 3.73 | -2.73 |
|
Born To Run
Bruce Springsteen
|
1 | 3.64 | -2.64 |
|
Songs For Swingin' Lovers!
Frank Sinatra
|
1 | 3.52 | -2.52 |
|
Arrival
ABBA
|
1 | 3.5 | -2.5 |
|
Coat Of Many Colors
Dolly Parton
|
1 | 3.42 | -2.42 |
|
Darkness on the Edge of Town
Bruce Springsteen
|
1 | 3.42 | -2.42 |
|
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Kanye West
|
1 | 3.42 | -2.42 |
|
Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs
Derek & The Dominos
|
1 | 3.39 | -2.39 |
|
Africa Brasil
Jorge Ben Jor
|
1 | 3.37 | -2.37 |
|
My Aim Is True
Elvis Costello
|
1 | 3.35 | -2.35 |
Artists
Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Led Zeppelin | 5 | 4.6 |
| Radiohead | 5 | 4.4 |
| Nirvana | 2 | 5 |
| The Cure | 3 | 4.33 |
| Pixies | 3 | 4.33 |
| Nick Drake | 3 | 4.33 |
| The Smiths | 3 | 4.33 |
Least Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Frank Sinatra | 3 | 1 |
| Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds | 5 | 1.6 |
| Elvis Costello & The Attractions | 4 | 1.5 |
| Elvis Costello | 2 | 1 |
| ABBA | 2 | 1 |
| Missy Elliott | 2 | 1 |
| The Mothers Of Invention | 2 | 1 |
| Leonard Cohen | 4 | 1.75 |
| Bruce Springsteen | 4 | 1.75 |
| Tom Waits | 3 | 1.67 |
| Kanye West | 3 | 1.67 |
| Common | 2 | 1.5 |
| Billy Bragg | 2 | 1.5 |
| Johnny Cash | 3 | 2 |
Controversial
| Artist | Ratings |
|---|---|
| Dusty Springfield | 1, 4 |
| Sonic Youth | 2, 5, 4 |
| Beatles | 3, 5, 5, 3, 4, 2, 5 |
| Pink Floyd | 5, 2, 3, 4 |
5-Star Albums (41)
View Album Wall
Popular Reviews
Peter Gabriel
2/5
Guarantee you anyone born after 1982 is not putting this in their 1001 albums to listen to list
45 likes
Mekons
1/5
I'd like to think that there are hundreds of subgenres of music, and with this list being only 1001 long, the best 1-10 albums of any subgenre are represented here. If this album isn't right at the bottom of this particular subgenre then god help the rest of the albums. Jesus Christ.
24 likes
Robbie Williams
1/5
Really?
"Hide away in your ivory tower and cover me in your golden shower"... Feel like my ears have just been covered in piss after listening to this one.
Awful pop rock from someone trying to come across as a bad boy. Cringe. Angels stops it from being 1*.
1.5*.
18 likes
The Velvet Underground
2/5
This list has made me realise I can't do the Velvet Underground. It's experimental for experimental-sake. It's like getting some sixth form students together studying art with ok-ish musical ability and telling them they have 4 weeks to come up with something outside the box. This is literally that album. Waffle.
Sister Ray the only bearable song, for about 7 minutes. Then it just descends into yet more shite.
15 likes
Prince
2/5
My only prior knowledge of Prince is loving the song Purple Rain but trying and failing several times to get into the album of the same name. I was quite excited when this popped up.
After a couple of songs I thought there'd been some kind of mistake. The first track was ok, but the second poor. The third, Housequake, was abysmal. I checked the album on wiki to see what was going on and I'm astonished that it's cited as his best work. Really? The music sounds so dated, unlike a good chunk of other 80s stuff that survived the times. The poor drum synthasiser definitely doesn't help proceedings. Got half way through the album and had to stop.
Honestly let down. Why was Prince so popular?
15 likes
1-Star Albums (62)
All Ratings
The Beach Boys
2/5
Just too slow and soft for me
Tito Puente
4/5
Espantoso vibes... Nice
Pink Floyd
5/5
Obvious great. But heard it too many times
The Stone Roses
5/5
I'd heard this album a few times growing up, but finally 'got it' when I was 22. Then I listened to it daily for about 6 months and totally ruined any future listening experience of it for myself. It's been years now and already after one listen I could easily avoid it for another decade. One of the best debuts of all time, an easy 5*, just wish I didn't rinse it and could still enjoy it.
The Smashing Pumpkins
4/5
Took me a while to get into it back in the day but it eventually got me. Very good but not great album. Wouldn't have hurt it to trim the fat and make it a long single album, rather than a double.
Dusty Springfield
1/5
So dull. Just no enjoyable features.
Flamin' Groovies
2/5
Just ok, the honky tonk tracks didn't do it for me, bit some of the rocky ones were alright. Would give it 2.5* if I could. Probably won't listen again so maybe 2* is more fair than 3*
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
2/5
Starting off a bit interesting, dare I say good, but then just got a bit depressing and rambly as it went on. I'd have a couple of the songs on an atmospheric playlist but an entire album was a bit too much. Last track was so bad.
CHIC
2/5
Started off really loving it. Bit of funk. Quickly went downhill though, by the time "will you cry" came on I was praying it would soon end. If they kept the same energy and enjoyment from the first track throughout it would have been a couple stars higher
Madness
4/5
I think the only Madness album I'd listened to before was a greatest hits, and I couldn't get quite get into the Ska-iness of it. This was quite refreshing however, seemed to go a bit deeper than their main hits. Definitely one to give another listen to
Mylo
4/5
Wow. Rare I hear something that sounds so familiar that I've never listened to before. Shades of Daft Punk, The Avalanches, bit of lo-fi house etc. Definitely one to explore more of.
Maxwell
2/5
R&B just isn't my thing. First track I was enjoying, then when the vocals kicked in the second it just made me groan. Some ok tracks, mostly due to backing band. Some great bass lines. But most tracks I was praying for the end. I'm not trying to skip a single song in any listed album but by the end of this one I couldn't resist. Would give it 1.5* if I could purely for some of the decent backing tracks
Stereolab
4/5
Really great. Don't think I've ever even listened to Stereolab before. Captivated immediately, could hear shades of them in so many artists I do like. An artist to explore more of for sure
Adele
3/5
Some good songs, some not so good. Not really my style of music at all but I can see why it's popular. Just doesn't spark anything inside of me to be honest.
Judas Priest
3/5
Despite being a big metalhead in my younger days, I never gave Priest any attention. Refreshing to listen to now, though I think Maiden took their brand of NWOBHM and perfected it. Probably won't listen to anything else by them, but if it was 10-15 years ago I'd have been a lot more hooked.
The Rolling Stones
2/5
Just too early. Shades of what was to come, but R&B/Honky Tonk covers just don't thrill me. Ground breaking at the time I'm sure, but just dull and dated 60 years later sadly.
Jane's Addiction
3/5
Interesting album. If I'd have heard this 15 years I'd have been in love. I can hear the effect it had on so many bands/albums I loved in my late teens... Manson's Portrait of an American Family, Offsprings's Smash, bit of Faith No More, early chilli peppers etc.
Albums that I still love to this day but probably wouldn't grip me the same way if I heard them afresh. Like this one. Which is a shame. 3* purely because the tunes are actually really great. Can't dig the vocals though, although I definitely would be if I was 17 again. Something inside of me is screaming out to rate it higher, so maybe I'll revise after a few more listens.
Beatles
3/5
The start of the ascent for the Beatles. Not much of a fan of the earlier pop stuff, but what came after was utterly groundbreaking. Revolver and Sgt Peppers are surely up there with the greatest albums (though it's almost a crime they decided not to include Strawberry Fields/Penny Lane on Sgt Peppers.
Rubber Soul is the bridge between those two eras. Some great songs with signs of what was to come with some experimentalism, and it starts off strong. There are a few weaker tracks as the album chugs along, before ending with the absolutely terrible Run for Your Life. This one has aged particularly badly, especially once you find out about Lennon's wifebeating past. In isolation, this album is probably 3*, but knowing what was to come, and knowing this was the catalyst, makes me want to uplift it slightly.
Erykah Badu
1/5
Made it half way through. Sorry. Not my style at all. 'Booty' finished it for me. Not sure what I'm meant to be getting from this.
Holger Czukay
1/5
I'm often a fan of experimental music but this was terrible. Experimental albums usually have their high points and their low points, this was just the latter. Just seems to be rambling, directionless, no emotion/soul behind it.
The Charlatans
2/5
Pretty bland britpop/madchester album. How I expect Oasis would have sounded in the mid 90s if Noel never joined. Some ok songs (title track for example) but the majority is forgettable. Lacking the actual good tunes that Oasis/Stone Roses/Dodgy/Doves had. Maybe one of those had to be there moments.
Kendrick Lamar
4/5
I'm very selective when it come to hip-hop. Extremely selective probably, thoroughly disliking 99% of it. Only albums I really like anymore are Illmatic and the Infamous, despite regularly listening to NWA, Dre, Snoop, Biggie etc when a teenager. I absolutely detested the hip-hop that came later, which seemed to revolve around how much money and/or how many girls/cars each had, and I realised a lot of that stemmed from the previous named artists, just taken to the next level. Illmatic/Infamous actually spoke about the real, in some way grim, lives a lot of people are tapped in.
Onto this album. I've not even bothered with hip-hop artists in the last 15 years, writing them all off as the same. But this album definitely brought me back to the first time hearing Infamous. The beats are honestly incredible. First track floored me with the Aphex Twin vibes; the variety is amazing though, subsequential tracks drifting through jazz, soul, standard hip-hop, ambient, electronics etc. Some of the vocalists don't do it for me, but I only found one song skippable (Hood Politics) which is very good going.
Looking forward to giving it another couple of listens to fully digest the lyrics
Neil Young
3/5
I've never given Neil Young a chance, despite being one of my dads favourite artists, as country has never done it for me. Four songs in, I felt my decision was justified. Just bland and poor. A man needs a maid was actually laughable, I hope that wasn't a genuine song at the time because that's incredibly sad, but I don't know why he'd be taking the mick.
Are you Ready for the Country and Old Man turned my head though, two great songs, why couldn't the album have started like that??
The rest of the album was pretty solid. Needle was enjoyable. First four tracks ruined any chance of it getting 4*, but it's a very strong 3.
It's a shame he's no longer on Spotify but I totally get the reason. Fully support him. But my god YouTube is so bad to listen to music on. Ads every two tracks is not my jam.
Jimi Hendrix
4/5
I'm very familiar with Jimi, but mostly the greatest hits. I remember trying to get into his individual albums years ago but it never gripping me so I never ventured back.
The same is true today. There are some amazing, unbelievable tracks on there, but still the ones that I've been listening to for years. The rest are pretty good. What amazes me though as I didn't realise how early this was. 1967! For some reason I always put him in the early 70s. The fact this was out before the White Album, before any Zeppelin, blows my mind.
Surely one of the best debuts of all time, to help pioneer a genre and cement yourself as one of the greatest guitarists immediately. A mixture of 3*, 4* and 5* tracks means I have to give this 4* overall.
John Prine
1/5
I can do some bits of folk. I cannot do any country. Sadly here the latter shone through. Absolutely abysmal. Can't take his voice seriously. Some of the songwriting sounded like he was trying to emulate the freewheelin, but failing. So happy I never have to listen to it again.
fIREHOSE
2/5
So bland. Can't believe someone heard this and thought "yes, this has to be one of the 1,001 albums to hear before you die".
Common
1/5
Terrible. Simply terrible.
Kate Bush
3/5
I gave Hounds of Love a couple of listens a good few years back after liking some of her singles but could never get into it so never bothered with anything else.
The Sensual World gives me similar vibes. Not particularly bad but not particularly great. Pretty even across the board, some decent tracks, some not so decent. Nothing amazing, nothing terrible. Music very 80's but not in a negative way. Pipes didn't really add anything vital.
Thundercat
3/5
Conflicting. Half way through my first listen my interest was thoroughly piqued. Three full listens later and I'm torn between praising the ideas/potential, and lamenting the ramblingness of it. I feel like the last eight tracks could have been clipped and the album actually improved as a result. Feel like this was released six months too early.
The Cars
2/5
First track piqued my attention. New wave-ish with hints of other sounds in there. Bit of queen maybe. Second track I'd heard before but didn't realise how much I disliked it till now. Too poppy in a 'trying to be catchy without being catchy' way. Most of the album followed that path. Not terrible, but forgettable.
MC Solaar
1/5
I can't do rap normally, but in French made it even more pointless. Background beats simple and uninspiring. Made it half way through most songs waiting for a decent hook before getting bored and skipping next track.
The Beau Brummels
1/5
Drivel.
Ute Lemper
1/5
I wish zero stars existed as an option here, because this was by far one of the worst things I've ever heard. I wish I could go back to the person I was 58 minutes ago.
I'd now like to sit down for a couple hours with someone who loves this album and try to work out which one of us is completely insane.
Bobby Womack
2/5
For some reason Spotify doesn't have the first three songs available, so I cheated a little and added his top three listened songs in their place. The only Bobby Womack song I know is 110th Street from the Jackie Brown soundtrack, which I do really enjoy, so I went into this with promised hopes. The album starts in earnest with Just my Imagination, which I was digging until about the final two minutes when it started to drag. The rest of the album was disappointing, a cross between accidently going to the wrong gig and feeling too awkward to leave ("this next songs dedicated to all those lovers out there..."), and something my mum would have on a mixed tape when I was growing up in the 90s (if you think you're lonely now). Shame. After a long row of disappointing albums this week this one follows suit.
De La Soul
2/5
Sounds like hiphop for 8-12 year olds in the late 80s. Boring, simplistic and nonsensical. Probably included 'De La Orgee" so it wouldn't be placed in the children's aisles at record stodes. Not absolutely atrocious though, so probably doesn't deserve 1*. Not far off though. 1.5*
Mekons
1/5
I'd like to think that there are hundreds of subgenres of music, and with this list being only 1001 long, the best 1-10 albums of any subgenre are represented here. If this album isn't right at the bottom of this particular subgenre then god help the rest of the albums. Jesus Christ.
Keith Jarrett
3/5
Refreshing. Not the type of genre I would ever listen to but after the dross of the last 10 days if was nice to hear something talented. First track was the best, but the other were pretty good. 3.5*
Queen
3/5
I've always viewed Queen as overrated. One of those bands that have a decent greatest hits album but then too many album fillers when you try to actually deep dive into their discography.
Queen II was actually alright, surprising given none of the big hits were on here (despite the weak Seven Seas of Rye). I enjoyed the heaviness of Father to Son, something I've not really heard in Queen before. Bit of a Zeppelin vibe in some songs on side 1, The Loser In The End particularly sounded like a range of bands that weren't Queen, so maybe they were still finding themselves at this point. Side 1 was definitely better, side 2 was the reason I'm not a Queen fan, gives off that 'rock opera' vibe that didn't age well, and I'm surprised was even a thing at the time.
4* side one, 2* side two.
Funfact: I once had a long chat with Brian May when we worked at the same place. He spoke about Badgers for the majority of the conversation.
Isaac Hayes
2/5
My entire knowledge of Isaac Hayes is from watching South Park as a kid. Refreshing to hear that voice again. Great first track. Peters out a bit from there, I know it's a soundtrack, but a large bunch of the tracks sound like they're trying to focus the viewer on what's happening, which doesn't really work in solely audio format. The other two vocal tracks Soulsville and Do Your Thing were disappointing for opposite reasons; the former because it simply wasn't good, the latter because it was good but then ran far too long. I'm a fan of a long jam but 10-12 minutes would have been much better than the actual 19.
Might check out some of his other stuff given the vocal tracks were on the whole enjoyable.
Pretenders
2/5
I've heard of the Pretenders many times before, but it's only now I've just realised I had them mixed up with the Proclaimers in my head and (rightfully, if that were the case) never gave them the time of day.
First track was therefore a bit of a pleasant surprise. First couple of songs in general had me interested, but then it tailed off a bit in the middle. Album wobbled it's way to the end, with a few decent tracks.
Reading up on it afterwards I see it's lauded as one of the greatest debuts of all time, and indeed some give it a nod as one of the greatest ever albums. Had to be there I guess. 2.5*.
Neu!
2/5
I've listened to their debut before which was alright. This one was similarly alright. "Hero" let it down a bit, regardless of whether or not it was a catalyst for the punk invasion that was soon to follow.
First track was the best, rest were pretty skippable but not offensive. 2.5*
Big Brother & The Holding Company
4/5
Brilliant. Never heard of these but was instantly into it. Janis' voice is phenomenal. Think it could have done without the bonus tracks, ending where it was meant to. No absolute stand out tracks, one to listen to as an album for sure.
TV On The Radio
4/5
Enjoyed that. Quite LCD-ish (though one track went down the Coldplay route which surprised me. Not sure it's something that'll be on frequently but one to dabble back into every now and then. 3.5*
Led Zeppelin
5/5
Probably the best debut album of all time, if not one of the best albums. You Shook Me the only track letting the side down. All the rest are 5* material.
Lynyrd Skynyrd
3/5
Pretty decent. I'd obviously heard Tuesday's Gone and Free Bird many times before, but the rest were all new to me. Most of the other tracks were alright, couple of honky tonk ones in there which didn't do it for me. Wouldn't listen to again but didn't dislike it. 3.5*
Cypress Hill
2/5
Just a bit dull and uninspiring. Not a fan of the generic 90s hip hop that this seemed to inspire, no heart or soul to it. Feels like his hops version of what Limp Bizkit was to metal. Amazing if you're a kid but changes the course of the genre for the worse for several years.
Robbie Williams
1/5
Really?
"Hide away in your ivory tower and cover me in your golden shower"... Feel like my ears have just been covered in piss after listening to this one.
Awful pop rock from someone trying to come across as a bad boy. Cringe. Angels stops it from being 1*.
1.5*.
The Slits
2/5
Started off interesting, I was hoping the first track was the intro to a genre-exploring punk album, but it turned out to be more of the same. I can do the crap vocals, but I can't do the reggae-style at all. Bit less of the reggae and it would have scraped a 3*. As it is it slide down towards 2*.
Peter Gabriel
2/5
Guarantee you anyone born after 1982 is not putting this in their 1001 albums to listen to list
Linkin Park
3/5
An amazing album to hear as a pre-teen. All that pent up child/teenage angst released with a nice bit of rap/rock/nu-metal. Then a few years later I turned 16 and never played it again.
Listening back as an adult I'm torn between hearing the songs as I heard them then and loving it and hearing it afresh now and realising it's pretty naff. 4* and 2* respectively for those two versions of me.
SZA
4/5
That was.... Good. Surprisingly good. If you gave me a 1 sentence description of the album before hand I would have immediately written it off. But wow. Great backing tracks. Peaceful but complex in parts. Vocals just on the right side of the line between annoying and modern. I'm learning from this 1001 albums that there are some great rnb/hiphop albums few and far between all the terrible ones.
The xx
3/5
There was a couple of years when I thought the electro-synth-indie-pop genre was going to take over the world. Once the dust settled I realised that a lot of the albums had very little replayability. At one point Alt Js debut was probably my favourite album... haven't bothered listening to it in the last 5 years. Get much of the same vibes from the xx. Good music but not anything that really excites me. First half of the album was definitely stronger. Was a tad bored by the end.
The Gun Club
1/5
Some of the punk/post-punk movement brought some unbelievable bands with not so great vocalists, all the way from the Stooges up to the Pixies, where it just *worked*. What they lacked in vocal talent they made up for in spirit, sound, energy, meaning, passion.
This album shows what happens when all of those crucial aspects are missing, and it's stripped down to a lazy punk album with terrible vocals. It's very rare I'd rank a rock album as 1 but here we go.
Arcade Fire
4/5
I only discovered Arcade Fire the other year with Funeral. Enjoyed it but didn't venture elsewhere in their discography.
Likewise, I really enjoyed this album. Similar veins to Funeral, but the longer runtime resulted in a few more songs that I think could have been cut. Some great tracks though
The Modern Lovers
2/5
Got excited at first. Sounded very stooges-esque. Quickly descended into boring rambling nonsense. By the end of Pablo Picasso I'd already written them off.
Jerry Lee Lewis
3/5
Music was great, especially the piano. But backing instruments also deserve credit. Some of the vocals though... Couldn't help but picture Vic Reeves doing his club singing.
Reading about the album it sounds like Jerry was diddling his 13yo cousin, so there's no way he's getting 4*.
Reading
Dirty Projectors
2/5
That was strange. I can't recall hearing an album so dull without being able to put my finger on as to why. I don't know what I'm meant to be getting out of it. It wasn't terrible, or offensive to my ears, just so... empty, without the music itself being bland or quiet.
Led Zeppelin
4/5
By far the weakest of their first six album imo, which is still pretty decent, more showing the strength of the other albums in potentially one of the best golden ages of any band. Ramble On and Thank You drag this album just about into 4* territory
Kraftwerk
2/5
Kraftwerk make me laugh. I think because I'd have actually liked them at the time, but listening to them 50 years down the line they've aged terribly. Cutting edge electronica music in the day that was shortly made obsolete by the hardware and software available. I feel like it belongs in a museum or something, which is most likely the reason it's on this list.
Looking back without nostalgia though it's generally poor. Spacelab the only half decent track. The opener is diabolical. The singer sounds petrified and lacking self confidence when he's going for actual rather than computerised vocals. Not worth a 1*, but not a million miles off.
Neil Young
4/5
Second Neil Young album on my list, much preferred that to Harvest. It's a shame it's not on Spotify as I'll never listen to it again if so, can't even give it a second/third listen to pick up which were my favourite tracks as I've had enough with an ad-riddled YouTube sesh.
Enjoyable though, first half was better I think, 3.5*
Paul Simon
2/5
I've never got Simon & Garfunkel, turns out I also don't get it when it's just Simon. How was everyone not bored listening to this back in the day? Surely no one's putting on this LP, lining the needle up just right, thinking "I can't wait until 'when numbers get serious' and 'cars are cars' comes on". Dull as dishwasher.
Al Green
3/5
Half decent soul music. Bit too slow and boring in most parts though. Would flick between 2&3 stars depending on my mood, I'll give it 3 today though. 2.5*
Soft Cell
2/5
One of those 80s albums where having a great synthesiser (for it's day) meant the album was held in high acclaim, despite the guy apparently not being able to make good use of it for half the album with boring, tepid sequences.
Vocals were bad, and not in an interesting, funny, or so-bad-its-good way. Just bad bad.
Probably the best tune on this album, sex dwarf, had the worst lyrics, which sums this album up. Constantly missing the mark. 1.5*
The Specials
3/5
Not the biggest fan of ska but that was alright. First half definitely stronger. Could hear a lot of ska-punk elements that bands I used to love borrowed/stolen.
The Velvet Underground
3/5
Would have loved to have been around when Velvet Underground were releasing music, must have sounded groundbreaking and unreal at the time.
The last 55 years has been relatively kind to it, with it not sounding overly dated, but I still can't deny if it was released today I wouldn't be particularly bothered by it. 3.5*, let down by one or two tracks (Jesus was crap)
Van Morrison
2/5
Yawn. Not for me Clive. Hoping that's the only van Morrison album on here but I reckon I'll be disappointed
Dennis Wilson
4/5
Now this is the kind of thing I was expecting to get from this list.
Relatively obscure album that I never would have heard of otherwise (as have most of the population judging by the fact his 5th most listened song has less than 750,000 listens). Started off slow but really peaks in the middle. Can hear the Beach Boys elements but some of it so dark and heavy. Reading up on him afterwards...Jesus. Crazy life. Interesting and enjoyable album anyway. 3.5*
Ian Dury
2/5
Never listened to Ian Dury, the extent of my knowledge is my dad was a fan.
Pretty disappointing overall. First song amused me it, but it was pretty downhill from there. Track 4 onward was terrible, almost hitting 1* territory.
I do wonder what Americans would think listening to this, I'd imagine this is heavily lost in translation.
1.5*
Kate Bush
4/5
Tried getting into this album years back after discovering running up that hill (several years pre-stranger things, I'll hasten to add) but it didn't do it for me.
A fresh listen now was much better. I think it helped having heard a lot of the shite that this list has produced from a similar era. It's actually great time for it's time, and her voice sounds great if you allow it to not annoy you. Second half a bit weaker but a decent finisher. Will definitely give it a listen from time to time
Curtis Mayfield
3/5
Second blaxpoitation soundtrack I've had. Not as good as shaft, but less instrumental tracks and didn't drag on as long which is good. Fairly okish album, not bad but definitely not good. Will probably never put on again, 2.5*
Frank Black
3/5
Loved the pixies first two albums but could never get into the last two. Just a bit directionless without the magic that sparked throughout the first two.
Never listened to Black Francis' solo stuff as I thought it would be a continuation of the same and it looks like I was right. Bit of a bloated, mediocre album, but not unlistenable
Talking Heads
4/5
Everytime I've heard the talking heads I've liked them. Kind of band that I think I'd have loved at the time if I was around. Slightly dated now but still good stuff. 3.5*
The Cure
4/5
Never given The Cure the time of day after hearing Boys Don't Cry and Friday I'm in Love years ago and dismissing them as some kind of poppy prototype emo.
This was great though. Certainly one to come back to.
Bill Evans Trio
4/5
Wow. Thoroughly enjoyed that. In another mood I might have found it dull but to work along to was amazing.
Bassists in particular stood out, so sad to read that he died straight after in a car crash. What a final bow out.
Something to explore more of, genre and artist.
The Rolling Stones
2/5
I was always much more Beatles than Stones, with this album cementing some of the reasons why. The faux-americana of tracks like Dead Flowers makes me physically cringe. What were they even thinking. The lyrics of Brown Sugar are just pretty strange as well. It could make for a good sombre, thought provoking track but the music alongside the lyrics makes it sound almost celebratory of the raping of slaves. Wtf Mick.
Other than that it's alright. 2.5*
Michael Jackson
4/5
Let's put aside the obvious elephant in the room and focus purely on the music.
Cracking stuff. The bass particularly drives this album, the percussion rythmic and perfect throughout. MJ sounds great. Mix of good to amazing tracks, having Smooth Criminal, Man in the Mirror, Dirty Diana, Speed Demon, Leave me Alone, etc on one release is insane. The only tracks letting it down are the slow ones (Liberian Girl & I just can't stop loving you), alongside Bad, which for some reason was chosen as the album name/leader. It's one of the worst. Seems to be appealing to prebuscent boys (oops); no adult is hearing that thinking "yeahhh, I'm bad too".
So close to being an all time classic but the weak tracks bring it down. A hybrid of Thrillers best tracks alongside this would be one of the best albums ever surely.
Genesis
4/5
All I knew about this album beforehand is it's one of my dad's favourites. Within 2 minutes I thought I was going to hate it.
First listen through, I'm not sure whether it's genius or terrible. The sarcasm/juxtaposition of writing a battle ballad about an east end cockney brawl is ridiculous, but in an amazing or awful way?
After the second listen through I think it's more the former. Very rarely after a couple of listens am I still utterly conflicted about an album. One to revisit, for absolute certain.
Hugh Masekela
3/5
Started off interesting, I was digging the first couple of tracks, then I rapidly got bored from 4 onwards. I think in the right mood I'd be up for exploring this more, but not right now.
Frank Sinatra
1/5
Imagine actually liking Frank Sinatra lol.
Pixies
5/5
Probably the best alternative rock album out there. It's influenced can be heard in so many places. One of those rare albums where at 14 tracks not a single one is skippable (Love You comes close but just about escapes). I must have listened to it hundreds of times and not once have I got bored and turned it off. Jumping from genre to genre without seeming erratic. Pixies and Black Francis at their/his very best.
Tom Waits
3/5
Interesting concept. Started off quite into it but then quickly got bored. Maybe one to revisit again when I'm in a particular mood. Can see why it made the list at least.
Roxy Music
2/5
Don't really get it. Surprised to read Brian Eno was in the band as I liked a lot of stuff he'd produced. First couple of tracks were grating, got a bit better in the middle and some bits at the end. Singer was a bit crap. One to forget about.
Simon & Garfunkel
2/5
Always find S&G a bit boring. No different here.
Deep Purple
3/5
Good stuff. Bit Zeppelin-ish with some early NWOBHM thrown in. Really liked Child in Time, reckon Iron Maiden took a lot from that. Some songs were good but just dragged on too long, e.g. Flight of the Rat. Could go back and listen to again at some point. 3.5*
David Bowie
3/5
Could never really get into Bowie in my younger days, but I really enjoyed Low when I discovered it a couple years back, and I enjoyed Blackstar after hearing it on this list.
Was looking forward to this reading it was the follow up to Low, and in the same vein, but can't help but feeling disappointed it didn't live up to expectation. Thought the instrumental tracks were fairly average, and other than Heroes the rest of the lyrical ones were fairly non gripping. Not a bad album, but not a great one.
David Bowie
4/5
Not the biggest Bowie fan, and I generally don't enjoy albums by artists 30 years after they've hit their peak, but this was great. Reading more about it, sounds like there's a bit of inspiration in there by bands I do like, like Boards of Canada, and LCD, so maybe that's no surprise. Definitely going to listen to this one again. Great swansong.
LL Cool J
2/5
As far as hiphop goes it wasn't terrible. Nothing particularly good about it though. 2.5*
The Black Crowes
2/5
Find blues rock a bit dull. Don't think this really added anything to mankind. Could have been written in the 60s, 70s or 80s. 2.5*
Frank Sinatra
1/5
Two Sinatra albums in a week, how unlucky can you get. This time I lasted three songs
Led Zeppelin
5/5
Never my fave Zep album, always been between I and III for me. Still a fantastic album, but there's a few too many weak points for it to be one of the best ever.
Black Dog is a good opener but gets old after a few too many listens. Rock n Roll is good at best - often it's a bit simplistic and repetitive, which often results in a skip. Evermore actually pleasantly surprised me this playthrough, I've always regarded as the second weakest track but this time I was into it. Perhaps my expectations were so low. Reminded me of some of the stuff from II/III.
Stairway, perhaps controversially, I think also gets old after so many listens. Great song the first 50 times but I don't think I've ever searched for it to put it on since my days of streaming music began. Misty Mountain Hop is definitely the low point, the only track on the album that I would say is categorically bad. Four Sticks is a bit better but not by a long way.
Finally we arrive at the pinnacle of the album, California and Levee being the perfect album closers, possibly two of Zeps greatest songs. These two are what save the album, and stop it from slipping into 4* territory.
The Who
3/5
Reading the blurb beforehand I was excited about this. One of the best live bands at the time trying to capture and show that energy? Sounds great. It wasn't. Even focussing on the six tracks initially selected for the first release, just felt a bit flat. Keith's drumming the stand out item. Enjoyed the medley/jam after my generation. But other than that it was pretty mediocre.
The Damned
4/5
I've had a few early protopunk albums so far in this list. After the first two songs I thought it was alright, fairly standard but sounded half decent. Third track turned my head a bit, actually good. Melody Lee and Anti Pop then hit me. Great pyschadelic-infused punk tracks. Definitely something different about this band compared to all the other protopunk stuff.
Siouxsie And The Banshees
2/5
She cannot sing. Not in a good punk way, just in a bad way. Ruins most songs. Shame as I think with a decent vocalist (or a decent bad vocalist who can pull it off) it would have been a half decent album. 2.5*
Michael Jackson
4/5
Great album. Where he made the clear leap to stardom. So much more consistent and just simply better than previous MJ/J5 albums.
10 tracks, 3 of which are weak (girlfiend, she's out of my life, falling in love). The others are all bangers though, 70% is a great hit rate. If he'd sang less about heartbreak and more about disco dancing this would have broke the 5* barrier
Green Day
4/5
I try to listen to albums on here with fresh ears, but sometimes that proves impossible, like now. From hearing this hundreds of times in my teens to hearing it played live in full in 2013, even after many years away I can still recite every line before it comes up. I'd actually love to know how it would sound from an impartial perspective. 15-year old me would award it an easy 5*, but listening back there's just too many non-bangers that I think it would be unfair on some of the album I've ranked 4*. A few of the tracks towards the end are skippable but thankfully short. I've always disliked the placement of She though, it breaks up such a great run of songs before and after it right when you feel like the album should be hitting its peak. First four tracks amongs the best openers in pop punk though.
Hole
4/5
Never gave Courtney Love the time of day when I was younger and I stupidly bought into the slander that she was responsible for Kurt's death. Now older and wiser it's nice to give this a chance.
Pretty decent. It's hard not to compare it to nirvana, with a lot of similarities but some differences. Bit publish, I like the vocals on most of the tracks. Overall pretty good, need to come back to it I think to make sure
Public Enemy
3/5
I was heavily into It Takes A Nation.. years ago but never bothered exploring anything else.
Similar vibes to that album, some of the Chuck songs are really good, but too many weak intermissions break up a lot of the flow. Less catchy then their previous album on first listen. Still pretty good though, 3.5*
Leonard Cohen
2/5
I can actually imagine this being great if you were into the genre. For me though, just a bit depressing and, after a few songs, dull.
Prince
2/5
My only prior knowledge of Prince is loving the song Purple Rain but trying and failing several times to get into the album of the same name. I was quite excited when this popped up.
After a couple of songs I thought there'd been some kind of mistake. The first track was ok, but the second poor. The third, Housequake, was abysmal. I checked the album on wiki to see what was going on and I'm astonished that it's cited as his best work. Really? The music sounds so dated, unlike a good chunk of other 80s stuff that survived the times. The poor drum synthasiser definitely doesn't help proceedings. Got half way through the album and had to stop.
Honestly let down. Why was Prince so popular?
Neil Young
2/5
I've had a couple of Neil Young albums on here and so far they've been hit and miss. This one was a miss.
Bit too countryish, not anything to really grab or turn your head. Not in the right mood for it so not even going to give it a second chance. 2.5*
Pavement
3/5
Enjoyed the first listen through, but the second and third weren't as captiving. Really though it would go the other way. Bit lo-fi, bit pixie-ish, other bands in there also. Might revisit if I'm ever in the right mood for more lo-fi
T. Rex
2/5
That was actually pretty dull. I thought I'd like it since I've heard of them being a inspiration to a lot of later rock bands. Not sure if it's aged terribly but it seemed slow, simplistic, and simply not catchy. Metal Guru was the closest they came to being interested, but it turned it out to be a dropping off point rather than a jumping off point. Shame.
Eagles
2/5
Never actually listened to anything from the Eagles before this (depsite hearing Hotel California too many times).
Pretty disappointing. First sign was alright, but then quickly got terrible. Chug All Night was embarrassing to listen to. Rest of it pretty terrible except for Take the Devil.
Country needs to be resigned to the bin.
Motörhead
3/5
First time actually listening to a motorhead album, pretty enjoyable, but I don't reckon I could listen to more than 30 mins at a time normally. Some strong tracks, some not so good, but overall good. 3.5*
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
4/5
Really enjoyed that. One annoying country song on there (Teach Your Children) that spoiled the start but quickly got better. Nice hearing Young's voice but not have it dominate the entire album. I'd love to give it a few more listens but as with most of the Young albums it's been decimated by Spotify signing alt-right conspiracy theorists up. YouTube is insufferable. Ah well. One to explore more of if it ever comes back. 3.5*
Morrissey
3/5
Just sounds like a poor-mediocre Smiths album, as per usual with Morrissey. Some good tracks, 2-4 were a nice run. Really goes downhill in thhe second half though, probably scrapes into the 3* bracket
Joy Division
3/5
Honestly always found Joy Division overrated. Tried and failed quite a few time to get into them. They're ok, just don't get how they're held in such acclaim.
Closer is pretty average. First half definitely the weaker side. Just can't do Ian's voice most of the time. Latter half saves it. Very atmospheric, almost cure-like
Moby
4/5
I remember we got this when it came out, probably my first introduction to electronic music.
Not heard it in years but listening back it's stood the test of time amazingly well. The tracks suffer from a bit of repetitiveness, the motif introduced in the first 10-20s of each song rarely develops into anything new over the course of each 3-4 minute track, which stops it from being an all time classic.
Still, thanks to Moby for teaching me that music doesn't have to be rock or pop. Great album to have my eyes opened to.
The Strokes
5/5
I really hated most of the Indie-surgence that happened in the mid 2000's, but you can't deny a genuinely amazing album when you hear it. 1000x better than the overly contrived nonsense that a lot of their contemporaries were putting about. One of the only Indie albums I actually enjoy, and I absolutely love it at that. Not a single bad or even mediocre song on there (although New York City Cops is new to me?? Mustnt have been on the UK CD version).
My head's going 4* for the Indie, my heart is going for the full 5*
Jimi Hendrix
3/5
That was pretty disappointing, especially after how good Are You Experienced was. Set the bar way too high. Only track that was an instant repeat was Little Wing.
Disappointed in If Six Was Nine, especially given that was the only track I recognised before listening. Still a good album, but nowhere near what it could have been after his first.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
3/5
Started off alright, a bit new-new-waveish, bit of LCD in there. Not bad but didn't really blow me away. I was a bit fatigued by the end though, got excited when I thought what was the obvious last track was coming to a close but then another one appeared. Probably scrapes 3*
The Human League
3/5
Most likely this album was included on the list to present a snapshot of popular music at a moment in time, rather than for its artistic merit.
It's not actually bad, but it's also really not great. Few very skippable tracks, only seemed to reach a good level during the last two.
Paul Simon
4/5
Surprisingly good! The Simon & Garfunkel, together or solo, albums I've had on here have bored me too death so far.
Not my usual type of music but I could still really enjoy this. Great African infusion, some tracks didn't do much for me but didn't really grate. Some others though we're thoroughly enjoyable. One to listen to again for sure.
R.E.M.
4/5
Only R.E.M album I really know, but I love it. Another 80s band, like Talking Heads, that I think I genuinely would have been very into if I was old enough at the time. First half better than second half, but a lot of catchy lyrics and melodies throughout
Ray Charles
2/5
Think I just don't like big band stuff. First track was alright, Ray shone through and made it his own. Second track though, along with most of the rest of the album, felt too much like he was being told to try and emulate Sinatra, which is never a good thing. No need to listen to that again.
Cocteau Twins
2/5
I actually like a lot of shoegaze stuff but I couldn't really do this. The non-lyrics had the opposite effect, constantly bringing my attention to it rather than letting me get lost in the music. Might have been the prototype which launched a decent genre, but knowing what came since makes this sound very disappointing on reflection
Klaxons
2/5
Naff indie
Bon Jovi
3/5
I feel like I should hate it but I also kind of don't. Side A was way better than Side B, which got a bit unbearable and I had to skip a few. Last track brought it back a bit. Don't think I could listen to it over and over, but it was an enjoyable listen for now. 3.5*
Red Hot Chili Peppers
4/5
Haven't listened to this in at least 15 years, so it's been entertaining going back and rediscovering it.
It's held up extremely well. Still think it would have been a perfect album if they'd chopped a couple songs off of it and shortened it - I Like Dirt and Purple Stain can go instantly, possibly Emit also - maybe it's due to being English but it just sounds cringey. Porcelan sounds like an absolute Smashing Pumpkins rip-off but I'll let it slide. Doesn't really suit the rest of the album though.
A high number of 5* tracks on there, sadly slightly dragged down by the weaker ones. Arguably 4.5*, which is still a great score
4/5
Let's ignore the Swamp Songs. Of the other 10, they were so close to perfection but not quite there. Roll with it and Don't look back in anger are the biggest disappointments to me, what sound like on first to be class tracks quickly fall away on subsequent listens. Almost like Noel was trying too hard to write a catchy Oasis song. She's electric, much like Digsys Dinner before it, tried to provide a comic relief that was neither wanted or needed. The rest are all pretty stellar, finishing off with possibly one of their greatest songs. Solid 4-4.5* album. Have no regrets rinsing it to pieces in the mid-90s such that I can barely listen to it anymore. What an album it was at the time.
Common
2/5
Strong disliked the previous Common album I got on here. This one was slightly better. First and Last track both really good. The rest was pretty meh. 2.5*
Simon & Garfunkel
2/5
I've HATED Cecilia for years. Always played at parents parties when I was a little kid and utterly detested it. Never bothered to find out who sung it as I didn't want to associate that anger with a name but here we go. Congratulations Simon & Garfunkel. I've previously accused you of being the dullest artists ever but now you go and double down with infuriating.
The only time the album wasn't awful was when they were ripping off the Beatles. Some good stuff in those bits.
The Smashing Pumpkins
4/5
I used to rank this way higher than Mellon Collie, as went into this review thinking I'd end up giving it 5*. On reflection though, as I've grown older the gap between the two has almost disappeared. Some amazing tracks on here, Quiet, Hummer and Soma being some of the best in the genre, but other tracks suffer from overrunning (e.g. geek USA, mayonnaise, silverfuck) that take good riffs/hooks and let them play on a minute or two (or 5, in silverfucks case) too long, that makes the album feel bloated, especially as by the end you're just glad the recent run has come to an end. Undeniably great album, but on reflection could have been even better with carefull editing.
Fleet Foxes
3/5
Really interesting on first listen. Felt like it was going to be a grower, an album that would take a while to sink in but when it did, wow. Something like Arcade Fire, Alt J, etc.
A further 5-6 listens and I'm fully bored. Didn't grow on me at all, in fact the opposite. 2.5*
Herbie Hancock
3/5
Saw Herbie Hancock at Glasto 22 not knowing any of his stuff and was thoroughly impressed. First track here was great, think it was even one of the ones he played. Heard a lot of Squarepusher in the latter half. Definitely one to listen to more. 2-4 didn't do much for me though.
Gillian Welch
2/5
Not terrible country. But still country.
The Divine Comedy
2/5
I don't know who that album was aimed at. Is it for britpop fans? Smiths fans? Pop fans? Comedy fans?
Apart from the Father Ted bit it was painfully aimless.
The Dave Brubeck Quartet
2/5
Really not my thing. I recognised take five from somewhere and it was actually decent, but the rest bring and forgettable.
Led Zeppelin
5/5
Probably Led Zep's most consistent album. I and IV probably contain better songs but each have their weak points. This just starts an inch from the top and cruises on from there.
Perfect.
John Coltrane
3/5
Like a lot of jazz albums, seem to start off great before descending into a bit of boredom. The solos in tracks 3 and 4 dragged on far too long. First two were alright. 2.5*
Arrested Development
2/5
Meandering and uninspiring. I'm glad popular non-gangsta-hiphop existed out there in the early 90s for humanities sake, but this just ain't for me.
Ray Charles
2/5
I'm really glad the late 60s happened and music evolved. 1.5*
The Associates
1/5
What on earth was that? Sounded like a blend of New Wave and Gothic Rock that I hope never gets repeated again.
Paul Simon
2/5
Everything by Simon and/or Garfunkel I've heard, except for Graceland, is just dull dull dull
R.E.M.
3/5
After getting Murmur last week, this was very disappointing. Nothing in there other than the songs i already knew that interested me. Some actively disinterested me. Shame as I thought it was a band I could see myself getting into after Murmur.
King Crimson
5/5
The quintessential prog rock album. Everything from the lyrics to the music to the album cover. The only slight negative thing I can say is the post-moonchild element goes on a bit too long, but when it thunders into Court of the Crimson King... Wow.
Easy 5*
Faith No More
4/5
I really wanted to love this album as a teenager. Tried so hard to get into it but after the first 3 tracks I would skip to the real thing and then end it there. Disappointing. Angel Dust was always my jam.
Listening back with a much wider appreciation of music it's actually top notch. Makes much more sense after knowing Mike Pattons range a lot better, there's even hints of Mr Bungle in this despite the music being written before he apparently joined. What turned me off as a teenager was the jump from the thrash Surprise youre dead to soft rock of Zombie Eaters. But this time i was into the floating genres, very Mike Patton and very cool.
Elliott Smith
3/5
One of my favourite discoveries of the last few years is Christian Brothers by Elliott Smith. I listened to this album a few years back but wrote it off after one listen.
Listening again a couple times now...I still don't really get it. It's not bad, but it's not particularly good either. Just straight average, but I know it's lauded. I feel like I'm missing something.
The Killers
3/5
Some great tracks, some stinkers. Don't know why, but the "I've got soul but I'm not a soldier" always miffed me. Feel like they tried going too big in parts. Walk before you try running. The last track epitomises this. Don't fully get the hype tbh. 2.5*
Elvis Costello
1/5
Almost unlistenable. Like someone taking the mick out of 50s rocknroll, but badly. Thought it was one of those random mistakes you see on the 1001 list, maybe the inclusion of a genre pushing album that really doesn't deserve to be here. But looking at the album on wiki now, "wide critical acclaim", "one of the best rock debuts of all time", "frequently appeared on lists of the greatest albums of all time". Shame on you, human race.
Fred Neil
4/5
Wow. Love it when my preconceptions are completely wrong. Album cover and year had me thinking it would be some naff Sinatra ripoff, instead some great folk. How was this guy not more famous?!
The Crusaders
3/5
Pleasant, if a bit uninspiring. Street Life clearly the stand out track but lasted 7 minutes too long. Vocals sorely missing from a couple other songs. 2.5*
The Icarus Line
3/5
Weird one. I've got used to not seeing one of my favourite genres on here as it's not the usual 1001-vibe they go for. So one finally appears and it's a bit lacklustre? I can think of 10 very similar albums that are miles better than this. Good in parts but goes on too long. Some songs just a waste of time. Not terrible though.
CHIC
3/5
First song had me dreading the next 40 minutes. Enjoyed Le Freak but I just thought it was going to be them trying to see how many times that could say "Chic" in one album. After that it was surprisingly alright. Something that my mum would listen to back in the day. Not my kind of music but I could vibe with it. Savoir Faire was an absolute banger. Great guitar.
Eminem
4/5
I remember being blown away by this when it came out. Listening back now, you can hear the anger and emotion in a lot of these tracks, how fame hasn't helped him at all, particularly in The Way I Am, Marshall Mathers and Kim (the latter maybe a bit too much). Massively prefer this rap to the type that just bang on about how amazing/rich they are. Still quite a few weak tracks on the album, all the ones when he gets someone else involved as well as a few others towards the end. But there's 5 or 6 absolute bangers in here.
The skits are terrible I should add, why on earth include them. Pointless and detract from the serious issues discussed on the album.
3.5*
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
1/5
I don't care for it, and I won't respond to it.
Stan Getz
3/5
Slightly on the dull side, but not offensive. I think I could have listened to the whole album without listening to it. 2.5*
The The
2/5
Holy 80s. Started off bearable but by track 4 I was praying for the end.
Fleetwood Mac
3/5
That was difficult to get through. Never been a massive Mac fan but could appreciate Rumours. This felt like their White Album, immediately following up a great album with a maraudering stumble through different sounds that just goes on too long. 2.5*
Daft Punk
2/5
The first electronica album I ever got into. I used to enjoy the first half but would usually switch off toward the end. I then moved on to much better stuff.
Listening back now 15 years later it's actually pretty disappointing given what else is out there. The songs have too little variation and go on far too long. Any catchy hook that appears is then rinsed over and over again.
2.5*
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
2/5
Love the message. I remember being 14 and flicking over to Wildstyle on Vice City every 5-10 minutes waiting for the message to come on (or be on next).
Was looking forward to listening to the rest of the album but Jesus that was hard to get through. How can a song as groundbreaking as the message be pre-fixed by utter cross? Why was the message not on first, followed by similar politically conscious tracks, instead of terrible band intros, robotic autotuned samples, Steve ripoffs etc.. very disappointing. 1.5*
Youssou N'Dour
2/5
Not my jam
PJ Harvey
2/5
Not enjoyable, but I can't put my finger on why. Sounds similar to a number of other bands/artists in that early 90s grunge, soft/hard rock era but without any of the catchy stuff
Jane's Addiction
4/5
I actually discovered Jane's Addiction on here with their first album, which I immediately regretted rating 3* as it grew into one of my favourite albums I've heard in a while.
Their second is not as good admittedly, but still sounds pretty strong. Between the two album there's 10 or so unbelievable tracks. I can't not rate this a 4 to make up for Nothings Shocking.
John Cale
2/5
First half bearable.
Second half not so. Please end.
2.5*
Frank Zappa
3/5
Wrong mood for this today.
I think instrumental rock music just doesn't work as well as in other genres. Rock is there to be sung over. I can handle it when it's a mix, Santana for example. Frank's amazing at guitar, but by the end I wasn't even concentrating on the music.
Dire Straits
2/5
Wow. I know I've always hated Money for Nothing, but I didn't realise all of their songs were that terrible. I feel harsh giving this 1*, given the utter dross that have achieved my 1* rating, but it's really not far off. Lucky escape.
Talking Heads
3/5
I fell in love with Once in a Lifetime years ago and instantly explored the rest of the album to find myself disappointed. Then about 3 months ago More Songs... came up on this list and I found myself completely hooked.
Going back to listening to this album again, I just can't get on board with it. The first half is alright, it leans too heavily into the African theme but has some good hooks. The latter half, specifically the last two songs, are just pretty weak. Disappointing given how good buildings and food was.
The Mamas & The Papas
2/5
Other than Straight Shooter (which was a good Beatles rip off) and California Dreamin (which is a class song in its own right) that was a pretty dull set of poor Beatles/Beach Boys rip offs.
Disappointing given how great CD is, the only song I knew going into it. 1.5*
Dexys Midnight Runners
3/5
I presumed they would have been a one hit wonder band as you never hear anything else by them, but some tracks on here weren't bad. Most were though. But some good northern soul/early ska-punk in here. 2.5*, probably would not listen again.
Super Furry Animals
4/5
That's the kind of album I was hoping to find on here. Took about six listens but I think I get it now.
Such a mix and mesh of genres and bands in here. It's like if The Flaming Lips decided to make a tribute album to the Beatles, Squarepusher and Radiohead blended into one.
Beck
4/5
I don't know why, but I initially thought this was going to be terrible. Why do I have a bad impression of Beck, despite not knowing a single song he has done? Do I have him confused with someone else?
Anyway, wow. What a nice surprise. Great voice, few skippable tracks, but mostly solid ones with a few gems in there. How have I never heard him before??
Joy Division
2/5
When I was a teenager I really tried getting to this album. I thought you either loved it or you stupidly didn't get it, and I was terrified I was the latter. After maybe 40-50 listens over the years, and caring a lot less about what other people think, I can happily say Joy Division are one of the most overrated bands out there. By far the worst album-rating-per-t-shirt sold ratio in the world. Disorders a great opener. And then it's 35 minutes of shite. 1.5*
ABBA
1/5
Abba's hits make me a die a little inside. So a full album of abba non-hits makes me die a lot inside.
One of the worst things to ever happen to music.
Frank Ocean
3/5
Never heard this guy before. First (real) song I was actually quite digging. The rest of the album seemed to phase in and out of semi-interesting to background music. I gave it a day for a refreshed listen the next day but felt the exact same thing happened. Nice to have non-offensive/outrageous hip-hop, but reading the reviews now on wiki I think I'm missing something. Wasn't particularly groundbreaking, wasn't bad. Just alright. Straight down the middle.
The Jesus And Mary Chain
2/5
Pretty disappointing 80s alternative rock. Took all the bland bits of similar bands and rolled it up into one. Not a single track worth saving down.
Elton John
2/5
I tried getting into Elton before Glastonbury this year but he just didn't do it for me. Crap gig anyway. So it was nice to be forced to a listen to a full album, his magnum opus apparently.
I think it hasn't aged that well. There's a lot of 60/70s bands/sounds merged into one on this, but it falls flat apart from a couple of tracks. I think I've made my piece with Elton now.
OutKast
3/5
Really this is two albums, so I'll review both separately.
Speakerboxx was pretty generic early 00's hip-hop I thought, despite all the plaudits it got. Grated in parts. 2*
The Love Below was an exciting experimental hip-hop/blues/rnb mix. Lack of stand out tracks but numerous good ones scattered throughout. 3.5* to 4*. Would listen to this half again for sure.
The Teardrop Explodes
3/5
After the first few songs I was bored. Sounded a bit like generic early new-wave stuff. Bouncing babies caught my ear though, and then a few tracks later on..gave it a couple listens back in the end. Some of it weak but some catchy tunes. The bonus tracks all pointless, but the actual album is fairly decent. Saved a few tracks down. 3.5*
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
1/5
Second nick cave album on here. Just as depressing and disappointing as the first, but with a whopping 82 minutes in length it wins the rare and coveted 1* award. Congratulations.
Elbow
4/5
First time listening to Elbow. Few great tracks, opener and #3 were great. Dragged on slightly toward the end, whilst The Fix should have been nowhere near this album. Take that away and it would have just tipped into the 4* bucket. As it is, it's an on the fence 3.5*
The Doors
3/5
First time listening to this. Started off really well. Can really hear where the Stooges got their inspiration from, though I must say that I think they perfected it.
Was doing great until Alabama song which felt so out of place and almost ruined the vibe. Light my Fire brought it back up before the second half went and ruined it again. By the time The End came on I was completely unenthused. Would have sounded much better if it followed some bangers.
First half (excl Alabama) 4*
Second half 2*
Rounding up to 3.5* considering how early this was. Still pretty groundbreaking despite the second half.
2/5
I've never bothered listening to U2 ever, just never seemed like my kind of thing. And I was right, a lot of it just comes across as self-indulgent. Can't quite put my finger on why, but there's no soul to any of these songs. 2.5*
Johnny Cash
2/5
Any album containing Danny Boy has a ceiling of 2* which is a shame. But seriously, what a voice. It's a shame the track selection seemed to often detract from that, with many more misses (personal jesus, first time.., I'm so lonesome..) than hits (hurt). His frailty with age is exposed in a negative way in tracks like In My Life, whereas that same frailty is what makes tracks like hurt sound great.
With the correct song selection this could have been 4* minimum
Merle Haggard
1/5
Having just watched Dewey Cox, I could semi enjoy a few tracks by imagining him singing it and believing it to be a pisstake.
However, when the realisation dawns that this was an actual album. My god. 1.5*
Spiritualized
4/5
Really enjoyed that. Nice bit of Dreamwave/shoegaze. Perfect to zone out and work to.
Miles Davis
2/5
Managed two songs. Given they ran 40 minutes, I think that's fair enough.
I don't get jazz tbh. I think it's good? Just not my thing. It wasnt off-putting, just got bored. Feel like I'd need to be stoned to actively enjoy it, and that ain't me anymore. 2.5*
Pixies
4/5
Listened to this years ago after discovering Pixes but couldn't get into it so never bothered with it since. Wrong decision. Only a couple of listens in but I think this is going to be a grower similar to Doolittle. Excited to dive deeper into it.
R.E.M.
3/5
Feel like REM steadily got less interesting over time. Loved their debut, liked their follow ups, but by now it sounds like they've run out of ideas.
Still a good album, just definitely not a great one like their earlier stuff.
XTC
3/5
Inoffensive 80s pop/rock. Nothing really stands out but wasn't desperate for it to end. Not in the right mood for it but probably won't listen again.
The Magnetic Fields
2/5
I got about 20 songs in. Tedious. I'm terrible at music so I wouldn't even be able to write one of these songs admittedly, but I can't help but feel any musician who's half decent could knock up a similar set of 69 unfleshed out ideas within 24 hours. How is this even anywhere near the 1001 list.
Garbage
3/5
First two tracks in I was loving this. I was feeling nostalgia for an album in never listened to at a time I would have been too young to appreciate it. However, it then quickly turned into mediocre 90s rock. Few other tracks on here that were enjoyable but a let down from how good it started off
Willie Nelson
2/5
Very disappointing. All I knew about Willie was his love for the green so I was expecting some decent country but nope. So dull. Tracks 2 and 3 the only ones I could possibly listen to again. The rest deserve to get in the bin. 1.5*
808 State
3/5
Pretty early/raw electronica. Could really hear a lot of early AFX in this but whereas he perfected the genre, this was just... dated and pretty disappointing. 2.5*
Black Sabbath
3/5
I am familiar and fond with the first 3 Sabbath album, so I was excited to see this appear. However, definitely didn't hit me the same way as their earlier stuff. Reading up on it it sounds like this was the first Sabbath album fueled by coke rather than booze and weed, which I think is the perfect summary for the deficiencies of this album.
Pink Floyd
2/5
One of the most overrated albums of all time. This one particularly annoys me as it totally blew apart the run they were on, with the three preceding it being three of the best album of all time. Waters' rock opera nonsense killed what was amazing about the band. Gilmour saved it a bit with Division Bell, but other than that this album marks the death of Pink Floyd. Few good songs that save it, but so much dross it's unreal.
Metallica
3/5
First Metallica album I bought, and I remember quickly getting bored of it. Luckily I went back through their catalogue after and fell in love, rather than forward.
This album is terribly overrated. So many more misses rather than hits. And Justice... wasn't amazing admittedly, but this album marked a slight but distinctive change from their earlier stuff that was definitely for the worse rather than the better. Probably sneaks a 3* due to a few of the decent tunes on here
Stereo MC's
2/5
One of those albums where they had one great tune so put it at #1 and hope that will be people's lasting memory. Bloated album with one or two other catchy songs (Sketch) was alright but for the most part just drags on and on. Too many songs and most of those overrun. Glad it's over.
Jorge Ben Jor
1/5
Lasted three songs
The Cure
5/5
Wow. Second Cure album on here and I've loved them both! How have I never gotten into them before!? Honestly blown away. Regretting skipping them at Glasto 2019 now. 4.5*, rounding up to 5* as I rounded Disintegration down
The Darkness
2/5
You know in Vice City when they made that fake band "Love Fist" that was a pisstake of 80s hair metal that were funny because of the lyrics and how ridiculous was, but not something you would ever listen to outside of the game? That's how I view The Darkness, but without the funny lyrics. Some of the songs, particularly without the high octave voice, are bearable. The majority aren't.
Miriam Makeba
1/5
Strong no
Talking Heads
4/5
Weak start, with a real low point at Tentative Decisions. The rest of the album is actually really good. Not as polished (and good) as the Eno-produced albums, bit a good debut nonetheless. 3.5*
Sonic Youth
2/5
The more I listen to Sonic Youth the more I think they caught lightning in a bottle with Daydream Nation. How can one band have such a stellar, groundbreaking album, but everything else they do is pretty naff? It's rare to find a good song outside of that album nevermind a good album. The few decent tunes here are ruined by Kim's strained vocals, which are used waayyy too frequently. 2.5*
Soundgarden
3/5
Bit of a slog to get through. Few good tracks on there but most drag on. Album definitely could have been about 5 songs shorter and hit much better. Never been a massive fan of Soundgarden, they fell on the wrong side of the grunge explosion, unlike Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam etc. Still not bad though, especially when you remove the attrition from the queue.
Janis Joplin
2/5
I think I'd love JJ if I was into that style of music. Few tracks are ok but quickly gets tiresome, despite the short runtime. 2.5*
R.E.M.
2/5
I've enjoyed a few REM albums from here, so I was disappointed to be disappointed in this. Felt like they had ran out of ideas a bit, which is strange as some of their later album were then pretty good again.
Meat Loaf
3/5
Self indulgent, over the top... It shouldn't work, but somehow it kind of does. Fair play. Drags on a bit at the end but start was unique.
Ryan Adams
3/5
Pretty good. What country could have become rather than Pick Up Trucks and what-not. Slower ones in the latter half dragged. Could have been a 10-track album and easily hit 4*
The Police
3/5
Between this and Zenyatta Monetary for the worst Police album, but only because the other three are so bloody good. Some stellar tracks on this but some very skippable ones. 3.5*
AC/DC
4/5
Used to be one of those pretentious metalheads who wrote AC/DC off as being a gimmick act with their school outfits etc, so never even gave them a proper listen back in the day.
So now years down the road it was great to be forced to listen to this. It's actually really... Fun? Angus' voice probably would (and really starts to after 40mins) grate if listened to too much, but a small dose is great. Some amazing guitar work on here. The songs about shagging do start to get a bit old after the third or fourth one but a few select deletions turn this into a quality 25-30 minute EP
Goldfrapp
3/5
Goldfrapp is another one that I've never had any interest in. Slightly proved wrong I think. First track was amazing, really wish it was an entire album in that style. The rest of it was good but not great, nice background music but nothing really grabbing. 3.5*
Lana Del Rey
1/5
What is this? Music for posh girls who know their parents would disowned them if they got into Emo music and dyed their hair black? Bored after 5 songs of being breathed at.
Arcade Fire
3/5
Sadly nowhere near on the level on the albums that surrounded this release. No Cars Go is probably the only track worth banging on repeat. The rest just sounds like the weaker points of Funeral/Suburbs. Not necessarily bad, but not great. 3.5*
Donald Fagen
2/5
Like Steely Dan, very hit and miss, but here with wayyyy more misses. Only the first track worth saving. Disappointing
Metallica
5/5
Rinsed this album dry as a teenager so it's hard to listen to it freshly. But having just had Back in Black, which I rated as a fun 4*, surely MoP has to be in 5* territory. Not their best album (RtL imo), but with only one week track on the album (thing that should not be) and 4 or 5 absolute bangers, including one of the most powerful album openers of all time... Well done.
Stevie Wonder
4/5
Dammit. Tale of two halves. First 5 songs are pushing 5*. Last 4 songs are lucky to get 2*... 3.5* average then?
I'll round up but Stevie's a lucky boy
Blur
3/5
Like all of Blur's albums, a bit of a bloated mess with some gold in hidden in it. One of those bands with a legitimately great greatest hits album that isn't really missing anything else.
Sparks
1/5
Painful. Extremely painful
Ramblin' Jack Elliott
1/5
Rambling indeed. Quite bad early recorded country. Doesn't even sound sure of his own voice.
Kendrick Lamar
4/5
Easily the best, though tbf one of the only decent rappers I've had in the last 20 years. Take off a few dross tracks and this is a great album. A combined hits from this + pimp a butterfly would be approaching 5* which is incredible for rap for me.
Roxy Music
2/5
I didn't hate two of the ten songs, so that's an improvement on the last Roxy Music album I got on here.
1.5*
Johnny Cash
2/5
Excited when this popped up, but honestly a bit disappointing. Really short runtime, about 30% of which is him chatting to the audience. Once song inexplicably appears twice in a row. The duet is cringy. The good songs end too early. Surely he's had better albums than this. Boy named sue brings this up to 2.5*
GZA
2/5
Totally zoned out. Forgot I was even listening to anything. Went back to the beginning and started again. After 3 tracks I was bored senseless. I find gangsta rap bad 98% of the time, good 2%, but this is the first time I've had no emotion to it. What a boring album. Boring beats, boring lyrics. 2* but I don't know why. Probably because I reserve 1* for albums I really dislike but I'm entirely indifferent to this.
5/5
My one regret for the human race is that the Beatles were stubborn and refused to put singles on albums. Imagine if Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane were on here. Even better, imagine if they replaced the only weak tracks, She's Leaving Home and When I'm Sixty Four (I'm with John - I dont care much for Paul's music hall obsession). Almost the perfect album.
If I heard this for the first time now without any knowledge of what it is, I'd give it 3.5*. However, when you consider when this came out, and how groundbreaking it is, that surely bumps up to 4.5*. Rounding up due to finishing with Day In The Life.
The Flying Burrito Brothers
2/5
Kickstarted an entire genre that I hate. The first track was alright, but from there it was rapidly downhill. 1.5*
5/5
Not listened to this in years. I resisted Muse for ages but obviously everyone in uni banged on about them so I finally absorbed this album. It's admittedly amazing. Some of the tracks wouldn't hold up as well on their own but as part of this album they sound great. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Didn't care for much of their other stuff so this is them at their peak.
Van Halen
3/5
I find the hair metal era a bit comical, not going to lie. Some good songs on here, particularly the Zeppelin-like ones (Girl Gone Bad for example). Others were pretty naff. Overall a mixed bag, not one I'll be rushing back to. 2.5*
Morrissey
3/5
My second Morrissey album from this list. The first one I didn't enjoy, thinking that he lost a lot of the magic that Smith's possessed. This album, his first post-smiths, straddled that line, with it sounded like his departure from that sound. Half of the songs are good, the half that could easily be Smith's outtakes. The other half...not so much. A blend of 4 and 2* throughout
Femi Kuti
2/5
Just can't do afrobeat. Never heard of the genre before this list but sadly it just does absolutely zero for me. Feels wrong to give it 1* as it's not offensive, just not for me.
Various Artists
1/5
I actually got this album at Christmas time and I still hate it. Surely one of the worst genres.
Joan Baez
2/5
Thought I would like this, given I like early Dylan, but just didn't do it for me, mainly due to the Falsetto singing. Guitar was great though.
Astor Piazzolla
2/5
Like being in an excited elevator that occasionally claps at you. 1.5*
Suzanne Vega
3/5
Pleasant. Nothing really stood out, but was nice to have on in the background. Unlike most things from the mid-80s, it didn't sound dated at all. Not sure I would have placed it correctly if I didn't know beforehand.
Album cover looked like it was knocked together by an 8-year old who's just got into MS Paint
Creedence Clearwater Revival
3/5
Pretty decent actually. Some some not so good tracks but short and sweet. Great for the 60s
Frankie Goes To Hollywood
4/5
Wow. Unexpectedly loved that. So 80s, but so many bangers on it. Take out the middle section (Tag through to San Jose) and that is a phenomenal album that I've never come across or even thought would be nothing but shallow new wave. I'd obviously heard of Relax, Two Tribes, Power of Love before but by themselves they seem like novelty 80s songs. Put them together and pad them out with the rest of the selection here and the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.
4*, only dragged down because of the middle section being weak
Billy Bragg
1/5
I hated that. I don't know Billy Bragg, I don't know Willie Guthrie, but I have zero interested in hearing anything else by them.
Radiohead
4/5
Arguably one of Radiohead's weakest albums, yet it still sounds absolutely amazing on reflection. Probably took me the longest to get into of any of their albums, but when you get it you get it. Luckily that happened years ago, otherwise I fear I'd be in the 2-3* region. Makes me wonder how many other great albums I've missed out on from instantly writing them off on this list. Sadly not enough time in the world to find out.
Solid 4*
The Verve
3/5
That felt like a more melodic, meloncholy Be Here Now. An absolute slog to get through to be honest. I'm exhausted and the last track is still playing. A few tracks less and a few minutes trimmed off several of them would have made for a much better album. Reading up on it now, how was this voted one of the best British albums ever. Jesus Christ.
2.5*
Sabu
3/5
Really likes the Mambo ones. So tracks 1, 3, and the last one. The rest were not good. Either just drumming, or something which didn't for the rest of the theme. 2.5* averaging out
Throwing Muses
3/5
Was ok. Quickly got boring. Most songs followed the same structure. It's like they took the pixies formula and made a template song from that and just tweaked that very slightly 12 times only. 2.5*
Thelonious Monk
1/5
Jazz just isn't my cup of tea at all. 1.5*, rounding down as even as far as jazz goes this is totally uncaptivating
Dolly Parton
1/5
Terrible, congratulations.
Gotan Project
2/5
Interesting idea for a genre but a pretty dull execution. First track was alright but rapidly went downhill. Found myself a minute or two in before getting bored and skipping. Probably ok background music, but nothing more.
Jimi Hendrix
2/5
Whether by random or by design, I've had the three Jimi Hendrix Experience albums in order, and each one has deteriorated in quality, from 4* -> 3* -> 2*.
This album is saved only by Voodoo Child (both the jam and the single) and Watchtower. The jam was new to me and I loved it, though the last couple of minutes rambledba but. The other two I know well. But the rest of the album was extremely disappointing. Absolutely nothing stuck out of any quality.
Reading up afterward it sounds like this album isn't grower so I'll try it again at a later date, but right now i can't help but feeling let down by this entry.
Iggy Pop
2/5
Like all Iggy stuff after the Stooges, this was a bit disappointing. Dunno what drugs he was on but just seems a self-indulgent mess tbh. 2.5*
The Adverts
2/5
Like with most punk albums, one or two ok songs but the rest just drags.
Tom Waits
1/5
I feel like this is some kind of inside joke I'm not a part of. 6 songs in and I still don't know what's happening so I'm going to call it. Abysmal.
Beatles
5/5
First Beatles album that made me realise they weren't just a collection of sporadic decent songs. All Beatles albums suffer from filler that only makes sense the deeper you dive into it, but apart from one or two Revolver contains so many hidden bangers that don't take a lot to uncover. Taxman, Tomorrow Never Knows, Doctor Robert, Love to you, Got to get you in to my life. So many songs that would mean nothing to many people who claim to even like the Beatles.
Here there and everywhere probably the only weak track on the album. Just incredibly dull. Also have a dislike for Yellow Submarine, but probably due to over listening as a kid. Feels out of place on an otherwise mature album. Apart from that, an easy 5*. Though I reckon it might be 2-3* if I wasn't already a big fan, which makes this entire exercise conflicting in some way.
Television
4/5
Surprisingly good for an album/band I've never heard of. Quite Talking Heads-ish, only they seem to come a few years before. Only given a couple of listens but I think it's one that will be need to be on rotation before I can fully understand it
David Holmes
3/5
Fairly decent. Wasn't a fan of some of the blurbs that start most of the tracks, and some of the beats were a little dull, but on the whole there were some good tracks on there. Nothing really stand out though. Pleasant, but not essential. 3.5*
David Bowie
4/5
I've always found Bowie hit and miss, but this was more hit. A lot different to his usual sound but shows he can smash it out the park even when changing genre for an album or two. Fair play. Few duds but mostly hits. Beatles cover feeling completely out of place being the worst sin.
Talk Talk
3/5
Sounded like emotive new wave. Recognised one of the tracks from vice city which was a nice throwback. Last 3 tracks definitely killed any momentum the album had, before then I was quite enjoying it. Middle of the road on balance.
Beastie Boys
3/5
Better than I expected, but not amazing. Seemed to meander at times. Some of the non hip-hop tracks were good, but a fair few fell flat. The vocals also got tiresome after a while, which is at odds with the intermissions also getting stale. 2.5*
Mudhoney
2/5
Grunge seems to be either very good or very bad. This is the latter. If I was 15 and gave it a hundred listens I reckon I'd have grown to like it. But that time has long gone.
The White Stripes
3/5
Kings of garage rock. Not my favourite genre, but admittedly great at what they do.
The Beta Band
4/5
I used to enjoy the three EPs album when I was younger but never ventured any further. How foolish. This was great. The bits that went great I suspect might be growers. Definitely adding this one to my rotation list.
David Bowie
2/5
Extremely disappointing. My dad's got the front cover to this album as a poster on the wall so I was expecting great things. Possibly the worst Bowie album I've heard. Nothing worth keeping, besides maybe the Stones cover.
Bruce Springsteen
1/5
Absolute drivel. This can't be the same guy that's revered by so many rock lovers around the world? First time properly listening to him is from this list and it's god-awful. Every single song.
Massive Attack
2/5
Aways find massive attack disappointing. Again they start off with a great album opener and just drop off a cliff from there. I like triphop, so why can't get I on board with these guys?
Robert Wyatt
5/5
Wow. I'm stunned. 250 albums in and I've finally found something that's completely blown away from a genre I was no expecting. Everything just seemed to click and I've no idea why. The opener was earnest and heartwarming. Little Red Riding Hood seemed to be foreshadowing mid 2000's Radiohead three decades early. The Alfib tracks were strange at first but cute after a couple listens. And the album outro is so out of place but also perfectly in place.
Binged a few times now and I still hear something new and exciting with every listen. Congratulations 1001 albums, you've finally done what I expected from the start.
My Bloody Valentine
3/5
I'm torn on this one. I think it doesn't make sense without knowing and appreciating Loveless.
The first three tracks seem a continuation in the mould, a slightly worse version in my opinion, but still quite good. They then seemed to put a halt to that (quite literally with the ending who sees you). They then appear to showcase new stuff they're trying out in two further sections. I prefer the middle 3 to the last 3, but I honestly don't think it deserves the acclaim it gets.
If this is on the list over Loveless then that's an absolute crime against humanity.
Good but not great.
Buddy Holly & The Crickets
1/5
Just can't get on board with Buddy or early rock n roll in general. Sounds so primitive in a a bad way. Like hanging a children's drawing in an art gallery just because it shows the foundations of someone's art even though it's clearly shite.
Sisters Of Mercy
2/5
Pretty uninspiring gothic/post punk 80s stuff. Like a blend of the cure/joy division/type o negative that didn't quite work out. First track was alright but quickly tailed off.
Terrible album cover by the way. Looks like something I would have made in PowerPoint during my emo phase when I was 15.
2.5*
Circle Jerks
2/5
Conflicted. If I was 16 I'd be loving it (but aggrieved I just spent £10 on a 15-minute album), but it's just not that great now I've matured. Obviously a seminal hit, but other bands took it to greater and better heights.
Also, Hardcore fans must be one of the most annoying of any fan base. I'd hate to go to a gig because of them lot.
Derek & The Dominos
1/5
This list has made me realise just how much I hate Clapton and Springsteen. Here's another one of the former. Tried to hide behind a different band name but within 4 seconds I was suspecting something was up and 20 seconds in I was letting out a groan. And not a good one.
Layla the only non terrible song, but they went and ruined it by sellotaping 4 minutes of chaff onto the end and then naming the album "that + other songs". How up your own arse can you get man. Sick of him.
Leonard Cohen
2/5
Interesting voice. Would be a great voiceover on TV/film. Maybe an audiobook. Just not music. Insanely bored 5 songs in. 1.5*
G. Love & Special Sauce
2/5
First listen through I quite enjoyed. Bit of a blues with hip-hop, lazy singing but not in a bad way.
Intrigued, I dived straight in for a second listen. Not as good. Too much hip hop, not enough blues, too lazy in parts. Third listen through I stopped half way through. Couple of great tracks but mostly misses. 2.5*
Radiohead
4/5
Where it all changed for Radiohead. I thought Pablo Honey was pretty poor whereas OK Computer is one of the greatest albums ever written, so this is a lovely stepping stone to get there. The Pablo-esque songs are the weaker points (Bones, Just, Sulk). The stronger points are when they begin to explore the elements of their sound that would shortly propel them to the echelons of music. Solid 4*
Michael Kiwanuka
4/5
I listened to this album when it won the Mercury prize, loved it, then immediately forgot about it. Glad to hear reminded. I initially thought it might be 5* worthy, but after another couple of listens I think what holds it back is although almost every song is very, very good, there are no amazing songs that I'd want on constant rotation. 4.5*
Red Hot Chili Peppers
3/5
Way too much filler here. Always thought this album was overrated, bar a few decent tracks nothing really sticks. You can see the bridge between their earlier terrible funk albums and more melodic stuff that was to come.
2.5*
George Jones
1/5
So so so so so so bad.
Taylor Swift
3/5
Really gave this one a chance, due to how many swifties I seem to have as friends.
It's ok. Catchy in parts, but I just can't connect with any of it, really feels like it just isn't written for me, which is fine. Not all music is.
Arguably the most catchy song, Shake It Off, is inexplicably ruined by a terrible bridge towards the end which is a shame. Less poppy ones are amongst the better ones.
2.5*
Devendra Banhart
3/5
Pretty mediocre. Interesting voice and well jell of the guitar skills, but no really stand out tracks even on second listen. Reading the reviews don't really understand how it's a cult classic. Maybe another 20 listens would be required...
Laura Nyro
2/5
Strong no from me.
Iggy Pop
3/5
Love Stooges, find Iggy a bit meh. This is better than the Idiot, but not by a long way. Title track, Passenger and fall in love with me doing a lot of heavy lifting here
The Black Keys
3/5
A deceiving album. I heard Next Girl years ago and dived into the album, immediately loving the stripped back sound. Like a more bluesy, slightly cooler white stripes. But after a handful of listens I came to the conclusion not lacked depth, and almost every song got boring after a couple of sprints.
Fast forward 10 years and my conclusions are exactly the same. I reckon I'd have given this 4* after 2-3 listens, as it is I'm struggling to give it much higher than a 2.5*
The Zombies
2/5
Pretty bland early Floyd - Beatles - beach boys crossover. Only the opening and ending tracks worth listening to again.
Ghostface Killah
1/5
Wow. There's so much terribly rap out there but each time one has appeared on this list it's had some good moments.
The same cannot be said here. What an absolute terrible collection of songs. The beats are incredibly lazy, the lyrics uninteresting, the skits pointless. Drivel.
Nick Drake
4/5
Stunning. Heard of this guy but completely got him confused with a mesh of other artists which he is not.
Ethereal and beautiful album. Slightly trails off a bit in the latter half but excited about diving a lot more into this over the coming months. Starting off with a 4*, but can easily see this slipping up or down a tier. It feels like it's either gonna grow or get boring..excited to see which.
Kanye West
1/5
Congratulations Kanye, one of the worst things I've ever heard. Hope you're proud.
I would literally pay a lot of money to never have to hear this front to back again.
The Waterboys
1/5
God help anyone who rated this 5*
The Band
2/5
Well that answers my question of "what if the Rolling Stones had no talent?"
1.5*
Bruce Springsteen
1/5
I'm adamant no one truly enjoys Bruce Springsteen. They just think people like him so they follow along. It's like that Darren Brown episode where he coerces someone into committing murder via peer pressure alone.
The same is true for Eric Clapton. Once people start to realise this basic truth the world will be a much better place.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
2/5
Very bold to put a live album by an experimental rock band on here as the the first time I'm hearing them. Maybe just unlucky on my part.
Funnily enough I'm hearing a bit of squarepusher and other IDM stuff in here. For the most part though it's just skippable. Think I would have loved it at the time but not now.
Lou Reed
3/5
Couple astounding songs, few good songs, several bad songs. With albums like this I wonder why, after writing something like Perfect Day or Walk on the Wild Side, they wouldn't wait to pen another 5-6 unbelievable tracks rather than just release them next to any old thing.
The Doors
2/5
Doors always sounded like a less fun Stooges to me. I don't think it stands the test of time very well. Probably very cool in the day, but that day has been and gone.
Kate Bush
2/5
Disappointing, given the other Kate Bush albums I've had on here which I've rather enjoyed. Feels a bit out of left field this album, alternative and edgy in a negative way. The growls and screams can work great in the right genre, but this is not it.
Beatles
3/5
Not bothered with this album in years, I always wrote off most of the early Beatles stuff as too poppy. Sop pop almost. A few songs on here are still like this, I'm happy to dance with you for example. But there are some really great tracks buried in here, almost masquerading themselves as pop but trying to break free. Others are blueprints for later Beatles, You can't do that sounds lightyears ahead of the rest of the album.
Actually a pretty decent album on reflection. 3.5*
The United States Of America
2/5
Pretty uninspiring 60s psychadelica. Not sure how this made it on here.
Stevie Wonder
3/5
Love ateviea voice and style. Didn't have as good songs as the other Stevie album I've had, Innervisions, but some pretty solid tracks here regardless.
Khaled
1/5
Got as far as the terrible cover of Imagine. No thanks.
Nightmares On Wax
3/5
Like most trip hop albums, some good songs but most last too long and there are too many tracks on here. Its actually one of the better ones though, despite not being great still.
Arctic Monkeys
1/5
God damn I'm still bitter my uni days coincided with this lazy shite British indie rock nonsense. Ruled out 90% of songs played in clubs.
Boyband pop for teenagers who think liking guitar music is cool.
Only of my biggest regrets is waiting hours at the mainstage to watch these headline Glastonbury. Should have just left my mates for a few hours and actually had a good time elsewhere.
Earth, Wind & Fire
3/5
Enjoyed bits of that. African bit towards the end not so much, but early parts were pretty chilled and fun. Not something I'd have often but once in a while.
Frank Sinatra
1/5
As if Sinatra wasn't already destined for a 1* again already, he's decided to make a song called "making whoopee", which appears to be saying don't shag your wife on your wedding night else you'll have kids(?). Let this man's music die goddammit.
Missy Elliott
1/5
Lasted until the end of Work It. After reading that that song won a Grammy Award, and was named the 56th greatest song *of all time* by Rolling Stones, I realised that this stuff is like landing on an alien world and just not being able to understand any of it so what's the point in trying.
It sounds utter, utter, shite.
Massive Attack
2/5
Always had the inkling Massive Attack were overrated from the little I've heard from them, and this album solidifies it.
So many skippable tracks
Os Mutantes
3/5
An interesting album, that was completely unhelped by poor audio quality. Low fidelity, when not by design, never sounds good, masking the nuances that would make some songs extremely interesting. Low-fi when used in modern music plays on that and uses it to it's advantage by making song structures purposefully non-complex, which was not the case here.
It was hard to get past that. Not really much worth keeping, but I can appreciate that at the time this must have been mind-blowing to hear. 2.5*
Louis Prima
2/5
Way better than Sinatra, but that's not saying much. Wish the album continued in the style of the opening track which was actually pretty decent. Rest just got too slow and 50s for my liking
The Who
3/5
Tale of two halves.
Great opening tracks. 3 & 4 also pretty good. 5 - 8 much weaker, (Fred Durst has forever ruined Behind Blue Eyes it seems). Outgoing song was pretty good. Not sure why it's heralded as one of the greatest releases ever though. Nowhere near as good as other seminal rock hits of the early 70s.
Bob Dylan
3/5
Despite loving the Freewheeling and the times... I was never able to get into anything Dylan after that. This was pretty good, though still nothing compared to those two. Some good tracks, but nothing to blow me away. Some poor ones. Good but not great album. 3.5*
The KLF
2/5
That was bizarre, but disappointing. Music was mediocre early UKs raver scene, with a few very self indulgent dubbed vocals. The wiki page on this band though was an absolute wild read. Music didn't live up to the heights I was expecting based on this sadly.
Incredible Bongo Band
3/5
No unenjoyable but not sure why this was on the list. If this has made it then surely Richard Cheese or Elvana have to definitely be on here. Maybe these guys were first. Definitely didn't need to last 80 minutes though. 2.5*
Depeche Mode
3/5
Started off good but really tailed off in that second half. Some good 80s synth pop in there (despite it being a 90s release). Not paid much attention to Depeche Mode, I reckon they'd have a decent greatest hits album but way too much filler on this.
First half 4*, second half 2*
The Coral
3/5
Okish tribute to 60s British rock. What gets me is how insanely good Dreaming of You is compared to the rest of the album. One hit wonder almost. If I'd written a song like that I'd have harnassed all my energy to achieving 10 other songs like it, but it feels like they only got anywhere near close once or twice.
Donovan
3/5
Pretty dull 60s psychadelic rock. This list seems to be a bit saturated in this stuff now, I've lost count at how many times I've written that first sentence. 1 or 2 good tracks, the rest utterly skippable. 2.5*
Nine Inch Nails
5/5
THE industrial rock/metal album. The only one that matters anyway. Pretty Hate Machine and The Fragile I'd argue are different genres, so, (the broken EP aside) Trent came in and absolutely smashed it out of the park with this release.
This album is probably the one that has the most profound impact on my life. I used to love other bands at earlier stages in my life - Oasis, Blink, Limp Bizkit (sorry), Queens of the Stone Age etc. But this was the first time I properly connected with an album on a much, much deeper level. The first and maybe only time I'd felt like an album was written *for* me. I havent listened to it properly in years so it's nice to be made to go back and listen to it afresh again.
Mr Self Destruct is such a great opener. Basically tells you what you're going to get on this album. Other bands had mastered the soft/hard style of songwriting (Nirvana, Pixies spring to mind) but Trent shows he is equally adept at it here.
Closer has perhaps been overplayed too many times that I didn't think too much of it on reflection despite absolutely loving it as a teenager.
Ruiner/Becoming is such a good combination. The Godzilla samples he uses on Becoming are so perfectly placed.
The last 5 songs though are just a phenomenal run. People (including Trent) have said that Hurt is now a Cash song, and I get that point of view, but also respectfully disagree. Cash changed it to something else which also had great meaning and sounded amazing, but in a different way. Similar to how the US office is totally different to the UK office but it's ok to love and respect both without feeling one ripped off the other or made it better. They're literally two different genres in each example.
5/5 on reflection, thought I'd like it less than I did listening back 20 years a later but it's an absolute beast. Phenomenal stuff.
Supergrass
4/5
Really enjoyed that. Some good slightly psychadelic 90s British rock. Reminded me a bit of of Dodgy with sprinklings of Smashing Pumpkins/Sonic Youth in there. First 5 tracks were absolute belters, but definitely trailed off a bit in the latter stages. Would have loved it to end on the penultimate song, don't understand why some bands end great albums with gimmicky songs (looking at you Kyuss/Lick Doo). Will listen to this many times again I'm sure.
Scritti Politti
3/5
Well that answers my question of "what if a giant Welsh guy had the voice of Michael Jackson?" Very 80s. Very poppy. Very disco-y. But it kind of works. Not going to lie, even by the end of the 39 minutes I was slightly bored of it, but it had it's charm in places. 2.5*
Haircut 100
2/5
This list loves a bit of new-wave, which is strange looking back as someone born just after that period ended. It's clearly not a good enough genre to stand the test of time, same as bubblegum pop, glam rock etc. etc.
Pretty mediocre stuff.
The Isley Brothers
4/5
Really loved that. First time hearing these guys, great bit of funk n soul. Definitely gonna put this on the rotation.
Deep Purple
3/5
Was excited about this, loving metal and all. Even the albums namesake I used to love in my teenage years.
Sadly didn't do a lot for me. A lot of the other NWOBHM were better, if still not my thing. Very average.
John Martyn
3/5
Good opener, amazing closer. The rest was pretty meh. Unique voice but it got tiring by the end. Last track should have modelled the whole album.
Pretty good, feel I will listen to first and last track a lot in the future but the rest maybe never again.
Björk
5/5
Wow. First time really listening to Bjork. Blown away. That voice is unreal, utterly captivating. Music is phenomenal, blend of UK rave, IDM, jazz, pop, all blended into one.
4.5*, rounding up for the surprise factor
Buck Owens
1/5
.
Eagles
2/5
Ignoring Hotel California. That song is so overplayed it's impossible to rate.
The rest was boring dad rock. Some songs teased that they might go somewhere interesting, but they were just teasing apparently.
2.5*
Big Star
3/5
Thought it sounded dull on the first lesson. Read up on the album on wiki and thought I must have not being attention given what was written about it. Second listen, still dull. Third listen, still dull. It's not bad, there's just nothing particularly good about it. 2.5*.
Supertramp
2/5
Like a slightly less annoying version of the wall. Not a fan of the 70s rock opera esque albums that pop up on here. 2*
Kid Rock
2/5
Hear me out, I think this album needs to be on this list. The rap-rock genre was absolutely massive at the time, and this album encapsulates all the bad parts of the genre - over-produced, by a guy who was completely fake, terrible lyrics that a teenager would be proud of, an appearence from the flavour of the day (Eminem here).
The genre died as quickly as it came about, so this acts as almost a time capsule into why it was a flash in the pan.
1.5* for the music, rounding up to 2 as perversely I think it needs to be on this list even though it's absolute dogwank.
Miles Davis
4/5
Amazing. First track was brilliant, second good in parts but didn't hold itself like the first. Can really hear the impact this had on music, still hearing it's legacy in music released today... Floating Points, Squarepusher etc.
Second or third Miles Davis album I've had now and by far the best. Definitely will have this on rotation. Perfect to work to.
Beastie Boys
2/5
Very disappointing. I had ill communication a while a back and thought it was ok at best. Rapping style got a bit tiresome after a while but there were a few good tracks on it.
This one...rapping even more annoying and no good tracks. 1.5*
Ray Price
2/5
Made it half way through. Couldn't do the honky tonk.
Not going to lie, I thought at first the album cover was him having a wank over a couple. It was downhill from there. Unnecessary intro track, a not terrible actual first track, and then loads of naff tracks before I pulled the plug. 1.5*
Badly Drawn Boy
4/5
Enjoyed that. Didn't need to be so long, could have been a great 10-12 album or so. But still, cut the weak and there's a fantastic album in here. First time hearing him and impressed
Skepta
1/5
Nope. 1 year in and finally meet a Grime album, one of my least favourite genres. I just can't take it seriously. Literally grow up and do something productive for society instead of this individualism bullshit.
Marvin Gaye
4/5
Great album. Listened to it once when I was younger but couldn't get into it. Right time/age now. Appreciate him not overdoing it and making an hour long 14-track album which kneecaps most of the best ones. Few weaker, softer, more biblical tracks stop the covered 5*, but it sure comes close.
4.5*
Todd Rundgren
3/5
Not great, not awful. Poppy first half got old after one song. Rocky bit was better but still uninspiring. Liked Black Maria, sounded like recent-qotsa. Rock opera was awful, turned off mid way through.
Interesting concept, probably great for the time, just doesn't really do a lot for me personally. 2.5*
Lambchop
3/5
So dull. What was that?? How is that something everyone must listen to. It wasn't bad, but was so hard to tell if it was good as it was instantly forgettable. 2.5*
Jimmy Smith
2/5
I'm guessing that was a ground breaking album for its time because otherwise it's just pretty boring jazz from the 60s that's randomly appeared on the list. 2.5*
Peter Frampton
3/5
Normally not a fan of live albums when unless a massive fan of the music already, but was intrigued when I read that this was the album that got him fame, after his previous ones didn't sell to well.
Sadly it met my initial expectation. I feel like I'd need to know the original version inside out to get the emotion and intricacies behind the live version. Audio quality wasn't amazing although I'm sure it was great for a live recording back in the 70s.
Bonus track was the best on the album, ironically the only non live one. 2.5*
Jurassic 5
3/5
That actually wasn't bad. Inoffensive hiphop/rap. Went on too long as always but there were actually some decent tunes in there. More relaxed ones were more enjoyable. Saved a few.
Jungle Brothers
2/5
Lasted about 15 minutes. That was so bland it's impressive. I'm not sure if I'm meant to feel anything towards that.
Radiohead
5/5
It's rare to say this, but what an incredibly beautiful album. One of my favourites despite rinsing it dry after spending £1 as a poor student on it when they released it initially as pay-what-you-want on the internet (remember those times?).
Every song hits you in different ways at different times. Videotape might be one of the most chilling album endings ever. A very very welcome response to Hail to the Thief, which was imo their poorest since Pablo Honey and signs they were falling away a bit. It's a shame they've never hit the lofty heights of In Rainbows since then, but if this is indeed their last 5* album of their career then what a bloody great run they had.
SAULT
2/5
Felt bit like a modern art exhibit at points. So while some tracks were enjoyable, most others seemed up to the listener to turn it into something greater than they actually were. For example "Black" was little more than a slightly annoying basic tune on repeat, with someone frequently telling us they were black on top of it. Feels like when I'm at the Tate Modern looking at a rusty bedframe stuck to a wall and the plaque says it represents the evil and suffering of mankind. Fair enough, but I'm still just seeing a bit of metal sellotaped to a wall.
Taking the music and lyrics in isolation, removing the social issues aspect, I don't think there's enough going on here to justify it being a great album. I'm not surprised they've pumped out 11 albums in 5 years given how basic this was.
2*, though removing about three quarters of the tracks that don't lead anywhere you'd have a pretty decent short EP of meaningful songs.
Black Sabbath
3/5
What an album opener. Bring a big fan of metal, I would have loved to have been there at the time when this album came out just to experience the title track, having heard nothing of the sort before. Easily one of the best doom/stoner metal songs of all time, and it arguably was the first one to exist.
Sadly the rest of the album doesn't live up to these lofty heights. Sabbath would go on to achieve greater things in their next two albums, but the rest of this album is a bit meandering. The wizard is ruined by the harmonica imo, and Evil Woman was an unnecessary cover inclusion which is sounds like the band didn't even want on the record. They recorded the album in less than 12 hours and mixed it in one further day, so I can't help but feel if they spent more time making it tight rather than practically a live album it could have been an all time classic.
Marvin Gaye
3/5
Pleasant. Not as good as What's going on which came a couple days ago funnily enough. Less social issues and entirely love related, which gets a bit boring after a while. Appreciate the short run time though. Combining the best from the two albums and you've potentially got something pushing 5* on your hands.
Mike Oldfield
2/5
I'm going to assume this was the first experimental instrumental album released, because otherwise if the reason for it's inclusion on this list is it appeared in the exorcist that's a joke.
Pretty poor stuff to be honest. I've seen this album referenced a lot so that was a big let down. Massively overrated. The sections were too jumpy, haphazardly moving from one segment to another without any link or keeping the listener engaged and understanding the flow.
When he started listing instruments that were due to come it was time to bow out. Way better pieces have been made by this. If there's no Steve Reich in this list but this makes it in that's a crime against humanity.
Emmylou Harris
2/5
Might be biased as I think the genre is shit, but this list has an overabundance of US country music. It's strange as it also has an overabundance of British rock, which I don't mind as a genre. But why those two genres? If the list is made by one person it's very bizarre to love two genres that have zero overlap.
Anyway, naff. Somehow butchered a Beatles song. Congrats
1.5*
Rod Stewart
2/5
Just cannot do Rod's voice. Honky tonk also just doesn't sound right to me, nevermind from someone our side of the pond. Stones are the only ones to vaguely pull it off imo. All Over Now is alright, the rest of the album was pretty tosh.
The Smiths
5/5
My favourite Smiths album. Though it's only now I've discovered that How Soon Is Now sometimes isn't included... The CD version I had growing up was obviously the 1993 UK rerelease version, as it looks like the original UK release and the 2011 remaster both don't have it, as with the Spotify version. Weird hearing That Joke... segway into Nowhere Fast. I included it back in for my listening pleasure
Anyway, this contains a few of my favourite smiths songs, Headmaster, How Soon, Barbarianism. But what makes this album their best is that other than Rusholme and the title track, the rest are incredibly strong. Johnny Marr's playing is unbelievable, and it's one of the best guitar - bass combo albums. The presence of the bass being brought right to the front of the mix on Headmaster and Barbarianism makes it sound bloody amazing.
5* (4.5* if we're excluding How Soon Is Now)
Fishbone
3/5
Pretty bland 80s funk/rock. I preferred Faith No More's debut which is the only thing I can relate to it. 2.5*.
Not bad, not great.
The Libertines
2/5
Can't stand indie, but this wasn't absolutely terrible. Just mostly terrible. Opening track the only one I recognised, wasn't as bad as I remember. Most of the rest was tosh. Man who would be king was alright tbf. But my god what a bland souless genre of music.
Parliament
3/5
First two tracks were class. Super funky. Loved the surprise Let Me Ride by Dre sample in track 2.
Sadly it tailed off a bit after that. Track 3 good but 4-7 really dropped in stature. Will throw those first two into my rotation list though for sure.
Good vibes.
Booker T. & The MG's
3/5
If you told me I was about to embark on 35 minutes of instrumental music from a backing band in 1962 I'd have said Oh Christ.
Luckily it wasn't as bad as I feared. I do actually love the 12 bars riff which formed the basis for a good chunk of the songs. The organ was a welcome addition in lieu of any vocals. Couple tracks saved down, first one is obviously timeless. Also nice to hear where Beatles got their Twist & Shout version from.
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
2/5
New wave has always been a bit up it's own arse, but this took the mick a bit. I'm not sure if he was singing out of tune on Joan of Arc on purpose, but it really didn't come off well. Turgid.
Alice Cooper
2/5
That was shite. I've seen Alice before but was too pissed to remember. Looking forward to being made to listen to this when it popped up but what an absolute mess. Seemed to stumble from genre to genre, tweaking each slightly to try and sound cool to rebellious 14 year olds in the early 70s.
Really, really not my thing. 1.5*
Bob Dylan
5/5
Possibly one of the best debut albums (of original songs) of all time. The fact he was 20/21 when writing these lyrics is incredible. Some of the best song writing of all time. The way he wraps existential dread, anger, sorrow, all up into humourous and downright clever lyrics blows my mind. I'd start quoting but there's too many examples to even begin. Few weak tracks (never got on with the opener), but 8-9 of these songs are easily 5*. This album could be nothing else.
The Verve
2/5
The creator's love for britpop continues. I feel sorry for the confused yanks going through this list, the same way I feel sorry for myself when the 200th terrible country album appears.
Pretty bland stuff from the verve. I've honestly never met anyone in 35 years of living in the UK that has ever mentioned the verve, nevermind it being a positive opinion. I feel drained of energy after this. It's as if Pearl Jam did a 90s album without a single catchy riff or lyric. 2.5*
Happy Mondays
3/5
"First album written on ecstacy", but far from the best surely. Way to much echo/reverb placed on Shaun's vocals to find them enjoyable, and a real lack of catchy tunes. Sounds like a "had to be there" album. Not bad, but not offering much to the table 35 years later.
Funkadelic
2/5
Not on Spotify, which makes it annoying to judge. Managed to find a version on YouTube, it after about 20 minutes and my fourth adbreak i gave up. There was one funky track near the start I liked, after that it got a bit naff. Move on.
Dion
2/5
Dull as dishwater. Not in the mood for this today.
The Last Shadow Puppets
2/5
Alex Turner/Kaiser Chiefs do a spaghetti western soundtrack. Not what I asked for, and not what I really wanted to be honest. Reminded me of a much worse spin off than Them Crooked Vultures, so if this makes the list and TCV doesn't, then the compiler needs to get off the indie hype train.
Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart
2/5
I get the impression the guy liked the first track, presumed the rest of the album followed suit, and so put it on the list.
It did not. Good first track, naff rest of album. Yawn
LCD Soundsystem
5/5
Some albums have disproportionate importance to your life. This is one of mine. After 10-15 years of nothing but rock and metal, progressively getting heavier and heavier, with the last few years basically being solely death or black metal, I suddenly flipped in my early 20s and got into electronica. This was the gateway album. I'd heard other stuff before, but this was the album that pretty much every track I was hooked to, and it became the soundtrack of my year (although I've forgotten exactly which one).
It actually starts off weaker imo, great opening track but then 2&3 are the only low points in the album (though not *that* low), but after that... Wow.
Id love to listen to this album completely fresh now I'm 10+ years down the line of non-metal genres but like so many albums on this list that's impossible. All I can give it is the highest honour
Queen
3/5
Always find Queen a bit too operatic and even though this album had nice tinges of heavy metal, it still suffered from the same thing most of Queens music suffers from. Nothing special other than the songs i already recognised.
2.5*
The Jam
4/5
Enjoyed that. Can't recall if I've heard anything by them before. I think what I enjoyed most was hearing where a lot of later bands took inspiration from. It wasn't a perfect album, but its sound has been taken and expanded by others in different directions elsewhere. Feel like it was an important release, which is said far less frequently than I was expecting on this list. 4* for that reason.
The Temptations
4/5
Dont recall hearing these before even though the name sounds familiar. Enjoyed it. Funky, didn't drag on, would listen to again. 3.5*.
DJ Shadow
4/5
The first triphop album I got into when I started branching away from metal. Rinsed it dry, but can still hear the quality. It drags in parts, cant help but feel a lot of the interludes could have been cut, and each song trimmed slightly. Very good album, but just shy of great.
FKA twigs
3/5
Can't work out if this is genius or whether it falls into the same category that Alt J/the XX etc did - 2010s breathy alternative pop that sounds immensely deep but after 10 listens you realise it's actually quite shallow. Ill have this on rotation to check but it could go either way - I'll start off by going down the middle. This could very easily be a 2 or a 4 by next week.
Animal Collective
4/5
This is one of those rare albums that I initially thought would comprise the majority of the 1,001 albums. An album that I've never heard of, probably wouldn't have discovered, am not initially a huge fan of the genre but appreciate why it's on this list and makes me want to explore more. Refreshing sound, much better than the endless list of country, Clapton and Morrisey nonsense I seem to get on here.
Tales off slightly in the latter half but definitely one I'll be exploring more of.
Cream
2/5
Can hear a lot of inspiration that other bands took from this, but it's really not good. Not sure if it just hasn't aged well, but it just sounds pretty tepid. Rare I skip the majority of tracks on a rock album, so this is how unenjoyable I found it.
Richard Thompson
2/5
Always something unsettling about British artists doing country music. This wasn't terrible, just creepy.
1.5*
Tracy Chapman
3/5
Pleasant. I only knew Fast Car beforehand, probably a reason why that's her standout hit. Rest of the album sounded extremely similar but with slightly less emotion in it. Nice background music, but not something I'm desperate to have on repeat anytime soon.
Led Zeppelin
4/5
The last of Zeppelin's hot streak. 6 stellar albums from formation, though this most probably the weakest of the six, whilst still containing some great songs. I think like almost all double LPs it runs into the sin of feeling a bit bloated in parts. This could have been yet another amazing album if it had been polished and trimmed correctly. Really tails off toward the end. Everything after 10 years gone is skippable imo.
3.5*
The Velvet Underground
3/5
One of the more overrated albums imo. The Nico tracks are pretty diar. Heroin probably the only standout. I get for it's time it was groundbreaking, but unlike a lot of similar groundbreaking albums around that time (from the likes of the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Stooges, Sabbath etc.) I don't think it's aged particularly well. It sounds like pretty bland dream-pop that would have been forgotten instantly were it released a decade later.
2.5*
The Kinks
2/5
Well that's answered the question I didn't know I asked, as to "how would the Beatles sound if they had less talent". Most of that pretty skippable/forgettable. First and last tracks the only one worth a second listen. Even switched over to the stereo version as the mono sounded awful. Not a winner in my book. 2.5*
Sleater-Kinney
2/5
Was intrigued by the first song but it got more and more grating as the album went on. Lasted till half way. Vocals got unlistenable, which is pretty brutal given some of the vocals on things I actually like. Not quite sure why it's on this list.
Solomon Burke
2/5
Bland to the point of being a bit annoying. In the right mood I wouldn't mind this on in the background, but that day is not today.
Nanci Griffith
2/5
Not the worst country, but still absolutely terrible. At least this was a quick listen/skip. 1.5*
Can
3/5
Something different...much needed after a week of dross. Experimental without being OTT. First 3 tracks were pleasant but not really stand out, final 20min saga was where the album really came to light though. One to listen to again another time.
3.5*
Morrissey
3/5
This is my third Morrissey album (compared to a solo Smiths record so far). Hopefully that lead will be reversed by the time this ends otherwise I'm going to question the relevance of this list.
Like the other ones so far, incredibly mediocre. Certainly not a game changer, even for it's time.
Sly & The Family Stone
3/5
Ok. Pretty funky. But laboured in parts. Nothing really great but nothing that poor either. Can see why it made the list.
Adele
3/5
I really wished I got Adele, for my partner's sake, but she just doesn't really do it for me. It just feels a bit empty to me, despite the subject matter being apparently very emotional. Compare this to Bjorks vespertine for example and they're a world apart. One tugs on the heart strings, this just sits in the background until your realise you're still listening to it. I think I preferred it to her earlier 21 album, but given that was relatively forgettable I'm not too sure.
Soul II Soul
2/5
Let me know which club these classics are played in as I need to ensure I never go.
1.5*
Sigur Rós
3/5
I'm torn on Sigur Ros. I feel like I should love them but I don't. Their albums always sound nice and dreamy when listening to them, but they turn out to be one of those dreams that you forget instantly and wake up groggy and confused. Surprised to see this is their best rated album, been a while since I listened to them but I think I prefer the later ones (Takk etc.)
Joni Mitchell
3/5
Pleasant. Not entirely sure it's groundbreaking enough to be included in this list, but at least it wasn't crap/annoying. Might listen to a few songs again but the rest were pretty backgrpoundish.
Willie Nelson
4/5
What on earth, a country album that I actually liked?! Either there's something intrinsically different about this one or this lists endless barrage of country music has finally broken me. Second half petered out a bit but the first half was pretty stellar.
Kanye West
1/5
God damn I hate Kanye so much. It's rare I detest a musician but here we go. Even putting aside his recent mental deterioration, despite this album being shite I was pleased to hear some samples of stuff I like, including King Crimson and Aphex. Then I decided to read up on the album. Robert Fripp from KC quit the music industry after this was released a he had no say in it. Richard offered to redo the AFX sample as it was so poorly copied but Kanyes team said they own it now, not him, so do one.
How do I give negative stars?
Norah Jones
2/5
Not sure why anyone has to hear this before they die. Not that it's bad, it's just so forgettable. I feel like it should be played quietly of the lobby in the Hilton in Krakow.
A few songs stand out a bit, but a good 10+ I skipped as I was falling asleep and I actually need to be awake today
Mercury Rev
3/5
One of those albums that I think if I tried learning a few instruments over the course of a year I'd probably be able to match it. Not sure why it's on here. Few songs were ok, most were pretty bland. Inoffensive overall.
2.5*
My Bloody Valentine
5/5
Possibly my favourite Shoegaze album. I can totally understand why people might not be able to get into it, but once you crack the surface you can see the absolute beauty lying under earth. Lyrics don't matter, the vocals are just yet another ethereal sound to add to the dreamscape that is the music. One of the best albums to work to.
4.5*
Run-D.M.C.
2/5
I don't get Run-DMC. How were they ever big? They have the most basic backing beats, the vocal style is tiring, there's just nothing good about it. Just put together a few snares or bass drum hits hear and there, the occasional record scratch, shout down a 30m long corridor and congrats, you've got yourself a Run-DMC cover band. Yawn.
1.5*
Dizzee Rascal
3/5
Well blow me away. I remember this coming out and hating it. Never really got on with grime in general. Listening back now, I'm pleasantly surprised. Some of the backing tracks are great, almost sound Aphex Twin-esque. When he calms down a bit with the rapping it actually sounds really great. Tracks like Cut em off, Jezebel and Do It are very enjoyable. This is offset somewhat by the OTT ones, like stop dat, just a rascal etc.
Mixed bag, the lows are low but the highs are high. Will listen to some of these again for sure.
Bebel Gilberto
3/5
Weirdly this isn't on Spotify, despite her having tonnes of others on here. I can find the remix album, and a playlist of seven of the original songs, so I've opted to rate the latter.
Very chilled, quite enjoyed it, would have liked to hear more.
3.5*
Steely Dan
3/5
I know Aja fairly well but that's it when it comes to Steely Dan apart from a couple other tracks. The ones I knew from here I really like, Rikki and the title track. The rest were a bit of a let down, a smattering of a genres that felt a bit unnecessary and disjointed.
Dr. Dre
3/5
One of the only tolerable gangsta rap albums. The misogynistic side gets a bit tiring, but the beats are actually pretty decent and some of the lyrics are clever. Could be a lot shorter and a better if the crap was cut. 3.5*
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
2/5
Very disappointing, particularly coming a few weeks after getting Heart of Gold and absolutely loving it. It reminded me of Be Here Now, a rambling mess with what should be 4-minute songs lasting 10 minutes. Arguably one of the better songs, fuckin up, inexplicably decides to end on 1 whole minute of amp feedback. Why? There's a reason every song doesn't end on a minute of feedback. Because it's a shite idea. Not even once.
Neil's voice sounds particularly strained and aged here, and suits rock n roll a lot less than it suited the country/folk of Heart of Gold.
Didn't even save down a track from this one.
Amy Winehouse
4/5
Surprisingly good. Never given her the time of day, but to hear this from an 18-19 year old is pretty incredible. Normally not my genre at all so fair play. A few of the backing beats seem unnecessary, the latter half of the second track is ruined by them for example. Can see why she was fuming with the mixing of the album.
Some really good tracks on here though, what a voice on such a young woman.
3.5*
Foo Fighters
5/5
Very pleasantly surprised to see this on the list, given the greater commercial success of the later FF albums. Got to into this album quite late, but my god what a debut. Love an album where one person plays/sings everything. Something I could only dream of.
This album is a perfect follow on from Nirvana. Grunge elements retained in bit, but with a blend of garage rock/whatever Dave felt like at the time. Though almost all songs are not as polished as later FF releases (e.g. everlong), their rawness adds to the charm. Good Grief remains one of my FF songs despite it's relative simplicity, whereas Exhausted is one of the best album closers - after a pretty heavy fast/slow album you've got a droney, black-metal esque riff with some of Dave's most ethereal vocals.
4.5*, rounding up as it's just ended on an absolute banger
Manu Chao
2/5
Pretty dull, not going to lie. Often can't get on with non-english vocals as there's nothing to relate to / agree with etc. there are a few exceptions but this definitely isn't on them. Music itself left me a bit bored.
Tina Turner
3/5
Super 80s that I actually quite liked it. The more cheesy 80s songs were the better ones. No need for the Al Green or Beatles covers and pretty naff ender. But other than that I somewhat guiltily enjoyed it.
Funkadelic
4/5
Perfect. Exactly what I wanted from this list. Something which is not normally my thing and something that I never would have listened to without it, but blew me away. The solo's on the opening track and on super stupid are face melting. Love it. Few weaker tracks and I was hoping the last track would be more akin to the first but overall still incredible for something that's over half a century old.
The Velvet Underground
2/5
This list has made me realise I can't do the Velvet Underground. It's experimental for experimental-sake. It's like getting some sixth form students together studying art with ok-ish musical ability and telling them they have 4 weeks to come up with something outside the box. This is literally that album. Waffle.
Sister Ray the only bearable song, for about 7 minutes. Then it just descends into yet more shite.
Red Snapper
2/5
Not entirely sure what the point of that was.
Pretty poor trip hop album given the quality that was getting released around a similar time.
Belladonna the only track that made me feel anything. Anything at all.
2.5*
Bob Marley & The Wailers
3/5
For someone who doesn't like Reggae I've annoyingly found myself at many concerts given friends' music tastes. Once left a Damian Marley half way through as i thought it was about to die of boredom.
My mine gripe is the lack of diversity in songs. Go through this album, listen to the first 2 seconds (the intro percussion beat), and then skip to 1 minute or so. All 9 tracks are virtually indistinguishable.
Don't understand it.
2.5*
The Allman Brothers Band
4/5
Thankfully there's not been many live albums on here - my view is that in general, unless you're familiar with a band it's very rare that a live album would be more enjoyable that the studio versions.
However, I would probably guess that the opposite would be true here. Not the biggest blues fan, but this live album actually made me interested in exploring more. Definitely the best live album on this list so far. Only a few unnecessary moments (the classic drum solo, the 3-5 minute quiet bit that you're just waiting to pass) that come with every love album, but the rest was pretty stellar. Only 1 weak track and that was possibly the shortest on the album.
Van Morrison
2/5
Just find VM a bit boring, despite it not being boring music. Can't quite put my finger on it. 2.5*
Milton Nascimento
2/5
Pleasant in parts, but ran on too long and my lack of love for non-english music shone through. 2.5*
Pixies
4/5
I had Surfer Rosa/I am Pilgrim growing up, which I always found a bit bloated so didn't rate it that highly, especially in comparison to Doolittle.
However, this is my first time absorbing Surfer Rosa solo. Being just 33 minutes actually helps it a bit, it makes the weaker tracks, and there are a couple, drag on less. There's still plenty to about about on this album. Not as polished (or as good) as Doolittle, but a great debut from a band which quietly changed music history
The Good, The Bad & The Queen
3/5
Not long after my Alex Turner randomly assembled side project, here's Damon Albarns. Pretty tame/bland again. Last song the best, which makes me think he had a good idea for a song and decided to name both the band and the album after it.
Very inoffensive. Doesn't deserve to be anywhere near this list, which makes me want to mark it down, but I'll refrain.
Pulp
2/5
God. I think Pulp are sadly one of the most overrated British bands. This is their pinnacle and it's still pretty shite. Take away Common People and Disco 2000 and it's a horrible album seemingly written by a perv. How the hell these headlined Glasto is beyond me. 2* for the aforementioned two songs.
Simon & Garfunkel
4/5
Surprisingly good. Always found S&G a bit bland in the past but I relatively enjoyed this. Nice 60s folk, short run time, plenty of variety. What's not to (really) like!
Randy Newman
2/5
Lasted half way. Not sure I was really hoping to hear Woody from toy story mug off the southern states before I die but fair enough. Happily will erase this from my memory now.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
3/5
My first album was Nick Cave and it was shite, so it's amusing to see him pop up again over 400 albums later. Story behind this is very sad, and it comes out completely in the music. Not normally my thing, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much it resonated still. Saved a couple songs, but most aren't the kind of thing you would pop on for a quick listen. Once to absorb fully, though I'm not sure I would again.
Violent Femmes
2/5
Really bad proto-punk. Can hear a lot what would come in the genre here. Might have enjoyed it when I was 14 but no chance now.
1.5*
Magazine
4/5
A day after getting some terrible proto-punk in the form of Violent Femmes, here comes some really good proto-punk! This is how it should be done ffs. Never heard of this band before but thoroughly impressed. Few weaker tracks but some absolute bangers on here. Will be on rotation for sure.
The Rolling Stones
3/5
Like most Rolling Stones albums, a bit bloated, rambling in parts but with some good tunes. Less honky tonk than some other albums which is a good thing. One of the more enjoyable ones I've listened to but after two listens I still couldn't tell you a single song I remember.
The Smiths
4/5
The worst of the Smiths albums but still an absolute banger. Ridiculous band. The fact that neither of them achieved nothing great afterwards showed how much it was lightning caught in a bottle. Well done.
Gil Scott-Heron
4/5
Gutted this isn't on Spotify... Really enjoyed that and would love to listen more but YouTube is a massive pain.
By far the best non-spotify album that's popped up, great lyrics and great tunes.
George Michael
2/5
That wasn't as terrible as I was expecting, but I was expecting something horrendous tbf. Faith has been overdone so ignoring that. First half I didn't hate, I can see why he's popular with people with that particular taste in albums. By the latter half of the album I was lastine a minute or two then skipping. The actual music was boring tbh, beats were way too slow and soft. Nice voice, but not really my genre.
Beck
3/5
Sea Change is arguably one of my biggest pleasant surprises on here, but the brief bit of Beck I checked out at the time was disappointing, and this album continues that. He was great at singing about heartbreak, this album just seems a bit all over the place and a bit random. Some genres he's alright at, some others I'm questioning the need for. Average.
Crowded House
2/5
Insanely boring. Like someone took the worst parts of REM and made a compilation of it. Should be nowhere near this list.
The Youngbloods
2/5
Pretty forgettable 60s pop. Few random genres thrown about but on the whole pretty underwhelming
Buena Vista Social Club
3/5
Pleasant if I was in my 60s and was throwing a dinner party, but that's a while till that becomes me. Faster tracks were much more enjoyable, slower ones not so much. Nice to hear, can see why it's on this list, but generally not for me.
Elastica
4/5
Enjoyed that actually, never heard anything but the Trigger Happy theme tune. Amazed at how well it did, beating Oasis to the fastest selling album... It's good but not that good. Decent blend of punk, britpop, rock etc. torn between 3 and 4*
Black Flag
4/5
Wow. I've never listened to these before. I don't like hardcore as a genre but I get it now. This is it, everything that has come since is poser shite. Not normally my thing but will definitely have this on my life to get fired up sometimes.
TV Party seems to have been the entire basis of NOFXs discography, and I've got no issues with that. Hilarious song that led to a hilarious band. Extra * just for that one song.
Paul Weller
3/5
First song was really good. Looking forward to the rest after that, but it just got bogged down by bland but inoffensive tunes. Only a couple stood out, but the rest pretty forgettable.
Joni Mitchell
2/5
I just find her voice a bit annoying tbh. Just because you have a massive vocal range doesn't mean you should use the entire spectrum in almost every song. Not for me.
Queen
2/5
Like seemingly all of queen's albums, shite when they go operatic/soft, good when they actually go heavy. I'm in love with my car the only new addition to songs by them I actually like, which are seemingly few and far between. Reminds me a bit of the Beatles when they'd go off-piste, with the main difference being it was a novelty with the Beatles so acceptable, but for Queen it's seemingly 3 in every 4 songs. Really drags.
2.5*
CHVRCHES
3/5
Torn as to whether this deserves 2* or 5*. On the one hand I like the 80s throwback. On the other hand I think it sounds better than a lot of music back then purely because of improvements in technology, and is completely unoriginal.
On the one hand I find the voice captivating, on the other it grates after about 5 songs and the lyrics seem pretty shallow.
Not sure where to place this. I think a few songs are good in isolation. I enjoyed Under the Tide being a break from her voice. I'll tentatively give this a three but will put it on my list of things to listen to again.
Marvin Gaye
3/5
A slightly laborious listen. Way too long, with most songs sounding the same. Prefer it when he sings about political issues rather than emotional.
2.5*
Traffic
3/5
Bit of a random inclusion. Actually sounds pretty good for 1970, but not so stand out to warrant an inclusion on the top 1001 imo. Still, it's a lot better than some of the shite on this list.
The Stooges
4/5
Slightly biased as I was obsessed with this album when I was 18.
Nice to listen back half a lifetime later and reflect on it. It is slightly simplistic, but sometimes that really helps it. Real cool time - lyrics beyond simple, but unreal guitar sound/tone that makes it sound so raw.
Wanna be your dog one of the best 'simple' songs out there - unreal tune.
Mad to think this came out when the Beatles were still about. I can understand those who can't get into it, but I can equally understand why it blew me away as a teenager.
Pearl Jam
5/5
Wow. I'd partially forgotten this album existed, foolish me. What a fucking debut this is. They captured lightning in a bottle with this, tried getting into other Pearl Jam albums over the years but just never done it for me. Ten is phenomenal however. How can anyone not instantly dig Even Flow on first listen. And the other tracks that then open up on subsequent listens. Best opening 6 tracks of any band ever? Quite possibly.
Easy 5*
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
1/5
Despite the list owner loving Nick Cave, I sadly do not. Really really grating voice. Spoils every track tbh. Please no more, this is #3 and I'm only a third of the way through the list. Make it stop.
Koffi Olomide
2/5
Lasted 4 songs. Surely this isn't the best Congo has to offer. The bad MS paint job album cover, the string of controversies that litter his wiki page, the ok-ish music...
Not for me.
The Avalanches
4/5
I've always rated the Avalanches as a slightly better version of Daft Punk. A fair few songs that miss but the album works really well together as a whole. Nice to have on in the background when having mates over etc. Great live as well
Radiohead
5/5
I get some things with music that goes against my beliefs. I get people thinking the Beatles are overrated. I get people not liking metal. But I do not get people who hate Radiohead, in particular this album. Either they're lying, trying to go against the grain, or there is something wrong with the audio part of their brain.
I can't even listen to this anymore due to overplaying it as a teenager, but even within 10s of airbag I know it's still going to sit up there at the top of the best album of all time. What makes it even better is knowing the transition from Pablo Honey, via the Bends, to this. You can literally hear a band evolve from bland, generic rock to ethereal stardom. That's so unique. Id love to have more examples but struggling to even think of anyone else who's had such a trajectory.
Giant Sand
3/5
Got just over half way. Not my cup of tea, first couple songs I could appreciate it for what it is but after half an hour then sheer boredom kicked in. I've heard a lot of similar bands that equally aren't my thing but probably deserve the list more than this one to be honest. 2.5*
Electric Light Orchestra
3/5
Happy to be made to listen to it, after so many years of being aware of it's presence and not bothering. Positives:
Some songs are pretty good.
You can hear the Beatles strongly throughout which is no bad thing.
Negatives:
Way too long
Vocoder ruins some songs, even arguably the best on the album. Very outdated instrument.
Quite samey, though this probably ties into the length.
Glad I was made to listen to it, but won't be running back. Ironically for a band that wanted to extend the Beatles and bring them into the future, they ended up sounding very dated and not standing the test of time, unlike the Beatles.
Beatles
4/5
Took many years to get into this, but glad I finally did. The ingenuity and innovation is extremely impressive, but the one thing holding it back is it's insistence on including songs that are too far out there and too far removed from musical reality it detracts from the rest of the album. Some songs aren't great but allow the album to push it's boundaries (Bungalow Bill, Honey Pie, etc.), but others take that too far and ruin it a bit. I think if they excluded Wild Honey Pie, Piggies, Revolution 9 etc. The latter inclusion are the only thing holding this record back from being 5*.
Lou Reed
2/5
Just can't do Lou Reed. When I see his name appear as next up on here part of me lets out a little groan. Same as Nick Cave, Eric Clapton, Bruce Springsteen. Can I just skip them all now please. Give them all 2* so they don't feel too put out.
Coldplay
4/5
That was actually a lot better than I remember it to be fair. I always thought I liked Parachutes more but now I'm not so sure. This was the start of the end for them though. Songs like "In my place" and "Clocks" typify what went wrong with Coldplay imo - stadium rock songs that on first listen sound so deep but after another couple of listens you realise there's just zero substance to them.
Warning Sign the stand out song.
Bonnie "Prince" Billy
4/5
Shame about this not being on Spotify, I was quite enjoying it but the ad breaks after every song completely ruined it. Very sombre, can see this hitting hard when in the right mood. Wish I could listen another couple of times to judge properly. 3.5*
The Thrills
3/5
Perfectly middle of the road. Not my genre, but not offensive. Not captivating, but not boring. Not great, but not bad.
Belle & Sebastian
3/5
First listen was pretty dull. However, something about it made me interested in going back, and reading someone say "picture it as Nick Drake singing" made it click for me. Second listen more enjoyable. Some decent songs, some mediocre. Overall a pleasant experience.
3.5*
Songhoy Blues
4/5
Unique mix but very enjoyable. First African rock/blues I've come across and it worked very well, impressed
The Sugarcubes
4/5
Couple songs in and I was quite enjoying it, very intriguing. Then I recognised it was Bjorks voice and it clicked why the band's name sounded familiar. Not as good as her solo stuff but still good, especially the first half. Petered out towards the end, and the songs with the male vocals were noticeably worse. Interesting to hear more of her pre-solo days.
3.5*
Alice Cooper
4/5
Best cooper album I've had on here so far. Didn't overrun, didn't get boring, was varied enough without going too far off piste in different directions. Can see why he was massive now. And 1973... that's less than a decade after the Beatles were still churning out love songs. Fair play.
Metallica
4/5
The start of the steep downturn for Metallica imo. They ran into the trap of taking their current formula and extending each song out. When it works it works well, but some of the poor songs drag on and on and on - eye of the beholder totally ruins the great groove the album got into after the first two, and even those especially ajfa could have been a few minutes shorter.
Some great riffs nonetheless, but the bloatedness and the mixing (whyyy would you remove the base) leave this album very far from 5* territory.
Wire
3/5
Fairly decent punk, loads of short songs which have their good and bad points - the good ones sadly end to early whereas the bad ones thankfully do. Can see this inspiring lots of bands so can understand it's inclusion.
The Cult
3/5
Can't really do hair metal. I like sanctuary by this band but that's about. Shame this wasn't even that album. The fact this was coming out the same time as Metallica were releasing stuff makes me wonder who on earth was going to see the cult. Slightly different genre, yet 10x worse.
2.5*, first track the only one worth saving down.
1/5
If I was on a desert island with only this album for company I'd choose to live the rest of my life in silence.
Slint
5/5
The most refreshing new thing I've heard on this list in ages. It simultaneously sounds like so many other bands I've enjoyed and yet so unique. Love the musical style, the lyrics and their delivery, perfect use of hard/soft, fast/slow.
Wow. How wasn't this album more massive. Kudos list creator for treating me to this. Easily top 5 new finds.
2/5
Not my thing, but not absolutely terrible. First song sounds like a 60s version of Its not Fair by Lily Allen. Happy it's over, nothing saved. Guessing the album help womens empowerment, good if so.
1.5*
The Jam
4/5
Second Jam album on here and second one I've quite enjoyed. Some strong tracks but even the less strong ones I think I could grow to like. Reckon a lot of bands would have based their sound on these.
3.5*
Oasis
5/5
A classic. No escaping from the fact that this was an absolute stellar album that changed the course of music (in Britain at least), despite the fact that the gallghers were bellends, britpop was short-lived, and this would have nowhere near the same impact if it hit today. One of the best debuts of all time, oasis forever chasing it's magic which they arguably only hit with the follow up, despite signs of wavering.
Sonic Youth
5/5
What luck. Two of my favourite albums two days in a row. End of a really good week in fact. Really think Sonic Youth caught lightning in a bottle with this one, nothing they did before or after came anywhere close, and lord I've tried finding. First 4 songs are an absolutely unbelievable opening sequence, guitar tone sounds like nothing I've heard elsewhere, the tuning is absolutely mental as I found out later. Dips a bit in the middle but the ending is again stellar. Wish I'd found it when I was 15 and 25, would have changed the course of my music journey I reckon.
3/5
I swear every Blur album is the same. Too many songs, too long, some good tracks, most mediocre, by the end you're glad it's over and but you enjoyed it in parts.
Slightly better than Parklife at least. 3
5*
John Lennon
3/5
Bit hit & miss. He's obviously a bit of a bellends but he has some talent. Do think he leaned into the rock/blues thing a bit too much, album sounded disjointed with how quickly he veered off from imagine before going back into the softer stuff. The unsubtle dig at Paul was actually one of the better tracks funnily enough. Alright album but zero chance it was making this list if it wasn't John Lennon.
David Bowie
4/5
Probably my fave Bowie album, although you have to be in the right frame of mind to enjoy the second half. First half is good enough to enjoy whatever your mood. I oscillate between 3 and 5 for this so I'll go down the middle.
Eminem
2/5
I've come to the conclusion after hearing plenty more rap over the years that Em is completely overrated. Bubblegum hardcore rap. MM LP is the only decent thing he ever did, this was actually pretty poor. As a kid I loved the singles but god listening back now it has not aged well.
Brian Eno
3/5
I like working to ambient. I dont love it. Glad to see it represented on this list but I think there are better ones out there. SAWII, Pop, etc.
Can see this getting slated on here but it's nice, peaceful etc. 2 to 4 depending on my mood.
Mudhoney
3/5
First time hearing this, very interesting, if mainly for the fact that Nirvana's Bleach now seems like a complete rip-off of this (albeit quite a bit better), even including the album cover.
Interesting to hear the formations of grunge, plenty of Stooges in here alongside a lot of other 70s/80s alt rock. Could see me getting into this if I were a bit younger.
Pink Floyd
3/5
Torn on this. To have made this is in 1967 is unreal. Released only a month or so after Sgt Peppers.
On the other hand it's really not very good in places. Prog rock really finding it's feet and stumbling many times along the way. Flaming, for example, sounds like someone taking the piss out of early prog. That entire track 3-5 section is very poor. But then there are some good moments, like the opening track and the majority of Interstellar Overdrive.
Difficult to score. 1* if it was released today, 4* as it kicked off a genre, extra points for it being Pink Floyd. 2.5*, but rounding up.
Rod Stewart
2/5
Howww has Rod appeared again in this list. I just don't get it, possibly one of the most grating voices in music. He sounds like he needs to suck on a strepsil and book a doctor's appointment if it doesn't clear up in 3 weeks (nevermind 70 years).
Every song ruined yet again. Giving it 2 stars as some of the music is actually pretty good.
The Undertones
3/5
First track looks to be a homage to Talking Heads, which is a good sign. Starts off alright, definitely takes a turn for the worse in the middle when it started to get boring. Vocals don't suit an entire album. Picked up at the end but maybe a bit too late to save it from being a mediocre addition to the list.
Steve Earle
2/5
No no no no. Got as far as Hillbilly Highway. That voice sounds like someone trying to dona parody of country to show how annoying it can be. How is that an actual voice. Just stop it.
2* as without the stupid accent it would actually be not terrible music wise.
Starting to understand how Americans feel when they hear drill or Lily Allen or something.
Billy Bragg
2/5
Sorry, really not my thing. Reminds me of a less fun Beans on Toast. I can imagine being in a packed but very still & quiet crowd at Glasto as my friends have dragged me to see him and I'm bored stiffless.
Can see why others might be into but just not for me.
Ali Farka Touré
4/5
Nice. Never would have heard this without this list. I find foreign language music very hit and miss, with a heavy skew towards miss. This was some great music where the vocals acted as another instrument almost, coming in and out of the foreground, which made it extremely enjoyable. Would listen to again.
King Crimson
4/5
So it turns out I really like King Crimson. Always thought they were a one album wonder band. Some good solid prog rock there, can hear a lot of inspiration this album had in later bands. Not one to pick out tracks to listen to isolation, but that isn't a bad thing.
Emmylou Harris
2/5
Lasted half way. It's just not needed on the 1,001 albums you need to hear, let's be honest. Inoffensive country (a rarity) but it doesn't particularly lead anywhere interesting. So many better things that should have made this list.
Neil Young
3/5
Started off a bit slow but the middle was alright. Still not heard anything by Neil Young that even gets close to Heart of Gold record. Don't think this was worth of an inclusion unless I've missed something important
Primal Scream
2/5
Probably among the biggest disappointments I've had on here. This has been on my radar for years but don't think I've ever given it the time it deserves. Turns out that isn't a lot of time at all. Aged pretty poorly, felt like another Happy Mondays-esque taking as much ecstacy as possible to see if something sticks. Like if Stone Roses went off the rails. Might have been something in this if it was half the length, but by the last 2-4 minutes of each track I was midnumbingly bored. Huge let down.
Goldie
4/5
Gave this a couple of listens over a couple of weeks. Good to see this music presented on here. I think this album hasn't aged amazingly (album cover especially so!), but you can really see something here. At the time I'd have loved it I reckon. Elements of other stuff I like in here - early Squarepusher etc. Arguably drags on too long but if you go into knowing itll be a bit of a slog it negates the taxing element.
3.5*
Fats Domino
3/5
You can't really vote this down right. Its obviously not great on today's standards, but it's akin to going to see some ancient cave art and saying "this isn't very good is it". Appreciating how this genre laid the foundations for one of the biggest and most important evolutionary paths in music history means it's 3* minimum. I probably wouldn't revisit much of this so I guess it'll stay at that.
Iron Maiden
4/5
Class. I wish I was introduced to Maiden much younger instead of early 20s. Think I would have been obsessed. Hard to choose between this and Power slave as their best. This might nick it due to closing on Hallowed Be Thy Name. Absolute banger.
Sepultura
3/5
I'll start of by saying I am happy heavy/death/nu-metal has finally been represented in this list for me after 500 albums, but I'll then bring it back down to earth by saying I'm disappointed it's this album. There are just so many better similar bands out there - Mastodon, Gojira, Opeth, Meshuggah, etc. Hell even KoRn has better albums, which go even further down the naffer nu-metal route.
On the whole there's not much worth saving down from this album, despite it being fairly decent. No killer tracks (arguably Roots would count as one but I overplayed it in my teens). What could have been.
Prince
2/5
That was tough listening, again because I really thought that when I at some point I'd give Prince the time of day I'd absolutely love him, after only knowing Purple Rain (song, not the album) and loving it. For the second time I'm left sorely disappointed. 80s pop dross to be honest. Almost made it to the end but I just couldn't anymore. I'd love for someone to explain the attraction of prince to me. Maybe you had to be there.
David Bowie
3/5
I don't think I fully get Bowie. I always think he's just alright, not really sure about the massive hype. Never bad but never great. Another middle of the road Bowie album to add to the long list.
Gang Of Four
4/5
Enjoyable bit of proto-punk. Managed to remain interesting throughout, non abrasive vocals whilst retaining that punkish sneer, simple but effective guitar parts. 3.5*
Johnny Cash
2/5
What an absolute chore that was to get through. Really not my thing.
Venom
3/5
Actually not as good as I thought it would be. I presumed it would be more black metal focused given its listed as the album which launched the genre, but it honestly just sounded like a heavyier version of Motohead, Diamond Head etc. Still alright, but not blown away. I'm guessing actual black metal isn't represented on this list which is a shame. I think everyone should hear Drudkh before they die.
2/5
I can normally do a bit of noise rock, but this seemed a bit too aimless, a bit too erratic, without anything to really hook you in. Gave it a second listen to see if I missed anything the first time, and it turns out no, not really.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
1/5
Wow I really dislike Elvis Costello. I simply don't understand where the enjoyment or attraction of his music is meant to come in.
Spiritualized
4/5
Big surprise. Never heard of this before, but I didn't mind the other Spiritualised album that came up on here. In parts it blended Britpop with a psychedelic twist, in other parts some really good noise rock, and other parts the Velvet Underground if they actually had talent.
Album certainly started stronger than it finished, but one that I'm looking forward to coming back to and exploring a lot more in future. One of those which is an easy 4*, but could find itself going one up or one down once fully digested.
Bonnie Raitt
3/5
Actually not bad. Maybe this list has broken me down with the amount of turgid country on it. Inoffensive, not my style but whatever, some catchy tunes but nothing to write home about. Alright.
Drive Like Jehu
4/5
I was a stones throw from giving this 5* (ignoring the three bonus tracks which detract slightly). Reading the blurb it sounds like this was the formation of emo but I'm not hearing that at all. This is some really good post-punk, with blends of alternative, grunge, noise rock thrown in. What lost 5* by a whisker was that quite annoying intro to super unison and the "new intro" song. Both those moments cut through the flow of the album, jarring you back into reality.
Great find though. The kind of album this list was made for. 4.5*
The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy
3/5
I've got a bit of time for politically conscious hip hop, given the amount of absolute shite exists out there within the wider hip hop umbrella. Not totally my thing but hope it struck a chord hard with some people. Last track was the only one worth saving down, rest seemed a bit slow without any real hooks anywhere.
2.5*
Fiona Apple
2/5
Was intrigued on my first lesson a few songs in but got bored as it went on. Two more listens over two further days and it actually gets a bit more annoying on every listen. Under the Table in particular gets pretty draining after the third listen. It's a really interesting style but sadly a bit grating for some reason. Not my fave.
Morrissey
2/5
Has Morrissey blackmailed the list owner or something? Fourth Morrissey album not and I'm not even half way through. That's twice as many Smiths albums as I've gotten so far. Wtf.
Anyway, another mediocre Morrissey album, proving Johnny Marr was the not-so-secret to his success. He just comes across more like a bell end the older he got.
2.5*, nothing really catchy on here
The Divine Comedy
3/5
Ok, second appearance now by this absolutely bog standard and slightly-less-than-mediocre band, so obviously the list owner seems to really like them for some strange reason. It's a classic 2.5* album, absolutely nothing endearing, but inoffensive at the same time. It's the musical equivalent of a dry Jacobs cracker, or a flavourless rice cake. It's technically sustinence, but no one's enjoying it
Method Man
1/5
Jesus that was bad. Hip hops quite low down for me already, and this album was very low down within that genre. How tf has that made the list. Not seen illmatic or the infamous yet, no chance Tical has made it in over them surely.
Dexys Midnight Runners
3/5
I'm amazed more than one DMR album has made this list. Where they really that big or important at the time? That groundbreaking? This one a bit less annoying than the last one that came up, but still absolutely nothing really worth saving down or coming back to. Pretty bland.
2.5*
The National
3/5
Couple songs in I was enjoying but then my god did it really start to drag. Bit depressing but not in an exhilarating way like Radiohead, just a bit exhausting by the end. Nice music for the background, but I couldn't imagine absolutely loving them and seeing them life. Jesus, of all the bands...
4* for the first bit until it wears you down to a 2*.
Fleetwood Mac
5/5
Fair enough. Never really given this album the time of the day, presuming it wouldn't be my thing, but I can say that, despite being correct it's not entirely my thing, the album is virtually flawless. Stevie's voice is astounding, the instrumentation absolutely sublime, the lyrics, the tempo, the lot of it. Oh Daddy the only non stellar point on the album, but I like to think times have changed since then and the lyrics were poignant at the time.
A rare but well received previously 'unknown' 5*
Iron Maiden
4/5
Great stuff. Easily by far the best of the NWOBHM bands. Strange hearing a pre-Bruce Maiden but it's instinctively their sounds. The slower bits sound phenomenal, the fidelity and clarity of the instruments in songs such as Phantom and Strange World are incredible for a debut album in 1980.
Fantastic debut album, the two weaker tracks in Running Free and Charlotte the Harlot are the only things stopping this from being a 5* album.
4.5*
Roni Size
4/5
Actually quite enjoyed that. Has to be listened to in a particular mood, but very good when done so. Bit of a slog and often repetitious, but like a lot of early electronica on here it's pretty impressive stuff despite not aging perfectly. Can't see this doing too well with general populace on here but let's see if I'm proved wrong.
3.5*
Bruce Springsteen
2/5
Another month, another Springsteen album. Surely they must be running out soon. Though not his worst, it's still pretty terrible. Recognised two of the songs and both already annoyed me. I'm on Fire saves it from yet another 1* Brucey award.
1.5*. Congrats Bruce
The Incredible String Band
2/5
A slightly awkward bit of 60s psychedelica. Reminded me a bit of Pink Floyd's first offering without the "this will end up being one of the greatest bands" aspect. Releived when it ended.
Yes
3/5
Not the biggest prog fan. This was ok in parts. Shorter instrumental pieces seemed kinda pointless. Don't think I'd be able to tell between these and Genesis.
The Residents
1/5
Art rock is often embarrassing, this is one of those times. Very rare it actually works (Disco Valente by Mr Bungle is the only time is actually springs to mind). Very happy to never listen to this again.
Jefferson Airplane
3/5
Yet more 60s psychedelica-infused rock. Not bad by those standards, but nothing to really come back to and explore. Might have been fundamental in changing the direction of popular music at the time but don't think it's aged particularly amazingly. Middle of the road.
Underworld
4/5
Took a while but I'm there. Only knew of Born Slippy, which admittedly isn't even on the original album so I instead focussed on the expanded version to include this.
I loved the opening moments of it as a kid but hated the hard dance beats it turned into so put this kind of music aside for the next 10 years.
Returning over 20 years later and I can appreciate this album for what it is. It's a shame the list owner never seems to have expanded from early electronica, there are tonnes of electronica artists that should be on this list, Jon Hopkins, Autechre, Floating Points, Squarepusher, Ross from Friends etc. Regardless it's still good to be forced to go back to where all this began. You can hear shades of some of those bands in this. A solid, if drawn out release. Trim the fat and it's an easy 5*
Rage Against The Machine
4/5
Probably over listened to so it's hard to go back with fresh ears. Marginally overrated imo, not one you can listen to day after day, but still a powerful, hard-hitting album. One of the few rap-rock combos that worked.
3.5*
Prefab Sprout
3/5
Very 80s, but actually pretty good 80s. Second half weaker than the first, but some very enjoyable moments on there. Surprised one of those tracks didn't make it on to Vice City.
3.5*
10cc
2/5
Well that's answered the question that no one was asking: "what if we took the bad parts of the White Album and wrote an album along those lines".
Poor man. Very very poor.
Fatboy Slim
3/5
I used to LOVE this album as a kid. Absolutely blew my mind when it came out. Very interesting to revisit it 27 years later. Because in hindsight it's actually...not as incredible as I was expecting. It's almost like entry level, pop electronica. The beats are quite surface level, far far too repetitive, each song should either be half the length or actually go somewhere else. The most interesting thing about this album is that the only song that actually excites me is Acid 8000, which is probably the only song I disliked as a kid. A totally different genre to the rest of the album. Bit of Acid house that comes out of nowhere and slaps hard.
If I was 9 years old again this would be an easy 5*. As it is, tbh it's done well to get a 3*
Ice Cube
1/5
Mindnumbing. An NWA rip-off without any of the charm or the humour. Or decent beats. Just utterly terrible. Everything I hate about gangsta rap in this album. Stoking racial division, mysoginisty, and releasing generally shite music whilst at it. Strong no from me. Made me give the bellend Elvis a 2* review FFS ice cube.
Elvis Presley
2/5
I just don't get it. One of the few artists who regularly appears and I just think why. The only thing saving him from 1* is I didn't skip every song and yesterday I had Ice Cube's AmeriKKKa's most wanted which puts things into perspective a bit.
Randy Newman
2/5
I just can't do his voice. Maybe it's the Toy Story link, but it feels like a kids album. His voice is not a good singing voice at all, and not in an interesting way like Morrissey or a lot of metal, just in a lazy soft way. I'm amazing this has made the list
And now reading the wiki on it, the critical acclaim bit is madness. Are you sure Spotify has the correct album?
Santana
4/5
Really enjoyed that. Sounded a lot like a Mexican Hendrix, with bits of other stuff thrown in. Think the interspersal of genres worked quite well, certainly more than the previous Santana album I got. Saved quite a few down.
Buzzcocks
4/5
Never gave the Buzzcocks a chance since I'd always written off early punk as Sex Pistols always felt so overrated.
This was thoroughly enjoyable though, so maybe I unnecessarily cut them all off. Real groundwork being laid here for lots of future bands from a range of genres, poppunk obviously, but even stuff like Qotsa and Gary Numan I can hear here.
The Fall
2/5
Not helped by the fact this came a day after the Buzzcocks, where I said maybe I was wrong about early punk being generally crap and overrated. This is definitely more Sex Pistols than Buzzcocks. Just little effort in places for little efforts sake. Other than the opener, nothing worth paying attention to.
James Taylor
3/5
Normally not a fan of country but the voice wasn't too grating. Some songs nice. Last song a shocker, almost lost it a star at the end.
JAY Z
1/5
I'm actually stunned. How on earth has this made it on the list? I've said this before about plenty of terrible rap on here, given the few (and I mean few) amazing rap albums out there that I'm no worried aren't going to turn up.
This is utter, utter shite. Lyrically it's on par with what I scribbled down into my school book at 12 after getting really into Eminem. Read the lyrics for Takeover for example. Downright embarrassing. Then on girls girls girls... Slightly racist, very mysoginistic, but again, downright embarrassing.
Glad I never gave this clown the time of day. Top 10 worst albums I've gotten on here, I'd pay good money to never hear this again.
PJ Harvey
3/5
I always feel I should like PJ Harvey more than I do. Some good grunge esque stuff on here, but something is just missing. It doesn't click the way I want it to. Can't put my finger on it.
Kelela
3/5
Ok admittedly not a big RnB fan. And I've had a couple of similar ones that sound good on first listen and quickly become boring. I reckon this will fall into this category so won't put it on rotation. But still, find it pleasant overall.
Air
2/5
I'm sorry, but soundtracks should *not* be on this list. They don't make complete sense in isolation. One of my favourite movie soundtracks didn't become that until after I saw the movie, and for good reason. They complement the movie, such that the movie complements the album. Knowing the album without the movie detracts massively from the music.
Poor choice from the list creator. 2* purely for the opening track being good. Rest of boring boring filler.
Bob Dylan
2/5
So disappointing. I absolutely LOVE acoustic Dylan. Freewheeling is one of my all time faves. But I could never previously put a finger on why I couldn't do his later stuff. After listening to this several times in detail, I think it's because his voice clashes quite hard with rock/blues music, in quote a detrimental way. What complements folk completely falls down with rock. To outshine the additional instruments/noise it sounds like he's straining in parts which gives it a rambling feel.
Bizarrely the one folkish-song, Desolation Row, happens to be one of the worst of the album, but due to it being a symptom of the excesses heard earlier. A rambling mess, with the final harmonica solo an epitome of the album - straining hard to be heard over the rest of the music, it just entirely grates on the ear.
Think I'll just continuing sticking to his first couple of albums
Otis Redding
2/5
Ok I think I'm missing something. How is that considered one of the greatest albums of all time? For starters it's almost entirely an album of covers, which should exclude it from the list nevermind the conversation of greatest of all time.
It was fairly mid, some covers worked well some didn't. I'd say 3* average music wise, moving down to 2 for lack of original songs.
The Smiths
4/5
Finally, Smiths rather than Morrisey. Some incredible songs on here, including a free of their very best. But also some weaker ones - always thought that run from 2-4 takes the steam out of the album before it clicks back into gear. It's a shame as some of the B-sides from around that time are better than half the album tracks. Swap those in correctly and it may be one of the greatest albums ever.
Ice T
2/5
Managed about 1/3 of the way through. Suffered from the classic shite that all 90s rap albums seemed to have to include:
- pointless small skits (to put "first impression" as track 2 is honestly mindboggling stuff)
- unnecessary introductions at the beginning of numerous tracks (Mind over matter etc.)
- general mysoginy, offensive for shock factor etc.
The only thing saving it from 1* is I had Ice cubes debut last week so at least there's some perspective.
1.5*
Public Image Ltd.
3/5
Interesting experimental/post-punk stuff. Definitely never would have found this without this list, presumed everything Johnny Rotten touched would have been overrated.
Some interesting moments on here, specially in the first half. Latter part runs flat a bit, The Suit & Chant particularly poor moments. Delete the naff and there's a great EP here.
N.W.A.
3/5
Torn on this. On the one hand the album changed the face of rap, so is obviously and important release, and some of the songs actually work really well, it's a combination of rappers that work well with good beats and dj's who can produce good beats.
On the other hand... it arguably brought in a wave of shite rap - most of the solo stuff that came after (except Dre) was terrible, and the legions of wannabe copycats were even worse. It's full of questionable lyrics with way too much mysoginy and machismo. And some of the songs are legit shite.
Robert Wyatt
3/5
Slightly torn on this. Rock Bottom by the same artist is one of my favourites surprises of this entire list now I'm half way through. So I can acknowledge the guys is pretty incredible. This is helping me hear things in this album that I wouldn't have paid attention to otherwise. That being said, unlike Rock Bottom there are songs which sound avant garde for the sake of sounding avant garde. And numerous of them. If I hadn't had Rock Bottom first this would be an easy 2*. And yet I want to give this much higher.
Beatles
2/5
Possibly the weakest of all the Beatles albums. I'm torn, as I think I'd give this 1-2* if it was anyone else, but perhaps unconscious bias is making me want to rate this higher. It's much better than the other shite being released in 1963, but I feel like there's not really any evolution from their first album, whereas everything that came after was building upon the previous and improving each time. Heart says 3*, head says 2*
Fun Lovin' Criminals
3/5
Not much lovin' but fun in parts. Genre eventually started to drag as the album went on. Can imagine it being people's thing but not really mine. Nothing too offensive though.
Hot Chip
4/5
Enjoyed that. Part of that brief spell of bands in the early 10s that sounded so fresh and vintage at the same time - alt J, XX etc. something that I don't think had much longevity but was pleasant when it was out. Might have a few of these in my rotation playlists.
Meat Puppets
3/5
Without the Nirvana connection it would be harder to think why this was an important album. But it clearly was. Some great tracks on here, Plateau is even better than the Unplugged version, but also a lot of tracks that should have been clipped. Not one I'll have on rotation but an interesting listening experience.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
2/5
I want to like this more. It has the energy of Stooges/White Stripes, but I just couldn't hack the vocals. Really really couldn't get into it.
Slipknot
3/5
Interesting one. This was the album that turned me off slipknot, after growing up absolutely loving their first three. It sounded too long, bloated, and like Stone Sour in places. So I never really gave it the time of day, which I now think might have been a mistake. There are some decent tracks on here, admittedly nowhere near Vol. 3 levels. Nice to come back to it almost 20 years later and get a different view.
Beth Orton
3/5
"Pleasant" is the most I can give this. Terribly inoffensive, to the point where I'm wondering why it's included here. Sounds like it could be played at quiet volume in hundreds of coffee shops and reception waiting areas that you might have been in and you never would have noticed.
2.5*
The Beta Band
4/5
So it turns out I really like The Beta Band. Maybe I should have explored further than the three EPs when I was younger. Such a nice chill vibe for a certain mood, with early psychedelic tendancies that don't outstay their welcome. Unique sound, unique voice.
Dinosaur Jr.
4/5
Really really exciting stuff, initially. First 5 tracks are absolute beasts. It then tails off quite a bit which is a shame. But that first 20-25 minutes gives it 4* alone. Can hear where bands took that formula and expanded up on it (Sonic Youth, Pixies, Nirvana). An important release that I've never heard referenced before, a rarity. More of this please.
Lupe Fiasco
2/5
Hip hop for 12 year olds. Never understood this Kanye/JayZ nonsense stuff. Zero substance or anything to have any emotion toward
ABBA
1/5
Get in the bin of history. I would pay good money to have an experience like that in the film Yesterday but instead of the Beatles it's Abba that no one in the world has any knowledge of. I'd just keep quiet and carry on as normal.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
1/5
Jesus Christ come on. Not even half way through and this is my third Nick Cave album. Can no one else hear what I'm hearing??
Van Morrison
3/5
Another one of "why are live albums on here". I don't think this really adds anything to anyone anywhere, unless you know and love the studio versions of these tracks already. It doesn't make me want to listen to him anymore than I did previously.
2.5*
The Stooges
4/5
Love this album. Dirt one of my Stooges faves. Down on the smStreet and 1970 absolutely killer.
Only thing I never got on board with is the descent into the jazz breakdown at the end. Get rid of the last 2 tracks, put in three more of a similar vein and you have yourself a 5*
Aimee Mann
2/5
Surely this can't be in the top 1,001 albums everyone must hear before they do. Maybe the top 100,001. She doesn't even sound sure of herself when singing. She sounds like me when I'm embarrassed about my singing voice so I mumble most lines out. Wouldn't even want to hear this in an elevator or a reception lobby which is where it probably gets the only airtime nowadays.
Really don't like this album. I remember when it came out and it got all the acclaim it got. Didn't see it then, don't see it now. Admittedly I'm not the biggest U2 fan, but even by their standards this is clearly naff right. Absolutely souless and meaningless.
Wu-Tang Clan
3/5
Was expecting bad things after hating Method Man's Tical when that came up last month, but honestly...fair play. Hard not to bop along to. Not as good or polished as Illmatic or Shook Ones which seem to have jumped on the success of this and propelled the genre onward. Not a rap fan but credit is due where it's due. How Jay Z/Kanye's brand of rap ended up ten times more popular than this I'll never know
Lightning Bolt
3/5
Very unique. Glad it's on this list, not my thing but interesting hearing something completely out the realm of my knowledge that isn't shite. Enjoyed but probably wouldn't go and explore again.
Destiny's Child
3/5
That wasn't terrible. It suffered from the weaker songs. I feel like no pop album should be an hour long, it just hasn't got enough to keep you engaged. For starters the last two songs should be completely erased from history. Didn't ask to go church, didn't ask for a nonsense credits track at the end. Mental stuff. Delete the other faff and it's a decent pop album which offers a snapshot of pop at that time, not particularly to highlight it, but more of a museum-esque "at this point in time" view.
2.5*
The Pogues
2/5
Not really in the mood for an hour of Irish music this morning, but when am I ever really. Dirty Old Town the only one worth revisiting
Muddy Waters
3/5
Normally I'm against love albums on here, but with this one I get it. The blues have so much more soul to it live, which is really captured here. Don't think I would have enjoyed a studio album version anywhere near as much.
Grizzly Bear
3/5
Just a bit...dull? Inoffensive, but unexciting. Not really sure what warrants it on this list, maybe it grows on you. 2.5*
Marianne Faithfull
2/5
Oof, that voice is horrendous. Would be an extremely mediocre album without it, but with, shocking stuff. 1.5*
Def Leppard
4/5
Rare I say this, but what a fun album. Never really given NWOBHM/hair metal the time of the day but that was a nice little time capsule back to another time. Over the top vocals, over the top guitar work and solo's, decent drumming from a guy missing an important element, altogether an enjoyable experience. One or two songs could have been cut from the album is my only gripe, Love Bites in particular ruined a great run in the otherwise stellar first half. Still, there's much worse out there.
Killing Joke
5/5
Yes. Superb find. Great energy, great riffs, great everything. Can't believe I've never heard of these guys before, outside of Metallica's The Wait cover which was crap in hindsight. Can see where people took a lot of inspiration from, even hearing LCD's Losing my Edge ripping off the final track was a welcome shock.
Definitely putting this album into my rotation. Tracks 2&4 the only weak spots, but I'm feeling generous today.
4.5*
Pere Ubu
2/5
Avant-garde, which I try and be open minded to. There is some good avant-garde out there, but there is a lot of bad. I find the genre difficult to penetrate unless you have an affinity for that particular artist before going into it. This is no different. Some interesting ideas, but mostly ruined by the shrieking vocals. Not the worst I've heard on here admittedly.
Elvis Presley
2/5
Really not aged that well tbh. Ive had some later Elvis albums on here and strongly disliked them. But this isn't much better. One sided Love Affair sounded like someone taking the piss out of Elvis. The slow songs were bad. Blue Suede Shoes was the pinnacle of the album so it was pretty much over 2 minutes in. Another 26 minutes of getting through it. Also, why did he feel the need to butcher Tutti Frutti? Mad choice. 1.5*
Brian Eno
3/5
I feel like I'm missing a bit of the context here. I'm familiar with Brian Eno, which maybe makes me give it the time of day more than if it were an unknown artist. Still, though some songs were pretty decent, others were not. The erratic genre changing resulted in a poor flow, particularly in the first half. Latter half was a bit better though.
2.5*
Leonard Cohen
2/5
Dull, dull, and depressing.
The Sonics
4/5
Wow. Stooges' Raw Power now sounds like a total rip off of this album. Some great mid 60s thrash almost. The energy is sublime and chaotic. Wish there were more self penned tracks as the covers get slightly tiresome, given I've heard most of them 3-4 times from this list now. Sad to see Walking the Dog appear. 3.5*, rounding it up as this came out 59 years ago. Absolutely ridiculous. Someone who wasn't alive when this was released could be claiming their pension now for god's sake.
Stan Getz
3/5
Pretty inoffensive, but not much else. Best played in the background of a hotel restaurant.
Beyoncé
4/5
Honestly very, very impressive. I thought this was going to be some naff pop shite but wow I was wrong. The production is top notch, some of the beats are incredible. Hanuted a particular stand out. The clear display of sexuality made it a bit uncomfortable at first listen, but once you expect it it actually adds to the album. Puts it on a complete different footing than most Beyonce/Destiny's Child albums.
Fair play. Well done Beyonce, I was wrong to paint you as a one dimensional pop artist.
Stephen Stills
4/5
Enjoyable. First time hearing this guy (though I'm now assuming he's of the Cosby stills and Nash fame). Some songs missed the mark but most were a good listen.
Sonic Youth
4/5
Tried and failed previously to get into SY albums other than Daydream Nation. Having a greater appreciation for them and other similar bands helped me this time I think. Couple of listens but I get it now. Avant-garde garage rock almost. Saved down.
Lenny Kravitz
4/5
Wow. I don't know why but I was expecting this would be terrible. I think I was getting him mixed up with Luther Vandross. Really good mix of funk with rock, leaning heavily on the latter. Lots of homage paid to various bands, heard elements of Faith No More, Beatles, even Nine Inch Nails in there. Not sure what that last track was about, skipping that it's a great album
Happy Mondays
3/5
I've never really got these to be honest. Another one of those 'had to be there' bands by the sounds of it. Love Shaun & Bez on Gogglebox though. 2.5*, rounding up as the album actually ends pretty strongly with the last 3 tracks.
Björk
3/5
I hated this when I first heard it a while back. It grew on me in parts, I think the first time you hear Desired Constellation it's hard not to be moved. After 20 minutes if purely vocals to have the softest, gentlest bit underneath some very emotional singing, wow. I wish the album had more moments like that.
There are some really weak points though. The grunting in Ancestors really brings the album down. I think this probably should be a 2* at best, but still it's inclusion on the list makes sense. An album were almost every instrument is someone's mouth. Needs to be heard to be believed. One extra star for that reason.
Girls Against Boys
4/5
Nice. Can hear Marilyn Manson and IDLES taking elements of this. Good energy, good riffs, energetic vocals. My only gripe was the songs tended to blend into eachother a bit, so not sure this would have the same repeatability other stellar albums have. But a solid record anyway. Easy 4*
The Shamen
3/5
Ooo this hasn't aged well has it. I'm sure groundbreaking at the time. But jesus. It's a shame hearing this that many other similar (ish) records at the time that have aged well haven't been included on this list seemingly. Autechre, AFX, maybe even Squarepusher if you extend a few years later. 2.5*
The Clash
3/5
Interesting hearing the full album, only really knowing the opener and closer. Does go on a bit too long, but interesting for a punk band to effectively wizz through most of rock n rolls sub genres at the time, with a slight American focus. Not one I'd probably repeat in it's entirety, but can see why it makes the list for sure.
3/5
Pretty mid. Felt like they were just trying to keep up with the Beatles to be honest. Not sounding super fresh, but not terrible.
2.5*
Guided By Voices
3/5
After a brief read going into this I had low hopes but this was actually not bad. Some good ideas here, but the thing with these albums is that the good ideas don't last long enough and they're interspersed with a few that don't make the grade. First half better than the latter half, but maybe I just got jaded.
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
3/5
Not my cup of tea, but clearly should be on this list. The musicianship is great, the vocals good or annoying depending on singer (mostly the latter imo). Definitely didn't need to be 2 hours, but given it's the only bluegrass album I'm probably gonna give the time of day I'll let is pass. 2* for me, 4* for it being an album you should probably hear. Nice average.
Dinosaur Jr.
4/5
Another solid entry from these. Like the first one, gives 4 or so tracks are really solid, after which it wobbles down a bit. Very similar to the previous release, whilst not necessarily a bad thing I guess one criticism is they could have branched out more. Still, an enjoyable listen.
Tom Waits
1/5
Jesus Christ Tom. What a shite voice. Who's actually putting this album on at home by choice. It's like a rambling drunk guy stumbled on to the mic at some seedy underground wanky cocktail bar and everyone is too polite to kick him out.
Almost gave it a 2* because the backing music wasn't that terrible but I even skipped the instrument track after about 3/4 of the way through so even that's severely lacking.
Sepultura
3/5
Difficult. I scored Roots a 3 which was an objectively worse album than this. I preferred the thrash/industrial theme much more than the tribal/nu-metal one Roots represented, but still... There was nothing really drawing me back in after the third full run through. It just feels a bit empty, which is such a shame given the multitude of vastly superior metal albums out there as I went into detail with on my Roots review. If that was a 2.5*, this was a 3.5*, but still not good enough for a 4.
A Tribe Called Quest
2/5
Comically simplistic. Extremely basic beats, extremely basic lines, extremely basic samples. It felt like a sixth form project on hip-hop or something.
Dire Straits
3/5
Always found Dire Straits a bit bland and this was no different. Easiest 3* I've ever given.
Sam Cooke
3/5
I bet this would have been a cracking night. Enjoyable listen, a snapshot back in time. But the audio quality isn't good enough to keep coming back to, or save anything down to a playlist which is a shame. Hard to justify this reaching 4* due to this.
The xx
3/5
Bleh. Don't get the hype. Classic 2010s wishy washy stuff that sounds deep at first but drags when you hear the 50th album that sounds identical to the last. Decent background music at least. Torn between 2 or 3*
John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers
3/5
A bit naff if I'm being honest. At first I thought it felt like a more bluesy early Led Zep, but it went too far down the blues rather than the rock route. Not sure what it's adding what other blues artists weren't already adding at the time. 2
5*
ZZ Top
4/5
Never ever bothered with these before. Ignoring the closer that's a pretty solid album. Not my type of rock but very appreciative of how good it was regardless.
Solange
4/5
Wtf is this and why is it so good. There's elements of funk here, 80s disco, I wouldn't even be surprised if you told me Autechre did the tunes behind some of the last couple of tracks - surely Junie is sampling then. I'm all for black empowerment music if the message is right, Tina Taught Me is a great inclusion, a great message.
Great vocals, great production , great segway/interludes, only thing stopping it from reaching 5* is a few weaker tracks, eg the lil Wayne track. Unnecessary cameo
David Bowie
4/5
Nice Bowie album. Liked Low which came after so really interesting to see where his head was at just prior that. Really really good tunes.
The Triffids
2/5
Holy hideous hell. Sucks the life out of my soul. Only 2* as it's not as though as it's a crime against humanity. It's just a bit shit.
Lorde
4/5
What is this list doing to me. First Beyonce then this. It actually... Pretty good. Yes it falls foul of the same afflictions which made me write off this entire genre that's popped up in the last 10 years, the ASMR-like soft low pitched drawl into the mic - see Billie Ellish, Charlie XCX, etc etc.
But here the beats are actually pretty good, and lift it up. A couple of songs are skippable as they make me shudder since it sounds like she's 2cm away from my ear whispering at me. But most of it is actually a nice listen.
What am I becoming..
Pink Floyd
4/5
I like DSOTM to the Mona Lisa hanging in the Louvre. Often held up as the magnum opus of the entire industry. And it's really good for sure, but I think the prestige that is placed on it, and entire wall devoted to it, lights perfectly positioned, the number of people jostling to get the perfect look at it, adds to the value and praise placed on it. When you strip all of that away and look at it in the cold light of day, it for sure diminishes in stature slightly.
The good points are it is a really solid album. Some cracking songs. Breathe and Time being too absolute stand outs, and I absolutely love that they ended Time by going to a Breathe reprise. Never heard another artist brave enough to end a banger by stitching another verse from the previous banger into it. And I wouldn't mind keeping it like that.
Now, the narrative points. There's not many actual 'real' songs on the album. A fair chunk of it is made up of segways. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it doesn't give the album as much to come back to as other all time classics. The fact the best song, Time, is started by 1 minute of an honestly annoying intro, that makes it impossible to put in to any communal playlists without jarring everyone listening. The fact that some tracks that sound great upon first listen, eg Money and GGITS, do get tired after 50 listens, nevermind the 100s 5* album should be able to last. All in all, very good album, but not an all time great.
Abdullah Ibrahim
3/5
Background music, but good background music. Take out the 4th track (and possibly the 7th) and it's actually a nice thing to have on.
Le Tigre
3/5
If I was 13 and female I would have absolutely loved this. With an older head I can see why the opener has orders of magnitude more listens on Spotify than anything else, it got me intrigued, excited, but by the third track that had all but died away. Some ok ones later on, but this album surely has no staying power.
Pavement
3/5
Another band the creator seems to quite like. Not sure why two of these have appeared now, I think one was more than enough. Don't think it had much of an impact on music, the soft - hard - soft style had been in use for many years by many bands already by this point, and I don't think this added much to the genre. Not an unenjoyable listen, but one I don't think I'll be putting on again anytime soon.
Machito
3/5
A bit on the boring side, even 30mins was too long a run time. Not really my thing, but I'm still usually able to tell if this is a good or bad release within it's genre. But here I've no idea. 2.5*
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
2/5
I see Elvis Costello, I give 1.5*
The Stranglers
3/5
Another fairly standard punk/post-punk output. Might have been more into it but I feel like I've heard this 10 time before from this list. Not great but not bad.
Leonard Cohen
1/5
Offensive to music and humanity
Gary Numan
4/5
4.1
Should have started giving decimalosed scores ages ago. Ah well, only 500 albums left. Really solid outing, I was familiar with a few of the tracks already but this really must have been groundbreaking at the time. Sounds quite distinct from the kraftwerk-esque synth pop happening elsewhere. Such dark, inhumane tones throughout. Can see why Trent Reznor idolised this man.
Madonna
2/5
2.3
Ok, let's ignore the unnecessary butchered American Pie at the end. I'm going to assume that was a bonus track only for the tape cassette release in Djibouti or something and that no one actually ever heard it.
That wasn't as terrible as I expected, but overall still pretty poor. The only redeeming thing about it was the surprisingly ok two songs sequence in the middle with Don't Tell me and the Girl one.
Other than that it was pretty mundane pop. I remember when autotune was (thankfully) briefly all the rage but it was always going to sound crap in hindsight. Nobody's Perfect is laughably bad as a result. The rest of I'm just waiting to end.
Tim Buckley
2/5
1.8
I thought I was missing some kind of inside joke about the artist on first listen, as the songs were so bad. Was it meant to be humurours. But reading on Wikipedia...nope, this is a legit, serious album. Good god. Other than the chilled out enjoyable Hong Kong bar that was a tough listen. I'm drained just having to sit through it. He just scored lower than Madonna ffs.
Nina Simone
3/5
3.2
Captivating voice. First Nina album I've ever heard I think. Slow in parts, so slow it holds it back a bit. But some good moments on here. Not sure how much I'd revisit, but it was a pleasant listen.
Marilyn Manson
5/5
4.6
Firstly I'll get out of the way that Warner is a prick of the highest order. I have immense hatred for the guy. I was also OBSESSED with this album as a teenager.
It's hard to go into this without those biases but I'm trying regardless, if we were rating albums based on whether the person was a bellend or not then a good number of these would be in a lot of trouble. John Lennon, Hendrix, etc.
So the album itself, is really... really good actually if you're into industrial rock, shock rock, whatever you want to call it. Trent did a fantastic job on the production, it sounds as good and heavy as the downward spiral. The opener, dried up, tourniquet, mister superstar, angel, 1996, reflecting god, are all stand out songs in the entire genre nevermind his career.
Hate the guy, wished he vanished off the face of the earth after Holy Wood but god damn this album is brutally good.
Genesis
3/5
2.9
The issue with including double-length concept albums on this list is that unless you have an affinity with the band already it's exceedingly hard to give it the time and attention it would need to get into it. I've listened to this several times over the course of a couple of weeks, most likely therefore rushing through other albums in the process. I quite enjoyed Selling England by the Pound from this list which is why I'm giving it more attention than I normally would.
And yet it's still too much. The opening three tracks are a great starter. It then gets a bit too proggy but fair enough, I quite liked those parts on SEBTP. As you get to the hour mark though the fatigue really starts to set in. And you know there's still another 34 minutes to go. I had Pink Moon the other day, I could have listened to that and then gone on to another task in the same time that I'm now effectively waiting for this album to finally end. The resurgence of 'down on broadway' is a nice harper back to good times, but its not enough to save what is a tiring slow meandre to the finish line.
Cocteau Twins
4/5
3.6
Quite enjoyable actually. It's how I imagined shoe-gaze would sound with the distortion and fade turned down about 50%. Some weaker tracks but generally quite nice to have on and work to. Would come back to.
Ryan Adams
3/5
2.9
Strange one. A race (albeit a slow one) through Americana tropes. Some times it hits really well - the trio encapsulating Nobody Girl and Enemy Girl is an enjoyable run. Most of the time it misses though, the first third or so of the album the weakest which is a strange ordering. Didn't need the full 70 minutes for sure. Some songs saved down, but glad it's over.
The The
3/5
2.5
Not sure about this. Seems like fairly plain New Wave, complete with the classic male vocal style. Only the latter half of the final track sparked my interest, the rest was instantly forgettable.
Slayer
3/5
2.8
When I was younger I used to love metal. And I used to really love thrash metal. Obsessed with Metallica, I heard Angel of Death and Raining Blood, saw in Music Zone or wherever I shopped back then and thought "holy shit this will be the greatest thrash album ever". Cue handing over my hard earned money (3 hours washing dishes in a cafe this cost me) and ultimately, crushing disappointment.
These absolute stellar 5*thrash anthems bookend what is an ultimately forgettable 20 minutes. Tom's vocals are monotonous, the drumming monotonous, the riffs monotonous. I couldn't tell you the differences between most of the songs in this album. Metallica at least varied their vocals and riffs substantially within a given album.
I think this album marked the end of 80s thrash for me the disappointment was so severe. Just stuck with Metallica and Megadeth for a year or so and then moved on to progressive metal.
Steely Dan
4/5
3.6
I've generally liked what I've heard from Steely Dan on this list. This is no different, but I think suffers a bit more from being slightly dull compared to Aja + others. Some songs are instantly forgettable, whilst a few do stand out. Opener, Dirty work and Reelin particularly enjoyable. Some great songs to put on a 'best of' but not enough to make it a really great album. Sneaks into 4* territory by a whisker.
Nick Drake
5/5
4.5
I rated Bryter Layter a 4 I think which I felt was undercooking it, but here I almost leaned to the same. Similar album this one but more focussed on sole acoustic. Pink Moon one of the best openers, and the rest really solid songs. Great to have on in the background in almost every occasion. I feel a combined best of between this and Bryter Later would be creeping towards the 5.0 zone.
3/5
3.1
Yet more new wave on this list. This one's actually alright, nothing to write home about, but not an unpleasant listen. Don't think it's aged terribly well, I'd be surprised if any millennial or younger has stumbled on ABC organically. Couple saved down but all songs pretty similar to be honest. Nothing great, nothing terrible. Only recognised one track, from vice city.
The Rolling Stones
3/5
3.1
A classic Rolling Stones album. And by classic I don't mean great, I mean it's the same recipe as all the others - a very small number of absolutely unbelievable songs (here it's Sympathy for the Devil and Street Fighting Man) which makes these arguably the greatest Greatest Hits band in the world, a few stand out gems amongst a plethora of faux-americana, honky tonk-esque tracks that just makes for overall unpleasant and forgettable listening. There's a reason why the worst latter-half Beatles album by far was their americana-influenced Let It Be.
Honestly don't get it, after possibly 50 listens thanks to family and exes. The two aforementioned songs the only thing keeping it afloat above the 3's
M.I.A.
2/5
2.3
Ooo really not my thing. I get it's inclusion though, probably way off the mark in reality, but after a brief listen I get the impression MIA is to hip-hop is what Bjork was to alternative rock when she first went solo. The issue is I love alternative rock, and in general detest hip-hop. So whereas I loved discovering Bjork, I disliked hearing this.
Hombre & Amazon the only two tracks I had a positive feeling about, the rest I was wishing the end would approach rapidly.
Sarah Vaughan
3/5
2.6
Pleasant to have on in the background, but not much more than that. Audio quality is great for '57, I'll give it that for sure. You could almost be in the room with her. But would you massively want to be? Happy to have listened to it, but happy to be finished.
The Style Council
2/5
2.0
Imagine quitting the Jam and then coming out with this. Jesus christ Paul. All over the place, it's foray into different genres not helping itself given its a scattergun of shite. Even the only half decent track, you're the best thing, gets tiresome very quickly. After two listens of that I'll be happy to not hear it again.
Turbonegro
4/5
3.6
It's rare to get a 'fun' album on this list, which is how I'd best describe this. A blend of glam/hard/punk rock, if I was 15 again I'd have been obsessed.
Older and grumpier some of the songs don't land as well as they should, but on the whole it's an enjoyable album. The Stooges' sequel Humiliation Street a high point. Ending there might have helped the album, the last 3 tracks feel pointless. Might check out more from these guys now.
Sinead O'Connor
2/5
1.7
Oof, I can see why she's a one-hit wonder. And even then, the one hit is pretty crap. Majority of the songs are as dull as dishwater. Nothing happens. I'm guessing this was a 'had to be there' album, but thank god I wasn't there. It's a shame as some of the lyrics are very good. Black boys on mopeds is very poignant, but the song is just completely dull. Glad I got to listen to it though, now I know to avoid her forever more.
Hüsker Dü
2/5
2.3
In small parts (eg standing in the rain) they sounded like a fairly decent REM cover band, but for the most part (eg bed of nails) it sounded like someone trying to take the piss out of REM. Shocked to see they started around the same time and indepedently of them. Not one to usually reference memes, but this is probably the perfect "we have REM at home" example. Thank Christ that's over.
Doves
4/5
3.5
I like Doves but don't love them. I saw them a couple times back in the day, and they were pretty decent live. However they just don't grip me like I think they should.
This album feels slightly bloated. There goes the fear is a good example, good song but does it really need to be 7 minutes? Absolutely not. Enjoyable listen but not something I'd have on on rotation
The Cure
4/5
3.6
Whilst not as good as Disintegration (phenomenal) and Seventeen Seconds (great), this album is still pretty solid. The gloom is still prevalent throughout but seems to slightly stifle creativity compared to the aforementioned albums, with less ideas and more monotony across the tracks.
Still, another positive Cure album, whom I'm glad this list has introduced me to.
Einstürzende Neubauten
2/5
1.6
I made it almost 75% of the way through. Avant Garde shite. The reason it's crept into 2 star territory is it actually isn't that annoying if you turn it down slightly and let them bang their metal bins in the background. Somehow this list has thrown up a lot worse albums than this.
The Streets
1/5
1.5
I both see why this is on the list and at the same time think it's absolute dogshite. I remember when this guy came out and was absolutely massive, even as a 13yr old it felt completely dumbed down, juvenile almost. Room temperature IQ stuff. Overegged cockney accent, to the point it honestly sounds fake, simplistic lyrics that sounds like he wrote the continuous stream of thoughts that came into his head, like an 11-year old trying to get over the word limit on a school report.
The mind boggles how this guy sold millions, but conversely I think that's also why it needs to be on this list. A fascinating (but shite) inclusion. I normally round up but teenage me is telling me to vote this guy into oblivion.
Terence Trent D'Arby
3/5
2.7
Progressively got worse as it went on. What started as a pretty good, MJ-esque visit got quickly tiring. I think my enjoyment also took a sharp nosedive halfway through when I read that he said this was the most important album since Sgt Peppers, and that his disappearence into obscurity in his later career was a result of 'bias'. What a bellend.
The music is particularly bad, it's just not particularly good. The best song is not even his own, which shows the weakness of the song writing. And even then it's not a candle on the Jackson's version. Scrapes a 3*
The Byrds
3/5
2.6
Wiki seems to think they're more inspired by Dylan than Beatles but to me it just sounds like a complete Hard Days Night era rip-off. Doesn't help that half the songs are covers, something that always turns me off albums on this list. Overall inoffensive, to the point of being rather dull.
Little Simz
3/5
3.3
I'm torn on this. At first I almost laughed, I do find English rap pretty cringy on the whole (despite living in South London). On second listen I can see the merits. I can't say I like a lot of the lyrics, but then I've bopped along to plenty of gangsta rap in the past so it would be hypocritical to suddenly take a moral stand against it. The rhymes and flows are decent, some of the backing tracks actually really good. That radio one reminded me of an Aphex Twin offcut, in a good way.
I just find the accent difficult still. Hard to take serious. Not my cup of tea but can understand why it's held in high esteem, and definitely think it should in the top 1,001 to hear, so fair play.
The Mothers Of Invention
1/5
1.4
Fucking wank. So disappointed to read this was Frank Zappa after, always presumed the guy would have been decent despite not knowing any of his stuff. Turned it off at Help I'm a Rock. I had some German band banging bits of metal together the other day, give me that any day of the week.
Nirvana
5/5
4.9
I've longed rinsed this album dry, don't think I've listened to it solidly for almost two decades now, but still, wow. One listen and I'm transported back to the first time I heard this, on my CD Walkman whilst sorting out stuff in the loft. The first six tracks are all absolute 5* bangers. One of the best first half's of any album ever. Drain You is the only track I'm not massively keen on (aside from the outro, but to me that's not a real track - it sat on the end of a half hour of silence on the CD version, so never popped up unless you fell asleep with it on). But the rest - all 5* through and through. One of the best albums ever. End of.
Dr. Octagon
3/5
3.3
I quite like a bit of unserious rap when it's like this - decent beats, decent rhymes, pretty chilled out. The juvenile humour of the album starts to get a bit tiring after a couple listens though, which is a shame as the less "I'm a horny alien gynaecologist" parts of the album are actually pretty strong. Saved a few of them down, will likely not come back to the rest.
Elvis Costello
1/5
1.3
Elvis Costello AGAIN! How?! I think he's now my most common artist. More than the Beatles. More than Zeppelin. More than Pink Floyd. More than Radiohead. In the 1,001 albums everyone needs to hear. This is completely mental right. I can only assume the guy who made it is either his son, his best mate, is severely indebted to him, has had their family kidnapped by him, or is deaf and got his Elvis' mixed up.
Anyway, to the music itself. Shite.
Ministry
4/5
3.6
I actually enjoyed that. I don't mind industrial metal, think NIN perfected it in the early 90s with Broken & TDS. Haven't enjoyed a lot of anything else from the genre but this was pretty decent. My one grip with this album is it really tails off towards the end. Anyone of the last three songs could have been the closer, with a few other decent ones inserted between. To have what feels like three outtros in a row kills it a bit.
Todd Rundgren
4/5
3.8
Might be one of the bigger swings between first and second listens. First I wasn't in the mood, thought it was more nonsense 60s/70s psycadelica. Something told me to explore it a bit more, after a quick read of the wiki and another listen I'm on board now.
Makes me want to take something and put it on to see for sure. Sounds like the Beatles decide to take more acid and make a more refined White Album 2 - the soul edition.
In itself there's no one song worth listening to in isolation and yet I think as a collective it flows really well. Looking forward to exploring it more in the future
The Auteurs
3/5
Loved the first song. Liked the second. And after that it was a meandering stroll through tunes that were ok but had no real hook or pull. Fine to have on in the background but nothing too special. Like a moody britpop, lower-energy Pulp.
The Temptations
3/5
2.9
Slightly disappointing after enjoying the previous Temptations album on here. It was ok, but nothing more than that. Didn't think much of the Grapevine cover. First track probably the peak of the album which is always a shame.
Living Colour
3/5
3.2
I knew the opener from guitar hero 3. The next couple of songs were all ok, bit Pearl Jam-ish which given these were a couple years earlier is a big compliment. The second half of the album seems to go off piste, the funk bit doesn't work as well as in my opinion. Sounds dated and, well, a bit shit. Shame as I was tapping along to the first half but then by the end I was relieved.
Cat Stevens
3/5
3.4
Pleasant. Not my normal kind of thing, but decent to have on in the background. Few songs I recognised (did Fleetwood Mac totally rip him off towards the end?!)
Not sure how this can reach 'best ever album' status that some people appear to give it, something I'd love to know.
Jacques Brel
2/5
2.2
Just really really not my thing
- no idea what he's saying
- naff genre
- 60s fidelity recording
- overenthusiastic clapping
At least with other 60s recordings on here I've thought that even if the quality is bad, you can tell it would have been class to be there. If I found myself transported to this gig right now I'd make a swift exit to the bar.
TLC
2/5
1.5
Got as far as the Red Light Special track. Think I deserve some sort of medal for withstanding 20 minutes. Absolute shite. Boring music, sounds like when you played on a keyboard in school in the 90s and it had 1,028 pre-programmed background beats. They seemed to cycle through 15 of them. The lyrics absolutely woeful. Like it was made for teenage boys in an era devoid of online porn.
The only redeeming point is if you tune out of everything the vocals didn't sound terrible, just bad. Congrats.
Blood, Sweat & Tears
3/5
2.9
This album beat Abbey Road to the Grammy award for album of the year. Reading that beforehand was probably a mistake. Just a pretty average meander through some rock n blues. Nothing really worth keeping, nothing so bad it deserved skipping. I'll probably never remember even listening to it.
The Fall
4/5
3.6
Conflicting. Some parts amazing, some parts not so good. What I do find fascinating is hearing the inspiration for so many good bands - you can hear LCD Soundsystem and Sonic Youth almost directly in some of these songs. Clearly an important release. The part that lets it down is a fair few songs just don't land too well, lots of different ideas, some of which work, but some of which definitely don't. Overall positive though.
Rocket From The Crypt
3/5
3.3
Pretty ok 90s punk. Didn't hate any of the tracks but didn't love any of them. I'm not entirely sure it's inclusion on the list, maybe something I need to read up on. Can think of many similar genre albums not on here that definitely should be over this.
Coldcut
2/5
2.4
Aged poorly. Very tiring towards the end, after over 7 minutes of trying to get through 'Not Paid Enough' I was knackered, Beats & Pieces the final straw.
At first I thought it wasn't a bad time capsule into late 80s/early 90s sampling. But sadly it just dragged on and on, at which point it's outdated flaws become more and more obvious.
Weather Report
4/5
3.7
Quite enjoyed that, most likely because it seems like they inspired one of my favourite artists, Squarepusher. So many moments on there sounded identical to something off hard normal daddy. Nice but of jazz funk. Only weak spot was the Rumba song but it was over before it began.
k.d. lang
2/5
2.1
First couple of songs I thought ok, I can withstand this. Nice voice, not my music, the slide guitar particularly grating but I can get through it.
Half way in and I'm done. The singings got more grating, the slide guitar is beyond help, and I'm finding the rage boiling up inside.
Not as bad as most country but not that much better.
The Undertones
3/5
3.1
Second one by these. Again, some good stuff but definitely drags as it goes on, with the wobbly voice getting old by the end.
Teenage Kicks is a belter though.
Crosby, Stills & Nash
3/5
3.4
Pretty nice soft folk. Not normally my thing but a lot of decent tracks that are worth saving. A fair few more that I'm happy to pass me by though. Would need to be in a specific mood, hardly one to put on on rotation.
Nick Drake
4/5
4.0
Very good. Beautiful voice, some beautiful songs. Only thing holding it back is a slightly higher concentration of weaker tracks (eg way to blue, Saturday sun) compared to Bryter Layter/Pink Moon. However there are still plenty on here (Riverman, Man in a Shed) that should walk on to any acoustic playlist.
White Denim
4/5
3.6
That was pretty good. Not my usual stuff but fairly pleasant. There was something slightly Thom Yorke'ish about his voice that I liked. Music fairly decent. Saved down a few tracks.
Metallica
3/5
2.8
I've always disliked this album but it was good to revisit and put a finger on why.
I think ultimately it's because the orchestral pieces more often than not just don't work side by side with thrash metal. The songs weren't written with the inclusion of a symphonic orchestra in mind and it's plainly obvious. Master of Puppets right at the start is an early example. What have we gained from the additional of brass and string? If anything it greatly detracts from the band's output. The only songs it does seem to work well on are the lesser known ones, which they havent played 1000x and therefore aren't trying to shoehorn additional music into a well trodden path.
Still a relatively high score given the underlying music is class, but surely there's more Metallica albums that could be in here. I think I've only had 2 of the first 4 so far.
Deee-Lite
2/5
1.6
I just can't work out who this is marketed at. Is it for kids? Is it for people who are too scared of hip-hop? It's just completely, utterly shite. It's not overly offensive though, I just don't understand why anyone would choose to put this record on? I feel dumber after listening to it.
Kraftwerk
3/5
2.6
I really wanted to like this, given they
kickstarted a genre I do enjoy. First tracks ok, and the last one actually quite good, but the middle is just so... dull? I feel a few more ideas and a few less minutes could have helped massively here. Not something I'd put on again.
Joni Mitchell
2/5
2.3
Really can't do Joni's voice. 1 of every 5 songs is bearable but the rest, actually slightly jarring to be honest. Really not for me.
Pentangle
3/5
2.8
That wasn't bad... But it certainly wasn't good. Nice to have on in the back for a bit, wasn't helped by the guys vocals being way more weaker and unsure of himself than the lasses, and in general pretty bland folk that ran out of steam towards the end. Definitely wouldn't be recommending this to anyone, but I can't say I'm upset i know it exists.
Mariah Carey
3/5
2.8
She's got a beautiful voice but my god aren't these songs dull. Saved down the Shook Ones one, but the rest could have just blended into one. Probably nice played at very low volumes in a waiting room somewhere, but other than that I don't see why anyone would want to hear this before they died.
Brian Eno
4/5
4.0
Impressive. Very nice. Can see and hear the Bowie influence/collaboration here. Flicking between genres but not widely swinging such that it still remains pretty cohesive and very tight. Nice to hear an Eno album that is different to his ambient stuff.
The Mars Volta
3/5
3.3
Interesting concept. I wonder if after a few more listens it would resonate better, but whatever 'it' is, it hasn't fully stuck yet. Starts off strongly but gets a bit lost in the middle. Will revisit one day soon, but initial thoughts slightly positive, like a worse version of Tool (don't think I've seen them appear yet, surely they have to be on here)
The Zutons
3/5
3.0
What an absolute mid album. I have zero feelings either way to this. One of those bands/albums that I purposefully ignored and have zero regrets in doing so. Bland 00's garage/folk indie - see the Coral, the Subways, etc.
Jeff Buckley
4/5
4.3
Really really solid stuff. All I knew is Hallelujah so I'd completely written him off. Album totally puts it into a better context. Best praise I heard about it was Radiohead seeing him live after Pablo Honey and writing some of the Bends in response - completely on board with that. Some super great singer songwriting here. Only thing holding it back from 5-star territory is a few of the weaker tracks, the latter half tails off a bit with Lover and Corpus Christi particularly low points. Don't care much for Lilac wine nor the closure if I'm being honest, but the rest will be saved down and played a fair bit this year I feel. Great find.
David Ackles
1/5
1.3
Oooo been a while since my last 1*'er. Songs from a musical that no one has ever seen or will hopefully for their sake ever seen. Just listen to the lyrics for One Night Stand. What an absolute bellend.
Boards of Canada
5/5
4.6
Yes. BoC I got into quite a few years ago but still to this day stunned by it's effect and impact on me. One of those bands where I think it resonates with me more than it should and would normally. Something about it. You can put it on and totally space out for an hour, lost in a haze of false nostalgia. There are some weak tracks on this album for sure, but listened in totality they fade into the background. The first 10 minutes though might be one of my favourite 10 intro minutes of any album ever
Rush
4/5
3.6
I'm not a massive fan of 2112 itself. I think as far as 70s prog 20-minute tracks go, it's not a patch on the regular outputs from Pink Floyd for example. However, it's side B where this album really comes alive, the the zeppelin-esque heavy rock returning. Overall pretty good, but I can see why I've not heard anyone mention Rush in decades.
Barry Adamson
2/5
2.0
Just arty shite really. Don't really get it. Got as far as the Vermilion track and called it a day. Didn't ask for a story. Some of the instrumental pieces weren't terrible. But on the whole not an enjoyable experience.
The Saints
2/5
2.4
Honestly, most of this early punk just blends together. Not really my thing, when on paper it should be. Just think it all sounds a bit shite to be honest. Not helped by the terrible vocals.
Sheryl Crow
2/5
2.0
I really didn't like but I can't quite put my finger on as to why. It feels like music made for people who don't like actual music.
Def Leppard
4/5
3.6
One of the more surprising things for me from this list is I actually like Def Leopard. It's corny, it's cheesy, I wouldn't every play it out loud if anyone was in the vicinity, but there's something fun about a throbbing hair metal beat. Although not as polished as Hysteria, this is still pretty good, particularly the first 4 tracks. Tails off towards the end but is that the music actually worsening or half an hour of Def Leopard being all I can handle
Kraftwerk
4/5
3.6
I much preferred this to Trans European Express which I got last week, which is good, as I lamented there not liking it when I wanted to. Here I did like it. Its still dated for sure, but definitely the more immersive and cohesive album. And importantly, a seminal release. This is only a few years after the Beatles released Let It Be - impressive stuff.
The Who
4/5
3.5
Hot take - 1965 Who were as good (Beatles) or better (Stones) than similar releases that year. The others mentioned went on to achieve much greater things, which in my opinion can't be said for the Who, but still, what a great, raw, genre defining debut. Definitely scores a few upwards points just due to the age of this. Incredible stuff.
Isaac Hayes
3/5
3.4
First track held so much promise. Really enjoyed that. 2nd and 3rd let it down, and I almost switched off after the 10 minutes(!) of intro chat for track 4. Luckily the last 10 minutes pulled it back up again. Mixed bag really. Can't fault the good moments though, and just how early this release was.
Slipknot
4/5
3.6
Preface this by saying I was big into Slipknot as a young teenager. Always preferred Vol 3 to their debut but still liked it.
Listening back I think the thing that really derails it is Tattered and Torn. After a great early run the last thing it needed was to have the wind taken out of its sales. It never really gets back to the same level after imo.
Good album, but a great gateway drug into heavier metal for every young child. The latter part makes it much more important and worthy inclusion on this list (All Hope Is Gone was a baffling addition in comparison)
Jeru The Damaja
4/5
3.6
I was initially apprehensive. There's been a few of these mid 90s minimal beat hip hop albums now. Maybe I'm in a good mood, but this was landed better than the others. Kind of thing that wouldn't be bad having on in the background, lowish volume. Didn't drag on either, sub-40min seems like a super rarity in the era of hip hop albums containing 15 skits and coming in over 74 minutes to stop CD burning. Small win.
2.6
Certainly more tolerable than Rod's solo stuff, but that still doesn't mean it creeps into good territory. Not my cup of tea, bot offensive.
Dwight Yoakam
2/5
1.6
The harshest thing I can say about this is that I'd rather relisten to the Sheryl Crow album I just got 3 times over than replay this one again.
The kindest thing I can say this is it's somehow not in the worst 10 country albums this list has thrown up.
The Only Ones
3/5
2.9
Bit of a strange addition to the list. One hit wonder, and the one hit is barely a hit. Not sure what the list has gained from their appearance. They aren't bad, but they aren't good. Distinctly average.
Finley Quaye
3/5
2.8
Some parts good, some parts bad. The more rasta parts were the weak points, unfortunately that extended to the majority of tracks. But there were some highlights in there, I Need a Lover for example. Not my music, but glad I heard it.
Bert Jansch
4/5
3.9
Wow. Great stuff. Amazing for '65. Could of sworn I was listening to Nick Drake in parts. The second half of the album really kicks off, the run of tracks from Do you hear me Now till the end is impeccable, after a somewhat slow start.
Ravi Shankar
4/5
3.6
I quite enjoyed that actually. I thought the vocal descriptions were unnecessary, just play the stuff, we're not in music school. But other than that nice to have on whilst working. Also impressive the Beatles heard that and thought "I'll have some of that"
3/5
3.2
Think this my third PJ Harvey album, and the first one I've enjoyed to be honest. Still can't do a bit of the shouty ones (which is bizarre as someone who loves metal) but the more laid back ones are good. Last 3 tracks (excluding bonus) are a solid ending.
The Hives
3/5
3.2
Surprising entrant from what I view as a one hit wonder. Just a pretty mid-tier garage band, but then I view the entire genre as pretty mid tbh.
Pantera
2/5
2.3
Ah Pantera. The band I tried so hard to like when I was getting into heavy(er) metal. All my friends liked them, Fucking Hostile and Walk were played at literally every club night, and yet I just found them grating. Terrible sound production, a dickhead frontman who brought out the machismo side of the bellends at clubs/festivals that I hated. Just couldn't do it. Really sad to see them on this list, given all the amazing metal bands out there they could have gone for.
Joe Ely
2/5
1.5
Got as far as the first 5 seconds of "I'll be your fool". I should get a medal of honour for that.
Can we please have an option to filter country out of the list?
The Pharcyde
2/5
1.8
That classic 90s hip hop that you question if it still holds up today. The beats are in general bad, the lyrics are in general bad (just shagging and smoking from what I can decipher), there really doesn't need to be 10+ of the same album appearing on this list. Just pick the best one.
Gang Starr
2/5
2.1
Disappointing. I've heard of Gang Starr before, my brother's mate used to love them and so I was expecting better things given his music taste wasn't the worst. Literally just had a similar 90s hip-hop album yesterday. Basic beats, basic rhymes (imagine using "My music means everything to me, it's my life, so make like a camper, and go take a hike" unironically.
Must say though, after the album finished 2 or 3 Gang Starr songs from other albums came on that were all enjoyable than this entire album. Lost chance.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
3/5
3.1
A bit cringe, but it's actually ok. Not 100% sure why it's on this list but I guess I'll find out in the comments.
The Afghan Whigs
3/5
3.4
Good, but nowhere near the level of their early 90s alternative contemporaries - Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr, et al. The 3 song run from Be Sweet to When we.. was the albums high point, but after that it peters out a bit and ambles around for another 30-40 minutes or so. Disappointing 2nd half to what was building up as looking promising.
Missy Elliott
1/5
1.5
You know it's bad when the best part of your day so far is an album ending. Rounding down for the last two tracks. Last one particularly. What on earth is the point in that. That's why you have liner notes on the CD booklet you absolute numpty. Embarrassing.
Sufjan Stevens
4/5
4.4
I was so close to giving this a 5*. Many listens over several weeks to fully explore it. It's a beautiful album. Some really lovely tracks, great lyrics. The thing that lets it down is the length. This might be modern day short attention spans, but I feel it just didn't need to be that long. A few tracks had some unnecessary codas when a perfect natural conclusion would have been a minute prior. A few tracks towards the end could also have been binned, after being so captivating for 30-40 mins it's easy to zone out which is a shame. A great album for sure, but so close to immortality
Sebadoh
3/5
3.0
Pretty mediocre alternative/lofi rock. Quite Meat Puppet esque in some ways, but slight less endearing. A few rough gems in there, but often counterbalanced by a crap noise rock songs shortly after.
Jamiroquai
4/5
3.8
Very nice. Flash from the past - I loved travelling without moving as a kid but never explored further after they released Little L and I hated it. Nice throwback to go earlier on, definitely something good here, pretty solid debut. Some 70s funk/acid jazz with a 90s twist. Need to go back and absorb travelling without moving again now, must be at least 25 years.
Eric Clapton
3/5
2.7
Better than all other Clapton albums, but that's not saying much.
Felt bit like a Zeppelin rip off, which I know means it's a blues rip off, but still. Saved down a couple of tracks but don't think I'll be revisiting the rest.
The Electric Prunes
2/5
2.1
I can see why they never made it. As the first track was coming to end I wondered why they were singing about drinking too much. Was it cool? And then I realised the title was dreaming too much. Despite every 'dream' sounding like 'drink'. Was that by design. Naff song anyway. Thought I'd check out the band page to see *that* song was their one hit wonder. Jesus Christ.
Anyway, I think I deserve a medal for making it through the whole album, particularly the last song. I reckon 80% fall at that final hurdle.
Slade
3/5
2.8
I have the flu. Or the Rona. Something bad. The last thing I needed was to have Noddly Holder sqawking in my ear. On another day I might have been into it but this is poor timing.
The White Stripes
3/5
3.0
I don't really get the white stripes. They just seem pretty mediocre. Ok garage rock. One of those bands where a greatest hits album would be pretty decent, but each album seems to be 3 good songs + 7 or 8 filler.
Culture Club
2/5
2.1
The dark side of the 80s. Everyone remembers it through rose tinted glasses but every now and then you get reminded there was a lot of shite. This is one of those instances. Just really naff pop, there's nothing redeeming about this. The one hit wonder is arguably the most annoying song on there. Sums it up.
Manic Street Preachers
3/5
3.3
I quite enjoyed that, but not really a bad I could listen to on repeat. That 90s heavyish britpop, but like the verve, some songs are really good, but at the same time kind of get you down.
Napalm Death
4/5
3.5
I'll start this by saying my previous album was the fucking Culture Club. If people are complaining that Scum shouldn't be on this list then there's about 500 of other ones that are even less deserving.
On to the album itself. I view this as two albums, two bands really. The first side is very, very good. I'm not a big grindcore fan but I can appreciate the importance of this. You can tell you're listening to something special, that kickstarted a movement.
The second half is less good, the shrieks less convincing, the music less varied, it just falls a bit flatter. I'd say a 4 and a 3 respectively.
Rounding up to bring the average up overall, because not liking something doesn't mean it shouldn't be the worst rated album on this list.
The Doors
2/5
2.4
I don't get the Doors. And this list has taught me I never will. This one sounds like I've wandered into a random bar and some drunk guy is on stage trying to do the blues. Not for me Clive.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
3/5
3.2
Coming a day after L.A Woman by the Doors it had a good recent benchmark. This was much better. The 50s throwback tracks let it down a bit but the blues bits were good. First track was great. Enjoyed the 11 minute rendition of Grapevine.
Curtis Mayfield
4/5
3.6
Enjoyable. Nice to have on the background. First and last tracks were particular highlights. Very inoffensive music. Love the album cover.
The Chemical Brothers
3/5
2.8
I enjoy electronica. However I view the chemical brothers in the same way that I view acts such as Fatboy slim or Moby, a pop version of electronica that for some reason made it mainstream, probably because it was played slightly safe, with 5-7 minute songs that involve *a lot* of repetition.
It's fine, but it's not exactly captivating and could easily have been 2/3rds of the length with the same track count.
How artists like Squarepusher, Aphex Twin and Autechre didn't make it 'big' in pop culture in comparison to these guys I'll never understand.
Rufus Wainwright
2/5
2.0
That was dreadfully, dreadfully dull. I can only hear Thom Yorke in his voice, so it sounded like the shitted Radiohead album ever or a really bad solo output from Thom. Couldn't hear anything else. Went on the guys page to see his most listened to song, by far, is a pretty dull cover of Hallelujah. What am I missing here.
Jazmine Sullivan
2/5
1.9
What was that. Felt like an album made for horny teenage boys. Not normally that prudish but most of it seemed unnecessary. What were those numerous tales about? It's as though she was trying to show women also have experiences of sex and romance. We know? Who doesn't know? Horny teenage boys who objectify and one-dimensionalise women. Putting the lyrical content aside, the music itself was also pretty naff. Very basic beats. The only redeeming feature was her voice is actually relatively nice. That's about it.
Janet Jackson
2/5
2.2
Incredibly 80s and not in a great way. It hasn't aged well in my opinion, a lot of good music from decades gone by sounds timeless, this on the other hand would go down like a lead balloon if it came out today. Other than for reason of nostalgia for some people I can't really see why it's included on this list.
Astrud Gilberto
2/5
2.3
Just a bit of a waste of 27 minutes really. The voice isn't that fantastic, which judging by the standard of the backing track seems to be the focal point of the record. It's not terribly offensive so doesn't score too low but it's just a bit of an empty shell. My view of music or the world itself hasn't changed, I just feel slightly more bored than I did before.
The Psychedelic Furs
4/5
4.0
That was some really, really good early nu-wave/punk-infused stuff. I immediately recognised that voice from "Love my Way" which I loved as a kid playing vice city. Shame that wasn't on this album, but still, this is really, really solid stuff. Can't believe I've never really heard of them until now. More to explore.
Bob Dylan
2/5
2.1
I don't get it! I just don't! With those touted the 'best ever albums' I usually understand, if not ultimately agree with, why they've been selected. But this makes no sense to me.
What's particularly confusing is that I actually view The Freewheelin' as one of the best ever albums. Then after a few years he just spun off into pretty underwhelming rock/blues, with his voice almost a caricature of his younger self. And yet it's these albums that get all the acclaim. Make it make sense.
It's shite, it's bloated, it's rambling, he sounds like a pissed Bob Dylan cover act
The Vines
4/5
4.2
Severely regret never giving these the time of day when I was younger, presumed they were another The Hives/White Stripes/Strokes without even giving them a listen for some reason.
Like if Nirvana decided to infuse a bit of 60s psychadelica with a teaspoon of britpop in there. What surprised me most it really seems to work. Looking forward to exploring more over the coming months
2Pac
3/5
2.9
First time properly listening to Pac. Pretty disappointing to be honest, given how lauded he is. Beats were way simpler than I was expecting. Lyrics kind of got me down, shows just how much the system failed. Hearing how paranoid he is of getting shot and then he got shot. Don't really get why this guy is a role model, but I guess you could say that about anyone in gangster rap.
Anita Baker
3/5
3.2
That was alright actually. Kind of thing I can imagine my mum loving. Extremely inoffensive. Most tracks erred on the side of dull, but there were a few I quite enjoyed, including the opener. Not my kind of music but glad I heard it.
Fairport Convention
2/5
2.3
This is exactly what I imagine Cartman has in mind when he says he fucking hates hippies.
The Prodigy
4/5
3.7
I quite enjoyed that. Only ever really absorbed Fat of the Land by these guys. That was admittedly better than I expected, but it does suffer from a lot of bloat. For every good, drawn out song (Break & Enter, Full Throttle), there's an equal number of slightly tedious drawn out songs (Their Law, One Love).
Trim the fat and this is a fantastic rave album. Still, credit due to this being released so early on.
The Beach Boys
3/5
2.9
Interesting hearing the Beach Boys before they found drugs, a bit like listening to early Beatles. But like that, it doesn't sound too great 60 years later. Just a collection of love songs that don't really connect well over half a century later.
Nothing worth saving, but can see why it's on this list.
Bee Gees
2/5
2.4
Well that was pretty shit. Everything between it's just the way and the final track were entirely skippable, and downright annoying sometimes. Those two aforementioned tracks the only things saving this album. Why is this on the list??
Death In Vegas
3/5
3.2
Interesting, but definitely fails to entice in parts. At first it felt a bit QOTSA-ish, but too many songs detract from what could make it a really good album.
Simple Minds
4/5
3.5
I had this at the start of the week when it didn't rate so highly. The last two days however have had A-ha and Pet Shop Boys which has given this a new lease of life. Hearing how bad new-wave could get definitely puts this in perspective. Tails off towards the end but some solid tracks towards the start.
Barry Adamson
3/5
3.2
Funnily enough I've recently grown a very fond affinity of soundtracks to films which don't exist after being blown away by Uncles Acids latest release.
Such an interesting concept. Whilst no song here is good enough in isolation to put on any type of playlist, as a collective it works pretty well, enjoyed having this on in the background whilst working. A lot better than some of the absolute cross on this list anyway.
Minor Threat
4/5
3.9
Nice. Always liked a bit of 80s American punk. NOFX was my gateway drug as a teenager. A worthy inclusion on this list, can't remember heading anything from this exact genre yet.
Nas
4/5
3.9
For a very long time I thought this & Mobb Deep's the Infamous were the pinnacles of rap. Until I heard to pimp a butterfly anyway.
Looking back 20 years later is interesting. I think one of the main draws is there's not a lot of padding shite. 10 tracks and 39 minutes in an era where every rap album seemed to be 76 minutes, 23 tracks of which 10 were skits. This album, other than having an intro, just hits you with decent track after decent track. Admittedly some don't hit as hard as they used to, the lyrics often alluding to getting stoned which some of the ambling within a few tracks gives evidence to. Still, a lot better than the rest of rap at the time, although it's seen been surpassed.
New Order
3/5
3.0
I found this slightly dull, but inoffensive. Most tracks very similar. Much better Joy Division/New Order out there so not sure how this made the list.
a-ha
2/5
2.3
Extremely disappointing. For some reason I had a gut feeling this record would surprise me for good reasons. I was thinking some great nu-wave was about to enter my life. But god it was dull. Other than the one hit wonder there was little engaging about it. Aged poorly to boot. At least I know never to bother again.
Pet Shop Boys
2/5
2.4
Confused by this. The first 6 tracks were absolutely god awful, I had a-ha yesterday and this somehow made them look good. However, tracks 8 & 10 were stellar, so what on earths going on there? Felt like an 80s Placebo. The rest, absolute shite.
The Specials
2/5
1.6
I never want to hear that shite again. One Specials album was more than enough. Can't stand Ska. Get in the bin.
Shivkumar Sharma
3/5
2.5
Controversial opinion time: I actually though the Spotify version (i.e. the incorrect album) was better. After listening to it, thinking it was pretty chill, almost meditative, enjoying it, I went to see what people were saying and realised I'd listened to the wrong one. Seeing the comments furious about this, claiming the original was much better, my hopes were high. But nope. Fidelity didn't help, but didn't have as much soul as the follow up.
2/5
1.9
Oh god. I never thought I'd hear a New Wave/Avant Garde cross over, nevermind it making the top 1001 albums you need to hear, but here we are.
Went as well as you'd expect.
Gene Clark
3/5
3.1
That was actually alright. Started off pretty uninteresting but grew on my as it went on. Reminded me of Beck's Sea Change in parts. Few songs saved down.
The La's
4/5
3.7
I'm gonna ignore the 5 bonus tracks from the review as they clearly make the album worse.
Impressive otherwise. Reading up on the band's history is fascinating, wonder what could have become of them if they built on it rather than capitulating in self-doubt and perfectionism.
In general it's pretty good, not amazing, but a few songs are really good besides the one-hit. Unfortunately there are a few bad ones, Freedom Song really winds me up for example. But in general pretty good, obvious precursor to britpop that I was not aware of.
Bob Dylan
4/5
4.0
Get in there. It's been about 17 years since a Bob Dylan last really impressed me, when I just started getting into his early stuff. The switch to electric never went down well with me, some of those album like Blonde on Blonde which popped up last week I think might be among the most underrated ever.
This album though, first time a later Dylan album has left me happy. There are definite low points, Trying to get to Heaven sounds like it could be on one of those post-folk nonsense albums, but others hit really well, Cold Irons Bound sounds incredible, so raw and energetic whilst keeping itself steady.
Really looking forward to absorbing this album more over the coming weeks. Maybe I was wrong about older Bob.
Snoop Dogg
4/5
3.6
Actually enjoyed this. Perfect companion to the Chronic which I enjoyed as a teenager. Always wrote snoop off but maybe I was wrong. Get the impression he was a one album wonder though.
Germs
3/5
3.0
Tricky one this. Music wise it's a 2, but impact wise it's a 4 minimum. You can hear shades of their inspiration - British punk mainly, but heavy stooges etc al, but more importantly you can hear what a lot of future great punk/hard rock acts themselves took inspiration from. Not one I will probably listen to again, but I'm very glad I heard it. Great list inclusion.
Digital Underground
2/5
1.6
I lasted 4 songs. Might be one of the worst bits of hip hop I've heard. I thought the first track was a classic hip hop skit until it hit the 3 minute mark. The next 4 minutes were brutal. Tracks 2&3 weren't much better. Offensive to my ears and to humanity in general.
The Dandy Warhols
4/5
4.2
Ooo I really enjoyed that. Shoegazy, light britpop, with a bit of robot rock thrown in there. Shades of the beta band, pixies, blur, qotsa, without sounding like they were ripping anyone off. Surprised Ive never come across them before. A nice new one to explore.
Megadeth
3/5
3.2
Slightly surprised at this inclusion, it's far from their best album, so I can only assume it's based on the year it came out, trying to rival Metallica's master of puppets.
I've never really rated Megadeth that highly despite my affinity to metal. This is a pretty average album. Peace Sells is only great song. Last track is pretty good. The rest are just pretty forgettable to be honest. Dunno how Wake Up Dead is a live staple.
TV On The Radio
4/5
4.2
So good. I liked the other album by these guys but this is even better. If you ignore the bonus tracks on the album there's only one weak track (bomb yourself), the rest are range from good to amazing, which is a pretty incredible run. Might have to absorb more from these guys now.
Duran Duran
4/5
4.1
Hands down one of the best New Wave albums I've heard. Recognised the first track but not the biggest fan so thought I was in for a tough time. But wow, the streak from track 2 onwards is phenomenal. I didn't think much of their debut but this blows it out the water. Melodic, interesting vocals, captivating.
Can't believe I might now be a Duran Duran fan.
MGMT
4/5
3.7
At first I thought this was going to be another naff 2010s spacey poprock album (this list has contained a fair few already), but it turned out to be better than expected. Like with a lot of the genre I doubt this will stand the test of time (I can't remember anyone even mentioning MGMT in the last 15 years?), but enjoyable to absorb the first few listens. Last half of the album definitely weaker than the first half.
Doves
4/5
4.3
That's a cracking debut album. How are these guys are not thought as highly as other 2000s British rock acts (Coldplay etc.) is beyond me. Well, one slight reason is that future albums didn't hit as good as this, but this album is phenomenal for sure. Definitely will have this on rotation.
Christina Aguilera
3/5
2.6
Going to ignore Disc 2 as jesus that was bad. Unnecessary, bloated nonsense.
Disc 1 was... Better than I expected. Although my hopes were extremely low. I've learnt from this list that when you get past the bubblegum pop debuts that these stars had, there's usually a bit of meaning in one of the later albums before they disappear into obscurity. Not my cup of tea but can see why it was liked.
The Cardigans
2/5
2.4
Dull dull dull. Other than the intriguing cover of Iron Man, the rest of a massive disappointment. My only knowledge od Cardigans going into this was Favourite Game, which I loved as a kid, so my hopes weren't set too low. Turns out I also knew Lovefool, but my god is that song annoying.
It's basically lounge music with a slightly grating vocalist on top. Why were these popular again?
Christine and the Queens
4/5
4.2
Wow. I imagine that's what it was like to hear Off The Wall or something when it came out - Goya Soda in particular gave me massive MJ vibes, in a good way. Brilliant production, so 80s and so fresh at the same time. Lovely vocals.
My only gripe is it really tails off in the second half after Goya Soda - 4 of the first 6 are absolute belters, the last 5 fall flat even after several listens. Maybe it'll win be round, but due to Side B it's ending up as a very good, but not phenomenal album
50 Cent
2/5
1.6
I remember once being in church as young lad in a very white northern English town. There was another kid there, couple years younger than me, probably around 9 or 10 wearing a 50 cent shirt. The priest liked to get the kids involved (no pun intended) during the sermon and I vividly remember him asking this kid what his goal was for life and his response was, obviously, "get rich or die trying".
I tell the story as I think that kid encapsulates who this album was marketed it at, and shows what really went wrong with hip-hop in the 90s/00s, overly commercialised shite, god awful cringe lyrics, terrible beats, just an embarrassment to the human race overall. This might be one of the worst I've heard of this variety, of which this list has had far too many already.
The B-52's
2/5
1.9
Shite. Felt like they gave a bunch of arts sixth form students a studio for the day. Gained nothing from that.
Jack White
3/5
2.8
This list has made me realise I can't do Jack White/Stripes. Can't quite put my finger on why. I just find it all extremely dull tbh. Mid album.
Country Joe & The Fish
3/5
2.9
Pretty impressive that this was released in 67, but has slightly been diluted by the sheer number of 60s psychadelica on this list. It's all starting to blend into one. I think if this had popped up 700 albums ago I'd have a lot more time for it, but as it is I'm a bit exhausted after having listened to it.
Serge Gainsbourg
3/5
3.0
Slightly strange inclusion. First and last track are alright to have on in background. Not sure about the middle ones. Feel like this album has a backstory, otherwise why is it here?
The Lemonheads
3/5
2.8
The most average rock album I've heard in a while. I've never heard a Rembrandts album but that's pretty much exactly how I imagine it would sound. Like an REM or Nirvana-lite without any hooks.
Quite fitting that the only song I found interesting on the album, Bit Part, was ruined by the sample at the start making it impossible to throw onto any playlists. Good one guys.
Brian Eno
3/5
2.8
I feel like that could have done some lyrics. As it is it felt like a selection of outtakes from a Talking Heads album that they couldn't be bothered to put some words to. Not entirely sure why it's here.
Django Django
4/5
3.5
That was pretty good. Like if the Beta Band and Beach Boys had a child. A surprising listen, not my usual thing but I definitely appreciated it.
George Michael
3/5
2.6
Pretty dull, but comes across slightly pretentious. Can't put my finger on why. Not sure I needed to listen to that before I died.
Grant Lee Buffalo
3/5
3.0
That was such a mid album. I have zero strong feelings for an against. I gave it a second listen as I totally zoned out during the first listen. I now see why.
Portishead
4/5
3.9
This blew my mind when I first got into this at 12-13. So futuristic for 1994, sounds fresh even now. However, I think it's slightly let down by the weaker tracks. A few tracks float by without contributing much, which is a shame when other like Roads and Glory Box hit deep.
It's a fire wasn't on my CD version back in the day, so it's jarring hearing it plonked right in the middle here, sounding so out of place. An unnecessary inclusion.
Quicksilver Messenger Service
3/5
2.6
Another 60s gig I didn't ask to go to.
Like most of these albums that have appeared, probably be great to be there on the day with some acid but 60 years later, sober at work, it isn't really hitting very well.
B.B. King
3/5
3.3
2nd 60s live album in a row, but to be fair I enjoyed this one more. Fidelity meant it wasn't the most accessible, but sounds like it would have been a class gig. Can really hear the Zeppelin influence in some of these, to the point you could argue some of the riffs on LZ1 were ripped off some of these.
Not sure I'd have it on repeat, but a nice inclusion.
Grateful Dead
2/5
2.2
What on earth. I thought the Grateful Dead were meant to be this super psychadelic acid-enthused band, and that was... pretty crap. Most of it sounded like a terrible Americana band you'd find down the pub in a random small town playing to 18 people, half of which are having a shouted conversation over the top about whether they should head somewhere else. Not for me.
Stevie Wonder
3/5
3.2
I don't fully get Stevie. If you take out Superstition, it's a pretty bland album. The only bit of excitement, something different is Maybe my Baby with the intriguing coda. However, when you include Superstition, an absolutely phenomenal track, it both pulls the album up with it's brilliance but also let's it down by highlighting how lacklustre the majority of the other tracks are. I fear I sound like a record label saying "I like Superstitious, do more of that" but my god Stevie. Please.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
3/5
2.7
Made the mistake of reading the album blurb before listening? Precursor to grunge? Sign me up. Alas, other than the opening (and closing) track, it just didn't click at all with me. Really nothing that I would put on again. Didn't hate it, but didn't love it.
Neil Young appears yet again, but not certain why this time.
Big Star
2/5
2.1
I did quite enjoy that at one point I exclaimed "Jesus Christ" and then realised they'd named the song just that. I'm guessing not out of exasperation unlike me. Cover of Femme Fatale pointless. A bit like the album in general. Just frustrating choices all round - Kanga Roo starts off non-shit and then someone thrown a cowbell into the mix and turned it up loud.
Wasting my time
Alexander 'Skip' Spence
4/5
3.6
I'm going to ignore all bonus tracks as they detract from the album. Enjoyable in parts, got better second time round. Some slightly grating inclusions, Lawrence from Euphoria for example. Can see why it was inspirational to a lot of singers, I thought a few of them sounded very Mark Lanegan-esque so pleasantly surprised to see he covered Skip. Books of Moses a high point.
Story behind the album very intriguing, perfectly summarised by a country album made by someone clearly going off the rails.
Aretha Franklin
3/5
3.2
Starts off strong, first few (God one aside) are bangers, but then tails off. I think I can't do too much of these in a row tbh. But appreciate it's importance.
Super Furry Animals
3/5
3.3
Didn't enjoy this as much as the other SFA album I had on here but still pretty good. Very Blur-ish (although one could argue this was still pretty early in Blur's career also, so maybe the fed off eachother) with some link back to 60s pop/psychadelica.
Couple songs I've saved down, but not rushing back to listen to the rest.
Portishead
4/5
3.6
I've given this one numerous listens over a couple week now to make sure, and it's traversed quite a path in that time.
Initially it got off to a bad start, I was expecting triphop a la Dummy so it was a bit jarring at first.
Then it got revised massively upward after expectations were adjusted, enjoying the more detailed and exploratory tone of the album.
On final reflection it's good, but not great. Supported by a few great songs, but I think the album spends too long gearing up for them. The Rip is amazing, but I feel like it's helped by the drab two songs prior that lead up to it. Machine Gun sounds great at first but on the 6th listen becomes extremely grating (probably by design, it reminds me of a less abrasive "Ventolin" by aphex twin).
As with Dummy, good, but not great,
Paul McCartney
3/5
3.4
It's alright, but definitely missing that spark that made the Beatles what it was. I feel like too much Lennon or McCartney in isolation is grating, whereas mix then together and wow. Lennon would stop McCartney from going too far down the rabbithole of music hall nonsense, whilst McCartnet will get Lennon to stop the drug-fuelled to the extent it's unaccessible nonsense. This album contains a few good ones, but no really great hooks, far too much instrumental and a terrible closer. Still, it's good, but barely.
New York Dolls
3/5
2.6
Can't quite get the New York Dolls. Get praised for being groundbreaking but I just find them completely unoriginal. It sounds like a tribute act that primarily play Stooges & Stones tracks had a go at writing their own stuff. Each element just not as good as the real deal. Happy to not hear this again.
Run-D.M.C.
2/5
1.9
I'm sorry but this is so, so bad. I get it was seminal at the time, turning hip hop more mainstream and transitioning the genre from one off singles to albums, but Jesus Christ has it aged poorly. And just strange choices also. Why do the thing where they take it in turn to say a word or two each? And multiple times? It sounds shite. Beats are simplistic to the point of hilarity. Rhymes are also completely basic "why do you wear glasses?" "So I can see" ooooh good one mate. They'll be repeating that one for decades.
Painful listening experience.
Primal Scream
2/5
2.3
Very weird. I've heard of movie soundtracks to movies that haven't existed, but this is the first I've heard of a movie soundtrack to a movie which did exist but didn't request it.
Overall it just didn't click with me. Maybe I'm a bit tired now of the Madchester stuff on here, but the vast majority of these tracks just were not very good. Happy to see the back of it.
Public Enemy
4/5
3.5
Not my normal thing but I've got a lot of time for this, particularly given I just had Run DMCs debut the day before. That there were 7 years in-between that and this blows my mind, feels like going from 50s doo-wop to the Stooges or something in just 7 years. Wish rap continued down this path of consciousenceness rather than the hedonistic NWA route
Echo And The Bunnymen
2/5
2.2
What the hell was that. I was wondering why on earth it had been included until the Killing Moon came on.. it was a one hit wonder for a reason. Really really didn't need to have that as one of the top 1,001 albums everyone must here, come on man. Use your brain.
I'm rating on the original album, if I was including the cover of all you need is love in there it would nosedive even further. Jesus.
Traffic
3/5
2.9
It's ok. A lot of 60s rock/pop/psychadelica on this list tbh, I've lost track of where this ranks amongst them. If it was 20 mins shorter and shed the fat it might creep up into mid-3's, but there just wasn't enough going for it to make it really good.
The Kinks
3/5
3.3
Fairly good. I've had a lot of 60s this week - traffic, the byrds, beach boys. This probably the best of the lot. So much like the Beatles, but not so much that it's a carbon copy. Still think 60s is overrepresented on here, but can't argue too much against this inclusion.
Steve Winwood
3/5
2.8
Slightly redeemed itself with the Spanish Dancer and Night Train songs. Before that felt a bit drab. Like an unfun Steely Dan. Don't care much for the Clapton-esque stuff, hasn't aged great with the 80s clearly shining through.
LTJ Bukem
4/5
3.8
I'm scoring based purely on the music, very AFX'y with some jungle in there, perfect to work to, but I don't really understand why it's on this list, as as far as I'm aware it's a compilation album? Unless I've found the wrong thing.
The Byrds
3/5
3.0
I've had a lot of 60s recently, and this just blends into the middle of them. Not bad, not good.
Suede
3/5
2.5
Oof that was rough. Really, really dull. It felt a bit aimless, bouncing round. The terrible Smiths-esque one right near the end killed it off
The Beach Boys
4/5
3.6
Interesting. The sound of a band clearly trying to reinvent itself, but doing it well. Opener sounds like classic beach boys but there's something different about it. Then it rapidly descends into a slightly sombre, proggish sound of a band that knows it has to move with times. Highlight is the closer, sums up the album quite well.
Only gripe was student demonstration time. For some reason, it felt so out of place. Instantly skippable.
Fiona Apple
3/5
2.6
Not really my cup of tea. The faster songs are alright, album peaks with Criminal. But just too many dull lifeless tracks. 51 minutes is Criminal, more like.
My Bloody Valentine
4/5
3.6
Very interesting to hear. Though not as good as MBVs other outings, it's good to hear their debut as it contains some of the elements that made them special but not all. It's more varied then flat out shoegaze, sometimes landing well (the Autechre sounding 'no more sorry') and sometimes landing very flat (the awful opener 'Soft as snow'). Sounded a bit Sonic Youth in places which is something I never noticed in later releases.
Must add, although enjoyable, don't really think it belongs on this list unlike their other appearances. More one for the interested fan.
Aphex Twin
4/5
3.8
One of those where the sum of the whole is bigger than it's individual components. In isolation, it's a good but not great album. Songs arguably go on too long, some are not great, it isn't the most accessible for those not familiar with electronic music, but there are definite highlights - the opening two tracks remain two of the best in the IDM genre in my opinion.
However, taking a step back, I think this is a seminal release. Yes, artists had been making electronic music for a long time, Brian Eno was releasing ambient work in the 70s for example, and artists such as LFO had already opened the door to this genre, but this album defined it in my opinion. Without this then you could argue artists such as Boards of Canada, Squarepusher, Autechre, as well as future AFX stuff itself, might not have become as prominent as they have done. A very niche and not very well known genre, but if you know, then you certainly know. Some of the most enlightening and breathtaking music has come out from this genre in my opinion, so I can't help but rate this album highly, despite it being far from his best work.
Boston
3/5
2.8
Ok, at least I know now they're a one hit wonder band. And I've completely killed that first track by listening to it 10,000x on our uni playlist that was on repeat for 2 years. The rest is listenable but not much more than that. The solo on the latter half of Hitchin a Ride the only other part that becomes enjoyably
Laibach
2/5
2.2
Hahaha wow. That isn't what I was expecting. Fascinating to hear practically the birth of a sub-branch Industrial rock/metal without them even realising that's what they were doing. Title track is the only one I recognise, and it certainly is a tough listen overall. Ending was nice (excluding the 4 bonus tracks on Spotify). It's something new, it helped form a genre, but in isolation is tough to listen to. Nailed on 2 stars.
Hole
3/5
3.2
I can't quite put my finger on why there's something slightly off around this. Let's ignore Courtney love and that controversial completely, imagine it's an unknown empty.
It's full of catchy pop-grunge(?!), but most of the time it feels as though they're trying too hard to be catchy that it doesn't work very well. It's like if Foo Fighters kept missing the mark, but only just. Part of me thinks "this is actually quite good", but another part of me thinks "this is manufactured shite trying to hook you in". I'm not sure which or these two is correct so I'm going to go down the middle
Suicide
4/5
3.5
Very very interesting. Never thought some Avant Garde electronic rapid subtle rock beats with some rockabilly-esque singing and vocals on top would sound so punk, but here we go. Surely this must have been groundbreaking. I can't see this being a copy of something else. Rocket and Che the standouts by far. The only letdown was Frankie, boring and 10 minutes long to boot, swap that out for something better and you've got something incredibly special here
Alice In Chains
4/5
4.4
As close to 5* as you can get without quite making it.
I think the biggest hurdle for AIC is Layne's vocals. I imagine it'll score poorly on here for that reason. Once you're over that hurdle though, wow. One of those vocalists were the singing style actually helps the instrumentals despite it initially sounding like he just just can't sing (Morrissey/Smith's spring to mind). Rooster is when you first realise the power of the vocals, and then makes the entire thing accessible.
Anyway, musically phenomenal, Cantrell is a brilliant writer. Lyrically great as well, if you ever want to be out off heroin listen to this (or arguably their self titled even more so).
Only thing thats stopping it from greatness is a couple of weak tracks - Rain When I Die being third is unfortunate as that's such a key album spot, 8th or 9th would have been ideal for that. Iron Gland through to Angry Chair isn't a great spell also. Good, but not great.
The Bees
4/5
3.8
Quite enjoyed that. Reminded a bit of the beta band, but with less of an experimental focus and more of a genre shifting focus. The genre shifting inevitably meant there were a few weak ones in there, but I saved around 5 down and all 5 were pretty solid. Not bad for a third listen through.
Count Basie & His Orchestra
2/5
2.3
I appreciate some of this music needs to be on here but it's just really not for me. Suits being a forgettable soundtrack to a random 60s movie to be honest.
Incubus
4/5
3.5
I always wrote Incubus as a poor man's Deftones, despite being fond of the genre.
Being made to listen properly was nice to be honest. I was perhaps a little harsh with my gut instinct. Isn't something I'd get into now, but if I was 14 I'd have actually loved it. Can't recall Deftones on this list, if this made it above them then that's slightly criminal.
Bob Dylan
3/5
2.5
I feel I've reviewed this album 10 times already. Long story short very early Bob Dylan good. Mid-60s Bob Dylan bad.
Rufus Wainwright
2/5
1.9
Oof, not long after Want One I get this. Similar to last time, sounds identical to Thom Yorke but with dull and often annoying songs. It actually makes me like Thom Yorke less it's that powerful. Comes across like pretentious shite.
Julian Cope
2/5
2.2
Come on now. 75 minutes is extremely long for an experimental album. Just comes across like a rambling mess. Some brief moments of enjoyment, but brief being the key word.
Lloyd Cole And The Commotions
2/5
2.4
Yet another new-wave album on here, and a pretty underwhelming one at that. Not one song that I'd classify as good, so I can't score it highly overall. Slightly grating vocals, no real great hook or riff to draw you in. Easy pass.
John Lee Hooker
3/5
3.3
Pretty decent blues album. Last 3 tracks dipped but I'm guessing they were bonus ones. Not my fave genre but can appreciate the quality
Little Richard
3/5
3.4
Obviously a seminal artist/release, but it's age is showing slightly. All the best songs seem to be very slight variations on one another - tutti frutti, Reddy teddy, long tall sally, rip it up - all virtually instringuishable from a distance.
Regardless, laid the groundwork for a lot of what was to become, and for that we should be eternally grateful.
Grateful Dead
4/5
4.0
Yep. That's very good. I think I've been underwhelmed by their appearance(s?) on this list so far so it's good to find something that explains the cult status.
Imagine it being 1969, this drug has come out that no one has ever heard of before, there's very little pop culture or knowledge surrounding it, you take it and watch this performance. I mean that is probably on my fantasy bucket list of experiences to experience. Easy 4*
Kings of Leon
4/5
3.7
Ahhh, I haven't listened to this since my uni days. Nice to revisit. One of those bands I liked more because other people did, but I could/can see the merits. It's downfall comes with too many weak tracks dotted here and there, the last two in particular which sees the album peter out with a wimper. However, the first two track combo, coupled with the best White Stripes song that wasn't written by the White Stripes (four kicks), see it over the line for a decent score.
Moby Grape
3/5
3.1
Of all the 60s albums on here, this was certainly one of them
Ride
5/5
4.5
Wow. That one came out of Nowhere. Gets better every single listen. Like a blend between Stone Roses and Sonic Youth, with a heavy air of Shoegaze throughout. So good to work to. So good to walk to. So good to have on in the background, or the foreground. How have I only heard of this just now.
My main initial detraction, the length, has now become more of a bonus. Well done.
Sex Pistols
4/5
4.0
I'd actually long written the sex pistols off, after trying as a teenager - my cousin laughed at me for liking 'bubblegum' punk in the form of blink & green day, so when a bit older I dared to tried sex pistols but never got into it.
Listening back older and hopefully wiser it's actually surprisingly good. A lot more varied than I remembered/imagined, bits of Oi! Punk, bits of post-rock, bit pre-thrash. Every song is actually good/enjoyable right up until the final two. Trim them off and you actually have a stellar 32 mins or so. Impressed.
Basement Jaxx
3/5
2.9
It's ok. There are some good moments, the IDM 'esque Stop 4 Love, or the majority of Red Alert, the only track I recognised, but these are counterbalanced by plenty of weak points, the banality of Yo Yo, the frustrating vocals of Jump n Shout. There's about an EP's worth of good stuff here, but just gets drowned out.
The War On Drugs
5/5
4.5
Wow. This is one of the best 80s albums I've heard. I wished I hadn't seen the year on Spotify before listening to it because I'd have been blown away. Drawn on so many inspirations, some of which I like (Dylan, Young), some of which I don't (Springsteen) and blends them into something that is so much better than the sum of the parts. First track immediately grabs you. Possible the highlight of the album, but it never really dips far from there.
My one gripe is the second half of the album, the last 5 tracks certainly not as strong as the first 5. Eyes to the wind and Burning are for example a bit too Springsteen esque, without the other parts that actually make it interesting. Still, excited to explore more of this band.
Echo And The Bunnymen
3/5
2.5
Not good. Kind of what was wrong with the 80s. Grating voice, music that seems to draw inspiration from both the smiths and talking heads without any of the talent that those bands were composed of. Not much to savour here.
Small Faces
2/5
2.3
First half was about a 3*, second half was 1.5*. First half was just another generic psychadelic pop 60s album. Second was some absolute nonsensical shite. Don't need a children's novel-esque read over thank you.
The Monks
2/5
2.3
So torn. On the one hand it's shit. It's not enjoyable to listen to, even the 25 minutes that exist on Spotify was far far longer than I wanted to listen to it for.
On the other hand, it's possibly the first pisstake, critique at modern rock. I get why some might view it as the first true punk album. A middle finger to 60s pop bands, just as they were conquering the world.
I think with better musicianship it would have landed better, but maybe that's the point.
Drums and bass just far too simplistic to even partly enjoy. Can see why it should be included though.
k.d. lang
3/5
2.6
Not sure what happened there but she seemed to break me down towards the end. With a couple of songs to go I was ready to absolutely maul it, calling it one of the more boring things I've listened to for weeks. Suddenly the last 3 songs started to click. Can't say I'm desperate to go back and check if I was wrong, but seemingly ok background music. Not really my thing though. How did this win a Grammy lol.
UB40
3/5
2.9
To be honest, not as bad as I expected. I remember them being a lot worse than this album offered, but maybe their initial outing was a lot more "real" than the later nonsense I heard. Reggae really not my thing, but this one was ok to drift along in the background. Definitely dragged on though, not sure those last three were necessary.
Blur
4/5
3.5
The album that shows that it was wrong to ever box Blur up with Oasis, and simultaneously show how much of a shame it is that Oasis ran out of ideas after 2 years rather than expanding on their sound.
Back to Blur, suffers from the classic Blurism of having way too much filler. Middle of the album really drags along. Beetlebum is such an incredible opener. Shades of what was to come with Gorrilaz in Country Sad Ballad Man.
Actually ends quite well to be fair, unlike most other Blur outings.
Beck
3/5
2.9
The only Beck I like is sad Beck. Sea Change was lightning in a bottle imo. I just don't really know what the purpose of this album is. Songs are too varied, not landing on a common theme but not being good enough at each subsequent venture to warrant the change in style.
The Cramps
2/5
2.1
Shite. It what I imagine my dad hears when I listen to metal. Just a garbled mess. Almost art like, it's interesting as an exhibit but how could anyone actually think "today I'm going to put on that Cramps album"
Cheap Trick
2/5
2.0
Such an extremely odd choice. This list has done well to shy away from live albums, only doing so when it's been slightly necessary (e.g. capturing the Grateful Deads early, non-album live performances). So why on earth a live album for a pretty naff one-hit wonder band, with poor fidelity to boot, is included is beyond me.
There are probably 1001 better, more interesting live albums than this.
2/5
2.3
Not really my thing. At their best it was a pale imitation of Beatles, Beach Boys. At their worst it was a bit of a rambling mess. Don't think they blended the orchestral side into pop very well. Numerous bands/artists have done it better.
Beastie Boys
4/5
4.0
I have something shameful to admit. I've only just now, after 3 beastie boys albums and many years of life, have realised that they were a pisstake. I always thought they were some sort vanilla ice esque tone deaf group that was somehow popular as real hip hop had yet to go mainstream. Whoops.
Straight away on this album, as soon as the mock gangsta gangsta intros started did it click. I actually paid attention to the lyrics for the first time (seemingly). Then you have a song about drive by eggings. I'm an idiot. I've given it a few listens and I think it's a) really smart and b) really funny. And besides, the samples are actually incredibly well woven together. Laid the groundwork for bands like the avalanches. And now I need to go back and listen to their previous ones from here.
Sorry beastie boys. My bad.
Baaba Maal
4/5
3.7
This is the kind of thing I thought this list would be rife with. It's not, so I'm glad of it's appearance. Really not my usual thing, not anything I don't recall ever having listened to before, but quite interesting and therefore enjoyable. Not one I'd have on rotation, but I am really glad I've heard this before I died.
Deerhunter
4/5
4.1
I've had a couple of these tracks before years ago on my discover weekly random playlists, so it was good to hear the full album. A lot more varied than the tracks I saved. A bit psychadelic pop, but without it inducing any eye-rolling. Very inoffensive, but not in a bland way. Will put it on my rotation list for sure.
Spacemen 3
4/5
3.6
That was pretty good, very similar vibes to the Spiritualised project, so was surprised to see that most of the hlmusic was actually written by the other band member. Nice precursor to Spiritualised.
Must say, the list owner does tend to favour Shoegaze. Luckily it's my cup of tea but if I wasn't a fan of that genre it would be getting tedious. I guess I'm bearing the brunt of that with 60s pop, Clapton/Springsteen et al.
Janelle Monáe
2/5
2.3
I feel this list, now I'm approaching the end, has made me a lot more open to music I would absolutely have been extremely dismissive of at the end. I've enjoyed SZA's appearance, Solange's, even Christina Aguilera. So I went into this with an open mind.
It failed to impress however, the constant careering between genre to genre didn't really work in my opinion, sometimes it leaned into it to heavily that it just sounded unauthentic. The terrible Bowie clone in Make the Bus a particular low point. Too try hard. Beats for the most part were uninspiring, even the vocals which are the usually the one good thing about similar albums that miss the mark were lacklustre here. Disappointing.
Black Sabbath
5/5
4.5
Birth of heavy metal came with their self titled album, but this album truly cemented the genre. It's crazy to think that this was recorded over just half a week, with songs written in a couple of hours. The first 4 tracks are unbelievable. Electric Wizard is the only downside of the album imo, it feels like a discarded self titled album filler track. Drum solo is kinda pointless but inoffensive, whereas #6 & #8 are just 'very good'. Probably a 4* music wise, but I'm bumping it up due to a) importance, and b) in memory of Ozzy who passed the same day this album appeared (surely that must be by design!)
Everything But The Girl
3/5
2.8
Pretty bland tbh. Time capsule into 90s electronics, some beats sound fresher than others. The vocals over the top are okay, but after a while start to sound all the same. Average beats, average vocals, average album.
Les Rythmes Digitales
2/5
2.4
Made it halfway through before I had to start skipping tracks a minute or so in when it was clear what the "hook" was going to be on repeat for the next 5 minutes. Jesus that was a slog tbh.
Sounds like something my brother would buy when he was 13 in an attempt to act cool to his mates. Cover is totally "I'm 13 and this is rad" energy.
According to wiki this got listed in the top 99 albums to dance to. What the fuck. Who is dancing to this. How can you actually dance to this. Was that listed compiled based on school discos? Jesus wept I'd be straight out of the club if some of these tracks came on.
Marty Robbins
3/5
2.6
It's good to be forced to listen to things like this. I'd never ever put it on normally. I never will again, but appreciate that at the time it was probably pretty banging.
Too many weak tracks to make it enjoyable, although there were a couple I saved down. 40 mins probably double what I could handle.
The White Stripes
4/5
3.5
The beat White Stripes album, probably. They went with the killer and ended with the filler though, so it very quickly ran out of steam. Could have been half that length, but then it would have been more of an EP. Not really fussed about these guys either way.
3/5
3.0
Middle of the road initial wave of punk/alternative. No strong feelings either way. There have been a lot of other worse similar acts on here is the one redeeming feature. Not something I'd want to hear again though to be honest.
Shack
3/5
2.7
I'm obviously missing something here. Just sounds like some generic 90s Brit rock, I assumed it was something earlier but given it was 99 I thought this would have stopped right now. Like a crap Dodgy. Clearly am missing something, apparently it's crept on to some best of all times lists. Am I even listening to the right album here?
Sly & The Family Stone
3/5
3.3
Pretty good, though the fidelity really lets it down. For some reason the second half in particular sounds extremely grainy, could do with a remaster. Not my usual thing but easy to appreciate.
Ash
3/5
2.9
I'm not sure what this band are really adding. I'm not saying every band has to be unique, but it looks like they're leaning far too heavily into Sonic Youth/Dinosaur JR, with shades of Weezer/Nirvana. It just sounds like a cheap imitation.
Only good track was the (practically Daydream Nation ripoff) Innocent Smile.
Jethro Tull
3/5
3.2
Meh. I can see where he was going, but the voice didn't do it for me. I had a mate who was terrible at singing but thought he should be a star, went on X-Factor and all and ended up as one of few clips they show on TV where people embarrass themselves. I shit you not. Anyway, he sounds EXACTLY like this. So that was unwanted flashback.
Anyway, the music was actually alright, but the flute I couldn't do, so between that and the vocals it wasn't the most pleasant 45 mins
The Sabres Of Paradise
4/5
3.6
Very interesting. Part of me feels like it was a lost opportunity given many similar Warp releases are better I feel, but it's good to have the inclusion of early IDM on this list. Think this won't gel well with the masses but perhaps that's the thing with this genre. When you know you know.
Dexys Midnight Runners
3/5
2.6
Such a strange choice. Firstly, I love Come on Eileen. It's a great track, instant dance floor filler at a wedding. But they're a one hit wonder band for a reason. The inclusion of this album on this list is just unnecessary. Come on Eileen works as it's so danceable, but take away that element, as the rest of the album seemingly does, and you're left with grating vocals and far too much brass. They caught lightning in a bottle with that one song, and leave us to suffer through an additional hour because of it.
Iron Butterfly
3/5
3.4
One hit wonder again really. The first half is pretty forgettable let's be honest. The title track is a stunner though, after the first 5 songs you're not sure how you could sit through a solo 17-minute epic but to be fair it travels quickly, is an interesting jam, has a great riff and simplistic but enjoyable lyrics.
Peter Gabriel
3/5
2.6
My highest rated comment on here is saying how shite Peter Gabriel's So is (ironically the highest rated comment on that album is someone fuming at my comment which now sits just below it).
Anyway, this one was rather different, better I might add, but not massively. Definitely not sounding to 80s. But just a bit weird. It's strange as there are some highlights. 2nd track was good. But then just weird tangents like the Randy Newman ones. Not for me Clive.
The Kinks
2/5
2.3
Tough listening to be honest. 60s kinks just always feel like pale imitations of the Beatles. This was no different.
Muddy Waters
3/5
3.0
Got tiring towards the end, songs just started to blend into one. Blues standards, good in small doses, but think I need a lie down now.
Bauhaus
2/5
2.3
I feel like this flavour of avant-garde stuff isn't enjoyable sober, and there's 1,001 other albums I'd rather be listening to if I was high.
Manic Street Preachers
3/5
3.2
Slightly surprised by this one, I've always thought of MSP as yet another Britpop band, but this outing was a lot punkier and darker than that. The vocals do start to get tiring over the course of an hour, the one or two softer ones are not frequent enough, and in the case of The Intense Humming appear too late.
Interesting, but I'm not that interested.
Britney Spears
2/5
1.7
I remember this coming out, it was MASSIVE. Listening back now is quite amusing. The main track is actually not as bad as I remember. Pure bubblegum pop, somehow more poppy than other pop artists (Backstreet Boys etc.) of the time.
However the rest of the album is pretty shit let's be honest. Soda pop, email my heart etc., need to be banished from this earth.
The only other bearable song is the one cover at the end.
Ramones
3/5
3.5
One of those where I have to average the legacy (4.5) and the actual music (2.5). On the former, founding punk, can hear elements of this in every single punk album thats come since. Groundbreaking.
On the latter, every song blends into one, it sounds way too 'polished' for a punk record, drums are too clean, although that might be wall of sound limitations on old recordings. Lyrics are terrible, but to be fair that's true for a lot of punk artists that I like. It's interesting to see where a genre finds it's footsteps, but it doesn't always hit the mark.
Jeff Beck
4/5
3.7
Very interesting. First time I've heard Rod Stewart and not immediately got the ick. He sounds less Rod Stewarty in the early days by the sounds of it. Or it goes better with Becks blues infused rock. Anyway, good but not great album. Loved Becks Bolero, but for some reason the sound quality seemed way worse than the rest of the album, which is unfortunate. Music was pretty good, similar but nowhere near Zeppelin levels, although they admittedly did come first.
Rush
4/5
3.7
Better than I remember Rush being. I've never really good into the vocals, but really enjoyed some of the instrumentation here that I made myself get over it and hear it for what it is. It feels like 70s/80s version of Tool, which is high acclaim. Might explore more in future
AC/DC
3/5
3.2
I'll start by saying ACDC are massively overrated. This was more bearable than others though. Angus' vocals just get a bit much after 1 song never mind 10. The songs are too formulaic also, about 6 of these songs could easily blend into 1. Still, some of the solo's are banging, and on a mix tape a few of these would be worthy additions. But I was glad when the album was drawing to a close.
Liz Phair
4/5
3.6
I'll preface this by saying if I was a teenage girl in the early 90s I reckon I would have been *obsessed*. But I am not and I wasn't. One of those albums where I had to go back and relisten after reading up on it after first run-through. Obviously I was missing something. And I think was, but only a bit. I think the vocals are quite weak, but they're not disimilar to other lo-fi/punk bands that I like, so maybe I'm being too harsh. The run time goes on far too long, but on the flipside it's a response to album that also does.
My score reflects it's importance, and the fact that it certainly deserves to be on this list. Musically it's no more than a 3*, but credit due where it's due.
Echo And The Bunnymen
3/5
3.4
It's quite good in parts. Really liked some of the tracks - Rescue, Monkeys, Going Up. However, others weren't as strong, and I felt the ending was quite weak. Nice bit of early post-punk, almost setting the scene for the darker sides of new-wave.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
4/5
3.6
Hit and miss. First few songs came and went, barely noticed them. Then Down by the River, absolute stellar track, phenomenal. Then back to dullness with the next. Last two were alright, but never hit the peaks of the central track. Hit & Miss pretty much describes my entire relationship with Neil Young from this list.
The Band
3/5
2.8
I'm picturing that meme of that cartoon guy sweating whilst deciding over which of two buttons to press. One is labelled "more generic 60s psychadelic infused pop", the other is "something actually groundbreaking"
Kanye West
3/5
So many fantastic beats ruined by shit lyrics. Hold My Liquor could have been absolutely incredible ffs. But far from the only one. Wouldn't count myself as a prude but there's just so many pointless sexual references it's like looking into the inner mind of a teenager.
"Eating Asian pussy all I need was sweet & sour sauce"
"Black girl sipping white wine, put my fist in her like a civil rights sign"
I'd estimate more than half the songs have some ridiculous reference to shagging someone. Jfc Kanye. Reign it in.
Also no matter how many times you repeat I am a god, it doesn't make it true.
I'd love to hear an instrumental version of this album, or better yet, lyrics from someone who wasn't an absolute bellend. Thank you Kanye for creating something actually interesting and then instantly destroying it you melt.
Music is an easy 4.5*, lyrics are an easy 1*
Talking Heads
4/5
4.0
Talking Heads are one of my favourite findings from this list. Still doesn't top More Songs.., similar to 77 or Remain.., but there's some really good tracks here. Starts really solid, but the latter half lets it down, after a few listens I still can't really get into the sequence from Air through to Electric Guitar. Last track ends on a good note though. Cities probably my fave, can see that growing and growing.
OutKast
3/5
3.4
Torn on this. This list has changed my opinion on rap/hip-hop. I can now appreciate it some times. This album contains some of the parts about it I like - completely layed/textured beats, interesting songs, non grating lyrics. On the other hand, it contains various songs that are the exact type I severely dislike, the over the top gangsta/misogynistic shit - We Luv Deez Hoes, Gangsta Shit, I'll Call Before I Cum. Those songs alone (+ a few others) kneecap the album and stop it from reaching very good territory imo.
Joni Mitchell
3/5
2.8
I can't really do Joni Mitchell's vocal style to be honest. The background music is pleasant, but nothing more. Not really a lot going for it. Overall bland, with some songs slightly grating due to her vocals.
Neneh Cherry
2/5
1.9
I made it half way through, that was more than enough. The hook/chorus of the opener was decent but the rest of the track, the nonsense chatter at the start and dotted throughout ruined it. Reading after that that track was the one hit wonder dismayed me.
Like a lot of 80s non-gangsta hip hop it sounds completely dated. Not sure of how it made the list.
Gorillaz
3/5
2.9
Ah, here we go. Story time. Gorillaz self titled was the first album I ever bought. I'd been buying singles for years, but every album I wanted would either be bought my dad (Oasis) or brother (Blink 182, Limp Bizkit). Finally here was a band that I liked alone, that I wanted to make that special commitment to and save up about a month's worth of pocket money for.
I liked them because I loved their two singles at that time, Clint Eastwood and 19-2000. Those were banging tracks, so imagine buying a CD with an hour full of similar stuff! Incredible.
I was nervous spending that much money (£13 iirc) but excited. Rushed home to play it and... Crushing disappointment. The two singles I liked turned out to be remixes, which at least they plonked on to the end of the album (I'd have been crushed if they never appeared at all, I'd been shocked and dismayed to find the first time those tracks appeared on the album they sounded nothing like that I'd remembered). But the rest of the album... In hindsight I was far too young to be to understand the rationale and reasoning behind Damon Albarns flirtation with experimental rock/electronica. Tracks like Man Research, Double Bass, Latin Simone, just confusing and entirely pointless to young me.
It's interesting to listen to it back now. I think I'm still slightly resentful, I've not really bothered after the 20th time I tried that first week I bought it, mortified at giving my savings away for it. Emotions aside, the album careers too much from genre to genre, some bits are good, but more bits are poor.
And the two remixes aren't even that good ffs. Sound ridiculously out of place at the end, why did I even bother.
Yes
4/5
3.7
Yes. Some really good early prog rock actually. The peak of the album is certainly the coda for starship troopers but tbf the rest of the album doesn't stray too far from that.
The Monkees
3/5
2.6
This list has had its fair share of Beatles copycat bands but this one takes the biscuit. 4 yanks, yet slight Scouse twangs dotted here and there, bizarre. Issue is they appear to be a few years behind, with a poor imitation of Help/Rubber Soul era Beatles released the same time as Sgt Peppers. Looking forward to my life involving less 60s music once I'm done with this list.
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
2/5
2.0
Story time. I was introduced to this album quite young (and haven't heard it since) - in year 9 or 10 we were chatting about favourite albums in class (I'm guessing I said either Enema or the state or Take of your pants and jacket), and my maths teacher said this was his. Went home and asked my dad if we had Trout Mask Replica by Captain Beefheart. Should have seen his face. Turns out he did have it, on an old LP. We put it on and it took about 3 minutes to realise my maths teacher was taking the piss out of us. Looking back, there is a 90% chance that was the case, or a 10% chance he would drop acid every weekend and put on some avant-garde classics.
Anyway, this experimental Avant Garde is to me the Mark Rothko equivalent of music. It's mostly shite, anyone without talent could pick up an instrument and produce something of similar quality, but yet it still exists and sells well. People pretend to enjoy and find something deep and meaningful in it, but deep down they know they're just pretentious bellends.
The only thing that saves this from being a 1* on here is that surely this was the first example of this type of album, so you have to give them credit for that. What should have happened afterwards though was people said "that was interesting but the human species only needs one of them during its existence". Sadly it didn't pan out that way.
Supergrass
4/5
3.9
2nd Supergrass album and to be honest it's yet again pretty solid. Cracking first 30-40 minutes or so, I think the overplayed Alright is actually one of the weaker ones. Seems to run out of steam at the end, We're not supposed to shatters what was a good run and it struggles to climb to those heights again thereafter. Still, it makes me wonder why these guys were (or seemingly to me at least) never as big as a lot of the other 90s Brit bands that have made it on to here, when they clearly have as much if not more talent.
Antony and the Johnsons
2/5
2.3
I'd actually come across Anhoni before when exploring Bjorks discography the other year, so the voice wasn't such a shock. However, I don't get the hype. The first half of the first track the vocals are quite difficult to enjoy, almost operatic which imo isn't a good thing. The second half of the first track however, yes, that is the kind of build up and reward I'm after. However, after teasing us with what the album could be, she never takes us back there! I get the groundbreakingness of having a trans artist singing about trans perspective, but at the end of the day the primary question should be "is the music any good?" And here the answer is sadly "not really".
Pulp
3/5
2.5
Sorry, but all of the 80s and 90s British bands that made it Pulp is one of those I don't get. And lord I've tried. Never been able to dig Jarvis Cockers style, but even besides that the music for the most part is just so... Lifeless? The odd song is a banger, but I mean odd. As in 1 every couple of albums. One day someone will explain it to me.
Throbbing Gristle
2/5
2.3
I was expecting a lot worse seeing it was one of the lowest rated albums on this list, but there have been quite a few Avant Garde albums that have been a lot worse. Trout Mask Replica popped up the other day, I'd rather have this 10x over than TMR. There are actually some interesting tracks here - Weeping, AB/7A and e-Coli. Some wouldn't sound out of place in the more experimental electronics I've gotten into in the last decade or so. Alas, there is also a lot of shite on here as well. But this should be nowhere near the bottom. Give me this over Britney or Kanye any fucking day of the week.
Oh, added 0.1* for the balls to put a fan favourite on the album but speed it up so it's unintelligible. Fair do's
Screaming Trees
3/5
3.1
Honestly shocked this album is on here. I haven't heard this in years, used to own it on CD as a teenager. Really like Mark Lanegan (his book is a must read, captivating and harrowing), but god, even he admits Screaming Trees were pretty shit and just rode on the grunge coattails movement until he could finally afford to jump off.
The music is alright, which my score reflects, but it 100% doesn't deserve to be on this list. It isn't even the best ST album. It has one good song, All I Know, and then immediately has the wind take out of its sails with a shite follow up.
The Replacements
3/5
2.8
Some fairly run of the mill punk/post rock it sounds like. Nothing really stands out. Black Diamond is an alright metal song randomly plonked in the middle. But still not great. Not really arsed hearing about someone having an erection. Don't think this changed music, but will now probably read a wiki page about how this impacted everything.
Billy Joel
3/5
2.6
I've only just found out how massive Billy Joel is. Either I'm missing something, or it was great at the time but has since aged poorly. Album starts off alright, first three songs are enjoyable. Just the way you are corny but still quite a sweet, decent track. Then the album descends into nonsense 70s/80s shite. How Vienna has almost 1 billion listens on Spotify boggles the mind. Glad music moved on from this genre.
Roxy Music
3/5
2.8
I feel like I should like Roxy Music. I really enjoy Talking Heads, and it feels like the latter takes a lot of inspiration from the former. But the two main reasons why I can do it is Bryan Ferry's voice and the amount of brass. Brass should be used sparingly and not a key instrument in rock imo. But the voice man. If there is something starts off really good, but then 2 minutes in Ferry ruins it completely. "BLUEUEUEUEUE". Shut up man. Wasting everyone's time.
Reduce the amount of brass, get rid of Ferry, and this is 4-5* territory. Thank god Eno left for better things.
Billie Holiday
2/5
1.9
I went off this the more I listened to it. At first I was intrigued, but god does it get grating after a while. I'm not sure why I gave it a third play through. Also, can we not normalise albums full of cover songs on here?
Cyndi Lauper
3/5
3.4
It's so 80s. So incredibly 80s. To the point where it's gone past being aged and turned into a fascinating spectacle. I'll kiss you is a particular stand out, it's as though they just bought a new synth machine and had to try out every single option, but shitting hell, it actually works and she pulls it off. Girls just Wanna have fun obviously too overplayed and actually not a great song, extremely repetitive riff, hook and lyrics. But Time after time actually holds up pretty well on reflection. Can see why it's included on this list, I felt like an archaeologist trying to make sense of a past civilisation listening to this.
Arcade Fire
4/5
3.9
it's good. But it's pretty overrated. First time I heard it, after seeing it on so many beat of lists, I thought yep, this will grow and grow, I can see why it eventually reaches that status for people. Extremely interesting on the first 5-10 listens. Power out the obvious highlight, phenomenal song. But several other great moments, the chorus with backing vocals of Laika, the dreaminess of Haiti, the end of the album in general is very strong. But one of the top albums in recent history? Nah. Strays slightly on the wrong side of pretentious art rock too much for that imo.
The Boo Radleys
4/5
4.1
I've given it a couple of listens and I think I'll need quite a few more but it's time to move on. I only knew these from Wake up Boo, so I always thought they were a one hit wonder that made a very commercialised Brit pop song and nothing else. Wow was I wrong.
This album has a bit of everything. Shoegaze, psychadelica, alternative rock etc. the genre often changes but it *works*, something that I lament often on here for not doing so.
Gram Parsons
2/5
1.5
Jesus fucking Christ. Country, honky tonk, and power ballads. They don't even flow from one song to the next well. The only thing I knew of Gram Parsons before this was the throwaway joke in Austin Powers and my god I wish it could have stayed that way.
Scott Walker
4/5
3.5
That was... surprisingly enjoyable? Never thought I'd like a baroque pop album (is that the first time ones appeared in 800 albums?), but it grew and grew. The story telling was unique, but you can't fault the voice and the backing music. Not sure I could do much more than half an hour, and not one that you can really add to playlists, but I'm glad to have heard it and can understand it's inclusion.
Air
4/5
3.5
A frustrating album. Namely for how good it starts off, I recognised Sexy Boy obviously, but after 3 tracks it was like my god, why wasn't I bopping along to this when I was 10 alongside Moby, Daft Punk, Fat Boy Slim, etc. Sadly it very quickly petered out, got very direction less and generally unexciting, something which also plagued those aforementioned bands with hindsight. Only on ce-matin la did it ever get anywhere near those initial heights but not good enough to save the album. Good, but had so much more potential.
Aerosmith
2/5
1.6
Rock is clearly the best genre of all time. But these fucking guys. Fuck me it's so bad. I've heard of punchable faces but these are just punchable songs. They just come across as such bellends. Who is enjoying this and why, it's a disgrace to rock. It's the rock version of the horrible mysognistic, egotistical rap that everyone seems to love. The only thing saving this from oblivion is Janies got a gun isn't that shit, love in an elevator is slightly catchy if you forget you know English, and there are worse genres out there that this list dutifully covers.
But fuck Aerosmith.
New Order
4/5
3.8
Yes. My first new order album on here I was pretty disappointed with, but this was more like I expected, having only really known but really loved blue monday. The perfect blend of post punk and dance.
The only thing stopping it from getting a higher score is the vocals man. I appreciate sometimes people who can't sing can still sound really good. But there are certain points here where the illusion is broken. Last track in particular, it ends the album on a "is that really his voice" note. The highs of this album are real high though
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
4/5
3.6
It's arguably actually a very good album. The lo-fi'ness of it doesn't assist it, but fair given the age and stature of the band. Much less out there than TMR but therefore a lot more accessible - much easier to hear the talent. An experimental, psychadelic twist on some good blues rock, that has a couple of highlights, none moreso than the albums closer (I'm ignoring the bonus tracks which add an unnecessary 30 minutes on)
Elvis Presley
3/5
2.6
Definitely up there for one of the most overrated artists ever. This was one of his better albums, although there's about 3 "flavours" of songs here that are rinsed and repeated. Helps that it actually ends on a decent track, but so many are just so damn boring.
Also, how the fuck was this guy a sex symbol. JD Vance levels of punchable faces.
Silver Jews
1/5
1.5
Dear god. Country is already one of the worst genres, and the you go and turn it into depressing country?! His voice makes me want to hang myself. At least with the usual country shite they're usually pretty chuffed to be singing about their pickup trucks and big hats and all that American shite. This was a torrid listening experience. Only redeeming feature is that I'm coming to the end of this list so I know there's somehow many albums even worse than this.
Teenage Fanclub
3/5
2.7
Disappointing. I've heard this name floating around in various threads so was looking forward to exploring. But my god was it dull. The stand out track definitely the last one. To answer that tracks question, yeah that was, but barely. Played it way too safe. If that was bandwagonesque then im not going anywhere near that bandwagon
Syd Barrett
2/5
1.9
Fucking hell. I think everyone should actually listen to this album, it's a great advert why psychadelics should be used only sparingly, with long pauses in between. Admittedly, poor Syd if the biographies are true, in that he was effectively spiked on the daily by his wanker housemates. But what a nonsense album, it's not the work of a genius, it's the work of a man who has clearly gone off the rails. If an unknown person released that it would have been laughed out of record shops.
The Byrds
3/5
3.3
Pretty decent 60s psychadelic pop. Not the best, but far from the worst on this list. Such an overrepresented genre on here, but I'd keep this above a large portion of the rest.
Tori Amos
2/5
2.2
Not my type. Just sounds like Kate Bush but without the songwriting talent.
Just seen it's routinely ranked amongst the best album ever so I'm obviously missing something. Maybe someone will explain it to me one day.
Fugees
3/5
2.6
On paper this should be good. Mixed gender 90s hip-hop group, that launched the career of a few solo stars. Why is it so disappointing then? It seems overly formulaic, almost every song follows the same structure - a 2-3 second sample that is sometimes interesting, sometimes not, repeated as infinitum except one point in the track where it drops out for 10 seconds or so, a simple drum loop, and then verses which cycle through the members. Over and over and over again.
Mott The Hoople
3/5
3.0
It's extremely mid 70's rock. And not mid as in the middle of the decade. I'm a Cadillac was a great stand out track, but the rest I was pretty unfazed by. Not entirely sure why it appears on this list, enlighten me.
Oh, also, shite band name.
Tom Tom Club
2/5
2.1
I really didn't get this one. Love Talking Heads, but first time listening to the spin-off and actually don't get it. Amazed and confused by David Byrne dismissing this as too commercial. If anything it's way more experimental. And just not very good. The first track is such a bad start. The one hit wonder that comes next is bland but acceptable. And the rest passes by without any fanfare whatsoever. At least it was short, when you ignore the hours of bonus tracks on Spotify.
Siouxsie And The Banshees
4/5
4.1
Wow, very impressive. I was thinking it sounded like a dark version of early new wave, only to find afterwards it was part of a genre called dark-wave...never heard the term before but very fitting. Siouxsie's voice captivating, starts off strong and doesn't let up. Sin in my Heart is the pinnacle, but even the last two tracks don't bring it crashing down to earth too hard.
Wished I had been introduced to this in my teens, I like to think I'd have dug it.
The Who
3/5
3.1
To be honest, I in general strongly dislike rock operas. The wall was the downfall of Pink Floyd, despite all it's acclaim, I thought it was pretty shit. Maybe because of that I've had an aversion to them. Credit where it's due to what was arguably the first rock opera, but like all of them it suffers from lots of pointless, boring interludes, songs that are weak but there to continue the story, etc. A few good tracks on here, but used rather sparingly. If this wasn't the first/second it would be heading towards a 2*
Peter Tosh
3/5
2.6
I'm really not a reggae fan, but as far as the genre goes it was alright. Literally every song is the same though. As always. But at least that one song isn't terrible. Someone explain it to me please.
Tim Buckley
3/5
3.0
Interesting concept, psychadelic infused folk. The more psychadelic points are the highlights, but the folky parts dominate too frequently. The title track is a particularly low point, and at 8 minutes it drags far too long. Can see why it's on here, probably won't listen again.
Beach House
3/5
2.9
Dream pop isn't my favourite genre. It's also not my least favourite. The only band that ever sunk was Alt-J, as they expanded outside the dream pop horizon and had some experimental/folky bits to then. These though, could lump them amongst the hundreds of other dream pop bands that have floated through existence in the last 20 years. I can't see anyone looking back on this in 50 years time and thinking this changed music. So terribly beige and inoffensive. It's nice to listen to, but leaves you feeling a bit empty
The Dictators
3/5
3.1
It's an interesting but of early punk, building on rockabilly and other 50s/60s rock. Lyrics are questionable, but I don't care enough about to the music to explore the true meaning behind it. Only one stand out track - Two Tub Man. The rest don't impress massively, but also don't annoy other than the cover of I got you babe. Track 2 as well, lol.
Faust
4/5
4.0
Come on, for 1973 this is fantastic. Never heard of these before, but so many great moments. Can hear the inspiration in so much music today. Experimental soft electronica, I love it.
Dead Kennedys
4/5
3.9
Really good. A clear bridge between early UK punk (Sex Pistols) and the early pop-punknwave which came after (NOFX, Descendents, etc.) that I'm glad I've found. Always thought the New York Dolls were shite and not it. Some really good songs on there, and a fair bit which spreads outside of the punk genre, whilst still carrying the energy.
My initial gripe was the audio quality, then afterwards I realised there was a remastered version on Spotify. 10x better. How was the initial recording so bad?!
Korn
3/5
2.9
Will start by saying I used to absolutely love Korn. But after a cracking debut album and an underrated follow up, this album never stuck well with me. Years later I can reflect on why
- children of the Korn and all in the family completely ruin the album. BBK is actually a good song but I'm still too wound up after Children to enjoy it. Same goes for the next couple after Family.
- the misogyny ("fucking bitches daily") and homophobia ("you little faggot") leaves a sour taste in the mouth, particularly after they literally had a song on their debut in support of kids getting bullied at school for being a "faggot".
- way too fucking long. Should have ended after Seed.
- the shitty trend of inserting convo's they had when high at the end of albums. As a kid I thought this was cool but fucking hell they sound like bellends in hindsight.
- Earache my eye. Enough said.
The only redeeming thing about this album is the first three songs. They should have released those as an EP with BBK and moved on to Untouchables.
Belle & Sebastian
3/5
3.3
I had an initial aversion to these even before listening but couldn't think why. After one listen I thought I'd do a bit of reading and realised it was because Jack Black's character in High Fidelity referred to them as "old sad bastard music" which somehow stuck with me for the last 25 years.
Yet on second listen there was a bit to like - the more Nick Drake-esque the better..the first half of the album therefore hits slightly better, with the latter half a bit on the duller and OSB-side, so the album peters put slightly.
Nirvana
5/5
4.6
I always debated whether this or Nevermind was better and when I'd finally fully exhausted Nirvana around 19-20 I'd settled on In Utero. Revisiting via this list almost two decades later, I think I might have gone with the wrong one. Nevermind ultimately has no skippable songs, they have a few weaker ones, like Drain You, but In Utero has two tracks, Milk it and Tourettes that just don't really cut it imo. The opening 7 tracks or so are immense, and on par with anything on Nevermind, so it's a shame to see the album slightly stutter towards the end. Still, one of the best albums of all time so I can't complain too much.
System Of A Down
3/5
3.4
I'm torn on this. I was obsessed with this album pmbriefly as a teenager. But what I loved about it then I find cringy now, for example the random, erratic pause followed by a screamed statement seemingly unrelated to anything. There are good tracks on here, Sugar highlighting the album, PLUCK setting the groundwork for Toxicity, War just being good in general. And the album did seem a fresh take in a new direction for the genre.
However, I think the list creator has made a mistake, and it's the inverse of the one I had for Korn the other day, in which he went for their breakout album (Follow) over their debut (self titled) - there the debut captured the true magic of the band before they effectively sold out just a few years later, whereas for SOAD I think the debut is too rough, too unsure of its approach, whereas their breakout, Toxicity, ironed out all the deficiencies, and despite not being as original as their debut, arguably should be heard by everyone before they die.
Amy Winehouse
4/5
4.2
I'm glad this has come up towards the end of the list as I think it would have gotten a much lower score if it had come at the start.
When this came out I had a few mates who were fawning over it, but I just dismissed it as being boring and ignored it for the next 2 decades.
However, absorbing decades of female soul singers from this list have given me a new found appreciation for this album. I think it's much better than Frank. It sounds so modern, yet so 50s/60s/70s all at once, which is the perfect type of album.
The only drawback is the song ordering, I feel like she went with her strongest upfront, which makes the second half run out of steam slightly. Space out the great tracks and I think it'd elevate the good tracks.
The Soft Boys
2/5
2.2
My top review on here is of the Mekon's 'Fear and Whiskey', effectively saying it is a pointless album that doesn't change anything for anybody. This feels like the spitting image of that. Did this really advance music? Did this change anything? Did anyone really like this? It's not terrible, it's just really not good and altogether kind of pointless.
John Martyn
4/5
3.7
It's pretty good, I preferred to his other outing that appeared on here. Fantastic guitar playing, few of the quieter ones don't land as well. But all round pretty positive.
Don McLean
3/5
2.8
I can see the logic for including American Pie on a list of 1,001 songs to hear before you die. Wouldn't include it on mine, but I get it. However, I think "albums" is a bit of a stretch. The rest of it just really, really bland. Luckily this list doesn't have many one hit wonders, but this certainly feels like one.
Butthole Surfers
3/5
2.8
Feels like an album I'd have pretended to love when I was 16 but in truth not really getting it. Felt like a cross between Mr Bungles first two albums, which have their good and and bad moments. First track is actually pretty decent, but then it quickly goes off the rails with Avant Garde nonsense. The blurb made me think I was getting something more polished, especially given which bands took inspiration from this. Not enough to keep me interested and coming back, so I'll let this one rest in piece. Can see why it's on the list, but not for me.
Paul McCartney and Wings
3/5
3.3
The starter and finisher are really good tracks. The middle though, other than let me roll it, which sounds like a Let It Be offcut, just meanders through with dotted tracks similar to Paul's worse excesses on the Beatles (sixty four, Maxwell's, she's leaving home, etc.). It's an ok album, but nothing much more than that.
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
2.8
Dull, dull, dull. Do me a favour and quickly skip between tracks 1, 3 and 5. They're exactly the same. 7 and 9 are almost similar as well. Did he think by spacing them one out we wouldn't notice? Was only 40 minutes but got what a slog. The good thing about coming towards the tail end of the list is that I know after this I never have to listen to Springsteen again. And this was one of his better ones ffs.
Heaven 17
4/5
3.5
Quite enjoyable early new-wave, sounds distinctive to a lot of what came after and an evolution of what came before. Lacking in great hooks is the main downside, first track was probably the highlight. A lot of the tracks are not bad, but overall forgettable.
Carpenters
2/5
2.4
Torn on this. On the one hand, I hate it. On the other hand, it probably made a lot of people happy, won loads of awards somehow, and so was probably an important release. Cannot give this 3 stars though, so I'm forcing it to fall just short. I feel like this album is made for people who are oblivious to how tough life is. It's vom in mouth levels of cheese.
Oh also, it's most a covers album. That won loads of Grammy's. Wtf.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
2/5
2.1
Okay this is like the third or fourth Elvis Costello album on here. Got to be the highest ratio of appearances for how shite and/or unpopular they are. Usually when someone appears far more times than they should on here - Springsteen, Clapton etc., they at least have a massive following. But I've never actually met anyone who likes Costello. The music is so so pointless. It's not that it's terrible, I think it's just wasting precious oxygen. It feels like a waste of humanities effort not only to listen to this, but to create and produce this in the first place. The guy would have made a bigger impact to society by being a litter picker.
A Tribe Called Quest
2/5
2.2
Just classic shite 90s hiphop on this list. Lyrics written by a teenager, very basis beats, wtf is this lists obsession with incredibly mediocre 90s hip-hop end me.
Justice
2/5
2.3
Like a grittier Daft Punk. And I mean that with some disrespect, Daft Punk are massively overrated. It's disappointing given the amount of shite electronic music that exists on this list, whereas I've yet to see any Squarepusher, Autechre, John Hopkins etc.
Eels
4/5
4.0
Hauntingly beautiful. Seems to be a lot of pain in these words but at the same time it's cathartic for him to release it and use to hear it. A few weaker tracks which drag the score down, but the high point are very high. The opener is an amazing track. Can't even come up with any similarities to what this sounds like, it's alternative rock but sounds unique.
Burning Spear
3/5
3.3
Probably one of the better Reggae albums on here, but still doesn't mean it's fantastic. Every song again sounds the same, but at half an hour it doesn't drag too long. Not much more to say about reggae
Charles Mingus
3/5
3.1
It's fine. It's good musicianship, and I think at the time to hear it in a smokey jazz club with a nice cocktail would have been an enjoyable experience. But in 2025, when is the right time to listen to this. I think it's a too erratic to work to, too pretentious to have on with guests, too boring to have on when cooking/running etc. It's fine, but I think it's lost its place in modern society.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
3/5
2.8
I can't quite put my finger on why, but this really isn't doing much for me. Not a big fan of organ in work, which this has a fair bit of. The long opener doesn't really impress as a center piece, and the rest are pretty forgettable. Pretty bland prog rock over all.
Madonna
2/5
2.3
I'm sorry, but her magnum opus? It was pretty shit. It felt like Madonna staying to relevant by copying Bjork but failing to understand where the magic behind Bjorn lies. 64 minutes is extremely unnecessary. Opener and closer are fine, but the middle is so bloated full of ideas that go out like a damp squib.
The Flaming Lips
3/5
3.1
I feel like this one be a controversial opinion, but as a cult band the flaming rips are massively overrated. There was a bell end in my class who was obsessed with them, so I tried really hard as a teenager to get into Yoshimi... But it felt like they were tring too hard. This album is no better. It's fine music, but reduces in quality by the elitest aura it gives off. Reduces to mid tier.
Joan Armatrading
4/5
3.5
This one really grew on me as it went on. Rare case of the latter half sounding better than the first. She sounds like a cross between Joni Mitchell and Tracy Chapman yet better than the sum of their parts. Not normally my thing but I quite enjoyed that.
Ms. Dynamite
2/5
2.1
Her voice is nice. That's as far as my compliments go for this album. Other than that it's a tepid boring affair. Inoffensive but also just uninspiring. Not as bad as a lot of the other shite hip hop on here but really could have done without listening to the full hour of this in my life
4/5
3.7
Pretty decent 60s outing. They're a dime a dozen on this list, so it's refreshing hearing one I both know nothing about and am pleasantly surprised by. Can hear a bit of the heavier, groovier side in this - bands like stooges and qotsa for sure would have had this in mind for a couple of riffs. Happy to have heard it.
Röyksopp
2/5
2.4
Fascinating, that's given me an ever greater appreciation of Boards of Canada. I wondered why there weren't any other bands that sound like them, and it's because, it turns out, when you try, you sound pretty shit. The album closer could have been lifted straight off a lost EP of tracks BoC discarded for not carrying the soul of them, for being unfinished and generally shit. Even the opening two, that I remember hearing at the time, are massively disappointing. Very interesting, glad I heard it.
Love
3/5
2.6
Pretty bland 60s psychadelica poprock. Might have helped spurned a generation of music but in isolation there's nothing really catchy to draw me in. No really terrible tracks, but no good ones either
Anthrax
2/5
2.3
Don't think this will be very controversial for those in the know, but Anthrax are probably one of the luckiest bands out there for getting named as one of the "big 4" besides three bands with actual great talent - Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer. How on earth Anthrax made it in there I'll never know. Even their best songs - caught in a mosh, Indians etc, wouldn't have been made it on as album filler on most of the early albums by the other three. I love metal and there was not a single track on this album I saved down. I saved down one from Ms. Dynamite the other day ffs. Really, really poor. Possibly the worst metal album we've had on here, and I lament the other appearances that could have made it - Mastodon, Gojira, Opeth, Meshuggah etc. it's like the list owner got to the early 90s and thought that must be it for metal. Ludicrous.
D'Angelo
2/5
1.9
Comical. Imagine someone actually buying this and playing it regularly. I had my cringy phases of music - emo etc, but at least I never went through a 90s/00s RnB phase. Fuck me. Just have sex already mate.
Fatboy Slim
3/5
2.8
Can honestly say I never bothered to explore his debut, despite loving YCALWB when it came out. The reason was probably, as I later realised, bar a few tracks it's really not fantastic music. Extremely repetitive, most ideas not very exciting, but each one sticks around for way longer than necessary. It's a good entry level into electronics, which is why I think it exploded on to the mainstream. This album then, is a step behind that. It's easy to hear why this didn't have the same reach, as it's lacking the killer instinct of tracks like Rockefeller skank and right here right now which burrow into your head as earworms and make you want to go back. Here it's a just a hodge podge of sounds mashed together, there's talent there to bring it together but not to make it land right. Interesting to hear what came before YCALWB, but can't help but feel this is a lost opportunity to hear so many other great electronics albums but lesser known artists that haven't made it on to this list.
Everything But The Girl
2/5
1.9
Terrible. How beige must life be to be captivated by this album. Every single track skippable after 1-2 minutes, which isn't common despite the amount of shite on this list.
U2
4/5
3.9
The first U2 album I think I've enjoyed. Feels like pretentious, less stadium poppy than their later outings. Still a bit on the poppy side, and not sure I could ever love it, but appreciate it for what it is.
Goldfrapp
3/5
3.3
It's unique, I think it's quite good, but its not my cup of tea. I feel like the album is a big build up to Utopia, it's pinnacle by far (reminiscent of Bjork's Unison on Vespertine), but then inexplicably goes on to showcast another slow dreary number. More Utopia, less Horse Tears please
Big Black
4/5
3.6
Ferocious, in a good way. Can really hear Albini's later influence of the heavier elements of Sonic Youth, Pixies, Nirvana etc. Main detraction is that a lot of these songs sound the same, but it's not a bad sound. Album hits a peak with Kerosene, seems to be when all of the elements briefly come together just perfectly
Aretha Franklin
3/5
3.0
It's interesting but I'm not interested. 4 for the music, 2 for how much I enjoyed it. I can appreciate the art but Aretha just doesn't do it for me.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
3/5
3.4
I enjoyed it, but it was let down partly by an unnecessary cover of good golly miss Molly and the fact that I sadly cannot stand Proud Mary. Dunno why, but that songs really winds me up.
Graveyard train the best of the rest I think.
Fugazi
4/5
3.5
I'm enjoying a brief instances of post-hardcore that have appeared on here. Not really a genre I've explored before, but it's a nice precursor to the quiet/loud alternative rock/grunge that spun off from it shortly after. Raw, unpolished, but that gives it its charm.
Christina Aguilera
2/5
2.3
77 minutes. Seventy-seven. That's just 16 minutes short of the white album, one of the most famous purposefully long albums of all time. Could be half the length easily.
Length aside, it's not terrible, despite my younger self trying to tell me it is. Her voice is actually pretty great, but the music really isn't my kind of music. But given some of the absolute garbage that's appeared on here recently - Britney, Madonna, this looks less shite in comparison.
Seventy seven minutes though.
Ice Cube
3/5
3.4
Surprisingly good, I always presumed Ice Cube after NWA would have gone downhill, but it sounded a bit fresher than I expected. Bit more Cypruss Hill than NWA, but I'd argue even more enjoyable than the former. Some good beats although they lean toward the simplistic, case in point being the albums highlight, today was a good day, cracking sample from the Isley Brothers but when it boils down to it is the same 7 seconds clip repeated ad infinitum. Makes it the kind of thing that is enjoyable to listen to the first 10 times, but after that there's nothing new to find in it.
The number of skits was unnecessary though, trim them and it might have reached 4* rounding up territory
Beatles
5/5
4.8
It took a while to get the genius of Abbey Road, I was always under the belief that Revolver or Sgt Peppers were much superior, but as time goes on the gap between them as closed such that it now arguably comes out top.
Some absolutely unreal songs on here, I wish this was their final release instead of Let It Be as what a way to go out. To end the career of arguably the greatest band ever with The End...wow man.
I'll start with the albums only low point - Maxwell's Silver Hammer. Another McCartney granny dancehall experiment that went wrong. Whilst they sometimes worked (Obladi) they often didn't - She's Leaving Home similarly kneecapped Sgt Peppers when it was in full steam.
Ignoring that, there are a few other songs that don't hit the mark as well - Because showcases great harmonisation but otherwise falls a bit flat. But the rest are all absolute stellar tracks. She's so heavy is some of the heaviest music to ever happen given what else was out at the time. The ongoing coda spurred an entire generation of heavy metallers surely. Here comes the sun was what I chose to leave the altar to at my wedding. Come together is so fucking cool. But arguably the highlight for me is the medley. A lot of Beatles albums suffer from songs that don't hit the mark as well, which exist in number in this medley. But whereas on other albums you're spending 3-4 minutes with them, here it just blasts through them, never overstaying their welcome, and building something that is greater than the sum of its parts. It's absolute enguinity at it's finest.
Wild Beasts
4/5
3.7
Never heard of these, it was pretty interesting. Enjoyed the vocal style, a bit Ahoni in places but less annoying. Album petered out a bit towards the end but quite a few saved down. A lot better than some of the other 2010ish soft rock albums that have appeared on here.
Public Enemy
4/5
3.7
I much prefer this to fear of a black planet. Strangely the version I had years back had side A/B the other way round, which I think I prefer. Both sides are similar, an intro track (I much prefer Show em whatcha got, I think the live intro is pointless), followed by 3 cracking tracks before it peters out. So across the album you have 6 pretty stellar tracks. Black steel is probably the best of the lot, absolutely banging tune.
The sampling is top drawer, the album lurches all over the place with it yet, similar to Paul's Boutique or outputs from Avalanches, it works, which is something to commend, as it could have easily turned into a garbled mess.
I love the Chuck D and Flavor Flav combo, two voices on the opposite end of the rap spectrum but go so well together.
4/5
4.4
Wow. I laughed when this came up. I haven't listened to it since I was about 15, and I thought it would have aged terribly in that time. Can't get across how much this was the fucking coolest thing ever when this was released when I was 12. Fred Durst ruled the world for a few months, despite being an absolute tool. The thing is, in hindsight he knew he was tool. He knew this was his 15 minutes and thought fuck it, I'll play it up and pretend I deserve it. I think it was all a charade though, given by them fully embracing the novelty band aspect at modern festivals and putting on a banging set list, almost completely ignoring anything that came after this album. Fair enough.
To the album itself, I'm giving it a high score as, like I did between the ages of 12-15, I'm instantly skipping the three shite songs - both Rollin's and Betcha Groove on. Ignoring them, and discarding the intro/outro, you have about 50 minutes of 10 actually fucking enjoyable songs.
Looking back now, the musicianship is a hell of a lot better than I accounted for in my young brain.
Wes Borland is actually incredible, the atmospheric moods he creates is phenomenal, there's a large argument he was 'wasted' on Fred Durst but fuck it, at least we got to enjoy it. His solo stuff was terrible so it's not as though it was a complete loss opportunity.
Sam's bass is super groovy, really brings out some tracks, and Johns drums are super tight.
And Fred...we'll, he's not to everyone's tastes, but if you just allow yourself to slip back into the mind of angsty pre-teen then he's almost godlike, and you know what, fuck it, I'm here for it.
This album is one of the biggest surprises on this list, and it's one I've heard 1000x before. Fair play lads.
The Prodigy
5/5
4.5
Fuck it it's creeping into 5* territory. Forgot how good this was. Funky shit through to Mindfields drags slightly but other than that it's banger after banger after banger. Makes me wish I didn't rinse this dry as a young teenager before my rave days, which are now sadly long gone.
The best tracks are the less known ones. Narayan, Climbatize etc. phenomenal stuff.
The Fall
3/5
3.3
A bit 'out there' but made more sense on the second listening. The lazy style of the vocals does start to drag unless in the right mood - funnily enough I think it actually works really well on Lost in Music. I can see why someone could be really into it, I see why it should be included here, but I'm happier without this in my life.
Jean-Michel Jarre
3/5
3.0
It's an interesting concept, and I'm sure it was in 1976, but I think it's been done much better in various different guises since. Still, if it helped reinforce this style of synth music then fair play. 2 for actual music, 4 for it's legacy
U2
2/5
2.3
Third U2 album on here, so I've now had late stage, early stage, and finally mid stage. Maybe it caught me on the wrong day but this was the worst of the lot. War was actually alright, the later one was generic shite, but this was the most disappointing of the lot. I was trying to put my finger on why it's so bad and the closest I can get to it is it sounds like the selection of songs David Brent puts together in that episode of the office. Just fake, cringy stadium rock. I think it's saying something that for all the albums they sold, I've never met a single U2 fan. You'll meet people both from that era or born way after that wax lyrical about the smiths, the police etc, but who actually likes them today. It's as though everyone of that era was put under a spell that's been broken. As it's shite.
The Offspring
5/5
4.6
With hindsight this was arguably the best of the poppunk albums, and yet it only achieved fame by riding on the coattails of the explosion of dookie. The reason why it works so well is that the offspring were legitimately a punk band, with a spirit more akin to NoFX than green day/blink, who ventured into pop territory. This album leans a bit more to punk, Americana closer to pop, before they fully transitioned into pretty awful tepid pop punk after that, I'm talking Sum41/Busted levels.
The ferocious energy of this album is what drives it, and although not every song is a beast, with the latter half in particular running a bit drier in a couple places (What Happened To You nearly drags it down a star), the sheer number of absolute belters puts it at the pinnacle of the genre.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
2/5
2.3
I really don't like Reggae, and every time one comes up on here I'm reminded of why. Nothing about it appeals to me. The worst side of stonerism imo.
Malcolm McLaren
2/5
1.9
Oof. What a strange one. On the one hand, I admire the effort. On the other hand, everything landed flat. It's as though someone was taken back in time and tasked with recreating the atmosphere of switching through the radio stations on GTA vice city, but without the talent to really nail any genre specifically. Strangely the first track was very AFX'y (surely that's been remixed at somepoint), but after that floated through a range of genres that I have no real interest in.
Afrika Bambaataa
2/5
1.9
I'm sorry, but this is terrible. It's aged so poorly, what might have once sounded quite futuristic hasn't quite cut through to today. Planet Rock just doesn't impress hearing it for the first time in 2025, unlike the Kraftwerk-esque backing.
Lucinda Williams
2/5
2.1
The first 3 songs or so are not terrible. Then it just turns out to shite country. The vocal style in Concrete.. sounds like nails on a chalk board to me. Country is one of America's worst exports, and they've inflicted some pretty terrible atrocities on the world. Please make it stop. 200 albums to go, surely there can't be many more country ones left.
Duke Ellington
2/5
2.0
I don't love it I'm afraid. I feel like this was the metal of the 50s, you can hear the crowd going mental for it in the last song in particular, but given all that's come since it just seems a bit... Dull? Sax and piano were usurped by guitar as the instrument to really make people lose their minds, which I think was a good thing. Probably great for it's time, but it doesn't do much for me 70 years later. The screeching to close out pt. 1 goes down as well for me as the screeching solos of the metal I used to listen to as a teenager went down for my parents. Different time, different generation.
Steely Dan
4/5
3.7
I first heard these right before I started this project, and admittedly I don't think I'd have rated this as highly if I hadn't have had the time to come back to it every once in a while. It grows on you, a lovely blend of 70s rock with jazz and funk flavouring, from a band that is extremely extremely tight. There's no absolute bangers on here, but every song is a positive listening experience, Aja and Peg standing out the most. Can see the acclaim.
Brian Eno
4/5
3.6
It's quite enjoyable, but I can't see myself coming back to it. Interesting hearing his solo stuff from around the time he was then producing Bowie & Iggy with this flavour of music in mind.
Pleasant, but certainly not earth shattering.
Harry Nilsson
3/5
3.4
Actually thought for 1970 this was pretty solid. Coconut was/is annoying, Fred Neil cover seemed unnecessary, but other than that it's an interested album with a slight genre change here and there, but producing generally enjoyable music.
Fela Kuti
3/5
3.4
Not my usual cup of tea but I can appreciate it. First track was the stand out one, saved it down to a playlist. The rest I thought were a bit less interesting, but not bad.
Coldplay
5/5
4.6
It's July 2000, I've just broken up for school holidays, and I'm ready to play Championship Manager 00/01 all summer in the computer room in our house (remember that?), closing the blinds to keep out the light. I'm mostly listening to Chris Moyles' radio 1 show, and the assorted Ibiza clubhouse bangers that come with it, but then drops this little album that somehow becomes the soundtrack to my summer. And then I never listen to it again afterward until 25.5 years later seemingly.
Looking back, it's unobjectivebly a fantastic album. It's a bit of Radiohead but more polished in some respect, prior to their Stadium rock sound that I think detracted from the band. This is a band who've hit the sweet spot in calling the atmosphere of Creep but without the weird incel vibe that comes with it.
It's an extremely pleasant album, so well polished, and I'm surprised I don't see it higher up in anyones list in hindsight.
Radiohead
4/5
4.4
This album came to me at the perfect time in my life. I then completely rinsed it dry over the course of a couple of years and haven't given it much airtime since. Listening back now, it is brilliant, but has its flaws. The titular track is a bit too experimental, and it ends on a slightly damped note, but some of the other stuff is incredible. Opener is immense, and a great instant escape from being forced into making OK Computer 2.0. The triad of Optimistic - In Limbo - Idioteque is arguably their greatest moment as a band. National Anthem and Tree fingers are good but nothing to write home about, and it's this latter point that arguably stops it achieving 5* status.
The Young Rascals
3/5
3.0
This was an extremely average album. Once good thing about this list drawing to a close that I've come to peace with the number of 60s bands that I had never previously heard. The sheer number on this list and the sheer amount of mediocrity has been slightly surprising.
These guys, just extremely bland early experimental psychadelic pop. You Better Run was a brief moment of genius, for 3 minutes they transcended the pop constraints and sounded like they had a purpose, decades ahead of the rest of the album. And then it was over before it began.
Sugar
3/5
3.1
I find I'm normally biased towards grunge/alternative acts on here as they're few and far between, but got to say I wasnt that impressed by this. It was fine, but surely there are much better albums to put on here. Can understand why I've never really heard of these. In a couple of leagues below their contemporaries to be honest. Not bad, but really not that great.
Stephen Stills
4/5
3.7
Other than the Stills in Crosby Stills & Nash ive never heard of any this guys stuff before and honestly pretty impressed. It is the most digestible country that's appeared on this list, admittedly because it often detours far from country. Very long, yes, but there's no particularly bad parts of this album, and though there's no killer track there are between 5 or 10 that I would happily put on from time to time.
Depeche Mode
3/5
3.4
Always dismissed Depeche Mode has a generic 80s band but there was some pretty good stuff in here. The first 4 tracks were some good solid 80s shit, then it went a bit off the rails with the terrible little 15 and behind the wheel. The next two though, wow, seemed to set the tone for a bit of industrial unless I've mistaken my timeline. Pretty Hate Machine is just a heavier Depeche Mode it turns out. Last few after that were skippable, but overall positive thoughts about this album.
Skunk Anansie
2/5
2.4
Can't quite put my finger on why, but gives proper "I'm 14 and this is deep" energy. After the first track I thought it could really go somewhere, I always thought metal lacked some diversity and thought I'd missed something big. Then I read they headlined glasto and thought wtaf how have I missed this. The rest of the album answered my question. It feels so superficial, so surface level. Not upset I completely missed out on this.
The Mothers Of Invention
1/5
1.4
Stop kidding yourself. It's shite. Frank Zappa is one of the medium-sized gang that this list has led me to realise they're shite
Kings of Leon
3/5
3.3
I've never truly vibes with Kings of Leon. I think I started off on a bad note with them when my brother went to uni and came back after first time acting like these were the coolest fucking band on earth and he was the coolest fucking person for being into them. Would have been after this album actually. It's fine, it's good in parts, but grating in others. Trani sounds like someone trying to take the piss out of his vocals, so fair play for putting that on your debut. There's not much further to fall after that I guess. Like all other Kings of Leon albums I've heard, it's alright, but feels like they're trying too hard to be cool.
Dusty Springfield
4/5
3.5
Somewhat surprisingly, I quite enjoyed that. It's exactly the kind of genre I've admonished on here many times before but perhaps it caught me in a good moment. The vocals are really good, the album doesn't overstay it's welcome, it doesn't seem overly formulaic, and son of a preacher man is a certified banger.
Fela Kuti
3/5
3.3
Second Fela Kuti album in the space of a week but in not upset about it. Tracks 2&3 were my favourite, but sadly too long to put on a lot of my playlists. Drum solo completely unnecessary, but don't mind skipping that given it's the outro. Like Zombie, not my normal thing, but I can appreciate the artistry