Oh, thank god! Finally something weird. This 1001 album experiment works best for me when there's something I've never heard, or even better, never heard *of*. The layers, the sampling, the clear influences of people like Zappa, this is fantastic stuff. Instant add to my library.

Fun fact for me. My buddy loved "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" so much, but he didn't have an iTunes account. Since he was my office mate, I purchased the album for him on the spot and listened to it on repeat for about a month. First iTunes album I purchased. The thing I love most about the Darkness isn't that they missed the hair band era by several decades. It's that they said Fuck It. This is the music we love and we're going to be the best damn hair band of the new millennium. Their love of the genre is obvious in their execution. Brilliant debut album.

I often wonder about the attention span of artists who can perform full length albums like this. Girl Talk All Night is a particularly masterful example of what I'm talking about. Another album where the track delineation is somewhat arbitrary, "Since I Left You" is an hour-long soundscape that weaves in and out of itself leaving me wanting more. Frontier Psychiatrist is a standout track here, and probably the one most of us have heard. I can't tell you the name of any other track on this album since I didn't notice where one began and the other ended. Taken as a whole, this whole album is an experience.

When I was in high school, I traded an old trumpet for a really, really shitty drum set with a kid who lived down the way. See, he wasn't enjoying the drums, and I always wanted to learn how to play. He wanted to try the trumpet, and I wasn't using this one. Fair trade. He never learned how to play the trumpet, but I ended up practicing that shit set around the clock. Out of sheer force of will, I became pretty good. My pals wanted to do some cover tunes at the talent show, and I asked to be the drummer. I played along with the songs they picked until I could do a passable job. When we took the stage, I was so nervous I thought I would throw up, but the moment I started playing, I lost all of my anxiety in the music. When the audience started dancing during out little four-song set, I was over the moon. One of the best moments of my life. La Grange was one of those songs. One of the first tunes I ever learned how to play. I know I'm no Frank Beard, but dammit, I kept playing until I went semi-pro in university. I still play, much more rusty than I used to be, but I will always have a place in my heart for La Grange and ZZ Top.

Kraftwerk is divisive. I get it. Autobahn is divisive. ALL THEIR WORK IS DIVISIVE. But we live in a post-Kraftwerk world. Someone had to do it first. Many Someones had to do it first. Kraftwerk is on that vanguard: making what they wanted to make. Making the world of music in their image, or at the very least, carving out a small divot in the zeitgeist that others could expand upon.

Good memories of this one when it came out. I remember it being a little divisive since, while the album has the same structure of Nevermind, more or less, this one explored deeper into the developing nirvana style. Heart shaped box was a great single, and Tourette's remains one of my favorites. Then Kurt died.

Those harmonies on "If I fell"! Still a super-poppy album, but you can hear the maturity coming along. We're a ways off Sgt. Pepper, but it's clear to see how we'll get there. Funny listening to this album from start to finish and just "knowing" all of the songs, even though I am *sure* I've never sat and listened to this album from start to finish.

Just gotta be honest. Never listened to the Pixies all the way through. It's hard to imagine that this was released in 1989. For me, this is a timeless sound. Good lord. There Goes My Gun! An internal parody of their most well-known track on the same album!

The open synth melody on First We Take Manhattan always reminds me of the Vangelis soundtrack for Blade Runner. It's such a relic of its time, but also incredibly interesting. I can't imagine the meeting that convinced Cohen to go from acoustic rumblings to this synth masterpiece(?). Another one of those that I discovered more or less accidentally as I was trying to expand my musical vocabulary. I had downloaded a bunch of Warren Zevon on Limewire that ended up being misattributed Leonard Cohen. The humor is surprising. I like the vague quote of the theme to Star Trek when the girls sing the chorus on Jazz Police. This seems to be a Cohen without something to prove, but I can't say I think it's his best work. It almost feels like he's telling a really obtuse and deadpan joke in album format.

Rolling in the Deep. The most Aretha Franklin song that she never wrote. Rumor Has It. The lost Eurythmics song. A great deal of pathos in this album. Adele's voice is brilliant. She's an incredible talent. The album doesn't feel terribly cohesive to me on first listen – an aggregation of various bangers and ballads. Beautiful stuff. I recognize I'm not a huge pop album consumer. My album experiences were generally prog rock, so a lot of intention and through lines. Set Fire to the Rain is just a great song. Anyone who dismisses pop as a less-than-legitimate artistic expression needs to soak in tunes like this one. Any act, anywhere, any style, can pick up a song like Set Fire to the Rain and make it their own. The drums on He Won't Go are a warm flannel blanket on a cool autumn night, man. So cozy. Brilliant cover of Lovesong. A cover needs to be something that becomes your own. Seems to me that Robert Smith could have written this song for Adele.

I wasn't of listening age when this album came out, and my house had precious little music to begin with. I missed this during the relevant time period, and the US definitely didn't privilege these guys. It's competent work, and the NI significance isn't lost on me, but there's nothing here that makes me sit up and say, "Where have you been all my life."

I understand that the Stones were a fundamental force in the rock and roll scene, but I just don't like them. I've had years and years to let them into my heart, but I just can't. I don't like the sexism. I don't like the swagger. Some the component parts are brilliant. Charlie Watts, for instance, is one of the all time great drummers. I'm happy to recognize that if you want the Stones, Exile on Main Street is one of the Stones-iest albums you can lay hands on, but my listening condenses it to track after track of what blurs into the same song rather quickly. 18 takes of the same song. It reminds me a lot of a free concert I went to featuring Jimmie Vaughn of the Fabulous Thunderbirds, brother of the late Stevie Ray. He opened up his set with a competent blues in G at about 100bpm. Followed by a second song – a blues in G around 100bpm. He rounded out the set with a rousing blues in G around 100bpm. When Mr. Vaughn started picking out the same. freaking. intro. lick. on that third song, I packed it up and went home. For someone like me who doesn't really grok the words on the first, second, or even twentieth listen of a song, maybe I'm missing something – some fundamental read on the human condition. I'm not patient enough to try to parse it out, however. Listening to this album is laborious.

I am happy to admit that I first heard Nick Drake from the Pink Moon VW commercial back in the early 2000s. Gladly, proudly admit that I looked up the artist and devoured his entire short discography. I am only sad that I didn't do this sooner so I could have more time with this man's beautiful music in my life. Nick Drake is one of those once-in-a-generation type talents, and Bryter Layter is an incredible work. Northern Lights is one of my favorite songs, and the entire album is a front-to-back listen. I don't claim to understand his demons, but I am glad he graced us with what he had as long as he could.

Listening to an artist at the height of his powers. Add in the adoring audience, and this album is a joy.

I've never listened to a Zappa album from start to finish. Let's see how I get on with Hot Rats.

Joni Mitchell holds a "folk-artist" position in my mind, but her skill and expression on Help Me immediately suggests to me that she's really a jazz singer. Free Man in Paris is a bop. Joni Mitchell isn't really my thing. I hear the skill and some of the lyrics are brilliant. But I'm probably not going to listen to this again.

There's something I find comforting with the over-to-top sincerity performance of this album. Sure, it's about death and murder, but it's also really playful. And PJ Harvey is an automatic win with me. I don't know what about this that scratches an aural itch for me. The performances are tight. The mood is atmospheric. The mix on the bass is astounding. Jesus, Cave is doing a duet with Kylie Minogue on an album about MURDER! I love this to no end. The intro on the Curse of Millhaven is exactly the kind of controlled musical violence that I love. The Kindness of Strangers is really sad. Very good job, Mr. Cave and the Bad Seeds.

I'm perfectly happy listening to Nick Cave growl sincerely into a microphone. Him and the band.

Thoughtful and funny. Sometimes funny because it's funny. Sometimes funny because it's true.

Pretty groovy, man. Pushing what sounds you can make with a guitar at the time. The only track that made me really perk up and pay attention is Living Wreck. Didn't move me terribly. I probably won't seek it out again. Not bad, but not my favorite.

Ooh. It's been forever since I've heard any Public Enemy. I've never heard this one through. Nighttrain has some great energy. Loving the controlled noise on the first track, Lost at Birth.

Big Black Car. I love the dreamy vibe. That's a great drum solo on Nighttime. Really competent. Fairly eclectic, particularly for the time. I enjoyed it.

Ok. So, I didn't know that I am apparently emulating the Jesus and Mary Chain when I dink around and try to compose downtempo rock music for myself. No idea how these guys made their way into my consciousness. This is the first time I've listened to this song. I've known about this band, but never knowingly listened to them. And yet, here I am, listening to an album that sounds like the stuff I'm trying to make, feeling as familiar as if I've been listening to them for my entire life.

Fun fact for me. My buddy loved "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" so much, but he didn't have an iTunes account. Since he was my office mate, I purchased the album for him on the spot and listened to it on repeat for about a month. First iTunes album I purchased. The thing I love most about the Darkness isn't that they missed the hair band era by several decades. It's that they said Fuck It. This is the music we love and we're going to be the best damn hair band of the new millennium. Their love of the genre is obvious in their execution. Brilliant debut album.

I've recently revised my stance on Alice In Chains. Back when I was younger, I couldn't escape them from the radio, and I was oversaturated. Now, listening in isolation, I've developed an appreciation for them. Still not my favorite, but Would? has made it onto various playlists.

Walk across the rooftops sounds like it may have inspired some of Sting's early solo work. I love the arrangement of the track. Lazy bass, dreamy time, I've wandered in this fog more than once.

I like the talking heads. The only thing that turns me off about "Take Me to the River" is that it was so overplayed on the classic rock stations of my youth.

Not a reggaton fan. The musicianship is really competent, but it's not my cuppa.

This is probably going to get in into trouble. I associate Mama Said Knock You Out with the movement that took rap from an indie art to the mainstream. It's undeniable that this is a powerful album. The music is outstanding. The rap performance is tight.

I enjoyed listening to this album. The pseudo-industrial vibe with the Wilco jangle was a fine combination.

These guys play your local pub? They're going to bring the house down. Right place at the right time, Come On Eileen is one of those lightning in a bottle tracks. Jackie Wilson Said here is better than Van Morrison's.

What am I missing? Was this proto-roots rock? Am I simply living in a post-"The Band" world much like my eldest son is living in a post-Beatles world and doesn't much understand what all the fuss is about? It's Americana. It's competent. But it's not blowing my mind.

I like stoner rock. I like prog rock. So it stands to reason that I like Machine Head.

You couldn't get away from Freedom on MTV back when this song was released. Great song. Great video. It still breaks my heart that his sexuality was the butt of so many jokes back then. I'm happy his music did so well, I wish he could have lived out loud for longer.

If I had to pick a single REM album to recommend, this is probably the one. It's a high point of a stellar career.

It's a great live album. They're clearly a great live band. I find it really interesting that this version of Surrender is their canonical version. Way overplayed on the classic rock stations of my youth, but there you are.

Groundbreaking. Such energy. I know this was very similar to much of the music of the day, but someone has to be first. Excellent performances.

Another album I've never been exposed to before, but added a number of track to a playlist. "Neo Soul" and really tight musicianship.

This is a great album overshadowed by all the drama of Love's life. She is a talented musician with a clear voice in a crowded grunge landscape.

These guys were ahead of their time.

It's funny to me that even after not listening to broadcast radio for nearly 20 years, I thought my Rod Stewart saturation might have subsided. Nope. Still too much. Great album. I can't listen to it.

Ok, you like the Ramones. I get it. I've heard high school demos recorded on a 4 track that have more soul and life than this album. I don't understand why I'm listening to it on the 1001 albums I have to hear.

I'm so torn here. These guys were obviously pushing the boundaries, and "7 and 7 Is" is really a bop, BUT I dunno. That out-of-tune flute on "She Comes in Colors" docks a star immediately. There's the germ of genius here, but it comes across as accidental much of the time.

Another album I've heard *way* too many times on classic rock stations when I was a kid. It's competent. But it's so boring. Apple Music says this is "the definition of no-nonsense '70s hard rock." Great studio value. Excellent vocals. Splendid musicianship. But we're not doing anything here. This is proto-dad rock. Jurassic yacht rock. Hearing the rest of the album beyond the heavy-rotation classic rock tracks, I can confidently say that I will never seek out this album again.

Oh, thank god! Finally something weird. This 1001 album experiment works best for me when there's something I've never heard, or even better, never heard *of*. The layers, the sampling, the clear influences of people like Zappa, this is fantastic stuff. Instant add to my library.

This rocks. Love the constraints imposed by the physical length of a single album platter. So much soul jammed into 2 and a half minutes many times over.

If I wrote American Pie and Vincent, I would gladly ride that for the rest of my natural life. Those songs will easily outlive my bones. Everything else about this album is clearly a product of its time: McClean's vocals are lovely, the mix on the full band arrangements are delightful, and this is an album anyone's grandma can enjoy. But to have written two songs for the same album that are such monumental compositions? Yeah, coast on that, man. You earned it.

The contemporary reviews say this is one of the best concept albums ever made. Better than Tommy, released the same year. I may agree with the latter, but I'm not getting the "concept album" part of this. I comprehend the lyrical themes, but the musical sinew that would normally link a concept album together doesn't seem to be there, to my mind. I dunno. Maybe I'm missing something? While it's definitely not a collection of songs like so many albums, it's also not a tight through line. Perhaps I'll listen to it more.

Loved it. Not sure what to day. It was idiosyncratic, dynamic, had a bunch of nuance. And the long held chord outro on the final track? Chef's kiss.

I often wonder about the attention span of artists who can perform full length albums like this. Girl Talk All Night is a particularly masterful example of what I'm talking about. Another album where the track delineation is somewhat arbitrary, "Since I Left You" is an hour-long soundscape that weaves in and out of itself leaving me wanting more. Frontier Psychiatrist is a standout track here, and probably the one most of us have heard. I can't tell you the name of any other track on this album since I didn't notice where one began and the other ended. Taken as a whole, this whole album is an experience.

It's no Trout Mask Replica, but it'll do. "Safe As Milk" is funny as titles go. Wikipedia says that there was a ton of controversy with this album, and it eventually led to the band getting dropped by A&M. Without listening to the lyrics, this is a "safe" album. Musically it fits with its era. Safe. The lyrics are humorous. There's a lot of personality in this collection of songs. I love its sense of whimsy.

You know how special it is to experience something *new* as you start to get older? How those experiences become more and more rare and you keep chugging along? When you get to experience something for the first time that accompanies actual surprise and delight? This is one of those times.

This is a brilliant album from start to finish. The first time I listened to it, it was immediately on my top list. Blue Flashing Lights is one of the best hidden tracks in the history of hidden tracks. The entire album is gold from start to finish.

Remains one of Beck's best albums. Devil's Haircut is a favourite. The video is stellar. If I don't know what to listen to, I can pop this on, and go from beginning to end.

I guess I'm not a real music lover. Bob Dylan is nails on a chalkboard for me. Except that, when I was 13 and I wanted to get over that horrible feeling whenever the teacher would make a mistake and drag the chalk down the board in that particular way, I stayed after school under the pretence of cleaning the erasers and dragged my fingers down the chalkboard for an hour until I could do it without making myself cringe with sensory overload. I was able to do that. I conditioned myself out of literal "nails on a chalkboard". There is no amount of aversion therapy that can acclimate me to this. Dylan's harmonica work is a hate crime. Yeah, it captured the zeitgeist of a generation. Whoop. This whole album is pretentious as hell.

It's... fine.

Buttery smooth production and performance. Social commentary. Expressing his perspective on the life he lived up to this point. I'm into it.

Folks love these guys. Lot of energy. It doesn't tickle the \"love it\" bits of my brain, though.

This is a David Byrne cover band that decided to record their own music. Is what I would have told you if you played this album for me without context. I keep waiting for it to become compelling. A fine example of the subjective nature of music.

I'm such a sucker for prog rock. I love me an album that has a consistent through-line. Musicianship is fantastic. So much here that I can aspire to. I could put this one on to play and the entire hour passes without my noticing. My buddy says the Wiki summary reads like an Aronofsky film! Love it. And I'll be listening to this album again, most definitely.

In the Winter of 1993, I drove away from my university in Ohio and my girlfriend at the time with the mixtape she gave me playing in my car. I lost the tape a number of years ago, and I've forgotten the majority of the tracks that she put on the tape. I think about how much I liked the songs from time to time, and I keep a running list that I add to whenever I hear one of the missing tunes in a potentially vain attempt to recreate that piece of my past. Summertime just went back on the list. That was a sweet relationship, but I have to admit: I miss that tape more than I miss the girl. Nostalgia aside, Big Brother & Holding Company is a hell of good band. They just put it all out there. Then Janis' vocals explode all across the stage and blow me away. Huge and bold, raw emotion on display. God, I live for these kinds of performances. The uncompromising expression of those things you can't express any other way. It's just sublime. The piecemeal acquisition of the performances that compose this album just add to the charm. I love me a good live performance, and this whole album has all the vitality of the best live performances whether recorded in the studio or on stage.

Another one where I don't understand what I'm missing.

One of the best albums ever recorded. Chapman's voice and message are timeless. I can't speak about this album without bringing up Fast Car, a classic anthem about breaking the cycles of abuse. Tracy Chapman is an essential recording that stands for all time.

The album cover to end all album covers. How completely punk rock to quit doing punk rock and keep calling yourselves punk rock.

Not my favorite. I don't know what it is about the fame and swagger that doesn't hit me the same way as more obviously "socially conscious" rap. Good production, but not my thing.

Definitely a commercial release. Definitely hear the influence of Corgan on a number of these tracks. Love is a good songwriter. Her band was really good. There are some bangers on this album. It's not my favorite, but it's still a solid release. And yet, meh.

Not so much a commercial album as an anthropology project.

The stones annoy the ever living hell out of me. Probably because of oversaturation from Classic Rock stations being played at nearly every hourly foodservice job I had as a kid, and I just couldn't escape them. Whiny Jagger, sloppy Richards, over-indulgent arrangements, and just being played all. the. time. I hate myself for saying this. I really really hate it. But this is a good album. Dammit. Just... ARGH urk- aksjkljlkakl;asjDkldsafkjgklhjk;akl;ha dsadsgtewr fd

I like sociopolitical rap.

Is this the best album in the world? No. Does it contain the best guitar solo in the world? Yes.

Musical noise. I like it.

Yeah, alright.

When I was in high school, I traded an old trumpet for a really, really shitty drum set with a kid who lived down the way. See, he wasn't enjoying the drums, and I always wanted to learn how to play. He wanted to try the trumpet, and I wasn't using this one. Fair trade. He never learned how to play the trumpet, but I ended up practicing that shit set around the clock. Out of sheer force of will, I became pretty good. My pals wanted to do some cover tunes at the talent show, and I asked to be the drummer. I played along with the songs they picked until I could do a passable job. When we took the stage, I was so nervous I thought I would throw up, but the moment I started playing, I lost all of my anxiety in the music. When the audience started dancing during out little four-song set, I was over the moon. One of the best moments of my life. La Grange was one of those songs. One of the first tunes I ever learned how to play. I know I'm no Frank Beard, but dammit, I kept playing until I went semi-pro in university. I still play, much more rusty than I used to be, but I will always have a place in my heart for La Grange and ZZ Top.

Woah.

Smooth as silk. Just want to sit back and let all parts of this flutter over me.

Lots of very famous and recognizable work, but listening to this, they feel tired, man. If Jim hadn't died, this sounds like it may have been their last album regardless. They're not "the Doors" here. They sound like "the Doors Playing the Doors".

Listening to this in 2023, this sounds like a cosplay of heavy metal. Spinäl Täp vibes, you know? But I realize I'm living in a post-*this* world.

Fantastic from start to finish.

Hard satire as Newman tends to do. But my ears aren't used to hearing that these days.

What a great album! That flowed beautifully from one track to the next. A concept album if I ever heard one. A cohesive, consistent, commanding work of art.

The seeds of greatness.

Lots of energy.

This is the archetypical rock album that so many many others tried to emulate. The Van Halens' first album represents the height of their powers.

If you could distill pop music and crystallize it into its purest form, you would get this album.

Even if the only artifact from this album was Killing Me Softly, it would still be one of the best albums ever recorded. Their use of samples is at once surprising and completely natural. "Wow! That's amazing," while simultaneously sounding like the most obvious choice. The Mask hits real close to home these days.

Unpopular opinion. There are great things on here. There are not great things on here. It's a hodge hodge. Still, it's a technical marvel, and one more example of how we live in a post-Beatles world.

For the love of god, why do people love Dylan? I really don't understand it. I really really don't understand it.

Seeds of greatness, but this album is a mess. It bucks a lot of the pop trends of its day, and veers hard into psychedelia. There's a lot to love, and there's much to listen to as a curiosity.

Had I discovered Supergrass when I was younger, I undoubtedly would have been a fan.

These guys keep showing up on various playlist compilations for years. Never sat and listened to the album through. Glad I did.

No, no. You can't trick me. I'm not fouling up my music recommendations for this obvious troll pick.

Fantastic for my focus groove.

Never listened to this all the way through. Genuinely surprised at the musical competence.

This album makes me incredibly sad. In an artistic way. It used to, too, when I was younger. Now I know why. It's not any easier now than it was then, but at least I have context for the emotions now. I am less afraid.

Political Science is one of the all time great satires. This is a great album.

He's a brilliant songwriter, but as he continues, his work feels more and more derivative of itself. This has a couple of great tunes, and a number of what feel like complete throwaway tracks. Sometimes you get a group of artists whose collaboration obviously benefits from whatever creative frictions and constraints present in their process. When these groups go solo, it's obvious in many cases that their work benefited from those constraints. I think this album is a good example of that. Awash in many of Simon's creative excesses, it's still the work of an incredibly talented man, but those previous constraints helped to reveal and refine his genius.

Not even remotely what I was expecting, and I imagine that at another time in my life, I would be into this mopey album, but it's just unrelenting. Oompah Radar has a glimmer of humor. Goldfrapp has a lovely voice. This simply isn't doing it for me.

All pop music is derivative of what came before. This is the defining aspect of **POP**ular music. Very few things come out and break the mold – the very notion is antithetical to the process: Iterations on themes that evolve over time. So, this debut album is derivative of that which comes before, while being the height of the form. The chronological iterations of the genre at large will soon descend into alt-pop-rock-country madness. (You know what I'm talking about.) Competent. Clean. Evocative. Absolutely not my taste.

I always took Green Day as a bit of a cynical project. 90s American Post Punk, right? How could that be a sincere take on the genre? I sort of dismissed it out of hand. And shame on me for doing so. This album is cohesive, the production is fantastic. The musicianship is really good. But this is why I'm on this website. I'm opening myself up to changing the opinions of my younger self. Here we are.

Interesting choice. An experimental lineup that release an album on the vanguard of a genre. Not bad. Couple of bangers.

Listen to the songs Rio and Quiet Life back to back. The copying is insane.

I think Elephant might be their best single album, but this is a damn close second. Dead Leaves, Fell in Love with a Girl (and one of Gondry's best music videos, natch), We're Going to be Friends... White Stripes is one of my go-to examples for constraints yielding creativity. Jack and Meg make the absolute most of what they got. Jack goes on with his raconteurs, and it's not the same. More instruments, to be sure, but that project looses the primal vitality of the White Stripes. Anyone who piles on Meg for sub-par drumming doesn't understand the point of a drummer. Does she keep the beat? Yes. Does her contribution add musically to the composition. Hell yes. Meg white is a great drummer. Weird Al covers (pastiches) Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground with his CNR song. That's some high praise no matter how you slice it.

80s pop. Competent. Love Plus One is a delightful bop. And. Um. Why is this here?

Not my favorite of their albums (that would be Mezzanine), but the Tracey Thorn tracks add a star.

Quintessential Chili Peppers. Not sure it gets more spicy than this with any of their work.

Love it. So many girl-led groups come off as cynical money grabs, but this is completely delightful. Major Pretenders vibes. (That's a good thing.)

This is delightfully weird to my ears. I can see why she was a superstar in Brazil.

Good live album, but... meh?

I usually like weird and offbeat, but this isn't hitting me right. Probably won't listen to it again. Little Red Riding Hood Hit the Road has a good intro. Did I render judgement too soon? Nope. Not too soon.

A live album that's particularly listenable. Enormously talented musicians at the height of their powers. Fantastic. It sure sounds like blues, but this is actually a jazz album, isn't it?

I can hear the excellence in the production, but the album didn't light my fire.

Grunge-wave pop grown in a lab to appeal to the existing market. It feels just as false now as it did when it was released. Individually, if you strip it to the component elements, it's competent, but the moment you stick this stuff into a blender and get this album, it's messy, unfocused, cynical. Not a fan.

I love the white stripes. Constraints yield creativity. Just not their best album.

One of the OG rock operas. There are better concept albums, better "rock operas", and better Who albums that cover all those conditions (Quadrophenia is the correct answer, for anyone reading this who's wondering.) However, there is greatness here, though it is a flawed work. Underture happens to be one of my favorite tracks on the album. Pinball Wizard is overrated. The final track, We're Not Gonna Take It, descends into moving theme. Fiddle About is painfully uncomfortable. I mean, having Tommy's Holiday Camp as the second to last track, one could make an argument that this album's theme is the cyclic nature of abuse. Definitely doesn't age well. Good, not great. Meaningfully impactful on the state of music at the time. I despise the child abuse themes.

What am I missing here? This sounds like a drunken late night jam.

Huh. Joni Mitchell makes a Joni Mitchell album. It's about as Joni Mitchell as Joni Mitchell can be. You can hear Pastorius from a mile away. It's a nice combo. Unfortunately, Joni Mitchell is another one of those "tolerate in small doses" artists, and this whole album is too much for me to ingest in a sitting.

Not the best Bowie, but not remotely the worst. His last effort, and proof that he was always fiddling with his style.

It's entirely possible I don't know enough about the electronic music scene to know how this record is one of the multitude I simply must hear before I die. For all I know, I live in a post "Sabres of Paradise" world. All that said, This sounds like pretty generic mid-tempo electronica.

The album has the best song they recorded. And others as well.

This is probably the Who's single best album. Moon was still alive. Their compositions were solid. The band cohesion was tight. 5 absolute classics.

Clasic. The whitest of white rock and roll. Every song a 2 minute hurricane that could fit on a single. A shape of its culture shaping the future. Bonkers. A snake eating its own tail. Still. Cathy's Clown. 🤷🏽‍♂️

The album is, unfortunately, unspectacular. She is a beautiful singer. It finishes with Constant Craving – probably her most popular single, almost certainly to be considered her "signature song". The remarkable part of this album is k.d. lang herself. Queer representation was practically nonexistent in the mainstream at the time, and she took this on herself as her responsibility to society. Hero. Legend.

Radiohead may be the most overrated band ever.

Tom Waits is one of the most consistent songwriters I know, and one of the only ones whose joy in playing in the art is communicated through his output. Even if the lyrics are dour, there's an ineffable quality that says, "I love this medium, and this is my playground." When I want to connect with that concept of joy, I pop on some Waits.

I'm glad you have a hobby, man.

I think Document is probably the REM album I think typifies their most enduring work. Murmur is a close second.

I have a weakness for "real" country music. I remember my parents loving Buck Owens whenever he came on TV when I was young. I enjoy this era of the country genre, and I enjoy this album. Dude, Streets of Laredo is *his* song?

Proto heavy metal. It's pretty average, though.

Elton John at his Elton Johniest. John and Taupin at their Johniest and Taupinest.

I think this is the best live album ever recorded. Margo Timmins has never sounded better.

Kraftwerk is divisive. I get it. Autobahn is divisive. ALL THEIR WORK IS DIVISIVE. But we live in a post-Kraftwerk world. Someone had to do it first. Many Someones had to do it first. Kraftwerk is on that vanguard: making what they wanted to make. Making the world of music in their image, or at the very least, carving out a small divot in the zeitgeist that others could expand upon.

1. How did Charlie Watts ever get caught up with these people? Did he lose a bet? 2. This album doesn't make me want to stab myself in the ears.

It's always a shame that I'm only hearing about this because of the intervention of a white European.

Interesting to hear the progress of artists lurching toward their masterpiece. Peek-a-boo, Pet Sounds.

This whole album is just drenched with irony. One Chord Wonders is a hell of a way to start an album. Safety in Numbers, what is that? a busted cone on the bass amp? Sounds like a wild animal prowling its cage, marking time before it bursts out. This whole thing goes so hard from start to finish. I've not listened to this one before. Where have you been all my life? Apparently publishing your best work while I was a toddler. I love love love this album.

Bridging the gap between punk and new wave. Yesterday's album was The Adverts' Crossing the Red Sea. Safety in Numbers starts with a lyric, "What are you gonna do with your new ways? What are you gonna do with your new wave?" And only a couple of years later, we're riding that new wave. Even if I don't understand the rationale behind many of the selections of the albums in this project, I find it endlessly fascinating when I begin to recognize the common DNA between selected artists. That triplet roll intro fill on Man in the Corner Shop is so smooth. I'm going to be practicing that tonight until I get it right. That's such a tight freaking fill. That's Entertainment hits pretty hard. To be fair, I just watched the Commitments last week...

I guess I don't understand the inclusion of this one. It has a number of really nice tracks, but I can't identify that strand of DNA that's supposed to make me understand this in a greater musical context. Great band name, though.

I have no idea why I didn't hear this back in 1993. This is very much in the vein of what I was seeking out. The raw analogue power of the presentation. No-nonsense rock that performs at its full capacity. If you ever hear about an act whose performance feels "honest", this band fits the bill – Like how you can hear the edges of all the complex emotions that Tom Waits brings to his performance? I understand that there is always studio magic going on here, but this album captures that ineffable quality of performers giving you what they have. It almost has a "one take" quality, as if the musicians are playing simultaneously in the same space for a work that feels organic, whole, and sincere. I can easily see myself sitting on the dubious couch in the corner of their rehearsal room listening to my friends while I get my calculus homework sorted for university. This album takes me to a time when I had big feelings and big plans.

A number of these songs have clearly influenced some of the hits of decades past. Interesting to hear the early context of some of these riffs.

This is one of their best. Perhaps the height of their collaboration.

That opening track! Good lord. That's on my chill playlist immediately.

Mediocre dance pop. This sounds like garage band loops, but published. I can't understand its inclusion on the 1000 albums you must hear list

An album built to showcase a singularly talented vocalist. This album does its job admirably. Not every song is my style, but the majority rock harder than I anticipated.

The Beatles before they were great. Nascent qualities on display, but a boy band at this point. Not artists yet. Performers.

A singular great in a standout career. If you listen to one Zeppelin album, I think this is the one. And it spawned the "Stairways to Heaven" anthology. Another of the all time greats.

Hubris alert. This reminds me of every garage band I started when I was at University. But in a good way. Wish I stuck with that. Maybe I could have been the next Joy Division.

Idiosyncratic is good. Distinct musically. Clear talent on display. The artists' viewpoint is communicated. Simply a fun album to listen to. Love it. Adding to my library.

My favorite single White Stripes. hands down. And no, not because of the Seven Nation Army, which is a bop, but not the best track. All of the play that punctuates the White Stripes is on full display here. Constraints breed creativity. This is the apex of the White Stripes' evolutionary curve.

Rumors and Hotel California were released in the same year. Goddamn.

I appreciate that this is a cultural stepping stone that helps to make sense of the the UK DNA entwined within hip hop and R&B. One US single that I recognize from the radio of the time, Back to Life. Still a bop. While the whole thing is musically competent, it's not my jam. Certainly not an entire album's worth.

Synth punk. Not a genre that I hear a lot of. Half of these songs remind me of those kids on band camp making demos in their bedroom. They were certainly doing interesting things, but not my cup of tea. This might be my first memory of hearing a cover tune thinking it was the original. Tainted Love is their lasting cultural contribution, and that's okay.

Wow. 1001 albums featured a house collection that doesn't make me want to stab myself in the eardrums. I can actually put this one on and, you know, *listen* to it.

From start to finish, not a single miss. Excellent album. After I married and started having children, I stopped buying a lot of music, and didn't end up listening to a lot either. I missed about 2 decades of bands and releases. The joy of following 1001 albums is these opportunities to hear something I missed that resonates so deeply with me.

So emo.