Like being stuck at a party with an annoying know it all who thinks that they’re much cleverer and edgier than they are. Or talking to an ‘artist’ who has no clue, and turns out they’re a real estate agent and cross fit trainer. Boring, annoying and really not worth anything.

An album that changes music. How did that make this list? Oh right 90s hip hop. I think more garbage and pretension has been written about this album by suburban white critics than the same breed writing about Jimi Hendrix. In fact it is a great album. Dr Dre knows the form (much better than I do) and grows, expands and changes it. Snoop shows why he becomes a star. And the anger and bitterness is nicely done. . 5 stars.

I hated school. Hated it. Queen got me through year 10, year 11 and helped me get through - by actually getting to see them live with Freddie at the Sydney Entertainment Centre - year 12.* The sixth best Queen album. Still a ripper. The neat production tricks. Good Company with its 20s English trad jazz band built from guitar feed back, then the tape being cut and the pitches being all arranged into order. Yet tell me that’s not a clarinet. I’m over Bohemian Rhapsody - heard it way too much and there’s nothing in it for me to discover anymore. But it’s still an incredible track. Somewhat underrated I think. That piano riff is a six chord. Used all the time in Italian music. But also used in rock and roll. The Beatles often ended on a six. Possibly the most bitter rock song and a great great opener - Death On Two Legs. Young Mr Bulsara was not known for his subtlety. (He could be subtle but he wasn’t known for it.) Prophets Song - just brilliant. Actually Brian May starts to hit the heights of songwriting. He still had great stuff in him but Prophets song, 39, Good Company and even Sweet Lady are bangers. And the performance of God Save the Queen is the cherry on the top. John Deacon writes and plays piano on You’re My Best Friend. A top ten hit. A portend of things to come.** Freddie slushes and gushes on Love of my Life. I prefer Queen II, Sheer Heart Attack, Day at the Races and Queen. But this is still 5 stars. In fact 20000000 stars. *My dad gave me the tickets on his birthday. I caught the XPT train from Dubbo. Stayed at my uncle's at Burwood. He drove me in. Was in the very back row seven seats from the back wall on stage right. I can still remember a lot of it. Life changing for me. Was the show that made me want to be a musician. Also the first international act I saw. Still the standard I use to judge whether a show was any good. Seen them three times with Adam Lambert who is great. **It’s not generally recognised that Queen’s biggest selling single was ‘Another One Bites the Dust’ written by John Deacon.

Oh look. Another Neil young. Out of tune out of time self indulgent blah. He’s not untalented. But he’s not anywhere near the talent the critics say. And the good songs here are not well performed. I’ll admit hey hey my my goes as close to being genius as Neil gets. Both versions. But is it better to burn out than to fade away? Neil seems to have done neither. To listen to great Canadian songwriters, try Gordon Lightfoot, Ron Sexsmith, Tom Cochrane, Joni Mitchell, Bare Naked Ladies or a host of others.

https://www.toppermost.co.uk/monkees/ The monkeys were an incredible band. This is an incredible album. Zilch! Tape looping in 1967. Randy scouse git. This is an all time great example of sixties pop. Possibly only surpassed by the astounding Pisces … Think of this. Imagine BTS doing something like Zilch. Not to knock BTS - they do what they do and it appeals to millions. But to bring in cutting edge musical compositional ideas. (To be fair their albums are generally very philosophical even if the music is predictable). More of my feelings on this incredible band - the band that shouldn’t be - can be found in the link above. 16 stars.

One of the all time greatest albums of all time. This album has worlds in it. It has characters. It has melody and harmony. And rock. The faerie fellas master stroke, controlled insanity. Father to son with its beach boys harmonies. March of the black queen, with its six sections. Oh, did they do that type of thing again? And it’s an album. You start with procession, and you listen till seven seas of rhye fades out. I pity those who don’t get it. It’s its own universe. Walk in and let Freddie, Brian, Roger and John guide you through.

For all you Stevie Ray and Jimi wannabes out there - this is how you do blues. Even better is live at cook county jail, with Joe Walsh and carol king in the backing band. But no one did blues like B B.

The national try to do the birds. They try to do creedence. They try to do the band. There’s a little eagles in there. But they don’t, at least for me quite get there. They’re good players and the songs are ok. But I always thought they should have tried a bit more risk taking.

Certainly one of the contenders for first heavy metal band (tm) summertime blues is an excellent reworking of one of the top 20 songs of the rock era. Ok, the who did it first, but blue cheer slowing it down gave it a certain something. The rest of the album is less assured - they’re trying for something new, but not quite getting it. To be fair, they’re in uncharted waters and we’re listening with massive hindsight. Still I prefer the kinks, the who, cream, yardbirds, sabbath, cream and zeppelin as pioneers.

Preferred to the national and Mumford. They have a more nuanced sound. Great opener and a solid follow up. There’s a consistency to this album, with tweedy being pushed to write better songs by a good band. Wilco gave us all hope for that so called Americana movement.

Le freak is an ear worm of course. And let’s be honest Nile has milked the same style of guitar playing since at least this album. But it works. And Bernie’s bubbling bouncy bass is a global treasure. For me not an album to sit and listen to. It’s an album to dance to.

Aerosmith are a band I feel I should like more than I do. Great well crafted songs (thanks mostly to Desmond child working with them), great musicianship - Joe Perry is an underrated guitarist. But I’m left a bit cold. I don’t know why. Sure Steven Tyler is annoying, but a great showman. So, this album was … less than the sum of its parts? In the pantheon of great rock bands, I have many I prefer. This is a better album than many of their others, but a must listen? Nope.

At the time I was in two minds. Yes it’s great. Sweet child. Paradise city. Welcome to the jungle. Mr brownstone. It rocks. It rocks hard. But was this the direction rock was going? Back to the future? Didn’t the stones already do this? Yet taken out of the context of its release time, it rocks. sure, Axl is … well, axl, and is slash a one trick pony, or one of the best guitarists of his generation? I’m still not sure. Izzy Stradlin is the glue and a better guitarist than Slash. Which is either not hard or an Incredible achievement. Duff rumbles effectively. Rumour has it it’s all machines except the voice and guitar. Maybe. Certainly Steven Adler was sacked for poor timekeeping, but we can point to many many drummers who record ok In all a great album. It’s not as great as Queen II or Aqualung, but it’s up there. Fight me.

One of the greatest albums of the sixties. How could I not love a song and album that name checks Sherlock Holmes and moriarty. Overall the perfect mix of nostalgia and critique. Sure, this turns into the worrying politics of ray davies, but this album remains a perfect encapsulation of a certain type of Englishness that has understood it’s no longer the world power, but is happy to remain British, unflappable and unbowed. I love this album, despite where it points. But where it is (not where it points) is an expression of my Anglophilia.

You can’t deny metallicas impact. Both as a listening experience but also as a phenomenon. The pretence to classical music in hard rock goes back to at least deep Purple and Ibsen to remember kids doing an album with the Melbourne symphony. But this album works. A bit self indulgent But the orchestra does enhance the music. It’s not pretentious which is an amazing feat.

Elvis Costello wrote some good songs. Nowhere near as many as he or his diminished fan base will tell you. But mostly he’s a ‘not quite as talented as he thinks bore’. I suspect the stampeding elephants are meant to represent the power and strength of the music. To me it’s more like the dull thudding headache you get after wilfully exposing yourself to the ponderous pointless meanderings of the Costello oeuvre. David Lee Roth got it right - the reason rock critics love Elvis Costello is because he looks like most rock critics. Oliver’s army remains one of the greatest songs ever. There’s a couple on earlier albums - I don’t want to go to Chelsea and Veronica Watching the detectives is ok. The rest are at best twee. At worst forgettable mediocrity. Anyone can write one great song. Talent comes in at 4 or 5. The British new wave gave us compelling, unforgettable acts. Off the top of my head - the pretenders, the police, the cure, Lloyd Cole, Ian dury, the stranglers, the Irish boomtown rats, the list goes on. The wrong Elvis doesn’t make the cut. He was spoiled by the terrific Attractions, second only to the blockheads as a unit, but sadly with Costello, a band who were professional turd polishers.

Beyond review really. Here they are, young and free and cheeky. Except, not. But, also yes. The Beatles are more than musicians. They are a phenomenon. Still are really. But it’s about the music, man. And why it is is pretty good. The covers are great. My favourite cover of theirs is Boys, but please Mr postman and money on this album are particularly close to it. (Yes I know, twist and shout, it’s great too). Poor George had to face the ignominy of developing his songwriting in public - his song is, well, a song. And doesn’t really point to the superb efforts he’d later produce. But John and Paul did their dross in Paul’s bedroom in Liverpool. The album cover suggests the depths they'd plumb, which at this stage, they had no idea of. That it’s only 2 years to rubber soul and is incredible growth. Brian Wilson and Dylan are the only ones who develop that quickly. Also, they are presenting as ‘serious artists’ in that picture, probably cynically at this point. Yet, fate has a way of mocking you, innit? An important waypoint in the history of rock and a great listen, this is a five star album from any band but from the fabs it’s a 3.5. Rounded up to four.

Possibly an album put here to include post 2000 releases? And it sounds like every other 'edgy' Indy band. In other words dull. Plodding. It’s like Elvis Costello but on mandrax. Worse actually, because Costello at least tried to hide his lack of originality. There are 1000 bands that sound like this, and you know, I can’t name one off hand? Maybe we should ban listening to the Smiths, The Cure and Joy Division by earnest young urbanites till they’ve heard more music. (All three bands are vastly superior to their acolytes). I’d rather listen to Coldplay outtakes than this Another thing to ban is critics who promote this stuff. No one thinks you’re cool or edgy. There’s plenty of great post 2000 music. This ain’t it. I’m struggling but 2 stars because its mediocrity prevents it being 1 star.

Did indie music atrophy in about 1995? It’s not horrible but I’m not getting anything I can’t get out of ‘seether’ or Love. Edgily boring and more hip than the before shot in a weight watchers commercial yet not terribly interesting. 2.5 (rounded up to 3)

Probably the first great Beatles album, they are in fine form. Imagine hearing this in 1964, not knowing what’s to come. That opening chord - A G9/A - apparently The guitars playing a G7 and the piano playing a A major. Can’t buy me love. All my loving. A hard days night. If I fell. All of it. McCartney finding that melodicism. Lennon’s lyrics. Even the George song isn’t his worst. Stunning even in context.

Enjoyed this. Great songs. Impassioned playing. Shows promise.

I should hate this. But there’s a craft there that can’t be denied. Sure, Fagen is a miserable so and so and the late Walter Becker wasn’t much more pleasant but there’s a talent there. Crack musicians in the band. I don’t like this one as much as the glorious aja but it’s good. As a certain kind of musician it’s both the thing you’d love to play on and what you’d like to do. Too cynical to be really classed as ‘yacht rock’ (unlike the less misanthropic Doobie brothers or a tonne of privileged white boys most of whom I can take or leave), I can see why punks and harder rockers tend to dislike this. But it, as the kids say, slaps.

I woke up this morning and had myself a beer. Ooh edgy. The pretence. A group that would send Holden Caulfield into conniptions. If you’re 16 this probably appeals. But you possibly should grow out of it. Krieger plays guitar well. Densmore is a decent drummer. I can live without the organ. And the angst from a privileged moderately talented nobody. Ugh. Roy Buchanan on bass (just to shut up those who say ‘there’s no bass man’. Go and listen to b b king ‘live at the regal’ for ‘no bass and an organ’. Morrison is a poet in the way every sensitive year 9 boy is a poet - the world just doesn’t understand me. Sigh.

Gimme shelter. That apocalyptic dervish of destruction. If the rest of the album had been twinkle twinkle little star played half in G# and half in A and half in 3/4 and half in 4/4 that track alone would give the album five stars from me. And yet here’s the rest of it. A stunning collection of songs from the second (I think) of the greatest run of albums of all time. Beggars, this, through to Exile. Jagger Richards were a slow burn. Unlike Dylan, Lennon McCartney and Brian Wilson who made massive strides in songwriting in 18 months to two years, the stones take a little longer to reach greatness. Sure they wrote satisfaction. And some really fine stuff. But mick Taylor and gram parsons unlock the quintessential Stones sound. And as great as that early period can be (Have you seen your mother, baby, standing in the shadows?’ Or Paint it black or she’s a rainbow or dozens of others are truly great.). But the swagger, thanks to country music and blues makes the stones. The Stones swing. Individually they’re ok. (Charlie being the only one who approaches virtuosity.). But together unbeatable. After the phoney, shallow pretensions of The Doors, this is the palate cleanser we need. You want edge? Jagger delivers in spades. You want rock and roll attitude? Keith gives us the template. What other band would write about serial killers, drug use, the end of the world and end it with a jaded world weary understanding of what one can and can’t have? Tons have emulated the model. Few have equalled it. None have bettered it.

I should love this. For some reason this doesn’t connect. It’s on me. Not them. Bonus star as an ‘I’m sorry guys. It’s not you. It’s me.’ Can’t even tell you why.

A band which was let down by its production. In a sense highly important. In another sense less than the sum of its parts. More an artefact than a great listen.

This is good but I like the earlier stuff.

What a songwriter. Gets right what so many others get wrong. Personal but not self-indulgent. Universal but not cliched. Gentle but not twee. Father and son should be slop. In a lesser pair of hands it would be. Even the little snippet of the song which is also the title track at the end is the perfect concousion to the album (as it was when it played over the end credits of The Office (UK))

I feel I’ve heard this a million times by a million acts for at least a million days before this 1996 release. There’s a decent groove. Otherwise, meh.

Misogynist egocentric juvenile pap. Averagely played. No subtlety. No nuance. I’ve rounded up the star rating. This is an album no one needs to hear.

No one played like jeff. When he got it right though he got it right. Rod Stewart is the greatest singer of his generation when he has stuff that matches the magnificence. This is a great album

A great funk album. Curtis, Isaac, Marvin, Stevie. There’s your Mount Rushmore of funk. This album is probably enough to warrant Curtis inclusion.

I love the cure. I dislike the cure. I think smith is underrated. I think smith is extremely overrated. I think this is extraordinary musicianship. I think this is simplistic pap. On balance you can excise every second sentence from that paragraph. But then again the whole thing is how I feel. This album is about as cute as you can get. And I love it. And it bores me. And it’s timeless. But it screams that time. The three stars represents the five stars and the one star I want to give this album.

Hmmmm. Not awful. Not my thing. Some good stuff. Some self indulgent stuff. Play songs, not maths formulae.

Reelin in the years… what a song. Steely Dan gets their first great album. I know that there’ll be some saying this is too slick. But Fagen and Becker are New Yorkers. New York is slick. And they record out of Los Angeles. Los Angeles is slick. You want a bit of rough, go to muscle shoals or stax in the south, or even get out of Manhattan or Bel Air and go to cbgbs. Sure, it’s middle class first world problems, but they deserve their own songs too. Particularly if they’re this well-crafted and played. The edges are hidden under the slick. But the edges are there. Fagan's lyrics are bitter, twisted and cynical. Under some great playing by the band. This is a great album. With better to come.

Somewhat disappointing. Not sure why. Much prefer the monkees doing Boyce and hart for example.

Lemmy does more interesting things later. I think I don’t like psychedelia? This is … meh. Self indulgent. God, bring on punk.

An incredible group. I’m deeply familiar with two of the singles, the incredible spinning wheel and if I die, which is a song you don’t expect them to do but it’s magnificent. The rest of the album is a strong album. Liked side one in particular. Side two is pretty great though.

More critical darlings. Sigh. Actually not too bad at all but like the shins, despite Zach Braffs endorsement in that movie whose title escapes me this probably won’t change your life. To be fair if you were there, then, it might have. But I suspect it meant a lot more to those who lived in their parents basement, railing against the man, man, and earnestly assuring you this THIS is cool!

Has this aged well? Hmmm. The message is of course timeless and sadly still relevant for particular demographics. I’d suggest that this is important more for the direction it points than the weight of it as an album. Is it good? Yes. Is it great? In parts yes. But in 1000 years when historians look at the hip hop phenomenon this album will be seen as a seed not a tree. Grandmaster flash and melle mel deserve their legendhood.

Zappa sacked him and for good reason. Overrated, undercooked. Not as clever as he thinks. A decent painter. A pretentious musician. A horrible human being. Horrible humans can make great art. But not in this case.

I have a decent level of music theory. I’ve listened too and enjoyed Holdsworth , Coltrane, Zappa, later Joni Mitchell, Shostakovich, stockhausen, Jaco…. I’m still wondering if this is garbage or genius. One wonders if they weren’t from Iceland would they have received any attention? The stars reflect an acknowledgment I might be too hard. Or. Might not.

Were you to distil my musical dna into 50 albums, this would be one of them. I prefer this album to songs in the key of life. Livin for the city is an astounding song with incredible production. From the hard funk of Higher ground to the pop sensibility of golden lady. The hard brutal politics of mistra know it all. For me the standout is Jesus children of America. The response and call in it is so so cool. It’s really the state of black music, 1973-1983. It’s all killer, no filler. 10 stars.

The genius of this group is sneaky Pete of course. That spoiled rich kid brat, gram, knows his country, but compared to his contemporaries, including Kris kristofferson, Merle haggard, joe south, Dylan, the band, and even Mick and keith, he is more of an enthusiast than a legend. There’s nice stuff here, don’t get me wrong, and Hillman is never less than driven, but like grandmaster flash, more a a signpost of what was to come,rather than a waypoint. Solid though. 3:5 rounded up.

Never boring, restless, thoughtful, clever. Kid A is a great album, especially after the smash that was ok computer. Opening and title tracks are magnificent. The rest is solid. Check punch bros cover of the opener. I feel this has settled into the place where it should be. 4 stars

Not a band I’d put in a 'bands I listen to often, or at all, really’ list, but I enjoyed this. Maybe I should give them a better listen

This album didn’t convert me to being the Neil young fan I’m told I should be. He can be a great songwriter. But nothing grabbed me here.

It took me a long while to appreciate the craft of Billy Joel. I know sarcastic elbows has a book that calls him the worst rock star ever, but that same book also calls queen II the worst rock album ever and that is so incredibly objectively wrong so as to completely make it devoid of any credibility. It’s like saying Elvis Costello is more than a mediocre talent with one or two fluke songs. It just isn’t true. But nonetheless I thought Billy was a cheap Elton knock off. I then heard the my favourite albums podcast with a Long Island singer song writer. And he converted me. Hearing the praises sung by a follower opened my eyes. And Billy Joel can write some magnificent songs. Listen to the construction of just the way you are. Or she’s only a woman. The Wikipedia page lists five singles from the album. I knew them all. and really as crafted songs they’re all great. The band is terrific. Is he a favourite of mine? Well… There are still many I prefer. But this is a very strong album of exquisitely crafted and excellently played songs and I shouldn’t have dismissed him out of hand. 4 stars

Another one of the albums which is major part of my musical dna. King Harvest, man. What a fricking song. If it was the only good song on the album this would be a five star album. But all are classics. The instrumentation. The voices. The songs. This is F*ck of music. You listen to it and say 'f*ck off. What else is this good?' There’s maybe 25 albums that are this good. 'Dixie' is one of the best songs about the defeat of the South in the civil war, written by a Canadian just over 100 years later. Its only real rival is 'my fathers gun' written by a couple of Englishmen. Rag mama rag, rocking chair. Just F*ck off. Poor tragic melancholy Richard Manuel. He of the voice of an angel, the subconscious of a demon and a fine piano player. Garth Hudson, a prodigy, a multi instrumentalist, a musical genius. When they say that the band combined played 26 instruments between them, Garth plays about half of that. Levon Helm. The voice of the south, and one of the trio of great sixties shuffle drummers - Ringo and charlie watts being the other two. Rick Danko: he of the dark eyes, different harmonies and world changing bass. And Robbie. Wrote the songs and played the guitar like nearly no one else. The album that preceded this one broke up two of the biggest bands - famously Clapton flew across the Atlantic and thought he could demand his way into the band. They said no. He leaves Cream and joins Delaney and Bonnie and friends. I also think George harrison looks at how things were run, and the Beatles start to lose their pallor for him. This album is better. This is what the Byrds and the flying burrito brothers tried to do. That they failed to get there isn’t really a reflection on them. This combination was unbeatable. If you doubt it, look at the solo careers. Some fine stuff. But nothing to this standard. Levon’s dirt farmer is about the best of it and it’s great but … For me, The Brown Album is beyond criticism. 25 stars.

There’s an old joke which I’m willing to bet sarcastic elbows will also quote (and I think he told me it anyway) - what’s the difference between a wildebeest and simply red? A wildebeest has the horns out front and the arsehole in the back. I don’t know anywhere enough about mick hucknall to know if the joke is even fair but I will say there’s a bit of groove on this. It’s that particularly British groove coming out of northern soul - starts with I don’t know, Joe Cockker? Rod Stewart? Continues through Bowie, Queen, the style council, jamiroquai, everything but the girl and no doubt a thousand others I’ve blanked on. But this is part of it and it’s no surprise it sold so well. Well crafted. Well played. Well produced. It’s a 3.5 that I’ll round up to 4.

Cheap Trick should be a better and more important band than they are. I’m not quite sure what the issue is. They’re great musicians. Great songs. Yet there’s something missing. Surrender is a really great song. 3.5 rounded up.

You know, I didn’t like this when it came out. I dislike ‘singers’. But with the benefit of however long it’s been since 1992, she’s not a ‘singer’ as such. She’s a great singer. But like George Michael, there’s not a lot of melisma, or thousand notes crammed into a bar. Just strong melody and excellent intonation and a brilliant tone which is much harder than wailing. But apart from constant craving (so good jagger inadvertently picked it up for ‘has anybody seen my baby’ giving K D a stones writing credit) the songs aren’t really there. I listened to this twice before I realised that I’d listened to it more than once. It’s good but I don’t feel she ever fully reached her potential. As this is not worse than simply red I’m stuck on a 3.5 streak. Rounded up.

This is musical mogadon. An album you listen to So you die. When I think of post 2000 albums that are great and this comes up. Awful. I might have to do my own list

No album documents the end of the sixties better than this. We can herald the start as the hope of Kennedy’s election. His assassination. Beatlemania. MLK. Rfk. the hippie movement. Vietnam. Freedom rides Rosa parks. Selma. Woodstock. Altamont. And it’s all here. The hope is watered down. The seventies have started. Dylan has gone small. The Beatles are breaking up. Only Brian Wilson remains at a creative peak. The beach boys were outsiders of course. And the outsider has a special perspective sometimes. Clean cut, nice boys, gorgeous pop more suited to the fifties but their transition to bearded bloated hippies mirrored the sixties. That they could come up with this as has beens- a nostalgia act for a nostalgia that didn’t yet exist - is astounding. My third favourite beach boys album. 4.8 stars. Rounded up.

*snore*

This is what halfwits like Elvis Costello want to be, with fifty times the wit and a better backing band and a more honest and authentic Approach. (Though the attractions are a great unit). The songs keep coming, and Dury is an underrated lyricist. This is considered his best but I think it’s more of a harbinger to come. 4.5 stars.

Another musical dna album but I’ll be fair it’s faded a bit. Black knight. Speed king. Child in time. Again just f*ck off music. While Blackmore lord and Gillan are noticed Roger glover and Ian Paice supply seismic rhythm section. Blackmore is one of the top 5 innovators on electric guitar. Lord is about the only heavy metal organist. (Unless you consider DP hard rock. God I hate labels. ). And Gillan has one of the best sets of pipes in the industry. And they were to get better …. 11 stars.

He needs the pixies. It’s not awful but sometimes giving someone complete control diminishes them. Probably better than I think so rounded up from 2.5

I feel I should know this but if I did all memory of it has gone. And listening to it, I can see why. No doubt there are people for whom this album was life changing. And good luck and all gods blessings on them. My life trudges on, unchanged and unmoved by this.

Jesus. No.

Ok, it’s hard to know what will make the canon. Important stuff fades. Obscure stuff gets noticed. And some stuff starts a the top and stays there. So I might be wrong. But while pleasant enough I don’t see this as a must listen. Or even a yeah, might listen. I might be wrong. This might go on to be a beloved album listened to for half a century. But I doubt it.

Great albums since 2000. A partial list. No order. Not comprehensive. Not complete. Just as it comes to mind. Jay-z the black album Beyoncé - lemonade. Taylor swift 1989 Punch brothers - phosphorescent blues Sam bush, circles around me Mike stern, trip Jeff beck, loud hailer Dixie chicks - shut up and sing Olivia Rodrigo - sour Any of these over this. How is this must listen? Stop reading critics Dimery and use your ears.

Not as good as the incredible astral weeks but still a good album. After the last few ‘it’s cool to live at home at 35’ albums this is a bit refreshing. It’s still not a must listen (unless you are a van Morrison fan) but at least there’s a standard on it. Morrison is a problematic person and can be inconsistent as a songwriter. But when he hits it it’s brilliant. 3.5 rounded up. 5 from any other artist.

Preferred them to oasis. Sort of. I’m not sure how well they’ve aged. This was enjoyable.

In a gadda is a classic. The rest of the album is better than I remembered. But still not great.

Jay-z is, in a sense, much like Eric Clapton or the Beatles, strangely underrated. I prefer the black album, but this is solid, with his excellent narrative style mixing beautifully with phat rhythm.

Not my thing. Good at what it does.

The type of band you’re supposed to like, but I wonder how many actually listened to this album more than once or twice, though enjoyed having the cd cassette or album prominently on display - all the while listening to Fleetwood Mac, Duran Duran, Born to be alive, the eagles, pink Floyd, yes, ELP, etc and other horrid dreck, or mega selling crowd pleasers. not bad at all, but there’s a reason it’s more of a cult classic. Perfect way was good actually.

Elton and Bernie Taupin are in the first rank of songwriters. Probably only McCartney has as strong a melodic sense as eton and Bernie’s lyrics are magical. This is part of the incredible run of albums Elton released in the early seventies: a five album run that is rare and gems on every one. Now let me confess something. I’m not a fan of tiny dancer feeling it closer to two separate songs (both great) cobbled together to make one. I know that’s not what happened. But there are a hundred other Elton songs that make up my musical Dna. This is a solid album. I prefer captain fantastic and tumbleweed connection. But I still love this one. 4.5 rounded up.

Bored. When will something happen?

It’s fine. It’s not the best thing he ever did. That would be the South Park concert thing with Ozzie Osbourne and ol dirty bastard. But it’s solid.

Dimery clearly struggles with ‘importance’. The next album sabbath bloody sabbath is worth a must listen. So is the debut. Just because a band changes the world doesn’t mean everything it does is worthy. Notable exceptions do exist. To think we don’t have little Richard because dimery would rather show he knows rock music man. Black sabbath is cool. It’s a fine album but not the one you need to understand sabbaths place in the pantheon.

Beyond criticism. An extremely important album musically politically socially and culturally .

1986 was a key year for country. This is one of the key albums. Finally a must listen album. Earles brand of country was harsh, brutal, gentle, raucous and fun.

My favourite fab album. Or sgt pepper. Side 2 of this is the best thing they ever did. Fight me.

Pfft

Another musical dna. Sure carlos has perhaps become predictable but this mix of rock, jazz and Latin is irresistible. Hope you’re feeling better and mothers daughter kick. Samba Pa Ti is fantastic. Black magic woman pretty much copies greens solo from the original but the backing instrumentation is something special. Listened to this hundreds of times. 13 stars.

Always the next big thing. Never the thing. Weller could have been more of a contender than he was. This album shows why. While he could approach transcendence (Town like Malice for example) he never quite gets there. David Watts lacks a purpose. Why listen to this when you have the original? The jam are tight but not quite supported by the songs. Unlike execrable elvis Weller doesn’t waste the band. It’s more that he’s crushed by the weight of unrealistic expectations. But it’s still a pretty terrific album.

Ok even though I will be highly this is an album that you must hear to understand the development of post 1950s popular music in the US and elsewhere. The singles are good. The album tracks are filler. The harmonies are absolutely made, not by David Crosby whose note choices are admittedly superb but by the tone of graham nash who brings a clarinet into a flute ensemble (vocally speaking). Nash is the secret sauce. There are vocal blends I prefer. Otherwise. Bloated. Self indulgent, insular, learning all the wrong lessons of Dylan and Joni Mitchell, it’s an artifact rather than art. But yes. Worth a listen. 2.5 rounded up. Also Neil young is overrated.

English Funk is great Jamiroquai is good at it. Not 100% solid. But 80% excellent. Makes me wanna dance.

After a run of albums that are arguably must listen, even if I didn’t like all of them, we get this trendoid crap. Released in 2005. Won awards. Completely forgotten by 2006. I’m sure there’s a coterie of people holding onto this as they try and hold on to their thinning hair, trying to live in a place where it’s always 2005 and wondering why it doesn’t have the resonance of 1968 or 1992. Not as bad as I’m making it out. But nowhere near ‘must-listen’.

Hmmm. Is this a must listen? Licence to ill changed the world. This is excellent. I love the beastie boys. Probably the first hip hop act I ‘got’ before I ‘got’ hip hop. Hmmmm. Must listen? Are the beasties worth more than one album?

Just the inclusion of gud buy t jane justifies this album. Slade are the forgotten heroes of glam. We tend to remember Bowie, Bolan and Queen, but Slade, Suzi and sweet were there too. Noddy has become a notable figure. They were probably not quite ‘there' to be the superstars that Bowie and Freddie became. But their best was magic.

A critically acclaimed trendoid album I like. Sure, it’s unpolished. And his vocals are off key. And it’s more punk than roots. But here are the seeds that lead to the cruel sea and beasts of bourbon in Australia. I’m thinking later Tom petty took some notes. Probably not as directly influential as claimed. The later roots acts seem to get their inspiration elsewhere. But this album deserves its spot here. It’s good. Solid. 3.5 rounded up.

Not the kinks best but sunny afternoon is good.

Sigh. Neil young. Steven stills. A solid dose of musical Mogadon. Richie Furay is good. Carol Kay is good. Jim Messina is on this. Huh. This album isn’t really historically important except that it has early Neil and early Steven. Csny are important for better or worse but do we want to see every piece of juvenilia? Let’s get back to albums one can justify.

Must I listen to this? It tells me nothing of the development of rock music that I wouldn’t get from a dozen other better albums. I do think the title is great. Then it’s all downhill. Perhaps the nadir is space child (instrumental). The title says it all. Bored. Boring. Tedium. Grinding boredom. You only have 1000. Don’t pad.

Musical dna. And my favourite zep album. Yes, this is a must listen. One of the great opening tracks. aaa AA aaaaa AA. Down down down de down down… There’s a few bands where you have to hear their place over a few albums. Beatles, stones, zep. Springsteen. Queen. Dylan. The band. Maybe a couple more. Zeppelin definitely. Tangerine, the glory of gallows pole. Mah mah ma, I’m so happy, I’m gonna join a baaaand. … celebration day. John Paul Jones is the secret sauce. Listen to gallows pole. Mandolin, banjo. A great bassist. Of course Bonzo is great and page and plant … mwah. 2 stars taken off for since I’ve been loving you. 12 stars.

I like Polly Jean. Pretenders like Courtney Barnett just rile me, but p j is the real deal. Sure, she can be a bit self indulgent, but she’s a real talent.

One great song. The rest are ok. Not a must listen album.

Never a huge fan. Not awful, just never grabbed me. Does anyone still listen to this?

the overwhelming feeling that Dimery puts this in, and not any one of 1000 more worthy must listen albums. Greatest hits are valid. This isn’t.

Not quite musical dna - that would be modern sounds in country and western - but it is to me an album that lives up or at least almost lives up to its title. Rays genius lay elsewhere, but the man was versatile. 4.5 stars rounded up.

Yes, it should be on such a list if only to explain punk. Modest moussorsgky is a minor composer whose pictures at an exhibition is slightly interesting. If you have pretensions to bring a classical musician this is relatively obscure and technical so you can bask in your own glory. As this noodles away wrapped up in its own importance and pretensions, I felt the urge to form a punk band. Queen did the classical thing better. As does Chris Thile, bela fleck, Edgar Meyer. Iron maiden. Yngwie malmsteen. Frank Zappa. ELP don’t quite get it. And listening to this, neither do I. Come back Sid vicious. All is forgiven.

Great musicians. Weaker songs. Solid.

Another 90s hip hop. No review.

The first four zeppelin albums are musical dna. After then not so much. But there are gems on this. I think you can start to hear the decline. Had bonham lived I doubt zeppelin would have lasted much longer though they squeeze out a couple more after this. This might be the last of the great ones.

Ugh.

At first, I thought, oh, god dimery. Then I read about it a bit and thought, oh, ok. Then I listened. Kraftwerk? Yes. Einsterzende neubaten? Yes? This? Not a must listen. It’s ok, but has not survived its critical darling status.

Pretty funky. Pretty soulful. Pretty good. 3.5 rounded up.

Another iconic album. Probably the actual one which made me understand just how close country and hip hop are in lyrical themes. Go to church. Stay out of jail. Be part of your community. Don’t have money? Get a job. Merle haggard, bill Monroe and hank Williams would approve. Nwa gets us to the other side of hip hop and country. (I can’t see a moral difference between ‘I put my gun against his head, said hey mofo, gonna shoot you dead' and ' I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die). But this is an important album and despite its flaws - some awkward flow and rhymes - hey, you invent a genre - is a worthy album for such a list.

Not a terrible band by any stretch. But a weirdly overrated band. While truly iconic bands like jethro tull are not in the rock and roll hall of fame the foo fighters get in on the year of qualification. Ok the rrhof is a steaming pile of garbage and always has been but what is it about the foo fighters? Certainly Dave grohll is considered one of the nicest guys in rock, but is rock ab oh t nice guys? Which brings me to this. Solid songs. No real standout or classics. An album that left little impact on the world. Again let me reiterate - this is not a bad band. Well played. The songs are above competent. But not like listening to say the white stripes (seven nation army is the type of song Dave grohl wishes he could write). Of course the elephant in the room is not jack white but Kurt cobain, or rather nirvana who did change the world. I suspect the foo fighters would have been successful if nirvana had never existed. Even as successful as they got. But they wouldn’t have been feted in the way they have been. Which leads me back to this. More an artifact of what happened than any important document that should go on a list of important albums I didn’t and don’t hate this. And it’s unfair to expect that any follow up to nirvana (or at least any project after nirvana) would have the same type of impact. Did I enjoy this? Yes. Do I think it should be on this type of list? I’m not sure. But I’m tending to no. 2.5 rounded up.

Like being stuck at a party with an annoying know it all who thinks that they’re much cleverer and edgier than they are. Or talking to an ‘artist’ who has no clue, and turns out they’re a real estate agent and cross fit trainer. Boring, annoying and really not worth anything.

Ok, I saw Todd Rundgren in ringing starr's all starr band, and by god was he awesome. Brilliant rhythm guitarist, a real showman and a great songwriter. Todd Rundgren also produced bat out of hell, and his guitar solo at the end of the title track ranks with 'voodoo Chile', 'so we’ve ended as lovers', ‘Brighton rock', 'comfortably numb' 'eruption' etc etc. Todd Rundgren has written some brilliant work, and has found the level of fame he’s comfortable with. And dimery continues his habit of the obscure over the important. This is not the best Rundgren album, so why not pick Todd or Hermit of Mink Hollow? Let’s have this lsd fuelled critically loved decent album rather than Todd’s great stuff. Gotta keep that street cred. 3.5 rounded up.

Yeah. Nah.

This was ok, but dizzee isn’t as fun as Flo rider or as insightful as jay-z. It’s not as slick as OutKast, and it’s just there. Let’s not talk about Kanye, but dizzee isn’t in that league either. Another award winning forgettable album in a list that should not be about this. I suppose it shows the state of UK hip hop but why not look at French or Israeli or Australian hip hop? 2.5 rounded up.

Important? Yes. But I never really got Joy division. Whinging poms. Much preferred new order. But a highly influential band. The moaning gets to me. And the clever clever but not really lyrics - like an earnest 11 year old discovering he is a poet and no one understands. Without the wit of the smiths. It was tragic what happened to Ian Curtis. And his fans grieve deeply as they should. But a young death doesn’t make your poetry good, any more than indifference to the work makes ihis suicide any less tragic. In all a boring self indulgent work which somehow managed to attract the love and admiration of millions.

Johnny thunders is a superb guitarist. He showed punk could be virtuosic. This album is a great album, with its gender bending, its aggression, its energy. It’s a bit chaotic, but hey, it’s punk. 3.5 rounded up.

Better than I thought it would be, but dimery has a real knack of picking albums that have lost their relevance. I imagine these guys are terrific live. But on recording? Eh it’s ok. A must listen? Nah. A have a listen and maybe you’ll enjoy. 2.5 rounded up.

Musically dull. Musically brilliant. Overrated. Underrated. I don’t know what to think. Both positions are tenable. The hits are two chords, maybe three. The album tracks occasionally hit four. Yet the arrangements are, from a professional musical view, superb. The follow up, Tusk, is easily five stars. This is both a five star album and a one star. 2.5

I did a longish review of this, and the browser jammed and reset and I lost it. What it basically said was if you don’t like the who, you don’t like rock, and this album shows why. It’s better to watch them, thank the great spaghetti monster for YouTube, but this captures the sonic power. Summertime blues is a juggernaut. My generation shouldn’t work. But does. And the insane genius of a quick one… leading eventually to tommy. The rock and roll covers are superb. The who songs are incredible. There were a lot of punk bands that wanted to sound this anarchic, this powerful, this relevant and happening, and didn’t come close. And there’s essentially only three instruments and three voices. It’s not quite musical dna for me, but it gets five stars. Who’s next - now that’s musical dna.

If ' Tommy' took any influence from this it would have been ‘well that’s not what to do’. ‘Tommy’ (which wasn’t Townshend's first attempt at a rock opera btw) has catchy tunes and a sense of humour. This has neither. Not worth listening to. 1.5 rounded down

Dimery s ridiculous ban on greatest hits albums shows up here. I know it’s well received, but outside the singles, there’s nothing here that requires listening. Dancing? Sure. But I’d rather hear a compilation of the hits. I do love the cover. And Niles and Bernard are just *mwah*

And yet another band better served by a greatest hits compilation. Proud Mary is a monster of a song - pretty damned perfect. Both Tina turner and the Ohio players prove it if the original doesn’t convince. Well produced. But a full album? Give me the singles. Averaged to three but proud Mary itself is worth fifteen.

And Dimery pleasantly surprises. This is a fine album, from the legend Brel, and from a country that influences anglophone pop in weird yet important ways. This is probably close enough to must listen to justify its presence, though Brel's studio stuff is better, I think. 3.5 rounded up.

Paul Simon is one of the premier songwriters of the 20th century. More McCartney than Dylan, he is a very gifted and unique writer. This album is done at somewhat of a low point for him with no really strong songs except maybe the title track and Rene and georgette magritte with their dog after the war. Having said that, any of them written by anyone else would see that person building a career from them. He is that good. It’s a 3 star album at best. Probably a 2.5 but I’ll round it up. He had done better. And he was to do better.

A great Scottish band from a movment that produced a lot of great bands. Edwin Collins is a premium songwriter. It’s lost a bit of verve since its release, mainly due to Collin’s stunning solo career - girl like you is one of the great singles of the rock era. But this has, surprisingly enough, lasted and held up.

I was about to dismiss this as another band that would have been better served by a greatest hits. But the two singles aside - California dreaming is one of the great songs of the sixties. Monday Monday is superb. But the covers on this are pretty terrific. One of the more dysfunctional sixties bands, which is saying something, they were capable of moments of sublime transcendence. 4 stars.

So little happened musically in 1958 that we listen to Tito puente. In fact this is very good. But must listen? Nah. Latinx artists to listen to include Desi Arnaz, Richie Valens and others. Tito is fine, but this is not a top 1000 album. I know, it's on the register, but more as a representation than as a artistically interesting artifact.

*sigh*. This may have lasted a bit better than other contemporaneous acts. But not much. It’s good, but not really a must listen.

Ace of spades - sheer bloody poetry. We are the road crew. Psalmist brilliance. This album - magic. Ok it hasn’t aged that well, or maybe I haven’t aged that well. It works beautifully though. And finally an album that deserves placement in this type of list. Lemmy … Philthy animal … fast Eddie. The unholy trinity of metal and punk. Just bloody magic.

Ornette coleman is one of the more controversial but interesting jazz cats. He formulated a system of music called harmolodics which he could never quite explain but was to do with removing the limitations of key, rhythm, tempo and harmony. So, this explains this. John zorn is an excellent interpreter of coleman and a great avany grade composer in his own right. This is an excellent interpretation with a-list musicians of the highest quality. Dimery clearly doesn’t understand this type of stuff. I suspect he read some reviews and felt oh this better go on. 1 star for it being here. 5 stars as a work of music. 1 star for its danceability. 3 stars.

This is not bad and representative of a particular movement. Dimery must have had an off day. It’s not the best Americana but far from the worst. It’s just sort of there. I’d rather listen to Steve Earle or Lyle Lovatt or even Fleet foxes. But in a pinch this is ok. 2.5 rounded up.

What a strange album. I suppose you might find pet shop boys on a list like this, but they are far more of a singles band, so again, greatest hits? West end girls has a zing to it that most of this album lacks. Go west is not bad but again, not on this album. Tenants disinterested ennui is a nice gimmick but wears thin after a while. 2.5 rounded down as it’s not that compelling.

Shoegaze. The name says it all. Dull, dated and dire. Not my thing really. Must listen? Nah.

I like Tina Weymouth’s bass, Chris Frantz’s drums and Jerry Harrison’s guitar. David Byrne - the more you look, the less he has to say. His book on music is worth reading and rereading. But there are at least three better talking heads albums that are more representative. Apparently this is highly regarded but I don’t see the appeal. It’s good, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t think it’s worth a place here. The more I see this list, the more I feel that dimery is trying to impress, rather than illuminate or educate.

The greatest of the jazz big bands? Perhaps. The greatest jazz composer? Probably. An absolute watershed in jazz from that most elegant elegance, Ellington. If this doesn’t move you, you don’t like jazz. A top 5 must own album if you’re into jazz - kind of blue, a love supreme, this, Louis Armstrong hot six, and goodman at Carnegie hall. That will do for now. That list will change. But the duke will remain on it. Timeless. Iconic. Gorgeous. 17 stars.

https://www.toppermost.co.uk/monkees/ The monkeys were an incredible band. This is an incredible album. Zilch! Tape looping in 1967. Randy scouse git. This is an all time great example of sixties pop. Possibly only surpassed by the astounding Pisces … Think of this. Imagine BTS doing something like Zilch. Not to knock BTS - they do what they do and it appeals to millions. But to bring in cutting edge musical compositional ideas. (To be fair their albums are generally very philosophical even if the music is predictable). More of my feelings on this incredible band - the band that shouldn’t be - can be found in the link above. 16 stars.

Of the genesis alumni, Gabriel was always the most interesting. Nothing against Phil Collins, mike Rutherford Tony Banks or Steve Hackett, but their work, while often superb is much more… predictable shall we say. In Banks' case, I may be being a bit harsh but still… Even though he’s very capable of playing it, would Phil have given us a hit single in 7/8? Gabriel did with the unspeakably great Solsbury Hill. This is not Gabriel's most interesting album, but it’s not a bad one at all. Jeux sans frontieres is pretty incredible. And of course he was exploring what is now condescendingly called world music years before Paul Simon blessed us with Graceland. Gabriel’s lineup, which includes Phil, but not Mike or Steve, has some incredible players, and the songs fit them. I tend to prefer the later Gabriel stuff, but this is a good throat clearer. I’m sick of whinging about Dimerys choices, so I’ll give this 3.8 rounded to 4.

The blooz. As I get older, I much prefer listening and playing anything but screeching Chicago style bs. Macho posturing, tales told by idiots signifying nothing. Bonnie raitt is a fine player and interpreter. She is a hard worker, but this, when I was 19, would have been awesome!!! But now is dull to me. See also Eric gales and Joe bonamassa. All clearly talented. But I’d rather listen to English, New Orleans , Memphis. Yank Rachel thrills me much more than Stevie ray. The originators - wolf, muddy, b b, hooker etc are exceptions. To be honest, this is pretty good. Bonnie’s got a terrific voice, the songs are solid, and she really can play. But it’s dull. Predictable and I’d much rather listen to her earlier stuff. I’m glad this sold well. I don’t need to hear it though. 2.5 rounded up.

They won the battle but lost the war. What a strange thing britpop was. Sure Noel Gallagher could write songs and Graham Coxon could on Occassion match him - song 2 is a rightful classic. And the standout on this album. They mostly evade lasting success in America and australia for that matter. But this is a good document of a time in which its first pioneers - the spice girls - are the only band which is still culturally relevant. 2.5. Rounded to 3mainly because of song 2. Maybe song 2 should knock it to 4.

Not the Rod album I’d have chosen - every picture tells a story is a stronger contender. But Rod had and has the best voice of his generation - a generation that includes Plant, Tom Jones, Elton, Freddie, Joe Cocker. What he’d sing is a whole different thing. I liked Elton’s country comfort and bobby Womack’s ‘it’s all over now’. Rod is a fine songwriter and his Lady Day is solid. For a man who, being told he could sing the phone book kept singing it, it’s easy to forget his early stuff is excellent. Some of his later stuff is too. But his fascination with soccer and model trains probably distracts him. But early Rod, surrounded by good musicians, with an earned arrogance is well worth listening to. Again maybe not this album. But you could do worse by digging into the Rod Stewart discography than this one.

It was oh so shocking! Gender fluid! Not that we called it that then. Or at least the circles in which I found myself didn’t. And Boy George certainly garnered a lot of attention. And controversy. What people tended to forget was just how damned bloody good this band is. The slightly reggae approach, not quite ska, closer to the police than the specials, really was tight. Superb playing. And the songs. Sure, karma chameleon. But I preferred it’s a miracle as a single. But neither are anything less than great. George’s voice is really underrated. That reedy tenor but with a bit of heft sounded different to everyone else. At the time, most British singers had brassier baritones - think George Michael or the guy from Spandau ballet, or the guy from the Thompson Twins. Or Howard Jones. All great voices. Paul young another exception. But George coquettishly coos and sighs and holds the melody exactly where it belongs. George Michael was a master of that as well. I don’t care what you think. 5/5. At least.

More 60s psychedelia. More artefact than art. Music that is so dated and of its time that it never had a revival. Kind of interesting, but no classic. LSD, what did you do? I suppose this leads to Disraeli Gears, and SGT Peppers, and American Beauty, and T-Rex, and Dark Side of the Moon, and Ziggy Stardust, and Punk, and the New Wave Movement, etc.... But, this hasn't aged well. Albums you must listen to? I suppose, yes, but only once if you're not interested in psychedelia.

Lloyd Cole is a fine songwriter and the commotions are a fine band. This is a fine album but they improve a bit in later stuff. He always seemed to me to be a bit behind in his writing style. This would have fit nicely a couple of years earlier. But more than a few years later it holds up pretty well. But it’s the later albums where the gold is mined.

Leonard cohen never really resonated with me. I know brilliant lyricist etc. But for whatever reason I never embraced him the way others did. Having said that, this is a pretty good album. Cohen IS a terrific lyricist and can draw a picture in the mind’s eye that is detailed and clear even when the lyrics are obtuse and hidden in allegory, allusion and metaphor. Everybody knows is probably the track I most enjoyed.

Is this supposed to be interesting? Even in 2002 this felt dated and more ‘clever’ than good. Maybe I’m being too harsh. But nothing grabbed me.

An excellent album. As great as Evans is, this is a showcase for the rhythm section of LeFaro and Motian. The interplay is something else, and it shows both how much jazz grew but also how much that key year of 1959 influenced everything that came after. Just two years later, this shows new directions while learning the lessons. An album you must hear.

Creedence are really a singles band and Dimery's ridiculous limitations on compilations does hurt Creedence a bit. But this album is full of bangers. Creedence was a great band in a sense. Only John Fogerty was world class in his musicality, but the band is solid. I’ve often wondered what John would have sounded like with Tom petty’s heartbreakers, or the Band, or the E street band. Or the swampers. Or Booker t and the MGS. Or the Funk Brothers. It’s possible that we’d lose something a bar band would provide.* But the songs are so strong that the quality shines through. Long as I can see the light and run through the jungle are as good as anything else he wrote. They can also cover well. Heard it through the grape vine is all about the incendiary vocals, but what a track. Ooby dooby is great too. A good album. But creedence is really a singles band. A greatest hits double album would be better here, but this album would provide a fair whack of tracks** on such a compilation. 3.5 rounded up. * I know the hawks who became the band were considered Americas best bar band, but that was never true. Way way above what a bar band should provide. ** Fair whack of tracks is going to be the title of my greatest hits compilation.

Like rumours, both self indulgent nonsense and one of the great albums of all time. I’ll never forgive that film for stating that the lead coulbt stand the eagles. Dumb and ignorant and allowed too many bros to stop listening to a high level of songwriting and musicality. I don’t know. It’s a wonderful artefact of a certain type of culture. But released the same time as a million other equally good records that do nowhere as well. 10 stars. 2 stars. Averaged to 4. Fight me, I don’t care. I’ll cut you.

Ehhh. Loser was great and probably untoppable. This doesn’t feel essential to me. Not awful. Not bad. Just not … ehhh ….

Fairport convention were the best of the English electric folkies. This album saw the death of Martin lambie just before it was released so the surviving members don’t have a fully positive memory of it but among sandy denny fans and fairport fans it ranks highly. To be honest liege and lief is the superior album but this is great. Does it belong on a list of 1000 albums you must hear? I will wrestle with this for a while. But it’s an easier album to beat than the last couple. 4.5 rounded up.

Yeah. They aren’t. Kinda interesting but there are a million better groups from the early 2000s. And hip hop went nuts. But we have this to listen to. Your new 1500th favourite band. That band that was on the radio but you didn’t turn it off but just waited patiently till it ended when they hopefully played someone better. Not even worth dire. Just there. 2 stars.

For the Cool Britannia give me the spice girls. That’s too harsh. There’s no question Noel Gallagher can write songs. Sure he’d be lost without the Beatles but the songs are good. Even pushing to great. Is there a more blatant example of ‘you really had to see these guys live’ than the strangled croak of Liam? Maybe Anthony Kiedis of the red hot chili peppers Anyway this is a good artefact of an era that came and went. 3.5

My favourite Dylan album. Musical DNA. ‘Well god said to Abraham kill me a son Abe said man you must be putting me on God said no. Abe said what? His said ‘you can do what you want Abe but Next time you see me coming you’d better run. ‘ Abe said ‘where you want this killing done?’ God said ‘down on highway 61’ ‘ Dylan was never better. Though he came close occasionally. Leopard skin pill box hat. Stuck inside of mobile with the Memphis blues again. Dylan himself wondered how he wrote such songs. And the personnel. And the personnel. My God. Most of the hawks. Most of the butterfield blues band. Other incredible Musicians. Like a rolling stone with Al Kooper realising he wasn’t as good a guitarist as Mike Bloomfield so teaches himself organ essentially following Dylan’s fingers on the guitar. Bloomfield bought a telecaster and hadn’t even bought a case so was wiping the snow off it. That this guitar was converted to left handed and back again requiring extensive restoration is a story for another day. The slightly behind the beat organ lines are less a musical choice and more of a ‘where’s the G? Oh there!’ 11 minutes of desolation row would be self indulgent tripe in anyone else’s hands. But not Dylan. He makes it compelling. Somehow. So many thought they could imitate. So few could. If you wanted to know what Dylan was about this is the one. Sure Blonde on Blonde and Bringing it back home and John Wesley Harding is great as is the other stuff. But for me, this is peak early (ish) Dylan. 15/5

If you’re dipping your toes into Bowie this is essential. There’s six or seven must hear albums to ‘get’ Bowie. But you could probably condense even that to Ziggy, hunky dory this one and heroes. (And space oddity). To Bowie fans every note he played is essential. Then this one. Note there’s a long gap between great and this. I do like the tin machine one. And scary monsters is decent. Blackstar is an outstanding even great swan song by a dying man embracing mortality. Not that we knew it at the time. So when he died (I was waiting on a plane to jet off to New York when my sister texted me to tell me.) it was a shock. I did find his flat in New York accidentally, up in SoHo (I think) with hundreds of flowers and tributes out the front. I wasn’t sure why they were there and I asked the woman next to me ‘why are these here?’ ‘David Bowie was a rock star …’. No no. Why HERE? I know who Bowie was. ‘Oh that’s where he lived. ‘ He also lived in St Ives on Sydney’s lower north shore, loving the relative anonymity being part of a smaller tight knit community. Is Blackstar one of the 1000 albums you must hear? Compared to Ziggy, or hunky dory, or heroes? Nah. Is it a good album? Yes. Even a great one. But not essential to understanding rock music. It’s a 4. But I’m not sure it should be on the list.

I have a history of rock dvd where the producer hated punk and refused to acknowledge it as an important movement. So we go from glam to new wave. It makes for an interesting approach. No sex pistols. No clash. No Ramones. No echo and the bunny men. No Siouxsie, etc etc.. But, let's accept punk is actually important. Given that Echo are pretty important in the movement, I think it's good to see them represented. I think this again is the wrong album but it’s a good one. They have a great energy about them. 3/5.

One of the last of the great rock bands. I do kind of prefer Kyuss, but let's not be churlish. They proved that there was life after Nirvana, and Guns and Roses, though not as much as a rock fan might like. Strong songs, well played, with longish jams. Turn it up, grab your tennis racket, and air guitar for the rest of the night. Rock may not have much more to do, but it will never really die...

Pink Floyd. Nope. No ambiguity here. I think they’re great. Ok yes it can be muddled self indulgence. And a lot of lyrical there’s are first world rock star problems. I don’t care. Fight me. I have a knife. I’ll use it pretty boy. Shame to see that delicate face messed up. When I was about 12, Monty Python and the meaning of life came to my home town and the support film (Dubbo held on to double feature matinees well into the 1980s*)was advertised as the odd angry shot**.The wall played instead. A cinema full of 12-18 year old boys weren’t sure what to make of it. Some knew pink Floyd mainly thanks to older siblings. I didn’t know them then except for ‘another brick…’. The interval between the two films was hilarious. Mostly silence and the odd ‘what was that I just watched? That it starred the singer of my favourite group then, Bob Geldof, helped. But it was nothing like anything the Rats did. When I was a little older I heard The Wall again and ‘got it. ‘ Comfortably numb is probably Waters greatest lyric. And he is highly underrated as a lyricist. Mother - what a song. Even their weakest song (another brick in the wall pt II) has my favourite guitar solo by Gilmour. It’s the documentation of a band in decline. But I don’t care. I love it. Musical dna Is it bloated and self indulgent? Absolutely. Do the band seem like grim and humourless grumps? Yep. Is the album bleak and depressing? No question. Does it make any sense? Not a whit. Is the film so insane as to make you doubt its very existence? You have no idea. Am I wrong to like them? Probably. But if loving them is wrong then I don’t want to be right.15/5 * Also the local tv station broadcast the black and white minstrel show on Sunday afternoons. The title did not refer to the video medium. **The best film about the Vietnam war. If you haven’t seen it I thoroughly recommend it. All the questions of the American attempts. None of the overblown angst.

… Can you separate artist from art? Well, yes, you can. But is the art any good? I want to love this. I do. But I think there’s no there there. Simon had a t shirt with that cover, but with Taylor swifts rap from "shake it off'. Which was much funnier. Atonal music? I’m there. Ornette Coleman, Stravinsky, Boulez, slonimsky, Zappa, chick corea, Jaco pastorius. Tin machine. Me, on occasion, and even deliberately sometimes. But this? I don’t know. An important album. Yes. But a good one? I’m divided. 2.5 reluctantly rounded up.

The know nothing critics poster boy, elvis costello, underwhelms on this sophomore effort. I’ll be fair, I don’t want to go to Chelsea is a terrific song. But even Ed Sheeran writes good ones occasionally. In my Creedence review, I wondered how John Fogerty might have gone with a better band. It’s the opposite here. Had the Attractions been with a better songwriter and guitarist might we have got the transcendent album it seems the Thomas's and Steve Nieve had in them? Meanwhile, mogadon is available in a musical form. Just hit play here. 1.5 stars, just because I don’t wanna go to Chelsea is worth a listen. Rounded down because the album is nowhere near 'good' let alone anywhere near as good as it thinks it is.

Interesting but dated. And not in a good way. Less a document of a time than an album that no doubt sounded radical (tm) and wevolutionary (tm) (in my best rik Mayall voice) when they’d finished. There’s perhaps a hypothesis - let’s call it Lewis’s hypothesis - the more offensive the artist name, the less interesting the music. Again maybe too harsh. But … give me never mind the bollocks or Ramones.

Musical dna. It’s an album that is that rare thing. A work of sonic art. I can’t just listen to it a song at a time, nor can I have it as background music. It’s an experience. Focussed, deep listening. It’s a religious experience. And to me like your best bottle of scotch. Brought out occasionally and savoured slowly and deeply. 15/5.

No one except maybe Jack Bruce or let’s be fair the Beatles had more musical ambition in mainstream rock music at the time. And no one but Townshend had the balls to try. This is an insane mess - his first really successful attempt at an opera based on rock music. He’d tried before but ‘Rael’ and ‘a quick one while he’s away’ are more throat clearing. Utter garbage like that P F sparrow thing is nowhere near this. And really of the dozens and dozens of rock operas that follow, it’s only this, Jesus Christ Superstar, Joe’s Garage and The Wall that go close to really achieving artistic success. And of the five this is the best. Sure Joe’s Garage goes a bit insane (it is Zappa after all). And the Wall does too. Superstar was probably more shocking at the time but holds up musically. The Who’s manager at the time, Kit Lambert, was the estranged son of noted conductor and composer Constant Lambert and went into rock to annoy his father. He assured Townshend that none of the great operas had plots that made any sense. Add in something about Townshend guru and you have a demented masterpiece. But a deaf dumb and blind pinball champion, English holiday camps. The acid queen. Cousin kevin. Uncle fricking Ernie. Could you even BE a financially successful pinball champion? The only thing that makes this album a bit saner is the incredibly demented movie. The themes, the lyrics, the structures all make sense, even if the plot doesn’t. Pinball wizard, with its chord progression based on Purcell rocks as hard as the Cream, the stones, and zeppelin. See me, feel me, is a gorgeous ballad. Reading the wiki article, I read that Molly Meldrum played uncle Ernie in an Australian production in 1971 with Darryl Braithwaite as Tommy. It just keeps getting more demented. Entwhistle is magic. Moon is on fire. Daltrey is starting to find the voice that would power Who’s Next. And this is possibly Townshends finest moment. Though he still has Who's Next and Quadrophenia to come this lays the groundwork for so much. This is really musical DNA for me. So 10/5

It’s easy to forget just how big Isaac Hayes was. Particularly because living in australia his biggest thing was theme from shaft. (Which is great). But this earlier stuff didn’t really fit in the Australian demographic.* And sadly too, none of his stuff made the big chill soundtrack so the confected nostalgia that attached to Motown and those other soft rock acts didn’t really include Hayes. He was Chef in South Park and that ended badly. Yay us. So this album is extremely good. Walk on by is done as a soul epic. Motown meets Spector meets Jim steinman meets early Queen meets Prince. The second track gets down and funky. Johnny wah wah Watson shines. One woman is a sultry ballad. Nice stuff. And then one of the best songs by one of the best songwriters. Stretched out, phoenix is taken far beyond where Jimmy Webb would have seen it go but keeps its essence. Hayes stretches it out. It’s marvellous. And he had more to come. A great album by a great artist. 4.5 stars. * the complication is of course the reluctance of Australian audiences to listen to black artists or the cost it took to get stuff out here or the reluctance of radio stations to play this stuff or the cultural gulf between Australian suburbia and black urban culture. Or all of it.

Smiley smile is better. This is good, even great, but it wasn’t going to push McCartney and Lennon to higher achievements. It occurred to me while listening to this that while most of the comparison goes McCartney-Wilson, Lennon and Brian had one major thing in common. They never move on from the music of their youth, even embracing it in their later days. Both men are capable of many styles, but 50s rock and roll remains their bedrock. This album includes doo-wop harmonies, eighth-note piano, walking bass lines, etc. I prefer the versions of the songs on Smiley Smile, and none of the new songs grabbled in the way a great Brian Wilson song can. As far as 20th century American composers, he ranks with Scott Joplin, Gershwin, Dylan, Hank Williams, Willie Dixon, Ellington, Jimmy Webb, Cole Porter, Frank Zappa, Joni Mitchell, Aaron Copeland, Thelonius Monk and Burt Bacharach. You can add your personal favourites. I know I'm forgetting some. But that list should suffice in showing where Brian Wilson sits in the US music pantheon. (It's in no real order, just written as they came to mind). Having said that, this is not his best work. Go back to Smiley smile, or even the over-rated Pet Sounds, or Cabinessence, or 20/20 or Surf's Up, or Love You. Listen to the glory of Good Vibrations - the original I mean. Listen to I Get Around, or Wouldn't it be nice... https://www.toppermost.co.uk/beach-boys/ I wrote the first bit, and it's as good a list as any to show Brian's greatness. Smile is great. No question. But not Brian Wilson great. 3.5/5 rounded up.

I am dreading listening to this. An album from 2011 that’s not something I heard then, the love of pretentious comedy optics and Dimerys knack for picking irrelevance and mediocrity doesn’t bode well. Not just mediocrity but derivation. The first few tracks sound like something the Beatles would have given away rather than take up space on one of their albums. And then watched it flop. Track 4 sounds like they said ‘hey let’s write a pink Floyd song’ having heard dark side of the moon precisely once and were aware of ‘another brick in the wall.’ The rest of the album meanders in trying to find an original voice. And never managing it. I don’t like psychedelic music so that’s part of it. But I also suspect that if this had been released between 1967-1973 I might have been more tolerant of it. It’s not awful. But I’d rather listen to a whole slew of other stuff from the early 2010s. 1.5

Not bad. Not brilliant. A bit more than mediocre. Nothing to write home about. I liked the second or third track.

I’ve always felt that tlc were either brilliant geniuses or untalented hacks. I’m still not sure. I picked in 1994 that they’d ripped off McCartney in waterfalls. Big fan of McCartney II. But then TLC groove. It’s a tragic tale of left eye. But a tragic death doesn’t mean you were air weren’t a genius. I’m giving this five. But if it turns out they are untalented hacks they get 1.

One of the ur-texts for punk. 1 2 3 4! Fast, hard and deliberately dumb. Ridiculously fun. Anti pc before there was such a concept. If I say I prefer the heartbreakers it’s not that I don’t like this. And a lot more subtle than you’d expect this to be. End of the century is one of the great documentaries. 4.5.

Oh, god,dimery, another critically acclaimed almost forgotten trendy garbage record. Except, it’s good. Neo soul is a favourite of mine, and this captures it fairly nicely. Kendrick appears, and James Fauntleroy. Drew Barrymore was my favourite. Is it an all time classic? No… not really. Is it a must hear? Not in a general list, there are more important albums. Erykah Badu, Janet Jackson, TLC (conditionally) all are more important. Is it worth listening to? Actually yes. 3.5 rounded up

An artifact of gangsta rap. Hard. Well done. Intense. I wonder if ice t,s work with law and order has diminished this? I really don’t know. But an album worth hearing even if I suspect it’s here because someone told him it should be rather than any real claim that it must.

Because trumpists deserve music too? Let’s get serious for a second. Most artists are human beings, with a range of backgrounds and beliefs. The beloved Rush drummer, Neil Peart, was a passionate believer in Ayn Rand’s objectivist nonsense. Brian May of Queen and Phil Collins of genesis were lifelong conservative voters. George Harrison’s 'Taxman' is, when you think of it, not really pushing a progressive view of taxation. Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull recently felt he’ll probably vote conservative. I enjoy all of these people’s music (some more than others.) The point is people whose politics you disagree with can still make great music. Look at Wagner and the festival in Israel. Which leads us to Kid Rock. An avowed trumpist, a pioneer in country rap, a once credible hip hop artist, and a massive hit in that mash up of sweet home Alabama and werewolves of London. The trouble is, ‘forever' aside (a great song on the next album) he just isn’t very good. He’s not bad. But most of it is forgettable pablum. It’s like Eminem decided to go even more white trash, and forgot about how to craft a song. And Eminem is on this… I did struggle with this a bit. Am I being classist? After all, he comes from a fairly lower class background and writes music for ‘white trash’. My personal music collection has a tonne of music written for white trash. I draw the line at racism and try to draw it at sexism. I can listen to the songs of quite horrible people and enjoy them. There are some lovely people whose music I can’t bear. The great sin is not being very good. Kid Rock is notorious but he is no Biggie Smalls. 2.5 stars.

We tend to forget that a lot of so called new wave was really doing the punk manifesto of returning to a Pre 1965 ethic. A short list might include in no real order Nick Lowe. Dire straits. Springsteen, the stray cats the ramones. The cramps. And the b52s. All drew on inspiration from before revolver really. Sometimes it was the Spector wall of sound. Sometimes it was surf music. Sometimes it was pop or rock and roll. The b52s dressed like they came out of the late 1950s-1960s and their better early stuff gave the impression of cheap exploitation films. Rock lobster is at least to me a 1950s horror, that might have made it into the golden turkeys if it was a film. Gloria in Excelsis The b52s are tremendously fun. In fact too much fun to write too much about. Analysing this is like explaining a joke everyone gets. Doesn’t add to the enjoyment. Makes you look like a wanker. But I’d have loved to have seen them in a small club, say, the love shack in Atlanta. But they are an arena band now, if indeed they tour at all. My blessings to them. I missed out. Ah well. A great band with terrific musicianship. Turn this album up loud and pogo till you drop.

It’s reheated yardbirds and stolen Jeff beck. Apparently beck was in tears when he heard it. 'What the hell, Jim? I thought we were friends!' The Jeff beck group took what cream and the who were doing, combined it and made a rocking album or two. Then Beck bogert and appice extended it. If plant and jones and bonham weren’t so good it’d be awful. But they are that good. Page is as well. But often he’s the least interesting player. Which is really saying something. A great guitarist, sure. But compared to what jones and bonham do ... And there’s a sense where it’s magnificent. Good times bad times is one of the best album openers of the rock era. Having said that, it’s more a portent of what was to come than a finished product. So 2 out of 5. Maybe 2.5. Should have been 4. But they stole most of it.

As a gen xer I’m supposed to love 90s rap. I don’t hate it. It’s not really my musical dna. It was only when I was lecturing in contemporary music that I started to understand hip hop. It’s folk music. ‘Goddamn it’ as Roy Acuff said about the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, when the long haired scruffs started playing. ‘This is country.’ . NAS isn’t quite folk music in the way a lot of people would define it. Or even country. Except … When you look it at, the themes of country and hip hop aren’t that far apart… Good ol boys running moonshine, versus gangstas selling crack? What’s the difference? Not much, once you take race and class and 'respectability' out of it. Alcohol is acceptable. Crack isn’t. But don’t they fulfill the same basic human needs? Johnny Cash shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die. Merle Haggard turned 21 in prison doing life without parole. His mamma tried. These are hip hop songs, just sung differently. NAS could sing them. Merle could do a nas song. It was surprising that old town road took so long to exist. But here we are. So this leads us to illmatic. I didn’t hate it. But I prefer jay-z. Or Erik b and rakim. Or, gulp, early Kanye. Or the beastie boys. Or lil Kim. But this is good. And an important album. (I know. Most of these aren’t 90s. I know). Just not as good as others I like. But better than others.

If Beyoncé was more like this, I’d be a bigger Beyoncé fan.

Taylor swift is one of the more important acts to have emerged in the last 15 years or so. This is a terrific album. My only issue is that it takes about 10 years to take the determine canon… but it’s a great album. So 5 stars. But will it still be on this type of list in 5 years? Red or 1989 would be more appropriate. I suspect this will go down as an important album. I suspect rather as an important album in an important artists catalogue of work than an important album in its own right. Sort of like comparing ‘blonde on blonde’ to ‘Nashville skyline’. But any look at critics choice or awards from any given year will see a whole range of excellent albums now forgotten. I hope this isn’t one.

It’s ok. Is it must listen? The residents, yes. Kraftwerk? Yes. Einszenten Neubaten? Maybe. Neu? Hmmm… Can? This doesn’t feel essential. 2.5

Sinatra was the second greatest white male singer of the 20th century. Elvis pipped him, but only just. Elvis had the greater note range and stylistic range. But within Sinatra limits, he was untouchable. He could break your heart. He could lift a crappy song to high art. He could make you think you were in the heavens with a great song. Give him a great arranger and it’s hard to even explain. Yes, he was a mixture of great human being and puerile awful son of a bitch, but it’s about the voice. He was the voice. Try and understand it. With one of the great Latin songwriters, Jobim, this could have collapsed under its own weight if expectations. It doesn’t. Sinatra, for all the macho swagger, had the lightest of touch when it was needed. Really, girl from Ipanema is all you need to get this album. But all of it is great, even the oversung by mediocrities how insensitive. That this lost out to Sgt Peppers for album of the year is no slight against either album. Finally a must hear.

Three great songs. Waterloo sunset, David Watts and Death of a clown. Then filler. This album highlights the weakness of the concept. How can you not have Waterloo sunset, but when most of the album is dull ….

I like a little more grit but there’s no denying the talent of Neil Finn. Or Tim. Chocolate cake is my favourite of these singles but weather with you and fall at your feet are songs that maybe only McCartney at his absolute best could equal as songs. Maybe Elton too. An excellent album. And we can claim it as Australian because Hester and Seymour were born in Australia. 3.8.

Peak Prince? Possibly. The title track is possibly the greatest dance track of all time. Little red corvette is just .. oh! And the rest of the album. Let’s pretend we’re married (and presumably not talk for months). DMSR. Delirious. All of them. Wow! What he’s a little underrated in is long grooves. When the revolution settle in it’s just magic. No wonder the live reputation is immense. 19 stars.

Oh Dimery. *sigh* Tried. I really did. But when the Wikipedia page takes a paragraph to explain the album title, it’s as good an indication to what listening to the music will be like. Not surprised. Just disappointed.

One of the next big things that sort of fizzled. It’s kind of fun, I guess, but they’re having a better time than I am. *sigh*

Gram parsons. Massive country fan. Would have made it to Nashville as royalty had he lived despite his difficult qualities as a human being and the poor reception at the Ryman. Elvis didn’t go down well either and now the Nashville country music museum has one of his limos We forget sometimes just how good the byrds could be. Usher produces this album well and while most of the original byrds have moved on (David Crosby being famously replaced by a horses bottom on one cover) this is a pretty fine lineup. The great John Hartford on fiddle banjo and mandolin is a highlight. This is a great album. Perhaps the best the Byrds did. 4.5 stars.

It’s either pop or it’s something else. Adding a noun or andject to the fronts smells of superficiality. And I think shoegaze is not to my taste. Pah. 2 stars. Pfui.

Hey ya alone gives this 5 stars. A dance song you can’t dance to - it’s in 22/8. A happy melody about a relationship breakdown. One of the greatest songs and singles of the 21st century. In 2003. Will it be matched over the following 97 years? 21 years later there’s not a lot of competition. * The rest of the double album swerves from great to middling. Without hey ya it’d be a solid 3.5. With Hey Ya it’s a 5. *This isn’t a ‘music these days!’ comment. Hey Ya is that good. .

Fusion jazz. Hated by critics. Loved by its fans. As great as Shorter, Zawinul, Acuna and Badrena are, it’s Jaco, the man who reinvents how the electric bass is played, less than 15 years after a small cohort worked it out. Entwhistle or Bruce hadn’t tried this, and they were more technically adventurous than James Jamerson, Carol Kaye or Duck Dunn. Jaco was something else. Let’s look at Jaco's bass solo on harmonics. It sounds like a guitar. But it’s not. It’s Pastorious. He is the Jimi Hendrix of bass and what a show that might have been. Put Bonham on drums and watch the whole thing crash under the impossible weight of expectations. The other thing about this first album is just how much energy there is. Fusion was developed by the guys who grew up on rock and roll but learned jazz. A lot of later fusion guys forget this thinking it’s about how clever you are. Oh these guys in Weather Report are clever, yes. But they’re also chuck and Richard and the Beatles and the stones. And Sly and Jimi and James Brown, and Motown, and P Funk. Throw it all together and you have a true fusion. This is jazz. Absolutely. But it’s also rock and roll. 4 stars.

That I haven’t heard of this is foreboding. And I listen. And it’s not bad. But must listen? Not even close.

Another 'is this must hear?' And the answer is no. You can go your entire life without needing to hear this, though the song harry and hermione dances to in deathly hallows makes that scene something special. Nick cave should be on this list, I suppose, maybe. But not this album. 2 stars because it shouldn’t be here.

Kid A or Ok computer (ok maybe both) for must listens. Radiohead is great but not every album is a must listen. I’m starting to think this should be 1000 popular acts of the 20th and 21st century (or maybe the last 100 years) you should listen to. That might be more representative and the selections must frustrate me a bit less.

Jacks of all trades, masters of none.

I never really got the go betweens. I know they are an iconic Queensland band but they were always just off my ‘taste’ radar. They’re really good. Great playing and strong songs and they deserved their success but I missed the appeal. 5 because I know too many people who’d give this at least 4.

Hoo boy. What a voice.

Zz top.

His best album. Sure thriller is great but this has an energy and a risk factor that his later work lacks. Which is saying something. This documents the prodigy maturing into something more than just that kid who electrified his brothers band into something more than they could be. And they could be great. It’s before the weirdness, the absurdity, the awfulness. It grooves, it boogies, it gets down. Runs from jazz to a light funk. Quincy jones at his zenith. Crack musicians. Some of my all time favourite musicians on this. . All killer, no filler. 5 stars.

Critical acclaim. Was a hit. Won awards. Pretty much forgotten today. Rather dull to listen to. Dated badly. Not unpleasant. Good musicianship. Songs are similar with no real distinction between them. . And poorly produced. It’s muddy with no clarity or definition. Another one of the 80% of this selection that isn’t must hear. 2.5 rounded down.

Ok, Paul McCartney is absolutely key. But given I only have 1001 albums, it’d be band on the run, McCartney 2 and maybe Ram. This is a throat clearer, with admittedly maybe I’m amazed as an example of what McCartney could do. The rest of it is mid range McCartney, meaning it would have been a stone cold career making classic for anyone else. But McCartney was to do better. From anyone else, 58 stars. From Paul? 3.5.

Hmmm. Is Leonard cohen a lyrical and musical genius? Or is he a failed poet who lucked into music? I still don’t know. There are some gems on this. But am I - are we? - being hoodwinked? 2.5, so zero if it’s a con, 5 if it’s what its fans claim it to be. Rounded up

The most problematic of all problematic geniuses. Maybe not actually. He never killed anyone, and while it must have been awful for Kim kardashian, as far as I know he never intentionally abused her. But behind a production desk he was untouchable. This ain’t the album I’d have picked - gold digger is way too great of a problematic track - as is heartbreaker. But man when he’s on fire he burns.

A better example for nick cave. Too druggy and pretentious for me but not awful.

Peak McCartney. Musical dna. I consider 1985 his best composition. Jet, the title track. God. He never wrote a dud melody but he can be awful. Not here though. Let me roll it is of course his pastiche to Lennon. But who else thinks 'no words' is his George Harrison song? I even like mamunia. Not a dud on this one. Musical DNA. Only Lennon’s plastic ono band equals this for Beatles solo. 14009487383736384747 stars.

It’s a must listen. But is it great? The three singles are. The band is of course superb. Marvin is probably singing the best he ever did. The cultural impact of this is still felt 50 years down the track. But according to the wiki article, Greg kot was in a minority, feeling that the three singles were worthy, but the rest of the album was 'meandering introspection'. I want to disagree but I can’t. It gets five stars, but not for itself, but its context.

We’ve had two classic albums by two of the biggest and most influential artists of the period. Now this.

Important and must listen? Yes. Do I like it? Well I didn’t. When I heard it many years back (after hearing return to forever, weather report, mahavishnu orchestra, steely dan etc) I found it drab and dull. Maybe I’ve grown into it. Maybe I was wrong then. Maybe I’m old. But I enjoyed it now more than I did. I also have a nagging feeling that Miles is overrated slightly. And I acknowledge that that is not a widely held belief. I also find his ubiquitous influence baffling. It’s only recently that jazz bands have moved away from trying to sound like miles. I don’t resent the influence nor do I think it all bad but I think he inadvertently held jazz back for decades by all of those trying to sound like him. Instead of learning his lesson (find your voice and express that) they copied. So the audience got bored.* This is not Miles’s fault any more than endless pointless wailing on guitars is Eddie van halen’s fault, or tortured wordplay with no craftsmanship is Dylan’s. But jazz players should know better. The whole history of jazz is innovation. I’m pretty sure miles has the most impressive alumni of any bandleader. And the bands that came out of this album alone… who didn’t sound like miles. 5 stars because of its influence. Take that away and think I’d have given it 2 when I was 20. But 3.5 now. Maybe I’ve gone senile. *of course there are honourable and notable exceptions. But those who complained that jazz didn’t progress had somewhat of a point.

What a weird choice. I mean I know people who revere Lenny and call him the greatest rocker ever. That’s not my view but hey, who am I to judge? I’ll admit, the third album with all the big hits is great listening. But this one? With only 1001 to choose l, I’d think no. I like Lenny, but… He plays all the instruments. Very few can get away with that. But it’s competent. Shouldn’t be here. Not his best. 2/5

Didn’t we already do this? One album from this group is enough.

Hendrix is one of the very few artists who should have every solo album he did on such a list. This is probably my favourite of his - little wing alone justifies this inclusion It’s an unfinished song - sketch really - but the rest of the album is just superb. Little wing shows his potential more than the widdly wow wow he is known for. But having said this there’s some brilliant stuff here. And really as life changing as Hendrix was, Mitch Mitchell excels. The bass, at least some of which was played by Noel Redding is more than functional. But the drums - for all the bombast of Moon and the force of nature that is bonham, Mitch is probably the most complementary of the great three. Hendrix isn’t my favourite guitarist though I suppose he’s up there. This album is, as the kids say, a banger.

Brian eno is either genius or total fraud. I’m still not sure which. A great band… 2.5 while I work it out.

Can you change the world 3 times? Dylan is in a handful who changed it twice. As for three times? Off hand, Miles Davis, maybe Madonna? I had a longer version of this review that disappeared when the phone battery died and there were a few other names. Bowie perhaps? Certainly this album is a return to form for Dylan. At least according to fans. Now Dylan is one of those artists who, even on the worst albums they did there’s something worthwhile. (Elton, Stones?, again my mind is dying). I don’t quite rate this album as highly as other fans, but acknowledge it is an excellent album. After the dire born again years (which still yielded some good songs) this was rightly seen as a vast improvement. The traveling wilburies helped too I think in that Dylan was able to just relax and write. I don’t rate this quite as highly as other Dylan fans but it is a top ten Dylan album.

Important and actually worth being on the list but I’ve grown away from it. And I heard it a bit when it was current. But I remember none of it. I’ll assume that’s on me. It’s pretty ok actually.

More important for who listened than the listening. Fun and beautifully played. 3.5

Done at the time of the blues revival and hooker was one of the original 50s blues men and one of the most important. Apart from the slick production and guest stars, it’s a decent example of what Hooker did so well - the boogie - though I’d recommend his 50s output.

Not terribly impressed though I’m sure whoever picked this was terribly impressed with themselves.

I dislike the clash. Hypocrites. Posers. W*nkers. Try hards. Then you play them and they are genuinely one of the best bands ever. What a debut. London calling is one of the great songs of the punk era and maybe even of the rock era. So you give them one for being wankers and 12 for how good they are. I’ll average it to a 5.

The singles range from good to magnificent. The rest is filler or just better.

Mick and keith really come into their own, second only to Lennon McCartney, a Strauss they’ll keep till at least John, Taupin. This is a strong album - I think the uk version is a bit better. It probably hasn’t lasted well although I never really believed Micks misogyny. I don’t think he did either. By stones standards, bottom of the top. Anyone else, career making one off. 3.5 stars.

A band that escaped me, like 70s Genesis. I enjoyed this but I might have passed by when this would have been awesome to me. Great musicians. 3.5

That Wikipedia entry is terrible. Reads like a year 8 summary written at the last minute by a bored student who used Wikipedia. Booker T and the MGS are among that cohort who I bent how to play soul music with four new instruments - the Hammond B3, invented 1955, the fender precision bass, invented 1951, and the fender telecaster, invented 1949-1952. So they’re new instruments with four creative and brilliant musicians who’ve worked out how to play these new instruments. This context is important. It’s a good album,a nd a little more than an historic artifact. It’s rough and ready, but virtuosic. And if you play any of those instruments, one of the records you should learn. At least green onions.

The police. Kind of the mirror image of the clash. A great bad. And this might be their best. Sting wrote some of his best songs. And he is wonderfully backed up by summers and Copeland. Definite must listen.

He’s somewhat of a neglected figure now but Marc Bolan was a huge star. He is somewhat limited in his songwriting but boy within those limits he could write. Again the ridiculous limitation of greatest hits compilations means that we listen to all of this and not just the outstanding singles.

The biggest whinging Pom who ever whinging Pommed. Also very witty. And the smiths are a great band. Even if I’m a bit … suspicious of them. Steven can write lyrics, even if they do seem to moan and whinge. Marr is an excellent player and it’s a solid solid rhythm section. But, something about them irritates me. I’m sure that Manchester was quite miserable - try Dubbo NSW growing up. If I could afford a train ticket the most interesting place I could get to was Sydney. From Manchester a couple of hours on the train to London and then you have Europe. I prefer Springsteens epic vistas that cover economic and social oppression. But as I grow older though the smiths do make more sense. 3.5 rounded up.

Must listen? Hmmmm Adam ant was that link between the first new wave and the second new wave - how the pretenders were usurped by Duran Duran if you like. None of this is bad. Just history. So is this album: Great fun? Tick Lots of filler? Tick Marvellous singles? he’d do better. But ant music is a banger. Dated horribly? Tick and cross. Production has surprisingly held up. Is it 5 stars? Nope. 2.5.

Not awful. Not bad. Passed me by at the time. Not a must listen. 2.5

Sigh. Important I suppose and gorgeous harmonies. Well crafted songs. Just not for me.

Excellent album. Probably the best of the Parsons repertoire, and really shows what a musical loss he was. The band, mostly Elvis's TCB rhythm section, minus Jerry Schett, cooks. The guests, including future Eagle Bernie Leadon, Linda Ronstadt, and legendary fiddler Byron Berline are inspired. Parsons and Emmy Lou were magic together. Parsons wife was suspicious and so excised Emmy Lou from the cover. She really shouldn’t have done that. It’s really as much an Emmy Lou album as a Gram one. And that makes it terrific.

Nope. I already heard this. Except I knew it as ‘Goo’ by sonic youth.

Judas. I don’t believe you. One of the three or four musical performances in which Dylan changes the world. And deservedly so. The hawks are a powerful unit. And Dylan rises to the occasion. But it’s 25 years after the event, and the event was shrouded in legend. Dylan of course both knows the power of legend and has spent more than 50 years both downplaying his and using it to keep known. This is an event that you need to be aware of. But the album may make a non Dylan fan wonder what all the fuss was about. 4

One of the essential jazz albums. Brubeck had traveled to turkey and heard 9/8 time. Unusual rhythms abound. But perfectly arranged. Brubeck got people listening to 5/4 in the Paul Desmond written take five. So beautifully constructed. You can dance to it. Blue rondo a la Turk is another masterpiece. In fact all of it is. 1959 might be peak jazz - kind of blue also comes out this year. This is astounding. 10/8 stars.

Better than expected. Not completely enjoyable.

Stretching from Chaucer, through Shakespeare, to swift, to Lewis Carroll, to Edward Lear, James Joyce, the goons, the Beatles, Monty Python, Syd Barrett gives that whimsical nonsense beloved of those English and Irish writers. To be fair, the idea of Syd was always more appealing than the existence of the music. I wonder if he’d be as remembered if it wasn’t for the tragic circumstances he found himself in. The early Floyd stuff is essential. This is interesting but not awfully essential. Historically important? Ask me tomorrow. My mind might change.

An album that changes music. How did that make this list? Oh right 90s hip hop. I think more garbage and pretension has been written about this album by suburban white critics than the same breed writing about Jimi Hendrix. In fact it is a great album. Dr Dre knows the form (much better than I do) and grows, expands and changes it. Snoop shows why he becomes a star. And the anger and bitterness is nicely done. . 5 stars.

I did enjoy this, though Joan would go on to more commercially viable stuff later but also be a bit more adventurous. Terrific musicians with Hellecaster Jerry Donohue and ex faces and Who drummer Kenney Jones among others appearing. It does show the breadth of UK music in 1976 - Bowie, Queen, Bowie and Quatro don’t really fit here. Neither do the soon to be recorded pistols, clash or pretenders. She’s two to three years ahead of Costello (but then who isn’t?) and even Sting and the police are a bit behind. I’d probably compare her most closely to Kate Bush given both have unique voices and are women following their own vision, not the vision of male producers. I was going to give it three but it’s growing on me. 4.5.

What a statement of intent. A mission statement that is definite and quickly superseded. But there’s a sense in which it’s all in here. Let’s look at the achievements. The censor baiting stutter - not just to imply vulgarity but also to imply the effects of amphetamine. The angry slashing guitar chords that launch a million rock bands and punk bands and industrial bands. The frenetic drumming. The first electric bass solo. And that’s just the title track. One of the absolute songs you need to know if you think you like rock music. The kids are alright is a stone cold Classic. Most of the rest is serviceable to great covers. But that Townshend kid shows promise as a songwriter. 4 .5 stars

The singles are fantastic. The album tracks are ok. Really, the only Bowie album which has consistently great songs is Ziggy. Fight me. Bowie could do great singles. But his albums tend to be patchy. Wanna try it out? Take out the singles and then sequence the rest. What stands out? Yeah, thought so. Not much. Sigh. 3 stars.

Changes the world of guitars. A very good to excellent songwriter. At least one classic. Mitch Freaking Mitchell. Mitch freaking Mitchell

Why? Must listen? It’s a decent listen. And Winwood is a superb musician and excellent songwriter. ‘When you see a chance’ is great. But top 1000 album? No. 3.5 stars. It’s good. But not 1000 album good. Rounded down.

I suppose one Neil young album has to be on this list. I’d have thought Harvest. But anyhow… Neil Young is what most people think about Bob Dylan. That other people do his songs better. That’s not necessarily true with Dylan as he digs deeply into genre and style and vocalises accordingly. Neil doesn’t have the vocal tonal range of a Dylan. And while it’s easy to dismiss a lot of his songs because of this, if you listen to Dolly, Emmy Lou and Linda’s version of after the gold rush, or Neil himself backed by the Band the strength of the songs comes through. But mostly I’m not impressed by his work. Strident. Loud mouthed. A peace loving hippie who seems to love conflict. I might be too hard. I’ve never met him and I haven't done the deep dive. But while this is fine I’ll go back to other versions of Neil’s work. And really Harvest is a better album.

Siouxie is a legend. Great band. Good album.

Is it important? Yes. It helps launch the singer songwriter west coast thing. Is it well played? Yes. Excellent musicianship and songwriting. Did I like it? Fire and rain is a good song. And there’s a couple of others. Otherwise I’m going back to other acoustic music I prefer. That’s ok.

One song that gets sampled. Otherwise it’s …irritating? I love percussion but this seems inessential.

Oh boy do they get good. I can see for miles. Townshend wrote it as a no 1 and deliberately put a mostly one note solo as a statement about Clapton, page Beck etc. Topped out at 10 in the UK and I think 15 in the US. The charts are idiots. I’ve often thought of all the rock stars I’m closest in temperament to Brian May. But Townshend is probably closer to me in intellectual interests. This album celebrated what Townshend called the greatest art movement of the 20th century - advertising. And they paid for it too - Daltrey allegedly caught pneumonia after spending all day in the baked beans. Mods at the top of the game. They wouldn’t be as good till who’s next. Though they’d still be pretty great anyway.

Hard to be negative about this. Gorgeously done. Ruined by poor imitators. Not their fault. 4.5

Best listened to in a club. Otherwise forgettable.

Another Neil young? Nope.

A great album. Not quite as good as its predecessor but still. 5 stars. It’s easy to forget just what a great performance she gives. In nothing compares, just listen to the verse about the doctor. And then it builds into the chorus. Magic. And she does this type of thing again and again.

I’ll give them this. They’ve spent the last 40 years working their guts out. The songs are decent and they’re good musicians. But seriously? You have 1000 albums. This isn’t one of them.

It’s not bad. It’s pretty good. They at least try and take blues elsewhere rather than blooz a la every second rate Stevie Ray hack. But is this the one? I think they did better.

Even at the time I struggled to see the shock value after little Richard, Screaming Lord Sutch, Alice cooper, the sex pistols, Bowie, etc. That said, Marilyn Manson was a bit interesting. This is the album to pick. That he was a tool, unlike Alice cooper, is irrelevant. This is an interesting album. Not a great album. Probably slips past ok into pretty ok. 3 seems too high. 2 seems a bit low. So rounded up.

Oh obscure 90s hip hop. *farts*

I was bored.

This is rock and roll. Either Richard or Chuck were the king of rock and roll and Richard roared on to the scene. Is there a greater opener than ‘a wop bop bop a loo bop a wop bam boom?’ Is there a greater song on perversion than slipping and slidin? Is there a greater song on another kind of perversion than longboat sally?* Rip it up.. my god. What a song. Even the b sides cook. 2 million stars. *no kink shaming here. But this was revolutionary in the 1950s

Hypocritical cowardly creep with music that reflects that. Zero stars. Rounded up because whoever was in charge of buffalo girls did manage to write a decent pop arrangement.

This is a good album and explains where a lot of U2 comes from. The singles are magnificent. The rest is pretty great. 3.5.

Whinging Poms. Actually that’s a bit harsh. I do prefer new order but hook et Al are a good band. That Ian Curtis needed more help than he could get is a recurring theme in the history of pop music. I find this stuff maudlin and dull but recognise that it has a significant following. And yes probably an album you should hear.

Not every one of Dylan’s many albums needs to be must hear in a broad sweep of popular music. This is one that you probably should hear. It is a bit of a shame that this list continually brings up the overrated Neil young but Dylan, while here, doesn’t seem to be as noticed. I might be being harsh. Dylan had withdrawn from music. Or at least he’d wound back. A motorbike accident in 1966 saw him release less important albums. However this after a string of smaller albums seems like an attempt to be game changing again without actually trying to be. Some of the love for this album I think is a love for Dylan. But it has some highlights. Given Dylan’s importance as a composer this album should be listened to. But I will always prefer the other greats. 4

Got about halfway through and got bored. Better than Elvis Costello Lou reed and Neil young. But that’s not hard. I like Cale. But should this be here? 2.5.

Should be on such a list. Although maybe takes a nation of millions should be the one. Didn’t fully enjoy though some good grooves.

The first of the electric albums. Side one explodes with electric instruments. Side two is acoustic. Maggie’s Farm still bites 60 years down the track. So does subterranean homesick blues. A stellar cast of musicians. And he was only to get better from here. And possibly the greatest closing track of any American album. It was over. And something new was beginning. 75 stars.

I don’t know. Is this good? Or ‘good’? I don’t think it’s must listen. It’s more of a ‘oh you should hear this because of the circumstances’. Not ‘this album defined 20th and 21st century popular music in this way or that way.’ I mean I like it. But Willis Allan Ramsay, Joe South, late Elvis, the band, credence, the allmans and on and on seem more compelling. I don’t know. I think he needed more help than exploitation. I don’t know.

This is good stuff. Neo soul is a great genre and it doesn’t get much better than this.

This is the shizzle. Ray shows the hairs width difference between r and b and country. Jimmie Rogers, the Everly brothers and Hank Williams get their genius polished. Musical dna. 1500000

This is one of those albums, like Rumours or Hotel California that is almost beyond criticism. Easy to dismiss as dull, its ubiquity is a major factor in that conclusion. In fact, like the other two, it’s an exceedingly well crafted album. Important in being the album that the sound quality of cds was demonstrated using this album it is a mix of brilliance and banality. Dire Straits to me at least is a rough equivalent to Creedence Clearwater Revival, insofar as they were made up of brothers and friends and the songs that Mark wrote were much bigger than the band. They are a fine band but not a virtuosic band like, I don’t know, The Police or The Blockheads. Except for the exceptional guitar playing of Mark the band is a bit journeyman. Mark’s limited vocalising works, especially on things like ‘your latest trick’. Of course he wrote the songs and was aware of his limitations. I think it’s telling that the best songs have wiki links. And were singles. I do like this album. I suppose it’s musical RNA to me. There’s a sense that readers in this group may find it dull. It’s not dull but it’s not an album that for me I need to listen to much even though as a guitarist I deeply admire Mark Knopfler’s style. 3.5

I keep hearing how great these guys are. I’ll take your word for it. I suppose it should be on this list as he’s deeply regarded. But there’s no craft here. There’s no emotion. There’s no art. Maybe you had to be there. Interested to see Jerry harrison was a part of it.

I suppose to be fair in a just world this would be an album that was well regarded in a post Peter Gabriel world. In an even more just world the magnificent band and Ladysmith black mambazo would have been world famous anyway. But we live in this world. And Paul Simon, a first rank songwriter, produces this after critically acclaimed but commercially subdued albums. And this is superb. IIt changes the world. I know Paul Simon may be a problematic figure. But the music here. And the lyrics. What is not generally noticed is that Simon doesn’t move far away from his usual lyrical themes - Manhattan life, relationship breakdowns. So diamonds on the soles of her shoes - possibly the standout track - is not about Soweto. They fall asleep among the bodegas of Broadway. The title Track may be Simon’s best lyrics. I know what I know is another standout. There’s no filler on this. I’m aware of all the criticisms. Is it exploitation? Did Paul Simon ripoff his musicians? Maybe, maybe not. I don’t know. If true they are valid. But this is a joyful, joyous and wondrous album. If you haven’t heard it, listen closely. Let it seep in. It is musical dna for me. 88 stars.

Didn’t we do Beck already? After Odelay is there anything to add for only 1000 albums? This is good. No question. But not a must listen. 2.5 marked down because it shouldn’t be here.

. Awful garbage. A poor songwriter, now past his peak in the gently undulating foothills of his talent (I use the term loosely though I did think Oliver’s army a great song and I don’t want to go to Chelsea is also decent.) How could the producer let him get away with wasting a great band in this junk? Enough with the critical darlings. This list has shown most critics don’t understand ‘quality’ ’rock’, ‘roll’, ‘good’ or ‘music’ Let’s have more albums you must hear. 0 stars. Rounded up because it’s too mediocre for a negative score

Hmmm. Garbage? Great? Dull, certainly.

Yep. Should be here and is pretty great. If I named my album like this it’d be Wah bluesdriver delay. This is how you do noise. And rock.

I know already that Alan is going to dismiss this as English folk but in all love and affection give me 20 of these over French folk. With that out of the way, that British and Irish guitarists of the 1960s were incredible. This is Beck Page Clapton Townshend, Rory, etc. But the acoustic guys were better in a sense. On this album Jaensch and Renbourn. It’s a true fusion - jazz blues folk all mixing as if they always did. This, Solid Air, Planxty and Fairport. And this stuff leads to zeppelin, Jethro Tull and other such acts.

This is good stuff from a band I’m not as aware of as I should be. But I enjoyed this. And I think is an act that belongs here. Whether it’s this album or not I don’t know. But one of their albums should be here anyway.

It’s the worst version of hallelujah but to be fair that’s because all of the awful copies. So not really his fault. I like the original and I like John cales version. The restraint in both of them suits the song. Would have been interesting to see where he would have gone. This album is not bad but I think it’s more an harbinger of things to come rather than a fully realised musical vision. That it was not to be is a tragedy. 3

If she hadn’t called herself the blowjob queen would pathetic sniggering white boy critics have cared? I think this is good though. And yes probably one of those albums you should hear.

Old tree bird fishlock is in great voice here. This is a really great album. It evaded me at the time but I would have been all over this on release.

I had written a Toppermost article (https://www.toppermost.co.uk/the-yardbirds/) on the yardbirds and after it was published I realised something. Apart from the three important guitarists who made up the lineup - Clapton Beck and Page - they weren’t a terribly good blues band. They were however a pretty terrific pop band particularly on this album. Jeff Beck, one of the greatest rock guitarists, never stopped developing as a player. The songs on this are terrific. Over under upside down is amazing. The Nazz is blue led one David jones, under his more renowned stage name, to describe the character of Ziggy Stardust. It also led Todd Rundgren to name his band. This is worth a listen. Though nearly all members would go on to to other interesting and important things. Not all the songs are bangers. But those that are slap hard. Vale Jeff. (And Keith).

Must listen? More like might listen if that’s all there is. Not especially great. Not especially awful. Not my cup of tea. But nothing special either. Why is this here?

That key year 1959. Ella is like Hendrix, like Dylan, like Bird. Greatness themselves but too many inferior copies dilute. But here, with two of the figures (well three) that make up what was great about American 20th century music - the gershwin’s and Nelson freaking riddle - we see magic.

Hadn’t heard this before. Thought I wouldn’t like it. Didn’t hate it. Might be a grower. Currently a 3.5. Might improve.

Reallly? Highly commercialised pop with admittedly some craft but little originality? It’s fun but that’s about it. Love plus one is an almost great single - rang and i rang and I rang and I… is a terrific hook. But you know, really?

Weller never quite got the genius level his early work suggested. Nonetheless Style council was pretty cool. It ain’t over is soulful. The album is strong. But top 1000? 3 stars.

This is a grower. When it came out I thought yeah it’s good. But decades later it’s a bit ahead of its time and has incredibly great songs. Finally a must listen. 4.5

At least it’s an album of importance and broad critical acclaim even if I don’t like it that much. It’s more of a throwback than a progression. It’s not bad at all. But is it punk? I will concede it belongs on this list.

Yes ok. It’s fine. They have a big but niche following and are representative of that type of thing. So yeah. Ok.

It’s either this or abbey road for my favourite Beatles. I know, it gets a bit of snark. But any album that includes’A day in the life’ is instantly five stars. The opening track. Wow. The closing track. Wow. The hidden track. Wow. Lennon at his diminished best. Not a lot of songs but those he does do - wow. McCartney at his best. Wow. George decides to master Carnatic music. As you do. Wow. There’s a reason this was a cultural phenomenon. 65000009 stars.

The least interesting member of Crosby stills Nash and young, a group that included stills Nash and young. This is ok. He can sing and play and write decent songs. But it’s not compelling. 2.5.

The cult is fun. The cult is hideously derivative. I remember syncing up a cult song and an ac dc song. Same riff. Same key. Same tempo. I’m not sure they belong here, and it’s the she sells sanctuary album if they did. Dimery, do your job.

This experiment failed.

Most white critics missed the point of this. It was not about freedom, but oppression. It’s good actually. An album you should hear.

It’s fun. But they sort of fade after this. It’s a good representation of that early 2000s. One does wonder what they’d do if they’d never heard a Queen album. But yes I can accept this.

Crack band. Crack songs. Springsteen is the best of the post Dylan songwriters. Shut up he is. Ah, what would you know? Born to Run is an anthem - a song that unites in its criticisms of American capitalism. Springsteen understands that the system could work but it’s been taken over by crooks, by shysters, by scammers. The everyday worker gets screwed. You can run. You can’t hide. There is redemption out there somewhere. There must be. There has to be. He puts all this in a vista that is mythic in its vision. It’s an America of small towns. Of broken dreams. Of disappointment. But in there is a little hope. And that’s the magic of it. Growing up I got Springsteen. The cars. The long endless roads. The dying towns where once was promise but now was despair. Central West NSW could be Wisconsin. Or Tennessee. Or Virginia. Sheer poetry, wrapped in Dylan, Motown, The Who, Woody Guthrie, Nashville and Pete Seeger. And a crack band. Did I mention the band? PS - that telecaster is why I play a telecaster.

Basie.

White boy critics love this. It’s safe, it’s predictable but you can look down on the noobs who like Elton, or Billy Joel, or Celine Dion or Taylor swift. I’d grown tired of this stuff by 2003 or so. This adds nothing to music, musical knowledge or technique or songwriting. Shortcomings was ok. The rest was … blergh. 1 star

Didn’t we do this? Feargal Sharkey is a fine singer and they are fine instrumentalists. But one album is enough.

Unusually I prefer nick caves later stuff. Into my arms is lovely and was a deserved single. The piano is somber , quiet and doesn’t have the heroin haze or pretension of his really early stuff. Should it be here? I’m not sure. But it’s a solid 3.5 rounded up.

An album that changes the world. One to listen to. Yes it’s confronting and violent and misogynistic. But it’s also a statement on what it is in the U.S. then. Bring the noise and party for your right to fight - a cheeky retort and homage to the beastie boys - are my standouts. But the anger passion and insight is strong in this one.

I liked the bass and drums. I’m starting to think the electric guitar is played out. Noise can be music. Sometimes it’s just noise. Boring. But the bass and drums are good. 2.5.

They’ve found the sound. Well nearly. Street fighting man, with its air of distant curiosity and regret hammers hard. Brian Jones’s slide guitar is exquisite. The acoustic songs show just how good these guys get, once they move away from pop and back to country and blues. Sympathy for the devil has incredible imagery - I drive a tank with a general’s rank, where the blitzkrieg raged and the bodies stank. Underrated lyricists those jagger Richards boys. I think mick wrote that one. Not that the rest of the album is worse. Probably the best thing about this album was they were to get better. Any other band, just about, would have had this as their peak. 5 stars.

Absolute must hear if only to understand thrash. Second only to Metallica in sales. Possibly exceeds them in pure hard metal. Yes it’s brutal and fast and difficult. Just like my ex girlfriend. But unlike my ex worth revisiting and you don’t need a jail pass. Even if you don’t like thrash, this is a must hear. Even once.

Sigh. No. Sterile. Passionless. Dull.

To think that people made sure they made a distinction between this guy and Bryan Adams. Both I suppose should be on such a list. A lot of people like them and they sold exceptionally well. And god bless both of them. I don’t like either man’s music much. But I’m clearly in the minority.

Not quite mediocre enough to be mediocre. Not quite good enough to be good. Guess it’s ok.

Musical DNA. One couplet Nearly all understanding of politics can be summed up in Meet the new boss Same as the old boss. That song. That song by itself gives this album 19/5. And yet the others. My wife, by the ox. Baba oreilly. Teenage wasteland. I knew exactly what it meant. Behind blue eyes. Townshend lashes out. Arrogance hiding an insecurity so deep the song nearly collapses. That cover by limp bizkit missed the point. This is how strength can be broken by weakness. Getting in tune. A career making song for any other band. Here, almost filler. Brilliant.

A pretty strong debut mostly of the live show with one jagger Richard and Nanker Phelge tracks. The stones were probably the best of the early British blues bands - maybe early Fleetwood Mac were the rivals. I know the Irish contingent are screaming Rory but he’s just a bit later. None the less the blues are authentic and the band will go on to be much much more than this debut suggests. They would transcend blues without leaving it completely behind.

It’s really a Wu tang album. One Wu tang album is enough. It’s good though.

I think this is a better album than never mind. But in 1001 albums do we need more then never mind. A lot of the love for nirvana is the potential that was never to be realised. Not all of it of course. He could write songs and the band was incendiary. But should it be here? Still, I think it a better album than nevermind. But never mind is the one. Gets five stars though.

*sigh*. Give me punch brothers or their solo stuff. Bela fleck. Billy strings. Sierra Hull. Not this warmed over stuff the Band did better. Or eagles. Or the birds. Or the allman bros or lynyrd skynMusic must develop or die. To be fair, this is competent. It has some nice parts. But give me Chris Thile or Chris Eldridge. Or bela fleck. Or anything that doesn’t fit a predictable pattern.

Scott walker was always interesting. This is not as bizarrely weird as some of his work (really go and listen to Jesse. It’s about Elvis in his mother’s womb dealing with his dead twin). But it’s still interesting. Must listen? Hmmmm.

I love rush. Shut up you. They were nearly always able to play progressive music without 1) disappearing up their own clackers and 2) being so complex it was impossible to hold onto. Sure Neil’s lyrics were … sometimes only as good as their source material - ayn rand. And geddys voice isn’t to everyone’s taste. But man could they play. Alex plays like a demon being lifted I guess by Neil’s legendary drumming. Geddy’s bass is incredibly great too. 5 stars easily.

Actually this is pretty decent northern soul. She’s got a great voice and the songs are decent and the playing is good. It’s on the border of must listen though …. 3.5 rounded up

Musical dna. Beyond criticism for me. For all the talk of Eric, Jeff, Jimmy, Rory, Peter and Pete, the acoustic guys were cutting just as much edge. And in fact Page was deeply influenced by this sort of stuff. Incredibly brilliant stuff.

Highway 51 is the masterpiece, but this is superb. My god, Dylan, beach boys, Beatles, Who. Those acts that grew incredibly as artists. 18 months earlier, you’d never have picked Dylan doing this. Just superb. One of the few double albums I can abide. 25000 stars.

Eno is either genius or fraud. 2.5 while I work it out.

Not the best. But not the worst. Some decent music and good playing.

Was a time where I’d have thought this fantastic. Not so much now but let’s be fair. I changed. It didn’t. 4

Barry gibb is one of the great songwriters. This album is stage one bee gees at their peak. The vocal blend is among the very best. Yes. This belongs here.

Ok, I’ve not heard of this album, though I am aware of bobby Womack. Magnificent talent. Enjoyed a great deal. Must listen? I’ll give this one the benefit of the doubt. 4 probably growing to 5.

As tragic a tale as nirvana and just as much tabloid fodder. But is it good? It is good. Maybe not great. But good. Strong songs and musicianship. A not untalented band at all. Ignore the drama. This is a good listen.

I think so much about this. The too long won’t write version is that it is really good. But it has issues. 3.5. And 25

Ry Cooder is an unheralded genius. This foray into Latin music is the soundtrack to a documentary. The documentary is fine but the soundtrack is incredible. The band, frozen in time it seems since US sanctions is a capsule of 50s and 60s Cuban music. 5 stars.

I first saw Erykah Badu in Blues brothers 2000 - a film whose soundtrack is way superior to its content. I then followed her up. She’s never done a dud album.

Not my tea. People like it. Good for them.

I saw U2 in about 1988 or 1989 at the Sydney entertainment centre, with BB King as support. Now I really went for B B King. And after his excellent set I sat and thought ‘do I want to see U2?’ I thought about balancing a very early start, the cost of the ticket and my interest in U2. In the end I figured they’d do Angel of Harlem and When Love goes to town with B B. So I stayed. And they were incredible. It was just before the huge arena tours. So it was just the four of them, some lights and stage presence. So while their later stuff maybe shows a band who have run out of ideas, the stuff they did in the first half of their career - maybe the album after rattle and hum was the end of this - is really great. This is the first I think of the really great U2 stuff. The first album showed promise but it starts to coalesce here. Perhaps one of the best second albums of all time. 3.5 stars rounded up.

Springsteen early stuff is primo. Stripped back without the band he lays bare the issues in America at the time. Sparse . Honest. Challenging. One of my favourites. I love the E street band. But sometimes one guitar one voice and a harmonica is all you need.

Over, let me introduce you to rated. The pretentious nature of this. Yes every one who watched formed a band but how many of those bands were any good? The solo work of Cale is good. There are people who love Lou Reed. Good on them. He wrote a couple of songs I enjoy. But, even if Vu were to be on the list, this isn’t the album.

Really? Sure take on me is a great song with a great clip. And the other singles are strong. And yes Scandinavia punches well above its weight in pop. (Even if you remove the Swedish ABBA) But what next? Get the knack? Racey 1? Focus guys.

Mitch. Jimi. An incredible phenomenon. Yes. A must listen. Hendrix is one of the few acts where all the studio recordings are must listen.

This is, at least for me, the best of the Buckingham nicks Fleetwood Mac albums. The bloat is used better and the songs are a bit more interesting. The title track should fail but succeeds with the best of them. The mixed down hooga huggas and other verbal noises just add to the bizarre atmosphere. Sara is a great song too. Mick Fleetwood said that this album was driven by Buckingham but, in my view, as usual the best songs tend to be Christine mcvie’s. It sold 4 million - 2/3 of the population of Sydney for a bit of perspective but they were such a sales juggernaut that it’s a commercial flop. Had you asked me before I’d have firmly planted this at 1982. But it’s 1979. A bit ahead of its time I think. A better album than rumours, I guess I’ll have to give it five.

It’s rough. Ready and swings and rocks with a whole dollop of soul.

Thelonious was always a bit ahead of his time. And he doesn’t quite fit into jazz. He’s jazz. Yes. But if you listen he’s also a bit classical. He’s closer I think to Ellington than Armstrong. None of this is criticism, just observation. I liked this album. Still do. Listen to how he pushes harmony and rhythm. No one really thought like thelonious. Maybe Ellington or Ornette. 5

Ehh. I want to like it and I kind of do.

He can turn a lyric, old Stephen. He can do a melody too. But maybe it’s his attitudes. Should you judge art through the attitude of the artist? The gobshite’s gobshite? Or a genius whose truths are too high for muck like me? In any case this is a poor album from a guy who’s done much better. Vauxhall and I is the album. This is pap Or both? I’m not a fan, but I can’t deny the influence.

The only beck album you need. Loser is one of the great singles of the pop era and this album is pretty solid. So between them you have the essential listening for Beck if you’re a casual fan or are unaware and are looking to find out about him. You can of course if you like go to the rest of his work. And I enjoy it. I hope you do too. But with only 1001 albums this is the one.

Quite interesting. One chord vamps as done by Bo can be done well. This is. Wouldn’t we be better to hear Bo? Or early John Lee hooker? Nonetheless worth a listen. 2.5 The second side starts with another bo Diddley.

I liked it. Not much to say. But it’s a good example. I feel we’re getting a little bit of white boy critical in crowd. But it was ok.

This is rightly held as a classic and like becks Odelay, the one album you need to introduce yourself to the beastie boys. Yes they grow and change but you start here. 4.5

ZZ Top. Saw them in 1986. Loved it. They introduce synths to the blues. A New York or Chicago band, let alone a Sydney or Melbourne or London blues band, would have been laughed off as pretentious wankers. ZZ Top are - or were - the real thing. This is probably the last really great album they did. Guns, cars and girls. What more do you need? I’ll be honest. This type of thing tends to bore me now. But they do it very well.

An over hyped band who don’t quite reach the heights we were promised. If they belong on such a list, it’s the album with Beat (en) generation. This is for the fans. Not for the masses. They’re not a bad band at all. Kind of the smiths but without the energy that the smiths had. Not bad. But not essential.

I don’t know anymore if they are genuine revolutionaries or middle class wannabes. I know Zach de la Rocha’s father was a genuine revolutionary. But is it valid? I suspect it is. But the cynic in me suspects it’s less cred. Too many crappy bands of rich middle class kids botching killing in the name. That’s not ratm’s fault. They also need to swing a bit. 3.5

Not sure this is the album but 10cc is rather underrated these days. The two writing partnerships - Goldman and stewart and godley and crème are superb. This might have been better as a greatest hits or the album with I’m not in love. But this is a good album from an always interesting team.

Nah. I mean. Nah.

This is not bad. I was unaware of this. But I don’t mind it at all. It’s a bit samey . But sets a nice mood. It may be a bit early to see if this becomes canon or whether it becomes a weird artifact in a book that dumps it in a few years for some other new act. But that’s not for me to decide. 3.5 rounded up.

‘One of the greatest albums of all time’. ‘The pinnacle of composition and structure.’ ‘Not bad for a girl’. It’s hard to review or critique or even listen objectively to this. Every mediocre cafe singer has heard this and when they sing of their intensely personal life and tell you pointless stories of how this particular song came to be, this is the album to blame ‘This next song came to me when I was doing a load of laundry. Then I caught the bus to buy some milk and my sister rang and we chatted for 34 minutes. I had an itchy nose so I scratched it. My cat meowed and I fed it. This song is called ‘feeding the cat while doing the laundry’ (start cliched chord pattern). Joni is not at fault here. (Neither is Jimi Hendrix or Yngwie Malmsteen or Aretha Franklin, or Stevie Ray Vaughn, or Bob Dylan or Jaco Pastorious or Celine Dion or Metallica to name a few.) A prodigiously talented songwriter, a brilliant guitarist and a great singer, I can’t blame people for wanting to copy her but her stuff is uncopyable. In short this is a great album. One of the few that you should listen to. But I prefer others - offhand Hejira or Court and Spark - from her. Nonetheless five stars.

Musical dna. Sinatra was pretty much untouchable at the top of his game and coupled with Nelson riddle, nothing expressed American masculinity and art like this at least not until Presley or Chuck. Sinatra is not a singer put in front of the orchestra - he’s a vital part of it, as important to the sound of the orchestra as Sweets Edison or George Van Eps. This is as much to do with his talent - his gift - as it is to do with Riddles arrangements. If this doesn’t move you, something’s wrong. And this isn’t my favourite of those magical Columbia albums - the glory of Songs for Swinging Lovers is my favourite. But this is just incredible. I bask in it, revelling in each note, beat, chord and lyric. Essential listening. 25 stars.

He’s a fine songwriter. Of course American pie is a baby boomer anthem, one of those songs that created a false nostalgia for a better time in Australia for example. Are there levies that we could drive a Chevy to to watch good old boys drinking whiskey and rye? And yes the lyrics have been analysed to death, ironically given the song theme. It’s a bit beyond criticism really. Over played. Not its fault. Over analysed. Not its fault. False nostalgia. Erm. Vincent is lovely. Again over played. But if you haven’t heard it in a while it’s good. They are the two best tracks. The rest are fine tracks written by a talented songwriter. McLean still tours and is by all accounts a terrific performer. Without the two singles I think he’d fit in to the California singer songwriter - think Joni, James Taylor, Jackson Browne, Jim Croce, Eagles, post Peter green Fleetwood Mac. But he wouldn’t stand out. Those two songs though. It’s not really a five star album but giving it any less feels wrong. So I’m going to cheat and round up a 4.5. It’s sort of a 3.5. But the cultural impact of the title track bumps it up. (I’m not a huge fan of the song anymore having heard it thousands of times.)

The fall is one of those bands you should like and there’s a lot to recommend them but I’m not the biggest fan. A bit like the smiths. Mark e smith was a very clever man with a great turn in lyric. Yes. You probably should hear this. But you mightn’t get it. Nonetheless it has a style. And is important to the growth of post punk and post classic rock.

Joyless pap. Micromanaged to within an inch of its life with all the rock, life and joy sucked out of it. Even steely Dan has joy. This is middle class, no culture white boy rock writ large.if the bland suburbs of middle America or Australia had a soundtrack to wallow in their mediocrity it’s this. If beige was music, it’s this. This is like going to a party where some bore is intent on telling you all about his obsession to the nth degree. Give me something I can dance to. Give me something that moves me. No wonder Maryanne walked away. I’m surprised she didn’t run and then get a restraining order. Give me the who, zeppelin, Springsteen, Tom petty, the kinks, Queen, or even Aerosmith. No wonder punk hit so hard. This is 1976, punk is 1977. Can we really be surprised? The pistols or The clash pee all over this. Let alone the ramones or Television. This album angers me. Tasteless White boys and music. Pah.

The sound of 1983. In 1979. This is actually quite good. Atmospheric and easy to listen to. That’s a good thing. 3.5

I’ve never really got this one. It’s fine with a terrific band. But Aretha did son of a preacher man better. Being honest, I like the other divas better. Give me Linda ronstadt, sick of your male shit. Give me Cher, recounting the hypocritical racism she faces in Gypsies tramps and thieves. Give me Aretha, Mavis Staples, Whitney, Etc. People love this album. And that’s perfectly fine. I don’t. I do like windmills of your mind and land of make believe. I like the album but don’t love it. It is very popular so I’m averaging my three and everyone’s else’s 5 to a 4. And I feel that’s a little high.

Who left the studio door open and the synth on? I told you don’t play with these things unless you know what you’re doing. Or for god’s sake, be with an adult who can show you what to do. No one wants you to not play music but get some lessons. This is everything rock or pop shouldn’t be. Thinks it’s smart. Too ignorant to be smart. Thinks it’s fun. It’s about as fun as reading the obituary of a child. Thinks it’s original. About as original as the 95th photocopy of a not really funny meme stuck to the office notice board. Django Django. So clever - if you’re in year 9 and a tortured poet. Otherwise go listen to Django Reinhardt. Must listen? If it was the last album on earth I’d give up music.

I wanted to say that I’m bored with weedly endless guitar solos and that southern rock was limp toxic masculinity. But I can’t. Not in regards to this album. I listened to it as a young musician and liked it, mainly because I was told to by Critics and Music Experts. Over time my tastes developed and I moved away from this type of thing. However listening to it again, it’s not as brash as I remember and there’s some damned fine playing and composition in it. Whipping post, an alleged favourite of Frank Zappa is a masterpiece. Yes it strains adhd with its length of tracks and launches a million mediocre jam bands. But like so much in music that’s not the fault nor the intention of the album. All in all, this belongs here. I suspect that some of us in our little group won’t like it. That’s ok. Their arguments are probably right. But I enjoyed this much more than I remembered. Points deducted for too long (though as Mozart allegedly said to the emperor, which notes do I remove?’) And a little bit of self indulgence. But still an album that wouldn’t hurt you to listen to.

Ok. 3.5. This is a good album. Hadn’t heard it before but enjoyed it. I had heard Iggy pop. Just not this one. Probably his best work. Very strong.

3.5. Polly Jean is an excellent player and songwriter with a good band. I enjoy this from time to time.

This is a great album. Just incredible.

I might be wrong here, but Metallica were your older cousins, telling you scary stories and introducing to bits of life that perhaps your parents didn’t want you to know about. Slayer was the weird guy up the street who you should avoid but was too compelling with horror stories who lived in a creepy house and couldn’t be ignored. Megadeth was the lunatic up the road, spouting conspiracies and railing against immigration and the gubmint. But again, compelling. Anthrax were the goofy guys, barrel of laughs, just great fun to be around. What and how you you were laughing about was a whole other thing, again, probably not parent approved, but there you are. And that’s this album. Heavy? Yes. Intense? Yes. But a self deprecation and humour that isn’t apparent on the other three. Most people will only need to hear this once, but it’s a good listen. 3.5.

Not more Brian Eno. And David Byrne? Some good, not great stuff. He needed Jerry Harrison and Tina Weymouth. Honestly. It’s like Neil Young or cult sixties albums. Way way over represented and after you’ve heard one you’ve got the idea. If you like it chase the artists up but on your own time. Django Django broke me. This is pissing on the pieces. 0 stars on general principle. (Album actually not awful but I’m on a crusade here. Sorry Brian and David if you read this. It’s not you.).

This is what happens when you listen to white boy critics. Another 0 stars.

Interesting but inessential. 2

The last great mainstream jazz album? A great mainstream jazz album? She’s good. She can carry a tune and invest it with all the things you need. That some of the tunes are a little dull is certainly more a product of the time than any failing on her behalf. But she has a monster group of musicians and that she diverts from textbook jazz is also a strong mark in her favour. Worth a listen. 4.5

One of the great Zappa albums. Its beatle baiting cover apparently impressed the Fab Four. Zappa was always somewhat ahead or apart of his time so this sounds like something from 1979 or 1983 One of the very few artists I’d accept more than one album on such a list.

Musical DNA. Shut up. I don't care what you think. There is no better opening than Hot for Teacher. The middle finger extended as the high level virtuoso playing gets mixed with juvenile sexist puerile nonsense is sublime.. Isn't that what Scotty Moore, Cliff Gallup, Duane Eddy, Chuck Berry did? In another life, Eddie Van Halen is Alan Holdsworth, changing the world of guitar . while playing to a tiny but devoted audience. The genius is David Lee Roth, he of the ok vocals, but massive charisma, and naughty lyrics. Alex van Halen was the perfect foil to his brother, and the secret sauce is Michael Anthony on bass and backing vocals. Jump, Panama, Hot for Teacher, the opening track.. musical DNA... just magic.

A message to you Rudy is superb. Actually the album is superb. Concrete jungle another banger. 2 tone launched a lot of great bands and the specials might have been the best. Ska music is fun and serious.

Hmmm. This is good. But I’m not sure if this is white boy wannabe posing. So it gets two till you can convince me otherwise.

Oh get lost. 0 stars. Not only not a must hear, it’s mediocrity is such that I’m a worse person for listening to it. Predictably unpredictable. Cliches. Cliches so cliched that other cliches roll their eyes. Music so dull you could play it in lifts without having to rearrange it. Music so dull you could use it in your end of life procedure. I wish they would take this list seriously. Seriously, Get lost.

One song doesn’t make a great album. This actually has a couple of very good songs - drugs don’t work is a bit special - but it’s more of a decent attempt showing promise than a must hear. Another couple of albums might have seen a must hear. This is fine. But a not yet. 2.5.

The Zappa album to listen to to understand the genius of Zappa is the greatest hits selection ‘strictly commercial.’ But due to white boys thinking greatest hits lack credibility, you have to hear every album they praise. We get this, we’re only in it for the money, apostrophe, joes garage maybe Broadway the hard way, so ensuring curious but unfamiliar listeners get an overwhelming introduction to difficult, idiosyncratic brilliance. This is a disservice because Zappa is his own thing. He’s not strictly commercial. In fact he, like Prince later, struggled with corporate interference so did his own recording and distribution. Like Prince too there’s far more in the vaults than can be released in Zappas children’s lifetime. So Zappa is a study in himself This album is five stars. Many, hearing it for the first time will give it three. Peaches en regalia is what would happen if you took steely Dan and gave them more advanced musical theory. Willie the pimp is the only decent thing van Vliet did. It’s one of Zappa best lineups. . Lowell George later of Little Feat, sacked by Zappa for reasons unclear, plays rhythm guitar. Ian underwood. Jean luc ponty. Shuggie Otis. Just magic. Listen. But understand that it’s challenging. And it’s not the whole of Zappa. Listen to strictly commercial. Then you can dive in to everything else.

Nope. Sixth album from an above average but nothing special band. And there’s nothing special here. 1.5

Good stuff. A must listen after a run of duds dogs and dross this is finally something with actual value.

Must listen? Jeez these boys can rock. And roll. But here they are in 1990 doing 1970s Rolling Stones. Should I like it? No. I own exile and the other great stones albums. Do I like it? Shut up. Yes. I don’t care. Hard to handle is great. Is it a must listen? Hmmmm Is it a must listen? Hmmmm

I found it here. https://youtu.be/JbYmWrfNJpQ?si=OZ_S-_B36uE4XGlW It’s … not good. Not good. I’m not going to criticise the lyrics. Idiom is a thing that renders a lot of translated lyrics problematic. The arrangements and performance though. Hectoring tuneless yelling over arrangements that seem more in place in a 1980s Italian comedy. Unpleasant and inessential. 0.5. Yeesh.

These guys had one halfway decent album. This isn’t it. Pffft. 0 stars.

Musical dna. Eric is a fine songwriter - underrated even. And a fine guitarist. Underrated even. His first solo album was fine. This is a bit better. We can the debate the merits of Clapton doing I shot the Sherriff but it’s a decent version. We can argue the merits of ‘is Clapton boring?’ But he’s one of the four or five who can genuinely be credited with changing how guitar was played. Charlie Christian, Chuck Berry, Jimi Hendrix, Eddie van Halen, Eric. You can put Jeff Beck in there but he never sold in the numbers Eric did. He may not have been god but a lot of people thought so and as a young guitarist I was able to comprehend lead through his solo albums. (And Cream and Derek and the Dominos). This is a laid back album. Some say dull or boring. Ok. That’s fine. It’s more the document of a man who’s done it all and is now just doing music he likes. So acknowledging all the criticisms to I still give this 4.

The pogues album to listen to if you want to know the pogues. There are better ones but it lays out the manifesto. One mark deducted for Shane’s awful attempt at ‘and the band played waltzing Matilda.’ Otherwise this is where the music of rebellion (Irish folk music) meets the music of rebellion (punk rock). They are true folkies. And true punks.

I’ve heard this before. Where? Ah yes, it was a free download from the Sydney morning herald. I hate nimby, middle classless garbage such as the herald. So, while fully admitting I might be being unfair, none of this hit me in any way that suggested it was a must hear. I’ll give this the one point I took off the Pogues. And that’s it.

Curtis is majorly important. This is good. But I’d have gone earlier.

On paper they should be terrible. Private school lads cosplaying as working class punks. Hypocrites and money hungry. On record though - the only band that matters. A fantastic truly great album. Dammit.

I lectured in popular music. That included punk. I can tell you who Stiv Bators is. Jayne County. Johnny Thunders. I know the difference between the New York heartbreakers and the Florida Heartbreakers. (Yes the Floridians aren’t really punk.) A hundred others. Never heard of this and listening to it I can see why. It has an energy. But no musical value. Very little entertainment value. Some ok lead guitar. But compared to Johnny thunders nothing terribly special. And the between songs introductions are annoying and amateur. Talentless white boy vicarious fantasia. 1.5/5

Music to induce comas by. Typical 60s cult album beloved by white boys to seem edgy and cool, but instead they’re stodgy, bloated and dull. Like this album.

I’d rather listen to fisher Z, xtc or the boomtown rats. The Irish radiators, j Jo zep and the falcons, or a thousand other bands. This is ok. But not great.

I love pearl jam. Shut up, I do. To be fair I prefer sound garden but I love this too. Classic rock dressed as grunge. I know that Vedder’s voice rubs some the wrong way but it falls into the ‘sounds better than mine and people pay to hear mine’ category. The lyrics too might be heavy handed but they were young. We can’t all be Cobain. Listen to this. It changes the world. So deserves its place here. After a run of duds, I’m probably overreacting to this. But it’s a good and important album.

Another world changer. Almost beyond criticism.

Eruption changes the way we play guitar. You really got me is one of the great cover versions. Dave, Eddie, Alex and Michael. Just as god intended. Is it immature? Yes. Sexist? Yes. Arrogant? Yes. Should it be condemned for all of this? Probably, yes. One of the greatest debut albums? Indubitably yes. . 25 stars.

Too soon, I think. I know better R and B from the period, but this isn't bad. I wonder if we'll be listening to this in another 5 years. I doubt it. But I don't know. Extra point for its message on police brutality and black rights. 3.5. If its still relevant and listened to in 5 more years, I'll give it another point..

An excellent album and it’s part of that movement that sees hip hop moderate its sexism and toxic masculinity. Supported essentially by the roots this slaps. Hard.

Not awful. Not compelling. Never have to hear this again. Not essential.

That Paul Rodgers, he can sing. This isn’t the album though. You need Paul kossoff- as great as mick Ralph’s is. Another band where a greatest hits would have led listeners to glory. Bad company is a great song.

Papa was a rolling stone. One chord. 11 minutes. Holy Christ it’s great. Johnny wah wah Watson. The lyrics ‘and when he died/ all he left us was alone’ ‘The first time ever I saw your face’ is an interesting choice. I don’t think it’s one of the better covers of that song. The other commentary songs fall a bit short of ‘rolling stone’. But nearly every song ever does anyway. This is a good album 4/5.

Pfft. This sounds like a past their prime filmmaker’s opinion of what hip music sounds like. It’s the type of thing that shows up in medical shows like New Amsterdam or Scrubs to show how emotional and deep and cool the cast and audience is, all the while being none of those things. None of the songs stand out. It’s plain I ecream - not even vanilla. Just frozen milk. Edible but unpalatable. Dull and predictable. Mostly uninteresting. .5 for the slightly interesting vocals. Otherwise one. 1.5 Rounded down.

‘Take Me Out’ is a great single. Franz Ferdinand was another next big thing that didn’t emerge. And listening to this in retrospect it’s clear why. Like many songwriters FF has one great song. It has competent and even very good songs. But they don’t top ‘Take Me Out’. So they fade a bit from public consciousness. (They’re still around and doing well. But they’re not the superstars they were hyped to be. Maybe that’s how they want it too.) I suppose this gives us a sense of the rock scene in 2004. So I’ll give it 2.5. Rounded down because 3 felt too high. But boy Take Me Out is great.

Musical dna. My favourite Bowie album. 25000 stars. The band is incredible. Mick Ronson. Trevor Bolder. Woody Woodsmansy. And I think a much better album than a lot of his later self indulgent guff. I know a lot of the criticism is that this was a poor album and of its time. Nope. Timeless and great. And the songs. You can have the best concept in the world but it won’t work without great songs. The title track is incredible. The apocalyptic Five Years feels even more relevant today. Starman was a brilliant single and an even better album track. Lady stardust - my god. Suffragette City - wham bam thank you ma’am. 30000 stars. (Also bonus points for the nutjobs who noticed he was standing under a k west sign the year Kanye was born. And tried to make something of it) 35000 stars.

Another game changer. A brilliant album that changed the world. ‘That thing’ is a stone cold lay down misere classic. The sketches are decent. The album flows. It’s perfectly sequenced. It opens the game wide open. Still hugely influential. 30000 stars. Genius only has to be genius once. So with no follow up (so far) her position is secure. If her next album is Happy birthday in A quarter flat minor with Lauren intoning the ingredients of a dog food can in monotone she’s still a genius.

Hmmmm. Either genius or garbage. Her biggest selling song was written by ‘much easier to get a handle on’ Bruce Springsteen. The best track on this is the cover of Them’s Gloria - clearly worked up over hundreds of bar gigs. The other best track is the cover of land of 1000 dances. Which for someone who is supposed to be a songwriter might be an issue. The originals. Ummm. The band is good. It doesn’t help that so much wadical wevolutionary bullshit has been attached to this album. Gag me with a spoon. Zappa gets justifiably criticised for his adolescent attitudes. Yet Patti gets praised. Maybe that’s a strike for feminism. * and also to be fair one can’t blame the artist for what is said about them. On the plus side - a strong woman using her voice in a male dominated industry. On the negative side - I don’t think it’s very good. ‘Jesus died for somebody’s sins/but not mine’. What does that mean? She believes in sin but is not a Christian? She’s a Christian who doesn’t think she’s saved? Or she’s a pretentious blowhard whose depth would struggle to get wet in a small puddle? It is a must hear. If only to understand the so called punk or new wave movement in New York at the time. But once is probably enough. It has a cult following so if that’s you, go to it and continue enjoying it and digging out the nuances and love every tape squeak and breath and all of it. It ain’t me babe. Poets. God save us. * this is not meant to be an anti feminist creed. I try to support feminism as best as my social cultural and political habitus allows.

A strange album. And apart from the two hit (come on Eileen and Jackie Wilson said) singles not terribly essential.

Charles Shaar Murray claimed she had no star power. Nope. She’s terrific. They were what talking heads would be if talking heads didn’t take everything so so seriously. Debbie has fun. So does the band. Yes they’re serious artists. And there’s a bit of that. But they are fun. Heart of glass is a banger. So is the other hit single - one day or another I’m gonna getcha. Big dumb fun. And they loved playing with genre*. It’s a shame the heroin curtailed them. But what we have is great. *technically the first rap single was Blondie’s Rapture released just before Rapper’s Delight. History has slightly modified the story to ensure the accolade doesn’t go to a white woman. But the dates remain firm. It is right though that a black group get the credit.

If you ask an Englishman of a certain age and demeanour who their favourite band of the late sixties or early 70s were, you don’t get the Beatles. Or the Yardbirds. Or Cream. Or the Stones. Or Fairport. Or Zeppelin. Not Jethro Tull. You get Traffic. Sadly rather forgotten it was really a vehicle for the immensely talented Steve Winwood. This is probably the album to listen to. All of the above mentioned bands have an input to Winwood’s writing and arranging. The centrepiece is the folk standard title track. But the rest of it is excellent. He might have benefited from more of a band - for all of Ian Anderson’s control of Tull it was still a band - but still it’s terrific. 4

Oh look. Another Neil young. Out of tune out of time self indulgent blah. He’s not untalented. But he’s not anywhere near the talent the critics say. And the good songs here are not well performed. I’ll admit hey hey my my goes as close to being genius as Neil gets. Both versions. But is it better to burn out than to fade away? Neil seems to have done neither. To listen to great Canadian songwriters, try Gordon Lightfoot, Ron Sexsmith, Tom Cochrane, Joni Mitchell, Bare Naked Ladies or a host of others.

And after the nine millionth Neil young album we get another dull critical darling. All this talk of a golden age and you get people who can barely tune a guitar. And manage to play a few chords. And noodle. Just because you were around at the same time as the Beatles doesn’t mean it’s as good.

I enjoyed this at the time. And I enjoy it now. Been caught stealing is a great single and the rest of the album holds up. 4 stars and yes a must listen.

I had a long review that the system has taken off me. In brief: This is sheer bloody magic. My second favourite Queen album, and on some days it’s no 1. As great as Freddie Roger and Brian are, John Deacon is the one who makes the album and the band great. His bass in killer queen is - just listen to the fastidious and precise bass line at the appropriate moment. Or the high slides in ‘In the lap of the gods (revisited.). Not that the others are lumps. Freddie’s singing in Brighton rock, where he goes from falsetto to chest voice seamlessly. Brian also knocks a note or two together in one of the great guitar solos of the rock era. Roger shows that in any other band he’d be the lead singer but his fills in now I’m here show just how brilliant he is as a drummer. The band basically invent thrash metal in stone cold crazy. Then give us music hall in bring back that Leroy brown. Maybe the greatest ending track in in the lap of the gods. I could go on for hours. Just listen to this. It is a major part of my musical dna. 6666666600000000 stars.

Has the flaws of a lot of 90s gangsters rap. But certainly the man has flow.

Girls are playas too. I think missy elliot is really really underrated. As we gain a bit of perspective and the alpha male bs gets its rightful critical rejection this stuff will show just what hip hop could really be.

Manchester. I’m not a great fan of this stuff but it’s significant. And this is a good example. 3.5

Oh god. Just mediocre. Under what fascist dictatorship is this a must listen? And just because you can make this type of stuff doesn’t mean you should.

One of the greatest songwriters distills fifteen years of great songwriting into a superb collection of the craft and art of songwriting. An album about which so much can be said but little actually needs to be. Just listen. 5550000 stars.

I should dislike this. The worst excesses of cock rock - every song is a paean to robert plants member. Jimmy page is a horrible creep. But it is awesome. Whole lotta love. Living loving maid. Heartbreaker. Just get out of here. Ramble on. My god. 4.5 stars. Dammit.

I hated school. Hated it. Queen got me through year 10, year 11 and helped me get through - by actually getting to see them live with Freddie at the Sydney Entertainment Centre - year 12.* The sixth best Queen album. Still a ripper. The neat production tricks. Good Company with its 20s English trad jazz band built from guitar feed back, then the tape being cut and the pitches being all arranged into order. Yet tell me that’s not a clarinet. I’m over Bohemian Rhapsody - heard it way too much and there’s nothing in it for me to discover anymore. But it’s still an incredible track. Somewhat underrated I think. That piano riff is a six chord. Used all the time in Italian music. But also used in rock and roll. The Beatles often ended on a six. Possibly the most bitter rock song and a great great opener - Death On Two Legs. Young Mr Bulsara was not known for his subtlety. (He could be subtle but he wasn’t known for it.) Prophets Song - just brilliant. Actually Brian May starts to hit the heights of songwriting. He still had great stuff in him but Prophets song, 39, Good Company and even Sweet Lady are bangers. And the performance of God Save the Queen is the cherry on the top. John Deacon writes and plays piano on You’re My Best Friend. A top ten hit. A portend of things to come.** Freddie slushes and gushes on Love of my Life. I prefer Queen II, Sheer Heart Attack, Day at the Races and Queen. But this is still 5 stars. In fact 20000000 stars. *My dad gave me the tickets on his birthday. I caught the XPT train from Dubbo. Stayed at my uncle's at Burwood. He drove me in. Was in the very back row seven seats from the back wall on stage right. I can still remember a lot of it. Life changing for me. Was the show that made me want to be a musician. Also the first international act I saw. Still the standard I use to judge whether a show was any good. Seen them three times with Adam Lambert who is great. **It’s not generally recognised that Queen’s biggest selling single was ‘Another One Bites the Dust’ written by John Deacon.

God I hate the title track. Trite nonsense. And watching the wheels used the same harmonic ideas much better 9 years later. Yes Lennon’s a genius, living in every pore, as Freddie Mercury sang, and the rest of this album bares this out. ‘How do you sleep?’ Shouldn’t work - it’s nasty, it’s mean and it’s a bit unwarranted. George apparently broke down in tears recording it. But it’s extremely clever ‘those freaks were right when they said you were dead’; ‘all you did was yesterday/ now you’re just another day’. Ouch but good lyrics man. Paul responded in ‘Silly Love Songs’. The refrain ‘I love you’ probably smacks John harder than Paul smacked John. Jealous Guy is a vast improvement on Child of Nature. Lennon had the gift of being to write songs that in nearly everyone else’s hands would be self indulgent tripe. Somehow he manages not to do this. When he follows his muse for general experience it can be guff. When he’s personal it can be transcendent. He lived on a different plane. Crack band. The ever reliable Klaus Voorman, Jim Keltner, Nicky Hopkins. George plays a scorcher solo on How do you Sleep. George invents pop slide guitar. He wasn’t the first to play slide on record - not even in England. Brian Jones, Eric Clapton and Peter Green all had. But they’d all done it in a strictly blues context. George took it to pop and changed it forever. This is a great and early example of George’s approach. This is not quite as strong as the Plastic Ono Band. Or walls and bridges. But it’s pretty strong. One of my maxims is that the worst things the Beatles did would have made the career of lesser acts. Here, in the title track it also made Lennon’s solo career.

Even though dozens of these were released only two really held up - Clapton’s (even though it perpetrated the horrendous version of Layla, the rest of it shows how good Eric can be when he puts a bit of effort in) and this one. It’s notable that both of them were really known as electric acts. (There are other good unplugged albums but aren’t really remembered. And a whole host of dire - I think the worst is Kiss, who didn’t even bother to rearrange their hits. They were literally unplugged. Awful.) I don’t worship at the shrine of Cobain. I am about his age, so could see exactly where he was coming from. This is not to deny his talent, but more to express how I didn’t see it as innovative and new in the way that many did. Not that I didn’t think it great. But it was more a return to form for rock music than new and wild. At least for me. Others felt differently. And he genuinely changed the world in a way very few did. This one is excellent. Cobain, never one to do anything near expected picks a group of songs that could have crashed and burned the whole thing. Instead, unusual choices give a pretty stunning performance. Of all the Bowie songs, man who sold the world. Of all the blues songs, where did you sleep last night. And it’s chilling. And compelling. A must hear (three in a row!) and a stone cold classic. 5 well earned and deserved stars

Aretha oversings but also changes the world. When she’s on she’s on. And right on. It’s hard to critique this but the over singing is what leads to the endless caterwauling on reality singing shows. This is a bit unfair. When she gets it right, it’s transcendent. 8 - 3 for over singing.

We’ve got a couple of radioheads and a couple is enough. 2 stars on general principle. This is a good album and I think that radiohead are a very consistent band in their output. One or two albums is enough. To be fair this and OK Computer. But since I’ve already heard a couple of others - 2 stars.

I know. Having slammed too many Neil young and Radiohead albums here we another contender for most over represented artist in Paul Simon. Unlike the other two Paul Simon is a prodigious talent. (The others are talented but Simon ranks nearly with Dylan and McCartney.) But you only need two Simon and garfunkels. The first one and this one. This is magnificent. And if the title track doesn’t move you check your pulse. Simons song. Garfunkel’s voice. Yet the rest of it is magnificent too. They were never better and the dissolution of their partnership probably happened at the right time.

Genesis is an important band both as a prog rock entity and for the careers it launched. Peter Gabriel, Steve Hackett. Mike Rutherford. Oh and um that drummer fellow. Bill Collings. Why do we pick an album nobody seems to like? I’ll be fair, Genesis - their seventies stuff - kind of passed me by so I might be missing something. (I loved Peter Gabriel’s solo stuff. Really enjoyed Steve Hackett. Found Mike and the mechanics interesting. And can appreciate Will Colliison. Man sold a lot and is a great drummer songwriter and producer. For prog rock give me Jethro Tull. All day every day. But nonetheless is an album a must listen when there are 13 others by the same band that everyone likes better? 2.5 in case I’m missing something.

This is terrific. Must listen? Not sure. But I like it.

This one? No. No. No.

Oh wow. This is so great. I know there are those of you out there who don’t like steely Dan. You’re wrong. And this is the best of them. The arrangements are superb. And the best LA players couple with the best songwriting. Listen to those arrangements. Often dismissed as yacht rock but yacht rock has a mild pleasant feel - life is usually pretty good. Steely Dan is pimps, gangsters, addicts, dodgy characters and cynicism. This is probably the least cynical of the albums, but it is the peak. 5000 stars.

Clever clever name but not. Tick Cutting edge music that wasn’t and dated about a week after it was released. Tick Critically acclaimed by the sort of critic who is scared of liking anything that smacks of ‘good’. Tick Boring. Tick This doesn’t feel essential. It’s ok. 1.5

Look. They can play. And Desmond child gave them hooks the size of the Empire State Building. And Jon’s vocals can be great. Listen to that truckers change when he goes up when you think he’s at the top of his range in livin on a prayer. Great musicians. David Bryan went to Julliard. Richie Sambora was genuinely one of the better post van Halen shredders. Tico Torres is an incredible percussionist. And the late Alec Such was a pocket bassist. Ok Jon tries to be Springsteen. Or the guys from Motley Crue. Or a cowboy. It all more or less works. A lot of people loved this. I actually saw two concerts on this tour. What stuck me is how loud it was - the Sydney entertainment centre wasn’t t built for the size of the rig and add 10000 screaming girls and I damaged my hearing. Second that the show was tightly choreographed. No jamming. No rock and roll danger. This isn’t a criticism (though critics have gone to town on this aspect). A highly professional show which impressed me - at least what I could hear. They deal with cliches in one of the only two ways it’s possible to do it. One you can be like Zappa and subvert them. Or you can write them like you invented them. Jon takes the latter approach. Does it work? Yes. It’s a little bit like having McDonald’s. Fun. Have it occasionally and you won’t get much nutritional advantage and you won’t get much surprise but it’s fun occasionally. 3 stars.

Compiler: geez. We’re getting hammered for a lack of diversity. It’s as if chicks are able to play rock. 2nd compiler. Well Courtney love is a chick. How many albums did hole do? Compiler. Who cares? We’ve still got six Neil Young albums to squeeze in. Put in another hole album. That’ll shut em up. Women hey? 2nd compiler. Bloody women. I try not to be sexist. Chicks hate that. But they make it hard. In fact this isn’t bad but it’s a bit inessential. Hole were a good band and I know they get lost a bit in the tabloid circumstances. But they’re solid. I suppose points for including a female act. And they should have more. 3 stars.

Somewhat underrated, ELo was massive. Pleasantly surprised to see this here but New World order but the albums either side were better. Having said that this sold 50 gajillion so makes sense. ELO were one of three bands who got what the Beatles were trying to do and tried to extend what they did. (XTC and Queen being the other two). The clash of rock and classical is nice. It’s strong pop and yes I prefer Queen and xtc but I like ELO. Big hooks. Strong singles. An enjoyable listen. 3.5 stars

An earlier album would be better. XTC is a great band though so 4 stars minus one for being inessential.

So, the biggest on land attack has happened on the U.S. mainland. (Let’s just put aside that it was less than a daily occurrence in the Middle East or Africa. Still pretty horrific.) How does the biggest rock star out of New Jersey deal with it? With this. It’s actually really good and Springsteen’s eye for imagery and his lyrical strengths shine through on this album. The image of the boots by the door is powerful and shows Springsteen affinity for working people. As he’s aged he’s moved to the personal and more abstract - it’s hard for someone worth 300 million to relate to working people but Springsteen knows the limits. He hasn’t forgotten his roots and his heart is with those who lost everything. One of the three or four essential Springsteen albums.

A great rock band with the best punk singer. Of course McLaren doesn’t understand this and instead botches what should have been a greater band than they were. And they were a great band. And Johnny rotten that anarchic libertarian intellectual dickhead - he’s smarter than you and will argue you to exhaustion - was the cherry on top. Steve jones is rightly considered one of the great punk guitarists though see above. It’s still fresh and right - god save the queen/the fascist regime - is still potent even if we’re two generations at least from another queen. Pretty vacant. Fuck. What a song. 25 stars minus twenty for that sack of shit McLaren.

We’ve had our one king crimson. This is good but the other one was better. And quite ironic given the album before this one was never mind the bollocks. It’s good though inessential. 3.5. Wetton and bruford though. Maybe 4.

Groove. Funk. Not sure this is the album.

Interesting but not a must listen. It’s a deeper dive. And for me gets dull. But others will love it. And that’s ok.

Another contender for greatest hits. However this is considered the band's best album. And Alice cooper(before Vince funnier took the name and went solo) was terrific. A crack unit. Strong songs and a theatricality that the British audience got (see T rex, Bowie, Queen, Arthur brown, screaming lord sutch, slade and many others). The Americans did catch up - meatloaf and then the whole LA glam scene. But for a long time Alice Cooooer was the main outlet. Driven by 50s horror, Alice famously got decapitated in one tour. But this album is good. Given the ridiculous ban on greatest hits, this is the Alice cooper band album to listen to - but how you couldn’t have schools out, or welcome to my nightmare, or any of a half dozen more. Grrrr

We’ve had enough Simon and Garfunkel. This is good but we only have a thousand. Chase it up when you start to do the deep Dive. And Paul stole Martin carthy arrangement of the title track. So there’s that too. I think Simon is an incredibly talented songwriter and Garfunkel was magic with him. But two albums from S and g and 2 from Simon is enough. We don’t want to get into Neil young territory.

I have a complicated history with hip hop. So while I don’t think this is essential it might be. I’d rather listen to public enemy or run dmc. 2.5

Probably the most critic baiting album title ever. Actually I always found weird Al yankovic’s parody cover ‘even worse’ funny. Yes MJ is problematic. Yes this isn’t as good as thriller which wasn’t as good an album as off the wall. But there’s groove funk and pop. He was king of pop for a reason. Even his third best album is great.

The black sabbath album along with heaven and hell to listen to.

Having played Elvis a fair bit on guitar I’ve grown to appreciate his whole career. That’s not to say every thing he did was genius. But he could take a rubbish song and make it - if not great, then much better. He is of course supported by a crack band: if you’re an aspiring guitarist learning this Scotty Moore, James Burton and sugarfoot garland licks will help. (Burton is not on this album - he was still with Ricky Nelson at this point). But it’s that voice in that body. He mightn’t have really been the king - chuck or Richard probably have a stronger claim, but you can see why he was anointed so. Elvis is the greatest white male singer of the 20th century. His rivals are few. Sinatra. Bennett. Freddie Mercury. George Michael. Robert Plant. But Elvis had the widest stylistic range. That instrument of Sinatra (who comes in at no 2) had a narrow stylistic range. Untouchable in jazz, Elvis could match him in swing. But left Sinatra behind in Of course this didn’t change the world like those fifties records did. But it showed Elvis had a pop sensibility that could have seen his career flourish in the 1980s. I have written a short story where he teams up with The Band (coincidentally a plot line on the short lived tv show ‘vinyl’). I also wonder what might have happened if he’d teamed up with Rick Rubin. Imagine him as one of the traveling wilburies. This is Elvis at a new crossroads. He reentered the music world when it had moved beyond what his prodigious gifts gave us. But this, not his strongest work, but probably a should listen, showed he hadn’t finished yet.

This is the better album. There’s a certain older English gentleman who reveres traffic and for the relatively short time they were together they did well. John barkeycorn must die is good but not essential. This could go on the list. 3.5

Tainted love is terrific. But as so often here one song no matter how great does not an album make. 5 for tainted love. -3 for everything else.

Given he died at 23 the output of Buddy holly is remarkable. I suspect he would have been one of the few who’d have grown into the sixties had he lived. These songs are quite remarkable. Really the restriction on greatest hits is ridiculous. You’d get all of buddy's great songs. This album is great. But given that’s it from Buddy it’s missing a few and he only really did this album. 5 stars. But should be more.

I’m not a deadhead. Their rambling non directional noodling needs substances I’ve never done. But here is the exception. This is the dead at their absolute best. The only dead album worth hearing really. They are terrific musicians and this album demonstrates that. Focused, disciplined and with the game changing legendary mandolinist David Grisman on a couple of tracks, this is what I would have wanted them to be. This is a better album than the excellent workingmans dead. 10 stars.

Another band where a greatest hits would give you a much better idea of their range. Peaches is great. Really great. The stranglers were seen as the first of the new wave bands. In 1977. They are that far ahead. Golden brown and duchess were to come. I give this five not because of its inherent worth but because the band is awesome.

Hmmm. Nah. A bit dull. Hasn’t t aged well. Not a must listen.

I like Gary Nunan and he is important . And should have a presence on such a list. But this album is not the one. Are friends electric is the one. This is good. But not a must listen.

Just give us the greatest hits. Nearly every single they did was a banger. And this album’s singles are just *chefs kiss*. Nearly every album track is a dirge. So give us the singles and let’s rock out to that.

I can’t see the importance of this. It’s good. Maybe top 5000. Not top 1000. I enjoyed 'Go West' at the time. (Tennant's lispy ‘this is what we want to do’ is a terrific hook). Haven’t heard it since. That says a lot I think. Otherwise … 1.5.

Reading this list, if you knew nothing about popular music, I’m pretty sure you’d think that nothing after 2000 was good. Or let’s be fair, little after 2000. I’ll be fair, the album as a concept is less popular with streaming. As is the concept album. So it’s a struggle getting must hear albums. Must hear songs? Definitely. So maybe I’m too harsh on this. But Where are the great acts with great albums? Vulfpeck? Punch Brothers? Guthrie Govan? Pharrell? Ok maybe not snoop or Diddy or Kanye. Pink. Taylor Swift. Dua Lipa. Billie eilish. Daft Punk. This album is white nerd boy trash. Some interesting stuff. But completely inessential. 2 stars.

Ok. A good album from post 2000. There are some. It rocks. If I don’t have much to say it because it speaks for itself. Seven nation army is superb and really I don’t think Jack white has topped it. But this is a great album with some self indulgent dead spots. 3.5.

The Kinks are really important. A bit overlooked for reasons I’ll get into. But they are one of the great 60s UK bands. This is a solid album though similar themes are found in the superior village green society. This is well regarded but I think it a bit long. Skippable tracks and nothing of the compel of Dead End Street, Lola, You Really Got Me, the Village Green Preservation Society, etc. Ray has been a bit Brexit supporting (ok a lot) with a tinge of racism, which is possibly why the Kinks have fallen a bit behind their contemporaries such as the Who, the Stones, the Animals or the Yardbirds. Also they got a dud deal which meant they stopped touring for long stretches. Not essential. But pretty good.

Sigh

Watch the great documentary on this band. Realise this isn’t the album that is best for this list. Grit your teeth in frustration. Give it 3 stars because you’re scared you’re being too mean.

This is yet another album that shouldn’t be here. It’s not the best seller, and not the most critically acclaimed. So more hipster white boy nonsense. It’s kind of interesting, but nowhere near essential. 1.5

Probably what sarcastic elbows said except squire and bruford are an amazing rhythm section. And the band does attempt melody as well as harmony and rhythm. That I don’t love it is probably more on me. I did like it more than I expected. But then Chris squire man. And bill bruford. In track four (all good children etc) are harmonies reminiscent of Crosby stills and Nash. Is this a good thing? It’s pleasant. You can’t deny that. PROG is something I should like, but don’t in general. There are notable and honorable exceptions of course - jethro tull. Early Queen. That part of bowies career. But the self indulgence wears me down with a lot of prog. This album is actually ok though. Fairly short and not too many vertical rectal disappearances. 3.5 rounded down because 4 is too high.

Kiss. Perhaps the worst band? Yet hideously and undeniably popular. And hugely influential. Many many 8 -13 year olds picked up an instrument watching the theatrics. Some of them went on to become serious and important musicians themselves. Yes it’s musically inferior. Yes it’s ridiculous. But at the right age, at the right time Kiss was awesome. (Note I’ve never been a huge fan but I can’t deny that these guys probably influenced more people to play than Hendrix. Or the Beatles. I say that with much consideration. ) I will say too that Detroit rock city is an awesomely great song. I also think it notable that their label, Casablanca is hugely important for disco (which kiss embrace with I was made for loving you at a different point). Look I want to hate this - gene simmons is what the Irish call a gobshhite. Paul Stanley complained (rightly it seems) about Peter criss’s anti semitism ( a strange stance to hold with Stanley Jewish and Simmons having studied to be a rabbi) Ace and Paul seem ok. And the English did the music that much better. I can’t hate it (even while being appalled at Simmons’ attitudes towards the homeless. Australian rock radio station 2MMM gave Kiss a lifetime ban from radio play after his comments, calling him a 'dickhead' in the press release.) Maybe it’s the 8 year old in me who did see them on tv and think that’s cool. Maybe it’s my love of theatrical rock. Maybe it’s better than I give it credit for. I suppose this is the album to listen to. But as usual a greatest hits would work better. 3 stars.

The bit where he announces all the instruments is uber cool. The rest? Riffs with no connecting ideas. It’s not awful by any standards. Maybe quite good. Some of the riffs are great actually. Also this sold a gajillion and also pretty much launched virgin records. So yes you should listen to it. But you might find yourself wondering - what’s the fuss about? 2.5

Yes I’ve heard the brilliance of Simon and Garfunkel. Those harmonies. The songs. Yes yes. It’s a good album. But I’ve heard the other albums. The singles are strong particularly Mrs Robinson. But one in such a list from Simon and Garfunkel is enough. Even better a greatest hits. 3 because it’s too many.

One of the handful of acts where you can justify more than one album. And this is a good one. I prefer exile but many prefer this. They rock. They roll. They swagger. They strut. Wild horses will bring you to tears. Dead flowers. Bitch. Sister morphine. This is how you rock and roll. Emphasis on the roll.

The first song hasn’t started yet and I’m bored. And it doesn’t improve. Childish melodies. Awful rhyming. Rinse and repeat. Pfui. 1 star.

Yeah. Nah. This might have worked in 1972. But by 2003 this is like writing a 50s rock song today. Might be good. But won’t be essential. Some good playing. And not completely stupid. 2.

This is nothing special

I once had a discussion with a composer about doing the full rock band thing and what model would you use? Myself, I said, I’d use Jethro Tull. He said he’d use Chicago because of the horns. And listening to this I can see why. The songs are lyrically different but musically solid. After the death of Terry Kath, Peter Cetera would take the band in a much more mainstream direction. But this is a good album. 3.5

Having praised American beauty … um. This is a record of a live performance by American psychedelic group grateful dead. Guess you had to be there. 1.5

I suspect sarcastic elbows will prefer the noisy feedback parts. I actually like the poppy stuff better. They do Beatlesque stuff. They do that post pixies pop. They do sonic youth. Or maybe they’d say velvet underground. But I can’t help but feel the pixies did this approach better. To be fair comparing nearly any band of this type to the pixies is going to fall heavily in the pixies favour. This isn’t teenage fanclubs fault. This album isn’t terrible at all. Quite good really. 3 while I work out if it’s a must listen. Wouldn’t it just be better to listen to the pixies and work your way towards this?

I’d rather listen to Elvis Costello. This is probably their best album which is kind of like saying liver cancer is better than child abuse. There’s a couple of decent songs. But unless you’ve never heard actual blues they’re not that great. Krieger is a good player. And Densmore is a good drummer. Neither good enough to redeem this from ok.

I like XTC. This is a good album. 4 stars.

Just the name is enough to turn me off. And yep. There’s better hip hop. 1 star. Shouldn’t be here.

Having an international perspective I can point to a dozen Australian proto punk bands who got interest overseas and would be more influential than this. It’s ok but listening to Australian acts like the masters apprentices, lobby Lloyd, Easybeats (to a degree), Billy Thorpe. English acts like the troggs, or the kinks. Americans are obsessed with having the most influential bands. I’m not saying these guys weren’t. But there were other garage rock and proto punk bands in the US. So this becomes some hipster bs, if you don’t know this you’re not cool rubbish. This is the type of attitude that gives us 550 Neil young albums on this list. Go and put on The Monkees - stepping stone is a much better song. 3.5 for the record. Minus two for its non essentiality. Rounded down. 1.5

Musical dna. An epic album whose title song covers more thematic and musical ground than most prog double albums. And it rocks. And it’s funny. And it rocks. It’s Springsteen but more epic. Whereas Springsteen gives us a mythic vista peopled by ordinary people steinman gives us an epic mythos peopled by those chosen by the gods. Springsteen has hope. Meatloaf is promise. I love them both and it’s the E street rhythm section on this. Anyone who doesn’t like this doesn’t understand growing up in a backwards town wanting to get out. Here’s an article I wrote on Meatloaf. https://www.toppermost.co.uk/meat-loaf/ All the missing stars from pretentious twaddle on this list.

One of the holy grails of blues. Muddy ran deep. He also could be mischievous and light. So many clueless white boys have lionised this without really understanding. But if you’re prepared to go deep this is great. I’d probably recommend B B King live at cook county prison or live at the regal first. But that’s not a quality comparison. B B is a bit more accessible. 5 stars.

One of your proofs that music doesn’t change the world. Billy disappeared up his own fundament for a while believing I think he was the new improved Fidel or Lenin or Pol Pot. He just couldn’t bring down the Thatcher government. This is fine and worth one listen. 2.5. Rounded up in the spirit of socialism.

Genesis is an important band and the solo careers are worthwhile. Mike Rutherford Mike and the mechanics was decent pop. Tony banks did interesting things. The drummer had a couple of minor hits think - what was his name? Will Tollans. But Gabriel was always the most interesting. Not everything he did was 1000 album worthy but we’ve had a couple already. The standout track on this is Solsbury Hill - a document of Gabriel's thought process about leaving Genesis. It’s 7/4 time signature set it apart from everything and its lyrics get me every time: ‘son I said, you can keep my things/ they’ve come to take me home’. Apparently an anthem for parents worrying about their serving in the gulf war. Gabriel was a pioneer in world music - that hateful and reductionist term that means nothing. But he used the music of other cultures with ability, subtlety and respect. This album is really a throat clearer though with a magnificent band - Robert Fripp and Tony Levin are a part of the lineup. 3.5 stars.

An album that changes the world. It’s not especially great but it is very good. Frampton only really got his due as a musician in the last decade or so. And even here the musicianship is top notch. The songs are well crafted and performed. It sells bajillions showing the industry you could sell bajillions. Worth a listen. 3.5

Another ‘ooh look how cool I am, I know this and you don’t.’ I’d rather listen to Eagles Greatest Hits. This album is ok but not essential. 1.5 rounded down.

Interesting artifact. Alex Harvey influences a load of bands. But leaves very little footprint. Worth listening and some fun stuff.

Hmmmm. 1 star.

Woody Guthrie is a towering figure in American music. Dylan. Copland. Gershwin. Porter. Brian Wilson. Smokey Robinson. Stevie Wonder. Bacharach. Chuck Berry. Goffin/King. Hank Williams . Willie Dixon. There are others. Those are the figures he stands with even if he’d reject all of them. So the lyrics donated by his daughter of unrecorded songs are hugely important. This is competent. But I feel Billy Bragg was the wrong choice. Why not Springsteen? Or Dylan. Or some other leftist American. Billy comes across like a young enthusiast who doesn’t really know this stuff but wants to learn. That’s ok. It’s a bit awkward though. And I note that the project stalls after this. Wilco is fine and thank god it wasn’t the grateful dead or its remnants. I think an American singer who had studied woody would have got it better. 3.5. Rounded down because it’s not a four star.

Blergh. Reading this list you conclude that the early 2000s were garbage for music. This overhyped undercooked recording won’t disabuse that. Boring and dull. 1 star.

Should I even bother listening to this? It reeks of hipster middle class white boy gatekeeping garbage. We’ve had Can. This first track has a nice groove. There’s a nice odd melody in the last track. As for everything else, Zappa did this stuff much better. As did Kraftwerk and even Brian eno. Even if I’m being too harsh this album is inessential. Devastatingly inessential. 2.

It’s zeppelin. Should be one. But it’s five. Probably 20. Battle of evermore and misty mountain hop total 15 of those.

The first wave of grunge in which AIC is important does change things. This an album to listen to. I like them bones in particular. Can get a bit samey. But is worthwhile anyway. 3.5 rounded up.

Sigh. Hipster white boys who claim they’re 'woke' but voted for trump liked this. No more 90s hip hop. We’ve had all the important ones. Let’s find some must listen albums. 1 star.

Polly Jean is great. But one album is enough. Most acts only need one. So this is a solid 3.5. But I’m giving it one. When will you critics understand she’s not interested in you. It’s probably a must listen PJ Harvey album. Not a must listen 1000 album.

Australian. Ozzy Ozzy Ozzy. Oi oi oi The saints are a seminal punk band and brilliant. I suspect this is here for American hipsters but5 stars for having taste for once.

Ok, so this is the one Radiohead album you must listen to. I actually prefer punch brothers take on the title track, done as it is with unaffected acoustic instruments. But Radiohead were deeply important for a bit and after this they fade a bit. That doesn’t detract from this album. 4 stars.

Britpop. Like the Blair government more flash than substance. This is ok. But I’m not sure. 2.5.

This is an album that belongs on this list. Appropriate and great musicianship. Great and well structured songs. Sounds well produced. Not too long. Not a lot of filler. Shirley Manson in particular is excellent. I don’t like it. I couldn’t tell you why. All those points I made earlier are true. But I listened once, like I did in 1995 and thought. Nup. Putting on again today I thought maybe I’ll get it 30 years down the track. Nope. I don’t. I don’t blame others for liking and even loving this. I can even see why. 5 for its quality. -2 for the mark I’d give it. Let’s call it a three

I’m not sure dexys is 1000 album important. They have a couple of great songs. Geno on this. Come on Eileen. Some decent stuff. But this falls into the ‘not here’ pile. 2 stars.

Ah boomer nostalgia. Where anything even vaguely touching CSNY, Neil Young, Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles, Bread or James Taylor is revered despite any pretence to quality. Now all of these acts could do quality. But not everything they brought out was. It’s hard to criticise the incompetence of Gary Usher as a producer given his crippling addictions which lead to an early death. But compared to Phil Spector, George Martin, Don Kirchner, Sonny Bono or Berry Gordy (as examples) his work is lacking. Muddy. And a bit pointlessly weird. I like weird but it has to work. This doesn’t. Ok some of it isn’t Ushers fault. The songs are weak. Crosby storms out or is thrown out or both twice. The market is changing away from the direction they’re going ln (ironically much closer to their original vision.). Sweetheart of the rodeo is far superior. This is ok. But not 1000 album worthy. 3.5

Nah. One album is enough. 3 because it’s good. But this isn’t the album. -1 because it shouldn’t be here.

I’ve never been a huge fan of Tom waits. I don’t know why. This ain’t the album to convert me and isn’t the album to listen to anyway. 1.5.

This is pretty terrific. A post 2000 album that is worth listening to on this list. A laidback feel, anticipating drake, but does it much better. It’s a grower too. 4 stars

Yes, worth it here. Yes. Sarcastic elbows will complain about the shouting and give it a lower mark. Yes it’s not terribly deep. But it’s fun. And given its surprising success, is a decent artifact of punk in the mid nineties. 3.5

This is otherworldly and fairly unique. 5 stars.

This shouldn’t be here. He did better. He’s a gobshite, but he can turn the odd lyric and tune. But there are better Morrissey albums.

The piano is a piece of crap. Some of the keys don’t work. Some of the remaining keys are out of tune. The audience is expecting something different. Jarrett is in a foul mood. The album is transcendent. How to work within limitations to expand boundaries A top 10 jazz album. And a must listen.

This is a must listen if only as a document of the movement that linkin park was such a big part of. I’m not going into the pointless debate of whether they were real punks or not. They did what they did. And they did it well. 4 stars. 3 for the album. And one for a post 1990s album that should be here.

Growing up in rural New South Wales, I was drawn towards the sprawling, dying, broken vistas of Bruce Springsteen. Towns filled with people who had been left behind. Who had suffered merely for being born. The rusted out cars perfectly captured the illusion of freedom, but the reality of economic bondage. I’ve been to villages and towns which once thrived in frugal comfort, with now empty courthouses, police stations, hospitals. The victims of neoliberalism, but also neglect from older systems. Once vibrant communities were now isolated individuals with no prospects. You might have been born to run, but you were in the badlands mister. Best try and purge yourself in the river. The Smiths never appealed to me then. Whinging poms. Moaning about this and that. Four hours from London. It took me at least 5 to get to Sydney, then a long plane flight to get anywhere interesting. The mofos could just hop on a train and get to London. I suspect it was a city/country thing at least in Australia. City kids resonated with the Smiths. Country kids with Bruce. But I also realise that even if I’m right there’s a million exceptions on both sides. As I’ve aged though, I realised: 1) the arch whinging Pom, the racist, small minded bigot that is Morrissey could write a lyric. And Johnny Marr is a great player. Andy Rourke was an incredible bassist. Possibly a better bassist than Marr was a guitarist. That is saying something. Mike Joyce is tremendous on drums and percussion. And remember I was never really taken with this stuff so they must be good. This album or really this band had a profound effect on many people, and I see their struggle as they try and reconcile the Morrissey that seemed to express their lives perfectly once and the rancid gobshite he’s become. That generation of kids who could relate to a lonely orphan under the stairs have similar complicated feelings towards J K Rowling. This album should be on the list. Taking out its long term context, it remains everything it was supposed to be. Adding in the context does ruin it I think. So 5 out of context, minus 4 for its context. So we’ll give it a 3.

I’m not quite sure why this album gets lionised. It’s not bad. It’s good: even very good. I might suggest maybe excellent. But not great. 3 stars.

Really? This? This of the hundreds of thousands of albums. This is top 1000. Really? A patience straining 15 songs. All around the same musical ‘ideas’. As a guitarist I wasn’t blown away by the variety. Nor the interest keeping capability. He does try though. The third song changes things up. So there’s an extra point. One of my favourite writers, Andrew Hickey, has called for a moratorium on guitar penned songs. I wonder if this was the album that drove him to that? It’s boring and inessential. Also, looking at the Wikipedia article, this isn’t even his best album. Get lost. Seriously, dimery, dump your hipster friends and get some real music fans as friends. 2 stars.

Barnt barnt barnt. Barnt barnt bar barnt. Barnt barnt barnt. Barnt barnt. That alone gives this a thousand stars. But it’s an album. And it’s an awesome album. Yes the lyrics can be stupid. Ian Gillan said if he’d known he’d be singing these songs decades down the track he’d have put more effort into it. But he’s a great singer. And he sort of needs to be. Ian Paice is one of the greatest rock drummers. Underrated. But amazingly great. Roger glover is a powerhouse on bass. Just listen to it rumble under SOTW. Jon Lord - so good that few keyboardists entered heavy metal after him. And Blackmore. If they ever carve a fifth head on Mt Rushmore… (I stole this from a guitar world review. But it’s accurate) How to rock. How to metal. How to groove. 2002 stars. Minus two for the lyrics.

There’s a certain type of album that is really important for a minute and then stops. This screams ‘1993 acoustic music’. And it hasn’t dated well. It’s good. But it’s barely relevant anymore. She does better stuff later (which you’d hope for in any artist) So another non essential album. 2stars.

The voice of his generation. And man can he funk. In fact. Here’s what I said in an article. https://www.toppermost.co.uk/george-michael/ This is a great album. Freedom 90 is a masterpiece. This album is Essential listening.

Fuck off. Seriously. He’s not THAT good. Needle and damage done is the best here, and he wrote better. Otherwise I can think of 725 albums that could replace this that aren’t on the list. Seriously fuck off with this shit.

It’s a step up from Neil young. Is it a Must listen? I’d accept husker du on this. . This seems less essential and more ‘hey check my cred’ from a hipster critic. 2 stars. Just.

I know Eagles get a lot of hate but they did that country thing really well. Probably not much better than here. There’s a great documentary which documents the history. And Glyn Johns the producer says it’s a huge mistake for them to become a rock band. And it might not have been financially. But aesthetically he’s right. There’s a reason ‘take it easy’ is overplayed. Peaceful Easy Feeling is sublime. Yes they may not have been the most pleasant people. But here they get it right. 3,5 stars.

Wu tang are among the better of the seemingly over represented 90s hip hop of this list. I don’t like the skits. But I do like the characters. But 3.5 stars.