1001 Albums Summary

Fantastic '90s style R&B singing contrasted with excellent musicianship rooted in more traditional forms of R&B and soul.

Rush, distilled into a radio-friendly format. I particularly enjoyed the interplay between Lifeson, Lee and Peart.

A great throwback to 50s music while previewing the rise of New Wave, it features fantastic lyrics and frenetic instruments.

Beautiful melodies and incredible production that the Beach Boys were known for from Pet Sounds.

A Night At The Opera is a musical tour de force. All the instruments are perfect. The musical production is turned up to 11 but it works. It truly is like attending an opera. Freddy's voice is something to behold.

Flipping marvellous.

The first fifteen minutes is them tuning up. It's important in the context of the pantheon of music but I think there was a reason everyone was tripping balls at their concerts.

I saw Coldplay on New Years Eve once. It was clear they didn't want to be there and, truthfully, nor did I. Not much has changed.

Very enjoyable and in many ways more accessible than the other progenitor of thrash, Metallica.

Look, it's a five. It was always going to be a five. Damn this album is just so good.

Wow, what a cool album. Tinges of punk power chords, that 1970s hard rock, 80s synths and new wave singing. Truly a confluence of styles.

Look, I love Jack White, everything he does, I think he, the Strokes and a few others were responsible for dragging us out of the butt rock of the early noughties. I listened to this album a lot, I'd jam along to Sixteen Saltines, the variety, humour and introspection of the lyrics and the breadth of styles shows why he's a legend. But this album is certainly not deserving of being in the pantheon of great albums. It doesn't present anything new, merely a re-packaging of the White Stripes and those albums present a much more distilled version of what he was trying to achieve.

I thought this was just going to be your average English new wave band. It's so much more: Politically charged lyrics, impressive musical chops and musicality and interesting. Recommended.

That was difficult to get through. I try to find the positives in most music but I really dislike the sort of anodyne smooth jazz on display here. Sorry, The Crusaders.

I'm not a fan of, and not knowledgeable enough, to have a decent opinion. That said, the previous album was Street Life by The Crusaders and anything is a masterpiece compared to that drol of an album.

I was the target demographic for this album. I was third year varsity. At this stage I was deep into the garage rock scene. The Killers were huge and The Kings of Leon were making their presence known. My mate had just come back from the UK and brought a copy of The Streets' A Grand Don't Come For Free. What I mean is I was primed for this album. Even so, when WPSIATWIN was just something else entirely. There was nobody making music that sounded like this, or at least that reached us at the southern end of Africa. It was a revelation. We could identify with the rabble-rousing, drinking and partying on display. As the Arctic Monkeys have matured so have I. I guess what I'm saying is this album is both a significant point in the cultural zeitgeist and a deep dive into nostalgia for me.

What an absolute banger of an album. The gritty, lower-class Brit Pop of Pulp (and Blur) is so good.

I did not expect to enjoy this. Generally I prefer the melody and harmonies of a song to the lyrics but the words just hit hard. It was truly beautiful. Coupled with the extremely subdued arrangements it was a haunting listen.

Good lord Morrissey is tiresome.

Jeez, this is just such an incredible album. Buckley's control of his voice, the musicianship, the 90s singer-songwriter vibe that's so much more. It feels like most 90s music with the familiar tropes like acoustic guitar supported by strings but at this same time is just unique.

In retrospect it's pretty laughable how highly punted these guys were. Not bad, just not particularly memorable.

Gotta love grandiose 70s rock operas with loads of piano.

I tried to listen to this with an open mind. I do agree, given the change in artistic direction and cultural impact it had, that this album deserves to be on this list. That said, the 80s synth music is anodyne and the lyrics milquetoast. Anodyne because others have done it much, much better and milquetoast because the change in artistic direction didn't extend to the lyrics. It's the same "boyfriend who didn't measure up to my expectations" schtick that made Taylor a meme in the first place. I'd give this one star if it wasn't so impactful on the cultural zeitgeist for some reason.

Finally some good fucking music.

Solomon Burke has an incredible voice. The guitar work is sublime. The horns and backing singers provide the perfect punctuation. Overall I loved the arrangements and production.

Is it technically good? Yes. Is it funny? I suppose so, but it is very edge-lord. Should it be required listening? No, it should be consigned to the rubbish bin of history. Even if he was joking the lyrics have not stood the test of time. I am not someone who believes we should censor the past because it provides a good idea of how far we've come but the gratuitous descriptions of murder, underage sex, violence and misogyny purely for shock value mean I wouldn't recommend this to anyone.

Not my kind of music but it's influence is undeniable, the roster of musicians is incredible and certainly Lamar is an amazing rapper who seems to stand head and shoulders above his peers.

Is that what the kids call "vibes"?

I don't know what I'm listening to, I don't know how they made these sounds. All I know is I like it.

Hierdie album is fokken wild, ouens. Vyf fokken sterre uit vyf ekse.

I was in my final year of primary school when this album dropped. It was EVERYWHERE. It was inescapable. It was a totally new sound, blending genres, subverting tropes. The "electronic" music I'd grown up on was Darude and Sash!. I had not had much exposure to hip hop. Maybe this album isn't quite as revolutionary as it initially seemed but I don't think it's impact can be over-stated. An extra star just for that.

Fucking hell Manchester must have been a bleak place in the 80s. Four stars because The Smiths are culturally important and Johnny Marr is cool.

Not high-brow but awesome for what it is.

Goodness that was tedious.

With the intro of the first song I was totally expecting to hate it. I mean, I enjoy outlaw country but this seemed like the progenitor of today's terrible bro-country. But man, once the singing started it was great. Funny, full of pathos, telling a relatable story. And of course the influence of mariachi music on Buenas Noches From a Lonely Room was a welcome surprise. So, so good.

Ugh. One extra star for how important it was (compare this to Coldplay) for better or worse (worse, it was for worse).

Not as bad as everyone says. It's anodyne but it's beautiful, the instrumentals arranged sparsely and beautifully. Jones has the opportunity to move into jazzier territory later in the album and it's probably where this album shines. Not ground-breaking but like your favourite worn-in clothes: really comforting.

Reading Wikipedia it said the Yeah Yeah Yeahs were roommates with Metric. That makes a lot of sense. They sound very similar to Metric, Florence and The Machine and The Kills, just not as interesting.

It was fine. I like Travis. They make nice music. Is it world-changing? No. Three stars.

*Face-melting guitar solo* Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me! Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me! Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me! Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me! Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me! Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me! Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me! Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me! Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me! Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me! Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me! Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me! Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me! Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me! Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me! Motherfucker!

43:19 album length, six songs. Sigh.

I'd only heard Valerie before this. It started off strongly but it seems like they ran out of ideas.

I was loving it until we got to "Hazy Shade of Winter" and was disappointed to see it was the second last song. Guess we'll start from the beginning again....

Started off strong but dragged on a bit.

Incredible album. Lou Reed was such a distinctive musician. Obviously "Walk on the Wild Side" is the big single but there are so many interesting songs on this album.

I don't really listen to lyrics, I've always preferred the tune over the lyrics. So this album definitely wasn't aimed at me. There are worse albums on this list but not many.

Pretty middle of the road.

This was great. Minus one star for it being made by Kanye.

I'm a sucker for songs that tell a story. Ackles' American Gothic paints a picture of an America that most of us can visualise but few know. One can see why Bernie Taupin decided to produce. The backing instruments themselves contribute a rich tapestry, placing us in Mid-West small town America. At times it drags and can be maudlin but it is certainly a stark reminder of what the singer-songwriter tradition can produce. Folk really sounded this original.

Often imitated, never surpassed. The favourite band of the kids who weren't cool but knew good music.

This album is a vibe.

I wouldn't even say I like Nirvana but this album is a five. It changed the course of music irrevocably. I'm inclined to remove a star because without grunge we'd never have gotten butt rock, but I'm not that petty.

That was fine.

That was a blast.

I was waiting for this to end.

Not my speed but it was fine.

That listened like one song. Not in a good way. I get that Ramones were incredibly important in punk rock but besides the classics it wasn't a great time.

If you didn't give this album five stars I'm not sure this whole music reviewing lark is for you.

Man, I hate jam bands.

It's great but it's not their best. That has to go to Avalon.

Ja, it was fine.

This is what I came here for. While clearly a well-known album I'd never encountered it but it has very quickly gone in to rotation at home.

That was disappointingly forgettable.

Surprisingly deep and depressing that we're still trying to deal with all this shit.

I was 9 when this album came out. All of our brothers had this album and we would listen to Bad Habit when our moms were at work. Good times. Does it belong on this list? I'm skeptical but it is much more enjoyable than those bands which lean more to the pop side of pop punk.

"White Rabbit" and "Somebody to Love" make this a four. You can leave the rest of them.

This was incredible. Stevie Wonder is the man.

Never liked the Stone Roses and that definitely coloured my impression of this album. Boring and jangly.

70s rock is objectively better. More interesting melodies, better chord progressions, wild cover art, varied instruments. Some of the arrangements, especially those with a choral element, are very Handel-esque. Top track was Jungle. It's going on my Summer Certified Bangers playlist.

Jeez Morrissey is tiresome.

Every Queen album is a five star album. I particularly enjoy the breadth and variety on display on Queen II, getting away from the more "rock opera" songs we all know from Greatest Hits I. Highlights for me include The March of The Black Queen, Seven Seas of Rhye, The Lose In The End, Father to Son and the strings-like guitar of Procession.

The first album is great but man, I do not enjoy a musical interlude, which is basically the second half. That said, one can hear a great deal of the next ten years of music in one album.

That was more forgettable than either Veni Vidi Vicious or Tyrannosaurus Hives, both of which I am firmly the target market and love.

There really is nothing like Bauhaus. Moving from some sort of horror-synth pop to Clash-esque reggae punk to piano instrumental it's always weird and always interesting.

That was definitely Oasis. Maybe I enjoyed it, probably it was "fine".

We all wish we could be half as cool as Sleater-Kinney. Also, lots of "i DoN't LiKe ScReEcHy WiMmEn". Just, wow.

It was going so well until the blues odyssey at the end.

That was tiresome. The first song I enjoyed was on a different album Spotify auto-queued once "Either Or" finished.

Truly one of the weirdest and most innovative mainstream musical minds today.

Probably the weakest White Stripes album and second weakest Jack White album after Blunderbuss but it still has bangers and it's fun.

So beautiful. This album seems to show off his skills as an arranger rather than a piano savant but it's just so beautiful

I think anyone who rated this album "1" should never be allowed to listen to music again. Kate Bush is weird but you can hear her in so many later artists: Enya, Fiona Apple and, as many have said, Bjork. Also, I love weird music. Minus 1 star for the 80s gated snare.

I started thinking this album was terrible compared to Bush's previous efforts but it certainly grew on me. There are a number of dated references (some computer bullshit) but it also feels a more personal, less literary and more introspective.

As a callow youth I though Back to Black, and in particular, Rehab, was callow. With the benefit of hindsight one can see what an absolute belter of this album is. One of the finest singers of her (my) generation mixing a classic genre with the experiences of mid-2000s UK.

Gin and tonic. Laurel and Hardy. Yin and yang. Simon & Garfunkel. Some things are just better together.

That's certainly a Bruce Springsteen album but there are better ones.

First White Stripes album I ever listened to. Has Seven Nation Army, the best White Stripes song (Ball and Biscuit if you didn't already know), all the typical White Stripes influence: Blues, fifties rock, folk and rock. What is missing that started appearing on later albums is the slice of American life (Rag and Bone, Icky Thump, Archbishop Harold Holmes) but it's all done with their signature sound and humour and is certainly in contention for the title of "Quintessential White Stripes Album". Five out of five stripes.

Alanis Morissette walked so Fiona Apple could run. There really wasn't anything like Jagged Little Pill when it came out. Female singer songerwriters were sensitive and demure. Alanis was such a breath of fresh air. Even if the production is super 90s it's still an incredible statement of dissatisfaction and feminism. The vocals are raw, the musicianship is incredible and the literary devices are used incorrectly. 4/5.

This felt like "Imagine", Jealous Guy" and eight versions of Yer Blues. Lucky I don't deduct a star for that celebrity version of "Imagine" over COVID.

Ugh. Every song sounds the same.

I liked the beat for Drew Barrymore but that was about it. I'm giving it an extra star because I'm not well-versed in rap. Still only two stars.

Three stars plus one for the solo on "My Generation".

This came out in my first year of university. Nonsense lyrics aside this album (and The Black Parade) was omni-present in the most formative years of my life. Five stars all day.

Wonder is God.

Me, a 40 year old male engineer with a beard, driving home from gym: "Set fi-iiiii-reee, to the raaaaaainnnn".

Apparently Tommy Cogbill was an influence of Jaco Pastorius'. I can certainly believe that, the bass on this album is incredible. Reggie Young on guitar is also showing absolute class. On to Elvis. I never got the hype until I saw the video of him singing at the end of the movie in 2022. What a performer.

Goodness, that was dross. I tried to listen to it four times, eventually skipping through songs. Out of 250-odd albums this is the second I couldn't finish.

It was a choice between this and a Morrissey solo album. I believe I made a wise choice.

Gris-Gris Gumbo Ya Ya - You can feel Dr. John's later work in this but it is clearly the genesis, a stepping off point. Brilliant. Danse Kalinda Ba Doom - Mystical, it feels like you're observing a voodoo ritual. Mama Roux - Suddenly upbeat and showing hints of Right Place Wrong Time and the first track to be recognisable as a song. Danse Fambeaux - Heading back into the trance. Croker Courtbullion - The intro sounds like Golden Brown by The Stranglers. The song sounds like you're having a bad trip. Walk on Guilded Splinters - The trip is ending. Great, full of the mysticism, unconventional instrumentation and feel that Dr. John was known for throughout his career.

Ugh, just so generic.

+1 star for Bootsy Collins.

I guess I'm a sucker for lush production but some classic 90s bangers made this album a 4 for me.

Listened to it twice in a row.

So nice I had to listen twice.

I hear a bit of The Hives in this but come on, it was released in 1993.

This is pretty seminal isn't it. The Birth of the Cool, it's right there in the name. Just changing the course of jazz history.

Top shelf stuff, this.

Voted on the arrangements and tunes, not the lyrics. I will not be taking questions at this time.

That was dross.

This was truly something else.

You might not like it but this is what 70s rock excess looks like.

Got whiplash going from "(You Drive Me) Crazy" to "Sometimes" to "Soda Pop".

I got this album yesterday but I was really tired and could not bring myself to listen to that insufferable prick. Today I got to song 8. Bonus star for not being Kid Rock.

California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California California

This is a five star three star album.

It seems like most of the other reviewers are unable to determine criticism versus praise. It's incredibly rough but it has an earnestness that is endearing.

Not my cup of tea but that was pretty cool.

Why yes, this does sound like it was conceived by three architecture and one art student in the late sixties, how did you know?

Green Day is not interesting enough to warrant a multi-movement concept album, even if what they have to say is pertinent.

Boring-ass music

Dinosaur Jr. with worse riffs, Seattle Grunge with less angst, Nickelback with less butt rock.

Even with Jamaican Jerk-Off this is five stars. Beautiful instrumentation, great variety in lyrics and musical styles and fantastic arrangements. This sort of lush musicality is such a feature of 70s rock albums, I wish it would make a comeback. Song of the album: Too many but either "Candle in the Wind" or "Saturday Night's (Alright for Fighting)".

I saw a comment under the video for David Byrne's NPR Tiny Desk concert: It's 2025 and David Byrne is still living in the future. Well, it's 2025 and Talking Heads 77 is still the future.

Ginger Baker is great, let loose from the constraints of being in a power trio he can show off his jazz chops. Tony Allen is just an incredible. Africa '70 is such an incredible band, incredibly tight yet bursting with energy. And Mr. Kuti is sublime. I'd known about him for a long time but the direction he brings to the band and his organ playing are just *chef's kiss*. Some people may find it rambling but I love the juxtaposition between the long rambling solos, the call and responses, the timing of the various sections and the incredible energy brought to this recording.

What a beautiful album. It sounds like it was recorded yesterday; the musicianship is wonderful and the entire album fizzes with energy.

I thought it was going to be some old-fashioned country, which I do enjoy, but it turned out to be some of the most beautiful, haunting and ephemeral music I've listened to. I kept repeating songs because of how incredible they are. It's definitely inspired me.

Bit dire and monotonous.

Absolute banger. I'm partial to post-punk but undoubtedly LCD Soundsystem are one of, if not, the best. The songs themselves feel incredibly stripped back yet still full of energy. Top pick: North American Scum.

No way that was only 9 songs. Found it very tiring. +1 for the singles.

Man, that was beautiful.

People may think Steely Dan is lame but their music is so layered and sonically rich, so full of harmonic complexity it elevates it from rock to jazz. The irony-tinged lyrics add to the fun. Fagen and Becker are undoubtedly geniuses. I don't think this is their best album but it's still pretty damn good.

That was fine. A couple of good songs, No Woman No Cry is inferior to the live version that every student had on a copied CD in the mid-2000s.

Grade A poes making grade A music.

I definitely preferred the more "sincere" songs, those caught in the middle between punk and hair rock. This album was a pleasant surprise.

Sometimes maybe good, sometimes maybe shit.

I listened to Lenny Kravitz just before this and wow, it truly is remarkable the difference when they're going for something similar.

I watched Louis Theroux's "Inside the Manosphere" last night. It's difficult to not draw a line between a lot of these 1990s rap albums featuring significantly misogynistic lyrics and these manosphere influencers who are little more than pimps and grifters. Similar thoughts extend to early Eminem and Biggy. On a positive side I really enjoyed the flow of the rapping, the sampling and the beats of this album.

Golden Years makes it an automatic 5* for me, one of my favourite songs of all time.

Even when the Beatles are meh they are great.

Didn't particularly care for XTC before this and I still don't.

I was surprised to find that I had not listened to one long song but rather 13 short songs.

When Joseph Heller was asked why he hadn't ever written anything as good as Catch-22 since, his reply was that neither has anyone else. That pretty much sums up this album when compared to Rumours. However, the sparser arrangements make for an interesting soundscape and I particularly enjoyed the driving drums on Tusk, which makes you feel an impending sense of doom.

I'm a sucker for a song in 6/8.