695
Albums Rated
3.36
Average Rating
64%
Complete
394 albums remaining
Rating Distribution
Rating Timeline
Taste Profile
2010
Favorite Decade
Latin
Favorite Genre
UK
Top Origin
Wordsmith
Rater Style ?
70
5-Star Albums
18
1-Star Albums
Breakdown
By Genre
Top Styles
By Decade
By Origin
Albums
You Love More Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Hms Fable
Shack
|
5 | 2.76 | +2.24 |
|
Ys
Joanna Newsom
|
5 | 2.8 | +2.2 |
|
LP1
FKA twigs
|
5 | 2.81 | +2.19 |
|
Lazer Guided Melodies
Spiritualized
|
5 | 2.92 | +2.08 |
|
Fuzzy Logic
Super Furry Animals
|
5 | 2.94 | +2.06 |
|
Connected
Stereo MC's
|
5 | 2.95 | +2.05 |
|
Post Orgasmic Chill
Skunk Anansie
|
5 | 2.99 | +2.01 |
|
Hot Shots II
The Beta Band
|
5 | 3.01 | +1.99 |
|
The Man Who
Travis
|
5 | 3.01 | +1.99 |
|
Vento De Maio
Elis Regina
|
5 | 3.01 | +1.99 |
You Love Less Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Let's Stay Together
Al Green
|
1 | 3.76 | -2.76 |
|
Blood Sugar Sex Magik
Red Hot Chili Peppers
|
1 | 3.49 | -2.49 |
|
The Marshall Mathers LP
Eminem
|
1 | 3.48 | -2.48 |
|
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Kanye West
|
1 | 3.4 | -2.4 |
|
Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs
Derek & The Dominos
|
1 | 3.38 | -2.38 |
|
The College Dropout
Kanye West
|
1 | 3.31 | -2.31 |
|
The Slim Shady LP
Eminem
|
1 | 3.28 | -2.28 |
|
Live At The Star Club, Hamburg
Jerry Lee Lewis
|
1 | 3.27 | -2.27 |
|
Dig Your Own Hole
The Chemical Brothers
|
1 | 3.11 | -2.11 |
|
Murder Ballads
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
|
1 | 3.08 | -2.08 |
Artists
Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Radiohead | 5 | 4.8 |
| Funkadelic | 2 | 5 |
| Arcade Fire | 2 | 5 |
| The Smashing Pumpkins | 2 | 5 |
| Johnny Cash | 2 | 5 |
| Beatles | 5 | 4 |
Least Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Kanye West | 2 | 1 |
| Eminem | 2 | 1 |
| Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds | 2 | 1.5 |
| Pere Ubu | 2 | 1.5 |
5-Star Albums (70)
View Album Wall
Popular Reviews
Alanis Morissette · 4 likes
3/5
i was originally disappointed seeing this album pop up because i *LOATHE* "ironic," but it wasn't as bad as i thought. largely fine, though her voice really irritates me. i know that's not an original critique, but i don't care!
Derek & The Dominos · 3 likes
1/5
I mean Layla is pretty good but Eric Clapton is a despicable little worm so I didn't really feel compelled to listen to this entire thing or be fair and impartial. So.
The Verve · 2 likes
3/5
this started off hot with Bittersweet Symphony, which i unironically love and think absolutely deserves the hype. unfortunately, it was all downhill from there into Diet U2. i was mostly enjoying the first half of the album, but once i crossed into the second half and still had 45 minutes left, i started to lose patience. most of these songs are twice as long as they need to be and nowhere near interesting enough to justify that length. it wasn't actively offensive, i was just bored.
Frank Ocean · 2 likes
5/5
wow - i'd heard about frank ocean from other people, but never looked into him. i was aware that this was an acclaimed album, but i didn't expect to like it so much. beautiful and melodic, and really unique to my ears. i loved it!
also, some of these reviews are breathtakingly racist. i'm talking to you, second-most-upvoted review. *this* is the downfall of society? really? this gentle, mournful r&b album? get your head out of your ass, jesus christ.
Kanye West · 2 likes
1/5
unfortunately this is a good album but i just can't stomach the idea of giving this guy any more streams or positive ratings.
1-Star Albums (18)
All Ratings
Simon & Garfunkel
3/5
Big Brother & The Holding Company
2/5
Frank Sinatra
2/5
Radiohead
5/5
Aerosmith
3/5
Fatboy Slim
3/5
The Mars Volta
4/5
The Offspring
2/5
Little Simz
4/5
Stevie Wonder
4/5
Meat Loaf
3/5
CHIC
2/5
The Chemical Brothers
1/5
Deep Purple
3/5
MGMT
4/5
OutKast
3/5
The Young Gods
2/5
Arrested Development
4/5
The Byrds
3/5
Janelle Monáe
5/5
Neil Young
2/5
Marilyn Manson
1/5
no stars for rapists
Sheryl Crow
3/5
Nirvana
3/5
The Kinks
3/5
Jimi Hendrix
3/5
Can
4/5
Supergrass
4/5
Traffic
3/5
Stevie Wonder
3/5
The Temptations
3/5
The Beach Boys
3/5
Michael Kiwanuka
3/5
Billy Bragg
3/5
The Who
3/5
Jorge Ben Jor
4/5
Eagles
3/5
Robert Wyatt
2/5
Arctic Monkeys
4/5
Michael Jackson
3/5
Prince
5/5
Kid Rock
1/5
no stars for transphobic racists
John Lennon
3/5
3/5
Nick Drake
4/5
ZZ Top
3/5
Ramones
3/5
Culture Club
2/5
Metallica
4/5
Beatles
4/5
Sam Cooke
3/5
Steely Dan
4/5
Queen
4/5
PJ Harvey
2/5
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
2/5
Soundgarden
3/5
Steely Dan
3/5
Orbital
2/5
Def Leppard
3/5
Aretha Franklin
3/5
Kendrick Lamar
3/5
Radiohead
5/5
Boston
4/5
Lloyd Cole And The Commotions
4/5
R.E.M.
4/5
Joan Armatrading
3/5
Drive-By Truckers
3/5
Elvis Costello
3/5
Judas Priest
4/5
Led Zeppelin
3/5
Creedence Clearwater Revival
3/5
The Flaming Lips
4/5
Joy Division
3/5
Nine Inch Nails
4/5
Bob Dylan
3/5
Joni Mitchell
4/5
Willie Nelson
5/5
Morrissey
4/5
Creedence Clearwater Revival
3/5
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
4/5
Dire Straits
4/5
Stevie Wonder
4/5
Thelonious Monk
3/5
Ian Dury
3/5
Paul McCartney and Wings
3/5
Booker T. & The MG's
3/5
Elvis Presley
3/5
N.E.R.D
3/5
James Taylor
4/5
David Bowie
4/5
Patti Smith
3/5
Otis Redding
3/5
1/5
this is one of the worst things i've ever listened to in my life
Thundercat
2/5
The Rolling Stones
4/5
Van Morrison
4/5
Fugazi
2/5
Sparks
4/5
proto-of montreal. i liked it!
5/5
Radiohead
5/5
Herbie Hancock
3/5
New York Dolls
3/5
Waylon Jennings
4/5
The Sonics
2/5
Al Green
1/5
no stars for abusers and rapists
Elliott Smith
4/5
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
The Black Crowes
3/5
Ministry
3/5
Neil Young
3/5
AC/DC
3/5
this was the definition of mid to me
R.E.M.
3/5
Harry Nilsson
3/5
Laibach
2/5
i didn't really enjoy this but i did appreciate that it was something different. however i cannot see myself listening again, so to the 2 star shadow realm it goes
Talking Heads
4/5
Nina Simone
3/5
Beck
3/5
Einstürzende Neubauten
1/5
Bruce Springsteen
4/5
Funkadelic
5/5
Led Zeppelin
4/5
Bob Marley & The Wailers
3/5
10cc
3/5
would've been higher if it wasn't randomly racist?!
Erykah Badu
3/5
The Temptations
4/5
The Clash
2/5
Wild Beasts
3/5
Jungle Brothers
4/5
The Beta Band
5/5
Kraftwerk
4/5
Buena Vista Social Club
4/5
Cowboy Junkies
5/5
surprised by how much i enjoyed this!
Cheap Trick
3/5
Willie Colón & Rubén Blades
4/5
i know nothing about salsa but i quite enjoyed this! very pleasant. and i recognized that one song from oliver & company right away 😎
Red Hot Chili Peppers
1/5
wow. i hated everything about this. kind of impressive honestly.
Arcade Fire
5/5
Deep Purple
2/5
live albums are a crime
The Mothers Of Invention
2/5
The Verve
3/5
Iron Maiden
4/5
Songhoy Blues
4/5
Alice In Chains
4/5
American Music Club
3/5
Method Man
3/5
Fleet Foxes
4/5
The Black Keys
3/5
Slipknot
3/5
Public Image Ltd.
1/5
Eagles
3/5
Iron Maiden
4/5
Adele
4/5
George Michael
3/5
The Smiths
3/5
The Thrills
4/5
The Who
3/5
i'm a super negative nancy about live albums -- i generally believe that they are the purview of superfans and shouldn't be peddled to the general 1001 album public -- but this one was pleasant.
Various Artists
3/5
The Band
3/5
Kate Bush
3/5
Sebadoh
3/5
weird. there are a few songs here that are totally fine and even pleasant to listen to, but the other ones are atonal, meandering, intentionally bad (?) suckfests.
George Harrison
2/5
i wish this album would've passed a little faster
Kanye West
1/5
Tom Waits
3/5
i know his voice is like the whole thing but i just didn't like the whole thing
Depeche Mode
3/5
i wanted to like this more than i did, but it was still pleasant!
Elton John
4/5
Kanye West
1/5
unfortunately this is a good album but i just can't stomach the idea of giving this guy any more streams or positive ratings.
The Clash
3/5
Linkin Park
3/5
Willie Nelson
3/5
Yes
4/5
Beatles
4/5
The Rolling Stones
3/5
Elvis Presley
3/5
The Jesus And Mary Chain
4/5
Joy Division
3/5
Eh
Bob Dylan
3/5
The Strokes
3/5
wish this had been as edgy and cool as the album cover made it seem
Cornershop
3/5
i appreciated that this was not the factory-issue britpop i assumed it was, but it didn't 100% click for me. still an interesting album i wouldn't have sought out without 1001 albums!
Beck
3/5
i'm conflicted because on the one hand, a 2000s album on this list is a rare gift, and i do like some of beck's music. and i appreciate that he's got a kitchen-sink style approach to his songs. but a lot of these songs were repetitive and annoying to me, so 3 stars it is!
TV On The Radio
4/5
GZA
3/5
Buddy Holly & The Crickets
3/5
Pulp
5/5
i loved this!!!
Adele
4/5
Incubus
4/5
Lorde
5/5
as dazzlingly saturated and syrupy as a perfect piece of french toast. one of the best pop albums of the 2010s. i think if you rate this lower than 4 stars you should immediately go to jail.
Hugh Masekela
3/5
i can appreciate the talent, but it wasn't really all that enjoyable for me to listen to.
ABBA
5/5
it's pure sunshine, how could it be less than 5 stars?
CHVRCHES
5/5
so enjoyable. great addition to the 1001 albums list!
Brian Eno
4/5
Sex Pistols
2/5
I can see why this was important but I found it very unpleasant and grating to listen to
Metallica
3/5
The Stooges
3/5
The Smashing Pumpkins
5/5
I can't be objective about this. This is one of those albums from my early teens that burrowed its way inside me and became part of my DNA. I could no sooner give it a fair rating than I could rate myself, or my adolescence, or what it means to grow up.
Not every song on this album is a 5/5 -- honestly, not every song on this album is even good. Some of them seem to delight in their own ugliness. But the *variety* of music here; the ridiculous, laughable, incredible scope of it; the giddy soaring highs and the miserable vacant lows - none of the songs sounds remotely the same. I can't not give it a 5!
This is less a collection of songs and more of an album of important moments to me. And there are so many of them. The defiant battle cry of "We'll crucify the insincere tonight" from Tonight, Tonight that wouldn't be out of place in an MCR song; the escalating bridge in Here is No Why that begs you to scream along; "Destroy the mind / destroy the body / but you cannot destroy the heart," which should be melodramatic dreck but feels as essential as marching orders; "Rescue me from me," perhaps the most self-aware Billy Corgan has ever been in his life; the snarling, vicious "Love is suicide" refrain in Bodies and the jacknife whiplash of Thirty-Three's sugar-spun "I know I'll make it / Love can last forever," right after it; the, again, very self aware "Suffer my desire" from In the Arms of Sleep; 1979, kicking off the slow march to the end of the album with the kind of sun-soaked, melancholy (ha!) nostalgia for things you may not even have experienced yourself; the almost silly Beautiful and Lily (My One and Only) and what I can only call a group lullaby on the last track. God, it's crazy. I love it so much.
Unfortunately, it was also written by Billy Corgan, who by all accounts seems to be one of the most personally unpleasant people on the planet and has the political opinions to match. Maybe that's part of this album's appeal to me - I keep trying to crack the nut of how such a miserable, hateful prick could've made something so perfect. Maybe he poured out his heart and soul into this album and just... left them there. How do shitty people make good art? I don't know. It still doesn't make it less sincere to me. Whoever he is now or before, I believe every word he's saying here. It's part of the infinite fascination with the Infinite Sadness, I guess.
Anyway. It's a mess, it's pretentious, it's painfully earnest, it's so fucking good. I totally understand the 1 star reviews. I think you either get it or you don't but I really, really do.
Ananda Shankar
4/5
aside from the 13 minute track, I found this quite pleasant!
Prince
3/5
boy he really went on and on huh
Kate Bush
4/5
not 100% my kind of music (and sometimes kate gets a little Out There for me) but i overall enjoyed it, 3.5 rounded up.
Doves
4/5
did it sound like Coldplay? yes, but I was jammin.
Blondie
4/5
The Byrds
3/5
The Velvet Underground
2/5
i was looking forward to this one but unfortunately i just didn't like it! every song went on way too long and was grating/repetitive/unpleasant to listen to. i do like nico's voice. but in terms of "did i have a good time listening to it?" the answer is no.
LCD Soundsystem
2/5
i thought i'd like this a lot more, but oh my god, the repetitive unpleasant droning... every song being at least twice as long as it should be... this literally gave me a headache.
Soft Machine
2/5
why? why does 1001 albums keep torturing me with multiple 20-minute songs? i'm a good person. i don't deserve this.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
3/5
it was fine. nice enough to listen to. just didn't feel super strongly about it!
Alice Cooper
3/5
Joni Mitchell
4/5
Really enjoyable. I know it's because she's principled and a true artist but I can't help but wish it was on Spotify so I'd ever listen to it again 🥲
A Tribe Called Quest
4/5
nice rhythm and rhymes but a little long for my tastes
Frank Sinatra
3/5
Eh.
Funkadelic
5/5
super enjoyable, and one of the greatest discoveries of 1001 albums for me - who knew i liked funk so much? i wish it was on spotify so i could listen more often!
Ray Price
4/5
Run-D.M.C.
5/5
so fun. probably closer to a 4.5 but it's so rare for me to give albums here a 5, let's just go for it!!!
Black Sabbath
3/5
Rufus Wainwright
4/5
the first two tracks were really strong, but the rest couldn't quite capture that energy. he has such a beautiful voice and such poetic lyrics that i do want to give some credit to that, but it's very Starbucks Music in bush administration vibes. still, a 3.5 rounded to a 4 for me overall. it really is such a nice voice.
Leftfield
4/5
I felt swaddled in the bosom of this droney electronica ❤️
Elastica
4/5
this was a lot of fun and short and sweet! i dig it!
Creedence Clearwater Revival
3/5
it was fine enough, just not really my kind of music I spose
Supertramp
5/5
so funky and fun and ridiculous, I had an absolute blast!!!
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
The Monks
4/5
Based on the description, I thought I was going to show this. But it was surprisingly fun and silly! It's nice to be wrong sometimes.
Paul Simon
3/5
Simon & Garfunkel
4/5
Van Halen
4/5
i wasn't expecting to enjoy this as much as I did but it was pure fun. #dudesrock
The Jam
3/5
I wanted to like this so much more than I did, but it was just a whole lot of inoffensive nothing.
Nick Drake
3/5
this is a very nice, pretty album that nonetheless made me feel nothing, somehow. i'm sorry nick!
Hüsker Dü
2/5
what is this dusty, flavorless, flat soda of an album? why did i have to listen to it before I died? It made me feel like I was dying. so confused. there's nothing here. it was like a pile of dry hay blowing away in the wind.
Bob Dylan
4/5
enjoyable! i liked it!
Pixies
4/5
this was a pleasant surprise, and I'm equally happy to see so many positive reviews! this album has a few duds for me, so not a perfect 5, but lots of fun and crazy variety. so many iconic songs on here! the pixies don't always 100% work for me, but this album mostly does.
B.B. King
4/5
I'm never thrilled to see a live album, but I as pleasantly surprised by this one. Great energy and live performance. The audience's enthusiasm was fun too. I don't really see myself revisiting it, but I enjoyed it more than I thought it would.
Pixies
4/5
I had Doolittle two days ago, what are the chances? This one wasn't quite as #iconic but still some good tracks on here, and I probably wouldn't have sought it out without 1001 albums!
Green Day
5/5
as subtle as a (ha!) hand grenade, but that's what we needed at the time, okay?
is every song on this a perfect 5/5? no, and the non-singles definitely don't have the same punch, but it's not about that. it's about the spectacle, the ridiculousness, the scope - i mean, this album is iconic for a reason. if i see any of you dadrock motherfuckers badmouthing this one, fight me in the parking lot. WHILE american idiot plays.
Bon Jovi
4/5
i didn't expect to enjoy this one as much as I did. big cheesy energy that occasionally didn't totally hit. but overall punchy ridiculous 80s fun.
Beatles
4/5
is it... crazy to say there's like, quite a bit of filler on here?? feels insane to say about the Beatles but there were definitely a few kills in the hits for me. full of a bajillion other iconic tracks though, so this is super hard to rate. don't be mad at me!
Kings of Leon
2/5
well, that sure was an album.
Tina Turner
4/5
wow, this was a lot of fun. pure 80s. i was really surprised by all the low reviews because I was jammin'.
Living Colour
5/5
I loved this. So fun, great energy, really unique. Another banger from 1001 albums I wouldn't have found on my own!
Amy Winehouse
5/5
God, what a talent. What a voice. I'd always meant to listen to this album and never got around to it. It all just works so well together. It's hard to listen knowing how her life turned out but I'm grateful we have a time capsule like this.
Little Richard
3/5
I mean, it was enjoyable enough, but it *did* feel like the same song 10 times if I'm being totally honest >.>
Incredible Bongo Band
4/5
I had no expectations going into this (and even laughed when I generated the album) but this was surprisingly fun. I had a good time!
Gang Starr
3/5
this was pleasant to listen to but I don't know if it totally clicked for me - I probably should've been listening more carefully and reading the lyrics but I usually listen to these while driving or at work, so. maybe I'll revisit some of the top tracks later.
Sonic Youth
3/5
this just really didn't do anything for me, i'm sorry!
Solomon Burke
4/5
I actually quite enjoyed this. Not too much to say other than it was a pleasant surprise and very listenable and avoids some of the samey vibes of so many similar albums from this era.
Elliott Smith
5/5
really liked this one! i listened to it more than once, which is rare for me. just a very good album.
Roxy Music
2/5
echoing all the other commenters that I wish this album went as hard as the cover.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
4/5
Always great to get something different on 1001 albums. I liked this, though it got a bit repetitive at times. Still enjoyable!
Queens Of The Stone Age
2/5
An hour of chugging fuzzy nothing.
Dusty Springfield
3/5
this was fine, but not anything particularly groundbreaking. i think it was all covers too. it was nice but not sure if it's really "1001 albums" worthy.
Alanis Morissette
3/5
i was originally disappointed seeing this album pop up because i *LOATHE* "ironic," but it wasn't as bad as i thought. largely fine, though her voice really irritates me. i know that's not an original critique, but i don't care!
Jack White
3/5
another album I wasn't excited for because I don't really care for jack white, but it was ultimately fine. perhaps I just don't "get" it.
the way he said "noyvus" instead of "nervous" on that one song made me crazy though.
Donald Fagen
3/5
Hm. This was fine, but didn't wow me. I feel like most of the songs went on at least a minute too long, too
Jamiroquai
3/5
This was fun and funky, but I feel a little conflicted after reading the top reviews and learning more about the band. Idk. I feel weird now!
Public Enemy
3/5
I'm glad this was on the list, and I liked the rapping itself and the general vibes, but the short 1-2 second long samples of repetitive grating noises really started to wear me down after a while. Maybe that kind of sampling just isn't for me.
R.E.M.
3/5
I'm not sure I really "got" this one... I liked all the big songs but the others didn't really stand out to me :(
The La's
3/5
Meh.
Devendra Banhart
2/5
he's a talented guitar player but otherwise I really did not enjoy this.
Finley Quaye
2/5
oh boy. this was... meandering, grating, and repetitive. that last track in particular was an absolute slog. wtf? i love "dice" (shoutout to the OC soundtrack!) and thought i'd like this too but it did not hit.
Crosby, Stills & Nash
4/5
I actually really liked this one. Beautiful harmonies! Not quite a 5 for me but really, really enjoyable. And oldie but a goodie :)
Air
5/5
so smooth, so breezy... if frutiger aero was an album.
The Chemical Brothers
3/5
I was expecting to dislike this, but it was fine and even pleasant at times. I actually added a few of the tracks to a trancey focus playlist I have. The first half of the album was a lot weaker than the second half to me.
Q-Tip
4/5
really liked this one! good flow, i was bopping my head without even realizing it.
The Dandy Warhols
3/5
this was fine. the epitome of fine. not sure why i had to listen before i died. sure, i liked a few songs, but this isn't even the album with their big hit (to me, a former teen girl who loved veronica mars) on it. so like. why.
Dolly Parton
5/5
Absolutely loved it. Pure sunshine!
James Brown
3/5
what do you want me to say? it's a live album. i bet it would've slapped if I was there.
The Teardrop Explodes
4/5
What a pleasant surprise! I thought this was going to be more paint by the numbers britpop, but it has a really fun sound. Loved the horns. Felt like shades of Echo & The Bunnymen.
The Replacements
3/5
not much to say except that this wasn't really for me... didn't like the vocals or the instrumentation all that much. made me feel like I needed to take a shower.
Dennis Wilson
3/5
Overall a pleasant album. It's a shame that his substance abuse fried his voice. I wonder what he sounded like before. Also, I had absolutely no idea about his connections with Charles Manson until this album popped up and I went researching on Wikipedia.
Iggy Pop
3/5
i liked the two big songs on here! but struggled to really have an opinion on anything else.
David Bowie
3/5
This was a new Bowie album for me and for whatever reason it just wasn't hitting. A few enjoyable tracks on here but not really enough to push my rating higher than 3.5.
Everything But The Girl
2/5
The first song was nice, but everything afterwards increasingly grated on me and felt like a pale shade of the first track. The lead singer obviously has a nice voice, but the instrumentation is so dated and bland and the overall sound of every song got increasingly repetitive. It felt like music that would be playing in a department store while I waited for my mom to finish buying a pair of shoes.
Meat Puppets
2/5
whew, this was just not for me. i can appreciate on some level that this spans so many genres but the vocals were like nails on a chalkboard.
The War On Drugs
3/5
really no strong feelings about this one
The Doors
3/5
eh. i liked this at first but it wore out its welcome. probably closer to a 3.5 but i don't really see myself listening to it ever again, sooooo....
Eminem
1/5
puerile and cruel. an expertly crafted, slicky produced, lovingly written screed against women and gay people. i loathed every minute of it.
ranting aside, eminem is obviously talented and impressively skilled at crafting rhymes but he uses his gift to court the sticky-fingered southparkpilled masses so... i was never going to like this.
LL Cool J
3/5
I had Eminem the previous day, so this was a breath of fresh air! I really like the sound of 90s/2000s rap, and this had some great lyrics on it. But I did find that some of the songs had grating or repetitive elements in them that wore on me after a while.
Led Zeppelin
3/5
I wasn't super wowed tbh. Way too long. Eh
Bauhaus
3/5
i don't think i really "got" it 🥲
The White Stripes
3/5
i often feel like i "should" like the white stripes, in the way that you "should" eat your vegetables and floss your teeth. it feels like a good-for-you obligation that everyone just kind of tolerates because it's better for you in the end if not enjoyable in the moment.
but hannah, you might say, they're *real* rock in a sea of schlocky pop! their lead singer is a notoriously private genius who eschews the mainstream - not like all those autotune fakers! (/s) this is what real music sounds like!!!!!!
well it sounds bad. so.
okay, okay, not really - this is aggressively fine. the white stripes are fine. it's just all varying degrees of fine. i just can't help but be irked by jack white's nasally couldn't-be-bothered voice and the crunchy guitars. it's cool they have a female drummer i guess? but this is the most 3/5 music i could imagine existing.
also, unrelated, but i just looked up jack white on Wikipedia, and as recently as 2022 he was moaning and groaning about the evils of video games like it was 1999. ("White thumbed his nose at the music games genre last year as well, decrying games as a way to introduce people to music.") dude, shut the fuck up and play some DDR and maybe you'll calm down. sorry, i just irrationally hate his old-soul luddite kids-these-days bullshit when he's one of the most successful and famous musicians of all time and got there in part to inclusion in mainstream culture (gasp!) and, yes, music games. ANYWAY!!!! the big songs are good. I liked Now Mary too. that's all.
Sigur Rós
5/5
This might be closer to a 4 for me, but I give out so few 5's that I'll round up. I love this album. I discovered Sigur Ros through The Life Aquatic (that scene can still make me tear up if I think about it for too long) and spent a lot of time with this album in my teens. It's great studying/focus music. Weird and vibey and gorgeous. Super glad to see it included on this list!
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
3/5
I liked this more than some of Neil Young's other stuff. No real significant feelings tho.
Nightmares On Wax
3/5
No strong feelings about this... it kind of disappeared into the background.
LTJ Bukem
3/5
Some of this would fit in pretty well on my playlist of droning electronic soundscapes that I use for studying, but it's not much fun to listen to on its own. Once again, not sure why this needed to be on here as as must-listen before I die. This is probably what the inside of your head sounds like *as* you're dying.
Miles Davis
3/5
this album had the misfortune of being featured during a week that had a lot of instrumental music. miles davis is clearly talented, but this dragged for me. i'm ready for some words.
Led Zeppelin
3/5
I actually liked this one more than I thought I would, but it's still 3 stars.
Red Hot Chili Peppers
3/5
I was prepared to hate this because I loathed the last album we had by the peps, but the singles on this are really solid. The back half was forgettable but a much better experience this time with the RHCPs.
Beastie Boys
2/5
stop YELLING at me!!!!!
in all seriousness - cool samples, but the screaming gates on you after, say, 2 songs? i like Sabotage as much as the next star trek fan but it seems the beastie boys are best enjoyed in very small doses.
Magazine
4/5
Pleasantly surprised by this one! Weird and funky and surprisingly listenable - I saw the "proto-punk" comments and got nervous, but I didn't find it that punky.
Garbage
5/5
absolutely loved this one and probably wouldn't have sought it out on my own. we need more nasty fucked up women making music please.
Led Zeppelin
4/5
I actually enjoyed this more than I thought, considering I groaned when I saw it generated yesterday morning. Immigrant Song is a high point. Unfortunately, it's at the very beginning of the album, which may have been a critical error because it's all downhill from there. I liked a few other songs, so this is probably closer to a 3.5, but I just can't bring myself to rate it a 4 when I didn't feel that strongly about it.
Common
3/5
Eh.
John Prine
4/5
This was nice! Good music and some fun lyrics.
Joe Ely
3/5
I had fun, but some of the songs were noticeably weaker than others. A quick energetic listen!
Cream
2/5
I found this annoying and try hard quirky.
The Smiths
3/5
i liked the big song on here! the rest was just okay.
Rufus Wainwright
3/5
I feel really conflicted on this one. This album had some beautiful and interesting moments - Gay Messiah and Old Whore's Diet are standouts for me - but god, I just can't handle his voice. The way he drags every single word out 2-3x longer than he needs to just grates on me.
This was an interesting trip down memory lane to the seemingly long gone world of baroque pop, and I did enjoy some songs, but others put me into a stupor. Probably closer to a 3.5. Rufus, I wanted to like you, I promise!!
Fatboy Slim
3/5
Decent enough for getting some work done. Definitely repetitive in a bad way at certain parts. I feel like some house/electronic artists don't know when to walk away from using the same sample over and over again.
Jeff Buckley
5/5
Gorgeous. More genre-spanning than I thought. Such talent lost so young :(
Fela Kuti
4/5
Like I say with all live albums, I bet this would've slapped if I was there. But I wasn't, so it could never be as cool or exciting as it would've been to a live attendee. However, this was pretty energetic and engaging as far as live albums go. I definitely liked the first half a lot better than the second half. It was impressive on a technical level, but not necessarily my first choice to listen to 15 minutes of only drums.
The Cars
4/5
This was a lot of fun. Banger after banger! Who knew! Super enjoyable, a nice lil surprise from 1001 albums.
Super Furry Animals
5/5
You know what? Fuck it, five stars. Genre-defying, expectation-breaking throwback weirdness. I even listened to this twice and checked out some of Super Furry Animals' other music, which I rarely do. Really fun! Everyone in the reviews is a wet blanket who wouldn't know fun if it slapped them across the face like a wet fish.
David Bowie
4/5
1001 albums has taught me that my bowie knowledge has a lot of gaps. this was another new one for me! really good and funky. i know david bowie was basically living on cocaine at this point and i don't want to encourage that but damn if this isn't a good album.
Snoop Dogg
4/5
Funny, smooth, funky, and yeah, often crass - look, you sometimes have to pick your battles with these albums. If you can Matrix dodge your way past all the bog-standard misogyny, you have a really fun album waiting for you.
The Police
4/5
Really liked this one! Lots of fun tracks.
Supergrass
4/5
one of the best discoveries from 1001 albums is how much i like supergrass.
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
5/5
loved it. new wave proto synth pop? sign me up! souvenir is 🫦🤌
Heaven 17
4/5
I really appreciated how funky and weird this one was, but not all of the music worked for me. Certain parts were really repetitive and annoying. But I enjoyed it overall.
TV On The Radio
2/5
this whole album sounded like the fake, intentionally crappy acapella versions of songs people make to not get copyright claimed on youtube when they're posting a tiktok
The Doors
2/5
more like the snores
The Police
3/5
I'm not sure I totally get The Police... I appreciate how strange and interesting some of these songs are, but they're not necessarily strange in a way that makes me want to listen to them again. Or, in some cases, continue listening. I'm sorry Richard! :<
The Darkness
4/5
I was so surprised to see this one on here! I don't know if my enjoyment was a 4, but I love something different and punchy and ridiculous being on this list. Definitely need to revisit this album more!
Travis
5/5
it comes as absolutely no surprise to me that the cadre of whiny dadrockers at the top of the reviews didn't like this one. sorry that music can occasionally just be simple and beautiful???? it's wild how so many stagnant, stuck-up rock fans consider this kind of music's existence a personal affront and get so upset that they start spluttering and stammering and spitting out the same weirdly homophobic arguments that have been levelled at any genre remotely soft or emotional, from emo to alt rock to electronica. i don't know how to tell you this, but sometimes men have nice voices and sing pretty songs. IT'S GOING TO BE OKAY!!!!
that being said - is this worthy of 1001 albums? debatable. but did i personally like it a whole lot? yes ❤️ yes i did!
The Stooges
2/5
it's times like these i have to remember my own mantra for 1001 albums: did i like it? set aside the historical significance and context and the foundation it laid for other genres and ask yourself if you liked it.
i did not. thus, 2 stars!
Siouxsie And The Banshees
3/5
I wish I liked this one more! The first half was cool and funky, but they lost in me in the second half.
Rush
3/5
This was alright. I'm not a big Rush person but this album was interesting enough that I didn't feel like it dragged, even with the 21 minute song. But no real strong feelings.
Jane's Addiction
3/5
While I think there are some unique features of this album that make it an interesting and even refreshing choice for this list, I wasn't super wowed. The songs that had more varied instrumentation were my favorites, but they got lost in the overall somewhat muddy sound.
Faith No More
4/5
This was a totally new band to me, and I was pleasantly surprised by how varied this album was. I felt like there were 5 or 6 different genres all happening at once. Definitely a breath of fresh air!
Gang Of Four
3/5
I don't think I like punk very much. I can see that a lot of people liked this album quite a lot and heard things I personally could not tease out of it and I am happy for them.
Leonard Cohen
4/5
What a talent! Absolutely insane that this album was released so close to his death. Rest in peace to a legend - I really enjoyed this one.
Derek & The Dominos
1/5
I mean Layla is pretty good but Eric Clapton is a despicable little worm so I didn't really feel compelled to listen to this entire thing or be fair and impartial. So.
Jacques Brel
4/5
This was a cool and unique listen, especially with the top comment on this site providing so much context! I liked listening to it, but I can't really see myself ever revisiting it.
Janet Jackson
4/5
Somehow I've made it this far in my life without really hearing any Janet Jackson. I don't know why that is - did she really drop off the cultural radar *that* hard after the Superbowl fiasco? Regardless - this was fun in that punchy, overproduced, hypersincere 80s way. All the people complaining that it sounds dated are missing the point - that's what makes it good and compelling! A nice surprise, and a rare treat to see a woman on the list again (lol. :| )
Germs
2/5
i'm sure this was formative and important for early punk. and i was very sorry to read about the tragic history behind this band's short-lived career. but i did not like it.
5/5
there's a lot of things you can say about muse, especially if you're feeling uncharitable. that they're stadium rock; their lyrics are facile and immature; they're so slickly produced that it's sanded the edges right off their sound; they have a stock Muse (TM) sound that they've been copy-pasting for 15+ years now. i don't necessarily disagree, but goddamn is that sound *good*, especially here, when it emerged for the first time.
on a list with so much indistinguishable sludgy brit pop/rock, this glossy, bombastic, ridiculous staple of mid-aughties alt rock is a welcome breath of fresh air. it's just such a fun album. it sounds like space lasers and flying by the moon at hyper speed. let yourself be as earnest as their lyrics ask you to be and enjoy the ride!
Nas
4/5
very enjoyable!
Khaled
4/5
this was a surprise! a mix of so many different genres and styles and even languages. i really enjoyed it!
Fred Neil
4/5
I actually thought this was very nice to listen to, and that surprise 10 minute funky track at the end was really cool! No real standouts for me personally (I guess some people really like a song that played during the Sopranos?) but I enjoyed my time with Mr. Neil.
Siouxsie And The Banshees
3/5
I think I like the music that this inspired better than this actual music. Love to see a deranged woman (said affectionately) screeching into a mic and just going nuts but it wasn't actually that pleasant to listen to. Alas! The Helter Skelter cover was pretty cool, though.
Stan Getz
4/5
this is one of those albums where I can't really see myself seeking it out again, but I enjoyed the time I spent with it. super chill, super vibey.
David Bowie
3/5
1001 albums is making me consider something unexamined about my music tastes... do i just not like david bowie very much? this is a very strange thing to discover about yourself in your third decade of life. i have always been Someone Who Likes David Bowie. ziggy stardust is a masterpiece! his singles and big songs are incredible! so why am i so unenthusiastic about all these albums? i don't know, but i wasn't vibing with this one.
1001 albums being what it is, i think i still have a few more albums of his to try out, but i do not like this new frontier of doubt!!
Can
2/5
i'm sure this influenced someone. it only influenced me to turn it off.
actually, no, the first half of the album was okay - kind of vibey and not unpleasant to listen to, though nothing i'd seek out on my own. but by the time we got to the back half when the songs were longer than a sitcom episode and tonally directionless, i started to get mad. why is this on here?
Beastie Boys
4/5
i wasn't a big fan of the last beastie boys album we listened to - i thought the novelty wore off very quickly and felt fatigued by their collective yelling - but i actually liked this one! musically diverse and full of surprising choices. i especially liked the instrumentals, which maybe sounds insulting, but it isn't meant to be. i just thought they were an interesting and enjoyable choice :)
Van Morrison
3/5
i've said it before and i'll say it again: live albums are the purview of superfans!!! stop putting them on lists for the general public!
apparently van morrison is also a real piece of shit, so that's another strike. i gave this what i thought was a reasonable chance - i listened to 1 full album. it was extremely fine. and that was enough.
Radiohead
5/5
I was so excited to get this one! This was a big album for my teenage self - I can still remember the morning before the bell rang in high school where my friends and I breathlessly discussed the new Radiohead album that you could pay whatever you wanted for!
Not every song is a perfect 5, but the album absolutely is. I was actually really surprised to see so many people complaining that everything sounded the same - Nude and All I Need are superficially similar slow songs, but 15 Step versus Jigsaw Falling Into Place? Totally different! There's a lot of variety here and a lot interesting things apparently happening on a music theory level that flew right over my head, but you don't need to understand time signatures to appreciate how cool some of these songs sound.
Billy Joel
5/5
i guess some people consider billy joel to be unpalatably cheesy, but i really loved this. banger after banger. a new addition to the 5 club!
The Rolling Stones
2/5
welp, that sure was the soundtrack for my midday zone out... EXCEPT for whatever the hell was going on with that 11 minute song. stop it. get some help.
The Byrds
3/5
no strong thoughts.
Barry Adamson
4/5
this one was really strange, with some truly bizarre cameos (atticus ross???). i laughed at the review that called it "a soundtrack for a movie that doesn't exist." true! while i didn't love all of it, and i can't really see myself regularly listening to it - especially the really bizarre spoke word tracks - it was certainly fresh and different, which i appreciated.
Fleetwood Mac
5/5
wow, so many songs on here i recognized but had no idea were fleetwood mac. this is a well-earned top 5 album. just really good from start to finish, not to mention the clusterfuck that was going on behind the scenes. amazing! glad i finally listened to it.
The Velvet Underground
3/5
pale blue eyes goes off but otherwise zzzzzzz
Skunk Anansie
5/5
wow! really really liked this one. something different and super funky. a joy to listen to!
Ravi Shankar
3/5
i mean, this guy whips ass at the sitar. this cannot be denied.
Suicide
2/5
don't waste my time, man.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
4/5
admittedly not my typical music, and not something i see revisiting on my own very much, but - i mean, it's a classic. rip.
Neil Young
3/5
i'm sorry mr. young! i know you're a beloved songwriter. it's just not hitting for me for some reason!
Cat Stevens
4/5
Lovely!
MC Solaar
4/5
totally unexpected but fun to listen to. that flow! my rusty 11th grade french alerted me to a handful of funny wordplay moments - i assume there are many more. i liked it!
Marty Robbins
5/5
what a delight. like everyone else, i knew Big Iron from FONV, and while that's still my favorite on the record, there are tons of other gems here. what a voice! what storytelling! just very immersive, very fun music. yay!
Wu-Tang Clan
3/5
it was good - good flow, enjoyable beats. a little long. i was weary of it by the end.
Dire Straits
3/5
No strong feelings on this one.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
4/5
The last Yeah x3 album we had was weirdly a miss for me. I was pretty disappointed (I'd always liked their big songs!), so I was happy to see them get another chance. I liked this one a lot more - no real standouts beyond Heads Will Roll for me personally, but solidly good all the way through. Always a pleasant surprise to see a band with a woman in it on the list (smiling through tears).
Marvin Gaye
4/5
Morrissey
4/5
it's a shame about who morrissey is as a person because this unfortunately kind of slapped.
The Mamas & The Papas
4/5
reminds me of growing up and hearing my mom play The Mamas & The Papas on the stereo while she was mopping <3 i really liked it!
Beck
3/5
man, i really wanted to like this one more! i think i prefer a jazzier beck. i was excited to see this one but it was just okay to me.
Aretha Franklin
4/5
this didn't have a lot of standout moments for me (besides Respect) but i did enjoy it!
The Roots
3/5
i enjoyed it, but no real standouts.
The Byrds
3/5
another byrds album?? why??
Louis Prima
3/5
i mean, this is certainly something i wouldn't've found on my own were it not for 1001 albums. everything made sense when i found out this was the monkey king from jungle book. but did i like it? did i truly enjoy it? eh. eh!!!!
The Beach Boys
5/5
just wonderful.
Moby
4/5
i kind of resent the fact that i enjoyed this because moby seems to be like a miserable little dude who uses his ~tortured artist~ persona to be a womanizing creep who keeps bad company.
4/5
🎶la la, la la la, la la la la la la la la🎶
Pulp
4/5
wow, pulp one day after blur? it's a brit pop bonanza! i knew a few songs from this album already but i really enjoyed it. i know 1001 albums gets a lot of rightful critique for being very 90s brit band heavy but it's actually warranted in this case. rip deborah <3
Black Sabbath
3/5
felt appropriate spooky for halloween season. probably closer to a 3.5 but i can't do half stars.
Frank Ocean
5/5
wow - i'd heard about frank ocean from other people, but never looked into him. i was aware that this was an acclaimed album, but i didn't expect to like it so much. beautiful and melodic, and really unique to my ears. i loved it!
also, some of these reviews are breathtakingly racist. i'm talking to you, second-most-upvoted review. *this* is the downfall of society? really? this gentle, mournful r&b album? get your head out of your ass, jesus christ.
Django Django
5/5
omg, i loved this. amazing production, incredibly catchy bops. i'll agree that maybe it's not "essential" listening but this is exactly the kind of 2010s indie rock that lights up all the pleasure centers of my brain.
KISS
3/5
this was just alright to me. i expected it to be more of a wacky fun rockin' time, but the album cover made promises that the album itself didn't deliver.
Hot Chip
3/5
after i put my CD of The Warning through its paces on iTunes almost 20 years ago, i remember being pretty disappointed by Made In the Dark. i always wondered if my teenage self was being unfair, but i think she actually made some cogent points - Hot Chip is much better at their fastest & punchiest to me. the cracks start to show on the slow tracks and the ballads. the same falsetto that sounds so zippy on the real bangers turns treacly and put-upon whenever the tempo slows down. unfortunately, this album has all the same problems as Made in the Dark. it's possible i just want hot chip to be something they're not, and this is how they always intended to sound. maybe The Warning was a fluke. i don't know! this is still a good album, but it would've been a great one with more tracks like Careful and Boy From School. let the indie darlings more suited to it handle the chill dreampop and hazy ballads. i want some chiptune roof-raisers!!
Tears For Fears
4/5
the big songs on here are unimpeachable. actually almost perfect. but the connective tissue just isn't there. i enjoyed this album, and i'm glad i listened to it, but i don't see myself playing anything but the heavy hitters in the future.
Dr. Dre
2/5
okay, i have to ask - what is up with the skits in old school rap? was this a thing that i just wasn't familiar with? i hate them lol. i really don't like when albums have talky bits regardless, so i promise this isn't just a critique of rap. i just want to listen to music without some sort of embarrassing bit happening every 7 minutes 😩
also, is it crazy if i thought there just wasn't a lot going on here? i knew nuthing but a g thang but i wasn't impressed by the flow or the rhymes of many of the other songs. i feel like a lot of songs were padded out with "hell yeahs" in a way that made them feel unfinished/like placeholders. snoop dogg was working overtime popping up in what felt like every single song here which made me laugh too, lol. every time i turned my head snoop was there again.
also, not to sound like a pearl-clutching prude, but why so many songs about balls?? they should be seen and not heard. enough about the balls. stop talking about balls!!
Charles Mingus
3/5
i'm not going to sit here and pretend like mr. mingus isn't extremely talented. this is clearly an expert musician with a well-honed craft. but once again we must return to how i personally felt about it. it felt like i was being chased by the physical manifestation of anxiety through a haunted forest. 40 minutes of stress. if that was the intention, he succeeded wildly. but for lil ol' me just trying to do my Spreadsheet Job, it was unpleasant.
i did like the spanish guitar tho.
Taylor Swift
4/5
i have an interesting relationship with taylor swift. like many people, i don't think i totally "get" taylormania and the swifties. but i also rankle at what i see as unfair criticisms of her music just because she's 1) arguably the most famous musician (person?) in the world, 2) a woman, and crucially, 3) a woman with a checkered dating history ripe for dissecting. she's so popular that it's almost meaningless to say you're a fan - who isn't? but it's also fashionable to hate her with a virulence i can't help but see as misogynistic. it's a weird intersection of big feelings.
but it's more simple for me - i like taylor swift. i previously considered her a guilty pleasure (is 1989 on here? if not, it should be), but honestly, this album is what made me reconsider just how guilty i should feel. i'd listened to about half of it on my own during the pandemic and remembered thinking, "this is taylor swift? *this* is taylor swift?" the stripped down and folksy sound was such a departure from her frankly kind of embarrassing Baddie Era. it was a breath of fresh air.
like the rest of her catalogue and public presence, a lot of this is album and sound is very carefully constructed, right down to the messy "look how much of a normal girl i am" braid on the album cover. i recognize and can see the artifice. and yet, that doesn't make it bad. this was a very deliberate reinvention and it works for me. there's nothing groundbreaking in these songs, but they're more mature and elevated in a way i hope we continue to see from her. some great features, too - no body no crime is a standout.
overall: good album, not great, and let's all calm down and be normal.
Tricky
3/5
hm, interesting. this is certainly a unique album. it's refreshing to get something that's such a departure from the glut of brit pop/rock. i really liked the clean female vocals here and some of the more approachable songs. but i think it was ultimately just a little bit Out There for me. i was really strugglin' to get through strugglin' in particular. still, i think this is an interesting and worthy addition to the list and i'm glad i listened to it.
Simon & Garfunkel
3/5
is it just me or was this kind of a nothing album? aside from mrs. robinson, i wasn't really bowled over by anything else on here. i did appreciate that it was a tight sub-30 min album though. idk! am i just a hater?
Foo Fighters
3/5
i feel like we had a strong start and it just fell apart. it was so sludgy and samey. are there any other foo fighters albums on the list or was this the best we could come up with?
The Prodigy
4/5
I actually quite liked this one??? Great trancey music for zoning out and daydreaming.
4/5
i don't think i really cared for the last PJ Harvey album we had on here, but i quite liked this one. mellow, occasionally a little meandering in that new age early 2000s singer-songwriter way, but a nice solid record. really great thom yorke feature on here too, he fits right into this sound!
The Vines
3/5
grungy, sludgy, samey. doesn't feel essential. sometimes okay to listen to. other times profoundly ugly. idk.
David Bowie
3/5
once again i am spiralling into existential despair over apparently not really liking david bowie all that much?? this was fine. there were some cool moments. there were also some screeching and discordant ones. i don't KNOW, i can't do this much soul-searching anymore!!!
Pink Floyd
4/5
4 stars for wish you were here the song, flawless, no notes. the rest was aight
Blue Cheer
2/5
this is one of those albums that allegedly helped usher in an important genre, but the artifact itself is so underwhelming and even sometimes bad that i'm just like ugh. UGH. BLERG.
The Pogues
4/5
i went into this without any prior knowledge and got the shock of my life listening to that opening track. i initially thought, "what the fuck?" but by track 2, i was jammin and boppin my head. this isn't the kind of music i'll reach for on my own, but i enjoyed my time with it!
Sisters Of Mercy
5/5
i don't know if this always pops up on halloween or if we just got lucky, but this was the perfect goth & spooky album for the day! i was only familiar with the corrosion, which slaps, and while some of the songs are a little long, i really enjoyed them all. 5/5 spooky ghosts!!
Elton John
3/5
eh. no real strong feelings. unfortunately the big song was right at the beginning, and you know how that goes!
Stevie Wonder
4/5
i was a little worried because the first track or two didn't really click for me, but after that, this was a great album! funky and energetic. a lot to enjoy.
Spiritualized
5/5
i don't think this is an album that is going to be for everyone, and i don't know how "essential" it is to listen to, but i really enjoyed it, especially for background music while i worked.
Girls Against Boys
3/5
i was a lot more enthusiastic for this album when I thought it was going to be a riot grrl anthem. what do you mean this is all dudes????
stolen valor aside, this is... fine. really didn't speak to me in any significant way, but didn't piss me off enough for a 2.
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
2/5
johnny bravo starts a garage rock band. all their shows start at 3 AM and they live right next door to me. i am carried out of my home on a stretcher.
David Bowie
3/5
ok the universe must be listening because i swear i had JUST finished one of my "why don't i like david bowie more" rants last week... and then i got another bowie album. it's just not hitting, y'all. i don't get it! 😭
Parliament
4/5
funky, groovy, fabulous! i really enjoyed this one.
New Order
4/5
really liked this one, even if it was mildly disappointing that it wasn't the album with blue monday. you can really see how synth pop developed from here.
Grateful Dead
1/5
if i wanted to listen to live drunk tuneless yodeling for an hour and fifteen minutes, i'd just walk down 6th street at 2 AM.
this is both offensively long and unbelievably meandering and dull for being "handpicked." if i think too long about how many live albums are in this damn book i get legitimately hot and sweaty with rage. say it with me: LIVE. ALBUMS. ARE. THE. PURVIEW. OF. SUPERFANS. why is a member of the average public having this forced upon them? i can think of no more unwilling audience for a live album than anyone but their fans. especially not this rambling incoherent sensory nightmare that felt like it lasted 45 years.
Johnny Cash
5/5
after the miserable failure of the previous day's live album, gosh, what a breath of fresh air this was! finally a live album that earns its right on this list. funny, energetic, effortless in that old timey country kinda way. it gave me goosebumps to hear the prisoners cheer. it also made me think about how despite having general cultural knowledge of johnny cash's prison concerts, i never considered how that might mean for his own personal views on criminal justice and prison abolition. what a guy. what an album! truly loved this one.
Pink Floyd
5/5
shocking but true: yeah, okay, this was extremely good.
Bill Evans Trio
3/5
this would've been nice to listen to in a coffee bar or museum gift shop. i'm sure there's some really amazing musical stuff happening here, but it just didn't really grab me beyond pleasant background music.
Portishead
4/5
moody, vibey, broody, beautiful. i really loved this! i've always been meaning to listen to portishead, so i'm glad i finally had a no-skip opportunity. i thought it got a little samey after a while but still, a great entry on this list. always refreshing to see a woman, too 🥲
Dinosaur Jr.
3/5
I can see how foundational this was for 90s lo-fi, indie, and maybe even proto-emo, but eugh. I just really don't like sludgy, ugly music like this. there were actually a few points in some of the songs i quite liked, but they were soon buried under either a wall of discordant fuzz or wailing. also i kind of think maybe you should have a good voice to be the lead singer of a band...? crazy but true? IDK!!!
Sonic Youth
3/5
ok. whatever
Sufjan Stevens
5/5
sprawling, ambitious, gorgeous - so excited to see some sufjan stevens on here. aside from being basically the only christian i respect, he's an immensely talented musician, and while parts of this album feel a little dated to me (unclear if that's due to my own obsessive listening/relistening in high school, or a general early aughts indie sound), it's still an incredible work that eclipses anything else that was happening in the genre at the time. my personal pick of his for this list would be Carrie & Lowell, but i can also see why this would be chosen for how important it was to the time. maybe we can have both in later editions???
Oasis
4/5
by all accounts the oasis brothers seem to be nasty little fuckers, but yeah, this was a good album. not great, and not groundbreaking, and actually, i can't really put my finger on why i liked it so much when i really think about it. but a 4 star album nonetheless!
The Icarus Line
2/5
the wikipedia page had a lot of information about how buried this album was by its label and i kind of understand why... oops! sorry, not for me!
Pearl Jam
4/5
this surprised me - I came into it expecting to rate it somewhat low, but overall I liked it more than I thought. a 3.5 rounded up, Points deducted for overall churning sludgeyness, but I realize that's probably the appeal for others.
Wilco
4/5
i liked this! i've been meaning to listen to wilco for a long time and i'm glad i finally did. a different sound than i was expecting, and not everything was a banger, but enjoyable overall.
Cocteau Twins
5/5
WOW. i had no idea what to expect and this blew my socks clean off and into smithereens. trippy, vibey, shades of a sound i recognize (years later) as very similar to beach house (who i love). super super glad this was on here and i got a chance to listen to it.
U2
3/5
ok.... anyway.....
this was fine. very fine. i'm not bothered by Bono's voice like a lot of people but i just wasn't really wowed by anything. extremely background music.
Leonard Cohen
3/5
we've had some leonard cohen i really liked, but this was just okay. sorry lenny. no strong thoughts.
George Michael
4/5
well "freedom" is a five star track, easy. i just wish the rest of the album sounded like it! there are a lot of ballads on here, which might be his specialty, but i grew tired of them very quickly. a lot of very long songs too. idk george! i respect it but i don't know if i like it, you know?
Frank Sinatra
4/5
smooth, easy listening. okay frankie, i see you.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
2/5
wow, what an absolute slog. i certainly felt ragged after listening to it.
The Zombies
4/5
this was a fun surprise - even moreso when i realized that the zombies weren't a band of women with deep voices, lol. enjoyable weird psychedelic vibes!
Ella Fitzgerald
4/5
I'm going to be so real with you, I only listened to the first disc in this one. There is no musical artist I want to listen to for three straight hours. However, I did like what I heard! Maybe I'll check out some of the others someday. Probably not, but wouldn't that be nice.
Count Basie & His Orchestra
4/5
A funky backtrack to my working day. Not too much more to say about it than that.
4/5
I mean... it's the bloody bee'ols! How could you not like it? Not as chock-full of bangers as I remembered/expected, but still a solid album with a lot of hits that paved the way for many concept albums after it. When I'm 64 is slept on, what a banger! There are a few duds in the middle but overall, hell yeah sergeant peepers.
Leonard Cohen
3/5
"Avalanche" is an easy 5/5, but the problem is that every other song just sounds like a sort of bad version of it. leonard!!! cmon!!
The Verve
3/5
this started off hot with Bittersweet Symphony, which i unironically love and think absolutely deserves the hype. unfortunately, it was all downhill from there into Diet U2. i was mostly enjoying the first half of the album, but once i crossed into the second half and still had 45 minutes left, i started to lose patience. most of these songs are twice as long as they need to be and nowhere near interesting enough to justify that length. it wasn't actively offensive, i was just bored.
John Lennon
3/5
sure was an album
Marvin Gaye
4/5
wish i could've had a sultrier environment to listen to this in than my sterile office. ok marvin i see what you're talking about.
Black Sabbath
4/5
not my usual kind of music, but i actually quite liked it. not too much else to say as i listened to it over a week ago but forgot to type out my thoughts... oops!
Bob Marley & The Wailers
4/5
i liked this one better than the other bob marley album we had on here! no woman no cry!
The Divine Comedy
2/5
maybe i'm missing something but i found this quite corny and overdone. is it supposed to be like that?
The Young Rascals
3/5
"we have the beatles at home!"
the beatles at home:
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
2/5
Christ, that was a slog.
Paul Weller
3/5
so generic and dull but not actively offensive, so three it is. i actually thought this sounded much older than the 90s in a bad way - dated and dull and zzzzzz. the top review calls this "Dentist Rock" which i found both very funny and accurate.
Wire
3/5
good for them but unfortunately i just don't like punk music
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
2/5
okay, look - i'm glad that music like this exists. i am heartened that we live in a world where anyone can make whatever kind of art they want, especially art that pushes the boundaries of good taste or enjoyment. this was clearly a very special and influential record for a lot of artists.
but i think there's a different between acknowledging the influence something had and having to listen to it. i did not enjoy this at all. overstimulating, toneless, jumbled, weird for weird's sake. it never coalesced for me the way others have said. it was a struggle enough to just finish it. how did it sound like a band warming up, a 12 year old at guitar center, and squidward playing his clarinet all at once? a musical headache. a sonic nightmare. that's probably the point. i feel obligated to give this 2 stars, both by all the glowing reviews and my own personal habit of saving my 1 stars for rapists and criminals, but man. there was no enjoyment to be found here. i'm sorry, i have to be honest!
Lupe Fiasco
4/5
wow, what a nice surprise. i'd heard lupe fiasco's name before and maybe heard a song or two on the radio, so i came into this pretty green. it was great! a really enjoyable album - i love kick, push and daydreaming!
The Incredible String Band
3/5
how does this have one of the lowest ratings on the site? at worst, this is the kind of quirky, slightly amateurish-sounding music that would be playing from someone's handmade candle tent at the ren faire. i didn't love it and don't see myself reaching for it in the future, but for god's sake, it's nowhere near the worst of the worst! y'all are ridiculous!
Deee-Lite
4/5
y'all are a bunch of haters, this album is fun 😭😭
Talking Heads
4/5
some talking heads songs are annoying to me because they feel so weird for weird's sake that it's not a pleasant sonic experience. but i gotta love that they go for it anyway.
Suzanne Vega
4/5
this was nice but not earth-shattering. probably closer to a 3.5 to me but what the hell, i'll bump it up to a 4 because ladies are doing it for themselves.
Solange
3/5
finally trying out solange! i liked this but didn't love it, and i thought the beginning was stronger than the second half. i'm baffled by the 1-star reviews, though - at worst, this is inoffensively chill r&b. i like solange's more delicate voice compared to beyonce's belting. but not a lot of standout faves from here. easy to listen to, though.
Donovan
3/5
ok... anyway..,.
Justice
5/5
i love revisiting an album from 10+ years ago and finding it just as good as i remembered. man, i loved this album when it came out and i loved listening to it now. so energetic and buzzy and relentless and FUNKY. the best songs are the ones that incorporate funk samples. i was a little disheartened to check out their next album and find it much more mellow - imo, justice is at their best when their music sounds like a luxury car commercial (said as a compliment).
this rules. shout out to french people.
Barry Adamson
3/5
i have to give credit where it's due - this is a cool idea! it's not always fun to listen to, though. have you ever tried listening to a movie soundtrack and gotten to all the ugly bits that play during fight scenes and thought "eugh, i only really wanted to listen to the big emotional track, actually" - because that's what this album is to me. a little *too* much realism lol. the parts with the sax were far and away the best.
very creative, love the initiative, probably not something i'll listen to again.
Madonna
3/5
this was an interesting one! not at all a sound i associate with madonna, so that was a fun. i've only really known her as a performer versus a singer, but she has some really delicate, beautiful vocals here.
it's not totally my favorite kind of sound, but it was an interesting listen. ray of light is a platinum 5/5 to me. it's just so wonderfully late 90s/early aughts.
Daft Punk
3/5
is it just me or is this kinda mid? i guess this was one of those situations where they were literally pioneering the genre so it doesn't sound like we expect it to on a revisit, but ugh. this was a chore.
Dead Kennedys
4/5
I was fully prepared to not like this at all - I am no lover of punk music - but I had fun listening to it! Incorrigibly cheeky and much more musically varied than I thought. Probably not one I'll reach for in the future, but I had a good time listening to it.
The Notorious B.I.G.
3/5
we were doing so well until the slurping.
Prince
3/5
not sure how to feel about this one tbh. it was funky and fun but LONG. it really dragged for me. wrap up it prince
Gary Numan
4/5
da-da-da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da. da-da-da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da.
da-dum da-dum, da-dum da-dum.
da-da-da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da. da-da-da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da.
Beach House
5/5
beach house ❤️❤️❤️ i was so excited to see this one on here, even if it wouldn't be my personal pick of theirs (DEVOTION, anyone?). perfect dreampop. yeah it kind of all sounds the same but that sound is SO good!
Run-D.M.C.
4/5
the songs got a little grating by the end of it but enjoyable overall, it scratches some part of my brain to hear them trade off words when they rap.
Throbbing Gristle
2/5
you know, i actually thought i'd dislike this more based on the overall review score. i'm not saying i *liked* it, but that one crazy german industrial album that sounded like a marching band falling down an up escalator was way more unpleasant.
i will agree that this doesn't feel very industrial to me... just strange, ambient, and droney. and it even has a good song in the middle of it? baffling, which is probably the point. i'd probably give this a 2.5 if i could but my threshold for 3 stars is "would i mind if this was played for me a second time?" and the answer is yeah, i'd probably switch the album.
Steve Winwood
3/5
no strong feelings
The Flying Burrito Brothers
4/5
while i wish this album was as bombastic and exciting as the album/band name implied, it was still nice! extremely weird and almost impossible to think of a world before this kind of music existed. like i can't make my brain do it. had a fun time jamming though!
Silver Jews
3/5
i didn't actually *mind* this - i'm a Bright Eyes fan, so this particular kind of tuneless singing isn't an automatic no for me. but i didn't find much about it that warranted inclusion into this list. very sad story about the lead singer though.
Abdullah Ibrahim
3/5
well this was mostly pleasant. the history is interesting. i preferred the more straightforward jazz to the abstract last track, which i struggled not to turn off before it was over.
Peter Gabriel
3/5
man, i wish i heard what everyone else did! this felt a bit corny to me. some very cool features, though. maybe i need to give it another try.
Sade
3/5
smooth and enjoyable but no strong thoughts!
Neil Young
3/5
at least this one had the big song on it!
Kings of Leon
3/5
kings of leon are the epitome of 3/5 to me. at least this one was better than the last album, which was Bad. this was fine. sex on fire is fine. use somebody is fine. it's FINE!!
Elis Regina
5/5
what a wonderful surprise! breezy, jazzy, joyful - idk what was going on, but i really enjoyed it. the album dragged a little for me/felt a wee bit long, but finding out it was a compilation makes that make sense. i wish more of the random album generations were like this one - couldn't be further from generic brit rock/pop, and something i never would've sought on my own. delightful!
Mj Cole
2/5
okay, this is clearly well-produced and intricate and blending a lot of genres, and maybe it's because i listened to it on a long flight, but this to me was elevator music from hell. droning, repetitive, slick to the point of feeling like nothing. it simply wasn't for me luvs
Dolly Parton
4/5
well wasn't this nice! not one but THREE women on this list... a true rarity. this was really enjoyable and didn't overstay its welcome. dolly's always welcome on my album of the day!
The Cure
3/5
probably more of a 3.5/5, but it wasn't *that* enjoyable... very spooky and cool though, especially for a very rainy and overcast day. that first song is a banger! the others... eh.
Haircut 100
4/5
totally unexpected and funky fresh
Tim Buckley
3/5
um... anyway...
Jerry Lee Lewis
1/5
this is a banger. he's a rapist pedophile. both things can be true, but one trumps the other. more like jerry lee SPEW-is
Tori Amos
4/5
this was how i imagined all music by cool, mysterious, older women would sound when i was about 8 years old. this is not a bad thing.
Gene Clark
3/5
this was pleasant enough but really dragged and wore thin for me about halfway through.
Peter Frampton
3/5
i bet this whips ass if you're a framphead, but to me, it's just another mid live album
Paul Simon
3/5
ok then
Sugar
3/5
very meh to me. corporate grunge sound. why did it sound like Brown Eyed Girl in a different font.
Orange Juice
4/5
i was pleasantly surprised by this one! i focused too hard on the "punk" in the "post punk" (which apparently is the world's broadest genre??) and actually quite liked what i found here. fun and funky. the best songs were saxy!
The White Stripes
3/5
the white stripes are fine. they're FINE. this album is doing a good job of what it's trying to do, but what it's trying to do is just fine to me. very cohesive vision and execution but extremely a three for me.
Fela Kuti
4/5
definitely recommend reading the wikipedia page as you listen - whoa, what a harrowing story. not my usual type of music but very energetic and politically charged. i enjoyed my time with it.
Eurythmics
5/5
hell yes. rounding up to a 5 - there were a few songs that dragged for me but overall, a very enjoyable treat of a listen!
Cypress Hill
4/5
much funkier than i was expecting. i did catch at least one f-slur so i don't love that, but i had fun with this one.
Massive Attack
4/5
unfortunately, none of these tracks ascend to "Teardrop" levels, but that would probably be just too big of an ask. I did enjoy my time with this, though. very different, very smooth, like a nitro cold brew.
Aimee Mann
4/5
soooooo 90s singersongwriter in the best way. haters are misogynists.
Nirvana
4/5
local woman bravely announces that she likes this album
Jimmy Smith
3/5
jazzy and pleasant, but no strong feelings
4/5
wow. that was like a trail mix of genres. every song, you got something different. not all of them worked 100%, but what a fun ~journey~ all the same.
Jean-Michel Jarre
3/5
i bet this would've blown peoples domes off 50 years ago. to me it sounds like garage band
Roni Size
2/5
every song was at 2 or 3x longer than it needed to be. i get this was probably foundational but it sounded like a root canal. i feel like as a society we've moved away from this super repetitive droning stuff and i'm not mad about it.
The Killers
5/5
it's hard to think of an album with a stronger first half than this one. unfortunately, the second half doesn't quite rise to meet it, but it's such an unprecedented slew of heavy-hitters at the start that i don't even really care. perfect time capsule of the early 2000s with a charmingly sleazy sound. mr brightside still hits every time, imo.
Sepultura
4/5
what a crazy combination of genres. i really enjoyed it even though i don't normally like guttural metal screaming. more of this kind of stuff rather than endless britpop please!!
Butthole Surfers
2/5
well, it finally happened. this isn't the worst album on here and i'm not about to act like it is, but let's just say it's not my favorite. there's a staggering breadth of... stuff happening on here. i don't like most of it, but i have to respect that they went for it. they're also from my alma mater, so......? *weak fistbump to the sky*
Leonard Cohen
3/5
i saw someone in the reviews say this is an album for people who value lyrics above all else, which makes sense, because the music sounds like it was made on garageband. the titular song is still a banger though.
Baaba Maal
4/5
i lowkey think a lot of these reviewers are racist. sorry you had your worldview slightly expanded for an hour?
this was cool! enjoyable vibes, even if it felt a little long. i loved the marimba. probably more of a 3.5 but what the hell, take the 4.
Brian Eno
3/5
i can see how this would be foundational/earth-shattering but it wasn't all that enjoyable for me personally to listen to :{
Shack
5/5
i generated this album after a day of catching up on several albums i'd missed, so i was predisposed to not like it (even *more* music homework?). when i saw the album cover, i assumed it would be sea shanties, and i was even less enthused. but then i listened to it and it blew me away. i'm writing this without looking at the reviews or the wikipedia page, so i don't know what the story is or what genre you would even call this. but it was a joy to listen to. beautiful harmonies. a total surprise!
The Style Council
3/5
wow, this was sure a variety pack of genres. we've had kind of a kick of that this week. the rapping didn't work for me, but i liked the other stuff just fine.
Arcade Fire
5/5
this isn't arcade fire's best-written, best-produced, or best-sounding album. it doesn't have their best songs on it. it even sounds a little dated to my 2025 ears - but that's only because *so* much of indie rock scrambled to emulate them in the wake (ha) of funeral. it's hard to appreciate how good it is because everything sounded like this for a while, but i remember this blowing my mind back in the aughts and staying up late waiting for neon bible to drop. the delivery of "take it from your heart, put it in your hand" still makes me misty-eyed.
it's really a shame win butler showed his ass with what a prick he is. i try not to think about that for these early albums, but unfortunately, as this list proves over and over again, terrible people can make great art.
The Divine Comedy
4/5
I didn't like the last Divine Comedy album because I thought it was too cheesy, but this one just worked for me for some reason. SO ridiculous and over-the-top, I had 2 laff. 4 stars innit
Christina Aguilera
3/5
i'm writing this before looking at the reviews, but i can only assume they're abysmal because this album is 1) by a woman and 2) mainstream top 40 pop. it sucks that a lot of people probably built those walls of bias before they even pressed play.
all that being said, i didn't find this to be a terribly noteworthy album. christina is an incredible vocalist (seriously, if you're reading this in 2025, looking up the video of her dueting current pop darling Sabrina Carpenter. sabrina has a good voice, but next to christina? it's just night and day), but i didn't find a ton of stuff to dig into here beyond the vocal performance. i'm curious if there's more history to this album that makes it noteworthy. it's also incredibly long, and the novelty wears thin. still, i found it largely listenable. idk!
Bee Gees
2/5
A pre-disco Bee Gee's is like an untoasted sandwich :(
Television
3/5
everyone in the top reviews must be hearing something i'm not, because this was just... fine to me. a lot of songs that dragged on way too long. i wish i liked it as much as some of these other people!!
Maxwell
3/5
so smooth that there was nothing to it. not offensive but just... nothing memorable about it.
Bonnie Raitt
2/5
?! this was a triumphant return to form? no, this was jc penny dressing room music.
The Psychedelic Furs
2/5
how is "love my way" the perfect balance of fun and scary sleaze and this is SO dull? ugh
Cocteau Twins
4/5
i liked the other album we had by the cockatoo twins more, but this one was still pleasantly vibey, mysterious, water level-coded
Stephen Stills
3/5
well this was a whole lot of Alright
The Zutons
3/5
i found this kind of annoying and unimportant
Big Black
2/5
was this recorded on a microwave
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
3/5
i honestly avoided this one for a few days because i was intimidated by the length, but i liked it more than i thought. admittedly a bit repetitive, and not my usual fare, but it wasn't bad as a work soundtrack.
Sabu
2/5
i would've liked this a lot more with less repetition and more guitar. it just wasn't for me!
Bert Jansch
3/5
inoffensive and mostly pleasant. just wasn't anything special to me!
Todd Rundgren
3/5
this is difficult to rate because i was genuinely impressed by the variety/depth of the songs here, but it was sooooo long. easily 45 minutes too long. every time i looked hopefully at the track list, i swear it got longer. also "slut" is mean-spirited and shitty.
Le Tigre
4/5
this is probably not something i'll revisit often (besides the first song, which I really liked) but i do think this is a genuinely important addition to the list. always great to see more women on here and this genre in particular is underrepresented.
to the guy who left the most misogynistic 1-star review calling it "histrionic screeching" - i'm going to egg your house.
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
4/5
you know what. i have to hand it to them, this was unlike anything else I've heard on the list and gave me a giggle or two. i have to respect it.
The Crusaders
4/5
this was very chill and pleasant. i enjoyed it!
Pere Ubu
2/5
ugly sludgy screeching, sigh
Mudhoney
3/5
ok. anyway
The Velvet Underground
2/5
>:(
Bebel Gilberto
5/5
i actually loved this. breezy, pleasant, beautiful - continuing my surprising tradition of really liking samba on this list!
George Jones
4/5
short and sweet! i do love old/classic country... feels like this would be right at home in a bar with a jukebox.
3/5
i'm a notorious hater of Weird for Weird's sake music and have 1 or 2 starred many other noisy, colloquially "bad" sounding albums on this list. so why did i actually kind of enjoy this one?? i have no idea. honestly, my biggest complaint is that 1001 albums picked this album instead of the better-known Drum's Not Dead, which i remember passing around my very pretentious friend group in high school. there are actually a few listenable tracks on that one!
this wasn't, like... good, per se, but it tapped into the part of my brain that likes droney repetitive music and repeating/overlaid vocals. i felt like i traveled to a cave in the middle of the woods and witnessed a ritual i shouldn't have seen. 3 stars?
The Specials
4/5
i have not historically been a fan of ska, so i was ready to grit my teeth through this one... but i was pleasantly surprised? very listenable, high energy, and a lot of fun. there were a couple of tracks i personally found too repetitive that grated on me, but overall i had a .... wait for it ..... special time :)
John Cale
3/5
sounded like the beatles? it was fine.
Jimi Hendrix
3/5
Undeniably talent. Just not really my thing if that's ok
The Beach Boys
3/5
is this... the beach boys? are we sure? this feels like an avril lavigne replaced by melissa situation because those are #notmybeachboys. the first song gave me a little ironic chuckle, and there were a few nice tracks in here, but none of it (besides the backing harmonies) sounded remotely like the beach boys. i'm baffled. who did this
Tortoise
3/5
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
John Martyn
3/5
i'm ngl this #pist me off. weird and and unpleasant at times. very mellow and chill at others. i didn't like his voice, was baffled by the instrumentation, and over all had a very confusing time. somehow 3 stars. idk w/e
Pavement
4/5
nice lo-fi indie noise. occasionally drifted into discordant a little too much for my tastes, but i enjoyed my time with it.
The Cult
3/5
*painfully* generic
The Jesus And Mary Chain
5/5
wow, really loved this one. fuzzy, noisy, dark, and beautiful.
Ice Cube
4/5
high energy and overall fun. it's crazy because i mostly know ice cube from tv but that was admittedly just a small part of his life! didn't love the f-slurs, cmon man
Big Star
4/5
never heard of these guys before, but this was a ton of fun. Really liked it!
Gillian Welch
3/5
to me, this was just okay. I wanted to like it more but I felt like there just wasn't a lot going on! a bit too spare for my tastes.
Gorillaz
4/5
honestly? this should've been demon days! 😭 I still enjoyed this album, but not as much as I was hoping. it was a little scattered. but demon days 🤌🤌🤌🤌 that's the ticket!!! still a worthy inclusion that I'm glad I listened to.
Caetano Veloso
3/5
At turns pleasant, then grating, then breezy, then repetitive. Three city for me
The xx
5/5
i was so excited to get this one! the crystallized epitome of a time that would retroactively be rebranded Indie Sleaze. i love the spare, eerie quality that the harmonies have paired with the sparse instrumentation. i waffled between a 5 and a 4 but my nostalgia for early Tumblr is pushing me to a 5.
X-Ray Spex
4/5
a woman-led punk album?? let's fucking gooooo
to be totally honest, this isn't my favorite kind of music and i'm not even sure i liked this entire album. but i really, deeply love that it exists, and i love that it's on this list even more. it really does feel important! based 1001 albums W
System Of A Down
4/5
i'm not sure how much i liked this, but i do think it's important and a worthy inclusion on this list. i'm confused why one of their other albums wasn't on here instead, though. surely toxicity would be the more logical choice? regardless - 3.5 rounded up?
Bonnie "Prince" Billy
3/5
to me this was just ok. singing was kind of atonal for me (not necessarily a dealbreaker - i love bright eyes!) and instrumentation was very spare. maybe i needed to be more depressed listening to it lol
Fiona Apple
4/5
challenging, cacophonous, dense - there's no doubt it should be on this list. but did *I* like it? now that's a question. i don't know! i struggle with wanting to like fiona apple more than i actually do. i know for sure that i love her scrappy fierceness and her unapologetic abrasiveness. it just doesn't always translate to her music. i'm still giving it a four though, shrug
808 State
4/5
i thought this was cool! perfect music for doing boring work. i was droning the fuck outtttt
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
3/5
i bet this would've whipped absolute ass if i had been there. it was funny and a cool idea, but i think some of the zip and energy was lost in the recording.
Ali Farka Touré
3/5
very vibey and summery and genre-defying. ultimately it was just Good to me since it was a little repetitive. i bet it would slap to hear at an outdoor cafe in nice weather
Elbow
4/5
i braced myself to be vaguely irritated by this (an indie rock act from the mid 2000s i've never heard of???) but it was actually pretty fun. dragged a little in places but i enjoyed my time with (looks at smudged writing on palm) elbow?? are they really called elbow??
The White Stripes
2/5
(meme of me pointing at a pic of Jack White) I've had enough of this guy
LCD Soundsystem
4/5
interesting. i realized partway through the first song that i was getting LCD soundsystem mixed up with both Bloc Party and Broken Social Scene, so i truly had no biases going into this. probably not something i'll return to often bc omg those songs are LONG, but i enjoyed it on my drive to work. shades of talking heads in a lot of these songs.
Ali Farka Touré
3/5
ok. whatever.
this was fine - pleasant enough, but very long and meandering, and not sure why we needed 2 albums??? anyywayyyy
The Everly Brothers
3/5
now why was this on this list. answer me
Aerosmith
3/5
this was fine. i don't have a lot to say about it. extremely fine.
Björk
4/5
ok wait i actually liked this a lot. go off bjork
Mercury Rev
3/5
this was so bizarre. atonal and screeching, then very pleasant? idk what to really make of it. they needed to put down the damn theremin, i can tell you that much
Country Joe & The Fish
2/5
holy shit bro shut uP!!!!!!!!!!! this wasn't even Bad, it was just so forgettable, meandering, and irritating that i wanted to sling it into the river. why is this on here. leav eme alone
Sly & The Family Stone
3/5
it was fine. i got REALLY sick of whatever was making that "bow bow bow bow" sound tho
Burning Spear
3/5
quite repetitive to me but ultimately fine
Deerhunter
4/5
moody, vibey, lush. bradford cox is a really talented musician and an interesting person. i was really excited to see deerhunter on here, but candidly, i kind of wish this was Microcastle instead, which i found much more dynamic and even more impressive.
Brian Wilson
4/5
i really enjoyed this, even if it was strange to hear him singer at a deeper, raspier timbre. time comes for us all. rest in peace, brian <3
Crowded House
3/5
so generic to me. just zoned out through it. sorry!! this house was too crowded!
Marvin Gaye
3/5
probably more of a 3.5, but boy, did it go on forever. sorry about your divorce, marvin. though it was hilarious to hear that your ex wife got half the royalties of this album, lol.
The Cure
4/5
i think i liked this. it's always hard to tell with the cure. it was background music for me but i came away feeling dazed and sad, which seems like a success.
Genesis
2/5
my god, this tried my patience. i was initially excited because who doesn't love Land of Confusion? but my god, what a slog. cornball in a bad way. that synth sounded like it was made by fisher-price. also it's 90 minutes long. i'm a HATER!!!!!!!!!!!
Primal Scream
3/5
what a strange album. some songs were quite enjoyable, to the point where i felt certain i was going to give it 5 stars. but then the instrumental ones drifted between dull and aggravating. the good bits were too few and far between. alas!
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
4/5
on the one hand, this is a lot of fun. eating beans from a tin can music. getting a hay ride at a fall festival music. fallout music. on the other hand it's TWO HOURS AND NINE MINUTES LONG. it took me all weekend to chip my way through this. that's too much music. that's three heaping plates of music. i'm stuffed!!
and yet... can i really say i didn't enjoy myself for most of it? it was a kooky little time. no idea if this is a culturally significant contribution to the list but it was a fun contribution to my weekend. 🪕
The Sugarcubes
4/5
did everyone else know that bjork rose to fame in an alternative band in the 80s besides me?? i had absolutely no idea until the vocals kicked in and i went HUH!??!
this album petered out a little bit and got weird at the end but overall, i quite enjoyed it. what a fun surprise! the essence of 1001 albums!
John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers
2/5
generic af. i don't caaaare
Spacemen 3
2/5
i WISH they were playing with fire. instead they were playing with sand and mud and other inert bland nothings. what da hell
Manic Street Preachers
4/5
i wasn't looking forward to this one, but i was pleasantly surprised. this reminds me a lot of against me. i feel like i really need to pore over these lyrics more carefully to get the full effect of them.
Christina Aguilera
2/5
not another long-ass album, christina!!!!!!!!!! god. okay, she's obviously very talented and has an incredible voice. but in NO WORLD did this need to be a double album. the big singles are great and fun and punchy. the second disk was better than the first. but there is just so much cornball stuff in here, especially the really horny songs. i can't help but wish we had some other more dynamic female pop acts in here because there were plenty of xtina's contemporaries i think would work better for this list than this album.
Goldie
2/5
this is a generous two. this album sounds cheesy, dated, weirdly toneless, and it's about an hour and a half too long. drum & bass... more like DUMB & ASS!!!!!!!!!
Youssou N'Dour
4/5
cool fun & upbeat album. after multiple 2 hour long albums recently, it was also blessedly short :' )
The Smashing Pumpkins
5/5
a 4.5 rounded up to a 5 because i so rarely give them out. gosh, i enjoyed this. billy corgan might be a dick but god damn does he know how to write an album. the pristine, sparkling Disarm nestled among all this sludgy muck (which, to be clear, i enjoyed) makes it even more beautiful. really cool that you can see the more ambitious elements that would lay the groundwork for mellon collie here, especially in the 9 minute song. you have to hand it to them... the pretension is earned.
Kacey Musgraves
4/5
i really enjoyed this one! she's got a nice voice. this reminds me a lot lyrically of female-led country from the early 2000s. nice to see a woman on the list.
Beatles
4/5
what's to say. it's da beatles!
5/5
slapped my tits and ass CLEAN OFF! a total surprise, fun and funky and super energetic. i can't wait to listen to this more. easy 5 from the first song. to everyone who rated this album a 1 or 2, your mom's a ho
Simply Red
4/5
I was shocked to find the reviews so low - I thought this was so fun! Super funky and jazzy. I had a great time with it. Nuts 2 da h8rs
John Grant
4/5
i really liked the review that called this "Bo Burnham meets Dark side of the moon" - i'm not sure if i quite liked it as much as i like bo burnham's material, but there's a sense of humor in the introspection here. an interesting album i can guarantee you i'd never have listened to without this website!
Jeff Beck
3/5
i have no strong thoughts about this one, honestly. the three-est of threes.
Bruce Springsteen
2/5
whew. that was a slog. no offense to bruce but i don't really feel anything strongly about his music on a good day... so to get a loooong + semi-recent album from him? death knell. the production on this is corny as hell. "let's be friends (skin to skin)" was just embarrassing. musically, it's probably a 3, but it irritated me so much i'm docking a star.
Rage Against The Machine
5/5
honestly? fuck yeah
Queen Latifah
3/5
i'm only familiar with queen latifah's acting career, so i appreciated the opportunity to listen to some of her music. i liked Ladies First and the general vibe well enough, but it didn't blow my mind.
Laura Nyro
3/5
beautiful voice, very sad life :( this dragged for me a bit by the end but was probably more of a 3.5. very cool to see how influential she was to so many acts in the decades to come. rest easy laura :<
The Jam
3/5
lots of high-scoring reviews which means i'm once again out of step. sorry! this was 3 city baby!
Eminem
1/5
no. i refuse. sorry!!!
Elvis Presley
4/5
well this was nice. some good ol fashioned crooning. not too much to say about it but i did quite like it!
Radiohead
4/5
i actually hadn't heard this one before. it's good! a little Out There, perhaps moreso than i typically like my radiohead to be, but good nonetheless.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
1/5
i normally reserve my 1 stars for sex offenders, racists, and other terrible people. i have nothing against nick cave personally and don't want to imply anything of the sort with this review. but holy shit - i hated every single second of this. utter misery. terrible vocals, boring instrumentation, *unbelievably* irritating repetitive vocal lines/melodies that bordered on torturous (that "la la la la" will haunt me tonight as i'm trying to sleep, i just know it). i really cannot put into words how annoyed i was for the entire runtime of this album. it is threatening to ruin my day. maybe nick cave will write a terrible murder ballad for me when this record makes me go postal.
Common
4/5
that one guy who's like "i have an advanced degree in being a big baby" from the top reviews is nuts - this is a great album!
Gotan Project
4/5
did i need to listen to this before i died? probably not. but was it cool and vibey? certainly. idk, i liked it!
Buzzcocks
3/5
not my kind of music and didn't make much of an impression on me. but that's kind of a compliment for british punk music tbh.
Fun Lovin' Criminals
3/5
i thought this was kind of fun, idk. not something i expect to revisit in the future, but it wasn't a bad listen. not sure how important it was in the longterm, but eh.
Les Rythmes Digitales
4/5
i groaned when i saw the album length but i actually really liked this! it sounded so retro and charmingly dated but also weirdly modern? idk. i had fun. im movin & groovin. this makes me want to get a corn dog at the mall and go rollerskating.
Björk
4/5
i'm not surprised the rating for this is so low - it's a strange and challenging album. but i think that's why it's perfect for this list. who else is doing it like bjork? this is a creative triumph, even if i didn't always find it pleasant to listen to.
Franz Ferdinand
4/5
a mid-aughties classic. could be a five if it also had Do You Want To on it.
G. Love & Special Sauce
3/5
you know it's bad when the wiki blurb calls them "sloppy," lol. i didn't dislike this as much as some other people but it essentially made no impact on me. sorry boys!
Mekons
3/5
well that certainly was an album
Violent Femmes
4/5
i was prepared to dislike this one, but much to my surprise, i enjoyed it. this is probably more of a 3.5, but what the hell, i'll round up. i'm also shocked at how modern (well, relatively) this sounds. maybe this is just a really good remaster? but i would've guessed late 90s just based on the sound. wow.
Talking Heads
4/5
FA FA FA FA FA FA FA FA FA FA~
Slade
3/5
did not slay.
Simple Minds
3/5
anyway
Big Star
2/5
well this is a bummer - i liked the other Big Star album we had on this list. but this is so limp and watered-down i had to double-check and make sure it was the same band. i didn't vibe with this at all. maybe i'm being harsh, but it's only because i know how much better they can be!
The xx
4/5
it's really cool to see how they developed musically from their first album to here! an enjoyable listen but not a perfect 5/5 for me
M.I.A.
4/5
wow, what a shame that MIA disappeared mysteriously after 2009, never to be seen again...
unfortunately (because the trajectory her life has taken since the mid-aughts is as baffling as it is disappointing), this is a great album. not all of it is super fun to listen to - some of those early tracks are downright unpleasant. but i remember thinking that this sounded like absolutely nothing i'd ever heard before at the time. tracks like Galang and Hombre still feel fresh, energetic, electric. i'm surprised to see this album on here - i figured we'd only get kala, which is even better.
but it's complicated. it leaves a bad taste in my mouth listening to this and remembering that she, idk, got a traumatic brain injury or something in the past few years that's making her act this way. i blame her finding jesus, personally. RIP M.I.A., you were a real one for a while.
Dr. Octagon
2/5
i don't care if you have a sexual fantasy of being an evil alien OBGYN. I just wish you would quietly jerk off about it instead of getting me involved 😭
Nirvana
5/5
finally, a live album that has absolutely earned its place on this list. i'd actually never listened to this before. intimate, warm, special.
Serge Gainsbourg
1/5
the person in the reviews who said "there are more pedophiles on this list than women" was BANG on
Kendrick Lamar
3/5
eek, I'm not sure how to rate this one. i enjoyed it, and I especially enjoyed reading more about it and the important role is played both in rap generally and in Kendrick's own career. How cool that it's been taught in classes alongside other notable coming of age texts. I wish I liked it more - I think I prefer Kendrick's later style over this very spare instrumentation. Still, I'm glad I listened to it!
David Bowie
4/5
fun and super funky. didn't love the instrumentals. opening track is a certified banger.
Astrud Gilberto
4/5
what can i say? i love a beachy vibe. this list has taught me that i like a lot more samba than i realized!
Madonna
3/5
is it just me or is this a totally bizarre choice for a madonna album for this list? i read the wikipedia page and it seemed quite well-acclaimed at the time. is it possible this kind of music has been so refined and polished that this seems pedestrian to me? struggling between a 2 and a 3 but i ultimately didn't mind listening to it that much. i just didn't think anything interesting was happening during it!
Echo And The Bunnymen
5/5
love this one 🥰
TLC
3/5
enjoyable smooth r&b, but something gets lost on the second half. I really liked the first few tracks!
The Libertines
3/5
i thought this was fine. idk. i just kinda don't care. super grimy super british sleaze. awright then m8
Milton Nascimento
4/5
really beautiful and pleasant to listen to. a bit long for my tastes but that's my own impatience. a perfect example of all the wonderful things you can find looking outside your usual music genres!
The Undertones
4/5
this was pretty fun! a lot more listenable than some of the punk on this list in my humble onion. short and sweet which i appreciate.
Carole King
4/5
my mom would play this while she cleaned the house. good memories :)
David Crosby
3/5
if only i could remember a single standout moment on this album. zzzzz
Slint
2/5
is it totally crazy and out-of-pocket for me to think music should generally sound good?
Bob Dylan
2/5
i'm really sorry to be such a sourpuss but this could've been easily half the length. again, is it crazy for me to think music should sound good????
Buffalo Springfield
3/5
ok
Ozomatli
4/5
wow, this was fun. i don't know if it would've hit the same if i didn't have a 5+ album string of boring dreck before it, but this was like a tropical drink on a hot day. super fun and dancey and just enjoyable to listen to!!
Soft Cell
2/5
i WISH this album was as exciting at the title implied. honestly dull and repetitive. tainted love slaps of course but it can't carry the entire 1 hour 14 minute (!???!) album on its own.
The Smiths
3/5
am I crazy or do all these songs sound exactly the same
The Kinks
2/5
i wish this was something else by anyone else. tuneless and meandering. felt over an hour long even at a tight 35. boo!!!
Van Halen
3/5
i can acknowledge that this is doing what it's setting out to do pretty well. it's just not really my kind of music! at least it's high-energy and short.
Stereo MC's
5/5
i thought this SLAPPED. funky and chock-full of vibes. i even listened to a few tracks several times, which i basically never do. what a great discovery. i can't wait to see a whole bunch of really normal reviews when i check the global stats...
Liz Phair
4/5
not my fave album but a truly worthy addition to the list. i don't love liz's vaguely atonal singing style but i do appreciate her massive impact on music today (especially for other female singer/songwriters). she was doing weird horny stuff before it was cool. go crazy liz!!!
Death In Vegas
3/5
vibey and moody but ultimately not really enough going on here for me to rank it higher.
Blood, Sweat & Tears
3/5
it was kind of all over the place for me.
Norah Jones
4/5
i'm not sure if i liked this enough to genuinely give it a 4/5, but it made me so powerfully nostalgic for a simpler time when CDs were sold at starbucks that i have to hand it to her.
Jazmine Sullivan
4/5
nuts to the haters, this was fun!
Pixies
3/5
i really feel like i should've liked this more. it's not my first time listening to it - i had surfer rosa and doolittle on frequent rotation in my teen years. but this album in particular is just *so* noisy and discordant -- which i know is the point -- that it's a chore to listen to. where is my mind, gigantic, tony's theme are all great, but i spent the rest of this album gritting my teeth and trying to hang on. i'm sorry! thankfully it has plenty of glowing reviews already so i won't feel bad being honest.
Paul Revere & The Raiders
3/5
we have the beach boys at home.
the beach boys at home:
Nitin Sawhney
4/5
a 3.5 rounded up to a 4 for me - super different and interesting! i agree with the reviewer that mentioned FKA twigs. this is genre-bending avant pop. it's not always my favorite sound, but it's certainly a breath of fresh air on this list.
Beyoncé
4/5
more of a 3.5 for me, but there are some great songs on here that are still iconic today. some of these comments are just breathtakingly racist, though. at worst, this is a mid album depending on your tastes. i simply don't believe that this is the worst pop album some of you have listened to! it is not the truth!
it's a shame XO uses that bizarre sample of the challenger explosion because it's a great song - one of my favorites by beyonce.
Dexys Midnight Runners
4/5
am i crazy or did this kind of go extremely hard?? funky horns and a lot of fun. i was the runtime and went in with a bad attitude but i was jammin' by the end. a great surprise!
Drive Like Jehu
4/5
i started this album with a sinus headache and was prepared to hate it. and honestly, i'm not even sure i liked it all that much - but once the ibuprofen kicked in and i settled into the groove of the album, i had a surprising appreciation for it. noisy, ugly, relentless, and yet there's something mesmerizing about it. i saw a review on the wikipedia page call it "naggingly unpoppy," which is hilarious and true -- and yet it was still quite listenable? i don't know!
this does feel like an important missing link between punk and nascent emo that's sorely underrepresented on this list. i'm glad i listened to it! i can't see myself ever picking it up again, but yeah -- another absolutely worthy entry.
Napalm Death
2/5
you know what? after reading the wikipedia article, i can't protest this album's inclusion at all. it seems like it was pretty foundational for grindcore and speed metal and a whole host of other micro-genres. i may not have liked it but i can respect it!
Guns N' Roses
3/5
this is obviously iconic and loaded with bangers, but it was just ok to me. sorry!!!
The Go-Go's
4/5
what a delight. absolutely loved it!!
New Order
5/5
wow. i went into this mildly interested but this blew my expectations out of the water. i loved every second! i have no idea how this ranks for new order fans/compared to their other albums but i really, really enjoyed it.
John Martyn
3/5
sure was fine
The Dictators
3/5
lol. i guess this is supposed to be somewhat satirical which is amusing but maybe it did too good of a job because it just sounded like Dude Rock to me.
3/5
mom can you pick me up i'm overstimulated
this was cool, but also had way too much going on for my tastes? it was a bit of a chore to get through even though i liked the breeziness of the sound.
The Allman Brothers Band
2/5
i'm sure this would've been a fun show to be at. unfortunately i'm just sitting here at my desk getting more and more annoyed. WRAP IT UP!
2/5
another ugly, boring, meandering live album of shit i wouldn't want to listen to the studio version of. sorry for being so salty but please be serious 1001 albums. this? her? NO!!!
Morrissey
3/5
it was fine. is it just me or does every morrissey song sound exactly the same?
Dr. John
2/5
uhhhhhhhhh
The Sabres Of Paradise
3/5
i'm sure this blew everyone's tits off way back when. it's hard to put myself back in the mindset of someone 30+ years ago. but i still feel like some of this instrumentation sounds a lil cheesy and dated considering it was the 90s. i liked (and could really hear) the portishead influence. some of the songs were droney bangers. but overall: just ok for me
Sonic Youth
2/5
i can understand why this was so foundational for indie rock and i agree with its placement on this list but if i'm being honest it was a complete and total slog. i thought i liked one song off of it but apparently that was just my spotify on shuffle playing something else.
The Triffids
3/5
we have echo & the bunnymen at home.
echo & the bunnymen at home:
Tom Waits
2/5
i'll give it points for being an interesting concept on paper, but if i wanted to listen to a gravelly man talk-sing and aimlessly vamp, i could just go to a dive bar. i'm sorry, tom waits. i couldn't tom wait for this to be over.
Taylor Swift
5/5
i mean, it's perfect pop that shaped the music landscape forever. whatever you feel about her, this cannot be denied. sorry! that relentless run of singles has only ever been matched by hot fuss.
Beastie Boys
4/5
say what you will but the beastie boys are always a good time. licensed to jam the fuck out!!
Emmylou Harris
5/5
a beautiful breath of fresh air :>
Eels
4/5
actually thought this one was pretty interesting, and that's even before i realized they had a song on the shrek soundtrack.
The Gun Club
2/5
sorry but this is soooo nothing to me with some of the limpest worst vocals ever. no wonder jack white liked it so much lol. whaaat who said that??? 🫣
Badly Drawn Boy
3/5
i liked some songs on here, but others were so blah and meandering. kind of a bewildering (heh) experience. at the end of the day it's: fine. it's simply fine. alright.
Julian Cope
3/5
i went into this with a bad attitude - why is it so long? why is it a meandering worse echo & the bunnymen? but talked myself off the ledge and gave it an honest chance. it's fine. it's extremely fine. deeply okay. certainly an album. that's all i got. i'm coping with julian ok.
Moby Grape
3/5
i've listened to way worse, way more annoying albums on this list. this isn't bad - i just fail to see how this stands out as a necessary text more than any other similar-sounding album of its era. i think the beatles have us pretty well-covered.
at least it's short!
Isaac Hayes
4/5
i had my hackles up over a movie soundtrack (and one i've never seen, no less) being on this list, but i actually quite enjoyed this.
The Pogues
3/5
i mean, you cannot deny this album is doing exactly what it sets out to do. the pogues are doing their own thing and i applaud them for it. i did feel sort of mocked by the bawdy rowdiness of it all while i was stuck in traffic on a slate-gray dull work day, but they'd probably think that was funny. won't revisit but go off pogues.
alternate review: this album was so poguerrs
John Coltrane
3/5
clearly there's a lot of complicated musical artistry going on here, but i just don't think i like jazz all that much.
The Cure
5/5
you know what? i absolutely loved this. moody gothic bleating = YAY
Blur
3/5
I wanted to like this more than I did. Kind of unremarkable to me except for Song 2 which of course, slaps to the moon and back.
3/5
i really don't gaf about these blokes
The Stooges
2/5
i should be owed financial compensation for listening to this with a sinus headache
Dexys Midnight Runners
2/5
why??? why? they had one good song. don't subject me to THREE of their albums.
Antony and the Johnsons
3/5
i'll be honest, i didn't really like this (that vibrato 😩👎) but i'm giving it an additional star for trans rights and inclusion on this list. women can make art i don't like too!!
The Flaming Lips
4/5
hm. wanted to like it more, but considering so many meh offerings on this list, i'll bump up my rating a little bit for something funky. some really nice songs on here. some that i'm less enthusiastic about. but overall a fun warbly weird time!
The Fall
2/5
is it possible to shout and mumble at the same time? the fall bravely endeavors to find out!
noisy, ugly, unpleasant, musically just a handful of sludge to me.
Minutemen
2/5
43 songs and not a one of 'em is good. impressive work, boys.
Richard Hawley
4/5
well this was just lovely. moody and beautiful and really pleasant to listen to. <3 i put it off for a few weeks because i thought it sounded dull. how wrong i was!!!
My Bloody Valentine
3/5
jesus. don't listen to this on an overcast day when you're already feeling sad.
not really my thing!
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
3/5
i actually really liked the first song, but it was all downhill from there... bizarre vocal delivery and some weirdly discordant instrumentation. it was ultimately ok though.
Mike Ladd
2/5
oh jeez. oh JEEZ. that was atrocious.
The Boo Radleys
3/5
that sure was an album
Björk
4/5
this was kind of a challenging album to get through, but i'll put in the WORK for BJORK. i just think she's neat. if she wants to warble in my ear for an hour, by all means - u go girl.
The Prodigy
4/5
the prodigy's always a fun time. idk. i'll zone out to any of their music.
Holger Czukay
3/5
i can see how this might be foundational to a burgeoning genre, but it just wasn't any great shakes 2 me.
Randy Newman
2/5
as a wise tumblr meme once said: satire requires a clarity of purpose and target lest it be mistaken for and contribute to that which it intends to criticize
ZZ Top
3/5
that's zz top all right. not too much to say about this one - they've proven their place in history, and i have to shout out the houston hometown pride. but that's about it! okay!
CHIC
4/5
yknow what? i had fun with this. rip disco you were a real one.
Marianne Faithfull
4/5
this was an interesting one! i wasn't familiar with marianne until now. very unique voice and an enjoyable listen overall. that was a crazy cover of working class hero.
The Isley Brothers
4/5
fun, funky and smooth. i had fun with da bros!
Iron Butterfly
3/5
it was extremely fine. 17 minutes is a really long time to be playing a song. some might even say too long.
The B-52's
4/5
so fun. great addition to the list.
Ash
4/5
grungy and fun and a nice solid listen. never heard of em before!! i will be back!!
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
3/5
why does he sound like that?
Bad Brains
4/5
i was prepared to give this a 3, but then i listened to it again (rare for me - you need to impress me basically right away) and thought - hm. there's something here. something appealingly sludgy and sleazy. it's weird and moody and i liked it a lot more than i thought i would. these brains might be bad but this album is good!!
Gram Parsons
4/5
i had no idea this was secretly an emmylou harris album (which was apparently an intentional choice by parsons' wife, yikes)! there was a guy there too i guess. a pleasant surprise. i love u emmylou.
Muddy Waters
4/5
a little same-y after a while, but even my stoic heart couldn't withstand that energy and joy. a fun album to spend some time with!
AC/DC
4/5
i'm feeling generous, so i'll give this a 4. it's big dumb and loud and also immediately recognizable and iconic. just absolutely wild vocals, though, it has to be said. AC/DC stands for Actually... Crazy? (thoughtful pause) Damn. Crazy.
Fugees
4/5
the chinese restaurant skit was PAINFUL. more of a 3.5 for me, but i'll round up for lauryn hill's beautiful vocals.
Slipknot
3/5
not really my kind of music, but you can't deny the influence it had on numetal in the early 2000s.
Pere Ubu
1/5
are you kidding me? are you serious? i have one life on this shit-ass earth and you give me this? a toaster falling down the stairs while a half-drunk man warbles and alarms blare? NO!!! NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! JE REFUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i normally reserve the 1 stars for criminals but this was a crime against me. ugly, assaulting, not a single redeeming sound on the entire album. go to jail. i'll kill you
The Waterboys
3/5
this was mostly inoffensive, but the songs really tended to drag, especially the longer ones. baffled by the "blackbird" drop in the middle of one track. i was ready for it to be over.
Johnny Cash
5/5
the Hurt cover alone clinches the 5. rip johnny <3
Queen
4/5
i feel like i *should* rate this a 5, but i thought there were a few weak songs. i gotta stay true to myself: a high 4 and an enjoyable listen! i think queen will survive my B+ review :)
Belle & Sebastian
5/5
aw. such fond memories of my twee era in high school. this is a perfect little album. my review is colored by nostalgia, but still: simple, sweet, and lovely.
The Who
3/5
i feel obligated to give them *some* credit for trailblazing the rock opera, but my problem is that the songs here just... aren't very good. pinball wizard rocks, but that's the one standout. there's a lot of filler, a lot of gross, questionably-handled songs, no story, and a lot more ambition than actual good sound. 3 feels about right.
Public Enemy
4/5
i really liked this!
Bob Dylan
3/5
i don't know if i much like this bob dylan guy.
Amy Winehouse
3/5
hm. i was hoping to like this a lot more than i did. amy's talent is undeniable, and i can't believe she was so young when she recorded this... but on the other hand, yes i can. this feels juvenile and half-finished to me.
Steely Dan
4/5
i AM reeling in the years, how did you know??
Joanna Newsom
5/5
wow - beautiful. totally unlike anything i've ever heard. her voice is its own instrument! andy samberg your wife is a gem
The Human League
3/5
confused as to why this is on here. it was fine! the big song is good! not really sure what the point of the rest of it is?
Elvis Costello
2/5
if johnny bravo got a wish granted to be a real boy
Coldplay
4/5
nuts to the haters this was a great listen. i think these coldplay lads are gonna be huge someday
FKA twigs
5/5
my enjoyment was probably closer to a 4, but i just love that this is on here. THIS is the stuff i want to see more of on this list - recent, diverse, challenging, interesting albums that would be easy to miss if you weren't looking for them. loved it!
The Streets
2/5
LOL. i'm not sure i've ever listened to something so tuneless, so rhythmless, so utterly grating to listen to. the rap flow is terrible, the vocals are awful, the lyrics are unbelievably annoying - everything about it so completely swagless or ugly that i helplessly laughed through the entire thing. i have no idea why this is on here or who it's for but i'm giving it an extra star just for giving me a chuckle. wow. did you know they just let anyone make music
Rush
4/5
i *didn't* rush through this one! i'm not a big rush fan but this was a lot of fun and didn't overstay it's welcome. it was soooo proggers
Queen
4/5
(tips hat) ur majesty
Nick Drake
4/5
really lovely!