May 23 2023
View Album
Bridge Over Troubled Water
Simon & Garfunkel
3
May 24 2023
View Album
Cheap Thrills
Big Brother & The Holding Company
2
May 25 2023
View Album
In The Wee Small Hours
Frank Sinatra
2
May 26 2023
View Album
OK Computer
Radiohead
5
May 29 2023
View Album
Toys In The Attic
Aerosmith
3
May 30 2023
View Album
You've Come a Long Way Baby
Fatboy Slim
3
May 31 2023
View Album
Deloused in the Comatorium
The Mars Volta
4
Jun 01 2023
View Album
Smash
The Offspring
2
Jun 02 2023
View Album
GREY Area
Little Simz
4
Jun 05 2023
View Album
Fulfillingness' First Finale
Stevie Wonder
4
Jun 06 2023
View Album
Bat Out Of Hell
Meat Loaf
3
Jun 07 2023
View Album
C'est Chic
CHIC
2
Jun 08 2023
View Album
Dig Your Own Hole
The Chemical Brothers
1
Jun 09 2023
View Album
Deep Purple In Rock
Deep Purple
3
Jun 12 2023
View Album
Oracular Spectacular
MGMT
4
Jun 13 2023
View Album
Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
OutKast
3
Jun 14 2023
View Album
L'Eau Rouge
The Young Gods
2
Jun 15 2023
View Album
3 Years, 5 Months And 2 Days In The Life Of...
Arrested Development
4
Jun 16 2023
View Album
Fifth Dimension
The Byrds
3
Jun 19 2023
View Album
The ArchAndroid
Janelle Monáe
5
Jun 20 2023
View Album
Tonight's The Night
Neil Young
2
Jun 21 2023
View Album
Antichrist Superstar
Marilyn Manson
no stars for rapists
1
Jun 22 2023
View Album
Tuesday Night Music Club
Sheryl Crow
3
Jun 23 2023
View Album
In Utero
Nirvana
3
Jun 26 2023
View Album
The Village Green Preservation Society
The Kinks
3
Jun 27 2023
View Album
Electric Ladyland
Jimi Hendrix
3
Jun 28 2023
View Album
Future Days
Can
4
Jun 29 2023
View Album
In It For The Money
Supergrass
4
Jun 30 2023
View Album
John Barleycorn Must Die
Traffic
3
Jul 03 2023
View Album
Talking Book
Stevie Wonder
3
Jul 04 2023
View Album
Cloud Nine
The Temptations
3
Jul 05 2023
View Album
The Beach Boys Today!
The Beach Boys
3
Jul 06 2023
View Album
KIWANUKA
Michael Kiwanuka
3
Jul 07 2023
View Album
Mermaid Avenue
Billy Bragg
3
Jul 10 2023
View Album
My Generation
The Who
3
Jul 11 2023
View Album
Africa Brasil
Jorge Ben Jor
4
Jul 12 2023
View Album
Hotel California
Eagles
3
Jul 13 2023
View Album
Rock Bottom
Robert Wyatt
2
Jul 14 2023
View Album
Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
Arctic Monkeys
4
Jul 17 2023
View Album
Off The Wall
Michael Jackson
3
Jul 18 2023
View Album
Purple Rain
Prince
5
Jul 19 2023
View Album
Devil Without A Cause
Kid Rock
no stars for transphobic racists
1
Jul 20 2023
View Album
Imagine
John Lennon
3
Jul 21 2023
View Album
Close To The Edge
Yes
3
Jul 24 2023
View Album
Bryter Layter
Nick Drake
4
Jul 25 2023
View Album
Eliminator
ZZ Top
3
Jul 26 2023
View Album
Ramones
Ramones
3
Jul 27 2023
View Album
Colour By Numbers
Culture Club
2
Jul 28 2023
View Album
S&M
Metallica
4
Jul 31 2023
View Album
Revolver
Beatles
4
Aug 01 2023
View Album
Live At The Harlem Square Club
Sam Cooke
3
Aug 02 2023
View Album
Countdown To Ecstasy
Steely Dan
4
Aug 03 2023
View Album
Sheer Heart Attack
Queen
4
Aug 04 2023
View Album
Let England Shake
PJ Harvey
2
Aug 07 2023
View Album
Fever To Tell
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
2
Aug 08 2023
View Album
Superunknown
Soundgarden
3
Aug 09 2023
View Album
Pretzel Logic
Steely Dan
3
Aug 10 2023
View Album
Orbital 2
Orbital
2
Aug 11 2023
View Album
Pyromania
Def Leppard
3
Aug 14 2023
View Album
Lady Soul
Aretha Franklin
3
Aug 15 2023
View Album
To Pimp A Butterfly
Kendrick Lamar
3
Aug 16 2023
View Album
Kid A
Radiohead
5
Aug 17 2023
View Album
Boston
Boston
4
Aug 18 2023
View Album
Rattlesnakes
Lloyd Cole And The Commotions
4
Aug 21 2023
View Album
Murmur
R.E.M.
4
Aug 22 2023
View Album
Joan Armatrading
Joan Armatrading
3
Aug 23 2023
View Album
Southern Rock Opera
Drive-By Truckers
3
Aug 24 2023
View Album
My Aim Is True
Elvis Costello
3
Aug 25 2023
View Album
British Steel
Judas Priest
4
Aug 28 2023
View Album
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
3
Aug 29 2023
View Album
Bayou Country
Creedence Clearwater Revival
3
Aug 30 2023
View Album
Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots
The Flaming Lips
4
Aug 31 2023
View Album
Closer
Joy Division
3
Sep 01 2023
View Album
The Downward Spiral
Nine Inch Nails
4
Sep 04 2023
View Album
Highway 61 Revisited
Bob Dylan
3
Sep 05 2023
View Album
Blue
Joni Mitchell
4
Sep 06 2023
View Album
Stardust
Willie Nelson
5
Sep 07 2023
View Album
Vauxhall And I
Morrissey
4
Sep 08 2023
View Album
Cosmo's Factory
Creedence Clearwater Revival
3
Sep 11 2023
View Album
Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
4
Sep 12 2023
View Album
Brothers In Arms
Dire Straits
4
Sep 13 2023
View Album
Songs In The Key Of Life
Stevie Wonder
4
Sep 14 2023
View Album
Brilliant Corners
Thelonious Monk
3
Sep 15 2023
View Album
New Boots And Panties
Ian Dury
3
Sep 18 2023
View Album
Band On The Run
Paul McCartney and Wings
3
Sep 19 2023
View Album
Green Onions
Booker T. & The MG's
3
Sep 20 2023
View Album
Elvis Is Back
Elvis Presley
3
Sep 21 2023
View Album
Fly Or Die
N.E.R.D
3
Sep 22 2023
View Album
Sweet Baby James
James Taylor
4
Sep 25 2023
View Album
Hunky Dory
David Bowie
4
Sep 26 2023
View Album
Horses
Patti Smith
3
Sep 27 2023
View Album
Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul
Otis Redding
3
Sep 28 2023
View Album
Spy Vs. Spy: The Music Of Ornette Coleman
John Zorn
this is one of the worst things i've ever listened to in my life
1
Sep 29 2023
View Album
Drunk
Thundercat
2
Oct 02 2023
View Album
Sticky Fingers
The Rolling Stones
4
Oct 03 2023
View Album
Moondance
Van Morrison
4
Oct 04 2023
View Album
Repeater
Fugazi
2
Oct 05 2023
View Album
Kimono My House
Sparks
proto-of montreal. i liked it!
4
Oct 06 2023
View Album
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
David Bowie
5
Oct 09 2023
View Album
Hail To the Thief
Radiohead
5
Oct 10 2023
View Album
Head Hunters
Herbie Hancock
3
Oct 11 2023
View Album
New York Dolls
New York Dolls
3
Oct 12 2023
View Album
Honky Tonk Heroes
Waylon Jennings
4
Oct 13 2023
View Album
Here Are the Sonics
The Sonics
2
Oct 16 2023
View Album
Let's Stay Together
Al Green
no stars for abusers and rapists
1
Oct 17 2023
View Album
Either Or
Elliott Smith
4
Oct 18 2023
View Album
Born To Run
Bruce Springsteen
3
Oct 19 2023
View Album
Shake Your Money Maker
The Black Crowes
3
Oct 20 2023
View Album
KE*A*H** (Psalm 69)
Ministry
3
Oct 23 2023
View Album
After The Gold Rush
Neil Young
3
Oct 24 2023
View Album
Highway to Hell
AC/DC
this was the definition of mid to me
3
Oct 25 2023
View Album
Document
R.E.M.
3
Oct 26 2023
View Album
Nilsson Schmilsson
Harry Nilsson
3
Oct 27 2023
View Album
Opus Dei
Laibach
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
2
Oct 30 2023
View Album
Remain In Light
Talking Heads
4
Oct 31 2023
View Album
Wild Is The Wind
Nina Simone
3
Nov 01 2023
View Album
Odelay
Beck
3
Nov 02 2023
View Album
Kollaps
Einstürzende Neubauten
1
Nov 03 2023
View Album
Born In The U.S.A.
Bruce Springsteen
4
Nov 06 2023
View Album
Maggot Brain
Funkadelic
5
Nov 07 2023
View Album
Led Zeppelin IV
Led Zeppelin
4
Nov 08 2023
View Album
Catch A Fire
Bob Marley & The Wailers
3
Nov 09 2023
View Album
Sheet Music
10cc
would've been higher if it wasn't randomly racist?!
3
Nov 10 2023
View Album
Mama's Gun
Erykah Badu
3
Nov 13 2023
View Album
All Directions
The Temptations
4
Nov 14 2023
View Album
The Clash
The Clash
2
Nov 15 2023
View Album
Two Dancers
Wild Beasts
3
Nov 16 2023
View Album
Done By The Forces Of Nature
Jungle Brothers
4
Nov 17 2023
View Album
Hot Shots II
The Beta Band
5
Nov 20 2023
View Album
The Man Machine
Kraftwerk
4
Nov 21 2023
View Album
Buena Vista Social Club
Buena Vista Social Club
4
Nov 22 2023
View Album
The Trinity Session
Cowboy Junkies
surprised by how much i enjoyed this!
5
Nov 23 2023
View Album
At Budokan
Cheap Trick
3
Nov 24 2023
View Album
Siembra
Willie Colón & Rubén Blades
i know nothing about salsa but i quite enjoyed this! very pleasant. and i recognized that one song from oliver & company right away 😎
4
Nov 27 2023
View Album
Blood Sugar Sex Magik
Red Hot Chili Peppers
wow. i hated everything about this. kind of impressive honestly.
1
Nov 28 2023
View Album
Neon Bible
Arcade Fire
5
Nov 29 2023
View Album
Made In Japan
Deep Purple
live albums are a crime
2
Nov 30 2023
View Album
We're Only In It For The Money
The Mothers Of Invention
2
Dec 01 2023
View Album
A Northern Soul
The Verve
3
Dec 04 2023
View Album
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden
4
Dec 05 2023
View Album
Music in Exile
Songhoy Blues
4
Dec 06 2023
View Album
Dirt
Alice In Chains
4
Dec 07 2023
View Album
California
American Music Club
3
Dec 08 2023
View Album
Tical
Method Man
3
Dec 11 2023
View Album
Fleet Foxes
Fleet Foxes
4
Dec 12 2023
View Album
Brothers
The Black Keys
3
Dec 13 2023
View Album
All Hope Is Gone
Slipknot
3
Dec 14 2023
View Album
Public Image: First Issue
Public Image Ltd.
1
Dec 15 2023
View Album
Eagles
Eagles
3
Dec 18 2023
View Album
The Number Of The Beast
Iron Maiden
4
Dec 19 2023
View Album
25
Adele
4
Dec 20 2023
View Album
Faith
George Michael
3
Dec 21 2023
View Album
Strangeways, Here We Come
The Smiths
3
Dec 22 2023
View Album
So Much For The City
The Thrills
4
Dec 25 2023
View Album
Live At Leeds
The Who
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.
3
Dec 26 2023
View Album
A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector
Various Artists
3
Dec 27 2023
View Album
Music From Big Pink
The Band
3
Dec 28 2023
View Album
The Sensual World
Kate Bush
3
Dec 29 2023
View Album
Bubble And Scrape
Sebadoh
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.
3
Jan 01 2024
View Album
All Things Must Pass
George Harrison
i wish this album would've passed a little faster
2
Jan 02 2024
View Album
The College Dropout
Kanye West
1
Jan 03 2024
View Album
Heartattack And Vine
Tom Waits
i know his voice is like the whole thing but i just didn't like the whole thing
3
Jan 04 2024
View Album
Music for the Masses
Depeche Mode
i wanted to like this more than i did, but it was still pleasant!
3
Jan 05 2024
View Album
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Elton John
4
Jan 08 2024
View Album
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Kanye West
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
Jan 09 2024
View Album
London Calling
The Clash
3
Jan 10 2024
View Album
Hybrid Theory
Linkin Park
3
Jan 11 2024
View Album
Red Headed Stranger
Willie Nelson
3
Jan 12 2024
View Album
Fragile
Yes
4
Jan 15 2024
View Album
Rubber Soul
Beatles
4
Jan 16 2024
View Album
Beggars Banquet
The Rolling Stones
3
Jan 17 2024
View Album
Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
3
Jan 18 2024
View Album
Psychocandy
The Jesus And Mary Chain
4
Jan 19 2024
View Album
Unknown Pleasures
Joy Division
Eh
3
Jan 22 2024
View Album
The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
3
Jan 23 2024
View Album
Is This It
The Strokes
wish this had been as edgy and cool as the album cover made it seem
3
Jan 24 2024
View Album
When I Was Born For The 7th Time
Cornershop
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!
3
Jan 25 2024
View Album
Guero
Beck
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!
3
Jan 26 2024
View Album
Dear Science
TV On The Radio
4
Jan 29 2024
View Album
Liquid Swords
GZA
3
Jan 30 2024
View Album
Chirping Crickets
Buddy Holly & The Crickets
3
Jan 31 2024
View Album
This Is Hardcore
Pulp
i loved this!!!
5
Feb 01 2024
View Album
21
Adele
4
Feb 02 2024
View Album
Make Yourself
Incubus
4
Feb 05 2024
View Album
Melodrama
Lorde
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.
5
Feb 06 2024
View Album
Home Is Where The Music Is
Hugh Masekela
i can appreciate the talent, but it wasn't really all that enjoyable for me to listen to.
3
Feb 07 2024
View Album
Arrival
ABBA
it's pure sunshine, how could it be less than 5 stars?
5
Feb 08 2024
View Album
The Bones Of What You Believe
CHVRCHES
so enjoyable. great addition to the 1001 albums list!
5
Feb 09 2024
View Album
Another Green World
Brian Eno
4
Feb 12 2024
View Album
Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols
Sex Pistols
I can see why this was important but I found it very unpleasant and grating to listen to
2
Feb 13 2024
View Album
Master Of Puppets
Metallica
3
Feb 14 2024
View Album
Raw Power
The Stooges
3
Feb 15 2024
View Album
Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
The Smashing Pumpkins
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.
5
Feb 16 2024
View Album
Ananda Shankar
Ananda Shankar
aside from the 13 minute track, I found this quite pleasant!
4
Feb 19 2024
View Album
Sign 'O' The Times
Prince
boy he really went on and on huh
3
Feb 20 2024
View Album
Hounds Of Love
Kate Bush
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.
4
Feb 21 2024
View Album
The Last Broadcast
Doves
did it sound like Coldplay? yes, but I was jammin.
4
Feb 22 2024
View Album
Parallel Lines
Blondie
4
Feb 23 2024
View Album
Sweetheart Of The Rodeo
The Byrds
3
Feb 26 2024
View Album
The Velvet Underground & Nico
The Velvet Underground
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.
2
Feb 27 2024
View Album
Sound of Silver
LCD Soundsystem
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.
2
Feb 28 2024
View Album
Third
Soft Machine
why? why does 1001 albums keep torturing me with multiple 20-minute songs? i'm a good person. i don't deserve this.
2
Feb 29 2024
View Album
This Year's Model
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
it was fine. nice enough to listen to. just didn't feel super strongly about it!
3
Mar 01 2024
View Album
Billion Dollar Babies
Alice Cooper
3
Mar 04 2024
View Album
Court And Spark
Joni Mitchell
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 🥲
4
Mar 05 2024
View Album
People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm
A Tribe Called Quest
nice rhythm and rhymes but a little long for my tastes
4
Mar 06 2024
View Album
Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim
Frank Sinatra
Eh.
3
Mar 07 2024
View Album
One Nation Under A Groove
Funkadelic
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!
5
Mar 08 2024
View Album
Night Life
Ray Price
4
Mar 11 2024
View Album
Raising Hell
Run-D.M.C.
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!!!
5
Mar 12 2024
View Album
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
3
Mar 13 2024
View Album
Want One
Rufus Wainwright
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.
4
Mar 14 2024
View Album
Leftism
Leftfield
I felt swaddled in the bosom of this droney electronica ❤️
4
Mar 15 2024
View Album
Elastica
Elastica
this was a lot of fun and short and sweet! i dig it!
4
Mar 18 2024
View Album
Green River
Creedence Clearwater Revival
it was fine enough, just not really my kind of music I spose
3
Mar 19 2024
View Album
Crime Of The Century
Supertramp
so funky and fun and ridiculous, I had an absolute blast!!!
5
Mar 20 2024
View Album
Nebraska
Bruce Springsteen
3
Mar 21 2024
View Album
Black Monk Time
The Monks
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.
4
Mar 22 2024
View Album
Graceland
Paul Simon
3
Mar 25 2024
View Album
Parsley, Sage, Rosemary And Thyme
Simon & Garfunkel
4
Mar 26 2024
View Album
1984
Van Halen
i wasn't expecting to enjoy this as much as I did but it was pure fun. #dudesrock
4
Mar 27 2024
View Album
Sound Affects
The Jam
I wanted to like this so much more than I did, but it was just a whole lot of inoffensive nothing.
3
Mar 28 2024
View Album
Five Leaves Left
Nick Drake
this is a very nice, pretty album that nonetheless made me feel nothing, somehow. i'm sorry nick!
3
Mar 29 2024
View Album
Warehouse: Songs And Stories
Hüsker Dü
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.
2
Apr 01 2024
View Album
Bringing It All Back Home
Bob Dylan
enjoyable! i liked it!
4
Apr 02 2024
View Album
Doolittle
Pixies
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.
4
Apr 03 2024
View Album
Live At The Regal
B.B. King
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.
4
Apr 04 2024
View Album
Bossanova
Pixies
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!
4
Apr 05 2024
View Album
American Idiot
Green Day
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.
5
Apr 08 2024
View Album
Slippery When Wet
Bon Jovi
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.
4
Apr 09 2024
View Album
The White Album
Beatles
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!
4
Apr 10 2024
View Album
Aha Shake Heartbreak
Kings of Leon
well, that sure was an album.
2
Apr 11 2024
View Album
Private Dancer
Tina Turner
wow, this was a lot of fun. pure 80s. i was really surprised by all the low reviews because I was jammin'.
4
Apr 12 2024
View Album
Vivid
Living Colour
I loved this. So fun, great energy, really unique. Another banger from 1001 albums I wouldn't have found on my own!
5
Apr 15 2024
View Album
Back To Black
Amy Winehouse
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.
5
Apr 16 2024
View Album
Here's Little Richard
Little Richard
I mean, it was enjoyable enough, but it *did* feel like the same song 10 times if I'm being totally honest >.>
3
Apr 17 2024
View Album
Bongo Rock
Incredible Bongo Band
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!
4
Apr 18 2024
View Album
Step In The Arena
Gang Starr
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.
3
Apr 19 2024
View Album
E.V.O.L.
Sonic Youth
this just really didn't do anything for me, i'm sorry!
3
Apr 22 2024
View Album
Rock 'N Soul
Solomon Burke
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.
4
Apr 23 2024
View Album
Figure 8
Elliott Smith
really liked this one! i listened to it more than once, which is rare for me. just a very good album.
5
Apr 24 2024
View Album
For Your Pleasure
Roxy Music
echoing all the other commenters that I wish this album went as hard as the cover.
2
Apr 25 2024
View Album
Shaka Zulu
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Always great to get something different on 1001 albums. I liked this, though it got a bit repetitive at times. Still enjoyable!
4
Apr 26 2024
View Album
Queens of the Stone Age
Queens of the Stone Age
An hour of chugging fuzzy nothing.
2
Apr 29 2024
View Album
A Girl Called Dusty
Dusty Springfield
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.
3
Apr 30 2024
View Album
Jagged Little Pill
Alanis Morissette
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!
3
May 01 2024
View Album
Blunderbuss
Jack White
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.
3
May 02 2024
View Album
The Nightfly
Donald Fagen
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
3
May 03 2024
View Album
Emergency On Planet Earth
Jamiroquai
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!
3
May 06 2024
View Album
Fear Of A Black Planet
Public Enemy
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.
3
May 07 2024
View Album
Automatic For The People
R.E.M.
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 :(
3
May 08 2024
View Album
The La's
The La's
Meh.
3
May 09 2024
View Album
Rejoicing In The Hands
Devendra Banhart
he's a talented guitar player but otherwise I really did not enjoy this.
2
May 10 2024
View Album
Maverick A Strike
Finley Quaye
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.
2
May 13 2024
View Album
Crosby, Stills & Nash
Crosby, Stills & Nash
I actually really liked this one. Beautiful harmonies! Not quite a 5 for me but really, really enjoyable. And oldie but a goodie :)
4
May 14 2024
View Album
Moon Safari
Air
so smooth, so breezy... if frutiger aero was an album.
5
May 15 2024
View Album
Exit Planet Dust
The Chemical Brothers
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.
3
May 16 2024
View Album
The Renaissance
Q-Tip
really liked this one! good flow, i was bopping my head without even realizing it.
4
May 17 2024
View Album
...The Dandy Warhols Come Down
The Dandy Warhols
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.
3
May 20 2024
View Album
Coat Of Many Colors
Dolly Parton
Absolutely loved it. Pure sunshine!
5
May 21 2024
View Album
James Brown Live At The Apollo
James Brown
what do you want me to say? it's a live album. i bet it would've slapped if I was there.
3
May 22 2024
View Album
Kilimanjaro
The Teardrop Explodes
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.
4
May 23 2024
View Album
Let It Be
The Replacements
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.
3
May 24 2024
View Album
Pacific Ocean Blue
Dennis Wilson
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.
3
May 27 2024
View Album
Lust For Life
Iggy Pop
i liked the two big songs on here! but struggled to really have an opinion on anything else.
3
May 28 2024
View Album
Young Americans
David Bowie
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.
3
May 29 2024
View Album
Idlewild
Everything But The Girl
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.
2
May 30 2024
View Album
Meat Puppets II
Meat Puppets
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.
2
May 31 2024
View Album
Lost In The Dream
The War On Drugs
really no strong feelings about this one
3
Jun 03 2024
View Album
The Doors
The Doors
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....
3
Jun 04 2024
View Album
The Slim Shady LP
Eminem
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.
1
Jun 05 2024
View Album
Mama Said Knock You Out
LL Cool J
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.
3
Jun 06 2024
View Album
Physical Graffiti
Led Zeppelin
I wasn't super wowed tbh. Way too long. Eh
3
Jun 07 2024
View Album
Mask
Bauhaus
i don't think i really "got" it 🥲
3
Jun 10 2024
View Album
White Blood Cells
The White Stripes
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.
3
Jun 11 2024
View Album
Ágætis Byrjun
Sigur Rós
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!
5
Jun 12 2024
View Album
Rust Never Sleeps
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
I liked this more than some of Neil Young's other stuff. No real significant feelings tho.
3
Jun 13 2024
View Album
Smokers Delight
Nightmares On Wax
No strong feelings about this... it kind of disappeared into the background.
3
Jun 14 2024
View Album
Logical Progression
LTJ Bukem
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.
3
Jun 17 2024
View Album
In A Silent Way
Miles Davis
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.
3
Jun 18 2024
View Album
Led Zeppelin II
Led Zeppelin
I actually liked this one more than I thought I would, but it's still 3 stars.
3
Jun 19 2024
View Album
Californication
Red Hot Chili Peppers
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.
3
Jun 20 2024
View Album
Paul's Boutique
Beastie Boys
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.
2
Jun 21 2024
View Album
Real Life
Magazine
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.
4
Jun 24 2024
View Album
Garbage
Garbage
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.
5
Jun 25 2024
View Album
Led Zeppelin III
Led Zeppelin
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.
4
Jun 26 2024
View Album
Like Water For Chocolate
Common
Eh.
3
Jun 27 2024
View Album
John Prine
John Prine
This was nice! Good music and some fun lyrics.
4
Jun 28 2024
View Album
Honky Tonk Masquerade
Joe Ely
I had fun, but some of the songs were noticeably weaker than others. A quick energetic listen!
3
Jul 01 2024
View Album
Disraeli Gears
Cream
I found this annoying and try hard quirky.
2
Jul 02 2024
View Album
The Queen Is Dead
The Smiths
i liked the big song on here! the rest was just okay.
3
Jul 03 2024
View Album
Want Two
Rufus Wainwright
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!!
3
Jul 04 2024
View Album
Better Living Through Chemistry
Fatboy Slim
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.
3
Jul 05 2024
View Album
Grace
Jeff Buckley
Gorgeous. More genre-spanning than I thought. Such talent lost so young :(
5
Jul 08 2024
View Album
Live!
Fela Kuti
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.
4
Jul 09 2024
View Album
The Cars
The Cars
This was a lot of fun. Banger after banger! Who knew! Super enjoyable, a nice lil surprise from 1001 albums.
4
Jul 10 2024
View Album
Fuzzy Logic
Super Furry Animals
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.
5
Jul 11 2024
View Album
Station To Station
David Bowie
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.
4
Jul 12 2024
View Album
Doggystyle
Snoop Dogg
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.
4
Jul 15 2024
View Album
Synchronicity
The Police
Really liked this one! Lots of fun tracks.
4
Jul 16 2024
View Album
I Should Coco
Supergrass
one of the best discoveries from 1001 albums is how much i like supergrass.
4
Jul 17 2024
View Album
Architecture And Morality
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
loved it. new wave proto synth pop? sign me up! souvenir is 🫦🤌
5
Jul 18 2024
View Album
Penthouse And Pavement
Heaven 17
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.
4
Jul 19 2024
View Album
Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes
TV On The Radio
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
2
Jul 22 2024
View Album
L.A. Woman
The Doors
more like the snores
2
Jul 23 2024
View Album
Reggatta De Blanc
The Police
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! :<
3
Jul 24 2024
View Album
Permission to Land
The Darkness
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!
4
Jul 25 2024
View Album
The Man Who
Travis
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!
5
Jul 26 2024
View Album
The Stooges
The Stooges
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!
2
Jul 29 2024
View Album
Juju
Siouxsie And The Banshees
I wish I liked this one more! The first half was cool and funky, but they lost in me in the second half.
3
Jul 30 2024
View Album
2112
Rush
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.
3
Jul 31 2024
View Album
Ritual De Lo Habitual
Jane's Addiction
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.
3
Aug 01 2024
View Album
The Real Thing
Faith No More
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!
4
Aug 02 2024
View Album
Entertainment
Gang Of Four
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.
3
Aug 05 2024
View Album
You Want It Darker
Leonard Cohen
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.
4
Aug 06 2024
View Album
Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs
Derek & The Dominos
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.
1
Aug 07 2024
View Album
Olympia 64
Jacques Brel
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.
4
Aug 08 2024
View Album
Rhythm Nation 1814
Janet Jackson
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. :| )
4
Aug 09 2024
View Album
GI
Germs
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.
2
Aug 12 2024
View Album
Black Holes and Revelations
Muse
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!
5
Aug 13 2024
View Album
Illmatic
Nas
very enjoyable!
4
Aug 14 2024
View Album
Kenza
Khaled
this was a surprise! a mix of so many different genres and styles and even languages. i really enjoyed it!
4
Aug 15 2024
View Album
Fred Neil
Fred Neil
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.
4
Aug 16 2024
View Album
The Scream
Siouxsie And The Banshees
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.
3
Aug 19 2024
View Album
Getz/Gilberto
Stan Getz
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.
4
Aug 20 2024
View Album
Low
David Bowie
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!!
3
Aug 21 2024
View Album
Tago Mago
Can
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?
2
Aug 22 2024
View Album
Ill Communication
Beastie Boys
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 :)
4
Aug 23 2024
View Album
It's Too Late to Stop Now
Van Morrison
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.
3
Aug 26 2024
View Album
In Rainbows
Radiohead
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.
5
Aug 27 2024
View Album
The Stranger
Billy Joel
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!
5
Aug 28 2024
View Album
Aftermath
The Rolling Stones
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.
2
Aug 29 2024
View Album
Younger Than Yesterday
The Byrds
no strong thoughts.
3
Aug 30 2024
View Album
Oedipus Schmoedipus
Barry Adamson
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.
4
Sep 02 2024
View Album
Rumours
Fleetwood Mac
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.
5
Sep 03 2024
View Album
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground
pale blue eyes goes off but otherwise zzzzzzz
3
Sep 04 2024
View Album
Post Orgasmic Chill
Skunk Anansie
wow! really really liked this one. something different and super funky. a joy to listen to!
5
Sep 05 2024
View Album
The Sounds Of India
Ravi Shankar
i mean, this guy whips ass at the sitar. this cannot be denied.
3
Sep 06 2024
View Album
Suicide
Suicide
don't waste my time, man.
2
Sep 09 2024
View Album
Exodus
Bob Marley & The Wailers
admittedly not my typical music, and not something i see revisiting on my own very much, but - i mean, it's a classic. rip.
4
Sep 10 2024
View Album
On The Beach
Neil Young
i'm sorry mr. young! i know you're a beloved songwriter. it's just not hitting for me for some reason!
3
Sep 11 2024
View Album
Tea for the Tillerman
Cat Stevens
Lovely!
4
Sep 12 2024
View Album
Qui sème le vent récolte le tempo
MC Solaar
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!
4
Sep 13 2024
View Album
Gunfighter Ballads And Trail Songs
Marty Robbins
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!
5
Sep 16 2024
View Album
Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
Wu-Tang Clan
it was good - good flow, enjoyable beats. a little long. i was weary of it by the end.
3
Sep 17 2024
View Album
Dire Straits
Dire Straits
No strong feelings on this one.
3
Sep 18 2024
View Album
It's Blitz!
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
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).
4
Sep 19 2024
View Album
What's Going On
Marvin Gaye
4
Sep 20 2024
View Album
You Are The Quarry
Morrissey
it's a shame about who morrissey is as a person because this unfortunately kind of slapped.
4
Sep 23 2024
View Album
If You Can Believe Your Eyes & Ears
The Mamas & The Papas
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!
4
Sep 24 2024
View Album
Sea Change
Beck
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.
3
Sep 25 2024
View Album
I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You
Aretha Franklin
this didn't have a lot of standout moments for me (besides Respect) but i did enjoy it!
4
Sep 26 2024
View Album
Phrenology
The Roots
i enjoyed it, but no real standouts.
3
Sep 27 2024
View Album
The Notorious Byrd Brothers
The Byrds
another byrds album?? why??
3
Sep 30 2024
View Album
The Wildest!
Louis Prima
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!!!!
3
Oct 01 2024
View Album
Pet Sounds
The Beach Boys
just wonderful.
5
Oct 02 2024
View Album
Play
Moby
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
Oct 03 2024
View Album
Modern Life Is Rubbish
Blur
🎶la la, la la la, la la la la la la la la🎶
4
Oct 04 2024
View Album
Different Class
Pulp
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
4
Oct 07 2024
View Album
Vol. 4
Black Sabbath
felt appropriate spooky for halloween season. probably closer to a 3.5 but i can't do half stars.
3
Oct 08 2024
View Album
Channel Orange
Frank Ocean
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.
5
Oct 09 2024
View Album
Django Django
Django Django
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.
5
Oct 10 2024
View Album
Destroyer
KISS
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.
3
Oct 11 2024
View Album
In Our Heads
Hot Chip
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!!
3
Oct 14 2024
View Album
Songs From The Big Chair
Tears For Fears
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.
4
Oct 15 2024
View Album
The Chronic
Dr. Dre
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!!
2
Oct 16 2024
View Album
The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady
Charles Mingus
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.
3
Oct 17 2024
View Album
evermore
Taylor Swift
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.
4
Oct 18 2024
View Album
Maxinquaye
Tricky
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.
3
Oct 21 2024
View Album
Bookends
Simon & Garfunkel
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?
3
Oct 22 2024
View Album
Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters
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?
3
Oct 23 2024
View Album
The Fat Of The Land
The Prodigy
I actually quite liked this one??? Great trancey music for zoning out and daydreaming.
4
Oct 24 2024
View Album
Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea
PJ Harvey
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!
4
Oct 25 2024
View Album
Highly Evolved
The Vines
grungy, sludgy, samey. doesn't feel essential. sometimes okay to listen to. other times profoundly ugly. idk.
3
Oct 28 2024
View Album
Aladdin Sane
David Bowie
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!!!
3
Oct 29 2024
View Album
Wish You Were Here
Pink Floyd
4 stars for wish you were here the song, flawless, no notes. the rest was aight
4
Oct 30 2024
View Album
Vincebus Eruptum
Blue Cheer
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.
2
Oct 31 2024
View Album
If I Should Fall From Grace With God
The Pogues
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!
4
Nov 01 2024
View Album
Floodland
Sisters Of Mercy
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!!
5
Nov 04 2024
View Album
Madman Across The Water
Elton John
eh. no real strong feelings. unfortunately the big song was right at the beginning, and you know how that goes!
3
Nov 05 2024
View Album
Innervisions
Stevie Wonder
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.
4
Nov 06 2024
View Album
Lazer Guided Melodies
Spiritualized
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.
5
Nov 07 2024
View Album
Venus Luxure No. 1 Baby
Girls Against Boys
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.
3
Nov 08 2024
View Album
Now I Got Worry
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
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.
2
Nov 11 2024
View Album
Blackstar
David Bowie
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! 😭
3
Nov 12 2024
View Album
Mothership Connection
Parliament
funky, groovy, fabulous! i really enjoyed this one.
4
Nov 13 2024
View Album
Low-Life
New Order
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.
4
Nov 14 2024
View Album
Live / Dead
Grateful Dead
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.
1
Nov 15 2024
View Album
At San Quentin
Johnny Cash
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.
5
Nov 18 2024
View Album
The Dark Side Of The Moon
Pink Floyd
shocking but true: yeah, okay, this was extremely good.
5
Nov 20 2024
View Album
Dummy
Portishead
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 🥲
4