Quite a painful listen after artists like Michael Jackson and Fleetwood Mac. The chord progressions were simplistic, there was no harmony, just bland synths and lyrics. This nearly fell into a 1 but I did like the Scottish accents coming through, and one of the songs was Ok (can’t remember which one). Overall this made me really question the list. This just feels like such an arbitrary choice, probably added shortly after it came out. I’d say at least 10 years should pass before an album can be considered for the list, looking back on this album now you can see it for what it is, soulless synth pop, or as the Scots say “a load a’ shite”.

This isn’t a bad album, just not for me. The constant power chords and unsubtle social commentary got boring after a couple of tracks. The album is too long and I didn’t like the rock opera elements. They never produced anything better than Dookie in my opinion.

The album is really satisfying to listen to from the first track. There is so much complexity in the syncopated percussion, layered bass, interesting chords and vocal harmonies. The arrangement and production is ingenious and almost alien-like, when certain chords hit (like the thriller chord) it almost brought a tear to my eye. I have to say I believe that Jackson was a paedophile who exploited children that admired him. He was clearly a very damaged individual who had a traumatic life, but this does not excuse his crimes. It would be easy to give this 1/5 but there is no point lying, I still listen to this album and think it is incredible. As I’ve said in other reviews, I can separate an album from the artist so it is still getting 5/5 from me, but I want to be clear that I think Jackson did some horrific things in his life and I think people need to accept that.

This album really is perfect. Every song offers variety and has its own character yet still ties in to the overall feel of the album. The lyrics are perfect, the choruses are perfect, the harmonies are perfect, the playing is perfect, the production is perfect and the album doesn’t outstay its welcome. My favourite track will always be The Chain, the bass part at the end is iconic and is one many examples of genius moments in the album.

A tough listen

I enjoyed it more than the last time I tried to listen to it. I think Steeley Dan is an acquired taste as the music is complex. It has definitely clicked with me and I would listen to this again. Some of the lyrics are a bit odd.

Enjoyed some songs but others a bit annoying. Don’t feel like I will be listening again

I like the sound however I found the songs quite repetitive after a while and there wasn’t enough to keep me interested. I am not a regular blues listener and this album seemed a bit mediocre in comparison to the complexity of the last two albums.

It has a good start and there’s some bangers on there but there are a few too many proggy movements/solos. The rock organ is a complete joke. I’ve included Black Night even though it wasn’t on the original release, which gives it a star in its own right. It’s groovy but I can see why punk happened after this.

I enjoyed it overall. Not what I’d usually listen to but it was a very endearing listen on a Saturday morning.

Very difficult to listen to this objectively. I was never a winehouse fan however it is impossible to deny that this is a great album. If it isn’t a 5 star album I don’t know what is

I've never been a fan of REM because their singles from the 90s were played excessively during my childhood, and listening to them now evokes an unpleasant sense of nostalgia. However, I recently came across "Radio Free Europe" and found myself genuinely enjoying it. I particularly appreciated this album's simplicity.

I’ve tried to listen to this before but gave up. I really enjoyed it this time round. The production and string arrangements are really pleasing.

I struggled with this one. I don’t think it had much to offer other than the two big singles, and one of them reminded me of the theme from The One Show. The rest of the album sounds like someone pissing about on a Casio keyboard. I hated it.

This is one of those “it was really innovative and influential at the time” albums. I enjoyed parts of it but it doesn’t hold up as well as other krautrock stuff like Neu and Can. I won’t be listening again.

I do love this album. It’s awkward and abrasive and its weirdness makes it unique. It seems like you can find music that was influenced by this album in every year since its release.

I was looking forward to this after listening to REM and Pixies from a similar time, but it actually didn’t resonate with me at all. I didn’t like the production, and the album felt too long with no variety. The album has 20 songs but I didn’t find any of them memorable at all.

Bit confused by this album. I’m not a fan of the band and I don’t like vocal style, it sounds weak and out of tune. I never usually notice lyrics but from the first track they stuck out as quite bad to me. The style varied quite a lot, the first few songs seem to have a kraftwerk influence but the 4th track Sunrise sounds like the Cure. I did really enjoy Elegia which was moody and cinematic sounding. It’s an instrumental and I could imagine Ian Curtis’s voice over it which made me feel quite sad. I think I will always see New Order as Ian’s backing band. I preferred the second half but it has the same flaws, the vocals and lyrics grate on me, e.g. Sub Culture starts well but it loses me when Sumner comes in with “I like walking in the park”.

For me there is no Blur album that I enjoy from beginning to end. There are some decent songs on this one but the style jumps all over the place and I feel like a few songs could’ve been cut. The album is a mixed bag and doesn’t feel like a ‘journey’. I like Graham Coxon’s tracks but they might’ve been more suited to a solo album. It feels like they just threw everything into this and it is a mixed bag. I do really like what each member brings to the band, I’ve always liked Albarn’s vocals and the guitar and bass tone is really satisfying. I think James is an underrated bass player and I enjoyed his work on this album.

This album is like a lot of other albums on this list. To me, a couple of good singles alone shouldn’t qualify an album for this list. I liked parts of this album but some of the sounds were so annoying, and certain songs could’ve been dropped to make it more enjoyable as a whole. Another 3/5 album for me.

Couldn’t really listen to this as it wasn’t on Spotify and only some tracks were available on YouTube. It sounded like a Latin hip hop album with a couple of the J5 lads popping up here and there. It seemed pleasant enough but not something I’d come back to.

I quite enjoyed the late 70s new wave sound. It reminded me of XTC. A decent album but there weren’t many major stand out moments for me.

This album was a nice surprise. I really enjoyed it. There were some classic songs on there and I like the 80s sound mixed with power pop and other genres.

It’s hard listen to that without thinking about the fact that Clapton is a complete cunt. It’s pretty ironic that he covered I Shot the Sheriff on this album in 1974 then two years later demanded on stage that Jamaicans “leave the country” because Britain is a “white country”. He was lucky to still have a career, that wouldn’t even exist without the black music that he channeled in every song he played. I made the mistake of reading his Wikipedia page, and it seems he’s never fully rejected his racist beliefs, and found himself caught up in anti vaccine bollocks decades later. I feel like I can separate the artist from the art, and there are some decent songs on the album. I really like the 70s production, which sounds really clean and tight. I didn’t hear anything groundbreaking though, and it’s fair to say it wasn’t my cup of tea overall.

I quite liked the 60s mod and psyche elements but there were some weird tracks on there. It was an interesting album but I won’t be coming back to it.

I like the Kinks but I’ve never heard these songs. The album starts really well and Brainwashed is a real high. The production and arrangements are really satisfying and the drums really pack a punch. The album keeps you hooked throughout with unexpected movements in the songs. Considering how it was really fresh and enjoyable for me having not heard it before, it’s earned a 5/5.

Another pleasant surprise. I really enjoyed the mix of Latin styles and 60s psychedelic rock.

This has the elements that I like about Fugazi, the tight bass and drums with abrasive guitars. However I never liked this album and still didn’t really enjoy it this time. I think it lacks the hooks and choruses that The Argument has, which is my favourite of theirs. I didn’t find any song particularly memorable.

I really enjoyed this album. It showed Joni Mitchell’s range and talent, and I liked the experimental elements. I was blown away by the last track.

Two Joni albums in a row. 10 years ago I would have been annoyed but I really enjoyed both. Her style has been an acquired taste for me but I really appreciate her talents now. There are some really intricate songs on this album.

I’ve never listened to an Iron Maiden album before yet there were no surprises with this. Every song had the fast galloping guitars, wailing vocals and solos. It was interesting to hear how much this clearly influenced Metallica. Number of the Beast and Run to the Hills are good fun but the album wasn’t for me.

Never heard of this band but I really enjoyed this. It was short and sweet.

This album really is perfect. Every song offers variety and has its own character yet still ties in to the overall feel of the album. The lyrics are perfect, the choruses are perfect, the harmonies are perfect, the playing is perfect, the production is perfect and the album doesn’t outstay its welcome. My favourite track will always be The Chain, the bass part at the end is iconic and is one many examples of genius moments in the album.

This is an amazing album and easily one of Radiohead’s best. It’s pretty incredible how they reinvent themselves, creating interesting music and remaining relevant.

Some nice bossa nova sounds but overall I found it quite boring and I really didn’t need to hear Girl from Ipanema three times on one album

I like other GSH that I’ve heard. Unfortunately this didn’t grab me at all. I enjoyed some of the electric keyboard sounds and lyrics but that’s about it.

I really enjoyed some parts of this however a lot of the songs towards the end sounded the same. I liked the orchestration and Ray’s voice is incredible. It’s between a 3 and 4.

I liked the early 90s production but I’ve never really liked PJ’s voice or lyrics and the songs are a bit simplistic.

This album was a pleasant surprise. There were some interesting sounds and lyrics.

I do love this album. The lyrics are clever and reflect the social issues at the time, and you can hear the Coventry in Terrys accent. There is a huge mix of genres, sounds and voices on the album which reflects the amazing things that were happening in music at the time, as well as huge cultural changes in the UK. I especially love bass lines but every member brings something unique to the band. I always thought the shorter live version of too much too young was better as it showed the energy in the bands live performances but it’s still a 5/5.

I enjoyed the singles. Not sure there was enough for 5 stars

I’ve never heard this before and I really enjoyed it. I think I used to write Paul off as a bit of a cheese-monger but this was a nice upbeat 70s album.

I liked the sound of it. There was something of the pixies and the stone roses about it, however I didn’t enjoy it as much as those bands. I thought the songs melted into each other a bit and there weren’t any stand outs.

The album is really satisfying to listen to from the first track. There is so much complexity in the syncopated percussion, layered bass, interesting chords and vocal harmonies. The arrangement and production is ingenious and almost alien-like, when certain chords hit (like the thriller chord) it almost brought a tear to my eye. I have to say I believe that Jackson was a paedophile who exploited children that admired him. He was clearly a very damaged individual who had a traumatic life, but this does not excuse his crimes. It would be easy to give this 1/5 but there is no point lying, I still listen to this album and think it is incredible. As I’ve said in other reviews, I can separate an album from the artist so it is still getting 5/5 from me, but I want to be clear that I think Jackson did some horrific things in his life and I think people need to accept that.

Gaye has an amazing voice and I always like hearing James Jameson on bass. A personal pet peeve with albums is when songs come back as a reprise, no idea why, it just bothers me. Also the orgasmic noises on you sure love to ball were awkward.

I really enjoyed this, it had some elements of grunge but also 90s rock - kind of like the Breeders. There were also some moments that reminded me of 70s/80s art rock I.e. XTC which I really liked. I hadn’t heard of this band and was really surprised to see this was Bob Mould’s project. Husked Du came up on this on a previous day and I really didn’t like it, but I found this album to be way better produced, with more variety in the songs. I decided when I started doing this album challenge that I wouldn’t be too shy to give a 5 star rating and considering how much I enjoyed it on the first listen and how there didn’t seem to be any low points I think it qualifies as 5 star album. I will definitely come back to it.

I didn’t really have strong feelings about this. I feel like 2 is a bit harsh but this is definitely somewhere between a 2 and 3.

I really liked the singles from this in 2005 and never got round to listening to this album. I really enjoyed it, it had a lot of elements I like in an album, especially the use of different styles but still having an overall feel. I thought the choruses were really strong and memorable. I like weird/experimental albums, and considering I liked it a lot on a first listen I’m giving it 5/5.

Quite a painful listen after artists like Michael Jackson and Fleetwood Mac. The chord progressions were simplistic, there was no harmony, just bland synths and lyrics. This nearly fell into a 1 but I did like the Scottish accents coming through, and one of the songs was Ok (can’t remember which one). Overall this made me really question the list. This just feels like such an arbitrary choice, probably added shortly after it came out. I’d say at least 10 years should pass before an album can be considered for the list, looking back on this album now you can see it for what it is, soulless synth pop, or as the Scots say “a load a’ shite”.

I secretly judge people who say they hate Coldplay. I get they’ve been through a few cringey iterations but I simply ignore everything after their second album and let the people who enjoy them (I’m assuming 40 year old Christians), enjoy them. This album has some really enjoyable songs on it and it’s not all simplistic pop rock, there’s some interesting chord progressions and memorable choruses. My only criticism is that it is slightly too long but people who write off this album simply because its Coldplay are just brainlessly hating on them. Chris Martin did nothing wrong!

I’ve had two The Kinks albums come up now and I have really enjoyed both of them having not heard them before. This one was really weird but still had some great singles, eg Picture Book. I really enjoyed the 60’s groovyness mixed with wacky English eccentricity. Some tracks near the end were a bit much but I will definitely come back to this.

For me this was somewhere between George Michael and Simply Red. I didn’t enjoy any of it apart from a couple of the bass lines. If found the style grating and the lyrics were repetitive. I didn’t like the singer’s voice and it didn’t blend well with the backing singer. The ad libbed vocals by the backing singer in some songs were very over the top and annoying, just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. I have no idea why this is on the list, the album had one big hit and the rest was a forgettable cheese selection.

Not in the mood

I enjoyed this album, I like the dynamic between the two members, and Jack White’s guitar tones really shine. I feel like my problem with 2 piece bands is that they can only go so far without that extra harmonic layer of another member. I really liked the heavier tracks like ‘Girl you have no faith in medicine’, where I’m sure the echoey ‘woo!’ at the beginning was later copied by The Oh sees/Ty Segall / King Gizzard. Overall it’s a great album by a great band who have their own trademark sound.

I turned my nose up when I saw it was a lesser known ABBA album. I was surprised that I really liked it. There’s some really catchy moments and groovy bass lines. Some of the stage musical sounding songs were a bit much but I enjoyed it overall.

Nice but forgettable.

Nearly gave up on this. I get that this is a pioneering album for the genre but it sounded badly mixed and dated. The first track being 20 mins was a joke. There were a couple of enjoyable parts but it mostly dragged on.

This is my second Beck album and this one is completely different to the other. This album reminded me of Radiohead - (in rainbows) and Elbow. I’m impressed that Beck can produce such varied albums that are high quality in such a short time period.

I found most of the album quite unaspiring and lacked the excitement of the stooges however the last track was surprisingly good.

For me, The Smiths are one of those bands that have amazing singles but no album that I enjoy from beginning to end. This album has one of my favourite The Smiths songs, Stop Me, and it shows all the characteristics that made the bands sound unique, however it’s not quite a 5/5 album in my opinion.

Not sure what he was going for with this one. Some interesting songs but mostly a boring alt rock album.

Couple of iconic songs, interesting 70s album but I doubt I’ll revisit it.

I’ve tried to listen to this before. It seems like something I’d like but no part of it clicked with me. The songs felt long and aimless, and I really didn’t like Ferry’s singing voice. The last track was really quite annoying.

I was reluctant to listen to this but I actually enjoyed some songs. I think you need to have been a very specific age when this came out, it was one of the first albums I bought. Everyone listened to this when I was in school, and it it was a bit of an equaliser for those that liked hip hop and those who preferred guitar music. Unfortunately, without the nostalgia factor, the call and response rapping sounds very corny, and the lyrics are like an angsty teen brat who hates their parents for no reason. It’s now quite laughable that there’s no swearing in the album, just shouting things like “go away” and “shut up”, along with threats of running away. It was a nice trip down nu-metal memory lane but a strange choice for this list.

Reading the other reviews I just don’t understand why people get so worked up about Coldplay. Listening to this was an absolute delight compared to some of the other shit on this list. It is quite a gentle album, and derivative of Radiohead in some parts, but people act like Chris Martin is Satan and listening to this album is like getting stabbed up the arse with a pitchfork. I get that Coldplay are ‘commercial’ and ‘mainstream’ but it’s fine to not listen to them, there’s no need to be so triggered.

When I was a kid my mum used to take to me the garden centre, and for some reason they used to sell CDs of instrumental relaxation music with weird names like “gentle panpipe”. You could press buttons to hear a sample of each one and I always wondered who bought them. Anyway this reminded me of one of those, or the music from an assassins creed game.

I enjoyed this one. Wasn’t sure what to expect but it surprised me with its deferent elements of rock, new wave, punk and power pop. I will be listening again.

I haven’t listened to this album since hearing it in my dads car in the 90s. It used to remind me of long journeys and feeling sick. I rejected oasis completely as a teenager as it just wasn’t fashionable to listen to them. Coming back to it now I have to accept it is a great album. They do wear their influences on their sleeve, and the lyrics are complete nonsense, but there is a certain magic about the album, and the choruses are huge.

This isn’t a bad album, just not for me. The constant power chords and unsubtle social commentary got boring after a couple of tracks. The album is too long and I didn’t like the rock opera elements. They never produced anything better than Dookie in my opinion.

Couple of memorable songs but some of the sounds were a bit dated. I didn’t really like it overall.

I guess you had to be there

An interesting and unique album. I enjoyed it

Interesting album but I didn’t like it as much as the other specials one. There weren’t many memorable songs on this

I have heard their later stuff which I preferred. Quite an uneventful album and I’m surprised it’s on the list.

I like this album, I think DJ Shadow used sampling to create something artistic and different sounding. Having said that I thought the weird blast beat on stem was a strange choice. Overall I’m conflicted about sampling as it can be quite lazy and can alter my enjoyment of the original songs that were sampled. This album still gets a 4/5 as it has an interesting and mysterious atmosphere to it.

Tried to listen to this before and it just doesn’t do much for me

Nice reggae album for a heatwave. Hard to differentiate from a lot of other reggae I’ve heard.

This is an amazing album for Nirvana enjoyers as it shows the songwriting and vocal talents of Kurt Cobain that was previously hidden under layers of fuzzy guitars and loud drums. I liked most of the songs but thought there was a few too many covers, the Bowie one is great but some of the others are a bit annoying. Ah fuck it I’ll give it a 5.

A pleasant retro sounding album. It passed me by without making me feel much.

Baby boomer bullshit

Cod reggae for Generation X. This guy is a violent piece of shit.

I never thought I’d enjoy a prog album this much. My only criticism is that it is simply too long, but I understand that is a feature of prog.

Sounds a bit dated now. I enjoyed parts of it but I switched off after a while, there was other much better hip hop in the early 90s in my opinion

Sounds like generic 00s R&B. I see this somehow beat The Streets to the mercury prize (not that anyone cares about that award) and the artist herself had an MBE, for this one hit wonder album. The songs that weren’t derivative of Lauryn hill and Erykah Badu were pretty dated sounding. This and Finlay Quaye might be the final nail for even doing this 1001album challenge. Too much cack on the list.

Never really liked Van Morrison. This album had some interesting moments but it wasn’t for me.

I put off listening to this because I heard that it wasn’t popular when released. There are some amazing songs on this, and it I think their sound is completely unique. There are a couple of songs that could be dropped in my opinion but it is such a high quality album compared to some other dross on the list. I love how Radiohead can reinvent themselves and continue to make dark, interesting and challenging music (that is somehow catchy and sing-along) throughout the years, but I understand it’s not for everyone. It’s easily 5/5 despite being inferior to other Radiohead albums (incredible album art too).

Surprisingly enjoyable

Morrissey is a knob but I didn’t dislike the album, I think the production was better than the Smiths albums. Some decent songs on here

Never heard this before. I thought it was a fun listen. It was really entertaining and well crafted. I didn’t think it was overly cheesy like the other person said.

I really liked the last track but some of the other white boy blues songs were a bit cringey

Long and dull. I really don’t need to hear multiple songs about this little freaks sex life.

I see she featured on the o brother where art thou soundtrack which is amazing. I don’t listen to country but she has an amazing voice. I liked the bluegrass elements

Jazz funk fusion. Groovy. I quite liked it. Nice.

The harmonica is such a grating instrument. Some of the songs start well and then this awful metallic sound stabs me in the ear drums. I did enjoy parts of this album but I was bracing myself for a magical, ground breaking, mind blowing album based on the way people talk about it. Of all the 80 or so albums I’ve listened to so far I believe this is the most overrated. I think the boomers have rose tinted hearing aids.

Quite liked the lofi production. I expected a Hendrix/Prince derivative but it was more interesting than expected. Too long though.

I just love Talking Heads

A tough listen

Nah

It was interesting at first but got quite boring after a while. Too long.

Beautiful album. Stevie makes complex, genius song writing catchy. One of the greatest of all time.

Not for me

I had never heard of this band but I quite enjoyed it,

I’m conflicted because songs like BOB are some of the most interesting and unique sounding songs I’ve heard on this project. However I really hate interludes on albums, it ruins the flow for me, and some of the tracks are just bad, like the hoez one. Some of big bois lyrics are questionable to say the least. The album as a whole would be better if some songs were cut.

Pretty cool

Another long hip hop album. Reminded me of outkast a bit. I am aware Ken is stratospherically popular amongst the young’ns but I tried not to let that cloud my judgement. I thought the horny and misogynistic lyrics showed hip hop probably hasn’t moved on much in 30 years, however it felt a bit deeper than some of the other newer shit I’ve heard and I found myself enjoying it. It did feel like a special album with some interesting sounds. Worthy of a 5/5 probably.

It is one dimensional but I enjoyed it

I liked parts of this a lot. I think this band will suffer from the Coldplay effect, where it is hard to overlook the general ‘wankyness’ of the band and the lead singer. I feel like mother was an attempt to be edgy and different like XTC or something, but it was a failure. Every breath is probably the reason this album is on the list but it stands out as quite different to the rest of the album.

Prefab Sprout should definitely be on the 1001 awful band names list. I wanted to like this album but it just didn’t grab me at all. The songs fell into the cheesy zone unfortunately.

I’ve not heard any of these songs before. It sounds like quite typical Queen. I liked the production and I thought it was a fun album with lots of unexpected twists.

I think I listened to the wrong one. The cover was blue. Anyway I quite enjoyed it

Not listened before but I actually thought this was a pretty enjoyable metal album. I think history has favoured Metallica who sound similar but had bigger hits. I thought the production/mixing was weird, the guitars seemed too loud in comparison with the drums when compared to other metal/rock/grunge from the early nineties but I’ll probably listen again when the mood takes me.

Really strange sounding album. I enjoyed it and will revisit it

I’m assuming this album is considered ahead of its time but that didn’t make it enjoyable to listen to. I don’t think you can say this is better than, or vastly different to cream or Hendrix who released albums the year before. I don’t really see the Sabbath comparisons either. They may have been an influence but the first sabbath album was darker and better produced and the songwriting was infinitely better. This just seemed like a blues rock album in comparison.

Some albums just have an indescribable magic. Elliot smith doesn’t have a technically great voice, and the production is low fi but this is easily a 5/5 album. It should be studied by aspiring producers and bands. If the songs are good enough just keep it simple!

I thought it sounded fresh and wouldn’t have guessed it was from 1998. Clearly inspired the likes of 4tet who I enjoy.

Quite dated sounding, I don’t think it’s survived the test of time

The songs are a bit long and drawn out but I enjoyed parts of it

It feels like space age jazz. He is clearly a nerd and doing something completely different

Another mildly interesting 60 psyche rock album

Hardly a classic Stevie album… it didn’t have the magic of his other stuff. This shouldn’t be on the list

Bohemian rhapsody and some other songs. Good fun though

I skipped through it. I liked the idea but couldn’t listen to it. It’s still better than Eric Clapton and Finley Quaye though

I’m have a real soft spot for the B52s. I much prefer Wild Planet to this though. I think rock lobster (and later love shack) put me off listening to them for a long time but they have some amazing freaky post punk sounding songs. I feel like they carved out a unique sound and i was very sad to see their underrated guitarist died so young. 52 girls is a power pop classic.

Nice and short. The over the top wailing was annoying in places but I enjoyed the funkier ones

Bit annoying

Not what I’d usually listen to but it was quite enjoyable. It’s funny hearing such an epic song about a seagull when the seagulls that live near my house are the most annoying creatures on the planet.

Another long hip hop album. I liked some of it a lot but it’s just too long and I got bored. Also hearing the same rhymes over and over again got annoying. He sounds like Bender from Futurama when he says “it’s just me against the world bebeh”

It’s a pretty cool album. I feel like including live albums on this list is a bit of a cop out, like they’re trying to cover multiple albums with one. Having said that I think this shows why The Who were popular, they had a full and exciting sound for a 4 piece. Too many covers though.

I don’t mind Costello but I don’t really see why this is on the list. I think it is his attempt at a Sgt Pepper style album. The ballads just make me feel nothing, that style doesn’t appeal to me at all. I think Sgt. pepper had survived the test of time (as has Costellos late 70s stuff) whereas this just sounds dated.

It seemed a bit all over the place at first but there are some really cool songs on here with a variety of genres

I really liked it, the production was very soothing. The last track left a really nice impression

It was enjoyable, reminded me of Bowie and Rod Stewart a bit. I don’t think I’d revisit it

Really nice album, amazing harmonies.

Uneventful 90s rock. I’m imagining David Brent was in this band before he got into the paper industry, he played guitar and co-wrote some of the songs. The lyrics were noticeably bad. I’m imagining whoever chose this for the list was around 16-19 when this came out, and they have some nostalgia for it that the majority of people who listen now don’t have. Get this off the list and restore some credibility to it.

Enjoyable album, it isn’t perfect but it had an immeasurable impact on music and meant a lot to me personally so it gets a 5. I’m sure there are people out there calling it overrated but they can butter my arse

My 3rd kinks album. Didn’t like this one as much as the others. I feel like this is only on the list because of Waterloo sunset

I haven’t really enjoyed the RC that has come up so far. Couple of songs on this were really nicely put together so deserves a 4 I think

Quite a cool chilled out album. I liked it

Some groovy country, some plain old country. I liked some of it but it wasn’t a memorable album.

I struggled

I guess I don’t like tango… there were some interesting arrangements but it was too dramatic and lacked the cool of other jazz albums I’ve enjoyed. I also put accordion in the same dark cupboard as the harmonica… these instruments are surely only enjoyable to the people playing them. I’m going to be completely honest and say I gave up on this. Not for me.

I really enjoyed it. The first track is one of the best openers ever. The album is varied and enjoyable

Nice album that loses its way at the end

Not for me

I liked it but some songs were just too long

It had some nice moments but was annoying overall

I like CCR and I enjoyed this but I can’t give an album with an 11 min version of through the grapevine 5 stars sorry

I actually really enjoyed the 70s post/ punk - funk sound.

It has one hit on it and the rest is forgettable. Perfect for the list!

Dreary

It’s an ugly album, some nice beats here and there but mostly quite difficult to listen to. I’m sorry to say I gave up on it

A solid album but a strange choice for the list

Interesting album. Moody synth music. Reminded me a lot of Bjork.

80s metal that will always be in the shadow of Metallica

This was a bit too country for me

I liked it more than expected. Love the album art

I watched a documentary about Graceland and the groups that were fighting apartheid in South Africa were disgusted that Paul Simon breached the embargo to make this album. I’d agree that PS probably shouldn’t have made it... I’m not sure if it was his US exceptionalism or he genuinely thought making it would improve the situation in SA. The fact is I like this album a lot and to me it sounds completely unique. The bass line for diamonds is easily one of my favourites of all time. Would I have heard of Ladysmith Black Mambazo if this album was never made? Probably not. Others have said it’s cultural appropriation but some of my favourite music has been a result of a clash of different cultures and genres, and it’s not as if he took the black music and performed it with white American musicians like other celebrated albums on this list. Having said all that when I found out that Graceland is literally Elvis Presley’s house I thought that was a dumb thing to name an ‘iconic’ song/album after.

I didn’t like his voice, or the music. Live albums shouldn’t be on this list. At least it was short.

I also disagree with the ‘1982’ person. Maybe there’s a contingent of people who don’t like the 80s sound because their parents listened to it. I thought it was a really interesting, varied and fun album. I’ve always loved the bass on sledgehammer and I was happy to hear Kate Bush pop up.

I enjoyed most of it after hating it the last time I tried to listen 10+ years ago. It was snotty ‘fuck you’ Gen X punk. I would listen again.

This album sounds timeless to me. There’s influences from different decades, some of it sounds a bit 70s. Elliot Smith is an amazing songwriter who used interesting chords and harmonies. The lyrics are heartbreaking but the production is warm and satisfying. What an amazing underrated album, and reminder of what a huge loss it was to music when he died.

My rule is: if I don’t finish an album I can’t give it a 1. That was pretty laughable musically, it jumped from new order to sting and the police in the first two songs. The weird lyrics stuck out. I’ve never listened to Cohen before and that wasn’t what I expected.

I’m just not into it

There’s quite a lot of kooky 60s psyche albums on here. I enjoyed this one though

Mostly boring 90s rock/pop. I remember seeing this album in my mums collection and being a bit freaked out by the cover. I liked tall trees, it was a bit like the cure/rem. another track had nice orchestral instrumentation. Overall it was a bit boring

He’s obviously a hip hop legend and the songs have a powerful message but I can’t get over the fact the songs are so repetitive musically. It was a good day is a nice sample but it’s so fucking boring after a few minutes, and you’re just left sitting there listening to him talk about how he had sex once.

I’ll be honest I gave up on this. Can’t believe this came out in 2007, I don’t remember it but it must’ve sounded so dated and out of place. HM were pretty irrelevant by then

I enjoyed it, it is a shame Mykonos isn’t on this album. I always liked white winter hymnal, I used to wonder what the lyrics mean, I remember seeing an interview with them where they said the lyrics are basically meaningless

A really weird one but I quite liked it

I’ve never listened to a Prince album and had high expectations but this really disappointed me. 1999 is a decent track but the rest just felt like filler, and it was all over the place. Some songs were stupidly long, 5 mins into let’s pretend we’re married I was thinking ‘where the fuck is this going?’. Lady cab driver redeemed it a bit but Jesus, 8+ mins..? Why?? From this 1001 album challenge I’ve discovered overly horny albums really bug me. Jesus Christ just have a wank mate. He sees himself as some sort of sex god but he comes a cross as a skeevy little creep.

I liked it. Cool cover. I like JF’s voice

2000s male singer songwriter. It was like some of the early songs were over produced with cool beats to make them sound a bit modern. This just dated the album. It fell into James blunt territory at times but overs it wasn’t bad.

Not as good as Doolittle or Surfa Rosa, I don’t really think much more needs to be said. Allison is a great song

Another long hip hop album. Cheesy bars and samples

Nice album but too long

With some albums on here I assume I’ll hate them and I end up pleasantly surprised. With this one I secretly thought I might like it but actually it’s was mostly bland, over produced, 4 chord pop. Shake it off is a great pop song but it doesn’t really sound like the rest of the album. I like Taylor’s voice but it was quite an uninspiring album.

I thoroughly enjoyed it. It made me want to drive around in a big old truck and fire a revolver in the air. The solo in free bird is the definition of musical ecstasy, I was worshiping the gun and the cheeseburger by the end of it.

Surprised I really enjoyed it. Sounded a lot more raw than later FBS.

I like Afro best but this didn’t really resonate with me. I didn’t really get into the groove, it felt quite drawn out

Some really nice songs on here and overall a really enjoyable and well produced album

I liked it but it’s way too long and those 2000s style hip hop “skits” or interludes ruin the flow and make re listening a chore

Heeee’s a 1950’s conman. This was a nice throwback album but I didn’t get much more from it. The lyrics didn’t really grab me. I’ve never heard his music but I’ve always thought this guy was a bit of a poser.

It’s a really nice album, she has a great voice and the production is amazing for an 80s album so it has a timeless feel. I thought the other reviews were incredibly harsh so it gets a 4 from me even though I don’t like country.

Doesn’t appeal to me at all

His voice isn’t that great compared to others of the time. It was 20 mins of ‘piano riff woo’ music and there’s not much else to say other than he was a child abuser.

Nice soul samples but too many cringe skits and too long just like every other fucking hip hop album on here

Really nice actually

There are better ways to describe this album than metal. It is really varied. I enjoyed it

A really nice, funky album. It’s quite lofi and quirky sounding, sometimes the rhythms feel like they’ll fall apart but they fall into interesting patterns. That makes no sense but I can’t be bothered to rewrite it.

I’m not a fan of gen x punk, I really didn’t like the germs which came up on here. I absolutely love that this album is 15mins, and by the time it got to group sex I was really tuned into the album. I liked it.

This sums up 2010 era music for me. It was big and dreamy and hit the big stadium sound at times but it felt a bit bland and empty to me

I was slightly annoyed to see this as Spotify constantly suggests it to me. I’ve seen them live and don’t remember having strong feelings about them. It really won me over this time, not sure why. I’m a bit annoyed Spotify was right

Some good songs, I liked it. Claptons a prick though

Some really great songs and really enjoyable overall

Surprisingly nice album but the cover is the worst on the list so far

It’s the one with superstition on it

Landfill psyche fodder

Some nice songs on here but it’s too long and the lyrics aren’t very interesting

I quite liked parts of it. It was probably somewhere between a 3 and 4 for me

It was a funk fusion of genres at times. Don’t think I’d listen again

Proof that albums can be full and enjoyable in under 30 mins. I love JF’s voice, the production is so nice and they keep it simple.

Not their best

Not a bad album, I preferred it to Taylor Swift who I would put in the same category. The songs sounded very haunting and classically American, like the laments of a cowboy’s widow. I don’t like the album name though, it’s just alliteration, like ‘cornflakes in the cat carrier’.

Better than the Europe express one

This album has some of the most iconic songs of the 90s so I don’t really agree with others saying it’s overrated. There is a couple of filler tracks but overall it is a powerful album with amazing songwriting, playing and production. It could be a 4 for me as it drags a bit, but it is easily a 5 in comparison to some of the absolute shit on this list

I quite liked it. It was scatty but stumbled upon greatness at times. Got boring by the end though.

I really enjoyed it, it was gloomy and groovy

Doing this challenge has made me really hate Zappas music. This was much better than the mothers of invention though. I liked the riffs but overall, the songs are too long and don’t go anywhere.

The only decent song on here is 16 fucking minutes long. You could’ve told me this was a Cliff Richard album and I wouldn’t have questioned it.

It was very 90s. One of the tracks sounded exactly like the ‘welcome to windows 98’ song. It was pretty uneventful overall and I can’t really see why it’s on the list, maybe one of the authors used to smoke weed whilst listening to it at uni. Having said that the track water babies made me feel something, it was like well crafted hold music.

Some interesting moments

This list should be called 1001 albums with one hit on them. Honestly songs like I don’t wanna be a soldier are appalling. Personally I have hated imagine since I was a child, and the more I learned about Lennon, the more I felt vindicated about my opinion. This albums sums up what a pathetic, hypocritical and generally unpleasant person he was. “I’m just a jealous guy”… Jesus I’d hate to be on the receiving end of JL’s violent jealousy like the people close to him were. Having said all that I do really like ‘how can you sleep’ musically, I’d definitely listen to that again. It’s just ridiculous how he lashes out at McCartney for no reason, “how can you sleep at night you cunt?” John asks, in an unused take of that song. I Imagine Paul always slept a lot better than John, who probably rolled around, haunted by all the evil things he’d done in his life.

I have to admit I stopped at colony of slippermen, I’d heard enough. I liked how unpredictable the album was but 90mins is a joke.

It is a really interesting album. Hard to define genre-wise. I prefer dummy though

It was quite boring

Proggy Prog Prog Jr. Progadoo

It gets a 5 because of how much I expected to hate it. I never thought I’d like a U2 album

There’s a lot of mediocre 60s psyche on the list but I really enjoyed this. Surprised I’ve never bothered to listen considering the classic album cover

Enjoyed it

Nah fuck that

I get its anarchic but it’s not fun to listen to. It’s like seeing a canvas smeared with shit in an art gallery. I’ll always prefer a nice inoffensive Constable.

I’m really surprised how much I disliked that

Why are hip hop albums so long

I came across this album a few years ago and loved it. It is so weird, it doesn’t hold back at all and utilises loads of strange sounds and techniques. The songs are still accessible and catchy at times. I’m always happy to hear our Kate pop up.

It sounds exactly how you expect it would. Do we really need multiple iron maiden albums on this list

Some nice songs and some forgettable ones

Enjoyable, couldn’t find all of it though

Laughably bad

You hear tiny dancer and you’ve heard them all. I’m not a fan of piano ballads

There is a lot of plagiarism on this album, it’s so brazen, like one of those hiding in plain sight situations (Jimmy Saville). I get that stairway is a boomer anthem but it made me feel nothing. It’s a decent album overall but it’s like they colonised black music and copywrited it.

60s psyche folk country, interesting but not that enjoyable

Interesting album, more abrasive than I expected as I have only heard their later work. The production is a bit all over the place and I don’t think I’d listen again. Very sad to read about their guitarist.

It’s funny hearing a monolithic jazz record like this after some of the piles of shite on this list. It still sounds fresh after 65 years, where other albums barely make it out of the decade (who even IS Finley Quaye?). You could probably make a list of 1001 jazz albums rather than selecting the well known ones and sullying them by putting them in a list with s&m by Metallica.

It looks like this was quite a divisive one, but I really enjoy this album and put it on regularly. It might be one for Aphex Twin fans as it’s so interesting to hear the origins of his style. Richard James was born in 71 so he must’ve made some of these tracks when he was 14, which to me shows how he has a unique talent in making music.

Really enjoyed it!

Enjoyable but not sure why it’s on the list

Cheesy beats, cheesy rhymes, samples where the original is infinitely better than the resulting song, it gets an extra star for the iconic cover.

I thought it was a really cool idea. Tom waits has an amazing voice, and the playing is really impressive. Some of the songs are really groovy

I really like this album. I am a fan of QOTSA and discovered this quite late. The low fi qualities and its simplicity really appealed to me, but I understand these are drawbacks to other listeners. QOTSA definitely forged their own style of groovy stoner rock, and there are some catchy choruses too. It is refreshing to hear rock albums that don’t have overblown production, I feel like you can appreciate the songs in their raw form. I’d put this in the same category as the first foo fighters album (also all the instruments on both albums were mostly played by one person). It is a bit of a weird choice for the list though.

These guys must really hate spinal tap

I like how the top review refers to this as over produced beige yacht rock, like that’s a bad thing!

If it was my first listen i might’ve given it a 2/3 as I remember my first impression was very meh when this came out. It grew on me a lot and I think the first half of this album is perfect. I guess that’s the flaw of doing this challenge. I’m surprised the top review is aggressively negative, but looking at the authors top albums explains a lot, they just have shit taste.

A failure to survive the test of time and a chore to listen to. I don’t believe the people who rate this album highly ever actually listen to it

They got bored of ecstasy They finished their degrees, with no tuition fees They fell into a career They knocked that club down and now it’s flats They bought houses and rode the property boom They vote for the Conservative Party They listen to Orbital and reminisce about taking ecstasy

Some enjoyable songs in there but I would’ve preferred a studio album. I feel like if you’re choosing a live album for the list you might as well just put a best-of… I take it this band has no individual album that is worth listening to.

Interesting backstory but it doesn’t make it a good album

I’ll never pass up the chance to give Clapton one star

I thought it was quite fun electro album. I preferred it to prince and the 80s hip hop I’ve heard. Surprised how bad the reviews are

I quite liked it. Some Cure/joy division Elements. I don’t know why it’s on the list though

I think live albums are a bit of a cop out. This is a decent one though, you can feel the energy in the performance. The events surrounding his death are incredibly sad and interesting to read about.

Fuck off

Kate Bush used to make crazy, weird, genreless, sometimes genius music. I genuinely believe she would get less criticism if she were a man. She used innovative sampling techniques and interesting chord progressions. I really like Sat in Your Lap, it is truly a nuts song but there is nothing else like it. Her mockney accent (and donkey braying) did always make me cringe, and Hounds of Love is a better album but this one is still a unique work of art in my opinion, and I do love our Kate.

I think this album has some very dated attitudes towards sucker MCs, and some of the sucker MC-phobic language is hard to listen to in 2024. I’m glad that in the 21st century, we are more accepting of sucker MCs thanks to those who have tirelessly campaigned for sucker MC rights.

Nice voice and songs but I’m not a 50 year old mum

It sounded like your average pub band. I looked up the original track listing and listened that. Awful.

More 60s landfill psyche shite

Probably a 5 star. It is a great album but I’ve never fully liked the who

I didn’t know Lloyd before I listened to the album, but an album should be able to stand on its own legs. I didn’t find the album interesting. Lloyd has a ‘brightness’, an intelligence of a certain kind but there is a linearity about the album that is just tedious.

They really shat the bed with snare sounds in the 80s. There was very little to enjoy about this album

This sounded like a precursor to the bigger Bob hits I’ve heard. I prefer the production on the later stuff but this was pretty good.

I was 15 when this came out and really into bands. Looking back I’m glad I connected with guitar music. I should’ve liked this album but I never connected with the Killers, it was just too pop and almost up there with Coldplay levels of ‘mainstream’. The singles were omnipresent and so overplayed it is impossible to hear them objectively. I quite liked some of the ones I hadn’t heard before but it was forgettable other than the singles.

I first heard this album when I was about 12 and I think it changed my brain. It was weird and arty and mysterious and I absolutely loved it. I bought into the art work and fully imagined it was created by a band of Japanese style cartoon characters. I loved the beats, bass, obscure samples (it didn’t even occur to me that the were samples actually), and the strange vocals. I remember finding out it was made by ‘the guy from blur’ and I don’t know how it took me so long to realise, you literally hear his voice. People generally say their second album was better but I didn’t care for their later stuff at all. Listening again I really enjoyed pretty much every track, even the bizarre instrumentals like Double Bass. I really can’t think of another album like it. I’d love to know how I would rate this if it was my first listen, but it’s impossible to be objective. I think it is an odd, eclectic, unique yet catchy album that had no right being mainstream, but I’m so glad it found its way to me as it showed me what music can be.

Quite enjoyed it but it wasn’t very memorable

I really enjoyed it. The production was very warm and the songs were meaningful

I didn’t hate it but it was almost a completely nothing album. There’s ambient then there’s this… it’s like the sound of a distant fridge running

A treat for the ears.

Started off well but descended into a poor Elton/Bowie derivative. I didn’t think the lyrics flowed well, he was just saying stuff.

I really really like this album. So glad it still sounds fresh after 20+ years. The bass line in the opening track is glorious, all from a Casablancas demo. The dry guitars and distorted vocals are iconic. Listening again there are so many high points in the album, like the solo in last nite, or the chorus in hard to explain. It is such a well crafted album. The playing is quite restrained and minimal at times, so when there’s a change in the drums or a guitar riff, or a melodic bass line comes in, it really has impact.

6 songs and 56 minutes is such a huge red flag for me. I’ve said it before but you can see why punk was so revolutionary after this.

I always thought Muse were desperate to be Radiohead, and by existing they actually made Radiohead worse. They did have some credibility with their earlier albums but this one marked a very obvious move to try and establish themselves as a stadium rock band. A few bands did the same thing in the mid 2000s, Kings of Leon when they did Sex on Fire, and Biffy Clyro with that ‘I am a Mountain’ song. Muse’s lyrics have always been incredibly cringeworthy, they have the political awareness of a 6th form student who likes rage against the machine. This album isn’t terrible but it’s bland IT service desk rock. I listened to this on YouTube because I don’t want it fucking up my Spotify recommendations and it’s always nice seeing Matt Bellamy as he looks like my old maths teacher - Mrs Cunningham.

She has a beautiful voice and this is a really nice 60s album.

I liked the harmonies and the chilled out country twang.

A wailing woman. I’m not into it

Best left in the 80s

Classic 90s album. It was on heavy rotation in the car CD player. I reminds me of feeling sick.

It might’ve been the best country album ever, it just sounded like all other country

A cool album but not their best. Too long/ too much filler

Quite forgettable but pleasant enough

It was pleasant enough.

Really interesting album. The production is amazing and I enjoyed the mixed of styles. You can hear Thundercat and flying lotus’s influence. It reminded me of the weirdness of Outkast. The album is too long though(this is always a pitfall of hip hop albums). Also It’s pretty funny that even in alternative hip hop there is still a requirement to rap about having sex and being rich. It’s a good album though and it’s nice to hear something groundbreaking and different.

Really nice sounding but 4 tracks in 45 mins is insane and what was that weird rant on the last track

80s metal is so dated sounding now. It’s a fun one but I wouldn’t listen to it voluntarily

The ultimate 3/5

I tried and failed with this in 2010. I thought it was too slow and depressing. 14 years later it hit a bit harder

Too long and too many skits (like every fucking hip hop album). Some decent tracks but mostly the usual hoes/money/crime zzzzzzzz

It was in 3 territory but I was really enjoying it by the end. He does have a nice voice old Roderick

Interesting at times but descended into meandering white boy blues

Couple of good well known songs and the rest is shite, just like every other fucker on the list.

It’s funny to think I was listening to this on a tape Walkman in my dad’s car whilst others were listening to it on a cocktail of ecstasy and acid. I really enjoyed it, it was good fun and sums up the 90s well.

Did like the singers voice. The arrangements were unsubtle and cheesy. It sounded like a rock band trying to be mature and clever by using an orchestra but it just sounded heavy handed and immature.

Good fun. It laughs in the face of metal but not in a novelty way. There are some Middle Eastern sounds in there too. I liked it

Good but not as good as the other one

I’m so fucking sick of forgettable 60s psyche shit. The author of this list has shit taste

I thought I’d hate this but I ended up really enjoying it, there’s some nice groovy songs on there and it’s not just throwaway 80s synth pop. The last song is obviously a monolith of 80s music but the rest reminded me of Kraftwerk at times. A pleasant surprise.

I guess these two Herberts are the pinnacle of “indie sleaze” which I think means they were stinky skag heads in skinny jeans. I used to listen to them a lot when I was a teenager, and I definitely preferred their first album but revisiting this for the first time in ages I think it stands up well. I always thought it would fall apart if they didn’t have such a solid rhythm section, and the sound of scrappy guitars and sloppy vocals over that solid foundation still sounds really good. I think the song writing is high quality and it’s a shame the many imitators that came afterwards dragged them into the indie landfill category. The album actually gets a lot better as it goes on, I’d forgotten how good ‘the haha wall’ and ‘campaign of hate’ are. It ends strongly on a bittersweet note which is pure nostalgia for me. I can imagine our American friends struggling with this one but I think it’s eclectic and enjoyable the whole way through.

Wasn’t my thing at all but some enjoyable moments

Made me feel sick. I don’t believe anyone actually listens to this. The ultimate pretentious ‘music’.

An 80s pop/rap album with one hit on it. One of the songs sounded like the theme to The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Why the fuck is this on the list.

Enjoyed it more than expected, but it dragged a bit at the end. Didn’t like the one that sounded like sting and the police

I liked it a lot. To bass players, Jaco is as iconic as Jimi Hendrix is to guitarists. However to some, being a legendary bass player is about as impressive as being a legendary dentist. I thought it was a really interesting album and packed a lot into just 37 mins.

Cool at times but way too long. It got very boring

That became quite annoying quite quickly. More gen x shite.

Wasn’t v excited about another REM album but quite enjoyed it

Interesting reading the misogynistic reviews that appear quite high up on any female artist. It just shows how women are inherently ignored, overly criticised, dismissed and/or ridiculed when they try and present any creative output. It’s a good album but it’s not what I’d usually listen to.

Some nice production at times but descended into the annoying trap hihat beat with triplet autotuned rhymes that we’ve heard a billion times. The lyrics were uninspiring, just the same shit we’ve heard for decades in R&B.

An enjoyable album

REMOVE ALL LIVE ALBUMS FROM THE LIST! It’s like the author had a ‘no greatest hits’ rule, but this is just a cop out. I enjoyed a few tracks but gave up pretty quickly. Every song is literally the same. It sounds like generic ‘rock 1’ music from an old video game. Daw naw naw naw naw naw, daw naw!

Probably the most unexpected album of the list so far. It was an eclectic work of art really.

I thought I’d hate it but I really liked it, the ones where Lennox sings are the best in my opinion

Glad it’s back on Spotify. I will definitely listen again. I didn’t like it as much as harvest moon on first listen

Pretty smooth

Cunt thinks he’s Bob Dylan

I like Radiohead but I never come back to this one. Can’t argue that it’s a 5 though.

Interesting album with cool production and song structures

What an uninspiring choice for the list. I don’t like Pulp but I know a couple of their hits and they’re not even on this album. This felt like the album of a band that had a big production budget but no decent songs. It was just an overblown, over produced, vapid, echoey mess.

This is supposedly the best smiths album but I’ve found there’s no album of there’s that I like the whole way through apart from hatful of hollow which was more of a compilation. This has some great songs on it though. Andy Rourke is as iconic a musician as Johnny Marr. His basslines are some of the most memorable ever written and it is so sad he had a difficult life tragically died before his time.

In some parts we’re really cool but I personally can’t get into prog

Probably one of the best hip hop albums of all time. Represent represent!

Sitar Vs Synth, unfortunately there are no real winners here. Most of the tracks I enjoyed more before the sitar came in. Jokes aside I did really like the last track, which earns it an extra star.

Nice enough

I liked it a lot, really enjoyable and interesting. Might be a 5 after another listen

Decent grunge album

Quite an uneventful rock album

If someone wanted to hear a classic punk album would you show them this? I think calling it punk sells it very short. To me punk is three chord rock played by angry boomers who spit at each other. I don’t think any song on this can be defined as typically punk, there’s elements of ska, rockabilly and rock/pop, with almost a new genre in each track. I was confused by this album when I first heard it, but I’ve grown to love it, it feels like the lads put everything into it and it doesn’t drag can’t point despite being over an hour long.

Quite enjoyable but went on a bit at times. I liked hearing him go mmmyeah! Whilst playing flute

Tried a few times with Scott but it doesn’t do it for me. Some interesting songs and some boring ones.

Amazing sound. It was good concentrating music which is what I happened to need at the time. Ginger Bakers tracks emphasised how good a drummer Tony Allen is. The production was incredible

Heard a couple of FLs albums now and they are interesting sounding but I wouldn’t revisit them.

Quite enjoyable and not as terrible as these reviews make out

Decent hip hop album. The skits are annoying though

Don’t mind JC but I never got the hype for that Hurt cover. This album does nothing for me

These guys must’ve gone against all of the trends of 80s production. I would’ve guessed 90s. It was an interesting sound but I didn’t like all of the songs.

Not my thing but very sincere and beautiful sounding.

It’s a perfect rock album

A weird one, I wouldn’t say it was good but had some ok songs

I can appreciate that they tried to do something interesting here but it misses the mark in my opinion. It doesn’t have that vintage 60s production, it just sounds like bland late 2000s indie with strings dumped on it. I get the impression that Turner was too scared to try this on his own so brought his mate along. There is a noticeable deficit in their songwriting abilities and their voices clash like two drunk blokes doing karaoke in a pub. Turner developed his affected crooner voice in the years after this came out and it probably blends with the style better. There’s a lot of 60s psyche on this list that probably inspired this album. Unfortunately this album lacks the basic elements that makes those old ones enjoyable. It just isn’t groovy. I fucking hate the album cover as well.

Cool and unique

Highly enjoyable

Really enjoyed it. It was like television + some other interesting influences

It was ok

I love TH but this one never clicked with me. Some of the songs are cool but they’re drawn out and don’t seem to go anywhere.

Quite a cute little album to be honest. Probably was the epitome of cool at the time

Sleazy cock rock. Best covered up and forgotten like the many sexual offences committed by the band members of this era.

I guess this is considered a grunge album. In my opinion it took itself way too seriously and lacked charm. Listening to the Spotify radio for this album brought up some other grunge stuff that I hadn’t heard before that were way more enjoyable on a first listen, e.g drown by the smashing pumpkins.

Horrible album. The only thing that isn’t forgettable about it is the singers voice which is incredibly annoying. As if it wasn’t bad enough they chucked a ska number in there. Yuck.

I liked it, but didn’t realise some songs were on twice which shows how much I was concentrating

Better than the other one I heard. Pretty chilled out album. She has a very safe formula though and it gets boring.

A really cool album with a big hit on it. I didn’t like it as much as Doolittle

Classical prog

I liked a lot of the songs but it was too long and would be more enjoyable as an album if there were fewer songs. It reminded me of fugazi a bit and I liked hearing the jackass song in full at last.

Was probably fun at the time to hear this in a club, off your nut, but it just sounded amateurish and a bit boring.

I enjoyed it. Nicely recorded and a bit different from other stuff on the list.

This was a big album for me when I was 15 so it’s impossible to hear objectively. I used to turn my stereo balance all the way to one speaker so it would cut out one guitar part (that had been hard panned to one side) and play along on my guitar for hours. I never really got the strokes comparison, in my teenage brain this was more a mid 70s credence style sound rather than late 70s post punk sound like television, that the strokes seemed to be going for. I love the live sound of the album and the short impactful guitar solos. It’s an easy 5 for personal reasons but I do wonder why it’s on the list.

This is like the heavy metal of jazz. It was thoroughly enjoyable

Some cool songs on here. Better than some of the other landfill 60s shite on this list.

The author of the list loves this band and has such poor taste that he is unable to think of enough artists to fill the list, so puts them on multiple times. I didn’t enjoy it

Not their best album. Half the songs are fun and the rest are pretty samey and forgettable

Tried this a few times and never got the hype. Frontier was fun

I went out and bought this the day it came out when I was 17. I loved the singles but remember thinking the album didn’t offer much more. It was like they’d played all their cards. It’s hard not to cringe at lyrics like “banging tunes and dj sets” now, I don’t think the album has aged well. Having said that I still enjoyed the singles, I feel like AM are my generations oasis. It was a nice trip down memory lane.

I liked some of it a lot. And hated some of it a lot. Interesting that Nirvana chose to cover the three best songs off this for their unplugged gig. It was a bit all over the place

Took a while for me to warm to it but I ended up really enjoying this album. It’s experimental hip hop with some other genres like afrobeat thrown in. And a sprinkle of motivational affirmations for black people.

I was desperate for it to end. The harmonica is the most disgustingly abrasive instrument ever created. I simply can’t see what the appeal is with this guy. It’s like a big joke I don’t get. I predict in 10/20 years he will have started falling out the collective agreement of who is considered a legendary artist.

Quite enjoyed it

Quite a nice sounding album, not just pop

I like the story behind this album but he could’ve played more hits haha

One of the few elvis Costello albums actually somewhat worthy of the list

Dramatic blues… I really don’t get the hype around this guy. Didn’t like his voice at all, and the rhyming patterns were quite monotonous

You have to admit there aren’t many albums that sound like this. It’s a work of art haha

Some decent songs but not much variety

Pretty much a by-the-numbers jazzy hip hop album

Not a fan of the stage sound. I didt like it at all but it didn’t make me angry like some of the other stuff on the list

Just a poor man’s Nine Inch Nails

Quite long and all over the place but I liked it musically, some of the lyrics were weird .. I love dig

Some decent songs but live albums shouldn’t be on the list. Just put the greatest hits on there

Short and forgettable, like me

Incredibly annoying. Very dated

Really surprised by all the bad reviews on this one, at the very least it’s an enjoyable 90s trip hop album. This guy did some decent soundtracks which definitely comes through in the album. I liked the elements of the late 90s lounge/exotica revival in the samples, I think one of the tracks was used in spaced. I liked it!

I liked certain songs but it was too long

I liked the late 70s sound but the songs weren’t there for me

Fun at times but also quite forgettable

I always found the guys voice very affected, like he thought he was from New York but actually he’s from Surrey or something. They take themselves too seriously but I didn’t hate it. This album shouldn’t be on the list though.

I don’t like albums like this. Cave’s voice grinds my gears. I find the lyrics quite cringeworthy. Green eyes was particularly bad.

Some good songs and a lot of filler

Enjoyed it

Really great hip hop album. Qtip has a nice flow.

I enjoyed it. It reminded me of fugazi a bit, and I actually preferred this to early fugazi. also Metz who were clearly influenced by them

It’s was groovy but I probably won’t listen again

Really enjoyable album. Lots of different styles. I feel like Taylor swift is just a boring rehash of our Sheryl

Seems very ahead of its time for 1988. Enjoyed it and will listen again

More enjoyable than the other one

Decided by the third song this was a pile of wank and hoped I’d have something clever to say about it by the time it finished. I didn’t.

Didn’t like all the songs but felt like a high quality album. Pino is a god and it’s always a pleasure to hear him play

I really disliked it, the style didn’t interest me at all. It was like bad karaoke.

Too much 80s cock rock on this list. This is better than some of the others though

Nice enough sound but didn’t really go anywhere

There’s only one scent song and it’s on there 3 times. Too long, too overblown, and you can tell how clever they thought they were. It was bollocks and I hated it.

It’s interesting that this band found stratospheric success considering their sound is so weird. I used to listen to this album a lot and it was easily my favourite by the band. The ones before it were a bit to 80s sound for me, and the later ones went a bit stadium/soft rock. It’s undeniable that musically, flea/john/chad were on another level during this era. I love how Fruciante switches from restrained funk to wild solos, and flea’s basslines are legendary. John really is an underrated player. Kiedis is basically a hype man for this band, I feel like the lyrics don’t really matter but he crosses the line too many times. Sir psycho sexy is particularly bad, he clearly has some weird fucked up relationship with sex. There are some moments when he surprises everyone with something heartfelt though, I.e. under the bridge. I liked this album a lot as a teenager and then turned my back on rhcp in my 20s as they made me cringe. Listening again now I think this album holds up really well and I enjoyed it a lot.

Not a fan of musical/ballad styles

Better than Bob Dylan

I liked some of the tracks a lot but didn’t enjoy the really folky ones

Listened to this a couple of times and I really don’t get the hype at all. Lots of piano ballads.

Really enjoyed it. Some krautrock elements, it was groovy! It gets a 5 because my recent my recent ones have been so bad

This actually commits a lot of the crimes that I’ve marked other albums down for. It’s too long (2 albums mashed together), there’s some seriously annoying skits that ruin the experience of listening to the album as a whole, there are some overly horny moments and there’s a lot of filler. I still really rate this album though. There are some weird songs on speakerboxxx which I enjoyed but it does lose my attention towards the end. I actually believe the love below is a work of art, there are some incredibly strange pop songs on there, as well as some cool unique sounding hip hop that is blended with jazz and other genres. It is a work of art. It gets a hypocritical 4 from me.

Funk rock fusion!

Quite uneventful and samey

I was ok, it had that very tinny pantera production. Not one I’d revisit

I didn’t hate it but it was way too sparse. It felt like there were no actual songs on there

Weird little album, I liked some of it

I find the cure’s albums to be too long and uneventful. I liked the overall sound but I wouldt listen again. In my opinion the cure owe me a balmy summers evening

Some decent songs on here. I liked it

Liked it at the start but went off the rails a bit. Weird to think this came out the same year as the queen is dead by the smiths

Slightly weird 80s pop.

It seemed like they tried to reinvent Bruce for a post 2000 audience. It was horrible alt country shite. They absolutely sucked the life out of the poor bastard. What a horrible album.

Inner city life Inner city pressure The concrete jungle Is out to get ya

Obviously a great album but the ‘best album of all time’ isn’t going to have maxwells hammer and octopuses garden on it… sorry

Some ok moments, will try again at some point but didn’t do much for me

Not a fan of the ballads but some were ok. Wouldn’t listen again

Couple of decent singles but as a whole it is a very cheesy and dated sounding album

I actually found this quite annoying. The songs were not interesting

I enjoyed it, it was very raw and energetic

Just some white guy who should never have been allowed to make an album

So many albums on here have a really small amount of long songs. It’s nice to hear the other side of the coin. Overall I liked the lofi sound , and a few of the songs were catchy. I liked the idea a lot

Amazing weird unique creative album. The witch song is almost a step too far but overall there is nothing like this.

I generally like Pharrell but even the hits on this album have some weird choices. The ‘guys sing this’ bit on señorita is weird. Also the beatboxing on dance with me. The weird mouth sounds and mumbling under cry me a river is like sitting next to an adhd kid. There aren’t enough good songs on here

This clearly isn’t his best. 10 min songs? Come on, Neil.

Very nicely recorded. And I like the album cover. Country just sounds like country to me

I liked a couple of songs but wouldn’t listen again

Half boring, half badly recorded. Get this off the list.

I didnt really like it other than a few songs. I think this is my third prince album and I’m surprised I’ve disliked all three.

Just sounded like a oasis/stone roses derivative

The author of the list loves this sound. Moody 80s. I really didn’t like it. Bad voice, bad songs, bad production. I feel like every day I’m delving deeper and deeper into this guys bad taste. It’s like I’m walking around his messy house, with rotting food everywhere and shit on the walls. I don’t want to hear another shit 80s/90s British alt pop landfill album

I think Ian’s songs were more melodic and enjoyable. Probably won’t listen again

The first half is hit after hit. The second half is such a wet fart apart from the last song. Also Jackson is a nonce

A rather miserable affair, if you don’t like folk

Some decent songs but an unfathomable amount of annoying bullshit

We’ve got REM at home. REM at home:

This definitely feels like the come-down from punk. There’s clearly punk elements in there, especially with A Bomb in Wardour Street, but it came across more like a power pop album. They look like mod revivalists and clearly like the who which definitely isn’t very punk. The tender moments are really sweet, English rose almost brought a tear to my eye, and then down in the tube station is an unexpectedly heart breaking note to end on. The energetic 3 piece approach is really appealing to me, and the rhythm section really drives the songs. It’s pretty mind blowing that the lads were only 19 when they produced this, although the album has a naivety in the way it wears its influences on its sleeve. Maybe an older band would start to doubt themselves if they sounded too much like other bands. It was a very pure album and I liked it a lot!

Very dated sounding

Liked it but it’s not their best.

All style no substance

Liked it, will definitely have another listen. Steely D has been a nice surprise from doing this

Not my thing at all but I liked the album cover and a couple of songs

A fun proto punk album. I enjoyed it

I like xtc but this album never clicked with me. I enjoyed a few songs but some are a bit corny. I really hate the kids voice on dear god. The album is interesting and different though.

Didnt finish it

I enjoyed it more and more as it went on. A nice discovery

I liked nutcracker tbf

Couldn’t fathom why there would be 2 albums by this guy on the list, but actually I ended up quite enjoying it. I was into the late 70s post punky weirdness

I hate hippies

Big echoey 80s rock. A bad time for music production

I really like the first track and communication breakdown. But it just annoys me how they’re constantly ripping off old blues songs. They are the 20th century’s most brazen plagiarists.

Really enjoyable. Amazing voice and arrangements. It made me think of people walking around New York in smart clothes.

It’s a cool experimental album but I need something to hook me in and this didn’t have it

Nice 70s sound. I wanted to like it but probably won’t listen again.

I liked some of it but i really don’t like ballads.

Weird funk. I liked it but maggot brain got boring

Some good stuff but a lot of aimless meandering shit

Generic and forgettable 60s album

I enjoyed it I can’t lie

Fairly enjoyable but not memorable

It was a chilled out album, I enjoyed it

Really weird. I do think Brian is a genius

I liked a few songs but it was quite unexciting

Raw album, wasn’t a big fan of her voice

I liked it. Sums up the late 90s. It is crazy they got away with smack my bitch up

Liked it. Nice production and warm sound

Some decent songs but didn’t hook me

Americana dirge

Enjoyed it a lot. Fun 70s rock

Long and sparse. I was quite disappointed

Trying to think why this would be included on the list and then you’re the best thing came on and I remembered Dimmery will chuck any old album on there if it has one popular song. This was such a smug choice. Pretentious generic instrumentals. This can’t be considered a good album by anyone

Sounded like a shit pub band. Poorly recorded alt rock wank. Sorry but that was fucking shit. 1001 albums to make you hate Robert Dimery

Pretty interesting. Not a huge fan of the sound but appreciated it

It was arty and interesting but I didn’t exactly like it

Another long hip hop album

I was enjoying it but it really lost its way by the end

Not for me

Modern country…

Noisy and weird but there were some nice songs in there. No need for 3 Mbv albums on the list though

I bought this for 20p in a charity shop. I got more than double that back in enjoyment. Great fun, such groovy bass!

Delightfully fucking weird

Not terrible

Beautiful voice and really nice sounding album

I can imagine hearing this in a trendy restaurant in 2001

I thought it was creative and raw. It’s a shame she has become a right wing grifter

Pretty forgettable 90s house album with one mammoth hit on it. I can imagine Dimery getting to about 700 hundred albums and exhausting all the music he’s ever listened to. He turns to his wife and says “who did that groove is in the heart song?”.

Nice British glam, comforting like a warm cup of tea

This one got a lot of hate but I quite enjoyed it. You can tell it influenced oasis.

Get it off the list and forget it ever happened

I loved this album when I was about 10. It is very nostalgic for me. In hindsight it is a bit long and repetitive, also it seems a bit icky to sample a load of old black singers and put a simple beat over it and make loads of money

They dragged out these tracks way too much for it to be an enjoyable album

Another horrendous choice. A lesser known Monkees album that has no notable songs on it, and sounds like a poor imitation of the Beatles.

Sounds very dated now

Interesting sound, I might have to try again

It was alright but does nothing to secure a place on the list

I liked some of the songs but it’s not as good as the other album

Really interesting album. Love the cover

Come on Eileen and 58 minutes of some other shit

Far out man

My 3rd Cohen album. I just don’t get it.

Nice warm album

I didn’t really rate it, I liked the idea but it didn’t groove

I really enjoyed it, beefy Proto punk

Not bad but I won’t be listening again

A cool album, some long songs annoyed me a bit

These people from the East Midlands swear a lot

I liked the 70s art pop vibe, got a bit boring at the end

I liked the first track, the sound was cool and reminded me of Gang of Four a bit. Got a bit bored at times

70s space rock, I prefer the other album by them

Didn’t listen to all of it but I’d probably revisit this for concentration music

This is Kobe of their better albums. Not a huge fan of the band but ramble on is a great song

Some decent singles but has all the annoying traits of a hip hop album

I did enjoy this one. It was a bit flat at times though. Not sure why it’s on this list.

Probably one of my favourite albums of all time. It is not restricted by a genre and has many twists and turns.

Quite ahead of its time for 2000. Set the trend for this poppy sound. I didn’t like it

Really interesting album. Lots of quite interesting sounds, and it had quite a scary atmosphere. It feels really ahead of its time for 1996 and you can hear it’s influence throughout the years since.

I enjoyed it, I always saw them as a punk band but this is more poppy and varied.

It’s the one with genius of love on it. And only the first few mins of that song are interesting

Nice enough sound. They sort of merged with white denim at this point.