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 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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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