1001 Albums Summary

3/5. I enjoyed this album. It showed a lot of Tracy’s range, but suffered at times from the same singing style. Her Pro-Black, Pro-Women stances made this album one of tragedy and I thought those stances helped her dig deeper into her emotions.

2/5. Once the Pixies establish a groove they destroy it by switching up the style of the song. I suppose that’s the point. Save for Here Comes your Man and Crackity Jones, the album is not my taste. Maybe I am not “big-brained” enough to enjoy this, like listeners of Trout Mask Replica.

3/5. Fun little album that used plenty of percussion-esque instrumentation to build the tone of this record. I found the early few songs to be quite fun with the later songs a bit of filler.

3/5. A few classic songs I have heard before mixed with mostly similar style tracks. I like Blondie’s attempt at rock n roll with their upbeat, fast tempo technique.

1/5. Just awful. An abomination of an album. I cannot believe 90s kids enjoyed this New Wave garbage. I skipped many songs half way through and funny enough, enjoyed one of the bonus tracks better than any song on the actual album!

2/5. I’m not a big rap guy and definitely was not a fan of West’s Anti-Education rhetoric. My favorite song ended up being the “Last Call” song. A 12 minute spoken word story about Kanye’s upbringing and his first record deal.

3/5. Album had some great pace. Towards the middle got a little off track when it comes to the type of music I’m into, but they end great with Knights of Cydonia, my favorite Muse song.

4/5. Every song was a fun journey except for the last one. I was expecting to hear lots of Zappa’s voice whom I am not a fan of, but loved that maybe 2 minutes of the entire album involved singing. The rest of the album included all jam songs, mixing in trumpet and saxophone elements.

4/5. Every song on this album is pretty good minus 1-2. I really liked the deep tracks as everyone knows “Livin on a Prayer” and “Wanted Dead or Alive”. I particularly enjoyed “Social Disease” and “Raise your Hand.” Good, fun 1980s listen.

2/5. Interesting listen as all of the lyrics are in Spanish. The instrumentation was rather good, but simply because it’s not something I would pick up and listen to; I assigned it the appropriate rating.

3/5. Solid album with a few good tunes. Heard some deep tracks I had never heard that I liked. I thought the singer was really on his game during this record.

5/5. Have heard a few songs on the album before but the deep tracks were great! Love Silverfuck, Geek USA, and Quiet! 90% or more of the songs were great so this record gets a 5 star rating from me!

2/5. It’s a shame that I have to give this album a low rating; It is simply not my style of music. I’m sure plenty of audiophiles would love this soft, melodic journey through Paul Simon’s first record after going solo, but it just didn’t do it for me. Highlight song for me was “Armistice Day”

3/5. I can see where they get the Nirvana comparisons. Fun, little album. Nothing special in my opinion, but kept the energy high.

2/5. Not even their marquee album. I just cannot get into Slipknot similar to how I cannot get into Disturbed. Their driving metal tones just are hard on the ears along with the lead singers screaming. I actually find his voice to be quite good when he is not screaming, but those moments are few and far between.

3/5. Bigger doesn’t mean better. This 2 hour anthology has a few good tracks especially towards the end. My favorite was Behind that Locked Door

3/5. Love this “Big Music” style. I have always like Louis Prima as he paints such a great picture. I was a big fan of “The Lip”!

3/5. What a different Kings of Leon than the one we know today. With a more raw, rock n’ roll sound, Youth and Young really shows what KOL first set out to accomplish. I believe they now have really changed based on what the crowd wants. Pretty interesting to see.

2/5. The Who stuck in the Beatles Era. Only 1-2 good rock songs, My Generation and I’m a Man. Other than that, get ready to shimmy and dance your way through. Not the Who I like.

3/5. While many people criticize the author of 1001 albums to listen to before you die about the amount of random British albums included in the text; I felt that this album was actually fun and well done. That’s just me.

4/5. Bob Marley is always a great listen. Aside from the usual “Three Little Birds”, I especially enjoyed Natural Mystic. Fantastic song, and an instant add to my music list.

5/5. What can I say? Led Zeppelin is one of the greatest bands of all time. What adds to this rating is the lengths that the band went to get this properly recorded!

2/5. This band isn’t bad, although they incorporate this hiccup/laughing sound that they found out how to play on their guitars that they somehow fell in love with. Thus, I can only give this album a suboptimal ranking.

2/5. I have to be objective and not rate an album based on the name of the band, and as a result I’m giving this album a 2/5. Heroin is such an awesome song, but the rest of the album is rather lackluster and too psychedelic for my taste.

3/5. Really fun album from a band I’ve never heard of. But that’s the reason we do this, right?

5/5. One of the best albums of all time. Every single song is amazing! One of my deserted island albums for sure. I am interested to see how thud album stacks up to Insomniac which I would give a 5/5 as well

5/5. While I don’t like every single song, that doesn’t mean that 95% of the album isn’t fantastic. Some of Zeppelin’s best work in my opinion.

3/5. Not usually a Beatles fan, but I didn’t mind this album at all. I enjoyed the song “And I Love Her.”

3/5. I usually dislike worldwide music, as the lyrics obviously don’t connect with me. But on Savane, the instrumentation was wonderful, and the vocals were not at all overpowering.

2/5. It’s not that this album is bad at all. But this type of punk is just not my preferred genre.

3/5. While I had always been a big fan of the song 15 Step, I’m glad I finally gave this full album a listen. While I also enjoyed Bodysnatchers, I thought the rest of the album was lackluster.

3/5. This album reminded me a lot of the Ella Fitzgerald albums I would hear my dad play on his stereo while cooking his Sunday “gravy.” Just an enjoyable jazz album.

1/5. I’m a huge fan of whomever sings within the group as they have the perfect mysterious, tale-telling voice, but the whole album just is a modge podge of overused synthesizer. I could not imagine paying money to go to their concert to hear 36 minutes of that.

2/5. This album was almost too “80s” for me. The obvious best song, Everybody Wants To Rule The World, is clearly the star in this lineup. The only reason this record was able to eek out a 2 star rating.

2/5. While this album wasn’t anything special in my opinion, I did enjoy the song “Mass Production.”

3/5. I was debating even giving this as high as a 4 star rating, but “you know how I know you’re gay? You listen to Coldplay.” I love the song Shiver, definitely the best song on the album.

1/5. This is where rap went downhill. The album has that early 2000s NYC style like Beyoncé uses on her original music. Rap instead of being fun and danced to; it turned into a modge podge of how lazy the community is as well as their concerted efforts to shag as many women as possible.

2/5. Perfect elevator music. Light and airy. Nothing really sticks out or is special about this album.

2/5. While I don’t mind the idea of Sonic Youth’s droning similar to post-rock, I just can’t fully dive into it. The lack of measured verses/chorus, makes it hard for me to relate and enjoy.

3/5. I never give rap albums any love as it’s not my kind of music, but this album was awesome. Like a more rap heavy Rage Against the Machine!

4/5. Awesome concept album. I loved the fact that everything related to each other, similar to a Pink Floyd album. I liked the song, “We’re not Gonna Take It.”

3/5. I always think of my dad when I hear Neil Young & Crazy Horse. Their live album rattling through our house.

4/5. Another album that my father had shown me previously, but I didn’t appreciate. I love the Irish undertones and especially the song “Has Anyone Seen Hank?”

3/5. While I had never heard of Scott Walker, I rather enjoyed his melancholy voice. “Hero of the War”, was my favorite song on this album. Like a 1969 Pop version of “One” by Metallica.

2/5. While this album wasn’t bad by any stretch of the imagination. I simply wasn’t too big a fan due to their clear Beatles similarities.

2/5. I don’t usually mind Radiohead albums, but they begin to become repetitive to me. Amnesiac really didn’t differ itself too much from their other albums, but I did particularly like the song “Hunting Bears.”

3/5. Everybody knows Born In The USA, but I have to believe Dancing in the Dark is my favorite song on the album. Glory Days is also a classic.

2/5. Definitely a confusing album. Not something that I would pull off the shelf to listen to. Every time it seemed like it was getting good it just went off the rails again.

3/5. How could anyone not like this album. While it is considered pop, I think of it more as a jazz arrangement. Also thought it was really cool that the first song is called “The Kid from Red Bank,” knowing that he has a theater in his name in town.

3/5. This album started so good and I thought it was heading towards a 4 star rating, but it turned out to be top-heavy and the rest of the album spiraled it out of the upper echelon.

4/5. What an awesome album from Boston and just missed a 5 star rating! Not only are the typical classics great on this one, but the deep tracks also carry their weight!

3/5. All jazz starts to become similar to me. The only differences being the tempo and instruments used. I did very much enjoy the numerous drum solos within this quick and tidy album.

1/5. Maybe I’m not “smart” enough to get this album, but it’s horrible. Reminds me of Trout Mask Replica, which I also don’t “get.” Not a singular moment on this record is redeeming and every second was a waste of my time.

1/5. This is just an awful Michael Buble wannabe. Not my taste of music at all and really a disservice by Apple Music to categorize this album as “rock.”

2/5. I like Buffalo Springfield usually and Neil Young being a part of the bands definitely adds to their allure. Otherwise this album has no rhyme or reason and it didn’t really have a flow or point.

3/5. Really enjoyed this live album from Sam Cooke. Lots of fun and not something that comes up too often within this journey.

2/5. This album was all over the place when it comes to track listing, hence the 2 star rating, but how can you knock the great Muddy Waters. I can clearly see where Jimi got plenty of inspiration.

3/5. Weird that this isn’t on Apple Music. I figured this was some sort of straight edge thing to stick it to the man. I actually ended up enjoying the album after I found it on YouTube. Quick, fast, fun.

1/5. Just nonsense. Unsure why this group became so popular. It really is a waste of time.

3/5. I don’t think anyone could listen to this and dislike it. Just a solid album reminiscent of the Beatles and I’m sure a band making an effort to capture a bit of their success with similar music and instrumentation.

2/5. Lorde is clearly trying to do too much after her success with albums that I actually enjoy: Pure Heroine and Royals.

3/5. This really shouldn’t be a 3, but something about this record captivated me. I enjoyed some of the themes but at the same time felt it was very strange.

4/5. I wanted to give this a 3.5, but there is obviously no such thing on this. I think this is Lenny’s best album as it’s more relaxed and focused on the fundamentals. It’s soft, it has soul. I’m feeling generous and will give this album a 4.

3/5. I have fond memories of my father playing this album on his speakers for us when we were kids; just as his father had done for him. So many hits on this album, but I even enjoyed the deep tracks. So interesting the Frank Lloyd Wright song, as I didn’t realize there was a connection there.

5/5. Just a great album all around, and I’m not even the biggest Fleetwood Mac fan out there. I understand the gravity of this record and am also enjoying a bit of the comeback that it is experiencing!

4/5. Almost a 5/5. What a phenomenal album. I really really enjoyed it. Willie barely plays any notes during the songs, but his voice magically carry’s the tone.

1/5. This album is dismal from the quality to the content. Top to bottom a disaster. I like some punk, but this is definitely far from the style I like.

2/5. While the album isn’t terrible, I think Paul is trying to do too much. He continues his usual soft tone, but many of the songs have no depth nor make total sense. I did however like the song “The Late Great Johnny Ace.”

2/5. I know this band is super popular because of the song “Epic” which I believe was showcased in Guitar Hero. This just didn’t click with me. Tone was not any good or exciting.

2/5. I would definitely give this a 2.5 if they allowed the half star ratings, so while I enjoyed the album, it is just totally not my taste or style.

4/5. While bigger doesn’t alway mean better, I thought every song consistently captured the spirit of the Stones.

3/5. I really really liked the first two songs very much, but the album went right downhill from there and got a big stale. I give this a 3 star rating due to it being too too heavy.

3/5. A year before Black Sabbath’s first album, so I can see how they squeaked by and got the title for “First Heavy Metal Album.” This was an album I enjoyed, but is not nearly the album that Sabbath put out a year later.

1/5. Not because the music was bad, but the message is awful. This is what young inner city folks look up to. Pathetic and a horrible way to look and go through life.

3/5. While I very much enjoyed the classic, Tiny Dancer as well as the title track, Madman Across the Water; the rest of the album left a lot to be desired in my eyes. In addition, every song’s length just felt way too long for the message and didn’t add anything positive.

2/5. While I had listened to bits and pieces of this album many years ago during my post rock phase; I didn’t really like it then and it doesn’t really do it for me now.

2/5. I actually like some M.I.A. songs that are not on this album, but I believe she was still finding her footing and making a name for herself here.

3/5. So close to a 4 star rating. I had never given this band a listen even though I had heard of them before. Loved their punk/alternative rock feel and actually really enjoyed it!

2/5. Not good and not bad. Plain and boring. That’s it.

2/5. Wants to be Simon and Garfunkel. Weak album with no standouts.

5/5. One of the best albums I have ever listened to. Every single song is a standout. What a masterpiece by Rush!

2/5. While I really enjoyed the first two songs, the rest of the album left a lot to be desired. I was expecting more from such a popular band!

3/5. I really enjoyed the first few songs, but I found the album to be too repetitive thereafter.

2/5. Nothing sticks out on this album. They remind me a lot of the Black Keys, which is just not my style at all.

1/5. This is just typical Flaming Lips. First song was awesome, and totally petered out from there. If only they used real instruments and didn’t make everything sound fuzzy would I be intrigued.

3/5. Not a bad album by any stretch of the imagination, but not that high up there for me. I give kudos to Dancing Queen and My Love, My Life.

1/5. Another album I just couldn’t make sense of. It’s like Corrosion of Conformity mixed with the Flaming Lips. Electronic instruments everywhere.

2/5. Madonna definitely has a powerful and rich singing voice, but I’m just baffled at her love for whatever alternate language she has become so fond of. It’s just flat out strange to me. Also, I thought every song was just so soft and really masked her singing voice at times.

4/5. I have never heard of this band before but I really enjoyed this album! I have a feeling George Thorogood’s Who Do You Love came from this band

1/5. If you enjoy listening to rhythmic static over the course of an hour, then this is the album for you!

2/5. Jack White isn’t bad by any means as I do enjoy a few White Stripes songs, but his voice and talent has just never really done it for me.

2/5. I really thought after the first two songs this was going to be a typical late 80s, early 90s pop album similar to Wang Cheung or Yello, but didn’t get any of that after all. It seemed very redundant and benign.

2/5. This album was not available in my country so I had to resort to a live performance of the title track to get this gist of things. I enjoyed it, but it didn’t fulfill the length requirement obviously.

4/5. I mean, it’s ZZ Top, what’s not to like? Great album by the bearded boys with some great headliners and some really solid deep tracks. I particularly enjoyed “Dirty Dogs.”

3/5. Really special bass work on this album that really pounds home the idea of more prog rock even in the early 70s.

3/5. I really liked this album where the more 70s electronic keyboard meets classic jazz. It would’ve been a 4 star rating had the album just been a bit lengthier.

3/5. The clear cut best song for me was Lazarus, while some songs just made no sense nor added any value to the album. Very interesting blend of music.

2/5. Someone who is really trying their best to be a Paul Simon, but just doesn’t have the pipes for it. I did like the Jefferson Airplane reference and figure I’d rather listen to them.

2/5. This is quite a generous rating in my opinion. Just a wholly boring soft melodic album that didn’t hit me the right way I suppose.

3/5. Was a lot of fun and better than many mainstream albums within this journey.

3/5. She most certainly has a powerful voice and while a bit too shrill for my ears at times, I was pleasantly surprised at how “rock n roll” the album was compared to how I presumed it would sound.

2/5. Definitely a throwback to the 80s with that patented feel of that decade. While I didn’t mind this album at all, there was nothing special that set it apart.

1/5. The equivalent of an early 2000s Depeche Mode. No sense and not my style at all.

2/5. Standard 90s house album with nothing redeeming. Reminded me of a less sophisticated DJ Shadow.

3/5. A solid album from a really good, strong voice. No qualms with this one, but nothing really gets it to that next level for me.

3/5. Really neat kind of compilation album of many famous Christmas songs performed by notable artists. The famous Sleigh Ride was included in this album.

4/5. There are too many good songs to warrant a lower 3 star rating so I went with a 4. Born to Run, Thunder Road, Jungleland are all classics.

4/5. I loved the country undertone of this album. Emmylou’s voice fits that sound perfectly and I enjoyed about 80% of the album.

2/5. While I generally like Elvis, I much more enjoy the Blue Suede Shoes Elvis than this Elvis which I thought was uninspiring.

3/5. Just an overall really fun album. I was very close to adding a few songs to my playlist. I especially enjoyed Space Invaders.

3/5. For an R&B album to be anywhere on this list for me is impressive alone. I actually liked this album and thought the voices and instrumentation was fantastic.

2/5. While many people praise Joni for her activism and her singing voice, she just comes across to me like a looney as her last track, Twisted, echos.

3/5. While this is an alternative album, there were plenty of punk and grunge elements that really gave this record some shine.

3/5. The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down really is the star on this album and that’s what pushes this rather mediocre album to a 3 star rating.

2/5. Was never a big swing, pop type of drummer so I never really liked Franz Ferdinand.

5/5. One of those albums where every single song is great! While Sabbath is known for Paranoid, I like the deep tracks like Planet Caravan even better!

3/5. Totally interesting as the album instrumentation was more of a punk style while the singing was very 80s almost like Morrissey. Definitely an interesting listen.

3/5. The description I heard of the Cult picking up an AC/DC sound rings really true with this album.

1/5. This was the only album thus far that was unavailable to me through either Apple Music or YouTube.

2/5. Not a bad album from Paul Simon. I liked the title track, but the rest failed to connect with me.

1/5. Just awful. Horrific. Glad to see this is what kids in the inner-city were listening to. Hasn’t changed a bit. Horrible messages, but it seems to be a cultural thing.

1/5. Album does didn’t do anything for me. They really believe this album is one of the top 1000 of all time? I find that hard to believe.

2/5. Really a mellow album compared to the Reptilia Strokes that I grew up with. Not my favorite, but still a few good moments.

2/5. Aside from the Uber popular “Time of the Year”, this album didn’t really have much to show, other than a Buffalo Springfield-esque vibe.

3/5. AC/DC found a winning formula and stuck with it. I always love the joke about Angus Young telling reporters they were the only band ever to make 5 records that sounded exactly the same and still win an award. This album was just okay in my eyes(ears)

4/5. I really enjoyed this upbeat Prog Rock album from Yes. I must give my hat to the bassist as he was clearly the star of the album

3/5. The album started off very weak in my mind, even the more popular star tracks, but as the songs chugged along, I felt myself getting much more into it.

2/5. This album had no quality songs until we got to Biko. Which was enough to pull this album to a firm 2 stars.

3/5. The Exorcist theme into a hellacious guitar solo? I mean is there anything better than that? I’d say yes, but it’s close.

3/5. Didn’t think much of the album until I got to “Home At Last” which I really liked, but this style of music just isn’t for me. A hair too mellow.

2/5. Almost like Sonic Youth with the female singer. Thus album did not really resonate with me. Just didn’t click.

3/5. I have to give credit to thus album for clearly revitalizing a certain genre while also topping the charts with multiple songs on this album. While not my taste of music, I can remember almost 2 decades ago, these songs playing on the radio and being used in YouTube videos.

4/5. Most of the songs on this album are great and I already had a few downloaded to my playlist before I even listened to the album in its entirety.

3/5. Not an R&B guy by any stretch of the imagination, but I actually really liked Kelela’s voice and thought it had some great power.

3/5. While I knew the first song already, every other song I had not ever heard before. I wasn’t too much of a fun and didn’t think any of the songs really did anything for me, but at the same time, I can’t say they were necessarily bad.

4/5. While Jack White’s high pitch voice usually annoys me, I really enjoyed many of the songs on this album. I thought there was great diversity between tracks and showed a well-rounded White Stripes.

3/5. Definitely a lot better than I expected. Really brought in that rock tone that I wasn’t anticipating but also included the melodic, alternative style singing that made the album what it is.

1/5. And I thought AC/DC deserved the award for having every song sound exactly the same. Donald FAGen I think has them beat!!