View Album
Thu Sep 21 2023
Nilsson Schmilsson
Harry Nilsson
Not what I expected and surprised with the number of songs I recognized i.e. Coconut. Reminds me of Lennon solo albums a bit. I like it.
4
View Album
Fri Sep 22 2023
Pet Sounds
The Beach Boys
I understand why people praise this album, but outside of the hits I don't necessarily love listening to it. Wouldn't It Be Nice, God Only Knows, Sloop John B, etc are great songs but the rest just doesn't draw me in. I give this a 5 on production value but a 3 on listenability.
3
View Album
Sat Sep 23 2023
Hybrid Theory
Linkin Park
This was never really my thing, but I have a ton of nostalgia for this album. This was the sound of rock radio during my college years. It's better than I remember thinking at the time when I dismissed it as bland corporate radio rock. The hits are all very catchy and definitely better than most of Linkin Park's contemporaries, but the rest of the album is a little bland. Their sound is closer to 311 than other rap rock groups of the time which is a good thing.
2
View Album
Sun Sep 24 2023
good kid, m.A.A.d city
Kendrick Lamar
This was the first Kendrick album I heard, and I immediately loved it. Probably not as good as TPAB, but i have listened to this one more. I haven't paid much attention to rap as an adult, but this is great.
4
View Album
Mon Sep 25 2023
Electric Ladyland
Jimi Hendrix
5
View Album
Tue Sep 26 2023
Physical Graffiti
Led Zeppelin
One of Led Zeppelin's best. I have always liked the groove in these songs and the album includes one of their absolute best songs in Kashmir. Other highlights for me are in My Time of Dying, Houses of the Holy, Trampled Under Foot, and Ten Years Gone.
5
View Album
Wed Sep 27 2023
C'est Chic
CHIC
This is my first time hearing this album although I definitely know Le Freak. The rest were new to me. It's pretty good, but probably not something I'll come back to. I like Nile Rodger's guitar throughout, but a lot of the songs seem repetitive and overly long. That may just be par for the course for a disco album.
Best song other than Le Freak is Savoir Faire which is a cool jazzy instrumental. I Want Your Love is pretty good as well.
2
View Album
Thu Sep 28 2023
Electric
The Cult
AC/DC style riff rock with Jim Morrison vocals. I like it. Electric Ocean reminds me of Alice in Chains and the Cult is likely an influence for them.
3
View Album
Fri Sep 29 2023
Wish You Were Here
Pink Floyd
Probably my favorite Pink Floyd album with the title track and Shine on You Crazy Diamond being among their overall best songs. That leaves only Welcome to the Machine and Have a Cigar which I count among the band's top deep tracks as well. This will be the first album I've listened to where the entire album gets added to my playlist...some of the best guitar playing ever recorded.
5
View Album
Sat Sep 30 2023
Bossanova
Pixies
This is my least favorite of the original Pixies albums, so I'm kind of surprised it was included. It's not bad necessarily, just not one that I go back to a lot. In general reviews tend to rank this above Trompe Le Monde and I disagree...Trompe is a much better album. Still though there are some great songs on here including Velouria, Allison, and Dig For Fire.
3
View Album
Sun Oct 01 2023
New Gold Dream (81/82/83/84)
Simple Minds
I really like Promised You a Miracle, but the rest of the album isn't doing a ton for me. The dark new wave sound really isn't one that I gravitate to, and I doubt I would ever go back to this album. That being said, I've always thought of Simple Minds as one hit wonders so it's interesting to hear one of their albums without that one hit.
2
View Album
Mon Oct 02 2023
Either Or
Elliott Smith
I used to own this album on cd back in the day. I'm not a huge fan of the lo-fi sparseness of a lot of the songs, and while I enjoy some of it, the album never really clicked with me...then and now. I prefer when he does a more full arrangement such as with Pictures of Me, but that sound only shows up on a couple tracks. Overall I don't hate the album but its not really my cup of tea.
3
View Album
Tue Oct 03 2023
Ready To Die
The Notorious B.I.G.
4
View Album
Wed Oct 04 2023
Dear Science
TV On The Radio
Really good album that I owned and enjoyed when it came out. Not an all time classic however, and it does not include their best song (Wolf Like Me). I'll add a few tracks to my playlist but probably won't go back to this one again.
3
View Album
Thu Oct 05 2023
I Am a Bird Now
Antony and the Johnsons
Not for me. I don't really like Antony's voice and the music isn't my style. I felt the same way when this came out and was making all the critics lists.
1
View Album
Fri Oct 06 2023
Teenage Head
Flamin' Groovies
This is the type of album that makes listening to this list so much fun. I've heard of this band but didn't really know what they sound like. This is very good albeit far from groundbreaking. Definitely has a cool Sticky Fingers/Exile era Stones vibe mixed with a little Nuggets-style garage rock...which is great. I'll be adding a number of these songs to my playlist.
3
View Album
Sat Oct 07 2023
The Joshua Tree
U2
Absolute classic album and I'm not really a big U2 fan.
I'd always heard how great this album was but basically avoided it until I saw them play it live at Bonnaroo. It deserves the accolades. Hard to beat an album that starts with 3 of the best songs of all time. This also includes some great deep cuts like Bullet the Blue Sky and Red Hill Mining Town.
5
View Album
Sun Oct 08 2023
Ritual De Lo Habitual
Jane's Addiction
I had forgotten how good this album is. In my mind Nothing's Shocking was far and away their best, despite Ritual having the big hit, but this is some great stuff. Been Caught Stealing is popular for a reason, but the real showstopper here is Three Days. Wow....I love it.
Janes was special because while the other alt rock, punk inspired bands of their era were rejecting the excesses of 70s classic rock and 80s metal, they fully embraced it. Great riffs, epic songs, guitar solos, a rock star lead singer, etc...alternative bands weren't supposed to have these things. I LOVED these guys back in the day, and it was nice being reminded why.
4
View Album
Mon Oct 09 2023
Blue Lines
Massive Attack
This is kind of boring to me and really isn't my thing. In the 90s I thought this was what music would sound like in the future, but now it just sounds like a 90s sci Fi movie soundtrack throwback...something like Strange Days.
2
View Album
Tue Oct 10 2023
Parsley, Sage, Rosemary And Thyme
Simon & Garfunkel
I'm not a big fan of the old timey folk sound of Scarborough Fair to open the album, but the rest is really good. I especially like how they follow that opener with the very 60s rock inspired Patterns. Homeward Bound and the Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine are favorites and I also like the Dylan mocking A Simple Desultory Philippic.
3
View Album
Wed Oct 11 2023
Crooked Rain Crooked Rain
Pavement
One of my favorite albums of all time. Absolutely a 5 star rating from me.
5
View Album
Thu Oct 12 2023
Superfuzz Bigmuff
Mudhoney
Touch Me I'm Sick! This is right up my alley and is a huge influence on a lot of bands that were extremely important to me back in the day. That being said, I never really listened to Mudhoney all that much back at that time outside of their My Brother the Cow album that I owned.
This album is pretty good, with 3 or 4 songs that really stand out as some of the best from that era. Touch Me..., If I Think, and In n Out of Grace are all great.
4
View Album
Fri Oct 13 2023
Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim
Frank Sinatra
Sinatra's voice is obviously great throughout, and the music has a cool vibe to it...however, I probably won't go back to this album. This does not include any of Sinatra's big classic songs, and outside of The Girl From Ipanema, nothing here is really grabbing my attention. All very pleasant well performed songs, but feels like background music more than anything else.
3
View Album
Sat Oct 14 2023
To Pimp A Butterfly
Kendrick Lamar
I really enjoy this album, but it does suffer from the same issues I have with a lot of rap albums: too many interludes and the lyrics can make it a tough listen. I feel the same about a lot of metal and punk albums too...maybe I'm just old and I'm definitely conscious of music I'm not comfortable playing around my daughter. There are some great songs on here i.e. King Kunta, Alright, Blacker the Berry, and i.
3
View Album
Sun Oct 15 2023
Bug
Dinosaur Jr.
I feel like I should like this more than I do. There are some definite highlights like Freak Scene and Pond Song, but overall I don't love the album. I think it's too sludgy and suffers from the same lo-fi production issues as a lot of 80s indie rock.
I like Dinosaur Jr in general and J Mascis is a great guitarist, especially in a scene not necessarily known for musical chops, but I tend to prefer their 90s and later albums.
3
View Album
Mon Oct 16 2023
The Good, The Bad & The Queen
The Good, The Bad & The Queen
I'm not really enjoying this all that much. These songs all sound like intros, and nothing is really grabbing my attention. I keep expecting the beat to kick in or something...but it never happens. The self titled song is the best of the bunch here and it does get a full band, rocking treatment. I wish the whole album sounded the same.
2
View Album
Tue Oct 17 2023
Electric Warrior
T. Rex
I was excited that this album came up today as its one thats been on my radar for a long time, but I have never actually listened before. Its pretty good although the songs I already knew i.e. Jeepster and Get It On are definitely the best ones here. I also like Life's a Gas and The Motivator.
3
View Album
Wed Oct 18 2023
Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
OutKast
Another album I bought and owned when it first came out. There is a lot to love here, and some of Outkast's most iconic songs are on the album, but I can't help to wish that they had edited this to one cohesive album. Like with most hip hop albums the interludes and skits are unnecessary...and there are a lot of songs that feel like throwaways.
In general I prefer Big Boi's Speakerboxxx over Andre 3000's The Love Below, but there are good songs on each. Andre's Hey Ya and Roses are iconic singles of the era, but Big Boi's side is just more of a cohesive album. From an influence perspective it's BB's Funkadelic vs Andre's Prince.
4
View Album
Thu Oct 19 2023
American Gothic
David Ackles
This is just okay to me. Not really sure why this made the list, but I guess it was influential to a lot of cool 70s and 80s musicians. It's too theatrical or something for me, and I probably won't listen again.
2
View Album
Fri Oct 20 2023
Cut
The Slits
One of those albums that I've never listened to despite always seeing it on lists like this one. The description would always turn me off, and after listening I'd say my reaction was justified. This is just okay to me...and I'm typically a big fan of anything punk related. This really doesn't sound like what I'd classify as punk though. There's definitely a snotty attitude to the vocals, especially coming from a female in the 70s, but the music is mostly a reggae inspired new wave sound.
Their cover of I Heard it Through the Grapevine is fun.
2
View Album
Sat Oct 21 2023
Innervisions
Stevie Wonder
Awesome album with some great songs. I own this on vinyl and listen frequently. This has some of Stevie's biggest bangers with Higher Ground and Living for the City. I also really enjoy He's Misstra Know It All and Golden Lady for deeper cuts.
4
View Album
Sun Oct 22 2023
Future Days
Can
This was okay. I've heard other Can songs that I do enjoy, but nothing was really grabbing me on this one. Maybe too ambient or something for me.
2
View Album
Mon Oct 23 2023
Deserter's Songs
Mercury Rev
This is another band I had never heard before. Sounds like the Flaming Lips...which is a sound I really like. That being said, I'm not sure I would have put this on the list, but I am glad to have heard the album.
3
View Album
Tue Oct 24 2023
Back At The Chicken Shack
Jimmy Smith
This album has a cool vibe to it that I enjoy. Organ-based jazz funk music.
3
View Album
Wed Oct 25 2023
Bat Out Of Hell
Meat Loaf
This is a fun album and Paradise By the Dashboard Light is an all-time banger of a song. I love the piano on these songs. I read a review that compared this sound to Born to Run and I can see it. They certainly both have a certain epic quality to the songs that really draws me in. There's definitely some cheesiness, and a couple of the ballads are too theatrical, but overall I'm glad to have listened to this album.
4
View Album
Thu Oct 26 2023
Vivid
Living Colour
Cult of Personality is great! One of the best songs from the late 80s/early 90s alternative scene. The rest of the album is just okay to me. There are some cool funk rock songs and the guitar playing is awesome throughout...I especially love the slap bass. Funny Vibe is probably my favorite of the rest of the songs.
This is pretty much how I felt when I saw them in the 00s...killer guitar but only a couple songs that really drew me in. The 2nd best song from the live show was a cover of Crosstown Traffic.
3
View Album
Fri Oct 27 2023
Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle
Bill Callahan
While I certainly don't hate this album, it definitely feels like it made the list through a bit of recency bias when the book was published. Its a good album, but seems a little obscure to make a list like this one. Too Many Birds and My Friend are very good songs that have been added to my playlist.
3
View Album
Sat Oct 28 2023
Fear Of A Black Planet
Public Enemy
Public Enemy is awesome and this is a great album. Very abrasive and in your face style with loud sound collage style beats. The stuff Chuck D is rapping about is still relevant today...and his style is more yelling than rapping. There's a certain rock quality to their sound while still very much being a hip hop group.
4
View Album
Sun Oct 29 2023
MTV Unplugged In New York
Nirvana
Love this album so much. Nirvana was one of the most important bands to me when I was a kid, but as an adult this is the one I go back to the most. So many great songs on this from About a Girl to The Man Who Sold the World to Lake of Fire. The best though is Where Did You Sleep Last Night...Kurt's scream at the end is an iconic moment of the 90s. Definite 5 star from me.
5
View Album
Mon Oct 30 2023
90
808 State
I'm sure this was very influential for the era, but it's not really doing much for me.
2
View Album
Tue Oct 31 2023
Is This It
The Strokes
I love this album. When this came out in 2001 it had the energy of the punk rock that I loved at that time, without being pop punk. It was just really catchy rock music with great hooks and a cool aesthetic. Indie rock/power pop I guess, but whatever its called I like it. This always felt underground to me, so its interesting to see them now headlining festivals. I never really paid much attention to their later albums, but they obviously have remained popular despite never being household names. Regardless, this album is great and definitely one of the best rock records of the the 00s.
4
View Album
Wed Nov 01 2023
Stardust
Willie Nelson
I could listen to Willie sing anything, but this album of jazz standards is an especially great use of his voice.
5
View Album
Thu Nov 02 2023
No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith (Live)
Motörhead
Motorhead is a huge influence on a lot of the music I grew up listening to, but outside of Ace of Spades, I have never really dug in much. This album is great as a way to hear a bunch of the best songs from their peak. Everything kind of sounds the same, but its definitely a fun listen. That being said, I wish the sound was better as the live recordings aren't the best.
3
View Album
Fri Nov 03 2023
John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band
John Lennon
This is my first time listening to this album although I did know a couple of the songs. Its okay. Many songs have very dark and personal lyrics that I don't love, and some of them feel like sketches or ideas instead of fully fleshed out songs. The best track on here is Working Class Hero which is an all time great song to me...lyrics are still dark but its a universal message instead of one that feels like Lennon's personal diary entry. I also like Mother and I Found Out.
3
View Album
Sat Nov 04 2023
Songs In The Key Of Life
Stevie Wonder
Great album. I came in knowing the big hits like Sir Duke and Isn't She Lovely which are all deserving of their classic status, but I was surprised by how much I enjoyed a lot of the deep cuts:
- Contusion is an unexpected jazz fusion instrumental that is great.
- Pastime Paradise is instantly recognizable as the basis for Gangsta's Paradise, but the song itself is a true standout on this album.
- Black Man has a really cool groove.
- As is one that I didn't think I knew...until I listened and it was instantly recognizable with another great bass groove.
This is a long album with long songs that's never boring, and that has lyrics that are often providing meaningful social commentary. I really enjoyed this album and its definitely Stevie Wonder's masterpiece.
5
View Album
Sun Nov 05 2023
Dance Mania
Tito Puente
Not something I would typically seek out, but its pretty hard not to like Tito Puente. I have always enjoyed big band swing music, despite rarely listening to it, and adding Caribbean sounds to the mix makes for an enjoyable listen.
4
View Album
Mon Nov 06 2023
The La's
The La's
There She Goes is great...the rest is just okay. Surely there are 1,001 better albums than this one.
2
View Album
Tue Nov 07 2023
Stankonia
OutKast
This was the first Outkast album I owned...and it's probably my favorite as well. BOB blew my mind the first time I heard it and it still just sounds so unique. So Fresh & So Clean and Ms. Jackson are some of their best big hits and the album is full of great deep cuts as well.
5
View Album
Wed Nov 08 2023
It's Blitz!
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
I've always really liked the song Maps from this band, but I have pretty much ignored the rest of their releases. This is pretty good, and I enjoyed listening more than I thought I would. Definitely stands out from other similar 00s era indie/alt rock bands, many of whom were influenced by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
Zero is my favorite song on the album.
4
View Album
Thu Nov 09 2023
Lazer Guided Melodies
Spiritualized
Spiritualized is one of those bands where I really like a lot of the songs that I hear, but something doesn't really click when I try to dig into their albums. There are some great songs on here like I Want You, Run, and Shine a Light, but others that are kind of a slog to get through. Definitely a little too droney and slow for my tastes. That being said, the highs on this album are great.
3
View Album
Fri Nov 10 2023
Fly Or Die
N.E.R.D
Thoughts before listening: I remember Pharrell being in this group, but this album cover is not one that I recognize. From what I remember about them, they have kind of a rap/pop/rock mix to their sound and were pretty popular at the time. I'm pretty surprised this is on the 1,001 list though as I don't remember it being highly touted at the time.
Review: Yep...this is basically rap/r&b with rock guitars. Definitely not rap metal ala Limp Bizkit...and better for it. This is okay...a lot of this sounds like Happy-era Pharrell meets like Maroon 5 or something...very poppy style rock.
According to Spotify listen stats She Wants to Move is the hit here and that makes sense. It's definitely the catchiest song with kind of a Santana-style guitar solo going underneath the music. There are a couple other songs I like fine, but overall this isn't for me.
2
View Album
Sat Nov 11 2023
Joan Armatrading
Joan Armatrading
Before listening: I don't know too much about Joan Armatrading although I have heard her name before. I believe she is 60s folk similar to Joan Baez.
Review: This is definitely folk inspired but also more powerful than I thought it would be...there's a little more rock edge to the production than her contemporaries like Joni Mitchell and Joan Baez. Very cool sound with a great voice that was likely a big influence to someone like Brandi Carlile.
Down to Zero and Love and Affection are the best songs on here which shows in the Spotify stats...they have 13mil and 32mil listens compared to less than 1mil for the other songs. Thats a shame though cause there are other great songs on here...Water With the Wine and Join the Boys are 2 that I especially enjoyed.
4
View Album
Sun Nov 12 2023
The Lexicon Of Love
ABC
Thoughts before listening: I've heard of this band and the album cover looks familiar, but I've never listened to them. My initial thought is that they are 80s synth pop, but I'm not really sure. This is the type of album where I'm often surprised to recognize a song or two, but I definitely can't name any of their hits.
Review: This isn't for me. The bass player is really good...kind of has a disco feel to his playing that I'm enjoying, but everything else isn't really doing much for me...and I might even call it annoying. This is the sound people are thinking of when they say they hate 80s new wave music.
1
View Album
Mon Nov 13 2023
Two Dancers
Wild Beasts
Thoughts before listening: another surprising entry for a 00s/10s era indie rock band. I was listening to this type of music back then but barely remember these guys. I'm sure it'll be fine.
Review: yeah I'm not really sure what to think. The falsetto vocals are annoying and the lyrics are dumb. The music is fine I guess but not really my thing. Indie pop with dancey beats and chiming guitar. Definitely feels like something that made this list because the editors felt they needed to add some recent albums.
1
View Album
Tue Nov 14 2023
Darkness on the Edge of Town
Bruce Springsteen
Thoughts before listening: This is my favorite Springsteen album.
Review: There's not much else to say about this. I love this album. The hits are popular for a reason, but I love the deep cuts on this...Adam Raised a Cain, Candy's Room, Prove It All Night, etc. All great songs that remained heavy hitters in Bruce's live shows.
5
View Album
Wed Nov 15 2023
Roots
Sepultura
Thoughts before listening: I'm pleasantly surprised to see this on the list. I was a teenager when this came out and I remember it being a big deal to my friends who were into metal. I was more into punk rock than metal but I did hear this at the time. It was too dense and the vocals were too much of a growl for me. I'm interested to see what I think of it now as an adult.
Review: This is definitely dense and I'm still not a huge fan of the growled vocals, but I'm not hating this album. There's definitely a cool groove and great percussion to these songs even though it's not necessarily my style. The music sounds a lot like what Korn and the Deftones were doing around that same time. The songs with tribal chants are cool and interesting.
3
View Album
Thu Nov 16 2023
Konnichiwa
Skepta
Thoughts before listening: I think this is British rap although I've never listened to this guy before. I like The Streets and I remember when Dizzee Rascal was a big deal, but other than that I don't know that much about the British hip hop scene. This probably won't be my thing but I'll give it a shot.
Review: This is fine. The British accent and slang does make this unique from the American hip hop I am more familiar with. Like with a lot of hip hop albums the skits are dumb and its hard to relate to the lyrics. Overall this probably isn't something I'm going to go back and listen to, but it's okay for what it is. I did add a couple songs to my playlist.
2
View Album
Fri Nov 17 2023
Led Zeppelin IV
Led Zeppelin
Thoughts before listening: This was one of the earliest albums I ever bought and definitely the first Zeppelin album I ever owned. In college I had a professor ask us to bring in an example of of the quintessential rock n roll song and I brought in Rock n Roll from this album.
Review: This is a classic. Every song on here is iconic, even something like the Battle of Evermore which is a definite departure from the typical Zeppelin sound. The combination of heavy rock with folk inspired sounds was revolutionary for the time and has always set Zeppelin apart from the other early hard rock bands. This is a definite 5 star album and all songs are getting added to the playlist.
5
View Album
Sat Nov 18 2023
Tea for the Tillerman
Cat Stevens
Thoughts before listening: I'm sure I'll know a lot of songs on this album but I've never listened before. I really like the hits, so I'm sure the album will be great.
Review: Yeah, this was very good. I expected a folky album and there is that aspect to the sound, but there's definitely more of a pop rock production to these songs. Wild World and Father & Son are great and I also really enjoyed Sad Lisa.
4
View Album
Sun Nov 19 2023
The Rise & Fall
Madness
Thoughts before listening: When I was into ska music in the 90s Madness was always listed as one of the original English ska bands along with the Specials. I LOVE the Specials, but I don't know all that much from Madness except for Our House which is on the album.
Review: This is okay. Seems more like new wave pop than ska, although there are some horns in the mix. There is kind of a carnival sound to a lot of the music. Our House is a great song and very iconic for the 80s. Other than that I enjoyed Tomorrow's Just Another Day but nothing else really stands out to me.
2
View Album
Mon Nov 20 2023
Mothership Connection
Parliament
Thoughts before listening: I don't know what's on this album but I'm sure it's great. I know this is one of Parliament's most celebrated records so I'm excited to listen.
Review: Yep...this is awesome. This is the definition of funk music (as they remind you over and over again) and a lot of it is very recognizable since its been sampled so many times in hip hop songs. Mothership Connection and Give Up the Funk are the best songs, but I enjoyed the whole album. Some of the talking was annoying and there is definitely a lot of repetition to the songs, but this is still a fantastic record.
4
View Album
Tue Nov 21 2023
Marquee Moon
Television
Thoughts before listening: I know this one. Great album.
Review: Television gets called a punk band but that's mainly cause they came out of the CBGBs scene. This is more of what would come to be called indie rock or post-punk. Really good guitar playing throughout and a huge influence on many of the bands I grew up listening to. The title track is the best song here and the second half of the album isn't as good as the first.
4
View Album
Wed Nov 22 2023
GI
Germs
Thoughts before listening: I know the Germs but have never listened to them. They are always listed as an early LA punk band with huge influence on the scene as well as Pat Smear's first band before Nirvana and the Foo Fighters which means they should be right up my alley. However, I had always read that they were super sloppy, especially Darby Crash, and for whatever reason I just never sought it out. Seems like one of those albums that makes the 1,001 list for its historical significance more than its quality.
Review: The music on this recording is a lot less sloppy than I had assumed...from a little research it seems this is thanks to production by Joan Jett. I am especially liking the bass in these songs and there are some great punk rock guitar riffs as well. It is very easy to hear their influence on the 80s punk bands that I love like Bad Religion and especially the Descendents. Only problem for me is that I don't love Darby Crash's vocals. Its too growled and slurring....even more so than the bands that came soon after them.
Lexicon Devil is the one song I recognize on this album and its really good. Definitely has a similar vibe to the Ramones, especially with the gimme gimme lines, that I feel a lot of the LA bands avoided. I also really like the bass in Richie Dagger's Crime and Strange Notes. Overall this is a nice early snapshot of the LA punk scene that would have a huge influence on much of the music I listened to in high school. Unfortunately this album isn't on Spotify, and the songs that do exist are all from live recordings that are virtually unlistenable and show the side of Darby Crash I had always avoided.
3
View Album
Thu Nov 23 2023
Let Love Rule
Lenny Kravitz
Thoughts before listening: I only really know Lenny for his late 90s hits, especially Are You Gonna Go My Way, Fly Away, and the cover of American Woman. I always found him to be an interesting throw back to 70s style rock, but his music wasn't something I paid a ton of attention to. I definitely haven't listened to his earlier albums like this one. I think I know Let Love Rule and maybe Mr. Cab Driver.
Review: This is pretty good but it's definitely derivative of 70s rock. Nothing revolutionary here.
2
View Album
Fri Nov 24 2023
Quiet Life
Japan
Thoughts before review: Feels like another fairly obscure 80s British new wave band. I don't recognize this album cover or any of the songs names. This probably isn't going to be for me.
Review: Yeah not really my thing. Slow, gothy synth pop. Usually on these types of albums I recognize a hit or 2 but not here. The only song I recognize, and also my favorite song on the album, is their cover of Velvet Underground's All Tomorrow's Parties. I'm adding that one to the playlist.
2
View Album
Sat Nov 25 2023
Smash
The Offspring
Thoughts before listening: This was one of the gateway albums for me to punk rock, but I'm surprised it's on the list. I feel like it's generally considered the lesser of the 3 big 90s pop punk albums (...and Out Come the Wolves and Dookie being the others). I have a ton of nostalgia for this album and will be adding quite a few songs to the playlist I'm sure.
Review: I know every word to every song. This has been a fun listen, but I still feel like it's a lesser album compared to its peers. The Offspring just aren't in the same league as Bad Religion, NOFX, Pennywise, Bouncing Souls, etc...not to mention Green Day and Rancid. I had also forgotten how some of the cheesy jokey stuff they'd later become known for was already showing up on this album.
3
View Album
Sun Nov 26 2023
The Cars
The Cars
Thoughts before listening: I know the Cars and will probably recognize a lot of this album, but I've never heard this before. I have always thought of them as simplistic pop rock, but I know they get praised a lot by music critics. I'm excited to dig in a little deeper on them.
Review: This is really good. Sure it's pop music, but it's also really catchy, smart songwriting. The hits on this album are some of the most memorable, timeless songs released in the late 70s. Considering their contemporaries were punk, prog, disco, etc it's refreshing to have a band that was out there just playing solid rock n roll songs. 4-stars.
4
View Album
Mon Nov 27 2023
Slipknot
Slipknot
Thoughts before listening: If this has Wait and Bleed on it then I love that song. Otherwise I know Slipknot is well respected in the metal scene but they were never my thing. I always thought the costumes were gimmicky.
Review: I didn't like this music when I was listening to punk rock back in the day and I'm definitely not into it now. That being said, Wait and Bleed is still a banger and one of my favorites of the nu metal era. There are definitely some parts in the other songs that I can enjoy cause they do seem to have a knack for catchy choruses, but those are few and far between...and usually just one part of an otherwise annoying song. I especially hate the death metal vocals and raps that are used throughout. This just isn't for me.
2
View Album
Tue Nov 28 2023
Eliminator
ZZ Top
Thoughts before listening: I love ZZ Top's 70s albums, but I have never listened to this one. They changed their sound a bit in the 80s to become more radio friendly and went hard on the gimmick of their beards...and it worked. I know this album was huge and I'll probably know most of the songs. I'm sure I'll enjoy this, but it's hard to think it's better than an album like Tres Hombres.
Review: The hits are definitely poppy, but they're also iconic songs that have been mainstays of classic rock radio throughout my life. Its hard to deny just how catchy this album is while still very much being a blues rock album. I am enjoying listening to this more than I thought I would. Gimme All Your Lovin, Sharp Dressed Man, and Legs are undeniable bangers, and I am also enjoying some of the deeper tracks like Got Me Under Pressure.
That being said, the album is very much front loaded with the 2nd half being pretty weak. There are some questionable things here such as Thug's Don Henley vibe meets slap bass breakdowns and too many throwaway songs with dumb lyrics (i.e. TV Dinners and Dirty Dog). Overall though this is a fun listen.
3
View Album
Wed Nov 29 2023
A Wizard, A True Star
Todd Rundgren
Thoughts before listening: Todd Rundgren is an enigma to me. He gets massive praise from music nerds and critics, but I don't recognize any of his songs on Spotify. I know he's in the rock n roll Hall of Fame and produced a lot of well known records, but when I have tried to listen to his music, it's just fine to me. Sounds like other 70s rock bands like Steely Dan. I do understand that he changed his sound a lot and I've seen where this album is labeled as experimental, so maybe the "hits" on Spotify aren't representative of his full discography. Anyway, I'm excited to try this album out.
Review: So this sounds like Steely Dan meets Frank Zappa with some Beatles melodies thrown in as well. I think I like it, but its also a lot to take in on one listen. This is one of those albums where a lot of ideas show up but not always in the form of a fully fledged out song. There are bits and pieces of great melodies that are then abruptly ended for some weird avant garde art rock song...much like Frank Zappa. That makes for an interesting if not always fully enjoyable listen.
There are some really good songs on here. International Feel, Zen Archer, Sometimes I Don't Know What to Feel, Is It My Name?, and Just One Victory are great tracks that I am glad to add to the playlist. A lot of the other songs are either sappy ballads or complete weirdo arty excursions that just aren't for me.
3
View Album
Thu Nov 30 2023
The Number Of The Beast
Iron Maiden
Thoughts before listening: This is my uncle's favorite band. I know Run to the Hills and their other hits, but I have never really listened deeply to them. I think the Satanic imagery has always made me shy away from Iron Maiden, but I am always surprised that their music isn't really all that dark.
Review: Yeah...this is good. Its a really fun listen with upbeat tempos, cool guitar riffs, and walking basslines. Also vocals that are actually sung instead of being growled like a lot of metal bands. Bruce Dickinson is almost operatic in his delivery and it adds a certain epic quality to these songs that is often missing with most modern metal bands. I certainly prefer this to something like Sepultura that I have listened to from the 1,001 Album list.
Run to the Hills is such a great song and really stands out on this album. The galloping pace makes for a fun listen and that same intensity is used throughout the album. Other highlights include The Prisoner, The Number of the Beast, and Hallowed Be Thy Name...and all of these are considered staples of the metal genre for good reason. I am happy to add all of these songs to the playlist.
4
View Album
Fri Dec 01 2023
Straight Outta Compton
N.W.A.
Thoughts before listening: I know this is a classic full of iconic songs but I've never listened to it. I do know a few of the songs, and they're fun late 80s/early 90s California gangsta rap. I'm sure the lyrics will be a turn off for me, but I'm excited to hear this album.
Review: I really enjoy this album, but as with a lot of the hip hop on here the lyrics make it a tough listen. Still though, I love this era of hip hop where they are rapping over backing tracks that are mostly sampled from 70s funk bands. I like NWA's group approach with distinct individual voices and personalities from each of the members. Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, and Ice Cube especially are icons of the genre so it is cool to hear them together interacting on these songs.
3
View Album
Sat Dec 02 2023
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
Thoughts before listening: Good one although I've never owned or listened to this. I know it's Sabbath's debut and typically called the first heavy metal album. I know Paranoid and the greatest hits albums much better than this one, but I'm sure I'll enjoy it.
Review: Yeah, I enjoy this. Its definitely different than what would become known as heavy metal, with this feeling more just like a slightly more abrasive form of British blues rock ala Cream. It's really good though. The Wizard is my favorite song on the album, and I also really enjoy the opening self titled song. 2nd half meanders a bit and this definitely is not their best album.
3
View Album
Sun Dec 03 2023
Red Dirt Girl
Emmylou Harris
Thoughts before listening: This is a surprising entry to the list for Emmylou Harris. She has a large back catalog of 70s country classics, but they include a 2000s album from her? Weird. I am expecting more of a folk album than country, and I am sure it will be enjoyable.
Review: This is basically the definition of adult alternative. Its a very mature sound with strong production and well written songs....its also a little dull. Not bad necessarily, just not overly exciting to me. Definitely a stark difference between this and other recent albums I've gotten on here like NWA and Iron Maiden.
I am listening with the lyrics pulled up onscreen, and these are great story songs with deep messages. Mostly dark and emotionally charged words with music that sets a similar tone. The song Red Dirt Girl is the only one I had heard prior to this listen, and it is probably the best song here. I also enjoyed I Don't Wanna Talk About It Now and My Antonia. Overall this was a fine listen, but its probably not something I'm ever going to play again.
3
View Album
Mon Dec 04 2023
The Band
The Band
Thoughts before listening: Another band that I love but only really know the hits. I've seen the Last Waltz a bunch and probably owned a compilation cd of theirs, but I don't think I've heard this album. I'm sure I'll know most of the songs though, and I definitely know that this is considered a masterpiece.
Review: Yeah this is awesome. Such a great album. The hits are some of the best songs of all time with The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down and Up On Cripple Creek. I remember the first time I ever heard these songs when my roommate in college took a music history class and started playing them...and I loved them immediately. These songs feel timeless as if they should have existed for years before the Band actually wrote and recorded them.
I forget just how much I love the Band. They were looking back to older music styles with country and jazz elements in their sound while still very much being a contemporary 60s rock group that played at Woodstock. Outside of the hits this album has so many absolute classic deep cuts: Across the Great Divide, Rag Mama Rag, King Harvest, etc.
5
View Album
Tue Dec 05 2023
Blur
Blur
Thoughts before listening: I never really paid much attention to the brit pop bands of the 90s even those that got a lot of press such as Blur. I think this album has Song 2 on it which is a great 90s alt rock single, but most of this album will be new to me. I generally like what I've heard from Blur so I'm sure I'll enjoy this.
Review: So this also has Beetlebum on it....and I do love that song. That plus Song 2 make for a pretty great and iconic 90s 1 - 2 punch to start the album out. I am not hearing much else that is drawing me in though. It is all perfectly fine alt-rock, but I don't really get the hype. I am sure if I listened to Blur back in the day I would have massive nostalgia for this album (like I did with the Offspring), but without that reference point this is coming up a bit flat for me. There are some songs that I enjoy like Country Sad Ballad Man, MOR, On Your Own, and the punk sounding Chinese Bombs, but nothing that reaches the heights of those first 2 songs. Those will be the only ones going on the playlist.
2
View Album
Wed Dec 06 2023
Happy Trails
Quicksilver Messenger Service
Thoughts before listening: This will definitely be a first listen for me. I believe these guys were a 60s San Francisco band in the same scene as the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, and Janis Joplin. I'm expecting psychedelic blues rock with lots of guitar solos...I also assume that I'll enjoy this.
Review: There is definitely some great guitar work on this album. The first half of the record is just a jam on Who Do You Love broken up into multiple instrumental parts, and the second half continues the same mostly instrumental vibe. This is just okay to me. I'm sure these guys were awesome live, but on a studio album they come off a little boring. Lots of guitar noodling that doesn't really go anywhere. Maybe this lack of songs is why their contemporaries like the Grateful Dead and the Allman Bros had 50 year careers and Quicksilver Messenger Service were left as a largely forgotten also ran.
As for the playlist, the best song on here is the multi-part Who Do You Love, but that's broken into different tracks that won't translate well to a playlist. I'm adding the first Who Do You Love as well as the next track What You Love which is a really good guitar jam. I'll also add Mona which is an original although it sounds very similar to the Grateful Dead's take on Not Fade Away
All in all these guys were an early jamband and I love jambands! However, like with most jambands, they're style just doesn't translate very well to studio recordings. Maybe I can find a live show to listen to.
3
View Album
Thu Dec 07 2023
Follow The Leader
Korn
Thoughts before listening: I didn't like these guys 25 years ago and I probably won't like them now. That being said, I felt the same about Linkin Park and ended up at least enjoying the hits from a nostalgia angle. Perhaps the same will happen here. I know Korn were respected at the time as good musicians, this brand of angry rap metal just never spoke to me.
Review: Freak On a Leash and Got the Life are both good songs for this genre. There is definitely a nostalgia to these songs as they were HUGE during my high school and college years. The rest of the album sounds like more of the same with fewer hooks. Then they trot out Fred Durst to get all homophobic on a song and I'm done. This sucks. This is the music Trump fans listened to in high school. 1 star.
1
View Album
Fri Dec 08 2023
Heartattack And Vine
Tom Waits
Thoughts before listening: Tom Waits has always been one of those artists that I know I'm supposed to like, but I just cant really get into him. I think its mainly because of the growled vocals. I've listened to the classics like Rain Dogs, and I used to own Bone Machine, but a lot of his material just seemed inaccessible to me. That being said, I know this is one of his earlier recordings, and I don't think he was quite as harsh sounding back then. I am expecting jazzy blues with really good lyrics and a lot of attitude.
Review: Yeah....definitely not as gravelly as he would become although that raspiness is definitely there. The music sounds like a late night jazz or blues club in New York City with a weathered, ragged voice singing over top...but at least he's singing here instead of the carnival barker approach he would bring to later releases. Tons of style coming through in both the music and Tom Waits' vocal delivery that I am enjoying.
The best known songs on here are the title track and Jersey Girl both of which are great...I thought the latter was a Springsteen cover, but its actually the other way around as Tom Waits wrote the song. I also really like the ballads Saving All My Love For You and Ruby's Arms which shows off the range and emotion that Tom Waits possesses, despite his rough delivery. I am glad I got a chance to listen to this album, and I will likely seek out more of Tom Waits' material, especially the 70s albums.
4
View Album
Sat Dec 09 2023
Lost In The Dream
The War On Drugs
Thoughts before listening: One of my favorite albums of the past decade. It sounds like 80s roots rock ala Dire Straits or Tom Petty with great guitar work. Basically the epitome of dad rock...so in other words right up my alley.
Review: This is an album where a few songs are so good that it doesn't really matter if all the tracks aren't on that same level. In this case Under the Pressure, Red Eyes, and An Ocean Between the Waves are 3 of the best rock songs released in my adult years. I absolutely love them. I have long been obsessed with a KEXP radio performance they did around the release of this album where the DJ got emotional while they played these songs. Its just such a perfect throwback sound to 80s style rock, but with a guitar approach that makes it feel new and vital.
That being said, this is not a 5-star album to me. There are a lot of long, slower paced songs that tend to drag at places. These are well written songs with nice melodies and interesting guitar work, but they just don't have the same effect as the bangers.
4
View Album
Sun Dec 10 2023
69 Love Songs
The Magnetic Fields
Thoughts before listening: This comes up a lot on best albums lists but I have never listened. I think that's mainly cause 69 songs is A LOT of songs and it just seems like a daunting task. Plus I have heard bits and pieces of the album and I don't really like what I've heard.
Review: Wow, right out the gate this album has some really nice songs on it. Wonderful melodies and super catchy pop rock songs. Stylistically this is lo fi pop rock with a bunch of different influences on the songs: some remind me of the Smiths, some sound like Irish folk songs, there are some country rock tunes and some that jse electronic inspired instrumentation. There are definitely too many songs, and a lot of this feels like half assed songs thrown together to meet the silly 69 tracks concept. The highs are very high, but the lows are something I'd never go back to.
Also, I don't have time for nearly 3 hours of music...I tried to listen all the way through, but once I realized there are some jokey throwaways on here I started skipping a lot. I tried to cheat a bit and looked up best of lists to help pick and choose tracks, but there is very little consensus. Tracks that were at the top of one list would be at the bottom of others. That certainly speaks to just how polarizing this album can be as well as the stylistic variation throughout.
There are definitely highlights here: I Don't Believe in the Sun, All My Little Worlds, The One You Really Love, When My Boy Walks Down the Street, Long Forgotten Fairytale, Papa Was a Rodeo, Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side, and Death of Ferdinand de Saussure.
Overall this is way too hit or miss to get a good score from me, although I will happily revisit the songs above that I added to the playlist.
2
View Album
Mon Dec 11 2023
Now I Got Worry
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
Thoughts before listening: I'm pretty surprised to see this on here. John Spencer Blues Explosion were a big deal underground band in the 90s, but they seem to be mostly forgotten. They definitely aren't mentioned with the same reverence as a band like Pavement is. That being said, I do feel that they should be considered as a major influence on 00s bands like the White Stripes and the Black Keys...alt rock/punk bands playing blues based music. My memories of this album are that the JSBE updated their sound with some hip hop type beats but still remained firmly in the trashy blues world. I don't think I've heard this before so I'm excited to listen.
Review: Well I was mainly wrong on the hip hop beats thing. There are a couple songs that are like a more punk rock Beck or something, but they come off as jokey interludes more than anything else. This album is mostly just a really dirty garage punk take on Mississippi delta blues. It's a little annoying if I'm being honest. It sounds like he's doing a bad Elvis impression with a ton of effects on his vocals throughout. I should have been into this back when I was listening to rockabilly punk bands like Rev Horton Heat, but I wasn't.. after listening, I can tell why: JSBE just don't have the melodic songs that drew me to those bands.
I'm sure these guys would be really fun live, but this just isn't translating to record for me. It's too abrasive and seemingly focuses more on style than actual songwriting. In fact, I don't hear any songs that I like enough to add to my playlist.
1
View Album
Tue Dec 12 2023
Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
Arctic Monkeys
Thoughts before listening: I remember when this came out and the Arctic Monkeys were being hailed as the next big thing in rock...at least since the Strokes I guess. They certainly have seemed to sustain much more of a career than I thought they would. The only song I remember from this album is I Bet You Look Good On the Dancefloor...and it's really good.
Review: ...Dancefloor is still the best song on here, but the whole album is pretty good. This is catchy alt rock with plenty of hooks and overall a fun listen. I hear a lot of the Libertines and the Strokes in what the Arctic Monkeys were doing which is appropriate since those two bands hit right before the AMs and garnered similar praise for their debut albums.
3
View Album
Wed Dec 13 2023
Hearts And Bones
Paul Simon
Thoughts before listening: I'm surprised to see a mid-career Paul Simon album. Graceland and Rhythm of the Saints are both great as is his early stuff post-Simon and Garfunkel, but this is one I'm not familiar with. I generally enjoy Paul Simon so I'm interested to hear this one.
Review: So doing a little research it appears that this came out right before Paul Simon released Graceland...that's a superior album with this one being a bit of a mixed bag. Some songs suffer the same fate of a lot of 60s and 70s artists in the 80s...It's overproduced with unnecessary synths and other sound effects bogging down the songs. There are also silly lyrics in some songs like Allergies and Cars Are Cars that make this album as a whole come off as an afterthought likely thrown together to meet a record contract obligation.
That being said, there are some really nice tracks on here. The title song, Song About the Moon, and The Late Great Johnny Ace in particular standout as classic examples of Paul Simons' strengths. Well written with nice melodies and strong lyrics. Overall this is an enjoyable albeit lesser known entry in Paul Simon's catalog that I'm glad I got to hear..although I am a bit surprised it made this list considering how many truly essential albums he has released.
3
View Album
Thu Dec 14 2023
Mama's Gun
Erykah Badu
Thoughts before listening: This is cool neo-soul from the late 90s/early 2000s. This was never my thing but I'm sure I will enjoy this...probably more than I would have when it was released. If this has Tyrone on it then that's a great song that I mainly know from My Morning Jacket's cover.
Review: Tyrone is not on this album, but I like what I am hearing. Awesome grooves throughout these songs and Erykah Badu is a great singer. I especially like the jazzy backing instrumentation with funky walking bass lines that creates a laid back vibe.
That being said, this does drag a bit at times. The whole thing stays in a very similar groove throughout, and while it makes for a pleasant listen I would have appreciated some changes in pace. The best songs are the two biggest hits from this album: Didn't Cha Know and Bag Lady. Those are getting added to the playlist.
2
View Album
Fri Dec 15 2023
Tago Mago
Can
Thought before listening: Krautrock. Classic album and one that I've heard before. I'm usually surprised by how organic Can sounds cause I think of Krautrock as mechanical and like a precursor to electronic music. This is my 2nd Can album on this list, and I did not like the first one...I believe I have enjoyed this on previous listens though.
Review: I definitely like this better than the first one I listened to. This is pretty good although the long songs are way too repetitive including some that in my opinion are too avant garde for their own good (Augmn and Peking O). I do love the guitar work on this album though, especially on the song Halleluwah which stays interesting throughout its 17 minutes thanks to the guitar. My favorite tracks are that one and the opener Paperhouse.
3
View Album
Sat Dec 16 2023
The Chronic
Dr. Dre
Thought before listening: One of the most important hip hop releases of the 90s. This was the debut of Snoop Dogg and essentially kicked off an entire West coast hip hop movement. I have definitely heard this and probably owned it as well.
Review: I love the 70s funk samples that are the base for this album. So many great bass lines and grooves. This is a really good album, but I feel the same on this one as most rap albums. The lyrics and skits were funny novelties when i was in high school, but as an adult I just cringe at them. It cheapens the whole experience of listening to these albums. Still though, this contains some amazing songs, including Nuthin' But a G Thang which is as iconic as a song can be from the 90s. Fun listen that gets a 4.
4
View Album
Sun Dec 17 2023
We Are Family
Sister Sledge
Thoughts before listening: 70s soul/r&b. The title track is awesome, but I don't know anything else about this record. I'm expecting a mixture of funk and disco songs with a couple ballad torch songs thrown in a well.
Review: Okay, this is a cool disco record that reminds me of the Chic album I got earlier. Disco isn't something I seek out and listen to regularly, but I have been pleasantly surprised when those albums come up on this list. The musicianship on these tracks is just so much more organic sounding than dance music from the 80s and beyond. This album is no exception with great basslines and cool little guitar licks throughout.
Right out the gate I know the groove in the first song He's the Greatest Dancer without recognizing the actual song...this must have been sampled on something from the 90s (I cheated and its on Gettin Jiggy With It). Lost in Music is another very good song, and of course the title track is iconic.
There are some songs on this album where I am little bored, but overall I enjoyed listening to this. 3 stars.
3
View Album
Mon Dec 18 2023
In Our Heads
Hot Chip
Thoughts before listening: Another album that feels like the editors were grasping at strings to get modern bands on their list. I remember these guys making end of year best album lists, but they have not proven to stand the test of time like the albums on this list from the 50s - 90s. There certainly are some albums from the 00s and 10s that have become modern classics, but this isn't one of them.
I am expecting this to be British electronic inspired indie rock with some catchy songs, but ultimately not something that I would consider one of the 1,001 albums you have to hear.
Review: This sounds like the 80s music I don't like. Its extremely poppy without any edge to the music at all. Pretty boring and I am finding myself skipping most songs. Even the 2 songs with 10 million + listens on Spotify are just saccharine poppy disco sounding indie rock. I thought these guys were more of a dance punk type band i.e. LCD Soundsystem, but they are not. This just isn't for me.
1
View Album
Tue Dec 19 2023
Hail To the Thief
Radiohead
Thoughts before listening: I love pretty much everything Radiohead has released, and this album is no exception. That being said, I typically don't consider it on the same level as their classics like The Bends, Ok Computer and Kid A. This is still a very good album that I will enjoy listening to as part of this list.
Review: This album is where Radiohead started to move slightly away from the more electronica inspired sounds of Kid A/Amnesiac by mixing in some of the alt rock sounds they became famous for on the Bends and Ok Computer. They would go further down this route for their next album In Rainbows, and in my opinion Hail to the Thief is a lesser album than those that surround it.
The album starts out with a legit rocker in 2+2=5, and its an awesome track. That vibe continues with Sit Down, Stand Up's build to a frenetic climax before reverting back to more minimalistic dancey sounds for the next few songs. I also love There There and Myxomatosis which are two of Radiohead's most high energy and popular live songs. Other songs I enjoy on this album include Go To Sleep, Where I End and You Begin, A Punch Up at a Wedding, and A Wolf at the Door.
In general this album is a mixed bag of great highs and a few lows that aren't necessarily bad, but do keep this from being a 5-star Radiohead album. This will get a 4.
4
View Album
Wed Dec 20 2023
Wild Gift
X
Thoughts before listening: X is a band that has been on my radar since I was a high schooler listening to punk rock, but I pretty much only paid attention to the first album until recently (I love the first album). I have heard this album and it is very good, so I am excited to give it another listen.
Review: I love X's sound. The rockabilly inspirations, the male/female vocals, and the fact that they have a very polished sound for a punk band at a time when most bands in that scene still valued sloppiness over everything else. In that regard X were one of the biggest influences on much of the 90s punk I would later be obsessed with not to mention bands like Rev Horton Heat who would mirror their fusion of punk rock with rockabilly sounds.
Wild Gift is great even if it doesn't have quite the same legendary status of their first album Los Angeles. If anything there is even more of an approachable poppiness to their sound on here. The best songs are The Once Over Twice, We're Desperate, and White Girl, all of which are getting added to the playlist. This is a 4-star album.
4
View Album
Thu Dec 21 2023
Face to Face
The Kinks
Thoughts before listening: I know the Kinks. Everybody knows the Kinks. I know \"Lola\" and \"You Really Got Me\" and \"All Day and All of the Night\" and I am pretty sure that I have even listened to some of their albums like Muswell Hillbillies. I have not however heard this album, and I feel like there is a HUGE Kinks discography that I no nothing about. What I do know about the Kinks is that whenever I hear their deep cuts I tend to really like them. Catchy, unpretentious, short little pop rock songs. Its like a pre-cursor to punk rock without all the snottiness.
All this to say that I am glad to get my first Kinks album on the 1,001 List and something tells me that this will be right up my alley.
Review: Sunny Afternoon is on this album and that is an all time great 60s rock song. The rest of the album is what I expected: super catchy, unpretentious pop songs with lyrics skewering 60s British culture. Nothing else reaches Sunny Afternoon's heights, but this is an enjoyable listen. A few songs do rise above the rest: Dandy, Session Man, Holiday in Waikiki, and House in the Country.
4
View Album
Fri Dec 22 2023
Introducing The Hardline According To Terence Trent D'Arby
Terence Trent D'Arby
Thoughts before listening: I have heard of Terence Trent D'Arby but I am not sure that I would know any of his songs. He is definitely mentioned a lot as an example of a certain type of 80s/90s artist, but I am not really sure what his sound will be. I am thinking artsy R&B with elements of alt rock included.
Review: I was pretty spot on with my guess. This sounds like a more serious, less playful Prince. I can hear Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder in these songs as well. The album is okay although not typically the type of music I would listen to. I don't love the 80s style production that makes a lot of the backing music sound manufactured and inauthentic.
Apparently Wishing Well was a big hit while Sign Your Name has the most Spotify listens, but I have never heard either before. My favorite songs are "Dance Little Sister" and "I'll Never Turn My Back on You" which both utilize a 70s Stevie Wonder style sound.
This is a 2-star album to me. Its certainly not bad, but just isn't really my style.
2
View Album
Sat Dec 23 2023
Aqualung
Jethro Tull
Thoughts before listening: I own this on vinyl although I haven't listened all that much. "Aqualung" is probably Jethro Tull's best known song and its a great example of 70s proggy hard rock. "Cross-Eyed Mary" and "Locomotive Breath" are also classics that have lived on through cover versions by the jambands I love.
Review: I like the combo of hard rock songs with more folky tracks that is at the core of everything Jethro Tull does. The fact that Ian Anderson is known for his flute playing means that Jethro Tull was always going to be a standout from the typical 70s hard rock bands. I also appreciate that while there are some elements of prog rock here the band tends to shy away from the over the top excesses typically associated with those bands.
The anti-religion themes of the lyrics aren't something I can identify with and typically would be a turn off for me. That being said, a deeper read shows more of a questioning of the organized religion of 1960s Britain that Ian Anderson grew up in than a true attack on Christianity.
3
View Album
Sun Dec 24 2023
The Next Day
David Bowie
Thoughts before listening: Later era David Bowie album released not long before his death...although it's not his last album since Blackstar was released as he was dying. I don't remember there being a lot of excitement around this album, but there must have been some for it to make the list. I love most of the music Bowie put out so I'm sure I will enjoy this as well.
Review: Well this is pretty good. Definitely better than a lot of the 00s and 10s albums that have obviously been added because the editors felt a need to include modern albums. That can mostly be attributed to the fact that this is very much a David Bowie album. While this is not on the level of his 70s heyday, this is still full of well written and interesting songs that certainly are better than a lot of his 80s and 90s output.
I give this a solid 3 star rating knowing that the classic Bowie albums will be 4s and 5s when they eventually show up on this list.
3
View Album
Mon Dec 25 2023
Crossing the Red Sea With the Adverts
The Adverts
Thoughts before listening: 70s British punk rock band that were contemporaries of the Sex Pistols and Clash, but never received the high accolades of those bands. The Adverts have mostly been forgotten to time, and while I have heard the band name, I have never actually heard their music. I like a lot of early punk rock so this should be something that I enjoy.
Review: This is better than I was expecting with some very catchy songs that are more akin to a pop punk sound like the Buzzcocks than the snotty attitudes of the Sex Pistols. The sound is really good with clear vocals and music that avoids the typically murky production of early punk rock. I am pleasantly surprised with this one and really can't believe this has never crossed my radar before.
That being said, the song quality is a bit of a mixed bag. I really like "One Chord Wonders", "Bored Teenagers", "Gary Gilmore's Eyes", "No Time to Be 21", and "The Great British Mistake" but the rest of the album can be a little bland. Not bad necessarily, just doesn't really have any hooks to pull you in. Ultimately this is a solid 3-star album that doesn't quite rise to the heights of its contemporaries that have reached legendary status.
3
View Album
Tue Dec 26 2023
A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector
Various Artists
Thoughts before listening: This is appropriate for Christmas. Looks to be classic Christmas songs but with Phil Spector's over the top orchestral production style. I am sure this will be great.
Review: This is a nearly perfect Christmas album. The Phil Spector wall of sound style really elevates these songs, and he is working with some of the best female vocalists of all time: Darlene Love, The Ronettes, and the Crystals. The versions of Sleigh Ride, A Marshmallow World and Christmas (Baby Come Home) on this album have become staples of Christmas playlists so it is fun to hear them amongst the other songs recorded in those same sessions.
This is a 4-star album. That being said, I will only be adding one of these songs to the playlist: "The Bells of St. Mary" which is the only discovery I made while listening (and its a very good track). Great as they are, these songs don't make sense outside of the context of Christmas. I would rather add this album to my Christmas record collection to bust out every year during the holidays than add something to a playlist that I end up skipping 11 months out of the year.
4
View Album
Wed Dec 27 2023
Boston
Boston
Thoughts before listening: This is a great classic rock radio album with songs that have been staples of those stations throughout my life. Its also commonly considered one of the greatest debut albums of all time...especially considering the fact that their later albums all pale in comparison. I have heard this before, and certainly know the hits, but am looking forward to listening as part of the 1,001 list.
Review: This thing starts out with an all time banger in More Than a Feeling and then just continues from there. There are 8 songs on this album and 6 of them are hits. MTAF, Peace of Mind, Foreplay/Long Time, Rock & Roll Band, Smokin', and Hitch a Ride are instantly recognizable to anybody that grew up listening to classic rock radio.
The number of hits would make for a fun listen even if the music was mindless drivel...but its not. These are well-written songs with memorable hooks, smart riffs, and strong vocals. Other than MTAF being very overplayed I really can't think of many criticisms for this album. I guess their sound was a bit derivative of other bands that came before them, but when the songs are as good as these that doesn't really matter. I will be adding all of the hits mentioned above to the playlist, and while I don't think this is a 5-star album it is definitely a solid 4.
4
View Album
Thu Dec 28 2023
Electric Prunes
The Electric Prunes
Thoughts before listening: Psychedelic rock from the 60s. I'm pretty sure I've heard "I Had Too Much to Dream Last Night", and it's definitely an all time great psychedelic song title. That being said I don't really know what these guys sound like. I'm not necessarily expecting this to be jammy with guitar solos like the big San Francisco bands of the era, but rather more trippy hippie pop rock music...perhaps similar to the Nuggets style garage bands.
Review: This is definitely psychedelic garage rock. Their sound is pretty close to what the Stones, Who, Pink Floyd, etc were doing in their early years before they grew up and became arena rock stars. Lots of reverb and echo on the guitars with some other psychedelic elements sprinkled in. There is also a proto-punk quality to this and I can definitely hear their influence on many of the bands that came along in the 70s and 80s.
When it comes to the quality of the album, I'm reminded of a band like MGMT who came up with some absolutely classic songs of their era, but never quite released a cohesive album. Songs like "I Had Too Much to Dream", "Sold to the Highest Bidder", and "Get Me To the World On Time" are perfect examples of 60s psych rock that I'm glad to add to the playlist. However, they're surrounded by a lot of filler that keeps this from being a classic album. I'm giving this album a 3 while the hits are 4s.
3
View Album
Fri Dec 29 2023
Isn't Anything
My Bloody Valentine
Thoughts before listening: I know Loveless but have never heard anything else from MBV. Assuming they didn't have a major change in sound prior to that album, this should be alt rock with heavily distorted guitars that create a noisy, droney soundscape. MBV are known as originators of shoegaze so that's what I'm expecting here.
Review: This album is okay, which is basically how I feel about Loveless as well. I really like some of their songs, but others just don't work for me. These guys are best when they crank the pace up and rock out. Otherwise the wall of distorted guitar sound just becomes an irritating drone.
The best songs on this album are "Lose My Breath", "When You Wake You're Still in a Dream", "Feed Me With Your Kiss", "Sueisfine", "You Never Should", and "Nothing Much to Lose". All of these songs are fast paced, fully formed songs that remind me of Dinosaur Jr with fewer guitar solos. The rest of the songs on this album sound like noisy demos in need of major editing and production work. This album gets a 3 from me.
3
View Album
Sat Dec 30 2023
Bryter Layter
Nick Drake
Thoughts before listening: Quiet, introspective folk music. I'm expecting some nice melodies and lyrics, but an overall sleepy album. I feel like I have heard this before, but I'm not sure.
Review: This is a little less sleepy than I was anticipating, although there are certainly some slow, maudlin songs that drag in places. However, there is a driving rhythm to a lot of these songs that I'm enjoying. \"Hazey Jane II\" and \"One of These Things First\" both have a jazzy swing to the music that I'm quite enjoying.
Overall I can see how this is considered a classic album, and I'm reminded quite a bit of later artists like Elliott Smith. However, like with ES, the slow depressing songs just drag down the album as a whole. I give this a 3.
3
View Album
Sun Dec 31 2023
Sunshine Hit Me
The Bees
Thought before listening: Ah yes. Another completely forgotten 2000s release that made the list cause the editors wanted recent entries. So far these have been less than stellar. 2002 was the height of my music nerd days and I have no recollection of these guys. My guess is Brit pop with dance beats.
Review: So apparently these guys were known as Band of Bees in the US. I have at least heard that name. This isn't dancey Britpop...it's got a laid back, almost reggae vibe to some of the songs with others having more of a psychedelic 60s meets lounge sound. This isn't my thing and I definitely don't think it warrants inclusion on the 1,001 list. 2 stars.
2
View Album
Mon Jan 01 2024
Aladdin Sane
David Bowie
Thoughts before listening: Classic album from Bowie's best era. I'm sure I'll know a bunch of the songs on here, but this isn't one of the albums I've heard. I do love this era of Bowie so this should be good.
Review: So apparently this is the album after Ziggy Stardust, and it's definitely an extension on that sound. This is glam rock but with jazzier elements mixed in, and I like it. This is definitely a weirder, less accessible album than it's predecessor but that just makes for a more interesting sound. Overall this is a 3 compared to the elite albums in Bowie's catalog, but it's still a really good album.
3
View Album
Tue Jan 02 2024
With The Beatles
Beatles
Thoughts before listening: Early Beatles when they were still writing catchy pop rock songs. It's got some absolute classic tracks, but overall isn't as strong of an album as their later releases.
Review: I always forget just how many covers the Beatles used to do. This album is full of classics for sure, but a lot aren't actually their songs. Still though it contains some of their earliest self written hits as well as a number of deep cuts which are getting added to the playlist: It Won't Be Long, All My Loving, I Wanna Be Your Man, and Little Child are examples. This is a 4 star album.
4
View Album
Wed Jan 03 2024
Sulk
The Associates
Thoughts before listening: Never heard of these guys before. I'm assuming it's very British new wave and most likely won't be for me.
Review: I actually enjoyed this more than I thought I would. These guys have a pretty cool sound thats closer to the Cure than the overly poppy new wave that I was expecting. It's definitely still synth heavy but it's got a bit of a gothy darkness mixed with kind of a David Bowie vibe that I'm liking. This is a 3 star album.
3
View Album
Thu Jan 04 2024
KE*A*H** (Psalm 69)
Ministry
Thoughts before listening: I used to own this album when I briefly flirted with an interest in industrial music before giving into pop punk. I remember enjoying Ministry although I typically dislike most of their lyrical themes. If this has Jesus Built My Hotrod on it then that's an all time great 90s song.
Review: Yep...Jesus Built My Hotrod is on this album and its as good as I remember. NWO and Just One Fix are also really good songs. The rest of the album is just okay. Much too dense in most of these songs with buried vocals singing some really dumb lyrics. The "hits" have dumb lyrics too but at least they're fun. This is a 2-star album to me despite the 3 songs I am happy to add to the playlist.
2
View Album
Fri Jan 05 2024
The Libertines
The Libertines
Thoughts before listening: Fun British power pop style alt rock. I got into these guys a little in the 00s. I'm interested to see how much I remember.
Review: Yeah, this is pretty good. Really catchy and melodic alt rock thats not life changing, but certainly makes for a fun listen. There is a lot of British 90s/00s bands on the 1,001 list, and I think I can safely say I prefer these guys to much of what has been included. The closest comparisons are probably Blur who came just before them and the Arctic Monkeys who came just after, and I think I prefer the Libertines' sound to either of those bands.
I know that I owned a Libertines album back in the day, but it seems that it must have been their 2007 greatest hits release. Its strange that a band with only 2 albums would have put out a greatest hits comp, but perhaps it was an attempt to break into the US market since they never really blew up over here like they did in the UK. Or maybe since they imploded so quickly, largely due to Pete Doherty's sobriety and legal issues, their label just needed a new way to repackage their limited catalog. Either way, my recollection of the Libertines is a strong one because I was only hearing their best.
The hits are "Can't Stand Me Now", "What Katie Did", and "What Became of the Likely Lads". All very good songs that are getting added to the playlist. I have also enjoyed some of the deeper cuts like "Music When the Lights Go Out", "The Man Who Would be King", "The Saga", and "Road to Ruin". There are some weaker, throwaway tracks on here but overall this is a nice snapshot of 00s era British indie rock. I'm giving this 3 stars.
3
View Album
Sat Jan 06 2024
Born To Run
Bruce Springsteen
Thoughts before listening: One of the greatest albums of all time. Not a weak song on this album and includes Springsteen's 2 most iconic anthems in Thunder Road and the title track.
Review: This album just hits so hard right out the gate with Thunder Road. I love the imagery in this song (and the album as a whole for that matter) where Bruce paints a picture of idealistic youth when a car means freedom and running away with the love of your life is the only thing that matters in life. Bruce's talent is in portraying the ultimately mundane hopes and dreams of the everyman in a way that makes it seem like the most important story that's been told.
While the lyrics are the star here, the album wouldn't be the classic it is without the music that accompanies the words. The piano and sax take the lead and create an epic sound that adds to the drama of the lyrics. When a song like Jungleland slows to a crawl and then builds back to the "down in Jungleland" peak, it's being driven by the power of these instruments. Easily a 5 star album.
5
View Album
Sun Jan 07 2024
The Predator
Ice Cube
Thoughts before listening: I know this is a classic, but I've never listened to it. "It Was a Good Day" is an all time 90s rap banger so that will be awesome to hear. I'm sure I'll enjoy this, but as always the lyrics will be hard to connect with.
Review: This is not what I was expecting...this definitely isn't a party album. "Good Day" is one of only a handful of songs on here that use the West coast laid back funk sound of Dr. Dre that Ice Cube came from in NWA. Much of the album reminds me more of Public Enemy's sound collage hard rock style with relentless beats and raps that are angrily spit out with almost a punk rock attitude. This is a very pissed off album heavily inspired by Rodney King and the resulting riots, and while not always a fun listen it is very effective.
This is a 3 star album. "Good Day" and "Check Yo Self" are getting added to the playlist.
3
View Album
Mon Jan 08 2024
Neon Bible
Arcade Fire
Thoughts before listening: I was into Arcade Fire's first album and was excited when this one came out. It's okay, but didn't grab me like the first one. I remember only really loving a couple songs, and in general I prefer the Suburbs to this one (Funeral is still their best though). I'm interested to see if I appreciate this more now than I did at the time.
Review: Definitely not my favorite but AF, but there are some really good songs on here. AF create a big sound with lots of different instruments and musicians that lend a certain grandiose quality to these songs. This is the sound of 00s indie rock as it ascended the charts and started headlining festivals. When the melodies match the epic musicianship it's very effective, but this album is uneven to me. There are some definite highlights in "Keep the Car Running", "Intervention", "(Antichrist Television Blues)", and "No Cars Go", but overall I still feel this pales in comparison to the albums released before and after. Too many mid tempo songs that just don't click with me even though I do really like the songs above.
3
View Album
Tue Jan 09 2024
At San Quentin
Johnny Cash
Thoughts before listening: I love it. Johnny Cash is one of the greatest voices of all time and his music is part of the fabric of America. Both of his live prison albums are legendary, but San Quentin has always been my favorite.
Review: Johnny Cash is absolutely on fire on this album. He's telling jokes between songs and delivers a high energy set that really riles up the inmates attending the performance. This is punk rock before it even existed, and the crowd noise acts as an additional instrument that elevates these recordings while making you feel like a member of that audience.
The Legacy Edition of this album is absolutely the best way to listen, and is the version I once owned on CD. The original is only 30 minutes while the LE expands this to capture not only the full Johnny Cash show, but also bits of the openers in Carl Perkins, the Statler Brothers, and the Carter Family. I especially enjoy the Statler Brothers' "Flowers on the Wall".
From the Johnny Cash songs, these are absolutely definitive versions of these songs that add a certain fire missing from the studio versions. "Big River", "I Still Miss Someone", "Wreck of the Old 97", "I Walk the Line", "Folsom Prison Blues", "Jackson", "Orange Blossom Special", "San Quentin", and "Ring of Fire" are all timeless songs enhanced by the live setting. The true star here (of both the original and LE version) is "A Boy Named Sue" with Johnny dropping naughty words (including the infamous bleep) and the inmates loving every minute of it.
This is easily a 5-star album.
5
View Album
Wed Jan 10 2024
The Velvet Underground & Nico
The Velvet Underground
Thoughts before listening: This is definitely a classic album that continues to influence indie and punk artists. I owned this back in the day, and remember especially loving "Heroin", but I have not listened in a long time. This is one of those albums that you respect for its influence more than actually falling in love with, but maybe my perspective will be different 20 years after initially listening.
Review: The VU certainly had a unique sound for their era. This is psychedelic rock thats totally different than anything the west coast bands like the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane or the British bands like the Beatles and Stones were doing. The VU utilized out of tune guitars that create a chugging drone instead of playing riffs and guitar solos. There is certainly a direct through line from the VU to Sonic Youth to a band like King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard.
My favorites 20 years ago were the more upbeat songs and that remains the case today. The slower, often weirder songs (usually sung by Nico) like "All Tomorrow's Parties" just aren't as enjoyable to listen to. "I'm Waiting for the Man", "Run Run Run", and "Heroin" are my favorites on this album. I still feel that "Heroin" is the real gem here with its slow build in intensity to a final crescendo that is meant to replicate a drug high. Really good stuff.
This is a 3-star album with the score being brought down by the inclusion of a handful of songs that are too abstract for their own good.
3
View Album
Thu Jan 11 2024
Highway to Hell
AC/DC
Thoughts before listening: I never really got into AC/DC, but their songs have been mainstays throughout my life heard on the radio, at restaurants, and at sport events. I obviously know the title track to this album, but I don't know what else is on here. Probably a couple more classic hits and lots of songs with catchy riffs and plenty of double entendres in the lyrics. It's AC/DC so I know this will be dumb but a really fun listen.
Review: Well the only song I recognize is the title track, but I might as well know them all since this is unmistakably an AC/DC album. Since this is the last album with Bon Scott many people would say this is actually the final real AC/DC album. They would certainly polish their sound to insane radio and MTV success with the next one Back in Black.
I really enjoyed listening to this album. My favorite songs were the title track, "Beating Around the Bush", "Shot Down in Flames", and "If You Want Blood". Really though I could have put any of these songs on the playlist. AC/DC have an unmistakable sound and they do it very well on this album. This is 4-stars.
4
View Album
Fri Jan 12 2024
Queen II
Queen
Thoughts before listening: I obviously know Queen, but I don't think I've ever listened to a full album other than A Night at the Opera. I don't know what is on this album, but I know it will be theatrical 70s hard rock. This is certainly an iconic cover so I assume this is one of their bigger releases with likely some massive hits.
Review: Well there aren't any hits on here. This is early Queen a year or two before they became the massive hitmakers that we know so well. It seems that they were still trying to figure out their sound, and while you can hear glimpses of the over the top theatricality found on later songs like "Bohemian Rhapsody" or "Don't Stop Me Now", the songs on here do not reach those heights.
This is a pretty good album that is in league with the other hard rock bands of the era, particularly the Who in their arena rock opera phase, Led Zeppelin, and Black Sabbath. The true star of this album is Brian May who lays down some awesome guitar work, while Freddie Mercury still hadn't quite developed the style that would make him one of the greatest vocalists of all time.
As far as songs go, these are interesting, but nothing really stands out. Many of the lyrics are surprisingly fantasy based (ala Zeppelin and Sabbath) with songs about ogres and black queens. My favorites are "Seven Seas of Rhye", The March of the Black Queen", and "Ogre Battle". This is a 3-star album.
3
View Album
Sat Jan 13 2024
Young Americans
David Bowie
Thoughts before listening: This is the third Bowie album I've gotten on here, and again it's not one of the truly classic records. I've heard this before. The song "Young Americans" is an all time great track. From my previous listens, I don't feel that the rest of the album matches up to the title track, but I'm looking forward to listening with fresh ears.
Review: Well I forgot that "Fame" is on here as well, so that makes two classic songs. This album is pretty good, with Bowie abandoning his glam rock sound for one inspired by soul and r&b, but nothing else quite hits the highs of those two hits. The song "Fascination" is pretty good, as is his cover of "Across the Universe", but ultimately this is largely forgettable outside of the two hits. 3-star album.
3
View Album
Sun Jan 14 2024
Soul Mining
The The
Thoughts before listening: One of my favorite band names of all time, but I don't know their music at all. I'm thinking this will be post-punk in the same vein as a band like Joy Division. I tend to like 80s alt rock so this will probably be a nice surprise.
Review: This is certainly on the darker side of 80s new wave, and I really like it. "This is the Day" is one of those hits you know you've heard before, but you cant quite picture any details about it i.e. music video, placement in a movie, etc. "Uncertain Smile" comes later and includes an extended piano solo that elevates the song as a real standout. Both are great songs on an enjoyable album.
3
View Album
Mon Jan 15 2024
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Lauryn Hill
Thoughts before listening: This album came out when I was in high school...and it was huge. It's still huge, at least from a critical standpoint. I've never actually known anyone that would list this as one of their favorite albums yet its consistently at the top of best of the 90s lists. Maybe my friends and I aren't the target demographic. For me, I've never listened to this although I certainly know the hits, especially "Doo Woo That Thing" which is a perfectly fine late-90s neo soul hit. In general though I prefer Lauryn Hill's work with the Fugees.
Review: I really like Lauryn Hill's overall vibe and her skills as both a singer and rapper, but I still don't see why this album has so much hype. I'm not hearing much here that sets this apart from her 90s R&B contemporaries like Mary J Blige, Janet Jackson, Aaliyah, etc. In fact I'd say those others have more memorable hits, and although "Doo Wop..." and "Ex Factor" are both great songs, I still consider "Killing Me Softly" from the Fugees to be the quintessential Lauryn Hill song. This is a 3-star album.
3
View Album
Tue Jan 16 2024
Sheer Heart Attack
Queen
Thoughts before listening: This is my second early Queen album in a week. The first one (Queen II) was a bit surprising as it was before they had fully developed their sound and were still coming off as a Who or Zeppelin sounding band. This is the next album in line so I suspect it will have a bit more of the over the top theatrical sound they'd become famous for. "Killer Queen" is on this album and that definitely is closer to the Queen we all know.
Review: This is definitely closer to the real Queen sound, with a couple of their most enduring songs in "Killer Queen" and "Stone Cold Crazy". Both of those songs are a fun listen, but overall this is definitely an improvement on the previous album. Where I felt that Brian May was the star of that record, Freddie Mercury is starting to exert himself as the true attraction on this one. This is a 4-star album.
4
View Album
Wed Jan 17 2024
Chemtrails Over The Country Club
Lana Del Rey
Thoughts before listening: Well this is the most recently released album I've gotten so far. I know that people go crazy for every Lana Del Rey album, but I don't really understand the hype. I enjoyed parts of Norman F'n Rockwell, but everything just sounds the same to me...mid-tempo, laid-back pop music which never really draws me in.
Review: Man this is so slow...and the whispered vocals are very hard for me to get into. This is like a poppier, female Bon Iver...who I feel the same about. I can understand why people like this, but it's not something that I'm going to go back to very often. 2-stars.
2
View Album
Thu Jan 18 2024
Time Out
The Dave Brubeck Quartet
Thoughts before listening: I know this is a jazz classic with a timeless track in"Take Five", but I have never listened all the way through. My (largely uninformed) assumption has always been that this is pop jazz for the masses...but the inclusion on so many greatest albums lists means that it must be well respected. I look forward to hearing this in full.
Review: Wow...this is such a classic sound. This is one of those albums where you recognize a bunch of the songs without actually knowing who's playing. They're just that much ingrained in our lives. They're consistently played while you walk through the airport or eat at a restaurant or in the background of a TV show. This album has 2 of those songs in "Take Five" and "Blue Rondo a la Turk".
What you also don't tend to notice when hearing something like Dave Brubeck as background music is the level of complexity in these songs. There are wonderful melodies here but also some highly technical musicianship on display. This is far from muzak. Very interesting album that I'm giving 4-stars.
4
View Album
Fri Jan 19 2024
System Of A Down
System Of A Down
Thoughts before listening: SOAD were always my favorites of the nu metal scene although i never owned any of their records. There is a complexity to their music and lyrics that sets them well above the Limp Bizkit set. Most of the SOAD music I know is from the Toxicity album, so I may be less familiar with these songs.
Review: Well this certainly sounds like the SOAD I know and enjoy. I do recognize "Sugar" which is a very fun hit of the late 90s as well as "Spiders" which is much more restrained and anthemic. Both are complete bangers that easily rise above the fray in what was a mostly terrible time for mainstream rock music. The rest of this album falls in the same vein with a mix of high energy metal mixed with more playful styles, often inspired by their Armenian heritage, that you wouldn't typically hear from their contemporaries. This is a 4-star album.
4
View Album
Sat Jan 20 2024
The Fat Of The Land
The Prodigy
Thoughts before listening: I never owned this album, but the hits were pretty ubiquitous for someone obsessed with music at the time. I was never a huge fan of the techno/electronic scene, but I did like the Prodigy's more rock approach to the genre. I'm sure I will recognize quite a few songs on here and that the nostalgic enjoyment will be strong.
Review: Right out the gate I recognize "Smack My B Up"...this is a very memorable song and video. I believe I even may have seen the controversial video during its one time airing on MTV. Furthermore, I am well aware of "Breathe" and "Firestarter" which again were songs I enjoyed during high school without actually ever loving this band.
All in all the album is fine. It wasn't something I gravitated to 25 years ago and it likewise isn't something that I find myself loving today. There are certainly some fun songs on here that I am happy to add to the playlist, but this is ultimately a 3-star album.
3
View Album
Sun Jan 21 2024
Berlin
Lou Reed
Thoughts before listening: I don't know much of Lou Reed's solo work outside of the hits, but I do know a lot of it can be challenging. I feel like I probably won't like this all that much, but I'm definitely interested to listen to a full album.
Review: This is a very nice surprise. I am rather enjoying this album even if I have never heard these songs before. I always loved Lou Reed in the Velvet Underground, and his talk singing vocal delivery is one that instantly draws me in. This is much more of a rock sound to this album than I was expecting, especially the guitar solos on "How Do You Think It Feels". I also like "Lady Day" and "Caroline Says I". There are some songs that don't work for me, and the lyrics are all pretty dark, but overall this was a nice listen. 3-star album.
3
View Album
Mon Jan 22 2024
The Message
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
Thoughts before listening: One of the earliest hip hop groups. I'm expecting lots of funk samples, dj scratches, and old school style rapping. Should be fun.
Review: This is such old school hip hop that only 2 or 3 songs would qualify as the genre. The rest are basically 70s style funk/soul including a Stevie Wonder tribute. The rap songs are fun though, especially "The Message" which is iconic for its place in hip hop history. "Its Nasty" has a fun sample of "Genius of Love" by the Tom Tom Club and "Scorpio" is unique with the robotic effects on the vocals. This is 3-stars for the influence it played on what was soon to come with popular music.
3
View Album
Tue Jan 23 2024
Superunknown
Soundgarden
Thoughts before listening: Awesome album that was one of the first I ever bought with my own money. This is full of iconic 90s alt rock songs, and I'm excited to listen for the first time in a while.
Review: So this album is as good as I remember, but for some reason, it hasn't stayed in my rotation like a lot of their contemporaries' albums like Ten, Vs, and Nevermind. In fact even in the Soundgarden discography I typically would say that I much prefer Badmotorfinger, even owning it on vinyl. That being said, this is a great album, and the hits on here are absolutely some of the best from that era.
\"Spoonman\", \"Blackhole Sun\", \"Fell On Black Days\", and \"The Day I Tried to Live\" were massively popular at the time and they still stand as great songs today. This album also has some quality deep cuts in \"Superunknown\", \"Limo Wreck\", and \"Kickstand\" that I had nearly forgotten about before my listen today. Now there are definitely some filler type songs on here that drag this out a little longer than it needs to be, and that is probably why it hasn't stuck with me like the other grunge albums. This is a 4-star album.
4
View Album
Wed Jan 24 2024
People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm
A Tribe Called Quest
Thoughts before listening: I always like A Tribe Called Quest when I hear them, but I don't believe I've listened to any of their albums all the way through. They have a cool vibe and style to their music that I enjoy, and the lyrics are typically easier to relate to than other 90s hip hop. This will be a fun listen.
Review: Man this is a lot of fun. I love the mix of jazzy backing tracks with old school style dj scratches as well as the overall laid-back vibes of this album. Q-Tip has one of the smoothest flows of any rapper I've ever heard, and I've always enjoyed when he pops up on other rappers' songs. Listening to a Tribe record where he is the featured voice is a great experience. Despite never digging in to the group's music before, they have been a constant presence on the periphery of my music interests for years. They show up on best of lists and their songs get added to playlists regularly. Songs from this album like "Anita Applebum" and "Can I Kick It" may not have been "hits" but they're absolute staples to music fans that grew up in the 90s and 00s. This is a 4-star album cause while it's a great sound, it gets a little samey across 14 songs.
4
View Album
Thu Jan 25 2024
Remain In Light
Talking Heads
Thoughts before listening: This is a 5-star album, and one of my personal favorites. I was first introduced to this through Phish's cover, but the Talking Heads soon became a band that I loved all on their own.
Review: Yeah this is great. Such a unique sound for the Talking Heads at the time, and I have always loved the tempo of this album. Especially with the first 5 songs, they are playing funky, world music inspired songs but at the tempo of the punk scene they came out of. I have always appreciated the Talking Heads' place as a bridge between the late 70s CBGBs punk scene and the more party aspects of 80s new wave.
Those first five songs are the star here: "Born Under Punches", "Crosseyed and Painless", "The Great Curve", "Once in a Lifetime", and "Houses in Motion". These are the whole album to me and some of the best songs of their era. I am less of a fan of the final three spacey, moody songs that follow, but the quality of the top of the album still makes this an easy 5-star for me.
5
View Album
Fri Jan 26 2024
Hunting High And Low
a-ha
Thoughts before listening: I know "Take On Me". Assuming that's on this album then it'll get added to the playlist because it's one of the best 80s pop hits. The band however are not typically talked about as anything other than one hit wonders who put out a catchy song with a killer video, so I'm surprised by the entry on this list. I'm expecting poppy 80s new wave, and I'm really interested to see what they sound like outside of the hit.
Review: Well, this album wastes no time getting to the point with "Take On Me" as the opening track. It's still a great tune even detached from the video. The rest of the album ranges from fine to outright cheesy. I do recognize one more song in "The Sun Always Shines on TV" which was a minor hit...and its definitely the second best song on here. The rest are very of their time light weight pop songs, that just don't do anything for me. This is a 2-star album for the strength of "Take On Me".
2
View Album
Sat Jan 27 2024
Franz Ferdinand
Franz Ferdinand
Thoughts before listening: I was into this album and "Take Me Out" is a great song. I seem to remember liking at least one or two more from this album as well. This is certainly one of the better 00s indie rock albums, but I don't feel it's a greatest album of all time.
Review: I had forgotten how much I enjoy this album. I don't believe I ever had the CD, but I definitely had these MP3s on my iPod. The style here is very reminiscent of other 00s era indie bands i.e. Modest Mouse, Spoon, the Strokes, etc, but Franz Ferdinand wrote some great songs that make them rise above that crowded genre.
"Take Me Out" is definitely the star here, but it's not the only high point on this album. I also really enjoy "Jacqueline", "The Dark of the Matinee", "This Fire", "Darts of Pleasure", and "Michael" which all show that these guys had a lot more to them than just one hit.
Perhaps it's just my own preference for the 00s indie sound as compared to 80s new wave, but if I'm comparing this against other recent one hit wonder albums I've heard on this list like a-Ha, I'm choosing FF every time. This is a 4-star album.
4
View Album
Sun Jan 28 2024
Brothers
The Black Keys
Thoughts before listening: Not my favorite album by the Black Keys, but this is the one when they started becoming alt rock stars instead of underground indie rock cult heros. I enjoy this band quite a bit and have even seen them a few times, so it'll be nice to re-listen to one of their classics.
Review: The hits are definitely catchy and it's overall a fine record. It's not however something I would consider to be one of the 1,001 best of all time. I added "Tighten Up", "Howlin' For You", and "Sinister Kid" to the playlist, and I'll be glad to hear those when they come up. The album however is 2-stars to me.
2
View Album
Mon Jan 29 2024
Hysteria
Def Leppard
Thoughts before listening: Overproduced 80 hard rock. The hits are classics, although I believe Pyromania is the bigger album with bigger songs. This should be a fun listen, and I've been pleasantly surprised by the deep cuts on a lot of the big hard rock albums on this list.
Review: I don't really like this. I mean I know a lot of these songs and "Pour Some Sugar On Me" is really fun, but this brand of hard rock just doesn't do anything for me. This is what the bands I like from the 80s were rebelling against. I can recognize that this is "good" while also really not enjoying it. 2-stars.
2
View Album
Tue Jan 30 2024
Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs
Derek & The Dominos
Thoughts before listening: I own this album on vinyl and I like it well enough I guess. "Layla" is an all time great song and there are plenty of other winners i.e "Bell Bottom Blues" and "Little Wing". Its also a long album that gets boring at times, so it will be nice to throw the better songs on the playlist.
Review: This album is a classic for a reason...and not nearly as boring as I remember. Its full of classic blues-based rock n roll songs played by top notch musicians, including Duane Allman adding slide guitar throughout. "Bell Bottom Blues", "Keep on Growing", "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out", "Key to the Highway", "Tell the Truth", "Little Wing", and of course "Layla" are all going on the playlist. 4-star album full of 5-star songs.
4
View Album
Wed Jan 31 2024
Tellin’ Stories
The Charlatans
Thoughts before listening: 90s Brit-pop that wasn't as popular as Oasis and Blur...at least in the US. I don't believe I've ever heard these guys before.
Review: This is okay. The songs are catchy and anthemic so I understand why they were popular. That being said, I'm not hearing anything that suggests this album should be considered one of the greatest of all time. Maybe if I grew up listening to the Charlatans I'd feel differently. There are certainly 90s American alt-rock albums that I'd put on my personal 1,001 best albums list (i.e. the Toadies), but I'd be shocked to see them on here just like I am with these guys that seem like also-rans of the UK 90s scene. "One To Another" is a good song that I've added to the playlist. 2-stars.
2
View Album
Thu Feb 01 2024
Here Are the Sonics
The Sonics
Thoughts before listening: I believe this is 60s garage rock/proto-punk from Seattle. This should be an interesting listen because I've always seen them listed as influences on a lot of my favorite music.
Review: This is pretty good. Something cool about a bunch of kids getting together, covering some songs, and writing a few of their own. That being said, there's nothing particularly special about these guys compared to 100s of other bands from the 60s other than that they recorded an album and were from Seattle. I feel like their praise largely comes from being local cult heroes often cited as influential by the grunge bands of the early 90s. 3-stars.
3
View Album
Fri Feb 02 2024
Blue
Joni Mitchell
Thoughts before listening: Joni Mitchell is an artist that I respect immensely, even owning a few of her records, but I just can't get into her music. I think her voice is to "warbly" for me or something. Blue is one of the albums I own, and it certainly is one of the more approachable in her catalog.
Review: This has some songs I really do enjoy like "All I Want", "California", "Carey", "River", and "A Case of You". Those would all be getting added to the playlist if Joni's albums were on Spotify. For the other songs I just cant get into it. I recognize that the lyrics are confessional and have a ton of meeting for Joni's fans, but I just can't get past the vocals and rambling song structures. This is a 3-star album to me.
3
View Album
Sat Feb 03 2024
Beggars Banquet
The Rolling Stones
Thoughts before listening: One of the Stones' greatest albums and therefore by default also an extremely worthy inclusion on this list. Exile on Mainstreet and Sticky Fingers get most of the attention in the Stones' 60s/70s output, but this one is nearly equal in quality. Excited to listen to this.
Review: This is really good with some absolute classic songs, but also one of their sloppier albums. This has some songs on it that just never quite come together, sounding more like demos than a finished product, and keep this from reaching the heights of the Stones' 5-star classics. Still though, the strength of "Sympathy for the Devil", "Jigsaw Puzzle", "Street Fighting Man", and "Salt of the Earth" are easily worth a 4-star rating.
4
View Album
Sun Feb 04 2024
Life's Too Good
The Sugarcubes
Thoughts before listening: This is Bjork's band before she went solo. Poppy Icelandic indie rock with Bjork singing overtop...this should be interesting.
Review: I've always loved Bjork's voice but rarely love her music...it's too weird and out there for me I guess. This however is much more up my alley with it's late 80s/early 90s indie rock sound. With the male and female vocals I'm getting kind of a post-punk X vibe. I'm really enjoying this and will be adding a few songs to the playlist. 4-stars.
4
View Album
Mon Feb 05 2024
Run-D.M.C.
Run-D.M.C.
Thoughts before listening: I don't know what's on this album, but I'm sure it's going to be a fun listen. Run-DMC we're innovators in the hip hop scene and while their brand of rap is nearly archaic at this point, it's also a very classic, familiar sound.
Review: This is great. It's definitely an early form of hip hop but I love Run-DMC's style. The rock backing tracks and the call and response raps with two distinct voices are now an iconic sound. This album is their debut and while they would release bigger songs later on, there are some classics on here with "It's Like That", "Rock Box", and "Sucker MCs". Those are going on the playlist and this album gets 4-stars.
4
View Album
Tue Feb 06 2024
Songs Of Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen
Thoughts before listening: I like Leonard Cohen for the most part. His best known songs are very powerful, but his slow, almost talking, baritone singing can be a bit of an acquired taste.
Review: This album starts out with its best song in "Suzanne" which is a great slow burn of a song that subtly builds throughout its runtime. The rest of the album is similar in style, and while I certainly know it is all high quality music, its just not really my style. 3-stars.
3
View Album
Wed Feb 07 2024
The Clash
The Clash
Thoughts before listening: Of all the early punk bands, the Clash have been the biggest influence on the brand of punk rock I've always gravitated to. This is my favorite release by them, even better than London Calling which gets most of the praise. There are a ton of iconic songs on this genre-defining album. This will be 5-stars.
Review: A less snotty, more tuneful take on punk rock than what contemporaries like the Sex Pistols were producing at the same time. They also brought a point of view to the lyrics tackling social and political concerns that turned Joe Strummer into a generational spokesperson. "Janie Jones", "I'm So Bored With the USA", "White Riot", "London's Burning", and "Career Opportunities" are aboslute classics of the punk genre and 70s rock as a whole. Easy 5-star album.
5
View Album
Thu Feb 08 2024
Truth And Soul
Fishbone
Thoughts before listening: Fishbone were a big deal to a lot of the punk and especially ska bands that I listened to in high school with everyone from the Red Hot Chili Peppers to No Doubt to Sublime calling them out as an influence. Yet I somehow never really got into them. What I have heard is a fun mashup of metal riffs, horns, punk attitude, and soulful singing.
Review: I like this. My favorite thing about Fishbone is that while the music is fairly reminiscent of the 90s ska bands that would come after them, the vocals are much better. Angelo Moore has a great soulful voice that really compliments this style of music moreso than the punk smarl of those later bands. The band also brings in r&b elements to their songs that sets them apart from both their contemporaries and followers. Best songs are "Freddie's Dead", "Mighty Long Way", "Bonin' In the Boneyard", and "Subliminal Fascism". 4-star album.
4
View Album
Fri Feb 09 2024
When I Was Born For The 7th Time
Cornershop
Thoughts before listening: I remember "Brimful of Asha" which I'm assuming is on this album. That's a great song, but I don't know anything else from them. Feels like this will be folky indie rock with samples and hip hop beats...like a British version of Beck.
Review: "Brimful of Asha" is a great song, and the rest of this album follows in a similar vein. This is about as 90s as an album can be sounding like Odelay with Bollywood samples. I enjoy it, but it's nothing groundbreaking. 2-stars but pushed up to 3-stars because "Good to Be on the Road Back Home Again" name checks Chattanooga.
3
View Album
Sat Feb 10 2024
Transformer
Lou Reed
Thoughts before listening: This is the Lou Reed album that gets the most praise from journalists. I was pleasantly surprised by Berlin when that came up on this list so I'm excited to listen to this one as well.
Review: This is great. Reading up on this album I see that David Bowie and Mick Ronson produced it which makes sense cause this sounds like 70s era Bowie glam rock. There are some absolute classics on here in "Perfect Day", "Walk On the Wild Side", and "Satellite of Love", but I'm also enjoying "Vicious", "Hangin' Round", and "I'm So Free". Overall a very good album that presents a much more radio friendly take on Lou Reed's sound that stands out in a discography filled with tough listens. 4-stars.
4
View Album
Sun Feb 11 2024
Morrison Hotel
The Doors
Thoughts before listening: I have always considered this to be the quintessential Doors album, and I really like their self-titled debut and LA Woman quite a bit as well. As a whole I enjoy the Doors and consider them one of the better 60s bands. A lot of modern music fans like to dismiss their impact largely due to Jim Morrison's antics, but their music is awesome and has been a major influence on a lot of the punk and indie bands I love.
Review: Confirmed that this is my favorite of the Doors' albums with "Peace Frog" probably my favorite song. Other strong tracks include "Roadhouse Blues", "Waiting for the Sun", "Blue Sunday", "You Make Me Real", and "Maggie M'Gill". This is the band's most focused blues rock album and I think thats why I like it so much. Just straightforward rock songs some of which have gone on to be classic rock radio staples. 5-stars.
5
View Album
Tue Feb 13 2024
Dusty In Memphis
Dusty Springfield
Thoughts before listening: This album is a mainstay in best albums lists, both for the 60s as well as of all time. I know that it has "Son of a Preacher Man" which is a classic song, but I do not know any of the other tracks. In fact, this has always seemed to me like a bit of an oddity for those lists.
Review: This is okay. "Son of a Preacher Man" truly is one of the best songs of all time, but the rest of the album stays in a mid-tempo soul sound that just isn't all that interesting to me. Dusty certainly has a nice voice and these are well arranged songs, but its just not my style. 2-stars.
2
View Album
Wed Feb 14 2024
(Pronounced 'Leh-'Nérd 'Skin-'Nérd)
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Thoughts before listening: This is basically the blueprint for southern rock. Being a southerner myself Lynyrd Skynyrd is very important for a lot of the bands I grew up hearing on the radio, for better or for worse. This is a classic full of iconic songs, and despite the punchline that Skynyrd and "Freebird" have become years after their peak, this is a great album.
Review: Any album where half of the songs are "Gimme Three Steps", "Tuesdays Gone", "Simple Man", and of course "Freebird" is going to be a fun listen, but this was even better than I remember. I also enjoyed some of the lesser known songs like "I Ain't the One". There's great guitar throughout this album and an awesome classic rock sound. Definitely a 5-star album.
5
View Album
Thu Feb 15 2024
Darklands
The Jesus And Mary Chain
Thoughts before listening: One of those bands I've always heard of but know very little about. This album is not one that even looks familiar to me...Psychocandy is the album I typically see getting praised by music sites. Dark brooding indie rock or maybe gothic punk I think.
Review: Definitely not as dark as I was thinking. This sounds like a lot of 80s indie/college rock...especially the Pixies who famously covered one of their songs. This is a sound I connect with and enjoy, and while nothing on this album is blowing me away, it is certainly enjoyable. "Happy When It Rains", "Down On Me", and "April Skies" are very good songs that I'm happy to add to the playlist. 3-stars.
3
View Album
Fri Feb 16 2024
Walking Wounded
Everything But The Girl
Thoughts before listening: I don't know a ton about these guys other than that I believe they are electro Euro-pop and that they had a few hits in the 90s. They definitely were bigger in Europe than the US.
Review: I saw another review that said this is the sound of trying on clothes at Gap in the 90s...and yeah thats about right. Slow, soulful singing over non-descript techno beats. Its pleasant music I guess but not for me. I am giving this 2-stars cause its not offensive, but also pretty boring.
2
View Album
Sat Feb 17 2024
At Fillmore East
The Allman Brothers Band
Thoughts before listening: One of the greatest live albums of all time. This is 5-stars.
Review: Bluesy, jazzy southern rock with killer guitar. Duane Allman is one of the greats on his instrument, especially for a slide player. So much energy in these songs that get pushed to the next level when the slide solos take over. The band would go on to be a huge influence on jambands and others that focus on their live shows over everything else, and this album was really the blueprint for that sound. Absolute classics in "Statesboro Blues", "Stormy Monday", "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed", and "Whipping Post". 5-stars.
5
View Album
Sun Feb 18 2024
Paris 1919
John Cale
Thoughts before listening: Former Velvet Underground member that I don't know much about as a solo artist. Lou Reed was always the bigger star, with John Cale being portrayed as an avant garde artist. I'm expecting art rock with lots of ambient soundscape type pieces.
Review: This is more orchestral pop music than the post-rock I was expecting. I hear a bit of the Velvet Underground in the instrumentation and arrangements, but this is quite a bit different from the sound of his former band. On initial listen, "MacBeth" stands out as a flat out rocker that immediately draws me in. Overall I don't hate this album but it's not something I'd go back to often. 3-stars.
3
View Album
Mon Feb 19 2024
Highly Evolved
The Vines
Thoughts before listening: This is a bit of a surprising entry to this list. The Vines always seemed like also-rans of the 00s garage rock movement, paling in comparison to bands like the White Stripes and the Strokes. Maybe they were a bigger deal in Europe? Anyway, I'm sure I'll recognize a song or two from the radio or an Apple commercial or something.
Review: "Get Free" was a hit and a pretty good one at that. I'm also enjoying some other songs like "Factory" and "Ain't No Room". The singer has a Kurt Cobain growl and the music seems better produced than their peers, although in some ways that detracts from the sound. There is also a bit of a Britpop style that sneaks in. All in all these guys took a little from a bunch of different popular alt-rock styles and mixed it together...and its more fun than I thought it would be. 3-stars for being an enjoyable, albeit pretty generic listen.
3
View Album
Tue Feb 20 2024
Melodrama
Lorde
Thoughts before listening: I never really understood the hype on Lorde although "Royals" is a good song....I don't think it's on this album though. Pop music isn't typically my thing but I'm sure this will be fine.
Review: Well right off the bat "Green Light" is recognizable and a very good song with an even better chorus, and "Supercut" was a fun track later in the album. The rest of these songs are just okay to me. I don't know if it's cause Jack Antonoff produces all of their albums, but a lot of recent female singers have a very similar sound...thinking of Lorde, Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, etc. It's a lot of mid-tempo songs with lyrics that are more spoken/whispered than sung. This came before Taylor's folklore/evermore but the vibe is almost identical. This is a 2-star album.
2
View Album
Wed Feb 21 2024
Tank Battles
Dagmar Krause
Thoughts before listening: This is brand new to me. Never even seen the cover. I am going to guess European dance music of some sort.
Review: Well this isn't dance. More like classical orchestral music with a German singer. Theatrical and almost operatic sounding with lyrics in both German and English. I am sure this was extremely impactful in a 1980s cold war environment, but it is not resonating with me. This is however well performed music with a strong vocalist that is getting a 2-star rating.
2
View Album
Thu Feb 22 2024
m b v
My Bloody Valentine
Thoughts before listening: My Bloody Valentine's comeback album. I constantly see them get raved about by music journalists and I never really got it. So far on this list I've had their pre-Loveless album and it was fine. I'm sure I'll enjoy this as well.
Review: I dont really like this. It's all just so droney and many of the songs don't feel complete. Every song is just a wall of noise with whispered vocals. I remember liking a few songs on the earlier album that stuck to more typical late 80s alt rock sound, but that is missing from this album. I'll give it 2-stars for at least being interesting even if it isn't actually enjoyable.
2
View Album
Fri Feb 23 2024
One World
John Martyn
Thoughts before listening: I don't know this album or artist. Maybe some sort of avant garde folk music...not really sure.
Review: That was okay. Certainly not unlistenable but also didn't really do much for me. Kind of soft rock with some experimental sounds mixed in. 2-stars
2
View Album
Sat Feb 24 2024
Paranoid
Black Sabbath
Thoughts before listening: This is a very good album by a monster band. There are some outright classics on this album, including the title track which has always been over of my favorite by them. Looking forward to listening
Review: "War Pigs", "Paranoid", "Iron Man", and "Fairies Wear Boots" alone would make this a 5-star album, but even the deep cuts are killer. Absolutely one of the most influential albums of all time, essentially creating the metal genre. I've always loved that despite the crazy places metal would go, the originators were just doing a slightly more distorted take on 60s blues rock. Easy 5-stars.
5
View Album
Mon Feb 26 2024
The Stooges
The Stooges
Thoughts before listening: Proto-punk from Detroit led by Iggy Pop. It's really fun primitive rock n roll with a wild man singing. Good stuff.
Review: I really like most of this album. "1969", "I Wanna Be Your Dog", and "No Fun" are absolute classics. "We Will Fall" however is a completely unnecessary 10 minutes that hurts the album as a whole. 3-stars for a mostly fun album.
3
View Album
Tue Feb 27 2024
In Utero
Nirvana
Thoughts before listening: Huge album for me growing up. This came out when I was 12 and was just starting to pay attention to music. At one point I would have said this was Nirvana's best album, but it definitely is not as good as Nevermind. This is a darker, more punk rock album that unfortunately was Kurt Cobain's final studio recording.
Review: Yeah this is great. I have a ton of nostalgia for Nirvana and these songs meant so much to me when I was a teenager. This would have definitely been one of the first albums I ever bought for myself. "Heart Shaped Box", "Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle", "Dumb", "Pennyroyal Tea", "Radio Friendly Unit Shifter", and "All Apologies" are favorites that are going on the playlist. 5-star album.
5
View Album
Wed Feb 28 2024
Veckatimest
Grizzly Bear
Thoughts before listening: This is a nice surprise this morning. I really liked this album when it came out although I wouldn't expect it to be on this list. Maybe thats just because years of reading music magazines has instilled in me that everything old is better than everything new. Anyway, I know there are some great songs on this album so I look forward to revisiting.
Review: I have a very soft spot in my heart for Grizzly Bear and other 00s-10s folky pop rock bands like Fleet Foxes. This is the sound of my young adult years and I really like it. I might have more nostalgia for the 90s alt-rock bands, but I think I enjoy this music better. This album is really good, with some absolute gems of the era, especially "Southern Point" and "Two Weeks". 4-stars.
4
View Album
Thu Feb 29 2024
Music From Big Pink
The Band
Thoughts before listening: I love the Band and this album is one of their best along with their self titled. This will be classic song after classic song so I'm sure I'll add a bunch to the playlist.
Review: This album starts slower than I was expecting, but from "The Weight" on it's about as classic of list of songs as you will ever hear. "Long Black Veil", "Chest Fever", and "I Shall Be Released" are great, but my favorite of the bunch is "This Wheels On Fire". 4-stars from me cause I just don't love the first half of the album.
4
View Album
Fri Mar 01 2024
Golden Hour
Kacey Musgraves
Thoughts before listening: I'm surprised to see this on the list, but I really like this album. I play this for my daughter quite a bit.
Review: This album is full of pleasant, well crafted songs with smart lyrics and catchy melodies. I'm not sure it's truly one of the greatest albums of all time, but it's certainly an album I enjoy quite a bit. My favorites are "Slow Burn", "Space Cowboy", and "Rainbow". 3-stars.
3
View Album
Sat Mar 02 2024
Illinois
Sufjan Stevens
Thoughts before listening: Another of the 00s indie folk albums that has proven to stand the test of time and remains as a standout of that era. While Sufjan's overly ambitious plan to release an album about each state stalled at 2, he would go on to put out a wonderful body of work spanning 3 decades including last year's Javelin. Still, Illinois remains his masterpiece.
Review: This is simply one of the most fun, joyful albums I've ever heard, even when the subject matter is dark i.e. a song about John Wayne Gacy. Orchestral pop ditties with thoughtful lyrics and melodies that get stuck in your head. This came out when I was 24 and has remained in my rotation for going on 20 years. Favorites from this album include "Come On! Feel the Illinoise!", "John Wayne Gacy, Jr", "Jacksonville", "Decatur, or , Round of Applause...", "Chicago", "Casimir Pulaski Day", "The Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts", and "They Are Night Zombies". My only complaint is that the instrumental orchestral pieces between songs can be a bit much, but they do help to tie all the songs together as a whole cohesive work of art. Easy 5-stars for me.
5
View Album
Sun Mar 03 2024
Elephant
The White Stripes
Thoughts before listening: This week has been nothing but 00s bangers. The White Stripes were an incredibly important band to me in my 20s, and Jack White is probably the ultimate rock star of that era. This is a great album.
Review: Right out the gate this album hits you with "Seven Nation Army" which is quite possibly the last great rock anthem, becoming part of American culture as a jock jam, Guitar Hero track, and even popular marching band song. Few songs outside of the 60s and 70s classic rock hits have had that kind of reach. Other than that song, this album is full of bluesy stomps powered with a punk rock grit and Jack White's unique guitar playing style. I love it. 5-stars.
5
View Album
Mon Mar 04 2024
Throwing Muses
Throwing Muses
Thoughts before listening: One of those 80s/90s college rock bands that I've heard of and read about for years but never actually listened to them. In general I do like this style of music so I'm excited to try this out...if I can find it. It's not on Spotify and the YouTube links appear to be dead as well.
Review: This is okay. It has a cool punk vibe that I'm enjoying, but it's also a compilation of the band's early demos so it has an unproduced quality to it. Not uncommon in 80s indie rock so it sounds very much of the time. The songs are all pretty good with Kristin Hersh's yelp standing out as the star of the show. From reading music magazines in the 90s, she was a huge deal in certain music circles, but I don't really know much about her. I'd give this 3-stars, but I did listen to their later output that's actually on Spotify....and it's really good so I'll bump them up to 4-stars.
4
View Album
Tue Mar 05 2024
Bad
Michael Jackson
Thoughts before listening: I think this is my favorite MJ album. While his brand of 80s/90s pop and r&b isn't typically what I gravitate toward, it's hard to deny that his hits are bangers...and there are a lot of hits on this album.
Review: The hits are great..."Bad", "The Way You Make Me Feel", "Man in the Mirror", "Dirty Diana", and "Smooth Criminal" are all iconic songs for a reason. I also like "Speed Demon" and "Leave Me Alone" which weren't hits but are really fun songs. That's 7 out of 11 songs that I really like so I'll give this a 4.
4
View Album
Wed Mar 06 2024
Play
Moby
Thoughts before listening: This came out my senior year in high school and was a very big deal. Moby seemed like the future of music, and while EDM is still certainly popular, Moby has completely disappeared from popular culture. This style of music was never really my thing, but I do tend to enjoy it more as an adult than I did 25 years ago.
Review: This is just okay. The best songs are the hits: "Porcelain", "Southside", and "Natural Blues". The rest of the album is either background music or blues samples with techno beats. It reminds me of the music playing in a Gap changing room or something. 2-stars.
2
View Album
Thu Mar 07 2024
Third
Soft Machine
Thought before listening: I think these guys were Bowie adjacent with a proggy glam rock sound maybe. This is one of those bands that are often mentioned as an influence on bands I enjoy, but I've never actually heard their music.
Review: Ok so this has nothing to do with Bowie or glam rock, rather being jazzy psychedelic prog rock. This album is very out there and trippy, and while these tracks are too long for their own good, I'm actually enjoying this quite a bit. I'm not going to add any of these 20 minute songs to the playlist, but I will rate this 3-stars as an enjoyable albeit very odd listen.
3
View Album
Fri Mar 08 2024
16 Lovers Lane
The Go-Betweens
Thoughts before listening: 80s Brit pop or new wave of some sort I think. I am not really sure, but typically when I don't instantly recognize an 80s album on this list its something that was popular with British music journalists. I'm sure this will be fine.
Review: This is better than I thought it would be. Sometimes it sounds like U2, sometimes its the Smiths, and others its just kinda generic pop rock. This certainly wouldn't be on my personal top 1,001 albums list, but its not terrible. I like the song "Was There Anything I Could Do?" while the rest of the album is pleasant enough and has actually grown on me on repeated listens. 3-stars.
3
View Album
Sat Mar 09 2024
The College Dropout
Kanye West
Thoughts before listening: Kanye from when he was still interested in putting out smart, fun hip hop bangers. This is a fun album with lots of iconic songs. Kanye is insufferable now but I still enjoy his early albums.
Review: This album is great...even if Kanye is like the worst person ever now. So many great songs and even the skits tend to fall on the right side of funny where as most rap album skits are cringey as hell. "We Don't Care", "All Falls Down", "Spaceship", "Jesus Walks", "Through the Wire", and "Slow Jamz" are all very good songs that are getting added to the playlist. 4-stars.
4
View Album
Sun Mar 10 2024
Loveless
My Bloody Valentine
Thoughts before listening: This is my third MBV album on this list, and I've been pretty underwhelmed by the other ones. I know that Loveless gets massive praise from music journalists, but I've never really listened to it. I'm excited to hear a classic, but based on their other albums I'm not over optimistic that I'll enjoy it.
Review: Well right out the gate I really like "Only Shallow", which is a song I've heard before. The massive wall of sound guitar with ethereal female vocals is a great sound that would go on to be highly influential for the 90s alt-rock to come. The second song however is back to what I have disliked about the other albums: structureless, droney songs that sound like incomplete demos. That sound permeates the rest of the album with only a handful of songs actually adding melody and structure to the guitar noise. I'll give this 3-stars but in general, I don't get the hype for MBV...they certainly don't need 3 albums on this list.
3
View Album
Mon Mar 11 2024
Get Rich Or Die Tryin'
50 Cent
Thoughts before listening: I remember 50 Cent being extremely popular, but not something that would necessarily make a list like this. More pop rap made for the radio than anything else, although his association with Eminem and Dr. Dre probably helped get him a little more critical recognition. There will be some fun songs on here I'm sure, but its probably not my thing.
Review: \"In Da Club\" was massive when it came out, and it's still a great 00s era hit. Songs that become that big have a way of worming their way into your conscious to a point that even if you typically would completely avoid their sound, you end up with a ton of nostalgia for the song. That's totally the case here.
That being said, I don't really like the rest of this album. The songs with Eminem are okay, but overall it sounds like every other rap album from that era with the same tired lyrical content as well. It's also long as hell...I don't need 20 tracks and over an hour of this stuff. 2-stars mainly for \"In Da Club\".
2
View Album
Tue Mar 12 2024
Pretenders
Pretenders
Thoughts before listening: I am new convert to this album having only recently picked up a used copy at a record store on a whim. I knew the Pretenders were well respected, but I only really knew their hits. I never would have listed them as one of my favorite bands, but this album is really good. I'm glad to see it made the 1,001 album list.
Review: Yeah I love this album. It is so much more than its massive hit "Brass in Pocket". Sure thats a great song, but the power of this album is the rockers that bring punk rock attitude with pop hooks and strong musicianship. Songs like "Precious", "Tattooed Love Boys", "Private Life", "Mystery Achievement", and my personal favorite "Lovers of Today" are the highlights here. 4-stars.
4
View Album
Wed Mar 13 2024
Kid A
Radiohead
Thoughts before listening: This is where Radiohead abandoned alt-rock for more of an electronic sound. At least that was the story when it came out, and because of those reviews, I avoided this album for years. I've since come around, and it's definitely a great album that sits near the top of Radiohead's discography (OK Computer is still their best).
Review: This is a weird album in all the right ways. There is a krautrock propulsion to many of the songs, and while there are certainly fewer guitar solos than on past albums, this is still a rock record. If anything, this was ushering in a new era for rock music that would focus more on atmosphere and mood than traditional rock song structures. Easy 5-star album for me.
5
View Album
Thu Mar 14 2024
Damaged
Black Flag
Thoughts before listening: As a 90s punk fan Black Flag were enormous. Every band I liked cited them as an influence and their logo was as iconic as it gets. I do like a lot of what they do, but I never really got into them. Maybe it's too hardcore for me or something. I felt the same way about a band like the Bad Brains, and I gravitated to the more melodic hardcore of Descendents and Bad Religion. I'm excited to see this as my album today though.
Review: I stand by my long held belief that Black Flag is a tier below the more melodic punk bands, despite their status as giants in the scene. Maybe I'm just not a Henry Rollins fan or something. It's too much one note yelling and barking instead of singing like the bands I prefer.
Anyway, I do like some of these songs, including the absolute banger of an opening track with "Rise Above". That is definitely one of the best songs of the punk genre. Other than that, the more melodic the song the better for me: "Six Pack", "TV Party", "Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie", and "Depression" being the best of the bunch. I'll give this 4-stars for being so important to a genre I love, but Black Flag still just isn't one of my bands.
4
View Album
Fri Mar 15 2024
The Soft Bulletin
The Flaming Lips
Thoughts before listening: Another album on this list that I own. This isn't my favorite Flaming Lips album, but that's only because Yoshimi is a masterpiece. Still though this is a very good album that I've consistently listened to for years.
Review: I love that the band that became known for a novelty song like "She Don't Use Jelly" ended up becoming even better known for releasing nearly perfect orchestral pop albums. These songs are extremely catchy pop gems and blew me away the first time I heard this album. "Race for the Prize", "The Spiderbite Song", "Waitin' for a Superman", "Suddenly Everything Has Changed", and "Feeling Yourself Disintegrate" are all absolute gems that have stuck with me long after I first heard them. I'll give this 4-stars for the fact that Yoshimi is Flaming Lips' best and because there are a couple of boring duds on the album.
4
View Album
Sat Mar 16 2024
White Blood Cells
The White Stripes
Thoughts before listening: This was the first White Stripes album I ever heard, and its a great one. I love the band, and this is their second best album behind Elephant.
Review: Yeah this is great. This is an album I would have discovered in college, and I have distinct memories of hearing songs like "Hotel Yorba" for the first time. This really drew me in at the time because it has the attitude of the punk rock I had been listening to for years but mixed with blues and country elements which I had been discovering at the time.
As an album this is a tier down from Elephant, but some of the songs on here are at least on par with that album. "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground", "Fell in Love With a Girl", "The Union Forever", "We're Going to Be Friends", and "I Think I Smell a Rat" are my favorites. All in all this is a great album that I have a lot of history with. 4-stars for being a lesser album than Elephant and for some weak tracks.
4
View Album
Sun Mar 17 2024
Phrenology
The Roots
Thoughts before listening: I like the Roots and used to own this album, but I don't often see this listed on best of lists like this. While it'll be nice to re-visit these songs, this seems like something that made the list because it was released around the same time as the book. This typically isn't even considered the Roots' best album.
Review: This is certainly an electric album, with lots of different sounds and styles over 16 tracks. There is a lot to like here with my favorites being "Thought @ Work", "The Seed 2.0", "Break You Off", and "Water". That being said, there's a lot of songs on here and not everything is a good as these. This is a 3-star album.
3
View Album
Mon Mar 18 2024
The Beach Boys Today!
The Beach Boys
Thoughts before listening: The Beach Boys are great. They released some of the best songs of their time which have remained staples for 60+ years. That being said, outside of Pet Sounds, you never hear about individual albums. They're mostly a singles band with their greatest hits compilations being the typical go to. Looking at the tracklist on this album, it seems like there are only a couple well known songs. Not sure I need to hear an album of Beach Boys deep cuts, but here we go.
Review: This is fine. As an album I like it as much as Pet Sounds in that it's a mix of incredible songs and others that just don't do it for me. Apparently this was the band's first album after Brian Wilson went into his non-touring exile where he focused on songcraft and production over everything else. That era produced some absolute classics, but it also wasn't as \"fun\" as the earlier surf rock songs.
The first song here is one of my favorites in \"Do You Wanna Dance?\", although I know the Ramones version better than the Beach Boys. Other highlights include \"When I Grow Up (To Be A Man)\", \"Help Me Rhonda\", \"Dance Dance Dance\", and \"Please Let Me Wonder\". The rest of the album is pleasant enough but too slow to really do much for me. I'll match my Pet Sounds rating and also give this 3-stars.
3
View Album
Tue Mar 19 2024
Live At The Star Club, Hamburg
Jerry Lee Lewis
Thoughts before listening: Early rock n roll with Jerry Lee Lewis' wild man piano playing leading the way. I don't believe I've ever listened to JLL outside of his hits, so it'll be interesting to see what this sounds like...especially being a live album.
Review: 8 songs in 22 minutes and all high energy piano led rock songs. This is definitely fun with some absolute early rock standards on here, but the live production is a little annoying. I love live albums, but the crowd noise on this one is distracting (I feel the same way about James Brown's Live at the Apollo).
"Money", "Great Balls of Fire", "Good Golly Miss Molly", "Long, Tall Sally", and "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On". All classics that I'm glad to add to the playlist (also what a playlist this is, in the last 24 hours I've added songs by Jerry Lee Lewis, Slipknot, and Ice-T). This is a 3-star album.
3
View Album
Wed Mar 20 2024
The Man Machine
Kraftwerk
Thoughts before listening: Kraftwerk gets cited A LOT by music journalists as a forefather to a lot of modern music. In general I think I know what they sound like, but I've never sat down to listen to one of their albums. I'm expecting synth heavy instrumental music with a driving beat.
Review: Well it's not all instrumental with a few songs having monotone almost robotic vocals. This sounds like a mixture of video game/sci Fi movie soundtrack music and early 80s European new wave like Thomas Dolby or Gary Numan. I'm sure Kraftwerk were a huge influence on both.
Is it possible to understand an album's importance but also not really like it? That's what's happening here. I get that Kraftwerk were innovators, but I don't particularly enjoy the music they inspired. I will say that when their songs take on a more traditional pop form, it's a bit more enjoyable...songs like "The Model" and "Neon Lights" fall in this category. Still though, it's just not for me so I will give this 2-stars.
2
View Album
Thu Mar 21 2024
The Only Ones
The Only Ones
Thoughts before listening: Never heard of these guys before...must be British. Based on the year of release and cover I'm going to say this will be punky new wave.
Review: Definitely British, and this is more of a power pop sound than the new wave I was expecting. Reminds me a bit of Elvis Costello maybe or some later 80s post-punk bands. I can also see these guys being an influence on a band like the Libertines. It seems like the biggest hit was "Another Girl, Another Planet", and thats probably the best song here. As a whole, this is a nice surprise of an album. 3-stars.
3
View Album
Fri Mar 22 2024
Sound of Silver
LCD Soundsystem
Thoughts before listening: I love LCD Soundsystem, and this is a very good album. I think "All My Friends" is on this one which is a post-2000s classic. It'll be nice to re-visit this today.
Review: Once again, the 2000s albums feel more like "my music" than the 90s ones while also still feeling modern sounding. LCD Soundsystem has a cool sound that pulls from 80s new wave and punk (especially Talking Heads) while adding its own dancey, industrial flair. "All My Friends" is definitely a post-2000s classic with its steady driving beat that slowly builds over its 7:43 running time. I also enjoy "North American Scum", "Us v Them", and "New York I Love You but You're Bringing Me Down". 4-stars.
4
View Album
Sat Mar 23 2024
A Hard Day's Night
Beatles
Thoughts before listening: Pre-psychedelic classic from the Beatles. This is a fun era for the band even if it doesn't quite rise to the masterpiece level of their later output. I'm pretty sure I've never actually listened to this album, but I'm sure I'll know most of the songs.
Review: This is not as good as the later releases, but it certainly has its own charms. The hits such as "A Hard Day's Night", "And I Love Her", and "Can't Buy Me Love" are about as iconic as songs can possibly be. For deeper cuts, I really like "I Should Have Known Better" and "Things We Said Today".
Overall this is a fun album showcasing the early Beatles sound which would change dramatically in only a few short years. I definitely prefer the later albums, but I do appreciate that this is the first time the Beatles only released songs that they had written themselves. This is 4-stars.
4
View Album
Sun Mar 24 2024
Faith
George Michael
Thoughts before listening: I never thought I would listen to a George Michael album, but here we are. The title song is a great 80s hit and I remember liking it as a kid. I know this album has gotten more respect over the years than I remember at the time. In the late 80s/early 90s this was the pop music on MTV that soon became the antithesis of everything I became interested in as I entered my teenage years. In general I'm able to appreciate this type of pop music more as an adult than I would have back then, so perhaps I'll enjoy this.
Review: "Faith" the song is still great. "Father Figure" has an incredible chorus, but the rest of the song falls victim to cheesy 80s ballad production. In general this reminds me as a lesser version of what artists like Michael Jackson and Prince were putting out in the 80s. There are some catchy songs here ("Hand to Mouth" and "Monkey" are my favorite deep cuts), but its just not for me. 2-stars.
2
View Album
Mon Mar 25 2024
All Hope Is Gone
Slipknot
Thoughts before listening: This is my 2nd slipknot album which seems a bit excessive. The first one at least had \"Wait and Bleed\", so I'm not sure what this one could possibly have on it to justify the inclusion. I didn't like the first album so chances are I won't like this one either.
Review: Well, I have to say this is better than the first Slipknow album I listened to. While there are still pummeling moments on this album, the band is definitely leaning on their pop hook writing abilities a little more on this album...especially on songs like "Sulfur", "Psychosocial", and "Dead Memories" which I am enjoying quite a bit. This is a 3-star album for the strength of these 3 catchy songs.
3
View Album
Tue Mar 26 2024
Low
David Bowie
Thoughts before listening: One of the albums from Bowie's Berlin era. This one gets a ton of praise from journalists but I've never found this phase of his career to be as fun as the Hunky Dory/Ziggy Stardust era. I'm excited to give it another listen though.
Review: So this album is a little hit or miss for me. I like the actual rock songs such as "Sound and Vision", "Speed of Life", and "Be My Wife" which sound like a precursor to much of the late 70s/early 80s indie rock I love so much. However, I am not as into the Brian Eno ambient stuff. I mean I understand the talent that goes into those songs, its just not something I gravitate to when listening to music. If this was all avant garde rock songs I'd give it 4-stars, but instead this gets a 3.
3
View Album
Wed Mar 27 2024
La Revancha Del Tango
Gotan Project
Thoughts before listening: No idea what this is. I'm assuming some sort of techno/EDM record. Being from 2001 I might have some connection to the sound having heard it at a club or something, but this was never really my scene.
Review: This is pleasant enough although not my style. More ambient background music than the more hard dance I was expecting. I enjoyed listening to this while working, but I'm not adding any of this to my playlist. 3-stars
3
View Album
Thu Mar 28 2024
Cee-Lo Green... Is The Soul Machine
Cee Lo Green
Thoughts before listening: Is "F You" on this? That's a great song. I don't know anything else by Cee-Lo Green (besides his Gnarls Barkley stuff) but he's southern hip hop soul music. I'm sure this will be fun to listen to.
Review: It's always interesting the albums on this list that came out in the early 2000s around the release of the book. The editors were having to make a lot of guesses on modern releases that would go on to be classics. There are a lot of 00s era albums on this list that have been completely forgotten in the 20 years since. This is one of them.
This doesn't have "F You" which is far and away Cee-Lo's biggest solo hit. What is on here is fun and I'm enjoying listening to it, but I hardly feel that this rises to the status this list should demand. It certainly hasn't proven to have the timeless staying power of the 70s Stevie Wonder albums it's paying homage to. This is a 2-star album.
2
View Album
Fri Mar 29 2024
O.G. Original Gangster
Ice T
Thoughts before listening: I know Ice-T but I've never actually listened to one of his albums, and looking over the tracklist I don't recognize any of these songs. I'm sure this will be fine, but probably not really my thing.
Review: This is just okay. I can't relate to this at all, and I'm not really into Ice-T's brand of rap. There aren't a lot of pop hooks here and most songs have a similar sound. There is definitely a Public Enemy influence to the music on this album, but PE are much more interesting, especially with their lyrics. Best song on here is "Body Count" which was Ice-T introducing his rock band...and I like him as a metal singer more than a rapper. This is a 2-star album.
2
View Album
Sat Mar 30 2024
If You Can Believe Your Eyes & Ears
The Mamas & The Papas
Thoughts before listening: Classic 60s poppy folk rock record. Assuming this has their hits on it this should be a fun listen.
Review: The Mamas and the Papas' hits like "Monday Monday" and "California Dreamin'" are the sound of the 60s. It's pop music reminiscent of the early Beatles mixed with the sounds of the 60s folk movement that the band members were associated with. Perhaps it's the male/female communal group vocals, but there is a certain hippie idealism to their sound without being overly psychedelic. This is ultimately pleasant pop music with a handful of catchy singles surrounded by pretty forgettable filler songs. 3-stars mainly because "California Dreamin'" is such a great song.
3
View Album
Sun Mar 31 2024
Heaux Tales
Jazmine Sullivan
Thoughts before listening: Very recent album. I remember this getting a lot of praise in 2021, but it's not really my thing. Also feels like an odd choice for the list. In general its hard to evaluate the recent entries on this list that is so focused on an album's legacy and inspiration to future releases.
Review: As far as modern R&B goes this is pretty good. I like the concept of story songs that are each inspired by different female perspectives. This album won Grammys and made the top of a ton of best of the year lists. Its a good album, but its just not something that I relate to. Perfect example of an album that I can respect even if its not really my style of music. I will give this a 3-star rating, but I don't really know that it belongs on this list.
3
View Album
Mon Apr 01 2024
Illmatic
Nas
Thoughts before listening: One of the most highly regarded hip hop albums of all time, but I don't believe I have heard it before.
Review: Yeah I've never heard this before, and you know what...it's great! I get where the praise comes from. This is closer to something like A Tribe Called Quest than the gangsta rap coming out at the same time. I'm really enjoying Nas' laid back rap style over jazzy beats with some interesting lyrics that aren't all violence and sex. 5-stars.
5
View Album
Tue Apr 02 2024
Gunfighter Ballads And Trail Songs
Marty Robbins
Thoughts before listening: Early country music with some songs that have become staples over the years like "El Paso". Should be an interesting listen full of story songs with an antiquated sounding musical style.
Review: Yeah, this is fun. Marty Robbins has a great, soothing voice and these songs are like little western movies with the stories they are telling. The music is pretty typical for the 1950s era of country music, and there are some interesting little guitar licks happening low in the mix. Not something that I would typically come back to very often, but I'm glad to have heard this today. 3-stars
3
View Album
Wed Apr 03 2024
Let It Be
The Replacements
Thoughts before listening: I really enjoy the Replacements, and this widely considered one of their best albums. That being said, I don't believe I have heard this album as a whole. I certainly will recognize some songs, but Tim is the only Replacements albums that I own.
Review: Yeah, this is good, but it's not my favorite from the band (Tim or Pleased to Meet Me are better). I love the Replacements' sloppily played and punk inspired rock n roll, and this album has that in spades even if they have better songs on other albums. My favorites here are "I Will Dare" and "Unsatisfied" both of which are classics of 80s post-punk indie rock. I also really like "We're Coming Out", "Sixteen Blue", and their Kiss cover "Black Diamond". 4-stars because assuming Tim is on this list it's getting the top rating.
4
View Album
Thu Apr 04 2024
Back to Basics
Christina Aguilera
Thoughts before listening: Well, I never thought I'd sit down and listen to a full Christina Aguilera album, but here we are. These sorts of pop and r&b albums just aren't my thing, but I have found I can appreciate them more now than I would have at 25 when this was released. She certainly has a powerhouse voice, and I'm sure I'll recognize some of the hits on here, so perhaps this will be better than I think it will be. That being said, looks like this is 2 discs and well over an hour long, not sure I'll have it in me to listen to this whole thing.
Review: Yeah, this is about what I'd expect from a Christina Aguilera album. Great singing on the R&B inspired pop bangers and even better singing on the ballads. This is split into 2 albums with disc 1 being the pop songs and disc 2 being more "jazz" inspired. A lot of the disc 1 production sounds super dated to 00s pop with things like record scratches and synthy fake horn blasts. Disc 2 is a little more organic sounding, but this is still very much a pop album.
Maybe I just wasn't paying attention to pop music in 2006, but I don't recognize any of these songs. I feel like I could rattle off 5 - 10 Christina songs, but none of them are on this album. I can't say that any of these songs are really standing out to me despite having nice vocals throughout. I thought I would at least like the music on the "jazzy" disc, but it's still very much a pop sound. Mainly just feels like an attempt to cash in on her Lady Marmalade sound. This is a 2-star album.
2
View Album
Fri Apr 05 2024
Raw Power
The Stooges
Thoughts before listening: I didn't like the first Stooges album I heard on here as much as I thought I would. In theory I should love their primitive take on rock n roll, but only a few songs really grabbed me on that one. I'm interested to see if I feel differently about this album.
Review: "Search and Destroy" is such a great song and a perfect way to kick things off. I'm definitely enjoying this more as a cohesive album than the first one with the guitar work and Iggy's vocals being the stars here. Other highlights are "Gimme Danger" and "Raw Power".
Now I'm trying to figure out if I prefer the original David Bowie produced version or Iggy Pop's later remaster. Seems like this is a major debate with Stooges fans, with many preferring Iggy's sludgy version because that is supposedly what the Stooges wanted this album to sound like at the time. For me, I can certainly understand this stance, but I think I'm liking Bowie's version better. Either way, this is a 4-star album.
4
View Album
Sat Apr 06 2024
Appetite For Destruction
Guns N' Roses
Thoughts before listening: This has been an iconic, right of passage album for my entire life. Growing up as a kid in the 80s and teenager in the 90s, Guns n Roses were MASSIVE. They were the absolute best of the LA hard rock and metal scene with a sound that was more punk inspired than the glam indebted overly poppy music so many of the contemporaries were playing. This is GnR's first and best album, and one that I thoroughly enjoy.
Review: Yeah this is a nearly perfect album that is an absolutely essential addition to any collection. This is the best 80s hard rock album, and I'm not even really a big fan of that genre. The GnR sound is a Stones swagger mixed with AC/DC style hard rock and a punk rock attitude, and they have some great songs as well. "Welcome to the Jungle", "Paradise City", and "Sweet Child O' Mine" are classic rock staples that hold up as the years go on, but even this album's deep cuts are great. Listening for the first time in a long time, I was reminded of how much I enjoy songs like "Its So Easy", "Mr. Brownstone", "My Michelle", and "Think About You". 5-star album.
5
View Album
Mon Apr 08 2024
Atomizer
Big Black
Thoughts before listening: I believe this is noise rock that had a huge influence on 90s alternative bands, and I think Steve Albini may have been involved. I've never listened to these guys before so this should be interesting.
Review: The album isn't on Spotify so I can't add any songs to the playlist, but I though it sounded pretty good. I listened while mowing the lawn, so I did not pay much attention to the lyrics which the internet tells me are pretty hardcore, but I guess that is fairly standard for 80s punk bands. As far as the music, I can hear their influence in a lot of the 90s alternative bands that I used to be into, especially on the industrial side. I hear quite a bit of Big Black's sound in Ministry which makes sense with both bands coming up in the same Chicago scene. This is a 3-star album.
3
View Album
Tue Apr 09 2024
Deja Vu
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
Thoughts before listening: One of the original 70s supergroups with C, S, N, and Y all having spent time in popular 60s rock bands as well as releasing their own solo music. CSNY mixes these guys' rock chops with more singer songwriter folk songs all sung with some of the best vocal harmonies of all time. I own this album and know it will be an enjoyable listen.
Review: Yeah this is good stuff. When Neil Young joined up with C, S, and N he added his ragged guitar style to their folky harmonies to great results. The first CSN album has some great tracks, but also gets diluted a bit with some folkiness that comes off as too sickly sweet for its own good. Neil Young helps to keep this album on track with all 10 songs being strong. My favorites on this album are "Carry On", "Almost Cut My Hair", "Helpless", "Woodstock", and "Our House". 4-stars.
4
View Album
Wed Apr 10 2024
War
U2
Thoughts before listening: I used to always say I didn't like U2. They were too over the top and showy, and I just think the late 90s/early 00s was a bad era for them despite their massive popularity. That being said, I have started coming around on their 80s output and can understand why people are obsessed with them. This will be my first time listening to this album as a whole, and I am excited to listen to it.
Review: "Sunday Bloody Sunday" opens this album followed soon after with "New Years Day", and both are highlights in U2's career. Even when I was largely dismissing the band, I recognized these as great anthemic songs. Other songs I am enjoying include "Two Hearts Beat As One", "Red Light" (especially the horns), and "Surrender". This album has often been cited as U2's most rock album, and there is a certain propulsion to these songs that proves this to be true. I am enjoying the Edge's guitar throughout and Bono sounds great as well. I still think the Joshua tree is their masterpiece, but this is a more enjoyable listen than their later more popular period. 4-stars.
4
View Album
Thu Apr 11 2024
1989
Taylor Swift
Thoughts before listening: Taylor Swift has taken over my household. My wife is obsessed and Taylor is her go to when picking music. I like it for the most part, but I would never choose to listen since its just not the type of music I tend to gravitate to. However, as far as pop stars go Taylor is about as good as it gets. My favorite by her is the Folklore album, but 1984 has a ton of huge pop hits and is overall a very good album. I also love how much Taylor melts the worst people so she gets bonus points for that as well.
Review: Yeah this is good. Its hard to deny just how catchy this album is. "Blank Space" and "Bad Blood" are my favorites hits with "Welcome to New York" and "Wish You Would" as my favorite deeper cuts. This is a 4-star album.
4
View Album
Fri Apr 12 2024
The Man Who
Travis
Thoughts before listening: I remember these guys being a big deal with music writers back in the day, especially the British press. In my mind they were a big deal in the post-Radiohead, pre-Coldplay British alt rock world, with a sound that hits on all of the anthemic pop rock elements of Radiohead circa The Bends. Similar to a band like Keane.
Review: Meh. This isn’t very good. This sounds like what you’d get if you took “Karma Police” or “High and Dry” and removed all the cool interesting parts. It’s just vanilla pop rock with anthemic choruses. I remember the songs “Turn” and “Why Does it Always Rain On Me” which are the 2 best songs here. 2-stars.
2
View Album
Sat Apr 13 2024
Cloud Nine
The Temptations
Thoughts before listening: I certainly know the Temptations, but I’ve never seen this album cover be though. This is a 60s Motown soul group that has some massive songs. Looks like this album has at least one of those songs with “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” which will be nice to hear.
Review: These are the types of albums I like discovering through this project. I knew the Temptations transitioned from being Motown hitmakers in the 60s to a more psychedelic funk sound in the 70s, but I had never really dug in other than the Psychedelic Shack album I once picked up on a whim in a record store budget bin.
The first three songs on this album have an incredible sound that is quite different from what the Temptations had released prior to this album. All three of these songs are going on the playlist, and I especially enjoy the 9 minute "Runaway Child, Running Wild". The second half is more traditional 60s soul sound that the Temptations are known for. This is an enjoyable listen, but nothing is standing out. 4-star album.
4
View Album
Sun Apr 14 2024
Medúlla
Björk
Thoughts before listening: I've never really listened to Bjork. I mean I know her bigger 90s alt rock songs, but I've never actually listened to a full album. It always seemed like it would be over my head or something. I know Debut and Post get most of the love (and contain the songs I'd recognize) so it'll be interesting see what this one is all about.
Review: Oh yeah...the fully acapella Bjork album. This was probably the point when I decided Bjork just wasn't going to be for me. On a listen through this morning I was probably right. I mean it's objectively good with Bjork having an amazing unique voice, but this just isn't the type of music I'm ever going to sit around listening to. That being said, this made for a solid album to mow the lawn to this morning. 3-stars.
3
View Album
Mon Apr 15 2024
Siamese Dream
The Smashing Pumpkins
Thoughts before listening: Well this is one of my favorite albums of all time. This came out when I was 12 and just getting into music. It blew my mind then and continues to blow my mind when I listen now. It’s such a big rock sound for an alt rock band whose peers mostly leaned heavily on the punk rock aesthetics of angst over technique. Really helped them to stand out from the pack, and the songs from Siamese Dream remain absolute top of the heap of 90s alt rock.
Review: This album still just sounds so modern and vital. Many of the Smashing Pumpkins' contemporaries are starting to sound dated 3 decades past their primes, but Siamese Dream could be released today. Its a timeless record that has been an absolute joy to revisit after a few years without listening. Many of these songs will get added to the playlist, but I especially like "Cherub Rock", "Today", "Hummer", "Disarm", and "Mayonaise". This is a 5-star album.
5
View Album
Tue Apr 16 2024
Superfly
Curtis Mayfield
Thoughts before listening: Classic 70s funk/soul album that I have never listened to before. This makes all the best album lists and I'm sure I will recognize a few songs, but this has just never been something that I sought out to listen to. I am glad this album came up today so I finally get a chance to hear it. In general I really enjoy 70s funk so I'm sure this will be great.
Review: "Pusherman", "Freddie's Dead", and the title track are enough to make this album an all time classic, but this whole thing is great. 5-stars
5
View Album
Wed Apr 17 2024
Fire Of Love
The Gun Club
Thoughts before listening: I think this is 80s post-punk with maybe a rockabilly vibe. Something like that. I know they get cited a lot as an influence by bands that I enjoy, but I admittedly know very little about them. Sometimes the 80s underground punk stuff is right up my alley and sometimes its a little too out there for me.
Review: Okay so I pretty much nailed what this would sound like, and I actually quite like it. These guys definitely have a bit of an X or the Cramps sound with rockabilly and blues elements getting mixed into the typical 80s punk style. Also a direct influence on later bands like Reverend Horton Heat who I was a huge fan of growing up. I'm glad to have heard this album, and having a reason to finally listen to an a band long on my periphery is exactly why I am doing this project. 4-stars
4
View Album
Thu Apr 18 2024
Live At The Witch Trials
The Fall
Thoughts before listening: British 70s punk rock band that has been around forever. I know that their sound has evolved over the years, but in 1979 I believe this will be kind of a post-punk, pre-new wave kind of sound. Highly influential band that has been cited as an influence by musicians I love.
Review: Meh. This isn't for me. I love a lot of punk and indie music, but it still needs song structure and melody to catch my interest. For the most part this is very repetitive, atonal music with Mark E Smith ranting over top. There are a few standouts such as the first song "Frightened", and I enjoy "2 Steps Back" as well. 2-stars.
2
View Album
Fri Apr 19 2024
The Infotainment Scan
The Fall
Thoughts before listening: Well this is a first, back to back albums by the same band. I just reviewed the Fall's first album and I found it to be pretty meh. A few good tracks but mostly atonal music with Mark E Smith talk singing over it. Maybe this will be better? It seems like the Fall added some dance sounds to their repertoire later in their career so perhaps that will be reflected on this album.
Review: Okay, this is certainly better than the first album, but I just don't think the Fall is for me. For the most part talk singing isn't my thing, and that seems to be Mark E Smith's specialty. This is not the dance inspired music I was expecting (apparently that was a late 80s thing for the band), with the music here definitely having a bit more tunefulness from the first album. This is still very repetitive with songs that don't really go anywhere though. As I said, it's a little better than the first album, but it's still 2-stars for me.
2
View Album
Sat Apr 20 2024
(What's The Story) Morning Glory
Oasis
Thoughts before listening: Probably the biggest alt rock album of the 90s that I just didn't really care about. All the drama around the Gallagher brothers must have turned me off, or maybe Oasis just seemed lame cause I was so into punkier stuff at the time. Whatever it was, I never paid much attention to Oasis. That being said, their hits are undeniably good songs so I'm excited to actually listen all the way through.
Review: This is good. "Wonderwall" is an outright all timer of a song, while "Don't Look Back in Anger" and "Champagne Supernova" are iconic anthems of their own. 4-stars
4
View Album
Sun Apr 21 2024
Porcupine
Echo And The Bunnymen
Thoughts before listening: I don't really know too much about these guys outside of "Killing Moon" which isn't on this album. I believe they're similar in vein to the Smiths or the Cure...new wave era bands that had a few hits, but also huge cult followings making them big influences on the post-punk and indie rock world. Should be good.
Review: Yeah I like this quite a bit. Apparently "The Cutter" and "Back of Love" were the hits on this album, and that makes sense because they are very catchy songs. In general, this is indicative of the 80s alternative sound, and I am enjoying most songs. 4-stars
4
View Album
Mon Apr 22 2024
Chelsea Girl
Nico
Thoughts before listening: I enjoyed Nico's contribution to the Velvet Underground's debut well enough but ultimately I don't think she's for me. I'm pretty sure I've never heard this album, and it's also nothing I've ever sought after either. I'm expecting sad music.
Review: Nico has a very unique voice that I like, but it also always feels like its on the verge of being off key. I really like her cover of "These Days", but nothing else is really standing out to me. In general this is a pleasant listen (for the most part...a couple songs get a little out there), but not something I am likely to come back to. 2-stars
2
View Album
Tue Apr 23 2024
Dummy
Portishead
Thoughts before listening: This album gets talked about A LOT, but this will be a first listen for me. I believe Portishead is considered trip hop with ethereal female vocals...this is typically the type of music I respect more than enjoy which is probably why I have never sought this album out despite the acclaim.
Review: This is not the type of music I would usually listen to, but this is good. I definitely remember \"Sour Times\" being a big deal on the college and alternative radio stations I listened to in the 90s, so it is nice to hear a familiar song. These guys get a ton of style points and their sound is very interesting. Lots of cool sounds mixed into what amounts to moody, slow burn, jazzy music with emotive female vocals. My favorite song is \"Glory Box\". 4-stars
4
View Album
Wed Apr 24 2024
Everything Must Go
Manic Street Preachers
Thoughts before listening: These guys are a pretty big deal to a lot of music fans, but I don't really know anything about them. 90s British alt rock I think but not from the Britpop or Madchester scenes. I am not sure what to expect.
Review: Okay so reading up on thesa guys, they started as a rebellion against the popular British alt rock bands of the time with a sound that leaned closer to punk rock and metal. However, after their guitarist/songwriter mysteriously disappeared, they regrouped and released this album which showed a move toward more accessible alt rock. I kind of remember that story from when I was a kid, but these guys were never huge in the US.
Anyway, this is okay. I don't recognize any of this despite being VERY into alternative music in 1996, and that includes the hit "A Design for Life". I feel like a lot of mid-90s British bands ended up on MTV and college radio, but even these guys' big song didn't cross my path. The album is full of catchy rock music that sounds like a lot of other 90s bands, but there's definitely nothing groundbreaking here. I like the horns in "Kevin Carter" which is probably my 2nd favorite song. 3-stars
3
View Album
Thu Apr 25 2024
Cosmo's Factory
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Thoughts before listening: I love CCR. Country influenced rock that came out long before alt-country was ever a thing. I feel like these guys are somewhat overlooked amongst 60s bands despite their massive and enduring hits. I don't know what all is on this album, but I'm sure I'll know most of the songs.
Review: Yeah this is great. CCR just put out so many great songs that have stood the test of time, and many of them are on this album. This starts out with "Ramble Tamble", an all-time great deep cut, before htting you with "Travelin' Band", "Lookin' Out My Back Door", "Run Through the Jungle", "Up Around the Bend", "Who'll Stop the Rain", "I Heard it Through the Grapevine", and "Long as I Can See the Light" all of which are staples that I have listened to throughout my life thanks to classic rock radio. This is easily a 5-star album.
5
View Album
Fri Apr 26 2024
Justified
Justin Timberlake
Thoughts before listening: I've seen Justin Timberlake live. It was pretty good although it was so overproduced it felt more like watching a Broadway musical than a concert. Anyway, I respect him as a singer, and I'm sure I'll recognize some songs on here, but pop music in general just isn't my thing.
Review: This sounds very dated to the early 2000s which is a time I was VERY into music and VERY much opposed to stuff like Justin Timberlake. I am having flashbacks and an immediate negative reaction to this. "Cry Me a River" is the best song here, but I really don't like the rest of it. Sounds like Michael Jackson with less vocal talent. It all just sounds so bland...and the lyrics are embarrassing. 1-star
1
View Album
Sat Apr 27 2024
Hot Rats
Frank Zappa
Thoughts before listening: Zappa is one of those artists that I want to like because I'm told I should like him, and I have tried over and over again...and I find him very polarizing. There are some absolute gems in his catalog but there is also a lot that is unlistenable. Hot Rats falls in the first category. I love this album. Excited to listen this morning.
Review: This album starts out with the great "Peaches en Regalia" which was a song I knew from Phish's cover long before I listened to Frank Zappa. This is followed immediately by "Willie the Pimp", and these represent my favorite songs on the album. I also enjoy "The Gumbo Variations" which even at 12 minutes long never gets boring and keeps great energy throughout. Overall a fun to listen to jazz-rock album that is getting 5-stars.
5
View Album
Sun Apr 28 2024
Step In The Arena
Gang Starr
Thoughts before listening: I know these guys are a big deal in the hip hop world but I've never listened to them. I'm sure this will be good.
Review: Yep...this is the type of hip hop I like. Jazzy beats with cool guitar licks sampled in and laid back vocals...and no skits. These guys were stars of the 90s underground rap scene which is one that I mostly missed at the time but has grown to be my favorite sound in the genre. This was an enjoyable listen this morning. 4-stars.
4
View Album
Tue Apr 30 2024
Gorillaz
Gorillaz
Thoughts before listening: Damon Albarn from Blur with a bunch of studio musicians, producers, and rappers hiding behind cartoon personas. I've never been super into the Gorillaz despite really enjoying some of their songs i.e. "Clint Eastwood".
Review: This is okay. Eclectic sound bringing in a lot of different ideas and styles all with a hip hop beat. Most songs are definitely trip-hop inspired with monotone rapping mixed with Damon Albarn's britpop style, and like a lot of his projects (i.e. Blur and the Good the Bad and the Queen), I feel like there are more ideas than complete songs here. The only song that really grabs me remains "Clint Eastwood" although there are some others I am enjoying like "5/4". 3-stars.
3
View Album
Wed May 01 2024
Sheet Music
10cc
Thoughts before listening: I've heard of 10cc but I know nothing about them. I feel like they maybe had a couple hits in the 70s but were never huge stars. Maybe more of a critic favorite type of band than one that was selling out arenas.
Review: Well this is definitely eclectic. I am getting a bit of a Steely Dan vibe with their melodic, poppy take on rock music with irreverent lyrics and varying styles mixed in throughout. "Clockwork Creep" namechecks Chattanooga in the lyrics so thats an immediate add to the playlist. I also like "The Wall Street Shuffle" and "Silly Love". Overall this is a fun listen that I can tell was likely a favorite of many 80s era indie and college rock bands, especially someone like Ween who was doing their own ironic takes on different styles not typical of a rock band. 3-stars cause while there are good songs its a little inconsistent.
3
View Album
Thu May 02 2024
Street Signs
Ozomatli
Thoughts before listening: Latin inspired hip hop funk group. This band used to hit my radar cause their style got them booked on a lot of the jamband festivals I was going to. Pretty surprised to see them on this list though since I never thought of them as being overly well known.
Review: So Santana's Supernatural album meets Jurassic 5? This isn't bad, but as has often been the case, it feels like the editors missed when trying to guess which mid-00s albums were going to stand the test of time. This has largely been forgotten over the last 20 years, and quite frankly I don't remember it making much of a splash back then either. Best song here is "Saturday Night" which has a chorus that sounds like what Eminem was doing around the same time mixed with a ska style breakdown in the chorus. I am also enjoying the more Latin inspired songs. Very chill sound...this gets 3-stars.
3
View Album
Fri May 03 2024
Hms Fable
Shack
Thoughts before listening: Never heard of this band or seen this album cover, so I have no idea what to expect. I'm sure I am way off but the cover looks like it would be like sea shanty punk or something....it'll probably be some sort of dance music though.
Review: Should have known it was mostly forgotten 90s/00s British pop rock. I was ready to hate on this, and after the first few songs it got better. This started out sounding like Oasis or Blur retreads, but there are some pretty unique and cool songs on the second half of the album such as "Streets of Kenny" and "Re-Instated". Overall this probably isn't one of the 1,001 best albums I've ever heard, but I'll give it 3-stars for having some interesting moments.
3