1001 Albums Summary

Bombastic bilgewater, pretty fun in parts. Exactly what I expected :) Lap of the gods wis guid

Still so good. Shocked that it's 21 years old. 4.5

Grubby bloody hippies and the boring album company more like. The cover art is the most interesting thing about it. Might be wrong but I get a bang of spoiled rich white kids cosplaying a chitlin' circuit blues band off this. Hard to enjoy once that idea takes hold. Also a faint tang of prog rock?!

Nostalgic but still kicks ass.

A bit like eating greens, I can appreciate the qualities but I'm rarely in the mood for a full meal of that. My loss. Really enjoyed taking the time to listen to this whole record.

Oh man, it's a 5. Years since I sat right through it. Still holds up. That the weakest track probably yields the single most beautiful moment tells you something, I think. Ordinary lads, not afraid of beauty.

Over-produced, under song'd, imo.

Quite like the distinctive sound, in moderation. Bit too soft for me. Housey piano is cool but not much dynamic range and I get bored. Hint of Gil Scott Heron i'd not noticed before?

Enjoyed this more than I thought I might. Bit Tom Petty in places? Gets pretty turgid in the middle.

A clean, bright blast of energetic purity.

This is good. But how long!? 😅 Not sure how much of that is attributable to the remixed, repackaged version. Ain't nobody got time for that!

Hmmm. Some really great stuff. Just too long though! Chance to sit through 2+ hrs as a single experience ain't happening. Don't think I'd ever heard 'the love below' all the way through before. 3 & 4

Wasn't really in the mood for this today. Still. Absolutely staggering. Gotta be a 5

It's good. Nice production. Sounds like a Prince record. Probably deserves a 4. But it ain't getting that from me.

Quite good but quite dull.

I can confidently assert that I'll not listen to this again.

Never actually listened to this as an album before. It's great!

Hard af uneasy listening. Excellent!

This is brilliant. Not heard before I can see where Beck nicked a few good ideas.

Don't like it much. Instrumentals are quite good background music but some of the story sounds horrible 😬. 'Fiddle about', you say? Dodgier than P. Townsend's browser history 🤮

Exceptionally good. That opening 5-song run is really great. The warmth.

Not really heard this earlier era of REM properly before. I thought it was brilliant. 4

FFS, cheer up, guy 🙄😂 Was this the birth of stoner rock? I was quite up for hearing this but it wore thin pretty quickly. It sounds like a desert, which is kind of the point I suppose. But I prefer my biospheres greener. Sort of a bridge between G'n'R and QotSA 🤔

It's simply excellent. More nostalgia. My parents had pretty good taste.

This kicks ass. Never heard before but will be listening again

Holy smokes

Sumptuous voice but couldn't really be bothered. Just not my thing I'm afraid

I dunno man. Lovely voice, some charming lyrics. Still sounds boring MoR to me 😥

More MoR, albeit quite good.

Was enjoying it up until the godawful cover of hard to handle. From a potential 4 to a 2 right there. Slick but so derivative

Couple of bangers to top and tail, with some total dross filler

Willing to accept I'm probably missing some nuance but it didn't do much for me. Can't win em' all

Good but not her greatest imho.

When I was a kid all I heard was the violence. Now I have a bit more context I hear more emotional range. I hear hyper vigilance and vulnerability. Violence is only ever directed at white supremacists. There's no real cussin'. No real misogyny. It's a mature piece of work, even quite funny sometimes. Even the title seems like a wry wee joke. Still, I'm an East coast guy and the production ain't always my favourite.

I liked it more than I thought I might but still not a total convert

Awesome songs, amazing singer.

I'd never even heard of this. Bollywood/hippy/funk. Lush orchestration, even a hint of mariachi. I like it!

A fine line between coherent and samey. Too damn long as an album. Quite fun but needs an edit.

Utmost respect, but I'm not mad for this record

A time and a place. Really strong record but dated a wee bit

Never heard this album before as a whole though I know a few songs already. Love it

Not my usual vibe but fairly enjoyable. Little water song I was thinking sounded like a female Nick Cave and yeah, sure enough 🥲

Frathouse rock. Well executed and pretty fun but ultimately a bit monotone

Never been a big fan of Eddie Vedder's voice but this is a solid album to be fair

The third Who record that's come up for me in about the past month. I can only surmise that they really are a 'greatest hits' band. Some great high spots but an awful lot dross too

Pretty sad and depressing but really quite impressive.

Quite astonishing as a single piece of work. Peak Stones. Gotta be a 5

I'm more of a New Order guy but this is not as grimly depressing as I remember 🥲

Meh. Quite good, quite twee, quite three

Pretty guid. Almost a cliché but I suppose it's only that way because it was popular in the first place. On the fence between a 3 and a 4

Just so solid.

Tinseltown is still amazing but as a whole album don't enjoy it all that much

Not heard before. First impression is favourable.

Sandpaper bubblegum

Big shrug. What's the fuss about?

The worst kind of technically accomplished but overindulgent, soulless toss

Woah. This is fantastic. Heard the name before (courtesy of tfc) but need to explore his catalogue. Near Neil Young level songwriting, without the somewhat divisive singing voice. Superb

Dope.

I love DM's signature synthy sound but I can rarely be arsed to listen to a whole record of their actual songs 🤷🏻‍♂️

It was good. Never heard before. Sticking with a 3 today but certainly deserves a second listen.

Hokey but a seminal era. Split the difference between 1 and 5

Pretty darn good. Though there are a few more filler tracks than I remember. Maybe this is one where streaming/shuffle culture has damaged great albums as we expect wall-to-wall hits.

Oh man, Killer alright. Imagine being in the crowd for this one 🤯

Bloody hell man. Better than I remember. That said, it'd be better still if it was 20 mins shorter. Those last couple of jawns are a waste

Pretentious, portentous, slick, camp, competent. Not for me but can see why it's popular. Sort of.

So good. How old was Hill when she made this? Maybe 30? An almost unbelievable amount of wisdom and assurance. Barely any fat on this record despite being really long

Man alive. Scarcely believable number of radio hits for a single album. Impressive, even if it is a bit more MoR then some of their other efforts

This is great. Not sure it's really classifiable as a full album but hey, not really my place to judge.

Another one where although the playing is impressive it leaves me cold. Noodling

Really liked this. Needs more listens

Really quite enjoyable. A shame for them they were probably running a couple of years behind the British invasion and the Beach Boys: but some good pop songs on here

So good

This is rad. Too much to digest in a single take though. Short tracks, inventiveness, guitar rips! I need to go back to this

I thought it would be wack and it was. Abundantly wack in almost every regard 😬

Probably a 3 star effort in reality. Some dreadful lyrics. Gets a 4 for sentimental reasons, with its energy and impact at the time. The lyrics are mostly terrible though!

Tough one. I wanted to like this; looks like it should be right up my street. Other than that awesome cover of Grapevine though, I just didn't get into it 🫤

This is pretty much why punk had to happen. Like some of the California jazz jam nonsense, this is massively proficient but shows barely an ounce of soul or emotion. There are moments of beauty but just doesn't float my boat. Put the organ away lads.

Here I am, 44 years old, walking the dog at 7:20 on a dark, dull, muddy December morning; tears in my eyes as the sunshine goodness of Hometown Unicorn floods my ears. Bias acknowledged, I was 16 when this record came out and have loved it ever since. Was thrilled (and surprised) when it popped up on the list. Unbelievably good run of songs at the start. Close to a 5 but I reckon that is rare territory and there are a couple of slightly flatter tracks later on. Head and shoulders above the Britpop nonsense that was happening at the same time. "You and I, United by itemised bills"

It's pretty great. Wee bit too long?

Enjoyed it but probably not enough to go rushing back.

Pretty good. Not amazing by any stretch but enjoyed it more than I anticipated

Quite good but it doesn't excite me much

It's great

Other than Pin, Maps, and a couple of slower tracks near the end, I couldn't be bothered with this today. It's a band with a good sound and a charismatic frontwoman but sorry, for my money this is not a great album

Rad. I can see what the fuss was about. Knew a couple of songs already but they're all excellent. 1973!

Really good. A rich stew

Something tiresome is the amount of well known albums that are linked to on streaming services as extended 'deluxe' versions. I don't wanna hear out takes, b-sides or remixes unless I'm a super fan. This one was particularly bad: 3 versions of a cover version. Just play me the album as the artist intended, especially for a daily taster session like this. I was enjoying this a lot to start with. Tapered off big time though. Quiet Life is a great track.

Oddly, although I consider myself a pretty big fan of Neil Young I don't think I've ever heard this as a complete album. Obviously it's great. More country than a lot of his stuff, which might be more of an acquired taste for some; but I really enjoyed it.

Astonishing that this is from 1977. When the filth and fury of punk was getting the headlines, these guys were working out this pin-sharp art-pop-funk. The band is lean and tight. The frontman sounds weird but charismatic. The tricky thing is, if you've come to talking heads late, through stuff like Stop Making Sense, you're probably expecting more 'hits'. So it's simultaneously amazing but also slightly forgettable.

Well-crafted, thoughtful power-pop. Obviously 'Another Girl...' is a classic in any genre. The rest doesn't live quite up to that but it's an enjoyable listen.

For me, this is probably Beck's best album. Love it

Wonderfully serene

Boring tosh. (I know, I know, it's poor form to belittle the artistic endeavours of others etc. Whatever.)

I acknowledge its inherent goodness. But can I enjoy it much? Meh, not really. Feels quite proggy, quite stodgy, quite boring.

I kind of feel like I should like PJ Harvey. But sorry, I just don't get on with this album very well.

Pretty much has to be the definitive 'hipster-approved/quite tasteful' Christmas album. All good

Nae bad

I was a bit distracted and didn't manage to listen to this in a single sitting, so I'll need to come back to this in future. That said, the music is brilliant so I'm confident I'll want to come back.

Sad, disorienting, weird, pretty amazing. I still find a lot of the music dissonant and hard going (though there are some sweet hymns in there too) but the voice and the stories are incredible. Strikingly distinctive

I almost can't believe how much we lapped this up at the time. Lumpen lyrics, lumpen music 😬 Still has some last remnants of the Definitely Maybe energy - but let's be honest, it's not really a top 50 record of the year, let alone a multi million selling powerhouse 🤷🏻‍♂️ I mean, there still are a handful of decent moments but in retrospect the Quoasis jibes were fully justified.

Real good.

Sweet nursery rhymes, cabaret ballads and glam pop stomps about junkies, queers, and general New York degradation, dissipation and despair. Sung by a bad-tempered, flat-pitched weirdo. Probably should be toe-curlingly strange and bad but it's the complete opposite of that. Astonishing

Banger. Best Steely Dan record imo

Sort of Southern rock's equivalent of The Strokes. The aesthetic is loose but the overall effect is actually quite tight and polished. Spawned quite a lot of pale imitations but this is a very good, consistent record.

So this slams. But an hour of it is pretty exhausting. Not my genre, though I can appreciate the intensity, power and accuracy. Weird take: some of this is actually quite melodic, and the vocals are super clear (English as a second language effect?), so it comes on at times like a thrash ABBA 😅

Archetypal hair metal. Bombast. Bright-ass (over) production. Drums like they're played in an aircraft hangar full of mics. Noodly overdrive guitars, with very little in the way of actual memorable tunes. Very silly mantra-like lyrics, mostly about shagging and that. Quite funny. Quite fun. Pretty stupid. A Pirelli calendar of a record. Titillating in passing but sad (and a bit of a red flag to be honest) if that's your definition of art. Fully aware this makes me sound a pretentious killjoy. Maybe I am. But up yours Def Leppard 😆🖕

Brilliant. Was familiar with a couple of the lead singles, and really liked the follow-up album, Introvert. This is rock solid all the way through. Smart, highly attuned, empathic, moving.

A take I don't think I've seen: a lot of this is like a shoegaze record. It sounds like Ride. Fitting I suppose for a new frontman coming out from behind the drumkit. It's good and melodic but a wee bit MoR.

I dig Method Man but this album was never quite on a par with some of the other Wu Tang offshoot projects, or indeed his Redman collaborations. Meth is one of the best when he's contributing a guest verse or two to other people's tracks but I don't rate him so highly for carrying a whole album or even a full track. This is good but not great.

If I'm brutally honest, it's too long and has a handful of fillers on there. But it still rules. Giving it a 5 for its inventiveness (and my own sentimental reasons); but imagine how much leaner it could be if it was 12 tracks/40 mins. Mind you, the flaws (if you can even call the odd b-side track a flaw) are what makes it. Would I change it? Nah, probably not

I was interested when this popped up as really like some of The The's stuff but nah, sorry, not a fan. Was surprised how little I liked it. No doubt deserves another attempt at some point but it left me fairly cold this time.

Liked it more than I thought I might. Needs another spin

Biggest mismatch between cover art assumptions and reality? American wuss, more like 😅

Mid, tbh. Good, but

Expertly crafted bluesy power pop. Pretty good. Doesn't rock my world but enjoyable enough.

Bleak af

Hilariously camp panto (Campomime?) A theatre nerd's second-hand idea of what rock n' roll might feel like. There something rural about it. Something virginal. Maybe that's why it's popular? The sort of gear that's quite fun if it pops up on the radio but I'm unlikely to ever seek out. Does it have a sense of irony? I reckon not. Does that matter? 🤷🏻‍♂️

Some great stuff here. Very modern sounding: the way some tracks are layered up with samples sounds like the good ambient house music from 10 or 15 years later. Saying that, it starts to get boring and ultimately seems to peter out. Needs another spin

Kind of wanted to like this but I found it twee and boring

This band's level of popularity is baffling to me. The guy (yeah, I know) is a good lyricist, with a lovely mellow singing voice. But the overall effect to me is somehow less than the sum of its parts. Lounge music, but a wee bit more introspective and ultimately a bit of a downer.

This is brilliant. Got 2 plays today. It'll get more in future

This was enjoyable. Incredible voice. Strikes me the production was a bit westernised and synthetic. But I enjoyed the discovery

I found it muddled. Starts out somewhere between pavement, beck, and the beta band, without being as good as any of those. Then gets bossa nova and jazz on the go. Weirdly forgettable for all that.

Very good. Particularly enjoyed the second side. Half and half in terms of familiarity, so it was good to hear it afresh

Really rather enjoyed this. Not a million miles away from Cream, in terms of the playing is pretty great and it's not overly-heavy. Should probably give it a 4

Very nice. Didn't affect me in a big way like some of the Richard & Linda Thomson stuff but great record.

Sheer pompous HUBRIS. The best bit is the intro; scored by Morricone, performed by the orchestra and therefore nothing whatsoever to do with Metallica. And this mf is over 2 hours long 😧 Visceral dislike and a true test of endurance to get through this. These guys are absolute tossers 😅🖕

Enjoyable but the spell wore off a bit for me towards the end

Not my usual genre but the energy is pretty astonishing. A touch melodramatic perhaps but the thrash-funk sound and dynamics are pretty rad. I appreciated the tight rage attack

Lightweight and largely forgetable

Pretty much the apex of the album-as-artefact era. 14 songs, 34 minutes; inventiveness, pathos, silliness, experimentation, charm. Not even my favourite Beatles record but by gum, we'll never see their like again. Retains drops of twee naivety but mixed with the start of psychedelic rock. The full gamut.

It's a shorter line than you think from Bruce to Meatloaf. Gather round the ol' joanna for some overwrought storysongs about automobiles-as-freedom. Maybe. Could be great if you're in the mood but fill in that blank... *key change*... **sax solo**

Respect the artist? Yes. Relate to the artwork? Ach, not so much.

Pastoral. Some charm but excellence somehow always just out of reach. Didn't really resonate

Almost unbelievably on-the-nose prescience. Maybe it took a few of the rest of us 20+ years to truly catch up. And I guess most still haven't. A classic.

Batshit crazy, with a few moments of brilliance. Would have loved to have seen these dudes live. But a track like gang bang can gtfo quite frankly. Tell you what though; the first couple of tracks start with 4/4 glam/blues stomp drums and piano stabs... were SAHB tantalisingly close stumbling onto the Chicago House sound about 10 years early? 😅

Nincompoopery;. Though I mostly mean that in a sense of affectionate fun here.

Got to hand it to Knopfler; the guy can obviously play like an absolute beast but he's also capable of something more: the exercise of restraint. This record is stacked with riffs and the songs ain't half bad. Even the 80s production sound hasn't agreed badly; just sounds appropriate to its era and mostly fairly tasteful. Must be the right kind of fame as well: create a multimillion-selling monster then return to a low profile life. Respect

Demands a closer listen than I was able to give it today. Really good. Will give it another spin

Music for adverts. There's something really uncanny-valley and inauthentic about Moby. Can't quite put my finger on why I feel like that. In fairness he did stumble on a popular formula but it is exactly that: formulaic.

Take On Me and The Sun Always Shines... are all-time slices of sheer pop perfection. It shouldn't come as a massive surprise that the rest of the album struggles to match that. Some of it comes off like ersatz Bowie, some of it is Mel n' Kim level. Enjoyable enough though

I like Bob Marley (of course, who doesn't?) but I have to be honest, this washed over me with hardly a ripple

I don't enjoy all the medievalist schtick tbh. Morning Glory and Pleasant Street are nice enough. Undoubtedly a beautiful voice but I just didn't enjoy the album very much

As a sort of gateway record I suppose it's irrelevant whether (or not) this is credibly good. If it turned a few suburban kids on to eventually explore and buy from among the wider reaches of hip hop, maybe that's got some value? And of course, it provided the springboard for Lauren Hill to go massive. So fair play, but it's still pretty stilted.

This was alright but I didn't find it as arresting as the earlier Love and Hate album. Will keep listening out for the lad though

Cracking. Imperial phase PSB

I don't mind a wee bit of UK garage but this is boring. Sincere is a good track but I find much of the rest to be just a couple of rungs up the musical ladder from shopping mall lift muzak. The type of gear playing in the second room at the sort of club I wouldn't really want to be at.

Sparse, bleak, arresting, excellent.

Not only did Dylan tap into into this rich vein of poetic magic, somehow he was able to keep working it for absolutely years and years. Mind boggling. This is probably a 5 star album but I'm giving it a 4 today just because

I used to assume I didn't like country music but I now realise that was a blinkered kind of inverse bigotry. This is pretty great. Still not giving top marks as I'm unlikely to reach for it (I tend towards British folk if I'm looking to scratch a trad. itch) but I did find it a very enjoyable listen.

Odd serendipity: yesterday threw up Emmylou Harris, today brings this up-to-date take on sweet, reflective country. Found it an enjoyable listen. Even a touch of Sufjan Stevens in the banjo style in places? Never heard of Ms Musgrave's before but this was a perfect Sunday morning kitchen listen.

Ambivalence. Some aspects of RHCP I really admire. Sometimes I think they are almost unintentional self-parody. Great moments but then it gets so samey.

Sort of apocalypse horror metal. Sounds alright but still scores low for me as I just didn't really jibe with it

Was not familiar with this at all but it immediately demands a repeat listen. I guess I was expecting something bleaker or more earnest but it's really good

Dinosaur Jr. is a band I really like in small-to-medium doses. I love the overdriven sound but this whole album in one sitting starts to feel a bit stodgy.

Really like the cure as a singles band though I find this as a complete work gets very ponderous.

I acknowledge the genuine excellence of Ms. Badu and her band. But it don't half go... on and on 😅 Seriously, why did artists stop knocking out tight 40 minute records? I know the format initially stemmed from what could fit on a 12" record but that constraint also improved quality control on the tracklist. I enjoyed listening to this for 45 mins but by 80 I was honestly getting bored.

Pretty amazing. Hugely sampled/covered hits. Heavily front-loaded album though.

I find this more accessible than some of Harvey's earlier records. Plenty to enjoy on here and I think I'm more attuned to it now that I would've been 20 years ago.

The sort of album I might make if I didn't know I shouldn't.

Reminiscent of Kruder & Dorfmeister. So downtempo that even when it speeds up a bit it's almost comically soporific. Good though

Hmmm, tricky one. Ambivalent about the whole project. Real sense of unease about creepy old Malcolm appropriating the sound of young black and hispanic New Yorkers. That said, quite a few tracks are genuinely good, and it hangs together quite well as a piece despite the random mash-up approach. I hope all the artists got paid properly I suppose, not just the old swindler.

Front loaded with bangers. Resolves into eminently forgettable studio noodling.

Never heard this before. Thought it was great. Real hardcore.

This is great though I can't help feeling it's not quite as good as a Neil Young 'solo' record might have been. Possibly a terrible take?

It's ok. Despite a couple of real classics on here I won't be rushing back. Patchy.

Not for me. Dislike most aspects of this

This is a work of near-genius but not necessarily from the obvious source. Without Andrew Weatherall at the controls, I suspect Primal Scream themselves would have come up with a third of an album worth of forgettable, Black-Crowes-Lite/Texas jams. Even as it is, the material is stretched a bit thin but at least AW makes it feel like a reasonably interesting collection of 12" dubs. It's a justified spaced-out classic; once you get onto that trip, you're in for the duration.

<usual Morrissey-is-a-knob disclaimer here/> Phenomenal record. Excellent musicianship. Crisp production. Great lyrics; some poignant, some funny, some daft, nearly all interesting. I'm not a huge Smiths head but this is a really rewarding listen and so evocative of a certain sense of place and time.

Oh damn, this is incredible. Cool and fun sounds from 70 years ago 🤯

Bloody hell. Absolutely spine-tingling from start to finish.

Blimey. On a reflective Sunday morning, the opening couple of tracks on this landed HARD. Heartbroken old boy hymns. What's worse, the unrelenting horny frustrations of the younger man, or the feeling that chapter of life has ended and you no longer care? Leonard knows. Making his peace with a god he no longer wants to believe in. Love it.

Depending on mood, often my favourite Beatles record, which puts Abbey Road at or near the top of a very illustrious pile. I mean, Maxwell and Octopus are very silly but aside from that, amazing. The sweep of side 2 is mind boggling.

Maudlin and pedestrian (neither of which are necessarily bad things but you know... meh)

Sounds good, if you fancy some doomy, heavy gear. It so happens that today I did not.

Ah, the Morrissey paradox. The guy is so obviously sad, damaged and lonely that I can't help but feel quite sorry for him. But his entire public persona for the last 30+ years send to have been to make himself as dislikeable as possible. A real arsehole, but one who still made plenty of objectively good records. This is decent, not great, but definitely a diverting listen. Begrudging respect.

RIP and mad respect to Neil Kulkarni, the (as far as I know) originator of the "would I trust them to make me a sandwich?" test, for musicians in general but 70s rockers in particular. Anyway, probably pretty obvious where I'm going with this. Is this a behemoth of a record? Yes. Does it have some astounding playing? Again, yes. Do I actually like it? Nah, not a huge amount. I'm not such a fan of Robert Plant's histrionic vocal stylings to be honest. And would I let any of them anywhere near my sandwich? Would I fuck, the grubby-fingered, sleazy gits. If I'm ever in the market for a round of reefer-ash-with-a-hint-of-spunk on rye, I'll let you dudes know, ok? 😅

The parts don't quite add up. I have a slight soft spot for Supergrass and this is decent, well-crafted pop. But I don't much like it 🤷🏻‍♂️

Started out pretty much hating this. For a little spell towards the end of the middle, I actually got right into it. Then by the end I was hating it again. Some of the production is unbelievably ahead of its time. Some of the story arc really seems to predict internet culture and the threat of misinformation about 30 years early. First citing of 'brain worms' maybe? For all that, it's still not my cup of tea. Too long, too pompous, too preachy.

Wistful and restrained

Sounds excellent and I'd like to revisit it at some point

It kicks ass obviously and in all sorts of ways. Cumulatively it does leave me feeling a bit like I ate too much ice cream or something though

Lonesome ditties evocative of driving a pickup truck across a plain somewhere. Not really my vibe but perfectly pleasant and I do respect the craft. Sorry for the low score, I'm feeling harsh and I don't anticipate this being a record I'll come back to.

I think Dr Dre is a damaged, nasty bastard and this is a grim piece of work. And though some of the production and sound engineering here is jaw dropping, I've never been on board with the adoration this record gets, or the genius status afforded to Dre. It's an adolescent violent revenge fantasy of a record. The trademark G-funk sound is incredible but the bars are horrible (except for some of Snoop's features) and the feeling I get is that it's been bullied into existence. I don't really know who's responsible for the odd brilliant moment, I just know that Dre is taking all the credit. I'd go as far as to say this put me off the whole West coast scene for a good while. One of those paradoxes: I really do recognise it deserves a place in the 1001 canon because of what it represents... but I'm scoring it low as I just don't like it and I'll not reach for it. Possibly dodgy lukewarm take: this record propagates institutionally racist and sexist hegemony: brim full of negative stereotypes and painting whole city districts as no go zones. No thanks.

Weirdly different to some of his other stuff. A Doors-meets-funk jam, full of sex. Pretty good

I'm quite into this. Needs some repeat listens. Luke Haines seems to want to recast himself as a sort of rakish, silent-era matinee baddie. Not sure if that's entirely successful but it is fun.

Hmmm. Genesis of an iconic career but didn't find it all that arresting

Mad. I thought 'cool water' was a Coen brothers' parody; but here it is, without a hint of (big) irony. It's kind of great but more of a curio than a real repeat listen.

3rd Beatles album that's come up for me quite recently, 3rd legend. Was my favourite of theirs when I was a kid; it's not my favourite now but it is still remarkable

Absurdly bleak. I remember borrowing this from the library in my teens: not exactly Laden with mixtape bangers to impress a pal or woo a prospective girlfriend. I love it

Exile is an odd one for me. I know plenty of people rate it as the Stones' best record and I can see how it garners classic status but I've never much enjoyed it as a whole. Maximum swampy bloozeness, not that fun to listen to.

Never heard most of this before. Pastoral Nuggets. Pretty nice. Some a bit too English and twee, some quite Kinks-esque, some really quite experimental and fresh sounding. Thumb up

Minor heresy: I've never really understood what the level of fuss around Nirvana was about. I like the slower ones and the unplugged record which I guess that marks me as some sort of softie. Some of the harsher tracks I find quite formulaic, albeit with extra abrasive delivery and lyrical content. Don't get me wrong, I can see that this is a good album from a strong band, it's just not one I'll voluntarily sit through for pleasure.

Pretty class

What a band! What an energy! Awe inspiring

Unbelievable. A tight, shiny masterpiece. When session players make a chance and go Gonzo...

Actively despise this arsehole and everything he represents. The horrible music is an irrelevance at this point. I listened to it but I didn't wanna. ☠️ People talk a lot about separating art from the artist, often to justify continued enjoyment of the things they like while becoming more aware of the personal failings of some creators. With this guy there's no need for that though, it's a singularity of degenerate, provocative crap and the sick scumbag hiding in plain sight who led its creation. No amount of slick production can mask that. It doesn't give me much pleasure to note that time has proved me right on this one.

Very good

As rad as a pair of sick troop hightops paired with a dayglo-accent shellsuit. In other words then, not very. It was fun at the time but dated quickly, athough it certainly has its moments 😎

I suppose one of the challenges with soundtracks, whether real or imagined, is that they often need their accompanying visuals to really land. I respect the concept and the skill here but ultimately didn't find it a very exciting listen.

Godawful, damaged, whiney, shouty shite. Terrible cover, terrible record, massively overlong. And when they rap? Laughably bad. Not quite 1-star rotten but it was extremely close.

It's great. Not much more I can say really, a warm, rich sound.

Unexpectedly excellent. A plaintive Dear John letter which says, in a nutshell: Loretta is sick and tired of your nonsense, buddy.

The aural equivalent of eating your greens; you know it's good for you but it can feel like hard work at times. Maybe I'll know when I'm a fully fledged grown up when this clicks into place and I choose to put it on without prompting. Definitely getting closer but still maybe a little way off 😆

Bob Dylan, eh? Bloody hell... Even when he's being faintly ridiculous he's still amazing.

Didn't have too many preconceptions; I've heard a few radio hits of course but never listened to a full Taylor Swift album before. Blimey, it's actually really great! Good to know that the hype and exposure is backed up by serious talent.

Pretty good. No more, no less

Is it in danger of sounding a bit schmaltzy to modern ears? Maybe. Is it still extremely good? Yes. I'm probably under-rating it a bit here

Weird: I seem to remember this record including more hits. Still pretty darn good, mind you.

Kind of an interesting one. Must have started out as a pastiche pisstake (albeit from a place of affection and knowledge) then morphed into a legitimate and pretty strong album in its own right. Genuinely funny in places (a love ballad to an STD? I mean, come on) and actually winds up almost as good as the AC/DC or Maiden records it emulates.

This surprised me a little. How have I never heard this before? Really pretty good. Deserves a revisit. Strangely high chance I won't bother

I was feeling a little bit cynical towards this: more British white guys pretending they're saviours or perfectors of the blues? However, have to say it's excellent, by midway through I was well into it.

Slightly better than expected

Wait a minute... I felt like there was something a bit fishy about today's link. Double checked and it turned out YT had pitched me a record from 2003, which I didn't enjoy much. But let's rewind and see how we get on with the intended debut from 1986... nope, couldn't really engage with that on a very meaningful level either. Weird, as my expectation was that I'd like it. Oh well. Can't win em all.

"The body of Venus, with arms", haw haw, good one guys. 5/5 for the riffs but all told it's A Touch Too Much

Okay

Nah, not really for me thanks

New one on me. Rather liked it. Bit of a palate cleanser. Too long mind you

A clever trick; sounds pretty avant garde while also being mainstream pop. Cars was literally number 1 in the chart the week I was born, and still sounds sharp today. Liked this record a lot

Stunningly good. The musicianship is great and it weighs a tonne. Noice

This came as an absolutely perfect wake up call as I jumped on my bike at 6.05 this morning. Short, noisy, perfectly formed

Absolutely dreadful. No love whatsoever for these guys. Saying that, I think I once had lunch in a Harvester of Sorrow🫠

Hmmm, very much on the fence with this one. Abba are obviously brilliant at their best but I didn't much want to sit through many of the more formulaic, cabaret-style tunes. Maybe just me, for today it's a 3

Slightly nonplussed today. I do like them though I don't often listen again

Nailed-on, certified classic. Probably my second-favourite massive attack record, and that's a crowded field

Woah, second day in a row for Bristolian trip hop royalty. This should probably be a 4 but its bleak, claustrophobic sprawl is actually not the easiest listen so, regretfully, it's getting a 3 today.

Unbelievable record really, from a true one-off mega-talent. Sounds like it should be too weird to go mainstream but somehow it's crammed with hits. Sheer charisma.

I remember hearing Diz absolutely destroy some mumble rappers on an American radio show a few years back: his flow was like some crazy future gear by comparison. I find this record a challenge to sit through as a whole though, works better in smaller doses imo.

Reminiscent of the recent Darkness album which came up: this must have provided much of the template for that, albeit without any hint of irony or humour. Not much worse for that though; it's just an enjoyable listen and a pretty iconic, clean sound.

Amazing. Definitely could be a 5 star record if it was 20 mins shorter. So cool and so inventive though.

Well, I've battled through this a few times before. I want to like it because of what it represents, yet still I find it nigh unlistenable.

Super record. Quality seconds indeed

Amazing voice, great concert recording, classics from the songbook, tight band bashing it out. What's not to enjoy?

Impossible not to like the rock n roll energy

Sounds good, competent, accomplished. Went in one ear and out the other.

Could not be bothered with this today and quite frankly found the record a bit tiresome. I'll try again some other time but for now it's a poor score

Not much to say. Couple of all time great tracks

Want to like this more than I actually do in reality. Remixes routinely better than originals. Too long, too noodley. Joke title is the cleverest bit about it.

Not really sure what I was expecting, maybe a touch of postmodern snark or something. But this is quite a straightforward country crooner album. Ms Lang has a nice voice, the songs are quite plaintive and the arrangements are traditional-in-a-good-way. I rather liked it

Oh man. Tender, sad, elegiac. Very nice

It is cheesy but I rather enjoyed this while gazing wistfully from the window of a train heading north though the Highlands. Always kind of think of Billy Joel as a horrible wee guy but there's some good story-songs here.

Very good. Not sure why I haven't listened to this in so long but it's nice to rediscover it now

I liked it quite a lot

It's wonderful. Not much more to say

Jason Spaceman is a low-key broken genius. These gospel nursery rhymes are built on simple foundations but contain great depth. Clue is in the name I suppose but these are yearning incantations. Beautiful, tightly composed, tinged with regret and sadness but also hope. A dope-sick hymn to the cosmos. Too long but so what, it's great.

Extraordinary. I'll be coming back to this one

In the past I've had the feeling I'm missing part of the MBV jigsaw. Like, I know they're doing something clever and worthy but I just don't quite understand it. Re-listening to this now goes a long way towards making me reassess that. I'm hearing the melodies more. Enjoying it more. I'm 30-odd years late to the party but feel like maybe I've almost cracked their code.

Thank you 1k generator. Another exceptional joint I've not had the pleasure of hearing before. Brilliant stuff.

This sounds great. Not sure I managed to give it the concentration it deserves today, so I'll be back for another listen

Oh yeah. First thought was 'big 5 stars'. The opening 4 or 5 tracks are flawless. If there's a pair of better wistful ballads than 'thirteen' and 'el goodo', I can't think of them. Absolutely wonderful stuff. Sadly it does go off the boil a bit but tremendous record still.

Bombastic and a bit silly, but quite entertaining

Staggering talent. I understand why his voice can be a bit divisive but for me, Neil Young is a mega, generational star. So much soul and pathos. Phenomenal songwriting.

Feel like sometimes the Byrds' reputation outstrips their output. Some of this comes across like unused tape cuttings from a Beatles studio floor. A bit noodly and inconsequential. Suspect I'd hear more from this on repeat listens but I'm afraid for today, on first impression, it's a low score.

Looking beyond its role in Half Man, Half Biscuit's very accurate skewering of a certain type of middle class Englishness, this is still a legitimately brilliant record. Master craftsmen and women doing what they do best.

Weirdly, I think of this as a Christmas album. It's really very good but also a bit worthy and twee. On the fence.

Fairly enjoyable. Interesting how stuff which was supposedly unfeasibly heavy at the time in retrospect seems quite tame.

Old timey drinking ballads. Pretty cool and a mellow listen but not really my thing in the long run. A decent curio

Schlock rock. Decent

One of the best records of the 90s, in any genre. Yes it's a bit too long and could stand to lose 2 or 3 tracks - but as a whole it's a certified 100% banger

I don't have the patience for this jolly hokum. Immaculate production of course; of a caterwauling cavalcade of sideshow tinged, swanee-whistle riddled, clippety-clop, honky-tonk nonsense.

Astonishing how much of this I can accurately remember despite not hearing it through for 20+ years. Never been a true Eminem fan but it's hard not to admire a lot of his wordplay. Get rid of some skits, the badly-dated inflammatory nonsense, and the flabbier verses (along with some of the more rinky-dink musical backings) and there's probably an ultra-strong ten or twelve track record locked inside this one's boot and headed for the parapet.

Not bad. Couple of classic tracks, couple of spots that drag on a bit. A decent listen

Interesting, though not to the extent that I need to explore to much further. I feel bad for this but in a crowded field it's a low score for me

Basically bookmarking this to re-examine in future. Not familiar with the album at all (though have heard a handful of the tracks before) but it's got some excellent stuff.

This sounded great. Need to come back to it another time

I find it hard to grade outkast. I don't consider them a true favourite but do think they're inherently great. Smart guys. Full gamut from pop smash hits like Ms Jackson, to stank-ass Southern trap music (and even a cameo from a young Killer Mike). There a lot to chew on. Even skits and off cuts are way shaper than average.

I like this quite a lot. Sedate and soulful

Loved the start, went off it a bit

Pretty gutted for the most part, pretty forgettable in some.

This was unexpected. Wild stuff. Nigh unlistenable to my ear but jeez, the manic energy. Advanced level freaky business. I see its merit, I just don't want to have to listen to it.

Thought I'd love this then I got a bit bored tbh

Quite entertaining. I can see why it was a hit and has longevity. I do find it a bit odd the whole schtick but what the heck do I know

Started out thinking it was frenetic and dated, ended thinking it was a cool, roll-neck-sweatered, Riviera boat-chase of a record.

Never heard this before. Pretty great 👍

Messy and arresting art. I'm not sure 'enjoy' is quite the right word but I was invested and engaged

For the most part, I found it a touch monotonous. There, I said it 😥

I love q-tip's vocal style though today I found the overall production a bit meh. Probably need a repeat listen or two to get into it

Extraordinary. I sometimes find the production too clipped and bright but I guess you could argue that's also a big part of what makes it unique*. The opening three songs are particularly great. Form, lyrical content, performance; superb. *Not to hate on it, I also feel that way about some other Fridmann productions, e.g. the Delgados and some Mercury Rev. Would love to hear a remastering of some of these records.

Horny swamp rock, with some peculiarly synthetic, chrome-plated sheen. Moderately diverting and a bit enigmatic. What are they hiding?

Pub rock not punk rock. Pretty great

Gives me a whiff of that dreaded term 'adult contemporary' 😬 though it's still actually pretty rad in places 😌

Rippers

This was good. Second Elliott Smith record in quite short order and I preferred this one

This was a stunning discovery. Never heard of before. Loved it. Touches of Calexico. Better. Moments of great beauty to revisit.

Never quite a classic imo but does stand up well. Still like it, still sounds clean

From the more accessible end of The Fall's catalogue, still with enough weirdness and dread to keep it interesting

It's tricky; I like quite a lot of it. Maybe somewhere in here lurks a 38-minute, tight, 4-star album. But I find it a bit too narco nod-off in places, sludgy, or like a low(er)brow Spiritualized.

I've never really felt drawn towards getting into Jane's Addiction but I enjoyed this a lot today. Very solid record.

Bit more tuneful than I anticipated. Exhausting though

It's great. Not quite as avant-garde as some would have you believe. Rich and intriguing.

Strong start, tending mid

Simply magnificent. It's lean, it's smart, the playing is superb.

Really inventive, really good

What is this? Sort of prog pop? A wee bit camp. A wee bit funky. More than a hint of Joel/John piano-man. A dash of Pink Floyd. Quite enjoyable really.

I almost forgot to get to this today. It's pretty good. Smart lyrics, tight production. Starts very strong, declines

Insufferably pleasant, swingless jazz-lite. Boring, soulless, nepo-baby shoppingmall musak. Maybe this will stir you if you want to feel like you're hanging out in a Starbucks on your own, in 2003.

So beautiful it almost becomes cliché. Soundtrack to 1,001 soaring-vista'd HD nature documentaries 🫠

I'll level with you, this possibly deserves a better mark but I listened while commuting and I'm not sure I gave it the level of attention it deserves. Sounds good, missed some nuance

Legitimately pretty good fun

Quality silliness with some old skool bangers

Ambivalent. More murky muddy than I remember, overlong; vs. actual genius at work, heavy blue jazz.

I know it's not meant to be '1,001 BEST albums...' but still, not sure how this makes it onto the list. Nor can I understand how The Verve were so popular at the time, particularly with their indie-lads fanbase. Ponderous music under some very maudlin songs. I mean, it is pretty good but you know... Overdose dirges atop the pop chart? Different times 🙃

Strange one: I don't really like much of it. But I can appreciate its edge. Very brave subject matter for its time. And 3 or 4 classic tracks on there.

The hits are pretty epic to be sure. The rest, I find rather forgettable.

Frequently wonderful though not necessarily the sort of thing I'll naturally reach for. +3 indeed

Not as bad as I feared it might be. Not my vibe but I suppose I can see how it's popular. Rock/hip-hop crossovers can and should be more exciting than this though.

Hadn't drawn a parallel in my mind before, between Annie Lennox and Grace Jones. Giving similar synth-funk ice-queen vibes. The production on this is just so sharp and shiny. It's good. I still probably won't want listen to it again but it is good.

Stupidly, hilariously bombastic. Formulaic, but man, what a formula. Excellent

Righteous, focused anger and right-on social commentary. Smart, direct lyricism. Dope beats. Strong recommend. Absolutely all the subject matter is still highly relevant 32+ years later 🤯 Franti is basically a sage and we collectively have learned almost nothing.

Abrasive. I didn't get into this so much at the time. I rated '...Dark Twisted Fantasy' much more as a record but, with hindsight, this is also close to bringing the Ye-game. The sense I get from Kanye is that despite always acting hard, he's essentially a soft lad, full of yearning. Aside from his well publicised foibles and troubles, it makes him an oddly compelling character. The musical landscape always feels more interesting when he's releasing his better material.

Competent schmalz-rock balladeering. Goes in one ear and out the other, signifying very little that I can discern.

Don't think I'd ever heard of this guy, or this record. Good; I'm up for obscure discoveries (or unknown to me at any rate). This is a bright, jangly, enjoyable country rock romp.

Swaggering

Right on, man. Right on.

Darn good set

Nice to see this on the list, if a touch surprising: in my mind it's maybe SFA's 4th or 5th best record. And I don't mean that as a back-handed compliment; more a testament to the strength of the Furries' catalogue. Some surf-pop vibes. Some soaring ballads. A bit of a melancholy vein throughout. Still very inventive, still really good.

Certified banger 👍

It's fairly good

To be honest, the Village Voice review quoted on the Wiki link summarises this better than I could: "...its creators deserve credit for finding each other and making their obsession real". And R.I.P. Steve Albini.

Man alive. What a singer. What a gig.

Decent grimey heaters. Liked it

None more 80s-sounding. I reckon I wanted to like this more than I actually did. I enjoy the hits but found much of the rest a bit po-faced.

Couldn't really be bothered digging this one out. I mean, it's decent, coherent as a record, and pretty easy to see why it was a big hit. Just a bit too needily provocative. Production on a lot of the tracks is a bit hokey. It's too long. The skits are wack. The smelly spectre of Dre and Iovine is all over it. Lots of the subject matter has aged badly (though tbf, I think we can give MM the benefit of the doubt most of the time). Just can't get right behind it. Begrudging respect and no more than that.

I find something slightly over-produced about this. It's alright. Couple of good tracks. I'm feeling stingy with the score today

Seems to me largely aimless noodling, even if there is talent, a nice voice, and the odd snippet of excellence. Hard to gauge

Wasn't sure I was going to like this much but it was diverting enough. Birthday obviously excellent. Plenty more interesting tracks to explore as well. Needs a revisit.

Breezy DnB rollers. If that's your jam there's a lot to love. Suspect a lot of listeners might get a bit bored? Stop press: I'm starting to think I may be listening to the wrong version of the record here. Difficult to tell; confusion reigns 😬. I'm not listening to the whole 2+ hours if I can't be sure.

Kind of more hi-nrg than I remember. Really good though, can still see its influence decades later. Some naive melodies and dated programming, but it sounds distinctive and it works.

Found it pedestrian.

Very silly, pretty great.

Sappy-yet-catchy, pure essence of wafty 2000s french synth pop wussiness. Quite decent for all that.

Part of the challenge with best-of lists is that they tend to be dominated by a certain type of older/male-er/whiter listener/collector/wannabe-curator. So I am absolutely here for hearing more new stuff from young woman artists/producers. Whether I actually like this or not isn't that relevant. I thought it was alright; quite sexy, although modern RnB is probably never gonna be my jam in a big way. I enjoyed discovering this record.

Wilfully obtuse freak-zone garagey art rock from way back. Probably groundbreaking in its time. I found it intriguing if a bit of a tough listen, though I was glad to give it a spin.

In an alternate universe, Chris Martin was rightly clocked as a sort of crap Nick Drake, the band played the indie circuit for a couple of years, and wrapped up before they were 30 so they could all go off to work in the city. I remember thinking 'yellow' was a stunner at the time. Not much going on beyond that. Passive-aggressively pleasant. How they now routinely pack the biggest stadiums is a total enigma to me. Album is ok in itself, albeit no indication of greatness.

Tiring

Solid power pop. Good fun listen

Along with Rocket from the Crypt, these guys were part of a sort of naughties noisy, garage-punky, rockabilly renaissance. Fun, taut album with barely an ounce of fat and loads of energy.

Don't consider myself a disco fan but this absolutely rips. The chic sound is tight as ever, the musicianship on vocals is equally superb.

I enjoyed this a lot. Accomplished

It's about twice as long as an album should be, imo. But it's still pretty bloody good. And then I discover it's bilingual twin versions of the same record. All is forgiven 🙏😅

Green onions? Hammond cheese sandwich, more like 🙄 Real tasty as a quick snack; tiresome and bland as a multi course meal.

It could almost come off as a bit too wilfully hip but it deftly skirts that. Genuinely engaging. Some dubby parallels with the likes of Sabres of Paradise. I think it feels authentically true to its cultural source material, while modernising that in a credible way. It's a nuanced and well executed production. Definitely not 'stick a house beat under some samples and collect the advertising money'. Still sounds fresh 23 years later.

For a 5-track (long-ass tracks) prog rock jazz odyssey this is surprisingly accessible. It's actually a gas.

I used to have quite a bigoted assumed dislike for country. I'm over that. This record is great. Old fashioned, tear-jerking country ballads.

Superb. I wasn't sure it was on a par with the Folsom album at first, though by the end I was absolutely vibing.

Loved Dookie at the time but I've never actually sat all the way through American Idiot before. It's alright.

Horrible operetta prog pop. Respect the will to create, dislike the creation.

Astonishing playing but a bit indulgent for my tastes. Fretboard wankery extraordinaire.

This is pretty amazing. Elegiac, working-class, junk country or something. Cutting lyrics, humane politics. Resonated with me today. Excellent. "There's a hole in daddy's arm where all the money goes" I mean, bloody hell.

Never even heard of this before. Quite a fun hippy wigout. Bits of Doors-esqe organ.

Ozomatli are great. Sadly, this is one of those albums that doesn't come up properly on my streaming provider and while I feel fairly confident it's probably a 4 star record I'll have to give it a 3 as I'm not getting the full picture.

Stunning voice, heartfelt songs. Really can't fault it.

I don't normally tend to check others' reviews while I've literally got the album on but I just had a peek at some for this. Alternately scathing, hilarious, and in some cases richly insightful. A bit like the man himself. There's a full spectrum of responses from active dislike, through simply not getting into it, right up to hero worship. Put me somewhere in the middle. I find the music and production here quite unedifying for a lot of the time, though the sarky, sardonic, poetic lyrics always hold plenty interest. 2.5, tending to 3

Another one with the curse of the streaming-services-special-edition-re-release. How long was the original record? Can't we just listen to that? An hour and 3/4 of anything is liable to get boring. That said, sounds like there's some decent tracks on here. It doesn't quite float my folk boat like some bands can. And it's a bit parochial seen through a rock lens. But it's likeable enough. Coward's score from me: a 3.

One of my less favoured Bowie records though to be fair, after the first track it picks up a lot.

I like some Björk but jeez, I simply didn't get on with this at all.

Neil really is the main man. Long after his 'Decade' golden era, he was/is still regularly churning out work of incredible quality. I feel like this album was quite overlooked at the time, though in retrospect it's a cracker.

Suppose the clue was in the band name: way less heavy than I anticipated. Other than the eponymous title track (which largely kicks ass but is preposterously long) I didn't much care for it. Too noodley.

Man alive, feel the influence. While Johnny Lydon and chums were still flicking bogeys at each other up the back of the class, these white German cycling nerds were in the lab laying down the blueprint for some all-time-great hip hop, house and techno samples. Even if those eventual end-points are often more fun to listen to than an entire album of cool-blooded Teutonic metronomy, this is astonishing gear. I for one welcome our peculiar, analogue-techno overlords.

For me, Massive Attack's best album. Exquisite. The choice collaborators. The mirrored, twin-sided format. The mood, the flow. The instrumentation. Analogue dub heart with digital flourishes. Not a bad track on here. Brilliant.