My 1001 Albums Journey

182

Albums Rated

4.01

Average Rating

17%

Complete

907 albums remaining

Rating Distribution

Rating Timeline

Taste Profile

1970s

Favorite Decade

Grunge

Favorite Genre

Top Origin

Enthusiast

Rater Style ?

5-Star Albums

1-Star Albums

Breakdown

By Genre

By Decade

By Origin

Albums

You Love More Than Most

Album	You	Global	Diff
Trout Mask Replica Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band	5	2.28	+2.72
The United States Of America The United States Of America	5	2.61	+2.39
Live / Dead Grateful Dead	5	2.83	+2.17
I Against I Bad Brains	5	2.93	+2.07
O.G. Original Gangster Ice T	5	2.97	+2.03
Peace Sells...But Who's Buying Megadeth	5	2.98	+2.02
Teenager Of The Year Frank Black	5	3	+2
Safe As Milk Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band	5	3.01	+1.99
evermore Taylor Swift	5	3.04	+1.96
Germfree Adolescents X-Ray Spex	5	3.04	+1.96

You Love Less Than Most

Album	You	Global	Diff
Madman Across The Water Elton John	1	3.59	-2.59
Eliminator ZZ Top	1	3.38	-2.38
Achtung Baby U2	1	3.3	-2.3
Fisherman's Blues The Waterboys	1	3.2	-2.2
The Rise & Fall Madness	1	3.05	-2.05
Cafe Bleu The Style Council	1	2.87	-1.87
Only Built 4 Cuban Linx Raekwon	1	2.86	-1.86
Konnichiwa Skepta	1	2.74	-1.74
Grace Jeff Buckley	2	3.71	-1.71
Californication Red Hot Chili Peppers	2	3.7	-1.7

Artists

Favorites

Artist	Albums	Average
David Bowie	3	5
The Cure	3	5
Radiohead	4	4.5
Beastie Boys	2	5
Nirvana	2	5
Taylor Swift	2	5
Cocteau Twins	2	5
Johnny Cash	2	5
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band	2	5

Controversial

Artist	Ratings
Pink Floyd	2, 5

5-Star Albums (82)

View Album Wall

The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars

Popular Reviews

Blonde On Blonde

Bob Dylan

5/5

I bought this on CD in my mid teens, after liking the Bob Dylan track on the Natural Born Killers soundtrack. I remember thinking that all the copies in stores were bootlegs because of the weird camera shake effect that makes it look like a bad print.

1 likes

1-Star Albums (11)

All Ratings

Is This It

The Strokes

3/5

Pretty good but I find the structures a bit repetitive and unexciting (as with back in the day). It's not something I'd ever want to listen to more than twice.

Elephant

The White Stripes

3/5

Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor

Lupe Fiasco

4/5

Blur

3/5

Technically admirable, but after a while I find Albarn's schtick a bit tiresome. It feels a bit forced and try-hard for the sake of catchiness, getting duller on repeat listens rather than revealing anything more.

The ArchAndroid

Janelle Monáe

4/5

Rio

Duran Duran

5/5

Disraeli Gears

Cream

4/5

Moving Pictures

Rush

5/5

I own this on vinyl and have always loved it! Those opening moments of Tom Sawyer, awesome.

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

Kanye West

4/5

At Newport 1960

Muddy Waters

5/5

Dig Your Own Hole

The Chemical Brothers

2/5

Still sounds like the kind of music stoners play in flats above shops to impress each other. Or videogame music to an R-type or Wipeout game.

Fisherman's Blues

The Waterboys

1/5

Sounds like an annoying barn dance you wish you never agreed to go to, so you pretend to have a headache and leave early.

Konnichiwa

Skepta

1/5

I hate aggressive music with corny lyrics forced for the sake of rhyming but made to sound meaningful via ranty delivery. It's too phony and try-hard. Not my thing I guess.

Marquee Moon

Television

4/5

Live / Dead

Grateful Dead

5/5

Blackstar

David Bowie

5/5

I'll admit I didn't think much when released. But somehow drawn to it since and has grown to reveal its brilliance. The best kind of album.

Rock Bottom

Robert Wyatt

2/5

Madman Across The Water

Elton John

1/5

Timeless

Goldie

2/5

Makes me feel like I'm playing a space shootey Playstation 1 game

Jagged Little Pill

Alanis Morissette

3/5

Dated, sometimes good, sometimes annoying and try-hard.

The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn

Pink Floyd

2/5

Really annoying to listen to. It sounds like Syd et al are thinking far more about themselves than the listener, in trying to be impressively quirky.

Underwater Moonlight

The Soft Boys

4/5

Songs Of Leonard Cohen

Leonard Cohen

4/5

Parallel Lines

Blondie

4/5

The Seldom Seen Kid

Elbow

4/5

The Rise & Fall

Madness

1/5

Cosmo's Factory

Creedence Clearwater Revival

5/5

The best album I've heard since Trout Mask Replica

Live!

Fela Kuti

5/5

Adele

2/5

Only Built 4 Cuban Linx

Raekwon

1/5

No.

Aqualung

Jethro Tull

2/5

Common

2/5

Chemtrails Over The Country Club

Lana Del Rey

2/5

It just sound so insincere. Trying so hard to be soulful, but purely for the sake of it.

The World is a Ghetto

War

4/5

Achtung Baby

1/5

The lyrics and singing style sound so phoney, like a massive ego pretending it has a good connection to reality.

Unknown Pleasures

Joy Division

4/5

I've always struggled to fully embrace JD to the level I felt I should. After many tries, I feel Ive finally synced with their vibe as much as I ever will.

Fear Of Music

Talking Heads

4/5

Nilsson Schmilsson

Harry Nilsson

5/5

I loved Nilsson ever since watching a pirate copy of (then banned) Reservoir Dogs on a holiday in St Ives as a 14 year old. My beloved cavachon dog is called Arrow after a Nilsson song. When people ask and I explain, they've never heard of Nilsson, except this one girl who started singing the song as soon as I said Arrow. Anyway Nilsson was terrific, so many absolute bangers. If you let this album slip through your ears as "some random folksy thing" then screw you. It's better than that.

Beauty And The Beat

The Go-Go's

4/5

Murmur

R.E.M.

4/5

Chirping Crickets

Buddy Holly & The Crickets

4/5

Our Aim Is To Satisfy

Red Snapper

4/5

Os Mutantes

4/5

Grace

Jeff Buckley

2/5

Life's Too Good

The Sugarcubes

4/5

I always overlooked this album, without realising how Bjorky it actually is. She's of course her earlier, kookier, excited self which is refreshing after her more recent, joyless heavy eco stuff. There are plenty of those weird little Bjork growls here. By the way, if you haven't seen her exploring the inside of a TV on YouTube, search for it now, it's the best thing on the internet.

Cafe Bleu

The Style Council

1/5

Moon Safari

Air

4/5

I can see how it might sound a bit old and pretentious by now, but back in the day, after the peak of britpop and a wave of nu-metal it sounded so original and fresh.

Eliminator

ZZ Top

1/5

Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire)

The Kinks

4/5

Cheap Thrills

Big Brother & The Holding Company

5/5

Loved it.

Illmatic

Nas

4/5

Blood Sugar Sex Magik

Red Hot Chili Peppers

3/5

Oar

Alexander 'Skip' Spence

1/5

So dreary and uninteresting. I feel so many of these albums become acclaimed only because of background factors pushing their exposure.

The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators

The 13th Floor Elevators

4/5

Violator

Depeche Mode

5/5

This album bizarrely passed me by despite being an 80s kid into The Cure, a-Ha, Erasure. I caught up with it only in '23 after acquiring a bunch of free DM vinyl, and became one of my most listened to albums that year. It's nuts that I was far more familiar with Tori Amos' Enjoy The Silence than DMs. It's a brilliant record, that still sounds completely fresh and exciting.

Abbey Road

Beatles

5/5

I won't dispute its classic greatness. But it's not something I'd want to listen to as much as a Captain Beefheart or NIN record for example. It's too catchy for its own good. I still prefer Nilsson.

Close To The Edge

Yes

5/5

Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul

Otis Redding

4/5

Untitled (Black Is)

SAULT

2/5

Van Halen

5/5

Cross

Justice

5/5

Fever To Tell

Yeah Yeah Yeahs

5/5

I've listened to this countless times since it's original release and have always loved it. It's just as compelling, inspired and energising now as it ever was. Seeing low reviews from people who haven't even heard of it, citing low expectations purely from the cover, makes me feel quite sad.

The Number Of The Beast

Iron Maiden

5/5

Welcome to the Afterfuture

Mike Ladd

1/5

The Dark Side Of The Moon

Pink Floyd

5/5

Foo Fighters

3/5

1977

Ash

4/5

I'm biased by very fond memories of the beautiful 90s.

Tea for the Tillerman

Cat Stevens

5/5

Hail To the Thief

Radiohead

3/5

I listened a bunch of times on release, but this never quite clicked for me. Some of it I love, but some of it grates in that whiny Thom way.

Nothing's Shocking

Jane's Addiction

4/5

Strangeways, Here We Come

The Smiths

4/5

I always thought I hated The Smiths, but found myself enjoying this.

The Downward Spiral

Nine Inch Nails

5/5

I can see why this be overlooked or misunderstood to listeners not familiar with Trent Reznor's work. I wasn't keen on first listens back in the 90s, even as a fan of Pretty Hate Machine, it sounded inaccessible and chaotically angry in a way that I just didn't care for. But having listened so many more times, and being intimately familiar with the rest of his work, I have come to appreciate this as one of too five favourites of all time. Trent's meticulous attention to detail, his amazing mix of creativity and expression with an absolute perfectionist approach to production is extraordinary. Whereas lots of other 90s industrial rock efforts sound dated now, anything by NIN still sounds fresh and timeless, despite countless listens. It's a genuine masterpiece, a modern classic work of art.

Doggystyle

Snoop Dogg

4/5

Boston

4/5

Hunting High And Low

a-ha

5/5

I've always loved A-Ha, brilliant song craft and production which continued for decades. This album is easy to overlook and underestimate.

Endtroducing.....

DJ Shadow

5/5

I listened to this so much back in the day, and even went to a note-by-note reproduction thing by an ensemble at an arts center. Listening again now, it's a strange mix of absolute familiarity and bits I'd forgotten. Still great though. Overall, an easy five stars.

Remedy

Basement Jaxx

1/5

Basement Jaxx was the worst gig I ever went to. A friend persuaded me to go with them, around 50 miles away, and I was sucked into the whole "oh yeah, Basement Jaxx are cool! Why not!" thing. I was only mainly familiar with Red Alert and Wheres Your Head At. But everything, including those tracks, is dull, dire, soulless, phony. Everyone at the gig was so bored and distracted, drinking, it was more like a room of noisy morons with some lame DJs barely audible on the side. This album is so boring and uninspired. I just can't imagine anyone listened to it more than twice, or had it as a favourite album. It feels like a cynical marketing ploy aimed at the weird British class-derived-inadequacy thing of identifying with bands like Prodigy, Chemical Brothers, Massive Attack as currency to "be cool". People would namedrop Basement Jaxx if asked about favourite bands, even if they couldn't name a single track outside of the singles. I'm shocked/disappointed it's actually on the list. There is no cultural legacy or onward influence here to explore, it's just absolute shit.

Licensed To Ill

Beastie Boys

5/5

In Utero

Nirvana

5/5

Gunfighter Ballads And Trail Songs

Marty Robbins

4/5

Ten

Pearl Jam

5/5

I bought one of those classic Pearl Jam 'Alive' t shirts from HMV in the mid 90s, except mine was long sleeved and have purple instead of the usual red writing. I put it on eBay a few years ago and it sold for £280. I wasn't expecting that. This is a bona-fide classic 90s album that I adore as much now as I ever did - only a few seem to have that quality (Nevermind, Downward Spiral, Vast by Vast).

Time Out Of Mind

Bob Dylan

4/5

Parklife

Blur

2/5

Songs From The Big Chair

Tears For Fears

5/5

Weirdly I asked Alexa today to play music while I took a dump in the house (drowns out the sounds for house guests) and it played Everybody Wants to Rule the World. Then I thought "damn, I need to listen to that album again". Then I checked 1001 generator and it was that album. What are the chances? Anyhow, amazing album of course, I love it.

Fetch The Bolt Cutters

Fiona Apple

5/5

I love this album. It's honest, sincere, emotionally intelligent, fun to listen to, stands up to repeat listens, and made with genuine passion.

Dirt

Alice In Chains

5/5

Blonde On Blonde

Bob Dylan

5/5

Ill Communication

Beastie Boys

5/5

Different Class

Pulp

2/5

Something about Jarvis's writing and delivery really irks me, especially the little bursts of desperate faux-sincerity he throws out to justice an awkward rhyme or give some life to the monotony. Its over-identification with the working class underdog to the point of phoniness, even smug superiority. But there are definitely some nostalgic tunes here, I just hate having to listen to more than ten minutes of it.

Raw Like Sushi

Neneh Cherry

3/5

Somehow this led to me listening to Paula Abdul, and that Straight Up song, which is the best.

1989

Taylor Swift

5/5

Come on, you don't have to be all negative and spiteful just because TS is wildly successful. As a record, this is a brilliant production full of excellent tracks. To say otherwise is just daft.

Le Tigre

4/5

KIWANUKA

Michael Kiwanuka

5/5

Treasure

Cocteau Twins

5/5

Hadn't heard before, loved it.

American IV: The Man Comes Around

Johnny Cash

5/5

Rid Of Me

PJ Harvey

4/5

Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo

Devo

4/5

Welcome To The Pleasuredome

Frankie Goes To Hollywood

4/5

I bought this on vinyl from a charity shop for 20p but never really listened to it properly. It's actually really good.

Neon Bible

Arcade Fire

4/5

The Bends

Radiohead

5/5

The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars

David Bowie

5/5

Wild Is The Wind

Nina Simone

5/5

Better Living Through Chemistry

Fatboy Slim

2/5

Not to brag but my garageband material is better than this

Document

R.E.M.

3/5

Happy Trails

Quicksilver Messenger Service

4/5

I enjoyed this, and think it would get better on repeat listens.

Speakerboxxx/The Love Below

OutKast

3/5

Heaven Or Las Vegas

Cocteau Twins

5/5

Black Monk Time

The Monks

4/5

The Low End Theory

A Tribe Called Quest

5/5

Younger Than Yesterday

The Byrds

5/5

Disintegration

The Cure

5/5

Post Orgasmic Chill

Skunk Anansie

3/5

It's ok but there's something so insincere and calculated about the production and delivery that it all falls emotionally flat. I can't see it having much longevity. They were the first band I saw live, around 1996, and I feel they're much better live.

Butterfly

Mariah Carey

2/5

The Village Green Preservation Society

The Kinks

5/5

Kid A

Radiohead

5/5

It was amazing being a Radiohead fan when this was released. It's hard to appreciate how much of a curveball it was, with so many people believing it was a joke or some rejection of the fans by the band. Gradually people warmed to it, and like a unique scent it became a perfect memory jar for the years that followed. It still feels fresh and contemporary 25 yrs later, and listening to it again after quite some time was a real nostalgic trip. It conjured so many distinct times, vibes, conversations, people I've known. A really special album.

Trout Mask Replica

Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band

5/5

I've been waiting for this to show up. I bought this on CD in 2008, because it was John Peels favourite album and I was fascinated by the rumours of the insanity being rewarding after repeated listens. I listened twice, hated it. In summer 2023 I was going to sell some CDs, found it again, and put it on in the car. I left it on repeat during a work commute. I soon noticed I was looking forward to hearing it again, had become obsessed with it, and then couldn't stop listening. I'd listen to a few tracks before bed every night. Walking the dog. It's now my favourite album. It's genius, it's funny, it's stimulating, it's a whole world unto itself. For reference, I'm 45, love 90s grunge, Tool, NIN, electronica. Here's the thing that might help understand why this clocks after 7 or so listens. Typically in a song you hear a riff or hook a fair few times, enough to sink in and know what you're dealing with. Trout Mask has HUNDREDS of hooks, riffs and catchy moments, often just heard once. When they all start clicking, the experience is so fun. Also, Frownland is an insane opener (although I love that too and have probably heard it 100 times by now), but don't be put off by that. Once you get used to TMR, the follow up Lick My Decals Off Baby is just as fun and eventually rewarding (but you'll never think so on first listen). Don Van Vliet (the Captain) was a highly intelligent, interesting guy, with a tremendous spirit for music and humanity. Once you get into his music, it's like a genre unto itself, that you'll never leave.

Californication

Red Hot Chili Peppers

2/5

I always heard it as "sarcasm is to know it all"

Chris

Christine and the Queens

4/5

I'm surprised people are so scathing about this, I suspect some hefty bias from the covert art. Like any good record, it takes some listens to appreciate the arrangements.

Station To Station

David Bowie

5/5

Beautiful Freak

Eels

5/5

When this was released, I copied it onto a cassette and listened on my Walkman on the bus to college every day for months. It became a weird obsession. The sad, melancholy "what's it all about" vibes really resonated with me. "Ready Yet" sums up those years so well. Listening today it still sounds great.

#1 Record

Big Star

4/5

Smile

Brian Wilson

5/5

Kings Of The Wild Frontier

Adam & The Ants

4/5

Smash

The Offspring

4/5

Talking Heads 77

Talking Heads

5/5

Closer

Joy Division

4/5

Superfuzz Bigmuff

Mudhoney

4/5

Hounds Of Love

Kate Bush

5/5

Bad

Michael Jackson

5/5

I Against I

Bad Brains

5/5

Safe As Milk

Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band

5/5

I LOVED seeing so many five star reviews for this album. About thirty in a row. Beautiful. I gave this a lot of listens a few years ago as part of a campaign to appreciate Beefheart, and quickly became obsessed with it (also TMR, LMDOB). A terrific album.

Let It Be

The Replacements

5/5

The United States Of America

5/5

Bossanova

Pixies

5/5

Superunknown

Soundgarden

5/5

This was the 5th CD I bought, on release day (after Prince Diamonds and Pearls, Nirvana's In Utero, MJ's Dangerous, Therapy?s Troublegum). At the time I mostly liked the standout tracks, like Black Hole Sun and Spoonman. The Day I Tried To Live became a regular cassette mix entry. I found it more dreary and less interesting though than the likes of Therapy? and Nirvana. Over the years though, relistens have been hugely helped by identifying more with the themes, and maturing with a more discerning taste for the songcraft and Cornell's voice. I appreciate it far now than I did then. Although this is a great album, I still much prefer Therapy?s Troublegum, and my favourite Soundgarden song is still Pretty Noose (from Down on the Upside).

Seventeen Seconds

The Cure

5/5

Henry's Dream

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

3/5

Nick Cave albums two days in a row, what are the chances

The Lexicon Of Love

ABC

5/5

Loved it! Made me wish I was driving to the beach in a convertible in a beautiful sunset, with a stash of cassettes in the glovebox.

Solid Air

John Martyn

5/5

First Band On The Moon

The Cardigans

5/5

Nina Persson has such a beautiful voice, and anyone who likes this should definitely check out their later albums. This is nice in a frothy pop way, but the later ones have some great mature themes and writing (and bit like A-Ha's trajectory).

Bitches Brew

Miles Davis

5/5

evermore

Taylor Swift

5/5

I learn as much about listeners as I do about music with these reviews. People complaining that it's not oomphy, too poppy, not enough "edge" etc. These lockdown folksy albums from TS were written to be more quiet and restrained, but the songcraft is excellent. They're growers too, so I can appreciate how first listens will be discarded by the impatient cynics. But it's a shame, as the negative reviews here are really unfair. I've grown to love these albums, with some patience and a more open mind they're very rewarding and well deserving of their place here.

Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite

Maxwell

4/5

Basket of Light

Pentangle

4/5

Fifth Dimension

The Byrds

4/5

Halcyon Digest

Deerhunter

5/5

The Clash

5/5

Pacific Ocean Blue

Dennis Wilson

5/5

...Baby One More Time

Britney Spears

3/5

The hits are fun, nostalgic, upbeat. The rest are awful, insincere filler.

At Folsom Prison

Johnny Cash

5/5

Peter Gabriel 3

Peter Gabriel

4/5

I enjoyed this, but the self-importance and pomposity was grating at times.

Pornography

The Cure

5/5

Pet Sounds

The Beach Boys

5/5

Dog Man Star

Suede

4/5

good kid, m.A.A.d city

Kendrick Lamar

4/5

Paranoid

Black Sabbath

5/5

Back To Black

Amy Winehouse

3/5

Unhalfbricking

Fairport Convention

4/5

Reminds me of The Wicker Man.

Germfree Adolescents

X-Ray Spex

5/5

Mothership Connection

Parliament

5/5

Dance Mania

Tito Puente

4/5

Power In Numbers

Jurassic 5

5/5

Larks' Tongues In Aspic

King Crimson

4/5

Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea

PJ Harvey

4/5

Time Out

The Dave Brubeck Quartet

5/5

Teenager Of The Year

Frank Black

5/5

Brilliant. I imagine a lot of listeners who aren't familiar with Frank Black or the Pixies will judge this by the cover and allow their bias to run amok. But whether you are or aren't familiar with his style, this is a damn fine record that gets even better with time.

O.G. Original Gangster

Ice T

5/5

In Rainbows

Radiohead

5/5

Videotape is a magnificent song. I remember when I first heard it finding it really hard to get into and appreciate. But the lyrics, the meaning, the really specific syncopation with the half-beat is deeply fascinating. There are some YT videos breaking it down, it's a hugely underestimated song.

Peace Sells...But Who's Buying

Megadeth

5/5

One Nation Under A Groove

Funkadelic

5/5

Signing Off

UB40

4/5

Better than expected.

A Night At The Opera

Queen