Initially I liked it.
The first few tracks were very pleasing, and the funky R&B with social overtones in the lyrics were well done.
As the album continued, I lost general interest. The vocals of Curtis Mayfield (although excellent) became repetitive to my ears.
Glad I listened, but probably won't listen to the full album again.
Granted I didn't give dedicated attention to the lyrics that I would upon a third or fourth listen through.
Great!
I'm a sucker for albums that have a story.
My only real issue is the "disjointed" nature of said story.
But still great.
The album did sound a little demo-ish, but I like the low production style with Willie Nelsons voice.
It's was okay.
Not a massive Bowie fan.
But I still liked some of the songs.
Meh
It was fine, I liked some of the proto punk themes and sounds. But honestly the whole album just made me feel like I'd rather be listening to the Doors
Pretty solid.
I was drawn in pretty early on and like it the whole way through.
I don't think repeat listens would be quite as good, and there wasn't really any single worthy bops, for me.
Buddy Holly is a legend of pre-beatles music. Or so you're told. This album shows you why he was popular, and obviously music has changed a lot since then, but I still find it very enjoyable.
The songs were good, with some emotional flair. 4/5
Ambient music is fine, but cosmic ambient music is amazing!
This was an interesting listen.
I hadn't heard of the band, found the music fun. Some of the riffs were very catchy, and very "cool"
I'm not sure where to rate them between 3-5....four it is I suppose. But doesn't feel right.
Give it a listen for yourself
I think this goes for every Bowie album I've listened to.
Some songs are fine, some songs are good, some songs are great. None seem to be bad. But as an album experience, it never feels quite right.
I wanted to love this album as much as I love the track Take Me Out, and while it wasn't a bad listen, it just blended into the background for me.
Checked all the boxes for a jazz record for me.
I think this will definitely enter my short list of jazz records to replay
I dont know if I was just in the mood, of every one of these songs hit the spot.
I'm a little torn.
I wanted to like this, hell I did like some of it, but some it was very hard to get through.
I enjoyed the album. It was an interesting listen. Not sure I'd listen to it again or if any songs would stick in my head.
It's good, but I'm rarely in the mood for this kind of music
Some great songs, some that I didn't enjoy as much. Good overall.
Talking Heads always sounds like something 10-20 years later than it is.
Uh...I'm not entirely sure what to think about this.
Some songs were pretty good, some were objectively....not as good....
Message in a Bottle is good, but it doesn't feel a lot like the rest of the album. And the last few tracks felt so disjointed from the rest of the album. Individually the songs were fine. Collectively they were an odd choice.
I understand the flute complaints.
But I reject them.
This album rocks! At some point it sounds like Black Sabbath (Sans Osbourne) playing music for Jesus Christ Superstar 2 Electric Boogaloo. But is that really a bad thing?
Some great tracks, and some tracks that kinda blend together.
Locomotive Breath, Aqualung, and Wind-up were great.
If you're not careful with the album, you will summon a fairy.
At first I thought to myself, "I know 1001 albums is a lot, but how did this one make the cut?"
But after continuing my listen it started to grow on me.
Yeah it's cabaret music. Yeah it's background music to a romantic scene in a film. But it's a little more than that.
This album is more than the sum of its parts. Ute's voice is great but pushed too hard sometimes, the lyrics are a little campy in a few spots, and the backing band isn't incredible. And some of the mixing on a track or two felt off.
But all of this leaves the listener with a raw human experience. An album that isn't just a cabaret singer singing the songs. It's a cabaret singer telling you their story. And I think there's something very special about that.
4/5
I don't often look at reviews of new albums before I rate them myself. But seeing as I've heard this album a few times in the past, I decided to take a peek.
I saw a few 1/5s. Now either these are contrarian votes, or some of the most disingenuous folks out there. For those contrarians, don't get me wrong, you have your right to engage with media in an antipodal way and not dedicate much effort in discovering your personal emotions and thoughts on a piece of media. But it's times like this we see through you.
And for those who are not contrarian, and still voted it 1/5. There were no reliable qualities? None? No Surprises' melody didn't make you even raise an eyebrow? Nothing?
We bow down to your heightened state of being. Truly you understand humanity better than we all can hope to, and this album gave you no pause.
Now.... I'm not even sure if this is my favorite Radiohead album, and I'm not a huge Radiohead fan in general. But this album is fantastic.
5/5 didn't have to even think much about it.
Albums like this force me to take a step back and think "1001 albums, that's a lot. They aren't all going to be incredible." After forcing myself to think about that, I then try to look at the album in question as a time capsule. The problem for me with this albums is primarily that there are better punk records before 1995, during 1995, and after 1995. The inclusion of this album here is surely a product of there being a lot more, better, punk rock albums making up the 1001. I better see at least two Bad Religion albums in here, or the placement of Scream, Dracula, Scream makes even less sense.
As a standalone album, this one is fine. 2.5/5 really, nothing super special, but nothing objectively wrong with it. Some punchy drums, some great bass lines, a few catchy riffs, lyrics are okay, vocals are fine. It's 1995 punk rock, a few tracks for Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, and a few tracks to play over a movie to show that the characters being portrayed are angsty teens.
Doesn't do too much outside of what I've written above. Final score for me is a soft 3/5.
Some of it is interesting.
A few tracks I enjoyed.
Overall as an album experience, I won't listen to it again.
2/5
There is not much to say for me here. It's good. It's a Method Man solo album, one of his better works.
The reviews are going to be all over the place because there are a lot of "it's classic hip hop, gotta give it a 5" people out there, but probably more "I can't understand the words, I don't like hip-hop, 1 or 2" people.
That being said, this probably a mandatory listen for someone who wants to get into hip-hop at a deeper cultural level, not that is mandatory to enjoy it.
4/5
It's a good album.
Unfortunately I got two Radiohead albums in the span of three days. So I had Ok Computer really fresh oh my mind. This isn't not as good as Ok Computer.
I feel like it should he a 4, but who know, maybe if I listened to it a few weeks separated it would have made it to 5
I really like Frank Sinatra. I think one of the key things about him to me is not necessarily his voice, but how well he uses it. He always floats notes in the perfect slot around the musicians.
I know he was known for redoing a lot of takes, and I think it pays off. You can almost see how he is dancing around the instruments with his voice.
That being said, although there were a lot of great songs on this album, it is unlikely I'd ever throw it on. Even in the most romantic of settings.
Let's be honest, I'd only need 1.5 tracks worth of time anyway.
3.5-4/5
I'll go with 4/5.
Another proto-punk album served up to me. This one felt more "full" than previous albums I've been recommended, which was a good change of pace.
Unlike a lot of the "look, we're anti-establishment, including, but not limited to, the establishment of music composition" types of punk bands, this felt like it came from a place of conscious effort to make a good sound coupled with the tones of punk and the lyrical motifs to tell me just why we're so upset with everything.
It isn't my favorite album, it isn't the best punk album I've heard, but I did rather enjoy it. It's probably a 3.5/5, but I'm going to have to round this one to a 3/5 since it was just a little too long, and no one song really turned my head.
This is really hard for me to rate.
I think on a different day, this is a definite 4, and maybe even a 5.
But it couldn't have come at a worse time, and I didn't have the mental fortitude to get past my own life to give this what it probably deserves.
It's good, it's interesting, it does seem to fade into the background a little too much, and if you're busy dealing with things, you'll forget you need to be listening to it consciously.
Years ago when I first listened to Bob Dylan, I didn't care for him or his music very much.
I am still not sure if it was because I was told I wasn't supposed to like his voice, or I was told he was "fine" from others. I just have a distinct memory of knowing I wasn't supposed to like him.
So I didn't.
Over the years, I would run into Bob Dylan songs now and then and think, "this is the guy I'm not supposed to like?"
I'm not sure why I held that notion for so long, but after a while, the dam broke, I listend to more and more of his songs and albums, and can say, without a doubt, he is very much worth listening to.
This album is great! It's pretty rare that I'll give an album of the day more than two or three listens, but this one was playing on loop, all day long.
5/5
An essential listen for all who are curious about the Blues.
This album really captures the blues, and perhaps more importantly Muddy Water and Johnny Winter's essence.
This is the first time I've listened to a full Buzzcocks album.
I've heard a few of their songs in the past, but it never really grabbed me.
Some of the songs here are pretty good, and some really miss the spot. The vocals grind on me pretty quickly on a few of these tracks, which is odd, because it's the same voice on the other tracks, but it just works better.
Lyrically, it's not the type of punk music that is going to make me come back for more.
Since I didn't listen to them when younger, I've very curious what the nostalgia bias is with this band.
The back half of this album really saves it for me. From Sixteen to the end of the album, I was WAY more interested in every aspect of the music than on the front end. But still not too interested.
One listen was enough for me...
It's what saves it from being closer to a 1 for me.
I'll go for 2/5
It's a fun folk album
Got a some great hits.
Feels very summertime playing with the kids.
I heavily enjoyed it.
I like British EDM music. LTJ Bukem, Chemical Brothers, Fatboy Slim, etc.
I did not like this.
I thought this was altogether far too slow. It sounded like a B Movie soundtrack.
I really hate giving albums 1/5. This will be my first.
I'm grateful that in 1001 albums, there are some things in the list like this, albums I'd never-ever listen to on my own that aren't just "forgotten gems". But I have to be honest. I could have gone my entire life never listening to this one. I'll never listen to it again, that's for sure.
1/5
I really didn't like this album.
There were pieces of things that I generally like all across it, but nothing hit the mark for me.
I enjoyed it quite a bit.
You could hear a lot of the themes that served as the transition between pop, funk, jazz, blues, etc.
It's not my favorite albums of it's kind. But still worth a listen.
It was good, just kept fading into the background on me
This was edging onto a 4/5 for me, but I just started getting bored towards the end.
Seems like the album could have lost 10-15 minutes and been a more complete piece.
I did still enjoy it quite a bit
I liked it.
I really wanted to love it though
Too much of it faded on me
Liked it more than I expected too
Wow.
I feel like a real idiot.
I have heard of Nick Drake a few times over the years. Told myself I'd give it a try.
Then confused Nick Drake with Nick Cave...
Which don't get me wrong, I can get down with some Nick Cave.
But I have missed out on years of this??
All because my brain wouldn't remember "Drake"...
5/5
This album was solid
But I just felt like something was missing in every track.
I'll probably listen to it again someday, but not sure when that day will be.
Felt very 2010s both good and bad.
The only reason this isn't a 1/5 is the vocals. They were pretty good.
This just sounds like sewing/candle shop-core background muzac.
Not for me, unfortunately.
I really want to like this more.
I want to like reggae more in general.
I do love quite a few tracks on this, I also love other reggae artists like Barrington Levi, but this album had me split between just vibing and paying attention to the philosophy and theology expounding. I felt too spread out.
3/5
Half way through the first track on this album I was expecting to give it a 2, maybe a one.
But somehow, throughout the rest of the record, I started enjoying it a lot more.
Now, I think this is losing a point for me because I don't really have the time for repeat listens for better lyrical understanding, because I don't speak enough French.
It was worth a listen, and worth an inclusion on this list.
3/5
Trying to separate the art from the artist here... It's a little difficult, and I can't honestly say that I am without bias here...
That being said, I do not understand why this album gets the automatic 5/5 "best album" treatment.
I can see some of the interesting pieces, the flow is pretty solid throughout.
But some of the tracks are of a maximalism style that I just don't love, and I'm shocked to see how many people don't share that opinion.
Also, a lot of the lyrics in this album are very corny.
There is a constant argument I hear floating around hip-hop circles about lyricism vs rapping ability, and I feel like this album is an amazing example that an artist's flow is at least 75% of the success of an album.
Kanye has good flow. He's a real piece of shit, and he spends a sizable amount of time on this album complaining about how hard it is to be him, all the people against him, etc. etc.
And yes, in 2010, I thought, the African American from Chicago, making it big in the music industry probably did have a lot of enemies, hating him, for no real reason...
But now, looking back with 2025 eyes, he was always a real egotistical asshole, so those who hated him in the industry probably did for a good reason.
Separated art from Artist I'd be hard pressed to give this a 3/5.
Without separation, this is a 1/5.
Kanye needs to get some help.
I'll rate it 2/5.
It'll get plenty of 1s for those who can't separate, and I understand that.
It'll get plenty of 5s for those who enjoy the beat style, and don't hear lines like "If you don't really care middle finger in the air if you don't really care it's like that sometime man ridiculous. life can be sometimes ridiculous." as whack.
This had very little negative qualities.
But didn't have a lot of super positive ones either.
Kinda sounded like your typical post 65 Beatles copycat music. Better than most entries into this specific subgenre, but still not amazing.
I've heard this album plenty of times in the past.
I don't know if it's the repeat listens, or what, but I just can't give it a 5.
There are a lot of great tracks on here, but as a full album it felt like it was lacking something, and a few tracks fade away from my interest so quickly.
4.5/5
It was interesting...
There was something in there that was really good, but it was a little hard to find underneath the rest of it.
Voice was good, made me feel something.
Big disappointment.
First few tracks had me really excited for the rest of the album. But then it just kinda slowly, and I'll admit, sensually, decayed into relatively generic baby-making music.
2/5 because I really liked the first two tracks. Only reason it's not a one.
I think if 1/3 of the album was cut completely it would have gotten closer to a 5.
Man I really don't like this type of music.
Some of the songs were interesting enough.
Lyrics were a weird mix of explicit and vague, often back to back.
Don't get me wrong, slap this on low in the background when you're trying to do the damn thing.
But I didn't really need to listen to this.
I like AC/DC.
I don't love them.
They wrote one song, changed the lyrics and the timing on that one song, and played it 10 times on every album. And no one got tired of it.
AC/DC's music is so similar from track to track it's commendable to even have a career with that much same old same old. But they had/have a hell of a career.
But hey, one hell of a single song.
4/5
I feel like this album serves as my litmus test for how important is cultural significance in "objective" critique.
Turns out it does move the needle.
I'm not sure this is a pure 5/5, but it matters(ed) so much it fills the cracks without its own cultural splash
This is Kendrick's best album.
It is best served as a full album experience, so it doesn't get quite the amount of replay it deserves.
This album is hard for me to rate.
On one hand, this is pretty cut and dry pop music. It has some catchy tracks, some decent vocals, and some well written lyrics.
On the other hand, I know it speaks volumes to a lot of people.
Unfortunately, I am not one of those people. A lot of Taylor Swift's music is a window into an emotional state that I personally have very little experience with.
I have been extremely lucky in love, and have experienced very little heartbreak, betrayal, or any other classic themes featured heavily in Swift's song writing. I am also not a mega star, with a lot of eyes watching me all the time. I don't have "haters" but can appreciate the mantra of shaking them off.
That being said, I can still objectively listen to the music.
1989 is a good pop album. I know a lot of people will give this a 1, a lot will give it a 5. I think it's clearly not a 1. It's catchy enough to at least warrant a 2.
I like the music, I like the messages, I do not resonate with the emotions portrayed, which is not necessarily a bad thing, and I hate to give a point off for it.
Melodically it's not too interesting, it's just 80s inspired pop.
At the end of the day this is a 4/5 album, I'd be confident in saying between 7.5 and 8/10 on a 10 point scale. It's objectively good, for some people this will be fantastic, for others it'll be fine. Still for others this will be awful, and they'll rate it extremely low for no real reason aside from being closeted iconoclasts who will argue that they are not in fact iconoclasts, but "enlightened".
Get a life.
4/5.
4/5
I liked it a lot. I think if this album came at a different time of my life this is a 5/5
I've gotten a few albums that are either Jungle adjacent, or actual Jungle albums like this one. So far, I feel like this list is targetting some of the "weaker" projects. Timeless is good for a fan of the genre, but if you aren't a fan of the genre it's too long, and may be a little hard to stomach.
Great live though.
3/5 feels too low, but 4/5 feels to high.
This was good.
However, I feel like this is not even close to a 5/5. But giving it a 3 stars feels wrong. Most of the songs were very good, but there was something there that didn't quite fit. It clearly was an ablum made by the group, for the group. Which typically is a crapshoot as far as how successful it will be as an artform. This checked boxes, left some unchecked, felt good, didn't feel perfect.
3.6/5
Yeah, alright.
It's been a little bit since I've gotten a legitimate 5/5
But this one from track one to the end was fantastic.
No notes.
Didn't like it then.
Don't like it now.
Its close, but so many things I don't like in Slipknots music.
Fine if not extremely boring
Another "separate the art from the artist" challenge.
This album is a 5. If Michael Jackson wasn't Michael Jackson, it might be a 6/5.
Dirty Diana into Smooth Criminal, is itself a criminal back to back banger.
This was really not good.
I try not to give 1/5s, most everything has something to offer.
But this album was just boring, didn't make me want to listen to any more almost immediately.
I will say that perhaps if I had heard this years ago or years into the future my tune would be different. But that might be a stretch.
I like AC/DC.
I might even say I really like AC/DC.
This album is one of their best.
But I'll never give AC/DC a 5/5. Because I legitimately can't tell which song I'm listening to if I get dropped into the middle of one. I'm not going to say they all sound the same. But they've got about 3 motifs.
This is a really solid album.
I don't think it's quite 5/5, but it's really close.
This may sound like a weird pull, but this particular Wilco album reminds me a lot of early Adam Green.
Worth a listen.
This album is fantastic.
Has been a top album of mine for years and years.
It's rare you get so much talent in one group.
It's a classic metal album. Arguably the "First". And the influence of all that came after this 1970 classic is incredible.
easy 5/5
Nick Drake albums are perfect
This was really... really... not worth listening to.
This album is better than a few albums I gave 4 stars. But It's not quite a 5.
There is a few tracks that could be removed completely.
It's very interesting and certainly worth a listen.
Live albums really don't fit this list
It's definitely interesting. I do like it, but I don't love it.
3/5
I don't love Kings of Leon because any time I listen to them they remind me of bands that see better than Kings of Leon.
They do have some unbelievably popular songs on this album though. I mean look at the number streams of Sex on Fire and Use Somebody. Some people really just let their 2010 sex playlist run on repeat after they fall asleep I guess?
It's very good. But I just feel wrong giving it a 5.
I'm not sure if Songs in the Key of Life is just in the back of my mind tapping it's foot to a variety of rhythms saying, now now. It's not me.
I think as a whole album it's pretty good. There's a few tracks that I really enjoyed and were real iconic 70s punk. There were also a few tracks that I think took me out of the mood a little. Not bad per se, but didn't keep me in the same mode. It's worth a listen
They're incredible. Osbourne, Butler, Ward, and Iommi we're at one brief point each top 5 in the world at their respective craft.
They captured magic in those early years.
I just can't see myself giving this a higher score than 3.
It's a sound track album, it fits a mood and a tone. It isn't bad, but the purpose of it is lost as just a regular piece of music
Just wasn't very interesting. It was just "Alice Cooper Album"
Which doesn't get high marks from me generally.
Just wasn't very interesting. It was just "Alice Cooper Album"
Which doesn't get high marks from me generally.
This is something.
I don't like live albums, I've said it before.
I feel like about 1/10th of this album was applause. That detracts from the album itself.
There's some interesting things in this, but it's so short and so full of applause breaks it just felt like a slog. 2/5
4.5 really. I feel bad giving it a 4, but it wasn't quite a 5.
I know this is a lot of people's favorite Pixies album. But it has always been hard for me to get into.
It's good, and maybe if it came to me at a different time of life it would be a 5/5.
I typically hate live albums, but holy shit this thing rocked!
I tried to like it. I really wanted to. Some of it was solid, but man, it just didn't stick
It grew on me. I was surprised.
It is not a bad album. Unfortunately it's not really my favorite type of music. Although I have flagged this album to return and give another listen in the future.
I feel like if you remove the track Faith from this album it's unbelievably forgettable.
I liked this a lot, but it's not a 5/5 unfortunately.
4/5 is pretty accurate. It was funky but a little repetitive
This is seriously incredible.
I'll say here what I've said for years.
I'm not a fan of RHCP. If all they made was Blood Sugar Sex Magik, I'd be a big fan of RHCP.
I really don't like The Divine Comedy longer than about a song length.
This probably could edge into 4 territory for me depending on the mood. It's close. Beyonce just doesn't speak to me, unfortunately.
Interesting...I'm just not interested
This was very interesting. I liked it, but not sure I loved it
Marty Robbins has the perfect voice for these types of ballads, this album is already a frequent repeat listen for me. Easy 5/5
I thought I was going to like this a lot after the first track, but it lost me very quickly. I just didn't want to listen to it anymore by the halfway mark
