Wilco-wannabe dreck. Next!!

Did the book's authors have a quota to fill for certain genres or decades? That would explain this shrill, derivative yawnfest making the cut. Wikipedia inadvertently summed up the album's mediocrity quite well: On Metacritic, "the album earned an average score of 79, based on 19 reviews." Yes 19 people reviewed it and the average score was a C+. Yet somehow this is an album we must listen to before we die. Yeah right. Like I said--quota.

Eerie and haunting but not the most accessible album. I'll break this out when I'm in the mood for something artsy.

Pretty but not my thing

Black Cow is still one of my favorite Dan songs

Was never a huge REM fan but Stipe has one of the most emotive and vulnerable voices around. I'll still probably stick with Eponymous when I'm in an REM mood but I enjoyed listening to this again.

Not my thing

A fun reminder of early rock n roll's blistering energy. Can't imagine what is was like to hear this stuff if you were a young person who grew up on Tie a Yellow Ribbon Around the Old Oak Tree or whatever. That said, 20-30 minutes of Jerry is good for me then I'm ready for something else.

Meh. If I'm ever in this kind of mood I just listen to Waylon.

Never heard of this band but wow! I really enjoyed the electro power pop on here. Yes the first 90 seconds of each song drags and sounds like laptop bleep-bloop music but then you get some real emotive, melodic synth rockers. Nice surprise album for me.

Wilco-wannabe dreck. Next!!

Tough to rate this one actually because I've been listening to the best 4-5 songs my whole life but none of the rest. After first listen, those others seem a bit disappointing and repetitive. If the double LP had been trimmed to the best 9-10 songs it would be an amazing album.

A nice break from my usual but not a must-have for me. Actually, the piano player Ruben Gonzalez put out a solo album I enjoy more than the Buena Vista release.

Sixth grade me loved Scorpio and The Message, but somehow never heard the rest of the album. Surprisingly good stuff with cool Pfunk-inspired vocals, although the slow soul tunes don't belong on the record at all. Another cool surprise from this project!

I've been putting off Tom Waits for 20+ years, thinking he's probably great but too inaccessible for me with that voice. I wasn't too far off with this album, but can't deny many of these songs are beautiful. Still, that singing... it just gets a little too over the top at times and sounds almost like Randy Newman. But I'm intrigued and will listen to him more!

I feel like all the 80s music I grew up on somehow came out of this album. All it's songs sounded so familiar. The more I listened to it the more I enjoyed the music, you can hear the band's raw talent bursting through. Still, I don't understand how Rolling Stone rated this among the top ten albums ever made. It's good, but not that good.

Amazing music of course. I rarely listen to it straight through like I should. No one sings with such beauty about urban poverty and blackness as Marvin. It was a landmark album then and still hits today. Injustice and tragedy combined with optimism is what I feel from it.

Good stuff from Cat. No surprises for me on this album, having grown up listening to Wild World, which represents this album well.

I know I'm supposed to love Costello but he's never clicked for me. Maybe if I had given him a more serious try when I was younger it might have happened, who knows. Regardless, this album is fine I guess but didn't convert me.

Cheers to Kraftwerk for innovations 50 years ago that helped launch all kinds of new sounds and possibilities. Unfortunately, so much has happened since then that Autobahn now feels dated and simplistic, and not at all like something we must listen to before we die. I don't need to listen to Kraftwerk to appreciate their contributions half a century ago.

Amidst all the racket there's some really creative and beautiful melodies. It gets a bit overwhelming in the final third but after two straight listens I'm definitely into this album and want to check out more of Grizzly Bear.

It's hilarious to me that a breakout French concept album would be about a man who (what else?) seduces a teenage girl. So yeah I struggled taking this seriously but can't deny the music is pretty great. I'm a huge Beck fan so I also loved hearing the inspirations of Sea Change songs, especially Paper Tiger. I plan to delve deeper into Gainsbourg and see if he's got more hypnotic music, maybe about the allure of wine, women, and cheese, and the obscenity of EuroDisney.

An old roommate of mine used to play Flaming Lips way too loud when he was banging his art school girlfriend. Was that better than their awkward sex noises? We'll never know but I doubt it, given Wayne Coyne's commitment to off-key singing. There are some cool, cute things happening on this album but not enough to crack my top 1001 albums-to-make-love-to list.

What else is there to say about The Doors? Sure, Morrison could go over the top at times, but the Doors still give me glimpses of a different consciousness, steeped in blues, sex, and American mysticism. Jim's poetry shines as lyrics to an incredible body of music. All that said, I have really listened to them in years so this is a good reminder to head down that rabbit hole for a while.

I liked this more than I expected, especially the first half. Not sure how often I'll come back to it, but good to know it's out there if the mood strikes.

"Come tonight, come to the ogre site, come see the ogre battle fight." Seriously? I've never understood the adoration of this cheesy Euro-rock arena band. I guess if you don't speak English, "No time for losers, Cause we are the champions--of the world!" feels like a killer sing-along, but anglos have no excuse for celebrating this motley crew of bad English hair and teeth. (Yes, Bohemian Rhapsody is awesome, but that's it.) Case in point, this album's corniness is all that distinguishes it from the sea of 70s Camaro rock we've all moved past. I'll take Tenacious D's loving parodies of these bland odes to pipers, queens, and fairies anyday. Shame on you, 1001 Albums writers!

As a Gen-Xer, I can't help but find something irresistible about Duran Duran's sound and Simon's vocals specifically, no matter how formulaic and shallow their songs get. Still, aside from some from the nostalgia of remembering the Rio video on MTV (which was more interesting than the actual song) and listening to the few other standouts on this album, there's not much to get excited about.

To me, this album is George's loving letter to all the lonely people out there, offering them hope and promise of a better life through a more spiritual existence. Musically, I love the interesting melodies and little surprises tucked throughout. Not every song is great, but the good ones are so good that I agree, this album is a must-listen before we die.

Well I can't even think about It's Alright Ma without the hair on my neck standing straight up. When Dylan sings It's alright Ma if I can't please him, does he mean God or my dad? I've been trying to figure that one out since high school. Gates of Eden, She Belongs to Me, Love Minus Zero, Subterranean, and Tambourine Man are all amazing. That's how I feel now looking back through nearly 60 years of music history, so I can't imagine what it was like hearing this in 1965. Yes, there's some filler here to skip over, the rest is gold everlasting.

Hmm, some cool grooves on this record. I was surprised this came out in 75, thought it was an early 80s album. Would I rather listen to Bowie tinker with 70s soul than the original artists? Probably not, but I like what he's doing and it's an interesting departure from his glam stuff. Still, I would take the Ziggy and Diamond Dogs records over this most days.

Assuming this record was added by accident and was supposed to be on the list of 1001 Albums You Should Die Before Listening To. Yikes.

Always interesting to hear something from Paul but this one feels half-baked and underwhelming, like studio outtakes or something. Still, lots of catchy tunes and of course Maybe I'm Amazed.

Ugh. I really don't like the Flaming Lips, mostly because of Wayne Coyne's vocals. You're artsy and so quirky--I get it! Now give us a break and sing normally. The times you do (a few songs towards the end of this album I think), it's not terrible. I gather the Lips' sound has evolved over the years but between this and the Pink Robots album I have zero interest in finding out.

Seems like lesser Beatles and just overproduced. I didn't listen all that closely to be honest. I'm guessing all the synth work was cutting edge at the time but at this point each song seems to have more style than substance.

I've had San Quentin for years so Folsom feels very familiar despite this being my first listen. Hearing Johnny play to the prison crowd is just wonderful. If you can't enjoy this music something's wrong, you dirty egg sucking dog!

Well, this project has led me to yet another artist I've always heard about but never listened to. The first song on this album made me cringe and fear for the worst, but the music improved as I listened on. I can't say I loved it--too many screechy guitars and violins--but I'll check a few other Crimson albums to see if something more ear-friendly comes along.

It's shocking for a guy my age, but this is my first Alice Cooper album. I'm surprised by how campy it is. I knew how theatrical he can be but I thought his music was darker and more ominous. Anyway, I can see how high school dudes in the early 70s would love Cooper for upsetting their parents and preachers, but 50 years later I don't hear anything enduring or meaningful here. The best stuff sounds like cast-offs from The Who. For what it's worth, I also decided to check out Welcome to My Nightmare and that was even more campy with orchestras and Vincent Price gleefully waxing about poisonous spiders! I guess it's fun to revisit that era for a bit and chuckle at what sounds like songs from "Gollum the Musical" but this album seemed kind of shallow to me.

Cool tunes but kind of background music for me.

Three huge songs that were part of the soundtrack of my youth, and five others I've never heard before. I remember singing and making up lyrics to Shout with my friends in 5th-6th grade. Rule the World and Head Over Heals are great songs even without the nostalgia. No question Tears had a unique sound that cut through the noise and became part of the landscape. I still don't know if this is a great album exactly, but they did something right and tattooed their music on millions of brains worldwide.

I'm not a big punk fan but I liked this quite a bit. There's something very relatable throughout all these songs, on top of the authenticity, energy, and angst. After this album I listened to some Sex Pistols, Buzzcocks, Sham 69, and the Clash. Damn if it wasn't all good stuff!

Meh, not my thing. Too busy and mashed up to make me want to dance and not that enjoyable as a straight listen. Although I can see why DANCE got so much attention, that's a toe tapper.

You're angry. So so angry. You have many feelings but they are best summed up as angry. Because that's the cool one for dudes who are angry. You should make an album about how angry you are that the world is shitty and how your insight into how shitty everything is reminds you to be angry. Next album please. PLEASE.

This Nine Inch Nails dance music feels dated. There are some cool hooks here and there but I'm not that big a fan of this 90s goth-core industrial electro British club kid rave music or whatever sub-genre it fits into.

Hip hop has a serious problem with boring, same ol' same ol' lyrics and tone. I understand there's technical skill to phrasing, rhyming, sampling, etc., but the genre maintains such tight parameters you hardly get any variety across artists, let alone an album. I mean four decades after RUN DMC rappers are still saying the exact same things the same way. And there's almost nothing thought-provoking or emotionally engaging in it. There are exceptions of course and I like Tribe, the Beasties, Deltron, Public Enemy, and a few other unique-sounding artists. But GZA's Swords doesn't seem interesting to me just because he rhymes about chess and being wise like Abraham. And haven't kung fu movies been sampled plenty of times before Wu Tang?

Did the book's authors have a quota to fill for certain genres or decades? That would explain this shrill, derivative yawnfest making the cut. Wikipedia inadvertently summed up the album's mediocrity quite well: On Metacritic, "the album earned an average score of 79, based on 19 reviews." Yes 19 people reviewed it and the average score was a C+. Yet somehow this is an album we must listen to before we die. Yeah right. Like I said--quota.

Better than some of the recent picks I've been getting, but still nothing to get excited about. It's pleasant enough and I can see myself coming back for an 80s fix from a band that hasn't been played into the ground.

God I hate Queen. Everything is either campy as hell or the dullest schlock rock. The a cappella middle of Prophet's Song grates on the ears like a screeching child. Their cheesy lyrics seem to have been written by a non-native English speaker. After listening to this, I had to play two Bob Dylan albums in a row to fully wipe away the blather and remember what adult music sounds like. Obviously Bohemian Rhapsody is excellent but the rest sucks. No more Queen. Please.

I'm not a big punk fan but thought this was pretty good. Aside from Anarchy, a little one-note honestly. Surprised how it seemed so squarely aimed at school kids. I've been enjoying punk a bit more as I get older, but Bollocks won't be the album that converts me.

Beautiful late 60s/early 70s album with Neil's signature sound. The emotion streaming through these melancholy songs sound like they come from a much older person. There's just an undeniable beauty and truth that leaps from the speaker when this album plays. Don't Let It Get You Down is insane. I've been loving this album for 30+ years and it still hits hard.

I've always loved the tenderness in Bob's voice, which comes through no matter what kind of song he's singing, even the protests. And the poetry and inspiration he finds in Old Testament verses resonates with me. Exodus isn't my favorite Wailers album (in part because of the overplayed hits on the back half, which isn't Bob's fault), but I know some critics think it's his best. Regardless, I don't think he ever wrote a bad song (ok maybe Reggae on Broadway), making him the most consistently high-level musician I've encountered. Pick any song off any record, whether it's one of the old raw recordings or the modern polished versions, and it's guaranteed to be good. I don't know how he sang with such emotion, authority, spirituality, and moral clarity at his age. He left behind an amazing body of work that never gets old.

I know for a lot of folks this music has gone from "oldies" to "old timey" but to me it captures the infectious, irresistible sound of early rock n roll. A lot of these songs have a nostalgia factor for me as well and my favorites are those I've been listening to since high school. For that, and because I want to rate other Beatles albums higher, I'll give this a four. But a Beatles four is a five for any other band.

Well I've always wanted to explore these guys, which I did after recoiling from this album and turning it off. Their others are pretty good and much easier to listen to. Psychocandy might have been interesting if the vocals, instruments, and electro-racket were better balanced. Instead, the accessible stuff is drowned out by sonic shrieking. No thanks.

Ok, not that exciting. I was a Rush fan in high school but never loved them. This album doesn't change that

Wall of Sound! I'll remember this for next Christmas.

Hmm, I can see how this was cutting edge at the time but I can't say the music does much for me now.