1001 Albums Summary

We’re goin back Jack. Steely Dan escaped focus in my youth but they rip... Their influence in the music I listen to now is clear

This vibe is Breakfast at Tiffanies, 16 candles. It’s so 80s.. fronted by Cindy.. I hear a bit of Gwen Stefani in Witness. No double this was an influence. So much synth and 80s. I don’t think I would revisit this album on my own accord, but there are several hits on this album that make an an essential 80s one.

oh I get it, it's British Invasion and a rock opera.. this must have been 4 sides of vinyl with a runtime just under 1 hour and 15 minutes. Townsend rocks. Is this the first Rock operas? I can appreciate this, but listening to this in 2023 has me craving for a more modern guitar production. Best Track: Pinball Wizard

Already familiar with this one, and I already love rush. An easy one to digest. Best Track: 2112

Yeah they sing well together, but its kinda dated.. Is this what folk music was like in the 60s? I understand it was impactful at the time, but it doesn't hit the same nearly 60 years later. Most of these songs are forgettable... Silent Night is yawn. Best Track: Scarborough Fair / Canticle

Paul McCartney doing more Beatles stuff without the Beatles. Best Track: band on the run

I will admit I don't know anything about ATCQ. I know I've heard their voices before in other media, but I've never jumped in... Man, I think I need to. I love hip hop in the 90s. This album so pure and accessible. These guys sound like they are New Yorkers -- a quick wikipedia tells me I'm correct.. Great mix between fantastic word play, bass lines and jazz riff. It's mellow, but at the same time you can lose yourself in the messaging. Busta Rhymes on the last track was unexpected and probably catapulting. I bet they helped define that East Coast hip hop sound and I'm sure this album is more culturally significant than I'm even aware. Favorite Track: Buggin Out

I love this album, I don’t even really need to listen to this one. wish you were here was one of the first songs I learned on guitar as a teenager and even in my 30s it’s probably one of my favorite tunes to belt on an acoustic given the right opportunity. SYCD is fantastic. This thing probably blew the socks off people when it was released.

I thought this would be a live album with a name like Berlin, but it's a rock opera. I never really delved into Lou Reed's music before this, I only know the hits from his work with Velvet Underground. It's not bad or particularly great and it doesn't really speak to me through the lens of 2023. I liked Tommy more. A little glammy, a little rocky, a bit introspective. The Kids has some crying children in it.. and I have one at home, that wasn't really fun. Do people who don't have kids not know how aggravated that can make someone? Best Track: Men of Good Fortune. (Jack Bruce's bass line that is driving it sounds pretty fun)

I know of the Roots via Jimmy Fallon.. hah. I guess they were a pretty well formed band based around hip hop. The first half of this album was pretty... I don't know aggressive?, but it seemed to mellow out in the back half. I don't have a lot to say on it, it was probably influential at the time - I enjoyed A Tribe Called Quest's Low End Theory a bit more than this one, I think I would revisit this album when I am in the right mood for exploring a foundational rap album. Best Track: The Seed (2.0)

I like Neil Young and I was fortunate enough to see him play with CSN in my youth. I mean it's a decent album but I like things that are a bit edgier.. This is just lost is a sea of stuff from the 70s that sounds just like it. Hm. One note - think when listening to artists that have multiple entries I almost want to experience them in release order so I can better understand the evolution of the artist. Best Track: New Mama (that guitar intro is pretty sweet followed by some typical harmonies)

Fuck what can I say about this album. I know it well and yet continue to find new things in it every time I listen. It's an album I've put on in the background so many times. In the same way I experienced most Indie of the early oughts and before, it was a slap in the face when I was introduced to it in 2007 breaking me out of a very narrow scope of "acceptable" rock genres. How could I have written off so many artists? There are so many things to like about this album and it will be one I continue to revisit without prompt from the list.. I dig the complex orchestrations, the production, the somber voicing. It's folky, it's indie, it's orchestral, it's great. As far as modern and cultural influence, I lump this in alongside Ben Gibbard's meteoric rise to greatness in the indie genre. --- Review of reviews: Seems like some people aren't into the pretentiousness of the mid 00's hipster.. and that's okay... It is one flavor of ice cream served at the ice cream shop, and sometimes you just want that flavor! -- Best Track: Come On! Feel the Illinoise! Part 1: The World's Columbian Exposition Part II: Car Sandburg Visits Me In A Dream

Something I know absolutely nothing about! Wow! This is pretty beautifully arranged, mellow, ethereal, ambient shoegaze. I have no idea what they're saying. I imagine myself sitting in cold, blasting this music, watching the northern lights in the sky. Maybe it helps to read that these guys are Icelandic. Best Track: Svefn-g-englar

This is classic rock blues. It's okay. I'm sure for the time it was wild. I suppose this album is just a vessel for Clapton to solo on top of blues standards? That's what it sounds like anyway. I'm fine with just listening to this once, the guitar is tone is pretty good and Clapton in '66 sorta rips, despite him also being a racist POS? Review of Reviews: Yeah I guess I agree with what a lot of people are saying. Through the lens of 2023, the blues has been done to death, and white boys cant really play it all that great. The drum solo in What'd I say.. was terrible. Best Track: Steppin' Out

It is 1996. Sublime combines hip hop with reggae. 311 combines hip hop with funk. I guess these guys combine some 90s alt/blues with hip-hop? It's fun .. it's in the name and I feel like I've heard some of this stuff before. It's definitely in the wheelhouse of things I should like, but 9 tracks in I'm realizing there are better artists that scratch this itch. Interestingly enough there is not a lot about this album on Wikipedia. I'm not even sure why it's on this list. Review of Reviews: Some people seem to really like this and some people find it completely hollow. Hah. I think if I'm true to myself, I like it just fine. it is a good blend of hip hop with instruments and a bit funky in the first half... Best Track:

it's techno! I don't know much about Prodigy aside from the one song. This is pretty solid techno though. It's dance music that has a lot of layers in it. I never actually finished listening to this album but I don't feel the need to. Review of Reviews: Seems like people get it. It's dark industrial techno that came out in a time before there was any.. Best Track: Break & Enter.... woooooooooo

I listened to a lot of Beck's Guero album in my 20s but I have never listened most of Beck's other music. He sounds pretty sad in this one. It's not offensive, just forgettable. Review of Reviews: Yeah he sad. People seem pretty split on this one, too. Best Track: Lost Cause

I love this era of Flaming Lips. This album kicks off a trilogy of albums I still actively listen to. I saw them play at a college series concert when I was in school.. likely 2008 or 2009. Wayne came out, blew up a giant hamster ball on stage and then crowd surfed inside it. The light show was great. The air smelled of reefer. Anyway, about this album. It's eclectic spacey rock stuff. Some of the lyrics are nonsense and basic.. sometimes the simplicity makes it oddly introspective. I dig all the synth. Review of Reviews: People either seem to really dig this or think the lyrics are cheap and Wayne's voice sucks. I think someone said it sounded like Mr. Hankey, LOL. I think that's part of what gives it character..she don't use jelly, afterall. Best Track: Suddenly Everything Has Changed... The Postal Service did this song better.

Elvis Costello was the first band I ever saw in concert, around 2003. This is a weird album. I can't say I like it more than the other stuff I've heard from him that i'm familiar with, that's for sure. It's not poppy like the other stuff. he's like doing his typical nerdy-voiced stuff but it's got this beatles-esque slant to it (also likely attributed to the producer). There is no doubt that the musicianship is great and same with the production, but I'm not sure what the impact of it is in the long run looking at this from 2023.. I like mellotron. The back half is better than the front half. Review of Reviews: People are bored by Elvis Costello and so am I. Best Track: The Loved Ones

Gross. U2. I guess I never considered the possibility of bands I know that I don't really like being on this list. Anyway, I'll try and remain impartial, but this one is going to be hard. The Sunday Bloody Sunday mix is trash. The song is better reworked by Richard Cheese. I will admit that New Year's Day is catchy. The drums overall in the album are pretty good -that guy is putting in the work. Phew, it's over. Review of Reviews: People like this whole thing? I don't get it, it's misses way more than it hits. Best Track: New Year's Day

The Grateful Dead is not a band that is meant for album formats. The only way to hear this band is in a live or recorded-live setting where they are allowed to let their instruments breath, speak, and jam. That said this isn't a bad album, it's just not true to the Dead Experience. There are some hits on this, but it's still pretty meh. Review of Reviews: Seems about right. Best Track: Truckin'

Why is holding the guitar upside down on the cover? He sorta looks like Regan.. Oh it's like really old rock and roll. It's just.. so white.. and bland.. with the lens of looking at this from 2023 and the fact that I don't know anything about buddy holly.. this is some boring stuff . It definitely captures the general 50s aesthetic that music in other media i have consumed matches.. I wouldn't listen to this entire thing over again but I might pick something from it if I were looking for something to listen to from this era. Review of Reviews: Top Reviews are gushing over this stuff.. I think it's a bit too bland for music people these, but sure.. I appreciate this as an oldie timepiece and how it influenced Weezer after it. Best Track: That'll Be the Day

Fuck, Sabbath is cool. Tony Iommi and his fucked up right hand created some iconic riffs. Ozzy's just cuts. Hail Satan. I don't always agree with whatever boomer made this list, but this is a decent entry. I typically favoring more main-stream Sabbath songs, but 10 minutes in this is pretty good..and then changes.. what? I guess they were trying something new. Wait, I *have* heard that. This one has a decent wikipedia article and it's always fascinating to read aboutthe recording process. Seems this album is definitely a reach by the band to try more experimental stuff... on copious amounts of cocaine. If I compare this to other albums of theirs I am not sure it would even be top 3 or 4, but when they stick to sludge/stoner metal it's top tier. Review of Reviews: The people like Black Sabbath, even those who did not think they would. Best Track: Wheels of Confusion.. me likey epic metal songs that are over 7 minutes.

All of the rap and hip-hop in this list I've heard so far has been NY based and Jay Z is no different! Is there bias, where is Snoop? This feels like middle album from Jay-Z after he's already been established and has a flow. It is a really well mixed and produced album, and the wiki tells me that Kanye produced a few tracks - I hear it.. It's like the era of dis-tracks and being angry.. I'm not sure what it is that makes this a bit off-putting -- maybe it's Kanye? I never dug him either... Maybe it's the people that I associate with this sort of swagger? It all just comes off so trite. Money, drugs, hoes. Who cares? I'm only two tracks in and this might be a slog I may not finish. This gets a 2 because of production value and the relevancy to rap after it.. not because the content is particularly any good . -- Phew. it lightens up on track three and four..hearing these makes me feel like I'm a teenager again. I Don't mind the production, but the content... Jay-Z gets in the way of his own ego. The Eminem track didn't really do it for me either. Review of Reviews: 2023 people don't like the clout, I agree. Best Track: Izzo

There were some people in college I knew that were straight obsessed with this band. I'm not sure I've ever seen them live, though it wouldn't surprise me if someone tells me I had. Funny enough, this is their breakout album which occurs after the period I was in school. That said.. when I hear this band name no song springs into my head. It's kinda like a raw high gain/fuzz, White Stripey, Dr. Doggy/garage lo-fi sorta thing. I think I wish I had spent more time back then listening but my tastes are a bit different now. -- Hey I know the single, that one is pretty good. Review of Reviews: These reviews made me think a bit. There was a review of someone going a bit long on the point of it all, like what is the point of it, really? This album doesn't really introduce anything new to the genre they are participating in. It is banging the same drum all record. It's not a bad album, but almost entirely forgettable outside of the singles. I think that's about where my opinion falls.. Best Track: Tighten Up

Oh hello Bruce. My parents are way more into this than I am. It is boomer rock. You cannot get around this fact. The music isn't complicated or intense, but definitely has a vibe.. It's like his voice has a tremolo constantly on it, I can't explain what it is.. maybe he's chewing marbles? I guess he can tell a story. The story of boomer rock. This is easy listening but it's just meh. He speaks to an America doesn't exist now. Review of Reviews: No you are all wrong. This isn't that good. Best Track: Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out for its bangin' horns and bass.

I listened to this on a record player with an original pressing a few weeks ago, but I skipped around a bunch. This time it’s boomer rock, but with a twist! The boys can play and sing, together, all at once, in a live environment. I am also a sucker for the jam, I didnt realize that's what the Allman brothers were known for as I'm only familiar with their studio recordings. When a musician isa able vibes with others, it’s a beautiful thing - this one actually belongs on the list, but it does suffer from being a bit redundant. My kid fell asleep while listening to this album in the car so I can't fault it for being derivative. Review of reviews: It's not as good as people make it out to be, but it isn't bad either. Best Track: Stormy Monday

There's a squeaky kick drum. Do you hear it? I already have this one saved out to my library.. It's hard to review without knowing where it sits in the context of the other Zeppelin albums, so after reviewing the track listings for each album it feels like this album is a transitional piece in between LZII and IV, which includes some of their more prolific works. III is a bit more variant than the previous albums, engaging in a bit of acoustic and folk. Review of Reviews: People are all over the place with how they personally feel about it but always recognize that it's well performed. Best Track: Since I've Been Lovin' You

Method Man ...isn't he an actor? Oh right.. another rapper from New York. Why have all the rappers been from New York thus-far? (Album 29/1001) Anyway, I wish I had listened to more WuTang before this so I could compare it, since I know he's in the clan.. Buuttt hiphop/rap isn't really my genre! In any case... with fresh ears this is a bit rougher to adopt into than ATCQ. it's a bit scrappier than what I am used to and I find his voice gets sorta lost in the mix on some songs. The loops are fantastic, 3 or 4 songs in, the flow is starting to grow on me. Lyrically sometimes he drops a deep nerd cut and references something like Fantastic Four, sometimes he busts rhymes like jizm.... It's all over the place. I just don't get it. lol. There is a grimy, spooky darkness to the whole comp that makes it pretty interesting to listen to, I guess? Review of Reviews: People who love rap love this, so it must be good. Best Song: I will survive.. I mean.. Release Yo' Delf

Hooray a debut album from a popular artist I know nothing about (Album 30/10001). Feel like this is something I'd hear in a hair salon or something. It's not my vibe. It has a ton of streams on Spotify, maybe I'm missing something. I'm bored, I'm hoping the back half is more entertaining. It's like emo r&b.. -- I wish it were funkier. Some of the best parts are the skits. Review of Reviews: People either really like this or are scathing considering it part of the "denigration of society." .. what a boomer thing to say. lol. Best Track: Fertilizer..

Cool NIN. I've never listened to an NIN album all the way through before. Is it industrial rock? This sounds like industrial rock. I just checked.. it's industrial rock. The first track kinda slams you with a wall of noise but the second track does not. I like this.

Shame on me for not knowing much of any of Prince discography.. but I am very aware of the proliferation of music that has come out of Minneapolis since his peak in popularity.. I don't think I would have liked this if if I had heard it in my 20s... but this shit is surprisingly funky as fuck! Damn I'm definitely listening to this again. I think I'm just in a rhythm centric funk-era of my life. so.. who knew.. Prince this works for me.. Talkin' about bein' sexy, dancing and fucking. Cool. "All white people clap your hands on the four now" lmao! Review of Reviews: The people.. they love it or hate it.. definitely not for everyone. I can see metal heads saying it's derivative. Best Track: Dance Music Sex Romance.

Oasis is the best band since the Beatles! I listened to this one in the car from Austin to Boerne on low-volume while my child slept. While I couldn't turn it up to review the mix or listen as intense as I could have.. I will say the band is very much the same as the album Morning Glory, which is the one I'm more familiar with. I suppose this was the British counter to Kurt Cobain since its 1994. A response to grunge. Best Track: Supersonic

Lets go! Funkadelic kicks. Love me some George Clinton and Bootsy. I don't know them aside from what I have discovered from myself - the hits, some weird stuff, but never put myself through a full album from the band. I will say they could shorten the tracks and I wouldnt mind, but I guess these songs are trying to get people to sweat on a dance floor. Review of reviews: People like funk a lot. Best Track: -- didnt get through the entire thing because i'm with my fkn family.

2023 Thanksgiving Catchup - This sounds like something Bowie would put out. It's okay. it doesn't blow my mind but it's not inconsistent. The front half is more exciting than the back half. It sounds like he ran outta energy there... Best Track: The Stars (Are Out Tonight)

God damn it. I hate to admit it but all these songs are bangers. This album rips. I am not a southern boy by any means, but there is just something that makes me feel like this is the core of "classic rock". Blues, grit, distortion. It makes me wanna turn it UP. There are like 5 songs on here that you hear on the radio like every day. Crazy good album. Freebird gives me that good music goosebumps feeling and I've heard it hundreds of times. Best Track: Any crowd... They chant... they desire... a song... It is Freebird

I prefer the muddy waters.. I like the second half of this album more than the first. It is upbeat and accessible. I'm glad to hear some crowd noise in the back half of the album... I was wondering if he was playing to an empty theatre. The mix is good for live in 1960. Though now in 2023, to me, t's sorta stuck as a period piece and the blues you put on when you're teaching someone about the blues. A true progenitor of rock music that percolated through the next 20 years. I don't know if I would go b ack and listen to this through again, though I can appreciate the artistry. Pretty cool to learn that the last track is completely improv. Review of Reviews: people recognize significance and generally dig this more than some of the other stuff I've already reviewed. (37/1001). Best Track: I've Got my Mojo Working.

This album has so many hits on it. It is starting part of the 5 album run of RHCP I enjoy the most (skipping the One Hot Minute Dave Navarro contribution - though I liked Aeroplane)... blend of nonsense lyrics that sound kinda cool (in spite of Keidis generally singing like shite), funky bass, spanky guitar licks, and overdrive guitar licks. Flea is a beast, John Frusciante is a beast. When it works it works, when it doesn't the lyrics are usually the fault because the musical compositions are good. Not a perfect album by any means, the mix is a bit soft and flat and there are some tracks that could have been left on the cutting room floor. It's too long. I was originally going to rate this a 4 but I think I have to bring it down because of all the fluff. Review of Reviews: I think people enjoy this for the nostalgia..it looks like it falls flat to a lot of fresh ears or people that have preconceived notions of RHCP. Best Track: Under the Bridge

A bit unclear which version I’m rating but i wish it was the one with Paint it Black. It’s boomer oldies that left me kinda bored in 2023.. like its solid stones if that’s what you want but for me.. a meh

I have to give this album a lot of credit, Slash, Axl Rose and the rest of the group sounds fantastic, the vocals are on point. The guitar tone is great. There is high production value. There is no doubt these guys can play. I really enjoyed the highs of this record, unfortunately there still felt like a lot of fluff. The lyrical content is a bit drab, and Slash solos that don't hit are just kinda noodle-y. Since it was blandly received, I wonder how it compared to the contemporaries of 1987. Still, not bad for a debut album. I don't have the relevant information in my noggin to compare the era Poison, Bon Jovi, Twisted Sister, Hair Metal/Glam/Arena Rock to give it its proper rating. Review of Reviews: People appreciate the musicianship, but it's quintessential boomer rock. Best Track: Paradise City

I don't get it. For how engrossed my parents are in Pop Art from the mid century, this was not played in my household .. and they were produced and managed by Andy Warhol.. wtf? Was it too edgy for them? They liked the Beatles, Beach Boys, the Stones... and this never came up! Morrissey and this stuff is slightly out of my musical zone and I've never sat through this one before. It's alright.. sounds like proto punk art rock. It's an interesting album that is for sure... but idk.. do people just listen to this to be trendy? It's not so bad being trendy.. I can see how it influenced a lot after it. Review of Reviews: A lot of people that spent a lot of time trashing it, but I think deep down they might like it. Best Track: they were all pretty forgettable but probably Sunday Morning.

She has a distinct voice. I don't think I would pick this to listen to again though. Ultimately this was forgettable to me. Review of Reviews: People like her voice and give this music a lot of recognition. Though she was very young when she died its a shame we didn't get to see her ride out her career. Best Track: Buried Alive in the Blues. I liked this one the best..

I love Bob Marley, and I love reggae. This is early in Marley's frontman career (debut?), but he had been participating in making reggae with Bunny Wailer and Peter Tosh since he was a kid. This is a distinctly Bob album, and man does he differ from his teachers. The sound is so full, the messaging about his life and experiences in Jamaica are clear. The backup singers are on point. Review of Reviews: Mostly adored, reggae just isn't for everyone, i guess. Hard to pick.. Best Track: Lively Up Yourself

I don't know.. initial impressions.. it's kinda like U2? I never listened to much Morrissey or the Smiths.. There are some interesting pieces and soundscapes of music, particularly the guitar, but they don't really linger on it.. also he sorta sucks politically now right? It's all kinda bland in 2023. Review of Review: People don't really like Morrissey.. Best Track: The First of The Gang To Die? idk.. all pretty forgettable..

Another fantastic debut album from a band that has probably ruined its legacy from overexposure. Every song is a banger. This is the epitome of classic rock. Review of Reviews: People agree it's good, but it is also overplayed. Best Track: .. all of them? Foreplay.

Hey, this is a pretty good album but why does this 1001 list have such a boomer rock slant to it? I will admit.. Smoke on the Water is probably one of the first riffs I learned when I picked up the guitar for the first time. It's just so damn accessible. Highway Star, already a good song, has a whole section of it that is not played on the radio.. or at least wasn't in my head and there are sick instrument solos in it. I can imagine this is the best of Deep Purple. At the end of the day, this makes classic rock album list... idk surely though this slot could offer a more complete album from someone else? I had never pulled up the lyrics to Smoke on the Water before this.. it's literally about the troubles they had trying to secure a place to record this album. I love when musicians so plainly talk about an experience they've had through their music in a meta sort of way. Best Track: Smoke on the Water

Man this is peak hip hop for me. Good beats and flow, and I had never heard it. My first 5. Review of Reviews: The people who hadnt heard it love it, and those who had heard it love it. People who are receptive to hip hop recognize all the pieces to this album work. Best Track: A Day at the Races