1001 Albums Summary

Great album. Classic pop punk that still holds up. Fills me with nostalgia. Along with some incredible tracks, there’s a few I’d love to take off this album though.

The soundtrack to me starting high school, picking up a guitar and a skateboard. A diverse album full of catchy tracks which you can't help but sing along with. I still love the angsty teenage tale of Johnny/Jesus of Suburbia. However the 'political commentary' is a bit corny and paper thin. Biased bonus points for being a hugely nostalgic album for me.

Joni Mitchell has such an iconic and incredible voice. The control she has over her voice is masterful with those key changes. This record creates a great sense of atmosphere which is emotional and heartfelt. It has fantastic songwriting and melodies. Personally it's missing some extra magic from some folk albums I prefer though.

Very good record overall. Personally I think Billy Corgan's voice is great and I love the guitars in this. It has my favourite Smashing Pumpkins tracks, however I feel the record as a whole drags in places and I'd personally cut a few tracks from it.

Incredible melancholy songwriting. Such a raw, distilled sound. As an album though it begins it suffers from a lack of variety in my opinion.

A masterpiece. Incredible songwriting, performances, and production. A haunting and beautiful album capturing the genius of Brian Wilson, who seems like he travelled to a higher plane of existence when recording this album.

What a blast! A catchy album full of hits that have aged surprisingly well.

I loved the acoustic instruments in this, and there were some wonderful and vibrant melodies. The electronic areas of this record haven't aged well though. I also found a lot of the tracks too long and boring.

Considering time it was released, it’s a refreshing sound amidst the electronic pop sound of the mid-2000s. A love letter to 60s Motown without feeling tacky. Amy’s vocals feel raw and heartfelt. Great album.

Incredible voice and I loved the vibes of this one. I did enjoy a few tracks on this, but it felt like the majority were quite forgettable. It makes for some brilliant background music, but not something I’d go back to for active listening.

An album I loved when it released but not so much anymore. Either my music tastes have changed or it hasn’t aged well. Still some great songs and instrumentation though.

An album I loved when it released but not so much anymore. Either my music tastes have changed or it hasn’t aged well. Still some great songs and instrumentation though.

Bon Scott with an incredible, and unfortunately final performance. The guitar tone on this is iconic as well. Great hard rock album, but some forgettable tracks and as with most AC/DC it’s quite repetitive.

Some of the greatest hip hop songs of all time. Biggie has incredible flow, and some of the best biographicial lyrics. It has some great hooks, and beats. However as an album, it's difficult to listen through from start to finish because of the awful skits and misogynistic lyrics. I'd rather make a playlist of the better tracks of this record and cut the crap.

Some fun 80s New Wave. It has catchy choruses and groovy melodies. The hits, Rio and Hungry Like the Wolf are great, and I really enjoyed Lonely in Your Nightmare and The Chaffeur. However most of the album felt too samey for me to enjoy listening in full on repeat listens.

This record suprised me, I ended up liking it far more than I expected. The first 2 songs especially blew me away. Incredible vocals, and I liked the minimal instrumentation with the pianos and light synths. It all felt quite ethereal which felt quite refreshing to the usual bubblegum electronic pop of the decade so far. I did find the further I got into the album, it all got a little repetitive however.

Queens of the Stone Ages have never clicked with me. I just find it grating, and frustrating to listen to. There was some great guitar work in this record, and some nice songwriting, I can see the appeal of it. It's just not for me.

Some catchy tracks and instrumentation. This record is also quite diverse. It just didn’t really click with me though.

Incredible vocals and lush instrumentation. Tracks are long and sometimes self indulgent. Overall this album has such a great vibe and remains a soul classic.

A very good 80s pop albums, but it’s just not for me. There’s a couple of great tracks on this, and a bunch of tracks I don’t care for.

This record was full of vibrant blues rock, and was a great blend of cultural styles. Although I did find some tracks sounded too similar as the album wore on.

I found this quite boring overall, and just not my kind of music. It was like listening to a 40 minute long Bond film intro.

Iconic, energetic, brash electronic album. Certainly one of the most important albums of its genre with some real stand out tracks. I do feel like the album is a little too long though and I could easily get rid of a few tracks on here.

It's straight forward 70s rock, but it's absolutely brilliant. I really like some of the less known tracks and of course American Girl is sublime. Great album all round.

I've always loved the simplicity and tones of the White Stripes, especially the guitar tone on Ball and Biscuit which is incredible. There's a handful of songs that didn't click with me, however it's still great modern rock record with blues and garage rock influence and I'm always up for more of that in the world.

I thought this felt aimless and too dull. I can’t see how it would be 1 of the 1001 albums to listen to before you die.

So much funk. This album is absolutely great. The guitars, bass, and drums all sound brilliant on this. It has some RHCP classics along with some great deep cuts. A few throwaway tracks in my opinion but it’s still a great all around album.

This is a classic for a reason. The vocals are phenomenal, the instrumentation is lush and smooth. The production is still incredible to this day.

I love the tones and production of this record. Despite being covers it's still full of personality and the one track that isn't a cover is great. It's got a great blues sound overall, and as the Rolling Stones debut it's an important album. However as it's almost entirely covers, it doesn't stand as strongly as their other records, or the records of the decade.

This grew on me more after a few listens. I've never delved too far into Country so it was a little jarring initially, but I could see why this is an important record to the genre. I thought the guitar work was pretty nice, and there's lots of toe tapping melodies. However I don't feel like records like this have aged too well.

I personally thought this was awful. This just isn't my style of music, but even objectively it's hard to find the merits in this record. The songwriting is generic and bland, and it feels overproduced and tacky.

Simon and Garfunkel at their most interesting and experimental. I can see how this was an important record for them, and also the genre. This album is full of great songwriting and some tracks have brilliant messages and meditations. I throughly enjoyed it, though a few tracks pass me by a little.

This album takes some interesting, experimental directions which are really cool, delving into genres like hardcore punk and electronica at moments. However a lot of their hip hop tracks came across a little bland for me.

Great vocals and I enjoyed the guitar work on this one. However most of the record felt a little devoid of character for me, it felt like some fairly generic blues songwriting.

Incredible thrash metal. Every track on this is stellar, and I think One is a masterpiece. Unfortunately its somewhat let down by its production, especially the barely audible bass guitar.

I tend to like synth pop but I found this album very grating. I don’t feel like it’s aged well.

This came across as a very emotional, personal album, and the songwriting felt quite strong in that regard. Bjork's vocals are always unique and fascinating. However I found the instrumental aspects of this album too repetitive and it felt like a slog to get through at times.

I enjoyed the guitar work on this, and there's a glimmer of what could be some fun, hard party rock songs here. However the lyrical content is trying to hard to be edgy, it comes across as cringey and immature, unfortunately that spoils the whole record.

This record is gritty and raw, with incredible energy. To me this is pure soul music, and I enjoy it more than Sam Cooke's 'perfect', and polished studio recordings. It has a great tracklist and the performance is stellar, you can feel the atmosphere of the audience too. Production is great too, the quality of the live performance comes across really well.

A mix of folk, garage, psychedelia, and even some proto-punk in there. The instrumentation is brilliant, I love the guitar tone, drumming, and folk instruments like flutes included here. Lyrics and vocals are great here too.

Bizarre, fun 80s post punk. Adam & The Ants pack such a vast sound palette into their records. There's a few songs I don't care for, but the majority of the album is just a good, fun time.

The concept of Johnny Cash's prison performances is still a wild idea even in 2023. The fact he wrote 'San Quentin' the day before, went in and performed it in the prison, not once but twice sums this album up. A great live performance, Johnny Cash's rappor with the crowd is incredible. There's so much swagger in this performance, it makes for a great listen.

A fine country/folk album. Great vocals and some nice songwriting, but the albums as a whole didn’t do much for me. Felt a little bland and lifeless at times.

I love the late night jazz club feel of this album, the crowd interactions, the intros to each track along with with songwriting and sound of this record are great. It has a unique feel, with the theatrical side of things. I personally think Closing Time is a stronger early Tom Waits albums, I think the tracklist is much stronger than the one on this.

This is Coldplay's strongest album in my opinion. Objectively it has a strong tracklist, along with great production and performances. Personally I've never really gelled with them though, it's all a little bit bland.

One of the greatest records ever. A timeless 60s rock classic with the Stones at the peak of their power on the Beggers Banquet, Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers, Exile on Main Street run. Gimme Shelter has one of my favourite vocal performances of all time and there's so much swagger and style across the whole record. Every track is a masterpiece in my opinion.

90s electronic music is not typically my thing, but this was an interesting and unique take on it that I enjoyed. The guest vocals from Iggy Pop on the track Aisha were really cool too. This album has some great rhythms and a good mood.

I've always been a fan of this era of music, early 80s new wave/synth pop. However Simple Minds have always been a little too shiny, pristine and poppy for me. I found this record quite hard to get into, there's lots of cool sounds and melodies, but something about it just feels lacking compared to other new wave bands for me.

Raw, noisy, abrasive, and full of emotion. This album being recorded in the Tate murder house (whilst Reznor also lived there) adds to the eerie, visceral themes too. This record is packed with interesting sounds and experimentation. It's an fascinating concept album that explores the dark depths of the human mind.

Really creative, experimental album. I tried to transport myself to a 'pre-post-punk' world and view the album through that lens. It's certainly a pioneering record which would go on to inspire so many post-punk bands. Keith Levene's guitar playing on this is incredible, and the bass/drum section of the band are great too. However I think it's let down somewhat by the longer, repetitive tracks.

There's some great lyrics in this album as expected with Eminem's early work, it's undeniable that he's a great rapper. There's some classics on here too, and I appriciate the shock-value. However many tracks on this record are laden with homophobic and misogynistic lyrics, it's not even a case of it being 'a product of it's time' - homophobia and misogyny were never cool. The whole thing just comes across as edgy and cringy.

An immaculate debut album full of catchy tracks, and great guitar and synth tones. Every song on this is really strong. Moving In Stereo in particular is incredible, it's super catchy, has an awesome bassline and the guitar tones are brilliant, and the track actually moves between the stereo speakers!

Quite a nostalgic record for me, reminds me of high school. I love the lush production and orchestral nature of it. There some great lyricism too. A great album but nothing too exceptional.

This album is packed with great beats and grooves. I don’t think this is an album to actively sit and listen to, it’s more suited to background music. Not really my cup of tea, but still a great album.

The combination of Leonard Cohen's deep, poetic, almost spoken-word delivery and the 80s synth production on this album make for a really unique sound which I think people will either love or hate. Personally I love it, and some songs on here such as First We Take Manhatten are brilliant, but some other tracks on here don't combine the vocals and instrumentation very well.

Incredible jazz-fusion album with exceptional performances. This album epitomises the genius of Zappa, not only in his skills as a guitarist but as a band leader and composer.

If this was a meal it would be bread with a glass of water. It's dull, bland, mundane. It's not doing anything terribly wrong, it's just not doing anything exciting or different. There's a solid base, but it's never built upon. I'm not sure why this is on this list.

This is a really strong album. Some post punk vibes, mixed with jangly new wave sounds, some shiny pop melodies and Bjork's unique, fascinating vocals. There's a few tracks on here I didn't care for, but the majority was good fun, unique and interesting.

Brilliant psychedelic rock album. I’ve loved the title track of this album for years but never took the time to listen to the whole record, I was blown away by how good this is. The first half has some great psychedelic rock tracks that feel a little more radio friendly, the second half delves into the theatrical with a lot of monologue, it reminded me of the ‘nadsat’ language in Clockwork Orange. It was fun and full of quirky Britishness, overall a great experience and one I’ll certainly return too.

Great beats, great vocals. This album has such a cool vibe, it’s chilled whilst being a little haunting. Really cool atmosphere.

I like Neil Young but never heard this one before. Guitars sound great as they always do but not his strongest songs

I love the atmosphere of this record. It's dark, moody and raw, while remaining ethereal with jangly, ponderous sound of shoegaze and post-rock. It's obvious this record has influenced tons of grunge, post-punk, post-hardcore and other alt music.

Grungy post-punk with an oddly fitting mix of surf rock. The description 'surf rock for goth kids at the beach' is pretty apt. This album has a creative mix of sounds and all of them fit together really well. It's clear to see the influence this record had on various rock genres into the 90s and beyond.

I've never been able to get on with Van Halen or other bands of this genre. Objectively the playing is incredible, nobody can deny that. However it just comes across as a bit wanky and cheesy to me.

I wish I liked this more than I do. I appriciate its value in the genre, and how influencial it was at the time. However I can't get over how silly it is, maybe this kind of hip hop just isn't for me.

I think this is a really good modern alt rock album. It's a product of its time, but also clearly influenced by 80s new wave too. It's a lot of fun, and enjoyable throughout. While some songs do get a bit samey.

Great voice overlaying smooth jazz that makes for a relaxing evening. That's all there is to it. Songs aren't particularly noteworthy. Standard music and lyrics. Recording pretty good, though there are some hiccups here and there for being a live recording.

This is a little too much on the generic pop side for me to really stand out and feel meaningful. There’s some good tracks, but it’s not for me.

The arrangements throughout are a mish mash in a good way of jazz, classical, Spanish and African themes. It feels very improvised, something you may hear at a jazz club, quite nice as some background music. No best or worst as the entire album feels like a collective that should be treated as a whole.

Phil Spector is an utterly repugnant human being but the music is really good. So the marking is right down the middle. Merry Christmas.

Few interesting tracks on this one, most are repetitive and instrumentally bland

There are a few gems in there, but also a few quite forgettable background sound songs. I liked it overall, but don't know if I will put it back on spontaneously.

I didn’t really connect with this album, I found it pretty boring overall. There’s some nice instrumentation and melodies, it has a lush sound it just drags a little.

What a fun, energetic album. Incredible debut, especially considering the band were pretty much just kids. I was a teenager when this came out so it feels nostalgic as well.

Decent, no real standout tracks, but overall, an enjoyable listen. Opening song "Marcus Garvey" probably the best. Solid 3.

Very well executed covers of c&w songs, most of which are better than the originals.

I love this album so much, it's nostalgic as it was a record my dad played when I was growing up, I still listen to it often and it feels timeless to me. Costello's lyricism and vocal delivery is among the best in my opinion, along with some groovy, bluesy, rock n roll instrumentation, this record is just great.

Some inspired, surprisingly exciting tunes here, it'd almost be memorable if it had some sort of charisma. To their credit, they're obviously trying very hard, there are some different styles and genres throughout the whole thing, but it just lacks personality.

I’ve never really listened to Def Leppard before and this album hasn’t convinced me to listen to much more. It sounded like very generic, sickly sweet pop metal to me. There’s some cool songwriting but it mostly comes across a bit bland and passionless.

I had a great time listening to this record. Sebadoh are a band I knew by name, but haven't listened to much - after listening to this, I definitely want to check out more of their work. There are certainly grunge elements on this record, but they experiement and expand into many other genres too. It kept me on my toes. Whilst some tracks didn't resonate with me, many of them were great.

I kept tuning out of this one rather than finding myself drawn in. On paper a mix of jazz instrumentals with samba stylings should at least be enjoyable to me, but there's not enough editorial or musical guts here to get down to killer tracks rather than filler background noise.

I find a lot of this album musically intriguing. But I just don't really vibe with instrumental music that much. The James Bond cover is pretty good. I just don't think this belongs on this list.

As with many Bowie albums, this is otherworldly, experiemental and unique while remaining catchy and filled with pop melodies. This album has a haunting, cold edge to it which I've always found fascinating. It also clearly had a huge influence on the wave of post-punk which was to follow. Incredible production, songwriting and instrumentaiton all round. It's a masterpiece.

A perfect pop rock record. It's catchy, has great melodies and hooks along with some punk elements. There's no filler on the record, lots of Blondie's hits on here, and the lesser known tracks are brilliant as well. Such a fun, energetic record.

I've never been able to get into UK Garage music, it's just never done anything at all for me. This record does try to do something different and interesting with it at least, but it still comes across as mostly repetitive and boring in my opinion.

Nice modern psychadelic pop. It's chilled and has a good groove and unites some 60's elements with 00's sounds. Most of the album failed to grab me fully, but there were lots of aspects of this I liked.

This record is a great mix of jazz, funk, and soul. It feels like you've time travelled to the 70's, yet remains timeless. It's smooth and lush. I would love more vocals though, since they're so strong on Street Life.

Another Radiohead masterpiece. I’ve always been grateful they chose to release this as a stand-alone album that acts as a companion to Kid A (rather than a lengthy double LP, or cutting them completely). There’s such an incredible atmosphere and mood to this album. It’s insanely creative, passionate and timeless to me.

All very samey. High points are very cool but overall it bored me for the most part.

This just isn't for me. It's fine, has some nice grooves. It just isn't really doing much.

This is a brilliant record which has stood the test of time, and is among the best records of the 70s. However I feel this is a slight dip in form after Ziggy which remains up until Station to Station which are masterpieces. I love the Stones-esque sound of this record, and there's some incredible tracks on here; Drive In Saturday is one of my favourite Bowie tracks, the off-key piano in the title track fits the theme well and is so disorienting, and The Jean Genie provides some rock n roll fun. A great album, just not flawless like others in Bowie's discography.

I felt like this record was one big oxymoron. It's punky and proggy at the same time. There's some great grooves and vocals in this record, other parts can be a little dull. Lyrically there's some great references and stories, while others are misogynistic. Overall some very high points, and some very low ones.

I found this a really interesting album, with a great mix of sounds. I've never given Suede a proper listen but now I'm inclined to go and explore their discography. There's a mix of art rock, glam, new wave, and obviously britpop in here. It properly shouldn't work as well as it does, but now tracks come together really well. The vocals and guitars are great, and the songs are dark but beautiful and bold.

I have to come at this one with an open mind, as this is not my thing in the slightest. 90s bubblegum pop is one of the few genres I just can't hack. It's undeniable that this is a great, iconic pop record, it's catchy and fun! However I can't get away from how manufactured this whole genre is though - overly produced, ghostwritten songs performed by stars who are groomed and abused by their labels and management. It's sad, and doesn't feel like real music.

Fantastic album. Cornells voice is one of a kind. Some great tracks throughout. A couple filler songs here and here with a track count of 16. Could definitely cut some for a more refined listen.

This was a pretty good listen, without being overly outstanding. I definitely feel the second half was stronger than the opening. I'm unlikely to rush out to put this on again, but would certainly not mind it being put in my rotation.

Great folk storytelling. I loved the guitar work and vocals on this. The songwriting was generally brilliant, and the record had a dark, americana feel. It's one of those record that really transport you to a different place.

Objectively this is a good album, the lyricism and instrumentation is brilliant. It's surprising this is from 1987 not 1997, what a pioneering sound. Clearly inspiring for the grunge alternative scene that followed, you can hear the tendrils this type of album left for artists to come.

Really enjoyed this, sprawling but found it easy enough to lock into. Has its moments typical of the era, where indulgence trump's art, but even in the indulgent moments there's just something there that I couldn't help but dig. There are some really interesting and unexpected musical passages throughout this.

Not only is this the greatest punk record of all time, it's one of the best records of all time. The Clash are a punk band through and through, however they took the original punk sound and message then expanded on it, exploring many different genres and musical styles - while remaining true to their message continuing to fight injustice and stand up for the common person. The energy and passion in this record is incredible, and the songwriting and performances are astoundingly good.

A “challenging” record without much payoff. It sounds like a combination of an Ariel Pink soundtrack for a haunted house, and B-sides from Bowie’s “Scary Monsters” era. Kind of a shame because they’re clearly a good band and Billy Mackenzie shows some impressive vocal chops. It just rarely comes together into a compelling sound.

Melancholy, contemplative, imbued with much sadness, in many respects Five Leaves Left is a tough listen. Drake’s voice is beautiful and the production exquisite but the mood is dour and there is little variety between tracks.

This album really encapsulates the essence of 1971, or at least how I imagine it. It's kind of a strange album, with two extended instrumental pieces bookcase five very different songs. It also has a fairly epic ending with a coo-coo clock, fart noises, and a nuclear explosion. It's all nicely funky, though, and that's what holds it together.

Clever album title! It certainly made me listen with an open mind. The first few tracks were really impressive, and did indeed raise George Michael in my estimation as an all-round singer/songwriter/producer of substance. The middle of the album was much less uninspiring - there are some pretty ordinary nothing-y sort of songs there.

Great musicianship but doesn't really have the hooks necessary to click with me. The opening song (7 songs and instrumentals arranged across one track) has a weak story and the parts don't particularly distinguish themselves. The one-off numbers of the second half, mostly classic blues rock material, are a bit more fun. Aside from the terrible and cringy 'A Passage to Bangkok'.

It’s kind of hard to describe this album. I guess it’s really upbeat and noisy dance/punk/pop that is a little catchy at times but always full of energy. It’s not too long which is nice however it didn’t completely hold my attention. I also don’t see how this is essential listening.

I would love to time travel back to 1970 and be around for this album's release. Seeing the creepy LP cover on the shelves, putting this on your turntable and hearing the birth of heavy metal. The first track on this record must have blown many minds - it's just so dark and evil for its time. This record is immensely influencial, and timeless. The songwriting and performances are incredible across the whole album.

Anger distilled. Henry Rollins really created something impressive here. It's raw, emotional, angsty, and youthful. Perfectly captured a feeling of disaffected youth. A key album in the American wave of punk. An early gateway into what would later become hardcore music.

Classic 70's soul-funk pop. Great start with Shining Star and That's the Way of the World. Overall a pretty solid album. Reasons is a great slow dance, and Yearnin' Learnin' and the instrumental Africano have great grooves.

This is a strong offering from Jack White, the classic White Stripes sound is still there, but this album is a bit more experimental with progressive folk, blues, and country rock. There's some tracks which come off really well and others which are a little forgettable. As always though Jack White has some incredible guitar tone and riffs.

From start to finish, Rust in Peace is an exercise in how pulverizing, hard-hitting, breakneck and relentless thrash metal can get. At forty minutes, it also never overstays its welcome and can be a welcome respite from all the other ponderous metal records of the time. Classic thrash, classic Megadeth, classic album.

Enjoyable albums. Simple & classic sound lacking some variety but they found their niche. Nothing really stood out for me too much they're good at what they do.

I liked this but thought it was a bit boring overall. I felt like the songs bust kind of meandered around in existence with no real purpose or direction. Cool concept with fun moments.

I mean it was decent but all the songs sounded the same. Sounded like ABBA and Fleetwood Mac but worse. Sax was pretty cool in some of the songs though.

While there were a few parts I liked, I didn't enjoy this album as a whole. The musicianship is definitely solid, but the tracks were way too chaotic for my taste. The vocals aren't quite my cup of tea either.

First off, this needs to be treated as two separate albums. Even when doing this, each of the albums is still way too long! There are a lot of tracks that feel like filler, and the various skits should just have been left out completely. It feels like there are potentially two excellent albums in here, each of around 40 min in length. All that aside, there are some really fantastic tracks on both. The bits that I liked, I loved. Two different styles, both with really cool rhymes and flow, great music.

Very mixed on this one. It has some interesting ideas and a nice sound palette. However many of the tracks can get repetative or dull quite easily, maybe I'm not in the right mood for it? Maybe it's just not for me? But either way I don't feel like it's an essential album.

This record is simple and beautiful. Missguided Angel is an incredibly well written and performed song, and I loved the cover of Sweet Jane. However some tracks feel too restrained and a lot of them didn't really connect with me.

Talking Heads are such a unique band, who completely master their own sound. Blending punk, funk and disco among tons of other genres and influences. It all synergises together incredibly. Considering this is their debut album it's so consistent and they already sound so tight as a band.

This has to be one of the greatest debut albums of all time, and it remains one of Pearl Jam's strongest - if not their best record. Overall the songwriting and performances on this are brilliant, it's heartfelt, emotional and full of passion. They mix the raw, brash elements of grunge well, with some obvious 70s rock influences and flourishes of more stadium oriented sounds.

A great record overall, showing the immense talent and charisma of the Stones - however they aren't quite at their peak powers just yet here. It has has some of my favourite early Stones tracks; Mothers Little Helper, Out of Time (both on the UK version), Paint It Black (on the US version), and Under My Thumb amongst others. However there's a few tracks which are more forgettable on this record. Also on an annoying note, the UK & US versions of this record are wildly different, however that's a frustrating quirk of label releases from decades ago.

Front heavy with hits. I find it all a bit meh and superficial. Maybe I've heard Mr Brightside too many times. I don't think it will go down in history as a classic.

Lots of variety and experimentation. I like a lot of the instrumentation and sounds on this, and it's an ambitious album. However it just doesn't connect with me much overall.

I was familiar with some of the songs on this album already. They never stood out to me to begin with, and that remains true for the rest of the album I respect the musicianship and production quality of the record, but their writing style doesn't quite scratch my brain

I loved this album. There's so much going on here, yet it all ties together so well. It's ethereal, melancholic, dreamy, psychedelic, emotional, and atmospheric.

This one didn't do anything for me really, there were elements of nice guitar work, a fairly interesting sound palette and some genre hopping. But overall it didn't really come together as anything meaningful or interesting to me.

The Black Keys remain one of the best modern blues and garage rocks bands out there. They have a great sound overall, and a knack for catch hooks and riffs. This album epitimises that in many ways with a nice mix of radio hits along with some awesome deep cuts.

This is among the better records when it comes to mid 2000s pop. There's something more interesting here compared to many of her peers at the time. It's just not for me personally though, it's not an album I can enjoy myself.

A 60s classic which has certainly stood the test of time. Folk rock drenched with psychedelia. Incredible songwriting throughout, and great performances across a host of instruments, I loved the jangly guitars, and the sitar-like guitar playing on tracks like 'Why'.

I have a love/hate relationship with Yes. I've always loved the two records which sandwich this one 'The Yes Album' and 'Close to the 'Edge'. I've never really connected with this one as much, at it's best it's fantastically composed, technically incredible prog rock, but at it's worst it's just all a bit wanky isn't it?

Definitive funk sound. Prominent use of spoken word. Exceptional vocal performance on “Handcuffs”. Virtuosic rhythm section. A number of catchy melodies. Deserves multiple listens.

This is full on beige - Take It Easy is a decent enough song, but not particularly memorable, but the rest of it really doesn't inspire much of anything. Perfectly pleasant to listen to in the most part (Chug All Night feels very weird and out of character for them), but it's pretty unambitious given how good their voices are. Should be doing a lot more (and did so with some later albums, much better than this).

The beats on this record are top drawer. But while Guru’s lyrical imagery is definitely intuitive and novel for the genre, the actual egocentric tropes remain largely untouched. This is undeniably a great hip hop record though, but its impact waned greatly towards the latter half of the album.

A deranged, highly energetic and addictive rave/electro album from the late 1990s. The production of the album is top class. In small doses this record is entertaining, but as an almost 1-hour long album I've found it quite exhausting. Musically it is also quite repetitive.

Forgettable imo. Did not enjoy the instrumentation too much — boring, old, nothing new. Sounds derivative, but could be because indie acts soon followed the sound they created here. This band and their records are so hyped up that I had high expectations coming in. Can't say I hated it totally — I think Ready to Start, Modern Man, and Rococo were enjoyable songs. The record front to back sounds too similar and homogenous.

Great vocals, songwriting and it has a beautiful atmosphere. It captures a modernised 50s crooner style in a way that could easily be derivative but it works really well. Some tracks blended together, and I felt like it was lacking in places. I did really like this record overall though.

I found this record pretty dull, and bland. I genuinely don't have much to say about it - personally I'm not sure why it's on the list, and I won't be returning to it.

This is a masterpiece for the genre, and an all time classic. There's so much groove, and bluesy rock, the band are completely in the pocket and this recored oozes passion and confidence. Along with some blistering social commentary and good vibes. It's a stellar record.

As spot-on a post punk album as you'll find. Intense but properly pissy, full of prickly, bass-forward rhythms and stark, jagged guitars. I appreciate the band's start-stop, punk-inflected approach to pacing, with an effective use of both volume and speed that propels the listener through each song. The songwriting is less coherent than on later albums, but Mark E. Smith's delivery is so compelling, I'm not particularly bothered by it. For a first album this is pretty fantastic.

This is another record that I'd use my hypothetical time machine for. Imagine going back to 1957 and hearing this ripping up your radio speakers. Incredible performances throughout, and Little Richard's vocals and keys are incendiary. The songwriting and structure is formulaic, but this music essentially created the formula for pop music going forwards.

A masterpiece, and considering it's a debut album is mindblowing. A flawless mix of 60s psychedelic jangly rock with late 80s indie dance. Incredible songwriting and performances throughout, it's just so catchy and singable. This record sets up the wave of 90s Britpop to come, and remains a timeless classic.

I should like this for it's experimental tendencies but it doesn't really grab me for some reason. In fact I'm finding that it is frequently annoying me. It comes across as somewhat "lightweight" to me. Beautiful in a way but also perhaps trying a bit too hard to be so.

This record is just full of incredible music, plain and simple. Stevie Wonder has one of the greatest, most iconic voices of all time - combined with his incredible ear for melody. This album is one of his best works and is packed with wonderful hits along with interesting experiementation and diverse genres of music. My only real criticism is that, as with most double albums it becomes a little too bloated and unfocused at times. It's a record I prefer dipping in and out of, rather than listening through as one.

This is a pretty good hip-hop record, I like the overall vibe and concious lyrics. It took my right back to the mid 00s with the record cover, the production and overall sound. There's a diverse set of themes on this, with Lupe delving into povery, religion, racism, etc, it's an interesting break from the guns and bling rap of the time. The outro track is too long and unneccessary, and some tracks didn't click with me. But as a whole it's a great record.

This had its time and place on the dancefloors in the 90s, but it's not the type of music I would listen to outside of that. It sounds a bit dated and is somewhat tedious.

The unfortunate situation where the best songs on the album are overplayed to death. The remaining songs are too bland to revisit, resulting in an album that is just not worth your time, even with the big hits being as big as they are, because you're already tired of them before they've even started.

ELO is an acquired taste. There tends to be a lot of similar instrumentation and treated vocals across all the tunes, and so if you like the sound, you'll like it, and if you don't like it, you won't like any of it, pretty much. This record has a couple of classics in "Turn to Stone" and "Mr. Blue Sky" which both still sound great and interesting today. The rest of the record is unfortunately somewhat forgettable, tunes blend into each other and don't have the hooks and songwriting necessary to really stick out like those two specific tracks do.

This one still hits hard, it's aged well. Skepta has some of the best production in the UK rap/grime world, along with some great bars. Personally I prefer his older, more grimey stuff like Microphone Champion but this is still a modern classic.

This is one of The Fall's more accessible records, it still has Smith's snarling yet witty talk-singing, great angular guitars and pounding drums. As a northerner, his lyrical style feels homely in a strange way. This record has certainly inspired many post-punk and indie bands in the last couple of decades.

This is a time capsule to the late 60s psychedelic, hippy era. It transports you back to that time, yet hasn't aged a day. This album still sounds incredible, with awesome vocals, especially from Grace Slick, great songwriting, instrumentation and innovative production. Another album I wish I could visit in my hypothetic time machine.

I love the concept behind this record. It's humorous and satirical take on commercialism and pop culture. It's nostalgic and charmingly British. A unique listen, filled with silly fake radio sections and adverts which blend into the tracks. The songwriting and performances are great. It's just a fun listen overall.

A very interesting album. It's an incredible use of sampling, and there's some awesome hip hop beat on here. Some very creative songs, but my main complaint is that it sort of dragged on.

A masterpiece. While Dylan's debut album is mostly comprised of covers, with this second album he evolved into a true master of his craft. The songwriting on this is astonishing, and many of these are timeless. For example Blowin' in the Wind and Girl from the North Country are still as moving, and beautiful as they ever were. While Masters of War is still, if not more relevant today. Just incredible.

I've never been able to get into the Manic Street Preachers, and I was hoping sitting down and listening to this record would finally be the moment they click, but it just didn't happen. I can't help but find them a bit dull and bland. Nothing on thie record really jumped out to me. It's enjoyable, but not something I feel like coming back to.

This record starts with the illusion that Jimi Hendrix descended down from a UFO, his guitar playing then goes on to transcend you to another world. It's just incredible! Also while we all focus on Jimi's guitar playing, the rhythm section here is immensely good as well. This record was so far ahead of its time, and along with Jimi's other records, it has inspired countless guitar players and songwriters. This is a masterpiece.

A couple songs really blew me away, I love the energy and simplicity, as well as the way she plays with dynamics and tempo. Great record overall with straightforward, purely cathartic rock.

I found this pretty dull, bland and annoying to be honest. The drums sounded bad, and production overall was pretty rough. On top of that I found it a bit repetitive, and it's simply just not my cup of tea.

Undeniably catchy 70s disco pop. It's fun, and there's some bangers on here. However it's just so poppy, and a little one-dimensional at times.

A masterpiece, one of the greatest records of all time. Exceptional songwriting, performances and production. On top of that, the concept and flow of this album is almost perfect - as with any good album, it's made for listening through as one whole experience from start to finish, however this one of this the greatest experiences in that regard it takes you on a real journey.

Melancholy mixed with relaxation. The lyrics through all of this album are sad, occasionally stepping through to the depressing and self-harm areas of Elliott Smith's brain. I found most of the songs to be fairly catchy and melodic, reminding me of the quieter selections from The Beatles's catalogue.

This could be the most important record of all time. It revolutionised how artists use the the recording studio, how experimentation can be combined with pop music, influenced countless artists/genres, and setup the rest of the Beatles immensely groundbreaking catalogue from here on. Imagine hearing Tomorrow Never Knows in 1966. This record is so diverse, yet every track is perfect.

A jazz classic, the performances on here are stellar and the melodies are incredible. It wanders around and takes you on a journey from start to finish.

There are some nice ideas on this record, but overall it comes across as a bit drab and boring to me.

This is a great, fairly compact album. Not as psychedelic and enveloping as Disintegration, but there's a great range of sounds in this one, as always the Cure are jangly and melodic while haunting and distorted.

An incredible blend of folk, blues and psychedelia. I've always loved the guitar tones and vocals from the Byrds and this record is no exception. Wild Mountain Thyme is a very special song for me, and while this isn't my favourite version, I think this is a beautiful cover. Other highlights are the title track, Mr Spaceman, Why, and I See You. There's a few tracks I don't care for, but overall this a fantastic record.

Groovy, funky, fun disco. This record epitomises the 70s disco genre, and is among the best in the genre. Each of the tracks are individually great, but as an album listening experience it can be quite repetitive. It's still a ton of fun, and easy listening though.

This is a great metal album that really helped kickstart the whole genre, and it still holds up today. It's also one of the great debut metal albums. It's not perfect, and I think they really came into their own with their subsequent albums but it's still an awesome set of songs.

A record of it's time, rather than aging well it stands as a time capsule for 50s folk and country. The Louvin Brothers have some great harmonies and the guitar work is brilliant too, and the storytelling on display is great, as good folk as music should be.

The production and beats on this record is among the best in hip hop. Absolutely stellar stuff, however the lyrics haven't aged well in many songs.