1001 Albums Summary

Listening to this album for the first time in a long time has turned me from a Pearl Jam agnostic into...someone who kinda likes them now. The first three songs are such an incredible opening and Eddie Vedder's caveman vocals lend every song an epic feel. But, the bubblegrunge sound they pioneered isn't totally my thing. Nobody did this sound better, but the bands it inspired were like Nickelback and Creed. Still my least favorite of the big 4 grunge bands, but at least I understand their appeal better.

The Stranger Song, Sisters of Mercy, and So Long, Marianne were instant favorites. The rest of the album is good and every song has something that makes it worth a listen, but he keeps going back to this one cadence that irked me. I get the feeling I'm going to revisit this at some point and rate it higher.

This McCartney fella sure can write a song, huh?

Really tough rating for me. This album was a gateway into metal for me, but I also think I've heard so many better albums since that introduction. Don't get me wrong, so many bangers on this. But listening to it again it feels like it's too long. Lop off a couple songs and this would be a "no skips" album.

I may have not been in the right mood, but I just couldn't vibe with this.

This album not only has a bunch of my favorite Stevie songs, but some of my favorite songs period.

If the entire album had been more like Side Black, this would have been a 4 or 5 for me.

I imagine this is what a barbecue in Tremont sounds like

As a middle-aged metalhead with a beard, I am required to give this album a high rating, as decreed by the Council of Beard Metal Bros

My parents were super strict and wouldn't let me buy CDs with the Parental Advisory sticker. Right before 9th grade, they relented and this was one of the first albums I bought (come to think of it, 99 was a good year for dumb white teenagers with inchoate rage and some extra cash). This was one of my favorite albums in high school, but the next few years revealed to me that Korn was not a good band. So after tiring of their sound and moving on to better metal bands, I sold this CD to the Exchange and Korn went into my mental "do not listen" file. And there they stayed for several years. Then one day, Got the Life popped up on my Spotify. I had started to recognize that there was good Nu-Metal and it was OK to listen to some of the dumb and cringey stuff I liked as a teen. Got the Life had the stuff I look for when I go for good Nu-Metal- cool use of guitar tone, heavy use of the bass, and interesting use of sounds from funk, rap, and electronic music. That song and Freak on a Leash made their way back onto my playlists and, yes, into my heart. So when this album popped up on the generator I was ready for it. I was still a little skeptical, but I suspected this album could be a 3 for me. It's On started and, indeed, it was on. From that song through to Dead Bodies Everywhere, I was back to being that teenager, filled with a rage that I now recognized was caused in part by the sneaking realization that not everything was OK in America following the Reagan and Clinton years, despite what adults at the time believed. I had fully let Korn back into my heart! Then the rest of the album happened. And just... Fucking yikes.

Love the pure and uncut bombast, but every song on this album needs to be cut back by a minute or two.

Listened to this album and compulsively headbanged. Napalm Death is one of the greatest bands of all time. Want to see a sight? See them live and see their Pulp-looking vocalist lose absolutely every inch of chill he has screaming about every single bullshit thing about capitalism. Also, check out that one review about the guy banging out a German goth in a pub bathroom while listening to Napalm Death. Makes more sense than anything in the world.

Good listen for a chill Sunday. k.d. lang has one of the best "aching for love" voices in music.

It's always bugged me that Amy Winehouse received more plaudits than Sharon Jones. It stank of bigotry to me that the culture at large embraced Winehouse while they generally ignored Jones, even though the latter had a stronger voice and stronger songs. Because of this I ignored Back to Black for years. It is a good album, even though I think it's another attempt by the music industry to put a white face on music that had already been innovated by black faces. But that's really more on the industry that pushed Winehouse, not the singer herself. And she and her producers do good and interesting stuff on that album. This bullshit, though? Weak mimicry. Winehouse doesn't have the control over her voice she exhibits in Black, sounding like a copy of the girl groups she idolized. The backing tracks sound like beats that were rejected from 90s R&B and Neo-Soul albums. In My Bed has a good beat, but too bad it had already been used for Made You Look by Nas. And naming the album after Frank Sinatra when it owes a larger debt to the black singers that came in between them? Get the fuck out of here. It's the Starbucks version of Jill Scott and Erykah Badu.

It's wild to listen to this album and hear the 50+ years of alternative music it inspired.

It's possible I just really dislike blue eyed soul

Good album, but I couldn't shake the feeling that it sounds like Bruce Springsteen if he didn't fuck

I dig Screaming Trees, but I don't think I've listened to this album before. The first half is pretty bland, but the back half saved the album for me. I wondered why this was on the list, then I saw that Kerrang selected it as the best album of the year. I've seen the criticism that the 1001 albums book is very British-centric and I think there's maybe some weight to that argument.

I was torn between a 3 and a 4 for this one. Jay-Z has always been more of a "greatest hits" guy for me, but this album might as well be a greatest hits album. I also think the production, particularly the Kanye West and Just Blaze tracks, is a big part of this album's success.

Solid dumb Rock fun

Surprisingly, I'm actually not a huge fan of extended distortion. Otherwise, this album is fucking amazing.

I guess this album is supposed to be fun? But in an ironic and disaffected way? I don't know, I just felt kind of irritated.

We all shat on Korn, but "buhm na na uhm, na na eema" is easily as smart as anything Jim Morrison sang

Clean and crisp production with absolutely filthy lyrics and music. Love it.

I am eternally thankful for my Gen X elder who told me the Jackass theme was a song from one of the best albums of all time

I don't have much to say because I literally remember nothing about it except how bland and boring it was

Not terrible, just kind of run of the mill. There are much better Reggae and Dancehall albums that are not in the book for some reason.

I used to love this album, but now I think it's just aggressively mid. Anthony Keidis's voice really bugs the hell out of me. And why the hell is it over an hour long?! Under the Bridge and Give it Away are still good though.

Rio and Hungry Like a Wolf are good, the rest of the album just kind of washed over me.

Years ago, I was in a play with a girl who used to strip and she said that Closer was one of her songs. I say that to underline what I love about this album and Nine Inch Nails in general- the music is dark, intense, and angry but also catchy and danceable. That is definitely a sweet spot for me and this album is one of the foundations of that taste.

Typically this is my thing and there are several Suoergrass songs I like, but I just couldn't vibe with the album. There are just some bands I can handle in small doses but no more than that.

Blur is more of a greatest hits band for me, but this is still a solid album.

I don't think there's a bad song on the album, but not as many bangers as there on Innervisions and Songs in the Key of Life.

A good album and cool artifact, but I don't know if I'd use the word "essential" to describe it.

I suspect this album is going to grow on me, so let's say it's a 3.5 for now.

I would give anything to go back in time and see this performance. Everybody in the band is so in sync and playing super tight. You can feel the energy even today.

I thought I actually liked The Mamas & The Papas, but boy I did not. Just some real hippy dippy bullshit. Mama Cass has a good voice though.

Better than I thought it was going to be, but really only works as background music for me.

Probably like a 2.5 for me. Some interesting stuff peppered throughout, but better off as background music for me.

A couple of dope songs, but otherwise this album left my memory right after listening.

An easy 5 for me. This has been in my rotation for well over half my life at this point. Kung Fu and comics references abound making for a fun record that is also incredibly dark and sad. Very much my kind of shit.

Look, angry sad boy music is clearly my thing, but Morrissey has shown himself time and time again to be a preening narcissist. And, oh boy, I am tired of narcissists who think talking about how sad they are means they can turn around and shit on everyone else. I cannot separate art from the artist when it's just pathetic whining from someone who has very little introspection or desire to improve one's self for the better. Johnny Marr's guitar is fucking awesome though

Some really great songs on here, though I feel like it sagged in the middle a little bit. Probably more like a 3.5.

I've often said U2 is a greatest hits band for me, but after listening to this album for the first time in forever, I think its just that I prefer angry U2.

When Paul and George went solo they made some of the greatest music of all time. When John went solo he showed the world what a whiny, self-important prick he was. That said, I am shocked how much I disliked this album.

So good. We all know Santana is an all time great guitar player, but I think he's a great band leader and collaborator as well. The band sounds so tight and together that this album sounds like an amazing jam session without ever coming off the rails.

Sharing a thing I wrote to our group chat: I think this album is predominantly about three things- being famous, yearning for adolescence, and being gay. I also think those three things are wrapped up together. The Oz imagery underlines these themes- Oz itself can be fame. Hollywood (used here as a blanket term for the world famous artists walk in) is famously a strange and wondrous place that hides danger and darkness within, particularly if you're a young boy coming from council housing in a suburb of London. Wizard of Oz, at this time, has also already become a symbol of nostalgia for a bygone era. Hollywood (the movie industry this time) is transitioning to the auteur driven "New Hollywood" and movies that are nowhere near as innocent as Oz are being released. Though with Candle in the Wind, Elton and Taupin are reminding us that all the wonder that came through on the screen was obtained at a terrible cost. At the same time, songs like Your Sister Can't Twist and Saturday Night's Alright are songs sung from a teenage perspective, talking about how great being young is, but barely masking the rot and danger of the world the youth run in. Friend of Dorothy was a slang term for gay men and was a well known term among the LGBT crowd at this time. So just by using Oz imagery, Elton is giving a very obvious wink (also keeping in mind he was still publicly in the closet). And while a song about Judy Garland would have been the most obvious nod, a song about Marilyn Monroe and how the boy in the 22nd row admired her in an unsexual way is the next best thing. The song All the Young Girls Love Alice is also notable through this lens because it's a song about a young straight woman being prostituted (literally) out to lesbians sung by a young gay man being prostituted (metaphorically) out to straight people. So in a way, the songs about childhood reveal an absurdity about where Elton is at this time- he's allowed to sing outright about teenage violence and banging underage girls, but his true sexuality can only be nodded at. Jamaican Jerk-Off is the only song I won't bother defending, shit is lame ass white people reggae. Would have been more at home on a Jimmy Buffett album Bad reggae notwithstanding, this is still a 4.5 album for me, giving it a 5 here.

I have to be careful listening to this album because it's gotten me pregnant a couple times

I used to really love Hendrix and I still recognize how important he is to the development of rock, metal, and funk. But I think over listening to him as well as an overabundance of poor imitators has taken the shine off of him for me. Regardless, still a pretty damn good album.

This album has been in my rotation for over 20 years and it never gets old

Sorry Geof

Pretty bad, but it is kind of endearingly goofy at times.

I want to go back in time and tell the Beatles and Rolling Stones that one of the downsides of them covering Black American music is that it will lead to several of their countrymen releasing ridiculously neutered versions of Black American music.

Look, not every album can be Rumours

I go back and forth between kinda liking The Darkness and being annoyed with them. Definitely more in the annoyed camp at the moment. Really good guitars, but everything else feels like it's kind of a put on.

Every song on here is an absolute classic. It's funny, I actually think Powerslave is the better album, but 80s Maiden just didn't miss.

I dug half this album. The other half though...

A lot more filler than I remember, but the best songs hit hard.

Similar to Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin was a band I loved (and still dig their music!) but the shine has come off of them because of decades of poor imitators.

Even as a lapsed Zeppelin fan, this album's greatness is undeniable.

Kind of a mixed bag and a little too long, but I think the highlights outweigh the low.

Shut the fuck up Morrissey

Not bad, but Nick Cave's schtick wears on me sometimes

Take away the makeup, stage show, and merch and Kiss is really just a mediocre band. I get that it's all part of the package, but artists like Alice Cooper, Gwar, and Slipknot are similarly dependent on theatrics and have a lot of songs that stand on their own. Kiss really doesn't. On this album, Detroit Rock City is a banger, but the rest of the album could have been made by any old rock band (yes, even Beth).

One of the first albums I really fell in love with and I keep coming back to it. It's funny, Wonderwall was a huge hit and it's gotten to Free Bird/Stairway to Heaven levels of ubiquity, but Champagne Supernova was the big deal to younger me. I think the way the album is put together, this actually makes sense. In the flow of the album the latter feels like what the whole album has been building towards and it successfully pays off on that kinetic energy.

It hurts to give this album a 3 because I loved it so much back in the day. But it has the same problem other 90s electronic albums have- it was clearly made for a live experience so the music is repetitive and overlong. It was probably fine when you're vibing to it on ecstasy in a club, but listening to it while driving and sober? It can get old quick.

Sledgehammer and In Your Eyes are about all this album has going for it

More like a 3.5. Sittin' Here, I Luv U, Fix Up, Look Sharp, and Jezebel are all time favorite songs for me, but the entire album is a bit long and it feels like 2-4 songs could have been cut.

I liked this enough while listening to it, but later realized I didn't remember a thing about it

More like a 4.5 for me. Bring the Noise, Don't Believe the Hype, Terminator X to the Edge of Panic, She Watch Channel Zero?!, Rebel Without a Pause, and Prophets of Rage are all time great rap songs period.

Kashmir is the best song on the album, but overall disc 2 is stronger than disc 1

Take on Me- 5 Train of Thoughts and Hunting High and Low- 3 Rest of the album- 1

Why can't every album be 30 minutes of nothing but bangers???

Any of these songs would be fine pop songs taken on their own, but listening to them one of another and Abba's schtick gets old quick

Am I in a Barnes & Noble?

I love punk rock and I think it's a very punk thing to recognize that the Sex Pistols were overrated posers

Why is every song so long

I don't know why I never listened to this album, it's brooding, horny, and danceable. It's right up my alley.

I like the idea of Dr. John more than I actually like Dr. John, but still a fun listen

Chris Cornell and Kim Thayil have to be one of the best singer/guitarist combos

Ten years ago this would have been a no brainer 5 for me. I've cooled off of it a bit because Frank Ocean has since leaned into the weirder parts of this album, but there are some all time fave songs for me here.

One of a couple Van Halen albums that could also function as a greatest hits album

I thought it was weird that they put what is basically a greatest hits album on here until I read that the intent was to introduce The Hives to the UK

Thanks to this list I've listened to enough electronic albums to know that there's nothing special about this album other than Madonna released it

I think Painkiller is actually Priest's best album (and I also might prefer Screaming for Vengeance and Stained Class, but I reserve the right to revise that opinion), but this album is still not only one of their best but one of the greatest Metal albums of all time.

Sometimes the opening to Watermelon Man randomly pops into my head

I'm not going to dislike an album that has the lines "Some people try to pick up girls and get called assholes/This never happened to Pablo Picasso"

In The Ghetto and Suspicious Minds are bangers. The rest of the album is pretty inessential

I would love this if I didn't hate Morissey so much

The perfect summation of Kanye West's career to this point. It really sucks that it all goes wildly downhill from here

One of the best debut albums of all time and it doesn't even scratch the surface of how good they would get

This is my favorite kind of background music, though I wouldn't ever just sit and listen to it without doing something else.

It's funny that this is the "inaccessible and abrasive" Nirvana album, but it's very accessible and mainstream compared to actual inaccessible and abrasive music

If you knew me, you'd probably assume I was one of those guys who won't shut the fuck up about how great Rush is. And I probably would be if I didn't hate Geddy Lee's voice.

I mean, they have some good songs, but otherwise they're so boring

The twin guitar attack alone is like a 4.5 or 5. Everything else is very ok

5 for the sick ass guitar solo in Hotel California. 0 for everything else.

Well where the hell was this Super grass on the other album we listened to?!?!

Look, I probably like Tom Waits more than anyone else in this group. But this is a bit much.

Like Stone Temple Pilots but not as catchy

Billy Joel still annoys the piss outta me

Tough call because OutKast is a favorite and this is one of their best albums. But the back half loses steam and the flow gets broken up by the skits. More like a 4.5.

That is the right amount of stupid

Motorhead only gets one album. Thin Lizzy only gets one album. No Mastodon. No Death Metal. No Black Metal. But there are generic Britpop/Alt bands for days. Fuckin nerds

This album might grow on me. It's too long, but I really dig the use of 70s/80s TV special type samples

There are so few voices like hers

God, I wish I'd seen Motorhead live

Starting off with white boy reggae is not a good way for me to like your album

Look, there's a reason why Abba's best selling album is their Greatest Hits.

Not bad for bar vibes, but there's only a couple songs I really liked

Courtney Love did not deserve all the shit she caught

Disc 1 would be an automatic 5

Not Wilco's best, but there is some damn good song craft here

High 3 for me. I dig Aimee Mann's stuff, but there is some kind of barrier keeping her from being one of my faves.

The one thing this project has taught me is that I'm into Pure Moods-core

The perfect soundtrack to the apocalypse

I suspect I may have liked this album more had I not listened to Smile right before it.

More like a 3.5, but I'm giving it the ol' Metal bump. This is album is still fairly disparaged by Metalheads and it's definitely not as good as their older stuff, but I think it's a good example of what could be done well with Groove and Nü-Metal.

Another band I used to love a lot that I've cooled off on over the years.

Even though I've been getting into ambient music more and more, I do think there is some stuff that is entirely too chill for me

Her voice is incredible, but there is way too much filler on this album.

At first I thought I was really going to dig sadboy Beck, but it all just kinda sounded the same to me. It was pleasant to have on in the background, though.

I can see why some people would find this annoying, but I dug the laid back beats and the juvenile rhymes.

Even though I didn't understand what he was saying, I still dug the beats and his flow.

For people who think Coldplay is too hard

This used to be one of my favorite albums! But, now I just think there isn't enough substance to it. There's still some bomb ass bangers though.

I need to be in the right mood to tolerate The Doors. Today was not that day.

Toxicity would have been my choice, but still a real good album

The only thing you can trust in life is the first four Black Sabbath albums

The political song lyrics are dopey as fuuuuck, but, otherwise, this album is pretty amazing.

More like a 3.5, but Angels is one of my all time faves, so it gets a bump up

21st Century Schizoid Man is a 5, the rest of the album is just ok