This is maybe the best Foo Fighters record, and possibly their least Foo Fighters-y record. Easily their rawest record and for sure the coolest one to like. Definitely their least pretentious record and most laid back record. Big Me is so unlike any other Foo Fighters song. It’s weird. Tbh I liked this even more than I remembered. Fave Tracks: This is a Call, I’ll Stick Around, Big Me, Good Grief, Floaty 4.6/5

I've never really understood Sympathy for the Devil. It's completely boring to me. No Expectations is also rather dull and repetitive. The vocals on Dear Doctor are so annoying. Stupid honky tonk sound pallet adds nothing. Jigsaw Puzzle is mildly more interesting than the first few tracks. This album is much more bluesy and folkesy than I was expecting. You wouldn't call it a rock album like some of the work the Stones are known for. Prodigal Son probably my favourite song on the album so far. Is this someone other than Mick Jagger singing? The voice is way less annoying than normal. Factory Girl has somewhat more interesting instrumentation. I won't be rushing back to this one. 2.1/5

There have been many songs that I think are overplayed but just stand out as great within the context of their album; Seven Nation Army is not one of those songs. It's almost groan-inducing as the album opener. It's a great song, but its so simple and so ubiquitous that it has nothing left to surprise with. The rest of the tracklist has some moments, but I feel like The White Stripes are like a novelty flavour beer, you can enjoy it in moderation but if you have 13 or 14 tracks of it, you'll definitely be sick. When things change up like in the spoken word on "Little Acorns" or Holly Golightly's vocals on "It's True That We Love One Another" it's a welcome respite. Fave Tracks: I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself, Ball and Biscuit, The Hardest Button to Button 3.7/5

Not bad, but really quite boring when compared with their later work; without My Generation this album would really be uninteresting. Fave Tracks: My Generation, I'm A Man 2.8/5

I loved this. A wild ride. So many great quirky tunes. 4.8/5

Sonically pleasing album, if a little bit one-note. Influential and oft-imitated I guess - 3.8/5

5/5 great album. Mayonaise is the best song named after a condiment.

3.7/5 Fave tracks - Life's a bitch, The World is Yours, It Ain't Hard to Tell

3.3/5 - fine, but most of the tracks pale in comparison to the title tune

1/5 - most annoying sound ever. Green Onions is an iconic track, the rest of the album sounds like being trapped in a 1950s fairground torture chamber.

4.1/5 - weird and edgy af

2/5 - just a bit boring really. Expected something more explosive based off the album cover, but just sounds like standard old-timey big band to my 21st century ears.

2.5/5 - don't really get gza or wu-tang, overrated if you ask me. Fave tracks: Gold, B.I.B.L.E.

4/5 - shpooky1 Fave songs: Spellbound, Halloween, Monitor, Night Shift

4.5/5 - this was really nice, very positive surprise for me

4/5 - so smooth, hard to dislike this album, a little bit repetitive though

3.8/5 - solid album, every track has some charm to it, though I don't feel that many stick out. I was surprised to hear how different this is to Pink Moon - a lot more conventional structure and orchestration, not in a bad way. Fave songs: Hazey Jane 2, At the Chime of a City Clock

1.8/5 - in 1970 this might have blown my mind, in 2023 i found it quite boring Update - went back to listen to Hush and Highway Star after listening to this album, those songs hold up so well in comparison. Strange to me that this album is on the list, generic nothing rock

3.3/5 - Scott has such an interesting, enigmatic voice, I really do quite like it a lot. Some of the songs here fall a bit flat though. Fave Songs: The Seventh Seal, Hero of the War

nah

Is this a good album or is it just the last access to Nirvana and thus fondly remembered? The Man Who Sold The World is such a good song. Gives me chills. Nice strings on Dumb. Dumb, Polly and On a Plain are quite similar songs. I like them all but the sequence is a bit repetitive. Something in the Way is a mood. Plateau is exciting, I hadn't heard this one before. Oh ok its a cover. Does it detract from this project that the covers are the best bits? The musicianship in the covers has so much more flavour than the Nirvana tracks. All Apologies is a great reminder after the string of covers that Kurt's got riffs. Beautiful song and rendition. Fave Tracks: The Man Who Sold The World, Something in the Way, Plateau, All Apologies, Where Did You Sleep Last Night 4.4/5 - as far as live albums go, this is clearly a good'un. Hard to fault the collection of tracks, but I think it is somewhat enjoyed with rose-tinted earphones because of the timing of its release. It is after all a live album basically half made up of covers.

not for me 2/5

3 - dont have too strong feelings about this one

8:30 into Chameleon - the synth/keys that join are so nice. Watermelon Man groove is delicious. Sly is my least favourite track, but still pleasant. Vein Melter is a woozy way to end it. 4.6/5

This was the worst music to try and work to. Every song sounds the same to me. I feel like if you asked me to make something that sounds like this it would be very easy as melody is completely neglected. Chico's Groove the first time there is any respite. Ok so maybe the whole second half is going to be respite, One Too Many Mornings is much nicer and spacier. Ethereal vocals! Life is Sweet started in the respite zone but it feels like its trying to break back into the A side of the album. I dont trust it. Playground of a Wedgless Firm seems a little bit lost. This album cover doesnt look anything like how the album sounds. Fave tracks: Leave Home, Chico's Groove, One Too Many Mornings 2.4/5

take on me still a banger train of thought panpipes! (are they synth?) the synth lines on hunting high and low are cheesey though living a boy's adventure tale is a bit too melodramatic for me the sun always shines on tv is so 80s, but it is a bit of a bop and you tell me almost a bit kate bush-y love is reason sounds like a christmas song generally the album sounds like a total pastiche of itself, but the production is mostly quite tight. I didn't find anything here i'd come back to though. 2.5/5 - barely squeaking a generous 3 star roundup.

Gorillaz are one of the most overrated bands of the 21st century in my view. This album I think gets a lot of credit for concept over content. Most tracks feel like half-baked ideas, genre-mashes that don't cohere into compelling songs. It's long too. The best tracks are basically just Del the Funky Homosapien rapping over: 1. a preset keyboard riff on Clint Eastwood; 2. John Dankworth's Theme from Modesty Blaise on Rock the House. Upon reflection I feel quite generous giving it a 3. I also listened again to the 2 remixes of the singles, and they both are just better than the originals without changing too much, which I feel is vindication for my viewpoint that this album is a lot of half-baked ideas. Fave tracks: Tomorrow Comes Today, Clint Eastwood, Rock the House, Slow Country 2.7/5

I've never really understood Sympathy for the Devil. It's completely boring to me. No Expectations is also rather dull and repetitive. The vocals on Dear Doctor are so annoying. Stupid honky tonk sound pallet adds nothing. Jigsaw Puzzle is mildly more interesting than the first few tracks. This album is much more bluesy and folkesy than I was expecting. You wouldn't call it a rock album like some of the work the Stones are known for. Prodigal Son probably my favourite song on the album so far. Is this someone other than Mick Jagger singing? The voice is way less annoying than normal. Factory Girl has somewhat more interesting instrumentation. I won't be rushing back to this one. 2.1/5

not my fave style of prog, but not bad. I liked Jeremy Bender, didn't get the point of the last song at all, undermined the vibe of the whole album to me. 3/5

These Important Years - good start. Reminds me of Sugar. I expected Husker Du to be more unhinged. EDIT - wikepedia'd Husker Du, the lead singer Bob Mould is the lead singer of Sugar. Good call by me. I like a lot of the next 7 or 8 tracks too - something in the sound pallet here definitely appeals to me. But this album is definitely too long. That being said, the back half is still strong. I like the groove on You Can Live At Home. 4/5

Yes jazz

Bonkers The instrumentals sound like a blind man parading round a scrapyard with drum sticks. Tom sounds like a deranged lunatic. Tough one to rate for me, I didn’t really like it bar a few tracks, but I give it some credit for just being so weird and singular. 2.6/5

4.1 - solid, smooth, delicious

4.2 - very solid album. Not familiar with any of these tracks, but all round very clean crisp catchy sound, not what I would’ve expected from their debut.

Hello is rather epic but I feel it deserves to be clowned on, its pretty cheesy. Send My Love (To Your New Lover) is my favourite Adele song, its a bop. If you gave me the aux and said play an Adele song I'd definitely pick this one. I Miss You, When We Were Young and Remedy are fine but all a bit bland and slow for me. Taylor Swift vibes from Water Under the Bridge. Love In the Dark strings. Million Years Ago sounded for a sec like it was going Fleet Foxes. Its just not for me this. Obviously Adele has a great voice, but I would love to hear her turn out more fun or creative songs. Fave tracks: Send My Love (To Your New Lover), Sweetest Devotion 2.7/5

This was good. A slight lull in the middle but very few imperfections. One song kinda sounded like All Saints to me, which was weird but good. 4.2/5

This was great. I loved it. Better than Bob Dylan. Fave Tracks: Strolling Down the Highway, Smokey River, Finches, Do You Hear Me, Running From Home 4.6/5

Birth of the cool might be an apt name, but I don't think this is (even close to) Miles' best. Move, Jeru, Venus de Milo are all fine but have some formulaic elements to them. Fave track: Moon Dreams 2.7/5

That Lady - great track, feels strange without Kendrick rapping on top. If You Were There - I like the da da da dra das at the end Listen to the Music sounds Stevie-esque. The transition to What It Comes Down To is vibey. Summer Breeze hasn't typically been my fave, but it is a great tune really. Fave Tracks: That Lady, What It Comes Down To, Summer Breeze, The Highways of My Life 4.2/5

I'm going into this thinking I'm not going to enjoy it. I think I have it on vinyl actually but have never listened. 4:25 changeup, nice. 7:25 organ, not feeling this. 12:40 now we're getting Spanish. 14:10 not sure where we're going now but I'm interested. 20:20 grand piano 21:05 glockenspiel! Side 2 - just kinda nice. Very chilled, medieval folky. 11:50 - what just happened, i love it. Do I like this or not? I don't even know. I don't know what the occasion to listen to this is, its very much like a piece of art rather than a piece of music. Listening through this certainly does make me want to check out more of Mike's catalogue. 3.6/5

Hmm not sure I like his voice. Scott Walker vibes. This seems like its tongue in cheek, but I'm not sure it is. Does this guy want to be a horse? Is this an album about bestiality? Timewatching is so dreary. So much prefer I'm All You Need. This song is great. He's well into horses though. Fave Songs: If..., I'm All You Need 2.7/5

I prefer the Scroobius Pip version of Planet Telex tbh. Nah actually its kinda an underrated Radiohead song in my book. Chorus is nice. The Bends is a very 90s tune, perhaps the most Britpop-y Radiohead. It's still a tune also though. High and Dry is also just such a beautiful song, same for Fake Plastic Trees. The Bends starts so hot. Bones I guess sounds quite derivative of much other 90s alt rock. Bassline sounds a bit like Green Day, echoes of Oasis. Nice Dream sounds much more like a Radiohead song. Just is both a bit overplayed and underappreciated to me. The guitar lines have some of the first murmurings of what OK Computer would do - like the passage at 2:08 or in the verse along the line "One day he'll get to you And teach you how to be a holy cow". I'm not a big fan of the My Iron Lung chorus - if you can call it a chorus. I can give or take Bullet Proof. Blackstar is a bit of a ditty. Sulk is kinda boring to me. Street Spirit is haunting. The Bends is still a very decent mainstream rock album to me. 4.1/5

There will be an end of the spectrum for punk, metal, and possibly some other genres that is gonna be unappreciate-able for me, and this Black Flag album is at that end of the punk spectrum. Six Pack is slightly more engaging than the first two tracks. But barely. Oh my days the vocals are so bad, the mixing is so bad. Its not even loud and punky enough. TV Party is an embarrassment. This is really hard to listen to. Its so difficult to relate to this noisy angst in 2023, it just gives me angry irrational white man vibes. Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie maybe the least bad song so far. My favourite moment of the album was the abrupt stop at the end of Life of Pain. If you separate context and influence from the music, there is as close to zero redeeming quality to this as is conceivably possible. 0.6/5

Needles in the Camel's Eye - I love the wall of sound, and the running guitar riffs. The breaks in the song even have a very singular quality to them. The Paw Paw Negro Blowtorch - first signs of Brian trying to be Bowie. I like where the song goes in the stomping final act. Baby's On Fire - the ringing tone in the background reminds me of Silver Apples "Lovefingers". Eno's voice has a fairytale goblin character to it. Cindy Tells Me - nothing particular to say about this one Driving Me Backwards - seems to be a great example of how Eno values experimentation over song structure and musicality. On Some Faraway Beach - feels even more Eno-y now. Weird ending to this one. Blank Frank - this is bizarre, every musical choice here feels strange. Dead Finks Don't Talk - oh naughty sneaky. This one is weird in a fun way. Then it gets next level weird in the last 20 seconds. Some of them are Old - nothing particular to say about this one Here Come the Warm Jets - is this sampled by Injury Reserve? It surely is. That's a crazy sample. Ah I love this one, this is awesome. I prefer the tracks without goofy goblin singing. Its quite interesting to hear this album which is quite quirky in many ways, but also way more conventional to rock standards compared to much of what Eno would go on to do. Pretty fun album though. Fave Tracks: Needles in the Camels Eye, Driving Me Backwards, On Some Faraway Beach, Here Come The Warm Jets 4.1/5

My expectation heading in is to not like this. But I enjoyed Rehab, You Know I'm No Good and Me & Mr. Jones more than expected. Tears Dry On Their Own probably the first track that I think I'd like to come back to. I can appreciate this album without really wanting to dip into it too much myself. I think I have to give it at least a 4 because I don't think there are any bad tracks, but it mostly washes over me. It's impressive how Amy Winehouse and Mark Ronson made this album that so clearly riffs on a previous time/style, but is also unique and inimitable. I can't think of any other 21st century albums that achieve this sound with any sort of similar quality. Fave Tracks: Tears Dry On Their Own, He Can Only Hold Her 3.9/5

21 minute 90s alternative song - sign me up. I'm all about this nonsense. 10 stars. millions/5

Love the album cover. You can hear the influence all over this album. But it sounds incredibly dated, not a pleasant listen for me. This is one where I fully understand the inclusion on the list, but I don't enjoy it as a piece of music. 1.8/5

Fisherman's Blues - enjoyable. I love the way We Will Not Be Lovers starts - this instrumentation combo is super cool, strings and drums, bass. This is the sort of music Bruce Springsteen would've made if he was Irish. That song was really great. Strange Boat a bit of a comedown afterwards. World Party piano almost gives me Steely Dan vibes. Hmm then goes in a very 80s direction I'm not such a fan of. Sweet Thing, Jimmy Hickey's Waltz, And a Bang on the Ear all sort of just passed me by. I really like the start of this album, but it kinda fades away and drags for me. I could give or take most of the second half. Fave Track: We Will Not Be Lovers 3.6/5

Never been a huge fan of Lust for Life, I think it's a fine track but it just doesn't do much for me. Some Weird Sin's intro is fun. The Passenger guitar riff has a lot of gravitas. This is a much better hit than Lust for Life for me - the vocal is much more effective. Tonight is pretty good too tbh. Don't mind Success either. Turn Blue is a bit slow and annoying. I feel like Iggy feels the need to try something different with his voice but it doesnt really work. Liked this album a fair bit more than expected. Fave Tracks: Some Weird Sin, The Passenger, Tonight, Fall in Love with Me 3.8/5

4.1/5 Lots of big hitters on this one. A little bit bloated but I actually really enjoyed the back end of the album. Could be a 5 for me simply by subtracting a few tracks.

Quite a strange one, happy to have been exposed to it though I mostly found it quite bland background reggae. Fave Tracks: Even After All, Supreme I Preme 2.6/5

When I was 13 years old I heard Girl by Beck on the radio and became obsessed with it. I don't know why, such a simple tune, but I was hooked, bought this album and played the track on repeat. E-Pro is a banger. I would presume Beck's most bangliest banger. I always liked Que Onda Guero. I think it holds up pretty well. I really still love Girl. So far this album is a lot better than I thought it would be. Missing, I don't recall this track, but I like it too. Black Tambourine is the first miss for me, but I like Earthquake Weather. Hell Yes is corny, I don't like when Beck does the robot futurist thing. Broken Drum and Scarecrow are both fine but not doing much for me. Go It Alone and Last Farewell Ride are both quite enjoyable, but by this point in the album lots of tracks are suffering from being a bit too long and too repetitive. You could cram these two tracks together and make one more compelling listen. I actually love that Chiribim Chiribom sample in Rental Car - that's maybe the most surprising moment in the album. Emergency Car is bland, Send a Message to Her is just knock-off Devil's Haircut. Chain Reaction is annoying, why bother we such a closer. I like a lot of the tracks and elements here, but this album kinda wears me down with how repetitive it can be, and how many repetitions of similar themes there are. It feels in many ways less than the sum of its parts, which is a shame. Beck is a really creative songwriter, but perhaps not a great album curator. Fave Tracks: E-Pro, Que Onda Guero, Girl, Earthquake Weather, Go It Alone, Rental Car 3.4/5

Butthole Surfers performed under a different name at every live show. Early aliases included The Dick Clark Five, Nine cm Worm Makes Own Food, The Vodka Family Winstons, Ashtray Babyheads, Ed Asner Is Gay, Fred Astaire's Asshole, The Right to Eat Fred Astaire's Asshole, The Inalienable Right to Eat Fred Astaire's Asshole, Zipgun, and many others. The silence for the first 15 seconds of the album is unnerving. Who does that. Not surprising then that the album ends with 15 seconds of cows mooing, naturally. I find this album mostly disgusting to listen to, yet I do really admire the chaotic experimentalism of their brand of noise rock. I would be interested in exploring their other work after listening to this. Fave Track: Kuntz 2/5

Wow, this took a left turn I didn't expect. After the first few tracks I was already mentally assembling my comments about how Bowie is a great singles artist, but maybe his albums are overrated, but the second half of this album flipped that narrative completely for me. Some tracks like Warszawa and Art Decade I thought were really beautiful in a way I've not heard from this era of Bowie before. If you played me the intro to Weeping Wall by itself and asked me to guess the artist I'd never get to Bowie. Subterraneans sounds like a The Comet is Coming song, I'm just flabbergasted that this is a DB album. I love that there are fully instrumental tracks here, even though at times they feel like they could be enhanced even further with Bowie's voice on top. Still, I liked this a lot, particularly the second half. 4.3/5

Ooooof Satanic Reverses goes hard. The production on this is terrific. 2:55 into Famous and Dandy, love the soothing synths that slide in. I really am digging the production on this one. This is like hip hop Gil Scott-Heron. This was fantastic, perhaps my favourite discovery of the 1001 yet. Fave Tracks: Satanic Reverses, Famous and Dandy (Like Amos and Andy), California Uber Alles 4.9/5

Low key a lot of bangers on this one. Bit too long though. Fave Tracks: Mama Said, When the Love Light Starts Shining Thru His Eyes, Will You Love Me Tomorrow 3.3/5

Colleen Chad Wakerman? The first four tracks are quite ho hum in my books. I like the turn it takes with the instrumental track and Sweetness Follows. Quite good, but also quite simple. I liked the album more after reading through the full Sidewinder lyrics - respect for getting such legs out of a topic as banal as a payphone. Good work generating lyrical discourse. Fave Tracks: Sweetness Follows, Man on the Moon 3.6/5

This album has a distinct sound. Darkness and Doubt reminds me of some later Clash. The tracks feel more like standard country-folk rock fare in the second half and do less for me. Still liked this overall Fave Songs: Trouble Down South, Hard To Be Human Again, Psycho Cupid - Danceband On the Edge of Time 3.3/5

Phil absolutely killed it with this one! However Christmas music is not necessary.

too country for me, very much fine but nothing standout 3/5

The first 7 tracks of Grace are all flawless to me. There's no other album that is so consistently perfect from the get-go. Jeff's vocal range and the character of his voice are spectacular and unique. The guitar tones are some of the most beautiful ever recorded. The performance is so raw and emotional. There are two of the best covers of all time on the album, "Lilac Wine" and "Hallelujah", two outstanding songs in their own right that Jeff fully makes his own. Anyone with a heart and a working set of ears knows. 5/5

Creep, Diggin' On You, Red Light Special - good tracks. Waterfalls is a bit too radio friendly for me, but hard to deny its a catchy iconic track. I'm not a big fan of the interludes, mainly because the Crazy Sexy Cool motif just seems really lame. I think this is a pretty solid R&B/Pop album. Fave Tracks: Diggin' On You, Let's Do It Again 3.8/5

I found myself signing along to Bittersweet Symphony, and tbh I've always thought I hated the song. So far enjoying this far more than I wanted to. Ok, I didn't hate it. 3.2/5

Not exactly bad, but I don't get why this on the list, didn't take anything from it. I don't really get soundtracks - this might be a brilliant soundtrack to the film, but without the context it was just boring to me. 2/5

Really quite enjoyed this. I love the sound of the album. Free Bird hits really nicely as an epic closer. 4.3/5

Another positive surprise. I was expecting some hits and a lot of misses, but a consistent (the first half at least) and forward thinking album. Enjoy the Silence is such a great track, another song that I've heard plenty before but only really appreciated now in the context of the 1001. The second half is a decline in quality for me, with a lot of the tracks meandering towards nothingness. Fave Tracks: Enjoy the Silence, Policy of Truth 3.3/5

Going in to this one blind. The Shining Hour is a good start, this feels in my wheelhouse. I enjoyed Jupiter and Teardrop also. Fuzzy is the starred track on the album, but the slower tempo is doing less for me. The thing this reminds me most of is the inimitable Jeff Buckley (and of course this album predates Grace). Wish You Well chorus is nice. Ha - I just noticed there is a song called Grace on this album too. Soft Wolf Tread probably the least interesting track so far, but I like Stars N' Stripes for sure. MURICA. You Just Have To Be Crazy is fine, but does not really feel to me like the album going out with a bang. I'm leaning towards a 5 here. Whilst the highs are perhaps not as high as I might want in a 5 star album the floor is extremely high. This feels like a very consistent album that I could come back to fully, and I expect get even more out of, so I am going to be optimistic. Fave Tracks: The Shining Hour, Wish You Well, The Hook, Stars N Stripes 4.5/5

This is fun. It feels like prog that is both willing to be wild and experimental, but also doesn't take itself too seriously. Maybe I'm just in a good mood but I'm leaning 5 for the second consecutive day. Fave Tracks: Nature's Way, Animal Zoo, Morning Will Come, Rougher Road, Red Light Roll On 4.6/5

What a hideous album cover. I'm familiar with Absolute, but wasn't expecting a new wave pop ska song as the album opener. I don't quite hate it as much as I feel I should. So 80s. Fave Tracks: Absolute, Don't Work That Hard, Perfect Way 3.3/5

Its fine I guess. I don't want to revisit any tracks, only to listen as background music. I find the vocals quite annoying tbh. Sigur Ros overrated to me. 2.8/5

This is horrendous. The intro has to be one of the worst things ever laid to tape. The isolated Fred Durst vocal at the start of the second track is equally awful. My Generation is at least just a boring song. This is by far the stupidest music I’ve ever heard. Its seriously so dumb. The lyrics are appalling. The singles (My Way, Rollin) are the highlights so far, if you can call them that. The Mission Impossible song is the only actually listenable song actually. 0.4/5

Pointless, why is this here. So long, such a mediocre recording.

2.3/5 For me, nothing more than the singles I’m already familiar with. Except a pretty creepy opening track about jailbaiting a teacher.

Second Tom Waits album of the list, much of the same sentiments. Favourite song was the vocal-less piano track at the end. 2.2/5

I think I maybe hate this. The first two tracks are really cheesy. Liberation started better, Balearic house vibes. I’m really not a fan of Neil Tennant’s vocals. Yesterday When I Was Mad probably best track so far, but I still find the sound palette of it incredibly cheesy. The Theatre is similar, has some decent moments, but then the hideous dramatic strings and vocoder-y synth effects are so corny. One and One Make Five - jesus, this is bad. They turned in a whole song just for the contrived rhyme of “alive” with “five”. So “To Speak is a Sin” isn’t even “It’s a Sin”. Go West is one of the most annoying songs ever created. You can’t make me listen to the hidden track. This is another case where I don’t think this is the worst album out there, but it’s baffling to me as to why this was included in the list. I don’t hear what is essential or groundbreaking about this in anyway. 1.5/5

I've always liked Neil, but he has such a big catalogue I've never dived deep into it. For many years I thought that Crazy Horse was a Native American chief who was also a virtuoso musician and had decided to accompany Neil barnstorming across the US. Not necessarily the most interesting NY album to me, but its still pretty tasty. Fave Tracks: Welfare Mothers, Sedan Delivery 3.6/5

Great album. The musicianship and mixing is so impeccable. Too High - wonderfully smooth, but has some edge to it. A bluesy undertone to the "Too High" refrain. Visions - this is a fine song, but I'm here for the funk and the grooves rather than the ballads. Living for the City - the main riff of this one doesn't really captivate me, but the way the track builds and the spoken word/foley interlude builds a really compelling song. Golden Lady is sultry. So earthy. Higher Ground - iconic. Stevie played all the instruments on this track. Jesus Children of America - another solid track, but not too much to say about this one. All In Love Is Fair - again, not such a big fan of the ballads. Don't You Worry Bout A Thing - this is not my favourite track either, Latin vibes. He's Misstra Know-It-All - a gentle closer. I have to imagine this album sounded refreshing in 1973, and it still sounds fantastic today. Fave Tracks: Golden Lady, Higher Ground 4/5

Quite generic new age ambient. The title track for example is driven by tactless pulsing synth lines that make the song a generally unpleasant experience. Its aged badly and all sounds quite cheesy, but I think there are some decent undercurrents here - you can hear the influence for instance on All Saints' Pure Shores. Skin is intense. We've gone from a beach in Thailand to a Berlin rave. Nothing Really Matters tries to pull us back to SE Asia, but Sky Fits Heaven wants to stay in the cloob. Frozen also sounds so much like Pure Shores - they were really riffing from this album. Fave Tracks: Little Star 2.4/5

This album seems like it should be right up my street, but the tracks don't quite click with me as much as I was hoping. I really like the vibe of Papa Was A Rolling Stone, but don't find it as compelling as it should be. 3/5

I love the blues rock sound of this album, but to me it gets very samey and none of the tracks really stand out at all. 3.3/5

I'm aware of the name Talvin Singh from some remixes (this beaut for instance https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1hyj9yOya4&pp=ygUldGFsdmluIHNpbmdoIGJldHRlciBvbiB0aGUgb3RoZXIgc2lkZQ%3D%3D) but I did not think he would be of the calibre to make the 1001. Traveller is rather meandering, I think it takes too long to move between themes, and the mix of synthetic and more natural sounds I don't find particularly effective. I prefer the Asian influence on Butterfly, though again I'm not really a fan of the dancier aspects of the song. I wonder if Jai Paul would cite Talvin Singh as an influence? I think this album is better when it tries to do a bit less, like in Mombasstic. Decca is just a bit silly isn't it. Jungle! O.K. is the first track that pulls me in. Light also more enticing with the intro. As I go through this I think my main takeaway is that the electronic beats used are often pretty tacky, but the blend of eastern and western sounds has an undeniable appeal. There's something about this music where it feels like I could love it, if one or two small things were different, but instead I find I actively dislike it. It reminds me of when I was a teenager getting into Indie Rock and Pop Punk and the like, and someone bought me a Classic Rock compilation CD and I hated every track. For me it treads the wrong side of a fine line. Fave Tracks: O.K., Light, Vikram the Vampire 2.8/5

I'm a bit worried that I'm just falling into a trap where any album that sounds something like this ends up with 4 stars. Nope, you know what, this didn't really capture my attention enough to warrant 4 stars. The ending of the album was funny, I liked that. Fave Tracks: Say Anything 3.4/5

Scott Walker vibes. I kinda love this. I don't know why at all. I find it very calming. Fave Tracks: American Gothic, Blues for Billy Whitehead, Montana Song 4/5

I like the upbeat second half of School. Bloody Well Right - what a song name. I didn't realise Supertramp were British. Hide In Your Shell wasn't doing much for me but the song finale is enjoyable. My least favourite moments are when its just piano and vocals, as in the start of Asylum. Dreamer does the same thing as a lot of the other songs. I find it boring or annoying at the start, but it builds into something entertaining. Rudy does it too - it's quite amazing how they manage to deliver this formula on almost every track. My assumptions looking at the tracklist (and not seeing any hits I recognise) was that I wouldn't be impressed by this album. But I was happily wrong, I find quite a lot of it to be a good fun time. Most songs take a couple of minutes to grow into, but that's something I can tolerate, and it adds an interesting flow to the record. Fave Tracks: School, Bloody Well Right, Rudy 4.1/5

So boring. What’s with the live albums.

This is a surprising choice. I had this album as a teenager, but never really thought much of it then, was just an Arctic monkeys fanboy. On relisten The Age of the Understament is a very underwhelming track. But Standing Next to Me is a pleasant surprise, channelling the Scott Walker western vibes well. I mostly feel quite neutral about the rest of the album. Some tracks like Meeting Place are quite effective, others feel like contrived imitations. A generous round up 2.7/5

There are some top tier U2 tracks on this album. There's a rough rawness to it that U2 lost somewhere in the late 80s. I don't really have anything negative to say about the album, I think its a good un. Fave Tracks: Sunday Bloody Sunday, New Years Day, Drowning Man, "40" 4.8/5

Generally I'm not a big fan of the earlier RHCP stuff, though I think on listening to this the funkier album tracks are more engaging than some of the filler on later RHCP albums. The album flows well, though as with most 73 minute albums its too long to sustain the oomph. Give It Away is another one of those songs I've heard a lot and generally don't feel like I enjoy, but within the context of the album its hard to deny it. The drums are so hard. This album is kinda losing me the longer it goes on. The musical ideas aren't diverse enough to be continually engaging. The last song is the epitome of that - super annoying, why?! Fave Tracks: The Power of Equality, Give It Away, Under the Bridge 3.3/5

Some trepidation clicking play on this album. Is it going to be more noisy incoherent punk rage? Happy to hear it ain't that. A very interesting electronic industrial droney sound palette - it builds tension, which is enhanced by the slightly nervous whispery vocals. Weird album, weird is good. Fave Tracks: Rocket USA 3.5/5

It's Dire Straits. It's pretty good. Fave Tracks: Water of Love, Sultans of Swing, Wild West End 4/5

Drum solos are a terrible waste of time. Fave tracks: Thank You, Ramble On 3.1/5

LC has a very unique poetic delivery, but I find it to be too samey at points on this album. Quite a few songs feel like they are diet versions of Suzanne. Tracks like Sisters of Mercy with its Christmassy foley sounds are more engaging to me. Fave Tracks: Suzanne, One of Us Cannot Be Wrong 3.5/5

This is beautifully produced/performed. Never heard of this band or album but it’s definitely another in my wheelhouse. Only complaints - slightly lacking in variety, and I don’t think the Sweet Jane cover is all that strong. Fave Tracks: Blue Moon Revisited, I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry 4/5

I like the dynamics on the first two tracks, songs segue from section to section elegantly. It’s kinda downhill from there for me though. Fave Tracks: Novocaine for the Soul, Susan’s House, Your Lucky Day in Hell 2.9/5

This is fun. What’s a swampsnake? In some ways I love this and in some ways I find it deeply offensive. It’s garish, but its still oddly compelling to me. Fave Traxks: Swampsnake, Gang Bang, Vambo Marble Eye 3.4/5

Everybody knows that Paul’s best work happened after the Beatles. This album feels like an important stepping stone to Wings (“the band the Beatles could’ve been”), but it feels like a lot of loose ideas without all that much substance. I breezed through this album without really being grabbed by any of it. I do like the cover art. Fave Tracks: Maybe I’m Amazed 2.6/5

I’ve tried to get into DJ Shadow before and not really managed it, but this album listening experience was great to me. The first few tracks are a bit of a slow burn to me, but once the mood is established I feel totally immersed. The album is the soundtrack to walking through a bright but seedy urban landscape at night. It reminds me of Tokyo or Hong Kong. I love the way the Organ Donor motif is teased throughout the album, it’s eerie. This album really won me over. I see why it’s a classic, it’s groundbreaking and influential and a really interesting listen. Fave Tracks: Changeling, What Does Your Soul Look Like pt 4, Transmission 2, Midnight in a Perfect World, Scatter Brain 4.6/5

I don’t want to listen to Eminem rap about murdering women and impregnating underage girls. I think it was meant to be shocking, but it’s just gross and creepy. The sonics of the album have aged poorly, and none of the tracks really stand out to me. Eminem’s voice is so annoying. The chorus of I’m Shady was the first time anything grabbed me in a pleasant way. Bloody hell that was track 18. Do yourself a favour and listen to I Got The… by Labi Siffre instead of the My Name Is instrumental 1.7/5

Falls into the unnecessary category for me. Not really as annoying as I thought it would be, but also didn’t find any of it catchy (save maybe the penultimate track), just feels very generic at this point. 2.4/5

Another live album that did nothing for me. I was expecting more from this one. 2.2/5

Confusing that there are two tracks called El Paso. Quite enjoyed this, mostly just as background music. Fave Tracks: Big Iron, The Hanging Tree 3.3/5

Not as good as Things Fall Apart for me, which I assume has to also be on the list. The tracks with female vocal hooks seem to be my favourite. The instrumentals are all round pleasant, the rapping is a little bit vanilla. It feels generous but its a 3.5 round up to 4 for me. Fave Tracks: Sacrifice, Complexity 3.5/5

The album as a whole is not really my bag, but Pacific 202 (or is it called "Pacific State" or just "Pacific"?) is a real vibe. If I understand it correctly this track is the oft-imitated OG; I remember having this on the DDJ having downloaded loads of House/Electronic tracks and I definitely thought it was a modern track. On the whole though the album didn't do much for me. I want more acidity in my house. Fave Tracks: Magical Dream, Pacific 202 3.1/5

Very medium rap album. Few standout tracks, but also thought most were decent. 3.1/5

I get this impression with CCR that they are capable of making brilliant interesting rock songs (like Ramble Tamble), but at this point in time they were very caught up with churning out blues rock staples and amped up cover songs. These tunes are mostly decent, but don't have much staying power with me. The Grapevine cover is pretty good I guess. Fave Tracks: Ramble Tamble, Run Through the Jungle, Who'll Stop The Rain?, Long as I can See the Light, 3.9/5

Bee Gees are like 1970s Coldplay. I quite liked the first couple of tracks, but then it mostly faded from there. I had an expectation I might find it a little bit insufferable, which I did not, but there wasn't much that grabbed me. 2.8/5

Medium. Fave Tracks: So Young, Animal Nitrate 3/5

What is there to say? I find Kid A to be slightly overrated, but at the same time its really quite hard to poke any holes in it. Idioteque has long been my favourite Radiohead song. I listened twice through today to ensure I was fully engaged with the album, because I knew this was going to be right on the 4-5 border for me. Fave Tracks: Everything In Its Right Place, Kid A, How To Disappear Completely, Idioteque 4.5/5

Surfbword This album is full of bangers, don’t try and fight it. Not sure there’s a miss on here. Fave Tracks: Pretty Hurts, Drunk in Love, Blow, Jealous, XO, Blue 4.8/5

More MPB, more World. 5/5

This album is very nostalgic for me, I listened to a lot of CHVRCHES around 2013. There are some phenomenal remixes of some of these songs. I thought I would find it dated and cheesy, but actually I still really liked this. That being said it’s another one where I don’t really understand why it’s on the 1001. Fave Tracks: The Mother We Share, Gun, Lies, Recover 3.8/5

This is maybe the best Foo Fighters record, and possibly their least Foo Fighters-y record. Easily their rawest record and for sure the coolest one to like. Definitely their least pretentious record and most laid back record. Big Me is so unlike any other Foo Fighters song. It’s weird. Tbh I liked this even more than I remembered. Fave Tracks: This is a Call, I’ll Stick Around, Big Me, Good Grief, Floaty 4.6/5

Poor man’s CHVRCHES. I love this album, this is maybe the most essential to the list so far for me, this is what it’s all about. The value here is in more than the music. The concept is executed like a classical music suite, it’s so unique and unlike other electronic music despite being a massive influence on basically all electronic music that followed. Would there be LCD Soundsystem or Daft Punk without Kraftwerk? It’s so disciplined and German, it’s about a train and it sounds exactly like a train. I don’t much like the second and third tracks. If this went straight from Europe Endless to the TEE suite then this would be a near perfect album for me. 4.4/5 Fave Tracks: Europe Endless, Trans-Europe Express, Franz Schubert, Endless Endless

YAYAYAYAYYA I LOVED IT 5/5 Fave Tracks: all of them

Gotta love a bit of Jimi, not my favourite album though, some songs feel a bit rough and ready, unfinished. Fave tracks: Little Wing, Castles Made of Sand, One Rainy Wish 3.6/5

A lot of these songs are offensively bad: Life Thru a Lens, Ego Agogo, Killing Me, Clean. The lyrics are mostly embarrassing, and Robbie's voice has never been a strength. Angels is ok, else I don't have much anything nice to say about this. 1.8/5

Sounds like a Led Zep sample off the bat to me. I have two problems with this album, its boring and annoying. The only songs I enjoyed were Fight For Your Right and Time to Get Ill. 2.1/5

I'm most definitely a Talking Heads fan, but I'm actually quite indifferent about this album. It's one where I feel like every track is 3 or 4 stars, no standouts, no real flaws. Fave Tracks: Warning Sign, The Girls Want to Be With the Girls, Stay Hungry, The Big Country 3.6/5

Some heavy hitters here, and I do think the singles are the standouts. Heart of Glass another example for me of a song that I don't actively listen to because I think I've heard it a million times, but it sounds so good hearing it with a keener ear. Most of all the other tracks just filler for me, but I think the singles carry this one quite a long way. Fave Tracks: Hanging on the Telephone, One Way or Another, Heart of Glass 3.5/5

Another pretty decent CCR album, but it’s not particularly inspiring a selection Fave Track: Born on the Bayou 3.5/5

solid marv 4/5

Blues music is too basic. You have to do something way more interesting to the genre to capture my attention. Were people really vibing to this in 1977 (let alone 2024)? Hard to imagine for me. 1.8/5

I actually quite like this album... always have. Axl Rose's voice is annoying for sure, and its all way over the top, but its over the top in an impressive way. The singles are really well crafted pop songs with a stadium rock veneer. Think About You's chorus almost sounds like a new wave song. Fave Tracks: Welcome to the Jungle, Nighttrain, Paradise City, Think About You, Sweet Child O Mine. 3.7/5

Really quite bored of Wu-Tang. 3 maybe 4 albums in? Hardly anything has grabbed my attention. Its not bad, but it all feels quite samey. The albums are always bloated. Fave Track: Glaciers of Ice (maybe) 2.3/5

For an artist called "Nightmares on Wax" this was incessantly pleasant. Good genre representation, thanks. Fave Tracks: Nights Interlude, Bless My Soul, Cruise (Don't Stop) 4.1/5

So far live albums have been a major source of disappointment for me on this list. This is better - jazz gets a lot more from a live performance than rock imo. Still my favourite track here is probably Take the A Train - always a bop. Fave Tracks: Take the A Train 3.2/5

Quite medium. Technically solid but feels like it’s missing some sort of x factor. I prefer the second half of the album. Acetate Prophets a wild song at the end. Fave Tracks: Thin Line, After School Special, Hey, Acetate Prophets 2.9/5

Another Chemical Brothers album? I’m not vibing this one either. The first 7 or so tracks are all tuneless and frantic in an unpleasant way. I cant really imagine a scenario they’d be appealing apart from a very specific mood of rave. The last 3 songs do tickle something within me though, particularly the private psychedelic reel. Fave Tracks: Lost in the K-Hole, Where Do I Begin, The Private Psychedelic Reel 2.6/5

Some really iconic tracks here. Great blues rock album. 4.6/5

I’ve never been a fan of Santana, probably because of that terrible 2000s pop song with Rob Thomas. However, this album was awesome. I liked it all a lot. Fave Tracks: Oye Como Va, Se a Cabo, Mothers Daughter 4.9/5

Love Brian. Another fantastic album here. Beautiful blends of pop songs, experimentation, instrumental tracks, ambient elements. Not a bad track on the album in my view. However do think it slightly lacks elite punch. Fave Tracks: St Elmo’s Fire, Another Green World 4.4/5

Gotta give Aretha her respect, but most of the start of this album is very bland. However my favourite tracks were the last two. 3.1/5

A lot of meh for me. The guitars sound awful mostly, I prefer the songs that sound new wavey. Ah this Brass in Pocket track is familiar. My takeaway from this album is that (the) Pretenders are better being poppier. 2.8/5

Loved it, loved it all. Great blend of rock and jazz elements. The Satie bookends are beautiful, can’t go wrong there. 4.8/5

I’m really glad this album is on the list. I listened to it 2.5 times so I could fully appreciate it. If Tom Waits and Nigel Spackman met at a Napalm Death concert and took a load of coke and went back to Tom’s basement and decided to make art I think it would sound something like this. Fave Tracks: Several Sins 1.3/5

Funny and soulful protest record. Crazy that this guy went on to play Rambo. Fave Tracks: Stand, Somebody’s Watching You, Everyday People 4.2/5

What in the name of the sweet baby Jesus was that?! The first half is so good, I thought we were heading for a 5. Then the second half sounds like it was written by a child, offensively bad. I guess we’ll split the difference. Fave tracks: Message in a Bottle, Regatta de Blanc, Walking on the Moon 3/5

Liked this a lot, the whole album was beautiful. 4.7/5

Interesting comparison having this a couple of days after STAND! Everything that album does well, this one lacks. “Black Is” isn’t bloated so to speak, but lacks punch. To me the first few tracks were interesting and then Wildfires was the only other with strong redeeming qualities. That being said the album on the whole js a very nice mellow listen, there isn’t much bad on any specific track apart from being a bit boring. “Free” from the other SAULT album of this year was one of my absolute favourite tracks of 2020 - it’s a shame nothing on this record gets close despite a very similar sound palette. 3.1/5

I've always struggled to get into Janis and this listen was no different. I can't really find much to criticise but it also just doesn't grab me at all. Whilst she's objectively a fantastic vocalist I just don't seem to enjoy listening to her sing. 2.9/5

Maybe this is a classic for country music fans but I found it very slow and boring. Just couldn’t find anything interesting in it. 2.3/5

I like Bob. I respect his poeticism and his compositions, his legacy and influence, but for me this album is too scruffy. After listening through I find there aren’t really any tracks I want to go back to - my favourite is Girl from the North Country, for which I much prefer the duet with Johnny Cash. Fave Tracks: Girl from the North Country, Corrina Corrina 3/5

This is kinda fire. Wasn't expecting much based off the album cover, but this is the sort of thing I'm very happy to see on the list. Fave Tracks: Soubour, Al Hassidi Terei, Nick 4.6/5

Not a baggy man myself. Didn't really hate this, but did find it a bit annoying, and very little grabbing me. Fave Tracks: Creation 2.4/5

It's another CCR record, its pretty good, what more do you want from me? 3.7/5

Halcyon and on and on and on and becomes a loop and on becomes a loop and on and on a loop and on becomes a halcyon loop a halcyon loop and on a halcyon loop and on and on and on and on and becomes an on and becomes an on and on and becomes an on and on and on becomes a Halcyon loop. Fave Tracks: Lush 3-1, Halcyon and On and On 3.8/5

I find the long opening track to just be a bit boring and meandering, but the rest of this is pretty solid, especially Stay. Fave Tracks: Golden Years, TVC15, Stay 3.8/5

Very pleasant and very well produced, but tbh the whole thing was sullied for me knowing it’s all covers. It’s not bad at all but I don’t really see the point for this list. 3.1/5

The piano at the start of the album gives me slightly cringey over dramatic vibes. But then I kinda just love Peter Gabriel's voice - the way he sings "on broadway" is tasty. This prog feels particularly nerdy. I think the proggier aspects don't really add that much, and the best music here is just the pop songs hiding underneath, like the choruses of Counting out Time and The Carpet Crawlers. Perhaps this is why I generally just prefer Peter Gabriel's solo stuff to Genesis overall. Maybe it was also just a deluxe version or something, but the album is bloated for sure. Fave Tracks: The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, Broadway Melody of 1974, Counting out Time, Here Comes the Supernatural Anaesthetist, The Light Dies Down on Broadway, It 3.1/5

I've got into Steely Dan in a big way the last couple of years, and I've got this record on vinyl, but that being said, its not close to my favourite album of theirs. There are some catchy hooks, and to me its also the point where they are really starting to hone their polished studio sound. But there are also some rather corny moments, and the attempts to experiment with arrangements or styles outside of their typical wheelhouse mostly just fall flat to me. Though I still think its a pretty decent record I don't think its very necessary for the 1001 list. Fave Tracks: Rikki Don't Lose That Number, Night by Night, Any Major Dude Will Tell You, Pretzel Logic 3.7/5

Really scruffy and sonically uninteresting. I don't know what I expected here but I thought it would be something better than this. The best track for me was the Bonus Track "Why". 2.5/5

Nobody's Perfect is one of the worst tracks I've heard on the 1001 so far. Why is Madonna's outfit and all the branding for this album giving off Americana country vibes, and yet the album is autotune electro-pop. The second half has a few highlights, but still this really is one of the most baffling inclusions in the list for me. Fave Tracks: Don't Tell Me, What It Feels Like For A Girl 1.9/5

I just seem to struggle with the Pet Shop Boys so much. I find a lot of this album, like the previous one of theirs we listened to, to just be straight up bad. I think this is slightly better than that one - a couple of tracks "Being Boring" and "My October Symphony" I'm ok with, but the rest just ain't doing it for me. 2.3/5

Honestly just a very pleasant time. Fave tracks: America, Mrs Robinson, A Hazy Shade of Winter 4.3/5

Some fine tunes on here, I really like I Want You and there’s nothing quite like the way Bobby croons “to be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again”. The barbs on Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat are quite phenomenal. A bit disappointed that I didn’t really take too much from the tracks I was unfamiliar with, and generally Bob needs to calm the fuck down with the harmonica, but overall a pretty cohesive album that’s stood the test of time well. Fave Tracks: I Want You, Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again, Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat 3.9/5

I don’t see what all the fuss is about here. This sounds to me like Taylor Swift cosplaying as a folk singer to very mediocre effect. I don’t think it’s bad, just banal and not a logical 1001 inclusion. 2.5/5

I've been teetering on the 4/5 edge here for a while. I'm a big fan of NY, and I have a feeling this maybe my favourite of his albums, but something keeps me from confidently giving this a 5. Don't Let It Bring You Down is transcendently brilliant, and the rest of the album is solid, but doesn't really come close to that level. Fave Tracks: Tell Me Why, Only Love Can Break Your Heart, Don't Let It Bring You Down 4.4/5

Funny one, feels like another strange inclusion. Not bad per se, but also struggling to see what differentiates this dub album from any other dub album. Fave Tracks: Bomba, Ungodly Kingdom 2.9/5

I definitely thought this Blister in the Sun riff was a Blink 182 song. And Gone Daddy Gone - I remember that from the Gnarls Barkley cover/sample... didn't expect that to turn up 9 tracks into this album. Weird one. I didn't really like it. 2.4/5

I really wanted to like this one, but sadly I didn't get all that much from it. I listened twice through and both times round my main takeaway was that Sad Song is by far my favourite track here. Fave Tracks: Lady Day, Sad Song 2.6/5

I like the style of this album much more than I like the actual songs or songwriting. Rock-jazz rather than jazz-rock. Fave tracks: Peaches en Regalia 3.1/5

Feels like another solid David Bowie album, but missing the big hits. I’m not particularly into Young Americans or Fame. Considering how many entries he has on the list, is this one really necessary? Fave Tracks: Right 3.1/5

I enjoyed this a lot. Fave Tracks: Planet Claire, 52 Girls, Rock Lobster 4/5

A really nice friendly album, I can't pick many flaws with it, but I think it just slightly lacks some of that special sauce that Paul Simon is capable of. Fave Tracks: Mother and Child Reunion, Armistice Day, Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard, Peace Like a River 4.2/5

I'm looking forward to Forever Changes, which has a couple of great songs on. This one not doing so much for me. I guess for 1966 it was quite progressive, but I don't think its adding much today. No real standout tracks for me. 2.7/5

Pink Floyd on LSD: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_az91rgENc Fave Tracks: Pow R. Toc H., Take Up The Stethoscope and Walk, The Scarecrow 2.8/5

Too samey, just very musically uninteresting for me. 2.2/5

This record hits pretty hard at the start, I like the beats, the production overall and the style. But it tails off for me and many of the middle tracks become very samey. The last 2 are more of a return to form for me. 3.3/5

Baba O'Riley and Won't Get Fooled Again are two of the most epic rock songs of all time, they almost carry this album to a 5 by themselves for me. Only almost though, I don't quite vibe with the rest of the tracks in anywhere near the same way. Fave Tracks: Baba O'Riley, Won't Get Fooled Again 4.3/5

I like the wacky breakdown in CTA. "Why" was a bonus track on the last Byrds album we had, and it was my favourite track on that - still a bop. In turn I really quite like the bonus tracks on this one too ("It Happens Each Day", "Don't Make Waves"). The Bob Dylan cover is nice too, though I don't suppose it really adds much on the original. This is a weird one - its really quite similar to Fifth Dimension, but I think this album is miles miles better. Fave Tracks: So You Want to be a Rock n Roll Star, CTA, Time Between, My Back Pages, Why 4.4/5

Keep the Car Running intro gives me chills. So simple but so good. No Cars Go does something very similar, chill-inducing for me - has always been one of my all-time favourite songs. I had this album on CD when it came out, I still really like it. Fave Tracks: Keep the Car Running, Intervention, Black Wave/Bad Vibrations, No Cars Go 4.5/5

I was quite familiar with this album already, and in my head I came in thinking solid 4. But I listened very actively as I walked the quiet streets of a Lyon industrial area and I concluded this deserves more, it’s a great album. The interludes are so well woven, the flow of the whole album is impeccable, 21 tracks never drags, and there are some real highlights too - what more can you say about Cranes in the Sky. Fave Tracks: Rise, Cranes in the Sky, Don’t Touch My Hair, Don’t Wish Me Well 4.6/5

Incredibly easy listening I thought. But not in a good way. It was a very generic blur in my ears. 2.7/5

Not going to win any cool points here, but I think this is a really quite good album. I remember renting it from the library and ripping it to my computer and then listening to King of the Rodeo on repeat. I just can't fight it, its so hard not to singalong to The Bucket. Fave Tracks: Slow Night So Long, King of the Rodeo, The Bucket, Day Old Blues, Four Kicks 4.2/5

Drop some new music please Frank. This album's pretty great, I liked a lot of the songs I was less familiar with, though I don't particularly like any of the short tracks/interludes, they just feel like a waste of time and disrupt the flow. The album in general doesn't flow well for me at all. Pyramids into Lost just feels wrong. Because I love Blonde so much, and this album pales so much in comparison its hard to even consider a 5, but there are so many great pop songs on this one - it delivers something different to Blonde that is still a great listen but for different reasons. For me though something about the album feels disingenuous - instead of the vulnerability and raw emotion that Blonde has, it has shiny synths and stories about strippers, mosh pits and wet tits and rich kids living in LA. With hindsight it doesn't feel right. Fave Tracks: Thinkin Bout You, Super Rich Kids, Pyramids, Lost 4.3/5

12 tracks of preamble to Pinball Wizard. Pinball Wizard. 9 more tracks of mostly filler. OH MY BLOODY CHRIST WHAT THE HELL IS TOMMYS HOLIDAY CAMP. 1.5/5

Such a great ride. This album is crazy in the coconut. The Avalanches are fantastic. Fave Tracks: Since I Left You, Tonight May Have to Last Me All My Life, Frontier Psychiatrist, Summer Crane 4.8/5

I loved this. A wild ride. So many great quirky tunes. 4.8/5

This was an interesting surprise. I was expecting a lot more of the "Movin' on Up" indie rock and roll, but it turns out to be a wild ride across genres like dub and acid house. Sometimes it hits, and sometimes it sounds awful. I could understand if you loved or hated this album - Come Together embodies this for me, delicately toeing the line between euphoric and tacky. For me the album on the whole drags - the second rendition of Higher Than the Sun (there's that Jah Wobble fellow again) is painfully mundane, you'd really have to be higher than the sun to endure it. Fave Tracks: Slip Inside This House, Loaded 3.1/5

I’ve had the Meat Puppets’ Plateau on rotation since hearing the Nirvana Unplugged cover. Great song, and I like parts of this album, though some points a bit too raw for me. Fave Tracks: Plateau, Aurora Borealis, I’m a Mindless Idiot 3.2/5

I’ve never really got into Portishead before, but being forced into it, I can definitely see it’s merits. The production is really clean and the mood of the album is great. Missing perhaps some highlights beyond Glory Box. Fave Tracks: Glory Box, other songs too but I didn’t see the track list whilst listening 4/5

I think 2pac is rather overrated. I’m mostly ambivalent to this album, not many stinkers, but barely anything that caught my attention. RIP. Fave Tracks: Old School 2.8/5

Not my bag - I don't think its horrible, but I also don't really find anything redeeming in this. 2.3/5

I had a really good time listening to this. I thought perhaps it would have aged terribly or come across as corny, but I think it holds up well. The album is really well produced and there are some absolute pop-punk bangers. It captures a moment in time and I think is a vital inclusion on the list. Fave Tracks: American Idiot, Jesus of Suburbia, Boulevard of Broken Dreams, Are We The Waiting, Give Me Novacaine, Wake Me Up When September Ends, 4.6/5

Turnover was a really cool start, but as the energy gets more ragged the album loses me. Fave Tracks: Turnover, Shut the Door 3.2/5

Very middle of the road, inoffensive and unspectacular. 3/5

I thought the first track with Santana was great. Bonnie Raitt was interesting. From there on I thought it was all really one note and boring. I just can't get into Blues music apparently. Fave Track: The Healer 2.5/5

Are you experienced? Have you ever been experienced? I really love this lyric. So many iconic tracks on this album, but I still find it to be slightly imperfect overall - a little bloated in places with meandering tracks that don’t add much. Fave Tracks: Purple Haze, Third Stone From the Sun, Are You Experienced? 4.1/5

Not what you'd expect from big Len, cold war synthpop vibes. I liked a few of the ideas - Jazz Police reminds me of a Momus track - but most of it didn't really do anything for me. 2.6/5

Lots of classic pop bops here, but some of it feels dated instrumentally. Ultimately I still preferred the big hits over any of the other album tracks. Fave Tracks: The Way You Make Me Feel, Man in the Mirror, Smooth Criminal 3.9/5

I quite enjoyed this considering it’s basically just an album of covers/standards. Fave Tracks: Ole Man Trouble, You Don’t Miss Your Water 3.5/5

Very David Bowie David Bowie album. Good, as they all are, but not spectacular. More solid all round than some of the others we've listened to, but also without the big hits. Though it was nothing groundbreaking I quite enjoyed this one. The album cover is silly though. Fave Tracks: Dancing Out in Space 3.7/5

I couldn't stand the vast majority of this. Somehow I've never been able to get into grime, but I expected something more here - more than half of the tracks are basically unlistenable for me. I couldn't tell if the spoken word intro to "Seems 2 Be" was a joke or unintentionally cringey. The radio hits are way more palletable, and I enjoyed "Brand New Day" and "Do It!" (which sounds like a precursor to cloud rap), but that was about it. Fave Tracks: Brand New Day, Fix Up Look Sharp 1.7/5

I get this, but I don't love it. Fave Tracks: Natural's Not In It, Love Like Anthrax 3.2/5

Didn’t hate it, felt like it’s actually aged quite well. A lot of the time though I felt like I just wanted to hear some of the meteora hits. 2.8/5

I enjoyed this a lot at the start, but then found it a bit samey. Fave Tracks: The Fairest of the Seasons, It Was A Pleasure Then, I’ll Keep It With Mine 3.9/5

So gosh darn good, it might somehow be underrated. I think the front 8 tracks might be the most consistent run of songs in any album ever. Fave Tracks: basically all of them but lately I’m really into You Make Loving Fun 5/5

Impeccable album, if there’s a more immaculately produced rock album out there I haven’t heard it yet. Also Peg. Fave Tracks: Black Cow, Aja, Deacon Blues, PEG, Home At Last, Josie 5/5

Pleasantly surprised by this, I was only aware of one, maybe two Pharcyde tracks so was assuming they were maybe a bit of a flash in the pan one hit underground wonder, but I thought this was very consistent and had a handful of really great tracks. The skits were solid too, felt cohesive and added to the albums flow rather than detracting from it. Fave Tracks: Soul Flower (remix), 4 Better or 4 Worse, Passin’ Me By, Return of the B-Boy 4.3/5

Didn’t grab me at any point, but I can see how someone could really vibe this. 2.7/5

I’m sorry, it just bores me. 2.4/5

Louis has a cool voice. Another 50s album that doesn’t really resonate with me, but this is more interesting than some other stuff of the era. 2.8/5

Shout out Tooting bec 3/5

Enjoyed this a lot, way more than A Short Album About Love. A very solid bunch of tracks, with a lot of wit and some deliciously lush instrumentation. Fave Tracks: Something for the Weekend, Becoming More Like Alfie, Middle Class Heroes, Charge 4.4/5

Very pleasant at the start, but monotonous by the end. Fave Tracks: Come Away With Me, Seven Years, Nightingale 3.2/5

I was familiar with Deceptacon, but surprised to find out there is a lot more substance here. Seemed like a slightly left field selection but happy to say it’s deserved. Fave Tracks: Deceptacon, Hot Topic, Les and Ray 3.7/5

Really had a great time with this, listened through twice. Fave Tracks: TC & Honeybear, Marz, Where The Dreams Go to Die, Sigourney Weaver, JC Hates Faggots, Queen of Denmark, That's the Good News 4.7/5

Mariah's voice is great, the production here is quite clean and crisp, but not too adventurous. Holds up well, but doesn't really hook me - when I listen to Mariah Carey I just always wish I was listening to Fantasy. Fave Track: Breakdown 3.3/5

What's there left to say about this old thing? I like to imagine how it would have felt living through the release of this in 1973, and I think it would have felt truly monumental. They took the rock music formula to grandiose new heights, creating something epic and conceptual, without overstepping the line into pastiche. If we were to play Over/Under/Properly rated I would still say that DSotM is very slightly overrated. Let's face it, some of the tracks that build atmosphere are ones you would never listen to outside of the album experience, even if they do help make it one of the most cohesive albums of all time. Fave Tracks: Breathe, Time, The Great Gig in the Sky, Us and Them 4.7/5

Evidence that John was the least talented Beatle. Not even half-baked, quarter-baked. A collection of badly executed ideas. 2/5

Some good songs, sounds a little dated if you ask me. 3/5

Overrated. Didn't even write his own songs. 2.2/5

Good album, so much more than just a Kurt Cobain conspiracy theory. Boys on the Radio sounds an awful lot like The Replacements' Unsatisfied. Fave Tracks: Celebrity Skin, Awful, Malibu 3.9/5

Cooler than it is good. Just like heroin really. 3.4/5

Really tight bunch of tracks. Down By The River is a classic slovenly rock rumble. Maybe just lacks a certain je ne sais quoi that a 5 star album should have, but very very nice. Fave Tracks: Cinammon Girl, Everybody Knows This is Nowhere, Down By The River 4.4/5

Never been a Stone Roses fan, but this album is jampacked with their heavy hitters, I enjoyed it a fair amount. Fave Tracks: I Wanna Be Adored, Waterfall, Fools Gold 4/5

Pretty good album, but doesn't feel like anything groundbreaking, hence I do question its inclusion. YHF is obviously on the list and is clearly the more influential and interesting Wilco album. Fave Tracks: I Got You (At the End of the Century), Hotel Arizona 3.6/5

Nice background music, nothing more to me. 2.8/5

Brilliant and beautiful. Fave Tracks: Four Women, Lilac Wine, That's All I Ask 4.3/5

I really like Pavement, but I think this might actually be my least favourite of their catalogue. Their later sound became more polished and I think many people dislike that, but for me the raw energy only carries this album through Zurich is Stained and then the backhalf is just a lot of the same. The scruffy garage band style on their debut doesn't leave space for Stephen Malkmus' sardonicism to shine through. Fave Tracks: Summer Babe, Trigger Cut, Zurich is Stained 3.4/5

I don't understand why this isn't better. The Sunshine of Your Love riff is so iconic, and yet the song is so anonymous (to me at least). This whole album feels like something is missing, some character or passion or some critical instrumentation that would add some flavour. 2.6/5

Another Girl Another Planet is a timeless pop rock song. I was quite pleasantly surprised that the rest of the album had more substance than I expcted; The Only Ones have always been a one hit wonder in my mind. That being said, I can't say I really felt the need to go back to any other tracks, just an ok album for me. Fave Tracks: Another Girl Another Planet 3.4/5

How could you not enjoy Exodus? Sometimes I think reggae is a little monotonous (it's like Blues for me), but Bob just puts a smile on my face. Which was perhaps not really his intention when you think about the lyrical content, but oh well. Fave Tracks: Exodus, Jamming, Waiting in Vain, Three Little Birds 4.5/5

New wave isn't really doing it for me atm. I guess there are some fun ideas here and this album has quite a defined sound, but there's not much I can imagine going back to. I find the vocals grating and they detract from some of the musical ideas. 3/5

There's an Undertones album on the list and it doesn't even have Teenage Kicks on it. The most popular track according to Apple Music is "My Perfect Cousin", which has one of the dullest and least rock n roll subject matters imaginable. I find it strange the way they reference the lyrics of Teenage Kicks on a number of the tracks here; sounds to me like a band desperate to remain relevant by rehashing what they know works. Doesn't work for me. Weird inclusion on the list. 2.4/5

Not the most sonically interesting jazz album, but still a pleasant experience. 3.5/5

I'm always happy to hear more interesting genres on the list, but sadly this didn't really grab me much. My favourite track was the last track, the Walking Wounded remix, with its dnb kick pattern. Whilst listening I wondered whether this warranted a higher rating based on it being enjoyable background music, but then I thought about EBTG's big hit "Missing" and remembered how good this type of downtempo/trip hop can be, and this doesn't feel like it lives up to that. 3.1/5

Armand est mort - nice Marvin Gaye sample. Feels like a 3 and a half star album to me. I wonder how it might differ if I could understand more. Fave Tracks: Matiere est grasse contre matiere grise, Funky Dreamer 3.5/5

Cee-Lo's voice is so annoying at times, like on Childz Play. His persona just irks me a lot on this album - starting with having his son speaking on the intro, such a weird brag. Why are Hip Hop artists always so bad at curating their albums, this is way too long. Fave Tracks: Living Again, All Day Love Affair 2.7/5

Surprisingly enjoyable for me. Love the Big Mouth theme tune. Fave Tracks: Changes, Snowblind 3.8/5

This sounded to me a bit like what the Jimi Hendrix Experience without Jimi might sound like. Some nice ideas, but not really many good songs. Fave Tracks: Don’t Fall Down, You Don’t Know 3.2/5

The first four tracks I really enjoyed. Then the middle third I find to be a bit up and down. Some very strange campy Paul songs like When I’m Sixty-Four and Lovely Rita, but the awesome eastern-influenced Within You Without You sandwiched in that run. I like that track a lot, but some aspects are very reminiscent of Tomorrow Never Knows. There is something very weird about this album that just works. Even though I find the lyrics oftentime to be ludicrously mundane and childish or just annoying, the high points are very high, and the Beatles feel like a band on top of their game. Fave Tracks: Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band, With a Little Help from My Friends, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, Within You Without You 4.4/5

I can't say enough good things. This album is a movie, its got it all. There are straight bangers (Backseat Freestyle, m.A.A.d city), chill moments (Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe), tracks that are somehow both (Money Trees, Swimming Pools), a 12 minute odyssey (Sing About Me, I'm Dying of Thirst), and no skips. Through it all there is such a clear compelling narrative and such incredible world-building. I've listened to Sherane aka Master Splinter's Daughter so many times and the song's conclusion still gives me chills on every listen. Even the voicemail skits on GKMC add something, tying Kendrick's tales of the night together. Fave tracks: All of them, but at the moment my favourites are Sherane, The Art of Peer Pressure, Money Trees 5/5

I really liked this - a lot of fun. A bit of a hodgepodge of tracks, but in a good way, like Harry Nilsson. Fave Tracks: I Saw The Light, It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference, Intro, Hello It's Me 4.5/5

There is something so uncool about rock operas. Its all so cheesy and self-serious. Another Brick in the Wall Pt 2 is another good example of a track which in my head I don't really like, but when it came on in the album I was bopping along. Goodbye Blue Sky interpolating Goodbye Ruby Tuesday. In the Flesh sounds very much like a Dark Side of the Moon chord progression. Some derivative ideas here. Comfortably Numb is my favourite Pink Floyd song, so good. Fave Tracks: Another Brick in the Wall Pt 1 & 2, Comfortably Numb, Run Like Hell 3/5

I liked the title track but then it kinda fell off for me and was too samey. Fave Tracks: I'm a Lonesome Fugitive 2.9/5

Great jazz album, maybe the greatest jazz album. 5/5

I've always thought that I don't like Madness, and I still don't really like Madness, but I didn't find this album annoying as I do some of their most famous hits. Speaking of which, Our House is a quite undeniable bop. Fave Tracks: Our House 2.7/5

I like this album when it has interesting dissonant tones of bass and guitar, like in Elixir Is Zog - beautifully scruffy slacker rock. In general it struggles from the usual problems that plague slacker rock and 90s alternative in general - unrefined punky energy creating uncohesive and/or bloated albums. Fave Tracks: Soul and Fire, Sixteen, Homemade 3.4/5

Even though I didn't much like LZ2, with each additional release I listen to my appreciation for Led Zep grows and grows. This is such a good hard rock/blues rock album. Kashmir is one of the most unique rock epics ever recorded. Ten Years Gone reminds me of Wings - maybe Led Zeppelin are the band the Beatles could have been. The Wanton Song is just an Immigrant Song rehash, but it still kinda slaps. Fave Tracks: The Rover, Trampled Under Foot, Kashmir, Ten Years Gone, The Wanton Song, Black Country Woman 4.9/5

Definitely better than the other BB album. Fave Tracks: Sabotage, Get It Together, The Update, Flute Loop 3.3/5

Ok then 3/5

I can’t believe that I don’t dislike this. A very consistent set of tracks. Fave Tracks: Notion, Be Somebody 3.9/5

Great album with no skips, but also none of my very favourite Talking Heads songs. 4.5/5

Enjoyed this. Fave Tracks: No Other, From a Silver Phial 4.2/5

Its a 10, pitchfork already said so. Fave Tracks: I Want You To Love Me, Cosmonauts, For Her 3.6/5

There's certainly nothing wrong with this, but I don't really feel like I'll want to listen to much of it again. Fave Tracks: Zero, Heads Will Roll, Faces 3.5/5

Really cool to see an insight into these prison live shows. There’s something very real and raw, yet it also feels quite staged and somehow cinematic. The music itself is ok, but I guess the Folsom Prison recording is the more iconic and seminal piece of musical history. Fave Tracks: Wanted Man, San Quentin, Folsom Prison Blues 3.3/5

"Bowl of oatmeal tried to stare me down... and won" - I love the wordplay on "Illegal Smile", its such a playful and poetic counter-culture ode to weed, or whatever substance. Fave Tracks: Illegal Smile, Pretty Good 3.7/5

Its not bad, but feels totally inessential to the list. The Vines were a dime a dozen in the early 2000s. Fave Tracks: Factory maybe, Mary Jane, 1969 2.9/5

It’s early punk so it’s rough, poorly recorded and most of the tracks sound the same. I get this might be an important moment in musical history, but London Calling is obviously better. Fave Tracks: Police & Thieves, Garageland 2.7/5

Mostly just cra(m)p clammy goth new wave. Not doing it for me. 2.4/5

Better than I expected. Consistent, mostly still about the hits, but there were more than I remembered - Sorted for Es & Wizz, brilliant song name. Fave Tracks: Common People, Sorted for Es & Wizz, F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.V.E 4.2/5

Royalty free new age chillout estranged sibling of Daft Punk. Though I found it a bit boring it did grow on me through the back half. Fave Tracks: Sexy Boy, Remember, Ce matin-la 3.4/5

So campy. I do not like anything about the aesthetic of this - the vocals, the cover art, even the name "Roxy Music" kinda gives me icky vibes. I do respect the experimentation and that this is quite forward thinking for 1972, but I don't really feel like it translates into good songs. Having listened to Here Come the Warm Jets it makes total sense that this is where Eno came from. I'm happy that he found a way out of this weird little cabal though. 2.7/5

My french teacher Monsieur Edser loves this album. He says it's the last of the great rock albums and that Talk Talk really fell off after this. It harkens back to the glorious heights of "It's My Life". Don't you forget. Fave Tracks: Happiness is Easy, Life's What You Make It, Time It's Time 3.8/5

Another one, hooray. Molly's Chambers by far the standout for me, though there are some other moments for sure. A lot of the start of the album just blurs together, but I still can't really hate it - it's another good but unnecessary Kings of Leon album. Fave Tracks: California Waiting, Molly's Chambers, Dusty, Talihina Sky 3.5/5

What I like about this album is that it has a very distinct sound. It is completely unbothered about being engaging or commercial. Without context you might think this album is a soundtrack for some sort of scandy noir. Overall it still feels like its lacking some substance, but A Forest really is an immense song. Fave Tracks: In Your House, A Forest, At Night 3.6/5

Good. Fave Tracks: Nuthin' But a G Thang, Lil Ghetto Boy, Bitches Ain't Shit 4.2/5

This was nice background music, but didn't really grab me. I felt like it was musically too major. No tracks really stood out, but I'd happily passively listen to it again. Good to see this sort of representation in any case. 3.2/5

This was peak music for me in 2006. I was all about the Supermassive Black Hole. I never enjoyed a man’s falsetto before that moment. The guitar riff made me want to dance, like the effortlessly cool astral rockstar that I was. Has it aged well? I think it’s kinda aged ok tbh. The concept of Muse has aged terribly, but isolating just this album I think it’s got some moments, some cool riffage, some bangers. There are very cheesy campy moments too, but nothing that Pink Floyd or The Who or any of a million prog bands would turn their nose up at. I prefer the moments on here when we’re doing rock music. The Depeche Mode “Map of the Problematique”, the something halfway between Coldplay and Radiohead “Soldier’s Poem” don’t really cut the custard for me. Fave Tracks: Supermassive Black Hole, Assassin, Knights of Cydonia 3.3/5

Lately everything seems to sound like 3.5 stars to me, this was much the same. I liked the conceptuality and there was some good wordplay - almost reminded me of RAP Ferreira at times - but most tracks felt like they were missing something to take them to the next level. The skits were kinda fun in their lewdness. Fave Track: Dr Octagon 3.4/5

The first guitar flourish in 'The State I Am In' is an absolute joy. Fave Track: The State I Am In, I Could Be Dreaming, Mary Jo 3.9/5

Underrated vegetable tbh Fave Tracks: Andalucia, Macbeth, Paris 1919 4.2/5

Looking at The Beatles full catalogue, this might be their worst album. Why is it here? Are we going to have every Beatles album on this list? That's just baloney. Fave Track: I Wanna Be Your Man (#ringo) 2.3/5

There were some moments I found tolerable - the chorus of "Stagefright"; the last minute of the last track, Billy's Got a Gun. But overall I really struggle to take this seriously. The song titles, the power chords, its all too much. It took me 3 sittings to get through the 11 track album - as I listened there was something disheartening knowing that the album just wasn't going to go anywhere interesting. 2.2/5

I dunno about this. Kinda fun, kinda naff, not sure I'd want to revisit but I've certainly heard worse in the genre. 2.7/5

There have been many songs that I think are overplayed but just stand out as great within the context of their album; Seven Nation Army is not one of those songs. It's almost groan-inducing as the album opener. It's a great song, but its so simple and so ubiquitous that it has nothing left to surprise with. The rest of the tracklist has some moments, but I feel like The White Stripes are like a novelty flavour beer, you can enjoy it in moderation but if you have 13 or 14 tracks of it, you'll definitely be sick. When things change up like in the spoken word on "Little Acorns" or Holly Golightly's vocals on "It's True That We Love One Another" it's a welcome respite. Fave Tracks: I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself, Ball and Biscuit, The Hardest Button to Button 3.7/5

Joni Mitchell never lies. Great album, I love the vibe of it so much, I could have it serenade me slightly in the background all day long. That being said I don't think it's perfect, after the first few tracks it kinda lacks some punch, I probably wouldn't seek out any of the second half tracks for individual relistening. Fave Tracks: Coyote, Furry Sings the Blues 4.2/5

Enjoying ceviche in Peru? Seeing a double rainbow? Did it make you want to fall in love? Tbh Bitches Brew was less listenable than I remembered. It is a brew for sure. I still enjoy it as a piece of art, but lets be real its probably more groundbreaking and significant for musical evolution than it is enjoyable for the ears. Fave Track: Spanish Key 3.8/5

I thought I wasn’t going to enjoy this. I waited until the evening to listen as it just didn’t feel like the daytime would appreciate it. But it was pretty great. All felt very similar, and way too long, but definitely a case of finding a winning formula and just rolling with it. 4.4/5

Enjoyed this a lot. The Kinks are way underrated, they were the Beatles in another universe. Fave Tracks: Victoria, Australia, Shangri-La 4.3/5

I love the first half of this album, then it descends into madness in a way that is kinda great at first, but then does become an earsore. 4/5

Quite an enjoyable experience, didn't feel fundamentally essential to the 1001 though. I strongly dislike the album cover and I am very confused why a guy born David Ryan Adams would choose Ryan Adams as his stage name when there already existed a very successful and well known Bryan Adams. Fave Tracks: New York, New York, Nobody Girl, Sylvia Plath, the last two minutes of The Bar is a Beautiful Place (which I guess was a bonus track) 3.7/5 (probably 3.5 without the disc 2 tracks which I found all quite enjoyable)

Nat the most inspiring Bob if you ask me. Fave Track: Rebel Music (3 O' Clock Road Block) 3.2/5

Wow. So much of me wants to be edgy and contrarian and say that I loved this, but there was only one "song" here I could ever imagine playing again - Ab/7A. I fully support this sort of artistic expression - the fact that it exists (and in 1978 too) is a 5 star fact of history. The music as something to listen to in 2024, a very generous 2 star experience. Fave Track: Ab/7A 1.9/5

Two of the goats, and yet to me this album is a little less than the sum of its parts. At times it feels like a slightly less accessible Talking Heads album, and at times it feels like a noise collage that is still trying to hard to maintain rhythm and structure. Fave Tracks: America is Waiting, The Carrier 3.7/5

Yeah it’s great, don’t need to overthink this one. Fave Tracks: most of it really - Wildlife Analysis, Roygbiv, Rue the Whirl, Aquarius, One Very Important Thought, Happy Cycling 4.8/5

Really good, would only like it to be a little more diverse across the runtime. 4.2/5

Surprised to discover that didgeridoo led songs bookend this album, and they're not bad...? I was also really surprised at how jazzy this album is - Jamiroquai at this stage are totally content to make 9 minute songs, or completely vocalless tracks, Which is good, because I do find Jay Kay's voice really quite irritating. There are none of the big commercially successful songs that I remember from the radio growing up on this album, instead just a pretty solid set of acid jazz inspired funk pop tracks. However I do still find the sound overall has a bit of tackiness to it, and I don't think there's many tracks here I'd actually actively want to come back to. Fave Tracks: Music of the Mind, Blow Your Mind 3.4/5

Ok so hear me out. Just Like Honey is an all-timer, a powerful shoegaze precursor. But the rest of the album is mostly just muck. Cut Dead is EXACTLY THE SAME SONG. The drums are identical, the structure is identical, it feels like a total slap in the face. But ok, we'll let that one slide, let's see what the rest of the album has to offer... Some Candy Talking... IS THE EXACT SAME SONG TOO! Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, I'll write a grumpy review of your album on the internet. SOWING SEEDS ARE YOU FUCLKING SERRIOUS WTFFFFFFFF ITS ALL THE SAME SONG?!±!!!!!£R!££!RR!£R Fave Tracks: Just Like Honey, i like the energy on Never Understand, You Trip Me Up 2/5 (this is probably harsh but they really pissed me off with the recycling of Just Like Honey)

Relatively beautiful. 4.3/5

Didn't like this. The first couple of tracks were ok and I liked some elements of Fun House, but most of it was just noise. Lots of sounds not coming together in any cohesive way, badly mixed. I get that Punk will always be that way, but this just not inciting any real emotions for me. 2.4/5

I often feel with Born in the USA that I should like it more. But the first half of the album is a bit of a slog for me. The songs all feel very simple in structure and chord progression. Apart from the undeniable energy of the title track there isn't much there that grabs me. From I'm On Fire things pick up, but the real standout is I'm Goin' Down which has always been a favourite of mine. It doesn't really do much different to the rest of the album's formula but it just hits much harder for me. Dancing in the Dark is also great - I find it very hard to not sing a long with "you can't start a fire, can't start a fire without a spark" Fave Tracks: I'm on Fire, I'm Goin' Down, Dancing in the Dark 3.5/5

This album was so interesting to me through the first few tracks, but really trailed off in the second half and I lost interest. A lot of the sounds that were super interesting in the first half disappeared and were replaced by dated more generic electronic beats. Fave Tracks: Bubble and Slide (I and II) 3/5

Kraftwerk is brat. Fave tracks: The Robots, The Model, Neon Lights, The Man-Machine 5/5

I love the style and the intention behind this album, but I find it lacks the substance in the songwriting at times. Maybe I just listened to it a bit too passively, seems like something that should be right up my street. Fave Tracks: Hong Kong Bar, Make It Right 3.5/5

This album really starts off hot. Fast Car is definitely one of those songs that I feel like I have heard too much already but its just undeniably awesome. I was not aware that she wrote Baby Can I Hold You - there are some real heavyweights on this album. The end tails off for me, but still a pretty solid album. Fave Tracks: Talkin' Bout A Revolution, Fast Car, Baby Can I Hold You 4/5

So smooth, a couple of great EW&F slow jams on this one, really solid all round album. Fave Tracks: Shining Star, That's The Way of the World, Reasons 4.4/5

Did I enjoy this? Do I like country music? Honestly I don't really know. Drunken Angel has been in my rotation for some time, but its probably still my favourite track from the album. Fave Tracks: Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, Drunken Angel, Joy 3.3/5

Not hugely strong feelings about this one - too long, mostly boring generic rock and roll. The first couple of tracks on the second side are nice, but then fades back into nothingness. Fave Tracks: The Lyre of Orpheus, Breathless 3/5

A bit cheesy, very repetitive, but also quite a lot of fun, like the musical version of the movie Bad Boys. I giggled when Ice-T said "I fucked her" at the end of the "Evil e - What About Sex?" bit. Then the a capella section about Nelson Mandela at the end of "Prepared to Die" - kinda corny but also kinda powerful. Fave Tracks: Bitches 2, Escape from the Killing Fields 3.5/5

The 1001 is making me realise that The Rolling Stones are probably the most overrated band in history, for me personally. This was so dull. I can't stand Mick Jagger's voice - somehow both mumbly and whiny. Fave Tracks: I Just Want to See His Face 2.3/5

Mostly enjoyable. Very T. Rex T. Rex album - although I wasn't already familiar with any of the tracks here, I could hear lots of similar elements to the biggest hits which I am familiar with (Get It On, 20th Century Boy, Children of the Revolution) Fave Tracks: Metal Guru, Chariot Choogle 3.6/5

I was surprised at how well some of the hits had aged. Although it's weird that the first words on the album are name checking the stars of Charlie's Angels, Independent Woman goes hard. Bootylicious also a bop, and Emotion quite a nice slower cut. In between though not much to write home about - ok songs, decent production that again doesn't sound too dated, but couldn't really pull out any deep cuts of note. Fave Tracks: Independent Woman Pt 1, Bootylicious, Emotion 3.3/5

Something about this album was very comforting. I liked the saxophone on Fireplace. I thought Its the End of the World As We Know It would sound more We Didn't Start The Fire, but it felt very organic within the album. Fave Tracks: Finest Worksong, Its the End of the World As We Know It 3.8/5

Not bad, but really quite boring when compared with their later work; without My Generation this album would really be uninteresting. Fave Tracks: My Generation, I'm A Man 2.8/5

The Instrumental kinda sounds like a Linkin Park song. I appreciate Lupe but most of his music doesn't really resonate with me, generally the production comes across as a bit too glossy, but in its moments there are some really fine tracks here. Fave Tracks: Kick, Push, American Terrorist 3.6/5

The Freddie's Dead cover doesn't try to do much but does its job. Bonin' in the Boneyard is silly, but in a kinda good way. Sounded a lot like a Prince song or even a Bootsy song. I liked this album more than I thought I would based on the concept. Fave Tracks: Freddie's Dead, Bonin' in the Boneyard, One Day, Ghetto Soundwave 3.7/5

I know that ostensibly Sloop John B is about a rowdy crew of seamen, but it sounds to me like the sound of white privilege. It makes me feel something between guilt and cringe listening to it. God Only Knows is really an all-timer. I was suprised at how Wall of Sound-y this album actually is. Clearly this was a groundbreaking record, but hearing the Spectoryness of it made it feel less unique to me. Fave Tracks: Wouldn't It Be Nice, That's Not Me, God Only Knows, I Just Wasn't Made For These Times, Caroline No 4.2/5

What a pleasant surprise. Some really nice beats, can't say I was really paying too much attention to the lyrical content but two of the tracks are called "Perverted Monks in Tha House" so you have to assume the wordplay is elite. Really liked this, very tight, no real filler, some creative and catchy beats, mellow but also pretty hard. Fave Tracks: D. Original, Perverted Monks in Tha House, Mental Stamina, Da Bichez 4.4/5

Captures a nice vibe, and was a nice accompaniment on a night drive through suburbia, but ultimately a very samey set of songs without many standouts of note. 2.9/5

I really liked this at the start. Just charming nice bluesy tunes. But I didn't need a double album of it - waned and got repetitive. Didn't get much from the second disc. Fave Tracks: Bye Bye Love, Just a Little Lovin' 3.3/5

Quite a pleasant album, but just lacking something to make it feel really special - one real big hitter perhaps. I like a lot of the elements here and I think I could happily have it on in the background all day. Fave Tracks: Testify, Love Is..., Real People, They Say, It's Your World 4/5

This was neat, surprised I've never listened to them before. Fully in the old wheel house. Fave Tracks: Genesis Hall, Autopsy, Who Knows Where the Time Goes, Million Dollar Bash 4.5/5

What a load of pretentious nonsense. 4 of the 6 tracks were just experimental noisescapes. I'm all for experimentation, but you still gotta make something that sounds nice, or compelling, or interesting, or something. Fave Tracks: Easy Money, Larks Tongues in Aspic Pt 2 2.4/5

Fave Tracks: A Rush and a Push and the Land is Ours, Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before 3.9/5

I thought I was going to like this one a lot, but I couldn't really get into it. I've had the title track in my rotation quite heavily for the last year or so, but not many other tracks stood out to me. The album didn't feel as thematically cohesive as Arthur either, though maybe I needed to pay more attention lyrically. Fave Tracks: The Village Green Preservation Society, Big Sky 3.1/5

I criticised the other JC inclusion for just being a replica of this album, so I guess I have to be positive about Folsom. It’s good, it’s definitely a worthy list inclusion, though the songs are mostly very formulaic, Johnny’s best songs are probably elsewhere, but this is an iconic performance. Fave tracks: Folsom Prison Blues, Cocaine Blues, 25 Minutes to Go, Dirty Old Egg Sucking Dog 3.9/5

I thought I would be into this, but actually I don't think the album has aged well, kinda ironic if you ask me. Alanis' voice is quite a challenge. I thought the album would be witty and edgy, maybe even jaggedy, but its really the opposite, cheesy and immature. Fave Tracks: Ironic 3/5

It ain't for everyone's taste, but I like it. Fave Tracks: Birdland, Havona 4/5

3/5

I guess I'm casually familiar with a lot of Billy's work, without ever really actively listening to any of it (except We Didn't Start The Fire). This album feels very familiar, and it has a very strong consistent mood to it. I think its a very cohesive project, reminds me at times of Steely Dan and Bruce Springsteen. Songs like She's Always a Woman and Just The Way You Are are really beautiful in the context of the album, even though they're not the sort of thing I would normally expect myself to go back to. Fave Tracks: The Stranger, Just The Way You Are, Get It Right the First Time 4.2/5

Love this, but lets be honest, The Girl from Ipanema does carry a bit. Fave Tracks: The Girl from Ipanema, Corcovado 4/5

This seemed like a nice idea in concept, but just another scruffy live recording. I don't get why these are on the list. Fave Tracks: Promenade (Pt 3), Nutrocker 2.4./5

This album is a peculiar one for me. I feel like every track has something to like and something to criticise. Fairly or not, I always felt like this album was Lorde in a way selling out or at least playing up to standards and expectations of the music industry or the listening public at large. Yet on re-listen its quite hard to deny that its a great pop album, with almost no filler. I was not a fan of Green Light when I first heard it. It lacks some of the rhythmic elements that I enjoyed a lot on Pure Heroine. Starting the album with some piano chords and a couplet about putting on make-up and drinking in bars, it strikes me as cliché and naive, particularly in stark contrast to Pure Heroine where the teenage Lorde seemed wise beyond her years. But the racing euphoric second half redeems the track. Its a theme of the album for me that I'll find myself a bit irked by the lyrical content, but then won over by a beautiful chord progression, or low key banger of a chorus. Homemade Dynamite is my favourite track on the album - it retains what I liked most about Lorde's debut, it's catchy and danceable throughout, with a chorus that almost sounds like a Flume song. [side note - just went to double check that Flume didn't actually produce it and he didn't but he has a production credit on "The Louvre", interesting] The rest of the album follows the same sort of oscillations for me. I don't like the hook lyrics on Writer in the Dark, nor the concept of Supercut, but still find them to be well written songs. The only track I think is unnecessary is the Liability Reprise, which reads to me like Lorde deciding she likes the way the word "Liability" sounds when she sings it. So with the constant tug of war on this album I find myself siding more with the positives. I don't like some of the lyricism, but my only other real gripe is that the album doesn't sound enough like her debut album; that's just nitpicking isn't it. What's a few nits on a luscious head of hair? Fave Tracks: Homemade Dynamite, Perfect Places 4/5

This really is Layla and other assorted songs. A lot of jam banding around on very uninteresting blues progressions and pentatonic scales. It seems on paper as if it's sprawling epic rock and roll, but most songs drag and don't really go anywhere worth writing home about. Fave Tracks: I Looked Away, Layla, Thorn Tree In the Garden 3.2/5

I listened as I ran through the fields surrounding Versailles. Jazz 4.1/5

I had more previous with this album than I realised. Bloodbuzzzz is one of my favourite songs of all time, but I find a whole album of The National quite dreary. Fave Tracks: Terrible Love, Bloodbuzz Ohio 3.3/I had more previous with this album than I realised. Bloodbuzzzz is one of my favourite songs of all time, but I find a whole album of The National quite dreary. Fave Tracks: Terrible Love, Bloodbuzz Ohio 3.3/5

Hot diggity damn. Fave Tracks: the first 7 and Glamorous Indie Rock N Roll 4.7/5

For an album with such critical acclaim, this was rather disappointing. The first half was nothing more than the hits for me, then the back half redeeemed it with some interesting more experimental instrumentations and even some decent skits. Fave Tracks: So Fresh So Clean, Ms Jackson, B.o.B., Humble Mumble, Toilet Tisha 3.6/5

I enjoyed the first few tracks, and particular the intro where Ray explains what the albums about - weird. But then it all got very samey quite quickly. Fave Tracks: Introduction and Theme, Night Life 2.7/5

3.4/5

No strong opinions, I think this album is pretty good, but inessential, not groundbreaking, not hooky. Fave Tracks: Saltine Sixteens, On and On and On, Take Me With You When You Go 3.4/5

Very close, but not quite a 5 for me. A few classics in early psychedelia and the absolutely stunning Embryonic Journey. But also a few generic 60s fillers. Fave Tracks: Somebody to Love, Today, Embryonic Journey, White Rabbit 4.4/5

Good vibes kuti 4/5

Dime a dozen white stripes formula muzak. Fave Tracks: Blue Orchid 2.9/5

Just like the other Frank album really, a few interesting songs particularly at the start, and then by the end its all an uninteresting blur of music. Fave Tracks: You Make Me Feel So Young 2.9/5

So many hits! Really surprised at how much I enjoyed this. Fave Tracks: He's The Greatest Dancer, Lost in Music, Thinking of You 4.2/5

Very consistent and very boring in a very Coldplay way. 3/5

Noisy and boring. Fave track: Running Free 2.3/5

This might be one of those albums that I think is a very apt inclusion on the list, but not actually a very good album. Hip Hop has come so far from these basic beginnings. The flow is so painfully predictable, the beats are mostly formulaic (save for the interesting Rock Box), and some tracks are just awkwardly devoid of instrumentation. There’s still moments like the aforementioned Rock Box and the iconic It’s Like That, but not an album I’d dive back into. Fave Tracks: Rock Box, It’s Like That 2.7/5

This album is like a dream you never want to wake up from. It feels like bathing your ears in melted euphoria. The sounds mbv managed to extract from guitars are beyond comprehension. only shallow as an opening track is a powerful statement of intent. when you sleep is in a three or four way tie for my favourite song of all time. sometimes can bring me to tears without even really being able to make out the lyrics. to here knows when feels like flying. Producing this album was a notorious labour of love, but it’s one of those cases where I’m thankful they toiled for their art - they did something special. Even the album cover is perfectly apt, iconic. Mbv didn’t invent shoegaze on this album, but they undoubtedly defined and perfected it. Nothing slowdivey comes anywhere close, come at me bro. Fave tracks: only shallow, loomer, touched, to here knows when, when you sleep, i only said, come in alone, sometimes, blown a wish, what you want, soon 5.1/5

This was quite stressful in a good way. Fave Track: Gentlemen 3.5/5

I really enjoyed this. There’s a hardcore Rush fan hidden somewhere inside me. Fave Tracks: Tom Sawyer, Limelight, The Camera Eye 4.5/5

Don't really have a bad word to say about this. It's a tight 8 tracks of funky Chic vibes. It's not a 5 for me as there isn't really any real stand-outs on here for me, but a very solid album. Fave Tracks: Le Freak, I Want Your Love, Sometimes You Win 4.2/5

I was incredibly surprised at how much I enjoyed this. I'm familiar with one Prefab Sprout song, The King of Rock and Roll, and I like it quite a bit, but I've always thought of it as quite unserious, cheesy, and a bit of a dated 80s aesthetic. But this album bares little resemblance to that track. Instead its comprised of sparse reverbed soundscapes, with flourishes of beautiful guitar, only occasionally verging into danceable pop territory, as on Moving the River. Other tracks like Goodbye Lucille #1 remind me of Talk Talk. I kept waiting for this album to fall off and it doesn't really do it, though the strongest tracks are certainly on the first half. Fave Tracks: Faron Young, Bonny, Appetite, Goodbye Lucille #1 4.6/5

This was so much better than the other Elvis album. Liked a lot of these tracks even beyond In the Ghetto and Suspicious Minds, which are far and away my two fave Elvis tracks. Fave Tracks: Wearin’ That Loved on Look, Only the Strong Survive, Long Black Limousine, Gentle on my Mind, In the Ghetto, Suspicious Minds 4.1/5

Fun, quirky, quintessentially Kate Bush, but I don’t think her best. Fave Tracks: Sat in Your Lap, Houdini 3.7/5

I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know. Fave Tracks: Pablo Picasso, Someone I Care About 3.7/5

Never been a huge biggie fan, but this album was way more cohesive and consistent than I expected. Not a lot of supreme stand-out tracks beyond the hits I was familiar with, but really liked the vibe, theme, production etc. Fave Tracks: Machine Gun Funk, One More Chance, Juicy, Big Poppa 4.3/5

Aqualung is such a bizarre unique song, I love it. The title character evokes disgust and empathy in equal measure and the music swings from jagged and jolty to slow and pondersome to racey and anthemic as it pleases. The rest of the album backs it up well. I was surprised to read after listening that they didn't actually plan it as a concept album and there's just some loose themes. I think I'd like it even more with some intentional overarching concept. Fave Tracks: Aqualung, Cross-Eyed Mary, Locomotive Breath, Wind-Up 4.4/5

Not quite sure how I felt about this one. At points I loved the fusion of genres, and at other times I felt it was just putting too much Western sheen on world music. It has elements of that late 90s/early 2000s new age fusion that to me is way overrepresented on this list. But despite those qualms I thought this was a pretty engaging listen with lots of interesting timbres. Fave Tracks: Pilgrim, Nadia 3.6/5

Could barely understand a word this guy was saying. 2/5

Not as interesting as the other Getz album 3.2/5

Pretty cool, I get that this was way ahead of its time. Still have an aversion to live albums though and this was another odyssey to listen through. 3.3/5

Remurmur remurmur the firth of novermbuh 3.7/5

3.3/3 duh

The songs here are so basic. The vocals are rubbish. It really doesn’t sound cool to me either. Some of the tracks I was already familiar with are pretty fine, but overall this is a big monotonous yawn. 2.4/5

Let’s Stay Together (the song) almost carries this album by itself. Most of the rest of the track list is fine, not quite filler but never reaching the same heights. Fave Tracks: Let’s Stay Together, How Can You Mend a Broken Heart 3.8/5

Enjoyed bits of this more than I thought I would, still a bit cheesy. 3.2/5

Pretty nice, but none of the tracks jumped out for me. 3.4/5

My goodness those basslines. Rio (the song) was more fun than I expected - another one of those songs I have heard a million times but never chosen to listen to, actually a real good anthem. The rest of the album doesn't do as much for me. Hungry Like the Wolf has a great chorus progression and I like some elements of Save a Prayer, but overall its all a bit too 80s for me. 3.2/5

This was as predictably cheesy as I expected. I really did not like it at all. It probably doesn't deserve 1 star but I'm feeling wronged. 1.3/5

Bryan Ferry's vocals are super annoying. This mostly just felt pompous to me. Some nice parts but overall it left a bad taste in my ears. 2.7/5

Fine, but a bit too clean. California Dreamin' is clearly the stand-out as expected. The rest of the tracks have some nice moments but really nothing special. 3.3/5

Couldn't get into this, just noise. Didn't sound like magmuffs to me. 1.9/5

I like the style but nothing particularly striking from this album. I guess it gained significance because of Gram’s death. Second half of the album from the live track onward much better than the start which was quite slow and by the numbers to me. 3.4/5

Never been a huge PJ fan. I like a few of the tracks here but others are just too dreary for me. Fave Tracks: Good Fortune, We Float 3.3/5

This was the most losing my edge album of the losing my edge albums so far. 3/5

The angry cacophany of some Halloween sad boys. This is absolutely not my type of music, but I have actually enjoyed at least one Slipknot song before (Duality) - yet I took nothing from this. If you want to hear a drummer try to break the record for the number of consecutive kick drums in a minute, then this is the album for you. And then there's "Snuff", which is basically an emo song that serves to totally undermine the facade that these guys are scary monster men. How can the rest of the album be seen as in any way authentic artistic impression when that track is there? I don't get it - I think this whole Slipknot fandango is a sham. This type of music is just competing to see who can be the most unintelligible, the most melody-less, but they don't believe it - they want to make sad boy emo pop songs too, they're just caught up in their web of miserable lies. 1/5

Toooo long, but I thought pretty solid jazzy downtempo drum n bass. Some of the sound palette sounds a little dated as much electronic music from this era does, especially the sort of airy new age electronic music that this verges on. But overall still a pretty enjoyable background listen. Fave Tracks: Brown Paper Bag, Share the Fall, Destination 3.7/5

Pretty much a perfect album for me. All My Friends is one of my favourite songs of all time, but every other track hits too. Fave Tracks: all of them 5/5

Strange little album, I liked the back half more than the front. 3.7/5

Sometimes its magical, sometimes its just madness. I appreciate the energy as an important part of Sonic Youth, but the fact of the matter is I would rather skip the vast majority of this album. The first few tracks toe the line, then the middle of the album is a really (intentionally) chaotic scramble, then I really quite love Madonna, Sean and Me. Fave Tracks: Starpower, Madonna, Sean and Me 2.7/5

Better than any Beatles album don't @ me Fave Tracks: Band on the Run, Jet, Bluebird, Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five 4.6/5

Went into this expecting the worst, and really didn’t hate it at all, in fact quite liked a few parts and felt it had very little filler. Possibly the biggest surprise of the 1001 so far for me. Fave Tracks: The Beautiful People, Tourniquet, The Reflecting God 3.6/5

Very nice album. Never been a huge fan of VM but I think I could listen to this album all day. Fave Tracks: Moondance, Caravan 4.3/5

First half was a bit of a slow burn for me but from "And Through the Wire" I really quite liked every song. 3.9/5 3.9/5

Run of the mill 80s pop punk. 3.1/5

Three Tom Waits albums in now, I just don’t see the appeal. His voice and style is weird, which is great and all, but it doesn’t make good music to me. I really would not like to go back and listen to many of these songs. At its most interesting the album sounds like the soundtrack for an evil villain in a kids movie. Fave Tracks: Time, Downtown Train 2.4/5

Two big hits that are great pop songs. The rest is just mindless at best, and incredibly annoying at worst, like the final combo of “He’s So Unusual” and “Yeah Yeah” - some of the corniest vocal affectations make these tracks almost unlistenable. 2.5/5

Fine Fave Tracks: I Shot the Sheriff, Mainline Florida 3.4/5

I didn't find this particularly difficult to listen to as I kinda expected I would, but I also didn't really think much of it. There were only a couple of moments where it managed to distract me from my work, and that feels a little bit disappointing from a metal album. 2.4/5

Very surprised to find a Queen album on the list where I'm unfamiliar with any of the tracks. And also how come Bohemian Rhapsody is not on this album with that album cover?! The tracklist here reads more like a Led Zeppelin album than a Queen one - lots of fantasy lore baked into the song themes. The start of Ogre Battle is pretty crazy - is there some reversed tape action going on there? The (pump fake) ending of The March of the Black Queen is a very clear precursor to the ending of Bohemian Rhapsody - interesting. I do really like the way the songs flow on this album - Funny How Love Is sounds like a Christmas song. Fave Tracks: The Loser in the End, Ogre Battle, Seven Seas of Rhye 4/5

Hard to describe why this album is so good. It’s just so pure and simple. Fave Tracks: Perfect Day, Walk on the Wild Side, Satellite of Love, New York Telephone Conversation, I’m So Free 4.7/5

I thought this would have aged badly, but the album starts off crisp. The guitars are recorded in a really clean way - it reminds me more of The Strokes than I ever previously considered. Tell Her Tonight at times sounds like a Beatles song, but with some very strange vocal affectations that give it some extra character. Take Me Out is of course a very good song, perhaps the song that defines Indie rock from this era. It holds up. And Matinée was low key always my favourite FF song, also holds up pretty well. The verse about talking to Terry Wogan on BBC2 just tickles me in the right places. The middle of the album loses some steam, but I like This Fire - I remember this song from an old FIFA game or Burnout maybe? Darts of Pleasure and Michael are also certainly more than filler. The subject matter of the latter feels starkly more progressive than most bands of a similar ilk and era would ever write about. The last two tracks are a bit of a damp fizzle out for me, but overall I'm impressed at the depth and wit of this album and how well its aged. Fave Tracks: Take Me Out, The Dark of the Matinée, This Fire, Michael 4/5

First few tracks are cool. Oliver's Army has good earworm value. Then for me it really tales off, not much more of any significant substance. 2.7/5

I thought this would be an easy 5 for me, but I think it does have its imperfections. As a cohesive piece of art it’s pretty great, but some of the tracks at the start of the second half don’t have much standalone value for me. Still there are so many groundbreaking tracks and ideas here, that are so uniquely Kate Bush, I think it would be a disservice to give it anything less than 5. Fave Tracks: Running Up That Hill, Hounds of Love, The Big Sky, Cloudbusting, Watching You Without Me, The Morning Fog 4.6/5

I liked this as background music. I think if I tried to engage more I would have liked it less. 3.5/5

When an album like this comes up my hope is that there will be some hidden gems uncovered. Unfortunately that wasn't my experience here - for me on this listen, the hits are the hits and everything else is fine. Don't get me wrong, that still makes for an unbelievable record - more than half the tracks are undeniable pop classics, and the rest are at least solid songs. Yet it's just a little disappointing to come out of the album experience without really anything new. Thriller, Beat It, Billie Jean is a 3 track run that is surely unparalleled in pop. Fave Tracks: Wanna Be Startin' Somethin', Thriller, Beat It, Billie Jean, P.Y.T 4.5/5

I respect this album, but I'm not really that into it. I don't think I'm going to hugely want to return to even the tracks I think are great. Fave Tracks: Lights On, Two Weeks, Numbers 3.7/5

A very good album, but nothing groundbreaking in the sound palette. Fave Tracks: Under the Pressure, Red Eyes, An Ocean in Between the Waves, In Reverse 4.1/5

What a weird album. It’s trying waaaay too hard. At its worst it is totally tasteless, putrid, cringeworthy. At other moments it’s just dull, and occasionally it’s very interesting, as on the title track. There are songs where I like the instrumentation and then Jarvis comes in sounding like a stuck up douchebag or just saying something incredibly lame, like comparing himself to Jesus because they have the same initials. Richard Ashcroft vibes. Not clever, not funny, just a bit sad. Fave Tracks: This is Hardcore, I’m a Man 2.2/5

A bit of an odd record. Bongo Bong is the standout, I quite like it but it also feels like a novelty song. Not really sure how to feel about this record overall 3.1/5

Pretty unusual album, I liked it. Fave Tracks: The Wrong Way, Poppy 3.9/5