1001 Albums Summary

I first listened to this album in full in early college years, about 1985-86. I, of course, knew most of the songs from the radio, which was always playing as we swam in the above ground pool out at my grandparents farm. I aunts, who were only a very few years older than me, had a transistor radio playing near the pool ladder. As well, throughout my high school career from 1981 to 85 the radio filled my time in my bedroom, and the Eagles played often. When I started buying 33 rpm albums in 1980, which quickly progress to cassette tapes, I focused on the pop songs of the day, which did not include the Eagles. Today I consider this a top 20 album for my ears, containing one of the top five songs of all time.

I get the Pixies are post punk and pre grunge. But I just don’t find pleasure in their music.

Morrissey is so tiresome. There’s one or two pretty good songs on this album but otherwise I’ve never enjoyed it since first hearing it in college.

I see where the Jackson’s sound came from, and where Prince heard funky. Not my go to sound but I appreciate the music being so different from the end of the Beatles and the beginning of Led Zeppelin.

Its been years since I last listened to this album. I found this in my Windom Hill Sampler days of college. Today, 35 years later, it sound even better. In truth, I have a deep fantasy-desire that I could have played music such as this. But alas, I am meant to listen and appreciate what I can.

Now I know why I didn't listen to this work in college. Many of my friends in architecture school were Sonic Youth fans. I don't enjoy their sound. It's probably amazing for the period when set against pop rock, but to my ear the music has nothing on Bauhaus and The Cure.

I missed this artist entirely. I was raising my kids in the years of her work. I enjoyed my first listen, and plan to listen again.

8th grade. My favorite year in all my school experiences. And the year this seminal album was dropped on us unexpectedly. While a bit trying to my ear today, side two remains one of those \"event\" in music history that opened ideas and pleasure centers in the brain. Personally I had to go backward from this work of AC/DC to discover Bon Scott, and truthfully I didn't go much forward with this band after this music. But damn... side two... amazing sound.

While I believe I should like this album I don't. It is of "my era", and fits with music such as Love & Rockets and The Cure, but the constant 'in a cave' sound irritates me. I'm certain the album belongs on this list, it's just not on mine personal list.

Amazing album from an amazing year in total. However, this is still not Bowies best album of the many that rank.

Poetry that is dark and depressed has a powerful place in experiencing good music. But Cohen is too much. I can’t stand his music.

First time with this album. Not a great first impression.

Susan Vega like. Easy to listen to but mostly uninteresting.

The sound marks a distinctive point in music. I remember the incomplete edges of these songs on my cassette player.

My first exposer to this music. While I appreciate the art, and believe it to be Phillip Glass influenced, I don't care for the thin voice work or the lyric. I would listen a second time to possible undo a first impression, but I can barely mark this as a 2. I'd rather just listen to Phillip Glass.

What a joy to the ears. What thought provoking messages. This album marks a moment in the history of music. Total joy.

New album for me. Did not hit any of my music job buttons.

A true classic. Plain and simply a classic.

This album landed about two years before I got hooked to the radio at age 12 and fell in love with music. So, beyond One Way and Heart of Glass, I don’t know the majority of the songs. And they don’t speak to me today at 56 years old. I’m lacking the nostalgia factor to rate this more than a 3.

One of my favorite albums of all time. Top 10 that I return to often. One of the works I can play in my minds imagination. I wonder how many times I listened to this music?

The funny thing is that I missed Radiohead completely while I was raising kids, building career, and moving through divorce. Ten years ago RH came into focus and has been a center of my listening life since.

The worst of country.

My first time with this album. They certainly got better quickly.

First time listen. I see the influence on coming San Fran sounds, but this is not yet formed and the lead singers voice is quite annoying.

REM is a top knotch group for me, but this is a less enjoyed album compared to their earlier work.

Wow. What a beautiful album. This music never came close to my listening experience. I am pleased to learn of it now, and thank this web site for the exploration.

Awful. Just terrible

Not a true fan of Alice, however the music composition on this album (first time listen) was excellent. His lyric always seems immature to me, however if seen as humor, his poetry is damn funny. Intelligent. Not certain I would rush back to listen to this one again, but enjoyed it well enough for a 3 rating.

Very enjoyable. Her voice was perfect.

Lousy music. No substance. Why is the album on the list?

This one is hard to rate. It is a 5 in the context of music history, but a 4 when considered with Revolver, Sg. Pepper, and Abby Road. Are The Beatles the greatest band of all? Probably.

Two or three Pet Shop Boys songs in a row are fantastic. A whole album gets trying. They created a few great moments with their songs, but missed the depth and color of Depeche Mode and Eurhythmics. Still, this album brought back great personal memories of this era.

Funny that as I get older I appreciate Bruce more. While the power of his passion cascades from song to song, his music just never seems to capture my imagination. It's good, but just not great to my ears.

The hits still stand out. The grove is alluring. The harmony is joyful. The sound marks a particular moment in history. How can you not listen to this album and not think of the west coast idea of freedom?

First time listen. Was interested in the folk sound with excellent musicianship and voice. Not exactly what gets me up in the morning for music, but pleased to learn this album exists.

Well, I absolutely love Talking Heads. This is my least favorite album. I hear the burgeoning coming sounds o remain in light, but it’s just not here yet for me to rank this album higher than three stars.

I have not heard this music since after high school when it first arrived on the scene. Truthfully, it’s still remains a junior high level work and it’s not stood the test of time. Just sounds boring today.

I sometimes wonder what it would’ve sounded like that I played in a band in junior high school. It would’ve sounded like this crap. I hear nothing original or interesting in this music.

Bad. Bad. Awful.

Fantastic musicality. Ozzy’s voice and timing are impeccable.

Ok album. Easy to listen to. Not highly motivated to hear it again.

While ahead of its time, the level of maturity and lacking musicianship turns the value of this music down.

No. No no no

Hearing Johnny with the power of age inspires great pride in being a human being. The song choice is the great songbook of the end of a century.

This album is a late classic in U2 repertoire. If Unforgettable Fire made this list it will get a five star from me.

I enjoyed most of this while I was cooking on a Sunday afternoon.

Paramount

Weed out many of the Buckingham songs, keep all the Christy and Stevie songs, and this album would be a five star for me. But as a whole, and compared to the perfection of Rumors, Tusk is a four.

The sound seems a bit behind the era. OMD-like however not nearly as artistic.

While so much of the 1970s music is directed from here, what Dusty’s airy and weak voice created was all accomplished in higher standard by Diana Ross.

No

Great music. Typical Reed poor voice.

I had to listen to this twice for this first time to see if I liked it. The second time I got more out of it than the first listen. Maybe a third listen will register more...

Poetry

A pivotal album in my music life.

Wonderful

Annoying electro, babble

No

A true moment in music history. This album set the stage for the version of the 1980's that meant the most to me personally. The Cure has one of the greatest bass lines in all of music. This is a four star for me only because of what followed.

Easy listening. Fairly uninteresting. The Bob Dylan harmonica is tough to listen to.

Awful

Lovely and sad pure form music.

Great moments in my life came at the moment of this album. And this album brings back those memories. Love it.

Immature. Uninteresting.

Some instances require the complete separation of the quality of the human being from the quality of the art they created. Thriller is a moment where one album changed music progress. It’s a great album.

Masterpiece. The truer beginning of an era of music. And the best of the best of synth music.

Very interesting album. I am enjoying this web site entirely to learn about all the great music I missed. I believe if I listened to this album a few more times I would love its artistry, dissonance, and aesthetic. I hope to do this and let the work garner another star.

Nice. Amazing conclusion to a creative career of art and sound.

As entered college this music never caught my interest. Still has little resonance to me.

Magic.

The end of disco, and the beginning of the early '80s version of R&B. The hook is drawing, the voice is spirited, but the music is predictable and boring.

I recently read a quote somewhere that said "There are those who love Kate Bush and there are those who are wrong." If I had to leave the earth and could only take three albums, this would be one of them.

Not much to say about this.

Hypnotic. Intriguing. Expanding. An incredible moment in time that transcends easily to today.

Top 5 album of all time for me.

Had a moment or two of interest. Overall the sound is thicker than deep and the lyric is flatter than full.

Enjoyed. Had the blend of hip hop and cool jazz that makes it good background while gardening.

Full of playful dissonance. Simple string arrangements often become hints of urban strife. Often memory of a good old Windom Hill Sampler or at a few heights memory of the cyclic pleasure of Philip Glass.

Prior to starting this journey of 1001 albums, I held no expectations that I would give a first time listen all five stars. I must give five stars to Ghosteen. Only Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush move me such as this music.

Mezzanine is a go to album. This one less so, but the range and expression of this music is on the edge of art.

Monotonous. This is a single song album, which is a single song that affords this trying work a two star.

I like this.

If his voice was not so annoying, and his words so uninteresting, the music is amazing. I can't turn off his lyric like I wish I could.

Brilliant. I never tire of this music.

What I dream I might have sounded like if I chose the path of music, if I had the talent and the drive. No idea, as this was not the path chosen, and after so many years removed the dream is fuzzy at best. But I enjoy this albums hints of maturity from an age and time where, today, maturity was blind to the future.

No

Excellent early work. Their later albums are much more meaningful to me.

Wow. Missed this one in the college experience. I know I would have hooked into it at the time. But now, not as much.

There is so much good in this music. GM's step away from Wham was welcome and unexpected. He was a music story teller, and I still enjoy this album. But then came Listen Without Prejudice, and I was blown away. Hope that album is on the list...

An artist of sound and scape through and forever.

I get it.

Masterpiece

First time listen and I liked it. Reminded me of Simple Minds in the 1980s

I liked this music in the day. But after three decades it does not stand the test of time.

Blows me over each time I listen - which has been many times.

I don’t know how many times I listened to this music, but I remember the first time in 8th grade, 1979. My friends older brother had the LP and I thought it was crap. As I matured I learned to understand the depth, breadth and symbol this music is. Now, if I were forced to leave the planet and could only take one album it would be this. This is the greatest music I have yet experienced.

A great moment in time. The music seems so innocent now. And the hooks are memorable.

Gentle. Reflective. Enjoyable.

Tedious. No joy. I know its good music, it just sounds bad to my ears.

I wanted to like the salsa influence but I got bored.

Solid. Not my fav sound.

Well. I think I get it, but I find myself skipping the songs after about 30 seconds each.

Not really.

Very good. First time and I loved it.

Amazing. Love this album.

Classic. Just never had much attraction to the Stones.

Excellent. This album reopened my ears to good music after a five year hiatus. Meaning my first two kids. I remember listening to this music with them when they were young and we all liked it equally.

Nice to hear the beginning of an era that I did not know. The music is a bit boring, but it was good to learn about where psychedelic came from. Never would have guessed it was Texas...

Classic. Set the stage for... for... forever.

Infamous

Represents an entire era.

This album seems so far ahead of its creation. The Beatles influence is there, but there is more. Pretty amazing.

Disco. Can’t say more. Just disco. To the core.

Nope

I enjoyed this.

Not memorable. Decent and standard music.

Amazing. Never ever once have I tired of this music.

Spastic. Not listenable.

Ugh

Top 5 all time!

Good music.

I don’t know. There was something missing inside the music. I don’t have the language to expand on the feeling.

Jazz ish. Nice

No

Good music. His voice trys on my patience.

Classic jazz. Like Aretha Franklin more.

One of the masterworks from one of the masters.

It was an era. The Cure. The Love and Rockets. The The.

Still love this album after so many years.

I never get tired of this album.

Never enjoyed Deep Purple all the much.

Not for me.

The keyboard sound didn’t stand the test of time.

Fantastic. Love this album.

This might be the beginning of techno music, but it’s not standing the test of time.

Boring

The blues

Drags.

Soulful. Rod creates a mood and when it fits its awesome.

Enjoyed much. Just not a form of music I go for often.

Beautiful

Fabulous

Brilliant. Interesting. Creative. First listen was a total joy. Pleased to learn of this work.

Salsa baby!

We all must begin somewhere in our careers. Not sure this album predicted what was to come.

No

Love their early music. This much less.

Fun

Ugh. No.

Jazz and poetry. Enjoyed.

Beautiful.

She is of this time. I probably am not.

A base hit. Not exciting but keeps the game going.

There later work is better.

The original Power trio.

Maybe I would have enjoyed this more in times past.

No interest.

Something about this music. I love it.

Hypnotic. Confident. Wonderfully dissident. Thoroughly enjoyed this music.

Monotonous drums, boring, baseline, stupid lyrics. Obviously didn’t enjoy this one at all.

Art.

True classic American rock. Awesome.

Ok. Enjoyed. The music included some channeling of the Edge.

Channeling punk. Does not quite make it.

Very enjoyable. Listened twice in first listening.

Fantastic.

Decent. Interesting.

No

Didn’t like it then and don’t care for it much now. But respect it for the era that it created.

Early tech just sucks.

Classic. A couple of the great songs of that era.

It is sad to listen to unfinished beauty and wonder what it could have been. Amazing album.

A five. five stars. On my top 10 albums list.

Beautiful. I can sit quietly and listen to all these songs in my mind.

I tried. It’s Willie. I tried to appreciate this. But no.

This album represents one of those transition moments. And his lyrics are about such awareness.

Brilliant. Every song. Paul Roger’s voice.

Not really.

Nice. Soft and easy.

A great moment in time for music. Not to my ears but deserving of appreciation.

An era in a bottle.

Nearly embarrassing to listen to. Some of the music was just ok. Some really bad.

Not terribly interesting music.

Enjoyed this but not huge.

Love this album and group.

Interesting. Enjoyed.

What a voice.

Good music. Terrible lyric.

Just ok

Enjoyed. More now than I did then.

I try so hard to love Costello, but I never quite make it. I know its good, but to my ears the sound becomes annoying.

Lovely. Pleasurable. Glad to find this music.

Had to turn this one off. Terrible

Easiest to listen to. I like this album.

Drags. Not terribly interesting.

Respective. Got too annoying.

Interesting rap. Soft and easy sounds often introduced with attention driven recorded intros.

Am absolute classic rock album. Set an era on its tracks that rolled down the rails with power and influence.

Classic soul. Love it.

Repetitive. Mostly uninteresting. Boarders on annoying at times.

Fun. Joyful.

Too late for punk. No patience for a punk from the 1990s

I forgot I used to own the CD. I enjoy this music still today. Fantastic storytelling.

Cool music. The production keeps my interest. Like it a lot.

Classic. Every song. One of the top 20 complete albums.

Repetitive. Skipped thru most songs. Not interested.

I’d rather listen to the first sounds - Devo, the Go Gos, etc.

Good energy. Punk ish. Not great but ok. I’d prefer to just listen to the clash when I’m want this level on manic energy. More art from the clash.

No. Horrible.

Very interesting. Pretty repetitive in a Philip Glass sort of way. I guess this would be psychodelia? Not terrible interested to listen to again.

Soft. Easy. Emotionless. Hoped for a few moments of lift that never came. Tuned it out after a while. Darn. I really wanted to like this album when it began.

Memories of college. This music represents a moment in time. I still like it but never go back to it.

The Beatles didn't influence everyone artistically. This group missed the mark. Pretty awful.

It’s an era. Many others did it better.

Good. Prefer John's work after the Beatles.

No. So many others made music in the genre. This is just annoying.

Rustic. Sad. Irish. Interesting. 1973.

I enjoyed the jazz very much. The rap didn’t catch my interest.

Soundscapes. The music became entirely background.

Angry music. Loved it at the time. Still enjoy mostly today.

No. This album is a warbling mess.

Amazing. Complex. Intellectual. Perfect.

So many 1968 albums exceed this. The songs became annoying after a while.

Not great. I don't care for this music much more or less than I did in the late 1980's.

Amazing that this album grew on me the more I progressed. As first I said it had all be done better. But the diversity and musicianship got better as it went. Diverse and interesting. I really like it.

60s folk I’ve never heard. Pleasant. No need to seek out again.

I really want to like Van. I think I should for some reason. Minus hearing one of his classic songs at a time I don't. An entire live album becomes annoying.

Damn. Still makes me what to move. At the time this album was released I was certain it was terrible. I wanted it to be. But, time melts many prejudices and listening to it again today, 37 years later, I like it.

One of the greatest albums of all. Of all!

Dissident. Basic. Juvenile.

Amazing album. Love it.

Not sure. Hints of good things to come.

Raw. Good.

Liked very much.

Why do country pop lyrics have to be so dumb. Cheryl Crow is far enough into this genre.

Genius.

I love SD bit this is my least familiar album. I like it but like all the others so much more.

No. Can’t do it.

No

Nice. Soft. Background. Not full of internet but pleasant to listen.

So many of my friends in college loved this post punk mid 80s late 80s raw sound. I guess I prefer a bit more refinement and still due to this day.

Liked it. Sort of hypnotic. Lyrics are fairly uninteresting.

Great album. Loved them all.

Wow. Ugh. I have no words.

Never enjoyed them. Still don’t.

A fantastic moment in time. Every song is a piece of art.

So many sounds and images of music to come, that did come from the inflennce of this album. The Beatles didn't drive all of the future of music. No offence to the Beatles.

Not for me. Sounds too much like the Friends era, and I dislike that series. Silly for me.

What a tremendous album. Incredible.

First time listen. Now I see where Eminem came from.

Enjoyed. Had energy and artistic interest.

I probably would have liked this when it came out, but today it does not interest me much.

Music appreciated. Not in my preference genre.

Pure joy listening to the beginning of it all. There is. Clear formula throughout this set of songs.

Enjoyed this very much. This group and music was unknown to me. This is why I am appreciating this web site. Thank you.

Very background. Nothing came forward as particularly interesting.

Very good. Enjoyed listening to for the first time.

Psychedelics boring.

One of the greatest of time. Every song is art.

One complete album of continuous 1970's hits. All enjoyable rock. The definition of classic.

Amazing. Poetry. Yet pretentious in a rather enjoyable way.

A serious moment in music time. A serious work that propels a combination of moving and thinking simultaneously.

Very enjoyable album then. Still enjoy it today.

I try. I really do try to like Dylan.

Not good

Beautiful.

Does not give anything new. All the music was familiar to the past. I guess I’m getting old and want new expression art and interesting music. This was not.

Oh my god. Art or idiocy. The music does not internet my listening experience.

Very interesting. Liked. Reminded me of something I can’t place.

A couple of classics here. Also shades of good music to come.

I would have loved this album thirty years ago. But today less so.

Beside the fact that the music was lousy, that woman cannot sing. Why is this album on the list?

I don’t quite know what to think. Interesting. Distracting. Black eyed peas? Ultimately I’m not having much interest to listen to it again.

Enjoyable yet tiresome. I prefer CNC music factory.

It’s a great moment of music with influences throughout the decade of the 1970s

The percussion was awful. The tiny high hat in your ear till it hurts forced me to skip almost every song.

Lovely but it drags just a bit. His monotone voice without any range gets tiresome.

Does not offer much new. The dialogues are not interesting.

The definition of classic. Love this album.

Brilliant. Worthy. Music outside its specific time yet stamps a marker worth experiencing onto the later 1970s.

Beautiful. So often on this list I feel disappointed that I missed a volume of music, and this is one of those albums.

I bought this album at a garage sale in my neighborhood in about 1981. I loved it, and went on to claim YES as my first concert on the 90125 tour in 1984. I still love this album.

Very enjoyable. The echo voice was a bit trying, but the music was pleasant.

Haa. Very junior high sounding. Made me smile.

Brilliant and most enjoyable. I had this album on 33.5 in 1980.

The ideal junior high experience. Today it just sounds like crap.

A moment marking a time.

I like Mingus.

I cant decide if I like Nina or not. This album got on my nerves by the end and I had to resist skipping songs. Based on that I am giving it a 2-star today.

Like a dream of an authentic nightclub experience.

Nice sound marking the early 1990s.

No

Extraordinary. An intuitive adventure of mind every time I experience this album.

Consistently a pleasant work of music. I enjoy it every time.

I appreciate and enjoy. Sorry that I find the background repeat voice to become interfering and eventually annoying.

I went back and forth on this one as I listened to the album. I loved the music, and was less interested in the lyrics and vocal.

Dry. Shallow. Unresolved.

Wonderful music.

Enjoyed. This is an era I missed while starting a career and entering parenthood.

Seasonal at best.

Enjoyed the tech/punk fusion. But each song became more annoying.

Did Herbie define the disco sound? Amazing to listen to today, 50 years later.

Slow. Background. I actually forgot the album was playing as I wrote articles for work.

Boring. Not horrible. Just repetitive and boring.

A few great songs. A few less interesting songs.

Brilliant. Not at all what they became after Sid's fall, but this is a great album.

Do not love, do not hate. The Stones rarely stink my imagination for some reason.

Love their music

I tried. The circular nature of the rhythm, which seems to me to return too spastically in incomplete cycles, made this more than difficult to listen to.

Not for me. Boring

Fantastic. Wish I had spent time with this earlier. Plan and hope to fill the time gap with many new listening's.

My favorite pure 80s rock album of all time.

Nice. New to me. Listened to as background while writing my book, and the music was effective in helping me think.

My second favorite Eminem album.

Overall not great, but with a couple of greats mixed in.

Liked it.

Boring

Awesome. Astounding. And still not their best album all in. Love this music.

Not for me.

One of the greats

Juvenile

The great songs are a couple of the greatest. But the rest can be a pass. As this is a list about great albums that must be heard, and not great singles, I regret to give an average rating. Their live in New York is a significant step higher.

Art. Amazing. Quite unique and creative. Loved it.

absolutely brilliant.

Absolutely psychedelic. Haa. I love it.

No

Very nice. Loved the rhythm, track and listening to lyrics and the language other than English. Was it French?

Nice blues but a shadow of what they became.

There is so much to hear in this album. The ignition of The Police, the coming of The Cure, the depression of The Smiths. Seems much started here at the fusion of ska and punk.

Not very interesting. The mid 1960's produced much better sounds and was appropriate for that time. Not so much this album.

Annoying. Distracting. Boring.

I hope that I can enjoy noise. But to enjoy noise the players should be also to play their instruments to make music. This was not that. I appreciate noise from the likes of Tin Machine, and this was crap.

Fantastic. I wonder how many times I have listened to this album...

The sound that started the Rush phenom. They arrived at Moving Pictures.

I don't know what to say about this one. I love the rhythm. Dislike the vocal and lyric. Boring.

I know this album is great, its just not good for me.

This is the sound of an era. But with remixes in it like "What's goin on" its a step above. Pop Hip Hop?

I've tried and tried to love The Who. I just don't. No idea why.

Regular punk. Boring.

I love this album so much. I discovered it in 1986 in my freshman year of college and the sounds remain a sort of time capsule for my detail lacking memory.

45 years later and I still don’t appreciate it.

Quite a sound - the 1970s. Clear sound and sad.

Juvenile.

Strange. I’m actually not sure what I totally thought of this album.

Sweet. Wonderful story telling.

While the recording quality is sustainability poor, representing this period, the sound is different enough from other contemporary music to enjoy.

Horrible. Cannot suffer through for a complete first listen.

I love Radiohead completely. But this is not my fav set of music.

Love it. Want to spend more time with this album.

I really enjoyed this album. Never heard of this group before.

Of course a classic of classics. Just not my fav.

Love this album very much...

No one else quite like the VU. Awesome music.

Very enjoyable jazz. Easy to work listening to.

Heard these sounds before. In most cases the original music I was remined of was of much higher quality.

Still brilliant like sun shine on a rippled lake.

Never liked this group. At all.

Never heard this one. Salsa makes me positively tap my foot, but this was hard to listen to.

Says 1970's. Does not really stand the test of time.