707
Albums Rated
3.01
Average Rating
65%
Complete
382 albums remaining
Rating Distribution
Rating Timeline
Taste Profile
1970s
Favorite Decade
Post-punk
Favorite Genre
UK
Top Origin
Wordsmith
Rater Style ?
93
5-Star Albums
74
1-Star Albums
Breakdown
By Genre
By Decade
By Origin
Albums
You Love More Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
D.O.A. the Third and Final Report of Throbbing Gristle
Throbbing Gristle
|
5 | 1.88 | +3.12 |
|
Kollaps
Einstürzende Neubauten
|
5 | 1.91 | +3.09 |
|
Junkyard
The Birthday Party
|
5 | 2.16 | +2.84 |
|
Sulk
The Associates
|
5 | 2.36 | +2.64 |
|
Suicide
Suicide
|
5 | 2.46 | +2.54 |
|
Playing With Fire
Spacemen 3
|
5 | 2.54 | +2.46 |
|
Penthouse And Pavement
Heaven 17
|
5 | 2.61 | +2.39 |
|
The Madcap Laughs
Syd Barrett
|
5 | 2.62 | +2.38 |
|
Live At The Witch Trials
The Fall
|
5 | 2.64 | +2.36 |
|
Venus Luxure No. 1 Baby
Girls Against Boys
|
5 | 2.66 | +2.34 |
You Love Less Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Purple Rain
Prince
|
1 | 4.02 | -3.02 |
|
Boston
Boston
|
1 | 3.71 | -2.71 |
|
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Lauryn Hill
|
1 | 3.64 | -2.64 |
|
Moving Pictures
Rush
|
1 | 3.58 | -2.58 |
|
The Gershwin Songbook
Ella Fitzgerald
|
1 | 3.53 | -2.53 |
|
1984
Van Halen
|
1 | 3.5 | -2.5 |
|
Power In Numbers
Jurassic 5
|
1 | 3.48 | -2.48 |
|
She's So Unusual
Cyndi Lauper
|
1 | 3.48 | -2.48 |
|
The Marshall Mathers LP
Eminem
|
1 | 3.48 | -2.48 |
|
Paul's Boutique
Beastie Boys
|
1 | 3.47 | -2.47 |
Artists
Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Bob Dylan | 6 | 4.5 |
| The Stooges | 3 | 5 |
| Tom Waits | 4 | 4.5 |
| Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds | 4 | 4.5 |
| Pixies | 3 | 4.67 |
| Roxy Music | 3 | 4.67 |
| Talking Heads | 3 | 4.67 |
| Led Zeppelin | 3 | 4.67 |
| The Clash | 2 | 5 |
| The Velvet Underground | 2 | 5 |
| The Fall | 2 | 5 |
| The Rolling Stones | 5 | 4.2 |
| Pink Floyd | 4 | 4.25 |
| Leonard Cohen | 4 | 4.25 |
| The White Stripes | 3 | 4.33 |
| The Cure | 3 | 4.33 |
| Radiohead | 3 | 4.33 |
| PJ Harvey | 3 | 4.33 |
Least Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Aerosmith | 3 | 1.33 |
| Dolly Parton | 2 | 1 |
| Eminem | 2 | 1 |
| Beastie Boys | 3 | 1.67 |
| k.d. lang | 2 | 1.5 |
| Metallica | 2 | 1.5 |
| Adele | 2 | 1.5 |
| Iron Maiden | 2 | 1.5 |
| Deep Purple | 2 | 1.5 |
| Fairport Convention | 2 | 1.5 |
| Neil Young | 4 | 2 |
| Elvis Presley | 3 | 2 |
| Prince | 3 | 2 |
| Madonna | 3 | 2 |
| Paul Simon | 3 | 2 |
| Steely Dan | 3 | 2 |
Controversial
| Artist | Ratings |
|---|---|
| Elvis Costello | 2, 5 |
| Pink Floyd | 2, 5, 5, 5 |
| Johnny Cash | 5, 4, 2 |
5-Star Albums (93)
View Album Wall
Popular Reviews
The Fall
5/5
I was introduced to The Fall by a room mate back in 1979 with this album. It is an absolutely terrific post-punk clatter of an album with Mark E Smith's vocals to the fore. I still don't think it's the best Fall album, but what a debut. I went on to buy pretty much all their albums as they were released - until Smith died in 2018.
This is an essential album.
3 likes
Suicide
5/5
In my opinion this is one of the truly great albums to come out of the New York punk scene. Originally bought a UK version back in the 1970s with slightly different track listing, after reading a ridiculously dismissive review in a HiFi magazine.
It's a really fine debut album, and I think every track is great, but particularly Frankie Teardrop and Ghost Rider. More recent re-releases of this album include Keep Your Dreams.
All excellent stuff and pretty infuential on later synth bands.
2 likes
Jazmine Sullivan
1/5
Awful caterwauling vocals and naive lyrics. I'm surprised this made the 1001 albums list.
2 likes
Magazine
5/5
A stone cold classic and one of the albums that launched post-punk as a genre. Every track is a winner. 47 years old, and it still sounds fresh. Magazine never really troubled the charts, but there were three further studio albums before they disbanded (and another 30 years later), all of which were great. But this album is the one that burst on the scene as the first flush of punk waned and reinvigorated things.
2 likes
Roxy Music
5/5
This is a fantastic album, every track is a winner, though standouts include 'Do The Strand' and 'In Every Home...' Sadly this was the last Roxy Music album with the great Brian Eno.
2 likes
1-Star Albums (74)
All Ratings
Fela Kuti
3/5
I think this music would be absolutely terrific live. I will probably add this to my collection in time as I think it is a grower (I already have some Fela Kuti music).
Neil Young
2/5
No, sorry, I really don't like Young's vocal style. I kind of get the songs, and can situate them in the early 1970s (having been there as a kid), but I really don't like this musical style.
Dolly Parton
1/5
I dislike country music, and while I can appreciate the clarity and rhythm of the singing, I wouldn't add this to my streaming library and nor am I likely to play this again. Not to my taste.
T. Rex
4/5
Bonkers lyrics, choogling guitar, a sprinkling of glitter - what's not to love? The album where Tyrannosaurus Rex goes electric, becomes T. Rex and which brings a clutch of top notch pop-rock LPs, dominating the charts for a couple of years with some stellar singles.
Dire Straits
3/5
Technically proficient and well-produced AOR music. I find this rather unengaging. Money for Nothing came at just the right moment with the advent of digital music, MTV and the like. A smash album.
The Temptations
3/5
A nice enough album. Has the feel of a label product.
3/5
I think this is a workmanlike concept album - it may have made more sense had the projected TV play been made. I don't see why critics seem to laud the quality of the lyrics, which seem rather so-so to me.
Manic Street Preachers
4/5
Not familiar withe the band, but enjoyed playing this.
Sly & The Family Stone
4/5
I liked this album - once it got into its groove after the title track which I didn't care for. The version streamed had a bunch of bonus tracks that didn't add much. Still, a good album, though I prefer There's a Riot Goin' On.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
4/5
This is another album which passed me by at the time of release, but which really matches my tastes. I love it.
Yes
3/5
I have never liked this band. I've played this album a couple of times today and I still don't! Maybe it's a generational thing as I developed my taste in the aftermath of punk and in the post-punk era.
The Rolling Stones
5/5
The first of the four great Stones albums, this is really great stuff. Favourite track - Sympathy for the Devil, but really the Stones are on form throughout.
Queens of the Stone Age
4/5
I'd never listened to QOTSA before, though I kind of knew what to expect after Josh Homme's collaborations with Iggy Pop (Post Pop Depression and the live album). I think this is a pretty strong album, particularly given this is a debut album.
Le Tigre
4/5
This is a splendid debut album, exciting and challenging.
The Incredible String Band
3/5
I think this is a horrible album. I played it several times and it just set my teeth on edge. I just dislike folk rock.
Taking advantage of the new edit facility, I have upped the score to 3 as it grew on me!
The Smashing Pumpkins
4/5
The Damned
3/5
This is pretty good fun, with some stand-out tracks.
The Birthday Party
5/5
This album has The Birthday Party as they lift their game substantially. I've been playing this since release and it's a favourite album.
Jack White
4/5
Electric Light Orchestra
3/5
Highly polished complex pop/rock music. Unfortunately, it's too smooth and just passes me by. Inoffensive.
5/5
There's not much left to be said for this album. A total classic, it was one of the, if not *the*, album which set out the possibilities of the recording studio. The songs are top notch. It would be churlish to rate this at anything less than 5. But...
I personally find some of the more music hall styles songs rather mawkish. Maybe I've just been exposed to this album for too many decades!
Pixies
4/5
Over the years, the Pixies have grown on me, and this is rather a standout album with great sound, though of course their 'loud-quiet-loud' sonf structure can grate a bit.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
4/5
Here backed by The Attractions, Costello's second studio album. One of the Stiff Records roster, Costello emerged on the back of the pub rock and then punk explosion and on into the post-punk era and then onwards into major league start status, all of the back of exceptional song craft.
This is a fine album, stand out tracks for me are '(I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea' and 'Pump It Up', but the whole album is great.
808 State
3/5
I don't think this album has aged well. I generally like electronic music (including ambient, techno etc), but this one leaves me a bit cold. I have a couple of more recent collaborative Graham Massey albums that I very much prefer.
Having played this half a dozen times, it has grown on me. But not that much. No particular stand out tracks for me.
The Chemical Brothers
3/5
Well, this is a decent enough album, great dance music, but I'm not sure I rate it particularly highly.
Beastie Boys
2/5
I didn't much like The Beastie Boys back in the day, and having listened to this album several times my opinion has not changed. Essentially this is three whiny ranty kids bellyaching over nicely produced beats, and enlivened by some nice samples.
I found myself enjoying the samples more than the Beastie Boys. Now to go and listen to some Led Zeppelin!
I'd be quite happy not to listen to this album again.
The Kinks
3/5
This album strikes me as distinctly average. Critics apparently praised the songwriting, but it comes across to me as rather contrived. I didn't find this a very exciting album, though it must have been good at the time to have an album focussed on 'English-ness'.
Prefab Sprout
2/5
When this album came out in 1985, I thought it sounded like posh hotel lounge bar music (except for the first track ('Faron Young'). I've played it a number of times over the years (mostly because of critical acclaim), but I'm afraid my opinion has not changed after three plays this morning. Maybe I just don't get it.
The Adverts
4/5
I think this album was one of the early UK punk albums. It's interesting the way T.V. Smith's vocals are so clear, if a little mannered - at a time when (at least according to my memory) many of their contemporaries produced a full-n onslaught. The album is full of good songs. 'One Chord Wonders' is great, though maybe comes across as a bit self-absorbed. the real standout song is 'Gary Gilmore's Eyes', though I think that wasn't on the original album release (it's on the expanded edition available via Qobuz).
A really fun listen.
R.E.M.
3/5
Some albums are slow growers. For me, this is one of those. I bought this album shortly after release, but it was never an instant favourite. However it has grown on me over the years.
Pink Floyd
2/5
This is the last Pink Floyd album I bought and for me really marked the beginning of the end for them as a band. I bought it at release and liked it, but with passage of time I came to think it's pretty dull stuff with continued navel gazing about pressures of upbringing and success. Not something I listen to very often.
Donald Fagen
1/5
Oh gosh, this album is the antithesis of all that I like about popular music. To my ears this is just horrible. I've played the album three times and it is so bland, smooth and unengaging with uninteresting autobiographical lyrics. This is music for people who don't want to listen, but to have it as background music. I hope never to listen to this again.
Elliott Smith
3/5
I hadn't come across Elliott Smith before being presented with this album by the 1001 albums website. On first play, it came across as a pleasant enough record. On second play, it still came across as a pleasant enough record. After three plays I concluded this was a reasonable output for a 'singer/songwriter', and that I'd leave it at that. 3/5
R.E.M.
3/5
It's an R.E.M album. It's OK. Played several times, it's a bit of a grower I think.
Roxy Music
5/5
This is a fantastic album, every track is a winner, though standouts include 'Do The Strand' and 'In Every Home...' Sadly this was the last Roxy Music album with the great Brian Eno.
The Temptations
3/5
Another album by The Temptations - the second in the 36 albums so far. I've played it three or four times this morning. This is a pleasant enough record to listen to, but I'm not very clear what elevates this to the 1001 records list. Perhaps if I knew more about soul music I'd see some significance that escapes me.
3/5
Neil Young
2/5
I dislike country-inflected rock and pop, and I don't care for Neil Young's voice (sorry!). So this album sits well outside my usual envelope of taste. the only track on the album I knew before I played it was 'Heart of Gold', and that irritates me. I did like 'The Needle and the Damage Done".
2/5
The Vines
3/5
Another album new to me! Nice to hear the garage band influences here (I can hear The Beatles in at least one song) though to my ears this doesn't quite convince.
So, a good listen, but not an album I'll come back to.
3/5
Aerosmith
1/5
Horrible.
Harry Nilsson
3/5
Well, this is a pretty smooth album of songs. It's inoffensive. I think the standout track is 'Without You'. The low point is 'Coconut'.
Overall, I prefer my music to be a bit edgier than this.
3/5
Lucinda Williams
2/5
More bland Americana, country-inflected singer-songwriter stuff.
2/5
Femi Kuti
2/5
At last a bit more diversity, this time Femi Kuti. On my first play, the album is an enjoyable listen. But not much more than that.
2/5
Elvis Costello
2/5
I've played this three times now, and I can't say I found this particularly engaging. I think I prefer Costello's earlier material.
2/5
Nick Drake
4/5
Oh, this is a great album - not one that's new to me. It's short, but its 11 tracks are great, mostly just Drake and his guitar. Quite a melancholy album.
The Rolling Stones
3/5
This one of those albums where the UK version differs markedly from the US version - I played the UK version. This is the first album where Jagger-Richards were the writers of all the songs, and it foreshadows the four truly great Stones albums. The lyrical themes tend towards casual and vindictive sexism at times, which to modern ears isn't so great. Still, it's a good album with many strong songs.
3/5
The Byrds
1/5
Oh I dislike country rock. This album was torture for me to listen to, it just sets my teeth on edge.
1/5
The Doors
5/5
This a really exceptional debut album. I don't think there's a duff track here, the music and vocals are great.
This is an album that has been in my collection for many years, and this was an opportunity to revisit it.
5/5
Ali Farka Touré
3/5
I like this album, it's got a cracking swing to it. On the downside, I've got no idea what the songs are about - when I searched for lyrics, they weren't available translated. Maybe the album liner notes would clarify, but I streamed the album.
But still, just playing the album made me feel great.
4/5
k.d. lang
2/5
This album comes across as country-inflected sophisti-pop for the grown up market. Not really to my taste, and I don't understand why it's considered one of the 1001 albums. Nice voice.
2/5
Count Basie & His Orchestra
2/5
Not really sure why this album is here, nor why it seems so highly regarded by the critics. Played, but it just seems to noodle on. Inoffensive.
2/5
Metallica
2/5
This is like Spinal Tap. Without the humour.
Soundgarden
3/5
This is a very average album that seems to recycle all sorts of hard rock tropes. It all sounds very derivative. I doubt I will play this again.
3/5
John Lennon
3/5
This is a pretty average album, somewhat self-focussed. I hadn't realised before that there was a partner album by Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band - I've played it and it's much more interesting than the John Lennon album!
3/5
The Killers
2/5
This album was new to me, and I played through it three times. I am left underwhelmed by this identikit 'new wave' type album that never really distinguishes itself. The songs are all very similar, and on the whole none are particularly engaging (to me, at least).
Inoffensive.
Stereo MC's
3/5
This was an album new to me: I played it four times. I really quite enjoyed the record, though I felt it overstayed its welcome at nearly an hour.
Neil Young
2/5
Oh god no, not another Neil Young album! This is far from my taste, sorry.
Barry Adamson
4/5
This is a terrific album that I've had in my collection since release. It's a soundtrack to an imaginary film, and was the first of Adamson's solo album, many of which have a cinematic feel. Adamson of was the bass player in Magazine and the Bad Seeds.
The whole album is great, but I particularly liked "On the Wrong Side of Relaxation" with Diamanda Galas' vocals and two of the CD bonus tracks - "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" and "The Man With The Golden Arm". But really, the whole thing makes for an enjoyable listen.
Cocteau Twins
3/5
I'm afraid that I never particularly cared for the Cocteau Twins' music, even at the time of original release. I have revisited their albums periodically over the years but I still find their music a bit over-produced and excessively dreamy for my taste. This album is no exception. After listening to it three times, I don't see any stand-out tracks (or, to be fair, any absolute dogs). Inoffensive.
3/5
Elvis Presley
2/5
Well, this is a rather dull album, perhaps Presley's first move towards the cabaret circuit following his spell in the army. I didn't care much for this album, though I've always loved 'Fever', and I can't see why it's one of the 1001 albums I should listen to!
2/5
Yes
2/5
I'm reasonably familiar with Yes, though it's a band that I really don't like. I find the tracks on this album complex (presumably technically proficient), but rather unengaging. It's not an album I particularly enjoyed - I don't really go for progressive rock on the whole.
3/5
John Coltrane
3/5
Nice enough, but it just sort of noodles along. I imagine this could be a significant jazz album, but as I'm not a jazz aficionado that passes me by.
3/5
The Clash
5/5
Considering the speed with which this album was written and recorded, it's stuffed with attitude and great tracks. It's also one of the albums which kicked off the UK punk boom.
One of my favourite LPs.
Rod Stewart
3/5
I'm familiar with Maggie May, but not the album as a whole. On listening to this for the first time, I do think that Maggie May is the stand-out track. The album comes across like a gang of mates holding a roistering and boozy session down the local. It's quite far removed from Stewart's later more ballad-y output. I liked this. Maybe 3/3.
System Of A Down
2/5
Yoicks, a barrage of shouty metal. Quite exhilarating but it doesn't make for a high quality album.
2/2
The Dave Brubeck Quartet
4/5
Smooth sounding classic jazz album (at least to my ears), much of this is quite familiar. I'm guessing this was pretty unusual stuff 65 years ago. I really quite like this, but I doubt it's something I'd play frequently.
Slint
4/5
This is a great album, kind of spare sounding. It's an album I didn't pick up on at the time of release, probably got it 20 years too late - but I have the expanded version, (though I don't think the extra tracks add much)!
Favourite track is probably Nosferatu Man.
Sonic Youth
3/5
Sister Sledge
2/5
This seems to me to be a Chic record in all but name. I has all the high quality classic disco production skills that one would expect. But despite all that, this record leaves me completely cold. It has no significance for me at all - back in the day if I went clubbing, it wouldn't be at the kind of clubs that played this sort of 'disco music'. I'm giving this 2/5 because of the production. I see from the Wikipedia review that Sister Sledge didn't have sight of the songs before being presented with them on the day of recording, which seems astonishing to me.
The Mothers Of Invention
3/5
I think Frank Zappa was rather over-rated. And this album exemplifies this. While it may have been able to stir the pot on release, I don't think it has lasted well in the decades since its release.
The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy
3/5
I think this is a pretty good album - it reminds me of the Last Poets brought to the 1990s and the vocals remind me a bit of Gil Scott Heron. As with many hip hop albums, there's a tendency of the tracks to sound pretty same-y, to my ears at least, and I think the subject matter of the tracks comes over a bit dated now.
Taylor Swift
2/5
Believe it or not, in March 2024, this is the first time I have (knowingly) heard Taylor Swift's music. And having played it, I suspect I'll probably never do so again! I think I'm not in the target demographic, and I found the record a bit dull and mainstream. Having said that, Swift is massively successful, so this stuff chimes with many people.
Pink Floyd
5/5
In my view this is the last great mid-period Pink Floyd album, and one that ranks up there with Dark Side of the Moon, before the more misanthropic tendencies crept in. From Animals onwards I think there was something of a downward creep.
High point for me is Shine On You Crazy Diamond, but really the whole album is great. And I can still remember guying the vinyl version and loving the sleeve and packaging.
Erykah Badu
2/5
I don't like this style of singing. It was OK I guess, but none of the songs really struck a chord with me, and I thought they were all pretty similar throughout the album.
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
3/5
The SAHB always sound like they'd have been better live than on record. This album is OK, though I think some of the lyrics (Gang Bang is particularly vile) sound a bit poor to modern ears. The Jacques Brel cover is very good.
Beatles
4/5
It's been many years since I last played this album, probably back in the day when I had a vinyl copy (long since sold). The Wikipedia page calls this one of the greatest albums ever. Well, I think it's good but not some kind of masterpiece. Many reviews I see fit this into the psychodrama of the end of The Beatles. It's a good selection of songs.
Wilco
2/5
This is the first time I've (knowingly) listened to a Wilco record, and I've played this three times now. The main impression I have is an album of pretty samey songs which are pretty dull. This isn't an album that challenges the listener, it's all rather smooth pop that in my view doesn't really distinguish itself. So I'd say it'd pretty average. I don't perceive a stand-out track here, but then again nothing's particularly awful.
Richard Thompson
3/5
Minor Threat
3/5
Well this was an energising record to play, and I enjoyed it. But I don't get why an early 1980s hardcore punk record is so extraordinary that it gets into this list. Maybe I'm missing some impact this record had...
The Doors
4/5
I do like The Doors and I'd rate their debut album very highly. This album isn't as good as that, being very much more of the same, and something of a return to the style after The Soft Parade.
Serge Gainsbourg
4/5
Well, first off, it's good to have a non English language record. I'm not good enough at French to follow this, so I used a lyrics translation site to read the lyrics as I played this record. This album has a really lush sound which, coupled with Gainsbourg's terrific semi-spoken, semi-sung vocal style is top-notch. The album tells a story where the narrator knocks a young (under-age) girl off her bike and then engages his desire for her. You might not expect such content in a modern record, but I guess it's in keeping with Gainsbourg's somewhat louche persona. Weirdly, Melody wants to see the skies of Sunderland and heads off to her doom. Sunderland? Does that have significance in French?
Janis Joplin
4/5
I never really listened to Janis Joplin much before this. This is a great album, except for "Me and Bobbie McGee", where my dislike of country music trumps my liking for Joplin's voice. I wonder what the album would have been like had Joplin lived to properly complete it. And I wonder what her career would have been like.
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
This album is Springsteen's jump to major league stardom, and the title track is a classic stadium track. Springsteen worked really hard at making this album as strong as it is. The title track is the most recognisable and is very anthemic, though Springsteen's music isn't generally to my taste.
I love the cover.
2Pac
2/5
This is an astonishingly boring record.
Cream
3/5
I think this album marks the beginning of a heavier blues rock style of music, and Cream were one of the early 'supergroups'. I don't think this style of music has stood the test of time, but I do think it was quite an influential album.
Badly Drawn Boy
2/5
I didn't find this a particularly exciting or engaging album to listen to.
Prince
3/5
I've never been a particular fan of Prince, and I've never playing this record before. On first listen, I was quite pleasantly surprised. However, as the album proceeds, I think there are some weaker tracks there - in fact, the last track 'Adore' is really pretty awful. Overall, this might have been a stronger album has a bit stricter quality control been applied.
4/5
In the early 1980s, ABC burst onto the UK music scene with a wildly refreshing cleanly produced pop music. ABC didn't sit well with my tastes at the time (severe post-punk) with its combination of polished pop and occasionally really trite lyrics.
In retrospect, the album is quite an achievement of pop production though quite where it should sit in the firmament of the greatest albums I'm not sure. It's difficult to pick out the best tracks - the whole album seems to me at the same level.
William Orbit
3/5
I new of William Orbit as a producer for other artists' records, but I'd not listened to any of his own albums before. On my first play, I thought this was nice enough, but not particularly outstanding.
Muddy Waters
5/5
Recorded towards the end of his storied career, this is a cracking album by Muddy Waters - rousing Chicago electric blues by the master (and produced by Johnny Winter, whose backing yelps are audible). Every track is great. Excellent stuff.
Television
5/5
This is a classic mid-70s guitar album. Every track is excellent. And look at Verlaine's hands in Mapplethorpe's cover photo!
Keith Jarrett
3/5
Well, this is a pleasant album to listen to, though it doesn't grab my attention and noodles away quite soothingly in the background. The back story to the recording (in the wikipedia article) is interesting.
Madonna
2/5
Oh this is a rather dull album.
David Bowie
3/5
Well, I think this isn't one of Bowie's best albums, though I do like 'Fame'.
Big Star
3/5
This album seems to have something of a complicated history, with several versions having been released over the years - I think I played the 1992 Rykodisk edition, minus the bonus track. I was familiar with two of the songs ("Holocaust" and "Kanga Roo" through their covers by This Mortal Coil. I like the cover of "Femme Fatale". On first listen, I thought this album OK. On second listen, I liked several tracks, but not the whole album. I listened to the album a third time, and I felt it sounded a bit patchy and unfinished.
Louis Prima
2/5
Well this is fun to listen to, but it's not something that appeals to me for repeated plays!
David Bowie
4/5
The first great Bowie album, this is chock full of excellent songs - it's where he demonstrated serious songwriting talent. Big Warhol/Factory/VU influence here in some of the songs.
Alice Cooper
3/5
While I hadn't played this album before, I was familiar with the title track. After listening to the album several times, I reckon that School's Out (the track) is fantastic, but that the rest of the album doesn't quite match it.
Sinead O'Connor
4/5
Lovely voice, but I get the feeling I being lectured, even gently. Not really to my taste.
Genesis
3/5
I haven't played this in years since I lost interest in this style of music. I'm really not keen, though I get the point of the album, and Collins' drumming is great. A pleasant enough set of songs to listen to.
The Band
2/5
This is a rather dull album of country inflected rock, with insipid lyrics.
The Bees
2/5
This record displays the band's influences openly, to the point the whole record comes over as a selection of pastiches. It ends up sounding a bit bland.
Pet Shop Boys
3/5
I've never really liked Pet Shop Boys - I think it's the rather emotionless feel to Neil Tennant's vocals. This is probably the best PSB album I've played, but I doubt it's one I'll play often.
R.E.M.
4/5
So far on this site I've had several R.E.M. albums, about 3% of the albums to date!
Anyway, R.E.M. is one of those bands I never really cared for back then. Didn't particularly hate them either. After having R.E.M. pushed at my via this list, I think I like them a bit better, but not enough to rush out an buy a copy.
It's a pretty consistent album, Sidewinder and Everybody Hurts stand out for me.
The xx
2/5
I had high hopes for this album, as I have The XX's first two albums in my library. Unfortunately I found this album pretty un-memorable - nothing stood out as good (or as bad) over three listens. I think that's more than enough.
I would rank this average, and I thought the previous albums were better.
Scritti Politti
2/5
I didn't really like Scritti Politti when this album was released, and I still find the excessively smooth production, lightweight pop stylings and Green Gartside's vocals a bit too much. But maybe over the years my dislike of this album has moderated. I can see why this is considered an album one ought to listen to, though I really can't give it a strong rating.
Nico
4/5
I'm baffled as to why this album was chosen, since The Marble Index and Desertshore are far better albums. I'd agree with Nico that the flute isn't great, but I think the sparse sound (presumably due to the absence of the drums and guitars wanted by Nico) is really great. Probably my favourite track is 'It Was A Pleasure Then'.
Beatles
3/5
This is a nice album of quality pop songs, but not an essential album. I guess it's best seen as a development of The Beatles as pop song writers and performers. Some of these songs are really solid efforts.
U2
3/5
I've never really taken to U2. I don't actively dislike them, it's just that they've always seemed to be rather an anthemic stadium rock style of music, even when they were a young and upcoming band. I didn't think anything here really stood out.
Beatles
4/5
One of the four key Beatles albums. I can appreciate the importance of this record, but I don't really play The Beatles much, not really my thing.
Sigur Rós
3/5
I'd played albums by Sigur Ros before, so I knew what to expect - an album of lush dreamy music, somewhat proggy in feel. Lyrics mostly in Icelandic. this one of the rare non-English language album in this selection of albums, for which I'm pleased.
However I thought the tracks were all a bit same-y, except for the occasional one where the singer's tone grated somewhat.
Lupe Fiasco
2/5
OK, well I'd not heard of this record before! I found it dull and boring with the same kind of vocal delivery throughout this excessively long album.
Michael Jackson
3/5
When I think back glorious singles like Billie Jean and Thriller, and the albums of the time, I think Bad is just not up there. It really suffers from the production values of the time, making it all sound rather samey and bland to my ears.
It was a massive seller at the time, so I guess popularity counts for something.
Suicide
5/5
In my opinion this is one of the truly great albums to come out of the New York punk scene. Originally bought a UK version back in the 1970s with slightly different track listing, after reading a ridiculously dismissive review in a HiFi magazine.
It's a really fine debut album, and I think every track is great, but particularly Frankie Teardrop and Ghost Rider. More recent re-releases of this album include Keep Your Dreams.
All excellent stuff and pretty infuential on later synth bands.
Duke Ellington
3/5
The music's good but not to my taste. But it's not really a live album if Wikipedia's comment that only about 40% is actually live recording is true (how do they measure that?).
Creedence Clearwater Revival
4/5
I'd never played a Creedence Clearwater Revival album before, and I listened the first time with some apprehension that it might be another country-tinged rock album so beloved of this list.
I found it quite varied in its apparent influences. Country, yes at times, but rock'n'roll, soul, blues, R'nB and all sorts. It was a very enjoyable LP to listen to. It's quite short, less than 30 minutes in the original release version.
The stand out track for me is Bad Moon Rising, largely because it's the only CCR song I was familiar with (it was on the American Werewolf in London soundtrack). But the album as a whole enjoyable. Would I play it a again? Well, maybe.
Orbital
4/5
This music rather passed me by at the time (I was aware of it, but never engaged with it). This is a pretty fine album, though it's really a bit long and rather overstays its welcome!.
Lauryn Hill
1/5
I thought the opening Intro quite amusing. The second track (The Lost Ones) is pretty tedious cliched rapping. The vocals on the third track, Ex-Factor are just painful to listen to as is the fourth track, To Zion. This isn't looking good for this album. And it keeps on going. And I kind of lost the desire to listen to more of this. But I did play the whole thing and I frankly cannot see why this made it into this list of albums one must hear.
Public Image Ltd.
4/5
The album where Johnny Rotten stepped beyond the confines of punk, Sex Pistols and his stage name, reverted to his real name and released a stonking post-punk album. Next stop the mighty Metal Box!
Lydon, Wobble and Levene on top form.
SAULT
3/5
I was completely unaware of Sault, and this album. When I saw the brief Wikipedia description, I wasn't expecting a strong album. However...for the most part this is a good album, though I do wonder if it's possible to consider the impact and influence of a 2020 release in 2024.
Billy Joel
2/5
Hmm...I'm not sure how to approach reviewing this record. First off, it's the kind of mainstream music that really leaves me a bit cold, and secondly (as a consequence) I have never really listened to Billy Joel except for a few hit singles that were quite inescapable.
That said, as I play through this record, it seems like pretty inoffensive stuff, and there are elements there I quite like and it's pretty skillfully put together.
Stevie Wonder
3/5
The Clash
5/5
After being one of the leading bands in the UK punk explosion, and after two great punk albums, this double album marked a significant change for The Clash as they moved beyond the confines of the punk format, yielding an excellent set of songs strongly influenced by other musical styles and by observation of disparate ethnic/social groups in London.
The album is chock full of great tracks from the title track that opens the album onwards, through Guns of Brixton, and I don't think there's a dud track.
This album was in my view the peak achievement of the band, the follow-up, Sandinista was just a bit too bloated as a triple album.
The album's cover is excellent, with the perfectly framed shot of Paul Simonon smashing his bass guitar - the fuzziness adds to the energy, and the typographical homage to the first Presley LP.
Michael Kiwanuka
4/5
My first impression of this album (which I've not listened to since its release) are of a nice smooth and well-delivered soul album. I'm not massively grabbed by this - it's a bit too easy listening for my taste.
Kiwanuka's voice is great, but I wish there was a bit more passion there.
Foo Fighters
4/5
I was never a Nirvana fan - always felt they were a bit derivative and cliched to my old ears. As a consequence I never really listened to Foo Fighters. While this is essentially a solo Dave Grohl record, it comes across pretty well - I think the drums are really driving the songs forward.
So after the first play, I'll be playing it a couple more times - but so far it's pretty good. May investigate other Foo Fighters albums.
After a couple more plays, I prefer this to Nirvana.
Orange Juice
4/5
This was quite a refreshing change from recent albums from this list. I was a student in Edinburgh while Orange Juice and their Scottish pop contemporaries were active. My tastes at that time veered more toward the heavier experimental side of post-punk and while I was aware of Orange Juice, the band never made it to my record collection.
The opening title track is a stone cold classic which deserved its chart placing. It's followed by Zeke Manyika's A Million Pleading Faces which makes for something of a stylistic change. Over the next couple of tracks I wondered if the album had run out of steam a bit, but Breakfast Time boosted my attention. (A young man singing about wishing he was young again is quite amusing to this 60-something listener!)
Louise Louise is a nice track, followed by Hokoyo - I assume the lyrics are from Manyika again. The two Manyika tracks present a nice change of style in the album.
All in all, this was a pleasant listen. I may add it to my Qobuz library.
George Michael
3/5
I never liked Wham!, and I never really listened to George Michael's solo work, other than the inescapable singles.
On playing this album, I found it an excellently produced record - very slick soul-influenced pop music, but it really failed to grab my attention. I couldn't really see why it makes it into this list of albums that must be heard.
So I get that it was popular and why it was popular, but it left me a bit disinterested.
Green Day
3/5
Well, this is a lively pop-punk album. Enjoyable but not outstanding.
Frank Ocean
1/5
Bland, boring stuff. The vocals sound horrible. One of the worst albums in this list so far. I usually give these albums three plays but this one grated so much...
Sonic Youth
4/5
This is a great album - it was actually the first Sonic Youth album I bought. That may influence my opinion, but it is an album full of solid songs.
Pearl Jam
2/5
This isn't an awful record, it just doesn't grab me particularly. Maybe it's just that it's not to my taste - I had listened to Pearl Jam back in the day but I never really liked grunge. The album just sort of exists. Was it influential? Not as far as I know. But I guess that since Pearl Jam hit the big time with this debut, and continued from there, it clearly hit a chord with the public. For me there's too much guitar histrionics.
Talking Heads
4/5
An excelllent album, maybe not essential. A bit less twitchy than their debut album, a solid record.
Devendra Banhart
4/5
Now, Devendra Banhart is someone I've mean to listen to for ages. I've played the album three times now, and I like it enough to add it to my Qobuz favourites.
It took a couple of plays before I could figure out who his voice reminds me of - he reminds me of Marc Bolan's vocal style. All in all, this is a pleasant album of gentle sounding guitar folk. Not sure where the much vaunted 'Psych' descriptor comes in.
This is an album I added to my Qobuz favourites.
Röyksopp
3/5
Another album by a band I didn't know anything about, much less played - it completely passed me by at the time of release.
Anyway, this is a nice enough album of downtempo electronica, but not particularly exciting.
The Strokes
4/5
This is a fine debut album, like a modern garage band with occasional hints of The Velvet Underground. I'd say that on the downside, that the songs all seem fairly similar, with none that stand out to me.
But that said, I played this three times and really enjoyed it.
Paul Simon
2/5
This is an album of folky singer-songwriter material. It's OK, but really pretty far from my taste. I don't really see that it's an exceptional or great album.
3/5
The album didn't get of to a good start for me, sounding a bit like a hotel lobby soft muzak. But it's good to have a non-Anglic record. The downside is that I don't really know what the songs are about.
UB40
4/5
Released a year or so into Margaret Thatcher's lengthy stint as prime minister, this is a cracking debut album of left wing reggae songs. I wish there was more like this in the charts at the moment as a similarly right wing government folds messily.
It's been a long time since I last played this record but it really takes me back. The songs are all strong both musically and lyrically.
Peter Gabriel
3/5
I'm pretty familiar with big single from this album, Sledgehammer, but not the album as a whole - it's not something I'd have made an effort to listen to at the time. And I think the mid-80s production values don't serve this album well, at least from a 2020s perspective - it's a bit too polished for my taste. That said, I like Sledgehammer and Don't Give Up. Not an essential album in my view.
Aerosmith
1/5
Oh god, not another Aerosmith album. Despite the band's energetic enthusiasm, I found this a dull album that doesn't interest me.
Herbie Hancock
3/5
Hmm...I'm not quite sure how to rate this album. It has four lengthy jazz-funk instrumentals, each of which sort of noodles away without really being particularly engaging.
The Velvet Underground
5/5
I have this album in both the Valentin and closet mixes. In many ways, The Velvet Underground lost the more experimental influence from John Cale when he left the band after the second album (White Light/White Heat), and Lou Reed's songwriting came through more clearly. While I do prefer the first two LPs, this remains a stone cold classic with a clearly influential legacy.
Most of the songs here are terrific, particularly Pale Blue Eyes and Candy Says.
King Crimson
4/5
Well for me, this is the acceptable end of the progressive rock spectrum and I have something of a soft spot for this album from my student days (when it was only 7 or 8 years after release.
The cover is a classic - look at the panic in the eyes!.
Anyway, I can give this a strong score not just because I kind of like it but because it was a pretty influential album.
Happy Mondays
4/5
I never really paid much attention to Happy Mondays at the time this album was released and nor was I much into rave culture.
That said, I rather like this album despite being about 34 years late to the party.
The Teardrop Explodes
4/5
The Teardrop Explodes is one of those bands which I liked but which never made it into my record collection at the time (youthful financial limitations). Somewhere along the line I acquired a copy of this LP on vinyl.
It's a record I do like especially the overall feeling and Cope's vocals.
There are some storming tracks here, especially Treason and Reward.
As an aside, Julian Cope's enthusiasm for German and Japanese alt rock of the 1970s has opened the way to fresh music pastures for me over the years.
The White Stripes
4/5
This is a fine album of blues and metal infected garage style music, though in my view possibly edged by its predecessor, De Stihl. It's one of a run of great albums by Jack and Meg White.
The sleeve is rather menacing!
Kings of Leon
3/5
I'd not really listened to Kings Of Leon before this. After playing it three times, I think it's OK, not particularly exciting, not particularly bad.
The album kicks off quite well with Red Morning Light, and the momentum is maintained through the second track.
On the whole, this is an enjoyable album but not particularly outstanding.
Solomon Burke
3/5
Not an album I'd heard before, and it had many good songs. An enjoyable listen but maybe not excellent.
Korn
2/5
Ugh!
Iggy Pop
4/5
The second of a brace of albums recorded with David Bowie, and a real classic. The whole album is great with a slightly rougher feel than its predecessor (The Idiot), standout tracks are the title track, and of course The Passenger.
This album set Iggy Pop's career back on track after his post-Stooges hiatus.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
3/5
Well, this album came out just as I was starting to take an interest in records. I was aware of Tom Petty, but never really listened to this or any other record by him as we were then in the rise of the UK punk scene and then into post-punk.
I guess I'd characterise this as rather old-style rock music. I don't think there's anything outstanding here, but then again, nothing here is particularly annoying.
Of all the tracks, I was most familiar with Breakdown, owing to Grace Jones' version, powered by the mighty Sly and Robbie.
The Notorious B.I.G.
1/5
Gosh I really disliked this album, partly because I dislike rapping/hiphop and partly because I found the content spectacularly irritating.
Daft Punk
3/5
This is a pretty good album of electronic house music. I guess it's typical for this style that the album is long and the tracks are pretty similar...but I suppose that in the correct club environment this would be a cracking sound!
Tom Waits
4/5
I'd not played this before despite having quite a few Tom Waits albums in my collection. The album has a rather nice ambience with the invited crowd in the studio. Waits' voice is characteristically cracked sounding. The odd thing is that because his vocal style verges on speaking, the intro sections between songs and the songs themselves seem to merge together.
On the whole I like this album and I've added it to my Qobuz favourites. Not up there with Rain Dogs and later albums, maybe, but it could be a grower.
Gorillaz
3/5
Gorillaz is conceptually amusing, but ultimately doesn't really deliver beyond pastiche. Which I guess is appropriate. It's a nice enough album.
Arrested Development
2/5
Hip hop just isn't an interesting musical style for me. At least this isn't full of swearing like some others I can mention, so this album is a bit better than some hip hop that this list has passed my way.
Donovan
3/5
This is a nice enough album, but where it sits among the great albums I'm not sure, given it was released nearly 60 years ago. There appear to be two versions of this album that were released - I listened to some expanded version at over an hour.
The Youngbloods
2/5
Dull, dull, dull.
The xx
3/5
I've had this album in my collection for some time now, and I think I've got mixed views on it. I love its minimalist pop, but it's sparse sound is something I don't cry out to listen to terribly often. Perhaps it's a bit of its time and place. I don't think the xx ever had a long term future - the second album seemed more of the same and I'd lost interest by the third album.
The Who
4/5
I'm not a massive fan of The Who, and this is the only Who LP in my collection. It think it's a good album, but the strongest tracks bookend some weaker ones. I'm struck by Daltrey's vocals - absolutely powerful. Also the drumming comes through well on some of the tracks. I don't think I can give this a 5 - maybe 4.
I particularly liked Baba O'Reilly and Won't Get Fooled Again.
Stevie Wonder
4/5
This album is very long at 1h45m (double album plus an EP). It has a number of damned fine songs, but it is far too long and some of the songs don't really hold my attention. I found the lyrics rather banal.
On the other hand, this is his 18th album and he was only 26. He must have been writing and recording songs at one hell of a pace!
David Bowie
3/5
I never listened to this album on release, and having played it, didn't find it an engaging album.I suspect many rated this highly owing to the sad circumstances of its release.
Pixies
5/5
I was something of a latecomer to the Pixies party - while they made it big in the UK's indie/alternative scene, it wasn't until they were in one of their comebacks that I finally caught up with them. Indeed, I bought Surfer Rosa as a triple vinyl LP set only a few years ago, packaged with Come On Pilgrim and a live album.
It's a cracking debut, with strange, oblique lyrics and excellently produced by the late great Steve Albini. Later, the loud-quiet-loud style of Pixies' music became something of a cliche, but here it's refreshing and exciting.
Ramones
5/5
Oh a stone cold classic! This is a fabulous riposte to the excesses of early 1970s rock music that ushered in punk rock. 14 songs in 29 minutes!
Wu-Tang Clan
2/5
This is pretty dull stuff. I kind of like the music, but the vocals come across like a gang of loads of people contributing random violent braggadocio. Oh, and I was streaming an expanded edition.
Air
3/5
Well, I wasn't familiar with this album at all, though maybe aware of the single Sexy Boy. This is nice enough but a little bland - I prefer things a bit more abrasive.
Talking Heads
5/5
A great album and one of three where Talking Heads worked well with Brian Eno producing.
The Last Shadow Puppets
3/5
Where does being influenced by prior musical style swing into pastiche? For this album, I fear it's pastiche, competently executed and arranged but for me a little hollow.
Jefferson Airplane
4/5
I'd not listened to more than an occasional track by Jefferson Airplane, so I was keen to give this album a (virtual) spin.
Clearly a very influential album and a significant one for the period.
Charles Mingus
3/5
Jazz isn't my thing really. The album was OK, but I'm not clear what makes this considered a great album.
The Cramps
5/5
This is a great album and massive fun to listen to. I regret never having seen The Cramps live! Standout tracks are TV Set, Garbageman and Fever, but the album as a whole is just a great listen throughout and a nice mix of covers and originals.
Fleetwood Mac
2/5
Fleetwood Mac had a long and crazy history from the excellent blues band with Peter Green to the later AOR band that produced the massive Rumours (and losing several guitarists along the way). It's hard to disagree that Rumours was a massively important and well-crafted album. But Tusk must have been designed to follow Rumours with something a bit different. For this, I think the band deserves credit. But I think the end result is a double album of AOR pop/rock that is surprisingly bland. I didn't find much of this album notable.
Joy Division
5/5
This is one of the truly great post-punk albums. The songwriting is excellent and the production by Martin Hannett exceptional (though the band weren't so keen). I love every track on this album.
Don McLean
3/5
I suppose this is one of the great singer-songwriter albums of the early 1970s. But it's really not my favoured genre, and I found it a bit dull other than the title track.
Black Sabbath
4/5
Well this is the archetypal metal album, and pretty good at that. Massive heavy riffs complemented by surprisingly socially conscious lyrics (even if rather naive/banal at times) and a sense of humour at times. All this belies the vague satanist aura that the media surrounded the band with.
Top track would be Paranoid, but really they all have their appeal, even Planet Caravan, which I used to find rather dull. Maybe I am mellowing with age.
An important album that set the stage for the emergence of heavy metal. On the other hand, the rise of many imitators may not have been a great thing!
Adele
2/5
It's not clear to me why this is considered a 'great album'. To me, this is pretty bland.
Neu!
5/5
As others have noted, the two sides differ quite a bit in general tone. This album, along with other Neu! albums and with other German bands of the period have had a big influence on later bands, particularly in the general post-punk genre and beyond.
Neu! 75 is a really absorbing album.
The Jam
5/5
This was The Jam's third album and their first truly great one. There's not a duff track here, and all originals bar one. I think my favourite track is 'Down in the Tube Station at Midnight'.
Red Hot Chili Peppers
3/5
Well, I'd not really listened to the Red Hot Chili Peppers before, and I found this album really quite dull. Maybe back in 1999 I'd have had a different view. It's quite a tight album with solid songs but somehow doesn't engage me.
Jimi Hendrix
5/5
This album is one of my favourites, and I think it probably shows haw Hendrix saw his music evolving. Alternately bluesy, jazzy and heavy, it has a real mix of styles. The top tracks for me would be Voodoo Chile (slight return) and All Along The Watchtower, but really I love every track.
Beth Orton
3/5
Well, it's not offensive but it doesn't enthuse me. Just not to my taste.
Paul Simon
3/5
I remember this as being immensely popular but also rather controversial because of Simon's relationship with the South African musicians. That aside, it's a lovely sounding album, if not to my taste. The thing is that the mid-80s production is so perfect and so smooth that the songs just pass by.
LCD Soundsystem
2/5
This is an album I was fully expecting to like. But playing it was so unrewarding - I spent the time trying to place all the influences. I disliked the vocals and I found the album strangely unengaging and repetitive.
Small Faces
5/5
This is a great 1968 psychedelic album, and a bit of a game of two halves. The second side is a bit weird, and I'm in the camp that thinks Stanley Unwin's narration benefits the record.
New York Dolls
5/5
This album has an fantastic sense of fun about it - I can fully believe Sylvain Sylvain's view that producer Rundgren captured their live feel.
Despite being labelled 'Mock Rock' by a UK TV presenter back in the day, this is a fine debut album that had a great influence on subsequent punk acts, especially those of New York.
From the opening track onwards there's a huge energy rush in this album, in large part due to David Johansen's enthusiastic singing. Luv the album.
Peter Frampton
1/5
I have never listened to Herd or Humble Pie, but I find the immense popularity (particularly in the USA) of this album rather astonishing. The music is pretty bland and just kind of washes past me. Maybe this is a personal taste thing? But frankly it brings into question what actually gets an album into the list. An album may be a consummate example of musicianship but nevertheless doesn't actually chime with the listener. Are huge sales figures and popularity enough to get on the list? I'm usually looking for a challenging or influential album, something that prompts others to shift boundaries.
So, anyway, Frampton Comes Alive! just leaves me a bit cold.
The Band
2/5
Accomplished musicians, but for me not an exciting album. I understand this was seen as quite influential in the years following its release, but it's not an album I'm likely to play in the future as it's not a genre I care for.
The Specials
4/5
This album is something of a development from The Specials' first album, and that itself is something to be praised. Retaining the overall ska sound of Two Tone, you can discern a variety of styles in the mix. The Wikipedia article refers to the adoption of 'muzak' styles as picked up in their tour of the USA. Dammers is said to have seen this as a slightly off-kilter and subversive approach as the band continued with their social commentary in the lyrics.
Whether this approach is completely successful is open to question, but I certainly enjoyed playing this album. Unfortunately, Dammers' approach seems to have generated disquiet in the band.
Meat Puppets
3/5
Well, a fun album - but is it a great album? I don't think so.
Funkadelic
2/5
Oh, I don't like the cover, but let's get on and give this a play. Well, I found this rather a dull album. Much preferred the earlier album Maggot Brain
The Associates
5/5
This is one of those albums that polarise opinion. And I'm one of those who do love this album. It's wildly over the top - Billy Mackenzie's soaring vocals and the extreme 1980s production values see to that. I absolutely love it.
Frank Sinatra
2/5
An album of sad songs! Supposedly the first concept album, plus I can see why Tom Waits cites it as an influence. But the problem I have with it is in the lack of variety - with the music mixed down to the background, Sinatra's (excellent) vocals are really to the fore making the whole album sound pretty much the same.
And in the modern era where great albums are generally full of songs written by the artist(s), an album such as this seems somewhat out of place.
It's not an album for me I'm afraid.
Astor Piazzolla
1/5
I was quite keen to play this, not being familiar with tango, let alone new tango, but really it left me cold. The vibraphone makes it all sound a bit like elevator music. The Montreux audience seemed to love it though.
Judas Priest
3/5
This may have been influential on thrash metal bands, but I wish it hadn't been. Not a genre I care for, and I didn't like this album. I'll give it a point for the sleeve design and a point for influence.
Britney Spears
1/5
No sorry, this is manufactured pap music that exploited a vulnerable young woman (and continued to do so for many years), and which was marketed on the back of dubious sexuality. If I could rate this zero I would.
Carole King
3/5
Well, I guess that Carole King is a top notch songwriter, and this album set the template for similar singer-songwriters but really not my cup of tea.
Buena Vista Social Club
4/5
It's been a long time since I heard this album. And it's really good to have a non-English language album on this list! Of course the challenge then is to grasp what the songs are about. Nevertheless, for me this was a pleasant album to listen to, and it made me want to kill time in a Cuban bar with a daiquiri.
Wilco
3/5
Not being familiar with this band, I was quite looking forward to this album. Indeed, I rather liked the opening track, but as the album proceeded I was less and less enthused. I dislike country music and any such influences, and this was rolling in them. And it went on rather too long, being a double album. Rather average, I thought, but I guess that reflects my taste.
Girls Against Boys
5/5
I'd never heard this before, and I love it. It's now in my collection.
Earth, Wind & Fire
2/5
I think setting this album in its mid-1970s context is quite difficult. But the opener (Shining Star) is a cracker. I felt the following tracks were a bit too mellow to hold my attention.
Some massive flares on the sleeve photo!
Johnny Cash
5/5
I'm really not a fan of country music, at least in general terms as I kind of like Johnny Cash (particularly his late recordings). I've approached this album with some enthusiasm, and played it three times.
I know that some live albums have been heavily edited and rerecorded, and I don't know to what extent this album may have been finessed, but it does come across as one of the finest live albums I've ever listened to. Possibly the finest. Cash is really in his element as he interacts with the audience and the prison warders. The songs are damned fine too.
Beck
3/5
Mixed feelings about this album, which doesn't seem to hold together too well. The opener, Devil's Haircut, has a riff that I swear is straight from The Seeds. And I liked it. Other tracks seem to be informed more by hip hop standard rapping rhythm, which I find a bit limiting. It's a nice enough album, with a few highlights, but I think it's not a great album.
Basement Jaxx
3/5
I love electronic music. But I prefer music that's challenging, and I'm afraid that an album of electro-tinged dance music misses the target here. I do think, however, that it's a question of how this is played. I reckon (were I to be back in my clubbing days), that I'd love individual tracks in the club situation. But not really as a rather lengthy album.
Buddy Holly & The Crickets
5/5
Only one album in Holly's short life. It short but full of classic songs. Wonderful.
The KLF
3/5
From a 2024 perspective, this album has some strengths but quite a few weaknesses. (And from a review perspective, its existence in several variants doesn't help!)
I think KLF were key players in the acid house club scene, so naturally there are going to be some good tracks here, but quite a few duds, for example where the samples are better than the complete track.
Good but not great.
Traffic
3/5
This appears to be one of those albums by one of those bands that featured in the great late-60s diversification into different musical styles (and into super-groups).
I can't really fault this record, though it doesn't really grab me in the way that popular music really should. I'm glad I listened to it though.
Lou Reed
4/5
This must be one of the most grim, bleak and unrelenting albums in rock history, and probably all the better for it. Released the year after the seminal Transformer, it's a concept album. I like it a lot.
The Cure
5/5
This is the album where The Cure moved forward into atmospheric post-punk, almost gothic territory - stimulated by Robert Smith spending time with the Banshees. It's almost sound painting. The single A Forest is excellent, as is Play For Today. An enjoyable album, and quite influential on other bands around this time.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
4/5
I like Nicka Cave and the Bad Seeds a lot, and have most of not all of their albums. However, I'm not clear why this among that huge body of work was chosen for this list. It's not a bad album, but it's not up there with Cave's best work. I suspect it's to do with sales, with the album boosted by Where The Wild Roses Grow featuring Kylie Minogue getting into the charts. The album's a mixture of traditional and cover songs with originals by Cave, and it has a rather stellar collection of collaborators.
Cheap Trick
2/5
I can remember this album's spectacular popularity when it was released. I was, and I still am, perplexed by why it was so popular. I'm listening to it many years later, and it still seems to be a mediocre record.
Leonard Cohen
5/5
This is a cracking album, especially given the circumstances it was recorded under. I would claim to be a Leonard Cohen aficionado but I did like this one.
Haircut 100
2/5
This is a pop album that fits well to the early 80s pop world. Catchy tunes, great percussion. Despite the songcraft, a lot of this album comes across as a bit twee, not helped by the band's image. Chief songwriter Nick Heywood left after the release of this album and soon after the band folded (bar some later reformations).
So, I found this album better than I expected, but I don't see it as a great or influential record.
Björk
4/5
I found this an interesting album, with its focus on using the human voice for most of the music. I think this is an album that would repay more listening than I could offer it over a 24h period! I'm not wildly keen on Bjork, but I can see her obvious qualities as a rather experimental artis shine through here.
A Tribe Called Quest
3/5
Oh dear. more hip hop. The album is a bit too long.
Duran Duran
2/5
I never liked Duran Duran at the time, and while the passage of time has made these songs better in my memory I'm still not fond of them. For me this is a rather dull album.
2/5
This is one of those albums that make me wonder at its inclusion on this list. An extra point for the limp attempt to illustrate the title on the cover.
Spiritualized
4/5
I like Spiritualized - have had this album since release. This album has a strange mix of gospel and psych with a good dose of space in there.
Iron Maiden
1/5
Awful music, awful sleeve.
Jamiroquai
2/5
Really dull noodly jazz funk wannabbees. Really overstays its welcome.
Ravi Shankar
3/5
After the 'instructional' first track, this album was rather pleasant to listen to, though perhaps not something I'd play very frequently. Good extend the range of albums in this list.
Marvin Gaye
4/5
Oh my. Getting it on...loving to ball...plus a load of sadness in there.
Ray Charles
2/5
So Ray Charles' first album was released in 1957, and this was his 7th....released in 1959. That's some work rate.
I'd had minimal exposure to Ray Charles, and I was expecting great things from this album. But I really didn't care for the big band arrangements and the old classic songs. I really didn't see this as a particularly great album.
Einstürzende Neubauten
5/5
I bought this album back in the pre-internet days when finding this kind of music was a bit of a challenge. Ordered it via a record store in Edinburgh.
This album started my love of Einstuerzende Neubauten's music, and I've followed their albums since then.
This album is a massive rush of heavy percussive music made with heavy duty metallic objects, some are 'found' objects, some constructed. The album sleeve has a photo with the band and their kit laid out - reminiscent of the back sleeve photo of Pink Floyd on their Ummagumma album.
I'm not sure this would be the best pick of Einstuerzende Neubauten's catalogues - later albums become increasingly contemplative, but by golly it's an album this list needed to have. I notice that recent CD versions of this album include the cassette-only release Stahldubversions.
In style this would be classed as 'industrial punk' I guess, and Einstuerzende Neubauten was one of a number of bands of this style. They did have an influence on subsequent bands, particularly as Fairlight samplers enabled the incorporation of 'found sound' into pop music. I'm thinking of Depeche Mode's 'Construction Time Again' for example.
The Boo Radleys
3/5
I wasn't a massive shoegaze fan back in the day, so I'm pleased to listen to this album, which displays a bit of diversity in style. As so many albums of that time, this one kind of overstays its welcome at well over an hour. But still, a solid piece of work.
Eminem
1/5
Brat-rap.
The Rolling Stones
3/5
This seems to me to be a reasonable album mostly stocked with cover versions. The Stones-penned songs are a bit derivative. At the time of release, this might have been seen as an exciting album, particularly with their live performances, but really it's not a patch on their late-60s output.
The Byrds
3/5
The original album was pretty short at 29 minutes - something of a blessing since this is pretty dull. At least the country/folk aspects aren't too strong for this record.
The Prodigy
4/5
Not keen on the sampled lyrics of the opener "Smack My Bitch Up", but other than this it's a great album. Favourite track is "Firestarter".
Lorde
2/5
Overly busy production and average songs. The singing really grates. Maybe this is a taste thing, but it's not a great album.
Throwing Muses
4/5
Turns out this album is considered to be untitled, and it seems to be only available as the first 10 tracks of the compilation "In A Doghouse".
This is a great post-punk/alt-pop album in a similar vein to the Pixies and The Breeders.
The Divine Comedy
1/5
If any album convinces me that overblown production, an excessive swelling string section and over the top vocals don't convey much in the way of emotion, it's this album. It comes across like a pastiche of the kind of performance characteristic of 1960s/1970s light entertainment TV shows. I'm not familiar with The Divine Comedy - maybe this is a deliberate pastiche?
Sufjan Stevens
2/5
Not to my taste, this album really overstayed its welcome. I thiught the songs dull.
Paul Weller
3/5
Paul Weller's musical career really hasn't been stuck in a rut - from The Jam's rise as a mod band on the back of the punk explosion through The Style Council's mannered pop to his long solo career.
On first listen, I wasn't particularly engaged by this album, which seemed to veer between soul-inflected songs to more AOR type material. By my second listen I rather liked some of it a bit more. After three plays I think this may be a grower. But I'll still give this an average score I think. Inoffensive and a bit 'grown-up'. The album is over 30 years old (how time flies)!
The Verve
4/5
The whole Britpop malarkey mostly passed me by, but I did buy this album on release. The standout tracks are really the various singles - particularly Bittersweet Symphony and The Drugs Don't Work. I think that the album is overlong with some of the tracks dragging a little.
But that being said, this is a sterling album.
Marilyn Manson
2/5
The advent of the CD induced many artists to produce albums of excessive length: this is one such. While it starts with a refreshing sonic blast, the sad truth is that this album is over-long and lacking in variety. It's the kind of shock-rock-pop that teenagers play to antagonise their parents.
Shallow and boring.
Arcade Fire
3/5
I'd heard of Arcade Fire, but never listened to an album of theirs before Well, this is a *nice* album. It's not outstanding in my view, rather inoffensive, and well put together. Average.
Peter Tosh
3/5
This seems like a nice solid reggae album, pleasant to listen to but not to my general taste. I didn't care for the title track, but the rest was fine.
Ray Charles
2/5
Well, I love Ray Charles' voice, but I find the arrangements with all the strings and backing vocals rather too much and a bit same-y. Ultra-smooth.
Rage Against The Machine
4/5
Generally not a metal fan, but the energy here along with the rap style vocals and political statements make this a massively energetic and exhilarating album.
Underworld
4/5
Ah yes...mid-1990s, the album nearly fills a CD. It's a bit long. But that said, this is quite a varied collection of songs, varying from pretty techno-focussed stuff to softer, more introspective tracks. I prefer the more techo tracks, but in general I liked the album. May add to my collection.
Cypress Hill
1/5
There's too much hip hop/rap in this list. This more of the same.
The Stranglers
4/5
Aside from the casual misogyny, this is a cracking album of pub rockers turned punks at the start of the UK punk scene. For me, the combination of the rumbling bass, overlying keyboards and the growling vocals contribute to an overall tight band.
Thelonious Monk
4/5
This sort of album is one of the reasons I'm working through this list of albums. I'm far from being a jazz aficionado so I can't form a particularly informed opinion of this record.
Essentially, I found this a rather pleasant record to listen to. I can't say it's brilliant, can't say it's rubbish. The wikipedia page refers to composition, but to my ears it sounds like a bunch of skilled musicians noodling around together (with pretty good results). If I was feeling uncharitable I might suggest it sounds like lounge bar music at times.
But given I found it a nice record, 4/5.
Janet Jackson
2/5
This isn't the sort of music I like. It's a bit over-produced, and while the sentiment behind the songs, I think it's a bit average.
Lambchop
1/5
Three tracks in and this is one of the most boring albums I have played in a very long time. Turgid, plodding and dull. I played this album three times and if I never hear Lambchop again I will be delighted.
Bob Dylan
5/5
I am far from being a massive Bob Dylan fan, but I absolutely love his run of mid-60s albums: Bringing It All Back Home, Highway 61 Revisited and Blond On Blonde, which I think really shook up rock music. Highway 61 Revisited is an all time classic album, great music exceptional lyrics and very influential.
Steely Dan
2/5
Turns out I knew several of the songs before I played this album. The best thing about this is the band's name. The worst thing is the horrible sleeve art. The music itself sits somewhere in between. Early 1970s AOR soft rock, with jazz and latin poking through. For me, this is an example where high skill level in songwriting, musicianship and production don't result in a great album.
Leonard Cohen
4/5
I like Leonard Cohen's albums more that when I was young. I rate this quite highly, and I think it will repay closer, more careful listening.
Minutemen
3/5
I've played this album a number of times over the last few years, and I reckon that as a body of work it's overlong and a bit rambling. I get many of the references in politics (but being non-US may miss some). I could hear similarities to other bands in there, notably the Gang of Four. On the whole I reckon this is only an average album.
The Smashing Pumpkins
2/5
First of all, clocking in at over 2h, this is really too long. I'm getting an album to listen to every 24h - this album is over a twelfth of that period! On my first play, I quite like this album. Whether it gets more plays depends on what I'm doing today!
As far as I can tell, as a body of work it's pretty mediocre. Might have been better with a bit more quality control.
David Gray
4/5
Well, it's OK. I find his voice grating at times, but it's an OK singer-songwriter album and not offensive.
The real high point for me though is his cover of Say Hello Wave Goodbye, which is one of my favourite ever songs - and I think he does it justice.
This album was massively popular. I'm nit sure why, but it is a solid piece of work.
The Yardbirds
4/5
I think the Yardbirds was one of those mid-60s bands who's impact was greater than their music. Certainly they seem to be emerging from the blues-based music into a slightly psych-tinged style here. Not bad, but very variable in track listing (UK vs US versions).
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
3/5
I get the sense these guys would play well together particularly live. Greta musicianship, but the whole album seems rather complacent about their status as a 'counterculture band'.
Bob Dylan
4/5
This album sees Dylan moving to stronger songs beyond the basic fold songs of his first album. Some of the songs on this album are stunningly good, though some are not quite so strong. I'm not a huge Dylan fan, but I see this album as on a trajectory toward his first truly great period - from bring It All Back Home through Highway 61 to Blonde on Blonde.
Shack
3/5
I confess to never having heard of Shack before, much less this album.
Well I have played this album a couple of times. It seems to be well-written, maybe a bit overproduced, but ultimately quite dull to my ears.
Ride
4/5
While I'm not a massive fan of shoegaze, it is a genre I kind of like. I bought this album on release (I think partly because it was on Creation!). It's a significant album in the sense it one of the main shoegazy type albums and influential in that genre. I bet these guys were great live.
Stevie Wonder
2/5
I found this a rather dull album. One or two standout tracks though - Don't You Worry... being one of them.
Hole
2/5
A dull plodding album with little that stands out.
The The
4/5
A cracking album and a good example of the talented work of the time, with socially conscious lyrics.
The Who
2/5
This is a very highly regarded live album, often touted as one of the greatest live albums and a recording of a band at the peak of their power. My streaming service doesn't have the original 6-track version, but a longer 14 track version.
All in all I think this album falls very much short of its reputation as a great (the greatest?) live album. And in that respect I doubt it really ought to be on this list of 1001 albums - I reckon that some of The Who's studio albums are way better than this.
Eurythmics
3/5
Eurythmics were a key part of the mid 1980s UK synth-pop scene. I really loved their chart singles, and have one of their albums (Touch). That said, and despite their importance to that genre, I think this album doesn't really match the quality of the singles - these are the best tracks on this album.
The title track in particular is particularly strong.
The Pogues
4/5
This is a rollicking good album, great cover, cracking tunes and some pointed and some maudlin lyrics. I bet they were a fantastic live band.
Jungle Brothers
1/5
More hip hop? Sigh...well let's give this a listen...well, it's pretty dull samey stuff throughout. Not my thing at all.
The Pogues
4/5
Hang on just a minute, this is the second Pogues album in three days! Surely it's going to be more of the same sort of stuff as Rum, Sodomy and the Lash? Do the Pogues really merit two albums in this list? Well, lets give this a play...
I think the production is a bit smoother than on Rum, Sodomy and the Lash. The songs seem strong, and I particularly like Fairytale of New York. The cover's rather good, better than the US version. On the whole I think I prefer this to Rum.
Joe Ely
2/5
There are two genres of popular music that I really don't care for, probably because of cultural background. The first of this is hip hop, and the second is country and western music. My heart sank a little when this album came up, particularly since I aim to listen to each album two or three times. Perhaps mercifully, this one is only 33 minutes long.
Aside from the tooth-grating C&W flourishes such as yodels and pedal steel, the album is at its best when Joe Ely is rocking out. Unfortunately those moments are all too fleeting. I can't really rate this particularly highly, though I note from Wikipedia that Ely was quite broadminded when it comes to crossing genre boundaries. I think this and subsequent albums may have been more influential than I know - for example on The Clash's growing interest in Americana.
Radiohead
4/5
I have something of a love/hate relationship with Radiohead albums; I don't care too much for OK Computer, while I prefer Kid A and Amnesia. I find Thom Yorke's vocals a bit difficult at times, and I think that's the source of by reserved opinion of the band's work.
I was interested to listen to this album, coming as it did after Kid A and Amnesia, and located as a rather political commentary.
And I do rather like this one.
Kendrick Lamar
2/5
Another hip-hop record. Is there no end to these on this list? Nasty words, OK rhythms and the usual boring vocal delivery.
fIREHOSE
3/5
OK, I was only dimly aware of fIREHOSE before this. Since this is a pleasingly short album, I've played this several times now.
I'd characterise this as sitting on the folkier/garage end of the SST roster. It's OK, but for me it doesn't set the world on fire.
The Zutons
1/5
Well...I'd never heard of The Zutons before, let alone played one of their albums. Was it going to be some sparkly SciFi inspired music (given the band name). I've played this twice now. And I have to say it was pretty disappointing.
As the album started, I was thinking it all sounded a bit like a spirited attempt to replicate The White Stripes, but then it descended into a bunch of derivative dull tracks. I can't for the life of me understand why this album (largely composed of pub rock knees up type songs) could be considered a great album.
Spiritualized
4/5
Pretty goos]d for a debut, but probably not the best Spiritualized album.
Eagles
2/5
Well, this debut album is strikingly well played. But I don't find it particularly engaging to listen to. It's rather too easy listening and smooth for my taste. Plus I don't like country rock.
When I started buying albums, and before I formulated my own tastes, I had at least one Eagles album (Hotel California), but really it was nothing I could relate to in the mid to late 1970s. And I moved on from smooth easy listening country rock.
Simon & Garfunkel
2/5
I played this once. I was rather pleased it is a short album. Best track - Mrs Robinson. Otherwise very dull.
Grizzly Bear
2/5
I thought this pretty dull, not something I'd listen to in the future. Teddy Bear more than Grizzly Bear.
Red Hot Chili Peppers
4/5
This album is far too long to give it a reasonable number of plays. But I felt that the record would repay further lsitening, seems to be a diverse set of songs.
The Cardigans
1/5
This is the kind of record that if you don't care for the lead vocalist, you're really not going to like it - the vocals are mixed really up front. I don't care for the singer at all. The whole thing smacks of easy listening that you might hear in an old film, or maybe the Swingle Singers. The only redeeming feature is that that they (rather bizarrely) cover the Sab's Iron Man in the same style. Sorry but this is not for me at all, and I played it through twice.
Emmylou Harris
2/5
Ugh, I don't like country music. Interesting that this was her 19th album, and the first to have a majority of the songs self-composed.
John Cale
4/5
This is a great, if somewhat conventional record, coming after the more Cale's more experimental work before and after Cale's stint in The Velvet Underground, and while he was shaping the future of rock music as a producer. Not my favourite Cale album, but full of fine songs.
Common
3/5
Another rap album, a genre I don't really care for. But I listened to it three times and I kind of like some aspects of it. Rap delivery always seems quite samey to me, and I guess the critical thing here is whether one can go with the lyrics and gain from them. To some extent, that's going to be (at least in part) dependent on the cultural references.
One thing I'm really not able to form an opinion about is the extent to which this album was influential on other artists.
Brian Wilson
3/5
Well there is of course the backstory to this, a re recording of one of the famous lost albums of the 60s. Originally intended to the the follow-up to Pet Sounds, everything went awry as Brian Wilson hit the rocks with mental health issues that took him out of action for decades.
This album definitely sounds like Brian Wilson's Beach Boys of yesteryear - possibly due to similar collaborators, and garnered quite a bit of press adulation. I'm not really persuaded it's *that* good. After three listens, it was really coming across as a bit of a pastiche of Pet Sounds era Beach Boys.
Scott Walker
4/5
Scott Walker has a lovely voice. His career trajectory was pretty weird, from the Walker Brothers through a series of increasingly respected solo albums to some pretty experimental work. I love Bish-Bosch and Soused, his collaboration with Sunn O))).
This album has pretty lush orchestration, and is said to have been influential on other artists. Personally, I'm in a bit of a quandary as to how I should rate this. At times it's a bit too smooth for my taste, but Walker's voice just comes through it all.
Simon & Garfunkel
3/5
This kind of music really isn't my thing. Having said that, I was surprised by how many of the songs on this album I knew. I'm not sure why anyone would regard this album as a 'masterpiece' (c.f. the Wikipedia entry). It's pleasant enough, but some of the songs are just a bit too twee. And then there was the rumpus about song authorship.
Tim Buckley
2/5
Well, another folk album on this list. I didn't care for the cod mediaeval twiddling or the vocals, and I couldn't help but wonder if Buckley's early demise contributes to its critical standing.
Kraftwerk
5/5
This is an excellent and highly influential album. Kraftwerk were an important band in moving from synthesisers as a means of emulating conventional musical instruments to using them as instruments in their own right. They influenced many post-punk bands, and even house music bands.
Dr. John
5/5
This is a great atmospheric album, especially as a debut album albeit after a time working as a session musician. Creates the Sr. John persona, all swampy, bluesy and psych.
DJ Shadow
3/5
I played this album twice. And then discovered that I'd actually listened to a thing called "Endtroducing Re-Emagined" It's very dull and not at all engaging.
Then I found the 'real' "Endtroducing...." and it's a whole lot better. Not brilliant, but rather pleasant to listen to!
The Thrills
1/5
This isn't a very thrilling record.
It's all very nice, but plodding and unmemorable. Doesn't grab my attention. At all.
Lenny Kravitz
3/5
This is an interesting amalgam of rock and soul. But does it escape the influences?
Deep Purple
2/5
This is the only Deep Purple album I am familiar with. And after playing it through twice, I don't think it has stood the test of time (53 years since release). I think the individuals in the group are accomplished, but collectively, they make music that seems to me to be plodding and banal, particularly the lyrics. I suspect this album was influential on other bands through the early 1970s, but really in the mid-2020s it's not a very exciting listen (and not at all challenging).
Roxy Music
5/5
To these ears, this album and its follow-up 'For Your Pleasure' are the greatest Roxy Music albums - before Eno got the heave-ho. Both albums are fabulous additions to the art-rock/glam genre, and were some of the strong influences on some of those post-punk bands that followed the great UK punk explosion of 76-77.
The album is full of great tunes and (at times oblique) lyrics. I listened to the US release which includes the great single 'Virginia Plain'. What a stomper!
This album is a clear 5/5.
Echo And The Bunnymen
4/5
An excellent album, but not my favourite Echo and the Bunnymen record (which would be Ocean Rain). But it still has some great songs - notably the opening slavo of The Cutter and Back Of Love.
Justin Timberlake
1/5
This is 63 minutes of excruciating pap.
Fatboy Slim
3/5
I can see this as a painstaking trawl through collected sound bites from a huge record collection, and assembled using a computer. But at the end of the day, it all sounds like a mish mash produced by a scratching DJ.
As an album, the tracks all sound pretty samey, it's technically pretty accomplished but rather lacking in musicality and emotion. Probably fairly influential in club scenes at the time. I've played it twice now. Will I play it again? Most probably not.
Peter Gabriel
4/5
This is a very smoothly produced rock/pop album from Peter Gabriel and a stellar cast of musician side-kicks. It's not my kind of thing - in 1980 I was listening to a range of post-punk and alternative music albums. The album is really smoothly and well produced. Too much so for my tastes. Top tracks for me are Games Without Frontiers and Biko.
ABBA
3/5
The singles on this album are fabulously crafted pop (though I've always disliked Fernando). The rest is really filler, so this is far from a great album. 3/5 for the singles.
Santana
3/5
It's been a long time since I last played this album, and i don't think time has served it well. It's great musicianship, but ultimately 'just nice'. I've grown accustomed to recording artists writinh the majority of tracks on their albums, too.
Beck
3/5
Oh, a sad album. Plodding and a bit forgettable. Not for me, I am afraid so not something I'll play again.
Johnny Cash
4/5
This is terrific stuff.
Turbonegro
2/5
Never heard of this band or album before, and after a single play I'm not sure whether this album should be on this list! Re-hashed matal/glam/punk tropes with risible lyrics.
Nirvana
3/5
I've never been sure why the Unplugged MTV thing was conceived - was it a view that noisy rockers couldn't play instruments without being plugged in? Whatever, it usually offers a new view of a band. In this case I think Nirvana took the chance to play several cover versions, and in fact my favourite track here is the Bowie cover (The Man Who Sold The World). Oh, and the Leadbelly cover is good too. The album's OK, but not being particularly keen on Nirvana, I can take it or leave it.
PJ Harvey
4/5
A great debut album. I have most of Harvey's albums, and I might have chosen a different one for this list.
Metallica
1/5
Oh dear.
Kraftwerk
3/5
Kraftwerk is a band I like, but after three plays, this album wasn't up to their best. The best track here is 'The Model', and the rest seems a bit like filler.
Paul McCartney and Wings
2/5
A remarkably dull and plodding album. I remember Band on the Run having a bit more vim to it than it actually does. This isn't an album I particularly cared for, and I'm unlikely to play it again. It does have an amusing cover.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
4/5
This is a lovely album. I see some reviews on this site saying that the singing wasn't in English, but to my ears much of it is. Anyway these are the singers who made Graceland. I'm not sure how much of an international profile they have, presumably since the group was founded in 1960 there is a turnover in members over the years.
A nice album, but not something I see myself playing often.
The Who
2/5
Well, I guess it's an amusing concept for an album but the jingles get in the way of the songs. And not so many of them seem particularly strong to me. Love the sleeve artwork though.
Arcade Fire
3/5
I reckon bands like Arcade Fire attract an audience who remain loyal. People like me who never really listened to the band and come to the record a while later often miss that audience's experiences. So I played this pretty much unfamiliar with the band and found it a bit dull and average.
Mekons
2/5
Gosh. The Mekons. I've long been aware of them, but never really listened to them. I can't say as I understand why this particular album is on this list. I thought it a fun ramshackle romp, but not a great album.
Boston
1/5
As a massively popular and big selling AOR rock debut, this deserves to be on this list. But I really don't like it at all. It's the kind of music that made punk so necessary. I have dutifully played this album through.
The Flaming Lips
4/5
Well, I like this album enough to have it in my collection on vinyl. That said, is it a *great* album?
Elvis Presley
2/5
A later period Elvis Presley album...in the context of contemporary expectations of albums where the artist wrote most, if not all, of the songs, this is something of a throwback. And where the songs are written for Elvis, and all the music and backing singers are from the studio, I can't see this as a classic or great album, just a studio product. I always wondered what Elvis Presley might have done had it not been for Parker and his determination to make Presley a minor movie star and low grade soundtrack writer. That said, In The Ghetto is pretty fine.
Love
4/5
Regarded as one of the great foundational psych albums of the 1960s, I have this in my collection, but rarely play it.
I'm not sure how to rate this album. I don't see it as being as influential as other albums from the mid to late 1960s, and the tracks are a bit variable. I like the often weird lyrics and the general sense of coming to the end of the trip that was the mid-60s.
Joni Mitchell
3/5
I've never been a great fan of Joni Mitchell's music. It's just that it doesn't really meet my general taste in music. I had never even heard of this album before, or indeed any of the songs.
I found the album interesting for some of the musical approaches, but I felt that Mitchell's voice seemed to be somewhat separate from the music.
Beatles
4/5
Should this have been a double album? It's an impressive collection of songs, considering relationships within the band were getting very strained. But by 1968 I think more sophistication in the lyrics was expected than is shown in many songs here, especially the pastiche songs and the more twee songs. That said, there some absolute crackers in here, possibly the majority. I even like Revolution No9.
Sepultura
1/5
This album has a particularly ridiculous cover. Musically, it seems quite spirited, but ultimately a bit cliched. The singer sounds pretty grumpy, and the band just sort of bang away. Not my sort of thing, and a bit headache-inducing when played on headphones.
Moby
3/5
Well, I've never really been a Moby fan. It's not that I dislike his music, more that I've never really played it except when an album turns up on this list!
I kinda like this one, but I feel that the intervening quarter century since release hasn't served it well. The multiplicity of samples are a bit distracting, as I recognised some of them, which perplexed me as I tried to identify them.
Joanna Newsom
1/5
Joanna Newsom's singing reminds me of Björk, unpleasantly mannered. It was immediately obvious to me that this wasn't to my taste.
There didn't seem to be much connection between the phrasing of the vocals with the quite lush instrumentation - it's as if this is a recitation of words that just happens to have music in the background. Each track is quite long and they feel interminable to me.
Soft Cell
5/5
This album came out at a good time for me! I loved it from the moment I first heard it as it filled this wonderful intersection between the alt music I liked, transgressive pop and out and out pop. The three singles on this album are top notch, and the rest of the music is great. I can remember being at a night club when they showed the infamous Sex Dwarf video! Top tracks - Say Hello Wave Goodbye, Tainted Love (of course!), Sex Dwarf.
Soft Cell were in the vanguard of the synthpop explosion in the UK charts.
4/5
Fun and a pleasingly short album. But I think it sounds very much of its time - no bad thing for 1981!
Nirvana
5/5
A massively influential album that led the grunge charge through popular music in 1990s. Despite its huge popularity, I'm in two minds about this record. On the one hand, it doesn't seem wildly original, but on the other it its a pretty rousing listen. I think it deserves a lift from 4 stars to 5 on the basis of its influence.
Snoop Dogg
1/5
First impression - what a horrible cover.
Second impression - an equally horrible record.
Motörhead
4/5
This album sees Motorhead at their pek, I reckon. Rousing, stirring, fast, heavy - I get Lemmy's insistence that this is rock'n'roll and not a record that fits some of the other metal labels. Probably foreshadowed speed metal.
Best track is the title track, but really other than that the album is a bit let down by the lyrics.
Radiohead
5/5
I bought this album on release, and I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with it. I like the music on the album (maybe connected with the way it was recorded), but at times Thom Yorke's vocals really grate, notably on the whiny Paranoid Android.
Nevertheless, the overall point of the album is strong, it was a huge seller and I'm inclined to give it a 5. I do prefer subsequent Radiohead albums.
D'Angelo
2/5
Dull smooth songs about sex.
Khaled
4/5
I quite enjoyed this album - the arabic songs have a really exotic feel, and it's good to have an album on this list that's not English language. The downside is that I've no idea what the songs are about. Except the cover of Imagine. That's a bit dull and doesn't seem in keeping with the rest of the album. At 78 minutes, they could have omitted it. So, a nice record, but not one I think I'd play frequently.
Steely Dan
2/5
I suppose this is nicely crafted AOR, but for that reason I found the album really unengaging. I can't relate at all to mid-70s AOR albums. Dull stuff to my ears.
Queen
3/5
Heavy, glam, flamboyant, complex - Queen as I recall them from their heyday were always exciting, if not something I'd choose to play. Queen II sees the band in the middle of an extraordinarily productive period in the mid-70s. In reality, I think they were still moving towards a significant place in the rock pantheon, and while many of the elements of future greatness are here, I don't think this is a truly great album.
Black Sabbath
3/5
I'm not really a metal fan. I know this album is usually said to be the first heavy metal album, and I supposes that might be true, but really their next album, Paranoid, is far better than this.
The Human League
5/5
10 tracks of perfect synth pop.
The story of how the Human League split, leaving Phil Oakey without synth players; how Oakey found and recruited two schoolgirls in a club on the eve of an international tour; how they reinvented themselves as a premier synthpop band...every track is great.
Frank Zappa
3/5
Oh! Frank Zappa! Now there's a recording artist one is *supposed* to really like but I've always struggled with his work. This album is in my collection, but I cannot remember the last time I played it. Time to break it out for a play...I think I originally bought this because Captain Beefheart does vocal on Willie the Pimp, which is my favourite track here. The rest of the album's tracks are instrumental, and with strong jazz-rock leanings I'm ambivalent about them.
Syd Barrett
5/5
After being squeezed out of Pink Floyd, Syd Barrett continued his downward trajectory of mental health. For this (and it's follow-up Barrett), former bandmates did their best to coax actual songs out of Barrett, and of those two albums, this is the better. The version I have has a load of out-takes which don't serve the album well and are best ignored. This is a collection of psych-inflected songs with a dose of English whimsey, and it's an album I really like. Whether it's a game changer, I doubt.
I don't think that the music press and industry (and, let's face it, music fans) did Barrett a great service by over-egging his legend. There are loads of compilations that frankly scrape the bottom of the barrel, which is a bit of a shame really.
Tito Puente
2/5
Well, these guys are having a party! That said, this isn't an album I think I'd play much, and I'm not in a positions to say why this is considered an album I needed to listen to!
Prince
1/5
At the outset, I confess that whenever I've listened to Prince's music I've never found it particularly engaging. Maybe it's an age thing.
I've played Purple Rain three times now. And that is three times too many. It's shallow, crass and dull music. It seems to be a product of a sex-obsessed bloke in frilly shirts and high heels. I just don't get why Prince has acquired this aura of god-like genius.
Adele
1/5
I'm not sure why this is included in the list. Is it because it was so massively popular? I don't think popularity is an indicator of quality. To me, this is bland and over-produced and lacking emotionally.
Elastica
3/5
This isn't a particularly exciting album. I mean, it's a nice enough album that revisits punk and post-punk stylings, but it shows its influences so strongly that I'm not surprised they got hit for plagiarism.
Elliott Smith
3/5
Inoffensive. Just not the kind of music I particularly enjoy.
De La Soul
2/5
This is all a bit dull to my 2024 ears.
Neil Young
2/5
I'm sorry, but I just don't like Neil Young's voice.
Ian Dury
5/5
Ian Dury emerged out of the UK pub rock scene into the punk mileu with this fantastic album of character portraits. It was a very popular album, despite its often risque lyrics. I can see why it garners some poor reviews from an international audience as lyrically it's located in a very English, if not London-centric, vocabulary. But for those of us in our teenage years at the time, this album came at a time when the musical landscape was changing rapidly and it fit well with the Stiff Records roster of (often oddball) artists. A great album, probably Dury's best.
Terence Trent D'Arby
4/5
So I can recall Terence Trent D'Arby exploding into the charts with this album and its accompanying single, Wishing Well, and I can remember his voice. However several decades further on, and I think I'd qualify my enthusiasm by noting that the music hasn't perhaps lasted as well, and he does tend to over do the vocal gymnatics. But what happened to him after this album?
I played this album three times this morning, and at times it felt like I was listening to Heaven 17. Then I looked at the Wikipedia page and saw that Martyn Ware produced nine tracks (and Glenn Gregory provided backing vocals for one of those. So there you go.
In rating this album, I note that this isn't really the sort of music I'd really want to play, but I think it's a polished debut. Perhaps a little too polished.
Isaac Hayes
3/5
This was an interesting album, but before I played it, I was wondering how he'd spin out four tracks into an album that's 46 minutes long. After playing it, I think that this would have made a good half album if only Hayes had shortened the tracks, especially By The Time I Get To Phoenix. To spin out Phoenix to nearly 19 minutes is a bit execrable, and I didn't much like having the whole thing explained to me for 8 minutes of that. Maybe this sort of noodling out songs into long extemporisation was in the air at the time (viz. Vanilla Fudge).
My Bloody Valentine
2/5
I've got this album in my collection, but I don't think it's that great. Most of the shoegaze stuff passed me by at the time, and even when My Bloody Valentine reappeared with this album, I wasn't convinced. The critics were, but what do they know?
The tracks seem a bit long. It's all a bit wavery, to the point that if I had this on vinyl, I'd think I had a defective pressing. If a shoegaze album should be on this list, I don't think it's this one.
Heaven 17
5/5
This is a cracking album with excellently crafted synth-pop with judiciously added instrumentation and backing vocals - and with a political edge to it that caused the lead single to be banned by the BBC. The original vinyl finished with a lock groove - though I only have the album as a digital copy after my vinyl copy was lost in a burglary.
I think most of the contemporary music critics would have backed Ware and Marsh (with new recruit Gregory) over the remaining members of The Human League but in fact both bands were very successful.
Pink Floyd
5/5
This was the first album I ever bought! Back in 1977, as I was a late starter in getting interested in music, and I'd heard so much about this album when I was at school.
Anyway, I think this was a bit of an achievement at the time, with its inclusion of field noises/found sound and the general assembly of songs into a coherent whole. To my modern ears it perhaps sounds a bit plodding, with (at times) clunky lyrics, but there's no mistaking this album for anything other than important. Unfortunately, touring this album to set the scene for quite a bit of introspective music later in Pink Floyd's career - I'm thinking of The Wall and beyond.
Ella Fitzgerald
1/5
More than three hours of Ella Fitzgerald singing Gershwin! Frankly this isn't an album that I need to listen to, it's far too long. She's a great singer, but I I don't care hugely for these songs or the musical style. And did I mention this album is well over three hours long? This isn't really an album so much as a whole pile of Gershwin songs.
Dolly Parton
1/5
Yoicks! I don't care for country music, and I'm not a fan of any of these three ladies' music.
Billy Bragg
4/5
Back in the day I found Billy Bragg a bit strident. Nowadays I like a bit of stridency. I am looking forward to playing this album.
And after a couple of plays, this is an album I did enjoy. I'd say my preference is for the overtly political songs, and overall I did like the additional musicians compared to other 'solo' Bragg albums.
The White Stripes
4/5
This is a great album, and one of a bunch of good albums, but is it White Stripes' best? It's very derivative of blues rock albums of the 60s and 70s, but I think the simplicity of the band makes this pretty great.
Destiny's Child
1/5
I really disliked the caterwauling vocals.
Steve Winwood
2/5
So, considering what was going on in the post-punk era of the late 70s and the early 80s this is quite a dull and plodding album, and I don't think it has stood the test of time. It all seems a bit bland AOR. It's not offensive, but it comes across as a bit soul-less - maybe because it was all played by Winwood as overdubs. I liked the LP sleeve design.
Arctic Monkeys
3/5
Well, this was a lively enough album, but to really be a fan you'd probably have to have been part of the big internet related publicity thing. And all credit to the band for how they managed all that. I didn't really notice any stand out tracks here.
Robert Wyatt
3/5
Bit of a mixed bag, this album. I liked the first two tracks, but can take or leave many of the rest. I think this will repay more listening so I'll add it to my Qobuz favourites.
Various Artists
1/5
I do like Spector's wall of sound production style, I like some of the groups here, but I detest these Christmas songs.
Skunk Anansie
2/5
At the outset I thought this might be rather a good album. But as it went on it was a pretty stodgy treacly affair. Didn't really care for it.
Beatles
3/5
I think it's difficult to rate this album without thinking of the later Beatles albums which had such an impact on rock and pop. While appreciating The Beatles' contributions, I've never really cared to listen to their music - maybe it's so ubiquitous. For example, I doubt I've ever played this album before, but I was familiar with every track on this album.
From reading the background of this album on the Wikipedia page, I can see that The Beatles, their management and their producer were begining to flex creative muscles (over sleeve design, for example) in the face of what looks like complacency on the label's part. And while this album was part of the move into international stardom, I don't really think the songs stand out particularly to me - still too much focussed on girl-boy relationships without real subtlety. I think the strongest songs are some of the cover versions. I suppose in retrospect there's a direction of travel to be perceived.
Pixies
5/5
I was a bit late in developing enthusiasm for the Pixies. They seemed to have singlehandedly made the soft-loud-soft pattern for alt rock into a bit of a cliche. Although I did have some Pixies albums in my collection, it took me a while to come round to appreciating them, most probably after The Breeders' first two albums were released.
Anyway, now I think this album is a significant gem and quite influential.
The Charlatans
4/5
Another band I'd not really caught up with at the time. I rather enjoyed this album, which I suppose reflects a less derivative Britpop. This'll go on my Qobuz favourites and I'll listen to further Charlatans albums.
Johnny Cash
2/5
Oh, we've already had Johnny Cash at San Quentin...which I think I preferred to this earlier recording of a prison album, which has less engagement with the audience.
Sabu
4/5
This album sounds like the soundtrack to a wild party! At times the Cuban sound seems to move into a rather African call and response feel. To me, however, the album seems a bit same-y, so while I reckon it's great party music, it's not something I'd add to my collection.
PJ Harvey
4/5
This is a very good album, but I think there are one or two points where I thought it veered towards cliche, with one or two songs coming across as a bit gauche.
Tim Buckley
4/5
This isn't my favourite musical style, but as I began to listen to this album, I did like it, though it dragged a bit. I think Buckley was quite influential even though his album sales were not great.
Nirvana
3/5
I think this is the third Nirvana album I've had on this list. Whereas Nevermind blasted the band into international stardom, it's not so obvious to me why this album is so essential.
Joan Baez
1/5
This may be a matter of taste, but I've never really likes Baez' voice. I think this may be the first time I've listened to one of her albums all the way through, and I didn't find it very enjoyable. I find her voice and singing style dominated the songs and made everything rather harsh. I could only play this once, and it seemed a bit interminable.
I get that Baez was a big figure in the folk resurgence and was important as a social activist, but in that context I'm not sure a debut album of covers of traditional songs is so significant.
The B-52's
4/5
Well, Rock Lobster was a great single, and I can see from Wikipedia that there were several singles drawn from this album. The whole retro-glam-punk schtick is pretty appealing, as it was for Scottish band The Rezillos, and it's a fun album to play.
I don't think they really had enough material and the last track is filler. But the other songs are great, often with pretty idiotic lyrics.
Radiohead
4/5
Well, I have something of a love-hate thing with Thom Yorke's vocals, particularly on OK Computer, but I really rather enjoyed this album, which I'll add to my streaming favourites. Probably not as important as OK Computer but pretty enjoyable.
Fever Ray
4/5
This is a great electronic album, with rather quirky vocal stylings. The album was new to me, but I like the following two albums, so I was up for this.
Gram Parsons
1/5
Ugh. I dislike Country music, and this album is no exception. I think Gram Parsons was influential in bringing a country sound to many bands he worked with, but I doubt this album was.
The Rolling Stones
5/5
A Stones album from their great days. The opener is one of the greatest rock songs of all time, but it's a shame about the lyrics (to modern ears). A good set of Stones songs with a bit of a country blues tinge.
David Bowie
5/5
A, what can I say, one of the great Bowie albums, which along with the other 'Berlin' albums was very influential. Perhaps not the best of his albums, but a 5 star album nonetheless.
Tracks here range from ambient to quite heavy.
Michael Jackson
3/5
This is the first massive solo album from Michael Jackson. I didn't particularly care for it too much - a bit too pop for me, but there's no denying it was hugely influential.
However, I far prefer Thriller to this album.
Drive Like Jehu
4/5
I had never heard of Drive Like Jehu before it popped up on this list, so I was keen to play it. Wikipedia describes it as "post-hardcore", whatever that is.
I played through the album a few times, and I thought it quite fun to listen to. Probably something that fill well into the scene at the time.
Crosby, Stills & Nash
2/5
Well I found this a pretty dull album that sort of washed by me.
B.B. King
4/5
I like blues, though I'm not a massive B. B. King fan. That said this is a good live album, and unlike some other reviewers I think the audible responses of the audience add to the atmosphere of the recording.
And King's guitar really sings.
The Everly Brothers
2/5
I think this record has dated rather a lot - it is likely to have been pretty influential. The Everly brothers seem to have been up there with the movers and shakers of the late 50s music world.
It's an album that in its lyrical content brings out the broader sophistication of rock and pop music after the mid-60s.
Not an album I'm likely to play in the future.
Finley Quaye
3/5
This album (and Finley Quaye) was unknown to me until now. It's a pleasant enough mix of reggae funk and soul that comes across as bit of pastiche.
Leonard Cohen
5/5
Back in the mid-70s when I was a student and just embarking on a life of listening to records, Leonard Cohen was always touted as this depressing figure. But really his music is so much more than that. Not so much to my taste, but this is a cracking debut album.
Mylo
1/5
From his Wikipedia bio, Mylo seems like an interesting chap. But I found this album dreary dull stuff. Not something I'd be keen to play in the future.
Shivkumar Sharma
3/5
Like others, I couldn't find this album on my streaming platform, but did on Youtube. It's good to see an album that's not Western-Anglophone. This album is a nice enough thing to listen too, but really it didn't grab my attention, so it's unlikely I'll play it again.
Jurassic 5
1/5
This is a truly dreadful and boring album.
The Monkees
2/5
As a manufatured pop brand (rather than band), Some of the Monkees' singles were really rather good. I don't really know the ins and outs of who actually played on their records, but with this album they were flexing their creative muscles. The problem is that this just isn't a great album. from the opening Beatles pastiche, the songs are just dull.
Coldplay
2/5
Coldplay are massively popular. I suspect this is because their music is rather bland. I played this album twice and it just passed me by as I zoned out. It didn't attract my attention at all. But that said, it seems to have attracted a whole load of accolades, as has the band itself.
Pavement
5/5
I knew of Pavement, but I'd never listened to them. Love the sort of ramshackle sound, which does remind me of early The Fall music (though I don't concur with Mark E. Smith's claim they are a rip-off). This is great stuff and I think I'll add it to my library.
Garbage
3/5
This is a fun album, not the greatest. I'd only heard 'Stupid Girl' before playing this record.
New Order
3/5
New Order is a band I really tried to like over the years. Unfortunately I never took to them, finding them distinctly ordinary. Lyrics are clunky, boringly delivered, and (mostly) the music lacks engagement.
Milton Nascimento
3/5
It's always good that a non-English langauge album turns up on this list. Unfortunately, this album is a little too long and not of a style that really grabs me - essentially not to my taste, and nor do I clearly see how it fits into influencing music - though I guess it may have been highly influential in Brazilian music.
The Black Crowes
2/5
Played this twice now, and I think this is OK, but really is there anything novel here? the first track put me in mind of Led Zeppelin, other tracks were reminiscent of early 70s Stones and Faces. Sort of bar-room heavy rock/R&B. Might be fun to see live but it does seem a bit derivative to me.
Bebel Gilberto
2/5
This album just sort of washes along past me.
Morrissey
4/5
I didn't expect to see this album come up! I like Morrissey's lyrics - often oblique, often startling, sometimes straightforward - and I've liked his singing since The Smiths, but I find the music a bit anodyne.
Cyndi Lauper
1/5
As someone who was really into post-punk music, I'm not particularly familiar with Cyndi Lauper - she always seemed to me to be trying very hard to be wacky, zany and outrageous, but always ending up looking a bit gauche. That coupled with her voice, which always seemed a bit grating to me, has meant I've never spent much time listening to her music (though I heave heard 'Girls Just Want to Have Fun' - rather too many times).
So when this album came up on the list, I was keen to give it a go. I think I lasted three tracks.
I know this was popular, and Lauper probably shifted gazillions of units, but I don't think this is a great album, nor is it an album one must listen to.
Beastie Boys
1/5
So, an album constructed with myriad samples, plus the usual braggadocio vocals. This all makes for an album which sounds a bit like a single track on repeat. And what's more, my music streaming service only appears to have an extended 20th anniversary version.
This isn't a musical style that appeals to me.
Peter Gabriel
2/5
I don't think Peter Gabriel had moved on far from his roots in Genesis by the time he recorded this album, and it's far from his best. It's not clear why this album makes this list - I thought it pretty uninteresting.
I liked the big single from the album (Solsbury Hill), and the cover is very good.
The Magnetic Fields
4/5
My first reaction was - great, an album I'd not heard before. My second reaction was - it's nearly three hours long! I don't think I can play this many times before I'm presented with the next album...
Some of these songs are amusing or interesting, but as a whole the exercise of recording a three hour album of songs about love songs is really rather self-indulgent. Having said that, maybe it's something I'll come back to.
Songhoy Blues
5/5
This is a cracking good album by a band forced from Timbuktu to Bamako and later to achieve global popularity. They kickstarted the Desert Blues as a genre
Pink Floyd
5/5
This is one of the great Pink Floyd albums and was a key player in the English psych scene. With band leader Syd Barrett at the helm, it's a mixture of psychedelic whimsy, imaginative lyrics, and the beginnings of the 'space rock' jams that Pink Floyd were famous for. Sadly Barrett's mental health meant a line-up change for the follow-up album and the band carried on their experimental ways until the next great album The Dark Side of the Moon.
But really this is possibly my favourite Pink Floyd album. I have it on cheap vinyl (in stereo) and on CD in the original mono.
John Martyn
2/5
Not really to my taste, though I enjoyed listening to this. The album as a whole had an interesting vibe, and I can see how Martyn attracted an audience for his music.
Bruce Springsteen
2/5
I'm afraid I find Bruce Springsteen's albums pretty dull stuff, and this is no exception.
Thin Lizzy
3/5
This is a classic "live" album - live in quotation because of the disputes over how much of this is actually live versus studio overdubs. I saw Thin Lizzy live around this time, and the album does seem to match my recollection of the gig. Despite this not really being to my modern, more experimental, taste in music, I think it remains an important document of the band at their peak and as they navigated the changing musical landscape of the time. I reckon the lyrics are all a bit cliched and trite, but the songs are delivered with great gusto. I eventually grew out of this stuff.
ZZ Top
2/5
Texan bar room blues. I didn't find this a very exciting album - if I wanted to play white Texas blues I'd prefer Johnny Winter's The Progressive Blues Experience.
Chicago
1/5
Oh, I really don't like this kind of noodly-doodly jazz-rock. This is truly horrible. I never want to hear this album again.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
3/5
This is the second CCR album I've had so far on this list, and I think by this album their creative juices were fading. There's a bit to much chugging along in some tracks.
Mudhoney
4/5
I thought this was pretty good fun as an album, though the only version my streaming service had was an extended 2CD version. I'm not sure how influential it was, but I definitely enjoyed it.
The Fall
5/5
I was introduced to The Fall by a room mate back in 1979 with this album. It is an absolutely terrific post-punk clatter of an album with Mark E Smith's vocals to the fore. I still don't think it's the best Fall album, but what a debut. I went on to buy pretty much all their albums as they were released - until Smith died in 2018.
This is an essential album.
Incredible Bongo Band
1/5
This is a horrible novelty album.
U2
3/5
Nice, smooth, unchallenging, lyrics abound with cliches. Not my cup of tea, but it's popular music that fills stadia worldwide.
Quicksilver Messenger Service
3/5
Prior to getting this album on the list, I had never to my knowledge ever heard this band (though I had heard of them).
Side one appears to consisy of an extended workout of versions of Bo Diddley's Who Do You Love. There more Bo Diddley on side two as well. All in all, it's a pretty ordinary sort of psych album. Not something I'd rush back to.
Rufus Wainwright
2/5
Well, I though this pretty unexceptional stuff, but maybe that's because this sort of singer-songwriter music isn't really to my taste. Kinda like the sleeve.
Elton John
5/5
Not my cup of tea, really, but I reckon this is a bit of a classic album from a period in Elton John and Bernie Taupin's careers where they must have so inspired and productive. This isn't an album I had listened to all the way through before, but I'm glad I did - barring a couple of clunkers, a solid set of songs with a strong thematic approach.
Not an album I'll play much in the future though.
Fred Neil
2/5
I didn't care much for this record, and really didn't see why this was an album I must listen to. It seemed pretty run of the mill to me.
Fun Lovin' Criminals
4/5
At the outset, I quite liked this album, despite the tedious rap vocal delivery. But by the end of the album most tracks were sounding pretty much the same. After a second play, the album is sort of growing on me.
After a third play I liked it enough to favoutite it on my streaming account.
Beastie Boys
2/5
This is the third Beastie Boys album from this list so far. I hated the other two - how about this one? Boring. Like the others.
Baaba Maal
4/5
This is a lovely album to listen to. But as a monoglot anglophone, I've no idea what the songs are about!
Liz Phair
2/5
Well, it's not offensive, but it's not an album that particularly grabs me. It's too long.
Queen
4/5
It's a long long time since I listened to this album - it will be interesting to see if the reality matches my recollection of an elaborately recorded and produced album with some real standout tracks. Over the years, I wouldn't class Queen as a favourite band, but I'm going into this with a neutral approach.
Magazine
5/5
A stone cold classic and one of the albums that launched post-punk as a genre. Every track is a winner. 47 years old, and it still sounds fresh. Magazine never really troubled the charts, but there were three further studio albums before they disbanded (and another 30 years later), all of which were great. But this album is the one that burst on the scene as the first flush of punk waned and reinvigorated things.
Malcolm McLaren
2/5
I think this isn't an album I personally would have thought would make this list. I'd love to know what real input McLaren had on this, alongside the credited and non-credited musicians and production. I don't think its style (and ultimately lack of substance) has stood the test of time. It's perhaps a bit more influential than it deserves.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
1/5
I don't think I've ever played an ELP album before, not being a fan of prog rock. This should be interesting. But that cover is dreadful.
The excessively long title track is classic prog. Plodding. Pompous. Ludicrous. And then side two has a bizarre mix of shorter proggy tracks interspersed with annoying comedy tracks. At least I assume they are comedy tracks.
Jimi Hendrix
4/5
Well, this is a great album but I think it's possibly bettered by both its predecessor "Are You Experienced" and by the following album "Electric Ladyland".
I can see why Hendrix disliked the sleeve. He also objected to the Electric Ladyland sleeve (the one with all the naked women on).
Ryan Adams
2/5
Dreary stuff this.
John Lee Hooker
4/5
John Lee Hooker was highly influential, but I reckon his earlier albums are better than the ones he made with the blues revivalists. Earlier in this list I had the Hooker'n'Heat double album he made with Canned Heat, which I preferred. Still, it's a strong album. Just not as strong as his records from the 1950s and 1960s.
Fishbone
2/5
I'd never heard of Fishbone before. An odd one, this - I can't quite put my finger on it, but I think it will repay some further plays.
The National
2/5
This is a remarkably dull album. Not dreadful, just a bit boring to my ears.
Death In Vegas
4/5
I kind of like this stuff. Top track is Aisha, I can't resist anything with Iggy's growl.
Dinosaur Jr.
3/5
Well, it's an OK album, but nothing to really get excited about.
The Beta Band
2/5
This album could have been a lot better if it was a bit simpler and less busy in the production. As it is, it didn't really grab me. Also, it's not actually listed in the latest edition of 1001 Albums...
The Byrds
3/5
I don't think this was a great album, especially as the best songs seemed to be the Dylan covers
Slipknot
2/5
This is the first time I've played a Slipknot record. I was initially grabbed by the vim and vigour with which these lads approach their brand of metal. But a whole album of it left me a bit cold.
Dinosaur Jr.
4/5
Oh, a second Dinosaur Jr record in a week! I think I preferred this to Bug. At times, this album reminds me a little of early Cure. Not bad, but is it really a great album. On my list for future listening for sure.
Black Flag
3/5
This seems a fine hardcore album. But surely hardcore was already a bit passe by 1981?
Björk
4/5
This seemed like an odd album - I rather liked the music, but as usual found Bjork's vocals rather difficult to like!
Fugazi
4/5
Oh, at times I thought I was listening to the Gang of Four. Not a bad album, but it did seem a bit derivative.
Saint Etienne
3/5
I think this is the sort of indie pop that people without a real interest in music like. It's nice, it's mannered, it's all pretty dull to my ears. The little voice samples between are amusing on first play, but quicklt get a bit grating.
Pulp
4/5
Oh, I never really listened to Pulp back in the day, and I think the only track I was at all familiar with was Common People.
While I liked this album, I thought the best feature was Jarvis Cocker's lyrics and vocals, sometimes delivered in a whispered way, sometimes more spoken.
Booker T. & The MG's
2/5
Of course I'm familiar with the magnificent title track, but frankly the album as a whole doesn't hold my attention - the rest of the tracks just aren't as good as the title track. Much of this album seems to consist of rather plodding cover versions. It's like a band without its lead singer. The album reminded me of Arnold Rimmer's Hammond organ recital night...
Title track - 6 out of 5 (!)
The rest of the tracks - 1-2 out of 5.
Bon Jovi
1/5
Oh good grief, that album title.
Oh good grief, the banal lyrics.
Oh good grief, the tired cliches.
Oh good grief, a talkbox.
Oh good grief, the hastily replaced cover art.
The Stooges
5/5
Ah, now this is a stone cold classic. It is one of the foundational albums that gave rise to punk rock in the USA and in the UK. After many tribulations, James Newell Osterberg is now the grandfather of punk.
A short, concise album, it's full of great tracks .
Slayer
1/5
Oh, from the sublime to the ridiculous.
This is rather an exhilarating album, with a stupendous fast pace. I can't really judge the lyrics, as they all came across as "argle-wargle-bargle" - but I understand from Wikipedia that at least the album opener caused some controversy.
This really isn't my taste in music, but it's always good to be exposed to albums one wouldn't necessarily play. I did feel it was aimed at a certain audience with somewhat juvenile tastes. That said (and maybe because of this), it seems this was quite influential on the thrash metal genre. Despite the album's brevity, it was quite exhausting, and the individual tracks were pretty samey. For an album of under half an hour, it seemed to last for an eternity.
Neneh Cherry
3/5
An album new to me, though I'm familiar with Neneh Cherry's excellent work in Rip Rig & Panic and with The Thing.
While I think Neneh Cherry is pretty good, I don't think this album has stood up well to the passage of time.
Fairport Convention
1/5
I hadn't heard this album before, but it's fair to say that folk rock doesn't really meet my taste in music. I played this album through three times, and I don't really get it. The vocals are mixed rather too much to the fore, and I disliked their quivery tone. I didn't find the music behind the vocals particularly interesting.
Richard Hawley
2/5
Fun fact: the only Richard Hawley track in my library is his cover of John Cage's 4'33" on the STUMM433 compilation. Now onto playing this album!
My feeling is that it's a bit too easy-listening for me - too much crooning. That said, it's hardly an offensive album (though that isn't much of a compliment).
The Kinks
2/5
This is a bit of a dull album. I don't find The Kink's music hall stylings particularly engaging.
OutKast
2/5
This seems to me to be just another hiphop/rap album, with little to distinguish it from other such albums on this list. Also the album is far too long.
Fleet Foxes
4/5
I've played this album three times now. And I'm really not sure how to rate this album. I think it's a a lovely set of songs, very nicely recorded. It's just that it's not a musical style I particularly care for.
The Smiths
5/5
This album is full of great songs and was massively influential on indie music in the UK.
David Bowie
3/5
I really don't see why this album is considered such an important record. While it's not a terrible album, it does not hold up well to the albums Bowie released during the early to mid 1970s. I think this was received well because it was his first album in a decade rather than for any intrinsic merit.
Siouxsie And The Banshees
5/5
Of all the bands that emerged from the UK pink scene of 1976-77, Siouxsie and the Banshees led the way to a posk-punk kind of music. This album is an absolute masterpiece of post-punk soundscapes, featuring the classic line-up with Budgie on drums and the great John McGeoch (ex-Magazine) on guitar. Absolutely great stuff with a psychedelic sheen to it.
Dusty Springfield
2/5
I played this album twice, and other than Son of a Preacher Man (which is wonderful), I thought it was rather bland MoR stuff.
Supergrass
3/5
I played this album several times. I kind of liked it but I thought it a bit unexciting. It seemed to make its influences very obvious, and unlike some of this band's contemporaries, I heard a lot of them. Perhaps no bad thing, but the music didn't really grab me.
Joan Armatrading
3/5
Well, growing up in the 1970s I was aware of Joan Armatrading's music, but it never clicked with me. I was interested to listen to this album. After playing through this a couple of times, I didn't find the songs particularly compelling, but I thought her voice lovely and the production really strong. Ultimately, however, this isn't a genre that particularly appeals to me.
Randy Newman
2/5
I played this album of nice well-crafted songs a couple of times, but really didn't think it a *great* album. It's just not my thing.
Dr. Octagon
1/5
Well this is an album I'd never heard of before. *Checks Wikipedia*. Oh, east coast rap. That doesn't augur well...what's more it's over an hour long.
Playing this album through was a struggle. It was offensive, cliched and boring at various times.
Robert Wyatt
3/5
After his accident, Robert Wyatt seems to have slipped into being something of a subculture icon, occasionally breaking into popular view. His first post-accident album doesn't really tick the boxes for me, though at limes it seems to exude a very English style.
The Byrds
3/5
Oh good grief another Byrds album. At lest it clocks in at well under half an hour...it's pretty dull stuff.
Sly & The Family Stone
5/5
This is one of those classic albums of the comedown from the 60s. The account on Wikipedia of the circumstances are quite telling, and it's remarkable that it worked out so well. I'd advise omitting the additional tracks on some re-releases though.
Pulp
4/5
Pulp! Well, this is is a good album that for me is marked by Jarvis Cocker's vocals - alternately crooning, whispering, sometimes histrionic. I'm not sure how 'great' this album is, as there are one or two dud tracks in here.
Public Enemy
3/5
Oh good grief, more hip hop. While I understand the cultural importance of much of this genre, on the whole I dislike the way hip hop vocals are delivered.
Despite the comment above, I played this album twice, and kind of liked it, particularly the "constructed" backing music. At well over an hour, this is frankly far too long.
Screaming Trees
3/5
Ah, I'm more familiar with Mark Lanegan's solo work than Screaming Trees.
I thought this album was OK, made a bit better by Lanegan's vocals. Not an essential album by any standard.
Suede
3/5
They must have listend to a lot of early 70s Bowie.
ABBA
2/5
I generally think of ABBA as a singles band: when I listen to an ABBA album, this single(s) are the standout tracks. I get that these were great songs and excellently executed to high production standards, but I generally don't care for the albums.
The Visitors is the post-breakup(s) album, and has a bit more bite to the lyrics, has a glossy production sheen, but it's not an album I'd come back to.
Derek & The Dominos
2/5
Oh, it has been decades since I played this album, which I used to have on a double play cassette - now long-lost.
As I play this album 55 years after its release, I mostly note the generally plodding nature of the music, no matter how excellent the musicianship, and how dull it is lyrically. I suppose it's the late game of the British blue boom of the 1960s, but where the blues boom ultimately led to innovative new genres of rock music, this album is isn't really that exciting. I wonder whether it might be better entitled Layla and Other Assorted Songs of Obsession. Clapton and Allman are great. Did it work to get Clapton back in a band instead of being some kind of mythic guitar god? Not really.
Goldfrapp
2/5
Modern lounge music. Very dull and not a patch on Goldfrapp's glam-inflected third album, Supernature.
The Sonics
2/5
The mid-60s saw a large upsurge in garage bands in the USA, largely inspired by the "British invasion", and mostly I guess by the the Stones and the Beatles. I don't really understand why this album makes it into this list as it's largely covers and pretty derivative stuff. What about The Standells, The Barbarians, The Chocolate Watchband, The Kingsmen and so on and so on.
Yes, this is fun to play, but it's not an essential album to my ears, though I know garage bands like this had influence beyond their apparent musical abilities. I have a compilation by the Sonics that includes the tracks on this album, so it's not that I dislike it.
Billie Holiday
2/5
I get this is considered a great album, but I really don't like it much.
Mike Ladd
2/5
Another hour of hiphop... :-(
Spacemen 3
5/5
This is a great album and one that's been in my collection for a while. I love the trippy guitar-based sound of Spacemen 3, with all its motorik influences. Notably here is the track "Suicide"...the whole album is a classic 'less is more' piece of work.
The Rolling Stones
5/5
Oh, another in the run of classic Stones albums from Beggar's Banquet to Exile On Main Street. Despite Jagger's peculiar Thames-blues singing accent, he's great throughout as it the rest of the band. The production and recording is excellent. Gimme Shelter's a standout, and cover (complete with a Delia Smith cake) is surreal.
Pet Shop Boys
3/5
I find the Pet Shop Boys music rather sterile, despite the content of the lyrics. Very 1980s, and not really to my taste.
Nice sleeve photo despite Chris Lowe's dislike of it!
Bob Marley & The Wailers
5/5
There's not enough reggae on this list, so this album is most welcome! I played the UK release a couple of times, but actually prefer the Jamaican version without the guitar overdubs.
James Brown
5/5
An album new to me, though I see this is has been touted as the greatest live album ever. Let's see...
Seeing as how this album only just stretches past 30 minutes, I played this several times, and really enjoyed it. The rapport between Brown and the audience is great.
Aphex Twin
4/5
Ah, I have this as a vinyl reissue. It's an album of fairly noodly techno ambient. I like it, but I'm not sure it's a truly great album. Possibly fairly influential, but if pushed, I'd prefer Plastikman.
Goldfrapp
3/5
This must be the second Goldfrapp album in a week! It's pretty drippy stuff.
Bruce Springsteen
4/5
I'm not a massive Springsteen fan, but I really preferred this to Born to Run. I think I'll play it a few more times to get a real handle on it, but for now, quite a favourable review.
The Isley Brothers
3/5
Exuberant, extravagant and bundles of fun. But a bit too much for a whole album.
Norah Jones
1/5
This is the kind of soft, bland lounge jazz that people who aren't really terribly interested in music buy.
Cat Stevens
3/5
Not really my thing, but I can see why it's on this list.
Madonna
2/5
Madonna, eh? Boring formulaic pap that is very much of its time and hasn't stood the test of time particularly well.
Traffic
2/5
Too much of this album is dull jazz-rock noodling. I quite liked John Barleycorn though.
Talking Heads
5/5
This album brings in wider influences while retaining an essentially Talking Heads sound.
The Mothers Of Invention
4/5
I'm really not sure how to approach this album. Over the years, I've tried to like Frank Zappa's records. Indeed I have this album (and some others) in my collection. But I'm not really assured of Zappa's much-vaunted brilliance. In ranking this record, I think there are two aspects - firstly, do I like it and second, was it an influential record.
However, this is an opportunity to reassess it.
So I think that Frank Zappa was an important artist, and influential, but I only think this is an OK record - a bit clever-dicky in the lyrics front. But maybe that's what's needed. After all his railing about America, I wonder what he'd have made of the current situation.
4/5
Well I know popular music is all derivative in some way or other...but this album, despite its merits, does seem to be excessively so at times. Nevertheless, it's quite a stirring wall of noise effect - probably emphasised by the rather extreme compression and low dynamic range. Liam Gallagher's vocals are good and mixed right to the front. I'm guessing these were production choices made to make the singles jump out from the radio. And there were several singles from this album released during the media-hyped battle with Blur.
The Hives
2/5
Well, let's see if this will be my new favourite band...first off, this album doesn't seem to be in the version of 1001 Albums that I have on my Kindle.
Second - a (short) compilation? And third, a retro garage punk band?
I played this a couple of times, and while I enjoyed it, I didn't think it was particularly exceptional. I can think of other, better, garage bands.
The Flaming Lips
2/5
It all sounds rather uninspired and unexciting. Plus I don't really like to vocals on this album. It's not clear to me why this is considered highly enough to be included in the list - it's not even average.
The Cure
5/5
Back in the early 80s, I kind of disliked the generally morose feel of The Cure's Faith and Pornography albums. I had (and still have) Seventeen Seconds on vinyl, and like that very much. When Pornography came up, I was interested to revisit the album.
And...I really enjoyed it. Maybe it was with a clearer understanding of the situation Robert Smith was in when the album was made. But like I say I really enjoyed it and I can see where it slots into the post-punk music scene of the early 1980s.
Nanci Griffith
2/5
I really don't like country style music, so whatever the merits of this album (and from reading the Wikipedia article I guess there are), they are lost on me.
Massive Attack
4/5
This is good stuff, but I don't think it's as good as the awesome Mezzanine.
Sade
2/5
I remember this from the 80s. I didn't care for it then, and I still don't care for it. The album seems to me to be a succession for very similar songs all in a terribly smooth inoffensive style. But essentially quite dull, and backward looking.
Deep Purple
1/5
Listening to this album made me feel like I had long greasy hair and was wearing grubby denims smelling of stale cigarette smoke. It has long noodly sections for each band member to show off. Some of these songs are classic heavy rock songs ruined by jamming. And the lyrics seem a bit banal to me.
Blur
4/5
Just like their great Britpop rivals Oasis, Blur wear their influences openly. I hear The Kinks, The Small Faces, even Syd Barrett at times. It all makes for a great pop confection, but really one for those like me who don't really care for the cheeky chappie persona.
Still, the album and its singles enlivened the UK music scene for a while, and I guess made an impact on popular music at the time.
The Cure
3/5
Dull - I wouldn't say this is one of The Cure's stronger efforts.
Giant Sand
2/5
This album doesn't actually appear in my copy of 1001 albums...but hey ho, let's go...
I kind of liked this, but what shifts my score down is that the sangs are all quite samey sounding.
Tom Waits
4/5
This sounds like a transitional album between Waits' bar room songs and the wild sounds of Swordfishtrombones, Rain Dogs and beyond. It's the latter style I prefer, and while this is a good album, and I like it I'm not sure it's a 'great' album.
James Taylor
2/5
I'm glad this was quite a short album. It's pretty inoffensive stuff, but it's a style of music I can do without.
Incubus
2/5
Alt Metal, eh? All pretty dull stuff to my ears.
Merle Haggard
1/5
Country music isn't really to my taste, with the pedal steel, yodelly vocals and songs that tell sad and often dispiriting stories of crime, punishment (occasionally redemption) and love lost. This isn't really an exception, though I found the back story to Haggard's career quite interesting.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
3/5
I really don't care for Neil Young's voice, country styled rock, or indeed this album, though I may concur with some of the sentiments here. I don't get why this is an album I *must* listen to!
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
2/5
Oh dear god, a second Neil Young album in two days!
Crowded House
2/5
This is a pretty unremarkable album. At times I thought it sounded vaguely Squeeze-like, at others I thought it sounded a bit like late period AOR Fleetwood Mac (maybe unsurprising since Neil Finn joined Fleetwood Mac for a time).
Basically I have no pressing wish to hear this album again.
The Stooges
5/5
This is a classic proto-punk album, and a massively influential one at that. I listened to the original Bowie-produced version as well as an Igyy-produced one. Loved them both.
Van Halen
1/5
Oh. The only redeeming feature of this album is its brevity. Though I suppose the cover is vaguely amusing.
John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers
5/5
John Mayall and his various conformations of the Bluesbreakers were major figures of the British blues boom of the early 1960s. The Bluesbreakers were a hothouse for musical talent that broke out of the blues into genres such as heavy rock, psychedelia and eventually AOR.
An excellent album, most;y blues standards, and hugely influential.
Laura Nyro
2/5
I've heard of Laura Nyro, but never played one of her records before this. It's really not to may taste - I don't see this as a 'great album'. It's just too busy and annoying.
Miriam Makeba
4/5
Miriam Makeba was an important artist from the social and cultural perspectives (and later politically) for South Africa. For me, this album is a bit of a mixed bag, but she has a great vocal style - at times it does sound like she's in Harry Belafonte's orbit, which is probably not a bad thing. While this isn't really to my taste, it's an album I can appreciate being on this list.
Bob Dylan
3/5
I found this a pleasant unchallenging album to listen to. It's a far cry from Dylan's mid-60s glory days, but to be still creating albums after all these years is quite something.
Rufus Wainwright
2/5
I didn't really care for this album too much. Rufus Wainwright's vocals were a bit reminiscent of Thom Yorke, and some of this album had the feel of Radiohead demos or outtakes. I'm not really very sure what qualified this as a great album.
Sisters Of Mercy
2/5
Oh, goths! This is a dull and dreary drum machine driven album. It's not really very interesting. Andrew Eldritch seems to have made a career out of alienating erstwhile band-mates!
Klaxons
2/5
Well, this was OK. I thought the music was all rather busy and I didn't really get why this album is considered a great one.
Dire Straits
4/5
This is a great debut from a hugely popular band. It's an album I used to own until a burglary relieved me of my copy. By then my tastes had moved on, but I still have a high regard for this album.
Laibach
4/5
Crazy Slovenian art-political crew! I've never found it easy to divine where Laibach's provocation departs from and returns to satire, though I have several of their albums in my collection. I'd say this is a good rather than great album, but one well worth a listen.
The White Stripes
5/5
The White Striped made a series of very good album in which they displayed a great ability to synthesise something exciting from influences from blues, heavy 60s/70s blues and other styles without seeming too derivative. Personally I don't think this is their best, but definitely a great album.
Justice
2/5
This album was new to me, and I played it through twice. I found it pretty dull stuff and unengaging in a way that dance music really should not be: almost soul-less. It's not an album I'd be likely to play again. Probably some would have been OK as a 12" single, but a whole album of it grates a bit.
Raekwon
1/5
Awful.
Iron Maiden
2/5
Oh crikey. Rather histrionic metal, with feww redeeming features.
The Fall
5/5
The Fall are my most scrobbled band, so it's fair to say this is going to get a high score from me. This is the second LP with Brix Smith in the band, and continues a trend where The Fall (and Mark E. Smith) got a bit smartened up, moved in a more accessible directed and event had a few minor chart hits. It's a great album (I bought it on vinyl upon its release), and one of a run of great albums in what I suppose was phase 2 of the Fall - a bit less ramshackle sounding but with a reasonably stable line-up that was recognisably a band rather than Smith with a bunch of musicians.
The Beach Boys
3/5
This album turned up on the list for me on the day following Brian Wilson's death in 2025. I'd thought he'd died before this, but I think that was his retirement.
I'm not a huge Beach Boys fan. I do have Pet Sounds in my collection, and I kind of think this short album falls a bit short of that masterpiece of studio composition.
Ali Farka Touré
4/5
At last a non European record. And very good it is, too!
Adam & The Ants
3/5
After Adam's first Ants went off with Malcolm McLaren to form Bow Wow Wow, Adam recruited a new group and dominated the charts with exciting fancy dress pop music with two drummers to really make things lively.
So I found the singles completely irresistible, but most of the rest of the album seemed a bit lacklustre by comparison.
Sonic Youth
5/5
I have this in my collection...though I was a bit of a latecomer to Sonic Youth. I rate this album pretty highly, it has that great blend of slightly raucous sound with quite melodic stuff.
Bonnie "Prince" Billy
3/5
Not my thing, and I found this album rather so-so. Oldham is much-beloved by the music press, so maybe I'm missing something.
Supertramp
2/5
The album that saved Supertramp...a couple of strong singles but the album is a bit boring. It may have been seen as great in the early 1970s, but by 2025 it's just nostalgia. An annoying example of prog-light pop.
A Tribe Called Quest
2/5
I almost like this album. But still, the delivery of each track comes across as very same-y, with the same vocals and the same sort of rhythms.
Frank Sinatra
2/5
I think the best thing about this album is its brevity.
Kendrick Lamar
2/5
It's a pity CDs can accommodate 78 minutes - a capacity this album abuses. It's just dreadfully dull and boring.
Led Zeppelin
5/5
The epitome of strutting, preening monster rock. But Led Zeppelin always had something backing up their blues rock retreads - not just outright pinching from the blues standards. And considering much of this album was left-overs from recording sessions for earlier albums, this is quite the humdinger of an album. Influential stuff, this is probably their last great album. Jones and Bonham are great (as usual).
The Monks
4/5
I have a bit of a soft spot for American garage bands of the mid-60s, even those in military bases in Germany. I really enjoyed this no-nonsense album.
Van Morrison
4/5
I inherited a copy of this album on vinyl from friends who were disposing of their vinyl. I'm not a massive Van Morrison fan (though his potty Cvid views were decades in the future at this time!) but I found this album more fun in many ways than Astral Weeks, being rooted a bit more in the R&B side of things.
Method Man
2/5
Another rap/hip hop album! How many are there on this list?
Dead Kennedys
4/5
A late punk masterpiece from the Dead Kennedys!
Sonic Youth
4/5
I was a bit late to the Sonic Youth party, and back tracked through their catalogue after Goo. This is a great album.
Dr. Dre
1/5
More tired hiphop braggadocio.
Alice Cooper
3/5
It's OK, but nothing too special. I guess at the time it was interesting, but I don't think it sounds that exceptional 50-odd years down the line. Some good singles in there.
Belle & Sebastian
5/5
I bought this album rather late in the day as a vinyl re-release. Despite its occasional bout of twee-ness (not unexpected given the band's name derived from the kind of kids' broadcasting from 1960s BBC), I think this is a strong debut album of confessional type songs. It benefits from not just being a singer-songwriter effort, with a proper band playing.
Culture Club
2/5
A sparkling pop album with an early 1980s sheen (particularly that cover) - but frankly it all seems very lightweight, especially the non-single tracks.
Happy Mondays
3/5
I played this album and found it a little samey and rather underwhelming. The version I streamed had a bunch of remixes which I thought superior to the actual album tracks.
The Verve
4/5
This is a great album! It outshines much of the rest of BritPop. I do think that their third album, Urban Hymns, is better.
Scissor Sisters
2/5
I wonder how many bands out there are named after sexual activity! Anyway this is pretty mediocre stuff, nothing too special. As the album continues, it descends into pretty undistinguished disco music. Pretty forgettable.
David Crosby
2/5
Kind of a bland and blissed out post summer of love album with a bunch of Crosby's pals. It just washed over me.
Jazmine Sullivan
1/5
Awful caterwauling vocals and naive lyrics. I'm surprised this made the 1001 albums list.
Killing Joke
4/5
I can see where this album fits in the general UK post-punk scene. I don't personally think it compares well with other giants such as Joy Division and Magazine. I also see where their influence spread out to other bands.
It's generally a heavy album, but Jaz Coleman's vocal delivery is rather too declamatory for my taste.
Ms. Dynamite
1/5
Hmm. I don't like this at all.
Iron Butterfly
3/5
The title track is great (4/5), but side one seems a little less exciting (2/5).
The Smiths
4/5
I know this album gets a lot of love from fans of The Smiths, but personally I preferred th first album. Have to say that Morrissey's lyrics are always amusingly wonky, though some here are very odd.
Motörhead
4/5
Not really my genre of music, but it makes for a pretty stirring live album. Basically it all thrashes away at a fast pace. The downside to that is that the tracks tend to sound pretty similar. I expect the original concerts were a blast.
Marianne Faithfull
3/5
I think after several lost years, this was a good comeback for Marianne Faithfull. With unfluences from post-punk of the time, it was pretty well received. But for me the album is a bit dull, except maybe the closing track.
KISS
1/5
I'm sorry but Kiss are really a bit silly, aren't they? That cover is ridiculous.
Butthole Surfers
4/5
I enjoyed this album.
Todd Rundgren
3/5
Considering Todd Rundgren was rather a polymath, and given the skills he displayed later as a producer, I was expecting something more exciting than this dull selection of songs (well-produced, but not very exciting to these ears).
Depeche Mode
4/5
What a long strange journey from tinny synthpop to the darker recesses...this was an important step towards worldwide success for Depeche Mode, and it's a fine album.
Green Day
4/5
A rousing if not very exceptional alt rock album. I did enjoy it...
Linkin Park
2/5
Histrionic guitars and shouty vocals do not equal emotional communication. A bit dull and cliched. Not a band or album I will likely play much in the future.
The Kinks
3/5
Another Kinks album! It's a kind of an album of observational songs. It's not bad, but really of its time.
The Blue Nile
2/5
Very highly produced album - probably over-produced to the point it really lacks any emotion. To my ears anyway.
Anthrax
1/5
Urgh. These guys should just have released a single. I really don't see why this made the list
I've never been keen on U2. That's not so say I particularly dislike them, more that I don't care for their brand of stadium rock. In fact the only U2 album I have is the one that Apple dumped in my account.
I played this album twice and remained unconvinced by its merits. The album seemed a bit average to me.
Black Sabbath
3/5
Ozzy Osbourne became something of a national treasure in the years before his recent death (I guess that prompted this album to show up in the list this morning). I kind of like Paranoid, but this album left me a little underwhelmed.
Doves
2/5
I was scratching my head trying to figure out what this album reminded me of - then it struck me that the early tracks sounded a bit like The Verve, only not quite so catchy. I didn't really love this album, but it wasn't irritating in any way, so rather average and once again I wonder about the criteria for inclusion on this list.
Doves
2/5
What? A Doves album the day after reviewing another Doves album? On my first listen, it's another dreary dull album. An opinion that doesn't change on further plays.
Little Richard
5/5
Now THIS is an album. Short and sweet at well under 30 minutes, but stuffed with 12 tracks almost all of which are absolute belters. If I have one negative comment, it might have been better to have Little Richard's voice a little less to the fore in the mix. But having said that, what a voice!
Manic Street Preachers
4/5
Subject-wise, the songs on this album cover some pretty serious stuff. Musically, it's a pretty exciting record to listen to, marred a bit by having those irritating samples (apparently from radio/TV broadcast) that lead into most of the tracks.
Elvis Presley
2/5
Aside from that marvellous sleeve design, I was really rather disappointed by this album. I was expecting something a bit more rousing. Other than Blue Suede shoes and maybe Tutti Frutti (but tht's a bit limp compared to Little Richard's version), it was all rather bland stuff and not what I was expecting from the 'king of rock and roll'.
In fact, I'd go so far as to say that while some of Presley's singles released around this time were game-changing, this album really doesn't deserve its place on this list.
Gil Scott-Heron
3/5
This album wasn't available on Qobuz, but I found it on YouTube. It's got a pretty laid-back feel to it. I personally prefer other Scott-Heron albums, but I feel they all have at least one killer track within each album - here the top track for me is The Bottle and also H2Ogate. Nevertheless, this album would probably do well on repeated plays.
Björk
3/5
Bjork's first post-Sugarcubes album...it's OK, a bit of its time.
Flamin' Groovies
4/5
The original album is pretty good stuff: the extra tracks on the extended version are rather lacklustre.
Public Enemy
1/5
Argh!
Travis
2/5
The Man Who...wished he was in Radiohead.
I dunno, this just washes past without grabbing my attention. It's music for people who're not particularly interested in music but who buy into the latest big selling album.
Faust
5/5
This is the kind of album that I like to see on this list: strange, innovative and ultimately influential. It's the last of the albums from the original line-up of the band, and it's a bit of a grower.
Throbbing Gristle
5/5
Oh, this is an album that a friend once said not to listen to in the dark. Evolving from performance art group Coum Transmissions, Throbbing Gristle were an early electronic/noise/industrial band, once labelled as the wreckers of civilisation. Often wilfully perverse (for the accelerated version of the single United), this is an album that combines electronica with electrical noise and found vocals.
Very influential, and part of the great flowering of experimental music that came in the wake of the punk explosion.
Steely Dan
2/5
Oh, this is so bland and smooth.
Ice Cube
1/5
Madness
2/5
Well, this is nice enough pop music, and one or two songs were good singles, but I don't rate this as a particularly great album.
John Martyn
4/5
This album isn't the kind of music I normally listen to, but I found it quite engaging. I think John Martyn's vocals may be a bit of an acquired taste and I'll probably revisit this album.
Baaba Maal
4/5
This is a terrific record, though I don't understand the language and don't know what the songs are about.
Penguin Cafe Orchestra
3/5
Well, it's a nice enough album, but I don't think it's a great album. It passes the time without intruding.
Gillian Welch
1/5
I found this album pretty tedious, with a succession of dreary songs performed with a grating country vocal. Not my cup of tea at all, I'm afraid.
David Bowie
5/5
One of the later entries in Bowie's great 1970s albums, this is a great atmospheric album. While leaning on some of the German synthesiser bands of the time (via Eno's influence), it in turn became very influential.
Randy Newman
3/5
I'm not sure how to rate this album. I can see that Newman is a great songwriter, but this sort of music is something I just don't care for.
Marvin Gaye
2/5
Gosh that's a horrible sleeve. And my first thought is that a double album all about your acrimonious divorce has got to be a bit self-indulgent. And so it proved. This is so far from being a great album that I just wonder what it is doing in this list.
Solange
1/5
This album doesn't really do it for me. I have had it on my streaming service radar for some time now, but never took to it. I don't get why it's seen as a great album, and indeed it doesn't appear to be listed in the edition of 1001 albums I have on my Kindle.
CHVRCHES
2/5
This is a band I know of, but that I'd never listened to. I wouldn't have this as a great album at all. It's a nice enough eletro-pop album, with slightly irritating vocals. Tends to be a bit samey.
Simply Red
2/5
Oh well. Does this stem from the period when Simply Red was actaually a band rather than Mick Hucknall and sidekicks?
Hucknall has a terrific voice here, and I think the success of this album indicated the appetite for classic souls, with a 1980s production twinkle. I am not convinced this is a truly great album - it's a bit backward looking for that.
Joni Mitchell
2/5
I suspect that many reviews of this album on this site are going to be coloured by whether or not you like Joni Mitchell's voice. Personally I find it rather akin to listening to fingernails scraping down a blackboard.
Bob Dylan
5/5
To my mind this album along with its even better predecessor, Highway 61 Revisited, represents the high point of Bob Dylan's output. Fantastic stuff that ought to near the top of any list, certainly of 1960s albums.
Alice In Chains
2/5
Pretty unremarkable heavy grunge from Seattle, the sort of angsty drug tales that appeal to teenagers. Boring.
Franz Ferdinand
4/5
Nice enough and rather engaging art-pop, not bad for a debut album. I'm still most familiar with their collaboration with Sparks.
Oasis
4/5
Nice enough debut from one of the geat Britpop bands. Just like Blur, they show their influences, possible to the point of being a bit too derivative.
The Smiths
3/5
Of all The Smiths' albums, I don't think I'd ever played this one. I've now played it three times. It's OK, nothing seems to stand out in it other than the occasional peculiar lyric!
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
4/5
I've been buying Nick Cave albums since his days in The Birthday Party. It's safe to say I'm something of an aficionado. Of these albums, I think this is a good but not exceptional record.
The Beach Boys
2/5
Reading the Wikipedia article about this album, it seems the critics reckoned three of the songs on this album were good. To my mind that's not enough to make this album great. I didn't really like any of this albume and I found the lyrics pretty trite. I suppose they had to release something from the failed Smile sessions, but frankly the best thing about this album is its brevity. Oh, except for the slightly weird cover.
Wire
5/5
One of the foundational albums of the UK punk and post-punk. Hugely influential, the members of Wire went on to many other projects before coming back together again.
Grateful Dead
1/5
So yesterday I had Pink Flag by Wire - a relatively brief album of snappy art-punk songs of about 2m duration. Today I get this noodly album from the Grateful Dead with long jam-style workouts that completely fails to get my attention long enough to pick out what they are noodling on about. Basically this music just sinks into the background. I get that The Grateful Dead are massively important in rock history, but really this album is self-indulgent claptrap - and it seems from the Wikipedia review that it was only really made (and made cheaply) to generate some cash to pay of debts to the record company. I wouldn't be sad if I never hear this again..
Dexys Midnight Runners
3/5
Ah, one of the Kevin Rowland re-inventions - the second popular version of Dexy's Midnight Runners after their Young Soul Rebels phase. Still, it's better than the more recent re-inventions!
This was the first time I'd played this album, though I was familiar with Come on, Eileen, though it suffers from the huge airplay it received at the time. I was a bit surprised how the rest of the album seems steeped in soul. Not a bad effort, but not sure how 'great' it is.
Pretenders
4/5
I played an extended version of this album and I think the additional tracks added nothing to what was a pretty good album. It's along time since I listened to this album and I thought it pretty good with some real standout tracks. Not essential.
Sparks
5/5
Ah now you're talking. This is the album (with a famous appearance on the TV show Top of the Pops) that blasted Sparks off into the pop stratosphere and 50 years later the Maels are still making top notch albums.
50 Cent
1/5
Oh dear, another one.
5/5
A live album from Dylan's brilliant mid-1960s period, originally a bootleg. This has the famous "Judas" heckle. From the perspective of nearly 60 years, it's a bit hard to understand why there was this fuss about Dylan going electric!
As a document of Dylan's transition from acoustic folkie to electric, this is an essential album.
George Michael
3/5
OK, well I don't like what little I've heard of George Michael's music, either solo or with Wham!, but I will listen without prejudice...
Well, not really my thing, but this was much better than I had expected. I did feel it was verging a bit towards the sophistipop of the period, but it must have been a relief to leave the lightweight pop behind.
But is this a great album? Not so sure.
XTC
4/5
XTC is a band that I always felt I *ought* to like more than I do, even from their early albums. I have several of their albums in my collection, including Skylarking. Skylarking seems well constructed and produced, but sadly doesn't really grip my attention. I think the closing track 'Dear God' was the track I noted most.
Led Zeppelin
5/5
I'm in a bit of a quandary as to how to rate this album. On the one hand these were great musicians who really blew up the blues rock genre with a series of classic albums, reinventing the blues in a way, a heavy way. On the other hand, in the years since release, whole swathes of their albums turned out to be uncredited covers (aka plagiarised) of other artists' work, in many cases requiring legal action to restore writing credit. But then again, Led Zeppelin made such a swaggering take on the music that they virtually reinvented the songs.
Well, upon reflection I reckon this is a 5 star album
Queen Latifah
2/5
Really, this kind of music hasn't aged well. Recognisable samples are a bit irritating. The vocal delivery is a bit irritating.
Ramblin' Jack Elliott
4/5
Never heard of Ramblin' Jack Elliott before, so this will be interesting!
Elliott seems to have been one of the Guthrie - Dylan axis and was quite important in the folk music of the 1950s and 1960s. I rather liked and enjoyed this album, seems to draw on prior work by African American blues musicians. Good, but I'm unlikely to play this much going forward.
Rush
1/5
I kind of imagine these guys on stage with a miniature Stonehenge.
Bad Brains
3/5
Not terribly exciting late period punk.
The Good, The Bad & The Queen
3/5
This is OK as an album. It doesn't really match my taste, but I do wonder if it's a 'grower'. I may play this a few more times.
The Velvet Underground
5/5
Oh, this is a great album, recorded before Cale left. Another very influential album from the Velvet Underground. A particular high point is the mammoth needle-in-the-red Sister Ray, my favoured pre-club soundtrack in my youth!
LCD Soundsystem
2/5
This is pretty dull stuff that sounds like melange of influences all tossed together. It was pleasant enough, but doesn't strike me as a great album, and I'm not sure why it has made this list.
Bobby Womack
3/5
Bobby Womack's voice here is a classic soul voice. Very nice. I found the arrangements a bit busy and little overdone at times. It's a nice album, and one I quite enjoyed (I played it twice), but I'm not sure I would really class this as a 'great album'. From the Wikipedia page, it looks as though this was something of a return to form for Bobby Womack. Perhaps some of his earlier albums would be worth checking out.
Kacey Musgraves
1/5
Bland.
Led Zeppelin
4/5
Despite the rampant plagiarism, Led Zeppelin were massively influential. After the first album, I think this album is more of the same though perhaps a bit heavier.
Echo And The Bunnymen
5/5
Lovely soaring post-punk!
Tom Waits
5/5
This is the first Tom Waits album I really listened to, and it's one of his very best.
Moby Grape
3/5
Sadly, this album wasn't available on my streaming platform, though it is on YouTube.
I suppose this is the American style of psychedelia rooted in folk stylings. It's a nice enough album to listen to, but while it seems to have been pretty well regarded at the time, I wonder how well it has stood the test of time. I actually liked it and I'm swithering between a score of 3 or 4 here.
The Allman Brothers Band
2/5
Looking at the Wikipedia entry, successive modern era releases of this album seem to have grown like topsy, reaching 6 hours by 2014. I'm wondering if that's justified. I played the original release (which I used to have in my collection), and as far as I can see this is largely a vehicle for Duane Allman's slide guitar virtuosity. The trouble is that extended tracks with over the top guitar heroics don't really make for great listening.
I think this is bad enough as a regular double album. I certainly couldn't countenance playing a 6 hour long version of it.
The Louvin Brothers
1/5
This is the kind of music I really dislike. I'm not American so I never grew up with much exposure to country music, and it really grates. I don't like the simple story-telling of the lyrics and the same-ness of the songs. I can see that this may have been influential on later harmony singing duets, but still...
Ash
3/5
Pretty inoffensive grunge-lite. Some of the tracks have a pretty decent crunchy groove.
The Replacements
3/5
Nicely spirited punky pop music. Liked the T.rex cover!
Paul Simon
1/5
This is one of those 1980s albums with so many musicians involved that it all sounds a bit homogenous, with annoying 80s production effects. Bland and uninspiring. Track 2 was a bit more conventional Simon territory, then it's back to 80s percussion. And so it goes.
Youssou N'Dour
4/5
This is a fine album, though language is an issue in understanding the songs!
Creedence Clearwater Revival
3/5
Nice late 60s swampy blues rock.
The Chemical Brothers
2/5
I can see this music as being quite exciting in a nightclub, but I'm not so sure it cuts it as an album.
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
3/5
I always felt OMD were a bit insipid, and this is borne out by this album. Some of the tracks are really good, however, with very catchy tunes, but I think there's a bit too much filler. OMD were pretty influential as part of the UK synthpop scene, and this albums shows why.
The Specials
4/5
This is a really good album that emerged from the multiracial working class community in Coventry. Mixing punk energy with ska revivalism, with an additional dose of social commentary, it's a startlingly good debut album.
Jane's Addiction
2/5
I found this a remarkably dull album.
Bauhaus
3/5
Bauhaus really led the goth charge out of post-punk, and were pretty influential. However, I don't think this is their best album, I much prefer its predecessor, In The Flat Field, and of course some of the singles.
Nightmares On Wax
2/5
Never heard of Nightmares on Wax before being presented with this album!
By track three I reckoned the album was likely to outstay its welcome at 72 minutes of underwhelming noodling. While I dare say there's a place for it, I doubt this makes it a great album.
Parliament
5/5
This is a great funk album, up there with Sly and the Family Stone's There's a Riot Going On and Funkadelic's Maggot Brain. Loved it.
Bert Jansch
4/5
I'm not really a fan of folk music, but this album is really nice. Not so keen on the vocals, but the guitar playing is really nice here.
Morrissey
3/5
This was very much a post-Smiths album - Morrissey singing very Smiths-ish Morrissey lyrics but without the band. Instead, the music's really a bit dull, despite the presence of the great Vini Reilly. Dispensable.
The Residents
4/5
Never listened to The Residents before. Despite several tracks sounding like low grade Zappa out-takes, I kind of liked the overall sound of this album.
Animal Collective
1/5
I really didn;t think this was a great album - confused and overly busy production couple with wannabee-Beach Boys vocals.
Skepta
3/5
I'm not the target audience from UK grime, I guess (mid-60s, white, middle class), but I remember playing this on release. I liked it then, and I like it now, but I don't think it's a great album.
The Gun Club
5/5
This is great swampy blues punk. All dressed up like an Elvis from hell!
Kanye West
1/5
Nope
Jimmy Smith
3/5
This was pleasant to listen to, but I'm not well-versed in jazz so I can't really comment on whether this is a 'great album'!
Billy Bragg
2/5
Well, this is nice enough (I do like some of Billy Bragg's albums), but really I don't see this as being especially influential as it's mostly about resurrecting Woody Guthrie's unused lyrics.
Good Lord, Qobuz cued up the full 47 track boxed set! That's too much for me.
Miles Davis
2/5
I'm not really a jazz fan, so I suspect much of the qualities of this album are lost on me. I the album twice, and while I felt the trumpet was fine it did feel like an extended jam session and lacked focus.
Pleasant enough to listen too, but...
Primal Scream
5/5
A stone cold classic...an immaculate transformation of Primal Scream and much credit to Andrew Weatherall. One of those early 90s classic albums.
Prince
2/5
Over the years I've tried to like Prince's music, but the adolescent sex obsession always puts me off.
The Mamas & The Papas
3/5
Nice enough album, well delivered. I'm not sure how it sits in the 2020s. The two hit singles (Monday, Monday and California Dreaming) are very good.
Bruce Springsteen
2/5
Not a Springsteen fan...and after three plays of this album, I found it interminably dreary with little variation in either musical style or lyrical content.
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
1/5
I'm afraid I only made it through half of this country rock (with a big epmphasis on the country) album. What possessed these guys to produce a triple album of this stuff is beyond me.
Bad Company
2/5
This is the kind of music that makes me glad punk swept across the UK music scene two years later. These guys fancy themselves as some kind of outlaws living the life they want to lead, behind a six gun. It's all a bit puerile, especially the gratuitous sexism. The lyrics are dreadful throughout, which is a shame because if anything is good here, it's Paul Rodgers' vocals, which lift my rating from 1 to 2.
Blondie
5/5
There isn't a duff track on this punky power pop album.
Antony and the Johnsons
3/5
The list of 1001 albums is strange. Albums seem to drop out of the book at various editions (and presumably others come in) - this album isn't in the copy I have, so I don't get to read why it's here! It's always seemed that this is an album I *ought* to like, but really the vocals are a bit too wibbly-wobbly for my taste. Fortunately this album is quite short at 35 minutes, but even then it kind of overstays its welcome.
The La's
4/5
Ah, the fabled post-punk band...beloved by the music magazines owing to their tortured creative processes. But is this album great?
I can hear shades of influences from the past, and shades of influence on bands to come, particularly in the britpop boom bands. Overall, this is a fine album, with one or two truly great songs. One wonders what might have been,
American Music Club
2/5
After the opener, Firefly, with its irritating country styling, things seem to improve. But still this doesn't seem a particularly momentous album. In fact I found it rather bland.
Sebadoh
3/5
This is pretty dull stuff. Not bad, but not great...
Elvis Costello
5/5
This is one of those rare albums where the supplementary tracks on the Deluxe Edition are perhaps better than the album itself. The songs are terrific and Costello delivers them well. I preferred the versions with The Attractions that are on the second CD in the deluxe version: these sound rawer, more immediate and a bit more contemporary (to 1977) than do the versions on the actual album, where Costello was backed by American C&W band Clover.
Sex Pistols
5/5
Never mind the bollocks, here's an album I bought on release. The Pistols only released one album - but what an album, so important to subsequent music in the UK, inspiring a generation.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
3/5
I kind of liked the heavy sound of the band, but it always comes back to Neil Young's voice, which I don't much care for. Seemed like a solid album, but not great.
The Who
2/5
Not a great album, more a collection of songs showing the band's influences, and a couple of cover versions. The standout track is the title track.
Mott The Hoople
3/5
No bad, but a bit sub-Bowie and of its the time. I think I'll play this a few more times.
Jacques Brel
4/5
I'm not best placed to really judge this album as a rather monoglot anglophone, but I enjoyed the atmosphere conveyed by this live album, and what I could discern about the songs from my (very) limited french language skills. Brel obviously wielded great influence on later artists, and was massively popular in his lifetime and beyond.
Guided By Voices
2/5
It's like an album of rough demos. And not particularly exciting demos.
The Roots
2/5
The Roots seem to have spent an inordinate amount of time recording this album. But I find it rather underwhelming with over-produced music and the standard delivery of what may be good lyrics. It's all a bit cliched to my ears.
Django Django
4/5
This album has a slightly pleasing retro psych-lite feel to it. I'm not sure it really ticks all the boxes for me, but it's pretty decent art pop. Not something I'll return to, though.
Coldplay
2/5
Oh, not Coldplay! This really dull - I suppose making saccharine background music is why they are such a big selling band.
Eminem
1/5
This is really pretty awful stuff. Well over an hour of ranting.
Stephen Stills
2/5
Well, that was 72 minutes I won't get back. This is a double album where a country rock bloke jams with his mates in obsessive studio sessions and makes a rather boring record.
Roxy Music
4/5
One of the classic Roxy Music albums - though I do prefer the first two which had Eno on board.
Maxwell
2/5
This is really smooth nu-soul, very samey throughout, and it's over an hour long. Pretty dull stuff to my ears: bland and strangely unemotional.
PJ Harvey
5/5
PJ Harvey's early albums are just great stuff.
John Lennon
4/5
It's been a while since I played this album. I don't have a lot of Beatles or Lennon in my library, though I've recently listened to some Plastic Ono Band. Overall, in 2025 the album suffers a bit from overexposure of some of the songs, including Imagine (a bit of a naive political statement), and Jealous Guy. Some of the other tracks are a bit more robust.
Digital Underground
1/5
Ghastly.
Sam Cooke
3/5
After reading the Wikipedia entry, I was expecting great things from this live album. Unfortunately I felt a bit disappointed. I enjoyed Cooke's voice and songs, but I felt the much-vaunted audience interaction was a bit less than I expected. Perhaps the mix I listened to was one of those with the audience somewhat lower in the mix than the first release.
Roni Size
1/5
Crikey, this one's over two hours long! And it gets worse - the version on Qobuz comes in at 5h14m11s over four CDs. I'll give this a go, but...
I played this album for about 1h45m and I thought it remarkably dull and unvarying.
Bob Dylan
5/5
I think this is a good album, though not quite up there with Dylan's mid-60s masterpieces such as Highway 61 and Blonde on Blonde. Unlike some of the other reviews on this site, I like Dylan's singing voice; the album has a good sound. Maybe the lyrics are a little less oblique.
Tim Buckley
2/5
This is a much 'busier' album than I'd expected, and it seems to be an amalgam of styles. I didn't think it especially great.
Leonard Cohen
3/5
Well, straight off the bat, this is a great album...except the backing vocals. Cohen's voice is great and even the 1980s stylings don't completely mess things up. But those backing vocals spoil it for me.
Aerosmith
2/5
I think these guys started out as The New Originals.
Gang Of Four
4/5
This is a great album, angular and energetic. Not punk so much as post-punk with clearly politically focussed lyrics.
Circle Jerks
3/5
By 1980 this kind of punk music must have been a bit passe. Nonetheless, this 15 minute album (is it the shortest album in this list?) was pretty rousing and good fun, but not I think a great album. It's not one I'll likely return to.
Cowboy Junkies
2/5
Well, the description 'alternative country' didn't bode well...but there didn't seem to be much alternative or country in there. In fact it's all pretty dull stuff. They even seem to make Sweet Jane bland.
Ozomatli
3/5
It was OK till the rapping started. But a good solid album, though not available on my streaming service.
Les Rythmes Digitales
2/5
I'd never heard of Les Rythmes Digitales before this, and until I read the Wikipedia bio, I had some hopes for a francophone band for a change! Anyway, I've dutifully played this through, and probably won't revisit it any time soon. It's a very good example of why a heavy beat in electronica doesn't necessarily make for strong dance music: the entire album seems remarkably unengaging. Just not very good in my opinion.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
5/5
I guess this marks the beginning of the really successful run of albums from Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, after the more boisterous early albums. I think this is fantastic, though I'd be hard pressed to choose this one over a number of his albums.
Tracy Chapman
4/5
I can see why this album is on this list, it's a strong album of acoustic protest songs. So I'm rating the album on that. but it's not an album I'd ever really play - not to my taste.
Amy Winehouse
2/5
I didn't really enjoy Winehouse's singing on this album: I much prefer Back To Black.
k.d. lang
1/5
Well this seems a nicely made record, and lang's vocals are nice, but this is such a retro facing album that I really cannot see it as a 'great album'. Plus I dislike country music.
Marvin Gaye
3/5
Kind of weird to hear these socially conscious lyrics in a made for loving voice. I don't think this is as great as its reputation would suggest.
Tortoise
4/5
I have a couple of Tortoise albums in my library, so I kind of knew what to expect here. This is the critically acclaimed second album that for some reason I'd not played before.
The long opening track reminds me strongly of the German rock of the mid 1970s - I suppose it has that 'motorik' feel typical of Harmonia, Neu! and maybe Can and the like. Then it sort of expands out.
The Icarus Line
3/5
This a pretty energetic and heavy post-punky sort of sound. Very much of its time. Perhaps I'll play this a few more times - I quite enjoyed it though it doesn't sound wildly original to me.
Hüsker Dü
4/5
This is a great album, but might have been better as a single album!
Dion
1/5
This is pretty dreary stuff, and the only good thing is the album is quite short at 35 minutes. I really can't see why this collection of plodding songs is one that I must listen to.
Stephen Stills
2/5
So far on this list I've had CSN albums, CSNY albums, and a bunch of albums from the individual members of those groups. I don't much care form, and this no exception. And the first track is lyrically awful.
The Soft Boys
3/5
An album of English whimsical psych-pop. Quite nice, and I think I'll listen to it a bit further. But I don't think it outstanding.
Sleater-Kinney
4/5
This album is one of my favourites, and ticks many boxes: a cracking pace and punky sound, with excellent animated vocals. Plus it doesn't overstay its welcome at under 37 minutes.
4/5
That was a bit of an exhilarating ride! Mind you, I'm completely unfamiliar with Ornette Coleman's music, maybe that explains my rating.
Everything But The Girl
2/5
Well...it's nice...very nice, but the album has something of a indie bedsit lounge music demo vibe.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
5/5
Another fine album from Nick Cave. Not, I think, up there with his best but very good.
Madonna
2/5
Meh. These pop star albums don't seem to have much individuality in the songs, just look at the cast of thousands involved, everything is a bit overdone. Plus I don't care from Madonna's voice.
I'm not clear what criteria get an album on this list - surely it's not just sales?
Fairport Convention
2/5
This isn't really the kind of music I like. But I guess it's pretty well delivered, though nothing is really memorable for me. Denny's voice is mixed a bit too much in front.
Jethro Tull
2/5
This wasn't really to my taste, but I did at least listen to it. I think this is probably the first Jethro Tull album I've ever played. From reading the Wikipedia article, the story of how they came by their name and how their first single was credited to Jethro Toe is all a bit Spinal Tap!
The album is OK. I guess that maybe back in 1971 this could have been seen as goundbreaking, though ine 2025 it just sounds dated to me.
Tom Waits
5/5
I think this is one of those albums which, for many people, won't be an instant hit - it perhaps takes a little time to permeate. For my part I think this is a brilliant piece of work (but surpassed by Rain Dogs), and a significant evolution of is earlier albums into a wonderful world of clattering and often obscure music. Kathleen Brennan has been terrific influence.
This was the start of a terrifically good run of albums.
Hookworms
2/5
Oh, I haven't played this album in a long time. And after playing this through, it seems rather underwhelming and unsuitable for this list.
Stan Getz
3/5
Nice enough, a little too laid back for my taste. But clearly quite an important album when it was released.
Machito
2/5
I didn't much care for this album - it reminded me of those old movies with a tropical themed cabaret. I guess it deserves it's place on this list as it was pretty influential.
The Stooges
5/5
This is an album that is a stone cold classic. Latterly viewed as an important proto-punk album that influenced countless bands.
Bee Gees
1/5
Well, the centrefold image from the album is 5/5. The songs, not so much...
Kate Bush
3/5
This album has always been a critics' favourite, and its stock has increased steadily over the years. So, how do I rate it as a person not particularly keen on Kate Bush's music? I actually felt that the album, side 1 in particular, suffers greatly from rather busy and overdone 1980s production styles. Side 2 is a bit better, but I'm not sure I would have this on my personal list of essential albums. Kate Bush is an admirable artist and one who has stood up against record labels for her own view on her creative output and marketing.
The Jesus And Mary Chain
5/5
Oh a glorious mashup of pop, punk, VU and wall of sound here from The Jesus and Mary Chain all bound together in feedback. This album lived on my turntable when I first bought it, and I still play it today. I don't think there's a duff track here, but I particularly love Taste of Cindy, Just Like Honey and Never Understand.
Alexander 'Skip' Spence
2/5
So, another mental health / drug casualty (I wonder which precipitated the other). In some ways reminiscent of Syd Barrett's story: interested associates try to get an album from him, then as the artist's mystique grows, more songs (that are really trial run throughs and other out-takes) surface. So in the case of Oar, successive extended editions were released, while in the case of Barrett, The Madcap Laughs was followed by a pair of albums of decreasing quality. One does wonder where initial attempts to help become exploitation.
As I'd never heard this album before, I put all that to one side and gave it a few plays. Unfortunately, after a reasonably strong start, the album declines to rather fractured performances, even before the end of the original album's track listing. It may be seen as a document of someone's declining mental state, but that doesn't necessarily make this a great album.
Jane Weaver
2/5
Hmmm...well this album isn't in the edition of 1001 Albums I have, so I can't see why they've included it. First impressions are reasonably good, nice motorik rhythms. However, as the album proceeds it's all sounding a bit same-y.
The Zombies
3/5
Ah, another of those 'misunderstood classics' so beloved of the critics!
It's not a bad album, but I'm not sure it's indispensable. Nice baroque pop with a dollop of psych whimsy.
Steve Earle
2/5
Pretty dull and turgid American road movie country rock. Good ole Boys.
I quite like the twangy guita.
Julian Cope
3/5
After the demise of The Teardrop Explodes, Julian Cope seemed to veer away from pop-oriented albums to more esoteric output (and produced tomes about prehistoric sites in Britain!). This album has some pretty good tracks in it, but at 1h15m it kind of overstays its welcome. And I see there's even an expanded 2h20m version!
Frankie Goes To Hollywood
4/5
Completely over the top and overblown, Frankie took the UK charts by storm with a clutch of stonking subversive singles, each released in multiple versions. This album collects the singles along with an on choice of filler. Bombastic, sure. Patchy, definitely. But it's an album that despite its flaws does deserve its place on this list.
Koffi Olomide
2/5
This is a new album to me, I'd never heard of it (or, indeed Koffi Olomide) before. It's OK, pleasant but not great.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
4/5
This is a fine pop reggae album that greatly helped bring reggae to a wider audience in the 1970s. Good stuff.
Joni Mitchell
2/5
These early 1970s singer-songwriters are really to my taste. This was a nice album but, to my ears at least, not a great one. I don't really care for Mitchell's voice.
The Style Council
2/5
Cafe Bleh! It all sounds a bit like a pastiche of cafe music to me.
10cc
2/5
I can remember 10cc as a singles band back in the early 70s from radio play (before I had an interest in music), many of their singles were pretty strong. I've not often played their albums, but sometimes they come across as a bit 'clever-dicky'.
This is quite a likeable album in an early-70s pop-rock style.