712
Albums Rated
3.51
Average Rating
65%
Complete
377 albums remaining
Rating Distribution
Rating Timeline
Taste Profile
1970s
Favorite Decade
Shoegaze
Favorite Genre
UK
Top Origin
Wordsmith
Rater Style ?
123
5-Star Albums
10
1-Star Albums
Breakdown
By Genre
By Decade
By Origin
Albums
You Love More Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Playing With Fire
Spacemen 3
|
5 | 2.54 | +2.46 |
|
KE*A*H** (Psalm 69)
Ministry
|
5 | 2.69 | +2.31 |
|
All Hope Is Gone
Slipknot
|
5 | 2.7 | +2.3 |
|
Arise
Sepultura
|
5 | 2.72 | +2.28 |
|
Group Sex
Circle Jerks
|
5 | 2.74 | +2.26 |
|
Scream, Dracula, Scream
Rocket From The Crypt
|
5 | 2.77 | +2.23 |
|
Damaged
Black Flag
|
5 | 2.87 | +2.13 |
|
A Northern Soul
The Verve
|
5 | 2.91 | +2.09 |
|
Lazer Guided Melodies
Spiritualized
|
5 | 2.92 | +2.08 |
|
Psychocandy
The Jesus And Mary Chain
|
5 | 2.94 | +2.06 |
You Love Less Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Since I Left You
The Avalanches
|
1 | 3.28 | -2.28 |
|
Tonight's The Night
Neil Young
|
1 | 3.23 | -2.23 |
|
Nighthawks At The Diner
Tom Waits
|
1 | 3.01 | -2.01 |
|
American IV: The Man Comes Around
Johnny Cash
|
2 | 3.9 | -1.9 |
|
Ys
Joanna Newsom
|
1 | 2.8 | -1.8 |
|
Two Dancers
Wild Beasts
|
1 | 2.75 | -1.75 |
|
Histoire De Melody Nelson
Serge Gainsbourg
|
1 | 2.75 | -1.75 |
|
Bitte Orca
Dirty Projectors
|
1 | 2.69 | -1.69 |
|
Heaux Tales
Jazmine Sullivan
|
1 | 2.68 | -1.68 |
|
Remain In Light
Talking Heads
|
2 | 3.67 | -1.67 |
Artists
Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Beatles | 4 | 4.5 |
| Nirvana | 2 | 5 |
| Simon & Garfunkel | 2 | 5 |
| The Clash | 2 | 5 |
| Green Day | 2 | 5 |
| The Jesus And Mary Chain | 2 | 5 |
| Ray Charles | 2 | 5 |
| Doves | 2 | 5 |
| Beastie Boys | 3 | 4.33 |
| Pink Floyd | 3 | 4.33 |
| Steely Dan | 3 | 4.33 |
| Radiohead | 5 | 4 |
Least Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Neil Young | 3 | 2 |
Controversial
| Artist | Ratings |
|---|---|
| The Who | 4, 5, 2 |
| Metallica | 4, 5, 2 |
| Joni Mitchell | 5, 3, 2 |
5-Star Albums (123)
View Album Wall
Popular Reviews
Neil Young
1/5
Yet another Neil Young album full of songs that have potential but are instantly ruined by his awful vocals. Please stop!
6 likes
Joanna Newsom
1/5
Was initially interested that she was a harpist, thinking this would be some nice soothing music to put on and chill. Instead what I heard was shrill wailing that was like nails on a chalkboard. I saw one review say she is the “wish.com Bjork” and funnily enough it’s pretty accurate. Her music does grow on you a bit but there is almost no chance I’ll give it any more than the time already given to her. 1.5/5 as it’s not the absolute worst thing I’ve heard.
Annoyed at first that this wasn’t on Spotify but found on YouTube. Now I’m glad it’s not on Spotify so I don’t have a song to add to my 1001 playlist.
2 likes
Circle Jerks
5/5
I was worried seeing a low rating, and for the first 10 seconds of the first track I really wasn’t sure what I thought. Another 10 seconds I was into it. And I absolutely loved it before the end of the playtime, and gladly let it run through again. Gritty, heavy, humorous, great musicianship hiding behind the yelling, and the playtime was perfect - enough to get to the point and not waste any more time.
I’ve had plenty of bloated albums by now, and this album shows that more doesn’t mean better and in fact can mean worse. I would normally rate this 4-4.25/5 but I’m rating up as the current global 2.7 is too low. Not my typical musical genre but this was fucking great
2 likes
Spacemen 3
5/5
Another brand new artist for me. Wasn’t sure what to expect and was nervous about the run time but it was a joy. I liked how each song had a certain hook that they explored from different sides, reminded me of Pink Floyd. Really can’t believe this came out in ‘89.. I think ‘Lord can you Hear Me’ will be most people’s favorite as the most “song”-y track
I feel like I want to be stingy with my 5/5 ratings but this album was my jam.
2 likes
Gorillaz
4/5
I knew of Gorillaz but hadn’t listened to much of their material. Some interesting stuff here, I enjoyed 5/4, Clint Eastwood one of their biggest.. can’t say that it’s been one of my favorite albums from the project but I would listen again. 3.5/5
1 likes
1-Star Albums (10)
All Ratings
The Prodigy
3/5
Sounded like a rave backdrop. Pretty repetitive beats but some interesting lyrical choices (also repetitive within the song). Reminded me of chemical brothers? Would fit into the Matrix soundtrack
Led Zeppelin
4/5
Interesting timing on custard. In my time dying I thought was too long.. Trampled under foot or Kashmir probably most well known. Bron-yr-aur is beautiful. Enjoy this album
The Avalanches
1/5
Songs blend together as if one long set - meant to be heard as an album? Short samples bound by music. “Tonight” is my least favorite, although I didn’t really enjoy any all too much.
T. Rex
5/5
Bit of a funky feel to begin, remnants of 60s with the orchestration. Beatles vibe. Kinda reminds me of Little Feats (around the same era). Get it on (bang a gong) certainly the most popular song on the album.cool groove on Motivator. Most songs have room to breathe. I enjoy this one a lot
The Who
4/5
Liked how the early songs blended together. Tommy mentioned throughout, pinball also. Curious if real person. Pinball wizard probably the big hit from this album? Enjoyed it
Louis Prima
4/5
Heard the “I ain’t got nobody” riff/phrase before but not in context, that was cool. Jump Jive and Wail popular cover (Brian Setzer) late 90s so I knew that one. Buona Sera another popular one. Cool to revisit swing/jazz/big band again, many great players. Some funny lyrics throughout, I enjoyed this collection a lot.
Beastie Boys
4/5
Don’t know many Beastie Boys songs (none on this album), interesting with a lot of low-hanging rhymes but then something much more sophisticated. Album seems sample heavy but works in the genre. Unsure how B.B. is regarded within hip hop, but they have an undeniable sound. Imagery is comical. B-Boy bouillabaisse set is a totally different sound. Think my fave was either “egg man” or “looking down the barrel of a gun”
The Who
5/5
Baba Oreilley is a massive hit, probably the biggest by the Who. Another great album
The Fall
3/5
I immediately liked the music but thought the vocals sounded like a drunk at karaoke. But with more listening I started to enjoy it more. Maybe that’s the way with this punk music, not caring about a commercially/stereotypically “good” song package, and more about staying true to yourself and your message.. “Futures and Pasts” is my favorite, but enjoyed “Industrial Estate” and “Underground Medecin”
The Stone Roses
5/5
Brand new artist but Wow, really like this one! Reminds me a lot of different bands like Poison, the Cure, Duran Duran, even the Beatles.. but there is such a variety across the album it speaks to the talent they have. “Elizabeth My Dear” sounds exactly the same as Scarborough Fair, and therefore in my opinion the weakest. Loved them all so hard to choose my favorite for my Spotify playlist but I have to go with “She Bangs the Drums”
Santana
4/5
What a guitarist! “Black Magic Woman” and “Oye Como Va” are huge hits - that I’ve heard before - but this album is more than those two songs. Great blend of Santana’s solos with the rest of the band proving their abilities as well. Cool Latin vibe underlying with classic 70s rock sounds overtop. Liked how the songs wove together to provide a tide of music, slowing and quieting just to swell again; made for a pleasant album-long listening session.
American Music Club
3/5
Hard to find, not on Spotify. Nice easy listening. To me it’s good but not amazing, middle of the road. Would listen but probably wouldn’t seek it out.
Orange Juice
3/5
Definitely interesting compilation-style album. Many songs in different “styles” but then some seem out of place. Favorites are the titular ‘Rip it up’ and ‘Can’t help myself’, reminded me of INXS, Prince, the Cars.. I enjoyed ‘Louise Louise’ although had an older feel to it. ‘Million pleading faces’ and ‘Hokoyo’ had an African (Swahili?) vibe.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
4/5
New artist/album although I have heard of Elvis Costello.. I enjoy the punk flavor with some classic 70s aspects as well, like synth keyboards. ‘Pump it up’ reminds me of ‘Voodoo Child’ - possible sample/influence there; one of my album favorites. Noticing some familiar sounds that remind me of later artists like Counting Crows and Tom Petty, but also earlier like the Who (‘You belong to me’ resembles ‘my Generation’). Interesting phrase “she’s last years model” in ‘(don’t want to go to) Chelsea’ when the album is titled “this Years Model”. Overall I really enjoyed the whole album, pretty cohesive across the board.
Van Halen
3/5
Somewhat familiar with VH so this was a fun listen. ‘Jump’ is probably the biggest song they have, but ‘Panama’ is big too. To have these back to back speaks to the albums quality. The song ‘I’ll Wait’ was charting the week I was born (#18). Love the drums on ‘Hot for Teacher’. Guitar solos throughout are incredible.
Queen
3/5
Know a couple queen songs but not many. Definitely a classic identifiable sound in Mercury’s vocals. ‘Killer Queen’ the biggest hit of the album (and only one I knew), but lots of fun variety regarding time, emotion throughout. Lyrically impressive with some sophisticated rhyming but still cohesive. Some really nice guitar solos across the board. ‘Lap of the Gods’ seemed to imitate Pink Floyd, in sound style as well as the echoes in the revisit at album’s end. I’m not a huge fan of the ballad-style songs although ‘Dear Friends’ was nice. Reference to Jim Croce’s character in ‘bring Back Leroy Brown’?
Holger Czukay
3/5
I don’t know what to say about this, definitely WEIRD and experimental. Never heard of this artist before. I enjoyed “Lord give us more money” as background music but there is so much going on it got a bit disjointed and fatiguing for my taste. I enjoyed the more laid-back vibe of ‘Persian Love’ and ‘Hollywood Symphony’. Maybe a jazz background, certainly playing with sampling. Enjoyed hearing something new
Marty Robbins
4/5
First heard of Marty Robbins from a Rick Beato video, so familiar of this album. Great voice, sneakily good guitar, beautiful harmonies. Very fun cowboy western music. ‘Cool Water’ was fun to hear as I remember it from the “Buster Scruggs” movie.
Favorites are ‘Big Iron’ (love the harmonized octave slurs) and ‘El Paso’.
Quicksilver Messenger Service
2/5
This reminded me of lots of different bands: Grateful Dead, Allman Bros, the Doors,Steve Miller band, CCR… and I kept thinking I would rather been listening to those bands instead.
Liked the A-side treated much like 1 long jam, B-side definitely more disjointed. Added ‘Who do you love pt 1’ to my list as I enjoyed the first half more. Unfortunately this album is quite forgettable for me, even though I didn’t hate it
M.I.A.
3/5
Some songs just gave me a headache, some I enjoyed. As something that isn’t really my taste, this album was more fun than I thought at the outset. Favorites include ‘Boys’ and ‘Jimmy’, more than the commercial success ‘Paper Planes’. Beats were fun, almost had an Indian/Persian flair at times. I wanted to like/dislike this album more than I did
Supertramp
3/5
Not bad but wasn’t feeling it. I have heard of Supertramp but not sure I could name any specific songs. Favorite from the album is probably ‘Dreamer’
The Byrds
3/5
I only know of the Byrds for their psychadelic rock. Maybe this Americana style was present in the undercurrents of their earlier/other music (‘Nothing was Delivered’ sounded the most like the Byrds I was familiar with). I can’t tell if this album was made as satire or the group was truly interested in Country/Western music. Either way, I can appreciate the songs’ quality of production and musicianship even if I don’t enjoy the genre too much.
Favorite song is probably ‘Hickory Wind’ or ‘Lazy Days’
Fela Kuti
3/5
Wasn’t sure what to expect but what a cool album. Long-form jazz takes a certain kind of mood, but didn’t take too long to feel it. Very funky Afro jazz, great drums, fat horns… First time hearing of Fela, but I may have heard some of his music back in my jazz band days. Interesting to read up a bit about him while listening!
Favorite song probably ‘Ye Ye De Smell’
Jimi Hendrix
4/5
Great Hendrix album. Pretty recognizable sound, exactly what you’d expect. ‘Purple Haze’ is probably the most popular song on the album, I think my favorite is ‘Hey Joe’ since that’s my name (also a pretty big hit).
Dire Straits
3/5
Nice album, heard of ‘money for nothing’ and ‘walk of life’ but the others were easy listening.
Elton John
3/5
Elton John is a great artist. There is always so much movement in his piano playing! ‘Tiny dancer’ is the only song I’ve heard from this album and must be the biggest hit, but every song was definitely enjoyable
MGMT
3/5
I’ve heard the song ‘Kids’ but overall a totally new artist.
5/5
Definite similarities with other English bands, like the Beatles or Hermans Hermits. Didn’t know any songs on the album but in searching I did know several other Kinks songs. Fun use of different sounds (horns, kazoo) throughout. I enjoyed every entry on this album, favorite was ‘Shangri-La’ but not a bad choice to be made.
Jerry Lee Lewis
3/5
Certainly lots of energy! Good live album but wasn’t really into it
Joan Baez
3/5
Nice folk album, beautifully simple and profound at the same time. The vibrato in her voice became a bit much for me all at once but was better broken up around the errands I had. Definitely renaissance festival vibes. Nice chill listen
Björk
3/5
Bjork takes the weird and turns it up to 11.. I was expecting to dislike this album more than I actually did. Ethereal.
Deep Purple
3/5
Good live album, the audience was quiet during to songs - due to nationality of recording I’m not sure. Was familiar with ‘Smoke on the Water’ but several other great songs too. “Disc 2” was weird as it was the same encore (?) songs from different dates, so I only listened thru each unique song.
Koffi Olomide
3/5
Fun music, my first fully foreign album on here
Iron Maiden
3/5
Familiar with several Iron Maiden songs but none from this album.
Bob Dylan
3/5
Bob Dylan is a beloved artist and songwriter, but not really for my preference. His decision to be so loose with the time structure of some songs is distracting to the point that the lyrical strengths are lost to me. ‘Blowing’ in the Wind’ is certainly the most well-known from this album, I think my favorite was ‘Hard Rain’s a-gonna Fall’. Pretty decent folk album, feels like a soundtrack to the 60s.
Lucinda Williams
2/5
I wanted to like this album as there were different aspects of each song I enjoyed. But it was a chore to get through.
Slint
3/5
Cool alternative/grunge sound, good listen.
Steve Earle
3/5
Liked it
Metallica
4/5
Great high-octane metal album. Was familiar with many of the songs but a couple were new. Liked them all, good mix of blazing speed with melodic ballad
Miles Davis
3/5
Nice jazz album, short form may be more accessible for general audience but would have been nice to have longer songs
Shivkumar Sharma
4/5
Even though the Spotify link doesn’t go to the original album, it was still a good listen. Fantastic ambient listening, very relaxing and meditative. Very cool
Nirvana
5/5
I was a fan back in the Nirvana heyday, and possibly have been exposed to this set either thru MTV or something else, but wow what an amazing live set! I understand that some people can love or hate it, and can see both perspectives, but I really enjoyed the listen (nostalgia? Taste?). Nice curation of songs that doesn’t rely too heavily on Nirvanas smash hits, and also covers that highlight their talent within the acoustic space. Cobain’s haunting and soulful singing works just as well “unplugged”
Billie Holiday
3/5
Nice unique singing voice, soothing songs that remind me of old Disney movies. I enjoyed the music behind, great horn solos that compliment and aren’t starved for the attention. Songs did blend together a bit. Not my favorite album but overall very nice
Incubus
4/5
I remember some of these songs from the time of release. ‘Drive’ and ‘Pardon Me’ are the biggest songs on the album. I liked the funkiness of ‘Battlestar Scralatchtica’. This album is a pretty good summary of my music tastes at the end of the 90s
Roni Size
2/5
Interesting music for the background but not something I’m terribly interested in.
B.B. King
3/5
Nice live album, the crowd noise even enhances it; would have been great to hear it in person, sounds like everyone was having a great time. Was not familiar with any of the songs, although I did know BB King was a big name in blues.
Boston
5/5
First album that I know well, and it’s one of my favorites!! A lot of depth layered within the songs that is easy to miss on a quick listen. And such a great debut for a band too
Aphex Twin
3/5
Thought I wouldn’t like this much but I did. Not sure what they mean by ‘ambient’ because some songs definitely bring your attention. Brand new artist, never heard the name. I could see listening again, at least in the background.
Favorites: Xtal, Ageispolis, Delphium
Least favorite: Green calx
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
3/5
I have two feelings about this album; I generally like it but the angsty lyric screaming over the top in places seems to be trying too hard (I liked the lead female vocals when more controlled). Reminds me of Scott Pilgrim movie, I saw a review say the early 00s EA Sports and that seems appropriate also. I enjoy ‘Maps’ and ‘Y Control’ the most, and they are at the end of the album, reminds me a bit of Paramore
Skepta
2/5
Don’t listen to rap much, and this is probably my first UK rap album. Decent variety in the hooks, interspersing of conversation seems fairly common in the genre but was a distraction. Not bad but nothing terribly new or valuable. Hard to find a song I wanted to add to my playlist.
Adam & The Ants
2/5
Pretty big variety of sounds on this album, very eclectic. Enjoyed some, but it was all so weird that it was hard to take it seriously. Which maybe was the point.. Very middle of the road ratings-wise, not my favorite but not terrible.
Paul Revere & The Raiders
3/5
I have heard some of these (‘Kicks’, ‘Not your Stepping Stone’), at least as far as I know. Fun bubblegum music for the most part. Definitely reminds me of the Monkees, the Grassroots, early Beatles, maybe a bit like Herman’s Hermits. ‘SS 396’ is more like a Beach Boys/Jan & Dean song, didn’t fit in with the others.. with so many styles and that this was a pretty early album for PR&tR, may have been identity decisions, or just chasing commercial success.. Classic 60s sound that is fun to hear.
Prince
4/5
Great album, I’ve heard a couple songs here and there but never to the whole. As one review said aptly, so excessive but so uncluttered! Shows its age but it has aged well. Lots of hit songs just from this one album, was a pleasure throughout.
Sly & The Family Stone
3/5
This is a hard rating for me. There’s been some albums that I didn’t enjoy AND didn’t understand them being on the list. I can see the importance of this one but it just didn’t grab me in any way. It’s not that I didn’t like it though.. maybe it just wasn’t a good day for this one to come up.
Can
2/5
Another hard one to rate. There were certainly times that were too experimental for me and I hated it, but at the same time could see myself getting into it.. guess I should have gotten high before listening. Middle of the road but rating down as I dont see listening again
Carole King
3/5
Great album full of hits! Easy to argue the importance of Carole King, some of the songs on this album were massive hits for the covering artists. Really liked this one, I was familiar with some of the songs.
The Strokes
4/5
Lots of songs that I enjoyed, although it was monotonous in places. I wish I heard this when it was released! I would def listen again.
Sonic Youth
3/5
I’ve heard of Sonic Youth but don’t think I’ve ever listened to any of their songs. Few places that were a bit like noise but overall very cohesive. I enjoyed, would listen again but may not seek it out.
Pearl Jam
5/5
Never listened to too much Pearl Jam but an old neighbor was into them enough for the both of us!! Amazing A-side with hit after hit, but 2nd half dropped off a little bit — could be that I just wasn’t as familiar. There were some songs I didn’t know the title but that, once started, seemed to come back to me. Fantastic debut album, for me it’s a 4.5... I wish they would allow half-star ratings but rounding up
Queen
3/5
I enjoy this album more than my previous from the list (Sheer Heart Attack) despite not knowing any of these songs. There are definitely typical Queen glam sounds but in general a bit heavier. I like the fantasy subject matter, some beautiful lyrics throughout. White queen on A-side, black queen on B-side. 3.5/5
1/5
Reading some of the other reviews, I understand why this may have been added to the list. Was it a minority choice to appease the jazz listeners? It was barely listenable, and I’m somewhat a fan of jazz. Every so often something would bloom from the chaos and be quite nice, but then degrade back into noise. The high point is that I made it through the whole album… 1.5/5
Suede
3/5
Sounded familiar but also new. Decent album, middle of the road
Run-D.M.C.
4/5
Cool old-school hip hop. Think I’ve seen that ‘Walk this way’ gave Aerosmith a resurgence. Fun listen, 3.5/5 but rating up as you can easily see how it was influential to the genre
Beatles
4/5
I knew several of these songs as I had a Beatles anthology set as a kid, but at least half were new to me. They’re all pretty much bubblegum pop, short songs, exactly what you think of with early Beatles. Fun listen, even the “throwaway” songs were decent. 3.75/5
Metallica
5/5
Knew a couple of these songs from back in the day, plenty of new ones too. Great album with lots of big hits.
The Isley Brothers
2/5
I wanted to like this album, and ‘That Lady’ was a great start. But it just devolved into covers that I’d rather hear the originals, some other instrumentally decent songs that were forgettable. 2.5/5
Michael Jackson
4/5
Plenty of big hits, one of the biggest albums of all time. Still, amazingly, was my first time listening to the whole album thru
Def Leppard
4/5
Couple songs I knew, overall a really fun listen. The excess of 80s hair bands but some real subtlety hidden there
Christina Aguilera
2/5
Remember this from back then, never quite my thing.
Massive Attack
3/5
Album started off nice and I thought I would love it, but it quickly became nothing more than background music and didn’t hold my attention. I enjoyed ‘Unfinished Symphony’. Overall middle of the road- enjoyed but wouldn’t seek it out, 3/5
Mudhoney
4/5
Decent mix of punk alternative and rock. Sounded familiar yet don’t think I have heard any of these songs. A couple played with the time signature which added interest. 3.75/5
Black Sabbath
3/5
Decent album, many new songs. 3.5/5 rounding down as I don’t think I would seek it out
The Hives
4/5
Short album, I enjoyed it a lot 4/5
The Offspring
5/5
Great album, remember from back then.
TLC
2/5
Thought I would enjoy more than I did. May be my unfamiliarity with the genre but didn’t do it for me. 2.5/5 but rounding down as I won’t be seeking it out again
Tears For Fears
5/5
Only 8 songs but some massive hits! Nice listen, surprising it’s only 41 minutes. Hit songs I knew well but even the ‘filler’ had some cool sounds and ideas within them. 4.5/5 but with ‘Everybody wants to rule the World’ having 1.5 billion plays on Spotify, I’m rounding up 👍
Taylor Swift
5/5
Great album with lots of huge hits. Catchy tunes, not 100% my style but still a fun listen that’s massively popular. Can’t fault, 4.5/5
The Saints
4/5
Cool album from a brand new band to me. Really enjoyed, did blend together a bit.
The Stooges
4/5
Pretty cool, reminded me of The Rolling Stones 3.5/5
Mekons
2/5
Not sure what to say. Some songs were nice, some were awful. Some had decent production, some sounded shit. 2.5/5 but I’m rounding down because I’d be ok not hearing ever again
Funkadelic
4/5
So good. Except ‘promentalshit…’ really rug-pulled the rest of the album. I have heard some Funkadelic before but none of these. Accessibility hurts this one; as good as it is, should be on streaming platforms. 4/5
Massive Attack
3/5
Strange album, couldn’t figure out the cohesion.. ok but not great, 2.5/5
Dire Straits
3/5
Decent easy listening, ‘Sultans of Swing’ their biggest hit with over a billion plays on Spotify. 3.5/5
Radiohead
4/5
Know of Radiohead but not crazy familiar worth many songs. Pretty good album, from my musically-formative years so a bit of nostalgia rates this up. Not seeking this out but enjoyed listening throughout. 4/5
A Tribe Called Quest
4/5
Really cool old-school hip hop, really enjoyed. Not my typical listen but it was a treat. Never heard the album but I swear the album art is giving me serious deja-vu. 3.75/5
Billy Bragg
3/5
Decent folk music. Nothing outstanding, middle of the road
Pere Ubu
2/5
Not into it. Not that it’s bad, but I just don’t get it
John Coltrane
2/5
Know Coltrane is a jazz master but I don’t like free-form jazz anymore
George Michael
3/5
Decent, pretty typical 80s pop songs but pretty sexual. Didn’t really hold my attention too well, right down the middle 3/5
The KLF
4/5
Unavailable on Spotify but found on YouTube, wish streaming accessibility was better. Enjoyable listen, although I was working on other things so nothing specifically stands out. Somewhat generic electronic pop sounds, but still holds up today. 3.5/5
The Black Keys
3/5
A lot of reviews are talking about blues, and I kinda get it, but I always thought of the Black Keys as an alternative rock band. Decent album but does blend together. 3/5
Lenny Kravitz
4/5
This was a weird album, it sounded like so many different artists: Tom Petty, Beatles, Prince, Hendrix… it showed the talent that Kravitz has but also all the influences taken. I didn’t realize how well rounded that he was, I admit I hardly know any of his songs. There’s definitely some hidden depth, I’m gonna go 3.75/5
Anthrax
4/5
Definitely goes hard.. nice head-banger that can hang with the likes of Metallica and Megadeth. Wasn’t sure if I’d like it as much as I did, although it could have used a reprieve from the high octane chugging. 4/5
Spacemen 3
5/5
Another brand new artist for me. Wasn’t sure what to expect and was nervous about the run time but it was a joy. I liked how each song had a certain hook that they explored from different sides, reminded me of Pink Floyd. Really can’t believe this came out in ‘89.. I think ‘Lord can you Hear Me’ will be most people’s favorite as the most “song”-y track
I feel like I want to be stingy with my 5/5 ratings but this album was my jam.
Pixies
3/5
Decent, didn’t know much about them
Ice Cube
2/5
It was ok. Unfortunately my rating system is based on my replay-ability and I just wouldn’t put it back on much, if at all. 2.5/5
Ghostface Killah
3/5
Nice enjoyable album. A lot of times with my hearing I have a hard time with lyrics, so it’s more about the music. And this doesn’t translate too well with rap/hiphop. Nice variety of hooks, cool to hear so many different artists on here too. 3/5
Alice In Chains
4/5
Nice album, played it while watching the eclipse
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
4/5
Love Tom Petty, but not super familiar with album releases. Huge hits in ‘Breakdown’ and ‘American Girl’ but also some outliers that sounded out of place (‘Mystery Man’ and ‘Luna’). For a debut album it shows the promise of the great artist Petty will be, overall a solid album but not his greatest. 3.75/5
GZA
3/5
Another wu tang member’s solo album 2 days later… again middle of the road listen, again it’s not something I mind but wouldn’t listen to often
Otis Redding
4/5
Nice album, I enjoyed some of the covers. Great soulful singer
Nirvana
5/5
I was too young when Nevermind came out but I was into Nirvana starting around 1996. Awesome album, tons of great hits here and very deserving to be on the list.. 5/5
The Cardigans
3/5
Nice album, variety of sounds spanning from the 60s to 90s. ‘Lovefool’ the big hit here but other good ones here. 3.5/5
Neu!
3/5
I liked this, definitely more of an ambient album. Another album that I wish I could rate half stars: want to give it more but can’t quite give it a 4.. glad to have it on the list but somewhat forgettable within the scope of the 1001-album challenge. 3.5/5
Fatboy Slim
4/5
I liked this. Remember some of these songs from the release. 3.5/5 but rating up as I’d listen again without much convincing
Deep Purple
4/5
Another fun album, didn’t know any of the songs but was a cool transitional mesh of psychedelic and hard rock. 3.5/5
Bee Gees
4/5
This was not at all what I expected. There were times I couldn’t tell they belonged on the same album, so heavily influenced/mimicking the Beatles or Beach Boys.. but even on the same album there were so many different sounding songs, it was quite disjointed. Still was a decent listen, some songs missed the mark but some were great. 3.5/5
Brian Wilson
3/5
Cool story behind the album, and I know what a great artist Brian Wilson was (is?). But this was a weird listen… some songs had cool harmonies calling back to Beach Boys hits, but then other songs were a fever dream during a drug binge. Disjointed flow between songs with some hard transitions, where some faded well. I wanted to like it more than I did. 2.5/5
Arcade Fire
4/5
Nice indie pop music that can be on in the background or searched for deeper meaning. Not terribly familiar with Arcade Fire other than a single from their 2022 album I found last year, but I’m a fan. Easy listening, 4/5
UB40
3/5
Super chill, nice listen. Didn’t get a chance to listen to actively but had it on while running errands, need to revisit this. Great background music though
Pere Ubu
2/5
Subsequent plays are better, and I want to like this album/artist, but I just can’t into it. The first 30 seconds of the first song of the album is just a screech, like it’s actively trying to get the mainstream listener to dislike it so the punk fans can claim superiority.. second Pere Ubu album, another 2/5
Kate Bush
5/5
I first heard of Kate Bush a couple years ago as ‘Running up the hill’ was surging in the charts (thanks to Stranger Things, I now learn), and Rick Beato breaking down the song. Listening through now, the whole album is a true experience. The 80s peek through the curtains but I also feel this could have been released any time since and it would fit in. Mix of pop with much more experimental stuff. Both lyrically and melodicly interesting, it was a pleasure to be (finally) introduced to this album. 5/5
Lightning Bolt
2/5
Tough to rate this one: there were some points where I felt I could get into it, but devolve back into the muddy soup of noise. I haven’t heard of “noise rock” before so maybe this is exactly the point. First impression was of a low-production dirty bootleg for a little known punk group. There were some nice bass lines throughout. 2.5/5
Big Star
4/5
Like it more after a couple songs, like a slow burn. Once you’re in for a bit you realize the tide has pulled you deeper than you thought.. more sophistication melodically, and deeper sadder lyrics blossom. Not sure if I’ve heard of Big Star before but certainly the first time with all these songs. And by the end it had me digging into more of their catalog. 4/5
LCD Soundsystem
2/5
Started ok but quickly got repetitive. Background music at best for me, not amazing not terrible 2.5/5
Joni Mitchell
5/5
Another album that I didn’t expect to be as good as it was. And only gets better with subsequent listens. It’s sparse but yet very deep, “simple” stream-of-conscious lyrics that are incredibly profound as they simmer. Incredible voice (that initially grated me) that truly makes the listen feel all the more real and personal. Awesome album 4.5/5
Stan Getz
4/5
Great album and makes jazz very accessible to the layperson. You could listen to this any time. Smooth with a great groove, nice tight playing.. well done. Heard of both credited artists but not terribly familiar with their work, I’m a fan. 4/5
Klaxons
3/5
Pretty typical late ‘00s alternative/indie rock, reminds me of Arctic Monkeys, a bit of Black Keys here and there. Enjoyable but nothing too amazing. I liked the different styles from song to song. 3.5/5
The Rolling Stones
3/5
‘Sympathy for the Devil’ is the hit of this album, but other than that I didn’t hear anything too spectacular. Granted I was driving a van full of kids to go camping, so my attention was divided.. 3/5
Peter Tosh
3/5
Nice chill album, nice one while relaxing while camping. 3.5/5
Elis Regina
4/5
This is the great thing about this album project - finding great music that you wouldn’t necessarily know about! Great singing and hip groove, 3.5/5
The Magnetic Fields
2/5
I appreciate the challenge mindset behind this album project, but this was too much. Some songs were okay but they really all blended together and became monotonous. 2.5/5
Prince
4/5
I knew Prince was a sex symbol in his heyday, but this album was auditory imtercourse. Really good though. 3.5/5
Dinosaur Jr.
2/5
Started mid but finished worse. Didn’t really enjoy, 2/5
Eels
4/5
Really enjoyed this album, perfect mix of quirky with alternative, easy to listen in a variety of settings. ‘Beautiful Monster’ I recognized from Shrek but I probably had heard some of this when it released. Vocals were somewhat one-dimensional but some cool effects helped. 4.25/5
Thelonious Monk
3/5
Nice smooth jazz good for entry level listening or those with a more experienced ear. 3.5/5
Orbital
4/5
A lot of mixed reviews here, but I really enjoyed this. The first and last song were somewhat a test of patience but it fit with the style and theme, like an eclipse of phrases. 4/5
The Triffids
2/5
Not sure if they were trying too hard, but I just didn’t get into this album. Flickers of great music but overall just mediocre. 2.5/5
Elvis Presley
3/5
Decent fan of Elvis but don’t see this as one of his greatest albums. Seemed like a lot of B-sides toward the end of his reign as king. Still a great voice though, 3.25/5
Dusty Springfield
4/5
Think I may have heard some of these songs from past delves into 60s music, but certainly my first time through the album. Having “Elvis in Memphis” yesterday there are some comparables, but I have to say I enjoyed this more. Dusty’s voice is so warm and welcoming, and orchestration and songwriting is perfect for the easy listening this is. Works well when feeling up or down. ‘Son of a Preacher man’ certainly her most popular song here but there are plenty of other greats here. 4/5
Run-D.M.C.
3/5
Decent oldschool album, not familiar with any of these songs. I enjoyed their later “Raising Hell” album more but knew some of those songs. Definitely pioneered some of the hiphop genre
Hawkwind
2/5
I sorta understand the concept of the album, but this style and the length of the album did not lend itself to active listening, which in turn leads to more personal connection to the band and discovery within the genre - it turns into simply background ambient music, which is not something that fits the project in my opinion. This was not bad music, just middle of the road. 2.5/5
Miles Davis
4/5
Nice jazz album, great for both deep active listening or background dinner music.
Jane's Addiction
3/5
Throwback! 3.5/5
Gene Clark
2/5
Came to the reviews to see why this would be on the 1001 list… and most others don’t know either. Not bad, but certainly reeks of someone leaving a group for a solo career, and producing this average material. 2,2/5
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
2/5
Wasn’t sure what to expect, I knew the name Neil Young but was not too familiar with his music. I can now say that I am not impressed.. can’t decide if this album sounded more like an amateur busker or drunken karaoke. Very few redeeming moments sparsely scattered throughout. 1.5/5
Queen
5/5
Nice breath of fresh air after what a week of crap albums… great production, some massive hits for Queen here. Even a few new ones for me that were sneakily good. Really nice harmonies. And how can I not choose ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ for my 1001 playlist…
Garbage
5/5
No idea what it would be coming in, but this really surprised me! Nice variety of pop, alt rock, industrial.. Clear vocals that have a certain angsty edge, I love female voice over heavier music. Each song has an interesting hook that draws you in. Great production value, has a 90s flavor but does sorta transcend the era in some ways. I’m sure I heard this back then but can’t be sure. Some songs maybe weren’t as commercially successful but nothing here is “bad” in my opinion.. An unashamed 5/5 from me
SAULT
2/5
It’s nice that musicians create music that means something to them and want to share it with others, but this was not for me. It seemed emotionless and flat throughout — I have a hard time hearing lyrics often so it’s more about the music for me and this could have been the main issue here. I appreciate twhat I imagine is the sentiment behind the album, but I will never listen to this again. 1.5/5
Guns N' Roses
5/5
Great rock album with some massive hits, including their top 3 on Spotify with all over a billion plays. Clear that they are still influential today. Been a fan of these big hits but was cool to hear some others for the first time. 4.5/5
The Beau Brummels
3/5
Feels very niche, but at the same time broad as the folk-rock movement of the era. Once again the cool part of the 1001 project - hearing brand new groups.. Thought they were a British Invasion group but turns out they’re American! Enjoyed it well enough, 3/5
Randy Newman
3/5
Not quite sure how I feel about this one! There’s some interesting stuff, some boring, some funny, some sad but true… some songs I really liked, some I didn’t… Really enjoyed ‘Marie’ with its beautiful sadness. Gonna give it a 3 but it could fall on the scale anywhere depending on the day haha
Love
4/5
Feel like I might need to revisit this album where I can really actively listen better, but my first experience with Love was positive. Seemed to be plenty of interesting and unexpected sonic movement, dreamy vocal sequences. Holds its own alongside other late-60s bands like the Doors, Beatles, Grateful Dead, etc. 3.5/5 but rating up
Bruce Springsteen
4/5
Some big hits for Springsteen on this album! Never loved his music but this was appropriate for Memorial Day weekend working out in the yard haha. 3.5/5
3/5
Not a big fan of country (especially older honkytonk stuff like this) but I have heard of Loretta Lynn. It’s filled with the country tropes you expect - poverty, relationship problems, retribution.. incredible voice is the main focus, and tasteful backing music staying just below the surface. Definite parallels to Elvis, Dolly Parton, June Carter.. 2.5/5
Gillian Welch
3/5
Torn with this album as I enjoyed her singing voice and the sparseness of the backing music, but also felt my attention waning with the slow speed and sad droning melodies. Although I didn’t give her any favors by waiting so late in the evening to listen.. didn’t know any of these songs but more recognizable for her contributions to “O Brother, Where Art Thou”. Not exactly my cup of tea, 2.5/5 not sure if I’ll rate up or down yet.
Metallica
2/5
Really torn as I enjoy both Metallica and orchestral music. And it’s a cool concept. But although the differing music sounds great together and really elevate each other, the singing was a MASSIVE distraction. The only songs I enjoyed were the ones with no vocals, of which there were few. Some of this is the inherent difference with live albums - it’s a performance for the live audience and doesn’t translate well to recordings, since the whole visual/atmospheric show is missing from the experience. Unfortunately, gotta give this one a low score, not only for being disappointed in the product but also I don’t feel a hits compilation has business being on the 1001 list
Joanna Newsom
1/5
Was initially interested that she was a harpist, thinking this would be some nice soothing music to put on and chill. Instead what I heard was shrill wailing that was like nails on a chalkboard. I saw one review say she is the “wish.com Bjork” and funnily enough it’s pretty accurate. Her music does grow on you a bit but there is almost no chance I’ll give it any more than the time already given to her. 1.5/5 as it’s not the absolute worst thing I’ve heard.
Annoyed at first that this wasn’t on Spotify but found on YouTube. Now I’m glad it’s not on Spotify so I don’t have a song to add to my 1001 playlist.
Astrud Gilberto
3/5
Nice to hear the lyrics to all the gold/elevator music! But honestly, very smooth, easy listening that goes with almost anything. The parade song sorta pulled the rug from under you in the middle, but it quickly settles down again. 3/5 not phenomenal but if you’re feeling like Austin Powers, then put this on, baby, yeah
The Velvet Underground
5/5
Definitely an avant-garde album that I can see would not be for everyone. But I thought this was great. Simple yet profound, shows you don’t need to overload with too many parts - less is more. ‘Heroin’ plays with the soundscape in a way that makes you feel desperation and euphoria. Maybe this hit me on a good day, and an argument could be made to lower the rating, but giving 5 stars today
Stevie Wonder
4/5
I enjoy Stevie Wonder and absolutely love ‘Superstition’. This was a nice listen, forgot how diverse the sounds were in his music. Certainly a lot of deeper interest within the music. 4.25/5
Emmylou Harris
3/5
Nice but fairly predictable country, enjoyable listen. Couple songs I liked a lot, a few I didn’t like. Down the middle, 3/5
Gary Numan
4/5
I really enjoyed this, the synth/pop feel with maybe just a touch of electronic, just seemed so cool. First opening I really didn’t know what to expect, but the 1:08 went incredibly fast for me. I only had heard ‘Cars’ before today but some others seemed familiar. 4/5
Bob Marley & The Wailers
4/5
Enjoy Marley’s reggae even though I’m not too familiar. I see in the comments that the lyrics have a bit more depth but as usual my ears treat the vocals as an instrument far more than commentary. Easy to zone out and imagine chilling on the beach, drunk and/or high, which is a welcome fantasy on so many days! 3.5/5
The Cure
3/5
This album has a much more dark and sinister feel than the Cure songs I’m familiar with. Subtly complex, decent hooks. Songs blended together a bit, didn’t really love the drum sound with the echo, made everything feel much muddier than it really was. 3.25/5
Morrissey
4/5
Really nice production balance, nice variety between tracks. Pretty unfamiliar with Morissey/The Smiths so can’t really comment like other reviewers, but this was pretty good. Enjoyed the heavier stuff a bit more but liked the satire humor in others. 3.75/5
Dirty Projectors
1/5
This entire album is the band standing on their soapbox screaming “look how quirky and interesting we are!” I guess my question is, who gave them a soapbox? This was awful.
Beck
4/5
The summary says “themes of heartbreak, desolation, solitude, and loneliness”… well it’s certainly palpable, not only in the lyrics and vocal performance, but in the dissonance throughout. Great production and balance. I remember Beck from back in the day, but didn’t know any of this album. 3.5/4
Drive Like Jehu
4/5
Really give a punk-rock Nirvana feel. Wasn’t sure how I’d feel about it as I haven’t given the best scores to punk albums but I really like it. Nice mix of sounds, time signatures and vocal performance make for an interesting listen. 3.5/5
Throwing Muses
3/5
Found on YouTube and therefore sound quality was a bit lacking.. seemed fairly stripped down and clean, I enjoy female-led alt/punk rock so I’m keen on this. Accessibility hurts this one a bit, 3.5/5 rounding down
The Dave Brubeck Quartet
4/5
Jazz smooth as butter! And this cool cat loved it
Bee Gees
3/5
This was a strange one. Orchestration was nice on some of the songs but incredibly jarring in other places. Iconic Bee Gees vocal sounds, I really couldn’t get into this album. I have had ‘Odessa’ earlier where I could sense their ambition, which made it better than this. 2.5/5
Morrissey
3/5
Twice in a week, after never hearing before.. this is a decent little album, a bit boring for me but still middle of the road. Adding “More you ignore me…” to my 1001 playlist. 3/5
Leftfield
3/5
Middle of the road electronics house music. Some cool beats, but got a little fatigue as it’s all pretty similar tempo. Great background music, and mixed very well
Rage Against The Machine
4/5
I’ve heard a couple of these before, but first time listening all the way through. Nice hybrid of the rock/metal instrumentals and hiphop/shouted vocals, yet keeping things fairly simple and clean & well balanced. 4/5
Parliament
4/5
Super fun and funky album. ‘Give up the Funk’ is a classic but there was plenty of great parts in the other songs. Final song ‘Night of the Thumpasorus Peoples’ was the only track that I didn’t particularly like, only for the weird synth bass part.
Bad Brains
4/5
Never heard of Bad Brains so idea what to expect, but this was cool. Nice blend of punk and metal, will definitely be exploring their catalogue. 3.75/5
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
3/5
Mediocre album, nothing too groundbreaking. It was ok but not clear why this is on the list. Am I missing something? 2.5/5
Can
3/5
Second CAN album, I enjoy this but it unfortunately becomes just background music for me. That being said, it’s amazing that this futuristic stuff was made this early. Certainly deserving of its place on the list 3.25/5
Rod Stewart
4/5
I’ve known a bunch of Rod Stewart songs, and these are no exception. Great variety of sounds within the album, good production. Got several different vibes throughout, like Tom Petty and Steven Tyler, but always clearly himself. Adding ‘Maggie May’ to my playlist as it’s arguably his greatest hit. 3.5/5
Sex Pistols
5/5
I’ve heard maybe half of these songs but never gave the album a full listen. This feels, to me, to be the quintessential punk album: the right amount of rock, anger, sloppiness, power vs restraint.. definitely earns its place on the list as I believe it was influential on many other groups, but I also can understand why some other listeners don’t like it - everyone has their own tastes. But for me this is an easy 4.5/5
Pink Floyd
5/5
Wow, this was definitely an encompassing task and felt much longer than the listed 1 hr 25; “The Wall” is itself a wall of soundscape and experience, in some places even a hurdle. But it’s filled with a gamut of emotions both up and down (touching on Pink Floyd’s theme of the music star’s experience). First time listening all the way through but I’m familiar with many of these tracks. Not my favorite PF album but still a great listen, 5/5
Michael Jackson
4/5
Another MJ album with several massive songs, but another that I haven’t ever listened straight through. There are a few filler songs that aren’t the best, and many tracks are a bit synth-heavy for me, but that just shows the album’s age. It’s easy to see how people could get caught up in the sensation and name Jackson the king of pop - each track is fun, phenomenally produced, and buried in layers of tremendous musicality. He, and the team behind him, are certainly masters of their craft. 4.25/5
Creedence Clearwater Revival
4/5
Fun album, I’ve heard some of these songs but others were new to me. Amazing to learn that this is the first of 3 albums they released that year. No bad songs here but a few were a bit long, 4/5
The Stooges
4/5
I have heard of Iggy Pop/Stooges but none of these songs sounded terribly familiar. I did enjoy the sound of the album: little bit punk, real grimy garage-style high intensity rock. 3.5/5
Van Morrison
3/5
I’m not the biggest fan of folk/singer-songwriter sort of albums. Although I did enjoy some parts, there were others that I didn’t. I think if I had a more laidback day this would be pushed to 4 stars, but didn’t really work while more hectic. 3/5
Motörhead
3/5
Total dad-rock but it was a fun listen. Nothing too outstanding to my ear. 3.25/5
Stephen Stills
4/5
Knew the first song ‘Love the one you’re with’ but this was full of nice tracks. Great mix of styles, it was easy to hold your interest throughout. Hard to choose a favorite song. Pleasantly surprised with this album as I was expecting to have a hard time with it
Beastie Boys
4/5
It’s possible that I haven’t given the Beastie Boys a fair shake, but this was much more sophisticated than I was thinking! Nice mix with different undercurrents of jazz, funk, punk, rock… not sure I would normally spin this all the way through, but once again that’s what I like about this 1001 challenge. Only knew ‘Sabotage’ but coming away with some new appreciation. 4.25/5
Rod Stewart
3/5
Middle of the road easy rock.. It seems like the pieces were there for this to be better but it just fell a bit flat. Nothing too exceptional, 3/5
Isaac Hayes
3/5
Haven’t watched Shaft but I do know of Isaac Hayes.. Fun album, jazzy and funky soul music, really nice listening. That being said, not sure why a movie soundtrack would be included on the list. I wish half ratings were a thing because although I’d like to score higher than a 3, it doesn’t quite reach 4 for me. 3.5/5
The Doors
5/5
Great debut album, I knew the hits but there was plenty of new tracks for me. I don’t remember ‘Light my Fire’ being as long as it was. 4.5/5 bit gonna round up
Todd Rundgren
4/5
This album sounds like a lot of fairly typical 70s ballad-style rock/pop music, but also contains much more on subsequent listening. In fact there is enough variety that I wonder why this collection was arranged into the (double) album as it loses its cohesiveness a bit. That being said, I believe Rundgren is quite groundbreaking as some of this material could fit in many subsequent eras, and it’s quite impressive that he was behind basically the entire arrangements, vocals, instruments, and production. This easy listening is simple enough for background music, but also sophisticated enough to delve into deeper. 4/5
Raekwon
2/5
Couldn’t get into this one, partially for the length.. 1.5/5
Ministry
5/5
Awesome! Hard rocking, I really enjoyed this. Not sure I’d go much longer than this length though, got a bit fatiguing by the end. Brand new but a new fave, 4.5/5
Jorge Ben Jor
4/5
Another awesome brand new artist courtesy of the 1001 project! Really fun funky samba. The fact that it was sung in Portuguese didn’t matter at all!
Willie Nelson
4/5
Very soothing and delicate covers. As famous as Willie Nelson is I have never listened to any of his albums, I quite enjoyed this. That being said, not sure how I feel about a cover compilation being on the list, would much rather hear something original - he did put his flair on it at least. 3.5/5
Silver Jews
3/5
New artist, reminded me of Crash Test Dummies. Not really interested at first but by the end (and second listen) I enjoyed it more. Subtly intricate in the background but I believe the singing would be the biggest turnoff for people. 3.35/5
Nas
4/5
Great listen, I enjoyed this more than many of the other hip-hop albums I’ve had so far. Super lyrical rapping but the samples and scratches are cool too. Heard of Nas but never listened to any of his music. You can really feel the gritty sounds of NY from the 90s
Simon & Garfunkel
5/5
Amazing harmonization, great songwriting, emotional performances… S&G are the complete package here. Hard to pick a favorite to add to my 1001 playlist, too many goodies.
The White Stripes
4/5
New album for me, although I know others by the White Stripes. Great mix of alt rock with a pinch of punk here and there. Shows how big a sound you can have while stripped way back instrumentally. 4/5
Depeche Mode
5/5
Knew a few of these songs, I’m realizing through the 1001 project I enjoy the synth-y futurism of new wave. Vocals are dark and ominous but fit so well with the production of the music. A couple songs weren’t my favorite but there were enough bangers that raise the score. 4.25/5 would listen any time
Cyndi Lauper
4/5
Super fun poppy album, but with a nice variety of styles at the same time. Some big hits here too. Her voice has always been a bit grating to me
Britney Spears
3/5
I believe this was influential on the pop genre, I remember how huge she was right out of the gate with this debut album. Certainly a blast from the past - a bunch of these songs I had completely forgotten about. Total bubblegum pop without much substance like much from the time, but the producers sure knew how to appeal to the masses
The Rolling Stones
3/5
Any time The Rolling Stones comes on, I roll my eyes a bit… always found them a bit overrated. They are a solid band, sure, and have stuck around. They do their blues-rock well, but lyrically it’s not aged well. The Spotify link sends the listener to the UK version, which eliminates their greatest hit “Paint it Black”.. To me this was ok but not great
Arcade Fire
3/5
I really like Arcade Fire but this album really didn’t do anything for me. Maybe it hit me on the wrong day.. added the title track to my playlist as no specific song jumped out at me
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
2/5
I just can’t get into Neil Young, his vocals ruin any song for me. This project sure wants to give me more and more chances to change my mind…
Primal Scream
4/5
First time with this band but I really liked it. Wide variety of styles, instrumentation, and overall super fun. Definitely looking more into them! 4/5
The Clash
5/5
Awesome album! Added a couple songs to my lists. Liked the variety of sounds and styles
Sam Cooke
5/5
Instant 5 stars when it comes to Sam Cooke! Heard some of his radio hits thru the years but really “discovered” him around 2005ish, instantly loved him.. nice change on this live album from his more whitewashed pop sound - makes sense that he was in the middle of the civil rights era
Fairport Convention
3/5
Gonna be honest, I think I got this album on the wrong day. I enjoyed this one fine, but didn’t appreciate as much as I should have (or would have on a less hectic day). Added ‘Who knows where the time goes’ to my 1001 playlist. Will need to revisit Fairport Convention in the future
Saint Etienne
3/5
Interesting in a way, but nothing so mind blowing that I would be scrambling to relisten unfortunately. Didn’t know what to expect from the outset but quickly became fairly typical Euro pop reminiscent of what I remember from the time
Gorillaz
4/5
I knew of Gorillaz but hadn’t listened to much of their material. Some interesting stuff here, I enjoyed 5/4, Clint Eastwood one of their biggest.. can’t say that it’s been one of my favorite albums from the project but I would listen again. 3.5/5
Neil Young
3/5
How many Neil Young albums are they going to throw at us?!? This one was better than the others I’ve had already (certainly the earliest yet from the catalog), with a few bigger hits, but other songs were just a chore.
Giant Sand
3/5
Hard to rate this one… I enjoyed the dreamy weirdness of some of the songs, some not so much, really loved a couple, really disliked others. So many things going on, some work and some fall flat. Gonna rate this 3/5 today but I could understand anyone’s ratings from 1-5 (because my feelings throughout the album and even some songs swung from 1-5). Fave song is ‘Astonished’ as it reminds me of Lord Huron with the female harmonies
Alice Cooper
4/5
Not what I was expecting outside the title track! Reminded me of the Doors, Aueen.. The jazz on ‘Blue Turk’ was out of the blue but so great. 4.25/5
Siouxsie And The Banshees
5/5
Awesome album, feel like I’ve heard of Siouxie Sioux but not sure if I had heard any of her music.. I’m a bit of a sucker for a female lead with a punk or metal sound, so this was great. 4.5/5
Beach House
5/5
Never heard the term “dream pop” before but it fits well! Really enjoyed this one, super chill. Fun play with time signatures, made things more interesting. 4.5/5
Peter Gabriel
3/5
Really hard to rate this album. Kept getting Phil Collins vibes, which makes sense now that I find out Gabriel was in Genesis! First listen I didn’t enjoy much as it was so scattered and incohesive, but subsequent listening I enjoy each song more.. gonna stick with 3/5 but I can understand any ratings 2-5
Meat Loaf
4/5
I have a distinct memory riding in the truck with my dad, going thru cassettes to play while driving out to go hunting, and seeing this. Don’t remember the music though, just the title and album art.. Anyway, this is dripping with excess but is pretty decent if you don’t take it too seriously. 3.5/5 not exactly my cup of tea but it was a good listen, some nice funny moments throughout helped too
The Zombies
5/5
Delightfully dreamy hippy pop music. I know of the Zombies name but it took a bit for me to place which songs I knew. Really enjoyed the album, nice harmonies like The Beach Boys but a little more subdued. Evokes different emotions well. 4.5/5
Dexys Midnight Runners
5/5
I enjoy new wave and I do love ‘Come on Eileen’ even though I’ve heard it a million times.. but this album was full of other great and fun songs. Prominent horn section throughout, I’m curious is this was part of an early ska scene. Unashamed 5/5 from me, really nice listen
Stevie Wonder
4/5
I enjoy Stevie Wonder but didn’t enjoy every one of these songs. And I don’t even have that good a reason.. that being said, still going 4/5 as he’s a great artist and really like the funky tracks
David Bowie
3/5
I enjoyed this album for ambient background music, but probably would not return to it. It’s all a bit too avant garde for me. I did enjoy it well enough, 3/5
Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart
3/5
Enjoyed the album as background, I could see myself revisiting. I like the more worldly met this cast, some pretty cool sounds explored.. 3.5/5 but I’m gonna round down as I didn’t find any single songs particularly stand out amazing, more good overall
Wire
5/5
First time hearing but I loved it! Maybe it’s a punk thing to have lots of short tracks, but it really serves as a nice intro Punk 101 sort of thing, cool riffs that don’t overwhelm/overstay. Also loved the production, gave it an underground feel, whether this is deliberate or showing its age doesn’t matter. 5/5
Leonard Cohen
3/5
Once again the singer-songwriter genre is lost on me. I did enjoy more on the second listen through, but it just seemed boring to me - whether this was Cohen’s dry monotone singing, stripped-down backing guitar and lack of ensemble, or my own ignorance and lack of appreciation, I don’t know exactly. I can understand why people may both love and hate this album. Quality musicianship, but I think I just need more. 2.5/5
The Slits
4/5
Looking at other ratings I wasn’t keeping my hopes up, but this was much better than I expected. Although it is categorized as punk it seemed much more island/reggae or ska (certainly for the first half). It was a fun listen and I enjoyed it, 3.5/5 but rating up as I don’t think this should average below 3
Afrika Bambaataa
3/5
I knew the name Africa Bambaataa but don’t remember hearing any of these tracks.. I think the electronic/hiphop hybrid works decently, and like some other early hiphop albums on the list I’m sure this was quite influential to the genre. 3.25/5 I enjoyed but not sure it’ll make regular repeats for me
Abdullah Ibrahim
3/5
Nice jazz, great grooves. Something about the recording sounded fuzzy/rattly, like a microphone with interference.. wasn’t constant but kept bringing me out of the moment (which hurts the rating unfortunately). Favorite track was ‘Manenburg revisited’ 3.5/5
Bob Dylan
4/5
Not the biggest singer/songwriter fan and not a diehard Bob Dylan fan, but this album was great! Certainly exceeded my expectations anyway. Storytelling was great, singing was much clearer than I had anticipated. And every song new to me but enjoyed. 4/5
Suzanne Vega
3/5
Didn’t think I knew any songs by Suzanne Vega, but turns out I did know her top hit “Tom’s Diner”… anyway, I enjoyed this album some, but it wasn’t exactly my cup of tea either. Favorite song by far was ‘Marlene on the Wall’, none of the others stood out to me. Average album, 3/5
Deerhunter
4/5
Waited a bit too long to start this album, after a long work day, so I was a bit tired and didn’t initially like what I was hearing. But realized I liked it much more on the second listen through! Never heard the term shoegaze before, but the dreamy ethereal songs seem to fit the definition I found. I’m a fan of alt/indie rock like this, I probably heard some Deerhunter songs without even realizing.. 4/5
Norah Jones
4/5
Beautiful silky voice, and chill yet sophisticated music that doesn’t overpower. I remember when this came out, and I didn’t give it much of a chance.. still not my favorite but enjoyed more than I thought. Standout songs ‘Don’t Know Why’, title track ‘Come Away With Me’, ‘Turn Me On’ 4/5
Gang Starr
3/5
I have heard of Gang Starr somewhere, although with my limited hiphop knowledge I don’t know where I know them from. I enjoyed this album enough, it was such a hectic day that my attention was divided and I don’t think I gave it enough, will have to revisit.
Spiritualized
5/5
Not sure what specifically about this albim, but I loved this! Something about the ethereal waves of sound, weird lyrics, experimenting with time signatures to make you feel like something isn’t quite normal.. unashamed 5 stars from me, this is the entire purpose of the 1001 project for me - explore different artists and genres, you never know what new favorite you’ll find!
Joy Division
5/5
Really liked how stripped back this is. Good mix of styles as well. No real standout songs to me, all were pretty solid. 4.5/5 still not sure if I’ll rate up or down yet.
Michael Jackson
4/5
Solid MJ album, some songs Ive heard and some new to me.
Neil Young
1/5
Yet another Neil Young album full of songs that have potential but are instantly ruined by his awful vocals. Please stop!
The Allman Brothers Band
5/5
Really enjoy jam sessions like these, although I can understand others may not. I regularly play long tracks from Grateful Dead, phish, Allman brothers, Pink Floyd… so track lengths didn’t bother me either. 4.5/5 rating up
Kraftwerk
5/5
Really cool album, enjoyed very much. I was familiar with ‘The Robots’ but not the others.
Miles Davis
3/5
Album was certainly full of talent, but 2 20min jazz songs are a big step up in effort for beginners, which hurts the ratings I believe. 3.5/5 but not sure I would seek this out again
System Of A Down
5/5
Listened to this one a lot back in the day, was certainly a throwback. Liked the production, and a how they would change tempos and styles throughout added a lot of interest to the tracks. 4.5/5 rounding up for nostalgia
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
3/5
This was ok but got a bit repetitive and overstayed its welcome. Favorite song came at the very end with ‘O Children’ which was a little too late for me. On another day it MAY have gone higher but for now I’m going a straight 3/5
Kanye West
3/5
For as much as Kanye has been in the limelight for as long as he has, I really don’t know any of his music. And unfortunately, none of these tracks particularly spoke to me.. much like most of the hiphop genre. 3/5
Solange
2/5
Not too much to say about this album. Listened to it while cleaning and didn’t realize it had looped back and replayed a couple tracks.. nothing too bad about the album but it was just so… blah. 2.5/5 but rating down as I wouldn’t listen again and don’t feel I will be missing out
The Vines
5/5
Hadn’t heard of the Vines before but I loved this album! Another one introduced by the 1001 challenge that I may not have found 4.5/5
Iggy Pop
4/5
Enjoyed each of these songs, although ‘Sweet 16’ was a bit gross.. all in all a classic 70s brit rock album 4/5
Isaac Hayes
2/5
Halfway through ‘Walk on By’ I thought, nice funky-soulful groove, but maybe just a bit too long. And then I got to ‘…Phoenix’ and I realized I had no idea. Shame that half the songs overstayed their welcome, it would be higher. Great voice, good music, but track length sinks this album. Music 4/5, length 2/5
Blondie
4/5
Lot of great songs in this one album! Think I knew 2 of these but all were good. In my head I thought Blondie sounded more disco, guess I was remembering it differently. 4/5
Van Halen
5/5
Another huge album by Van Halen! Some great songs here but still some new to me. Great energy, wicked guitars, all in all a fun listen with no bad songs. 4.5/5 but gotta round up due to so many hit songs
Red Hot Chili Peppers
4/5
Great album with some great hits! And I do enjoy 90s alt-rock. Didn’t really have any songs that were too bad, although my opinion is the album length hurt itself a bit. Even with a nice variety of sounds and styles I did get a bit bored. Probably would be a 5 star rating if it was cut down to even 45-50 minutes but as it was, 4.25/5
Green Day
5/5
Always been a fan of Green Day and heard many of these songs, but think that was my first full listen thru the album
Tracy Chapman
3/5
Something about singer/songwriters just puts me off, I don’t know what it is.. great voice and soothing music. Only knew ‘Fast Car’ but ‘Talking about a Revolution’ was another favorite. 3.25/5
Lorde
4/5
Love Lorde’s voice and style.. this was a bit depressing album but was her intent so can’t really fault it much.
Fiona Apple
5/5
Knew and liked ‘Criminal’ from back on MTV but really the first time delving into any of Fiona Apple’s catalog. This was a fantastic album! Really liked each song, great variety but also worked well together. I’ve been missing out! 5/5
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
1/5
I can understand artists experimenting, pushing their boundaries, and/or trying something different… but this is just bad. In fact I’d be worried for their clearly drug-addled brains if this wasn’t from 55 years ago and they’re all most likely dead now. A chore to get through, unashamed 1/5
Steely Dan
5/5
Not a bad song in here, and some huge hits as well? Easy 5/5. Easy listening but there are some sneakily sophisticated parts too.
Elliott Smith
4/5
Soothing album, didn’t dislike any tracks but none of them jumped out at me for being so amazing I want to listen all the time.. so for that gotta go 4/5. I will probably explore more of Elliot Smith’s catalog
Beatles
5/5
Awesome Beatles album, liked this one more as tracks were a bit more melodic and sophisticated than their earlier bubblegum pop songs. Liked the A-side a little more but was also familiar with the songs, but enjoyed the entire album.
A Tribe Called Quest
4/5
Said it before that I’m not a huge hip-hop fan, but if I need to listen I would choose Tribe Called Quest! I enjoy the old-school hiphop with the laid back vibe. 3.5/5 but rounding up as it was nice chillin’ with the Tribe today
Supergrass
5/5
Really enjoyed this one, had a nice mix of rock, punk, alternative pop.. sure I have heard a few of these tracks before but could only remember ‘Alright’
The War On Drugs
5/5
Longer tracks that leave room to breathe and explore the atmospheric soundscape. Album hit me on the perfect day, although I feel I would have enjoyed anyhow. Gives me Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen vibes.
ZZ Top
4/5
Thought I would enjoy this more as I was expecting more rock songs like their later catalog, but this was a good listen still. ‘La Grange’ has one of the best guitar riffs still
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
4/5
First track really threw me, I did not like the sound. But I enjoyed the rest of the album (why do I like new-wave so much?). This was more of a background album as I was pretty busy. Going 4/5 as ‘New Stone Age’ was a turnoff
ABBA
5/5
Like most other ABBA, it’s super fun whether you want to admit it or not!! Knew a couple songs but many were new to me. 4.5/5
The United States Of America
4/5
Certainly interesting album, and not at all what I was expecting after reading some of the reviews.. much better than I was led to believe. Quite strange, and quite a wide variety in sounds. 3.5/5 rounding up as it’s too low globally, however not sure I’d seek it out again. Thanks to the 1001 project for bringing it to my attention, wouldn’t have found this otherwise
Arcade Fire
4/5
Hard time deciding where to rate this.. I enjoyed it quite a bit but no tracks really jumped out at me as being amazing, but liked some aspects in each song. 3.5/5 but since u have other Arcade Fire songs in my rotation I’ll give them the benefit and round up
The Police
3/5
I know a few Police songs but not many.. never heard of them as “white reggae” but now I’ll never forget it!!! Appreciate the sophistication within the music, but they’ve never been my cup of tea. 3/5
Madness
4/5
Link went not to a full album, found the self-titled “Madness” had all the correct songs. Pretty good album with lots of layering, seems pretty underrated. I did know ‘Our House’ 3.5/5
Suicide
3/5
On my first listen, I enjoyed track 1 well enough but each song after dropped my opinion more and more. But listening a second time through gave me a better appreciation. Mixture of being amped up, depressive lack of energy, and descent into madness.. Reviews are all over the place (musical tastes are subjective). Least favorite song is ‘Girl’. Going 3/5
Harry Nilsson
3/5
Pretty decent album, a little too easy-listening for my tastes but no bad tracks. ‘Coconut’ is embedded in pop culture but I always thought it was a bit overrated. 3.25/5
Jimmy Smith
3/5
Super smooth jazz! That being said, got this in a day I was running around crazy, would have been better to be able to chill with this on a dreary day. 3.25/5
CHVRCHES
3/5
This album did not blow me away. Seemed pretty mid-tier electropop without any standout tracks for my taste. Decent sound, wish I enjoyed it more than I did.
Black Sabbath
3/5
This was probably remarkably heavy for the time, it seems relatively tame with so many heavier genres today. I knew of Black Sabbath but had only heard bits of ‘NIB’ all the other tracks were brand new. 3.25/5 decent rock but not sure I’d seek it out again. I can imagine this influenced many musicians
Eagles
4/5
Classic songs by a classic band.
Franz Ferdinand
4/5
‘Take me Out’ was a huge song but I didn’t know any others. The sound feels nostalgic but still sounds good. I appreciate when songs have some room to breathe rather than a wall of lyrics crammed together (this album does decently). Variety of styles between tracks. 3.5/5
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
3/5
My only experience with Captain Beefheart is “Trout Mask Replica” so when I saw this album today, my heart dropped. But this was not what I expected. Sure there are still some quirky experiments going on, but in a more accessible format. Nice changes in time, tempo, and style really make for an interesting listen. 2.5/5
Machito
5/5
Super fun jazz, fat horns and awesome rhythm. Really good 4.5/5
3/5
I thought this was okay but many of the tracks seemed quite flat. Didn’t want to turn it off but wouldn’t seek out again. 3/5
XTC
3/5
I enjoyed the sound of XTC, I thought they were a new band for me but after checking their page I realized I did know “Mayor of Simpleton” (their Spotify #5) and could then hear it throughout. Another album I wish could have half-star ratings.. 3.25/5 rounding down as no tracks jumped out at me
Talking Heads
4/5
I knew some songs from the Talking Heads but this album had a bit more David Bowie-ness than I expected (maybe this is their typical sound and I just know the new-wave ‘hits’). Fun listen, 4/5
Radiohead
5/5
Don’t know many Radiohead songs, although I am familiar. This was great right off the bat, ‘15 step’ grabs your interest with the unique time signature. Great production, great layering of sounds, ambiance.. really nice album! Certainly owe them a dive into their catalog - I’ve been missing out
Rahul Dev Burman
3/5
Nice to get some more world music from this list. Curious that the selection was a soundtrack and how it compared to other mainstream music at the time, and the rationale choosing this. 3.5/5 but rating down as I don’t think I would search this album out again
David Bowie
3/5
I like David Bowie well enough, and this album is no exception. I liked it better in a second listen. 3.5/5
Fairport Convention
5/5
I really enjoyed this, although upon seeing the album art I could have sworn I had reviewed this one before (must have recently discovered it on my own somehow). Loved the traditional sounds, while also incorporating the sounds of the 60s in a more accessible manner. Soothing, sad, funny, this had it all. Beautiful smooth vocals, laid back melodies.. just great! 4.5/5
Bob Dylan
3/5
I wish I enjoyed Dylan more, but I just feel ambivalent about his music… there are many others here that could tell about how great an artist he is, but it’s just okay to me. 3.5/5
ABBA
4/5
ABBA is great here once again, despite none of their massive hits being on this album. Vocals/harmonies are incredible, production is stellar. Nice easy listening. 4.25/5
Radiohead
3/5
I liked a lot of the sounds in this album, but didn’t really enjoy the album.. maybe it came on the wrong day and I wasn’t in the right headspace for what Radiohead was trying to do here. Possibly too experimental for my brain today. Gonna go 3 stars but will need to revisit in the future
Fats Domino
3/5
Nice music, feel like I’ve heard many of these songs over the years.
Bon Jovi
5/5
Some of these other reviewers need to get their nose out of the air, their head out of their asses, and stop taking music (and themselves) so seriously. Is this the absolute peak of music?? No, but welcome to the music industry. They find what sells and duplicate to oblivion!
With multiple tracks with over a billion plays on Spotify, this is a mega album. It’s fun, high energy, nice solos. I think I’d typically rate this 4/5 but I’m rating up to stick it to the sticks-in-the-mud that think they’re too good for this hair metal.. screw them
Christina Aguilera
2/5
Second C.A. Album for the project, and once again it wasn’t awful but it’s just not my thing. She has a tremendous voice but seems to be a bit one-trick flourishing every phrase over similar pop music, and it gets tiring quickly. Although I’m not sure, I assume this project was a bit of a deviation from true pop-singing for her, but why was this released as a double album? Because I have no idea
Rufus Wainwright
2/5
This was a strange album… I enjoyed parts but it almost seemed as if Wainwright was pressing the “unique” factor. Also, he has a great singing voice but to me, he came across as almost entirely cold and disinterested, even when the music suggested otherwise. 2.5/5 but rounding down as I would not listen again
Willie Nelson
3/5
I enjoyed how sparse this album sounded - it allows Willie Nelson’s voice and lyrics to come to the forefront and not stand on their own. This risk not to hide behind instrumentals and production worked here! Simple and clean. I’m not often into country music but Willie is, deservedly, one of the great legends of the genre. 3.25/5
Merle Haggard
3/5
I knew the name Merle Haggard but hadn’t listened to any of his music. Classic country that’s stood the test of time
Bobby Womack
3/5
Another from the project where I have heard of the artist but haven’t listened to any music! Nice tracks that blend soul, funk, r&b. I enjoyed the album enough, but seemed a bit dated, wasn’t really my groove today. 3.25/5
Elvis Costello
3/5
This album was average, nothing terrible but nothing jumped out at me. I thought throughout that I wanted to be enjoying it more but something kept me holding out.
Keith Jarrett
5/5
I know the name Keith Jarrett but I don’t know where I would have heard it.. I’m a bit of a sucker for piano lately, certainly one played so magnificently. You can tell by some of his noises in the background, that he is truly passionate and loves what he is doing, and this makes the recording all the better. Amazing improvisation: Seems some parts were somewhat exploratory, where others he knew just where he was going. Another great album I may not have discovered, courtesy of the 1001 project!!
Nina Simone
4/5
New one for me, I may have heard Nina Simone in passing but didn’t recognize any of the top Spotify tracks.. I feel like I probably missed some civil rights masking in the lyrics but it was pretty enjoyable. 3.5/5 but rounding up
The Smiths
4/5
Enjoyable to me, although I understand the people that don’t like the Smiths so much. 3.5/5
The Cure
4/5
Had this on while painting, I probably listened through 3-4 times. Really enjoyed this, 4/5
Ali Farka Touré
4/5
I really like when world music comes up on the project, as it’s typically something wholly new for me. You can tell this is music played for the love of it. It is by no means perfect, but it’s better for its flaws. Touré is a wonderful guitarist, and the music as an experience really brings your imagination to life and transports you anywhere
The Mothers Of Invention
4/5
Weird but I liked it. I’ve heard of Frank Zappa but pretty sure I’ve never heard any of his songs
Violent Femmes
4/5
I knew ‘Blister in the Sun’ very well from the past, but unfortunately for me I hadn’t heard any others on the album! I really liked the stripped back sound, really a pioneer of the alternative grungy style that came later. 4.25/5
Duke Ellington
4/5
Great album by a master of the craft! The length hurts this one, as well as the fact it’s live (doesn’t bother me much but it will to some). Hard to pick a favorite for my 1001 playlist
Gene Clark
4/5
This was much better than expected, it’s a shame this wasn’t well received when it came out. No bad songs
Heaven 17
2/5
I really wanted to like this, but it was as if they were trying too hard. They wanted to experiment with different things, liked it, and then stacked everything on top of each other. The bass player had some funk! 2.5/5 rounding down as I believe there are examples from the time that were doing similar things in a better way.
N.W.A.
4/5
Enjoyed this well enough, although I thought it dragged out a bit too long. Incredibly influential and was the beginning of many successful careers. Heard a bunch of these before but never listened in its entirety. Album is a product of its time and circumstance. 3.5/5
Pet Shop Boys
2/5
Heard of the group before but don’t think I’d be able to name any of their songs.. I wanted to like this more, but something was just unsettling to me. No terrible but I would not seek this one out again.
Liz Phair
3/5
I enjoyed this well enough, she reminded me of someone but I couldn’t/still can’t place it. Favorite track was ‘Never Said’
Funkadelic
3/5
Reading all the raving reviews makes me think that I missed something here.. this album was fine but forgettable in my opinion. I get experimentalism but feel like this could have been better. 3/5
King Crimson
4/5
Pretty good album, I know I’ve seen/listened to some of this but not straight through. There were some times where the mix levels felt off, like the drums were too loud in relation to vocals, etc.
Daft Punk
4/5
Really like Daft Punk and this album, but the length and repetitiveness hurt this some. That comes with the genre though; sampling and layering.
The Yardbirds
4/5
Nice album, I was busy all day so although I “listened” all the way through twice it wasn’t a very deep delve.. 3.5/5 but I will need to revisit this
Creedence Clearwater Revival
4/5
Another great CCR album that brings a couple huge hits and plenty of other soulful country-rock tunes along with them. This is the second of the three ‘69 albums for me during this project, looking forward to the other!
Deep Purple
5/5
Really fun energetic album. Guess I’m the age that enjoys the lame dad rock that other reviewers hated.. plenty here to enjoy. 4.5/5
Manic Street Preachers
5/5
I loved this album! Brand new artist, I’ve been missing out. Will definitely be digging into their catalog more
Lou Reed
3/5
A bit droll and dry, reminded me of Leonard Cohen. Not really my thing usually, but this album was more interesting than I would have thought. I had heard “Wild Side” before, and it is probably the big hit here, but I preferred ‘Perfect Day’
Madonna
4/5
Couple huge hits here, some decent songs, and some filler (like some of the Michael Jackson albums I’ve had on the project). When you’re such a sensation and putting out lots of music, they won’t all be hits. Can hear Prince’s influence on ‘Love Song’ for sure. Solidly 4/5
The Thrills
4/5
Played through twice while working but again, I don’t feel like I got a great “listen”… really liked the style, this is a brand new artist for me. Indie feel, reminded me a bit like Guster. 3.5/5
The Who
2/5
Usually love the Who but this was just too weird. Great vocal harmonies for songs that are pretty stupid. My opinion and probably rating continues to drop after each track. Not sure this album is one that you must listen to before you die… 2.5/5 rounding down as I would be ok not listening again.
Great band, but not a great album this time around
The Band
3/5
Not my first time with the Band but is my first time with the album. Nice chill music, 3.25/5
Beck
5/5
Didn’t recognize any song titles but I sure knew the tracks as soon as they played! Great mix of styles and sounds, really good album! I didn’t love every track but having a hard time finding negatives, would easily listen again, and therefore giving it 5/5
Paul Simon
4/5
First time with this Paul Simon album. ‘Call me Al’ is probably his biggest song and I’m sure I’ve heard a couple of the other tracks as well. This probably deserves 5 stars from me but there’s something about Simon that rubs me wrong.. great voice, great songwriting.
Earth, Wind & Fire
3/5
Funky groove, easy to listen to. Not my main cup of tea but a good listen every so often. 3.25/5
The Jesus And Mary Chain
5/5
At first I had a hard time with the feedback sounds on some of the tracks, but the more I listen the more I love this! Tended to enjoy the dreamier showcase tracks more but the more punkish songs grew on me.
Missy Elliott
2/5
I remember Missy Elliot was pretty influential in the genre for promoting female artists, so I expected much more from this album. It was mediocre at best, and totally forgettable. No songs stuck out to me as great, and the album being on this list is questionable. Too long/too many tracks. 1.5/5
Bob Dylan
2/5
I know Bob Dylan is a prolific singer and songwriter, but I guess I missed the boat. Never been too impressed with his style of music and this is no different. 2/5
Björk
3/5
This was an ok album. I was hoping for something a bit deeper but felt is was pretty straightforward euro pop music. I didn’t have time for a second listen so maybe I missed some complexity. 3/5
The Undertones
5/5
I really liked this album! The warble in the voice was grating on a couple songs but made it more unique. Also likes how they didn’t take themselves to seriously and had fun lyrics/subjects. Nice hooks as well. 4.5/5
Primal Scream
4/5
Started off loving this but it quickly faded into the background. But I think it’s because I was too busy and overtired to give it my full attention, not that it was boring. Will need to revisit this album but rating 4/5 for today
The xx
4/5
Liked many parts of this album, although stylistically it will always become background music. Not terribly complicated and somewhat predictable. First time with this band but I’d listen again. 4/5
Brian Eno
3/5
Another album that suffers from my busyness. Didn’t feel strongly one way or the other. Masterful musicianship but it was kinda weird and stylistically broad
Pixies
5/5
Loved this band! Can’t believe I’ve been missing out on them for so long (I have probably heard some of their hits before)
Songhoy Blues
5/5
This was some fantastic music that I would have never found outside the 1001 project! Easy to listen to, great sound production. Such an easy 5/5 from me
Pretenders
5/5
I’ve heard a couple of their big hits but haven’t gone too deep on the Pretenders - I definitely need to look into their catalog more. This was a great album, certainly more matured than debut albums tend to be. Great sound production that can be both bright and dark, love the vocals, just a great overall package. 4.5/5
Tito Puente
3/5
Nice album if you want non-stop mambo.. great musicianship, nice vocals. Got a bit repetitive, but worth listening to this. 3/5
Joe Ely
4/5
I didn’t realize this was from the 70s at first, I thought it was contemporary with a throwback sound to seem more classic. Great production, great variety with some of the tracks. Added ‘Boxcars’ to the list but liked ‘Cornbread Moon’ as well. 3.5/5
Lauryn Hill
3/5
I remember this being pretty big when it came out, but I didn’t give it much credence. Listening now, it was okay but not mind blowing. Went on too long and too many skits in my opinion. Definitely not as awful as some of the reviews I read. 3/5
The Specials
3/5
This was all over the place.. my first listen was probably around a 2.5 but subsequent listens grew on me and I enjoyed it more. 3.25/5
Bob Dylan
4/5
This album was better than some of the other Dylan albums I’ve had during the project so far.
Circle Jerks
5/5
I was worried seeing a low rating, and for the first 10 seconds of the first track I really wasn’t sure what I thought. Another 10 seconds I was into it. And I absolutely loved it before the end of the playtime, and gladly let it run through again. Gritty, heavy, humorous, great musicianship hiding behind the yelling, and the playtime was perfect - enough to get to the point and not waste any more time.
I’ve had plenty of bloated albums by now, and this album shows that more doesn’t mean better and in fact can mean worse. I would normally rate this 4-4.25/5 but I’m rating up as the current global 2.7 is too low. Not my typical musical genre but this was fucking great
David Bowie
4/5
I waited a bit too late in the day to give this a fair shake. I’ve never been a massive Bowie fan, but this was enjoyable enough. ‘Heroes’ was my favorite track, song wise, but I enjoyed getting lost in the ambiance of the B-side, especially ‘Moss Garden’ and ‘Neukoln’. 3.5/5
Pet Shop Boys
3/5
I’ve had one other PSB album on the project and didn’t care for it much; this one was better in my opinion, although still not my cup of tea. I tended to enjoy the music more than the vocals. Added ‘So Hard’ to my playlist, I also liked ‘Jealousy’. 3/5
Bruce Springsteen
2/5
This got repetitive real fast. Quite a boring album, not the greatest day to listen to this driving in heavy traffic with too little sleep. Gotta give this 2/5 as I don’t see listening again
The Flaming Lips
5/5
Randomly saw the Flaming Lips at Milwaukee’s Summerfest several years ago, and they played Yoshimi. Although this is the only song from this album I knew, I’ve been listening to a smattering of their songs ever since.
This was a great album to hear complete! Simplistic structure in some ways but quite deep lyrically and complex upon careful listening.
The Pogues
4/5
Love good Irish music, and I’ve listened to the Pogues here and there before. Not my favorite with the gravelly vocals but really enjoyed the how the influences taken from other cultures (Turkish, Spanish) meshed. Also enjoyed the collabs with the Dubliners as I’ve listened and enjoyed their music as well. ‘Fairytale of New York’ looks to be their biggest hit, also adding the traditional ‘Shanne Bradley’ to my playlist, just beautiful. 4.25/5
5/5
I, like many, knew a bunch of these songs, and knew as soon as I saw it that I would rate this album pretty high. Whether this is nostalgia or musical tastes, deserving or not, is obviously subjective. Couple new tracks to me.. I’m not an expert in the Beatles catalog but this album seems to mark a stylistic shift in their music, moving towards the psychedelic and expanding influences.
The Verve
4/5
Pretty good album with a massive hit that overshadows some other pretty decent tracks. I liked the atmospheric quality of the songs, may lend itself more to background music. 3.75/5
Jeff Buckley
3/5
I know of Jeff Buckley, I’m assuming it’s due to his cover of ‘Hallelujah’ but I’m not really sure. This album was alright, I didn’t dislike it but really didn’t love it either. Appreciated the cover of ‘Lilac Wine’ by Nina Simone that I remember from earlier in my 1001 project. 3/5 middle of the road
Frank Sinatra
3/5
I’m torn on this rating, as Sinatra has an exceptional voice but the songs all seemed to blend together. Yes this was a good album but they didn’t seem to be taking any chances to make great music - songs were tailored to fit one crooning style, rinse and repeat. As great as Sinatra is, this wasn’t very interesting
The Mars Volta
3/5
Appreciate the concept and chances taken with this album, makes listening much more interesting and fun. Favorite track was ‘Roulette Dares’. 3/5 wasn’t my favorite but still enjoyable
Adele
4/5
Several great hits on this album! Excellent voice, nice catchy melodic hooks, nice production.. pretty overplayed for a while there, but glad I never listened to Adele too much so I could enjoy this album today. 4/5
Iron Butterfly
2/5
Wasn’t very interesting to me, pretty repetitive sound-wise. I thought I would enjoy this more than I did, and would choose other bands/albums of the era before this. Not real inspiring
Aerosmith
4/5
Pretty chill classic rock, I didn’t know any of these tracks but I’m familiar with Aerosmith’s sound. No songs really stood out to me as amazing but none were bad, 4/5
Soul II Soul
2/5
I did not feel very engaged while listening to this. Seemed quite repetitive with the beats (and remixes of songs) and overall was pretty boring.
Simon & Garfunkel
5/5
I’ve listened to this album before, but it’s always been enjoyable. Several big hits for S&G, and the rest are still great examples or what made them so popular. Amazing harmony, great songwriting.. 4.5/5
Talking Heads
3/5
This album was fine, a bit repetitive but easy enough to listen. Only knew ‘Take me to the River’. 2.5/5 middling album
Leonard Cohen
2/5
Not a big fan of Cohen.. sure he’s a great lyricist but his songs are quite boring. Sorry Lenny
David Bowie
3/5
Decent listen but nothing too outstanding. 3/5
The Divine Comedy
4/5
Got nervous after seeing some of the reviews, but I was pleasantly surprised with this. Brand new to me, I was into the strange comedic lyrics, very well produced, this is much more solid album than the ratings give it credit for. 3.75/5
Michael Kiwanuka
5/5
I really liked this album! New artist to me, was a really cool fusion of different styles, really felt timeless. 4.5/5 would definitely listen again
Kings of Leon
3/5
Kings of Leon reminds me of Neil Young - some good music brought down by the vocal performance. Of course it is their style and there will be some that love it, it’s all subjective. I have a couple random obscure KoL songs saved on different playlists, but I didn’t really love any on this album. 2.5/5
Muddy Waters
4/5
Know the name and probably heard some of his music, but this was a great soulful blues album. Musicianship was top notch. 4.25/5
Sufjan Stevens
5/5
Stylistically and melodically varied, ethereal, plays with tempo and time signatures to add interest… this is a very good album! I have heard some of his songs before, but nothing from this album. At first I thought there were parts that were a bit too avant garde for me but through a second listen I enjoyed each song more. 4.5/5
Wilco
3/5
This seems like something that I should like more than I did… it probably came to me on the wrong day. Will need to revisit
Green Day
5/5
Pretty easy 5/5 for me! Really enjoy Green Day in general, but this was a pretty formative album for me. Well produced, great sound, bringing (pop) punk to the mainstream.
David Holmes
2/5
This was not that great… quite basic electronica that went on overly long and didn’t hold my attention.
Various Artists
3/5
Nice collection of Christmas songs, can tell Spector had his hands in it with the “wall of sound” throughout, many of these still in heavy rotation even now. 3.25/5
Public Image Ltd.
2/5
Even though there were many things I didn’t like about this album, I really enjoyed the bass sound and production. Favorite song was ‘Swan Lake’ but many cool bass licks throughout. Vocals took this down a bit, and things were a bit overlong. I enjoyed this more the longer I listened but not really my cup of tea
Radiohead
5/5
This was a cool album, I don’t think I was in the right headspace to enjoy this to its full extent, and yet I still enjoyed, and won’t hesitate to take on a deeper listen. Exemplary production, quite sophisticated melodically.. I understand others’ issues with the vocals, but it seemed to underscore the themes and lend itself to the ambiance. 4.5/5
Bill Callahan
4/5
No idea what to expect with this coming in, but I liked it more than I thought. Categorized as country which doesn’t seem quite right but I don’t know what else it should be. Plenty of interesting songwriting/production decisions that add interest. Had a hard time choosing my favorite track. 3.5/5
The National
3/5
Having a hard time with this rating, I need to give it a deeper listen. I tended to like it more after some time with it.. giving it 3/5 for now
Eagles
5/5
Always felt an irrational hate for the Eagles, not really sure where it came from. And upon seeing this album today, I was sorta hoping for it to be worse so I could rate it down a bit… however, the production was phenomenal, masterful instrumentals, soulful clear vocals, this really is a great album. 4.5/5
George Harrison
4/5
I enjoyed many of these songs, certainly the style of them. I think Harrison was out to prove that he was more than just a Beatles backup, and he went too far here. Not necessarily in quality, but quantity and length. Had this been a single album with a more curated tracklist, I probably would have given this 5/5. Well done, George, but this was too long.
John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers
3/5
Decent blues album, nothing blew me away but was fine. A bit square compared to other blues I’ve heard
Hüsker Dü
3/5
REM vibe for sure, felt slightly worse production/musicianship but still entertaining. Needed to play with Spotify equalizer a bit
The Rolling Stones
5/5
Bookended by 2 huge songs, but the meat of the album was still pretty enjoyable. Hard time rating this, 4.5/5
Kid Rock
3/5
This album is not great, but doesn’t deserve to be in the bottom 10. It’s listenable, although I tend to hear the music above the lyrics.. 2.5/5
N.E.R.D
3/5
This was ok, not my favorite but did grow on me as it went
The Doors
3/5
Wanted to like this one more than I did. 3.25/5
Willie Colón & Rubén Blades
5/5
Great collection of fun dance songs here, love hearing new non-English albums! Amazing musicianship, great vocal performance, overall very fun listen!!
The Temptations
3/5
I thought I would enjoy this more than I did. The talent was there but something about the tracks just didn’t resonate with me as much as other Temptations songs have. Middle of the road 3/5
The Kinks
3/5
This was entertaining enough, but didn’t terribly hold my interest. Seemed to be an album made up of tracks from the cutting room floor, ones that were decent but didn’t quite make a previous record. 3/5
Buena Vista Social Club
3/5
Decent Spanish album, a bit slower than I would have liked, but a solid listen. 3.25/5
Paul Simon
3/5
I was excited to see Paul Simon today but I was a bit let down with this one, I typically enjoy his songs more than I did these. They were okay tracks, just no real big hits.
The White Stripes
5/5
Lot of great tracks here! Love how stripped back this is, but sounds so huge at the same time.
Beastie Boys
5/5
Great album, many of the Beastie Boys songs I know are from this album so it was fun to listen again. 4.5/5
Ray Price
3/5
Absolutely hated the introduction, it was completely unnecessary. The tracks themselves were fine, although not really my thing. Great vocals. Didn’t love it but easily tolerable, 2.75/5
The Byrds
4/5
Enjoyed this album, although it became more background music as I got busy. No standout massive hits but all tracks were pretty decent, nice lyrical imagery. 3.5/5
Roxy Music
3/5
From the start I thought I would enjoy this quite a bit, but as I went on and during a second listen I actually liked it less. Was decent and didn’t mind for background music but it didn’t hold my interest too much
Fleet Foxes
3/5
Reading some of the reviews I was hoping I would enjoy this one more. Decent background songs but I was overtired on a bumpy flight so it may have suffered from my atmosphere. I’ll need to revisit Fleet Foxes, I usually enjoy indie music
Mariah Carey
2/5
Never been much of a fan of vocalists warbling non-stop arpeggios, as opposed to enhancing the song tastefully… unfortunately Mariah is one of the poster children of these show-off singers. The songs themselves blended together with no standouts, album was altogether too long without enough variety. Not unlistenable, but not very pleasurable listening for me
Nitin Sawhney
3/5
Appreciate the effort in genre-fusion and typically enjoy the more worldly entries on the 1001 project. This really wasn’t holding my interest for a deep listen, but was decent background music. Unobtrusive electronica kept this from being overwhelming. 2.5/5
Nick Drake
4/5
Soothing and easy listening, musically interesting.
John Prine
3/5
Listened to this after a long day of travel so my heart wasn’t in it, but was nice inoffensive country folk to have playing in the background. Not typically my preferred genre but this album was nicer than I expected
The Dandy Warhols
5/5
Familiar with the Dandy Warhols and these songs didn’t disappoint. Tracks bled together a bit but overall this type of music is my bread and butter lately. 4.5/5
Scissor Sisters
4/5
So entertainingly weird! Not my first exposure to the Scissor Sisters, but my first full album. First listen I thought the ‘Comfortably Numb’ cover was awful but second listen seemed a bit better. 3.5/5
Eminem
4/5
Heard most/all these songs before but not sure I’ve ever listened to the album straight through. I was the demographic for Eminem’s rise, so nostalgia is influencing my rating.. but this hasn’t aged very well; that said, I can separate lyrics from reality, and so focus on the talent and production. 3.5/5 but need to decide to rate up or down still..
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
This album was entirely mediocre. It all blended together, relatively predictable lyrical choices, nothing jumped out at me as a hit. It was all fine and tolerable, but not great.
Baaba Maal
4/5
Always glad to hear some world music on the list and was enjoying at first, but it did drag on too long. Some really nice parts throughout, would have liked some of the later tracks cut but overall pretty good. Never would have found this outside the 1001 project, 3.5/5 rating up as I feel the global average is too low
Elliott Smith
5/5
Really enjoyed this, reminded me of a laid-back Guster. Super chill, perfect length to not overstay its welcome and easy for subsequent listens.
The Bees
4/5
Fun but weird album, pretty interesting. 4/5
The Verve
5/5
Waited too late and was pretty tired, but really liked this one. Nothing stood out specifically better than other tracks, but i thought all were equally solid. 4.5/5
Dolly Parton
4/5
Great storytelling as usual for Dolly, nice simple country with great production. Only knew the title track, the others seemed more like b-sides but were fine.
Black Sabbath
5/5
Was familiar with the big three on this album, but really enjoyed the entire thing. Awesome musicianship across the board, nice production that doesn’t muddy the heaviness of the rock. Perfect length where it’s not too bad to listen a second time, great album!
James Brown
3/5
This was entertaining enough, was a bit less funky than I was expecting. Didn’t know any of these tracks (at least not familiar with them). I’m guessing there would be better JB albums to put on this list, and maybe there are more. 3.25/5
Roxy Music
3/5
Similar to another Roxy Music album I’ve had here, I enjoyed the style of music but felt it was easy to tune out. Great background music, nice production. 3.25/5
Television
5/5
Never heard of this group but I really liked it. Nice mix of genres, great sound, totally surprised and happy to find a great new group from the 1001 project. 5/5
Skunk Anansie
5/5
Another new artist from the project that I really enjoyed. They really reminded me of Evinescense, and reading global reviews that seems to be correct. Will definitely be diving into their catalog now
King Crimson
4/5
Not my first exposure to King Crimson but this was my first time with this album.. I enjoyed this while sitting on the beach, so the wandering jam style fit the atmosphere. 4/5
The Sugarcubes
3/5
This was a fun novelty album to hear, but I probably won’t be digging too deep into the Sugarcubes. It was all fine, but nothing really jumped out at me as essential listening
Dexys Midnight Runners
4/5
Neat to hear the debut of a group that I’m somewhat familiar with but not deeply. Really like the horns and ska vibe, a few tracks I loved and 1 or 2 didn’t care for. 4/5
Led Zeppelin
5/5
Fantastic album full of huge hits, hard to pick a favorite for the 1001 playlist as there isn’t a bad choice. Great mastery in every part of this album, very easily 5/5, nothing else to say about it 🤘
The Velvet Underground
3/5
Didn’t like this as much as the last Velvet Underground album I had here, maybe I got this on the wrong day or am too worn out to listen with full attention. Or maybe other VU albums hit on a good day.
Ozomatli
3/5
Decent album, fun style and great background music for running errands today. 3.25/5
The Sabres Of Paradise
4/5
Many of the global reviews aren’t giving these tracks an honest shake.. electronica needs to be repetitive enough to continue adding layers to evolve, which will increase track length and therefore album length. Was this repetitive and overstay its welcome at over an hour? Sure, a bit. It’s a bit more simplified than more modern electronic dance songs, but it was a different time and different capabilities. Wasn’t my favorite album by any stretch, but the global rating is lower than it deserves. 3.5/5 rounding up
Ella Fitzgerald
2/5
Ella Fitzgerald has a great voice, and this was a nice anthology. But come on… this is supposed to be albums to listen to, and this was 6 discs long. There are so many other Fitzgerald albums that could have been included here instead. Protest vote of 2/5 even though this probably deserves 4 or 5 stars
T. Rex
3/5
Could recognize the sound of T Rex, but the tracks didn’t jump out at me as much as those of “Electric Warrior”… still, decent tracks of classic dad-rock, nice for background music. 3/5
Sparks
3/5
A weird album that I wish I would have listened a bit more carefully. I enjoyed what I heard despite how distracted I was, will definitely be revisiting. Giving 3/5 now but may increase the rating upon relistenimg
Blood, Sweat & Tears
4/5
Remember hearing a bunch of these songs in the past, so it was cool to hear the source album and rediscovering from forgotten memories.
Cowboy Junkies
3/5
I liked it right off the bat with her beautiful voice, but this album turned out to be too slow and relaxing for my tastes. I was dozing off halfway through, and it became a bit of a chore to finish. 3.25/5
Bad Company
3/5
I’ve heard the name Bad Company, but not familiar with any of their music. And seeing it was categorized as “Hard Rock” I ended up being a bit disappointed hearing these more mellow classic rock tracks.. I admit it was better on the second listen but the first impression is hard to change
LCD Soundsystem
3/5
Other electronica I’ve heard were structured more as atmospheric house music that grows by layering, whereas this album was more polished tracks with vocals, and I enjoyed this more. Maybe this makes it fit less in electronic music box than something else? 3.25/5
The Clash
5/5
Great punk sound that doesn’t get too muddy, each instrument is played so well and production quality is top notch. I knew I would enjoy this album even though I didn’t know any of the tracks. I may enjoy “London Calling” from earlier in my 1001 project a little bit better, but this was a phenomenal debut album that still kicks ass. 4.5/5
Chicago
4/5
The A-side was really what I expected to hear, where the B-side was totally unexpected. Didn’t know any of the tracks even though I'm sure I’ve heard at least some. 3.5/5
5/5
Classic album with a mostly timeless sound that could have come from any era. Really enjoyed this, 4.5/5
Kings of Leon
3/5
These tracks were so overplayed when the album came out, it really ruined the sound for me. And beyond that, many of the tracks are pretty forgettable and easy to tune out the bigger hits. This album is pretty much the definition of average… 2.5/5
The Modern Lovers
3/5
These songs were fine but forgettable. Totally average for what I imagine the era would get you, which makes sense if it’s true this sat unreleased for several years. 2.5/5
Morrissey
4/5
This sounded better to me than some of the other Morrissey albums I’ve previously had. May be that this is from later in his career and his voice has matured a bit. I think the global reviews are a bit too low so I’m rating up to a 4, but think it should land around 3.4
Lynyrd Skynyrd
5/5
I’m amazed the global rating is as low as it is. Multiple smash hits with hundreds of millions of plays on Spotify, widespread recognition, mastery of their instruments… this album was an amazing debut and still sounds great today. I enjoyed every minute. 4.5/5 I could have done without some of the demo tracks added, even though they were interesting to hear for the differences and the working progress
Depeche Mode
3/5
This album seemed pretty forgettable by the end. I enjoyed well enough while listening but can’t think of my favorite track after the fact… 3/5 not bad but not great
Grateful Dead
5/5
Several huge tracks on this album, and the remaining songs are no slouches either. I was never big on the Dead until a couple years ago, I went to see Dead & Co with some friends. ‘Ripple’ is one of my favorites but ‘Friend of the Devil’ and ‘Sugar Magnolia’ also find regular plays on my chill playlists. Pretty easy 5/5 from me today
Derek & The Dominos
3/5
Nice folksy blues album, decent tracks but the title says it all: “Layla and others…” great background music, I waited a bit too long to start so I was quite tired and didn’t appreciate as much as maybe I should have. 3.5/5 rounding down as outside ‘Layla’ the songs dropped off a bit.
CHIC
3/5
Short fun album that comes tearing out of the gate with ‘Good Times’. The rest of the tracks pale in comparison but still was a nice listen. 3.25/5
3/5
I would like to think the global ratings are way too harsh for this album, and maybe they are a bit, but music is subjective and not many listeners would give this the time of day. I thought it was actually kind of fun and a diversion of the typical albums found on the project, and like to hear some things that are way out there. 3/5
Led Zeppelin
3/5
Zeppelin came out swinging with “Good Times Bad Times” but I unfortunately liked it less as it went on. I’m familiar with some of their hits and loved some of their later albums, but this lost me about halfway through. Jarring transitions, wavering vocal performances (imo)… musicianship was great but something is dropping my rating without me able to articulate it. 3.25/5 - maybe my expectations were too high and was let down..
The Doors
4/5
Nice relaxing background album. My guess is ‘Roadhouse Blues’ is the most popular song on the album. I quite enjoyed ‘Waiting for the Sun’ and ‘Indian Summer’ as well. Good length, no tracks overstayed their welcome. 3.5/5
Richard Hawley
4/5
Low reviews made me dread this a bit, but it turned out to be quite a lovely album. Relaxing pop/country vibe with a voice that sounds older than it is. Gives a Johnny Cash vibe, maybe Elvis in places, ‘Born under a Bad Sign’ sounded a bit like Morrissey too. 3.75/5 super chill and nice sounds
The Monks
4/5
Really cool album from a brand new artist to me. Seems like multiple genres could have spawned from the Monks here.. 4/5
The Rolling Stones
3/5
Quite bland and full of covers, this debut really shouldn’t be part of the project; probably wouldn’t be here if The Rolling Stones didn’t become such a big time band. This wasn’t terrible, and I found the B-side more entertaining. 3/5 can’t realistically rate lower as the musicianship was decent, and this was the debut of a megastar group. However I wasn’t too majorly impressed
The Notorious B.I.G.
3/5
Nice variety in the beats, nice lyrical flow, didn’t really care for the skits (but usually don’t). ‘Big Poppa’ is the big track of this album but I really liked ‘Everyday Struggle’ as well. I don’t know near enough about the timeline of rap/hiphop to know why this is great or not, or why it’s part of the 1001 project, but Biggie is an infamous artist and I’m not surprised to find this here. 3.25/5 I’d like to rate this higher but didn’t age well thematically and I could do without the sex noises throughout haha
Kanye West
4/5
Know very little about the hiphop timeline, but this felt different than other rap albums I’ve listened to — almost felt more honest and the persona put forth was more real. Kanye gets a lot of hate nowadays for his personal life, but this album was pretty solid. Production was great, lyrically strong and I enjoyed the sampling, background choruses, etc 3.5/5
Common
4/5
Really liked how there tended to be musical background for the rapping, rather than just chopped up samples here and there, made it more of a “song” for someone not well versed in the hiOhio genre. 3.5/5
The Smiths
3/5
I like the Smiths well enough, but I think I got this album on the wrong day. Several tracks are part of their Spotify top 10, including their #1 ‘There is a Light…’. Just wasn’t feeling that dreamy sort of new-wave sound today
Red Snapper
3/5
I enjoyed the second half of this album more than the first. Beginning seemed more basic but more interesting choices came later. 2.75/5
Mike Ladd
2/5
Didn’t like this one too much, seemed pretty disjointed with what style he wanted to land on. Couple spots blossomed into something interesting, but just as quickly vanished. 2/5
Carpenters
4/5
Always thought Karen Carpenter had a beautiful voice, so I was excited to find this album today. I actually liked it a little less than I thought, I knew several tracks but many I’d never heard. Pretty saccharine easy-listening 70s.. ‘Close to You’ was a bit different than I remember. Overall enjoyable, 3.5/5
Tom Tom Club
3/5
Pretty fun funky new-wave to start, but got to be a little much after a while.. I was curious why this was a 2-part collection only to read that it was a rerelease with both the debut and 2nd album. Overall decent and I may have rated higher if the link directed to just the debut in question and I didn’t burn out. 3.25/5
Sonic Youth
4/5
I’m not fawning over this album, but it was right up my alley. Easy to put on in the background and passively rock to, however I can understand lower ratings that think of this as noise. I dig the distortions and feedbacks. Probably worth digging into this in a deeper way, but for now 3.5/5
Buddy Holly & The Crickets
4/5
I knew some of these songs but never thought to give a full listen.. I preferred the rockabilly tracks more than the sappy lovesick ballads, but as a selection from the 50s that was kinda the style. A shame that the world lost Buddy Holly at such a young age, would have been interesting to see how his music adapted with changing styles! 3.75/5
The Damned
3/5
Cool album, tried to listen intently a few times but it kept getting pushed to the background. Liked what I heard, will need the revisit
Bert Jansch
4/5
Would not have guessed this came out so long ago, although the style lends itself to be somewhat timeless. Amazing the emotions that can be expressed through such a stripped back, bare arrangements. Not the biggest fan of the folk/singer-songwriter genre but this was truly beautiful. Reminded me of a Jim Croce album I had back in the day.
Boards of Canada
3/5
Great music for the background, but I was not very into this. Decent sounds but electronica has come a long way from this. 2.5/5
The Stranglers
3/5
There’s so many reasons that I should have loved this album, I just.. didn’t. It was just ok, I had a hard time paying attention. I hope to revisit this and appreciate it.
Guided By Voices
4/5
Really liked this. Clearly some of the songs were incomplete, or were demos for future songs.. but as a relatively shorter album with so many tracks, it showed several different sides of the band. Also cool to see they were from Dayton, OH as that’s where I live. Going 4/5 but may raise if I revisit this/their wider catalog
Joy Division
3/5
I’ve rated Unknown Pleasures (5/5) some time ago and was expecting more of that today, but I liked this album quite a bit less unfortunately. It did grow on me as it went on, but I was missing the stripped punky sound of their debut here, this was a bit too artsy. 3/5
The Go-Go's
5/5
Super fun album, 7/10 of their Spotify top10 tracks from this album. Hard to not cheer up when hearing some of these upbeat songs. Probably a bit inflated but going 4.5/5 as it was good fun
Napalm Death
3/5
Recognized this from the “lowest rated” list l, so was expecting it to be truly awful… but I actually think this deserves better. Sure it was super heavy and that’s not for everyone, but it wasn’t that bad and in places was pretty cool. Enjoyed the album length and would like to see some of these tracks defined and manipulated more.Title track ‘Scum’ was my favorite as others were just flashes in the pan, but not even close to 4th worst on the list.
Frank Black
3/5
I hated this to start out but it did grow on me. Definitely too long for its own good, cut 1/3 of songs and runtime and this would be much better. 3/5
Animal Collective
3/5
Not really my thing, it was interesting enough but a bit longer than necessary
Beatles
4/5
I’m sure this was a great record for its time. I had some Beatles anthology albums so I know plenty of their hits, and i used to prefer their older bubblegum poppy stuff.. but as I get older I find this early stuff a bit cheesy and appreciate their later songs. It’s still the Beatles, and still good, but this album falls to a 4/5 for me today
Echo And The Bunnymen
3/5
This album was fine, gave me Bowie vibes on some, Morrissey vibes on others. Not my favorite but entertaining enough, decent production. Middle of the road 3/5
Linkin Park
4/5
So much hate in the top comments but this came about to fill a hole for a lot of kids… I didn’t give it much attention at the time but it got big for a reason. Listening now it is a bit gimmicky, but what other debut album isn’t, at least somewhat. IMO Linkin Park got better with time, but this is a solid debut. 3.75/5
Wu-Tang Clan
2/5
Don’t want to hear so much swearing and rapping about how great they all are.. I’m clearly not Wu-Tang’s target demographic. Wish I appreciated this more than I did, but that goes for all the solo albums by these members as well. 2/5
Kate Bush
3/5
Haven’t listened to too much Kate Bush, other than the preceding album “Hounds of Love” (which I liked much better). This seemed much less mature than the other album and seemed more imitative of Madonna/Cyndi Lauper.. 2.5/5 wish I liked this more
The Beach Boys
4/5
I know this is considered one of the greats, the best of the Beash Boys, the foundation for so much that came after… and it was good… but there was a lot more “filler” than I was expecting. A couple massive hits here, but many tracks were quite similar to each other, and that dragged down the listening pleasure. 4/5 for me today
Little Simz
4/5
Nice flow, lyrically strong, this surprised me with how much I enjoyed. Not a big consumer of hiphop and so often the albums are bloated with filler and skits, this was concise and much better for it. 3.5/5
Les Rythmes Digitales
3/5
Middle of the road electronica, didn’t love it but didn’t hate it. Tracks did blend together a bit
Grant Lee Buffalo
4/5
Brand new artist for me, but I enjoyed it. Got a bit slow in the second half and dragged a bit, but liked the emotion he put into these songs. 3.5/5 gonna round up as I think I would also enjoy many more tracks from his catalog
Cocteau Twins
5/5
Know the name but not sure I’ve ever listened to any of their songs.. regardless, I’m super into the ethereal, shoegaze music like this. Definitely biased somewhat, but 4.5/5 for me, will definitely be exploring more of their music catalog
Ian Dury
2/5
Sounds like somebody’s weird uncle knew a guy that worked at the recording studio, and was dared to made an album for a laugh. This was not good, and shows a UK bias on choosing albums for the book.. why is this part of the project?! 2/5
Jimi Hendrix
4/5
Really solid album with some big hits that so many people love. I enjoyed this but the filler songs weren’t my favorite. Nice mix of experimental with some funky rock.. 4/5
Suede
3/5
Hard to rate this one for me. The tracks weren’t all fine, just a bit boring… May have been a day where my patience was too short to give it a good enough chance, I will need to revisit
3/5
Another album that was okay but not great. Pretty boring but the Latin flair did make it somewhat more interesting to me. Became background music very quickly, 2.75/5
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
5/5
Don’t have much to write, I really loved this all the way through. Not my first exposure to the YYYs but I’m not hugely familiar.. but this fit my vibe, certainly for today
Buzzcocks
4/5
Liked this one quite a bit! Nice mix of punk and rock, I listened thru twice easily. 4/5
The Chemical Brothers
4/5
I know very few Chemical Brothers tracks, none from this album. This was more enjoyable to me than many electronic albums, I liked the more industrial qualities of the mixes. Did drag out in places, but certainly maintained the energy. Really good overall, not great to me but I can understand both high and low ratings. 4/5
David Bowie
3/5
Don’t particularly care for this album, in fact i sometimes feel like David Bowie is a bit overrated. When someone is consistently putting out albums as he did, not all will be winners, and I have heard some amazing stuff from him, but this was just average in my opinion. 3/5
2/5
Listened through early and despite the length I had a decent time with it. But here in the evening re-listening to some tracks to pick one for my 1001 playlist, it sounds much worse. Never loved Dylan much, his voice is just so whiny it leaves me to feel he’s sadly much overrated. 2.5/5 but going to rate down as this seems more a glorified greatest hits under the guise of being a “live” album
Sugar
5/5
This album sounds so familiar but I can’t say I know any of these songs. Definitely a product of its era but to me is incredibly solid. Gives me mostly REM and Foo Fighters vibes, but here and there there’s some Barenaked Ladies or even Crash Test Dummies. This is an album that, whether I heard it back then or not, I’m glad to have been exposed now. Really dig this one!
Bebel Gilberto
4/5
Fun world music, enjoyed this! 3.5/5
Sepultura
5/5
Totally new band for me I believe, although there’s a chance I have heard a song or two somewhere.. this was a great sound, some nice Metallica sounds but still their own voice with it. Great production, metal is sometimes a bit muddy to me but this maintained throughout. Was initially worried with the length but this was fucking great.
Mylo
3/5
This seemed like average electronic music to me — nothing offensive to the ear but nothing really stood out as amazing. 3/5
Ramones
4/5
Blitzkrieg Bop is a massive song and this was overall a great album, but I need to downgrade it a bit for how similar many of the tracks sounded. I’d listen to this any day, length was perfect and great punk sound mixing but gotta be 4/5 unfortunately
Manu Chao
4/5
Had a good time with this album, not sure how much I would listen again but still enjoyed. 3.5/5
DJ Shadow
3/5
New genre to me, and while it was interesting in a way no tracks truly blew me away as outstandingly great. Maybe I don’t understand the complexity in weaving samples together, but it pushed into the background and was hard to distinguish individual songs. 3.25/5 enjoyed but don’t see myself coming back
The Electric Prunes
3/5
I’m having a hard time rating this.. in one hand it sounds like many other run of the mill 60s psych bands, but they also seem to have pioneered some technique/sound with a Wawa pedal (?) I’m not familiar enough with it, and I liked some of their songs, but those seemed to be the most mainstream and vanilla material.. 2.75/5
David Bowie
3/5
I’ve been dreading this album a bit — when I started the project I didn’t know when albums would switch over, so there was one day layover that I chose Blackstar randomly to hold me over. This was not exactly how I remember it from back then, but it was fun to revisit. Bowie isn’t my favorite artist but decent enough, 3/5
The Roots
2/5
I know of the Roots but never listened to any of their music before. Some songs had a great flow, but others were irritating enough that I hated them. Definitely overlong in my opinion, but for listeners more into the Hiphop genre I can see this being much more palatable. 2/5
Wilco
3/5
Like their other album “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” I feel like I should have enjoyed this more than I did. Seemed much too long, some songs I even hated. But there were other points throughout where I thought to myself that maybe I am not giving this a fair enough chance… 2.5/5 for today
Happy Mondays
3/5
New band to me, and nothing I really have to say about this album. Totally middle of the road, easily listenable but easily ignorable. 3/5
Ryan Adams
3/5
In offensive but sorta bland. Loses some points for being about twice as long as it should have been, he’s delusional to think there’s enough outstanding material here to be worthy of a double album.. still it was entertaining enough but no higher than 3/5
Sepultura
3/5
I think this hit me on a slightly wrong day. I enjoyed their “Arise” album less than 2 weeks ago, but liked this one a little less. No big criticism from me, not sure why I liked it less. 3/5
Def Leppard
5/5
Stealing from another review I read, this is just “big, dumb fun”.. so many hit singles from this one album, at the peak of hair metal, is impressive, and everything still sounded great. Is this the most nuanced, technical album? No, but it entertained the masses. A one-armed drummer? Amazing. Another album where I want to be stingy but just have to give up 5 stars
Booker T. & The MG's
4/5
Title track is the big hit here, and I was well familiar with it. The rest were fine, it did seem to be a one-trick pony and get a bit long after awhile, even though each song was different enough. Solid 3.5/5 but having a hard time deciding to rate up or down…
Basement Jaxx
2/5
Like most other electronica on this list, this s album was fine but devolved into nothing more than background music. I feel like I knew the song “Red Alert” but not sure. Unfortunately there were more tracks that I disliked than my enjoyment
TV On The Radio
2/5
Thought I would enjoy this more than I did. Don’t really have anything else to say, I was underwhelmed.
Soft Machine
2/5
I was not excited when I first started this album, it did not begin on the right foot for me. It did get better as things went on, but still a bit too experimental for my tastes. 2.35/5
Deee-Lite
3/5
This was an ok album, nothing jumped out at me besides their big hit ‘Groove is in the Heart’, which seemed to have much more production quality put into it. 3/5 won’t seek it out again but I wouldn’t turn it off
Ray Charles
5/5
Great album, when I came back around to the beginning I just let it keep playing thru a second and into a third time. Awesome voice, great backing band/strings
The Zutons
4/5
Had a fun time listening to this one, style was right up my alley. I seem to remember hearing of the title of this album although no tracks sounded familiar. 4/5 I’ll be checking into more of their discography
Portishead
3/5
Jethro Tull
4/5
Another album with nostalgia, riding in the truck with Dad putting on his collection of cassettes. I have listened to this through before, but it’s been a long time. Both heavy and gentle, nice dichotomy between flute and guitar. Enjoyable to revisit this one, 4/5
Kendrick Lamar
2/5
This became a chore to complete, just something to check off and make it to the next day. I wish I appreciated hip hop more than I do.
Travis
5/5
A hidden gem that I started this project to find! Never heard of Travis before, but this was a perfect album for me today. Reminded me a lot of Radiohead, maybe a bit like the late Beatles.. really enjoyed, 5/5 will be looking more into their catalog
Arrested Development
4/5
Initially disappointed seeing yet another hip hop album (I’ve been getting bombarded lately) but this was definitely something different! I tend to value vocals musically rather than lyrically, so this was a breath of fresh air, hiphop-wise. 3.5/5 for the unexpected album
Röyksopp
3/5
Another decent but not life changing electronic album.
Tim Buckley
2/5
I enjoyed the Jeff Buckley album “Grace” on here, but my first time with Tim here, I was not very impressed. Seemed to be trying way too hard to have a persona instead of letting his work stand on its own, I don’t know enough about him to know if it was schtick on this album or career-long, but I disliked it. 2/5
Syd Barrett
2/5
Wish I could rate higher but there was too many tracks I didn’t enjoy. Shine on you crazy diamond. 2.5/5
Tortoise
3/5
Interesting album, great ambient background sounds but didn’t hold my interest all the way. I’m not against long form tracks like ‘Djed’ but it didn’t really move far from where it began, I would have rather had a journey with some change happening. Shorter tracks were fine. Overall 2.5/5 middle of the road, my rating may differ on another day
Pink Floyd
5/5
Many of the albums on this project I have either never or rarely listened to… not this one!! *May* not be my favorite Pink Floyd album (depends on the day) but definitely a classic.
Baaba Maal
3/5
As always, I love exposure to new world music, never would have found this otherwise.
Tim Buckley
3/5
2 Tim Buckley albums in 5 days isn’t what I would have chosen, but this was much better than the former. Can definitely pick up the psychedelic singer/songwriter feel, like much other music from the period, but this was pleasant enough. Nice one for me to put on around the campfire while camping. 3/5
Elvis Presley
3/5
Johnny Cash
2/5
As big a legend that Johnny Cash is, I really wasn’t that impressed with this album. A bunch of cover songs, and pretty much every track was dreadfully slow and crooning. Wish I enjoyed this more
Amy Winehouse
3/5
No strong feelings either way with this one… probably won’t seek it out again but it was decent enough to listen theough
Bauhaus
3/5
Big Brother & The Holding Company
4/5
Janis Joplin is a great singer whose voice just grates on me. That being said, this was still a great listen. Knew a few songs but several were new to me. 3.5/5
Girls Against Boys
4/5
New artist for me, really liked what I heard! Great mix of heavy, grungy, gritty rock. Will definitely be looking into their catalog
Germs
3/5
Feels like the power of this album may have been lost on me. I didn’t dislike it but didn’t love it, wouldn’t seek it out but wouldn’t turn it off.. just kinda middling for me today. 3/5
The Coral
3/5
Decent but unfortunately unremarkable. Fun in its weirdness and varied sounds
Tina Turner
3/5
Decent album, but not really my style. I knew ‘What’s Love…’ for sure but I’ve probably heard some of the others at some point. Can’t fault it but didn’t love it, 3/5
Meat Puppets
3/5
Think I heard the name Meat Puppets before, but never heard this. Not what I expected
Waylon Jennings
3/5
Not very familiar with classic country like this, but I do know his name. This was not my cup of tea (especially today) but was fine. 3/5
Yes
3/5
Know the band Yes, and a handful of their songs. Fun little album to zone out with. 3.25/5
SZA
2/5
Not my favorite. Not much else to say
Doves
5/5
Another brand new artist that I absolutely loved. We were camping way out and this fit the bill perfectly. Will be returning to the Doves for sure
John Grant
3/5
Not my favorite album this project has brought me, but its comedic absurdity was pretty entertaining. Granted I listened while on a mind-numbing drive… maybe my brain was able to absorb just the right amount of this. 3.25/5
Doves
5/5
My first exposure to Doves was 2 days ago, and here I get another of their albums! I keep thinking that I enjoyed “The Last Broadcast” more than this album, but then I hear another song that I’m into, and can’t decide. 4.5/5 really like this style, maybe I’m a more shallow listener than others here but I don’t care
4/5
It’s a pain this isn’t on a more accessible streaming service, but still was a pretty fun listen. Got the psych-Beatles mixed with a Smile-era Brian Wilson sound, which was better than I expected. Some songs I really liked - Greenman was probably my highlight.. but some I really didn’t think much (Dictionary was corny and juvenile). Overall I enjoyed 3.5/5
Ice Cube
3/5
I had low expectations coming into this album.. not my first exposure to Ice Cube (or NWA) but not a fan of the angry gangster rap genre. That being said the tracks were all pretty solid. At 71 minutes it was overlong in my opinion. 2.5/5
Radiohead
3/5
Really enjoyed a few other Radiohead albums on the project already, but this one a bit less. I think on a different day or different time of day, it may have hit differently. Will need to revisit
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
3/5
I knew a couple of these tracks but most were new. I was hoping to avoid too much Neil Young here but every song he sung I wanted to shove a rusty ice pick in my ear canals. He costs the album a star here, like so many other NY albums I’ve found on this project
Ice T
2/5
I try to enjoy rap but I just can’t get the appeal. At some point I will have to accept that.
Emmylou Harris
3/5
This was fine, not sure if I would say you NEED to hear this before you die, but it was pleasant enough. Can’t really give it more than 3/5 though, nothing extraordinary
Slade
4/5
I know of Slade through the cover of “Come on feel the noise” by Quiet Riot. Still basically new to me though, I didn’t love this outright but it grew on me and by the end I was jammin’. 3.75/5
The Beach Boys
4/5
Got this right after Brian Wilson’s death, the music world lost a real genius. I know a lot of the Beach Bous hits but was nice to hear another side of them with this album. 3.5/5 rounding up for the legend that we loar
Genesis
3/5
I was quite busy driving in heavy traffic while this played, so I feel the depth was a bit lost on me. Even with a shallow listen I could still sense a complexity that I want to explore again later. I have to go 3/5 right now but I think it’ll be raised after I return
Frank Sinatra
3/5
Enjoyed this as much as I enjoy Sinatra. Great voice but a bit over-engineered and similar to every other Sinatra song. Didn’t grow up on his music so I don’t have the rose-colored glasses on, 3/5 very generic
Van Morrison
5/5
‘Into the Mystic’ gets regular plays for me, but this whole album was pretty great. Lotta new stuff for me, nice to hear the original ‘Moondance’… 4.5/5
Robert Wyatt
2/5
This was a tough album to listen to.. it isn’t traditionally “good”, that is to say this will never be popular to the mainstream, but it definitely has merit and value with a higher threshold for enjoyment. 2.5/5 but rounding down as I didn’t enjoy much and won’t listen again. Unfortunately this album suffers from the lack of partial stars
4/5
Pretty cool early punk. 3.5/5 would listen again
Pet Shop Boys
3/5
First impression hurt this album a bit but improved quickly enough. Kinda cheesy so depending on the day might rate higher or lower. Going 3/5 today
Slipknot
5/5
The Rolling Stones
3/5
This was an established and competent Rolling Stones making passible yet unremarkable music. Truth of the matter is that they are clearly capable of making hit songs yet this album is mediocre and quickly vanished into, however decent, simply background music. 3/5
The Flying Burrito Brothers
3/5
Must have hit this on the perfect day/time because I really had fun listening. 4/5
PJ Harvey
5/5
Raw and gritty but really well put together for a debut album. New artist to me but I’m a big fan, favorite track was ‘Victory’ but I easily listened through a couple times. 4.5/5
The Police
3/5
Not a diehard Police fan but this was a solid album. I knew several of the tracks, ‘Every Breath you Take’ is probably their biggest hit. 3.25/5
The Soft Boys
3/5
Decent album, better than I expected. Wouldn’t turn off but probably won’t seek it out again, 3/5
Kraftwerk
4/5
Solid early electronica! A bit boring to modern stuff but can’t really fault it for that. I enjoyed “Man-Machine” album better but this was ok. Easy to loop for background music, 3.5/5
50 Cent
3/5
This was a massive debut album and contains many of his best tracks to date. I enjoyed it as much as many other rap albums maybe a little more, I’m just not that into rap. 3.25/5
Peter Gabriel
5/5
I knew some of these songs, but didn’t realize how much I enjoyed them within the project of the album. Genesis was quite technically sophisticated in their sound, and it seems like Peter Gabriel continued with just as much skill as Phil Collin’s did (although with less commercial success it seems). Really liked this, 4.5/5
Wild Beasts
1/5
Musically this was okay, but vocally u absolutely hated this. Enough to make it difficult to make it through.. grasping at straws trying to not rate this a 1, but I just can’t find anything. Got this on a bad day I guess
Elvis Costello
2/5
I’m usually not too big a hater of Elvis Costello, but really didn’t like this album too much. Second half saved the listen but the first impression was rough. 2.25/5
Joni Mitchell
3/5
Decent Joni Mitchell album, I did enjoy “Blue” a bit more, from earlier in the project. Favorite track was ‘Help Me’ but they were all solid. 3.25/5
Crowded House
5/5
Brand new artist to me and I loved this! Weird and chill music, easily listened through several times and didn’t have the desire to shut it off. This is what I like about the 1001 project, finding music that you would otherwise miss.
The Adverts
4/5
Really enjoyed this, nice tight punk that didn’t get too muddy. Songs blended together a bit, which isn’t necessarily bad, just shows cohesion.. however it did tend to get pushed into the background fairly often (which may be my busy day rather than the albums fault)). 4/5 for now but will need to revisit
The Byrds
4/5
Had several Byrds albums on the project now, and I’ve enjoyed each of them in their own way. Wasn’t familiar with any of these tracks, favorite was probably ‘My Back Pages’.. liked the second half better 3.5/5
a-ha
4/5
“Take on Me” is a quintessential 80s song, meme status and everyone seems to know it, but I really didn’t know any other of A-ha’s music until this album. Solid songs that seem to fall down against such a massive hit, but solid nonetheless… 3.5/5
The Blue Nile
2/5
First impressions are important, and this album was a bit of a disappointment off the bat. Did grow on me a bit, but only a bit. Sounded more like a poor impression of Bowie or Genesis or some other group I can’t place but would rather be there than here. This I can’t in good conscience score higher than 2/5
Mike Oldfield
3/5
This was enjoyable enough, I don’t mind long-form songs that meander around. But halfway thru part II some kind of demonic chanting, and then a disjointed horn pipe tacked onto the end? WTF Mike, you lost me there… 2.5/5 decent but maybe a bit avant garde for me
Black Flag
5/5
Really good punk album, I swear I know the name Black Flag but haven’t heard any of their stuff before.. sure it’s angry and chaotic, but also comical; strict in time but also sloppy as necessary. Great balance. Enjoyment was probably closer to 4 stars but the global reviews are tragically low so rating up.
Jacques Brel
4/5
Hard to rate this one… I really enjoy world- and foreign music, and often (across the board) treat the vocal performance instrumentally. For albums with little instrumentation, the vocals would need to pick up the slack both with quality but also lyrically. But with a sparse backing and a foreign language, there is almost an absence of lyrical weight, and solely phonetic and tonal/pitch to be judged. Brel is a fantastic singer and holds his own, I only wish I understood the translation. 3.5/5
The Youngbloods
4/5
Really enjoyed this! No standout tracks but they were all solid and good listen. Able to listen to this several times without getting sick of it, nice variety between songs. Favorite was probably “Darkness, Darkness” but also really liked the weird timing of France’s Drake .. 4/5 easily
Jean-Michel Jarre
5/5
This was phenomenal - I can’t believe this came out in 1976. This was interesting, futuristic,clean ambient sounds that aren’t dated at all. Might be the best electronic album I’ve heard (or maybe it just hit my tastes perfectly on the right day). 5/5 would relisten any time
Simple Minds
3/5
These tracks were all okay, but really didn’t leave any lasting impression in my mind. Pleasant enough not to turn it off but probably wouldn’t seek this out again. 2.5/5
The Pretty Things
3/5
A bit too psychedelic for me… I kept thinking of other songs this album made me think of, and then I was wanting to play those songs instead. 3/5
Pink Floyd
3/5
I much prefer post-Syd Pink Floyd, but I’m glad to have found this album through the project. With Syd writing the majority of these tracks it’s easy to parallel this with his “Madcap Laughs” solo also part of the 1001 project - very weird and trippy, nonsensical. Really did not enjoy the hard panning back and forth in ‘I Terrell’s Overdrive’ but cool to discover they were pushing the boundaries of music production here. Overall enjoyed but looking forward to other later-era Floyd as well, 3.25/5
Spiritualized
4/5
This was a slow burn and took me a few listens to get into it. Seemed to be a bit ham-fisted in the layering, especially in “Ladies and Gentlemen…” (I’m honestly a bit surprised this is their top Spotify song). Loved their album ‘Lazer-Guided Melodies’ from earlier in my 1001 project and liked this just a bit less, but still enjoyed quite a bit.. 4/5
Sinead O'Connor
4/5
Phenomenal voice! I listened through this several times trying to decide on my rating and I liked it a bit better each time. Maybe a little soft-rock for my typical listen. ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ is clearly the front runner here but some of the other tracks are gems too. 3.5/5
Paul McCartney and Wings
3/5
Heard of this collaboration and the title track is obvioulsly the most popular. McCartney is talented but this album was overall quite unremarkable. Maybe I missed something
The Rolling Stones
4/5
I’ve had a few early Stones albums through the project so far, and this one I enjoyed much more. ‘Brown Sugar’ or ‘Wild Horses’ were my top 2 tracks here, most of the others were decent as well; ‘You Gotta Move’ was my least favorite. 3.75/5
Jungle Brothers
4/5
Enjoyed this album, much like I enjoy other early-era hiphop. Wish this was on Spotify, I would dig a bit deeper than my YouTube listen. Still, prefer this to the angrier gangster rap that seems to be more popular, 3.5/5
Ramblin' Jack Elliott
3/5
Not sure if I enjoyed this or not… was pleasant enough, it certainly was ramblin’ around taking its sweet time, I’m not familiar enough with this early folk/bluegrass/country to know how important this album is in the grand scheme of things. 3/5
Coldcut
2/5
This was a tough listen.. I enjoyed the sounds but it blended together and I kept thinking I had already heard parts when they hadn’t looped back - maybe this was because YouTube kept interrupting my listen with ads, as well as I was working and distracted while listening. Unfortunately, the accessibility as well as the repetitive nature of the mix hurt the rating..
Public Image Ltd.
3/5
This was okay, not great. I did enjoy more on subsequent plays, but was overlong and overly dramatic - ‘Religion 1’ should have been removed altogether, as it’s just the standalone lyrics of #2, and falls rather flat in its tryhard angst. Favorite track was either ‘Annalisa’ or ‘Public Image’. Overall 2.75/5
Nine Inch Nails
4/5
Very interesting sonic choices made here, really demonstrates the descent into madness. I was familiar with ‘Closer’ for sure, but may have heard some of the other tracks back in the day as well. Couple weird song transitions hurt the flow, but overall I enjoyed it. The industrial/techno fits really well with the heavy rock. 4.25/5
James Taylor
5/5
This was light rock/easy listening, but man James Taylor has a great singing voice. Only knew ‘Fire and Rain’ but really loved the title track, what another great discovery courtesy of 1001.. only song I didn’t like was ‘Steamroller Blues’ - decent song but did not suit his voice imo. Overall really nice listen, 4.5/5 had a great time with this one
The Pharcyde
3/5
Enjoyed the old-school beats, and liked some tracks more than others. Maybe more entertaining for the target audience but enjoyable enough. 2.75/5
Peter Frampton
5/5
I have heard several of these tracks and recognize the album cover, but think this is the first time going all the way through. Im often not the biggest fan of live albums, but enjoy this style of jam music so this was a joy. Multiple huge hits, and the rest were still really solid, no real complaints from me.
Stereo MC's
4/5
I wasn’t terribly excited upon seeing this album (had a bad feeling) but I couldn’t have been more wrong. The electronic beat with the hiphop lyrics really worked and I had an easy time listening several times. Very cool find!
Madonna
2/5
I remember that ‘Music’ was everywhere when this came out, which I suppose is pretty typical of Madonna - formulaic enough that her hits are hits. But is that a good thing? Listening 25 years later it’s a bit boring, and seems like pop music is still the same, engineered to give the (sheep) listeners the same things over and over to keep them happy. As usual Madonna’s vocal performance is good, although pretty auto tuned by this point, an aspect of the times that I never really liked much. Hard to rate this for me because although none of the tracks were very bad, none were that great either. 2.5/5
Steely Dan
5/5
I know of Steely Dan but not this album/tracks. Really cool funky/jazzy beat, awesome guitars, relaxing but still a solid groove. Awesome
Buffalo Springfield
3/5
Liked this one better than average, but wasn’t blown away and not sure how often I would revisit. 3.25/5
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
4/5
Don’t know what to expect but wouldn’t have guessed Rocky Horror/Meatloaf/Steven Tyler.. I think the global reviews are a bit low - this was stupid but really fun. 3.5/5
2/5
Interesting bit of funk to hear, I am a little familiar with War’s big hits but nothing here. Wasn’t terribly engaged with this album, a little boring and fell into the background very quickly. 2.25/5 today but may have been higher on a different day
Rocket From The Crypt
5/5
Super fun listen, really enjoyed. Not much else to say, perfect album for my tastes today
The Beach Boys
3/5
The Beach Boys are masters of harmony, and it’s pretty evident throughout this album. That being said, there wasn’t really anything extra here that other BB albums on the list already show. I didn’t particularly enjoy this one but it was fine, 2.5/5
Paul Weller
3/5
Interesting sound, I enjoyed it but upon having to write this review I realize I remember nothing about it really. Going 3/5 for now and will need to revisit
FKA twigs
2/5
Feel like I missed something here, with more glowing reviews than I would have expected.. I really didn’t enjoy this much. Was quite boring and faded to the background almost instantly
MC Solaar
3/5
Nice flow, but also wasn’t terribly engaging for me (due to the language barrier).. other foreign albums may be supported by the music but hiphop tends to just be a beat and the lyrical prrformance. 3/5 overall pretty good
Frank Sinatra
3/5
These songs were all fine, but not sure I needed to hear all the Sinatra covers before I die. Great vocal performance as usual, 3/5
Aretha Franklin
5/5
Probably could have given this 5/5 without even listening through, but then I wouldn’t have the opportunity to listen to these amazing tracks! Incredibly powerful, funky and soulful, and amazing vocal performance. Don’t call her the Queen for nothing, this was as awesome as I predicted it would be!! Easy 5 stars
Femi Kuti
5/5
Really enjoyed this! No issues with track length but got a bit long/repetitive as it was full energy the entire time, which does hurt it a bit. Overall really great find from the project, 4.5/5
Neneh Cherry
3/5
Sounded exactly like what you’d expect from the release date!! Decent but not my favorite, got a bit long for me at over an hour. 2.5/5 okay but won’t seek it out again
David Bowie
4/5
This reminds me or a lot of albums like the Beatles or Michael Jackson,, where there’s 1-2 great songs and the rest are more there for filler, not bad but not amazing. Easy 4 stars but doesn’t quite make it up to 5/5 for me
The Go-Betweens
3/5
Tom Waits
1/5
Relatively uncommon for me to immediately turn an album off, but Tom Waits did it for me here.. this was a struggle all the way through, not for lack of trying. The backing band was solid, but was his vocals a gimmick? It sounded like a big joke, and a load of pretentious crap at that.
Johnny Cash
4/5
I enjoyed this album much more than “American IV..” that I had earlier in the project, he was well past his prime in that one, but not here. Not usually a fan of live albums but the nature of being in a prison felt more authentic with the crowd noise. I’m having a hard time reconciling why albums like this are part of the project, as it’s more a compilation/hits record and I don’t particularly like that.. 4/5
The Louvin Brothers
3/5
Decent old country album but ultimately pretty forgettable. Decent harmonies. 2.5/5 totally average
4/5
Really enjoyed this, lots of great songs. I also feel like I could have missed some pretty sophisticated musicianship by being uninformed on what I should listen for. 4/5 for today but I could see myself rating this anywhere from 3-5 stars on any given day
Brian Eno
2/5
This was a bit too experimental for my tastes, sacrificing quality for the new. Maybe I’m too shallow of a listener for Brian Eno but I just don’t get the hype.
Faust
3/5
More ambient than anything else, I wasn’t sure about it at first but better with a second listen. Still ended up getting pushed to the background but I was decently busy and was pretty shallow in my attention. 3/5
Fishbone
4/5
Enjoyed this one quite a bit, but the novelty wore off a bit on the 2nd playthrough. Nice mix of styles, solid 4/5
Never gave much time for U2, they always seemed a bit pretentious to me. Listening to this, it was fine; very inoffensive, easy listening that can appeal to anyone but didn’t seem to take much risk to me. 3.25/5 kinda bland
Paul Simon
4/5
I like Paul Simon’s style of songs, pretty easy listening but some sneakily sophisticated twists hidden. ‘Motherboard and Child’ and ‘Me and Julio’ are the big songs here, but there are a few nicies among the fillers as well. 4/5
Elvis Presley
4/5
I actually expected this to be better than it was. Being his debut album, Elvis obviously wasn’t dialed into exactly what he would become, but this was pretty hit/miss to me. 3.5/5
John Lee Hooker
4/5
Never listened much to Hooker but this was really solid. I do know his top hit “Boom Boom” but nothing from this album.
Paul McCartney
3/5
I appreciate that McCartney moved on from the Beatles as a musician, but this album was pretty mediocre. My mind leapt to where these songs were all Beatles rejects (I have no idea if true) which didn’t help my listening, other than ‘Maybe I’m Amazed’ I tolerated but didn’t love anything. 2.5/5
Super Furry Animals
5/5
I’m a bit surprised how low other rating are, this was super fun album and a wide range of styles to keep up interest. I also am into the kind of weird style this used, so that increased my enjoyment as well. Overall 4.5/5
The White Stripes
3/5
Having a hard time reconciling myself with this album... I enjoyed it as a whole, and my musical tastes tell me I should rate this higher, but it was a bit weird a song at a time. I feel I enjoy the White Stripes in general and really love certain tracks but maybe this hit me on the wrong day, today I can’t rate this higher than a 3
The Sonics
4/5
Fun little album! Its rating is hurt by having so many covers but it was kinda the way it was, and they were covered well. Real gritty recording actually gave it more interest to me, highlighted the garage-style rock, vocals were energetic and I’m sure made people want to get up and dance. 4/5
Ray Charles
5/5
Not much to say, Ray Charles is a legend with a great voice, commanding musical presence, and this (double) album was really great from beginning to end. Did get a bit repetitive with the backing vocals and so many similar tempo ballads.
Miles Davis
3/5
I love jazz but this was a bit too experimental for me, and has a high bar for anyone’s early exposure. 3/5 enjoyment but there’s probably better albums to put on the project
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
2/5
I see a lot of love for Nick Cave so I had high hopes for this, but it really wasn’t my thing. It was pretty theatrical and sounded good, but based purely on my enjoyment gotta go 2.25/5
Maxwell
2/5
Not my style, this was incredibly boring and overlong to me. 2/5
Bob Marley & The Wailers
4/5
Nice album, I knew and love several of these tracks so it was cool listing to them in the context of their album. 3.75/5
Donald Fagen
3/5
I liked this considerably less than some other Steely Dan albums I’ve listened to. I understand it would not be the same, you could hear SD echoes here but overall just too light-rock for me today. 2.5/5
The Fall
4/5
I liked this listen, but it was a bit overlong.. nice chill punkish sound, nothing overwhelming. Overall 3.5/5
Cornershop
2/5
I enjoyed the first 2 tracks, but didn’t care for much of the rest of the album. ‘Butter the Soul’ I hated enough that I wanted to stop listening, and my vow to listen all the way through (for this project) is the only thing that saved it. Few flashes in the pan were enjoyable enough but few and far between. 2/5
Frank Ocean
3/5
This was okay but very easy for me to ignore/push to the background. Very average, and nothing that jumped out at me as particularly groundbreaking or deserving to be on the project. 2.5/5
Stephen Stills
3/5
This was pretty decent, it does get a slight boost as I’ve had a string of lower-rated albums (for me anyway).. but I don’t see why this needed to be a double album, and this hurts it. Overall probably 3.25/5
Red Hot Chili Peppers
5/5
Bunch of great songs, and the rest of the tracks are all decent. Probably nostalgia bumping this up some, but this was fun to hear again, it’s been a hot minute. 4.5/5
Yes
4/5
‘Roundabout’ is a pretty great song and the other tracks were a nice variety of styles, amazing guitar picking showed quite a talent. Got a bit overlong but I think I may have listened to a deluxe version and not the original release. 4/5 solid
Slipknot
4/5
I never owned this back then, but I’m sure I heard most of the tracks between radio and at friends’ houses. It does what it tries to do really well, drumming is amazing. Solidly 4/5 but ended up being a bit overlong
White Denim
5/5
My first exposure to White Denim but I really loved it! Gave me big Allman Bros vibes, others have said Grateful Dead/Phish which I can see, really fun, varied tracks that have a lot of interesting parts, love the occasional changes in time signatures… this is a perfect example of why I am working on this 1001 project - to find great new artists that I may have never found otherwise. Easy 5/5
Grizzly Bear
4/5
I wasn’t too keen hearing this the first time through, but upon the second playing my enjoyment went up considerably.. it’s a slow burn for sure and I’m glad I didn’t give it up right away. I’ll probably come back to Grizzly Bears and eventually love them but as a brand new artist/album this was solid. 3.75/5
George Michael
3/5
I really enjoyed “Freedom ‘90” but the rest of the album was pretty average and forgettable. 2.5/5
Kacey Musgraves
3/5
This was fine but not my favorite. Good voice though
The Lemonheads
3/5
Recognize the album art from some track on an old playlist, but first time spending time with the Lemonheads. Overall I really liked the sound but was a bit too busy to give this a deep listen. Great background music, 3/5 for today but I could see myself raising to a 4
Jack White
3/5
Decent sound but was too busy to give it a thorough listen. Like some other Jack White/White Stripes albums, there were a few tracks I didn’t love
The Psychedelic Furs
2/5
Was this terrible? No, but it did end up being quite boring. Another album that would benefit from half-star ratings.. 2.5/5 rounding down
Count Basie & His Orchestra
5/5
Been a good while since I’ve had any jazz on the project, and several times they were all long-form tracks that would be less accessible for new listeners. This was great length, nice variety between songs but still overarching related, mastery of the individual instruments as well as true cohesion as a group… just a great album selection to have here. Enjoyment is around 4.25/5 but rounding up for the accessibility for those newer to jazz
Khaled
4/5
I really like when world music comes up here, such a nice change of pace… and this is no exception!
The Smashing Pumpkins
5/5
Some real nostalgia listening through Siamese Dream. Awesome sound, love these guys. Easy 5 stars from me
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
3/5
This was okay, nothing awful but nothing too extraordinary. Which makes me question why there’s so many Elvis Costello albums in this project… 2.5/5
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
3/5
More proof that I should like Nick Cave more than I actually do. This is quite dramatic - in a High School drama class kind of way. I liked this better than “Murder Ballads” 2.5/5
Janet Jackson
3/5
Probably heard a bunch of these back in the day but didn’t remember anything outside ‘Escapade’ (and that one only somewhat). Nothing crazy bad or good, 3/5
The Jesus And Mary Chain
5/5
Always been a sucker for shoegaze/dream-pop but before embarking on this project I just never had the labels for it. Found JaMC with ‘April Skies’ about a year ago, but been a big fan ever since. 5/5
Sigur Rós
5/5
Epic in scale and depth, lovely ambience and otherworldly vocals really pull the listener out of their setting. Hard rating this as I wasn’t fully engaged as I could have been, and still loved it. Maybe a bit overlong but overall 4.5/5
Dinosaur Jr.
3/5
This is one of those bands that I should like more than I actually do. This was ok but pretty forgettable for me, 2.5/5
Leonard Cohen
2/5
Not a big dan of Cohen, or the singer/songwriter genre in general. I can see why this would be found in the project, just too dry and boring for my tastes. 2/5
U2
4/5
Pretty decent album, ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’ I knew but most the others were totally new to me
Todd Rundgren
3/5
So incredibly weird on my first listen but much more cohesive on the second playthrough. One of those that keeps getting better the more you listen. 3/5 for now but I could understand almost any rating 1-5 on any given day!
The Crusaders
5/5
I’ll need to check out the Doc Severinsen version of the title track, our jazz band played with him back in the day. Really nice and smooth, good funky bass, this was great. I get the Steely Dan references from other reviews, I don’t get the hate that other reviewers imply. Rating up, this was really nice.
Megadeth
4/5
Really solid metal album, doesn’t get muddy even though it’s decently heavy. Got a bit overlong but was still easy to listen through. 4/5
The Chemical Brothers
3/5
This was entertaining enough for background music while I was busy, but wasn’t keeping my interest when I was paying better attention.. decent beats that seem to fit what I remember was popular at the time. 3/5
Weather Report
4/5
Fun and upbeat, this was really good! 4/5 would listen again
Terence Trent D'Arby
3/5
This didn’t hit me with the greatest first impression, but it quickly got much better. I remember hearing ‘Wishing Well’ back in the day. 3/5 not really my style today but still decent
Judas Priest
4/5
The Darkness
5/5
OutKast
2/5
Way Wayne way too long and it suffers for the self-indulgence.
The Style Council
3/5
Okay but a bit boring, 2.5/5
Digital Underground
3/5
The Waterboys
3/5
Decent music but it’s hurt by being overlong
Serge Gainsbourg
1/5
Lecherous, creepy, gross.. whatever your adjective, this was not good
Sonic Youth
3/5
Sonic Yourh is a group I feel I should like more but never fully get it…
Stevie Wonder
4/5
‘Higher Ground’ was the highlight here
Scritti Politti
3/5
Decently fun sound, but nothing that I can see as particularly ground-breaking from my place of unfamiliarity
Screaming Trees
5/5
Really enjoyed this, good mix of grunge with straight 90s rock, with a sort of indie vibe In places too. Always hesitant to give 5 stars but this hit on a good day. 4.5/5
Lupe Fiasco
3/5
I enjoyed the Kanye-esque, sample heavy style, but this is also hurt by the overall length in my opinion (long outro track doesn’t help).. hard time rating this one.. 2.5/5
Richard Thompson
5/5
Didn’t feel great upon seeing this selection but wow was I wrong.. made it through twice without hesitation, really loved the variety. Unsure if this is an outlier from the singer/songwriter genre to me, or hit on a good day, or whatever else but this was great.
Caetano Veloso
4/5
Enjoyable album with an unfortunately low global score.. 3.5/5
Marvin Gaye
4/5
Hard not to bump this one up based on his talent alone
The Associates
2/5
Too much effort of the persona and gimmicky falsetto wailing; this was mostly a chore to get through, with occasional glimpses of enjoyment here and there. 2/5
Antony and the Johnsons
2/5
Decent sentiment, terrible execution. 1.5/5
Jazmine Sullivan
1/5
Can’t think of anything redeeming about this one… in the conversation for one of the worst I’ve had in this project so fae
Air
3/5
Great background music, so for a soundtrack that makes sense.. I watched this movie way back in the day but don’t remember much about it. Decent listening but more engaging albums score higher for me, 3/5
Björk
3/5
First keyword associated with this album is “interesting” and that is the long and short of it. Not bad but definitely polarizing for the listener, 2.75/5, I didn’t love it but respect the vision that Björk was going for
Frankie Goes To Hollywood
4/5
‘Relax’ is a classic hit but o was surprised how good the rest of this album was. I ended up listening through 3 times and it kept getting better.
Al Green
4/5
No bad tracks and a couple great ones. Got a bit monotonous but as short an album as it is, it was fine. 4.25/5
Cat Stevens
3/5
I always got an eerie feeling with Cat Steven’s. Like something is hidden behind the folky facade
Dwight Yoakam
3/5
Didn’t hate, didn’t love. 2.5/5
Dead Kennedys
4/5
Takes me a little bit to get into the Dead Kennedys but once I’m there I really like it. No bad tracks if you’re a punk fan, nice versatility and perfect length. 4.25/5
Fatboy Slim
2/5
At best it was pretty non-engaging and at worst it was boring. Nothing awful but nothing amazing either. 2.25/5
Donovan
4/5
Really only familiar with the title track, but this whole album was super solid. Enjoyed the variety, seems quite random in song selection but you can tell he’s doing his thing with sincerity. 3.5/5
Talking Heads
2/5
Pretty boring, didn’t get much out of this one. 2.25/5
JAY Z
3/5
Nice beats, didn’t seem super strong vocally but I’m less familiar with hiphop.. 2.5/5
Marvin Gaye
3/5
Pretty solid soul album, didn’t know any of these songs (or more likely just didn’t remember them). 3/5 average listening experience for me
Eminem
5/5
Reading the song titles I didn’t recognize many, but it all came back to me on listening. A lot can be said about the quite horrendous lyrics, but my opinion would be that personas are quite common in rap and could/should be separated from Eminem himself; even says it in ‘Stan’ he says things just playing, and Stan might need counseling if he can’t seperate that out. Should rate down for some of the crass things but he does rap with mastery and nostalgia also plays a part here.. 4.5/5
The Specials
3/5
Really fun album, but one listen through was enough. You need to be in the right mindset for ska. 3.25/5
Johnny Cash
3/5
Great live album, but my unpopular opinion is that Johnny Cash is a bit overrated. 3.25/5
Buck Owens
3/5
If you love Country/Western music this was probably amazing, if you hate it this will be a source of ridicule. I thought this was fine but fairly boring in a stereotypical C/W sound. 2.5/5
Small Faces
3/5
This was fine, not amazing but nothing terrible (hence why the rating distribution makes a lot of sense to me). I kept thinking this sounded so familiar until I realized I know their song ‘Itchycoo Park’ relatively well. Overall 3/5
Steely Dan
3/5
I enjoy Steely Dan enough, but liked this album a bit less that the global distribution shows. Maybe I got this on an off day and didn’t allow a deep enough listen. 2.75/5
Portishead
3/5
Found this a bit boring, but also had to listen at the end of a very long day and with little sleep.. rating average 3/5 but will need to revisit
Aerosmith
5/5
This was the first album I had (CD), probably because it was a favorite of my parents. And in this way, I listened to it so much I can’t really separate my nostalgia.
Dagmar Krause
2/5
This isn’t the worst thing I’ve heard but really wouldn’t listen again. A bit too avant garde for me, 2.25/5. Certainly not my least favorite from the project
Aretha Franklin
4/5
Respect is the top song here, but the whole album was pretty solid; I didn’t love the Sam Cooke covers but they weren’t hateful.
Sabu
3/5
This was a fun album, not something I would have searched out but a nice change up. 3/5
Neil Young
2/5
God I thought I was done with Neil Young!!! On seeing his name my heart sank, which is never good before judging what you listen to.. this was not my least favorite NY album here but God I hate his whiny voice, it instantly ruins every track for me.
2Pac
3/5
Realize I didn’t know what 2Pac sounded like..
Aerosmith
3/5
Many times I appreciate variety between tracks within an album, but being Aerosmith’s 10th album they should have it narrowed down a bit more. Not my favorite but not awful, 2.75/5
OutKast
3/5
The best songs are really good, the rest was pretty boring to me. If this is the best rap album of the century (according to the top rating) then I have no hope. 3/5
Stan Getz
3/5
Decent but a bit boring for me today.. boost for being atypical within the 1001 project
Miriam Makeba
4/5
Super fun world music, I really enjoyed it. 3.5/5
Venom
4/5
Global average less than 2.5 is definitely too low.. heard a lot of similarity to Metallica, Ozzy, Megadeth etc, and those groups are certainly regarded higher. Production value is lower so that hurts a bit but this sounds fairly influential.. 4/5
Billy Joel
5/5
Several songs that are big hits, and no real filler. I was thinking ‘Vienna’ was a sleeper gem but turns out it’s his #2 song on Spotify (what rock have I been under?).. Perfect album length, great songs that can be both dissected or played in the background.. 4.5/5
Moby Grape
4/5
This was a decent album although unfortunately somewhat forgettable. 3.5/5
Dr. Dre
3/5
Pretty iconic and important for the genre, but gangster rap isn’t really my cup of tea.. 3.25/5
Kendrick Lamar
2/5
Guess I’m missing something compared to the global averages.. Like many other rap albums on the project I admit my ignorance, but unlike many other rap albums here I didn’t find a single track that I would seek out after listening. Not terrible but quite boring. 2.25/5
Nanci Griffith
3/5
Quite pleasant-sounding but not terribly engaging for me on a hectic day preparing for thanksgiving. Gonna be a 3/5 for me today but I could reasonably raise if I revisit
AC/DC
4/5
Classic AC/DC that doesn’t go wrong, and I don’t care if many of the tracks sound similar. Lot of new songs to me and I did enjoy them all, great album length so nothing overstays its welcome. 4.25/5
Haircut 100
4/5
Bit disappointed to see another UK new-wave album here, but I was pleasantly surprised upon listening. I really enjoyed the jazzy accompaniment and it definitely elevated the listening experience. 3.5/5
Shuggie Otis
3/5
Decent but not sure I will recall any tracks in the next few days… 2.5/5
John Cale
3/5
Sounded like Raffi before he moved to children’s music. Not my favorite album but weirdly didn’t hate it. 2.5/5
Anita Baker
2/5
This was fine but like other reviewers stated, nothing too outstanding to me. Nice album to set the mood I guess? 2.5/5 rating down as I’m not expecting a strong desire to revisit
Supergrass
4/5
I liked this more than average, can’t really put my finger on why but it hit me on a good day I guess. 4/5
Cee Lo Green
2/5
Do not like his voice, enough that I don’t really give his songs a chance.
Dennis Wilson
4/5
Really loved the sound and variation of this album(s).. I also wish I could grow my hair and beard out like the cover art because I identify with the sadness in his eyes.
Joni Mitchell
2/5
I’ve enjoyed some other Joni Mitchell albums but this one didn’t pique my interest much. I may try to revisit this at some point but today 2.25/5
Django Django
4/5
I enjoy slightly weirder stuff like this. 3.5/5
Tori Amos
2/5
Recognized the name but didn’t really like this album. Sounded like she was trying too hard. 2/5
The Killers
5/5
Nice album with several very big songs. I can understand the dislike from others, but for my enjoyment and the lineup of singles 4.5/5
Led Zeppelin
4/5
Immigrant Song is awesome and a classic, the rest of the album was decent but not legendary and I kinda disliked the final track. Overall 4/5
The Beta Band
4/5
I enjoyed this, it’s got enough quirky strangeness to keep me listening, I kept thinking I was hearing Paul McCartneys voice though! Overall 3.75/5
Dr. John
4/5
Stuff like this is why I wanted to start this project! Really enjoyed the first half of the album but got a bit shrill toward the end (especially Croker Courtbullion, which I didn’t like much). Overall 4/5 would listen again
The Everly Brothers
4/5
This was classic bubblegummy, clean pop music. The length was great, easy to listen through multiple times. Easy 4/5 for today, but I could see my rating moving to 3 or 5 stars depending on my mood
Christine and the Queens
4/5
Not the greatest album I’ve enter heard, but I was weirdly into it. I typically enjoy foreign albums as I would not generally find them outside the 1001 project. Tended to like the French versions over the English, but I liked the modern take on an 80s sound. 3.75/5
John Martyn
3/5
Wasn’t a huge fan at first but it grew on me a bit on a second listen. I did like the guitar harmonics, quite a 70s start. Singer/songwriter genre doesn’t generally suit me and ratings are lower but this was tolerable.. 3/5
Marianne Faithfull
3/5
This was fine and sounded like something important for albums that came after, but in the end was rather forgettable for me. 2.75/5