Absolute banger. Such an important sound at the peak of the disco resurgence and an amazing showcase for Nile Rodgers as an arranger and guitar player. Bernard Edwards' bass is deep and grooving throughout — and from the drop on "Good Times" you immediately hear again all the places it went: Daft Punk's "Around The World," Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight," and inspiring Queen's John Deacon on "Another One Bites The Dust." The songwriting takes you all sorts of places as you hear who grew up listening to them - the chord progressions and harmony got deposited in dance artists of all stripes, again including Stardust and Daft Punk, even before they famously collaborated with Nile on Random Access Memories, as well as the grooves and whispers of "A Warm Summer Night" pointing ahead to Khruangbin ("Como Me Quieres"), whose guitarist Mark Speer also sports a trademark Strat.

I could write 10,000 words about how phenomenal this record is. Not only one of the best records of the post-punk era, or even the 70s, but arguably one of the greatest rock records of all time.

The most eclectic set of songs from the greatest band to ever play. Tons of interesting creative choices around a still-great foundation of pop songwriting. I can appreciate the back-to-basics approach they began here and completed on Let It Be. The Beatles were such a gift. It's a testament to them that this isn't even one of my very favorite records of theirs, and it's still an easy five stars.

Deservedly classic status - but to me, not on the same level as some of the other top-tier Dylan albums like Blood On The Tracks, Blonde on Blonde, and Highway 61 Revisited.

Definitely seemed like I didn't 'get' Neil Young the first half, but the title track and a number of others made me remember the first time I heard 'Cinnamon Girl.' Looking forward to more.

Had already heard this one several times. Mostly written off Muse as an over-earnest combination of Radiohead and Rachmaninoff. From this point in their career it felt increasingly ham-handed and on the nose in its political treatments ('you'll burn in hell' obviously directed at George W. Bush, the cover to Drones, "United States of Eurasia"), to the point my friend and I started referring to Muse as Matt Bellamy and The Tinfoil Hats. Willingness to overlook the clumsiness in favor of its world-conquering pop appeal has me utterly convinced this list was written by a British man who was at least young-ish when Black Holes And Revelations was present in the zeitgeist. Even typing that title confirms it. Despite the obvious gifting the group has in dynamics and harmony, it's difficult to overcome Bellamy's lyrics - though it does work at times when it feels like you can hear it in the arena ("Starlight"). Absolution still feels like the purest iteration of their shtick - though "Map Of The Problematique" remains utterly compelling when you gloss over 'why can't you see / when we bleed, we bleed the same'. I am looking forward to "Knights of Cydonia" at the finish, though, even if it again recalls Radiohead in its opening soundscape straight from "Lucky". Edit: how did I ever get past 'no one's gonna take me alive'? Another review decried Muse's fans as prattling on about the band's 'skills' instead of paying attention to the songwriting, which feels about as concise as it gets. Bonus track "Glorious" reminded me of hearing this album for the first time - the fireworks are awe-inspiring, until you get hold of the lyrics and yet again feel like its reach far exceeds its grasp.

I can see why these guys are treated as the Progfathers and it struck me how early this album seems in comparison to the well-studied acolytes I later heard and were enthralled by in my youth (i.e. Dream Theater). 2112 is well into Rush's recording career, and in 1976 was only 5 years after Led Zeppelin IV. Still seems like a band I would like more if I'd discovered them as a teenager. Doesn't have the wider pop and rock appeal of a Zeppelin but all the same intrigue, grandiosity - and ultimately, nerdiness - of Plant and Page's cinematism. Geddy Lee has an absolutely stunning vocal range, and Lifeson demonstrates pretty cutting-edge chops in a pre-Halen world. Won't be mad if Moving Pictures comes up somewhere else on the list, though.

A trip through 1001 albums with listening notes is nothing short of personal, and I'd be lying if I said this wasn't a five-star album in my catalogue, if not the very best of Elliott's releases. I've spun this more times than I can remember and I'm still gobsmacked by his impressive grasp of the most basic building blocks of pop music - the marriage of melody and harmony. He gets compared to the Beatles rightfully in this sense - but his unique vocal and undeniably sad story help set him apart as an artist that still seems singular to me, even 20 years on from his death. It could be my age and genre comfort speaking, but an album like Either/Or or Figure 8 feel to me pretty timeless - not a lot of era signposts giving away their age, and good melody never goes out of style. It gives the music grace and appeal. I'm constantly trying to emulate his economy of writing in my own songwriting attempts, and I'm still blown away that "Somebody That I Used To Know" gets in, roves through some supremely charming motifs, breaks your heart, and gets out in just over two minutes. A less-wise songwriter would be trying to get more mileage out of such tightly-crafted chord changes. "Stupidity Tries" remains one of my favorite Elliott Smith tracks, and "Son Of Sam" may well have been the first of his songs I ever heard - I even recall seeing a Figure 8 sticker on a lamppost on campus. Having watched replays of his short-lived show, it's apparent that Jon Brion must have been listening to Elliott demo "Everything Means Nothing To Me" when describing his utter bewilderment at the beauty of his songs in the Elliott doc Heaven Adores You. Only something so intricate and baroque could have so impressed a classically-hardened virtuoso.

Didn't much care for this! Pretty hippy-dippy for my tastes. Title track, "Once I Was," and "I Never Asked To Be Your Mountain" brightened the outlook in the second half somewhat. The front end was difficult to endure. Has me dreading Starsailor coming up, which I've listened to in the past and didn't really care for. Huge fan of Jeff Buckley, and expected to be fonder of his father's work, even though they weren't supposedly close.

Way better than expected. Can hear a lot of these songwriting grooves and motifs moving forward even into the pop of the 90s. Really good clarity on recording as well for the era.

Absolutely adore this record. Harrison finally allowed to soar unrestrained and shows himself to be a truly S-tier songwriter. Amazing arrangements, such a great showcase for his slide guitar as well. Classic as they come.

A fun classic. Wouldn’t make my top 500 though.

Wasn't sure I "got" it in the front half, which was disappointing having loved other Miles records. Definitely started to sink in, and the entire second half was instant genius. Brilliant jazz record.

Absolutely loved it. Definitely among my new favorite albums of its era - have listened to a bunch of Kate Bush before but never this album somehow. Magical. Amazing melodies and arrangements.

Coming in, TPAB was not the absolute top-tier listen that Good Kid, m.A.A.d City or DAMN. is, but still a really amazing rap album. Felt like it sat in that category of mid-2010s hip-hop album that is making strides in advanced in its scope and artistry, but somewhat at the cost of listenability and fun factor, similar to Frank Ocean's Blonde and Solange Knowles' A Seat At The Table. And listening now, I feel I was wrong. Incredible and newfound respect for it.

Loved revisiting Neil Young early in this list.

Fantastic Britpop entry.

Goes to show how far a great voice can carry a band, and boy does Caleb Followill have one. Very middle-of-the-road rock album to my ears, lyrically and musically, though "17" was more creative than I would have expected for a song of its content. I want to rate it low, but don't have a great reason. It's a 5/10 but I'll give it two stars.

Not for me I don't think.

Perfectly listenable album, but on an all-time-essentials list, an oddly pedestrian selection (even inside 2002 alone which saw the release of The Eminem Show, The Blueprint 2, Lord Willin', Fantastic Damage, and Legend of the Liquid Sword). Feels like a choice made by a hip-hop novice. Rating is for its inclusion, not its quality.

The undisputed greatest-ever of cool and a great early compilation of key steps in his lengthy journey as the dominant 20th-century figure shaping jazz and beyond.

A flawed masterpiece — I somehow can't give less than five stars. This is some of Brian Wilson's weirdest, wonderful-est music, and a great document detailing the fractured structure of the Beach Boys at a pivotal moment in their storied career. One of my favorite Beach Boys records.

A lovely listen, not transcendent to my ears - but a solid 7/10. Some fun tracks. Once again - feels like an inclusion localized to the whims and age of its selector.

A band aping AC/DC is always going to be less enjoyable than just listening to AC/DC — critics that make their comparison seemingly fail to recognize the force of nature that is Angus Young. I remember seeing The Cult at a festival show and thinking they were old and out of touch. Let's find out if they sound that way in their heyday. They don't feel particularly tight in the rhythm section — flubbed double-kicks in "Peace Dog" and "Aphrodisiac Jacket" — and the album winds up feeling 'loose' in none of the charming ways Zeppelin ever did. It doesn't come across as comparatively powerful-feeling in terms of the engineering and capture, either — guitars are over-bright, out of tune, and there are numerous drum takes that needed another take, have sloppy edits, or suffer from bad dynamics/compression. Back In Black was the supposed starting place for the guitar sounds of Electric - a comparison of their sonic similarities underscores the guitarists' old adage: "tone is in the fingers," because to my seasoned ears, they don't sound much alike. Listening to the intro of "Aphrodisiac Jacket," Angus and Malcom's guitars are much more mid-forward. Ian Astbury clearly grew up listening to Diamond Dave yowling his way through early Halen records, and this feels dated having been released nearly a decade after 1978's Van Halen I, with nowhere near the caliber of musicianship propelling it, and the comparison doesn't get rosier in either direction, either to Robert Plant's urgent wail on 1973's Zeppelin IV or alongside Guns 'N Roses' razor-sharp hedonism on Appetite For Destruction which also came out in 1987. Despite the above, "Bad Fun" and "Aphodisiac Jacket" have swagger to spare. An album, ONCE AGAIN, that feels selected as "essential" by an Englishman suffering from Nostalgia Fever. Should have stayed goth-rock if you ask me; they were heaps more compelling and forward-looking on 1985's sparkling "She Sells Sanctuary." Really didn't care much for this!

Every new track it sounds more like a musical. The opener is like the overture, with several musical motifs leading into an eight-minute title track. I was surprised to find Jim Steinman didn't also write musicals - you can hear the entire thing taking place on a stage with exposition and characters, etc. I get that it's an important album, but despite growing up listening to Andrew Lloyd Weber and other Broadway hits collections, I wouldn't ever put this on to vibe to.

You're a nut! You're crazy in the coconut! A certified 2000s indie classic! Listened many times before and it's a treat. Along with DJ Shadow's ...Endtroducing, it brought head-nodding plunderphonics to the headphones of many a listener of its era and beyond. Absolutely love this record. "Frontier Psychiatry" is the track I quote without hesitation when the mood strikes me. That boy needs therapy.

Another irresistible 2000s-era indie record, that like its Bruegel painting album art, hides a wealth of detail to be uncovered, stuff you might have missed the first time around. When I first heard this record, I knew it came with a lot of accompanying hype, and I was quick to dismiss it, perhaps because I wanted to play spoiler or it couldn't live up to impossibly high expectations. Before long I was revisiting it and have been proven wrong again and again ever since. Dense with a rainbow of Beach Boys-inspired harmonies, a depth of affecting songwriting, and richly strummed folk arrangements, it's truly one of the high water marks of its decade. Pretty rare that a band or songwriter manages to put it all together so quickly in their career; Robin Pecknold is a gift and an unreal vocal talent.

Enjoyed this more than expected. Classy pop music, great horn arrangements. I have a copy of Astral Weeks that rarely gets played, and I'm sure I'll see it on this list sooner or later.

If this album had Candle In The Wind, Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting, and Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, and 45 minutes of Elton John banging on a trashcan lid and screaming, it would still probably be a five star album

Probably my favorite Police record. Don't have to hesitate, five stars. A classic Art From Adversity record - some of Sting's very best songwriting. The band's best arrangement sense is on display, stripping tracks back in arrangement and mixing to their more essential parts. "Wrapped Around Your Finger" might still be my favorite Police song, and having it couched deep in a record loaded front-to-back with huge hits like "Every Breath You Take," "Synchronicity I," "Synchronicity II," and "King of Pain," this is one of the easiest five-star ratings I've yet given.

Just heard the inspiration for Roger Radcliffe's "Cruella de Vil" song in 101 Dalmatians in "Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-Lues Are," and my mind was pretty blown.

Absolute banger. Such an important sound at the peak of the disco resurgence and an amazing showcase for Nile Rodgers as an arranger and guitar player. Bernard Edwards' bass is deep and grooving throughout — and from the drop on "Good Times" you immediately hear again all the places it went: Daft Punk's "Around The World," Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight," and inspiring Queen's John Deacon on "Another One Bites The Dust." The songwriting takes you all sorts of places as you hear who grew up listening to them - the chord progressions and harmony got deposited in dance artists of all stripes, again including Stardust and Daft Punk, even before they famously collaborated with Nile on Random Access Memories, as well as the grooves and whispers of "A Warm Summer Night" pointing ahead to Khruangbin ("Como Me Quieres"), whose guitarist Mark Speer also sports a trademark Strat.

I get that the Kinks are "important," but not sure I got this album. Looking forward to revisiting it and hearing Something Else and Village Green Preservation Society, have enjoyed those in the past.

I've listened to a bunch of R.E.M.'s early catalogue since I grew up hearing hits from Automatic For The People, Monster, and Out Of Time, and not sure if I ever got all the way through Murmur. It strikes me how muscular the band sounds despite a skeleton trio of musicians, and how fully formed they feel for a debut. "Radio Free Europe" is a heck of an opening statement, and you can already hear the latent wistfulness to come on later releases on "Perfect Circle." As jangle pop acts go, I was surprised to see Murmur beat The Smiths to the punch in terms of the year it was released. Enjoyed this a lot.

Not expecting to like this much. "Blister In The Sun" always struck me as a song that got radio play for its weirdness more than its tunefulness -- which with many other albums has been a tick in the plus column. Not sure it is for me this time. I love Daniel Johnston, Pavement, Tom Waits - all the weird, wacky, idiosyncratic, messy artists, but at some point the rubber meets the road and music should ultimately be something you want to listen to again and again. And on that basis, this album has overwhelmingly earned its one star, because I don't have the slightest desire to ever hear this again. I did genuinely enjoy "Prove My Love," however. Hated it. Glad I listened.

Fantastic album. I'd somehow never heard "Racing In The Street" before and it's utterly heartbreaking.

Be interested to see if there's more entries - Boy With The Arab Strap or The Life Pursuit. Just on the side of four stars and an enjoyable listen from Belle & Sebastian.

Reading the history of Industrial Metal and Rock, Ministry hardly seems like the first to do what they're achieving here, with even popular industrial bands like Nine Inch Nails having released 1989's Pretty Hate Machine — to say nothing of earlier contributions from Neu!, Joy Division, or Iggy Pop, and even artists before them. It's fun to hear the crevices that an influence like Ministry will have crept into, even in more recent releases, things like Factory Floor, Women, and Viet Cong / Preoccupations. Still, have to say I enjoyed this more than expected. There's a lot more room for creativity in expression through repetition than we often realize — and as many house and dance music aficionados could attest.

Heard this album about a million times. Despite it being down-the-center boomer rock and a little cheesy in the lyrics department, it's a certified classic and a production master class by the genius that is Tom Scholz - the story behind it being an incredible covert recording operation that put big-name producers in fancy studios to shame.

I heard the lead singer of The Chats once distill punk as something like, 'it's easy to play punk rock, it's much harder to BE punk rock.' And I think that mostly captures the significance of this record. Iggy Pop was punk before punk existed, which was perhaps as consequential an achievement as the songwriting and technical execution of Iggy & The Stooges' actual songs and albums. On Raw Power, I can naturally hear ahead to The Ramones, The Clash, and The Sex Pistols, but also even as far ahead as Queens of The Stone Age ("Go With The Flow" lifting the driving riffs and banging piano from "Raw Power" + "I Wanna Be Your Dog" from Iggy's S/T). Looking forward to hearing more, probably at least Lust For Life and The Idiot. Still, in my view 'punk' and 'cred' for their own sake do not a great artist make of Iggy Pop any more than they do of GG Allin. Moreover, on a pure listening level, with its eight songs comprising 34 minutes of music: fully 50 years removed, it's certainly a classic, but it's hard to think of Raw Power as a true five-star album.

Kid B! I'm a reasonable man, get off my case. A staggeringly complex and important record from a band in one of its golden periods. Absolutely love this record!

Amazing how "old school" and corny the Jurassic 5 record sounded by comparison to an actual honest-to-God Old School classic rap record.

Undeniable talent. Gone too soon.

I could write 10,000 words about how phenomenal this record is. Not only one of the best records of the post-punk era, or even the 70s, but arguably one of the greatest rock records of all time.

See: previous notes about an Englishman editor overly fond of missable good-not-great records of his youth.

I stood up and I said yeah! Unqualified monster of an album and one of my favorites of the 90s. Wayne Coyne's broken tenor always sounds so tender and sweet, Steven Drozd pulling double duty as a truly inspired drummer and guitarist at the same time...and Michael Ivins' bass definitely had a breakthrough on this and Yoshimi. Not to mention a celebrated producer in Dave Fridmann really shooting the gap by both helping a band yearning to experiment and helping them sound their best while doing it. I've commented that it's a shame bands like The Flaming Lips could hardly ever exist anymore — to be given five albums' worth of leash by a major label (and nine albums total) before everyone could agree they'd truly hit their stride. Love this album.

Enjoyed this more than expected! Can hear the direct lines to contemporaries The Prodigy and Aphex Twin. Enjoyably lengthy meditations on the hypnotic slow evolution of a beat.

A disco classic and surely among the greatest of Michael's incredible career alongside Bad and Thriller.

Another good-not-great UK album is selected by an English editor. I listened and enjoyed but it's hard to see this approaching 'essential.'

Frustrating how many times (in the first 50 albums alone!) I feel like the editor was trapped in his own bubble, foisting UK artists up as more impactful or significant than they really were. Opener "Dreamin'" feels woefully behind its time; before the vocals start, it sounds like a Sonic The Hedgehog soundtrack entry unearthed nearly a decade after the game was released. Thankfully it gets brighter from there - easy to see a line ahead to Justice's emergence in 2006-07 on "Soft Machine," and "Music Makes You Lose Control" got to Hot Streak's source six years ahead of Missy Elliot. I think the vocal performances and samples are so earnest they feel dated, as if they could sit alongside La Bouche or Corona, but thinking back, I remember thinking the same about Romanthony's turns on Daft Punk's Discovery. Still, hearing a vocal positively dripping with vibrato warbling "the fullness of a great love are bells and wedding rings," fully three years after the Spice Girls dropped "Wannabe," makes "Take A Little Time" sound about as fresh as hair metal after Nevermind dropped. You can hear Fatboy Slim in the air as "Brothers" was put together. Overall it feels really uneven, less "omnivorous" than just herking and jerking between disparate influences that are not well blended.

Such a great record. Never heard The Temptations for a full LP's length. "Runaway Child, Running Wild" feels so wonderfully out of place for a 60s record, running nine minutes in an album full of tracks that otherwise average well under three minutes. Lush harmonies and arrangements, brilliant grooves.

About as good as rock concept albums get and undoubtedly one of the high points of Green Day's career. Not just huge hits but a real palpable sense of depth and foresight.

There is “songwriting” without scope or revision, there is “singing” without tunefulness, there is “a band” without much discernible musuc being played in concert between its members. It sounds like they’re watching each other play through glass and guessing what would work. I can draw lines to Velvet Underground, Joy Division, even modern bands like Women and Preoccupations, but this is completely meaningless to me. Maybe there is some depth to be gleaned from this for someone else, but to my ears it sounds almost antithetical to the entire point of listening to music.

Not much to add, one of the greatest records ever made by one of the world's biggest and best bands.

Fantastic old pop jazz record! Really enjoyed this! Some old classics I had no idea went this far back.

Love Doolittle. Looking forward to seeing some more Pixies on this list as well.

I used to get so many copies of this record at auction when waiting for furniture to come up for bid. I have some fond memories of listening to them, and it's hard to deny an era-icon smash like "Dancing Queen," but ABBA are for me a Greatest Hits type of group.

Adele has such an incredible and singular voice. Immaculately produced and performed, but in my view doesn't ascend to the very highest tier of pop songwriting.

Never listened to a Genesis record before! Really loved it.

A decent metal album. Not far enough into the roots of the genre to really feel or see its impact. Not overly special to me as an outsider to this era.

Records like this illuminate why Eric Clapton was such an important and influential figure in western popular music for the last 50+ years.

Listened once, didn't really get it. Turned it up on round two and really enjoyed this.

Intro (3 minutes) and Outro (12 minutes!) were dumb and overlong, and everything in between was pretty phenomenal.

All the elements are there, just not really for me I don't think.

Not an idea I'm aware of having been tried before this, and an interesting one that was well executed. Gripes about Metallica's mid-to-late period transition, this still captures the band delivering a lot of Black-era and prior tracks in an entirely different light. "No Leaf Clover" was a welcome revisit as well.

Album's not even done and it's just not for me. I'd heard Sade was well-regarded critically, and had really hoped for more - repeated listens aren't going to change my opinion of some milquetoast soft rock.

One of my favorite Stevie Wonder records! A really strong entry in a stunningly lengthy golden period for one of the true greats.

Enjoyed this way more than expected. Really strong melodies and musicianship. Grooves for days.

Back-to-back on the African Continent! Enjoyed this as well. There's a fun interplay between the two guitars; Cooder's rangy American influence and Touré's African style blend really nicely.

Headed into the center of the Berlin period after this, Young Americans is a great record from Bowie, but for me not one of his upper-upper-tier ones.

Two Stevie Wonder golden-era records in one week's time! This is probably the third of my three favorite Stevie records, along with Innervisions and Talking Book. A worthy and timeless culmination of his best period. Imagining a 26-year-old writing, arranging, and recording nearly everything here by himself is utterly flabbergasting. It still stands untarnished today, a testament to his genius. Probably somewhere on my shortlist for greatest albums ever recorded.

Absolute legend of a singer-songwriter. Love this record.

Never knew all the history of folk, country, and rock & roll that was wrapped up in the making of this band and record. Loved it.

Definitely feels like a classic of its era and genre, probably just won't ever be essential to me personally. Loved it.

Some people would probably write this off as generic touristy beach music, but I think it's so reminiscent of that because of its cool evocative power - really enjoyed this.

I have a pretty wide palate, but it's difficult to imagine this being in a rotation of music I would listen to for any kind of traditional enjoyment. There just aren't many contexts in which this music is appropriate or exciting.

The Boss remains a pretty singular artist all these years later.

Expected to enjoy this, sounded very dated and unexciting. Have to revisit.

Reggae music just won't ever mean that much to me.

I expected to like this record, but it absolutely blew me away. I've loved Frank Sinatra for years, but never sat down to a start-to-finish on any of his 'classic' records. This record's nearly eighty years old and you can still sense and revisit his heartbreak over Ava Gardner from start to finish. In The Wee Small Hours is a mood and a half.

I've seen BB King perform live, but listening to him wail in his prime, it's clear why he had the enduring legacy and respect I saw him enjoy in his twilight years. He is a force of nature — in both his playing and singing.

Mostly down-the-center songwriting, and nothing about the arrangements, the timeliness of the instrumentation, or artistic flair elevates it beyond that middling foundation. "Just My Imagination," "Stand Up," and "If You Think You're Lonely Now" nearly rescued this up to a four. Well delivered and I'm sure it was enjoyable in its time. In retrospect, aggressively mediocre.

Still captures the dawn-of-internet era sentiment like no other. In my personal top 5 and one of the greatest albums ever recorded, full stop.

Just a fantastically sad singer-songwriter record. Packed front-to-back with songs that on their face, are simple and memorable but are secretly more harmonically astute, more lyrically sly, and as many guitarists have discovered - way more difficult to play than they sound. My personal favorite Elliott Smith record and his most essential entry - at the apex of his self-recorded mastery.

Really enjoyed this and could see revisiting. Super vibey and sparse for an alt-country act in 1988!

I'll never forget when I stumbled over a YouTube recording of MC5 playing on a 1972 German television broadcast of Beat Club. Rob Tyner's larger-than-life stage presence and afro bobbing around as he glistened and fist-pumped his way through "Kick Out The Jams" instantly made me lose my cool. From the drop they don't miss; the band opens with four titanic blasts of guitar, bass and drums, and throughout the whole set are clearly in tight command of their groove. I wish this record were as well-mixed as that broadcast was! MC5 is clearly an essential document of its time and forerunner to punk - have to give it five stars, but it bums me out to know even Wayne Kramer described this recording as not their best night.

Enjoyed this classic. It's on the border, but can't put it in five-star territory.

This is a fine album and enjoyable in its own context. And owing to his influence on the wider world of the Hammond organ, it feels right to call it a five-star classic. But it's hard to place as a jazz album in a list amongst mostly popular music albums that exist mostly as distinct artistic statements, where Back At The Chicken Shack is one slice of a constant outflow of Smith's jazz recordings throughout the 50s, 60s, and 70s — this album even being one of a pair (the other being Midnight Special) culled from a single session at Van Gelder Studios.

Enjoyed this - not an essential listen I'll revisit soon, but a mature set of songs with some fun production flourishes.

I've listened to this album every which way on Complete Third, starting over and restarting further back, losing track of where I was in the rough mixes, semi-finished mixes, demos, and "finished" versions. It has genuine moments of brilliance and sadness, basically chronicling the demise of the gone-too-soon Big Star. But it isn't really a "record" compiled with a lot of apparent artistic intent, at least not that of the people who recorded it. Listening to the demos is really enjoyable — a better experience than most retrospective fans-only troves — but trying to put a bow on it feels odd and ultimately it just isn't complete enough an effort to warrant the breathless praise I've sometimes read about it. That said, it really puzzles me and I've come to listen to it again and again.

Unquestionably a watershed record for metal and hard rock. Star-making for the entire band, particularly Axl and Slash, and contains no fewer than three of rock's very best-known 80s anthems.

Two songs in, I had very little drive to finish this, and after it was over, no inclination to ever hear it again. If Palo Congo is "important", respectfully, I don't have any desire to understand why. There's already more music available to be heard than a person can listen to in one lifetime.

Absolute blast of a record and a heavy metal essential classic.

I don't know how I'm supposed to give this less than five stars when it's plainly easy to enjoy, even as background rock 'n roll - and inspired countless legends that meant and contributed so much to pop music.

Coming to most of Metallica's early catalog as a more mature listener definitely highlights the raw appeal of the early thrash entries, but without all the expectation and disappointment to get over when Black came later - been enjoying everything they've thrown at me (despite years of hearing how bad a drummer Lars is). "Epic" as a descriptor has long fallen into overuse, but some of the riffs and songs here actually beg the term. "One" and "...And Justice For All" are a pretty neat pair of melodic treats.

Even acknowledging Eminem's master flow and undeniable impact on the rap industry, it's pretty hard to get past the puerile and violent humor. On a personal level, I just can't really listen to and enjoy this.

Blood On The Tracks is a quintessential singer-songwriter album from one of the best to ever do it. Among my very favorite records of all time.

Really enjoyed this. Have to engage in some re-listens, and I'm hoping to, before it climbs any higher.

Not surprised to see this on some 'greatest live albums of all time' lists. This album absolutely rules from the drop. Incredibly funky and groovy throughout, you can't help but move to it.

A decent slice of pop hair metal. Well produced.

Tough call for this one! Admittedly I've loved it for a long time and can sing along to the whole thing. But even acknowledging its influence and the worldwide smash hits it spawned, it felt hard to give it 5 stars. But on the scale of whether I plan to hear it again in this lifetime, the answer is almost certainly, so... It's something like a stage show in Las Vegas, its city of origin - undeniably glitzy, sparkling, dramatic, well-produced, and a hell of a show. Maybe not a place you want to park yourself for a lifetime - but listening 20 years on, Brandon Flowers still clearly oozes showmanship, but also seems to really grapple with the humanity of the best songwriters of the 50 years of pop songwriting that preceded him.

In the last ten years of music I've ingested, Nick Cave has been among the most consistently rewarding and interesting to listen to.

Will be re-listening to a lot of Sonic Youth's back catalogue I expect.

Always liked this record. Super groovy, but comparatively subtle and tasteful as 70s rock records go.

Some fun hits and some meaningless repetitive drivel.

Probably my favorite of Taylor Swift's records. Not a masterclass of songwriting, but a certified pop megasmash for a reason.

One of the great vocal talents capitalizing on a relatively young genre - way more interesting and enjoyable than I would have expected.

The most eclectic set of songs from the greatest band to ever play. Tons of interesting creative choices around a still-great foundation of pop songwriting. I can appreciate the back-to-basics approach they began here and completed on Let It Be. The Beatles were such a gift. It's a testament to them that this isn't even one of my very favorite records of theirs, and it's still an easy five stars.

An utterly singular group of musicians make not just their best record, but one of the greatest rock records ever recorded. A lot of hyperbole will get penned in this list, but it's Zeppelin IV...there's just not much more to add; it's a flawless and timeless record.

I get it. Pretty revolutionary. I enjoyed Raising Hell more.

I've owned this one a while, but it took relistening a couple of times to really cement it as an album I think of as a favorite.

Christina Aguilera, the artist: Otherworldly talent. Slick pop prowess. Stripped, the album: Some great beats. Overlong. Tepid songwriting.

Among the first masterstrokes for Rick Rubin as a producer! Compare this kind of fun-loving old-school rap with the Slim Shady LP and it's aged so much more gracefully. It's rough around the edges, sure, but it comes off as playful grinning rather than antisocial, aggressive, and cringeworthy. The Beastie Boys were much more astute in the game than anyone saw at the time - this was only two years after Run DMC hit the scene. License To Ill is the ultimate Just Guys Being Dudes record and a ton of fun to spin.

Didn't hate it. Some fun beats, but the big beat genre doesn't mean a lot to me to begin with, and nothing here really transcends it - though I'm expecting Fat Of The Land might in places.

My first ever Neil Young album. I'll always love it.

I knew Thom Yorke liked this band, and I get why. I'd seen positive things written about They Threw Us All In A Trench And Stuck A Monument On Top, Drum's Not Dead, and the Liars self-titled record, and I've listened to and mostly enjoyed those records. This seems like an odd record to have chosen from that bunch, as it's a huge departure from the wild dance-punk vibe of "Plaster Casts Of Everything" or deep synth journeys like "It Fit When I Was A Kid." Some folks will listen to Fats Domino or Little Richard and just not be able to get past the sounds and songs that, fifty years earlier, were a huge inspiration to the timeless music of The Rolling Stones or The Beatles, or whoever. That is what this record is now. Maybe it inspired others and spurred on their greatness, but what is great and enduring about They Were Wrong, So We Drowned as an album in itself will probably be lost on most people. I'm one of those people. Would I rather listen to this than Vanessa Carlton? Yes. Will I listen to it again? No.

Really enjoyed this! Ira and Charlie's shared blood harmony absolutely slays.

This album has the all-time undisputed greatest Christmas song ever - "Fairytale of New York" has heart, it has shame and regret, it has hopes and dreams, love and loss, venom and loyalty. In short, it's one of the most human songs ever recorded. The record around it is enjoyable, some of the lyrics are completely unreal - but Shane MacGowan is in places nearly unintelligible, like on the masterpiece lyrics from "Bottle of Smoke." I'll have to return to this one to really give it its due, but despite the horse winning at 25-to-1, I don't see this record getting a podium finish.

Definitely somewhere in my personal top 50. An absolute classic of the genre and probably top 5 rap records of its era. Incredible storytelling arc, melodies, bars, flow, beats, characters...all of it executed masterfully.

#im14andthisisdeep

Enjoyable! Pt. 2 in particular was engaging.

Such a huge record. Had no idea how much These New Puritans and side C of Destroyer's Kaputt owed to this record before I'd heard it all the way through — another in that list of records you've heard a number of tracks from without realizing it. Enjoyed this immensely. Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith are far more studious musicians and writers than a casual All-80s-Weekend radio marathon might suggest.

Lyrics are ham-fisted in many places ("The Fear"), milquetoast in others ("Driftwood"). Serviceable music with some fun and unexpected turns ("Writing To Reach You," "The Last Laugh Of The Laughter"). They came about around the same time, but listening to "As You Are," it's literally like listening to Matt Bellamy's mewling whine over superficially sophisticated chord progressions. It happens again at "Why Does It Always Rain On Me?" It's perhaps telling that the secret track stashed hidden at the end of "Slide Show" is far and away the best-written; for a record so adored by the British press, The Man Who is frustratingly vanilla for a lot of its runtime. This record would mean more to me if I'd discovered it before my friends at age 20, and I'd have told all of them about it.

I can't help but compare Janis Joplin to Robert Plant, a singularly-gifted vocalist fronting a band that clearly owes a lot to the blues genre. Unfortunately, Janis and her co-writers don't transcend and augment their roots in quite the way Zeppelin did time and again, leaving Pearl feeling like a very competent band playing era-specific blues rock.

Great groove and arrangements. Listening to this is probably where I've felt closest to understanding the wide love for Bob Marley. I can connect to some other production and arrangement touchstones from its era that I love from artists like Bob Dylan, and I can hear the effect Marley had on Eric Clapton.

Me: What kind of music do you like listening to? Person: 90s dance. I especially love Deee-Lite! Me: That's great. Love that for you. Person: Have you ever listened to Deee-Lite? Me, hurrying away: I sure have!

Merely fine.

A puzzling and intriguing listen that I've come back to several times. Super influential.

Really enjoyed the production on this one. A fitting swan song for The Smiths.

It’s Hendrix. I could give a perfunctory five stars, but Electric Ladyland really deserves it. A timeless Dylan cover (“All Along The Watchtower”), a timeless song of Jimi’s own to be covered by SRV later (“Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)”), and jams that would go on to inspire psychedelic acolytes near and far, not least of which the Smashing Pumpkins (“1983…(A Mermaid I Should Turn to Be)”) — this record could well be the ultimate expression of the three-piece Hendrix despite the two landmark records that preceded it. Unmissable and unforgettable.

Some exciting bits. If the rest of the record had gone on with riffs as strong as "Dumb Waiters," this might feel more like the overlooked classic it's being billed as, rather than just an era-noteworthy record.

Really loved this. Cradles you in the groove and the immense highs and lows of its writing from start to finish.

Listenable and enjoyable, not world changing.

I hear this moving forward to bands like LCD Soundsystem, Yard Act and even Arctic Monkeys, but it's a pretty nascent expression, doesn't groove like its antecessors, and doesn't appear to have aged as well to my ears.

A flawless expression of everything an electronica duo can and should be. Brilliantly visualized in its samples, soundstage and music videos. Absolutely as vital as anything ever put out by Pet Shop Boys, Basement Jaxx, Daft Punk, or Boards of Canada. This has all the style The Chainsmokers would later reach for without the servile fealty they swear to what will market profitably. Absolutely an essential electronica / DJ album, bar no era.

With her stage antics, demeanor on her late-night appearances, and literally hanging her hat on being young and carefree on her signature hit "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun," I expected a debut that would sound dated, immature, and faddish. What I discovered, however, was that Cyndi Lauper was a startlingly mature pop artist who — just after her 20th birthday — released a really enjoyable classic record.

Some fun parts, other parts kinda sleepy and wandering.

Looking forward to Voodoo and have REALLY enjoyed Black Messiah before - but having never heard this, it sounded less revolutionary to me than just super locked-in. Basically, a collection of old-school extended R&B jams to my ears ("I said I got a jones / in my bones"...ad infinitum), which didn't light my fire in any special way.

Can't add anything that hasn't been said. Gigantic singles. Undeniable, phenomenal talent. Changed the game forever. And also unbelievably difficult to endure over an hour seasoned generously with unhinged violence, unapologetic misogyny, open bigotry, and skits that aged like milk.

I've been a fan of Bryan Ferry for awhile and had previously sampled Roxy Music, but never been puzzled and delighted over and over again by it in this way. I held off returning a score for awhile, and I've found I can't quit this record.

I had a pretty hard time with this at first, and I'm still kinda wrestling with Straight Outta Compton obviously being a landmark record with some pretty cutting-edge DJing and MCing at the time. It's a bit overlong, but the beats get better as the record goes on, some of the corny flow settles down into some old-school flow. Some of the sampling is ahead of its time and obviously influenced generations of hip hop artists to come. Still, I probably won't have this on for my own listening enjoyment, and while a lot of the material hasn't aged well, other parts of it are derivating even given the time period.

Really loved this.

A top record I've loved since I was a kid and my parents played it around the house. Beautiful arrangements played in a way no Western musicians ever could or would - the African continent is audible all over this from the wonderful harmonies, polyrhythms, and unique tones and attacks of every instrument involved. Brilliant songwriting from Paul Simon - definitely a high water mark in a career already full of achievements.

Just really enjoyable and well arranged.

Definitely will be revisiting this. Just classic, reliably great songwriting and delivered with such passion and energy.

I knew Jon Lord was a complete wizard, but I didn't appreciate just how technically accomplished the band was — Blackmore in particular — until I'd heard all of Machine Head in one go. Very nearly five stars for me, amazing collection of songs and the band feels really tight and powerful.

Simply put, not that important or impactful a record.

Can't find fault with this. Bowie classic, tuneful and easy. Sits with the best of his early era.

A bit too much instrumental soundtrack material to put it with Mayfield's top tier, but a phenomenal OST.

Great delivery and poetry, but have never totally connected with TV On The Radio. Enjoyed Dear Science more myself.

One of the peaks of the genre, not just for its era. Really love this record.

Probably half the 5 star ratings for this record don’t even know Otis Redding wrote “Hard To Handle.”

Genius on display! Really didn’t expect to enjoy this so much, but the beats and flow were absolutely top tier and back up the titanic reputation Hov carries to this day.

Probably a top 20 record for me and certainly the best Who record. Loaded front to back with smash singles and iconic classic rock anthems.

Mercury Prize winners actually have a pretty decent artistic pedigree, to be fair, but this isn't for me.

Pet Sounds is an undisputed all-timer. However, listening also to The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s — the record that upon hearing it, supposedly finally broke Brian Wilson’s fragile psyche — I can hear why it so astounded him. It’s full of life and color, from its patchwork cover to the genres they skipped over with ease, navigating huge orchestral accompaniments, chamber pop, heavy rock, and their famous sunny pop, with apparent ease. Wilson’s masterpiece shows more labor and harmonic genius, but the Beatles made it look easy and fun. Still, Pet Sounds is beatific and packed with stunning harmonies and a brilliant childlike sense of wonder and discovery. I was happy to listen and enjoy it all over again.

Amy was a fantastic talent, enjoyed this — but not absolute top tier songwriting or poetry for me. Stylish as, though.

Although the band would acrimoniously later break up just two years after this record released — hilariously and unbelievably enough, with John Fogerty’s erstwhile bandmates later suing him for writing songs that sounded too much like CCR, the band he fronted and was primary songwriter for — this remains a classic document of a band at the top of their game. John’s vocal howl, a tight rhythm section, judicious cover choices, an unmistakably powerful guitar tone, and timeless songwriting is worth listening to over and over, and I surely have.

This is a seminal, respected, essential work by a legendary punk band? Awesome. Love that for you.

Pretty enjoyable slice of 60s rock and psychedelia. Underrated in its time, it points forward in a number of directions and is delivered at a remarkably high level of performance and capture quality.

Rourke and Joyce sound muscular, some pretty timeless jangle from Mr. Johnny Marr, and Morrissey in his prime.

A strong rap album for its era. Calls ahead to records like To Pimp A Butterfly that marry social consciousness with dense live arranged live jazz arrangements.

Never listened to Pantera! I can hear lines to Metallica, Dream Theater, Black Flag, Alice In Chains, and lots of late 90s and 2000s punk, metal, and hard rock. Enjoyed it.

Some bits of enjoyable slacker rock.

Although I prefer to adhere to the UK Beatles catalogue since it seems less manufactured and closer to the artists' intent, I'm tempted to reach for "Paint It, Black" (from the US release) to include here because it edges Aftermath into timelessness — of their early singles, "Mother's Little Helper" and "Under My Thumb" are already two of my favorite Stones entries. Really great record and an important document in rock and roll and British invasion.

Steven Malkmus and Pavement are among the first times I can recall doing a complete 180° from "how could anyone enjoy this?" to "this is so brilliant and catchy."

I'm reminded of The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy's description of the Earth: "Harmless." The difference being, if this album had been disintegrated into a whiff of hydrogen, ozone, and carbon monoxide by a Vogon Constructor Fleet, it wouldn't have moved the plot forward.

Not much to say. Rob Gordon picked "I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever)" to cap his story with and mixtape for Laura in High Fidelity, and it wasn't chosen for no reason. One of Stevie Wonder's greatest, which is rarified air.

The talent is obvious and overflowing. I just feel I'd just have to really want to get fully into jazz to truly feel the significance and history of this record.

I can't escape this record. Perhaps because it departs so starkly from the pop of its era, it astounds and confounds me in a way I really rather enjoy. I just keep listening, and that might be the metric that matters most.

Absolutely timeless voice as both a songwriter and vocalist. Loved this record.

Enjoyed this!

I seem to recall reading that the British press had called Talk Talk's late masterpieces insufferably indulgent. Reading contemporary reviews of Sulk, they appear to have gotten those records and this one both wrong.

Fun journey and enjoyed the gospel closer.

Really fun listen; I get that this might seem indulgent to others, but it's got such interesting progressions that it keeps exciting my ears over and over. Really long and hard to imagine revisiting often, but feels like an achievement for its time.

Really enjoyed the tunefulness and inventiveness of this one.

Fantastic entry in Joni's storied catalogue. Absolute masterclass in songwriting and arrangement from start to finish. Murderer's row of session musicians.

Probably a top 20 record for me personally. Loved Frank since I stumbled over Nostalgia, Ultra — and Channel Orange is somewhere near the peak of modern R&B. Soulful without being saccharine, melodic without being showy, contemplative without being dour. Frank makes us feel it.

Super enjoyable record. I'd never spent much time with The Isley Brothers before this, outside of their well-known singles. It breezed by as a listen, folding in some well-chosen covers ("Sunshine (Go Away Today)", "Summer Breeze," "Listen To The Music," etc.) I wound up Googling immediately.

This is about as good as Peter Gabriel has ever got — and So can sit with any of his best material. It's about as good as pop in the 80s got, for that matter.

Storied band that can hardly be described without "proto-" as a descriptor. In context, significant. More than fifty years removed, it feels like they were progenitors very quickly passed up by their contemporaries.

This whole record's production sounds so flat and lifeless. This is a real drag, because as a hyper-glam pop outfit, it has to sound as slick and glitzy as possible — it certainly isn't getting by on the strength of its poetry or the god-awful "Comfortably Numb" cover. Ta-Dah and after have much more to offer in my view.

So I'm supposed to write something novel about one of the most towering artistic pop music achievements of the 20th century, often cited as one of the greatest albums by the world's best and best-known band. Got it. You could say it's a pretty good record.

Even early on, Steely Dan had such strong grooves and harmonies throughout their records.

This record seems so lacking in self-awareness of its camp, it is practically gagging for parody. In fact, I'm quite sure it has been skewered someplace mercilessly, probably in something Christopher Guest wrote — it's giving "listen (shh!) to what the flower people say" in a major way. "Mercy I Cry City" and "Waltz of the New Moon" swooped in to rescue this from the lowest of the low.

Pretty seminal rock and roll album; it's eerily transportive. Super crisp capture for its era, the record still sounds totally alive and kicking for 1967. Jim Morrison is clearly shaping the frontperson paradigm in real time and is absolutely electric all over this record.

Some big beats and enjoyable old-school rap by a pioneer.

For me, it takes a pretty special record to still be connecting with it despite a language barrier. Over an hour of paced, cyclical African folk jams hasn't done it for me.

Probably my favorite Stones record.

Enjoyed the background vocals in particular, but didn't find the rich grooves I had hoped for when recalling the live record with Ginger Baker.

A real time capsule of a record! Really enjoyable.

I had high hopes after the strength of the opener - it felt like it was opening up a window into modern soul. And by the end — the sound clips and paint-by-number lyrics ("lying on the ground / feeling like a dyin' man / no reality / fading memories / following the crowd / coulda been a stronger man") made a lot of the drama and weight it was reaching for seem unearned.

An absolute stunner and a record I had already coincidentally been listening to on repeat this week. Along with Hejira, Blue is the absolute peak of Joni Mitchell records.

Can we get much higher? Iconic opener and the whole record goes incredibly hard. In his peak years — and people forget there were many good records, over a long period of time — Kanye was truly a master at work.

Very strong debut by one of the biggest bands of their generation. It never hit me just how much heavy lifting Jonny Buckland is doing here. Despite his inexperience, even starting out it's obvious Chris Martin is a really natural frontman and marries some really mature progressions with singable melodies. To my eyes, however, he's had a remarkably uneven track record with his lyrics — some of them are understated and affecting: "spiderweb, and it's me in the middle," from "Trouble"; others are ham-fistedly first-draft material: "I know you won't listen to me / 'cause you say you see straight through me," from "Shiver."

Some absolutely classic material ("Born On The Bayou," "Proud Mary,") mixed in with some more nascent stabs — by way of example, nothing about the writing or execution of "Graveyard Train" justifies its eight-and-a-half-minute runtime.

I remember disliking The White Stripes because I thought Jack White couldn't play guitar, and Meg White couldn't play drums. It wasn't until later I realized that not only was Jack White a brilliant songwriter and phenomenal guitarist, he and Meg were focused on a kind of raw expression I couldn't conceive of at the time — one that far outstripped any concept I'd had of technical perfection.

Such a haunting record. Ian Curtis broods over every track like a man possesed.

I generally regarded Queen as a Greatest-Hits type band (excepting maybe A Night At The Opera and The Game), but I feel this may have begun to shift my opinion of that. Queen had so singular a sonic signature that the moment their acolytes (read: a band like The Struts) begin to approach, it sounds like shallow aping.

Like its titular locomotive, Trans Europe Express is nothing short of transportive. Unreal.

In my opinion, it wasn't until later that Radiohead would go on to craft timeless genre-defining and genre-breaking masterpieces. Still, The Bends feels easily among the best albums of the 90s.

After years of revering this album, I've come to feel it's the kind of music I enjoy more in person and less on record.

Such a fun record. Looks ahead to Spoon (sounds like Britt Daniel's raspy howl on "The Beat") and back to The Rolling Stones ("You Belong To Me" recalls "The Last Time"). Fully sixteen tracks, but it rolls by and you turn it over again.

Unbelievable talent of soul. One of a kind voice.

Impossible to overstate how significant a record Revolver is to me personally and to popular music.

Really fun heavy metal record. Super tight for live and all the attitude.

Boots and cats for British gearheads.

Fantastic showcase for the Genius of Soul.

Despite loving some other chamber pop favorites, this wasn't for me. The album's remaster included some extra odds and sods material, and I surprisingly enjoyed the demo material more than most of the finished songs.

Definitely enjoyed this!

Spent more time with Brothers In Arms before this. Despite Knopfler clearly owing a lot to Clapton in style and tone on this first record, it'd be difficult not to enjoy the grooves here.

World-shaking talent - Elvis is one of the greatest ever to do it. Elvis records fall into a funny era of pop music before the long-playing album had really come into its most mature expression - and yet everything about this is easy to love on those terms.

Spooky!

The temptation is to look at an early Beatles and hesitate to give it top marks because it's so earnest and sunshiney. But I'm just happy when listening to it, singing along and harmonizing. A Hard Day's Night is imprinted on me — and pop culture, both.

Beautiful. Very enjoyable. Much jazzier than anticipated.

Not a bad prog rock record.

The most exciting and enduring collection of songs the Stripes ever put to tape, to my ears.

Just groove after groove. Steve Cropper remains one of the most underrated OG guitar heroes.

Out of concern it would feel overlong compared with At Folsom Prison, I steeled myself for a marathon - but it's broken up with humor, moments of levity and banter, and Johnny shares the stage with some amazing talent, not least of which are June Carter Cash and Carl Perkins.

As always, difficult for a record to overcome a language barrier and install itself as a personal favorite, but a really fun listen!

I potentially can't be objective about this record because I loved it so dearly as a teenager. I expected to like it less, to cringe at Corgan's vocals — which I once read described as a "pinched larynx" — and be further put off by the Pumpkins' checkered latter discography. In the end, I was enchanted in an even deeper way by the poetry and heaviness. Mellon Collie is deeply indulgent in parts ("Porcelina Of The Vast Oceans," "X.Y.U.," "Lily (My One And Only)"), but is anchored by a staggering number of enduring hits ("Tonight, Tonight," "Zero," "Bullet With Butterfly Wings," "Thirty-Three," "1979") and strong deeper cuts ("Jellybelly," "Here Is No Why," "Thru The Eyes of Ruby").

Another record I keep returning to that feels weighty and deeply pained.