1001 Albums Summary

I wasn't a fan when this came out, but for the sake of nostalgia and remembering my old girlfriend and her Japanese roommate rocking out to it in their dorm room, I put it on. I don't know what it is that always turned me off. The inane lyrics? His voice? The cookie-cutter approach? This is the fast food equivalent of rock music. From its sexual innuendo title and the moans to start "Social Disease," it's clear that the aim of this album is 14 and 15 year olds. A summer, teen movie of an album, not to be taken seriously. This isn't an album that I would listen to normally, but I listened to it this morning. It was fun remembering the time when the radios ate this album up, overplaying the singles. MTV also. Catchy, bubblegum music. Personally, this album would not make my top albums list, but because it was SO popular, I can see how it would make a list of 1001. Thanks for the memories!

Loved it. Unique and fun.

It was interesting. Reminded me of Dr. John's early stuff. But not what I'm looking for.

I know it's vogue to love Queen, with the popularity of the movie "Bohemian Rhapsody." I love their hit songs very much, but so much of their music is trite and without vision. "Radio GaGa" is an excellent example. Never having listened through this album before, I was actually looking forward to it. The first song, "Death on Two Legs," came on as flamboyant as one might expect from Queen. For my tastes, it was over the top. Skip to track 3, the infamous "I'm in Love with my Car." Yeah, it really is that bad. The standard "You're My Best Friend" saves this side of the record. Side B shows more cohesion and resembles an opera, perhaps, not that I'm an expert on what an opera should be like. The songs seem to flow together better and be less eclectic, of course, leading all the while to Queen's magnum opus, "Bohemian Rhapsody." I doubt I will ever listen to this album from start to finish again. There are a couple of lesser known songs that I might come back to someday, such as "The Prophet's Song." But in the end, I will stick with Queen's greatest hits. They are fulfilling.

Yuck.

Reminds me of Nick Drake, though I still like Drake better. It might be worth checking out some of his other work. The album is OK. Worth listening to. But it didn't make it into my rotation.

Meh. Not my thing.

The nod to Led Zeppelin is clear, but Buckley’s voice doesn’t have the depth, range, or power of Robert Plant’s. Maybe it’s me but I keep waiting for a melody that’s moves me, but there aren’t any. Still, it is unfortunate that this was his only album because it is a noble effort. And his next album could’ve been huge. He was definitely talented.

My brother was into Rod Stewart back in his disco days. That influenced me to hate Stewart for a long time. It was much later that I discovered his early days. Better music, better musicians. This album was a good listen.

Pretty good but not my favorite of his.

Eww. I’ve never liked Steely Dan but I thought I’d give the album a fair listen. The musicianship is far better than the singing or the lyrics. Too bad such fine musicians put out such boring music.

Never heard of this band, so I gave it a shot. I thought the first song showed promise and the second was ok. But after that, the next few songs made me stop listening. I can’t believe this is on the list.

A couple classic songs. Good music. Catches the vibe of the time.

Such an 80's sound! Better than I thought it would be, though. Transports me back to that era.

Good album

Good old, Black Crowes.

If there’s a hidden gem here, I won’t find it. Absolutely painful.

Excellent musicianship. Beautiful in that way. Lyrically? That's questionable, but I suppose back then you were supposed to listen to it high on something. I like this album very much, but to me, the songs are just songs to listen to, to groove to. There's nothing to hit your soul or your mind, so to speak. "Did we really count to one hundred?" Really?!

One of my favorite albums.

Meh

Love me some Nick Drake. I think Pink Moon is his best album, but this is quite good. Sad to have lost him so young.

Well, here I am listening to this album. When The Smashing Pumpkins hit it big with this album, I was intrigued and I wanted very much to like them. Indeed, I do like some of their songs, but listening to this album is a bit hard. This is my first time and here are my thoughts. My first reaction was...wow! so many discs to listen to. And on Spotify, at least, the reissue is not in the order of the original, so I am painstakingly flipping between tracks to listen to the original order. I am a traditionalist. I like the sound. I really like the singles. But unfortunately, all of the songs start blending together and they aren't so distinctive. My feeling is that this could've been a great record had there been an editor to cut it down to a manageable size. There is good stuff here, but it gets lost among everything. This is just my opinion, but there's no way that I could listen to nearly 3 hours of their music nonstop.

The hits really stand out.

A couple of interesting songs, but not the Bowie sound I was looking for.

Thanks to Reddit, I found this album about half a year ago. The album by itself is quite good. Beautiful music. But the story behind the album is incredible! It will give you a new level of appreciation for the man and for the album.

What exactly is the purpose of this album?

The pop era of the Beatles isn’t my thing. I love their later work that is less trite and therefore more meaningful. But I gave this a listen anyway. My favorite song is “Money (That’s what I want)” as it showcases Lennon’s stronger, harder voice.

This will pick up your mood.

Not a huge fan of his voice, but the music is great.

Meh. Sounds like amateurs with no clear vision.

Interesting. Glad I listened to it but probably won’t be a regular.

Ok. I see now why it is so highly regarded, but it is not what I like. That’s all. Others who understand and love this genre know better than I do and will rate this album high, perhaps deservedly so.

No thank you. Immature lyrics. Immature concepts to sing about. As if a 13 year old made an album.

I was surprised by this album, since I hadn’t heard of the band. Because my previous album was Eminem, I was excited by the first track and settled in for a good listen. The way I feel about this album is this: the lyrics are not strong enough to give them attention but the music alone isn’t interesting enough to play the album as background music. Again, like so many on this list, it really needed tightening. An editor or a strong voice offering direction could have saved this.

This is a very cool album by a woman with a very capable voice. Rich sounds. So smooth.

Great for its era. Parts still shine.

I was hopeful, so I was disappointed.

Starting to wonder what the qualifications are to get an album here. Pretty mediocre stuff.

Ok, I actually have his greatest hits album, which I have listened to once. To me, he is the quintessential one hit wonder. None of his other songs ever reach the level of smooth as “Holding back the Years.” Check that. Add “If you don’t know me by now” which is a cover, so maybe my point still holds. I really, really wanted to like his stuff, too.

I’ve never really listened to Metallica, so I let this one play while doing some work, and I came to the conclusion that they are overrated. The guitar work, which is what makes metal music, is so bland. The vocals were also very bland. For metal, this was hugely boring to me. Not a fan.

Fun! Unique.

Second Bowie album on the list so far, and this one, doesn't make the cut. It's Bowie, so an extra star.

A perfect album. One that truly deserves to be on this list.

Not a terrible album.

First, I admit it is my own shortcoming that I can’t appreciate much rap music. I liked the anger and the message. Rating this album is challenging. I doubt I will ever listen to it again but I am glad I heard it. It is one of the few albums on this list that really meet the “must listen” criteria.

I wouldn’t consider anything by the White Stripes as being something that you must hear before you die.

Fun and provocative. Real songwriters.

No vocal range or power. He sings like he is in a confessional at church. I keep picking up old Dr. Demento vibes. No thanks.

I like this album, but I wonder how to rate it. To me, Led Zep’s hits far outshine the other tracks on most of their albums. But is that enough of a reason to drop it to four stars? That’s the dilemma. In the end, I think not. In my opinion, rock and roll needed this album and is better because of it.

Mingus is great, but this album doesn't hit me right. As much as I wanted to like this, I didn’t.

New to me and fun. I’ll be skipping the attempted cover of “Comfortably Numb” though.

Pure poetry!

Dull.

I have mixed feelings about this album. The hits were greatly overplayed when the album came out, and though they are very good songs, I just can’t listen to them more than once a year. Like most albums by the Police, the hits are great, but the other tracks are pretty lame. Unfortunately, the hits on this album aren’t as great as other singles. The best way to listen to the Police is by playing a collection of their greatest hits.

A true storyteller. Made me pine for lazy summer days, reading Louis Lamour or watching the Lone Ranger. I’m hungry for some Tex-Mex.

Not only is Clapton lacking moral courage as a human being, but this album lacks life. I suppose it’s a great album if you’re trying to get to sleep, certainly not what one would expect from a legend of rock. Btw, fuck Clapton for his racist views and his stupid participation in the antivax campaign. Just because you can play guitar, doesn’t mean you have the answers. How’d you like the scientists to come along and tell you how to play guitar?

No idea how this obscure artist with a crappy album makes it on a list like this.

A masterpiece.

Not really for me.

Better than I expected.

Some good songs, but nothing worth returning to or favoriting.

Repetitive

Decent musicianship. Lyrics and vocals are too weak to entertain.

I’m sort of surprised that “We are Family” is the only song that I recognize in their catalog. So weird. Clearly talented.

Ry Cooder for the win!

Interesting, but not my thing.

Still hate their music.

This is a great album in many ways, but that doesn’t necessarily make it a favorite album. It isn’t my favorite Floyd album, but it is a masterpiece. I also love that the album was engineered by Alan Parsons because it most definitely is a technical masterpiece.

Well, it seems that strong lyrics aren’t a necessity for getting on this list. I don’t understand the fascination of young women with being crazy, psycho. It’s demeaning.

I’ve heard high school boys swear less. Painful and childish.

Absolutely offended by their cover of “Strange Fruit.” How tasteless.

Not a fan.

What a voice!

In many ways, you can absolutely judge this album by its cover.

This is my favorite of his albums. The title track is a great song. He was one we lost too soon.

It is a good listen. But not something I would listen to frequently.

Love the piano!

Love the urgency and the passion. Feel it in every instrument. This is rock and roll.

Weird

Not sure how it ended up on this list. Interesting but not remarkable.

The thing is, the Beatles were just so damned prolific. I like this album because it shows the complete Beatles, but I don’t think it is their best work. A great album, sure, but not a must-have.