1001 Albums Summary

Wow, first day doing 1001 Greatest Albums and I get this classic! I've listened to this before as a teenager that didn't have the musical context or ear to appreciate what I was hearing, but even in my 30s this took me a couple of listens to get into. I started feeling sad that I would never get to experience hearing this for the first time in the 70s. It would have been monumental and earth shattering, like nothing I'd heard before, I'm sure. On second listen I started to appreciate the seamless transitions from song to song, not really knowing where the next track had begun. The whole thing takes you on a journey. Definitely going on my list of listen agains and I look forward to picking up something new on each subsequent listen.

I vibed with this from the beginning but felt the lyrics and songs get a bit samey. Appreciated the clear influence on Ben Folds one of my favourite artists. Particularly enjoyed Wouldn't Mama Be Proud and loved the way he layers his vocals. Will possibly listen again to gain more insight into what he's singing about.

Hooked from the first track, immediately heard The Strokes ripping out of this. Apparently they'd never heard of Television before This Is It. Every track is a gem, I love the proggy meandering going on especially on Marquee Moon. The production is brilliant too, you can clearly hear everything going on and each instrument gets the chance to shine. Prefer the energetic first half to the second where the tone mellows. I will definitely listen again. Standout tracks: Venus, Marquee Moon, and Guiding Light.

I just can't with jazz, I'm sorry

Interesting enough for me to listen again

I've been putting off listening to this one for ages - the progressive folk label put me off. Well turns out I dig progressive folk. I prefer the vocal-heavy approach that keeps the story going through lyrics that prog rock often lacks. What a beautiful and unique voice Joanna Newsom has - sonically and lyrically. This album's a gorgeous treat meant for lazy, contemplative Sundays. Worth another 20 listens for me to absorb it all.

I can't help but love cheesy 80s rock. Hardly cerebral (TV Dinners lmao) but a fun listen the whole way through. Stand outs: Gimme All Your Lovin', I Need You Tonight, Dirty Dog (when I look past the blatant misogyny in the lyrics), and Bad Girl.

I wanted to give this a 4 but it doesn't quite reach those heights for me.

What a vocalist

It's a shame I got this when I'm 28 weeks pregnant because I wasn't able to take some mushrooms or something and optimise my listening experience. I would probably only ever listen again on drugs, but I understand why it's made the list.

The Black Keys make the occasional banger but even the bangers sound the same. Pretty boring and not one I'll come back to.

Yeahhhh this slaps. Turns out I love 80s synth pop. And Annie Lennox's vocals, but I knew that about myself already.

Highlights: Pitche Mi Great vocals, great intro to world music, love all the layers of percussion on this. Fun party music that sounds like a hot summer's day on a sandy beach. Best enjoyed cocktail in hand.

A beautiful slice of maximalist campy glam rock from one of my favourite artists.

More versatile than I was expecting from a Morrissey album - also much less maudlin. Love The Smiths, love what I already know of his solo stuff. I don't personally care that he's a racist prick, plenty of the artists on this list have questionable views and have carried out even more questionable actions (where to even begin?). You can be a racist prick and make good music, both things can be true at once. Will definitely listen again.

What an album.

Classic album, I was already familiar with most of the tracks. This project's given me a new appreciation for it and I will definitely listen again.

I wish I was a pregnant 60s housewife hosting a dinner party, with a martini in one hand and a cigarette in the other, this is the perfect soundtrack for such an occasion. Laid back classy background noise. But never more than background noise for me so it gets a 3.

Highlights: Love the One You're With, Church, Sit Yourself Down, Go Back Home. Lowlight: Black Queen. Found this album sonically inconsistent in the wrong way. Not very cohesive, some songs had a clear direction, while others meandered past the point of boring. Will be listening a lot more to Love the One You're With, but I probably won't stick this whole record on again.

So boring. Weak vocals. Uninspiring lyrics. A total slog to listen to and I don't understand why it's on the list.

Not a band I've ever really been exposed to. Love the vocal arrangements on this record. Can hear their influence all over modern indie rock/indie sleaze. Highlights: Victoria, Drivin', brilliant opening bassline and intermittent sax on Brainwashed, Australia for the lyrics especially, Shangri-La. The whole thing feels very 60s yet forward looking, I guess that's a reflection of it being a '69 release. Will probably come back to the highlights on this, overall enjoyable listen that deserves more of my time and attention than I can give right now.

Whew, the dark moody vibes on this yin. And the industrial percussion with smooth vocal harmonies just tickles my brain. I'm thinking 80s synth pop might be my jam? Highlights: Never Let Me Down Again, Strangelove, Little 15, I Want You Now, Nothing, Pimpf

I have a soft spot for this album, it features some of my favourite songs. I occasionally go back and relisten every couple years, I don't feel there's a weak song on here. I think David Gray's a great songwriter and has a soulful voice. The production on this album is certainly A Choice - my partner described it as sounding like a bad MP3. But I reckon it works here. Sorry to the music snobs that it's not some pretentious classic rock featuring five guys with guitars manifested in the smell of your own farts.

Where does this fit in genre wise? I can't really decide. That's part of the charm. No skips on here. Favourite: Heaven.

This album is full of skips. Grating vocals.

I'm too much of a pop girlie to get into prog. ABABCB me and I'm more than happy. This just sounds like they recorded a band jam session and some noodling. Another one I'd need drugs to appreciate. Awesome album artwork though.

High points: great production/engineering. Good vocals on the tracks that have them. Low points: length. Far too long. Also another album I'd need drugs to fully appreciate. Dude, I'm pregnant, why do you keep doing this to me?

I think I've discovered prog isn't really for me.

I liked the Marvin Gaye cover and Typical Girls. Not really my thing overall though.

Enjoyed this way more than I thought I would.

Nothing special. Obviously Sweet Emotion and Walk This Way elevate the rating I would have given to a 3 instead of a 2. You See Me Cryin' is a beautiful ballad and I feel like this is where the band and Steve Tyler's vocal strengths lie (I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing another gorgeous ballad not on here) - maybe they should have stuck to that style instead of generic rock songs about looking up some schoolgirl's skirt or something.

I'm not above just automatically granting every Bowie album I get a 4 or a 5. Not my favourite record of his but definitely shows off his drive to experiment and I admire his effort to dip his toe into a new genre. Highlights: Fame, Can You Hear Me, and the Across the Universe cover.

I gave this three listens so I could afford it a proper chance but it just didn't leave that great and impression on me.

A good mix of 60s style pop, trip hop, and house music. Sometimes all on the one track. An interesting band I wasn't familiar with before. What a great outro on this album too.

Cool album that I'm not cool enough for.

Starting off strong with the title track. And this album just keeps delivering right until the final track. Funky, soulful, melodic, fun, futuristic and sexy. Prince was in a league of his own.

Bjork is just my type of weird.

Brilliant live album, love hearing the crowd get crazier as it goes on.

I don't get it. Bob Dylan definitely has some gems (Blowin' in the Wind and Don't Think Twice, It's All Right on this album I think) but the rest is just a total snoozefest. A Hard Rain's A Gonna Fall is lauded too, right? But fuck me, what a dirge.

Timeless and beautiful. It's an album of mostly standards but you can just feel the dedication and musicianship of everyone involved to claim these tunes as their own, but they still make everything sound smooth and effortless - including Frank with his vocals. How can I not rate this a 5?

No ❤️

So much overproduction on this album. The drums and synths don't need to be that loud to be impactful. Drowns out a lot of Janet Jackson's voice at times. The lyrics, often just outright cheesy or filled with platitudes about changing the world from a privileged woman, and production here are super dated. The love songs really stick out against the ones about social issues and I would have preferred an album full of them, they're all great. BUT Janet Jackson is a legend and I can really see her socially conscious approach must have been inspiring at the time, especially as a black woman. Tracy Chapman did it better though.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I can't help but love cheesy 80s rock. It's my guilty pleasure that I don't feel guilty about loving at all. I already adored this album and another listen through on this project has made me appreciate the gorgeous guitar tones even more. Just great from start to finish.

I audibly sighed when I got this album. Great, more boring country! But I was so pleasantly surprised by this. Brilliant Country Western storytelling.

Beautiful, but a bit too boring for me

Beautiful, haunting, affecting music but you have to be in the right mood for this one. Not as much melody as my brain needs to be tickled so I probably won't revisit this.

Perfect album. No notes.

I loved this as a showcase of Timbaland's production abilities. The features are doing too much here though and not letting Missy shine. The inclusion of an album of hers that isn't the one with Get Ur Freak On? Not sure if I agree with that. That song still sounds fresh and original 23 years on but some of this tracklist is pretty dated. A tentative 3 because it's leaning towards a 4. Also sidenote - loved the Busta Rhymes and spoken word outros, very different.

I just love this band and have for a long time. They have a really unique sound that melds alt rock and nu metal and are just as competent with anger as they are with sentimentality.

I guess I like hardcore punk. This is the perfect length for the genre - comes in hot and heavy, sustains that energy all the way through, and doesn't overstay its welcome.

I was torn on a 4 or a 5 for this album because most of the tracklist are banger singles you just can't really say anything bad about. But the rest is just boring filler and doesn't elevate the record to a 5 for me.