1001 Albums Summary

Decent songs, good lyrics, superb delivery, but let down by some muddy production and unsophisticated arrangment.

I really wanted to like this more than I did. I don't mind the 80s production, and bits of it are excellent, but overall, it's just a bit average.

I'm sorry, I've tried and tried and tried, but... just no.

It's great, but it's not "Who's Next".

In general, I can take or leave the heavier end of rock - there are bits I like, but I find much frenetic or unmemorable. Having said that, this never felt difficult to listen to, and I enjoyed the time I spent with it.

I know it's mumbly miserable stuff... but I really enjoyed this. I don't think it's "great" but I'm more likely to listen to this again than many of the other things on this list.

There's not a lot to say about this - other than to argue if it or "What's Going On?" is better. I lean slightly to this.

This album is mad. Like, Teach Your Children Well and Our House are lovely little songs, but what are they doing on an album with Helpless, Almost Cut My Hair and Country Girl on? It's not dull though, and much of it is brilliant.

So, I don't hate this. It's fine. But I'm not on ecstasy, and as a result it's all a bit dull and background.

This was such a formative album for me, but at this distance, it rather recedes. The album cuts just aren't that good, and the production sounds a bit thin - it all isn't as good as Love over Gold and Making Movies.

I don't think this has ever been cool, or the zeitgeist. But sometimes you just want to hear songs.

Meh. It's third-rate Bowie and there are too many songs.

I'm sure this is good, but it's not for me.

This feels more historically important than enjoyable to listen to. It's really interesting proto-metal, but I got bored and tired by the end of the album.

It's not as cute as True Blue or Like a Virgin, but it's the last time I listened to a Madonna album and thought "hey, this is pretty good"

The thing about The Temptations, compared to other similar groups, is how much their music changed across their career. This funky, fat bass, sound is so different from their 60's stuff. I really enjoyed this.

Lightning in a bottle.

Some decent songs ruined by early 2000s sound recording and production. Is it possible to make a drumset sound worse? Thin, busy, annoying

Genuinely great, but I feel so distanced from it. I find myself admiring it rather than enjoying it.

I've listened to this twice, and I have no idea what I think of it, other than... I quite liked it? It's a very 80s "we're serious musicians" sound, though.

Yeah, it changed the world. But it's not very good, and listening to it is tiring.

I like Parliament and Funkadelic a lot, and enjoyed this, but I think on balance I come down a little bit more on the Funkadelic side. This isn't as life-changing as Maggot Brain.

The production's very 60s and not in a good way, but there are some absolute classics here, and I love Charlie's drumming.

I can see how this would be revelatory if you were a certain sort of 16-year-old when it came out. But I'm not 16 now, and I wasn't then, and this is just really effing average.

No band could be as good as RHCP think they are. It is to their credit that sometimes they get close. There's an inventiveness musically here that marks it apart from contemporary bands. But... The production is very late-90s shallow. And it's not as good as Blood Sugar Sex Magick.

I love Killer Queen and Lap of the Gods, but I do find some of the other tracks a bit average. I'm not sure Queen ever managed a "all killer no filler" album, and I'm reasonably sure this isn't one. Still Queen though.

I realised I had no exposure to Steely Dan, and in fact had them confused with Stealer's Wheel, about a minute into this. It's so smooth it's almost paste, but the quality of the playing is such that it narrowly avoids being bland. It caught me on a good day, but I liked this a lot.

Dire Straits remain a formative band for me, but revisiting albums that aren't Making Movies and Love Over Gold ... there's a level of "this is really quite average". Also, I've listened to Sultans of Swing about nine billion times, and to be honest I'm done with it.

Norah Jones has a nice voice. This album is well-produced. Also, my call is important and I am number 37 in the queue.

There are some albums here that I can't imagine anyone not liking. This isn't one of them, but I lap this stuff up. There's some nice experimentation, but what stands out (amid the posturing) is some old-fashioned hooks.

Tedious and a bit tuneless.

This is fine. But I've heard the Smiths, and they're better. (Even if Morrissey is a ....)

Great songs, tonally bleak. I don't entirely love the recording.

Just so good. Especially with the live Maggot Brain

Oh look, it's some more 2000s Brit indie rock. At least this has some vaguely competent bass sound, even if everything else is shoved to the front. I still got bored about half way through.

The recording is pretty basic - Mick's vocal level seems to have been set at random - most of the songs are covers of US acts (and the original ones aren't much cop)... But it succeeds in one way : I had a great time listening to it.

Secret confession: I like this more than either In Utero or Nevermind. I think it's a really good, incredibly intimate, concert.

Is Quadrophenia better? Maybe. Is this ludicrously overblown, a bit crass, and too long? Definitely! Do I really like it? Absolutely!

Inventive, raw, sonically interesting, demanding to be played at volume. There's a couple of tracks that are a little average, but much of this is superlative.

I didn't hate it.

Oh, this is terrific. I was only familiar with Supertramp's "The Logical Song" and "Dreamer" before, but this is full of juicy little surprises, unexpected moments, and yet doesn't drift away from being coherent songs.

It's maybe becoming a more mainstream view... but I think as a whole album, Bad is better than either Thriller or Off The Wall

Extruded

It's over-produced, but it's very good.

It's... fine? I like Pablo Picasso. I just can't quite excited about this.

Not actively unpleasant, but not a single thing that's actually memorable. 1990s polyfilla.