My 1001 Albums Journey

Albums Rated

3.19

Average Rating

Complete

1031 albums remaining

Rating Distribution

Rating Timeline

Taste Profile

1960s

Favorite Decade

Folk

Favorite Genre

other

Top Origin

Wordsmith

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5-Star Albums

1-Star Albums

Breakdown

By Genre

By Decade

By Origin

Albums

You Love More Than Most

Album	You	Global	Diff
Millions Now Living Will Never Die Tortoise	5	2.88	+2.12
Dust Screaming Trees	5	3.16	+1.84
#1 Record Big Star	5	3.26	+1.74
Music in Exile Songhoy Blues	5	3.33	+1.67
Heaven Or Las Vegas Cocteau Twins	5	3.37	+1.63
Either Or Elliott Smith	5	3.38	+1.62
Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) The Kinks	5	3.39	+1.61
Beauty And The Beat The Go-Go's	5	3.39	+1.61
Different Class Pulp	5	3.42	+1.58
Crosby, Stills & Nash Crosby, Stills & Nash	5	3.49	+1.51

You Love Less Than Most

Album	You	Global	Diff
Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere Neil Young & Crazy Horse	1	3.55	-2.55
Private Dancer Tina Turner	1	3.3	-2.3
Toys In The Attic Aerosmith	1	3.26	-2.26
Survivor Destiny's Child	1	2.86	-1.86
The Score Fugees	2	3.69	-1.69
Slipknot Slipknot	1	2.67	-1.67
Beggars Banquet The Rolling Stones	2	3.63	-1.63
1999 Prince	2	3.6	-1.6
Play Moby	2	3.47	-1.47
...And Justice For All Metallica	2	3.43	-1.43

5-Star Albums (11)

View Album Wall

Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire)

Popular Reviews

Either Or

Elliott Smith

5/5

I can't relate to Elliott Smith's struggles with addiction, but this kind of music goes straight to my soul. Beautiful, poignant lyrics with wistful melodies. Love it. Highlights: Between the bars, Ballad of big nothing, Alameda, Pictures of me, Cupid's trick (which stands out for its much rockier sound than the rest, which are indie folk).

3 likes

Toys In The Attic

Aerosmith

1/5

'Adam's apple' a blatant rip of Beatles' 'Get back'. Steve Tyler a vile piece of excrement. To quote the late, great, Stan Lee "'nuff said'.

2 likes

4-Star Albums (12)

1-Star Albums (5)

All Ratings

Wild Is The Wind

Nina Simone

4/5

Great album - not something I would naturally have sought out to listen. Some tracks are more interesting than others. Soulful singing and settings which perfectly encapsulate the '60s.

Live And Dangerous

Thin Lizzy

3/5

The inherent problem with live albums is that they can never recapture the experience of being at a live gig. A two-minute drum solo is spellbinding when you're in the audience, pumped up and surrounded by other fans - the atmosphere carries it. Without that context, it becomes interminable, dull. Live albums provide nostalgia to people who were actually in the audience and want to relive the experience. Sure, the band know what they're doing and the musicality and performances are good. There were some cool tracks on this - 'Dancing in the moonlight', 'Massacre' and 'The boys are back in town', for example. For me, though, live music and recorded music should be kept separate, at least in rock.

Led Zeppelin

4/5

At Newport 1960

Muddy Waters

4/5

Fun House

The Stooges

3/5

Pure chaos

Adele

5/5

Astonishing for a 21 year old.

British Steel

Judas Priest

3/5

'United' was my favourite track. Quite enjoyable, once I got into it.

Either Or

Elliott Smith

5/5

The Message

Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five

3/5

Surprised by this one. Wasn't expecting to enjoy it as hiphop isn't usually my thing, but enjoyed She's fresh, It's nasty and the Message (which I'm positive has been sampled elsewhere). Standout track for me was Dreamin', a tribute to Stevie Wonder. Hated Scorpio, which was like listening to Ross from Friends' 'Sound', hence only 3 stars overall. Album let down imo by Scorpio, which sounded like the music Ross in Friends makes...

Music in Exile

Songhoy Blues

5/5

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

2/5

The album is saved by the final track, American girl, which is iconic. The rest is forgettable and, frankly, mediocre rock and roll (aka a piss-poor imitation of e.g. the Stones)

Head Hunters

Herbie Hancock

3/5

Extended jazz solos aren't really my thing. It was funky though.

Red Dirt Girl

Emmylou Harris

2/5

She has a nice voice, but this album is pretty bland and forgettable. Don't feel I was missing out on much.

Green Onions

Booker T. & The MG's

4/5

Very funky. I recognised 'Green onions' from the cover by Georgie Fame. Quite a few of the songs on this album are covers of other songs, but decent arrangements.

Survivor

Destiny's Child

1/5

This album should have been left on the cutting room floor. No amount of vocal gymnastics can disguise weak songwriting. Couple that with a totally mixed message about femininity by including a song about girl power (Independent woman) and 'slut'-shaming lyrics (Nasty girl). A terrible album and really not worth over an hour of life.

Electric Music For The Mind And Body

Country Joe & The Fish

2/5

Pretty far-out, man. Some interesting tracks, and a nice glimpse into 60s counter-culture. Drifts off towards the end, possibly because they were too stoned by that point...

Play

Moby

2/5

I admit, I only listened to half the album. Pretty repetitive, so I don't feel I missed anything earth-shattering

The Score

Fugees

2/5

Beggars Banquet

The Rolling Stones

2/5

One decent song does not an album make. Disappointing.

Rejoicing In The Hands

Devendra Banhart

4/5

Glad I found this album. Norah Jones vibes.

Different Class

Pulp

5/5

Really enjoyed this one. Common people spoke to me, having lived in a rat-infested Camden flat in my 20s.

Duck Rock

Malcolm McLaren

2/5

He seems to be at his best when appropriating (stealing) from other cultures. Pretty sad really. A couple of the tracks were pretty cool, but I'd rather listen to the originals than a copy. The rest seemed to be crappy square dances (the final track in particular seemed to be aimed at toddlers, with cartoon sound effects and voices for good measure). Most of the creativity was stolen.

Sign 'O' The Times

Prince

3/5

Good, not great. A mixed bag - doesn't include any of the major hits, but damn, the man could sing.

Talking With the Taxman About Poetry

Billy Bragg

3/5

In The Court Of The Crimson King

King Crimson

4/5

Always wondered why this was so popular with borrowers at the library I worked in, now I know.

If You Can Believe Your Eyes & Ears

The Mamas & The Papas

4/5

Enjoyed this. Saved for listening again.

Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire)

The Kinks

5/5

Excellent. Been a fan of the Kinks since I was a teen. Still fresh and pointed satire.

...And Justice For All

Metallica

2/5

Bit samey. Not really for me.

Tubular Bells

Mike Oldfield

3/5

Tricky one. Parts of it were brilliant, parts pretentious and others just too rambly.

Songs Of Love And Hate

Leonard Cohen

4/5

Beyond Skin

Nitin Sawhney

3/5

Cheesy listening, but quite pleasant overall. Nothing groundbreaking.

Getz/Gilberto

Stan Getz

4/5

Very jazzy. Slight lift-music vibes.

Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables

Dead Kennedys

3/5

Not keen on this one. I was born after the punk era, and it always feels like artists are trying too hard to outshock each other. The album has good moments (I enjoyed 'Stealing people's mail') but the line between irony/satire and nasty is thin on some other tracks. Think you had to be there.

Violent Femmes

4/5

Decent album, especially for a debut. Prefer the instrument lines (that bass!) to the vocals (which sound a bit whiny). Lyrics are a bit samey (I feel lonely, why will no-one love me, ad infinitum).

Beauty And The Beat

The Go-Go's

5/5

Really fun album. Saved it and will definitely listen again when in need of its dancey feel-good vibes!

Private Dancer

Tina Turner

1/5

Any old music won't do, Tina. Pretty dull and repetitive, with a screechy voice that made my throat feel sore. Petition to give Tina a throat lozenge?

#1 Record

Big Star

5/5

How have I not heard of this band before?! Excellent album, which will definitely be on my rotation now!

Underwater Moonlight

The Soft Boys

4/5

I'll admit: I didn't finish the whole album as it appears on Spotify. It was 2 hours and 40 minutes, which is pretty nuts. I enjoyed the first few tracks, but got annoyed after an hour and a half, so had to deduct a star.

Green River

Creedence Clearwater Revival

4/5

Good songs, but a bit one-note for me. Upped to four stars for 'Bad moon rising'.

For Your Pleasure

Roxy Music

2/5

Bit too wacky for me.

1999

Prince

2/5

Second Prince album of the list. Couple of decent songs and a whole lotta shit. 9 minutes per song is just self-indulgent - guy needed an editor to be firm with him.

Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere

Neil Young & Crazy Horse

1/5

Bland songwriting and whiny singing accompanied poorly played instruments. Reminds me of those prats who bring an uninvited guitar to a party. Hardly essential listening. There is a special place in hell for the violinist on 'Running dry'. I say that as the daughter of a violinist, who has spent a long time listening to beginner players.

Electric

The Cult

2/5

Just not my cup of tea. The singer fluctuates between out-of-tune screams and what seem to be bad Louis Armstrong impressions. Nothing particularly memorable here, it's pretty cheesy.

Millions Now Living Will Never Die

Tortoise

5/5

Really enjoyed this one. I used to listen to ambient music a lot when studying (and still do for working). The likes of American Analog Set, Röyksopp, Goddamn Electric Bill etc. got me through more all-night essay writing than I care to remember.

Make Yourself

Incubus

3/5

Fun in parts, but not a good album.

Crosby, Stills & Nash

5/5

A total joy from start to finish. Will listen to more!

Brutal Youth

Elvis Costello

2/5

Some interesting stuff here, harmonically. But I can't stand his sneezy, off-key voice.

Dust