1001 Albums Summary

Fave tracks: Headmaster Ritual That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore Barbarianism Begins at Home - that bassline Meat is Murder - cow go moo

This could be the school of rock soundtrack I wouldn’t know Fave tracks: Hells Bells Shoot to Thrill Back in black - absolute classic, first riff I ever learnt on guitar Let Me Put My Love Into You made me feel a bit sick

Good vibe for walking to work on a sunny morning slightly hungover Fave tracks: Where the Streets have no name I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For Exit - unexpectedly rips A bit front-loaded

Back to back u2 albums - not complaining though Fave tracks: Sunday Bloody Sunday - narrowly beats Zombie by the Cranberries as my favorite song from the fairly niche genre of ‘songs about the troubles’ New Year’s Day - sounds like The Cure The Drowning Man A more interesting album than Joshua Tree but maybe less consistent

Not sure this is the genre for me 1h20 of jam session over the same 3 chord progressions Nice vibe I guess Actually second half was better

Could it really be a hard rock album from the 80s if the only 2 lyrical themes weren’t: a) rock b) sex That said, this album is a least more instrumentally interesting than Back In Black Fave tracks: Photograph Foolin’

Had no idea what to expect with this Did not expect some pop punk tho lol (title track) Range of genres on this Fave tracks: Lazy Day Angels - actually can’t unhear the big ange version anymore South of the Border Let Me entertain you

Never actually listened to a queen album in full but was exactly as I’d hoped, fun and theatrical Fave tracks: Killer Queen Tenement Funster>Flick Of The Wrist>Lily of the Valley - absolutely love when songs seamlessly transition to the next on an album so this 3 song run is amazing In the lap of the gods (+ revisited)

One of those bands/albums I’m very surprised not to have ever listened to considering they sound like a mix of 90s artists/bands that I love (PJ Harvey, smashing pumpkins, portishead, the breeders) Vocals are great Some very cool riffs

Scarborough fair takes me back to group singing in music class at secondary school Snoozefest Really don’t have much else to say about the album

When you start an album with a song as strong as respect it’s inevitable that the songs after won’t reach the same heights. That said, enjoyable album with amazing vocals.

I’ve been meaning to listen to another album by Wilco ever since I discovered their 2002 album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, which I absolutely love. So I had high hopes for this. Safe to say it didn’t live up to my expectations, sounded like YHF in parts but a lot simpler and even more of an alt-country sound, which can get tiring. It also did not need to be 80 mins long. Without comparing to YHF though, it was a fun album with a good mix of slow and fast pacing and loud and quiet within songs. Highlights: Misunderstood Hotel Arizona Sunken Treasure

Absolutely love the album cover, the crab is me listening to this album. I haven’t listened to many albums that match the energy of this album. It also feels so much more intricately produced than I expected and there were so many moments and sounds where I was like whoa (the singing in the middle of Smack My Bitch Up, sword fighting sound effects in Breathe) Fave tracks: Smack My Bitch Up Breathe Firestarter Climbatize

Amazing jazzy prog rock. I guess it’s not surprising as the genre is progressive rock but this album really sounds ahead of its time to me. Such varied songs and structures. Album cover is iconic too. Maybe I just don’t get it, but that middle section of moonchild kinda just sounded like a bunch of toddlers hitting random instruments for a bit. That is really one of the only negatives of the album for me.

When the album started I my initial thought was: oh no not another 80s hard rock album. But actually after the first 3/4 tracks this was so much more than that, infusing funk into the mix and having more interesting lyrical themes. Was NOT expecting a talking heads cover which was very cool. However I’m giving only a 3 because it was a little bit bland

Nice bit of medieval folk but whilst I appreciate the commitment to the bit, it can get a bit too much at times (on Knight-Errant for example). Overall the album has quite a lot of filler, whilst certain tracks such as Pleasant street are really really good. If all the album was that good it would easily be a 4 and possibly a 5/5. Also want to mention Goodbye and Hello, which has an amazing brass section. Based on this album I have to say Jeff is the better Buckley

Some alright songs but I found it a bit boring to listen to tbh. Never been much into punk though.

*disclaimer - multiple listen bias as I already knew this album* Whilst not my favourite talking heads album it has some of their best songs on (cities, memories can’t wait, heaven) and it’s really cool to hear as a transitional album between first 2 more straightforward post punk/art rock albums and the experimental and very hard to define Remain In Light. As with most talking heads albums it is really not much like anything else. My one critism is that slightly trails of in quality right at the end.

Pleasant bit of scouse britpop. Some more standout songs - due to quality or being different from the standard britpop formula - but generally quite a background album Not quite sure why this is one of the 1001 albums you must hear before you die

Going into this I really thought stone roses were a britpop band similar to oasis or something. But I was very much proven wrong. The album is an amazing fusion of sixties pop and eighties jangle pop with shoegaze and britpop - genres that would become a lot bigger in the 90s. The percussion on some songs is so amazing, and that extended outro to I am the resurrection is sick. The album starts and ends really strong but sags a bit in the middle.

So this is the best album of all time according to the users of rateyourmusic.com and albumoftheyear.com (2 popular music rating sites). As you can imagine this album would have to be very very very good for me to not think it’s overrated. After this single listen, I am not convinced, but it definitely seems like an album worthy of multiple focused listens. I found quite a few songs didn’t really stand out but the others were really cool. The jazz influenced instrumentation is very nice and some of the bass playing is ridiculously good. I found his vocals a little bit annoying sometimes. Overall, although I’m not that into hip hop or rap, I can completely understand the hype this album gets and I definitely want to get into it more through repeated listens.

Nothing less than the best album ever recorded. And yes, I have listened to every album ever recorded.

Pretty nice bluesy rock - their next album El Camino is much better and more consistent. This was quite front-loaded.

The issue with folk music for me is that I nearly always prefer it with more instruments/layers. The singer has to have amazing vocals and guitar playing for me to really like it stripped back (Elliott Smith for example). This album is a great example of that problem, his vocals are pretty good, guitar playing okay, but when there’s some backing vocals or more instruments involved it is really good. Therefore certain songs did stand out to me, e.g. So Long, Marianne. However the rest I found quite boring and repetitive at times.

😬 not for me

Perfect example of an album that was probably pretty revolutionary at the time (I think it was one of the first true punk albums) but has not aged well at all. There is so much post punk music that is miles ahead of this nowadays. It would be cool to be able to erase all memory of any music newer than an album to be able listen to older albums as if they were new

Yeah I don’t really get this at all. Supposedly one of the most influential albums ever and I just thought it was boring, incohesive and kind of annoying at times. Also, not sure you should have equal credit on an album in which you sung 3 songs (referring to Nico ofc). I did find some tracks quite pleasant (Sunday morning, Venus in Furs) but overall this is pretty damn overrated.

I had this cd when I was younger so know it quite well but definitely had not listened in a long time. It’s probably the worst of the smiths 4 albums, but is by no means bad. You can tell it was later in their career by the variety of instrumentation and song types, which works well on certain songs but makes some songs sound a bit silly.

Couldn’t be bothered with this album, first song was good to run to but then listening to the rest got boring very quickly. It’s nearly 2hr long wtf

Mostly solo electric guitar, not the best vocals with quite political sounding lyrics. Nothing special

Strongest album opener ever? Gimme Shelter is one of the most powerful songs, with lyrics that are unfortunately just as relevant 55 years later. The guest vocals by Merry Clayton (I had to look that up) are absolutely insane and really the song would not be nearly as amazing without them. The rest of the album is pretty decent but it would be impossible to keep up the quality after that opener. You can’t always get what you want is a very strong closing song. Overall this album suffers a little from a lack of consistency but the highs outweigh the lows.

A very enjoyable prog/folk album. Felt like it was transported to a fantasy world. Flute playing was killer. Some of the longer heavier songs like Aqualung and My God are top-tier prog songs.

Enjoyable hip hop album, cool instrumentals and sampling. I just can’t get into the genre enough.

Better than Nevermind. Feels like they did what they wanted to do on this album, when they could have easily followed up nevermind with an even more accessible album to appeal to the masses. Instead they created a very raw and actually quite disturbing album.

Was listening thinking: this sounds kinda unfinished? Then I read the book entry that says it’s literally demos so makes sense

UCL represent! Wtf Coldplay actually used to be really good. To me this sounds like an alternative reality where after releasing The Bends Radiohead decided - instead of getting all weird - to go really accessible and try to get chart success. It may be a really safe album but there’s some really great songwriting on here.

Some nice songwriting but not that exciting

🥱

Pretty nice, but the fact that only 2 songs are original takes away from it a bit.

Really nice mix of prog and pop. Fun and engaging listen! Will definitely be returning to this in the future

Really like the sound of this. Like a British Elliott Smith. Quite long but I like the lo-fi collage of different styles.

Pleasant album, good songwriting and singing. But just didn’t engage me that much :/

One of the better albums by Taylor Swift that I’ve heard. You have to admire the ability to write essentially an albums worth of singles. But there is some quite uninspired instrumentals and cringy lyrics in there too.

Very theatrical and idiosyncratic. Seems like they inspired a lot of bands to follow.

Ngl I just thought this was kinda bad

It’s so Irish

I like the instrumentals and his flow, but I found the songs blended into one a little bit. Also that skit in the middle was unbearable.

Starts off with some amazing songs (otherside in particular) but the second half is a bit hit and miss. Overall though, I think they have quite a recognisable and addictive sound on this album. And of course, top notch bass playing by flea.

Nice jazzy folk, some really nice and unusual chord progressions. However, it is a bit too easy-listening at times and just breezes by.

That album cover lol In all fairness this is not the kind of music I’ve ever been into but still, could not listen to over an hour of this. Does every song have the same beat?

Really don’t have much to say about this album. Pleasant listen but pretty boring.

I appreciate it but just not my thing

A fun listen. She sure can sing

I’m sure it’s very culturally significant but it just didn’t really grab my attention for much of the fairly long runtime. The first song was great though.

Considering I don’t really like jazz this was pretty nice. Especially liked the end of track C and the repeated motifs throughout the album.

This was really quite bland and too long.

If there’s anything I’ve learnt from listening to this record, it’s that I must never stop chooglin’.

WOW. This is great. Perfect for a Monday morning walk to work cos of the feel good vibes and perfect brisk walking speed tempo. Maybe lags slightly at the end if I had to find a negative.

I found this slightly annoying. And as with other punk records I’m sure it was so cool at the time but just feels dated now. Pretty good songwriting in general though. ‘Identity’ in particular is a great song. I also appreciate the use of saxophone throughout.

I really assumed Buffalo Springfield was a country singer for so long. This album does a lot in its short runtime. Whilst it is a bit of a mixed bag, there are some great songs (expecting to fly, hung upside down)

The production on this is immense. Also there are surely very few people as good at both rapping and singing. This album earns its long runtime more than some previous albums on this list but still drags a bit. The first 4-5 songs were absolutely flawless though, especially Ex-factor, that might be the best r&b song I’ve ever heard.

fuck yeah. The pure aggression of this record is unmatched.

Pretty good. Felt a bit repetitive at times though. Holiday/Boulevard of Broken Dreams is an all-timer

Great bit of early 80s new wave. Title track was a standout. Not much more to say.

Listening to this album feels very sophisticated. But also really fun. I like it.

Glad that’s both the AC/DC albums out of the way now. To be honest I did prefer this slightly to Back in Black, probably because Brian Johnson’s vocals just sound like a bad impersonation of Bon Scott. I also thought Walk All Over You was a pretty good track.

Found this kinda boring tbf

My guy could fuckin sing Also some really inventive guitar playing All the instruments just sound so perfect on this Can only imagine how good a follow up album could have been RIP

Cool album cover Really don’t understand why Movin On Up is on this, it sounds nothing like the rest of the album That said, it is by far my favourite song and made this generally quite boring album a decent amount better.

Dunno what exactly it is about this album but really enjoyed it. I think it’s their unique brand of Britpop that mixes in a bit of punk and grunge but also string sections. I especially enjoyed the last song. Another band I had heard of but never knew what their music was like until now.

First half: 🥱 Second half: kinda cool, why wasn’t the whole album like this ??

Too simplistic at times

Entertaining album! A genre I need to listen to more

I think this is my favourite hip hop album

Really nice bit of jangly post punk. The sound is pretty ahead of its time too. Let down a bit by songwriting.

cool sound, a genre I should listen to more

I’m sure this is the exact intention but this album sounds like it was written for a musical and I don’t like that.

No necessarily a bad album, but it left no lasting impression at all

Absolutely GOATED album. Such a vibrant mix of genres and sounds and so many weird but catchy songs. So many standout tracks but have to mention ‘Of Moons, Birds and Monsters’ as they’ve somehow crammed like 5 songs in 5 mins with that one.

Was actually kinda nice but way too long. Definitely the first Algerian artist I’ve ever listened to. I never thought I’d ever get to hear imagine sung in Arabic.

An album of hits and one awful miss (The girl is mine)

The guitar playing on this is so captivating. It’s both intricate and sparse, neat and rough around the edges. Also the use of unorthodox tunings gives it an addictive eerie vibe.

Feel bad giving this a 1/5 but it honestly bored me to death. Maybe would be better if I was high or something.

Just such an iconic sound. No wonder they were my favourite band when I was 10.

Love me some microtones but this is quite repetitive.

Really enjoyed this album, feels like a good mix of many different early 70s sounds. Cosmic Dancer and Monolith were definite standouts for me. Both had some amazing guitar effects. If it was a bit more consistent I would give this a 5/5.

Very fun listen, even better than the last one, it is a bit short thought with only 2 songs on the original release.

How’s your debut album just gonna be a bunch of mid covers. The worst part is that the only original song was my favourite one.

Gonna have to agree with the majority of reviews and say this sounds a lot like stevie wonder. But that’s never a bad thing and I think it’s a much more maximalist approach. Also didgeridoo.

Somehow this album doesn’t really get boring over its 2+ hour runtime. Part of that is the fact it’s actually 2 albums combined, but also it’s just insanely inventive and unique. Speakerboxxx is a really solid hip hop album with some amazing instrumentation. The Love Below is hard to define and kinda fucking weird, but enjoyable. Definitely the less consistent of the 2 but has the best single tracks. Hey Ya is probably up there with my all time fave songs.

Liked the overall sound of this album, but it is a bit bloated and self-indulgent.

It’s a Christmas album

Impressive and varied debut album. Ends up a bit of a mixed bag but still a nice listen

Alright as background music

This shit is wild

Sick beats n all but gets a lil repetitive

Definitely better than the previous Clapton album. However it is 76 minutes of self-indulgent noodling. The title track is that good that it single handedly bumps this up from a 2/5 to a 3/5

This is for sure a unique album by an extremely creative artist. However it’s a bit hit or miss for me.

Way funkier than Californication, and also less consistent.

Without You and Coconut back to back in the track order is hilarious. Overall decent album with a mix of styles.

The smiths but without any of the qualities brought by the other members and all the controversy remaining. Why are there 4 morrissey solo albums on this list

All the singles are so good but I already knew that, what surprised me was the quality of some of the other tracks.

An interesting and unique album but didn’t capture my attention much

This is probably one of very few albums on this site that I have known since its release. It’s just a very solid record, simple yet effective songwriting and production and a really convincing old sound.

Although this is only my 2nd favourite Talking Heads album (Speaking In Tongues not being included in the book is an appalling decision), it is by far their most unique. There’s really not anything else much like this and the level of creativity on display is incredible. Only David Byrne and Brian Eno could produce something this, over 40 years ago! The run of tracks 1-5 is possibly the best 5 song run I’ve ever heard. The one negative about this album is the next 3 songs, which aren’t quite as good. But it’s still a solid 5/5.

Well that was pretentious as fuck

Not another one?

Simple but effective. Great voice, great guitar playing.

This album has been stripped back to its simplest sound in the best way possible. Every note and beat feels like its inclusion was considered in depth. The resulting sound is spacey and eerie and the vocals are amazing.

Can’t go wrong with a bit of Stevie. Not as consistently good as the other album I know by him (Innervisions) but the funkier songs (maybe your baby, superstition) are insanely good.

What a load of boring country covers

It’s crazy to me that this was a debut album. It’s crammed full of catchy hooks and sounds so effortless and complex at the same time. Already knew this album but its reminded me I need to listen to more steely dan.

That first song was extremely annoying, but things did get slightly better afterwards. I’ll give this 2 stars rather than 1 purely because this seems like it was pretty unique and experimental at the time (and still now tbf).

I like this album because you never know what’s coming next. Granted some songs miss the mark, but it kept me interested the whole time. Overall it’s not as consistently good as either of the next 2 gorillaz albums.

The best thing about this album is that it made me appreciate how far music has come since.

When I was 14/15 and getting more into music my dad gave me his old record player and records, so most of the stuff I was listening to was his collection. This was a particular favourite of mine at the time so it’s quite nostalgic to come back to 10 years later. It’s so gothic and so 80s I love it.

Suffers from the classic prog album curse of trying so hard to be weird and ‘progressive’ that good songwriting is sacrificed. There were some great moments though, and I did enjoy the twists and turns of the title tracks. Overall not as good as their debut.

Weird that I just happened to have already been listening to this album a lot recently. It sounds like Led Zeppelin + Muse but on acid and I’m so here for it. Insanely technical instrumentation, powerful vocals and the some of the most surreal lyrics I’ve ever heard. Not only does it have all of the above qualities, but also some really catchy and accessible songwriting which is seriously impressive.

Bit boring at times. First and last song were strong though

Fun album but gets a bit samey

The way this was constructed is really impressive and it sounds so unique

I didn’t have high hopes when I saw the band name and album cover. And yes, it was definitely dated and cringy, but overall I thought the songwriting was actually pretty good.

A lot of homophobia in the lyrics. Also I stopped listening during the song ‘Kim’ because that was a horrible experience.

What a unique artist. Whilst her next 3 albums improve on this sequentially, it’s impressive as a debut and her vocals are as good as ever.

Solid debut album, can see what all the fuss is about. That said, some of the popular songs are overplayed and therefore a bit annoying.

Pleasantly boring

Why is this in the book

This is it.

Although it could be more consistent, the atmosphere this album creates is immense and it was massively influential on gothic rock and post-punk to follow.

Lush would be the most fitting single word to describe this album

Like Remain in Light but less accessible

This has crazy high production value

Went into this one with low expectations as I’ve never really enjoyed an album that is older than the 60s. It wasn’t bad though, a fun listen and I liked his vocals.

Boring

A noisy guitar-driven sprawl of an album, ahead of its time and very influential on modern post-punk/indie rock.

It had its moments but they were few and far between.

Difficult to compare this to anything I’ve heard before. So many different ideas and genres brought together, yielding fascinating but inconsistent results.

Easy listening, but not really my thing

One of the best metal albums I’ve listened to. Although that’s not particularly saying much as I don’t listen to much metal. It was also surprisingly melodic for a thrash metal album. The guitar solos were insane and just generally the lead guitar work was on another level.

Would of given it 2 stars but that second-to-last song single-handedly bumps it up to a 3

Usually I’m not that into classic punk but this was actually great. Unlike the other bands from this time like the sex pistols and ramones I think it holds up pretty well today.

From the cover and the description in the book I was prepared for this album to be awful. Whilst that may have been true for the latter half of the album, I did quite enjoy some of the first few tracks.

Pretty good, reminds me of television but not as interesting guitar playing

Slightly better than the other g-funk album we’ve had so far (the chronic) but still can be annoying and a bit repetitive. There are some really good standout tracks on here though, Murder was the case is a particular favourite.

Don’t really get why he’s so popular, I feel like there’s artists nowadays doing this genre better. Also I heard him singing about a ‘little girl’ on 2 different songs and any more than 1 is too much.

A bit all over the shop this. If only every song was as good as Money for Nothing.

It was all going so well until the fart noises at the end

As britbop albums go I thought this had quite a unique sound but just didn’t really stick with me

I’m not a fan of live albums at the best of times, so it doesn’t help that the audience is way too loud in the mix here.

Anyone who doesn’t gives this 5 stars is incorrect

Maybe I would’ve enjoyed more on another day but it wasn’t the vibe I wanted for cycling to work.

I thought this album had a great alt-country sound that is 10 years ahead of its time. However, except for a couple great songs the writing was mediocre.

So yeah this album is great n all but it is just a bit overrated. On the run is a pointless track and actually quite annoying.

Better than the last public enemy album but a bit long

They are definitely a singles band. This and gimme shelter have quite a bit of filler and then 2-3 amazing songs.

This is so weird and I like it. Also the last song is amazing.

The contrast between the album title and its cover is hilarious. Never properly listened to beach boys but had heard a few of their hits before. This is very different to those and I think I prefer this slightly darker sound.

tf is this shit

I prefer them plugged

Some great songs on here but not that consistent.

It should be illegal to put a song that good as the opening track and then follow it up with an hour of music that is not nearly as good and also very different in style.

Maybe would’ve enjoyed this more if it was actually set to a film

Very boring

What an awful album cover. The music itself doesn’t redeem it.

It’s like if tori Amos made poppier music but it was also grungier

Had me yawning

Massively influential for alt rock and massively influential on my music taste ever since I heard the song Debaser on skate 3. I love how unhinged it is, it’s impossible to predict how the next song will sound.

Solsbury Hill is great, the rest is overcooked

Not yet heard a better mainstream pop album. It really is flawless. Also a very important album to me in making my teenage self realise you could like Radiohead and pop music at the same time.

I just don’t really like jazz that much

Sorry I got bored

First song was decent, downhill from there

Had to turn it off after like 4 songs

Another not great album to cap off a week of not great albums. Only 3 stars cos of the title track.

This would be one of my all time fave albums if the end half was as good as the first.

Great energy and great sampling

Was never gonna get through the whole thing

Put me to sleep

Been meaning to listen to more depeche mode since hearing their most popular album ‘violator’ recently. Whilst this isn’t quite as good as that, it has a similar fusion of goth and synthpop.

It speaks to the influence and importance of this album that despite never actually listening to it in full I knew most of the songs. It’s one that I don’t think anyone can not like. Also Five Years is a criminally underrated song.

Crazy production quality for a 50 year old album. Such a smooth sound but can get a lil boring at times.

Very nostalgic for me as my mum has all their cds and used to play them in the car a lot. While it isn’t their best album I’m glad they have one on the list. Great songwriting, does maybe run out of steam a bit at the end though.

Well she can sing. That’s all the praise I have though. Pretty boring even to listen to the best of version so I wo old never had got through the whole thing

American Elton John. Some great songs on here but found some really boring.

My first iron maiden album and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it

Nice bit of prog. Think they have better albums though.

One of the best uk punk albums. Love the quickfire song style and some of the longer songs (ex-lion tamer, mannequin) are just amazing

This is outrageous, this is contagious

Like the other beastie boys album we have very recently: great energy and sampling. This one maybe a bit more rock influenced. Also special mention to the use of the drums from When the Levee Breaks in the first song.

Good album but too long and quite formulaic.

Started off strong with the first song but not very memorable after that

I don’t get get why this is so popular

Used to listen to this a lot when I was younger so very nostalgic. Some absolute top tier songs on it (changes, oh you pretty things, life on mars) but lacks consistency sometimes, especially when compared to ziggy stardust.

Message in a bottle is so good. The rest is alright.

It’s not the kind of genre I typically like, yet I have to give it 5 stars and that is a testament to just how good the songwriting is. I think any song could be a single on this.

Pretty good, better than I expected

Ain’t nothing’ like a gangbang to blow away the blues

Actually one of the best live albums I ever heard, adds so much to the music. I means it’s basically a stand-up set in between. The bleeped swears are so funny.

I want to like this more but it just lacks edge.

Exceeded my expectations. A great little collection of catchy hooks.

The banana one was annoying, this one was boring. So far a highly overrated band in my opinion.

Very hard to put into words the importance of this album to me. Probably the most influential album in opening my eyes to other genres than indie/alt rock. After absolutely replaying the shit out of all Radiohead albums in my teens this is the one which still feels the most fresh to come back to. It is texturally perfect and every song feels a necessary part of the whole. Special mention to ‘Motion Picture Soundtrack’ which is still the most beautiful song I’ve ever heard.

I don’t even really like the title track

Saw them live once and it was amazing

If you only heard the talking in between you’d think the singer was an 80 year old lol

Immediately forgettable

Not bad, I really liked the song Heroes and Villains.

Great grunge album, a bit too long tho

Some absolute classics on here but it’s quite bloated and their older stuff is better.

Although this is not my favourite LCD album (last 2 songs could’ve been cut), it’s got some of their very best songs on. The 4 song run from how do you sleep to American dream is perfect.

Very interesting production choices but not a bad album

I respect that this is the first if it’s kind so is pretty important, but it kinda sounds like they wrote the song pinball wizard (fucking brilliant song btw) and then for some reason decided to write an entire 75 minute rock opera around it

2 Metallica albums in one week! This one is slightly better than the self-titled but still not as good as earlier albums. Seriously where tf is the bass?

Not a bad album by any means, but completely undeserving of a place in this list

Like the raw energy of it, but it’s just too rough around the edges sometimes

Love the nervous, anxious energy this album has. Not the best talking heads album but still great, opening and closing songs are amazing.

Kinda overrated

It’s decent, but I just don’t get why people like his music so much

Lacks the crazy energy of their previous album but still sounds great.

Sorry I just find jazz boring

The Weight is such a great song, but the rest was very mid.

Yawnathon

Impossible not to enjoy this album.

The best pink Floyd album for me

3 5/5 albums in a row! I haven’t heard this album in a while and forgot just how amazing it is. It sounds so alien yet so natural at the same time and Björk’s voice is unreal as usual.

Somehow this was the first time listening to a nick cave album and it was great. Looking forward to his other 3 albums in the book.

The first song gave me false hope, this was pretty naff

Great album

Pleasant background music, but I have to rate the album as an active listening experience.

Incredibly boring and unnecessarily long

The best bob dylan album so far on the list. It helped that a lot of these songs were in a complete unknown.

This has a really cool sound. So many different influences. Album cover could have been better though.

Although its very bloated and you do really have to separate the art from the artist here, I enjoyed quite a lot.

Would’ve made way more sense to have 10 songs.

I respect the uniqueness but its just a bit too much

Could be the most iconic rock band. Not their greatest album but still 5 stars. Opening and closing songs are crazy good and Changes deserves a mention because of how completely different yet amazing it is. RIP Ozzy, not sure how he managed to live that long tbf.

Shocked and appalled at the global score for this one. This is a flawless no skips album, a cornerstone of modern indie rock and definitely a huge inspiration for many bands since. It’s also been one of my all time favourite albums for 10 years so no bias there at all. Also possibly the best live band I’ve ever seen.

So creative and varied

Best and most influential metal album ever

A cross between rage against the machine, RHCP and Metallica. Would defo listen again

Christ that was boring

Better than Imperial Bedroom but not as good as This Year’s Model.

First time listening to A Tribe Called Quest and I liked it. Smoothest hip hop I’ve ever heard.

My only prior exposure to Deep Purple was the song Smoke on the Water so I didn’t really know what to expect with this. It was pretty great if I’m honest, especially Child in Time that was epic.

Quite liked this, could be a film soundtrack

Wow very good

Big fan of Fiona Apples music. This might not be her best one but it’s pretty unique. Love the heavily percussive homemade sound.

Bit random

The big songs are good, but the rest was difficult to listen to

Completely average

Started off strong but went downhill quickly

Maybe influential but i found it kinda annoying

Another white stripes album and again I don’t really get the appeal

Found out that Liam only wrote very few songs and when Noel sung live he would just leave the stage for a bit hahah what a useless twat

Maybe I’m Amazed is a great song - rest is nice but not seeing why it’s on this list

Even better than the last Tribe Called Quest album but still not a 5 cos it’s a little repetitive

Pretty overrated album I think. Obviously has some amazing and super influential songs - mainly at the start and end. But there’s a fair few duds through the middle.

Not on Spotify but from the couple songs I listened to on YouTube I’m okay with that

His voice is a bit annoying

Started off well but got a bit samey

So reggae is not a genre I am really interested in at all. So when I say that this album is really good I mean it. We used to sing three little birds in primary school assembly and I can never get sick of it.

One the earliest indie rock records and holds up well today considering its 40+ years old.

One of the only albums so far short enough for me to be able to finish before getting to work. That said if I went to a gig and they finished after 20 mins I would want money back.

Couple of decent songs but generally I found it quite annoying

Waterloo sunset is 10x better than all other tracks

eh

Started off not great but got much better. Though I think to pimp a butterfly is better. Enjoyed the beach house sample in money trees.

Might be a controversial opinion but I think 95% of stones songs are filler at best. This album is a great example of that. Going Home is possibly the worst 10+ minute song I’ve ever heard.

This is why I do the 1001 albums generator. If all the songs were as good as the first would’ve been 5/5 too.

Have to separate the art from the artist for this one. The definition of a big album. Very ambitious and tons of features. The sampling is amazing too. My only issue is some songs overstay a bit.

Makes me wanna go on a road trip across the states.

Haven’t listened to this in a while, forgot just how good it is. I mean it has 2 Thom Yorke features!

Dreadful

Like if Bowie did britpop

Old Coldplay is so much better than new Coldplay

Nope

I have heard a great deal of dusty old 50s/60s records on this list - particularly this week. But this is by far the dustiest of all and the recording quality is so bad. Thank god for artists like bob dylan for modernising the folk genre.

I liked this a lot, will be listening again

Sounds like a parody

I thought this would be a straightforward 70s punk album but I was very wrong - so many unexpected elements and well written songs.

All the sounds on this are so well textured. Especially the bass, the bass is great. Also I love albums where the songs transition into each other.

Such an influential album and the guitar playing is epic

There’s something about old school hip hop that just sounds gimmicky to me

A truly depressing album. Not quite as good as unknown pleasures but the atmosphere it generates is strong.

Red alert is miles above every other song

I enjoyed this more than I expected

This album, which I could barely get through 2 songs of, won the mercury prize in 1997. Other nominated albums included OK Computer and The Fat of the Land. Absolutely shocking decision.

Not sure why this is on the list

The cure have been one of my favourite bands for at least 10 years now, but I’ll be first to admit their discography is not consistently good. This is the first one of what I would call their early 80s goth trilogy, followed up by faith and then pornography (which is one of the best albums of all time and is thankfully also in the book). You can tell that they were trying out a new sound with this as some songs are a bit half-baked. However, the song ‘a forest’ is one of their best and a sign of things to come. Overall, very good album for the Halloween season. Real spooky vibes.

Following up rumours with another rumours would have been an impossible task. I’m glad they did something quite different because this album has so much to uncover with every listen and much more variety in song type.

I think this is now the 5th Rolling Stones album on the list. From the previous 4 I had been coming to the conclusion that they are really just a singles band and most of their songs are filler. So imagine my surprise when their most consistent one is a double album with none of their biggest songs on.

It’s crazy how much worse this is than their next album. Borderline unlistenable at times.

Prefer the full band albums but this wasn’t bad. Nice songwriting but some drag on.

Rootin tootin

‘One thing I’ve learnt from 1001 is that I can’t really handle Jazz in most forms.’ This is the most liked review for this and I think it reflects my opinions exactly.

Listened to this on a flight to Thailand - literally a Passage to Bangkok

This was great. Quite different from Pink Moon with more full band and strings. Think it might be better. Definitely inspired a lot of later singer-songwriters.

Would give 6 stars if I could. Absolutely flawless which is impressive for an album so long. Have known and loved this album since its release as my dad played the cd in his car.

Not bad not bad - on a rope is a definite highlight

Well it’s much better than the other byrds album we had

Quite boring

I preferred this to LA Woman but still a bit overrated imo

Synthpop meets goth and it’s really really good

I must have been in the mood for it because that’s the first jazz album I’ve listened to and not thought it was a waste of time.

I was expecting worse tbf - the song snuff was a nice surprise too

That was so much worse than I thought it would be - I’m glad they moved away from this sound

Not as consistently good as some other led zep albums but stairway to heaven and when the levee breaks are 2 of the greatest songs of all time.

Extremely talented artist

Really dull

Had a couple moments

One of my mums favourite albums, so been meaning to listen properly for a while and it didn’t disappoint

Really fun listen

I like how it transitions into ambient in the second half

There are many reasons I shouldn’t like this: the obnoxious beats, jarring samples and offensive lyrics. But for some reason it all works so well.

I liked this but it did just breeze by and has left no lasting impression

5 hits + filler

My fave Springsteen album so far

They pretty much founded the genre of dream pop with this. Absolutely stunning album and one I can always come back to without ever getting bored.

Not a bad album but the title track really does all the heavy lifting

really cool sounding album - will come back to this

For a triple album this is so consistent - so close to 5 stars but that last section with the jams lets it down a bit

Found this kinda boring

Not quite as good as astral weeks but very enjoyable listen

Found this really boring

Absolutely fantastic album - still distinctly remember first listening to it during an a level maths class. Close call between this and their next album, Bloom, for my favourite.

Compared to the previous John martyn album it was pretty mid

Nothing quite like this album for me - the atmosphere it creates is so bleak. Truly a goth masterpiece. 16 yr old me listened to this on repeat.

Really didn’t do it for me

Interesting listen but not sure it’s for me

My uncle has been trying to get me to listen to genesis for years and this is the album he recommended. Very glad that I finally did because it’s really great. Special mention to that guitar solo in Firth of Fifth.

Possibly the coolest sounding album ever

“She’s got legs, she knows how to use them” She can walk?

Actually liked this much more than I expected

A lot of amazing songs on here by pretty much the undisputed greatest guitarist of all time. However it is too long and does have quite a bit of filler.

There are a lot of late sixties psychedelic albums on here but this one is one of the best for sure.

Maybe his music is very slowly growing on me

Was gonna be a 3 but the last 2 songs were really great

The album title is definitely accurate

Have liked this band for a long time and this is one of their best albums. It’s just so intricate and rewards multiple listens. My only negative would be that it’s not quite as consistent as I’d like.

I have now had all 3 Nick drake albums generated. He’s got to be one of very few artists with more than 1 album to have all his albums in the book. Not that I’m complaining, because they’re all really great.

short and uninteresting

First 3 tracks are great but it does get a bit samey

Extremely boring and repetitive

A bit better than the last pogues album but that’s only really because of fairytale of newyork

For the first 5 songs this was a 4/5 for me, but after that it got way worse (especially the bogus man).

Got 3 songs in and was done

The best of the 3 CCR albums on the list but still not amazing

Absolutely not what I wanted for my cycle to work

Muse are for people who can’t handle Radiohead. Joking aside this was actually quite enjoyable - knights of cydonia a particular standout.

Like all rock operas I have heard before there are 2 or 3 actually great songs and then an hour of filler. This is probably the best of the bunch but still only a couple songs I would ever listen on their own.

So I listened to the expanded edition because it was the only version on Spotify. Pretty good I thought, then I checked which songs were on the original album out of interest. Only 6 songs! 35 mins! Half are covers! Basically if they just selected the tracklist better this would be a solid 4/5. Also Keith moon is an absolute beast on the drums.

There’s been a lot of late 60s slop so I didn’t have high hopes. However this was very enjoyable, especially the first song.

You wouldn’t steal a car type beat

Listening to the 1001 is slowly changing my opinion on live albums for the better

No one can convince me this belongs on the list

Top tier Bowie album

Started well but got very samey

Bit of a mixed bag but some tracks were great

Definitely more accessible than the previous bad seeds album, but definitely longer than it needed to be, although O Children was worth the wait.