closer to a 1 than a 3 - every song is overlong and the flows and rhymes are instantly dated and mega corny in that 1990 fresh prince way - but i kind of admire the intersection between its brazen stupidity and its sex-positivity

Comfy, easy, groovy. Consistent, slightly samey. Music to cook pasta with your wife to. favorites: Let's Stay Together; I've Never Found a Girl least favorite: La-La for You

Cash had obvious charisma neutered by the variety show feel of this too-brief recording. favorites: Wanted Man, Starkville City Jail least favorite: San Quentin (Reprise)

Rip-roaring and confident right out the gate. I've previously avoided full Clash records - some of these runtimes reek of album bloat - but their debut is incredibly digestible. Easy to trace the lineage from this album to bands like Green Day or Against Me! which, sonically, often lean on emphasizing the "rock ('n roll)" in "punk rock." favorites: Janie Jones; Deny least favorite: Garageland

This album feels like when you've reached that highest hubristic level of drunk right before your good night turns into a bad night. It feels like a manic episode. It feels both timeless and fresh. Some might call it front-loaded; I think the front is just more hook-laden and the back is more groove-laden. favorites: Once; Black; Even Flow least favorites: Alive; Release

This has absolutely no business sounding as tight as it does. Precise, spunky musicianship and production. I've never cared much for The Police, so I'm astounded I'm having such fun with this record. favorites: Bring On The Night; The Bed's Too Big Without You least favorite: It's Alright for You

This album is a little juvenile, and the songs where Ocean is in full crooner mode can be boring, but the best of the best are fun, inventive tunes. I completely understand why it rocked the worlds of so many high schoolers when it came out (i.e. my peers) and continues to to this day. More of a 3.5, but I'm rating generously, as this one feels like one that grows on you. favorites: Super Rich Kids; Lost; Pyramids least favorite: Crack Rock; Thinkin Bout You

This was my first non-English record on this list and a real endurance test. Quite funky, with a consistent, high energy maintained throughout. I learned I don't enjoy the cuíca, whose prominent screech invoked a response in me similar to the reaction people have toward the St. Anger drums. It's an obviously skilled recording, and although I'm unlikely to revisit it on my own, I'd be happy to hear any track from this at like 1AM at my third bar of the night. favorites: Ponta de Lanca Africano; Cavaleiro Do Cavalo Imaculado least favorite: Africa Brazil (Zumbi)

I low-key hated this but all of the singles are all-timers as far as aughts indie goes so there's that favorites: Pin; Y Control least favorite: Tick

sometimes popheads ask why robbie williams never landed for americans, and it seems like the answer is some combination of: he's ripping off oasis while they're already on the outs, sonically this album is the most england-in-1997 something can possibly be, and lastly this is impossibly generic and it sucks favorites: Ego A Go Go; Life Thru a Lens least favorites: One of God's Better People; Hello Sir

Unexceptional. At its start I was irritated by its aggressive nothingness, but as it goes on it settles into a more pleasant nothingness favorites: I Wish I Was Your Mother; I’m a Cadillac / El Camino Dolo Roso least favorites: Whizz Kid; Violence

Adequate, nearly lovely, but wholly forgettable favorites: Please Forgive Me; Babylon least favorites: Nightblindness; Say Hello, Wave Goodbye

i can't even pretend to rate this objectively this shit banged when i was 6 watching the "In the End" music video on VH1 and it still bangs now favorites: Papercut; A Place for My Head; With You least favorites: By Myself; Pushing Me Away

65 straight minutes of metallica in full meathead "censorship = politics, politics = bad" mode is frankly exhausting to take in, but the musicianship is largely excellent favorites: One; To Live is to Die least favorite: The Shortest Straw

this record is way too long and inane and i just plain hate the sound of badu's voice to be honest. the album goes nowhere and i found myself hitting the skip button on a lot of it favorites: Cleva; Kiss Me on My Neck least favorites: Orange Moon; Green Eyes

it's Pet Sounds. c'mon now. its impact is felt everywhere endlessly, and musicians have only ever benefited from trying to replicate it. favorites: Wouldn't It Be Nice; I Just Wasn't Made For These Times; Pet Sounds least favorite: Sloop John B

this rips. i was only familiar with "Jesus Built My Hotrod" prior, and although the track is still a highlight for me, i was pleasantly surprised at how much i liked the rest of this as well. music to do skilled mechanical labor to. favorites: Psalm 69; Jesus Built My Hotrod least favorite: Hero

starts out alright for what it is, but wears out its welcome quickly. there's a very cheeky unserious masculine energy to this, and it makes a lot of sense how tracks from this ended up on multiple Jackass soundtracks favorites: The Age of Pamparius; Get It On least favorite: Rock Against Ass

listened to the 2021 Director's Cut available on Spotify sometimes i ponder how British the 1001 albums are gonna be and then i'm generated a record from the lads who gave us "Doctorin' the Tardis" ambient house might not be for me favorites: No More Tears; The White Room least favorite: Madrugada Eterna (Club Mix)

1001 Albums Generator recently assigned me At San Quentin, and it didn't do anything for me, so I went into this one unenthusiastic for more of the same. My impression was quite mistaken. This has got better sequencing, tighter pacing, livelier energy, stronger performances, better songs. This is everything a live album should be. favorites: Dark as the Dungeon; 25 Minutes to Go; Green, Green Grass of Home least favorite: The Long Black Veil

an absolute vibe. i've always found third-wave ska annoying but now it seems almost criminal that gen x americans listened to cool, culturally-unifying shit like this and stripped it of its blackness in the pursuit of glorified pop-punk tracks about, like, smoking weed with your girlfriend in your parents' garage or whatever favorites: (Dawning of a) New Era; Doesn't Make It Alright least favorite: Too Much Too Young

The singles are better than I'd remembered. The Neptunes did solid work with this one - the tracks that lack their touch are remarkably worse. The weaker cuts give MJ-clone energy and the record itself is much too long. favorites: Like I Love You; Rock Your Body least favorites: Right For Me; Never Again

the singles from this album are so synonymous with 'funk' in pop culture that i get little out of this besides the recognition factor. that being said, the record isn't iconic without reason - it's well-crafted, hooky, and there are no bad songs favorites: Everyday People; Stand! least favorite: Don't Call Me ******, Whitey

a comfy listen albeit unmemorable. i feel like this is more impressive as a pop album than a rock album, if that makes sense favorites: Stupid Girl; Dog New Tricks least favorite: My Lover's Box

this flew way over my head ngl. very discordant material, but purposefully, skillfully. favorite: Track C - Group Dancers least favorite: Track A - Solo Dancer

i enjoy the musicianship on this album quite a bit, both on its own merits and due to personal bias as an enjoyer of new wave. the thing that brings this down is that costello's voice sounds like shit from a butt favorites: Goon Squad; Oliver's Army least favorite: Chemistry Class

i was a fan of all the hits going in and those are still the major standouts. pleasantly surprised at how guitar-driven and satisfyingly noisy this was. admittedly repetitive but fun. favorites: Come Out and Play; Self Esteem least favorite: What Happened to You?

What a pleasant surprise. This absolutely rips. Phenomenal powerhouse vocal performance backed by the most maximalist, genre-smashing, sensual, bombastic production money could buy. Even the cover songs are transformative. I fucking loved this. favorites: Private Dancer; What's Love Got to Do with It least favorite: I Can't Stand the Rain

a little sparse for my taste, but cohesive, cozy, easy, and absolutely the blueprint record for this sort of thing. favorites: I Feel the Earth Move; It's Too Late least favorite: Smackwater Jack

hugely risky. ambient and eerie. albums to listen to when you want something low-stimulation that makes you feel bad but in a comfy way. favorites: Warszawa; Always Crashing in the Same Car least favorite: A New Career in a New Town

this is not really my taste but i recognize that it's executing the vibe it's going for near-flawlessly favorites: Longer Boats; Wild World least favorite: Tea for the Tillerman

Yes? No favorites: The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus); We Have Heaven least favorite: Roundabout

my first foray into roxy music. a high 2, but i'm rounding up. mostly bored me. huge dissonance between the cover and the contents. was not expecting my highest praise of this record to be "this sounds sorta like the slightly lamer talking heads albums" favorites: Out of the Blue; Bitter Sweet least favorite: A Really Good Time

I enjoyed the gentler, slower tracks, but the more uptempo ones didn't hit for me Across the board, it seems like this album has the reputation it does because it can function as an effective gateway drug for pop-listening people to seek out weirder music in a tame, approachable environment favorites: We Do What We're Told (Milgram's 37); This is the Picture (Excellent Birds) least favorite: Red Rain

this record is the uncanny valley of music. it's almost music, but it's not soulful enough to be music. it's like the royalty-free music that plays in porn or like music made for a film to demonstrate the evils of when musicians lack creative freedoms. favorites: Rough Out Here; Tired Games least favorite: Sincere - Re-Cue'd

experimental, playful, and chaotic. a fantastic find. favorites: O Relogio; Baby least favorite: Bat Macumba

Let's start with what doesn't work - most of the Nirvana tracks sound worse here than in their studio recordings, it's a rough vocal performance from Kurt, and the MTV Unplugged production sounds a little slicker than I want. Now, what does work - the setlist is wonderfully curated, the cover song performances are fantastic, and the sheer display of personality and taste. Also, frankkly, "off" renditions of Nirvana songs are still Nirvana songs. favorites: Where Did You Sleep Last Night; Jesus Doesn't Want Me For A Sunbeam; Dumb least favorites: Pennyroyal Tea; Come As You Are

2 stars at 8:30am but 4 stars after a full workday a little overwrought and eventually it's like "alright that's enough of that" but good lyrics and love the guitarwork favorites: Elvis Impersonator: Blackpool Pier; A Design for Life least favorite: Small Black Flowers that Grow in the Sky

the absolute blandest 70s soft-rock known to man interspersed with occasional sparks of innovation and humor. there's merit to the idea that this record is worth loving or praising but this left me so cold and bored favorites: I Saw the Light; Song of the Viking least favorite: Piss Aaron (great title though)

quite fun and nervy. absolutely cracked guitar work - divinely jagged and noisy. album really *feels* like the work of a bunch of 21 year olds which is one of the most beautiful things about it favorites: Mirage; Suburban Relapse least favorite: The Staircase (Mystery)

listened to the original LP. this album truly went in one ear and out the other. i was surprised at the extent this *doesn't* feel like a live album (i am told the remaster differs on this); it's all technical showmanship and feels very tight and regular favorite: Festival Junction least favorite: Blues to Be There

soft, comfy, easy, gentle ideal album to listen to on a weekend afternoon where you don't have responsibilities but you do have a porch beer

how this makes the cut for anyone's list of essential albums is beyond me. profoundly mediocre and it's not even live. boggles the mind how this "yeah i'm a ~rock n roll~ guy and i fuck girls and i shred" shit has ever been anything other than embarrassing for everyone involved favorites: Massacre; Warrior least favorite: Still in Love with You

"Friends of Mine" -> "Time of the Season" is an instant favorite example of whiplash album sequencing great collection of songs to listen to while getting up to some twee Wes Anderson bullshit (non-derogatory) favorites: Friends of Mine; Changes least favorite: A Rose for Emily

just listened to this full thing twice in a row. it's sad boy autumn i normally bristle a bit at this countrified indie-folk sound, because it tends to come off as a bit smug, inauthentic, or above itself. but not only is this record free from those trappings but it also, with its grim sincerity and sparse arrangements, really hits. a high 4 favorites: I See a Darkness; Black least favorite: Death to Everyone

i know intellectually that this is not a 1/5, that the original compositions are beautiful and these rearrangements are very deliberately, thoughtfully abrasive - i know that my reaction to the thing is the record working as intended. but this project is ultimately for my own amusement and reference, and i very much did jump ship after 12 minutes because the listening experience stressed me out real bad.

i actually don't hate this, and i find side b especially whimsical and fun as an experience, but the music doesn't really hold up and i feel no pull toward individual songs. it is also frankly too british favorites: Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake; Afterglow (Of Your Love) least favorite: Mad John

crazy how much better than the rest of the record "Superstition" is - the rest isn't bad to listen to, but sounds very milquetoast

as a person whose cat is named shalimar i had higher expectations for the album named shalimar it was solid. someone in the reviews called this morricone-esque and i really felt that

dislike the majority of the vocal performance and there's an extra-80s sheen to how this sounds that i don't fuck with but the instrumentation really goes

if every song was equally as good as Sara or Tusk this would be one of the best records of all time, but, alas

this album dropping when i was the tender age of 0 means i mostly associate fiona with legions of vh1-airplay adult-alt knockoffs of this sound and like, while this record feels clearly successful in its aims of being pop-soul singer-songwriter shit, it is also responsible for some of the worst tunes to touch my ears and some crimes cannot be forgiven

earlyish rock history is so funny because audiences were like "what if a song was long" like, yeah man, what if album goes in one ear and out the other but is pretty vibey and unobjectionable

i was listening to this while focused on a separate task, and most of the tunes passed by without notice. music is rarely so easy to ignore. but i did a double-take for "Sitting by the Window," a standout

i've tried and failed to like this record many times over the years. i still hate track 1 and the record is almost *too* cohesive - many songs are great, but few stand out - but i'm excited this finally clicks with me the same way it does for so many others. for me, this scratches an itch somewhere between the twee twinkle of ipod-commercial indie and the moody introspection of a conor oberst type. glad to be listening to this on an autumn weekend afternoon.

time and time again, our most forward-thinking musicians are gender non-conforming autistic people

the perfect marriage between the decadent, bombastic 80s rock and the cynical, brooding 90s rock yet to come this isn't completely to my taste (perry farrell's voice is... a lot), but "ted, just admit it..." is phenomenal and it's easy to listen to this record and understand how it felt big and important for people

powerhouse pop perfection. these songs have weight again now that i'm not hearing them on the radio 5x an hour. the memories of overexposure kill my desire to listen to this again on purpose but i completely get how this was a must-buy record at the time.

inoffensive ren faire music - a bone-headed take of mine is that everything that sounds like this sounds the same to me

this album has many pleasing, soulful, comfy production choices and arrangements, largely thanks to the features - it sometimes feels like the entirety of southern rap is here - and overall the genre-mashing is successful. but lyrically this album is such ego-stroking dumb dogshit. trying to pass off as a good-times hard-guy record, barely disguising a deep insecurity. calling himself the soul machine like a goddamn comic book character. stupid.

songs to sign your divorce papers to

incredible, atmospheric, haunting, dizzying, energetic, beautiful. peak goth culture when 1001 Albums Generator assigned me The Scream a few weeks ago, i found it charming how 'green' yet filled with potential the band's music felt to me, so i found it very rewarding to get to listen to a more experienced, unique, confident version of the Banshees music is a thing we all find when we're meant to, yet that can't stop me from beating myself up for not giving Siouxsie more of my time sooner

I've always scoffed heavily at terms like "male manipulator music," and I wouldn't say the fact Morrissey is uniquely, viscerally repellent to so many whilst retaining a melodramatic, borderline whimsical self-awareness about it is the MOST interesting asset of this record per se, but let's just say I do understand the urge to canonize this record in this way. It's basically the blueprint for morose, outcast, wimpish dickheads who wish to have their moment in the sun.

vintage bluesy good-times pervert rock has really never been my thing, i gotta be real, and this record does nothing interesting to make me reassess my bias

i'm not even grading this one on a beatles-shaped curve it's just alright idk idk

the audio equivalent of a warm mug of tea and a huge slice of soda bread

good energy! really enjoy the quality to this recording where the vocals have that arena echo but the lead guitar riffs are big and crisp

55 years later everything laid out here still seems incredibly dominant within a certain type of person's idea of what it means to be cool metropolitan, progressive, wry, sensitive

overlong. tons of filler and a lot of noodling around. i listened under ideal conditions (high) and, even then, it took only a few tracks to feel exhausted "would?" is still great and there is a lot of satisfying guitar elsewhere on the record too. it's overall fine

hauntingly beautiful voice. boring. a low 3

an album that asks: what if you were in love and you were in new york at the time? i've tried hard to get into PJ Harvey recently, and although i like Rid Of Me as an overall album way more, "Good Fortune" has absolutely been one of my most-played songs this autumn

production goes crazy. pretty even split between poetic bars and the stupidest (for better or worse) lines you've ever heard. wish there was less gooner shit but i suppose that's essential to the experience.

closer to a 1 than a 3 - every song is overlong and the flows and rhymes are instantly dated and mega corny in that 1990 fresh prince way - but i kind of admire the intersection between its brazen stupidity and its sex-positivity

So, I accidentally listened to the Love & Devotion reissue, i.e. twice as much qawwali music as I ever really needed. Love Songs (1/5) was a very repetitive, uninteresting release, which perhaps preemptively soured me for Devotional Songs (2.5/5), whose tracks' energy and power I vibed with more. I feel no desire to listen to this again and sometimes wonder whether wishing 1001 Albums Generator had more genre diversity is a monkey's paw situation.

frankly, sounds incredible, considering it was contractually obligated and all a little boring but weirdly relaxing as background music

most of this is bluesier than i like, and i worry i'll never learn what makes a jazz record objectively good vs. not good, but "peaches en regalia" is quite lovely

albums like this are why i use this website. a great find.

most of the record is a bit monotonous but concrete jungle is so fucking good

a stone cold masterpiece and lifelong favorite. growing up, i always admired it mainly as a guitar record, with its bombastic, dense sound, but in this listen what i've honed in on is the percussion goes absolutely mental. jimmy chamberlin off the shits