1001 Albums Summary

Outstanding album. Perhaps a little lull (drop in tempo) in the mid-tracks, but overall an absolute belter

Really liked this. Full of various styles and sounds. Short.

A solid 4. Not really my kind of music, but I can appreciate it for what it is.

Not their best album. Some interesting songs in there, but didn’t really do enough to elevate itself from background noise to something I was actively listening to.

Again, I can appreciate the music for what it is and the massive Nile Rodgers influence, but I’m just not a huge fan of disco.

Could be mistaken for thinking you are listening to an extended play of one song they are so similar. Not unpleasant, just not really anything to get excited about.

Dislike this Blur album. Much prefer Blur (1997).

Better than I remember. Faded in the second half. Seeing a lot of comparisons to Weezer’s Blue Album. This is far inferior.

Not for me this one. First I’ve not finished.

Great album. Hadn’t listened to it in a fair few years, but didn’t seem as long once played. Very familiar.

Country Pop. No, no, no. Not even the best example of the genre.

Absolutely stunning. Wonderfully witty lyrics. Have fleetingly listened to some Belle and Sebastian before but they were big before my time. This is fabulous!

Not an Elton John fan, but enjoyed this album.

Enjoyable enough. Don’t think I’d actively seek it out to listen to again.

Funky. Filled with classics. Doesn’t have any weaker songs and oft sampled, which again shows its quality.

Really didn’t like this. Passin’ me by is alright. Of its time. Misogyny writ large.

Great album, but not as great at Kid A.

Not for me.

Knew of this band, but never listened to them. Was expecting something different from ‘hard rock’. This was eclectic and I liked it.

Meh. Nothing really distinguishes one track from the next.

Great album. Can see how it influenced a lot of bands in the 90s/00s.

Didn’t enjoy this. Can’t really see the reason why people hype them.

How this is one of the 1001 albums is baffling.

Bought this on release. Come on! Feel the Illinoise Part 1 is a particular favourite. Lots going on. Lovely

SOAD passed me by in the 1990s/2000s. Like this. Will seek out the rest of their back catalogue.

Middling. Never really got going and all I could think when I was listening was that I’d much rather be listening to Nick Drake.

Great music. Love it.

This washed over me.

Enough Beck already!!!!!

Bought this when it was released, but never really thought much of it at the time. Relistening now, I’m appreciating it more. Nice lyrics and melody.

Not a huge fan of The Who. This album has done nothing to shift my opinion. Always feel like if the world wasn’t mad for British music at the time then this band wouldn’t have got anywhere.

Mixed. Solid air is an excellent track, but the movement between genres means that as an album it’s not very coherent.

Not for me

Middling. Not any standout tracks, partly because they all sound the same. Will I listen to it again? No.

Not for me.

Dated. Lacks any variation in the songs so became tedious.

Great live album

Fucking awful! First three songs are incoherent. Gave up after that. Life is too short to spend it on this.

Clearly one of the few who cannot stand Prince’s music.

Björk, innit. Lots of plodding along and never really getting anywhere.

Never liked Pulp in my youth. Re listening to them again through this makes me appreciate them a lot more. This was a good album.

The music was fine. His voice and lyrics less so. Less Paul Simon the better.

Utter, utter shite! Everything about this is utter shite! If I could give it zero stars I would.

Quite liked this.

Never heard of Traffic before. Really liked Freedom Rider. The rest were pleasant background music.

Played REPEATEDLY EVERYWHERE when it was released. Nevertheless, it’s a polished album full of relevance even sadly 20 years after release. Like it.

It’s a shame bluegrass music has travelled beyond the region where people chose to listen to it.

Pffft. Starting with a 20 minute extended play of Inner City Life is certainly a statement. Sadly, it gets worse as you progress through the album. By the end you’ll need a lie down in a darkened room. Awful.

That guys voice can do one!

This albums inclusion is laughable. This was rubbish and overplayed/over-promoted at the time of release. Cannot believe there aren’t better albums than this to be included. Twee rubbish.

Nope.

Wasn’t expecting to like this as it’s not really a genre I like. However, was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it in the end.

Confusing album. Some of it was very, very French and in no way rock, let alone industrial rock. However, every second track was a banger of industrial rock. No idea what they were saying though.

Heard songs from this many, many times on 6Music. It’s ok. Nothing more than that. I’d have liked it to be funkier.

Urgh. This was a tough listen. Not much variation in the music.

Singer has a funny accent put on for a few songs at the start, which isn’t great. Beige.

Nothing particularly differentiates this from any other 80s pop. Mediocre.

44 minutes in a dive bar.

Not for me this.

Some thrillers. Some fillers.

A truly terrible record. Crooning pub karaoke.

Some good, some bad. Overall, better than I expected. Definitely can tell William Orbit had involvement.

Middling.

Not for me. Yawn.

Like The XX and Jamie XX, but this album was underwhelming.

70s. Enough said.

Liked it.

What a chore it was listening to this.

Loooooonnnnnggggg last track.

A complete change from previous Radiohead albums. I bought this at the time and was shocked at how different it was. Now solidly one of my favourite albums of all time. It’s easy to mock this album. Haters are going to hate.

Long. Samey.

Great Christmas album.

Very of its time. Wouldn’t listen to it again

Dark, but enjoyable album.

My enjoyment of the Manics is tainted by their ever-presence in the late 90s on the radio. Can’t quite bring myself to like the singers shouty singing either. Sadly I can’t look past either of these.

Not an easy listen overall, but it’s better that some of the other more experimental stuff on the list. Only just though!

I don’t like The Who. This doesn’t change it. It’s not ground breaking. All the songs sound the same. It’s average at best.

Love this album. Awesome talents. Haters are gonna hate.

Short songs. All sound the same. None ever go anywhere. Trudgery.

Meh.

Liked this .

Love it. Every song is a banger!

Not my favourite Beta Band album. It’s good, but not great.

Ever present part of 1999-2000. Some good tunes in here. Quite eclectic. Some are quite poor though.

Not for me.

Background music in a Tarantino film.

Not for me, but can appreciate why people like it.

Vocals had annoying effects. Music by numbers. Forgettable

Forgettable. Not a fan of this genre and this hasn’t changed my mind. None of the songs had any distinguishing variation from any other.

Really enjoyed this. Doesn’t sound like an album from 1981.

Was ok. Didn’t dislike it, but wouldn’t seek it out to listen to again any time soon.

Ok. A sign of the future output from Blur.

40 minutes shouldn't be daunting, but this 40 minutes was. Found this difficult to listen to. Lackadaisical drumming and guitar playing throughout. Very few albums have I stopped, but only got half way through this before I felt I’d heard enough and wonder how they managed to become as big as they did. The musical version of Napoleon Dynamite.

Nope.

Fine. Dates, but important.

Didn’t warm to this. Quite a difficult listen.

Liked this. Some 6Music favourites here made this album familiar. Overall, doesn’t sound like an album that’s nearly 50 years old. Sounds quite modern.

Refreshingly different. More of this and less repetition of bands and artists with several albums would be welcome.

Down with this sort of thing! A White Stripes and now this! Stop making me feel bad.

Ok

Fine. Nothing more. Wouldn’t actively seek it out to listen to again.

Dated.

All thrilla

Generic 70s rock. It’s a shame that so much of this is part of the 1001 albums as it all sounds the same.

Energy. Energy. Energy. Wiggle. Wiggle. Wiggle. Wiggle.

Never heard any Neil Young before. Quickly realised that this is music to avoid.

How dare you.

Enjoyed, but can’t tell whether this is good or not because the amount of world music is so limited on this list. Perhaps a bit less repeated albums and more artists would have been better

Noise. First half of the album is awful. Second half is marginally better. Mixing of the tracks is terrible. They bleed into one another.

Awful. Have never understood the hype this man lives off.

Some good tracks, but some weaker ones too.

In my mind I see blue skies with a Concorde being tracked through it a dazzling vision of a near-future France. This is the soundtrack to that vision.

It’s a CCR album. They all sound the same. Excellent, but once you’ve heard one you’ve heard them all. Not surprising given the rate of output over a short time period. My bugbear is why so many of them if they sound the same. Get some other artists in the mix instead.

Meh

Dated

Good background music, but it’s all the same. Gets a bit doom loopy about half way through when you realise you’ve been listening to effectively the same track 6 times already and there’s more to go.

Not the demographic for thid

Enjoyed this. Dark and mesmerising. Searching out the back catalogue.

Loooong! Not as good as anything he did with the Pixies. Very of its time. Wouldn’t listen to it again.

Some funk. Not enough.

I’ve never understood Metallica. Generic metal with a guy who sounds like he is yodelling on vocals. The addition of a fawning crowd woooing at every chord change is unnecessary. The only saving grace of this album is the orchestra, which stops us from being a pile of shite that steams for two whole hours.

Three tracks were enough to have listened to the whole thing. This sort of stuff doesn’t deserve to spread beyond dive bars in the dustbowl.

It’s ok. Never really understood the hype. Meandering. The backwards track (if that’s what it was) was unnecessary.

It’s obviously good, but not my cup of tea.

Listened to this a lot during my university years. I liked it then. I like it now. Not something I’d play a lot nowadays though. Has that student vibe to it and I’m far from a student these days.

Not my favourite Nick Drake album, but it’s still good.

Never understood the appeal of Metallica. This shit wouldn’t be out of place at Eurovision.

This is garage, not electronic. It’s therefore instantly shit!

One long play song. Dreary.

Kept me interested, mainly because it was all over the place. More of a concept album and probably the reason why it’s been sampled by others. Liked the worst band in the world sonically.

Having heard it I’m not going to listen to it again. Nothing special or interesting here.

Feels like I’ve been living an early 2000s indie American film star life listening to this. It’s good background music, but only that. Ultimately, quite dull and plodding, like all early 2000s indie American films.

Softens jazz and takes the shrill edge of by adding the samba beat. Liked this. Wouldn’t actively listen to it, but would make some great background music for a dinner party were I to have friends or want to host a dinner party.

This is what all hip hop should have aspired to and be the benchmark for any comparisons within the genre. Lyrics are witty and tightly woven, but more importantly, don’t lower themselves to the misogynistic drivel that is pumped out and hailed as being outstanding (looking at you Mr Lamar).

Bought this on release. This is fine. Nothing more. It’s a bit scatter fun and ‘noise’ to be anything more than fine.

Never been a huge fan. Tried many times to listen to this band and see what others do, but can’t.

Not my favourite Chemical Brothers album. Sunshine Underground is far, far better than this. It’s ok.

Decent pop. Flashbacks on primary school discos in the 80s.

Urgh. Too dull to care about.

Refreshingly different

Felt I’d heard the whole album after the third song. Great vocals, but repetitive.

Any time I see a double album I weep a little for the time I’ll never get back. Brevity in an album is an art form within itself. This isn’t music that travels well. Dull, repetitive and closed lyrics about the south mean nothing to me.

Better than I expected it to be from the cover.

New band to me. Shit name though. First track had lots of promise and reminded me of DJ Shadow/UNKLE/RJD2 etc. and also made me think the first track belonged in a Guy Ritchie film. However, quality and my interest declined markedly after first track.

Only had two songs from the album on Spotify. Both were forgettable.

Great start. Lost interest about 5 songs in. Same as every Arcade Fire album.

I can get behind a Tina Turner album that is brash and in your face, but this isn’t. The bland, tepid music is really holding the vocals back. A few decent songs, but overall quite poor.

This was very, very middling. Listened to it whilst doing various tasks about the house. Nothing caught my attention, but the didn’t stop listening either.

It was fine.

Didn’t enjoy this as much as Fela Kuti.

Really wanted to like this as a sparse example of non-western music on the list. However, it’s just not up to it. 6 minutes of percussion not really my thing.

Not my thing.

Easy listening. Inoffensive

Three hours. Listened to the first hour then left the party as they’d run out of vol-au-vents. Great music though, but knocked down a star each as it’s not an album and it’s THREE HOURS LONG!

Album cover didn’t fill me with much hope.m. How wrong was I? Good album with some songs I recognised but didn’t know the artist. Now I do. Eclectic.

Second track 30 seconds in is enough to know this is shit. Probably what Andrew Tate listens to.

This wasn’t floating around at the time on tape. Never heard it. There’s a reason. It’s not very good.

Stadium pop.

Varied. Enjoyed listening to it. Even the fillers are thrillers.

Once you’ve heard one Adele song you’ve heard all her back catalogue and anything she’ll produce in the future. The uniformity would be something Ford would be proud of.

Enjoyed this. Short and snappy.

I was taken in by the hype for LCD in the mid 2000s, but quickly jumped off. Now firmly a fan. Really liked this album.

Two LCD Soundsystem albums in a row. This is certainly toned down by comparison to the others, but is excellent in its own way. The 13 minute track at the end made me think I’d been transported into the Minecraft universe though.

After the first three songs this got very ‘samey’.

I’ve never seen the appeal of the Beach Boys. Good vibrations is maybe good for about a minute then it becomes tedious. Same can be said for all other songs, but the tedium sets in sooner.

Fine. Some nostalgic songs on there, but there’s quite a few sub-par tracks on there. Haven’t sought out any REM album to listen to again, perhaps this is why.

Gets dull quickly

Another Bowie album….

Probably on the better side of good.

Better than the majority of the genre from this time, but the bar isn’t particularly high.

Nice voice, but every track is effectively a carbon-copy of the one that came before it. Good to have on in the background when cooking the dinner, but beyond that I wouldn’t actively listen to it.

It was ok. Of its time. Couldn’t listen to it frequently.

Fine. Musicianship is better than I remember it being. Lyrics are a bit meh now, but that’s society for you.

No. No. No. 19 minute opening track. Takes the piss.

Separating the man from the album this is still as consistently boring as I suspected it would be.

Organs, organs everywhere. Middling.

Fine

Quite dull

It’s very 90s, but it’s also very good. Something of a rarity from the period.

A mad album. At times I was listening and thinking this is a real 70s album, but at times it was music that you could quite imagine being made now with someone like Andre 3000. That said, all of it has clearly been made under the influence of copious amount of psychedelics.

TWO HOURS AND FIFTEEN MINUTES?!?!?!?

This is what I would imagine my band would sound like if I started one with no musical skill or ability.

Not for me.

As beige as beige can be. Little wonder I’d never heard of them.

Pleasant surprise. There’s quite a lot of punk on this list. This was one of the better ones.

How many Bowie albums are on this list?!?!

Like getting to like Guinness. I like Guinness, I don’t like Prince despite repeated attempts to do so. I’m always left thinking ‘right, so it’s five minutes to the song in and I’m ready for something to happen’.

Another where one album from the band would be sufficient. It’s a yes album, like the others. Fine, but nothing more.

Liked this. Didn’t understand a word of it.

I could insert the Big Lewbowski quote here, but I’ve been beaten to it by many other middle aged men.

Too much CSN and their offshoots on here. It’s all the same!

The inclusion of this is an insult to music.

Great album. More accomplished than his subsequent releases.

Not even the best Pet Shop Boys album.

Dislike country in any guise. If I were Skynet wouldn’t have bothered about John Connor, but instead sent a terminator back so stop the genesis of this genre.

Very of its time. I like later orbital stuff, but wasn’t a huge fan of this. Always waiting for something to happen. It didn’t.

Fine, but nothing more.

I can’t keep listening to this.

This sort of music explains why real men go to church with a semi-automatic under their jacket. Awful!

A great album. No fillers. Some nostalgia is influencing my opinion here, but who cares. It’s ace. Makes listening to all the Metallica albums on this list an absolute kick in the teeth.

I liked this and would happily listen to this very long double album several times before listening to any more country music. The music still seems fresh today. Whoever said it’s like being at a ceilidh hasn’t ever been to a ceilidh. It’s like being in an Irish pub with a warm fire. Lovely.

Mixed. Some really strong tracks that don’t sound dated in there, but fades towards the end where some do sound dated.

I’m clearly in the minority here, but this isn’t very good punk music. It’s boring. It’s also too long. It’s also repetitive.

I’m generally of the opinion that country music is shit. I started this expecting my opinion not to be changed. However, I liked this album. Don’t get me wrong. Country music is still shit, but if all country music was like this then my general opinion might well have been different.

As middle of the road as it can get. Plods along. Nothing bad, but nothing great either. If I had synethesia I’d be seeing a sea of beige.

This is the sort of album that would be played in a ‘high end apparel store’. So generic and soulless that no one realises how long they’ve been in the store. The production is fine, but the lyrics are incomprehensible. It’s the next decade version of that MJ Cole album on here. Both equally terrible and makes you question the whole point of the list. Is this really something that I needed to listen to before I died.

I had the same band three days ago. I like punk as much as I like country, which isn’t very much. This is music equivalent of something, in my view, of a book on a bookshelf that you put there to show your eclectic taste but have no genuine interest in. There’s probably a word for it in German. Ultimately, this isn’t very good because it’s a punk album.

I’m not really a fan of Damon Albarn. And I’m not really a fan of supergroups. Every project seems to become quite monotonous very quickly. This album fits that. It was dull and about supposedly about London, where I don’t live, so care even less.

Repetitive. In his later stadium stuff you can’t really tell how gravelly (bad) his voice is, but you can hear. I can see why people like this though, I’m just not one of them. Fine, but only a superfan could give this a 5/5.

Fine.

This is better than the live album on here, but only just.

This is fine. Screamadelica and XTRMNTR are better albums. You can see where they would eventually end up with this album. Ultimately, the songs are overlong and the majority plod along. Suitable for a cult 90s movie, but beyond that, not really memorable.

At least Transformer had some reasonably uplifting music to accompany the dark lyrics. This is just total and absolute darkness, like a black hole of music. Sucking all the enjoyment out of life track after track. I like The Velvet Underground and I like Lou Reed, but this is just soul destroying listening to this.

Great album. 30 minutes. Signalled pop musics arrival as a genre.

Fine, but I wouldn’t seek it out to listen to again.

t h i s i s s h i t Seriously. Two albums from this group of people who claim to be a band. This makes country music look good.

This was given to me the day after Brian Wilson died. Not what I’d have expected, but enjoyable. Topical themes.

The debut album from Muse was good. Everything after that was parodying glam rock. This album received so much air play in the year of release, which indicates the quality of music that year. Overall, this is quite shit.

It’s ok. Like most 90s rap the music is pretty monotonous sampling throughout. However, what really carries it is Chuck D. That raises it at least a star from what I would have given it.

This just didn’t do anything for me. Every song just kept putting images of Cheers in my minds eye.

Overall, some great songs and a solid part of the late 90s music scene. It’s got an overplayed Christmas number one. It’s got a song from The Matrix. A few fillers, but mostly killers.

I bet the drummer in this band was a right fanny! One Rush album is enough.

I hadn’t listened to this before and have managed to avoid listening to any Jay-Z albums. Having listened to this my decision has been shown to be a good one. The music is good, which isn’t surprising given who produced it. The rapping isn’t. H to the Izzo. Who the fuck cares?

Enjoyed this. Some familiar songs, especially if you listen to 6Music.

I can take or leave The Offspring. Some decent songs, some poor. Nothing great though.

I just don’t get jazz. I’m sure there’s some great musicianship on show here, but I can’t really tell. I also can’t get Garfield or any other 70s/80s cartoon out of my minds eye when listening to this genre. I now fancy some lasagne!

Don’t believe the hype! A few good bands does not make a scene. The Happy Mondays are not even a band you should listen to on an average day where there is nothing left to do let alone listen to before you die.

The music is great. Production values are so high. So many artists have samples from this band that you feel like you’ve heard these songs even if you haven’t before. Overall, a good album, but a bit of pace could be added here and there. Base plods along quite a bit. Not great, but good.

I was expecting to hate this. I detest Morrisey’s voice and ridiculous style. However, the music saved it. Some decent tracks. Some poor tracks. Ultimately, if Morrisey wasn’t singing it would have been rated higher.

Listened to the first three tracks of incoherent noise. The rap was ok, but I couldn’t bring myself to listen to the rest.

Enjoyed this. Never heard of this band, but the first song was familiar. Different and definitely something that deserves to be on the list.

Didn’t enjoy this.

Firstly, WTF is that album cover all about!?! Secondly, French electronica, on the whole, isn’t very good. You can tell whether electronic music is French in the first few seconds of listening to it because it has one short continuously operative sequence of twangy, nonsense sounds. They all do. It’s like The Gorillaz of electronic music. This is no different. At least Daft Punk managed to elevate their twangy French electronica beyond twangy French electronica. This did not. It’s just twangy French electronica.

So, a double album that isn’t absolute Shite. Finally! This is superb. So varied. Some of the songs were a bit weaker - not a surprise given his output - but even the worst song on the album is far above some of the other guff that’s on this list.

Never listened to this album before. Very familiar with the singles, but not beyond that. I can see why now. They’re a bit bonkers. Conceptual pop?

Fine, but nothing more than that.

Liked the mix of guitars and synths.

Not listened to much soul music. Liked this, but probably would find many opportunities or situations to listen to it. The music itself was really good. Well produced. Lyrics were good too. Only gripe is that the songs were a bit too long.

It’s CCR.

Different, which is nice. However, it played in the background when I was doing work around the house. I couldn’t distinguish one song from the next. Quite ‘samey’.

I’ve already listened to an Eagles album on here and didn’t think much of it. This is no different. So, so, so beige and pedestrian.

I don’t play video games nor do I live in the Mid-West USA. This album doesn’t have anything to appeal to me. Country music is not for me, but this isn’t the worst example of the many, many country artists on this list. So this raises it from what would be a one to a two star review. It’s better than the other shit country music, but that’s it.

Yee haw, let those gee tars play. This is a solid no from me. Why this list has so, so much country music on it is beyond me. Utter, utter pish.

This is the third My Bloody Valentine album I’ve needed to listen to on this list. Hopefully the last. This is the most coherent of the three, both in terms of the vocals being audible words and the music being actual music (to an extent), but it’s still not very good.

I don’t like Neil Young. Songs are dull. He can’t sing.

I’ve not been a fan of the rap/hip-hop offered up so far for two reasons. Firstly, the rampant misogyny can’t be given the tagline of ‘it was decades ago’. Secondly, some of the rap (I’m mainly thinking Jay-Z so far) is the sort of rhyme that you’d get laughed at by your primary school teacher for - H to the Izzo! This is better. The lyrics are interesting and offer something that it’s the two above. The music is also far more interesting too.

Music that is remarkably sanitised and uniform. You can walk into a room and after a second you can recognise its ELO from any of the tracks in this album or any other.

This was ok, but only ok.

Pretty poor stuff.

Really, really boring. It’s Doves, but without the character or energy.

There are a few decent tracks on this album. Not good, but decent. The kind that you could happily have on in the background and not interfere with what you are doing. However, there is quite a lot of filler in between those few decent tracks.

Wasn’t expecting to like this as I don’t like Morrisey and the other Smiths album I’ve listened to so far didn’t impress much. However, there were a few good tracks on here. Lots of variation as well, which was nice. Meat is Murder was odd though.

Found it on YouTube. It’s ok. Nothing more.

Never listened to anything by Anthrax before. It’s not really my sort of music, but my barometer for this type of music is ‘is it better than Metallica?’. This is, so it gets 2 starts.

Enjoyed this. Don’t think I would, but I did.

I like The Cure, but this never got out of first gear. It only really got out of first gear when the seventh song on the album started, but then quickly decided that first gear was where it was going to stay for the rest.

Enjoyed this. This is the second album I’ve been given where the day before someone in the band has died. In this case Ozzy himself. Is this random? Seems a bit to coincidental. I’d have given it 3 stars, but because I’m a stickler for my own principles I have given any metal band that is better than Metallica (which is all of them) an extra star. 4 stars, which even with my +1 for being better than Metallica, which all metal bands are, is more than fair.

I didn’t like Supergrass when they were desperately trying to be part of Britpop in the 90s. Not helped by ‘Alright’ being played on every radio station, which wasn’t many back then, on repeat. There youthful energy annoyed me, their voices annoyed me and Gaz Coombes sideburns annoyed me. Nothing has changed. I still don’t like them and am surprised by the average rating and the number of 4&5 star reviews for this. Solid 2 for me. It’s not Metallica levels of shit, but it’s close.

A country singer singing non-country songs. I don’t like country music. It doesn’t resonate with me, both culturally or geographically. However, there are some songs I like elsewhere covered well here. I like NIN and I like Hurt. I like this cover. I like Depeche Mode and I like Personal Jesus. I like this cover. However, there are other covers that simply don’t work, with Danny Boy being a prime example. This was therefore a mixed album for me. It’s not Fulsom Prison, but it’s ok. 3 stars.

I didn’t warm to this album with the first few songs. However, it had grown on me by the time it got to the song that I can remember hearing on MTV at the time, Stellar. Overall, there are a few decent songs on it, but it is quite ‘samey’ and there is overuse of the scratchy DJ sound. I’d probably agree with the decent number of people reviewing it that suggest it shouldn’t be on this list. 2/5 stars.

A foundational album that seems to draw love it or lothe it opinions on here. I’m in the middle. I can appreciate the shortness of the album at 25 minutes. I can also appreciate that this is the foundational rock and roll album. However, that doesn’t get away from the fact that the it is quite pedestrian. Whilst it’s 25 minutes it could easily be an extended play of one track as they all sound the same. 3/5 stars.

I hate Franz Ferdinand. I’d rather listen to every country album or every Metallica album on this list again than listen to this again. Franz Ferdinand (and others like The Kaizer Chiefs) was everything that was wrong with British music in the 2000s wrapped up in 38 minutes. A big warning sign is that it won the Mercury Music Prize, which seems to pick more losers than winners over time. It’s not a very good album. It is high tempo, but jettisons any sense of quality and longevity in the pursuit of what in the 2020s would be referred to as ‘vibes’. The band seems talentless other than having the ability to make noise and, most irritatingly, it was overplayed, which in itself shows you the quality of the music available to radio stations at the time. The band, and in particular the lead singer, were deeply irritating and smug. Who is listening to this now? No-one digs out a Franz Ferdinand album to have a listen to 20 odd years after it was made. No-one is that stupid. If I could give this 0 stars then I would. Makes a mockery of the list.

It’s a country album. The fact that any nominations it achieved for any awards were in specifically country sections suggests the cross-over of this, of much of the genre, is non-existent. I wouldn’t listen to this again, but then I wouldn’t have listened to it in the first place had it not been on this list as it’s country music. I didn’t think I’d need to listen to this before I died and I was proved right. 1 star.

This was better than I expected, though I’m not a fan of the singing style that has since become the ‘done way’ on any talent show. Well produced, though I could have done without it being over an hour long and the interludes were unnecessary. 2 stars.

As country albums go, this was better than most. I’ll qualify that by saying that I don’t like country music and mummy ratings reflect that with most being awarded 1 star. It just doesn’t mean anything to me. The lyrics are I’m singing about a lifestyle and landscape I don’t live in. This was marginally better. I was stripping my shower of sealant when listening to it and it flew my. I don’t know whether that was because I was needing to use a Stanley knife in close proximity to myself or whether the music was good. I’ll be generous and say the music was good and give it 100% more stars that I usually award country music on the list. 2 stars.

A good album and a sign of what was to come later in suburbs.

I liked the opening titular track. In keeping with his other albums on here I wasn’t a fan of the remaining tracks.

I like Talk, Talk, Talk and I like this album. Some frequent fliers from 6Music if you are a music loving Brit.

I remember watching a tape of Thriller at my mates house in what must have been the late 80s. I liked this album then and I still like it now. The only track I thought was weaker was the Paul McCartney one. Everything else was excellent.

Entirely unremarkable. 2 stars.

It’s hard to look past what U2, but mainly Bono, has become in the 21st Century. However, there are some songs on this that are good. There are also some that aren’t good. The ones that are good are sadly the blueprint for what U2 would become and churn out in ever-reducing quality for years to come. It’s no more than 3 stars, though if I could award decimal places I would have scored it 2.6/5.

Lovely voice, but I don’t think I’d listen to it again.

Enjoyed this as a break from the seemingly endless like of country music I’ve been getting from the list. Nice synths. Great vocals. Some cracking tracks. 4 stars.

I wasn’t a fan of Suede at the time. The singing that could easily be that of a choir boy who had yet to reach puberty. The effete styling. The fact that they all looked like their hair could be done with either a good wash or a lot less Brylcream. The desperate nod and winks to Morrisey. I’m still not a fan now. I’ve only managed to get half way through. The lack of variation in the songs hasn’t managed to shift my pre-listening view that I don’t like Suede.

A great album. Trail-blazing. You can see where so many contemporary artists and bands get their inspiration from with this album, such as LCD Soundsystem. I’d happily listen to this over and over again.

It’s not awful, but it’s a Simon and Garfunkel album. They’re all the same. All easily allow you to gloss over the whole thing.

It’s not generally my thing and I can’t relate to anything she sings about, but musically it’s fine. I wouldn’t listen to it again, but it’s not the worst thing I’ve listened to on this list by a long way.

I liked the earlier album on the list. This felt quite restrained by comparison. It also feels quite dull in comparison to a lot of metal music. It washed over me.

Not generally a fan of folk, but I liked this.

I’ve never really warmed to any of David Bowie’s music. This is no different. It’s a pleasingly short duration. Sadly, this is balanced by fewer, longer songs.

Hmm. Is this better than country, the worst type of music to exist on this list? I’m not too sure whether it’s better. At least with country I don’t relate to anything they’re on about, but at least I can appreciate the music to an extent. This, however, was just noise and a shouting German. I like industrial music and have appreciated the other industrial bands that have been on the list so far, but I won’t be listening to this again.

Having had an awful German industrial rock album where the instruments were made from scraps from the tip the day before this sounded really, really good by comparison. I’m taking that into account with my review here, but I genuinely liked this. I’ve never listened to Sonic Youth before, but they were big with some of my mates at school in the late 90s. Given this album was late 80s it’s pointing at where much music was going to be taken in the 90s and even early 2000s. Yip, I liked it, but knocking a star off because I think I might still be rebounding from the German industrial rock yesterday. 3 stars.

I only know of one Joan Armatrading song, which I like. This was more of the same. I liked this. The only criticism I would have is that it’s quite ‘samey’.

I don’t really like the Manics. Never have. A bit pretentious and shouty. There are a few decent songs on this album, but the majority are not good. 2 stars.

I have no idea about Jazz. This was ok to my philistinic ears.

I like dance music, but I’ve never really liked Basement Jaxx. I’ve always just thought of them as ‘noise merchants’ and this album reinforces this. It’s just noise. There is no flow. It’s all just noise!

A great album. In as much as every song my is punchy and takes the total listening to just beyond 35 mins, but also in that it did help revive interest guitar based music in the UK after so many years of pop shite.

Some great songs, but some middling songs too. There is no cohesion to the album either. Some mad faux-country for example. Not good. I can never quite put my finger on why I’ve never really liked the Stones, but this probably sums it up.

This is the sort of music that I could happily have on in the background when doing something because it really doesn’t offer anything fantastically interesting but trots along. Something that annoys me about Van Morrison though is that you spend 10-15% of the album listening to him simply making noises. 3 stars.

It’s AC/DC. Same as it ever was.

Never heard of the band. Was really, really boring.

Enjoyed this. Could see the influences it had elsewhere.

This was fine, but only fine. It was better that the other Wilco alumni I have listened to so far. The lyrics are quite dull, but it is made up for by the good instrumentation. I can’t say I’ll hold my breath for any improvement in the inexplicable third Wilco album to be included on the list.

This was everywhere when it came out. I liked it, but with time I liked it less and less as I wanted to hear something else. Listening back, I like it less now than I did then. I think this is slightly tainted by the absolute guff that they’ve released since and the gushing praise that comes there way when they do anything from the media. It’s not great. It’s not bad. It’s of its time. 3 stars, but only just.

I liked this better that the other Orbital album I’ve listened to on this list so far. Having said that, the first half of the album is better than the second half. 3 stars.

I’m not a huge fan of David Bowie, but I liked this album. My only annoyance was the huge amount of saxophone throughout the album. Truly an awful instrument.

Awesome

If you like bongos then this is the album for you. 1 hour 17 minutes of unadulterated bongoism. I have never really listened to much bongo music before. Apache was good. After that, it was fine, but I was very conscious of the amount of bongos and nothing else.

Never heard of this band before. Really liked this.

Yo, ho, ho and a bottle of rum. Was this intended to be a parody of pirates and their shit shanties? I just don’t get the appeal of this man and what he inflicts upon peoples ears.

Not as good as Kid A, but thats being picky. Great album. Haters are going to hate.

The songs released as singles from this album give you the impression it should be a belter. It’s not really. It’s too long and a lot of the other songs on it don’t hit nearly the same level. Pity, as she has a lovely voice and it’s clearly well produced.

This was ok. Nothing more than that. In that lies my lack of understanding about the adulation and mystique surrounding Iggy Pop. I don’t think there’s anything at the sharp edge of rock or punk on display here. It’s fine and nothing more than that.

Short, but not very enjoyable.

Entirely unremarkable.

Lots of love for this. I wasn’t feeling it. It’s not Butthole Surfers level of shit, but it’s not great.

This isn’t a genre of music I’d normally listen to. It’s not great. It’s very repetitive and the lyrics are poor. Hasn’t convinced me that this is something I should be listening to.

This is a good album. It’s not great, but it’s good. Doesn’t deserve the hate. Sure, later albums do, but this doesn’t.

The hits are excellent examples of 90s American pop. The rest of just filler. Apart from Sofa Pop - WTF?

Most 90s rap is awful. I wasn’t a fan then. Not a fan now. None of it has aged well. The overly aggressive and toxic lyrics just don’t make it pleasant to listen to. This doesn’t break that mould. The backing music is fine. The rapping isn’t. So whilst Doggystyle falls into the same bracket, at least the introduction of G Funk was stylistically different so makes the listening experience slightly less uncomfortable. This isn’t. No moulds have been broken in the making of this entirely generic 90s rap album.

This just merged into one constant guitar solo for me. Nothing I’d listen to again.

Jeff Beck is new to me. It’s ok. Rod Stewart isn’t new to me. That wasn’t great. Didn’t really sound like something from the 60s. Overall, not something I’d listen to again.

I bought this at the time of release. The double album, released to placate both artists I believe, allows for some songs and skits that wouldn’t have made it into a cleaner, shorter album. As a result there are some tough listens interspersed with some quality songs. Both albums are very different in style and have some real gems, such as Speakerboxxx & Happy Valentines Day, but both have stinkers too. What it certainly doesn’t lack is creativity. Overall, 3 stars.

I didn’t listen to it because I’ve been to a pub where a man with his shirt unbuttoned was banging out Angels on the karaoke machine. I don’t want the memory of that shit night to be worsened by this.

Great album. This and Halfway between the gutter and the stars are the peak of Fatboy Slims sampling powers.

Queen to me is like listening to a musical and a secondary school. The school band are all trying to outdo each other and as a result the music turns into bombastic nonsense. This is no different, apart from where Freddy Mercury takes a backseat where the band, understandably, takes a break. It’s hard work being 100% bombastic. The Brian May songs are just odd. A weird homage to country music just doesn’t fit, nor does a song where carburettors are mentioned either.

This is very of its time. A middling album from the low-fi, indie music of the 2010s. The first two or three songs are fine, but after that you realise that nothing is going to change. It doesn’t.

Liked this. Many familiar tracks.

I liked it less than the other Stevie Wonder albums I’ve listened to on this list. Some bangers on there.

Short. Not awful. That’s about it.

I like Pet Shop Boys early music. I don’t like this. Plods along.

Liked this. It’s good that I liked the first song because the rest were no different really.

This is why I’m persevering with this project. One year in and many, many country albums later I am rewarded with this. Hadn’t heard the name of this band before, but instantly recognised the first and second songs. The first because it’s a regular on 6Music and the second because it having been sampled. It’s a wonderfully eclectic, fresh and exciting album from start to finish. 5 stars without question!

Musically, this is excellent. Lyrically, it’s poor. It’s also far too long.

List for Life and The Passenger are great songs. The others are effectively Bowie b-sides that I’m not fussed about.

Never heard of this band. I can see why. The ragged end of Britpop just not wanting to give up the ghost. I won’t remember this album because it doesn’t deserve to be remembered.

Never heard of this band. Liked it.

Meh. Nothing more to add.

Abrasive. Didn’t like listening to the majority of this. All Apologies saves it from one star.

I just don’t get drum and bass. I don’t understand the appeal. Nothing changes, either within or between songs. It’s not pleasant to listen to at all.

Never heard of this band before. It’s not good, but it’s not awful. I don’t think I’d listen to it again.

Great album. I know the key Led Zepplin tracks, but going through their back catalogue through this project is great. So many good tracks.