Oct 05 2024
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In The Wee Small Hours
Frank Sinatra
3
Oct 06 2024
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Birth Of The Cool
Miles Davis
4
Oct 07 2024
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Juju
Siouxsie And The Banshees
5
Oct 08 2024
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Synchronicity
The Police
3
Oct 09 2024
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(What's The Story) Morning Glory
Oasis
3
Oct 10 2024
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Apple Venus Volume 1
XTC
3
Oct 11 2024
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A Hard Day's Night
Beatles
3
Oct 12 2024
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Ctrl
SZA
3
Oct 13 2024
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Clube Da Esquina
Milton Nascimento
5
Oct 14 2024
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Born In The U.S.A.
Bruce Springsteen
3
Oct 15 2024
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White Light
Gene Clark
2
Oct 16 2024
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Surfer Rosa
Pixies
5
Oct 17 2024
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For Your Pleasure
Roxy Music
4
Oct 18 2024
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Either Or
Elliott Smith
5
Oct 20 2024
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1999
Prince
The perfect distillation of hedonistic fun, and a non-stop party that somehow doesn't let up even once for 70 whole minutes.
5
Oct 21 2024
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Frank
Amy Winehouse
3
Oct 22 2024
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Dirt
Alice In Chains
I can definitely see why people would like this a lot, but the sludgy, grungy sound permeating through the entire album really isn't for me.
2
Oct 23 2024
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Private Dancer
Tina Turner
I could really have done without all the covers, but the highlights go *just* hard enough for this to edge or to three stars.
3
Oct 24 2024
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Station To Station
David Bowie
4
Oct 25 2024
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Groovin'
The Young Rascals
If by "groovy" they meant "bland, unobtrusive and utterly inoffensive", they were spot on.
2
Oct 26 2024
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Court And Spark
Joni Mitchell
4
Oct 27 2024
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Gris Gris
Dr. John
Surprisingly tame for the way it presents itself. Dr John often ends up sounding more like an off-beat but ultimately gentle character from a cartoon rather than an actual voodoo doctor. The music's pretty chill though.
3
Oct 28 2024
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Let's Get Killed
David Holmes
A collection of funky and well-crafted beats; it's just a shame that most of the songs don't really change or evolve all that much and often run on for a minute or two too long. It's still pretty neat background music though.
3
Oct 29 2024
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Bossanova
Pixies
4
Oct 30 2024
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Head Hunters
Herbie Hancock
4
Oct 31 2024
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The Yes Album
Yes
4
Nov 01 2024
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Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge
Mudhoney
If I had been a teenager seeing them live in 1990, this might well have been completely groundbreaking. Listening to this in my bedroom in 2024, however, I cannot help but to wish I was listening to a bunch of other bands instead, all of which did a similar thing but better.
2
Nov 02 2024
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Nilsson Schmilsson
Harry Nilsson
POV: Your uncle, who considers himself 'the funny guy', wakes up one lazy sunday morning and decides to whip out some silly, McCartney-esque songs. The result is tolerable, occasionally even pretty good, but most of all just kind of pointless.
3
Nov 03 2024
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Hounds Of Love
Kate Bush
All the magic you believed in as a child is real, and this music is the proof.
5
Nov 04 2024
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Violent Femmes
Violent Femmes
Guys will hear a record full of energetic and sloppily played acoustic punk songs full of frustration and just think "hell yeah"
4
Nov 05 2024
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A Girl Called Dusty
Dusty Springfield
Just as an experiment, I listened to all these songs followed directly by the originals being covered. My findings: not only do these versions add nothing whatsoever to the source material, every single one of them is also inferior in terms of sound, arrangement and personality.
Really, you could listen to a compilation album of the original tracks and be much better of. How this got to occupy one of the precious 1001 places in this list is completely beyond me.
1
Nov 06 2024
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We Are Family
Sister Sledge
It's Chic being Chic except it isn't Chic except it secretly really is just Chic. Pretty funky.
3
Nov 07 2024
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Aqualung
Jethro Tull
They do the shouty flute thing over pseudo-medieval folk tunes and I clap my hands and say 'more! more!'
4
Nov 08 2024
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The Village Green Preservation Society
The Kinks
Wherein Ray Davies decides to show the world he's the master of writing incredibly catchy yet intricate pop vignettes 15 times in a row. Seriously, this thing just does not miss; it's one of the most consistently fun 40 minutes you can possibly have.
5
Nov 09 2024
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From Elvis In Memphis
Elvis Presley
3
Nov 10 2024
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3 Years, 5 Months And 2 Days In The Life Of...
Arrested Development
Recommended for:
- old hippies who get sentimental when someone says "we just to need to, like, unite humankind, you know"
- hip hop fans anxiously pondering what to show to their grandma who just asked to be shown some of their music
- people who REALLY like Sly and the Family Stone samples
2
Nov 11 2024
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Slayed?
Slade
I'm all for some good ol' Dumb Fun Rock now and then, but this just isn't even remotely Fun, leaving the Dumb part to stick out like a very sore thumb.
1
Nov 12 2024
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Here's Little Richard
Little Richard
Sure, the whole album is just Little Richard doing his one thing, but he does that one thing with enough power and conviction to earn himself a solid three stars.
3
Nov 13 2024
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A Love Supreme
John Coltrane
4
Nov 14 2024
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The Sun Rises In The East
Jeru The Damaja
Jeru isn't fooling me. He's not a gangster, he's just a big ol' goofball. He may be rapping about his unparalleled skills, breaking backs, blowing up the World Trade Centre and most definitely not being a misogynist, but deep down he's really just a goofball.
3
Nov 15 2024
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Sulk
The Associates
A certified freaky album. And by that I mean 70% 𝕱𝖗𝖊𝖆𝖐𝖞, and 30% 𝓕𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓴𝔂.
3
Nov 16 2024
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Natty Dread
Bob Marley & The Wailers
Reggea might well be the ultimate 'easy to love, easier to ignore' genre out there. Bob Marley proves both of these statements here: the former on the first half, the latter on the second half.
3
Nov 17 2024
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When I Was Born For The 7th Time
Cornershop
3
Nov 18 2024
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Coat Of Many Colors
Dolly Parton
Even a jaded country skeptic like myself will readily admit that Dolly Parton has an incredible voice full of personality. But is that enough to justify a mix of alright upbeat tracks and totally uninspired country waltzes? Kind of, actually.
3
Nov 19 2024
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Sheer Heart Attack
Queen
4
Nov 20 2024
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I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got
Sinead O'Connor
I was fully expecting an alright album by a one-hit wonder. Instead, I got an album full of surprisingly personal, varied and especially powerful songs. A great surprise all around.
4
Nov 21 2024
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Microshift
Hookworms
I'm convinced that Robert Dimery has listened to only 10 albums since 2017, and every single one automatically gained a spot on this list.
I mean, this is a perfectly alright record with some interesting and even pretty accomplished production, albeit with a definite lack of distinct personality and purpose. It's kind of cool as an underappreciated project, but how that got it its spot on the list as opposed to all those other great, missing albums from the same year is nothing short of perplexing.
3
Nov 22 2024
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Mott
Mott The Hoople
Discount David and the Bowies is still more fun than most other bands
3
Nov 23 2024
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People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm
A Tribe Called Quest
4
Nov 24 2024
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Rumours
Fleetwood Mac
4
Nov 25 2024
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Paris 1919
John Cale
It has taken me quite a few listens to get what's going on here. At first, it kind of seemed to float in the middle of nothing, but once it clicked I finally realised just what a peculiar, creative and charming little album this is. It doesn't jump out at you; instead, it forces you give your own meaning to it.
4
Nov 26 2024
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Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots
The Flaming Lips
Bittersweet whimsy may be a pretty niche style of music, but the Flaming Lips are the undisputed kings of it. I'll always see The Soft Bulletin as their real masterpiece, but even the somewhat more streamlined songs of Yoshimi manage to simultaneously bring a tear to your eye and a smile to your face.
4
Nov 27 2024
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Vulgar Display Of Power
Pantera
So blatantly, right-in-your-face manly and stupid that it's actually kind of funny. Makes me think of a caveman repeatedly hitting himself in the face with a club. Then, during the ballad at the end, he stares up at the sun and goes "maybe... Grok no have to hit self...". Alas, he goes right back to whacking shit right after.
Anyway, I really didn't care for the majority of this album, but they're so committed to the bit, plus their riffs are just solid enough that I just can't get myself to give these poor troglodytes only one star.
2
Nov 28 2024
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All Things Must Pass
George Harrison
Who would have thought that a Beatles-related project could be called underappreciated, or least not talked about enough? This is fantastic stuff, and shows George to be a great songwriter and magnanimous, deep soul. Match that with the endless cast of guest musicians and Spector's warm, full production and you've got yourself an absolute classic. There's so many great tracks, that with every listen a new favourite stands out to me.
Had this been trimmed down some 20-30%, (mostly the third disc) this would have been a five star album for me; being as it is, it will receive four stars and an honourary position in my Autumn Albums collection.
4
Nov 29 2024
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Illinois
Sufjan Stevens
Man, what an unfair place this world is. Take this album for example.
Not only does Sufjan show prove himself to be an incredibly skilled songwriter of delicate melodies; not only is he a masterful and creative arranger; not only does he have the voice of an angel; not only can he pull off a grand-to-the-point-of-seeming-absurd concept seamlessly; but he also infuses every last track with such a wide range of emotion that each song here could make you cry for an entirely different reason.
Leave some for the rest of us, Big Soof.
5
Nov 30 2024
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It's Blitz!
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Me after two songs: oh boy does this slap, I am never going to get tired of this sound
Me after five songs: okay maybe I am getting a little tired of this sound
3
Dec 01 2024
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Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Elton John
Where Elton John does what he does best: writing piano rock odysseys and being utterly inconsistent. I mean, you've got some absolute gold in tracks like Bennie And The Jets and Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, but then you've got tracks like Jamaica Jerk-Off and Dirty Little Girl which feel like mildly amusing b-sides at best.
4
Dec 02 2024
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Tigermilk
Belle & Sebastian
3
Dec 03 2024
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All Directions
The Temptations
Who would have thought that everyone's favourite clean boys could be funky like that? On all three tracks of the A-side they give the biggest names like Sly and Funkadelic a real run for their money.
The B-side is unfortunately, as most people will agree, a bit of letdown after the exhilarating first side. But hey, they're still some very solid, above average soul tracks, so I'll take it.
4
Dec 04 2024
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Chelsea Girl
Nico
A strange record for sure. Nico has a rather unique and - as many a reviewer has been eager to point out - not very traditionally pleasant voice. This makes all the ballads feel especially odd; they're very pretty, especially These Days, but not because of Nico.
But you know which song DOES work because of Nico? It Was A Pleasure Then, arguably the best song on this album. This is where Nico really shines, she whispers and wails like a banshee and it's all so eerie and evocative. This is also just a taste of what's to come on her next few records, which in my opinion do a much better job at highlighting Nico's qualities.
3
Dec 05 2024
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Calenture
The Triffids
Props to this list for containing some more obscure names outside the cast of usual suspects, but this one was just a bit of a nothing burger for me. The atmosphere just stays pretty neutral and non-descript the whole time, the melodies aren't particularly catchy or interesting and the vocals are pretty lacking in personality. Overall it's just so safe and unremarkable, that I'm sure I'll have entirely forgotten about this album's existence in a few months time.
2
Dec 06 2024
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Merriweather Post Pavilion
Animal Collective
There is truly is nothing quite like Animal Collective. This album may seem experimental, artsy, dense and complex - and I mean, yeah, it kind of is all that - but in its core, it's just a raw expression of childlike energy and imagination.
You either love it or hate it; and personally, I could get lost in the swirly, layered synths of these songs every single day of my life and die a happy man.
5
Dec 07 2024
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Brothers In Arms
Dire Straits
Alright, I've got to admit, I was wrong. I have a pretty large bias against Dire Straits, probably because they just seem the ultimate band for middle-aged, middle-class men living dull lives and whose greatest hobby it is to say "they don't make 'em like they used to anymore".
But you know what - this one's actually pretty good. I'm sorry for ever doubting you, mr. Knopfler. You're not just a gifted guitarist making the most milquetoast rock music on earth; you've proven here that you're actually capable of crafting songs which are not only accessible to everyone ever, but also pretty good. And even if that music may not be exactly to my tastes, it is still a feat to be respected.
3
Dec 08 2024
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More Songs About Buildings And Food
Talking Heads
4
Dec 09 2024
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Porcupine
Echo And The Bunnymen
Imagine post-punk. Now imagine "icy, anxious, slightly psychedelic post-punk". Now make it ten songs. Good job, you just imagined exactly what this album sounds like.
The atmosphere, the voice, the guitar sounds, it's all there - but it's all just a bit run-of-the-mill, y'know?
3
Dec 10 2024
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Diamond Life
Sade
Music so sweet to the ears that it will instantly convert any smooth soul skeptic into a believer.
4
Dec 11 2024
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Back To Black
Amy Winehouse
The vocals, the production, the songwriting, the relatability, it's all there; you're not getting your classic pop any better than this.
4
Dec 12 2024
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Black Metal
Venom
Just a bunch of silly guys doing silly stuff, even if they would have liked you to believe otherwise. I didn't have much fun with it at all, but clearly they did, so that counts for something.
2
Dec 13 2024
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Billion Dollar Babies
Alice Cooper
I certainly did not expect Alice Cooper to be so glammy and quirky - at multiple parts in this album, it even reminded me of bands like Mott the Hoople. Kind of makes me wish he had fully gone for the glam route, instead of the campy hard rock route that he takes just as often.
2
Dec 14 2024
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Young Americans
David Bowie
3
Dec 15 2024
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Chocolate Starfish And The Hot Dog Flavored Water
Limp Bizkit
Yeah, this is awful, but you didn't need me to tell you that. But whatever you do, do not let that fact discourage you from listening to this - this is without a doubt an album you SHOULD listen to before you die. It's not just awful; it's uniquely, bewilderingly, even gloriously awful. You just can't convince anyone under the age of 25 that this was actually the real deal back in the early 00's.
It's so bafflingly absurd that I cannot help but to respect it. And what better way to respect an album as raunchy and brash as this one than to give it the one star it's daring you to give it? As mr. Durst would put it: "fuck you and your fucking mum!"
1
Dec 16 2024
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Triangle
The Beau Brummels
What a snoozefest. It's almost impressive how they managed to make an entire album where absolutely nothing happens.
2
Dec 17 2024
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Disintegration
The Cure
Man, this one was I don't know how close to being five stars. Well actually, I do know pretty much how close: about 25 minutes away. The atmosphere and emotion in all these tracks is second to none, but it just keeps and keeps going. If this had been the best 50 minutes instead of the entire 75 minutes (that's 33%!!!), it would have been near perfect. As it is, it will have to do with an honorary four stars.
4
Dec 18 2024
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Happy Trails
Quicksilver Messenger Service
It is a rule of nature that nobody likes guitar noodling, apart from the noodlers themselves. But you know what, I actually kind of dug this. That can only mean that it was in fact me who recorded this album; all despite never having touched an electric guitar in my life. For that feat alone, this album deserves three stars in my book.
3
Dec 19 2024
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Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
4
Dec 20 2024
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Tuesday Night Music Club
Sheryl Crow
This one's going straight to my 'people pleasing' playlist. It's kind of catchy, but not too catchy; it's kind of interesting, but not too interesting; it's kind of sonically present, but not too sonically present. The kind of music anyone can appreciate, but few will actually love.
3
Dec 21 2024
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Cheap Thrills
Big Brother & The Holding Company
Honestly, I think that if Janis Joplin had been replaced by some random guy off the streets, the band would have held up well enough for this to still a pretty good record. Now imagine how good this is WITH the inclusion of Joplin's powerhouse vocals.
4
Dec 22 2024
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Graceland
Paul Simon
4
Dec 23 2024
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Time (The Revelator)
Gillian Welch
Not an easy one for sure. The songs are slow, trudging and wistful, all with a dark and dissonant undertone and heavy traditional stylings. There is an undeniable, melancholic beauty buried underneath the scratched surface of these songs, but you really have to work for it. And honestly, I'm not sure if I'm built for that; especially when it comes to the 15-minute closing track.
3
Dec 24 2024
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Joan Armatrading
Joan Armatrading
3
Dec 25 2024
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Tank Battles
Dagmar Krause
Feel like pure shit, wish I was listening to [any album from the Rock in Opposition movement, including but not limited to Henry Cow, Slapp Happy and Art Bears] instead.
2
Dec 26 2024
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A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector
Various Artists
This album is not only christmas music, it IS christmas. It's warm and cozy, and after two days you're pretty much done with it, until you're having a blast with it once again the next year.
3
Dec 27 2024
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Supa Dupa Fly
Missy Elliott
I imagine this album was recorded in a hazy room filled to the brim with damp smoke, people lounging back in their lazy chairs - all posed exactly as instructed by Missy Elliott on the album cover - with just a hint of ennui in the air. The evening is fiercely laid-back, stories are being flung around hinting at deeper, undisclosed feelings but you find yourself just nodding along since your brain is bobbing like a balloon anyway.
When the night eventually ends, you find yourself outside in the cold again. You're filled with a fuzzy sense of contentment, but you can't shake the feeling that time has just stood still for the past - you don't even know how many - hours and it starts to creep up on you just how little you have been doing the entire day.
3
Dec 28 2024
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Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
There's nothing particularly bad about this I can point towards, but all of it is just so safe and mild, that it ends up feeling a bit spineless.
2
Dec 29 2024
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Out Of The Blue
Electric Light Orchestra
If you look up the word 'Fun' in the dictionary, you'll be shown a picture of this album cover.
4
Dec 30 2024
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Bitte Orca
Dirty Projectors
4
Dec 31 2024
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Low
David Bowie
Two for the price of one: not only do you get a wildly original, weird pop album, but also a great atmospheric suite that somehow fits in perfectly with the other half. By the time one side is over, you'll want to go right back to the other side, until you realise you've played the album five times in a row.
5
Jan 01 2025
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Come Find Yourself
Fun Lovin' Criminals
Before listening I expected this to be the hip hop equivalent of Smash Mouth, and I wasn't entirely wrong. I kind of wish they would have done away with the faux gangster thing entirely and just leaned in on the fun, laid-back vibes, which is where this album excels. It has its moments and is entirely harmless, but it doesn't feel very 1001-worthy at all.
2
Jan 02 2025
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The Man Machine
Kraftwerk
If you listen closely, you can hear that beneath the cold, metallic bleeps and bloops of these tracks, there is a very human heart pumping very human blood.
4
Jan 03 2025
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Inspiration Information
Shuggie Otis
So who was going to tell me that this is secretly one of the best soul/funk albums of the 70s, if not ever? Well, this list I guess. Robert Dimery, you have been absolved of your sins for now.
4
Jan 04 2025
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The Atomic Mr Basie
Count Basie & His Orchestra
4
Jan 05 2025
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Raw Power
The Stooges
Who would have thought that using a celesta on a raw and powerful album titled Raw Power would actually work like a charm?
4
Jan 06 2025
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Fuzzy Logic
Super Furry Animals
I bet 8-year old me would have loved to skip all the slow tracks and run around the house to the fast tracks.
Current me, however, is mostly just interested in checking out the rest of their discography, seeing as their later albums seem to be held in higher esteem. And indeed, this album most of all sounds like a promise of what's to come.
3
Jan 07 2025
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Led Zeppelin III
Led Zeppelin
Early Led Zeppelin can simply do no wrong. On this one, they deliver all the punches from their first two albums, but now with more folk and less blues rock - a great win for me, someone who really quite likes folk and really quite dislikes blues rock.
4
Jan 08 2025
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New Boots And Panties
Ian Dury
Recommended for British geezers, self-aware perverts or - preferably - both.
3
Jan 09 2025
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New York Dolls
New York Dolls
A campy, glammy party that's really quite fun until you realise they really only have a single trick up their sleeves, and they will be performing it 11 times in a row.
3
Jan 10 2025
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The Grand Tour
George Jones
I'm pretty sure that if you typed in "classic country ballad" in a music generation AI, you'd get something indistinguishable from 80% of these songs. I'm afraid George's voice is really the only saving grace on this album for me.
2
Jan 11 2025
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At Fillmore East
The Allman Brothers Band
You know, I can really see how this would be some kind of holy bible for fans of jammy blues rock. But man, that person most certainly is not me. Everything just ended up blending together into an 80-minute, homogenous mush. Definitely not unpleasant, but not something I ever see myself returning to.
3
Jan 12 2025
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The Healer
John Lee Hooker
I've got to admit, I used to be a certified blues hater. But John Lee Hooker's got exactly what I miss in most blues rock: some incredible, undeniable soul. The features are admittedly a bit all over the place, but that soul just keeps shining through. Mr. Hooker, you have managed to convert a certified blues hater into a certified blues agnostic.
4
Jan 13 2025
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Tres Hombres
ZZ Top
One star for each hombre, except minus one star because this is largely a boring-ass, generic blues rock album.
2
Jan 14 2025
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Bryter Layter
Nick Drake
The perfect album for a quiet yet comfortable autumn afternoon. As most people would agree, this may not quite be Drake at his peak, but regardless these are still some warm, lush folk songs with great songwriting inviting you to daydream along.
4
Jan 15 2025
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Gasoline Alley
Rod Stewart
A pretty great folk rock album and a pretty mediocre rock 'n roll album. I don't I would have minded if this entire album had been just the acoustic instruments.
3
Jan 16 2025
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Roger the Engineer
The Yardbirds
A wildly original album. In essence, it's just a blues rock album of course, but with every song Beck manages to throw in something new and unexpected into the mix, be it the odd guitar sounds, implementation of feedback or seasonings of Indian music. It sounds weird and unique for any time period, let alone for 1966.
4