1001 Albums Summary

Bloody fucking fart of an album.

This album has such a great message but it's still just pure fun to listen to. I put it on after Sly Stone passed away the other day (June 2025) and I couldn't help but dance. Thank you so much for making this, man.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Still good, really enjoyed the second half this time. Run For Your Life is kinda funny tbh.

A lot of it feels lightweight. I was surprised by how goofy it felt at times. Like the Monkees with more Davy. 'The Boxer' is still incredible. And I liked the Salesman one hearing it for the first time. But a lot of the lyrics aren’t as good as I feel their reputations would have indicated.

Haven't heard this all the way through before. Quick, easy to listen to, solid throughout. Great crafting of songs. I feel like it’s a strong four, four and a half, but being rooted in classic rock and roll, and not being really, well, weird, it might have a hard time standing out in my memory.

Bright, easy music. I’m not a big fan of jazzy, bluesy music, but I think he handles himself well lyrically and vocally. There are moments where the horns have an schmaltzy, almost variety show sort of quality. But it's also an interesting blend of old and modern music.

The best parts for me: the energy, the stompy chanty parts, and the medieval or classical-sounding lead guitar. 'Orion' stood out too me. However, this album feels LONG, and a lot of the songs sound the same, and the lyrics aren’t always memorable. The grunted, strained lead vocals also wear thin.

Obviously very talented musicians. The drums are a real treat. Storytelling is belabored but often unmemorable. When I’m in the middle of listening to a song I don’t mind it, but if I remember that it’s supposed to be a large cohesive work I feel like I’m suffocating.

A lot of this album sounds like it was made by a child. Occasionally some cool use of samples. '20 Dollar' was catchy. 'Paper Planes' was catchy. I hope I gave it a fair shot; I’m not sure I did. But even the catchy songs are self-important, image-obsessed, and arduously humorlessly political. This album came out a year after Kevin Federline’s similarly funk carioca influenced ‘PopoZão’.

I’ve been having some bad days lately but this was much needed. Life can be terrifying and miserable, but it’s so much cooler than being dead. ‘There She Goes’ is the standout from the first half. ‘Breathless’ was good on the second part.

I listened to it while doing a semi-tedious task at work and it was pleasant. Liked ‘Slashers Revenge’ (the dub one) the most. The spoken bits are pretty prominent. Important for the artistic context, and sets it apart from trip hop stuff like Portishead, but kinda dates it.

Good vocals. Lilac Wine was good, did not realize it was a much older song. I’ve heard so much about this album; I was surprised to find it rocked pretty hard. It sounds like the blueprint for a lot of other 90s and 2000s music.

There's a lot of sass and swagger in this album. Not normally my thing. 80s R&B is not normally my thing. But Prince makes it unique and original. ‘Starfish And Coffee’ was a good but strange track: it sounds like a novelty alternative hit from the late 90s. 'I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man' was an instant favorite, and sounds like everything I like in Prince's music, like a counterpoint to 'When You Were Mine'. ‘Forever In My Life’ and ‘The Cross’ were good too, heavy and dark. Songs like ‘Slow Love' and 'Gonna Be A Beautiful Night' simply aren’t the sort of music I like. But the best parts of the album are among the best songs of a truly gifted musician.

Amazing. Energetic, chaotic, creative. How have I not heard this before.

All over the place. The best part is probably the diversity of instruments and arrangements. Sometimes the joke bits feel a bit strained. Sometimes ('Somebody Else's Shoulder') they work. 'Wowie Zowie' and 'You're Probably Wondering' were pretty good too. I’m rating this a 4 because I like stupid things. I do want to make it clear that this is stupid and not genius.

Yeah it’s good, she sounds great, and the record is quick and pleasant to listen to. However I’ve been feeling really depressed lately. (I am writing this on November 7 2024.) Maybe this was a bad time to listen to this. But hearing ‘Respect’ and ‘Change Is Gonna Come’ kinda hurt right now.

Hadn’t heard this one before! Except for Stand and Orange Crush. Man, what a good band. Maybe my familiarity with some of their other work affects this. If I’m looking at just REM albums this might be a 3/5; if I’m considering all albums everywhere ever, probably a 5/5. For this project, I’m kinda feeing a 4.

Despite the band’s clarification that I was in the jungle, I’m not sure where I stand with this one. Rating it a three feels like a bit of a cop-out, since there were some truly delightful parts and some truly idiotic parts, and I want to settle on a two or a four. Ultimately, I must ask ‘where do we go now?’ and then screech a bunch.

Really enjoyed the messy instruments at the end of the first song. Sometimes this album doesn’t stand out since there’s so much good folk music out there. But the really long final song was my favorite. It felt weird and ambitious and over-dramatic and haunting!

I hadn’t heard any of these songs before, even the well-known ones. I don’t think I like this. It’s like a soap opera for hippies. ‘My Old Man’ and ‘California’ I particularly didn’t like. I think there’s something about her style of singing too. I guess I kinda liked ‘River’ but lyrically it still felt cloying.

The album starts off a bit weak, and doesn't really pick up til 'Keeper of Time', but from that point I liked all of it. I have no idea why the Wiki article or the reviews here compare the vocals to Dylan. I like when folk music combines the ordinary with something timeless, something mythical or historical. The best parts of the album accomplish that. 'Wolf of Velvet Fortune' managed to feel relatively large and epic, even though it's under five minutes and the entire album is about a half hour.

People have said they find this album dated, and it's true that the world it depicts has slowly been disappearing. To me, living in the Midwest, a lot of this still feels powerful and relevant. The most dated parts are silly but charming, like looking at a picture of your parents with their 1980s haircuts. This is the Album With All The Hits, and the spaces in between the hits don’t hold back either. It’s a good pop album, good rock album, good saxophone solo album. As a political piece it doesn't feel too heavy or didactic, nor does it feel fluffy and jingoistic. Favorites were Downbound Train, No Surrender, I'm Goin' Down, and the title track.

Fun, listened to it a couple times at work today and it helped me get through a busy day. I’ll definitely go back to it. Mansize Rooster and Strange Ones were really good. This is way more frenzied and off-the-wall than other Britpop stuff, and a good bridge between 70s punk and 2000s UK indie.

The ska/soul/rock influences are there, but it still manages to sound like nothing else before it. His singing is really messy and expressive, pathetic and theatrical, and I think it works well at times. I prefer this version of 'Seven Days Too Long' to Chuck Wood's. That style does start to wear thin by the end of the album. And there were more slow songs than I would have expected. But it was good. The more lively stuff felt outrageous.

Hadn't heard anything by these guys before. It's a well-produced album and I'm surprised that it came out in 1996. It's instrumentally more diverse and mellow than the grunge music my parents liked, and sounds a lot like what I was listening to in the 2000s. Really liked that little baroque bit in 'Sworn and Broken' and then how that song moves onto something harder with 'Witness'. Good vocals.

I don't know if I've ever heard so much hype for an album. Listening was a stressful task, and I often felt as if I must be missing some crucial context. The samples draw influence from jazz/funk/soul music, as many other pieces of music have. Other albums have tackled themes of racism and black urban poverty. Other albums have been introspective, have been introspective regarding fame and the music industry. Maybe I'm jealous of how he can mask his insecurities with machismo. Jealous of how he can use depression to deflect from the angry young man persona. I've never felt like a white person, nor comfortably non-white, and maybe I'm envious of the confidence with which he wields his background and his identity. This album is not for me. (They not like me.) I probably would have given this a 2 or a 3 but the importance attached to this album makes me feel like garbage. If art is subjective, I hated the experience of listening to this. If art is objective, I still hated the experience of listening to this. Even the cover art makes me feel miserable. I'm sorry I don't get it and I'm sorry if I'm too dumb to explain why.

I am listening to this 60 years and one day after it was recorded! This is older than any live concert I’ve listened to, and I don’t always enjoy live albums (I feel a bit left out) but I liked this. It has a warmth to it, and it allowed me to connect more to music and the people involved in it. I think modern blues music has a reputation of being boring, technical, and overwrought, but this doesn’t feel that way. It’s working musicians playing for working people. The singing is clear and powerful, not strained or affected. The solos are talented but not gratuitous. There’s a good energy and this was a delight to listen to.

Had no idea this existed, the concept seems kinda unhinged at first glance. Initial favorites are Blue Skies and Sunny Side. Unchained Melody seemed like a misstep to me but I’m not really a fan of that song to begin with. And Moonlight In Vermont was like doing a shot of perfume. This is really good (in the sense that it’s like sincere, or benevolent.) Like, it’s Lawful Good. Also the only really unusual thing about this album is that someone thought of this idea and executed it in the first place. But I mean overall if you truly hated this you’d have to have a heart of ice.

I like this album, but always thought it was a bit older; it seems dated for 1998. But that's kind of fitting, since it also feels anachronistic, retrofuturistic, electromechanical. An album from an alternate timeline where rock bands have instruments like a saw. Aesthetically I think it fits in with the Elephant 6 bands, or with slower Smashing Pumpkins songs like 'Tonight, Tonight' and 'Thirty-Three'. It feels cold and distant; I think the album artwork fits it perfectly, if that makes sense. I got drunk and high and fell asleep while listening to it a second time, which I suppose is an endorsement, but not necessarily a full-throated one.

First song and title track were standouts. It’s not quite as good as the Beatles or Monkees, but it’s still the sort of music I listened to a lot as a kid and still like. It also does feel rather varied, a bit soulful, a bit psychedelic, and this made for a light breezy listen.

Cool album cover. Makes it look like this is a punk or new wave album and I guess for Fleetwood Mac it is. Nice drums on this one.

Favorites: Jailbreak, Emerald, Massacre, Cowboy Song Thin Lizzy is a legendary band, and a lot of these songs are great. But I don’t think this is a great album. I understand this was pulled from a number of concerts, and overdubbed in parts. So a lot of it sounds fairly good but it doesn’t have a consistent mood or audience relationship. And some songs drag, especially since this is a double album. I think it's unfortunate that this was the one Thin Lizzy album they put on here.

Sympathy For The Devil might be the highlight? Also really liked the fifth track, Jigsaw Puzzle. Sounds a lot like Dylan or the Beatles. I think The Rolling Stones are at their best when they’re not pretending to be American bluesmen.

Rockford’s finest, halfway around the world. Humbling yet unpretentious. I found the crowd’s energy to be genuinely moving, and I’m really happy that Tokyo embraced a band from good old Illinois.

I have fond childhood memories of his greatest hits CD. Didn't have high expectations for this album but ended up enjoying it. Lyrically kind of lightweight but the vocals are excellent and some of the songs ('Father and Son' specifically) have a real emotional punch. 'Sad Lisa' sounds like a Eurovision song. Not necessarily a bad thing. It just does.

More accessible than I thought it would be, but kind of heavy-handed and grim, even for Radiohead. Nothing really stood out.

Musically, it’s like a hypermasculine, hyperaggressive version of some 90s jam band. Lyrically, it’s like … idk, Christian rock for edgelord video gamers. The vocals are turgid. I particularly disliked ‘Spoonman’.

‘We’re Not Right’ and ‘This Year’s Love’ stood out initially. And ‘Sail Away’. Oh, and a lovely Soft Cell cover that I listened to like four times in a row. Great closer.

I had heard about this album for a while but never listened to it; I always wrote it off as the Bruce Springsteen 9/11 album. It is pretty long and the energy flagged toward the end; there were a couple of pretty cheesy songs too. But there were a lot of good ideas and a consistent theme unifying them.

She’s a talented vocalist but I don’t know if that’s what I really look for in music. This is the second Aretha album I got on this site and I liked the first one a bit more. In this one, there were a couple songs (Groovin’ and People Get Ready) that didn’t move me as much as the originals. Also I just don’t like the song (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.

‘The Fairy Feller’s Master-Stoke’, is a painting by Richard Dadd, a Victorian artist institutionalized for schizophrenia and murder. Like Dadd’s work, Queen II is strange, whimsical, cluttered with detail, and highly technically proficient. Anyways I have a soft spot for whacked-out heavy metal concept albums, as long as they’re short and efficient like this one.

I always liked ‘Trying Your Luck’ back when I was a lonely callow inchoate loser. Now I’m pudgy and bloated but so is Strokes frontman Julian Casablancas. My roommates’ band used to cover Someday and Hard To Explain. This isn’t even my favorite Strokes album but it’s one where every song is like oh shit yeah I love this one.

‘Street Joy’ was good. The flute bit on ‘River to Consider’ felt kinda contrived. Not into extended jams. But this was fun.

Hadn’t listened to this before but I thought I’d like this a lot since Supersonic is my favorite Oasis song. The rest of the album didn’t stick with me as much though.

Loud and repetitive. Apathetic lyrics and vocals.

Good stuff, kinda forgot I was listening to it a few times, however. I liked the opening and closing tracks the most, and Walk Of Life because that’s a great song. 3.5 out of 5.

Fwiw Phil Spector was a visionary, and I think the Wall Of Sound treatment works well on these Christmas songs. But the real star is Darlene Love, who I don’t know anything about except for this album. Merry Christmas, Darlene, and Merry Christmas everyone but Phil.

I listened to this the day after Christmas and found it refreshing. A nice vitriolic attack on hypocrisy and consumerism. The bass and drums sound good and I like the metallic guitar squalls over it.

The best songs on this are really well arranged; they sound powerful and ominous. The other songs are, I don’t know, kind of Ed-Sheeran-y? But hey, I like that too.

I have a love/hate relationship with Britain (particularly England) which I think is mirrored in the content of this album. I really liked this and wish I’d had the chance to listen to it a few more times. I feel like calling it a concept album is kinda facile. Like, is really a concept album about the human condition, right?

This made me laugh out loud quite a few times. And I enjoyed the Method/Red/DMX version of Rollin'. So I suppose I can't rate this a one.

Yeah, it’s Bowie, it’s great. There’s not much that hasn’t been said about this, but I will note that I particularly liked his vocals, and that it felt surprisingly short.

I’m really not a fan of jam bands, and the guy’s singing makes it seem like he doesn’t want to be here. But the lyrics are the low point, profoundly dumb themes addressed in profoundly artless ways. I will say that they come across as reasonably fun, laid back people. I don’t think any of the other bands I’ve rated a 1 give the impression of having a sense of humor.

Pleasant sounding, not particularly bombastic. I liked it but don’t know how often I’d return.

I don't think it's possible to defend Kanye or his behavior. However, this album would be less interesting if it was a defense, or an apology. I'm sure it's frustrating that he's so arrogant and misogynistic and crazy but that's what makes him a captivating and (not sure how else to describe this) well-written character. Musically this is a delight. I like the over-the-top noise on some tracks, and the haunting minimalist piano on others. He makes good use of samples and guest musicians. Even if Kanye himself hasn't aged well, I think the album has, with its bravado and undertone of mental illness. Or maybe the past fifteen years have just been the rest of the world crashing down to his level.

The best possible use for Led Zeppelin’s music.

Excellent 2010s hipster pop. Nothing that stands out quite like some of their earlier singles, but every song is fun - i.e. good background music for a party.

Good guitar playing and a really good cover of “Good Golly Miss Molly”. However there are some longer songs that dragged, and the lyrics here are half-baked. Their next couple of albums are a lot more sophisticated than this, especially the lyrics/writing. (Also, when I need directions to get to the bayou, I use Choogle Maps.)

I find this album cover terrifying and I’m not even a child.

I love the instrumental that opens it. A nice thesis statement of sorts. I might like their first couple of albums more, but this is still some quality stuff from one of my favorite bands. Good loud music, good lyrics, good frenzied apocalyptic mindset.

I was excited when I saw this was today's album. A chance to finally sit down with an old beloved gem (apparently endorsed by no less than Bob Dylan) that I hadn't heard before. Basically, the sort of stuff that makes me look forward to this 1001 albums project. I hated this so much. 'Illegal Smile' is a bunch of the most banal, obvious imagery, contorted into awkward rhyme and meter. Some songs are petulant and myopic, like someone complaining about how the TV news is nothing but sad stories. Other songs like 'Sam Stone' are an over-the-top tidal wave of misery and tragedy. There’s a dissonant mix throughout of praise for the simple rural folk, and contempt for their values. Also 'Pretty Good' has a bit about someone being sexually assaulted by a dog but I'm going to assume that's a reference or metaphor that I failed to understand. This album made me wonder if I hate folk music. I understand this is partly a product of The War, and post-1968 US politics, but that doesn't decode it, doesn't make it click for me. The funny parts aren't funny, and the sad parts are as depressing as you can get without being inadvertently funny. (I didn't like my first Joni Mitchell album either. Is there something about the early 1970s that I don't get?) I feel bad seeing him there on his little hay bale. I don't blame him; it’s not his fault. I hope he found some peace.

Delightfully jarring and glitchy and unpretentious, like an old Grand Theft Auto game. Didn’t care for it at first but liked it by the end. I haven't heard anything quite like it before, but if you asked me to imagine rap music of the future, even today, I might have imagined a less cohesive version of this. I can't believe it came out in 2003, but I was an American kid listening to indie rock so this wasn’t really on my radar. Jus' A Rascal and Brand New Day are great.

There's a frustrating number of different versions and track listings, I did Deluxe Edition (the one shown here) that had 14 songs? Anyways it generally sounded good, like a more punk version of Nirvana. Fav track: 'Need'.

‘Shout’ is a very good opener. A nice listen for a Sunday morning; it’s chill, but there’s a lot of power behind it, even on the more pop-oriented songs.

This is a hard one to rate. I initially thought I wouldn't have a lot to say. The guitar/production on ‘Strange Brew’ sounds like ass, and Clapton and Baker both have irritating singing voices. But I quite liked the songs that, per Wikipedia, were written and sung by Jack Bruce. Liked the goofy music hall kinda song at the end too. It would be sensible to separate this album from the shadow of Eric Clapton.

‘Armenia’ and ‘I Can See For Miles’ and 'I Can't Reach You' are good songs. I don't get the whole commercial thing but overall the album's tighter than ‘Tommy’. I want to mark it down points for the fugly artwork, and because each silly little skit reminds me of the fugly artwork. But man, 'I Can See For Miles' is an absolute classic.

I don’t know enough about the blues to say a lot about this, but it was loud heavy stuff, where you could hear how rock and eventually heavy metal might evolve from the blues.

2008 was the year my wife and I started dating, and a year before I graduated college. I probably heard these songs on Daytrotter's website before I heard the album. It's the sound of a lot of bands I would listen to in my 20s. I really miss that whole scene.

Not as bad as I feared from the low rating on this site. I liked the outdated vaudeville of 'The Minotaur's Song'. Also 'Three Is A Green Crown', brooding and strange, good use of sitar. I try to listen to these things a second time before rating them. This time I just skipped around the songs I like. Or in the case of 'A Very Cellular Song', just the first three minutes. I mostly kept coming back to 'Swift As The Wind', maybe the best thing on here, messianic and apocalyptic. 'Hangman's Beautiful Daughter' is weird and excessive and yes probably drugs. I don't see it as a 1 or a 5, and sometimes this stuff just averages out. It's an inconsistent 3, not a forgettable 3.

It sounds a bit like Roxy Music, which is nice. A moderately pleasant listen, made slightly uneven because it’s a pop album with experimental elements jammed in. ‘Baby’s On Fire’ is good, and the title track at the end.

Kinda spaced out listening to it, nothing stood out. Wasn’t as good as the album title made me hope. ‘Animal Zoo’ and ‘Morning Will Come’ were ok.

Not as long and drawn out as I feared it would be. Would be a four but I really hate the laughter they inserted into Brain Damage, which would’ve been the best song on here. Money is a silly song.

I don't know what exactly to say about this one because it's meant a lot of different things to me throughout my life. As a study of human relationships it's necessarily enigmatic, vague, and complex. Sorry, I guess that's kind of a cop out. But I don't get the general impulse to dissect and mythologize Dylan. (Or to, you know, make a movie about his life.) Anyways, as I listen at the beginning of February 2025, this album is almost exactly fifty years old. However, I don't feel for a moment like it belongs to a single time or place.

Pleasant well-crafted pop music that feels a bit powerless as we travel deeper into hell. These guys are kinda like the Eloi from 'The Time Machine', you know?

For the most part, Bob Mould is the better songwriter on this one. Very long but pretty good throughout. I like Hüsker Dü but I hadn't even heard of this album before it came up yesterday. Weird one to put on this list.

Welp, I guess I like Bruce Springsteen? Mildly surprised. Favorites: Promised Land, Streets Of Fire, Prove It All Night.

A breath of fresh aid after all the prog rock and self-indulgent folk music on the list. I imagine people in the 70s welcomed it too. 'Tumbling Dice' is a good song. I liked 'Torn and Frayed' too.

Long but pleasant. But long. Good background vibes.

Very linear, over-explanatory storytelling. Also has a strange fixation with geography. Idk, this was a weird one. Like if Lawrence Welk was doing Johnny Cash.

Quite liked 'Bottle Let Me Down' and 'Queen of the Silver Dollar'. Guess I like drinkin’ songs.

I generally like this style of music.

Yayyy Mexican music.

I don't want to like this one, but I admit I enjoyed most of it. ‘Misty Mountain Hop' is a fun track. ‘When The Levee Breaks' is maybe their best blues cover, they really bring a lot to it. 'Going to California' is a song that I really dislike.

On one hand, the mishmash of languages and musical styles feels a bit like that yellow/sepia filter you see on American movies set in the Global South. On the other hand, I really like this, not because I'm some fucking hippie backpacker, but because this is a synthesis of a lot of the music I grew up listening to. Every song feels like a lullaby.

Blues cosplay from the Brits. The musicians are proficient, the vocals are weak. Last track (Bernard Jenkins) was probably my favorite. Don’t know why I’d ever listen to this instead of Muddy Waters. Guessing this is like music for musicians or something.

I guess this sounded ahead of its time for 1966. Probably paved the way for a lot of the lame singer-songwriter stuff from the early 70s. There's also some meandering artsy tunes.

Simply a slice of pure joy.

FINALLY SOMEONE LET ME OUT OF MY CAGE TIME FOR ME IS NOTHIN CUS IM COUNTIN NO AGE NOW I COULDNT BE THERE NOW YOU SHOULDNT BE SCARED &c &c

Dumb California Album was recorded in 1974, two years before Clapton's Enoch Powell moment. It features a Bob Marley cover that never fails to infuriate me when I hear it in the wild. I was unfamiliar with the other songs before and after listening to them. They are cheap and disposable like the paper napkin and salt packet that come prepackaged with a set of plastic cutlery. I don't buy the notion that this record helped popularize Jamaican music. This was after The Harder They Come. It was after Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da for goodness sake. And a music as brilliant and vital as reggae certainly would have found a global audience without his 'help'. One time Eric Clapton's son fell out of a window. I can't believe someone was willing to bear Eric Clapton's child.

I liked Dolly Parton's voice, of course. Didn't always care for the harmonies or the parts that sounded like Christian Contemporary pop. Not a bad album but it came at a bad time and I’m not here for it.

Very 80s, but still very modern. Sounds like a lot of your vibes-based 21st century indie pop. Tracks 1, 6 and 7 are quite good. The energy lags at other times. It’s really cool, Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart are super cool, and this is a decent album but not great.

Good, but long. Ends with two of the best songs ever but it takes a while to get there.

It's good, but not as good as I think U2 can be… more dance beats than guitar riffs. 'Mysterious Ways', which we already know and love, is the standout. 'Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses' may be the low point.

First two tracks started off great. Then I kinda forgot I was listening to it. Pleasant though.

He seems like a jerk IRL and also I imagine listening to this would suck if you didn't like his voice. I enjoy this; it's sublime, abstract, and repetitive. The random jazz song in the middle keeps you from falling in too deep. I listened to this like four times today.

Good beats, good flow, kind of grim and self-important. This did not cut through the haze of my depression.

I remember hearing a lot about this one at the time, but never checked it out. (For one thing, I thought their band name was kind of dumb.) I like music like this and if I'd heard this when it came out it would probably be like a 5 for me. But as a latecomer I can't help but compare it to a lot of other stuff from that era that sounds similar, so there was less impact.

The worst tropes of rap music, without any of the self-awareness. This is an influential album and it belongs on this list because it reminds us why America sucks so much shit.

Favorite tracks were... honestly most of it. The individual songs stand out, maybe because they’re shouted in your face. I quite liked 'FM' and 'Love Und Romance'. Good cover of 'Heard It Through The Grapevine' too. However, the album cover creeps me out.

Expected this to be really grim and depressing, but it actually felt pretty warm and comfy.

Not as clever as NWA or Ice Cube, but this still aged surprisingly well. It helps that Snoop Dogg is such a charismatic personality. It was a nice bit of dumb fun and I needed some cheering up today.

A weird experience! African folk music mixed with jazz, pop, and even calypso. Might not work for everyone, but I liked that it was all over the place.

There’s some funny samples but none of the big hits like Licensed To Ill. Everything kinda blurred together.

Was complaining about YYZ and then I heard the opening riff from Limelight and I was like oh cool. Also good album cover pun.

“That song doesn't usually last three hours, but we got into a serious thing.” I don't listen to much jazz or funk music but this seemed pretty exemplary. Some serious musical talent at work here. The first track was probably my favorite. Kinda drifted off after that.

Rough recording and sound quality. But I liked the writing; this felt like a collection of pop songs. The covers towards the end were goofy and unnecessary.

I liked quite a few parts, the sound, the playing, the vocals, but it didn't add up to the expected sum of its parts. Just didn't do it for me today. A long album, but the individual tracks went by too quickly; more sloganeering than songwriting.

This to me sounds like an alternate route the Clash could have taken after Sandinista, an anachronistic mix of dub and folk. It’s a distinct and cohesive piece throughout, loose but complex. It aged well, perhaps because we still don’t have anything else that sounds like this, perhaps because it manages to add a beauty to a dreary malaise. (I love the production, which gives an almost tactile feeling to the instruments.) Favorite tracks were ‘History Song’ and ‘Three Changes’.

The UK version of Aftermath leads off with 'Mother's Little Helper' and the US gets 'Paint It Black' instead. Idk why they wouldn't wanna include both, but 'Paint It Black' is a truly transcendent song and one of the best things they ever wrote, so I’m happy to have the US version here. I like 'Under My Thumb' too - I see it as a parody of masculinity coming from self-aware songwriters, like the Beatles with 'Run For Your Life', and so I’m not terribly bothered by it. Also enjoyed 'I Am Waiting' which I don't remember ever hearing before. I don't give the Rolling Stones a lot of love. It took them until 1966 to write a full album of their own songs. And even after listening to and enjoying Aftermath, I'm still going to probably put on a compilation like Hot Rocks if I want to hear these songs. But this was an impressive leap forward for them, and one of those moments where they came close to being as good as the Beatles.

This is an aesthetically cohesive album from a really lurid and inventive group. It's very stylized (the movie clips, the samples, the weird production) but still authentic. It's often absurd and messy and full of obscure references, like real life, and I think that's helped it age better than your more didactic political hip hop from the same era. Favorite tracks were 'Tearz' and 'Protect Ya Neck'.

I like the album cover and the dumb earworm from 'Stop This Crazy Thing'. Didn't like the vacuous peace/love chatter. I can't remember much else about it now; I listened to this for like an hour, but it didn't stick with me.

Another one I've never heard of before now. I enjoyed the South Asian elements. ‘Tides’ was good. ‘Homelands’ was good. The rap and r&b bits weren’t. This is a big-brain concept album with a pretty long runtime and that's not usually what I go for. As with the other instrumental/electronic albums on here, I’m sure there’s a lot for musicians to enjoy, but it’s not something that sticks with me as much.

Hadn’t listened to this whole album before. I liked Chicago, but had a strong adverse reaction to the Gacy song. Overall, liked the rock/pop stuff.

More whimsical and fantastic than earlier Beatles albums. A lot of the songs feel like interesting, impressionist character sketches, but Revolver as a whole doesn't feel contrived or strained like a concept album might. This is a good combination of artsy and accessible, and all four of the Beatles really get a chance to shine. My only caveat might be to point out that the Taxman seems like an alright dude, and that I support a progressive income tax on the rich.

Nebraska is a slow and depressing album that I don't put on too often. Every time I do hear it I'm a bit older, and as I grow older the little details hit harder. I got the CD years ago because I liked 'Open All Night'. Listening to it a couple times through today, there wasn't a track I wanted to skip, and 'Reason To Believe' brought the whole thing together at the end.

That was fun. Pleasant background music for the workday, bookended by two looped vocal tracks. Felt video gamey so I think I connected more than I did with the other electronic albums I’ve hard on here recently. Shoutout to my man Worf.

My favorites going into this were ‘Farmer John’ and ‘Mansion On The Hill’. I don’t come back to the rest of the songs very often and was surprised to see it on the 1001 list today, but they’re all solid, the sort of music I enjoy. Never really thought of it as a masterpiece. Just Neil Young doing what he does best.

Not really into 90s r&b, or her voice, or her lyrics. But I was in a pretty good mood when I listened to it, on a nice sunny afternoon, so it was alright.

The first two tracks were the best. 'Automatic' overstayed its welcome.

‘Let It Bleed’ and ‘You Got The Silver’ are strong tracks, and ‘Gimme Shelter’ is one of my favorite Rolling Stones songs. ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want’ is on another level; it sounds like nothing else in the world, and it feels quick and effortless even at seven minutes. A high 4.something, but going with a 5 because this is way ahead of its time for 1969. The album title and cover are also great.

I love these songs, but I don’t know if a live record is the way to showcase them. Seems like his voice is a bit rougher than in the studio?

It’s got some good songs but not quite as many as Nevermind.

I mean this just really isn't my kind of music. But I hope you like it.

This is a weird one! It’s shrill and artsy, but it’s also fundamentally pop music. Gonna rate this a 4 because these dudes are just plain fun, and because this is pretty far out for 1974. Also ‘Amateur Hour’ is a great song.

It’s an odd singing voice but not an unpleasant one. I think I appreciated the unique delivery here. I also got drawn into the lyrics a lot more than I usually do. For something I was completely unfamiliar with before today, this really grabbed my attention.

Liked this a lot more than the other ZZ Top album we got, 1983's 'Eliminator'. Fewer hits, but a better overall sound. Good production, I guess, but it also feels more earnest and emotional? Enjoyed 'Master of Sparks', which has a nice spooky sound.

Overall I liked it as much as Let It Bleed, so it feels like another 5. The back half doesn't have any big radio hits but it feels varied and interesting. 'Sister Morphine and 'Dead Flowers' have a more gloomy, artsy Velvet Underground sort of feel. I know 'Brown Sugar' hasn't aged well but there's a lot of other music in the world that's way worse politically. 'Brown Sugar' seems rather innocuous or sophomoric and you can't take it too seriously. Also 'Wild Horses' just kind of says some things that I don't think any other song has said as well.

Enjoyed this start to finish. Reminded me of something I would’ve been into back in 2000. Very fun and shouty.

Was gonna be a four and then it kept on going. I like this heavy kind of sound, but I wish the songs were just a bit tighter and more varied.

This was fun. Expected it to be overly grim and preachy, but they're too energetic to let that happen. 'She Watch Channel Zero' is a great piece of rap rock.

Not quite sure how to say this, but it’s a bit dissonant to hear in 2025 when the US government is disappearing people into overseas prisons. Everyone loves Johnny Cash, but that’s a problem because it means a lot of assholes also love Johnny Cash. Kinda brings the machismo, misogyny, and evangelical Christianity of these lyrics into sharper focus. Outlaw country, I guess.

Chill vibes, not unpleasant, wispy and delicate. Reminds me of a not-as-good Belle And Sebastian tbh.

A lot like Ziggy Stardust. Solid throughout, but particularly liked the first and last tracks. Really nice cabaret sort of piano.

Some thought-provoking questions, but not really fun or enjoyable. It's like an awkward apology for 'Sweet Home Alabama', which is itself an awkward apology. These guys seem like talented writers - maybe not talented songwriters, but talented... idk, polemicists I guess. So, why bother with this verbose, plodding double album? Why are Southerners so determined to defend the South? In theory this is good, and I think the 4 and 5 star reviews on this site make some fair points. But I think a Ronnie Van Zandt concept album just isn’t for me.

I love hearing all the bluesy parts in early metal. ‘The Wizard’ is a fantastic song. I do think some of the longer jams lost my interest. But really looking forward to more Sabbath in this list!

Really good first half, faded in the stretch. Still, a fun experience with a lot of attitude.

I really like some of the songs on here, especially “Whole Lotta Love” and “Ramble On”, but they’re still just dumb songs about sex and Tolkien, yeah? If you’d have asked younger me, I would’ve said this was my favorite Zep album. But scrawny white guy blues didn’t age as well as their more artsy stuff.

Has some pretty good songs. Has some pretty dumb songs. Not a big fan of 'Rock of Ages'. Not even the gleeben globen part at the beginning.

This was a difficult listen at first; the spoken word stuff makes it hard to get into. But I’m a fan of anachronistic film noir jazz, and as the album goes on the different weird experimental tracks interact and integrate with the central theme. Highlights for me were the seven minute long dub piece ('Dirty Barry') and tracks 9 through 12. Especially Nick Cave’s voice.

The song 'Hero' stood out to me. Nothing else really did unfortunately. Sounds nice though.

Long, slow, and pleasant sounding. I don't really like modern r&b but I liked his voice and his beats. This was a good album for a Sunday morning.

Finally got an Elvis Costello album! I don't even think this is his best work but man it's still pretty much perfect. The rhythm section sounds good, the organ sounds good, and the lyrics/singing convey a sense of contempt and frustration that I don't think you usually get in pop music. He's good at capturing unpleasant conflicted emotions (and at suggesting connections between personal relationships and larger societal malaise) whereas most pop music still thinks that 'authentic' means ham-fisted and unsubtle. (I think he gets an underserved reputation as an angry young man, or as the epitome of 70s/80s Britain, but these tunes are universal. There’s a great 2021 reworking of this album, Spanish Model, with Latin American artists, many of them women. It still works great. We’re all messy like this.)

I love the kaleidoscopic lyrics and the driving beat. Just pure joy. This is children's music, and it happens to be the children's music I grew up with. I still get giddy whenever I hear the beginning of 'Lookin' Out My Back Door'. Listening on my headphones, then moving onto some other favorites by them… I think 'Willy And The Poor Boys' might be the smarter CCR album but the sound isn't quite as rich. And 'Pendulum' feels a bit muffled and mushy. Idk, this might be their best sound.

Nice depressing guitar music. Not as pretentious or inaccessible as the fans/critics say, but it still feels very calculated. Not vulnerable. Like… like U2 for X-ennials? I hadn’t heard ‘Let Down’ before but it stood out. ‘No Surprises’ is always good.

Whiny "Folk" BS.

Kinda mixed bag and I’m not a big fan of ‘Cinnamon Girl’ but that ten minute song at the end is pretty epic.

I read the Wikipedia article and I was expecting like a Sisters of Mercy album, so I guess that’s kinda on me. Listened to some of their other songs after finishing this album, and the earlier stuff is definitely better.

I guess I like a gal with a deep voice and a piano. ‘Criminal’ is probably one of the weaker songs on here tbh.

The other Johnny Cash prison album on this list; we got At Folsom Prison (1968) earlier this month. He deserves a lot of credit for shining a light into America's prisons, and he has just a perfect grasp of what it means to be a prisoner as well as a performer. It's good music and he handles his band and the inmates so well. (I’m uncomfortable with the outlaw folk hero archetype. At this point it’s been appropriated too often by vigilantes, mafiosi, and corrupt politicians.) The film crew that caught Cash's ire (that middle finger picture) was from Granada Television, which made working class content for the industrial north of England. They were just trying their best, man.

Well, I liked all of these songs, even (especially?) the weird thing at the beginning. Brilliant songwriter. Good enough to open for the Monkees.

I really like the lyrics and the bass/drum sound.

I can’t tell if the whole thing is a joke or not, and the people who like this kinda music scare me, so I’m not gonna ask them.

Good but with a few parts that dragged. Looking forward to more Blur!

Leonard Cohen's body of work seems intimidating but I really enjoyed the lyrics. Highlights were 'Partisan' and 'Old Revolution'.

An important document of the rage of young working class men, and I think that’s an important thing to look at. I was gonna rate this a 4 but I think that’s nostalgia talking, and the knowledge of what his career would evolve into. But this album is still pretty tryhard and ridiculous.

Going into this, didn't know any songs on this except for the title track. Had a reasonably intact vinyl record that I got from idk where, listened while drinking a rum and coke and reading the liner notes. Comfy. A couple of the tracks (6, 7) lose some steam. ‘Night’ was great. ‘Born To Run’ still feels like a jolt of electricity even though it’s the thousandth time I’ve heard it.

Technically proficient with 2000s era production and verbose but predictable lyrics. Loses a point because it reminded me of high school. Gains a point because I listened to this at my dumb dead end job in dumb dead end Iowa.

I like the Byrds, CSNY, and David Crosby as a person, but I don't understand why this particular item was on the list. It feels unambitious and unintentional.

The Beach Boys get political? Only it's several years too late, and has all the bite of a corporate training video. The songs are disjointed. The performances are goofy and amateurish like a school musical.

'Common People' and 'Disco 2000' are tragic, beautiful, perfect songs. ‘Underwear’ was my favorite of the songs I hadn’t heard before.

Heavy, stressful lyrics, a bit of a chore to get through, but he seems well-meaning. The music was sometimes repetitive with some nice jazzy bits. Idk, feels like a 2.5, but rounding up because the politics he’s discussing are still relevant.

Welp, this album from 15 years ago feels pretty astute. The suburbs were an accessible version of the American dream, affordable because they were shoddy and mass-produced, brand new but already falling apart. And as the album anticipates, we're being sold an even cheaper fake dream online as the physical suburbs become unsustainable. The music perfectly captures the feeling of summer in the Midwest. The layers of instruments feel humid and stultifying. A bit cloying even (e.g. the title track or 'Rococo') but with something dissonant lurking underneath. I think the beauty is in how it tackles its subject matter as incisively as any punk band might, but there's still a gentleness and compassion for the people who grew up here. Children, basically, who can't escape. Anyways yeah, it resonates me a lot. I can confirm that 'Sprawl II' has occasionally caused me to cry.

Looking through the track list on Wikipedia, I think I preferred the songs with 'Davies' on vocals over the 'Hodgson' songs. I liked the piano bit on the first track, some of the heavier riffs, and the long drawn-out ominous jam at the end of the album. The lyrics were weak and the whole thing had a West End musical kinda vibe.

Definitely a 5 for the historical value of the work. But honestly I really vibe with the nihilistic rage, and it’s quite catchy too.

This is fun and cool. Not orthodox funk/rnb but it’s neat hearing a very Bowie take on it. First and last tracks are the big hits; the middle feels less memorable.

Was pleasantly drifting along, half-listening to the mediocre rock music, when he started talking about gonorrhea. If you're going to to be edgy and confrontational, at least have the courage to commit to it, instead of couching it in adolescent humor.

One time I saw a Bollywood movie with some kids from Nepal and they just forwarded through the entire plot to get to the musical numbers. It was pretty cool. Then we watched Cannonball Run 2.

‘Passenger’ is really good obviously. I hadn’t listened to the whole album before but it’s pretty solid throughout. Good vocals and production. ‘Neighborhood Threat’ was a highlight too.

I can’t believe this came out in 1994! I strongly associate this with my high school years although I’m not sure why. Tbh this is kind of a gross-feeling album, both lyrics and production, but he commits to it and has a clear artistic vision. To put it another way, he really Nine Inch Nailed the assignment.

Can’t quite articulate why, but the album has a real SpongeBob SquarePants kind of energy. Fav tracks: On The Surface, Caligari’s Mirror, and Ubu Dance Party. I like this, a lot, but while it does interesting things with structure and sound and language, it doesn't really grab me on an emotional level. I am really glad that punk as an artistic movement liberated a lot of people to start making experimental music. Pere Ubu singer Dave Thomas, passed away in April of this year so I had been listening to this album and Modern Dance recently. If we had to sit through Brian Wilson's "genius" when he died, we should have got more Dave Thomas too. I really did consider a 5 for this one.

This does everything Highway 61 does, but with more warmth and humor; the gradual transition from rock album to the longer folk songs at the end works so well. I think I could listen to this every day and not get bored of it. "Money doesn't talk, it swears" is a killer line. Like, this album basically invented lyrics.

I like the White Stripes, and getting into Jack’s solo stuff, I think it’s just as good, and distinct. He’s a divisive and eccentric guy and I think his music’s rather aloof but that’s also helped it age better than the glut of blues-punk stuff that we heard on the radio back in the 2010s. Like, remember that shitty Black Keys song (also 2012) that was in every commercial and TV show? (Remember Rob Schneider’s daughter’s music?) Jack White is kinda weird and pretentious but I’ll take that any day over some beardy millennial wannabe lumberjack.

I'm really not into that smooth jazzy style of music, and I didn't expect this to be good, but it is. Feels pretty fresh even today and I think it has a lot more going on than the last 80s British soul album we got on the list (Simply Red). Don't know how often I'd sit through the whole thing (again, not my style) but there's a time and place for this. I think I liked 'Hang On To Your Love' most.

I guess this list is making me realize I harbor a degree of mistrust towards country music. People say the older stuff is supposed to be more real and authentic etc… but I’m just hearing self-pity and melodrama.

The bass and drum parts are so tight. I like dub music already but the added dissonance from the guitars/vocals makes everything more tense. I appreciated something that felt like my own anxiety and frustration. I suppose it's here because it's experimental and innovative, but I personally found it to be a gratifying experience. I like Lydon’s voice and lyrics; he’s really expressive. He showed his catchy rock side with the Sex Pistols so I think it should be evident that there’s both an underlying musicianship here and an underlying anguish and alienation that led to this music. I also think it’s a clear step forward from the first PiL album.

The tunes are pleasant and varied, an early 2000s record with nice elements of older pop music incorporated throughout. Goes well with the languid quality of his voice. Favorite tracks: Shining, Stone On The Water, Disillusion, Say It Again.

It’s good. Kinda repetitive but nice music if you’re dancing or working or cooking.

So the drummer was almost 39 when this came out! That's kind of inspiring. Excellent new wave, seems Iggy or Roxy Music influenced. The album cover looks like a Vampire: The Masquerade splatbook.

Oh wow I realllly don't like her voice, her delivery. The lyrics are intense, the arrangements good, but I can't get past the singing. The album cover is cool, she seems cool, I want to like this, I don't.

My parents had her other album ‘All You Can Eat’ and about halfway through this I felt a rush of nostalgia from hearing her voice. Good 90s alternative pop. The kids love chill vibes kinda music right? I feel like she should be a bigger household name to this day.

Love the music, love the lyrics. Maybe their best album. Even ‘Everybody Hurts’ works here.

This was our third Nick Drake album, maybe my favorite. Still, after listening through twice, none of the individual songs stuck with me. Like a 3.5.

The tracks cover a lot of different styles and voices. To me it sounds a lot like the Monkees, and yes I mean that as a compliment. Favorite tracks: Mr. Soul, Expecting to Fly, Bluebird, Good Time Boy, Broken Arrow.

This is surprisingly catchy, it doesn’t feel edgy or tryhard, but more like pop/blues/folk music meandering down a dark alley, into a weird headspace. I found it easy to get into; good vocals and drums. RIP Ozzy. I’m glad we could all take part in this together.

Mixed album, not as bad as the reviews on this site indicate. 'Israel' is uh... it didn't age great. 'Lion In Winter' is quite good, maybe as good as 'To Love Somebody' or 'Gotta Get a Message to You' from their earlier albums. I also like the album art. Very Monty Python energy.

A rough listen, it’s difficult to hear his voice at this stage in his life, but there are some haunting moments in this album.

This is a big. epic sounding album. I wouldn’t have guessed it was their debut, let alone it came out before Nevermind! I really vibed with ‘Why Go’, ‘Black’ and ‘Porch’ this time around.

shot through the heart and you're to blame my name is my band's name -bon jovi, probably You gotta give it to them for writing a couple of classic rock anthems and then the very next track is a piece of hot garbage called 'Social Disease'. If I had to pick, I would give a slight edge to 'You Give Love A Bad Name', which sounds like an Alice Cooper song. Lyrically, 'Living On A Prayer' tries to be Springsteen but ends up more like Billy Joel.

I’m dismayed by how much this site seems to hate this album. It’s clear, interesting music, well-performed and well-produced. It was intended for popular consumption. I don’t think it’s objectionable. I believe everyone has an obligation to understand and engage with the past. This is good art, it's clearly better than Kid Rock, it's clearly not a one, and I'm sorry if you need everything spoon-fed to you by the algorithmic hand of the Culture-Industrial Complex. Spotify is an exploitative business with no regard for art. Its owner is a war profiteer. You can find this album on YouTube, or elsewhere with just a bit of effort.

We got the first Supergrass album already, so I feel like I would have checked this one out at some point anyways? There's also a lot of this sort of stuff on The List? Still a solid album. Feels creative in its choice of instruments and sound effects, dreamlike at times. Might prefer it to their first one actually! I expected a lot worse based on the album cover.

Sounds like the Foo Fighters. Fav tracks were ‘Big Me’ and ‘For All The Cows’. An aggressive sound, but still a lot of warmth in it. Thought this would be a three at first, maybe rating this higher for nostalgia and context, and because I like Dave Grohl. Great band name, great album cover.

Joan Armatrading is one of those really cool British people I wish I knew more about! My parents had a compilation CD (Track Record) but it's nice to hear a full album of earlier stuff. She's cited Astral Weeks as an influence and I can hear that on stuff like 'Love And Affection' and 'Somebody Who Loves You'. (I think it's reductive to only compare her to female singer/songwriters.) The highlight for me was the last song, 'Tall In The Saddle', which was a good synthesis of the different folk and rock sounds on the album.

The production is weak and the songs are weak, and it seems like no one wanted this released. The experience was made more frustrating because I have such fondness for Dion's oldies hits. Also I don’t like songs about New York.

This would sound fresh and original if it came out ten years from now. The first track starts off strong, and everything feels unique but still perfectly placed and integral to the flow of the album.

We got their 2009 album earlier in this project, and I wondered if this one just doesn’t hit as hard because I’ve already heard them. But I do think their style has changed here. Couldn't get into the first part of the album but I like 'Replica' and especially 'Brave For You' from the second half.

Feels like a masterpiece, I think the length and scope of the album works in its favor. Like if you had one George Harrison album to sum up his identity, one album take with you and listen to again and again. Indeed, if you had one post-Beatle solo album, what else could it be?

What a good mellow batch of tunes. I think I’ve listened to this a lot, probably in college, and was kind of surprised just how comfy and familiar it felt. ‘Broken Drum’ has some pleasant half-baked vibes.

Lewd with a lot of edgy religious references. ‘I Want Your Sex’ is pretty dumb. There’s the title track, and then there are some other decent tracks towards the end. He’s a surprisingly talented musician.

Kate Bush singing ‘jeux sans frontières’ is so good. Some of the songs are a bit long.

First time hearing this. Haunting, a bit slow at times. A good sound with good guitar work. Nice music for sitting in a dark room on a hot humid day.

Fun and lively!

I was hoping for something interesting. This is useless and repetitive. Sometimes this album sounds like a middle school orchestra playing tv show themes. Sometimes it comes across as a soulless humorless parody of funk music. Thanks for wasting my time, Frank. After this I re-listened to a previous assignment ('Freak Out!' from 1966) and I definitely like it more.

This feels isolating, even alienating, but it also kind of shuts your brain down, in a not-unpleasant way. I expected to dislike this, but it made me think more about electronic music and overall it could have been worse.

Vocals on point. Lyrics not. Production not. Felt abrasive at times; probably shouldn’t have listened to this one on headphones. I liked ‘Escapade’, but not the heavy stuff.

Turgid and macho, and they're dressed like doofuses, so it's probably a joke. It’s 2025 though and the joke hits different now. If ever there was a time for Laibach to take the masks off… Those are masks, right? Really weird album, but too tired to think on it much more. Yeah, I know that I gave a five to an actual Nazi (Kanye).

This one feels long and not always memorable. Probably a step ahead in terms of composition and arrangement. But I prefer the dumb samples of ‘Licensed To Ill’ even though that’s probably the worse album. Fav tracks here were the first one and ‘Sabotage’. Wanted to give this 4 stars after watching the music video for Sabotage but I understand that’s not how this works.

Earnest and sincere. Precocious in a middle class sorta way. I think I’m too edgy and jaded and insecure for this. Or to put it another way, the last song (Silent Night) made me laugh, but not as much as ‘Eve of Destruction’.

This was dumb.

Really liked the lyrics and haunting arrangements in ‘Village Ghetto Land’ and ‘Pastime Paradise’. Album as a whole is very long, but clearly a work of love and genius.

Very British, often rough, sometimes pleasant and bouncy. Feels like it's here on this list because of who he is, and the story of his mental issues. But taken on its own, it’s got a charm to it. I’d listen again.

Pleasant. Oddly familiar. Comfy.

Maybe it's enough to say it's very idiosyncratic, and he's a very strange dude, and somehow because of that it all fits together so well.

Liked this more than I anticipated. Lively yet measured, good vibes. Didn’t feel like the sound bites and speech clips add much; it works best when there’s instrumental solos or conventional singing built over the repetitive parts. Fav tracks: ‘La Del Ruso’ and ‘Vuelvo Al Sur’.

Such a good 80s album. Such a good 90s album. I have roughly 800 albums left on this list and it's a shame none of them are going to be Violator by Depeche Mode.

This feels incredibly modern for 1973! A good soundtrack for work this morning. It wanders at times, but the beats feel more solid and substantive than your average 70s rock band.

Man he’s such an asshole but I really relate to how much he hates people. It's a troubling and intense ride. I can't really rate it higher but I do think it's an important and exemplary piece of art.

Oh yeah, Coldplay used to not suck! This is honestly just some nice pop music that doesn't try too hard. Still enormously influential. I couldn't ever see myself giving it a 1 or a 5, but rounding up for nostalgia.

Look, at this point he’s so crazy, so completely detached from reality, that it was honestly pretty easy for me to separate him from this absolute beast of an album.

Well, I like music that sounds like this, and this is a pretty generic half hour of it! The instruments sound better than I would have thought.

Might be a 3 on another day but it hit today. Pretty intense stuff. Not for everyday consumption.

"I'm so much older than I can take." This came out when I was a senior in high school. I’m learning that I have a strong inclination towards nostalgia. I don’t think I would have regarded it so highly even then, but grandiose sentimentality ages well.

This is a perfect album. 'Harvest' is one of the most beautiful songs ever.

Happy sounding music. The lyrics are dumb and a lot of the songs sound the same, but there are some pleasant musical flourishes. The two songs that were apparently released as singles were decent.

It’s like these guys wanted to make every style of music before the 90s bands could get to it. Still feels like a tight, efficient album. Rounding up my rating because this does something difficult and it does it well.

Kinda funny, we just Harvest (1972) three days ago, and so I'd been looking forward to this one. After The Gold Rush feels like a more easy, solid listen throughout, even though I don't think any individual songs are as compelling as 'Harvest' or 'Heart of Gold'. The social commentary songs on here are a bit more idiosyncratic, while the relationship songs are more straightforward…the reverse is probably true on Harvest.

Got this over the weekend, grew on me with a second listen. I don’t think I like ‘Fast Car’, especially with the new life it’s taken on today. But I liked her voice and the calm atmosphere. Particularly on the first track and the last three.

Many years ago I was at a Cubs game and there were four or five hipsters sitting in the row of seats behind me. Before the game started I was eavesdropping on their conversation; they were complaining about a friend of theirs who was not present. I guess this friend would sing 'Girlfriend in a Coma' at karaoke on a weekly basis, and only ever that song, and it seemed like they were getting fed up. I think about this occasionally; I wonder if all those folks still hang out! Anyways. Before this I've only ever listened to Smiths singles/compilations, but this album is really good.

"Ah, why should wrath be mute and fury dumb?" Critics have accused them of macho posturing, but it's like yeah that's kind of the point. This is an angry album, and a funny album; there are plenty of individual lines and fragments that can make me laugh out loud just because of how they're delivered. ICE: Let's run a train. EASY: Man, I wouldn't touch that bitch. ICE: ME NEITHER. And if you're saying hey, anger and humor are defense mechanisms, yes you are correct. This album is self-aware and self-effacing. They switch between verse and prose like characters in Shakespeare. The rappers constantly address the producers, the act of recording, the fact that this is at its core a construct. (See: Dre on the ironic and metafictional ‘Express Yourself’.) It’s a loud, dumb violent album, but it’s an act, a set of charismatic characters in a shared universe, *but* the act came from a place of genuine frustration and alienation. It's good stuff.

Never heard of him. A bit videogamey. Tracks 6, 10, 11 were ok.

There's a lot of music from 2009 that sounds like this, and if I'd heard it at the time I might've been really into it.

Solid country album. Nice use of older musical elements within.

More than just the big hits! Really liked ‘Today’! Edit: went back the next day and upgraded this to 5 stars. Didn't feel like there were any particular weak spots in this album. (As a caveat, I didn't listen to the six bonus tracks in the reissue.)

Reminds me of Jens Lekman and also Alan Partridge. I mostly know this guy as the writer of 'My Lovely Horse' so it was nice to hear him return to the equine motif. I like that he's the dude who writes horse songs. Someone’s gotta do it. It’s the sort of album I'd grab a song from if I was making a mix CD for my wife and needed some levity amidst the more severe stuff. It’s cute in its absurdity, love songs that would only be sung as a little inside joke.

Grating experience, not just because it’s long. It’s seriously really uneven and some songs are good but some are straight up dogshit, it doesn’t matter how good a singer she is. The slow songs are generally stronger. ‘I’ve Got A Crush On You’ is one of my fav Gershwin compositions. I stopped listening early, and I’m going to stop complaining even though I have more to say, because unlike this album I value your time.

Well, that was a fun one. Both rhythmic and bluesy.

Probably their strongest album, also one of the first CDs I ever bought. Meg White is the best and I love her. Jack White is also the best.

Fun, my favorite track was ‘Get Over You’.

Liked 'Zebra' and 'Walk In The Park' and '10 Mile Stereo'. Glad I finally listened to this one. I had a tough day but it was pretty soothing.

Sorry, but I hated this.

This isn’t a style of music I usually seek out, but the singing is lively and fun.

I liked the first side more, particularly ‘Mother’ and ‘Synchronicity II’. Side 2 felt like a warning about where Sting's solo career would lead. Also something about the production and vocals here that I didn't care for. I don't think I'd listen to the full album again. Really disliked 'Tea in the Sahara'.

Good samples, good production, I like the parts where you can tell Kanye is behind the wheel. 'Izzo' is iconic. Lyrically the album is pretty self-aggrandizing. But hey, it was 2001. Overall I’ve enjoyed the rap on the 1001 list more than I would’ve thought.

Idk much about jazz so in my mind this basically sounds like an album of really long 70s tv show themes. Will I finish this? Sure. Would I make this again? Probably not. Alright, see you tomorrow.

Had a lousy start to the day, so it was nice getting something good and moody and evocative. I love his lyrics/vocals on this, and I wish the instrumentals took up less of the run time. It is pretty good ambient music even though that's not my thing. Hard to rate, ultimately a strong four point something. This is a good era but it's sandwiched between Station To Station Bowie and Let's Dance Bowie, which are my two favorite Bowies.

It’s heartwarming to hear them play classics like ‘I’m a Boy’ or ‘Magic Bus’ but idk what’s added by this being a live album. Also in between songs I couldn’t hear them or the crowd. So I listened again on headphones and found out it’s just like generic uncharismatic muttering. I like the Who but this doesn’t have the overt human presence that I want from a live recording.

This is a genre I quite like overall. I thought the first and last tracks were strongest.

Professional and poppy, but still a nice garage rock tone to it. This is certainly The Sort Of Music I Like! Especially the faster songs and the ones with an organ. Nothing groundbreaking, I've heard a lot of music like this before, but it's fun and pleasant.

The cover of 'Viva Las Vegas' at the end is brilliant. They really didn't change much and they didn’t need to, turns out it's just a nightmarish song. This whole album rocks, it was a good choice for a day where the government is shut down and they’re literally tearing down the White House.

Blues metal, huh? Decent but kinda samey. It makes sense to include this for its historical value. Their cover of Parchman Farm is spooky and ominous.

Great album, forgot how wonderful the first song is. Some of the other tracks drag, especially the last one, but this is a strong 4 or weak 5. My parents didn’t have this on CD (at least as I recall) so this one has always been less familiar to me.

Highlights: Mars, Kooks, Chamges, Pretty Things, Queen Bitch. Just too many strong songs not to be a 5. I like this folky singer/songwriter era Bowie!

This wasn’t as bad as I feared. It definitely sounds of its era, and the lead singer has that bored rockstar drawl. There’s a lot of alt rock that sounds like a lame version of this (e.g. Black Keys, Cage The Elephant) and people love that stuff. At least this goes hard.

The first four songs are impeccable and use cool words like ‘astral’ and ‘arcane’. I liked all the other songs too and I feel like they were pretty distinct. This is a high 4.5ish album that I look forward to hearing again soon. Also I like really shrill organ music, ymmv.

I was unfamiliar with this album going in! I liked Grass, 1000 Umbrellas, Sacrificial Bonfire, Dear God. Again, this is one where I know what I like and I find myself getting more with each listen. High 4 low 5.

Good tense Saturday evening album. Good gloomy Sunday morning album. The band sounds so tight on this one. ‘Bigmouth’ is my favorite Smiths song and one of my favorite songs ever. (I love Morrissey's self-aware juxtaposition of his own sturm und drang with Joan of Arc's.)

A classic. Reminds me of freshman year of college. Kind of forgot about a couple of the songs but it’s got some bangers. I think Suburbs is probably a more cohesive album lyrically? ‘Neighborhood #2’ always kinda makes me laugh for some reason, like who the hell is Alexander.

This is a good sound. It feels like a perfect album, maybe not perfect for me, but just a perfect MOOD, you know? This is one I've listened to several times when I'm not sure what to put on, and it's always enjoyable. The first track and 'Wandering Star' are the standouts to me.

Oh man so this was one of the first CDs I ever bought; my parents’ collection didn’t have it. It isn’t my favorite Talking Heads album but it’s one I’ve listened to a lot. I think the first half is distinctly weaker, but everything between “No Compassion” and “Psycho Killer” is 5/5. “No Compassion” is a particular favorite. Talking Heads in punk band mode, a really incisive song about performative outrage and self-pity. The list seems to have a bias towards debut albums, and it’s weird to me they didn’t include Little Creatures or Speaking In Tongues. Ah well, this is still great. And it’s a really cool look at their early sound.

Dang, this band is so good. I wish their name wasn’t so dumb. Some of the songs on here are pretty long, but I liked this as an album, and ‘Heartland’ in particular.

Very good at making very dumb music. I wouldn’t have led with the title track—everything afterwards pales in comparison. "If You Want Blood (You Got It)" was the only other one that really stood out. But it’s decent hard rock and it doesn’t drag too long.

Pleasant, well-made music, it feels a bit distant, not really rooted to a particular time or person. Disliked the faux-country of ‘Lonestar’. Liked the use of the phrase ‘bag of bones’ in ‘Don’t Know Why’.

‘Jet’ always makes me think of Alan Partridge jumping on a bed and injuring himself. ‘Mrs. Vanderbilt’ was good.

Childish writing, bad metaphors, and an irritatingly smug delivery. Or maybe I’m just reading into the music with her backstory in mind because she’s made a career out of insisting that we do so. She usually has a couple of catchy tunes on each album. I liked 'Long Story Short'. Compared to other Tay-Tay albums, this is probably somewhere in the middle. Even at its worst, this isn’t as bad as Reputation or Showgirl. However, she's an idiot and I can't stand her. Probably two stars but rounding down to one.

Wow. Really only knew of him as a tragic figure, didn't expect this to be so catchy. The songs are lively and bouncy, but still a haunting quality to them.

Listened to the UK version again and it’s still solid, but would likely be a 4. However, I grew up with the 1979 US edition, and that’s the record I own, and that’s what I’m rating. 5 out of 5, the Only Band That Matters.

I remembers how cool this was when it came out! It’s (in my opinion) her best, a pop album that really showed us what pop music could potentially be. It was such a breath of fresh air in 2011. The hits are good, of course, but the rest is solid too.

It sounds like a Wu-Tang album, it’s got those eerie beats and grim raps. A bit long.

Sides two and three were the best. There is some good stuff on here but there's also a lot of filler. Torn between 3 and 4. Probably a 3 because I’m not gonna listen to it again anytime soon in order to decide.

I’ve never enjoyed Rod’s voice or his lyrics, so this is just kinda like my marmite or kryptonite or whatever. Also I have a sister named Maggie and I really don’t like the song Maggie May because I’d really rather not think about Rod Stewart boning some old lady named Maggie. It manages to feel both skeevy and schmaltzy. It reminds me at times of Van Morrison, but I just prefer Van's style and delivery. The band does sound quite good here. There's some nice bits of traditional folk music, and some good guitar and mandolin playing.

The first/last song is great; 'Thrasher' and 'Sedan Delivery' are strong too. The middle sounds very Neil-Young-y. Like, almost a parody. There are other Neil albums I would have put on the 1001 list instead of this one, but man that last track is just a cold, haunting, brutal masterpiece. He also made another version of ‘Hey Hey, My My’ together with Devo; gotta say I enjoyed that too.

Musically this sounds like it came out today. Lyrically, well, it captures the endless frustration of being alive today. Favorite songs: Passing Complexion, Strange Thing, Kerosene.

“Oops! All Congas!”

This is really good. I like everything he does.

I was snowed in with this album on a long Thanksgiving weekend. Hard to dislike this one, although it feels a bit samey after a while. Kinda silly too, but fun.

Oh yeah, that song! I liked the first track and ‘Down’ the most. Honestly not a big fan of ‘Without You’ or ‘Coconut’ but it’s interesting having them back to back in the album. He’s a weird guy! Not sure what to make of him but I think he has a knack for a pop song.

Paul Simon’s music (especially at this stage) feels very thoughtful and patient, sophisticated but down to earth. It reminds me of when I had faith in the world, and of the sensible, middle aged, middle class adults I looked up to. I like all of the album, but the highlight is Rene and Georgette Magritte, probably my favorite song of his. I like art that speaks to the importance of art, but this one is also very sensitive and humanizing.

"I'll hurt you til you need me." Basically, the entire album is about how you never get to the border.

I like 80s alternative music, this is good 80s alternative music, and it sounds messy but charming. High three point something!

He doesn't do 'Tutti Frutti' as well as Little Richard, but this is still a cute little collection of songs. There were some ('Just Because', 'Trying To Get To You') that I hadn't heard before but liked. I think I have a soft spot for Elvis because he's a bit cheesy and corny. But he's still a pretty cool guy.

Definitely still an REM album, but this one has a more bleak, post-punk sort of sound. I like it! Favorite tracks were Pilgrimage, Catapult, and the last three. This has always felt like an album that gets stronger as it goes on.

I don’t know much about Common, but this sounds dated today and I think it would have sounded dated back in 2000. Groovy but I never really grooved with it.

This album had some really good songs and some long unnecessary ones. Favorites were 'Winter Song' and 'I'll Keep It With Mine'. Didn't care for the title track or the closer as much. I think I'd have to be in a specific mood to listen to the whole thing again, but this was a good album for a snowy day at the office, and I'm glad it was on the list.

A strong album from a band with a distinctive sound. 'Down In The Tube Station At Midnight' works really well as the closer, it’s an intense track that gets me kinda choked up inside.

I hadn’t listened to the whole thing before; I was worried that it would be a lot of unremarkable rap music, outside of the singles I already knew. But this was a really weird interesting listen throughout. Very long, but I think it had enough ideas to actually warrant being this long.

Formulaic British blues rock, but better than Clapton, since at least Knopfler sounds cool and nonchalant instead of whiny. I think 'Sultans of Swing' is a nice little self-aware admission that these guys are basically just a bar band. There are better Dire Straits albums, but here we are because the 1001 list tends to prefer debut albums. Probably a 2.5.

He has a strange delivery for such a pleasant voice; the lyrics are out there too. Maybe it reminds me a bit of Leonard Cohen? Very wistful. Favorite tracks were ‘Eid Ma Clack Shaw’ and ‘Too Many Birds’.

This is one of my go-to albums when I'm feeling down. It's not a particularly happy or calming record, but it captures a feeling of yearning so acutely. Desperation, exhaustion, aimlessness, maybe a bit of optimism. All coated in goofy bravado. It's like they had that painful ache of youth along with the foreknowledge that it never really goes away in adulthood. A work that makes my own alienation feel less debilitating. It's the sort of album where a cover of 'Mrs. Robinson' makes sense as the closer. Favorite tracks: Rudderless, Bit Part, idk all of it really.

Still solid, I think I prefer Funeral or Suburbs but I like this a lot. Favorite tracks: Intervention, Windowsill.

I have never heard of him but I liked this! However, the standout track was ‘Cry To Me’ and I do wish the rest of the songs had that same raw, messy quality.

'Dreams' is pretty mid. The best compositions are the Buckingham ones. Hillary should have used ‘Second Hand News’ as her campaign song.

No complaints! Good stuff! A four-issey for the Morrissey.

Not every song is super memorable, but they’re all pleasant. Put me in mind of my parents. 3.5ish but rounding up because it’s Christmas.

Good, but boy is it sad.

Pretty good stuff! Don’t read his Wikipedia page!

I rated this a three without realizing the last song would drag on for sixteen fucking minutes.

Forgot how much I like the Doors. ‘Love Her Madly’ is a great tune. The rest is solid.

Pretty fun stuff! I have a soft spot for organ music. I used to have a Hammond organ. The album was short and smooth and he seems like a cool dude. This made me feel cool by association.

Definitely 1980s, and sounds the same after a while, but it's a good sound. Favorite track: Rock Box

Oh oh no that was really bad wow. The Rough And The Quick was just so dumb.

Great stuff. Really liked the first song. There’s a simplicity to New Order’s lyrics that sits really well with me.

Good album by a good band. Maybe not as good as Elephant, but I'm grateful that 'Fell In Love With A Girl' was such a perfect song because that's how I found this band.

Kate Bush.

Good album! I remember excitedly buying the CD when it came out; packed with fun and catchy songs. Better than classic hard rock and hair metal because it doesn’t take itself too seriously.

I don't know how to feel about this one. When I was a kid my dad and my sister would play this one a lot, and I didn't like her voice, so it's not something I've listened to in a while. Today, I'm still finding that grating quality on songs like 'Mercedes Benz'. She's a really tragic fucked up depressing figure and frankly it frightens me. This album also reminds me of my own futility and mortality so it sort of bums me out. 3 stars I guess? Not sure what else to say. 'Cry Baby' was used in a Dior commercial a few years back. Again I just feel really really bad for her.

This is the best Cars album; it feels like every song on here is a hit. ‘Just What I Needed’ is a tight, sweet, very human love song. 'All Mixed Up' is a great closer. The album as a whole is witty and inventive, but accessible. I've met all sorts of people who love the Cars, and I'm happy this one is in my collection. Absolutely 5 stars.

This is the perfect rock album, the definition of a rock album. It’s also a personal favorite. Never gets old.

Not unlike soft rock or easy listening. Some good stuff, some snoozy stuff. Fun listen, even if it doesn't have a standout track like 'Sir Duke' on it.

I like 90s alt music. Listened to this twice, liked it even more the second time.

I first listened to this right after he died, when everyone said this was the best live album ever. It's not, but it's okay; the production is pretty good for a live album of the time. But the songs are mostly the same and his singing is loud, but not particularly emotive. I suspect a lot of the album's reputation is due to his own personal troubles, and to the recording/production quality. This isn’t the wildest concert out there, just one of the wildest caught on record by a white guy in the early 60s. This was maybe going to be a 3 but I listened to Little Richard afterwards and like... Little Richard is just so much better. Hell, Ike Turner and Chuck Berry are less malevolent than Jerry Lee Lewis, more interesting, and not on this list.

Kinda surprised that I don’t like this more since I’m such a Dylan fan? At least ‘The Weight’ is on here. Let’s just say it does a lot of heavy lifting on this album. The other tracks are meandering and don’t really stick with me.

Hey, it’s got acoustic and electric Dylan, it’s a good album. Love the way he sings live. Chaotic and spontaneous.

The first couple songs are like Blood Sweat and Tears or something. The title track is good; I think I like the monumental excess of it? And it’s a really good riff. Not necessarily a great album, but one with some good elements!

Didn’t like when he sang about his parents, didn’t like when he sang about himself or Yoko. But “I seen religion from Jesus to Paul” is a pretty good line. And “Working Class Hero” gets me. It’s a simple concept done well, the sort where once you hear it you wonder how it wasn’t done before. He’s probably at his weakest when he’s trying to have normal people feelings, and at his best when he’s feeling bitter about society. Which, for a poor kid with a rough childhood who suddenly became one of the most famous people in the world, makes sense. Like, he sounds whiny and juvenile in parts, but he was only 30 when he made this.

Perfect album! One of my all time favorites.

Good stuff. Lots of emotion, at times feels loose rough around the edges. I prefer stuff like this to the more polished soul. Favorite track: "It Ain't No Fun To Me"

This isn't really pop music, it's more like r&b with some hip-hop influences. Unfortunately, that's the sort of music I don't like. She's a talented vocalist as well, but her singing also doesn't do much for me. And I'm not enthusiastic about her brand of feminism. And the album cover is ick. And the song ‘Beautiful’ feels like an ugly lie in an ugly world. Favorite part: I guess Redman's appearance on "Dirrty" [sic] is decent.

Excellent album, a good picture of how goth evolved from punk. This still sounds a lot like their contemporaries, and I do prefer their later work. This is probably 4.5 stars by itself, or 5 stars if the bonus tracks 'Hong Kong Garden' and 'The Stairway' are included. Oh, let's say 5 stars, she has one of my favorite voices in rock music.

This was so dumb that I was convinced I must be listening to the wrong album. Unsure why it was made.

I was not familiar with the pre-Bruce Iron Maiden. Paul’s singing isn’t quite the same, but it’s good; this still sounds like Iron Maiden. Not normally into metal but I like these guys. Smart, tight, energetic music.

What a debut! This sounds very raw, and I like how it pairs with his style. He sounds really earnest and energized here, also capable of some real bitterness.

Didn’t really catch the story but the music was good. Interesting psychedelic rock with some nice hard rocking parts.

Wow! I was unfamiliar with Love, but I immediately liked the first two songs. Some of it is a bit too hippie-ish, but most of the songs kept me interested.

Not my favorite Joanna Newsom album, but an important, ambitious one. There’s a lot to listen to, a lot going on, but it’s also a really long lovely album. It’s dreamlike, something that you can get lost in easily.

Not big into jazz, I don’t think I have the ear for truly understanding why this is particularly great or unique jazz. However I did very much enjoy listening to it.

The song 'Thriller' is pretty dumb and long and overplayed but I've mostly learned to coexist with it. The McCartney duet is a poor choice. This isn’t a great album, but ‘Human Nature’ is just kind of a personal favorite. So I guess a three even though he gives me the creeps.

I think I actually preferred the last Moz album we got (You Are The Quarry) because it had some harder rocking songs, but this is a fine album. Fav track: Hold On to Your Friends

Lol I was gonna give this a two but the I listened again. A lot of people say this sounds like a worse version of George Michael, but I think it sounds like a worse version of the Communards! I’m not opposed to this style of music but there’s nothing exciting about this album. Also most of the band’s Wikipedia page is about how the dude’s a sellout.

Mediocre soft rock.

Yeah it’s good stuff.

To me, 'Rubber Soul' stands out because of its lyrics. It's a particularly strong album for John. 'Norwegian Wood' and 'In My Life' are really thoughtful and mature songs. 'Nowhere Man' was one of my favorite Beatles songs as a kid; it's a really accessible way of showing how pop music can communicate alienation and despair. And 'Girl' is a fascinating song, really bitter. I've always interpreted it as a bit of class consciousness. Probably one of Lennon's strong suits. As for McCartney's songs... well, they’re all solid. I like 'Michelle' for personal reasons, and it's musically interesting. Good to see George making his presence known, too.

A band and a singer with a distinct sound. For an artsy new wave band, they go quite hard. Accessible, but still post-punk. Favorite tracks are 'Dumb Waiter' and ‘Into You Like A Train’ and 'Pretty in Pink'. ‘Pretty in Pink’ reminds me of ‘Sweet Jane’ by the Velvet Undergroud. I really like the guitar riff and the little keyboard flourish after. The horns, the drums, I love this whole album.

I’ve never heard of the band, but that was some decent early 2000s indie rock!

Difficult to rate, as it's a very long album and I rarely listen all the way through in one sitting. However, I really love the five singles from this album, and their respective music videos, and the EPs that accompanied each single. There are also some other tracks (Love, We Only Come Out At Night) that I really like from each CD. My parents had this CD, I think it was one of the last pieces of then-new music they purchased. There is an enormous amount of nostalgia tied up in this one.

Some decent songs, ‘Tangerine’ is pretty and ‘Immigrant Song’ goes hard. Pretty cool stuff, especially for 1970.

'So easy, a caveman could do it.' 'So Easy' is my favorite track on here. My friends and I used to listen to it and quote the dialogue at the end to each other. 'Four hundred? I'm coming over.' It runs nicely into ‘Eple’ which is another good track.

Is this the greatest Beatles album? Is this the best album ever? They're my favorite band; I'm biased. But Siouxsie and the Banshees covered a John song and a Paul song from this album. I think that says something! The first disc is a really good pop album, they could have left at that but the second disc is all over the place. ‘Helped Skelter is so punk/metal. ‘Revolution 9’ is really cool in the context of the album; I don’t often listen to it by itself, but I can’t listen to the White Album without ‘Revolution 9’ and I really enjoy it when I do. It has to be in there. And ‘Cry Baby Cry’ is one of my favorite ever Beatles songs, and the way the last three songs run together... The Beatles are the Beatles because of this album.

Still sounds like Bowie, but with modern instrumentation and production, nice. Even if he was still working on other projects, he was definitely considering his mortality, and it comes through nicely.

Listened to this while putting away laundry with my wife, on a warm spring evening with the windows open. It was really nice. Then started crying because someday we’ll both be dead and this memory won’t exist anymore. Everything sucks now, including Coldplay, but this was a really lovely album.

Smooth listening, good voice, nicely produced, but musically it feels like a rehash of some of his previous work. Several songs are basically 'Let's Get It On'. I did think 'Anger' and the future/space one pretty good.

FIDDY. Did it age well? It’s definitely from 2003. But it's fun listening to that sound again, especially with the dismal state of modern pop-rap. Might enjoy it now more than I did in school; it’s dumb, but at least it’s no longer ubiquitous?

The worst part isn't the dumb singing on "Blank Space", nor the artless rhymes of "Bad Blood", nor the lyrics of "Shake it Off", where Taylor claims that she's unfazed when you're annoyed by her annoying behavior. No, the worst part is that she considers this fun, maybe even cute. She's repackaging her immaturity as pop anthems. There are some okay album tracks hidden in here. But the hits, the stuff you hear on the radio, are terrible. This is Millennial brainrot. This is a boot sashaying on a human face forever.

𝒮𝓉𝓊𝓅𝒾𝒹 𝒸𝓇𝒶𝓅

I thought it was pretty cool! Never heard of these guys but I enjoyed the blending of industrial with more traditional music. Parts that sound like Ministry, parts that sound like old French music. If there's a downside, it's that his voice is a bit over the top, and that I can't pinpoint to a specific standout song.

Good beats, good production. Don't really care for the annoying-ass singing on 'Ready or Not', but this version of 'No Woman No Cry' is a guilty pleasure. 'Zealots' is good too.

The album cover had some red flags, but I enjoyed this more than I would have thought. The acoustic pieces were my favorite, the title track not so much. Favorites: 'I Deserve It', 'Don't Tell Me'

A slow start, backloaded with bangers. It seems that 'Suspicious Minds' and 'Kentucky Rain' weren't on the original release. If they're included, then it's four stars. I like this era of Elvis a lot. Emotive, gilded, self-destructive. Yeah, four stars.

Perfect; thrilling, every song captivates. It was a breath of fresh air back in 2004 and it’s a breath of fresh air now. Have you ever heard a band that just sounds so COOL?

Weird album. If there was a political message in here I didn't get it. But I liked the singing on here, and the old timey musical bits.

I hate stuff that sounds like this. Fuck your limp dick, meandering, self-absorbed music. Fuck your fucking Urban Hang Suite. Just shut up shut up shut the fuck up stop singing.

Dave Mustaine is a dick, and these songs are pretty repetitive and unmelodic. And their skeleton dude is a cheap Iron Maiden ripoff. And all the YouTube comments are full of losers bragging about how they mastered these songs on guitar. 2.5 stars, rounded down, but it’s not like these guys are worse than Metallica or any other butt-metal band.

That first song was weird! Overall more varied than I expected. But it still had all the hits. Fernando is one of my favorite ABBA songs.

Oh, this is incredibly ahead of its time for the early 90s! Green Calx and Ptolemy were my favorites, I think? Not normally a fan of the genre, but this was well-made and influential, and an enjoyable listen too.

Tedious, sophomoric, don’t hate it but there were bands that did this thing better.

Good if dated old school rap. High 3 maybe 4. The Busta feature at the end is fantastic.

The title track is fun, engaging, and doesn’t overstay its welcome! The pacing wouldn’t feel right if it took up the entire record. They’re thechnically skilled, but it doesn’t fee aloof or pretentious to me. It just rocks. Even if the band and I might have somewhat different politics, this is an anti-conformist, anti-totalitarian album. My godfather got me the CD for my 21st birthday. When he passed away, I inherited another copy along with his record collection. I’m thankful for it, protective of it.

Not my favorite of theirs, but quite good.

After a really rough week, I needed something gentle and whimsical. This is the sort of album that takes you away from your life for a few minutes. Lovely arrangements, subdued vocals, like the soundtrack to some old technicolor movie.