I give the group credit for charting their own musical path. However, most of the album is trash; many of these entries are just a collection of noises. The singer is difficult to understand. Reminds me of the Talking Heads, but much worse. They should have released a single with Dub Housing/Dance party, and scrapped the rest.

This seems like a pretty recent addition to the list of albums (2007). I’ve heard of this group but have been unfamiliar with their music until now. The album title and the organ throughout give it a religious feel. I like a few of these tracks but not quite enough for me to give it 4 stars.

Another one of those British groups I never heard of. The Indian influence is readily apparent on this album. There were a few good songs here, many average songs, and a few that were garbage. Overall it was better than I expected. Three stars.

I listened to the standard edition of this album. At times it was too repetitive, but overall it was ok. Clint Eastwood was a big radio hit.

At the height of disco, this album was released. I detect a bit of disco here, but overall excellent funk music.

A double album, with a diversre set of songs. Excellent.

Several tunes that are often heard on oldies radio. Overall a good album.

British group doing electronic music. Enjoyed tow truck and bubble part 2. Many of these ran too long.

An album I never knew existed, and with no songs I ever heard before, despite the fact that Hendrix was/is quite popular.

Sounds like all the other jazz combos that I’ve heard.

This is a nice album with many songs that had heavy radio play at the time. However, to me it doesn’t stand out from hundreds of others.

This was one of my favorite bands from the 1970s-80s. I heard once that they never used more than three chords in any of their songs. One negative - I thought the end was a bit slow. Heavy on electronica.

A pleasant listening experience. Two songs were radio hits at the time. This slightly exceeded my expectations, but not enough to rate it as 4.

This is an album I never heard, I suppose because it never was commercially successful. Sounds like classic John Lennon with a very basic sound.

Another British group I never heard of, although apparently they were quite influential. Their sound is typical 1980s. If the ratings allowed I’d give them a 3.5, a bit above average.

Mostly recorded at her home, for me this was very creative and well done.

I listen to albums for the music, so rap is not my bag, baby. Most of the album is people talking or reciting poetry. The lyrics may reflect the artist’s background, and there’s a lot of violence. What music there is is very basic and repetitive.

The version I listened to had three live bonus songs at the end. These were nice but I preferred the sound quality of the ten studio recorded songs. Classic rock from the 70s.

Somehow I missed how the sideshow dummies learned how to walk and dance. Other than Franz Schubert, the rest of the album seemed one dimensional to me, with lots of train-like sounds.

Very good album. The East St. Louis Toodle-oo is a cover of a Duke Ellington tune.

The farther into the album I listened, the more I enjoyed this one.

Only seven songs on this album, overall sounds good. I might be tempted to give it 3.5 stars if that were allowed.

Very popular album when it was released. I enjoyed it.

Wilco is a band I haven’t heard about for many years, and I never listened to any of their albums. This one is a double album, a collection of blues, country, rock, ballads, and hard rock. Overall it was good. It did seem to drag slightly in the middle.

The parental advisory on this album certainly is well-deserved. This may be a very good rap/hip hop album, except rap is not my style. It’s pretty easy to listen to. I would give it a 5 out of 10, but for the constraints of the rating system.

Outstanding album, with many different styles and complex harmonies. Had this on an eight-track tape back in the 70’s until it was stolen out of my car in 1978. Haven’t listened to the whole album since.

A couple songs I enjoyed, the rest were pleasant but not memorable.

Five of the seven songs on this album were popular radio hits when it was released, although I never heard the album iin its entirety. Overall very good in my opinion, but not quite five stars.

A mix of blues, jazz, soul, and folk songs in my opinion. Well done and easy listening

This album has a few popular (on the radio) songs, and overall I’d rate it three stars. I am unfamiliar with Bob B Soxx. Seems like he was thrown in there just for variety.

Old Leonard doesn’t sing as well as younger Leonard, but it’s the same style and good poetry. I enjoyed the songs with backing vocalists more. A solid three out of five stars.

We heard another Wilco album last week, so this one was more of the same but not as interesting to me. The first half of the album seemed slow and boring. The second half was better in my opinion.

The garage band from New York exceeded my low expectations. Some catchy tunes, and overall their album gets three stars.

Seems pleasant enough I suppose. Nothing memorable for me though. Based on the the internet I expected a hard rock band.

The album cover is Halloween-y looking. Sounds like a solid southern rock band. i thought disc one was better than disc two. They seem obsessed with Alabama even though they are from Georgia.

Generally acoustic music on this album. Several big hits and some that I never heard. Hearing the 7 pm news makes me think not much has changed in sixty years. A very good album.

It’s hard to believe this album is 30 years old. Hearing the entire album for the first time, I appreciate it more than when it was released. Unusual for an album to have so many hit singles. I would rate it 9/10.

Negatives: too much record scratching, lack of music (just two guys talking to a beat). Positives: lots of energy, reasonably creative lyrics for hip hop. I give it three stars since it was an influential album.

I would categorize this as folk music with complex lyrics. Enjoyable to hear what Leonard has to say in each of his compositions.

I give the group credit for charting their own musical path. However, most of the album is trash; many of these entries are just a collection of noises. The singer is difficult to understand. Reminds me of the Talking Heads, but much worse. They should have released a single with Dub Housing/Dance party, and scrapped the rest.

I listened to the 2009 version, which is a double album with 24 songs. These all are covers of country-western songs done in mellow Ray Charles style. I was too young to know the significance of this record, but apparently it was influential for black artists then.

Some early Beatles, pre-Capitol Records era. Lots of covers here with a few originals. Hard to believe after all this time there was one song I never heard before (Hold me Tight). This album seems very standard now, but in 1963-1964 this music was all the rage.

If not for “Fast Car”, which was played on radio, I probably never would have known about Tracy Chapman. Anyhow, this is a good album for a debut. I give it three stars.

I listened to the original album, not the 25th anniversary with extra tracks. The lead poet kept the beat well and was reasonably easy to understand. The short clips of older songs made me wonder: should the tribe get credit for being creative or lose credit for not being able to come up with their own music. For a hip hop album it was ok - 3 stars.

Spiritualized - that’s a good name for a group. Space rock - that’s an interesting genre. This British group is another one I never heard of. My feedback: eliminate all the songs with random noise, and cut the length of some songs (too repetitive). There are a few good ones, however not enough for me. Two stars.

Another British artist with whom I am unfamiliar. She has a good voice but after about eight songs I began to find it slightly annoying. Overall it was not memorable, although there were a few good tunes. If the ratings were 0-10 this album would get 5. I’ll round up to 3/5.

This album was an interesting blend of jazz, folk, and nightclub music from another British guy I never heard of. Very easy listening but nothing too memorable. Seems like the kind of music you could play in the background.

I listened to the original release (four tracks), not the re-release. Jimmy was master of the Hammond organ and he influenced many later artists. The sax player is also very good here. Maybe I’ve heard too many jazz combos, as there was nothing memorable for me.

Kate Bush was the musical guest on SNL in 1978, and I remember that she was not memorable. She always has been popular in the UK and Australia but never was a big hit here. Most of the songs on this album feature her teenage girl voice, although she was more rock and roll on “Rocket Tail”. Her message on “Deeper Understanding” certainly is relatable, and back then it was just tv and computers.

The Police was one of those groups who gained greater success when MTV started. This album had two tunes played a lot on radio, and the rest of the album (which I haven’t heard till now) seems very representative of their music.

Here’s another UK group I never heard of. This album was a pleasant surprise for me. The lyrics are pretty basic, but I thought the variety of music was good. Under the Boardwalk is a cover of the Drifters song.

At least one of the tracks on this album was a radio hit when it was released, and maybe more. I viewed Oasis as a good band which made a big splash because of their lifestyle and clever marketing. Overall a good album but nothing that stands out to me. Three stars.

This guy is from Long Beach, which seems unusual for an R&B artist. I never heard of him, which isn’t surprising since I don’t know many 21st century artists. Anyway, this album is pretty easy listening. Nothing remarkable but decent.

This album was too long and should have been split into two albums of standard length. There was too much repetition here, e.g. all those Fug-ee La mixes. My usual comment with rap music applies here - too much talking. I liked that the group incorporated clips of older music throughout.

This artist was with the Byrds, and I can hear their music in this album. I listened to the original album release, not the later release with bonus tracks. Overall very smooth and easy listening, my only criticism is with the frequent annoying bean bag percussion throughout.

This is another group from the UK. Most groups have a specific genre, but these guys seem to be electronica, rock, and very etherial. Sometimes they remind me of Pink Floyd, sometimes Depeche Mode. I applaud them for their diverse music, although nothing stood out to me as outstanding.

This is my first time hearing the entire album, although many of these songs were/are popular. Many critics feel this is the best Beatles album, and even the best album ever. Apparently many innovative audio techniques were employed here. For me this was very good but not quite five stars.

It’s nice to see that Rush was included on this list, although there are better Rush albums than this one. Perhaps they will appear later. Not that this was horrible, I thought it was standard Rush.

For those who like Adele I can see why they think this is a great album. I’m not one of those; for some reason I never liked Adele. Of the songs on this album, the ones that were radio hits are not as good as some of the others in my opinion. Anyway, it was ok. Three stars.

This is a double album. I listened to the original release, not the later releases with extra tracks. Certainly a popular album when it was released, with a few hit singles. Very smooth listening, with a nice variety of songs. Stevie Wonder is one of those artists that has some very good tunes, and a lot of songs that I don’t like (although not horrible).

Here is another British band I never heard of. This album starts smooth and mellow then transitions to rock. The singer has a sort of droopy voice (reminds me of Lou Reed). Overall this was better than I expected, but nothing memorable. Three stars.

The group gets high marks for their clever and sometimes funny lyrics. Almost every track contains a sample of older music; I recognized Curtis Mayfield, the Beatles, and the Isley brothers in here. Otherwise, this is just more hip hop in my opinion.

Some early music from the Cure. They have a distinctive style even in this early album. However, this was quite mundane and unexciting for me. Not something I’d listen to over and over.

Listening to Ice Cube caused me to ponder whether I should change my approach to rating albums on this 1001 album list. Up to now I’ve assumed that the list included just “music”, not comedy albums, etc. But this album seemed to be making a commentary or political statement. Musically I would rate it like other rap albums so far (two stars). Factoring in its emotional/social impact it gets a better rating.

This is one album we have, so I listened to it rather than on Spotify, which by the way is a remastered version and much different regarding number of tracks and sequencing. Anyhow, this album highlights the Beatles as they begin to change direction. There are some vintage Beatles tracks along with some more creative ones. Many of these were big radio hits. Very good overall but not quite five stars.

A guy from Chicago who made it with country/folk music. I recall seeing him on SNL long ago (maybe even season 1), but I don’t recall what he sang on the show. This album exceeded my expectations, and it makes me wonder whether the guy who compiled this 1001 albums list included country western artists. Maybe he doesn’t consider this one country western?

I listened to the original album (11 tracks), not the later release with more tracks. This album has Aretha’s biggest hit, so I must rate it higher than the average album. However, I never cared for Aretha’s church choir solo singing style, even though she’s a good singer.

The last three tracks on the album in spotify are demos and I’m unsure whether they are part of the original release. Generally I don’t like hearing demos/duplicates/live versions along with the original tracks as they ruin the vibe of the original song for me. Overall I enjoyed this album, which has a good variety of stuff. Hobo Blues sounds like it could have been written in 1910.

Knowing nothing about this guy, naturally I had to do some research while I listened to the album. Turns out Astor was the most influential new tango guy in Argentina, which is pretty important there. Anyhow, these are obviously very talented musicians. Seems like they should be making movie music - that’s what I was thinking as the album played on. It’s nice to hear some nuevo tango, although I suspect soon it will fade from my memory.

I suspect there was little country rock music when this album was created, although it is commonplace today. So this may have sounded new and different in 1974. This artist never made it commercially; perhaps if he didn't OD he eventually would have been successful. He certainly had lots of assistance from top songwriters snd singers. I liked some if the songs on this album, and would give it 3.5 stars if possible.

I listened to the original album (eight tracks), not the re-releases with live versions. The album cover is good. The lead singer doesn’t have a great singing voice, but perhaps that’s not necessary for a heavy metal band. The songs have excellent guitar playing, but for me this too much heavy metal.

These guys are from Mali, and I appreciate the opportunity to hear some music from Africa. Unfortunately I don’t understand the language; perhaps it would be more enjoyable if I did. The music was good, but not memorable.

If you eliminate the two very short bookend themes and voices of old people, you’re left with nine songs and a really short album. However, of the nine songs four were played all the time on the radio. So I guess that means this was a good album, but it’s not my favorite Simon & Garfunkel album. It would rate 7 on a 0-10 scale, but alas only 3 stars here.

According to the wiki page, this was released as a double album, however the app has it as a single album with only six tracks. So I listened to the six tracks on the app. For me the first few tracks were great but by the end it got less interesting.

Another one of those obscure bands I never heard of. This is a mix of country and rock songs, which apparently were a hit in the UK. However they were not a big hit with me. Totally forgettable.

In 1973 Dad bought a new car ($3000) for me to drive, but with no audio system. He took the AM radio out of his 1961 Oldsmobile, and I installed it into my new car along with two speakers I bought. Soon after that I became bored with AM radio and bought an 8 track player and replaced the AM radio with it. Madman Across the Water was one of the first 8 tracks I purchased, and it reminded me of those old timey days listening to 8 tracks in the car. This isn’t my favorite Elton John album, but it has some good tracks. I’ve always been impressed by how much American history British people know (Indian Sunset).

I never have been a big fan of REM so naturally my rating will be lowered. But after listening to the entire album I must admit it is well done, so that improves its rating. My favorites are Everybody Hurts and Find the River. Bottom line = three stars.

This seems like a pretty recent addition to the list of albums (2007). I’ve heard of this group but have been unfamiliar with their music until now. The album title and the organ throughout give it a religious feel. I like a few of these tracks but not quite enough for me to give it 4 stars.

I listened to the original release (nine tracks), not the later release with three extra tracks. Siouxsie has a good singing voice for this genre. The songs are ok, although none of the tracks seemed memorable for me. When this album was released in 1981, punk rock was just becoming popular here, so if you were reviewing the album at that time it may have been fresh and different. But it is 2025 and to me it is dated and mundane.

My initial reaction is: How does this singer not have a sore throat? I remember hearing “In the End” on the radio a lot back when this album was released, but not the other songs on the album. Although this is not my favorite genre, it is well done. It’s clever how they incorporated some rap in with their heavy metal.

Another one of those British groups I never heard of. The Indian influence is readily apparent on this album. There were a few good songs here, many average songs, and a few that were garbage. Overall it was better than I expected. Three stars.

This is the first album from the Killers, and it is very good for a debut. There are at least a couple of radio hits on this album (Mr. Brightside, Somebody Told Me) and maybe more (I don’t know). I enjoyed “All These Things That I’ve Done” and the two singles but the remaining tracks were just ok for me.

This grunge/metal band was big in the 90s and 00s, especially with their big hit “Black Hole Sun”. That’s a good song but there wasn’t anything else on the album that I thought was above average, so I give it three stars instead of two since it was a top selling album.

Whoever made this list certainly must like Simon/Simon & Garfunkel. This was the last studio album from S/G, and it includes “Bridge Over Troubled Water”, which as I recall was the #1 song of 1970 and one of the top songs of the 1970s. Cecilia was a big radio hit, but it isn’t in my list of top S/G songs. The Boxer grew in popularity as the years passed. The rest of the record is good but not five stars.

Here’s another UK band that I never heard of, although I like their band name. Apparently they are still together. Every track on this album sounds similar to me, and not at all memorable.

The album cover is very interesting, definitely from the 1960s. I’m unsure whether its meaning is religious, nature, a dream, or something else. It’s certainly evident how CSNY emerged from Buffalo Springfield. Even David Crosby provided vocals on one of the tracks. This is an album with some of the best singers from that era, and they all contributed. Bluebird, Mr. Soul, and Rock & Roll Woman are all songs often heard on classic rock stations. Overall a diverse collection of songs.

Some good guitar playing on this album. Not very memorable for me, but the music is ok and reasonably creative. Apparently the Pixies influenced a lot of later artists.

I never have been a huge fan of U2, however I agree that this is one of those albums you must hear before you die. It does include three singles that we heard frequently on radio. Until seeing it online I didn’t know this album’s theme was America, which makes sense now. Should I give in to internet peer pressure and rate it five stars? No, but how about four stars?

I listened to the original release (7 tracks), not the later expanded release. Thanks to Wikipedia for explaining the plot of the album, which is in French. I like the concept of a story being told throughout the album, but for me there was too much talking.

The app version of this album has an extra (13th) track, which I did not review. The internet taught me that GZA is Gary Grice, who was in the Wu Tang Clan. The album follows the movie Shogun Assassin and includes movie clips throughout. It occurs to me that if there were no guns or drugs, the artists of this genre would have very little material. Cold World had actual singing, but the rest of the album was talking and poetry reading.

Despite the French name, this guy/group is British. This is an album full of dance/elctronica music from the 90s. The tracks on the app differed from those on Wiki (I used the app). While listening to it I felt like I was hanging at the club. Overall the music exceeded my low expectations; it would serve as great background music while you are doing something else. 7 out of 10.

This was a much better album than the previous album by this artist. The music was better and more creative, however there still was a lot of talking..

This is a double album with twenty tracks. Maybe it is long because the group had three songwriters and they all wanted to get their songs on the album. I enjoyed listening to the album but this is not their best album. Fleetwood Mac and Rumours are better in my opinion. Three stars.

The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (and later Dirt Band) had only one or two hit songs, and none were on this album. Instead, they tracked down legends of country and bluegrass music from the 1920s-1950s who were still living and put together this long compilation. Certain singers (e.g., Roy Acuff) were obviously old and not as good as in their younger days, but still ok. Based on the historical significance of this album it gets the highest rating.

This album is post-Genesis and pre-Sledgehammer Peter Gabriel. Regarded more as a critical success than a commercial success, it is political at times. “Games Without Frontiers” is the one track which was popular on FM radio at the time. Occasionally I would pick up a similarity to the Talking Heads. Phil Collins and Kate Bush contributed. Overall good but not worth a high rating in my opinion.

The internet claims that this artist’s songs were selected for a few movie soundtracks. That makes sense to me since the music is quiet and would be good as background. There is nothing on this album that stands out as above average. Very forgettable.

Back in the day I was fortunate enough to see Muddy Waters in concert, as opening act for Eric Clapton. This album is classic blues music from one of the legends of blues.

This album was described by Wikipedia as “rap rock”, which seems right on target, although I never listened to an entire RHCP album previously. There are a few good songs here, but somehow the album seems old and dated.

This is regarded as one of the best live albums ever. There are several Allman Brothers songs that I like, but none are on this album. I’m glad I had an opportunity to hear it, these guys like to jam.

Jane Weaver, obscure (to me anyhow) British singer…this album seems to be mellow new age/electronica. This was pleasant listening with lots of talk of butterflies. Nothing that stood out as fabulous, but ok.

This was Pink Floyd’s first album, released at the height of the psychedelic era (1967). The music certainly fits the era, and the beginnings of other Pink Floyd concepts are evident here, like long tracks, use of weird noises and sounds, and echoes and reverb. It’s pretty creative for 1967, so I give it four stars.

This album was released at the pinnacle of disco, which is apparent to the listener. A few of these tracks were hit singles at that time. Overall lots of solid dance tunes. I never was a huge fan of Michael Jackson, but this album is decent.

This album made a huge splash when it was released back in 1983. There were four singles from it which were played frequently on the radio. Synchronicity Ii is my favorite song on the album, although I never was a big fan of the Police. Overall the album is ok, even though it sounds dated to me now.

Our local hard rock radio station used to play Faith No More, and perhaps they still do, but I haven’t listened to it much. This is standard heavy metal/hard rock, with a bit of rap thrown in. Nothing here that stands out as above par in my opinion.

This is Steely Dan’s first album, which seems very polished for a debut. Steely Dan is one of those groups that sounds much better on headphones because of their sound mixing. Anyhow, I always enjoyed Steely Dan, although their later albums were better in my opinion. Still this was pretty good, good enough to bump to four stars.

I never cared for R.E.M., and listening to this album confirms my point of view. The album is full of boring songs, perhaps useful for background music while you’re doing something useful.

Although this is my first listen to this album (actually that’s the case for 95% of these albums), I am familiar with many of the tracks. Very good album overall, nothing fancy - just classic rock.

This was the most successful album from Scottish group Cocteau Twins (actually three members). The music is etherial/new age with vocals which are hard to comprehend at times. Overall very pleasant listening.

Santana is one of my favorite bands from olden times, and this was one their most popular albums. It’s just good enough to bump it from 3.5 up to 4 stars. If it had been a greatest hits album then five stars for sure. Seems like this list of 1001 is excluding all greatest hits albums though.

I listened to the original album (11 tracks) not the later releases with more tracks. This is punk/rock from one of those obscure British groups. This isn’t my genre and the songs are not memorable, but there is something about the album which I enjoyed.

There are a lot of popular Kinks songs which I know, but somehow none of them appear on this album. This is a perky fast moving album from the 60s, and on a 1-10 it would rate 7 out of 10. But I think I will round it down to a 3.

This a double album from Prince, and there is but one song here that I’ve heard previously. Overall it’s a good album with a variety of rock/funk/soul/jazz. Nothing here that I’m looking forward to hearing again though.

This is an album full of mellow, melancholy songs recorded just after 9/11/2001. For me the record started out great but lost steam after that. Still, it was decent enough for a three star rating.

This guy has been around for a long time, and was with Roxy music before they rose to famousness. This album is very early electronica along with some mellow rock tunes. Some of these sound like they would be perfect for museums or airports. Overall pleasant and cutting edge for 1975.

That was 57 minutes I’ll never get back…just another record with guys talking or yelling, and in the background lots of sirens and squeaky noises. I couldn’t be bothered to listen to the lyrics; perhaps it requires me to be in a particular mood to appreciate this…no probably not.