1001 Albums Summary

I feel like I'm sipping a cappuccino while eating a bran muffin in a coffee shop in the '90s

How dare John Lennon criticize "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" when he wrote the trash that is "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill." One star automatically deducted for that one.

Catchy and fun, dark and intense, and way weirder than your average alt-rock album

Hooks on hooks on hooks! It's on the shortlist of "great post-Beatles solo albums."

I love Dylan when he's sad. Unfortunately, it sounds like he had a lot of fun making this one.

Macho music for bullies and jocks

Beautifully produced, as expected with Danger Mouse behind the boards, with lush and stylistically diverse arrangements. The melodies don't really stick and I doubt I'll ever revisit.

So long as she isn't doing Tom Waits-ass poverty cosplay ("There Goes a Tenner"), braying like a donkey ("Get Out of My House") or doing whatever the title track is supposed to be (is that a bad Australian accent?), it's pretty great

Maximalist production and minimalist intelligence

"Buffalo Stance" and then some songs that sound exactly the same but not quite as good

When this album first came out, I was disappointed that the YYYs had made a new wavey synth album, because everyone was doing that at the time. Karen O's voice really saves the day here.

I saw Jack White live twice this week!! Even his weirder albums (like this one) are great.

It's a fun party album, and, like many a real-life party, gets a little repetitive by the end

I preferred Oasis as a kid, but time has definitely been kinder to Blur. (PARKLIFE!!!) Noel is a tosser and Liam is a git. (PARKLIFE!!!) A few of the songs are a bit too whimsical, but the highs are high. (PARKLIFE!!!)

Comedy music, although I'm not sure if the members of Jethro Tull are in on the joke

Very appropriate that I got this during my weekend in Las Vegas, yes indeed uh-huh-huh thankyouverymuch

Sorry, dad! No album should have this many songs that exist solely for plot exposition.

I considered giving it four stars, but then Spotify autoplayed a song from The Idiot right after, and it was so much better than anything on Lust for Life

Honka honka burnin' luv 🎺

Super weird arrangement choices (loud bass, distorted drum loops, etc.) but it's also really pretty

David Bowie's 12th best album is still pretty great 💫

A seven nation army couldn't hold me back from giving this five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Radiohead: The Musical!

Maybe you had to be there (and on drugs)

The most gothic music ever written in a major key. They wrote bigger hits later in their career, but this one is pure vibe.

"In Your Eyes" inspired me to hold my Samsung Galaxy over my head outside my girl's window

I'll never get to visit space, but at least I've got Low 🚀

When people say "boomer" as an insult, this dusty-ass dad rock is what they're talking about

Janis Joplin's voice makes me want to clear my throat. Difficult to listen to, but a bonus star for "Piece of My Heart."

They funny voices they do on every song get a little tiring, but the funk is strong

A time machine that transports me to my aunt's high school boyfriend's basement in the 1970s in London, Ontario

The Chef serves up the whole menu

Bravo to Jeff Beck for playing some cool guitar parts, and bravo to Rod Stewart for sounding so confident while singing absolute garbage

The golden ratio ️‍🌈

The Disney version of Satanism

Dreary boho ballads for pretentious English lit undergrads, and I kinda dig it

Who am I to criticize a mystical harp faerie woodnymph 🧚

WOO-HOO 💥

Noodly, under-written half songs that sound like demos to be finished later

The most front-loaded album of all time, but when it hits, it hits hard

Captures the vibe of the shitty English town where my mom's from with piercing accuracy

The '80s country punk thing is almost cool, but the singer sounds shitfaced drunk

Trashy neon spandex cock rock that I reasonably enjoyed in spite of myself

Love those digi-funk grooves where it sounds like my Bluetooth is struggling to connect

Neither the funk grooves nor the vocal hooks fully stand out, but it's a nice listen

Music for airports, answering emails, cleaning the house, grocery shopping, walking to the gym, cooking and folding laundry — everything becomes more beautiful with this on

It's a pastiche of '50s/'60s crooners, and it's very nice

This is closest I can get to listening to Kanye these days without feeling icky

Surprisingly meek and pleasant for an album called Electric Warrior in a genre associated with flamboyance

Destiny's Child: "I'm a baddie with a sexy booty and you can't handle all this jelly" 😏 Also Destiny's Child: "Sluts are gross" 🤮

This is the one I've waited for!!!

It can't quite take five (stars), but these are some catchy dinner party songs so it can take four

The only thing better than Neil Young playing rock is Neil Young playing folk

It's my top post-Pixies pick, see? There's 22 songs and they're all good.

The affected "soulfulness" of the cursive singing grates on me, even when the pop hooks are undeniable

It's amazing how every new post-punk band still sounds like this. The only snag is that I'm kinda sick of those bands, even though this version of it is obviously very good.

I can't imagine why I'd want to listen to 54 minutes of this when the White Stripes, the Hives, DFA 1979 and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs all exist

I always knew Bob Marley was chill and pleasant. I perhaps didn't account for just how chill and pleasant he truly is.

I'M CANADIAN!!!!!

The disco cover of "Comfortably Numb" reinforces the way this feels like a gimmicky album of '70s knockoff novelty pop. "Take Your Mama" slaps, though.

Years ago at a party, I smoked weed and listened to this album and thought it was amazing. Weed makes me anxious now, but this album still rules.

New Yawk City, baybee! Ayy I'm walkin' here!! Fuggaddaboudit!!!

Knowing that Songs in the Key of Life followed it, I expected a little more

People keep calling White Denim a "jam band" because of the Wikipedia extract, but they don't jam at all and absolutely aren't a jam band in any way. The album has that funny conundrum of having sweet pop melodies but no actual hooks. Nice but forgettable.

I love Joni's early stripped-down folk and her later jazzy experimentation. This was right in the middle and a little less distinctive.

Angry, funny and hard as fuck

The guitars are sick as hell, and they would sound even better with proper songwriting

It's definitely one of the jazz albums of all time

To quote my dad when he found out my ex was a fan, "Talking Heads are a band of taste"

I enjoyed the arrangements/production a lot, but it seems like a classic pop album should have some more memorable hooks than this

It's absolutely hilarious how rinky-dink the keyboard sounds. I liked it when they found some more melodic grooves in the second half and it wasn't purely atonal skronk.

I was fully ready to hate this Disney version of shock rock. Turns out the tunes are pretty fun!

Imagine being there?! Damn.

Plinky plink plonk plank!!

It's my second consecutive vibraphone jazz album — what are the chances? Being a deadbeat dad has rarely sounded so good.

FUCK YOU I WON'T DO WHAT YOU TELL ME!!! MOTHER FUCKERRRRRR!!!

Surprisingly sweet for mafiosa rap <3 Great old-school beats, fantastic flows, and skits I could probably do without.

Sounds more like a movie soundtrack than a proper album, but I wasn't mad about the trippy psych grooves. Another situation where I'm enjoying an album, but the second it ends and Spotify auto-plays something from a different album, I immediately enjoy that next one more.

Obviously Nick Cave's whole vibe is to sing like a vampiric crypt keeper, but this was a gimmick

The worst skits and the best rapping — the latter outweighs the former

It's helpful that she frequently reminds listeners what her name is and how rap music works. Impossible to get confused! It's charmingly dated and quite repetitive.

The White Lotus theme song inspiration discovered LOO-LOO-LOO-LOO-LOO

I wouldn't want to see a ballet set to this, but that's more an issue with ballet than jazz

Short 'n' sweet, featuring "Alison," the greatest incel anthem of all time. I loved this album a couple decades ago but hadn't listened in years, and I was surprised how much stuck with me.

It's a vibe. Nothing really stands out, but I enjoyed working to the hypnotic mood.

Better than a kick in the ass with a frozen boot

Sounds like building mode on the origins Sims game, and I mean that as a compliment

22 years since I bought this CD on release day, I'm still not sure if I'm scared or horny

I was introduced to this album through that scene in Almost Famous where everybody is mad at each other, but then they listen to "Tiny Dancer" and by the chorus they've made up. Lazy screenwriting, but a great song. The rest of the album wouldn't inspire such character development.

People who don't care about music also need a soundtrack for their dinner parties, and that's okay

It's ironic they all hated each other so much, because this album sounds like they're having fun

Perfect boom bap beats, gorgeously soulful melodies from an incredible singer, and a few too many vocal runs

Free Palestine

The first 30 seconds of "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground" permanently altered my brain chemistry

The song choices were kinda whatever, but the he's got that voice like butter

No one has ever accused Funkadelic of false advertising

The first time I ever listened to Either/Or, it was the summer of 2005. I was walking through downtown Vancouver with my head down, feeling a bit depressed on account of the music. Suddenly, just beside me, a car leaned on its horn. I looked up to see that a car had been pulling out of a parking space just as a cyclist was coming up the street, and the car had nearly sideswiped the cyclist. The cyclist was a tall guy with a Chicago Blackhawks jersey tied around his waist, and he turned his head and waved to acknowledge the car. I saw the man's face — it was John Cusack.

Community theatre ass album

Not his best songs, but Rod Stewart always sounds pretty good doing Americana cosplay

If by "the masses" they mean drunk Gen Xers with their nipples exposed through mesh shirts, the title is spot on

Rolling in the deeeeep, putting me to sleeeeep

More cheese and corn than a Taco Bell, but the lead guitars are cool

Sounds like a summer's day 😎

Oooh boy that's smoooooth

Great pop songs, even if she sings like a seductive baby

Sounds like fake music specifically made for after school specials and corporate training videos

For a guy associated with two of the craziest families ever (Wilson, Manson), Dennis made some nice-sounding rock music

Very easy to listen to. Almost too easy?

Grimy and menacing, and then such a beautiful final track

Sounds very quaint in 2025. It's cute that artists used to rap like this, and that people used to dance to it.

The ultimate "ta-tsss, ta-tsss" jazz album

I am not a cool guy, but listening to this album makes me feel like I am

Honestly, I'm starting to understand why people in the '60s found hippies annoying

A little hokey, a little honky — pretty fun

It's not the most exciting thing ever, but it's impressive that such a '90s-sounding album came out in 1976

Fun to listen to, but smoking weed isn't a personality

I guess I'm just not dramatic enough to enjoy this

Spooky ooky fun that makes me wanna go trick or treating

Johnny Cash's amazing voice elevates the boring concept of "imagine if these well-known songs were performed on...ACOUSTIC GUITAR?!?"

So THIS is where Father John Misty got it from. My toxic trait is that I love Phil Spector's production.

Any time I paid attention to the lyrics they were SO cheesy, but the music makes me feel like I'm strutting down the street with a boombox on my shoulder, so overall I had a good time

The trouble with putting one of the greatest rock songs ever as the opening track is that the rest of the album struggles to live up

These boys sure do love twiddlin' and diddlin' and noodlin' and doodlin'

I wasn't sold until the last song, which fully blasts off into the cosmos

R.I.P. Brian Wilson! Pet Sounds is my favourite album ever, which gives any of their other albums a lot to live up to. I love "Help Me, Rhonda," and the rest of the album is fun but flimsy.

And you may find you yourself working your way through the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. And you find yourself listening to Talking Heads' Remain in Light. And you may ask yourself, how many stars should I give this? FIVE STARS!!!

He sounds like the third member of Hall & Oates, which is fun in a dated, corny way

Young, dumb and full of fun

By far the best Beatles solo album. If this had been a Beatles album, it would have been one of their best — maybe top 3.

My first favourite album from when I was nine years old. I knew every word, even if I only understood half of them. The perfect pop-punk album.

Sadly not a collaboration between MJ Lenderman and J. Cole, but rather a stock electronic album with generic R&B singers

It's certainly not RUBBISH, but it's not as good as the other Blur albums on this list

It exists in the shadow of Ziggy Stardust, which is fair when it's the follow-up to one of the best rock albums ever. The fucked up jazz piano really elevates this one beyond mere immitation.

A few classic songs, but it's too inconsistent, cute and kooky to fully work as an album

Some very Kanye-coded production (especially those bass-driven tracks), which is awesome because Little Simz isn't a Nazi. Tight album that's smart, thoughtful, swaggering and maybe just a little preachy.

I'm just not enough of an alpha male gigachad jock to tolerate music this macho

Great talent used for evil!

The guy at the ren faire who takes it a bit too seriously

YESTERDAY I HAD WANT TWO!!! I CAN'T BELIEVE I HAVE TO DO THIS AGAIN!!!! Thankfully enjoyed this one more than Want Two, since it has catchier baroque pop songs, even though the ballads are dreary and directionless.

A few really great songs interspersed amidst filler that can't quite overcome the cloyingly cutesy concept

It's June 30, I'm at a cottage, and here I am listening to the greatest rainy day album of all time. I'm not usually that much of a Dylan fan, but this one is just perfect.

If we were to blast a country album into space to show the aliens what it's like, this would be a fine choice. The guitar playing makes this album stand out, even when the songwriting doesn't.

Medieval rock cosplay that's kinda giving Spinal Tap's "Stonehenge." Is it 1969 or 1669?

Was this a fun, summery album that I enjoyed listening to? Yes. Was my favourite song just a straight-up Toots & the Maytals cover? Also yes.

This isn't my favourite Bowie album, but it sets the blueprint for artists who completely reinvent themselves with each new album. The true "eras" artist. Shame about the awful Beatles cover.

Me: "I'm busy visiting my family, but why not turn the 'weekend albums' setting back on? I'm sure I'll find some time." 1001 Albums Generator: "Here's a two-hour live album of hepcat jazz."

Gothic circus punk that sounds really good, but eventually started to annoy me with the lack of memorable melodies, hooks, lyrics, or anything about the songwriting that suck with me

I put this album on during a family Yahtzee game and everyone had a nice time

I dunno about this ren faire prog folk

If you were to tell someone, "Imagine a psychedelic rock album from San Francisco in 1969," Happy Trails is what they would imagine

I'm not a melodramatic goth, so this one isn't for me

He certainly doesn't NEED all that extra instrumentation, but it still sounds very nice

The first two songs are enormous bangers, but I can't image why it seemed like a good idea to make deep cuts that dabble in classical music and Spanish guitar

Lots of different vibes — dance music, Blade Runner, Boards of Canada, Air — all of which they do well. A perfect album to listen to while working.

I literally have a chili pepper tattooed on my butt, what do you want me to say? Five peps 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

Not to be gross, but I've listened to the album a lot during sex, so it was nice to finally hear the second half of it 😜

Turns out I hate Love

Patient zero for every jock rock cliché involving a British pervert playing blues riffs and a guy singing about hobbits in a voice like a goblin guarding a bridge. Still pretty fun to listen to, at least for the first half.

Some pretty big hits that almost make up for Bono's over-the-top wailing

It sounds tame in 2025, which isn't to say it's bad, because it totally rips

Complex but tuneful, with lots of playful and melodic moments that didn't exactly grab my attention but were fun to listen to

Any time the Pretenders are mentioned, my dad starts talking about how much of a crush he had on Chrissie Hynde. She's got swagger, but most of the songs are just okay.

I'm not sure I trust his medical degree, but this was a fun, goofy listen. Brutally bad skits prevent any chance of this being five stars.

The '90s rap album your parents might like. Hooky and fun hip-hop that sounds like it was made by extremely talented dorks.

I quite like it when they do sentimental prom rock! Not so much when they do redneck Confederate rock.

This album is five stars, and the devil is six, and GOD IS SEVEN!!!!

Venom in the closing seconds of "Teacher's Pet": Oh, wow, that was good! That was real good! Narrator: It wasn't.

Preachy lyrics for generic songs that sound like what other artists have done better — but it was short and upbeat, so not unpleasant to listen to

The doom-y stoner metal blueprint with lots of variety as well. Ozzy's voice sounds amazing.

I decently liked the new wave pop songs in the first half, but it turned into wacky circus music toward the end, which is pretty much what I expected from a blackface ska album.

Damn, it sounds like she's seen some shit

I think the word "skidmark" means something different to the Go-Go's than it does to me. Very fun and catchy, but unlikely to stick with me — maybe because so many other artists have copied this sound since.

Hello there children, Chef has cooked up a psychedelic meal worthy of a Michelin star

One of those albums that reminds you this book was written by a British guy, because no one outside of the UK has ever listened to Goldfrapp willingly. Neither weird enough to work as experimental music nor catchy enough to be pop music — with the notable exception of the excellent Air/Portishead knockoff "Utopia."

Top heavy, with great folk rock tunes in the first half and dorky ren faire ballads lumped together at the end

Some great grooves and pitchy-ass falsetto made this one fun but inessential. I had Isaac Hayes's Hot Buttered Soul just a couple of days ago, and that was a much better psych-R&B album from the same period.

I'm going to put as much effort into this review as G. Love put into these songs..............................................................

The Flanderized version of spooky heavy metal. Impossible to take seriously, but a pretty good time to listen to.

This might have been exciting as hell in 1957, but now it registers mostly as background music. Pretty nice background music, though!

This much whimsy makes me FRoWN

Get stoned, hit record. These jazz-folk mood pieces don't really go anywhere or give me much to grab on to, but they're nice nonetheless.

Music for gimps and leather daddies, of which I am neither

Some huge anthems, but the impact of them is slightly blunted by the way he starts every song at 100% energy, so there's nowhere else to go

I don't go to raves or take ecstasy, but I was running late to meet a friend, and this helped me get there a little faster 🏃‍♂️

It's rough around the edges, but Lou Barlow has a great voice and amazing chord voicings, which bring a beauty to even the harsher tunes

Mick Jagger's vocal charisma saves this from simply being Rubber Soulless

Ziggy played guitarrrrr ⚡️

This racist, murdering, piece-of-shit cousin-fucker could sure play

Tom Petty's music is a fun experiment in "imagine if the American heartland was good, actually"

Some good tunes and some very weird decisions (Sting singing every song in a key too high for his voice, using fake patois, whatever the hell "Mother" is)

Absurd Wild West fantasies about evil Mexicans and gun-slingin' vigilantes, but he sure can sing

That's some primo Prima 🎺

Patient zero for affected cursive vocals. Some great hooks that feel a bit like '60s cosplay.

The 3-est album that ever 3-ed. It's fine!

Strong production and decent songs, but it's not my favourite of his

Huge singles, but way too many dreary deep cuts and Auto-Tune ballads to make this hold together as an album

Drugs are a hell of a drug

Voice like honey, beautiful arrangements, and lyrics so vague as to be meaningless. Maybe this hit harder in 1971, but in 2025 it's too broad to work as protest music.

A staggering lack of sauce

Skiffle, but make it jangly

Freaky soundscapes that I definitely preferred to the quirky circus songs

Amazing to see some boomers are still mad about disco. Grow up, nerds! These are well-written songs, sung by great vocalists.

Starting with one of the best synthpop songs of all time means that it can only go downhill from there, even if the rest of the album is pretty fun

The way these pretty folk songs are kinda fucked up by distortion and moments of sloppiness brings an edge to the softness

Nice-sounding garage-y rock, well-performed and perfectly recorded. The songs didn't really get under my skin, but it's a fun listen, if a bit repetitive by the end.

Worth getting thrown in prison for

A Bob Marley album is always a good time, but this one is a touch rough around the edges

I don't love the songs, but this definitely feels like a workshop in cool-sounding bass tone

Britpop: The Musical!

From jangle to twangle, they're great at everything

A little too sexy for my tastes

As far as early-aughts garage rock throwback "the" bands go, the Hives are a distant third place. This album is "Hate to Say I Told You So" (which is fantastic) plus a bunch of songs that sound similar but aren't as good.

I love early Air, but this feels a little piecemeal, and I would never listen to it when Moon Safari and Talkie Walkie exist

A little uneven, but the highs really hit, with beautiful piano chords and unbelievably dynamic vocal performances

Enjoyed the druggy psych jams, less so the children's circus music

I like the production, but the singer has a really stiff, uptight, nasal way of hitting high notes that began to grate on me after a few songs, especially when this album has none of the PSB songs I've heard of and enjoy

Very silly boys with a love for charming prog goofiness (fun!) and, unfortunately, Ayn Rand (yuck!)

Cozy and domestic. I was a little bored at first, but it's so inviting that I ended up having a nice, mellow time.

Good vibes and fun beats, but didn't hit quite as hard as Missy's subsequent work

This historically hasn't been my favourite R.E.M. album, but I had forgotten how many great songs there are on here beyond the well-known hits, as well as how amazing Michael Stipe's voice sounds. I'm giving it four stars, but it's a narrow miss for five, only because the album's final run isn't quite as good as the start.

Why is it that '60s psych bands can't resist putting a couple terrible children's circus songs on otherwise good albums?

Bossa nova is supposed to evoke Las Vegas, right?

I've always considered Sparks a little too wacky, which is still true, but there were some great instrumental moments here

Cool experimental psych weirdness, and then one absolutely perfect pop song, and so on and so on, scooby-dooby-dooby

It's a bit of an uneven mess, but the highs are so high ("Feel Flows" and "Surf's Up" especially) that I can't help but love it overall

Gorgeous folk rock ballads interspersed with Lindsey Buckingham in full manic meltdown mode

The top comment is the wrong album — here's the right one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_5G-bBTpX4 It's tense, jittery and pretty fun

Bruce can be a bit MUCH sometimes

A hell of a product demonstration for the LinnDrum

The ass-end of Britpop

Vibey, jittery background music that I'm more likely to use for getting work done than dancing

All-time heartbreak classic

Corn drenched in cheese goes down easy

Great singing, solid pop songs, big attitude, absolute classic single

I decently liked the tunes until the singer started wailing, gasping, hiccuping and convulsing all over every song

The beats and delivery are so exciting that it's easy to vibe along with even the sketchiest lyrics

Not gonna give five stars to an album with fart sounds, even if it's a psychedelic classic

Will this shrill-voiced child please stop yelling at me about how The Lord of the Rings makes him horny?

When I feel sad about the state of culture in 2025, it's helpful to remember that the '60s also had annoying junk that got popular

Hell of a way to go out

What if '80s cock rock weren't completely douchey?

Bob Dylan was 20 when he wrote "Blowin' in the Wind," and now I'm 40 and writing on the internet, "Yeah it's good, but not QUITE five stars"

As usual with a Rolling Stones album, there's a bunch of throwaway filler, some sloppy production, and at least a couple absolute classic singles

If we're going to get one turn-of-the-millennium DIY indie folk album, it should definitely be The Glow, Pt. 2 by the Microphones, but this is fine too

My cat is named Dusty! My sweet little boy made some really classic girl group songs here!

Cool vibes that never quite paid off

I am but a simple man who prefers Talkie Walkie

Nice guitarmonies and some sweet tunes, although an hour's worth of pump-up jams got a little tiring

A nice mix of trip-hoppy vibe dance music and classic songwriting

Drive Like Jehu rock really hard, perhaps for slightly too long

More like Goo in my pants

EA Sports ass album

One of the best voices ever, even if the songs didn't grab me

Woulda enjoyed some of the songs if not for the strained, pitchy, nasal singing

Had a day rave at my desk

I once interviewed k.d. lang for the local paper, and she called me from a private number, so I still have the audio clip of her saying, "Hi, Alex? This is k.d. lang." Anyway, this album is really and her voice sounds amazing.

The bassist is a beast, and I love fun

Hooky songs that sound like they could have come out yesterday, because there's still nothing quite like it

The standard that every "chill beats to study/relax to" playlist is trying reach

Beginning the album with two interludes and a Neil Young cover reduces the impact of what's otherwise a dreamy, pretty album

Pure treble has never sounded so grimy

The Beatles are great because Paul McCartney is the gas and John Lennon is the brakes, whereas Jeff Lynne doesn't have anyone to keep the cheerfulness in check 🤪

Of all the double albums on this list, this is a rare one that isn't too long

It's either the chillest dance floor or the hypest chill-out tent

There's dad rock and there's uncle rock. This is uncle rock. I will not be taking questions.

I'm Canadian, but my mom comes from the British working class, so this album makes me feel very connected to my ancestors' culture

Have you ever been experienced? I have. Just so sick.

My name is Alex and I'm here to say, these rap songs sound kind of quaint

Lots of '80s pop albums on this list have a hit or two, but few of them are this consistent

The weird lyrics really elevated the slightly ignorable baroque folk arrangements

Twang a ding dong dang, not very distinctive

I didn't know they were so weird! Cameron Crowe's mom was right.

Certainly not unpleasant, but the title of "Rinky Dink" is maybe a bit too accurate

Uncool people need rap albums too

Drums: chopsticks played on a damp pizza box Vocals: recorded while straining on the toilet Bass: what bass? Guitar: pretty sick

The bangers of the first half got a little directionless after the title track, but Annie Lennox's voice really elevated it

How do I rate one of the greatest albums of a generation after its maker becomes a Nazi?

It's not exactly an attention-grabber in the year 2025

The theoretical hybrid of Ed Hardy and Hot Topic

Explaining music theory while you play feels a bit like a comedian explaining why a joke is funny

Even before committing murder, he should have been put in jail for that voiceover on the final song

Rumours? Nope — all true

My favourite thing she's ever done is the book Just Kids, but this is a close second, and a perfect example of the ole "abrasive singer + beautiful arrangements" formula

Hardcore rap but make it fun and welcoming

Generic and nonsensical at the same time, where songs that sounded like sitcom jingles would randomly speed up and slow down while the singer wailed way outside of her vocal range

Not aggressive enough to make up for how tuneless the songs are, even though the reverb-y shredding was pretty sick

I found this hotel on Groupon. It was comfy and clean, not that memorable, and the concierge Don was a bit of an asshole.

Wonky and honky and skronky and pretty fun

I'm not sure this is really intended to be listened to as one album, because it sounded great but was way, way too much whimsical wordplay for a single sitting

January is an absolutely diabolical time to assign me an album with the best Christmas song ever

This band has one great EP and one great album and this one is neither of those, so it was a nice throwback to the days when I wore skinny jeans but clearly a lesser work

Just-okay synthpop gets overshadowed by a couple of great singles, with amazing bass playing and a couple grating high frequencies

It's not the most consistent album, but it does include two of the best songs ever (you know which ones I mean)

Not my favourite Roxy Music album, but they're always a quirky good time

It's fun to hear someone so talented not take himself seriously at all

Way more low key than the PSB bangers I've come to expect, and it was surprisingly sweet and pretty

Tracks 1–4: This is pretty good! Tracks 5–21: OH SHIIIIIII

So sweet that it's easy to overlook how gnarly a couple of those distorted guitar tones are

The trad country stuff was fine, but I preferred songs like "Hillbilly Highway" and "Fearless Heart" that embraced more heavily produced '80s sounds

As a big Destroyer fan, I feel like I just discovered a foundational text

Fun teen goth vibes, plus an absolutely horrendous Beatles cover that is very unpleasant to listen to

If I'm looking for something raw and rustic, this will get the job done nicely

Some of the lyrics are a bit silly, but the gigantic anthems make up for it

I'm generally pro-Costello, but this was an hour of harsh vocal performances mixed super and high and dry for maximum unpleasantness

Playful and political — love in Canada ❤️

"We will return it to you as soon as you are grooving" — okay fine, I'm grooving

The dudes from your dorm accidentally defined the synthpop sound of an entire generation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNC1W2m4Uug

It rocks pretty hard for way too long

Aptly named, since listening to all of this did indeed feel sadomasochistic

Does it sound "good" in the traditional sense? No. But I can I nevertheless appreciate its free-spirted, bold, adacious experimentation? Also no.

It has a manic quality that attempts to make up for a lack of hooks with frenzied enthusiasm and annoying chants

Wikipedia says this came out 17 days before Leonard Cohen's death, but that can't be right, because I'm pretty sure he recorded these vocals AFTER he died

I feel sophisticated as fuck listening to this

They almost veer into a psych-lounge exotica thing, but they hold back — like they walked so Stereolab could run

So vibey and atmospheric that I almost forgot to party

This album could have been quite beautiful if he didn't sing like a constipated antelope

More interesting as a historical document than an enjoyable listen beyond the two big hits, even if the songs are much more competently played than the band's reputation would suggest

The sinister vibes are strong, the playing is fantastic, and the medleys are a bit of disjointed mess, making this my least favourite of the three Sabbath albums I've gotten here

Manages to embody classic rock tropes while being super weird and abstract at the same time

Blooze clichés for rock dads

The cartoonish vibrato ever so slightly undermines the sophisticated cool of the performance

Obviously the title track rocks, but most of this album is both boring (the riffs, lyrics and melodies) and unpleasantly harsh (the vocals) at the same time

The first half has all the big singles, but the deep cuts in the second half are just as good

This album is funky and fun, so why does every review here consist of puritanical pearl-clutching about gangsta rap? Grow up, nerds!

Some of the most high school bars I've ever heard in my life, but the naive blues rap charmed me with its simplicity

I'm ready and willing to become one of those pretentious Steely Dan snobs, but no amount of great playing and perfect engineering can make up for a lack of great tunes

I am the son of a Rock Dad, so a couple of these songs reached into my soul, even as I repeated "Fuck Eric Clapton" under my breath like a mantra while slogging through the filler blooze jams

I'm not totally sold on the idea of political porno music

The sweet spot between his "folk troubadour boy genius" era and his "irony poisoned rock 'n' roll surrealist" era

Charmingly era-specific production and strong vocal performances for unmemorable songs

Still the absolute gold standard for weird, experimental pop

Criticizing the Ramones for being repetitive feels like criticizing the ocean for being wet

Overly cutesy compared to his best work

We're literally in the future and it still doesnt sound as futuristic as this album from 1976

I've never noticed before that the album cover somehow appears 3D on my phone screen, which is exactly how this album sounds

It's a Shame About Evan Dando Masturbating in Front of That Poor Woman

I was a huge White Stripes fan, so it was so cool to hear him break out of the box with a bigger sound — and it still is

Fuck Eric Clapton, but the Summer of Love vibes are undeniable here

The Who have this reputation as a loud, rebellious rock band, so I don't understand why they sound so damn whimsical all the time

There's dad rock and there's grandma rock; this is grandma rock, but that's okay, because grandmas need music too

I had a nice time listening to it, although maybe it doesn't reflect all that well on the songwriting that my favourite things about it are the extreme panning and the sound of the reverb

There's so much texture and atmosphere that I overcame my aversion to James Hetfield's yarling

They wrote two all-time classic songs, stuck them on either end of the album, and put any old shit in between

The Who: "Hope I die before I get old" Narrator: "They didn't"

If this is a rock album then Scary Movie is horror

A white noise machine — I couldn't have noticed it any less

Beautiful songwriting, classic production and too much vibrato

No

Overwrought, drippy vocal performances mostly made up for by some absolutely banging techno beats

I didn't know it was possible to sing as if you're falling asleep while in terrible pain

Fulfills every romantic notion about the purity of a lone troubadour

I'm a steadfast "In Utero is better" snob, so it was an absolute delight to remember how good this is and how unbelievable Kurt's voice sounds

Superfly lives up to its name by being verycool, extremelyrad and extradope

Yep that's what country music sounds like

It's not the best Beatles solo album, but it sets the blueprint for DIY indie folk, so it's maybe the most inspirational and exciting

My theory is that Nick Cave is smart and talented, but not quite as smart or talented as he thinks he is, which is why he's so self-serious

Fun and funky with a slight tendency to blend into the background

Now, you see this one-eyed midget shouting the word "Now" And you say, "For what reason?" and he says, "How" And you say, "What does this mean?" and he screams back, "You're a cow!" -The greatest poet of his generation(?)

As a huge fan of Doolittle, this band sounds kinda like the Pixies only not as good

Why does all the singing sound like Monty Python?

Having attempted to get into Spiderland a few times over the years, I remain confused by the album's cult classic status, even though the guitars sound very cool

Jagged glass music

I love the Cure, but Disintegration has way better gothic drama, and Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me has way better pop melodies

Technology bad!

It's truly a mystery how this album is made up of repetitive songs performed roughly and produced poorly, and yet it's amazing — a vibe that can't be explained

It was way too long and wanky, but then after all that the last song is great

The first thousand times I listened, I swore he was saying, "I remember you was conflicted: your shoes or your influence..."

The ultimate "sad guy with acoustic guitar" album

I enjoyed the one song I was already familiar with ("Pretty in Pink"), while the rest of the album was well-sung but repetitive

A Mighty Wind in real life

After listening to this album, I am now anti-love

It has a handmade, ramshackle quality that sets it apart from other tapes of lo-fi beats to study/relax to

Of all the albums on this list, this is the most directly influential on artists I love, where a lot of the music I listen to is simply an impression of this

David Blowie

The excellent samples outweigh the terrible skits

I tried to get into this album back when it first had buzz because I liked "Stillness Is the Move," but it's too fussy and uptight, and mostly seemed too pleased with its own cleverness

On the one hand, there are some beautiful, vibey songs here; on the other, he says "panties"

This album absolutely owned me when I was nine years old, even if Dexter's voice is a touch grating at times

Minus one star for Morrissey being a tool, which brings it down from 6/5 to 5/5

The trouble with being the first is that everyone else copies you, and then in hindsight it seems a bit tame

Jazz standards as sung by a cartoon spooky witch in a Halloween movie

Instant coffee shop vibes and I'm not mad about it

He later perfected his music by stripping away all the whimsical parts (both musical and lyrical), but it's nice to hear this more cheeful side of him too

Cartoonish, corny and absolutely stuffed with memorable songs and just a bit of boneheaded "USA! USA!" warmongering

Do you really want to hurt me? Yes.

Too stuffy and un-fun to properly enjoy, but "Two Weeks" is a big tune and it's all very nicely composed

Perfect contrast of beautiful, jangly guitars and a singer who sounds like she's gargling acid

1001 albums, ya don't stop

The lyrics are great, the arrangements are exciting, and the singing is qUiRkY 🤪

Pretty much as good as "crooner with orchestral rock" gets

Futurism has never sounded more retro

People have been saying the USA sucks for longer than I've been alive