272
Albums Rated
3.32
Average Rating
25%
Complete
817 albums remaining
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Rating Timeline
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Taste Profile
1950s
Favorite Decade
Grunge
Favorite Genre
US
Top Origin
Wordsmith
Rater Style ?
34
5-Star Albums
14
1-Star Albums
Taste Analysis
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Ratings by genre
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Ratings by country
Rating Style
You Love More Than Most
Albums you rated higher than global average
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kollaps | 4 | 1.9 | +2.1 |
| Spiderland | 5 | 2.97 | +2.03 |
| Central Reservation | 5 | 3.05 | +1.95 |
| Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space | 5 | 3.15 | +1.85 |
| Mermaid Avenue | 5 | 3.18 | +1.82 |
| Fisherman's Blues | 5 | 3.2 | +1.8 |
| Protection | 5 | 3.25 | +1.75 |
| You Want It Darker | 5 | 3.34 | +1.66 |
| Songs Of Leonard Cohen | 5 | 3.37 | +1.63 |
| Either Or | 5 | 3.38 | +1.62 |
You Love Less Than Most
Albums you rated lower than global average
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Out Of The Blue | 1 | 3.64 | -2.64 |
| Green Onions | 1 | 3.41 | -2.41 |
| Hysteria | 1 | 3.21 | -2.21 |
| Soul Mining | 1 | 3.17 | -2.17 |
| Pyromania | 1 | 3.13 | -2.13 |
| Peggy Suicide | 1 | 2.77 | -1.77 |
| Cut | 1 | 2.71 | -1.71 |
| Dr. Octagonecologyst | 1 | 2.69 | -1.69 |
| Sex Packets | 1 | 2.67 | -1.67 |
| L.A. Woman | 2 | 3.67 | -1.67 |
Artist Analysis
Favorite Artists
Artists with 2+ albums
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Beatles | 4 | 4.75 |
| Radiohead | 4 | 4.75 |
| Miles Davis | 3 | 5 |
| Bob Dylan | 2 | 5 |
| Stevie Wonder | 2 | 5 |
| Leonard Cohen | 2 | 5 |
| The Smashing Pumpkins | 2 | 5 |
| Massive Attack | 2 | 5 |
| Pink Floyd | 4 | 4.25 |
| Nirvana | 3 | 4.33 |
Least Favorite Artists
Artists with 2+ albums
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Def Leppard | 2 | 1 |
Controversial Artists
Artists you rate inconsistently
| Artist | Ratings |
|---|---|
| Pink Floyd | 5, 5, 5, 2 |
5-Star Albums (34)
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Popular Reviews
Leonard Cohen
5/5
I’m in awe. Words cannot describe the album experience I just had. I sobbed when I finished listening. Tears literally fell from my eyes. Leonard Cohen does not miss, even at 82. Especially not at 82. I think this is actually my favorite album I have had the privilege of listening to so far on this list. What a stunning and just perspective altering work of art.
5 likes
Beatles
5/5
Ooh today is gonna be a good day.
Honestly didn’t start off as amazing as I was expecting. It obviously began with the great hit Come Together which is of course a great start and a great song but I think I’ve heard that song enough to where it’s kind of lost much of its greatness to me. Something is of course also an amazing follow up and Maxwell’s Silver Hammer did not disappoint either. But then Oh! Darling came on and I was impressed. That song hit. That’s when I knew this album was something special. I don’t think a better song could also have been written about an Octopus’s Garden so I must applaud the band for that. The ceiling for such a song is still pretty low hahaha. But now I’m kinda mad though cuz upon hearing I Want You (She’s So Heavy) I’m honestly wondering where have half of these Beatles songs been my entire life. Like this song is BUS and I frickin grew up on Beatles, like I heard this band a BUTT ton growing up and know all of the hits by heart and you’re telling me I was deprived access to these absolute bangers like Oh! Darling and I Want You (She’s So Heavy). Genuinely upset, but also so glad I get to experience it today now for the very first time. Ahh and then the number one hit of all time, Here Comes The Sun, I hadn’t heard this song in so long when the happy-go-lucky guitar began playing it was like a warm blanket of good times and nostalgia flooded me. Overplayed and overloved as it may be, you cannot deny the amazing song that it is. It is truly a well needed message of hope this world needed and still needs more than ever. Listening to it literally feels like the sun is coming, I feel a warm rush over my body like the sun really bathes my skin and a vision of better times appears. The album then moves onto Because, a sweet song of love with some cute and clever lyrics I enjoyed. Did not expect that fun little switch up in You Never Give Me Your Money, I liked it cuz otherwise I was about to be like lowkey this song is feeling kinda boring. The Beatles got it though, I’m learning they definitely know how to make a song. Sun King is a warm and lovely transition followed by the fun short skit-like song of Mean Mr. Mustard. The nonstop smooth transitioning of short song into short song at this point of the album is really interesting to me. It works really well in the album and provides a really interesting segment. Really fun vocal deliveries in Golden Slumbers from Paul I greatly enjoyed. Things feel like they start to build up into something grandiose with the orchestral and dramatic vibes of Carry That Weight. It’s intense and suspenseful. And it’s all so beautifully resolved in The End. So apropos, I love it. And with great, albeit simple, lyrics to end it all off: “in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make.” A great reminder and really drives the point of this album in so many ways. First the basic and blatant one, that we must love. Although a simple reminder, it is a much needed one. Its a reminder that has aged like wine, all the more needed the more and more this world has progressed. If anything, this album is more relevant for this reason today than it was even upon its creation. The other lesson I learned from this album is from its simplicity. The instrumentation, the lyrics, the vocals, all of it, are so incredibly simple and the themes too, they are all so simple, and yet in their simplicity there is so much meaning and beauty. I mean there is a massive stretch in this album of tiny short 2 minute or less songs that just blend into each other so well and form a tight and cohesive and enjoyable part of the album. But the songs are so short and so simple. Nothing is inaccessible and nothing is hard to understand and thats what makes this album so wide reaching, influential, and just profound. A great album and certainly one for the ages.
Also bonus points for arguable the greatest album cover art of all time. Incredibly iconic and infinitely influential.
3 likes
Einstürzende Neubauten
4/5
You know, I didn’t really expect to spend 56 minutes of my day today listening to a German screaming over power tools. But that is what I ended up doing. And I loved it. Did I understand anything they were angrily and passionately yelling in German while beating pots with wooden spoons? Nein. But that’s precisely what makes this album great. The complete and utter disorder and chaos that is such a completely new and otherworldly musical experience to me. I mean that’s why I started this whole project in the first place. And Einstürzende Neubauten absolutely delivered.
2 likes
Stevie Wonder
5/5
I mean this is just a 5 star album through and through. Home of countless classic bops and grooves, I couldn’t help but smile or dance listening through the entire double LP. Literally walking while listening to it I think I had an actual spring in my step. There’s certainly a reason this album gets all the praise it does.
For a man who had no sight, he sure had a whole lot of vision.
Okay holy cow I get the Stevie Wonder hype completely now.
Dang these are truly songs written in the key of life, it feels like in each of his songs he tunes into some part of my soul and just sits there and lets me explore it along to the bodacious vibes he so graciously gifts me.
1 likes
Booker T. & The MG's
1/5
The rock organ has completely lost all appeal to me.
Also I prefer chives.
1 likes
1-Star Albums (14)
All Ratings
Pixies
4/5
Edgy, provocative, and humorous.
An album that leaves me feeling strange and rather disoriented.
Certainly never a dull moment.
Where Is My Mind? stood out to me.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
3/5
My first experience with reggae and I can see the appeal, however I’m not sure how much its my thing.
Some great tracks I really enjoyed while others felt boring and redundant.
The last two were my faves, High Tide or Low Tide and All Day All Night.
Bob Dylan
5/5
Ooooh baby no way, third album in and it’s not only one I’ve already heard but absolutely one of my favorite albums of all time and even one of the albums that really led to me diving head first into music. This album is fundamental to my music taste. It’s been over half a century since this masterpiece came out and still nothing has even come close to recreating its beauty and artistry. Dylan is a poet and that is unarguable.
This album is truly enchanting. Dylan’s distinctive voice paired with the folksy tunes, poignant harmonica, and delicious organ (especially in the likes of Stuck Inside of Mobile) create a charming atmosphere I honestly can’t understand how anyone could dislike. People say how this album sounds “too old” for them but honestly my first reaction to this album was how on earth is this album as old as it is, it feels and sounds just as relevant, revolutionary, and powerful today as I’m sure it was when it released in 1966.
Beck
4/5
Originally was kinda annoyed by this album, and the first half still kinda annoys me for some reason, I think it’s mostly just the mix of his voice not being my favorite and all the weird sounds he used with the strange vibes, but the tail end of the album had some good songs I did actually enjoy quite a bit after some more listens.
Edit: (3->4) how did I not see this before, phenomenal album, love all the weird sounds now. Guess it just had to grow on me. Good stuff from my boy Beck.
Metallica
4/5
This is an incredibly entertaining album from beginning to end. Exciting guitar riffs, Hetfield’s rough and angry voice, all coated in a beautiful simplicity combine to make a record that is really quite enjoyable. I honestly didn’t really know exactly what metal was before listening to this album and I’m very glad my horizons have been expanded because this was hype (after reading up a bit more on it apparently this is quite a change of pace for Metallica who were pioneers of the thrash metal genre, something quite different from this, but I’m still excited to experience that as well). Will definitely return to this and continue to enjoy it. Also despite its immense popularity I actually didn’t really love Enter Sandman too much.
Led Zeppelin
4/5
My golly did this album have some bangers. Also was not expecting the album to turn folk all of the sudden there?? But I lowkey loved it. Score could def become a five with more listens, I liked this way more than I was expecting
Maxwell
4/5
One hell of a vibe. Smooth buttery and warm, an enjoyable listen fs
The Go-Go's
2/5
Mid af. Really boring, nothing interesting, or standoutish.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
3/5
I think reggae is growing on me more but I’m not sure how great this album is still for me. It’s fun stuff but I can’t ever imagine myself returning to this.
Manic Street Preachers
3/5
This is the kind of thing I think I could really enjoy but just with a couple listens I couldn’t really differentiate between a lot of the songs. I enjoyed the punky hard rock sort of vibes though and the strong accent of the singer was fun to listen to. So overall wasn’t too memorable butt really not too bad.
Ali Farka Touré
3/5
I enjoyed it a lot at first which I didn’t quite expect to seeing as I couldn’t understand a thing he was saying, but then because of that I think I lost a lot of interest later into the album. I must say it was still quite good though and I really did love the music and the guitar and everything. Great stuff fs, just mildly unnoticeable.
Stevie Wonder
5/5
I mean this is just a 5 star album through and through. Home of countless classic bops and grooves, I couldn’t help but smile or dance listening through the entire double LP. Literally walking while listening to it I think I had an actual spring in my step. There’s certainly a reason this album gets all the praise it does.
For a man who had no sight, he sure had a whole lot of vision.
Okay holy cow I get the Stevie Wonder hype completely now.
Dang these are truly songs written in the key of life, it feels like in each of his songs he tunes into some part of my soul and just sits there and lets me explore it along to the bodacious vibes he so graciously gifts me.
Scott Walker
2/5
Feels very dramatic at times with his powerful and emotional voice, which can definitely be a good thing or a bad thing depending on what you like. I didn’t hate it myself but I didn’t love it either. The music itself isn’t much interesting to me though. Feels like I’m getting serenaded on some Italian villa. Alright I’m getting sick of this voice and music now I just want the album to be over. Yeah this was pretty uninteresting, I am not a fan of the overuse of the dramatic voice with dramatic violins and then the occasional just weird track where he puts some weird ahh beat on to sound a little creepy or something and starts singing some really strange lyrics about like sex and stuff (I didn’t like Next if you couldn’t tell lol)
Hugh Masekela
3/5
I don’t really know how to review jazz really but I liked this, it was pretty good.
Kendrick Lamar
5/5
Literally so good I bought the vinyl.
The Isley Brothers
4/5
Pretty mundane throughout, especially with the lyrics, though definitely not with the vocals which do help a lot to compensate for the often repetitive lyrics and instrumentation. Just leaves it feeling like most of the songs drone on for way too long even though they aren’t awfully long. Also RIP Chris Jasper, apparently he died the day I got this album.
Okay actually just listened to this a second time and my opinion is completely changed. The funk is now within me. This slaps.
Edit: (3->4) somehow wrote that second paragraph after relinquishing myself in the funk and did not give this album more than three stars. I am so sorry that was a serious sin and I will go repent now. My bad gentlemen and gentleladies.
Kings of Leon
2/5
Kinda gives George Ezra but slightly more decent. The album has some good songs (cold desert was a special stand out) and some really not good songs (the oh oh ohs in the background of use somebody annoy me a lot) making the album feel kinda inconsistent. Honestly as an album though it was really not great at all.
Miles Davis
5/5
With someone as renowned as Miles Davis you expect an album from him to be sensational. And with a taste for jazz like mine you’d expect me to love it. This, however, didn’t stand out to me so much, nothing really piqued my interest. That’s not to say it was a bad album but it just wasn’t quite what I was expecting or hoping it would be. I think I need to understand jazz better to really be able to appreciate the beauty of this album, but for now this album is just alright.
Update: after more listens I definitely appreciate this album a lot more.
Double update: I get it now. The mere thought of dying without having heard this album in my life is nightmarish to me.
Booker T. & The MG's
1/5
The rock organ has completely lost all appeal to me.
Also I prefer chives.
Beth Orton
5/5
Central Reservation is solemn and sacred through every element of its creation. Orton’s hazy singing and soft dictation, her lonely and emotional lyrics, and her gentle guitar weeping coated in an electronic glaze all comes together to form the most gentle and yet profound work of art I have discovered so far along this musical journey.
Also this is album is pretty much exactly my taste in music so there is a significant amount of bias in reviewing this. But that’s the point in preferences soooo.
The The
1/5
First song feels like 80s Halloween and I’m not here for it.
They really aren’t seeming to want to depart from this whole 80s Halloween theme.
Why the frickin accordion and organ. Whyyyyy…
Nah okay I figured it out this is what this is: this is what people call “meaningful” and “artistic” because it’s some British dude “singing” weird creepy lyrics in an overly edgy way over some minimalistic poop beat. But because it’s British and weird and edgy it’s “art”. Nah this is crap.
Beatles
5/5
Ooh today is gonna be a good day.
Honestly didn’t start off as amazing as I was expecting. It obviously began with the great hit Come Together which is of course a great start and a great song but I think I’ve heard that song enough to where it’s kind of lost much of its greatness to me. Something is of course also an amazing follow up and Maxwell’s Silver Hammer did not disappoint either. But then Oh! Darling came on and I was impressed. That song hit. That’s when I knew this album was something special. I don’t think a better song could also have been written about an Octopus’s Garden so I must applaud the band for that. The ceiling for such a song is still pretty low hahaha. But now I’m kinda mad though cuz upon hearing I Want You (She’s So Heavy) I’m honestly wondering where have half of these Beatles songs been my entire life. Like this song is BUS and I frickin grew up on Beatles, like I heard this band a BUTT ton growing up and know all of the hits by heart and you’re telling me I was deprived access to these absolute bangers like Oh! Darling and I Want You (She’s So Heavy). Genuinely upset, but also so glad I get to experience it today now for the very first time. Ahh and then the number one hit of all time, Here Comes The Sun, I hadn’t heard this song in so long when the happy-go-lucky guitar began playing it was like a warm blanket of good times and nostalgia flooded me. Overplayed and overloved as it may be, you cannot deny the amazing song that it is. It is truly a well needed message of hope this world needed and still needs more than ever. Listening to it literally feels like the sun is coming, I feel a warm rush over my body like the sun really bathes my skin and a vision of better times appears. The album then moves onto Because, a sweet song of love with some cute and clever lyrics I enjoyed. Did not expect that fun little switch up in You Never Give Me Your Money, I liked it cuz otherwise I was about to be like lowkey this song is feeling kinda boring. The Beatles got it though, I’m learning they definitely know how to make a song. Sun King is a warm and lovely transition followed by the fun short skit-like song of Mean Mr. Mustard. The nonstop smooth transitioning of short song into short song at this point of the album is really interesting to me. It works really well in the album and provides a really interesting segment. Really fun vocal deliveries in Golden Slumbers from Paul I greatly enjoyed. Things feel like they start to build up into something grandiose with the orchestral and dramatic vibes of Carry That Weight. It’s intense and suspenseful. And it’s all so beautifully resolved in The End. So apropos, I love it. And with great, albeit simple, lyrics to end it all off: “in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make.” A great reminder and really drives the point of this album in so many ways. First the basic and blatant one, that we must love. Although a simple reminder, it is a much needed one. Its a reminder that has aged like wine, all the more needed the more and more this world has progressed. If anything, this album is more relevant for this reason today than it was even upon its creation. The other lesson I learned from this album is from its simplicity. The instrumentation, the lyrics, the vocals, all of it, are so incredibly simple and the themes too, they are all so simple, and yet in their simplicity there is so much meaning and beauty. I mean there is a massive stretch in this album of tiny short 2 minute or less songs that just blend into each other so well and form a tight and cohesive and enjoyable part of the album. But the songs are so short and so simple. Nothing is inaccessible and nothing is hard to understand and thats what makes this album so wide reaching, influential, and just profound. A great album and certainly one for the ages.
Also bonus points for arguable the greatest album cover art of all time. Incredibly iconic and infinitely influential.
Living Colour
3/5
What’s Your Favorite Color? is an indisputable BOP.
The rest of the album is alright.
Beatles
5/5
I can’t believe I got two GOATED Beatles albums in three days. I am being BLESSED.
Great album of course, pivotal pop album and incredibly influential on the entire genre even til now. Home of so many Beatles bangers and a groove the whole way through. In my ranking of Beatles albums thus far, however, I would say this one is below Abbey Road.
Soul II Soul
4/5
I gotta say I quite enjoyed this. I really quite enjoyed this. It felt similar to Massive Attack’s Blue Lines which is an album I already love so this was a familiar and welcome sound (albeit worse by comparison). The lyrics were pretty weak and at some points so was the music, but the wide variety of textures and sounds that come from this album more than compensate making sure it is never a boring listen.
Leonard Cohen
5/5
Giving Gregory Alan Isokov and I am HERE FOR IT.
OH MY GOSH BECAUSE IT IS!!! ONE OF US CANNOT BE WRONG IS A COVER!!! THIS IS CRAZY REVELATION MY WORLD IS CHANGED WHO IS THIS MAN I NEED HIM IN MY LIFE!!!
BRO AND THIS IS THE GUY WHO WROTE FRICKIN HALLELUJAH!!?!
Leonard Cohen you are my new favorite man.
Okay actual review time. It’s probably worth noting that I am already quite predisposed to folk, a wee bit biased toward it, so needless to say I’ve listened to this album over 6 times now (in addition to some of his other works) since getting it for my album of the day. It deserves every one of those listens, and I will continue to listen to this album til the day I die. I mean the lyrics are some of the most poetic I have ever had the pleasure of hearing. His soft and quaint voice matches with his gentle guitar and it all just comes together to form some of the most calming, comforting, and nostalgic music I have ever heard in my entire life despite the fact I’ve never heard this album before let alone any Leonard Cohen. These songs sound like I may as well have known them my whole life. But these songs are so much more than that. There is an element of dark humor expressed in his vivid imagery and poetic writing, the irony of One Of Us Cannot Be Wrong comes to mind, a humor and irony that is so beautifully paralleled to the juxtaposition of the humorous lyrics and yet solemn guitar. You want to laugh and yet you can’t. This is the mastery of Leonard’s abilities. In doing so he permits us to recognize the humor of the scene he has laid out in front of us, and yet restrains our ability to mock it. This allows us as the listener to internalize and reflect upon the deeper meanings and applications of his words. Every joke has an ounce of truth to it. It’s an unbelievable combination of musical prowess and lyrical expertise that is just astounding. Through his debut, Leonard pushes the boundaries of folk, music, and even art. Thank you 1001 albums for introducing me to this folk king, you are truly doing god’s work 🙏
Def Leppard
1/5
Bro it didn’t save my review I wrote but this is just bland hard rock that’s really hard to take seriously. Lyrical content is garbage and musical content has much to gain.
Edit: (2->1) Calling this album a piece of garbage would be a compliment to this album in my eyes.
Minor Threat
2/5
You know, at least this album was really short. It was really just a headache though. I was 4 songs in and didn’t even realize I was they all sounded so much the same.
Janelle Monáe
3/5
Quite long and not that interesting. It was listenable though.
Coldplay
3/5
Pretty basic soft rock stuffs. Not bad at all but not great either. Heavily carried by “Yellow.” Everything else is just quite alright.
David Bowie
3/5
I don’t really want to write a review for this one but it was alright, some good stuff for sure and probably deserves more than a 3 but I think I just didn’t listen to and digest it enough.
David Gray
3/5
Starts great, ends great, but there’s a really long stretch there in the middle where everything was just a tad bit arduous to listen to.
The Stone Roses
4/5
Without getting really super into it, they do have a really great sound that I enjoyed. Feels like a returnable album fs.
Siouxsie And The Banshees
3/5
I just cannot stand this style of vocals. Like in all truthfulness this is not the worst thing I’ve ever heard and in fact many parts of it are quite good, just that darn voice has to pierce through the entire frickin album.
Otis Redding
3/5
I wanted to like this more than I did and it did have some great hits on it such as My Girl and I’ve Been Loving You Too Long, his voice was amazing ofc too, but the music just didn’t captivate me so much. It was good though and I can see the albums merit, I think I may just need to devote it more time and energy.
Beck
4/5
I like this Beck album significantly more than the other one. I think Beck has grown on me a lot and I may have judged the other one too harshly because now I really want to return to it. I really did quite enjoy this one though, it was a fun listen and very interesting the whole way through. Where it’s at was the highlight of the album fs.
Talking Heads
4/5
Yeah this is good. I am a little bit of a sucker for the Talking Heads though, so I will note that bias. I love their goofy yet serious attitude and eccentric yet sophisticated vibe. And I think this album really nails that entire image so perfectly. And it being an enjoyable work of art at the same time is just a great plus. Will certainly be returning to this. 4 star but a very high 4.
Elliott Smith
5/5
I first listened to this album late last year because I was told it was one of the greats. And I remember listening to it and wondered how was this one of the greats. I felt as though I wasted my time with it. Needless to say, I did not love the album. In fact, honestly, I’m still not sure if I even love it. I’m still not sure if I even get it. Further, I honestly don’t even have half a clue what Elliot Smith is saying in his lyrics through this album. The music itself is not even that interesting or exciting. His voice is certainly nothing to write home about either. Nothing he does is really that innovative or creative. These common criticisms of the album I have shared and still share with many. And yet, beyond all of that, as I have listened to this album countless times since my first listen, I have noticed there is a resonating feeling deep behind the fleshy hollow gorges of my soul whenever I listen to this album that somehow, perhaps through the aether of the universe, connects me with the music contained herein. Truly, it is a beautiful, sacred, and hallowing experience listening to this album. It’s a quiet and careful experience, however, one that if you divert your focus away from it for even a second you risk missing out on the whole thing. It’s a simulacrum if Elliott’s own mental state, he invites us into the delicate space of his mind that is at such odds with itself (“either/or”) that even the slightest distraction will make it impossible to hear the quiet voices that are behind the brain static we coat ourselves with. The pure and raw emotional depth of this record is unparalleled by nearly any other music I have heard. His soul aches, and the voices, when you hear them, yearn. Power lies in subtlety.
Tina Turner
3/5
I gotta say I was pleasantly surprised by this album. Not to say it was the best thing I’ve ever heard but it was significantly better than what I was expecting going into an 80s pop album. It was enjoyable and had some really good hits. Also it was nice to have another woman represented on this list so dominantly plagued by men.
The Smashing Pumpkins
5/5
I must say. I am quite impressed. I mean holy cow. A 2 hour double LP is certainly something to get through to say the least, but somehow this album managed to remain unique, entertaining, and quite varied through its entirety. There were soft sounds, angsty sounds, harsh sounds, experimental sounds, solemn sounds, playful sounds, and so many more sounds. And it made every second of the 7200 second album a really great experience. I would almost say the albums immense length is one of its biggest strengths in way because it meant the goodness of the album could last even longer. This is certainly an album I want to return to but I don’t know how much I realistically can because it is the length of a frickin movie lol. It certainly has the entertainment value of a movie though.
I acknowledge this album is probably far from perfect and I wasn't able to fully process it because I could only listen once but I honestly think this album deserves a 5 just for being fully entertaining for 2 hours.
The Rolling Stones
3/5
I think there was some good stuff on this album but I just didn’t really notice. All I could pay attention to was the massive bulge on the album cover. It was very distracting.
Jane Weaver
3/5
I mostly just don’t want to spend the time to actually review this which is probably reminiscent of a 2 but whatever I’m feeling generous today so it gets a 3. Most recent album we’ve gotten so far on this list and I’d never even heard of it which was kinda interesting.
Elvis Presley
4/5
I don’t think words could express the amount of joy and pride my grandparents would have knowing that this album holds up for a 19 year old male 69 years after its release in 1956 (TO THE DATE WILD COINCIDENCE).
This album’s sound is emblematic of the hopelessly unattainable romantic American ideal. It’s hopeless romanticism (and blatant misogyny) is endlessly captivating and terribly idyllic. Nothing can seem to go wrong listening to this record. Call it ignorance, call it naivety, or call it that sense of childlike carelessness we long for from the day we lose it, either way the tunnel vision caused by this album is so narrow the listener is left nearly blind. But it is in blindness where beauty is found. Sorry I’m waxing poetic, I think the album is getting to me. Brilliant album and a true classic.
Edit: (5->4) yeah I must’ve been on some kind of trip writing that review because I mean yeah this album was great but sheeeeesh that great? I don’t know… honestly amazingly written review though not to toot my own horn or anything haha.
Taylor Swift
4/5
This is an album I’ve been meaning to listen to for a long long while so I’m gonna go through it song by song and then give my overall thoughts.
Song by song:
Willow was kind of a weak opener imo. Champagne Problems was a solid follow up though and very much made up for it. Gold Rush was great despite the chorus being kinda annoying but 100% the kind of thing that would be a BLAST chanting in the car with the girlies. Christmas song on this album?? Oh no wait it’s just titled that way. It’s a solid lamenting type song, very good depressing crying in the car vibe song. Ooh Tolerate It, we got a sad girl piano song here. I mean I was expecting it to be mid and let’s just say my expectations were met. No Body, No Crime is BUSTASTIC holy cow wow, I love the returning to her roots with this country addition and the whole story telling and everything. Good stuff, catchy, and fun as heck. Ah Happiness, you know a song titled that is gonna be about everything besides happiness. Well ig it was kinda about happiness in a way but it didn’t really give me much happiness bc it wasn’t a really great song, had a good development and progression but everything else I was not a fan of. Dorothea just feels forgettable. Not a big The National guy personally but actually I didn’t mind Coney Island so much. Ooh Ivy I am liking a lot though! Gives Invisible String from Folklore and I like it. I’m not so sure about Cowboy Like Me… Long Story Short was decent though. YO! I think Marjorie is a new favorite of mine, GREAT FRICKIN SONG. I don’t like the little vocal twang thing she tries to do in Closure, not a fan of that at all and also the song in general just sucks and really doesn’t feel like it fits in the album. And finally, we’re at the Bon Iver song, this is really what we were here for. Yeah, no that was another new favorite. Even better than what I was expecting and I was expecting the best song on the album so. Love love love.
Bonus tracks:
Right Where You Left Me, I mean this is just a good song. I am just a sucker for this alt pop country twang stuff with its little catchy hooks and classic T Swift imagery and great production. What can I say. And then It’s Time to Go feels like Last Great American Dynasty 2.0 which isn’t bad it just doesn’t feel necessary.
Overall opinion:
I mean this album is great. I knew I would like it because it’s Folklore’s sister album, but I would say it is overall definitely worse than its sister. It struggles with being consistently good, a lot of the songs are mid, however it also often pulls out some of the best songs I have heard recently. So it’s quite bipolar. For the most part nothing is horrible though and it was a fun listen through and through, Taylor knows how to make an enjoyable album fs. Don’t think I’ll ever return to it as an album but I’ll enjoy some of its singles certainly.
Aimee Mann
3/5
90s singer-songwriter with a strong rock influence. I mean what’s not to love! Well, a lot actually haha. But starting with what I liked: I think I’m just a big fan of Mann’s vocal style tbh, it feels a lot like stuff I heard a lot growing up. And I did listen to a lot of the 90s rock scene thanks to my dad’s taste in music. So that’s probably where a lot of my love for this album comes from. There’s a lot more stuff to like about this album though including the fun variety of styles explored and executed generally quite well. Like the funeral march style of Jacob Marley’s Chain or the heavier dramatic rock of Say Anything. Or whatever the vibes were of I Could Hurt You Now. The only issue is there’s also a lottt of songs on this album like Mr. Harris where I’m sitting here thinking why is this even on the album. It just feels like it adds nothing but runtime to the album. Also even the ones with their interesting styles aren’t even necessarily that good, they’re just eccentric. Overall though, I think there’s a lot of stuff on this album that could grow on me.
Digital Underground
1/5
Based purely off of the album art and title I know exactly what I’m stepping into with this album.
Yep, no way, lo and behold it was a 90s rap concept album about sex.
It looks dated, sounds dated, feels dated, smells dated, and tastes dated. Not to mention every track goes on for way too long. It was excruciating getting through this. The one point I’ll give this album is these guys were obviously just having fun and vibing.
“No more will I ever have to jack it cause instead, I can just take a sex packet.” This is peak.
Electric Light Orchestra
1/5
Ughhhh I am not excited for this. I will be utterly surprised if I give this album anything more than a 1 purely for it having Mr blue sky on it. Ughhh and it just gets worse. It’s 17 songs long and an hour and 11 minutes.
Yup. Easiest 1 I’ll ever give.
Miles Davis
5/5
This stuff was actually amazing. I mean classic extraordinary Miles Davis right here. Partially inventing and pioneering an entire genre and absolutely cooking while doing so. This man was barely human. The only slight to this record is its format as two 20 minute songs makes it kinda hard to return to and enjoy casually. Amazing music though regardless. And also can we talk about how amazing the album cover is. I was leaning more towards a 4 but I think that album art pushes it to the 5 it truly deserves.
Leonard Cohen
5/5
I’m in awe. Words cannot describe the album experience I just had. I sobbed when I finished listening. Tears literally fell from my eyes. Leonard Cohen does not miss, even at 82. Especially not at 82. I think this is actually my favorite album I have had the privilege of listening to so far on this list. What a stunning and just perspective altering work of art.
Songhoy Blues
3/5
I find it really hard to rate these international albums. Given off of just vibes honestly this album was great. I loved the use of the main voice with the background “response” voices, even though I couldn’t understand the lyrics the use of the voice as an instrument really good. I loved also the actual instrumentation, it carried a lovely vibe with it I thoroughly enjoyed, especially through the guitar. My complaint however, and it definitely comes from my oblivious and ignorant ear as someone quite far removed from this kind of music generally, is that the whole album kinda sounds the exact same. There isn’t much distinction for me between one song and another and it makes the album feel like it carries on for far too long. It’s a good vibe in the beginning, but by the end it feels old. I definitely did like this album though a lot more than I was expecting and I’m glad I was exposed to it.
Billy Bragg
3/5
I don’t like how this is a double LP. It easily could’ve been just a normal LP, the entire second disc is stuff you would expect to hear on a deluxe extended version of an album and not stuff I felt I needed to hear at all. I mostly just feel let down after listening to this album because going into this I was quite excited it being an alt folk album from a guy I’d heard of before and it turned out to be not that good.
Also I did not expect a country song to have pro immigration lyrics. How the genre has changed… The leftism of this whole album is really quite shocking in general, Billy is very blunt and in your face about it.
Edit: (2->3) I’m so glad I’ve since turned around on Billy, I think he just took some getting used to but this album is by no means bad.
Jeff Buckley
5/5
I love when I get the opportunity to review an album I’ve listened to before. I’ll be fully honest here though, when I first listened to it a while back I really tried, I listened probably 5 times in a row to this album and I just did not get it. I couldn’t hear what set this album above the rest. I’m happy to say after coming back to it today I now hear what puts this album above the rest. This is an incredibly beautiful and just soul-touching record. Every song is a ballad of passion and emotion that reaches and grasps to try and touch you. It’s desperate and it’s powerful. It pleads and it grieves. And it was a lovely album experience. Nothing less than five stars.
The Yardbirds
3/5
I lowkey wanted to hate this album but it really wasn’t that bad. Kinda long, but that’s cuz there doesn’t exist a non deluxe version for some reason on Apple Music smh. So just taking it at main album value it was pretty decent but nothing mind blowing.
Sly & The Family Stone
2/5
The second track, holyyyy.
This really was not my thing though at all. I couldn’t get with it, I didn’t find it fun, or entertaining, and certainly not meaningful or emotional. Or even really that quality. I can understand if this was maybe an influential record and that adding to its merit but it just didn’t do it for me. I will say though, I did groove with sex machine.
Terence Trent D'Arby
3/5
This album was kinda like candy, it tasted good but lacked pretty much all nutrients. It also started really sweet but then quickly lost its flavor. So while I greatly enjoyed it, it didn’t provide much meaningful substance and lost much of its appeal a few tracks in. I think it’s mostly the lyrics to blame for that as often the instrumentation and his voice were amazing, creative, and extremely varied. Actually I take that back, sometimes the instrumentation was a bit lackluster. Overall fine album though.
The Last Shadow Puppets
2/5
I thought I recognized this vocalist! It’s the arctic monkeys guy!
Honestly this album wasn’t bad at all I just don’t understand why it’s on this list. Like this is a 3 star album but a 1 star list inclusion. I did not need to hear this before I die whatsoever.
The White Stripes
4/5
Call me pleasantly surprised, this album was really good! Going into it I was a little disdainful as I’m not really the biggest White Stripes fan, but I found myself through the whole album vibing along with pretty much every track. And it wasn’t just enjoyable but it was like actual quality music and lyrics and everything too. Really impressed and taken away by this record, good stuff.
N.W.A.
4/5
Now this is a straight classic I’ve heard before. I love getting to revisit defining albums like these.
Wow though, I forget how brash, abrasive, blunt, intimidating, and violent this record is. I mean it’s a shock. Gangsta rap at its finest. Unfortunately that does mean the lyrical content contains a lot of themes of misogyny, homophobia, and general hate speech, plus advocacy for violence and usage of illegal substances. This is of course coming from an upper middle class white kid who grew up in the 21st century, so it’s a completely different world and perspective for me to understand here. So while this is an amazing and incredibly influential record I can’t in full conscience give this a perfect score.
Also “You know I spell girl with a B” is a lineee lol.
Depeche Mode
4/5
This is honestly quite good. I enjoy this a lot. I can’t quite touch on why but it’s vibes just feel right. It’s dark and it’s angsty and it’s contentious and I think I like that. The beginning of the album was certainly the highlight but it honestly didn’t fall off too much for me. The instrumental outro was great.
Ms. Dynamite
4/5
I was kinda expecting a mid af early 00s rap album but instead what I got was an UBER MEGA BUS early 00s rap album. I loved this record. There are some moments of course on this record where the songwriting or lyricism or beat feels a bit uninspired and the album could be a lot shorter. But I think cutting out those parts you could have a really good album here. I gotta give credit where credit is due though, those remaining tracks on such a shortened version of this album are GOOD. I struggled picking just 3 songs to add to my playlist, in fact I still haven’t narrowed it down haha. Also I really love that this list had at least one female rap artist album inclusion and not just a bunch of old male boomer crap.
Alright okay I just listened to it a second time through. And I think what we may have here is a hidden gem. I’m honestly shocked this album wasn’t more popular. I still don’t think it’s perfect but holy cow is it close so I may just round up to a 5 if I’m feeling generous.
Nahhh I’m not feeling generous but know this album was honestly way good.
Rush
3/5
I think this album is the definition of fine.
Madonna
4/5
Honestly this is the standard for pop. Really solid very fun good stuff.
The Velvet Underground
3/5
I was quite invested in the storytelling of The Gift.
Other than that though I was too busy sucking on his ding-dong.
Aretha Franklin
3/5
I wish I liked this album more than I did. I know this album is great, I really do, but it just didn’t quite fully capture my attention.
5/5
All 3 of the most goated Beatles records in the first 100 albums!? This is crazy, now I’m gonna have nothing to look forward to for the next 900 albums. Amazing record though, nothing less than 5 stars. The first three songs are among some of The Beatles greatest and A Day In The Life like holy cow what an ending to an album. Amazing stuff throughout the middle too with the Indian influenced Within You Without You being a special standout. I mean it’s just a timeless classic. I would rank it amongst Beatles records I’ve listened to so far below Abby Road but above Revolver.
Stephen Stills
2/5
Given by the fact I tried 5 different times to try and finish this album and just could not manage to ever focus past the 3rd song I think speaks enough to my review of this album. It’s not good. It’s basic and it’s bland 70s folk rock. Which is normally my thing, I frickin love Bob Dylan, but this did not interest me in any way. It really isn’t objectively bad music though so I won’t give it 1 star but it just wasn’t for me so for that I’ll go with 2 instead. I’ll be a generous and merciful reviewer today ig.
The Doors
2/5
Mundane 70s blues rock, it wasn’t even bad per se just nothing stood out in any regard. So I’m having a very difficult time finding even one song to add to my playlist from this. And I’m especially confused why the curator of this list felt the need to include this album as part of the 1001.
Pink Floyd
5/5
I remember first listening to this album when I was 14. I listened to a lot of Pink Floyd in those days. I didn’t really know what to listen to but I’d heard of Pink Floyd and how they were this “progressive rock” band which appealed to my teenage brain that strongly wanted to be different and weird. Little did I know that The Dark Side Of The Moon was one of the best selling records of all time lol. Regardless, this is a fundamental album to my music taste from the very beginnings of my musical journey so getting to return to it today after way too long of a time was a wonderful privilege. I can’t imagine giving this record anything less than 5 stars, and frankly it’s a wonderful break from the onslaught of annoying 70s rock I’ve gotten before this. It’s a good reminder that 70s rock can be and is good, and sometimes even delicious.
Dagmar Krause
1/5
It was not worth listening to this.
The Smashing Pumpkins
5/5
I loved Mellon Collie and it’s only gotten better for me with time and I must say I loved Siamese Dream even more even after just one listen. It’s much more digestible, contains just the same amount of wild variance of styles, and still completely slaps. Nothing on Mellon Collie at all, in fact I take back what I said earlier I still think I prefer it, this is just a significantly shorter album and much easier to listen through. Easy 5 stars though and a true classic.
Radiohead
4/5
I was pleasantly surprised by this album. I wasn’t expecting one of the lesser talked about Radiohead albums to be all too good but if this is any indicator for how good the greats are then I’m very excited for those. I really enjoyed a lot of the jazz style and influence on this record especially but also just the wide variety of style experimented with here. It was all enjoyable and quality stuff.
Pink Floyd
5/5
No way, I just got dark side of the moon a couple days ago and now I get the wall. The list is blessing us fr.
This album is beyond great. I mean it is THE quintessential concept rock album. You can’t do much better than it tbh. I think had this been my first time listening to this album my mind would have been completely blown but unfortunately I’m quite familiar with the songs in this album so instead it was just an amazing experience haha. Also I would rank The Wall above Dark Side of the Moon in the Pink Floyd catalog.
The Divine Comedy
3/5
I’m honesty a bit confused about all the hate for this album, like it really isn’t all that bad. I mean it isn’t amazing either but this was more than digestible. I even enjoyed some parts I would say. I will admit however that I am a bit confused also by the actual contents of the album too. I was expecting going into this album with its title and the band name this would be some sort of satirical album in some way remarking the over saturated cliche of love songs and love albums that are out there. And yet what I got, at least as far as I could tell listening to it, was a completely unironic unapologetic album actually about love. So that was interesting. Maybe I read it all wrong but that’s what I got at least. Really not bad though.
Lou Reed
4/5
Considering my previous experience with Lou Reed as the frontman of The Velvet Underground, I wasn’t very excited for this album. I think I greatly prefer his solo work though as I found myself actually really liking this album. I’m not sure exactly what it was but this was just genuinely good stuff for the most part (Satellite of Love sucks I’m sorry).
Lorde
3/5
I’m not sure if this really annoys me or I kinda like it. Perhaps a mix of both.
Tears For Fears
3/5
EvErYbOdY wAnTs tO RuLe ThE wOrLd 🇬🇧
Einstürzende Neubauten
4/5
You know, I didn’t really expect to spend 56 minutes of my day today listening to a German screaming over power tools. But that is what I ended up doing. And I loved it. Did I understand anything they were angrily and passionately yelling in German while beating pots with wooden spoons? Nein. But that’s precisely what makes this album great. The complete and utter disorder and chaos that is such a completely new and otherworldly musical experience to me. I mean that’s why I started this whole project in the first place. And Einstürzende Neubauten absolutely delivered.
Pretenders
3/5
Another boring useless 80s rock album to listen to no different from the last and I predict no different from the next.
David Bowie
4/5
This feels really experimental and I like it. It’s clunky and nuanced and interesting in every moment. Perhaps, however, due to its extreme foreignness in sound I’m not quite accustomed to its complexities so it isn’t exactly the most enjoyable thing to listen to. But it is a fulfilling and rewarding listen and something I’m sure I could really love with time. Bowie ended his legendary legacy well.
Stereo MC's
4/5
I love this stuff. Absolutely superb work. This is right down my alley. Totally my vibe. Anything that sounds like Massive Attack with that electronic trip hop style immediately wins me over. That’s the second time I’ve made a comparison to them already going through this list with the first to Keep On Movin’, another record I really enjoyed. This is certainly on another level of quality though I feel like. It’s groovy af. Screw it yeah this gets a 5.
Edit: (5->4) no this album doesn’t get a 5. It was good and definitely my thing but I think this decision was a little too heavily based on the absolute BANGER the title track was. Which unfortunately is not the whole album because it just falls off a bit from there.
Marianne Faithfull
3/5
This really wasn’t exactly my thing and I’m honestly not quite sure whose thing this is. But it still was not too bad. I think my biggest complaint is her voice, it didn’t do well with me, but there were some genuine moments on this album I really enjoyed such as Guilt which was a great song and also the Shel Silverstein track.
A Tribe Called Quest
4/5
I understand why people see this album as one of the greatest albums of all time and I do appreciate what it has done for hip hop and its musical craftsmanship. It’s a good album, a great one even. I really love the heavy fusion between hip hop and jazz, the rapping over the minimalist jazz grooves is something I love a lot. Just for some reason the album doesn’t quite fully do it for me. I think I just don’t quite get it all the way. But I know this is good stuff and I’m able to appreciate it regardless, it’s just not quite my groove.
The Stranglers
2/5
I think this albums saving grace was its guitar riffs, I enjoyed those. Everything else was just not my speed.
The Waterboys
5/5
Now THIS is my speed. What a phenomenal album, I feel like it was made for me just to discover 40 years later. I love the Celtic folk rock style, it’s so fun and so interesting. Makes you vibe, makes you feel, and makes you just enjoy music and life altogether. This albums immense length is both a great strength and a great weakness as I’m not sure how often I’ll be returning to this album in full, but it did mean there was that much more superb content to enjoy. What a surprise and amazing discovery, 5 stars to make sure I don’t forget this gem.
Alanis Morissette
4/5
This album opens with some lovely angst accompanied with a great voice to match. Morissette’s voice remains interesting to me through the whole album and is easily one of my favorite things about it. And (to my pleasure) the angst continues all throughout as well. The songwriting is also excellent, I really saw this especially with the progression of the track Forgiven. This is the kind of album that you already know halfway through that the whole thing is gonna be great and won’t get boring, uninteresting, or repetitive by the end.
Simply Red
4/5
A delicious 80s pop soul debut from Sexyy Red’s very own father, Simply Red. Impressively good and quite enjoyable.
Cream
3/5
I kind of wanted to hate this album just by the nature of it looking like the most basic 60s psychedelic rock album of all time. But it honestly wasn’t that bad. Not my thing I'm listening to on loop per se, but I didn’t mind listening through it once today at all.
David Bowie
4/5
This album taught me that there really is no such thing as too much saxophone.
Fats Domino
3/5
This wasn’t on Apple Music so assuming what I was able to find on YouTube was the right thing I thought this wasn’t too bad at all. Not what I’m really looking to listen to haha, but I thought it was pretty good. Sounds very aged though, but that’s just the nature of the 50s.
Nirvana
4/5
I’ve never listened to any Nirvana ever before and I can now say I get why people love them now. It’s emotion and talent expressed like no other. Good stuff but I think it’ll take me a second to really fully appreciate this record.
4/5
Looking at the album cover I certainly had some prejudices going into this listen but all of them were set aside upon actually hearing the quality of this record. It was good and really enjoyable the whole way through. Honestly all of the songs were really good but most of all the album as a whole just felt really cohesive and well made. I liked this.
Red Hot Chili Peppers
4/5
Interesting album. I remember my high school friends loved RHCP and I know this is their seminal record so I had some level of expectations going into this. I am also aware that it is overly popular for those in their angsty teenage years and then quickly falls off in favor with people as they age. As for me and my current opinions of the album, I thought it was pretty good. Definitely a strange listen with all the genre switching and likely not something I’ll return to much but I definitely enjoyed a lot of it even if there were certainly some redundant tracks and it was quite lengthy as a result. I’ll round up to a 4 stars today cuz I’m feeling generous.
Massive Attack
5/5
This was excellent. Wonderful even. But also certainly not perfect, especially in comparison to Blue Lines and Mezzanine. But that’s a high bar so I can’t reallyyy expect an additional album from them of that high quality. It was still a great listen though with many standout tracks and great moments. The album as a whole was really cool too with a constantly changing vocalist and style. It didn’t feel super cohesive as a result but it sure did feel like Massive Attack so they at least did something right there.
Edit: (4->5) still no Mezzanine or Blue Lines but that sure as hell does not stop this from getting the 5 it deserves. I’ve become a big sucker for trip hop and Massive Attack. Truly the goats.
Foo Fighters
3/5
I much preferred Nirvana from earlier this week.
The Specials
3/5
So this is ska… huh. I like it. In fact, one might even say I enjoyed myself. It was not a load of bollocks.
ALSO COVENTRY REPRESENTS LETS GOOOOO!!!
Radiohead
5/5
Unsettling yet dreamy. Passionately angsty yet carelessly resolved. Some of the best individual song development, progression, and complex layering I have ever heard while still providing a masterfully crafted and cohesive album as a whole. Lyrically, amongst its abstractness, I felt at times as though Radiohead was eerily describing the exact alienating world we are unfortunately living in now almost three decades later. I won’t add anymore because I don’t think there’s anything more I can say to properly reflect the goodness of this album, just listen to it and enjoy it.
Eminem
3/5
I’m personally not much a fan of homophobic slurs, probably the biggest critique I have of this album.
Otherwise, this album really accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do: its pure shock factor is insane. The climax of Kim really puts this on full display. It’s unsettling, disturbing, violent, and terrifying.
I don’t really have anything else to say about this album though. In terms of what it’s sets out to do and how well it does it, it’s 5 stars. In terms of how much I like it and want to listen to it it’s around a 2. So I’ll settle on a 3 ig.
Morrissey
3/5
To think there are not only one, nor two, nor three, but FOUR solo albums from this insufferable dingus on this list, not mention all of the Smiths albums as well, really goes to show how much some men just want to suck this man’s ding dong.
As for the music though. I feel as though this might be one of the better of his I’ll have to experience.
1/4 done.
Fela Kuti
2/5
Some random worldwide live album from the 70s featuring the drummer of Cream that’s over an hour long and only 5 tracks? Yeah you already know I was ready to hate this album experience. Quite surprisingly, however, it wasn’t as bad as I was anticipating. Still nothing I’m looking to ever listen to and I wasn’t happy about having to add a song from this to my 1001 albums playlist, but I digress. Not something I regret listening to but not something I’d be happy to listen to again either. Sick 15 minute drum solo to end though.
Public Image Ltd.
2/5
This album sucks. In fact, it sucks so bad I listened to it twice just to hear what it was I don’t like about it. And it’s everything. I guess I was able to listen through it twice though and I believe that should count for something.
Julian Cope
1/5
The second half of this album was actively bad. Like my ears hurt listening to it. It was completely unenjoyable and ran on for far too long. I feel like I’m not fully justified in giving this album the dreadful one star however because there were also parts of this album I actively enjoyed and even thought were really good. But heck if some of those tracks didn’t make me want to fill my ears with concrete so I wouldn’t have to live anymore with even the possibility of hearing that pile of crap again.
Yeah, one star seems appropriate.
Pixies
4/5
This album was refreshing from the garbage the generator has been feeding me for the last few days. So especially in comparison this album was fantastic. A wonderful listen undoubtedly.
Actually I take that back, this is a great album regardless of by comparison or not, I was happy to listen to this album today multiple times. Good stuff from the Pixies.
Talking Heads
4/5
I gotta say, Talking Heads is consistently the band that continually shocks me the most the age they were making music. Their music just never sounds dated and I think will always stand the test of time. They just made good stuff that’s remained good. And this album is no different, even despite being literally named 77 and being from 1977, it sure defies every expectation it sets for itself.
Belle & Sebastian
4/5
I know this is the most basic of 90s indie alternative but this stuff is fire, sue me.
New Order
3/5
Really just not much stood out to me from this album. Sure it was good, but it just wasn’t all that interesting or impressive to me.
Neil Young
5/5
I mean this album has no misses, if that isn’t perfect I don’t know what is.
Method Man
2/5
This was not the greatest hip hop I’ve ever heard. I was uninterested and unimpressed. However, it was also not the worst hip hop I’ve ever heard. So two stars.
Radiohead
5/5
Well this is funny, I literally just listened to In Rainbows for the first time yesterday of my own choosing because I thought it would be forever until I would get it for my album of the day. Little did I know.
Great record though. Not quite nearly as mind blowingly phenomenal as OK Computer but a well crafted album nonetheless. It’s an enjoyable listen and pretty much no track is a miss. Also I enjoyed Weird Fishes and Reckoner so much I have to mention them specifically; great songs. The album as a whole though has room to grow on me, so for that reason I’m feeling a strong 4. Traaaans…
…ition.
🍉🥸
Edit: (4->5) the album grew on me.
The Cardigans
3/5
I really enjoyed the hit from the album Lovefool. Otherwise there were a couple other really solid songs, but the vibe of the album as a whole just felt really strange and unsettling and I’m not sure how I feel about it. I think it’s good but I’m not sure.
Fugees
4/5
I started listening to this and was wondering why it was so good. Then I read the description and learned this was Lauryn Hill. It all made sense after that. Great album from The Score.
Lambchop
3/5
I think I grew to kinda like this record. Or more so grew to not hate it haha, I don’t really love it all too much but off my first listen I was not into this much at all. Giving it a lot more chances though I found some parts of this album that were great and I quite enjoyed.
Peter Gabriel
2/5
I’ve been meaning to listen to some Peter Gabriel for a good second now. And I was kind of disappointed to be honest. I wouldn’t doubt if his later albums were much better, the jury isn’t completely out on this man yet. But his debut was certainly not it for me. He sounds like a strange mix between Randy Newman and Bon Jovi, two artists I largely dislike the music of. Solsbury Hill was a great song though I must say.
Prince
3/5
I wouldn’t be upset if I had to listen to this again, it was interesting and a good listen at the least. But I’m definitely not seeking out to listen to it again, it just wasn’t all that much my thing. Very long too, which isn’t always bad if it’s a great album but I don’t think this album was quite there. Solid enough though. I really enjoyed the variety of ways he used his voice.
Sonic Youth
2/5
This feels like the kind of band and music that could be really enjoyable to me if I liked the voice of the singer. Unfortunately I like neither Thurston Moore’s nor Kim Gordon’s voice and it really hurts the album for me. I think this is the kind of thing about an album that can certainly grow on you, but as it stands this is a 2 for me.
Eminem
2/5
Another album from Slim Shady himself filled with shock factor lyrics that a crowd of middle schoolers would find both admirable and hilarious. As for me I can’t help but cringe and find it disgusting. And I know, that’s the whole point. But I don’t particularly like music where that’s the point of it. It just feels like it’s trying to hard to hit that vibe too and that makes it even worse.
Yeah I’d be legit concerned if someone said Eminem was their favorite rapper at this point.
The Rolling Stones
4/5
This album was great. Really good music that was really enjoyable to listen to. Can’t ask for much more than that. I was expecting this especially to just be really basic 70s rock, which it still was cuz that’s what The Rolling Stones kinda is, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be absolutely bangin good too.
The xx
4/5
I’ve seen mention of this album before but I can’t remember where. I do remember there positive feelings toward it though from whoever I heard about it from. But within the first two seconds of listening I was kinda shocked because nothing like this had been on the list so far of the entire 116 or something we’ve gone through, like a minimalist sad boy alt rock vibes. So I may be biased in this review purely off the fact this is something completely different and is an easy listen but I vibed with this. I can definitely see myself returning to the mellowness of this record. I particularly enjoyed the choice to heavily use both vocalists voices through the whole album. Their voices work really well together and especially work individually really well with the vibe they’re going for here. It’s an easy listen but it’s a good listen. Nothing mind blowing, but certainly something refreshing.
My Bloody Valentine
3/5
I will say this album is no Loveless but I don’t think it quite deserves the hate it gets. It’s a great ambient album still and personally an enjoyable listen for me.
Stevie Wonder
5/5
Superstition gives this album a five already, everything else just puts this to an easy six. I think missing was just a concept completely beyond Stevie’s understanding. He don’t miss. Remarkable album filled to the brim with remarkable songs.
The Police
4/5
I really enjoy the reggae influence of this album. Pretty basic accessible dad-rock otherwise but with a great spin. Good listen.
Beatles
4/5
I really love how through this album listening experience I’ve been able to now actually go through and listen to all these old Beatles records and fully appreciate their greatness. And Rubber Soul is just another one of these greats. I really like the Beatles sound in this album. Not to mention phenomenal album cover art as well, one of my favorites. Not quite on the same level though overall as the other three Beatles we’ve had so far but great nonetheless.
Queen
3/5
Queen just doesn’t quite poop my potty. I understand they’re pretty revolutionary to rock but to me their anthemic theatrics sound redundant. This album specifically, however, I did not have much issue with. In fact, I found it generally enjoyable even. Perhaps I have improperly judged Queen for their dramatic and overplayed hits.
The Beach Boys
2/5
Nothing sounds more aged or outdated to me than The Beach Boys. Their overdone barbershop quartet style is just something so of the past with seemingly little relevance to the now. That’s probably incredibly factually incorrect but that’s just my ears take on this.
The Mamas & The Papas
2/5
I thought The Beach Boys yesterday sounded aged. Well actually this wasn’t so bad. But it wasn’t so great either. Perhaps it’s my youthful ear but I think there’s a reason the only song from this I know is California Dreamin’. Not actively bad but not my cup of tea.
Slint
5/5
I did not expect this album to be on the 1001 albums list at all! But lo and behold one of the easiest 5s to give thus far. I mean I already listen to this full album on my own probably twice a week anyway so today we’re just gonna put it on again and just fully enjoy it. What a solid post-rock album. I’m glad to see it get some extra recognition on this list.
Paul Weller
3/5
Bro probably thought he was hilarious when he put instrumental two between instrumental one parts 1 and 2.
Al Green
4/5
I found myself really enjoying this album on the second listen. The first listen was pretty unmemorable to be completely honest, but I decided to give it another chance and it was well worth it. The lyrical content and themes of this album really don’t run very deep and the music is not anything incredibly impressive either, but its simplicity and subtlety make this solid collection of music.
Frank Ocean
4/5
This is the kind of album that could just be the most basic, boring, and enjoyable of all listens. Its chill vibes could take over and lend itself to a lack of creativity and just go along with the flow. But I think Frank here does an excellent job of going apart from this and still using exciting fun sounds and using a creative theme via the “challenge orange” to express what he’s trying to say musically. These choices are what elevate Frank and his music above the other R&B pop artist of our generation. That being said this is no Blonde and the genre as a whole isn’t really my preference but I can recognize its objective quality.
King Crimson
2/5
King Crimson is just one of those classic critically acclaimed bands that I just do not get. Everyone seems to love them and their albums so much, calling them works of art and masterpieces, and perhaps Larks’ Tongues In Aspic is a little lower in many people’s rankings of their greatest work, but my point still stands that I just don’t quite understand it. It isn’t all that amazing to me. In fact, it was a mostly dry and boring listen. I will admit that some of those instrumental rock segments went hard, but a large portion I was sitting wanting it to be done already.
Blue Cheer
2/5
I did not begin the 1001 albums to listen to this.
R.E.M.
3/5
It was really strange reading the Apple Music description of this album after listening to it. Direct quote; “R.E.M. was an oddball group—even among fans of oddball music.” Apple Music and I must have listened to completely different albums because nothing about this album seemed oddballish to me at all. In fact, to me, this sounds almost completely opposite. I guess that’s not an actual review of the album but rather a commentary on the discourse surrounding this album, but overall this was just an alright listen.
Milton Nascimento
2/5
I cannot honestly say I’m excited to listen to an hour long Brazilian album today. But duty calls so here goes.
The experience was actually not too bad! It was a lot more entertaining than I was expecting. And I imagine if I spoke Portuguese it would have been even better, perhaps decent even. I don’t know if I’d seek out to listen to this again but it didn’t end up ruining my day and that is a win. Still doesn’t get more than two stars though.
The Sabres Of Paradise
2/5
Not my vibe at all.
Kanye West
4/5
Say what you will about the man, in fact I’ll say it: f*ck Kanye. But his music in this album is absolute bustastic. The production and the beats and variety of vibes and the skits and the 12 minute finale of just him telling his story of getting signed and stuff, like I could listen to him talk forever, it all combines to make one extremely solid hip hop album. It is really quite self evident why this man’s early work became so influential to so many who came after him and the entire future of the genre. So it really is a darn shame he went so far off the deep end.
Def Leppard
1/5
This sounds like a single 45 minute long song that explores no new ideas at risk of sounding possibly offensive to someone. And at the expense of trying to sound so inoffensive it is possibly the most offensive thing my ears have had to hear along this musical journey this far.
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
3/5
Those are quite the sounds to open up the album. And quite the sounds throughout the album too. Holy chicken dog.
UB40
3/5
Enjoyable little reggae album.
The Who
4/5
This album shouldn’t have surprised me for how good it was because of its legendary status, but it surprised me still the same. I guess I have low expectations for 70s rock albums. Great stuff and will listen again.
Miles Davis
5/5
Miles Davis was truly above this world. A phenomenal album that strikes to the core. The closer especially. A great soundtrack for walking alone at three in the morning lost in your thoughts. Timeless masterpiece undoubtedly.
Fairport Convention
4/5
Wow this was really good. Like really really good. Like tickling my balls good. I think I’ve heard of this album before in just my general awareness of solid folk albums but never had I listened to it before. Really just a masterful album, you can hear the influence of it in plenty of artists to come after and the styles and influences it borrowed from to craft this record. Old timey medieval folk music just hits different.
Edit: (5->4) this album really was like tickling my balls good. It was really fun at first in the moment, but now it’s kinda lost its appeal. I don’t my balls tickled anymore, sometimes I wanna be the one tickling your balls.
Garbage
4/5
This album is most definitely not garbage.
Mott The Hoople
3/5
I hear the Bowie influence and also a good amount of Dylan influence, at least in the way Ian Hunter sings, and I’m here for it. At least for the first three tracks and then it kinda falls off… and then it has a random absolute banger in the middle with Ballad of Mott the Hoople. Overall much better than I was expecting from a 70s rock album I’ve never heard of. You’d think at some point along this album journey I would learn to stop having expectations for the albums going into them. I’m always quite happy to be surprised though.
The Blue Nile
4/5
I love the little flourishes of the music. It makes it a constantly interesting and rewarding listen. His voice is soothing as well.
The Rolling Stones
2/5
When I think 60s rock, this is the very hallmark of the sound. And I mean that in the worst way possible. A dull and meaningless listen.
The Black Keys
3/5
I’m not sure really what came first or not but this sounds remarkably similar to Arctic Monkeys. Got a good amount of jams and grooves though and I generally liked it.
The Young Gods
3/5
Is this just French Kollaps?? That gets my seal of approval. Definitely quite a bit worse not being German but I feel like they did a pretty good job at this.
Dexys Midnight Runners
3/5
My favorite parts of this album were the instrumental and the poem. Decent album though actually.
Arcade Fire
4/5
From the quintessential 00s alternative rock group itself comes Neon Bible. I must say, I’ve never dived into Arcade Fire’s catalog to any capacity, but just from the exposure I got to them from this album I quite like them. It was a great album and I really liked a decent number of the tracks. Looking forward to listening to more of their more essential works.
Chicago
3/5
The music and content itself was decent but it just went on for way too goshdarn long. Started pretty strong though.
Meat Loaf
4/5
Okay but for why was this actually good though. Shocked to enjoy an album this much of the genre it is, from the period it’s from, with the album art it has.
Weather Report
3/5
I don’t know much of the genre of fusion but it seems pretty sweet. Decent stuff from Weather Report here.
AC/DC
3/5
A good album but I think it’s massively overrated. Or maybe its just really not my thing. Don’t get me wrong it has its fair share of bangers and massive hits, but those don’t necessarily earn you extra stars. So as for me it’s 3 stars.
Mj Cole
2/5
There wasn’t a single song from this album I was excited to listen to again. There also wasn’t a single song I would hate to listen to again either.
Tim Buckley
2/5
This is funny cuz I was just listening to Grace right before this today before I even knew this was the album of the day! That being said that’s really not the craziest coincidence because I listen to Grace a lot haha.
Regarding the album, the music is enticing and well made. The lyrical content however is… well he’s racist, constantly horny, and romanticizes infidelity and getting raped so. There isn’t much to love. I feel bad Jeff had to have the deadbeat this man obviously was as a father. I guess he overdosed when Jeff was only 9 anyway. Checks out.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
4/5
Another excellent album from our boy Neil Young. No idea who Crazy Horse is, I guess that’s his band doing all the instruments and stuff but Neil cooked with the folk per usual. My My, Hey Hey > Hey Hey, My My
Red Snapper
4/5
A solid electronic album with some solid influence. I especially loved the hip hop influence that lended this album a lot towards some trip hop vibes I really liked. Some really cool interesting stuff here I mostly liked and decently enjoyed. Rounding up to a 4.
Gorillaz
2/5
This just was really not quite it for me. Just felt mostly redundant and not very exciting as well as definitely too long. It does have great diversity of tracks however and a large variety of styles to keep things interesting. I still found it pretty boring though so I don’t know. Just not my thing I guess.
Supergrass
3/5
This is exactly what Luke told me it would be before I listened to it: exactly what I was expecting it to be. So that was right on two accounts. Decent collection of songs that stood out in no regard.
Paul Simon
4/5
I mean cmon, it’s Paul Simon, of course it’s gonna be good. Thoroughly enjoyed listening to this album today.
Cypress Hill
2/5
This was a tough listen. I get this is probably some fundamental 90s rap album but I just did not enjoy this. Probably has something to do with dropping the f slur not even a minute into the album. I know it was different times but idk it just turns me off. The album as a whole though was just really not enjoyable either. It sounded mostly monotonous to me and I couldn’t wait for it to be over. I’m honestly on the verge of giving a 1 out to this album but I think I’ll be merciful today.
Kraftwerk
4/5
I am currently coming off of the acid trip that was dancing with alien strippers on Starcruiser X-§Ă1ç to appease King Gobblygook on his luxury space cruise across the Ligmasigma galaxy. I have never felt this ethereal and sexy at the same time. I will be chasing this high for the rest of my life.
Funkadelic
4/5
This album just doesn’t exist on Apple Music apparently but the song titled the same thing does?? So I just listened to that and am reviewing that as the album. Great funky song that could no doubt put a whole nation under a groove.
Jazmine Sullivan
3/5
This was a refreshing album albeit not the greatest.
Black Sabbath
3/5
I’m not sure what the chances are I got Black Sabbath on the day of Ozzy Osbourne’s passing. But they gotta be real low. RIP Ozzy.
In terms of the album though, my gut tells me this not really Black Sabbath’s most notable work but it does make me excited to dig deeper into their catalog. I just feel like it’s probably not a great thing to fall asleep to an album especially if it’s a metal album. Feels like it goes a lot against the genre. Honestly good stuff though.
Ministry
3/5
I don’t know what kind of progression needs to take place for a band to go from making synth pop to this but I think it was a wonderful change. I can imagine a whole arena of people who look exactly like Jourgensen going absolutely ham to this stuff and I think that’s beautiful. Also now I really wanna ding-a-ding-dang my dang-a-long-ling-long.
Okay but this entire album is just a meme though right? Psalm 69? “The fathers… have filled you with the devils cock and he’ll cum in the name of the lord”? “Jesus built my car it’s a love affair”? You can’t make this stuff up.
Completely honestly though, this album was kind of enjoyable.
Bob Dylan
5/5
I’ve put off actually reviewing this album for a while because it is so easily a five star album, I mean this is prime Bob Dylan. The album is nonstop bangers, not a single skip on the whole album, every song was added to my folk playlist. At first, I will admit, I was unsure about Idiot Wind and Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts, but they have both since grown on me and are some of my favorites from the album. Also the closing three songs are ELITE, what an ending. It’s Dylan, it gets a five.
The Beau Brummels
3/5
This was much better than I was expecting it to be but that is very likely because it was only a 29 minute listen and I had low expectations. Honestly confused why this was an album I needed to hear before I died though.
Kanye West
4/5
I hate that both of the Kanye albums we’ve had so far have both been kinda absolute bangers. I really enjoyed Hold My Liquor and then I discovered Justin Vernon did the backing vocals and it all made sense. Awesome experimental album, horrible awful man.
Oasis
3/5
I mean this is your basic 90s British indie rock, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad. Usually a pretty enjoyable listen with some good songs.
Black Flag
2/5
I’m sorry but this is just not my stuff. I understand it is fundamental stuff to the genre and deserves its spot on a list like this but I personally just don’t enjoy it too much. Also, my attention span is short but not 15 songs in 35 minutes short.
Taylor Swift
4/5
I was quite impressed by this album, it’s a pretty good pop record to be honest. I’d listened through the Taylor’s version before which now having heard the original, the original is much better. I don’t really need all the bonus tracks and frankly I prefer the older albums production as well.
The Residents
1/5
Wow this is easily one of the weirdest albums I’ve listened to and that is saying a lot. So much so I couldn’t even really enjoy it. Actually beyond that this was really just completely unlistenable. I can’t even imagine a life in which I listen to this album again. It was a one time experience and I’d love to keep it that way. I honestly probably just don’t understand it but also I don’t really want to put in any amount of effort to.
Air
4/5
This album was thoroughly enjoyable. I guess the French just make the best electronic music. I feel so bad for everyone who says they need lyrics to enjoy music though because then they completely miss out on this beauty.
The Adverts
2/5
Most basic of early Brit-punk. And I cannot say I’m a fan of that era or genre.
Megadeth
4/5
I can honestly see the appeal. Genuinely this is some good stuff, in another time and another life I would really enjoy this. Such sick guitar riffs throughout the whole thing.
Marty Robbins
2/5
Fundamental stuff I guess. I don’t care for it though.
Madonna
4/5
Madonna slays per usual this time with an excellent dance vibe. Truly the queen of pop.
Nirvana
4/5
Great live album. I loved hearing these live versions of their songs and some excellent covers including the famed Bowie cover. I preferred many of them even to their original editions.
R.E.M.
4/5
I LOVE MAN ON THE MOON. Super nostalgic. It was great to hear the album it came from, Everybody Hurts was a great new discovery from it. All round solid 90s alt rock.
Carole King
5/5
I’ve put off reviewing this album for a while because I don’t even know what to say about it. There’s nothing I feel I can say that can accurately portray quite how good this album is. So I won’t even try to. Go listen to it yourself and have it blow your mind.
Parliament
4/5
Funkin’ good.
Edit: (3->4) real funkin’ good.
The Beach Boys
4/5
This album subverted all my expectations for The Beach Boys. Everything I thought I knew about them no longer stands. Off of just knowing their hits I was prepared to hate this album, and wow was I pleasantly surprised. Awesome album with awesome songs, I didn’t know my beach brethren had this in them.
4/5
Groovy prog rock, not much else to say. Though it may be just another 70s rock album I must say this one was quite good. Can’t hate on it just because of what it is.
OutKast
4/5
I’m no expert on hip hop but listening to this album really felt like these guys were way ahead of their time. It didn’t feel mundane or derivative or anything like that, rather quite novel. Plus I enjoyed listening to it too. I’ll have to return to it though for sure, I feel like I missed a lot.
Tricky
4/5
I’ve been eating this stuff up. Is it the best trip hop I’ve ever heard? Maybe not, but it is right down my alley and I love it. I’m discovering I’m a huge fan of the genre through this album journey. Great album I’ve had on loop. Super edgy, sexy, dark, and chill.
Curtis Mayfield
4/5
Chill af grooves. Glad I went back to it before rating it, would’ve regretted dropping a 3 and moving on with my life.
The Only Ones
3/5
Another 70s British rock album I did not need to hear before I died. How many of these are there gonna be on this list. Fine album though in all fairness but like.
Keith Jarrett
4/5
Some delicious jazz to fill my soul today. Remarkable that this is all improv. Blows my frickin mind. Very delightful stuff :)
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
So this is Bruce Springsteen. This is my first exposure to his music ever and I’m not disappointed. Super overly dramatic and powerful but on the point of cringe and overdone at some parts.
Jungle Brothers
3/5
This album was unavailable on Apple Music so I’ll have to figure out some other way to access this later cuz I’m too lazy to figure this out rn. Silly stupid Apple Music.
Fleetwood Mac
5/5
The Bible of modern music.
Hole
4/5
I think I need to give this album more time cuz it was amazing and I know it was amazing but I’m not sure exactly why I liked it. Regardless, impeccable album I may regret only giving a 4.
Jane's Addiction
3/5
This was kinda hard to listen to. It didn’t demand any of my attention and it wasn’t like it deserved much of it either.
Edit: (2->3) sometimes things don’t demand your attention because they want you to choose to choose them. This was arrogant of me and I faulted here.
Blondie
3/5
I knew heart of glass which I love but the rest of the album was mostly forgettable and not of note.
The Dave Brubeck Quartet
4/5
Awesome jazz album. Listening to this really improved my day.
The Associates
1/5
Absolute irredeemable garbage. I went into this with the lowest expectations and even those weren’t meant. Insufferable useless pile of slop.
Throwing Muses
2/5
It’s a bad sign already when the album doesn’t exist on Apple Music. So I had to go listen to it on some random playlist someone made on YouTube. I even fell asleep listening halfway through. Probably at the fault my exhaustion over anything else, but it just wasn’t very good. I don’t know how many times I’m gonna have to keep saying this but I’m not a big post punk fan, of which there is a lot of on this list unfortunately.
Dire Straits
4/5
Now that’s some funky cowboy blues rock. Not a genre I knew I needed before this.
Kelela
3/5
A solid album I enjoyed throughout, but like most all of the albums put in this list from the last 10 years I haven’t heard about, I question their need to be on a list like this. Probably would’ve been fine to not hear this before I died. That being said it was still an alright album.
CHVRCHES
2/5
I’m always more skeptical of recent albums on this list I’ve never heard of because none of them have had the time to really age and see if they’ve stood the test of time or have well known broad appeal. And my skepticism is usually well warranted. This album was by all means not bad, but there was nothing I loved about it either. Listening to it just kinda happened.
U2
3/5
It’s just that Bono-fide voice. I expected as much, but One and Mysterious Ways were the only things notable from this album.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
2/5
A 36 minute album that felt twice as long. I knew and really liked Maps but there was not much else I liked. I think in another life I could have really loved this, its certainly not bad music, its just not my thing.
Joy Division
2/5
As someone who is big a fan of a genre that people often don’t understand and shoo away as boring, I hate to say the same thing of another genre, but yikes what is there here? I probably will just never understand British man speaking in a dull droning voice along to nearly as dull music.
Billy Bragg
5/5
I’d listened to this album a good while ago when I was looking through Wilco’s discography and didn’t honestly think much of it off of that one listen. Holy frickin air ball. I mean combining the genius of Wilco, Billy Bragg, AND the folk legend Woodie Guthrie, of which all these songs are covers of his, you are guaranteed to make a legendary album. I don’t know how I missed so hard on that before, but wow this time through it just blew me away. In the usual fashion of these three musical geniuses, some moments hit real close to home, it is wild how relevant to today these Guthrie lyrics remain, the political and social commentary is just elite. Beyond just that though, these songs hit way too close to home on even a personal level as well making this album both really meaningful and emotional to me. Amazing album I’m so glad I got a second try on today.
Isaac Hayes
3/5
MmmMm that smooth buttery head.
46 minutes 4 song R&B/soul album from the 60s, you can count me in. And then the second song was just kinda whackadoodle I didn’t really match its freak, and the one after that was just about him trying to choose between his mistress and his wife, and I wasn’t really about that, and then the final song it took him 8 minutes to even start, although I will say once he did it was BUS. And of course the first song was excellent. Despite all those gripes though, this was all around a pleasant listen, I’ll probably revisit the 18 minute By the Time I Get to Phoenix cover often enough.
Lauryn Hill
4/5
Great album, I can see why Apple Music would rate this as the greatest of all time, and it would also be amongst many top albums of all time lists. Personally though, I really liked most all of the songs, but after an hour in or so I just checked out. I can tell it’s great music and an amazingly made album, I just don’t think it’s all my thing. Just don’t imagine returning to it much. 100% an album you need to hear at least once before you die though.
Tangerine Dream
3/5
The 35th anniversary edition album cover of this is just about one of the worst album covers I’ve ever seen in my life.
Not bad electronic album though all things considered. Very ambient, good ideas from the like what was this, the 70s??
4/5
Apparently this is the band responsible for the iconic Low Rider. They have earned all my respect already just for that, even though unfortunately that song isn’t on this album :(( Also apparently this was the best selling album of 1973 so that’s pretty noteworthy too.
Wow this album though! 6 songs in 44 minutes, so the songs are each pretty long but honestly the longest ones were some of my favorites. I especially enjoyed the 13 minute long instrumental and the title track. Groovy soul stuffs. Stopped me doing my homework to focus on it haha.
David Bowie
4/5
Weird weird album. Lots of experimental things all throughout, the banger that is the title track, and then 3 instrumentals all in a row at the end. But I guess that’s to be expected for Bowie. And also, just like Bowie, this is another one of those albums that the more times you listen the more it grows on you. I really wonder at times how this man was the cultural phenomenon that he was because his albums are not very accessible haha. Like most of his stuff that at least I have experienced is just plain strange. Good of course, but strange.
10cc
2/5
The same cringe as easy Beach Boys without any of the enjoyment.
The Dictators
2/5
A project that takes itself much too seriously in not taking itself too seriously.
Pink Floyd
5/5
A staple of my early teenage years especially with Welcome to the Machine and the title track. Just wildly amazing stuff. For any other artist this would be their greatest album they would ever make and could ever even dream of making, but for a band of the god status that Pink Floyd is at, it is merely amongst their best.
Super Furry Animals
4/5
I enjoyed pretty much this entire album! It was just like good ol rock stuff with a lot of fun and quirky little influences I could hear here and there from electronic to some soul stuffs to keep it interesting. I guess don’t judge an album by its album cover cuz this album cover SUCKS.
Slade
2/5
Opening track is the most boring bland basic 70s rock track I’ve just about ever heard, even has the quintessential fade out. Second track as well, singing about being how they’re in a rock n roll band… Really the whole album just sounds so 70s and so dated so it was doomed to just not be my thing from the start. That being said it does have its “party-hard” and “essential classic” singles that I can get behind.
A Tribe Called Quest
3/5
All you need is love into rocky theme intro is actual gas. Then the Sir Duke intro too! They did some fun stuff in this album fs. Quite a debut, I enjoyed it but just isn’t nearly as strong of a project as what they would come to do.
Ali Farka Touré
4/5
Ah I remember this guy! Ali Farka Toure! Lowkey this is such a vibe though. Like understanding: 0 but enjoyment: 10.
Nirvana
5/5
I mean it’s Nevermind, one of the best recognized and critically acclaimed albums of not even just it’s generation but all time. There’s nothing I can really say to add to that.
God is gAyYyYYaYyAY.
The Slits
1/5
If people can actually like this stuff, this is the most acquired taste of all tastes.
Boston
3/5
I mean it was the 70s rock bangers I was expecting. Bangers indeed, but just not something that really interests me.
Liz Phair
4/5
Not really my thing but I felt it growing on me through my second listen and added a decent number of songs. Putting 4 cuz I think it’ll grow to a 4 and I don’t wanna regret.
Funkadelic
4/5
I didn’t know Funky was chill like that.
Radiohead
5/5
Heavenly masterpiece. Like honestly actually inspired work. What a wonderful opportunity to give this another spin today. I love this album.
Circle Jerks
2/5
Gotta respect they were at least self aware enough to realize they didn’t have anything good enough to keep our attention longer than 16 minutes.
New York Dolls
3/5
Apple Music says when this album came out it was unlike anything rock n roll had ever heard before. Now it sounds like everything I’ve heard before. Must’ve been crazy influential then I guess.
Django Django
3/5
This album was like getting pegged for the first time, I’m not sure if I liked it or not.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
4/5
I think this my third Bob Marley album and each new one I get I enjoy him more and more. The vibes of this album were just immaculate. I feel as though Bob Marley himself must’ve invented the concept of immaculate vibes.
Khaled
2/5
This was good to journal to in the background but that’s mostly cuz then I didn’t have to focus on it at all. It was mostly boring and kinda painful to get through the full almost 80 minutes of French-Arabic music. I didn’t understand any of it (apart from a little segment of a random Lennon Imagine cover) but the music backing it all got real monotonous and was not very interesting in the first place. I don’t know, just not my thing. Probably not many people’s thing in the western world, but alas that’s just nurture for you.
Korn
3/5
You know, we all have guilty pleasures. Down a point for the misogyny and homophobia though.
ZZ Top
3/5
I just really did not need to hear another 70s blues rock album.
Deep Purple
3/5
Honestly not as bad as I was expecting it to be. That 10 minute song was a genuine banger.
Aerosmith
2/5
Third 70s rock album in a row. Kill me now.
Led Zeppelin
4/5
You know, at least it’s not the fourth 70s rock album in a row. Cuz it’s a 60s one… but it is Leddy Zeppy though.
In all seriousness this was actually an incredibly good album and a big refresher from the slop I’ve had recently. Babe I’m Gonna Leave You really stood out to me. Great all around though.
Nas
4/5
I’d been meaning to listen to this album for a long time now, I’ve only ever heard good things about it and came in with high expectations. And those expectations were most certainly met. Great album through and through, certainly the gold standard of what hip hop debuts can be. I love its jazzy feel, I guess Nas was the son of a jazz musician, so I really enjoyed that influence.
Count Basie & His Orchestra
4/5
Basie is based. Phenomenal album, oh how I wish I could hear this live. I don’t think I’ll return to this very much as it is a very specific vibe I don’t feel too often, but I enjoyed every song and the album as a whole.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
4/5
Kinda like Billy Bragg mixed with Peter Gabriel or something. And I’m here for it. I really enjoyed this album a lot actually, good mix of both very digestible and also kinda quirky. Not the most innovative or novel of albums but I feel like it provides a very unique vibe.
Dolly Parton
2/5
The line between folk music and country music can often be quite blurry, especially between older folk music and traditional country music. I think listening to this album helped me see a lot of the differences between the genres seem much more apparent. And perhaps this album and Dolly Parton in general is just a bad example of the the traditional country genre, but frankly this album was just cringe. And I would say it was mostly at the fault of the lyrics. I mean just look at The Mystery of the Mystery. Yikes. I will admit the storytelling of the title track was quite nice though and made the playlist. But in general I found the lyricism lackluster whereas that is usually one of the highlights for me in older folk music. Maybe it’s not fair for me to compare genres in the ranking of this album, but I digress.
The Young Rascals
3/5
I mean it was about everything I expected this album to be given the cover art, the time period, and the band name. So of course I wanted to hate it but, unfortunately for me, it was kinda good.
Venom
1/5
So this is the satanic devil-worshipping stuff parents didn’t want their kids listening to. I honestly think that is the only reason anybody would ever listen to it, because their parents didn’t want them to. Cuz I see zero artistic or aesthetic appeal to this at all. Took my ears on a journey to the bottom of the ninth level of hell and back. Yikes this was abysmal. Or should I say abyssal.
Slipknot
4/5
I feel as though this list really doesn’t have too much metal so the fact I got two metal albums in a row just feels like a targeted attack tbh. Except actually being completely honest I really didn’t mind this album so much. Probably has something to do with the recency to the last metal album I got which was one of the worst things I’d ever heard. So this one seemed comparably amazing.
Okay actually I listened a second time and this might be good? Like I kinda liked it? I think metal may just entirely be a guilty pleasure genre.
Jorge Ben Jor
2/5
Unfortunately I am not one of the 10,000,000 RMs who served in Brazil and now loves MPB almost as much as Jesus. So this will be a 2 for me.
Boards of Canada
4/5
Something about Aquarius just really tickled my brain. I just really like counting I guess. And the ever so often intermittent “orange.” MMmmm it hit just right. And the random child vocals thrown in the mix. Why not! So truthfully though, this was a very enjoyable little electronic project, I found it very soothing. Also that was one very important thought, I’m glad they shared it. I liked the seagull noises.
Tom Waits
3/5
One part jazz, one part standup, and twelve parts a man just talking at a crowd for the hell of it. And for why was this enjoyable? I’m not sure. I desperately need someone to explain this album to me. It did run on quite long though, but I really enjoyed how he designed this album to sound live. Made it feel like you were really there in that diner on a late night just having a good time listening to this charismatic guy with a gravelly voice croon over a microphone. It really did run on long though.
The Clash
3/5
This album manages to cover every base and at the same time be a good punk album. A bit long for my liking but some people really like that cuz that means they get more great The Clash content. I guess they aren’t really my thing then but I did enjoy a few standout tracks.
Crazy iconic album cover though, legend has it Presley actually copied his debut off The Clash.
Little Richard
4/5
I think this album purely deserves a 4 at least already for just the importance it has for music. Apart from also just being a good little listen. It’s the 50s though so like everything it’s just way too happy-go-lucky but that’s the era I guess. Dylan sure did get it right though when he said “[Little Richard] even screamed like a holy preacher—which is what he was.”
Pink Floyd
2/5
I’m not mad about this album, I’m just mad at the list. If this Pink Floyd album of all Pink Floyd albums made it (it’s probably like their 6th or 7th on the list) then how many other well deserving albums with zero represented artists let alone genres didn’t make the list. What a poorly filled spot. Ig it was their debut or something. Buns debut though honestly, glad they got somewhere eventually.
Robert Wyatt
2/5
I legitimately love the music of this album so much, it has the feel of a nice little jazz combo and I really enjoy it. But his voice, idk. It just doesn’t pair well, maybe it’s an acquired taste, but I would rather just hear the instruments alone haha.
The Doors
2/5
It’s funny to me how an album with 26 tracks can have zero filler songs and an album with only 10 tracks can have 10 filler songs. This album is the latter.
The Byrds
4/5
Wow I was not expecting this album to be excellent! Probably mostly because most of the songs are covers, but they did them well, their Mr. Tambourine man cover was especially amazing. Thank you The Byrds for being pioneers of the folk-rock genre.
Curtis Mayfield
4/5
Oh me oh my do I love some Curtis Mayfield. Great album, movies don’t usually get scores this good but usually they’re just getting Hans Zimmer to make them just another soundtrack. We need more Curtis Mayfields making movie music.
Fatboy Slim
2/5
More than anything it is embarrassing that this exists.
Rod Stewart
3/5
Just another mediocre 70s rock album with a guy with a gravelly voice that went irrelevant over time. I’ll listen to it but I won’t love it.
Joni Mitchell
4/5
This was kinda just what I needed to listen to tonight. This album is calm, beautiful, subtle, and intricate. The kind of album that isn’t immediately rewarding but evidently is incredibly special and becomes one of your favorites over time. Reach out in 5 years and ask me about my feelings on this album. I am confident it’ll be one of my favorites. As for now, I still have only wonderful things to say about it, and I’m now very excited to listen Joni’s other projects.
Traffic
3/5
How to curate a list of 1001 albums to listen to before you die:
Take a bunch of random rock records from the 60s-70s that charted somewhere in the top 40 at some point and put em all together and call it a list. Oh and also put everything Morissey ever touched in for good measure.
The album was fine but this list is abysmal at some points.
Lynyrd Skynyrd
3/5
Actually not a half bad album given my expectations. I didn’t know the first half of Free Bird at all but when the riff started I was like oh wait I know this!! Kind of a shocking moment. This is why I am culturing myself I guess. Kinda sad everyone just knows this band as the Sweet Home Alabama band though because they actually have some solid bangers in this album. But they do also have some more Sweet Home Alabamas too…
The Pogues
4/5
All ye naysayers and haters, I am sorry but you haven't done some Irish jigging in a long time and it shows. Let those feet loose for your own sake and the sake of everyone around you. You'll be a much more pleasant person afterwards I promise.
I’m also a firm believer all man-woman duets forever and now on should be done like The Gentleman Soldier.
Tim Buckley
4/5
Why do we have two albums from this insufferable twat on this list.
Holy cow though Jeff really got his voice from somewhere. I must admit I am guilty of ad hominem because this album was incredible. Beautiful and, I don’t use this word lightly, delicious through and through.
Rage Against The Machine
4/5
Now this is political activism. Create heavily politicized anthems of rage to incite and inspire the left to take action against the injustice and hypocrisy of America. This rings true now more than ever and I’m grateful for Rage’s contribution to the issue.
Sebadoh
3/5
This is a combination of my favorite genre and my least favorite genre. So it was guaranteed to either diminish what I love or heighten what I hate. And that’s exactly what it did. This lands right in the middle of mediocrity.
Kid Rock
1/5
If your racist “libertarian” uncle tried to make a rap record. And for some reason feature a 10 year old boy and have him say “I’m 3 foot 9 but got a 10 foot dick.” No lyrics have ever made me feel so uncomfortable. Disgusting rage inducing rap metal. Rage induced at the music though, not by the music.
Fishbone
3/5
Pretty decent album truth be told. Ska probably isn’t really my thing, but it wasn’t a hard listen at all and I generally enjoyed it.
Soundgarden
3/5
Surprisingly enjoyable classic hard rock album. Kinda basic and didn’t need to hear before I died at all but that’s ok ig, I already know this list sucks anyway.
Cocteau Twins
4/5
Had this album on repeat today and it did not get old at all. No idea which songs were which and no idea what any of them said but I do know I really enjoyed it. I was a big fan of the shoegaze dreampop style and it felt like a great precursor to mbv who I love.
Laura Nyro
3/5
Some parts of this were great some parts of this were less than great. That’s really all there is to it. Not much of a standout.
Massive Attack
5/5
I have been waiting for the day I get this album. This is easily one of my favorite albums of all time. In just objective relevance, this album helped create one of the most underrated genres of music. In subjective value, it is chock full of amazing songs that just blow my mind. The production and unique styles that vary significantly through the whole album makes this album so interesting and relistenable (ex. Be Thankful For What You’ve Got vs. Unfinished Sympathy). The switch between Tricky’s rapping, Robert Del Naja’s deep voice and of course Horace Andy’s Jamaican touch as well all add a very varied element to the album that is incredibly enjoyable. And that’s not even mentioning the hallmark of the whole album and what would become so signifying of trip hop as a whole: Shara Nelson’s haunting soprano. That voice would undoubtedly go on to influence the works Beth Gibbons in Portishead and many others. Crazy fundamental album to music and certainly one of the top albums I would recommend people listen to before they die.
Shivkumar Sharma
4/5
There is no way I would have ever heard this album in my life without this list. So while this list sucks often, it sometimes does pull out beautiful taste expanding albums like these. And it turns out I really enjoy calming Indian acoustic music. This album was quite literally if pastoral was a sound though and I think that is beautiful.
John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers
2/5
I understand this man is supposedly one of the greatest guitarists of all time but I just don’t get it. It sounds dated.
The Pogues
4/5
I mean cmon, it’s The Pogues. Nothing brightens your day quite like them.
The Smiths
3/5
An unsurprisingly uninteresting unimportant addition to the list coming from Morissey yet again.
Dr. Octagon
1/5
Pretentious psychedelic porno fever dream.
David Crosby
4/5
Above average pull from the early 70s. Makes sense apparently this is the Crosby guy from the supergroup.
Crowded House
4/5
Really interesting album, you can clearly hear both its inspirations and its influence. Was gonna just dismiss this as a fine album but I listened a second time and honestly this is a great little indie rock album, I really enjoyed this.
Spiritualized
5/5
This is one of those rare albums from this list I live for. I had never heard of this album or Spiritualized before, this was my first time experiencing any of this music. But I can confidently give this album all 5 of the stars it deserves. I think this album is my taste in music exactly and there is no way I ever would’ve come across it without this list. So, as frustrating as this project can be sometimes, finding albums like these makes all the pretentious post punk of this list worth it.