After 20+ albums into this journey this is the first album and artist that is completely new to me. Eclectic, easy listening, and fun. It's a list of 1,001 albums to listen to, not 1,001 groundbreaking, genre-defining, launched-a-thousand-band albums. Thanks for the introduction. I needed something new and enjoyable today.

Ugh. After 20+ albums this is the first one I couldn't get all the way through. I tired but everything about it screams: Florida man.

I start to disengage from rap music when I hear words like bitch, ho, dick, pussy, motherfucker, and the n-word. Sorry. The beats are great, I like his rap style, and I can appreciate the social commentary/theme of the album but as a middle-aged white guy it is heard to give this repeated listens. It's not for me and not intended for me.

Nice to start off this project with a familiar album from the '80s. I've always misheard what she says after "deal with God" as "get him to swallow druses." Whatever that could mean. Anyway, the hits are undeniable but what stands out to me listening to it now is the mix of beautiful, quieter songs like And Dream of Sheep and Watching You Without Me and wackier experimental songs. The transitions are great and make it a true album experience.

I really connected with the debut album and at the time I preferred it to this one. But, start to finish, this is a fantastic album. No filler. Yes, it was everywhere. And yes it was/is overplayed, as were the numerous covers of Wonderwall, but it is timeless and up there with the best from the Beatles and the Stones.

Had to listen to this on YouTube with commercials, so the experience was choppy. Very enjoyable songs. More bluesy than I expected but I can see how this might be a transition album from rhythm and blues to rock and roll.

Forty-one minutes of pure joy (except maybe for the creepy last song). A perfect antidote to the shitty weather and shitty news. I'm so used to hearing only the hits on the radio, so it was nice to listen to the entire album.

I love the funk and Fela Kuti influences on this album. Great rhythm and bass and quirky singing on side one. A chiller, more electronic feel on the second side. The last song sounds like a slightly less intense Joy Division.

It might sound a little tame now, but you have to give five stars to the album that launched a thousand bands.

I start to disengage from rap music when I hear words like bitch, ho, dick, pussy, motherfucker, and the n-word. Sorry. The beats are great, I like his rap style, and I can appreciate the social commentary/theme of the album but as a middle-aged white guy it is heard to give this repeated listens. It's not for me and not intended for me.

This is not the xx album I would have included in this list. I love the first one.

One of the greatest sophomore albums of all time.

Might sound a little dated now, but I bet it was pretty awesome when it came out.

I haven't listened to this full album in decades but listened to it so many times in my teens and twenties that I remember every second of it. A great album that had a huge influence.

"Epic" is an epic song but not enough of a draw for repeated listening to the whole album.

Not really my thing and I likely won't choose to listen to it again. So, two stars.

OK, so this one is a little "out there." I like Mingus but based on my criteria of will I listen to this again, I have to say, no. I hate to do that for my first jazz review.

Too prog for me.

Didn't think I'd like this as much as I did. I hear a lot of Prince in it, which I liked.

I don't think I've ever listened to a proper CCR album before. They've always been a singles and greatest hits type band to me. This one is great.

Quirky AF. But some very nice guitar work and the overall vibe (including the artwork) make it a repeat listen.

Hard not to role your eyes at the cheesy cover and dismiss this as another lame middle of the road seventies classic rock album. I only know CCR through greatest-hits CDs roommates played at University and heard on the radio but the bluesy first two songs grabbed my attention and the I Heard it Through the Grapevine cover is way better than I expected. A surprising four stars.

The first half is really good but this one doesn't hold up for me as an overall great album. I started losing interest near the end and didn't immediately want to hit replay like I've done for my higher rated album from this project.

Not the PE album I would have expected to be on this list and one that I am less famliar with. But it is solid. I Don't Wanna Be Called Yo Niga, By the Time I Get to Arizona, and 1 Million Bottlebags are up there with the best of their stuff. I really wish there were part stars because this three-star rating is on the cusp of a four.

After 20+ albums into this journey this is the first album and artist that is completely new to me. Eclectic, easy listening, and fun. It's a list of 1,001 albums to listen to, not 1,001 groundbreaking, genre-defining, launched-a-thousand-band albums. Thanks for the introduction. I needed something new and enjoyable today.

Ugh. After 20+ albums this is the first one I couldn't get all the way through. I tired but everything about it screams: Florida man.

I've heard most of these songs through osmosis and compilations but haven't listened to this as an album before. Thirteen songs in 30 minutes? Nice. And a few lesser-known ones I hadn't heard before. I know this is an important one since it is the beginning of everything changing in popular music but it's not a Beatles album that I'll return to for repeated listens.

I've never listened to this as a proper album before. So, it's another introduction to the early work of a very well-known band. Under My Thumb stands out as a taste of what's to come. And the bluesy songs sound more like their own take on the blues than just covers of older songs.

I haven't listened to this in a long time. So freaking intense. I don't think my old ears can take regular repeat listens but it deserves four stars.

Long before there were streaming services and fancy vinyl reissues I carried around a very worn piece of paper with a list of albums I'd read about and wanted to find in used record stores. This one was on that list and I never did find the album. But a few songs were on compilations. I love what this brought to the late seventies UK scene: female voice, horns, and some keyboard.

I first heard Fela Kuti on the local college radio station while driving a fan as a gopher for a theatre production company. I've been a fan ever since, collecting any vinyl I could find in used record stores. He deserves five stars for inventing an entire genre of music.