1001 Albums Summary

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.

One of my favourites from the 80s. I love everything about The The. The music. The lyrics. THE VOICE. What a genius. This Is the Day, Uncertain Smile, and Perfect. Three classics that put me in a good mood anytime I hear them.

It must have been something to hear that voice in a small club in New York in the sixties.

Another one that is totally new to me. This is a great sounding industrial record. No wonder Albini when on to produce a lot of great albums.

Apple Music sums it up well: bleak but beautiful.

Like Matt Johnson and The The, James Murphy is a one-man band genius.

Haunting vocals and lovely, melodic guitar work.

I know most of this through radio, music videos, and movies and never actually listened to the album as a whole before. It wasn't what I was into when it came out. But it has held up surprisingly well, from start to finish. Songs like Hand to Mouth and A Last Request are new to me and pretty good. A very surprising four stars.

A no brainer.

Yikes! I want whatever they were smoking when this was recorded.

Another no brainer five stars. I have a soft spot for this album as I was in England when it came out and experienced all the hype ahead of everyone else back home.

I'm a Fool to Want You sets the tone for this very melancholy album. It's an end-of-career album from a great singer who has lived a hard life.

One of the all-time great lead tracks on an album. This is a perfect album listen. Start to finish. If this was Britpop's swan song as Apple Music suggests, then what a great way to end it.

Maybe it is because I listened to this on the first sunny day we've had in weeks, but I feel like a better person for having listened to it.

Another no-brainer for me.

How can you not give a genre-defining album five stars?

Not a Sonic Youth album I was as familiar with as others. It was chiller than I expected and a good preview of what is to come from the band.

I'm really surprised how much I like this album. I'm not a prog fan but this has the right amount of noodling excess.

Nice to get this one to review a few days after Brian Wilson died. It's timeless.

I like when this project introduces me to an album I hadn't heard of before. That's the case with this one and it was perfectly ok.

Another band that I only know via hits on the radio and in movie soundtracks. Was prepared to hate it but I didn't. Solid three stars.

Surprisingly enjoyable!

Not a big fan of this. But I did learn that Neko Case's "Misfire" is a cover, which I did not know until listening to this album.

I love "Paper Planes" and a few other songs are very good but I don't think I'd go back to listen to the whole album very often.

Well, I made it through one listen. This project has introduced me to a lot of prog rock. Some good. Some not so good. Most of this album sounds too much like insane show tunes to me. The last song Just One Victory was worth the struggle of getting through the earlier songs. But, full marks for creativity and doing his own thing and for a crazy cover that perfectly matches the crazy music.

Another first time artist and album for me. Thanks for the introduction!

Great raps. Great beats. Usual issues I have with rap with the unnecessary interludes and language. Deserves a higher rating but not something I'll listen to again.

Some awesome songs, obviously, but kind of a mess of an album overall.

The subtitle of the 30th anniversary reissue is a great summary of this album: a celebration. This is smart, fun, sometimes-cheesy, early-eighties music. I think it holds up, but I'd be curious to know if someone who wasn't around back when it first came out would agree.

My first instinct was to give this a hard pass but I'm committed to giving every album a chance. Made it halfway through. There's no denying the talent and the production; it's just not for me. And I don't need to listen to a jerk boast about how great he is. There's enough of that in the news these days.

This was the gateway Bob Dylan album for me. I wasn't interested in Dylan when I was younger and only heard the hits that were played on the radio and in movies. So this was the first full album I eventually listened to and I went backward and forward from it ever since.

One of the best soundtracks.

This came after a string of albums I was very familiar with, so it was a nice change to be introduced to something new that I really enjoyed. You know it has made an impression when you restart it right away and then stream other stuff from the artist.

I really like this but man it can be depressing listening.

This is too overly dramatic for my taste.

This is their best overall album. It is certainly my favourite. And I remember being heartbroken listening to it when it came out knowing it would be their last.

I was pleasantly surprised but this one but the talky interludes and quite starts got in the way for me.

Kick Out the Jams is a monster song and Motor City is Burning sounds like a very rough version of something you'd hear on a Hendrix album. And I love many of the bands this influenced. And it is great that the live album captures the insanity and energy of the band. BUT as an album, the quality of the recording just doesn't lend itself to regular repeat listens.

Never heard this guy before. Is it folk? Country? Blues? All three? I don't know. But it's great!

If I met the devil at the crossroads I'd make a deal to be able to play the base like Mike Watt.

I'm not sure if it is the sleepy singing or maybe the production is muted, but I'm surprised how boring I found this.

This isn't the Pixies album I'd expect to see here. But maybe that is why it is on the list: to shed light on an otherwise overlooked album. It's good but there are others I'd gravitate to for repeat listens.

I tried to be open to this but it is the kind of progressive rock that I struggle with and find really self-indulgent.

I'm not a big fan of Davis's fusion era but this is a nice transition into it. In his vast catalogue I often forget about this album so it was nice to have the project shine a light on it.

This one is new to me and requires more listens than I can fit into one day to truly appreciate it. There are moments when it completely grabbed my attention and moments when it grated on my nerves. Probably suffers from being too long but has a crazy mix of vibrant music.

NOPE

Great voice. Great slide guitar. Great antidote to the Korn album I had to listen to the day before.

No brainer: Five Stars.

A unique sound, for sure, but it annoyed me more than it wowed me.

The question is always, The Beatles or the Rolling Stones? My answer is: The Who. My grade school exercise books were littered with Union Jacks with The Who written in the crosses. The kids are indeed alright.

10 songs in 29 minutes is impressive but too intense for me.

Approaching its 50th anniversary in a few weeks and this still sounds fresh and interesting. A true classic.

Great blend of blues, country, gospel, and soul.

A good example of the cheesy-synth-and-vocal sound from the early to mid eighties, which holds up for a song or two but gets repetitive and boring pretty quickly as an entire album. All you need is "Perfect Way" on your eighties compilation.

I appreciate that you can hear the audience and songs blend together like an actual live show and not a collection of songs that were played live. It is a product of its time and the eye-rolling joke after the first song dates it. Not a repeat listen for me.

There's a primal feel to this that humanizes the electronics. Not easy to listen to in places but I can see how it influences a lot of music that followed.

I know Nothing Compares to U is the big hit but the five songs before it are incredible.

Early Beatles albums like this one are cool for the mix of covers and originals. To see their influences and vast musical knowledge and how they are starting to apply that to their own songs.

A little more accessible than Trout Mask Replica but still weird enough to annoy.

I can't believe I've never heard of Ibrahim until now. This was fantastic.

Wasn't looking forward to this one but then the first song rocked. Maybe this won't be the over-the-top seventies self-indulgent rock music I thought it would be. Wrong.

This is one of those albums that might need lots of listens to appreciate.

Could have used a little variation in the song themes but great voice and great songs.

I hate giving these metal albums low ratings. They are probably really good metal albums. I just don't like most metal.

One of the more consistently good double albums ever made.

This one is in my rotation every Christmas

I can't believe I'm giving this four stars. A few years ago it would have been two. Look at me starting to appreciate some progressive rock!

I think this is album three by CCR and it's another good one. Like the others, I enjoyed the the non-greatest hits songs like Bootleg as much as the hits.

I suspect this is a love it or hate it album. There are some beautiful moments but overall I doubt there will be many repeat listens.

The songs are all great but this is not something I'd go to for multiple listens. Kinda bland '60s stuff.

I love this band (great live!) but this isn't my favourite album of theirs.

I did not expect a Beach Boys album entitled Surf's Up to sound like this. Interesting but not a got to repeat listen.

For some reason I find the Eagles super boring. There are good songs here and I like other stuff from the era that is very similar but they just don't do it for me.

This is a tough one to give a proper review after just a few listens. It can be a challenging listen at times but worth it.

A pleasant surprise

I love the British take on rap but this isn't a repeat listen for me.

A great final album that I will always associate with Bowie's Blackstar since they both came out around the same time and are both really good final chapters to two amazing music careers.

My favourite kind of album in this project: an artist I haven't heard of before and a genre I don't listen to regularly. As my daughter says, this slaps. Loved it.

Sometimes the old stuff from the fifties sounds dated but this still rocks.

Fantastic. Listened to it and only it all day.

It is unbelievable how young they were when they made this incredible album that still holds up.

One of my all-time favourite guilty pleasures.

There's way more going on here than I expected. Hints of Neil Young, the Grateful Dead, Nick Drake. It's folky, psychedelic, and even finishes with some hippie chanting. Cool.

A few good blues rock tracks but the rest sound like odd novelty songs.

This deserves five stars for the iconic cover alone. But measured against Bowie's catalogue the music is a solid three.

A tonic for the crazy times we are in right now.

I've heard a lot about this infamous album but have never given it a listen. After repeat listens all day it isn't the train wreck I thought it might be. Good for them for going in a newish direction and not running back what worked on Rumours. The Stevie Nicks songs stand out.

This was a fun one that I have never heard before but it drifted into gimmicky after a while.

Include one of the all-time great covers: I Heard It Through the Grape Vine.

My usual gangsta rap review: love the beats and flow but can't get past the language and violence, which I know is not meant for me.

Title song is great. I love that Richard Thompson and so many others have covered it. But the rest is forgettable for an old guy like me.

I like this better than the two stars I gave it. Great industrial sounds but not something I'd likely return to.

For some reason this album has always annoyed me. I appreciate it more now that I am older.

Really enjoyed this. Listened on repeat all day.

Didn't even need to listen to this oneto give it four stars; it's in my music DNA.

Not my favourite Madness record. It's quirky and odd, which I suppose is better than cranking out the same old same old punky ska.

I think this is the first time I have ever intentionally listened to this album yet I knew all the songs but the last one well enough to sing along. Just from hearing them on radio and in TV and movies. Probably deserves more than three stars of being one of the top selling albums of all time but it's not a repeat listen for me.

I figured a Zappa record would be coming at some point. I love that there is a song that features the word "discorporate" and they are clearly doing their own, inventive, crazy thing. But I think it is more fun to play than listen too.

So, so 80s. Enjoyable but a little too earnest for me.

I guess he had a lot of pent-up music that needed releasing after the Beatles. Three records and not a dud of a song.

A very solid '60s album.

Not my favourite Stooges record.

Props to the fifth Beatle George Martin for the production on this one. Very innovative for the time and still sounds fantastic today.

One of those bands that is instantly recognizable for their unique sound. There's nothing like Robert Smith and the Cure.

Love the song Two Weeks but couldn't get into the rest of it at the time and on listens now. Soundtrack for a 2000s Brooklyn hipster.

Their entire catalogue fits on one compilation album that is a better choice for this project. I have no time for screamy Limp Bizkity bands but all day for 21 minutes of this kind of hardcore.

I was not prepared to like this as much as I did. Gets one star more than my usual rating for rap of this era.

An incredibly successful first album but not their best. I still like it more than most of the grunge of the era.

Within the first five seconds of Debaser you know this album is going to be great!

Haven't listened to this one in a decade at least. Really great from start to finish. No filler.

Five star side A and 3 star side B = 4 stars of unique, influential indy music.

The first bars of the first track grab you and announce that this is going to be special. I don't care what you may think of Bono or U2 this is fantastic from start to finish.

I don't think I have ever been to a used record store, church sale, or yard sale and not seen this record while flipping through crates. Now I know why.

Much better than I remember. The first song is still very relevant!

One of my desert island discs. Great cover. Great songs.

Another of my desert island discs. Not much to add to what has already been said.

I appreciate the experimental aspect of this album and there are some beautiful moments but there are also some very annoying moments that take me out of enjoying the music.

"Enter Sandman" is great but the rest just blends together and is often not even that heavy. This is metal?

Along with Kind of Blue, this was a gateway jazz album for me. My discovery and love of jazz started here.

Finally a rap album I can get behind. If the Clash were a rap band they'd be Public Enemy.