8.5/10 A really fantastic album I was sure I'd listened to before but seemingly never have in full. Definitely one to add to the rotation and even buy on vinyl because it's a zero skip album and I could easily imagine it growing on me on subsequent listens. At high volume it's even kind of dancy - had a little boogie in the kitchen with Moon. Highlights include The Passenger (of course), Tonight and Fall In Love WIth Me Listens: 2

6.5/10 A classic Stevie album, solid start to finish but no particular stand-outs for me. The music is fun and production funky and crisp but some of the lyrics were a little questionable/too preachy for my taste. Listens: 1

6/10 Quintessential Black Sabbath album, but not necessarily to my taste. Planet Caravan is the clear standout but there are a couple of other pleasantly surprising moments, such as the funky rhythm section in Hands of Doom. Listens: 1

7.5/10 I have mixed feelings about this album but enjoyed the full listen way more than I expected to from previous songs I'd heard - even outside of 'Good Feeling' which remains a fantastic song, even better in the setting of the album. Will give this a few more listens to pick out some other high points, although the overall effect still leaves me ambivalent due to the emo/alternative/green-day inspiring vocals in places grating on me. Listens: 1

5.5/10 Some good songs and fun energy but Thin Lizzy's output feels inconsistent and when listened to as a full album a little too 'countrified' for my taste. Not sure the live version particularly adds anything to the experience here. Listens: 1

8.5/10 A really fantastic album I was sure I'd listened to before but seemingly never have in full. Definitely one to add to the rotation and even buy on vinyl because it's a zero skip album and I could easily imagine it growing on me on subsequent listens. At high volume it's even kind of dancy - had a little boogie in the kitchen with Moon. Highlights include The Passenger (of course), Tonight and Fall In Love WIth Me Listens: 2

8/10 I've been meaning to listen to this album in full for ever. The singles I already knew remain the high points; Between the Bars is as heartachingly beautiful as ever, the driving rhythm of Angeles makes for a compelling listen, and Say Yes is a fantastic closer. Of the songs I hadn't heard before, Alameda and the Ballad of Big Nothing stood out. A tricky album to score because the high points are so high, but I felt the quality lulled a little in the middle. Listens: 3

6.5/10 The first pleasant surprise of my 1001 albums project. Some pre-adolescent memories of this band that may have been based on little more than an aversion to the pink album cover made me think I hated Garbage. It's still not music I can imagine revisiting particularly often but as my taste has veered a little more towards harder rock of late I quite enjoyed this. Stupid Girl isprobably the best song on the album, but Milk was a real surprise given its trip hop vibe which I did not expect to find on a Garbage album. Listens: 2

6/10 Hadn't heard of this John Martyn album despite being very familiar with some of his work on Over the Hill. Fairly underwhelming easy listening although there are probably some songs on here that would grow on me over repeat listens. Listens: 1

3/10 First time actually listening to Kiss and now I understand the need for the flamboyant aesthetic - their music is incredibly uninspired and uninteresting. Maybe my opinion of this would improve on subsequent listens but not going to invest any more time in it. Listens: 1

7/10 First time listening to the whole album, although so many of these songs have permeated popular culture that it doesn't exactly feel new to me. It's a pretty consistent album, although maybe it does fall into a bit of a repetitive formula. Nonetheless, it's a good listen - I like Moby more than I'd previously thought. Listens: 3

7/10 This is a really difficult album for me to rate, in part because I suppose I haven't decided whether I'm going to be rating these 1001 albums based purely on my personal enjoyment, or what I perceive to be their musical merits regardless of my taste. There are lots of individual elements of this album that I love - Muddy's vocals, and everything from guitar to harmonica to piano is played brilliantly. Crosseyed Cat or the famous Mannish Boy are probably the songs that I'd choose to showcase this album at its best. The dichotomy for me is that I find it musically inspiring to learn how to play this stuff, and of course Muddy Waters has been incredibly influential on so many artists that I love, but in terms of just sitting and listening to it I don't derive much pleasure from the album. I guess I have a limited appreciation for twelve bar blues and a whole album of it is a bit much, although it does get my head bobbing. Muddy's legendary status shouldn't affect my rating, but listening to this album does really feel like listening to a legend do his stuff, which is pretty cool. All of that leaves me somewhere in the middle of the road with my final rating: ultimately I just didn't enjoy this as much as the albums I've given 4/5. Listens: 1

5/10 First band of my 1001 albums project that I'd never even heard of. Turns out I also didn't really know what shoegaze was. The first song had me hooked, thinking I was in for the treat of discovering something completely new that I really liked, but from there the album didn't really feel like it went anywhere, just dragging along. At their best, Ride are reminiscent of the Stone Roses, but the overall effect fell a long way short. Maybe in a different mood this album would resonate with me more but I can't imagine going back to it. Listens: 2

7/10 I didn't immediately realise this was Tricky of Massive Attack fame, nor did I know that he'd ever done a solo album. Judging the album by the cover, I thought I was going into some 90s alt rock album that I wasn't particularly looking forward to, so to hear the familiar sounds of trip hop once I pressed play was actually a delight. The beats are fantastic, Martina's vocals evoke the usual trip-hop feel a la Portishead, and Tricky's vocal contributions distinguish this from the other albums in the genre, adding a slightly sinister but really cool, funky vibe. The second half of the album has a couple of weaker tracks - Brand New You're Retro and You Don't - but this is nonetheless a consistently enjoyable listen that I'll be revisiting. Listens: 1

6/10 This was good background music while I was focussing on a job application but unfortunately that might not be a good thing - although the whistling on Lovely Head is as captivating as ever (I've been a fan of that song for a while). Listens: 2

7/10 As so many others have said on here this is a tough album to rate that feels like it does not belong on this list - certainly sitting through this for three hours does not seem like the best way to appreciate the majesty of Ella Fitzgerald. Anyway many of the songs are beautiful, it just drags on for far too long to listen in one go. Oh and it called me single one too many times... Listens: 0.6

8/10 Who would've thought Billy Joel would be ranking so highly on this list - but this is undeniably a great album. Obviously it's a bit cheesy and I get why people hate him, but it just sounds so clean and somehow fresh to me when listened to as a whole album. Listens: 1

4/10 Maybe haven't given this a fair chance but I think I just don't like the Pixies. Here Comes Your Man is a great song though. Listens: 1

2/10 Their cover of I Heard It Through The Grapevine is fantastic but the rest of the album is a long way from it. And apparently Grapevine was meant to be a B-side anyway. Won't be revisiting this one. Listens: 1

3/10 Costello's voice annoys me from the opening line of the album. There are moments in here that allow me an insight into why this album is beloved by music critics but they always end up being spoiled - for example I quite like the instrumental on 'The Beat' but the chorus ruins the song. 'Pump It Up' should be a highlights as the most played single and seems like it should be catchy, but instead it feels like such an obvious and repetitive riff which doesn't capture my musical imagination in the slightest. 'Little Triggers' was okay, kind of an interesting song and therefore my favourite from listening through this album, but again I can't really get past my dislike for Costello's voice. Supposedly the best Costello album which makes me hope there aren't any others on this list… Listens: 1

1/10 Feel harsh giving out my first 1/10 especially when I haven't listened to the full album but this just does absolutely nothing for me. Sounds a lot like what an album named after fuzz pedals might be expected to I suppose. When the first two songs are the two most played and I hate both of them it feels like a waste of time to try and listen to the whole thing. So far this project seems to be teaching me that the only genre I really dislike is grunge which is a bit of a surprise. Listens: 0.3

Elvis Presley 5/10 'Blue Suede Shoes' is a great opener and an example of Elvis at his best, beyond that this just feels too repetitive to be listened to as an album. Quite interesting to read the assessments on here of Elvis's popularity as a product of him being the 'acceptable' white face of blues and rock and roll - kind of explains why this doesn't really hold up compared to other artists of the same era such as Muddy Waters (who I've already reviewed on this list). Similarly, while listening to 'Tutti Frutti' I was thinking I could see how this would have been a revelation on the dancehalls of the 1950s, but it turns out to be a cover of a Little Richard song anyway. All in all tough to rate this album in a way that doesn't feel disrespectful to Elvis so I'm just rating based on my enjoyment of the music sitting in my bedroom in 2025. Listens: 2

5/10 At times I thought this was going to be a really fun listen but in the end it was probably just a bit too punk-y for my taste: a bit too discordant and droning and I’m really not a fan of the guitar tones. Best songs: Hot Topic, What’s Yr Take on Cassavetes?, Slideshow At Free University Listens: 2

2/10 This was a tough listen for me, just not my genre and struggled to pick out any redeeming qualities to individual songs. Actually listened to this on shuffle accidentally which is obviously complete sacrilege but I very much doubt an in-order listen would redeem it. Regular John gave me promise that the rest of the album would be palatable, with the vocals being right up my street despite the chugging guitars they are set to. Sadly, nothing else hit the same spot and even Regular John isn't really worth revisiting for me. Best songs: Regular John Listens: 1?

6/10 I haven't listened to this allbum for years (if I ever had in full), but went into this thinking I was going to enjoy the nostalgia of it a lot. Coldplay were what got me into music - I have a very specific memory of my mum showing me X&Y on her ipod when I was about 8 and listening to the whole thing while playing the parachute game. I got my own ipod for my birthday a couple of months later and from there I was away, finally developing my own music taste. So Coldplay were a starting point for me and for all the shit they've put out over the years I can't help but have a soft spot for some of their earlier stuff. Not remembering what was on this album, I assumed it would be Coldplay at their stripped back best. In a way, it is, but so many of these songs just don't stand on their own. Yellow is undeniably a fantastic song, but so much of the rest of the album is forgettable - I'd forgotten it before and now I'm sure to forget it again. Listens: 1

8/10 This album punches you in the face with 'Whole Lotta Love' and manages to live up to an opener of that quality. To be honest, despite having heard 'Whole Lotta Love' many, many times, I'd not quite appreciated just how good a song it is until blasting it at full blast for the umpteenth time while listening to this album for this review. There are parts of this album I'm not fond of - with more than fifty years of music evolution sometimes the chord progressions feel a little route one blues, and sometimes the guitar licks are less than inspiring, or there's the drum break in Moby Dick which is honestly just dull to listen to, but these moments are few and far between - hardly something to quibble about when dealing with an album that is otherwise entirely deserving of legendary status. For me, the best moments are the slightly less heavy - 'Thank You' and 'Ramble On' - but that might be in part a product of my musical preferences, which have kept me away from a deep dive into the Zeppelin for years and years despite being a lover of 'Stairway' (aka basic bitch). Best songs: Whole Lotta Love, Ramble On, Thank You Listens 7+

3/10 I get why people like Green Day, I'm just never going to be one of those people. Green Day's sound, in particular Billie Joe Armstrong's singing style, has been one of my biggest pet peeves in music for as long as I can remember. Heard in the context of this full album, (I was trying to give it a fair chance,) I was surprised that it was kind of okay - certainly far better than when Green Day songs come on during some shitty Propaganda style club night. Having said that, I'm never going to try and make an effort to get into this band because if I don't emotionally connect to their music to begin with I can't imagine that there's any reward or depth worth the effort of becoming a Green Day fan. Billie, my answer is no, I do not have the time to listen to you whine. Listens: 1

4/10 Faces are undoubtedly the best version of Rod Stewart but somehow this album still leaves me as cold as the rest of his ouvre. I actually thought it would be better based on the strength of 'Stay With Me', but while the rest of the album is perfectly serviceable bluesy 70s rock it's just not an album I would ever feel the need to revisit. Debris was quite a nice tune though. Listens: 1

6/10 The songs are all nice songs but I just don’t know when I’m in the mood to listen to The Beach Boys. Based on this and Pet Sounds I don’t really feel like they ever moved past being a complete product of the 60s in the same way the Beatles were able to. Listens: 1

6/10 I listened to this album a lot with my dad and my sister when it first came out - we were all fans - and surprisingly my sister still often listens to 'build a rocket boys!' despite her music taste having changed substantially in the years since. This album held up much better than I thought it might. On the one hand, Elbow's sound feels a little trite and easy to parody, factors that contribute to my surprise in them being included on this list. On the other hand the instrumentation is beautifully done: the swelling strings and crisp production creating an incredibly spacious sound. Guy's vocals are distinctive and fit perfectly with the sounds they create in this album. Surprising amount of variety in the album, with the vocals the only real constant stylistically: 'Grounds for Divorce' kicks in with its bluesy feel and thumping drums to breathe fresh air into the middle of the album. The melody on the main vocal hook is also very appealing to me. 'The Fix' is cool - it feels a bit like something from a musical. Songs like 'The Loneliness of a Tower Crane Driver' get a little bogged down in their grandiosity. 'One Day Like This' remains an outstanding piece of music. It's a good album, carefully crafted, with plenty of good songs, but I suppose it falls well short of greatness, or provoking a sufficient emotional response to really stick with me. It's hard to imagine that this would still be worthy of inclusion on an 1001 albums list written 20 or even 10 years from now. Best songs: Grounds For Divorce, One Day Like This Listens: 3

8/10 This is just a fantastic album, completely blew me away against which is not what I'd have expected if someone told me to listen to a 90s dance album. 'Justified & Ancient' makes for a great bookend that fits more with my usual listening taste, but there's no denying that when the opening track is interrupted by 'What Time Is Love?' it goes unbelievably hard. Listening to this also meant that I got to a fun deep dive into the K Foundation's burning of £1 million, a stunt I'd never heard about before. In places the vocals and beats perhaps haven't aged perfectly - in a sceptical mood I might call it cheesy in places - but honestly this adds to the vibe. The only reason for not scoring even higher is that it's a little repetitive, but this is a really fun record I'm glad to have discovered (beyond 'What Time Is Love', which I'd definitely heard before). No doubt I'll be revisiting this. Best Songs: 'Last Train to Trancentral', 'Build a Fire', '3am Eternal', 'Justified & Ancient' Listens: 3

5/10 To me this all but confirmed that Tom Petty is best enjoyed by listening to the singles and not bothering with full albums, although I'll probably give some of his work another chance at some point. I've always absolutely loved 'Breakdown' - it oozes style and sex appeal in a way that few songs can - but beyond that the rest of this album was filled with disappointingly middle-of-the-road soft rock filler. Even American Girl, by the time I reached it, had me questioning whether I'd ever enjoyed the song at all – although I'm pretty sure that was just me being jaded by the rest of the album. Impossible for me to go higher than a 5 here despite the strength of the singles. Best songs: Breakdown, American Girl Listens: 1