1001 Albums Summary

Outstanding debut, three iffy tracks, otherwise pure genius.

First record someone ever 'taped' for me, played it to death (as you do when you only have one tape), opened my eyes to a whole new world of music. The 4 represents sentimental value for me really, after the first four monsters it's a bit of a mixed bag, apart from the magnificent Your Sister Can't Twist / Saturday Night's Alright obvs...

I tried, I really wanted to like this, but it's just not my thing 🙁

No, just because it's Bowie doesn't make it OK. Sound and Vision might be my favourite Bowie song but the experiment should have started and ended there.

I tried and I failed 😐

Quirky, too arty for me. A few more nice tunes might help.

A big gap in my musical knowledge, pleased to have filled it. Unsure what to make of it though, avant-garde, some of it comes across as a bit pretentious even, especially the second half, but clearly a ground-breaking work.

Not my thing, but does seem pretty thin and repetitive anyway.

Didn't really have time to do this justice, enjoyed what I heard although sound maybe a bit samey.

Crikey, well these tunes set the template for so much that followed of course, but these live versions astonish in their delivery and intensity from the off. Jaw-dropping from start to finish. Old or young I defy anyone not to love it. What a gig this must have been!

Deep soul, laid back instrumentation, beautiful heartfelt tones, what's not to like?! Just a teensy bit meandering at times maybe...

Gorgeous tunes, sombre reflections obviously but that goes with the territory, if only he had been able to sing it could have been wonderful.

Worried it might be terrible and it didn't disappoint.

Much as I loved the Jam (especially) and Style Council, I have always struggled a bit with Weller solo. This album illustrates why, a mixture of real beauty and overwrought sometimes even pretentious filler - I mean what's the point of those weird instrumentals for starters?

Clearly groundbreaking but a bit of a mishmash of songs that do sound pretty hastily thrown together just to get something out there (as I read to be the case). Interesting that the Clash modelled London Calling on this cover!

A huge part of the soundtrack to my mid-teens. Played it incessantly, still know every chord and word, every track a killer, dragged me into a brave new world. Brighton Rock one of two songs I know with the word 'tarry'. The other of course being... ... ... Come Up And See Me (Make Me Smile) 🙂

Well, yes, it's wild, but not in a way that would make me listen to it over and over again 😐

Thought I would enjoy this more than I did, didn't really grab me, perhaps he improved with age...

Wow, that's educated me, immensely talented band clearly, terrific sound, wonderful songs, great intensity, beautiful delivery 👌

Hugely popular in my first year at uni, played it loads and tried hard to love it. A fine album clearly but maybe a little too close to prog rock for me...

Wanted to love this, but a bit twee and a few aimless tracks (Drivin', Australia) to be a real winner 😕

I know this is heresy and that he's an outstanding musician but I didn't really like it. Much of it seemed slow and meandering to me. Saved, just, by the magnificent singles Living For The City and Misstra Know It All.

Eurgh, tricky, because the 'music' is non-existent obviously but, annoyingly, I did find myself agreeing with some of the messaging...

Dreadful. How on earth can this lame schmaltz be in anyone's top 1001? 😏

Classic Dolly, what's not to like?! 😊

Terrible, no redeeming features.

Ahh, tricky cos not my scene and all too sprawling for me (although the first vinyl I ever bought was Frampton Comes Alive so guess I have some explaining to do) but I do appreciate the musicianship and feel of this live monster...

The problem here as I see it, is you can be punk or post-punk or whatever but you do still need good tunes. I found that essence rare (apart from on that track ironically).

I quite enjoyed this in a harmless enough way but a) why on earth is it in this list, and b) how did he decide on his song titles?!

Wow, well I had a sneaking suspicion I might quite like this but it completely blew me away. Fair play, a bold and fabulous album from start to finish. It probably spawned a million dud and/or fake imitators unfortunately, but hardly her fault. And what a wonderful voice. Beautiful is just the most beautiful and uplifting song, written I note with great joy by Linda Perry of 4 Non Blondes.

Seriously? Stop dat 🤦🏻‍♂️

Can't quite make up my mind, good sound, weird narrative, perhaps I may have become obsessed if it had entered my orbit in the mid 70s. But it didn't, and for that I am thankful really.

Gosh, this was a challenge 😐

Aargh, a poor man's Human League. I can't see the point but I see the attraction.

Oh dear, I've never understood why so many people of my age revere CSN(&Y)... And after listening to this period piece, I still don't 😐

It's like heavy maaaan, but it's not my scene, I don't even like Smoke On The Water, there I said it 😕

Baffling, especially with her voice at its screamy screechiest. I'm sure Kate has her place but not with this wildy experimental and self-indulgent album.

Formulaic, not keen on the delivery, and don't see the point of him recording all these standards, especially Unchained Melody, other than to be a crowd pleaser obviously...

The El Classico, before they got too big for their boots 💪👌

Can't relate to either the style or content but appreciate it's a good album of its genre.

Lightweight bubblegum.

Two Metallica albums in the first two months, this is not justice. That said, I found it marginally more tolerable than the previous one. Until they started singing.

Very much of its time. I suppose this qualifies as then 'popular music' but I can't really relate to it.

Never heard of it, but really enjoyed this in a Dylanesque reflective kinda way...

The gorgeous tones of Karen Carpenter (mostly!) and some beautiful songs, some killer, some filler!

Regarded as a classic by many, regarded as overwrought and a bit tedious by me...

Mostly dire, but confused by there being a couple of half decent tunes 😐

Good to have a bit of Dad Rock for a change. His voice is hard work though, may be an acquired taste but I couldn't get into it.

Deliberate timing or extraordinary coincidence? I didn't know this album although it's always cited as a groundbreaking masterpiece and major influence on Sgt Pepper. But, apart from the singles, I didn't find it THAT amazing. Perhaps it's best if you are out of your head man.

Funky. Shallow, but funky.

The Nutty Boys with a social conscience. Great combination!

Classy. Beautifully conceived, written and delivered. Stunning debut.

Sha-doobie-doobie-doo. Impressive, made me bop my neck in and out. Good background music for doing your admin. But hard to sing along to if I'm being critical.

A mixed bag. Some good songs but I've always struggled with David Byrne's vocal style, and this hasn't helped...

Caught between liking the general sound but it being too screechy, or is that grungy? And let's be honest, a lot of the songs do sound pretty similar.

I ought to like these guys but it does not move me. Maybe if I'd been born five years later I would have loved it. Or maybe it's just not very good. It's hard to rationalise these things sometimes 😐

I know it's heresy but I've never liked Clapton, but yeah I get it, these guys are pretty good...

Eurgh, I so wanted to hate this but I couldn't quite do it. Close though 😏

Bit weird and arty for me. Some of it OK, some of it just a mess...

Hardly unplugged but a good listen, powerful live recordings, pretty heavy going throughout though...

Heard a lot about this guy, knew nothing about him. Another album I may have loved in a different time but here in 2025 I found much of it hard to take in, and the strongest tracks the ones he didn't write (take a bow James Shelton, Leonard Cohen and Benjamin Britten).

I was fully prepared only to award this 4, given it's a double album, and just the one big single, thought there was bound to be some filler. But hell, this is the Stones, the GOLD standard, from their golden period. Jewels everywhere 💪💪💥

Yet more 60s psychedelic / guitar-thrashing Grandad Rock 🙄 OK, I accept this was a seminal band but Jeff Beck (or Clapton or Page come to that) never, er, floated my boat maaaan 😏

Well it's a bit of a mess but sets the scene for so much that was to follow... Raw Power - does what it says on the tin! 💪

Not the most lyrically complex album I have ever heard but a good sound nonetheless...

How on earth did this get on the list? Here, hold my castanets 🕺💃

OK I bought this album when it came out in a desperate attempt to try to stay relevant. And I quite like four of the tracks 😅

First Morrissey now PJ Harvey, is it Get Happy week? 🤦🏻‍♂️😅 Tortured and painful, no redeeming features.

OK, unique, but not necessarily in a good way 😐 I tried to give it a chance but kinda challenging to sing or even hum along to 😏

Another strange inclusion. Limited appeal.

Too heavy, I cannot cope. But I did almost appreciate Child In Time...

I got them 'my baby left me' formulaic blues 😐

As an immature, weedy, and timid 17 year-old, just about to go to university and in desperate need of an identity, I happened to read a short review of this album in my father's Guardian (as one did). On impulse, and without having heard any of the tracks, I bought the album in WH Smith in Canterbury while on holiday with my surrogate family. I sneaked off and played it on the record player in the house we were staying at every opportunity - and couldn't believe what I was hearing. Elvis Costello came from nowhere, fully formed. This and his many following albums became the soundtrack to my life, this is no exaggeration. Don't you think that I know that walking on the water won't make me a miracle man. I said this to my boss at the end of my annual appraisal about 20 years later and he just looked up and said 'Elvis Costello'.

Good sound, slightly dubious substance if I'm being critical, which I suppose is why we are here 🙂

Blondie's masterpiece 😍

I had never heard of her, and not my thing, but I can appreciate this is a good example of the genre.

Always wondered why people go on about Taylor Swift so much. And now I know 😊

© Gloriously OTT Anthemic El Classico Productions 💪

Significant? Maybe. Possible to listen to with any ounce of enjoyment? No.

It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing 🕺

Great sound but too many covers!

Didn't have much time, was completely prepared to write it off as lift music... But turns out it's the height of smooth soulful cool 😅

The one album universally loved in my time at uni, didn't matter what else you liked, everyone had a copy, all killer no filler although we did not say that back then, what a time to be alive...

The soundtrack to my (late) uni football days. Me and my future best man rewrote 'Don't You Want Me' as 'Can't You Net It' and the rest is history...

Some funky tunes but David Byrne's delivery is a constant struggle 😐

Perfect album for someone recovering from surgery and heavily sedated.

The Norwegian Ramones (albeit with a 13 year-old's vocabulary), who knew?! 😅

Bit of a gap in my knowledge this, fabulous constructions, particularly love the piano/keyboards.

'Dream pop'? Nightmare more like. If this is indeed "their most accessible album" I sincerely hope there aren't any more of them on this list.

Not my thing, but I can just about see the attraction. Not keen on the advancement of albums where artists have just died btw, bound to skew the ratings.

Never liked The Cure. Trying not to be prejudiced but this jangly mess is not helping.

This is extraordinary. People go into a studio to record this stuff. Then other people pay money to buy or stream it. Then someone decides it's one of the 1,001 albums one should hear before one dies. Nope, beats me.

Another El Classico from my student days. If you aren't awestruck by the timeless beauty of 'Scenes From An Italian Restaurant' (amongst many other jewels) then it's probably best to stick to alternative hip-hop. Sorry kids, we used up all the best music 😐

Bit thin in places but good tunes generally. Shouldn't have gone anywhere near Comfortably Numb though, absolute shocker.

Yep, v good, well, cracking start, tails off a bit in second half. Either this or I can only take so much grunge...

Hard work. I'm sure they are all great musicians but sprawling and ostentatious music, topped off with a grating singing style.

Pretty low grade psychedelia. Why on earth is this on the list?

This is a joke right?

Whilst I have tried to be open minded, I have been forced to conclude that the first few tracks of Nevermind are the only Seattle grunge I shall be needing in my life 😐

I did sign up to this project in order to listen to stuff outside my comfort zone to be fair. But turns out my comfort zone is not such a bad place to be after all 😐

Loved the music, hated the vocals. And let's face it, the lyrics and general sentiments are pretty appalling.

Wow, stunning in every respect from start to finish. Why did no one tell me?

Proper punky debut album 💪

An enjoyable enough listen without really leaving its mark on society...

Abhorrent. Nearly got me arrested.

Wow, great sound, top tunes, unexpectedly classy, a real education for me, this is why I am here!

Not sure I entirely understand the concept of Dream Pop but if it is supposed to be sleep inducing then this would appear to fit the bill.

Call me picky but as a general rule I prefer songs to have some music and singing in them 😐

Much vaunted but I never took to this rambling show of self-indulgence. Redeemed only partially by the magnificent Pinball Wizard, which stands better on its own anyway 😐

Raucous but not in a good way. Was the lead singer unwell? Close to unlistenable.

There's great soul and then there's offensive schmaltz like this.

Didn't sound great on the train tbh. But there was a child crying, think I must have nodded off and had a bad dream.

Eurgh, this does not move me, perhaps it should, I concede it's possible that if I listened to it many times it might grow on me, as some Genesis stuff did. But I found it all a bit pretentious really and his voice somewhat grating. There, I said it 😐

I had high hopes, but too heavy and impenetrable for me...

Seems to be some sort of mix up, shouldn't this be on the '101 Truly Dreadful Bee Gees Albums You Must Avoid Before You Die' list?

Funky, although I have no idea what is going on here. And he has a lot to answer for, for providing the inspiration for Do Ya Think I'm Sexy (as seems beyond any reasonable doubt yer honour) 😐

What on earth? 🤦🏻‍♂️ The latest in a long line of painfully 'inclusive' albums. Please could we have something by The Stones, The Beatles, The Jam (or Weller solo), Springsteen, Blondie, Billy Joel, Bowie, Aretha Franklin, Pulp, Squeeze, Dusty Springfield, Elvis Presley, Level 42, Oasis, Carly Simon, The Sex Pistols, Miley Cyrus, Dire Straits, The Killers, Nina Simone, Cream, The Ramones, Stevie Wonder, Santana, Roy Orbison, George Michael, The Carpenters, Sam Cooke, Elvis Costello, Smokey Robinson, The Specials, Tom Petty, The Lightning Seeds, The Housemartins, The Eagles, The Fratellis, Marvin Gaye, Chuck Berry, Diana Ross, REM, Neil Diamond, Radiohead, Mott The Hoople, Buddy Holly, T Rex, Boston, The Four Tops, Joan Jett, Talking Heads, Happy Mondays, Joan Armatrading, Dexy's Midnight Runners, Patti Smith, Heart, Fats Domino, The Cars, Coldplay, Led Zep, Tina Turner, The Strokes, Roxy Music, Gladys Knight, Foo Fighters, Beautiful South, Slade, The Who, Crowded House, Bob Dylan, The Faces, Pink Floyd, Kylie yes Kylie, Dr Feelgood, Alice Cooper, Thin Lizzy, 10cc, Bob Marley, Joy Division, The Stranglers, Queen, Peter Frampton, The Isley Brothers, The Kinks, Fleetwood Mac, Lynyrd Skynyrd, ABBA, Spandau Ballet, Beyonce, Genesis, The Beastie Boys, Neil Young, Dionne Warwick, The Pet Shop Boys, The Pretenders, Blur, The Velvet Underground, Taylor Swift, AC/DC, The Byrds, Robbie Williams, Carole King, Madness, Jimi Hendrix, Amy Winehouse, The Human League, Simon and/or Garfunkel, ELO, Bob Seger, Janis Joplin, The Clash, Taylor Swift, The Doors, Adele, The Beach Boys or Elton John next. Or Ed Sheeran or the Spice Girls even. Is this really too much to ask? Come on, you can do better than this. Many thanks.

I bought this album in my mid 20s in a troubling attempt to move with the times. But the trouble with Mick Hucknall, laid bare here, is great voice, terrible songs. So while Holding Back The Years is fabulous, the rest is, well, very ordinary 😐 Trouble all round.

Like the general vibe, but a mixed bag, feels like they were still finding their feet, or possibly just too addled to hold it all together.

Obsessed over by the cool kids in my weedy early teens, I tried to love it too, some classic tracks obvs but I didn't entirely get it, and looking back now I can see how wise I was even then 🙃

Wow, what is this? As a general rule I think it's a good idea to record 10 great songs rather than 45 random throwaways, there was a lot of rubbish here, but in a burst of generosity I have decided to award a bonus mark for shameless temerity.

Hard work. Killing Moon and Seven Seas aside, juddering tunes and vocals...

Class.

Whatever one's musical preferences I think one must acknowledge that Dylan was a trailblazer, and that this is trailblazing. This one must anyway.

Enjoyed this, good Aussie vibe, without perhaps setting the whole world alight.

Eughh, I appreciate there is good musicianship here and I know it's all a sad story but this was hard work and too melancholic for me.

Either my headbanging days were over so quickly I never noticed them, or they have not arrived yet, but I couldn't get into this 😐

Trip hop you say... Atmospheric, but not in a good way. Mercury Prize, yeah right on, you have to be kidding me, it's terrible.

Ethereal. Unexpectedly enjoyable.

Liked but not loved this, maybe suffered unfairly in comparison to Blondie though 😐

A mixed bag, some great sounds but some pretty monotonous filler.

Goodness me, makes Leonard Cohen sound like Earth, Wind & Fire. Turgid, depressing songs badly sung.

Pleased to have heard it, but hard work, prefer to look back on the glory days.

If this is indeed the greatest hip-hop album ever made then I hope the second greatest is not on this list.

I know it's supposed to be a masterpiece but I can't get into either the music or the vocal 😕 I tried to think of it as a poor man's Slade and this made it seem a bit better.

Of its time maybe, but a great bridge between folk and rock, with gorgeous and distinctive harmonies.

Well funky.

Wow, I was just too young for this first time around but well worth the 54 year wait. (OK, apart from L'America but I have decided to let that pass.)

Enjoyed the mellow sound, bit lost on some of the messaging but I'm sure that's all part of its charm.

I was hoping for more than this, didn't really grab me tbh 😕

Peak Thin Lizzy, fabulous distinctive sound, must have been amazing to see them live.

Top notch melancholy. Intense poetry, badly sung, yet somehow gripping.

Not exactly subtle but I quite enjoyed it 😅💪

Raucous, no surprise there obvs. But I feel that even if I knew this album intimately I would struggle to sing along 😐

Top Tip - instead of listening to this whole album, simply listen to Rock Me Amadeus by Falco and save yourself some valuable time.

Grating voice and (for the most part) unmemorable tunes, despite all the posthumous hype.

Leftfield. Talented bunch though clearly.

Unexpectedly glorious. Crank it up.

I don''t feel my life has been greatly enriched by hearing this album 😐

I refer you to my comments on Desperate Youths, Blood Thirsty Babes by TV On The Radio.

Magnificent. And funny how since then, everything and nothing has changed.

I refer you to my... oh never mind 😐

Experimental is one thing. Abysmal is another.

Wacky. Marginally more palatable than everything else we've had this week, but that's not saying much he said wearily.

The soaring title track aside, Berlin period Bowie does not move me 😐

Mostly the worst excesses of country. Bonus point because Elvis Costello saw something in Sittin' And Thinkin' and made it acceptable. But then again it was a Charlie Rich song anyway.

Meandering, and not exactly tuneful.

Clearly a classic of its genre although I prefer a little more Rhythm with my Blues.

OK they may not be Sweet, but I do quite like these guys 😅💪

Moody. Atmospheric. Perhaps too much so, but I quite liked it...

Don't think I'm going to be joining the Wu-Tang clan any time soon 😏

Pretty sure I would enjoy early Temptations far more. I Heard It Through The Grapevine did NOT need covering 🤨

Well that was an experience, music to induce hypnosis. Covering those two classics was brave, and Jumpin' Jack Flash did have a certain something. But then the second half just tailed away into nothingness.

Note to admin: a box set is too much to cope with in one day 😏 I'm sure this sounded wonderful on the gramophone back in the day but it is soooooo dated now, both stylistically and lyrically, that it's hard to appreciate.

Wow, eye opener, you think because it has Under The Bridge it should be good, then turns out the rest of it is both tuneless and classless.

Quite enjoyed the first two or three notes but it fell away rather badly after that before descending into screaming.

An overly long mish-mash of largely mediocre tunes.

Look, for punk rock to work there has to be some rock to go with the punk. You can't just shout into a microphone for 35 minutes and say you've made an album.

Never been a fan but enjoyed the laid back sound and general ambience.

I can't see the point but I see the attraction.

Gosh, thin in the extreme, another wild inclusion.

Not big and not clever.

Another eureka moment (maybe second only to discovering Elvis Costello) on my anxious journey from cloistered schoolboy to wide eyed student. Sensational distinctive sound, glorious basslines, menacing themes, how could I resist? Nearly docked a point for the ugly Ugly (although, y'know) but managed to hold it together by relistening to the timeless Hanging Around.

Sublime. From Beat Surrender to Café Blue in little over 12 months, an astonishing metamorphosis by Weller when he could have just kept milking The Jam until way beyond their sell by date. The fact that he was only 24 when he split The Jam at their peak never ceases to amaze me. Took me and many others along with him, kicking and screaming, before blinking into the open sunlight. My soundtrack to the summer of 1984, which may or may not have been long and hot.

This is why I am here, to educate myself on music that passed me by but I might have enjoyed. And although this is not quite up my street (bit of a let down after that intro 😅) I admire the musicianship, quality, thought and intensity on display. In another time I might just have loved it.

Ah, the eternal Dylan conundrum. Genius poet/musician or rambling toneless storyteller? Struggling for interpretation (who isn't?!) but I'm feeling particularly munificent today so I'll go with the former.

Good listen, surprised I hadn't heard of it, not really my scene, but enjoyed the soulful beat.

Largely weird and impenetrable. To me at least. Perhaps that's the point.

The Queen of Smooth. Sensational smoky debut. Surely nobody could fail to love this.

I understand the appeal but for me this is just mind numbing and gets more and more vacuous as the album wears on... And yes, I have separated the music from the person.

Funky beat obvs, but essentially one riff and completely inane lyrics throughout.

Clunky, uninspiring, and has done nothing to dispel my dislike of his rather feeble voice. There were one or two brighter moments but then I realised these were the adverts.

Hard rocking maybe but hard work generally. No idea why they felt the need to cover You Really Got Me.

I don't know how this can be hailed as a groundbreaking masterpiece. To me, Hard Rain and Don't Think Twice aside, it is slight, laboured and strained.

Guess I am not the target audience for this one 😐

I wanted to love this, trailblazing punk (really?) that I understood it to be, but couldn't get into it 😕

I was down the Hyde Tavern last night and pretty sure this is a live recording of his spot there. He seemed to go down pretty well although everyone had had a few tbh.

Briefly threatened to suck me in but on balance think I'll stick with Lou Reed.

In my early 20s New Wave had run its course and I was hunting around for new stuff to like. I loved Dare by The Human's League and naively thought this might be the way forward. But turns out I was mistaken, even though I was subsequently duped into buying The Luxury Gap in a forlorn attempt to stay relevant. And that's the honest truth.

Appalling.

Great songs, great soulful sound, pleased to have heard this. Bit disappointed to find she only wrote two of them however.

Like wow man.

OK this may have a bit more substance than other hip-hop stuff but it's still basically just a constant stream of invective. So I don't regard myself as a prude, but I didn't enjoy my trip to Doggy Dogg World 😐

OK, not every song can be a Sunny Afternoon but great to hear where The Kinks changed tack and launched themselves into British rock history 😁 And to discover where Blur found their Country House!

Harmless enough but I won't be buying their Greatest Hits album. Think this probably should have been no. 1002 😐

Never liked The Fall and this effort has done nothing to change my mind.

Aaaaargh, I am so compromised by Dylan. Genius, or rambling poet who got lucky being in the right place right time I cannot decide... So I am sitting on the fence 😐

So much to love about The White Stripes' stripped back sound and vocals, not to mention their general esoteric reflections on life ...

Duh, more overly earnest really quite tortuous Dad Rock 😏

I have the same trouble with Joni Mitchell as I do with Bob Dylan. I appreciate some of the sentiments (when I can understand them) but I struggle wth the wandering melodies and lyrics. So here I am on the fence again 😐

Harmless, but lacking in oomph. Good lift music.

There seems to be an awful lot of Buckley on this list. Must be political correctness because the tunes (such as they are) are pretty lame. Could we have some Showaddywaddy or Mud next please. I fancy a carefree singalong.

In a determined effort to appreciate the finer points of hip-hop I somehow struggled past Dooinit to reach The Light, which I found myself able to treat with something approaching respect. But then, sadly, I dissolved into a puddle.

I just don't get the Led Zep thing. I'm sure they were all great musicians but to my ears the sound is laboured and the vocals painful.

Some nice power chords but I don't feel Megadeth are the way forward. Why does the lead singer not try to sing?

Weird inclusion, weird subject matter, even more weirdly I kinda liked it! But this really is an extraordinarily arbitrary list, 70% of it anyway.

No idea what they're on about but enjoyed trying to find out.

How can an album that features I Can See For Miles be this bad?

OK, I may not be the target audience but I still don't understand how 'music' has sunk this low.

Not really my scene but a good listen, and clearly top notch musicianship.

The Mystery of Why Radiohead Are So Popular (Part V)

Mistifying. I'll have whatever they're on. Actually on second thoughts...

An absolute masterpiece. Hang it on the wall. An album for the ages. "Lower your sights, but raise your aim." Yep.

I listened without prejudice but I didn't enjoy it 🙁

I guess this is another album that won a lottery to be included in this list. Can't say it has improved my life dramatically but I quite enjoyed it in a somewhat detached way.

Difficult backstory aside, I'm just not a fan of her music (famous single included).

Beautiful. I feel he could have tried a little harder with the song titles.

Odd but strangely beguiling diversion.

Too much experimental, not enough rock.

OK the subject matter and lyrics are not the deepest or most thought provoking I have ever heard but I liked this. I must be down with the cool kids.

Great songs, great instrumentation, great vocals, great production, class all round.

Fair play for going back to his roots etc, a good listen, although as ever with Bruce hard to make out what he's saying half the time.

Dire.

Moby Grape you say? 🤔😅 Well it sounded kinda OK but nothing to write home about...

How could it all go so wrong?

More great dodgems music. Enjoyed this, albeit a bit difficult to sing along (he said predictably 🙄).

I'm sorry, I'm sure this is great but I can't take it in 😏

Great listen, and enjoyed reading up about this guy, hope he shared the royalties out equally between his 21 kids 😯😅

Strange, don't know what to make of this, a perfect match or a weird and unnecessary project? The jury here is still out...

Moody, atmospheric, excruciatingly dull.

Great music if you are waiting to get through to a call centre 😐

The Beatles were just on another level. Would be a 5 anyway - and then we have the extraordinary In My Life which still manages to surpass everything else...

Challenging. Some nice guitar licks. I was waiting for him to start singing but he didn't.

Hurray, hip-hop without incessant swearing and even some background tunes.

Uh, influential it may be but not in a good way. Preaching violence and misogyny hardly the way forward.

More great songs, great music, and great vocals. Class act.

I mean it's just beats and nothing else 😏

Surprisingly insipid even at this early stage of their downward spiral. New Year's Day and Sunday Bloody Sunday may both be worthy classics but the versions here are much inferior to the commanding live takes on Under A Blood Red Sky.

Like the title track. Melted away into abstract nothingness after that...

THE most magnificent Side 1, coupled with a fairly nondescript Side 2.

Hundreds of millions of people can't be wrong. Discuss.

Could do with being a touch more melodious.

Shows potential but falls between several stools.

I'd like to like this more but it sounds SO formulaic.

Well, it had one job and it nailed it...

Bit before my time in Elton John terms. Found it heavy going compared to his golden mid-70s period...

Man, what a masterpiece. Every track breathtaking even after all these years. I refuse to believe there is a finer album anywhere. Well OK, it depends on your viewpoint I guess. But it's the album that transformed me from awkward teenager to, well, awkward teenager. And boy did it leave a lifelong impression on my psyche. And while we're here, can we hear it for The Attractions please. Top musicians, at the absolute top of their game. No, don't ask me to apologise. I won't ask you to forgive me.

I've no problem with satire but this is just a (presumably drug addled) mess.

Proof, if it were needed, that The Beatles were far greater than the sum of their parts.

Erm, I feel sure this is extremely good but it's completely lost on me.

Atmospheric but insipid for the most part.

Painting by numbers. Perhaps it felt right at the time but not sure the world or indeed America really needed this. An odd inclusion anyway. Surely this is way down the list of Springsteen albums.

I find Daltrey's strained vocals hard work, and a lot of the tracks seem to meander aimlessly - but almost anything can be forgiven for Won't Get Fooled Again.

Like wow, man. There are a couple of half decent tunes, then we come to Revelation which should have ensured that this album was consigned to the dustbin of history.

Ah, nice enough sound but toooooo laid back for me, zzzzzzzz...

Given that Rick Wakeman is an absolute genius of a keyboard player, how on earth can Yes make such rambling tosh?

What is the point of this album, and why was it included?

I don't know much Taylor Swift, I'm not the target audience, and I have no idea how this ranks amongst her other stuff. But it sounds great throughout, she obviously puts everything into her songs, with the result that each one comes across as an event in itself - exactly how music should be. As someone very wise once said, "we're all Swifties now".

This. Is. Music? I must hear it before I die? Really? Life's too short.

Appalling in every respect.

Trip hop you say? Wasn't sure what to expect, and hardly my thing, but pleasantly surprised by the smooth beatiness (or something).

Oh I just don't know where to begin... Having already devoured EC's first two albums, this eagerly awaited release left a huge mark on a 19-year-old me still in search of his own identity. You can please yourself but somebody's gonna get it. An epic album musically, lyrically, and content-wise from start to finish (OK, I can excuse Moods For Moderns). And for the many here who have commented on what they perceive as a racial slur on Oliver's Army, it is nothing of the sort. The whole song (indeed most of the album) is anti-war, anti-racism, anti-oppression. The expression in question was a derogatory phrase historically employed by some Northern Irish Protestants to demean Catholics, portraying them as socially inferior (akin to enslaved black people) despite their shared ethnicity. And the Irish have historically been oppressed by the English (the clue's in the title) much as black people have been oppressed in many countries. Costello is himself of Irish descent. I will return. I will not burn.

Great voice, boring songs.

Some nice guitar work offset by terrible singing.

Random noises. Dire.

Niche, but not in a good way.

Raging yes, revolutionary perhaps, listenable no.

Only really discovered this after their second album (yeah, my bad). Not as consistently fabulous as that, but many bangers still...

Never been a fan of the material girl and this is overlong and overly introspective. But that said, full marks for effort, it does sound half decent, and so in a burst of generosity I have decided to award it a 3. Please don't test me again.

Sounds like it was recorded in his bedroom, perhaps that's the point, but enjoyed it more than his other offering on here...

Wow, Swamp Rock (apparently) at its finest, who knew?!

Sting had already disappeared up his own backside by the time this came out sadly.

Couldn't get into this. Reminded me of the Fleet Foxes, not that this is a good thing you understand.

At the risk of sounding like a miserable old git, this may be jolly and fun hip-hop for 10-year-olds but it's not terribly good is it?

Of its time (and a bit before mine) but yes, great.

I didn't like her other album on here but this is decent, if challenging, and I almost enjoyed it.

I wrestled with myself and won, just. Because it's/he's so famous it's tempting to say wow, I can see what all the fuss was about. But it's just vacuous, right? Am I missing something here? No, I don't think so 😐

Not quite the consistent magnificence of LA Woman, but pretty fab nonetheless.

I have a soft spot for this album because I owned it back in the day but please DYOR 🙃 However... UPDATE... just listened to it again, it's immense in every respect. And introduced us to Jerry Dammers and the wonderful Terry Hall as a bonus. Sorry kids but we had all the best music. That's just the way it is. Please feel free to devour it all. Right, I'm off out to protest in the streets (haven't decided what about yet).

Yes, very metal, heavy and lightweight all at the same time, only consumable in small doses...

Never thought I'd be able to sit through a whole Bob Marley album. And turns out I wasn't.

Raucous. Not much variety. No idea what it's doing on this list. Quite enjoyed it 😅

Painful.

OK, nothing original, but nicely delivered (mostly)!

What an album. Another one I was lucky enough to be a wide eyed student when it came out. And see live. And the Blockheads (as they mostly became) - what a band. OK so you might be a bit nervous if Ian Dury was coming round to your house for afternoon tea, but what an extraordinary artist and performer. Probably best if you don't play it in front of your parents. Or your kids come to that. Or your wife, it might be a hard sell.

Another gem from the Golden Era. Chooons, riffs, and joyful, funny and imaginative songs from start to finish. Sit down, relax, and cancel all other engagements.

Nice laid back bluesy vibe although (this may be heresy but) I found it a bit formulaic...

Maybe not quite the consistent brilliance of their earlier stuff but still fab. And I so nearly gave it a 4 but then I came to the medley, culminating in The End, and obviously I couldn't do it. Goosebumps.

Ah, the eternal Dylan conundrum. I guess this is about his best (although I have a soft spot for Desire if that comes up).

Art for art's sake.

Bob Marley has never floated my boat and this is not helping 😐

Alarms and surprises (but not nice ones). Pretentious and close to unlistenable.

It did me no harm but I feel that shoegazing is not really my thing.

An acquired taste one feels, but not one I have been able to acquire.

I was first initiated into this album at 2am at full volume by the bloke who lived in the flat above me at university in 1979. He was called Joe and had wild hair but that's not important right now. I have to concede it's a great sound although I have not yet fully recovered from my introduction to it.

Oops sorry, nodded off. Oh NO, it's still going. SOMEONE MAKE IT STOP. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Stunningly uninventive. A great advert for not smoking dope.

Just to be clear - people pay money for this stuff?

Gosh this is challenging to absorb in one day and I can't claim to have listened to it all. But although it's not my scene, I have to applaud what they have done here.

OK musically decent, fair enough, but let down by the singing, don't think you have anything to worry about Mick.

Funky, but insufficiently purposeful.

This may be harsh but it seems to me that for each song, they find a riff, play it to death, David Byrne adds some random words and a few yelps, and then they move on. I'm no musician, I could be terribly and quite unreasonably wrong, but hey, what if I'm right?

Great title, absolutely no idea why this is on here, but full marks for the concept and some nice mood music.

Yep, peak Aretha.

OK look, I know it's not the complete works of Shakespeare but, ladies and gentlemen, I give you, THE RAMONES 😅 💪 💪 Norman Wisdom, Johnny, Joey, Dee Dee, good times.

Quite enjoyed the first few chords but then it all fell apart.

Sounds like she had three half decent songs and someone said to her "look, if you could just cobble together another, I dunno, 11 tracks, something, ANYTHING, then we'd have just about enough to put out a whole album".

Difficult because the theme song is such a classic, but that is absolutely no reason for this album to be on this list.

Doh, I was expecting GREAT things from this album but it was all a bit samey 😕

Kinda liked this in a 'not my usual genre but I see the attraction' sort of way...

Exactly the sort of hazy meandering psychedelia which punk rock needed to come in and blow away. And for that we should be extremely grateful.

Wow, nothing could have prepared me for this, sounded like they were warming up the whole way through 😮

So, hang on, Nico said even she couldn't listen to this album? Yet we are expected to? How on earth is it on this list? It's terrible.

Nice sound but lacking in oomph.

Clearly great if you like that sort of thing, but sadly I don't.

Four Metallica albums on this list seems a lot, just saying. Seems they were trying to capture a wider audience with this album, so I tried my best to appreciate their efforts. It's still mostly just a thumping noise but I did find it marginally more palatable than the previous two we have had to date.

How did I reach my mid-sixties without ever listening to this album? The shame. It's not QUITE consistently up there with the other Stones albums from that period for me, but admittedly that's a very high bar. Gimme Shelter to open and You Can’t Always Get What You Want to close though. Goosebumps.

I guess it's for the greater good of society that we don't all like the same thing 😐

I wanted to slag this off but then I realised I might need to give the Pet Shop Boys a decent review at some point so I relented.

Well that was unexpectedly pleasant! Just booked myself some salsa classes. I phoned up and the lady said "How flexible are you?" I said "Well, I can't make Tuesdays" 🕺 I'm here for another 769 days 😐

Quirky, considered, knowing, self deprecating, and a good listen. I saw someone wrote "the Irish Jarvis Cocker". I like that.

Thought I was going to hate this but, although it might be overly mellow, samey and bland, it's somehow strangely enjoyable also. Perhaps I am just desperate after two weeks of dodgy albums.

An astounding, perfect album, from first to last, and the one I always cite when anyone asks me if I can think of an album which is 'all killer, no filler'. Every note, line and nuance is wonderfully constructed and delivered in my humble albeit considered opinion.

Terrible.

Harmless enough but failed to set my pulse racing.

Joyful and sublime from start to finish.

U2 style opener before descending into something much trippier... I do wonder if it's one of those albums you could learn to love if you listened to it often enough, but sadly for the purposes of this review I didn't.

I note that this album "received universal acclaim" upon its release which is strange because it's absolutely terrible, so clearly not everyone was consulted.

Weird, and not in a good way. Would have been nice if, er, they had attempted a tune here or there, but sadly it was not to be.

I suppose I should like Neil Young but I could never understand what people see in him, and I find his voice rather grating. Sorry and all that.

Insubstantial. Thought I was listening to Sade at first but sadly I wasn't.

I tried to do this justice because it's so famous, although I am hardly the target audience. But it really does sound like they had about two and a half songs, so rehashed them over and over again (why so overlong and so much filler?), frequently contradicting their own supposed strong independent women outlook while they were at it. Well, as I said, I tried.

It Won't Be Long... until they completely nail it. Rather patchy early effort although several signs of the genius about to unfold...

It's getting kinda LATE It's a quarter after EIGHT I know I need to RATE it But I mf HATE it There that's another song sorted. I can do rhymes, me 😐

Never heard of this although 1978 was around my peak for reception to new types of music. But I hardly feel I missed out.

Struggling to rate with all the genre bending but luckily it's all pretty lame. Strap yourselves in, I see there are three Beck albums on here. Was he really that unmissable?

I know it's only jazz and bossa nova but I don't really like it. To paraphrase Mick.

At the risk of being an old fuddy duddy, please pass me my ear plugs 😐

Gosh, well I wasn't expecting much tbh, but this didn't meet my expectations.

I just don't know how I've got by without Thelonious all these years 😏

...and something of a mixed bag, but raised to a 4 by the gorgeous and timeless Waterloo Sunset. Plus without this album we would never have had The Jam's version of David Watts, and then our lives would all be immeasurably poorer.

Thought I might like this but it did not move me 🙁

Dismal, as was her previous one. I see there are four PJ Harvey albums on this list. Curious and unjustifiable.

Clearly they were having a great time and I tried to join in but it wasn't really my bag.

Quite liked Maps but the rest of it was hard going.

Been a dodgy couple of weeks but FINALLY... good songs, great delivery 🙂

Crikey, I don't mean to be rude, but it's just background music, I mean it might be OK while you are eating in a restaurant or something...

I wanted to hate this but I couldn't 😅 Although it's still pretty mindless...

Always loved You Were Right, only song of his I knew, so was looking forward to this. But it left me a bit, well, bewildered.

Not his finest, even as an EC fan I am surprised this is on here. Some great tracks but plenty of dodgy ones also. In fact I'll help you out given the sequencing. A whole run of completely skippable songs 2-8, but all the rest classic Costello. Don't mention it, the pleasure is entirely mine.

Powerful stuff. Enjoyed that.

Had no idea what to expect, knew they had a cult following (live at least) but had no idea why, and now I am still perplexed. Sub-par Eagles. Well, I guess you had to be there.

Oh man, Radiohead are SUCH hard work, and they have SIX albums on here 🤦🏻‍♂️

Mostly great although I could have done without the unnecessary Stones cover and a couple of the others...

A fabulous album, glorious yet poignant from start to finish.

I quite liked this although it is not really my scene. I LOVE their Tales From Turnpike House album although unsurprisingly it is not on this list, but I am sharing this with you because I like you.

Yep, understand the hype, really liked this. Singing style a bit grating after a while if I'm being picky. Which obviously I am.

Not more bloody wailing from Radiohead, I haven't got over the last one yet 🤦🏻‍♂️

Psychobilly you say? Well I quite liked the first few tracks but it tailed off into nothingness pretty quickly...

I was waiting for the singing to start and then when it did I didn't like it.

I knew of this album but had never listened to it, magnifico-o-o-o.

A somewhat samey masterpiece.

SEVEN Morrissey albums on here 🤦🏻‍♂️ I mean this one is OK but we really wouldn't be any worse off (and maybe a bit more cheerful) if he had decided to take a completely different career path. But thanks be for Johnny Marr.

Good grief, time to swing your pants 😬

A masterpiece. Lucky enough to be introduced to this during my first year at uni.

Psychedelia and a whiny voice. A disastrous combination.

I wanted to like this, I have fought for my right to party, but I could not do it 😐

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you, the peerless and uniquely talented Mark Knopfler.

The extraordinary final act of the extraordinary ABBA. Every note, word and nuance lovingly crafted and perfectly delivered. And almost as an afterthought, The Day Before You Came, not even on the original album but quite possibly the finest song ever written.

Hmm, I appreciate this is classy but not really my thing.

Alas, I feel I am not really shoegazer material.

Completely lost on me but would be fine in a restaurant. As an aside, how do people decide what to call instrumentals?

Ridiculous inclusion, absolutely terrible, can we move on please...

Gosh, hard work 😏

I like Bruce, it would be rude not to, but mostly I can't make out what he's saying 😐

I expected to hate this but then disconcertingly, all of a sudden, I didn't.

Terrible.

Wasn't sure at first but then I pretended it was Slade and really enjoyed it 🙂

OK, fair play, never let it be said, I thoroughly enjoyed this...

Clearly there is an important story behind this but a repetitive struggle for me musically.

On their way to greatness...

I had heard a lot about Fiona Apple but never listened to her. But wow, she wrote these songs as a teenager and recorded the album at 18, respect.

Quite enjoyed the music, not so sure about the lyrical content...

Magnificent songs, it's a maximum from me, not at all influenced by the fact that I'm going to see them next week (yeah OK, I know) 😂💪

I tried, I really tried, and some of the riffs and drumming I quite liked. But too much of it is plain bad and the singing is (well I suppose that's thrash but) simply dreadful.

Woo, what have we here? Nice. Dark and understated. Can't beat a bit of darkness and understatedness though. New Order-esque obvs but that's no bad thing.

Always wondered what all the fuss was about and still not entirely sure tbh...

Well done, good timing, it's 12 points from Bulgaria 🇧🇬 🎉

Even the bad songs are good. Not yet at their outstanding best but still many classics, plus several more flashes of the brilliance to come.

Oh dear. John Lennon meets Yoko Ono, loses way, and produces self-indulgent claptrap.

Nice. Bit like listening to Sade singing in a foreign tongue but that is not a criticism!

I have no idea how you go about compiling a list of 1001 must-listen albums, this was a bit random but I quite liked it. There must be an awful lot of luck and "right place right time" for decent bands like this to succeed.

Always thought I would enjoy the Smashing Pumpkins and indeed I did, albeit maybe just a tad grungy for me 🙂

Didn't enjoy this as much as his other one on this list. And two albums from this guy is pushing it somewhat 😐

Golden El Classico obvs.

Drr, I suppose I should be a fan of Led Zep but for some strange reason they do not move me...

Back when Rod was good (although this is an odd choice, far from his finest) and before it all went rapidly downhill in the late 70s when he began to wonder if he was sexy.

Maybe I should like this but it does not move me, and Clapton in particular I have always found a trial. There, I said it.

We have had all three S&G albums in the last three weeks, could Admin take a look at the auto-scheduling algorithm please 😐 But yes, it's a class album obviously, although Voices Of Old People was a strange inclusion.

I have no idea what they are singing about, but perhaps neither do they. Decent album but I feel better and more consistent was to come...

Abysmal nothingness. Is this really the best of the 2010s?

FOUR PJ Harvey on here, seriously? It's alright until she starts singing 😏

Great vibe, moody and atmospheric, a pearl amongst all the dodgy stuff, this must be why I am still here 🙂

Glam Rock, well hallelujah. But sadly, featuring the annoying high pitched screech of Justin Hawkins 😕 Where are Slade? (edit: happily, just checked, we have that joy still to come 🥳 )

Powerful, pleasingly OTT, but way too long, would have packed much more of a punch as a single album and without the unnecessary covers.

Ah subramonian, but quite an endearing vibe. If they really did influence The Ramones then fair play!

Lame satire and weak material, a deadly combination.

I was waiting for something to happen but then, all of a sudden, it didn't.

I liked this more than I thought I would, although please don't take this as a ringing endorsement.

Funky - yes. Meaningless - absolutely. Repetitive - mind-numbingly so. I have (in some desperation) been to discos where this sort of stuff was being played in the early 80s, and it made me question my whole existence.

Somewhat bemused by the stratospheric rating, I mean it's obviously good but it's just a bloke playing a trumpet!

Erm, formulaic without being unpleasant.

I do like a good singalong and this wasn't it 😐

Interesting and not entirely unpalatable. I have given it a 3 but I feel I should make it clear that it was actually a 2.51 (to two decimal places) but I have rounded up because I was in a good mood.

Atmospheric but hard going.

I almost gave this a 4 but then I listened to it again and came to my senses.

Hard for me to relate to, but quite an enjoyable listen while I tidied my room.

OK first let's just acknowledge that tracks 2-4 on Side 2 are not great but... This album exploded into my life in my second year at uni, and from then right through to their immaculately timed disbandment, The Jam produced an astonishing barrage of powerful and pointed excellence which (no overstatement here) helped shape my whole existence. Thanks guys. Didn't we have a nice time. What a time to be alive.

Great beats, inane lyrics, woefully repetitive.

Unusual, I'll give them that. Faded after a bouncy start.