1001 Albums Summary

I can see the genius and talent at display here. I would probably really enjoy it live. But as a recording, it doesn’t work for me. The sheer length of many of these songs turns this into a bit of a challenge to get through - not because it’s bad -it most certainly isn’t- but because ultimately, I crave some more structure. It’s probably because jam-bands are not for me. Funnily enough, i absolutely love the first two tracks. And they are the shortest and tightest tracks on here. Maybe I will connect more to the Allman Brothers’ studio albums, because they definitely are a talented bunch.

I don‘t know why I put off listening to this for so long, but i finally did. It started promising but damn, it turned into a slog really quickly. I listened to it twice and each listen felt significantly longer than the half hour it actually took. This is too unfocussed, too raw (but also kind of limp), too… meh, overall. I guess this was ahead of its time in some regards and it is always different to judge an album 60 years after release but man… what a slog.

This is not the worst album i heard on this list so far... but certainly the worst listening experience. Man, i can hear the guys saying "Okay but how do we get our listeners to think this is EMOTIONAL and IMPORTANT music?". I guess one way is to make the lead singer sound like he's on the verge of a mental breakdown throughout the whole album. This is proto-Imagine Dragons, this tries to be Coldplay-stadium music without even trying to impress any real vulnerability or meaning into the music. Maybe this IS the worst album I heard on this list so far...

Definitely feeling the runtime… overall a bit too same-y for me over its 16 tracks. Amy‘s voice manages to keep me interested, but the instrumentation doesn‘t catch my attention on most of the tracks.

This album surprised me a lot. I had a blurry idea of what Black Sabbath is and how they sounded - and while it was kinda close to the actual album, i underestimated them hugely. The minimalism of FX in juxtaposition to the large sounds of the other tracks is striking and beautifully done, it doesn‘t feel out of place. It is essential to the album. The percussion section in Supernaut was such a rush of joy, i don‘t know how i made it through 28 years on this earth without it. The gentleness of Laguna Sunrise and its beautiful guitar melodies hit me completely unexpected and brought me close to tears. Only for St. Vitus Dance to kick into higher gear right again without leaving time to breathe. Overall a great listen!

The heavy vibrato on Hope There‘s Someone made me consider not listening to this album at first. Thankfully, as the album went on, Anohni either toned it down or i got used to it. What revealed itself to me was an album full of brutal honesty and vulnerability about the experience of Ahnoni‘s life as a trans-woman, accompanied by beautiful piano melodies. The album can be a bit monotonous in musically, but definitely left it‘s marks on me.

Sonic Youth discovers how to give their songs more structure and… accesability, i guess? On the one hand not the worst idea, but in turn it sacrifices some if that chaos found on Daydream Nation and their previous albums. But these stongs still burst with energy and get enough space to fully develop themselves. At times the songs are a bit self-indulgent, but it didn‘t really bother me (maybe because everything Kim Gordon touches is just effortlessly cool). And Karen is one of the greatest songs ever, no doubt. Also, Mildred Pierce is such a valid crashout put to song.

I enjoy a good synth-album, especially from the early 80s. So this should be right up my lane. And yet i struggled with this album. The songs are quite meandering, which isn‘t necessarily a bad thing but on Soul Mining it doesn‘t add much to the substance of the songs, i think. This is one of the very rare cases where i‘d appreciate a shorter edit of the album, or at least some of the songs. The contrast between Johnson‘s vocal performance, often brooding and in parts goth-adjacent, and the music itself is quite interesting and a lot of fun. Singing songs about how shitty you feel and how shitty life is over a happy synth-beat always gets me.

My first real encounter with Iggy Pop was on the Kesha song Dirty Love. That song is just a lot of silly fun. Lust For Life is pure fun distilled into an album. You can‘t not hear this album and immediately start dancing and enjoying the moment. I also really enjoy Iggy‘s voice, it‘s perfect for rock n‘ roll.

I have genuinely never heard of The Divine Comedy before, but i guess that’s because they never really hit it big in Germany. That album cover is amazing, though. Anyways, i had no expectations going into it. Halfway through the album i realized i have no idea what Casanova is aiming to be - it has some comedic qualities (especially those terrible pieces of „dialogue“ in some songs), but the production goes all out with an orchestral backing in other parts, while Hannon’s vocals come across as dead-serious, though powerful and attention-grabbing. Is this a parody of Britpop? The self-seriousness of large parts of 90s music in general? Maybe that would explain why the album in parts leans very heavily into kitsch and pastiche - both things i can enjoy but that left me quite puzzled in this instance. Maybe it would also explain the misogynistic tones in some of the lyrics (I really have no idea what to make out of Cannon and that terrible line „Everybody knows that no means yes“). And that could work if the actual music itself would commit to the idea, but it is so self-serious that at no point did i get the impression that the Casanova in question was a character meant to criticize and parody - yeah, it’s sort of hinted at here and there but doesn’t really feel like a through-line. There’s probably some cultural context i’m missing that would paint a clearer picture.

Maid of Orleans was the biggest „Wait, i DO know this band!“-moment i had so far. And it’s the song that made the whole album click for me. From that moment on i really enjoyed all the tracks on a subsequent second listen. OMI put some really cool experiments with synth-pop to record that reveal their little details and pling-plongs over time. The biggest problem i have are the vocals, especially on the first track. But they got better as the album went on and are overall quite sparse. A really cool discovery!

You know that scene from Tarzan where the apes bang on the pots and pans they find in the humans‘ camp?

Elephant Mountain is best described as pleasant and enjoyable, i think. It brings together nice vocals and groovy instrumentation, mixing elements of psychedelic rock, folk and country. The instrumental songs are not really note-worthy in my opinion and overall the album loses some steam in the second half - except for Sham, which is just great fun.

I was ready to be done with the album after the first two tracks, since they sounded like the exact same metal-song to me. A metal song i, sadly, don‘t enjoy at all. Thankfully they switched it up for the rest of the album. I thought Re-Ignition and Section 77 are pretty interesting songs. They way they mix several influences into coherent tracks made for a challenging listening at first, but it clicked for me pretty quickly. She‘s Calling You is probably my favorite song on the album, it‘s ever-evolving nature really intrigues me and i like that it doesn‘t actually end in the bombastic chorus it seems to build-up to. Sacred Love is a great mood-piece and felt like the least-challenging song on the album. This is by no means i bad thing, it was simply the one song i could listen to and get completely lost in. Overall an interesting album that works really well in it‘s middle section, but loses me in the beginning and the end - the talk-sing vocals in Return To Heaven killed the song for me.

This album shows qualities that would really turn me off, if it wasn‘t for Nick Cave with a voice that is beautifully heartbreaking. It‘s pondering, it‘s quite one-mooded (guess that‘s a word i made up?) but goddamnit, Nick and his band sell it to you as a revelation, an emotional journey on a meandering river through a dying countryside in autumn. There seems to be no hope that life will get better on this record, but there is always hope that i can return to Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds.

You have got to respect The Beatles for putting out an album with this scope. You can hear in every song how influencial this album is. The pop songs are insanely catchy. Even the at times mildly annoying Ob-La-Di just sticks in your head. There are so many amazing songs here, but the highlights are the slower and more mellow moments. While My Guitar Gently Weeps and Blackbird are simply stunning. Some of the best songs ever put on record. Some songs i could do without but overall this is a great record. Actually, now that i’m writing this, i’m not sure what songs i personally would cut. Maybe Honey Pie? Ob-La-Di? Honestly, it probably depends on the mood i’m in. I’m happy that i finally listened to The White Album in full and now know what all the fuzz is about. (Revolution 9, i will always have your back!)

There’s nothing quite like a Missy album. Even now, so many years later, i feel that no one really managed to immitate her sound. Missy and Timbaland created something magical, their beats are always so satisfyingly beefed up, Missy glides over them like nobody else. I think there are two songs - Pussycat and Hot - that felt a bit superfluous to me, but that doesn’t diminish the quality of the album too much. The guest verses on here are done very well, i especially enjoy Beyoncé and TLC’s appearences. And of course, there is Worth It. A ruthless banger that knows no boundaries and will forever be one of the sickest tracks known to mankind.

This surely is a concept album with an… interesting concept. I don’t even want to get into the moral implications of the „sex packets“. But man, this thing is musically exhausting. Every single song goes on for way too long. Every interesting idea gets stretched out for WAY too long to the point that it looses any semblance of what made it intriguing in the first place. This was just a disappointing listening experience. There are traces of genius, no question - but they get buried in way too much fluff.

This is The Cure pretty much still finding themselves. All the building blocks that would lead to the seminal Disintegration are alreas here, they juat need some more refinement. This is definitely not among my fave The Cure albums, but it‘s still an enjoyable listen. Funnily enough the generator assigned me this album the day Robert Smith released a song with Olivia Rodrigo.

Jones certainly presents an interesting view on women… They will just leave you for no reason, they will most definitely start loving you when you creep around them long enough, but god forbid they are not immediately agreeing to a lifelong commitment. But of course it‘s fine when Jones is the one sleeping with a married woman because… well it brings him pleasure, i guess. That alone isn‘t a reason to give the album a bad rating. THAT comes from the abundance of country-cliches, the whining vocals and the lack of real variation on here.

The cover (minus the honestly ugly font) really sums up this album. It has a ritualistic, maybe even occult quality. The songs on here are chants that tell stories of magic and fate. This is supported by the instrumentation that manages to create a palpable ceremonial athmosphere. My biggest problem here is Dr. John‘s voice. It‘s nothing special and at parts grating. Just let your amazing background singers take the mic. And stop selling stuff to give to a wife „you can‘t control“ , for heaven‘s sake.

This album was really nice to get lost in after an exhausting day at work. There's always something interesting going on, but the sounds aren't overwhelming. It just feels freeing listening to the album. It pulls many different influences together into a strange cocktail that could easily become utter nonsense, but Frank somehow pulls it off. Heart and centre are the guitar solos for me. Overall there is such strong musicianship at play here that impresses me a lot. Could maybe use one or two songs with more structure, but the jam-esque quality i'm usually not that fond of works for me on here. (And how much fun is It Must Ce A Camel?)

This explores some interesting ideas. The beats themselves are at times quite capturing, but my big problem here are the rap-parts. They just don’t really hit, except No. 1 St which instantly moved to my library. To The Moon’s Contractor is the definitive centerpiece of the album for me, though the title track could also claim that position. Ultimately an interesting listen that i probably won’t return to in full, but some tracks definitely caught my attention.

That’s it… Jazz isn’t for me, i guess. At least purely instrumental jazz. Yes, Davis is an incredibly talented musician. And yes, his music was probably revolutionary back when it was released. But nothing here grips or excites me. It’s nice to put on as background music, but whenever i tried to actively listen to it, my attention would just slip away. So what do i do with this? There are one or two jazz records that i enjoyed more from the list, or at least albums that gripped my attention. I guess compared to them, this is only a two for me.

So… i get that Laibach's approach is to take elements of fascist music and turn it up to the point of satire and ridiculousness. I get it… in theory. In practice i think they do nothing for the listener to actually understand that what they are listening to is a parody. Especially the first two tracks made me incredibly uncomfortable to the point that i was considering not finishing the album. And yes, the point of art is to make the recipient uncomfortable. But this album made me uncomfortable because it felt like listening to actual fascist march-music - which made me nauseous considering the state of the world. At no point did the music reveal to me that i am listening to a parody and critique of it. That only came with reading about the album and band. So if the music itself does not manage to transport the idea of pardoy and critique, isn’t it simply reproducing what it’s trying to critique? I’m sure there are whole theses written about this out there, maybe i will go and read them when i feel like it.

I don‘t think words can express how amazing this album is. A definitive record in music history. Maybe the best thing to come out of the 80s.

So… on here we have four proper songs and some random stuff Yes cooked up in the studio. I loved it on my first listen, on the second listened it showed its flaws. What exactly the idea behind including Cans and Brahms as well as We Have Heaven on the album was is beyond me. But damn - Roundabout, South Side of the Sky and Long Distance Runaround are hard hitting bangers.

This all sounds very much like a collection of demos. This is lacking any polish or refinement. Not that everything needs to be polished to the max, but at least SOME more production work and rounds of revision would have been nice. The beats on here have some really cool ideas, I especially like Blinded By The Lights and Fit But You Know It in that aspect that nonetheless are sadly muddied by the general roughness of the album. The rapping is utter rubbish in parts, the singing isn’t much better. It sounds like a first recording of an idea made on a phone. Mike Skinner seems weirdly off-beat almost all the time, the worst offenders are the first two tracks on here. I kinda enjoy the british accent and vocabulary, tho. The parts sung by others are usually quite competent and nice to listen to, thankfully. The lyrics certainly are an interesting exploration of the life of a british bloke in the early 2000s and the headspace Skinner was in. This album is baffling. I genuinely think this could have been great. It got slightly better in the second half, but i have no desire to listen to this ever again. The only exception is Dry Your Eyes, which is a genuinely great song.

…will this shameless string of 80s music-clichés ever end? I fear it won‘t. I‘m trapped inside a insidious plane of existence called Brothers In Arms.

The biggest drawback of the album is it‘s runtime (and i excluded the bonus tracks…). Otherwise this is some very relaxed country-tinged instrumentals with a sort of talk-singing over it. Sometimes the singing works for me, sometimes it doesn‘t. My highlights re Shiver and Dirty From The Rain, the latter bringing me close to tears. It‘s just too monotonous over its runtime, and although the opera-interludes bring some variation, they don‘t make sense to me in the context of the album.

I really enjoy the smoothness of this album. I‘m not very knowledgeable on Bossa Nova but i‘m sure there are albums that represent a „truer form“ of its roots, but i appreciate the emotional heaviness that Sinatra‘s vocals brings to the songs.

A track list of 19 songs usually makes me grown because usually that means there are a bunch of tracks to cut through that just don’t need to be on the album. Astonishingly, this is not the case here. The Clash deliver 19 songs full of life and energy. They never slow down and they never fall into a monotonous slop. Here we have 19 songs that are clearly punk, but more polished - i.e. they definitely know their ways around their instruments and probably established early on that they would love for their songs to have some structure. And the production on this is immaculate. You can hear every single instrument cleary, everything is done purposefully and the production really brings out the best of every single performance. It’s full of energy and life without overdoing it. They display their influences clearly on here, the reggae elements for example are very prominent on some songs but never over the top. It just shows how much of an influence reggae had on (british) punk. I even enjoy the ska-songs. Which says a lot about how good these songs are. Overall this is just a lovely album and a rush to listen to from top to bottom. And the title track hits you like a brick every single time.

What a fabulous work of synth-pop! I only knew Relax! going into this so i was a bit skeptical if it would be a „great single and then the rest“ thing but i was definitely proven wrong. That insanely long title track? Mama, this is art! Relax? Still a stone cold bop. Two Tribes? Joined the tribes into one. The Power of Love? Where’s my handkerchief? I really love this. The only thing i’m unsure about are the covers. While i really like War, of the Ring could do without Born To Run. Not sure what it is supposed to do here.

What a fun surprise! Cypress Hill seemingly cracked the code on how to create funky and groovy hip-hop beats. The samples they employ and how they use them just makes for some fun songs on here all throughout. The album actually went by like a breeze. Overall this album achieves a great level of cohesiveness while still showing variety. Obvious highlights to me are How I Could Just Kill a Man, Stoned Is the Way of the Walk, Psycobetabuckdown and Latin Lingo. The rapping is also contributing to the atmosphere, not too self-serious but simply keeping up with the momentum of the beats and simply spreading cool vibes. Is this the only Cypress Hill album on the list? I’m definitely interested to listen to the rest of their discography.

The album works great as a mood-piece to listen to and make you dwell in an atmosphere of nostalgia and the desire to leave the city, find an abandoned house in the middle of nowhere and start a „simpler“ life. Buffallo Springfield showcase some catchy melodies, enticing guitar-work and at least some variety. Overall though, no songs have real staying power on their own - except the utterly beautiful Sad Memory and maybe Expecting To Fly on a good day. Ultimately, the identity of this album gets muddied because it doesn’t really have an edge or a througline that keeps me engaged. And i’m not sure what to make of Broken Arrow. It’s certainly interesting. A pleasant album that i probably won’t return to any time soon.

My third R.E.M. album! And my god, this really concentrates what i like and dislike about the band. My biggest problem -and it already starts heavy on the first track- are the lead vocals. Something about them just sounds so strained and… whiny (for the lack of a better word) on some songs. That really is my biggest gripe with the band and i feel a bit pathetic because of it. What i do enjoy are as always the instrumentals - they are full and pack several punches. And in comparison to their debut, the production on here is so clear! Love that. There‘s also a nice variety in mood and tempo here and it strikes a good balance. I genuinely love how emotionally earnest REM are in their songs - well, often i‘m not really sure what they are singing about, but they transport emotions really well. Exhuming McCarthy is the one for me on here, while Oddfellows doesn‘t work for me at all. I‘m pretty sure i will return to this album from time time.

What’s there left to say about Unknown Pleasures? This album is everywhere - it influenced so many artists in the past and present, and it will probably also in the future. This album is raw, the emotions in the lyrics and in the singing are crystal-clear, supported by amazing instrumentation. Yet they do not diverge into cliché or kitsch, it almost feels callous. The music here is so purposeful - like everything you hear was picked specifically to be here, nothing is there that isn’t supposed to be. Joy Division knows when to go all in and when to leave space in the music, which creates such a powerful atmosphere, you can basically touch it. And i also really love Grace Jones’ cover of She Lost Control. Such a great song.

Aaaah i‘m so excited to get this album. Ever since i first heard Oh Bondage, Up Yours! i was intrigued with X-Ray Spex. I love this album. Poly Styrene and her crew are absolutely ruthless on here - in terms of lyrics, vocals and instrumentation. The frustration about living in a messed up world as a woman just drips out of every second of the album. It‘s full if energy, which is the albums biggest asset but at times can get a tad overwhelming. And i‘m sorry, the saxophone annoys me so much in one or two songs. But overall, we all need more X-Ray Spex in our lives.

I guess there is not much to add to the conversation about this album, but man, this is just fundamental. Kid A has got it all - yearning vocals, beautiful strings, lovely electronic experimentation and voice manipulation. All working together to create a gloomy, yet ethereal dimension of sound to just glide into and wallow. My third Radiohead album from this list and definitely my favorite so far.

So um… I don’t know what to say except that i was mostly bored by this album. There wasn’t much that caught my attention and peaked my interest. I definitely prefer the second half over the first, but that doesn’t say too much. I’m gonna take Jigsaw Puzzle, Prodigal Son and Salt of The Earth, and leave the rest.

How are you that good on your goddamn debut album? I thought this would be a bit of an underwhelming listen compared to Led Zeppelin IV, the only album by them i listened to so far, but this is just so good. These guys just knew how to create enganging songs and how to switch between the calm and the storm in order to create tension in their songs. The blues-influences on the album create some nice contrasting textures to the moments where LZ goes completely berzerk. I can see myself yelling Your Time Is Gonna Come during an emotional breakdown in the near future. And that call and response between the lead vocal and the guitar during the end of You Shook Me? I was CACKLING. Damn, i love this album.

Irritatingly pompous and unnecessarily grand. Walker uses every trick in the book to elicit SOME emotion in his listener, but all he mamages to elicit in me is… a 43 minute long expression of cringe.

Huh, this is an interesting one. I quite enjoy it, the laid back energy of it is quite engaging for most of the songs and i like the textures they create, though the first half was much more alluring to me. I just oddly do not like the tracks with vocals, i think they are subpar and don‘t add anything to the listening experience. Especially on Poor Leno (which i find a bit out of place on here with its neo-disco beats) they are a detriment to the overall song.

This jam-band is definitely jamming! While I can enjoy it for a song or two, it just loses my interest over a whole album. The music is perfectly fine, to some it probably is great, but to me it just becomes mush after a while. Calvary on its own is a great and enticing track, but over the runtime of the whole album it just gets lost in the flow of all the other tracks. Generally i prefer the second half over the first one, though.

Quite impressive. The lyricism on here is great, a thorough expression of anger and resistance born out of the social climate they found themselves in. The beats themselves are really catchy and use some great samples. Once or twice i would have wished for a little shake-up within a track, but nonetheless the songs themselves are still banging. Chuck D‘s rapping is so on point, i think he might be one if my favorite rappers on a technical level. Happy to finally have listened to this! My favorite tracks for now are Don‘t Believe The Hype and especially Rebel Without A Pause.