Prologue: This was selected as my first album out of 1001, although I have the book and have done some random picking / listening / discovering before. I totally understand people who love this album. I totally understand people who hate this album. I'm not sure to which group I belong to though. Elo is not so familiar to me (not even blue sky, I am sure I've heard it...vaguely), overproduced aor (i wouldn't call this progressive rock) isn't my beef. But damn the production is magnificent. Too magnificent perhaps? I can hear the influences, but also can here ELO in so many things that have come later, from Daft Punk to Divine Comedy to Quincy Jones productions and hoards of indie and electronic musicians of today. I don't care so much about the more or less traditional, basic rock songs which have been over-ornamented, but there are beautiful melodies and interesting song structures, some of which almost get hidden under the production, some of which would probably sound lame without the production. As someone mentioned here, the Concerto as a sort of minialbum in the middle is a masterpiece, have to agree on that. Epilogue: In the end, would I buy it? Probably in a good enough condition from a discount bin. How often would I listen to it? Maybe once in 10 years. From the year 1977 I'd choose 10-20 punk records over this one. But it remains still quite an amazing gesamstkunstwerk. So I'll settle in a 4.

2/1001 I actually used to own this back in the early 90s, I don't remember if I sold it, gave it away or did it just vanish, as seems to happen to some LPs. Of course some of these tunes (white rabbit & someone to love especially) play more or less regularly ubiquitously. So anyhow this listen was a nice reminder as a whole. Actually there are many things here I've come to love over the years - acoustic folk guitaring especially. But for that I rather turn to British folk, mcCarthy, Jansch et al, Graham, etc. And If I need a soundtrack od the Pyschedelic era, the summer of love, California hippie scene, there are excellent compilations which gather all the hits (and yes, they probably include the two mentioned ones from this album). So nothing really wrong here, of course - like so many other bands and records from the same area / era - it hasn't aged so well, but still it is varied and interesting and full of great tunes, but it is not for me, not anymore. My favourite LP dig from Haight-Ashbury area is a record for training your parakeet to say sentences. The image - no matter how inaccurate it may be - of hippies stoned and listening to 20 minutes of monotonous voice speking "hello budgie" over and over again makes me smile more than any late 1960's pop record ever can. Happy to say that record is now in Finland at the Arctic circle, I'll set up a listen any time you might pop around. But for the White Rabbit alone a 4.

8/1001. Ok amd rhe review I wrote got lost great. To cut the story short: heard? Check? Own? Maybe. Listened to in 20 years? No. Enjoyable album which has been obscured by the Bittersweet megahit, which must be in top 10 (5?) songs from the 90s. It's story of Rolling stones stealing "This May Be the Last Time,” from the Staple Singers and then getting pissed that the Verve used too much the sample from "Last time" and claiming 100% writer rights still makes me laugh and feel sorry for the Stones. Glad to hear that since 2019(!) Ashcroft has been returned the rights. Come on, one sample - although it makes most of the song, but it is really like claiming that our album cover had yellow init and now you are using it. After listening ro this now it feels a tad too long (cd era, let's put everything in it, and I never got too fond of Brit pop, and it is not so dreamy, spacey and druggy as the Spiritualized (it must be included in 1001 albums, right?), but more than Oasis so 4 stars.

3/1001. I listened to this twice with about a week delay, the 2nd listen since I thought perhaps I didn't pay enough attention to the music or something. But no, this music doesn't speak to me. Somehow it sounds like a 17-year old who wants to tell her life story, cry her heart out, but there is not much to tell yet. Nothing too wrong about the music, but the songs roll out one after other without too much variation. I suppose she was one to start or at least to establish a genre, but the ones who came after really mastered it (perhaps her later albums as well). Nevertheless imho a surprisong pick for 1001 albums.

Who else sang like this in the U.K / Europe in 1964? Ok, Lulu's Shout appeared a month later from the release of this, and then there was Cilla a bit later... But anyway Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O’Brien has to be seen as the pioneer, inspiration and role model to so much to what happened in the mid 60s in the whole Europe, be it yé-yé, schlager in Germany, Finland or France and even the Eurovision song contest. The Merseybeat did one thing, this one another. Then again the question is why this album in this list? A few years later Look of Love, Dusty in Memphis... songs written for her or songs made immortal by her... Here we are looking at a beginning, an interesting beginning, but shouldn't this type of collection concentrate on the madterpieces? Or then name the book 1001 records which changed the world. If they could find that many. For me it was a nice chance to get to know some Dusty songs which are not in the classic albums or in the collections.

10/1001. confession #1: i'm an 80s fan boy. Confession #2: I've nevee listened to a full Police album. The hits have turned me away, and what a lost it seems, at least I felt that during the first few songs. But more the album went on the more I was ok with initial confession #2. There was a sense of a story - a dramtatic curve in the beginning (almost like a pop proge album) which faded away. Ok, so that's not what an album must need, right? But somehow while many of the non-hits were interesting they are overshadowed by the hits. And at least I have become so comfortably numb (yes i know a pink floyd not a police quote) to the hit(s) that they feel like every breath or daily bread.

12/1001. What do you get when an angry and depressed band gets world famous, pushed and pulled around? Add a bit of drugs to the mixture and they get angrier and more depressed, and it shows here. So for me this album is a diary of what was happening at that time to Nirvana / Cobain. Somehow I can't imagine what would have happened after this if what happened didn't happen with the band? Cobain sobered out, grunge craze gone by, next big thing in everyone's cd-walkmans — would they have mellowed out, wrote more savvy, still a bit grungy songs a la the Foo Fighters? Would the world have wanted that? And does this make this album better because of that improbable future never happened? The album is honest, with great songs and amazing energy and rawness, but I don't really feel too comfortable reading or listening to someone's private life splattered over 12 songs. I liked Bleach when it came out and Nevermind was out of this world, and this album reminds us that Grunge Lives Matter.

13/1001. Guess I have to listen to a complete Oasis album. Wankers wanking with their guitars, and then putting up immortal classics is a tough mixture for me. I'm slowly realising this book seems to like electric guitars, and western pop way more than what my personal preferences are. But there is no similar website for the 1000 recordings you must hear before you die… So what to say. Most of the songs for me are boring and bland and the attitude is obnoxious. But Wonderwall and Don't Look Back in Anger are undisputed classics to be ruined time and again in campfires around the world. A 2 for that.

14/1001. After some grunge and brit pop it is so refreshing to hear guitars used for something creative :) It takes quite a lot of courage to strip down to so much, to remove chord progressions, riffs and what not. Many seem to claim they could do it, but I really do doubt it, at least on this level. The songs undulate, grow, fade away and (some) contain beautiful melodies. I'm a fan of the Spiritualized, in knew about Spacemen 3, but never listened to them too much. The meditative / religious themes seem to stem already from here. Have to dig in deeper after this :) If you open your mind a bit and think that music can also be about texture and tone rather than about Pop tunes crafted in an A B A or some other format this is for you. After all this I feel even more sad Spiritualized cancelled their show in 2023 for Epäjohdonmukaisten tanssiaiset.

Simple yet complex. Delicate yet powerful. Quirky, sad, joyful, blue. I don’t know how this much of everything is possible to put in one album, but here it is.

5/1001 This is the first time I listened to a full album of Aguilera. But hey, we all have to test our limits someday. It is worrying and troubling that a singer / star of such proprtion has to convince herself that she is good and shouldn't be looked down upon. What does that mean to an average 13-year old trying to survive in the pressure of today's surface-is-what-counts-world? The music is so pathetic as well, how much pain does she really hold inside? Or is it just a big performance of something totally empty inside? Do I smell Mickey Mouse club here? While I am sure this speaks to millions out there it left me more wondering than admiring. And yes, I do own quite a many R&B albums. Beautiful stuff here and there, awesome production, but when this doesn't speak to me then it doesn't. I am sort of sorry to say I am glad I don't have to listen to another album of her again.

15/1001. A familiar album from my childhood, but still some songs seemed quite unfamiliar. Besides the title there are some other classics here as well, Jealous Guy being my favourite. I was quite surprised how boring and similar some of the songs were, to be considered such a classic. Also the honesty Lennon wanted to bring in to his lyrics doesn't make the listener at home. First he sings the most universally know anthem about people living together in peace and then goes about trashing McCartney. That just doesn't feel right. Or Yoko again. I mean I like Yoko's stuff, perhaps more than Lennon's solo efforts, her music in all its naivete is much more interesting than Lennon in the 70s, sorry to say. But of course an anthem is an anthem, and there are not many people in the world who have been able to produce so many of them.

16/1001. I was never a big Pixies fan, although their music and style was exactly what I listened to at a certain time, before and around grunge broke off. They were in my radar and I remember watching their live concert on Finnish TV (now that's revolutionary considering late 80's early 90s Finland and pop/rock music in national channels). After all these years listening to this reveals it has aged quite well, it is varied, interesting, full of energy and sprinkled humour. Melodic and harsh one after other, sometimes even simultaneously, quite an accomplishment. 15 songs totally felt much more than 38 minutes, perhaps a song or two made my mind wondering about, but focus was re-grabbed soon. A second or third listen will surely liven up those songs as well. If I would have to recommend someone an alt/rock album this might be it, although I am more of a sonic youth fan (perhaps that's post rock then?). 4/5, I'm stripping one star, since this really is not my type of music anymore, and replaying or digging deeper is not very likely.

17/1001. An R& B Björk? Interesting? The album start is promising, the electronic production is great, her voice of course as well. But the atmosphere, mood, the energy level stay the same throughout the record. It feels there is no real songwriting? Her voice goes up and down, repeating the same-ish melodies over and over. Thanks for 1001 project for introducing this artist, something to keep an eye open for sure.

18/1001. One more album I had in the shelf. But this one was in my "b-pile" for some reason. So a quote "Well now that I heard the whole thing it is actually quite good. Should we listen to it again?" fits. There are songs I recognized but would never have attributed to Nilsson. Coconut - I'm sure was in the Muppet show (they always had the best songs, right ;)? Without you, really written by him? Great. And to balance that you the have boring "I want to be like the Beatles after they broke up stuff" like Let the good times roll. Come on, who needs yet another song like that? Some of the echoes of the fab four or even similarities with the Mael brothers sprinkled here and there along with the epic Coconut and some quirky production lifts this back to my main LP shelf :)

19/1001. The first "world" music album to my list, which goes to show the bias of the book. Would be lovely to do a 1001 African albums you must hear before you die…or Asian, Caribbean or Brazilian. Oh, I'm sure we get some here, but this album alone is worth reminding that there is great music everywhere, and listening outside your typical Pitchfork/Rolling Stones/1001 selection can be an elevating experience. So I'm realising sadly, that the majority of this book and the project won't be about discovery but flogging on more or less dead (race) horses. I'm sure nice and new (to me) music to be discovered over there as well, but… I've listened to Ali Farka Touré before, and the newer "Sahara blues" acts. (And of course Mulatu and basically the whole Ethiopiques collection, to South African Kwaito and more contemporary urban rhythms not to mention Tony Allen, Fela Kuti and many other Afro beat / Funk acts, compilations, online bootlegs. Analog Africa anyone?) This one not, but definitely will again. Such skill to craft hypnotic tunes from a few notes, with authenticity, feeling, passion, evident sense of death coming upon the maker. I hope I keep getting albums like this (anywhere in the world) to be listened to during the next 1070 or so albums (I just came to understand there is more than 1001 on this list!, cheaters :D)

5 (or 6?)/1001. I used to own two LP copies of this one, the other one I probably got either from my mom or sister, and the other I bought because I remembered how good this was, not remembering I already owned it. For me this is an album one can put on any time there is a moment not to know what to play. It sounds really good on the background, but perhaps now giving a dedicated listen reveals a bit of inconsistency or I don't know what, something missing?. The songs are strong and musicians great, and I still love it. There are some albums between this and Graceland which I've never heard (not to mention stuff after that one), so perhaps I will dig into those at some point.

7/1001. Many of my friends have said that recently they listen to mostly country music. Well screw them! ;) Ok, jokes aside. As a matter of fact I do own one Lucinda Williams cd, her voice is great and songs are simple enough. But thats maybe the problem - too simple songs – for me nothing really stands out here, and to call this album a masterpiece, or that it should be included in the list of albums one should hear before they die is just too much for my musical taste. Mellow and smooth and sometimes sad, sometimes funny, but hey, so are millions of other albums as well. Blame me for not understanding country & western and I'll go drink one for you. When I get to Inari I don't think I miss this record that much. Or even remember any of its songs.

11/1001. Should this list be more like 1001 similar albums? Maybe not too fair, but for me this album is here because a) the book is getting old, and b) someone was a fan of brit pop back then. Back in the 90s this was ok, I guess, and in 2025 this album doesn't really qualify even for that. It's perhaps a nice document of an era which came and went, nothing everlasting for me in this album. I agree the best tune is the cover of Simon & Garfunkel, and who gets the credit for that? It's a shame about Lemonheads.

20/1001, and catched up missed albums (although this is bound to happen hundrerds of times). I haven't really paid too much attention to Norah Jones, I think my sister liked her quite a bit, but that's about it. The initial reaction was: I love this. Then: is this a Christmas album? Then: are all the songs the same? Then: how to rate it? Then: when does it end? So from 5 to…2 I think. I don't know why I would listen to it again, the mood stays the same throughout the record, there are no standouts, it feels to made for the foreground, headphones didn't really reveal anything new. A few sassy but jazzy tunes here and there please, lift the tempo up, change instrumentation… Come away where? Sorry, but no thanks.

Wow, I really must listen to rap/hiphop more, if it is this good. Soulful, uncompromising (but sort of apologizing with all the spoken stuff?), fun and funny, groovy, nasty, varied, and it is always great when the n- or b-word count is in reasonable limits. This became one of my favourite albums of the genre, but have to admit, that my knowledge of the genre is quite limited — it basically consists of the hits, old school, some of the stuff of some of the well known acts and some local (Finnish) stuff. Maybe more than many, but nothing to brag about. Sure there are more gems out there, let's keep diggin. 4 for now, perhaps after a few listens a fiver?

22/1001 ( I think). I am not a huge Doors fan, but heard the albums a few times, some of them more, and of course the hits keep playing over and over and over. This album is not in my top Doors list, mostly bluesy, basic rock with an attitude and a few good songs. Favourites: Peace Frog and Waiting for the Sun. Actually the more the songs step outside the blues norm the more they are interesting. A solid 3 for me.

23/1001. Third album from my shelf, and I think the first band I've sen live (missed Nirvana in LA in 1991 and in Finland a few years later...) For some reason I tend to always pick Goo, Dirty or Daydeam Nation if I want to listen to SY. I don't really know why, this is a solid sonic youth album which sounds like the sonic youth. Perhaps that is also a bit of an issue: no songs really stand out. But still I love the bands sound with alternative tuned guitars screeching out and in the middle of the noise beautiful melodies suddenly pop out. Gotta love them.

24/1001. Hmmm, I might own a library sale cd copy of this? Anyway I hadn't really LISTENED to thw album before...many songs seem groovy, the sound is nice and funky, featuring artists bring a lot in, and the songs have interesting details in the background, but still overall feel is too lazy, like an album which is made stoned. I hope they had continued the virtual only band, they were really pioneering the thing and now you would have so many possibilities with virtual productions, motion detection, Fortnite concerts and what not. But hey, a Jim Henson award for creativity and a guinness world record!

25/1001. I don't think I've heard about Fred Neil before. I thought this was his debut, but seems like rhe 2nd album. A bit blueay and more folky, psychedelic influences are there, hip and beat vibes all around. I file this to the same category with Tim Buckley, also by rating: I don't mind listening to this, but it didn't really become an instant hit with me either. So a 3.

26/1001. So I have to bury my prejudice and listen to the whole album, ignoring the misogynism, rapes, sadism? As a dj I stopped playing Michael Jackson after seeing Leaving Neverland, should I do the same here? Well I haven't played MM any time nor do I think I ever will. To blame him / band on school shootings is just stupid and childish, but to blame on violence, rape, torture is quite another issue. Somehow I feel rhe Finnish guitarist Andy McCoy's quote fitting here: "you have to watch out what you wish for, you might get it". To move to the music: yes, it is an angry album, which is partly due to the genre, but somehow close and personal and journal type of angry. To couple this with the brand of the band it is no surprise to see why this touches so many people (and might be misunderstood as a cause for violence in the weaker minds? Well I wouldn't blame it on one band, figure or a fictious character, try e.g. the news + commercials mindfuck done by TV). But it is at parts beautiful, the production remains interesting for most parts of the album with all nitty bitty details scattered to rhe left, right, up and down. I hear Reznor heavily here. Thumbs up always when mac text-to speech sounds are used. But everything is a bit too much, the energy levels, the voice, the length, the hate and anger. Not my genre by far but it was an interesting listen, but still a 2.

27/1001. I think I had this - or my sister had it, about 35 years ago… Anyway, most songs are familiar, since I also had tabs for the best of Sabbath and probably still would know most of them by heart on a guitar. The album must be considered a classic, basically it is one cornerstone in the history of metal. No blues scale really here but riffs and power chords. I wouldn’t call it a masterpiece though, a few easy to forget songs here and there and some jamming. But the sound is tight as ever, 55 years and it sounds as fresh as an ancient graveyard after rain.

28/1001. The first artist in my list to appear twice, just 5 days between this and the following album Sister, now in wrong order. But I don't mind, been a SY fan for 35 years or so. Interesting to see which albums will be featured in the 1001 list since I think they just kept getting better after these two quite early ones… even the newer albums are unique and continue their sonic experimentation, pop and rock songs, which mash up noise to beautiful melodies and create haunting spirit with an attitude. Evol contains a few excellent tunes, but for me how it comes out nowadays is how it documents all the base ingredients which later will be polished — and challenged — by the band: an introduction to their sonic palette, song writing style, and how they manage to turn a waterfall of mood/sound in to a quiet pond (or vice versa) in one single bear. As with Sister I had forgotten how good this was. I haven't played this that much, even though I have it on my shelf, but then again I don't think I will be playing it any more in the future. There is so much good Sonic Youth albums out there, the selection rarely lands on these two albums. And perhaps even with all the experimentation in sound, melodies, song structure, tunings, noise, you name it‚ the problem is that they still sound quite the same, same experimentations from album to album — at least they make me feel quite the same. (Which is an ok feeling if you didn't read it between the lines already). So no more or less than 4.

29/1001. Ok, I just listened to Black Sabbath's title album a few titles ago, I'm all set for metal. "Brother will kill brother" are the first lyrics I hear. omg. I'm sure there will be long solos and heavy riffs, slow and fast sections and lot of "my dick is bigger than yours and the world is dying, death will release us all, join me in hell fuck the news". And I'm halfway to the first song. So let's give it a spin and fill in later. My sister in law who is (also) a metal fan always says, that you have to ignore some of the cliches in any one music genre, and especially heavy metal, not let it disturb the music. BUT "They killed my wife and my baby, with hopes to enslave me", seriously, ROFLMAO!" Ignore that you muthas! Sorry to say, but from the first few riffs you know what the album is about. I didn't sign up for this to get back to the music I left behind already when I was a teenager…ok, maybe 16 or 17, but still.

30/1001. Was it random coincidence or does someone plan these? 2 days after Brian Wilson's death I get this on the plate. What to say? Well let's start with that I've seen the Beach Boys live! That was way back in 1991, at the Dodgers stadium in LA, and I can't say I enjoyed it, it was 4th of July celebration with Patriot missile style fireworks, you know after the Gulf war, which I hated. Didn't stand up for the national anthem (it wasn't my nation anyway). Ever since that year I spent there as an exchange student I've looked America with a crooked eye, what a waste to so much beauty and potential greatness it has become. Can't figure out why my sister wants to live there and stay there… But to the music, yes. I do own this cd, but for some reason the Beach boys always sound too beach for me. The unofficial bootlegs of Smile and the final release of Brian Wilson's Smile are great, (I don't think I have actually heard Smiley Smile?) but this one for me is more surf than turf. I'm sure more BB albums are coming up, perhaps some interesting ones. perhaps.

31/1001. Bluesy, hippy, raw and the one and only Janis. I already had Surrealistic Pillow on my turntable for this project, and I guess this — by geographic area and time at least — could be grouped together. But as Airplane was more varied in their songs, this one is about the ding-a-ling, and for me it just doesn't speak too much. Joplin's solo efforts were more interesting, and started exanding out of the hippie rock scene, but it seems every bit of cough she has ever produced has been put an a 14th extended-great-best-of-mega-box-special-edition collection, which kind of makes me go meh, (similar thing of course has happened to many others with similar fates, take Hendrix or Drake for example). But waiting for Pearl. 2

33/1001. Another new artist for me, and another positive surprise coming from hip-hop. Funky, soulful, witty... but seems to repeat what's good. In the end the songs blend one to another and not too many stand out. Definitely have to check out some more Common. In the end an album with lines like "From bashful to asshole to international" deserves nothing less than 4.

34/1001. Shoegaze meets britpop in this classic. Yes, I have it and yes it was important for me at a time ...and still manages to play nicely in most situations it seems (this time mostly in the car and with headphones). So much has been written about this album and the band and the long-waited sequel which I guess was a disappointment for everyone that it is hard to add anything relevant. Somehow this seems to fit right between a musical gap in the history of western pop & rock music, and that is probably the reason it is on this list (and on my shelf). Does this mean I love it? Well not immensely. But I like it.

35/1001. I love Al Green, but at the same time if this record didn't exist I'm sure I would not think there is something missing from the world. It comes and goes, mostly harmless.

36/1001. Unknown artist for me, and I can't really claim to be a country music afficionado. By the third song I think I have to get to know the artist and the genre better, but then Jericho drops the mood down, and it just keeps going down. A promising 4 turns to 2 as I walk by the railroad tracks towards the next album.

32/1001. This probably is the soundtrack of mid 90's for many: the drum patterns, the guitars, the typography and graphic design, the videos, the voice. For me not so much, back then I more or less dissed anything that went top 10. I don't think I ever listened to the whole album before, the hits were pouring in and that was plenty. So, what is revealed after 30 years? Nothing that gets me excited about now either. Yes, some young energy and freshness is there, no fancy overproduced shite, pardon me stuff, like so much of today's music. Songwriting is at times great, I guess the hits are hits for a reason, although the chord progressions are nothing new. But somehow I can't get this out of 1995-96, ghosts of trip-hop drums and grunge guitars apart from the Spice Girls, who were much more fun and still raise a heck on the dance floor when played today. Somehow the album holds through, although I don't see a reason to listen to it again. Perhaps it is just the the amount of distorted guitars of 1995.

37/1001. I started this project to encounter interesting artists like these, which I have missed for once reason or another. Back in 2012 I was probably to busy looking for cool cumbia, scouting through brazil bossa and beats, had a trip or two across african music plateaus, while re-re-visiting electronic 80s obscurities. So, I guess I missed quite a lot what was happening in the indie-/alternative-/ art music scene. Super duper nice that these kinds of things pop up here on this list as well: sonic exploration, adventures in digital production, retroesque harmony arrangements á la beach boys / Brian Wilson, stereolabish synth grooves, FourTet / Animal Collective sound collages, Tame Impala indie attitude... fun and interesting, I don't mind that song writing is rather simple or that perhaps too many hours have been spent on a computer to create these pieces. I want more!

38/1001. 2nd Pixies in this list so far, and I guess a few more to come. This one is more raw, and showcase a younger band perhaps still looking for it's place / songwriting style. That said it does sound very Pixies. But something in this doesn't speak to me that much, the songs aren't that good you know?

39/1001. First, and I'm sure not the last, Beatles album hear. And also this happens to be one of my favourites, familiar from my childhood, as mum lived through the Beatle-craze and owned two or three Beatle records (music was expensive back then!). And since they got rid of their record player I got to keep the vinyls :) btw, my grandparents hated "this trash" at that time, but I think they later changed their minds after hearing me listen to heavy metal ;) Anyway, another album full of classic songs only, and the sonic and production experimentation and eastern influences never feel additive. Somehow I think if the hippy movement had ever happened without this album. Taxman and I want to tell you also showcase Harrison's rising talent as a songwriter, which for whatever reason even Lennon & McCartney sometimes criticized (another Harrisong?). So all in all amazing album. Ok, I could live without Yellow Submarine, but for me this is Beatles at their bestles.

40/1001. Another "yes I've had it for the last 35 years" albums. So what did this listening reveal? That at least the spotify version had extra song(s?) which just made the whole worse? Let's just ignore that. I got introduced to Jabe's Addiction in LA during my exchange year, but didn't manage to see any of their shows. Either they were sold out or at 18+ places. But they were happening there back then. And for some reason (drugs? Artistic disagreements?) they also lost it quite fast after Ritual de lo Habitual, which in 1990-91 was constantly on my turntable. But slowly this album has grown past it I think, hard to say, they are both great. They really know how to make more delicate and fragile sounding, slowly growing songs. But also the rock-funk-groove and energy is there, with a sound like no other. And after 30-35 years it still sounds fresh as fuck.

41/1001. Own? Yes. Do I love it? No. I guess I have been buying Bowie albums since every good record collector and music appreciator does. But besides some good songs they are quite a drag to listen to, and this album is one example. I don't know how this repeatedly gets picked to top 100, 50 or even 10 lists, just because of Starman? The playing is lazy, the drummer sounds like he is almost late, the story is sas stupid as Bowies interest in pantomime... for me the highlight this time was It ain't easy - and that turned out to be a cover song. IMHO Bowie is way overrated.

42/1001. Own? Yes (a cd though, which kind of seems like a disgrace here). For me, a dj has always been a person, who spent their lives picking on LPs as depicted in the cover, and through that knows some kick ass music history, can introduce some crazy funky beats on top of familiar melodies you almost don't recognize anymore and spices it up with some speech samples. At least I'm like that as a dj :) I don't think mash-ups or bootlegs were yet a too hot thing when this came out, and while most of them are fun they present two of three top pop songs which fit together so nicely that they sound like another pop hit song. A totally different aesthetic is at play here. Crafting new songs out of samples which don't seem to belong together is a rare skill and DJ shadow is the master of it. I highly also recommend to search for the project where someone digged out all the original songs where the samples are from. Actually the word sample doesn't do proper justice here - song building blocks maybe? A classic, a milestone, adventure in modern recording for sure.

43/1001. I guess this is the album when Dylan went electric to a huge disappointment to some folk purists. Well boo-hoo. I haven't listened to this one as a whole before - actually haven't listened to any Dylan too much - nor do I think I ever will (well if I finish this project I'm sure a few albums will pop up). But I never realized how punk he was. No wonder they called him an anarchist (in the U.K), "Give the anarchist a cigarette" -quote (especially sang by Chumbawamba) is a classic. But then, it is all about lyrics, isn't it? I don't tend to listen to lyrics too much when I listen to music - the music should speak to itself. Here the music is raw and rough (read: out of tune), which is great, but but still blues- / folk-based. Uncompromising. Boring, as is his voice. Screeching, blasting your ears with a harmonica (why?). Punk. Not much to love in these quite simple and too long songs wothout the lyrics? So mixed feelings here. I liked it more than the Bowie album I just reviewed though - no fake moonage sci-fi pantomime theatre here, but quite an assault, surprised that common people at that time bought it and loved it. But still a mixed 3.

44/1001. Own? Yes, although a library sale copy, which I probably played once. I think I got interested in this after hearing King Kunta in a street dance competition. Around the same time short docufeatures about this album (rap albums which shook the world of something like that) came out. But I think only now I listened to the whole piece concentrated. Or at least tried to concentrate - 1h 20 minutes is just too much to take in for this whitey. Not that any of it is bad, but is more really more in this case? Some thoughts : it has a lot of humour, Kendrick would make an excellent guest in the Muppet Show 😅 But at the same time the thing (not only the lyrics) is dead serious. Hard to find such an interesting mix of the two. The groove is there, the message is there, the little I understand as a cis European male. I don't get the use of the N, F or B words in rap music, shouldn't they spell out NFL or better yet NBA? :D

45/1001. Not all bands went to full psychdelic frenzy in the late 60's. Too bad. This was better than I thought, but as we say in Finnish "pessimisti ei pety".