War Pigs and Paranoid are both songs I’ve heard a ton - wouldn’t have been able to tell you the artist or the album though. Plus, Iron Man of course. And that’s just Side A.
Never been a huge Bowie fan…this didn’t really change my opinion much.
Ugh.
Definitely have heard some of these. A fun take on some classics and standards. Nothing earth-shattering, but a good listen.
It’s fine. Teach the Children just doesn’t work for me. Feels preachy and self important.
Initial reaction was “ugh” because I never need to hear One or Mysterious Ways again. But the deeper cuts hold up (and honestly I didn’t remember the latter 1/4 of the album at all.)
Obviously Lust for Life and The Passenger are great songs, but the lyrics for songs like Sixteen and Turn Blue are pretty rough listens.
Brutally depressing. Also getting tired of albums about heroin addiction.
Painfully dull.
Initial reaction was negative. But this is much, much better than I recalled. Except for The Trial. That song is terrible.
Straightforward rock and roll. Nothing really sticks in my head after a few listens. But it settled in nicely in the background.
Garden of the Witch is a great song. Sunshine Superman is a good listen as well. But Legend of a Girl Child Linda is a complete slog…who made this the 2nd track?!?
It’s hard to really tap into what made this so revolutionary at the time it was released. But it’s still fun.
Almost 5 stars for the album. 0 stars for Kanye.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I’m reserving true 5 stars for the albums that are really special, but this would be 4 1/2 - the first one that will stay in my library and I like it more than my previous 4 stars. Had only vaguely maybe heard of this band, but this record is right up my alley - punk with a female lead + grimy sax? Sign me up.
Very enjoyable - a lot of strong songs. 3.5 stars, but I’m rounding down. Like it but don’t love it.
If the list was 100,001 albums I should listen to before I die, this still shouldn’t be on it.
I was going to say this was cut-rate Beatles style psychedelia influenced by Sgt. Pepper’s, but a friend told me that timing didn’t quite work and Eight Miles High was kind of like this too (my Byrds knowledge is pretty limited.)
Either way, it’s fine. Goin’ Back might stand out to me the most and that’s a cover so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
Fantastic record top to bottom.
An absolute classic. But then I loved Britpop - still do - so that’s an influence. But this is a masterpiece and a formative album for me.
Sparkles of pop genius throughout and then This Is a Low brings the house down.
I sometimes feel like I just don’t understand jazz. This is technically brilliant and I like it, but I don’t love it. And that’s how I generally feel about jazz.
Fine. That’s all I’ve got.
If I was high as a kite, coming home from the club at 3am, sweaty, dehydrated, trying to come down so I could get some sleep as the sun comes up, this might be fantastic.
But I’m 48 years old, commuting into my office job, desperately needing more coffee and this is putting me to sleep.
But, I love the French horn in Ce Matin-La and that song will make my regular rotation. The songs with Beth Hirsch are also beautiful.
Not as familiar with this one as Pet Sounds or Smile or Surf’s Up - but The Beach Boys - and especially Brian Wilson - are brilliant here too.
I love Britpop, but this record never quite connected for me in the ‘90s like Blur and Pulp and Oasis and others…and still didn’t this time. Good, but not great.
Like so many others I’m sure, the VW ad featuring Pink Moon brought Nick Drake onto my radar. Consistently a good listen, perfect for soundtracks and a melancholy mood.
This is a stone cold classic, but has never been a favorite. Also, the squeal sample on every track gives me a headache.
Fine, but nothing really stands out, even on a second and third listen.
Fine.
The Police are fine. I find them hard to get very excited about and Sting is kind of difficult to take.
This album is wild. I didn’t realize glam rock was a thing in 1974. Talent is an Asset is a gem.
54 minutes of my life I will never get back. We need a 0 star rating.
There’s no doubting the classic status of this one. The debate for me is 3 or 4 stars…and I keep bouncing back and forth.
Love Heart of the City and had never heard it before - but honestly, that’s as much the sample as anything.
Look ma! Samples! An exorcism!
Is it good?
Well………..
This isn’t as bad as my 1 star albums, so I’ll round up 1.5 to 2.
So happy to have something listenable vs some of the junk I’ve gotten lately.
That said, it’s not the Beatles best of course. But All My Loving is classic McCartney. 3.5 stars, but 4 feels too generous so I’ll round down.
Wasn’t on Apple Music for some unknown reason, so listened on YouTube.
Not exactly a Friday album…
Like CCR, but musically, this isn’t my favorite of their albums.
Astounding voice. Incredible talent. A travesty this is her only album on the list.
A 4 star album by a 5 star artist.
I know she influenced Tori Amos, but at least Tori added melody. The breathy vocals and general sheen of pretentiousness are not working for me.
Deeper Understanding was ahead of its time though. But it’s still not GOOD.
And then it surprises me with This Woman’s Work which I actually know and sort of like.
2 stars.
Egg Man, Sounds of Science, Shadrach - all classics.
Perfectly enjoyable, great musicianship, but please, please don’t sing along with guitar solos, no matter how good your voice is.
Length of songs doesn’t bother me - I’m a DMB fan.
3.5 stars, but it won’t stay in my library, so rounded down to 3.
Amazing how much better Paranoid (started 4 months later) is than this.
A blast from the past - and I do mean a blast. It’s hard to believe how much of this I remember from my original CD copy. I don’t think I’ve listened to it in 30 years.
Also, for those using streaming services, don’t listen to the linked director’s cut version. Search for the original album uploaded on YouTube.
Easy to admire, hard to love.
Not much new to say about this one. Just a classic.
Darling Nikki into When Doves Cry is a jarring juxtaposition. This is why albums had sides…
I like Prince (who doesn’t), but I’ve never loved him. This probably deserves 4 or 5 stars, but it just doesn’t quite hit that spot for me.
Meh. The Rolling Stones have never really connected for me. It’s fine. It’s also way too long and nothing really sticks apart from Tumbling Dice. It’s not bad. It’s just there. Which feels like a weird thing to say about an album this widely heralded and famous.
This one’s on the list for one reason only and it ain’t Big Brother and the Holding Company. 3 stars for Janis Joplin making it something way greater than it otherwise is.
Some great songs, some clunkers - ambitious, but too long.
3 all-time classics and 7 hair metal by the numbers songs = 3 stars.
I’ve always loved this period of GBV albums (familiarity seems to definitely impact my ratings - although it can also breed contempt haha), but the best one is Bee Thousand. That should be on the list and sadly is not.
Sweet Emotion is a classic. Walk This Way is better with Run D.M.C.
Big Ten Inch Record is awful.
57 albums in and 3 of them have been CCR. The Brits love them some Creedence don’t they?
No.
Why was this so well reviewed? I don’t hear anything special.
Pleasant grooves. Good chill listen.
This album kind of cooks.
Also my musical knowledge is enhanced by finally hearing Mannish Boy vis a vis Bad to the Bone.
1st half rocks, 2nd half is overly long and kind of dull. Private Life seems to go on forever.
I don’t understand how there are 3 albums by this band on the list. Fine, unobjectionable, but nothing great.
Catchy and enjoyable in pieces, but 56 minutes is a lot. But at least it’s uptempo.
Also lyrically….questionable.
This gives me Waterboys vibes…except not as good.
It appears 1,001 albums leaves a lot of room for mediocrity.
Clearly should have given this more listens beyond Dancefloor upon initial release. Really enjoyed this.
Didn’t expect to like this…and I don’t.
Also the vocals sound like Rush.
Basically, metal is not my thing.
Impossible to find on Apple Music,
I’m not really sure which Fats record I’m supposed to be listening to,
I finally found a playlist on YouTube that matched the book and after all that…
Yeah, this cooks.
When the singer yelled “turn it off” in the 2nd track, I wish I’d taken her advice.
Whenever someone else sang, the album improved.
I don’t get Sonic Youth.
The kings (or queens) of theatrical pop. Dramatic, over the top, ambitious, glorious.
Cool cover. Songs didn’t do much for me personally.
Fine.
From when The Bends was released in 1995 through the release of Kid A in 2000, Radiohead was the best band in the world.
This list contains too many mediocre Bowie albums.
A bunch of great songs, but pulled down by This is the Picture which should have been cut.
A Smiths song is a nice change of pace.
A Smiths album is far too long spent in the company of a miserable goth teenager.
Goofy at times (Stevie!), incredibly serious at times…and just fun to listen to.
Had never really listened to this beyond Badlands. Glad I finally did.
Starts strong with an all-time classic. Ends even stronger with It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding) and It’s All Over Now Baby Blue.
Mike Love’s Student Demonstration Time might have been well-intentioned at the time or might have been a preview of his right wing future. Either way, it’s a jarring song.
Brian Wilson’s A Day in the Life of a Tree is maybe the worst thing he ever wrote.
Don’t Go Near the Water isn’t great either. The pro-environmentalist songs on this record just come off as lyrically clunky.
And then there’s ’Til I Die and Surf’s Up, where Brian achieves transcendence.
A real up and down, all over the place record. 3.5 stars but I don’t think I can get to 4.
Some great songs - and way more pure blues than I expected. But doesn’t quite rise to 4 stars for me.
I love DMB. I like Phish. I hear the obvious influences here. But I didn’t enjoy it.
I accidentally listened to this on shuffle. I don’t think it mattered.
Borderline unlistenable. Seemingly intentionally. The Gift is just…awful.
Political punk rock from the early 80s just sounds dated.
I was like “oh, it must be over soon, it’s been playing forever.”
Still 7 songs remaining.
The Beatles were magic together.
The Beatles were mediocre separately.
How do we make this album as annoying as possible? How about a 10 minute dirge as the 3rd track of a 35 minute album?
I love Veronica…is that album on this list?
This is fine, which I feel like I say quite a lot about albums on this list.
Quiet and sad.
Nothing original remains to be said about this album.
Went into this with very low expectations, and was pleasantly surprised. Still didn’t love it, but it was listenable.
Oh so close to 5 stars…other R.E.M. albums get there for me. This comes so, so close.
A perfectly acceptable listen, but how in the world did this sell 6 million copies?
I think I would like this if given more time with it - and I can see its influence. But on its own for one day, it was just fine.
More enjoyable that I expected.
Rewards more time spent with it than a single day...which is why I've moved to one album per week starting with this one.
Favorites are Fruit Tree and River Man, but a very solid album I preferred to Bryter Layter.
Only listened once - quality.
Upbeat, reasonably catchy, you’ve heard Connected before.
But why oh why is it 57 minutes long?
Aggressively unpleasant. At least it was short.
Love me some Tom Waits. No one else like him.
Pretty generic folk other than, of course, American Pie. Not bad, just not anything special.
Sure. Fine. My general reaction to every jazz record I've had on this list. Perfectly pleasant to listen to...nothing that gets me excited or that I’ll likely listen to again.
Honestly remembered Waterfalls being better than it is...the rest of the album is just kind of there. This sold *how many* copies??
Fun 80s album with an all-time 80s banger at the end.
Who knew Nico had other albums?
I sure wish I still didn’t.
Good album. Toned down the migraine inducing sirens of their earlier work, adds some rock and more variety…
Know Your Product was a killer opener...but then where did the horns go? The rest of it was more middle of the pack late 70s punk.
Enjoyed it more on the 2nd listen...middle of the pack was harsh. Good stuff.
This record is not at all what I expected from the album cover.
For whatever reason, I had forgotten Fagen was half of Steely Dan, which then reset my expectations accordingly.
I think I.G.Y. is my favorite of the bunch. Another record that opens up after doing some additional research and additional listens. 3 stars for now, but I may come back and upgrade it.
No.
Not sure I’d ever listened to this before, despite its classic status. It’s great, of course.
I had forgotten this album existed.
Decent background music. Not much more for me.
Good listen. 2nd listen improved my rating, as it often does. Nothing I loved, but it’s a solid album.
This is a great album…but I’ve been stingy with 5 stars and I don’t think it gets there for me. Blood on the Tracks will.
Had never heard of this band or album…it’s very short, but also sort of charming. Just a nice, pleasant listen, which is probably why it’s completely subsumed by history amid the landmarks of the mid to late 60s.
Basically, the epitome of 3 stars.
I imagine I'd feel about the same about Bjork as I do about Ethel Cain...if I'd ever seen Bjork live. Without that anchor, I just struggle to get into her records at all...they just leave me cold.
As I continue to listen, I’m getting more and more negative towards it. It’s just collections of random sounds. A melody or a chorus wouldn’t hurt would it?
A collection of great songs I’ve heard a million times without ever realizing they were all from the same album.
I love musicals.
I love big, operatic, over the top pop and rock songs.
I do not like this album.
I can see that it’s influential. I just didn’t like it very much.
Also, the Chipmunks on the De La Soul song are *really* bad.
This was way better than I anticipated. A fun listen. Should have known. Paper Planes has always been a banger.
It's fine, but why the heck is this in the book? Then again, I could ask that question about a LOT of the selections.
2nd listen: made it to Lovefool, which I never want to hear again and gave up. Again, it’s fine. But that’s all it is.
This is kind of a jam. Unexpected for sure.
The kind of album that makes me want to switch this project back to 1 album per week. This deserves more time. A classic.
First listen: it’s fine. It’s another album that is a decent listen, but I have no clue why it’s on the list. Doesn’t seem particularly special or historic or classic. Just a mid-90s album that reminds me a little of Supergrass (although maybe that’s just the “super” piece).
Second listen: getting some Blur - Leisure vibes in a few of the songs. “Something 4 The Weekend” is a highlight.
First listen: opens with two 5 minute plus songs. Not sure they’re interesting enough to be that long. Lots of slow to medium songs that go on for a minute or more too long. Nothing really stands out.
And when I have no desire to give it a second listen, 2 stars it is.
Kanye still gets zero stars, this album only gets 3 unlike My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. So that’s 2 stars overall.
Yeah, this was…not good. And I love Britpop.
Finally getting around to listening to this and...it’s fine. I can’t understand a word of it of course and I think it would be much better live in a club, but it’s fine for what it is as a recording.
