1001 Albums Summary

Already familiar with this album. The rawness of this album is great. Although Doolittle is amazing, it lacks the same rough edges as its predecessor.

Unbelievable to think that this was their debut album. Amazing power pop songs that really defined the genre.

Undeniable what a talented lyricist he is. However, his music just doesn’t resonate with me. I always feel like I’m supposed to love his music, but it just doesn’t speak to me.

Truly a masterpiece. Before listening to this album, I was familiar with “Son of a Preacher Man,” which is a great song. Her version of “The Windmills of Your Mind” is truly haunting.

Considering when it was released, it was somewhat groundbreaking as a rock opera. While there are some good songs, the storyline is a little weak and some of the songs to support the storyline feel campy and silly…particularly considering later albums like The Wall.

Hard to believe this was a debut album. Truly a masterpiece. While all of their albums are top notch, I believe this was their top release.

Strong album

It’s ok. There’s no denying what a talent Jeff Beck was. However, the songs are just ok. I feel Beck’s work loses the comparison to Led Zeppelin for post-Yardbirds music.

I almost groaned when this album came up as my next selection. As an early REM fan, my associations with this album was that it was REM’s “sell out” album. The production was too slick. You could hear Michael Stipe’s words, for god’s sake. However, re-listening to it, I was taken right back to the height of the Reagan years. The songs truly stand up to almost 40 years of aging. It sounds as vibrant and relevant today, if not more so. The deeper cuts on this one are as solid as the “hits.” “Welcome to the Occupation,” is like a blow to the gut, especially witnessing what is going on in the US today.

I was unfamiliar with Baaba Maal. This is a gem of an album.

Amazing album. Raw and powerful.

This was a fun listen to celebrate the life of Brian Wilson.

Incredible songwriting and flawless performance.

Hadn’t heard this one before. Solid album.

Meh. Probably good in its time.

Loved this album when it came out. Still holds up.

This album has held up to the test of time.

First time I’ve listened to an entire Taylor Swift album, although I’ve heard plenty of her songs. It’s a fairly well done album full of pop nuggets. It was a fun listen.

Beautiful sound textures and vocals that carry such emotion.

I can appreciate the vision, but the music was just ok.

As a fan of the Velvet Underground, I wanted to like this album. However, I just couldn’t.

No denying her vocal talent. However, I find it hard to get into the album.

Too much navel gazing progressive noodling to make this album accessible enough to listen to.

I hadn’t listened to much Bobby Womack before. I was pleasantly surprised. This is a solid album.

Great album. Love the psychedelic vibe.

Beautiful album

It’s ok. A lot of just electro-noodling.

Great album. Have always loved this one.

Solid album. They still had some psychedelic flair while moving into their heavier work.

Great album that holds up years later.

Great mix of Latin and modern.

I’m not the biggest fan of synth pop, but I really enjoyed this album.

Surprisingly more introspective and dreamy than I would’ve thought given her singles. Very good listen.

Great album

Always loved this album. I feels like one long jam in the studio.

Meh. Bland

I’ve been a Butthole Surfers fan for years. I get the criticisms that their music is inaccessible. It’s definitely not dinner party music. But, I love how much they explored what you can achieve sonically in the studio when you don’t feel constrained by formulas.

I know it’s a good album. I probably need to listen to it a few times to truly “get it.”

Solid album. Not my favorite genre, but it was well done.

Classic

Always loved this one.

Great album. Captured the rawness of Johnny’s vocals perfectly.

Amazing album

A decent album. I wasn’t familiar with his music.

Very fun listen. A lot more interesting than their big hit.

Solid album

Amazing album

Good album. Very Bowie-esque.

Classic

Great album

Good album. It feels a bit dated at this point.

RIP Ozzy. Love this album.

Good album.

This has never been my style of music. The album is ok. Definitely has some of their more famous songs on it.

Excellent album!

Cool motifs, but they feel a bit hackneyed these days.

Great album. It often feels like Jack White is on a mission to save rock n roll.

Classic in every sense of the word. The songs sound as fresh today as when they were originally released.

While I love some psychedelic music, this album suffers from these long, introspective instrumentals that end up just being boring and uninspired.

Really good post-punk album.

Classic album.

A surprisingly good album. A mix of pop, psychedelia and classics.

Really strong post-punk debut by The Fall

I love Nina Simone. This is a good album, although not my favorite by her.

Great album

This is a decent album. It feels a bit derivative. It also lacks cohesion where some songs are straight pop songs and then others are psychedelic trips.

I love VU. This album is mostly good. There are some experimental, psychedelic moments that are just noise in my opinion, but overall it’s solid.

Solid album.

Decent album. It felt more like background music.

I know the Happy Mondays are supposed to be so influential, but this album was just boring to me.

Solid album. Some experimental tracks that I didn’t need.

I hadn’t heard of Tim Buckley, other than being Jeff’s father, prior to this coming up. It’s a strange album. A little jazz, a little folk, a little psychedelic. It’s ok.

Great harmonies. Glad I got to listen to this. It’s outside of my traditional listening genres.

I wasn’t familiar with this album. Really glad I got to listen to it. It is reminiscent of Radiohead.

Solid album. I had heard it multiple times.

Great album! Loved it since it came out.

This was a pleasant listen.

I know this was a seminal album, but it was just ok to me.

Love this album

I’d heard the title track a lot before listening to the album. I didn’t realize it was a concept album of sorts. Very theatrical in its execution.

Strong album

I mean, it’s Prince.

Classic album

This would be great music in a club venue. It’s not that fun to just listen to though.

Amazing how well the songs are executed live.

Great bossa nova album from THE bossa nova kings.

Great album. Have always loved it.

Meh.

Great album.

To me this is Dylan at his best. Anti authoritarian, working man songs.

Solid album with raw emotion.

One of the better CSNY albums

One of the better CSNY albums

It’s a decent album.

To me, the prog rock music of this period was far too self-indulgent and baroque to be enjoyable to listen to. This is no exception.

Favorite Doors album

I’ve always loved the harmonies on this album.

Dwight is one of the few country artists today that I can appreciate. He definitely stays true to country’s roots.

Love The Clash. This isn’t my favorite album by them, London Calling, but it’s still great.

Such a talented songwriter.

Awesome album.

Much preferred their first album. This was all over the place with little cohesion. Almost felt like a collection of odds and ends.

Smooth and jazzy.

I’d much rather listen to their disco albums.

It’s good, classic rock and roll.

Stellar album. One of the few psychedelic albums from that period that stands the test of time.

I like XTC, but can’t understand why this album made the list. It’s just boring.

She could sing the phone book and it would be amazing.

Great, classic country.

Meh. They’re talented, but their music is so inert.

Great album. Has a throwback, post-punk feel and is much more raw than their later material.

Great album. Lots of incredible musicianship embedded in unbelievably catchy tunes.

Surprisingly good album. Had not heard of them before.

Really strong album. Definitely feels of the grunge era, but retains a unique feel that doesn’t sound like it’s trying to be a “me too” of that era.

A decent album. I’m not as crazy for Van Morrison as others. Good, but not great.

My favorite SY album.

Great album

Original proto-punk. Love it.

Great album. In some ways, it’s more focused than a Wu-Tang album…assuming because it’s mostly GZA and material that wasn’t a part of the entire Wu-Tang works.

I don’t hand out a lot of 5s, but relistening to this album shows me why I loved it so much when it came out. It continues to stand the test of time. Beck does an amazing job of weaving traditional blues-based music with hip hop, electronic music and psychedelia.

The album is ok. I’ve never been the biggest fan of The Undertones. Their music just feels bland.

This was a fun listen and exactly why I wanted to listen to all of these albums.

Meh. I wanted to like this album. I do like some electronica, but this just felt far too introspective to be interesting.

One of my favorite albums. Radiohead have the uncanny ability to make complicated music, but make it interesting and listenable at the same time.

Interesting album. It was a fun listen.

Great album

Great album.

This was a fun find as a part of this process. I hadn’t heard of them and the music is pretty good.

I’ve always been a Specials fan. This one is great.

Such a joyous sounding album

Great album

I like Lou Reed. This was a chill album with a lot of raw emotion.

Meh. Too long. The songs are sprawling, meandering, with no forward progress.

It’s strange. I got this album after Soft Machine *Third* and at first I groaned about getting more prog. However, this album is so great in comparison. It’s prog, but keeps a groove and has interesting themes and lyrics.

Paul Rodgers has an incredible voice for rock. The songs on this album are just ok though.

So original and groovy. Quite Deee-Lite-ful

Interesting album.

Fun album to listen to…classic country.

Amazing.

I fell asleep listening to this album, woke up in a trailer with three missing teeth and a case of cirrhosis. Great album.

Such an amazing album. Truly masterful songwriting and performance.

I don’t get this album. Aside from the couple minor hits, it really did nothing for me.

Good album. Nothing that exciting.

There are parts that are fantastic. Some songs are just meh.

Good album.

Awesome album

Although I’m a fan of a lot of psych bands…this album doesn’t do it for me.

Best Lou solo album.

Good album. Not my favorite Dolly album though.

Great album. Had to find it on YouTube.

Such a soulful album.

Decent album. The singles are the best songs.

Amazing album. Aural delight.

Classic. Favorite Stones album.

This doesn’t resonate with me. I like some ambient and dream pop, but this just felt too ethereal.

Steve Albini was right.

Classic Elvis.

One of my favorites.

Meh. Good musicians. Too much noodling.

Loved this when it came out. It’s held up fairly well.

Meh. Mostly atmospheric background music. Not something that moves me.

Really solid album.

Meh. Cool vibe, but hard to enjoy the entire album.

A little bubblegummy, but it holds up after many years. Really a fun listen.

Solid album. Great psychedelic and glam rock.

Ella at her best.

Ok album. No real standouts.

This was a fun discovery. Exactly the kind of find I was hoping by doing this.

Great album that holds up.

This has been the worst album so far on the list. You can go into a random bar in a random town and hear a better band than this.

Great album and songwriting.

Great album.

I love Johnny Cash. This album is good, but inconsistent. It would have been incredible to experience it live (without being incarcerated). It doesn’t exactly translate to recording however.

Top notch Marvin Gaye.

Loved this album when it came out. Played it non stop. Amazing how well it holds up after 37 years.

Not my favorite Bowie album by far. That being said, I love how he was always recreating himself and pushing into new territory. Never afraid to take risks. This one didn’t quite pan out to my liking, but I can still appreciate it.

George is one of the country greats. This is a decent album.

Really strong album. Mix of musical styles. Great lyrics.

In some ways, the perfect album.

Love Joni. Another great album.

Great album.

Really liked the album when it came out. It holds up well. I preferred the Love Below disc back then. Speakerboxxx has grown on me.

It’s Aretha, so it’s automatically at least a 4. I just don’t like the traditional blues songs on this one. It’s like putting a Ferrari engine in a classic Suburban. Both are great on their own, but why?

Not sure why this is on the list.

There are some real bangers on this album and some songs that are just meh. Overall, a fun listen.

More Steely Dan. It’s hard to argue against their talent. However, their songs sound so antiseptic as to feel like they’ve had all of the life drained out of them.

I get that this is an influential album. It’s good, but I was expecting more.

It’s ok. I don’t like singers with that affectation in their voice. Other than that, it’s ok.

Great album. I always feel like I’m listening to Radiohead when I listen to him.

Great album

Big fan of LCD Soundsystem. Although this album goes on for too long. After a while, it just sounds like studio navel-gazing.

Great early grunge album

Love the Stones. This album is just ok.

Interesting album. There are some harder, driving songs that really hit the mark for me. Others were just kind of meh. Overall a solid find and the kind of find I was hoping for by doing this.

Essential punk rock.

Great one by Stan Getz

Norah Jones’ voice is amazing. The songs are just kinda ok.

Never was much of a fan of this made for MTV style of music. Too slick.

While this was an ok listen, I’m not sure why it’s on the list.

Classic album by The Cure.

Cool album…didn’t really seem outstanding though.

Amazing voice. Great songs.

Fun album for Christmas. It’s hard to give Spector more than a 3.

Such an amazing album. It still sounds heavy today. The riffs alone are just incredible. Probably my favorite Sabbath album.

I’ve always been a fan of his quirkiness in songwriting. Angel from Montgomery is a gem of a tune.

Good album. Neil Young sounds like a bleating goat to me though.

Amazing to think about this album in context. Jazz was the domain of acoustic instruments. Electric instruments were for rock. This album blurred the lines between them and inspired a whole genre of jazz fusion. It’s hard to imagine Weather Report existing without this album.

Not bad, but not my favorite style.

Not bad, but not my favorite style.

Interesting album. I love psychedelic rock and this delivered on that front…but some songs are just too long.

Loved this album when it came out. It still holds up.

Good, solid CCR music.

Great album.

What an amazing album. Definitely one of the albums that shaped me during my formative years.

Good album. Seems a little dated at this point.

Fun find.

Banger

I enjoy hearing world music from time to time. This was enjoyable.

Such solid heavy rock.

I enjoy some “world music,” but this one just felt like elevator music to me.

Just an amazing album. Very few rock bands have as much originality these days.

Meh. Baroque electro-pop. It’s not awful. But it didn’t seem amazing.

Boring

A little dated, but still a solid album.

Great album

What a voice. Great album.

Shoegaze!!

I don’t use the term lightly. Stevie Wonder is a musical genius. His sense of harmony is something that will be studied for decades to come. I can’t help but rate anything by him a 5.

It’s ok.

I’d never heard of Laura Nyro. Seemed a bit like a knock off of Joni at first, but the album grew on me.

It’s Bowie, so it’s good. Not my favorite album by him though.

Great album. Definitely can pick up on the Beatles influence. A little too long.

Clearly, this was a groundbreaking album. The musicianship is stellar. The songs are just ok to me though. They almost feel a little too precious at times.

It’s fine. About as spicy as mayonnaise.

My disdain for U2 has softened. This album Is better than I remember, but still a far cry from their early stuff that was so good.

What a groundbreaking album. I will never get tired of this one.

Amazing album from start to finish.

Classic. Felt like it was the pivotal album for them to show their artistry.

Meh. It’s good. Just not my style.

Best Beatles album imho

What an amazing album. Gone way too soon.

Meh. Nice for an easy listen.

Not my style of music, but it’s good. I feel like the production quality (high) actually strips some of the raw emotion of the songs.

I’ve never been much of an Adele fan. The hits are so overly emotive as to be cheesy. The deeper cuts on this album are pretty good though.

Good songs. Definitely sounds dated now.

Cool ambient music.

Man this album is a disco gem.

Hard not to like Tina. Unfortunately this album feels like a relic from a lost decade.

Stellar. Still love this album after first hearing it many years ago in my teens.

Good album. But more background than some of their better work.

Second best album of theirs.

Loved listening to this back in the day. RIP Jaco.

It’s not bad. Sounds like the kind of music you’d hear pumping in boutiques.

Such a great album

Played this on repeat when it came out. It holds up so well.

Loved this album when it came out. Although the music holds up, it’s hard to go back and listen now hearing it through the lens of who Morrissey truly is.

This was the standard for pop music for a long time. It still sounds amazing.

Second best NWA album.

Haven’t been much of a Dead fan. The music is ok, but just feels anemic to me.

It’s like Temu Queen. It’s just too campy for my liking.

It’s hard to hate on ABBA. Such catchy songs. Incredible melodies and harmonies.

Overall a good album. Very representative of the DarkWave music of the time. Some songs are great. Some are too earnest by half. But always a fun listen.

Good straight ahead rock

Just solid

Not my favorite of theirs. Still strong. Too many songs feel a little experimental / incomplete.

Amazing, seminal album.

Very cool and soulful. Feels like this album must’ve been one of Father John Misty’s influences.

Good. Not all songs are that solid though.

Masterpiece

Just as I remembered it.

Meh.

Classic.

Enjoyed the album. Not my favorite Radiohead. But still good.

Good. A little dated.

Solid album.

It’s hard to believe this album came out in 1971. It was so ahead of its time. This is the kind of album I was gooong to find from this list.

Bland

Kinda cool, but all over the place.

What an album.

Such an aural delight. I’m not a huge dream pop fan, but this album is fantastic.

Such a pleasant album

Good album, but felt a little hollow compared to his better work.

Solid reggae

Solid Skynard album.

Honestly not as good as I’d want a Lennon album to be.

Amazing.

Good. But just a little long.

Holds up.

Sounds like I walked into a boutique in NYC

Such a good album.

Great album

This is a gem that I would have never found without doing this. Great album.

Meh.

Fairly decent Kate Bush album

This and The Colour and The Shape are my two favorite Foo albums.

Good, but not my favorite Replacements album.

Meh.

Still holds up. Heck of an album.

Like being stuck in a head shop for an hour.

A lot to like on this album. Love that Madonna was willing to push in new directions from her beginnings.

Not my favorite Smiths album, but still strong.

Good, but some of the songs just drag.

This album just doesn’t do it for me. I’m a fan of Elvis Costello, but this lacks the edge of his better work.

Fun album that I wouldn’t have heard before this.

Good, but a little all over the place with so many collaborations

This was a good find. An alt-hip hop artist whose music more interesting than a lot of hip hop

I like the Pogues, but this album was a little boring.

Always felt like they never got the notoriety they deserved. Such a solid album.

Really strong album. The remaster is a little long, but all great songs.

Love BBragg. Great album. Gets a little long at times, but still a strong album overall.

So soulful.

For me, this was the beginning of the end for VH. First four albums were phenomenal. Diver Down was good. This one was pretty lame, maybe with the exception of Panama and HFT.

Great album to break from the rock heavy list.

Who doesn’t love ABBA?

Album has held up remarkably well.

Never been much of a fan.

Great music. Nick Cave is a tough one to listen to on command. You have to be in the right mood. But it’s amazing when you are.

Such a good album. Eclectic. Personal, sometimes raw, sometimes humorous.

One of my top ten albums.

Of all the amazing R&B albums, why did this make the list. She has an incredible voice, but the songs were mid in the 80s and haven’t aged well since then.

Never been a grindcore fan. Obviously, this is one of the big albums of the genre. I appreciate the energy, but I just can’t get into it…and I’m in a punk band.

Classic

Strong album.

Holds up so well.

Decent psychedelic music, but a little boring.

It’s Jimi.

It’s good, but, I prefer the first four albums over this.

Interesting album. Not bad and I’m glad I heard it. Not sure I’d say it’s amazing though.

Love Sonic Youth. This one isn’t quite Daydream Nation, but it’s still amazing.

Classic

Good. A little too enamored of psychedelic sounds at times

Fun album. Buddy Holly helped shape what became rock n roll. It’s great to go back and hear those initial strands that pull through to today.

Not too much of a Neil Young fan. The album is ok.

It’s Stevie. Not my favorite album of his, but still great.

Meh

Very cool find. I love the layered and textured music. It’s a bit background music, but I definitely will listen again when I’m in the mood to chill.

My favorite Muse album. They incorporate influences from other genres without losing the rock feel like they did in later albums.

It’s ok. The Fall is a strange band to me. Kinda catchy, but wholly forgettable.

I mean, great talent. The songs are ok.

I love this album. It really was the template for post-punk. Some of the songs drag a little, but overall it’s a classic.

This was a fun find. Engaging and fun to listen to.

Good musicianship. Songs are just ok.

Very solid album. It’s great back to go listen to this outside of the music of the time.

What a master.

This is the kind of find I was hoping for when doing this. Really cool album.

I get how influential Kraftwerk were. New wave, dark wave, industrial metal, any genre that features synth is standing on the shoulders of Kraftwerk. However, their music just sounds dated at this point.

I love Willie. Did he do the standards justice? Absolutely. Do I need to hear an album of Willie singing standards? No. I want to hear Willie singing his songs. He’s an amazing songwriter. He has so many albums of amazing material that it seems like a miss having this album on here.

Strong album. I’ve always been a fan of fIREHOSE and the Minutemen before them.

Temu Velvet Underground

Quite possibly the best album of the entire rock genre.

Probably John’s best individual song. The album is good, not great. Makes you realize how much better the Beatles were together.

Actually enjoyed this more than I thought I would.

So good. Love TN and this album.

I don’t know how a band with this much talent makes albums that are so mid. It can be fun to listen to the funkier tracks…but the softer more melodic songs just seem awful.

Interesting album. Good stuff, but quirky.

Stellar.

Not bad. I’m not a huge fan of supergroups. They usually lose something that made the individuals so great in their own bands. This album was ok, The Good, The Bad & The Queen is a strong song.

The album is really strong. Then I go and read the background on how this concert almost didn’t happen, and it’s truly magical.

Good.

Fun album that I would listen to again.

SABBATH!!!!

Fun, quirky

Classic

Fun to get nostalgic with this one.

I really like the Dire Straits, and Mark Knopfler is a guitar genius. However, their albums are not as good as some of their individual songs. Sultans of Swing is great. The rest of the album is just ok.

Meh. I’d rather listen to Massive Attack or Tricky.

Aside from the slide guitar, this album just feels uninspired. It’s hard to translate blues to recording and keep it feeling energetic. This album didn’t accomplish that.

It’s the Cure. The best goth, post-punk there is.

I’m a Beatles fan. There are some great harmonies and interesting chord progressions. But I love their later work so much more.

One of my least favorite U2 albums

Not a fan

Amazing lyrics. The music rocks, even if it’s a little basic.

No one does quirky, electronic music like Bjork. From her, it’s believable. She embodies some sort of fantasy parallel world and it comes through in her vocals.

Solid CCR

It was an interesting listen, but I doubt I’ll ever come back to it.

Fun find

Great album, but why this one versus other great Sam Cooke albums?

This is such a fun album. It’s always been underrated in my opinion

Classic rock album

Great album.

Fun little find. Not sure how I missed them. Good blend of straight rock with some psychedelic tinge.

Great find. I listened to it twice.

Enjoyable, but background music.

One of the best Beatles albums.

Good album. Not very memorable

Such a great album. The musicianship and songwriting are so good.

Great album.

Good album, especially for the time. Some really solid songs.

I ended up liking this album more as I got deeper into it. The first few songs I found boring, but then I liked it more as it went on.

One of my top 10 favorite albums of all time