I wrote this in 2019 or 2020, on my first attempted trip through the list, and I stick by it: 5 stars. "Is it perfect? No. Does it try to be? No. Does it hit you like a wall of crushing bricks, with great melodies buried behind the Marshall stacks? YES. Perfect imperfection."
I get the historical significance (Hillman and Parsons leave the Byrds to form one of the first country-rock bands, etc.), but this strays way too far into the country side. It’s not bad at all, but for classic country, I prefer other artists and albums. And I definitely prefer the Gram Parsons solo albums after this, too. Hopefully we see one of those on the list. Not bad at all, but not great either.
My original review from 2019: Hmm, I don’t know. The cultural impact of this album is immense, but...I don’t know. I feel like the original versions of the big songs here are better, and some of the ballads are easily skippable. I do like the reinterpretation of Blue Moon, and One-Sided Love Affair is pretty good, but the album as a whole is...I don’t know. How about 3 stars? 2025: I like Elvis. But not this album. I only got about 50 albums in the last time I tried this 1001 album list, but this was one of them. And I was thoroughly unimpressed. I’ve come to realize that I like his singles, but his albums are just packed with filler, which is understandable when you are pumping out 3-4 albums a year. His early Sun Sessions are great (now called Sunrise I believe), but again that is a lot of his early singles. I’ll always be a Buddy Holly guy, if I had to choose. Probably close to 2.5 stars.
That’s a 5 from me, dawg. Is it as good as Thriller or Bad? No, and…maybe? Imo, this is one of the best disco albums, even as late as it came in the era. DSTYGE is a complete classic, and while I’m not as high on RWY, it is still quality. Everything after that is just gravy. The title track has always been one of my favorites, too.
Low profile! Not my favorite Bowie, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a 5. I prefer the coked-out ‘I don’t even remember making that one’ album before this. But Sound and Vision is one of his best songs all-time.
I swear I'm not giving everything 5's, but the Kinks are the most underappreciated British Invasion band, and this is their best album, imo. Shangri-La is my favorite song of theirs, Victoria is awesome, Australia is epic, Mr.Churchill Says is the best McCartney-aping, and Some Mother's Son is the anti-war song that Roger Waters tried and failed to write for years. It's a 5.
All ratings/reviews are really just a 'point in time' opinion. This album is a 5 on artistic merit and innovation alone, but as of today, I'm going with a 4 (really, 4.5). Whether that is from over-listening or just all of the nu-metal that came from the popularity of this, it just doesn't seem quite as revolutionary as it was. But it does want me to get my 311 CDs back out, haha! RATM still rocks hard, and 4.5 is still classic status. Tomorrow, it might be a 5.
Now this is fun! The B-52s are their own thing - surf/punk/new wave with 3 of the most unique voices is music. And it all combines into fun party music somehow! Love it love it love it. I was going to go 4 just because I do think their next album is even better, but this gets bumped back up to a 5 solely because of ROCK LOBSTER, one of the best singles from the late 70's, and here in a glorious 7-minute version. I don't know how they did it, but I'm glad they did it. B-52s forever!
Hmm. Not sure about this one, it kinda went in one ear and out the other. I'm not the guy to be judging the quality of punk songs, and I don't really know much about the history of UK punk to judge based on that either. It sounds decent to me, but I'd still rather listen to The Clash or Ramones. I do think it got better as it went on. Not sure I will come back to this one, but its alright.
I'm one of those Beach Boys junkies, and I love this one! But such a different vibe from the BB albums - if those are fun times on the beach, this one is a nighttime campfire in the swamp. Touches of The Band, JJ Cale, early Springsteen, and Waits, with the horns really shining through. Probably a top 5 BB or related album for me, so it gets a 5.
Unfortunately, I don't think this one has aged very well. Deserving of a spot on the 1001, but it seems overly long (CD-era bloat). And while it is pretty varied, I think it veers too hard into trying to be weird. That said, the singles are great, and too many people sleep on Novacane, my favorite track here. 1990's Burto gives this a 5, but 2020's Burto gives it a 3.5
Funny this came up right after Beck's Odelay, because I can somewhat equate the two of them in eccentricity and variety. But this one is better. I haven't listened to this one in years, and was really surprised how little it has aged, especially in comparison to Beck. I was really digging the back half where a few of the more mellow tracks are. I was never big on the 'the musicians are actually cartoons!' thing, which soured me on them at the start, but this is a high quality album with some deep cuts as good, to me, as the singles. High 4 star.
First, I'm more of a Dean Martin guy. This one seems overly weary, and not in a relaxing kind of way, more of a 'fall asleep to get it over with' way. As for Sinatra...I don't know man. I kinda feel like he takes himself way too seriously, and sucks any fun out of the songs here.
My review from 2019: I don't know how to rate this one. I understand it is 'good' and an innovation at the time, but it also doesn't really do anything for me. Tracks 3, 4, 5, and 8 are the strongest, to me. But it's a 3 star album, maybe 3.5 2025: I wanted to like this more than I did. Could be just the day I'm listening, but I didn't get much out of this. I did like the back half (the Eno half?) more, which might put me in the minority, not sure. But my favorite track was The Jezebel Spirit. Love TH, love Eno, so I will revisit this and see if it was just a bad day. A 3 for now.
I have very little experience with Indian music. I did have a Best of Ravi Shankar CD back in the day, but it got very little play and I don't remember it much at all. So really, my entire experience revolves around George Harrison, and the opening music track so closely resembles Within You Without You that I have to feel like it was a direct inspiration for George. Overall, it was a very enjoyable listen, but not one to keep focus on, more of a 'you know what, this is pretty great' as you are doing something else. It might be a little too samey to really focus on, but again, I'm not any sort of expert. I enjoyed it and will listen again in time, but for overall rating, it is stuck in the midrange, a 3 from me.
Talk about starting off with a bang! I think the Ramones can be summed up with just how Blitzkrieg Bop sounds. And then, Beat on the Brat is awful...not my 'sense of humor'. I'll give them props for popularizing (and commercializing?) US punk, and it is an enjoyable listen. Much better than that Adverts album, that's for sure. I think my favorite of the non-BB tracks is Havana Affair. This is a 3.5, as I like other albums of theirs a bit more.
Tough to rate. Coming off the Plastic Ono Band album, this seems like a step down. Imagine is great (if WAY overplayed), and Jealous Guy is one of Lennon's best ever, including the Beatles. But I am conflicted about How Do You Sleep? It comes off as overly mean from John and George, even if Macca 'started it'. And then to put the sappiest Macca-like ballad directly after it...idk. Oh Yoko is a nice song to end the album though. I'm struggling between 3 and 4 stars, as this is the ultimate 3.5 star album for me.
Groove! Really enjoyed this one, and especially the instrumentals like 25% and Signing Off. Perfect weekend music, gonna listen much more!
Hey, chill out! This one isn't bad by any stretch, but is surpassed by what Portishead was doing at the same time, as well as what MA would do after this one. But there are some great tracks on here! Seems overly long too. A 3.
It's a White Stripes album, so it is good/great. But I'm not sure why this one in particular got picked. Maybe it is the most varied, I guess? Like most White Stripes albums, it has a number of great tracks, but also some misses. I do like My Doorbell and the songs with some marimba on them, but the back half falls off a bit. Gonna go with a 3, while other WS albums will be higher.
When Jolie first started, I was dreading ANOTHER cover version of 'Jolene' (she has other songs, people!) This album was alright, but never really grabbed me one way or the other. I liked the songs, and it will scratch a musical itch I have occasionally, but this one won't really go into my listening list. Solid. 3.
I bet there will be some 1 stars or did not listens to this one, bc Morrissey has become pretty reprehensible. And I agree and I get that. But Johnny Marr wrote all of these songs first, with Morrissey then applying his somewhat cloying lyrics over the top. So I want to try to judge the album on its merits, and it's...another Smiths album. I really don't see much difference between this one and any of the others. The consistency is admirable, but with little to differentiate it, if you like one Smiths album, you like them all, and the opposite. Luckily, I like Smiths albums, so this one gets a 4.
My least favorite REM album of the I.R.S. years. Which makes it a 4.5 - that's how good REM was throughout the 80's. My favorite band growing up, period point blank. This one finally got them the 'hit' that they long deserved, so I'm happy about that. But it is the REM album I reach for last out of their first...10 albums? Dang!
🤘😭🤘 One riff started both heavy metal and doom rock. I'm not sure there is a more influential record out there in the history of music. That said, there are better Sabbath albums. But this is still 5 stars on history alone.
Hmm. Can someone TAKE THE DAMN KETTLE OFF THE STOVE?? Ok, once that is done, the first track is actually pretty good!. Same with the rest of the first side. But that second side? I am generally good with the weird, but I'm uncertain this even classifies as music. Dodging broken beer bottles is not a great time. I listened to this twice and still don't know what I'm supposed to get out of it. Not a 1 star, which is reserved for the truly heinous like Sheryl Crow, so I'll go with 2.
Big band music, huh? Sounds good to me, but I have zero frame of reference as to how this stacks up to other tracks/albums from the genre. I guess it sounds more 'modern' than other tracks I have heard over the years (as much as an album from 1958 can be considered 'modern'). No idea - I like it so I will give it a 3.
I started this 1001 project once before, in about 2019-2020. I only made it about 50 albums in, but I figured I would include any reviews I made from then onto here, when possible. From 2019: Sounds more like a collection of songs than an 'album'. But the songs! Besides the all-timers, Keep the Customer Satisfied and Only Living Boy are additional standouts. 5 stars. 2025: Not much has changed from that. Still a 4-5 star, but not one that I go back to in full very often - S&G is one of those acts where it is easy enough to compile your favorites into a playlist and go from there. Like I said, this album kinda seems like a playlist already - why is the title track first? That seems like the epic closer. Or maybe The Boxer last? Nope. I'm also not sure why Bye Bye Love is on here. Only Living Boy remains my favorite, possibly due to over-playing the others included on their first GH/radio. Thinking about this as an 'album', I am tempted to go with a 4 due to the disjointedness, but overall it is a 4.5, and I'll round up.
Ugh, what a shame. I loved this album back when, and Oh My Sweet Carolina is one of my favorite songs ever, but I can't listen to it/him much without feeling icky. So how do I rate this? The album is 4-5 star for me in a bubble, but the context around him makes it much less enjoyable, so I'll drop it to a 3. I really wish he didn't end up this way, but a creep's gonna creep, I guess.
I'm not the audience for hardcore punk, leaning much more into the post-punk category. The Ramones is one thing, but most of the '1234, chugga chugga' just seems to go in one ear and out the other for me. I did like the longer tracks, which are of course the more well-known. This is a foundational album, but it isn't part of my own foundation. That said, it seems like essential listening, so it merits at least a 3 from me.
Oh, glam metal, great. Side 1: Let it Rock is laughably bad, wasting a cool proggish intro with a terrible song. Then the two big singles. Decent for what they are, which are desperate, blatant claims to the charts. And it worked, 3 billion streams between them. Social Disease sounds like what a small town cover band would pull out, saying 'now for one of our own songs' while the crowd goes for beers. Wretched, with the keyboard 'horn stabs' being the absolute cherry on the festering pile. And then the worst cowboy song until Kid Rock. But I still enjoy it, because I am a sick man. And that's the end of Side 1, which is the good side of the album. I'll make this side short - Raise Your Hands is the best track on the album, Without You is dreck, I'd Die For You is decent, Never Say Goodbye's awfulness doesn't even have the excuse of being written by Desmond Child, and Wild in the Streets is also a song on here. I owned this cassette as a youngster when it came out. Of course I did, everyone did. But I don't remember really ever playing it, because you could hear the singles on the radio every half hour if you needed your Jovi. One thing I noticed on this playthrough is that John Bongiovi Jr really only has a one-octave voice, with anything above that becoming more of a strained screech. But I'm not giving this a 1, I'm just not. It is what it is, a 2.
What's the deal with every band eventually saying 'this song almost didn't make the album, but XYZ said it was a hit...and I guess they were right'? I'm sure it is true sometimes, but do bands really have no idea what could be a hit or not? Anyway, Blur supposedly wrote Song 2 as a pisstake of Nirvana, and it is of course their biggest song ever. Blur has always been a good to great band, but this album is where they kinda slipped a bit, imo. Still good, but they did better work both before and after this one. For the record, my Britpop list goes 1. Pulp >>>>>> 2. Blur > 3. Suede >>> 4. Oasis, so I don't know how that factors into this rating. It's not a 4, but better than a 3 too, so...I guess it is a very high 3. :shrug: :whoohoo:
There are certain voices that are just associated with one song, for me. I can't listen to this album without thinking 'this is the Boys Are Back In Town guy', and it distracts me from the songs playing, haha. But I realized I do recognize Cowboy Song as well. I probably would have loved this album when I was a bit younger, but maybe I have moved past my 'cock rock' days? (Album cover included) There's nothing explicitly wrong with this album, it's just not my style, ESPECIALLY for 80 minutes. If Thin Lizzy needed to be on this list, their 35 minute Jailbreak album would have sufficed. But people who like this style of rock LOVE this live album, so who am I to judge? 3 stars.
Umm, ok. This one might get a ton of 5's and a ton of 1's, dunno. Depends on if you 'get it' or not, and I'm not sure I totally got it. Bjork is great, but this concept left me a little cold. That might be the point, maybe? I did like the tracks with the beatboxers, and Who Is It is great! But as a whole, I wasn't sure what to take away from this album. And it seemed like a longish 45 minutes. Decent album, just not for me. Still 3 stars.
Easiest 5 so far - yes, I am of the age that this album caters to. But to me, as 90's as it might sound, it doesn't sound dated. Everyone knows the jokes (Dave Coulier, 'that isn't ironic', etc.), but Alanis was the biggest deal out there for a time, this side of Kurt Cobain. After all, she played GOD in a movie, and everyone was like 'Yeah, that makes sense'. For me, this is one of top albums of the decade, and anything less than a 5 would be a shame. But WHYYY do they keep putting one of the best songs, the acapella Your House, as a hidden track at the end of a bonus track remix? Come on man, that's ridiculous! Plus, I saw her perform two years ago, and she still sounds perfect and puts on a great performance. 5 stars, zero doubt.
So this is basically an hour-long Gatorade 'Be Like Mike' commercial. Supposedly this was his sell-out Westernized album, but damned if I could tell the difference. It is pleasant enough, but really did nothing for me. And learning about the guy behind it, I don't feel the need to delve any further. Another weird, bad pick for the 1001.
I know every second of this album, and it has remained a favorite through the years. I'm pretty sure this makes me extremely uncool, but I've always preferred PJ to Nirvana. There were many years there where PJ was my favorite band, so being objective with this album might be tough. I will say, the 'shabba dabba, wittamovabalfertomovalytikAYYY' vocals run a little too close to the Chilis for my taste and pretty much date this one to about a 2 year period. But c'mon, Black is an all-timer, and the riff from Alive can raise the dead. I've never understood grunge as a genre - it seems more like a 'from Seattle' descriptor more than anything, as PJ definitely skews more into classic rock territory than the other grunge bands, who take more from punk and/or heavy metal, but I digress (again). Ten is fantastic, and while I understand others not liking it as much, it's a 5 for me.
C'mon, it's a 5. It's one of the best albums all-time. Do I like After The Gold Rush better? Yes. But that doesn't mean this isn't also a 5. What a run this guy had in the early 70's!
So chill. So so chill. I prefer Coltrane for my jazz tastes, but this is one of Miles' best. Can't help but think that a lot of the instrumental bits remind me of Pink Floyd and/or The Doors (?) I enjoyed this one a lot more than I thought I might, going into it. It will be in my rotation going forward.
Jerry and Tina fly on! Genius of Love is the obvious highlight here, a song that feels like it has been around forever (although, sigh, I guess 1981 is forever now). This album feels like a direct influence on what Stereolab would end up doing in the 90's and onward, which is a great thing! I need more time with the album, because as of now, I like it but don't love it. Seems a little long, even before all the remixes and whatnot. But I do love some of the individual songs, like L'Elephant and As Above, So Below. It's a 4 for now, possible moving higher.
At first I was like 'ehhh', but it turned into a really good album! Not sure what I was doing the first time around, because my re-listen was so much better. Big fan of the proto-industrial stuff going on, and Souvenir and Joan of Arc are two faves. Worthy of 4 stars, imo.
The Doors have vacillated between over-rated and under-rated more than any band in history. First they were cool, then they were kinda lame, with Light My Fire being the only track on the radio. Then the movie came out and they were cool again, and now I would say they are semi-forgotten. Which is a shame, because even putting aside Morrison, they were a really, really good band. This album isn't my favorite of theirs, too many by the numbers blues rock tracks for me. But Love Her Madly and LA Woman are all-timers, and Riders On The Storm should be at the top of any respectable 'Night Driving' playlist. Cars Hiss is also really good, while my least favorite is Been Down. Very good album, just not my top fave. 4 stars.
Is it too long? Yeah. Are most of the little interlude tracks unnecessary? Mmhmm. Do some of the songs linger on for too long? Yep. Is this still a 5-star album? Oh hell yes!
Proto-butt? I mean, it's alright I guess. But these tracks have been on classic rock radio for so long now that I can't help but feel like I've heard enough, even if I have never listened to the whole thing before. Can't say I will do it again. Ready For Love has a nice piano part and cool buildup back into the buttrocking on the second half, but besides that, I don't have much more to say. I've heard their next album is better?...oh no, I hope it didn't make the list too! 😬
Let's get this out of the way first - Oh Baby is a perfect song. No notes, 100/100 greatness. Now that said...I'm not sure why this album is on the 1001 list. It is quite a ways behind other LCD releases, so I guess it was chosen because it was a 'comeback'? Don't get me wrong, this is a good album, maybe even great, but including this one over the debut? Or This Is Happening? Or even their 'farewell' live concert? Nah. Grading on a curve here, this is 3 stars, but gets an extra star for Oh Baby (is that song the entire basis for Nation of Language as a band? Discuss.)
I've held off on rating this one, because I didn't know if I wanted to write a long review, or just say - One of my tip-top favorites of all albums, 5 stars easy... As a child, I...jkjk. But seriously, I'm not sure where to start with this one - I know every note, and still find new things within this masterpiece. Sure, it is over-the-top, but what's prog without grandiosity? 'And You And I' is rarely my choice for best song ever. But not never! I could go on and on, but this is my top album so far, with very few coming that could surpass it. It's not for everyone, but it is for me. One of my tip-top favorites of all albums, 5 stars easy
I'm a big fan of the Stax sound, and the Stax documentary is excellent. Great stuff, but this album?? Ehhh...the title track is a classic! I understand wanting to strike when the iron is hot off a hit single, but a full album of organ-led instrumental cover songs is a little much. Especially when the other original is "Mo Onions". Some of the tunes are nice, but the ballads are a little sleep-inducing. I understand why it was released, but not entirely sure why it made this list over putting another Otis Redding album on here.
Common has always seemed like the old dude at the club. I like this, despite all the Kanye (old Kanye was something else, but I cant listen to him anymore). The hits are here, and some of the other tracks hit just as hard. When I am looking for this kind of vibe, I will definitely revisit. 4 stars.
Now this is a good one! I knew the singles, but I can't believe I never listened to the album fully. It totally fits in my 90's wheelhouse. I liked it a lot, but at this point, I'm going with 3 stars, with a solid chance at it going higher with re-listens. Good stuff!
(I listened to the original Jamaican mix off the Legacy edition of this album. Differences: uhh, maybe a little more echo? Not much.) Decent album, classic title track. I ended up liking a lot of these tracks, but I'm writing this a few days after listening, and I could not tell you why I preferred those over the others. A good counterpoint to the Marley albums, but maybe not one I'll reach for too often.
The one album I can think of where my favorite song changes almost every time I listen. One day it could be one of the classics BOT/LMF/End, but another I could really be digging Soul Kitchen, Crystal Ship, 20th Fox, or Take It As It Comes. This album has been in my life seemingly forever, and there is some sort of magic that permeates through it. Oher Doors albums are great, but this one is magic. Another 5 star from me
I'll give it this: for the most part, this is more upbeat than some of his more sleep-inducing tracks/albums. If I had to listen to Frank, this is the one I would probably go for. But at the same time, a lot of the songs sound similar, and because of that it seems longer than its 45 minutes. In the grand scheme of albums, this one has to at least be in the middle, right? (I almost used mid-pack, but that seems like an insult, haha). 3 stars, whatever.
This review might get me in trouble, but...it's a 4. I love Tribe, and I know that this is just a debut, but I still think it is a little undercooked and unfocused. If anything, it seems a little TOO Native Tongues, whatever that means, and when I want to hear some classic Native Tongues, I feel like groups like Black Sheep did it with more personality. Or, for some offshoots, Das EFX or Digable Planets. To me, this isn't Tribe's greatest talent, which ultimately comes to fruition on their next 2 albums. The samples here seem just a bit more limp than their two classics, where they moved into more unified jazz samples. All that said, Bonita and Kick It are all-timers, and as bad as I might have made this review sound, it is still a 4. Forgive me 🙏
Yeah I don't like this one. I mean it's fine, but very much not my vibe. It might be proto-industrial and a trail-blazer and all that, but a lot of it just creeps me out. The Queen cover with the synths is kinda cool, and I like the English version of the title track, but if I rate this on 'did I enjoy it?', it is a 2 star.
Up until about 10 years ago, I was jazz agnostic. I didn't know many jazz albums and it wasn't ever anything I would reach for. But over the last decade, I have really come to appreciate jazz and it is now maybe 20-25% of my overall listening. This one doesn't need any more praise than it already gets, and deservedly so! My favorite Coltrane album is more than likely Olé, but we are splitting hairs - this deserves to be one of the first jazz albums someone should listen to, and is so obviously a 5 star album that it shouldn't need to be said.
I liked this A LOT more than I expected I would. Lots of memorable tunes, and the guitar/bass/drums go hard. But I'm one of those people that don't like the vocals - it really drags it down. To me, it sounds like vocals you would hear from one of your friends singing along on the couch next to you. There's nothing technically 'wrong' with the vocals, I just didn't like them. They drop it from a 4 star to a 3, but really more like a 3.5 - this is above average.
While I don't think Nick Drake needed all three of his albums on this list, I'm at a loss as to which one(s) to drop. My guess is this one, but it is still one of the greats! The brass and strings make this album his 'fullest' and most uptempo/uplifting, but the melancholy is still there. I can't get enough of his voice, as always. This should have been a hit record, but he never got one of those, which might have led to Pink Moon and his untimely passing. It's very sad that such a talent left us so early. Worthy of 5 stars, much like his other two albums.
Listened to this one on a road trip during one of those thunderstorms with sheets of rain blowing sideways, and had to turn it off in a few spots in order to deal with only one bit of chaos at a time. This one is decent, but not revolutionary. Ian Hunter's voice takes some time to get used to. Overall, I think ELO does this style better, but Hymn for the Dudes is amazing! Giving it 3 stars (3.5)
I wrote this in 2019 or 2020, on my first attempted trip through the list, and I stick by it: 5 stars. "Is it perfect? No. Does it try to be? No. Does it hit you like a wall of crushing bricks, with great melodies buried behind the Marshall stacks? YES. Perfect imperfection."