"Teenage Head" serves as a garage band's take on classic rock n roll, and delivers as expected. The singer's vocal style starts off grating, but over the course of the album settles into a more palatable tone. This is an album that could have been great, but a few shortcomings lead it to just okay.

"The Score" has been described as one of the best alternative hip-hop albums of the decade, a title the album truly deserves. The Fugees draw clear inspiration from other east coast acts of the time and still manage to make the music their own. The melodies are largely sampled throughout the record but often interpolated into something else, indicating a level of care not often seen. The lyrics are heavy hitting, thoughtful, and paint a vivid picture of the culture the group was experiencing at the time.

While not my favorite Springsteen album, "Nebraska" delivers the gritty American folk one would expect from the artist. The record draws inspiration from other great American folk singers like Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan, which gives it a sound that is familiar, yet with a twist. That being said, not many tracks from this album stand out and none are Springsteen's best work.

Elvis Costello's debut album "My Aim is True" is an average example from the decade. Drawing clear inspiration from his original namesake, the album's sound is reminiscent of American rock from years prior retuned to fit the up and coming punk rock scene. While influential, the album suffers from poor mixing, lending the tracks muddy vocals and robbing much of the 'oomph' the music could have. This causes the listening experience of the album to be somewhat dull, with a few standout tracks, particularly the single "Alison".

Creedence Clearwater Revival serves up audible nostalgia in "Bayou Country". Their second album, this is the one that put them on the map, and rightfully so. The singles off the album, namely "Proud Mary," are heavy hitting blues rock tracks that deserve to be classics. While the rest of the album is more varied in quality, overall CCR brings a great performance.

"...And Justice for All" is one of Metallica's most acclaimed albums, for reasons I fail to understand. The guitar work is good, but overall I find the album uninteresting. The tracks don't feel different enough, the drums are tinny, and the bass is non-existent.

Warm, rich jazz set apart by its use of an organ, "Back at the Chicken Shack" is a great listen. This album is influential in the evolution from jazz to soul music.

Hendrix provides an amazing blend of soul and psychedelic rock in "Electric Ladyland". The mixing is great, guitarwork is fantastic, and overall is a killer album.

"The Stranger" provides a rich sound with cold lyrics. A cynical take on the American Dream, the album's lyrics remain relevant today. The tracks are some of Joel's best works as a songwriter, feeling varied enough to not be boring but not too much to feel discordant.

Revolutionary in the development of the genre, "Paranoid" is one of the best heavy metal albums of all time. Crunchy, rough sound gives the record an edge that Sabbath became known for. Typically, just because a musician is the first to do something they are not necessarily the best, but "Paranoid" as well as Black Sabbath as a whole stand the test of time.

"Neon Bible" is a confusing choice for one of the 1001 essential albums. Arcade Fire may have been early to the scene for indie rock, but when I think of indie rock classics, Arcade Fire does not even cross my mind. The songs feel the same, the instruments are distant, and overall I was waiting for this album to end.

I was pleasantly surprised by "Stardust." I quite enjoyed the gentle, bossa nova & jazz influence on Nelson's typical outlaw country.

Relaxing, somber, old fashioned country music is the core sound of "I'm a Lonesome Fugitive". The album was well written and sounded great.

I quite liked the lyrics, and the music was well written, but overall "Sail Away" was an average album.

I love Dylan's songwriting, and "Blood on the Tracks" is no exception. Classic American folk music, great guitar, and strong lyrics.

Black Sabbath's self titled debut album is legendary. With it's gritty, heavy, rough sound it brought something entirely new to rock at the time, and defined what metal is today. The record contains what are still some of the best riffs played on a guitar. The lyrics may be a little edgy, but this is peak counterculture. I could only imagine finding this in a record shop when it released.

"LP1" is interesting because it was pretty ahead of its time with its hypnotic, rhythmic, avant- pop sound. For experimental music, it's great. However, tracks began to bleed into one another, and I was ready for it to end.