Production: 10/10
Lyrics: Hit or miss. I get it: Eazy-E is like the spiritual heart of the group, but he's not a good rapper. Ice Cube is regularly excellent. The themes and overall thesis is unfortunately still relevant. It's also unfortunate that there are regularly word choices which have not aged well.
But yeah, there's a reason why this album is on this list. 10/10
One word review: restraint
It's amazing how sparse everything is on this album.
Wilco just doesn't really do much for me. They're not bad, but I don't feel compelled to listen to them repeatedly.
This album is just sort of thoroughly "meh" for me.
Producing this to sound like it was recorded live was a brilliant choice, and made me look it up to confirm it.
Quite enjoyable. The band feels both tight and loose.
YES!
Not sure if 1001albumsgenerator is aware of news, but this came up the day after Ozzy Osbourne passed away.
Classic album for sure, but I just don't like Metallica all that much. And it's mostly Lars' playing. He's just not the drummer they need, and not as good as he thinks he is. It's frustrating.
Sure, there's a lot of stuff here that hasn't aged well, but it doesn't mean Eminem isn't a talented lyricist.
From a lyrical and songwriting standpoint, this is great. But the way that the songs are rendered on the recording feels a bit hokey and dated. I feel like this album could really take off if some other artist covered it though. Like a pop-punk version of this album would probably be killer.
Challenging and groundbreaking.
I am not aware of this artist, so I'm going into this completely blind. Unfortunately, I'm just not feeling this.
This was better than I anticipated.
Sonic Youth just aren't my thing. I like other noise projects, but somehow Sonic Youth just doesn't strike me. It's just kind of frustrating how they always sound like they don't know how to tune their instruments nor even really play them properly at all, even after all these years.
I just don't like Slipknot
Not bad, but "I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing." Another one of those cases where I enjoy the songwriting, but don't really like the way the songs are rendered. It's cool that they have a distinct style, but I wish there was more variety here.
Quite interesting. I probably don't listen to enough Nina Simone.
John Prine isn't the greatest singer in the world, but it gives this album a bit of realness to it which works really well for it.
Again, I don't dislike Pet Shop Boys at a songwriting level, but the overall style just doesn't grab me. I suppose I enjoyed the "Very" album a little more than this one, but it's kind of close.
Enjoyable and it's on this list because it set the groundwork for the alternative/grunge genres which would follow.
Serious prog, but still fun somehow.
I don't know. Meh? Why is this album on this list?
Absolutely never heard of this before. It's certainly interesting, and I may need to give it multiple listens to really decide what I think about this. It's got that combination of odd and intriguing.
Ugh. I just really don't like The Strokes, man.
Not great, not terrible. If I could give this 3.5, I would.
As a metal fan, I recognize the historical importance of Iron Maiden, but I have an unpopular opinion about the band: Iron Maiden isn't as heavy as I wish they were, and I don't enjoy their music as much as other metal music. Every time a band covers an Iron Maiden song, invariably it's heavier and I enjoy it more than the original. If you like heavy metal and Iron Maiden, I won't hold it against you. You're entitled to your opinion, and I am entitled to mine. I don't hate Iron Maiden, I just wish they were more like the metal music they inspired.
I'll rate this pretty high as it is important and deserves to be on this list, but if I'm in the mood to listen to some heavy metal, I'm not going to be playing Iron Maiden.
This was okay. Good for background music while working. I don't exactly feel the need to listen to it again.
Sonic Youth just aren't my thing. I like other noise projects, but somehow Sonic Youth just doesn't strike me. It's just kind of frustrating how they always sound like they don't know how to tune their instruments nor even really play them properly at all, even after all these years.
At least they named one of the songs right: "Total Trash" is total trash. I'm not getting those 7 and a half minutes back, and I have no desire to listen to it again.
If I'm being really real, I prefer the Ryan Adams full-album cover of this album.
I'm not a huge fan of reggae, but this album is pretty undeniably good.
She really is an undeniably talented singer.
I knew nothing about this and went in completely blind. I really enjoyed this. It feels like a soundtrack to a bank heist movie.
ugh. I don't like The Cure. There are a bunch of other musicians I do like who have done covers of songs by The Cure. Invariably, I find the cover to be so much better than the original. A bunch of those songs which have been covered by other artists are on this album in particular.
Bob Dylan should not be allowed to perform his own songs. He's a great songwriter, but such a horrible singer that it practically nullifies it.
This album is mostly songs that aren't particularly special. Just sort of meh. The only exception is "Make You Feel My Love." That one's a real star.
Meh? Which also kinda looks like the appropriate caption to the album cover.
I'm just not a fan of Radiohead. And usually it's mostly because I don't like Thom Yorke's singing.
But with this album, the music is just so formless. Like what exactly is this? Don't get me wrong, I like plenty of experimental music, but it feels like there's no entry point to get into these songs. They just sort of start, then there's some meandering, and eventually it ends. There's frequently not much of a groove, there's no hooks, nothing to grab onto. It's almost like each song is a prelude for a song which doesn't exist.
I don't see any reason to listen to this again.
I don't know. It's not bad, but this seems to have been _really_ highly rated when it came out. It just doesn't really seem like anything special.
This isn't my thing, and it just doesn't do anything for me.
Absolutely foundational for punk. Great music, and one of those cases of "there's nothing extra in the way." You can't strip anything more out of these songs.
While I'm certainly aware of this album, I'd never actually listened to it.. It's interesting, and I think I might listen listen to it again.
These songs are all pretty solid, though the hits are a little overplayed. My biggest problem is that Dexter Holland has no dynamics to his singing, and it just doesn't sound great.
I don't like Radiohead, and I don't have to. And it's mostly because I don't like Thom Yorke as a singer.
Once again, on this album, he's just not singing well, and I don't like it. It makes the music hard for me to listen to. I like plenty of experimental music, but when it comes to Radiohead they just seem to ignore giving the audience anything to hold onto which bears any resemblance to non-experimental music. What do I mean by that? Radiohead are described as being a rock band, at least at some level. But where's the rock? This is so far outside rock, and everything else for that matter, that it's just tough to find a way into understanding it. Any other band that cites Radiohead as an influence often has much more of a rock underpinning, with experimental elements, and the results are much more enjoyable. With Radiohead, their albums regularly feel almost completely forgettable as result. Even when they come close to something more enjoyable as normal music, that's when Thom's singing is even worse. I don't see a point in listening to this again.
Completely unaware of this band. I suppose they might deserve to be on this list because they're making this type of music 5-10 years or more before everyone else who sounds like this. But I don't really enjoy this.
I don't know why, but I've never really listened to PJ Harvey, but I do enjoy this a fair bit. I might listen to this again.
Not specifically aware of this album, but this is pretty great.
I find the band to be more interesting to listen to than Van himself. The singles I'm aware of vary from "overplayed and kind of tired" to "unsung and deservant of more play." The other tracks are just kind of middling, and again, the band is more compelling to listen to.
It feels like this is on the list because it was just the first Bowie album to be released after a long hiatus. These songs aren't really grabbing me. They're not bad, but I don't think I'll be listening to this album again.
Ugh. Here we go again, another Radiohead album.
I don't like Radiohead, and it's mostly because of Thom Yorke. In addition, they are regularly described as an "experimental rock band" but I feel they usually just leave out the "rock" part of that. I like plenty of experimental music, but being experimental doesn't mean you have to ignore the things that allow a listener to enjoy the music in its usual context.
In the case of this album, there's some more "rock" things going on here, but still not quite enough for my enjoyment.
Not great, not terrible. Probably not gonna listen to this again, though.
Just a really good collection of classic country.
There can be a fine line between laid-back and boring. I'm afraid this falls into boring territory for me.
Not my favorite album by The Beatles, but still really good.
I've never really listened to Nick Drake before. This one has quite an enjoyable vibe. Laid-back, sometimes sunny, sometimes a little dark. I'd listen to this again.
The hits on here are all solid, and even the songs I didn't know are good too. I'm not sure this is one that I'll come back to listen to again, but it was definitely worth setting aside the time to check this out.
Honestly, I'm not really sure I understand why this was such a hit. Lauryn is definitely the star here. Wyclef is overrated, and Pras' contributions are easily forgotten. I remember the hits well, but not fondly. They were all overplayed. The non-hits are boring and forgettable.
YES. I prefer the 2010 release that's "The Complete 1969 Concert." It's about an hour long.
I was not aware of this album, and oh man, this is great. Definitely going to listen to this again.
I'd never heard of this, and it was kind of hit-or-miss. Some of it was enjoyable, some of it kind of boring/annoying.
Another album that I'm completely unaware of. A very nice, calm-and-soothing vibe. Not bad, but not terribly captivating either.
This album came out during my teen years. It was _all over_ the radio. The singles were inescapable. I'd never really taken the time to sit down with this entire album (again, it was inescapable on the radio, and I wasn't looking for more of it), and was prepared to rate it as just a 3. But really this album is hard to deny. Perhaps its biggest problem is that it's kind of over-produced. There's also some of Alanis' vocal quirks that I still find annoying at times, but I'm willing to look past them.
I'm just not a big fan of Rush. There's like maybe 10 total songs by Rush that I enjoy, and none of them are on this album.
I'm not a fan of Kate Bush, and was unaware of this album. I didn't enjoy this.
blurgh. Rating this with 1 star is 1 star too many.
When this album first came out, I admit I didn't get it. I did enjoy "Come as You Are" and "In Bloom" but not a whole lot, and not much else on the album. Then, "In Utero" came out and I really liked that. For a long time, I didn't bother coming back to this album, but I now really enjoy it.
I'd never heard of this artist before. It's not terrible. I always find it hard to listen to British rappers trying to sound tough. Their accent just doesn't seem to fit right. The beats are pretty solid though.
I don't hate this, but I also just don't get the appeal of Blur. In the whole britpop battle of Blur vs. Oasis, consider me totally team Oasis.
And I think I finally figured out my issue with Damon Albarn: when he goes into falsetto, he sounds almost indistinguishable from Spinal Tap's Nigel Tufnel. And now I can't un-hear it.
YES
This is my favorite Beatles album
Courtney Love is not a talented musician, and that fact is highlighted on this album. It's hard to listen to her sing.
When our family got our first CD player for our stereo, this was one of the first CDs we had. So it's a walk down memory lane to listen to this again. I haven't heard it in a long time after it being a somewhat regular rotation record. I don't hate this album, but coming back to it once every decade or so is likely enough for me.
I'd never listened to this entire album before. The only track I was aware of is "Seven Seas of Rhye."
My issue with Queen is that you basically already know all of their best songs. There aren't any hidden gems on their albums. So, given that this album doesn't really have many greatest hits, it's just kind of meh.
R.E.M. just doesn't do it for me.
I don't like Smashing Pumpkins, mostly because of Billy Corgan's awful singing. There are a few songs on here that I like, and where I can kind of overlook Billy's voice. So, I guess this likely ranks as my favorite Smashing Pumpkins album, but that belies the general sense of loathing I feel for Smashing Pumpkins.
I was aware of Spiritualized in name only. As an introduction to them, this album is pretty neat. I'll probably listen to this again.
Otis is so great. I don't listen to his stuff enough.
Ugh. I really can't stand Dave Mustaine's singing or lyrics.
I was totally unaware of this group. I was pleasantly surprised by this. I'll likely be listening to this again.
Yes, some of the lyrics and themes are dated, but this is still pretty good.
YES
An album made by musicians who are all top-tier on their instruments, wailing away and creating fantastic music.
COME ON! COME ON! COME ON! LET'S GO SPACE TRUCKIN'!
I was marginally aware of Robbie Williams in the early aughts, so this album was mostly unknown to me... until I saw the movie "Better Man." The music is enjoyable, but not great. For a former boyband member to be making this change to a solo career, it's an interesting move to go to maximalist rock-pop.
I haven't listened to this album in a while. Solid album from the Stones.
Completely unaware of this one. It's alright, but just kinda meh.
I'm more familiar with their first album. I think I prefer that album to this one. This isn't bad, I just kind of like the more raw sound of the first album.
I just find it hard to get into this. Obviously, it's performed impeccably, but that kind of makes it a little sterile. And that may be the thing that keeps me from enjoying it more.
I mean I know this is britpop, but like wow, right out of the gate it's so British that it's actually Bri'ish.
This one was completely new to me. It's ok. Not great, not terrible.
I'd never sat down and listened to this entire album. I knew the singles.
It's interesting, and more raw than their later material. I kind of prefer the slightly more refined sound of their later stuff. This isn't bad, and I'm glad this site made me sit down with it, but I don't think I need to revisit it.
I was aware of this as a classic album, but had never spent time listening to it.
This is really great, from both an early hip-hop and electronic music standpoint. The biggest problem here is that you need to separate the art from the artist.
I've heard a bunch of songs off this album, but I don't think I've ever listened to the whole thing start-to-finish.
I just don't really like Tori Amos' singing. If she made an instrumental album, I'd probably enjoy it more.
Another new one for me.
Man, this is smooooooth. I'll likely listen to this again. It seems like it'll make for enjoyable napping music.
This was a new one for me.
I didn't really enjoy it. I mean, what exactly is so special about this that makes it an album you must hear before you die?
This is an album I've got in my library, but that I don't listen to very frequently. I enjoy King Crimson, and freely admit that they definitely fall into the "acquired taste" category. This may not be my favorite album by them, but it's by no means a bad album of theirs... if you like King Crimson. There's a bunch of neat things going on in this collections of songs. But I suspect that the ratings on this site will range from "this is nearly unlistenable" (from those who don't like the band) to "this is really neat" (from those who do like the band). And there will likely be almost no overlap in that Venn diagram.
I love me some 80s and early-to-mid-90s Madonna. But the stuff after that is just not the same quality. This album is mostly a snore.
I suppose this is a little more enjoyable than The Idiot, but still mostly meh. I find Iggy Pop tends to be a lot more style than substance usually, and that's what seems to be going on here more often than not.
I've heard of the artist before, but was basically completely unaware of the music prior to listening to this.
The production is pretty interesting, and there's definitely a vibe going on here. I don't hate this, and would like to listen to it again in the future. At times, the vocals sound like Paul Simon trying to do an impersonation of Bob Dylan in the 1960s... and it's surprisingly not a bad combination.
My problem with Chicago is that despite the quality of musicianship, it often feels really soulless.
This isn't bad, but the only thing that makes this album important is that it's the debut album by The Rolling Stones. It's almost entirely covers, and none of them are bad, but they're also nothing to write home about either. It's a perfectly cromulent album of coversongs performed by a bunch of musicians who went on to create much more interesting and important music later on in their career.
I'm not a huge fan of reggae. This album is new to me. It's okay, I don't hate it.
I've never sat down and listened to a full Aphex Twin album before.
This is more chill than I anticipated, and as such, I also enjoyed it more than I anticipated. I'll probably listen to this again.
I just don't really like R.E.M. Sometimes, it's the fact that the music is too jangly. Other times, it's Michael Stipe being really "Michael Stipe"-ey. On this album, it's usually both.
Very enjoyable classic soul. This is definitely an album I want to listen to again.
I'm aware of Drive-By Truckers, but have never listened to them.
I don't know. This just isn't quite doing it for me. It's not bad, but I feel like it could certainly be better. In particular, they should have spent more time getting better vocal takes. I'm fine with the gruff tone of the vocals, but they should have tried harder to really nail the pitches.
I've never listened to Simply Red before.
Overall kind of meh and boring. I was surprised by the "Heaven" cover. It wasn't until "Holding Back the Years" that I was like, "Oh, it's _this_ song."
First time listening to this album.
I was a teenager in the 90s, and at the time, I thought I hated country. It turns out I just hated 90s country.This album is some real high quality classic country. And for as much as this is a Gram Parsons album, it really feels like Emmylou Harris is regularly stealing the spotlight. I'm not complaining about that. And this album also has one of the better versions of "Love Hurts."
I'd listen to this one again.
I'm not sure if I've heard this album before.
My general opinion of Jack White is that he's kind of overrated, and he seems to think really highly of himself, too. And, as such, this album isn't doing much to change my opinion of him.
I knew a few of these tracks. The album is okay. It probably belongs on this list because it's groundbreaking in terms of electronic pop music.
I really like "M.E." but I feel like I would like it a lot more if the synth parts were played on guitar instead, and Gary's singing isn't great either. And in general I feel like that holds true for most of the songs on the album. I'd probably really enjoy some rock/stoner band taking up the challenge of doing a full-album cover of this.
YES.
There's not enough stars to rate this album.
This is my first time listening to this entire album, though I'm certainly aware of the singles from it.
This is an interesting and pretty solid album. I'd listen to this again. The production on the drums is rather good for this era, though it does tend toward the odd stereo panning which was also typical for this era.
New Order just isn't my thing.
I'm familiar with Dinosaur Jr.'s "Where You Been" album, but not this one.
This album just isn't grabbing me. If I want to listen to Dinosaur Jr., I'd go with "Where You Been" before this one.
This is my first time listening to this Muddy Waters album.
I feel like this is a really good recording of Muddy's style of blues. If you enjoy that, you'll really like this album. I'd listen to this album again.
YES.
I'm more familiar with the "Greatest Hits" collection, but this is more or less the same thing. It's a real shame that this group didn't put out more music. It's all great.
I'm aware of a few of these through use in various soundtracks. This is certainly a vibe. I'll want to listen to this again.
This is a new album for me. I'm familiar with a few Scott Walker songs, but none from this album.
This album isn't bad, but it makes me wonder why it had to be included on the 1001 albums list.
I've never even heard of this group.
And, uh, yikes. I don't like this at all. It sounds like a bad local band at a pub, with absolutely atrocious production. I think I can pull together a list of 1001 albums that aren't on this list which are better than this album.
I wasn't familiar with most of this album, but Curtis Mayfield is always great.
I really enjoyed this, and will likely listen to it again. It's amazing how it sounds like a modern throwback, if that makes sense. It was ahead of its time enough at the time that it came out that now people are trying to achieve this sound as a throwback. The production sounds like crisp, modern techniques to try to sound like mid-70s production.
I'm quite familiar with James Brown but this album is new to me.
This was a quite enjoyable live recording of early James Brown. I'll likely listen to this again.
I'm slightly familiar with The Knife, so at some level I knew what to expect.
This is mostly as expected. It's pretty good, but I'm not sure I feel compelled to listen to this again.
I'm familiar with this album and don't like it. I'm not even gonna bother giving it my usual "well, 1001albumsgenerator picked it for today, so I'll listen to it anyway" customary spin. I'm just not interested in listening to this album again.
This artist is entirely new to me.
At the start, I wasn't really feeling this album, but as it went along, I enjoyed it a little more. It's not quite rising to the level of "I think I'll listen to this again" though.
I'm familiar with a few of the songs off this album.
This was enjoyable. Maybe not my favorite collection of Depeche Mode songs, but still good.
I reviewed another Iron Maiden album previously, and I think it captured my feelings about the band pretty well, and it applies just about the same here:
As a metal fan, I recognize the historical importance of Iron Maiden, but I have an unpopular opinion about the band: Iron Maiden isn't as heavy as I wish they were, and I don't enjoy their music as much as other metal music. Every time a band covers an Iron Maiden song, invariably it's heavier and I enjoy it more than the original. If you like heavy metal and Iron Maiden, I won't hold it against you. You're entitled to your opinion, and I am entitled to mine. I don't hate Iron Maiden, I just wish they were more like the metal music they inspired.
I'll rate this pretty high as it is important and deserves to be on this list, but if I'm in the mood to listen to some heavy metal, I'm not going to be playing Iron Maiden.
I've heard of the artist, but never checked him out.
This was thoroughly meh. Not bad, but I don't get why it's on this list.
This might be my favorite Depeche Mode album. So many of my favorite songs of theirs are on it.
I'm aware of this artist, but haven't ever listened to an album of his.
I'm just not feeling this one.
I knew a few of the songs from this, but had never listened to the full album.
Once again, it's got out-of-date themes, but there's no denying that Ice Cube goes HARD. It's kind of funny to think how the guy on this record ended up becoming a G-Rated family movie star.
I'm familiar with quite a few of these tracks, but surprisingly, I don't think I've ever listened to the full album.
It's a jam. It's a vibe. I'm glad I listened, but ultimately, I'm not necessarily feeling compelled to listen to it again on any sort of a regular basis.
I'm well aware of the hits on here, but haven't listened to the full album.
This is great. The hits are total bangers, and even the non-singles are solid.
I was completely unaware of this artist.
This particular album seems to not exist on YouTube Music, but doing a little digging, apparently it's the same as a previous album, just released with a different track sequence, and the "Vento de Maio" has an extra track.
This was really interesting. I'm glad I tried a little harder to find an equivalent to this album. The smooth jams are super smooth, and the funky tracks are bangin'.
I'm adding this to my list of albums I want to listen to again. And I may have to check out more by Elis Regina.
This is my first time listening to a War album start-to-finish.
This was enjoyable. It's good, but not great.
This is my first time listening to a Kings of Leon album start-to-finish.
Being more familiar with the bigger hits that came out after this album, I wasn't expecting the rough-around-the-edges production of this. The songs just aren't that great though, and I find the singer's strange diction really off-putting.
I was completely unaware of this artist.
I don't really understand why this album is on this list. It's not bad, but there is absolutely nothing special about it.
First time listening to an ABBA album start-to-finish.
There's a bunch of hits on here, including their biggest, "Dancing Queen." So I can understand why this album is on the list, but ABBA just isn't really my thing.
This may not be my favorite Rolling Stones album, but it's got some really great tunes from their early era.
YES.
All killer, no filler.
I was familiar with the hits from this album, but otherwise, it's my first time listening to this particular album.
And, as usual, Talking Heads are great. I'm definitely going to add this to my collection.
I've never been able to get into Lennon's solo stuff much. This is my first time sitting down to listen to an entire album of his.
And it confirms what I already knew. His solo stuff just isn't as good as his work with the Beatles. This whole album felt pretty boring.
First time listening to this album start-to-finish.
This album belongs on the list if only for "Love the One You're With." The rest is interesting, and I may need to add this to my "albums to listen to again" list.
