I absolutely hated this, just noise with no redeeming aspects from my perspective. I would give it a half point if I could

Working on a five point scale, it's a solid 2.75. Love Sam Cooke, just not a big fan of live music in general; it typically cannot compare to the quality of the music recorded in the sound studio. I would offer though, in this case, it may be more a reflection of the available technology of the day.

Every so often a group will come along with a debut album that is so unbelievably good, you can't help but wonder where the hell did these guys come from and can they keep it up? Well, this was a sign of things to come for as good as their opening act was, the albums that followed immediately, were even better. It was the dawning of a new sound, and it was spectacular!

This is arguably their finest album. It's a nice, easy listen, great vocals. The reality is Coldplay is just that, nice, easy, comfortable. There is no edge, no soul to me.

If you are to own just one Black Sabbath album, this should be the one. Yes, I know Master of Reality is so very close, but this is the one. It I brilliant! Surprised that with the four albums I have seen thus far in this journey, two have been Black Sabbath. I like heavy metal, at least some of it, and Black Sabbath would be at the top of my list for this genre from an artist perspective.

Indie just isn't my cup of tea, even though their opening album was well received critically and commercially, to me, it's eh? Sorry.

I'd never heard of these guys. The music was mellow, soft and tolerable from a listening perspective. It wasn't bad, but nothing I would get excited about, or purchase. I would give it a 2.5 if I could grade in half point increments.....it's a "C" for me.

This is arguably my favorite EJ album. I saw him at MSG on the tour introducing this album. The intro for "Funeral for a Friend" was unbelievably surreal, the show was spectacular! Undoubtedly, I have a clear bias as I sat and listened, not something I could objectively set aside. What a great album. If I were to own only one Elton John album, this would be this one.

I had always lumped these guys with the long list of one-hit wonders. This appears to be an unfair characterization. This is the first time I've ever listened to any of their albums, a bit of psychedelic, a bit of garage.....it was fun. I enjoyed the album and will actually check out another album or two of theirs.

This band since the day the broke onto the scene in 1969, has clearly been established as one of the greatest RnR bands of all times. What they lacked in creativity in the creation of the their early album titles, they more than compensated for with the licks they laid with their music and vocals. We all have our favorite Led Zeppelin album, mine is the first album, but all they released during their early years of existence were five-star albums. Led Zeppelin II is no exception. My favorite cut is "Whole Lotta Love" that I believe would have been more fitting on Led Zeppelin I, but it matters not. This is a GREAT album! The music they are offering clearly established the first album was not a fluke, and served as a representative precursor to what would be coming in the future.

Nice, mellow, soft, and not very exciting. It's not really my cup of tea, and if I could score on a half point basis, I would give it a 2.5.

I suspect Tom's gravelly voice is a required taste, damn if I haven't acquired it. Bit of jazz, a bit of blues, lots of Tom's voice after a night of drinking whiskey and smoking a pack of cigarettes. Good stuff!

This album was released during what truly was the golden era of rock. Between Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys and McCartney and Lennon of the Beatles, they were setting new standards for everyone else to follow. Depending on the day of the week, this is no worse than my second favorite Beatles album, with "MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR" being the other. It was a real pleasure to have this selection roll up today!

This was a bit tough to find, but worth it. It was like a trip down memory lane, listening to the first music that was "mine" as opposed to my parents "stuff". My granddaughter couldn't understand why anyone would be named "Fats".

I absolutely hated this, just noise with no redeeming aspects from my perspective. I would give it a half point if I could

Not too bad, I was at least able to listen to the entire album without an overwhelming desire to turn it off

Now we're cooking, Carlos Santana! What a melting pot of musical styles this was, led by the virtuousness of Carlos on his guitar. There was so much much spectacular music coming out of San Francisco in the early 70's and Santana was part of that movement. This is my favorite Santana album, narrowly beating out their first album for that position.

I'd never heard of these guys. This was a fun album, typical teenage boy/young male adult material.....it's been awhile, but I can still relate. A gentler punk style than some of the other bands of this era.

This was probably one of their larger album successes in a long and illustrious career. Personally, I preferred the earlier years when their sound was more akin to the Motown sound. By the time this album arrived on the scene, the IB were clearly amongst the leading success stories for the Funk sound, even dabbling a bit on the disco fringes. I had never realized how many cover offerings they produced, a significant portion of what is offered here.

Not my cup of tea, at all. I gave it a chance, listened to the entire album, yech, but then again, how boring would it be if we all liked the same things.

So, I guess the conclusion I am beginning to draw is, seemingly, whatever Led Zeppelin album I am listening to at the time, is my favorite. These guys were so damn good, there was no weak element to this band whatsoever. The first album will always hold a special place in my heart, as that was the publics introduction to this band, but the band's evolution from album album is a true wonderment.

There are lots of things I am learning in this little excursion with 1001 Albums. First of all, there are A LOT of albums to which I have never listened. Secondly, within that group, there are many albums for which I feel no less, by having never listened to them, or in some cases, never even heard of them. Thirdly, and most importantly, there are some real gems, reinforcing why I chose to participate in this journey. I was never much of a (solo) John Lennon fan, lots of reason, none of them relevant at this point. What it did though is predisposed me not to listen to any of his albums post-Beatles. This album would demonstrate, I would have been wiser to keep an open mind about John. Fortunately, I've been given an opportunity to correct.

It is rumored, the only bigger fan of CCR is Mrs. Fogerty, and I give her that honor having two sons in the band. CCR was one of the first bands with which I fell in love as my music tastes first started to dramatically change in the late 60's. "GREEN RIVER" was not my favorite CCR album, but it was tied for second, with three others. To this day, I always love hearing John Fogerty let loose. They were a comet that burst upon the sky and for the five short years of their journey, there was simply no one better.

I don't have many Elvis Costello albums in my music collection. This was my first listen for this album and I was pleasantly surprised and while I may not pick up the album, I will download a couple of these songs.

Sorry, I just don't get it. While I would like to say I just don't like punk, there have been a couple artists I could tolerate. This is no such example, as this was the longest 38 minutes ever.

Another debut album here, though the first of the jazz genre. Beautiful melodious voice, great accompaniment, nice listening when the mood appropriately aligns. This is the only Norah Jones recording I have in my collection, so obviously I have an affinity for this album.

I enjoy Irish folk rock, and in addition to this album, have several other albums from the Pogues. In addition, my collection includes the Chieftains, Flogging Molly and the Dropkick Murphys. This style is just fun, though there are of course those tunes with a bit of a deeper, darker message, aren't there. All in all though, good stuff!

I suspect John is an acquired taste, not unlike say maybe a Tom Waite. Some of the tunes seemed like an attempt at humor? Anyway, it doesn't work for me.

I suspect I am not unlike many boomers who grew up in a musical era where the diversity of the music, and the quality of the artists, was so extraordinary. We had rock, hard rock, heavy metal, Motown, soul, folk, blues, southern rock, garage....it's been a challenge to find in today's era worthy successors to the musical artists of our youth. This band is tolerable, not great, but the music is listenable at least.

Another band of which I was completely unaware. It was an easy listen, but not something for which I see a need to add to my collection, sorry.

Needless to say, an incredibly unique sound, so very "electronic". While it's not something I would listen to every day, I enjoyed as such a very different sound.

Little Stevie Wonder, one of the best Motown ever featured. I love the Motown sound, I love Stevie Wonder and this was arguably the finest album he ever created.

I'm not exactly sure what they're going for here, and have mixed feelings. A few of the cuts, I enjoyed, but others, it's as if they're going for some shock value.

So, this is a genre I just don't get, and while I would not even view this as music, that may be more a reflection of my age, as opposed to my good taste, or maybe the other way to view it is, the absence of any taste by those who view this as music.....yes I am joking. I still do not care for it, at all, sorry.

It's becoming abundantly clear that rap just isn't my thing.

Once you get into the mid-80's and beyond, it clearly becomes hit and miss as to whether I am familiar with a band, so it would seem. I understand this was the bands first album, not bad actually.