108
Albums Rated
3.33
Average Rating
10%
Complete
981 albums remaining
Rating Distribution
Rating Timeline
Taste Profile
2010s
Favorite Decade
Indie
Favorite Genre
other
Top Origin
Wordsmith
Rater Style ?
13
5-Star Albums
3
1-Star Albums
Breakdown
By Genre
By Decade
By Origin
Albums
You Love More Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
The Rising
Bruce Springsteen
|
5 | 3.05 | +1.95 |
|
Bandwagonesque
Teenage Fanclub
|
5 | 3.06 | +1.94 |
|
Queen Of Denmark
John Grant
|
5 | 3.13 | +1.87 |
|
Since I Left You
The Avalanches
|
5 | 3.28 | +1.72 |
|
Figure 8
Elliott Smith
|
5 | 3.32 | +1.68 |
|
Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea
PJ Harvey
|
5 | 3.38 | +1.62 |
|
Different Class
Pulp
|
5 | 3.42 | +1.58 |
|
The ArchAndroid
Janelle Monáe
|
5 | 3.45 | +1.55 |
|
The Number Of The Beast
Iron Maiden
|
5 | 3.59 | +1.41 |
|
To Pimp A Butterfly
Kendrick Lamar
|
5 | 3.61 | +1.39 |
You Love Less Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bossanova
Pixies
|
2 | 3.38 | -1.38 |
|
Rock 'N Soul
Solomon Burke
|
2 | 3.37 | -1.37 |
|
There's No Place Like America Today
Curtis Mayfield
|
2 | 3.37 | -1.37 |
|
Sulk
The Associates
|
1 | 2.36 | -1.36 |
|
A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector
Various Artists
|
2 | 3.31 | -1.31 |
|
Made In Japan
Deep Purple
|
2 | 3.29 | -1.29 |
|
Astral Weeks
Van Morrison
|
2 | 3.27 | -1.27 |
|
Sound Affects
The Jam
|
2 | 3.26 | -1.26 |
|
Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor
Lupe Fiasco
|
2 | 3.13 | -1.13 |
|
Fifth Dimension
The Byrds
|
2 | 3.07 | -1.07 |
5-Star Albums (13)
View Album Wall
Popular Reviews
Pixies
2/5
Album No. 0004 on my list.
For whatever reason, I've never really listened much to Pixies at all. I was aware of the success and influence of the band, and of course knew a few songs. However, I've never become a regular listener. Bossanova was hence my first full Pixies album.
I expected a good album, but unfortunately, this was very underwhelming. For some reason, it seems I just don't get the band. No song really stood out for me; there is nothing memorable at all about this album. It all just sounds and feels very boring. Not at all bad, just simply boring.
I listen to a lot of 90s alternative rock and so Pixies are just one of these artists that I'm supposed to like, but I'm afraid that even after listening to this album, I just don't get them.
Hope that someday I'll listen to another pixies album that may change this. 2/5 stars.
1 likes
Derek & The Dominos
3/5
Album No. 0013 on my list.
Before listening to this, I was only aware of the title track, which I like in general. I have mixed feelings about the album though. There are some good tracks on there ("Layla", "Bell Bottom Blues", "Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out"), but there is also - including in these songs - a lot of guitar noodling.
The album has a great blues rock sound and has inspired me to listen more to that genre. But I do not like the album itself all that much. Too much endless guitar play without any particular musical reason. Clapton is great of course, but the long solos feel - for some reason - kind of unneccessary to me and do not serve the songs.
All in all, this feels good but a little overhyped. 3/5 stars. Did I mention that the guitar parts are too long?
1 likes
Bruce Springsteen
5/5
Album No. 0071 on my list.
First things first: Bruce Springsteen is my favorite artist in the world. By far. He's just great, I enjoy his music, his lyrics, his stage presence, his personality. At least three of his albums are contestants to be my favorite album of all time (all are on this list as well). So I have a hard time writing a review about this album in an unbiased manner.
If I try to do that however, I can't help but say that "The Rising" is certainly the Boss's weakest album on this list (a feeling that has not changed since listening to it again today). It does not compare to his 70s and 80s work.
This does not however mean that it's a bad album - not at all! There are some of his best songs on this, namely "The Rising", "Lonesome Day", and "Waitin' On A Sunny Day". I like the more modern, blasting, polished sound on Springsteen's first album with the E Street Band since 1988. The lyrics are highly powerful and reflect the horrors of September 11 in a very graceful manner.
Not all tracks on the album are as good as the mentioned ones; I feel that it could have been somewhat shorter. Removing a little baggage may have made the album somewhat better. On the other hand, you also have more modest songs that are still great however, at least due to their lyrical quality: "Into the Fire", and "My City of Ruins" in particular, which even have a nearly spiritual quality. I'll add all 5 mentioned songs to my playlist.
In total, I'm conflicted and torn but still arrive at 5 stars. There may be some baggage here, but there are also some big highlights and Springsteen is very much able to transfer is post-911 feelings into a great, powerful lyrics that are graceful and express grief instead of hate and anger.
5/5 stars!
1 likes
4-Star Albums (37)
1-Star Albums (3)
All Ratings
Pentangle
4/5
The very first album on my list. This mixture of folk, jazz and pop was unlike anything I've ever heared before.
Not all songs were that great and/or stuck in my head, but overall, this was a very interesting piece of music that I will certainly listen to again. 4/5
Metallica
3/5
Album No. 0002 on my list. I was familiar with this album before, but had not listened to it for some years, so this was a nice second item on my listening list.
Unfortunately, I'd have to say that ...And Justice For All is probably Metallica's weakest album from the 80s. Its production is indeed very flat, and for whatever reason, there is too little bass.
In turn, there are plenty of riffs and long, complex guitar parts. The whole album sounds like a show-off of guitar-playing abilities. That does not mean that there aren't any good songs in there ("One" being the obvious candidate here, but "Blackened", "Harvester of Sorrow", and "Eye of the Beholder" belonging to that list as well). Some songs include interesting lyrics as well. And in the end, impressive guitar skills are certainly something that should be appreciated as well. But especially compared, to its immediate predecessor, Master of Puppets, this album did just not produce as many catchy metal uber-hymns.
So in the end, this is a 3/5, although I have to admit that it's maybe just the comparison to its predecessors that lowers the rating, rather than an "objective" assessment.
Van Halen
4/5
Album No. 0003 on my list.
I had known some of the songs before, but had not ever listened to the full album.
I had some expectations regarding the music, and they were pretty much met. Short, energizing rock songs with innovative guitar work.
I also had no expectations regarding the lyrics. And my expectations were pretty much met. They are pretty bad. But as I said - did not expect a 2nd Dylan here.
All in all, I enjoyed listening to Van Halen’s debut album and I can certainly see why this album has been so influential. It basically preceded most of 80s rock music and was really something innovative in 1978.
4/5!
Pixies
2/5
Album No. 0004 on my list.
For whatever reason, I've never really listened much to Pixies at all. I was aware of the success and influence of the band, and of course knew a few songs. However, I've never become a regular listener. Bossanova was hence my first full Pixies album.
I expected a good album, but unfortunately, this was very underwhelming. For some reason, it seems I just don't get the band. No song really stood out for me; there is nothing memorable at all about this album. It all just sounds and feels very boring. Not at all bad, just simply boring.
I listen to a lot of 90s alternative rock and so Pixies are just one of these artists that I'm supposed to like, but I'm afraid that even after listening to this album, I just don't get them.
Hope that someday I'll listen to another pixies album that may change this. 2/5 stars.
Curtis Mayfield
4/5
Album No. 0005 on my list.
I‘ve heared the name Curtis Mayfield before and had a rough idea about what music he had been doing, but that’s about it.
Superfly is a very cool soundtrack album - catchy, exciting, but also somewhat laid back, interestingly. Very cool 70s vibes, very cool, very decent lyrics.
Will certainly listen again- 4/5 stars!
Bob Marley & The Wailers
4/5
Album No. 0006 on my list.
I‘ve known half of the Songs before. Not because I’m much into Reggae, but because Bob Marley is such an outstandingly famous artist.
I liked every song on the album. I’m really not a Reggae expert, but to me, this is just Reggae perfection. Cool lyrics, cool music, cool vibe. Still not too much into the genre, but it seems to me this is as good as it gets. 4/5 stars!
Elliott Smith
5/5
Album No. 0007 on my list (too bad that it’s not No. 0008).
Anyway, I was vaguely aware of Elliott Smith’s existence before, and that was all. So this was really a “fresh” listen to me.
And I gotta say - it’s really great! This is the perfect indie pop rock album. Cool, fun and melancholy at the same time, artsy, witty, interesting. Some songs stood out for me in their greatness (Stupidity Tries, Easy Way Out, Colorbars), but there is not a single bad or even mediocre song on this album. It’s too bad that Elliott Smith has not been with us for over 20 years; I would have loved to discover more contemporary work of him.
Anyway, this is an incredible album, and I’m glad I’ve discovered it through the 1001 album generator. This - plus more Elliott Smith - will certainly become part of my heavy rotation. What a great album- 5/5 stars! (My first 5 star rating here)
Sonic Youth
3/5
Album No. 0008 on my list.
I have to admit that I was not at all familiar with Sonic Youth at all. Even though I regularly listen to a lot of Alternative Rock, I only knew very few Sonic Youth songs at all (Teen Age Riot of course), so "Sister" was a completely new listen for me.
I recently reviewed a Pixies album - a band in a very much similar situation: infuential alt rock, something that I "should" like but never much listened to (and both with a female bass player!). Howver, I did not really enjoy the Pixies album ("Bossanova"). In contrast, I like "Sister" by Sonic Youth better. I have some doubts that it will ever become an all time favorite of mine, but compared to the pixies album, it's much better. The songs are more interesting, catchier, and feel more complex. Sonic Youth (based on this one album) feels more "charismatic" to me. "Catholic Block", "Beauty Lies in the Eye", and "Tuff Gnarl" are my favorites from this album.
To summarize: not a great album, but a good one. 3/5 stars.
Led Zeppelin
4/5
Album No. 0009 on my list.
I’ve listened to some of the songs before (if anybody has ever listened to Led Zeppelin, it’s hard not to have listened to “Kashmir”, but I knew some of the other songs before).
After listening to the album in full, I gotta say it’s pretty good! Solid hard rock, but a little more relaxed and tame than the previous Led Zeppelin albums. Cool guitar parts, cool lyrics, some very nice drumming by Bonham!
I’ve found that beyond “Kashmir”, there are not too many outstanding all time favorites on here for me, but there are still plenty of other good songs and all in all this is a very good album - 4/5 stars!
Creedence Clearwater Revival
5/5
Album No. 0010 on my list.
Don’t judge an album by its cover, because this has gotta be one of the worst ever.
The album itself however - just incredible! I’ve known around 30 % of the songs before. I’m very fortunate that I now know all. I knew that CCR was one of the great classic rock bands, but still didn’t expect the album to be this good. Of course you have the hits (“Up around the bend”, “Who’ll stop the rain”), but there are plenty of great songs on here (“Lookin out my back door”, “Run through the jungle”, “Before you accuse me”, and more.
This is just a seriously good album and l’ll definitely listen to this more often - 5/5 stars!
Anita Baker
3/5
Album No. 0011 on my list.
Before listening to this album, I had never heard of Anita Baker. Overall, I enjoyed listening to this album, so this was a nice new discovery. Baker’s voice is very good. It reminded my amateur, not very jazz-familiar ear of Whitney Houston, but with a more mature, dark, and jazzy (whatever that means) touch.
Beyond this, I found this to be an album with solid, decent songs on it. Some (“Caught in the rapture”, “Been so long”) I liked more than others. But none of the songs were really outstanding to me (also, again compared to Whitney’s first album).
Because Baker’s voice is so great, it’s still 3/5 stars for me.
Sinead O'Connor
4/5
Album No. 0012 on my list.
Before listening to this, I only ever knew one Sinead O’Connor song (yes, it’s the one that is also on this album), so there was a lot of new stuff to get into here. I didn’t really know what to expect, but in general this album is quite good!
Beyond the aforementioned uber-hit (currently nearly 500 million streams on Spotify; the 2nd most popular song from this album only has 18 million), there were various great songs: “The Emperor’s New Clothes”, “Jump in the River”, and “Last Day of our Acquaintance” appealed to me in particular. O’Connor’s voice is just great in any song, and there are some cool guitar licks and lyrics on this as well.
To summarize: a solid 4/5 stars, will definitely listen to this album again!
Derek & The Dominos
3/5
Album No. 0013 on my list.
Before listening to this, I was only aware of the title track, which I like in general. I have mixed feelings about the album though. There are some good tracks on there ("Layla", "Bell Bottom Blues", "Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out"), but there is also - including in these songs - a lot of guitar noodling.
The album has a great blues rock sound and has inspired me to listen more to that genre. But I do not like the album itself all that much. Too much endless guitar play without any particular musical reason. Clapton is great of course, but the long solos feel - for some reason - kind of unneccessary to me and do not serve the songs.
All in all, this feels good but a little overhyped. 3/5 stars. Did I mention that the guitar parts are too long?
Joan Armatrading
4/5
Album No. 0014 on my list.
I had never even heared the Name Joan Armatrading before. This album was something completely new to me, and it was great!
I really enjoyed listening to this. Armatrading has a great voice, there are some decent lyrics on this and the music feels like an interesting combination of folk, jazz, soul, and what not.
Cool songs, I liked “Down to Zero”, “Water with the Wine”, and “Save Me” in particular. The album’s biggest hit (“Love and Affection”) however did not appeal all that much to me.
To summarize: good album, cool music, some great songs - 4/5 stars!
The Avalanches
5/5
Album No. 0015 on my list.
I was aware of the existence of The Avalanches, and that was about it. I've listened to this album for the first time and I have to say - it's just great!
I'm completely stunned by this fun, elegant, timeless mix of samples - just stunning!
All songs are great and I love that they basically blend into one smooth tapestry of sound that stretches through the whole album. "Since I left you", "Two Hearts in 3/4 Time", and "Electricity" are my personal favorites - but again, the whole thing is great!
5/5 stars - this will definitely become part of my heavy rotation.
Pulp
5/5
Album No. 0016 on my list.
Pulp's Different Class is certainly one of Britpop's greatest albums, right up there with Oasis' first two albums, Blur's Modern Life is Rubbish/Parklife/The Great Escape, and the Verve's Urban Hymns.
I've known most of the songs before, but as far as I remember, I had never listened to this album in its entirety. Different Class cerntainly lived up to its reputation - this is an incredibly good album! Beyond the band's two greatest hits ("Common People", "Disco 2000"), there are so many more great songs on this - from the first track ("Mis-Shapes") to its end ("Underwear", "Bar Italia"). This is such a great album - lyrically, musically, artistically (and commercially).
"Different Class" is just great. It's Pulp at their peak. This is quintessential britpop. Awesome record, 5/5 stars!
Björk
4/5
Album No. 0017 on my list.
Not entirely sure what to make of Björk’s debut. On the one hand, this will probably never be one of my all time favorite albums. It just doesn’t appeal that much to me (even compared to other avant garde albums). On the other hand, I can really appreciate the album’s concept, its blend of electronica, avant garde, and punk.
“Human Behavior”, “Venus as a Boy”, and “There’s More to Life than This” were my personal favorites, although there aren’t any bad songs on this. On the other hand, especially in the latter half of the album, this means that no songs stand out and everything feels pretty similar and generic (sorry Björk!)
In summary, I’m not sure what to make of this album. Because I can appreciate its overall quality even though it does not appeal to me that much, this is a veeeerry narrow 4/5 (or more like 3.6) stars. Or well, maybe I’m just influenced by the fact that this is one of the artists/albums that I’m supposed to like.
Whatever - 4/5 stars!
The Who
2/5
Album No. 0018 on my list.
While I’m certainly not their biggest fan, but I love a lot of their songs (especially from this album’s two successors). From this album, I only knew “I can see for miles”.
I can appreciate the idea of this album (even though the aesthetics of its cover feel a little weird in 2025). It’s just that the execution is not that great.
Beyond the aforementioned “I can see for miles” I only liked “Armenia City in the Sky”, the rest of the songs all felt rather boring and mediocre. The idea of disguising the album as something like a “radio listening session” is interesting, but in the end I found the radio jingles in between the songs rather annoying.
That being said, The Who Sell Out is not a terrible album, but for me still one that fails to meet expectations. 2/5 stars.
Pere Ubu
2/5
Album No. 0019 on my list.
I've had my troubles with this album to be honest. I've really been trying to like it, but that didn't really work out. It's not necessarily the avant garde nature of Pere Ubu; its rather the songs themselves - most of them just didn't catch me.
"Non-Alignment Pact", and "Modern Dance" are both solid songs that I'll listen to again, whereas "Sentimental Journey" is mostly an arrangement of noises. I get that these more experimental aspects are important, but I'm afraid then this is just not my cup of tea.
2/5 stars.
AC/DC
4/5
Album No. 0020 on my list.
Finally an album that I've completely known before it came up here!
This is of course a classic and one most important and best-selling albums of all time. It has some iconic songs on it ("Hells Bells", "Back in Black", "You Shook Me All Night Long") as well as my personal AC/DC favorite ("Shoot to Thrill").
Great, straightforward sound, classic AC/DC tunes and I indeed like Brian Johnson better than Bon Scott as AC/DC's singer. That being said, there are not many outstanding songs there beyond the ones that I've already mentioned. No bad ones, not at all, but as always with AC/CD: they have a certain recipe. So all in all - great album, but few incredible songs.
4/5 stars!
Bob Marley & The Wailers
4/5
Album No. 0021 on my list.
This was my second album by Bob Marley and the Wailers within two weeks (the first one was "Exodus"). My review here is definitly influenced by the comparision between both albums.
"Catch A Fire" is a solid reggae album and I can definitely see why it was The Wailer's breakthrough album and is considered a landmark record of the whole genre. To be honest, I like "Exodus" somewhat more, but "Catch A Fire" is still great and has a different "vibe" to it - also nice to be able to actually see some musical developments between the two albums.
"Stir It Up" (arguably the album's most prominent song), and "Midnight Ravers" were my favorite songs, but the rest was fine as well.
Solid work - 4/5 stars!
The Velvet Underground
3/5
Album No. 022 on my list.
Yet another experimental, avant garde, and highly influential early rock/pop album. And one with an iconic cover!
I found that this is an okay-ish album. “Femme Fatale” is a long-time favorite of mine, and “Sunday Morning” is a solid pop song. The rest of the songs is more progressive and experimental to various degrees. Many of them are still alright, some I did not like (e.g. “European Son”).
I get why this album has had such a long-lasting impact. To me personally, it does not appear all too much, but it’s still alright. Based on my personal feelings and disregarding the overall impact, 3/5 stars!
Bob Dylan
4/5
Album No. 0023 on my list.
This is a timeless classic (and a turning point in Dylan's carreer), although I had never listened to it in full.
I'm not the biggest Dylan fan and did not like all of the songs of this album, although I definitely appreciate how this album is so highly influential.
The obvious "Like a Rolling Stone", "From a Buick", and "Queen Jane Approxiamtely" are my favorites.
4/5 stars.
The Clash
4/5
Album No. 0024 on my list.
"London Calling" is one of the albums I definitely have mixed feelings about. On the one hand, I don't particularly like many of the songs on it. On the other hand, there are some of the greatest songs of all time on this (especially the title track). Then again, I don't particularly like the overall sound of the album. Yet, I'm fully aware of its great influence and significance.
By far the greatest track on this album is - of course - the aforementioned title track. "London Calling" is, to me, one of the greatest songs of all time. Other songs that I particularly like are "Brand New Cadillac", "Spanish Bombs", and of course "Train in Vain". The rest of the songs are not particularly bad, but I also don't enjoy most of them - especially in the latter half of the album, things got a little redundant for me.
In summary, I still have divided opinion about this album and am not sure whether it holds up to its great reputation. Yet again, there are certainly some incredible songs on this, so it's still a 4/5 for me.
The Jam
2/5
Album No. 0025 on my list.
I am aware of the influence that Paul Weller and the Jam had on Britpop and how important the legacy of this album is.
"Sound Affects" however seemed rather boring and redundant to me; most songs seemed rather bland.
"Pretty Green" and "That's Entertainment" stood out for me and I will certainly listen to them again; the rest of the album did not have any lasting impact on me. Not that they are bad or that this is a terrible album overall, I'm just a bit bored by it (again, especially in comparison to the importance of this album for British music).
2/5 stars.
James Taylor
3/5
Album No. 0026 on my list.
This was a decent, but not very spectacular album. I've never heard anything by James Taylor before, and I liked the overall vibe of this album. For some reason, I found it nice that all the songs are relatively short - this is really an easy listen.
Interestingly, I'm not a big fan of "Fire and Rain", the album's arguably most famous song. I like "Steamroller Blues" and "Suite for 20 G" much better. Overall, no other songs stood out to me too much. But as written above, this is a solid, decent, charming little album.
3/5 stars.
Iron Maiden
4/5
Album No. 0027 on my list.
I had not listened to this album in a couple of years, and I think it has always been overshadowed by the subsequent Iron Maiden albums with Bruce Dickinson.
I have to say though - it's a great album! I personally enjoyed many of the songs very much - beyond the Maiden classics "Running Free" and "Iron Maiden", "Prowler" and "Phantom of the Opera" are my favorites. While he certainly had different vocal qualities compared to Dickinson, Paul Di'Anno was a great singer and I like the more raw, less melodic energy of his voice compared to Bruce's later efforts.
Still not my favorite maiden album, but very cool stuff that I'll listen more to in the future - 4/5 stars!
Throbbing Gristle
1/5
Album No. 0028 on my list.
I appreciate the experimental nature of this, but unfortunately this is not for me.
„AB/7A“ was the only fine track on this album to me, the rest i did not like.
1/5 stars.
Madonna
4/5
Album No. 0029 on my list.
This is the first major pop album on my list (or, to be more precise, the first album by a major global pop artist). Although I knew the album and one or two songs (the ones that probably everyone knows), I didn’t have many expectations.
After listening to it, I have to say: it was surprisingly good! You get the big hits (“Frozen”, “Ray of Light”, “The Power of Good-bye”), you get some more experimental, avant Garde songs (“Mer Girl”), you got your EDM songs - all very nice.
4/5 stars!
Teenage Fanclub
5/5
Album No. 0030 on my list.
I was completely unaware of Teenage Fanclub before listening to this album. But honestly, I really really like it!
It's a seriously good, easy-going, great-sounding noise rock album, and I really enjoyed listening to it.
I've only listened to it once so far, but I'm pretty sure this could seriously become one of my favorites. There are no bad songs on this, but "The Concept", "December", "What You Do To Me", and "Metal Baby" are my favorites.
Will listen to this very often from now on - 5/5 stars!
Louis Prima
3/5
Album No. 0031 on my list.
I had never heared of Louis Prima before, but it was nice to listen to something rather old, actually. (As far as I see it, it's the 3rd oldest album on the 1001 albums list.)
While not necessarily my favorite genre, this was a fun listen - decent, fun songs. Maybe a little too much "blabbering" in some (you'll know what I mean when you listen to it), but I had fun. Nothing outstanding, but a fun collection of songs.
Personal favorites: "Just A Gigolo", "Buona Sera", "Banana Split for my Baby".
3/5 stars!
Bob Dylan
4/5
Album No. 0032 on my list.
I’ve recently reviewed Dylan’s “Highway 61 Revisited”; on my list, this is his second album within a short timeframe.
And there are certainly similarities between both albums. At first glance, I found “Blonde on Blonde” to be a watered down version of “Highway 61 Revisited”. At least that’s what the first songs felt like. The more I’ve listened to the album however, the more I came to the conclusion that it’s rather something like an easy listening version of that album.
While I found Highway 61 to be a little deeper and think that it was rather more innovative at the time, Blonde on Blonde felt a little more like a pop album, with songs that are a little less deep, but a little more catchy. Goes for both music and lyrics.
Personal favorites of mine are “I want you”, “Just Like a Woman”, and “Absolutely Sweet Marie”.
Good Album - 4/5 stars!
Tortoise
3/5
Album No. 0033 on my list.
Never heared of Tortoise before, but I can definitely see why this is considered an important record.
For me, this was an enjoyable listen overall. The whole album is pretty groovy, and even though it does not have any singing parts, it did not bore me at all. On the other hand, its instrumental nature makes this something I'd rather listen to in the background instead of properly listening to this album just for the sake of itself.
"Djed", the first track, which makes up around half of the album itself, was my favorite track, despite its length.
3/5 stars!
Violent Femmes
4/5
Album No. 0034 on my list.
Of this album, I've only known "Blister in the Sun" so far - a song however wich I really like.
And I actually like the rest of the album as well. Not all songs have the same hit potential as "Blister in the Sun", but "Kiss Off" and "To The Kill" are coming close, and there are various other cool songs on this. Decent sound, decent row atitude, decent lyrics - like it!
4/5 stars.
Bob Dylan
3/5
Album No. 0035 on my list.
This is my 3rd Dylan album within a month (and the 2nd within a week). The ones I previously reviewed were “Highway 61 Revisited” and “Blonde on Blonde”, so both albums from the 60s as well, but from Dylan’s electric periods.
And I have to say, I like electric Dylan better. While “Blowing in the Wind” is arguably his most memorable song (contested perhaps by “Like a Rolling Stone”), the others are much less so. Maybe I’m just not that much into folk. I liked “Girl from the North Country” and “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” as well, and the rest of the songs are not necessarily bad, but to be frank, the songs bore me out a little. Maybe it’s the album’s age, maybe - again - folk doesn’t appeal to me that much.
Still, not a bad album obviously, and I get why it is on the 1001 album list.
3/5 stars.
Public Image Ltd.
2/5
Album No. 0036 on my list.
Only knew the name of the band before this; "Metal Box" was a completely new listen to me.
Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy the album all that much. I can appreciate its avant-garde music and its post-punk vibe. I do understand what would lead critics, people who are more knodledgable than myself or more advanced listeners would pick this for the 1001 album list. The songs themselves however did not appeal to me that much.
Despite its length, i did like "Albatross" the best, and I enjoyed the instrumental "Socialist" as well. The other songs were less memorable for me, to be honest.
To summarize - appreciate the influential nature of this, didn't like it that much personally.
2/5 stars.
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
2/5
Album No. 0037 on my list.
I'll keep this review rather short. I get that this may have been an important album in country music, but I'm really not that much into bluegrass and this traditional country sound.
And to be frank, 2 hours of it was a bit much.
2/5 stars.
Kanye West
3/5
Album No. 0038 on my list.
I briefly considered not listening to this album at all because Kanye is such a moron. I did it anyway because I was not familiar with his work and wanted so see how good of a musician he is.
I found that “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” was actually a decent album. I’m not particularly much into hip hop, but I definitely see why this album is on the 1001 list. Not all songs appealed to me, but I liked the overall vibe of this album, and some songs were pretty nice (“Dark Fantasy”, “All of the Lights”, “Hell Of A Life”).
Will not become an all-time favorite, but will certainly listen to some songs again. 3/5 stars.
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
2/5
Album No. 0039 on my list.
This was the first non-english, non-western album on my list. I had never heard of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan or listened to Qawwali music in general (at least not, well, on purpose).
I was not sure what to expect of this, but I actually liked the album and I get why the singer is considered an important and influential figure. While I have to admit that Qawwali will likely not become a thing I'll reguarly listen to, I certainly enjoyed the album nevertheless.
"Allah Hoo Allah Hoo" was my favorite. Since the songs are quite repetitive (to my untrained western ear!) and quite long, I'll give two stars, even though I could have imagined giving three stars as well.
2/5 stars it is.
Van Morrison
2/5
Album No. 0040 on my list.
I didn't know much about Van Morrison before (except for "Brown Eyed Girl); Astral Weeks was a completely new listen to me...
... and one that I didn't particularly enjoy. I feel like this is one of those albums where I know that it did have a lot of influence, and where I can appreaciate it, get why it is the case. But for me personally, it's not that great unfortunately.
Most songs are feeling rather boring and I didn't particularly like the interactions between what Van Morrison is singing and the music.
"Madame George" was my favorite.
2/5 stars.
The Pogues
4/5
Album No. 0041 on my list.
I've been aware of The Pogues' existence, but for some reason have never listened to them. "If I Should Fall From Grace With God" is a decent album however.
Excluding "Fairitale of New York" as a Christmas song, there are some nice songs on this. I like the sound, I like the attitude, I like the lyrics.
My personal favorites were "If I Shozld Fall From Grace With God" (the title track), "Streets of Sorrow", and "The Broad Majestic Shannon". The colabs with the Dubliners were pretty nice as well.
I'm oscilating between giving 4 stars (because some tracks were really, really good) and 3 stats (because not all tracks stuck). But in the end, I'll stick with the higher rating.
4/5 stars!
David Bowie
4/5
Album No. 0042 on my list.
Finally, my first Bowie album on here (since he’s statistically most likely to occur). I like many of his more famous songs, but are not all too deep into his discography, so this was a fresh one for me.
I found this to be an interesting listen. Not all songs were that memorable to me, but there were some cool songs on this (including “Golden Years” and “Word On A Wing”, my two favorites).
I’m conflicted between 3 and 4 stars. But since the sound is nice, I like Bowie’s Thin White Duke personality and, to be honest, I think It’ll look nice on my highly rated albums list, I’ll rate it:
4/5 stars!
Pixies
3/5
Album No. 0043 on my list.
I've had a pixies album on my list before ("Bossanova") which I didn't like that much.
I indeed liked "Surfer Rosa" a little more. Obviously, you have "Where is my Mind", which is worthy of a few stars on its own. My other favorite songs of this album are "Gigantic" and "Tony's Theme". Overall, I still have a hard time finding this really good, even though I somehow get why I'm supposed to - a similar feeling to what I felt with "Bossanova", but less extreme. "Surfer Rosa" is indeed the better album.
To summarize: I think I would like it better, but still an okay-ish album with some great songs. I thought about giving it four stars, but narrowly decide for 3.
3/stars.
Santana
4/5
Album No. 0044 on my list.
"Abraxas" by Santana was an interesting listen. I indeed knew some of the songs of the album before. "Black Magic Woman" is a timeless classic and my favorite track of "Abraxas". "Samba Pa Ti" - known before as well, but still not a big fan.
In general, the whole album is very cool and groovy, but sometimes the songs lack some dynamic. Yet, there is some excellent guitar work on this (even better for example than on "Layla" by Derek and the Dominoes, which I recently reviewed). Beyond "Black Magic Woman", "Incident at Nashabur", and "Hope You're Feeling Better" were my favorites.
4/5 stars!
Kate Bush
4/5
Album No. 0045 on my list.
Phew, I find it hard to come up with a rating for this album. First of all, it's not a bad one certainly, so I'll give it more than two stars. Second, I don't think it will ever become an all-time favorite, so I won't give it five.
It's either three or four stars. And I think that I'll give the album four after all. Beyond the iconic "Running Up That Hill", there are some pretty good songs in the first half of the album ("The Big Sky", "Cloudbusting"), and why I didn't enjoy the scond half as much, I can still appreciate the interesting, creative idea of combining half a "regular" and half a "concept" album.
Beyond, while I'm not the biggest fan of Bush's voice, I appreciate her singing technique, and some of the music of this album feels pretty modern for a 40-year old album actually.
So in the end: 4/5 stars!
Ride
3/5
Album No. 0046 on my list.
I don't really know what to make of this album. To my knowledge, Ride is considered to be one of the greatest bands of the whole Shoegaze genre. Since both My Bloody Valentine's "Loveless" and Slowdive's "Souvlaki" are among my favorite albums of all time, I expected something pretty big here as well.
However, i did not enjoy "Nowhere" that much. It's not necessarily a bad album, but none of the tracks really stuck with me. The sound of the album is decent and it does fit the Shoegaze appeal, but the tracks were mostly too long and did lack a bit of dynamic. "Vapour Trail", "Taste", and "Polar Bear" were my favorite tracks.
In the end, I'll narrowly give this 3 stars, although I also considered just giving 2. Maybe I'll "get" the album more in the future.
3/5 stars.
Radiohead
5/5
Album No. 0047 on my list.
Radiohead's second album "The Bends" is one of my favorite albums of all time, possibly the greatest album of all time to me and its high up on the list of albums I've listened to the most (No. 4 on my all time spotify stats).
Kicked of with "Planet Telex" and followed by "The Bends" as the title track, it is already of to a good start. "High and Dry" and "Fake Plastic Trees" follow, which are not my personal favorites of this album, but they are certainly its biggest hits.
"Bones" is a hidden gem I think, one that deserves much more recognition hat it has gotten, whereas "(Nice Dream)" is a nice introspective song, before "Just" and "My Iron Lung" kick in, serving as the album's most aggressive, still grunge-influenced songs. "Bullet Proof... I Wish I Was" is another introspective song, followed by "Black Star" and "Sulk". Those are two hidden gems as well, and actually the ones that - in conjunction with the title track - capture the whole vibe of this album best. The album concludes with "Street Spirit (Fate Out), another Radiohead classic.
"The Bends" is more than a collection of 12 incredible songs. It is a perfect mixture of guitar-driven brit rock and incredible, angsty, introspective lyrics. The influence of this album cannot be overstated - it preceded a lot of developments that should come at the turn of the 21st century in British rock. It may have been published at the height of Britpop, but it is much larger than that genre, and hat much more long-lasting impacts. Besides, it already foreshadows OK Computer, Radiohead's even larger, more important next album.
Timeless classic, one of the greatest of all time - of course: 5/5 stars!
The Byrds
2/5
Album No. 0048 on my list.
Well, I've known a few The Byrds songs before, and pretty much all songs on this were a new listen for me. To be frank, if I'd listen to this album again in a week or two, I would have the same impression.
I have to say that most songs on this album felt rather boring and uninspired. The title track, "Eight Miles High", and "2-4-2 For Trott" were the most catchy, most memorable ones for me on this album, and I'll likely listen to them again. The other ones are rather forgettable - sorry to say that. I didn't like the sound of this much either, although some guitar work was quite decent.
Might have given 3 stars if in a better mood, but I'll stick with the lower rating for now:
2/5 stars.
The White Stripes
3/5
Album No. 0049 on my list.
"Elephant" by The White Stripes is certainly one of the most important rock albums of the first half of the 2000s. I've listened to this album before, but it's been a few years since I've listened to it completely.
You got your obvious iconic banger ("Seven Nation Army") and there are some other very good songs on this ("I just don't know what to to with myself", "The Hardest Button to Button"). I' conflicted about my overall rating however - I don't like the rest of the songs that much, and I feel this 2-person band doesn't really appeal to me that much, even though the album has this nice garage rock vibe and I like its energy.
In essence, it's 3 stars for me - I was conflicted between 3 and 4, but my wife doesn't like The White Stripes, and she said I'd do her a favor if I gave just 3.
So, 3/5 stars it is.
The Psychedelic Furs
4/5
Album No. 0050 on my list.
To be honest, I've never heard of The Psycheldic Furs before, but I did enjoy the album! I'm always having mixed feelings about the whole post-punk genre; some albums and artists belong to my all-time favorites, some I really don't like. The Psycheldic Furs seem to fall into the former category for me.
The album combines a great sound and solid production with decent lyrics and a cool groove. I like the singing, I like the vibe, I like the style. "Pretty in Pink", "I Wanna Sleep With You", and "She Is Mine" are my favorites, but there are other good songs on this as well.
4/5 stars - well deserved!
Iron Maiden
5/5
Album No. 0051 on my list.
I've been a big Iron Maiden fan in my teens, so it was nice listening to this album again after a while.
"The Number of the Beast" is certainly one of the greatest metal albums of all time, there is absolutely no doubt about that.
There are only good songs on it, with "Children of the Damned", "The Number of the Beast", "Run to the Hills", and "Hallowed be thy Name" being the most well-known, and indeed, best ones. Yet, "Invaders" and "22 Acacia Avenue" come close as well.
My hidden gem on this is actually "The Prisoner", a cool combination of early heavy metal and classic 80s melodic power rock. Really liked it.
This is the first album with Bruce Dickinson on vocals, and while I like Iron Maiden's earlier work as well, there is just no comparison. He really is the greatest metal singer of all time. In addition, there are some incredible guitar licks in this as wel (e.g. in "Children of the Damned"), and you get your classic Steve Harris lyrics.
May well be my favorite metal album of all time (maybe tied with Metallica's Master of Puppets - how creative, I know). In any case: all-time favorite!
5/5 stars!
Solomon Burke
2/5
Album No. 0052 on my list.
Never heard of Solomon Burke before, this was a completely fresh album for me.
I like the mixture of rock and soul in general, but found the songs themselves not that outstanding. I find it hard to name any outstanding songs, even though on the other hand, none of them are really bad. I’ll add “Cry To Me” and “He’ll have To Go” to my playlist though.
In essence: 2/5 stars.
Neil Young
3/5
Album No. 0053 on my list.
Never listened to much of Neil Young’s work before, don’t know why actually. “After the Gold Rush” was my first full album listen.
I liked some songs, but not all. Solid mixture of folk, pop, and rock.
“Southern Man”, “Don’t Let It Bring You Down”, and “Birds” were my favorites.
Not exactly 4 stars, but close.
3/5 stars.
The Residents
1/5
Album No. 0054 on my list.
Never before listening to this album had I ever heard of The Residents. Unfortunately, after listening to this album, I don’t think, I ever will again.
“Duck Stab/Buster & Glen” is one of these albums where I can appreciate the experimental and avant Garde nature, but where I just don’t find any connection. I had one similar album like this before (by Throbbing Gristle), and in that one I even saw some talent. My impression here is much less like that. I hear much more randomness and just putting together sounds coming from instruments, whether they fit each other or not. Don’t get me wrong, I see why the band has done this, but it’s just not for me.
“Constantinople” is my… well… favorite among the tracks of this album, and I’ll add it to my playlist.
1/5 stars.
Jorge Ben Jor
4/5
Album No. 0055 on my list.
Never heard of the guy before, but like this album! Nice rhythms, nice groove, nice guitar work. I don’t understand a word of the lyrics, but I don’t mind really.
“O Plebeu”, “Taj Mahal”, and “Xica Da Silver” were my favorites.
4/5 stars!
Kendrick Lamar
5/5
Album No. 0056 on my list.
I’ve listened to a few Kendrick Lamar songs by chance before (found them to be okay-ish), was aware though of the universal acclaim that this album has gotten over the years. I’m not that much into hip hop (yet), so I was curious whether the good reputation of this album is warranted.
And what can I say - it is! I needed some time to get into it, but now I want to listen to it all the time. It’s really really good! As I said, I don’t have much hip hop experience, but I can definitely appreciate how great this is - not only the way Kendrick raps (although I’m not the biggest fan of his voice), but also his lyrics, and the music as well.
I will listen go this over and over in the coming weeks and at one point will probably be able to appreciate it fully. In the meantime, I can already name “King Kunta”, “Hood Politics”, “Complexion (A Zulu Love)”, and “i” as my favorites.
The reputation of “To Pimp a Butterfly” as a modern classic is definitely justified.
5/5 stars!
Supertramp
3/5
Album No. 0057 on my list.
I’ve never listened to any of the tracks on this album before, possibly because it doesn’t contain any of Supertramp’s big hits. I was surprised how much of a prog-rock album this is.
The tracks are mostly quite long, the sounds very much like the decade this was released in, and the lyrics are more complex than I expected. That being said, none of the tracks got in my head too much. “Bloody Well Right” and “Dreamer” were my favorites.
3/5 stars.
Big Star
3/5
Album No. 0058 on my list.
Never heard of either the band or the record before. Not sure why though, because I think this deserves a bit more recognition.
Sound and production were a bit ahead of its time I think, this album sounds pretty good for a 1972 record!
I don’t like all songs on this record (e.g. due to their respective lyrics and the singer’s voice), but “The Ballad of El Goodo”, “Thirteen”, and “When My Baby’s Beside Me” are cool pop-rock tracks that I’ll definitely listen to again.
3/5 stars.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
4/5
Album No. 0059 on my list.
Nice album! I didn’t know any of the tracks before, but I liked many of them. Cool lyrics, cool vibe, cool songs.
“No Action”, “Pump it Up”, and “(I Don’t Wanna Go To) Chelsea” are my favorites.
Solid album, will definitely listen to it again. 4/5 stars!
John Grant
5/5
Album No. 0060 on my list.
I have to admit that this album caught me completely off guard. I’ve never heard of John Grant before even. But this is the first album that I didn’t know before that really blew me away.
I love the music, I love the blend of styles and genres, I love Grant’s singing. Makes me feel oddly comfortable and relaxed.
And I love the lyrics. They may sound a bit clumsy occasionally, but that even adda to the album’s character. And most of them are really great. Love the topics, love the style.
It’s hard to pick personal favorites from this, but “TC & Honeybear”, “Marz”, “Where The Dreams Go To Die”, “Sigourney Weaver”, “JC Hates Faggots”, “Queen of Denmark”, and “What Time?” are the best songs on this (that’s already 7 songs). “That’s The Good News” is a strange, out of place song sung with a German accent, but at least I find it funny as a German.
“Queen Of Denmark” is already one of my favorite albums of the 2010s, and has the potential to become one of my all-time favorites!
5/5 stars!
Lupe Fiasco
2/5
Album No. 0061 on my list.
Never heard of Lupe Fiasco before, but I’m not that much into Hip Hop. To my limited knowledge l, this contains some solid Hip Hop Tracks, even though I must say that I don’t find many songs all too memorable.
I like some of the lyrics, though. “Just Might Be OK”, and “Kick, Push II” were my favorites.
It’s a narrow decision between 2 and 3 stars, but in the end, it’s 2/5 stars for me.
Faust
2/5
Album No. 0062 on my list.
For whatever reason, I’ve never listened to much Krautrock so far. Faust IV was a completely new listen for me.
I actually find it quite okay! I don’t think it’ll ever be something that really gets to me, really touches me. But I can a) appreciate the experimental nature of this and see its influence in the music that came after it. And b) some parts of this are kinda groovy, kinda nice.
“The Sad Skinhead”, and “Jennifer” were my favorites. Some songs consisted of very long instrumental droning parts. Didn’t like that too much, even though I - again - appreciate the influence these pieces of music had.
In total, it’s a narrow 2 stars, even though I could have comfortably given 3 as well. Looking forward to listening to some more Krautrock.
2/5 stars.
Supergrass
4/5
Album No. 0063 on my list.
I’ve known a couple of songs from this album before and liked them. The rest of the album is equally good!
“I Should Coco” is a solid album at the rougher, punk-esque end of Britpop and features some cool, fun 90s rock tracks. Everything’s pretty direct, pretty fun, mostly pretty short. “Caught By The Fuzz”, “Alright” (of course), and “Sofa of my Lethargy” are my favorites.
4/5 stars!
The Go-Go's
3/5
Album No. 0064 on my list.
Interesting listen. I’ve known the Go-Go’s before but didn’t know most of the songs. Generally, “Beauty and the Beat” is a solid album. I can definitely see why it is on this list. Very new-wavy, very progressive for its time. And also an all-female band which I think was quite rare for the time.
My favorites were “Our Lips are Sealed”, “Lust to Love”, and “We got the Beat.” That being said, there is a lot of consistency between the songs, but that also means that for me, there were few real highlights.
3/5 stars.
Neneh Cherry
3/5
Album No. 0065 on my list.
I had never heard of Neneh Cherry before; this was something completely new to me.
At first, I was very positively surprised, “Buffalo Stance” is a pretty cool song. Cool hip-hop/pop combination. Sounds very much like the year it was released in (1989), but that is not necessarily a bad thing. “Manchild”, and “Kisses on the Wind” follow next, and I liked both songs as well.
However, things get a little more boring and interchangeable afterwards. The pop/hip-hop sound continues and the lyrics are similar and revolve around the same concepts.
To summarize: a solid pop album, glad I listened to it, especially the first parts.
3/5 stars.
Nick Drake
3/5
Album No. 0066 on my list.
To be honest, I had never before heard of Nick Drake. “Bryter Layter” is a solid, minimalist mix of songs and instrumentals. In general, I found this album to be lacking a little bit of dynamic - they just don’t get to me all that much, although I can appreciate their quality.
My personal favorites from this album are “Hazey Jane II”, “One Of These Things First”, and “Northern Lights.”
3/5 stars.
Public Enemy
4/5
Album No. 0067 on my list.
I’ve been aware of the existence of Public Enemy before, and that was about it. So listening to this was a fresh start into 90s hip hop.
And I liked the album. Very powerful, tough, socially conscious lyrics, intense beats, lots of sampling. My favorites were the intro (“Contract On The World Love Jam”), “Brothers Gonna Work It Out”, “Burn Hollywood Burn”, and “Fight The Power”, obviously.
Interesting listen, very powerful.
4/5 stars.
The Jesus And Mary Chain
4/5
Album No. 0068 on my list.
Interesting listen! I've heard of this album before, but never listened to it. I like its overall vibe, the shoegaze appeal, the drum-computer sound and the way both singers sing.
My favorites were "Darklands", "Happy When It Rains", and "April Skies".
Because of the overall sound, its 4/5 stars for me, although I have to say that it's a rather narrow decision. Might have been 3 stars only as well.
4/5 stars.
Merle Haggard
2/5
Album No. 0069 on my list (lol).
I've never heard of Merle Haggard before, and unfortunately, the likelihood that I'll listen to his music again after listening to "I'm a Lonesome Fugitive" is rather small.
It's a country album, but rather of the boring kind. My favorite tracks were "I'm A Lonesome Fugitive", and "Life in Prison". The whole album is not terrible, but it's nothing I'd actively listen to. Could imagine it playing in the background in some bar in Oklahoma or whatever.
2/5 stars.
Nina Simone
4/5
Album No. 0070 on my list.
I’ve known a few songs by Nina Simone before, but few of them were on this album.
I enjoyed listening to it pretty much! Simone’s singing style is just so intense and powerful, her voice is just incredible, and I like the jazzy music of this album as well. My favorites were “Four Women”, “Wild Is The Wind”, and “Black Is The Color Of My True Love’s Hair”. Looking forward to listening to this again.
4/5 stars.
Bruce Springsteen
5/5
Album No. 0071 on my list.
First things first: Bruce Springsteen is my favorite artist in the world. By far. He's just great, I enjoy his music, his lyrics, his stage presence, his personality. At least three of his albums are contestants to be my favorite album of all time (all are on this list as well). So I have a hard time writing a review about this album in an unbiased manner.
If I try to do that however, I can't help but say that "The Rising" is certainly the Boss's weakest album on this list (a feeling that has not changed since listening to it again today). It does not compare to his 70s and 80s work.
This does not however mean that it's a bad album - not at all! There are some of his best songs on this, namely "The Rising", "Lonesome Day", and "Waitin' On A Sunny Day". I like the more modern, blasting, polished sound on Springsteen's first album with the E Street Band since 1988. The lyrics are highly powerful and reflect the horrors of September 11 in a very graceful manner.
Not all tracks on the album are as good as the mentioned ones; I feel that it could have been somewhat shorter. Removing a little baggage may have made the album somewhat better. On the other hand, you also have more modest songs that are still great however, at least due to their lyrical quality: "Into the Fire", and "My City of Ruins" in particular, which even have a nearly spiritual quality. I'll add all 5 mentioned songs to my playlist.
In total, I'm conflicted and torn but still arrive at 5 stars. There may be some baggage here, but there are also some big highlights and Springsteen is very much able to transfer is post-911 feelings into a great, powerful lyrics that are graceful and express grief instead of hate and anger.
5/5 stars!
Deep Purple
2/5
Album No. 0072 on my list.
I've known the album and its reputation before, but never listened to it. Some of the songs were familiar in their studio versions.
I didn't like the album that much to be honest. Most songs consist of very extensive guitar solos, most of which lack a bit of dynamism unfortunately - I can't deny that the instrumental work is good, the solos themselves are still not very distinct and characteristic. Most songs themselves are okay.
I think this is a great album for fans of a) the band or b) that specific style of (guitar) playing. As far as I can tell, the band really is in the prime of their abilities, and if you enjoy listening to the same track in different live recordings three times on one album, great. I'm a big fan of neither, so it's not my album unfortunately. "Highway Star", and "Strange Kind of Woman" will be added to my playlist.
2/5 stars.
Muddy Waters
3/5
Album No. 0073 on my list.
Of course I've been aware of Muddy Waters before, and I was curious about this album - never listened to it before.
I get why this is considered an important album. You can definitely hear the impact that Waters had on the audience and his charisma. Unfortunately, things are a little repetitive (may just be the blues genre for me).
My favorites were "I Got My Brand On You", "Tiger In Your Tank", and "I've Got My Mojo Working".
3/5 stars.
Buck Owens
2/5
Album No. 0074 on my list.
I could imagine that this album is probably on this list because it is the classic country sound in perfection. Perhaps it was one of the first ones perfecting this sound or so, I dunno.
Unfortunately, it sounds so much like country that it rather feels like a parody than anything serious. In addition, things are somewhat repetitive and a little dull. Maybe it's just not for me and country fans will be very happy to see this on the list.
"I've Got A Tiger By The Tail", and "Memphis" were the songs I liked best and I'll add them to my playlist.
2/5 stars.
Pere Ubu
2/5
Album No. 0075 on my list.
This is already the second Pere Ubu album on my list ("The Modern Dance" being the first one).
I found "The Modern Dance" to be a bit, well, weird and avant-garde, but not necessarily bad. I have a similar feeling for "Dub Housing", I actually may even like it a bit better. I like the overall sound a bit more. It'll never become a big favorite of mine, but I also don't hate it.
Not sure which tracks I'll add to my playlist, but I'll just go with "Navvy" and "On The Surface".
2/5 stars.
The Associates
1/5
Album No. 0076 on my list.
Phew, what do I do with this album?
First things frist, I've not been aware of the existence of both the album and the group. This was completely new, and i tried to get into this with an open mind.
Unfortunately, the whole album is just annoying. I'm not even sure why. It's not a terrible collection of songs per se, but I just didn't like it. The singing is annoying, the music is unnecessarily weird, I don't like its overall vibe. It's not that I don't appreciate avant garde music, quite the contrary. But this just felt unnecessarily annoying to me.
I'll add "Club Country" to my playlist, which is a song that at least somehow got stuck in my head. I'll likely never listen to the rest of the album, unfortunately. Bonus points (negatively) for the whole extent of the album - too many, too bad songs.
So, finally: it probably doesn't deserve such a bad rating, but "Sulk" will just get 1 star from me. I guess it's just not for me, or maybe I was just in a bad mood, I dunno. Sorry to The Assoiates, maybe I'll listen to the album again in a few years and find it better.
1/5 stars.
5/5
Album No. 0077 on my list.
I’ve been aware of the existence of PJ Harvey, but I can’t remember ever consciously listening to her music. “Stories from The City, Stories From The Sea” really was a first for me.
And one that I did enjoy! I like the music, I like her voice, I like the lyrics, I like the vibe! Cool record all around.
I’m a huge Radiohead fan, so I enjoyed both collaborations with Thom Yorke as well. “This Mess We’re In” is indeed my favorite from this album, alongside with “A Place Called Home”, “Beautiful Feeling”, and “The Whores Hustle And The Hustlers Whore”.
I’m a bit insecure about the final rating, but I’ve had a little streak of both mediocre and very bad albums and am in need for a very good one, so I’ll narrowly give the highest rating.
5/5 stars!
Kanye West
3/5
Album No. 0078 on my list.
"The College Dropout" is already my second Kanye West Album ("My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy") being the first one. Reviewing that first one, I tried to the best of my abilities separating the art from the artist, and I'm trying the same thing again in this review.
I found "The College Dropout" to be somewhat worse than MBDTF, but it was still surprisingly okay-ish. I'm not the biggest hip hop fan, but I can't deny that I had an okay time listening to the album. I definitely see why "The College Dropout" would be featured on a list like this. I didn't enjoy all tracks and found many of the short skits and interludes rather annoying, but there are certainly some good tracks on this. I've enjoyed "All Falls Down", "Slow Jamz", and "Through The Wire" in particular.
3/5 stars.
CHIC
3/5
Album No. 0079 on my list.
My very first proper disco album on this little 1001 album journey! I've known "Good Times" before, but all other tracks from "Risque" were fully new to me.
The album was nice, but I guess I'm not too much into disco music after all. Guitar and bass work was nice and I liked the overall groove though. And I do certainly see why this album is on the 1001 album list. In addition to the aforementioned track, I'll add "My Forbidden Lover" to my playlist as well.
3/5 stars.
Talking Heads
3/5
Album No. 0080 on my list.
My very first Talking Heads Album! I’ve never listened to the band much even though it’s certainly one of those bands I’m kinda supposed to like, so I was curious about “More Songs About Buildings And Food…
… and found it, well, okay. Maybe I just have to get into it some more, but for now I found it neither bad nor particularly good. I get why it’s and important album and I like its vibe, but none of the songs got stuck in my head, and I think I’m not the biggest fan of David Byrne’s singing. Anyways, I’ll add “Warning Sign”, “Take Me To The River”, and “The Big Country” to my playlist and probably listen to the whole thing again as well to see if it gets better over time.
3/5 stars.
Curtis Mayfield
2/5
Album No. 0081 on my list.
“There’s No Place Like America Today” is the second Curtis Mayfield album on my list. My first was “Superfly”, which I enjoyed much.
That is somewhat less the case for this album. I just found the songs somewhat less interesting and a little repetitive to be honest. I did enjoy the groove however that is present in every song on this album. Curtis Mayfield is just really good at that. “So In Love”, and “Hard Times” will be added to my playlist.
2/5 stars.
John Martyn
2/5
Album No. 0082 on my list.
Eh, I don’t really know what to make of this album. It’s kinda groovy, but I didn’t like the songs themselves for the most part and didn’t enjoy John Martyn’s singing in particular.
I guess I’ll add only “One World” (the title track) to my playlist. The rest was not necessarily bad, but rather a bit… well… forgettable. Sorry to say that, I guess this one is just not for me.
A narrow 2/5 stars.
Ghostface Killah
3/5
Album No. 0083 on my list.
I didn't have high expectations for this album, because I've had a few not-so-good hip hop albums on my list recently. I was pleasantly surprised about this album however, it's not half bad!
I like the rapping style, I like some of the lyrics, all quite decent actually. Not all songs were super memorable to me, and I don't really need any of the skits, but I'll definitely add "Kilo", "Whip You With A Strap", and "Back Like That" to my playlist.
3/5 stars.
4/5
Album No. 0084 on my list.
What do you say about this album? The album that changed the whole concept of what an album is? The most important album of all time? What is there to review even?
Well, first of all, I’m not its biggest fan. It’s not the greatest Beatles album in my opinion. Not by a long shot. But it’s still a pretty good one - and besides, one has to recognize its importance while reviewing it.
The first tracks are actually among my favorite Beatles songs: the title track, and “With A Little Help From My Friends”, the latter being my actual favorite of this album and definitely the best Ringo song.
Afterwards, the song quality decreases a bit. I’ve never been a big fan of “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”, and the tracks that follow aren’t as good as well. I like “Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite!”, though, and “When I’m Sixty Four” is a fine song as well. The other songs are less good, and I really don’t like “Within You Without You”. You know, I get why them going to India was important for the Beatles (and for music history overall), but I just don’t enjoy the immediate results.
Anyway, the album finishes strongly with “A Day In The Life”, making this a solid album where the highlights outweigh the lows and which gets bonus points for its influence.
4/5 stars.
Iggy Pop
3/5
Album No. 0085 on my list.
The first Iggy Pop album on my journey. This was actually a mostly fresh one for me - I’ve obviously known some of his songs (hard as they are to avoid, not that I would have wanted to). But “The Idiot” contained 8 completely new songs for me.
Well, 7 actually, because I’ve known David Bowie’s version of “China Girl” for a long time and learned that they’ve actually written the song tougher, and that Bowie actually played an important roll overall in the making of this album.
Anyway, this is one of the better post-punk albums I’ve encountered so far. I’ve had my troubles with the genre. Some albums I found okay, one not so much. This is an okay one. Besides “China Girl”, I also liked “Nightclubbing”, and “Dum Dum Boys”.
Solid album!
3/5 stars.
Elastica
3/5
Album No. 0086 on my list.
"Elastica" was something completely new to me to be honest; I had never heard of the group before - not even sure why, I guess I should have been aware of them before. Anyway, I appreciate an all-female band on here.
I found this to be a solid album. Nice poppy post-punk stuff, solid noisy sound. I'll add "Connection", "Car Song", and "Never Here" to my playlist and have the feeling that I'll enjoy listening to the album more often in the future. It's a narrow decision between 3 and 4 stars. Because I'm really not sure, I'll let a coin toss decide.
Well, and it's 3/5 stars.
Lynyrd Skynyrd
4/5
Album No. 0087 on my list.
Obviously I've known "Free Bird" before, but for some reason, the rest of this album was completely new territory for me. Don't really know why, I guess I should have listened to this before.
Anyway, I'm not sure what to make of this album. I think I like it, despite the fact that in my mind, it's mostly confederate stuff and eight minute guitar solos. I'll certainly add "Tuesday's Gone", and "Simple Man" to my playlist, beyound the obvious aforementioned "Free Bird".
Still, I'm not sure about the rating though. 4 stars because there is some really memorable stuff on here? Or rather 3, because it's still not my cup of tea? I've had the same issue for my last review, and I actually let a coin toss decide. Because I'm terrible at making decisions, I guess I'll do that again.
Well, 4 stars it is.
John Cale
3/5
Album No. 0088 on my list.
I’ve heard who John Cale is before, but I did indeed had to look it up again.
I found “Paris 1919” to be a solid album. Won’t become my favorite of all time I think, but I did enjoy listening to it in general. None of the tracks stood out to me completely, but I’ll add the title track, “Macbeth”, and “Half Past France” on my list.
Decent album! 3/5 stars.
The B-52's
3/5
Album No. 0089 on my list.
The only song I’ve known before from this album was “Downtown”, although that’s a cover song obviously. I’m general, I was curious about the whole album.
And I did actually enjoy listening to it. Catchy, new wave tracks, both female and male singing, cool stuff. Plus, the whole album sounds like the band actually had fun recording the whole thing.
Not all songs were that memorable and stuck in my head that much, so I’ll reduce my rating a bit, but will add “Planet Claire”, “Dance This Mess Around”, and “Rock Lobster” to my playlist. And “Downtown” (as kind of a bonus track) as well.
3/5 stars.
Cocteau Twins
3/5
Album No. 0090 on my list.
“Treasure” by Cocteau Twins was an interesting listen. Pretty unique actually. I liked the sound of the album. It’s difficult to describe. Dreamy? Space-y? I don’t really know. Very nice kinda background music - it reminded me of some video game soundtracks actually. Maybe because of the (I assume) alternative scales used?
The downside of this album functioning really well as background music is that at least to me, it was not all too memorable. I still liked it, but it’s hard to pinpoint concrete songs that I loved in particular. I’ll nevertheless add “Ivo”, “Lorelei”, and “Persephone” to my playlist.
3/5 stars.
Michael Kiwanuka
5/5
Album No. 0091 on my list.
I’ve Never heard of Michael Kiwanuka or the album before and it caught me completely off guard how good this album is. It’s really, really good!
I love the albums chill, soul-y groove, I love Kiwanuka’s singing, I love how well this thing is engineered and how great it sounds. Really cool stuff!
It starts of very well, “You Ain’t The Problem” was an instant favorite and I’ve added the track to my playlist. And the album ends very well, too - both “Solid Ground”, and “Light” ended up on my playlist as well. There joined there by three additional songs: “Piano Joint (This Kind Of Love)”, “Hero”, and “Final Days”, but to be honest, I just wanted to overcrowd my already long playlist and just had to select a subset. But in the end, pretty much all songs could have ended on my list.
Great album, highly recommend it!
5/5 stars!
Billy Bragg
4/5
Album No. 0092 on my list.
“Talking With The Taxman About Poetry” was a completely new album for me. Indeed, I had never even heard of Billy Bragg before.
But I did enjoy the album! I liked its simplicity, the reduced style and Bragg’s way of singing. His songs reminded me of other socially conscious singer songwriters like Woody Guthrie or Pete Seeger, just with a more modern, rock-influenced style. “Greetings To The New Brunette”, “Levi Stubb’s Tears”, “Help Save The Youth Of America”, and especially “There Is Power In A Union” were my favorites. The latter is a pretty good working class anthem.
Good album!
4/5 stars.
Hole
4/5
Album No. 0093 on my list.
Hole is one of those bands I’ve never listened to much, even though according to my demographic background I would kinda match the target audience of the band. Maybe it’s the whole Courtney Love thing, I don’t know. Anyways, I’ve known the title track before (and unconsciously a few other songs) but “Celebrity Skin” was a rather fresh album for me.
I actually enjoyed listening to it! It’s solid grungy rock, well produced, powerful. It was actually much better than expected (again possibly due to the whole Courtney Love thing). Not all tracks were top notch, but most of them are pretty solid and there are some very good ones on this. In particular: “Celebrity Skin” (as already mentioned), “Malibu”, “Reasons To Be Beautiful”, and “Use Once And Destroy”.
Good one! 4/5 stars.
Marty Robbins
3/5
Album No. 0094 on my list.
“Yeee-haw”, I thought to myself when seeing the cover, and I dreaded listening to “Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs” a little bit. It just looked like a country music cliche album to me.
And it is indeed, but I still enjoyed listening to it. There are some pretty good songs on this. Concerning the lyrics, you indeed get what you see: songs about the Wild West. Lots of cliches, but that doesn’t make the songs themselves bad. Besides, Marty Robbins’ singing serves the songs pretty well, he’s got a fine voice.
I’m putting “Big Iron”, “Billy The Kid”, and “El Paso” onto my playlist.
Solid album, 3/5 stars.
Lenny Kravitz
2/5
Album No. 0095 on my list.
I’ve grown up with Lenny Kravitz being presented as a cool rock star kind of guy, he was all over the radio when I was a child. Hence, I was quite curious as to how this album would actually sound.
Well, I have to say I don’t like it. To be frank, it’s mostly just generic boring mainstream rock and kinda mediocre singing. And the lyrics are… ugh… yikes. Yeah yeah, we get it… you’re a cool guy that preaches that love is good and hate is rather not. Tell me something new. I’m probably overhating the album and maybe it’s just me being annoyed, but I was on the verge of actually just giving one star. I respect though that Lenny Kravitz played nearly all instruments himself and if I’m honest, not all songs were that terrible. I’ve certainly heard worse.
I’ll add “Let Love Rule”, and “Does Anybody Out There Even Care” to my playlist. Beyond that, I’ll stick to Kravitz’ later works (which I know from the radio).
2/5 stars.
SZA
2/5
Album No. 0096 on my list.
I’m not really much into RnB, so I’ve never actually heard of either SZA or the album Ctrl (cool title though). I hence didn’t really know what to expect, but that doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing, right? I mean, no expectations are difficult to disappoint…
And to be honest, the album didn’t do much to not disappoint, I’m afraid. To my uneducated mind, it’s mostly just generic RnB, and the songs were not at all catchy despite this fact. SZA’s singing is quite fine at least. The lyrics didn’t appeal to me either - it’s not their vulgarity, I don’t mind that, but I still didn’t find them any good.
I’ll add “Supermodel”, and “Doves In The Wind” to my playlist (the latter actually because its frequent use of the p-word actually made it memorable at least).
*Sigh*, I’m sorry. I’ve realized that SZA is an incredibly popular artist, and I totally get why. I wish her all the best, but this is just not for me I’m afraid.
2/5 stars.
Stereolab
4/5
Album No. 0097 on my list.
I have to admit that I had never heard of either Stereolab or the album "Emperor Tomato Ketchup" before this album appeared on my list.
Which is a shame, because I did really enjoy listening to the album! It feels like an cool mix of Electronica, Britpop and something like... well Krautrock kinda thing. Since I don't speak French, I didn't understand half of the lyrics, but I didn't mind all that much and the mixture of English and French has a certain cute vibe to it. Speaking of cool - the aforementioned genre mixture creates a pretty cool groove as well.
I can't point towards a specific song that really stuck in my head (which is why I'm a bit reluctant to give the full five stars), but I'll add "Metronomic Underground", "Cybele's Reverie", "OLV 26", and "Emperor Tomato Ketchup" (the title track) to my playlist, because I feel they are representative of the album as a whole.
Cool stuff! 4/5 stars!
Led Zeppelin
4/5
Album No. 0098 on my list.
My second Led Zeppelin album already! (The first one being “Physical Graffiti”)
This will probably never by my favorite Led Zeppelin album, but I can definitely appreciate why this has been an important album for the musical development of the band. The album is much more folk-influenced than its predecessors. I don’t like that necessarily, but I definitely can see why these folk influences shaped the future work of the band.
What definitely strikes out is what an incredible accumulation of musical talent Led Zeppelin were, even on their somewhat less famous songs. They were really an outstanding group of musicians. I’ll add “Immigrant Song” (obviously), “Celebration Day”, “Since I’ve Been Loving You”, and “Tangerine” to my playlist.
4/5 stars!
Willie Colón & Rubén Blades
4/5
Album No. 0099 on my list.
I'm not that much into Latin music, so "Siembra", by Willie Colón and Rubén Blades was actually something completely new to me.
I have to say that I did enjoy the album though! Salsa is just such a cool genre, and the songs on this are really great. I guess I'll never listen to this because I'm in the mood for some cool salsa music, but this makes it all the better to play in the background regularly. Cool stuff!
I'll add "Plástico", "Buscando Guayaba", "Pedro Navaja", and "María Lionza" to my playlist.
4/5 stars!
Willie Nelson
3/5
Album No. 0100 on my list (yay!)
Actually my very first time listening to Willie Nelson! I don't really know why, but I haven't listened to him before - at least not that I can remember. Not sure why, always found him to be a cool guy. In any case, I was really looking forward to this.
However, I found the album to just be okay. Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad album - not at all. But I'm not crazy about it either. It's a cool, laid back album with cover versions of pop songs. The laid back style is actually the coolest part to me.
I will add "Stardust", "Georgia on my Mind", and "Unchained Melody" to my playlist.
3/5 stars.
King Crimson
3/5
Album No. 0101 on my list.
I was actually looking forward to this album very much. „In The Court Of The Crimson King“ is one of these albums that you see everywhere on lists of the best/greatest/most important albums of all time. Yet, I’ve never listened to it before.
The album is a progressive rock album indeed. Complex, extensive songs, Jazz and orchestral influences, you name it. It just seems though that I don’t really find a connection to the music, unfortunately. I’ve listened to it twice now, but I think I don’t really get the album. Don’t get me wrong, I think this is good music, and I understand that on an intellectual level. But I just don’t have any emotional connection I think. Again, this is unfortunate because I get why this album is considered to be so influential. Maybe it’s just the length of the songs. Sometimes I just had to wait too long for something exciting to happen… If my Gen Y monkey brain is responsible, I’m sorry.
I’ll add “21st Century Schizoid Man”, and “The Court Of The Crimson King” to my playlist.
3/5 stars.
Morrissey
4/5
Album No. 0102 on my list.
I’m a very huge Smiths fan. Like, top 5 artists of all times huge. I love all their albums, not least because of Morrissey’s singing. And I although like the two most prominent songs in “Viva Hate” very much, i.e. “Suedehead”, and “Everyday Is Like Sunday”. However, I’ve never listened to the album in its entirety, so I was really looking forward to it (Disclaimer: I also fully acknowledge that Morrissey is a horrible person, despite me liking his first band so much).
I gotta say I’m somewhat disappointed by the album. Not because it’s bad and not because Morrissey is such an obnoxious guy, but because my expectations were very high. Yes, I love the two aforementioned songs, and yes, they will be added to my playlist alongside “Alsatian Cousin”, and “Breaking Up The Family”, but the rest of the album can’t always hold up to the standard of those songs.
Many of the lyrics match the standard and contents of the Smiths and show Morrissey’s songwriting talents, but “Bengali in Platforms” has a weird racist undertone. Maybe this is the first time his racist attitudes first showed, I don’t know, I’m not too familiar with his biography. The music is pretty good - well composed and well performed, with a little more 80s bombast. But it doesn’t match the Smiths’ level as well. I guess Johnny Marr was just missing here.
Maybe it’s unfair to compare Morrissey’s solo work with the Smiths’ work as a band, but I mean, I guess you can’t really help it - it’s not impossible to do it. Well, and despite Morrissey’s terrible personality, this is a pretty good album. But it’s just not Smiths good.
4/5 stars.
Isaac Hayes
3/5
Album No. 0103 on my list.
I had never heard of either Isaac Hayes nor his album “Hot Buttered Soul” (what a great name) before. All of this was completely new to me.
I did like the music in general. Very cool soul, very good style of singing. I get why this is considered to be a hallmark album of the soul genre. Good stuff! The songs however are way too long, including minute-long spoken word parts. “Walk On By”, and “By The Time I Get To Phoenix” are my favorite songs, and I’m glad that single edits of these songs exist, because I’ll certainly add them to my playlist.
So in the end, it’s a close 3/5 to me. I would have given 4 stars, but dramaturically, the songs are not ideal, because they are too long. Cool artist though!
3/5 stars.
Various Artists
2/5
Album No. 0104 on my list.
Ho ho ho! There it is, the inevitable Christmas album on Christmas. I’m not really sure how to possibly rate this. For a start, this is an album nobody would ever listen to 11/12 months of every year. And in addition, well, it the main artist is one of the most important producers of all time, but also a murderer… then again… Phil Spector doesn’t even appear himself in the songs themselves (except on the last track)…
Okay… anyway… this album contains a lot of Christmas classics in a very consistent early 60s style. I don’t particularly like that style, and not all songs are that great. I.e., for many of the songs there are versions that I like better. “Sleigh Ride” by the Ronettes is probably the song I’ve been most familiar with, but I don’t like the song that much. Instead, I’ll add “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” (again by the Ronettes), and “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” by the Crystals to my playlist.
In essence, it’s two stars for me. Not a bad album, but also not a collection of super great Christmas songs, and the fact that it’s a Christmas album indeed leads to a somewhat lower rating for me. I get that the whole thing was very innovative at the time of release, I just don’t find it all that good.
2/5 stars.
Johnny Cash
4/5
Album No. 0105 on my list.
I was looking forward to this! Haven’t listened to this album in a while.
To me, “American IV” is the best of Johnny Cash’s American Recordings albums. Possibly tied with the first one. You can really tell that Cash was nearing the end of his life here, but that only adds to the atmosphere. Not all songs completely stand out, but many of the songs to, especially the famous covers (“Hurt”) first and foremost, but also “Personal Jesus”). I’ll add “The Man Comes Around”, and “Streets of Laredo” to my playlist as well.
4/5 stars!
New Order
4/5
Album No. 0106 on my list.
Oh man, I'm really not sure what to make of this album. I'm very, very much torn about my rating.
On the one hand, I've come back to this album three times now, i.e. I've listened to it four times. It really draws me in. On the other hand, I still don't "get" it completely. Yes, tehre is some really cool, innovative, "dance rock" music on "Technique". just what you would expect from New Order. Yet, none of the songs managed to be an instant favorite (interestingly, I didn't know a single of the songs on this, even though I've listened to many New Order songs very often).
I don't know - am I just thinking I should like this because I love many of New Order's songs? Because they're one of these cool British bands that you're supposed to like if you're into good music? I dunno.
Well, here it goes: it is a very good album, but not an all time favorite. I'll nevertheless add 4 songs to my playlist: "Fine Time", "All The Way", "Round And Round", and "Vanishing Point". But I'm not even sure if these are really the greatest songs on this.
Aaaargh - I'm really just not sure about this album at all... Okay, since it's definitely pretty good, it will get 4 stars. Could have been 3, could have been 5, my rating really fluctucates...
4/5 stars.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
3/5
Album No. 0107 on my list.
My second Elvis Costello album on this list. The one I’ve heard before was “This Year’s Model” which I liked pretty well.
In comparison, “Imperial Bedroom” is somewhat inferior. On a positive note, I did enjoy the sound of the album in general. However, compared to the previous album, it lacks some variability and dynamism. The songs are just not that memorable and interesting, so I’m giving it a lower rating. Still not a bad album definitely, I really like Costello both as a songwriter and as a musician. “Beyond Belief”, “Shabby Doll”, and “Man Out Of Time” will be added to my playlist.
3/5 stars.
Janelle Monáe
5/5
Album No. 0108 on my list.
Woah, what an overwhelming album - I had no idea what I was getting into! I had never heard of Janelle Monae before, but I was very surprised about how great this album is.
I love the eclecticism on this. Mixing so many different genres is not always good, but it worked out very well here. You got pop, jazz, soul, hip hop, even classical influences, but they work very well together. There is a large variety between the songs, but there is still a very high degree of coherence between them. The album feels very ‘complete’ in that sense. It’s not just a collection of songs, it is an album indeed.
Beyond that coherence, the songs themselves are mostly very good as well. Monae and her fellow musicians really showed a lot of talent here. Good stuff! I’ll add “Dance Or Die”, “Locked In Here”, “Cold War”, “Tightrope”, and “Make The Bus” to my playlist, though I rather think these are representative of the variety of the album. Most of the songs could have gotten on there. Heck, even “Wondaland”, a Christmas song, fit the album.
Really overwhelming in the best way.
5/5 stars!