Aug 07 2025
Basket of Light
Pentangle
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
4
Aug 08 2025
...And Justice For All
Metallica
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.
3
Aug 09 2025
Van Halen
Van Halen
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!
4
Aug 10 2025
Bossanova
Pixies
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.
2
Aug 11 2025
Superfly
Curtis Mayfield
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!
4
Aug 12 2025
Exodus
Bob Marley & The Wailers
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!
4
Aug 13 2025
Figure 8
Elliott Smith
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)
5
Aug 14 2025
Sister
Sonic Youth
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.
3
Aug 15 2025
Physical Graffiti
Led Zeppelin
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!
4
Aug 16 2025
Cosmo's Factory
Creedence Clearwater Revival
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!
5
Aug 17 2025
Rapture
Anita Baker
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.
3
Aug 18 2025
I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got
Sinead O'Connor
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!
4
Aug 19 2025
Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs
Derek & The Dominos
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?
3
Aug 20 2025
Joan Armatrading
Joan Armatrading
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!
4
Aug 21 2025
Since I Left You
The Avalanches
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.
5
Aug 22 2025
Different Class
Pulp
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!
5
Aug 23 2025
Debut
Björk
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!
4
Aug 24 2025
The Who Sell Out
The Who
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.
2
Aug 25 2025
The Modern Dance
Pere Ubu
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.
2
Aug 26 2025
Back In Black
AC/DC
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!
4
Aug 27 2025
Catch A Fire
Bob Marley & The Wailers
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!
4
Aug 28 2025
The Velvet Underground & Nico
The Velvet Underground
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!
3
Aug 29 2025
Highway 61 Revisited
Bob Dylan
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.
4
Aug 30 2025
London Calling
The Clash
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.
4
Aug 31 2025
Sound Affects
The Jam
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.
2
Sep 01 2025
Sweet Baby James
James Taylor
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.
3
Sep 02 2025
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden
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!
4
Sep 03 2025
D.O.A. the Third and Final Report of Throbbing Gristle
Throbbing Gristle
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.
1
Sep 04 2025
Ray Of Light
Madonna
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!
4