1001 Albums Summary

Maybe "Deceptacon" wasn't used on a Tony Hawk's pro-skater soundtrack but that's the only place it exists in my memory. This is my day 1 album. Can't lie, I thought this generator thing was pretty lame based on so many of the posts on the subreddit thinking that there is some sort of magic to the "algorithm" that literally just picks one of the albums at random unless pre-empted by the death of a particular musical artist. But I kept lurking the subreddit until I found myself commenting my nostalgic feelings for particular albums and now here I am. Le Tigre was always cursory to my interests since college. I guess their album opener is the only song of theirs I had heard (in Joachim Trier’s Reprise). The rest of the album is fine. I was a little surprised by the plunderphonics of "Slideshow At Free University", otherwise nothing sparked my interest. Caught up with the Yea Right! part directed by Spike Jonze. Street skating is so damn beautiful. Necessary declaimer: I'm not much for lyrics so there may be a depth to the feminist/political lyrics that I could grow to appreciate if I payed more attention to them. EDIT: While listening to my day 2 album, NIN's Downward Spiral I got a Nissan ad with a "Decepticon" ripoff by some awful band named the Smocks. The song is such a ripoff that they shouldn't get a dime off of it.

Would have preferred Pretty Hate Machine, unlike Trent who called it "immature" before this sophomore album's release. Never been a fan of NIN but Trent has composed numerous of my favorite movie soundtracks. He is the GOAT of contemporary film scoring but has yet to top his first feature OST for the Social Network. I was quite hyped to hear some similarities between that masterpiece and this album like the synth melody at the end of "Piggy". As suggested by the album’s wiki page, I don't hear the similarities to my favorite album, Low, but I get the art-rock vibes and sorta appreciate them. Similarities unlocked around "A Warm Place" and into "Eraser" which are two great tracks. Looking forward to hearing "Hurt" for the first time in over a decade and trying to divorce it from the obviously superior Johnny Cash cover. Christ almighty I hated that music video for "Closer". Kinda defines what I always expected to dislike from NIN's music right from the jump with the pumping heart to the sounds of the "music." Industrial just ain't my vibe. I think all my favorite parts of the extended album cut were my favorites in the song.

Pretty dull. The type of shit I ate up at 14 but grew to despise by 18. Now at 34 I feel mostly ambivalent about it.

This album made me feel old when it came out and I was only 26. Still doesn't connect but "The Louvre" is a standout track. I'm just not into the High School Musicalesque soul-bearing lyrics and vocalizations.

Had LP1 on CD back in high school, grew out of classic rock in college and upon relearning to like it, I have definitely come to appreciate LP3 as a masterpiece. I may never have heard this album besides "Little Wing", "If 6 was 9" and the title track. Now that I've heard the whole album I have to admit that even "Little Wing" and the title track may have been brand new for me. And "Castles Made of Sand" was most recognizable, possibly a track my guitar teacher tried to get me to learn. Overall a fine time, I may revisit.

Chungking Express is one of my favorite movies. It's hard for me to divorce this group from being anything but the source of the song in that movie and to be completely honest, I prefer the film's other needle drop, the Cantonese cover of the Cranberries' "Dreams".

Finally, an album from the 80s which should prove to be my favorite decade of music despite the utter lack of Hüsker Dü, Phil Collins' solo or as leader of Genesis, 4 seminal Replacements records and 3 by R.E.M. missing from the list. If you can't gather, I'm all for the inclusion of many albums by a single band. I've heard bits and pieces of this album. I definitely recall Sam trying to get me into them back in my undergraduate days and he most likely put "I Can't Help Myself" on a playlist for me more recently because that's the song I recognize the most (the allusion to the Four Tops is... well, tops!). What is so far the lowest globally rated album I've received is easily my highest rated. No surprise there. Load of bangers here, it's actually surprising to me that the rating is so low but folks hate the 80s so what can ya do? "Breakfast Time" and "Hokoyo" are standouts for me. Part of the fun for me here is going to be contextualizing the day's album with others that came out the same year or a year or two before or after. This album comes at the end of '82 less than a few months after Springsteen's sparse Nebraska which he would follow up with a similarly synthy album to this one in mid '84. Bad Brains, Dead Kennedys, The Fall, Mission of Burma, Misfits and the Birthday Party are keeping punk alive while the Clash gets poppy on Combat Rock. In the world of popular music, Roxy Music releases their opus, Duran Duran is something I'll have to listen to at some point, Prince releases 1999 and of course there's Thriller. Every review of this album on here seems to mention Talking Heads. I'm glad that band has grown in stature recently but I got pretty tired of their arty-ness and will have to see how I rate their albums after a few years avoiding listening to them.

Sorta always knew this band as the one that featured Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page for a time. Neither's on this album so it would obviously be advantageous to look as a showcase for Jeff Beck's guitar work whom I've never tried to get into. Nothing is standing out to me. I have a lot of catching up to do with the Blues despite my vast love for the Stones and Bob Dylan. I like "Jeff's Boogie' alright and not just because Destroyer could be referencing it on Dan's Boogie. I listened to then stereo version and hope to listen to the mono before I submit the rating but we shall see. Feeling like I might have to give this one star to accurately portray my statistics at the end of this 3 year journey.

Finally, nine days into this, an album I own on vinyl. Let’s see how many times I play it tonight and tomorrow. Shit opens with a second person narrative about a crummy dude who keeps getting fucked over in "Do It Again". Classic! The album takes its name from a Bob Dylan lyric despite this being a hip new band and Dylan being a decade into his career of waning popularity and acclaim (I'm the biggest Dylan fan, but I'm playing the historian for objectivity's case). In fact, 1972 was a year after Dylan released his second Greatest Hits album and a year of very little public activity from him. Still, that's the influence Dylan had even so long ago. Can't get into "Midnite Cruiser" the only mediocre Steely Dan song on this entire list. The 2 singles are hot enough that this is a fairly easy 4 for me. "Reelin' In the Years" is such a depressing lyric to such an upbeat track, I love it! The whole Dad rock thing is kinda funny but when you think about it, I was eating this shit up as a ten year-old boy (admittedly yes, through my father) and I may never become a dad. Across the pond in '72 Roxy Music was debuting, the Stones released their greatest album Exile on Main Street, Bowie topped himself with the Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, Yes' opus Close to the Edge*, T. Rex's opus The Slider, Sabbath Vol. 4 and Nick Drake laid the groundwork for the coming wave of singer songwriters with Pink Moon. In the Americas Lou Reed sorta finally breaks through with Transformer, Eagles s/t debut, Big Stars' incredibly titled Number 1 Hit Record, Neil Young's insanely well selling Harvest, Al Green releases two classics and a large amount of MPB or Música popular brasileira that I guess I need to check out. *This is what I had to jump over to immediately after the Dan.

Day 10, first album I've never heard of before. Don't expect more than a dozen of those by the end of this. Album cover and its backstory are killer. It's like a document of how the Big Wigs in the American music industry used to work. I'd rather be listening to XTC. They do all this, only much better. More of a 2.5 for me but I'll give em a 3 because the last song was maybe a highlight.

It has been ages since I've listened to Tropicalia and back then it was pretty much just Os Mutantes. I have since grown tired of most psychedelic music so this may be a tough listen. First track is pleasant enough and goes a few places to keep it from being boring as the Pet Shop Boys would say. I'm guessing Caetano appears a couple of times on the Luaka Bop boxset I have of their first 3 Brazil comps. His name carries a lot of weight. I feared this was a Donovan album when I first saw the album cover. Not to be so hard on Donovan, I like his big hits. "Soy loco por ti, América" is the standout song for me although in kinda a novelty way I will hold onto this one because I too am crazy for you, America. I love and hate ya!

I had the great pleasure to meet Ry Cooder's son, Joachim, at a screening of Wim Wenders' documentary on this group, who at the age of 18 played drums and percussion with these incredible musicians. I'm not sure if it was as interesting to him as it was to me but I told him that Bob Dylan was recording Time Out of Mind in Miami at the same time not far away from their studio in Havana. (I was not much further off as a 6 year-old in Jupiter, Florida. Yes, I feel special having been within 200 miles of Dylan recording one of his greatest records!) We chatted about his many, often illegal, trips to Cuba to record with the group over the years. He was a really chill dude raising a nice family.

Ok never mind now that's two releases I've never heard of even in the slightest but I will chock it up to the fact that both acts are from the UK and this is a UK centralized list. So far I'm digging this. Not sure I'll be likely come back to it though. Probably the album which I have the very least to say about so far. Well, as a final note I'll say that detractors of this album seem to compare it to muzak and I don't find the description fair.

Day 14 is the first album I am absolutely dreading having to listen to start to finish. How dare a British organization choose this to represent 80s American rock! Where's the Dü for fuck's sake. Album opens with a 40 year old Steven Tyler singing about young lust. Just awful. I'm shocked that I can sorta enjoy listening to this. Again, it's a band I adored during my first phase of music appreciation which we'll call the Limewire Classic Rock/Kanye era. I haven't bothered with Aerosmith much since I was 17, half my lifetime ago. Pop Metal, which I don't really think is a thing, is a worst genre for me for sure. This might be the peak of Pop Metal though. I could almost give "Janie's Got a Gun" 4 stars but it's too long and repetitive. I'm sorta really interested in examining the singles for the albums on this list. "Janie's Got a Gun" has a single edit that's just 10 seconds shorter than the album version but also a clean version for radio that comes in over 72 seconds shorter than that and will probably prove to be my favorite version of the song. Similarly to how the much shorter single version of "Love in an Elevator" would be my favorite. Interesting that Hollan-Dozier-Holland successfully sued for songwriting credit on "The Other Side". Hidden track at the end gets 5 stars but it ain't really Aerosmith.

Day 15, second album I have in my collection. I think I'll save the tarnished legacy talk for the third and final MJ album I get. First, I'll tell a personal anecdote. Once, a girlfriend and I snuck into a beachside Marriott to swim in their enormous pool with her twin brother and a couple of their friends. Shortly after we get in the pool, a DJ/MC that works for the Marriott comes out with her setup. On mic she declares the guests will now participate in her Guess the Song Challenge as if it were the most well known gameshow this side of Lake Okeechobee. Not having properly expressed the rules, I turned to my girlfriend, Emily, and asked, "What's she mean, that she's gonna start playing "Billie Jean" and wait till someone says 'Michael Jackson'?" Approximately, 15 seconds later the DJ began playing "Billie Jean" and indeed let the track continue well into the vocals until someone said "Michael Jackson!". I think the fact that I was able to guess the song before it was played goes to show you how popular this artist and particularly this album are. "Billie Jean" stands as the highest rated song of 1982 on rateyourmusic.com. Put this on after 11am and "Thriller" started appropriately close to midnight. I'm amazed at the sequence and timing of the singles for this album of which "Thriller" came at the end of, subsequently doubling sales of the album a year after its release. First and only single released before the album was the "The Girl Is Mine" a fairly mild song compared to the biggest hits. Paul McCartney comes across as super milquetoast next to a cool, young MJ on that one. "Beat It" with the arena rock guitars is my personal favorite. "P.Y.T." though gives the former a run for its money. Quincy Jones' sole song writing credit was apparently the title of the song after Peggy Lipton wore lingerie for him that had "Pretty Young Thing" written on them. I vaguely remember making a "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" joke before I started watching Buffy and my friend pointed out that I am literally Xander. Just happened to watch the "Dead Celebrities" episode of South Park as I've been going back through the show and catching up on shit I missed and rewatching some classics. I had never seen this one but I remember the first MJ episode well. Dom DeLuise is seated next to MJ on the purgatory flight and earlier today I learned that my Grandmother is buried at the same cemetery as Dom and Tony Bennett are, just a few blocks from where I go for therapy in Long Island City.

Probably had this on vinyl at some point as I can imagine picking it up from a Goodwill for a buck or from a local record shop's used section for $5. Been ages since I've given this a listen. Been a long time since I've seen Harold and Maude, too. I love Hal Ashby but I don't think that particular effort will hold up well. Afraid my review is gonna be nothing much more than Nick Drake did it better and he didn't sound try-hard doing it. How come Cat Stevens sounds like a 50 year-old man at 22? My Dad got me into Cat Stevens so I guess "Father and Son" is a vibe. First few tracks are sorta better though.

Day 17 and already the third release I've never heard of before! The duo's label Ninja Tunes is a label I own a release from though, The Bug's London Zoo, which might better suite this albums spot on the list. Or maybe Eno & Byrne's My Life in the Bush of Ghosts which this album wishes it could be. Even though this journey is mostly about exploration, I'll be glad to get junk like this out of the way early on. I realize I'm being unduly harsh so let me just say it's cool that this duo got Mark E. Smith and a teenaged Queen Latifah on the same LP. I'd like to know the story behind their discovery of her. She's the highlight of the record and I guess she doesn't even appear on the initial UK release.

Listened to the English version plus the French only songs. French is overrated, those songs blew. Why do you think Phoenix sings in English? It's songs! With music and lyrics!! We got this but no Bon Iver? "Doesn't matter" is the only song that stands out but I doubt I'd Shazam it if I were out at a bar and it came on. What is it about the MJ impersonation that I hate so much while I love when MJ does it? I guess it's the same issue I had with Kevin Parker's John Lennon impersonation or Foxygen's Mick Jagger one.

The top ranked album over on rateyourmusic.com I was on the Kendrick train by the time Section.80 was out. I had a lot more interest in Hip Hop at that time, let's say from the period of 18 years old till I was about 27 with K.Dot's DAMN. closing out that era for me superbly. I wish I could get his albums in order of release so I could reexamine the trajectory, but I may simply do that on my own time because Kendrick has always been a favorite. This an easy 5, almost every track gets a perfect score, too. Jazz with rap is something I like a lot. There are so many talented musicians on this like Thundercat and Kamasi Washington. A lot of work went into producing this absolute novel of an album. Sorta just gave this a cursory listen as it's an album I've spent countless hours with in the past but I'll definitely be putting it back into rotation. The “Billie Jean” line about MJ has always been like woof but there’s an added layer of humor now considering my days earlier entry for Thriller where I gave my “Billie Jean” anecdote. One (kinda) criticism: the supposed layers to the album title being a backronym for Tupac after you change "Butterfly" to "Caterpillar" is either genius or pretentious.

This is a stark but welcome follow up to Kendrick's To Pimp a Butterfly. I almost wanna laugh at how only like 60% of this album is Hip Hop but it's early days for the seminal American genre. Oh to be in NYC 43 years ago. Well the 1001 albums to hear should definitely have at least one song dedicated to Stevie Wonder! Title track is an obvious real stand out. It's a piece of history. I'm trying to think where I've heard it before but it's left a cultural footprint that makes it hard to determine.

Day 21, third album I own. Haven’t spun it a whole lot and always figured I liked his other acclaimed albums more but considering this one comes late in his brief career, I want to pay extra attention to it and hopefully come back to it when I get other Tim Buckley albums. I believe I once thought “who’s this black woman singing?” and it was Tim Buckley. Did the same with Adele. Wild that the Boss stole the whole album title/postcard design theme just months later for his debut album Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. Dylan's one time girlfriend/possible wife Clydie King sings backing vocals on this album which came many years before her time with Bob. Anyways, to the music. Over the top, maximalist self-indulgent classic rock that isn’t prog? This one may really need time to settle in. It’s a complicated listen. Didn't give the lyrics a good listen and I imagine they might be the redeeming quality to the meandering "Hong Kong Bar" and might altogether raise my opinion of the album.

Bowie recorded this album leading up to his death instead of spending time relaxing with his loved ones. It's fucked up but even those close to him probably agree it was the right move because Bowie was a consummate artist whose medium was popular music, thus he was positioned to gift the public with one last masterpiece. He absolutely accomplished perfection (a word I will be, and have been, using a lot in my reviews because hey! I like to like things). Since I've already spent hundreds of hours listening to the 9 Bowie albums included on this list I will take this chance to explore the Bowie I have never heard of the 90s and 00s. When I was a kid in the naughties, buying up every classic Bowie record I could get my hands on, the record store owner said he preferred that period of Bowie and I laughed because I thought he was joking. Now as a major fan of 80s-20s Bob Dylan I am fully aware that young rockstars can keep their light alive. This was my busiest day since starting so I didn't get to write much about individual tracks, but considering Low is my favorite album (and has been forever) I will just say it's absolutely genius for the closing track "I Can't Give Everything Away" to allude to the harmonica part on "A New Career In Town". I still think that album could be mined by young artists to create fresh sounds.

Hell yea, a Blur album I haven't dived fully into. This is going to be a great pleasure! The music video for "Beetlebum" is perfection. I need to go down the rabbit hole of Sophie Muller's music videos considering I've already seen hers for "Venus Like a Boy" and this album's following track "Song 2". About that second song, Pavement is one of the bands I have seen in concert most and story behind Blur's impersonation of their great American counterparts is great lore. Great too to follow up a Bowie album with "M.O.R." which alludes to Eno and Bowie's experimenting with identical chord progressions on Lodger. The third and final Sophie Muller music video for the album is for "On Your Own". I'd rate it over her "Song 2" effort but even that one is great. In love with how this song ends. Holy shit "You're So Great" is such a Guided By Voices song, I love it. Go Graham Coxon! Give your best impersonation of an American doing an English impersonation. Previously I had probably only heard the 3 singles that were included on Blur's The Best of compilation, so "Death of a Party" is my standout among the rest. Fantastically sad song. Nothing against the rest of the album but it doesn't inspire me to write much. Glad the boys got to experiment I guess. Not a bad time to bring up the Theory of Side A which I will lightly define as the phenomenon of full LP releases rarely having enough material to make side B even half as good as the first side. This album fails miserably and I'm such a full album listener it probably means I'll play this one a lot less. Hopefully I'll remember to put "Death of a Party" on a playlist, the one perfect track on the last side. "Essex Dogs" is a nice closer though. Ultimately my ranking averages out to a 4 based on 4 perfect tracks and a few more really great ones.

Peter Tosh's former bandmate Bunny Wailer's "Blackheart Man" is the real standout reggae album from 1976. And by most accounts, Tosh's follow up to this is the better record so I'll try to give that a listen soon. "Burial" is the standout track here written with the aforementioned Bunny. With a banger on either side of it in "Legalize It" and "Whatcha Gonna Do". Curious to hear if the earlier Wailers version of "No Sympathy" is the better one. The rest of the record is mediocre save "Ketchy Shuby" which is such a vibey track. I would have liked to have said more about the musicianship but I was a little too lazy.

Here it is. The day I have most been dreading. Music didn't mean much to me at 7 years old when this was released. Maybe I caught a glimpse of the "My Name Is" music video or heard a censored single on the radio but I have never been a fan of Eminem's. Horrorcore garbage, but I just read an incredibly negative capsule review from this site and the contrarian in me needs to like this finally. I guess I can appreciate Dr. Dre's constructions*, they are melodic and simple. Also Eminem's flow is undeniable, just rather not be listening to lyrics. "Bad Meets Evil" is a late album standout not in the least because of the featured rapper Royce da 5'9". I love that Bob Dylan could be the bridge between Em and MGK as he is an outspoken fan of both. Ultimately I don't have much to say about the album. Surely I'm not suited to parsing his syntax, but maybe I'll give that a shot upon a subsequent listen which I'm barely more likely to participate in now that I know Eminem's breakthrough album isn't unlistenable. *Oh wow I definitely thought production from the Bass Brothers was actually Dre. my bad shows how little I know about any rapper not from the East Coast.

I appreciate the cranked up and out surf rock vibe and none of the songs are bad by any means. Just so boring compared to their 80s records which I'm even a little bit unsure of how I will rate them upon a long overdue revisit. Would certainly rather have an entry for the Breeders before this album. "Dig for Fire" is the standout track. Sadly, I think every song they released before this album is better than that one. Track ratings average out at about 3.5 but the sum of the parts is not greater...

Love me everything I've heard by PJ Harvey, but I always forget that Rid of Me isn't her debut! I must have heard "Dress" once or twice, definite banger. The rest is completely new to me. Feels like the UKs answer to Kurt Cobain with exceptionally talented musicians (not a knock on Nirvana). God, if only Kurt had as much time to evolve as PJ has had. "Joe" is the standout track for me. Amazing drumming on that one.

Day 28, fourth pick I have on vinyl. Turning out to be a nice average! One of 6 records I own of the Heads. Loved this band since my youth. My dad would play “And She Was” and I’d hear some select tracks on classic rock radio. I remember being a senior in High School and thinking how lame it was that I had no one to talk to about how great this band was. Since my taste has veered more mainstream, I’ve been wary about revisiting Talking Heads. Byrne can be too winking in their artiness. Pretty hard to deny this from the first bit of percussion* and yelp that opens the album on "Born Under Punches". I think it's just the contrarian in me that turned against the Heads in recent years when their popularity rose even before A24's (ugh) rerelease of Stop Making Sense. There's a little too much energy on side A. Feels like you need to be on speed to match the rhythm of the music. Ultimately holds up and I can still greatly appreciate it. Just such a laugh that Born Under Punches charted in the 2020's. I have to give it 4 stars when 4.5 would be more convenient but 5 is just too high of praise if I truly want to know what my favorite albums of all time are. *Robert Palmer contributes to percussion on the album, gotta wonder if it's him! EDIT: Legit always thought MJ invented the moonwalk but it’s done numerous times in the “Crosseyed and Painless” music video from 2 years prior to its mainstream moment with MJ in ‘83. According to the wikipedia page on moonwalking, however, the earliest incarnations go back to the ragtime era. I love the music video for the opportunity it gave African Americans to represent themselves next to the obvious cultural appropriation of the album which only included one black participant, the backing vocalist Nona Hendryx.

Never been a Green Day fan. Would have been nicer to start with Dookie but I'll try my best to appreciate this despite it being the most mainstream punk ever got. This sounds so much like Now That's Punk for Kidz. "Holiday" is a minor banger as is the chorus to "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" though I'm afraid that's all this album (band?) has to offer me. Turns out "Holiday" is Billie* Joe's attempt at Bob Dylan. I am the man I am today because I never had a pop-punk phase outside of being tickled by the Blink 182 music videos on VH1 and MTV. *Of course it's Billie and not Billy, that wouldn't be very punk now would it?

Goddamn hippies make me wanna hate John Lennon and especially the title track but it's damn good. Buncha dull tracks on side B but then he closes with a stunner. Have to count three obvious perfect tracks: "Imagine", "Jealous Guy" and "Oh Yoko!" But so much of what is left I never need to hear again that I think I have to average this out to a 3.

"It's My Life" is one of my favorite songs and I've spent many hours listening to Talk Talk's final two records. The album has slightly diminishing returns. The opening track "Happiness Is Easy" is killer and by the time you reach the end of side A with "April 5th" the sound has veered toward a far less exploratory sound. Love the sad tone paired with a children's choir on the opener, definitely the standout song for me. I'm surprisingly unimpressed by "Living in Another World" considering it was a single. It feels too standard for Talk Talk but maybe it'll grow on me if I check out the extended cut and the music video. Finally the weirdness returns on "Chameleon Day" but it's ultimately too dull until that wonderful final half minute that hints at what they'd do next. "Time It's Time" is the best on side B. Groovy bass line, sweet choir part.

Day 32, 5th record I own albeit a truncated reissue from the mid 70s leaving off 6 (!) tracks. This is proto-emo. Also a predecessor to the concept album. Also, also one of the first major pop 12" LPs. That's a lot of trend setting! Ultimately don't feel it stands up to what the 12" LP soon became but this is from a time when the cigarette he's smoking on the cover was considered good for your health so what can ya really say.

Maybe not the Stones' album I've played the most but I'm gonna give each a fair shot at becoming my new favorite or seeing if Exile holds strong. Funny though how many times I've listened to "Love in Vain" and not known it was a Robert Johnson cover. I'll have to go back and listen to the original but the Stones really knock it out of the park. "Country Honk" is the song you would actually expect to be a cover and it sorta is considering they released the single "Honky Tonk Women" earlier in the year. "Live With Me" has killer sax; I always wonder what music broke Dylan's obstinance towards the instrument whether it could have been Bowie or the Stones. The title track is the most essential sounding to me. Not the best or my favorite but the one that defines this monolith that is The Rolling Stones. "Midnight Rambler" I mean, I have nothing against the mouth harp and this is a great execution it's essentially the lead instrument on the song nearly overtaking Jagger* in the mix. Keef always fools me, I thought his singing on "You Got the Silver" was Jagger doing a less exaggerated American accent than his usual Blues or Country singing. This song, however, along with "Monkey Man" bring side B down a bit in stature proving my Rule of Side A. God I've probably listened to "You Can't Always Get What You Want" over a hundred times, maybe mostly on classic rock radio in Florida but I've also played it plenty on purpose and at my first ever concert in 2005 with my pa, the Stones of course opened their encore with it before sending us off on that wonderful song about lusting after black women. That show was also the first time I ever smelled pot, but I would go on to smoke some not much later. This is an easy 4.5 so it's a mix up whether I want to give it a 4 or 5. I'll have to think on it. I think I like records that came before and after it more so I'll have to unfairly dub this a 4.** *Ah-ha! It's Jagger on the instrument himself. **Changed my rating to a 5 upon purchasing the record and listening again. From this I jumped over to Miles Davis' the Complete In a Silent Way Sessions from right around the same time that this record was put together. Wayne Shorter on the sax over here; beautiful stuff.

I can dig it. Seems like Ornette's influence was seemingly massive and I ought to check out his music more.

Easily my favorite record of ‘92. An album I get stuck listening for weeks on end. Possibly the LP I have spent the most time with but that would be difficult to prove. “Sweetness Follows” followed by the first 3 tracks of side B don’t hold up to the many singles released but I would never skip one of them so the album gets a 5. I never knew the title comes from a fast food place in Athena, GA. Great reappropriating.

Wow, right after Automatic for the People I get another album I have listened to for a hundred plus hours. One of the most genuinely tough records ever made. With one of the softest, sweetest songs "Androgynous" which may have influenced me more than any other lyric put to tape. This is a perfect album, one of the greatest of the 80s and still not even the Pats best. That title would go to Tim, specifically the Ed Stasium mix* that came out recently. Then 3 or 4 other albums tie for 3rd. *Hadta jump right over to this after finishing Let It Bleed.

Day 37, 6th record I own (seems like the first US pressing as "Watching the Detectives" comes at the end of side A) along with every other 70s and 80s Elvis Costello record on this list. My dad and I rode a train down to Miami* to catch him perform early songs for supposedly the last time. It was a killer show and Elvis was having a great time. Never realized this was released shortly after the passing of Elvis Presley. *Probably Iggy Pop was backstage as the two gents of rock n roll are buds and Iggy lives in Miami.

Great band but last time I gave this album a listen it bored the daylights out of me so this time I'm blasting it with headphones on. We shall see how it fairs now. Never knew "Fight Test" alluded to Cat Stevens' "Father and Son" but I'm terrible at recognizing melodies. Will have to do a back and forth comparison to hear it. My problem with the album is it's quite dull, using electronic bleep-bloops and sci-fi themes to masquerade as something more than it actually is a dull concept album. It's also sadly weeaboo fodder. I do love when musicians sample their own playing like on the "Pt. 1"! And it's an acoustic guitar so it is peculiar and appreciated. Ultimately such a boring song made worse by "Pt. 2" which is garbage. Okay so according to Coyne this isn't a concept album so my POV has shifted at track 5 which is basically preceded by a Yoshimi 12" single. Obviously gonna love the drum machine on "In the Morning of the Magicians" which actually might just be an electronic kit. I think I hate Ivin's stab-y bass playing. When he's being more adventurous I dig it though. Could be Drozd in either case according to the personnel. I cannot believe how much higher this album ranks than the Lips' masterpiece The Soft Bulletin.

Opening track is a damn cacophony, rest of the album is a welcome relief from that. I guess "Uncertain Smile" or "Giant" are the standout tracks for me but they don't excel enough that I'd throw them on a playlist. Could see the album growing on me if I decide to play it again down the line (maybe when I get their sophomore album). The non-album single "Perfect" is a vibe, too.

Second concert I ever went to, same venue as the first all the way down in Miami. Gnarls Barkley opened, I was obsessed with them at the time. RHCP had just released Stadium Arcadium and I was pretty into all of their music thanks to Limewire. I've since had an about face with this band and could almost laugh while listening to some of their music. Will be glad to never listen to some of these songs again after this. "Give It Away" is so-bad-it's-good for me. I want to give it 0 and 5 stars at the same time. "Under Bridge" is the only piece of music on this album. It's even pretty alright at that. Still, Kiedis' lyrics and singing make it a chore to listen all the way through. Second album in a week that has a Robert Johnson cover. That's about 10% his songs. How influential the man was.

Bottom 20 album on this site. I’ve always loved this though and am looking forward to getting Soft Machine’s Third as I've never listened to any of their music. Album cover perfectly paired to the music. Anyone who complains about the nature of this record probably thinks Picasso was an awful painter. Tempted to give this a 5 just because my Highest Rated section has a B&W theme going by pure coincidence.

I'd love to visit the year of my birth as a thirtysomething. This came out just a couple weeks after I was born. Delighted to learn the producer was an Italian American born in Queens, NY. And the two rappers are of Afro-Cuban descent. "The Phuncky Feel One" is the standout track but I don't have much to say about it or any of the other tracks as I didn't try to follow the lyrics. The beats are fine but I need some really special melodies in rap to draw me in. Excellent design on the album cover.

Love me some early Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds but have not been acquainted with Magazine or Barry Adamson's solo work outside of the Lost Highway* soundtrack. I'm more into the Soundtrack for a Video Game That Doesn't Exist than I am for this unfortunately. *One of the worst movies I've ever seen.

It's fine. Axl is so lame. Acting cool and tough is the lamest shit ever. When I was a kid I thought Guns N' Roses was the best band name ever, I cannot see the world the same way that kid did anymore. Had a sick ass Gn'R logo baseball cap back in college that I wore mostly for the design having ceased enjoying any of their music by that time. The singles are all I'd ever want to listen to going forward but I've already heard them hundreds of times and that's enough.

Big Dino fan, only heard one or two Sebadoh tracks here and there. This is excellent grunge music to me, but I guess that's me hearing Kurt Cobain's less grungy stylings' influence on this maybe? Kurt was meant to play a show with Sebadoh opening the day that he killed himself, the saddest moment in music history if you ask me. "Homemade" is an excellent track. Perfect maybe. I'm more into the Barlow written and sung tracks.

Heard some of this album over the ages but been more drawn to his debut LP. Love the man's simple melodic, repetitive beats. "Dry Your Eyes" might be the standout. I like when guitar is in the mix on this album. Not surprised that folks participating in this absolutely hate the Streets. Easy 3.5 for me and Original Pirate Material would be a 4.

Staggeringly important record that I've just never understood because grunge outside of Nirvana and the first few Pearl Jam records has never been my thing. It's possible I gave this album one full play through back when I was listening to the Time Crisis hosts discuss it maybe on the 30th anniversary. It still felt like I had never heard "Rooster" until the first quiet part of the chorus so I'm embarrassed to call that my first really standout track. The chorus is pretty memorable though! "Would?" would not in fact be one of my favorite songs of 1992 like rateyourmusic would have you expect by ranking it number 1 for the year.

Pleasantly surprised by how much I like this one. Not sure if I’ve ever heard a song off of it before. Probably avoided them cuz of the band name and album cover.

Day 49, 7th record I own. Always feel like I can hear the church when I listen to this. Beautiful stuff. Like it’s not coming from my headphones so much as I’m able to witness the live to tape recording of the album seated from a pew they pulled back to make room for all the musicians. Could very well be my favorite album of ‘88 but Daydream Nation and Isn’t Anything are forward looking so I’d probably have to choose either of those.

Day 50, 8th record I own. Another easy 5 I’m guessing. Will spin it when I return home. Probably my favorite record from ‘81 but I could dig deeper into the year. For the wiki (or anyone to state) its influence on “later sample based music is debated” is naive. It came out nearly half a century ago and the internet has existed most of that time. I think I’ll have to give this a 4 because side B kinda gets worse as it goes along. Still a buncha 4 out of 5 tracks though. Long day, don’t much feel like writing about individual tracks.

Day 51, 9th record I own. 3rd in a row! I was big into this band in high school. Looking forward to spinning this for the first time in ages. "There There" is still an absolute banger and I don't even need to rewatch the music video to remember that it's one of Michel Gondry's best. Nothing was bad but this very much feels like it can stay in my youth. Ever the optimist, I'm looking forward to listening to the recent Live release of 12 of these tracks. My favorite albums of '03 aren't represented on the list: Ween's Quebec, Sun Oil Moon's Ghosts of the Great Highway, Magnolia Electric Co., Jay-Z's Black Album. On the list, however, is Elephant by the White Stripes and that may rate higher than I go for this particular slight misstep from Radiohead. This is a solid 3.5 but since Radiohead has so much better music I'll have to give it a 3. Live release from just over a month ago: "2+2=5" is better, "Sit Down, Stand Up" is much better, as are "Go to Sleep" and "We Suck Young Blood"; all around this release is preferable. It's incredible that such an excellent studio band can turn the heat up even more live. It's too bad I've only seen them live once, in 2008 for the In Rainbows tour. They played "There There", "The Gloaming", and "Where I End and You Begin". I might go deep enough down this rabbit hole to find audience tapes and compare them to both the studio and live takes they included on their compilation but those 3 tracks aren't as improved or even altered really to warrant a third distinction.

Ain't got nothing against the King but I've always wanted to appreciate him more than I actually do. It's nice to like things! I certainly like his music but rarely love. Almost every song here is a 3.5 teetering on a 4 so I should definitely give this record some more plays. Unfortunately, this doesn't seem to be a top 10 record among aficionados; I've got so much more to explore to fully understand the appeal. I think I like sad Elvis and gospel Elvis the most but the #1 hit singles ain't bad either, none of which appear here although "Such a Night" reached #2 on Billboard. The non-album single "Stuck On You" reached #1 before the release of Elvis Is Back. It's a goodun.

Dre is undeniable. As previously (over)stated, I don't pay much mind to lyrics so the misogyny* doesn't bother me like so many reviewers on this site. Snoop's flow is nice. First time hearing most of these songs. Pretty into it all but nothing blew me away not even the singles I had previously heard. *Is it really that bad? Asking honestly cuz I didn't follow much of the narrative but just feels like party music and there's nothing wrong with that, a lot of rock and roll is deeply misogynistic it's not only rap.

The only 3 instruments I require to appreciate Jazz. Love Evans and maybe played this one once or twice years ago. What a wonderful tribute to the bassist who passed away shortly after the recording, which Evans and the label rushed into stores to honor and capitalize on (respectively) his death.

Love to see Neil Young covered but this version doesn't do anything for me, unlike Chromatics spectacular "Into the Black". Pretty unexciting stuff. Want to give it a 2 but it's fine enough. It'd be cool if I could find a new favorite record from the year of my birth but I already know most of the classics and boy do they step all over this. This is better than Blood Sugar Sex Magik though.

That is a joke NME, the 31st greatest album of all time? The top 35 are like: one of these things is not like the others. British music press is wild. It's pretty damn good but anywhere in the top 500 might be an exaggeration. No bangers but an album I wouldn't mind returning to at all. "New Generation" and "We Are the Pigs" are the standout tracks.

First time listening to these folks.

The best band with the worst influence on music. Veder should have trademarked his singing voice. Excellent debut and album cover. One of the best from my year of my birth. I’ve only played through it beginning to end once or twice though. “Once”, was the B-side to “Alive”, but I call that a double A-side. They refused to make “Black” a single but it still charted. Album is front-loaded as fuck but I’m sure real PJ fans love the deep cuts on side-B.

My apologies if you love this album but this may be the most embarrassing record on the list. Considering the non-revival of Glam Rock that didn’t occur around the release of this record I would say this is the least influential album on here. Had this been released in 1974 it would still stuck.

Day 60, 10th record I own. This was the first new* album I felt was a favorite since I was mostly into classic rock prior. It remains a favorite. I can’t recall the timeline perfectly but I think I was a fan of “The Purple Bottle”, “Grass”, “Fireworks” and “Peacebone” before this came out (thank you Limewire). Maybe I had heard all of Feels but most of the new indie music I liked were the hits. Every song is a 5/5 for me. *Kanye’s debut and sophomore albums were a big deal to me but I wasn’t aware of their importance while MWPP felt like a revelation. Other favorites at the time were Raw Power, Marquee Moonlight and Loaded.

Day 61, 11th record I own. The War on Drugs is to Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty as Tame Impala is to John Lennon. This band is the exception to the rule of ‘00s bands not using an article at the start of their name. The Strokes and the White Stripes started in the 90s, don’t @ me. I legit believe labels and managers asked bands to drop the “the” a la Facebook. Gotta catch this band live soon!

Even the really talented session musicians can't make this an essential listen for me. It's just fine. This is what I imagine most people are thinking of when they say something is "too '80s." Not a banger in sight despite 5 top 40 singles (surprised "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" only rose to #2) and a 6th and final single that's a Prince cover. "She Bop" is practically a novelty song and still rose to #3.

Day 63, 12th record I own. It’s late but I think I’ll put this on with some headphones and close my eyes. This is the most famous live record if you ask me, MC5 and the Allman Brothers Band be damned! It's honestly depressing reading negative reviews on this site; folks are so unreceptive. One person wrote "live albums are terrible" despite the fact that they like the band. It is now past midnight and I'm spinning Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy.

Love me some Smog/Bill Callahan. When I go to a concert I try to be the person having the most fun so despite Bill not having the most danceable music, I was non-stop moving when I saw him in Philly. After the show ended at least 4 people said, “Boy, you were having a good time!” Got my dad into “Jim Cain” as the first song on a mixed CD I made for him to listen to in his car. He loved it but I don’t think he went far past the first coupla songs.

One of the best covers of all the time, a coupla other good tracks and a lotta dull stuff.

This must be one of the lower rated albums from this list over on rateyourmusic but I love the man’s first two albums and have always wanted to check out more of his music. I rate Dwight Yoakam’s performance in Panic Room a 5/5 and this album a 3/5. Not sure why this one of Yoakam’s made the cut to be honest.

Don’t have much to say about this one besides the standard: holy cow do folks on here hate it. I’ve heard this one maybe a couple times before and have a Gene Clark record but No Other is his true masterpiece.

I’d rather listen to Dylan’s covers of the American Songbook canon but this is obviously super well produced. It’s like music that was only made to be played in 50s period films to signify the era. I like it though.

Joni’s been a huge blind spot for me. I’ve probably heard all of this record but I always knew I needed more time with it and boy have I fallen in love. First 5/5 that is newly appreciated. It’s not that I conflated her with Nico but I think I expected her to be similar and I don’t really like Nico’s music.

I’ve never listened to this group outside of Paul Simon’s Graceland. Shocked to see that they formed in 1960.

"Victime de la mode" is a standout.

I blasted ""Oye Cómo Va" at a MAGA crowd protesting illegal immigrants in Jupiter, FL in 2016. I figured they'd love that track despite their hatred of Hispanic people.

What psychedelic music do I like?

Kinda get Geordie Green vibes, wonder if he's a fan. "Someone" and "If..." are a bit of standouts. Not much else I'm likely to return to. Kinda like the melody to the closer; the interplay between the organ stabs and the guitar.

Only ever heard "Layla". Super impressive, and not in an eye-roll way, guitar playing. "Keep on Growing" got bumped half a star thanks to that guitar solo at the end. Why is it so much easier for me to enjoy white dudes playing the Blues?

A classic from the year I turned 18. I still remember telling Sam that I was surprised Ed Droste was gay and he was like, “really, with this music?” And I kinda get it, there’s a flamboyance and showiness to the orchestration. I once considered Dirty Projectors, Animal Collective, Deerhunter and Grizzly Bear as the Mount Rushmore of ‘00s indie rock. Grizzly Bear at Primavera Sound in 2010 or 2011 felt like the best show I had ever seen. It has been ages since I’ve listened to this though. Might be at risk of underrating this as I’m shocked to see it isn’t as adored as I expected.

Up on the Sun is the only Meat Puppets album I've spent any significant time with so I'm quite excited to listen to this. It's also apt for today cuz I was a Meat Puppet on set of Bad Day. This could grow into a 4 out of 5 but on one listen I'm unsure of a few tracks and even though I love the instrumentals it feels like they are structured to have lyrics and just don't.

Nothing wrong here and Robert Smith still kills it in concert in his 60s.

Not my bag but not bad.

More into the symphony part than the metal part though I can appreciate a good blending of both.

The opening sounds of this album are so tied to the act which the song and album title describes that when I played it not through my bluetooth headphones I was embarrassed and had to look around to see if anyone heard.

Weird music for normies. It sucks so much that it’ll be the first album I did not finish listening to. Made it 82 albums but this shit knocked me out. Listening to Structures from Silence as a pallet cleanser.

Shocked I never heard of this still going NYC protopunk outfit!

One of the most underrated albums of all time. Maybe underrated is wrong but certainly it isn't appreciated by as big of an audience as it deserves. "Bonny" has an S-tier chorus.

When I was 16 or 17 I went to a hip hop music festival in Miami. Black dude who came late and sat next to me was smoking his blunt and sorta giving me a cold shoulder. That was until we had the chance to chat in between sets and became fast friends. We were pogoing and grab each other’s backs while Nas performed.

Had never heard of this band so sorta used this one as a litmus test for the list altogether if not just the more contemporary additions to later editions of the book. Did not really appeal to me. I wonder what the American equivalent would be to a lot of these middling British bands.

Always been impressed with George Michael’s talent since learning he produced his own music.

I always think about this band when I hear “black Irish”. “Cowboy Song” into “The Boys Are Back in Town” is excellence, wonder if that’s how it was done live.

“Our Lips Are Sealed” is a standout. I’m into the rest. All new to me!

I like this because there are 4 guitar players and a drummer like all southern rock ought to have.

Not for 34 year old me but 13 year old me loved the Dragon Ball Z fan cut he found of “In the End” to Vegeta training.

Recorded in The Rolling Stones Mobile Recording Studio in Switzerland. Never knew he was recalling a true story in "Smoke on the Water". Not much to write, it's good rock and roll uhhhh music!

Wasn't aware of this collaboration but even more surprised by the revelation that this Jobim fella should have been named along with Stan Getz and João Gilberto for their popular collaboration 3 years prior. Nothing really standouts but I wouldn't mind giving this album some more time.

There were a coupla years when the Bad Seeds were probably my favorite band. Still love the stuff. So many great melodies on this album.

Was mostly into the last few tracks but maybe that’s just when I started paying more attention to the instrumentation.

It's fine, hopefully I'll like one of the other Metallica albums more.

Not as into it as I was as a kid.

Saw them on the tour for this album in West Palm Beach. Liars opened and I may have booed them…

Day 102, 13th record I own. Nearly 40 days since the last one I had in my collection! Only got this one recently and it’s a reissue from the 70s but a real first edition would be expensive. Love this band and their name still delights me. I’ve always thought of them as the outsider British group with the insider crowd being of course the Beatles, the Stones, and the Who.

Listened in an early morning daze at 5am on the way to a bus that took me to East Rutherford for the fifth time to shoot a Jamie Foxx movie for Netflix.

Not bad for some britpop I’ve never heard before.

Not bad at all; I expected to hate something from the 60s that I’d never heard of before. I did, however, fall asleep listening to the second side not cuz it’s hypnogogic but because I’m simply exhausted from this Fight for ‘84 show.

I could see it growing on me but I also don't imagine I'll revisit.

Listened to this along with a few other Zepp albums about a month ago and I must say that my rating for this one has vastly improved from that time to this. I have finally trounced my Led Zeppelin apathy! There was a time they were my favorite band and I cherished the fact that I knew every single one of their studio recordings well. Once I went to college and started listening to more contemporary music than classic rock, I fell out of love with this band hard.

Kanye is my favorite hip hop producer. To some that would sound like a controversial statement. To me it’s so uncontroversial that I think second place (RZA? Q-Tip?) wouldn’t even touch Ye at first. That being said, I’ve never listened to this album and am prepared to love it.

Wow I really hate this band that I loved at 15. “Scar Tissue” slaps, that’s about it. I’ll give this one a 2 for that song.

Jeez, if I were trying to appeal to myself with a masterpiece record I’d definitely make the cover B&W at this point.

I used to think this was one of the best albums of all time, now I don’t really care to listen to it any more. Tried selling my record from 2008 or so but the dude wouldn’t take it from me. Naive melody: the album. Is that Owen Pallette on violin? Cuz he’s the only instrument doing anything but too much at the same time.

The sorta album that your elder friend David claims he made half a century ago and you act like, “sure you did, David” only to look it up later and it’s actually real only it doesn’t entirely suck so you feel obligated to listen to the whole thing and have an opinion on it.

I once shoved a guy at a Sharon Van Etten concert cuz after Norah Jones came out as a surprise guest he wouldn’t put his phone down just started recording the entire concert and I got tired of the bright phone light in my line of sight. Shoving him was probably taking things a step too far but it sorta makes me laugh now. Anyway, the album has mass appeal. Nothing wrong with that.

Extremely rare instance of the opening track being the worst on the album instead of the best. That’s how full of themselves U2 were at this point in their career. Biggest band in the world for sure! First album from my birth year? What a great year for music ‘91 was. Now I wanna hop down the rabbit hole and find my top ten from that year. This could make it but might fall closer to top 20. This is a definite 4.5 so for the moment I’m gonna give it a 4 and may edit to a 5 if I feel like later.

Depeche Mode put in the work for their first decade and at the start of the ‘90s boy did it pay off.

Got a 7” of “Heart of Glass” which is a banger for all time, rest of the album is fine.

A mid record from my birth year. Could grow on me.

While my browsing of rateyourmusic.com has made me exceedingly aware of this album, I can still count this as one of too few albums on this list I know too little about.

The most important record from ‘72 if you ask me. I guess that’s because I’m a depressive straight white dude but yea.