My 1001 Albums Journey

103

Albums Rated

3.09

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Complete

986 albums remaining

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2000s

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Metal

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Wordsmith

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5-Star Albums

1-Star Albums

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By Genre

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Albums

You Love More Than Most

Album	You	Global	Diff
Dig Me Out Sleater-Kinney	5	3.08	+1.92
Pretzel Logic Steely Dan	5	3.39	+1.61
Iron Maiden Iron Maiden	5	3.4	+1.6
Palo Congo Sabu	4	2.69	+1.31
Metallica Metallica	5	3.79	+1.21
Gris Gris Dr. John	4	2.88	+1.12
Felt Mountain Goldfrapp	4	3	+1

You Love Less Than Most

Album	You	Global	Diff
My Generation The Who	1	3.42	-2.42
Something/Anything? Todd Rundgren	1	3.03	-2.03
Freak Out! The Mothers Of Invention	1	2.83	-1.83
Maggot Brain Funkadelic	2	3.6	-1.6
The Wildest! Louis Prima	2	3.53	-1.53
1984 Van Halen	2	3.5	-1.5
Oar Alexander 'Skip' Spence	1	2.46	-1.46
Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols Sex Pistols	2	3.46	-1.46
Public Image: First Issue Public Image Ltd.	1	2.43	-1.43
Crime Of The Century Supertramp	2	3.41	-1.41

5-Star Albums (6)

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Popular Reviews

Connected

Stereo MC's

3/5

Perfectly solid, really a 3.5. No true standout tracks but Connected, Playing with Fire, The End were all enjoyable

1 likes

4-Star Albums (28)

A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector

1-Star Albums (6)

All Ratings

Duck Stab/Buster & Glen

The Residents

2/5

Not sure this was a great place to start this project. Kinda dug The Electrocutioner though

Ramones

3/5

Started strong - have always like Blitzkrieg Bop - but the guitar riffs felt redundant by like song five

From Elvis In Memphis

Elvis Presley

4/5

I owe you an apology Elvis, wasn’t familiar with your game. Suspicious Minds is so good. Really liked the whole album minus In the Ghetto. Didn’t know he had the country crooner element late in his career

Aftermath

The Rolling Stones

2/5

Really only liked a couple songs here (Out of Time was the highlight). Decent guitar riffs but Jagger’s vocals really irritate me, especially in the first half.

Joan Armatrading

3/5

Solid enough soul album, not especially memorable. Tall in the Saddle was my favorite, I guess

Harvest

Neil Young

3/5

Thought most of it was just ok despite my love for the harmonica. Would’ve bumped a half star if I were allowed for Heart of Gold, which announces itself as a masterpiece from the opening guitar strum

Oar

Alexander 'Skip' Spence

1/5

Felt interminable listening to this dude’s off-key mumbling over low tempo guitar riffs. Outside of the Grey/This Time He has Come pairing, unlistenable

Palo Congo

Sabu

4/5

Consistently dig the Afro-Cuban stuff. The drums and vibe on this basically hit in every song. Rhapsodia probably my favorite but liked all eight to varying degrees

Liege And Lief

Fairport Convention

3/5

Really enjoyed Matty Groves, especially the guitar outro. Appreciated Quiet Joys as an almost dream pop feel. Got a little redundant though, playing as a lyrical combo of Middle Ages nursery rhyme and an anthem for a pagan orgy like the one from Seconds

Metallica

5/5

Masterpiece. Banger after banger. The contrast between Sad but True and Nothing Else Matters, both incredible, blew me away

My Generation

The Who

1/5

I still find The Who pretty grating. More energy on The Ox instrumental than the rest of the album combined. Found most of this pretty generic 60s stuff. A Legal Matter is nails on a chalkboard bad

Achtung Baby

4/5

Strong. Loved One, second half was pretty consistent

Fromohio

fIREHOSE

2/5

Had some decent guitar riffs but this was pretty indistinguishable for me and I don’t think there’s much chance I ever go back to anything here.

Tommy

The Who

2/5

Black Sabbath

4/5

First four songs here were good, especially N.I.B.

All Directions

The Temptations

3/5

Unmemorable aside from Rolling Stone but that song does a lot of the heavy lifting

Me Against The World

2Pac

3/5

Not my favorite Tupac. Second half is pretty generic and the album’s a little too long. First eight are pretty good though

The Boatman's Call

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

2/5

The songs here were pretty indistinguishable

Dig Me Out

Sleater-Kinney

5/5

Blown away by this one. Figured this would not be my speed but Tucker’s voice has a unique intensity and the guitar riffs are consistently great. The first three songs, especially One More Hour, are so good

Machine Head

Deep Purple

3/5

Fine mostly indistinguishable guitar riffs.

Back In Black

AC/DC

3/5

I get why this is a classic, just not my thing. Pretty good guitar but the vocals are the same on every song and none of these are ones I’d really go back to despite how iconic a lot of them are

808 State

3/5

This level of energy becomes a little tiring after 40 minutes but the back to back of Pacific and Donkey Doctor is pretty strong.

Kollaps

Einstürzende Neubauten

2/5

Takes a little getting used to but I mostly came around by the second half, when they softened it a little and were less likely to have the dude screaming shit in German over the top of it. First half probably more authentic but tough to listen to My enjoyment of this was more a one but I’ll toss it a star for being weird as hell. Sado-Masodub is a low key banger

Songs In The Key Of Life

Stevie Wonder

3/5

Preferred the more upbeat, funk-influenced stuff to most of the ballads here. Liked it but was a little underwhelmed overall given Wonder’s obvious talent. Assume there’ll be others of his that I like more

Rumours

Fleetwood Mac

5/5

Knew this was going to be great and it was somehow even better than I expected. Go Your Own Way and Dreams on the same album is crazy enough, but The Chain and I Don’t Want To Know were discoveries for me

Sticky Fingers

The Rolling Stones

3/5

This was solid. Wild Horses only one I really love though. Moonlight Mile’s my favorite of ones I’d never heard. More 3.5 than 3

Selected Ambient Works 85-92

Aphex Twin

4/5

Really liked this one. Started as a kind of spa relaxing vibe and built energy as it went along. Hedphelym probably the best of both worlds

No Other

Gene Clark

4/5

Maybe a little redundant in its downbeat tone but kind of blended country and soft rock in a way that worked. Title track was my favorite

Purple Rain

Prince

3/5

Better than the movie but I still don’t really get the Prince appeal. Title track is great and the back half of the album generally is pretty solid, but the first five songs didn’t work for me

Endtroducing.....

DJ Shadow

3/5

Liked this but don’t know enough about the genre to understand why this is viewed as so much better than most albums that do the same kind of thing

Fear Of Music

Talking Heads

3/5

Liked this but kind of expected to be more in on it. Heaven and Drugs only two that I could see myself coming back to much

Time Out

The Dave Brubeck Quartet

3/5

Perfectly solid background music. Take Five my favorite

Low

David Bowie

4/5

Really good. Somehow felt both a wonderment for life and a sense of melancholy.

Locust Abortion Technician

Butthole Surfers

1/5

“Ooh we’re so edgy and provocative” fuck off

Speakerboxxx/The Love Below

OutKast

4/5

Speakerboxx is a bunch of bangers. Love Below kinda hit or miss but Hey Ya/Roses back to back is classic and I appreciate that the halves are so different stylistically

Grace

Jeff Buckley

4/5

Whatever worries I had about this getting a little repetitive vocally are eased by how good Buckley is at that kind of ballad and the variety in the guitar through the album. Hallelujah the obvious classic but Mojo Pin probably my favorite

One Nation Under A Groove

Funkadelic

3/5

This was alright. Dug Maggot Brain

Oracular Spectacular

MGMT

3/5

Face to Face

The Kinks

3/5

Back half wasn’t bad, liked You’re Looking Fine. Low-end three

1984

Van Halen

2/5

Couple recognizable songs here I’ve never really liked. Kinda went for I’ll Wait but otherwise the synth rock just isn’t really my thing

The Stone Roses

4/5

Eliminator

ZZ Top

3/5

Generally solid 80s rock without many standouts. Thug probably my favorite

Raising Hell

Run-D.M.C.

3/5

It’s Tricky, blast from the past

The Chronic

Dr. Dre

3/5

Nuthin but a G thang only great song on here. Mostly a precursor to better West Coast stuff later in the 90s. Laughed my ass off at the pyramid one

Live!

Fela Kuti

4/5

That drum solo was electric

good kid, m.A.A.d city

Kendrick Lamar

4/5

good kid and Art of Peer Pressure both really good revelations for me

Tigermilk

Belle & Sebastian

2/5

Duck Rock

Malcolm McLaren

3/5

Not sure any of these songs are memorable but credit for an album that combines square dancing and African drumming. Buffalo Gals and Soweto two best

Maggot Brain

Funkadelic

2/5

Title track only one that works for me

Tapestry

Carole King

3/5

It’s Too Late best song on here. Mostly solid beyond that, liked Will You Love Me Tomorrow

Murmur

R.E.M.

3/5

Generally fine but nothing that blew me away

Entertainment

Gang Of Four

3/5

Got a little redundant in the middle but pretty solid bookends. Ether or 5.45 the best

Steve McQueen

Prefab Sprout

2/5

Liked the first two songs but it went downhill pretty quickly after that. Horsin’ Around sounded like the worst song from a Gene Kelly movie

Behaviour

Pet Shop Boys

3/5

Wish I found the singer a more compelling vocal presence because I dig the synth pop backgrounds on most of these. First two songs best on the album

At Newport 1960

Muddy Waters

3/5

Pretty good. I Got My Brand On You is super catchy

Adele

4/5

Mostly still just love the popular ones but Lovesong was a solid revelation

Gris Gris

Dr. John

4/5

Can’t believe I liked this as much as I did. Title track and guilded splinters both good. Weird blend of jazz and horror?

Queen II

Queen

3/5

No real complaints but the operatic Queen style still isn’t really my thing. This was fine but no reason to listen again

1977

Ash

2/5

Marquee Moon

Television

4/5

Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols

Sex Pistols

2/5

One-note provocateurs. Influential I guess but a miserable listening experience

Ragged Glory

Neil Young & Crazy Horse

3/5

The Stooges

4/5

On the 3/4 border, rounding up for the trippy We Will Fall. Vocals can be a little grating but weirdly entrancing instrumentals that feel like a cross between counterculture rock and early funk

Only By The Night

Kings of Leon

3/5

Bass was consistently great but rest of this was a little up and down. Manhattan, Closer and Cold Desert worked. Revelry, 17 and Be Somebody not so much

Catch A Fire

Bob Marley & The Wailers

3/5

Solid background music to vibe to. Not sure reggae’s really capable of more than that for me. Midnight Ravers elevates this to 3.5 though

Tracy Chapman

4/5

Tonally and lyrically a little redundant but Chapman’s vocals carry it through and Fast Car is brilliant — combining the class commentary she’s after throughout the album with a genuine emotional impact and bittersweet search for connection in a lonely world

Exodus

Bob Marley & The Wailers

4/5

Guess it’s possible for me to love reggae after all. This is a banger. Natural Mystic, Exodus, Jamming, Three Little Birds all phenomenal. Dug the Marvin Gaye riff on Turn Your Lights Down too

Heroes

David Bowie

4/5

Right on 3/4 border. Title track was great and mostly instrumental second half (especially contrast between Sense of Doubt and Moss Garden) was good

Felt Mountain

Goldfrapp

4/5

Not sure how to describe this. Felt like crossing a 60s piano singer with a rhythmic, sci-fi/horror new age background. Dug it Human best song on here

Crime Of The Century

Supertramp

2/5

Closed with its best three minutes, title track was top. Not sure why this didn’t really work for me overall though. Liked it when it toned back but felt a little derivative of Queen when they ramped up intensity

The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan

3/5

Still find that it’s more that I respect Dylan rather than love his work. This album is pretty frontloaded. Blowing in the Wind naturally best one here, Dylan’s Blues probably my favorite of stuff I’d never heard before

Marcus Garvey

Burning Spear

3/5

Low-end three. Don’t have much to say here, it’s fine. Liked Old Marcus Garvey and Red, Gold and Green well enough

Here, My Dear

Marvin Gaye

2/5

Surprisingly lifeless vocal performance

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

4/5

American Girl is a classic. Breakdown/Mystery Man pretty his discoveries

The Wildest!

Louis Prima

2/5

Pretty inane lyrics and kind of redundant even with every song being pretty short. 50s music might just be too far back for me to really appreciate

MTV Unplugged In New York

Nirvana

3/5

No individual song that really jumped off the page for me (Sunbeam probably closest to that) but Cobain’s a great vocalist and I like the bass enough to have this on the 3/4 border

The Marshall Mathers LP

Eminem

4/5

A little juvenile perhaps but first half is absurd (Stan’s an all timer) and you do get a sense both of Eminem’s outsider energy and his response to moral handwringing about rap

Ace of Spades

Motörhead

2/5

Pretty sure thrash is just not going to be my thing

Let's Stay Together

Al Green

3/5

Title track and Broken Heart were pretty good. Everything else was meh, low-end 3

To Pimp A Butterfly

Kendrick Lamar

4/5

Final few songs tipped this from 3 to 4. Blacker the Berry probably the rawest, but i and Mortal Man excellent ways to wrap this. King Kunta probably my favorite track on here overall

At Mister Kelly's

Sarah Vaughan

2/5

Wanted to like this more because Vaughan’s game for it and I appreciate her mix of self-deprecating humor, but this felt pretty generic overall. Just One of Those Things only one that felt distinctive to me

Rip It Up

Orange Juice

3/5

Weird blend of African influences and 80s pop that kind of worked

Connected

Stereo MC's

3/5

Perfectly solid, really a 3.5. No true standout tracks but Connected, Playing with Fire, The End were all enjoyable

Definitely Maybe

Oasis

4/5

Columbia, Slide Away, Up in the Sky all great

Lady Soul

Aretha Franklin

5/5

4/5 of the A-side (all but Niki Hoeky) are masterpieces. B-side “merely” great, but Since You’ve Been Gone, Groovin’ and Ain’t No Way are all fantastic

Lust For Life

Iggy Pop

3/5

Liked this more than I anticipated but still not something I’d ever really circle back to. Pretty frontloaded, title track and The Passenger the best on here

Freak Out!

The Mothers Of Invention

1/5

If you’re going to force me to sit through an hour of smug, anti-music satire, you’ve gotta give me something funnier than cream cheese

Superunknown

Soundgarden

4/5

Savane

Ali Farka Touré

2/5

This was fine but boring, most 2.5 star album ever

Bookends

Simon & Garfunkel

3/5

Feel like I can’t go lower than three stars on an album with Mrs. Robinson, but the rest of this is summed up by “I wish I was an English muffin”

Young Americans

David Bowie

4/5

A little hit or miss but Win, Fascination and Fame among my favorite Bowie songs. Fascination probably #1

Something/Anything?

Todd Rundgren

1/5

Should be illegal to stretch something this boring into the length of a feature film

Graceland

Paul Simon

3/5

Liked Boy in the Bubble and Crazy Love well enough but it felt a little forced when Simon leaned more heavily into the African influences

A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector

Various Artists

4/5

Tough to evaluate these without the retroactive nostalgia but Ronettes’ version of Sleigh Ride and Darlene Love’s Christmas might be the two best Christmas songs out there

Pretzel Logic

Steely Dan

5/5

Liked the Jazz influence here. Last two songs and that weird East St. Louis instrumental diversion really worked for me

Iron Maiden

5/5

Pretty great intro to their music. Remember Tomorrow and Strange World might be masterpieces

Deloused in the Comatorium

The Mars Volta

4/5

None of this cohered lyrically for me but it captured an anguished vibe well enough that I could connect to it anyway. Never had any idea where it was going on any of their extended riffs, worked best in Eriatarka and Veil Cerpin

Tres Hombres

ZZ Top

3/5

I’ve always liked but don’t love La Grange. Wasn’t familiar with anything else here, which is all fine but not exciting

Good Old Boys

Randy Newman

2/5

Just don’t think Newman’s ever going to be my thing. His satirical bent on a Southern life I’ve never experienced feels pretty blunt to me

My Aim Is True

Elvis Costello

3/5

Side One much stronger, highlighted by the back to back of Blame It on Cain and Alison. A little more prickly lyrically than I was expecting, high-end 3

Abraxas

Santana

3/5

Mostly indistinguishable guitar, this was fine

Public Image: First Issue

Public Image Ltd.

1/5

This book’s love for angry British 70s punk just does not make sense to me. Fodderstompf is hell on earth

Ghosteen

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

3/5

Fell into it more with headphones than while driving. Lyrics didn’t resonate with me the way they seemed to for critics but I liked the bookends here