Feels like a burned cd you’d find in your parents stuff, listen to once and think wait, that's actually pretty good and then never listen to it ever again.
Stylistically like a cross between 60s British psych rock, jangle pop, and folk rock. Totally listenable, but other bands do aspects of their sound way better. Just kinda boring
Standout tracks: The State I Am In, I Don’t Love Anyone, Electronic Renissance (only because it's pretty bad)
1.5/5 deserves to be on this list
Lou Reed’s lyrics and guitar work fit on some tracks, but can also be slightly clunky/abrasive at times. The songs it clicks on are super great, like Perfect Day and Walk on the Wild Side.
This album sounds and feels a lot like his previous stuff with the Velvet Underground.
Standout tracks: Perfect Day, Walk On the Wild Side, Hangin’ ‘Round
This album is totally good; it’s enjoyable to listen to pretty much the whole way through, but sometimes the songs kind of just blend together. It does end on the worst tracks in my opinion. The bass playing is probably my favorite part of this album and the talking heads in general.
Would definitely give it a 4.5 if I could.
Standout tracks: Mind, Cities, Memories Can't Wait, Heaven
4/5 deserves to be on this list
This album is definitely not my style of music but is honestly really enjoyable. The instrumentation and lyrics are totally over the top but also really good.
Honestly no standout tracks bc this whole album feels like one complete experience. I wouldn’t really listen to one song on its own.
5/5 deserves to be on this list
This album is definitely the kind of thing that would be enjoyable on a road trip or something like that, but doesn’t really feel that interesting when you actually listen to it.
The guitar riffs are fun, the singing is pretty good, but it all feels kind of empty. Most of the songs feel pretty static and don’t really make up for that with more interesting instrumentation.
Standout tracks: Walk All Over You (Honestly the only track I specifically liked)
4/5 deserves to be on this list
This album has everything it needs, but somehow never really clicks and becomes really good. It’s fun to listen to in the background but nothing really comes through as very memorable. Definitely a nice break from endless 70s rock though.
Honestly it probably deserves a 4. It’s totally enjoyable. I just don’t think it should be in the same category as other albums I already gave that rating.
Standout tracks: Blue
1/5 deserves to be on this list
Yeezus is pretty unique. Kanye’s sample choices are very interesting, and provide good contrast to the rawness of the synths on this album.
The main thing holding it back is the weird and unpredictable structure of some of the songs. The cuts between sample and synth sections can be pretty abrupt. They do work very well on other songs like On Sight. Send it up is kind of ruined by its weird ending. Lyrically this album isn’t as good as earlier Kanye stuff.
It’s a lot more fun with nice headphones!
5/5 deserves to be on this list
Standout tracks: On Sight, Guilt Trip, Bound 2
Like Transformer Lust for Life has a nice wonkyness that creates some good songs. I think the average song on Lust for Life is better although the highs aren’t as high.
The guitar parts are really fun. I can very much hear Bowie’s influence, but that def isn’t a bad thing.
Standout Tracks: Some Weird Sin, Tonight, Neighborhood Threat
5/5 deserves to be on this list
This is a hard album to rate because it’s somehow worse overall than almost all of the songs on it. Something about them just doesn’t mesh.
That being said, the songs that I like on this album are so good. The combo of early British punk with ska is very fun to listen to and definitely stirs some minor nationalism 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧The bass playing is also top tier. I really want to give it a 5 because I love the best songs so much but it just doesn’t work well enough overall.
Gangsters is only on some versions but I’m including it bc it's one of my favorites.
Standout tracks: A Message to You Rudy, Do the Dog, Concrete Jungle, (Dawning of A) New Era , Gangsters, Too Much Too Young
5/5 deserves to be on this list
I thoroughly enjoyed this album all the way through. The only weird part was the transition between Bob Dylan's 115th Dream and Mr Tambourine Man, but it's also the end of a side on the actual vinyl so it makes more sense ig. I also started to get a tiny bit sick of the harmonica around Gates of Eden but it kinda calmed down after that so it was all good.
It’s very fun to listen to as someone who really likes folk because I feel like I can hear the sounds of different artists like On the Beach era Neil Young and Woody Guthrie show up at different times. I probably like the first electric side more, but both are really fun.
Bob Dylan’s kinda weird voice also fits very well with everything.
Standout Tracks: Subterranean Homesick Blues, She Belongs to Me, Love Minus Zero, Mr Tambourine Man
5/5 deserves to be on this list
Honestly this album is kinda boring. It may have been a big inspiration for punk but listening to it now it doesn’t really distinguish itself very much from other 60s/70s hard rock except its politics. At that point there’s a million bands that do the same sound better. It’s not atrocious or anything but honestly isn't unique enough to fully justify its abrasiveness or poor sound quality.
Standout Tracks: Borderline
3/5 deserves to be on this list
This whole album feels pretty dark. The stories in the lyrics feel like they really capture middle America at a certain time. That being said, I don't think the actual musicianship on this album is thaaat good. Springsteen’s guitar is composition wise very simple and way too quiet. The harmonica is pretty harsh and doesn’t mesh nearly as well as a Bob Dylan or Neil Young song. Something about Nebraska makes me feel kinda annoyed and I can't quite put my finger on it. I don’t really know enough about Bruce Springsteen’s other music to compare it to this album.
The vocals and lyrics are what’s carrying everything, but they only take it so far.
Standout Tracks: Atlantic City, Highway Patrolman, Open All Night
3/5 deserves to be on this list
This record is really really good. It lacks a lot of the flatness that other 80s hip hop has gotten with time. The samples and beats are really good, especially Funky Worm on Dopeman. I can def hear the influences on everything that came after this album.
Politically, it still feels very relevant and I kinda feel like a trespasser listening to this album.
Standout Tracks: Straight Outta Compton, Gangsta Gangsta, Dopeman
5/5 deserves to be on this list
Honestly this album is a very nice break from the other stuff we’ve gotten so far. Kinda the opposite of the mountains of 70s rock.
A lot of the tracks are pretty creative and approach a lot of genres that pop like this wouldn’t normally deal with. It also sometimes feels like it’s doing more just for the sake of making a greatest albums of all time type album. The rhythm guitar is really fun though. Some tracks also narrowly avoid falling into annoying target music, but do avoid it nonetheless.
It’s also really really long so I kinda got sick of it by the end.
Standout Tracks: Dance or Die; Sir Greendown; Oh, Maker; Say You’ll Go
4/5 deserves to be on this list
This album is so fun! Each song is like a little journey. They’re also short enough that the bad songs end pretty quickly. Overall, I somehow managed to not be bored for the vast majority of the time, which is pretty impressive for a 3 hour album. Ultimately, there might be a 5/5 album buried amongst everything but it’s still very very fun. The first disc is probably the best.
The instrumentation is varied and fun. The lyrics can be a little on the nose at times but what do you expect from something this long.
The overall vibe is pretty campy, and that can get a little annoying sometimes (see experimental love, wi’ nae wee bairn ye’ll me beget).
Standout tracks: I Don’t Believe in the Sun, The Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side, Love in the Shadows
4.5/5 deserves to be on this list
This album was very enjoyable all the way through. I can hear the type of samples and general vibe in albums that came after. The lyrics are also clever and very enjoyable.
Imo the flows started to get a little boring by the end. It probably didn’t need to be as long as it was but it was all still good.
Standout Tracks: Step In The Arena, Who’s Gonna Take The Weight, As I Read My S-A
4/5 deserves to be on this list
This album cheats by being a compilation and still isn’t very good. It’s just so boring and repetitive. The first third starts off fine, but hearing very similar tracks over and over again gets old pretty fast, especially considering every song is so short. None of it was actively bad, but also didn’t feel unique or interesting.
Even the relatively good riffs are forgettable once the song ends, except for maybe Hate To Say I Told You So, which is probably the whole reason this compilation exists anyway.
Very weird choice for a greatest albums of all time list
Standout Tracks: Hate To Say I Told You So, The Hives Are the Law, You are Crime
1/5 deserves to be on this list
Honestly pretty good! There’s a lot here, and it doesn’t really have the coherent feel of an album, but a lot of the individual songs are enjoyable.
My rating of singers/songwriters would be:
McVie
Buckingham
Nicks
Everything has a bit of an unpolished/rushed feeling (ie clipping on some tracks). Underneath that though the songwriting and instrumentation is really solid.
Standout Tracks: Over & Over, Sara, Sisters of the Moon
5/5 deserves to be on this list
Janis Joplin is obviously a really good and insanely talented singer, but something about this album just doesn’t click for me. It feels a little repetitive for whatever reason, and that gets a little grating as the album goes on.
The band is super tight though. I feel bad not liking it as much as I should.
Standout tracks: Move Over, Half Moon
I mean this is basically just worse Smiths. I can definitely feel the lack of Johnny Marr.
Pretty enjoyable, but probably not a greatest album of all time. Honestly not that much to review.
Standout Tracks: You’re Gonna Need Someone On Your Side; We’ll Let You Know; Seasick, yet Still Docked
2/5 deserves to be on this list
This album is so good. Pretty much the gold standard for dark synth textures, everything layers so well. It manages to be totally driving while also retaining seriousness. Pretty solid all the way through.
Everything feels a little less frivolous ig than older depeche mode albums. I’m not really describing that right but its a different feeling overall.
Obviously some songs aren’t as good but it still deserves a 5.
Standout Tracks: World in my Eyes, Halo, Policy of Truth,
5/5 deserves to be on this list
Neil Young! Overall a very good album, but he definitely gets better in the 70s.
Neil Young is such a good songwriter. His sense of rhythm for guitar parts is also great.
Beyond praise for Neil Young the album itself is good, but doesn’t stand out that much in the rest of his discography imo. Nothing is worse per say, it just doesn’t click like After the Gold Rush or Rust Never Sleeps.
Down by the river is a great song.
Standout tracks: Cinnamon Girl, Down by the River, Cowgirl in the Sand
3.5/5 deserves to be on this list
4/5 deserves to be on this list
Good album, but definitely less experimental than other pj Harvey albums. The first half is probably the best.
PJ Harvey is a really great vocalist. The instrumentation is also good but gets a little less interesting as the album goes on. Overall though it’s a very consistent album.
Also thom yorke mentioned!
Standout Tracks: Big Exit, A Place Called Home, This Mess We’re In
Honestly, this album is totally insane. There’s places where I have no idea what I’m listening to, in the best possible way. The sonic palette of this album is so rich. That complexity makes it feel very contemporary.
Mingus is such a good composer. At points, recurring motifs make everything sound very much like classical music. At the same time, the improvisation that occurs within that structure is very very good. All the players are super talented and nail basically everything.
This is definitely an album that requires a lot of focus to really enjoy. It’s pretty dissonant at times, but all of that makes sense when listening intentionally all the way through.
Kind of a weird album to pick standout tracks for, but Track C - Group Dancers was my favorite.
5/5 deserves to be on this list
Baaba Maal is a super good singer, but everything about this album is totally cheapened by some really bad production choices, like those really terrible midi horns that feel like are on every single song. The best tracks are by far the most minimal ones. I think Hamady Boiro has a different producer, and it’s definitely my favorite song on the album. I think everything would be way better if it was literally just vocals.
Overall, it just ends up wasting talent and leaning way too hard into 90s western pop.
Standout Tracks: Hamady Boiro, Daniibe
Really, really great album. Sounds insane but it feels as good as a Beatles album. It’s really experimental and very varied in terms of songwriting. I don’t think there’s any filler songs on here. That’s not to say there aren’t some songs that are better than others, but they seem invested in making every single one interesting and unique. I can definitely feel that the band is kind of fragmented, but honestly that level of variety actually adds to everything.
Neil Young’s songwriting is probably my favorite, but Stills and Furay’s stuff is also good. The production is really interesting for 1967. Even though it’s very innovative, it also sounds very 1960s and psychedelic in a really nice way. Both Neil Young and Stephen Stills are really good at writing very music theory wise unusual guitar/piano parts that sound natural.
Overall, just a really, really consistently good album. It’s also exactly what I feel like this project is supposed to be because I don’t think I would have listened to it otherwise.
Standout Tracks: Really hard to pick, but probably Mr. Soul, Everydays, Expecting to Fly, and Rock & Roll Woman. Broken Arrow is also super good.
4/5 deserves to be on this list
I had so much fun listening to this! Wednesday at 3 pm probably wasn’t the setting it was made for, but I totally enjoyed it.
Drum loops and squelchy 303 bass is a pretty classic combo for good reason. The samples were also interesting (especially on First Down). I think a lot of people would say that this kind of music hasn’t aged very well, but at least to my ears it's starting to feel more current. As someone who likes playing electronic music, this album is fun to pick apart as I listen. There’s definitely some songs that are worse than others, and it's usually caused by more annoying samples (the Sound of Milwaukee).
Overall, probably not what anyone would consider a truly great album or whatever, but it’s just so fun. Would be probably even better in the right setting.
Standout Tracks: Going Out My Head, Everybody Needs a 303, First Down
Sort of just average. Sounds like 90s rock, definitely derivative of other stuff from the same era. None of the songs are bad by any means, but nothing really stands out that much either. Everything just sort of blends together, and what it becomes is enjoyable but not particularly exceptional. Probably the most aggressively average album on the list so far.
The Foo Fighters are a little too pop inspired for me, and I can definitely hear that on this album.
Standout Tracks: Alone + Easy Target, Floaty, X-Static
5/5 deserves to be on this list
Really, really good! I think it works less well as an album than other Kanye stuff, but the individual songs are each really good. Except the songs in the middle with like a million features. Those suck.
The samples are really good and used in pretty interesting ways (Gorgeous, Hell Of A Life). The 21st Century Schizoid Man sample on power is insane. I feel like some of the songs are a little long and probably have some stuff that could be trimmed off.
Ultimately a very good album only brought down by some too busy songs. Probably would give it a 4.5 if I could. Also Kanye’s lyrics are very witty.
Standout Tracks: Dark Fantasy, Gorgeous, All Of The Lights, Runaway, Hell Of A Life
4/5 deserves to be on this list
Jimmy Smith is crazy good on the B3! Stanley Turrentine is super good too. Jazz soul is a very enjoyable genre imo so I really liked this. The tempo push and pull between the drumming and organ is really interesting.
Overall not as clearly visionary and crazy as some of the jazz on here, but it’s fun and a lot more technical than it sounds. Feels like 4 people just casually jamming.
Standout Tracks: Back At The Chicken Shack
Super, super heavy. Probably the darkest metal album I’ve listened to. The moments of calm (changes, laguna sunrise) are well timed to give a break from the more intense stuff and make it hit even harder.
Ozzy’s vocals are excellent. I can def hear the blues rock/acid rock influence (Tommorow’s Dream). The production is also pretty good for the time, fs better than the earlier stuff. There’s some really fun unexpected moments like the drum break in Supernaut or the classical guitar on Laguna Sunrise. Probably at the brink of messiness, but it never actually crosses into that.
Overall, it’s not as catchy or sweeping as Paranoid, but almost as good in every other way. More like proto stoner/doom metal and a lot darker overall. I’d probably give it a 4.5 if I could, but it deserves to be rounded up to a 5.
Standout Tracks: Tomorrow’s Dream, Supernaut, Snowblind, Laguna Sunrise
Kind of a weird fusion of dub and world music. I don’t think this album is a particularly good version of either of those things, but whatever it ends up being is honestly ok. The bass lines and synth stuff is actually really enjoyable, if a bit repetitive. I don’t like Jah Wobble’s voice at all. It’s just kind of bad. For some reason I’m liking him more on a second listen, but that has to just be insanity. Sinead O’Connor feature is kind of random but honestly very good. Visions of You is probably the only actually good song on this album.
Overall, everything just feels too long. All of the songs have pretty minimal variation and just last way longer than they need too. The album as a whole feels really really long. Def a weird choice for a 1001 albums list. I don’t think my understanding of modern music is at all changed by listening to this, but whatever.
My review kind of seems like I totally hated this album, but it honestly wasn’t even that bad, just really weird and idiosyncratic. I’ve definitely listened to way, way worse.
Standout Tracks: Visions of You, Relight the Flame, Sweet Divinity
I really enjoyed this album! Definitely my favorite punk on this list so far. They feel way more competent on their instruments, and because of that seem more willing to incorporate other genres/older influences. A lot of the songs have really good hooks/riffs that overall make everything way more interesting. Overall, just a really solid album that holds up well. The bass playing is super good and does a lot of work moving the songs along.
I wish Police & Thieves or another break from the pretty consistent song structure of the album came up earlier.
Standout Tracks: Janie Jones, London’s Burning, Police & Thieves
Definitely a very accessible and just pleasant album. Every song is pretty much perfectly executed, but they’re all based on pretty similar ideas and they ultimately end up being slightly repetitive.
Stan Getz has great tone, but he does dominate every song which doesn’t stay as interesting for the entire album when you’re really consciously listening to everything. Charlie Byrd’s guitar is probably my favorite part of the album. His rhythm stuff is very very good and I wish he soloed even more, because his parts are probably my favorite. It would be nice if there were more soloing instruments for the sax and guitar to play off of, maybe more dynamic bass playing or a piano to give contrast. That would definitely make each song more unique and add to the album overall.
I don’t know enough about Bossa Nova to know how Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd’s versions of stuff compare to the Brazilian originals, but it would definitely be nice to have those albums on the list too.
Standout Tracks: I don’t know if any song is distinct enough to really stand out, but my favorite was probably Bahia
I was enjoying this album until I realized I had completely stopped listening about halfway through. It starts off super solid, but after Bargain, everything until Going Mobile sounds like worse versions of the songs that came before. None of this mid section is actually that bad, but it definitely lags behind the start and finish. On the musicianship level, there aren’t any glaring flaws or things to point to that make this middle less interesting, but for whatever reason it kind of ends up being a talented band playing boring songs.
The musicianship is really consistently good, particularly the rhythm section. Also some really interesting synth/organ work that I feel like predicts some of the sound of 80s rock. The high points are good enough to warrant a high rating, but I feel like it kind of falls apart as an actual album. Also, the lyrics/general vibe of everything carry a kind of Boomer “I got mine” ethos.
Standout Tracks: Baba O’Reliy, Bargain, Behind Blue Eyes, Won’t Get Fooled Again
