My 1001 Albums Journey

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3.03

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1012 albums remaining

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1970s

Favorite Decade

Singer-songwriter

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Wordsmith

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Albums

You Love More Than Most

Album	You	Global	Diff
Joan Armatrading Joan Armatrading	5	3.33	+1.67
Diamond Life Sade	5	3.42	+1.58
Aja Steely Dan	5	3.46	+1.54
Getz/Gilberto Stan Getz	5	3.65	+1.35
Grace Jeff Buckley	5	3.72	+1.28
Our Aim Is To Satisfy Red Snapper	4	2.74	+1.26
A Night At The Opera Queen	5	3.96	+1.04
Steve McQueen Prefab Sprout	4	2.98	+1.02

You Love Less Than Most

Album	You	Global	Diff
The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady Charles Mingus	1	3.32	-2.32
Live At The Star Club, Hamburg Jerry Lee Lewis	1	3.28	-2.28
Henry's Dream Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds	1	3.11	-2.11
Only Built 4 Cuban Linx Raekwon	1	2.86	-1.86
Ys Joanna Newsom	1	2.8	-1.8
Remedy Basement Jaxx	1	2.68	-1.68
1999 Prince	2	3.6	-1.6
Oar Alexander 'Skip' Spence	1	2.46	-1.46
Sound of Silver LCD Soundsystem	2	3.42	-1.42
Debut Björk	2	3.37	-1.37

5-Star Albums (6)

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1-Star Albums (7)

All Ratings

In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida

Iron Butterfly

2/5

Termination & Are You Happy were the standouts for me. Overall didn’t enjoy this album very much but I’m glad I listened. I can appreciate the historical significance and I had heard some of the title track before but not the full 17 minute version. Wow.

Ill Communication

Beastie Boys

3/5

Was this level of mic distortion en vogue in 1994? I found the first few tracks difficult to enjoy because of this. Lyrics were impossible to hear. I actually recognized “Sabotage” but didn’t attribute it to Beastie Boys in my mind. “Sabrosa” was a cool instrumental interlude I wasn’t expecting from BB. The strings in “Eugene’s Lament” really surprised me. Other standouts for me were “Root Down”, “Get it Together”, “Do It”, and the real treat at the end (if for nothing more than uniqueness), “Shambala” & “Bodhisattva Vow”. Overall this was significantly more diverse than I was anticipating. Great listening.

The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady

Charles Mingus

1/5

Chaotic. Occasionally discordant-feeling. Improvisational vibe. Track #2… so it’s really gonna be like this the whole way through, huh? Hard to believe this was only 5 years before In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida. What a diverse musical culture this country has. Track 4’s Spanish guitar was unexpected and made me smile haha! I’ve heard track 4 sampled in other songs, I’m sure of it. Around the 5:45/6 min mark. Very experimental album. Overall did not enjoy.

I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You

Aretha Franklin

3/5

Favs: “Don’t Let Me Lose This Dream”, “Baby, Baby, Baby” I didn’t necessarily dislike the album but it’s not exactly my genre of music. Glad I listened though and wow is she an amazing singer.

Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul

Otis Redding

3/5

I think I liked Otis best when he wasn’t pushing so hard in those high energy tunes. “A Change Is Gonna Come” and “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long” were standouts for me.

Arrival

ABBA

3/5

An album laser-guided toward a teenage girl’s heart. Favs: “Dancing Queen”, “Money Money Money”, “That’s me” The whole thing in contrast to the previous two albums felt like a commercial effort and not something derived from musical passion.

Fear Of Music

Talking Heads

3/5

Great opener. Loved the groove on “Cities”. “Life During Wartime” was very entertaining. About halfway through the album now, and I can confidently say I prefer the music to Byrne’s voice. He does some goofy shit with his voice that I realize is probably purposeful, but it just irks me. “Air” was very weird. Whole album feels very avant garde and abstract. Drugs I guess haha.

Ambient 1/Music For Airports

Brian Eno

4/5

I enjoyed this. Simple, airy, conceptual, ambient. Probably foundational in the electronic music space.

Our Aim Is To Satisfy

Red Snapper

4/5

Cool grooves. A little samey from time to time.

Street Life

The Crusaders

4/5

Funky!

Californication

Red Hot Chili Peppers

4/5

Very much enjoyed this album! rock/funk fusion goodness.

Debut

Björk

2/5

As with Otis last week, I liked her best when she wasn’t pushing so hard, as on “Like Someone In Love” I don’t know if I’ll articulate this well, but her voice doesn’t match the music. Is she off the beat on purpose maybe? I’m not sure. I liked this album a lot less than I thought I would. It’s cheezy. EDIT: had to come back and give accolades to “Play Dead” the last track. Probably my favorite!

Only Built 4 Cuban Linx

Raekwon

1/5

DNF!

Rid Of Me

PJ Harvey

2/5

Grievous Angel

Gram Parsons

3/5

The whitest of white people music. “I can’t dance” stands out as a shining example of this. I liked “Brass Buttons”. Also very much enjoyed “Love Hurts” I like the back half of the album better than the starting half.

Diamond Life

Sade

5/5

Getz/Gilberto

Stan Getz

5/5

Fantastic. Added it to some playlists on Spotify. This is the highest honor I can bestow in my limited capacity as a consumer of music 🤣

Joanna Newsom

1/5

Really did not enjoy this album. “Sawdust & Diamonds” had cool instrumentation. The squeaky thing she does with her voice occasionally is grating. “Rambling” is just about the kindest thing I can say about it.

Led Zeppelin III

Led Zeppelin

4/5

I was surprised by the folk-y sound of the back half of this album. For my personal taste it opened strong and got weaker toward the back of the album. Standouts were “Friends” and “Tangerine”

Oar

Alexander 'Skip' Spence

1/5

“War In Peace” was the only redeeming track on this album. (EDIT: the whistling on this track was weird, too) Weird, otherwise. 1969 Must have been an interesting time.

Grace

Jeff Buckley

5/5

Really really great

Suzanne Vega

3/5

This was pretty good. The thing that irked me (most apparent on track #1) was the “talking” of the lyrics. Also on the last track.

My Aim Is True

Elvis Costello

3/5

Not my favorite so far but didn’t dislike it in any sense. Pretty good.

Broken English

Marianne Faithfull

2/5

Didn’t really like it much at all.

Graceland

Paul Simon

3/5

Nonplussed. Some cool sounds. Not my style.

The Band

4/5

Opened strong, finished kinda weak.

Reign In Blood

Slayer

3/5

Had some great moments. Too intense for me.

Remedy

Basement Jaxx

1/5

A FIRM and HEARTY 0/5. I can think of about four bars across this entire album that made me think: “I don’t want to die right now.”

...The Dandy Warhols Come Down

The Dandy Warhols

3/5

Liked it.

Sticky Fingers

The Rolling Stones

3/5

Standouts for me were "Wild Horses" and "Moonlight Mile".

We Are Family

Sister Sledge

4/5

I liked this one a lot.

Selected Ambient Works 85-92

Aphex Twin

4/5

For being created between 1985-1992, this is AMAZING.

Back To Black

Amy Winehouse

4/5

I really liked this, but don’t know that I’d pick it again. What an absolutely legendary vocalist!

The Contino Sessions

Death In Vegas

3/5

Occasionally great, mostly a little too chaotic for me.

Cheap Thrills

Big Brother & The Holding Company

3/5

Enjoyed!

Pearl

Janis Joplin

3/5

Her voice is iconic but I can’t listen to a lot of it.

The xx

3/5

Enjoyed, but a litttle samey

Welcome To The Pleasuredome

Frankie Goes To Hollywood

4/5

Started really strong less favorable in the backend.

Off The Wall

Michael Jackson

3/5

Didn’t like it as much as I thought I would.

Nilsson Schmilsson

Harry Nilsson

4/5

Enjoyed!

Straight Outta Compton

N.W.A.

3/5

Meh. DNF. Too samey.

The Madcap Laughs

Syd Barrett

2/5

Big meh.

Cypress Hill

4/5

Great.

The Man Who

Travis

3/5

Decent. Kinda bland.

Joan Armatrading

5/5

Loved it!

Aja

Steely Dan

5/5

Need more stars.

Brothers

The Black Keys

3/5

I was regular whelmed by this one.

For Your Pleasure

Roxy Music

3/5

Weird, some tracks were good but they were diamonds in the rough.

Warehouse: Songs And Stories

Hüsker Dü

2/5

DNF

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

Kanye West

3/5

There were a couple really fun tracks on here and one or two I recognized from the era of the album’s release. Few others that did nothing for me.

Songs For Swingin' Lovers!

Frank Sinatra

4/5

Many classics. Examined as a whole, perhaps a bit samey.

Peter Gabriel 3

Peter Gabriel

3/5

I liked it. Weird.

Henry's Dream

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

1/5

DNF.

Home Is Where The Music Is

Hugh Masekela

4/5

Really great. The piano intro on “Inner Crisis” was beautiful.

Unknown Pleasures

Joy Division

3/5

Meh.

Sound of Silver

LCD Soundsystem

2/5

I don’t know if ‘annoying instrumentation’ is a bug or a feature here but I’m finding it grating. Looking at you, bells on “Us V Them” Sound & lyric repetition is also fatiguing to me here. Many of these tracks could be half their recorded length. Hearing the same sentence literally 20 times in a row feels like… lazy lyrics? I know I’m glass half full here, it’s just the vibe I get.

Ctrl

SZA

3/5

I liked this a lot more than I thought I would. “Prom” was great.

Steve McQueen

Prefab Sprout

4/5

Really liked this one!

Logical Progression

LTJ Bukem

3/5

For me it was a 2, for the fact that this was 1996 it gets a 3. Probably standout for its era, but I don’t feel like it’s aged well.

Daydream Nation

Sonic Youth

3/5

Probably my favorite album so far from this genre.

The Velvet Underground

3/5

I liked much of this, but the more avant-garde tracks were unpalatable.

Kala

M.I.A.

2/5

Interesting beats. Enjoyed the listen for the variety this 1,001 project brings but would not listen again.

Coles Corner

Richard Hawley

4/5

Inoffensive. Sinatra-adjacent while being neighbors with Johnny Cash.

Live At The Star Club, Hamburg

Jerry Lee Lewis

1/5

I understand the historical significance but this was a tough listen. I expect this was a thrilling show to experience live, but it does not hit right as a recording. “The same note over and over” ≠ energy and excitement for me. Lyrics difficult to understand. Manic.

A Night At The Opera

Queen

5/5

Classic! Very good.

London Calling

The Clash

4/5

I enjoyed this and it’s very out of my comfort zone.

Head Hunters

Herbie Hancock

3/5

A little avant-garde leaning for my taste at time but overall enjoyed.

After The Gold Rush

Neil Young

3/5

Enjoyed. Wouldn’t listen again.

Electric Music For The Mind And Body

Country Joe & The Fish

2/5

Struggled a little with this one. Opened strong, had a bit of a weird/weak middle and then grew stronger toward the end. I appreciate that the album is diverse. Some blues-y sounding stuff, some psychedelic, avant-garde abstract/experimental vibes too.

Neon Bible

Arcade Fire

3/5

I didn’t dislike it but was a bit inoffensive; milquetoast generic.

1999

Prince

2/5

Liked it less than I thought I would.

The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn

Pink Floyd

2/5

Weird.

Vespertine

Björk

2/5

Urban Hymns

The Verve

2/5

Coat Of Many Colors

Dolly Parton

4/5

I knew I’d enjoy this album, but it’s not terribly diverse. Dolly is not in my regular listening rotation but I always enjoy her when I hear her. The arrangements and mixing are so “vocal forward” that it makes it hard not to hear the message in each of her songs.

Connected

Stereo MC's

2/5

Inoffensive lobby music. Generic. Perhaps a victim of its commercial success. Not bad in any way, just not very exciting.

Exit Planet Dust

The Chemical Brothers

3/5

Was excited for Chemical Brothers to appear but I liked this a little less than I was expecting. While a few of the tracks felt a little samey with a similar funky groove, there was enough diversity throughout the rest to keep me hooked. Standout tracks for me were: “Song to the Siren”, “Chico’s Groove”, “One Too Many Mornings”