1001 Albums Summary

Despite being very familiar with the singles from this album, I had never listened to it before. Definitely an iconic album that catapulted Blondie's fame, and listening to the album really highlighted the influence that this record had on rock and pop music at that time. They are so genre-defying - elements of straight-up rock, punk, art rock, doo wop are all in there. And Debby Harry is just amazing - love her voice and the range of tones she can access. I found myself really enjoying the middle of the album - Fade Away and Radiate really made an impression on me and I love its weirdness, and I really enjoyed 11:59, Will Anything Happen, and Sunday Girl. I'm not sure there were any real hidden gems on the album, however - lots of enjoyable songs that definitely establish a clear sound and musical outlook, but nothing that made me sit up in my chair. I also thought the last two tracks were real throwaways. I wasn't crazy about the song order, either; I've seen reviews that feel quite the opposite, so I may be alone on that! But for example I found Heart of Glass strangely buried - it has such a strong, pulsing opening, I thought it would have made much more sense as the opening track of side 2. I give an overall 4 recognizing it as a truly iconic and influential album and the overall quality of the music. My personal rating is a 3. Enjoyable album that I'd listen to again, but not one I'd likely go to again on my own.

Obviously an iconic album - one I had as a kid, and haven't listened to beginning to end in a very long time. I really appreciate the degree of experimentation going on here and the musicianship and production are just incredible. It is so over the top and that's part of what I love about it - there is nothing subtle here, lol. It's a really cohesive album - I thought Beautiful Ones and Computer Blue were just ok and sounded particularly dated to my 2025 ears, but those low points for me aside the album has a great flow and a clear outlook.

I took the time to listen to this album twice, and that really paid off. Although I'm a huge fan of jazz, I had not heard Hugh Masekela's music before - so this album suggestion revealed a big gap in my knowledge and experience and introduced me to some amazing music. The music is just masterful. My first listen I liked it, but was unsure - and it is clear that was just me digesting something new. The second listen really captured me fully. There is something simultaneously calming and invigorating about this album, an aspect that became clearer to me when I listened on headphones and was able to pick up the extraordinary texture and detail in the music. This is music that is great for contemplation, great on a long walk or something where you can just be inside your own head. The final track, Ingoo Pow-Pow (Children's Song) is also worth mentioning. It is completely different from the rest of the album, more explicitly connecting traditional South African music with jazz. I loved this track on many levels, including the ways it uses jazz in a non-western musical form. Go ahead and try and figure out the time signature ;)

I love so much of Stevie Wonder's music and I know this is regarded as an iconic album - but this album just didn't do it for me. Higher Ground and Living for the City blow me away every time I hear them, and I really enjoyed Golden Lady which I didn't know before. But I found the rest of the album incredibly uneven, and some of it just isn't to my taste. I found the lyricism lacking in many of the songs, as well as the quality of his vocals. And many of the songs just felt corny to me - occasionally even showtune-y. Overall just not my cup of tea.

Generally speaking, I enjoyed the music on the album. It almost felt like I was listening to 2000s alternative radio - I got a Strokes song, The Killers, a David Bowie song thrown in, a little Fat Boy Slim, is that Talking Heads song? I'd enjoy hearing songs from this album on the radio or as part of a mix. A whole album of it, however, did end up feeling a bit much. The music within each song is quite repetitive, and so...many...sixteenth notes. By the end it sort of felt like I'd spent an hour in a club. I don't mean to be too critical - the songs were fun, it just wasn't the best album-listening experience.

Really cool album - great songwriting, incredibly ambient music, somehow felt old and new at the same time. This was a completely new album for me and so glad to listen to it. It is slower than what I more typically listen to, and after a while it did fade a bit into the background for me. That's just an element of personal taste. Beautiful music with an incredible vibe.

Had this been made a single album rather than a double album, this would likely be regarded as a perfect record. As it is, there’s unevenness to the production and a handful of songs that I could really do without (the 14 minute merman song is a remarkable time capsule and very much a parody of itself - although it’s also obvious they are completely and utters serious in their performances!) This keeps it from a 5 star rating from me. However the better parts of the album are truly sublime. Some of the best rock music ever is on the album for sure.

The music on this album is adjacent to a good bit of punk, hardcore, and metal that I really enjoy. For the record, though, I wouldn’t say I enjoy listening to this album. There are a handful of songs I enjoy - like She’s Hit, Kiss Me Black, 6” Gold Blade. But most of it I don’t enjoy listening to. I probably like it more as an art piece than as an album of music. The album made me think a lot - made me think about music and what commentary they were making, and where it fits in the spectrum of music before and after. I love the absolute rejection of standard expectations of popular music. It’s taking aspects of the punk ethos to its logical extreme. And it also clearly informs a lot of hard core and harder core metal (vs hair metal) that comes later. I am also drawn to the darkness of the lyrics. 6” Gold Blade felt like a modern, post punk Murder Ballad. Definitely more of an interesting thing to experience.

First half of the album was frankly boring for me. I appreciate the ambient quality of it, but overall I found it musically uninteresting. I like Notget and from that point of the album on I found it all much more interesting. But overall the album was a bit of a navel gaze for me.

Eh. This fades into the background for me almost immediately. I just can’t connect with music like this. Not for me.

I’m really surprised by the negativity in the reviews. This isn’t my cup of tea personally, but the top review says they can’t understand how anyone could have an emotional reaction to this music? Let’s be serious. This is outstanding pop music. Plenty of hooks, well produced, and Adele’s powerful voice has plenty of personality. Plus I’m always a sucker for an artist who made it from the bottom to the top - and Adele’s is the ultimate such story. I will almost certainly not listen to this album ever again. But I can enjoy the pop hooks, appreciate the vocals and the very personal songwriting, and admire the enormous impact this album had.

I’m not going to review this album. This collection features possibly the greatest American voice singing the collection of possibly the greatest American songwriter, produced by a legendary producer at the highest level of care and quality available at that time. That’s why this collection is here. If you appreciate music, you should be aware of this and listen to it. Is that not the point of this list? The whiny reviews are frankly embarrassing. Who cares that it is a compilation. This collection is a monstrous musical achievement, including as a way to ensure that Gershwin’s genius was fully captured. You don’t have to listen to all 3 hours (or 4 if you listen to the revamped versions). You can listen to 20 minutes and understand what’s there. Stop complaining.

I'm not that far into listening to the albums, but of all the albums I've been given this is the one I have the hardest time understanding why it is essential to listen to. It seems like good synth pop, but it is pretty unremarkable. I appreciate that they brought forward the sounds of the 80s into 2010 pop, and maybe that's the simple reason they are here - this album as an archetype of that particular moment in music. Completely listenable, but altogether pretty just...fine.

The monstrous hits from this album are fun, and culturally omnipresent. But the album is actually a drag. AC/DC has a very clear formula for their music...and boy do they stick with it. I don't think there's a different drum beat across the 42 minutes of music on this album, nor is there a double hit on the bass drum. This is just straightforward, uninventive rock music. And it is pretty much a double-entendre concept album, as a friend of mine put it. I recognize the cultural impact of this album, and respect the hooks and riffs that drove it to selling millions of copies. But this album is formulaic and conventional, and tiresome in its adolescent obsession with sexual innuendo - oftentimes in problematic ways.

I have never cared for Joni Mitchell's singing style - tone or phrasing - and her music typically is not a style I generally like. In that context, this album surprised me. I did like a lot of the music on this album - it's inventive and interesting, and diverse across the album. I enjoyed listening to it well beyond my expectations, and Jungle Line is actually a song I'd say I enjoyed! I still can't click with her vocals and lyrical style, and I won't listen to this album again. But certainly glad this project got me to listen to it this once.

Hmmm. I really enjoy listening to this album, have to be honest. They're just great musicians and that's on display here. I don't disagree with the criticisms of Keidis' vocals and lyrics. That's really nothing new, and is just part of their sound; the vapidity of it is wearing, though, and it is tedious to listen to a then-nearly 40 year old man continue to make sophomoric and questionable sexual innuendo. But there's a great range of music on this album, and I didn't find it bland nor did I find the non-hits to be filler. Great rock music all the way around. I'd probably give it a 3.5 if I could give half stars.

Appreciate the minimalism on a certain level and this album has a vibe, for sure. If an album could be two awkward people in their early twenties trying to hang out and get to know each other, this would be it. Don't want to be too harsh, but the minimalism was a bit too minimalist at times - some songs feel like ideas that never got fully fleshed out; I would lose track of when a song began and ended, and quite a bit sounds the same. But I appreciate the homegrown nature of this album and there are a few songs on here that are exceptional.

I had this album as a kid when it first came out - really loved it, remembered it as a fun album that was a big part of the musical story of that time. And I haven't listened to it since. My sense of Cyndi Lauper has also evolved significantly over time. In the moment (and in the eyes of a kid/early teen) she seemed fun and whacky, and a bit shticky. As time has gone on, however, I really came to understand Cyndi Lauper's deeper talent and artistry - I mean, she won a Tony for the music for Kinky Boots! She's had a remarkably consistent career with so many highlights - I've come to deeply respect her as a person and artist. In this context, it was so fantastic to revisit this album. I don't want to go overboard - it is a pop album, not a musical masterpiece per se. But I do think it is a pop masterpiece. Lauper - through her music and her self presentation - vaulted pop and new wave aesthetics into the mainstream. The music on the album is varied and interesting, with tons of personality and a good chunk of subversion (how can you not admire a top 5 hit about the joys of masturbation!) The vocals on Time After Time - which is a remarkably well composed pop ballad - are phenomenal, showing off Lauper's pure singing talent. The album perfectly captures the music of the time, but I found it completely and utterly listenable 42 years later. Lauper deserves all the flowers for carving out an incredibly successful career while being her authentic, iconoclastic self and this album captures that perfectly. And all that context aside, its just a fun listen.

This album surprised me - and not in a good way. I have so much love and respect for The Temptations, and love Motown, R&B, and Funk music. And this album fell really flat for me. There is terrific musicianship on this album, and the production (apart from the first song) is terrific. I've tried to put my finger on why it didn't work for me, and the best I can come up with is that it feels like they aren't fully into it...it feels forced. I think Papa Was A Rollin Stone is phenomenal - it pushes the envelope and is so impressive. But apart from that, this felt like a forced effort to keep The Temptations relevant. Funky Music Sho Nuff might have been a great piece, but they made the odd choice to make it seem like a live number. The less said about Run Charlie Run the better, but the Temptations didn't want to do it and it shows. The lyrics throughout the album are uninspired. Being harsh, the funk sounds like it is watered down for Grandma and Grandpa, and their more traditional R&B/soul efforts are lyrically corny and musically well done but unoriginal. I just can't help but think about what else was available now - Ohio Players "Pleasure" came out this same year! Think of the music groups like Sly and the Family Stone and The Meters had already been putting out for several years. This is a nice album from The Temptations, with a great anchor song. But I just can't see this album as something exceptional.

Glad I was introduced to this and challenged to listen to avant garde jazz. It’s difficult to listen to and I don’t particularly care for it. I found myself marveling at the speed at which they are capable of playing, and the moments of sense that emerge in the music. A fatal flaw for me is the double drums which very often created an overwhelming wall of static. I could not perceive any individual drum hits - it was just interference. Maybe that was the goal and or maybe I just don’t understand that. And maybe that’s the point. Maybe that’s better live. I dunno.

Just a phenomal live album. Phil Lynott was such a great front man, and the whole band is clearly just keyed in together and going all out for the full performance. So much energy comes through. Awesome call out at the end to Huey Lewis who was their harmonica player!

For starters, this is just beautiful music. There's a certain sparseness that I loved, and such understated control over the music by everyone involved. I had mixed feelings about the mess ups - the improv on willow weep for me was fun, but it didn't work for me in the last number. And it strangely lacked more of a live music energy. A harsher view might be that there was just a determination to make an album at Mister Kelly's, so they went and did it - and it is great because of the extraordinary abilities of everyone involved, but they weren't excited to be performing in front of a live audience...they had a job to take care of. Maybe too harsh, and that only dampened the experience slightly for me.

Generally speaking, I dislike country music. I tried very hard to go into this album with an open mind, and I know Waylon Jennings is a legend. Try as I might, however, this just doesn't work for me. The story telling was unconvincing, in part because the lyrics seem simple and obvious, and each song felt like just the same story told just a little bit differently. It feels like a lot of cosplaying about some imagined past (or present) reality. And while the music is good, it's not notable in any way...not something a long list of good musicians could produce. A harsh review that undoubtedly speaks to my general dislike of the genre. If one likes the genre, I can see liking this album a lot for sure. Even then, I'm not convinced this is in the top 1001 one needs to here. As ever, glad I gave something a try I never would have listened to on my own.

Overall a great listen. While there is definitely something to the criticism of the being a lack of cohesion to the songs on the album, I'd argue there's a cohesive vibe to this album. It's a bit all over the place in one sense, but really it's a great exploration of so many shades of American blues music. And each song on its own shows of the phenomenal musical connection they all have with each other. Overall, its a great rock and roll album. I do not, however, quite get why this album is considered their very best or regarded as one of the all time great albums. There's too much inconsistency in the quality of the songs themselves (there's a solid handful of songs on here that are no better than stock in trade/paint by numbers blues songs) and there isn't much I'd consider musically inventive. Also, not sure why there's so much excitement about Keith Richards being given the chance to sing lead on a song. He's a TERRIBLE singer lol.

Reasonably enjoyable listen. I appreciated the ambient alt-pop sound. Nothing notably inventive and the Wikipedia entry should just be ignored (I read a great review here from someone who did the forensics and unearthed that the praise being referred to came from a sell piece on the album - so it’s just promotional fluff). 25 albums in I am moving away from the notion that these 1001 albums are in some way the greatest of all time, as the “listen to before you die” might suggest. Instead it’s more of a compilation of albums that one might select to give a comprehensive sampling of popular music over the last 70 or so years. Otherwise I can’t justify or understand the inclusion of an album like this (or a few others I’ve heard even this early on). Im glad I listened to it - it’s something I would have never otherwise tried and it did expose me to another corner of the music world.

Brilliant and culture changing. The hits are phenomenal songs, I actually enjoy the second side of the album even more.

Have to confess my bias upfront - this was a favorite album of mine when it came out, and this was the second concert I went to. So I have a real soft spot for this album. That being said, I do genuinely believe this is a phenomenal album - superbly crafted pop rock, completely captures its time without by and large feeling dated, impeccably produced with exceptional attention to detail (which unfortunately became something of a hurdle for Orzabal going forward), on the cutting edge at the time in use of technology, and very interesting in terms of the range of genres and musical ideas explored (for a pop album). I'd give it 4.5 stars if I could, and will let my soft spot elevate it to a 5.

Dont be a hater. Tito Puente was the Mambo King! Top flight musicians playing phenomenal Latin Jazz. Just have fun with it.

Nostalgic to listen to. Hits lack depth but are super fun. The rest is mostly filler and I just don’t need to hear 40 year olds and their corny lyrics about sex. Not sorry to listen to it again and I appreciate the significance of the ways this relaunched Aerosmith.

This was such a huge hit when it came out, and the hit songs on here are pretty fun - not worth thinking about too hard, definitely not worth paying attention to the lyrics too closely, but fun pop rock hits. But for me time was not kind to this album. The vapidity of the hits is made tolerable by their catchiness and fun factor. The vapidity of the rest of the album...not so tolerable. A lot of the songs felt like filler - some of them sounded like rough drafts of the hits. And I don't really know what happened to them musically. Boring guitar solos. Uninspired melodies. And Frank Beard sounds like a beginning drummer. I know he is capable of much more...but apparently he was just their drum machine on this album. I didn't come into this expected to be so disappointed - I thought it would be a fun and nostalgic ride. And I suppose it was for 3 songs. But as an album experience, this is a dud.

The Band has been a mystery for me for years. I don’t quite see why they are singled out by some as so profoundly influential, as a band that “changed the vocabulary of rock and roll” and other such praise. And I still don’t. But Im glad I listened to this album carefully. I came away much more excited by the music than I expected to be. There is some phenomenal musicianship here, especially the bass and keyboards, and they play so well together. There’s more country flavor than suits me, but I still get the quality of the music. But the vocals. They’re just awful. Consistently bad. And for a band that has a reputation for evocative storytelling songs, the lyrics aren’t all that good. Sometimes downright bad. This really drags down their music for me.

Brilliant album. Lots of great reviews here already that explain well why this album is beautiful in its own right as well as why it was so profoundly influential. Im still waiting for a negative review that actually makes sense (apart from those that simply note it’s just not their type of music).

I’ve never really been able to get into reggae, so I’m glad this project got me to listen to Burning Spear. Love the political lyrics and the music is great. Still not my thing but I see how great an example of the genre this is.

Im generally not a fan of American folk and folk-oriented rock so I’ve always been just ok on CSN. Listening to a full album was interesting. The harmonizing, which is their signature, seemed forced at times. Hits and misses across the album. Stephen Stills is a great musician and I appreciated more exposure to that. A better experience than I expected overall, tbh, but still not my bag personally.

I've never listened to this album and I was excited, thinking this might end up a hidden gem. Alas, in the end I can't get past Kevin Rowland's weak vocals - I like plenty of music with folks who don't technically sing well, but I couldn't even get with Rowland's poor phrasing and the character of his voice just grated on me. There's tremendous musical potential here, and I like a number of the songs - particularly Keep It and There There My Dear. And I can see how the album would make more of an impact in its time. But in the end the vocals really did me in.

Love it. Weird, endearing and charming, genre busting, fun. Curt's singing is terrible, there's no question about that - and I'm not sure how much of the bad singing is on purpose or not. But for whatever reason it works well enough (and sometimes wonderfully). It's also easy to see why Kurt Cobain played three of their songs on Unplugged and credited them as a strong influence - their stamp is all over Nirvana's music, and the Seattle scene in general. I loved this the first time through, and it just grows on me with every listen. Lots of musically interesting work on here. Overall the album is a DIY triumph.

Fantastic stuff.

Such a great album. Totally captures the time period it comes, and yet doesn't sound dated. In fact, Beck's output predicted the future of music a lot better than most of what was coming out in the mid-90s, imo. This album is also a reminder of one of the best aspects of the 90s - it was a a period when such an incredibly eclectic mix of music got mainstream attention. This album is weird, and so was the 90s, and that's what we love about it. Some of the negative reviews surprise me (but to each their own, of course!) I love the ridiculous variety of songs on this album - I don't find it haphazard, disorganized, nonsensical. It's crazy and weird in certain ways, but also every song is fully composed. And the range of genres and sounds Beck draws from makes total sense to me. Maybe it is that we are essentially the same age? His frame of reference is completely familiar for me, and when I listen to Beck I've always felt like he was connecting a lot of the dots of my musical life and figuring out where it should go next. The music also captures LA in the late 80s/90s extremely well - the sounds and musical techniques on this album were all over LA for sure.

I’ll go right down the middle with this one! Really enjoyable listen overall. Solid rock and roll music, some definite clunkers to go along with some high points. And overall really listenable. I’ll probably never listen to it again, but very glad to be exposed to this.

I like a good bit of the music, but generally found myself disliking the vocals and lyrics most of the time. And even the music had highs and very low lows. So a really uneven experience. I’d give it a 2.5 if I could.

Terrific soul jazz. I wish the songs themselves were a bit more interesting and offered a better showcase for the musicians. That being said, their playing around the standard blues structures is exceptional, and they succeed in creating an amazing vibe. I found the album smooth and engaging, a relaxing listen. I would not call this a challenging or interesting listen, per se, but really enjoyable.

What makes this album all the more impressive is that Liam Howlett recorded this in his home studio. The balance of loudness with clarity of sound is extraordinary. It should be admired for that alone. But beyond that, it is just a brilliant piece of techno, aggro dance music. It captures a time jn a lot of ways. That includes the first track - which I skip every time. The lyric/title is gratuitous and their dismissal of the problematic nature of it doesn’t fly for me. Every other track is impressive to me.

I can see why this would be appealing. But it just isn’t to me at all. Maybe it would be fine as background cafe music where I could still hear the conversation at my table. Full disclosure, country and American folk are my least favorite genres. But even with that context, I found this fairly soulless and uninteresting. Neither music nor vocals nor lyrics provoked much mental or emotional response from me. It seems profoundly forgettable.

This album is fine. I've never been much of a fan of New Order, and I completely get why others do. I'm more tolerant of wonky vocals in genres that are more in my wheelhouse and would likely be more forgiving if this album had been part of my repertoire when I was 15-27. But as a middle aged listener, the shitty vocals were distracting; the songs where the vocals stayed in his comfortable range were by far my favorites. The album captures the time perfectly from a sound standpoint, so it was fun to listen on that level. But the mediocre vocals and the uneven quality of music and songs across the album really brought the listening experience down.

I have never really enjoyed listening to Dylan. I have softened as I’ve gotten older, and I am glad this project forced my hand and made me listen to this album. subterranean and Maggie are great songs that I really enjoy listening to. A full album of Dylan is still a lot for me, and the more acoustic songs on this album were a bit or a grind for me - they became formulaic for me after a while. And I’ll never really be able to get fully on board with his voice. Nonetheless i fully comprehend his impact and appreciate how much love there is for this album. Im giving it a 3, which frankly shows a lot of growth in my part :)

Ray Charles bringing amazing blues sensibilities to big band and ballads - what’s not to love. The first half of the album is more to my personal taste but overall some outstanding music.

First two songs seemed mildly interesting but ultimately forgettable. From there things got more memorable, but in the wrong way. Anyone listening to music in the 1980s would recognize how derivative this music is, so I can’t even give credit for inventiveness. This is really mediocre stuff overall. I’ve been able to see why nearly every album I’ve gotten is on this list. This one is a mystery to me.

I consider myself a fan of David Bowie's music, based on his hits/popular songs - but I've never listened to a full album. I suspect my expectations going in were too high based on his reputation (including his prominence on 1001 albums) - but this was a disappointment. Excellent musicianship, well produced, totally solid songs. But also a bit...ho hum. Perhaps the album had a bigger impact in its time because of the ways Bowie was adopting personae and with this album being the formal introduction of the Thin White Duke. But that has no impact on me now, frankly (or if it does, it is negative...given that the character was a fascist). So standing on its own musically, it was a nice listen but nothing I'd ever find remarkable.

Not always my personal style - too show tuney for me. But excellent musicianship, culturally iconic, and the best songs are fantastic. There are low points - Jamaican Jerk-off is an inexplicable embarrassment.

Calm and pleasing samba/bossa nova music here. Fits a certain vibe and setting - great listen on a walk, or some other solitary activity. Music did not blow me away, nor is it innovative in any way - just a good version of what it is. Not clear why it is on this list, but glad to have listened to it.

I have a lot of admiration for Adele. Her music has had such a profound impact on so many people and she's immensely talented, and she came by her success honestly. I had small children in the Adele era and her music was omnipresent at that time - so I have a lot of positive memories attached to her music, especially the album "21". I had forgotten that this album dwelled so much (and so monolithically) on her heartbreaks and the massive life transitions she was experiencing. I suspect this album spoke (and still speaks) to a lot of people, but it wasn't written for me; which of course is totally fine, but I can't really connect with it. I think it is fair to say this album accomplishes what it sets out to accomplish and does it reasonably well. Personal preferences aside, I think it is also fair to critique the album for being too one-note - more musical risk taking, and more translation of her personal experiences into more universal themes would have been lovely. Lyrically its all too literal, and after a while the music just gets so dreary and monotonous. I wish the strong personal experiences she wanted to work through and express had led to more artistry and creativity, frankly.

Why is this on here?

I really enjoyed this more than I expected - it was a fun listen. I think my wife put it best when she said “yeah it’s fun - but they aren’t as good as any of the bands they are trying to sound like.” A lot of reviews here are a bit over the top. This is NOT Pet Sounds or Let It Bleed or anything by the Beatles. But it is fun, committed psychedelic pop rock. I’d give it a 3.5 if I could but I’m in a good mood so I’ll go 4.

Loved this beginning to end.

I generally enjoy Tom Waits' music. From listening to this album, I've learned I'm not a fan of his spoken word. The re-creation of a jazz club in the studio was a novel approach, and he pulls it off well in terms of mimicking the vibe and feel of the setting. I just thought the banter before the songs was overlong and frankly boring; maybe if I had lived in 1970s Los Angeles I would have enjoyed/appreciated the banter and references more, but by and large it felt like cosplaying rather than any authentic connection with the audience and environment. The more they were playing music, the more I enjoyed the album. And the bass player deserves massive credit - the playing is great, and anchors the music which was otherwise all too fleeting. I admire the concept of the album, the mood and vibe, and a good bit of the music. But overall I don't see myself being drawn back to listen to this.

Why is this here? This album feels like a bunch of people playing with studio tricks to see what they sound like, and turning 80s ideas into late 90s dance music. The first two songs are...dreadful. We finally get some rhythmic variety but really all but one song ("Sometimes") are cut-and-paste jobs repeated for a few minutes. Apparently in 2015 this was ranked 97th on a list of top 100 dance albums of all time. Even THAT shouldn't be enough to get onto this 1001 albums list. It's not good, it's not groundbreaking, it's not even a good representation of the genre. I save one star ratings for albums that are really failures. It's not this band's fault they were unreasonably elevated to this list, and outside the context of this list I can see finding the album a bit of highly dated fun. But honestly this was a crap listen.

Such a great album! This was Stevie Wonder's 15th album...he was 22 years old when he released it. Unbelievable - he's a true genius. Really enjoyed the exceptional musicianship throughout and the cutting edge use of keyboards and synthesizers. The funkier, up tempo songs are more to my personal taste but I even appreciated the slower songs - composition and musicianship throughout the album are just so excellent.

I would generally consider myself a fan of Rush - I love their better known songs and admire their extraordinary musicianship. This is an interesting album - one I was definitely aware of but had never listened to. It really shows the band as a work in progress and where they’d end up. I do not however think they had really found their footing yet, as popular as this album was/is. It had a tendency to be ponderous and just feels a little tight - like their trying to hard. “Lessons” was by far my favorite track - they seem most confident here, snd this one really predicts their future - conventional rock song structures on the surface that offer them the opportunity to dive fully into their exquisite musicianship. Glad I listened to this.

Beautiful album with extraordinary playing. There’s a funny reverse pretension among a lot of folks who don’t like jazz - there’s this need to bring it down, claiming its talentless drivel. No, this is not what your insurance company uses for hold music. No, you could not play this yourself if you knew how to play trumpet. These are in fact world class musicians and this is exceptional music. You do not have to like it, and given the experimental nature of it you can find the experiment to be a failure. But why are you even bothering to listen to 1001 albums if you are inclined to demean something that just isn’t for you?

Not to my taste, but encountering albums like this is exactly why im taking on this project. The album is a real time capsule - it captures (and played its own key role in) the popularity of the Wild West in the 50s and 60s. Great storytelling and well executed music. For my own taste though, Im really not a fan of cowboy cosplaying and the mythologization that this represents. And Marty Robbins also recorded a lot of music branding folks who were politically different from him as dirty communists - yay McCarthyism! But I still do appreciate the cultural importance of this album - the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of it.

Blues doesn't get much better than this. I've never been able to fully get into the blues because the repetitive nature of the songs gets to be a little too much for me, and that was part of my experience with this album. But Muddy Waters is obviously at the top of the mountain for the Blues and it was great to experience his music this way. The energy and conviction are incredible. The album is also mixed extremely well - perfectly balanced, every instrument comes through clearly, the whole album sounds amazing.

Solid album of 90s alt rock and glad to be exposed to something that was big in the UK but essentially unknown in the US. Music is good - I found the singers voice not very good however. Thin voice, limited range, and missed quite a few notes.

Fabulous album of pop/r and b. Quincy Jones is a genius producer and it shows on this album. Song composition is up and down - this isn’t Thriller. But the high points are super high.

Fabulous album of pop/r and b. Quincy Jones is a genius producer and it shows on this album. Song composition is up and down - this isn’t Thriller. But the high points are super high.

Well I did this project to hear new music and on that level Im glad I listened to this. That and the fact that this is a well produced album is about all I can say in its favor. Singer wants the to be Dylan in the WORST way and the songs overall are just trying too hard to be…something. This music had its moment I imagine but it really doesn’t bear remembering.

Well I did this project to hear new music and on that level Im glad I listened to this. That and the fact that this is a well produced album is about all I can say in its favor. Singer wants the to be Dylan in the WORST way and the songs overall are just trying too hard to be…something. This music had its moment I imagine but it really doesn’t bear remembering.

Having started college in 1990, the music of this decade is the soundtrack of my young adult life. I was very aware of (and like) the singles from this album, but at that time I was MUCH more focused on music coming out of the US and had never listened to the album. I can't believe I've been missing out for the last 30+ years. I think the album is amazing. There's a good bit of weirdness and some musical experimentation (that probably breadrumbs Damon Albarn's musical future), I love the ways it captures 90s British life (Blur turns out to be the Kinks to Oasis' Beatles!), and there's always a great alt pop sensibility throughout. Fantastic listen - one I'll actually go back to.

Album started slow for me - more like smooth jazz. But it really picked up at the song Nawa and I loved it from there.

I'm not a fan of country whatsoever, so I am not really in position to make declarations about what is and isn't historically important. I take it this album is viewed as a landmark or milestone in country - I'll have to accept that. But what I will assert is that an album's historical importance can be noted while also acknowledging it isn't worth listening to anymore. That's how I feel about this album. Musically monotonous, with cliche at best storytelling. Solid mandolin playing - I'll give it that. Their voices are, frankly, terrible in tone; they deserve credit for their well done close harmonies. The music never once serves the story they are telling. They basically play the same music regardless of what the song is about, the same music whether it’s a murder ballads or a song glorifying the south. Knoxville Girl is a travesty - and it was a country music hit (and, to be fair, has been performed by many other artists). The origins of this song is a murder ballad written back in the 17th century, but the Knoxville Girl version loses a lot of the psychological gravity of a typical murder ballad and is just a shallow and awful telling of domestic violence and murder. Here on this album it is sung with the same dry and formulaic approach as, well, every other song on the album. I am all for honoring the Appalachian folk tradition. I will choose to believe this is not the best of it, or even a mediocre version of it. This album's presence on this list is nothing more than fetishization of a genre - the music here does not hold up in any way shape or form to today.

There’s some great music on this album, brought down by David Byrnes moaning and rambling.

Brilliant album. PE was one of my absolute favorite artists in high school and college, and the music remains as powerful today as ever. Would give 4.5 stars if I could.

Im a fan of Elvis Costello and even Id say 7 albums of his on this list is overrepresentation. This album is fine. There’s some good music here, some clunkers, and it’s too long. Too unremarkable to be on this list.

This album was fine - I’d say I was neutral positive on it. When their songs are fully fleshed out, they are brilliant. Too often they aren’t. There’s a lot of interesting and compelling music here overall.

Some interesting music - I did enjoy the post punk elements here. I really don’t care for Julian Cope’s singing voice, however.

What...on...Earth. I am nearly 100 albums in and listening to an album a day has absolutely made me more curious and open to new and different music. And this just isn't good. They are capable musicians and I can understand why someone would enjoy this. But speaking more critically, it is highly derivative and unoriginal musically, and the lyrics are really uncompelling to me as well. This is not a terrible album, per se. In the context of 1001 albums to listen to, I frankly think it is terrible.

Loved listening to this. Great music all around.

I enjoyed the music. There’s some good stuff here, if a bit uneven. Siouxsie and the Banshees doesn’t hold much interest to me, though, because they were part of the UK punk scene that sought fit to embrace Nazi imagery to be “provocative”. They wore Nazi armbands, and wrote the lyric “too many Jews for my liking”. The excuses ranged from saying it’s meant to be “high camp, not death camp” to claiming they weren’t aware of how bad Nazis were, to “the Nazi outfits just looked so cool”, to “we never meant it to be supporting fascism”. Im not making any of that up. Meanwhile this type of behavior invited neo-Nazism to invade punk music. Thankfully there was a strongly anti fascist cohort in punk - including The Clash - who somehow, someway knew that Nazism was bad (imagine that). I am inspired by punks who take a critical eye to the world and work to break apart systems that don’t work and cause harm. Im not too interested in people who think the point of punk is just to annoy people who are older than them, and think cosplaying as Nazis is the way to do it. Whatever qualities their music may possess, there’s too much good music out there for me to care about their bullshit.

I didn’t like this album much at all. It sort of reminded me of Styx jn that it features a lead singer trying waaaaaay too hard and ultimately sounding to my ears like nothing more than a cornball showtune artist. But in this case mix in lyrics about gang rape and gonorrhea.

Absolute masterpiece. Good argument this is the best metal album of all time, and no argument that is the best thrash metal album of all time.

Hip hop has long been one of my favorite genres of music, and I can remember the first time I heard Snoop Dogg so clearly when The Chronic first came out. He was a revelation, and he has had an indelible impact on hip hop for sure. I've always struggled with his solo stuff, however. It doesnt come close to having the weight of the work he did on Dre's albums. The non-stop "b$tches and hoes" and violence and drug use actually gets cartoonish and corny (and it's so lazy and so offensive...surely he and those around him could have done better). So while I respect the impact he had at hip hop and respect his otherworldly flow, a full album was a lot and left me feeling pretty ho-hum at best. Too bad he sold out, too - that was a real bummer as well.

I was lucky enough to be in college when Nirvana hit the world and the 90s alternative scene erupted. Sonic Youth was an intimidating presence for me - the band that people ahead of the curve already knew and loved. The band whose music played in the record store and you were afraid to ask who it was. It was only Much later that I started to listen to Sonic Youth - benefitting from the access to music provided by streaming services, this was mostly in the form of random songs. This is the first time I’ve listened to them in album format and I wasn’t disappointed. Just enough melodic pop elements to help me feel anchored through the experimental aspects.

I bought this album on CD when it first came out and listened to it frequently. At the time it was fresh and exciting - this level of production hadn't really hit the mainstream that much. I wonder if a new listener - especially someone younger - hears this and thinks "big deal - its club music". But this album elevated into the mainstream what was largely ONLY heard in a small number of clubs and was on a technological cutting edge. It was a cool time, and a cool album.

I was 20 when this album came out, but while I know a couple of songs from radio play I had never listened to the album as a whole. I really enjoyed it! I likely won't revisit this, but I was glad to experience a full Sugar album. The critical reviews here are a bit hilarious, especially those criticizing this for being "generic 90s alternative" and that they are trying to hard to sound like the Pixies or Nirvana. Bob Mould's first band, Husker Du, was a HUGE influence on the 90s alternative scene - Pixies and Nirvana both cite HD as a massive influence, a band THEY were trying to sound like. So while I agree this album has something of a generic 90s sound...it is necessarily generic because Bob Mould is actually an originator of this sound lol. So cut the band some slack!

Maybe this is good for what it is? But I hate what it is. This was torture for me. 2* is the best I can do to transcend my biases.

I well remember their cover of Sweet Jane - it was all over alternative radio. Overall the album is sleepy and uninteresting to me.

Such a great album. I do wish this sight would NOT link to “deluxe” versions of albums. I did not listen to that one - I listened to a remastered version of the original studio release (also on Spotify). Reading some of the negative reviews I wonder if the deluxe version has a lot more musical masturbation filler. Because the 41 minutes on the studio release felt, for prog rock, reasonably tight and cohesive. There are self indulgent moments for sure and times I found my interest fading. But for the majority of the album I was engaged and enjoying things.

I mostly enjoyed listening to this. It’s really good quality blues rock. And I appreciate what a really well recorded live performance this is! It’s also 80 minutes long for 7 songs. It faded into the background quite a lot. It was a bit much. I did really like thinking about the venue. A small theatre where major acts would perform. My mom and dad went here all the time during their college years.

Great album of Christmas classics. Super creepy to hear Phil Spector talking over silent night at the end given what a profoundly awful human we eventually learned he was. But I’ll definitely honor these great musicians putting out some all time great Christmas music.

I’ve never listed to a full GSH album before and this was a great experience. He’s got a lot to say and it’s all worth listening to. And the music is phenomenal.

I listened to this album a lot in the 80s and haven't listened to it since - and likely would never have done so again if it weren't for this project. Honestly it was great to revisit. The album is extremely well produced and recorded and outstanding music overall. The first half/first side is exceptional; second half a bit uneven. Elements are dated, a couple of songs Mark K phoned in the lyrics. But overall this is really good 80s rock and roll. I'd give it 3.5 if I could. Also, PLEASE understand the use of the epithet f****t. This is being used 100% as parody and critique, pointing a finger at what today we call toxic masculinity (in this case portrayed by a working class guy who thinks it isn't "manly" to be a musician). This attitude was certainly endemic in the 70s and 80s, and Dire Straits weren't the only ones to call it out - Monty Python has multiple sketches that call out this same mindset. The use of the word in this song was meant to be provocative and it was seen as such at the time - and we knew it was calling out this pervasive, homophobic attitude.

This album is an absolute masterpiece, and imo the most cohesive, successful concept album. The weight of what this album holds is just extraordinary. It of course needs to be placed in the context of the tumultuous time in which it was written - I time of deep challenges and conflicts. The Vietnam War, fights for equality on many fronts, awakening to environmental catastrophe, cultural/generational divides, income inequality, a fast-shifting economy. And Marvin Gaye is feeling this on profound levels, and shares with us the ways he is processing and confronting this politically, socially, and spiritually. The music is unsurprisingly fantastic - his miraculous voice, exceptional musicianship, and a flowing, cohesive musical journey from the beginning of the album to the end. I appreciated the repetition of musical motifs tying things together as well. And overall the depth of feeling is so palpable - the range of emotion (despondent to angry to hopeful) is so relatable. I appreciate, too, that the album is both universal and also so clearly speaks to the Black American experience at the time. A work of artistic genius and musical greatness.

You’ve got to dig it to dig it, you dig?

Good stuff here, especially musically. Lyrics have a bit of a show tune vibe for my taste. For the record, Bryan Ferry is a jerk.

I’ve never really been a fan of DM and listening to this album didnt change anything for me. In fact I was surprised by the low points of the album - the album is thin on content imo. There are high highs as well and I see why folks love this album. Just not my bag.

There are only a handful of jazz albums on this list, and it is a bit of a random assortment - nonetheless every one of them is outstanding and regarded as a classic of the genre. It is a puzzle why there are TWO Stan Getz albums given how few jazz albums are here, but that doesn't change the fact that this album is a brilliant masterpiece. The connection and relationship between Gilberto and Getz produced so much extraordinary music and helped elevate in the US the remarkable samba jazz that was developing in Brazil.

I know that Slade was very popular in the 70s and honestly trying to put myself in the moment. But I don’t really see (or hear, rather) what’s the big deal. If this band was playing in a local pub, I’d have a good time listening to them - but there just isn’t a lot more than that here. I guess I can credit them for being an influence to a band like AC/DC or hair metal? When thinking about other music out at the time, this is utterly unremarkable stuff though. It is musically basic and uninteresting. I didn’t even find it very hooky. This is a miss for me.

Fantastic stuff. So much energy and creativity - for all their awesome heaviness there’s also so much musicality, which of course is why they are legendary.

This album is a bit of a puzzle to me. A friend gave me this on CD when it first came out, touting it as a new big thing. And I listened to it quite a lot, which even in the context of that moment is a surprise because this is decidedly NOT my preferred type of music. Not even close. But in the moment we really enjoyed listening to this. I probably have not listened to it since 2000, and listening to it again all these years later I find myself wondering why we all liked this album so much. The music is pleasant, but fairly basic and repetitive within each song. His voice is not very good at all. Lyrics are pretty good - but also fairly emotionally repetitive. For whatever reason it captured our attention and feelings back in 1998. In fact, it sounds fairly generic - like the sound of late 90s/early 2000s. I'll have to chalk this up to it happening at the right place and right time and people enjoying the shared love of something new. For me, it didn't age well at all however, leaving me bemused by our having collectively made this a smash hit at the turn of the century. There was nothing wrong with that, and sometimes you just have to look back and cringe (which I say with a smile).

When I saw Willie Nelson pop up I was excited - I have a lot of respect for him, but have never listened to one of his albums before. This album was not what I expected to be sure, but even coming to understand that this was a record of pop standards, I felt excitement to give this a shot. It proved to be a disappointment. In the end, this just feels like watered down country music to make watered down pop standards. Willie's voice on these tunes is...uncompelling. And the music is plain, boring. It came across like a lounge act to me, frankly. It is certainly pleasant, and I can understand the appeal of Willie Nelson doing something outside of the box like this. And obviously it made a huge mark on music, given it stayed on the country top 100 for TEN years. But for me this record is more of an "oddities bin" find, and came across like a mediocre vanity project.

So glad this project exposed me to an album like this. I enjoyed this so much - musically rich and vibrant and the singing js beautiful. I don’t know a word he is singing but the feeling comes through so clearly - completely captured me.

Looking at some of these reviews, I didn't realize there were so many Police haters lol. The Police put out some incredible music in a very short period of time. This is a great album, and I actually think it comes in as the fourth best of their five tbh. There's no questioning their energy or their musicianship or their ability to write incredibly well composed songs. And you have to appreciate the fun they have - there are always weird songs, and friends that's a GOOD thing.

The backstory of this album is way more interesting than the album itself. I like how weird it is. But musically it’s not memorable or impressive. And for me the music should drive its inclusion, not the story behind it.

Another interesting album that I nerve would have heard without this project. I really enjoy and appreciate the fluidity of musical genres here. It is a bit atmospheric for my overall taste - it sometimes blended into the background. But there’s a lot of beauty to the music and it served the subtle but powerful messages. Also anyone who claims race wasn’t a topic 15 years ago and we were on some verge of a post racial society was living with blinders on - intentionally or otherwise.

Parklife came up earlier in this project for me and I was blown away by it. I know Blur's radio songs, but I was too focused on grunge and american alternative rock at that time and wasn't spending my limited resources on anything else, lol. So I was excited to get this other Blur entry in the queue. There's some solid music here, and I appreciate the eclecticism and occasional weirdness of their music. But tbh their hearts don't seem fully in this one. There's a generic-ness to this album as well. There are hints of what Albarn ends up doing with Gorillaz which I appreciate, but this was just a solid, fairly unremarkable entry for me.

Well, these are three women who could sing the phonebook and it would be beautiful to listen to. It is a bummer though that the full potential of this trio isn't realized here. The songs are dated even for 1987, and man would I loved some musical and lyrical variety - something uptempo, something that stretched and showed off their vocal prowess, something NOT about losing/missing/kicking out a man. Glad I listened to it, but it could have been SO much better.

I'm really not a fan of country - and this is really country. But Loretta Lynn is a boss - a total badass, and thanks to that I found a way to enjoy this. That and it is only 28 minutes long.

Some good music. Too much jamming

Awesome

I think it is worth noting that these songs were recorded in 1982, not 1986. There is a lot to appreciate here - there's some genre bending, Afro Futurism, an effort to make rap more musical just to name a few. It is at the same time incredibly dated. Obviously it did not take hip hop much longer to evolve well past this, and it sounds quite dated. But I do want to recognize the important role this music played in the formation and elevation of the genre.

The inclusion of this album is a head scratcher for me. It is an excellent example of non-grunge 90s music - along with 100 other albums. I was in my 20s during that decade, so I lived through this, and the Boo Radleys - in the US at least - were completely unremarkable, and had little impact on the music scene. But great for inclusion on alternative radio, and there's really nothing wrong with this album at all. Maybe this was bigger/more important in the UK? For me its a nice reminiscence for the sound of the time and otherwise forgettable. Also, naming it after John Coltrane's absolutely epic album is, at best, a real eye roller.

I don't need a PhD in math to appreciate music - I even like prog rock! And guess what - this is really, really good music. Beautifully produced, engaging lyrically and musically, smooth with an edge. It's a great listen and captures its moment in time perfectly, too.

The bias towards UK music from 1980-2010 is beyond laughable. This is the second completely fine, completely forgettable, frankly boring album from a UK indie band from the 1990s...this week. This is an album very much behind its time. To be fair and to acknowledge my own biases, it is also too slow and mopey for my own personal taste. I frankly wanted to poke my eyes out listening to this, but I persevered in the name of science. I can see why someone else might enjoy this. I cannot see why someone wants to include this on a list of 1001 albums to listen to.

I think I’m just salty because Bowie is SOOOOO over represented on this list. This album is fine. Well produced, solid music. But nothing spectacular for me, and the closer I listened the less I liked it.

Remarkably famous album that I've never listened to before, and I'm so glad this project got me to do so. Not a perfect album, but I see why it is so loved and so important. Lots of reviews decrying this as "not punk", but there are obviously shared aesthetics and values to the more "traditional" punk music - this album is very obviously a key block in the foundation of the DIY movement of the 70s that had such a profound impact on music and well beyond.

This is such a fun album to listen to. These many years later, though, I realize the degree to which what is great about the album is very much the vibe, the sleek production, the quality of their voices, etc. A lot of the biggest songs here are functionally covers (of varying creativity). Still an iconic and compelling album.

I mean, who doesn't love their version of Apache. Who doesn't laugh and smile to a bongo-fied version of In A Gadda Da Vida? This is to a large degree a novelty album, but I assume it is included here because of its outsized presence in hip hop music - and if that's it, that's a good reason! It's a fun album - it gets old fast, but at worst it's harmless and the songs are fun and generally make you want to dance.

I tried. Really, I did. I knew going in that I'm not the biggest fan of Van Morrison, but 125 albums in I have genuinely become more open minded in my musical listening. The first 30 seconds of the first song were going pretty well, too - trying to digest the lyrics, appreciating a nice melody. After about 5 minutes (of this 7 minute long song) I realized...the music hasn't changed. We're getting the same short chord progression over, and over, and over. And I can't take the constipated singing any longer. And the lyrics don't resonate with me at all. So this ended up being a tortuous voyage through Van Morrison's navel gazing. And to be fair, I don't feel too bad. After all, COVID unleashed Van Morrison's inner conspiracy theorist identity, including putting out an album decrying all the ways he is being oppressed - including by Jews. Once a pos, always a pos I suppose.

It is hard to overestate what an extraordinary debut album this is, with Good Times, Bad Times arguably being the greatest introduction to a band ever. The music on this album blows away just about anything that was in the mainstream at the time. The uncredited use of so many blues songs by Black American artists has to be acknowledged and no matter how much that level of uncredited usage (I think its complicated in music to call this “stealing” but that’s not out of bounds imo) was the norm at the time, it was a shitty thing to do. It did have an impact on the awareness of these artists and their formative influence on rock and roll, but Led Zeppelin gets little credit given their choice to act like they were the full authors of these songs. The album remains a musical triumph that changed rock music. I’d give it 4.5 stars if I could.

Despite being a fan of a lot music that was inspired by the Stooges, I’ve never listened to this album. Loved it. So easy to see the blueprint that this laid for tons of music to come. I can also completely understand the more negative reviews - I agree with a lot of the characterizations there as well. But I enjoyed listening to this, and respect the artistry behind it.

Shoegaze is apparently my least favorite genre. I can understand why people like this but it’s not for me. And it drove me crazy that it sounded like I was listening to a band playing in a club from outside on the sidewalk.

I really appreciate the hot/cold nature of the reviews - so many ones and fives lol. Im not a big fan of Meat Loaf - and not a fan of show tunes at all. This music is just too corny for me, and a whole album about a guy chasing after a girl he likes as if he’s a middle schooler is below my pay grade. At least Les Mis is about revolution. But the musicianship js fantastic and I will always give someone credit for being all in with what they’re doing. And can’t argue with the cultural impact this album had. So for those points I’ll be generous with my rating.

This album is a great example of why Im doing this project. I’ve never listened to JA beyond radio hits, I’ve never once thought to do so. The album isn’t really to my personal taste but there’s a lot of solid and varied music on here. Glad I got to listen to it. The end.

Just a fun album of metal. Metal is inherently an over the top genre. And Judas Priest is absolutely over the top. How fabulous is it to listen to Rob Halford sing "Grindahhhhhh...looking for meat". Good stuff. Yeah, ok - it can be corny at times. But they are all in, and I love that about the music. There's just no reason for hate here. Great music, great vibes, absolute devotion to the schtick. Rock on.

Although I've never listened to this music as an album, this was a pretty big record in the early 90s alternative/college radio scene and I was very aware of it. It was fun to listen to it today. It captures the time incredibly well, and I appreciated the energy and vibe of the album. As I listened, nothing ever jumped out at me - it was in that sense a pretty flat listening experience - but I won't go so far as calling it background music. There is more going on here musically than that, and I enjoyed the stylistic variety across the album. I'd give it 3.5 stars if I could.

This is a fabulous album overall. There are definitely misses here - First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, Personal Jesus, and In My Life was a challenging trifecta. And that's the fault with the album...it needed editing, and instead does feel a bit like throwing a bunch of songs at the wall to see what sticks. But what sticks is REALLY REALLY good. The Man Comes Around and Streets of Laredo are by far my favorites - they are absolutely sublime for me; and that in and of itself is telling, in that the first is a song written by Johnny himself and the latter is an all time great Western standard. But the touch he brings to the other songs and the sparse musicality of these pop and rock hits is often really beautiful.

Solid album of late 90s rock. The best songs are terrific but the album is a bit muddy overall for me.

This is a masterpiece. Whether one enjoys listening to this music is a matter of personal preference, obviously; but that this is a musical masterpiece is not up for debate. And I certainly do not have qualifications to add anything to the dialogue on this particular album. The reviews of on this site of the small number of jazz albums from the list continue to entertain. I'm not sure why it is that music fans who don't like jazz have such a complex about that, lol. There is this odd reverse snobbery where someone who likes jazz has to sarcastically say something like "I guess I'm not educated enough to listen to this" and then put down the music with "sounds like elevator music to me" or "just background" or "anyone can play this". There's even one review that accuses people of "fake fawning" over the album, and that loving this album is just lemming behavior. Ok pal lol. There's plenty of snobbery throughout music fandom (there's no gatekeeping like Punk fans, for instance!) But there is a good argument that this is America's only original high art, and whether one likes it or not it takes enormous talent to play great jazz music. The music on this album is genius, and the genre is one we (Americans) should be proud of.

I genuinely try to keep my biases in check as I make my way through this project, and one of those biases is my deep dislike of country music. George Jones made a lot of people happy with his music, and people who love this music see this as among the best of the genre. But at the end of the day, I just can’t bring myself around on this one. The album is musically and lyrically...uninteresting. It's just pop music with a country twang, an album of songs that are slightly different versions of each other played to please. It is inoffensive adult contemporary music. And that has its place, but I'll be damned if I'm going to commend it musically lol. For me the best thing about this album is that it was 28 minutes long.

Legendary

I have mixed feelings about the album. I like garage rock and I really liked the original songs. The covers did nothing for me. There’s zero value added there. The recording quality was maybe a little too garagey for me, too. The sax sounded like it was being played through kazoo paper. The singer’s yelling kept pushing through the equalizer. (Not to mention he used it like a crutch more than anything). But I will say I’m a little obsessed with the drum sound they got. It sounds a lot like the drums on When the Levee Breaks. Just booming. I love them it. Its inclusion in this list seems to be tied to folks like Kurt Cobain and Jack White lauding them and citing them as influences. But for me they sound like nothing more than a serviceable local band with great energy, young guys having fun making their garage rock. Not their fault they’re on the list - this was a 3 for me personally as a listening experience but I don’t think this is a great inclusion on the list.

This isn’t my personal taste to begin with. But I was surprised how poor her singing actually is. I’d call her “on key adjacent” on this album. The songs were fairly boring to listen to. Solid cafe music. Her later music is much better.

Strong 90s alternative rock. I've never listened to the full album, and was surprised (not in a bad way) at how pop-sounding some of the songs are. Good album, well representative of the era. I prefer Live Through This, however.

I wasn’t likely to enjoy this from the get go as it is a genre I don’t generally care for. I know this is considered his masterpiece- but even accounting for taste I don’t really get it. Apart from the title song, the songs just weren’t very good. They often sounded like Flight of the Conchords parody songs to me.

A lovely Samba album from Astrud Gilberto, but an odd selection. This is a nice album, but she has several other albums from this same decade that are much higher regarded.

Great example of what’s good about this list. I’d never listened to this before and probably won’t again. But I’m really glad to have been exposed to this. Really solid British punk music. They played nice role in the scene. I’ve learned something and better for it.

Folk is one of my least favorite genres, so this was tough. But not as bad as I feared. The less closely I listened the better it was for me. It’s pleasant. For me the orchestration detracted, and a lot of it was just not to my taste. Easy to see why people love this though.

C'mon folks lets get real here. Dusty's voice is incredible. She sings with so much soul. Backing music and vocals are fabulous, production is great - this is an album of gems. Just a great listen. This is great music.

I will not give this pos even the tiniest fraction of a cent. Openly hating Jews, extolling Hitler, and selling swastika tshirts online in 2025 is beyond anything any of us should ever accept. Sorry - not separating the art and the artist on this one. Oh, but he did post a full page ad apology for his behavior just a few weeks ago. Interestingly timed a few weeks before an album release. Nope.

Good old fashioned heavy metal

This is the first time I've ever endeavored to listen to a full Husker Du album, and I've come to the conclusion that I like the idea of Husker Du more than Husker Du themselves. I recognize that they were super influential to many bands that I love, and perhaps if I had heard HD when they first came out (and before a lot of other bands copied them, doing it better) I would have really been taken with them. The music is fine - it is solid alternative rock. But not super interesting. I like Bob Mould's music with Sugar much better. Still, HD made their mark, one I'm grateful for.

I have always been a "greatest hits" lover of David Bowie, but never an album listener until I started doing this project. And up until now it has been a major disappointment. Previous albums that have come up have been a mess to me - self indulgent, uneven, unimpressive. But Hunky Dory changed that - really liked this album. There's still plenty of self-indulgence, and there are some songs that just should not have been seen as finished (or as anything more than DB mucking around on a piano) But most of the album is a really good listen. There are strong anchors, interesting musical explorations, weirdness, and much more cohesion that others of his.

I’m just a hair’s breadth away from giving this a one. It’s so ridiculous as to feel inauthentic to me (although I truly think they believe in it fully). It isn’t so different from Piper at the Gates of Dawn and other experimental psychedelia from the time though. And so maybe it deserves some credit for that.

This album was fine for me, and completely get why some people love Leonard Cohen. Spoken word poetry isn't my jam, so this album doesn't have to0 much for me. Musically it is utterly uninteresting - it's really Leonard Cohen rambling over background music. For someone focusing on (and enjoying) his poetry, I can see how this could be great. It was entirely inoffensive for me, though - was totally fine on in the background.

I have never been a big Smiths fan. A not insignificant part of this is that in my high school, this was a line of social/musical stratification - I fell on the hard rock/rap side of things. Emo was out for me. The other major reason is Morrissey, whose voice grates on me and who is, well, insufferable. So this is the first time I've listened to an album and...it wasn't bad. I focused on the music, which is great. I focused and finally appreciated Andy Rourke's outrageously good bass playing. He and Johnny Marr make a phenomenal musical pairing. Focusing on the music was good. Docking only a point in my rating for the presence of Morrissey is an act of magnanimity on my part.

Yesterday I got The Smiths. Today I get Morrissey. Not a great weekend. Whereas the Smiths album actually surprised me (I enjoyed the music more than I thought I would, having been a lifelong Smiths hater), this Morrissey album did not disappoint. It is terrible. It is an album with one well-manufactured pop song, and a long list of mediocre Poetry 101 lyrics and shockingly bad music. And I hadn't realized he was engaged in his racist, anti-immigrant rants all the way back in 1988. Bengali in Platforms is, frankly, unforgivable. I went online and can find many people defending it, claiming it actually is meant to show empathy and describe the plight of the immigrant. Without any external context that's a stretch - the chorus is literally a statement declaring the Bengali is someone who doesn't belong. And I feel pretty convinced of my rectitude on this one given Morrissey has dedicated a large portion of his life to spewing anti-Muslim, anti-Hindu, anti-immigrant, and anti-people-who-don't-look-like-me rhetoric. The top positive review on here does an embarrassing job of apologism. "He's a cunt, but he's our cunt". I took cunt to mean asshole, not anti-immigrant racist. If that's "your cunt", please take him with you. Far away. Morrissey doesn't merit defense as a human - he's a bad one. But my review doesn't have a lot to do with that, apart from that one reprehensible song. Even beyond that, this album, frankly, sucks.

Any day I get to listen to the Kinks is a good day. They are one of the most underrated bands of the British invasion. They were ahead of their time in so many ways, and this album is brilliant.

The predominantly UK-based music critics that populated this list sure do have a fetish for early Country & Western music. I will not my own bias - C&W (and country in particular) is not a genre I luck much at all. And this album, while inoffensive, really does nothing for me. There's a tried and true formula to this music, and if the music describes the world you live in and/or this is music you grew up with this I can understand why you'd enjoy it. Other than that...it's pretty meh. The only thing this album seems to have inspired is people making more of this music. As you can tell, not for me.

Sure ain’t as good as the first album.

This album is totally fine today and easy to see why it was big when it came out. They were never my favorite, but they were adjacent to and/or influenced a lot of bands I do love, so I appreciate them for that. In 2026 and without any personal/emotional connection to this album, it sounds pretty muddy and uneventful.

This is just a great album of catchy rock tunes, that has plenty of the musical flavor of the mid 90s on it. It is not groundbreaking, it is not musically unusual, but it is really enjoyable to listen to. And it had cultural meaning to us at the time. It was something none us expected. Dave Grohl? A whole album? And he played every instrument? And...pretty much every song is a good listen? This was never seen as something that would "replace" or continue Nirvana. But it still manage to fill some part of a hole that a lot of us felt, and it made us happy. The snobbery in the reviews is hilarious. It is ok to like rock music played well that is fun to listen to.

I bought this on CD as a college student in the early 90s. It was recommended to me by a music head as a seminal album; the guy at the record store even congratulated me on buying such a great album. I felt cool. I couldn't get into it. It gathered dust. But this time around, I guess I was growed up enough to get it. Really enjoyed this today - listened to the album several times. Such a great song, and can easily see the influence of this album. Really appreciated the Talking Heads adjacency here. Just another reason this project has been so fun.

Sure ain’t as good as the first album.

Sure ain’t as good as the first album.

This was an odd album overall. For starters, it is a shame that Stranger Things ground the best song on this album into the dirt. It is actually a great song, and it is hard to listen to now. As the album went along, I was surprised how incredibly dated sounding it is (not in a good way), and some of the earlier songs for my ears were just terrible. Corny, dated music and maudlin lyrics and singing. Towards the end, I found myself appreciating some of the more experimental stuff. So it wasn't the lost journey it started out as. I have a lot of respect for Kate Bush, but the music doesnt stand the test of time for me.

Sure ain’t as good as the first album.

I know Steve Earle is popular and widely respected. But c'mon with this album. Every time I think I am being too harsh on country music, I have to listen to something like this and I am reminded I am in no way being harsh on it. This is cookie cutter music to the extreme. Nothing new or interesting musically, and vapid lyrics that push every country music cliche. Over and over again.

I loved the first song. It went down from there

Its all fine. Music is pretty good, I've never been much of a fan of Van Morrison or his voice though

Such a great album. I am the exact same age as the members of Green Day, and so this album hit me in a particular way when it came out. There is some filler on the album, so it doesnt make 5 stars, but a great listen. And nothing funnier than punk gatekeeping. Green Day are a punk band. They play pop punk. Like the Buzzcocks. Johnny Lydon said Green Day are crap and don't deserve to be called a punk band. This coming from a guy who was in the punk version of The Monkees (which, honestly, is an insult to the Monkees). Enough with the gatekeeping.

I do have the capacity to imagine why someone would enjoy this album. However, for me this is just terrible. It is musically uninteresting - its not much more than warm ups and background music for Joni Mitchell's awkward spoken word style "singing". And both her delivery and lyrics sound so inauthentic to me. Nothing she says sounds like the world I live in, it all sounds forced and inauthentic. It is self-parody in the extreme - but unintentional. Just terrible stuff all the way around.

I've never listened to this album, and I enjoyed it. Overall not the most interesting and I thought it was a bit uneven. But overall good.

Brilliant album.

Uneven and boring

I have never really listened to Kings of Leon, despite them being adjacent to many groups I like a lot. I had the time to listen to this album more than once, and I'm glad I did...the more I listened to it the more I liked it.

Like a lot of other reviewers, I have complicated...or maybe not so complicated...feelings about this album now. I can viscerally recall the impact of this album on the landscape of music and culture. I was in college at the time, and it was just a cultural wave that caught almost everyone. However, it is an understatement to say this album has not aged well. In the least. The music is phenomenal. Dr Dre's embrace of 70s funk was genius, and the music created a musically revolutionary template. And at the same time the lyrics are pathetic and embarrassing. As a middle aged person now, I marvel at what was acceptable 30 years ago...or at the very least something we decided to overlook. Honestly, now I understand how emotionally and morally stunted these men were/are. The lyrics can only be described as pathetic. This album is worth remembering. It is not worth listening to. So I don't know how to rate this thing. It is a one and a five. It was revolutionary and embarrasing at the same time. To my ears today, it is something to acknowledge and admire, and never listen to again.

This album was a real nothing burger for me. I had a two hour drive and was excited for an opportunity to listen to this album carefully. And it didn't hold my interest despite much effort. It is totally fine electronic music from its time. There is nothing wrong with it at all. It is not worth listening to in 2026, however, unless it has personal meaning to you.

Mostly brilliant album. TLB is indulgent and sex-obsessed, detracting from the whole. Big Boi's album is sheer brilliance.

Of all the 2000s British bands that I've never heard of before, this is one of the few I actually enjoyed.

Apart from a couple of well known songs, this album is really...terrible. The lyrics are garbage, music is uninventive, his bad singing is just bad - no charm, no personality. I remain convinced that the only reason people like Lou Reed's music is because for some reason it seems cool to like Lou Reed's music.

Truly underrated band

This one is not for me. Boring, uninspired, and insubstantial

I have never listened to this album, but I wasn't surprised I already knew the first seven songs well. I am not a fan of folk music, and so a lot of CSN's music isn't my favorite. When Neil Young is in the mix, there's an edge to the music that pulls it into a space I really enjoy. I've also mellowed in middle age, and have a broader taste window, lol. In any case, this album is really fabulous. I'd give it 4.5 stars if i could.

I really like Becks

What a fabulous find! Awesome album.

I have never liked the music of the Carpenters, but now 200 albums in this project has opened my mind in a lot of ways so I went into this with the intent of listening with new ears. My opinion was not changed. I get why people like this music - there is a reason this kind of music is called "easy listening". This is nothing more than an album of cover songs, arranged to be as easy and unchallenging (and uninteresting) to listen to as possible. I felt a bit like I was in a Marriot lounge in Topeka on a Wednesday night. The most egregious example has to be Reason to Believe, given the stark counterpoint the Rod Stewart version offers, but every song on this album has as little soul and character as this example. Sorry to be so harsh, but for me it is just an utter waste of the clear talent that the Carpenter siblings possessed. Again, I get enjoying this album - there's a lot of vapid pop that entertains me, not all music has to be more complex. But there is something offensive to me about this album - there is just a determination to remove what is most powerful about music.

I love all of Pink Floyd. And Syd Barrett’s story is tragic. And this album is incredibly sad to listen to.

This album is pretty terrible. Buckley is singing in a way he can’t really sing, and the songs are virtually unlistenable.

This is indeed the birth of cool

I'm surprised by all the comments on here saying live albums shouldn't be included. Maybe that's a generational perspective? As a Gen X'er, growing up there were many live albums that were considered iconic - including this one. Seems perfectly appropriate for them to be on the list. I love the Who, but Live at Leeds actually isn't one of my favorites - I do personally prefer the studio cuts. But the best part of this album is Keith Moon. His drums are much more forward in the recording than they are on the studio albums, and they are just monstrous here.

The first album is brutal. Absolutely brutal. It feels like an experiment to see how long people will sit and pretend something is great before admitting it is actually a total farce. The second album is fine - nothing extraordinary, but at least it’s music.

This is indeed the birth of cool

This is indeed the birth of cool

This is indeed the birth of cool

This is indeed the birth of cool

This is a bizarre album, frankly. The music is pretty good...they play well, and if this had been released between 1985-1988 it would have really stood out. For an album released in 1998, it has a bizarrely outdated sound. And the lyrics...good gravy.

This is indeed the birth of cool

This album has no place on this list

The U2 hate is such a puzzle. Why? Because Bono is “annoying”? (Let’s be clear - he tried to use his fame to support peace around the world, and is in a lifelong relationship with his high school sweetheart. But because he kept himself in the public eye, he’s annoying?) Because they play large stadium shows? Because they gave their music away for free once? One of the most liked reviews here finds their popularity unimaginable. What? There is a lot of music I dislike, and my quibble isn’t with people disliking their music. It’s the dismissal of the music. I can’t stand Paul Simon’s music. But I know it’s good music. The dismissal of U2 is a tell - and a pathetic one at that.

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A work of genius. A masterpiece of 20th century composition. Not an easy listen per se. I appreciate the many on here who gave it a chance.

There were songs I’d give a one to and songs I’d give a five to. Fun to listen to this and overall better than I expected.

The worst offense of this album is how boring it is. The hypersexualized lyrics are gratuitous and lazy. The flow is repetitive. And the music is just uninteresting.

The worst offense of this album is how boring it is. The hypersexualized lyrics are gratuitous and lazy. The flow is repetitive. And the music is just uninteresting.

So…boring.

So…boring.