1001 Albums Summary

I've had Talk Talk's album 'Laughing Stock' from 1991 on my listenlist for a little while, so I'm hoping that this is a positive reflection of the direction that album will take. (will listen to it after this) This album is alright, there's a couple of good songs on here: notably 'Life's What You Make It' and 'Living in Another World' 3/5

I've already listened to Yes' album 'Close to the Edge', which I thought was good but lacked consistency in terms of re-listening appeal. A bit too experimental / parts of songs that just hung around for too long. Listening to 'The Yes Album', the opening track 'Yours Is No Disgrace' is good but is immediately followed up by a incredibly dragging acoustic track. Less re-visitable content on this album than on 'Close to the Edge' but not necessarily *bad* content.

just because you can, doesn't mean you should. jig music

nothing worse than relistening to an album that i've already listened to and didn't care for !!!!

i don't know if i'm bob dylan's biggest fan but this one was alright

I guess I always forget how close 1989 is to the 90s. It sounds stupid but I always go "wtf this is from the 80s??" and if it was released 3 years later, I'd react like "yeah that sounds about right". great opening song, rest of the album falls a little flat to my taste but i can easily see how this directly inspired other bands

The first half of this album felt like how Phil Spector originally envisioned the Beatles' "Let It Be" to have sounded. Definitely requires a relisten, but enjoyed this more than I expected!

2Pac's magnum opus. I think this has some of 2Pac's best songs on it, theme is significantly more consistent across songs - with some misses: - Heavy in the Game: look I enjoy double R as much as the next person but it just feels out of place. - Can U Get Away: weird mixing / production, otherwise could have been a decent song. - Old School: another good song that should have probably not been on the album.

Some really nice arrangements on this album. I'm always unsure how I'll go listening to something like chamber pop / folk. Kinda fell off aggressively in the second half and reminded me of missy higgins or something. Everyone's Stalking is probably the highlight of the album for me.

rated this one a 3/5 after my first listen in 2022. got this one again as part of the 1001, so deciding i'd give it a skim: It's... not bad. It's just definitely not my thing, it's obviously a classic but that doesn't mean I have to listen to it. Stand-outs include: Moonage Daydream, Starman, and maybe Star

Okay, I've never really put much thought into Taylor Swift before. Her discography has always been on my listenlist just due to pop culture relevance. I've heard most of the hits on the radio or somewhere else. I'm going to try and do my best to reserve judgement and listen to the album without prejudice (despite my immediate feeling of dread upon seeing the tracklist" Blank Space - "the worst is yet to come" Uncanny foreshadowing by Taylor here. This was definitely one of the worst listening experiences I've had to endure recently, and I just did the 10 Electro Swing albums! You can tell Taylor knows her audience - middle school aged white girls. Lots of very cringe lyrics and immature relationship comments throughout this entire release. That's not even the worst part of it though, it's the production. Or I should say lack of thereof, because it's so boring and uninspired that I've without a doubt heard better sounding instrumentals from soundcloud and bandcamp! After I had an involuntary shudder reaction as a result to the cringeworthy opening track, I thought it would be funny to track my shudder count for this album. None of these were intentional or forced either. Shudder count: 8 Most tolerable song on the album was I Know Places

Feels like a pretty radio-safe punk release - focus on catchy riffs and memorable vocals. L.A. even has keyboard featured in it. the kind of release you'd have a 50/50 chance of letting it play or change radio stations

man this one hurt. Hotel California is the only stand-out song, not even because it's even good for the time, overdone radio banger. New Kid in Town is the beach boys copied BADLY. Life in the Fast Lane, Wasted Time, and Victim of Love are all aggressively generic pop rock songs the rest are okay... I really wanted this to be over ASAP

I'm not sure how to feel about this one. The noisy guitars and general rawness is good... but the vocals just suck. Its either a disinterested woman singing or the whiney vocals of a man. Makes most songs a chore to get through, when it could be so much better. After 1989, I was really hoping for a decent palette cleanser. Interesting enough stuff here, just not well executed or relistenable.

I'm not sure what to really write for this one, it was pretty forgettable. Some good ideas and arrangements on the opening epic 2112 but it faltered pretty hard after that.

I really don't like David Lee Roth's vocals, it's like I can smell him through my headphones. Sometimes I feel like I can tell what kind of person someone is by just hearing them talk, this is one of those times. I don't know anything about him and I feel like he's a sexpest already after 1 song. Eruption is like that scene in Back to the Future where marty hooks up his guitar to speakers in Doc's lab. I know BTTF came a 7 years afterwards but it's the same kind of energy. Did the cover of You Really Got Me really need the moaning?? and did I'm the One need the 'shoobie-doo-wah'?? I don't understand how anyone can rate this album 4.5, let alone 5, with songs like Ice Cream Man on the release either.

I don't really have much to say about this album, honestly. It's not bad, it's not my thing. Even going through the tracklist a second time, I'm at a lost to things to say. It's alright, just very forgettable. The whole album doesn't ask anything from you and then leaves without leaving a mark. Here's an ascii face instead: ._.

Your New Cuckoo is the kind of Twee Pop I've only ever heard Japanese bands do, I really enjoy it and I guess this is my sign to listen to more of it. Immediately afterwards, the album switches to a more pop-rock sounds and provides a consistently underwhelming series of tracks, with the exception of Lovefool. Hard to fully describe but they're just boring/uninteresting/forgettable. Additional note: I honestly thought prior to listening that Lovefool was a Kylie Minogue release.

The first thing I thought of when I saw this album cover was the gif of 2 rocket league cars humping each other. While I did enjoy the transition between [b]Young Lust[/b] and [b]F.I.N.E.[/b], this is from 1989?? What's up with these 1989/1990 records being either ahead of their time or holding onto sounds from the past? I think this would have gotten more of pass from me if it was released in the late 70s, but this is some hard content to listen to - musically and lyrically. The second half of the LP was better but I'm not really a fan, especially not of that harmonica.

When I first listened to this, I hadn't really had any serious exposure to Kanye's discography. Now that I'm coming back to this after that, the production is almost instantly recognisable. I'm going to assume this album has high ratings because of the Kanye production, but I'm coming to this as someone who listened to most of Common's early discography before Kanye's. I find Common really toes the time with the "lyrical spiritual miracle" type rhymes. Not that the lyrical content is like that all, but his flow comes across too try-hard if that makes sense. The emphasis on the rhymes in his songs is almost like he's looking for validation at being a technically good lyricist. It's particularly present on The Corner. I think upon second listen, I agree with my initial rating. Kanye is a great producer and I think Common is a good rapper (even if he's not my choice). While it might come across as a Kanye side project, I don't think it would be as good without Common. For example, Go! and Faithful wouldn't have been out-of-place on College Dropout. It does make me wonder what Kanye is like in the studio, if he's domineering or if his production style is so distinct that it's just hard to downplay his role on a project. Not a release that I'll come back to but it's a good entry point to Common and I think an enjoyable listen for any fan of Kanye's early work.

Middle-schooler music for people born in the 80s. Nowhere Fast plays with some pretty cool sounds but the vocals really ruin it for me. And honestly that sentence sums up the entire album for me, some really cool instrumentals ruined by the vocal equivalent of this emoji combo: 🎤🤓 Battlestar Scralatchtica, if you excuse the horrendous name, is also a pretty cool track. This album just suffers from too much angsty vocals and lyricism to make it relistenable.

This is definitely the 1001 team saying to themselves - "shit, we don't have enough electronic-related albums on here. What's something big recently - Ah! 2-step." This is a pretty average 2-step release, for an already very niche sub-genre of UK Garage music. I think the second half of the album made me come around a little bit. Songs like Crazy Love and You're Mine actually used some good vocals / samples. While the album doesn't break through into anything stellar, it sits comfortably and doesn't bother you. Probably a little bit too long at almost 70 minutes but its a electronic release from the early 2000s.

I think the title of this record, Jagged Little Pill, must be referring to how hard getting used to her voice is - a hard pill to swallow. I think after having to endure a handful of taylor swift albums back-to-back, I'm very over this immature lyricism about jealousy over breakups. It's so tiring hearing the essentially same thing over and over again - "is she better than me", "does she do it like I did", "are you happy now", etc. Okay okay, in all seriousness though, the production on this album is better than TS and the lyricism a bit more reflective. Not that the rating of this record is related to TS' work, it's just somewhat similar conceptually and I've been listening to that recently. I think after the first 3 songs, the album gets a bit more consistent in quality. It's not great, but it's not as abrasive as the opening tracks... or maybe I've become numb to her voice! I think You Oughta Know and Ironic are the more radio-aimed tracks (i.e. more pop-influenced sound) of the release and are the least enjoyable parts of the album for me.

As would be the case for most people, I don't remember listening to this album at all (well, it was essentially 3 years ago). I realise what I was about to write is what I write for all albums I feel this way about - "it's not bad... but". The instrumentals are cool but I'm not sure that I enjoy Gore's vocals that much. I think I'd enjoy them on a Hi-NRG album but on these synthpop / darkwave tracks, I just feel very indifferent. I think the stand-out tracks are World in My Eyes and Enjoy the Silence, the rest I don't have much to say about, and I think I must have felt this way at the time - hence forgetting about the release! I considered downgrading this to a 2.5 (since I didn't use that at the time I initially rated this release) but I think it just creeps over the threshold be to a 3.

My god do AC/DC lyrics always leave a lot to be desired. I guess it was standard practice to have sexpest lyricism in the late 70s and early 80s but that doesn't mean I have to enjoy it !!! There's a few alright songs on here, it's generally pretty lame though.

I don't know about this one... Rod Stewart's vocals are a bit grating. It's kinda what I'd expect from a release around 1970. Instrumentally, it's okay. Boomer rock music.

I remember when I first heard about this album. It's popular in certain alt circles, the ones that also enjoy Slowdive, My Bloody Valentine, and in my case - anything Drain Gang related. I also recall feeling very indifferent about this album... and upon relisten I feel exactly the same way. It's actually similar to Depeche Mode's Violator in that it's an album from 1990... which sounds like it's from the 80s. It's a weird example but I've been thinking about some late 1980s albums which sound ahead of their time, in that they have a 90s sound (like The Stone Roses's self-titled album - The Stone Roses). This is the opposite. I don't really like Elizabeth Fraser's vocals, which definitely impacts my enjoyment of the album, and every track on the album kinda blends together in a forgettable way. There's the same effect applied to the vocals and I find that the guitar gets old pretty quickly. Fifty-Fifty Clown is the stand-out track to me, since it at least distinguishes itself with an interesting synth usage. I'm downgrading this one to a 2.5 (from 3) because my complaints with this one are pretty similar to that of Violator.

Initially, I thought to myself "here we go again" - feeling like CJ dropped off on a street corner with only a walkman and a cassette tape of NWOBHM music to listen to. I don't think I'm any stranger to voicing my disdain for power metal and despite not being tagged as such, since musically it's not really, the vocals by Bruce Dickinson are exactly the same as many power metal bands. Now, that being said, I do understand why Iron Maiden is popular and it became even more clear to me after hearing Children of the Damned. I'm not confident on this statement but I do think Metallica's Metallica is heavily based off this song. While I enjoyed the aforementioned song and Hallowed Be Thy Name, the rest of the album is the kind of heavy metal that I don't really care for. This combined with Mr. Dickinson's voice, doesn't really make this a relistenable project for me.

I'll admit that this is one of those albums that I completely forgot the sound of. Not sure when and where I listened to it or what mood I was in or if I was distracted, but it just happens sometimes - and without listening notes like these, I have little to no clue what I initially even thought! Teen Age Riot and Silver Rocket are great openers to this release. I find that the issues I have with Kim's vocals (which I also stated in my review for Goo) are also here on The Sprawl and 'Cross the Breeze. Perhaps a few too many (5!) 7 minute songs on this release as well. Long songs can be great if the arrangement is also great. However, I find these tracks just sound very same-y for the whole duration, and the album ends up clocking in over 70 minutes total. Hey Joni and Candle are both great second half tracks, and I think the Trilogy is a pretty stellar album finisher - particularly The Wonder. I think I'm actually going to bump this up to a 3.5, there's a few songs I've come around to on the second listen.

People often have the discussion, and I've had it with my friends before, what's better? - headphones, speakers, or live music? Personally, I find that each of them has a time and place. Headphones are good for albums like this, where you'd almost need access to Orfield Laboratories' anechoic chamber to properly appreciate it with speakers (I joke but you're definitely not having a good listening experience in the car or without a decent set-up), speakers are great for when you're with friends, don't want to wear something or are wanting a wider soundscape, and live music (which completely depends on the artist you're seeing) is awesome for the raw technical skill or atmosphere from the crowd. If you put a gun to my head, though, I'm choosing the headphones 10 out of 10 times. The availability of isolation from the outside world with noise-cancelling, the ability to take it anywhere, and the level of depth that you're able to get - easily outweigh any other medium to me. 1/1 is a very good ambient track, but I found the rest to not live up to this standard.

The sell-out album. The metal album for plebeians. I feel as though I can only say this as someone born after this album was released but I think expecting any kind of band to only release the same kind of music for their entire duration as a band is... a little grim. While I can sympathise with disappointed fans with the direction of Metallica (especially with the releases after this album!), I think there's a definitely place for digestible heavy metal albums like this - especially in the 90s. And I think Metallica achieved that incredibly well with this album. Honestly, I think Metallica will be one of those bands that people will listen to for years to come... both for this album and their previous thrash metal work. As for my own enjoyment of this album, I initially rated this a 4/5 but I really not sure I get the same enjoyment of it in 2025. It's a little bit too slow, maybe? or predictable? or, dare I say, pop-centric? Thinking about it a little more, I think it's because this is more like a hard rock album masquerading as a heavy metal album. Hard rock is the kind of sound that Metallica would focus on in their next two albums, and which haters would probably argue is exactly the kind of radio-friendly sound that sell-outs would go for. I think Enter Sandman is undeniably a good song, albeit cursed by the radio and dads forever. My favourites from this release are: The Unforgiven, Wherever I May Roam, and Nothing Else Matters. I think I'm going to downgrade this to a 3.5 but it remains an album, similar to Nirvana's Nevermind that I'm not going to judge someone for enjoying.

I've been meaning to listen to Megadeth for a long time, mostly because of cultural relevance for 1980s metal. I had no expectations other than assuming it'll fall somewhere between Metallica and Iron Maiden. I think this album proves what everyone already knew what was possible, that too much guitar riffing can be a thing. I can imagine that the average recording session deviated from what was planned due to the inability of Mustaine and Poland to control their desire to riff. The album does have some highlights - Wake Up Dead and Peace Sells - but generally falls pretty neatly into the arbitrary "generic 80s metal" category that exists in my mind.

Back-to-back britpop releases. I was a little worried after listening to Supergrass's In It for the Money, how I would feel about this one. I actually enjoyed this more than I was expecting, the variation in sounds explored was enjoyable. A little bit too pop rock leaning for my tastes though.

I don't have much experience with britpop music - mostly only Oasis. I thought this was an okay release, both vocally and instrumentally I found it similar to Oasis. I would guess that's what most britpop sounds like.

My only experience with this band has been their song [b]Streets of Your Town[/b], which was featured on the Triple J Hottest 100 of Australian Songs list. It also stands as the most memorable song on the album. It's pretty generic 80s jangle pop - just with Australian vocals.

I don't know how I've unintentionally listened to all of the main Pet Shop Boys' releases when I don't even enjoy their work that much! I think, while I won't return to this project, it's very well produced and I can understand why anyone would enjoy it!

There's something about (They Long to Be) Close to You, that I think it must be Karen's vocals, that gives me the same feeling as Stevie Wonder's Isn't She Lovely. As much as I would like to write this off as some jazz-influenced easy listening music, I do think there's a little bit more than that going on here - if not still within the realms of pop music. Crescent Noon is also a nice track.

Someone please save me from the stomp-and-clap apocalypse. To Be Young (Is to Be Sad, Is to Be High) is such a teeth-gritting opener that my expectations immediately plummeted beyond what they already were after reading the tags 'alt-country' and 'americana'. The follow-up track My Winding Wheel made me second guess as to whether I was actually listening to a Christian release! Definitely felt longer than 52 minutes. Just kept going, in a quite boring and immemorable way.

I'm beginning to think (since I haven't actually looked into it) that there might have been some sort of feminist counter-culture movement happening in NYC during the mid-to-late 90s 🤔🤔🤔. Only a theory though... I think a lot of the lyricism goes over my head, to be completely honest. I did enjoy The First Taste and I think Miss Apple's vocal performance is quite good. It may be little too NYC-core for my taste, though.

What the fuck. Listened to by people who say "they don't make music like they used to", "this is real music", and who enjoy looking down on your music taste for no good reason.

I think I've made it clear to my friend how indifferently I feel about The Beatles on many occasions (just to be that guy) and having to relisten to this album again invoked exactly the same feelings. Yeah, I get that they were very influential, and interesting, and ground-breaking - I just don't really like the music that much. It's very different to the kind of music I normally listen to as well. This relisten just confirms what I already thought after the initial skim-through, the first full listen, the second full listen, and now this third listen - I'm not a beatles guy. I'm going to keep the 3/5 rating despite feeling like it could be moved down to a 2.5/5, since it's still done well enough, I guess.

Track 1 Dangerous starts playing and I know I'm in for a terrible 40 minutes. This style of indietronica is easily dated by about 10 years. A brain-numbing session, which interrupted my planned house cleaning and instead resulted in me sitting and staring at the jar of peanut butter on my desk. Only bad things to write, so I'll just end it there.

This was such dad rock droning noise. Literally nothing memorable to speak of.