1001 Albums Summary

I think this album introduced (or re-introduced) a lot of people to R&B, myself included. I'm now noticing this big gap in notable stuff in the genre, as it came out 20 years after the height of 90's R&B. It definitely ended up on my radar because it came from Kendrick Lamar's label's and his stamp of approval. SZA's debut was a key part of the genre seeing some revival, it was novel, and still holds up.

I’ve never intentionally listened to Elvis, and I was surprised how much I liked this. Big fan of the rockabilly guitars with their pristine spring reverb and staccato notes. Liked the back half of the album more, a bit more rockin’

I mean, it's like "the" album. The themes have only gotten more relevant and it still sounds incredible. It doesn't get much better than this!

i love a jangly-jangly geetar

This theatre kid made a rock album, and hey, it’s pretty fun. The title track rules, with 9 minutes of “how it feels to ride in a convertible on a hot summer day” After that you get a nice lil love story, but I think the first song is the highest point it reaches.

This one has glimpses of musical interest, but boy are they brief. Getting like the least popular release is probably not a fair intro to this band, but that’s the fun of this random album thing. Liked the percussion, didn’t like the nearby inaudible parts that made you crank up your headphone volume only to be jumpscared by the loudest thing on Earth 5 minutes later

Such a fresh neo-soul album! This is a genre that I actively listen to, so I’m surprised this wasn’t already on my radar. First record from this daily album thing that I listened to more than once.

*RIPPER ALERT!!!* for me, it fucking ripped on the school bus in 2009 just as much as it fucking ripped while going for a jog today. If we had to show an alien how a "guitar" sounds, Kirk Hammett's chugging riffs here would be a top contender.

As the knight adjust his helm and steadies his lance, the driving riff of "Transylvania" bursts in. This album is joust-core, duel-gaze, meant to be played loud over the clash of a friggin' medieval battle.

I love a lot of the artists that were inspired by Joy Division. But that doesn't mean I love these fellas -- I only like parts of Joy Division's sound. I guess that how musical influences go, where another artist absorbs pieces that resonate with them. Love the hazy, droning sound of "I Remember Nothing" and the driving, reverb-drenched guitar and big snares on "Wilderness". The raw, tortured vocals and sounds don't quite click for me.

Nirvana, for people who are more fun, more dorky, and also angry

I almost didn’t listen to this album, now here I am giving it a 5? This one is a conduit of “poptimism”, a showcase that mainstream, accessible music can be damn good. It’s interesting, with some of the best guitar parts in pop. It works in everything from church services to movie scenes. It also makes ya feel something.

Appreciated some of the energetic and spitfire moments of this one, but overall struggled to enjoy the artsy punk direction. Every 70s punk album gets me closer to getting it, but it's still challenging for me to really dig.

Sonically, shit doesn't get more grimy and cool than this. And they put together something this futuristic and left-field in '91? I wasn't even born yet! The Gorillaz first album wasn't til 10 years later! I really enjoy downtempo electronic and trip hop, and this is the mother of those genres. It’s still such a unique listen and worth praise.

Supa dupa good shit

Exceptional albums explore the many avenues of what music can be, in a cohesive package. That's what Dark Side is all about for me. Sonically you've got twinkling pianos, inventive guitar effects, shrieking vocals, and the first time many people heard a modular synthesizer. The messages are wide-ranging and still potent: the afterlife, war, $$$, finding yourself. In 10 songs this record covers a lot of territory and does it well.

The wall of sound and off-kilter vocal harmony on Seagull fucking rules. Vapour Trail is great too. The songs in between sound good, but feel like filler. I think this one would be stronger if it’d been a little more focused and had less tracks.

Hey, this was pretty solid. A good ‘ol 4-piece band making some unique stuff by reaching out to experimental sounds that break the mold. But not so left-field that it becomes inaccessible. The album cover had me afraid this was going to be some corny pop-punk record but was pleasantly surprised!

They don’t put 3-4 fellers in front of mics spaced inches apart no more. So real and wholesome, each voice just distinct enough to pick them out in each delicious, harmonious chord. Modern pop production has made layering vocals too obsessively perfect and lifeless compared to these buckos. A few years back, we were making our way from the Grand Canyon to northern Arizona with a “desert road trip” playlist on shuffle. As the cacti and red-orange cliffs, passed by was first time I’d really listened to (or appreciated) CSN, America, and their other contemporaries. There’s a lot of music that greatly benefits from your context and location, this album being one of them. Definitely put this on during your next road trip!

Me, three days ago: I don’t like Neil Young’s voice Me, today: has listened to this album like 5 times and owns it on vinyl Neil young has grown on me, and I’m pretty sure Crazy Horse is bringing the best clean and lightly overdriven guitar sound I’ve ever heard. Down by the river might be a top song for me now. It took about twenty albums in to this thing, but I’m fully appreciating the value of re-listening to an album. This one really clicked some neural pathways into place in my cranium. I’ve always had the tendency to fly through an album/movie/book/game and rarely revisit it. There’s just so much content to consume these days, so once I’ve heard an album I’ve been like ✅ and moved on right away. So thank you Neil Young and thank you Crazy Horse for getting me to slow down and appreciate the additional brush strokes and colors that each listen of an album can provide.

I didn’t recognize any of these, but it still has the inventive and unique Radiohead characteristics, a good listen. Enjoyed the second half of the album more. Was caught off guard by Thom Yorke not singing his distinct high-pitched range on A Wolf At The Door!

I didn’t even like Pantera when I was 14, so there wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that I’d actually get ‘em now. For me, they’re not only “Mega Bloks” Megadeth, but maybe one of the better examples of a “discount” version. Pantera is angry without shit to say, loud but not interesting. In “This Love” they attempt to show their range, but it ended up being the worst song I’ve heard from this list so far. A teen with a guitar, 5 minutes of practice, and a Boss Metal Zone ™️ pedal can play any of these songs nearly as well as the recording. I mean, that riff from Walk is literally 0-0-1-0-0 on the low E. Dimebag’s unwieldy, signature guitars are an extension of Pantera’s fierce-but-dumb vibes, with iconic finishes including: - lightning bolt! - confederate flag! - camo! - flames! - other aesthetics you’d see on a t-shirt for sale at a gas station in Alabama

I’ve only half-listened to John Prine in the background, reducing it to just some twangy folksy stuff that was only ok. Like bourbon, I thought Prine was something I was expected to enjoy because I’m from Kentucky. And like bourbon, if you give Prine a chance and acquire the taste, it’s an absolute delight. On this album, he spins tales of war, drugs, exploiting earth, and death that have the burn of a barrel proof bourbon. The sliding guitars, vibrato of Prine’s voice, and sweet chords make you feel the warmth of a toasted oak whiskey. Overall it’s a rich experience that pairs perfectly with Woodford Reserve Double-Oaked 45.2% alcohol by volume. GOVERNMENT WARNING: (1) According to the Surgeon General, women should not drink alcoholic beverages during pregnancy because of the risk of birth defects. (2) Consumption of alcoholic beverages impairs your ability to drive a car or operate machinery, and may cause health problems.

Jazz fusion is cool, but I feel like these albums have like one killer song that you’d hear on an eclectic DJ set, and not much else.

Many of the best samples, flows, and lines in hip hop. Also, some of the straight up weirdest lines and moves in the genre. Plenty of verses here didn’t age well, but I don’t think that’s completely damning because being raw and provocative was kind of the point. I mean it’s 31 years old, it’s rap from the 1900s. Came out a month after I was born. It’s a testament to the early-ish days of hip hop, as MCs were earning celebrity status and escaping (or trying to escape) some nasty alternatives. Lmao I’m not going to keep writing like I can relate to 90% of Biggie’s story. The only looting I do is on Facebook Marketplace where I meet up at a local coffee shop’s parking lot to sell an old Nintendo DS game. The only guns I’ve owned are Nerf, airsoft, and soldering. Champagne is too carbonated for me; I can’t burp. I just listen to this and think “wow that’s crazy”

Everything that a rock album can be. The 6-string is the staple of rock, and Siamese Dream packs in an encyclopedia of guitar tones: warbly acoustic strums, wooly fuzz riffs, mesmerizing chorus-drenched chords, shredding solos. The range of dynamics in this album are just unbelievably good, with slow builds like Mayonaise and Soma that begin with the gentlest fretting of a guitar and crescendo to a wall of distortion and howling vocals. Smashing Pumpkins capture every element of the genre that I love, each song is a world of its own and it rules start to finish.

‘The hard rock group Blue Cheer were often referred to as being "louder than god" and no band of their era more richly earned that title’ So you can just say anything in your Spotify bio, huh? I haven’t been to church since like 2013 and even I’m incensed by this comparison. Y’all think some of the worst guitar tone ever recorded is bigger than the being that let there be fucking LIGHT? Y’all think the lines about being so depressed that you need to call your senator go harder than the Judeo Christian deity? Kick rocks, Blue Cheer!

Three decades later the bars, beats, and themes on this album still reign supreme. There aren’t many other hip-hop records as sharp or evergreen as this. Highlights: - Ms Lauryn Hill - Ms Lauryn Hill - Ms Lauryn Hill - Eat shit newt Gingrich - Star Wars mentioned - Ms Lauryn Hill I’m glad we got this after Ready To Die to hear the stark contrast, the Al Capone to Nina Simone. I think I’ll drop Biggie a star tbh, Fugees are the truth.

Some solid, whimsical, sarcastic rock. More albums should have an interlude of old timey carnival music

Did I enjoy this one? Ehh, not really. But I do think this has a rightful place on this list. There are lots of interesting and experimental sounds in play: masterful acoustic guitar, ye olde folk vocals, sitar on jazz songs. I don’t love the stew that these ingredients made, but I’m glad I tried a bite.

A rock n’ roll charcuterie board that gives you a taste of the past, present, and future of the genre from 1965. The past: - blues blues blues The present: - poppy songs, some of its weakest points - More Beatles impressions The future: - songs about bangin’ - drums that be bangin’ - high tempo songs that still go hard (my generation, the ox) - lead guitar! Not just chords - big charismatic vocals What makes this album so exciting and memorable are these peeks at the future of rock — especially in showing us what drums and guitar can sound like.

Driving through foggy farmland and misty city streets to this album made it feel like I was in the outskirts of London — even though I was on the right side of the road. Bumping a UK rapper at a reckless two volume levels higher than usual in my 2015 Honda Civic en route to peck away at my laptop at Martine’s pastry shop was less immersive, but still fun. I feel like hip hop can range from profound+poetic to vacuous+hedonistic. Skepta finds himself somewhere in the middle here. That’s definitely not a bad place to be, and he explores either side of that scale throughout. But I think my take is somewhere in the middle too, I enjoyed quite a bit of this album but some of the tracks and skits were lackluster. I think br*tish rappers with pronounced accents sound cool (sue me) which boosts this for me. Liked giving this a listen, but not sure I’ll revisit it when many American rappers feel more substantial.

Alternate title: Working Nein To Five Dramatic, theatrical singing over old German military marches? What’s next, rapping over some John Philip Sousa? My ears didn’t enjoy this one. But the audacity of this album is inspiring, go out there and create some bizarre, nuanced shit. “For the PlayStation 3 video game known as Tank Battles in some regions, see Battle Tanks.”

After opening for the Ramones in NYC’s punk scene in 1975 — rumored because they thought Talking Heads sucked and it’d make them look better — the band certainly left an impression. “A little-boy-lost-at-the-zoo voice and the demeanor of someone’s who’s spent the last half hour whirling around in a spin dryer.” wrote music critic James Wolcott of David Byrne at these early shows. Talking Heads aren’t for everyone! If you can’t stand this band, Walcott’s quote might capture your feelings. It conversely captures a key part of why Talking Heads are so adored. Wolcott continues that Talking Heads were “presenting a banal facade under which run ripples of frustration and squalls of violence.” Aha, now we’re narrowing in on what this debut record is all about! Sure, a couple of these tracks come across corny or too kooky to be taken seriously. I don’t love every moment of this one. But at this album’s core is a rebellious spirit, grappling with the big questions and confusions of being human. Instead of punk’s rapid, distorted chords are crisp, funky rhythms — some of my favorite guitar riffs. Talking Heads are wonderfully bizarre because of how much expression is packed into their upbeat sound, odd lyrics, and strange stage performance.

REM are one of those special bands that can garner indie cred and mainstream success, through their upbeat, quirky, yet accessible sound. They’re one of the only bands that my mom and dad like equally (though they saw REM at Rupp Arena in ‘95 and often recall that the band was kinda phoning it in) Document tries to make sense of, and have fun with, how shitty the world around you feels. I love that. Many of my favorite artists are those that see the chaos and weight of life and produce sounds that serve as either a blissful escape or a joyous, sharp rejection.

A fucking powerhouse performer, with auditory proof that no artist has had a crowd in the palm of their hand like this ever since. Does this album sound amazing, is it very re-listenable? Not realllly. But what you’re hearing is the Big Bang of funk, stylistically James Brown is soaring way ahead of his band, forging a sound that will change music forever.

I’m usually lukewarm about Bob Dylan, but moments in this one brightened my perspective. This was my introduction to the richness of Desolation Row, I liked the harmonica solos, and appreciated the double feature of acoustic + electric sets. And you know, the departure from the acoustic sound was jarring for me too, a person in 2025 listening on AirPods while doing chores. That unfiltered, storytelling quality of the first half was special. Second half was grittier and more diverse, but sounded kinda messy and the lyrical content could get lost. #freekeith?