My 1001 Albums Journey

181

Albums Rated

3.17

Average Rating

17%

Complete

908 albums remaining

Rating Distribution

Rating Timeline

Taste Profile

1950

Favorite Decade

Soul

Favorite Genre

other

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5-Star Albums

1-Star Albums

Breakdown

By Genre

Top Styles

By Decade

By Origin

Albums

You Love More Than Most

Album	You	Global	Diff
The Trinity Session Cowboy Junkies	5	3.08	+1.92
Pump Aerosmith	5	3.11	+1.89
3 Years, 5 Months And 2 Days In The Life Of... Arrested Development	5	3.15	+1.85
High Violet The National	5	3.24	+1.76
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot Wilco	5	3.31	+1.69
A Girl Called Dusty Dusty Springfield	5	3.33	+1.67
xx The xx	5	3.36	+1.64
It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back Public Enemy	5	3.36	+1.64
Debut Björk	5	3.38	+1.62
Either Or Elliott Smith	5	3.39	+1.61

You Love Less Than Most

Album	You	Global	Diff
Master Of Puppets Metallica	1	3.72	-2.72
Surfer Rosa Pixies	1	3.5	-2.5
Violent Femmes Violent Femmes	1	3.49	-2.49
Odelay Beck	1	3.46	-2.46
Nevermind Nirvana	2	4.37	-2.37
Ready To Die The Notorious B.I.G.	1	3.36	-2.36
Sunday At The Village Vanguard Bill Evans Trio	1	3.31	-2.31
Elvis Is Back Elvis Presley	1	3.18	-2.18
Queen Of Denmark John Grant	1	3.12	-2.12
Teenage Head Flamin' Groovies	1	3.03	-2.03

Artists

Favorites

Artist	Albums	Average
Johnny Cash	3	4.67
Bob Dylan	2	5

Least Favorites

Artist	Albums	Average
Primal Scream	2	1.5
Elvis Presley	2	1.5

Controversial

Artist	Ratings
David Bowie	2, 5

5-Star Albums (33)

View Album Wall

3 Years, 5 Months And 2 Days In The Life Of...

The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars

It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back

Popular Reviews

The United States Of America

The United States Of America · 4 likes

1/5

If you ever listened to the Beatles and thought, “I wish they had way less talent, and horrible production, and circus music,” then do I have the album for you…

Miriam Makeba

Miriam Makeba · 1 likes

4/5

She’s got a beautiful voice. The highs are stunning (Where Does It Lead, her cover of House of the Rising Sun). The lows felt pretty low (The Naughty Little Flea, and whatever the hell laugh/cry annoyance Charles Colman brings to One Last Dance). I‘m not quite sure how to rate this…

The Trinity Session

Cowboy Junkies · 1 likes

5/5

The vocals and arrangements are stunning. This is the type of discovery I was excited about when starting this list.

1-Star Albums (18)

All Ratings

Unhalfbricking

Fairport Convention

4/5

Parts of the album were beautiful, while other parts did little for me, sometimes within the same song; “A Sailor’s Life” was gorgeous for the first 3-4 minutes, but the additional 7-8 minutes of instrumental lost what I loved and felt excessive.

3 Years, 5 Months And 2 Days In The Life Of...

Arrested Development

5/5

This came out when I was in high school. What fun to revisit it. Joyous, quirky, and unique. I didn’t even remember Fishin’ 4 Religion and that might have been my favorite track this time through.

Murmur

R.E.M.

4/5

Very solid. 8/10

Remain In Light

Talking Heads

4/5

Talking Heads can be a lot of fun, they can also feel pretty repetitive. I feel I should love this album more than I do, but 7/10

Surrealistic Pillow

Jefferson Airplane

4/5

The album is uneven, but the highlights are so high. When Grace Slick sings, this album soars. 8.5/10

Odessey And Oracle

The Zombies

4/5

The first album on this list where I let it play a second time through straight. I knew Time of the Season but couldn’t have told you who sang it before today. Really enjoyed the album 8/10

Diamond Life

Sade

3/5

Perfectly fine.

Shaka Zulu

Ladysmith Black Mambazo

3/5

There’s certainly talent in blending all these voices together. But I couldn’t get into it. 5/10

Haunted Dancehall

The Sabres Of Paradise

1/5

Some of these tracks would be cool background to a gathering or behind poetry, but as a stand alone album, it doesn’t feel worthy of a straight listen, let alone an inclusion on this list. But I would have given two stars until the second to last track came on and was just absolutely grating. 2/10

Blackstar

David Bowie

2/5

5/10

For Your Pleasure

Roxy Music

4/5

Fun and unique with great energy

Dub Housing

Pere Ubu

1/5

The only thing I liked about this album was when it ended.

Younger Than Yesterday

The Byrds

4/5

Tracks 6-11 get five stars. The rest of the tracks on the original release get a 3. I guess we’ll split the difference.

American IV: The Man Comes Around

Johnny Cash

5/5

Johnny Cash, at the end of his life, sat with an eclectic mix of cover songs and turned them into a powerful meditation on life and death. A poignant and sometimes haunting death bed serenade. 10/10

The Blueprint

JAY Z

2/5

Didn’t do much for me

The Rising

Bruce Springsteen

3/5

Bruce being Bruce, which isn’t a bad thing. But not necessarily a great thing either. 6/10

I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got

Sinead O'Connor

4/5

Nothing Compares 2 U is gorgeous, and the rest of the album is very good. 8/10

Amnesiac

Radiohead

3/5

I know I’m supposed to love Radiohead, but often they’re just perfectly fine to me. 6/10

Pink Moon

Nick Drake

4/5

Feels like an album I might like even more on repeated viewings. 8/10

Stankonia

OutKast

4/5

Great flow and energy. 8/10

Harvest

Neil Young

4/5

A little inconsistent to me. But when it’s on, like Heart of Gold, Old Man, or the Needle and the Damage Done, it’s terrific. 7/10

Fragile

Yes

3/5

I wasn’t into the first several tracks, but it ends well, with the last track being my favorite

The Queen Is Dead

The Smiths

3/5

Since college, The Smiths have seemed like a band I should really like, but I’ve never fully gotten into them.

The Libertines

3/5

Enjoyed, didn’t love

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

Wilco

5/5

I loved this album when it was new. I love it just as much now. I was excited to see it make the list.

Steve McQueen

Prefab Sprout

3/5

It was perfectly enjoyable I’ll probably forget about it in a few days

Femi Kuti

3/5

The album has a good sound, in music and vocals. The two songs where they shout the title repeatedly for way too long cost it a star.

A Rush Of Blood To The Head

Coldplay

4/5

Very solid album

The United States Of America

1/5

If you ever listened to the Beatles and thought, “I wish they had way less talent, and horrible production, and circus music,” then do I have the album for you…

Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire)

The Kinks

3/5

No Other

Gene Clark

2/5

It wasn’t bad, but I just couldn’t get into even one track. I do like the cover art though.

Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots

The Flaming Lips

5/5

This album is so quirky and crazy and still so damn beautiful

Either Or

Elliott Smith

5/5

A lovely little album

The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan

5/5

Incredible album

Lost In The Dream

The War On Drugs

3/5

Bad

Michael Jackson

5/5

He combination of showmanship in music and vocals is pretty damn special.

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

4/5

Formidable start for Perry’s career, already cranking out some great tracks. Other tracks are less impressive, so I’m going to keep this to a four but the highlights are excellent

Southern Rock Opera

Drive-By Truckers

2/5

It’s an interesting concept, but I just didn’t like the music

Hail To the Thief

Radiohead

3/5

Djam Leelii

Baaba Maal

2/5

Perfectly fine in the background, but not something I’d ever pick to listen to intentionally again

Fire Of Love

The Gun Club

2/5

If you are a fan of punk music, perhaps this is a great album. I just couldn’t wait for it to end.

Highway 61 Revisited

Bob Dylan

5/5

One of the best of one of the best

Electric Prunes

The Electric Prunes

2/5

Some tracks I genuinely enjoyed (6, 7, 10, 11) but I hope to never hear the rest again

Back To Black

Amy Winehouse

5/5

So damn smooth

Miriam Makeba

4/5

Crosby, Stills & Nash

5/5

A beautiful album

Maxinquaye

Tricky

2/5

There were tracks I thought were pretty interesting and others I was ready to hit skip.

Trio

Dolly Parton

3/5

I liked hearing all three sing together, but room for improvement with some of the song choices and production.

Black Holes and Revelations

Muse

2/5

I kinda liked the first two tracks, but the album kept going…

Electric Warrior

T. Rex

3/5

It’s already slipping from memory

Vanishing Point

Primal Scream

1/5

Occasional moments of interest spaced far apart.

Straight Outta Compton

N.W.A.

5/5

If - and this is a big if - you can get past the casual sexism and homophobia- this album is a masterclass. Filled with sick beats, flawlessly integrating four MCs whose voices combine and trade off, every one as strong as the other. It is filled with so much joy and life, while also getting heavy, including what is still the best musical call out of the systemic racism of the police system. But there’s that sexism and homophobia... I’m going to give this five stars, but with a big fucking asterisk.

You Want It Darker

Leonard Cohen

4/5

I’m fond of Cohen’s lyrics and voice, but not always fond of his production. Especially background singers that seem to distract instead of enhance, and that is present here too. But some lovely tracks as well.

Kind Of Blue

Miles Davis

5/5

Beautiful

Take Me Apart

Kelela

3/5

Nevermind

Nirvana

2/5

I know, I know - and this might be the oldest I’ll sound in these reviews - but it’s often just a bunch of screaming. Play Lithium and skip to the next album please.

Behaviour

Pet Shop Boys

3/5

More mellow than the Pet Shop Boys songs I remember, and I’m not sure that’s an improvement. But still perfectly solid.

In Our Heads

Hot Chip

2/5

Just indifferent.

Tapestry

Carole King

5/5

This album has earned its regular inclusion in top albums lists, let alone top 1,000

Surfer Rosa

Pixies

1/5

I’m sure it’s somebody’s thing. Just not mine

Jagged Little Pill

Alanis Morissette

3/5

This felt fresh when it was new. Now it mostly just feels fine.

Untitled (Black Is)

SAULT

3/5

The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars

David Bowie

5/5

Exciting and eclectic. Bowie at their best.

The Madcap Laughs

Syd Barrett

1/5

The moments of mediocrity were the highlights

Nilsson Schmilsson

Harry Nilsson

2/5

So this is who we have to blame for the stupid lime in the coconut song…

All Things Must Pass

George Harrison

4/5

Overall a beautiful double album. There are some duds (I’m looking at you, Wah-Wah) and it feels sad to have several weak songs when you put out an album with over two hours of music. With some cuts, I’d give this five stars.

Hot Fuss

The Killers

2/5

I have nothing against this album, but can’t say it did much for me.

Broken English

Marianne Faithfull

3/5

Penthouse And Pavement

Heaven 17

3/5

I liked a number of the signs, but found others tedious

Exodus

Bob Marley & The Wailers

5/5

Who doesn’t love Bob Marley?!

Buena Vista Social Club

3/5

Who's Next

The Who

5/5

The Deluxe Edition double album I listed to was two and a half hours and apart from Going Mobile and Water (which for different reasons I’d prefer to skip), it is fantastic from start to finish. Yes, Joe Pera, the Who does indeed rock!

Arular

M.I.A.

4/5

Her delivery and the beats are fire. I couldn’t often connect with the lyrics but it sounded great.

Born In The U.S.A.

Bruce Springsteen

4/5

One of my very first albums (on cassette). Some good memories of just the excitement of music. Still solid album, but I don’t love it the way I did as a kid.

16 Lovers Lane

The Go-Betweens

3/5

Darklands

The Jesus And Mary Chain

3/5

I have no attachment to this, but it was perfectly fine

Sunday At The Village Vanguard

Bill Evans Trio

1/5

This just sounds like lifeless elevator music to me.

Bummed

Happy Mondays

1/5

I was tired of this album by track two, and there were 25 sh*tty tracks still to go.

Grace

Jeff Buckley

2/5

A very good cover of Hallelujah, but that’s not enough to save this album

Live At The Star Club, Hamburg

Jerry Lee Lewis

4/5

Fast, joyous, and full of energy

Van Halen

2/5

It’s okay, you can still love it

Brothers In Arms

Dire Straits

5/5

Beautiful album

Boston

3/5

It’s perfectly fine, but nothing I’d pick on purpose

Odelay

Beck

1/5

I have loved some Beck songs, but not these ones.

John Barleycorn Must Die

Traffic

4/5

The musicianship is fantastic throughout and the title track is terrific

Let's Stay Together

Al Green

4/5

Some songs are better than others, but Al’s vocals are always smooth

A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector

Various Artists

2/5

Even on Christmas Day, which this very unrandomly is, I don’t want to listen to Christmas music.

Bitches Brew

Miles Davis

3/5

Pump

Aerosmith

5/5

Pure musical joy and excitement.

American Beauty

Grateful Dead

2/5

I liked the first two songs…

Appetite For Destruction

Guns N' Roses

2/5

Wasn’t a fan in 1987. Still not.

Chicago Transit Authority

Chicago

2/5

I don’t have anything against it, but there wasn’t anytime I was glad I was listening either.

Master Of Puppets

Metallica

1/5

I know they make people happy, so enjoy away. But I was happy when it ended.

Konnichiwa

Skepta

3/5

I was optimistic when the album started. Moments where I really liked it, but couldn’t maintain it.

Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness

The Smashing Pumpkins

2/5

When they weren’t screaming, I didn’t hate it. But they scream a lot.

Modern Life Is Rubbish

Blur

2/5

I liked a couple tracks, but mostly I just wanted it to end

The Marshall Mathers LP

Eminem

3/5

There’s violently misogynistic and homophobic lyrics, there’s some tracks I didn’t care for all, and then there’s Stan, one of the best tracks in Hip Hop history.

Green River

Creedence Clearwater Revival

4/5

Singing along to what I knew. Great time.

Talking With the Taxman About Poetry

Billy Bragg

2/5

The first disc was painful at times. The second disc was better but still not all that enjoyable.

The Chronic

Dr. Dre

2/5

Doggystyle

Snoop Dogg

3/5

Sexism aside, it was pretty enjoyable

The Cars

4/5

I haven’t listened to the Cars in awhile. It was a fun revisit.

Aqualung

Jethro Tull

5/5

Cool and unique. And that flute kicks ass

Queen Of Denmark

John Grant

1/5

I’d call this unlistenable if I hadn’t somehow made it through.

Unknown Pleasures

Joy Division

2/5

When I listen to some albums on this list, I don’t understand how they could work for anyone. But while this wasn’t the album for me, I could see it. How others might love this album.

Butterfly

Mariah Carey

2/5

Why are you reading reviews? I mean, it’s Mariah Carey, you already know if you’re gonna like it or not.

You Are The Quarry

Morrissey

3/5

London Calling

The Clash

4/5

Could benefit from cutting the weaker of the 19 tracks, but still fun with some big highlights

Eliminator

ZZ Top

4/5

“TV Dinners” feels like a jingle for a bad 80s commercial and if this list had half stars, I’d knock it down a half a star for that track. But the rest of the album is fun.

At Folsom Prison

Johnny Cash

5/5

With a bold set list and instant rapport built with the inmates, Cash delivers a night to remember

The Atomic Mr Basie

Count Basie & His Orchestra

4/5

Lust For Life

Iggy Pop

3/5

Passengers is doing the heavy lifting in this three star rating

Fever To Tell

Yeah Yeah Yeahs

2/5

Some tracks I liked and some uniqueness, but enough tracks I just disliked

The Visitors

ABBA

4/5

I ended up liking this more than I expected.

O.G. Original Gangster

Ice T

2/5

The xx

5/5

One of the best surprises of this list so far. A group I wasn’t familiar with where I absolutely needed to be. Beautiful album

Elvis Is Back

Elvis Presley

1/5

Racism aside, Elvis made some good songs. None of them are on this album.

Out Of The Blue

Electric Light Orchestra

4/5

A few weaker songs, but overall this was pretty fun and exceeded my expectations

It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back

Public Enemy

5/5

“Armageddon has been in effect. Go get a late pass”

Talking Timbuktu

Ali Farka Touré

3/5

Tracy Chapman

5/5

One of my favorite albums

Superfly

Curtis Mayfield

5/5

Incredible album. Easy five stars

Songs In The Key Of Life

Stevie Wonder

5/5

Happy to groove with Stevie any day

Debut

Björk

5/5

Björk’s voice is magical and often haunting. This is such a beautiful album.

Safe As Milk

Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band

3/5

The Clash

4/5

Full of energy and fight

Slayed?

Slade

1/5

Occasional moments of “oh, this isn’t awful” were drowned out by the rest of the album.

A Girl Called Dusty

Dusty Springfield

5/5

Dusty’s voice is enchanting and this album had me dancing in my kitchen.

The Stone Roses

3/5

Perfectly, um, okay

This Is Fats Domino

Fats Domino

4/5

I don’t love all the songs, but Fats always nails the delivery

Germfree Adolescents

X-Ray Spex

2/5

Hotel California

Eagles

5/5

Summer of 1992, fresh out of high school, a friend and I set off on a road trip to Florida. And we played the Eagles over and over. They don’t tend to make my current rotation, but this was a lovely trip back in time with some great music.

Elvis Presley

2/5

Blue Suede Shoes is a solid hit. But so many here that I just did not enjoy

Phaedra

Tangerine Dream

3/5

Liquid Swords

GZA

3/5

AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted

Ice Cube

4/5

Sexism aside (and that’s at least somewhat dealt with by Yo-Yo), this is a solid album with fun cameos.

Arrival

ABBA

3/5

Kollaps

Einstürzende Neubauten

1/5

This morning I listed to the album and went to the DMV. The DMV was the more enjoyable of the two.

Searching For The Young Soul Rebels

Dexys Midnight Runners

3/5

Perfectly pleasant, but forgettable

Kid A

Radiohead

3/5

I’d feel smarter if I was totally into Radiohead, but alas…

Screamadelica

Primal Scream

2/5

Marquee Moon

Television

3/5

Supa Dupa Fly

Missy Elliott

4/5

My Generation

The Who

3/5

Bookends

Simon & Garfunkel

4/5

Some beautiful music and some distractions

Club Classics Vol. One

Soul II Soul

4/5

It’s uneven, certainly. But Back to Life is pretty damn great all these years later. Some skips but otherwise quite enjoyable

Ellington at Newport

Duke Ellington

4/5

All That You Can't Leave Behind

3/5

Cross

Justice

2/5

This was perfectly fine until track 10 and then took a hard dive

Rocks

Aerosmith

3/5

The last Aerosmith album on here I liked more than expected, this one less. Perfectly fine but no standouts for me.

Led Zeppelin IV

Led Zeppelin

5/5

Melody A.M.

Röyksopp

3/5

Different Class

Pulp

3/5

It’s uneven, but still enough I liked to warrant three stars

At San Quentin

Johnny Cash

4/5

Great working of the crowd.

Moss Side Story

Barry Adamson

2/5

Beyond Skin

Nitin Sawhney

4/5

Elastica

2/5

Bayou Country

Creedence Clearwater Revival

3/5

The Köln Concert

Keith Jarrett

4/5

Not something I’d seek out, but serious talent on display

Gentlemen

The Afghan Whigs

1/5

Endtroducing.....

DJ Shadow

3/5

GREY Area

Little Simz

2/5

A Hard Day's Night

Beatles

5/5

Not a top five Beatles album, but still a five star album

Lazer Guided Melodies

Spiritualized

2/5

Tusk

Fleetwood Mac

4/5

Seems a steep drop from Rumors. A slow start, some solid tracks, none blew me away. 3.5 if I could.

The Trinity Session

Cowboy Junkies

5/5

The vocals and arrangements are stunning. This is the type of discovery I was excited about when starting this list.

Cosmo's Factory

Creedence Clearwater Revival

5/5

I could live without Ooby Dooby, but otherwise this album is great classic rock

The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn

Pink Floyd

2/5

I’ve liked some Pink Floyd, but I don’t know what the hell they’re doing here. A few perfectly decent songs towards the end keep this from only getting one star.

High Violet

The National

5/5

Stunning album from start to finish.

Quiet Life

Japan

2/5

Violent Femmes

1/5

Achtung Baby

4/5

Ready To Die