1001 Albums Summary

​ti esrever dna ti pilf ,nwod gniht ym tuP! Really loved this--somehow had never heard it before. SO many great featured artists.

Not the Willie record I would have chosen as representative of his genius. This is is one of the greatest cover albums of all time, though.

Take out the dumb skits and this is an all-timer

Wonderful record that I had never heard!

Foundational!

I really wanted to be blown away by this. Thundercat's talent is indisputable. But I found the tracks lacking in range and diversity. I wanted big jams as well the quiet contemplative and funny stuff that the WHOLE album basically is. All 24 tracks. Oops... I listened to Drank accidentally. Drunk is much better.

This was new to me and felt like a more accessible Animal Collective. I liked it and need to remember to revisit!

I don't think I'd ever listened to this whole record. It is clearly a classic. I'll be returning to a few of these tracks (beyond the obvious) for sure!

Classic!

I'd never heard of this band before... honestly, not that impressed.

There are moments of awesome here, but I will likely never listen to anything here again except maybe "Walk on By."

One of my favorites!

Better than I remembered

Black Flag is...adorable?

In context--at a club--I'm sure this is really fun. But as casual listening... it's obnoxious.

Probably my favorite REM record and an absolute 90s classic.

Some absolutely classic songs here. I appreciate the history, for sure.

delightful.

Never my favorite 90s record, but the singles were fire.

No thanks

Not my favorite PG--but I had forgotten how jazzy it is! Also, Solsbury is an all-time banger.

Classic is as classic does.

This is just an incredible record. I blame Buckley for popularizing Hallelujah, though.

Never heard of these dudes. Glad to be introduced to some excellent SF rock.

I like Bowie. I appreciate Bowie's genius. I wish I loved Bowie. I don't love Bowie.

I like Born to Run better. This feels like one long song.

This is post-punk? It feels like drunk punk. No thanks.

One, two, three and to the four…

Strokes-y, but sometimes better (and sometimes worse). Still a great record that I had never heard of.

Timmy needs a cold shower.

Snoop Doggy Dogg and Dr. Dre still at the door...

Rush is a great band that I don't really like.

Fantastic record. I'll be going back to this one. Shooby-dooby!

This is fine. Def understand Pulp's place in britpoptopia. I wish the songs were better.

This is my favorite PG and the first in a trilogy of masterpieces: So --> Us --> Up

Funny!

five or six absolute all-timers (out of 13) is enough for a five-star rating, right? Or maybe it's this: if more than one song on the record can almost bring me to tears. FIVE STARS

I like this a lot. It's a once a year listen, for sure. For that and the iconic album art -- 4 stars.

This was fine. JB, a legend. Not likely to go back to it.

Tempted to rate this as a 3, but it has like four bangers on it. Is it as good War, JT, Acht, or even Zooropa? I don't think so. So compared to the 4s and 5s there, I guess it has to have a 3. 3.5 officially.

Weird, but cool 80s weird.

Wonderful album that is only listenable once a decade.

It's like Pink Floyd, but way less interesting.

I liked this but am not likely to listen again.

This five-star rating surprised me, but it has zero skip tracks, so ::Fire::!

This album doesn't have any real singles, but it has VIBE for days.

beautiful and weird

Not really my thing, but I get it.

I just love the sound of VM's voice. I could listen for days.

Reinvention.

Honestly, disappointing. One-single album that establishes the band's sound but doesn't yet really allow them to shine.

I like this. I should listen again sometime.

This was fine. I likely won't ever listen again.

This album feels embattled. Lennon is embattled. A direct comparison with McCartney's first record makes it all the more so. Lennon is broken, bleeding, hurting, needing. Macca is like exuberant. Who broke up the Beatle's now? Someone is conspicuously carrying that weight...

Solid, wide-ranging, eccentric, power pop! Love it. That this was the debut is even more impressive.

Not really my thing, but OK

Great! I wish I was more of a fan.

AWESOME!!

Such a vibe!

This is also a vibe.

Something about this didn't then and doesn't still appeal to me. Too heavy? Too much butt-rock remnant? Not sure. I like one song a lot, the rest... less.

I liked this very much.

What strikes me most here is that NONE of the big Monkees hits are on this record, yet it remains SOLID. Really enjoyed this one, which was new to me.

I'm a fan, but this one is a weird choice for the 1001. No singles.

For what it is, this is the end-all, be-all.

Kendrick raps about experience far from my own. His genius is undeniable, but this isn't ever going to be everyday listening for me. Even so, I think this is a near masterpiece. TPAB will come up at some point, and while I like the jazz influence on that record, this one feels more embedded in KL's personal life and the culture of the street.

Me likey.

One absolute classic and ten more bangers..

Solid record with a clear vision of itself and its audience.

Classic!

Never my favorite

Lower marks from me because the non-singles are barely listenable.

So close to perfect

An incredible album that I should have been into in the 90s but was not

Banger

Interesting but not my thing.

5 stars if it weren't for that absolutely obnoxious first track. We get it JH, you can make your guitar sound like traffic.

Classic tunes does not a perfect album make.

i'm sure this is great. it is just not my thing... at least not on this listen.

This is really fun.

Hard to rate my favorite band. This album has two of my very favorite Cure songs on it as well. Do I like it MORE than albums I gave 5 stars to here? Yes. Do I think it should be rated as 5 stars? Maybe not. It's gonna have to be 4.

Gosh, that's a lot of blues riffs to get through before you can listen to Layla. Is it weird that I like the long outro for that song better than anything else on the album?

Saw a compelling argument that the presence of the best Beatles song ("Tomorrow Never Knows") on this record (which is a good choice) makes it a strong contender for best Beatles album. I'd agree... almost. It has "Yellow Submarine" on it, which is arguably the worst Beatles song.

One of my favorites from the early aughts.

This album has my favorite RS song ("Can't Always Get...") and arguably their best song ("Gimme Shelter") which includes one of the most incredible vocal performances of all time with the middle-of-the-night vocals from Merry Clayton. That song kinda creeps me out though.

No real standout singles!

I thought this was going to be one thing and then it was totally not that thing. And it was great.

Not as interesting as I hoped.

kind of a slog. 2.5 rounded up

Not really my thing, but verrrry vibey.

Magisterial

I love the 60s-era Temptations. This was not as good as I hoped.

Again, gangta rap will never really be my thing. This one gets particularly pornographic. But the hits are the hits and the beats and sample work here are great.

Bring on the Bjork

Every song is a bop. I think it took me 30 years to realize the pop sensibilities here... it just sounded heavy and awesome (and subversive) to me as a teen. But there is a direct through-line from the Beatles to Nirvana. It's not hard to see at all in hindsight.

First album I listened to twice to be sure it couldn't be a 5. I just really liked it a lot. 4.5

sounds like a masterpiece, must be a masterpiece.

SOLID METAL. I get the appeal for sure.

He sounds as good live if not better... That's rare.

locked in on this sound

I mean, this is a pop masterpiece. It falls off (barely) at the end... but such achievements should be recognized and celebrated.

never heard of these dudes. I can't believe there are three of their records on the list.

I liked the vibe quite a lot.

Hard to be objective here as this album and its b-sides (via Aeroplane Flies High) was probably the most important music to me for at least four years--1995-1999. But it holds up... I don't listen very often any more, but--there is incredible range here. I think the double album was ambitious and I don't think it could have been any other way, but there are songs left off that might have made it better (Ugly, Set the Ray, Jupiter's Lament) had they replaced the weakest tracks on the album (We Only Come Out at Night, Tales of a Scorched Earth, and--sorry--Lilly). The other thing I want to say here is JAMES IHA. Iha is the George Harrison of SP. This record's James songs and B-sides are superb and need more recognition. "Take me Down" is gorgeous. "Said Sadly," "The Boy," "Believe," "The Bells"--all incredible. His solo record Let it Come Down tracks right along side Harrison's This Too Shall Pass: A full record of gems passed up by the main band's double album. He was right to feel dissed. So, let's hear it for The Boy.

solid.

Can’t figure out why this is on the list.

This record! Incredible. There is one track (Testify) where the repeating sample gets annoying, but wow was I blown away.

Great production here, though I always wondered why they wouldn’t tour with a bass player when there is such great bass work on the album.

Having an accordion with a dance track beat is almost enough to give this weird choice an extra star. Almost.

This was better than initially expected. I appreciated the opportunity to listen.

Two all timers on an album of decent blues/folk tunes and I'm right between a 3 and 4

It's wild to me that this band has three albums on this list and the National has one. And there are so many great artists that have none. Like, why?

I know this is classic, but the gigantic farts in the last song dropped this from 4 to 3.

I wish I had had the head for hip hop in the early 90s. I missed out on so much while I was out smashing pumpkins.

Not my thing. But I'm sure it's somebody's thing.

I'm just going to say the quiet part out loud: Joy Division is one of the most iconic bands of all time AND Ian Curtis is a terrible vocalist. On Unknown Pleasures, the best song is the one Peter Hook sings on (Interzone). He gets better on Closer (or maybe they just did more vocal takes). But his singing is just distracting on this first album. For me it is so bad that it undermines the whole vibe they're shooting for. Curtis (God rest his troubled soul) sings these long held out notes and they are hopelessly flat. So a few hot takes: First: New Order > Joy Division. (At least in listenability--they never reached JD's iconic vibe) Second, While Joy Division basically wrote the blueprint for post punk and the best possible version of Joy Division is Interpol.

Several good songs on this, but it's odd to me that Control isn't on the list. It has better songs. RN's centerpiece is RN and every other songs has the same beat.

I want to like this. I love the guitar stuff... but DB's vocal style was sometimes just barely tolerable.

Track for track classic. Incredible.

Proto primus, but still.

I mean... why the hell not?

There is no way not to understand this as classic.

Brilliant.

Almost every track is a classic.

Love the sound. Love the song. Love the organ. But a classic song does not a classic album make.

This is my favorite, if not the best Radiohead album. EVERY TRACK IS INCREDIBLE. Also, in case you're wondering, OK Computer is the best Radiohead album.

This was a hard listen. It reeked of early 2000s genre dysphoria. Pharrell trying to to alternative rock... kind of? I would have much rather had listened to a hip hop or r&b record.

I guess I’ll start playing which Beatles album is the best Beatles album, because every one of them from Help on is 5 stars. This one is near the top but not quite the top. Maybe in 2nd place. Will be thinking harder, but I just think the medley is one of the most interesting things—if not my favorite Beatles songs. Also, THE ORGAN on this is incredible. Was Billy Preston a Beatle?

This is one of the best albums--if not THE best--of the 2000s. I'd probably say Sufjan Stevens, Illinois, Wilco YHF, and then this one.

I mean... this is classic for sure. But to call a 5-disc suite an "album" is going a bit far.

I just think this is brilliant from top to bottom. This higher rating kind of breaks my rules because I don't see myself really listening to this much, but I would have really been into it in an earlier phase of life.

I know I should like this, but I just can't. I mean it's fine. But it feels so incredibly extra. I just want to rock.

They should make this into a musical.

1 classic (Dancing Queen), 1 semi-classic (Fernando), and at least one WTF (When I Kissed the Teacher) and several real stinkers, makes this a more considered 3 star review than I usually offer.

I could (and have) listened to these 70s-era Stevie albums over and over. The classic tunes will live forever and the lesser-known songs carry the vibe.

This is a hard one for me because it is firmly between a 4 and a 5 for me. I don't know that it is as iconic as Nevermind and In Utero. But also maybe it is MORE iconic than both. So many covers--but covered with such care and revealing of KC's innerlife. There is also some really lovely playing on the record. So, five it is, I guess!

There's an interesting question here about how many absolutely classic songs are required in order for an album to be considered five-star. Two (Fake Plastic and High and Dry) is not quite enough. Street Spirit and Nice Dream push it even closer, but alas: 4 Stars. It hurts. I may change my mind.

I really love Talk Talk, but this is absolutely the wrong album to have in the 1001 collection. Spirit of Eden is the right answer. Glad to see it has been submitted by a user for the other list.

Maybe my favorite Beatles album.

I'm familiar with ST... but haven't spent much (enough!) time with them. I really loved this band. Really sad to have missed these dudes in the context of their peers. This is a fantastic record.

I should be a huge Byrds fan. I'm not a huge Byrds fan.

I know it’s a classic. You know it’s a classic. But…

Stick to the instrumentals, Eno.

This really surprised me. I've never listened to these Eno/Bowie records and I have to say--I'm a fan.

Meh.

golden voice.

Love you, Dolly.

It's the Beatles--but one of my least favorite albums of theirs.

I like other Bjork records more, but this one is so fresh, so exciting, and such a triumph after the Sugarcubes era... that it deserves a five.

This is kind of a perfect album. I’m just the wrong audience generationally

Father John Misty's career had a precedent that I didn't really understand until now.

Oh I get it now. The Who is a Rolling Stones cover band.

Double albums are definitely not for the casual listener. Exhausted by the time Lyre started.

I like this better when no one is singing.

I find so much of the Doors obnoxious. This album has the two longs I like. Not sure that merits a 4, but I guess.

Greatest album ever? It’s close.

Incredible!

Cookie Monster joins the carnival.

Nu-metal skatting is pretty much the worst sound ever committed to tape.

I do love this record. It is iconic in so many ways. Yet, I don't know that it reaches 5-star status for me. Not sure why.

So incredible.

This feels pretty seminal, and I hate that word.

This is his masterpiece, right? I mean--every song is great.

Three all-timers is pretty significant. Dead or Alive is one of my favorite songs... and I really don't like Bon Jovi much at all. There was a bunch of stuff on this record that triggered my gag reflex... even so:

Surprising. I'd never heard of JG before and it is exactly up my alley.