My 1001 Albums Journey

100

Albums Rated

3.34

Average Rating

Complete

989 albums remaining

Rating Distribution

Rating Timeline

Taste Profile

2000

Favorite Decade

Folk

Favorite Genre

Top Origin

Wordsmith

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5-Star Albums

1-Star Albums

Breakdown

By Genre

By Decade

By Origin

Albums

You Love More Than Most

Album	You	Global	Diff
Feast of Wire Calexico	5	3.29	+1.71
A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector Various Artists	5	3.3	+1.7
The Yes Album Yes	5	3.31	+1.69
Urban Hymns The Verve	5	3.35	+1.65
A Rush Of Blood To The Head Coldplay	5	3.44	+1.56
Imagine John Lennon	5	3.45	+1.55
It's Blitz! Yeah Yeah Yeahs	5	3.49	+1.51
Document R.E.M.	5	3.56	+1.44
Hotel California Eagles	5	3.6	+1.4
Strange Cargo III William Orbit	4	2.77	+1.23

You Love Less Than Most

Album	You	Global	Diff
Smash The Offspring	1	3.37	-2.37
Ready To Die The Notorious B.I.G.	1	3.36	-2.36
Horses Patti Smith	1	3.31	-2.31
Apocalypse 91… The Enemy Strikes Black Public Enemy	1	3.23	-2.23
Cypress Hill Cypress Hill	1	3.15	-2.15
Only Built 4 Cuban Linx Raekwon	1	2.85	-1.85
To Pimp A Butterfly Kendrick Lamar	2	3.62	-1.62
The Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground	2	3.53	-1.53
James Brown Live At The Apollo James Brown	2	3.46	-1.46
Odessey And Oracle The Zombies	2	3.42	-1.42

Artists

Favorites

Artist	Albums	Average
Beatles	3	5

Controversial

Artist	Ratings
The Rolling Stones	5, 2

5-Star Albums (16)

View Album Wall

A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector

Popular Reviews

The Dreaming

Kate Bush · 1 likes

3/5

Getting her Yoko on.

1-Star Albums (7)

All Ratings

Me Against The World

2Pac

4/5

very excellent, if very dirty, lyrics. He has a lot to say, and it's very well done

Odessey And Oracle

The Zombies

2/5

Influential for sure, but it doesn’t belong on this list.

Cypress Hill

1/5

Probably better than the ilk of its peers, but I don’t know why this made the list. Waste of time.

At Mister Kelly's

Sarah Vaughan

3/5

I’m sure you had to be there. Three stars.

Wild Is The Wind

Nina Simone

4/5

I never understood why everyone is so crazy about Nina Simone. I get it now.

Licensed To Ill

Beastie Boys

3/5

Not as bad as I feared, but as overhyped as expected.

Happy Trails

Quicksilver Messenger Service

2/5

Worth listening to but not essential. It’s two songs.

Tuesday Night Music Club

Sheryl Crow

4/5

I dismissed it when it came out, and never listened to it again. The Globe Sessions is a nearly perfect album, so it's surprising to see this one on the list. But this album does deserve a listen, even if it's not the best in her catalog. Four stars.

Who's Next

The Who

5/5

Finally an album worth being on this list.

All Directions

The Temptations

3/5

Worth a listen.

White Ladder

David Gray

4/5

Better than I ever could have thought. I listened to it twice and look forward to revisiting it again.

Bayou Country

Creedence Clearwater Revival

3/5

Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)

Eurythmics

3/5

Great closing track. But otherwise, stick to the greatest hits.

The Dreaming

Kate Bush

3/5

Getting her Yoko on.

I See You

The xx

4/5

Atmospheric

A Rush Of Blood To The Head

Coldplay

5/5

Their best album has one of the best album sides ever.

The Doors

4/5

Practically a greatest hits.

Axis: Bold As Love

Jimi Hendrix

4/5

Bridge Over Troubled Water

Simon & Garfunkel

5/5

I’m a Lonesome Fugitive

Merle Haggard

2/5

A stereotypically bad country album.

Third/Sister Lovers

Big Star

3/5

Some songs sound like Material Issue. Most sound like Elliot Smith. A good album to hear but not necessarily revisit.

Architecture And Morality

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark

2/5

Another Groundbreaking record that doesn’t hold up as much as people think.

The Velvet Underground

2/5

The murder mystery is an incredible song. Everything else is unlistenable. Lou reed may have done some things first, but everyone else does those things better.

Blonde On Blonde

Bob Dylan

4/5

Make Yourself

Incubus

2/5

Just because it's a good Incubus album doesn't mean it's a good album. But what other band before them had a turntable scratcher?

Ellington at Newport

Duke Ellington

4/5

Hail To the Thief

Radiohead

4/5

Something/Anything?

Todd Rundgren

2/5

Nobody needs this much Todd rundgren.

Smash

The Offspring

1/5

The stupidest album ever made. This band is even worse than I thought, and they’re already my least favorite band.

Horses

Patti Smith

1/5

There’s nothing here that I’d ever want to hear again.

Imagine

John Lennon

5/5

Let It Bleed

The Rolling Stones

5/5

Finally, a Stones album that you can almost listen to all the way through.

Electric Warrior

T. Rex

3/5

I had higher hopes for the album tracks, but it warrants another listen.

Rattus Norvegicus

The Stranglers

3/5

I’ve never heard of them, but this album seems to pave the way for Joe Jackson’s debut album.

Phrenology

The Roots

2/5

It’s not the worst hip hop album, but it cannot pretend to be essential listening. How can a band that good make an album this bad?

Strange Cargo III

William Orbit

4/5

This is the missing evolutionary link between Enigma and Moby, and it explains why anyone who was anyone in the early 90s had a William Orbit remix as a B side.

Ramones

3/5

They’re not as one-dimensional as I thought. But all they’ve got is a red guitar, three chords, and the truth.

Will The Circle Be Unbroken

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

4/5

Oh Gritty, Where Art Thou?

The Köln Concert

Keith Jarrett

3/5

Definitely needed a better piano. I see why he almost didn’t perform.

Abbey Road

Beatles

5/5

The greatest album by the greatest band. I don’t leave home without this album. It’s on my phone. It’s in all of my cars. It’s on my computer at work. It’s in my soul. On the list of 1001, this is #1.

Cafe Bleu

The Style Council

4/5

Not what I expected at all. Where jazz meets pop.

Heavy Weather

Weather Report

3/5

It’s like Joe Jackson’s “Night Music” album but without the Joe Jackson. This album needs more Joe Jackson.

Hotel California

Eagles

5/5

Not a perfect album but a damn good one.

The Marshall Mathers LP

Eminem

4/5

He’s the Bob Dylan of rap. I mean, look at all of the things he got to rhyme with “Amityville”. And he actually has something to say and you can actually understand what he’s saying and the backing tracks are put together with rock sensibilities.

Teenage Head

Flamin' Groovies

4/5

Scream, Dracula, Scream

Rocket From The Crypt

3/5

not bad, but not good either.

The Yes Album

Yes

5/5

another album worthy of this list.

Document

R.E.M.

5/5

And it isn’t even their best album. That’s how good they were.

Blackstar

David Bowie

4/5

I’m still discovering new things on this album.

69 Love Songs

The Magnetic Fields

3/5

Ever wonder what it’d be like if The National put out a three hour album of quirky pop indie love songs? Me neither. This is the answer to a question nobody asked.

Green River

Creedence Clearwater Revival

3/5

Stick to the greatest hits.

Shaft

Isaac Hayes

3/5

Probably the only film score worth listening to.

Behaviour

Pet Shop Boys

4/5

This is a really great album with zero hits. I’d give it five stars if I could remember half of the songs.

Ready To Die

The Notorious B.I.G.

1/5

A notoriously BIG waste of time.

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Beatles

5/5

And it’s not even their best album. But if you weren’t alive before this came out, there’s no way to fully comprehend the way this record shifted the trajectory of rock and roll.

Kings Of The Wild Frontier

Adam & The Ants

2/5

This album isn’t good enough to make anyone who isn’t into new wave give a shit. I despise most rap, but the first album this list generated recommended was Tupac, and it was definitely worth hearing. Adam Ant, like every artist, has no less than one good song. Sadly, he also has no more than one good song, and it isn’t on this album. Next album please!

Punishing Kiss

Ute Lemper

2/5

The Aldi off-brand version of Kate Bush

Speakerboxxx/The Love Below

OutKast

4/5

Very surprisingly good

The Next Day

David Bowie

4/5

No hits, but a solid album

The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan

4/5

Very good. But I see why he went electric.

Blur

3/5

I think i like it better now than when it came out. I’d revisit it.

The Boatman's Call

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

3/5

Getting his Leonard Cohen on. Funny thing is the song he contributed to the I’m Your Fan compilation would be completely out of place here.

I Am a Bird Now

Antony and the Johnsons

2/5

So after Tiny Tim got married on the Tonight Show, he put a band together and started singing about Tiptoeing Through the Gender Fluidity? Seriously, what the hell is this? And yet I’ve heard way worse from this list.

Fisherman's Blues

The Waterboys

4/5

Good!

To Pimp A Butterfly

Kendrick Lamar

2/5

This revolution cannot be televised, because every fourth word is fuck, nigger, dick, or shit. Pity, because this album is Gil Scott Heron with incredible production value. Check out the last two songs. But after 20 minutes, it’s just tiring and pathetically stereotypical.

The Modern Dance

Pere Ubu

3/5

If you told me this was TV On The Radio’s first album, I’d believe you. And then I’d tell you that their other albums are better.

Welcome to the Afterfuture

Mike Ladd

2/5

Better than the average hip hop album, but the average hip hop album sucks.

Court And Spark

Joni Mitchell

4/5

I never liked Joni Mitchell until now. Her songs always seemed annoyingly out of place when they come on the radio, but as a cohesive album, songs I thought I hated make perfect sense. Maybe it’s the strong opening track that explains what a court and spark is. Maybe I’m just ready for her now. Maybe I’ll listen to her other albums. Well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

Hunting High And Low

a-ha

3/5

I haven’t heard this since 1988. It holds up. Not sure why it’s on this list though.

I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You

Aretha Franklin

4/5

This is what this list is all about. Listen to the rest of the album that contains some of the biggest hits by a legend. What a treat for the ears.

Second Toughest In The Infants

Underworld

3/5

You haven’t heard electronica like this since the last time you heard electronica like this. Or the last time you were shopping at the Limited.

It's Blitz!

Yeah Yeah Yeahs

5/5

I’ve been meaning to listen to this album, and damn it’s good.

James Brown Live At The Apollo

James Brown

2/5

I don’t get what makes this a classic, other than it’s James Brown. It’s not even a greatest hits set list.

Apocalypse 91… The Enemy Strikes Black

Public Enemy

1/5

The last track doesn’t suck. Good luck making it that far.

All Things Must Pass

George Harrison

5/5

I’ve been a beatle fan my whole life, but George Harrison’s nasal accent and complex melodies didn’t taste as sweet to my young ears as Lennon and McCartney. Adding slide guitar and Phil Spector didn’t help things. I came to love this album later in life, even the self indulgent third album of Apple jams. It’s a near perfect double album and a bittersweet time capsule.

Feast of Wire

Calexico

5/5

Quattro is an all-time favorite, and I forgot that the whole album is filled with songs nearly as good, making for an excellent listen. Every Los Lobos fan should check out this album, because it is Los Lobos adjacent. But every millennial who doesn’t know who Los Lobos is should check out this album. Calexico is your generation’s Los Lobos.

Rattlesnakes

Lloyd Cole And The Commotions

4/5

I only know him from the I’m Your Fan album, and this was very good as I would have expected.

A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector

Various Artists

5/5

You already know and love half of this album.

Africa Brasil

Jorge Ben Jor

4/5

Where samba meets rock. Too bad it’s in a foreign language.

Nowhere

Ride

4/5

Where pristine 80s jangly alternative meets 90s grungy alternative. It’s both of its time and ahead of its time. Worthy of a repeat listen.

Coles Corner

Richard Hawley

4/5

Hipster listening, Leonard Cohen with an English rockabilly vibe. There’s no twang, but it’s implied. Check out the expanded 20th anniversary edition, which has a cover of my dad’s favorite Everly Brothers song “I’m Just Here To Get My Baby Out Of Jail.”

Metallica

3/5

Half of this album is actually listenable. “Hey everybody, Metallica wrote some songs that don’t suck! You gotta hear them! Put it on the list!”

E.V.O.L.

Sonic Youth

2/5

In the movie Juno, Ellen Page’s character describes Sonic Youth as “just noise.” This is better than described, but just because it’s a good Sonic Youth album doesn’t mean it’s a good album. If it was ahead of its time, it doesn’t hold up; dumb songs are dumb songs regardless of the decade.

If You're Feeling Sinister

Belle & Sebastian

3/5

Ahead of its time. Every hipster Brooklyn band owes a lot to this album.

Meat Is Murder

The Smiths

2/5

Listening to this album drives home the point that Morrisey can sing no more than four notes. It makes listening to any Smiths album tedious.

Aftermath

The Rolling Stones

2/5

Hey I really like that Under My Thumb song. I think I’ll buy the whole album. Oof. There isn’t one album track I’d ever want to hear again. And that, students, is the difference between the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. You must own every Beatles album. You only need the Stones greatest hits.

Myths Of The Near Future

Klaxons

4/5

Like Wilco with a pulse. Or something. I like it.

Dub Housing

Pere Ubu

1/5

Ever wonder what it would be like if Captain Beefheart made a punk album? Me neither. Another answer to a question that nobody asked. Sit, Ubu, sit. Good dog.

Urban Hymns

The Verve

5/5

It’s been almost thirty years since I’ve listened to this album and boy have I been missing out. It’s aged well, and as each song played, song after song, I couldn’t see a reason not to give it five stars. It’s that unexpectedly good.

Violent Femmes

4/5

Come for “Gone Daddy Gone,” stay for the rest of the album. I never liked it that much until right now.

Revolver

Beatles

5/5

A close second place to Abbey Road.

The Genius Of Ray Charles

Ray Charles

3/5

I’m surprised that this is only the second album I’ve encountered on the list that isn’t on a streaming service. The other one is Captain Beefheart. Ray Charles is better.

Foo Fighters

4/5

It’s annoyingly decidedly lo-fi, but now that I’m over it (and many of the albums after Wasting Light have been a Waste of Time), this album is quite good in retrospect. I wasn’t impressed at the time, but this album holds up very well and even improves in retrospect.

Highly Evolved

The Vines

4/5

It’s what Oasis would be if there were no Beatles: a very good rock band. I want to hear this album again.

Amnesiac

Radiohead

4/5

It’s hard to describe Radiohead’s post-modern progressive rock. Is it jazz? Techno? Ambient noise? Rejected ideas from Yoko Ono? Yes, and it’s fantastic. Nobody does what Radiohead does and nobody else should. We really don’t need any more of this.

That's The Way Of The World

Earth, Wind & Fire

3/5

It’s Shaft-errific! Perfect music for your Boogie Nights theme party.

Only Built 4 Cuban Linx

Raekwon

1/5

Wu-Tang for never!

Music Has The Right To Children

Boards of Canada

3/5

This is perfect background music for a time lapse film of sunrises and traffic zipping through a city center. If you told me this was the soundtrack to Koyaanisqatsi, I’d almost believe you. Mercifully, nobody on this album is chanting “Koyaanisqatsi”

Grace

Jeff Buckley

4/5

I bought this CD used back in the day and hated it because no other song on that album came close to being as good as “Last Goodbye,” which is a masterpiece. But listening to it again for the first time in 30 years, I hear how his vocal style (which annoyed me in 1995) influenced Radiohead. And once you compare him to Radiohead—who I like but they are difficult to listen to—well Jeff Buckley sounds as sweet and as accessible as Harry Styles. This album demands to be listened to and not just heard. If you give it your full attention, it will reward you. Prior to today, I would have described Grace as a single for Last Goodbye with ten B sides. But now that I’ve really listened to it, I appreciate how good his band was and how i think i could discover something new with every repeated listen. It’s not a five star album but it’s close.

Stand!

Sly & The Family Stone

3/5

I expected more.