1001 Albums Summary

Boston actually accomplishes that classic rock sound from the 70's/80's that makes a lot of those bands sound monotone, but adds variance into their music, continuously twisting the sound. Most of the songs still suffer from being 5+ minutes long with repeating refrains that play better at a concert than listening in the background. More than a Feeling and Peace of Mind will always be classics though.

I've never even heard of the band Garbage before, and now I desperately want this on vinyl for background music. I'm not sure how I missed them, but I can immediately hear their influence throughout so many alternative rock and grunge bands I'm into. They had a sound similar to Smashing Pumpkins but shifted more towards Nirvana's grunge, but with a female vocalist who fucking crushed it. The songs didn't seem like lyrical genius to me at all (except for Stupid Girl, which was ironically one of my least favorite songs). Queer was my overall favorite despite my love of Vow. I highly recommend listening to the opening of Vow with headphones, the sound balancing is awesome, but then they add a tinnitus sounding effect that hurts the headphone experience.

This album was not my jam. The lyrics continuously were creative, powerful, and captivated my attention. But the singing + instruments just sounded discordant to me frequently. The slower songs tended to be the ones I enjoyed the most which was more like listening to David Bowie recite poetry with a guitar. Highlight: Life on Mars. I wasn't a big fan of sound, but the lyrics were a superb story process: "Take a look at the lawman Beating up the wrong guy. Oh man!".

oodness that was a dark experience. This might be only album where I actively hate every song but one, and I still want to give it 5/5 stars. This is not a musical album, this is dark musical theater you can listen to instead of watch. I was ready to write this album off as a 1/5 stars, this music sucks, about 7 songs in. But I started getting invested by "Christmas" immediately followed by "Cousin Kevin". Towards the latter part of the album, I couldn't focus on the other stuff I was doing, I was just sitting there listening to this musical. I'm still not convinced a good way to write a musical is via a feature length album, but I have to give it to The Who for how innovative that is in 1969. Each song by itself was awful though with the sole exception of Pinball Wizard (which has a much darker twist to it now that I've heard its full album). However, I really don't think The Who cared about making the music all that good. I'm hard pressed to believe there's a single person on the planet that thinks "Fiddle About" is a good song for its music as opposed to its importance to the albums story. The numerous 20-30 second songs spread throughout the album seem to cleanly separate the "acts" of this "show", and summarize the next steps in the story for people not paying close attention, a really nice touch (even though the songs suck).

While not much of a Green Day fan, can’t deny their longevity and that they made the occasional jam, Dookie being their biggest and breakout album is very much both a time capsule of its era and is inviting enough to new listeners to become fans. Overall, a solid great album with any potential low points being totally carried by the terrific and iconic hits and other more personal songs. Favorite song: Longview Disliked song; the last one

Highlights: killer queen, flick of the wrist, lily of the valley, in the lap of the gods, stone cold crazy Lowlight: Brighton rock, now I’m here I always felt Queen were the biggest example of a band who people know the hits, but the albums weren’t as well known so I was excited to do this one. Off to a bad start with Brighton Rock tho. As much as I can enjoy the last few minutes, the intro is a hard hurdle to jump over, so can see a skip and just start with absolute banger “Killer Queen” is Queen manifest. Felt like it expresses the entire greatness of the band in 3 minutes to have people decide whether they are in, and with how popular they are, it worked. While I’m not a big fan of Ternmsntrment Funster, I’m always down for other member to have at least a song on the album. Flick of the wrist is a sinister almost Saturday morning cartoon rocker/villan song vibe that I’m in, and lily of the valley is a sweet lil number showing off their biggest attribute, Freddie’s voice Now I’m here, I’ll be honest, doesn’t do anything for me. It just feels like background music montage for a movie with a band traveling. Just felt very generic. Lap of the gods slaps I love it. Their experiment with Abstract celestial space rock, trying to fit in with Bowie or other cosmic rockers. Stone cold crazy is all gas and no breaks with protothrssh riffs and just as quick burst of vocals, showing they do more tbh e. Rock the opera. Admittedly, while I did enjoy dear friends and misfire, the remaining tracks just didn’t do anything for me, with bad Leeroy brown getting a bit on the annoying vibe, despite me enjoying music hall Either way, still think that, while the album can be scattered in genres, it’s an overall excellent album that would start the bands ascent to rock legends.

I looked up what big chair meant and saw that it was a reference to an older movie and how a character called the chair that they sit in for therapy as “the big chair The overall theme of the album to me seems to me just experiences or different kinds of sessions or conversations one might have with their therapist or issues that they are working on. I think it shows just the way lift of ToF by having this theme while producing some generational bangers Shout, with its repeating chorus and synths wave, it’s up an equally moody and powerful anthem. Wether in your car, in a session, or at a concert, it’s an uniform g Carson call to make yourself known by shouting Working hour has goddamn wonderful sax intro and throughout. It sticks the most with the therapy theme since a session might usually be an hour with the refrain of “Find out what the fear is about”. Everybody wants to rule the world is already iconic just at the guitar intro followed by frognizible synth and increasing smoothly delivered message of world domination and control. Passing sinister over tones as a pop hit isn’t new, but this is surely might be the biggest hit to do so Mothers talk: with exploding drums and fast synth, there’s a lot of energy and I’m fascinated with the journey of the song takes me. Seemingly about war “when the weather starts to burn then you’ll know you’re in trouble” while not as well put together and smooth as last tracks it’s a welcome change “I believe”: a jazzy introspective break to all the 80s synth. “Broken “ doesn’t do too much for me. A short two minute jam that not only introduces next track but lifts the hook and some lyrics from the next one. Forgettable imo “Head over heels” my fave track. From the opening hook, it sets the tone for being completely enamored with someone, while your feelings aren’t necessarily being reciprocated. An amazing vocal performance even with the ending “la la”. Listen doesn’t reallly do much, I feel like it’s background music and while the ending refrain is nice I don’t think j I’d go back litening Overal this is an enjoyable album from to start to finish with nothing I would overtly skip, maybe end early to skip Listen. An amazing piece of introspective work well gilded with 80s pop synth scene to become timeless. The hour is up,

Highlights: El Chumbanchero. Billumpa-Palo Congo. Thapsodia Del Maravilloso Lowlights: Simba 4/5 What a refreshing and amazing set of Cuban rumba music. It sounds sophisticated and more advanced then I would have thought for the time period, so that’s one of the many surprise. The drums are fantastic on every track, which is good cuz there are a whole lot of em. If you don’t like this kind of music then I can see the album being a bust but every track was either okay, or fantastic The rhythm, the beats, the guitar, the shouting, everything added to make this such an awesome listen to.its an album that compels you to move, to dance and to experience and enjoy life, it’s not one to be listened to politely sitting down

I’m gonna be completely honest, this was hard album to listen to. I can respect that the profiles are good musicians, and that the lyrics and messages their songs convert can be full of heart and sadness and cheer. But this genre of music is just unappealing to me completely. The flutes, accordion and banjo combo with the snare, this sort of Celtic punk is just produced an instantly skip neuron in my brain that has me itching for the next track, despite it sounding more of the same Like there’s some noticeable differences were things were different, like “Turkish sing of the dammned” and “Fairytale” but ultimately everything would come back to central sound that after so many tracks just after to sound irritating Again, good musicians, poignant words and if you can connect/dance/chant, then more power to you. But it’s something I’ll be leaving as a distant memory. 1/5

absolutely loved this album. Such a mix of high energy funk, soothing R&B. Each song, while carrying the same genre, sounded unique, refreshing and was a joy to listen to. From the recognizable “That lady” to the pleading and aching “don’t let me be lonely tonight and the pulsating drums “ifyou were there”. Sunmer breeze is an excellent track that really does smoothe despite the hot summer air still kind of in the air This was a great album to listen to on a Monday.

Lowlight: thrasher, ride my llama, welfare mothers Highlights: everything else Neil Young was someone I never listened to much until my mid 30s, so was happy to hear something I hadn’t heard from him yet. I loved this album and its messages of trying to reclaim yourself and violence that’s just imbedded in American culture. Splitting it between acoustic and electric is probably just a hold out from the record flipping days of one side being acoustic and the other electric. My my hey hey, is a song I have heard and I liked the wise but not tired message of trying to maintain your fire and if not, better to burn out then fade. Thrasher is just a bit too long and ramble and as much as I like Neil young, space music is not his forte and ride my llama is proof Pochhonfas was interesting in the sense that he’s of two spaces in time, being a Native American time during American expansion and talking to Marlon Brando. Sail away is a bit more fun, which is a nice break between all of the heaviness. Powderfinger blasts in with the guitar and the unfortunate story of a young boy being forced to war. Welfare mothers honestly, got kinda boring and reparative Sedan delivery was fast and hard and rocking that you need before the last proto grunge track of hey hey my my. It’s not my favorite Neil young album(Harvest, everybody knows, and on the beach juggle for the top spot) but this was a great continuation of his work and showed that despair being like a decade on the music business he could still make meaningful, striking, melodic and loud bangers 4/5

I really like the club sounding beats on Destroy Rock & Roll, but I cannot forgive the DJ style samples Mylo uses. I'm sure it makes for great showman-ship in person, but listening to a recording it does not help. I either dislike the sample altogether, or if I do like it, it massively overstays its welcome (looking at you "Destroy Rock & Roll").

That was a really cool experience! Normally I would hate an artist speaking at the beginning of their tracks, but this "album" listens like a study of classical Indian sounds, and that carries a very different vibe. It's like exploring a different culture of sound, and I was particularly intrigued when Ravi contrasted it to Western music saying that you shouldn't expect a "melody", and compared it more to Jazz. In the past I've heard a fair amount of Indian ambient music, and this seems like a more "pure" classical take. Overall I did not enjoy the music, but this is the kind of ear opening album that I cherish the opportunity to listen to once. 4/5

I was very excited for a Yeah Yeah Yeah's album. The songs I normally listen to from them as typically much more upbeat and I think the singer Karen O does a really great job with that sort of breathy sound. However I was surprised by the amount of slower songs on this album, and while I didn't like them all (Skeletons was a miss for me), it did show me another side to a band I like that I didn't even know existed. No hot takes here, my favorite is the ever popular Heads Will Roll. Overall 4/5

Beautifully funky. There's few times where I love heavy bass as much as Red Hot Chili Peppers. I have absolutely no idea what they're singing about 90+% of the time, but it's still fun to listen to them, and there's so many bangers on this album: 5/5.

No thank you, 1/5. I'm a big defender that an "album" doesn't just have to be pure music, and I am absolutely willing to rate an album well if the experience was thought provoking or enjoyable in some creative alternative way. So I feel I was open minded when I realized this album was more aligned with poetry than traditional music. However, I imagine the song "Birdland" would be similar to the result of putting an 8 year old on a stage and telling them to make up a song on the spot, and telling a very competent pianist to try and keep up with the made up songs direction.

Phenomenally funky guitar rifts. Jimi Hendrix does not disappoint in this album, which I have to admit I was very familiar with. Highlight song for me will always be "The Wind Cries Mary", which is not the kind of soft song I usually vibe to. However, the subtle drums match so well with the plucky Hendrix guitar, with the strangely quiet melodic lyrics. Wonderful. I think what I appreciate most about Jimi Hendrix is his guitar focused songs fit in quite well with the 70's, but his songs are only half as long as the guitar heavy rock wave in the 80's while also have more varied songs in the guitar itself. That has to be stressful as a musician, but damn does it sound good. 4/5

My hot take: It was a mistake to start Rio with the song Rio. The songs sounds very similar to one another with singer not having much variance, and the jittery instruments using similar chords throughout the album. It is absolutely a good song, but "Rio" (the song) feels blatantly like the best version of it. So I started off with the absolute bop of Rio, and then it only went downhill from there. It's not a bad sound, but if I ever wanted to listen to 1982 Duran Duran, I would only listen to the song Rio. 3/5

Wow, I had no idea the impact this album has had on hip hop culture. I had never listened to Tom Tom Club before, but I recognized the background beats from a massive variety of songs. Genius of Love might be the most sampled beat I have ever heard, and I just learned what it is from. This was a particularly shocking realization for me because the opening song "Wordy Rappinghood" gave me very similar vibes to "Don't Hug Me, I'm scared" (if you're unfamiliar, look that up at your own risk). Overall the music was very fun to listen to, extremely creative (hip-hop artists for years apparently agree), and to a fun amount, experimental. However it wasn't music that I actually enjoyed. I'd say it's probably a 4/5 on merits, 2/5 for personal enjoyment, so I'll settle for 3/5 for me.

A fantastic album. I have The White Stripes throughout my playlist, but I've never sat down and listened to so many of their songs in sequence. I've never realized just how simple yet experimental their songs really are. These tracks have some of the most basic drums I've ever heard, nothing particularly special about the guitar, and the singing isn't particularly beautiful to me. However, each and every track has a very strange assortment of sounds. The White Stripes really shows absolutely no fear of experimentation on this album, and it really created some interesting combinations. I'm going to give this album a 4/5 but I really enjoyed about 50% of the songs, and absolutely despised the other 50%. Hell sometimes I loved 50% of a song, and hated the other 50%. What the hell were they thinking when they wrote doorbell? I can tell, they were thinking about the doorbell ringing, and when you're gonna ring it. Over and over again. The better question, why did I enjoy that song? Overall The White Stripes have me questioning my sanity and whether or not you should just slam random sounds into a loop, record singing over it, add a few strums and beats here and there, and call it a song. I don't know how they do it, but I thoroughly enjoyed that mish-mash experience. 4/5

Definitely a poor decision to listen to this sitting down. It's a casual club dancing kind of album. It also uses a good chunk of samples, but unlike a lot of the "older" club dancing albums, the samples really don't overstay their welcome, which is a breath of fresh air in this genre. I feel like in a club setting, it could potentially even be a 4. But at my desk, I'm giving it a 2/5.

I was legitimately surprised by Stevie Wonder's voice in most of these. I'm no Stevie Wonder buff by any means, but he seems to have much more range than I had thought. Also his lyrics touching on the experiences of being blind but still living a beautiful and fulfilling life were quite uplifting (as a emo rock enjoyer myself, different from my normal lyrics lol). 3/5

The best generic business advice I normally hear is "Find your niche, and be the best at it." Marty Robbins seems to have taken that advice to heart with this highly specific album. 1959 was a damn good time to do it as well. I don't believe I've heard of Marty Robbins before this, but I've definitely heard a variety of these songs that are synonymous with "Western's" film soundtracks. I've probably heard "Big Iron" dozens of times. While it's not my cup of tea, I absolutely have to respect the hustle and the incredibly strong theme 3/5

For a fully instrumental + samples album, there was a lot of variation between the tracks. The main commonality being the high tempo looped beats that all seem to carry a high level of tension, like combat music in a sci-fi video game. For the first half of the album I was energized and I was particularly fond of Voodoo People. However the second half of the album kind of lagged behind for me, with 3 Kilos (a flute loop? Really?) and Claustrophobic Sting (literally just someone screaming) actively being annoying and distracting, which is not ideal for music without lyrics. Overall I am inclined to give it a 4/5 for that classic high energy "Doom" feeling, despite some detracting songs.

I'm fighting against nostalgia for this one. At Virginia Tech (college I went to), the opening song for football games is the opening to Enter Sandman, and everyone in the stands literally jumps continuously during the opening. It's an exciting amount of energy (especially for such a mediocre sportsball team). Overall though, I think this is a 3/5 for me, but nostalgia is imploring me to push it to 4/5 just for the opening song.

I can see why Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre actually started a smoother hip hop subgenre in the west coast genre. I don't hear g-funk music nowadays as I feel it's been further refined with less shrill tones and ways to make it flow even smoother, but that just leaves this album with a "classic" hip-hop feel for me. Sadly the art of opening every single song with some sort of conversation recording to tell your albums story is still around though. And Snoop Dogg's lyrics were a little controversial when this came out, let alone nowadays, it's just straight up sexist, so the story isn't a good one here. The paper thin and sexist story, and some straight up disrespectful lyrics make me not enjoy the songs later in the album. However I definitely enjoy the sound earlier in the album. Gin and Juice and Lodi Dodi are premier examples of G-funk with the high synth and bass beats with their smooth rap style. I really like some parts, but a few songs are just too much for me. 4/5

I'm a self professed Stairway to Heaven hater, but man, in the middle of that album, it really does add a lot. That transition from "The Battle of Evermore" to "Stairway to Heaven" is beautiful. 3/5

That was a nice relaxing album. Good vibes. I sat down this morning and did a terrible job at Wordle, but playing wordle, sipping coffee, and listening to The Doves was a serene experience I would absolutely recommend to start your day. 3/5

I did not enjoy Johnny Cash's music very much (not much of a country fan personally), but what an absolutely incredible stage presence, even through a recording. Very few live recordings really improve music for me, but Johnny Cash really knew the vibe of the room at that prison and molded it. Listening to the crowd response to "San Quentin" literally from the San Quentin audience was a really cool experience, and the reprise was just plain funny. I'll never see Johnny Cash live, but I'm sure it would've been an incredible yet down to Earth show. 4/5

It's nice to finally put a name to a song I've heard plenty with Gotta Get Up by Nilsson Schmilsson. Shout out to the TV show "Russian Doll" for utilizing a fun song so well and right in tune with its ironic roots.

The album cover did not prepare me for this very Dolly Parton like experience. She has an absolutely gorgeous voice. 1/5

I really wanted to hate this album for personal opinion reasons, but I actually enjoyed quite a bit of the early music. "Cowboy" being the classic. Any song where Kid Rock was just singing and coasting on confident vibes with no real story was a great time. I enjoyed the vibe of the those songs enough to potentially call this a 4/5 album. However, anywhere Kid Rock tried to tell a story, his sociopathic lack of empathy bled through and it's hard to listen to the music with anything but contempt for him and his opinions. This was especially true listening to "Black Chick, White Guy" at the end of the album, which left me nothing but angry listening to such a "woe is me, I'm always the victim" song. Overall 3/5 because I really did enjoy multiple of the songs here, but a small handful of them are bad enough to regress society as a whole.

This wasn't the first time I've been disappointed in Pornagraphy. In seriousness though, this was an album absolute chock full of self-loathing, and while I struggled to understand a lot of the lyrics, it had unmistakable tones of suicide in my opinion. It ended up sounding a lot less like an album, and more like someone tragically venting through music. It was almost sad to hear when actually paying attention. As someone who loves listening to angst-y sad emo rock when sad, I can understand the catharsis though. The songs however melded together with their very similar sounds for me, differentiating only through their differently sad lyrics. While I enjoy the cathartic scream your feelings out process, and the first song sounded pretty good. I never got anything else from the album, and none of the individual songs really stand out to me. I'm sure if I looked up the lyrics to the songs and delved deeper, there could be a lot here lyrically. But as a first pass (and there won't be another pass from me), I just didn't get the connection I want from my angst-y rock. 2/5