1001 Albums Summary

With a fringe group, you might as well include the album (Electriclarryland) that at least managed a minor hit, even if a deeper cut was more groundbreaking. While including niche, polarizing acts might make sense today in a world of free streaming, this book was conceived in the physical media era. Back then, readers used these guides to invest their hard-earned money. Elevating an unlistenable underground experiment over an album that actually achieved cultural relevance ignores that historical consumer reality. Ultimately, this isn't music that anyone would genuinely justify paying for—there is simply too much better music out there to recommend.

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The only Paul Simon albums that absolutely need to be included in a list like this are Bridge over Troubled Water and Graceland. There is nothing special about this album (his first solo album being decent is no surprise, as he was the primary songwriter for Simon & Garfunkel). This album could easily have been replaced with There Goes Rhymin' Simon or Still Crazy After All These Years (each of those albums had multiple hits compared to just the one here). Furthermore, this list is pretty lackluster. There are huge omissions in the singer-songwriter genre, with zero albums from Jackson Browne, Harry Chapin, Jim Croce, or Gordon Lightfoot (among others), whereas Paul Simon gets multiple routine albums included.

Tears for Fears cover of "Sea Song" is a huge upgrade over the original. He can't sing worth a damn.

Nothing warrants the extra praise this album has received from the media. It's just fine, and many comparable female-led rock bands (such as Screaming Females, L7, The Cranberries, and Veruca Salt) aren't represented in the list.

CCR had such a strong greatest hits album that it rendered their albums nonessential. Aside from the omission of "Born on the Bayou," Chronicle 1 captures everything a casual listener truly needs. Much like ABBA or The Carpenters, CCR’s legacy is perfectly consolidated by their greatest hits album. The Green River album is an easy skip so I have to downgrade it one star. You wouldn't want to waste money owning this album.

I prefer Art Pepper over John Coltrane. Given the fascinating parallels in their lives and eras, it is disappointing how overlooked Pepper remains in the broader music community. All reviews completely ignore his connection to this music, even though he was heavily influenced by A Love Supreme and explicitly incorporated Coltrane's style into his own later work. Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section would be a solid addition to this list.