1001 Albums Summary

Rating: 6/10 Never actually heard of Small Faces or this album before but it’s just some pretty solid brits late 60’s psych, and the songs still make for some good pop. The mono mix actually makes for a nice fuzzy sound. Interestingly the back half of the album introduces a narrator who starts to tell a strange story that I don’t really remember, across the tracks with some experimental and diverse sounds.

Rating: 6/10 An album that may be on this essential list for its cultural significance rather than being a ‘top 1000 albums ever’ kinda thing. These Afro-blues rock songs are definitely not bad but the genre isn’t really my thing and this probably isn’t something I’m going to return to ever

Rating: 6/10 We get our first rock classic in our project and it’s one I haven’t personally listened to in full. Of course we probably all know at least of the big ones, Walk on the Wild Side, Perfect Day, Satellite of Love, Vicious. But it’s also inconsistent to me outside of the highlight tracks, and I’m really not much of a glam rock person. Even all of my favorite Bowie albums are after his glam era. Adding this to my library tho

Rating: 9/10 Ahead of its time in just about every way, from the implementation of electric instrumentation in folk music, to it being pretty much the birth of the concept of the singer-songwriter and modern style album, and those aren’t the only reasons why it’s so good and endures through time. You can continue to listen to Dylan’s strange lyrics in his unique vocal style and come away with something new each time 60 years after it was revolutionary because it is pure poetry. Top quality

Rating: 7/10 Solid collection of tunes. Has a couple of skips but also some real highlights. Message in a Bottle and Walking on the Moon among others. The only really annoying song is the one where they tell you they’re about to play a corny one and they do not lie. Sting’s reggae voice is almost never too grating and the whole album has this hypnotic feel, the tracks mostly sound distinct but each as this melodic repetition that I enjoy.

Rating: 6/10 I really don’t care much for the Stones, and after Gimme Shelter, the album doesn’t do a lot for me until the second half comes along to pick it up more

Rating: 5/10 An early blueprint, but one that doesn’t fully hold up as a quality album experience. Express Yourself really is a good song, but even the first few major hits, while great tracks, don’t really age too well compared to the stacked collection of classic 90’s hip hop albums that will follow this and pop up on our list

Rating: 8/10 one of the best and influential modern r&b albums imo, the songs are emotional and longing as they cover everything about a young woman’s experience with relationships, SZA’s lyrics for someone who is at the top of the charts in her genre are SAD, veering towards insecurity and self-loathing rather than hedonism. It’s a nice touch that she has her mom’s calls recorded throughout to guide her through this period and these experiences

Rating: 9/10 Really cool shit throughout, every track is like its own crazy journey and it’s definitely one of those pieces of music that can’t just be digested understood and loved immediately, you really cannot brute force something so titanic. Favorite song was Spanish Key.

rating: 10/10 Ask me what the greatest album ever made is on a given day and it’s probably Abbey Road. It’s not my #1 favorite but definitely near the very top, and honestly could be one day, who knows. It’s just the Beatles at their consistent best after what was already the best generational run for a band ever, this is the synthesis of that. Their true artistic crowning achievement at their collective heights before dipping out after dropping Let It Be which is…an album. This had to break brains in 1969. I can’t imagine anything other than fans flipping the vinyl over and over all day long. A side is pretty much perfection. I won’t even hear any shit talking about Maxwell’s Silver Hammer, which I concede might the thing keeping me from concluding that is actually perfect, but I still love the song regardless. It ends with the absolutely monstrous She’s So Heavy, which is my absolutely favorite Beatles song. I would have a tough time of ordering a favorite 20 Beatles songs but I know for sure that She’s So Heavy would be #1. I’m pretty sure the band literally invented like 5 different genres with this one. Side B continues with some great early highlights (every song) and then flows into some great quirky little songs and ends triumphantly with the medley at the end. You literally feel uplifted by the mood of these tracks at the end of Abbey Road. The warmth of the Beatles is nearly unmatched, can’t wait for the 4 other albums that will eventually pop up here

Rating: 7/10 I was really into this Eurythmics album as an interesting take on fun and weird early 80’s synthpop. Its dark and mechanical tone combined with singer Annie Lennox’s great vocals worked for me. Love is a Stanger and Sweet Dreams are highlights but also the last track is awesome. Tracks 3 & 8 were the only lower points and are skippable.

Rating: 8/10 A nice little collection of eclectic folk pop songs, which is my shit. I don’t care as much for the straightforward stuff. Another one of these albums to keep in mind that this guy wrote these songs when he was basically a young kid 60 years ago. I’m just impressed when people make cool art, like I could never conceive of writing any songs this good even now

Rating: 10/10 The grandfathers of metal were so good that still almost nothing compares to the collective talents that this band had during this run. Ozzy isn’t the only legend here, because Tony Iommi is one of the best metal guitarists ever, Geezer played incredibly groovy bass lines and his political and dark lyrics hold relevance to this day, and Bill Ward is easily one of the most underrated drummers. Paranoid is absolutely sick all the way through with its classic metal tracks and deep cuts both. Impossibly heavy for its time

Rating: 7/10 A good attempt from the band still in its post-punk flavor, I usually like the sound with more edge to it. I enjoyed it but would have to go back to War to delve more into the lyrics here, and I probably should because it’s cool to have Irish music about politics and history. In the 6 7 range

Rating: 5/10 The only thing I knew about the Zutons before this is that Pressure Point is one of the banger songs on the soundtrack of the GOAT sports game, MVP Baseball 2005. Otherwise, the rest of the album just started to get pretty boring for me as it went on. I think the album is another example of a clear recency bias the author of the book has for new albums released in Britain, as if he’s predicting these artists’ legacy rather than fitting in a deserving and proven essential album. Basically I’m asking this list to stop making me listen to 2000’s albums that no one has heard of or remembers just cause the author was completely wrong about them being fundamental or important

Rating: 4/10 Out of all the Tim Buckley records to choose….whyyy this one? It may be representative of his personality but not his sound, this album is a huge departure from his usual Avant folk sound where he is weird and inaccessible but much more adept

Rating: 9/10 Probably was the greatest album ever recorded when it came out 60 years ago right? From a Buick 6 is maybe the only lull for me but I still can’t say it’s anything less than a good song. So highly consistent over a satisfying runtime. I would say the best of his 60’s output and one of the best aging pieces of music made

Rating: 8/10 Turns out this has been in my to listen list for almost 3 years. I see how it got there with just the kind of influence I think it had the modern sphere of art pop artists I like now who have some of the most exciting songwriting and production around. Will be needing to dive into this more and the rest of her songs

Rating: 4/10 Songs are fine and well made enough I guess but I don’t care and don’t want to spend my time listening to this

Rating: 5/10 I like it less than Let It Bleed, which at least had some extra highlights for me outside of the main big songs. Maybe the next one will get me, hopefully it’s next year instead of next week

Rating: 5/10 some decent inessential house tunes

Rating: 6/10 Nice collection of interesting folk tunes from this era of pitchfork-core indie music, a really solid example of this iteration of the genre. Check out Grizzly Bear member Daniel Rossen’s album from 2022 “You Belong There” it’s cool stuff

Rating: 8/10 Good noisy grungy shit from the late 80’s when alternative rock really started to take root, and bands like Dinosaur were part of growing non-commericial scenes of punk, DIY, distortion and fuzz and raw sounds. I love the bookends of the big standout Freak Scene and the pure noise rock closer Don’t. Lead vocalist isn’t always the best but it’s part of the charm that makes this album

Rating: 6/10 Never heard Led Zeppelin III before (I’m sure we will get every album they’ve ever made on this list). These are decent songs and the album length doesn’t overstay, but I think the band is just a touch overrated for how much they’re revered. Still much better though than all of the classic rock of the next 15 years that they influenced

Rating: 9/10 I really like synthy progressive electronic music and as the prototype this is still really fun and holds up against the modern stuff it influenced. I think the the concept and themes behind “The Man-Machinel” with its artificial futurism sound is really cool. Basically the Blade Runner of music if that makes sense

Rating: 8/10 Sorry Tom Waits I wasn’t familiar with your game Really did not expect this because I thought Waits was just a guy with a guitar or something, but this is the kind of completely unique rock unlike anything I’ve heard. My closest comparison I’ve listened to is Nick Cave and now I’m pretty sure he was just influenced by Waits. If anything this album was a little long but not a big deal. I should check out more of Tom Waits’ experimental work, and could see myself really loving this years down the road

Rating: 9/10 Actually peak, thank you Mr. Harrison. Is this lowkey the best solo Beatles material? The first disc is literally a perfect collection of songs I think, and from there it just keeps going on and on and on and I'm just jamming the whole time. Great stuff

Rating: 5/10 Perfectly fine and listenable, and something I may never listen to in full again

Rating: 8/10 after some big stinkers for 2000’s albums in my opinion, I didn’t expect ANOHNI to be featured and this is a really cool and unique piece of music. Born from painful personal experiences but also filled with hope

Rating : 4/10 This is not the worst thing ever, it's a weird and interesting attempt at a satire of the hippie psych sound and culture permeating the times and made as a comedy album. But it's not very enjoyable and I would really rather just listen to some quality classic psychedelic pop, rock tunes. Might just have an interesting place in the discussion of 60's music history though. And it's probably better than a lot of copycats of the sounds of the era

Rating: 7/10 Not bad at all! Fun and weird, political lyrics in classic albums like this are usually a plus. Fun highlights early like Victoria and Some Mother's Son along with the more progressively driven Australia and Shangri-La. Starts to fall off for me a bit in the last few tracks until Arthur finishes off strong

Rating: 7/10 I thought this was pretty cool, Holger definitely succeeds at making his own type of rock album with experimental sounds, just enjoying the grooves

Rating: 7/10 Future Days is technically great but something isn’t clicking for me to really love it after two listens. Hypnotically flowing passages that can be played pleasantly in the background but also can be listened to closely for its intricacies. And of course, definitely made to trip to.

Rating: 7/10 It’s a good debut by a really young person, who of course has a great voice front and center with a good jazzy backing instrumentation. I think the album starts to get better towards the second half

Review Rating: 8/10 Bad Brains might be more known for their first two albums in the early 80’s, during which the band was maybe the most prominent emerging live act in hardcore punk in D.C. and out of the East Coast. But a few years later, Bad Brains swapped the raggae style of their early works for a funk + metal sound while keeping the elements of hardcore ethos that defined them. The result is something that influenced genres to come and is a damn fun time in its own right. As usual, the band brings an infectious energy, unique vocals, thrashy riffs and funky grooves. I'm actually happily surprised that this is the album in this book, even thought I think Bad Brains S/T also probably should be. But I Against I is maybe the first example we can find of an alternative metal and funk metal album, it is straight up influential alone because of this. These genres and the post-grunge and nu-metal waves that followed can't trace their influence back further than this. I mean, I feel like this thing is even begging for some rap verses to kick in, it seems like it just misses sharing a space with the also emerging hardcore hip-hop sound on the East Coast. I don't think Bad Brains gets the credit they deserve for pioneering alt and funk metal sounds, compared to some bands with a grungier hard rock style. Here they are in 1986 on I Against I literally doing it first. Extremely underrated and underappreciated now, and the only reason I don't rate it even higher is because I don't think it's perfect, just a very solid alt metal and post-hardcore classic. Absolute highlight for me is House of Suffering into Re-Ignition. If I actually could recommend a definitive Bad Brains release, it would be The Youth Are Getting Restless, a live album at the peak of their powers. And to add a recommendation for a mandatory listen if you like this style of music, check out the modern classic Diaspora Problems by Soul Glo. It might just be the ultimate evolution of the sonic ideas presented on this album.

Rating: 7/10 It's a solid album, and maybe the perfect recommendation for a Beach Boys record in the winter, moodier rather than sunnier. I'm not the biggest fan of this band but literally can't be anything other than a good listen

Rating: 6/10 The first Nick Cave album that is fully piano driven and more overtly Christian (I think). it’s good, the first song is really great, but I don’t love this one

Rating: 6/10 Good and consistent even though that consistency doesn’t ever reach great heights to me after the first track. And then they tried to tack on the news broadcasts juxtaposed with the Silent Night rendition at the end, I wish they did more with that idea

Rating: 6/10 Some lush New Wave goodness. I feel like a lot of these bands might be considered ‘singles bands’ and it kinda checks out here, the first track on each side with Someone Somewhere in Summertime and the title track are beautiful, with some other good tracks around them. Pretty decent stuff for a band coming off the Joy Division post-punk wave and being part of the turn of the 80’s synthpop sound in the UK

Rating: 8/10 What can I say, this is a great lively and energetic jazz performance by Duke and the boys. Love some good crowd cheers in a live album. Diminuendo was awesome and an insane finale

Rating: 5/10 Technically good and not without its merits. But I don't care about this band. At least they saved the best for last

Rating: 7/10 Definitely a cool result from this list, I hadn’t even heard of Joan and if I had to guess what year it was made it wouldn’t be 1976. Some really good instrumentation to go along with Joan’s songwriting. I wasn’t able to dive in lyrically too much in one listen, and I’ll need to listen more to feel more firmly about the album as a whole.

Rating: 10/10 now THAT is a SKIPLESS record. I truly didn’t realize just how effortlessly Stevie makes this 1hr45min album feel like not a single moment is wasted, it’s divine and uplifting and inspired the entire way through. We all know who Stevie Wonder is. He’s a blind black man. Who created this work of art 50 years ago. This is a guy who knows he can do absolutely anything he sets his mind to and wants you to feel the same while listening to his soulful rhythms. A really cool album cover as well, and probably the most perfectly apt album title ever conceived. I have to seriously consider if this is the greatest musical achievement ever, it honestly still feels like the future.

Rating: 6/10 Maybe The Sonics is exactly the kind of music I should like as a 60’s rock band with a raw and abrasive sound before that was really a thing. But I find it kind of annoying at times and the production (something that isn’t often a barrier for me) sounds like it was recorded through a tin can. Despite that, some raw infectious energy straight out of 1965 is interesting to hear

Rating: 5/10 Pretty alright as I probably listened to it in the best way possible, on the speaker while doing some Saturday morning kitchen chores. I think I might have actually liked the second half songs better.

Rating: 7/10

Rating: 10/10 Maybe the perfect classic pop rock record, an obvious classic with a collection of hits that would be the #1 song most bands have ever made, along with deeper cuts that almost never miss. If there was any weak point on the album, maybe Oh Daddy? And Silver Springs is a must listen when you play Rumours. A lot of songs that are basically impossible to get out of your head once they become stuck in it after listening

Rating: 6/10 Michael's post-Thriller album that he and Quincy put together was surprisingly just...fine? Outside of the big hits there wasn't very much for me to love. It's more like reaching some pretty decent heights with Bad, The Way You Make Me Feel, and Smooth Criminal, none of which come close to Thriller's best songs in my opinion, with some average lows scattered through the rest of the album. I did like Dirty Diana though, I think that's a pretty good song.

Rating: 8/10 Maybe my 4th or 5th favorite album by The Cure. It's great. Recorded and released right at the birth of the British post-punk wave that would become gothic rock, 17s is a pretty damn accomplished effort for the young band. It's sometimes a little bit different sounding than more of the dream pop and alt rock style of the band that would begin to develop later in the decade, but it's something I really love about the Cure is that a lot of their albums are actually pretty distinct in progressing with different genres. This is one of their early records that incorporates the coldwave sounds of cold and metallic synths. As always the bass lines are one of the coolest prominent features of what makes The Cure so good, this band IS Simon Gallup as much as it is Robert Smith. Another trademark of the band that you see on this early album is how instrumental they actually are, with Smith often not vocalizing on the track until minutes in. And damn are the instrumentals great. This album is a vibe, it's one of their most mysterious and atmospheric and is very rewarding when you can settle in and really let it wash over you in the headphones.

Rating: 5/10 A collection of rockin’ classic Christmas song renditions. Heard these version of the big hits too many times to count on Christmas radio. 1001 Essential albums, nah.

Rating: 8/10 Incredibly top notch 80’s production plus some great pop rock songwriting makes this a really fun listen. It’s just got a great atmosphere. Starts and ends really well with Red Rain/Sledgehammer and In Your Eyes but the rest maintains a pretty high quality