1001 Albums Summary

The mix of spoken word poetry and the clever turns of phrase kept me engaged. There were some really impressive tracks but on the whole it didn’t really hook me and don’t think I will be listening to this album again.

I had heard some of their earlier stuff but this was the first time listening to this album. I really enjoyed it, I can foresee putting this on when I need something chill to listen to when focusing on work. Very dreamy, very vibey.

This album was the perfect reminder of why I hate listening to jazz.

PG is my main music guy so I will happily listen to this again for the millionth time with fresh ears but the versatility! The range and power of his voice! The Kate Bush! Peter Gabriel is a genius and this album is his thesis statement (and it’s not even my favourite of his work).

This was … fine. I still get emotional hearing With or Without You because it reminds me of the brilliant finale of The Americans but otherwise this album was basically just background noise to me.

This is firmly Not For Me but I understand why other people vibe with it.

I did not enjoy this at all but it feels unfair to give it 1 star so I’m grudgingly rounding up to 2 because it’s not bad, it’s just very much not for me

Listening to this while squinting at a computer screen trying to focus on my work made me feel like a dollar store version of Carrie Mathison from Homeland (complimentary)

Somehow I'd never listened to this in full before but it is extremely up my alley. I'm only a quarter into the album and it's already 5 stars for me.

This is another solidly Not For Me album, but I can appreciate the artistry behind it and why other people like it. I can't believe I enjoyed an Iron Maiden album more than Herbie Hancock (never again) but life is a rich tapestry, I guess.

Having only heard the higher profile singles from this album, I enjoyed getting to listen to every track all the way through. Certainly captures my mood given the way 2025 keeps 2025ing in newly creative and horrible ways.

This is solidly … fine … but I will stick to Duran Duran for my 80s synth pop needs.

I tried to go in with an open mind but the Qanonsense she's been spewing the past few years really made it difficult to finish listening. I'll give what I did hear a solid 3.5/4 (other than paper planes which gets a 5 by default because it has reached icon status)

There is an entire song about TV Dinners I cannot ever listen to this again!!!!

It's fine. Not my genre but I can appreciate why it was so popular.

I didn't listen to Animal Collective much when they were in their heyday but this album makes me nostalgic either way. I love rediscovering artists that I didn't pay as much attention to at the time.

Only two songs in and I’m already obsessed, such a great new discovery for my music library! ETA post listening to the whole thing: LOVE. 5/5

Horrible man, great Christmas album

An incredible album that reaches into your chest and plucks at your soul like it's a string on a harp

Solid album, I can see why people like it, but for me all of the songs blend together. Not something I’m likely to listen to again.

This is also … fine. A few more standout tracks for me than the Foo Fighters album I got yesterday (love the synchronicity, wondering if I’ll get Nirvana next) but overall not something I’m likely to listen to again.

Fifteen seconds into the first track and I can already tell this is a not for me album

I’m in the strange position of loving everything about this band with the exception of the sound of Sting’s voice. So like, 5/5 for instrumentals and 3/5 when you include vocals. This feels like an extremely niche problem to have.

Jazz is not my genre but this was really pleasant background music while I reading, will keep it save to my library

I went into this fully expecting to vibe with the album but am discovering it is just … not for me. Similar to Queen, I’m realizing I prefer his singles over listening to a full album.

I LOVE IT. I’d somehow never heard of this band before (I, a Canadian, went ‘the Boston historical horse guy?’) but this is so much fun, will absolutely be a repeat listen

Tragically, this is not for me. I feel like it *should* be based on who I am as a person but I just don’t vibe with it.

I managed thirty seconds of each song and even that was too much

I liked this overall, a few standout tracks for me but probably not an album I would listen to again in full

The Clown Killer song? Really? I did not enjoy this album.

The whiniest lead singer voice I’ve encountered since being forced to listen to Simple Plan as a teenager. This album is not for me.

The deeper I get into this challenge, the clearer it becomes I would have THRIVED as a teenager in the 60s.

A perfect album. Definitely will be listening to this again (I’m more familiar with their 2000s stuff so it was fun to go back to their earlier work).

His album titles alone brought a huge smile to my face, what a gem of a man.

I cannot bring myself to listen to this album again objectively in the year 2026 considering Kanye’s gone full MAGA so my rating is based on my memories of being forced to listen to this album through the wall of my brother’s bedroom over and over again in high school back when it was still relatively new.

This is an all-timer album, I had never sat down and listened to the entire thing in one go before which is a damn shame because I LOVE it.

I know contemporary Incubus tends to be more of a punchline than something people enjoy listening to but I did enjoy this look back at their earlier stuff. It’s not an album I’ll ever listen to again but it was solidly fine. Round up to 2.5 stars.

Solid album. It’s no ‘Dummy’ but Machine Gun slaps as hard as I remember back from when I was in high school listening to it on repeat.

I enjoyed this. A couple of stand out tracks and others that I think I need to listen to again a few times. Not my favourite Bowie but still remarkable.

‘Intro’ made me immensely nostalgic, but then I remembered how annoying I find the vocalists and the rest of the album was a drag to listen to

In keeping with my boomer dad music taste, I think this is going to be a new favourite

I am not a country person usually (outside of Bluegrass) but I did end up enjoying this quite a bit to my surprise. What really shook me was realizing THIS was the musician who almost died in the Buddy Holly plane crash but gave up his seat at the last minute.

I don’t even want to know what this is going to do to my Apple Music algorithm 😭

Song 2 remains iconic but the rest of this album is uneven. Some songs are GREAT (Death of a Party is a real standout for me) and some aren’t bad, they’re just kind of mid. Rounded up rating of 3.5.

This album and band were new to me and I really liked it! I think this will be something I have to listen to again a few more times to really appreciate it but there were a handful of truly stand-out tracks to me on first listen.

I can see how this album influenced Robert Plant and a number of other consequential artists but I found it a tedious listen.

Absolutely incredible album. Easy 5 stars.

On paper, this album should be exactly up my alley but I just didn’t vibe with it. I appreciate what it was trying to do though.

It’s fine. I’m just not a Prince fan so while I didn’t mind listening to this while I was working, it’s not something I would ever choose to listen to for fun.

Rap isn’t really my genre but even I can recognize Kendrick is an absolute genius.

It was fine. I think I missed the boat on this one back during the white stripes heyday and it’s not quite vibing with me now.

Worse than dinosaur jr., but slightly less aggravating to listen to than slint. 1.25 rounded up.

HOW CAN ONE MAN HAVE SO MUCH TALENT?

I thought I would enjoy this more than I actually did (though it's still a solid album). It's a little more B52s than I would have liked, without actually sounding too much like the B52s. 3.5 stars rounded up.

I’m not a huge fan of live albums in general but I loved hearing Johnny riff off of the audience and the energy of the crowd.

I liked one song enough to save it to my library and the rest of this album was just noise to me, I’m sorry to say.

This was good background music for a very stressful day at work but I don’t know that it’s something I would listen to again voluntarily (nothing really stood out to me/impressed me.)

An all time favourite, though I remain confused that Mind Games isn’t also on this list because that is the strongest cohesive album and my personal number one of Lennon’s solo work. Do I need to listen to this again to know I’ll give it 5 stars? No. Will I? Absolutely.

This was a fun listen on a Friday morning but not something I’m likely to play again.

I did not go into this album expecting to like it this much so that was a pleasant surprise!

I *loved* this album as a teenager, can’t wait to listen to it again in full with my grown-up ears. ETA: review post listen, I enjoyed it a lot but I did pause a few times and wonder to myself how much of that was nostalgia. I’m surprising myself and giving this a 4 rather than the 5 I expected but there are some tracks that I probably would have found meh if this was a first listen rather than something I used to know inside and out fifteen years ago.

I did not enjoy this album

I am realizing I just don’t like Jack White’s voice. 5/5 for the instrumentals though.

This is not my genre but I can appreciate it (and the album itself feels extra prescient right now)

The instrumentals on this album felt very Beatles-y at times but even that was not enough to save it for me. As someone with the music taste of a boomer dad this should be right up my alley but I just did not vibe with it.

This was new to me (aside from a few of the well-known singles and riffs) and I really enjoyed it. The biggest surprise was googling the band and discovering Bo Bice of American Idol fame ("fame"?) also spent some time as their lead singer in the post-2000s period.

Peter Gabriel in any form, automatic 5 stars from me.

I have never felt more like George Harrison.

I feel like a bad Canadian admitting this but I've never really taken the time to listen to much Neil Young and damn ... I was missing out. Two songs in and I already know this is 5 stars.

Really solid album. I hadn’t listened to much of his stuff prior to this but I think I will keep exploring his other work.

Aside from the 10 seconds of the singer meowing at the start of A Fan's Mail (Tron Song Suite II), this album is very much not for me.

My first thought upon seeing this cover was 'DAMN he looks like his son'. I really enjoyed this! It's giving me Jefferson Airplane/early Genesis and Led Zeppelin vibes (the ideal combination of sounds for me personally) while still sounding distinctly unique. Yet another fun discovery thanks to this project!

This was fun! I probably won’t ever listen again but it was good motivational music while I was working.

This is such a good album. Color Bars is hugely nostalgic for me (it was the first Elliott Smith song I discovered back in high school) but I enjoyed every track a lot.

This was an enjoyable listen considering I'm not usually super drawn to Joni Mitchell. I appreciate the jazz-y influence that runs through this album, it's a fun departure from the classic folk I went into this expecting to hear. I'm giving it 5 stars because, much like Rumours, I anticipate this growing on me from 'I enjoyed' to 'I loved' with repeat listens.

An old favourite, always an enjoyable listen.

It reminds me of the B-52s if the B-52s were a punk band. Not for me, but I can appreciate why others love it.

I don't even know how to describe this, ska meets Van Halen? I think it is a good album (so I can see why the people who love it are so into it), it's just not for me. ETA: okay, the back half of the album appeals to me a lot more than the first half. Upping my rating by a star from the original 2.5 I was going to give it.

Somehow I'd never sat down and listened to this album before but it is EXTREMELY UP MY ALLEY.

I never jumped on the Oasis train ... and this album has not changed my mind. It's fine, but I'd rather listen to The Verve.

Love the spirit and the energy, alas, don't love the actual music

I didn't realize Green Onions was that song that plays in the background of a bunch of 80s and 90s movies and every banking advertisement ever made so that was a fun surprise.

Always a good, darkly dreamy listen (perfect vibe for those days I'm stuck staring at an excel spreadsheet at work and would rather be anywhere else).

This is solidly ... fine. I am biased because I find Don Henley repulsive but I can still stomach the album enough to give it a 3.5

This is not super for me but I can see why other people love it. Reading the reviews on here is funny because they all range between 4/5 stars and 1 stars with very few in between. I'll give it a 2.5 because I can tell it's a good album for people who are grunge fans, but a lot of the tracks sound the same and I find the lead singer's voice annoying. I will join the chorus of people shouting out Rooster as a standout track, though I have to wonder if that's only because it's the first song to sound different sonically than everything that came before it.

I am partial to a lot of 80s music and this is no exception. I wouldn't say this is a standout album (I'm still waiting for the generator to throw me some Duran Duran) but I enjoyed it.

Some hits and some misses here. 'Rock Music' reminded me of my cat having a temper tantrum but I vibed more with track 3 onwards.

Went into this blind and I'm so glad I did, what a fun album right from the very first few seconds. I'm very particular about the tone of voice of a performer (as in, even if I LOVE the instrumentals and lyrics, a singer I don't vibe with will sink my score – see my ratings for any Police album [sorry not sorry Sting]) and she's so pleasant to listen to.

Album itself is great, but I am really struggling with the ‘separate the artist from the art’ thing here when listening.

I did immediately go ‘ugh not this’ upon refreshing the page, curious to see if my opinion improves after listening. ETA: my opinion has not changed. The only song I like is Sympathy for the Devil and that’s mostly down to nostalgia and a fun drum beat.

Oh no, I cannot stand the lead singer's voice. I keep wincing every time it breaks or gets thin and raspy on a high note. I was going to say I like all of the other musical elements until I started hearing the spaceship wailing noises in the first track ... safe to say, I am not a fan of this album.

Silent All These Years has been in my music library for ages but I hadn't really listened to the rest of this album in full. I love Tori's voice and enjoyed this well enough, but it didn't grab me.

This is ... fine but not for me. I like the cover more than the album.

FINALLY! I have been waiting to get either Led Zeppelin or the The Beatles and was curious which band was going to show up first. Automatic 5 stars.

This album is not for me but I can understand why other people love it. It’s well done and fun, just not my genre.

I'm not usually that into that punk (I like one off songs here and there but find a lot of albums tend to blend together/sound the same) but this feels like it's got enough variety musically that I'm enjoying it. ETA: I have come back to listen to my favourite tracks again because of how much I enjoyed it the first time, not something I expected. I am loving how many new artists I'm discovering through this project!

I’m hardly saying anything groundbreaking here but incredible lyricist, mid vocalist. I'm giving this a 4 because I can’t in good conscience give such basic singing a perfect score (but everything else on this album is a 5).

This is not for me but I can appreciate it! 2.5 stars rounded up.

I was obviously familiar with his cover of Hurt but this was my first time listening to the whole album in full. I love the contrast of Johnny's voice with the more contemporary songs he's chosen to cover. Really great album that I'm grateful exists.

It's ... fine. I've listened to other Arctic Monkeys albums and to be honest they all sound the same to me. That being said — "When the Sun Goes Down" always slaps.

This isn't necessarily something I'd gravitate toward on my own but I can see how this would fill the musical void when I'm in a specific mood, which luckily, happens to apply today (I was just listening to Chalk before this). 3.5 rounded up to 4 as I probably will listen to this again.

This sounds like something Lorelai Gilmore would listen to (derogatory).

listening to this in Canada in 2026 when you can't walk down a city block without passing at least one (legal) weed dispensary is certainly something. The genre as a whole is not for me but I can respect this album and understand why it matters.

I never really considered myself a soul fan but I keep loving every album I get in this genre and this album is no exception. Every song just feels like it's wrapping me up in a warm hug on a cold night.

I generally love bluegrass and I generally love Celtic folk music but I do not vibe with the lead singer's voice which is significantly affecting my enjoyment. 3.5 stars, but not something I'm likely to listen to again.

I regret to admit this is exactly my kind of album. I would have THRIVED as a teenager in the 1960s

Imagine my surprise when I misread this as being an album by the band 'The Roots' and then hit play on the first song.

Apologies for leaning into the joke too hard but this album is a big YES for me

It's fine, it's standard issue jazz which is not my genre but I can appreciate why others love it.

I've always been obsessed with the titular track, but can take or leave the rest (even Bennie and the Jets and Candle in the Wind [sorry Princess Diana]). At least the songs I like best are front-loaded on the album (and as a sidebar: shout out to Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting for giving title inspo to one of the best episodes of Gilmore Girls)

I've long suspected I was more of a Garfunkel gal than a Paul Simon one, and this album has confirmed it. The bits I like best are the ones that remind me of Simon and Garfunkel together (the pan flutes on Duncan that sound like El Condor Pasa (If I Could), for example).

Ryan Adams is a tool but the One Tree Hill nostalgia for When the Stars Go Blue is *strong*

This album is my nightmare. Give me more Kraftwerk, anything but this, I promise to be kinder about those German men this time.

It's giving early Genesis, Queen, Pink Floyd, ELO, and Wings: which means I am very much here for it.

I just don't think anything will ever get me to like the Rolling Stones. I find Mick Jagger's voice unpleasant to listen to.

Getting this album when Steven Tyler is all over the news due to the legal case against him involving historical child sexual assault allegations sure is some timing. I have to say, the lyrics on this album definitely don't help his case. I'm torn on a rating because I think this album would have been an absolute blast to listen to in the car during a summer road trip, but I can't divorce it from the gross context in which it (and this band) exists.

It starts off weird ... but the kind of indie British band weird that I'm very much into.

AUTOMATIC FIVE STARS. Two Weeks in particular has a very soft spot in my heart (it's one of—if not my favourite—songs of all time) but this whole album is incredible.

Incredible talent and an incredible vocalist. This a 4.5 for me only because it's not something I would listen to if not for this challenge but I have to acknowledge what a banger of an album it is objectively.

It's fun, it's weird, it's David Byrne, what more can I ask for out of a Talking Heads album? It's not my favourite and not something I'm likely to come back to but I had fun listening to it.

As someone who was only really familiar with White Lines, this was definitely a fun vibe to start my Tuesday morning with. Probably not something I'd listen to again but it felt like summer in music form which is always a delight.

Oh, I had never heard of this band before and didn't know what to expect but the first song GRABBED me immediately

I ... do not like the lead singer's voice, which means by default this album will not get more than 3 stars from me. ETA after listening to a few songs: this is actively unpleasant

If you'd told the me from half a year ago before starting this project that some of my favourite albums and some of the most consistent artists on the list would be metal bands, I wouldn't have believed you. This is my second Black Sabbath album on this list, it's just as great as the first one I got and was a perfect Friday listen.

HELL YEAH! The day I get Led Zeppelin I, I will be unstoppable, but this is an easy 5 star album for me too.

I kept waiting for the first song to end and it just ... never did. Now apply that sentiment to the whole album. Begrudging shout out to the sneezing at the beginning of the second track and the lyric, 'lots of naked Germans' in Picnic on a Frozen River, Deuxieme Tableaux for the mental image I did not need before 11am on a Tuesday, I guess.

I did not realize Otis Redding had done an album of soul covers but this was a fun way to kick off an otherwise monotonous Wednesday morning at work

Maybe this is because I'm not a poetry person but this feels less like a song and more like a performance that involves the audience snapping in response. It know spoken word is kind of his whole schtick but it's just not for me. As always, the melodies and instrumentals are gorgeous, the lyrics are incredible, but it's not really ... singing, is it? I respect his talent immensely and I understand why this album has so many rave five star reviews but it is just not for me. It's still getting 4 stars because I can recognize what a profoundly important and beautifully crafted album it is, I just will never listen to it again.

listening to this makes me feel like i'm sitting in a cocktail bar in manhattan sipping an overpriced cocktail and waiting for the private investigator i hired to tell me whether my scoundrel of a husband is cheating on me or not

I just don't really care for live albums though the sound quality on this one is excellent. While this isn't for me, I liked the music enough to go look for some of their other albums to give them a try.

she can't sing, which makes her flat, toneless droning profoundly unpleasant to listen to (despite the beautiful background instrumentals). the internet is also telling me she was apparently an incredibly racist person who still upheld many nazi beliefs and introduced her own son to heroin so ... i don't feel bad about rating this 1 star.

maybe it's just because i suffered through Nico's vocals yesterday but I am really enjoying this (against my better judgement? i don't like Morrissey as a person but he can, mercifully, sing)

This was fun! Eight Miles High is far and away my favourite song on the album but I enjoyed it all.

This was a good Friday album. It's not for me but I can understand why so many people in the reviews love it. 'Beetles in the Bog' reminded me so much of 'Tusk' by Fleetwood Mac that I had to immediately listen to that song after, which was also a fun Friday vibe.

It's been years since Succession ended and I still think of Kendall Roy every time I listen to this album.

This isn’t for me but it’s a fun, upbeat listen with some really poignant lyrics and themes (that feel more relevant than ever in 2026, unfortunately). I did enjoy the unexpected Alexander Hamilton reference in A Letter to the New York Post.

it reminds me of a guy getting stoned in his basement and thinking he's a musical genius while straight up ripping off traditional Creole music. if you're going to appropriate another culture for your own benefit, at the very least, make it good.

Ahhhhh, another contemporary album I've already listened to a couple of times before. It’s solidly … fine verging on good. The end of the title track is giving Yoko Ono (complimentary, believe it or not) but after having listened to this album in full back when it was released, then again a couple of months ago, and then again now, I just don’t find it particularly compelling (outside of a few tracks like Relay and Newspaper). I really like Fiona’s voice as an instrument but in terms of actual song output, I prefer The Idler Wheel and everything that came before it. This gets a 3.5/5 from me.

Okay you know what, I went into this with extremely low expectations because it's not my usual genre (not to mention the year of release, I was afraid of what I'd hear in the lyrics) and I actually had a fun time listening to this. I absolutely had to overlook the egregiously casual misogyny (unsurprising) and the frequent use of the n-word (which I don't hold against the album, it makes sense in its context, I just don't like hearing it) but Snoop Dogg is clearly very talented and has a flow that's enjoyable to listen to.

The a cappella version of 'Because' started playing in my head when I refreshed the page because FINALLY. I am nearly 150 albums deep into this challenge and other than one John Lennon solo album (which I deeply love too) I have been deprived. Instant five stars, I don't actually need to listen to this (yet again) to know that, but I'm still going to because I LOVE THE BEATLES. I am going to be so insufferable when I finally get to The White Album, Sergeant Pepper, Magical Mystery Tour, Revolver, and Rubber Soul.

The first five seconds were promising, and then the lead singer started ... "singing" I saw the Talking Heads comparison and while I get it, I am offended on David Byrne's behalf. This feels more like the Wario version of the Talking Heads used to torture prisoners.

The female country version of the Traveling Wilburys I was not aware existed until this album was generated for me. This is not my genre so this is not something I'd normally listen to voluntarily. All three of their voices blend beautifully, but Dolly's does really stand out the most prominently on basically every track. I don't really know how to rate this. It's beautiful but it's also Not For Me so I can't really say I enjoyed listening to it. 3.5 rounded up (the .5 is for the pleasant sounds of the resonator guitar that I first thought were produced by a balalaika before googling)

I have been having a truly terrible morning and the album challenge gods have smiled upon me enough that this just turned my whole day around. I'm also literally wearing my Beatles sweatshirt today which is extra funny. I really struggle to choose a favourite Beatles album but I think Rubber Soul is tied with Revolver and the White Album for me. This is the moment when you can really hear their evolution and their commitment to trying new things and letting inspiration take them outside of the confines of what fans expected of them with their earlier work. This album also features one of my favourite tracks that I never really see mentioned anywhere, I'm Looking Through You (which ... Jane Asher absolutely deserved better from Paul McCartney but I can't deny the tumult of their relationship resulted in a really great if hypocritical song).

Listen, would I sit there and listen to this voluntarily? No. But can I in good conscience rate it anything lower than 3.5/4? Also no. This is the Ray Charles conundrum all over again and the reason this challenge currently thinks my favourite genre is 'soul'. I will say, Ray Charles had more variety on his albums to keep me interested all the way through. This album, by contrast, feels redundant. I don't know that I'll come away from this feeling like any of these songs have really stuck in my head. I also feel the need to knock half a star off for how much I hate 'Makin' Whoopee' so I guess this is getting a flat 3.

Oh, this is new to me and a really pleasant surprise! I don't love the lead singer's voice (it's got a whininess I don't tend to enjoy listening to) but I do love the overall *vibe* of this album.

I remember really enjoying this album when it came out but haven’t listened to it in a while. I’m looking forward to revisiting it but it'll be hard to give it an accurate rating because it's already so familiar and tricky to listen to with 'new' ears (I had a similar problem with Muse's Black Holes and Revelations when it came up for me earlier in the challenge). ETA post listen: It's the kind of album you have to be in a certain mood for but I did really sink into it yesterday and appreciate the chance to rediscover an old favourite.

This is brand new to me (I'm not familiar with either artist on their own either). I don't love Richard's voice but I do enjoy how it contrasts with Linda's. This is probably not something I'll revisit but I'm glad to have discovered it through this challenge! 3.5 stars rounded up for the one or two Linda-fronted tracks that really stood out to me.

I don't like the lead singer's voice so this is not a fun or easy listen for me personally. It would have been a 3 if I was just rating the instrumentals, but I am just straight up not having a good time with this one.

As a cliche millennial who watched both The OC and One Tree Hill when they were on air, I'm actually shocked to realize I've never listened to this album in full (though after a quick google, it seems like neither show had any of their songs featured which is wild). Anyway, it's not surprising I really enjoyed it. It reminds me of the Libertines (another nostalgic favourite band I'm excited to eventually get through this challenge) and I will definitely be exploring more of their catalogue after this.

This was a fun listen but not something I'd gravitate toward on my own. You can definitely hear the influence of Little Richard on so many huge artists who came later and were inspired by him (as someone mentioned in a youtube comment I saw, you can hear exactly where and how Paul McCartney was influenced).

As someone with an arts degree, I'm afraid I don't have that special mathematician's edge required to truly *hear* this album (yes, I am also dunking on that 1 star review from 2020 because it deserves continued scorn). Rap is not my genre though I can always appreciate a well-produced album with impressive lyrical flow and this album delivers on both. An enjoyable listen and a bittersweet reminder of mid 2000s Kanye.

I feel like the potential for me to like this album was there but i just really, really did not vibe with the lead singer's voice unfortunately.

I winced at the cover image but wanted to give this a fair shot. Ultimately, it's just not for me (I don't really do EDM or electronica though so not exactly a surprise).

This is one of those bands I've been meaning to check out for ages. I really like it but I don't *love* it (I am so particular about a singer's technique and style and there's kind of a monotony to the vocals on this album that feels redundant even though she's clearly an incredibly talented vocalist) but overall a very enjoyable listen while I plug away at my work. I'm going to give it a 5 because the longer i listened the more the album had me spellbound (heh) but my accurate rating is 4.5

this is certainly one way to kick off a Monday morning. Listen, I am not typically a fan of most hair metal bands (I feel like Van Halen counts as a proto-hair metal band because they basically kickstarted the whole genre, or as someone in a reddit comment just said, they 'gave birth to hair metal' lol), but if I *had* to choose one to listen to, it would be Van Halen. This is solidly fine, I feel like I would enjoy it way more on a road trip somewhere versus sitting at my desk staring at a google sheet but alas.

I'm biased going into this one because when I told my dad I was doing this album challenge, he kept asking, "Have you gotten Deep Purple yet???" so obviously my expectations were quite high when the generator finally did its thing and bestowed this album upon me. As expected, it's a really solid, fun listen that I will be coming back to outside of this challenge. Obviously Smoke on the Water is a classic for beginner guitar players everywhere (tied only with Wonderwall imo), but there are so many great tracks that it doesn't stand out in a tall poppy kind of way.

This is one of those albums that I completely understand why it's on the list and had a good time listening to (especially the handful of tracks I was already familiar with) but it's not something I would opt for normally because it's not really my genre. Undeniably a band full of incredibly talented people!

They have my respect for the Karen Carpenter song (RIP forever legend) but ... I cannot say I really enjoyed listening to this? I feel the vocals (both sets of vocals, to be clear) are kind of terrible and amateurish even though the instrumentals are incredible.

I don't care if this makes me basic, I will never complain about getting CCR on a Friday.

This is yet another classic album by an extremely talented man, it's just not for me. 'Save the Children' is a uniquely depressing listen that I was not prepared for while sitting in my air conditioned apartment during yet another concerning extreme heat alert, so that was a fun surprise.

I was hoping I'd enjoy this more than I did, but there's a redundancy to a lot of the songs that means nothing really stands out to me. I discovered how much I actually enjoy System of a Down and Black Sabbath because of this challenge so I'm always on the lookout for something new that I'd never really listened to, but unfortunately this is not it for me. Shout out to the intros of 'Indians' and 'A.D.I. / Horror of It All' for making me sit up and go, "oh, this is something different," (even though, tragically, they quickly lapsed back into the same monotony of the previous tracks).

I wasn't sure what to expect going into this but it was actually a lot of fun??? I will probably never listen to this again but it definitely gave me some much needed motivation to stare at spreadsheets all day.

This was solidly fine. Good background noise while doing other things but ultimately pretty forgettable.

This is not my usual genre but honestly, what a breath of fresh air after suffering through the off-key warbling of the New Order lead singer. I recognized C.R.E.A.M. immediately (and it absolutely still slaps) but the rest of the album was new to me. Not something I'm likely to listen to again but I'm glad I got to discover it through this challenge.

I can appreciate Bob Dylan's importance in the music canon of the 20th century while also wincing every time he sings because his voice is just not it for me. He's significantly better than Nico, the New Order guy, and the lead singer of The Flaming Lips but still not enjoyable to listen to. He's tied with Leonard Cohen for me on the 'your lyrics and instrumentals are impressive, I just wish someone else was singing your songs' spectrum. Fourth Time Around also sounds like it's trying too hard to be Norwegian Wood (I just googled it and that's apparently exactly what it was mimicking ... I remain on team John Lennon/the Beatles in this petty conflict).

I tried to go in with an open mind but all of the reviews mentioning the whole 'sexual predator' thing realllly soured me on the music (which, to be fair, wouldn't have been for me no matter what). I'm giving it 2/5 because I think he is talented and the music isn't bad, it's just not for me (would have been closer to a 3 but I just cannot separate the art from the artist in this case).

It's fun, it's silly, it's enjoyable background music. Lyrics are nonsensical whenever I actually tune into what they're saying but that's part of the charm. 3.5/5 in my heart, 3 based on the rating system.

Before even opening the reviews, I just knew there was no way this album had more than a 2.99 community rating.

This is a classic for a reason, I know, but it's also just very much not for me. A lot of it kind of blended together in a way that made the songs hard to distinguish (with the exception of Black Magic Woman, which first imprinted itself on my brain back during the Guitar Hero heyday of the mid 2000s).

Taking the nostalgia factor out of it, this album is just okay. It's not my typical genre, to start with, and also I don't like the sound of the lead singer's voice which grates on my nerve like a splinter as the album goes on.

Well hello, this is fun. Organ polka pub punk was not the vibe I was expecting from a band called 'The Stranglers' but I'm having a great time.

YAY!!!!!!! I have been waiting to get this album because it's such a fun vibe, one of my favourite examples of great new wave synth pop. The Chauffeur is a Song of All TimeTM in my incredibly biased opinion too.

I'm incapable of rating this album without bias because, for me, it represents that period of time when the rose coloured glasses you wore as a child fall off and you’re forced to confront the idea that the world is kind of terrifying and unfair, actually (can you tell I'm a millennial whose defining historical memory of elementary school is 9/11?). I don't tend to listen to a lot of Green Day but this album is unique. It really captures this moment in time accurately and feels kind of haunting to listen to again in full so many years later.

An album that is firmly Not For Me but I can understand why it made the list and the concrete impact Dr. Dre has had on music and popular culture.

Though I only really knew Only Happy When it Rains previously, this album is very much my jam. I'm glad I had the chance to really discover Garbage thanks to this challenge (a hilarious sentence out of context).

While this is absolutely the music I would listen to if I wanted to commune with aliens and needed to get in the right headspace, it is not something I would voluntarily listen to.

So, I am a casual Bowie fan and only listened to this once when it was first released. At the time, I remember finding it okay but not hitting me the same way a lot of his earlier work did even despite my feelings being all mixed up with sadness after his passing We are now exactly ten years out from the release of this album and I, uh, basically feel the exact same way. It's solidly fine. There are some interesting choices but nothing really memorable to me. The whole thing just kind of blends together into one big auditory soup. The lyrics are a different, remarkable story but taken as a whole with the melodies, vocals and instrumentals: it's a 3/5 for me.

It's 5 stars. I'm not even sorry. I cannot rank Radiohead anything lower than that. Yes, nostalgia definitely factors into it too as I loved Radiohead as a teenager but obviously I wouldn't have listened to the band as much as I did back in high school if I didn't vibe with it. For an actual review, though: I just really enjoy listening to it. There's so much going on sonically to keep me engaged. Hail to the Thief and In Rainbow are tied for my favourite album but there aren't any bad albums on this list.

This is objectively very good, it's just also very much not for me.

Outside of the song 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road' (which slaps), I'm not really an Elton John person. I can recognize his talent but I think generally his music is just a bit too bombastic for me. That being said, I went into this album with low expectations and actually ended up enjoying it more than I expected to. Still not something I'm likely to listen to again for fun on my own time but not a bad way to kick off a Monday.

I haven't really listened to Tom Petty much outside of the occasional single here and there (or his contributions as part of the Traveling Wilburys) but I really enjoyed this. Will definitely be entering frequent playlist rotation for me.

I put off listening to this one because, of everything I know about Frank Zappa, his music never really seemed like it would be for me. I was correct. I was lulled into a false sense of security by how fun the first track is (the entirely instrumental Peaches En Regalia) and I thought to myself ... maybe this won't be so bad after all? Then the singing started. The haunting, gravelled vocals of my nightmares. Which, mercifully do not last the whole album but I which I found actively unpleasant. I'll give it a 3.5 because the album as a whole is definitely not *bad*, it's just very much not for me.

There have been a few albums in this challenge that I've refused to listen to on apple music because I don't want them to negatively affect my algorithm. This is at the top of the list. ETA after listening: "straight out of Compton? i'm straight out the trailer" NO YOU'RE NOT, YOU'RE A NEPO BABY FROM AN AFFLUENT FAMILY Fleetwood Mac should sue this man for the atrocity that is the sample in 'wasting time' Even despite the (honestly impressive) volume of casual and outright misogyny on this album, I would have probably given this a 2 because, i must admit, Bawitdaba is a jam, but the hard r drop of the n-word in the last track immediately nullifies any nostalgic feelings I might have had for that one track.

This is one I’m familiar enough with already to know it’s going to get a 3 star rating from me (though I will still listen to it again just to be sure my feelings haven’t changed). I will always love Pump It Up and Radio, Radio but the album as a whole does not hold my interest in any meaningful way.

This is objectively very good (and makes me feel like I should be looking out the window of a mid-rise apartment building in Greenwich Village with a morose yet bittersweet expression on my face as city life passes me by) but I'm just not a jazz person. I'm still going to give it a 4 because I can't in good conscience rate it any lower even though I will never listen to this again.