1001 Albums Summary

Solid but unspectacular. Starts with a bang with ‘For Tomorrow’ and ‘Advert’ but then gets lost for a while and never really recovers. Suffers from the 90s album affliction that one must fill the shiny compact disc with songs, even if some of them aren’t very good. Miss America, I’m looking at you. Or maybe it’s just that a whole album of Damon putting on that affected accent is tiresome. But that might just be me…..

Proggy. Pretty good overall, good drumming(if overly fussy at times). Geddy Lee’s voice is a bit irritating after a while. Rush is one of those bands I’ve heard about but never listened to. Now I have. My life is not drastically changed. And on we move……

It's good, but not without filler (Fixing a Hole, Mr Kite!, Good Morning). Luckily, being the 60s, the filler songs are not overly long. Lucy, With a Little Help from My Friends and the title track are all amazing, and there is some whimsy in Rita and 64. And A Day In The Life will always rank as one of the greatest pop songs ever, for me at least. If some of the filler was more compelling, this would be an easy 5. But only a 4 from me, in spite of its reputation.

Blue Suede Shoes - killer opener. Then song after song of filler - not a memorable tune amongst them. A couple of (other) covers that don’t come anywhere near the originals. And finally some redemption with Money Honey. At least the middle section of the album goes by relatively quickly…… 2 stars basically for Blue Suede Shoes, the rest can get lost.

This album can do no wrong in my eyes. From the opening quip about most people not owning Bleach, to the closing screams of Where Did You Sleep Last Night?, these tracks take me on a journey back to my 20s.

Whilst this is not really to my tastes, I can see it’s an important milestone in the history of music. And paved the way for a lot of the hip hop and R’n’B that was to follow. It just all blends into one for me after a while, take a funky bass line, add some horns, maybe a synth line, Clinton talking some gibberish and/or the chorus line singing something repetitive, then keep it going for 6 minutes or so. Happy to have listened to it, but not likely to return any time soon.

Wow, that was a long 56 minutes. Whilst these guys were pioneers in industrial/noise, it doesn’t make it any easier to listen to! Drills, clanging metallic sounds, constant screaming and yelling (in German, naturally), angle grinders and distorted electronic noises. There is some relief later in the album with the instrumental ‘dub’ pieces, which you could see as an influence of people like Trent Reznor. As a piece of art, I’d rate it highly, but as a listening experience, hard to recommend. 1/5 stars from me.

Imagine being so self-important that you think the world nears to hear 2 hours of your uninterrupted whining. Whilst I do love some of the SP’s output, including some of the songs on this double album, there is just too much filler, too much Billy and not enough real ideas going into this opus. If he could’ve employed some self-restraint and culled this down to a solid 45-50minute album, it could be a classic. In the end, in spite of some great tracks, I can only give it a 3/5. Can’t really see myself sitting down to listen to the full 2 hours of this again in a hurry

A few classic tracks (Timeless Melody, There She Goes) and some solid other stuff makes a good 90s album for me. A shame we never got to hear more from Lee, really

Jangly 60s guitar pop. A few good tunes, some a bit less interesting. I don't dig their version of Hey Joe, but Eight Miles High, What's Happening, Mr Spaceman and 5D are great. Prob just short of 4 stars for me

Never understood why this was so popular at the time, and >25 years later, I still don’t. Boring bog standard R’n’B production, nothing interesting in terms of tunes, and flat delivery of unimaginative lyrics most of the time. And the interludes after several of the songs with sounds from a classroom make me feel like stabbing myself repeatedly………..

Dark, moody synths, and lots of them. Some good tracks that you could even dance to, but you’re more likely to be sitting alone in the dark by yourself contemplating your own mortality.

I recently have had this, and The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, which at face value may be somewhat similar. However, not so! This is so much more interesting musically, lyrically, production, the whole thing. Some of the guest spots can be a bit annoying, and the interludes and some of the songs drag a bit towards the end of the record, but I really enjoyed this.

Classic metal, with screaming falsetto vocals, shredding guitar solos and plenty of drum fills, with themes of Satan, the Occult, prisoners and gangsters. And then the classic ‘Run To The Hills’ detailing conflict between native Americans and Europeans. Whatever, it’s a cracker tune that has stood the test of time. And the rest ain’t bad either. Just don’t listen too hard to the lyrics, turn it up, bang your head and have a ball

Definitely shows off those early 80's vibes. Some good tunes in there, amongst the darker synths, and some nice instrumental breaks as well. I was a bit young still when this came out, so missed it the first time around, but I'd be happy to come back any time. I had Violator by Depeche Mode recently, and I can see this as an earlier version of the same sort of thing.

This is one of those albums which has been a staple of FM radio for years, so you think it might be a bit crap. Actually, it's really good!! Sade had that smooth 80s sound down pat early, and cashed in with some great songs and good playing. The first 3 songs (Smooth Operator, Your Love Is King, and Hang On To Your Love) would be familiar to anyone who was anywhere near a radio in the 80s (and ever since then, to be frank), and the 2nd half of the album, whilst less familiar, is also very good.

Couldn’t really get in to this. Started brightly with Penitentiary Philosophy but after that it all blended into a mass of sameness. The vocals started to grate and the music all began to sound similar from track to track. Found myself flicking to next track in the 2nd half of the disc which is not normal for me.

Love this album. The Velvets in full noisy chaotic mode, but still managing to produce some memorable tunes along the way. Definitely a big influence on a bunch of my fav 90s bands. Recommended highly!!!

Didn't get around to listening to this properly, and somehow my last review got repeated here. I'll give it a proper listen next Xmas, I promise!!

This is great. First 3 songs are up with any of Beck’s best. Slight drop in quality after that but still very good. Closing song ‘Send A Message To Her’ is also a banger. The sound of Beck having enough runs on the board that he can do basically whatever he wants

Wow, surprised this has so many haters. Cracking good guitar rock, with the distinctive scream of Greg Dulli, makes for an engaging time. The seemed to be lumped in with grunge around this time, but they actually had a lot more of interest than most around that time, and the songs still stand up today. ‘Gentlemen’, ‘Debonair’, ‘Be Sweet’ and the closing ‘Brother Woodrow’ are my highlights.

Frenetic Cuban jazz. Sounds like it should be a movie soundtrack. Great if you like that sort of thing but does tend to blend into one after a while.

In a word, inoffensive. Pleasant tunes with wordy lyrics that don’t do a whole lot for me, but clearly other people love it. She has a lovely voice but never really uses it to her full potential. And the instrumentation is nothing too exciting for mine, but then maybe I just don’t love folk rock that much. The final song (cover of Twisted by Annie Ross) annoyed the crap out of me.

I knew the main singles, but hadn't listened to it all the way through. Consistently great songs, grand in scope but keeping to a theme throughout, Green Day have done themselves proud. Hard to believe this is the same guys who sang about masturbation losing its thrill..........

Hmm, what has the generator got for me today? Liars, band from New York, mid-2000s. Never heard of them, let's give it a whirl! Hmm, you say this is not a 2-track bedroom demo? What!? It's actually their second album?!?!? Who the hell wrote these lyrics? Why are they so obsesses with witches?? Why the hell do the drums sound so bad??? Why are they so averse to anything resembling a melody or a tune? Look, I get it, it’s noise rock. But the lyrics are nonsensical shit. The music is not interesting, and a total chore to listen to. I read somewhere that this is apparently one of their worst albums. I hope for their sake that is true

Great stuff from The Kinks. Starts with a bang with Victoria (one of my favourite tunes of theirs), and carries on with the theme of everything that is wrong with Britain in the 60s.

I can understand this was popular and seen as an important album on Neil Young’s discography with the loss of friends and band mates to heroin, but it doesn’t make for a very compelling listen nowadays. Lots of misery and sadness, but not a lot going on musically beyond some lovely pedal steel to make sure you know these are sad songs. Nothing that would really make me come back for a 2nd listen.

Perfectly adequate 70s rock. Nothing particularly memorable here, not sure why this gets a place in this list, to be honest. You’d easily go to your grave without having heard this and be perfectly ok!! Not that it’s bad, just not that special.

Early 70s Elton John (his 4th album already!!), with a fantastic opening track in 'Tiny Dancer'. The rest is not as amazing as that, but still has a lot to offer. Lots of lovely piano melodies, even some piano accordion and mandolin on the later tracks. Background vocals amounting to a choir, to carry these pop tunes across to the listener. Indian Sunset suffers in the modern glare of history, but the rest is mostly vidid, personal tales of characters, from Levon to Razor Face and even the Madman Across the Water.

Stripped back instrumentation, tales of love, loss, outlaws and murders, all told by Willie in his unmistakeable drawl. Time of the Preacher, Red Headed Stranger, Can I Sleep In Your Arms and Hands On The Wheel are all fantastic originals, but the cover of Blue Eyes Crying In the Rain is just so amazing, I could listen to it all day. Truly a 5-star listening experience.

Does anyone else find the Neptunes’ production just so repetitive and boring?? These overproduced albums with JT squawking away like he wants to be MJ just does nothing much for me. Even the ‘hits’ (Cry Me A River, Rock Your Body) are pretty dull in my eyes. The man is clearly talented, but just not my cup of tea

It's dark, it's moody, it's got 80's production values writ large. I'm not enough of an eyeliner and makeup type of person to love something with this much goth overtones, but in small doses it can be quite entertaining. The last couple of tracks lose a bit of the intensity, but up until that point, it's driving hard and fast with bass, drum machines and muttered vocals that scream sinister intent. 'This Corrosion' goes on for what seems like an eternity, but it's not unwelcome, as it sounds good enough that it can keep going.

Ray Charles, one of the pioneers of that early R&B/jazz style, suffers here a bit on the first few tracks with the big-band brass tending to overshadow both his singing and piano playing, but then the album settles more into piano based balladry which soothes the soul. Hard to believe this album is 15 years older than me, but it still stands up well today. 3/5 for me, could've been more if there was a bit more subtlety to the first few songs.

Kooky sitar based covers and other stuff from the early 70's. Gets a couple of stars for the excellent cover of 'Jumpin' Jack Flash' to start with. The cover of 'Light My Fire' is less compelling, but still cool. The epic Sagar (The Ocean) is the centrepiece of this album, which for a long time seems like endless sitar noodling, but towards the end it gets some more groove.

I'm pretty ambivalent about a lot of rap/hip-hop, and I've not listened to a lot of Wu-Tang or all their solo stuff. This album certainly doesn't do a lot to grab me. Fairly uninspired production with nothing much of interest musically, annoying film samples to start a lot of the songs, and the lyrics seem fairly unmemorable too. I'm sure it's fine if you're into that sort of stuff, but not anything I'd come back to any time soon.

This album was pretty ubiquitous in the mid-Naughties, which I think has then led to a case of familiarity breeding contempt. I have a few of these songs on various playlists and at times they come on and it’s just ‘nah, heard that too many times’. Having said that, hearing them in isolation does give a slightly different appreciation. You can see how the first 4 songs were all huge hits - singable choruses, catchy (if at times inane) lyrics, slick production. The quality drops off fairly rapidly after that - All These Things That I've Done has the crazily catchy 'I've got soul, but I'm not a soldier' chant at the end (which I swore he ripped off from somewhere, but apparently not). 'Andy, You're A Star' is notable for being the most musically different with just a guitar and Flowers singing, but unfortunately again the lyrics are kinda rubbish and his delivery ruins it. 'On Top' is back to the pop-rock, but without the major hooks, and 'Change My Mind' is similar again. After another couple of filler tracks (prize for the worst lyric from 'Believe Me Natalie' - 'There is an old cliche under your Monet, baby' - like, what?!?!?!), we get to 'Glamourous Indie Rock 'n' Roll', which I can only assume is Flowers attempt at being a hardened cynic. Overall, it's impressive how the first 4 songs have endured over the last 20 years, but as an album, it's not great. 3 stars for the first half, can't say I'd waste my time listening to the rest again.

George's solo debut, after leaving Wham! behind. Great opener with 'Faith', leading into 'Father Figure' and then 'I Want Your Sex'. It's all fun and a bit silly in parts, but does highlight George's vocal and emotional range. It gets a bit more serious with 'Kissing A Fool' and 'Hand to Mouth', and is a great snapshot of what music was like in the late 80s.

I don't know what to say about this album. I have a blind spot in my musical taste for stuff that is in a different language that I can't understand. The music is fine, although can get a bit repetitive at times, and it doesn't really light any fires inside me. Maybe if I understood the words, I'd have a better chance of connecting with it. It's perfectly fine, I'm glad the generator threw this album up for me to listen to, but I'm happy not to go back to it.

Pleasant enough, although not really my jam. Solid to have as background music, not so intricate that it demands a lot of attention, the sounds of cocktails and smoothly dressed people smoking cigars.

Wonderful album. Beautiful songs with great singing, fantastic instrumentation and lovely arrangements. Yes, the songs tend to be sad and tending to miserable, but they’re so good and sometimes you just need that feeling. 5 stars from me!

Beautiful mostly acoustic album. I knew the title track from radio play back in the 90s, but had never dived into the whole album. It’s all pretty similar, but presents a dreamy melancholy that’s just right for late nights

It’s good, although relatively unspectacular. A couple of good singles and the rest is fairly forgettable.

A classic, and rightfully so. Starts with Elton doing prog (Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding) and doing it fantastically well, then segues nicely into a great 3 song bracket, with Candle In The Wind, Bennie and the Jets, and Goodbye Yellow Brick Road being among Elton's (and anyone's, for that matter) finest tunes. Things get a bit more uneven after that - what the hell were they thinking with Jamaica Jerk-Off??!?!?!? Was there a contest to see how many times you can say 'Jamaica' in the one song?? The 2nd half of the album is saved by 'Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting' which is a rocking good time, and Dirty Little Girl, although some of the lyrics are a bit questionable. Social Disease is also pretty good. I really would like to give this a 5 given the strength of the first 4 songs, but unfortunately the middle just drags it down a little too much for mine. 4 stars (probably 4.5 if I was able to give 1/2 marks)

2 70s double albums in a row (Goodbye Yellow Brick Road was yesterdays, and quite superior to this). I dunno what it is, but I can’t show much love for this. Maybe it’s the endless falsetto, the overly intricate arrangements, or the orchestral flourishes that put me off, or the fact that it is 70-odd minutes long. Mr Blue Sky was undoubtedly a hit but the rest just doesn’t hit for me, aside from fleeting moments when a great tune cuts through.

Fuck me, that’s 3 double albums in a row. You tryin’ ta kill me, Generator?!?! Never really got the love for Wilco, their songs always seemed nice enough (admittedly only hearing limited selections, prob most from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot) but didn’t push the right buttons. But then comes ‘Misunderstood’, nearly 6 minutes of glorious noise and Jeff Tweedy banging on about being misunderstood. And it just works! Then on to ‘Far, Far Away’ which has a sweet melancholy about it. Monday presents a rocking story of Choo-Choo Charlie, getting the hell out of FLA. The album then follows a pattern of a couple of rockers, a couple of slower, country tinged songs, and before you know it, over an hour has passed by and everything seems right with the world. Some will say it’s too long and they are probably right, but I really enjoyed this. 4 stars

Far out, that is 4 long albums in a row, this one topping out a 2hrs 15mins……… I need the days to be longer if this is what I’m going to get served up. As per other reviewers, this is a 2 disc set, the first - Speakerboxxx - from Big Boi, and then 2nd - The Love Below - from Andre 3000. Big Boi gets some points early with GhettoMusick, soon followed by The Way You Move, which is a great tune. He then falls victim to the hip-hop disease of having to have a guest on every track, along with too many skits and interludes. The Love Below seems to be Andre 3000 showing everyone how he can get into the girls' panties, with easily the best track being 'Hey Ya', even though it contains the couplet 'Don't want to meet your mama, just want to make you cumma' - ewwwwww!!! Anyway, some decent ideas but overly long and lots of filler, so can't give this too high a mark. But I've heard plenty worse. 3 stars

Early Stones, and only 43 minutes!! Hallelujah!! I listened to the UK version, which starts with Mother's Little Helper, which is a good start. ‘Stupid Girl’ and 'Lady Jane' I could do with missing, then we get to Under My Thumb, a classic. The US version has Paint It, Black which everyone knows is a fantastic song and one of my all-time favourites. Overall, good for its time, but not enough great tunes apart from those 2 to warrant a high mark. 3 stars

I thought this might be interesting, but unfortunately I was mistaken. Sets up some sort of recurring loop in the first part of the track, then nothing much happens for a long time........ and repeat. I'm normally a fan of instrumental, ambient type stuff, but just not enough happening in this to keep me interested, very much background music or some sort of soundtrack to a non-existent film.

This is the stuff. When the rest of the world was heading towards grunge, R.E.M. just continued doing R.E.M. things and quietly churned out this masterpiece. I don’t think there is a bad song on here, even though Michael Stipe is in full enigmatic indecipherable mode. Some of their most beautiful moments on record here, including ‘Everybody Hurts’, ‘Sweetness Follows’, ‘Find The River’ and the incomparable ‘Nightswimming’, that just makes we want to learn piano to be able to play it. Although ‘Man On The Moon’ can get a bit grating after the 500th listen, the rest is so great that it can only be 5 stars.

Roadhouse Blues is a hell of an opener, and Waiting For The Sun a great follow-up. Peace Frog is probably one of the most underestimated songs, making for a great side 1. Unfortunately the second side isn’t nearly as compelling, with diversions into sea shanties and Jim blathering on about Queens of the Highway and Indian Summers. Overall, pretty good, but not their best

Motorhead at the peak of their powers. Can't say I knew a lot of the songs apart from Ace of Spades (which is a stone cold classic), but the rest is great heavy rock/metal with the unmistakeable growl of Lemmy coming through loud and clear.

Cave at his diabolical best. Tales of bad people doing bad things, with a soundtrack to match. Impeccable guest spots from Kylie and PJ Harvey (as well as Shane MacGowan and the whole Bad Seeds on the final track). The sprawling O’Malley’s Bar does drag a bit towards the end of its nearly 15 minutes, but that is a minor quibble on a magnificent album. It’s loud, its brash, it’s a bit silly, and it leaves you feeling just a bit dirty. Mission accomplished.

Pretty torn on this one. It’s Otis Redding, so gotta give some credit, but to be honest, I don’t understand the point of a lot of these songs. The covers are mostly fairly insipid, and nowhere near as good as the original. ‘My Girl’ in particular is ruined by the horn section being way too loud in the mix, and just doesn’t really suit that song. Whilst it is nice to hear the original of ‘Respect’, Aretha made it so much her own only a short time later. Disappointing.

Pleasantly melancholic in places but ultimately forgettable.

Fantastic debut, with Amy’s soulful voice shining through and well produced horns and backing. A couple of bangers, including ‘Rehab’ and ‘Back To Black’, with ‘Love Is A Losing Game’ another highlight, if very sad. 2nd half of the record not quite as stellar as the first, which holds it back from 5 stars.

Annoyingly not available via Apple Music in Australia, but available on Spotify. Honestly, this is just the best!! This must have sounded like it came from another planet back in 1982, with only a few other examples of rap out there at the time. The album features a strong theme of what life is like on the mean streets of New York in the early 80s, with a bangin’ soundtrack to go with it. I don't know where hiphip went wrong more recently, coz when I listen to this stuff, it seems like something I should be listening to all the time.

This is a great album, and one which I listened to a bit when it came out, but mostly listened to the singles. Seven Nation Army has proven to be one of the anthems of the 2000s, and has gained a 2nd life at sporting events even to this day. The rest of the album features Jack riffing hard and Meg’s instinctive, unadorned drumming style, which suits the music down to a tee. The album perhaps could have done with a bit of trimming, although 14 songs only take 51 minutes, it seems longer after being bashed on the head with riff after riff courtesy of Jack abusing all sorts of sounds out of his guitar. Pretty close to 5 stars for me, but not quite there. I’ll give it a 4

Underrated gem from the early 80s, with the requisite synths, strings and lush arrangements. 'The Killing Moon' needs no introduction, but I was less familiar with the other songs. No particular other standouts, but they are all good, with clever lyrics, beautiful music and great vocals.

Nice enough, but nothing overly gripping beyond a couple of songs.

Pass the funk. The album highlight is ‘Family Affair’, and I’m not sure if I add a star or take one away for the yodeling on Space Cowboy.

A bit disappointing overall. Whilst it’s nice to hear Jack White with something approaching a normal band accompanying him, the songs for the most part are a bit lackluster. Nothing actually bad about any if it, and some it pretty good, but as a whole package it doesn’t do a lot for me.

Very meh. I’m not much of a fan of 21st century hip hop, and this will not change that opinion. Started reasonably promising, with Offence bringing something worth listening to, but from there it was downhill. Boss seems to be a contest of how many times she can get nigga into a song - in fact a whole verse where every line ends with it - booooring. Little Simz does have great flow, but the delivery tends to be flat and uninteresting. Venom does deliver with lines about ‘pussy in power’, and Selfish is a bit more poppy which seems to work well. At least she gets the job done in reasonably quick time without resorting to never ending skits or other gimmicks.

This is great. Like the soundtrack to some Western in my head. Love it. No particular standout tracks but the vibe is definitely there the whole way through

Led Zep in their full, cockrockin' pomp and at the peak of their powers. Lots of fantastic songs on here, with some of my favourite LZ tunes making an appearance - Heartbreaker, Whole Lotta Love, Ramble On. Moby Dick is a little indulgent with a drum solo that stutters on for ages, but it was the late 60's, that was how people rolled. The Lemon Song has some of the most hilarious lyrics ever, talking about squeezing old Robert Plant until the juice runs down his leg!!! This is the sound of a rock band rocking as hard as they possibly can, and having an awesome time doing it. 5 stars

It's jazz, so it's kinda hard to rate - there is a boatload of stuff going on here, and the overarching theme seems to be the soundtrack to an imaginary movie about a bunch of different dancers and what they get up to. Not for the faint hearted, but I enjoyed this for my morning drive today.

3 stars for this - 1 star each for Sympathy For The Devil, 1 for Street Fighting Man, and a half each for Stray Cat Blues and Salt of the Earth. The rest sounds like some half-baked, half-arsed demos which they made whilst pissed. Disappointing from supposedly one of the biggest bands of the era.

Not heard any of Walker’s stuff before, and I quite liked it. Great baritone voice, lush strings and some great bass (especially on The Old Man’s Back Again). Looking forward to maybe hearing more of his stuff down the line

This was a huge album for teenage me, even as a white kid in Australia. Grabbed a lot of attention with 'Fuck Tha Police', but there was plenty else to back it up, they weren't one trick ponies. 'Express Yourself' remains one of my favourite hiphop tracks to this day, and the early production of Dre shows why he became such a huge force in the 1990s. Some of the lyrics and themes do sound a bit dated today, but this was nearly 40 years ago now, and there is universal themes that are easily relatable today elsewhere.

It's weird, but good. Kinda like a hillbilly discovering punk for the first time. The vocals are a bit weak in places, but the slide guitar carries it well.

Not heard anything from these guys before, and based on this, I’m not sure I’ll be coming back any time soon. Just too much stuff trying to be packed in here, with the result being a fairly incoherent, jumbled, cacophonous mess. It’s like some kids got let loose in a studio and decided they have to use every effect at least once, and fuck do they love reverb. Soooo muuuuuch fuuuckingggg reverbbbbbbbbbb. Anyway, can’t decide between 1 and 2 stars, but I’ll err on the side of being generous

Cool jazz indeed. Whilst I couldn’t tell you any of tunes off the top of my head, it all just flows so beautifully and the players are all absolute top-notch. A masterpiece.

This is great fun. A bit early prog, a bit metal, a bit sweet 60s pop/rock. The title track is 17minutes of goofy fun, even though the drum solo is a bit rudimentary and goes on a bit long.

It’s hard to describe the hatred I felt for this by the end of the record. I’d rather listen to that Liars record, and I fucking hated that. This is basement level folk rambling, with little to recommend in terms of music, lyrics or the singer. Never again.

Yes, Morrissey is a miserable twat with questionable politics, but Johnny Marr is an amazingly influential guitarist and this is a fine collection of songs. A shame they couldn’t make the magic last longer, but there you go. 4/5

Now, I’m the first person to rag on the shite that Coldplay have been churning out for the last 20ish years. But cast your mind back to 2000, when these fresh faces British boys took some jangly tunes to the top of the charts and charmed everyone on the way. This is a good album, especially for a debut, but just short of greatness for me. Key tunes: Don’t Panic, Shiver, Spies, Everything’s Not Lost. Yellow has been overplayed to hell so hard to appreciate these days, but it was a decent song in the first place before it got overexposed.

Quirky, dancey, original stuff. I knew all the singles but not a lot of the album tracks. It’s all nicely done, and a big departure from what she had done with The Sugarcubes, and a taste of what was to come.

It’s jazz, it’s classy, it’s a bunch of the top players from history. A lot to like and not much I can complain about.

Short, sharp punk songs with a message (although Police & Thieves is a marvelous outlier). The songs are good, the messages powerful, and the music fantastic. Doesn’t get much better than this as far as punk albums go

This is like your elderly, possibly mildly demented grossmutter decides to start singing show tunes. Whilst the voice is very good, the music is definitely not anything that I would choose to listen to and the songs, whilst witty at times, are mostly pretty rudimentary. I do find it quite amazing that someone funded this to be produced in 1988, full of songs from the 1920s, and here we are being forced (admittedly of our own volition) to listen to it nearly 40 years later. I would give this 1 star except her voice is really pretty good, shame about the rest of it.

Were they from the beach, or outer space? Maybe both??? Whatever, this is a timeless collection of punky New Wave anthems, centred on the amazing nearly 7 minutes of madness that make up Rock Lobster. Honourable mentions to Planet Claire, Lava, and a rambling take on ‘Downtown’. All up, fantastic fun and highly recommended.

I didn’t have high hopes for this after reading some of the reviews, but pleased to report the haters are wrong, this is really good. The voice, the music, the arrangements all good. And the lyrics are actually underrated humorous, people need to see the funny side!! Recommended

Really not sure where I fall with this album. It has a couple of good tracks (I’m The Man Who Loves You, Heavy Metal Drummer) and the rest just leaves me a bit cold. It’s not actually bad, but fact is,I’m struggling several hours later to recall much about any of them. Seems Wilco committed the ultimate sin of just being a bit dull with this collection of songs, and I can’t really figure out why it is so critically revered. 3 stars which is a middle of the road score for a middle of the road album

Although the premise is a bit out there, the tunes aren’t bad. Interesting to read the lyrics which are quite a bit more science-y than most hip hop, and it’s delivered quite competently. It’s not something I’d be in a rush to listen to again, but probably good if you like that sort of thing

Something about these guys…… it’s nothing fancy, it’s just good meat-and-potatoes alterna-rock. I like it even though I can’t really tell you why.

Unfortunately, the revolution where the poor rise up and take what's theirs never came, but this is still a very good album of songs with heart, meaning and soul. Fantastic singles in 'Talkin' Bout A Revolution', 'Fast Car' and 'Baby Can I Hold You'. The 2nd half is a bit less stellar, probably what holds it back from 5 stars.

The masters of Irish punk/folk. Has to be high up in ratings for having 'Fairytale of New York' on it, but the rest is pretty good, too. Although Macgowan's vocals are a bit rough around the edges at times, it lends a charm to proceedings that fits with the overall vibe.

Aw, hell, yeah!!! This is why I do the generator, to hear some stuff that hitherto has passed me by but needs to be in my ears. This is late 60s, distorted, messy, garage psych rock-metal with a singer that sounds at times like Janis Joplin (who was still alive at this stage). Everything is turned up to 11, it’s dirty and loud and it rocks like anything. All that is to say - I love this, and can’t believe I’d never heard of it before now.

Absolute R&B bollocks. So many songs with so little going on, and I care little for any of the guest ‘stars’. This sounds to me like elevator music or background music for a video game. Ok if that is what you are going for, but not interesting to me to listen to by itself. To paraphrase Bruce Springsteen - ‘23 songs and nothin’ on’

I dunno, I can’t really get into Rush. Musically, very competent but just not that interesting to me. I can’t really tell you much difference between this and the last Rush album I had - how many more??

Easy 5 stars for me. One of the great hard rock records of all time. Yes, the themes may not have aged that well over >40 years, but who has? Iconic riffs, Brian Johnson could actually still sing, probably the greatest rhythm/lead combo ever, there is a lot here to like and only some revisionist history can get in the way. As Brian says ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll ain’t no riddle, man……. To me it makes good good sense!!!’

A solid 3. Nothing spectacular, but nothing terrible either. Agree with others noting that this probably is borderline in terms of deserving a spot on this list, but there is plenty worse!

I copped some hate recently for suggesting that Beggars Banquet (the album immediately preceding this one) was not all that it’s cracked up to be. Listening to this today, I stand by that assessment - Let It Bleed is just a whole lot better for mine. Similar formula to a degree - 2 big, classic hit singles (Gimme Shelter and You Can’t Always Get What You Want), but the big difference is in the quality of the rest of the album. Here, you get Live With Me (possibly my fave Stones track ever), a quirky country version of Honky Tonk Women, Love In Vain, even Monkey Man stands up tall. Midnight Rambler, well, rambles on for a bit long, but it all seems a bit better thought out and better executed than the mess of the album tracks on BB.

After Murder Ballads, this is a very calm, somber departure. Marking Dirty Three’s Warren Ellis’ elevation to a regular member of The Bad Seeds, whose contributions can be heard in the quieter moments. A series of love songs, deliberations and thoughts put down with minimal backing, letting Cave’s voice shine through. Opening track ‘Into My Arms’ is just beautiful, and one of my favourite songs to sing along with in the car (baritone ftw). Other key tracks ‘Are You The One That I’ve Been Waiting For?’, ‘People Ain’t No Good’ and ‘West Country Girl’ (reportedly about PJ Harvey). A beautiful album, highly recommended for a quiet, thoughtful Sunday afternoon.

Quite liked this, was familiar with 'One Day Like This' but not the rest of the album. Speaking of 'One Day Like This', what is it about that song that makes me go all misty-eyed and wistful? It's a beautiful piece of art, and I could listen to it a thousand times over. The rest of the album never quite hits those heights, but there are lots of wonderful moments. 'An Audience With The Pope', 'The Fix', 'Grounds For Divorce' are all fantastic, with clever lyrics and lovely arrangements. Whilst Guy Garvey's voice might not be technically brilliant, his down to earth singing carries the songs with an element of truthfulness.

Can’t say I’ve listened to a lot of Eno, apart from his 90s album Nerve Net that a friend of mine had, and Oz band Icehouse covering ‘Blank Frank’ and ‘Driving Me Backwards’ on some radio telethon back in the 90s - bizarrely enough!! This is a marvelous mishmash of guitars, early electronica and other weirdness, which I really enjoyed. Lots of interesting moments and songs that I will have to go back to and listen more to really pull out all the pieces that make up the whole.

Kinda schizophrenic album, it's really all over the place with the songs from the 3 different vocalists. I quite like some of the McVie and Nicks songs, most of the Buckingham ones seem to stick out like a sore thumb, but they do have their appeal. Can't really rate this any higher than a 3, on account of lack of any killer tracks and 20 tracks without much to say.

Such a shame that MJ tarnished his legacy so badly in later years, because when he was young, funky, and still black, the dude kicked some ass!!! This album starts to strong with Don’t Stop, backed up with Rock With You, Workin’ Day and Night, Get On The Floor, and Off The Wall. Killer side 1!!! The ballady numbers on side 2 are decidedly weaker, before a return to the disco for the final track. Overall, a very good (but not flawless) late 70s gem.

Interesting what got onto the charts in the mid-90s. A couple of killer singles here (Novocaine For the Soul, Susan’s House), and the rest meanders on without ever coming close to scaling those heights again. Your Lucky Day In Hell marks a slight point of difference from the rest, which often has Mark Everett mumbling in a low voice over some unremarkable indie noises.

The only track I was familiar with before listening to this was ‘Life During Wartime’, which is a good one, but most of the rest of the album is not up to this high standard. I found it hard to get into it, with David Byrne doing his usual weird vocal stylings, but somehow less engaging than in most other Talking Heads recordings that I know. There is plenty going on here, but I’m just not sure I’d be rushing back in a hurry to listen to it, especially when there are other Talking Heads albums that do it a lot better

A couple of good songs with strong songwriting (Marlene On The Wall, The Queen And The Soldier) whereas the rest tends to blend into the background a bit. Could do with a bit more varied instrumentation (which she did later in her career) to make some of the other songs stand out a bit more. However, I do like her vocals and it's not an unpleasant way to spend 36 minutes.

This is the kind of music that Spinal Tap were making fun of. Overly serious, overblown bollocks that is quite tedious to listen to. As much as I enjoy the fact that they do something different by including a flute, it does make it kinda hard to take seriously. Anybody else think of Allison Hannigan in American Pie when they hear a flute?? 'This one time, at band camp.......' No? Just me then.......... Anyway, this kind of prog just bores me to tears, with po-faced lyrics that try to be serious but are kind of ridiculous, and not enough of interest musically.

It does the job, gets you up and moving, but not a lot more substance than that. ‘Red Alert’ is a certified banger, but a lot of the rest is just filling time. And the interludes scattered through it are annoying.

Had forgotten how influential this was, and how much Tricky was all over this album before he struck out more on his own. Trip hop before it was called that, with a couple of massive singles in 'Unfinished Sympathy' and 'Safe From Harm', and the rest holds up pretty well now, even 35 years later.

I thought this would be harder going than it is. It's loud, it's weird, but it kinda holds together fairly well. Some of it is just noise for noise's sake, but there are some actual tunes in amongst all the weirdity.

I'm familiar with their later work, but not at all with this album. Which is a shame, as I bloody loved it! Fantastic post-punk tunes, with really fab basslines, wonderful songs and overall a marvellous package. Highly recommended, I'm a bit surprised at the level of hate in some of the reviews!!

I love the way Aretha just sings the shit out of any song put in front of her. Yet it never feels overblown like Mariah Carey or some crap like that. Truly she was the Queen of Soul. Not really a bad track on here. The last couple veer towards softer, ballady style, which I didn't love, but the rest is so damn good this can only get 5 stars.

Post punk, close to perfection. You can hear them honing their style which would morph into the darker, bigger sound of Disintegration and Pornography. ‘A Forest’ is a masterpiece. ‘Play For Today, ‘Secrets’ and ‘At Night’ are also fantastic, but it all sounds good to me.

Funky Monks. Unfortunately hard to listen to in Australia, with the full set not available on either Apple Music or Spotify - had to listen to it off Youtube which is always a bit of a pain....... Anyway, worth the hassle! Great garage/early punk, with ramshackle musicianship, attitude and rough production. Loved it. Get this onto streaming so that I can listen again more easily!!!

Interesting jazz, nothing too earth shattering to my ears but worth a listen. I find jazz hard to rate, I liked it but I'm not sure I'd ever go back for another listen.

There are a couple of really good tunes on here (Reelin’ In The Years and Do It Again), but most of the rest of it is smoothed out so much, it’s completely frictionless and leaves absolutely no impression. Which is a shame, as they are obviously talented musicians, and can write a song, but I’m just left hanging out for some distortion, edge or just anything I can grab hold of. The very definition of a 3-star album for me.

Aaah, Norah. Such a nice, relaxing album. Great voice, subtle, jazzy piano and a chill vibe. Some might write it off as dull, but at times this is just what you need to decompress.

Ehh, I don't love this sort of hip-hop. I get that it was influential for its time, but it just doesn't grab me in any way. The musical side is fairly pedestrian, and the rapping is a lot of guy barking lyrics at you without a lot of variation or interest for me. C.R.E.A.M. is one track I can listen to, but even that overstays its welcome by the end of it.

Ah, Jeff, such sweet memories. Seeing you in concert in the Australian summer of 1996 remains one of my favourite gig recalls of all time. Anyway, this album holds a high place in my regard, having been a staple of listening throughout the late 90s and even through to today. Starting with the eerie, slow burn of Mojo Pin, before going on to Grace and Last Goodbye. Then a slight break with Lilac Wine, before the rocker that is So Real, which made all the ladies squeal when he would intone ‘……I love you’ during the middle of the song. And then Hallelujah, surely the definitive version of the Leonard Cohen classic. Corpus Christi Carol is the only song I could leave off this album, but it sets you up for the raucous Eternal Life, followed by the comedown of Dream Brother. What can I say? It's almost faultless, and definitely a 5-star album for me.

I was quite a big fan of 'Nearly Lost You', but this got next to no airplay in Australia when it came out, so I never heard it before and hadn't ever chased it up. Well, that was a bit of a mistake! I loved almost all of this, with music that I found more interesting than the 'grunge' label would suggest, excellent (of course) vocals from Mark Lanegan, and overall a very good vibe. I get what others are saying in the reviews about some of the songs sounding a bit the same as each other, but when it sounds this good, why change??

Very folky, which is not my normal cup of tea, but a few nice moments. 'Who Knows Where The Time Goes' is just a beautiful song, lifted by Sandy Denny's vocal (even though I think the Susanna Hoffs/Matthew Sweet version off 'Under The Covers' is better). 'A Sailors Life' ended up better than I expected, but the rest was a bit so-so for my tastes. I had no idea that Bob Dylan wrote 'Si Tu Dois Partir' - what a smart-arse.

I quite like some early Bjork, and the Sugarcubes, but this leaves me pretty cold. After a couple of songs, I'm over the exaggerated, prolonged pronounciation that Bjork seems incapable of avoiding these days, and I didn't find the incessant bleeping and random noises that passes for 'production' interesting enough to keep my attention. And why are all the damn songs so long? I love a long song at times, but it has to have enough going on to justify the length, and these ones just don't, I'm afraid.

If this is a masterpiece, then I think I should give up doing the generator now. All the reviews bleating on about what a wonderful lyricist the Bob is, I just don't really see it based on this collection. Sure, he can write a nice story that brings you inside a narrative, but bloody hell, the delivery is criminally bad at times - the music is mostly borderline boring, and listening to Bob's nasal whine get really grating after about 3 songs, and then you've got 10 or more to go..... Having said that, I can appreciate 'Just Like A Woman', and 'Stuck inside of Mobile.....' was worth a listen. I'm surprised so many people rate 'Rainy Day Women #12 and #35' as such a masterpiece, it sounds like something they chucked out at rehearsal, and the lyrics are bollocks. 'Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands' is a good way to finish the album, although it probably goes on for too long to be honest. I dunno, it's not a masterpiece in my book, but I can see why it is seen as important in the grand scheme of rock 'n' roll history, it's just not something I can see myself listening to again any time soon. Thanks, Bob, but no thanks.

Wasn’t really sure what to expect from this one. But I was pleasantly surprised. Jangly guitars, ska influences and good songs. I have vague memories of hearing ‘Love Plus One’ way back in the 80s as a kid, but there is other good stuff here too - Favourite Shirts, Lemon Firebrigade, Kingsize, Snow Girl are all great tracks, and worth a second listen.

Surprised this wasn’t bigger at the time. Reminds me a bit of a more poppy, less wordy, 90s version of Joni Mitchell. Mann’s vocals are very sweet, and the arrangements when the whole band gets involved are generally good. The more solo stuff can get a bit maudlin but not overly so.

It's Bruce, it's dark, it's moody and it soars (at times). Is there a more distinctive sound than Clarence Clemons' saxophone?? As soon as I hear that, I know it has to be a Springsteen song. No bona fide hits here, but plenty of interesting stuff with Bruce showing his more angry side.

Groovy French, 90s style. Honestly, the A-side of this album is the template for so much of the cool French stuff that came out in the late 90s and early 2000s. I dare anyone not to start nodding their head when the bassline of 'La Femme D'argent' kicks in. Sexy Boy, Kelly Watch The Stars, All I Need - what a bunch of deadset winners. The B-side of the album is not quite as stellar, but still pretty damn good. Highly recommended

I accidentally got this to play on shuffle mode when I asked Siri to play it on my phone. I'm not sure it would have made any more sense in the correct order. The Mothers are way out, maaaaaaan. Plenty of weird shit for sake of weird shit here, but there is some gems amongst the detritus. The latter songs become gradually more unhinged, to the point where 'The Return of the Son of Monster Magnet' fades out with the chant of 'Cream Cheese!! Cream Cheese!!!'. OK, Frank, whatever you think, buddy.........

5 stars, no notes. This has been the soundtrack to my life since I first heard it in my late teens. A cracker of a record, from the opening feedback and cymbals of 'Seagull' before the bassline kicks in, it takes me on a journey back to my late teens and early 20s, especially seeing them in an earsplittingly loud show at The Old Lion Hotel in North Adelaide, touring 'Going Blank Again' - notable for a 10minute or so version of 'Nowhere' which closes out this album. I love the youthful exuberance of the feedback and swirling guitars, Steve Queralt's basslines keeping everything nailed down, and Loz Colbert's frenetic drumming which manages to keep things moving whilst simultaneously beating the ever-loving shit out of his kit - if you ever get a chance to see them live, keep an eye on Loz, he works damn hard and is sooooo goood. Fave tracks - 'Seagull', 'Vapour Trail', 'Polar Bear', 'Dreams Burn Down', 'Taste', and if you are listening to the expanded version 'Sennen' which was originally on the 'Today' EP which came out around the same time

Yes, it sounds primitive, and the rhymes are a bit basic at times, but you have to remember this was 1984!!! This album is over 40 years old!!!! And to my ears, at least, it sounds a lot better than a lot of the more modern hip-hop. Even though a lot of the music is fairly basic programmed beats without a lot of adornment, it seems like something I can listen to a lot easier than the more slick, modern production that I hear nowadays.

This is peak Beastie Boys for me - I know people will make a strong case for Paul's Boutique, or perhaps even Check Your Head, but this is the one for me. An amazing mishmash of hip-hop, thrashy punk, mellow jazzy instrumentals and even Buddhist chanting, this album has something for everyone, and even though it churns through different styles very quickly, it never feels disjointed or forced. The Beasties have been together for a long time by this stage, and are clearly very comfortable with each other, Mario Caldato Jr and Money Mark, both of whom make a big impression on this album. Fave tracks - 'Sabotage', 'Root Down', 'Sure Shot', 'Futterman's Rule', 'Sabrosa', I could go on......

I haven't listened to this as a standalone album for quite some time, having had it sitting in my collection for many years. The singles are all worthy, but what I had forgotten was how good some of the non-single tracks on the album are. Basically, you can put on just about any track from this album and not have too many issues with it. Hard to believe these guys were only 17 when they wrote this, and also hard to believe they are still going strong 30 years later!! Pretty close to a 5, but maybe just short, so I'll give it a 4 for now.

Interesting how Marvin makes the same sort of music for groovin' and lovin', but here it is an angry soundtrack to a breakup and divorce. Still cool, but a little unsettling.

Not a lot of great tracks here, but it does have the legendary 'Bad Moon Rising', along with a couple of other bangers in 'The Night Time Is The Right Time', as well as 'Green River' and 'Wrote a Song for Everyone'. Ultimately, it's probably not the best Creedence album, but it holds up fairly well after all these years.

Pardon my French, but what the fuck is this?? I speak a little of the language, but I'm hard pressed to see the relevance in this day and age of someone who appears to be like a French (well, Belgian) version of Dean Martin. Strong voice, but the music is oh-so-boringly-outdated and I can't really comment on the songs as I can't translate fast enough to keep up. Definitely don't see this as an essential listen unless you are very keen on the history of French contemporary music. In which case, fuck off back to your boulangerie, you poseur.

As a 50-something father of teenage girls, I tried mightily to hate this album, but I just can't. It's perfect pop, with lyrics designed to be screamed by said teenagers at the top of their lungs at concerts, overanalysed in bedrooms and used as inspo for Insta posts. Yes, if you listen closely, some of the pseudo-80s production is not that great, and the lyrics don't always hold up to close inspection, but you can't deny the singability and catchiness of the major hits - 'Shake It Off', 'Bad Blood', 'Wildest Dreams', 'Style', hell, even 'Welcome To New York'. If I'm being super critical, the last 3 or 4 songs are not quite up to the same standard as the rest of the album, but by that stage, you have surrendered to Swiftiness, resigned to carrying those tunes in your head for the next few days.

Noodly 1970s krautrock, which wormed its way into my brain over the course of the album. The first half is a bit introspective and mostly instrumental, before giving way to more punky, shouty stuff in the 2nd half. Definitely worth a 2nd listen.

Ah, the inspiration for what Nirvana would later become. I bloody love this record. It's loud, it's bizarre, it rocks, it has a couple of my favourite songs of all time, in 'Gigantic' and 'Where Is My Mind?'. I remember reading a retrospective about Pixies, from NME or Melody Maker, one of the British papers, where the production values of Steve Albini were described as putting a mic inside the kickdrum, and turning everything else up to compensate. Whilst that's obviously an exaggeration, he captured a band tearing through a bunch of songs at lightning speed, with screamed lyrics, pounding drums (see the intro for Bone Machine that starts the album) and distorted guitars that set a template for so much 'alternative' music that followed. throw in a bunch of pretty weird lyrics from Black Francis, and you have the makings of a classic. Whilst I would probably rate Doolittle as (slightly) better an album, this is still gold.

Yes, I am grateful that most of them are Dead. This was shit. A bunch of countrified ramblings that ultimately bored me shitless. I hadn't heard anything by the Dead prior to now, and I know now that I haven't been missing much.

Bleepy, slightly weird techno noises. Most not unpleasant, but not overly gripping either

The folky stuff I don’t really care for, but the rockier numbers are well worthwhile. Grace Slick can belt out a tune with the best of them, but sadly she only features heavily on a couple of tracks here. Pity.

Hard to believe Lenny had already formed his sound back in the late 80s. Bluesy rock features here, with highlights being the title track, Mr Cab Driver and Flower Child. Recommended

I’m torn on this one. It’s simultaneously cheesy as hell, whilst still being iconic. The ‘Loaf doesn’t do much as sing these tunes, rather batters them into submission over the course of several minutes. The titles are ridiculous, the lyrics equally so, and the music hits all the late 70s stereotypes, but I challenge anyone to listen to ‘Paradise…..’ and not be belting it out by the end of it. Although I want to hate it, I think I secretly love it

Funky, soulful, with a social message. Makes me think I should see out the movie this is meant to be a soundtrack for. But it stands by itself, taking you back to the 70s ghetto, filled with pimps, drug dealers and poor people trying to get ahead.

This is pretty beige, although nice in parts. 'Homeward Bound' is a nice exercise in nostalgia, and Scarborough Fair always rates a glimmer of recognition. Ultimately, though, a lot of it passed me by and left absolutely no impression at all.

Coming off the back of EVOL, Sonic Youth decided to do something revolutionary - actually write some songs rather than just collections of noise. The results are a bit mixed, as you might expect. Schizophrenia is beautiful opener to this album, which nicely mixes noise with melody, which is a theme that continues on. Things do get a bit weirder through the middle of the record, but you can see where the Youth are heading - towards a great 3 album run of Daydream Nation, Goo and Dirty which propelled them into the 90s. A great reminder of what these guys were doing when the pop charts were full of hair metal.

I get that this in influential on a generation of punk bands, but it didn't really do a lot for me. The best song was the cover of '...Grapevine', which seems to be a hard song for people to fuck up. Interesting in a historical sense, but not something I'll be going back to any time soon

The original metal merchants. Riffs that go on for days, vaguely satanic lyrics and the sound of impending doom. Interesting that it was panned by critics when it first came out, but now regarded as a classic. Black Sabbath, The Wizard and N.I.B. all great tracks

Iggy, you naughty, naughty boy. You've been getting up to no good with that reprobate, Bowie, haven't you?? I find it hard to believe that just a few years earlier to this, Iggy was doing the stuff with the Stooges, that was shambolic, rude and loud, and then come the late 70s, he's teamed up with Bowie for this which is a lot cleaner, but still has an edge to it. Lust For Life has to be close to my top 'album opener' of all time - the way the drums come in, then the bass, finally the guitar and cymbals, before Iggy finally steps up to the microphone - it's a work of art! The Passenger is great too, and the other songs hold together fairly well, although obviously less well known but still great.

When this started, I thought it sounded interesting, but it soon devolved into a bunch of unrelated sounds pieced together, which kinda did my head in. That may have been the effect that Holger was going for, but no something I'm really going to listen to again

An amazing document of a period in time - the MC5, kicking out the jams in rough, loud, manic, sweaty rock 'n' roll fashion. This is totally my 'jam', and I'm happy to keep kickin' it out on the regular.

Understated, but mostly unexciting. Intro is a great start, but nothing else meets those heights for the rest of the album. Technically competent but sadly The xx seem to be lacking x-factor

This is tight as a drum. No wasted notes, 3 blokes going hard at it with a bunch of fantastic pop songs, usually between 2 and 3 minutes long. Snarling Paul Weller out front of a tight rhythm section. This is what all guitar pop/rock should sound like!!

Annoyingly not available on AM or Spotify. GSH tries his hand at heartfelt jazz, and does a passably good job. You can feel the lived experience in the lyrics and the way he sings them, and the electric piano makes you feel like you’ve been transported to a 70s lounge bar.

Jimi hits the studio, and makes an everlasting impression on rock 'n' roll from that time forward. I mean, how can you not rate an album a '5' when it has 'Fire', 'The Wind Cries Mary', 'Purple Haze' and 'Hey Joe'. Not to mention 'Foxey Lady', 'Are You Experienced?', 'Stone Free' and 'Manic Depression'. The deluxe version has a couple of songs in the middle that aren't quite up to the standard of the rest, but the hits are such killers that you almost need a little rest by that stage. Truly a remarkable album and well worthy of a place high up in the ratings.

It's easy to hate Morrissey these days for being a racist, right-wing twat, so it's also easy to forget what an influence The Smiths had on the 'alternative' scene in England in the mid-80s. Moz is in peak mope mode here, but Johnny Marr, Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce provide a brilliant backing track for the end of the world. Although his wordy lyrics can drive me batty at times (anyone else think 'Frankly, Mr Shankly' is a bit piss-weak??), there is some fabulous wordplay at work in other parts of the album, with beautiful descriptions of scenes and emotions that conjure up something in your mind's eye. What other group could take a song about being killed by a double-decker bus with your beloved and make it a hit???!?! Probably the best Smiths album IMHO. 'Bigmouth', 'Cemetry Gates' and 'There is a Light' amongst their best songs.

This felt a bit like ABBA if they discovered acid. Different, but didn’t really grab me in any way

As much as the hits on this are mega-hits, it doesn’t quite hit as a whole package for me. I find the Lindsey Buckingham solo outings give me the irrits, whereas when you team him up with Christine McVie or Stevie Nicks, the results are sublime. Great, but probably not one I’m likely to listen to the whole album, I’ll just cherry pick the hits and be happy with that

A mixture of some classic tunes (24Hrs from Tulsa, Wishin' and Hopin', I Only Want To Be With You, Can I Get A Witness), along with some pretty naff early 60s songwriting (Do Re Mi and My Colouring Book). Pretty amazing for a debut (although she had been around for a while in a couple of groups prior to this), but then she had some of the best songwriters in the business at her beck and call, with a voice to suit.

ELH has an amazing voice, but unfortunately the tunes on this album don't really do it justice for me. Or maybe it is the generic country/folk stylings of the music that lets it down. Anyway, it's a solid 3 for me, but nothing more than that

I had never heard of these guys, and now I know why. Sounds like something that would have inspired Motley Crue or some of those 80s metal types - that's not a glowing recommendation. It's not terrible, it's just not anything really inspiring or worthy of your listening time.

Ah, good old Angry Alanis, this was absolutely huge when it came out, smack bang in the middle of the 90's. Pretty amazing that 'You Oughta Know' was such a massive radio hit with references to blow-jobs in a theatre and thinking of someone else whilst shagging. The album starts with a bang with 'All I Really Want' and 'You Oughta Know' which are perfect for screaming along with whilst driving too fast in your car. But that's just the start, there are a heap of singles on here that worm their way into your ears - 'Hand In My Pocket', 'You Learn', 'Head Over Feet', and of course, the much derided 'Ironic'. Although some of the lyrics don't stand up well to deeper inspection, it's a hit, it's catchy and it has a killer hook in the chorus. Hard not to love it, even if you feel goofy singing along to some of the sillier lyrics. I guess it's understandable that she never quite reached these hallowed heights again in her career, as how the hell do you follow up a breakthrough like this? Maybe you don't need to, and you just do what you want for the next 30 years or so...........

Certainly different and unusual, but not something I'd go rushing back to. Maybe the fact that it's mostly in Portugese (with a token French song thrown in) affects my engagement? The music is willfully weird, but didn't grab me very tightly. Worth a listen, but not more than once for me

What a way to open the 70s. Immigrant Song starts off with tales of Vikings and longing for Valhalla - it's all ridiculous and overblown, but it sounds so damn good you give it a pass. Other highlights include 'Celebration Day', ' Since I've Been Loving You' (LZ does the heartsick blues), 'Gallows Pole' and 'Bron-Y-Aur Stomp'. A bit more acoustic in places, which is sometimes a welcome relief from the screaming guitars and screaming Robert Plant. Overall, a great time, shame about the last track 'Hats Off to (Roy) Harper' which I didn't feel was up to the rest of the album.

Nice capture of JLL doing his thing live and tearing through a bunch of rock 'n' roll standards. Kinda feels like you had to be there, but you get the gist. Pity ol' Jerry was a bit of an unsavoury character otherwise, coz he could rock 'n' roll like his life depended on it.

This was the album where I really got PJ Harvey - I'd heard bits and pieces off her previous albums, and liked them OK, but never delved deeper. But this one grabbed me, hook, line and sinker. It's the sound of Polly Jean in New York, and in love. Alternates between tender and loving (A Place Called Home, You Said Something, This Mess We're In, Beautiful Feeling) and rocking out hard (Big Exit, Good Fortune, Kamikaze, The Whores Hustle and The Hustlers Whore, This Is Love). It's all fantastic and I love it.

Starts off reasonably well with 'Fight Test' before heading into One More Robot and then Yoshimi pt 1. Then gets sorta lost and wanders around for another 1/2 hour whilst you wonder what the fuck they are on about - seriously, what the fuck is Yoshimi pt 2?? It offends my ears and really starts to grate after only about 10 seconds. For the rest, the music lacks much diversity, with all the songs starting to blend into one after a while. 'Do You Realize?' provides some welcome relief in the back half of the album, with its heavy themes and slightly more interesting arrangements. But then it's back to more wigging out for the last couple of songs. Disappointing.

Not sure why this album is considered essential - whilst pleasant enough, there is nothing that interesting or notable going on here. Slightly noodly, psychedelic folky leanings, and wibbly keyboards, but I found it hard to say anything left any mark on me after listening. File under 'Forgotten 60s artists who there is probably a reason they have been forgotten'.

Amazing debut, even though Dave had been in several bands by this stage. Plenty of good songs to choose from here, the first 4 songs are all definitely winners. After that is a bit more uneven, as you might expect for something that Grohl cooked up in his spare time around the aftermath of the end of Nirvana. Just short of 5 stars due to the less impressive 2nd half of the record, but nevertheless very good.

My first Costello of the many in the generator. It’s OK, but nothing super special in my book. Oliver’s Army is still a great tune, nearly 50 years later, but most of the rest leaves me a bit cold. ‘what’s so funny…’ finishes it off nicely, but it was somewhat of a struggle to get to that point. I suspect I’ll prefer slightly younger, angrier EC but we will see

Sigh, the sounds of a promo for Smooth FM....... There is SOME redeeming features on here - the cover of 'Money's Too Tight To Mention' is good, and Holding Back The Years has been a staple on FM radio for years. But the rest of it just kinda sucks. Taking 'Heaven' by Talking Heads and turning it into a boring dirge should be a hanging offence. And the rest is mostly just jazzy nonsense with terrible 80s production. No thanks.

One of Stevie’s early 70s masterpieces. The centrepiece is ‘Living for the City’, a 7 minute tale of NY eating up kids from the sticks and spitting them out. The rest of the album takes a similar tack, with Stevie’s soulful vocals telling tales of love, caution and partying. And there’s a little track called ‘Higher Ground’ which has one of the funkiest basslines ever and is guaranteed to get your foot tapping. The perfect running time of 44 minutes helps, too!!

My 2nd slightly underwhelming Blur album, although I rate this one slightly higher than Modern Life Is Rubbish, which was my opening salvo on this 1001 journey. The singles here are cracking, leading off with ‘Girls and Boys’, then ‘End of a Century’, ‘This Is a Low’ and of course, the title track, ‘Parklife’. The trouble with these Blur albums is there is too much low level shit in between the moments of genius, which leaves me a bit tired of it all by the end. And yes, this album didn’t need to be 53 minutes long, you could have knocked off 3-4 songs and have an absolute classic on your hands. Good, but could have been better.

This is not really my scene, but I managed to get through it. There is a bit going on here, but it can be hard to find under the pummelling drums which seem to permeate every track. The lyrics are surprising well heard, but it's the usual disaffection and anger directed at various things. It gets a bit wearing at times, and the songs do seem to linger on for longer than they really need. Probably good if you like that sort of thing, but not a lot here for me.

I don’t know quite why I love this album so much, but I just do. Listening back, it doesn’t really have a bad track on it, with perhaps ‘Soma’ the only one I don’t totally love. And even though the production is a bit thin (a lack of bass on this record has always annoyed me), it doesn’t matter, because the guitar interplay is fantastic, the rhythm section (when you can hear them) are tight, and Casablancas’ vocals up front are sneering, silly and brilliant. Definitely my favourite memory from the early 21st century

Whilst Marshall does an amazing job of being as offensive as he possibly can, this was a hard slog to get through. Lots of dodgy lyrics with themes of murdering girlfriends and trying to shag anything that moves undoubtedly appeals to rabid teenagers, but I find it tiring now I’m in my 50s.

I wouldn't have thought PSB had many boring albums in their discography, but I did find myself a bit bored with this one. It's perfectly fine, just lacking for a couple of proper big hits that make you want to put it back on again. Being Boring is fine, and Face The Truth and The End of The World are probably the best of the rest, but overall left me a bit flat. I'm sure they have better albums, will see if their other 2 on the generator are any better.

Yeah, this didn't really do it for me. It was all a bit samey, and the lyrics weren't really interesting enough for me to take much notice. The musicians are probably really good, and they can hold a groove fine, but it really did seem to be the same song several times by the end. Sorry, Peter!!