1001 Albums Summary

Better than I remembered. Pocahontas, thrasher, sail away, powder finger all bangers. Sedan delivery not great.

I do like it, and some of the individual songs are amazing. But it is very long and lacking any change in texture. Reality is too good for 3 stars, but good enough for 4.

So fresh and so clean. Speakerboxx hardly ever lets up. Love below is much more experimental. 2 hours+ but flew by.

Middle of the pack Led Zep album. Immigrant song, Since I’ve Been Loving You, That’s the Way are highlights.

So good

Jazzy and experimental. Cool direction for hip hop / rock. Some of the instrumentals were cool. Still too long.

The great Christmas album.

Bland. Poor cover of grapevine. I like other temptations stuff but this wasn’t it

If I’d never heard of Prince or Stevie I would be impressed, but I have and I’m not

Some brilliant bits of songwriting. Very strong

Bonkers. Actually a bit annoying in parts but then also bohemian rhapsody

Not my thing but I can see the merit. Some good party tunes.

Wanted to like this more than I did. It’s just not that interesting

Surprisingly good. Starship trooper was great. The clap kind of sticks out like a sore thumb but it is class so no harm done

Brilliant album. Red Rain was a great opener. Some of the production is a little dated, on Big Time for example. Overall a great listen, somewhere between a 4 and a 5.

Good album. Fades a bit towards the end

Tricky one to rate. I don’t love grime. I find some of the beats repetitive and some of the sound effects obnoxious. But the highs, like Fix Up Look Sharp, Wot U On and Do It are really good.

Love La Grange. The rest of the album was a little bit disappointing. Nice bluesy stuff but all quite samey.

Enchanting rhythms and a beautiful voice. Blew me away the first time I heard it and still love it now.

Light years away from “My Girl”. Funky and earthy 70s offering. I like it

Batshit but I love it

An extraordinary album that feels like a greatest hits package. Side 1 is a cohesive mix of slinky midtempo reggae jams, whilst side 2 is anthem after anthem

Masterpiece

I just want to share the comedy podcast Three Bean Salads take on Led Zeppelin: https://youtu.be/Gj8FihIIaic?si=mAhteZQikrLhVTkT

One of the first albums in this list that I don’t recall hearing before. Really enjoyable Afrobeat stylings from Mr N’Dour

It’s not bad. It’s not good. It’s just fine

I can see what’s good about it but it is incredibly dull

I do have a copy of the book, but I don’t remember this at all. Presumably it only made it into one edition, and it’s not hard to see why

Proper prog rock

This hasn’t aged well and I didn’t like it when it came out

Rock opera. Springsteen for drama kids. It’s one step up from Grease and as far from punk as you can get. By rights I should hate it. But it is absolutely brilliant

Hard not to compare to Different Class, which is obviously in a different, better class. Feels like it could be a grower and I’ll try to revisit it a few times. For now, it’s a 3

Excellent party rock album

Chef cooks

Songs of wonder and beauty from the man with the child in his voice. Won’t be for everyone but it works for me

After 55 years the tapestry is a little worn and faded, but you can still see how well crafted and elegant it is.

Quality album through and through. Brown Sugar to Moonlight Mile via Wild Horses, Can’t You Hear Me Knocking, Bitch and Sister Morphone.

An immensely cool album, led by a frontman dripping with charisma. So good

Chaotic and bi polar, SoaD’s debut album sets the blueprint for their unique sound. It lacks the bizarro-commerciality of Chop Suey but in Suite-Pee, Sugar and Spiders still has some top tier crazy metal tracks. Soul sounds like the first sketch of Aerials, which is no bad thing

From track 1 of his debut album Cohen establishes his unique, sonorous sound. Masterful poetry over arpeggio guitar.

You could be forgiven for thinking this is a Best Of. Half the tracks were released as singles, Heart of Glass chief among them, and the handful that weren’t include fan favourites such as Fade Away and Radiate and Will Anything Happen? For me, there’s a mid-album lull, and I don’t think much of the Buddy Holly cover. But otherwise it’s a cracking album

Abrasive and unrelenting, with many songs running for the close to ten minutes. Highlights include Luau, Super Unison and New Math. This album seems to have been labelled with lots of different genres, from post-rock to emo to math rock. I can see how it may have been influential to each of those, but it’s not really my cup of tea.

Gave this one a second listen to fully get it. A concept album about childhood, it’s great to hear Madness songs away from their greatest hits. New Delhi has not aged well, but then again we do have Our House which is an all time great.

God help you if this was the first album you got

Me, listening and smiling politely

Pleasantly surprised by this one. It doesn’t have the highs of the Color and The Shape but arguably is a more consistent album overall, and it’s a hell or a lot stronger than later life dad rock Foo Fighters. Good album

This is a seriously good album. Dexy’s are criminally underrated. Enjoy the horns and the violins, and whilst Kevin Rowland is not the world’s strongest singer, I believe he has soul. A great discovery

Love it. Have listened to this since I was a child and it never fails to lighten my mood. Louis Prima, Keely Smith and Sam Butera put on a great show

I used to be so intimidated by this album. I knew that Black Flag were hardcore punk pioneers and that Henry Rollins was a maniac, and I figured it would be just too extreme for me. But time tends to soften these things and now, in 2026, this is just a really good punk rock record. Yes, there are intense songs with high octane vocals, particularly in the second half, but then there’s nothing inaccessible in tracks like Rise Above. You can hear how it influenced the next 25 years of rock. There’s even elements of self-satire, with TV Party and Six Pack. And that album cover is kick ass.

Flanked by two eastern-tinged pillars of weird, the inner sanctum of Want Two is full of beauty. From the sophisti-pop of The One You Love to the baroque Little Sister, the stunning ballad The Art Teacher to the elegiac Memphis Skyline, the album is full of gems. Also, shout out to Gay Messiah, which overlays its beautiful music with hilarious biblical imagery

I don’t really get why this is so well received. It’s fine. It’s quite pretty in a uninteresting way, like watching the sunrise from a motorway service station

One of these days people are going to wise up and realise Queen aren’t all that

Ancient and overgrown as an old English forest

I quite like this. It’s a bit like Peter Gabriel but less poppy, a bit like The Blue Nile but less Scottish, a bit like The The but less electronic. It’s good and sounds like it would be a grower

Did I enjoy this? I should coco!

It’s a wonky album! Enjoyed the first couple of tracks, but then the experimental electro of Scorpio was less tolerable. The Stevie wonder tribute was confusing but then we finish with the all timer The Message.

It’s weird and noodley and nonsensical and British jazz-folk but I really like it anyway

Any major dude will tell you this is crap

A cool listen but in truth it’s a little one-dimensional and on some of the tracks it felt like they were going to just jam forever

90s rock break up album sitting squarely in the second stage of grief. Bitter and angry lyrically, supported by cutting guitars and yet somewhat funky beats. A great new discovery

Smooth jazz

Hate the album artwork and not fond of the initial track. But over 76(!) minutes of eccentric indie rock, this one won me over. It’s a 3.5 for me

I’m not the biggest fan of live albums. The songs never sound quite right and it’s impossible to capture the feeling of actually being in the audience. This is no different, although it admittedly does showcase Van the Man’s deep catalogue and his soulful warble

I love Paul Simon and the title track is an absolute masterpiece. However, why on earth does this album start with a track about allergies?! Its a strange album, with plenty of beauty and introspection but also a fair few throwaway tracks

Second live album in three days but this is much better. Template setting blues rock from Mr Muddy

Emo electronica from Britain’s favourite Hull duo (next to Rod and Emu). Thorn has a singularly excellent voice but I could do without the squiggly 90s trip pop beats

Track 1 is a banger. Unfortunately the rest of the album is a bit nothingy

Where the hell did Family Guy get the idea that Randy Newman just sings about what he sees?

Head and shoulders above everything else in the alternative rock-a-verse.

Forgettable. Cathys clown is a good track

One of the finest albums of the singer-songwriter boom of the 70s. Very cool for Cat.

First challenge: how much of this am I supposed to listen to? Having read the Wikipedia, I’ve decided to just focus on the actual concert recordings and skip the studio ones at the end. Second challenge: listening to jazz. (That’s a bit harsh, I did enjoy this)

Short but sweet. I was familiar with the title track but pleasantly surprised with the variety of the rest of the album.

Young Neil Young hits his straps with a dazzling sophomore album. 4 of the 7 tracks are all time greats from the Canadian king

Had to pause the first listen as the first minutes are a bit difficult. On second attempt though it calmed down and I even low-key enjoyed some of the noodling. Ultimately it’s unlikely to be any more than background music for me

D’Angel-no

Soulful and serious from the boy from Wham! Beyond Freedom this album was largely new to me and I must admit I’m impressed by it. It’s 48 minutes of well crafted pop balladry and downbeat anthems. My wife asked me to give him an extra star from her

Strong debut offering from the heavy metal pioneers. Sans Bruce Dickinson and with some longer experimental tunes, the album betrays some 70s prog rock influences and is all the more enjoyable for it

I grew up with this album and always thought of it as incredibly important to the dance genre. The four or five singles are absolute bangers. That said, on relisten, it’s fucking obnoxious. What’s with that extended drone noise? Sometimes it feels like Norman Cook is trolling us

One of the all time great Latin albums and the tropical samba would seem perfectly aligned to my first day of holiday. Unfortunately it’s gale force winds and chucking it down outside, but at least the album is helping to keep spirits up

Good time classic rock and roll. Blueberry Hill, Honey Chile and Blue Monday and are all bangers. A bit of a dip in quality is all that prevents this getting the full marks

Perfectly pleasant background music

A classic. Chocolate cake has perhaps aged poorly but once that has been devoured this album really is wonderful. I’ve always enjoyed the back half, which has fewer hits but the arguably the more beautiful songs

Decent punk record. Sounds like it might reward repeat listens

The best album by the best band

Top banana

Wow. What an incredible listen. Starts with an orchestral suite, ends (almost) with an excerpt from Clare de Lune. And in between is some of the funkiest, most alive, R&B recorded. Great stuff

Respect to Jeff Lynne and co for having a vision and sticking with it. ELO manage to wear all their influences on their sleeve and yet have their own distinct sound. When it works, it really is good (Turn to Stone, Sweet Talkin Woman, Summer and Lightning), but it’s easy to imagine the cheesy sound and vocoder vocals grate on some. Could it have worked as a single rather than a double album? I don’t know, but it sure felt ELOngated

An album so bad it not only makes me hate this one, it makes me question other stuff I thought I liked by Zappa

First time listen through and really enjoyable politicised but accessible reggae

Surprised by how much I like this one. And acid house in general. I was familiar with Pacific State, and am well aware with Primal Scream’s take on the genre on Screamadelica, but I didn’t imagine how inventive and listenable it would be. Good discovery

The one where Kurt covers Lead Belly. A great live album, and the final chapter for Nirvana. Hard to be objective given that I’ve listened to this album so many times. Their own material is great (the superior versions of Pennyroyal Tea and All Apologies) but the covers are exceptional. The Vaselines, Bowie, Meat Puppets and Lead Belly songs all get five star renditions.

Excellent album from the Aussie indie icons.

Tom Verlaine has a goofy voice and Television sound nothing like the rest of the CGBG crowd. Other than that, this is a crazy good record.

Hard to believe these guys would go on to Build This City

For some reason I had always thought of Buffalo Springfield as a Neil Young project, I guess because I was familiar with Expecting to Fly and Broken Arrow (for what it’s worth, I do know For What It’s Worth). Listening to this, it’s clear that they are the exceptions, and they sit comfortably in the late 60s folk rock era. Nice stuff but unremarkable

Q-Tip of the hat, this is good stuff. Ps if anyone else was enjoying the bassline from ManWomanBoogie, it’s from the 1979 Can track, A Spectacle

I like Kraftwerk and everything but I’m just not that into them. That’s my lukewarm take

Look, I know U2 aren’t cool (not sure if they’ve ever been), but this really is the tits. Even ignoring the first three tracks (all top tier), the rest of the album is really solid. Red Hill Mining Town is an anthem

Beyond shit.

It feels like ZZ Top were more of a singles band. Nothing new here worth listening to beyond the stuff we already know.

There’s something enchanting about Cohen’s late career growl, and whilst the synth-heavy albums of the 80s and 90s are easy to date, the sparse backing here is timeless. The opener threatens a menacing half hour, but the following tracks retain a surprising lightness, even if Cohen was by this point contemplating his final days on Earth.

Enchanting

Enjoyed it, but has no place in this list. Can imagine discovering it at the time and considering it a hidden gem. Hearing it now amongst these classics, it’s forgettable

Huge respect for the ambition, especially after reading how they funded it. 90 minutes on the deep south was a bit much for me to take in one listen, but I wouldn’t rule out going back and giving this another whirl at some point. 3 stars feels harsh, 4 stars feels high

The jangly power pop prototype that begat much of my favourite music. The Byrds, Big Star, R.E.M., The Smiths, The Replacements; you can hear their origins here.

An evocative blend of Stevie, Marvin, Prince and 2010s R&B

Boasting one of the best pairings of album opener and closer in music history, this one is practically guaranteed a high rating. Unfortunately, there’s just too much country tonk inbetween

I’ve already admitted to being a U2 apologist. This album I’m not so familiar with, besides Sunday Bloody Sunday, New Years Day and 40. The rest of the album, whilst not up to the lofty standards of those three, seems to be perfectly enjoyable. Will probably listen again to cement my thoughts

Can really hear the roots of Spiritualized in this one.

Music for the asses

We are the Village Green Preservation Society God save Picture Book, Monica and Big Sky-ity We are the Ray Davies Appreciation Society God save alt-rock and Merry England anxieties

Didn’t quite knock me out but LL floats like a butterfly, stings like a bee with the skill of a seasoned pro

I’m a fan of Gabriel’s Genesis, especially the two albums before this one. The highs on this album arguably surpass anything on those previous efforts. Unfortunately, they’re buried within a dense and confusing 90 minute concept story arc. The second half in particular is a slog to get through. Trim the fat and halve the length, this would be close to five stars

White Stripe highlights: Fell in Love With a Girl, We’re Gonna Be Friends, Hotel Yorba, Dead Leaves and Dirty Ground The rest of the album isn’t quite as strong but it’s still a good album and more precise than some of their later works

This is what we’re here for. I’d have never chosen to listen to this and yet in found it deeply enjoyable

First time listening to a The Fall album in full. Enjoyed the post-punk anarchic energy. Reminded me of Pixies, if you transplanted them from Boston to Manchester and replaced the throat singing with drunk in the pub rambling. Overly long though.

I do like this album, but it’s gentle thoughtful nature probably prohibits it from the highest rating.

Listening in the morning: god these guys are obnoxious and whiny. Listening in the evening: YOU GOTTA FIGHT. FOR YOUR RIGHT. TO PARRRRTYYY

Could almost be a greatest hits album, with a few filler tracks chucked in to keep us honest. The Boxer and The Only Living Boy in New York are peaks in 60s folk rock songwriting

Surprisingly consistent for a two hour double album. From crunching guitars to hypnotic grooves, Mellon Collie mixes textures and dynamics expertly. Knocking a star off for the crap name

Gaye almost pulls off the same trick twice, with another incredibly smooth, funky masterpiece, expect this time it’s about making babies rather than saving the world. I felt a bit of a lag towards the end but really enjoyable listen

Tropicalia fails to translate well in gloomy Manchester

Quintessentially 80s. It’s suit jackets with shoulder pads and the sleeves rolled up. It’s Max Headroom, Roland Rat and Loadsamoney in album form. It’s synth-pop gloriousness.

I saw Arcade Fire when they were on tour promoting this album. It was Halloween and for some reason the atmosphere was incredibly tense. Some tools started throwing things on stage, and at one point the band stormed off, with Will declaring that he’d never play in this shithole again. I’ve just checked and true to their word they haven’t been back. Anyway, good songs throughout but nothing that really stands apart.

I already knew that Another Girl, Another Planet is a top tier song, but the rest of the album is still great over a blistering half hour. More poppy in the lines of The Modern Lovers and Wreckless Eric then the grittier side of punk.

Accessible and erudite, it’s not hard to see why this is the most celebrated of Bragg’s works.

Are we supposed to be reviewing the original album of six songs, or the extended edition that the Spotify link takes you to? Either way, I’m not a huge fan of live albums. This is fine, I like the Who, I’ve seen them live, but you can’t recreate that feeling through wireless headphones on a train to Birmingham

I appreciate I’m going to lose a lot of my already sparse credibility but I just don’t enjoy this sort of shit

Chugging classic 90s rock. It’s a solid album with no obvious weakness but honestly nothing that meets the very best of their contemporaries like Nirvana, Pearl Jam or Jane’s Addiction

Hard to argue with the groovy afrobeat. Hopefully this isn’t the only Fela Kuti album in the list

Oh Coldplay, you were once so good. Shiver is Jeff Buckley-lite and one of my all time favourite songs

Ok, so this is one of the most Important albums of my lifetime. Important, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I love it. It’s a tricky one to rate - it’s clear how technically good it is, and how big an influence it has had on music in 21st century, but it isn’t half as enjoyable as the two Radiohead albums that preceded it. Having read through the Wikipedia, I think Brice Ezell hit the nail on the head - "more fun to think and write about than it is to actually listen to"

Punch effectively Power effortlessly 5 star album (for me) Public Enemy

A beautiful, sad record and a significant departure from the usual Beck sound. Further listening could bump this up but for now it’s a solid 4

Very 80s. Took a while to get going but I really dig the second half of the album

Are you all sitty comftybold two-square on your botty? Then I’ll begin this little brain spout of the musicy-most… It’s not my first time sampling the delights of ONGF. I imagine if it is for you, it’s going to pretty hard to digest.

Bowie’s best

Feels like Thundercat has had more than just alcohol

Whilst it was cool to get a little bit of history listening to Holiday’s haunting, broken voice, it really wasn’t that captivating a listen

Love Peaches En Regalia and Willie the Pimp. Gets a bit samey further into the album, but it’s a good one nonetheless

A new one for me, and I doubt I’ll listen to it again

I kind of dismissed The Offspring as a novelty band first time around, mostly due to Pretty Fly (for a White Guy) but this album absolutely rocks. Consistent and catchy with some pretty scathing lyrics thrown in. Glad to have had the chance to reappraise

Enjoyable classic rock / glam stuff from Mott the Hoople. Not especially hooky or memorable but good nonetheless

Can I tell the difference between each song? No. Do I care? No. It rocks

Beautiful voices but not a lot to excite me here

Why is it the length of a feature film? Why did they bother to pad it out with outtakes from other recording sessions? I like Led Zeppelin, and Kashmir and Houses of the Holy are great tracks, but this is excessive

The UK is currently gripped by record breaking temperatures and the hazy city atmosphere paired with these gritty sparse Wu-Tang beats are placing me right in the middle an early 90s east coast heatwave. In this time and place, this album is perfect

I don’t know why exactly but I love this album

It’s got their best hit (Sympathy for the Devil) and their best album track (Jigsaw Puzzle) and a lot more besides (No Expectations, Salt of the Earth). A no brainer 5 stars

5 stars. Next

More rocky, less folky than I was expecting. Doesn’t quite hit the heights of the prior CS&N album or Young’s very best

Ok, first off it’s an EP not an album. Secondly, this one’s definitely here for its influence rather than due to its outstanding quality. I do like it, and it’s good to hear something other than Touch Me I’m Sick, but it hasn’t blown me away

The singles are seminal and the album tracks are also amazing. Easily one of the best ever. Also, this listen through was the first time I heard distinctly Bowie’s vocals at the end of Satellite of Love. That’s him going awoooo

Straightforward blues played to an ecstatic crowd. Fun to hear that Primitive Radio Gods sample in its natural habitat

Fun and funky pop rock. Genius of Love is an obvious standout but also enjoyed l’elephant and As Above, So Below. Shame it’s not on Spotify

A stone cold scolding from the coalminer’s daughter. I’m still not fully into country music but the kitchen sink drama and Lynn’s feisty attitude has partially won me over

Ah this takes me back. As my angst levels have receded so has my Elliott Smith play time. Which is a shame. I can’t really separate the last three albums of his life (or the posthumous From a Basement…) but they’re all still really good. Whilst there’s a degree of sad boy with a guitar, there’s actually a lot of ambition and dynamism to these recordings, and he undoubtedly was a big influence on the next decade of indie music

Proggy hard rock. Queen are great for theatrical bombast and guitar solos, not much good for melody or the concept of less is more. Seven Seas of Rhye is a banger though

I’m not really sure what to do with this album. I like Tom Waits but this is quite sparse and uneven. Didn’t hook me. In the Neighbourhood is a great tune mind.

Cool rhythmic jazz with a slightly unsettling vibe

Raucous fun from the Down Underworld

God lord no. Per google the lyrics are actually good but that could be fake news as they’re completely indecipherable in the singers low bark

Amnesiac > Kid A

An incredible album. Punk poetry atop classic rock, Television-style noodlings, with a little reggae-lite track thrown in for good luck.

Look, it’s great within the Monkees story that they managed to wrest control of the group and write their own music. Unfortunately, that doesn’t make a great album, particularly from the viewpoint of 60 years later. A lot of it sounds like a watered down the Beatles (worse, the Beatles sound from 2-3 years prior, which was lightyears from what they had moved on to). It’s not a bad album but it is inconsequential

I do like J&MC and the cleaner tracks here are awesome, but I have to admit that this is quite often a difficult and even unpleasant listen

The Stooges hit with a sound out of time, a tuneful messy punk that could have slotted right in with 1981’s The Decline of Western Civilisation. Search and Destroy has to be one of the all time great album openers

Classic rock/blues jams. It’s legendary, it’s lengthy and it’s live

Another Wu Tang alumni and another great album. If anything, this sounds even more ahead of its time than Tical, albeit lacking an obvious hit single. Great album and looking forward to more Wu

How can I be civil when hearing this drivel?

All time great R&B

Enjoyable new discovery. You can see this album as the throughline of quirky British alternative joining The Kinks to XTC. I didn’t realise this was where Robyn Hitchcock started out but it’s very obvious. It probably lies between a four and a five for me but I’ll round it up to remind myself for future listens

Son of a Preacher Man and ten other songs

This album was released a few days before my seventh birthday, and it quickly received heavy rotation in our household as my mum, a young single parent of two, found a huge amount of emotional release within. I remember thinking that this was a very angry lady, and I couldn’t understand why she was singing about “cross-eyed bears”. But I liked it. Thirty years later, the edges have softened and the confusion has cleared, and I consider it a near-perfect record.

One of the great British albums of the 90s and an amazing comeback after the disappearance of Richie. It does meander a little and isn’t all killer, but the highs are exceptional.

This is a messy album. You’ve got to admire Weller’s gumption for moving completely away from what made him famous but the results are spotty, and it hasn’t aged well. There are some good points - You’re the Best Thing That Ever Happened is lovely, and Here’s The One That Got Away is a pleasing discovery - but they’re too few and unfortunately hidden towards the end, when the damage has already been done

Solo simon has a cooler vibe to his earlier work. This is a satisfying blend of laconic acoustic tunes and subtle world music

Makes me want to buy an early 00s Hyundai

Moby yesterday, this today. Both did interesting things with electronica and both found a wider audience after being used in adverts. This has a more singular sound though, a haunting aura from another time. Highlight Utopia sounds like the robots are in love, whilst Horse Tears sounds like Shirley Bassey performs a theme for American Horror Story. It’s a weird album

I don’t mean this disparagingly but it’s apt that there’s a song called Junk on here. This album feels like it’s been collected from a master craftsman’s workshop: some pieces are fully formed and wonderful (Here Today, Maybe I’m Amazed), but often these are odds and ends that were started and then aside to be revisited later for refinement and polish. McCartney is a genius but this sounds unfinished.

God, the skits are so annoying. The music’s good though

Clearly this isn’t groundbreaking stuff, but sometimes it’s nice to soak in some easy-listening flimsy freak folk, of which Banhart was in the vanguard.

Stone cold classic Southern rock

My baby boy was born today! Automatic five stars

Beautiful and heartbreaking

I love that Bjork exists in the world but I’m also glad that I don’t live in a world of many Bjorks. This is a really good album, unmistakably her, even if it explores genres largely away from my standard

I’m less familiar with this album than his earlier melodic folk of After the Gold Rush and Harvest, or his later proto-grunge Rust Never Sleeps. Whilst there’s no crunching guitars to be found here, you can hear elements of each phase in his career, and it feels like an important foundational album for the coming alternative rock scene of the 80s and 90s. Besides Walk On, the album lacks obvious singles, but I also enjoyed Motion Pictures (for Carrie) and Ambulance Blues

It took me far too long to realise how special Pet Shop Boys are. Severely underrated synth pop.

!Bailar bailar! Irresistible, infectious Latin American dance music. Let Tito Puento set your soul on fire with a slanderous mambo.

The best crime they ever did was play some rock and roll

Another heatwave in the UK and another beautiful summery album. You’re immediately transported to 1960s Rio de Janiero, where the man wear light linen suits, sit outside cafe shops near the beach and watch the girls go by. Amazing

Brelliant

This young man seems to really hate war. A solid offering from the pre-Judas Dylan, but we know that there’s much better to come

Like an ancient forest on the edge of a rugged Appalachian mountain, this album is a rich, folksy and beautiful. A modern classic

Belle and Sebastian sound remarkedly fully formed on their debut Tigermilk, considering they’d only been randomly assembled that same year. There are a couple of mid-steps - to my knowledge they never revisited the sound of Electric Renaissance and overall it’s a bit long - but for the most part this is signature B&S and in The State That I Am and Expectations we already have some of their very best tunes.

American hardcore punk eschews melody for aggression. There’s bits I can get behind but overall it’s not my cup of tea

This one was part of my childhood and so impossible for me to review impartially. I do think The Waterboys are hugely underrated and Mike Scott was a great, soulful songwriter. I appreciate that they have a sound peculiar to them, and some of the choices here won’t appeal to everyone, but I love it. Fisherman’s Blues, We Will Not Be Lovers, When Ye Go Away and the cover of Sweet Thing are clear highlights. Oh, and it should be noted that the link is to the extended edition - the proper album isn’t nearly as long

Horrible album cover. Damn good album. Preferred side 1 where all three songs are bangers. Side 2 began to drift a bit by the end, and are what cost this a perfect score for me

Indie classic from bookish 80s troubadour Cole. Love this album

Spindly bass lines and primitive acoustic guitar back up raw vocals, lamenting universal late-teen hang ups. That makes it sound really bad; it’s not, it’s great. Kiss Off is an all time great alternative rock song

Grunge’s other high point

Mid 2000s indie folk masterpiece. However it is far too long

Jagged post-punk from The Buzzcock’s successors. Shot By Both Sides is a banger and whilst I didn’t know anything else, the rest is of a similar standing.

My second Robert Wyatt album of this project and I do appreciate his unique style. This one doesn’t quite resonate with me as the previous one did however, possibly as the 90s production is a little more polished.

The Clash leave their punk origins in the dust and create a sixty minute spectacular, encompassing roots rock, reggae, pop and rock. More bangers than a demolition derby

Kick out the jams mother-f-er! Crazy to think these guys would be in their late 70s / early 80s now. Loses points for that terrible last track, which, ironically is a jam

Before Dylan or Simon or Jansch or Mitchell, there was Baez. Listening without context in 2026 this is bog standard trad-folk and wouldn’t get much attention but at the time it was revolutionary and big respect for that.

I don’t know how many R.E.M albums are in this list but they’re all going to score highly for me. We’ve got two of their bigger hits here, some fan favourites and a few lesser known beauties. Even the one or two filler tracks are inoffensive

Way better than I had expected. Also, the first two minutes of Djed acted as a white noise generator and soothed my crying baby so two thumbs up from me

Whilst It Takes a Nation… is generally considered their masterpiece, Fear of a Black Planet is an outstanding follow up. I’m always amazed at how accessible Public Enemy sound, despite their inflammatory tone. Will listen again

Possibly my favourite ever gig was seeing the Fannies in Belfast a few years ago. Their combination of early 90s guitar licks, Scottish indie pop songwriting and Big Star / Beach Boys influences is a perfect combo for me. This is probably their best album but I’m hoping for more

Nothing but respect for an album where the leading Black music star of the day took on the whiter than white country songbook and tore down barriers. Unfortunately, the sickly choral backing vocals are tough to listen to nowadays and I never did like country music anyway so in my view he’s working with lesser material

I’ll Feel A Whole Lot Better is one of the best songs of the 60s and an essential touchstone for all jangly guitar music of the next forty years. I find it confusing though that the Byrds did so many covers. They’re still very good of course, but it takes something away if you don’t have the definitive version of each song. The Beatles and the Stones move on from being covers bands, i feel like the Byrds never truly did.

I’m going to irreparably damage my indie credentials here but I don’t fully gel with this album. I love History Lesson, and I like Viet Nam, but I find a lot of the album too sparse and lacking structure to really get it

Primary colours, beehive haircuts and demented dance rock.

Ironic that this is called Infected when the songs are anything but catchy

Woke up my baby early so his cries would drown out this drivel

Was having a great time with this album until I wasn’t. Don’t is a disaster of a closing statement

A debut album which reinvents the alternative music blueprint for the next decade, moving away from the jangly guitar and melodic sounds of REM and the Replacements, to the quiet loud dynamics and unhinged themes of Pixies. Every song delivers something off-kilter and worthwhile, with Gigantic and Where Is My Mind being two of their absolute best. River Euphrates, Cactus, Break My Body, they’re all good

Sounds like a parody of itself, and the Birn to be Wild cover is atrocious. I bet they’re great fun live though

Increasingly strained relations within the band and alienation of their earlier, more hardcore, fan base, meant that Husker Du were never going live to see the day that alternative rock exploded into the mainstream, but based on the album alone they absolutely deserve to be consider amongst the late 80s vanguard that made that break through possible. Part R.E.M., part The Replacements, part dodgy DIY band (despite being on a major album), even over 2 discs and more than an hour, this album slaps