1001 Albums Summary

I enjoyed the well know hits from this album, but the rest was sort of meh.

Amazing vocals, improvisation that just flows, really an amazing performance. However that sort of 1950’s skiddlybop jazzy lounge music is not really my favorite thing.

Only nitpick with this album is that some of the songs come across as musically repetitive, and it’s hard not to compare with other Dylan albums.

Great songs with a couple of oddities I had not heard before.

Wall of sound Xmas, pretty much what one would expect. Mostly familiar arrangements with a few less familiar.

Interesting, but sounds a bit dated.

A few bangers, a few wannabe bangers that don’t quite make it.

Country/bluegrass fusion, lots of live-instudio energy

Wears his influences on his sleeve, especially Bob Dylan and Townes Van Zandt, without sounding derivative.

Starts out lightly funky, then gets more soft jazzy R&B

Sam Cooke has always seemed a bit tame to me, but this performance brings a raw, rebellious energy. I wish I was there. Loved “Feel it (Don’t Fight it)”.

Cowboy Junkies were part of the soundtrack of my 20’s, so I have a soft spot for this album. Mix of great original music (“Misguided Angel”) and great covers (“Sweet Jane”)

Sounds like a novelty act version of Sublime, but the joke mostly falls flat. Better when they aren’t trying to be funny or tongue in cheek.

Neil has done a lot better, both before and after this. Is it just me or is this some of the most uninspired drumming ever?

I still really enjoy “Take it or leave it”. The rest was okay.

Seems like lyrics remain relevant.

Unpleasant noise. And what’s with the creepo album cover? Jeezus.

Even the non-hits are pretty good.

Still sounds interesting and innovative after all this time.

If you are my age, you know how the videos from this were mercilessly and endlessly flogged by MTV in the 80s. Re-listening to it again after 40 years was entertaining for a couple of songs, then I just got tired of it all over again before the end of the album.

I liked this more than I expected to. Really not interested in the more popular jazzy hits. But when they lean into more rock groove, I actually liked it especially “I’m a man”

Definitely an era. 80s pop synth extravaganza. Surprised I did not know any other songs since “Take me on” was such a big hit. Nothing else really grabbed me.

Dreamy electro pop shoegaze. I was at work while listening, but it probably pairs well with some THC gummies.

Some good hits, but sounds a bit like a soundtrack (because it is).

Really liked it. Listened to it twice. Almost five stars but some of the songs didn’t really connect for me.

I had never heard of this before. I liked it well enough, kind of has some U2 vibe going on, but enough of their own style to make it interesting. Honestly got a bit bored of it by the end of the album.

Really liked the dreamy quality. It’s really not as trumpet-centric as I expected.

3/5 is me being generous. This album is pretty mid.

Kind of a mash up of different moods and styles. A lot of the songs didn’t really appeal to me.

Bowie is always interesting.

I don’t usually listen to hip hop, but I actually have heard “waterfalls”. I found some of the lyrics a bit (unintentionally?) humorous. Not really my style of music.

This music is literally not for me. I just don’t have the life experience to understand it. There were a couple good songs and “favorite things” is amazing.

Had no idea what to expect, really enjoyed the funky jazzy reggae fusion.

Smooth tunes with hard hitting social commentary lyrics.

Still finding their voice.

Forgettable. And probably mostly forgotten.

EDM with lyrics about the melancholy of getting older.

Perfectly acceptable, but nothing really grabbed me.

I went into this album with a pessimistic attitude. Some years ago I had read her memoir “Just Kids” and found it annoying. Or at least it didn’t inspire me to really give her music a listen. But I ended up really liking this album and it’s proto punk vibe.

Mostly really enjoyed it, but “Clap” doesn’t really fit with the rest of the album, not sure why it was included.

Boring. The spoken word parts are terrible.

“Folk” here seems to be mostly sort of medieval style. It’s okay, just not my thing.

Nice jazz, very little Afrobeat.

Amazing.

Smooth 1960s Latin jazz. Fine, but not my thing.

So. Many. Power chords.

Mellow electronica. I liked it, would listen again.

I know I’m supposed to like Leonard Cohen because he’s a great songwriter, but I generally find his lyrics obtuse rather than deep, and he’s musically repetitive. This album is no exception.

A few fun songs, but a bit inconsistent and I kind of got tired of listening to it before the end.

4 stars not 5 because they ripped off a lot of blues players, but still hard not to love this right from the opening bars. Long time favorite: “How many more times”

I guess I prefer the musicians he influenced.

The peak of his storytelling. If this isn’t a 5 star album, then nothing is.

Lyrics 5/5 interesting, music 2/5 hard to listen to and all over the map.

Early 90s dreck. This is “punk rock” for suburban moms. Sounds a lot like the theme song to “Friends”.

Sadly, the lyrics are still all too relevant. Never understood Flavor Flav’s overly comical persona paired with the serious messaging. Favorite song: “Black steel…”

Lyrics that are absolutely bananas. A voice like someone gargling gravel. And I loved it.

I can see how I might have listened to this in 1993. But I would have completely forgotten about it almost immediately, it’s just that boring. Hard to believe Weller went from The Jam to this.

Maybe it seemed edgy at the time, seems a bit awkward now. Cash seemed to struggle a bit vocally.

If power chords and cowbell are your thing, this is the album for you.

Funky jazz. Would listen again.

Fine but forgettable.

Kinda grew on me, but given the era. I’m surprised I didn’t enjoy it more.

This was the first album I ever bought. So I’m a bit biased, but I still enjoyed listening to it again after many years.

For hardcore Genesis fans only.

Totally unfamiliar with this band. Sounds surprisingly contemporary.

Love the groove of Peace Frog

Classic blues.

Nobody needs 1.5 hours of the Monkees. I could only take about 30 minutes before I gave up.

Ahead of its time.

Lyrics 5/5 but the music doesn’t appeal to me.

I want to be 17 and hearing this for the first time again.

Sounds like they are trying hard to be cool. They are not.

Not sure why she is so popular.

Disappointing, and I usually like Nick Cave.

I want my 52 minutes back. Only appeal seems to be for people who lived in Britain and were teenagers in the 90s.

Even the lesser known songs are fantastic.

Nothing special.

The stoners in the back of the school bus played this all the time.

The second album by a British singer nobody has ever heard of. Why has nobody heard of him? Because he sucks. This album is not enjoyable, even in an ironic way. Not at all. Lyrics: self-indulgent, clunky, offensive. Vocal style: ranges between ho-hum and awful. Musical arrangements: boring.

Nothing wrong with it, it’s just not my style.

Amazing.

If you want grunge, choose Pixies, Sonic Youth, Nirvana. Why listen to Pearl Jam?

I kinda liked it. Would be 4/5 but it was a bit uneven and had some weird homophobic lyrics.

Liked it more than I expected, but sounded kind of “same same” by the end. I doubt I will listen to it again.

Soulful 70s funk or maybe funky 70s soul. Either way, “yes please”.

Pleasant. Not too exciting.

Sounds like the worst of REM combined with the theme song from the TV show “Friends”.

Pretty good, but Clapton has never really appealed to me, not sure why.

Quirky and fun.

Standard 80s fare

The hits were okay. The rest were awful.

Different. I liked it.

Melancholy folk with a medieval vibe.

Amazing lineup. 5/5, and I’m not even kidding.

The world needs more BB King.

This album was in heavy rotation with the stoners in the back of the bus during my high school era. Mostly overwrought and ponderous, with a few good licks thrown in, eg Run like hell.

Kinda too much early 90s vibe for me.

Mostly pretty good, but nothing to really make me want to listen again.

Spends all of its time wallowing in post-September 11 national self-pity. Springsteen seems like a decent enough guy, but bullshit rhetoric like this only served to abet the United States’s slide into christian nationalist fascism.

No notes.

Why is this considered “good”? Stealing Black culture and packaging it as a novelty act. Zero stars.

Different and interesting but not really my style.

If you have ever unironically yelled at someone “I hate you, you’re not my dad!” then this is the album for you. 3 or 4 songs in I figured I got the idea and didn’t care to listen to the remaining 60+ minutes of someone screaming at me.

It was okay.

Some okay tunes. “A Passage to Bangkok” lyrics are clearly about weed, but somehow the music gives some racist vibes.

Nice.

I wanted to like this, but WTF with the misogyny and “jailbait” lyrics? Also all the songs kinda sounded the same.

Cool.

Flows for sure, but the lyrics are appalling and repetitive.

I can’t say that this is objectively a 4/5, but I was vibing with it.

Quirky and cool.

Dreamy quality. No complaints, but it didn’t really grab me.

Amazing singer. Stylistically all over the map, but always interesting.

Nostalgia gives it 4/5. Realistically probably 3/5. It was a really unique and interesting sound at the time though.

Some parts are definitely overwrought and sound clunky now, so maybe it’s 4/5, but I’m feeling generous.

Mellow.

Had some okay moments. But I’m not really a huge fan of that really electronic sounding early 80s hip hop. Liked “The Message”.

Costello takes himself *way* too seriously. That being said, I still really enjoyed this album.

Some good tracks and some boring tracks.

Sexy disco has been parodied enough that it is hard for me to appreciate the real thing.

I though I would like this more than I did.

I kinda liked it, but not sure I would listen again.

REM never met a minor key they didn’t like. The hits are pretty good, the rest are kinda forgettable.

Definitely a sound. Fun to listen to once every dozen years or so.

I have no idea how to rate this album, and I certainly don’t have anything insightful to say about it. I didn’t really like listening to it, so I guess 2/5?

Hey I have an idea for an album. Let’s take the songs of a wildly successful and respected artist, say Bob Dylan, and redo them, but not as good. If we do it just right, in a year or two we will inspire a novelty band who will also name themselves after a misspelled animal.

Lyrics are 100% accurate and 0% nuance.

Sounds kinda like the Beatles, but even worse.

I like one song by Tim Buckley- Song to the Siren. It is not on this album.

Beautiful.

What can I say, I like Radiohead.

Definitely will listen again. Would be 5/5 but for a few unnecessary oddities.

I don’t like The Beatles and have heard this album many times, and was dreading having to slog through it again. Pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed revisiting some of these songs. Shocked at myself to give it 4/5.

Personal Jesus 5/5, the rest is just okay.

Some decent melodies and harmonies, with strange and interesting lyrics. Worth a second listen.

Somehow manages to be both quirky and eclectic, but boring and uninteresting at the same time. Nothing horrible, but nothing memorable either.

Yes. This is an album you must hear before you die.

Have you ever been lost in a seemingly endless maze while having a slightly unpleasant mushroom experience? Me neither, but this album feels like that.

Legit 70s funk, I expected I would like it more than I did. A few of the songs didn’t land for me.

Only song I knew was “Thirteen”, which I like, but the rest were kind of meh.

Classic Neil.

She was great even before she hit it big.

A couple of okay songs, but I’m still not over having to listen to these guys ad nauseum in the 80s.

Wanted to give it 4/5, but it started to all sound the same after a while.

Kind klunky and repetitive, but I loved it.

Haven’t listened to this in many years, and anticipated that it would not have aged well, but was pleasantly surprised.

This album isn’t perfect, but it’s pretty good.

This is half of an album. Side 1 is decent, side 2 is bad.

Wow, so very bad.

So mediocre.

Hard to objectively rate this given its outsized impact on me in my early 20’s.

90s pop metal. By 2030 this will be grocery store music.