1001 Albums Summary

• The Bends is a good song, I love the way the instrumental built up throughout • I've heard High and Dry performed live before, though that was a very different arrangement of it. Both versions have sounded really nice • I really like the instrumental for Bones • My brother is a big fan of Just, and I've heard it a ton because of that (though I didn't know its name until now). I see why he likes it so much • It's interesting how Black Star starts with a fade-in while the band's already in full swing. The section they're playing honestly feels more like a bridge than an intro Favourite song: High and Dry

• This is one of the 16 albums I listened to last time I tried this. The album didn't really stand out to me back then, but I already know I'll enjoy it more this time around. • Shining Star is a classic and starts the album off with a bang • The title track is a nice change of pace, having a bit of a slower vibe sandwiched between two high energy tracks • EWF's bass playing is always amazing, but Happy Feelin' is really standing out • All About Love is the slowest EWF song I've heard. It sounds almost like a theme from a film, especially once the horns kick in. The ending is a really interesting sound, very different from anything else I've heard from them • Reasons is the first song on the album that hasn't really done anything for me, which is pretty surprising since it's the second most listened to track on the album • Africano is a really cool instrumental • See the Light is another song that didn't stand out much, which is a shame for the album's closer. That doesn't take away from the highs the rest of the album had. Favourite song: Shining Star, maybe Happy Feelin'?

• GhettoMusick is a really cool first track • I love The Rooster, the piano chords in the back of the verses mixed with the trumpets sounds great • Big Boi's verses in both The Rooster and Bust have been incredible • The groove in Church is really catchy • I wasn't expecting much from the Interludes but Bamboo acting as a lead-in to Tomb of the Boom works really well • "That don't belong to urse–I mean us" to switch up the rhyming pattern in Reset is so good • Taking a break after finishing Speakerboxxx. I really enjoyed this half of the album. Big Boi's rapping is consistently great and there are a lot of really interesting instrumentals. I feel like Last Call is going to be stuck in my head until I listen to The Love Below. I also really like the repeated "Speakerboxxx" tag used throughout the album, it really made the whole thing feel cohesive. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I wound up listening to The Love Below while I was running errands, so I don't have in-depth thoughts for most of the songs. However, Hey Ya is obviously a fantastic song, and Roses, Vibrate and A Life in the Day of Benjamin Andre were all standout tracks from this half of the album too. Favourite songs: Speakerboxxx: The Rooster The Love Below: Hey Ya

• Before listening, I don't think I know any Velvet Underground songs, but this album art is iconic, and Lou Reed obviously has a long legacy of his own. • I'm Waiting for the Man feels reminiscent of Bob Dylan. I like the bass line, especially in the chorus and the end of the song • So far, I'm enjoying the more straightforward rock songs like Run Run Run a lot more than songs like Venus in Furs • I really dislike some of the songs on this album, I'll Be Your Mirror is probably my least favourite so far • European Son quickly took the crown for my least favourite song • Overall, I was not a big fan of the album. A lot of it just felt like noise, and the few songs I didn't mind still weren't good enough to salvage the rest of the album. Favourite song: Run Run Run

• This should be a fun listen • I loved the segway between Sweet Little Angel and It's My Own Fault • At first I thought it was strange that You Upset Me Baby also starts with an introduction for B.B. King, but it's smart to as a way to signpost the start the second side of the vinyl • This album is classic blues at its finest Favourite song: Please Love Me

• Coming into this album, the only song I recognise by name is Vienna, but I also know a handful of Billy Joel's other songs. • Movin' Out starts the album off in a great way, I like the half time in the chorus • The Stranger is a fun song • I really like the story of Scenes from an Italian Restaurant, and the lyrics are so well written • The unison line and flute melody at the start of Get It Right the First Time sounds really cool • Everybody Has a Dream is a nice way to end the album, and the instrumental reprise of The Stranger caps the album off well Favourite song: Scenes from an Italian Restaurant

• This is the first metal album I've gotten, and it's for a band I've been meaning to listen to more of. Motorhead are such an influential band and the songs I do know from them are all incredible. I'm listening to the expanded edition on Spotify, with 18 total tracks • Kicking off a live album with Ace of Spades is an inspired choice. Lemmy's bass tone is killer and his voice sounds amazing • I like the small drum break leading into the guitar solo in Metropolis • The Hammer's guitar solo is almost exactly the same as the first half of Ace of Spades', which isn't an unheard of thing but it feels weird to have the two so close together on the tracklist. • Overkill is another classic song, and that drum intro kicks in with so much energy • Motorhead (the song) is an awesome way to end the original tracklist, and the crowd chanting over the siren afterwards really sells the energy of the concert • The bonus tracks on the expanded edition are a nice edition and it's cool to have more Motorhead, but it's clear that they put the best stuff on the main album. Still though, it's cool to have more to listen to. Favourite song: Ace of Spades

• A lot of these songs sound like something I’d hear a local band play. It’s interesting how modern this album still sounds. • I liked how the stabs in Horsin’ Around change at the end of the verses from a samba-esque beat to being very delayed. The shift that comes when the bass starts walking is really cool too. This song went in so many different directions, I really liked how it came together at the end. • The synth in Desire As reminds me a lot of We’re Finally Landing by Home (used in Summoning Salt videos) • When The Angels is a fun upbeat song to end the album on after a couple of slower tracks • The two bonus tracks are nice to have, they both fit with the album well and don’t stick out as being any worse than the rest of the songs Favourite song: Horsin’ Around

• Historically, I am not a fan of Joni Mitchell, so I'm not really looking forward to this listen. I'm going to try have an open mind, since I don't think I know any songs from this album yet. • The vocal harmony right at the start each verse of Help Me sounds really nice • Free Man in Paris encapsulates a lot of my feelings on Joni Mitchell in a nutshell; really nice instrumentals, fine vocal melodies (though even then I find some of her deliveries a bit grating) and lyrics I just can't get behind. A lot of her lyrics feel like they were written without any regard for how they would sound when sung. • The outro to People's Parties, specifically the backing vocals, sounds so bad • Down to You's lyrics are a prime example of what I was talking about • I quite like how Just Like This Train sounds, mainly in the verses I don't feel like my opinion on Joni Mitchell as a whole has changed after listening to this album, but I do think this album is a better than her other material that I've heard. While I didn't find any of the songs amazing, I do feel like the good songs stood out more than the bad. I wouldn't even say this was my least favoutite album yet, as I enjoyed listening to this a lot more than I did the Velvet Underground album. Favourite song: Help Me

• This is going to be the first non-English album I've listened to so far. I've never heard of this artist before, so I have no idea what to expect. • 30 seconds into Panis Et Circenses and this is already completely different to what I thought I would be hearing. It's very experimental, to say the least. • Okay, I've just finished the first track and I have no idea what I've just listened to. I haven't delved into psychedelic music much before. • The guitar in A Minha Menina is so loud and so grating. The rest of the song sounds good but this might be the worst guitar tone I've ever heard. • The high pitched sound in O Relógio is also extremely annoying • Adeus Maria Fulô's instrumental sounds like it would be in a Crash Bandicoot or Yoshi soundtrack • So far, Baby is the track that has sounded most like a song I would listen to, but it also brought back the guitar from A Minha Menina • Senhor F is my favourite so far, the 7/8 broken up by the occasional 4/4 bar in the head of the song sounds cool and it even manages to control the chaos of the rest of the album, at least until the double fade-out and fade-back in. • The back half of this album has been a thousand times better than the first. • I've learned that Tempo No Tempo is a cover of The Mama's and the Papa's, and it definitely sticks out among the rest of the album. This song, along with Trem Fantasma before it, are two of the most "normal" sounding songs from this album. • Ave Gengis Khan is also a good song, the guitar solo almost made me forget what album I was listening to. I've tried to give this album a fair crack, and the second half of it was markedly better, but this really isn't for me. Even in the less out there songs, there would still be something to remind me of what this album is. It's shocking to me that A Minha Menina is their most streamed song on Spotify, when it was one of my least favourites from this album, but I think that just shows that I'm not the target audience for this. Favourite song: Senhor F

• Off the bat, the intro feels very fake. The canned laughter and audience noises take away from the vibe more than they add to it. • I don't understand why the intro and Emotional Weather Report are two seperate tracks • Some of these intro tracks (namely On a Foggy Night and Better Off Without a Wife) are almost as long as their actual songs • What a nothing song Foggy Night is • At least you can tell when Eggs and Sausage actually starts • I wonder how long it took for him to write this chorus • I really wasn't expecting the monolouge about masturbation • I'm not opposed to long songs at all, but Nighthawk Postcards *feels* like it's 11 and a half minutes long • Tom Waits started sounding a bit like Jim Henson during parts of Putnam Country • He says "nyow" a lot • Big Joe and Phantom 309 was actually quite a nice song • Spare Parts II and Closing is a very fitting way to finish the album I wasn't a fan of this album, it felt like it went on for much longer than it needed to, the faux jazz club setting was offputting from the get go and the drawn out introductions to most of the songs often made it so that when the song actually started, I was already sick of it. I've seen that there are four other Tom Waits albums on this list, so I hope this is the worst of the four. Favourite song: Big Joe and Phantom 309

• Based on No Action, this song is more my style than a lot of the recent ones have been • I obviously have heard Pump It Up before, and I've heard of Elvis Costello, but I never realised he was the artist behind that song • I liked Little Triggers • So far the songs have all been good lengths, none have felt like they've overstayed their welcome at all • I haven't had as much to say about the individual songs on this album, but Living in Paradise is another really good one so far • The lyrics of Radio, Radio feel very prescient. The topic absolutely still applies today. While I didn't have as much to say about this album as I have about others, that may be a good thing. I enjoyed listening to this album. While I don't know if I'll be rushing back to listen to it again, I am looking forward to hearing the other Elvis Costello albums coming up. Favourite song: Living in Paraidse

I listened to this album over a couple of days, and I don't have a lot to say about each individual song. However, I did enjoy this album. LL Cool Jay's rapping is consistenly fun to listen to, and most of the songs had really good beats. Favourite song: Mr. Good Bar

• The only Ian Dury song I know is Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll, which is the closer to this album. Other than that, I'm going in blind • Wake Up and Make Love with Me is a really good opening track. • Ian Dury's voice is really nice. It's got a peaceful quality to it. I could imagine him reading a lullaby • Some of these lyrics are pretty wild • I like I'm Partial to Your Abracadabra, especially when the guitar starts doing a call and response with the vocal line • His voice reminds me a bit of Damon Albarn, or Isaac Holman from Soft Play • A lot of these songs feel like something I'd hear on a show I'd watched as a kid (if you ignore the vulgarness). • I find Billericay Dickie slowly fading out over the course of 45+ seconds really funny, it's like the song is never coming to an end and the fade-out hammers that in, and then it just ends anyway. • Even reading along with the lyrics, Clever Trevor is a lot to wrap my head around • If I Was with a Woman is a very good song, but the dissonant ending had me laughing (much like those in the song) • Blockheads feels like a different side of Dury than the rest of the album. It's a much more straight forward rock song than some of the other tracks • The album kinda lost me towards the end, but then Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll brought me right back. In my mind, this is *the* Ian Dury song. I went into this album with no expectations, except that I would like the last song. I was very surprised to discover an album I wholeheartedly enjoyed from start to finish, and even more surprised to check the other reviews and find so many people who had the opposite experience. The whole album was so much fun to listen to, with off the wall, often funny lyrics that capture your attention immediately accompanied with some fantastic instrumentals. This might be the first album I've listened to thus far that I've added songs to my main playlist from. Side note: While reading the other reviews, somebody mentioned a tribute album released in 2001. Hearing artists like Paul McCartney, Sinead O'Connor and Shane MacGowan cover these songs sounds like a blast, so I'll absolutely listen to that in the future. Favourite song: Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll

I once again mainly listened to this album in the background. I don't think this album was for me, but I also don't outright think it was bad. There are some songs I really didn't like (see: Kissability) but there were definitely tracks that had a lot to enjoy. There are four more Sonic Youth albums on this list to get through, so hopefully there'll be something on those that grabs me more. Favourite song: Candle

My dad has been a huge Johnny Cash fan for as long as I've been alive, so I know quite a lot of his songs. However, looking at this album's tracklist the only names I recognise are Folsom Prison Blues (obviously), 25 Minutes to Go Jackson, though I'm sure I'll know some of the other songs when they start. • You'd be hard pressed to find a more iconic way to start a performance than "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash" • Cocaine Blues is another song I know really well. I love how much the inmates love this song, they're as much a part of the performance as Johnny himself. It's funny that you can hear a Johnny has a frog in his throat during the song, repeatedly trying to clear it during breaks in the vocals. • 25 Minutes to Go is such a poignant choice for the performance. I love how it ramps up in intensity throughout • The Long-Black Veil, Send a Picture of Mother and The Wall is a very nice run of songs. Each has such a melancholy topic, and the crowd mostly quiets down for them. Following these with Dirty Old Egg Suckin Dog provides such a nice bit of levity • Jackson is another all-time classic. June Carter and Johnny Cash sound so good together • The album closing with the warden speaking to resounding boos from the audience is hilarious. This is an absolutely phenomenal album, and it's really gotten me in the mood to listen to more Johnny Cash. It's such a unique live album for obvious reasons, and letting the album play until the inmates themselves are leaving, rather than Johnny Cash and his band, really highlights how large a part of the album they were. Performing songs about murder, drugs, penance and suicide to a group of people who know the topics better than anybody else is genius, and providing an evening of release to a crowd who never get to experience live music was a great move by Johnny Cash. Favourite song: Cocaine Blues

I have never heard of this band or album before, so I'm coming into this with absolutely zero expectations • Mansion feels like an instrumental a First of October song would have, with spooky lyrics laid over top • I wish the vocals were a bit clearer in the mix at times. Occasionally they get through fine but it feels like they're quieter than the guitar a lot of the time • A lot of these instrumentals are really repetitive. I don't know if any song has had more than one repeating riff so far • L.A. and Vixen are quite a bit better than the songs before them, but my favourite so far is still the instrumental opener. • Paintwork's instrumental is quite nice, I just wish it had a bit more to it • Cruiser's Creek was another song I didn't mind, and it was a good end to the album Overall, I don't think I outright disliked this album, but it's not my thing. It absolutely had its moments, and there were some really nice instrumentals and the vocals also suit the songs well. The more I listened to it the more I got into the vibe of the album. However, the vocal production and repetition throughout the album stopped me from truly enjoying it, and the length of some of the tracks didn't help at all. Favourite song: Mansion

This is my second time attempting this website, and the first time I did it this was the first album I got. Going into it, I already knew the big hits (Even Flow, Alive and Once in particular) so I had an idea of what to expect, but it ended up completely blowing my mind. In the two or three years since then, Pearl Jam have become one of my absolute favourite bands, so this is going to be a different type of review to all the rest so far, and it'll be much longer too. • Once is an awesome opening track. The beginning instrumental (which is reprised at the end of the album) sets a great mood before the guitar comes in and blows that all away. Eddie's vocals are some of the most powerful on the album, never dropping to a softer tone for the entire song • There's no much to say about Even Flow that hasn't been said. As much as I prefer other Pearl Jam songs, this is their most popular for a reason. I actually like the single version more for a few reasons, but the album version absolutely has its merits, the production and backing vocals during the chorus chief among them. • Alive is iconic, and the story of how the song's meaning was recontextualised for Eddie after seeing how people sang it at concerts is really nice. Taking a song about grief and lament and making it into an inspirational anthem is very special. • Alive is also where Jeff Ament's bass playing really starts to shine for me, his huge slides up and down the neck are so characteristic of the album, and I can't think of many popular rock albums that use a fretless so prominently like Ten does. It's also a big part of the first two songs, but it really starts to stand out here • Parts of Alive's solo are almost 1 to 1 with Ace Frehley's solo in She, from Kiss' Dressed to Kill. • Why Go is the first of the less popular songs on the album, sandwiched between two of the band's biggest hits, but it does not get lost in the mix. Ever since I first heard this album, this has been one of my favourites from it. It's so energetic from start to finish, with some great instrumental sections. The way it seamlessly transitions to Black never fails to capture all of my attention too. • Black is another extremely special song. I recently had the realisation that the lead guitar lines during the first verse are very reminiscient of Yellow Ledbetter. The way the song slowly builds, until finally reaching its emotional climax at the bridge always gives me goosebumps. The piano getting louder, Eddie pouring his heart out and Mike McCready's lead guitar doubling his melody before breaking off as Eddie screams "Why". No matter how many times I hear this song, I always get wrapped right up in its emotions • Jeremy is another deeply sad song, but in a very different direction. While Black reflects its emotions in its music, Jeremy's is squarely in its subject matter. The instrumental is always upbeat, with an awesome 12-string bass line that creates a really unique sound. But just like Black, the song reaches a hugely emotional climax after its second chorus. From that point on, the only words are the backing vocal's "Spoke in", while Eddie makes vocalisations. There may be nothing more cathartic to sing along than the part that starts at 3:58, and it doesn't contain a single word. • Oceans is also a good song, but it's my least favourite on the album. It's the shortest song on the album, and arguably the simplest. The first six songs of the album are a near-perfect stretch of music, and the final four are all really strong too, so Oceans doesn't get much room to make a name for itself. • Porch is an immediate return to what made the first half of the album so good. It's deceptively simple in its writing, but has everything that made this era of Pearl Jam amazing. The guitars are both firing on all cylinders, Eddie's vocals are energetic, the drums are powerful, and it's even better live. • Garden is another song not quite on the same level as the album's first half, but I do like it quite a lot. It's a very different vibe to the rest of the album's tracks • Deep is great, with some really deep subject matter, especially in its final verse. This song is absolutely carried by its blistering guitar lines • Release closes the album on a much slower note. This song has always reminded me a bit of Elderly Woman from Vs. This is a really incredible album, and it's not even my favourite by Pearl Jam. This era of the band feels like a treasure trove of fantastic music. After finishing the album, I played all of the non-album tracks from around this time, equalling a whole second album's worth of music. That songs like Yellow Ledbetter, Brother and Hold On were passed over for the album shows how strong the 11 songs they chose are. Not to mention songs like State of Love and Trust (my favourite from the band) and Breath that were written shortly after Ten. There are very few bands that had so many great songs so early in their career. Ten, and Pearl Jam as a whole, have a place in popular music history for a reason, and absolutely earned their place on the list. My only complaint would be that they didn't get a second album when Vs is right there. Favourite song: Black

Jazz is perfect background music for a lot of scenarios, but it's not something I put on to listen to. If this album was playing in a restaurant, or was the music accompanying a video game level, or even if I saw a live band playing some of its songs, I feel like I would appreciate it more. While jazz can sometimes all blend together, the songs on this album do typically stand out from one another. Favourite song: O Pato

• This album's sound is exactly what I imagine when I think of music from the 60's. • I liked Goin' Back a lot, the chorus sounds really different to how I expected it to go. • The middle section of Wasn't Born to Follow is very psychedelic, but it fits in with the rest of the song well. • Old John Robertson is pretty sad I liked this album, it was better than some of the other 60's albums I've listened to so far. It has that typical 60's production, but that helps to serve the songs in many instances. I also liked the psychedelic elements a lot more than I did during the Os Mutantes album. Favourite song: Goin' Back

• White Winter Hymnal is a really beautiful sounding song. I don't think I've ever heard the original version before, but the acoustic guitar and booming drums really elevate the vocals. • Ragged Wood is another nice sounding track • The vocal harmonies have been amazing throughout the album. Quiet Houses feels like the culmination of that • He Doesn't Know Why's chord progression feels familiar, but I'm not sure where from • Heard Them Stirring is a nice (mostly) instrumental While I got a bit tired of the album towards the end, it was a really nice listen. The vocals are the obvious highlight through the whole thing, but the gentle instrumentals are all very pleasant. This is only the second album I've gotten from the 2000's, but I think it'll stick out as one of the more unique ones of the era. Favourite song: White Winter Hymnal

• Rehab is a great opening track for this album. We studied this song in class as an example of how to write horn accompaniments, and it's easy to see why. This song is Amy Winehouse's sound in a nutshell, and it's a sound nobody else in modern music has really come close to replicating. • Back to Black is also iconic for very good reason. • Tears Dry On Their Own makes good use of the Ain't No Mountain backing track. It's uncommon for me to listen to a song sampling a very famous track and not feel like it's just a worse version of the original (see: Anxiety, I'm Good), but this song somehow avoids that. Amy Winehouse was one of the more unique voices of the 2000's, and her talent really couldn't be overstated. There's a reason her music still resonates with people today. There were a few songs that didn't quite grab my attention, but the songs that did were all great. The singles in particular were all fantastic, and her most popular songs definitely earned their popularity. Favourite song: Rehab

• I'm familiar with Booker T. & The MG's thanks to their work at Stax, but I've never really listened to their standalone releases. • I didn't think I was familair with Green Onions, but as soon as I hit play I recognised it. I don't know how many times I've heard it in movies, shows or even from my dad playing it around the house growing up. • Interesting to have a reprise of Green Onions so early on the album, but this version sounds good too • The rendition of Twist and Shout is a nice addition to the album. It's easily recognisable but it matches the sound of the rest of the tracks • I'm familiar with Mel Tormé's version of Comin' Home Baby, but it took hearing this version of it to realise the similarities it has to Cantaloupe Island (helped by Booker T's version being slowed and in the key of F) This album is a nice, easy listen and makes for great background music, but outside the title track it doesn't feel like an album you'd put on explicitly to listen to. The band sounds great throughout the album, but I feel they were better suited as an accompanying band for a vocalist, which is a niche they filled incredibly well. Even these recordings with a vocalist probably would've bumped up my ranking by a point or two. As is, it's a good album, but not an amazing one. Favourite song: Green Onions

I listened to this album in the background, and wasn't as focused on taking note of each individual song. For the first seven tracks, I thought this was a fine album. I liked a lot of the instrumentals and the vocals were good. But Small Hours really took me by surprise. It's a beautiful song, and it's mostly instrumental. I wouldn't listen to a whole album of it, but as a way to close a very stylistically different album, it works perfectly. Favourite song: Small Hours

I dug this album, it's the perfect type of music to pad out a rock playlist. I don't think anything was super amazing, but the vocals were good, I loved some of the instrumentals and the band sounded really good in general. I listened to the expanded version on Spotify and the extra songs after Let the Good Times Roll were some of my favourites. Wonderin'Y in particular was a really good song. I also listened to Slade's original version of Cum on Feel the Noize after the album, having never listened to it before, and I'm not sure but I might like it more than the Quiet Riot version. All in all, I'm really glad to have found Slade through this, I'll definitely be checking out more of their music. Favourite song: Mama Weer All Crazee Now

• This is such a different style to music than I typically listen to, but this opening track makes a surprisingly good first impression • The blues were really prominent in Honey, but Find My Baby ramps it up • I really like the chord progression in Porcelain • South Side is a really nice song, very different to the rest of the album so far • I definitely enjoy the songs with full lyrics over the ones built around one sampled line more. Run On is another cool song, it reminds me a bit of Cat Empire. • Everloving is a very good instrumental, I really like the synth that comes in around the 2:05 mark • Everloving -> Inside -> Guitar Flute & String was a great stretch of instrumental songs, all three were good I enjoyed this album a lot more than I expected. The samples were all used well, the instrumentals somehow avoided becoming repetitive and the original vocals for some of the tracks were great. The songs that had complete lyrics definitely connected with me more than the ones that primarily used sampled vocals, but those sampled songs were still really good Favourite song: South Side

• I jumped into this album immediately after finishing Play by Moby, and wow do these albums compliment each other well • Ground Level is a very catchy song, I like the hook a lot • Everything is great, I really like the percussion and the rap is very good • Step It Up is another standout song, but honestly all of the songs (maybe bar All Night Long) have been great so far. Everything's been really catchy and the backing instrumentals are all really high energy This album was really fun to listen to, I think the only songs I didn't particularly care for were All Night Long and Pressure. Everything else was consistently very good. Favourite song: Everything

I was under the impression that soundtracks weren't a part of this list, so seeing this surprised me. I'm only 28 albums into this challenge, but this will be my second album from outside the Anglosphere, so I'm looking forward to having a bit of variety. Unfortunately, this album didn't have much to offer for me. I enjoyed having a chance to listen to something different, but a lot of the songs blended together. I think the album suffered from being a soundtrack, and it reflects poorly on the list makers that this is the only album of this style of music out of the whole 1089, as opposed to a standalone album. Favourite song: One Two Cha Cha Cha?

An album I've heard so much about, but somehow never listened to. In fact, this will be the first Green Day album I've listened to in full. I already know the four singles, but all the other tracks are new to me. • Burnout is very much that typical Green Day sound • Having a Blast is too, but I think this song's chorus is really good • I like how Chump lead into Longview, it felt really natural • Longview has an iconic bass line, but I feel like the song doesn't have a ton going for it otherwise • Welcome to Paradise, on the other hand, is a great song. I especially love the backing vocals in the chorus • Pulling Teeth is a standout song so far, it's different to the band's usual style but I really like it • Basket Case is another iconic song and for good reason, but I've reached a point where I've heard it a bit too much now. However, it's still a great song, and I remember how much I liked it before I had heard it so much. • I like the backing vocals throughout She and and Sassafras Roots • When I Come Around is the last song I already know, and it's another I really like. It has a great bass line • All by Myself is super different to the rest of the album, with a different vocalist to boot This is a really solid album, coming from someone who isn't the biggest Green Day fan. They have a very distinct style, and it can get a bit repetitive when listening to an album in full, but they pull it off really well. The final stretch of the album, from Coming Clean onwards, didn't make as much of an impression on me as the first 10 tracks, but it is still a great, well-rounded album. Favourite song: Pulling Teeth

Not an album I was expecting, and definitely not one I was expecting to like, but here we are. I put this on for my train ride home from uni, thinking I would get a few songs out of the way. Instead, I listened to one track for the entire trip, with Autobahn finishing as I reached my car. That song takes you on a journey, and it was the perfect song to accompany me on my way home today. You can tell that Kraftwerk had a blast making the song, and their love for the Autobahn shines in it. I couldn't imagine listening to one of the cut down versions of this song, it feels like it's exactly what the band set out to make. The other songs on the album all have their merit too. The two Kometenmelodies feel like they have to be listened to together, so it almost seems like a shame that they're split into two tracks, but I also don't think this is an album most people would be shuffling into playlists. Mitternacht feels like the closest thing to an interlude the album has, and Morgenspaziergang captured the vibe of a nature walk impressively well. At multiple points, it reminded me of Pikmin series music. It has such a warm feeling, which is greatly enhanced by the flute. As an aside, while I was listening to this album I was sure I was hearing sounds produced in the 1980's, maybe even the 90's, so I was stunned when I found out it released in 1974. No other album I've heard from that year, or the surrounding years, even come close to sounding as modern as this. Kraftwerk were obviously pushing boundaries when they released this album, and it's very clear that they influenced the modern musical landscape in a big way. Favourite song: Autobahn

Another artist that doesn't need an introduction, but one who I have never delved into before. I know a handful of David Bowie songs, but none of them are on this album, so this will be completely new to me. Looking ahead, there are a whopping nine(!!) Bowie albums on this list, so I guess I'll become extremely familiar with his body of work as I progress through this. • Starting an album with an instrumental is always fun, and Speed of Life a good one. It's dripping with that Bowie sound • Breaking Glass is a different song, and a very short one at that • What in the World did not do it for me • Sound and Vision probably has my favourite vocals so far, his lower register parts sound great. I like the guitar and bass work too • Always Crashing in the Same Car is another one I can absolutely get behind, it weirdly reminds me of Ian Dury in places (and, funnily enough, this album released the same year as New Boots and Panties) • The piano in Be My Wife is absolutely slamming, those bass chords are so prominent in the mix. I really like the main riff too, and the disco beat in the chorus is a cool change of pace • A New Career in a New Town is also a really good instrumental. I like the beat a lot • Warszawa onwards feels like a totally different album. While the first half feels like a David Bowie album (albeit a pretty distinct one), from this point on the album feels like a different artist took the reigns • While the instrumental half of the album does have its moments, it didn't resonate with me the same way as the first half Favourite song: Speed of Life

Another band that I have never heard of before, so I have zero expectations going into this • Everybody's Stalking was a fun track • Fall in a River, Camping Next to Water and Stone on the Water create an interesting experience to listen to • Around the Block and This Song are both nice songs, and Bewilderbeast, the instrumental following them, is also very good • After a streak of songs that didn't really have much going for them, Disillusion is another fun one Unfortunately, this album as a whole didn't work for me. There were some standout moments, such as Disillusion and Everybody's Stalking, but between those standout songs the album drags quite a bit. There's probably a really good 40ish minute album hidden in these tracks, but as it is it feels overly long, and even the best songs on it can overstay their welcome. One thing I did really enjoy throughout the album was the clean transitions between tracks. There were multiple times where I didn't realise the next song had begun because the previous one had seamlessly transitioned to the next. Overall, I don't think this album was outright bad, but I don't think it was particularly great either, and I definitely think there are albums more deserving of being a must-hear in your lifetime. Favourite song: Everybody's Stalking

For this album, rather than writing individual comments about every song, I opted to just listen to it and form an opinion on the album as a cohesive whole. Despite how influential Pet Sounds is, I've never listened to anything from it other than Wouldn't It Be Nice. Every song on the album is recognisably Beach Boys, but the huge variety of instruments on display throughout the album keep everything sounding fresh, and even help songs flow into one another, like the bass harmonica in I Know There's an Answer being followed up with a trombone in Here Today. The instruments get really esoteric, with songs prominently featuring a range of percussion and melodic instruments, including strings, horns, vibraphones and timpani, and even an electro-theremin (also used on Good Vibrations). It all adds up to create an entirely unique sound I feel like it's hard to properly appreciate the album in today's context, with the album turning 60 in three months' time. We're so far removed from the time of its release that it's hard to grasp how much of popular music has been shaped by this album. It also feels like an album that would take repeat listens to properly appreciate, so I may come back to it at some point in the future and see how my thoughts on the album have shifted. Favourite song: Wouldn't It Be Nice

Coming into this album, I know a handful of Alice Cooper songs already, including this album's No More Mr. Nice Guy, and I like each of those songs a lot, so I'm looking forward to listening to some more. • Hello Hooray kicks the album off with a bit of a different sound to what I expected, with a heavy piano focus, and it almost feels reminiscient of the Rocky Horror soundtrack. • I can't help but notice the similarity between Elected and I Wanna Be Sedated • I like that Billion Dollar Babies is a duet, the second vocalist adds a lot to the song and makes it stand out. I also really like the bass in this song, especially the glissando that happens a couple of times • Unfinished Sweet is very trippy. I love how the music ties into the lyrics here, it gets really weird when he's under anesthetics and comes back as the drugs wear off. • I've realised that I only really know the chorus of No More Mr. Nice Guy, the verses aren't familiar to me at all. It's a very good song though. • The acoustic guitar and harmonica on Generation Landslide is such a different sound to the rest of the album, and I'm happy to hear something a little different. • Sick Things has another really distinct sound, and it leads very smoothly into the equally unique Mary Ann • I Love The Dead is really eclectic, and the way it starts to fall into pandemonium before landing back on its slower chorus works well. The completely different outro is a bit jarring, and the sudden stop makes for a memorable end to the album A really enjoyable album. I don't think this album has my favourite Alice Cooper song on it, as none of the tracks clicked with me the way Poison or Schools Out do, but it's a very consistent album with a lot of solid songs on it. Favourite song: No More Mr. Nice Guy

I don't think I like noise rock. There are some decents riffs throughout this album, and in a different genre I think they'd make for some great songs, but as it is, nothing about this really worked for me. It was hard to decide whether I would give this one star or two, but I realised that this is one of the only albums where I checked how long was left, multiple times. There have only been a handful of albums that have had that effect on me so far, so I feel like I have to give this one star. I'm hard pressed to pick a favourite track from the album, so I guess I'll go with Assassins, because for a moment at the start it felt like I was listening to a regular song. Favourite track: Assassins

This is the third jazz album I've gotten so far. I gave both of the previous albums 3/5 stars, so I was expecting something similar here, but unfortunately I absolutely hated listening to this album. Musically, it's fine and would make for fitting background music at a bar. Plus, the musicians playing on this album are clearly all very talented, as improvisational music like this requires a great deal of skill. But I did not enjoy listening to it. I think there are some great jazz recordings out there, but this kind of jazz, specifically the piano-bass-drum trio that this album showcases, is really not for me. I don't feel like I heard anything new from this recording that I haven't heard a thousand times before. Every track has an extended bass solo, and very rarely do they contain something worth listening to. A lot of upright bass solos end up sounding more like random glissandos and random discordant notes, and this album is no exception. At the very least, the drum solos usually give you something more interesting to listen to, as they're typically the only time a track will break away from the groove it's stuck to for the last six minutes, but even they tend to go on a while longer than they should. This is the first album on the list I considered not finishing, and I only pushed through because I realised the last four tracks on Spotify were all repeats, so I only had one left to listen to. Listening to any more of this sounds unbearable. Favourite song: Jade Visions, I guess? It reminds me a bit of Kitchenware and Candybars by Stone Temple Pilots

Another album that feels like something I should've listened to by now, but somehow haven't. The only song I recognise before listening is Kashmir. • The first couple of songs have been extremely good, especially Custard Pie. • In My Time of Dying did not feel like it lasted 11 minutes • I really like the main riff in Houses of the Holy • Trampled Under Foot sounds nothing like any other Led Zeppelin song I've heard, the clavinet gives it a really unique tone. • There aren't a lot of songs as instantly iconic as Kashmir. Its main riff is so catchy, and it draws you in with how odd it sounds. When I was learning about hemiolas, this was always one of the first songs people mentioned. The instrumental break is also iconic, and I love how the riff continues underneath, and hasn't restarted yet by the time the melody ends. The instrumentation of the song is also great, featuring strings and horns which really elevate the track and make it feel like even more of a spectacle. • In the Light kicks off the second half of the album and makes it clear that the changeover has happened, with it taking almost three minutes for the majority of the instruments to kick in. • Bron-Yr-Aur is a really nice acoustic instrumental, and the only song on the album under three minutes long. I think it was a good choice to put a song like this after two very lengthy songs. • Down by the Seaside is another nice, lowkey song. The chorus reminds me of the Beach Boys. Then, the second chorus ends and the song shifts gears into a more upbeat rhythm. The drums are easily the star of this section. • During Ten Years Gone, I noticed that I was starting to pay less attention to the music, and letting it fall into the background a bit more. This isn't too surprising seeing as we're now over an hour into the album, and double albums can absolutely feel like they go for an eternity on a first listen. There are only five more songs left, though, and each of them are under five minutes long. • The Wanton Song comes out the gate with an awesome riff and drum beat. Some really interesting chords going on during the instrumental break too • Boogie With Stu is a nice little track I've always known Led Zeppelin are a good band, and I've always liked the songs I've known, but this album is very good. I'll probably need to listen to it again at some point to let some of the tracks grow on me a bit more, but nothing on this album stood out to me as bad at all. For my first full Led Zeppelin album, this left a very good impression, and I'm extremely keen to listen to the other four. Favourite song: Kashmir

Before listening, I was vaguely familiar with James Taylor, but only really knew one or two songs. While it doesn't do anything extraordinary, this album is a nice listen. James Taylor's voice is consistently pleasing to listen to, and the (mostly) stripped back instrumentation throughout the album makes the album very calming. While this isn't my usual pick for music, I can see it being a great choice to put on as quiet music to wind down at the end of the day. There were a few songs that stood out to me throughout the album, namely Steamroller, Country Road, Oh Susannah and the final track, Suite for 20 G. While the other songs were all good, these ones were definitely the highlights for me. Favourite song: Suite for 20 G

I had written a very long, in-depth review of my thoughts about this album and each individual track, and upon submitting my score, it disappeared. The cliff notes version is basically; I am not a big fan of jazz. I've listened to three jazz albums thus far, and didn't rate any of them particularly highly. However, this album was completely different. Each song had something interesting going on, typically the time signature, but it was never gimmicky or used as a crutch. I'm going to try remember my thoughts of each song and roughly what I wrote for each. • The time signatures are the first thing to come to mind when you think about this album: the main melody of Blue Rondo à la Turk is in 9/8, while the solos are in 4/4. The 9/8 rhythm then breaks back into the song, almost feeling like it's interrupting the solos with how sudden it is. I really liked the walking bass line throughout the solo section. I don't typically enjoy walking lines, but this one feels like a masterclass example of one. As an aside, I didn't know the name of this song before listening to the album, and thought Take Five would be the only song I would recognise. As soon as this first track began, I was instantly hit by how many times I've heard it before. • Strange Meadow Lark is a nice reprieve from the odd time signatures, and the extended piano intro creates a nice atmosphere. • Take Five is truly iconic, and it deserves its place as one of the most successful jazz songs to exist. However, its success is a bit surprising considering how atypical the song is. The entire track is in 5/4, and it contains a long drum solo in the middle. That the song can be so strange and still be so popular is a testament to how well written and played it is. • Three to Get Ready is possibly my favourite track on the album. Its time signature is the most interesting to me, alternating between two bars of 3/4 and two bars of 4/4, giving the album a unique sense of momentum. The 3/4 bars feel as if they're gracefully floating along, while the 4/4 bars are pushing forward. The bass exemplifies this well, only playing one note for each 3/4 bar and switching to a walking line for the 4/4 bars. • Kathy's Waltz is a much more typical song, though it is interesting that a song named for being a Waltz doesn't switch to 3/4 until 90 seconds have passed • Everybody's Jumpin' and Pick Up Sticks are the two most straightforward tracks on the album, but even then neither of them are in 4/4. This album is easily the best jazz album I've heard so far on this journey. Every song feels like it has a reason to be included, and the musicians are at the top of their game. Unlike the other albums I've heard so far, it doesn't feel like there's any filler on this album. Songs don't outstay their welcome, and the album is less than 40 minutes long. This album is absolutely deserving of the accolades it has received. Favourite song: Three to Get Ready

I listened to this on the train home and without taking notes since my phone was close to dying, but found this album decent if not super noteworthy. This is the first of Neil Young's albums that I've listened to, and I hope it's not his best because I don't see why he has albums on the list otherwise. While I didn't find the majority of the album very interesting, there were three songs that stood out to me: • Southern Man: The song that sounds most complete to me, with interesting, layered instrumentation and compelling lyrics. • Till the Morning Comes: Pretty different to the rest of the album, and a nice chilled out song • When You Dance You Can Really Love: This song's riff reminds me of Cinnamon Girl, which was the only Neil Young song I previously knew Favourite song: Southern Man

Before I start reviewing this album, let me rant about how hard it was to find. Only the first two tracks are available on Spotify. Half the album is on YouTube with the other half either only being available through live versions and covers or not available at all. I eventually found the full album and was able to listen to the studio versions of each song, but what a struggle it was to find it. • Believe kicks the album off with a bang. I love the combination of Spanish and English lyrics, and the rap was a very pleasant surprise. • I like the guest vocalist on Who's to Blame, he's a great rapper and the lyrical content is very good • I love the Ozomatli chant during Déjame en paz, it made me smile so wide. You can feel how much fun they're having during the recording process • Ya viene el sol is so different to the rest of the album. The recurring sample of the intro voiceover and the disc scratches give it a unique vibe, it feels even more hip hop than the rest of this very hip hop coded album There doesn't feel like much point in writing notes for each track since my thoughts tend to boil down to the same thing for each: they're great! This is such a fun album to listen to, every song sounds like they had a blast during its production. This has to be one of the most energetic and frenetic albums I've ever listened to, it's like listening to a party. It's absolutely criminal that this album is so difficult to find, and the fact that it is made me go into the album with fairly low expectations, as if it was hidden for a reason, but I'm so glad that's not the case. It's hard to pick a favourite song, I feel like you could make a case for multiple of the tracks, so my choice is a bit more arbitrary than normal. Favourite song: Saturday Night

Before putting this album on, I was familiar with some of Nick Cave's work, mainly from Murder Ballads (which I'm very excited to get to as part of this list) as well as Red Right Hand and Shivers (by his other band, The Birthday Party). I really like all of these songs, but I know Ghosteen is a very different album to any of those earlier works. I started listening to this album on the train, with fairly poor quality earbuds, and turned it off after three tracks because I realised I wouldn't be able to properly appreciate it unless I had proper headphones on. I'm now starting my proper listen. • Spinning Song is very aptly named, the song makes you feel like you're spiraling, as if in a daze. It's surreal to hear Nick Cave sing in a falsetto, it's such a stark difference to his usual style. • The instrumentals of these first few tracks all feel so heavy with emotion. The repetition of Bright Horses is as if you're remembering a better time, but keep getting brought back to the present, and Waiting For You's chorus feels like it should be cathartic, but just isn't. • The lack of drums and percussion throughout the album really works. Every song feels like it's floating, untethered to anything. The sparse percussion that does come through, such as in Leviathan, actually helps to elevate this floating feeling. • I was not expecting Ghosteen to sound the way it does. After almost five minutes of sparse instrumentation like the previous eight tracks, it suddenly explodes into an almost triumphant sounding chorus, and traditional drums finally make their appearance. Six tracks later, Ghosteen reaches the catharsis Waiting For You was aiming for. This is not an album I'll be rushing back to. However, it is a piece of art. This album feels more like an emotional experience when you listen to it, than it does a collection of songs. It's so vividly different to any other album I've listened to that I find it hard to even judge as an album. I will listen to this album again in the future, likely after experiencing some grief and I find myself needing some way to let those emotions out. I can't speak to how this album feels in that headspace, but in my current one I can still see how special this album is. I'm not giving it a full five stars because of my current experience with it, but I can easily imagine the reasons others may do so. Favourite song: Ghosteen

• Tom Sawyer is a great song. Its intro is so iconic, the synth layered over the drums creates such a huge sound • YYZ is awesome, the main riff is so cool and so modern sounding. The bass line throughout the majority of the song is crazy too, it's more impressive to me than the lead guitar is • I initially thought The Camera Eye was going to be an instrumental with how long its intro is. I really like the groove during the verses, and it has another really great bass line • Witch Hunt feels a lot like Black Sabbath I really enjoyed this album, it has some very interesting song writing on display. The use of varying time signatures never gets tiring, and the riffs don't sound like they were just trying to write in an odd meter. The production still sounds fantastic to this day, I love how prominent the bass is in the mix even when multiple other instruments are layered in on top of it. Tom Sawyer is obviously the band's most well-known song, and it definitely acts as a good introduction to their sound, but a lot of the other songs on this album are even better in my opinion. Favourite song: YYZ