1001 Albums Summary

This is such an eclectic album and Queen know exactly what they're doing. Every song feels upbeat and anthemic in its own right - a really enjoyable listen.

I really do love this album, it's just not perfect and I feel like that's my criteria for a 5. It's a classic and I'll probably always come back to this one 🕺🕺

Having never heard of Yes before I wasn't really sure what to expect and it took me a while to get into. However, that being said, I did start to enjoy it and will probably go back to listen again now that I know what it's like. I think that the assembly of all of the songs is very clever - each of the instrumental elements complementing each other in a very euphonious way which I would say highlights not only the high level of skill but the precision and attention put into the conception of this album. But, I do have a personal aversion to long songs and this album is full of them, I feel like it gets to a point where each (10 minute) song has turned into a journey in itself which is something I'm looking for more across the entirety of an album and not in a continuous piece of music.

Maybe would have liked this more if I listened to it at Christmas... also I don't want any gifts from Phil thanks

This album feels both timeless and yet also ageing white man music.

So glad that this is over - really had to push through. To begin with, the first track was lowkey concerning but then the moaning stopped and I thought we might be looking at a improvement (or an anomaly) however when I got to 'visit to the gynecologist' i realised that whoever wrote is actually sick in the head and does not deserve to be on this list - pointless muisc -agressivley vulgar and sexual verging on glorified assault - promoting a gross sexualisation and objectification of women.

I was surprised by how much I liked this one - to such an extent that I've listened to it everday since and saved the album! I think I enjoyed it so much because it was very easy to get into and all the components seem to flow together very naturally.

I made myself listen to the full extended version of this album and those 2 hours really did drag by. It's not horrible, but I feel like the vocalist just sort of whines and mumbles his way through each song along with the wooziness of the keyboard so that the album ends up culminating into a rambling and unstructured tangle of noise

I have a lot and nothing to say about this one. There were songs that I liked and songs that were truly awful - 'The Individual' being one of them. Many of the tracks felt like a wannabe movie fight/police chase scene just lacking dimension and direction with too many elements chucked in together so that none can be appreciated individually. However, there were some parts that I found listenable like 'Cool Waves' where I think that the instruments can be properly differentiated and are utilised effectively. Doubt I will ever come back to this.

Controversial opinion....? I kind of really liked this, the combination of his slightly rough voice and punk rock that's not too gratingly punky created something that though definitely not a piece of art is for me definitely worth listening too.

There's no denying that this is an exceptional album - every song is perfectly tied together and plays a vital role to the overall identity. I think the continuity (cohesive narrative and motifs throughout) is what makes this so stand out in terms of craftsmanship and ambition - few others can create such a smooth integration and fusion of different musical styles into a single album. I admire Pink Floyd's skill in every way but that doesn't mean it has to be my favorite type of music and whilst I do enjoy occasional listens there are other albums I prefer.

I though it was good but it just wasn't special. I feel like it blends into every other rock album in a kind of unmemorable way with no stand out hits, however, I did listen again to see whether it was one of those albums that needs some repetition to make an impact, but having done that I still feel exactly the same way. Slightly disappointed as this is the kind of music I normally really enjoy and this one came up short.

I enjoyed this but personally, I feel like the appeal of listening to Jazz is the atmosphere you get to experience when listening to it live and I can't get that same satisfaction from a recording. That's not to say that this wasn't a great album, I think it just can't be appreciated to its full extent.

On the first listen I really couldn't get into it apart from maybe the first song but I tried again and can say I did enjoy it more but just don't think it's really for me. None of the other songs particularly stood out and I feel slightly thrown by the reggae which feels kind of misplaced verging on appropriation? But it's okay if you don't agree with me!

It's nice... If you like country... But I don't so this one kind of missed the mark. I can appreciate that it's pleasant enough to listen to and inoffensive by any means but I felt entirely impartial while listening to it (twice). Of all the music in the world this is not something that I want to squander my time away with.

I loved the instrumental parts of this album - they felt both delicate and ethereal, however, I have some difficulty getting on with Nick Drake's voice. It's soft and slightly breathy quality wasn't impactful enough for me as I feel like neither the vocals nor instrumentals fully led the journey of each song and I ended up feeling slightly lost in terms of compositional direction. With that said, I liked this so much more than my first impression (there's something about this album cover that really throws me off) and would consider relistening in emotionally-specific circumstances. If there were half stars I'd give it a solid 3.5.

Before listening to this I only knew some of the most popular songs but now I wish I'd listened to more sooner! This album has such great variety and definitely some catchy hits!

This one was too punky for me - the sound has a raw and slightly jarring quality and this dissonance made my listening experience only just about tolerable. The album also felt repetitive but I feel like this might be related to the slightly irking voice that has literally no variation in tone throughout the 14 tracks.

Sadly I was unenthused by this album - it's not bad - I just didn't enjoy it. Maybe I'm just not U2's target demographic or maybe I don't like their alternative side of rock but this just felt plainly uninteresting to me.

I really wanted to like this but I thought it was just OK. Personally, I don't really know a lot about guitar so maybe this makes me unable to truly appreciate this album but I just didn't find any song to be standout and now thinking back I can't remember any particular song from the last hour and a bit of continual noise.

I have few exceptions to my rule that music should have vocals, namely the classical greats and Joe Satriani on guitar 🎸🎸🎸, and I don't think this quite made the cut. Don't get me wrong this is some coooolll stuff, I think the best way I can describe some of it is (I have this strange feeling) that this is what the rainforest would sound like if every species made the sound of an instrument and not squawk, hiss, roar etc. The songs were very much organically harmonious and just feel clean and bright to me but at the end of the day I really need some groovy lyrics in accompaniment.

Objectively is this good music, maybe not but it makes me happy and if you know me well, you know I'm partial to a bit of Britney 😏. However, I do have something disappointing to say. I feel like most people can agree that Britney's popular songs are popular for a reason - they're great and we love them, I mean who won't sing along to Toxic?!?!! Maybe if you suffer from toxic masculinity. Anyway, the issue is that the well-known ones are amazing and the not so well-known... well that's kind of for a reason and it pains me to admit that it's true, they are repetitively trashy. So today, when faced with an entire Britney album, I was pretty excited (as you may imagine) but it turned out maybe I was better sticking to the songs I know and love 🥲. That being said, girl is an ICON and I still love her. 💘

I think someone's trying to desensitise me to long songs and it might actually be working because I really enjoyed this and for once was completely unphased by a 12 minute song. Reading up on the backstory to this album, I was a bit disappointed to not be able to pick up on the 'horrifying adventures' through the 'subconscious dream world' in the lyrics but I feel like the 'adventureness' can definitely be felt through the way tension is built up and down instrumentally and almost cinematically.

I found this quite honestly abysmal and had to hold myself together when I realised this only one of five, yes five, Nick Cave albums on the list. I dislike his gravelly mournful voice and his woebegone attitude and whoever the Bad Seeds are because they add nothing to this. Personally find this more like a nightmare than a dream.

I originally thought that Coldplay was a universally (and uncontriversialy) loved band but having read some of the other reviews, it appears that they do also have some haters. I however cannot get behind any of the criticism - I feel like this album is timelessly emotionally resonant, swimming in the happy medium between reminiscence and melancholy. I can't foresee a time when this album isn't widely influential and loved which is rightly so.

Unfortunately couldn't think of anything insightful to say about this one - I think I feel so indifferent that my brain can't be bothered to waste any more time thinking about it. Sometimes I don't need to justify myself.

Not sure why I felt so skeptical going into this because I ended up quite liking it. As the album went on I feel like the songs maybe became less stand out but overall they create a very soothing and relaxing tone.

Slightly dull at time but generally pleasant and inoffensive.

Not anything particularly interesting but still quite enjoyed listening to it. I don't know much of the other Bee Gees stuff so can't make the critical comparisons that a lot of other people seem to be doing but as a standalone album I liked it.

Didn't love this one, just a bit too folksy and substanceless for me. I don't think it helped that it took me the whole day to get through the album because I kept having to stop as the entire thing was plainly dull and unenjoyable.

Honestly thought we were headed for a 5 star album after that first song but those hopes were immediately cut short as the rest of the songs unfurled. I understand there are certain conventions to this type of music but I do kind of feel like some parts were akin to exciteable primary school child on the electronic keyboard sound effects function. Also, some of the adjacent songs appear to be a literal continuation of each other - same lyrics/beat/everything just under a new name...why? Some of its kind of a vibe though.

I liked this one despite it being very different to the other Rolling Stones songs I'd heard before, that being said I find it surprisingly unmemorable. I've now listened to the album three times over the last week and still struggle to pick out particular songs I liked or what the majority of the music sounded like.

Easy listening - probably more enjoyable as background music than solely for entertainment as its not the most engaging or interesting in terms of variety. There's definitely a time and mood for this.

For some reason I've been putting this one off for ages, possibly to do with the weird album cover and equally weird band name. I guess I ended up liking it more than I thought I would but definitely thought that the first half of the album was better than the second half. Part of me thinks that these women were a bit too focused on trying to fight for the female punk band thing and not the actual songs they were producing.

I don't really know what I was expecting, not being an avid Bowie listener and all, but from his reputation it wasn't this. I like the eerie and slightly haunting vibe but I wouldn't call this any kind of masterpiece. The electronic soundscape wasn't for me - I seemed to be conjuring up images of metallic robots and futuristic machinery when listening to this, too cold and disjointed.

I've decided to give this one the benefit of the doubt with a 2 but might change my mind later on... The songs themselves were pleasantly mellow and easy-going, I just had issue with that ol' country twang that still seemed to creep into this comparatively modern album. I'm also of the opinion that some of these lyrics are somewhat brainless and nonsensical in an irritating kind of way - especially in the first song 'slow burn' which I definitely liked the least. Like what is this first verse!!!! Texas is hot, I can be cold Grandma cried when I pierced my nose Good in a glass, good on green Other than that, I enjoyed parts of it but probably not a relisten from me.

I like to think I'm openminded but this was truly ghastly. Some of this I would even struggle to classify as music.

Honestly far too much crooning and unnecessary comparison of his lover to different animals. The whole album just felt a bit forced - trying to imitate better musicians in an overly affected way. Maybe I didn't like this because I can't relate and don't feel like he apparently does about anybody.

Bit folksy for me - would probably be great if you like that kind of thing but otherwise chill album.

I actually enjoyed this more than I expected, maybe because I feel that some songs were slightly reminiscent of Bon Jovi (who I love). Sure, the album wasn't extraordinary but it was solid and I had a good time listening to it.

It's great that there's some diversity within the list as it has felt very, dare I say, white and western at times, however I find it hard to connect with lyrics of another language. It's both the fact that I have absolutely no clue what's being sung about and also find it hard to find the songs memorable when the words mean nothing to me and can't stick in my head.

To me, this is an undeniably exceptional album, the production is masterful and innovative and I would 100% come back to it. I surprisingly only knew 2 of the songs before and while I'd still say they're my favourites (Power and Runaway) I don't think there were any letdowns or dull moments throughout.

I've always liked Talking Heads but I've never loved them and this holds true for this album.

I had no idea that Gorillaz was linked to Blur through Damon Albarn and I think that just makes me like this album even more. There's something about the idea of a virtual band that I find really engaging and I'm now tempted to go listen to more of their albums as I am currently only familiar with the songs Feel Good Inc and Clint Eastwood. Thought the vibes were on point and really enjoyed this one!

Not sure how to describe what I just listened to but I would say it has potential. Unfortunately the nicer parts seemed to get lost in the crazy cacophony of random noises and languages but I feel like I can see where this was going.

I know I like to say I hate this man but I don't actually mean it, I think he was just really depressed and he makes sad, mournful music that isn't quite to my taste. There were, however, some gems in this album including 'Way to Blue' which shockingly I did enjoy and so I will **tentatively** give this a 3.

heyyy this wasn't as bad as everyone kept making it out to be. I thought the lyrics were kind of quirky and the whole vibe of the album was just comical, I think maybe a 3 is a bit generous so will round down to a 2.

This was a nice smooth listen but nothing sensational. That being said I feel like this is an album that will grow on me with more listens and then I will appreciate it more.

Elvis is iconic but I don't like his music and that's okay.

Going into this I felt both daunted by the length of the album and also like there was a lot of pressure for this to be good (due to a certain someone's appraisal for George Harrison). I thought there was going to be an inevitable let down but I was wrong because I loved this, much to my own surprise. Because there were so many songs, I am still to pick out which of them were my favourites but overall there wasn't an uninteresting moment from start to end - I will definitely be revisiting this one.

I am fully aware this is appropriated music without due credit to many of the artists, but I did really enjoy this (not so much the constant talking) which I wasn't expecting at all. The album itself is incredibly creative and upbeat and I particularly liked hearing Buffalo Gals because of how it inspired Eminem's Without Me.

So I hate the album cover but I don't mind the music. I feel like in an alternate universe I'd live in North Carolina and my dad would play this in the car because at the end of the day that's kind of the person who'd listen to this. There were a few hits in the first disc that I really liked but it did unfortunately drop off in the second disc. Basically just not as bad as I was expecting.

Feel like Bonnie would like what The Smiths are advocating for here but honestly the weird animal noises just made me feel uncomfortable and most of the songs I felt fairly indifferent towards.

No. The lyrics suck and so does the bizarre theatrical style.

Quite a short, fun, punchy album that definitely has a mix of some really great songs and some that maybe needed a bit more work but overall I really enjoyed this and would come back again.

Why are the songs so short!!! It feels like I only get to hear a taster of each one and then its over already. For my first Beatles experience this wasn't too bad though, I'm excited to listen to their other albums when they come up.

This is some old cheesy easy stuff and his voice was great but I think I was just expecting a bit more. chill.

Not really a noteworthy album - still yet to find some Bowie that I do like and so I am disappointed ... again. I'd probably give this a 2.5 but rounding down because I wouldn't relisten to any of these songs.

For some reason I went into this thinking that I'd really like it but it didn't take me long at all to realise I was mistaken. Every lyric was just sex sex sex and *** *** *** in a very unenjoyable way - the whole album is just drugs, violence and insults through sexism and homophobia. I get that this is an 'important' album and the lyrics are rooted in 'gang-culture' but its not really what I want to hear.

I used to really like Van Halen but I feel like they don't quite hit the same anymore. This album sadly fell a bit flat and whilst I do love some of the songs I just don't think I can warrant giving it a 4.

The name of this album felt a little misleading but maybe that's because we've been forced to listen to a fair few albums of that nature recently. Although I liked this more than I expected I don't think I'll ever come back to it which makes me err between a 2 and 3 but I feel like being generous today.

Chill album with some really nice parts.

I love this album so much that it feels like its part of me but maybe that's because AC/DC are peak nostalgia and the background music to childhood car drives with my dad. If only I could listen to this for the first time again but also hearing these songs now is exciting in itself. Sure, Brians voice isn't quite Bon Scotts but these songs truly are just bangers through and through - catchy lyrics, heavy bass and energising. To me this a masterpiece of an album but I can understand why one may not enjoy this slightly unnuanced shouting.

I wanted to like this more than I actually did because ... it's a female rockband and that sounds exciting. But this ended up being wayyy too punky for me and I'm just not into that, I read one review that really captured this - something along the lines of 'it felt like my girlfriend was screaming at me for 35 minutes straight'. Couldn't agree more except change girlfriend out for just 'a girl' although that doesn't really have the same impact. Anyway, that's not to say that there weren't parts to this that I did actually like, it's more that I'm unlikely to return to the Sleater-Kinney universe.

Tell me why I saw the album cover and unconsciously decided this was going to be some screaming emo music and was then very much surprised when electronic music started playing. I ended up actually really liking this despite having zero clue about 'French House' (this also means I can't give any insight into what I actually liked about this, it just sounded nice). I'd say there's definitely a time and mood for this but ngl I kind of loved it.

Felt like a weird crossover between Mary Poppins and Blur's Parklife but not necessarily a bad thing.

I really wanted to hate this for kind of no reason but I won't lie even though I want to, I liked it, quite a lot actually. I was also shocked when Our House came on because I know and listen to that song and for some reason hadn't clocked it was theeeeese people. Anyway, point is there were a load of good songs here and I enjoyed listening to them.

This was just so dull. His voice was irritating, the songs were uninspiring and everything about it was just ugh.

There's something that's not only calming but soothing about this album in a way that I wouldn't normally associate with electronic music. However, I would say that there's a slightly disjointed feeling between the songs like they don't all quite fit together but well exceeded my initial expectations of 'boringness'.

I see this as good background music and by this I mean that it's kind of boring and wouldn't spend time on this alone but pleasant either way.

This did end up growing on me more and more and for that reason I'll probably listen to this again. Was maybe a bit hippyish but very palatable and uncontentious.

I'm not entirely sure what I think of this... I know I hated the first song but the rest of it was okay. Sort of made me feel like a basic, attention seeking white girl who's feeling sorry for herself. Didn't really pay much attention to the lyrics but other people seem to praise them. Also hadn't realised how popular this woman is.

Torn between a 3 and 4 because there were parts I loved and parts that fell kind of flat - you can't repeat the same 5 words for 6 minutes and call that a decent song. Other than that, I can see why this album was so popular at the time.

Not my fave... the first half lowkey gave me a headache and the second half wasn't much of a redemption. All just felt a bit dark and depressing, sometimes I need a few moments of reprieve.

If the instruments are going to be this unentertaining, I think we need some more words. Wasn't a fan of the random noises: a fly buzzing in my ear with some wind for 3 minutes and just random boings and yoinks.

Obviously Come On Eileen is a classic, but having once watched a TV show where a man in a hazmat suit stabbed a women to death to this song, it's never been quite the same for me. Apart from that, this was a great album with some fun songs.

I guess the music was fine but it was more of a holiday that was good whilst it lasted and not a destination to revisit.

I kind of love these songs, they're all just a bit whimsical with a random selection of instruments that some how just blend in wonderfully together. This is definitely music that transcends time in in terms of both enjoyment and appreciation.

Only song that I knew before was Epic which I feel like everyone knows and for good reason because it was the best one of the lot but overall a solid album that I would consider giving a 4 with another listen.

There's nothing really inherently wrong with this album I just found myself checking every 3 minutes to see how many songs were left until I was done and how long of the current song was left until I could move on. At times, the album felt just random - many of the songs had no correlation, more of a strange mix of styles and genres with an accordion that led to tambourine that led to the cymbals that led to the bongo, I mean just RANDOM. a bit uninspiring.

myeh

I much preferred the songs nearer to the end of this album - they felt more tuneful and melodic than the earlier jarring snippets of voice. The whole album just felt marmitey, I either really liked the song or it just didn't land at all which is why I'd say this evens out to a 3 for me.

Am I imagining things or did I hear a little Michael Jackson 'oow' multiple times throughout this album. Also think I just lost interest half way through because of how long this was. Anyways, it was a solid album but perhaps a touch too folky for me.

First half of this album slapped but the B-Boy Bouillabaisse stuff not so much which is a shame because I really like the Beastie Boys. Took it upon myself to do a bit of looking into this and apparently Bouillabaisse refers to 'a humble fisherman's stew made from bony rockfish they couldn't sell' and so I guess these songs were merely a jumble of ideas they couldn't quite put together into their own album and so were dumped on the end of this one - disappointing.

Okay, so after the horror of listening to one of The Smiths' albums, I wasn't really expecting the guy alone to sound like this which is a way to say that the listening experience is more... bearable? But I really don't like his voice and his lyrics just make him sound needy so all in all this is just easier to dissociate from that his previous band stuff.

Picture a massive bonfire smoking in the middle of a dark field with the entirety of my viking community drinking ale from horns and telling stories. Oh yes, but I forgot to mention that Pentangle are there playing on their lyres and bone flutes while some of the women dance to the songs about ships and kings. Wow, I just didn't know recording equipment was available in 800 AD. Finally, was Sally some kind of celebrity viking back then because 'Sally go round the roses' featured 3 whole times, I guess she was a popular woman.

I apologise for hating on salsa because this was pretty fun 🕺💃

Surprisingly palatable but not really for me

This is the kind of music that makes me yearn to be a grungy 90s teenager.

Unfortunately this is pretty forgettable but if I remember right I think I enjoyed it.

There are times when I wish I had a more diverse music taste but I just didn't really enjoy this... I hate to say it but these 10 minute + songs felt somewhat tedious and there are just so many other things I would prefer to be listening to. By no means bad just not my thing.

The only song I really loved was It Was A Good Day and I think that's the general consensus given that this one song has more streams than all the other songs on the album combined. Not really my go to music - I feel like this was written for a certain audience and as a British Grammar School girl that's probably not me.

Didn't love it, didn't hate it - jazz isn't really my thing but it was nice to give it another try.

One of my favourite albums of all time (although I have quite a few), I love these songs - they actually speak to my soul, especially when I'm dead inside.

I didn't go in expecting to like this, especially hearing that he was Nick Drake adjacent who I think is just OK, but I ended up really enjoying it so that's a win I guess.

Some of these lyrics were so ridiculous but I kind of liked that because it was funny like milky cereal. Definitely liked the title song the most but other than that nothing spectacular yet still enjoyable.

Felt very sceptical going into this - I mean bongos?!?! surely that would make for a rubbish album. Turns out I couldn't have been more wrong, this was so good!

I feel like I can tell he was a nice guy. His music is alright.

A 2.5/5 rounded down because he talked about Morrisey.

There was something about this that I really didn't like. Not passive dislike either, I couldn't concentrate on anything whilst this was playing like it's actually irking. I'd only heard of this woman through the Velvet Underground but didn't realise quite how dreadful she was whilst they were accompanying her.

A bit disappointed that this wasn't better than it is.

I unfortunately have an aversion to live albums - I'm here for the music not for the applause and talking introductions. It's a shame because I love Nirvana but I feel like live albums like this don't hit quite the same. *** I've changed my mind *** I decided to watch the recordings of the songs on YouTube and the added visual element made a whole lot of a difference and really captured how special a moment in time that was. I think I just originally found difficulty enjoying it because I was comparing the songs to the normal recorded ones I hear more often that are a lot better quality! Also I actually LOVE their rendition of Plateau it just clicks something in my brain when he sings high like that.

This was very listenable but some of the reviews make me sad that there are still so many bigoted people out there.

Aggressively average music.

Kind of a crazy mix of things go on here - some of it was really lovely, the kind of music you imagine you would here if you watching Earth from space but some of it was truly chaotic. Maybe that was intentional, it probably was, but it kind of ruined it for me.

Doesn't really sound like 2000s music to me. It started off okay but wasn't a big fan of the middle or end, so meh.

100% not what I'd ever go out of my way to listen to but it was actually reasonably enjoyable just maybe more of a one off thing.

I desperately want to love the Pixies (mainly because of their influence on some of my favourite bands) but I really can't get into them. I think the instrumentals are great but the voices are just so lacking in both lyricism and honestly just sounding nice to my ears. However, given that Where Is My Mind is on this album there's no way I could give it anything lower than a 3, that song is everything.

I think I may be grossly uncultured as this seems to be a well-known and popular album, however, I have only heard one of these songs before and I fear that may have been a Pitch Perfect rendition of it too. I'm not actually that sure how I feel about it but for now I'm going to be generous and give it a 4 although that's subject to change.

This is some kind of outer-space music but I weirdly like it because it feels relaxing in a way and and put in me an unusual state of hyperfocus.

First time I listened to this, I despised it, the second time I began to appreciate it a bit more but I still have no idea what is going on or what they're going on about. Might as well be in a foreign language and I'd still have about the same level of understanding. Definitely liked the first half of the album more, it felt a bit wackier but then maybe I got tired of them by the second half, these people are a bit exhausting to spend time with.

Fun in small doses but starts to feel overly cheesy after a while.

Personally I don't find music to be very enjoyable when the 'singer' is saying lyrics with the teeniest hint of tune to make it sound more like a song and not a poetry recital.

Feels mean to give this a 2 because there's nothing inherently wrong with it, it's just not that enjoyable for me, but I'll be kind because it's fine really.

What isn't bad and unenjoyable about this album? I couldn't tell you.

This was surprisingly beautiful music.

This might be the one album I've really been waiting for since day 1 because I have a minor Bon Jovi thing and it's incredibly upsetting to have only 1 of their albums on this list (whilst freaking Nick Cave gets 5). Apart from doing this, I very rarely listen to albums in their entirety and so coming across an album where I know every song and the majority of the lyrics is kind of unusual. So yes, that definitely skews my review and helps me look past some of the admittedly cheesy songs but the cheesiness is what makes them iconic songs and part of the reason why I love them so much.

My parents seemed to think OMD were big back in their day but I'm not quite sure they're worth the hype. I did actually enjoy many parts of this but it wasn't anything too spesh.

I liked this.

Really been debating between a 4 and a 5 and although I love this, I don't think it's quite deserving of the very top marks. However, this really is in essence everything I love about 80s music rolled into one. Glam metal is lowkey best music genre icl.

For me, having 2 15+ minute songs to start off an album is an abomination, especially when the music is of as low quality and taste as this. I also found it difficult to discern whether the banging and other distasteful noises were coming from the builders next door or this album.

I really thought I was going to like this with all Seven Nation Army and the masses of great reviews and basically no bad ones. Maybe I'm just missing something but disappointingly I really can't get behind it.

My first thoughts were that this wasn't going to be great cos I ain't heard of any of these songs. Granted, I'm not a mega Foo Fighters fan so I'm kind of only aware of what's popular but I thought maybe, given this is their first album, some improvement took place from their debut and so those songs are better known. But, I disagree with myself from about an hour ago, in a way I prefer the sound of these songs to their later stuff. I've always thought Everlong and Best of You etc. were always a bit deliberately anthemic if not for a better word and more importantly, songs I am almost guaranteed to hear down at my local pub. By no means do I dislike them, I just feel like they suffer from a softer touch brought on by the purpose of popularisation and here I prefer the earlier, maybe more raw quality of the band when they were lesser known.

I hate myself for saying this, but I didn't really like this album. I understand people love this guy and, I mean, he really is the epitome of sad music but my idea of sad music is it a bit different. Elliot Smith sounds like he wants to go to sleep and never wake up but in a weirdly comforting away, I want to hear pain and emotion, else I'd rather listen to classical music. I get this man was really going through it so this is probably a horrible thing to say (sorry) but there's just this sense of wallowing in self-pity that makes me feel uncomfortable and like I want to distance myself from this... I don't know, maybe that's my inability to deal with other people's emotions coming through here.

I know, I know, country is a valid genre of music but god does it make me laugh at how unserious it sounds! I can't imagine someone sitting down and putting headphones on to listen to this unironically or not out of obligation let alone someone deciding to write and record this. I don't mean to be discriminatory (I do) but ALL COUNTRY MUSIC SOUNDS THE SAME and to grossly generalise, all country music is pretty atrocious to my ears.

This was nice, but kind of in the most generic way possible. So...yeah.

On the surface level I dislike this album, the music feels very samey because I struggle to appreciate it and as of many rap albums, it's just jammed with expletives and derogation that for me, detract from some of the important messages this form of music conveys. I well understand that these things I dislike are pretty much a convention of rap - its just not quite to my taste. There were however parts of the album that I could appreciate, especially the way in which his individual personality came through - his evident sense of humour, refreshingly truthful perspective on poverty's link to criminalisation and reclaiming of his own story (maybe slightly over confidently). However, respect can't force me to enjoy something, the listening process felt strenuous at times, but, I did really like the woman, whoever she may be, she brought some well needed breaks. Oh, and Ice T's real name is Tracy, that's unreasonably funny to me.

Breaking news - I don't like Neil Young's music. I was going to say I don't like Neil Young but then realised I don't actually know a single thing about the man.

For me, The Cardigans encapsulate warm, sunny days driving in the car where me and my mum have finally decided on music that we both like. They feel nostalgic despite not having a long-term impact on my life, maybe because I always listen to them when I'm happy and this just paints them in a positive light. For sure, a lot of their songs are reasonably forgettable, but the ones I like, I realllly like so that kind of makes up for it. I will say I've never heard their Black Sabbath covers before... that was definitely something new....

Not really my jam...

I'm not hugely familiar with New Order, only vaguely with Substance and from what I remember it doesn't really sound like this. Don't know if that's a good or bad thing, I'm kind of undecided about how I feel but I did quite like the electronicy bits.

3.5 rounded up because everyone seems to rave about this guy. I didn't think it was amazing, it feels a bit overhyped, I don't know.