1001 Albums Summary

This is my first full-length exposure to The White Stripes, and dare I say, the first time I've ever paid attention to "Seven Nation Army". That song is absolutely incredible, and while the rest is consistently great, it never reaches the heights of that song again. The two acoustic numbers disrupt the flow for me and "Little Acorns" is jarring too (but once that song kicks in, it's killer).

Already very familiar with this album. Peak.

One of the best early alternative US albums; "Blister In The Sun", "Add It Up" and "Good Feeling" are songs for life. Perfect for this list as I believe this is deeply essential.

Heard before challenge. This is where, for some, Neil really finds his stride. For me, it's another entry in an already stellar career up to this point that is affirmed by some really incredible songs. I'll always die on the hill of "A Man Needs A Maid", and I don't need to say anything else about "The Needle And The Damage Done"; plenty has already been said.

This album's hits have probably reached overplayed status for a lot of people but I gotta say, hearing them in the context of a record on nice headphones really brings out their character. Solid listen for the rest of it, too.

Heard before challenge. For years, this was one of my favorite Radiohead albums. I've fallen slightly out of love with it recently but this is still one of their best works. "Videotape" might just be their best song.

Finally getting some proper exposure to Joan after knowing her connections to Dylan for the longest time. Hearing this with some of that work in retrospect and my other exposures to artists who seem to have lifted from her technique (I'm shocked that Happy Rhodes seemingly doesn't list Baez as a vocal influence, their styles especially with vibrato sound very very similar, and I love that) makes for an interestingly aware listen. Cool album.

Wow, finally getting into Sly, too little too late I suppose. I'm pretty unfamiliar with funk as a whole outside of some song-based examples but finally hearing a whole record in the style like this is great.

One of my favorite albums of all time and a bit of a life-changer at 15. The perfect prelude to the noise pop and shoegaze developments of the late 80s and early 90s, sickly-sweet hooks and melodies buried beneath a net of static, with vocal deliveries both apathetic and earnest all at once. An album for the ages and one that absolutely deserves to be here, in my opinion.

While I have always been more of a fan of Oldham's with the Palace Music project, this album spoke to me just as much as something like Days In The Wake or Viva Last Blues when I first heard it many years ago; it just didn't have the staying power or the obsessive replay factor that those two records had for me. To revisit it for this challenge was a beautiful, brilliant experience. Hearing this as an adult, for the first time in literal years, gives it some new depth. Will Oldham remains one of my favorite songwriters of his generation.

Not my favorite Steely Dan record but certainly an amazing way for them to open their career. I tend to give this one some flack because of the numerous vocalists (I've always been a believer that Fagen is the best vocalist for the group and should've been the only one from the start), but all of the Fagen-led songs here except "Dirty Work" tend to be my favorite. Special mention to "Brooklyn (Owes The Charmer Under Me)" though.

I went into this expecting to require context from the film - which I've wanted to see for a long time and just haven't gotten around to yet - but I was pleasantly surprised. This album flows wonderfully; light, airy (ha), not-so-secretly sad and very mysterious. Obscured. A bit of a Badalamenti vibe here at times. Some Mike Oldfield and Pink Floyd in there too, for good measure. Moon Safari this is not, and at this current moment, I feel that this is better.

I mean, seriously, what can I say about this that hasn't already been said? This album has been a key part of my life since I was 13 years old and even though it's no longer my favorite Floyd record, it's as essential as it comes. When I think of "art rock", this immediately comes to mind. Majestic.

My favorite PJ record of the two I've heard so far. "Dry" might be the perfect descriptor of the sound of this record. Definitely a raw record, one that doesn't compromise and favors authenticity and natural occurrence.

Musically, this is decent. I can't follow along with the vocals unfortunately but reading about this album, the story and passion behind it is fascinating. Not really sure if I'd put this in the book though.

I won't hide it here: this is one of my favorite albums of all time. A genuinely formative listening experience that has been the soundtrack to my journey in the last couple of years. The best thing to arise from the Steely Dan canon and that's saying something. Essential in every aspect, a must listen and one of the most brilliantly human albums ever recorded. Not to mention its incredible ability to test a sound system. A genuine dream production.

Maybe my favorite Big Beat album I've heard so far, a really engaging and energetic listen that rarely overstays its welcome. A powerhouse, but at the same time it also comes across very much like a product of 1997. Not that that's a bad thing.

This one's been on my list for quite some time now, glad to finally check it out. I personally believe that albums like Tommy perfected (or as close as you can get to it, I suppose) the early rock opera form, but this is nothing to sneeze at either. Side A in particular feels weirdly influential on the Elephant 6 music collective, which it very well may be. There is a gigantic bombast to this that I didn't expect from the Kinks, only really having heard their biggest hits from 64-66 and then "Lola". Exciting stuff.

ELP often holds the reputation of being one of prog's campiest, most ridiculous bands...and in the case of this, they'd be right. But it's impressive and theatrical and so grand and dramatic that I can't bring myself to hate this. Although I will ask why this is in here and not Brain Salad Surgery or Welcome Back My Friends. There's two ELP records in here and neither one has "Karn Evil 9". What the hell man.

Finally, FINALLY hearing this one. I've been almost afraid to listen to it, as any record with a song like "Fast Car" is prone to failing to stack up to the power of its singular smash hit masterpiece. Thankfully the rest is quite great, but man, there is a REASON that song is still brought up and listened to today. Incredibly powerful songwriting here throughout, highly impressed.

Feels like a cross between early Queen and T. Rex with a markedly worse vocalist. Thanks but no thanks. Regardless of any musical content, THAT is one of the worst album covers I've ever seen in my life. I don't know who approved dude on the right's ability to walk around shirtless and with that haircut, but they should be questioned. I don't want to think it's affecting my interpretation of the music, but it's a sensory nightmare. I can smell this picture and it's not pleasant.

I cannot tell you how long it's been since I last heard this album in its entirety. It's been at least 10 years. Revisiting it for this challenge has left me with complicated feelings. At 13, this was one of the best albums I've ever heard. At 23, it's just another Chili Peppers album. I've always been more of a Blood Sugar Sex Magik guy but when this album has its moments, they're incredible moments. When it doesn't...it's the Chili Peppers for every reason I dislike them. I'll save the gripes about the mix because everyone and their mother has mentioned them but it really only affects my opinion of a few songs. Eventually I'll hear the unmastered edition.

It's not quite Pink Floyd as we know them now, but it's an incredible record nonetheless. Barrett's contributions put them perfectly at home in the psych boom of 1967, and despite how quickly the Floyd would abandon the softer, childlike nature of Syd's work, they leave an impression and an impact here. Thus begins the output of one of the greatest bands to ever walk the earth.

Conceptually, this is wonderful, I love the use of the NYC street recording samples that Holmes acquired during his time there. There's a gritty cinematic vibe to this and I dig it. The only problem is I think every track goes on far too long and this is yet another dance album that approaches an hour long runtime.

And this was where I wrapped up the core Simon & Garfunkel discography with an album sometimes considered their best by the more folk-adjacent people. I gotta say, it's probably my 3rd favorite, only behind Sounds of Silence and Bridge Over Troubled Water. Still an absolutely great record though; undeniable songs like "Scarborough Fair", "Homeward Bound", and I truly adore that "Silent Night" sound collage thing at the end.

A lot more synth-driven than I expected. Growling bass throughout too. Pretty cool. Saw some people refer to this as "The Doors on speed" and that seems pretty accurate at times.

One of my favorite albums for over a decade now. Oldfield recorded this pretty much by himself at 19 which really makes me want to practice every instrument I've ever played for even a moment and become proficient at every single one. The ending of Part One always gives me chills. A brilliant masterful record. Its use in The Exorcist (as small yet iconic as it is) helps as well.

The intense vocal stylings of Neubauten meet the surreal disorienting dark-circus vibes of Foetus, but it's all in French. Maddening in a cool way but not really essential. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for the darker end of the industrial rock spectrum but not to many other people.

Beck's ability to fuse multiple genres that don't seem to go together into a single track needs to be studied. A pretty insane rise from Mellow Gold and One Foot In The Grave, which are respectable great records, but Odelay is a completely different beast. Hip hop, alt dance, alt-country, electronica, jazz...I know "alternative rock" can be a bit of a blanket name but this is truly alternative. And for a record like this to be a true mainstream breakthrough? Not really sure if you see stuff like this anymore.

While Rush have done the side-long suite thing on other albums, it's arguable that none of them were as great as 2112. Hemispheres might be my favorite full album from the group, but this was a formative record for me when I was younger and getting into prog. "A Passage to Bangkok" and "Tears" are my big takeaways from side B, don't shut the album off before giving those a chance. Lord knows I did plenty of times as a kid before I realized their greatness.

Wasn't sure what to expect but this sorta sounds like a British Hole at times, which I'm perfectly cool with. Also the Wire comparisons are maybe a little on the nose but not inaccurate. My only real gripe comes with the fact that a lot of these songs seem like they need some extra time to flesh themselves out and they just...stop. That isn't always a problem for me, but here it feels a little sudden. I only wonder what would've happened if Justine had stayed in Suede.

The distillation of what seems to be every dominant rock/pop style from the UK over the course of about 30 years into a 40 minute listen (you can hear Kinks, Queen, the glam side of Bowie). Pretty admirable effort, but after getting another Britpop album yesterday, I might be just a bit tired of the genre already. If you're gonna send this stuff my way, give me Suede at least.

Okay maybe I missed something somewhere, but where the hell did this almost-psychedelic not-quite-shoegaze side of Morrissey come from? I know the jangle pop angles and the occasional slide towards Moz's love of glam, but wow, the few times here that it approaches those territories is worth noting. The Smiths have been one of my favorite bands for nearly a decade and I've loved the first two Morrissey records for nearly as long but this is unlike any of those albums. This is like the non-Smiths side of my taste finding the rest of my favorite genres all in one go. Jawdropping. And of course it's typical Morrissey with all of the lovable douchey-ness that comes with that. Brilliant.

Everything about this album's presentation is ballsy and deserves some acknowledgement for that alone, but the music doesn't really hold me. Very repetitive and not that engaging in most cases ("Burial" really wowed me in particular however). I think I'm more aligned with dub at the moment than pure reggae but we'll see once I dive into the other essentials that are on this list and beyond. I wonder if my opinion would change if I smoked pot. Probably.

Fascinating lyrics and refreshing beautiful instrumentation, offputting vocal style. Also I noticed a lot of these songs started to blur into one another. Reminds me of the exact situation I had with Pescado Rabioso's Artaud (exactly the same setup except Spinetta's voice is gorgeous) but less worthwhile. An interesting effort and obviously put together with a lot of passion, but not for me.

Sufjan's very grandiose, slightly-too-lengthy "opus" (by general standards, not mine) has never been one of my favorite albums, much to my own disappointment. There are serious moments of greatness found here that I think prove Sufjan's ability not only as a singer and songwriter, but as a worldbuilder and an arranger. My problem with this album is its incredibly jumpy sequencing, obnoxious runtime (Sufjan imo is best consumed in 40-45 minute doses, not 75) and the unfortunate reality of being surrounded by overhype in the music-fan-sphere doesn't help much either. I will say that revisiting it for this challenge caused it to grow on me slightly (probably influenced by my recent love of Carrie & Lowell), but I still struggle to see the deep impact that a lot of people feel from this, and I'm glad that others can get that experience out of this album.

What a bizarrely dreadful listen. This does not need to be an hour long in any universe. Why are half of the songs 5-6 minutes long? Why is one almost NINE minutes? Why do I have love for other really dated, arguably corny hip-hop albums from this time period but this one is like the aural equivalent of spoiled milk? Annoying beats, annoying vocals (the last minute of "Underwater Rimes", good lord), songs that establish their finishing point upwards of halfway through the actual song ("Doowutchyalike" thinks it's so funny to fade out halfway through only to come back in, if it actually ended during that fade-out I might've been more favorable), and perhaps worst of all this is a concept album...with no tangible concept. 15 minutes of your hour-long album being a conceptual suite a concept album does not make. If the concept is that every song has over-the-top (albeit funny) references to sex and women, then sure it's a concept album. I guess that makes 2 Live Crew's As Nasty As They Wanna Be a concept album too. I don't even have a problem with overtly sexual lyrics, but I am not a fan of this presentation. For something that's supposed to be funky and dance-y, this is so lethargic. Finishing this felt like pulling teeth. I feel like i need to cleanse my palette with Eric B & Rakim or ATCQ after this.

Fiona's first album is one I haven't heard in many years, but "Criminal" is still a favorite after all this time. Revisiting it for this was a little more enlightening; I have more of an appreciation for the sort of atmosphere she cultivates. Dark, sultry, lonely and striking.

Bowie's jump towards soul is sometimes met with derision or muted disinterest, but I find it fascinating and refreshing. Maybe it's my hometown love of Philly soul, but the title track that kicks this thing off is so vibrant, smoky and smooth that I can't help but love it to death.

And so my first Dylan in the challenge is one of his earliest, and the first in the book. It's been some time since I heard this, almost 5 years actually. I've become acquainted with "Blowin' In The Wind" thanks to the 1967 Greatest Hits, but this is one I admittedly never really go back to in any capacity. It's a defiant statement, one that sets Dylan's legacy as a folk spokesman in motion, and it contains some of his biting, aggressive commentary ever. "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" is an easy contender for the greatest (not my favorite, but the most "essential") Dylan song, of which there's probably a dozen that I'm not thinking of at the moment. Also worth noting are the brilliant outtakes from this album, especially "Let Me Die In My Footsteps", which should've made the album in place of "Talking World War III Blues" which is one of the most meandering recordings I've ever heard out of Dylan. Oh well.

What a lovely record to revisit. While some give this album flack for leaning into that 80s sound even more than Hounds of Love, I think this is a charming, passionate record at its core, regardless of any production choices. Her voice is as strong and evocative as ever, so full of grit, yet delicate and insanely dynamic, and some of the tracks even remind me of some of her contemporaries that I have deep, obsessive loves of (The Blue Nile and Peter Gabriel come to mind a couple times here). I continue to believe that "This Woman's Work" could go down as her greatest song, for my money. What a way to end the album.

I'll be honest: my chances of ever going back to this are pretty low unless I have a reggae breakthrough, but this is pretty cool. More immediately accessible too.

Maybe I just don't know swing well enough but this is pretty engaging and energetic in a way that seems predictive of/aligned with the development of rock. Kinda nuts for 1956.

This is one you have to turn up loud to appreciate. Urge Overkill meets Fugazi meets Dinosaur Jr; vulnerable, aggressive, raw, passionate and regretful. If I heard this at 15 it might have changed my life.

Notable for its ability to be inoffensive and yet completely unengaging in almost every regard. I get the intent and the narrative but I actually have to be interested in the music to follow along with it, and frankly I'm not.

A foundational record to my musical upbringing. One of my first exposures to alternative rock and especially that of the 90s US alternative scene. A masterpiece in pretty much every regard, even if I rarely go back to it these days. "Silverfuck" is my pick for the Pumpkins' best song and it's not even close. What a monstrous record.

A sampling masterclass. Without this I'm not sure we have Donuts or even the foundations of vaporwave (i.e. Eccojams). While it's not one of my all-time favorite hip-hop records, I'd definitely call it an essential and I'm glad to see it here in the book.

I find it really funny that this is my first full length Pet Shop Boys record. Feels like the boys' answer to New Order's Technique, which I think is not only that band's best record but is one of the few house-adjacent records I can really dig. Pretty fucking good introduction.

Is it my favorite form of Smile? Not quite. Is it the closest we'll ever get to a finished version of it? Yes. The story of Smile is one of my favorite triumphs in popular music history, where Brian Wilson's most ambitious project eventually consumed him and caused (exacerbated?) a paranoid, anxious retreat into obscurity and which probably began to spell the end of the Beach Boys as a collective studio unit (Sunflower and Surf's Up notwithstanding). For Brian to go back to the record nearly 40 years after its original conception and finally present a completed version of it, one that is brimming with life and love and passion and a sense of complete catharsis...it's a big event. You can feel the collective enthusiasm and joy to bring this project to life from everyone involved, especially if you watch the brilliant concert film that came out with this album. I wish I wasn't a toddler when this came out and was actually an adult because just reading about the reception, the magnitude and weight of the concerts that Brian put on to play the album in its entirety live brings more than a tear to my eye. A feat of human creation. A feat of the ability to make music that itself feels genuine emotion. We love you, Brian. Thank you.

A year ago, I would've said this record is just "alright". It peaks with "Yellow" and everything else surrounding it is passable at best. Now I realize it's a masterpiece and we were robbed of Coldplay veering towards post-rock and shoegaze after A Rush Of Blood To The Head and instead we got retail radio bullshit. What a shame. This album still peaks with "Yellow" though. That song is crafted by the gods.

When I was a kid, Deep Purple were gods to me. Forget Zeppelin, these were the hard rockers I found a home in. I went years without hearing this album though, and even still the last time I heard it before today was in 2020. It's been a while man. And I'm glad to report it still holds up.

I see a lot of people consider this the best Can album and as much I respect its influence and its honestly-highly-ahead-of-its-time nature, I have never been able to fully gel with this one like Tago Mago or Ege Bamyasi. I think I even prefer Monster Movie to this one. But still, if you want something incredibly hazy, surreal and atmospheric with enough rhythmic variety and controlled chaos to go around, this is your band and especially your album. This sounds like early morning fog during a misty rain.

If I had to take a moment and think to myself of options for "best punk album" (not considering post-hardcore or any other subgenre, just pure punk), this is on the shortlist. A complete smorgasbord of musical directions and influence - think of just the first 3 songs on the album, we go from punk to rockabilly to lounge and it flows seamlessly - which manages to come across more like admiration than desecration which seems like an attitude that was missing in a lot of this music around this time. Understandably beloved.

I couldn't tell you the last time I actually went out of my way to listen to Arcade Fire, but I can tell you that Funeral left a pretty deep-yet-shortlived impression on me when I first heard it at 17. Hearing this for the first time, several years later, feels like I'm going through the same experience. Took some time to warm up to, but once this thing kicks in it pretty much stays there. Would probably be a 9/10 if "Rococo" didn't exist. Sorry.

Forever immortalized in other people's recordings as a reference point for samples (Nine Inch Nails and Death Grips come to mind) but for me this is a "classic" of my childhood music journey that didn't even open itself up to me until I was already approaching my 20s. I don't care what people say, this album RIPS from the opening seconds. Sure, Perry Farrell's voice is the definition of an acquired taste, but tell me "Jane Says" doesn't sound like one of the most desperately sad vocal performances ever. Now THAT is a perfect song.

As background noise during gaming, this album is incredible. Perfectly engaging and yet spacey enough to warrant it falling behind my focus. As a general focused listen, it's frustrating. Dance and electronic music, in most cases for me, needs to be related to something physical; working out, actually dancing, going for a run, just SOMETHING. But when I'm listening to these records either on my phone in bed, or at my computer, or in my car due to a lack of ability to currently do otherwise, their purpose is ultimately thrown out the window. Also for the record I listened to the full 105-minute version of this album. It does not need to be that long.

Atmospheric, soft, sad and when it needs to be, incredibly vibrant. I've never been big on Lorde outside of a handful of tracks but I understand why this one gets a lot of praise. For some reason it makes me wonder if Olivia Rodrigo is going to make it into the next revision of the book.

At 13, Alice Cooper was one of my gateway artists into the proper world of rock music. He introduced, to me, shocking concepts in a song, the idea of being provocative and "edgy", which to an impressionable young man like myself, was alluring for both the right and the wrong reasons. Billion Dollar Babies was one of the records I latched onto for a period of time, and yet it's been nearly 10 years since I last heard a single track off this record. I've always been more of a "solo Alice" fan - Welcome to My Nightmare and Goes To Hell come to mind - but this is a record that shines and sparks in the wake of the post-Ziggy glam explosion. It's a fine line between cringe and confident in this genre but this one steers towards the confident. I will say that it's lost all of the shock for me a decade later, but as a document of time in my life where songs like "I Love The Dead" sent a genuine chill down my spine, I look back on it somewhat fondly. If only that level of innocence were still so common.

Going into this with only a vague understanding of his father Fela's music is a little hilarious to me but I'm going to try my best here. This album is just...a ton of fun. My only real problem with it is that, again like a few other albums I've been given lately, a lot of these songs take way too long to wrap up. Several songs approach 10 minutes and while it's nice that they use that time to cultivate a pretty free, celebratory musical atmosphere, I feel like they could be halved. The length would be more justified in a live setting where there is a dynamic between the performer and the listener(s) in regard to energy and response.

In maybe the most confusing case of similarly named albums I've ever run into, I hope I'm doing the right one by picking the 1956 release with this exact name. Pretty samey by a certain point, but really lovely otherwise.

Mr. Simon has really become one of my favorite songwriters in the last couple of years as I become more and more attached to the work of S&G as well as his self-titled record. It's honestly refreshing to see another of his records, outside of the 1972 s/t and Graceland, get some attention, although I hadn't heard anything off this album up to today. Well, I heard the Central Park live version of "Late Great Johnny Ace", but that's it. The softer sophisti-pop angle this takes on some tracks really speaks to my current musical fixation, and I think this is a pretty interesting direction for Simon to take right before he'd plunge pretty deeply into world music; sort of an Eno-in-1981 thing, minus the genre-defining experimentation that came before it. A really nice record. The title track and "Rene and Georgette Magritte with Their Dog After The War" are among his best.

Dark, grimy, filled with rage. Sometimes makes you feel like you're on speed, or so I imagine. "Their Law" and "Voodoo People" are among the Prodigy's finest, the former being my favorite track by them for years.

I just got Femi Kuti's debut literally 4 days ago, where I observed that I hadn't listened to Fela yet. What a hilarious turn of events. For how aggressive and passionate this is, this is also incredibly danceable and inspires a kind of human joy. Reading about the context surrounding this record (both before and after it was made, especially in Fela's personal life) definitely sharpens the topical edge a little more, but even without it, I think this is pretty enjoyable.

Van Halen and I have an interesting relationship. I'm absolutely so fucking tired of hearing their music over the radio from every classic rock station in a 50 mile radius, especially the same 5 songs (the worst offender being "Beautiful Girls" which has one of the most annoying hooks I've heard in a song). I've mostly moved past my need for flashy, glammy MTV-era hard rock (with some exceptions) and VH was one of the ones left in the dust when I mostly pivoted away from this kind of music. But at 13, some of these tracks were my life. "Jump" and "Panama" still resonate. It's also worth noting that I didn't hear this album in its entirety until today. That might be part of the problem. This is actually pretty fucking great. Either my bias has slipped away or this is an exception.

This is a fun one to revisit. It's not for everyone but Sheryl's brand of very-timely (and subsequently dated) singer/songwriter/rock hybrid is exactly what I need today at the beginning of spring, on a sunny day in the mid-50s: it's brisk, bright and uplifting in a weird way. The first four songs and "All I Wanna Do" are enough of a qualifier for this record's greatness.

Trance-inducing, relaxing and beautiful. I have always loved the use of drones in Indian music, especially when I was first exposed to the concept as a kid through George Harrison's own examinations of the sitar (thanks in no small part to Shankar himself), but to hear it performed and explained by one of the masters is a real treat too.

Maybe it's because I'm really in a 70s folk/folk rock mood right now but this goes down ultra smooth in just the way I like it. Simultaneously catchy and heartfelt with Joan's beautiful voice to boot. The A-side is pretty much perfect. On top of that, Glyn Johns manufactures a brilliant recording job once again.

Well here's one that I've spent way too long waiting to hear. "Ready or Not" using an Enya sample to create an atmospheric, ambient pad for its beat to rest proves my personal taste in those kinds of beats. Love a good amount of the lines here too, amazing flows and performances. I'm still sick of mid-90s hip-hop records filling a CD just because they can though. I know the main album ends at 60 minutes but man I still think my preference for most hip-hop is 45 minutes or less (The Infamous and 36 Chambers not included). A very strong 4-stars, since it handles the length pretty well and my enthusiasm for the album grew as it went on. Looks like I'll be coming back to this one, especially once I hear Miseducation.

Once again finding myself in a situation where I genuinely wonder if an album on this list is actually "essential". Is it because this is basically a supergroup? What about this is "cutting edge" or "essential" for the genre? It sounds so middle of the road and the only song here I genuinely enjoy deeply is the title track, which I've already heard more than I ever planned to thanks to its repetition on classic rock radio (and being a retail employee, that gets old real quick).

Ah, Dennis. What a sad story. I think the early 70s Beach Boys records (especially Sunflower) and this record might be the last bastion of beauty and hope in the story of the Beach Boys, even if things went pretty sour not too long after this. A really great record.

I feel like putting a genuine review here would be redundant and unnecessary so I'm just going to state the obvious: one of the best albums of the 70s, one of the best of all time and the A-side might be one of the greatest continuous sides of music I've ever heard. Legendary.

Graceland and I have a tricky relationship. I LOVE Paul Simon's work. I think he's probably one of the best songwriters of his generation and I'd probably rank what I've heard above or around the work of other legendary songwriters (Dylan, Mitchell, King, Young to name contemporaries). That being said, I continue to struggle with the idea that this is where his output peaked for many people, at least in the post-Garfunkel years. I find his blend of world influences, his employment of African session musicians to truly nail what he was going for stylistically and stucturally, and the general passion and love he poured into this record as a statement to be highly respectable, but outside of the title track and "You Can Call Me Al", a lot of this doesn't resonate with me the way I think it should. I still think it's pretty good music, but when this is a songwriter who I've spent the past 12 months cozying up to (after years of being familiar with him) I expect a higher sense of resonance. Maybe time is all I need with this record. I suppose we'll see.

Less than 2 weeks after I revisited Music for the Jilted Generation, here I am revisiting this one. What a step-up, honestly. More immediate, more conscious of its runtime and what to do with it (a median 5-minute runtime for most of the songs, which are also far more energetic and rattling in my opinion) and more outwardly aggressive. The kind of music you run into brick walls to. All of the controversy surrounding "Smack My Bitch Up" be damned, it's a stone-cold classic and easily my favorite song here; impossible to separate from its incredible music video as well. Sometimes provocation is the key is a hit.

I genuinely could not tell you when the last time I sat down with Elton's music was. It has to be coming up on a decade at this point, at least counting listens of my own volition. When I was a kid he was sort of the flipside of Billy Joel to me, the kind of evocative piano-performer that it was maybe just a tad bit uncool to like but that spoke to me in a comforting way through their work. The only thing is that Billy stayed as a fixture of my life for far longer than Elton did and here we are in 2026 finally going back to him. I know "Tiny Dancer" very well, I've heard "Levon" once or twice but this entire album is otherwise new to me. Soft, sweet, vivid, gorgeous.

This is a surprise. Maybe it isn't, since my only exposure to Bee Gees is through their disco era, but to hear them in a lush, soft context that completely separates itself from the decadence they'd become iconic for is pretty fascinating. That's about as far as the fascination goes though. I was pretty uninterested with most of this. It's a shame when the first track is such a heavy peak and the rest of the album pales in comparison.

I still think Peter Gabriel's peak wouldn't come until he shed the skin of Genesis, but their run from '72-'74 is nothing to sneeze at, and it can be traced through the DNA of so much music that has come out since (especially anything in prog). I tend to prefer the Moody Blues and early King Crimson for this kind of symphonic, "medieval" prog but I still really enjoy this record. Tony's synth work really stood out to me on this listen.

I always laugh when I get an album I'm ultra-familiar with on this site. This isn't even Bruce's finest hour for me and yet I still think it's worth 5 stars. Even with the two albums preceding this being as great as they are, Born to Run is where Bruce became The Boss. It's a seismic shift, a complete tone-setter and a career-definer, and the ultimate example of an "essential" Bruce record. It's not as flashy as Born In The USA, it's not as uninviting as Nebraska and it's not as overwrought as The River. It's right where it needs to be, decadent with restraint and enrichingly human, with some fantasy involved.

I listened to Blonde once several years ago and was left moderately underwhelmed. That album is one of the biggest let-downs I've ever encountered in album listening; for an album that was so acclaimed, and to know so many people (I'm talking a dozen, at least) who had such an epiphany with it, where it became a deep comfort in their lives...and I thought it was mildly "okay". Naturally, getting this from the generator made me audibly groan, but the whole point of this challenge is to give everything a fair shake and understand why these records were chosen. I think it's worth mentioning that I think Frank Ocean possesses deep talent and knows exactly how to make impressive music. I won't deny that, and I won't deny that he has an ear for theatricality and production without being overindulgent. Does that make for music that resonates with me, however? Not really. There are songs on here that I really, deeply enjoyed (as with Blonde: I can't deny the power of "Nights" and THAT moment), but as a full album experience it still grated on me a bit. I will say I currently prefer it to Blonde though.

80s... jangle pop... that has a vague sophisti-pop flavor to it... inject it in my veins please. This is so awesome. Of course my brain instantly goes to R.E.M. but even some of the more acoustic/orchestral stuff reminds me of what Out of Time-era R.E.M. would do (there's a lineage that starts with "Down on Mission Street" and ends with "Texarkana" but I don't know what's in the middle).

This was my first exposure to Paul's solo career and I think it's still my favorite. It's the perfect album to rise out of Bridge Over Troubled Water and the dissolution of Simon & Garfunkel, a self-confident solo effort that plays with some really fun textures and influences. "Me and Julio Down By The Schoolyard" is one of Paul's 3 greatest songs, with or without Garfunkel. An awesome album.

This is the kind of yearning I strive for. Thanks Frank.

This record left me with an aching feeling, one I haven't felt in a while. Something that I felt in my soul. I'm only familiar with Joni from Blue, which is already a difficult (and by that I mean emotionally significant) listen. This has joined it in that rank. I'm pretty much at a loss for words with this. It's a record I had to listen to twice in a row, which is a first for this challenge. I think this is just something I needed to hear right now. I don't know why. Maybe I won't know. I know Joni's big grab is her lyricism, which is at its full power here, but my God, even the arrangements, the way that everything SOUNDS here is just so gorgeous and human. Jaco's bass on "Hejira" threw me off in the best way possible.

This is such a bizarre fusion of sounds. You've got honky-tonk, blues, jazz, jam band explorations and...hip-hop vocals. This is like Tuesday Night Music Club's evil cousin. I'll give it this, I don't know if I've ever heard anything that sounds quite like this before, not with this exact fusion of genres. I can see why this is on the list, honestly. But if I want laid back jazzy hip-hop, I'll take A Tribe Called Quest instead. If I want vaguely hip-hop white guy 90s rock, I'll go for Spin Doctors.

It might be insane for me to say that I prefer this record to anything Cale did with the Velvet Underground, but I can't sit here and lie. This record veers between gorgeous and ferocious with ease, from lush to rocking in a span of a song. A beautiful fusion.

Oh man finally getting around to this after years of having it recommended to me. Warm, lively, uplifting and passionate. I've been familiar with the story behind this record for years but to finally hear the fruits of their labor is great.

One of the last major pillars of Britpop I had yet to pay proper attention to. I knew "Common People" and thought it was absolutely fantastic, but I never leaned into the desire to hear this one until today. I stand by the idea that Britpop reached its collective peak in Suede's first 4 years (1992-1996) and Pulp is the only band that seems to approach that. Glammy, sleek, sexual, sardonic, sarcastic and a little grimy when it needs to be. The hits are where this album peaks for me but the whole thing is a really cohesive work.

This is where I find out Beach House has an album in here. I'm only familiar with them through 2015's Depression Cherry, which is a really beautifully crafted record ("Space Song" has gone viral in recent years, for good reason I think). Hearing a lot of the same bright, beautiful vibes here as well. Orchestral in a synthesized way, if that makes sense. Melancholic if not a little bittersweet.

This album has mesmerized me since I was a kid and yet I haven't heard in over half a decade. Dylan's first double album (sometimes considered the first in rock music, although I have no idea if that's true) is also potentially my favorite of his early-mid 60s run. I still remember the first time I heard "Visions of Johanna"; the level of awe that coursed through me in those 7 minutes were an experience I'd like to have again just so I can remember what it felt like.

A really interesting case of production being the core strength of a record. I love hip-hop with a really natural sound to it and I've always preferred sample-based beats/beats with live instrumentation to what's become the modern sound (which I suppose is more or less trap that I'm talking about, but still). I can appreciate her voice and her lyricism at points, and especially her penchant for a hook ("Selfish" going from these fast-paced verses to the lush, catchy chorus is a beautiful combo).

Got a complex set of feelings about this one, always have. Every time I revisit this record I think it's going to contain some "aha!" moment where suddenly this is a revelatory experience that says more about me than I already know, but what I really get is passable-if-not-catchy power pop. It's not exactly worth 3 stars but it still feels weird giving it 4; it's the definition of 3.5 stars or a 7/10. The title track, "Rudderless" and "Frank Mills" are all-timers but I genuinely don't remember the rest once the record is off. Love Juliana though, and an obligatory mention that Evan Dando, especially in light of recent events, needs to put down the phone and the heroin and get his shit together, because whatever legacy he's been leaving for himself is burning up quickly. Sad and shameful all around with him.

Firstly, didn't even know this was on the list, but I am not complaining. Second of all, this is the biggest trip down memory lane this list has given me so far. This record was such a big deal to me at 13. "I Want You To Want Me" being one of the most overplayed songs on classic rock radio hasn't killed any of its power, and at 13 it was a sort of bible for me. That being said, because I was constantly finding new things and never keeping track of the music I listened to, this record has fallen by the wayside until I'm finally hearing it again 10-11 years later. The definition of fun.

Really fun and colorful sounding, until you read some of the lyrics. Great use of lyrical dissonance, and a great listen overall.

Oh, sweet Nico. Although I prefer her darker more experimental work (Marble Index and Desertshore, specifically), I will always have a soft spot for this one in there. Somewhat of an interesting but predictable pivot after her work with the Velvets, nestling her in this sweet spot between esoterica and darkness.

Why is this in the book. Honestly. This is pretty terrible and everywhere I look the reception for this isn't positive. Every explanation for Dimery's construction of the book is contradicted by this album and its placement. I saw someone say the instrumentation on this sounds like it's straight out of the 80s and I agree with that. Rarely do I ever have an actual problem with that, but here it sounds garish and tacky. Also it's 74 minutes. Nearly insufferable.

Finally getting to hear this one after years and years of loving the hell out of this cover art. Clapton for me in particular gets on my nerves a lot of the time, considering the massive stretch of his career and just how many people he's worked with, but from '66-'70 or so he was on fire and deserving of the titles bestowed unto him. Bruce and Baker were easily his best musical compatriots before Allman and Whitlock, and this album proves that.

I really didn't know what to expect from this, but what I got exceeded whatever expectations I had for this. Hawley's voice can be somewhat monotonous but tuneful and honestly very comforting. A rich soulfulness that brings back the crooners of the 40s and 50s, with a musical palette that sweeps 40 years of music history and styles I have never heard done in a modern setting (the title track is essentially Glen Campbell for the 2000s). Seriously cool and one I hope to return to soon.

Big fan of the beats here and some of the posse cuts give me Tribe vibes. Some of it reminds me of Digital Underground but not in a terrible way (as Sex Packets is one of the worst albums I've heard from this challenge). Pretty fun!

Is it tacky and silly at times? Yes. Is it exactly part of the problem that makes kitschy male pop the butt of so many jokes? Sure. Is it endearing, sweet and fun to listen to anyway? Abso-fucking-lutely. Being on a Simon & Garfunkel kick the last few months has given me a deeper appreciation for close-harmony-style vocals and knowing the Everlys' direct influence on the duo made this a much more insightful listen than it might've been at another time. Also I saw someone on RYM call this "proto-dream pop" and that is bizarrely accurate. And "So How Come (No One Loves Me)" continues the trend I keep seeing of songs that should be deeply depressing folk tunes dressed up as danceable pop tunes, and yet it works. I have no idea if giving this 5 stars on the site here is going to stick but I'm feeling it right now. This record is so comfortable.

Blue hurts me to listen to sometimes. It's one of the most vulnerable collections of song and voice ever put to tape, and the fact that she wrote a lot of these songs about artists that I've spent a good portion of my musical life getting to know adds an extra ounce of weight to it. This doesn't just feel like an ordinary record, and that's what makes it special to me. This is an aural diary, a journal of sorts that Joni is letting the world read pages from. Her voice makes me cry especially on this record, with how she sweeps from soft and sweet to sharp and strong in a handful of motions. I'm glad this record exists and I'm glad it's done so much for women in music. Hard to examine this record without its historical context I think.

My favorite parts of this are when it's Kate and Cindy on the vocals, even though Fred is the face of the group. They just have a more lovely style of singing even when they get particularly aggressive and weird with it. That being said, "Rock Lobster" is my favorite song on here. I can only imagine what was going through people's heads in 1978 when that song showed up for the first time. And to think this isn't even the best band to come out of Athens...

Scuzzy and gritty and occasionally really creepy about underage women. Iggy's got a terrifying mug on the cover too which makes the vibe of the whole thing even more off-putting. Pretty cool though!

A refreshingly mellow accompaniment to my afternoon. It's a nice day, the sun is out, and it's not too cold or too hot. Sometimes this is just the kind of thing you need to hear when the time and the situation is right.

Pretty funny to realize that both Human League and Soft Cell helped plant the roots of synthpop, both had a smash runaway hit, and both of their debuts are completely tonally dissonant to their hit songs. Dare (ha) I say, shockingly brilliant and an essential synthpop recording. Veers towards weirdness occasionally but tends to stay pretty well aligned.

In a way, it's the "Whipped Cream & Other Delights" of country/western music; found in bargain bins across the country, recognized as more of a meme these days, and occasionally referenced due to needle drops in Breaking Bad and Fallout and yet still entirely praised in these same contexts. Those bestowing praise are right. Frankly, I didn't expect this to be deeply enjoyable. It always looked like a novelty record to me. What I got was Nebraska for cowboys.

What I thought was particularly cutting-edge at 13 has now dulled itself into a record that is remarkable for several reasons and still an enjoyable listen, but something I can't help but sorta shake my head at. Undeniably great music, but almost juvenile in the way that it handles the politics and the emotions. You know what, though, sometimes that's what you need. Not everyone needs to be Gang of Four.

In my opinion, this is where the Beatles peaked. Sgt. Pepper and Abbey Road get all of the (necessary) acclaim, but their first full realization of psychedelic and forward-thinking recording techniques and composition is also their most brilliantly consistent record.

Getting this in a period where CSNY's Deja Vu has been in constant rotation for me is sorta fantastic timing. Stills' core contributions to that album (specifically his work on side A, "Carry On" and "Woodstock") rank among my favorite songs from that record, so I was very excited to get this record. And I gotta say I'm a little disappointed. Stills has a soft yet soulful voice and has a knack for pretty arrangements (even still, I think "gospel folk" is a much cooler concept on paper), but there's nothing particularly gripping about these songs. Even the one song I knew beforehand, "Love The One You're With" has always sorta grated on me subconsciously. Hendrix and Clapton, guitar gods and creators of their own masterful records, turn their respective songs into tacky schlock fests. Maybe this one is a grower, but I'm not as in love with this as I should be. I do think part of that has to do with my present obsession with Deja Vu and hoping that everything in its orbit sounds just like it, so I plan to revisit this in the future at some point. It's not like After the Gold Rush is a Deja Vu clone either.

The funny thing to me about this one is that this sounds a lot like several other groups that would follow in Japan's wake (Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Duran Duran, a touch of really early Depeche Mode), and yet they were doing all of this before the decade turned over. Impressive in that regard, but not exactly the most intriguing synthpop I've ever listened to. I always preferred Sylvian once he made the jump to sophisti-pop.

Out of all of the Radiohead records in this book, this is probably my least favorite, but "2 + 2 = 5" was one of my first Radiohead obsessions and I will always have a fondness for it.

The first Stooges album I was familiar with many years ago, and frankly it was mostly informed by Spacemen 3's love of this band. It's crazy how ahead of their time these guys were, but I think a lot of my interest here was previously overshadowed by that Spacemen 3 association and this just...not being as good. "Previously" is the key word here.

Damn, I am actually kind of ashamed of the fact that THIS is my intro to Curtis Mayfield. I mean, c'mon, I've been listening to music/records actively for over a decade and I've never heard Superfly? That will change. This is a slow one for sure, very downtempo and drawn-out. Carries that same kind of sweet sadness that Carpenters records have.

One of my earliest experiences with trip hop is still potentially my favorite. I know Mezzanine is the big classic for a reason, but this album came out in 1991 and saw an entire landscape that would be filled out progressively throughout the rest of the decade. One of the most forward-thinking albums I've ever heard, and the title track is still my favorite Massive Attack song.

I mean, come on, what do I say here? If you don't like this album, it says more about you than it does Songs In The Key of Life. I love calling albums "human", I overdo it to such an extreme degree that I annoy myself with it, but this is truly one of the most "human" albums ever recorded. When you surround yourself with really miserable/upsetting/dark music (as I have, many times in the past, present and likely future), it makes records like this shine in a different way. Love's in need of love today, and every day. As essential as they come.

Man what do I even say here. I'm not even that big on Kanye and I felt that way before he imploded his career in the past few years, but if there's one record from him I particularly enjoy, it's this one.

I am surprised with how much I enjoyed this album. I always liked "Mr. Brightside" but I didn't expect the majority of the record to be on par with it. This is one of those albums that's such a strong 9/10, but I don't know if it should be 5 stars here on the site or not. Just know I fucking loved this thing, no matter what arbitrary score it receives from me. Bangers throughout, from start to end.

I'm realizing that dance-punk tends to be something I'm not particularly into. At least the revival, cause I think Gang of Four's Entertainment is one of the best post-punk-adjacent records of all time. This comes across as very half-baked and uninteresting to me, which is unfortunate because I really wanted to like this. Maybe I had to be there.

So I made a joke the second I saw the genres that this was "reheating Scott Walker's nachos". It actually was. Also this album is ungodly horny; unable to decide whether or not that's a benefit. This is so UK-coded it's not even funny. "Songs of Love" sounds like Sufjan. Pretty cool.

Being such a 90s East Coast devotee, going to listen to this felt like a small betrayal, but it was about time I heard something full from Tupac. I gotta say, I really loved this. The production on this is a lot sleeker and smoother than the East Coast stuff I love (stack this up against Wu Tang or Mobb Deep in terms of production quality... it makes The Infamous sound even creepier), Pac's lyricism and flow is unparalleled, and there are a lot of vulnerable and beautiful moments on this thing that sorta go against the hardened image that Pac's reputation created ("Dear Mama" stopped me in my tracks; what a track, man).

Genuinely absurd to me that "Photograph" is such a legendary, great song that defines its parent genre but the rest of this album comes across as awkward and off-putting. I respect this album for its importance but I always preferred Bon Jovi in terms of this stuff. 10/10 album cover though, I've always loved it since I was 13. I would've worn that on a shirt back then.

Funk has been a weird genre for me to navigate. It either feels too mellow or just a little too heavy-handed for me to really gel with it. War's approach here is sort of a middle-ground feel, loose and jammy and improvisational but with a solid groove, and when this album decides to go a little spacey (the sax solo in the title track, for example), it ends up being transportive and beautiful.

The absolute jumpscare I felt when I saw this pop up. What do you mean Jah Wobble made a downtempo record? I think this has an interesting sound but his vocals are like a worse version of Sonic Boom from Spacemen 3, who I quite enjoy...Jah, not so much. Sorry man. I think you had it best when you were playing for PiL. And that was a looong time before this one.

This tested my patience a LOT. It started off pretty exciting and refreshing, but this isn't exactly the most lively improvisation to me. It does well for an ambient purpose but I can't say I enjoyed paying attention to everything. Sort of exhausting to listen to and not in a "nice" way.

Maybe my first full-length disco record I've ever listened to? I can respect the arrangements here and I imagine a lot of the repetitive dancier songs would be perfect for clubs and dancefloors but this isn't a highly enjoyable album experience. "Somebody Loves Me" is pretty though.

Saw someone call this "The Beta Band for the 2010s" and you know what, that is more accurate than I think most people are going to give credit for. I'm also going to take the time to call out how insane it is that the Beta Band have an album on this list, and it isn't The Three EPs (I know it's a compilation. I don't care. You want to talk experimental and essential?).

My first exposure to Sinatra was actually through Songs For Swinging Lovers, so going back to this one which is markedly more depressed and isolated is sorta darkly funny. Also hey, the first album in the book! Only took 4 months.

"Surreal" might be the perfect word to describe this. I generally like that kind of thing, but I don't know, a lot of this comes across as dissonant and discordant in a way that doesn't appeal to me. I think some of the atmospheres that are cultivated here are pretty interesting but besides that, I can't get into this more.

Finally getting to hear this was a treat. I knew "Folsom Prison Blues" beforehand but everything else was new. Between this and Sweetheart of the Rodeo, I think 1968 was a peak year for country. This is brilliant.

I'm already very familiar with Callahan through the lovely Smog project, which is one of the many cornerstones of sad 90s lower-fi folk. This one is very much in line with Bonnie Prince Billy's I See A Darkness, another lush expansion of one man's formerly depressing lo-fi folk project. It makes sense that they collaborated. I'm just glad to see Bill represented on this list; a highly underrated songwriter and one that may be responsible (unintentionally) for two of the best albums of all time, for better and for worse: Moon Pix and Ys.

Yeah man I don't have much to say here: this is one of my favorite all-time albums and a deeply, deeply nostalgic one for me. Lots of memories of listening to this in mom's car, on my old shitty stereo boombox, of reveling in the beauty of the title track and just how it actually sounds like the cover of the album. I didn't even get the Born to Run comparisons properly until this year but I see them now and I wonder why it took me so long for me to get into Bruce outside of Nebraska. Grandiose drama, theatricality and showmanship excess all sealed into a neat little package.

So if Disintegration didn't exist, this would be my favorite Cure album. A perfect mixture of misanthropy, darkness, isolation and pure unadulterated fucking emotion. A manic, terrifying record, one that has been a core part of my life for nearly the last decade. I can't recommend this one enough. Deeply essential if not slightly life-altering in a really ambiguous way.

It's nice to finally hear something of hers that isn't the Christmas album. "The Roof" takes off running with a Mobb Deep sample and partially because of that, it's my favorite song here. I used to have a much larger spot in my life for this smooth, silky 90s R&B but these days it's not something I pay attention to. I wouldn't be shocked if my grandparents owned this CD though.

I'm sure in 1965 this scared the shit out of some people. I mean, this predates the Byrds even, who I tend to consider one of the biggest turning-point artists of the 60s, but here we are with this sort of elevated rock energy that brings out some grit in what are now considered rock'n'roll standards...and it falls a bit flat for me. I get the influence, I hear how this predates a lot of important stuff, but if I want to hear updated Berry or Little Richard worship (of which there is almost too much here), I'm listening to the Dead or Bruce Springsteen.

Yeah this is kinda funny because the last time I checked these guys were a post-punk band! I harbor a healthy amount of disdain for Rick Rubin's unsavory comments regarding "English pussy music" and the fact that this album sounds churned out of the same bullshit hard rock machine that kickstarted itself in the early 70s (when I say that, I don't mean Zeppelin, I'm talking about bands like Bad Company). Rubin is an admirable producer who gets fantastic results (Reign in Blood and Blood Sugar Sex Magik, case in point) but the whole idea of a goth/post-punk group flipping itself on its head and leaning into cock rock more than anything is laughable to me. This is so bland it's not even funny. Recorded about 10 years too late.

When it's the classic songs, this album earns its place. When it's not, sometimes it make me wonder if I could be doing something else.

So this is like...pretty maligned everywhere I look, but this sounds refreshing and really cool at times to me. "Afterfuture" is right. Considering one of my favorite hip hop albums of all time is cLOUDDEAD s/t, any reasonable amount of atmosphere and ambience is enough for my ears to perk up for a hip hop record. Mike's flow is interesting too, it's very loose and off-the-cuff but it never sounds like it's struggling to keep up or stumbling. The slow build-up of "To The Moon's Contractor" was a welcome surprise too, I was sorta dreading the idea of a nearly 11-minute song on an album like this but it scratched an itch.

After learning that this album became a smash hit after all of its songs were licensed for use in film/TV/commercials, suddenly the acclaim feels superficial. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's a brilliant marketing strategy and I have to commend Moby and his team for using that angle to their advantage, but this actually DOES sound like music for commercials most of the time. Am I crazy? I like "Porcelain" a lot though.

I'm starting to think funk is close to impenetrable for me. It's the long-winded songs, the loose structures and some of the more dramatic aspects of it that just don't have me. I love it when funk is funneled through other genres (it's been a great source for many hip-hop beats, and I think Prince's Sign O The Times is a great example of funk crossover), but George Clinton's pure theatricality is hard for me to swallow. It's not really bad, it's just not the most engaging thing in the world to me. Closer to 3.5 stars but no half ratings here, unfortunately.

An album that is so acclaimed among many of my friends that it almost feels superficial and upsetting that I don't worship it either. That being said, this is still a beast of a record. 80 minutes of some of the most cutting, catchy and beautifully raw songwriting to burst out of the post-punk/PHC bubble. I've always preferred Husker Du's aggressive approach when it comes to highly influential 1984 double albums (why isn't Zen Arcade in this book), but this one is no slouch either. Shoutout "Corona" for its use in Jackass. Our band could be your life.

I'm shocked this is in here, in a good way. MAN, I can't tell you the last time I heard this, but going back to it for this was a treat. I didn't remember this album being so all out aggressive, sort of a San Diego Unwound. Splits the head open. Very glad to see it in this book.

Love love love the atmosphere but some of these songs overstay their welcome. I'd also argue that some of this is more Bark Psychosis than Bruce. Still a great listen, though.

Janis has always been a bit of an acquired taste for me. Long before I was really into that expressive explosive blues stuff outside of Led Zeppelin's really masculine version of it, I always thought her voice sounded like a pack of cigs mixed with a gravel road and I couldn't stand it, especially not the freakout on "Me and Bobby McGee". Her music always felt loose and raw in the worst way. But I was an impatient and pretentious young man, and now I can see the merit in her work. I think part of that has come with getting into the Grateful Dead, becoming aware of her connections to them (especially Pigpen) and realizing that Pig may or may not have been one side of the same coin that Janis took up the other side of.

Forever one of my favorite albums and a genuine lifeline at 14 and 15. One of those records that I'm going to carry with me through my life and whose meaning is going to continuously evolve and shift into new and beautiful things.

Maybe it's the German coming out, but a lot of the weird creepiness to this makes it feel like a lost Nico record. I don't even think these songs are supposed to be that creepy. The theatrical energy here either benefits the songs or totally kills them and I think the English translations ruin any effect they try to have. I don't have a problem with theater/cabaret stuff inherently but I don't know, man. "Weird" is the first word that comes to mind here.

Realizing that "Bitter-Sweet Symphony" is the opening track, and that the ENTIRE rest of the record follows after it sorta blows my mind. That song is so generational and brilliant that following it up with anything feels like it's gonna fall flat. Hilariously, it reminds me of Spiritualized's Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space; one of my favorite albums but one that quite evidently peaks on the first song. Speaking of that, Richard Ashcroft and Kate Radley getting secretly married in 1995 while she was still publicly with Jason put me off the Verve for a long time. Spiritualized is one of my favorite bands and that schism is so insane that I couldn't bring myself to be unbiased with the Verve in the wake of learning that. But here we are now and I can admire what they're doing. I can tell this is gonna grow on me but first impressions are incredibly strong.

I chuckle now thinking of how much this record scared me as a kid. The cover is nightmarish, this incomprehensible collage of carnage and blood and flame, and honestly I think it works pretty effectively. I shit on Rubin's conduct and production of The Cult's Electric, but listening to this I almost take back everything I said in that moment, one of the records that made him a household name. Not my favorite Slayer, but essential in every regard.

Smooth, sensual soul with a sizzle and a crispness to the recordings themselves. Been meaning to hear this for years and I'm happy to cross it off my list finally. Title track is inimitable.

God, feels like I had to hear every other reggae album on the list before I finally got to Marley. And wouldn't you know it, this is my favorite reggae album so far. I love the use of harmonies, the real rich warmth to the music itself (bass tone on this is glorious)...this is what I should've heard to start my path into reggae, not whatever this generator threw at me first.

This is an essential album for any guitarist to listen to, study deeply and marvel at the fact that these guys were unlike anyone else in 1977. Tom Verlaine, you are missed now and always.

Not a fan of that album cover, but this is fun. "Tropical" is the best word for it, a perfect accompaniment to the end of the heatwave I'm living in right now. Pretty cool for 60s psych fans. Also weird Beta Band vibes at times too.

I was late to the game with this one, but the songs from it that I knew before I listened were always some of my favorite Sabbath cuts; "Tomorrow's Dream" with that monstrous opening riff, just such a belter. "Supernaut" of course is fantastic and I gotta say I'm a big fan of "Changes". Miss you, Ozzy.

Finally getting some exposure to this record. Head Hunters' reputation precedes it, and while I was initially expecting my mind to be blown open by this one, I kept myself realistic and realized that jazz fusion just isn't a genre I tend to get a lot of huge enrichment out of. That being said, this is still pretty great. There's a refreshing energy to the improvisation and hearing everyone play off each other.

Big turning point for these guys. In a run of phenomenal masterpieces from 1983 to 1993 this is maybe the most realized of them all, even if it isn't my favorite (Zooropa ain't in this book, though).

One of my favorite albums of all time and the album that I believe is the peak of the "big 3" shoegaze records. What a monster this is. "Seagull" is one of the best opening tracks of any album, let alone any DEBUT album, and "Vapor Trail" bookends it with maybe the greatest shoegaze song of all time. Sure, a lot of people aren't as interested in the jangly 60s-inspired sound of this album as much as, say, Loveless, but this is my favorite flavor of shoegaze. God bless these guys. Also one of the few albums on this list that I can think of where the extended version is essential. The extra 7 songs from the EPs are JUST as good.

At some points, this sounds like stereotypical goth music, but it should sound like that. Also Andrew Eldritch has always looked like Sonic Boom from Spacemen 3 on this cover to me. Am I wrong? That's Sonic dude.

Probably Hendrix's finest hour for a handful of reasons, but I think my love of this album has diminished over the years. 75 minutes of generally-consistent psych rock is cool, but I've realized that I prefer his talent in smaller doses, "Voodoo Chile" being a rare exception. "1983" is nothing to sneeze at either.

The intersection of disco and Europop was never better than when it came from ABBA. The thing is, when I first heard this as a kid I had no love in my heart for this band. Everything about them annoyed me. I'm glad growing up and growing a pair of balls has taught me the truth about them. I just finished the ABBA Gold 33 1/3 book a few weeks ago and there's some interesting anecdotes about the recording of this album in there, so it's equally cool to re-experience the album with that context in mind. Genuinely essential. Argue with the wall.

Loved this more than I thought I would, honestly. Cinematic at its core without feeling heavy-handed and "The Light" might just be the best hip-hop song I've encountered this year. Glorious.

Where U2 finally became themselves; cold and dark and anxious and equally danceable. "New Year's Day" is a complete essential that I'm sure most U2 deniers could recognize the brilliance of. Bono still had some of that lost grit to his performances here too, it felt genuine and fierce and so young (not to say that I dislike what came later, because Zooropa is my favorite album of theirs). This is almost like a different band from the jokes and the stereotypes that have been applied to them in the years since War released.

Such fresh-faced young men on that album cover. Hard to believe Beggars Banquet was only 4 years away. I was never a big Stones guy outside of Let It Bleed and Exile On Main Street (we'll see how I feel about everything in here) and this is kind of an inoffensive debut. It's pure British Invasion but not nearly as captivating as the Beatles. "Mona (I Need You Baby)" opens like "How Soon Is Now" so that makes it my favorite track by default here.

Chrissie Hynde's voice is so goddamn loud on this album that it feels like she's right in my ear. I don't know if that's a good thing yet. Also for such a mainstream record this has some aggressive/"edgy" lyricism, especially for '80. Some of this is kinda jumpy in quality (straight punk isn't really my thing no matter how you dress it up and this hits all the ugly spots of the genre for me), but "Brass in Pocket" is an undeniable one.

Right after I get an album where I say "straight punk doesn't do much for me", I get this and take back what I said. Sure you can make the argument that there's a lot of power pop going into this but it's got punk energy and that's what usually throws me off. This is killer though, slotting right next to Singles Going Steady in terms of proto-pop-punk. I can't believe how much I enjoy this, actually. Another argument for this site having half-star ratings cause this is a solid 9.

Being mostly familiar with ELO through their more pop-oriented singles ("Don't Bring Me Down" is a childhood "classic", in the sense that I heard it a lot due to my mother but I could never stand it), this is a bit of a shock to my system. "Turn To Stone" opens this thing up like a spacey Queen song, for God's sake. That being said there is a samey-ness that sets in halfway through the first disc, a repetition of the fact that these guys are trying to sound like the Beatles (and they succeed occasionally), but it's all starts to merge together after a while. And honestly this album gets weird at times and not in a great way, whatever that cacophony at the start of "Night in the City" took me out completely. "Mr. Blue Sky" is of course undeniable, though, as is the entire "Concerto" suite. That alone probably nets this album the 4 star rating.

Scott Walker's greatest album. Man, what a treat this one is. It goes from folkish to rocking to baroque in the blink of an eye and never once does it feel heavy-handed or bizarre. Scott could sing me the phonebook and I'd weep. What a talent he was, even when he went heavily experimental with his last works.

This thing morphs and jumps and dives and screeches and does all sorts of things across its 75-minute runtime. It's kind of absurd. Also weirdly ahead of its time in a lot of ways. Not recommended if In The Court of the Crimson King is your threshold for prog weirdness. Recommended if you think Larks' Tongues in Aspic wasn't batshit enough.

Intensely formative for me at 13, not even CLOSE to my favorite Metallica anymore. Title track, however... that's where it all began for me and it still kicks ass. Can we talk about how Ride the Lightning isn't in the book though? What the fuck.

Pretty sweet, I think at 13 this would've been perfect for me. I will say the arrangements do some heavy lifting for the songs themselves but that's not a big deal. Nice and short and easy to listen to if you like 60s folk stuff. Sorta Donovan at times!

I have long held the thought that Clapton is a better musician when he isn't the center of all immediate attention; his era in the Bluesbreakers and Yardbirds, Cream, Derek & The Dominoes...he had a nice hot streak before the solo material began. "Motherless Children" is easily the best solo song of his I've heard up to this point but that's a small list (this album, a handful of tracks elsewhere but "Cocaine" is the only one that comes to mind immediately).

I always love the stories of bands that start with teen appeal that then become artistic powerhouses; The Who is definitely one of those. Even at the beginning, they were awesome, although some of the bluesier covers on here are not preferable. "The Kids Are Alright", though, that's basically a Byrds song. Killer stuff.

Still have memories of hearing this the week it came out, with its tone immediately shifting two days later. Not one of my immediate favorite Bowie records partially because of his death being so sudden and saddening to me, but man what a note to go out on. We miss you, David.

If you aren't into the really sleazy ends of the UK 80s underground, you're going to hate this. I think it's alright. A totally bizarre mix of emotions and sounds and tones, with the approach coming off like a more uptempo and wickedly delightful-sounding version of the Fall but with less aggression and literary wit.

I'll admit, I was reluctant to listen to this when it showed up. My relationship with Beyonce's music so far has been hit or miss and a nearly 70-minute contemporary R&B record definitely didn't seem like something I'd be interested in. It's certainly more interesting than I thought it would be, and this thing is just...dripping with sex, almost to a fault but I would be throwing stones in a glass house if I called that element out specifically. The production is pretty fascinating for a R&B record because there's some really heavy distorted parts of this thing that sound like they could be on Yeezus. I guess 2013 was just a formative year for this sound.

After years of thinking this album was "good but nothing crazy" (as a result of ONE listen I gave to it when I was 13), It took someone comparing to this to an Albini production job for me to think about how this album actually sounds kinda awesome. I feel bad for Jason and the fact that his bass just isn't here, but this is kind of a metal version of At Action Park in terms of the recording. The songs themselves, though. I mean it's peak era Metallica. This is, for me, the last breath of strength they had left in them. We'll see if that sticks when I relisten to the Black Album for this project, but something shifted between this album and that one and it wasn't a good shift. "One" is the only song I really truly remembered before going back to the album today but the title track is pretty spectacular as well. One problem: they're all way too long. Two 10-minute songs on a Metallica album is genuinely unhinged.

Still to date my only full-length exposure to Costello but a romping record it is. Just all around fun.

The turning point in Talk Talk's career before their ultimate ascension into the world of post-rock history. A lovely record, "Life's What You Make It" is still one of my favorite songs they've ever made (the music video is fun too).

I've heard some of Lady Day's 40s hits before, and I find them marvelous, but this late-career release is almost sad to listen to. Her voice is shot, she's a year from death and all of this looms over the project like some depressing miasma. Without that context, this album is just alright.

Where the Beatles really started to show the strengths of their originality, evidenced by the title track and "And I Love Her". Delightful and sweet.

I think Nick Cave has always been able to be a little creepy, but his proto-Bad Seeds material has always stood out to me in that way. First time actually hearing TBP in the studio as my only exposure to them prior to this is the awesome Live 1981-82 album. This one is far more off the rails and raw and intense and frankly at times it sounds like they're destroying their instruments. I don't know how to feel about it.

Tom Waits' experimental period reminds me of aural smelling salts. He occupies and embodies such a specific side of uniquely-American songwriting, running a 100-year spectrum of sound and texture and lyricism. This is maybe the weirdest of them all. Pretty great! "Who Are You" is the most normal song and my favorite above all else.

A real childhood classic here. I think this material ended up being mostly improved on Made in Japan (at least what appears there), but come on, man: "Smoke on the Water" is a classic for a reason. "Highway Star", too.

Honestly very delighted to see this in the book. Frankly, I think Bikini Kill should be on this list too, but who cares? "Deceptacon" might just be the best song Kathleen Hanna ever wrote between all of her projects, but even the rest of the songs that follow are still great. It's pretty hard for me to get into pure punk stuff but the riot grrrl scene of the 90s might be one of the better places it took shape.

A very bizarre record, I'll be honest; like a synthpop Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy). Artsy and danceable all at once but not exactly my kind of sound.

There is so much fucking reggae in this book. Too much, I'd say. Smooth, 90s production reggae isn't exactly my flavor but neither is a lot of the genre as I've come to find out. In rare moments, though, this thing shines: "Sunday Shining" picks up the tempo after two slow songs to start and it's got a great vibe, as does "Sweet and Loving Man". It's a slog of an album otherwise.

This album is entirely responsible for my fandom of music to this day. When I was first properly exposed to Queen at the age of 12, this was the first full album I checked out from them because the cover was later referenced in the BoRhap video. It was one of the first albums I ever listened to front and back and I believe that from the age of 12 to 14, it was my favorite album. I still believe that it is a perfect record. Argue with the wall.

I'm really lost for something to say here and I can't tell if this is burnout or just a general disinterest in the record beyond its passable listenability; it's pleasant. That's the best thing I can give it. Probably could've died without hearing this one. Recording quality is pretty great for the 50s though.

ATCQ might be the greatest hip hop group of all time, and Q-Tip is a very big part of that equation. Hearing him do a solo record is definitely a weird feeling but he pulls it off, and thank God this is under an hour. I can't believe how many hip hop albums push an hour.

From a cultural aspect, legitimately indispensable and wholly essential. From a musical perspective...not as much, in my opinion. Elvis is best understood as a singles artist and this album is "fine" but it's not a mind-blower by any means.

Chill yet sinister, funky yet smooth, a complete master class. Haven't seen the movie but this album makes me feel like I walked into a pre-existing world. Incredible.

I have realized that most of these albums of electronic/dance music that push 70 minutes are some of the most patience-testing releases in the book. This is no exception. It is very much fine and has moments of awesome energy but the rest leaves me whelmed at best. I don't know why. Too busy to be background music and too spacious to be at the front of my mind.

When I first heard this album several years ago, I felt the same way many of the people on this site do. It genuinely horrified and sickened me, like I was hearing the closest thing to an aural snuff film that I could possibly imagine. It didn't come across as music. Over the years, however, I have realized that this is one of industrial music's forever masterpieces. It is supposed to be horrifying, discomforting, arresting and you are supposed to be challenged by it, and it deserves your respect. 20 Jazz Funk Greats is my favorite TG record (and honestly, a more fitting album for this list as I do think it's where the fusion of industrial with other genres began), but this one is almost as essential. A 5 out of spite and a 5 for genuine interest.

Finally getting the chance to hear some of their deeper cuts after years of the memes and the obvious hits is really lovely. Just popping with energy and passion from the get go. A blast to listen to.

For some reason, I always default to thinking that this is Neil's debut, simply because it's such an affirmative statement to stake a claim with. Even though it isn't, this album sews so many threads of the future of rock/country/folk and whatever hybrids could be born out of them. Just excellent and awesome all around.

This one can sometimes feel like a bit of surreal mess. I've spent about 7 years trying to understand the Pixies and what makes them so beloved outside of Doolittle but I've come up short most of the time (and this is after I managed to find their entire original run on CD and grab it just because, not realizing that I'd mainly prefer one record and a handful of songs otherwise). Surfer Rosa suffers from a weird abstract disjointedness and an Albini-production job that is so dry that I can visualize the dust clouds coming off the walls in the studio when I listen to it (I usually love his style, but wow that album is painful to listen to sometimes), and this album feels like more of a scrapbook for ideas without the potential to bring them to life fully. "Velouria" is one of the best Pixies songs, though, and it's almost enough to lift this record to a higher plane.

I made a mistake listening to this just before noon. This is only for the pre-dawn hours or pitch-black nocturnal reflections, no other time. Soft to the point of lulling me to sleep, and I'm not quite sure if that's a compliment or not. Does great work for relaxation, though.

Somehow, I actually just intentionally listened to "Praise You" for the first time in full last week and it was in public. Ironically enough, I don't feel like this has the length issue that a lot of these kinds of records have. Pretty much a blast the entire time.

Pleasantly surprised to see this album here. Wilco is a band I will always have a spot in my heart for, and this record furthered my interest in them several years ago. Warm and evocative and sweet and sentimental and so brutally real in the way only Tweedy knows how to conjure. Far more alt-country than something like Yankee Hotel Foxtrot as well, and I have a deeper appreciation for that sound now thankfully.

How perfect, as I'm currently reading the 33 1/3 book about this album. There are a handful of albums where you can say "if you don't like it argue with the wall"; this is an unequivocal one. I don't know quite what it is about this album, what makes it exactly so good, but it feels like a generational masterpiece. It definitely isn't a typical debut; it's self-assured, confident, catchy as all hell. Rest in peace to Mani, whose basslines make this album.

I know everyone points to the Beach Boys and the Beatles as the reference points for the revival of 60s psych pop in the 90s (a la Olivia Tremor Control), but try and convince me this doesn't sound like an Elephant 6 record.

I cannot believe this album made the list. Not because it's bad, but because The Fall is like the musical equivalent of ant spray, especially THIS era of The Fall. This album gets extra points for having one of its lyrics used as the source for the name of one of the greatest albums of all time (Frigid Stars by Codeine).

If you ever wanted to hear what it might sound like if Silver Jews/Pavement met Scott Walker, this is your album. Arrestingly beautiful. Cultivates an atmosphere that is entirely unexpected, but one that's appropriate for the cover art.

Blood on the Tracks almost defies description. Ever since I was a teenager first getting into Dylan, this has been my favorite of all of his works. It's his most vulnerable, his most heartfelt and honest, and in a discography full of records to do such a thing, his most poetic. This album is imprinted on my soul and my heart and I honestly wonder what my life would be like without it. Even for the Dylan non-believers, this is an essential. I get not liking his voice, but to hear "Tangled Up In Blue" or "Simple Twist Of Fate" and miss the emotion and the passion in the words he wrote is to commit a sin. I love this album. I am so thankful to Dylan for baring his soul the way he did to share this one with the world.

My gateway to metal as an innocent, easily frightened young kid. Hearing the title track for the first time was like an aural horror film, and yet it had me hooked like a drug. That solo at the very end of the song is still one of the greatest musical passages I've ever heard. Sabbath might've peaked here in all honesty.

I always figured that Tricky represented the sleazier side of Massive Attack's pioneering early work; I was right. Sleazy isn't inherently bad, though. The man just likes to get his fuck on. This record is kinda weird to me in that it doesn't quite know where to go, a lot of styles and genres thrown together ("Black Steel" comes out of nowhere and I'm not entirely fond of it).

What a thrill of a record, a real party. Opening with "Ponta de lança africano (Umbabarauma)" is one hell of a mission statement. This is definitely encouraging me to check more of his work, because wow this is glorious. Another reminder for me to dig into MPB at some point too.

Hardest working man in show business! I see why this is so iconic and I think this is without question a solid and necessary part of music history. I just don't know how often I'd actually listen to this. Part of me wants to hit this with 4 stars but I can't say I have a lot of relisten value here.

Most unserious album title and cover combo in history. That being said, this thing rips and roars and dives and gyrates. Sounds like you're in the room with the band feeling this thing out. Smells like cigarettes. Good hangover record.