1001 Albums Summary

not my favorite TH album. some good tracks and skippers. psycho killer, don’t worry about the government, love > building on fire, thank you for sending me an angel.

don’t think the album started off very strong, first four are pretty whatever. like the jazz influence. root down - jimmy smith. sabotage = classic. get it together, q-tip. like the instrumentals.

surprised how low key it is. criminal is a jam and only song i knew. shadowboxing is good. the rest is not really grabbing me. seems a little dated across the board.

fun album. some great samples. some very silly rhymes.

classic debut. good choice of covers. interestingly not a single original. perkins. charles. little richard. pretty strong even without the singles.

green light is a serious jam. not sure about the others.

great album. as good as, better than pink moon? idk. river man is great.

definitely one of the best/my fav costello albums. others include: this year’s model, king of america, imperial bedroom. special love for later when i was cruel and delivery man. not a bad song on the album.

idk what i thought xtc sounded like, but it wasn’t this. it's very eclectic. pop. classical. psychedelic. indian raga. jazz. dear god is great. making plans for nigel is a great tune not on this album. i was told to check that out as well.

radiohead-lite. for when the bleeps and blips are just too much for the MOR inclined. it's fine. it’s for high schoolers.

top three of the beatles album, placement depends on the day (other two, revolver, abbey road). dear prudence is probably my fav beatles song. paul on the bass and drums. the “throw away” tunes are fun. wild honey pie ftw. #9, could take or leave, love the outtakes too.

i like other pink floyd albums quite a lot, but i do not care for this one very much. too bloated, not enough memorable parts for me. fairly disjointed. most songs would cannot stand on their own. please stop playing different parts of the wall. "hey you" is a good tune. so is "comfortably numb."

love fela. his approach is pretty formulaic, but it works. hook, horns, jam it out, bring it down, back in for the finale. big fan. have his boxset something like ~50 albums.

let’s stay together is a pure total jam. the back and forth between la la (al al) is chefs kiss. pretty good bee gees cover. really like the up beat numbers.

a solid album. good choice of covers. jazzier than i thought it was going to be (as opposed to straight up soul, if that makes sense). a good blend of genres, i can see how it would have been a groundbreaker when released.

good, solid art-pop album. a couple low notes. "my love, my life" is maybe my least fav. the rest are pretty good jams. idk if i would have ended it on "happy hawaii". "dancing queen" is pretty grating at this point with its saturation in pop culture, but that's not abba's fault. "fernando" is a jam. gotta love a couple of swedes singing about mexican revolutionaries.

great album. a real marty scorsese classic. "monkey man" and "live with me" are killer "lesser" known stones tunes.

this one is better than let it bleed. funny i should have them back to back. both five stars, but this was is more five stars. killer opening line up with "rocks off" > "rip this joint" > "shake your hips". love "ventilator blues", "sweet virginia", "loving cup", "tumbling dice". "happy" with keef on the vox.

it's a good little album. "these days" is probably the best known song (penned by jackson browne). other songs written by/contributed to by big name artists - dylan, reed, cale, hardin. she can't really sing, but it's kind of charming?

great prog-genesis album. peter gabriel genesis > phil collins genesis. that said, phil is a beast on the skins. one of progs' great drummers. i've seen the musical box recreated tours of the gabriel years, and they're a lot of fun - this tour does the whole album and then an encore of some earlier stuff. selling england is a better album (and tour) tho. this is how you make a concept album (looking at you 'the wall'). more than a handful of memorable songs, songs that can be played out of context and enjoyed.

this is what was scaring white people in the late 80s huh? and to think it brought us the best reality tv show ever.

i zimbra. cities. life during wartime. heaven. memories can’t wait. classic funky heads. their first truly great album.

not bad. has some good numbers. very lilith faire. some production is pretty dated. ultimately not my thing.

i saw them open for someone, not sure. i remember it being enjoyable enough. i do not remember it being so proggy and eclectic. a good mix of genres happening. can see it appealing to the jam band crowd and the indie crowd alike. vocalist has a ty segal vibe, or maybe it's vice versa? good stuff.

p-funk. love it. maceo and fred on the horns. great addition.

some great tunes. same social commentary can be applied to today (timeless?! :/ ) inner city blues is a jam.

hard to say which of the solo albums released after the break-up of the beatles is the best (mccartney, plastic ono band, atmp). personally, i think it comes down to this or pob. although not alive at the time, i would have to think this was the most surprising of them all. even lp 3 is fun. although the rest of his solo career had some definite highlights, this is without a doubt the best of his albums.

not bad. "daydreamin'" is a jam. like the jay-z tune. horrible album cover. and where's the bass in the mix?

another good effort from the stones. three real bangers on here ("sympathy for the devils", "street fighting man", "stray cat blues". i don't think it's as good as the next three however. the other tracks, blues meandering, hit a little less than on other albums. definitely starts the shift to the sound i think most people think of when they think 'the stones'.

love nick cave. this "stagger lee" is the best version of the "stagger lee"s. saw him do it live, one of the best performances i've ever seen. fun to imagine a kylie minogue stan buying this album for her two spots and getting this album.

common? the actor? not bad. good production.

pretty good. “sexy boy” is horrible tho.

a good listen. very eclectic. "sunday sunday" and "oily water" are definite highlights.

while it's no metal machine music, this album is pretty good too. "walk on the wild side" and "satellite of love" are some highlights. this "wagon wheel" is superior to the 'hootie' version, which i was surprised to learn was actually co-written by bob zimmerman.

wilco has a lot of five star albums and this is one of them. i assume at least "yankee hotel foxtrot" is part of this as well. do not sleep on "a ghost is born", "sky blue sky", "the whole love" - those are worthy of five stars as well. in fact, listen to the whole wilco discography. i truly believe wilco is one of the greatest american bands ever (ccr, grateful dead, r.e.m., the byrds, the band).

love willie. one of his best. if you like this one check out: "shotgun willie", "phases and stages". or anything. i don't know if the guy has a bad album, but i haven't listened to all 100+.

interesting album. the first half is like funk soul ala later marvin gaye, sly stone and then the second half is back to what you know the temptations to be. not sure about that "grapevine" version tho...

i think everyone knows "smoke on the water". maybe "space truckin'". surprised to learn this is their sixth album as it doesn't seem to be that polished. makes me think of high school (idk, why - this is the first time i've listened to the whole album) - just sounds like a band that some high schoolers would make - not necessarily a negative here.

some good beats, interesting lo-fi. reminds me of andy stott. ultimately not my thing, but not a bad listen at all.

i like lenny but i have to be in the mood for lenny. it’s a good listen. maybe for a depressing saturday night in alone. i prefer “songs from a room”, i think.

i've learned about this concert several times. once in jazz band at school. once in college in a music class. once in ken burns' "jazz" epic doc. the sax solo in "diminuendo in blue" is legendary and essentially revamped ellington's career if i recall correctly. it's a good album. a lot of talking in between, which i'm sure was more customary - and good to capture completely in some cases, but a pared down version would certainly flow better. given the original record and the "complete" would still take the "complete" tho.

that side b hits hard - "houses of the holy", "trampled underfoot", and "kashmir". dang. then elsewhere you have "in my time of dying" and "ten years gone". impressive. surprised to learn that it was padded out with unused material from previous albums.

"north american scum", "all my friends", and "new york, i love you but you're bringing me down" are highlights. solid discography. never listened to "american dream" tho.

this sounds like something i made in my dorm room on fruity loops in college. what is supposed to be remarkable about this album that i need to hear it before i die?

eclectic album. the tags in the first track are pretty funny. "the bob (medley)" reminds me of some sort of proto-ween. half of "sea breeze" is horrible and the bass is out of tune.

great album. great guitar playing. great interplay. a classic.

you can definitely tell this is the first album he did with quincy. some great tunes, i’ve never heard before.

love the band. push comes to shove i probably like “big pink” more. but still. great stuff. “rock of ages” is my fave tho.

solid album. u2 gets a bad wrap for some reason (bono), but they have classics for a reason.

the title track is one of my favorite hendrix tunes. "spanish castle magic", "ain't no telling", "little wing", "if 6 was 9", "castles made of sand", all great. maybe don't let noel write a song.

are you allowed to do a reprise of a song that immediately came before it? guess it makes more sense if you consider the format. kind of peters out at the end. solid. joe walsh is the best part of the band.

had to be wild hearing black sabbath for the first time. "n.i.b." slaps. the rest is ok. but big points for kicking off doom.

i like "goddess on a hiway" and "the funny bird". otherwise this album doesn't really do too much for me. much prefer what they have going on in "the secret migration".

nick drake goes electric. it definitely has a more upbeat feel than the others. pretty sure i heard a few of these first from wes anderson films and the garden state soundtrack.

it’s a good listen. kevin shields live rig is insane. had to pull out the cd because it wasn’t currently streaming.

fun album. funky, upbeat. wasn't sure what to expect. surprised to learn i had seen ruben blades in some of his acting roles before.

"moondance" is such a boring song, idk why people like it so much. white bread the album. that said, "caravan" is cool. so is "everyone".

i wish i had a copy of the book to see the reasoning behind some album inclusions. i enjoy the "world" music inclusions on the list, if only for exposure - some are flat out incredible (fela kuti), but this seems to be an odd inclusion. world music + techno beats does not an interesting album make.

love it. great covers. james taylor, doobie brothers, seals & crofts. marvin is a funky guy on that bass. ballads aren’t my fav.

i've heard the name julian cope but never the teardrop explosion. this is a new one to me. i like it quite a bit. some good and interesting new wave. reminds me of oingo boingo sans elfman.

it's a solid album. i knew the hits, but the non-single tunes are good too.

maybe the greatest american band? certainly one of. not their best (cosmo's factory), but still a five star album.

it's fine. it's got the mac half of fleetwood mac on it. none of the covers surpass the originals.

hell yeah. tonsure time.

not my favorite zappa by any means. lyrically the topics are as prescient as ever. i prefer the more jazzy, rock output of zappa - not big on the humor overall, but this album does it well.

it's a nice album. it's all covers tho. i suppose modern sounds was too, but i preferred that album. the flow is weird - would prefer big band and ballads mixed throughout.

great album. love the quiet tunes. "what goes on" is a fun little jam. "murder mystery" is a cool, experimental track. "after hours" is a delightful little number with maureen.

like "ill communication" the best part of this album is the samples.

great album. mostly instrumental which must have been jarring for bowie fans up until this point.

i like some weird stuff, but i can’t imagine a situation where i would ever want to listen this again. that said, “ab/7a” was cool.

top three beatles album imo. a great one to go out on.

hard to rank bowie albums, or at least the good ones. and this is one of the best. push to shove, might have "hunky dory" above it. depends on the day. wham bam thank you ma'am.

dylan goes electric. judas! no notes.

it’s good. some really good numbers and versions. the bonus tracks included on this include “suspicious minds”, but was not on the original. inclusion might have bumped it up to a fiver.

the album is good, but his wikipedia article give it quite a lot of context as to its inclusion. very influential to many artists on this list: dylan, crosby, stills, parsons. did not know nilsson was not the writer of "everybody's talkin'".

eddie hazel. george clinton. bernie sorrel. “maggot brain”, “super stupid”, and “hit it and quit it”.

i really do not care for pop punk. “longview” is pretty good tho.

this album is great. used to listen to it very frequently. this and his mixtape "nostalgia, ultra". not a bad track on either album. highlights include: "pyramids", "lost", "forrest gump", and andre 3000's lines on "pink matter".

this album is pretty good. the slow numbers are kind of a snooze tho. interesting that the wikipedia for mike ladd and the album is so sparse and it's included on this list.

it's fine. poppy, catchy enough. good production, vocals. i do wonder about its inclusion in the list tho (and this is not a comment only about this album, it's just the most recently released album i've received from this list). clearly with older albums, most were liked when they came out and have stood the test of time as people still like them to this day. with something as recent as this, i wonder why it was included and who was pushing for its inclusion. it's not particularly groundbreaking or anything. there were some solid 2018 releases that i think will stand the time more: sons of kemet (never heard an album like this before), father john misty, boygenius (similar lgbtq+ appeal, themes, musicians) for example. ymmv, this might boil down to personal preference as i am not typically a poptimist.

great album by the talking heads. love "take me to the river" and "the big country", the other stuff is good too, but they are not quite yet at their peak.

"tears of rage", "the weight", "long black veil", "chest fever", "this wheel's on fire", and "i shall be released"?! hoo boy.

very distinct voice. not an everyday album, but lovely to listen to at the right moment.

"ramble tamble". nuff said. almost a ccr best of album in its own rights.

funky funky. everyone knows "le freak", but the rest are jams too.

great album, although it closes on its lowest note. i will say it is hard to listen to mj sing about a "pyt" these days.

solid. makes you feel powerful walking around with this in the cans. good rhymes, good flow. classic.

fun album. minimalist approach for every to enjoy. "judy is a punk" is an all timer.

a pleasant album. i like frank and the whole rat pat aesthetic. really only one of the 'hits' i know frank for - "i've got you under my skin". i know the song "pennies from heaven", and like it, but i think we can all agree the louis prima version is superior.

what a banger - so many greats. "debaser", "wave of mutilation", "here comes your man", "monkey gone to heaven", "hey", "gouge away". classic, seminal indie rock.

a good listen. very unique voice. nice blend of jazz, r&b, crooner stuff.

the best part of this album is mcvie's bassline in "the chain". "dreams" good too. buckingham tunes are solid. the album's low points are christine mcvie tunes. "songbird" and "oh daddy" are not my thing. but i like "you make loving fun". tusk is better.

i think this album really starts to take off on track three, "rags to rags". that, "not ready yet", and "my beautiful monster". saw them once. it was a good show, had never listened to them. also never listened to them again until now, but that was before streaming was a thing.

good album. not his best, but some definite highs - "biko" is a powerful album closer and i've seen him close with it live as well. "i don't remember" and "family snapshot" are highlights as well. i even have the german version of this album. some big players on the album too. fripp, kate bush, phil collins, dave gregory, paul weller.

it's a nice jazz album. not great. not their best either (its "tough talk"). don't really care for the title track singing.

"velouria", "allison", and "dig for fire" are great tunes. but this album is not as good as the first two - "bossanova" and "surfer rosa".

this rules. i love when afro-(insert genre here) stuff like this pops up. hopefully there’s more. reminds me of tinariwen had a baby with fela kuti.

CAN you dig it. yes i CAN.

fun listen. apparently not much has changed since 1990. "911 is a joke" - acab, amirite?

it was an interesting album, punk with sax.had high energy. might be a grower.

saw them on their next album's tour. i think i won tickets. it was a great show, but for some reason i never really stuck with them. this is a great album. jazzy, tejano, country, americana. dig it.

first, it automatically jumps you a deluxe album version, which can be forgiven knowing how odd streaming services are and what's available - but should be noted. second, the first released version doesn't start until track five and six on the deluxe version, then jumps to tracks 11-14. so what we are getting is quite a lot more filler than originally intended and in quite a different version. i assume it's due to the way the original sets were, but that isn't noted anywhere. an odd choice though to take the well-known, included in the 1,001 best albums list, best live album ever, and put the original five tracks in and then tack the rest on at the end. that said, it's heavy and there is a lot of energy. if you liked this, check out the deluxe version of who's next: life house and listen to disc 4, the new york record plant sessions, live, exhilarating. better song selection, better sound.

great effort for a 17th studio album by the boys (except you mike love, you suck). "long promised road" is great. so is "surf's up".

i like it. perhaps a bit too long, but maybe not. the variety is good. interesting from the perspective that you can really here what the other members of the pixies were bringing to the band - it wasn’t just francis.

the turning point for the beatles. they’re starting to experiment and music will never be quite the same. yay.

great album. was quite obsessed with it back in the day. loved the harmonies. somehow dated and timeless and timeless and dated. enjoyed their other output as well. but i think the best output may have been father john misty.

the bee gees are incredible and this is one of their best. most think disco when they think bee gees, but they were much more. early garage rock “i want home”. revolver-era psychedelic. soul tunes. one of the best bands ever. “it’s just way”, “trafalgar”, “don’t wanna live inside myself”, “lion in winter”, and “walking back from waterloo” are jams.

significantly less annoying than white stoner dudes in high school would have you believe. have never listened to a full bob marley album before. it's chill. "stop that train" and "baby we've got a date (rock it baby)" were highlights for me. still not a big reggae guy.

the rapping is good. the samples/instrumentation is pretty interesting in all, but it's just one per song for the most part and therefore every song gets very repetitive. make the album 70 minutes long and it is a slog to get through. less can definitely be more. i think there is some great stuff in here and with some editing it could be better. i also do not know who rap skits are for. i have never heard anyone positively mention a rap skit.

it's no "1984", but it is good. david lee roth is the only lead singer of van halen as far as i'm concerned. "ain't talkin' bout love", "jamie's cryin'", "runnin' with the devil"... these guys loved droppin' the "g". 'reat tunes.

“beyond belief” is such a unique, cool song. i usually have to listen to it a few times because i wish it were longer. this is definitely one of declan’s best albums (“blood and chocolate”, “this year’s model”, “the delivery man”, “my aim is true”, and “king of america” are all strong contenders). “tears before bedtime”, “man out of time”, “almost blue”, these are great tunes.

there really is no one quite like björk. really well produced. stunning music.

it's a great rock 'n roll record. big, dumb, simple. killer riffs.

this album is cool when björk is going off. it's pretty awful when einar is doing vocals. it is very dated. "sick for toys" and "fucking in rhythm & sorrow" are truly awful. but hey it brought us björk and that's cool.

pretty decent rock 'n roll album. can't help of think of the rod stomach pump rumor tho. lmao.

it’s great. still going electric.

r.e.m. is one of america’s greatest bands. certainly of their era. so many classic tunes and albums and this is one of them. “drive”, “the sidewinder sleeps tonite”, “everybody hurts”, “man on the moon”, and “nightswimming” are classics. but the rest are great too - especially “monty got a raw deal” and “ignoreland”.

love this album. perfect for the pool, a quiet night, for conversation.

it's a bop. starts out very strong. "zero" and "heads will roll". the rest of the album keeps up. it's a good listen.

stone cold classic. everyone knows "coconut", and probably "without you" (although they may know the original by badfinger), but the rest of the album is great. all over the board with styles. "down" and "jump into the fire" rock. "gotta get up", "driving along", and "early in the morning" are catchy numbers. big fan. have his box set. surprising this is his only album on the list. if you like this check out: "song of schmilsson" - the most like "nilsson schmilsson". similar, but more brash, adult. "you're breaking my heart" (you're tearin' it apart, so fuck you) and "spaceman". big players on this one. "pandemonium shadow show" - some great beatles' covers and "cuddly toy" which the monkees would go on to record. "harry" - some more great covers, "i guess the lord must be in new york city", "puppy song", and "maybe". "nilsson sings newman" - all randy newman covers with randy newman, need i say more? "a little touch of schmilsson in the night" - all standards.

it took me a long time to warm to the smiths. i first came to morrissey with "you are the quarry". push to shove, i might prefer his solo work over the smiths, but that's a different discussion. this album is great. the guitar playing, bass and drums are tight. morrissey is a depressed, crooning bitch, which is when he's at his best, to his own detriment as he has made a career of insipid hot takes for the media he claims to abhor. some of the best tunes of their careers: "i know it's over", "bigmouth strikes again", "the boy with the thorn in his side", "there is a light that never goes out". perfect tunes.

a classic. neil is the man. buffalo springfield, csny, crazy horse, solo. what a career. perhaps this is the pinnacle? maybe it's "on the beach"? "havest", "old man", "the needle and the damage done", and of course, "heart of gold". incredible.

great harmonizing from phil and don. nice little ditties "for listening or dancing". saw them open up for simon and garfunkel once. "love hurts" and "so how come (no one loves me)" are highlights. the white bread take on "lucille" is funny.

i'd only heard "somebody to love" and "white rabbit", which are keystones in psychedelic music. but there are some other gems here is as well. slick's voice is powerful and the only person i've heard come close to matching that timbre of it is amber webber from black mountain. "3/5 of a mile in 10 seconds" is a cool tune. i even like the proto-rap in "plastic fantastic lover".

very solid soul output. great voice.

a singular voice, to be sure. kind of all over the board, but i like it. and it makes sense having read that it is comprised out "scraps" of other sessions. i have seen the "what happened, miss simone?" doc, and have heard her songs throughout the years, but this the first full album.

i like tom petty. this has two hits, or at least songs that people would know - "breakdown" and "american girl". but it definitely feels like a debut otherwise. glimmers of what would come, but otherwise not fully formed. looking ahead it's very surprising that this is on the list and not "wildflowers". that album is better across the board. i don’t know anyone that would say this is tom’s best.

i thought this band was bland and overrated when they first debuted, and it turns out i still do. i can't believe a guy who dressed like he thought he was jimmy darmody from boardwalk empire would put out a boring album. i would say "ocean of noise" was the best tune on here, but in an album full of unremarkable and unmemorable songs it gets lost.

it's fine. i enjoyed it, but it isn't super memorable. no real standout tracks. no real stinkers. something of a middle ground. great background music. perfectly ignorable, but if you tune in there's enough to like.

i like it more than "catch a fire". it's definitely more memorable. definitely more political. i'm still not a big reggae fan, but this one seems pretty solid. band seems tighter than "catch".

this is a classic. i opens with an absolutely banger - "21st century schizoid man". there is no denying that. they open with the highlight and it doesn't get any better, but how could it. i wasn't alive, but i can't imagine anyone had heard something like this before. i have the six disc boxset. "moonchild" really drags this album down. "epitaph" and the title track are awesome. "i talk to the wind" is ok. kind crimson is a hard band to peg down. it has very distinct eras and very distinct lineups. and it's hard to pin down "the best". this one could be in the running for its influence, but there are other strong options and ones i like better. the run from "larks' tongue in aspic" through "discipline" is impressive ("larks'" > "starless and the bible black" > "red" > "discipline").

i like the rolling stones. i think they have a few five star albums. this is not one of them. this has to be one of the most unimpressive debuts for a band that would reach their stature ever. one boring original and some mostly boring covers.

first album where i really didn’t know what to expect and the wikipedia blurb does not give you any clues either. after listening to it i’m still not really sure what it is. but i don’t like it.

"look something is very wrong! i don't want santana abraxis! i've just been in a terrible auto accident!" - lawrence gopnik, a serious man "so hold on a second. so they're called santana, right? but that guy who's singing is not santana." "no. santana's the guitar player." "then how did he get them to name the band after him?" "i don't know, man. maybe he's just a bad ass." "if that's true then that's... amazing." - a conversion, freaks and geeks somewhere between these two quotes lies the truth. as far as carlos goes, we've always heard about his virtuosity, but i am whelmed. he isn't bad. he isn't outstanding. somewhere between these two statements lies the truth. perhaps it's over saturation, but the two well known songs "oyo como va" and "black magic woman" are the least exciting ones on here. "incident at neshabur" is the most interesting. at least it isn't "smooth".

it's cool stuff. fugazi has always been a band that i knew of and generally knew what they were, but never listened to. some of the songs are great, and some are ok. the album feels more like a collection of songs than an album based on the flow, but i suppose that is the typical approach with a band like this. pretty raw production.

a classic from paul mac and wings. essentially only recorded by macca and denny laine, and linda (although to what extent who knows), this could almost be considered one of the mccartney numbered albums. people who rated this album a one or two star are daft. one person said there were no hooks or melodies... do you understand how music works at all?! if you don't like "nineteen hundred and eighty-five" you are simple. /end rant of the solo mccartney/wings albums it makes sense that this is one included along with "mccartney", but it's astounding that "ram" isn't on this list instead of or in addition to the s/t debut. i would also venture "mccartney ii" should be included. "temporary secretary" rules. paul mccartney rules. wings rules.

this is a good sounding live album. it's pretty difficult to tell it's a live recording unless the audience chimes in. the band is tight. ...that said, i'm still not the biggest van fan. there are some live albums that can justify their inclusion in a list like this, but i'm not sure this is one of them. i'd have to revisit his other albums in the list, but upon first blush, the versions don't seem to be that much different. if someone had dragged me to this concert, i wouldn't be mad at them, but it wouldn't have converted me.

an impressive debut. lots of energy. it's catchy. interesting enough i’d only heard “dancing shoes” but it was a burns vista social club mashup thing. worked really well. the only album i had previously heard was "a.m." which i liked quite a bit. they definitely grew into a bigger sound as they went on. or maybe that was just the "a.m." album? i'd have to explore more of their discography.

i got this when it came out, having liked “elephant” quite a bit, but i didn’t really like it at the time. it’s better than i remember, but it doesn’t get better than the opening track.

first off, fuck kanye. second, this album is very good. i don’t think i had ever heard an album like this when it came out and i don’t think i have since.