1001 Albums Summary

Loved it. I only knew Pink Moon and thought Drake was a slightly overrated singer songwriter. This album was rich and varied

I am a big Neil Young fan. This is him and Crazy Horse in optima forma. Ranging from small, intimate songs to full on grunge, angrily slapping the guitar heavy on distortion. This band was versatile. The opening en the ending versions of My My Hey Hey capture this perfectly. I would recommend listening to Live Rust though. It is Live Rust, but contains more tracks including a couple of absolute classics.

I get the cultural impact and it has some great songs, but a lot of this album is just noise.

I didn’t know a single song before listening. I like that it was less pop than the Pet Shop Boys I knew and realised it sounded more like Depeche Mode. Honestly, just listen to Depeche Mode for a superior sound

Catchy tunes, but nothing memorable

To be honest, the album got a bit boring. No goor listening if you’re not in a club setting

Started with a couple of bangers, bit Adamson lost me halfway through. Nick Cave saved the day at the end

Elton John is known for the wrong songs. This album is one banger after another

If The Velvet Underground and The Doors had a lovechild who grew up to be an angsty teenager

This is prime Rolling Stones. Ending the sixties with a banger

I knew the hits, but never listened to the whole album. It’s surprisingly good.

The album has a couple of well known bangers, but all in all it felt a bit subdued? Monotonous maybe. It didn’t live up to its reputation

Black Sabbath was still looking for their sound, they found it on their second album. Still, it had hints of the great music to come

This is a weak Beatles album. Covers and mostly forgettable songs. Please please me would eank higher for being their debut and on A Hard Days Night the hit machine started to roll. Sandwiched between these two, With the Beatles is forgettable and an unnecesary inclusion in this list

I am a bit biased. I was born in 1981 and The Prodigy was very much part of the soundtrack of my formative years. I hadn’t listened to the album as a whole in ages and it was a blast to hear it again. I was going to give the album five stars, but on an honest relistening, soms songs felt like fillers and some tunes got repetitive. Still, take me back to a nineties party and I will dance to The Prodigy all night

I have to applaud Madonna for staying relevant for two decades and not continuing down the road that brought her huge success in the eighties. This album contained some songs that were absolute bangers in clubs around 2000. It still holds up pretty well.

About two months into listening an album a day, it has become obvious that this list of 1001 albums leans very much into American/British rock music. A bit too muchZ Now, I understand that the Buzzcocks are pioneers of British punk, but really, this is a top 1001 album? It lacks the timeless impact of Nevermind the Bollocks and isn’t musically interesting like some of their later work, or music by The Clash, for instance. 2 stars. Only because I’m in a good mood

I still don’t get Taylor Swift. Sure, the tunes are catchy and poppy, but the extent she has become the voice of a generation? I still don’t feel, hear or see it.

Now this is punk I can get behind

Now this is a debut album

Easiest five stars so far. Didn’t need a listen, listened to it twice anyway. God is with Bowie now

I only knew one song by Cheap Trick, guess which one? I rather like live albums, so I was excited to give this one a go. It was pretty disappointing. The music was uninspired and blend. Despite the occasional crowd noise, it didn’t have much of a live feel. The album had the bad luck to come one day after Ziggy Stardust, but it really doesn’t deserve more than two stars

Björk is an acquired taste and I was intrigued, but not really a fan of her work in the nineties. I didn’t know this record at all, but absolutely loved it. No commercial aspirations, just hauntingly beautiful music by an artist who dares to explore musically. Loved it

Fun, clever. Talking Heads is a band where something always happens.

Nice clean rap, rich melodies. I somehow missed this group, deserves further listening

I was today years old when I learned of the Riot Grrrrl movement. A shame I missed it, these girls kicked ass.

This. This is why I starter listening to 1001 albums. Shame it took me 44 years to discover this album

The hits were great fun, the rest of the album more of the same, but inferior. And then there’s a song about tv dinners…

I gave the album two listens. It is an extremely varied album, showing Stephen Stills range as a songwriter, composer and guitar player.

Smash was part of the soundtrack of my teenage years. For sheer nostalgia, I wanted to rate this record five stars. The re-listen was a great joy. I was tgis close to shouting out ‘stupid dumbshit goddamn motherfuckers’, but luckily I realized I was in a public place. The energy is still off te charts, but lyrically and musically, it hasn’t aged that well. Smash is not as timeless as I hoped. Still, four stars

I gave the album two listens. I was vaguely aware that this was an influential album and was looking forward to giving it a full listen. Now, I am no native English speaker and the first listen, I just listened to the music and wasn’t impressed. The second time, I had the lyrics at hand and the album clicked.

The second Bjork record on my 1001 albums journey and she is one of the artists I underestimated. I loved this record. Ethereal, mysterious. Not looking for chart success, just an hour of beautiful music

The album started with a couple of well known bangers, but was mostly a poorly dated time capsule from the late eighties.

Great debut. Iron Maiden got a lot better though

It’s not nearly as good as Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

Weird. I have a thing for rock music of the late sixties and somehow I missed this band entirely. I really enjoyed this record. I learned what an amplifid jug is, though I’m still not sure how it works :D

Mr. Blue Sky, but one hour long. This is not just an album, this is art

It was okay, but I will have forgotten having listened to this album this time tomorrow.

Loved it. This is the kind of album I wanted to listen to when I joined this site. Funk, guitars shredding, weirdness, cowbells, what’s not to like. Wished it was a longer album.

AC/DC is the rock music equivalent of fast food. Sure, you’re not going to get a Michelin Star dinner, but you know what you’re going to get and sometimes you just crave a juicy burger. Quite often, actually. Highway to Hell is that fastfood offering, but it has to be said that the menu is stale. After another generic rock aong about how great sex is, I was about to give this album two stars. The final track, Night Prowler, saved the day. Rest in peace, Bon Scott

Blur is a musically rich band and it shows on this record. One of the highlights of Britpop

I never knew I needed a song called Sex Dwarves in my life

This was a trip. Loved it

This is an underrated Britpop album and band

Coldplay is a band you love to hate, but their first album is usually free of criticism. So I expected to like Parachutes, an album I listened to a few times in the early 2000’s. The album started with a couple of well known bangers and I fully expected to give this four stars. The second half kind of fizzled out though, Coldplay style.

This was fun and Gin and Juice is an all time classic, but Snoop gets monotomous quickly on this record. Loved the Slick Rick throwback on Lodi Dodi

I am starting to dislike double albums. This was just too much. The tunes are catchy and the album contains many tracks that I enjoy dancing to, but listening to the album in its entirety felt like a chore

He amount of punk bands on this list is too damn high.

This album deserves 5 stars for the Hammond solo on Highway Star alone. As a huge Deep Purple fan, I am obviously biased. This is my favourite studio album by the band. To really enjoy these songs in all their glory, listen to the band live. Deep Purple is a great live band, with virtuoso musicians who love to improvise. Made in Japan is a great example of an album where Highway Star, Lazy, Smoke on the Water and Space Trucking really shine.

This band and album was a pleasant diacovery for me. An actual original sound

It was a pleasant listen, but also utterly forgettable. Not a single song stuck

Doubted between 4 and 5 stars. The album feels more patchy than its predecessors. It is still a pillar of rock history of course.

I sort of get the meta joke that this album is, but the commercials don’t work for me. The second half has glimpses of Tommy and save the record for me

About 100 albums in, I have come to dislike double albums and the overrepresentation of Anglo-Saxon rock bands from 1966 until 1986 or so. After listening to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan for 1,5 hours, I’ll only ever complain about double albums again.

The album started fine. Country and bluegrass isn’t really my genre, but we are all on this journey to broaden our horizons, right? Unfortunately, this was a double album and it dragged on and on and on. The studio outtakes got pretty boring pretty fast too. Luckily, after almost two hours, the circle became unbroken and I could move on

Started with a couple of big bangers, but the album went to strange places in the second half

Surely there are Elvis records that were more influential?

Enjoyable, but utterly forgettable music

Loved this album. It is dark, moody and timeless. Unmistakably The Cure. It reminded of Disintegration, released at the other end of the eighties.

Head never heard of this band. I enjoyed it, it has a nice retro feel about it. Clean eighties sound. I never felt this was a must listen, though

Loved it. Great tunes, harmony, arrangements.

Expected generic seventies rock record and that is what I got, but I liked it anyway. Halfway through the album the singer made it very clear that he desperately needed to get laid. The second half luckily had a change in themes. Musically, this was pretty good. Doubted between 3 and 4 stars. I am in a good mood and rounded up

About 100 albums in, this is my third Bjork album. I was familiar with the hit songs that featured in MTV’s rotation back in the day. Good times. The rest of the record mostly didn’t disappoint either. I am a bit sorry I never gave Bjork a chance before

George Harrison is my favourite Beatle. He wrote some of my favourite Beatles songs and it is not without reason that he was universally beloved by musicians and comedians alike. This album showed his range from tender love songs to heavier rock. A large chunk of the second album is dedicated to some extended jam sessions. I love those. I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall. Eventually, George had to pass too, way too soon. Luckily his legacy lives on.

I liked Green Day for their short songs. Dookie is part of my teenage soundtrack. I applaud them for taking punk and wxtending it to a 9 minute epos. I was never a fan of JoS, but on an album, it works

Prog rock is usually too pretentious for me. This album is easy in the ear though, except for the singers voice. It grates. Respect to Rush for sticking to their own style of music and not going the commercial route. Wish I could give this 3,5 stars.

I always liked to think that I would have been a hippie had I lived in the sixties. After listening to this album I am glad to be a nineties kid who grew up on Eurodance. I give the album two stars because I’ve learned about the interesting life of singer Licorice, who reminded me that amoebas indeed are very small. Also, Neil from The Young Ones was a fan. You can’t go against Neil.

My third Tom Waits album on this list, about 100 albums in. This one felt hit and miss and it seemed to lack a theme. Apart from the world being mostly shit and that we’ll all die, that is.

I tried jazz, I mever really got into it. I have a couple of Miles Davis records at home. So, I guess I kind of knew what I was up for when Bitches Brew came up yesterday. At least, I thought I knew. Bitches Brew was something else. It is tough to describe, just a couple of genius musicians trying to outdo each other for almost two hours straight. It isn’t easy listening, I probably never listen to this record again, but it was a good listen.

I am not much of an Adele fan, but I reckon this is probably her magnum opus. Her voice is great obviously, the songs well arranged and the themes strike a chord. I read up on the legal issues surrounding A Million Years Ago. That was fun, the aong sounds very plagiarised (I tought of Charles Azanvour) but has been dubbed a musical cliche.

So, this was not on spotify. I had to listen to the album on youtube with ad breaks inbetween songs. Undoable. I read up on the album and on Dagmar Krause. Listened to some of her other work as well. No doubt she is a fascinating artist and this is an interesting album. Does it warrant a place in the 1001 albums list? Unlikely, but you can’t have Ziggy Stardust every day.

One again I am biased, because this is one of those albums I devoured growing up. I love everything about this album. The overture is iconic. The songs rock. Roger Daltrey is a great singer. It was a blast to listen to the album in its entirety again. To be fair, this is one of those albums that need to be listened to in its entirety.

Not knowing this album was a hiatus in my musical knowledge. It was a fun listen, The Kinks usually are, and the theme of the album is quite clear. I understand how this record became an evergreen, revered by many musicians of later generations.

This album was easy on the ear and Common People should be considered as one of the greatest songs of the nineties.

Forgettable album and artist

It must not have been easy, after making the quintessential pulk album and to follow up with something new. Religion was an ok song, as was Public Image, but the true iconoclastic track was saved til the end. Fodderstompf was both awful and punk, precisely by not being a typical punk song. Loved the track. Saved the album from being two stars

I went in fully expecting to love this album. I did, I enjoy the old school hiphop. But it has to he said, the beats got a little stale, a little monotomous. It was the age obviously and the very distinct Run DMC style.

Any album that gave the world Free Bird deserves at least 4 stars. The rest of the album was lesser known to me. I knew Simple Man from a live cd, or a best of, not really sure. Most of the rest of the tracks felt underwhelming.

I was stoked when Kraftwerk came up. I knew the singe Autobahn of course as well as about ten other tracks. I love those songs and am well aware of the huge impact this band has had on synthpop and electronic music in general. So, the album starts with a 22 minute version of Autobahn, which was way longer than it should be. The car noises were clever though. The rest of the album was underwhelming too. Very little in memorable tunes and it left me with no desire to listen to the record ever again. Still, three stars for the sheer impact of the band and this album

Two weeks after Bitches Brew, I get served this album. What a difference. Much easier on the ear, but I’m still not and probably never will be a jazz enthousiast.

Yes! This is the kind of album I wanted to discover when I started listening to 1001 albums!

This wasn’t it. Walker had a remarkable voice and the album has a couple of intriguing songs, but all of them are Jacques Brel covers

This is the good noise. I am glad that trash metal is included in this list as well None of the songs on this album really stuck though

Curtis Mayfield is one of thos artists whose voice, music and message are all instantly recognizable, so I knew what I could expect. My only flaw with the album is that it missed an upbeat track like Supafly or Move on Up. I felt like dancing and this album was more mellow. I suppose the record was more about the message. This album gets an extra star for the inconic cover art.

Morrissey without the rest of The Smiths is like a virgin mojito. Sure, it tastes good and it lessens your thirst on a sunny day; but you don’t get a buzz. My analogies suck.

Weezer was right. Timbaland does know his way to the top of the charts. Loved this album, can’t stand still and it’s a steamy, sensual record.

Another record and band whose sound is instantly recognizable. Nile Rogers shows greatness on this album. Dress up, forget about life for a while, dance and make love.

This was a nice discovery

I am biased, this is one of my favourite albums by one of my favourite artists.

As a fam of Nick Cave, I am ashamed to admit that I had never listened to the Birthday Party. Until today that is. It was fun, it was the Cave we know form From Her to Eternity, but not quite yet. Now I am curious about the earlier Birthday Party work as well.

Soul with a S

I was fully expecting to give this album five stars. In my opinion, this album, Harvest and Harvest Moon are the quintessential Neil Young albums. I’ve decided to stick with four for two reasons. One, the album is very short. Two, after Southern Man, the record kind of fizzles out with a couple of less memorable tracks.

This is one of those instant 5 stars no need to listen albums. I still listened to it twice because it’s Unknown Pleasures. Peter Hook makes me want to learn to play bass.

O only knew MC Solaar from his work with Guru on Jazzamatazz. This album was very much in the same style. Even though I only understand a couple of words, French is a great language for rapping. Solaar also has a flow that is easy on the ear. The beats are nice as well. Reminescent of ATCQ Loved it

This album was interesting at times, but I never felt it was any good.

I don’t know enough about jazz to properly rate this album. As far as jazz goes, this was pretty enjoyable. I got to read up on the life of Hugh Masekela, which was interesting.

The creator of this list really seems to like late seventies rock bands. So far, it’s been hit and miss. To me, this is one of the better post punk records so far. It is heavy on the bass, which gives the band a funky vibe and sets is apart from less musically gifted counterparts.

Janis Joplin is one of my favourite female singers, not because she is the best, but because she makes me believe that she feels what she sings. I knew half the songs on this record, the other half were as good as expected. My only two regrets with this album are that it isn’t longer and that it was Janis’ last one

I couldn’t decide and listened to both the British and US release of Aftermath. It doesn’t matter as far as the rating is concerned, but I really enjoyed Mothers Little Helper. America missed out. This record is from my favourite Stones era. It’s probably the start of this era. Brian Jones really added another dimension to the band and made their songs unpredictable and exciting. The album received criticism for being misogynistic and honestly, that’s pretty well deserved.

Early 21st century rap really is a hiatus in my musical knowledge. What a great album. The beats are refreshing, love Dizzees flow.

Funny how randomness works, I got Unknown Pleasures last week. Unknown Pleasures is a seminal album. For some reason I never listened to closer. I expected Atmosphere to be on the album, as well as Transmission. Apparently both songs never were released on an album. Closer was everything you expect. Dark, prominent bass, machinelike drumming. It is terrific record, but it lacked the lasting impact that Unknown Pleasures had. Now I’ve got to watch Control and 24 Hour Party People again

I bought this album when I was in my early twenties, fully expecting this to be the greatest album ever. I gave it a few listens and I remember feeling underwhelmed. A few great tracks, too much filler and of course the atrocity #9. I am older and wiser now and was excited to give this album another go, this time with slightly lower expectations. Tha album starts off guns blazing. The stretch until Happiness is a Warm Gun is astounding. I still feel the middle section of the album contains the fillers and this would have been perfect as a single album. Then Helter Skelter hits. Damn. Followed by an antithesis in the hauntingly beautiful Long, long, long. Except for Revolution 9 the back stretch of the album is once again legendary. I guess 9 is legendary in its own right. So, the album is patchy. It’s weird. It’s probably too long, but mostly it’s the work of musical geniuses giving us their last hurrah together.

If you make an album that’s less than 30 minutes long, it takes cojones to let 10% of that time be taken up by old people talking. Really, it’s just that, a few minutes of old people talking. This album is saved by the strength of Mrs Robinson, America and Hazy Shade of Winter, but overall it feels incomplete and rushed. Not S&G’s greatest work

I’ve come to the conclusion that a five star rating system doesn’t suffice to express my love for this album. My only regret is that it only lasted 1 hour and 45 minutes

At times I quite liked this record. I like those epic Pink Floyd songs that seem to go on forever and at times this record reminded me of that. But it was only in short bursts before the album moves somewhere else. It has potential, but it feels like Eno never figured out what he wanted this album to be.

This record shows Princes range. Small love songs to huge funky rocking bangers. It also contains two of my favourite Peince tracks of all time: the title track and The Cross.

I wasted the nineties not giving Massive Attack the attention they deserve. This was great

It’s one of those defining records of the nineties. Many songs trigger heavy nostalgia. My biggest objection is that two hours of Billy Corgan is a bit demanding. His voice is not easy on the ear

I never listened to folk music much. This album was easy on the ear. Incredible that this was recorded in 1960. I loved House of the Rising Sun. It’s much more convincing in this setting.

I knew half the album already. 21st csm and inkoftck are all time classics. Epitah deserves to be on that list too. What a beautiful song. The other two prevented this from being a 5 star album. I especially didn’t care for the free jazz bit. But all in all, great record

A lot more funky and rock than his sons music. But Hallelujah and Get on Top are essentially both about the same topic :)

Sorry, Peter. I wasn’t really in the mood to properly rate this album. Biko is obviously a fantastic song

This album is from 1957(!). It’s the foundation of maybe half the 1001 albums that we’re listening. The intro of Tutti Frutti is one of the hallmarks of modern western civilization. I am not even exaggerating.

I am aware that this is an absolute classic album. I know that this is where Bob Dylan started adding contemporary en critical lyrics. The album was just not a very pleasant listen to me. It’s monotomous, the highlight is the opening track. Bob Dylan will always be divisive. I am not on team-Dylan-is-the-greatest

Sorry Jeru. This was nice, but utterly forgettable

Untold numbers of late gen Xers and early millenials must have been conceived to this album. A great reminder that even when times are tough, especially when times are tough, you should dress up, dance, forget about life for a while and love. And don’t forget about your ladies needs

I somehow missed this band. Tjis was a fun album with a couple of touching tracks

The guy who compiled this list really liked (post) punk bands and it gets boring after a bit. Reading up on this band was more interesting than listening to this album. No doubt they were great live, but punk on an album rarely catches the energy from the stage. Being in a band with Pat Smear is a more dangerous job than being a frontline soldier.

Leonarc Cohen is probably an acquired taste, luckily it is a taste I have acquired. It’s the type of music I put on when I am home alone, dim the lights, pour myself a few too many whiskys and contemplate life.

I was a young lad when Radiohead released Kid A. At the time, it felt like Radiohead lost their way and I never gave this and subsequent Radiohead albums much thought. In retrospect, I hugely underappreciated this record. It takes balls to explore new sounds and take tour band in a different direction. This is definitely an album that aged well.

This was an interesting listen. Interesting in a good sense. Ute Lemper had a great voice and she puts a lot of emotion in these songs. This is not an essential must hear album though

This is one of those instant five star records. A personal favourite album by one of my favourite musicians. It shows Nick Caves introspective side and his ability to make ‘small’ songs. Hot take: Are you the one that I’ve been waiting for is a superior lovesong to Into my arms

The title track is an absolute classic and as a Dutchman, Vincent holds a special place in my heart. The rest of the album is only about 25 minutes and more of the same. McLean has a nice voice, the songs are fine, but all in all it feels bland

Biggie was and is my favourite rapper from this era. His flow was so effortlessly great “birthdays was the worst days, now we sip champaign when we thirsty”. Obviously, Diddy whispering in your eardrums aged very poorly. And the sex and blowjob tracks are unnecessary. Still, the album is one of the powerhouses of 90’s rap. I enjoyed it a lot.

Metal and me, it’s complicated. I like the occasional song, I love moshpits in all their forms. But listening to an album, it gets old really fast. To my untrained ear, the drummer is the highlight of this album. I don’t much care for Coreys voice. I think this is one of those bands that needs to be seen live to properly appreciate them

What was wrong with the old tango? I don’t have enough of a frame of reference to properly rate this album. Maybe the tango jazz scene had grown stale and adding a vibraphone changed the genre forever? I don’t know. I feel like this kind of concert can be heard multiple times yearly at our North Sea Jazz festival. This is not a diss, the musicians are obviously great, but this does not feel like an essential album.

This was great fun. BB King is obviously a great blues guitarist, but he’a a great singer too. This was a live record where the crowd reactions added to the album.

Is What’s the Story a tad overrated and is this secretly Oasis best album? Definitely! Maybe

This is not my genre of rock. The songs all pretty much sound dull and the same and many of them go on way too long

What a debut for one of the greatest bands of the 21st century so far. One banger after another

This was a great return to their roots by The Stones. It must not have been easy to come up with this record, after the death of Brian Jones. But the rest of the band put out a top class record

This was a fine Bowie album. There is no such thing aa a bad Bowie album of course. I doubt if this record was an essential listen. Blackstar obviously is.

In 1956 Bo Diddley wrote “Who do you love”. Quicksilver Messenger Service managed to turn this song into a 1 hour live album, which is sort of impressive. Most rock music from this era is right in my wheelhouse, but this record is a bit too repetitive to my liking.

I never listened to 80’s REM before, apart from the hits. It is a very mature album. This is a band that has found their sound and would be hugely influential in the upcoming decade.

No doubt this is a great soundtrack that fits the dark mood of the movie perfectly. In a vacuum unfortunately soundtracks seldom work. This album is just a patchwork of moods.

I seldom give 1 star ratings, but this was just… shit Punk can be shit and still be okay I guess, but this album didn’t even make me angry. I just wanted to turn it off and do anything else. Anything at all. And this was before I reached Sentimental Journey.

There’s probably no such thing as a bad Stevie Wonder album. Boogie On Reggae Woman was the highlight for me

A few days after the Virgin Suicides. This is the essential Air album.

I had pretty high expectations for this album, based on only knowing the song Mykonos. I was somewhat underwhelmed. Sure, it’s nice to hear a modern folk band and the songs aren’t predictable. But it lacked an edge. None of the songs really stood out and I didn’t feel like relistening the album.