Enjoyed the most popular track- the model- and recognize it’s role in music history but not a huge fan of industrial or electronic music.
I just can’t find access to peoples love of Sinatra. Maybe down the road… how I now appreciate neil diamond
The lyrics are confounding! Setting aside the narrative, the songs are lovely and complex and unexpected. Appalachian-meet-avant-garde per Apple Music is the best descriptor I’ve read. I loved sawdust & diamonds
Just learned of these guys 2 weeks ago and listened to this album! Totally in my lane and love the early pop punk influence
I like some CCR but this album didn’t do much for me. I liked the swampy Graveyard Train and the blues influence was clear-but for a band from San Fran it seems a bit strange that they assumed these deep southern identities. Proud Mary is a classic by any metric/ and a yacht club staple. But I barely finished Keep on Chooglin, with its (never ending) 7 minute harmonica/guitar jam that lost my attention within 30 seconds
Industrial is Still not my
Favorite but admittedly this is brilliant for what it is. And Hurt is one of the darkest, saddest songs ever written. Both this version and Johnny cash’s cover
a bit much
I really love the drama of Meat loaf- especially his ballads! But I don’t think I can pull the trigger on a 4-5 star for this album.
1) I can’t speak with any knowledge when it comes to electronic music. 2) I’m surprised they didn’t pick “you’ve come a long way, baby.” I’m not a fan of this music but allegedly they were influential! So two stars.
I just cant get into the new wave sound of the smiths. There were a few songs I liked on here but I wouldn’t add them to any mix. I love Bowie but not the gothy new wave. But all my emo bands drew from it so I’m glad it exists.
Coincidentally, thundercat was a guest on Stephen Colbert this week. I enjoyed this album more than I expected to - especially since I know almost zero about jazz. I’m a suicidal tendencies fan but from years before Stephen's Bruner’s era. I’d really give this a 2.5 star
Stone Cold Crazy- epic. Dear friends- tender and sweet, almost a lullaby. All the layers and dramatic flair with Mercury’s falsetto make this album a work of art. So many bands owe their sounds to Queen… like the killers. And albums like Green Day’s American Idiot that drew from their rock opera blueprint.
I prefer sweetheart to the rodeo with its country rock sound. Recognize the influence but don’t love them outside their covers!
This might have been my first 5 stars. I love Dolly! I love her vulnerability. I love the choices she has made in the last decades of her life- when she had the agency to choose. It was not easy to be a girl/woman in the industry when she started. And just look at the shit she took after 9-to-5. I knew about the size of her breasts long before I knew her music. As a kid growing up in the 80’s there were limitless Dolly jokes. She was the butt of the joke for almost a decade. But her music and her voice is beautiful. It thrills me that Dolly finally got the respect owed to her. She is a true GOAT.
Not my area
Not my favorite album of RC’a but as a huge alternative country fan, I recognize how progressive it was at the time. This album circles the more 40’s/50’s sounds with all the brass- reminding me of Sinatra. But I love his voice, no matter what he’s singing, the bluesier the better.
I liked Mrs. Vanderbilt a lot. I’ve always been more of a Lennon fan but I recognize the genius of McCartney and this album is genius.
I really enjoyed this and I’d never heard of them. I did listen to minutemen but this was totally new. I will listen to more of this- it’s right in my wheelhouse of folk punk or acoustic punk. Solid album! 3 1/2 would be my vote
Recognize the impact of ska but can’t go above a 3 for this album. But I did like the emo style lyrical content - and have always liked Elvis Costello.
Being from Minnesota Dylan was someone I heard at a very young age. But then, as a teen exploring music, I remember listening to this album on my parents record player while lying on the floor with my best friend Kelly. Every song, every word, felt like a revelation. This was in ‘85 or ‘86- two decades after it was released. It reminded me of the Hemingway story we were reading in honors English. It was full of metaphor and symbolism. And now, 40 years later, Dylan’s lyrics still ring true and feel relevant. ESP after the winter of ‘26 in Minneapolis- as ICE murdered Renee Good and Alex Pretti in our backyard. “I just want you to know I can see through your masks… you’ve never done nothing’ but build to destroy… masters of war.”
Not sure what to say except I love Elliot smith.
I just wasn’t made for these times really struck a chord this time. But the entire album is pretty genius
One of the most influential albums to all the melodic folk punk emo indie shit I lived for in the 80’s and early 90’s. The songs are so perfectly constructed with the minimalism of 4 chords and their no fuss production. But they are also notable for their catchy and accesible melodies. The Ramones continue to work in the TikTok era with youngster's 10 second attention span …
One of the first punk bands I got into- hard to believe this came out in 1980. Beverly Hills is still one of my favorites
Favorite is Eleanor Rigby
Their cover of iron man almost got me to a 4
This album came out the summer before I went to college. Along with Nothings Shocking it was the soundtrack of my college years. Classic Girl is still one of my favorites along with Stop. Perry Farrell is one of the 90’s era GOATS
3 weeks before he died and a nearly flawless album. I’ll await the 5 stars for my favorite cohen album but this was beautiful
Not a Rundgren fan but I love “hello, it’s me.” And it reminds me of this movie Duets from 2000 with Paul Giamatti, Huey Lewis and Gwenyth Paltrow. Giamatti’s character covers Hello it’s Me - classic movie
I’d never heard these guys which is pretty weird but I love the Bowie vibe. I really liked sleeping pills and Breakdown. The sadder lyrics on the album, I guess. I look forward to spending more time looking through their catalog
Psychedelic rock has never been my thing but after learning to play guitar in my 50’s, I definitely respect the brilliance of his guitar work. The music just isn’t enjoyable to me
Red light special is so soothing, and waterfalls a a classic. A blueprint for female groups at a time when boy bands dominated mainstream pop stations. They remind me of the Dixie Chicks for their impact on women in music.
Definitely a mixed bag.
Reminds me of the stooges and lou reed and I like pop punk, which this is an early example of. but I need more time to dig into it to go above a 3
The guitar jams are epic funk but I enjoy the influence more than the actual thing
Really like alegría alegría
Loved this album in my 20’s. The slits were unmistakably feminist punk and I was there for it 💥
Didn’t think I’d enjoy this but James Brown from 68 is fantastic. It’s subtle- his voice is raspier, the set more bare-bones- like Try Me is flawless. This is bluesy in a pre-60’s way that I love
This is fine for a soundtrack. Or elevator music. The one song with lyrics/singing is Moon in June and it’s still to experimental to be what I’d call “enjoyable”. Pass.
On the fence
Ambulance blues might be my favorite neil young song I’d never heard. This album sounds like 2026
Stevie. Enough said. And Storms is beautiful… but the album is missing something for me. Maybe it doesn’t feel as good as its individual parts.
Solid songs by a solid band. U2 just never made more of an impression than solid for me.
Didn’t want to give any $ or listens to this artist. Sampled a few 15-20 second clips to get the general vibe- I may have appreciated the electronic, sci-fi-influenced, mood if not for the histrionics of said artist. And I’m not referencing his bipolar although this also sounded immensely manic (“I am Jesus”).
Enjoyed her soul influenced songs. I’ve always loved her cover of son on a preacher man for the same reason. This was a solid album by an interesting female singer of that era but not a fan of the bumble gum hits
It’s very cool that my brother knows the current singer of this band- Derrick Green- but speed/death metal is not my thing. I love punk and screamo and post-hardcore stuff but I just can’t access heavy metal. So I can’t really review this fairly…
This earns a 5 for being the best of its class.
Aside from the infamous title track, I wasn’t as familiar with the lesser known songs on this album. The heroin number Hand of Doom stands out. But my favorite was Planet Caravan- a moody, slow, space jam.
I’ve heard this entire album countless times. I’ll always love Dreams and Go Your own Way. Still, I found a new favorite this time in the finger picking sleeper Never Going Back Again. After a few album duds, this is an album that proudly belongs on this list.
The first song sounded a bit like a super watered down Flaming Lips. The second song was worse. By the third song I’d lost interest completely.
So much sadder than I’d realized. After I finished this album I went back and listened to the ‘94 cover album with Sonic Youth and Sheryl Crow and Babea in Toyland. I wonder if Karen Carepenter wouldn’t have been better suited for a noisy 90’s band- as a drummer and a singer. But alas, her mental illness would have been chasing her either way.
The fact this album came out in ‘78 compelled me to give it 3 stars but not my scene
This is a super nostalgic album from my college years. My roommate was a Sugarcubes fanatic- I loved their song ‘birthday’— but when Bjork went solo, I immediately felt she was too cool for me. Some blend of avant-garde and techno that I didn’t like. The latter would ultimately divide me from most of my crew at the time. Raves/techno were never for me.
How this ends up in a list of great albums is a mystery to me! Maybe this synth-pop helped usher in the New Wave revolution of the 80s, but this album is a tedious listen in 2026. Mostly, it’s the annoying self indulgence of “weeeee new toys!” and just forces unnecessarily weird rhythms & patterns & sounds. I’d like to cut 50% of the technology out of it and return it to the land of the living.
All I could think is why not Scott walker 4… but apparently that’s also coming. In no world can I imagine justifying TWO of this guys albums. But I’m glad to know of him.
Meh. Just too jazzy to hold my attention but I didn’t dislike it. I did learn that there’s a SUBA nonprofit in this guys name- in Brazil.
I should love this: I love Dylan and I love Americana/Alt Country. And I do really enjoy some of it, some is just too hippie for me. Long Black Veil is great as is They Shall be Released- one of Dylan’s greats. And of course the weight is the weight.
And I quote “the music your Nintendo Wii plays while it's loading the Weather Channel.” Exactly.
‘Good to Me as I Am to You’ is god damn gold. It’s like someone is crying into your ears. And those blues just keep on coming….
I wanted to go with a 3 all day. But when I finished the last few songs and heard She is Mine it teetered into a 4. It’s ’why do we bother’ or ‘how does any of this matter?’ vibe and the small details of living … I really enjoyed it. Dumb Waiters is the highlight and I like this a lot more than later era Furs.
Noisy, 90’s genius.
I’ve always really dug these guys. Not at the time as much as in the early aughts. My brother compared them to pavement and that makes sense- I enjoy the low fi jangles told through a Brit pop lense.
This album is a bit boring. I arrived late to the Elvis party but tend to like his sadder, more soul infused music.
I love all of the 70’s CGBG era bands and artists. I worship Lou Reed. There were so much great shit happening and still Byrne’s stood out in the crowd.
The videos totally change this for me. Visual vignettes bathed in the power, outrage, vulnerability and tenderness of being a black woman, wife, mother, boss, creator.. . while the music isn’t always what I enjoy, a genius she clearly is.
I can’t opine on this other to say ‘it’s all over my head, babe.’
Love call the police and obviously Bowie was a fan but still just okay for me
Very beatlesesque but I’m undecided - I’d need more time with some of these albums
I live in MPLS - where loving prince is practically a religion- but I only really love purple rain as an album.
I should love Joni. I love Brandi Carlisle and I love how she’s re-invigorated Joni’s career and story. But I just don’t love this album- even though I understand her voice is amazing.
Maybe I would like this if it weren’t for it being on the list…. bc it’s not worthy of any top 1000 compilation. Bland and forgettable beach boy rip off
This particular album is not for me. I like other butthole surfers but not this one
It cost him his sanity- or was a symbol of its fragility- but still great
Can’t get into this album
I stopped listening to these guys when I followed Kurt Vile into his solo career but I enjoyed this a lot. I’ll need to go into their catalog a bit more.
There’re is nothing Tom does that I don’t love …. but Bone machine is near the top of my personal faves.
Glad to learn about who they are/who was original members but not for me
I understand who Hendrix is within the history of music. And guitar playing, in particular. But I’ve never owned any of his albums. And I don’t enjoy listening to his music.
And the last few weeks of albums generated to our group- we just hit 100- made me more curious about who chose & influenced these particular 1000+ albums. And specifically, what % of contributors were women (I only saw she/he pronouns in my physical copy of the book from 2013). From my math- about 15% was the answer.
We started this project with the website alone. Then, halfway into our first 100 albums, we ordered the book. But I never read the preface written by the Rolling Stones founding editor Michael Lyndon or Dimery’s introduction to the book. And I only briefly looked at the bios of the individual contributors. Until now.
The preface put into words part of my struggle with this project: time. I often feel like I need more time before making a decision and rating an album. “On first listening, albums unfold as books and movies unfold, each track (or chapter or scene) carrying us further into unknown territory…. over weeks and months we explore the album, hearing new beauties with each replay.”
So, I started a playlist of albums I felt warranted more time- and I’ve revised a few of my original reviews after spending more time with a particular album. But the other issue I keep bumping into is what I’ll call the agro bro vibe of classic rock and metal and unfortunately, even much of early punk rock- my personal first love. And this list leans hard into that vibe at times. I’m not sure whether that says more about who gets to make music or who gets to review music or both. None of that really falls under the review or this Hendrix album per se. But it did send me down this rabbit hole…
‘New York I love you but your bringing me down’ was on EVERY mix I made in ‘07/‘08. It’s a great song! But I still didn’t know the rest of the album well. Most of this album is solid- North American Scum and Someone is Great are stand outs. Bowie, Lou Reed, Talking Heads… I hear them all in the best of LCD. But I didn’t love the first LCD album we had on this list- even though it had some of my fave LCD songs on it- Call the Police and American Dream. Of Apple Music’s
top 10 LCD songs 5 different albums are represented… ranging from ‘02-‘10. So I guess that makes them something of a greatest hits band for me… but where I pick the “hits”.
This came out the year I was pregnant and is too wrapped up in nostalgia for a proper review. But I think this album held up well-
I LOVE the pixies but I’m not convinced this album belongs on the list. It’s not 100% for me
This is my favorite album from the Byrds but I still don’t feel compelled to download any of the songs.
Every time I dig into this album I discover something new.
Still prefer Devotchka’s spaghetti westerns but the rest of this was interesting. Kind of surprised me, too.
I’d never heard of this band and their fucking fantastic
The only thing worse than steely Dan is half of steely Dan! (Or half of Burroughs’s steely Dan strap on dildo!) Like there's nothing technically wrong with it— “impeccably crafted,” per Apple Music— yet it still sucks! It’s griege music for gray-and-beige people. like it's made to be as inoffensive as possible, which always offends me. The combination of elevator jazz and R&B was the worst of 80’s pop.
This is the kind of stuff I’d need more time with to decide. Weirdly, I’d never heard these guys back in the ‘90’s. If not exactly my lane, they were close to it. (Eg I loved teenage fan club who are listed as a a similar artist on Apple Music) But I was never a Jesus and Mary chain fan until recently and Ride sounds like a watered down version of them. So I think I’ll stick with the former. I did download one song so I guess that’s something (home is a feeling- but from a later album)
Once beta band album was all I could muster.
Too much misogyny for me to spend a lot of time digging into lyrically. and this style of rap describes an aesthetic or lifestyle that’s both unfamiliar and uninteresting to me. But I do enjoy Jay Z’s voice and in his interview on the recent iteration of the Letterman show, on Netflix, I appreciated hearing about Jay Z’s experience with therapy and learning how to be a better husband and father- something he said hadn’t been modeled to him growing up. But one of the more popular songs on this album include these lyrics: “Shit, I'm a man with pride, you don't do shit like that
You don't just pick up and leave and leave me sick like that. You don't throw away what we had, just like that. I was just fuckin' them girls, I was gon' get right back. They say you can't turn a bad girl good but once a good girl's gone bad, she's gone forever….” Umm yeah. Enough said.
As someone who dabbled in drug misuse/abuse, I get that hair standing up on my neck feeling when I listen to Flying High. “I go crazy when I can’t find it in the morning. I’ll be alright, my friend. But soon the night will bring the pains. The pain, oh the pain.” The cracking of his soulful voice, and how it ends on his falsetto with the final “pain” … goosebumps.
There’s some great songs about the monkey on the back phenomenon of addiction- like heroin by Velvet underground and Under the bridge by the chili peppers. There’s also some real gritty songs about withdrawal and tolerance, like Cold turkey by John Lennon or Pool shark by Sublime. But Flying High covers the devastation of addiction with a smooth, subtle breeze. The way this album covers police brutality or the Vietnam war. It’s palatable- the way older, white Democrats seem to prefer their politics. Less combative, less angry, more commercial … but if you’re paying attention, the sweating and loneliness, paranoia and pain are all still there. Rumor has it that the head of Motown hated this album, thought it was too political. And it IS political. Just in a quieter, more subtle way. But knowing that Gaye died in his 40’s, during a domestic dispute with his father- after decades battling cocaine addiction and depression, and all the financial/emotional ruin it caused in his life, only makes the lyrics of Flying High that much sadder. This album came out in 1971. And the monkey was already firmly on his back.
This album is the soundtrack of my high school years. It oozes nostalgia for me. But I still find Chapman’s voice beguiling. It can’t be anyone except her. Fast car is a perfect song. And i love her recent Grammy for its re-boot. Talkin’ bout a revolution and Why? we’re on a lot of my mixes back then, as well. But it’s the last song that really brought me back to the late 80’s: For You. That song took me through my first relationship - at 15/16- a relationship that had none of the hallmarks of a first love rather the tumultuous, dangerous and obsessive chokehold of codependency- a pattern I’d repeat much of my life. A pattern of believing I could save someone from themselves (spoiler alert: you can’t!) that led me to really connect with the lyrics of For You all those years ago: “losing control, thinking I had a hold, but with feeling this strong, I’m no longer the master of my emotions.” I’m grateful I no longer confuse powerlessness with love. And that I don’t recognize those lyrics in my current relationship. I will say that the political songs on this record, while 100% relevant today, sound polite in 2026. They remind me of Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On from recently. Her revolution sounds a bit like the stand-over-the-freeway with ‘No Kings’ signs kind of revolution. (Of which I often participate in frustrated helplessness). But the dude who called this “Secretary music” can fuck all the way off.
Not for me! Zero enjoyment with this.
Husband: where would you rate that Dylan album? Me: 5. Husband: that’s really specific, what are the top 4? Me: I meant 5 stars../ Once that confusion was settled it led to a LONG WINDED response from me on my top 10-ish Dylan albums (desire, blonde on blonde, the EPIC Biograph boxset I got on cassette for Christmas of ‘86 …) because Dylan is one of my most favorite artists. And he asked!! But it also made me realize just how many flawless albums Dylan has made, even with those awful Christian albums of the early 80’s! Blood on the Tracks is less about the individual pieces and more about the whole. But it’s still perfect.
