1001 Albums Summary

Is there any album more 80s than this album? If it weren't for the guitars giving it a postpunk edge I might hate it, but every aspect of it, vocals, bass, drumming and synths, it's all undeniably great, even it's it's not my taste.

Compelling and engaging for the first 5 or 6 songs, with "The Hanging Garden" as a high mark, but others like "Siamese Twins," "One Hundred Years," and "The Figurehead" are excellent too. I love the sound and mood of it. I didn't discover The Cure until ~1986 via the Head on the Door and Standing on a Beach, but this gothrock sound was a big part of my teenage soundtrack. Still, by the end of this it feels soo same-same, and I'm bored/exhausted. 3.5 Compare it to the Head on the Door, Kiss Me, and Disintegration: yeah, this is dull and narrow.

For me, the biggest hits like "Born in the U.S.A." "Glory Days," and "Dancing in the Dark" are marred by 80s synths and glossy production, but then there are others, like "Downbound Train" and "I'm On Fire" where the production is fantastic. "Downbound Train" in particular is interesting because I've been recently listening to the Nebraska-era versions, and this one is much superior to those. I just wish they woulda used pedal steel or something instead of synths. Overall, the songs come through and they're consistently as good as the singles. 4.5 rounding up.

I'm still not sure I'd put this in my Top 5 R.E.M albums list (maybe 5, but maybe 6), but it's still great. 5/5 Highs: "Drive" and "Everybody Hurts" and "Nightswimming" -- all featuring very non-schmaltzy string arrangements by John Paul Jones. Really, it's amazing that "Everybody Hurts" doesn't descend into pure schmaltz, but there's a light touch there, and the undeniable sincerity in the production and Michael Stipe's vocals that saves it. Lows: "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight," "Ignoreland." Never really liked 'em, still don't. New appreciation: "Man on the Moon." BITD this is the song I disliked the most, that I thought was repetitive and silly. On this listen I loved the sound of it. The chirpy reverberating percussion.

I'll take stock again when the Smiths' other albums come up, but IIRC the history of my fandom, this might have been my least favorite of their albums. Still, I was a fan and considered them all classics at the time. For now, there's a lot of material that still feels classic to me, but others that feel plodding and slow or that are marred by production choices. I like it best when there's chiming, jangling guitars and Morrissey is witty or mournful (not mopey) or both. 4.5, but rounding down because I think I should reserve 5's for others. Highs: "Cemetry Gates," "The Boy with the Thorn in His Side," "Frankly Mr Shankly," "Vicar in a Tutu" "There is a Light that Never Goes Out" --- lots of pretty great songs here. Lows: "Never Had No One Ever" just seems slow. Mopey/stalker-y mode here, and the music is murky, repetitive lyrically and musically. Worst whistle solo or all time. A definite low point. "Bigmouth Strikes Again" and "Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others" are good songs with production choices that bug me: the pitchshifted backing vocals on Bigmouth, the fadeout/fadein at the beginning of Some Girls... why? New appreciation: "Cemetry Gates." If this was my favorite BITD I've forgotten, but when I hear it now it feels like top-rank Smiths, Morrissey and Marr & Co. at their best.

The openers here are amazing. "Regular John" is still one of their best. Deep heavy krautrock groove that's both driving and relaxed, crooning vocals floating over the top. "Avon" nearly as good. "If Only" changes the pace with a shuffling verse riff, and brings back the punchy fuzzed-up guitars for the chorus. But it's a little hit-and-miss after that, feeling like early demos. Live versions scattered across B-side of singles over the next several years are often better developed (even "regular John," the top track here, has an improved version on the "Go with the Flow" CD5). The later reissue with added tracks increases this impression. Great debut album, but not the best QOTSA representative for this list. 3.5 rounding up to 4. Highs: Mentioned 'em. Lows: From the original tracklist, maybe "You Would Know" but definitely "I was a Teenage Hand Model". From the added tracks, "Spiders and Vinegaroons." New appreciation: Until this listen, I never really got familiar with the added track "The Bronze." It was ok. Maybe?

The Temptations of Cloud Nine aren't at all the Temptations I was familiar with ("My Girl"). Nothing wrong with "My Girl" pop, but this psychedelic soul phase is much more in my wheelhouse. Kicking off with the title track and its distortion and wah-pedal guitars, congas, definitely more funky than "My Girl." Side two gets more like the conventional Motown version of the Temptations. String arrangements, horns, clean guitars, bouncing baselines. Top notch Motown stuff, but not surprising like the psych-funk first side. Highs: "Cloud Nine" and "Runaway Child, Running Wild." The latter is hypnotically groovy, with a 9 and a half minute runtime. Lows: really didn't care for this psychedelic version of "I Heard it through the Grapevine." Just seemed murky in comparison with Gladys Knight or Marvin Gaye's classic cuts, and it doesn't develop the improvisational groove that CCR did later. New Appreciation: Haven't heard any of these track before, but the whole psychedelic soul phase of The Temptations is definitely something I want to explore further. Dig it.

This kind of garage punk is right up my alley. It's loud, punchy, noisy, punctuated by feedback, rockin' blah blah blah. But why listen to this instead of Mudhoney, or Ty Segall, or Obits/Hot Snakes, or one of several incarnations of The Oh Sees that does this just as loudly, just as noisily, but with *real abandon*? It's good, really well done stuff, but I couldn't pick out any of the songs as distinctive. It feels like punk energy as a product. Maybe because it's a compilation? Anyhow, no real high points, no low points. I'd be willing to give another album a go and hope it's got more going on than this, but I couldn't convince myself that another listen would give me more. 2.5 rounding down.

Whoa. I'm not a big jazz head. I think Mingus Ah Um is great, but I don't really know much Mingus beyond that. THIS blew my mind. Take Porgy and Bess with Gil Evans's big band and then imagine that 1970 Miles Davis arrived from the future and said "I'm the captain now, m'fer!" I'd watch this ballet, I want to see someone make this movie. Just for the incredible sounds made by the TUBA alone! this is worth 5/5.

Starting this 1001 albums thing, I was specifically looking forward to Stevie Wonder's so-called "classic period," none of which I'm really familiar with beyond some of the most popular singles. So here's the first one. There's no filler here, and every track feels like a whole different idea. It sounds fantastic and there's a lot to the sound that feel new to me, even though I can see how it was imitated by people for the next 15 years. I can't avoid saying embarrassingly obvious stuff like "Holy shit, Stevie Wonder can sing!" My high points: Side two. All of it, but maybe especially "You Haven't Done Nothin'" and "Please Don't Go." 4.5. but choosing to round down and will see if I second guess that.

Ok, so I don't think there's any way I'm not going to end up with a 5/5, so I'll try a track by track. 1. "... And the Gods Made Love": Freaky intro. If I'm in the car, this gets a skip. 2. "Have You Ever Been (To Electric Ladyland)": ok, warming up still. 3/5 3. "Crosstown Traffic": could be somebody else's best song in their catalogue. 4/5 4. "Voodoo Chile": head melted, sorry. 555/5 5. "Little Miss Strange": Noel Redding's song, with vocals that sound like the Kinks. Somewhat out of place on the album, usually I'd skip it, but listening patiently it's pretty good. 4/5 6. "Long Hot Summer Night": all right 3/5 7. "Come On (Let the Good Times Roll)": yeah it's a good time 5/5 8. "Gypsy Eyes": 4/5 9. "Burning of the Midnight Lamp" indulgent and hippie-ish with its muddy flanging effects on guitars and vocals as well(?) all with angelic choir. 2/5 10. "Rainy Day, Dream Away" lots of noodling here, HEY MAN, makes me think this is the basis for the 60-year old cliches of The Stoner Dude. But still, it's pretty great, I have to admit. 4/5. 11. "1983... (A Merman I Should Turn to Be)" another over-the-top 13 minute psych epic that would be parodied relentlessly except Jimi makes it this awesome. 55/5 12. "Moon, Turn the Tides....Gently Gently Away" 13. "Still Raining, Still Dreaming" 4.5/5 14. "House Burning Down" Another one that I don't love the production and mixing getting in the way of the song and the performance. 3/5 15. "All Along the Watchtower" GOAT 16. "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" GOATer Along the way, there's a few tracks where you feel like they don't belong (and even thought "Is this really a 5/5?!") but by the end there's definitely no point arguing. Maybe tomorrow I'll play through an abbreviated tracklist and see how I feel. But still, clearly 5/5. No, 4.5, but rounding up.

There's a surprising amount of people who choose "Liz Phair no good/Exile in Guyville overrated" as their hill to die on, and I'm happy to leave them there. Maybe I'll find out that it's generational. But I know that if someone says this album is boring, they have no idea how different and exciting it was when it came out. Barely a band, but it's not folk. It's not punk, but also feels DIY. At the time, it felt like totally different sound, a totally new voice. This was a year before Elliot Smith. I haven't listened to it in probably 15 years or more, but it still sounds pretty fresh to me. It was definitely a good listen. I don't find a whole lot of sameness, there's surprises over and over. It's juvenile and mature. Highs: Help Me Mary, F&R, Divorce Song, Stratford-on-Guy. New Appreciation: If I remember correctly, "Dance of the Seven Veils" was the low point for me in the past. Weird chord progressions, a little disjointed melodically and lyrically. And Girls! Girls! Girls! didn't used to feel substantial. But I enjoyed them on today's listens. 5/5

There's some good stuff here. The run of "Public Image," "Low Life," and "Attack" is definitely top notch. I'd include "Annalisa" in that list, but it's too long by half, doesn't use its 6 minute runtime to go anywhere or even stay engaging. It's ok. Same with "Theme." Good elements, and I can see how it was a particularly influential track for American postpunk/noise stuff of the 80s and 90s that I like much better, but... plods noisily. "Fodderstompf"? Ok, point made, Mr. Rotten. There's classic 5/5 stuff here, but it's a 3/5 album.

1st song, 80 tv movie soundtrack for an unconvincing action sequence. 2nd song began with an "oh no, these vocals no" but in the end is wasn't too bad. 3rd song, murky synth-driven instrumentation in the back with reverb-and-echo-drenched vocals way in front of the mix and it a weirdly cloying noise. 4th song, thought it would be a more guitar-driven tune with crisp production and then the cabaret vocals draped over top of it all with no rhythmic connection to the music. Again no. 5th song. Sensing a pattern: mechanical and inflexible rhythms punctuated with weird fills. It's all about the vocals and they're the weirdest yet. 6th song has an interesting bass line, finally... some guitars, and then it's drenched with synths and Broadway/Bowie/opera vocals so you can't hear the interesting parts. better than the previous song though. 7th song starts with solo guitar and it's pretty ok, and then drum machines and then... again, as described before. 8th song, Party Fears Two, is a probably the best one here. The vocal and instrumental find a balance, baroque as it is. 9th song, maybe I'm getting used to this. Mix is pretty good. Still definitely not my thing, but I can see its appeal. 10th song, an instrumental bookend. Like the first, very very 80s, but this one has aged better than the opening track. So, for the first half I thought I was definitely going to award my first 1-star review. Couldn't find anything to appreciate. Second half got better or I just got acclimated to the distilled histrionic 80s-ness of it. But by the end, I think my little bit of appreciation was probably Stockholm Syndrome making me sympathize with my captors. So, therefore, and in conclusion, 1.5, rounding down.

Hadn't ever listened to this, and was looking forward to it. Started strong, great beats with a lot of musical variety. But even though some of the strongest tracks ("Respect", for me) are near the end, the repetition of lyrical themes got tiring. And damn, enough with these skit interludes which are also pretty repetitive. It's an album I'd enjoy more if I gave it less attention, if it were background, because the grooves and the beats and the musical production here is great, but listening close there's just a lot of dated detail here that ruins it for me, so it's a disappointed 7/10, rounding down.

Every track could be my favorite on a different day. No misses at all. It's a cool experience to listen to this in this project, where the albums I've been served have been disproportionately early 80s postpunk, including a few I wasn't already familiar with. There's moments here where I recognize its connection to the time, to early music from the Cure for example, in the drums and bass sounds. It still is a unique, trailblazing thing, this postpunk of the American South, but I hadn't heard it like that before. Anyhow, this is for me a landmark album.

So this one's a tough review for me. It's all "likeable," and some of the tracks are obvious classics. I like the sound when there's some guitar licks roughening it up, but it's usually so slick that I lose attention. I had a could listens while I was doing other things, and went back looking for songs I thought I heard and couldn't find them With the exception of a few that are already in my musical-historical-cultural consciousness, nothing made impression. Except for "Turn that Heartbeat Over Again" song. That song just sucks. Highs: the singles everyone over 30 knows: "Reelin' in the Years" and probably "Do It Again." Lows: Turn that heartbeat and Brooklyn and the rest that I can't remember. This is one that as I'm listening and writing these notes, I dislike it more. It's so close to music I like, but the FM radio somebody-else-put-this-on-for-your-pleasure feeling of it is too much. 2.5 but rounding down.

Another revisiting of a very familiar album, one that I was always ambivalent about, that I hated the singles and loved the leftovers. Kicks off with the perfect lyrics "Teenage angst has paid off well, Now I'm bored and old." But otherwise I still think "Serve the Servants" is a relatively poor opener. Love the screeching "Scentless Apprentice" and then have contradictory feelings about "Heart-Shaped Box." "Rape Me" always struck me as the foursquare Nirvana song, like a reworked "Team Spirit" with a angrier message. It's not until "Francis Farmer..." that the knives come out, plinking notes and barbs of feedback. "Dumb" is nice. "Pennyroyal Tea" is nice. "All Apologies" is nice. The nice songs used to push me out of the album. For me, "Milk It" was always the album standout, lurching, squalling, broken down, weird, and loud. Not the loudest Nirvana song, but maybe the weirdest, and I love it as much now as I ever did. Long story short, where I used to find flaw in In Utero for not hanging together well, I'm fine with that now. I have more room for both "All Apologies" and "tourette's." I even took this opportunity to compare the three mixes of "All Apologies," Scott Litt's album version, Albini's original mix, and Albini's 2013 mix, and I think the Scott Litt version is the best representation of the song. Overall, In Utero stands taller for me now than it ever did, probably higher in my estimation than Nevermind. I'll revisit that estimation when that one comes up. Easy 5/5.

Feel like The Generator is front-loading my favorites and musical milestones for me. In my book, "Roman Candle," the 2nd eponymous album, and "Either/Or" are a towering trio. The first two being some of the darkest folk music ever recorded, with Either/Or being a slight return to a few of the rock elements of Heatmiser. That rock production, more Beatlesque than punk, would return in his last two albums, which I like much less than the early albums. Back then the production of XO felt like a radical shift to me, away from the intimate lo-fi recordings and into full technicolor production, but I now hear Either/Or more like a transition album. Drums and bass feature in most of the songs, layered electric guitars are featured regularly, and there's organ and other instruments in the mix too. "Cupid's Trick" rocks out, Heatmiser style, for a bit. Commentary aside, the songs are great, he's a generational talent as a songwriter. This might not be the album where Elliott Smith broke new ground and changed the direction of music, but it's still a monument. 5/5 Belongs on the list, but the first two albums might be more significant.

Another familiar one from my youth. After the Smiths were over, this was good B-/C+ Smiths substitute, as I remember, and I played it plenty. But this was the last Morrissey album I listened to. The best songs here ("Every Day is Like Sunday," "Suedehead,") would've fit on Smiths albums. The worst suffer from, first, very 80s production with terrible percussion and, second, Morrissey getting repetitive. There's some keepers here, but overall it's merely good. I learned from listening that the current tracklist swaps a couple pretty good tracks out in favor of a pretty crap one. If Morrissey himself thought he needed to fix this album, what is it doing on this list? 2.5 rounding up, somewhat generously (or nostalgically?), and no, this doesn't need to be on a Must Hear list.

Took a deep breath when I was served my first helping of techno from the list. It's not my thing. The initial mobius time loop thing wasn't an auspicious start, but the rest was really fine, innocuous. I might really enjoy listening to this on a moving walkway in an international airport, in no great hurry and with no real thoughts in my head. Was it the best electronica I've ever heard? Yes, so far. Did it give me a new appreciation for the genre? No. Did it bother me? No. Would I call this an essential listen? No. It's a solid 2+/3-. Rounded down.

Classic. And it's the band and the arrangements that make it. With the exception of Leopard-Skin Pillbox Hat, which is a fairly tame arrangement that pales vs. the 1966 live version, these are benchmark versions. Nobody's cover improves on them. 100% must be on any must listen list, probably on a 100 album must listen list.

There's some classics here. "Another World, Another Planet" for example is one I'd include on a list of 1001 Must-Hear Songs, even though other tracks on this album are arguably more distinctive. The rest of the album is a bit uneven, sometimes weird in a dated way, but still overall really good. Does it belong on the albums list? On the fence. There's a lot of room on a list of 1001... Rounding up to 4/5.

This is the perfect example of catching up with albums you have no excuse not to have in your collection. I knew Changes and Queen Bitch, and Life on Mars seems familiar. Changes I always kind of hated because it showed up in a Classic Rock context and feels annoying in that context (and honestly, that context was just uncool for me back then). In the album context, it's just classic. Highlights, basically all of it, but "Oh You Pretty Things" "Life on Mars," and "Queen Bitch" especially, and I really enjoyed coming back and reassessing "Changes."

Big fan of Funeral here. Neither Neon Bible nor The Suburbs really grabbed me as having music as powerful as Funeral. So I'm revisiting my assessment here. Overall, yeah, probably selling Neon Bible short. "Black Mirror" kicks it off like a Funeral track with rough edges sanded off, good but not great. But with "Neon Bible" it starts to grab me like something fresh. The pipe organ in "Intervention" is drama that feels earned. It's a knockout track, at least as good as Funeral's standards. Other tracks that I feel like, finally, I'm getting it now are "(Antichrist Television Blues)" "Windowsill" and "No Cars Go". The orchestral tendencies don't always work for me. The big ol' ensemble works best for me when it's wild and raucous, and sometimes it feels designed and tamed. Still, that was a really good listen, and bumped up my estimation of the album. I'll say 4.5, but rounding down. The album's themes feel very 2026 in a surprising way. Definitely a timely, topical set of songs, maybe to include on 101 albums to listen to now, probably also deserving in the list of 1001 before you die.

First track, I thought "hey I'm going to enjoy this more than that last electronic album that came up." Slowly gets worse until three tracks later some "baddassss" voice is repeating "The Weekend Starts HERE" over and over, and I realize, no, this is just not. at. all. for me. Next track, "Everybody Needs a 303" descends even lower. I swore to myself I'd listen to every album served up all the way through, and this is my first real challenge. When I started this 1001 albums thing, doubted that there would be any album I hated, but I was absolutely wrong about that.

Another one I doubted I'd like, assuming it would be dated 80s electronic-ish pop, but it was ... nice. Usually didn't feel dated, (even a song like These Early Days, with electronic drums that do recall the 80s, or the synths in I Always Was Your Girl, feel more like a throwback 80s touch from 21st century music) and it has more in common with Sade than 80s brit pop. Jazz elements, nice songrwriting, I think her unadorned vocals are ... nice. Never annoying, but not really sure it was ever more than a background for me. 3.5/5

Ok, put "Cult of Personality" on a 1001 Songs list, it's genuinely one of the great songs of the 80s, but ugh, the rest of the album... nope. "Cult of Personality" was a sound no one else could imitate, but then the rest of the album, with occasional exceptions felt like imitations. It often feels like 80s hair metal, but a bit funkier, a bit cheesier, without the sex & drugs swagger (definitely a plus), and with a better vocalist and a much more interesting guitarist (also a plus!). Yes the songs are less formulaic, too, but they sometimes get awkward without a formula. Does it belong on the list...? The one song really was a big deal and was part of the recovery of rock without the hair metal pose, but... probably overall, nah, but I give it 3/5 mostly on the basis of its high points. "Glamour Boys" was just an awful single to follow up "CoP" and that kinda sums up the album.

Got a lot of unfair criticism BITD and now gets reviewed by what a boring benign stadium act Coldplay has become, but this is a really solid album, no weak tracks on it. "Shiver" is the best here. Distorted and overdriven guitars even. Fairly included in the list. 4/5.

A transitional album. There's some classic tracks here -- "Never Let Me Down Again" being the most obvious, but also "Behind the Wheel" and "The Things You Said" -- and some favorites like "Nothing," too. These showed the direction they'd be heading with Violator. Having not heard this album in over 20 years, I had forgotten that "Never Let Me Down" again was here and not on Violator. Those tracks feel relatively timeless. "Strangelove," "Sacred," and "Little 15" though, feel dated to me now, and haven't aged so well. 3.5 stars. I go back and forth on rounding up or down.

The tracks with weirder, quavering, arrhythmic vocals are really great. The more linear house tunes not quite as much, but mostly this is pretty weird and wonderful. This was in the category of "I never heard it all together," and I'm glad I have now. Not typically my thing, but it feels like something I should have room for. 4.5, rounding down. But definitely belongs on the list, I think.

This is another album I really should have already been familiar with. knew I should have been familiar with, but wasn't. Reading about what I was hearing, I learned first via Wikipedia that "skronk" was a term invented by Robert Christgau, but then later learned through the OED that it's been in use since the 19th century. Skronk, a really skronking definition of skronk, would just refer to "21st Century Schizoid Man." Overall, I love this album. Interesting throughout, I didn't/couldn't get bored through the long tunes and it was riveting enough that it distracted me from my work. Easy 5/5 and could not possibly be omitted from a must-listen list.

So, basically it's competently played and performed. I don't mind a weak or lazy vocalist, but this goes beyond that. A put-on American drawl? I hate that. The constant geographical signposting? Competent as the playing is, the lyrics, instrumentation, and production all sound like a costume. Beach Boys. Jayhawks. Byrds. A Bob Ross painting of Laurel Canyon. I recognize "One Horse Town" from somewhere. Sounds like one of the less ingenious songs by Girls. First reaction was this is a benign 3-/2+, but I had to listen to it all and it just emphasizes its faults over and over. 1.5? Should absolutely not be on a list of 1001 must-listen albums. The note in Wikipedia, kinda sums it up: "The song "Say It Ain't So" appeared on US President George W. Bush's iPod in 2005."

BITD this one was kind of a come-down after the 1st album and the Superfuzz Bigmuff/Singles CD. But even then, I loved the sneering Mudhoney classics like "Into the Drink" and the instrumentals like "Fuzz Gun '91" were my favorite grunge treats. By the way, Steve Turner's acoustic leads (and the dual solo) over top of the fuzzed-out classic Mudhoney riffs in "Into the Drink" is an unappreciated sign of how clever and musical Mudhoney's garage rock gets. Nevermind hadn't even dropped and here's them ironizing grunge expectations. Seems better and more consistent to my ears now than it did then. Yeah, this is top notch grunge-era rock, a 4.5/5, though I'm rounding down. Does it belong on this list? I'd argue in favor of including the eponymous first album as a better, more important album. This belongs, though.

This album basically looked at hair metal and said "you're all cosplayers, this is what sleaze really looks like." People think of grunge as what killed hair metal, but Appetite for Destruction struck the first blow. The lowest point here is probably "Think About You" but the rest are represent the best of 80s metal. Not an album I listen to much, but it's impossible to deny how great it is. 5/5

Hadn't heard it before. Not a challenging listen, which is a plus is some ways, but on the other hand, it wasn't super provocative. Enjoyable though, and I would listen again. 3.5, rounding down.

This is pretty great rock. Raucous, messy rock. Is it parody, is it serious? rock. It will work on you. 3.5/5. Does it belong on a list of 100? nope, but 1000? it's a long list.

Another old familiar one. After the disappointment of Rattle & Hum, my U2 fandom had waned. I think I bought this album BITD, but it was the last one. I liked it. But I was skeptical of another U2 style change, and apart from "Until the End of the World" and "One," I didn't think it was great. Listening now, I still see it as a transitional album (to the Zoo stadium glam thing that I was just not at all interested in), but I like it much better. There's good new sounds and textures that I really appreciate. Noisy, rumbling, and distorted elements that work really well with the shimmering Edge guitars. I still think "Until the End of the World" is the actual great track here, but I can appreciate "The Fly" now, too. "Zoo Station" kicks it off really well, a new sound, but with a backing vocals that throws back to October and Boy era U2. "Mysterious Ways" sounds great, there's really no duds at all. I'm a sucker for Lanois-Eno production for sure. 4.5. Torn between rounding up and down. Does it belong on a list of 1001? probably yeah. It's a huge album in many ways

By 2026, we can all basically hear Kanye crawling up his own ass and the brainrot setting in on this one. So much good interesting stuff musically, but so much shit.

This is a huge album. It ain't half so scary as Pretty on the Inside, but I still think this album scares people with not only the history and story behind it but with how good and engaging and listenable it is. Deserves more credit even. 5/5, and yes it should be on the list of 1001. Pretty on the Inside should too. I haven't listened to it since I was disappointed with it on release, but my recollection is that Celebrity Skin doesn't really earn its place on this list. Looking forward to when it comes up to reassess.

At first the variety of production styles, orchestral jazz, Motown R&B, operatic Broadway-like songs, and reinvented folk really put me off. But I listened through a couple more times and it really cohered around a fundamentally Nina Simone temperament. Still, it makes me want to go listen to one of her other recordings, because I just have a bias toward feeling like I'm in one room with one band (no matter how big) at a time when I sit down with an album. 4.5/5. Wouldn't dispute that it belongs on the list of 1001 (though I feel like if I listened through more of her catalogue I'd find a substitution or two).

Nice, another one on my list of "oughta already know this album" albums. The whole album is at the level of the hits. Great sound! (Learned today that the Dap Kings are the band on the bulk of this! very cool.) Enjoyed tracks like "Some Unholy War" as much as "Rehab." 4.5/5, and yes, belongs on the list.

I'm trying to think of an album with skits that I don't mess up my experience of the album. Can't.

I was already a fan of this album. A few years since I'd listened to it straight through. First listen, I was honestly a little disappointed, feeling like I'd rather listen to the original versions of the covers ("Life in Prison" especially, which fails to find a purpose when Merle Haggard's voice and his band's backing is just so much better). Hickory Wind still hits, though. Second listen, turned the volume up and my appreciation rose again. Still have the sense that some of the originals might be superior, but this really is great stuff all through. It's a great selection of songs, for sure. 4.5/5. Definitely belongs on the list. (And the list ought to also consider GP's previous country-rock album with the International Submarine Band, which to my ear is a little more rock and a little more fun.)

Monster album, monster hits, but it gets boring, preachy, and suffers from sameness. I think I bought this CD back in the day (I must've, because I'm definitely familiar with it all), but it was the last Metallica album for me. It's brilliant in a "We discovered the formula for MTV & radio airplay!" kind of way, but it's really mostly Metallica-flavored early 90s radio rock. A far cry from their previous albums. Kicks off at a solid 4/5, but by the end it's the kind of 3.5/5 that I round down.

A familiar classic, but one I haven't listened to as an album in many years. This one is older than me, but it was very much in the air in my early 90s college days: #1 album most likely to be playing through the open door or window of a dorm room or college apartment (with #2 and #3 being, Led Zeppelin IV and I respectively). Did not disappoint at all. I had forgotten the long stretch of spacy Hendrixian psychedelia in the middle section of "Whole Lotta Love" and how satisfying it is when Bonham's drums and Page's guitars bring us back to the main riff. and then... Plant is gonna be weird and start moaning again? Sure why not?! As an album opener it's strange and strangely perfect. Seriously, every song here is a 10/10, except "Living Loving Maid (She's Just a Woman)" which is still a 7 or 8. Listening it today, it feels like it ought to be my favorite of the first four albums. Definite inclusion on the list of 1001, probably on my list of top 100. It's the first Zeppelin album to come up, so I'll revisit that ranking a few more times.

Maybe you've never been to a wedding or a house party with a mariachi band, ok. You should though. The reviews that complain about white dudes playing Mexican music make me think about that. Just go to the party. Realize that life in Tucson or in New Mexico isn't so segregated. This album is the best of a string that began with 1998's The Black Light and Hot Rail in 2000. Two EP's in that period, too, Even My Sure Things Fall Through and Convict Pool, are absolutely not to missed either. Hot Rail was the first I heard, and it's a sentimental favorite I guess, but relistening to Feast of Wire made me recognize it as probably their best long-player. Why? The main reason is the sound. The core guitar-bass-drums sound shimmers and rumbles and crackles. The orchestration that supplements it , pedal steel, horns, and strings, with the occasional accordion, is lush and evocative. Panavision scope. 5/5 and music I recommend to people. Definitely include in a list of 1001 albums. Would make a list of 100 albums more interesting, too.

Excellent, one I haven't heard at all. I own a couple LPs from the Fall. I have a minor fascination with Mark E. Smith, I really like his vocal style and musical sensibility, but I find his snobbery and disdain for everything and everyone else fundamentally unearned. That's what I like about him. Glad he's on this list. But does this album belong on it? Nah. There's some great tracks. "Glam-Racket," "I'm Going to Spain," "It's a Curse," and "Paranoia Man in Cheap Shit Room" is a string of tracks that feel like a really interesting 4-song EP. Where his vocals are all spikes and jags and jabs, the music too often sands down the edges. The drum production feels more from the 80s than the 90s, which is too bad. 3.5/5. Probably wouldn't be my own 1001 list, and definitely not a list of 1001 I'd tell a stranger they should listen to.

It's got some phenomenal songs, for sure. I don't think you can dismiss "Dreams," "Go Your Own Way," "The Chain," and "Gold Dust Woman." When I listen to this I think I should listen more often.

Another new-to-me classic rock classic. I've never been a fan of the glam, operatic, overdub barbershop harmonies Queen. Their talent as a band is always obvious, but I haven't enjoyed their greatest hits. So, I was surprised how much I enjoyed this. First, Brian May. I get it now. Brian May is incredible, and without his playing this album wouldn't even be possible much less enjoyable. Second, Freddy Mercury, but that didn't surprise me, I expected that going in. Most of Queen's ubiquitous hits don't really show off Brian May like they show off Freddy Mercury, but this album does. But yeah, the over-the-top production still puts me out of it quite often, and the rock edges are too often smoothed out, and the second half of the album lags a bit. 4/5. Belongs on the list definitely, but I wouldn't include it on my personal list. In my book Queen is staggering talent that's largely buried in production. I tend to value music you can imagine being played in a bar, and these could only be contained in a stadium.

Vocals are the weakness here, just can't compare to contemporaries Robert Plant or Ozzie Osbourne. Also, the songwriting, especially the lyrics. The riffs must be acknowledged as monumental, but I think 80s hairmetal ruined 70s Deep Purple for me. It's good, but I can't get into it. 1001 is a long list, so I wouldn't say it doesn't belong here, it's definitely a historic, genre-defining album, but I don't really dig that part of music history. 2.5/5, but rounding up.

Even though I'd been listening to what came to be "grunge" since 1988, this album was still a world-changing, earth-shaking event. Somehow heavier, louder, and still more melodic and accessible than anything that came before it. Not meaner, though. 35 years later, having gotten tired of Come as You Are (which I always thought was third tier on this album), and the punch of Smells Like having worn off, I'm surprised to find that when you listen to the album it all sounds fresh and immediate again. Landmark album and just a great listen, too.

Another familiar one. I don't always like the muddy, muffled sound. Lady Godiva still feels somewhere between annoyingly tossed off and deliberately ruined. I remember barely being able to get through Sister Ray when I first heard it, but it feels almost soothing to me now. One of the things that struck me listening to this today is this: how huge the influence of VU -- especially this album -- is on Yo La Tengo. I always recognized it (it not only obvious, it's a known thing, almost a cliche to recognize it), but this listening it felt like Ira Kaplan was playing guitar. It's not my favorite VU album to listen to, but it's probably the most provocative, challenging, and interesting. Yeah, it belongs on a list of 1001.

Milestone, and definitely contains some gems beyond the classic hits, but some feel like more standard 50s pop, and some tracks are really marred by surprisingly bad backing vocals (looking at you "Last Night," you're awful). I really like Buddy Holly, but this album isn't a great showcase for him.

Just a great record. The production is fantastic, the band is great, Dolly's voice and her songs are top notch. Definitely a must-hear country album.

Definitely some good tracks here, and an interesting representative of the sound of the time, when bouncy but light electronic beats paired with easy acoustic guitars was on the radio and in home stores. But there's a sameness to a lot of it. On the list? It's a sign of the age, so yes. But I wouldn't put it on my own list.

Their interpretations of Dylan are... ok, but feel like jangly popified Beatle-esque versions that I didn't need, but apparently the 60s consumer did. The two standouts for me are the familiar Gene Clark classic, "I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better" and one I'd never heard before "It's No Use." "Here Without You" is really interesting, and shows the psychedelic tones they'd explore later. I can hear why this album was a big deal, but it's not great. 3.5/5. Maybe on the list of 1001 for historical reasons, but to me it feels like too many hybridizations of Dylan and the Beatles. I'll round up, though.

Just monumental. Musically, lyrically, conceptually, it's kinda staggering how individual tracks break down into smaller songs and break apart, multiple genres, jazz and even classical, and plain ol' spoken poetry. Cinematic. And then lyrics and themes come back in different contexts and build one big complete whole. And it just plain sounds great. Lush and sharp, deep grooves. It's tricky to pick out the standouts when you're listening to the album, since it's so well developed sequentially, but when King Kunta, Alright, How Much a Dollar Cost, and The Blacker the Berry come up each time you're thinking it can't get better than this. Yeah, and then i shows up as says "of course I got more." Definite include on the 1001 list, probably top 100. 5/5.

I enjoyed this, and in the first track when the violin came in I thought, "yeah, I'm gonna love this," but it didn't quite build excitement from there like I thought. So I stayed in enjoyment range. Might be very good background music to a dinner party. I'm glad I heard it, so I don't really begrudge its inclusion in a very very long list, but I don't think I'd include it myself. 3/5.

This was different than I expected, and repeatedly different than I expected. Great sounding, distinctive, and never dull. Fantastic guitar work from Robert Fripp. It's definitely a singular record, not totally sure it's one I'd put on a list of recommendations for anyone, but I like it. 4/5

Initial impressions were that I wasn't going to get into this. Sluggish, flat sound, and droning. But then it clicked for me, Iggy shows his wailing crooner side, the songs started hitting with me. By the end, I loved Mass Production. Still don't love the production. The drum sound in particular is not very crisp. But there's a lot of other sounds that feel like they're being invented out of whole cloth. It sounds like, but sounds better than, what Joy Division would be doing in a few years. Definitely grew on me. Convinced by the end that it belongs in the list. 4.5/5

The sound on this record is just perfection. The songs are great, the performances are great. I appreciate how the sax is mixed loudly. Easy inclusion on a list of greats.

Never heard this album, expected to like it, since it's got some real classics, but the stuff I hadn't heard was really not good. All those concept album strings are groaning. It's ok, but I'd rather hear all its best songs in a Greatest Hits sequence then here.

Good, taught, precise metal. I've only even owned one Iron Maiden album (Powerslave) and this is the first non-Bruce Dickinson Iron Maiden album I've heard. Better than I expected, less operatic, more focused and soulful. Yeah, I'd definitely listen to this again. Don't like this as much as other Iron Maiden I'm familiar with, but it fits. 4/5

So, Clint Eastwood is an absolute classic. And my favorite thing about the band is their ability to build around all kinds of styles (Latin Simone being a good example here). I enjoy the trip-hop feel that's closer to hip-hop. But some of the other tracks just wear on me: 19-2000, or the vinyl record crackling on New Genious which fails to feel random and real, but just repetitive and fake. Gotta give it credit, though, and I definitely enjoy a lot of it, but overall just so-so for me. 3/5

I didn't expect the guitars to be this good. But they're razor sharp. Vocals are quintessential postpunk-pre-goth style. Standouts for me are "The Cutter" and "Heads Will Roll" and "Ripeness." I definitely could have gotten into this in my youth, probably just luck that I was never familiar with the albums, just their singles (which are excellent, but gave me the impression that they fit more into the John Hughes 80s than was my thing). On the fence about whether it belongs on a Must-Listen list. I'd give it a 3.5/5. I suspect that one of their other albums would be a better and sufficient representative on the list.

This definitely felt like something new back then, and still feels fresh to me. It's definitely chill, and it might be easy to miss the rhythmic and tonal variation. But watch how "10 Miles Stereo" develops. (That was the song that caught my ear today.) My other favorites are "Zebra" and "Take Care." Rich sonic textures, and she's got a great voice to match them. I think this is the right album to include on a Must Listen list, but I'll revisit "Bloom". Not quite 5/5, just 4/5. But I'd probably include it on my personal list of 1001.

This is a masterpiece. A little folk, a little blues, mildly psychedelic. Minimal, but not sparse. Simple but deeply felt. Easy 5/5, and definitely belongs on a must-hear album list. It's on my list of "You-think-this-is-bad?/you-think-this-is-boring?-I-can't-trust-you" albums.

Another familiar classic. Listening this time it felt more of its time in a broad sense, not "classic 80s UK underground loved by the 80s goth kids" but more recognizing 80s R&B sounds in "Fifty-Fifty Clown," or a loosely Elizabeth Fraser hip-hop adaptation in "Pitch the Baby," like it wasn't entirely out of the mainstream, but joining it in a really great way. "Iceblink Luck" is still probably my favorite here. But the songs are consistently strong, full of warmth. Another 5/5, and would definitely include on my one Must-Listen list.

I ought to like this, I'm typically into this moderately chill blues vibe that puts guitar at the front. But it alternately bored me and annoyed me. All the covers are derivative. Why listen to Eric Clapton's "I Shot the Sherriff" instead of Bob Marley's? All these interpretations of songs and styles are ultimately pretty dull. I didn't hate it, but I couldn't enjoy it. 2/5. I don't see why it would be important to hear this album when it's all so derivative. And there's better Eric Clapton albums, right? I dunno, I'm asking.

This is a really great album, musically interesting and beautiful, deeply personal and broadly social and historical. Usually I dislike interludes between songs, but in this album I really enjoy them, and don't constantly feel the urge to skip to the next track. 4.5/5. definitely belongs on the Must Hear list. I think I'll round up.

Another example of why going through this list is worth it. This is a great, weird, funky, fun, and moody album, sounds never put together on an album before. And I was only familiar with the one huge song. Another good thing about going through this list is that the great songs always sound so much better when they aren't playing incidentally on the radio or popping up edited into 30-second snippets on tv. This is really worth a sit-down listen with the volume way up. 5/5. Not surprised that I like it this much, but it feels good to fill this gap in my music experience. Has to be on this list.

If you're going to appreciate 80s pop, this is probably about as good as it gets. Sparkly, shimmering production (I'd like to know what to call the glittering effect over all the vocals, guitar, electric piano, and synths). If you've never heard this album, yes, the whole thing, you're missing some musical history. They're good songs, and really not just Karma Chameleon. Lots of 50s and 60s Motown pop tunes done by Brits with super lavish 80s production. That said, when I got to the bonus tracks on the deluxe edition I was streaming, I had to say "yeah, that's enough" and check this off the list. Speaking of the list, this makes me wonder whether this album or their debut, Kissing to Be Clever, belongs on the list. I don't want to go listen and compare, but I'm curious whether I'd find more to appreciate in the debut. 3/5.

I could never get into Dead Kennedys BITD, mostly because of Jello Biafra's voice, but I was more a postpunk kid than a punk. I loved hearing this fresh. Jello's voice is still, uh, distinctive, but it doesn't feel challenging or painfully abrasive like it used to. Now it sits at "classically abrasive" on the vocals dial, while still being one-of-a-kind and one of the greats. What I really loved was the guitars. Great sounds, and a huge diversity of sounds, rough but well-played. Overall, this record surprised me. Belongs on the list? Yeah. My list, probably, yeah. Think I'll listen through the rest of their discography. 5/5

This is like Queen if Queen had zero talent, wore worse outfits, and wrote super stupid songs. And Queen is not my taste. I didn't think I'd hate it, but then there was a whole album of it that I listened through. Belongs on the list only as a warning to us all.

Knew the hits a bit, and despite knowing its reputation, I was still surprised at the depth and consistent quality of this album. Great sound, and many different styles represented. Kept thinking it wouldn't be able to sustain my attention all the way through, but it did. Yeah, classic. So enjoyable. Need to go buy this.

Sigh of disappointment with another electronica pick and a very fucking long one, too. Listened to it in the car. Much better than I expected. More development and progression of beats and sounds than I think is usual, and I didn't feel like I needed a cocktail of drugs to get into it. Really not bad. But I can't really say I liked it or would recommend it as a musical milestone. 2.5/5

If this was shorter, I probably would have enjoyed this more, because there really are some interesting beats and samples and sounds, and his flow and tone varies quite a bit, too. But it does often settle into some kinda stale rhythms and rhymes. So, liked it both more and less than I expected. 3/5

I went back and forth a bit on the sound, both the occasionally intrusive crowd noise and some tracks where the orchestra felt muted, but the performances are really a lot of fun. Big band orchestras are not really my thing, but I loved it especially when the clarinet was featured. Like I said, I went back and forth between wishing this was performed in the studio and recognizing that the live performance was truly electric, but I wouldn't dispute including this on a list of must-listen jazz albums. 4/5

Coming at this as someone who knew "Rock Lobster," "Private Idaho," and the Cosmic Thing hits as fun party music, but not stuff I wanted to listen to otherwise. So, I guess I'm finally learning the secret that the B-52s are a kickass rock band, an everything-in-its-right-place, guitar-driven, tight-and-loose, kickass rock band. I always had the sense from the singles that they were a maximalist over-the-top outfit with a throwback shtick, but I was wrong: they're interesting because of their minimalism. All the vocalist's roles finally make sense to me. I'm going shopping and I'm adding this to my own list. pretty easy 5/5 Favorites: Basically the whole first side. "Planet Claire," "52 Girls," "Dance This Mess Around" and "Rock Lobster" is even better in the context of the rest of the album. Has to be up there with the all-time great debut album Side 1s.

So, this was a decent listen as background music. Well made, seemed targeted at my indie-rock tastes, some cool guitar sounds, electronics that didn't bother me, songs just fine. I liked it at the first track, but pretty soon it felt like a pop-oriented version of Ride (just removing the noise, the furious drumming, the contrasting vocal harmonies) or a rockist imitation of Portishead. Nothing new here, but it's fine. It sounds like something I might have bought back in the day and then lost under the car seat and never cared about. 2/5

"You Told Me" started off interesting, different than what I expected, featuring banjo, and I thought I might be surprised by this and enjoy it, but there weren't too many positive highlights after that. Some of the worst pedal steel guitar playing ever recorded. (Allegedly it's pedal steel, it sounds more like bad slide electric guitar to me.) If you're in the mood for this, then the Beatles from 1964 would be much better. It has moments, for sure. "Randy Scouse Git" is a really interesting song, weird in good ways, but that's the only one that sticks for me. 2.5/5.

So I'm one of those Pink Floyd fans (?) who thinks that Wish You Were Here and Animals are the classics, that Dark Side of the Moon is ok but overrated, and The Wall is a couple phenomenal songs in an otherwise mostly dreadful album. There I said it. You can judge my opinion in that light. Wish You Were Here has great guitar work, great songs, and hangs together as a great rock and roll album with symphonic scope. It might be on my personal list of 100 albums, and definitely, objectively belongs on a list of 1001 albums people oughtta know. As a bonus, I would argue that if they can get familiar with this one, they are exempted from any obligation to listen to DSOTM or The Wall. 5/5

Didn't expect to enjoy this as much as I did. The beats, the samples, the wild guitar squeal or horns bleating or vocal wail or trill or scratch on a loop, all that was top notch and much more engaging to me than, say, Ice-Ts OG, which just recently came up as my album of the day. No real annoying tracks that wreck the flow of the album for me, it was just loaded with hooks the whole way through. An album that helped define the 90s. 4/5

I love the combination of sounds on this album, the low rumbling groove provided by the rhythm section, the sax and bass clarinet played usually in a growling baritone range, electric pianos, and then John McLaughlin and Miles himself in there punching stabbing interjecting whatever the fuck is right. Generally speaking I prefer the "straight-ahead" (I mean *relatively* speaking--it's Miles Davis still) rock of Jack Johnson and meditations of In a Silent Way, and my first listen today left me thinking maybe I'd only score this a 4/5, but I jumped back in with Spanish Key (a tune I wouldn't think to call a high point), and it just felt so good with just a bit more attention to it, and I can't not give it its full due. 5/5.

I came to the Black Keys for raw, real, bluesy guitar and loose, muscular but nuanced drumming. Didn't need bass, synths, or an "atmospheric" or "retro" production package, but there's so much production, the Black Keys are almost entirely lost. Just try to image the Black Keys as a two-piece garage band while you're listening to this... it no longer makes sense. This is a Danger Mouse album. It's so Danger Mouse, that the fact that only one track was produced by Danger Mouse makes be think that Dan Auerbach spent the last album learning Danger Mouse studio tricks and then imitated them all in this album. Dan Auerbach's voice still anchors the album well enough, and there's some good tracks I just can't help but enjoy, mostly "Howlin' For You" and "Black Mud," but the rest kinda blurs together. 2.5/5

Is Elvis Costello overrepresented on this list? probably? Is this a good album? definitely. Is it among his top 3? no. That said, I'm actually glad to have heard it, being familiar with at least three better Elvis C. albums already, because I know him better now. But don't think it'll send me to the record shop. 3.5/5

AAnother familiar classic, probably my favorite Big Star album. (This is the one I always listen to, anyway, though I'm looking forward to a focused listen on Radio City and Third/Sister Lovers to reconsider.) The rockers are fun, they stomp and swagger, and there are no ballads sweeter than The Ballad of El Goodo, Thirteen, and Try Again. Watch the Sunrise is a perfect sunrise song. There's no virtuoso performances, but everything hangs together so well. The songs are great and the songs sound great. It'd be wrong to leave this of a list of 1001 must-listen albums. 5/5 Hmm. Just realized that Radio City isn't on this list of 1001, which is maybe a little weird, when you figure the overrepresentation of Morrissey and britpop...

Lyrics like these... I feel the trembling tingle of a sleepless night Creep through my fingers, and the moon is bright Beams of blue come flickering through my windowpane Like gypsy moths that dance around a candle flame ...just wreck a song for me. BUT, it's not all that purple, and I was surprised by what a great recording it was, it just sounds great, I love the instrumentation, and guitars especially. It was a less boring and same-y than I expected. "Everybody Loves Me, Baby" broke up the ballads, thankfully. Am I going to play it again? no, but I don't think I can dispute that it's an American musical-historical signpost that's worth noting on this list of 1001. 3/5. But, no, it wouldn't be on my own list of recommendations, I don't think.

I was halfway through the album before I realized this was 1962, which was kinda shocking. That guitar and the deep R&B groove just said '66-'68 to me. Overall, even beyond the stone classic title cut, it's packed with tunes that call out to be included in party playlists. So good I could even appreciate the Hammond organ. 4.5/5. Seems like a milestone album to include in a list of 1001.

I mean, classic, sure, and an enjoyable listen. But I think the covers are a little weak. Motown originals are better in the original, and Chuck Berry does Chuck Berry better. The American "Meet the Beatles" release is far superior, dropping the covers and leading off with "I Want to Hold Your Hand," "I Saw Her Standing There," and "This Boy." If I'm rating the USA release, it's an easy 5/5. For the UK "with the Beatles" tracklist, I'm kinda surprising myself by only giving this a 4/5. "Meet the Beatles" is the one on my list.