1001 Albums Summary

An exceptional debut album. Sultans of Swing is a classic, but I'm partial to Water of Love and Down to the Waterline, but every track is great.

Not an artist I was previously familiar with. Nice jazz groove. I'm a novice jazz listener, but I liked this.

Not previously familiar with this artist, but I liked it. It seemed familiar. Dark, brooding lyrics.

Loved this album. As I get older, I long for nostalgia, and this reminds me of listening to music at my grandparents house on their giant console HiFi set.

Not my favorite Stones album, but close. Brown Sugar, Wild Horses and Bitch are classics, but the rest all bring something to the table as well. A very polished album.

No matter how much Black Keys I listen to, it just doesn't resonate with me.

An album from my childhood. Even after all these years, More Than a Feeling and Foreplay/Long Time still make me smile.

I've listened to this album so many times, and it's still great. I know everyone else is tired of Stairway to Heaven, but it's such a spectacular song and was a big part of my childhood (it was played at every school dance). But my favorite from the album is their rendition of Memphis Minnie's "When the Levee Breaks." The composition of the song, from the drums to the bass and guitar and Plant's singing make this a true gem. Play it LOUD for best effect.

This album came out when I was in junior high and it's a banger. Back in Black and Hells Bells get all of the credit, but my favorite is Shoot to Thrill. This is about the hardest rock I listen to, and I love it.

I have never had enough drugs that could make me enjoy this, and that includes general anesthesia.

Imagine you’re working for an international spy organization, and you have captured a terrorist who knows the codes to disarm the nuclear weapons hidden in major cities throughout the globe. The clear answer to this trolley problem is that you’ll ignore the Geneva Convention and do whatever it takes to extract the information from the terrorist to save humanity. Rather than waterboarding, which will ruin this perfectly good carpet, you play Throbbing Gristle on repeat until they crack. I was ready to confess to crimes that I never committed just to make it stop. In short, this album is a human rights violation.

I know this band was (is?) really popular, but to be honest listening to this album filled me with the desire to go out and yell at kids to get off my lawn and, a) There were no kids out front and b) I don’t have a lawn. I’m old and listened to punk if I needed angsty music, not this. It's just not my jam.

I'm not typically a hip hop listener, but I feel like this album was really well done and I can appreciate it. It's not likely to turn me into a giant hip hop fan, but I'm happy to have heard it.

From the wiki: "After two commercially unsuccessful albums, Third documents the band's deterioration as well as the declining mental state of singer Alex Chilton. It has since gone on to become a cult album, and was placed at number 449 on Rolling Stone's 2012 list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time"." My own mental state declined after listening to this album. It made me want to overdose on heroin behind a dumpster. I guess I’m not in this “cult.”

Meh. Some of the tracks were terrible, the rest were the type that I wouldn't drop everything to turn off if it came on the radio, but honestly nothing here I ever care if I hear again, and a few that were awful.

As an old white dude in rural America, this just isn’t for me, and that’s ok.

Pretty decent album. You can definitely hear the Beach Boys sounds in there, but also some funky stuff. Even more interesting was to read the Wiki on Dennis Wilson's tragic life. It's a shame he only ever made one album.

Hard to believe I'm in my late 50's and never listened to this one all the way through. For me, Cheap Trick was always one of those bands that had a few great songs, but the rest was just ok. Unfortunately, this album proves rather than disproves that theory for me. The live versions of Surrender and I Want You to Want Me are classics, but the rest just seems repetitive and boring. I wanted to like this album way more than I did. I'm being generous with 3/5, probably more like 2/5 but I'm nostalgic for Surrender.

Before today, I had never listened to a salsa album all the way through, but this was pretty great. As I struggle today with the DST time change, I pictured myself sipping a mojito in a cool latin club with music like this being played live. Exposure to new stuff like this is why I started listening to these 1001 albums. Fun.

The rhyming impresses me, but I'm just not a fan of rap music. I don't hate it, it's just not my jam. Great storytelling, though.

Yeah, rap still isn't for me. This one has slang that I don't understand, so the lyrics are often lost on me.

While not awful, I found this album just meh. It was fine. A nice break from the rap I've been fed by this 1001 albums list, but nothing I care if I ever hear again.

Brilliant album. I'll never get tired of listening to REM. Such a pivotal band in my formative years. It's The End of the World As We Know It, and I feel happy to have listened to this today.

I really want to like Prince more than I actually do. For pop music, it’s pretty great, but I’m just not that into pop music. I know this is sacrilege to so many, and I appreciate Prince for what he was, but it’s just not my jam. Maybe if I were a dancer I would like it more?

If I were to write for a sketch comedy show, and the skit was on a couple on the worst date imaginable, this is the band that would play on a stage in the background to punch home how terrible everything is. In short, I hated it.

I need more of this in my life. Fabulous album.

I love this album. One of my favorite bands, and I’ve heard this album a thousand times, but it never gets old.

This album got such heavy airtime during my senior year of high school, but it never really resonated with me. A bit to pop for my tastes. I like Head Over Heels and think Everybody Wants to Rule The World is ok, but Shout is banal and the rest just seems like filler.

I've heard that Lamar's stuff is legendary, important, poetic, etc. But as an old white man in rural America, it just doesn't resonate with me. I'd rather read a book about the plight of black Americans than listen to this. I hope it reaches its intended audience, and judging from its popularity, it does.

There are 1001 albums in this list and as far as I know they're assigned to me randomly, but what are the odds of getting Kendrick Lamar two days in a row? Still not my jam. Like, at all.

Decent album. A nice change from all of the rap I’ve been listening to. Not really my jam, but it was fine.

This song takes me back to the countless hours I will never get back sitting in the cuck chair under a hot light at Lane Bryant waiting for my partner to try on clothes, wanting to GTFO. Repetitive beats and lyrics that must appeal to someone, but certainly not me. Ugh.

One thing I've learned from 1001 Albums is that I like hip hop a whole lot more than rap. The beats are good, the rhymes are fun, and although this kind of music just isn't really up my alley, I appreciate the art. Plus, the samples on this album are all of songs that I like.

While listening to this album I had a strong desire to don a beret, smoke a cigarette and be condescending to an American. Jokes aside, it was a fun album that I never would have heard if not for this 1001 Albums thing. 1960's French pop. Who knew?

I’ve always really liked this album. It’s not Rumours, but it’s great in its own right.

This album is… boring. It’s not offensive, it’s not awful, it’s just boring. It seems very repetitive, and the songs all sound the same to me.

While I like Waterfall, the rest of the album falls flat for me. A couple of the tracks were downright awful. Maybe I'm missing something.

I’d never heard of this band before today. I rather enjoyed it. Kind of dark and brooding.

What a fun album. I’d never heard of him, but I was familiar with Woody Guthrie and this is the same style (in fact, they were friends and played together). Loved it.

Joni Mitchell is one of those artists that I feel like I'm *supposed* to like, but I just don't. Her voice is like fingernails on the chalkboard to me. I get that she's an important singer/songwriter, that she's beloved by many, but I've always felt like her music is some kind of Candid Camera hoax that the world is playing on me.

I think I only ever had the compilation album "Songs to Learn and Sing" back in the day, so I probably haven't heard this many tracks from Echo and the Bunnymen before today, but this is a solid album and I enjoyed it, especially on what was an otherwise dreadful day. Rescue and Do It Clean are classics, but the rest is good too.

Still not my kind of music, but the rhyming is pretty good.

Really good album. Heavy guitar, good bass. And got to learn that some of the lyrics I thought I knew were wrong. Fun!

Boring pop music. Not my jam.

A few songs I’ve heard before, but nothing special. 1960’s psychedelic.

Is this AI? (checks date) Nope, I guess it just sucks. This music sounds like it was created in a lab by people that had only ever read a description of what music is.

If you were to ask me if I liked The Cure, I would answer yes. I certainly had a few albums bought back in the 80's that I loved. But apparently I missed this one, and after listening to it today, I'm fine with that. It's dark, and just not that listenable for me. Oh well.

Some of this album is merely meh, while other parts are downright terrible. How did this pass for music?

Absolutely brilliant album.

This is my least favorite Police album, and it's still 5/5 stars. It's so damn good.

I honestly don't think I've heard anything off of this album before today, which surprises me. A very solid rock album from a great band.

I was in junior high school when this album came out. I was such a huge Rush fan, that in the art class I was taking I made a needle point of the Rush name and star logo. I might even still have it somewhere in a box in my attic. This is a banger of an album, and I still listen to it from time to time today. Some of the lyrics are corny, but the music is spectacular.

I just don't think I've ever been angsty enough for this to have been my jam. If you like a singer screaming at you, then this may be for you, but it's not for me.

This is a pretty great album. Cash’s dark, soulful voice just adds a different element to these songs. I won’t listen to this album often, but I will listen to it again.

This album grew on me.... like flesh eating bacteria that needs to be removed so I don't die. It's like a modern version of punk, but I can't understand the lyrics so I don't know what they're angry about, and they had more effects pedals so the music is way more distorted. It's all just a big nope for me.

Good, angsty hardcore punk. Reminds me of my misspent youth.

Making me listen to this should be a hate crime. I will never understand why this was popular.

Decent album. I’d heard a few tracks in the past, but never the full album. It sounds like a mix of Pink and Smashing Pumpkins. Pretty good overall.

JFC this is terrible. Starting to question why I’m on this quest to listen to all of these albums.

Doesn’t resonate with me at all. It’s bland, and uninspiring. The lyrics sound like the rantings of someone in an insane asylum, delivered with the enthusiasm of the most meek person in the world. The music is inoffensive so I wasn’t clamoring for it to hurry up and end, I just kept waiting for something to grab me and it never happened.

What a lovely album. Not a bad track here.

I rather enjoyed this album. Great rhythms and her voice is lovely. My exposure to African music came mostly from Paul Simon and Peter Gabriel, so this is really nice.

Overall, a good album from Elvis Costello. Several great songs, a few that aren't that great, but nothing irritating. That seems to be the bar lately, and this comes in well above that bar.

Wow. Despite never having owned this album, I knew most of the songs. They all sound quite similar, with lyrics designed to appeal to teenaged boys. There are enough “OH YEAHs” that even the Kool-Aid man would say, “Damn, that’s a lot of OH YEAHs.” While I would never listen to this album by choice today, I give it three stars because I, too, was once a teenage boy, thinking about girls and watching MTV (back when they played music videos), sneaking beer, and singing off key. It was a different time.

This seems like the kind of music I would expect to hear while dancing at a nightclub. Except I don’t go to nightclubs, and I don’t dance. It’s fine, up-tempo, nothing offensive. Good danceable beat. Nothing I will be adding to my collection.

I'm going to assume this sounds better if you have a head full of cocaine and you're dancing your ass off, but for me, sitting on the couch sipping a cup of coffee, it's pretty terrible. Incredibly repetitive instrumentals, trite lyrics... it sucks. I gave it two points for some of the funky bass lines, otherwise it would have been a one.

This might be the first album on the list from a band I'd never heard of that I actually enjoyed. I've always had a soft spot for shoegaze, especially on a rainy day, and this was a nice way to spend my early morning.

I've heard most of these songs, back in the 1970's, in the car with mom while running errands. Carole King was quite the prolific songwriter, and these songs are nostalgic for me. Just good quality singer/songwriter stuff, and she's got a great voice. Plus, the album cover has a kitty on it. 🐈‍⬛

The music sounds like the music-on-hold at those 1990's internet service providers that were trying to be "edgy" or perhaps the shitty soundtrack in a women's clothing store in the same time period. And oh those lyrics! "Go to sleep" loops while the music is jackhammering its way into your skull. More like "go fetch me my sledgehammer so I can dispatch this album into 1000 pieces" am I right? I'm a bit too old to have ever gone to a rave, so maybe I just don't get it. And I'm ok with that.

Considering how much CS&N and CSN&Y I've listened to over the years, I'm surprised I've never listened to this album. It's got strong bluegrass and blues roots, and I really REALLY like it. So sometimes this 1001 albums list does find me a gem.

I found this album....confusing. Some decent soul music, with what appear to be rap lyrics. I suspect I'm not exactly the target demographic for this album, and while I wouldn't run out of the room if it were playing there, it probably wouldn't be playing in the kinds of rooms I want to hang out in.

This is another one of those bands that I guess I just don't understand. Just not my jam, and I'm bewildered by the popularity. Oh well. Hollow, tinny and screechy. It just makes no sense.

Other than the last track, some good angsty American punk rock. I mostly listened to British punk as a kid, and missed out on the Stooges. Shame, as it’s pretty good. But that last track sounds like everyone took too much drugs and was just messing around with their instruments making noise, and some miscommunication resulted in it ending up on the album.

I'm starting to feel like I need a macro to type "This is just not my jam."

I really enjoyed this album. I think I've heard one or two of their songs in the past, but the whole album was pretty good. Nice change from what this list usually feeds me.

OMD has a few bangers, but they're one of those bands that I wouldn't mind having a "greatest hits" album of rather than the individual albums, as many of the tracks just don't land with me. It's typical of synth pop in that it's very repetitive, and can be boring at times.

The music was decent, lots of jangly guitars, but the singing is pretty horrendous. Not my cup of tea.

Not a bad song on this album. It should really be part of the collection for any fan of classic rock. Didn't realize it was on Swan Song, which is cool.

Once again proving I don't go with the mainstream (especially the critics), I didn't like this album. The music seems mostly ok, but the incessant whiny singing of random words and phrases drove me crazy. No thanks.

Arcade Fire is one of those bands that I can't ever decide whether I like them or not. The lead singer seems a bit over the top, but I really appreciate the richness of the music.

Look, I believe that art is subjective, and thus not everything appeals to everyone (don't yuck someone else's yum). But this album is so bad, that if you like it, I don't want to be your friend because you have no taste and should be ashamed of yourself. Also, that any critic gave this anything other than the lowest possible ranking explains why I have trust issues.

This album came up in rotation on a Monday morning. For me, Monday mornings are the worst. Back to work, all the problems that occurred over the weekend are waiting for me, and I probably didn't sleep well. But let me just say that starting your day with this album can make even the worst days better. I'd give this six stars if I could. There's a reason they call her the Queen of Soul. Amazing.

What a weird album. Half of the time I felt like I was being lulled to sleep, the other half I felt like I was being tortured by the enemy to give up state secrets. And both of those things could occur within the same song. Not my jam.

Wow. This is a rock album for people that really would prefer a musical, but think this will help them fit in with their rock-loving friends. I guess they did make a musical of this, but I've not seen it and don't feel the need to. Just not a fan, but two stars because I know half the lyrics just from repeated exposure as a kid.

Great album. Nice to hear a good range of acoustic and electric Neil Young. Minus one star just because I don't like the last song. I had a painful procedure at the doctor's office today, so I'm in harsh critic mode.

The best part of this album is when it ended. The second best part was looking it up in the database and finding that there's only one album from this band on the list. Look, hip hop isn't my jam, but at least put in the effort and come up with some good lyrics if you're just going to rap over some repetitive drum machine and world's simplest "melody." Not recording your Chinese food order. I also didn't think it was possible to make me hate Bob Marley, but this did it for a few minutes. Feel like I need to listen to some to clean my soul after this. One star because it's impossible to give less.

Sigh. What are we even doing here? It's like the rantings of a crazy person set to a drum machine and samples of a shitty ringtone on repeat. This guy needed therapy way worse than he needed a record deal. But he’s rich and I’m not, so I guess I’m the idiot here.

I'm beginning to think this entire 1001 albums thing is a psy-op designed to make me crazy. There is so much goddamn rap and hip-hop it's starting to make me angry. No wonder there are so many copies of this book available on eBay for cheap. I really thought this was going to open me up to all kinds of music that I hadn't discovered, but mostly it's just something to get through, like a colonoscopy. One star, no apologies. For the love of god, serve up something good.

I'm not a big jazz fan, so I'm probably missing something. I know what a big deal Thelonious Monk is to American jazz, but I'd much rather listen to Dave Bruebeck or Art Pepper than this. It's a bit too freeform for my taste.

A nice reggae album from UB40. I had only previously listened to a couple of UB40 albums, so this was a nice addition. Lots of purely instrumental stuff, making for good background music while working on projects.

Really great shoe gaze album. I have Psychocandy, but had never heard this one all the way through. It was nice.

I’m not a real jazz aficionado, but this was a pretty good album.

It's impossible not to smile when listening to this. Parliament/Funkadelic represents probably the best of this genre. A great way to start my Friday. I do love me some Bootsy Collins bass.

I had been thinking that I was too old to like anything unfamiliar and new to me, but this album disproved that. It was a fun listen, like listening to a Sergio Leone movie soundtrack.

This album was better than I expected it to be. She had a great voice and style, but the songs did sound repetitive to me. Decent background music, but nothing to get excited about.

Love love LOVE this album. Stipe's vocals are great, and the way the guitar, bass and drums work together in their elegant simplicity is fabulous.

You know how toddlers will beat on things, like a Fisher Price keyboard or pots and pans with a wooden spoon, and think it's music? They smile and giggle, and we laugh which encourages them, and it goes on and on until your head is pounding and you take the wooden spoon away? I feel like David Holmes's parents encouraged him, told him he was a genius, and then got him a record contract. Perhaps they were deaf? I've heard some shitty music on this list, but this may be the worst. Overindulgent complete garbage. Does he have dirt on the record producers? I don't care enough to dig deeper. Even the album cover sucks, an out of focus cityscape with a giant blue splooge on it. How does stuff like this get made?

The underlying music isn't awful, it's just not great. Pretty repetitive, but hard driving 90's alternative rock. But the singing... are they trying to scare me? This isn't a monster movie, if you can't sing, hire a singer. I can't sing either but I'm not making albums. Ugh.

I bought this album and still like it. It's pretty dark, and a couple of the songs feel more like spoken word with some background music, but on a particularly bad day (which today happened to be), I really *really* appreciate Novocaine for the Soul. I ended up listening to that song 4 times today just for good measure, before I sputtered out.

This is a really solid album, not a bad track in the bunch. Probably his best work. Morrison's voice is spectacular, and the music is great too.

I don't really understand this album. The music sounded like garden variety late 80's/early 90's British alt-rock, but the singing sounded like the drunk Frenchman in a Monty Python movie yelling insults at me. My mother may have indeed smelled of elderberries, but I don't want to hear about it in a song.

Not even Jaco Pastorius's bass playing can save this for me. I just think her singing is awful.

One of the greatest albums of all time.

If you like loud, distorted guitars and screaming, then MC5 might be for you. It’s not really for me. The first song sounded like the singer got hit in the groin as it was very screechy. The rest sounded like a bad Jimi Hendrix cover band, with much worse lyrics. I know the 60s were a tumultuous time, so I’ll cut them some slack and not give them one star. But I could be pretty happy to never hear this again.

Is it possible that this is worse than the last album from The Fall that this list presented to me? I think it is. While this album might be great for playing on repeat to a person with the codes to disarm the nuclear device so they'll break and give you those codes, I don't think it's good for much else. It's repetitive, and just plain shitty. 0/5 stars.

Led Zeppelin III, The Doors - Morrison Hotel, The Who - Live at Leeds, Crosby Stills & Nash - Deja Vu, The Beatles - Let It Be, Black Sabbath - Paranoid. These are just a few of the great albums that came out in 1970. But this fucking Carpenters album came out the same year, proving that throughout history, there have been people with zero taste in music making, producing and listening to it when good alternatives exist. Where was that "disco sucks" DJ when we needed him? He should have rallied against this bubblegum crap instead of disco, which is at least danceable. If your dentist's office plays a Muzak version of this, find a different dentist.

I don't think I'd heard most of these songs until today. It's a solid album, with socially aware lyrics unlike the Beach Boys that we're all used to (about surfing, girls, cars, etc). I rather enjoyed it.

This album has a few standouts, but some of the songs fell flat for me. I’m a Stevie Wonder fan, but sometimes he sings outside of his vocal range and it’s grating.

Huh. This wasn’t terrible. I don’t generally like country music (understatement), but I made it through this without complaining. I should probably go to the hospital and get scanned.

My god, what a boring album. I'd write a longer review, but now I need a nap.

The town is abuzz with excitement over the new installation down at the art gallery. You go in, and see a crowd of people around the new exhibit. When you make your way to the front, you see a blank canvas, and upon it is a broken bicycle pedal, a popped latex balloon, half of a soda can, and a banana. You take a deep breath, blink hard a couple of times, and take it in. No matter how many artsy folks in berets talk about how amazing it is, you just don't get it. It's just a bunch of shit on the wall. That's the visual equivalent of this album. The singing is so wistful, I hope that guy eventually found happiness, but I doubt it. I certainly didn't listening to this album.

God this is awful. Repetitive as hell. I don't understand why there are two Chic albums (I hope there's only two) on this list. One was more than enough.

Very solid album. Steely Dan is a really unique band, blending rock and jazz, and it just works.

I don't know if the members of this band are as weird as they come off on this album, but I'm here for it. When everything is falling apart and I'm totally stressed out, "Where Is My Mind?" is one of my go-to songs. It's also the first song I learned to play all the way through on bass. I really like this album. It's angsty, weird and hits the spot when I'm in one of those moods.

Mournful lyrics, rich music. I think I like this, but sometimes I'm not sure. The most wishy-washy review I've written. It doesn't immediately grab me, but it doesn't repulse me either. I feel like I need to listen to more Radiohead as it is making me curious, and that isn't a bad thing.

More Britpop noise. The best part of this album is that it ended.

This album sounds like 4-5 guys were each in separate studios and told to play along to the music in their headphones, and none of the music in the headphones was the same. There's jazz I like and then there's this freeform stuff, which is what music would sound like if you taught housecats to play instruments.

I love Taylor Swift. She’s built an amazing career and brought her fans together with a message of hope and positivity. She’s charitable, and comes off as personable and funny in interviews. Oh, the album? Meh. I don’t like pop music, and this is no exception.

No no no's. Why you want to yell at me, angsty girl? If I had a teenage daughter, this seems like the kind of music I would angrily yell "Turn that shit down!" about through her bedroom door. Uninspired lyrics, music isn't great, but it does bring the angry teen girl vibe.

Wikipedia says this is a rhythm and blues album. It has rhythm, in that same way that a washing machine has rhythm when it’s off-balance. It’s a beat that you never want to hear because at best it’s annoying, and it worse it’s going to cost you money. As for blues, it certainly gave me the blues listening to this hot garbage, but I didn’t hear any resemblance at all to any blues music I’ve ever heard. A dog howling at the moon is more in tune with blues music than this. Honestly, this album sounds like rap music, but whiner. Truly awful.

What a great album. My grandfather listened to a lot of big band music, but I don't think I ever heard him listen to Ray Charles. Wish I could go back in time and share this with him. It's fabulous and I think he would have liked it. I will listen to this again, and often.

What a great album. I saw LBM decades ago when they played with usPaul Simon. This music is timeless and wonderful.

For me, The Ramones are that perfect hard rocking, angsty band. There's nothing particularly complicated about the music, just fast tempo, loud guitars, and of course their signature vocals. And important part of my teen years. Bonus, if you're drunk and screw up the lyrics when singing along, nobody knows the difference.

Without a doubt the best live blues album I've ever heard. This is really fantastic stuff.

One of the best jazz albums of all time. Really tight groove, baby. Love it.

Ok, The Prophet's Song drove me a little batty, but otherwise this is a solid album. You're My Best Friend is a favorite, and Bohemian Rhapsody is of course legendary.

I listened to a couple of New Order albums back in the 80s but apparently not this one. Honestly, it’s just a little too synth heavy for my tastes. I preferred American new wave, with bands like Devo, R.E.M., and the B-52‘s.

Nothing says 70's slow rock like Steely Dan. This was such a staple of the era. This is one of those bands that I'm good with just owning a greatest hits CD. But it sure evokes lounge act at the airport Holiday Inn vibes, and not even in a bad way.

Yawn. Nothing offensive, just some brooding boring music.

I think I heard a couple of tracks off of this album back in the 80’s, and what a shame I didn’t hear more. Really great alternative rock with a Scottish twist. I’ll be adding this to my rotation.

Growing up on the West coast, Bruce Springsteen just wasn't the cultural phenomenon that it is on the East coast. I've never really been a fan, but over the last few years, I've grown to appreciate him and his music. This was as good as any Springsteen album I've heard.

I had heard several of these songs before and assumed they were Steely Dan. Decent soft rock album. If you like Steely Dan, you’ll like this. If you don’t, well…

Pretty classic ska album. I had no idea the Go Go's sang background on this record. Cool.

Just a good British punk rock album. If you like the Sex Pistols, you'll like this. If it's just loud angsty noise to you, then you won't. I thought it was pretty great.

Nice live blues album from one of the greats.