1001 Albums Summary

1 - In Rainbows - Radiohead Good opener / jangly fun / second song is driving but don’t love it / Nude and Weird Fishes are Radiohead moody / All I Need has a cool beat, mellow but good… this album is Radiohead moody… some of it nice and vibey, some of it too weird or droning. No real standout songs on this and more of a mood than anything. It’s tough because Radiohead The Bends is a top album of all time - this isn’t, but does reflect the overall mood of Radiohead pretty well.

Good jangly opener. First five songs are definitely feeling dated / 60's. The Good's Gone is simple, nice. My Generation and The Kids are Alright are classics. The whole first half of the album has that jangly feeling of The Who. Sort of bluesy, prog-rock. It's nice, but none of the screaming guitars of The Who of later years. The Ox is a cool driving instrumental in the middle / nice. Don't love Bald Headed Woman. Anytime you want me could be from a 50's radio show. Same with Shout and Shimmy. Motoring is a fun 60's jamming rocker. It's a good listen, very of the era / has a lot of Beatles elements which makes sense. Good record / definitely captures the time.

First - I do not like Bob Dylan. One of the worst (maybe worst) concert I have ever seen. Opening song is sort of nice until he starts crooning half-way through and I'm reminded his voice is not for me. Second song... okay... but the harmonica is so Dylan-esque... no. Acoustic jangle into his whiney singning... absolutely not. More Dylan crooning... I just so do not like his voice.. can't do it. I'm skimming the other songs but I have no intention of hearing anything on this record again - this is a no for me.

This is just not an album I would ever listen to. Good opening driving song, familiar, jangly nice. Graceland is such an Americana song. Third song gets us to the collaborative Paul Simon… don’t really like this. Now we’ve stepped into some sort of jug band dance and spoken word melody… saxophones… too much of a bayou jig. Here’s the soft bongos and groovy Paul Simon… horns and more upbeat… Of course into Call Me Al as a natural next song… I think you have to at least sort of like this song.. Yeah.. we’re getting a little country/African ramblingish here… almost a church croon going here. More African chanting collaboration… nope. Crazy Love is sort of back to that brightness of Call Me Al. That Was Your Mother brings us right back to the jig-band bayou… I just am not into this sound. Last song with Los Lobos… jig-band, driving drums… country twangs… again, no. Not offensive, but this album is not for me.

Paint it Black as an opener… I do like this song. The Rolling Stones were a huge early concert for me in 1987 so they have a soft-spot with me. I don’t love them, but I like them. Stupid Girl is more jammy-early-Stones. Lady Jane… Jagger crooning slow, folky… no. Under My Thumb is another classic Stones, nice. Doncha Bother Me… bluesy with an annoying guitar riff - no. Think is nice. Flight 505 is 60’s Jagger riffing, High & Dry and It’s Not Easy is some bluesy country… not so much. It’s not easy sounds like 60’s progressive rock / of the day unique but a little dated. I am Waiting is weird and I don’t like it. Going Home is an 11-minute jangle that lost me in the first minute… The back half of this album I did not really like at all.

6 - Depeche Mode - Music for the Masses - Rating = 5 Big album for me - In 1987 as my musical tastes were fully veering from the radio and pop into much more alternative. This album was a big early block in that. The opening notes to Never Let me Down Again… just a grabber for me. It’s a driving brilliant opener and I love this song. The Things you Said is a vibe that this album is going to have a different mood than previous Depeche Mode offerings, a little richer/less poppy. Strangelove has a great opening riff and is just good and an ear-worm. Sacred is mildly catchy if not a standout. Little 15 is haunting and moody. Behind the Wheel… love this song, driving, cool (and the Route 66 remix is epic). I Want You Now… the opening breathing is sort of off-putting but it comes around as it’s a nice crooning, simple love song. Moody, heavy, like the vocal / helps add to the overall depth of the sound on the album. Nothing is one of the better 9th song of the albums around. Nice, cool moody keyboards and fits nicely with the overall. Pimpf is a sorta-nice moody dramatic piano outro to cap it. This album also fed 101… which is a top album.

7 - Fatboy Slim - You’ve Come a Long Way Baby - Rating = 4 Right Here, Right Now is a great opener / vibe setter if a little long/samey. Rockefeller Skank is classic and early Fatboy Slim. (Licensing issues causing it to be missing on the Apple Music album?) I can’t say I love the “Fatboy is Fucking in Heaven” riff that goes on for the first 30-seconds. Sort of a goofy jangle from there… but the one-lyric repeat is a no-for-me. Gangster Trippin’ is just a classic that’s still relevant almost 30 years later. Love that horn-riff. Build it Up is a cool riff, gets a little same-ish… a little long… some annoying moments… not so much. Kalifornia is sorta cool with the sitar and spacey keyboards - like the layer-like builds… He does tend to drag out his songs a little more than I’d like. I like the groove in Soul Surfing and the driving beat. You’re not from Brighton is a cool groove with some good breaks. Which builds into the album classic of Praise You - huge fan of this song. Love Island continues the dance party if getting a little too techno for me. Overall this was such a fresh album when it came out and has some classic songs. The songs do tend to get repetitive and same-ish. Most could be shortened by about two minutes and they’d be stronger. Still - this is a great album and definitely a big one of the time.

8 - LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver - Rating = 3 Get Innocuous definitely sets the tone… slow layer building electro track. Right when it gets a little too same-y, another layer comes in to liven things up… good intro track. Time to Get Away brings the vocal keeping with the building groove, keyboards… they’re good at this building. Nothing American Scum continues the jam… this is okay but just okay, gets long, but thickly layered at the end. Someone Great is a nice change in groove if not totally, but good. All My Friends starts with a repetitive keyboard noodle that goes on by itself for over a minute and is annoying after 30 seconds. The same noodle repeats through the song… it’s annoying. The vocal is nice, but I can’t get past the keyboard. Us v Them gets off to a building jam and has a nice groove evolving, this is a good jam… eight and half minutes is a little long, but I dig it. Watch the Tapes is cool. Good vocal and catchy. Sound of Silver is a driving vocal, bass-y groove underneath, drifts a bit as it goes, a little long at 7+ minutes. New York, I Love You - different vocal piano track… it’s nice and a good ender… definitely different without any electro elements. Overall - this is a good album of the time and groundbreaking in many ways. I like it. I don’t love it, but it’s definitely an important album.

9 - Nitin Sawhney - Beyond Skin - Rating = 3 Not at all familiar with this album/artist - Broken Skin… woah, this is nice. Cool soulful female vocal with a nice groove behind it, some Indian influence here. Letting Go… higher female vocal, mellow… okay, a little samey on the way out. Homelands… the Indian babbling is not good… the groove is cool enough, but the babble interludes… no… but then it settles into this nice bongos led groove which is nice. Don’t love the vocal mumble rap on the way in.. sitar… hmmm… maybe. Pilgrim is another spoken rap under a someone interesting groove, not remarkable but not offensive. Tides is a nice piano interlude that just floats for five minutes. Nadia… a non-offensive female Indian warble with some beats coming in… but no. Immigrant… high pitched female soft vocal with piano, mellow but sorta nice. Serpents, a bit more drama building on the opening, female Indian tease… builds with some beats… not offensive, but too long like the last song. Anthem Without Nation has a vocal chanting build that’s sorta nice with the building drums… doesn’t really go anywhere. Nostalgia is another female vocal but it has a nicer sultry quality to it, like it. The Conference has a 20 second silent intro that develops into some really annoying Indian beat-boxing or something… no… I mean really, no. Title track. Busts into a much more upbeat groove than we’ve been having… the vocal samples in the middle are mood interrupters, don’t like it.. but allows for a serious tempo change into string-lead airy which goes into Indian female warbling… soft guitar outro with more talk vocal samples. Overall this is an album that would be nice in the background or at a cocktail party. Some cool grooves and vibes but some annoying moments of chanting and some of the songs go on for too long a couple deserve to be skipped. I’d give it a 2.5 if I could but I’ll be positive and round up.

10 - Nick Drake - Bryter Layter - Rating = 2 Another one I’m not familiar with / 1971 release. Nice orchestra backed acoustic guitar airy setting to start. Into a horn-lead low ramble Hazey Jane 2… the vocal coming in is airy and a little high-pitched male vocal, sorta folky-ramble with horn punches… dated. At the Chime of a City Clock… slow acoustic to start with the soft vocals coming in… this is just sorta boring. One of These Things First I think I’ve heard before… rambling piano and vocal coming in on top… crooning a bit… not bad but a little background-ish. Hazey Jane 1 (why 2 before 1?)… intro is a little more attention grabbing… orchestral is okay… sort of just hangs there… Bryter Layter and Fly… sort of folky lingering non-offensive but not memorable. Poor Boy is like a jazz-guitar soft sleepy ramble that just sort of sits there. The Gospel-like singers add a little zip but not much. Northern Sky is one I’ve heard… soft piano, nice… but sounds a lot like the rest of this album, just a little better put together song. Flute to start dominates the sound as it builds a bit, but the flute just sort of wanders and this goes in circles. This is sort of just a mellow, airy sound… it’s nice but nothing I need.

11 - Soundgarden - Superunknown - Rating = 1 (zero if I could) I owned this album when it came out. I have heard these songs far too many times. This is now a band that I absolutely loathe. HATE the sound of Chris Cornell's voice and turn the station any and every time I hear the notes of their songs start. I am not actually listening to this album today because it offends my ears and I know this record enough to know. Absolutely not. No. Go away.

12 - Ali Farka Toure - Savane - Rating = 1 Have never heard of this guy or this record. The start of the first song and the mash of fiddle and acoustic guitar and the African-like chanting coming in sort of noodling… harmonica… almost a tune-up song. This is not grabbing me. Softer but the Indian/African chanting is a no for me. The music behind is inoffensive enough… but the vocal… Guitar noodle to start… sax? There’s the chanting coming in… the title track is slow… not interesting. Overall this is just too weird for me to like it. This is just a sound/album I would never listen to or consider… I mean I’m listening because I want to play the game… but this is just not for me.

13 - Elvis Costello - My Aim is True - Rating = 4 I am a fan of Elvis Costello - this is definitely the more raw/early effort sound - Welcome to the Working Week is a nice opener, Miracle Man continues the distinct Elvis vocal lead rambler. No Dancing is a change of pace, a little jangly and some light crooning happening. Blame it on Cain… okay now I feel like we may be in the funky South. This has a serious country vibe crossed with simple 70’s guitars… This on is not really my vibe. Alison is an all-time classic song that I love. Sneaky Angels is a cross between the jangly blues I don’t love and the Elvis crooning that works… not sure. The Angels Wanna Wear my Red Shoes is another classic, and the bonus of Watching the Detectives is super nice. This is a pretty strong record if a bit dated.

14 - Super Furry Animals - Rings Around the World - Rating = 2 Not familiar with this band. Opens with a nice soft piano… a little soft ooh coming in… a little sleepy. Gets boring, too long. More interesting / sort of a rocking guitar rift with the airy vocal… still doesn’t really go anywhere. Title track - more upbeat… nice enough if not excellent… annoying end. Now we’re a little more vocal/ballad-y. Receptacle for the Respectable is a fun song, a little annoying at the end. Shoot Doris Day… a little dramatic, not sure… probably not. Miniature is a 7-min song that doesn’t grab you… then with 2 minutes left is starts getting tweaky and weird… no. Just not really a sound or a vibe that I’m going to spend time with. Not offensive but not for me.

16 - Jimmy Smith - Back at the Chicken Shack - Rating = 2 This is some classic funky soul blues that’s nice. It’s just not something I’m ever going to put on. I wouldn’t turn it off if it was on… but I’m not going to look for it and I’m just not that interested.

16 - Kendrick Lamar - Good kid, m.A.A.d city - Rating = 1 This is just not something I would ever listen to - not for me.

17 - Queens of the Stone Age - Queens of the Stone Age - Rating = 1 I don’t like this band. No interest. No.

18 - Rage Against the Machine - Rating = 1 One of my three least favorite bands - I do not like this band.

19 - Neneh Cherry - Raw Like Sushi - Rating = 2 Opens with Buffalo Stance which is the hit from this record. Fun song if dated. Slow groove… really dated… not so much… Kisses on the Wind is even more dated… wow. Inner City is a little sticker jam but still screaming early 90’s. The Next Generation… sort of a hip-hop rap vocal with a cheesy beat… no. Love Ghetto is just cheese… Here’s the thing… these songs are all too long and feature early-90’s synth beats… I’m not going to put this on.. Buffalo Stance saves the album… I’m not offended by this album like some of the ones we’ve had on previous days… but it’s not a good album in today’s world.

20 - Sade - Diamond Life - Rating = 2 Opens with Smooth Operator… such a dated sound and soft-jazz… but this is a smoooooth song… gotta sort like it. Goes really soft jazzy from there… I can’t say it gets that interesting but it’s a sound… like the Sade sound… has a place, but not a big one. Much like other albums, the monster song really saves the record. Definitely not something I’d go to, but if it’s on at a cocktail party it certainly offends no one.

21 - The Killers - Hot Fuss - Rating = 5 I got this album mailed to me when I worked at the record label as a promo. I remember listening to this thing on a consistent basis for like 3 months. Kalani, Mat and I all liked it… from the opening track with the driving “Jenny Was a Friend of Mine” into the monster hit “Mr. Brightside”… hooked from there. Brendon Flowers’ voice is catching… the mix of the synch and guitars… just a really good sound. This got played a lot when it was new… it’s still damn good. Definitely a great album of the 2000’s and established the Killers as a big band to watch.

22 - Underwater Moonlight - The Soft Boys - Rating = 2 Do not know this band or this record…. It came out in 2025 so that makes some sense. Sort of a nice rock-ish funky guitar with almost 60’s-ish vocals. Twangy with a groove, sorta nice. Is this a Beach Boys sort of vibe… this is not bad. Insanely Jealous is a little too twangy/spoken-word. Tonight is a little more groovy, soft vocal building… nice little song. You’ll have to go Sideways is a little too jangly, no singing… horns? Strings? Warbly organ? Weird song. Old Pervert… some wailing guitars and a 70’s-ish running vocal… no. The Queen of Eyes might be the Beatles or a less established 60’s group. This is a 10-song 36-minute album… almost like a band figuring out their sound. I’m not sure I’d put this in again so it’s hard to round up.

23 - The Beau Brummells - Triangle - Rating = 1 Folky jangly acoustic guitar and melodic 60’s male crooning… not offensive but not that interesting either… Jangly Dylan? Violins… gypsy accordion… spoken word crooning… urgency… not really… This is just something I would never listen to. Too folky, too whiny croony, Dylan-like… just nothing that grabs me at all…. Skipped through most of this as it’s just not what I want.

24 - Ryan Adams - Heartbreaker - Rating = 1 Opens up with them talking about Morrissey albums… I’m guessing most people don’t know that but the song title spoils it. Then it breaks into the opening song, track two, To Be Young. It’s a jangly, bluesy, rambler. Not offensive but not great. My Winding Wheel is bringing country. Amy is more country… I think I’m out on this album about here… more slow country.. Come Pick me Up is the starred track on the record. Slow harmonica… slow beat… are you going anywhere? This is not offending my ears, but it’s never something I’d listen to or turn on… it’s just whiney country slow songs that are boring. I’m out.

25 - Leonard Cohen - Songs of Leonard Cohen - Rating = 1 Folky, soft vocals with some “oooh” soft backing… this is Americana folk, 60’s jangle… um… I’m not getting more than 30 seconds into any of these songs… slow, folk, ramble… The two starred songs are just boring… no.

26 - Nas - Illmatic - Rating = 2 Opens with the NY subway and a movie quote… beat rolling in… (I’ll state off the bat that I am not a hip-hop/rap guy… but Nas is a cornerstone and the beats on this are rich) Good warm-up groove with the proper name-checking and initial hype building… Into one of the biggest songs, NY State of Mind, which is a heavy rap over simple piano beats… just not what I like. Collab next..meh. The World is Yours is sorta nice… simple but nice groove. Memory Lane… nice, like it, simple but groovy rap… One Love with Q-Tip… this is where the drone-y similar sound rapping just grates on me… same with the next song… Represent is more fun… This is not an album for me, but I get it and it’s not offensive.

27 - Beyonce - Beyonce - Rating = 2 Beyonce has such a sound that is hers. Distinct vocals with an urgency and production behind it with her soul and energy - sexy and topical and she’s just a star. Pretty Hurts is a nice level-setter to start. Opens the first couple songs with a talking intro… Haunted is pretty much a repeat talking rap… crooning comes in… not so much. Drunk in Love featuring Jay-Z is a big song for her… starts really slow… to much spoken-vocal… no hook… why is this a big song? Jay-Z doesn’t help it. Blow has a bit of a dance glove but sort of cheesy. No Angel is sort of boring / it’s a sound but not that interesting. Look… I’m skipping through a lot of this because I already know where it’s going and it’s not what I want. Not offensive, her voice is great… it’s just never something I’d choose.

28 - Janis Joplin - Pearl - Rating = 1 Look - this was put out the year I was born so it’s going to sound dated and it does. I don’t really like her voice, the big song on this album, “Me and Bobby McGee” is one I’ve heard and don’t really like. I don’t like the sound, there’s very little I like about the music. This is a strong no for me.

29 - The Beastie Boys - Pauls Boutique - Rating = 5 I would give this album a 10 if I could. It’s one of the top 50 albums of my life. From the opening To All the Girls into the biggest groove banger in the Beastie Boys catalog, “Shake Your Rump”… I mean The Sounds of Science, Johnny Ryall, Hey Ladies, Shadrach… This album was goofy, fresh and new with the level of sampling at play here. This is a seminal album of my life. Thank God for the Beastie Boys and their craziness and intelligence and attitude. Got arrested at the Mardi Gras for jumpin’ on a float. Such a great record.