1001 Albums Summary

Like the sound on the whole. Someday and Last Nite were my favorites. Got a little stale by the end where a couple songs is great but don’t need the whole album at once again.

Where is my Mind? was definitely the standout and the one song I'd go back for. Enjoyed a couple others like Tony's Theme and Gigantic but not an album I'd revisit on the whole. A good start to the 1001 project for me and a good baseline for what 3/5 is to me.

A couple classics on this one on Break on Through, Light My Fire and The End. Falls just short of a 5 for me as outside of those I can't see myself listening to the whole album on the whole again, but those 3 prop it up quite a bit.

Great drum voicing on Sara. Sisters of the Moon was great. The title track has always been a favorite and generally the back of the album clicked a lot for me. It’s no Rumors but I found some new things I liked.

Was only familiar with Fast Car before. I'm early into the 1001, but albums like this are exactly why i'm doing it. This was something that would have otherwise been in my blindspot that moved me. So many messages from 35 years ago that unfortunately ring true today.

“Nothing” was probably my favorite, but otherwise I didn’t click too much with the album on the whole. I think other entries in the genre might fair better.

Sara and Sisters of the Moon are two songs I hadn’t heard before but really liked.

Drums on Modern Komsology had a Take Five feel to them. Enjoyed The Architecht. Overall OK but nothing remarkable that spoke to me.

A couple songs that I could take a 2:00 section to use as a Tony Hawk game soundtrack, but really didn’t click at all for me unfortunately.

Some great drum and bass samples on this. Found myself nodding along to a lot of the beats. A good example of something I wouldn't find otherwise, enjoyed listening to one time through, but probably wouldn't think to seek it out again.

Wow, lots to unpack. Hey Ya and Roses back to back are the elephant in the room. Absolute classics that on their own could carry a bad album. For The Love Below side, Take Off Your Cool and Prototype were nice surprises. I really went in blind on Speakerboxxx, and overall had a good time. The Way You Move was all I was really familiar with and took me right back to high school dances for better or worse heh. Now to get picky. 2 hours for all of it was a marathon. I felt like Speakerboxxx was just constantly solid, whereas The Love Below had its couple absolute bangers surrounded by other stuff that I either didn't click with or felt like filler. As many songs as I enjoyed from the whole package, I just can't see listening to the whole thing front to back ever again. Still an all-timer, but the bloat keeps it from the top for me.

Like many, my only exposure to the Bee Gees was disco going into this, so a concept album was the least of my expectations. Right off the jump, I found the vocal vibrato in the first couple tracks really grating, like it was either overdone or at too locked of a tempo. Melody Fair was pretty. Lamplight marks the return of the grating vibrato. The obligatory symphonic number in Seven Seas Symphony was pretty nice. First of May felt like the actual ending and while The British Opera was nice on its own, but it was a weird ending to the album when First of May was right there. An outro that didn't feel like one and didn't seem needed. Overall left a lot on the table and Jesus Christ Superstar did this so much better a year later.

Smack My Bitch Up opens up strong. Funky Shit was another good one. The album is ultimately a bit samey the whole way through but that isn't the worst thing.

First reggae album of the project for me, and with that the first entire reggae album I've listened to. Ended up giving it a second listen with lyrics up to help give me some more context and got a lot more understanding of the message. When I've heard reggae in the past I really haven't gotten too deep into the the lyrics and it's always just come off as easy listening. That's largely still the case to me but it's good to be aware that the subject can be serious too. With that said, the music itself is enjoyable but not memorable to me personally. I do look forward to exploring a bit more in the genre going forward.

Girls Just Want to Have Fun? It must be me I'm girls. She Bop is a good time. Time After Time is timeless. I will say the back half of the album didn't have anything memorable to me but on the whole I had a good time.

Wow, what a marathon. Ella's voice is beautiful and timeless. Many classics to choose from, but the challenge comes in trying to rate this as an album on the whole. The quality of the music is outstanding, but the quantity is a challenge. While I could definitely see myself listening to 45 minutes to an hour of the highlights, I can't see listening to the whole album front to back again as it gets to be a lot of the same sound.

Overall it was just fine. I enjoyed Souvenir the most out of everything, almost like I had heard it before somewhere like a movie soundtrack.

Overall just a decently enjoyable sound from start to finish. Ghost on the Highway was probably my standout.

Bingo was a bop. Some fun beats throughout but not something I'd daily drive. References to president Bush and a new Nokia in "M.I.A." dated it in a way that made me smile.

I enjoyed this, but I didn't pick out a particularly memorable part to bring me back to it again, maybe with So in Love. That said I think other entries in the genre or even from Curtis Mayfield could fair better. His voice is beautiful and the music is meaningful at times and easy to listen to.

I can appreciate where this is coming from and where its leading to with electronic music. It feels a bit too stiff and sterile to really get into it, but The Model was alright and I could see something else from Kraftwerk maybe hitting a little better for me.

The chemical formula for nitroglycerin in Mental Stamina threw me.

Groovy bass lines and Nile Rodgers guitar work is timeless. I think the only negative I can give is some of the tracks get repetitive at times, but that can only be expected with dance music. Overall a great artist and album that'd I'd gladly listen to again.

Sinead's voice is powerful and emotional. Nothing Compares 2 U is amazing, and listening to the Prince version really solidifies how she made it her own. Others like The Emperor's New Clothes, Black Boys on Mopeds, and Last Day of Our Acquaintance really hit for me too. It's a 5 for it's overall impact, and I only go with a 4 because its not something I'd come back to over and over again for my tastes. But I'm really glad I heard the whole thing and would gladly listen again.

This is fun, I'm enjoying the electronic influence. The whole album flows well and has some nicer moments like the end of Are You a Hypnotist?? It feels somewhat like a concept album but it never had it's big moment for me. The highs weren't very high, the lows weren't very low, but I'd enjoy more like this with some more instrumental or vocal flash in there somewhere. Just a good sound overall. Part 1 of the title track was my favorite.

This is a side of the Kinks that I haven't heard as I've only heard their bigger hits like Lola and You Really Got Me. This might be a bit of a hidden gem for me. Opens up strong with Victoria, Shangri-La was a great midpoint, and the album has a lot of the fun ups and downs of a good concept album.

The album some of the generic Brit rock sound for the era, especially early in the album, but then My Generation hits like a brick wall and you can see where they broke out and found a different louder sound. The Ox packs a good punch too. One of my favorite bands growing up and it was fun so hear where it started.

A fun instrumental. Enjoyed it but wouldn't be something I'd reach for again. Fun note: I've been hearing the Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 soundtrack lately and it hit a lot of the same sounds.

The opener is kinda cooking. Some catchy choruses but some of the more experimental verses didn't really hit for me. Decline Of The West was a nice instrumental that reminded me of some chiptune VG soundtracks like Celeste. Overall had a couple decent moments but no need to ever revisit.

1999 and Little Red Corvette are classics. I really liked the bass work in Automatic and Lady Cab Driver. Just short of a 5 for me as things were a little played out by the end and I probably wouldn't buy and listen to the whole album again, but I really enjoyed it.

Completely new to me and really enjoyed it.

Hearts and Bones was pretty nice. I learned that Cars are Cars all over the world. Not Paul Simon's best effort but it was ok.

Good easy listening. Somewhat ahead of its time with some of the new wave style in 1979.

It's a vibe. Chill music, but nothing stood out too much. Wouldn't mind hearing more from them.

I generally don't listen to too much singer/songwriter stuff. I generally appreciated the songs with a bit more instrumentation. So Long, Marianne was my favorite.

Beastie Boys debuted strong with this one. No Sleep Till Brooklyn, Fight For Your Right, and Brass Monkey are all-timers. Some of the others maybe haven't aged as gracefully or get a little repetitive but there's no denying the strength of the album as a whole.

The bass groves in some of the songs are the only thing getting me through it. Too spicy for my liking.

I liked the occasional rock and blues twists.

My favorite was probably Harry's House/Centerpiece. I'm not always clicking with how the lyrics break time from the music, but I think other works from Joni might hit better for me.

Nina's voice is haunting and moving. The lyrics of Four Women were powerful. Would not be surprised if Amy Winehouse listened to Nina at some point, or at the very least they share very similar vocal qualities. Great album front to back, and I'd love to hear more from her.

I wasn't clicking with this at first, but I really warmed up a bit more in the back half.

Maybe a little too raw for my liking. Liked the middle of the album the most and might like something else from the group a little more.

First time listening to Grateful Dead in any meaningful capacity. There’s a lot of times that I’m enjoying what I’m hearing, but a lot of other times that it’s a bit of a mess. I’m ultimately left with not wanting to revisit this particular album but the right one might hit for me.

Song 2 carried this a lot for me, but I think there might be more for me from Blur.

Where is my Mind? was definitely the standout and the one song I'd go back for. Enjoyed a couple others like Tony's Theme and Gigantic but not an album I'd revisit on the whole.

I liked this a lot more than I expected. Certainly there’s a few hits here that I knew I’d enjoy, but the album as a whole was pretty well put together. I can only really knock it for the length. I’m not completely against double albums but it’s really gotta be good to bring me back. If 4.5 rounds up to 5, then this was a 4.49. Solid.

There's times where i get it, and times I definitely don't get it. Pyramid Song would be my limit on liking something that's a bit more off kilter, and Knives Out was good. Knowing some other Radiohead hits i might like another album a little more but probably not by a lot.

I liked this. The sound is raw and gritty but just enough that works for me. Great hits with Sixteen Saltines that I knew before and Love Interruption. The sleeper hit was Take Me With You When You Go with the Take Five inspired beat. I'll be curious to see if a full White Stripes album hits even better for me.

Some of the drum and bass type beats made for good listening while I was doing yard work. For me it’s really good background music, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing but this is also probably the ceiling.

At this point everything has been said that can be about Jimi's guitar work. What I took away from this time around was his singing was amazing as well. Sure there's All Along The Watchtower that he made his own, but Have You Ever Been was a great contrast to his louder hits. And if nothing else, going through the entire album taught me that Voodoo Chile and Voodoo Child are 2 very different things.

Yeah sure that was enjoyable. Sounded older than the late 70s at times which was neat.

There wasn’t quite a standout track, but it was overall good vibes. Her voice reminded me of Stevie Nicks at times. I have some more exploring of here and the folk genre to do.

It’s funky, it’s Motown, it’s classic. Impossible not to listen through that and feel a little warmer on the other side.

Love the little Bach nod at the start of Speed King. This is my second Deep Purple album of the list, and while this one didn't have any hits that I knew going in, the album as a whole was great. I'm really liking their sound, particularly how they work in the organ in clean and distorted flavors. Tie between Speed King or Child in Time for my favorite.

Made for some good background music while I was doing some chores, but I didn’t have a moment where I needed to pay closer attention to what was going on.

I'm finding I appreciate and respect folk type stuff but at the same time it so far just hasn't really been my thing. Good guitar work but I seem to be someone who struggles to parse the lyrics the first time around and that hurts me here.

Well shoot, 2 in a row from Nick Drake who was new to me before the project. This album worked a little more for me than Pink Moon due to the more complex instrumentation besides guitar, but it's still not something I'd revisit.

Never would have heard of this if it weren’t for the list. A fun mix of Irish trad, rock, even country/bluegrass. Not something I’d daily but I enjoyed it

First time with The Everly Brothers. No denying the influence their sound had on the early Beatles and the British Invasion to follow. That said this wasn’t my daily cup of tea.

Respect alone could make this a 5, but Good Times, Soul Serenade, and Do Right Woman, Do Right Man are excellent songs that I hadn’t heard before. Aretha is a legend, and this is a great sampling of her work.

I think project is starting to challenge my previous music habits. I’ve always been a self-described classic rock lover, although admittedly the Stones were never my favorite. Happy and Tumbling Dice are great but the rest of the double album, while fine, just didn’t grab me like I thought it would. Good, but not great. I’ll be interested to see if my ceiling for the Stones is any higher.

You know what, I DID need to hear that before I die. Apache is always a good time. In A Gadda Da Vida, seriously? The bongos themselves only add so much but at the end of the day there’s some fun funky covers in here.

Feel good vibes. Nothing super memorable but I enjoyed it in the moment.

So it’s started off as some neat prog rock but the spice just kept cranking up until we hit full spice. Never go full spice.

Earlier rap and hip hop continue to be a blind spot for me, but I’m learning a little more every time. This album sounded good from start to finish and felt like a foundation of more that came after it.

3 Nick Drakes in the last 10 albums. I’ll leave it close to the same as my other reviews but I admittedly warmed up a little to him. Still not my daily jam but I respect it.

One is the major standout on this album. The rest was good but it was just kinda chugging along in the background for me. I think another Metallica album might hit a little harder for me. One carries the rest to a 4 though.

Had to dig a bit to find a stream of the title track, but it was worth it and was probably my second favorite to Manenberg Revisited. Overall a well-rounded jazz album that I enjoyed but didn't knock my socks off.

The one with Paper Planes. 20 Dollar sounded like it sampled from Blue Monday which was neat. Its interesting starting off and thinking wow none of this sounds like Paper Planes and yet by the time it comes up it falls a bit more in line with everything else, making it all the more interesting that it blew up.

Such a tough one to rate for me, especially as the first Beatles album on the list so far. Absolute legends like Back in the USSR, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, and Blackbird. I have an extra soft spot for Birthday as it was a tradition for my parents to fire up the record player for every family birthday. I think I have to go with a 5 because it's ultimately an album I want to own with multiple favorite songs, even though there's a lot here too that's either bloat or a bit too out there for my usual taste. I'm excited to hear more full Beatles albums.

I dug this album out of my parents vinyl collection as a teenager and never looked back. I had heard Money before on the radio, but the rest was all new and blew me away. I love the beautiful and haunting vocals on Great Gig in the Sky. The driving bass line of Money was one of the first I learned when I picked up a bass guitar. The buildup to the conclusion of Eclipse gives me chills every time. It’s not only a 5 but still to date one my favorites of all time. Put on a good set of headphones and enjoy the stereo bliss.

Fun little jazz album. I thought the lyrical interpretation of How High the Moon was really funny.

Track 1 was a trippy slog to get through, and then the album alternated between that and somewhat digestible. Slightly All The Time with its swing influence brings this up to a 2.

Banjo and synth is a fun combo. Interesting to see this was produced by Thomas Dolby. Hallelujah has some city pop feel to it. Overall a decent listen.

Flavor Flav going on about garbage tv is a funny kettle meet pot moment in retrospect. In all serious though there's some great samples and beats here and the messages are good too. Not a daily driver genre for me but this was pretty enjoyable.

Muddy did it well, and a huge influence to blues and rock that followed.

Still struggling to get on the singer-songwriter bus. Tori has a great voice and the writing seems good at times but it’s just not my thing.

The orchestral backing music caught my interest at times, but I just really couldn’t get behind the free-meter type of talk-singing.

Some undeniable classics, some dated lyrics. This wasn’t so much my thing at the time but I’ll give it its flowers in retrospect

Some of Neil’s best known songs. I’m gonna leave 5 for a CSNY at some point I’m sure but really solid.

2 Radiohead albums down and it’s still just not clicking with me. I know there’s a couple hits of theirs I like but as a whole package they’re probably just not for me.

Probably more of a Spotify listing problem but didn’t need to hear all the extra versions. That said a couple songs grew on me a little like Party Fears Two and Club Country but not something I’d revisit.

So many hits, this is truly an all-timer.

Started off strong with Hate To Say I Told You So but I was admittedly checked out by the end. Not bad but nothing to write home about.

Only knew Sultans of Swing going into this, which I love. The rest of the album was really great too. Not a single stand-out besides the aforementioned, but it was really solid front to back.

Lots of radio classics on here for me. This is a band/genre that always works for me but also doesn't necessarily stand out and knock my socks off either. Almost like easy listening but in a heavy way.

Mrs. Robinson cover was really good. It's A Shame About Ray and My Drug Buddy were my other standouts. Not a revisit for me but I really enjoyed it one time through.

Started off ok, but by the end I was completely over it.

Cool blend of a few different genres. Nice example of something I likely never would have heard otherwise that I enjoyed.

I think I liked this a little more than Surfer Rosa, but maybe that's recency bias. Still just something good to listen to for me but not too much to stand out either.

I'll describe myself as a casual jazz fan. I can see where for the real heads there might be some more depth and substance here, especially with more context around the artist. For me though, this was a fine listen but nothing more than that.

It Was A Good Day is the obvious standout here. That said the album was full of strong messaging relevant to then and unfortunately now.

Started off fine but lost interest as it went on. Not great not terrible.

Some interesting moments here and there. I can appreciate music in a foreign language but for whatever reason the French gravel wasn't doing it for me. My favorite was probably Longue route or L'Amourir. I have zero interest to come back to this but it was interesting hearing it with the context of it being from 1989 and maybe being a little ahead of it's time.

Radio, Radio is a good one I’ve heard before. Pump it up was also good. A decent upbeat album all around.

Another member of the raided my parents record collection club. Started as "hey that's the one with pinball wizard on it", and ended up on quite a different adventure. Its a shameless 5 for personal nostalgia, but it's admittedly a pretty out there venture by The Who to include discovering context around the story that I had previously missed when I was younger.

I thought I was unfamiliar with Reed going into this. Started off with really liking Perfect Day, and then Walk On the Wild side came up, and there was the aha moment. Satellite of Love and I'm So Free also hit pretty well for me. I kinda bounce back and forth on liking his singing style of getting a little loose with the beat and pitch, but it could grow on me.

It was neat hearing a couple musical ideas from here find their way into Tommy, like from Rael. The radio stations bits were cool too. I Can See For Miles is the only real standout at the end of the day and the rest of the album, musically, is just fine.

Chill vibes. Some moments that kinda reminded me of city pop.

This album grew on me a bit as it went on. What started as just just a rap and r&b sound slowly saw some other influences leak in like electronic pop and jazz. Pyramids was my favorite. Not something I’d come back to but a good listen I otherwise wouldn’t have found.

Starts and finishes with a bang. No real standouts in the rest of the album but that's not to say its a bad thing. Everything else was more of a blues feel, and Country Honk was a cool take on Honkey Tonk Women, although I don't know which came first. Ending on You Can't Always Get What You Want really hits.

Big surprise for me. Really cool to hear Pharrell somewhere I haven't before. This was a really interesting blend of pop, rap, rock, even some punk feel? I'll be excited if another one from N.E.R.D comes up because this was a solid listen.

Is this cutting room floor of a musical? If it is it should stay there I guess.

I'll admit this started out ok for me. I can appreciate the instrumental work but after about 30min even that couldn't overcome the cons for me. I'm just really not into the free meter spoken lyrics.

Starting to think that the Stones catalogue is spread out enough that no one album is going to be a 5 for me, but this was another solid entry with Brown Sugar, Can't You Hear Me Knocking and Bitch being my favorites.

A favorite jazz staple. Blue Rondo a la Turk sets the scene for more of the odd-meters to come, but the jump back into 4 after the intro always hits so good. Take Five needs no introduction. Everybody's Jumpin' holds a special place for me having played it in high school as well. While I bought the album for Take Five, I was left impressed with the rest of the lineup as well and should check out more from Brubeck.

No major highs or lows to be found here for me. I Will Dare felt like a strong opening, and the rest rounded it out too. Solid album and I wouldn't mind another from The Replacements

For being a person who, for their whole life, would have said they hate this flavor of old country/western twang, it seems to have grown on me a bit. Is it my favorite? Definitely not. Would I take this over modern country? Perhaps.

Really cool to hear Ray Charles in more ballads, as I was only more familiar the loud and upbeat stuff before like the first couple songs. Solid album.

Enjoy the Silence was decent, but on the whole I'm not seeing myself getting too much into Depeche Mode with a couple of their albums under my belt now. I can appreciate the flow of it but it just doesn't really hit for me.

Solid album but I have a feeling their come into their own in later entries.

Going Out of My Head had me moving a bit. The upright bass lick on First Down was neat. Something to listen to while working or exercising but not much more than that to me.

An all-time concept album for me. Started as a curiosity of where Another Brick in the Wall came from, but ended up loving the whole thing. It has its out there moments like The Trial, and the absolute peak of the guitar solos in Comfortably Numb. Easy 5

Oh hey, Once in a Lifetime, this is pretty great! Oh, that was it. Dang. The rest wasn't bad but that was the clear standout for me.

I had definitely heard of Fiona Apple but had never sat down and listened to her before. Her voice is great and this album makes for decent easy listening.

First time listening to 2pac for me. Overall a decent listen. Interesting to hear some of the words of struggle, but also mixed with some more self-indulgent stuff. I’d listen again.

A really cozy jazz album. Didn't have a stand-out favorite but enjoyed it start to finish.

I looked at the track list and thought "that's not even fair". I never looked into Jackson's discography to see what was on this besides Thriller, and holy cow it's more hits than not. The Van Halen guitar work is killer. Adding this to the physical collection when I get a chance.

I wouldn't say that Willie is always my cup of tea, but there's no denying his talent. I liked Blue Skies and his renditions of Georgia On My Mind and Unchained Melody.