Album 1 done on 2/27/26.
I think by rating this 3 stars I set a good bar for what a 4 is, this was a good album that made me feel things but didn't blow me away from start to finish. Loved the vocal harmonies and storytelling throughout. I enjoyed opener Love Your Lovin Ways was because of the way the four women added to the shape of the melody, but the rest of the album was tonally very different. My favorite track was Lilac Wine, and the title track was also outstanding. The melancholy emotions in Nina's voice and tragic lyrics were inspired. My opinion is that the instrumentals were middling for what I thought they would be in this era of vocal jazz. Settles the work as 3 stars for me on first listen per my own tastes. I hope to get a instrumental jazz or psychedelic pop album next time I visit 1966.
Album 2 3/2/26
One I know very well already on day 2! Hardly feels worth explaining why I think Rush is good. I think this is a great way to set the line for a strong 4. I'm a prog fan, but not really a "Rush guy", as much as the singles and deep cuts all stand up here. This is probably my 2nd or 3rd favorite Rush album, along with A Farewell to Kings and Hemispheres. YYZ has to take the cake on this album, it may be the best non-epic prog instrumental I know of. I hadn't heard Camera Eye for a few years and that ended up being my favorite part of the listen. I was tempted throughout the A side to make this a 5, there really aren't listed albums from 1981 that sold more copies than this that I would consider to be "better". However, I want to establish that 5s are reserved for albums that are shortlisted among the very best of their genre, and have no clunkers that detract from the full album listen. My taste in progressive rock is more geared towards longer form suites, and this particular Rush album, while ripe with their best singles, is not that. Moving Pictures has no bad songs, but if I were to rate every track there would not quite be enough 5 star tracks to put this in 5 territory.
Album 3 3/3/26
Before listening, my opinion of Queen and this album was that the hype is greater than the actual music. I don't think I've listened to a full album from them since I was a teen so I thoroughly wanted to be proven wrong by the sheer production quality and the strength of the album tracks. The only moment I really felt that way was for '39. To be fair, the pacing of the album starts out really well and I was thinking light 4. My favorite Queen song is You're My Best Friend is included, I wish they had used electric pianos more. Otherwise, I still think that this album is a just a strong 3. I think it's understandable that I'm tired of Bohemian Rhapsody. I don't care for Prophet Song and I don't know if sitting through it any number of times would change that opinion. The shorter songs are good fun in a campy way but don't end up creating an outstanding album in the end. I'm glad I was reminded of the musicianship of Queen and I hope I like my next Queen album better.
Album 4 3/4/26
Yesterday, I said I hope my next Queen album was better than A Day at the Races. Yes, that means I got two Queen albums in a row. Odds of repeating a 3-album artist this early on the process? I reckon it's less likely than 1/500.
What did I learn? That I am not really a fan of Queen albums, the same way I can watch a well staged and acted musical and feel like it was still hardly worth my time because the songs were drivel. This one really fell off on the second side. Not a fan of either In The Lap of the Gods. The simple hard rock songs like Now I'm Here and the guitar flashes such as those on Brighton Rock were good, but I'm not sure I have anything else nice to say about the songs I was not familiar with before this listen.
Top 3 tracks would be Brighton Rock, Killer Queen, Stone Cold Crazy. Really solidlfies my perception of Queen as a singles band, not album crafters. Was it better than A Day at the Races? Firm no, I liked the whimsy and experimentation on the later album first, listening in reverse release order seemed like a regression. I certainly don't hate 1974 rock, this just wasn't my cup of tea. Started off as a mid 3 but sank to a high 2 by the time it was over.
Album 5 3/5/26
Exactly what I needed today! My face lit up as the album started because my local jazz station WDCB uses the title track as the theme for their "jazz calendar" where a host rattles off all the places to see jazz shows or jam the blues in Chicago that night. Guess I never thought of seeking out the song name. I remember watching a video about jazz organ tone with Larry Goldings once where he kept referring to "Jimmy Smith settings" as the gold standard.
Solid to light 4 stars, only real critique I have is that the album was pretty much all at one tempo, songs were not very distinguishable, but that suits it well for background listening. Can see myself listening to this while working at the warehouse, walking the dog, cooking, etc. Jimmy Smith only having this album on the list will definitely lead to me listening to more of his work of my own free will
Album 6 3/6/26
My first Dylan of the project! I have previously listened to everything from the debut to Nashville Skyline, but only a few from the 70s on. I consider myself a Dylan fan, and a major fan of this album, even though as a generalization I prefer electric blues to acoustic folk. My question going into the listen was just how many 5s Bob Dylan created, and where exactly this album stands within his catalog.
Another generalization about my listening is that for better or for worse I'm usually not focused on lyrics, especially on first time listens. But I know a lot of these songs well, and the stripped down nature of the album pushes the lyrical content to the front of my mind. Masters of War is the hardest hitting social commentary of any Dylan song for me, and the other top tracks are Blowin in the Wind and A Hard Rain's a Gonna Fall. I have a soft spot for I Shall be Free for it's humor, and also for Talking WWIII Blues especially the quotation at the end. A few years ago I may not have been ready to give a nearly completely acoustic album a 5, but I think this will go well on my album wall. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Album 7 3/9/26
An absolute triumph of soft rock, this was shamefully my first listen. The quality of the pure songwriting here is unmatched by anything else on the list so far. Carole's songs, even ones I know I have not heard, seem familiar. Maybe I've heard covers, maybe I've listened to too much Todd Rundgren, maybe the progressions are just that solid. A highlight was how hard the session bassist and electric piano man were cooking over Carole's voice and piano. I know James Taylor is on here but the guitars didn't stand out for me at all within the textures of the album.
Part of my project has been putting a number of tracks from each record onto a playlist, corresponding to the rating. The songs I put onto my 1001 playlist were I Feel the Earth Move, It's Too Late, Beautiful, and Where You Lead. Maybe with more listens this will develop into a comfort album and secure a 5 for me, I'm thinking this was a quite strong 4 as it didn't feel like it was "for me" but I would gladly pick up this album back up soon and work on that.
Album 8 3/10/26
I went into this with little expectations so this was an unexpected treat! I had listened to the top Big Star tracks years ago as I was first making my way through the first generation of Beatle-worshippers but didn't have the patience for this album and panned the band.
The record's pacing through me for a bit of a loop. With Badfinger riffs and attitude, a bit of Hollies syrup, and a good helping of Byrds American seasonings, the first side was to my taste, if not a bit too bombastic. The transition from Don't Lie to Me (which kicks more ass than any Badfinger song) to the baroque instrumentation of India Song was amazing. I also loved the Mellotron on Give Me Another Chance and the slide on Try Again. Very 1971 Lennon/Harrison respectively, with none of the Spector and no Ringo coming crashing in at the minute mark. As the album ended though, the spareness of the acoustic second side left me wanting one more rock and roll romp. Overall, I'm pleased with this album and think it's a light 4. I will now see to their rightful addition to my playlists and give Radio City a chance when I can.
Album 9 3/11/26
Here's an artist I've never sought to listen to in my life. Giving Van Morrison a chance here was a nice listen, but the album failed to hold my attention after a while. The title track, sounding like any vocal jazz standard, is sandwiched between two songs that sound a lot like The Band. I found out mid listen that this was recorded in upstate New York so I guess that makes some sense now. The session musicians and the skill of Van's voice really carried the album, and the vibe was sweet. However, it's hard for me to name key tracks because I didn't find any one of them more inspired than the rest. I guess I would pick out the title track and Everyone as being the most distinct, and Crazy Love + And It Stoned Me as my faves. Into the Mystic is the most played on YT Music by an order of magnitude and I cannot discern why. Solid 3 as the album was pleasant, but I don't feel like listening to more Van Morrison than the generator will eventually make me
Album 10 3/12/26
I knew absolutely nothing of Talk Talk besides the one hit song not on here. I've heard them discussed as mu-core post rock, never taken that dive though, and it's easily apparent that's not the genre of this album.
Right off the bat, Happiness is Easy didn't do anything for me. Whatever drum machines were used on this album were not my favorite. The synthesized drums and the percussion on top sounded like bad new age, especially because the textures didn't vary much track to track. I did like the analog instruments used throughout the album, especially the organ swells. My favorite moment of the album was the guitar solo on I Don't Believe in You, it was kind of Fripp/Belew-ish. Life's What You Make It was vaguely familiar, so maybe I did hear it on the FM at some point. Give It Up was alright too but by this point my attention was running low and the songs were running together in my mind a good deal.
All this to say, I did not really care for the album. Getting through these new wave albums is going to be tough. I'm still curious about the post rock stuff from Talk Talk but not very. Two stars
Album 11 3/15/26
I know the first two Elvis Costello albums well, saved the weekend album for Sunday. I think that the full reissue tracklist is the definitive version, with both I Don't Want to Go to Chelsea and Radio Radio. B side Big Tears I'm indifferent to. I don't actually listen to Elvis Costello albums often but have a lot of his music in my playlists, because I'm indifferent to so many of the songs.
My Last Year's Model listening experience was overall positive. The album explores a few different styles and tempos without changing instrumentation. I'm a sucker for combo organs so no complaints there. The skill of the whole backing band is too good to single out any one member. Elvis as a songwriting force has hits and misses but a lot of his best work not written for the debut is on this record. Aforementioned I Don't Want to Go to Chelsea and Radio Radio are outstanding tracks. Some of the lines from the latter about anesthetizing the way that you feel will always stick with me. The busy drumming and bass on Chelsea are matched by Lipstick Vogue, another personal all time favorite. Pump it Up and No Action round out my top 5. The main issue with this album is that even though this wasn't my first listen and I just completed it, after the top 5, my memory of all the other tracks blends together. The quality control just wasn't that great, but there aren't any stinkers here in my opinion. The all around strength of Radio Radio, the fun of the faster tunes, and my love for Nick Lowe productions is what propels the album to a light 4 for me.
Album 12 3/16/26
What to say about Abbey Road? It's currently the #2 rated album on the site. It's my first Beatles album on the list so I won't do all my Beatlemaniac gushing now, but you should know there's a decent chance on any given day I'll listen to at least 5 Beatles songs without even thinking too much about it.
If I highlighted key tracks I would really just be describing the whole album, which is why it's a no doubt 5. I'll limit myself to just the five songs I'm allowing myself to add to my 1001-core playlist.
First off, Something is a song I can never hear and not wistfully sing along to. George's best song? Probably. Incredible Billy Preston and George Martin contributions. Secondly, Oh! Darling might be my favorite Paul vocal performance ever. Just so powerful, famously made Lennon jealous. Lennon's track I'm highlighting is I Want You (She's so Heavy). John put out one last Beatles rocker and somehow invented doom metal in the process. Representing the second side, I chose to round out my 5 picks with She Came in Through the Bathroom Window and The End as my faves from the medley. The former because it's so a fun transition that always makes me smile, and the latter for the closing out the album so well with each Beatle getting their moment. Doing honorable mentions anyways: Come Together and Here Comes the Sun are probably also both perfect tunes but have been praised enough already. You Never Give Me Your Money is not discussed enough as a perfect little suite-within-a-suite. Octopus's Garden has such incredible guitars and is obviously Ringo's best composition before 1974. The wealth of outstanding compositions makes me inclined to give out the easiest 5 ever, and to believe there is only one other album on this list I know about that can beat it. We'll talk about that when Revolver is generated.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
