1001 Albums Summary

🌟 A great album to start with. More bluesy than expected: yay!

😍 This album was an absolute delight and I think it's how I found my entrypoint for Ray Charles. I know I don't fully understand the historical context of this album but it's a banger.

I was reluctant to listen to this one. I didn't really know much about Cyndi and probably couldn't have confidently named a single one if her songs before this. After listening: I get it! A good album. I might not listen again soon but I am glad I opened my mind to it.

This also album was OK. It has a few bangers and a few stinkers. It feels more like a bunch of songs than a cohesive album.

I was reluctant to press play, TBH. I enjoyed it more than I expected. It was a lot funkier than I thought it would be. I totally understand why it's a classic and I'm glad that I listened to it especially since it's not an album that I would have chosen on my own. This is a very good early 90s hip-hop album. I understand why it's on this list. The lyricism was less "Rapper's Delight" than I expected -- and that was welcome. 🥁 I _noticed_ the tight drumming on this one and found myself wondering "....wait....is Questlove associated with 'A Tribe Called Quest'? Is that how he got the name?" It turns out his name is inspired by the group.

Traffic wasn’t really on my radar before this listen so my initial impression was driven by the album cover. I expected less jazz and more folk -- but I am not complaining. I like the instrumental sections and the jam vibe. The album is described as the band’s most exploratory and I think that’s a good thing. It’s exploratory in the “finding hidden gems” sense and not in the “lost explorer on the wrong continent” sense. 🪈 I loved hearing the flute get special treatment especially on “Freedom Rider”. I would give this 3.5 stars. I would be happy to listen to it again in its entirety in a playlist. I likely won’t seek it out.

✨ Fine.

🤯 Wow. The first ten seconds were very cool because I recognized them and didn't know what this album was. The remainder eventually became grating and I did have to pause partway through. I'm glad I know what Tubular Bells is about now but this was my least favorite album of this list so far.

🌟 Some old favorites and some new ones too

🌟 Amazing! This is easily my favorite album from the list so far -- it's the first one that I definitely want to listen to a bunch more.

I was already a big fan of Fats Domino's. I was excited to explore more of his catalog. I fell in love with Blueberry Hill while I was listening to A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs. I think I already knew my favorite Fats Domino song going into this but I'm pleased to have rounded it out.

Decent. Ultimately: very forgettable.

This was a more politically conscious version of The Temptations than I had ever heard and I'm not disappointed about that. I enjoyed a couple of songs that were new to me but overall this album is also pretty forgettable.

This was fine; Metallica might be more of a "hits band" than an "album band" for me.

Pretty chill; I dig it. I had never heard of this artist before. I look forward to listening to this more in the future. Another gem

I groaned a little when I saw today's pick -- I just expected to dislike the album. I wound up enjoying the album quite a bit. Many of the songs were familiar and I'm unsure how many are because I've already heard Robbie's version. I probably won't seek this album out but I would happily add it to a playlist of "albums I kinda liked from the 1001 project" alongside "John Barleycorn Must Die".

Amazing, frankly! This is my kind of music. I had not heard of this album or this band prior to the selection. This is probably now my favorite album from the entire experiment and I will absolutely be listening to it in the future. It's also the first album that has truly compelled me to find more work from the same artist. Five stars seems like a lot but if I decide that that is an attainable rating, this album deserves it.

Eh. This album isn't bad but it's not very memorable either. It probably doesn't help that I don't really know who Steve McQueen is.

😻 EXCITING! I was sooo excited when I saw that this was today's album. 😅 I didn't know that this was what started Miles' fusion era and....I LOVE IT! 🌟 I fell in love with "Kind of Blue" earlier this year. I've listened to it closely enough to be able to appreciate what's similar and different about this album. 🎺 This album is a fantastic example of what I truly L-O-V-E about jazz. I would need to listen a bunch more times but I am sooo glad this came up today. I was as excited at the prospect as am at the actual exercise.

🌟 Jimi is my #1 so I loved this selection. I hadn't really explored this as a cohesive album before.

Fine. There was one "oh I know *that* song" moment. Extremely forgettable music -- to me.

Interesting! This is way more than I can appreciate in a day. The CCR cover was a nice surprise. Reading about the band's econo approach makes the structure of this album make more sense. I'm rating based on what I could glean from a single listen. I could see the rating going higher.

I love Bob Dylan! I've known about this album but never listened into it in its entirety before today. Bob Dylan is definitely of those artists who feels "right" when live so this was an absolute joy. The stand out tracks for me were "Tell Me, Momma", "Desolation Row" and "Like A Rolling Stone".

🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘 Metal is one of my favorite genres so I was super pump d for this one. Although I love metal, Iron Maiden is not my top top band so this was still a bit of a journey of discovery for me.

Sure, everything is a remix. But. This felt more like a regurgitation of the music that came before it than anything else. Maybe this felt innovative and groundbreaking to people at the time, but I didn't particularly care for it. I preferred the other Doors album that's on this list. So far one star has been four albums that I really wanted to dnf this is a little better than that so it's truly two stars.

🌟 High energy start to an absolutely fantastic album! I listened to it over and over. I already knew "Starlight" fairly well from a podcast that covered the clapping section of that song. Beyond that, I didn't really know anything about Muse before listening to this album. I've decided that five stars is an attainable rating on this site separate from how I might rate now, but normally. I'm reluctant to hand out five stars unless they are truly warranted. I have no hesitation in giving this album five stars. It's awesome!

Fine! Interesting to see this labeled as punk.

I enjoyed the ethereal sound of this album, but I think it's pretty forgettable music for me.

Interesting! I knew "Roundabout" but everything else was new to me. This felt like a grab bag album. It wasn't bad but it was very forgettable.

🤭 I had just been thinking "I really should re-listen to MBDTF" yesterday and...here we are. This has never been my favorite Kanye album. I've usually found myself wondering what people find appealing about this album over the others. 💯 This album features one is the greatest collabs ever: Monster. From "Blame Game" onward should have been removed from the album. There are some absolute bangers but as a Kanye album: even he can do better IMO.

This album was fine and ultimately very forgettable. It's cool to know that I restrained Phil Collins was drumming on this album. Aside from that: whatever!

I've heard a lot about this album: it's inescapable! I'm glad that I finally sat down and listened to it! I didn't want to skip as often as I expected to want to skip in the first half. There were a few songs where the misogyny was extreme and awful. The bears were like a musical time capsule.

Neat! I enjoyed this more than expected. Ultimately, it's very forgettable music.

Surprisingly good!

This definitely meets the bar of " it's an album" rather than just a collection of songs. Reading a bit about the production and listening to the Sugarcubes album yesterday gave me that best chance of appreciating this album giving all the prep I had done. I'm very glad I got the opportunity to learn more about Björk beyond just when I heard about her when I was growing up.

Fine! I knew one or two of these songs already so expanding my awareness of this artist was cool.

😅🤢 I like some of his work but.....not much. He's a provocateur and I don't wanna feed the troll.

💡 Interesting! Initially I saw this album and thought ".... Who is this?". I've listened to one of her other tracks quite a few times though. It's been a few years and that gave me a little more confidence that I might like this album. 🙌 I listened to it twice and it's definitely one of the better albums on this list, though I don't know how much of a compliment that is yet since I'm pretty early in this project. 🎧 This album grew on me a lot over the course of the day. At one point I turned it on because it was what I really wanted to listen to. I started listening to her most recent album and really like it. 🤭 Reflecting as I write reveals that this is another five star album!

😎 Cool! I was very excited to explore an entire Queen album, especially when I had never heard of before. I found this to be enjoyable...... But ultimately pretty forgettable.

I kind of like the vibe but it was a bit one-note.

😎

😅 The B-52s just aren't my cup of tea. This was like listening to a bunch of songs that sounded kinda like "Love Shack". Perhaps today wasn't the right day for this to click but it's the day it was chosen.

Fine, forgettable. Mildly uninteresting.

3.5. I love Kings of Leon. This album was totally solid. It deserves a little better than three but it's not a four.

I already really really loved this album.

I give this album a strong four stars.

Very cute! I would love to give this one 3.5 stars.

This is already an album I really enjoy listening to. I made a point to listen to it on a recent road trip. I was extremely excited to see it on this list! Still five stars!