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.