1001 Albums Summary

Sounds like a response to Phil Collins at times, and a mess at others. Technically sound, but all over the place. I guess after 20 years of performing, Paul said “idc anymore”. ⭐️⭐️

Actually pretty solid listen. Very reminiscent of Bob Dylan. Nothing I’d add to a playlist, but cohesive and easy to listen to. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

18 straight songs of jig and polka that sound exactly the same. Absolute trash ⭐️

Not sure why this is considered a classic. It’s full of half baked ideas and drunken noodling from the greatest period of sly’s drug and alcohol use that killed the band. Easy to see why. ⭐️⭐️

I see what he’s going for. And I see the influence on trip hop. 1971 is an early period for concept albums, and making it spoken word is a different use of the medium- basically storytelling with a light musical background. It’s creative. Points for that. I don’t think it’s super great or would recommend it, but probably one of those “important” albums with an outsized influence. And, it’s short ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Fair bit to say about this one: Alanis, off a couple of folksier/softer albums took a different path with new production towards an edgier alternative rock/pop sound for Jagged Little Pill. The album title is drenched in irony, as is most of the album: describing both her, and the situation she’s in. She also follows a bit of a journey throughout the tracklist; the first few are very bitter breakup songs, later she sings about finding love again, ending on a happier if perhaps bittersweet note. It’s a well constructed album, not super front loaded, and not a ton of fat either. Maybe 1-2 filler songs. It’s sexual, it’s charged. It’s cathartic, emotive in a way that was a new expression for female singer songwriters of the time. You can draw a line of confessional pop from Joni Mitchell in the 60s to Alanis in the 90s, who then paved the way for your adult contemporary pop singers like Michelle Branch a bit later, and following the line even to the 2010s with Tove Lo- who really brought confessional pop back after the very dance centric 2000s. The album was a smash hit immediately also- universal praise, 17 million sales, 5 Grammies and diamond status cement it in the pop canon, and deservedly so. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A few decent songs I know from the radio but mostly a slog of 80s synth piano. ⭐️⭐️

Another canonical rock album- the problem is, the first half is this sparse, spacey, occasional burbling synth and guitar noodling. Very backend heavy with the two songs I think are decent- time and money. It was designed to be non commercial- a listening experience from start to finish, and it crossfades each track into the next throughout, which was a novel idea. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Not bad. Reminds me of music from the skate games. The title track is easily the best on the album ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The John Lennon cover is a wildly arrogant thing to do, but the album itself is fairly listenable, if a bit repetitive, especially on vocals. Guy has one flow, and he stays there. The music itself is fairly varied- everything from reggae to mariachi, to polka and to more soft rock kind of sounds. “El Aadyene” is probably the best song on the album. It’s also oddly backloaded, the flow gets a lot better about halfway through. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I said yesterday that Khaled only had one flow- Motörhead made a career out of having a very defined, instantly recognizable sound, even if that meant every song sounded a bit like the last. A lot like the last, even. I would go so far even as to say that Slayer stole Motörhead’s formula: make a classic album, then just keep making that same thing over and over. As long as people keep buying it (Motörhead 25m record sales) and keep going to shows (toured until the death of Lemmy in 2015) then you’re doing something right. Ride it to the grave. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Definitely not an album for everyone, but it’s a great blend of what’s basically elevator music, some trance, trip hop, and downtempo. It’s not dancy, but it is easy to listen to, atmospheric, and pleasant. There’s some essence of daft punk and some others in here as well. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Creative, melodic, energetic, and varied- but a bit inaccessible. Some of the songs are 9+ minutes and feature no vocals- not a negative, but hard to say it became a favorite song when the titles mean nothing for recall. There’s elements of jazz, funk, rock, and all kinds of stuff in here. Zappa was definitely on his most avant garde here. Apparently this was also one of the first records recorded with 16 track equipment, allowing for more overdubbing, and eliminating the need for many musicians to be playing at once. Important for that, I suppose. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Bla’s Feels like an REM album but perhaps more aimless and less cohesive. There’s a lot of filler, and it’s propped up by one huge single “there she goes”. I did like “failure” off the back half. ⭐️⭐️

Maybe I like dream pop, or maybe this elevated adult contemporary style just works. Apparently this album, and the Cocteau Twins, ushered in the era of shoegaze and dream pop. If that’s true, you can certainly hear the influence in everything to come later, even elements of things like the Smashing Pumpkins. One element that adds a lot to the dreamy nature of it is the glossolalia- nonsense lyrics. The vocal processing with heavy reverb and delay also generate this trance-like effect that really sells it. If you were into doing some drugz, this would probably sound amazing. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Every song seems like a response to Metallica, bigger, harder, faster. Many start with a little solo, and all of the solos are Dave sounding like he’s got something to prove. This is a hard one to rate. I think it’s still a little raw and unpolished compared to what comes later- but it exists as a gauntlet thrown down at Metallica for kicking Dave out. He had a bone to pick and something to prove, and largely does so. I want to give it a 5 because it’s music I know and love, but when I consider what’s to come later and that it’s kind of a one trick album, it’s hard to do so ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Produced by Bowie, Lou reed’s second solo album definitely shows the influence. The vocal production is very Bowie with the dreamy overdubbed delay sound, and the mixture of piano and rock is too. “Hangin around”, “perfect day”, and “satellite of love” also particularly sound like Bowie songs from both production and lyrical standpoints. Lou will show up again later I’m sure with the velvet underground, but this is a very accessible 70s pop cut that I hear lots of later influence in. Its funny, clever, weird, and sexual all at the same time, I get why it’s remembered fondly. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

If this 1001 albums journey is about highlighting talented songwriters, it’s hard to be greater than Bobby D. He’s quite prolific (Bob was already on his 15th album here), so the hits are spread across a lot of albums, but thankfully this one starts out with a banger: tangled up in blue. Bob alternates between his usual jangly folk tunes to near-country, to soft pop. Though he’s never hard, he is varied in what he can present. Get acquainted with the harmonica. “Meet me in the morning” was a favorite also. Tangled up in blue feels like the blueprint for 90s alt/ adult contemporary. Your blues traveler or sister hazel types. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

If you don’t love Radiohead and The Fray at their most boring, sad sack worst, you won’t like this. ⭐️

At times it sounds like Bryan Adams, and at others REM. There’s a few decent songs: we’re coming out, black diamond, and Gary’s got a boner, but overall it’s very uneven. ⭐️⭐️.5

It’s jazz. Sax jazz. If that Benny Goodman piano, drum, and woodwind style with occasional vocals isn’t for you, this would be a tough listen. Thankfully, that is for me. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A lot of this sounds like rip offs of The Cars and BTO instrumentation, but with nonsense lyrics and a slight new wave bent. Definitely backloaded. Artists only and I’m not in love were highlights, definitely more into that new wave area, but now I just want to listen to The Cars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Didn’t hate it, didn’t love it. Very frontloaded- first track “New York New York” is definitely the best on the album- very Black Crowes. Some decent adult contemporary pop tunes and a bunch of country fried pop, and some whiny junk too. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Good alt rock album. “All I know”, “dying days”, and “make my mind” were favorites but pretty listenable top to bottom. Dime Western in particular sounds influential on bands like Godsmack- it’s an interesting sound ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Tough listen. Extremely folksy and mostly just highlit Dylan’s voice, which is an acquired taste at best. Couldn’t finish. Grating.

So, the story goes this guy “Tricky” left Massive Attack to do his own thing, and this is the result. Seems like he wanted to do a lot more hopping than tripping, as this definitely leans reggae/hip hop of the trip hop I’ve ever heard. Decent listen, nothing special.

The elements of what would solidify later are there- silly songs like DDevil, with Tankian’s pitchy and goofy delivery- as well as more serious efforts like “know” or “suggestion”. The blueprint is here, they showed up fully formed, but it’s hard to shake the idea that they didn’t just steal some of Jonathan Davis’ 1995 equipment and play some coal chamber and sepultura knockoffs. Perhaps the lack of self seriousness engendered a new audience to their particular corner of nu metal. I just don’t really get why this is the album on the list.

I always thought of Bjork as kind of a joke to describe some yoko ono avant garde stuff, but I was wrong- she’s a serious artist with a great voice. I use the term varied a lot when describing some of these albums, but this is a truly eclectic mix. Everything from pop you’d hear on the radio to Disney theater type songs to polka to sparse avant garde live performances- truly a weird album.

I didn’t particularly enjoy this album, but I can hear a lot of the influence on indie rock to come. It’s got that chime-y, ringing guitar borrowed from The Edge (U2) and a multi instrumental approach with strings, flutes and woodwinds that give it a twee or ethereal, chorale sound. It’s probably one of those albums that informed a lot of music after it that improved on the formula, but points for being first. ⭐️⭐️

Should have called it “anything but timeless”. Opening your album with a 21 minute song is nothing short of masturbatory, especially when it’s sparse and terribly repetitive drum and bass. And this is coming from someone who likes drum step and DmB normally. Overwrought underwritten self indulgent garbage. Couldn’t finish. ⭐️

Intensely personal and at the same time relatable, Loretta Lynn was a fantastic lyricist and songwriter, able to simultaneously flip the bird to men trying to hold women down and yet still exist within the confines of country music that wasn’t quite ready for this kind of confessional, confrontational music from a lady. Nowadays it seems quaint, but this was nearly transgressive in the scene at the time. Until Loretta comes along, country music is mostly “stand by your man”. Loretta’s blend of humor and deeply personal, lived experience really sells this album, which alternates between bright and sunny, upbeat 60’s Nashville production and the the twangier cry in your beer downbeat stuff. It’s a tightly written album, 12 songs, 28 minutes, and doesn’t waste a moment of your time. The title track, “Get whatcha got and go”, and “the shoe goes on the other foot tonight” were my favorites- upbeat, catchy, clever, and sassy. Five stars for Loretta. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Before Biggie Before Tupac There was BEASTIE three white boys from NYC just fuckin around end up making an all time classic that defies easy classification. It hip hops. It raps. It rocks. It’s all over the place, but never loses that infectious groove that keeps your head bobbing and if you’re ever in a group, you will get people singing song. The beasties also blended comedy lyrics and party tunes while smartly sampling sabbath, zeppelin, and others- it’s a wonderful production. So many hits off this one- fight for your right, brass monkey, girls, Paul revere, and NO SLEEP TIL BROOKLYN. Easy 5. Nostalgia, hits, longevity, and still hop hops, rocks, and raps along. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Sounds like a blend of the Psychedelic Furs, Killing Joke, and the Smiths. Not bad, not necessarily my thing, but didn’t waste my time

I thought that the title was just a ha ha funny sex joke. It was unfortunately literal. I selected the 10 most popular songs from Spotify and listened to those, because no album with 69 songs and a run time of three hours is both: a) any good and or b) respects your time. I was correct on both counts. Self indulgent, masturbatory garbage. This trash should be next to the definition of quality over quantity as what not to do. ⭐️

It’s aight I guess

Not as cultural appropriation-y as other reviewers would have you believe. It’s a pretty pleasant listen, all things considered.

The first 40 minutes or so shuffle along in a jammy krautrock way (a new term for me- psychedelic, electronic influences) and then it gets weird- spacey, dissonant, noise type music. They could have left the weird off. This is a very non commercial album, with multiple songs running 15+ minutes noodling around on an ideas. Not good, not bad. It just is. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Chicago’s debut is pretty good- they arrived fully loaded, with their signature blend of jazzy rock and kind of soul/funk inspirations. However, someone along the production line should have taught them the meaning of restraint. There are so many songs that are 6-8 minutes long for no reason, including ones with gaps in the middle that pick up with a totally different sound. Just… split the track. Two 4 minute songs is much more palatable than multiple 8 ones back to back. That has to be earned, and in a debut album, they had zero goodwill. A lot of people complain also about “Free Form Guitar” which is in the middle of the album- an unstructured 7 minute duration noise song. I think it should be praised for being ann early example of intentional noise music, EXCEPT that Hendrix did it in Monterrey 2 years earlier. The beginning to wild thing, and then afterwards- the famous “guitar sacrifice” where he rubbed the guitar against the amp creating space laser sounds and dissonant, noisy screeches. They definitely ripped him off here. The album resumes with their funky jazz rock immediately after. This is a hard album to rate. I want to like it, but the runtimes wear me down. It’s up and down in energy, and while I don’t expect an entire album to be banger after banger, this one has some duds, and when your duds are 7 minutes long, it detracts from my enjoyment of the studs. ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Unlistenably twangy. It’s like the worst Bob Dylan song mixed with a James blunt song. awful. ⭐️

This album makes me want to be Peggy ⭐️ How many more shit albums in a row am I going to get? Ffs

If you know Dinosaur Jr, you know they have one mode, and that was fully established in 1988 (!!) with this album. Their blend of noisy garage rock even feels like it influenced Nirvana to a degree. The album sounds much newer than it is, maybe because it’s so similar to their 90s output. That nose song at the end is sure to off put some but not enough to detract from the overall product. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

With each David Bowie collaboration, I’m really starting to understand the genius. Some of this is clearly Iggy: Lust for Life, Success, the Passenger (is he doing the doors?) and others are clearly Bowie (tonight, weird sin). Whatever blend of creativity it was though, this is a pretty great album. Very listenable today, a number of different modes, and interesting for most of it. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Featuring Bruce Springsteen as: the annoying ass white guy with an acoustic guitar around a campfire who won’t shut up about his self important nonsense bowel movement he’s minted as “art” Zero stars unlistenably bad.

Imagine loving music so much you’d quit your 9-5. Now imagine writing a whole song about it. That’s “we love the music”. In fact, there’s quite a lot of meta music about loving music and dance, and people. Sister Sledge- OG lover girls. The majority of the album bounces and funks along in typical 70s ballads and disco modes, but it’s super tight instrumentation that compliments the awesome voice of Kathy sledge. She is a really incredible singer with the perfect voice for this kind of music. Easy to see why it resonated with audiences of the day. Every guitar phrase and fat bass line also sound straight out of a daft punk sample too, groovy baby. Really enjoyed this one, even if they make you earn the eternal hit “we are family” by placing it in the middle of the album ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ton of wasted time with them talking and introducing the people playing the instruments. This is one of those things I think it was probably better to experience live in a music hall with a bar or whatever around a bunch of tables in 1956, not as a live album in 2026. The music is still pretty good though.

Whiny, draggy, and sparse. Intentionally so, but bored me to tears. At least Johnny is decent at being emotionally evocative with his mournful sound. Just not my thing. He did at least do Big Iron, which is a bad cover, but a song I like.

Let’s get funky with it. Let’s get weird with it. Let’s copy the Animals and Rolling Stones! Before iggy pop struck it solo, he wanted to be your dog, and that dog was a two album effort with the Stooges. They’re in that mix with the Animals and Kinks, pushing distorted guitar sounds and making some edgy tunes for the day. We Will Fall is a weird evil chant sounding thing that was all certainly meant to just piss off parents with some sell your soul stuff, then it gets back to fuzzed out 60s rock. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ decent but a slog in the middle when 8.5 minutes of your 30 minute album are a waste of time.

A truly eclectic album- it’s really a work of art how the production team was able to crossfade and fold each track into the next- going from showtunes to psychedelic rock, to pop, to soul, to the… Plain White T’s? The album is all over the place in a good way, and the majority of the tunes are quite enjoyable as it hip hops between genres. It does run a little long in the tooth, but I didn’t feel like I was wasting my time. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Droogs trade in their moody weirdness for saxophone solos in this one, which I think is a vast improvement. The longer jammier songs flow a lot better, even if the 7+ minute runtimes aren’t exactly earned, the instrumentation is an improvement also. It seems like they were copying The Rolling Stones more with this album, while straying true to their proto punk roots. It was an enjoyable listen. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ohhh Le bangeur Yeah this one rocks. Bowie channels his best rock opera and some Elton John influence and produced an all time record here. Ziggy Stardust was the first Bowie song I ever liked, so it’s nostalgic for that reason, but it’s a well crafted, tight album no matter how you slice it. 11 songs, 38 minutes: strap in for some androgynous rock robot from outer space shit. Favorites: moonage daydream, starman, ziggy stardust, suffragette city ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The concept of outer space has long captured the imagination of artists, writers, astronomers, and even drug users. There’s something incalculably magnetic about the vastness of the celestial bodies. Fewer attention is paid to the great vastness between these great hurtling rocks however, for humanity is relatively dispassionate about the void in which they lay. It is in such consideration that I too learn I am uninterested in the dark, empty space that exists between music and noise. That is to say that this space rock album is boring as hell and there’s one good nugget on it: electricity. ⭐️

I enjoyed this a lot more than more songs about buildings and food- feels more focused, cohesive, and hungry. Favorites: “uh oh love comes to town”, “No compassion🏆”,”psycho killer” ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Not sure if it’s creedence’s best album, but it’s certainly a really good one no matter how you slice it. “Ooby Dooby” is kind of a funny filler song, It’s like “I didn’t wanna write lyrics to this so I’m just gonna do a Little Richard impression with two words”- ripping off Good Golly Miss Molly. Favorites: Travelin Band, Run Through the Jungle, Up Around the Bend, Ramble Tamble (at least 4 mins of it or so) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️