1001 Albums Summary

Not really my style of music, but I appreciated the virtuosity of the instrumentalists.

Love Steely Dan! Fun rock-jazz style, interesting harmonies, use of brass, and more.

I like a good protest song! 💪

Liked the broody REM vibes on this. I think this one will grow on me if I give it a few more listens.

The Queen of Soul indeed! So many great songs on this album.

Didn't listen to the whole thing. I appreciated some of the messaging in it; the songwriting didn't do much for me though.

Meh. This album has a lot of hits, but the hair metal genre doesn't do much for me.

Not a genre I'd seek out or an album I'd listen to again, but there were some catchy moments. Didn't listen to the whole thing.

I like R.E.M., but this album is not my favorite.

I tried to listen with an open mind, but this just is not music to me.

Eww. No. I did NOT need to hear this before I die.

3.5. Was too slow and melancholy for me to want to listen again, but some stars for social commentary, some nice vocal harmonies, expressive sax solo, and an overall cool rhythmic vibe. This did prompt me to do some listening to the Why Can't We Be Friends album by War, and I liked that one more!

I guess I am the oddball Gen Xer who just does not like the music of U2. Never have, never will. Bleh.

This one could grow on me if I keep listening to it.

Really liked the fun and frequent use of hammond organ! The album as a whole was bit too bangy and shouty for me to want to go back though.

A few weird moments, but overall I liked this one! Love the inclusion of full orchestra, and the hammond organ stuff. There are a few tracks I will likely keep listening to.

I liked the vocal quality and harmonies in this. Also liked the music in general, though the album as a whole felt like it was missing something, though I'm not sure exactly what. Maybe depth, or some kind of theme?

Fantastic album, 4.5! Quality song writing, soulful singing, effective instrumentation, and interesting lyrics. The whole package!

She certainly has a unique voice. I think I need to listen to this more than once to see if it grows on me.

Such an intriguing musician with a unique vibe! Sad that she died so young. I know her hits but had never listened to a whole album. I love the substantial use of keyboards! Must have been very fun to be a pianist and organist on these tracks!

Nice voice and pleasant harmonies, though musically repetitive. I would think the album's intent at the time was lighthearted entertainment. Yet, I find it hard to rate this 1950s country western album with my 2026 perspective and its emotional weathering over the years of guns and misogyny.

Yes to Yes! This band is one of my go-tos when I need some fun, upbeat music on a long run. Love all the cool meter changes and use of instruments and vocal harmonies.

Interesting mix of rock, sometimes in the "hard rock" territory, mixing with folk elements and flute! I'm going to give this one some more listening time in the future.

I didn't quite make it all the way through. Was better than I was expecting, based on my only association with this band being "Red, Red, Wine." Didn't love it or hate it.

This is not a genre I'm into, so I really don't know how to rate it. Not something I'd listen to again though.

That first track is lovely.

Not my genre, but she has a nice voice.

A couple of stars for variety, and the one song on the album I liked, but the rest was too much ugly sing for me.

Maybe not their best album, but still fun to listen to early Beatles! Makes me think I should listen to their albums in order sometime, which I've never done, and take in the evolution.

I guess this was groundbreaking acid house music at the time? To my 2026 (and not acid house-oriented) ears it just sounds like average nightclub background music.

Nice voice, pleasant enough album.

Didn't have a chance to listen to the whole thing, but thought it was fun! Cool bass parts and nice singing.

This was probably pretty cool in 1975, but it doesn't have staying power, IMO.

This genre is not interesting to me, but it would be decent music for a spin class.

Didn't love it or hate it, didn't make much of an impact.

Heavy metal is really not my thing, but I respect the craftsmanship and musical abilities of Metallica.

Sounds like it would have been a fun, very high-energy show back in the day! The repeated instrumental bridges made me laugh out loud; I don't know why, I guess they were just so over-the-top lively and catchy.

Oh, I do enjoy R.E.M.! Such good song writing.

Oof, I just can't with this kind of music.

Well, this group knows how my interest in Dylan shot up after the movie "A Complete Unknown." (Colton, you really need to watch again and not fall asleep this time!) As an album, I enjoyed most of the tracks, loved a couple, and disliked a couple (first two).

Album as a whole is too dark and dreary for me to want to listen again, but they do sound polished and capable.

Didn't get a chance to finish the whole album, but enjoyed what I heard. Interesting how the vocals were often in the background while the bass was so prominent.

So good! Enjoyable music, crisp engineering, and the layout of the album from political to joyful. It all works!

I had to leave very early for work yesterday and putting this on was the fun, bad-ass vibe I needed as I pulled out of the garage. But then as I continued to listen, the tracks started to all kind of sound the same, so I didn't finish.

Not really my thing, but I think a good band for their genre.

I kept an open mind with the unusual vocal timbre. I just don't think the song writing worked though. It sounded like they were often trying to force emotional reactions/goosebumps, like with drumming and hemiola in places that didn't make sense to me.

Nope.

Always happy to listen to a brilliant pianist and other masters of their instruments!

Looooove his voice! This album has a nice amount of variety to it too.

Not bad but not memorable either. Decent tenor voice, though almost child-like in its quality.

Huh, and all this time I thought the Monkees wrote Kicks and Stepping Stone, lol! I probably won't listen to this again, but the Monkees-like vibes brought back some fun memories of watching the Monkees show episodes with Catherine during their revival in the mid-80s.

This is hard to rate because it seems like a genre of its own! So unique. I have to be in the right mood to want to listen to it, but no denying the complexity and impressiveness of the music and musicians. When listening closely, it's pretty amazing they have such a tight ensemble amongst the multitude of complex rhythms, meter shifts, and other elements.

I guess I didn't listen carefully, because one day later I don't remember much of anything about it. (I typed that sentence and then it hit me I might just have a simple mind! Hahaha!)

Good stuff

I'm going to keep this one in mind for background music during the holidays. Really like when the bass player gets fun walking bass lines! I don't love Paul Desmond's saxophone tone, even though supposedly he's one the of the best; that really airy sax sound just doesn't do much for me.

Nice enough, but kinda boring.