1001 Albums Summary

Coming just 9 months after their classic debut. You really can't go wrong with any of the original Experience albums. All are essential. Standout Track: Little Wing

I love all the Beatles albums, but this one never really struck me as an “album you must hear before you die”. I was kind of surprised to see this one make the list as opposed to say, “Please Please Me” or “Help”. There’s 7 Beatles albums total on the list and I think “A Hard Day’s Night” adequately represents the era prior to Rubber Soul. Standout Track: All My Loving

You can't go wrong with any of the first 6 Black Sabbath albums. Every track on this album is great except FX which is just a minute and a half of guitar strings being hit with random objects with a delay added. Standout Track: Snowblind

I think almost every song from this was released as a single at some point? You won't find a list of the best albums of the 80s without this on it. Standout Track: My Hometown

I know she's hugely influential but for the life of me I've never been able to get into her. I guess I can appreciate her artistry and I don't blame people for liking her but it does nothing for me.

I admittedly have not listened to much vocal jazz but I really enjoyed this. You can almost imagine being in the smoky Chicago night club where it was recorded. Sarah Vaughan is in a playful mood through the performance, occasionally joking about forgetting lyrics. I don't find it particularly life changing and I'm not sure how often I'd go back to it but it was good.