Album Reviews

How have I not heard this before, this is phenomenal

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I liked this way more than I expected to. I was expecting something much more morose, but what I got was a compelling disdain that's much easier for me to connect with. Good music.

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definitely had a handful of songs i thought were good and that i enjoyed but i just don’t think it needed to be this long….. could have done without a lot of those songs

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Come on man

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I was jamming!!

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Conor Clapton Committed Suicide Because His Father Sucks Eric Clapton sucks Eric Clapton sucks Eric Clapton's gay And he's fucking gay Your father is the 4th worst singer After Springsteen, Seger and Petty You were sick of his gay fucking songs So you jumped out a really high up window Eric Clapton sucks Eric Clapton sucks Eric Clapton's gay And he's fucking gay Your father sucks so fucking bad You knew you'd get beaten up at school You were sick of hearing "You Look Wonderful Tonight" So you jumped out a really high up window Sometimes I wish you didn't die Because I hate the song "Tears in Heaven" I was glad you died, until I heard that song

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Wife: what are you listening to? Me: it's my album of the day. Wife: why are you still listening? I would've turned this off after 7 seconds. Me: I'm listening to every album. You know, in for a penny, in for a pound. Wife: why are you doing this to yourself? I wouldn't want to start my day listening to this. Me: ok I'll turn it off. Thank you, thank you, this is the next single from my new album, 20 Years of Marriage Don't Come For Free. This album is completely unique to the entire list. Dude's rap game is way out in left field. It took a few listens to grasp but this is pure genius. The end of the something I did not want to end Beginning of hard times to come But something that was not meant to be is done And this is the start of what was

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Forgive me, generator, for I have sinned. It's been 720 albums since my last Radiohead record. In that time I have lusted after all styles of music, Kraut, Psychedelic, Reggae, Blues, Funk, and have worshipped at the altar of Saint Osbourne. I have strayed from the righteous path of Radiohead and I repent. I will go and say 9 Hail David Bowie and 6 Hail Elvis Costello and try to do better. This would be just about perfect if they dropped Sulk, Yorke gets to fucking whine singing that is so unappealing on their subsequent albums. Call me a heretic but this and Pablo Honey are their only albums that should be on the list.

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Younger work colleagues have (teasingly) asked me what my favourite Taylor Era is, expecting the middle-aged male to fumble for a relevant answer. But I do have a favourite Taylor Era which is her Pop Era. I was aware of but did not relate to her country ingenue records -- they just didn't speak to me, not that they needed to, nothing wrong with that -- but 'We Are Never Getting Together' and 'I Knew You Were Trouble' really caught my ear. I love pop music, and this was really great pop music. Cleverly crafted, upbeat and catchy as hell. I was really pleased when her next record, 1989, leaned fully and explicitly into pop. Ironically, the pop genre allows Swift to be more authentic. She can be a young woman (as opposed to her previous slightly naive ingenue persona, which was starting to wear thin); sexier (without going full Britney or Christina) and more urbane (welcome to New York indeed) and also more ambitious and no longer willing to be underestimated: “I never miss a beat/ I’m lightning on my feet/ and that’s what they don’t see.” Pop music is by nature artificial, but to be really great, it needs to _feel_ real. You have to _believe_ the singer. I would argue that this is the genius paradox of Madonna; I believe every word she sings (her credibility makes her a surprisingly great ballad singer), but almost nothing she says in interviews. Similarly, I believe Taylor Swift on this record. Not necessarily the literal autobiographical truth of every word -- this is a (melo)dramatic narrative containing fragments harvested from her life, but hardly a roman a clef -- but the sentiment is real. She presents here as an ambitious young woman hitting the town, and it rings true. And sounds like enormous fun. She has moved on to explore other directions since this album, which is her artistic right. I'm just glad she made this one complete, genuine, unapologetic, outstanding pop album that I could listen to any day of the week.

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(1/5) So, would you like some warm ketchup on your lemon sorbet? It was pan seared by our best soux chef who is well known for his waygu beef entree, and it's served on a bed of pea gravel dipped in motor oil. What in the actual fuck is wrong with this list. Anglo-centrism (autocorrect has my number, now that I've thrown it around too much. That word pops up as soon as "Anglo.." is typed in...) strikes again. This assault of mediocrity in the form of lanky, disshelved English wankers and their "interpretations" of other music is borderline offensive. This is garbage music, and doesn't deserve a listen let alone a nod in a list that is supposedly music you **must hear before you die**. The first half was just bleh. A slightly confused effort at some reggae and ska inspired rock. It would have received a '2' if they had stayed the course. Just mediocre. The second half tipped the rest of the album directly into the rubbish bin (take that you bloody queue loving sods! Bite. My. Chips.) as of "Waiting for the Heartaches". Each song got progressively worse after that one. It sounds like they had some ideas, but absolutely no direction and little talent to pull it off. They blended various styles poorly and served it up as if it was worth listening to. Just throw it all on the plate! Someone will eat it. A few thousand English fans might. Not me.. This Britpop bullshit is a hard swallow and I'm dreading more of it, as I know the list is lousy with it. Eyeballing my "skipped this album" pass for the next one. I'm a long distance runner and I'm no stranger to discomfort and pushing myself in spite of it, but this aural assault is trying my patience.

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The reviews on this album say more about the average user on the site's database rather than the album itself. I wasn't prepared to enjoy this. I don't really listen to German cabaret music, nor do I enjoy showtunes or (overly) pretentious experimental music. I already was a fan of Krause's work with Slapp Happy and Henry Cow. The fact that no album from either band is on here is pretty criminal (and I don't often listen to either band anyways). As with any "difficult" work, it's important to perhaps read and engage a bit more with it to understand why it's here. In a list that's full of albums only because they were commercially successful or popular for their time, this album pretty much breaks the flow in every way possible. Or does it? Hanns Eisler is a composer that perhaps needs revisiting in the times we live in today. Woes regarding war, propaganda, and social issues in constant fight for recognition were themes that he wrote about, and paid the price for (escaping Germany during the rise of the Nazis). He wrote revolutionary songs (and even composed the national anthem for East Germany upon return), songs of the struggle of the common people, and even a song that advocated for the legalization of abortion and autonomy and protection for women (in the 1930s, no less). The music is, of course, not easy listening. But, the lyrics and music is played by Krause exactly as Eisler intended. She really understands his music. Seething, menacing, often threatening but filled with empathy and lamentation. The music is simply stunning that it was written in post-war Berlin before Hitler's rise. How much creative work was lost from that time period? What can we learn from the themes of the piece today, in the permacrisis that we currently live in? The fact that this is in a book on generally popular music and has been kept in since, with female pop artists such as Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera being cut out of new editions, speaks volumes about what this album can bring to the table of what we deem as "timeless" female artists. No pressings made in the USA whatsoever, no commercial interest, and still wildly ahead of its time given the negative reactions on the website and on YouTube despite being music written nearly over 100 years ago - and on top of that, appealing to myself who's not a fan of this type of music to begin with. This is protest music from another time, yet still representing the fight of our time. More showtune music should be this dark and idiosyncratic. As such, in the spirit of protest, it gets a 5. Post-script: also, not sure how "not being on Spotify" translates as to being album of "no merit whatsoever". Spotify should not be the only way that you have access to albums as a music fan, nor is it a measurement of quality in an album. For those who wrote this, please go to your local record store or library from time to time, or purchase music directly from labels or artists' webpages. You'll be amazed at the great stuff that isn't available on streaming services, waiting to be discovered.

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Don't believe these liars.

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Pioneers of the alternative rock sound that would define the following decade, the 1990s. R.E.M. was making the jangling guitar rock that would bear the labels of indie and college rock. When I came of age in the nineties this sound would find its commercial success. This entire album sounded about 5 years later than its 1988 release date suggests. Lower sounds abound and I mean listen to the distortion on “I Remember California” And yet, this sound is still a work in progress. The album is all over the place. In spots we have bouncy pop with “Stand” whereas others slow down for more intimate work, “The Wrong Child” or “Hairshirt.” We’re transitioning into new eras on this album. R.E.M. has a new label and creative freedom and they’ll use it. For me it all works. I appreciated R.E.M. as a radio and MTV friendly act during their time, even if I never owned an album. Still, terrific form from a band that was a staple of my younger years.

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Standard, late 60s English pop. Sounds like a Sgt. Peppers imitation, honestly. "Private Salts' Empty Kidney Association Troupe", I guess? A poor man's Sgt Pepper... Through the listen I couldn't take my mind off of this comparison and how this record arranged itself in a similar way, with each song feeding from the tracks before and informing the later tracks. An obvious concept album, so I see where the critics and write-ups make that comparison. The music is just standard stuff for the era though, with only a few really catching my ear but not for long. I hate to do this to The Kinks, because I like a bunch of their earlier work, but this one didn't take off for me (3/5). Reading the other reviews here, there's an angle I didn't consider -- how very English this **IS**. Numerous other reviewers talked about how it takes them to small, country villages, and (this is hyperbolic) tea times with aunties and crumpets and shit... ALL of that is lost on me. I've got no personal context for that. The music is middle of the road, unlike Sgt. Peppers, so nothing elevated it out of mediocrity and pulled me into that world The Kinks seemed to be trying to create. Here's my attempt to bend future lists out of the event horizon of all the British invasions and frankly insular English music world, with some keywords I keep using.. THE SUPREMES should have been included.. Anglo-centrism is bad.. Hope that helps.

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One of the easiest 5s ever. such an ambitious project, stuffed with a kaleidoscope of references to a state I may never visit, and with such a variety of great songs with fantastic songwriting. He played like 20 different instruments on this which is just mad Casimir Pulaski Day might be my favourite “sad song”, and very funny to think he didn’t come out until like 2023 when you read the lyrics to “Primordial Beast Of The Palisades” Very bold to have a song relating yourself to a pedophilic serial killer and have it not come off in the absolute worst way possible I always run out of steam a bit towards the end, first half is definitely stronger, but it’s all great still

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Another smart, articulate and catchy pop album. I loved 'Royals' when it appeared; it was clearly an instant classic and was one of the best songs of the decade. And I really dug 'Green Light' when it was released, but I mostly listened to pop on the radio and so never delved into the whole album. And it has been a real pleasure to acquaint myself with this record. Lorde works in the intimate public sphere (to use a concept from Lauren Berlant) that assumes women share a bond of communal longing and a "sense of lateral identification". This is a similar operation to Taylor Swift's 1989, a comparable and contemporaneous pop album (with a shared producer in Jack Antonoff). Interesting to compare; Swift feels a little bit more crafted and deliberate in her revelations, Lorde feels a little more unfiltered -- although interviews about her writing process suggest that Lorde is equally careful about what she is putting out there. Lorde and Swift are both smart and effective songwriters and performers, and unafraid of working in the pop genre. There is no shortage of big choruses, infectious beats, or hooks on this record. That's a good thing. The album stood up to multiple listening, and 'Liability' and 'Homemade Dynamite' stand out as particular highlights (alongside 'Green Light' which is an unapologetic banger). Lorde is great, but I am currently a little weary of the Jack Antonoff sound, which became ubiquitous in the past 15 years. I suspect that if I come back to this in ten years' time with fresh ears, it will have stood the test of time.

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Oh, boy.. more electronic euro-pop.. 🙄🙄 This sounds *VERY* dated and they turned the treble all the way up. So much that I can barely understand the singer. I hope she wasn't key to the music, because if so, big miss by the production team on that one. Otherwise, a bunch of dreamy, ethereal-light stuff that I would never purposely put on. (2/5). This isn't offensive, it's just definitely not my style. At all. I feel like I've hit a lot of '2's recently. This continues that trend.

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Heard of them but never been exposed to anything they'd done. This one has a dreamy, atmospheric sound that I could really get into, but the vocals initially distracted from the experience. I get using the voice as a musical instrument, and I've listened to and enjoyed non-English speaking music in the past, so it really helped to stop trying to understand it and assume she's speaking Gaelic, instead. The layers of synth and overall relaxing vibe of the album were refreshing, and there was just enough tonal variety to keep things interesting while pretty seamlessly flowing together. An overall ethereal album that I'm still not sure that I'd revisit, so it bumps its head on a 3/5 ceiling.

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Boring. So, so boring. Far too melancholy for me. I've been consistent in that my '3' ratings are something I'd try and come back to, or had a few tracks I like. '2' isn't offensive or irritating, but rather it's a single listen and for a variety of reasons I won't come back to any of it. Smith is a perfectly fine musician, but boy is he lacking any energy. (2/5)

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"The imitation picks you up like a habit." This is a new listen for me. I’ve never heard of this guy even though the 2000 release date puts it right in my college years when I was the most connected to popular and new music in my life. I can "hear" in this an album a younger version of myself would've enjoyed a lot. Its full of angst and guitar strumming, even if it falls on the emo side of what I usually prefer. Which is why I'm surprised I'd never encountered it back in the day. On the other hand, bleak and/or gloomy music for disaffected youth is a crowded space. The Cure, Nirvana, and Wilco are all acts I've already encountered in just the first 80 albums of this project. Looking through the reviews of this album, though, shows that it landed with many people, but it is understandable if for some it landed outside of their radar. That is where it landed for me. And I'm finding its not an easy album to latch onto in my forties. With Wilco I found I wanted to fabricate long years of nostalgia upon hearing it for the first time. Mr. Smith is not working the same kind of magic. Very little of it is sticking. Another album in the collection of those that found me at the wrong time in my life. Highlight tracks Junk Bond Trader.

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I can’t believe the top review for this record (as of Dec 2023) is from someone trying to use their PhD in Mathematics as justification for not liking hip-hop. Weak.

Oh fuck yeah, now we're talking. Wait no, I swear I'm not being pretentious. This is the lowest rated album on this site because I guess mostly people aren't very fond of German people smashing metal plates together - who would have guessed. But halle-fucking-lujah, this is something this list needs more of. Albums that make you go "well, that was an experience and now I'm a changed man". Nobody is lying on their deathbed wishing they heard more crappy 80s post-punk or late 60s psychedelic rock. THIS is what we all deserve to be listening to as we embrace eternal oblivion. I'm giving this a high rating not only because I genuinely really love it, but also to help Kid Rock move to his rightful place as the actual worst album on this list. Together we can make a difference. Save the turtles.

Brings back vivid memories of when me and my mate Ray went on a trip to Dresden. We met this rotund goth in a bar, head to toe with tattoos and piercings, real filth and after a while took her into the disabled bogs for a spit roast. We were both pumping away in her with Napalm Death on in the background and her wailing "MEIN GOTT" at the top of her lungs. I remember spaffing all over her back just as Siege of Power kicked in. As i shoot over her, she takes Ray's cock out of her gob and says "do you want fries with that?" in a faux American accent. Anyway, we go outside and there's this gammy little geezer in a wheelchair sitting there furious, giving me daggers, because he's had to wait so long, so I lean into him and I go "I hope you have as much fun in there as we just did you little cunt".

Back when I was in college, there was this dude who would come into the bar I worked at on a Friday night and play fucking 10 Neil Young songs in a row. He would also hit on girls by doing magic tricks. I remember how angry I got every time he made me listen to an hour of Neil Young because I was just trying to have a good time, and he fucking made me listen to this sad, soppy fuck who writes nothing but songs that sound indistinguishable from each other and never seemed to enjoy a happy moment in his entire like. Fuck that guy, and fuck Neil Young. 2/5

Back when I was in college I used to go to a bar and listen to Neil tunes and do magic tricks for women. There was a bartender there, he was the best. I loved that guy. Some of the best years of my life.

Shit like this on the list is both refreshing and infuriating. Refreshing because it is good, fun, interesting, and also not something I would regularly be exposed to! It's why I started this project and keeps me coming back. It's infuriating because the fact that it is included here means that Robert Dimery, the original author of the 1001 albums list is aware that music like this exists. He's clearly aware that there is an entire world of music out there. SO WHY HAVE I LISTENED TO 200 80s BRITISH NEW WAVE ALBUMS AND 200 SCOTTISH ROCK ALBUMS FROM THE 90S??!!?

Rap isn't my preferred genre of music. But I'm a shitty mathematician so I enjoyed this.

I really don't get rap, and I am completely aware of why. I'm a STEM guy, specifically a Ph.D. student in mathematics. Although my verbal intelligence is quite high, it's still about a standard deviation below my quantitative intelligence. Therefore, it should not be too surprising that I prefer melodies to lyricism, and that a genre based on the latter doesn't wow me. I know I'm pretty far out of step with public opinion on this one, but that can easily be attributed to the fact that hipsters with humanities degrees (i.e. extremely verbal-dominant people) are considered the ultimate arbiters of taste for some reason. (Side note: this also explains why prog rock is seen as being for losers.) Best song: Be (Intro), which had a decent instrumental part at the beginning. Everything else just sort of ran together.

Rage In Favor Of The Machine.

Music for incels to wank furiously by

Sorry Boomers/Gen X, I was like 20 when this came out so it's one of the best things to ever happen to me. Sorry it's not King Crimson or whatever.

i ain’t listening to all that i’m happy for u tho or sorry that happened

The beauty of music is that it is subjective. It’s typically great for a certain group of people, though it’s never right for everyone. Some for the masses, some more niche, but it all has its place. Meanwhile, with lists like this, there’s always artists or records that anyone would have put on in place of what actually made it. Personally, I would have included Queensryche’s Operation Mindcrime, Live’s Throwing Copper, Joe Satriani’s The Extremist, Sara Bareilles’ Little Voice, or John Mellencamp’s Scarecrow album on a list of must hear records. Others would put totally different albums on and that's awesome. What someone likes vs. dislikes is truly subjective. Again, that's the beauty. With that said, this album objectively sucks. I mean truly horrible. Something had to be the lowest rated album on the list, and this was a place well earned. There is nothing redeemable about this record. To quote my wife, “they should have stopped at 1,000.”

The only enjoyment I got from this was reading the review about the brothers in Dresden and their lovely and talented tattooed friend.

I am definitely not the target demographic for this album, but I still thought it was very good. There's a lot of skill and artistry put into these tracks, so much so that it is almost invisible. 4 stars for me, plus an extra star just to spite the mathematics PHD guy.