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Meh

I don’t think this is the height of Charli’s work.

Ik ben nu bij Track 2, maar het klinkt een beetje als kermis muziek ofzo. Ik ben bij track 3 en ik wil eigenlijk wel stoppen. Dus dat doe ik ook:)

I get the impression this is an album with some really sophisticated lyrics and storytelling, but it's difficult to fully appreciate that on a first, second or even third listen. I suspect it's one you'd need to spend a lot of time with, really studying the lyrics and listening repeatedly to get the most out of it. Unfortunately, I can't see myself doing that, and on the surface this style of music just isn't really for me. I can appreciate that there's a lot going on here, but ultimately it didn't particularly grab me. Rating: 1.5

this is pretty boring, did not connect with me at all

Tina is an icon. Some fabulous work on this album showing she was a huge influence after being in the business for so long.

No. When I saw the album cover my first inclination was “no”. When I heard the first 30 seconds of the album my first thought was “no”. When I saw it would be about 1hr18min of total listening, again “no”. I pushed through, but “no”. There have been several albums throughout this journey I was not initially excited for but ended up being pleasantly surprised about, but this was not one of them. If anything it piqued my curiously on who would record and release these deranged noises and ramblings. May be the worst album I’ve encountered on this journey thus far.

I was partially listening to this as penance for forgetting the name of it in quiz the other week, so hopefully now I'll remember it at least. When it's good, it's good (Take Five remains unrivalled), but I found a lot of this a bit background? And for some reason vaguely Christmassy?

Usually I like when people cover Dylan but this is not one of those times

Me recuerda mucho a mi padre.

This was fine, but this kind of rock just isn't my jam. I know there are some who will find that blasphemous

I like Ladysmith Black Mambazo's sound. But it all sounds the same. Good album, but not great.

When I listen to Sly and the family stone I hear that 1 and 3 beat and I'm like holy fuck that's funk. When I listen to the 1 and 3 audience clap on "Goodbye Sunday" I hear and see a white woman with short hair who is doing a weird shoulder dance and won't stop touching me--convinced she's feeling the music and tasting the rain. A lot of this album is like that. Should you allow yourself to block out the swaying narcissi white women of your psyche there is some quality production here. The bass lines are great and a lot of it sounds like it could be mf doom or Graceland era paul simon samples. Sometimes I go with my girlfriend to Hobby Lobby to buy fabric and this sounds like what they maybe play in the store when they crack a seltzer and let their hair down after a day of quiet work in bright white light. For better or worse and take that as you will, there are things to enjoy here, just probably not in a group setting.

#51 Hectic shouting over frenetic guitar

Ugh. Opening song is already genuinely disgusting in light of everything that has come out about them… since 1989/1990? Jfc. Love that the generator - via a possibly unhinged feud with Mike Patton - is how I became clued into how fucked they are. This is a rough one to listen to and rate because I’ve liked so many of these songs since I was a kid but… (Star lost for being at least 75% shitty)

Idk who in the world these ladies are, and the music is not my style. It is unique.

- Tracks longer than 3:59: Yes -Long tracks interesting or special: Frustratingly no. -Album shorter than 58 minutes: Yes. -Will listen to album again: Possibly -Overall: This was a real roller coaster. I swung from liking to hating this album song by song. I really enjoyed the use of horns and the choir style backing up singing. However, I was constantly looking to see if the songs were almost done, because for the most part they were too long and not for good reasons. Long almost looping portions in the middle of song just didn’t work for me. At least Cop Shoot Cop… varies as it moves through its 17 minutes. Serious question, for people who like tracks like No God Only Religion what is it that you find enjoyable? I’m really not trying to yuck anyone’s yum, but I really am interested in what appeals to you. I know full well that listen to things that other people find tortuous, so I’m not being judgy, just curious.

I love this format? A double album will sometimes (often) have me sighing in dismay. This time, I’m finding myself thinking about bands that maybe could have stayed together had they released a double album combining two solo albums with such different styles that still manage to work together. Who knows. (lol I’m reading this format was considered a harbinger of their demise and they did go on hiatus a few years later. Whatever I stand by it) vvvvvvvv good. LOVE the format that allows for Big Boi’s politics (“basically America you got fucked”) and Andre 3000’s genre fuckery. While both are so so fun and still had me grinning and giggling. Also. Realizing this came out just ahead of my freshman year of high school. Hearing about languishing in a post Bush v Gore world while I’m in Trumps America 2.0. Fucking hell. Also. There’s a great Key Change episode of song exploder about Hey Ya, so I was primed with an understanding of how groundbreaking this album was. I just had… zero context for Big Boi and I’m floored by his album. Admittedly not the biggest fan of Andre’s, though, so this is a bit tough to rate; but when it’s good it’s fucking GOOD.

It's all right. Great voice, it's just not the kind of music I enjoy listening to

Absolute perfection. It's times like these when I compare a low rating from the users on this site for an absolute classic album to the user ratings on Rate Your Music and realisethe discrepancy in taste between the two user bases.

!!!!!!!!!!! Some of my faves from Unplugged are on this album. All Apologies and Pennyroyal Tea and Dumb continue to fuck me up beyond repair. Rape Me is iconic. Heart-Shaped Box? Jfc. I can’t believe it hasn’t even been a month since Kurt Cobain hijacked my entire brain. It’ll be a month in two days actually since I first listened to Unplugged! I know this bc I added the date to my calendar as a yearly anniversary event bc I’m insane 😂 // This is honestly a tough one to rate. Some of the screamy tracks aren’t my vibe (by design I suppose) but I respect the effort to move away from the polished production on Nevermind, and the ones I love I love almost beyond compare. And all together, it’s just so good. And apparently I’m partial to Scott Litt? He worked with REM yes? Yes. I’m waffling, bc intermittent screaming drops me to 4 bc am I realistically relistening in full as much as my other five stars? Then I’m like… well I literally have been relistening over the last month. I can just skip scentless apprentice etc when I’m not in the mood. And I even love the content of the songs I’d skip (literary king). What to do. // Yeah no this album is nearly perfect and I have to catch my breath from the enormity of my awe. This man is a poet and his voice is unreal and his absence remains such a fucking loss.

The 1001 Albums We Must Hear Before We Die list could use more like this. Fun.

Ridiculous but fun and enjoyable

Het is creatief, relaxt, jazzy, bij vlagen gruizig, en toch klinkt het alsof het enige urgentie heeft. Een portie rock, funk of zelfs punk hier en daar. Schapengeblaat, vioolgekras, Tibetaanse monniken? Waarom niet. En o ja, ze lopen wat te rappen. Het is ze vergeven, als het maar afwisselend en energiek is, dan mag het van mij.

Previously familiar with the hit ("Dry the Rain") only; underwhelmed here.

not quite as good as Massive Attack but still cool

This feels like some kind of nu-metal pop revival. I don't know, feel like this is about as inessential as it gets.

The music itself was ok aa background music. Not over an hour of it though Incredibly boring. Sounded like I was trapped in a lift while the music keeps playing 2 ⭐️

Есть очень хорошие песни, но в целом, альбому чего-то не достает, под конец устаешь от этой музыки

:/ This was the first hip-hop album I ever loved. I was 13 when it came out and it really knocked me over. I listened to it all the time. It’s been a little while now (at least since college since I last listened to it) and, as we all know, Many Things Have Happened. Enough time has passed and enough shine has rubbed off that I can acknowledge the lyrical weaknesses that plague this record, even on songs that are unquestionable bangers. (Ye aside, none of Jay-Z’s verses are up to snuff.) This record also loses steam in the back half, particularly with the funny-the-first-time Chris Rock sketch pinned to the end of the already weak and overlong “Blame Game”. But man the parts that are great are so, so great. The opening track, despite everything, elicits a physical excitement response in me. “POWER” is, I’m sorry, one of the best pop hip-hop singles of that decade, if not ever. “Runaway” is a perfect thesis statement and centerpiece of the record, and maybe of his career. A maximalist almost-masterpiece. I still know almost every word after all these years. Fuck me.

I love Thr Kinks. I feel like they got overlooked in their prime, but you can still hear their influence in so many styles today.

316. nice

only 2 good songs

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If Kenny G. had a mohawk, he wouldn't be punk If Yanni had dumb tattoos, he wouldn't be punk If Garth Brooks pierced his nose, he wouldn't be punk If Liberace sounded like the Green Day, he wouldn't be punk

Shout out to Mr Dimery. He doesn't care about what you, or I, or common opinion thinks. If he likes an album, he will put it in. So, I have the luxury of reviewing an album that was added only yesterday. My review will, by default, briefly appear closer to your eyes before descending down the rankings—which is a fitting analogy for this album. So why has he picked it to be added to the 2026 edition? Do the kids love it? No, barely 2 million streams for the lead single. Do critics love it? No. This is an album that appeared in a few publications’ mid-year best album lists before mostly descending down the rankings into irrelevance by the time of publication of the more important end-of-year lists. Is it challenging? Not really. Is it unique? Not really. Socially relevant? Also no. It's an album that, without Mr Dimery's intervention, would have disappeared, covered under the mountains of other releases that define the streaming-pile album environment of modern music services. This is an album that is fine (although a lot of you will hate it). It's beat-driven, well structured, with angular vocals filtered through a foreign vocal charm that adds mystique, but it is generally unremarkable. It heavily recalls The Knife (a better candidate for this list) and relies on a hard-leaning electro sound that I'm sure will sound great in a modern playlist alongside artists like Slayyyter or Heartworms (not a misspelling of Hookworms, which has just been deleted)—two better albums ( not hookworms another odd pick that was pleasant but unremarkable). Fair play, Mr Dimery, it's a pick you like, and it takes courage not to bow to internet publications and their consensus lists, but to stick to your own opinion. It's a 3 for me. Being the first review published, I get to play a game and make a prediction for what you lot will score it. I'll go for 2.7.

AHHHH MY SOUL HAS BEEN TRANSFERRED BACK ONTO THE MAIN LIST AHHHH And of course the first fucking thing I generate after the new book edition comes out is the SEVENTH Rolling Stones entry released in the year of our lord 2023 (their TWENTY-THIRD studio album) featuring 80 year old Mick Jagger. I've spent 668 days on the user list. It's not all sunshine and rainbow over there, but the user base has nicely covered almost all the big misses from the original list by this point - Weezer's "Blue Album", Pink Floyd's "Animals", Massive Attack's "Mezzanine", Louis Armstrong, Chet Baker, Neutral Milk Hotel, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, This Heat, the soundtrack to 2004 video game Katamari Damacy (very important) etc etc.... ....And of course the first thing Robert Dimery does when it's time to update his list for the first time in five years is to add another album by these rotting fucking geriatrics half a century past their prime. Actual music review: It's exactly what you'd expect a 60s band to release in the modern day. I don't know what's up with it, but it seems like this is exactly the sound every single "way past their prime" band grey goo's themselves into. The musical equivalent of an overfitted neural network. The Stones will probably release one more album in a year or two and it will sound exactly like this one again. Maybe that one will be "the last one" so it will be a slightly bolder footnote in musical history. Couldn't ask for a more poetic and fitting start to this return. Is Elvis Costello still releasing music as well?

Great that these lads are still going but god this is awful

My first album back in the game after the release of the revised book, and it's a banger. This is exactly how an alt pop album should be, 12 tracks at 34 minutes, get in, kick ass, get out, and keep it just weird enough to pique my interest. Plus, I needed some British flavor after all the Canadian albums from the user submitted list.

Jesus, I think I've done it. I think this is album 1089 and I am done (until I start the user list tomorrow). It's actually been longer because I reviewed over 200 albums before I started a group, which meant I had to do those all again! Nearly five years, it's been a journey... Many thanks to the members of my group (especially Dave L., Peter P., Alan L. and Glen S.) who have staggered alongside me through this winter death march. A really special call out to Peter P., who really instilled a broad and unprejudiced love of music in me. He was my boss at the record store for about two years, but has been my friend for forty years. He introduced me to so many artists and records that I love. We DJ together. He encouraged me to take a more autobiographical approach to reviewing. Thanks Peter, I love you, man. Thanks to any critic who ever inspired me, especially Jessica Hopper, Bill Wyman (not the Rolling Stone), Amanda Petrusich, Simon Reynolds, Charles Shaar Murray, Robert Christgau, Elizabeth Nelson, Hanif Abdurraqib, and a plethora of others, all worth reading. But not Greil Marcus; fuck that guy. Many thanks to anyone who ever threw one of my reviews a thumbs up, I appreciate it. And a thousand thanks to Alexander for setting up this project and his technical support along the way. This project has been exciting and infuriating and exhausting, but I have appreciated the structure to my listening, and the opportunity to reflect on my musical tastes, history and the friends who helped form my tastes. In the words of the great Liverpudlian band: "All these places had their moments With lovers and friends, I still can recall Some are dead and some are living In my life, I've loved them all" And here we have Buck Owens as my final album, which is as good a place to finish as any. This project has given me an appreciation of classic country, and this piece of Bakersfield honky-tonk is a simple pleasure. I love a tight album that doesn't outstay its welcome, and this album is _tight_. I'm listening to the version with a couple of bonus tracks (including 'Act Naturally', love it) and it still only runs 32 minutes. There is not a wasted note on this album. The band is energetic and efficient, with special props to the wonderful Telecaster work of Don Rich. Could you argue that some of the songs border on being novelty tunes? Possibly, but they are fun and catchy and rollick along, so I don't care. I've spun this through three times in a row, and I am whistling along. I was going to give this a three, but I am really digging it. Call it 3.5 stars, rounding up!

Greasy fat rat

Rainwater filters through trash and creates leachate, a toxic liquid filled with heavy metals, chemicals, and microplastics that can seep into soil and groundwater. Leachate is essentially garbage juice.

Garbage in name, Garbage in nature. DO NOT LISTEN

i can't say i'm thrilled about that f bomb unless it turns out billie joe is sucking dick more than 50% of the time

I was more of a rock guy than dance music guy in 1990, but Pacific State (in all its versions) was inescapable at the time. It is one of the best tracks of late 80s/early 90s UK dance, no argument. It is atmospheric and catchy and compelling, and even the terrible sax playing is weirdly affecting. I have read several reviews that suggest that 808:90 proved that dance music could be an album medium, rather than just singles. Well, 35 years later, there have been plenty of acclaimed dance music albums, but I still lean towards the opinion that dance really is a singles medium. That doesn't work well for this list, as focusing on albums doesn't serve all musical genres or artists equitably and leads to some unfortunate biases. That said, I own this record and the Quadrastate EP and Ooops 12". I think I inherited them from the vinyl collection of Mark Selway (RIP), my friend and former bandmate. Mark went down a deep, dark rabbit-hole of experimental electronic music. You can hear his work on the Lecter Macabre album 13 Hobbs Lane (https://joshshipton.bandcamp.com/album/13-hobs-lane). Be warned; it's difficult listening. Now that I come to think of it, I visited the Eastern Bloc record store in Manchester in the mid 90s because I had heard about it as the early meeting place of 808 State. I bought a really nice LP bag that I still use.

some wrinkled crypt keeper looking 80-year-old man singing about how he wants to be the only man for some girl... What the fuck is wrong with you, 1001 guy? Do you not have any sense of anything when it comes to music? who the fuck put you in charge?

Every 8 years there’s a massive hit act that makes people tell you, “Oh, no, this is actually REALLY good, this has a lot more vitamins and fibre than you would expect!” and so you give it a try and it always turns out it’s just another Nutrigrain bar

Not bad! This band's got a real future ahead of them!

i'm not sure what demon possessed them to include this instead of something less obscure and more mediocre in the latest book but I'm glad they did

Music to listen to while your wife is fucking her boyfriend

One of my learning from this project has been that I don't mind a bit of outlaw country. I think Merle Haggard really hit his straps a few albums after this (and we miss the chance to grapple with Merle's complicated politics). But this is a pretty tight album.

This is a simple protest vote. It is ludicrous for albums in the current year to be put on this list. More ludicrous still is the fact that you have removed more recent albums (in the last 5 years) as you add new ones. If you were removing questionable albums from the 70s, for example, it would make much more sense. When the bulk of the removals come from your own recent additions, it makes your judgement questionable Sorry, Charli! The one star rating is for the list managers, not you.

And now we encounter the issue with book revisions. In a vacuum, this would be a good choice for the book. There is a severe lack of metal on the list. Especially from female singers. And this record is kinda good. In a vacuum, I'd give this a 4. But problems start to sleep in. 1. This record came out THIS YEAR. It was added to the book the year it was released. There is NO record where that is acceptable. It's just too soon and therefore has a high likelihood of being removed in the next edition as it's impossible to tell what albums will age well THE YEAR THEY COME OUT. 2. Every new record added. I think 13 of them. Took out another. And we can see both lists. Is this better than the Mars Volta? Both records are different from the norm of their respective eras. But is it better?! I wouldn't say so. And so now this can't be judged in a vacuum. Fair or not. As I write this, I'm still on my first listen for the day. I don't know yet what I will rate this. But every day for the next 13 days... I will have an issue.

Is it necessary for this album to be over 2 hours long? Is it necessary for me to drink my own urine? No, but I do it anyway because its sterile and I like the taste

Excellent album. Probably the best album added to the revised addition. Hit me hard and soft is the perfect way to describe this record also. Billie and Finneas wrote every tune on this bad mofo, take a lesson future and current pop stars.

However bad the other new albums added are - this album makes it worth it

The more recent an album is, the harder it is to meaningfully assess whether it realistically has a place on the 'must hear' list. And this album is less than a year old. Don't get it twisted; I like Charlie XCX. I think she is one of the most dynamic and interesting pop stars working today, and this is an interesting and compelling piece of work. But it suffers from the problem that the movie of Emerald Fennel's "Wuthering Heights had; more style than substance. It is a big swing for the creative fences that became a pretty hot topic of discussion for a little while but doesn't really have long-term cultural impact. Even a year on, it has been overtaken by Carlie XCX's latest creative outputs. I would argue that this album has a far better hit-to-miss ratio than the movie, so let me say the things I like about it: - it's smart without being overworked. There is an idea here and I like that she has something different to say without going crazily concept album. - that she, she didn't forget that this is a pop album, and that means tunes and beats. Not as many bangers as Brat, but an acceptable level given the high concept. - it's short. I wish more pop artists would release 34-minute albums full of 3-4 minute songs. - those string arrangements are fantastic. Creepy, gothic, evocative - I like the sound design, which is tastefully weird, even though I wish critics would stop describing anything with use of destructive filters as "industrial". It's not. That's just what pop sound design is like these days. It's a good, smart pop album which makes sense in Charlie XCX's growing body of varied and interesting work. Will it be remembered as the highpoint of her career a decade from now? Is is a classic for the ages that will still be in 1001 Albums a decade from now? I suspect not on either count. But I enjoyed listening to it. 3.5 stars, rounding up.

A band truly ahead of its time. This album is from 2013 and already sounded like AI slop.

An album that came out last year listed here as influential? Whoever compiled this list has confused ‘influential’ with ‘ i liked it’.

I'll admit that I'm a little skeptical that this needed to make the list, but I did really enjoy it. At this point I'm skeptical of almost any artist that is British and was previously unknown to me, which I recognize is a little rude, but also, the list editor has made enough transgressions that I stand by it.

Low IQ theory

This is terrible. I love it. In all seriousness, weird shit like this is right up my alley. I'm shocked this came out in the 70s because it still sounds ahead if it's time.

I just found a post-it note stuck to the side of my head. It read: “Hi Stresshead! I just spent ninety minutes breathing, singing, playing around your ears and you barely noticed me - I totally could have killed you and stole all your bread! Lucky for you I’m Aimee Mann so all you get is this quirky note.” I am a fan of how her music was used in “Magnolia”. Maybe I was just having a bad day

Fuck you for starting the album with straight up tinnitus. What the fuck is this shit. There's a song where there's a crowd cheering in the background, I don't believe that for a second.

I used to joke that Mariah has an impressive vocal range, but I wish she would spend more time singing those notes that only dogs can hear (Can I get a rimshot? Thank you, I'll be here all week!) I never really delved in Mariah's oeuvre, assuming it would be too highly polished, too smooth, too geared towards mainstream balladry for my tastes. I like soul and r'n'b, but I lean towards music with a bit more grit. I subscribe to Gabriel Roth's "shitty is pretty" aesthetic. Mariah's early (and inescapable) singles all suggested her albums were not for me. Like Disney end-credit ballads, as one commenter wrote. Now, to be fair, this is highly produced, with all the rough edges sanded down and sprayed with eight coats of high gloss duco. With the exception of some of the syrupy ballads -- 'Whenever You Call' is sugary enough to cause early onset diabetes -- this does have a greater urban influence which makes it a pleasant, smooth and largely downbeat hang. It generally avoids drama and theatrics in favour of vibe and groove, which I can dig. I could live without the cover of 'The Beautiful Ones' which feels like a passionless exercise in vocal gymnastics when compared to Prince's original. Nobody is going to confuse this for actual hip hop or funk or neosoul, but it's (mostly) surprisingly listenable.

Brat is a slice of mid 00s EDM and rave clubbing culture, and it does a great job of matching that sound with squelchy synths, punchy electronic percussion, and blaring bass. More importantly than just what's contained within the music, is the atmosphere that it cultivates. Charli XCX is a party girl, something you'll be well aware of by the end of the album. With brat, Charli XCX has come full circle. She started off as a electronic infused dance pop artist, and after playing around with less commercial elements during her time within the PC Music scene, she has come back to electronic dance-pop. Brat is not the same as her early work though, with her experience working with musicians in the PC Music space (such as A.G. Cook who produces some songs on the album) comes an injection of hyperpop sounds such as the heavily autotuned vocals and almost industrial bass, which really kicks the EDM up a notch beyond what it was inspired by. Speaking of inspirations, you can hear the influence of 00s EDM legends like Daft Punk and Justice all over the record, even 360 and the other songs that use its leitmotif (Rewind and 365) sound exactly like Stardust's one hit. The hyperpop influence here is the big reason why brat has such a big sound. The exaggerated effects of hyperpop give the album a high-octane and drugged up sound, like you're at the rave drinking alcohol and taking uppers. The blaring synths and heavy autotune do give the album a disorienting and wobbly feeling which matches the exhausted yet fun feeling from the club. Lyrically this album is her usual shtick of sexual party girl with more heartfelt lyrics about relationships, feelings, and insecurities. These personal lyrics had more impact on me during her 2020 COVID era hit album How I'm Feeling Now, but it does provide an interesting contrast to the non-stop partying atmosphere of brat. The penultimate song - I Think About It All The Time - drops a lot of the EDM and Hyperpop influences for a heartfelt song about Charli balancing her music career with her private life and starting a family, and it works as a wonderful introspective come down to the hi-energy clubbing sound from the rest of the album... Only for the closer, 365, to go full-throttle back to partying. I liked this a lot more now than I did when it originally came out, there's lots and hooks and energy and it's a very fun album. The lyrics push it further into artistic territory, and I'm glad for those who like them and relate, but really I'm just here to groove. Was it a good addition to the list: Yes 100%. I don't like albums that have been added within the past 5 years, but this was such a cultural phenomenon that it really would have been a huge misstep were it excluded. Probably the best possible inclusion they could have made between 2022 and now Top 3 songs: 360, Von Dutch, I Think About It All the Time

Ugh, I wanted to hate it, but even my disdain for Kanye in 2026 can't take away how good this album is and what he was. Shame he turned into what he is now

gentle, mild, light, inoffensive, insubstantial - if Babybel Cheese made an album, it would sound like this. a breathy, fey, waste of time, and a senseless addition to a list which still excludes Eric Dolphy, Sonny Rollins, Art Blakey (and many other great musicians)

Call me a conspiracy nut, but this album would have a higher rating if the artist wasn’t trans. People claim that they don’t care, but can’t handle being exposed to them. That’s my little rant. Anyways, I really liked this album. I enjoyed it when it first came out and I enjoyed it now. Not all bangers, but none of the songs are terrible. Several certified bops, in my opinion, give this album a good bit of range, but it could use a tad more to really get it to where I feel like it could be. Looking forward to their next release. Great suggestion. 4/5

If you are wondering why an album from 2026 us on the list… It’s worse than it looks. Not only are albums added to the list that are less than a year old… Previous albums are removed! Which means you may have heard an album “before you die” unnecessarily. What will St. Peter have to say to you then? But, it gets worse still…. The albums that are removed, this time around for example, are all from 2001-2020, which divides into two more bad things. One, that the entire list is not analyzed with each edit (even though we’ve all had very mediocre to terrible albums from those earlier 40+ years, not to mention albums left off that shoulda been). And, Two, that this particular album from 2026 that you now “must hear before you die” could be (and probably will be) removed over the next few years. The person who runs this site is a saint. But the editor of the 1001 list is destroying his own credibility. Meanwhile, we now have 1100+ albums to work through due to all the different editions. Mr. Dimery should use all our reviews, and mine in particular 😀, to do an actual one-time edit of the list that makes sense.

These all sound like entrance themes for wrestlers that get zero pop

I’m not entirely sure that nu-metal was interesting enough in its heyday to really warrant a pop-revival, but here we are. I say that as someone who…embarrassing admission time…saw the Family Values Tour in 1998. I’ll also try not to overly criticize the addition of an album that’s less than a year old to this list of “must-hear” albums, but I do feel it is worth noting that this album was released less than 9 months ago, which means that the editors of the latest edition decided to add this record to the book almost immediately after the album’s release. Vocally, I’m impressed by Poppy’s range and ability as a singer. Musically, there are touchstones to bands like Deftones, Evanescence, Korn and a host of other late 90’s/early aughts metal acts. It’s all well done, but at a point, much of the music starts to feel indistinguishable, not just from the artists that it pays homage to, but also from other songs on the album. My extremely cynical take on this record is that no matter how unique you might think you are or how underground or countercultural you think your tastes may be, there is corporate machinery in place trying to figure out a way to commodify those tastes and market them for mass appeal and maximum profit, but that’s not really anything new. Clearly, I don’t think that is the whole purpose for this record’s existence. Poppy and her team have an instinctive understanding of how to make this type of music work well within the confines of pop music, making it more than mere homage or a nostalgic cash in, even if I’m content to leave this type of music in the past.

Absolutely nothing revelatory to add here that hasn't already been said ad nauseum for 50+ years, so I'm just going to give this one the 5/5 (factored down from a 25/5) that it deserves and move on.

I knew nothing of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds before this album and I would say this is definitely not a way to start. I saw from the wiki write up on this album that it was written and performed after the detah of his son and it definitely shows. This album is dark and depressing and there isn't really anyway around that given the background. For me it was rough to get through this one with the length and content. At the end of it, I was torn on how to rate it and decided to stick with 2 stars as it is a very rough album overall.

I mean, I'm not into electronic and dance music much, but yeah, this doesn't sound half bad, I should probably cheCK IT OUT NOW THE FUNK SOUL BROTHER RIGHT ABOUT NOW THE FUNK SOUL BROTHER CHECK IT OUT NOW THE FUNK SOUL BROTHER RIGHT ABOUT NOW THE FUNK SOUL BROTHER

Excellent work music, relaxing and contemplative. Helps me focus instead of giggling during the last crucial steps. The music perfectly mirrors the look of horrified confusion I see in their eyes when I start sewing back their arms where their legs used to be. I only wish they'd appreciate it the way I do. 9/10

Heyoooo. That new edition of the book finally came out. I suppose the site owner is trying to artificially populate these new album pages seeing that I've pulled this third Chemical Brothers album right out of the gate. I, sadly, am not in possession of the new book as it releases on the 2nd of February down here in Australia. However, I will be moseying on down to my Dymocks of choice on the day that it releases as I kind of owe it to Dimery & Co. I've shamelessly pirated five other editions of the books while assembling my reviews for these albums. Time to have a peep at those new inductions. Hrmm. IT'STHESAMEFUCKINGTHINGASLASTTIME. They pulled 13 contemporary albums and replaced them with 13 contemporarier albums, bumping the total album count up to 1102. It's truly shameful that we're in 2026 with neither Pinkerton nor the Blue Album on the list. I was hoping the new publisher of this book would grant these curators a little more creative freedom in revising the list, but nah. These editors are just lazy as shit. Honestly, I'm about ready for this album journey to end, so I can hardly complain about 80-or-so new albums not being dumped onto my plate. Okay, time to actually have a peep at the new inclusions. "Brat" by Charli XCX. That figures. Another Charli XCX album which released only this year. That's some zealotry, though I suppose Charli is one of the defining acts of the 2020s. Poppy's in there surprisingly. I'm not at all familiar with her music, though I do like her "Interweb" song. Billie Eilish is another no-brainer, though I'm unsure as to whether her included album is a good pick. I'm only familiar with her late-2010s music, and even then that familiarity is only passing. There's a few artists I've never heard of but are more-than-likely good representations of the times that their albums released, and then there's these late-career inclusions from The Chemical Brothers, The Rolling Strones and The Cure. Honestly, I don't think we need these inclusions, though in all fairness I'm not really attentive as to where current popular music is at. Maybe it really is dire out there. Of course, in order for these 13 new albums to make it onto the list, 13 albums had to PERISH. Lemme see if I can find a list of the exclusions. "Fetch the Bolt Cutters" by Fiona Apple. I haven't listened to that album yet, though I suppose the late-careerers are easy targets. "Grey Area" by Little Simz. Get absolutely fucked, though I still think "Sometimes I Might Be Introvert" deserves to be on the list despite the fact that I fucking hate that album. "Hookworms" by Microshift. Haven't listened to it yet. "Modern Kosmology" by Jane Weaver. An absolutely nothing album that doesn't even have a Wikipedia page, so I don't object to the snubbening. "You Want It Darker" by Leonard Cohen. Inexcusable removal despite the fact that I disliked that album. Put it back on the list right this instant. "In Our Heads" by Hot Chip. Nothing I was too enthusiastic about, though I thought that album was a good representation of the year it released - I'd definitely save it. Django Django's self-titled album. Haven't listened to it yet, though the band name does ring a bell. "Teen Dream" by Beach House. See my opinion on "In Our Heads". "Two Dancers" by Wild Beast. I know this website hates that album, though I thought it was quite good and was, again, a good representation of the year it released. I'd definitely save it. "De-loused in the Comatorium" by The Mars Volta. I wasn't into that album, though the group definitely have their fans - I'd save it. "Power in Numbers" by Jurassic 5. The J5 are one of the exceedingly rare hip-hop acts to yield a hip-hop song I like ("Improvise"), so I'd definitely save them even if they are kind of an underdog act. "Southern Rock Opera" by Drive-By Truckers. A bit of an outsider band with little relevance beyond critical acclaim, but I thought their included album was interesting, if a little long. I'd save it. "Rings Around the World" by Super Furry Animals. Shit album from a shit band. Bye-bye. Of the thirteen albums that were pulled, I'd save seven. Not a good ratio for what is meant to be an improvement to the book, though I suppose I understand the rationale behind removing most of the albums that got cut. Anyways, time to finally hit play on this album. I wasn't too enthusiastic about The Chemical Brothers' previous releases, though I am curious to know what a modern take on their style would sound like. Here goes. Huh. I thought we left this style of music behind in the early-to-mid 2010s. I can hardly complain - I thought this album was A-OK. The synths maintain a characteristically 90s charm while also sounding quite modern with the soft, rounded, wavy methods in which they are mastered. Other songs feature harsh, washed out sounds and those deep, gurgling, droning synths that were all the rage in 90s rave music, both of which I also thought were executed well. As goes for all of the music within this niche, I found the style of this album to be deeply impersonal and therefore not particularly invigorating, though I didn't mind kicking back to this one for a few. Sadly, a scan of the 2026 book has yet to surface online, so I guess I need to settle with only looking at the Wikipedia page for this album. Nominated for a Grammy. Liked by critics. Performed respectably on the charts, having charted in nine countries. Notable placements include No. 70 in Australia, No. 45 in Japan, No. 16 in Switzerland and No. 6 in the UK. Yeah, we're pulling this one. While I appreciate hearing a more mature sound from The Chemical Brothers, this album is quite behind on musical trends and doesn't appear to have been particularly acclaimed or successful. In proving that I can do my unpaid review job better than these paid frauds, I will be submitting a contemporary replacement for every album I decide to pull from the newest edition of the book. In place of this album, I humbly submit "Ants From Up There" by Black Country, New Road for inclusion on the list. Now, I myself am a phony fraud seeing that I'm submitting an album I haven't even listened to, though in my defence I listened to the first ten-or-so minutes of "For the First Time" when it released, the critic reviews of the album speak for themselves and I still see people discussing the album on the Internet, so I think its a solid pick.

Music is subjective and all that, but I can't believe this got added to the list and Fetch The Bolt Cutters (among others) got booted

Yep. I can confirm this is The Chemical Brothers

238. Moon Safari - Air (1998) 10.18.26 Variety: 5 Adequacy: 5 Listenability: 5 Uniqueness: 5 Emotionality: 5 = 5.0 "All I need is a little time/ To get behind this sun and cast my weight/ All I need is a peace of this mind/ Then I can celebrate" This was literally our lazy Sunday soundtrack back when me and my wife were still living in sin. Get up late, clean the apartment up, settle down on the couch to read or play some PS2, and just make a day of that. Usually Air, sometimes Stereolab CDs would rotate in. ( Daft Punk was much more suited for driving). SO lot's of late 90s / early 2000s French nonsense was on the menu at hour place. And we loved it. There was a casual effortless and overall chill and welcoming vibe to a lot of this music that did not see to be very commonplace at the time, and which was much appreciated. They're Scottish, but would throw Belle and Sebastian into this lot - French Name get's them honorary membership maybe? It all felt like music to envelop and shelter you. No hard vibes, and no real reminders of the harshness of reality. So a sort of musical escapism that I still very much appreciate. Air have two albums on the list, and as much as I love the guys, that sounds about right. The Virgin Suicides soundtrack is a very solid second choice. I do find it insane that those other two acts I mentioned only have a single album a piece on the list though. As good as Air is, it seems like they had WAY less of a cultural impact than Daft Punk especially ( that Discovery is not on the list is a crying shame and Random Access Memories is arguable given some of the awful late career picks that are on it) and even less of one than Stereolab. But this is a list made by Brits, so maybe those other two didn't hit as hard there. Thinking back on it, I'm not sure I personally knew anyone besides me and my wife who liked, much less owned albums by Air, so I'm probably just overestimating the value of my own personal music canon. As luck would happen, today is Sunday, so I'm going to try an recreate that lazy vibe from 25 years or more ago and just soak this one in while doing next to nothing, and see if it still hits just as smoothly. I can almost feel my blood pressure dropping in anticipation. THE TRACKS "La Femme d'argent" - Can something be triggering in a positive way? If so, this song does that for me. It's the concept of chill vibes given musical form, and from the opening notes it washed over me in a relaxing wave. I've heard this stuff called space age bachelor pad revival, downtempo, electronic lounge, space pop... any number of descriptions which all seem to be getting the feeling I'm getting at this very moment. Despite the electronic elements it feels anything but cold or clinical, and I'm pretty sure a lot of the instrumentation was played live in the studio for the recording of this. I've seen these guys play live in videos and it does not sound too much different ( check out their Tiny Desk Concert) than what we have here aside from some of the spacey buzzing. No surprises here, but this is going to be my general take on the whole thing. This one in particular though is a welcoming cocktail and an invitation to step down into the conversation pit, find a place on the mid century modern couch, and let your worries fade away for about 45 minutes or so. Let that groovy bassline gently dig its way into the folds of your brain, and drink juuuuuust enough to get a nice buzz. "Sexy Boy" - We get some processed vocals from guest Jean-Benoît Duncke on this one, and an upbeat, almost danceable number that feels just slightly out of step with the rest of the album, especially with it's downturn in the refrain. They turn down the lounge knob about a good half and crank up the spacey knob to make up for it. This is maybe the track you skip and save to the end when all the guests have said their goodbyes. Wink wink, nudge nudge. "All I Need" - We get another guest vocalist Beth Hirsch, who also provides the lyrics. I've never looked into her solo discography before, this makes me want to. She's American, and provides a great contrast to the Francophone goings on, and compares quite well to similar Massive Attack songs that Tracey Thorn guested on. There's a really chill funky feel to bits like the organ accents at the end of Hirsch's chorus lines, and Hirsch provides a jazzy bit of yearning that never feels quite depressive, but more hazy and like she's just a bit behind the eight ball. If any of the tracks embody the downtempo descriptor, it's this one. Bright days are head, but they haven't quite arrived yet. And maybe there's no real hurry. "Kelly Watch the Stars" - This one starts with some mysterious vibes and then launches into a pulsing, bright and spacey, toetappingly beautiful and catchy as hell piece of light and bouncy retro pop. Supposedly written as a tribute to Jacyln Smith's character Kelly from Charlie's Angels, who the guys from Air grew up with crushes on, it's sweet and absurdly simple, with no lyrics except the title repeated over and over. And it's magic. Maybe my favorite track o the album. There's a very memorable table tennis themed music video for this which is worth checking out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rui0hzN-EFE "Talisman" - An instrumental, this one is very slow and slow and funky, and full of references to 70s Blaxploitation scores, with its huge galloping Curtis Mayfield/ Isaac Hasyian bass line and lush cinematic strings. There are some spacey synths applied over top so you never quite forget where you're at, but it comes close to feeling like some long lost 70s film score classic track, and maybe hints at their future step into the film score world with the Virgin Suicides album. "Remember" - Some more retro space age stuff as we open with a robotic vocoder urging us to remember. When the strings drop in and the melody hits it feels very E.L.O. coded, and does just as good as Jeff Lynne in the melody department. Spooky and romantic and absolutely drowning in nostalgia. "You Make It Easy" - Beth Hirsch is back, providing lyrics and vocals once again on a track that is maybe most akin to Stereolab than anything else on the album with it's Casio preset Samba/ Bossa Nova beat. Hirsch's vocals are trembling and full of emotion and feel perfect for a love song that celebrates the sort of comforting and thankful feeling that comes with absolute trust. There's more than a bit of Sade in here with the smooth, jazzy atmosphere. When the strings and synths come in big in the instrumental bridge, the song swells and feels as much like a big hug as you'll get on this album. "Ce matin là" - Another instrumental, this one starts off optimistic and spacey and throws a bit of a folksiness into teh mix with an acoustic guitar. Things stop on a dime to swell up again and lift the whole song up into a kind of not quite kitschy 70s mellow realm where a band like the Free Design might be seen waving hello from their own cloud. It's sweet and gentle without ever feeling saccharine or cliched. This might be the track might be teh best distillation of the entire album's vibe. If you hate this, then there's not much hope for the rest of it. "New Star in the Sky" - More folky guitar on this one, and we get what feels like a lullaby of sorts, and the calming reassurance levels are off the charts. It's a sound that I think Beck leaned heavily into with Mutations, and even more so with Sea Change, though he was a bit more ambiguously depressive about it. The robotic vocals here still manage to feel warm and soothing despite the layer of electronic processing. A very pretty comedown track. "Le Voyage de Pénélope" - We close on a very cinematic instrumental track that comes closer than anything on the album to feeling like any kind of downer. With the funky 70s film score vibes returning, it's got a certain ennui about it that is lacking elsewhere. Maybe the downer feeling is coming from the fact that the album is almost over. "We're really sorry guys, but this is all." It's not boring or tedious in any way though. It's just the feeling that you get when you don't want things to end, but you know they have to. HIGHLIGHTS - Everything MIDLIGHTS - LOWLIGHTS - FINAL THOUGHTS Air is one of the first bands I remember listening to that leaned really far into the whole retro nostalgia vibes of the less cool aspects of the late 60s and 70s - the Burt Bacharachy, sun-kissed, mellow stuff. I referred to it by several names previously, but it was unique enough that when Stereolab hit me around the same time, I was fully prepped for it. Boards of Canada were weirder, but also picked up on some those same hauntological aspects of the past as viewed through a fictional and likely never to be future. Air lean way into the poppier, retro-futurism side of things, and it stays light and optimistic for the most part, so I think avoids the creepiness that comes with so much of that other similar stuff. There's never a feeling that these guys are mining all of this stuff for irony or to make some point. They just really dig it. It's a sincere, and loving reimagining of this stuff and they update it enough that it doesn't feel dated all over again, even today. This is a 5/5 no skips album for me. It might not be as dynamic or energizing, or boundary pushing or full of undeniable radio-friendly monsters as some of the greatest ones on the list, but it's one that suits me perfectly, and has the extra mark in its favor of being MASSIVELY positively nostalgic for me, and represents a time in my life that new music was mush more of an important, primary driver for me. This came out at a time when I had enough time and commitment to listen to an album I liked so many times that ever little bit became burned into my memory. So are they getting a bit of an artificial bump from me that is outsized compared to their influence or impact? Sure. But if I've learned anything there is no such beast as objectivity when it comes to art, and you like what you like. Possible turn-Offs might include: - a languid, drawling pace on some tracks - a mix of analog and electronic that might feel strange - a requirement that you don't absolutely gate mellow, retro-futuristic vibes - a lack of anything even approximating rock and roll You Might enjoy this if you: - really dig those early 70s synthy, loungey vibes - can tolerate a more ambient approach to pop music - are into any of the bands mentioned below - can stand a bit of French language in your lyrics PLAYLIST ALTERATIONS - nope FURTHER LISTENING Precursors: - The In Sound from Way Out! by Perrey and Kingsley - Les Demoiselles de Rochefort by Michel Legrand - Snowflakes Are Dancing by Isao Tomita - Kites Are Fun by the Free Design - Histoire de Melody Nelson by Serge Gainsbourg - Zuckerzeit by Cluster - The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd - Trans-Europe Express by Kraftwerk - Rubycon by Tangerine Dream - The Persuaders! (soundtrack) by John Barry - Another Green World by Brian Eno - Neu! 2 by Neu! - Oxygène by Jean-Michel Jarre Contemporaries: - Music Has the Right to Children by Boards of Canada - Dots and Loops by Stereolab - Long Season by Fishmans - Homework by Daft Punk - Blue Wonder Power Milk by Hooverphonic - Mezzanine by Massive Attack - Morning Light by Locust - Breath From Another by Esthero - Around the House by Herbert - Like Weather by Leila Descendants: - In a Beautiful Place out in the Country by Boards of Canada - Simple Things by Zero 7 - Melody A.M. by Röyksopp - Felt Mountain by Goldfrapp - The Noise Made by People by Broadcast - Sea Change by Beck - The Universe Smiles upon You by Khruangbin - Details by Frou Frou - The Universe Smiles Upon You II by Khruangbin

After the first song I thought "this is what LCD Sound system might sound like were James Murphy a bisexual millenial." By the last song I'd realised that "this is actually what Björk would sound like were she a bisexual zoomer."

LETS GOOOO! I’ve loved this album since it came out; thank the Lord it made the list. Just a perfect pop record in every way I could think of. Dancy, dramatic, emotional, and cute, all together mixed so well. And the production is just *chefs kiss* (the transition from Bittersuite into Blue is one of my favorite musical moments of the last few years god it’s so good). 10/10

This is an album I admire more than I enjoy. The production is the standout...extremely well mixed, with a sense of space that lets the vocals, bass, and smaller details coexist without competing for attention. The quieter moments feel intimate, while the bigger passages have weight without overwhelming the music. As a complete listening experience, though, it doesn’t consistently connect with me as strongly as its sound impresses me. There’s plenty to appreciate in the atmosphere and craftsmanship, but not everything leaves a lasting impression. An album that rewards a good pair of headphones, even if the songwriting doesn’t always inspire the same enthusiasm as the mix.

Wait, wtf?? Has Poppy always sounded like this?! I thought she just did pop music. This album has no right going as hard as it does. So good. 4.5/5

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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.

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.

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.

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.

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".

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

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

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??!!?

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.

Around 1990-91, I was a volunteer at 2SER student radio. Mostly, I did technical work helping my mate, Tim, who hosted 'Monday Night Football', a music program that ran from 1-3am on Thursday nights. Panelling, editing, that kind of thing. In 1991, Einsturzende Neubauten were touring Australia and there was an offer to do a radio interview with 2SER. I could actually pronounce “Einsturzende Neubauten” and knew a little bit about the band, so it was decided that I would do the interview. Interviewing was not really my thing, but it came with perks; tickets to their show at the Phoenician Club and a copy of the Strategies Against Architecture LP, so I said OK. I knew the legendary Blixa Bargeld has a reputation for not suffering fools, so I tried to prep questions that were interesting. So, on the day of the show the plan was to go down to the club after soundcheck and interview Blixa. It was a bit intimidating. I mean, EN were one of the world’s most dangerous bands and Blixa also played in the Bad Seeds, which made him an underground legend. Tim and I were in the equipment room gathering up a portapack and mics and whatever else we needed, when someone comes running in the room whispering “There’s a vampire in the lobby, and he’s looking for you!” And sure enough, there in the lobby, stands Blixa in full stage outfit, pale as death, six foot six in Cuban heels and his hair teased up and 100lbs wringing wet. He has a bottle of schnapps and a filthy look in his eye. He’s staring death at everyone. And then I hear my name called. Standing next to this imperious vision in black is a smiling Japanese man in bright green overalls with a flower appliqued on the front. His voice is oddly familiar; it is Rick Tanaka, former presenter of 'The Nippy Rock Shop', an experimental collage-style radio show from Triple J in the 80s. I was a fan. Turns out, he is the road manager for this EN tour, and he is asking for me. He hands me his business card: Rick Tanaka, Private Guy. We hurriedly shuffle Rick and Blixa into a meeting room and turn on the recorder, and I attempt an interview. It did not go well. Blixa did not want to be there, was much smarter than me, and was not very patient with my attempts at questions that were more engaging than the usual stereotypical “who gets to go to the junk yard to get scrap metal for your stage show?” Eventually, Blixa just started ignoring me and chatted to Rick. Tim and I kept the tape rolling for their conversation, and afterwards edited it up into something resembling proper radio. And then they left. Tim and I packed up and then walked down the road to the Phoenician Club. En route, we bumped into the Beasts of Bourbon, who were playing support. Tex and Kim were intensely focused and wouldn't say hello, but we chatted to Spencer for a bit. They clearly knew what was coming and were determined to put on a good show. They were the best I ever saw them play that night; tight, ferocious and angry, showcasing material from their Low Road album, that was not yet released. And then on came Einsturzende Neubauten. It was possibly the most intense, frightening show I ever seen. I confess I was a little freaked out by my encounter with Blixa and not really prepared for the experience of an EN show. By the end of their set, I was pressed up against a wall with my fists clenched and my eyes shut. The sound from the stage was so brutal and overwhelming. I can’t recall much of what went on, except for a bit with shopping carts with contact mikes crashing into each other repeatedly. It was really loud. I know I left the venue about 11.30pm. At 2am, I turned up at my girlfriend’s house, tapping on her window. I assume I spent the intervening hours walking the streets in a daze, but not really sure of what I did in that time. She yelled at me for a good 15 minutes for waking her up, but I was unable to put a sentence together, let alone explain what had just happened to me. It was a heavy, really heavy, performance. Ok, so given that background of my relationship with EN, what do I think about this album? I have listened to it once or twice before. EN is really influential on me. I love noisy things, really noisy things. I played in industrial bands through most of the 1990s. And this is like the ur-text for much of what industrial music became. It still sounds frightening and surprising now. That said, this is a massively difficult listening experience. I am reminded of Brian Eno talking about Steve Reich (I think), and how hearing one of his early tape pieces was massively influential, but he never listened to it again. Early EN (and this album in particular) is like that for me. It opened up a world of possibilities to explore, but I don’t need (or probably even want) to listen to it much. I certainly was much more enamored of their early 1990s material, which contains actual songs, rather than just this scary barrage of crashing rhythms and screaming. Kollaps is an important record for me, but I would not recommend it.

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

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.”

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.

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