1000 Greatest Albums of all Time

 869 Lil Wayne - Tha Carter III (2008) Studio Album - Hip Hop About the Act: Lil Wayne is a rapper. His real name is Dwayne Carter. He has sold a lot of records, made a lot of money, and apparently is very influential in the rap world.  About the Album: Tha Carter III is Lil Wayne's sixth studio album, and obviously third in the series called "Tha Carter". I don't know if there are any common themes, I don't plan to listen to the rest. When it was released it sold over 1million copies in a week. There were four chart hits from it. There are a lot of guests and a lot of guest producers. My History with this Album: None Review: Let's not beat about the bush. This is rap, and therefore not my home town. This particular corner is apparently a very popular corner, but I am so ignorant of the rap world I have to take Wikipedia's word for it.  There are reasons that I don't tend to listen to rap, mostly I find it musically unappealing and lyrically obnoxious....

 870 The Mothers of Invention - Burnt Weeny Sandwich of Invention (1970) Hybrid Studio/Live album - Mixed Genres About the Act: It’s hard to know what to say about Frank Zappa. There has been a lot written about him and it would be easy to parrot a lot of that. If you want to dig into his history, there’s plenty to go at. He was prolific. Between 1966 and his death in 1993 he released 62 albums. Since then, 50 more albums have been released. Oh, he was American, I guess that’s relevant. He had a band in the early days, The Mothers of Invention. Soma albums are credited to "The Mothers of Invention" some to "Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention" and after the band was disbanded, they were just credited to him. He is musically hard to describe, some of his output could be classified as Prog, some as Jazz-Rock, some as Avant-Garde Classical, and often it owes more to German Cabaret than anything. It can be complex, and he was an amazing guitarist, who surrounded hi...

 871 TV On The Radio - Dear Science The Radio (2008) Studio Album - Alt Rock About the Act: TV on the Radio are a band from Brooklyn They formed in 2001 and are still going. Influential people like them. About the Album: This was their third album. Critics absolutely did their nut over it, it was named baest album of 2008 by Rolling Stone, The Guardian, Spin, MTV, Entertainment Weekly, The Village Voice and the readers of Pitchfork. My History with this Album: None Review: I don't get it. What do these critics hear in this that I don't? Don't get the wrong idea, I don't hate it. I just don't think it's a universal classic as the critics seemed to think. I have a theory. So as I listened to it, I found it hard to form an opinion. That's because it is pretty eclectic and hard to pigeon-hole. It has the feel of electronica at times, rock at times, the vocals at times remind me of Scissor Sisters, and the general lack of adherence to norms reminds me of David Bo...

 872 Kings Of Leon - Aha Shake Heartbreak (2004) Studio Album - Rock <Album Picture> About the Act: Kings of Leon are an American band, formed in Nashville in 1999, and made up of three brothers and a cousin. They have had significant success, it would seem more so in the UK than in the US, but certainly in both. Their best-known song in the UK is "Your Sex Is On Fire"  They have released seven studio albums to date. About the Album: This was their second album My History with this Album: None Review: It shouldn't be this way, I am sure, something is wrong. This is the same band that I gave an 8/10 to a few albums ago, and on first listen of this album I was really underwhelmed, and was contemplating a 6. Same band. Are the albums really that different? Or am I just in a bad mood? I'm deep into this set of reviews and I'm full of self-doubt about my ability to be impartial. Of course I'm not impartial, I don't suppose anybody is, really. What is it t...

 873 The Cure - Boys Don’t Cry (1980) Compilation Album - Post-Punk About the Act: The Cure are a band from Sussex, England with a career spanning from 1979 to the present day. Initially, their label tried to make them into a boy band, but after one album they rebelled and went to a very dark place, becoming one of the seminal bands of the Goth movement. After three depressing gothic albums, they floundered for a while, had some turnover of members, and reinvented themselves. Well, the head of their label persuaded them to have a reinvention. Apparently, to the Robert Smith, their driving force, he was deliberately allowing the band to be destroyed. It didn't work, instead they achieved a balance between the light and the darkness and generated their own particular brand of Pop Rock that still retained an edge of darkness. They went on to have lots of success with lots of albums. To date they ahve had a total of 13 studio albums. The central figure is guitarist, singer and songwrit...

 874 U2 - Rattle and Hum (1988) Hybrid Album - Rock About the Act: U2 are a huge Rock band from Ireland. They were formed in 1977 and have been active ever since. They are Bono, The Edge, Larry Mullen and Adam Clayton. They are mega-famous wold conquerors. About the Album: This is a hybrid live/studio album, a double album which went to no 1 worldwide, but received some criticism. It also includes at least one spoken word bit. It comes shortly before U2 reinvented themselves as an alternative rock band rather than a rock band. My History with this Album: None, really, although I know a good number of the songs. Review: This album is a mess, as an album. It is a mish-mash of live and studio tracks. From what I can gather, the studio tracks are new and the live tracks are mostly from earlier. It feels slapped together with little thought for flow or rhythm.  However, a lot of the tracks, taken individually, are good, some are excellent. There is no doubt that they are consummate...

 875 Bachman-Turner Overdrive - Not Fragile (1974) Studio Album - Heavy Rock About the Act: Bachman Turner Overdrive are a heavy rock band from Canada. They are named after two of their founding members, Mr. Bachman and Mr. Turner. Nobody in the band was called Overdrive. They had some success. They started in the early 70s and in 2005 had a short break to catch their breath before going on for a while longer. The most people in the UK know about them is their hit "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet". About the Album: Apparently it was called "Not Fragile" in response to the Yes album that was called "Fragile". It was their best-selling and therefore their most successful album. My History with this Album: None, although I have heard "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet" like a gazillion times. Review: Apparently, You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet was a leftover track which was included on the album because it was more radio-friendly than the others. It is t...

 876 The Futureheads - The Futureheads (2004) Studio Album - Post Punk Revival About the Act: The Futureheads are a post punk revival band from Sunderland. What does that mean? Well they play music that sounds a bit like punk, and they are from Sunderland, UK, a Northern City famed for, well, maybe I'd better stop there as people from Sunderland get upset when I voice an opinion. It's not as bad as Preston. About the Album: This was their first album. My History with this Album: None Review: The sounds that they use are a bit like some kind of post-punk stuff, in fact it reminds me strongly of The Jam at times, but certainly like other punk bands too. It's energetic, sometimes raucous, songs are short and generally pointed, and it's very guitar-based (two electric guitars, bass and drums). The vocal delivery screams "punk". But then, it's not quite the Sex Pistols. Or The Ramones for that matter. When Punk emerged, it was seen as a rejection of music that ...

 877 Billy Bragg - Life's A Riot With Spy Vs Spy (1983) Studio Album - Folk Punk About the Act: Billy Bragg is a British singer and guitarist who came to prominence in the 80s. He was known for his left-wing politics and activism, especially in opposition to Thatcherite politics, and for his stripped-back music that is just himself playing an electric guitar and singing. His singing is not what could be called technically skillful, but it has a certain everyman appeal, delivered with a strong working-class (Essex) accent. He was considered a poet of the people before Morrisey and The Smiths came along, and his lyrics are often political and acerbic. He has gained wide critical acclaim. About the Album: This was Billy Bragg's first album, and may be the shortest album on this list at just under 16 minutes. It was released on vinyl for 45RPM rather than the normal 33.3, but still was seen as an album rather than an EP. My History with this Album: None, although I know one song re...