1000 Greatest Albums of all Time

 626 Dolly Parton - Coat of Many Colors (1971) Studio Album - Country About the Act: Dolly is from Tennessee. She is a singer, musician, songwriter, actress and philanthropist. She started out writing songs for other people, and continued to do so after starting a solo singing career in 1967. She has released a breath-taking 65 albums, and has sold many, many copies, being one of the best-selling and well-known country acts ever. She is well known for her large breasts, diminutive stature, plastic surgery, philanthropy and generally sunny nature. The more I find out about her, the more I like her. She has had one, very long marriage, seems very honest in public, and funded COVID vaccine research. She is strongly pro-vaccine, something needed it would seem.  About the Album: This was her fourteenth album. Yes, it was only four years after her debut in 1967. It was her fourth album of 1971. Yowza. She wrote all but three of the songs, those other three being by Porter Wagon...

 627 Daft Punk - Homework (1997) Studio album - House About the Act: Daft Punk were an Electronic Music Project comprising Parisians Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter.  They formed in 1993, but came to international prominence in the late 90s/early 00s with their funk-inspired synth-pop. They wore ornate helmets and gloves to assume robot personas in most public appearances. They have released four studio albums. Their best-known track is "Get Lucky" which features Pharrell Williams. They ceased to be active in 2021. About the Album: This was their first album and was really successful. My History with this Album: None Review: Ladies and Gentlemen, or at least my one regular reader, please allow me to present the three inviolable rules of electronic dance music. 1. Thou shalt have a beat which is phat, wicked, dirty, vile, and/or kicking. This is non-negotiable, it must be as in your face as you can get. Big. Beats. 2. Thou shalt sweep filters. Th...

 628 The Arcana - Tomorrow is Yesterday (2016) Studio Album - Mildly Psychedelic Rock About the Act: The Arcana are a band without a Wikipedia page, so finding information about them is a challenge. They are from London, released their first album in 2016, and have released three albums. They have a reputation for sounding different on different albums. About the Album: This was their first album. My History with this Album: None Review: As I saw this coming up in my list I was intrigued. Who are The Arcana? What would they sound like? I knew absolutely nothing. As I listened on the way into work this morning my excitement about hearing something new faded somewhat.  I amused myself with making up some details based on what I was hearing. I decided that the band were from Derby, and that this was their fourth album, and that it was released in 1995. I was wrong on all four counts. The furthest out, I think, was that this was released 20 years later than I thought. It sounds li...

 629 Charles Mingus - Mingus Ah Um (1959) Studio Album - Jazz About the Act: Charles Mingus (sometimes known as Charlie Mingus) was a large American Jazz bass, and sometimes keyboard player. His first instrument was cello but he couldn't get classical work because he was black. He played with some very well known Jazz musicians and became well-known himself. He worked for three decades (50s, 60s ad 70s) and then died. He deplored the substance habits of other jazz musicians, married four times and was proud of his sexual exploits, gained a reputation for a fearsome and irascible temper, and died of Lou Gehrig's Disease. His legacy in music, and jazz in particular, is well-known, and his music has been the subject of considerable study. About the Album: This is an album of instrumental Jazz. My History with this Album: None Review: I recognised one track, Boogie Stop Shuffle. I remember hearing it in a film, but I couldn't remember which film, so I had to look it up. It was ...

 630 Peter Gabriel - Peter Gabriel (III - Melt) (1980) Studio Album - Art Rock About the Act: Peter Gabriel is somebody I know a fair amount about, so most of this is from memory with reminders from Wikipedia. Peter Gabriel met Tony Banks at school, and they formed a band called "Garden Wall". Shortly after they left school they formed Genesis, with some other people. They did one folky album and then started to get weird, bonkers, and famous as one of the pivotal bands of the Prog Rock scene. Peter became increasingly eccentric in his stage appearances, dressing up in all sorts of bizarre costumes, reciting stories between numbers, and generally getting them attention and press as a result. In 1975 he left Genesis. He then started on a solo musical career, which took him in different directions. His first four albums were called "Peter Gabriel". Apparently the rationale was for it to feel like a magazine or periodical. These albums are generally referred to (in ord...

 631 AC-DC - Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap(1976) Studio Album - Heavy Rock About the Act: I am a lecturer at Northumbria University. I regularly go to graduation ceremonies as part of my job. In 2014 I went to one of our regular ones, and we happened to be bestowing an honorary degree on Brian Johnson of AC/DC for services to music.  Johnson took over as singer after their previous frontman and singer Bon Scott died of drinking too much. Before then, AC/DC had been an Australian band, although the founding brothers (Angus and Malcolm Young) were born in Scotland. They are one of the most famous heavy rock bands worldwide, Between 1975 and now, they have released 18 studio albums. About the Album: This was their fourth album, their third best-selling overall, and a major worldwide hit. It was one of the ones with Bon Scott fronting the band. My History with this Album: I'm not sure if I have heard this album as an album before. I have heard some of the songs off it though. R...

 632 The Orb - UFOrb (1992) Studio Album - Ambient Dub About the Act: The Orb are an electronic music group from the UK. They have exited since 1988 but came to fame in the early 90s as the rave/house scene exploded in the UK. About the Album: This was their second album and is over an hour long.  My History with this Album: None Review: So, my initial impression of The Orb was that they were a house music outfit. There were several around when they came to fame. This impression was only partly right. I heard more of them through an album they did with Dave Gilmour, which I really like. To some, it might seem like an odd combination, but it really worked. I have listened to this album three times, although "listened" might not be the right word. I have had it on as I did other things. It is spectacularly good background music to do other things to, I did programming mostly. It fits right into my programming groove. Often, when I am having a long programming stint I put on...

 633 Kate Bush - The Dreaming (1982) Studio Album - Art Pop About the Act: In 1978 when Kate Bush was 19, she released Wuthering Heights, one of the squeakiest songs to top the UK charts. That was the first time a female lady had topped the charts with a song she wrote herself. She was famously helped into the limelight by Dave Gilmour of Pink Floyd, and has had a glittering career of singing, song writing, producing and playing instruments. She is iconic. She is from Bexleyheath in the UK. She is a bit of an oddball, it's kind of like her USP. About the Album: This was her fourth album, the first to be entirely produced by herself. It used the Fairlight CMI, an expensive and early sampler. It took about 2 years to record, and her label thought it was uncommercial, because it was so odd. It entered the UK album charts at number 3. To be fair, it is the least good-selling of her albums. My History with this Album: None Review: I've listened to this album twice now, and I'm s...

 634 Lucinda Williams - Car Wheels on a Gravel Road (1998) Studio Album - Country Rock About the Act: Lucinda is an American Rock, Folk and Country singer, Songwriter and Musician, from Lake Charles, Louisiana. She rolls up the sleeves of her man's shirt and plays acoustic guitar and sings. She has released 16 albums. About the Album: This was her fifth album. Some American critics loved it. My History with this Album: None Review: In the 90s I was a strong fan of Sheryl Crow, her song writing, and the sound of her songs. As I listened to this album, I was reminded of Sheryl Crow. A lot. Her voice is very similar, not a typical Country voice, not sweet but not rough either, at times vulnerable but determined. The production and instrumentation, the harmonies, especially the vocal harmonies, the dominance of a strong, noodling electric guitar with a little crunch to it, the pace even, all very Crow. And the songs, to be honest, are quite similar. I guess Lucinda has a slightly more ...

 635 Black Sabbath - Sabbath Bl**dy Sabbath (1973) Studio Album - Heavy Metal About the Act: Black Sabbath were a Rock/Heavy Metal band from Birmingham, England. They were founded in 1968 and are mostly famous for having Ozzy Osbourne as their singer until 1979, and for being one of the most influential pioneers of Heavy Metal. As is evident from their name, they took influence from dark occultic imagery and ideas, and became known for Doom Metal.  The classic line-up of the 70s was Ozzy, Tommy Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward. Ozzy was fired at the end of the 70s for lack of engagement, possibly caused by his drug and alcohol abuse, and replaced at the suggestion of the daughter of their manager, Sharon (later to be Sharon Osbourne), by Ronnie James Dio, who at other times was involved with Rainbow, and his own band Dio. Although they had a hiatus between 2001 and 2006, they have been in more or less continuous existence until 2017. About the Album: This was their...

 636 Beck - Midnite Vultures (1999) Studio Album - Electro-Funk About the Act: Beck is an uncategorizable artist from the USA. He has produced music in many different styles, in fact that seems to be his "thing" - versatility. He is also known for blending samples with real instruments. He plays quite a few instruments himself, and writes the songs, sings the songs and produces the songs, and produced other people's work. He has released 14 studio albums, starting in 1993 and is still active. Critics love him and his music sells well too. About the Album: This was his 7th studio album. Most critics loved it, some hated it. It sold fairly well but not as well as Odelay. My History with this Album: None Review: To call this funk is a little misleading, but I don't really know what else to call it. The rhythms are funky and the attitude. There are some classic "funk" sounds like a clavinet, and brass. Other than that there are a plethora of sounds, stacked toge...

 637 Jay-Z - The Black Album (2003) Studio Album - Rap About the Act: Jay-Z is an American Rapper, hip-hop artist, songwriter and entrepreneur. He is one of the most successful music acts of all time, and is incredibly rich. He is married to Beyoncé. Oh, he's also regarded as being very influential both in hip-hop and in other ways. About the Album: This was his eighth studio album and came just before his retirement. He has come back out of retirement since. My History with this Album: Unlike every other rap album I have reviewed so far, I have heard this one before. This was because I did a review of The Grey Album by Dangermouse, which is a mashup of The White Album by the Beatles and this album. Review: Coincidences happen sometimes. The last review before this one was for Songs for Swingin' Lovers by Frank Sinatra (which could not be more different from this album, but interestingly, Sinatra is name-checked at one point). In that review I was talking about ...

 638 Frank Sinatra - Songs for Swingin’ Lovers! (1956) Studio Album - Vocal Jazz About the Act: Frank Sinatra, sometimes known as "Old Blue Eyes" was an American singer of Italian-American descent and of huge success.  He is mostly associated with being a "crooner" in that his singing is a smooth jazz vocal style, with swing music, with many film roles, and with knowing influential people, including politicians, but allegedly also including Mafioso. His career spans from 1946 to 1998 when he died. In that time he released around 60 studio albums, and goodness knows how many compilations. He has been one of the most successful singers ever and reputedly one of the most influential American men of the 20th century. About the Album: This as Frank's 10th studio album. It was the first ever album to top the UK albums chart. My History with this Album: None Review: Frank Sinatra was a hugely successful American singer, as I'm sure you know. I strted to seriously l...

 639 Lemonheads - It's A Shame About Ray (1992) Studio Album - Rock About the Act: 1986-1997, then a break, and now since 2005, The Lemonhead have had an existence. They are ruled by Evan Dando, who has been the only constant member. Boston, Massachusetts was where they were formed, and their studio albums number 10. About the Album: This album, their fifth, was their most successful. My History with this Album: I heard their cover of Simon and Garfunkel's "Mrs Robinson" in a film soundtrack, and liked it enough to buy a copy of the album. However, I have not listened to it often at all. Review: And the reason I have not listened to this album much is that compared to Mrs Robinson, I was pretty underwhelmed. I've come back to it fresh having not listened for a long time. My opinion now is... meh.  It's OK, I don't hate it, I'm just not excited by it in any real way. It's rock on the medium side, occasionally a little heavy. One track musically actu...

 640 Steely Dan - Countdown To Ecstasy (1973) Studio Album - Art Rock About the Act: Steely Dan are a rock band from Annandale-on-Hudson, New York State. They were formed in 1971, and Donald Fagan and Walter Becker were the two stable members. They broke up in 1981 but reformed in 1993, with just the two of them listed as members. Becker died in 2017 but Fagan continues under the Steely Dan name. About the Album: This was their second studio album. They didn't get any hit singles off it but it sold pretty well. My History with this Album: None Review: Sometimes I feel sorry for Americans. I mean there are lots of reasons to have sympathy for any country, and in many ways less for America than for others, but in terms of music, I have this arrogant conception that we have the better music a lot of the time. When it comes to Art Rock, for example, my mind immediately turns to 10CC and Supertramp and Manfred Mann's Earth Band, and David Bowie and Roxy Music and so much quality, in...

 641 Van Halen - Van Halen II (1979) Studio Album - Rock About the Act: Van Halen were an American Rock band from California. They started in 1973 with two guys called Something Van Halen, one called David Lee Roth (singer) and on called Michael Anthony. Over the years they had a few changes of frontman, and one change of bassist, until their final line-up in 2020 was three guys called Something Van Halen and one called David Lee Roth. They created 12 studio albums, which have sold many, many copies. They have been phenomenally successful. About the Album: This was their second studio album. You might think that this was a given, as it is called Van Halen II,  but Van Halen III was their 11th studio album. My History with this Album: None Review: I listened twice, back-to-back, while washing up. There was a LOT of washing up to do, but also it's only just over half an hour. My first impression on the first listen was that it was pretty clichéd rock. By the end of the seco...

 642 Super Furry Animals - Guerrilla (1999) Studio Album - Britpop About the Act: Super Furry Animals were a Welsh Britpop band from Cardiff, and part of the Cool Cymru scene in the 90s. They existed from 1993 to 2010 with a brief reunion after. They have created 9 studio albums. The have a particular distinction in the UK singles chart as being the act with the most singles that have reached the top 75 without ever having one in the top 10. About the Album: This was their fourth album. It was designed specifically to be "disposable upbeat pop". It was recorded at Real World Studios (Peter Gabriel's place) in Box. My History with this Album: None Review: Musically, this is a mixture of more traditional Britpoppy rock, most of which reminds me especially of Blur, in being catchy and interesting, and more electronic elements. Most tracks are distinctly one or the other. It's actually really quite varied and I enjoyed that. The songs are mostly a mixture of non-serious t...

 643 Various Artists - The Sun Records Collection (1994) Compilation Album - Various About the Album: This is a compilation of some of the best recordings to come out of Sun Records recordings from the 1950s My History with this Album: None Review: At 187 minutes, this is a whopping collection, with 74 tracks. The songs are a slice of Americana from the 1950s: Blues, Rock & Roll, Country, Bluegrass and other Americana, but not Jazz. There are well-know acts like Elvis, and Jerry Lee Lewis, and lesser-knowns like Charlie Rich and Little Milton, and ones I have never heard of like Doug Poindexter and Sleepy John Estes. It's great. If you were having a 1950s theme party it would make a great soundtrack, or just to stick on while working, or driving or some such thing. Like most collections it's not really designed to be an album experience as such, but the flow of tracks is pretty reasonable. And there's not much else to say I think. It's enjoyable, at times interestin...