1001 albums
new discoveries and old faves

the number 1001

I listend to all of the 1001 albums you must hear before you die playlist.

In alphabetical order, by album title.

Updates

12 August 2019: Listening to 1001 albums
13 August 2019: Found out that the original book list has changed over time. And that there are several similar playlists on Spotify. And that those playlists don’t all match. I’m going to just carry on with this playlist for now.
25 August 2021: 309 albums short
13 October 2022: That's 1031 albums listened to

Key to symbols

👏 = I really liked this album
🤔 = I’d never heard this before

Tuesday 26 February

#1 Record / Radio City, by Big Start 🤔
3 years, 5 months and 2 days in the life of Arrested Development
3+3, by The Isley Brothers 👏 🤔

Never heard this before; really liked it.

16 Lovers Lane, by The Go Betweens 👏
69 Love Songs, by The Magnetic Fields 🤔

Friday 1 March

461 Ocean Boulevard, by Eric Clapton
1977, by Ash
1984, by Van Halen
1999, by Prince 👏
2112, by Rush
Abbatoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus, by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds 🤔
Abraxas, by Santana

Saturday 2 March

Achtung Baby, by U2

Friday 22 March

Actually, by Pet Shop Boys
After the Gold Rush, by Neil Young
Aftermath, by The Rolling Stones
Agaetis Byrjun, by Sigur Rós 🤔
Aja, by Steely Dan
Alladin Sane, by David Bowie 👏
Alien Lanes, by Guided By Voices 🤔

Thursday 18 April

All Directions, by The Temptations 🤔
All Hail the Queen, by Queen Latifah
All Mod Cons, by The Jam
All That You Can’t Leave Behind, by U2

Tuesday 23 April

Ambient 1/Music for Airports, by Brian Eno
American Beauty, by Grateful Dead
American Gothic, by David Ackles 🤔
American Idiot, by Green Day

Wednesday 8 May

A Girl Called Dusty, by Dusty Springfield
A Grand Don’t Come for Free, by The Streets
A Little Deeper, by Ms Dynamite
A Love Supreme, by John Coltrane Quartet
American IV: The Man Comes Around, by Johnny Cash
American Pie, by Don McClean 👏
Amnesiac, by Radiohead
Among the Living, by Anthrax 🤔
A Night at the Opera, by Queen
A Nod is as Good as a Wink to a Blind Horse, by Faces
A Northern Soul, by The Verve

Thursday 9 May

Another Green World, by Brian Eno
Another Music in a Different Kitchen, by Buzzcocks
Antichrist Superstar, by Marilyn Manson
Apocalypse Dudes, by Turbonegro 🤔
Appetite for Destruction, by Guns N’Roses

Thursday 16 May

Aqualung, by Jethro Tull
Architecture and Morality, by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Arc of a Diver, by Steve Winwood
Are you Experienced, by Jimi Hendrix
Arise, by Sepultura 🤔
Armed Forces, by Elvis Costello and The Attractions 👏
Arrival, by ABBA
A Rush of Blood to the Head, by Coldplay

Monday 20 May

A Short Album about Love, by The Divine Comedy
Astral Weeks, by Van Morrison
At Budokan, by Cheap Trick 🤔
At Fillmore East, by The Allman Brothers Band 🤔
At Mister Kelly’s, by Sarah Vaughan and Her Band 👏
At San Quentin, by Johnny Cash
Autobahn, by Kraftwerk

Tuesday 21 May

Automatic for the People, by R.E.M. 👏

Thursday 23 May

A Walk Across the Rooftops, by The Blue Nile
A Wizard / A True Star, by Todd Rundgren 👏 🤔

I thought I knew my 70s stuff pretty well, but I’ve never heard this before, or indeed anything quite like it

Axis: Bold as Love, by Jimi Hendrix

And finally, we reach the Bs! This project may take a tiny bit longer than I had expected…

B-52’s, by The B-52’s 👏

One of the finest pop albums ever made, imho

Back at the Chicken Shack, by Jimmy Smith 🤔

Monday 3 June

Back in Black, by AC/DC
Back to Black, by Amy Winehouse 👏

Tuesday 4 June

Bad, by Michael Jackson
Bandwagonesque, by Teenage Fanclub 👏
Bayou Country, by Creedence Clearwater Revival
Beautiful Freak, by Eels
Before and After Science, by Brian Eno
Beggars Banquet, by The Rolling Stones
Behaviour, by Pet Shop Boys

Monday 10 June

Being There, by Wilco
Berlin, by Lou Reed

Tuesday 11 June

Bert Jansch, by Bert Jansch 🤔
Better Living Through Chemistry, by Fat Boy Slim
Beyond Skin, by Nitin Sawhney
Billion Dollar Babies, by Alice Cooper
Birth of the Cool, by Miles Davis

Tuesday 9 July

Bitches Brew, by Miles Davis
Black Holes and Revelations, by Muse
Black Sabbath, by Black Sabbath

Thursday 8 August

Blonde on Blonde, by Bob Dylan
Blood and Chocolate, by Elvis Costello & the Attractions 👏
Blood on the Tracks, by Bob Dylan
Blood, Sweat & Tears, by Blood, Sweat & Tears
Blue, by Joni Mitchell 👏
Blue Lines, by Massive Attack 👏

Friday 9 August

Bluesbreakers, by John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers
Blur, by Blur
Bone Machine, by Tom Waits 🤔

Monday 12 August

Bongo Rock, by Incredible Bongo Band 🤔
Bookends, by Simon & Garfunkel 🤔

Another surprise: I thought I knew my S&G, but I’d never heard this one before and it’s not at all what I expected it to be…

Born in the U.S.A., by Bruce Springsteen
Born to Run, by Bruce Springsteen
Bossanova, by Pixies
BOSTON, by Boston
Boy in da corner, by Dizzee Rascal 🤔
Bridge Over Troubled Water, by Simon & Garfunkel

First milestone reached: 101 albums in the first 6 months. Wrote a post to tell the world. Right. Next!

Thursday 5 September

Brilliant Corners, by Thelonius Monk, Sonny Rollins and Ernie Henry
Bringing it all Back Home, by Bob Dylan
British Steel, by Judas Priest 🤔

Dylan/Judas Priest was an interesting transition.

Broken English, by Marianne Faithfull 🤔
Brothers in Arms, by Dire Straits
Brown Sugar, by D’Angelo
Brutal Youth, by Elvis Costello

Monday 16 September

Bryter Layter, by Nick Drake 👏
Bubble and Scrape, by Sebadoh 🤔
Buena Vista Social Club, by Buena Vista Social Club
Bummed, by Happy Mondays
Butterfly, by Mariah Carey 🤔
Caetano Veloso, by Caetano Veloso 🤔

I’ve never listened to any Mariah Carey before, and I’ve never even heard of Caetano Veloso. That’s one thing this project is good at, forcing me to listen beyond my usual boundaries.

Café Bleu, by The Style Council 🤔

Another completely new discovery for me. You’d think, given my age, that I’d be well familiar with The Style Council’s stuff. But no, only the singles. I’d never heard this album before. It’s… jazzy.

Calenture, by The Triffids 🤔

Tuesday 17 September

Call of the Valley, by Shiv Kumar Sharma, Hari Prasad Chaurasia and Brij Bushan 🤔
Can’t Buy a Thrill, by Steely Dan
Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, by Lucinda Williams 🤔
Casanova, by The Divine Comedy
Catch a Fire, by Bob Marley & The Wailers
Central Reservation, by Beth Orton
C’est Chic, by Chic 🤔 👏

Wednesday 18 September

Cheap Thrills, by Big Brother & the Holding Company 🤔
Chelsea Girl, by Nico 🤔
Chicago Transit Authority, by Chicago 🤔

Thursday 19 September

Closer, by Joy Division
Close to the Edge, by Yes 🤔
Club Classics Vol 1, by Soul II Soul
Clube Da Esquina 1, by Milton Nascimento 🤔
Coat of Many Colors, by Dolly Parton 👏
Coles Corner, by Richard Hawley 🤔
Colour by Numbers, by Culture Club

Friday 20 September

Come Away With Me, by Norah Jones
Come Find Yourself, by Fun Lovin’ Criminals
Connected, by Stereo MC’s

Sunday 29 September

Cosmo’s Factory, by Creedence Clearwater Revival 🤔
Country Life, by Roxy Music 🤔
Court & Spark, by Joni Mitchell 👏👏👏👏👏

It’s hard to overstate how important this album is to me. I’ve been listening to it as long as I can remember. I know the words by heart, and sing harmonies, as best I can, to every song as it plays. I turn it up very loud. I play it when I’m driving, when I’m commuting, when I’m working, when I’m doing chores, when I’m relaxing. It gets 5 stars because frankly, it deserves them. Thank you for this gift, Joni.

Crime of the Century, by Supertramp
Crocodiles, by Echo and the Bunnymen

Monday 30 September

Crooked Rain Crooked Rain, by Pavement
Crosby, Stills & Nash, by Crosby, Stills & Nash 🤔
Crossing the Red Sea with The Adverts, by The Adverts 🤔
Cupid and Psyche 85, by Scritti Politti
Cypress Hill, by Cypress Hill
Da Capo, by Love 🤔

Tuesday 1 October

Damaged, by Black Flag 🤔
Dare!, by The Human League
Darkdancer, by Les Rythemes Digitales 🤔

Monday 21 October

Darklands, by The Jesus and Mary Chain
Darkness on the Edge of Town, by Bruce Springsteen
Daydream Nation, by Sonic Youth
Debut, by Bjork 👏
Deep Purple in Rock, by Deep Purple 🤔
Deloused in the Comatorium, by The Mars Volta 🤔
Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes, by TV On The Radio 🤔
Destroyer, by KISS 🤔
Devil Without a Pause, by Kid Rock 🤔
Devotional Songs, by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan 👏 🤔

Quite a mix in those last 5 or 6 albums. Half a day of stuff that was utterly new to me. I’d never even heard of The Mars Volta or TV On the Radio before.

Monday 28 October

Diamond Life, by Sade

I was a big Sade fan when I was a teenager, which was odd. At least, I wasn’t completely sure why, because the rest of my music taste at the time was far, far away from Sade. But I remember owning all the Sade albums and playing them a lot.

Different Class, by Pulp 👏

And Pulp, OMG Pulp. I discovered them when Intro came out, and worshipped the mic that Jarvis Cocker sang into. Different Class is a masterpiece, but not Pulp’s only masterpiece.

Dig Your Own Hole, by The Chemical Brothers
Dire Straits, by Dire Straits
Dirt/Unplugged, by Alice in Chains 🤔

The thing about this project is that it forces me to listen to things I would never otherwise consider listening to. Like Alice in Chains, for example.

Dirty, by Sonic Youth
Disintegration, by The Cure 👏
Disraeli Gears, by Cream

Wednesday 6 November

Document, by REM

I discovered REM when Radio 1 DJ Steve Wright played The one I love, and my teenage brain latched on to it immediately. I was a dedicated fan for years afterwards.

Dog Man Star, by Suede
Dookie, by Green Day
Doolittle, by Pixies

Thursday 7 November

Double Nickels on the Dime, by Minutemen 🤔
Dry, by PJ Harvey 👏
Duck Rock, by Malcolm McLaren
Dummy, by Portishead
Dusty in Memphis, by Dusty Springfield

Monday 18 November

Either Or, by Elliott Smith 🤔
Electric, by The Cult
Electric Ladyland, by Jimi Hendrix
Electric Warrior, by T.Rex 🤔
Elephant, by The White Stripes
Eli and the Thirteenth Confession, by Laura Nyro 🤔
Eliminator, by ZZ Top

Tuesday 19 November

Ellington at Newport 1956, by Duke Ellington 🤔
Elvis is Back, by Elvis Presley 🤔
Emergency on Planet Earth, by Jamiroquai
Endtroducing… by DJ Shadow

Wednesday 20 November

England’s Newest Hit Makers, by The Rolling Stones
En-Tact, by The Shamen
Entertainment, by Gang of Four 🤔

Friday 22 November

Everybody Knows This is Nowhere, by Neil Young 🤔
Every Picture Tells a Story, by Rod Stewart 🤔
E.V.O.L by Sonic Youth 🤔

Tuesday 3 December

Exile on Main Street, by The Rolling Stones
Exit Planet Dust, by The Chemical Brothers
Exodus, by Bob Marley and The Wailers
Faith, by George Michael
The Fat of the Land, by Prodigy
Faust IV, by Faust 🤔

200 albums down! We’re into the Fs!

Tuesday 10 December

Favourites: from Samba Esquema Novo 1963, to Africa Brasil 1976, by Jorge Ben Jor 🤔
Fear of a Black Planet, by Public Enemy
Fear of Music, by Talking Heads

Wednesday 11 December

Fela with Ginger Baker Live!, by Fela Kuti 🤔
Felt Mountain, by Goldfrapp
Fifth Dimension, by The Byrds
Figure 8, by Elliott Smith 🤔

Saturday 21 December

First Band on the Moon, by The Cardigans
Fisherman’s Blues, by The Waterboys
Five Leaves Left, by Nick Drake
Floodland, by Sisters of Mercy 🤔
Follow the Leader, by Korn 🤔
Folsom Prison Blues, by Johnny Cash
Foo Fighters, by Foo Fighters

Thursday 9 January 2020

Forever Changes, by Love
For Your Pleasure, by Roxy Music
Four Classic Albums, by Count Basie 🤔
Fragile, by Yes 🤔
Framed / Next, by The Sensational Alex Harvey Band 🤔
The Frank Sinatra Collection, by Frank Sinatra 🤔

Thursday 16 January

Franz Ferdinand, by Franz Ferdinand
The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, by Bob Dylan
From Elvis in Memphis, by Elvis Presley 🤔

Friday 17 January

Fromohio, by fIREHOSE 🤔
Fulfillingness’ First Finale, by Stevie Wonder

Herein occurred A Gap, where Many Things Happened, but Not Very Much Listening To This List Of Albums.

Monday 16 March

Funhouse, by The Stooges 🤔
Future Days, by CAN 🤔
Fuzzy, by Grant Lee Buffalo 🤔
Fuzzy Logic, by Super Furry Animals 👏

Tuesday 17 March

Garbage, by Garbage
Gasoline Alley, by Rod Stewart 🤔
The Genius of Ray Charles, by Ray Charles 🤔
Germ-Free Adolescents, by X-Ray Spex 🤔
Getz / Gilberto, by Stan Getz & Joao Gilberto 🤔
The Gilded Palace of Sin and Burritos, by the Flying Burrito Brothers 🤔
Gold, by Ryan Adams 👏

Wednesday 18 March

Goo, by Sonic Youth
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, by Elton John
Good Old Boys, by Randy Newman

Thursday 19 March

The Good, The Bad & The Queen, by The Good, The Bad & The Queen 🤔
Gorillaz, by Gorillaz

Rather a lot of Damon Albarn in one go, there.

GRACE, by Jeff Buckley 🤔
Graceland, by Paul Simon
Green, by REM 👏

Wednesday, 25 March

Green Onions, by Booker T and the MGs 🤔
Green River, by Creedence Clearwater Revival 🤔
Greetings from LA, by Tim Buckley 🤔
Grievous Angel, by Gram Parsons 🤔
Gris Gris, by Dr John
Groovin’ by The Young Rascals 🤔
Guitar Town, by Steve Earle 🤔
Gunfighter Ballads & Trail Songs, by Marty Robbins 🤔
The Hangman’s Beautiful Daughter, by The Incredible String Band 🤔
Happy Trails, by Quicksilver Messenger Service 🤔
Hard Again, by Muddy Waters 🤔
Harvest, by Neil Young

Thursday, 26 March

Head Hunters, by Herbie Hancock 🤔
Headquarters, by The Monkees 🤔
Heartattack and Vine, by Tom Waits 🤔
Heaven or Las Vegas, by Cocteau Twins 👏

Friday, 27 March

Heavy Weather, by Weather Report 🤔
Hejira, by Joni Mitchell 👏

Probably my 2nd-favourite Joni album, and another one I’ve listened to countless times. It has an atmosphere to it, something in those opening guitar swooshes just grabs me and transports me. Amazing. I used to have this album on vinyl, and played it in my student digs on quiet afternoons when I should have been studying.

Henry’s Dream, by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
Here Come the Warm Jets, by Brian Eno
Here My Dear, by Marvin Gaye 🤔

Tuesday, 31 March

Heroes, by David Bowie
Highway 61 Revisited, by Bob Dylan
The Hissing of Summer Lawns, by Joni Mitchell 👏

Wednesday 1 April

The Holy Bible, by Manic Street Preachers
Homework, by Daft Punk

Saturday 4 April

Honky Tonk Hereos, by Waylon Jennings 🤔
Horses, by Patti Smith
Hot Buttered Soul, by Isaac Hayes 🤔👏
Hot Fuss, by The Killers
Hot Shots II by The Beta Band 🤔
The Hour of Bewilderbeast, by Badly Drawn Boy

Sunday 5 April

Hunky Dory, by David Bowie 👏
Hunting High and Low, by A-Ha
Hypnotised, by The Undertones
I Against I, by Bad Brains 🤔
The Idiot, by Iggy Pop 👏
I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got, by Sinead O’Connor
If I Could Only Remember My Name, by David Crosby 🤔👏
If I Should Fall From Grace With God, by The Pogues

Monday 6 April

If You Can Believe Your Eyes And Ears, by The Mamas & The Papas 🤔
If You’re Feeling Sinister, by Belle and Sebastian
I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night), by The Electric Prunes 🤔
Illinois, by Sufjan Stevens 👏
Illmatic, by Nas 🤔
I’m a Lonesome Stranger, by Merle Haggard & The Strangers 🤔
Imperial Bedroom, by Elvis Costello & The Attractions 👏
I’m Your Man, by Leonard Cohen
In a Silent Way, by Miles Davies
I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You, by Aretha Franklin
The Infotainment Scan, by The Fall 👏

Tuesday 7 April

Ingenue, by k.d. lang 👏
In It For The Money, by Supergrass 👏
Innervisions, by Stevie Wonder 👏
Introducing The Hardline According To Terence Trent D’Arby 👏
In Utero, by Nirvana 👏

Wow, a pretty good day’s albums, huh?

So, right then: 300 albums down . Next!

Monday 13 April

Iron Maiden, by Iron Maiden
I Should Coco, by Supergrass 👏
Is This It? by The Strokes
It’s A Shame About Ray, by The Lemonheads 👏

Tuesday 14 April

It’s Too Late To Stop Now, by Van Morrison
Jagged Little Pill, by Alanis Morrisette
Jazz Samba, by Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd 🤔
John Barleycorn Must Die, by Traffic 🤔
The Joshua Tree, by U2

Friday 17 April

Ju Ju, by Siouxsie and the Banshees
Kala, by M.I.A 🤔 👏
Kenya, by Machito 🤔
Kenza, by Khaled 🤔

Friday 24 April

Kick Out The Jams (Live), by MC5 🤔
Kid A, by Radiohead
Kilimanjaro, by The Teardrop Explodes
Killing Joke, by Killing Joke 🤔
Kimono My House, by Sparks
Kind of Blue, by Miles Davis
Kings of the Wild Frontier, by Adam & The Ants

Monday 27 April

Lady in Satin, by Billie Holliday 🤔
Lady Soul, by Aretha Franklin 👏
The La’s, by The La’s 👏
The Last Broadcast, by Doves
L.A. Woman, by The Doors
Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, by Derek & The Dominos 🤔
Lazer Guided Melodies, by Spiritualized

Tuesday 28 April

L’eau Rouge, by The Young Gods 🤔
Leftism, by Leftfield
Legalize it, by Peter Tosh 🤔
Le Tigre, by Le Tigre 🤔👏
Let it Be, by The Replacements 🤔
Let it Bleed, by The Rolling Stones
Let Love Rule, by Lenny Kravitz
Let’s Get It On, by Marvin Gaye
Let’s Get Killed, by David Holmes 🤔
Lexicon of Love, by ABC 👏
Licensed to Ill, by Beastie Boys 👏
Liege and Lief, by Fairport Convention 🤔

Wednesday 29 April

Life’s Too Good, by The Sugarcubes 👏
Life Thru A Lens, by Robbie Williams
Like a Prayer, by Madonna

Thursday 30 April

Like Water for Chocolate, by Common 🤔
Listen Without Prejudice Vol 1, by George Michael 👏
Little Earthquakes, by Tori Amos
Live and Dangerous, by Thin Lizzy

Tuesday 19 May

Live at Leeds, by The Who
Live at the Regal, by B.B. King 🤔
Live / Dead by The Grateful Dead 🤔
London Calling, by The Clash
Lost Souls, by Doves 🤔
Low, by David Bowie 👏 💯

Ah, Low. I’ve been waiting for this moment. Not many months go by without me listening to Low, by far my favourite Bowie album and possibly my favourite album full stop. Another gift to the world.

Wednesday 20 May

Low End Theory, by A Tribe Called Quest 👏
Low-Life, by New Order 👏

Thursday 21 May

Lust for Life, by Iggy Pop 👏
Machine Head, by Deep Purple 🤔
The Madcap Laughs, by Syd Barrett
Made in Japan, by Deep Purple 🤔
Madman Across the Water, by Elton John 🤔

Blimey. Double-Purple today.

Friday 22 May

Make Yourself, by Incubus 🤔
Mama’s Gun, by Erykah Badu 🤔
Manassas, by Stephen Stills 🤔
Marquee Moon, by Television

Saturday 23 May

Mask, by Bauhaus 🤔
Maverick a Strike, by Finlay Quaye
Maxinquaye, by Tricky 👏
Maxwell’s Urban Hang Suite, by Maxwell 🤔
McCartney, by Paul McCartney
Medulla, by Bjork
Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, by The Smashing Pumpkins
Melody AM, by Royksopp
Mermaid Avenue, by Billy Bragg and Wilco
The Message, by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five

Tuesday 26 May

Metal Box, by Public Image Ltd 🤔
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, by Lauryn Hill
Moby Grape, by Moby Grape 🤔
Modern Life is Rubbish, by Blur 👏
Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, Vols 1 & 2, by Ray Charles 🤔
Moondance, by Van Morrison
Moon Safari, by Air 👏

Wednesday 27 May

More Songs About Buildings and Food, by Talking Heads
More Specials, by The Specials
Morrison Hotel, by The Doors

Thursday 28 May

Moss Side Story, by Barry Adamson
Mott, by Mott the Hoople
Moving Pictures by Rush 🤔
Mr Tambourine Man, by The Byrds
MTV Unplugged in New York, by Nirvana
Muddy Waters Live at Newport 1960, by Muddy Waters 🤔

Tuesday 2 June

Murder Ballads, by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Murmur, by REM 👏
Music, by Madonna
Music for the Jilted Generation, by The Prodigy
Music for the Masses, by Depeche Mode 👏

Tuesday 16 June

Music from Big Pink, by The Band 🤔
Music from the Penguin Cafe, by Penguin Cafe Orchestra 🤔
My Aim is True, by Elvis Costello
My Generation, by The Who
My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, by Brian Eno and David Byrne

Can’t believe I’ve never listened to any Penguin Cafe Orchestra before.

Wednesday 17 June

Myths of the Near Future, by Klaxons 🤔
Natty Dread, by Bob Marley and the Wailers
Nebraska, by Bruce Springsteen
Neon Bible, by Arcade Fire
Nevermind, by Nirvana

Wednesday 24 June

Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols
New Forms, by Roni Size
New Gold Dream (81/82/83/84), by Simple Minds
The New Tango, by Astor Piazzolla & Gary Burton 🤔
New Wave, by The Auteurs
Nick of Time, by Bonnie Raitt 🤔

Thursday 9 July

Nighthawks at the Diner, by Tom Waits 🤔
Nilsson Schmilsson, by Harry Nilsson
Nixon, by Lambchop 🤔
Non-Stop Erotic Caberet, by Soft Cell
No Other, by Gene Clark 🤔
No Sleep ‘Til Hammersmith, by Motorhead 🤔
Nothing’s Shocking, by Jane’s Addiction
The Notorious Byrd Brothers, by The Byrds 🤔
The Number of the Beast, by Iron Maiden 🤔

Wednesday 15 July

Oar, by Alexander “Skip” Spence 🤔
Ocean Rain, by Echo and the Bunnymen
Odelay, by Beck
Odessa, by Bee Gees
Oedipus Schmoedipus, by Barry Adamson 👏

Tuesday 28 July

Off the Wall, by Michael Jackson
Ogdens Nut Gone Flake, by Small Faces 🤔
OK Computer, by Radiohead 👏
OK, by Talvin Singh
Olympia 64, by Jacques Brel 🤔
One World, by John Martyn

There now followed another Another Gap, in which not much Listening To Albums Happened. But that gap came to an end:

Saturday 26 September

The Only Ones, by The Only Ones 🤔
On the Beach, by Neil Young
Orbital 2, by Orbital 👏
Os Mutantes, by Os Mutantes 🤔
Otis Blue, by Otis Redding 🤔
Out of the Blue, by ELO 👏
Palo Congo, by Sabu 🤔
Parachutes, by Coldplay
Parallel Lines, by Blondie 👏
Paranoid, by Black Sabbath
Paris 1919, by John Cale
Parklife, by Blur
Parley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme, by Simon & Garfunkel 👏
Paul’s Boutique, by Beastie Boys 👏
Paul Simon, by Paul Simon

Sunday 27 September

Peace sells, but who’s buying? by Megadeth
Pearl, by Janis Joplin
Peggy Suicide by Julian Cope
Pelican West Plus, by Haircut 100

Monday 28 September

Penthouse and Pavement, by Heaven 17
People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm, by Tribe Called Quest 👏
Pet Sounds, by The Beach Boys 👏
Pheadra, by Tangerine Dream 🤔

Monday 7 December

Phrenology, by The Roots 🤔
Picture Book, by Simply Red

Tuesday 8 December

Pictures at an Exhibition, by Emerson Lake & Palmer 🤔
Pieces of the Sky, by Emmylou Harris 🤔
Pills ‘n’ Thrills and Bellyaches, by Happy Mondays
Pink Flag, by Wire 👏
Pink Moon, by Nick Drake
Play, by Moby
The Pleasure Principle, by Gary Numan
The Poet, by Bobby Womack 🤔
Porcupine, by Echo & The Bunnymen

Tuesday 29 December

Pornography, by The Cure
Power in Numbers, by Jurassic 5 🤔
The Predator, by Ice Cube
Pretenders, by Pretenders

Thursday 31 December

Private Dancer, by Tina Turner
Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd, by Lynyrd Skynyrd 🤔

Wednesday 6 January 2021

Protection, by Massive Attack
The Psychadelic World of the 13th Floor Elevators, by 13th Floor Elevators 🤔
Psychocandy, by The Jesus and Mary Chain
Pump, by Aerosmith

Thursday 7 January

Purple Rain, by Prince 👏
Q: Are we not mean? A: We are Devo, by Devo

Friday 8 January

Queen II, by Queen
Quiet Life, by Japan
Rage against the machine, by Rage Against the Machine
Ragged Glory, by Neil Young 🤔
Rain Dogs, by Tom Waits
Ramones, by Ramones
Rapture, by Anita Baker 🤔
Rattlesnakes, by Lloyd Cole and the Commotions 👏
Rattus Norvegicus, by The Stranglers
Raw like sushi, by Neneh Cherry 👏

Wednesday 13 January

Raw Power, by The Stooges
Real life, by Magazine 🤔
The Real Thing, by Faith No More
Red headed stranger, by Willie Nelson 🤔
Regatta da Blanc, by The Police
Reign in Blood, by Slayer 🤔
Rejoicing in the hands, by Devendra Banhart 🤔
Remain in light, by Talking Heads
Remedy, by Basement Jaxx

Fair to say I have never listened to any Slayer before. It was … educational.

Sunday 24 January

Rid of me, by PJ Harvey
Rings around the world, by Super Furry Animals 👏
Rio, by Duran Duran
Rise and fall of Ziggy Stardust, by David Bowie 👏
The Rising, by Bruce Springsteen 🤔

FINALLY. We’re half-way through.

My one concern is that my source playlist on Spotify has only 2,145 songs remaining, which doesn’t feel like enough for another 500 albums… I suspect I’m missing a few. Hey ho.

Monday 25 January

Ritual de lo Habitual, by Jane’s Addiction
Rock Bottom, Robert Wyatt 🤔
Rock ‘n’ Soul, Solomon Burke 🤔

Wednesday 27 January

Roots, Sepultura 🤔 👏

Another example of something I would never normally listen to. Quite shouty isn’t it? The more I listened to this, the more I liked it.

Roxy Music, by Roxy Music
Rumours, by Fleetwood Mac 👏
Rum Sodomy and the Lash, by The Pogues
Run-DMC, by Run-DMC
Rust in Peace, by Megadeth 🤔
Rust never sleeps, by Neil Young 🤔

Thursday 28 January

Safe as milk, by Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band 🤔
Sail Away, by Randy Newman
The Savage Young Sonics, by The Sonics 🤔
Savane, by Ali Farka Touré 🤔
School’s Out, by Alice Cooper 🤔
Scissor Sisters, by Scissor Sisters

I’d never heard of The Sonics before, and I’m surprised about that.

Also: Alice Cooper’s album did not sound how I expected it to sound.

Wednesday 17 February

The Score, by Fugees
Scott 2, by Scott Walker 🤔
The Scream, by Siouxsie and the Banshees
Screamadelica, by Primal Scream

Sunday 21 February

Scream, Dracula, Scream, by Rocket from the Crypt 🤔
Scum, Napalm Death

Thursday 25 February

Sea Change, by Beck
Searching for the Young Soul Rebels, Dexys Midnight Runners
Selling England by the Pound, Genesis
Seventeen seconds, The Cure
Sex Packets, Digital Underground 🤔
SF Sorrow, The Pretty Things 🤔
Shaft, Isaac Hayes
Shake your money maker, The Black Crowes
Sheer heart attack, Queen
She’s so unusual, Cyndi Lauper
Shleep, Robert Wyatt 🤔
Siamese Dream, Smashing Pumpkins
Signing off, UB40 👏

Monday 15 March

Since I left you, The Avalanches
Sincere, MJ Cole 🤔
Sister, Sonic Youth 👏
Skylarking, XTC 👏
The Slider, T-Rex
Slippery when wet, Bon Jovi 👏

Thursday 18 March

Smash, The Offspring 🤔
Snivilisation, Orbital
The soft bulletin, The Flaming Lips
Solid air, John Martyn 👏
Something/anything, Todd Rundgren 🤔
Songs for swinging lovers, Frank Sinatra
Songs from a room, Leonard Cohen
Songs from the big chair, Tears for Fears 👏
Songs in the key of life, Stevie Wonder
Songs of Leonard Cohen, Leonard Cohen

Lots of songs, and lots of Leonard Cohen today.

Friday 19 March

Songs the lord taught us, The Cramps 🤔
Soul mining, The The 👏
Sound affects, The Jam
Sound of silver, LCD Soundsystem 👏

Friday 26 March

Sounds of India, Ravi Shankar 🤔
Space ritual, Hawkwind 🤔
The Specials, The Specials
Stand!, Sly & The Family Stone 🤔
Stankonia, Outkast 🤔
Stardust, Willie Nelson 🤔
Station to station, David Bowie
Stephen Stills, Stephen Stills 🤔

Lots of stuff that was new to me today.

Tuesday 30 March

Step in the area, Gang Starr 🤔
Steve McQueen, Prefab Sprout 👏
Sticky fingers, The Rolling Stones
Stone Roses, The Stone Roses
The Stooges, The Stooges
Stories from the city, stories from the sea, by PJ Harvey 👏
Strange Cargo III, William Orbit 🤔

Wednesday 31 March

The Stranger, Billy Joel
Street Life, The Crusaders 🤔
Suede, Suede
Sunday at the Village Vanguard, The Bill Evans Trio 🤔
Sunshine superman, Donovan
Supa Dupa Fly, Missy Elliott 🤔
Supafly, Curtis Mayfield 🤔

Tuesday 13 April

Superunknown, Soundgarden 🤔 👏
Surfer Rosa, Pixies 👏
Surrealistic Pillow, Jefferson Airplane 🤔
Suzanne Vega, Suzanne Vega 👏
Sweet Baby James, James Taylor 🤔
Sweet Dreams, Eurythmics
Sweetheart of the rodeo, The Byrds 🤔

Wednesday 21 April

Swordfishtrombones, Tom Waits
Synchronicity, The Police
System of a Down, System of a Down 🤔
Tago Mago, CAN 🤔
Talking book, Stevie Wonder

Wednesday 26 May

Talking Heads ‘77, by Talking Heads
Talking with the taxman about poetry, by Billy Bragg 👏
Talk talk talk, by The Psychedelic Furs
Tanto Tempo, by Bebel Gilberto 🤔
Tapestry, by Bob Belden 🤔
Tea for the tillerman, by Cat Stevens / Yusuf Islam
Technique, by New Order 👏
Teenage head, by Flamin’ Groovies 🤔
Teenager of the year, by Frank Black

Technique is something of a generation-defining album and it certainly defines something for me. It came out when I was 18 or 19, at a time when my own musical horizons were constantly expanding further. One of those albums I’ll still be listening to in old, old age.

Thursday 24 June

Tellin’ stories, The Charlatans
Ten, Pearl Jam
That’s the way of the world, Earth Wind & Fire 🤔
The Dandy Warhols Come Down, The Dandy Warhols

Monday 28 June

There’s a riot goin’ on, Sly and the Family Stone 🤔
There’s no place like America today, Curtis Mayfield 🤔
They were wrong, so we drowned, Liars 🤔
Third, Soft Machine 🤔

A day of new discoveries for me. Soft Machine was a bit of a slog, blimey.

Tuesday 29 June

This is hardcore, Pulp
This nation’s saving grace, The Fall
This year’s model, Elvis Costello & The Attractions
Thriller, Michael Jackson
Throwing Muses, Throwing Muses
Tical, Method Man 🤔

Wednesday 7 July

Tidal/When the pawn, by Fiona Apple 🤔
Timesless, Goldie
Time Out, Dave Brubeck Quartet
Time (The Revelator), by Gillian Welch
Tommy, The Who 👏
Tonight’s the night, Neil Young 🤔
Trafalgar, The Bee Gees
Transformer, Lou Reed 👏

I confess I struggled with the Neil Young. Just not my cup of tea.

Tuesday 13 July

Treasure, by Cocteau Twins 👏
Tres Hombres, by ZZ Top 🤔
The Trinity Session, Cowboy Junkies
Trio, by Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris 🤔
Truth and Soul, by Fishbone 🤔
Truth/Beck-Ola, by Jeff Beck 🤔
Tubular Bells, by Mike Oldfield
Tusk, by Fleetwood Mac

Wednesday 14 July

The Band, by The Band 🤔
The Beach Boys Today! by The Beach Boys
The Bends, by Radiohead
The Boatman’s Call, by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds

Monday 2 August

The Chirping Crickets, by The Crickets
The Clash, The Clash
The College Dropout, Kanye West 🤔 👏
The Colour of Spring, Talk Talk 👏
The Contino Sessions, by Death in Vegas 🤔

Colour of Spring was a huge influence on teenage me back in the day. One of the best albums, and not even the best one by Talk Talk! What a band. What a sound.

Tuesday 10 August

The Coral, by The Coral
The Doors, by The Doors
The Downward Spiral, by Nine Inch Nails
The Fool, by Warpaint 🤔
Twelve dreams of Dr Sardonicus, by Spirit 🤔
The Undertones, by The Undertones
Unhalfbricking, by Fairport Convention
Unknown Pleasures, by Joy Division 👏
Urban Hymns, by The Verve 👏

Wednesday 11 August

Van Halen, by Van Halen 🤔
Vanishing point, by Primal Scream
Vauxhall and I, Morrissey
The Velvet Underground, by The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground & Nico, by The Velvet Underground & Nico
Vento De Maio, by Elis Regina 🤔
Very, by Pet Shop Boys

Thursday 12 August

Vespertine, Bjork
Violator, Depeche Mode 👏👏👏👏👏
Violent Femmes, by Violent Femmes 🤔
Virgin Suicides, by Air 🤔

Violator is another one of life’s landmarks. I was already a Mode fan, but when this one came out it just … blew me away, I suppose. The sounds, the songs, the artwork. I was somewhat obsessed by it, and remain addicted to listening to it every few months or so. One of those records.

Wednesday 18 August

The Visitors, ABBA
Viva Hate, Morrissey
Vivid, Living Colour 🤔
Volume 4, Black Sabbath
Vulgar display of power, Pantera 🤔
Walking Wounded, by Everything But the Girl 👏
Want One, by Rufus Wainwright 🤔
Want Two, by Rufus Wainwright 🤔

Thursday 19 August

Warehouse, by Hüsker Dü
War, by U2
Water from an ancient well, by Abdullah Ibrahim et al 🤔
We are family, Sister Sledge
Whatever people say I am, that’s what I’m not, by Arctic Monkeys
What’s going on, Marvin Gaye
When I was born for the 7th time, by Cornershop
White blood cells, The White Stripes
White ladder, David Grey
White light, Gene Clark 🤔
White light / White heat, by The Velvet Underground

Monday 23 August

The Who Sell Out, The Who
Who’s Next, The Who
The Wildest!, Louis Prima
Wild Gift, by X 🤔
Wild is the wind, by Nina Simone 👏
Will the circle be unbroken, by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band 🤔
Winter in America, by Brian Jackson & Gil Scott-Heron 🤔
Wonderful Rainbow, by Lightning Bolt 🤔

Wednesday 25 August

Woodface, by Crowded House
The world is a ghetto, by War 🤔
The Yes Album, by Yes
Yoshimi battles the pink robots, by The Flaming Lips 🤔
Young Americans, by David Bowie 👏
Younger than yesterday, by The Byrds 🤔
Your Arsenal, by Morrissey
You’ve come a long way baby, by Fatboy Slim
Zombie, by Fela Kuti 🤔

And with that, we reach a milestone in this project: 692 albums down, and the playlist I was using as source material has run out of songs. This is a serious problem. I’m 309 albums short.

Thursday 26 August

Right. Armed with a copy of the original 1001 albums book, I’ve started ticking off the albums I’ve listened to (above) and making list of the rest. So with that in mind, we’ll start again: as before, in alphabetical order by album title. Starting with our old chums, The Beatles.

Abbey Road, The Beatles 👏
Ace of spades, Motorhead
Actually, Pet Shop Boys 👏
All things must pass, George Harrison 👏
American Dream, LCD Soundsystem

I mean, you’d think I’d have noticed something was wrong with the playlist in the first place, given that Abbey Road wasn’t on it. Then again, maybe it was created before The Beatles’ archive was made available on Spotify. Anyway.

Monday 27 September

AmeriKKKa’s most wanted, by Ice Cube
Ananda Shankar, by Ananda Shankar 🤔
…And justice for all, by Metallica 🤔
Apocalypse 91 The Enemy Strikes Black, by Public Enemy

Tuesday 28 September

The ArchAndroid, by Janelle Monáe 👏
Arthur or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire, by The Kinks
The atomic Mr Basie, by Count Basie 🤔
Atomizer, by Big Black 🤔
Back to mystery city, by Hanoi Rocks 🤔
Bad company, by Bad Company 🤔
Band on the run, by Wings
Basket of light, by Pentangle 🤔
Bat out of hell, by Meat Loaf

Thursday 30 September

Be, by Common 🤔 👏
Beach Samba, by Astrud Gilberto 🤔
The Beatles, by The Beatles
Beauty and the beast, by Edan 🤔

Tuesday 5 October

BEYONCÉ by Beyoncé 🤔
Bizarre ride II the Pharcyde, by The Pharcyde 🤔
Black Metal by Venom 🤔
Black Monk Time by The Monks 🤔

Lots of new stuff today, not least finding out that The Fall covered The Monks, and I’d never heard of The Monks until today. The things you learn.

Wednesday 6 October

The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady, by Charles Mingus 🤔
Blackstar, by David Bowie
Blood Sugar Sex Majik, by Red Hot Chilli Peppers
The Blueprint, by Jay-Z 🤔
Blunderbuss, by Jack White 🤔 👏
The Boatman’s Call, by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds 👏

Thursday 7 October

The Bones of what you believe, by Chvrches
Born to be with you, by Dion 🤔
Bright Flight, by Silver Jews 🤔
Brothers, by The Black Keys 🤔
Buenas Noches from a Lonely Room, by Dwight Yoakam 🤔
Buffalo Springfield Again, by Buffalo Springfield 🤔
Bug, by Dinosaur Jr 👏
Californication, by Red Hot Chilli Peppers
The Cars, by The Cars 🤔

Tuesday 12 October

Cee-lo Green is the Soul Machine, by Cee-lo Green 🤔
Celebrity Skin, Hole
Channel Orange, by Frank Ocean 🤔
A Christmas Gift for you, by Phil Spector / Various artists

Thursday 14 October

The Chronic, by Dr Dre 🤔
Clandestino, by Manu Chao 🤔
Close to you, The Carpenters
Copper Blue, Sugar
Countdown to ecstacy, by Steely Dan
Crazysexycool, by TLC

Tuesday 19 October

Ctrl, by SZA 🤔
Cut, by The Slits 🤔
D, by White Denim 🤔
The dark side of the moon, by Pink Floyd
A date with the Everly Brothers, by The Everly Brothers 🤔
Dear science, by TV on the Radio 🤔
Definitely Maybe, by Oasis
Deja vu, by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young
Deserter’s songs, by Mercury Rev
Destroy rock and roll, by Mylo 🤔 👏

Wednesday 20 October

Dig me out, by Sleater-Kinney
Djam Leelii, by Baaba Maal and Mansour Seck
Django django, by Django Django
DOA, by Throbbing Gristle
Doggystyle by Snoop Dogg

Throbbing Gristle was quite hard work.

Thursday 21 October

Done by the forces of nature, by The Jungle Brothers 👏
Don’t come home a drinkin’ (with lovin’ on your mind) by Loretta Lynn
Don’t stand me down, by Dexy’s Midnight Runners
The Dreaming, Kate Bush

The Jungle Bros album is one of my all-time favourites, so good I listened to it twice. So many good rhythms. Delicious.

Thursday 18 November

Dr Octagonecologyst, by Dr Octagon 🤔
Drunk, by Thundercat
Dub housing, by Pere Ubu 🤔
Duck Stab, by The Residents 🤔
Dust, by Screaming Trees 👏 🤔

Monday 22 November

Eagles, by Eagles
Elastica, by Elastica
Electric music for the mind and body, by Country Joe and The Fish 🤔
Elephant Mountain, by The Youngbloods 🤔
Ella sings the George and Ira Gershwin Songbook, by Ella Fitzgerald
Elvis is Back, by Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley, by Elvis Presley

Tuesday 23 November

Emperor Tomato Ketchup, by Stereolab
Enter the Wu-Tang, by Wu-Tang Gang 🤔
Eternally yours, by The Saints 🤔
Every good boy deserves favour, by The Moody Blues 🤔
Everything must go, by Manic Street Preachers
Exile in Guyville, by Liz Phair 🤔

Thursday 9 December

Face to face, The Kinks 🤔
Fear and Whiskey, Mekons 🤔
Femi Kuti, Femi Kuti 🤔
Fever to tell, Yeah Yeah Yeahs 🤔
Fire of Love, The Gun Club 🤔
Fleet Foxes, by Fleet Foxes 👏
Foxbase Alpha, Saint Etienne
Frampton Comes Alive! by Peter Frampton

Tuesday 21 December

Freak out! by The Mothers of Invention
Fred Neil, by Fred Neil 🤔
Fresh fruit for rotting vegetables, by The Dead Kennedys
Funeral, by Arcade Fire

Wednesday 12 January 2022

Gentlemen, by The Afghan Whigs 🤔
GI, by Germs 🤔
Giant Steps, by The Boo Radleys 👏
G Love and Special Sauce, by G Love and Special Sauce 🤔
Go Girl Crazy! by The Dictators 🤔
Goodbye and hello, by Tim Buckley 🤔
The Grand Tour by George Jones 🤔
Group Sex, by Circle Jerks 🤔
Halcyon Digest, by Deerhunter 🤔
Happy sad, by Tim Buckley 🤔

Thursday 13 January

A Hard Day’s Night, by The Beatles
Haunted Dancehall, by Sabres of Paradise
Haut de gamme, by Koffi Olomide 🤔
The Healer, by John Lee Hooker
Heartbreaker by Ryan Adams 🤔
Hearts and Bones by Paul Simon
Here are The Sonics, by The Sonics 🤔
Here’s Little Richard, by Little Richard
Highway to Hell, by AC/DC
Histoire de Melody Nelson, by Serge Gainsbourg 🤔
HMS Fable, Shack 👏

Monday 17 January

Home is where the music is, by Hugh Masekela 🤔
Honky tonk masquerade, by Joe Ely 🤔
Hotel California, by Eagles 👏
Hot Rats, by Frank Zappa
Hounds of Love, by Kate Bush 👏
Hypocrisy is the greatest luxury, by Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy 👏

Monday 14 February

Hysteria, Def Leppard
Idlewild, Everything But The Girl
Ill Communication, The Beastie Boys
Illmatic, Nas 🤔
Imagine, John Lennon

Tuesday 15 February

Immigrés, Youssou N’Dour & Étoile de Dakar 🤔
In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, by Iron Butterfly 🤔
Infected, by The The 👏
In our heads, by Hot Chip 👏
In rock, by Deep Purple 🤔 👏
Inspiration Information, by Shuggie Otis 🤔
In the Court of the Crimson King, by King Crimson 🤔
In the wee small hours, by Frank Sinatra
I see a darkness, by Bonnie “Prince” Billy 🤔

Wednesday 16 February

Isn’t anything, My Bloody Valentine 👏
It’s Blitz!, by Yeah Yeah Yeahs 🤔 👏
It takes a nation of millions to hold us back, Public Enemy 👏
I’ve got a tiger by the tail, Buck Owens and his Buckaroos 🤔
I want to see the bright lights tonight, Richard Thompson and Linda Thompson 🤔

Friday 4 March

Jack takes the floor, by Ramblin’ Jack Elliott 🤔
Live at the Apollo, by James Brown 🤔
Live at the Star-Club, by Jerry Lee Lewis 🤔 👏

I had never understood the fuss about Jerry Lee Lewis; now I understand the fuss. Blimey. What a show. What an album.

Wednesday 16 March

Joan Armatrading, Joan Armatrading 👏
John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, by John Lennon 🤔
Bluesbreakers, by John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers 🤔
At Folsom Prison, Johnny Cash
At San Quentin, Johnny Cash
John Prine, John Prine 🤔
Junkyard, The Birthday Party 🤔

Tuesday 22 March

The Village Green Preservation Society, The Kinks 👏
Kollaps, Einstürzende Neubauten 🤔
The Köln Concert, Keith Jarrett 👏
Konnichiwa, Skepta 🤔

Tuesday 5 April

Ladies and gentlemen we are floating in space, Spiritualized
The lamb lies down on Broadway, Genesis
Lam Toro, by Baaba Maal 🤔
Lark’s tongues in aspic, by King Crimson 🤔
The last of the true believers, by Nancy Griffith 🤔

Wednesday 6 April

Led Zeppelin I, Led Zeppelin 🤔
Led Zeppelin II, Led Zeppelin 🤔
Led Zeppelin III, Led Zeppelin 🤔
Led Zeppelin IV, Led Zeppelin

I’ve never been much of a Zep fan, so this was an interesting day’s listening.

Thursday 7 April

Let England Shake, by PJ Harvey 👏
Let’s stay together, Al Green 👏
Liquid swords, GZA 🤔
Live 1966, Bob Dylan 🤔
Live with Ginger Baker, Fela Kuti 🤔
Live at the Witch Trials, The Fall

Wednesday 20 April

Live through this, Hole
Locust abortion technician, Butthole Surfers 🤔
loveless, my bloody valentine 👏
LP1, FKA Twigs
Machine gun etiquette, The Damned 🤔
Maggot brain, Funkadelic 🤔
Mama said knock you out, LL Cool J 🤔

Thursday 21 April

The Man Machine, Kraftwerk
The Man Who, Travis 🤔 👏
Marcus Garvey, Burning Spear 🤔
The Marshall Mathers LP, by Eminem 🤔
Master of puppets, Metallica 🤔
Me against the world, 2Pac 🤔

Thursday 12 May

Meat is murder, The Smiths
II, The Meat Puppets 🤔
Melodrama, Lorde 👏
Merriweather Post Pavilion, Animal Collective 🤔
Metallica, Metallica
Microshift, by Hookworms
Midnight Ride, by Paul Revere & The Raiders 🤔

Friday 13 May

Millions now living will never die, Tortoise 🤔
Miriam Makeba, by Miriam Makeba 🤔
Modern Kosmology, by Jane Weaver 👏
The Modern Dance, by Pere Ubu 🤔
The Modern Lovers, by The Modern Lovers 🤔

Monday 16 May

Mothership connection, by Parliament 🤔
Movies, by Holger Czukay 🤔
Music has the right to children, Boards of Canada
My beautiful dark twisted fantasy, Kanye West 👏

Wednesday 18 May

Neu 75! by Neu 🤔
New boots and panties, by Ian Dury and the Blockheads
New York Dolls, by New York Dolls 🤔
Next… by The Sensational Alex Harvey Band 🤔
The Nightfly, by Donald Fagen 🤔
Night Life, by Ray Price 🤔
1989, by Taylor Swift 👏
Nowhere, by Ride 👏

The joyous foul language on the Ian Dury album takes me back to my childhood, when my older brother bought the LP and was promptly banned from playing it by our dad. Those were the days, the 1970s.

Ride, meanwhile, were a huge influence on me as a teenage student. I had the floppy hair and everything.

Monday 23 May

Now I got worry, by The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion 🤔
Odessey & Oracle, by The Zombies 🤔
One Nation Under a Groove, by Funkadelic 🤔

Tuesday 31 May

Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, by Raekwon 🤔
Opus Dei, by Laibach 🤔
Oxygene, by Jean-Michel Jarre
Pacific Ocean Blue, by Dennis Wilson 🤔
Peter Gabriel I
Peter Gabriel III
Physical Graffiti, by Led Zeppelin 🤔 👏

As a teenager I was a huge Peter Gabriel fan, seeking out as many recordings as I could afford (not all of them by any means) and seeing him play live in London as part of the So tour. I still have a love of love for his music, but the obsession has faded away now. I like these albums, but not like I used to.

Wednesday 1 June

Piper at the Gates of Dawn, by Pink Floyd
Planet Rock - The Album, by Afrika Bambaataa & The Soulsonic Force 🤔
Playing with fire, by Spacemen 3 🤔

Tuesday 7 June

Pretzel Logic, Steely Dan 🤔
Psalm 69, by Ministry 🤔
Public Image, by Public Image Ltd 🤔
Punishing kiss, by Ute Lemper 🤔
Pyromania, by Def Leppard 🤔
Queen of Denmark, by John Grant 🤔

Another day that makes this whole project feel so worthwhile; today I listened to six albums that I really feel like I should have heard before, given my age and my habit of claiming that I have broad taste in music. But they’re all new to me! Amazing.

Wednesday 8 June

Queens of the Stone Age, by Queens of the Stone Age 🤔 👏
The Queen is Dead, The Smiths
Qui sème le vent récolte le tempo, by MC Solaar 👏
Raising hell, by Run DMC 👏

Oh man, I used to own this MC Solaar album on vinyl, back when it came out in 1991. I was such an idiot to get rid of my vinyl collection. What a fool. Anyway. Good to hear it again.

Thursday 9 June

Ray of light, by Madonna
Ready to Die, by The Notorious BIG 🤔
Red Dirt Girl, by Emmylou Harris 🤔

Tuesday 21 June

The Renaissance, by Q-Tip 👏
Repeater, by Fugazi 🤔
La Revancha del Tango, by Gotan Project 🤔
Revolver, The Beatles 👏👏👏👏👏
Rhythm Nation 1814, by Janet Jackson
Rip it up, by Orange Juice
The Rise and Fall, Madness 🤔

Revolver is one of those LPs that defined my childhood; I can remember seeing it in the living room, being played on the record player. It was just there. So I feel like I know the songs on it better than almost any other collection listed on this page. It’s always been my favourite Beatles album, and to this day I can play it and enjoy it and discover new things. What a masterpiece.

Tuesday 2 August

Risqué, by Chic 🤔 👏
Rock Bottom, by Robert Wyatt 🤔
Rocks, by Aerosmith 🤔
The Rolling Stones, by The Rolling Stones 🤔

How had I not listened to the Chic album before? What was I thinking?

Wednesday 3 August

Rubber Soul, by The Beatles
Rumours, Fleetwood Mac 👏
S&M, by Metallica 🤔

Thursday 4 August

One Night Stand! Live at the Harlem Square Club, by Sam Cooke 🤔 👏
São Paulo Confessions, by Suba 🤔
Sarah Vaughan Live at Mister Kelly’s, by Sarah Vaughan
Scott 4, by Scott Walker
A Seat at the Table, by Solange

Monday 15 August

Second Toughest in the Infants, by Underworld 👏
The Seldom Seen Kid, by Elbow 👏
Selected Ambient Works 85-92, by Aphex Twin 👏
The Sensual World, by Kate Bush 👏

A pretty good day, this one. Four of my all-time faves in a row.

Tuesday 16 August

Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, by The Beatles 👏
Shadowland, by kd lang 🤔
Shaka Zulu, by Ladysmith Black Mambazo 👏
Shalimar, by R.D Burman 🤔
Sheet Music, by 10CC 🤔
Siembra, by Willie Cólon and Ruben Blades 🤔
Sign o’ the Times, by Prince 👏

Wednesday 17 August

Slayed?, by Slade 🤔
The Slim Shady LP, by Eminem
Slipknot, by Slipknot 🤔
Smokers Delight, by Nightmares On Wax 🤔
So, by Peter Gabriel 👏

So was a defining moment of my childhood, an album that made something click in my head and made me focus more of my attention on music. It will always hold a special place in my heart for that.

Thursday 18 August

The Soft Bulletin, by The Flaming Lips
Something Else by The Kinks
Songs of Love and Hate, by Leonard Cohen
Southern Rock Opera, by The Drive-By Truckers 🤔
Speakerboxxx / The Love Below, by Outkast 🤔

Monday 22 August

Spiderland, by Slint 🤔
Straight outta Compton, by N.W.A.
Strangeways, Here We Come, by The Smiths
Suicide, by Suicide 🤔
Sulk, by The Associates 🤔
The Sun Rises in the East, by Jeru Tha Damaja 🤔
Superfuzz Bigmuff, by Mudhoney 🤔 👏

Tuesday 23 August

Surf’s Up, by The Beach Boys 👏
Take me apart, by Kelela 🤔 👏
Talking Book, by Stevie Wonder
Talking Heads:77, by Talking Heads
Talking Timbuktu, by Ali Farka Touré
Tarkus, by Emerson, Lake & Palmer 🤔
Teen Dream, by Beach House 👏

Blimey that ELP stuff is hard work isn’t it?

Friday 2 September

Third, by Portishead
Third / Sister Lovers, by Big Star 🤔
This is Fats, by Fats Domino 🤔 👏

Monday 5 September

Tigermilk, by Belle and Sebastien 👏
Le Tigre, by Le Tigre 🤔
Time out of Mind, by Bob Dylan 🤔

Tuesday 27 September

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Tom Tom Club, by Tom Tom Club
Too Rye Ay, by Dexy’s Midnight Runners

Friday 30 September

To Pimp a Butterfly, by Kendrick Lamarr 🤔
Toys in the Attic, by Aerosmith
Tracy Chapman, by Tracy Chapman 👏
Traffic, by Traffic 🤔
Tragic Songs of Life, by The Louvin Brothers 🤔
Trans Europe Express, by Kraftwerk
Tres Hombres, by ZZ Top 👏 🤔
Triangle, by The Beau Brummels 🤔

🥳 DONE IT! That’s 1001 albums! Except, of course, there’s still more to go. The bonus tracks, if you will. So, on we go…

Monday 3 October

Trout Mask Replica, by Captain Beefheart & his Magic Band 🤔
Truth, by Jeff Beck 🤔
Tuesday Night Music Club, by Sheryl Crow 🤔

Trout Mask Replica is one of those albums that I think I must have listened to at some point - but listening to it today felt like a whole new experience. So I’ll chalk it up as a “not-heard-before”.

Tuesday 4 October

Two Dancers, by Wild Beasts 🤔
Under Construction, by Missy Elliott 🤔
Underwater Moonlight, by The Soft Boys 🤔

Wednesday 5 October

The United States of America, by The United States of America 🤔
Venus Luxure No. 1 Baby, by Girls Against Boys 👏 🤔
Vincebus Eruptum, by Blue Cheer 🤔

Wow, that Blue Cheer album is heavy. Blimey.

Thursday 6 October

Vulnicura, by Bjork
The Wall, by Pink Floyd 👏
Want Two, by Rufus Wainwright 👏

Friday 7 October

Welcome to the Pleasure Dome, by Frankie Goes To Hollywood
We’re only in it for the money, by The Mothers of Invention 🤔
Whatever, by Aimee Mann 👏 🤔
(What’s the story) Morning Glory, by Oasis
The White Room, by The KLF

Tuesday 11 October

Who’s Next, by The Who
The Who Live at Leeds, by The Who 👏
The Who Sell Out, by The Who
Wild Gift, by X 🤔
Wild is the Wind, by Nina Simone

Wednesday 12 October

Wild Wood, by Paul Weller 👏
Will the Circle Ever Be Unbroken, by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band 🤔
Yank Crime, by Drive Like Jehu 👏 🤔
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, by Wilco 👏 🤔

Thursday 13 October

The Yardbirds (aka Roger the Engineer), by The Yardbirds 🤔
Yeezus, by Kanye West 🤔
You want it darker, by Leonard Cohen 🤔
Ys, by Joanna Newsom 🤔

~fin~

It is done.

Filed under: music and projects
(12 August 2019 - 13 October 2022)

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1001 albumsnew discoveries and old faves