265. Alice Cooper | School's Out (1972)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. School's Out
2. Luney Tune
3. Gutter Cat Vs. the Jets
4. Street Fight
5. Blue Turk
6. My Stars
7. Public Animal #9
8. Alma Mater
9. Grande Finale

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School's Out is a daring album. The music is hard rock. And more! With the West Side Story elements in Gutter Cat Vs. the Jets and in Grande Finale, this is hard rock-cum-musical. Although, the story is elusive. There's also a sampling of nightclub music with Blue Turk.

With the mix of styles, I'm not sure who the audience is that Alice Cooper is trying to reach—Theater-going types who think they're missing out on essential rowdiness and mischief or young, blue-collar, beer-drinking men who realize they lack refinement? 

I think this is an entertaining album. And it's also likeable. Unfortunately, I don't think it succeeds in whatever it was meant to achieve.  It doesn't fail because of the concept; it fails because it's incoherent. So, it's worth listening to at least once, and it does improve the more times it's listened to. However, I don't think it deserves to be on the 1001 Albums list. If the concept had been clearer it certainly could've been a timeless classic.

All the songs are excellent. The stand-outs are: School's Out, Luney Tune, Blue Turk, My Stars, Public Animal #9 and Grande Finale.

★★★★★★★★☆☆

249. Deep Purple | Made In Japan (1972)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. Highway Star
2. Child in Time
3. Smoke on the Water
4. The Mule
5. Strange Kind of Woman
6. Lazy
7. Space Truckin'

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Made In Japan is a lively album. The music is hard rock. It's a live album recorded in Japan. Four songs come from Machine Head and one comes from In Rock which are two albums already featured on the 1001 Albums list. For the live performances, the band extends the songs with guitar solos and jams.

Deep Purple sound louder, faster and fuller on a live recording than on a studio recording.

This is an outstanding album, even though its length despite so few songs can test your endurance. It's definitely worth listening to and is probably a better substitute for buying the three studio albums which the songs come from. I'm not sure it needs to be on the 1001 Albums. That it's such a good live performance and a model for future hard rock and heavy metal bands to emulate are two reasons for including it.

All of the songs quite good. The stand outs are Highway Star, Child in Time, Smoke on the Water, Strange Kind of Woman and Space Truckin'.

★★★★★★★★★★

244. Black Sabbath | Black Sabbath Vol. 4 (1972)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. Wheels of Confusion
2. Tomorrow's Dream
3. Changes
4. FX
5. Supernaut
6. Snowblind
7. Cornucopia
8. Laguna Sunrise
9. St. Vitus Dance
10. Under The Sun

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Black Sabbath Vol. 4 is a ponderous album. The music is heavy metal. Most of the songs work from a simple riff. There is also an odd ballad or two and a couple of short instrumental fillers.

Most of the songs start off with the best of intentions with a really cool and heavy riff, but then quickly transform into lumbering behemoths that prefer to plod on than to lay down and die. Cornucopia is the quintessential example of this and it's not even four minutes long.

While Changes is a good ballad, it's doesn't fit on this album. And FX and Laguna Sunrise get in the way.

The album is decent. It's worth listening to for the riffs, but there's no need for it to be on the 1001 Albums list. And if this is the album that inspired 1000 hair bands from the '80s to include ballads on their albums, then it would have been best that this album had never been made.

Most of the songs on this album are good. The stand outs are Wheels of Confusion, Supernaut, Snowblind, and Under The Sun.

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

242. Deep Purple | Machine Head (1972)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. Highway Star
2. Maybe I'm a Leo
3. Pictures of Home
4. Never Before
5. Smoke on the Water
6. Lazy
7. Space Truckin'

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Machine Head is a toothless album. The music is hard rock. Each song is filled with guitar solos, riffs, grooves and hooks.

While there may not be much bite to this album, that doesn't mean it's not enjoyable or interesting. However, where Black Sabbath is dark and brooding and Led Zeppelin is aggressive and bombastic, Deep Purple is fun and easygoing. It's kind and gentle heavy metal.

The album is good, but it needs to rock harder and faster to make it all convincing. It's worth listening to because it's clearly an influential album for future hard rock and heavy metal bands. However, I don't think it needs to be on the 1001 Albums list.

All the songs on this album are quite good. The stand outs are Highway Star, Never Before, Smoke on the Water, Lazy, and Space Truckin'.

★★★★★★★★☆☆

225. Led Zeppelin | Led Zeppelin IV (1971)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. Black Dog
2. Rock and Roll
3. The Battle of Evermore
4. Stairway to Heaven
5. Misty Mountain Hop
6. Four Sticks
7. Going to California
8. When the Levee Breaks

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Note: There is no official title to Led Zeppelin's fourth studio album. Atlantic Records, Led Zeppelin's record label, often used the titles, The Fourth Album and Four Symbols to catalogue it. Other names that have been used are Led Zeppelin IV and Runes. Members of Led Zeppelin have referred to it as The Fourth Album and Led Zeppelin IV.

Led Zeppelin IV is an masterful album. The music is hard rock. Led Zeppelin has gotten even further away from their blues rock style. This album blends folk rock with hard rock which would suggest that the music is tempered, but it's not. This is one of the heaviest rock albums to date. This lyrics give this album a mystical and transcendent aura.

This is a relentless album.  Nowhere on this album is there a down period to recoup. The album just comes charging out of the gate with Black Dog and Rock and Roll which are two of the heaviest songs ever recorded. The album slows down but keeps charging ahead with The Battle of Evermore and Stairway to Heaven which feature the folkier side of the album. The album regains speed with Misty Mountain Hop and then goes into overdrive with Four Sticks which is not very different from the two opening songs. Going to California is another folkie song which slows down the pace just to prepare for the final burst of energy that comes from When the Levee Breaks.

Led Zeppelin has always had a timeless quality to their albums, this album especially. Logically, there is no reason why Led Zeppelin should have sounded any different from the English blues rock bands from the mid-to-late 1960s. A lot of great music came from that group, but none of them transcended their moment in time. Led Zeppelin did and I've always wondered why, as I'm sure many others have. I think this album reveals why. It's not the musicians or songs or group dynamics; it's Jimmy Page's album production. Jimmy Page is a master producer and it's his genius as producer for why Led Zeppelin transcends their moment in time.

This is a phenomenal album. It should be listened to and it belongs in every serious collection. This album deserves to be on the 1001 Albums list because of its timeless quality and also because it just extends the hard rock boundary so far that in some ways hard rock hasn't yet reached the boundary again.

Every song is brilliant. I would list them all as stand outs, but I would rather instead point out that When the Levee Breaks is the best song on the album. And I will never tire of listening to Stairway to Heaven. The final section will always make it worthwhile.

★★★★★★★★★★

188. Deep Purple | Deep Purple In Rock (1970)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. Speed King
2. Bloodsucker
3. Child in Time
4. Flight of the Rat
5. Into the Fire
6. Living Wreck
7. Hard Lovin' Man

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Deep Purple In Rock is a hyperactive album. The music is heavy metal. Deep Purple's brand of heavy demonstrates a third kind of heavy metal emerging in the late Sixties and early Seventies. Black Sabbath has their own distinct brand which is slow, brooding and works off a groove. Led Zeppelin's brand is riff-based and thunderous. Deep Purple is also loud but, what makes them distinct is the extremely fast guitar playing and their music flirts with prog rock; in some ways, it's just hard rock on speed.

I do think Deep Purple's heavy metal is the least interesting of the three. They do rock and the speed is blazing, but it seems very detached and clinical. It could be the singer. Ozzy and Robert Plant are charismatic, but Ian Gillan doesn't come off being as charismatic. If it's not that then it could either be the lyrics or the production.

I do think this album is worth listening to and it certainly does deserve being on the 1001 Albums list. And while it might be an album to rock out to now and then, Sabbath and Zeppelin seem more desirable.

Most of the songs are quite good. The stand outs are: Speed King, Child in Time, Into the Fire and Hard Lovin' Man.

★★★★★★★★☆☆

187. Led Zeppelin | Led Zeppelin III (1970)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. Immigrant Song
2. Friends
3. Celebration Day
4. Since I've Been Loving You
5. Out on the Tiles
6. Gallows Pole
7. Tangerine
8. That's the Way
9. Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
10. Hats Off to (Roy) Harper

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Led Zeppelin III is an exquisite album. The music is hard rock with many songs having an folkie (English folk) thread running through them. There are two straight up blues rock songs, an indication of their own song writing maturity.

This album works well on two levels. First, every song is dynamic. Each instrument is busy doing something at all times on each song. While it can sound complex, it's disciplined and not overwhelming. Second, the production quality is outstanding. It's not like there haven't been other talented and capable producers and audio engineers, but for Jimmy Page, the production is like another instrument. He really treats it as an art. (There's no doubt it's a big reason why Led Zeppelin sounds fresh decades later.)

This is a phenomenal and underrated album. It doesn't seem to rock as hard as Led Zeppelin II, but it does; it just has fewer riffs. This album is definitely worth listening to and owning. It certainly belongs on the 1001 Albums list.

Every song on this album is outstanding. Every single one is exciting and entertaining. My favorites are Immigrant Song, Since I've Been Loving You, Out on the Tiles and Gallows Pole. The one song that I've come to be more fond of recently is Hats Off to (Roy) Harper. It's a really strong adaptation of a blues song into rock song, without it becoming a blues rock song.

★★★★★★★★★★

185. Black Sabbath | Paranoid (1970)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. War Pigs
2. Paranoid
3. Planet Caravan
4. Iron Man
5. Electric Funeral
6. Hand of Doom
7. Rat Salad
8. Fairies Wear Boots

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Paranoid is a fierce album. The music is heavy metal. The album comes right on the heels of their debut. It's just as heavy as that one, but this album is more refined, better focused during the long soloing/jamming sections, and it introduces a bunch of serious riffs.

There is also quite a bit of political commentary in the lyrics. While it's not as subtle as, say, Dylan, it's more sincere than anything since Dylan's early works.

This album is excellent. It's worth listening to and this is essential for anyone who takes music collecting seriously.

Every song on this album is outstanding. Rat Salad is probably the weakest, but it's only two-and-a-half minutes long. The stand out songs for me are War Pigs, Planet Caravan, Electric Funeral and Fairies Wear Boots.

★★★★★★★★★★

179. Black Sabbath | Black Sabbath (1970)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. Black Sabbath
2. The Wizard
3. Behind The Wall Of Sleep
4. N.I.B.
5. Evil Woman
6. Sleeping Village
7. Warning

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Black Sabbath is a dark and sinister album. But, boy, does it sound great. The music is grounded in the blues and relies heavily on the groove. The lyrics deal with the occult, ideas from H. P. Lovecraft and anti-Christian themes.

The album starts off really strongly. The first four songs are like nothing that has come before (at least on the 1001 Albums list). Black Sabbath sets the dark tone and the following three songs delve deeper and deeper into darkness. The last three songs are good but aren't as strong.

There's no doubt that this album is worth listening to and it certainly belongs on the 1001 Albums list. I'm ambivalent about it being necessary to own. This is the first genuine heavy metal album and band, and the first four songs are arguably the progenitors of all heavy metal. However, Black Sabbath stumbles with the last three songs. Those songs are merely hard rock and belong on a different album.

Black Sabbath, The Wizard, Behind The Wall Of Sleep, and N.I.B.  are the stand out songs.

★★★★★★★★★☆

157. Led Zeppelin | Led Zeppelin II (1969)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. Whole Lotta Love
2. What Is and What Should Never Be
3. The Lemon Song
4. Thank You
5. Heartbreaker
6. Living Loving Maid (She's Just a Woman)
7. Ramble On
8. Moby Dick
9. Bring It On Home

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Led Zeppelin II is a thundering album—even the quiet songs are loud. From this album onward, rock and roll gets louder and heavier. John Bonham hits the drums not as if he's trying to play them, but as if he's trying to destroy them. Jimmy Page has also decided to turn his guitar up to eleven and Robert Plant is finding his wail.

Don't be deceived, though. This isn't a noisy album. John Paul Jones lays down the most lyrical bass lines so far and Jimmy Page has decided to play more riffs on one album than found in total on all the albums on the list so far.

Another really nice thing about this album is the variety of songs. Although they are blues-based, they all sound quite different from each other, yet complement each other quite well.

This album is essential for any serious collector. There's no need to list the stand out songs since they are all extraordinarily great. Most bands would be hard pressed to come up with just one of these, never mind nine of them.

★★★★★★★★★★

155. Led Zeppelin | Led Zeppelin (1969)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. Good Times Bad Times
2. Babe I'm Gonna Leave You
3. You Shook Me
4. Dazed and Confused
5. Your Time Is Gonna Come
6. Black Mountain Side
7. Communication Breakdown
8. I Can't Quit You Baby
9. How Many More Times

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Led Zeppelin is a timeless album. This songs are heavy blues-based rock and roll. It's some of the most loudest and heaviest sounding music up to this point of the 1001 Albums list.

There's an intangible quality about both Led Zeppelin, the album, and Led Zeppelin, the band. Like, the Beatles, Led Zeppelin seems to transcend their contemporaries. However, where the Beatles were mostly way ahead of their time, Led Zeppelin was not;  they transcend by creating a mood, an atmosphere, an attitude, an aura that makes the music timeless and mysterious.

How does this transcendence emerge?

John Bonham and John Paul Jones are another reason. No one hits the drums harder than John Bonham does or hits as many drums at once. Well, Keith Moon might, but Keith Moon is a wasteful and erratic drummer. John Bonham was very conservative and utilized fills smartly. John Paul Jones is also someone who played his instrument smartly and conservatively. Together, they form a rhythm section like no other.

Robert Plant sings classic blues lines which themselves are eternal and he sings lyrics that are abstract enough and non-contemporary that they can transcend. It would have been curious if Rod Stewart had been the singer rather than Robert Plant. Rod Stewart is just as good, if not better, and has a similar style.

Jimmy Page isn't the most technical, talented or graceful guitarist, but he played what was necessary and nothing more. Jimmy Page was a smart producer. The album is serious and gets to the point immediately. It also stays focused and doesn't stray from it's purpose: which is heavy blues rock. There's nothing extraneous on the album. There's no idle banter, no pointless introductions, and no songs that were half-baked.

Also, the music sounds very compact almost to the point of being claustrophobic. Jimmy knew how to record the instruments. John Bonham is a great drummer, but the drums are recorded just the right way to enhance their power. The music doesn't sound like it was even recorded in a studio. Rather, it emerged from the infinite deep of space.

I don't know if that's how or whether it's all just a bullshit explanation. But, I've thought about it for a long time and that's all I have.

Needless to say, I love this album. I think it's an essential album in any serious album collection. There's not a bad song. It's hard to list any stand outs. I don't believe any stand out more than any other, but certainly Good Times, Bad Times, Babe I'm Gonna Leave You, You Shook Me, Dazed and Confused, Communication Breakdown and How Many More Times are the most likely candidates.

★★★★★★★★★★

128. Jeff Beck | Truth (1968)

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Wikipedia Entry

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1. Shapes of Things
2. Let Me Love You
3. Morning Dew
4. You Shook Me
5. Ol' Man River
6. Greensleeves
7. Rock My Plimsoul
8. Beck's Bolero
9. Blues Deluxe
10. I Ain't Superstitious

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Truth is an intense album. The rhythm section lays down a loud and deep groove. On top of that is Rod Stewart's powerful and raspy vocals and Jeff Beck's guitar-playing which is a mix of soloing and fuzz. Up to this point, Jeff Beck is the only one who even comes close to doing what Hendrix can do.


This album re-invents blues rock to be louder, deeper-sounding and more aggressive. This lyrics generously borrow from the blues. There are longer breaks for guitar soloing. This might be what Jimi Hendrix would sound like minus the psychedelic stuff.


This is an outstanding album. It's definitely worth listening to and it's a must for anyone who like 70s hard rock. It's apparent that this band was a direct influence on Led Zeppelin and that Jeff Beck was an influence on Jimmy Page. The songs are all worth listening to, but the stand outs are Shapes of Things, Morning Dew, You Shook Me, 'Ol Man River, Beck's Bolero and Blues Deluxe.


★★★★★★★★★☆

123. Iron Butterfly | In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (1968)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. Most Anything You Want
2. Flowers and Beads
3. My Mirage
4. Termination
5. Are You Happy
6. In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida

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In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida is a muti-faceted album. On the first listening, it may seem like a straightforward heavy rock and roll album, but there are power ballads, riff-heavy songs and an epic seventeen-minute jam. For just six songs, that's pretty good variety.

This album is significant because it's pushing psychedelic rock in a couple of new directions. It's riff-heavy and loud and it's got lyrics which contain fantastical imagery and it has a song that is almost twenty minutes in length. As we now know, one direction leads to heavy metal and the other leads to progressive rock. To me, that's why this album is on the 1001 Albums list.

I thought the album was good, but nothing great. In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida is a tiresome and tedious song. However, because it's so self-indulgent, there's no doubt it's precursor to prog rock. The first five songs aren't terrible, but the organ needs to sound more sinister. As it is, it sounds pretty cheesy. Also, Flowers and Beads and My Mirage are perfect power ballad material, but flowery hippie imagery and heavy metal riffs don't work well together.

The stand out songs are: Most Anything You Want, Termination and Are You Happy. In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida is worth listening to at least once.

★★★★★★★★☆☆

118. Blue Cheer | Vincebus Eruptum (1968)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. Summertime Blues
2. Rock Me Baby
3. Doctor Please
4. Out of Focus
5. Parchment Farm
6. Second Time Around

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Vincebus Eruptum is a loud album. The songs are rock and roll, but they are louder and noisier.

There is something new going on her, but it's not what it may seem initially. Certainly, there have been bands that have been loud and noisy—the Monks, the Sonics, the Velvet Underground and the Jimi Hendrix Experience come to mind. It would seem that for those bands, loudness and noisiness were not ends in themselves. With Blue Cheer however, their sole purpose is to be loud and noisy.

Dickie Peterson, the bassist and lead singer of Blue Cheer, is quoted in 1001 Albums as saying rock and roll is 10 percent technique and 90 percent attitude. With this album, Blue Cheer has put that observation into practice and it's that observation which makes this album innovative.

I really enjoyed this album. However, the songs did sound a little too similar. Fortunately, the album isn't very long. The stand out songs are Summertime Blues, Rock Me Baby and Parchment Farm.

★★★★★★★★☆☆

100. The Jimi Hendrix Experience | Are You Experienced (1967)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

UK release

1. Foxy Lady
2. Manic Depression
3. Red House
4. Can You See Me
5. Love or Confusion
6. I Don't Live Today
7. May This Be Love
8. Fire
9. 3rd Stone from the Sun
10. Remember
11. Are You Experienced

US release

1. Purple Haze
2. Manic Depression
3. Hey Joe
4. Love or Confusion
5. May This Be Love
6. I Don't Live Today
7. The Wind Cries Mary
8. Fire
9. Third Stone from the Sun
10. Foxey Lady
11. Are You Experienced?

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Note: There are two versions of this album. The Wikipedia entry for this album discusses the differences between the two and the reason for the different versions. 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die discusses the UK version.

Are You Experienced is a monstrous album. The songs are loud and heavy.

With this album, Jimi Hendrix has changed the way the guitar is played on rock and roll albums. This isn't an unexpected development. Eric Clapton, Pete Townshend, Jeff Beck and Keith Richards all had hinted at a more prominent lead guitar role, but it's primacy had remained elusive. Then, Jimi Hendrix simply cut to the chase and gave the lead guitar primacy. There hardly seems any point during a song where Jimi isn't doing something significant and jaw-dropping with the guitar.

This is a must-have album. It's a must to have both the US and UK versions. Every time I listen to it, I'm amazed by how great the songs are and how great a guitarist Jimi Hendrix is. 

Every song is outstanding, so there's no point in having a stand-outs list.

★★★★★★★★★★