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1001 Album Project
Because I must hear these 1001 albums before I die
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159. The Temptations — Cloud Nine (1969)
159. The Temptations — Cloud Nine (1969)
The Temptations already had plenty of hits by the time they got around to releasing Cloud Nine, from “My Girl” to “Ain’t Too Proud To Beg,”…
Brian Braunlich
Mar 8, 2022
158. MC5 — Kick Out The Jams (1969)
158. MC5 — Kick Out The Jams (1969)
MC5 must be one of the all time “better to burn out than fade away” bands. Hailing from Lincoln Park, Michigan (hence: Motor City Five) in…
Brian Braunlich
Mar 3, 2022
157. Led Zeppelin — Led Zeppelin II (1969)
157. Led Zeppelin — Led Zeppelin II (1969)
You can tell Led Zeppelin wanted to make a splash with their second album from the initial guitar riff on “Whole Lotta Love.” It’s the kind…
Brian Braunlich
Mar 3, 2022
156. The Band — The Band (1969)
156. The Band — The Band (1969)
The Band is like a warm blanket; as soon as the initial notes of “Across The Great Divide” play to open this album, I felt totally…
Brian Braunlich
Mar 1, 2022
155. Led Zeppelin — Led Zeppelin (1969)
155. Led Zeppelin — Led Zeppelin (1969)
With one chord strummed twice, Jimmy Page and the rest of Led Zeppelin announce the heralding of a new era of blues rock, a transition from…
Brian Braunlich
Feb 24, 2022
154. Quicksilver Messenger Service — Happy Trails (1969)
154. Quicksilver Messenger Service — Happy Trails (1969)
Who’s got two thumbs and had no idea George Thoroughgood’s “Who Do You Love” is a cover? This guy! While his is clearly an improvement on…
Brian Braunlich
Feb 22, 2022
153. The Velvet Underground — The Velvet Underground (1969)
153. The Velvet Underground — The Velvet Underground (1969)
I recently watched Todd Haynes’s Velvet Underground documentary (streaming on Apple TV+). I found it to be formally interesting (aiming for…
Brian Braunlich
Feb 17, 2022
152. Elvis Presley — From Elvis in Memphis (1969)
152. Elvis Presley — From Elvis in Memphis (1969)
It’s 1969. America’s at war, with itself and with other countries it shouldn’t be; Ohio State defeated USC in the Rose Bowl; Middle America…
Brian Braunlich
Feb 15, 2022
151. Dusty Springfield — Dusty in Memphis (1969)
151. Dusty Springfield — Dusty in Memphis (1969)
Last time we heard from Dusty Springfield, way back in 1964, she was the fresh face of blue-eyed soul, and I loved her debut “A Girl…
Brian Braunlich
Feb 3, 2022
Ranking the 1001: #1–150
Because lists are fun, and a convenient way to track my own opinions of these. I’ll re-up the ranking each time I get through another ten…
Brian Braunlich
Feb 1, 2022
150. Nick Drake — Five Leaves Left (1969)
150. Nick Drake — Five Leaves Left (1969)
Like many a millennial, I was introduced to Nick Drake via the movie Garden State, a perfect pairing of music and movie, evoking the exact…
Brian Braunlich
Jan 27, 2022
149. The Rolling Stones — Let It Bleed (1969)
149. The Rolling Stones — Let It Bleed (1969)
In 2013, a music documentary called 20 Feet From Stardom was released to great acclaim — scoring a 99% “Fresh” score on Rotten Tomatoes and…
Brian Braunlich
Jan 25, 2022
148. Pentangle — Basket of Light (1969)
148. Pentangle — Basket of Light (1969)
I was caught off guard a bit by this folk-jazz album. The acoustic rhythms are nice, the sound full but simple. No surprise on those…
Brian Braunlich
Jan 20, 2022
147. Bee Gees — Odessa (1969)
147. Bee Gees — Odessa (1969)
I’ll be honest — I didn’t realize that the Bee Gees existed pre-disco. But here we have what was evidently their 6th studio album, with not…
Brian Braunlich
Jan 18, 2022
146. Miles Davis — In A Silent Way (1969)
146. Miles Davis — In A Silent Way (1969)
Been awhile since we’ve had an honest-to-god jazz album on this list, and it’s quite refreshing to hear the master at work again (or should…
Brian Braunlich
Jan 13, 2022
145. The Who — Tommy (1969)
145. The Who — Tommy (1969)
Not content with pushing the concept album forward on The Who Sell Out, Pete Townshend wanted more. An album that told a story with defined…
Brian Braunlich
Jan 11, 2022
144. The Beatles — Abbey Road (1969)
144. The Beatles — Abbey Road (1969)
In a genuinely shocking turn of events, this is the final Beatles album to make the 1001. The curators of this list omitted Let It Be, the…
Brian Braunlich
Jan 6, 2022
143. Creedence Clearwater Revival — Green River (1969)
143. Creedence Clearwater Revival — Green River (1969)
The second CCR album of 1969, and a very strong companion piece to Bayou Country. Song for song, this is another brilliant, sharp, compact…
Brian Braunlich
Jan 4, 2022
142. Johnny Cash — At San Quentin (1969)
142. Johnny Cash — At San Quentin (1969)
I guess when you hit pay-dirt the way Cash did with At Folsom Prison, you’d be crazy not to go back to the well for more. But one gets the…
Brian Braunlich
Dec 30, 2021
141. The Flying Burrito Brothers — The Gilded Palace of Sin (1969)
141. The Flying Burrito Brothers — The Gilded Palace of Sin (1969)
After hearing Gram Parsons take The Byrds in regrettable directions, I was wary of hearing this project of his. I shouldn’t have been —…
Brian Braunlich
Dec 28, 2021
Ranking the 1001: #1–140
Because lists are fun, and a convenient way to track my own opinions of these. I’ll re-up the ranking each time I get through another ten…
Brian Braunlich
Dec 23, 2021
140. Blood, Sweat, and Tears — Blood, Sweat, and Tears (1969)
140. Blood, Sweat, and Tears — Blood, Sweat, and Tears (1969)
This album is a blast, a jazzy rock and roll album that surprises at every turn. The second album by Blood, Sweat, and Tears, and the first…
Brian Braunlich
Dec 21, 2021
139. Crosby, Stills and Nash — Crosby, Stills and Nash (1969)
139. Crosby, Stills and Nash — Crosby, Stills and Nash (1969)
By the time David Crosby, Stephen Stills, and Graham Nash got together, they’d already spent the prior five years dropping enough classic…
Brian Braunlich
Dec 16, 2021
138. Creedence Clearwater Revival — Bayou Country (1969)
138. Creedence Clearwater Revival — Bayou Country (1969)
John Fogerty has entered the chat! What a sharp left turn from Captain Beefheart; here we have quintessential southern rock, back to basics…
Brian Braunlich
Dec 14, 2021
136. Neil Young with Crazy Horse — Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (1969)
136. Neil Young with Crazy Horse — Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (1969)
Finally, we escape 1968. 1968 saw 29 albums make the list, a hair shy of 1967’s 31 albums, but for my money it was a much weaker year. 1969…
Brian Braunlich
Dec 9, 2021
137. Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band — Trout Mask Replica (1969)
137. Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band — Trout Mask Replica (1969)
I am renowned for insisting to people that certain works of art — music and movies in particular — require multiple listens/viewing to…
Brian Braunlich
Dec 9, 2021
135. The Mothers of Invention — We’re Only In This For The Money (1968)
135. The Mothers of Invention — We’re Only In This For The Money (1968)
Frank Zappa is, clearly, a clown. I don’t mean that in an inherently negative way; it’s just that he often seems more interested in comedy…
Brian Braunlich
Dec 7, 2021
134. The Beatles — The Beatles (aka The White Album)
134. The Beatles — The Beatles (aka The White Album)
It’s almost like the book saw that The Byrds had as many albums as The Beatles and immediately had to correct that error. Thank goodness. I…
Brian Braunlich
Dec 2, 2021
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