1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. 

Pop Culture
Written By Lizzie T

Judging by the title you’re probably thinking, “There’s no way this girl found 1001 albums and is about to list them all in one article!”. You’d be right, I am not about to do that. As much as I would love to take credit for finding these albums, I’m, one, not qualified, and two, don’t have that much time on my hands. However, I do have an amazing brother who collects records, listens to brilliantly niche albums, and is quite good at finding new ways to expand his music repertoire. Earlier this year said brother sent my family group chat a link to a website. This website was none other than ‘1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die’.

You’re now probably thinking “Great another list of things I have to do, I’ll add it to the 1001 Movies, Television shows, and Books I MUST see/read before I die!”. Don’t worry, this isn’t just another article telling you what you must do and why, but instead helps you do it. Let me explain.

Image Sourced from Goodreads: The book cover for the novel 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

‘1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die’ is a novel first published in 2005 that is part of the 1001 Before You Die series. It contains comments and knowledge on albums acknowledged by an expert group of music critics as being ‘the most important and influential in popular music’ since the 1950s (Goodreads, 2024). Although the novel doesn’t account for the albums after the 2010s each one chosen includes a scholarly explanation of its significance and influence on music and society (Goodreads, 2024).  Since I haven't read the novel, all this information comes from a Goodreads description, nevertheless, I feel compelled to speak about it as the website I mention beforehand was built from it.

“The site will help you listen to them all, One album a day.”

This actual website is, 1001albumsgenerator.com. All you got to do is put in your name, and email, send your link to who you want to share this experience with, and then viola, you’ve got an album a day for 1001 days! How does it work? I’m so glad you asked. Every day the website refreshes and gives you an iconic album from the novel, as well as a link to where you can listen to it. After 24 hours you can rate it out of five stars, write any specific thoughts you had about it, and then you get your new one.

Image Sourced from 1001albumsgenerator.com: ‘Reviews’ and ratings I have given some of the recommended albums.

Albums can take between 20 min to 2 hours to listen to, I usually get mine done while getting ready or on my way to work. However, if you don’t get the chance to listen to it that day that’s okay, you can always click the ‘Haven’t Listened Yet’ button, and it’ll just put it in the ‘History’ tab for you to reference later. Furthermore, each album has a summary and a Wikipedia link you can explore, as well as popular reviews from other users, if you’re interested. When you’ve got a couple of albums under your belt the website will produce stats for you and your group, like favorite genres and albums, as well as your average rating. The website sorts it all for you. My only note is that it doesn’t let you change the ratings you chose for albums later, so be cautious with those five stars.

Image Sourced from 1001albumsgenerator.com: The ‘1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die’ websites homepage (left), and the general layout when receiving albums on your phone (right).

If whole albums aren’t your thing, you can follow along with my album journey instead. Every time I’m listening to one of the recommended albums, I choose a favorite song and add it to my own Spotify playlist called ‘my best of the best’. Whilst they may not actually be the best of the best, they’re what my unprofessional opinion considers the best, so please don’t judge.

Since my brother sent my family and I the respected link we’ve collectively listened to nearly 55 albums. We’ll message our group chat if we overly like, or dislike, a particular album. We’ll discuss ‘better’ albums by the same artists and research more into albums we’ve never heard of. This website, despite my families swaying opinions on music, has opened a new way for us to connect over whatever genre, album or tune together.

So if you’re interested in widening your music taste, learning more about albums that have made history, or want to explore music with people close to you, this site is for you.

Can’t wait to see your reviews and ratings!

Sources:

Lizzie T
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