[baystateoftheart]

I recently got a copy of the latest edition of 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, which makes for an interesting read and checklist, albeit a bit artificially constricted. It turns out I was actually thinking of buying 1000 Recordings To Hear Before You Die, which includes more genres and release formats, along with extensive recommendations for further listening, so that's next I suppose.

Also, while reading about these two books, I saw someone recommend the brighter sounding 1000 Albums For A Long And Happy Life, which while not a book is an interesting list. Which list of 1000 or more albums to hear in a lifetime do you like the best? Would you ever consider listening to an entire list and/or making your own?

If you want to check off what you've heard, here are checklists for 1001 and 1000. I'm currently at 605 and 351, respectively. How about you?

By the way, I've been slowly building my own 1001+ Great Albums List since 2017, which is probably many years from being properly filled out, pruned, and ranked.
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[Hayden]

I've listened to most of these— I'll do a count, but I'm guessing it's 95%+ —

I'd be very interested in curating a list like this. It's tonnes of work, course, but you can't disagree with the reality that it's influential. Lists like this and RS's 500 really cemented the concept of canon listening. There's so many albums though. Like, there's a lot. In the world. Y'know. I actually think it's very easy to whip up a list of 1000 recommendable albums— but— to whip up a list of 1000 recommendable albums that are important to listen to, from an array of different artists, different genres, different countries, traditional, contemporary, etc, etc, would be an excellent deep-dive project—

I have nothing against the publication, but I do wish it leaned a little less western. Let's be real. You listen to all 1000 of these albums thinking it gives you an all-encompassing vision of music, well... it's missing lots—

But yeah, I'd have a hard time selecting a definitive essential 1000 albums. It'd be a blast, but I'd probably second-guess myself the entire time. Especially differentiating between 1000 essential albums and 1000 best albums, which don't always cross over— course, it's also what makes sites like this so great— 100s of ears working at once, etc, ranking, tabulating— only issue is when those 100s of ears are listening to the same things—

Not to derail you here Baystate, but a lot of my recent listens have come from this list—
Los 600 de Latinoamérica 600 DISCOS 1920-2022
—which has been an absolute treasure-trove, and a punch-in-the-face reminder on how little I know, even of a region I think I've explored so much of already—

Now, compiling something like this one—

[Romanelli]

The BEA top 1000 actually works for me. It's a huge help in hearing music I'm not familiar with, as well as music I haven't heard in a long time. Plus it's right here. Makes it really easy. And setting a goal to own the entire top 1000 has been fun, most interesting, and challenging. Right now, I own 807 of the top 1000, and all of the top 550.

I tried, for years, to follow publications like RS (I used to use the RS Record Guides as a bible. All 3 volumes.), but in the end, I also decided that I didn't want to end up buying based on what critics had to say. My mind opened to more music as I read less of what others had to say. Best music decision of my life.

I don't worry about non-Western music. I get enough with what I've heard over a lifetime. I do listen to more Western music, because, well, that's where I live. It's what I play and write, and it's what's most readily available to me. A person could go crazy trying to listen to the entire world. So I take what falls my way. And truth be told...even if I never venture far from my comfort zone, there is absolutely zero chance that I will ever hear it all. I like music from other places. But I just don't have the room to go out trying to collect all of it.

But, that's just me. We all go about this craziness in our own way. I listen to almost no new music. I'm still catching up on an entire lifetime of albums from years and decades before. Those albums will still be there when I get to them eventually. At least, the ones worth hearing will be. By the time I get to 2025, the lesser albums will have already slipped into oblivion. I know that makes me something of a weirdo here, but I don't care. Like I said...we all do this our own way.

Those lists are interesting. Lots of classical stuff, and a few questionable items...but mostly as solid as something like that can be.
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I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history

[Liedzeit]

I know/own about 250 of the 1001 records and since I am not that far away from death I started listening to the others four years ago. And so far managed to listen to maybe 200 or so. And it is a frustrating experience. Most of them I would not listen to again if someone paid me for it. I know this only proves how ignorant I am. I stopped the project a year ago but I will start again. I am sure there must be some nice unknown albums in the list.
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When the stewardess is near do not show any fear.

[baystateoftheart]

[baystateoftheart]

[baystateoftheart]

[Hayden]

[Johnnyo]

[Norman Bates]