I discovered that I had about 40 or 50 of them already and decided to collect the top 100, on CD. Well, 24 years later (to the month) and I finally have all 1000 of them.
It’s been a heck of a journey. Tracking down some of them was difficult, some of them cost a bomb. I’ve been introduced to some great new music, and sadly, some bloomin’ awful c*@p! However, I have listened to every single one of them, in their entirety. Consequently, I have a far more varied taste in music, listening to styles I never thought I would.
On the back cover of the book, Colin Larkin says “Your record (CD) collection will never be the same again”. Well bless him, he got that absolutely right!
Having bought a handful of albums that regularly appear in “must have” lists, I came to the conclusion that either myself or the people who compile these lists have terrible musical taste.
It’s quite a feat to have bought everything in that book, but from my experience of buying recommendations, I wouldn’t attempt it.
Probably too time consuming, but it would be interesting to know in the streaming age how many of that 1000 you’d be able to find on a given streaming service - unless they were all mainstream in their specific genres I think it’d be unlikely you’d be able to get anywhere near what you did with the CDs,
If the book were published today, J wonder how many other albums you’d need to buy…
Personally I find a lot of music some people say is a “must have” is rubbish to my ears, so I would never even bother with such a book, let alone collect them. Presumably you are far less discerning (or picky) in your taste.
Haha! I wouldn’t do it again either, and I can’t hand on heart recommend doing it, to anyone else. However, I did do it, and I find my tastes in music have broadened, and from a more informed point of view than I had previously. So it has its bright side.
If it were published as a new edition today, I wouldn’t buy it. I’ve done this once, and I wouldn’t want to repeat it.
The trouble with presumption is that it’s often wrong, as is the case here. I find that I have become very much more discerning, and now I have the added benefit of experience to go with it. I no longer disregard a genre/sub genre out of my own prejudices, but instead, my choices are more informed, because I bought all the albums in the book (other books are available) and now I better understand what I do or don’t like and why. It’s been a real education for me.
Also, don’t forget, I didn’t buy all those albums because I actually wanted them, I bought them because they were on the list, for better or for worse. I’ve had some very pleasant surprises, and there were some absolute duds too.
For anyone interested, 1001 Albums has an online version which randomly picks an album on a daily basis. I gave up after a month of really obscure choices
Out of interest, what were the top 10 duds?
I bought Miles Davis “Kind Of Blue”, Steely Dan “Aja”, John Coltrane “Music For Lovers” Frank Sinatra “Songs For Swinging Lovers” and Tangerine Dream “Phaedra” based on “must have” lists. Now, I do like Tangerine Dream and have several albums of theirs, so was expecting better. The others were a total punt, and I’m afraid to say by my musical preferences, five of the top 10 worst albums in my collection.
Seriously though, I have scoured flea markets in several countries, talking about music in several languages (of which I know nothing), with some very interesting people. I have met many like minded people at record/cd fairs, and a few of them are now friends. I’ve been allowed into stock rooms at used cd shops the length and breadth of Britain to see if they have anything on my list, to aid me in my quest. I continue to support these shops whenever I’m passing with further purchases. In short, I’ve had a rollicking good time searching for these cd’s.
But you’re right. I could have just listened to them online.
I can take or leave Tangerine Dream, but own the other four and think they are all absolutely brilliant. Isn’t it refreshing that we all have different tastes.
