Today I've found a new book titled "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die". Anyone who have read it?

I searched the web and found three different covers of what I think is the same book.

Great find, Henrik! (Well ... I suppose not that great for you, since you're the one who has to add the book to the database.)

Obviously, this is from the same publisher behind the wonderful book 1001 MOVIES YOU MUST SEE BEFORE YOU DIE. I had no idea this album book existed until just now. Of course, I will look for it.

Yes, just had a good read of it at Waterstones & Borders bookshops here in London (UK). It's just out & goes right up to around mid 2005 (it definitly includes Get Behind Me Satun & Funeral). Good book.

Are they ranked, or just listed by artist?

No ranking, just best albums, by critics, per year (1955-2005, i think). It's a bit like 'Mojo 1000, the Ultimate CD Buyers Guide (2001)' except they have nice glossy pictures of each album.

I did some searching on Amazon and found out that the book isn't coming out in the States until February. Then I went to Amazon.co.uk and found that they don't take my credit card. Bollocks, as the Brits say. Maybe I'll be able to find it at Virgin Megastore as an import.

I can't hardly believe, in Spain we already have it!
Henrik, can't help you, here the cover is also different!

I'll have to check it out when it hits the States.

I've had no luck with those Greek Albums/Songs of the Century books, but hopefully one day! I'm up to the P's in my transmitting of the 7,500 Most Important Songs book, though.

Yeah got this book for my birthday. A pretty good selection although I bemoan the fact that it does not include anything by the following artist:
1. James
2. Dead can Dance/Lisa Gerrard

Otherwise a pretty representative book and I discovered I have heard 386 of the 1001 albums :)

That's great news JR!

The full list of 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die!

1001 albums and they didn't have room for Laughing Stock?!

Someone actually posted the list?!? Fantastic! I'll definitely pore over this in detail - particularly in terms of how it might impact the Acclaimed Music list, of course.

Where's Neutral Milk Hotel, dammit?

I was scrolling for Madge and was concerned when I didn't see her. Ray of Light and Music have needed another biggie citation.

Nice to see Mimi Carey's Butterfly cited.

Thanks for the post, Henrik!!

Why no compilations were allowed?! . In Guardian's and Rolling Stone's lists they were. They aren't original albums, but it's music!!

There are a couple of confusing notations in Steve's transcription of the list regarding self-titled albums. The FRED NEIL listing says "1st Album" in parentheses; assuming this is Neil's self-titled 1966 release, the one later reissued and retitled EVERYBODY'S TALKIN' to capitalize on the title song's newfound popularity, this was not Neil's first album. Similarly, the Libertines' self-titled 2004 album is not their debut; that would be 2002's UP THE BRACKET. It's clear from the list that the self-titled albums are the correct ones, though.

I just put the list into a spreadsheet so that I could sort it by artist, and I discovered that there are only 998 albums here. Not sure if that's because of the book or the transcription. Just wanted to point it out.

I put it in a spreadsheet too, and I have some serious reservations about some of their choices, esp. on an artist-by-artist level. Guero over Mellow Gold and Midnite Vultures? Apple Venus rather than any pre-1986 XTC? One James Brown album? No 1970s Tom Waits? Rufus Wainwright represented by Wants One and Two and neither of his first 2? Colour of Spring rather than both Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock? Fuzzy Logic instead of Radiator? Phrenology instead of Things Fall Apart? Green instead of Lifes Rich Pageant? Fly or Die instead of In Search Of...??? ONE John Coltrane album? ONE Charles Mingus album? NO Ornette Coleman?!?!?

Maybe this is nitpicking, but geez....

A friend has lent me the book and the spanish edition has Sid Vicious on the cover. You can check it at http://www.lenoir.es/product_info.php/products_id/292

Honorio, on this page I also recognised other books called "Los 100 discos más vendidos de los 50" and the same for the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s. Do you know anything about these books?

I haven’t heard or seen anything about these books, but I can see that they're about sales. But I can try the translation of the text in that web-page: “This book offers the 100 most sold records of the decade, based on the sales prizes granted by the British Phonographic Industry and the Recording Industry Association of America. The works included are the ones that sold more in this period, along with the design of the original front. With each entrance, a complete information is offered, that includes the charts classification of the themes of the records, the musicians and the credits of production, as well as anecdotes on the album”

Thanks - let's forget about these books then!

A family member got this book for christmas. i had a quick look through and... bjork's post didn't make it?

then the intro is VERY erroneous- i.e. Madonna's top two sellers were Like a Virgin and True Blue- and they're not included. So, I don't think it has to do with sales!

JR, Honorio and I were talking about other books, called "Los 100 discos más vendidos de los 50, 60, 70, 80 and 90". The 1001 albums book is definitely not about sales.

Henrik, I've seen the books you talk about. If you tell me what would you like to know about them, i can have a look at them in shops.

Thanks Marty, but since the books are about sales, I am not interested in them.

Though one could wonder, I suppose, with the inclusion of an album like "...Baby One More time."

The most acclaimed album (according to Acclaimed Music) that is not in the 1001 book is PJ Harvey's "To Bring You My Love".

Well, technically the most acclaimed album not in the book is ILLINOIS. (And since it came out before GET BEHIND ME SATAN, the book's most recent entry, it could have been included.)

On another note: I've already communicated this to Henrik, but I figured anyone else who's downloaded the 1001 list from another site should know as well. Per a previous post, it turns out that the transcription at the Rocklist site is, in fact, three albums short. The three entries accidentally left out of the posted list are:

The Byrds, Younger Than Yesterday (1967)
James Taylor, Sweet Baby James (1970)
Tom Waits, Nighthawks at the Diner (1975)

According to Metacritic "Get Behind Me Satan" came out on 7 June and "Illinoise" came out on 5 July. Since "Get Behind Me Satan" was the latest record to be include in the book, I planned to blank all the albums that came out after 7 June, including "Illinois".

Any comments, Harold?

Hmm, for some reason I thought ILLINOIS had come out first. Thanks for the clarification.

I "Must" hear all these albums before I die? What happens if I don't? Does something even worse than death happen to me right before the moment I'm about to draw my last breath?

I'm really concerned about this. If it had just been "1001 Albums You 'Should' Hear Before You Die" I could live with that, safe in the knowledge that it wasn't a requirement to hear all these albums before I die. But now I've got to buy about 300-400 albums I had no interest in before, and listen to them before I pass on so that I'm not punished in the afterlife for my audio ingnorance.

Damn you, Robert Dimery!!!!

I've read the book and even though it's an interesting selection I have some solid objections:

1) Neutral Milk Hotel - "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea" isn't there.
2) "Fuzzy Logic" amd "Rings Around the World" by Super Furry Animals were included instead of "Radiator".
3) There are not enough jazz albums (especially from Miles Davis and John Coltrane).
4) Don't ask me why "Wild is the Wind" by Nina Simone was selected instead of others in her catalogue.

Nevertheless it is a decent selection.

http://rateyourmusic.com/~multiverse

Today I saw a Swedish version of this book in the bookstore, printed in 2008 with post-2005 albums included as well as a few older Swedish albums. From a websearch I found out that the book is also available in German, Spanish, etc., perhaps also with unique album selections.

I hope it could be possible to trace the album selections from every version of the book. Maybe you can help me? Anyone who's got a copy from a non-English version?

Interesting. I wouldn't think that the 1001 essential albums would differ from language to language, culture to culture. Seems like a good album should be good no matter where you live or what language you speak.

In Spain the cover of the book is different: http://www.felinomaniacohomicida.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/1001discos.jpg , but the 1001 albums are exactly the same than in other countries, in fact there aren´t any albums by Spanish bands/artists. Regards,

Fernando

There's also a version in Portuguese of the book, with the same cover of the Spanish one. Although, the list also contains albums from 2006 and 2007 (the version arrived here in Brazil in the end of last year). I remember the last (and only 2007) albums to appear in the book are Neon Bible and The Good, The Bad and The Queen (the edition must have closed right in the begining of 2007, before Sound of Silver, Kala, In Rainbows and others had been released).

I know that book and I've borrowed it at the library
The choice of albums is not bad (except that they didn't take that much albums of the '50s compared to what they did with the '80s or '90s;
for instance, no Chuck Berry !!!
It's quite popular in France, and there are lots of other books with the same formula : 1001 films, 1001 paintings, 1001 books, 1001 wines, 1001 gardens, etc, etc
The French translation of thta book is absolutely terrible.

Hi Henrik, I send you the link on http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/1001Albums.htm#Changes in case you missed it last October!

No Wilco's Summerteeth is ridiculous.

I don't think the point of the book is to be a definitive list of the 1001 best, or most worthy, albums. It's just 1001 albums that the author thinks you should hear and that he, personally, wants to write about.

It is a measure of acclaim to be included in the list (so I think it belongs here), but it shouldn't be judged so exactingly.