1001 albums

In 2025, I read about a project. There’s a book called 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die . I don’t particularly like bucket lists or being told what I must do before I die but what I liked about this was that someone created a simple app which offers one of these albums at random a day for the user to listen to, rate and review.

I’m almost a year in. What effect has it had on me? Well, I am no longer listening to the same curated playlists that were boring me and siloing/pigeon-holing me to a particular type of music. The result of breaking out of my algorithmic hole? I’ve discovered genres of music which have been available to us all to stream, but which were flagged as inappropriate for us.

Thanks to the 1001 Albums Generator, I have discovered a love of 60s/70s soul music, rediscovered a love of Prince and Kate Bush, deepened my love of rock music and I’ve also learnt to love the incredible sound of bongos. The bongo album provided samples for some very well-known and not so well-known rap/hip hop tunes. I’ve also listened to music that I don’t particularly enjoy, but I’m happy to have experienced it and can now have an informed opinion on artists I’d never properly heard.

What’s my point here?! We dig algorithmic holes and stay comfortably in them, unable to see beyond that which has been chosen for us. This applies to not only music, but also every area of modern life. Staying in the comfort zone is, er, comfortable but doesn’t  necessarily allow us to experience or enjoy or consider all the other options. Typically in a brief article, at this point there would be a ‘call to action’ – so here it is: why don’t you look into a new musical genre, a new podcast, a new source of world news and give it a try? At worst, you’ll be able to tell others that you don’t like it because you experienced it, at best, you’ll find something new and enjoyable.