400 album check in

I remember starting this challenge and thinking, "I'll try it for a couple of weeks and see if I discover anything interesting." Very quickly, it turned into a daily habit to sign in every morning and see what the album is. It's been great so far, even if life sometimes makes it hard to give every album the time it deserves. I've still got the better part of 2 years to go but I'm looking towards reaching the halfway point next!

A few observarions so far:

  • The longer I do this challenge, the more I wish the author had limited it to no more than 2 albums per artist. I don't necessary mind most of the repeat artists, but I really wish they'd kept more room for some of the more glancing omissions.
  • Whenever possible, I find it's always best to listen to an album more than once. So many albums have grown on me the more I listen. No album has ever gotten worse from listening to it more than once.
  • There's something great about listening to an album (or at least starting it) first thing in the morning. The day is a blank slate and it's much easier to go in with an open mind. As the day goes on, it gets harder. Having said that, occasionally, doing this ruins my day. I really don't recommend listening to Eminem before you've had your morning coffee.
  • Reading the Wikipedia pages often really help to make the album come alive, particularly if I don't know anything about the artist. Surprisingly, this also helps with some albums that I already knew very well. I've discovered some new things about some of my favorite albums simply because it never occurred to me to read about them!
  • No one is going to love everything on this list, but I think it really helps if you can go in with the attitude that there's no such thing as a bad genre.
  • I often try to imagine that I am a fan of this artist in the year that it was first released. So much of this list has (arguably) not aged well, but if you can imagine what it must have been like at the time, it can help you appreciate the music more, even if you don't necessarily like it yourself.

And for those interested in scrutinizing my personal ratings, here we go! https://1001albumsgenerator.com/shares/63fe1e2b269acd6a694734f1