1001 Songs: You Must Hear Before You Die
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- Create Date：2021-06-11 09:54:22
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Robert Dimery
- ISBN：1788400895
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Summary
This latest addition to the best-selling 1001 series offers more than ever— the world’s biggest and best playlist， referencing over 10，000 must-download songs。 This book offers more than any previous book in the series。 While each main entry profiles and illustrates 1，001 primary songs， it places that song into a contextual web of music history with references to other songs that are musically related。 Thus， each entry points to alternate versions， covers， riffs， and influences effectively expanding the total number to 10，000。 From the Beatles to Beyoncé， from Elvis to Elvis Costello， from Frank Sinatra to Rufus Wainwright， the full spectrum is covered chronologically and includes additional ancillary lists of "must-hear" songs grouped by subgenre and other special categories。 Each song is analyzed by an international team of critics who explain why you must hear it。 Included are key details such as lyricist， composer， producer， and label， making this a music treasure trove perfect for anyone into music， addicted to downloading， or those just getting started。
Reviews
Vanessa （V。C。）
，
I've savored this book over the years by listening to each song/reading each segment on them one by one when I had the time and for fun， and let me tell you， this book is FANTASTIC。 I LOVED how it was sectioned by year/era， and each time it was kicked off with a few bullet points that give a gist on the historical context to suggest the flavor of possibly why and how these songs and their themes came to be， and by the songs that followed， it very well served that purpose and one can see clearly I've savored this book over the years by listening to each song/reading each segment on them one by one when I had the time and for fun， and let me tell you， this book is FANTASTIC。 I LOVED how it was sectioned by year/era， and each time it was kicked off with a few bullet points that give a gist on the historical context to suggest the flavor of possibly why and how these songs and their themes came to be， and by the songs that followed， it very well served that purpose and one can see clearly what defined the times。 I can imagine that it may conjure a lot of memories for people who remember when the song（s） was first released， and not to mention， they sure were a joy to read as they also gave us a little bit of recording industry gossip and legend and tragedy and triumph in between。 Not to mention， THE DIVERSITY。 They didn't list just the American， French， and British songs we all love， it wasn't a constant mention of The Beatles/Stones/Who， it wasn't Anglo-centric like most music books tend to be， there were nods to other nations and cultures that also released such amazing songs that deserve as much praise and attention。 The backstories were succinct but super helpful and oftentimes inspired me to read further into the history of the song and sometimes the artist， naturally it won't go into every detail， but it gave us just enough information， as a starter。 I even formed a new love to some of the artists on here based on just the one song and went on to listen to full albums from there that I can now call a favorite。 Great fun！ If there's only one minor distraction was some of the typos， like the repetition of "The the" in the introduction of The Police's "Message in the Bottle" （pg。 455） and it happened again on the last paragraph for the blurb of Blondie's "Rapture" （pg。 459）， and while it was great how well they sectioned the era and their songs that made it breezy and accessible without overwhelming the reader， the table of context was useless as it listed all of the artists and the songs that got mentioned BUT with no page number where to find them with exception to only a few songs that they bothered to do that， which renders the table of context pretty useless especially for an over 900 page book！ So if you want to revisit a song， you have to literally look for it manually yourself。 Not that this is a total downer， but it begs the question， why have a table of context at all？ While annoying and unfortunate， those little flaws did not take away from the sheer pleasure， enjoyment， and importance of this incredible music reference book。 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die is not merely for the coffee table， for all music lovers， it's a book for the heart。 。。。more
Jonathan Crary
，
The 50's， 60's， 70's and most of the '80's were really well documented in this book。 I found that the book just mirrored the sister book "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die" from time to time and more so towards the '80's and 90's which I found annoying。 However， that being said， I thought they did a good job with the early to mid '60's giving the reader/ listener an opportunity to hear some of the most explosive and iconic tunes; plus， the book did highlight French and Italian hits really The 50's， 60's， 70's and most of the '80's were really well documented in this book。 I found that the book just mirrored the sister book "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die" from time to time and more so towards the '80's and 90's which I found annoying。 However， that being said， I thought they did a good job with the early to mid '60's giving the reader/ listener an opportunity to hear some of the most explosive and iconic tunes; plus， the book did highlight French and Italian hits really well。 I applaud the editors for that。 Once you found yourself in the '90's， they just sort of slid into a pattern of taking the biggest hit or one big song from that particular album they mentioned in the other book。 If you stop reading/ listening this book by 1990， you are doing yourself a favor， and this comment comes from someone who adores post- 2000's music more than 90% of the people my age and older。 。。。more
Gabriel
，
É um livro muito agradável e fácil。 A leitura é suave e despreocupada， agradável de prosseguir。 Além disso， o leitor recebe o bônus de colocar as músicas enquanto você lê sobre elas， para ver se você vai gostar ou não。 Um tipo de pesquisa muito divertida。Não há muito a dizer sobre este livro， na minha opinião。 É uma boa leitura para passar o tempo， embora pareça claro para mim que nem todo mundo vai concordar com a lista。 No entanto， continua a ser uma boa compilação， com razões elaboradas para É um livro muito agradável e fácil。 A leitura é suave e despreocupada， agradável de prosseguir。 Além disso， o leitor recebe o bônus de colocar as músicas enquanto você lê sobre elas， para ver se você vai gostar ou não。 Um tipo de pesquisa muito divertida。Não há muito a dizer sobre este livro， na minha opinião。 É uma boa leitura para passar o tempo， embora pareça claro para mim que nem todo mundo vai concordar com a lista。 No entanto， continua a ser uma boa compilação， com razões elaboradas para as escolhas。 E é isso。=="==It's a very nice and easy book。 The reading is smooth and unconcerned， pleasant to keep going。 Also， the reader gets the bonus of putting the songs on as you're reading about them， to see if you're going to like it or not。 A very fun type of research。Not much to say about this book， in my opinion。 It's a nice reading to pass the time， albeit it seems clear to me that not everyone is going to agree on the list。 Nonetheless， it remains a nice compilation， with elaborated reasons for the pickings。 And that's pretty much it。 。。。more
Darren
，
Some really strange admissions。 Utter crap that no one considers good or groundbreaking eg a tramp singing one line over classical music for over 20 minutes。Possibly some snobbish admissions: Robbie Williams has won more Brit awards than anyone and has more number one albums than any other British man （solo） but not a song in here。Also if I was going to make some last minute changes， drop some songs for more recent releases， I’d make damn sure the index was changed accordingly。Despite the negati Some really strange admissions。 Utter crap that no one considers good or groundbreaking eg a tramp singing one line over classical music for over 20 minutes。Possibly some snobbish admissions: Robbie Williams has won more Brit awards than anyone and has more number one albums than any other British man （solo） but not a song in here。Also if I was going to make some last minute changes， drop some songs for more recent releases， I’d make damn sure the index was changed accordingly。Despite the negatives it was interesting and I did enjoy listening to some new （to me） tracks。 。。。more
Leigh Anne
，
Pop music 101， or a fun trip down memory lane， depending on how you look at it。Best-of books are always highly subjective， but this trip through pop music will surprise and please even folks who think they've heard it all。 For starters， "pop" doesn't mean just American or British here， and no one genre corners the market on what makes a good pop song。 Pop， after all， simply means "popular，" and while you may not like what that means in 2020， pulling back the camera to see what it has meant in th Pop music 101， or a fun trip down memory lane， depending on how you look at it。Best-of books are always highly subjective， but this trip through pop music will surprise and please even folks who think they've heard it all。 For starters， "pop" doesn't mean just American or British here， and no one genre corners the market on what makes a good pop song。 Pop， after all， simply means "popular，" and while you may not like what that means in 2020， pulling back the camera to see what it has meant in the past provides fascinating insights。 Acknowledging that 1001 is an arbitrary number， and that there are many great songs out there， the editor has included a list of 10，001 （！） listed at the back in TEENY TINY PRINT。 This is hard on the eyes， but good for the reader， as the book is already thick as a brick， if you'll pardon the pun。The best way to approach this book is the one that takes the longest time， so make sure your library either has unlimited renewals。 If not， just go buy yourself a copy， as it's totally worth it。 To get the full effect from this book， do the following:1。 Find the song on YouTube and listen to it。2。 Read the essay that goes along with it。3。 Listen to the song again with your newfound understanding of the work。Yes， you have other things to do with your life， but music is one of those things that makes life worth living， so， give it a shot。 Feel free to skip songs you already know， though the stories behind THOSE songs may open up additional listening pleasure for you as well。Highly recommended for all libraries as a fun way to cover your popular music bases。 I didn't stop to check before writing this review if there were a more recent edition， but I hope there is， or will be。 We've been making music for thousands of years and haven't used up all the sounds yet， and it's kind of amazing。 Listen for yourself: that sentence can be read with two meanings， and I emphatically mean both。 。。。more
Mary
，
This book features songs critiqued by about 50 contributors， covering music from the early 1920's through 2010，with mostly American and British artists， but also with some representation of artists the world over。 About 50% of the music in this book was totally new to me， and I can't say I'd describe these as "must hear" tracks， but I appreciated the new musical exposure。 Similarly， there were artists listed here， but not for the track that I would pick （though frequently those tracks would be l This book features songs critiqued by about 50 contributors， covering music from the early 1920's through 2010，with mostly American and British artists， but also with some representation of artists the world over。 About 50% of the music in this book was totally new to me， and I can't say I'd describe these as "must hear" tracks， but I appreciated the new musical exposure。 Similarly， there were artists listed here， but not for the track that I would pick （though frequently those tracks would be listed in the extensive index of songs。） Would recommend for music aficionados and those seeking new musical experiences and pathways。 。。。more
Natasha Emerson
，
Comprehensive， interesting， and succinct reading。
Jon
，
Writing about music is like dancing about architecture - Frank Zappa （attr。）
Franceska Madden
，
Fucking Africa by Toto isn't in this。 Actual disgrace Fucking Africa by Toto isn't in this。 Actual disgrace 。。。more
Sharon
，
It's taken me nearly two years but thanks to YouTube I've listened to every single song （not all of them all the way through）。 It's been a fascinating journey。 I listened to the originals of many Elvis Costello songs I'm very familiar with， I listened to many songs I never want to hear again， I discovered some gorgeous songs I didn't know about and I rediscovered some classics。 Not surprisingly for me， I enjoyed listening to music of the 50s， 60s， 70s and early 80s。 It was comforting to confirm It's taken me nearly two years but thanks to YouTube I've listened to every single song （not all of them all the way through）。 It's been a fascinating journey。 I listened to the originals of many Elvis Costello songs I'm very familiar with， I listened to many songs I never want to hear again， I discovered some gorgeous songs I didn't know about and I rediscovered some classics。 Not surprisingly for me， I enjoyed listening to music of the 50s， 60s， 70s and early 80s。 It was comforting to confirm that my lack of interest in music of the 90s and 2000s was not because I was busy doing other things but simply because （with very few exceptions） I just didn't like the music。 There were some songs I'd known for years but found a new appreciation for， such as Shakin' All Over by Johnny Kidd & The Pirates （1960）The House of the Rising Sun by The Animals （1964）All the Young Dudes by Mott the Hoople （1972）Sweet Gene Vincent by Ian Dury （1977）Some I didn't know but now love:Sinnerman by Nina Simone （1965）Psycho by The Sonics （1965）Pushing Too Hard by The Seeds （1966） Psychotic Reaction by The Count Five （1966）Inner City Blues （Makes Me Wanna Holler） by Marvin Gaye （1971）Cattle and Cane by The Go-Betweens （1982）Can't Be Sure by The Sundays （1989）Consolation Prizes by Phoenix （2006）The book has its flaws， particularly in terms of balance - very little ska and reggae， for example - but I'm very happy that I listened to everything。 。。。more
Martin Ridgway
，
This is loads more fun than the 1001 Albums！The format is the same but the range is wider because they don't have to find a whole album that meets the authors' quality criteria。But the real highlight for me is the index （bear with me on this） because it doesn't just index the 1001 songs but also references （just by artist and title） 9000 more that didn't quite make the cut into the main body of the book。 OK， ignore Anita Bryant's Paper Roses， but there are some weird gems here: and a whole bundl This is loads more fun than the 1001 Albums！The format is the same but the range is wider because they don't have to find a whole album that meets the authors' quality criteria。But the real highlight for me is the index （bear with me on this） because it doesn't just index the 1001 songs but also references （just by artist and title） 9000 more that didn't quite make the cut into the main body of the book。 OK， ignore Anita Bryant's Paper Roses， but there are some weird gems here: and a whole bundle of non-English language picks as well。 Get into and start digging。 。。。more
Jane
，
내가 얼마나 좁게 음악을 듣고 있었는지 새삼 느꼈다
Adam
，
There's always going to be a problem with list books like this - because no matter how many people there are involved in the compilation of such， it is always going to end up with some subjective viewpoints on what's good or not。 Are some of my favourite songs missing -yes， are some songs I loathe present - yes， and do you know that doesn't matter a jot。I'm sure rock fans will moan that there's too much rap， rap fans moan there's too much country， country fans that there's too much jazz， and so There's always going to be a problem with list books like this - because no matter how many people there are involved in the compilation of such， it is always going to end up with some subjective viewpoints on what's good or not。 Are some of my favourite songs missing -yes， are some songs I loathe present - yes， and do you know that doesn't matter a jot。I'm sure rock fans will moan that there's too much rap， rap fans moan there's too much country， country fans that there's too much jazz， and so on and so forth ad infinitum。 I don't think that's the purpose of this book。 As I see it it's much more of a primer - here are some influential songs songs from a variety of acts， here are some songs that are most representative （even if they're not the best） of a genre， here are some songs that give us an idea of what a specific important artist sounds like。 It's that kind of list。 I knew many of the songs here， and didn't know plenty more - some intrigued me and I went I hunted them down， others just didn't grab me and so I didn't。 Again this doesn't matter - it's that we know they exist and are important， representative or influential that matters。The writers appear to know their stuff and most entries are enthusiastic about the subject - and those that I didn't go and search down weren't because the write-ups put me off， but more because I don't like that style of music。If I have a criticism it's around the last entries - I can't remember when this edition was published， 2012/13ish， but of the last four entries three were the most recent offerings from Springsteen， The Stones & Bowie。 This feels like the editors have decided that they couldn't tell from the current crop what may well be influential and important in the future， so have fallen back on these old war horses to fill out the pages。 （Not to denigrate any of the above acts - but I believe that it wouldn't only be the most ardent of their fans who wold clamour for those particular tracks to be included in this tome。Nonetheless it is an enjoyable and informative book， and one I will return to often。 。。。more
Jojo
，
I was thoroughly shocked and beanboozled this book did NOT include Mars Volta's "Cassandra Gemini"！！！ How do you even want to be taken seriously， author？！ 0/10 I was thoroughly shocked and beanboozled this book did NOT include Mars Volta's "Cassandra Gemini"！！！ How do you even want to be taken seriously， author？！ 0/10 。。。more
Al Capwned
，
It's mediocre， mostly because it seems quite subjective but you can still learn something about each song's history and background。 It's mediocre， mostly because it seems quite subjective but you can still learn something about each song's history and background。 。。。more
Miguel R。 Luaces
，
La lista no está mal。 La descripción de cada canción es pobre y aburrida。 Siempre sigue el mismo esquema: quien la compuso， quien la canta， a que suena， y cómo lo hizo en las listas。 Pero no hay profundidad: ni crítica ni análisis de por qué la canción es una de las elegidas。
Jill
，
This book was an interesting read， listing songs for each decade beginning from the 1920's。 I especially enjoyed learning more about the earlier artists such as Bessie Smith， Billie Holiday and Mahalia Jackson。 I had my iPad in one hand so I could listen along on iTunes as I flipped thru the pages。 This book was an interesting read， listing songs for each decade beginning from the 1920's。 I especially enjoyed learning more about the earlier artists such as Bessie Smith， Billie Holiday and Mahalia Jackson。 I had my iPad in one hand so I could listen along on iTunes as I flipped thru the pages。 。。。more
Özlem Güzelharcan
，
Şarkıları dinleyerek okumaya başladım ama hayal ettiğim gibi eğlenceli， heyecan verici bir okuma olmadı。 Bir iki şarkıdaki bilgi dışında da yeni bir şey öğrendiğimi söyleyemem。 Şımarık'ın listede olması ise beni hem şaşırttı hem de mutlu etti。 Şarkıları dinleyerek okumaya başladım ama hayal ettiğim gibi eğlenceli， heyecan verici bir okuma olmadı。 Bir iki şarkıdaki bilgi dışında da yeni bir şey öğrendiğimi söyleyemem。 Şımarık'ın listede olması ise beni hem şaşırttı hem de mutlu etti。 。。。more
Michael
，
Full of little known facts and rock and roll trivia。 I lost interest toward the end much as I've lost interest in popular music since 1990。 No fault of the authors'。 Full of little known facts and rock and roll trivia。 I lost interest toward the end much as I've lost interest in popular music since 1990。 No fault of the authors'。 。。。more
Joseph
，
Not surprisingly， some really bizarre choices。
Kirsten Pedersen
，
It's a list book- so pretty much straight forward opinions about 1001 Songs by various music nerds/critics。 It's not ground breaking in it's format， but I appreciate it's attempt to break out of the English language music trap most lists adhere to and introduce different styles and countries into the mix。 It's a list book- so pretty much straight forward opinions about 1001 Songs by various music nerds/critics。 It's not ground breaking in it's format， but I appreciate it's attempt to break out of the English language music trap most lists adhere to and introduce different styles and countries into the mix。 。。。more
David Roberts
，
As an audiophile I couldn't resist this book。 So， I've listened to everyone of then， even made a play list。 My verdict: about 500 are necessary to listen to before you die， 500 are not， and one may hasten your death。 Read/listen to find out which one！ As an audiophile I couldn't resist this book。 So， I've listened to everyone of then， even made a play list。 My verdict: about 500 are necessary to listen to before you die， 500 are not， and one may hasten your death。 Read/listen to find out which one！ 。。。more
The
，
decent recommendations and commentary。
Cami
，
Really great bites of information on some great songs。 （My apologies to any and all who were buried in a deluge of musical information after I wrapped up my reading/scanning of this book）I could own this book。If the writers are to be believed， it is not pop that endures， but the alternative music， the 'B-sides'， the obscure brought to light。There is also a crazy-thorough list of about 10，000 songs so worth listening to。 I always love to see my tastes validated。Music！ Music！ Music！ Music！ Music！ Really great bites of information on some great songs。 （My apologies to any and all who were buried in a deluge of musical information after I wrapped up my reading/scanning of this book）I could own this book。If the writers are to be believed， it is not pop that endures， but the alternative music， the 'B-sides'， the obscure brought to light。There is also a crazy-thorough list of about 10，000 songs so worth listening to。 I always love to see my tastes validated。Music！ Music！ Music！ Music！ Music！ Music！ 。。。more
Jax Goss
，
Finally worked my way through this one。 It was good fun， and rather informative。 :）
John Siden
，
This book just made me go on a search for what I hadn't heard and compile playlists of the songs in here that I had。I have come back to this book for reference many times。 This book just made me go on a search for what I hadn't heard and compile playlists of the songs in here that I had。I have come back to this book for reference many times。 。。。more
Patrick Matte
，
Un voyage musical intéressant， surtout si on le fait en écoutant les chansons。
Sue
，
This book is huge， and I feel a little bit guilty marking it as "read"， since there is no chance that I'm going to read the whole book。 Truthfully。。。I read the 80s on。 And skipped some songs that I wasn't interested in。 I knew a fair number of them， and really enjoyed reading some of the back story about them。 Unlike 1000 songs to change your life， I marked every other page of this book to either listen to a song that I wanted to hear for the first time， or to savour one that I had loved in the This book is huge， and I feel a little bit guilty marking it as "read"， since there is no chance that I'm going to read the whole book。 Truthfully。。。I read the 80s on。 And skipped some songs that I wasn't interested in。 I knew a fair number of them， and really enjoyed reading some of the back story about them。 Unlike 1000 songs to change your life， I marked every other page of this book to either listen to a song that I wanted to hear for the first time， or to savour one that I had loved in the past。Was a great trip。 。。。more
Alyson
，
Seriously lacking beyond the scope of American music - only the most obvious foreign choices are present， and even some of these are questionable。 Where are the Canadian artists - and where is the country music？？？ This was mostly just subjective crap - either you agree with the choices， or you vehemently disagree。
Ashley
，