Reviews (page 8 of 16)
Awesome album.
This album has a special place in my heart. I remember borrowing the CD multiple times from the library and rocking out top to bottom. The singles got regular airplay on the local alternative radio station despite being weird and long. Holds up so well to this day as one of the best albums of the 90s. Every day it gets harder to listen to the band because of their terrible politics (how far they’ve come from their roots) but this album will always exist as a perfect time capsule.
I didn't know their politics got shitty. I still think it's a well crafted album.
★★★★★★
What an amazing album
Corta venas, seguro, pero ¿No es el retrato de los momentos que vive nuestra sociedad, y nuestra juventud?. A no quejarse y disfrutarlo con la lágrima en la mejilla. Musicalmente, muy buena.
Nothing better from that time period. Nothing.
Really great album.
i think this is my favourite album of radiohead's. it is really fantastic and so clever, and has aged so well.
Indie rock. creative, unique, beautiful and sad. Heartachingly beautiful passages.
Of the two Radiohead albums I know, this one is far superior to Kid A. OK Computer is loaded with solid tracks from start to finish, and it never really lets up. “Subterranean Homesick Alien” stands out as a really cool nod to Dylan, both in name and attitude. The album as a whole has this moody, futuristic vibe, but it’s still grounded by great songwriting and a lot of emotional punch. Even if you’re not the world’s biggest Radiohead fan, it’s easy to see why this record gets so much praise. Every song feels intentional, and it all holds up years later.
Wonderful album. Takes many a listen and much time BUT is a great journey and once you get into it, is fantastic. Their last really great album to THESE ears and i know that is sacrilege to some. After this they seemed to forget about songs.
This had to happen eventually. I know you're supposed to love radiohead but I've never understood. But like I've never listened to an actual album so maybe this will be a massive eye opener. It won't. But it could! But it won't. Still. Open mind. Boring noise so far! Sorry but paranoid android is just the polar opposite of what i want to hear when i press play on anything ever. MAYBE the guitar bit at the end is alright but that's probably just in comparison to the rest of it. One or two have started with a bit of instruments that's made me go 'ooh maybe this one's gonna be alright' and then inevitably Thom Yorke appears and ruins it. Let Down might be okay. But like I'd skip it on shuffle. Same with No Surprises and maybe MAYBE Karma Police if it was shorter. Like if either came on the radio at work I wouldn't actively want to throw the speaker against the wall but if they came on the radio in my car I would immediately change the station. This is me trying to be positive. Fitter Happier best track (no Thom Yorke voice). Start of Electioneering i got excited but actually in attempting to do an upbeat one have they just done a mid oasis track. Still probably my actual favourite song here - chance that i wouldnt change the station if it came on the radio in my car- but objectively possibly the worst?? Genre issue ig. Here's the positive takeaways: 1. I can mostly tell the songs apart, I can appreciate some of whats going on instrumentally, it held my attention even though i didn't enjoy it. Contrary to my bad attitude i'm giving it more than a 1. 2. if No Surprises was The Slow Number on a different album i would probably like it. It's a good song. 3. having actually listened to ok computer in full i can understand why a person that isn't me might want to listen to radiohead. 4. I can back up saying I Hate Radiohead with having actually listened to ok computer in full. Is that okay. Can I go now.
Perfection
Never understood people who suffer in silence when you can play Radiohead
Oooook???? The best album in the world ever according to virgins worldwide. If you have not felt the warm embrace of another person, this album is your life. I kid. As a man with particularly eccentric interests myself (god that sounds like I collect taxidermied humans or something), I understand being an obsessive weirdo. I hope to understand the hype as I enter the thrilling world of Y2K era computer-based art. I have firmly affixed my hacker eye piece and I am ready to say “OK computer, show me some beefed up hogs wrestling over a big tire in a field.” Airbag - Am I getting U2 from this? Why am I asking? I am. It’s “creep”ing into my head. I can’t escape them. The music itself is very innovative here though. Somehow rocking extremely hard underneath vocals I’m not enjoying at all. Paranoid Android - Wait a second, androids can’t feel emotions. Explain yourself. Oh yeah. Way fewer U2 feelings here. Hellacious riff about halfway through and a continuation of the very interesting musical experimentation that permeated the first track. Whether Android, iPhone, or rocking back and forth in a damp cellar trying to come down off of dopamine addiction, I think we can all get along under the banner of the android. Subterranean Homesick Alien - Bob Dylan reference on a Radiohead song? Holy sweet hell. This probably caused literal shockwaves in whatever community I haven’t poked fun at yet. Warhammer 40k players? Backgammon associate masters? Who cares. Exit Music (For a Film) - Thanks for spelling it out, Thommy. Is it Thom? I think so. This is a fantastic song. Moody, dark, and even a little heavy in places. I was going to make dumb jokes about the fact that they really jammed “for a film” in there, but this song kind of just took the wind out of my bad joke writing. How dare you. Let Down - This may be the greatest gambit ever pulled. Call the bad song on your record Let Down. Genius. 10 star salute to my bois in the band. Karma Police - A song that has been firmly planted in my A(u)(r)tistic playlist for a long time. It’s a beautiful song. So Fitter Happier - No more bad stuff. Stephen Hawking slayed this feature. Years ahead of the trend of putting dumb celebrities in dumber songs. Disclaimer: I am not proud of the Stephen Hawking “joke.” It is the laziest, garbage-iest, meme-iest type of humour that there is, and it should’ve stayed in 2002. But if I said, “is this the same guy that does “Jennifer,” the opening track on “Prowler in the Yard.””Would you have ANY idea what I’m talking about? Oh who cares. I could write a detailed terrorist plot in here and nobody would read it. Cool track. Electioneering - They seem to do a bad song, followed by a great song, followed by a bad song. Perhaps that is another concept that’s wafting above my admittedly stunted head. My actual head is HUGE, but the brain inside doesn’t quite live up to its gigantic casing. It’s like a AA battery trying to power a small city. This song does continue the trend. Climbing Up the Walls - The pattern continues. This song is interesting and grabbed me from the start. I even like the song title. Anxiety in a musical format. Gotta be the best genre goin’. No Surprises - None? I had a whole 30th anniversary planned for May 28, 2027. Do you think it’s cheap to rent out the Bridgewater Legion Hall?? You know what? I’m starting to think you guys don’t even want to come hang out with me in Nova Scotia in two years. I know that can’t be it, so what’s wrong? Cold shoulder. Listen. This song is not as good as the previous one, but it’s alright. Trend sort of broken. Now will you visit?? I bought streamers. Lucky - L-U-C-K-Y somethin’ somethin’ pussy on fire. When will we be reviewing RuPaul music? I assume she’s got 6 or 7 albums on here. While we wait for that fabulous day, I am still in the midst of this technology opus. There really hasn’t been any computer talk. I’m crushed. This is fine. The Tourist - The enemy of all angry hippies worldwide. Somebody cares about my city? I HATE THEM SO MUCH. It’s their fault prices are going up, and not the evil opportunistic monsters that created and thrive in the cesspool that they have ensnared us in. Yeah this song is real depressing. I think that’s the aim. Kind of a snooze for me, as I’m not really feeling that particular way right now. I suppose that’s a good thing. This is obviously a meticulously crafted record. I typically feel one of two ways when I come to review the “big critical success” albums. I am usually excited, but I can also be overwhelmed by the volume of opinions and I can sometimes feel like an alien. Of this is your favourite album, good for you. I think it’s a fine choice. You can tell it is musically capable, and Radiohead did a lot of supremely interesting things with the rock genre here. They wrote beautiful melodies, hard-driving riffs, and crafted some excellent soundscapes. They also produced some extensive boredom. It’s not because I’m some dolt that needs to be thrilled with each and every note, but certainly on a first pass, there were stretches where k thought there was too much air, or where the vocals veered into obnoxious and whiny tones. When you meld these two critiques, you’re left with a good album. One that I will revisit, but nothing that changed my life. Accessing mainframe. I’m in. 3.5 HIGHLIGHTS: Paranoid Android, Exit Music (For a Film), Karma Police, Fitter Happier, Climbing Up the Walls
Iconic.
It’s been over a year since my last review for a Radiohead album, but today will be my fifth, and ultimately penultimate album of theirs to review. So far, I’ve given four stars to Kid A, In Rainbows, and Hail to the Thief, but The Bends has easily been my favorite Radiohead album so far, and the only one of theirs to get five stars from me. It looks like OK Computer is their highest rated album on this list, and I know its sound is closer to The Bends than any of their other work, so I’m really excited to listen to this. This will be the only Radiohead album that I know songs off of before listening to it, so that adds to the excitement some as well. I didn’t fall in love with OK Computer, but I thought it was just as good as every Radiohead album not named The Bends that I’ve listened to so far. Just like other Radiohead albums, I really enjoyed Thom Yorke’s vocals, although his singing felt a lot more mumbling on this album. Also, I just realized today that Matthew Bellamy from Muse sounds quite similar to Thom Yorke in terms of his falsetto singing style. Interesting. Radiohead does such a great job of creating beautifully complicated arrangements, and that skill was on full display on OK Computer. Having heard both The Bends and Kid A, I thought OK Computer built a really interesting bridge between those two albums, and a really interesting Bridge from Radiohead’s guitar rock sound to the more experimental sound. I figured this album’s lyrics would probably fall into the themes of technology and society, and my hunch was definitely correct. OK Computer’s lyrics have aged incredibly well, and they feel just as relevant during today’s AI revolution as they did during the internet revolution of the nineties. As far as my favorite songs on this album are concerned, I really enjoyed “Paranoid Android,” “Subterranean Homesick Alien,” “Let Down,” “Karma Police,” and “Electioneering.” “Paranoid Android” took me a couple of listens to appreciate, but I enjoyed that there were so many musical elements that came and went throughout the course of the song. I loved how each of those elements took a turn at the same chord progression, but my favorite were the chimes towards the beginning of the song. “Subterranean Homesick Alien” was really great too. It had a very ethereal and otherworldly quality to its sound that created a fantastic atmosphere, and I thought the shimmering guitar playing was fantastic. While The Bends wasn’t supplanted as my favorite Radiohead album, I still thought OK Computer was really good, and it managed to blend ‘guitar rock Radiohead’ and ‘experimental Radiohead’ in a way that was really fun and interesting.
Ok Radiohead
Definitely one of the best albums of all time, almost every song is a masterpiece, every song is good
Good album, engaging. Great guitar work and vocals. Probably my 2nd favorite Radiohead album after The Bends
Once again, Thom Yorke knows how to make an album, not just a sequence of songs. It flows together seamlessly, it hits really interesting musical ideas. It's catchy. Just another solid album.
I will never forget being 13 years old and seeing the video for Paranoid Android on MTV. Blew my mind. This record has held up astonishingly well these last nearly 30 years. An easy 5/5.
even though this isn’t my favorite radiohead album, it’s still amazing
sehr nice! wird mit de zit biiz langwiirig und isch teils chli lärmig. aber ich find d musig sehr spannend zum lose, sowohl wenn me gnau anelost, als au als hintergrundmusig. exit music (for a film) isch min lieblingssong vo dem album und ghört au generell zu mine favorites. ich liebs dass si de passus duriusculus i dem song iibaut hend!
A good album start to finish. It's a bit self indulgent. Wasn't a fan of their music when it came out but after hearing it in a Father Ted episode I grew to enjoy some of it
It’s Radiohead so yeah it’s getting another 5 from me. I’m loving the run of The Smile albums from Jonny and Thom but I would love to hear another Radiohead album.
One of my favorites from them. Instantly takes me back. I'll just go ahead and give this a 5.
A god-damned masterpiece. Perfect. Life-changing. Somehow approaching 30 years old 🥺 but it still hits.
This one takes me back. What a great album. I feel like once Radiohead started writing this kind of music (the post Pablo Honey era) this album is one of the most cohesive and digestible ones. It combines a dreamscape with the need to still not meander off too much and yet still give you some cool down to earth song structure. I wore this one out when it was released. I also saw them play some of these songs at Stone Mountain during this era and it felt other worldly.
Ein Album das immer wieder erwähnt wird, das der Rockmusik-Interessierte kennen muss und ich Banause nie gehört habe weil ich bis dato mit Radiohead nichts anfangen konnte. Hat sich mit OK Computer trotz wohlwollendem Lauschen nur leicht zum Besseren geändert.
Have heard this album before but it didn't hit the same this time. still pretty great! notable songs: Let Down, No Surprises, The Tourist, Man of war, Lift.
I had heard this album and loved it before, and this was no different. Wonderful varied album with great sounds, awesome melodies, stellar performances, and impeccable recording quality. I listened to it twice back to back -- five stars.
# 507 : OK Computer I hate Radiohead. Most overrated band and album ever. So whiney… If I had to pick a song : Karma Police Listened : 20/06/2025
3rd Radiohead album in for me on here, and it’s the big 1 and I just don’t get it, the critical overvaluation. It’s all stated for it’s complexity but it just doesn’t feel that revolutionary or coherent. It might be innovative it maybe is all the things the fanatics (their fans really seem to be up there with the most rapid; so many mentions of masterworks, of Magnus opus this Magnus opus that) and critics say it is, and I just don’t care after listening to it, It sounds like all the self pitying, self indulgent aspects of Gen X (yes I am 1 too) rolled into a big ball, as back in ‘97 we rolled towards the millennium. So maybe it is the zeitgeist of that, and thus so beloved. But it is so very, very pretentious. Enough said, have now heard it, this great of great albums, and after a few listens today I won’t be revisiting it ever again, life is too short, after the big opening riff and then the drop into such whining where it remains. 1.5 Stars, it’s obviously not shit but actually I think it is.
This is quite possibly the most overrated album of all time. Minimal hits (one). It's mid Radiohead, which is not bad, but not great. I'm also past the age where I want to hear you whine about your existential crisis.
I get why people might not like Radiohead. I like them, but I get it. When I am king/You will be first against the wall, I've always loved that line. I hate to say this, and it's probably because I've listened to more Steely Dan in this project than anyone should ever have to, but there's definitely something reminiscent of some Steely Dan. Now I feel terrible. Coldplay heard this album and toned down the weirdness...the result was A Rush of Blood to the Head. This album is the working soundtrack for all Zach Braff's films. Karma Police, great song. No Surprises is an all-time great song. What a beautiful song and a great video too.
Forgot how insanely, unbelievably good this was.
There are some serious life lessons in this album. "A patient, safer driver." After many years, this is now me!!! Even though I prefer The Bends, this is still such a great album on so many levels. In a word, evergreen. Liked Songs Added: Airbag Paranoid Android Karma Police No Surprises Lucky
So I am just young enough that I missed this record the first go around. I know how influential this one was and how much everybody loved it, but I'm not sure that I'm gonna love it. I know that Radiohead is technically way better than Oasis, but the lead singers voice reminds me so much of Oasis it is almost distracting. The instrumentation however, is not distracting...but very good, even though I don't think this is necessarily my style. The first two songs are a lot louder than what comes after, and I find it as whiny (eee) as I found the first Morrissey album. Which is saying something.
Este disco me gusto mucho, algunos temas se extienden un poco, pero suena tan bien que se vuelve disfrutable. En lo personal no supera a the bends o in rainbows
BEEN a classic
Massively overrated album.
A little too experimental and weird for me.
Quite good. I can't believe I'm a Radiohead enjoyer now. Extra +0.5 just for No Surprises
Sometimes I have to be in a Radiohead mood to listen to them. But this album was great regardless
Its hard to overstate the impact this album had on my life.
no surprises, a masterpiece
One of my favourite albums. Thom Yorke is amazing, the band sounds so unique and powerful. The songs are really authentic and original.
This shit goes SO incredibly hard. Unsure if there is a bad song on this album. Let Down is a fucking transcendental experience every time - possibly one of the best songs EVER. The four song run of 'Subterranean Homesick Alien' into 'Exit Music from a Film' into 'Let Down' in 'Karma Police' is magical
I listened to this album for the first time a long time ago. It’s a good album!
My 5th favorite radiohead album. 10/10
Ok, great album. Heard it a few times before but it always grows on me. Desperately want it to be a concept album but I haven't developed any theories. Fav song, Exit Music, followed by electioneering.
Have heard this before but it never clicked. Totally clicked this time. Love how an album about isolation starts with sleigh bells. Electioneering feels out of place but thematically, I like how the most straightforward song is alienated on this album about being weird and alienated. Probably closer to a 9/10 for me but 5 stars because who am I to deny thommy
Honestly thought this would be better, 3.5/5
One of the rare cases where one of my favorite albums ever is also one of the most acclaimed
I was playing with the idea of being a hater since this album is, in fact, pretentious, but being pretentious doesn't preclude being good. It's up its own ass and lacks the urgency that I love about The Bends, but that also doesn't make it a worse album. It's a complete whole, with good individual songs that fit well together, and is an apex sad thoughtful teen album. It's also a little bit of a time capsule - it's been riffed on by later artists so many times that it's got a seinfeld effect going on, but stuck squarely in the 90s. As is often the case, could probably use a little editing! But that's look back 30 years, it probably worked better then. Still, between this The Bends, and Kid A, Radiohead's basically earned every self-indulgent tack they've taken since.
To a lot of people, one of the greatest albums of a generation still holds up today. I won't claim to be a huge Radiohead fan but they are a great band, and this album is top notch. Not a single song on here I wanted to skip. Karma Police and No Surprises still get radio play time today because they hold up so well. Excellent album that absolutely belongs on a list of albums you should listen to before you die.
Masterpiece
7- very scary 8- my favorite
A classic
I’m a white recent post grad, so…
That's not my taste in music - But ok
I think I liked this better than The Bends. Seems so much more experimental and almost ethereal.
Selon la page wiki : "They distanced themselves from the guitar-centred, lyrically introspective style of their previous album, The Bends. OK Computer's abstract lyrics, densely layered sound and eclectic influences laid the groundwork for Radiohead's later, more experimental work." "The lyrics depict a dystopian world fraught with rampant consumerism, capitalism, social alienation, and political malaise, with themes such as transport, technology, insanity, death, modern British life, globalisation and anti-capitalism. In this capacity, OK Computer is said to have prescient insight into the mood of 21st-century life. The band used unconventional production techniques, including natural reverberation, and no audio separation. Strings were recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London. Most of the album was recorded live." Un album que jai écouté à plusieurs reprises, parfois très jeune (ado), parfois pas dans l'ordre, à divers degrés d'attention, parfait par fragments dans des films. Le casse-tête remis ensemble reste un chef-d'oeuvre de la même ligue que plus grands albums concepts (dark side of the moon, sgt pepper). À réécouter dans 2, 5, 10 ans.
Easily a 5, best album of the 90s
paranoid ... düdeldüdeldü
yeah classic.
masterp
Massively preferred this to Hail To The Thief to the extent I'd say I actually quite enjoyed it?
The bends is better
At its core this is a 90s version of 70s Pink Floyd, with occasional glitches and splashes of more recent music. Dreary
Makellos, Perfekt, Genial
I love radiohead, and either this or kid A is the best radiohead album. Easy 5!
Pretty good
The best album of all time hands down.
i wanna cry
Better than Coldplay
The fifth (5!!!) Radiohead album on this list. What a joke! Thom Yorke's singing... yeah right. More like torturing a cat! Fuck off!
Excellent. So many great tracks. Played it back to back multiple times
9.3/10
Don't overthink it. Legendary album from a legendary band.
One of my favorite albums 9/10 beautiful my favs are parinoid android, electioneering, let down, airbag and ofc no surprises +exit music
I hated this album when it first came out, but after hearing my brother playing it a lot, I started coming round to it a bit more. After 28 years, I like it marginally more than I don’t like it. Sonically odd with lots of layering and screaming guitars; TY doing his weird wailing; and words that seem to have been chosen for their sound rather than their meaning, it’s quite good. Radiohead have never been shy about experimenting, and they have really gone experimental in this. There are loads of weird sounds on this, but it’s a bit overloaded with sound. The tracks start well, mostly, and some are decent, but they descend into noise which I don’t like. I think these dips into sonic experimentation are to disguise the fact that this album isn’t half as good as they think it is.
Pretty decent but still to sad for me to come back to.
4,5
One of the GOATs
Not my favorite from Radiohead, but it gets a 3 stars for some of the tracks like Paranoid Android.
It's a 5, but you already knew that.
it’s a perfect album but something permanent needs to happen to thom yorke so we will compromise at a 3
An album for people who truly deserve their government disability checks. Seek therapy immediately if you enjoyed this.
Kinda good, kinda whatever Wish I could give 2.5s so this 3 wouldn't be rated the same as all my 2.5s
It's not my favourite genre, but it's objectively a great album. It surprised me, so much so that I will gladly listen to it again.
If it was possible to wear out a CD in the 90’s, I probably would have with this one.
As a card carrying member of Gen X I think I’m required to love this album. Other than the 2-3 songs that got played in regular radio/MTV rotation the rest of the album sounds like people unsuccessfully playing around in the studio. So fair to say, I did not love the album.
מה אני יכול לומר שלא נאמר על השיר הזה אחד מהאלבומים היותר טובים בכל הזמנים שיר מועדף - Paranoid Android
Pretty meh honestly. 3/5
Me gustó este disco, aunque no es mi preferido de Radiohead, creo que es el primero que se direccionó al estilo de composiciones que más me gustan de ellos. Algunos de los temas ya los conocía. Otros no. En lo personal me gustaron los que ya conocía y el resto no tanto. Así que para mí, la experiencia de álbum no fue tan grata, aunque haya sido buena.
This is a fantastic album. It does some really unique things sonically speaking.
I think this was noticeably better than Kid A
i mean, its fuckin ok computer. if this isnt a five for you then youre dead to me.
Great album. Mid 2000's on Radiohead I don't care too much for. Some say that In Rainbows is on a par with this. Nah, not even close IMO. This is a great mix of the unconventional but still holds on to 90's rock ideas. They hadn't gone too whiny and too far up their own arse yet. Just pretentious enough.
Perfect. 5/5
From raucous to dreamy and downright beautiful songs, the replay value is endless. This album takes you on an emotional trip from track to track. Musically, it’s tough to top. Goes from structured and veers into improved tangents. Yorke’s vocals takes a minute to get used to, swinging from pained to somewhat hopeful. “Karma Police” “Subterranean” are the most well known tracks but the stand out is “Let Down”; just a beautifully crafted song that musically is gorgeous. When the singularity comes, this should be the soundtrack for our robot overlords.
Yeh I'm never coming back here but still has some of the songs. High 4
Still love this album
Didn't love the sound but was more pleasant than I thought it would be
Radiohead is one of those bands I feel that I should like more than I do. *The Bends is super. These guys are immense songwriters and I truly appreciate the musicianship, but never feel a need to put them on. Cerebral and depressing is how it comes off for me. Medicating in a post surgery, opioid kind of way. Dragged under while still floating on a cloud. There but not there. Is this a positive review, or a negative one? Too out there to tell.
OK Computer set the tone for indie and alternative rock for the next century. It is an innovative record that has stood the test of time. The lyrics captures modern America's addiction to technology, consumerism, media consumption, and political scandal. This album represents a full break with the grunge sounds of Pablo Honey and The Bends, and is what I consider to be the electro art pop that is bold, true Radiohead. I’ve given fives to other albums, but this might be the one deserves it the most! 5⭐️
I liked the concept of the album. I really enjoyed what felt like a seamless blends of genres in this album. My favorite (besides Karma Police, because duh) was Exit Music (For A Film); I found it more melodic than some of the other songs. This was not my favorite listen from Radiohead, but I get it and I get why it’s so revered and influential. I enjoyed this. Probably won’t revisit. I do not need to own on this on vinyl. (Why does Thom Yorke get to have whiny, nasally, sub-par, pitchy vocals but Taylor Swift can’t?)
I have heard around half of these songs before, and listening to it altogether was really nice. I really like Radioheads sound and all of the songs on the album could be in my listening rotation. I loved this album.
Whiny. Was not impressed.
Boring and dull. I am not a Radiohead fan, but this album was a low average ok
Would have loved this if it caught me at the right age. First time listen but it’s probably going to have a few more listens to full appreciate it. A scorching day isn’t the right conditions, a gloomier night will be more appropriate.
I supposed I’m unlikely to ever be blown away by a Radiohead album. I know that people adore this band, but I’ve never really understood the fuss. I’d definitely agree that this is a good album, but it doesn’t sound like anything revolutionary to me. If I went into a record store and this was playing, I’d be more likely to think, “Huh, decent album” than anything else. I’m well aware that people love this, but it just doesn’t click like that for me.
Excellent album. My favorite album of Radiohead.
This project has made me realize that while I always thought OK Computer was my favorite Radiohead album, my favorite is actually The Bends. Don’t get me wrong, OK Computer is still amazing and “Karma Police” and “Paranoid Android” are some of my favorite songs, but I connected with The Bends so much more. But yeah, OK Computer is great and was always going to get 5 stars from me. I’m hit or miss with almost everything after this album, but they’re doing some of their best work here.
Some absolute bangers, but ultimately not even close to my favorite radiohead album.
Perfection
A masterpiece. One of a succession of masterpieces that managed to top the achievement of the last. I used to think I didn't like this album that much, as it marked Radiohead's turn away from the experimental, chaotic rock sound that I loved so much on the Bends, into desolate electronica that is just the sound of depression and madness. But really that turn didn't happen until Kid A. And Kid A is still objectively a great album. Whiny vocals, overly-complicated compositions, pretentious lyrics, there's a lot of stuff that shouldn't work. But it all comes together perfectly. My favourite individual songs are still largely on The Bends, but OK Computer is such an impressive listen in its entirety.
Feels like a couple of my recent albums have toed the line between 3 and 4 stars for me, and every time I’ve ultimately leaned toward 4. I think my hesitation has to do with re-listen value; save for homesick alien there’s very little I’d sample from this album a la carte. But I have also an unequivocal sense I’m listening to something really deliberate and polished, a project more expansive than mere metrics like re-listen value can grasp. Maybe I’m talking about production, or maybe I’m talking about soul—whatever it is, it pushes this inexplicably into higher-star territory.
Sometimes kind of REMish, but the slower parts are less catchy and the fast parts are more frantic.
Nice depressing guitar music. Not as pretentious or inaccessible as the fans/critics say, but it still feels very calculated. Not vulnerable. Like… like U2 for X-ennials? I hadn’t heard ‘Let Down’ before but it stood out. ‘No Surprises’ is always good.
I went back and forth on this one. It's probably, like, a 4.75, which I'll round off to 5 stars. Excuse my musings below - I want to capture some thoughts. It's angry, earnest, and unsubtle, with lyrics I'd put into my AIM profile and use as a guide in my teenage life. That is to say: I really like music like this! Case in point: when I got to Fitter Happier, I searched up the lyrics and found a post on the Radiohead subreddit from a 19-year-old who was deeply unsettled by the song and seeking comfort about the adulthood that awaited them. There are only a few comments, but they're semi-helpful - "Yeah, the song is kind of accurate, but you'll manage" kind of thing. Honestly a rare glimpse into completely unpretentious Radiohead fandom. The post was from 9 years ago, and it looks like OP hasn't posted on Reddit since. Wonder how they're faring. If you just presented this album to me without context, I'd be extremely into it. But when you tell me it's Radiohead, I think, "Hm, but this isn't the best they can do, is it?" That's silly. I really vibed with this. 5 stars.
I wanted to give OK Computer a 4 because it is overrated and because the bends is simply better, but then I listened to it, and was reminded that 6 or 7 of the songs are great. Yes it’s overrated and the bends of better, but it’s still a 5:)
masterpiece
Pure joie de vivre
absolutely fucking great album
It's Radiohead, it's OK Computer - it's one of the best album hat tricks in modern music - snarky, depressing and now surprisingly guitar-focused for Radiohead - before they took their wonderful sharp left turn with Kid A. Undeniably an end-of-the-20th-Century classic. A retro-modernist-dystopian set of songs whose satire feels sadly naive and innocent coming from a pre-9/11 world.
SLAY
Great band great album. Can definitely hear how this inspired the guy from Muse.
Well, this album took me right back to high school. Technically competent, but I’ve definitely grown out of the whiny teenager melodies of Thom Yorke. Man needs a punch in the face, he does.
Actually OK Computer. Definitely the best Radiohead album.
This was always going to be a 5 before i even started listening to it. Radiohead are one of those bands I know well enough and have listened to their albums many times, but don't own any of the physical media. I would like to own this at one point along with their best album, the bends. No Surprises and Let Down are the standout songs
Radio....see what's missing? Imma need some of that oh yeah baby love this vibe
Just not a fan of their music
Pensaba que era demasiado cool como para que me gustara Radiohead, pero este challenge me está haciendo darme cuenta de que no soy más que otro tío más del montón. Este álbum es increíble. Combina el jazz avant-garde de Bitches Brew, los sonidos más experimentales de los Beatles, el krautrock, la electrónica de DJ Shadow, musique concrète, y veinte mil estilos más. Hay una enorme cantidad de instrumentos y efectos de estudio diferentes que crean composiciones de muchísimas capas, en las que abundan los cambios de ritmo e incluso los polirritmos. Y, a pesar de su complejidad, consigue ser un álbum accesible y casi comercial. Las letras son abstractas pero casi proféticas, hablando de la involución global en temas como tecnología o transporte. Un álbum seminal que marca la transición del Britpop hacia el rock más alternativo y multifacético de los 2000, como el post-rock, art rock o el indie electrónico. Y, más generalmente, determina el punto de inflexión entre la música popular de los siglos XX y XXI.
An anthem througout, phenomenal
Outstanding record, the songs have so much depth, lots of atmospheric layering, album flows from song to song as one unified piece.
Unsettling yet dreamy. Passionately angsty yet carelessly resolved. Some of the best individual song development, progression, and complex layering I have ever heard while still providing a masterfully crafted and cohesive album as a whole. Lyrically, amongst its abstractness, I felt at times as though Radiohead was eerily describing the exact alienating world we are unfortunately living in now almost three decades later. I won’t add anymore because I don’t think there’s anything more I can say to properly reflect the goodness of this album, just listen to it and enjoy it.
Radiohead again. The album was okay. Stable rock album.
I'm not the biggest Radiohead fan, but their first three albums are pretty good before they started to get too esoteric for me. I really enjoy Paranoid Android and Karma Police off this one, but the rest is also pretty good.
I already knew I loved this one :)
Perfect from start to finish. A masterpiece that is socially relivant, smart and timeless. A master class of the form.
Bra
Good
Classikkojen classikko!
Their 3rd album. Airbag and Paranoid Android are two opening tracks that let you know this isn't 'Brit Pop'. The album stands up today with it's themes of media obsession, paranoia and dystopian technology. Karma Police is such an amazing track. No Surprises is also just wonderful. Fitter Happier is a glorious interlude. So alternative for 1997. Beautiful.
One of the greatest albums of all time. My number one radiohead album changes between this album, in rainbows and kid a.
Top stuff
Fantastic album
I love this album so much, to me it's the perfect blend of guitar and electronica. Every track fits perfectly where it needs to be, and there's not a single dud across the entire runtime. I used to drive back home after working away all week, and I would time this album to start around an hour from getting home every Friday. Never tired of listening to it, never fast-forwarded a single track. If I made good time, then I'd sit outside my house and listen to the end of the album before going in. I've struggled to connect with later Radiohead albums, but this one never fails to reward repeat listens. I love the sparse, airy feeling on many of the tracks, even though the subject matter is largely depressing. Actually, who am I kidding, the depressing subject matter seals the deal for me! Five stars for an almost perfect album.
Essential music for when you’ve got a really tall ice cream cone and one of the scoops falls off and starts melting on the ground
classic albulm
Rounded up to 3 for these wankers, but it's a lot of incoherent moaning if we are honest.
Amazing album from start to finish. The soundscape and production combined with Thom Yorker’s lyrics and voice create a bleak but hauntingly beautiful outlook on the world.
Amazing album of course, would listen to it again and again
In 1997, Radiohead detonated an emotional smart bomb and called it OK Computer. It was the sonic equivalent of realizing your toaster has been quietly judging you, your laptop is gaslighting you, and your heart is running on dial-up. It’s beautiful, it’s bleak, and it’s British in a way that makes you want to drink tea in a thunderstorm while questioning the meaning of life. Thom Yorke leads the charge with the vocals of a melancholy android—fragile, eerie, and somehow always sounding like he’s just seen something terrible on the news. “Paranoid Android,” the six-minute Frankenstein of a track, is equal parts prog-rock opera, digital tantrum, and late-night existential crisis. It’s like Bohemian Rhapsody took a philosophy degree and started microdosing. The whole album pulses with late-‘90s dread. OK Computer predicted the loneliness of the digital age before most people had broadband. Tracks like “No Surprises” lull you with lullaby vibes while Yorke softly disembowels capitalism. “Karma Police” sounds like revenge wearing a really nice blazer. And “Let Down”? That’s the moment you realize the subway is just a metaphor for your life, and you’re missing your stop. Musically, it’s lush but paranoid. Jonny Greenwood’s guitar work ranges from celestial to clinically insane, while the band’s electronic flourishes make you feel like HAL 9000 is weeping gently in the corner. Yet it never feels cold—just devastatingly human. OK Computer didn’t just raise the bar; it floated the bar off into orbit and asked us to find it through a haze of static and poetry. Nearly three decades later, it still feels uncomfortably relevant—as if the album saw the future and politely asked, “Are you sure you want to continue?”
Hell yeah
One of the best records ever made. Stands the test of time as well.
Ok but a bit dreary at times.
Subverted expectations of rock
Such a classic. Fave song: No Surprises
Such a classic Fave song: No Surprises
I've really liked the Bends for a long time. It's just a good rock album, so I always skipped this because I was just ok with knowing Radiohead in that way. But this is as good as people say it is. I was ready to let Radiohead be Radiohead.
breath of relief
Ok … werden keine Lieblingssongs
heavy. 3. Like a sadder adele. Karma police is almost worth an extra star by itself, i love that song.
Having this album come up was like seeing an oasis while crawling through the desert. After 21 weird picks, I so earned this.
4.5. Some absolutely spectacular tracks on here, but a couple that wander too aimlessly and get either boring or abrasive...or both. This is the first time I've really listened to this critically even though I've been reasonably familiar with most of it for years.
I’ve never listened to this album but have heard enough praise for it to know there is something there. I do think there’s a lot of meat on these bones that would be rewarded by multiple listens. I’ve heard a lot of Radiohead songs that I like, but I’ve never gotten hooked enough to really dive in. Glad I listened to this.
It gets a two because I quite like Karma Police and No Surprises but overall I prefer the 70s long haired flare wearing variant of posho prog types. Thom Yorke's voice thoroughly rips my knitting.
Well, there is just a lot of bias for me and this album. I don't know what to say because my perception is clouded by nostalgia. This is not my personal favorite Radiohead album, but I know it is a classic and probably their best album. It does have my favorite song on it, so there is that. I think this is probably where Radiohead finally really came together and actualized what they were good at, but before they got so popular that no one was willing to hold them back and keep them focused on the gold. I don't know. Like I said, I have complicated emotions listening to this album. Suddenly, I am back in high school, which is some of the weirdest years of my life, and I don't know if I can fully untangle the emotions of that time with the tracks. No alarms, no surprises.
This is an incredible album. I wish I wouldn't have looked at the lyrics because they are a proper downer, one like I haven't experienced in a while. If only for the music this is a 5 stars though.
- came back to add notes to this review - not my fav radiohead album but really solid, don't remember all the songs though - i don't have much to say... need to listen to more - fitter happier scares me - airbag, paranoid android (guitar solo is crazy), exit music, karma police, no surprises
Knob twiddling noodlage at its finest.
Renee's review nails it.
Makes me sad that I haven't managed to see them in concert...
There is absolutely an excellent album here. And a bunch of other stuff.
Genuinely flawless record. Not a single bad song. In my top 10 of all time.
I've put this off for soooo long because this album is such an important piece of music culturally and sort of personally -- it's my dad's favorite album of all time or whatever! I've always been sorta partial to The Bends or In Rainbows, but OK Computer has some really excellent songs as well! Paranoid Android and Exit Music (For a Film) come to mind as some of my own favorites, and Karma Police is good too! But I never listened to this album very intently. Airbag: Sort of feels like if you blended every Radiohead song together and made a nice smoothie out of it. It's very loose and just plain good. I like his vocals on this just as much as the instrumentals, but it's not super remarkable. It's definitely a good opener, though, like it's introducing you to a new world. I like the sound effects (like you're going through a carwash or back in time or something) that make it sound like a nice lasagna. Lots of layers. Paranoid Android: Despite being long, this song is always something I'm willing to put on. It's so interesting and so cool with so many different parts. Like, the sort of rigid "ambition makes you look pretty ugly" part is so different from the slow, sulky, prayer of "rain down, rain down"... it's a very complex song that I'll always go back to. The music video is awesome. Subterranean Homesick Alien: Almost sounds like a Beatles song for a few seconds at the start? This weird psychadelic edge to the... guitar?? What instrument is that? I don't know. But it's nice and slow and interesting. It's sort of delirious and dream-like, or like you're on some farm on another planet? Does this make sense? no. Exit Music (For a Film): Very sad and very effective as a mournful love song. This numb, heartbroken vocal and the war-like(?) background effects succeed in making me really, really sad. I know this was made for the Rome + Juliet movie and it makes lots of sense! It's so tragic and sad and even more moving than the original story to me. That buzzing instrumental picking up with the vocals at the end is very impactful. It's actually crazy. "We are one, in everlasting peace/ We hope that you choke, that you choke" it's crazy oh my god Let Down: This is much brighter, almost like it could be a song from the Disney Channel or some airy breathy girly pop star with a different vocal. I don't know, it's almost a little Vanessa Carlton or Vanessa Hudgens or... something like that. At the same time, it's a little 70's easy-going rock. I like it. It's like a sunrise after genuinely the most hearbreaking night of all time (the last song). Karma Police: And we're back! Sad. One of their more famous songs, for good reason! It's soooo good. The chorus behind "this is what you'll get when you mess with us" is cool. Then the "I lost myself" and the sighing and the moaning sound (idk what to call it) + the static is a really good way to end to song as well. I feel stupid even calling this "good". It transcends good. Fitter Happier: I like this kind of stuff. It's like The Word Hurricane by Air or anything by Headache or We Want Your Soul by Adam Freeland, but eerier. It's spoken word by a computer... Ok, Computer. The sound effects are terrifying. Haunting. It's freaky but it's artful, which I'll always appreciate. Electioneering: It's the wild, wild, west. I hardly hear this sort of down-and-dirty, classic rock-n-roll sound from Radiohead so it's super awesome to hear, especially from the weirdest "song" on the album. But it still has that Radiohead sound to it in a certain way, with Thom's high vocals in the chorus. It's really good. The guitar is really good. Everything is very cool. A-how-how-how-how. Climbing up the Walls: Idrgaf that much like ok it's fine its kewl it's whateva it's emotional and slow and sad but there's nothing thats like WOW but it's lowkey pretty good just not that exciting? For this album, it's not one of the best but like 6.8/10 No Surprises: It's good and iconic, obviously, but I'd hardly ever put this song on. It's sort of like a lullaby. For some reason I'm just not super into it. It's like 7.4 but you have to be an 8 for me to really put you on, you know? But I'll super-listen if it's just on. It's good. Cute. Twinkly. And as I listen to it now, I'm starting to like it more. Hm. Lucky: Been really into the song Lucky by Britney Spears recently, which is lowkey better than this (sorry not sorry). I just don't particularly care about this song that much. It's like middle of the road but it's good. I could cry to this. The Tourist: Beautiful vocals. Not particularly compelling to me. But it's good. It's good to end the album on if you get really absorbed into it. I like that "ding" at the end. I like this album a lot. Almost every song is pretty excellent and innovative and uniquely effective in what it sets out to do. I think of it better now that I've listened to it a bunch. I like The Bends and In Rainbows still, but hm... could rank higher... it's rly good! I get you, Dad.
I think this is the 4th or 5th time I have tried to listen to and appreciate this album, and my efforts have failed miserably on every attempt. It isn't at all enjoyable to me and there is nothing I hear that I connect with or find interesting. You know how there is a gene that some people have that makes cilantro taste like soap so no matter what they just don't enjoy it. I think I have a gene that makes OK Computer taste like soap...
Deserves all the praise it gets, a telltale sign of a great album is if a bunch of bands try to rip it off. Just like nirvana made a bunch of terrible copycats, I can hear all of the insufferable soft indie British bands that tried to follow in their footsteps. Fantastic.
Tjs la même chose finalement...
A timeless classic.
the GOAT
BEST OF YHE BEST
10/5 I get it now
it's ok. I will say I expected a lil more from an album so lauded. Probably just my taste. A little too consistently slow and melancholy
Solid but sleepy. Not my favorite
Absolutely love this album!
Classic
It's good innit. I have strong memories of the CD cover
Even miserable old blokes can come up with a classic sometimes
Amazing
Morning drive early doors for me allowed me the privilege to listen to this album in full. The shifts in tempo in Paranoid Android still blows my mind. Karma Police and No Surprises the other singles stand out but there are no duffers amongst this album. The track Lucky may have escaped my attention over the years but today it really did move me, that’s the sign of quality. I also love this album because you get glimpses of the future ….what Radiohead, & all the band members in all their guises over the coming years had, & continue to give. It’s a big fat 5.
Emotive Brilliance I can write a million words It won't do any justice To the greatness this album brings Absolutely essential
This album has been written about to hell and back, so I'm not sure I can anything new to the conversation. Quite possibly the most influential album in all of British music since The Beatles. There really is a before and after this release, and you can immediately notice the impact, in the way the 60s inspired britpop bands started adopting moodier and more intimate approaches to songwriting or fell off the radar altogether, giving way to a new wave of British band like Coldplay, Travis, and the like. To me, though, this album evokes a very particular feeling that I can't really explain. I get visions of a very sparse suburban neighborhood just as the sun sets and sky loses its brighter hue. Other, non-musical things also evoke this feeling, but I can never understand what they have in common. I think in the case of this album it has something to do with the arrangements and chords progressions, which are incredible all the way through. Key tracks: Airbag Paranoid Android Exit Music (For a Film) Let Down Karma Police No Surprises Lucky
c: let down
The bass and drums . . .
Really good
A perfect album. Beautifully tragic and deeply emotional. An ingenious blend of rock and electronic elements and a display of Radiohead’s progression in their musical evolution. The purposeful excess of the electronic noise and the heaviness of the guitars never fails for the emotion and the feelings of the music to come through. Fantastic album.
whatever.
Hard to find fault with this one.
So good!
10 outta 10, would recommend. Siskel and Ebert would probably give this one three thumbs up.
Kanske är väldigt tråkigt att ge detta albumet fem stjärnor men. Så får det vara.
Alright yeah I understand the hype behind this one. Night and day with the other radio head album on here.
Arguably one of the greatest albums ever made. There are albums that are fantastic and they are an imprint of the times they were made in and they were relevant at the time - and there are albums that are even more relevant decades later than when they were made. OK Computer is one of these albums.
The hits didn’t save this album. Could have skipped a couple songs.
I love this album. I really do. But I don't think it is Radiohead's best. I think this title belongs to In Rainbows, mainly because it is more emotional to me. After In Rainbows, it comes this album, which presents some of their best songs ever, such as Paranoid Android, Karma Police, Exit Music (for a Film), Let Down or No surprises. The rest of the tracks are also very good, showing how creative the group is, but I don' t think they keep up the level of the bests songs , specially 'Electioneering'. Still, this album is very consistent, ambitious and a great experience.
3.5
It's good, it's just not for me today
Not my type of music
This beautiful day was ruined by the knowledge that there is a user in this platform that gave The Beatles' Revolver a 1 and System of a Down a 4. As for the actual album, it's wonderfully moppy genius.
British
I’ve been scared of starting a Radiohead project because I’ve heard nothing but raving reviews though personally don’t really enjoy 90s rock. This kicks ass. Paranoid android is hauntingly beautiful, exist music is incredible, no surprises was familiar but nice to hear in the sequencing. I guess I’ll finally check out Kid A and In Rainbows.
Finally. No reviews, it's Pure bliss for me
This is such a great album, and it deserves the acclaim. Listening now with fresh, critical ears the main thing that's struck me is just how exceptional the production on this album is. All the tracks have something interesting going on, be it interesting drum arrangements, layered atmospheric instruments, or unique sounds cutting in. The soundscapes in this are so fucking good, be it the lush kind of orchestration of Subterranean Homesick Alien, or the more manic moments in 'Climbing Up the Walls' - both songs I'd never really considered as highlights before, but they're both so rich and atmospheric in different ways. You want to play it loud with headphones and just lose yourself in it. I would point to particular song highlights, but this is a great example of something working so well as an album. It's all good and all one experience.
This is a massive album in every sense and one of the most important albums of my lifetime (I’m 61). It’s prescient in that although it belongs to the era before everything started falling apart, it prefigures post-millennial alienation and pessimism. It’s not prog; it’s not tortuously self-important or self-indulgent enough for that. The tempo changes and odd time signatures are used judiciously, off-kilter music for an off-kilter world. You need this album, especially if you don’t think you do.
Beautiful
Listening to this was a little bit just discovering the album around No Surprises which has been in my head since listening. I fear I loved it, definitely felt like a cohesive piece.
Driving and watching landscapes pass, dissolving into each other. The slow rise of mountains, the hazy distance of the road in desert, the lights of the gas station at night in the middle of the plains. Not doing well, but no one else is on the road, so that's okay.
Slow and sad. Frustration and angst. Dragging vocals!
I forgot how whiny and self indulgent they are. At least it wasnt boring.
It's just the best thing ever.
All-Time great album. Electioneering is my favorite song on the Album
I can respect the achievement of this album. The sounds are fully unique and inventive. I just don’t care for the pace or sound of Thom Yorke’s voice. Ultimately a DNF due to my own tastes but I will likely revisit throughout my life.
I’d hate this album on a sunny day. Good thing it’s cloudy
A lot softer than I was expecting from Radiohead. Idk if I’ve heard a lot of their music before. It was a high 2 low 3.
Great album from front to back. Not my first listen, but I'm pretty sure it's gotten better since the first time I listened to it.
ass
I've dabbled in some RadioHead - but not enough to truly hold my own in a conversation. This is a rock solid album that absolutely lives up to the hype. Really current, holds up beyond well....you could've told me this came out in 25' and i'd believe you. Really edgy and just a super solid album. Love that i'm experiencing it for the first time at ~33 years old. But wow - this would've been absolutely electric for me in High school. I can totally see myself standing at the bus stop at 730AM waiting to start my day with just some epic vibes. I'd get on the bus and show my friend my iPod and this 'new radiohead album' i just found. It's just so funny how it missed me - huge music lover. And yet here we are - reminiscing about a moment in time that should've and could've been - but never was.
The only Radiohead album I like. And I love it.
I’m just uptight Uptight Uptight
Well done
i kind of struggle listening to this album because it is so widely esteemed. i'm not a huge radiohead guy, i've never really listened to them outside of this project, but i know how highly regarded they are. for that reason, it's always a little hard to listen to them because their music is held to such high standards. there are parts of this album where i totally see where people are coming from. absolutely fantastic stuff. there's also stuff here that, while not bad, is a little on the boring side and i think people excuse it because of the peaks. for me, my favorite parts are the parts where this album builds to an explosion, a cacophony. the more quiet parts are a lot more forgettable. don't get me wrong, i still had a nice time listening to this one! but i don't know if i get it like most people seem to.
giving this one a fair shake for the first time in years, always been resistant. i like it more than i did when i was younger, but overall it’s still not really my wheelhouse. lots of great production ideas and musical concepts, the craftsmanship is really really impressive. i feel like there are long stretches of the vibe being very languid and drawn out, and sometimes they pay off but sometimes they don’t. it’s good but it’s exhausting. a lot of the album’s runtime kinda feels like homework to me, ultimately i wasn’t really feeling very many feels.
for some reason it was Fitter Happier that made me decide to give this album a 5. that feels like a very cringe decision but sometimes you just need the angst. im usually pretty neutral on Radiohead but this album slaps. it's got all their best hits, it keeps you on your toes and it just does not stop giving. 5/5 bring down the government
Hard to say anything about this album that hasn’t been said before. It’s perfect. Whatever secret formula Radiohead tapped into they’ve sure got it. This is a top 100 album ever. I listened to this like 4 times and then spent the rest of the day listening to the entire Radiohead discography. This is definitely their shining achievement but I'm still excited for the onslaught of 4s and 5s they'll bring when we roll the others. The tourist has a part that has the same riff to we begged 2 explode, love u Jeff.
Ok. This album is great. And Radiohead is definitely a great band. But I don't understand how this album ends up on the top charts of best albums of all time (top 10 specifically). It's a great album, and I do love a lot of songs on it, but it is definitely hyped tf up. I also realized that Yorke sounds very similar to the Muse frontman. Idk why that stood out to me now rather than the 123409812509 other times I've listened to Radiohead. This album is spooky, beautiful, serious, and has a bunch of hits. I also enjoy the melodies and chord progressions that define the band. This band also falls into my musical preferences, so I'm slightly biased. This is a terrible review, but I'm struggling between a 4 and a 5. That decision will be decided on tomorrow. Yeah after another full relisten, I'm giving this a soft 5
It’s a 5 duh
There was a good chunk of this album where I just forgot why my original review was "Good 90s sad boy art rock, sounds good, but I can never take 90s sad boy shit seriously." This is a great album, why couldn't I take it seriously? Then came "Fitter Happier", and that audio rendition of Fight Club reminded me why immediately. They just didn't have problems in the 90s, did they? Oh no, guys well off, healthy and happy, what a pig in a cage. Yawn, boring, next, 4 stars though the rest is great.
2.5
Only familiar with the radio hits, so pleasantly surprised but the album.
Sorry just not a fan.
Awesome
Has some fantastic tracks and is worth a listen. A lot of this album makes me think of waves with the good production and great instrumentation
No words needed
I liked Bends better than this one. It would be a 3.5 for me, so rounding down. Songs sounded pretty similar throughout, not bad just not great.
Can’t say anything lower because I am a fan
Having now listened to three of Radiohead's albums and supposedly one of their best, I now feel no remorse in saying that they are the most overrated band of all time. This album in particular is quite possibly the most overrated album I've ever had the misfortune to listen to. I just do not see what people hear in this or the band. The music is all over the place, which I get is a statement they are trying to make, but that doesn't make it pleasant to listen to. The lyrics are meh I guess, I wouldn't really know cause I have no idea what Yorke is trying to say. Thom Yorke should not be allowed near a microphone. The dude CAN NOT SING. It is painful in the extreme to listen to him. If someone can explain the vision to me then great, maybe my mind will change, but all anyone ever says is "this is one of the greatest albums of all time" but nobody can tell me WHY. It certainly isn't because of the vocals, and the musical arrangements don't seem particularly special either. SO WHAT GIVES WHY IS THIS SO HYPED UP? Don't believe the hype people this trash is not worth it.
I enjoy their sound & all of its messy distortion. but it is about 20 minutes too long. think about 35 minutes of brooding lyrics is about it for me. 3.5 because of that.
One of the best albums they have done. The Bends, arguably, might have (some) better songs, but that album feels simply like a collection of songs. This one coheres as an actual long-form album, and the songs are terrific. Airbag and Karma Police have some great delay FX on them, and Paranoid Android is a blast from start to finish. More delights await you.
A classic for a reason. Surely one of the greatest albums of the 90s, and of all time. Nothing close to a bad track. Untouchable
I can appreciate this record for its impressive production quality, relatively novel music, and interesting lyrical themes. It’s really well done, and there’s no technical faults to be found anywhere within. I appreciate Thom Yorke’s singing as well, it’s a very unique style. Unfortunately I just don’t vibe with this record, I found myself bored quite often while listening to it. “Exit Music (For a Film)” is a really exceptional track that I’ve always really liked, it’s as emotionally powerful as it is beautiful, really the best thing to come from this album by far. I want to give this album 3.5*, but rounding to a four just feels incorrect based on how I found myself feeling while listening to it. Let’s call it 3.49 and round down.
Wow, a late 90s British alt rock album that actually makes sense to be on this list!!! What a novel idea! This is a good album. It brings together analog and electronic elements in a way that feels very natural and pretty but also feels pretty interesting and, I have to imagine, exciting for 1997. There are so many different layers and elements to notice on each song, I understand why many people love this album so much. My favorite songs were "Let Down" and "No Surprises". I'm a little torn on how to rate this album because I certainly do like it, but I appreciate the artistic accomplishment of it slightly more than I actually enjoy it, I think. There have been a lot of albums recently that I would give 3.5 stars if I could and this is another one, but I would have no qualms with listening to this again in the future and surely will at some point, so by my own rating system that's a 4.
Holds very special memories for me...Zoe, it was grand!
I stand by my previous assessment that Radiohead is tiring.
I love this album very much!!
Repeat listen
This is the point they discovered they could climb up their own collective arse, so they did. A couple of songs I like but most of them I can take or (more likely) leave.
I have been dreading this album ever since I started this project. I have not listened to it in something like 25 years, after listening to it on constant repeat after I bought the album. Listening to it now brings up such an intense and unpleasant visceral reaction that it's hard for me to keep it on. Once upon a time I fell asleep to this album. There was a dumb trend back when this came out, I guess because they could, where bands put "secret" songs on the back end of an album. In the case of OK Computer, the secret song came on after something like 20 minutes of slow, pulsing electronic music. When I consciously listened to the album, I'd either skip the final song or fast forward through the bridge. But when I fell asleep I couldn't do that. I don't know if it was the bridge itself, or some other part of the album (it does all kinda blend together), but this album became the sound track to the worst nightmare I have ever had. It haunts me to this day, the despair I felt while trapped in this dream, overlaid by the pulsing of the music. After I woke up, during the final song, I realized I could never listen to the album again. In fact, I never listened to anything by Radiohead again (except for the one other album out of 1,001 that I've gotten so far) and will not pick them up again.
I really enjoy listening to this album. Karma Police is probably my fav track -- this is what you get when you mess with us. Solid from start to finish. Layered. Melodic
Some classic singles but not my bag
This album is fire
☀︎je l’ai pas fini, mais de ce que j’ai entendu: pas mon style, mais pas si dépressif que ça donc 3☆. aussi parce que je suis tannée de donner 2☆ à tout Edit 12/10/2025: bonne nouvelle, je l’ai fini. mauvaise nouvelle, écouter ça + Unknown Pleasures en 24h m’a fait entrer dans un épisode dépressif
I always want to like Radiohead but, truthfully, I always end up bored
This album was one of my starting points that really developed my tastes in music. It’s still a favorite of mine (though Kid A is my #1 Radiohead pick) and yeah obvs 5 big fat hunky stars.
Did any band release their best album in 1997, at the tail of Britpop and Alternative Rock and before anything solidified to replace them? Tindersticks perhaps, depending on personal taste. Six Pence None The Richer, I guess. No, not the Verve. OP8's one fun effort, Slush, hardly counts. But from May 1997 until October 2000, it looked as though Radiohead would. Nothing else was as lauded, nothing else was expected to have the longevity. Other Britpop and Britrock bands faltered commercially when they attempted bloated, overlong records: The Great Escape, Be Here Now, This Is Hardcore. OK Computer is not bloated, it's rich, it's dense, expansive and, somehow, it succeeded commercially. A critical masterpiece and commercial masterstroke. Certainly they couldn't do that again. Surely this will stand as their greatest achievement. There are at least two other challengers for the position of best Radiohead album and, as we've already come across the lesser Amnesiac, I'm confident we'll come to the other two in time. Radiohead is a band I love, but that I'm not in love with, so I think I'm being objective when I say OK Computer isn't their greatest record. I don't think. It's Kid A. Or it's In Rainbows. And yet... OK Computer has twelve tracks and doesn't that feel more like an album? The other two have ten tracks each, which, undoubtedly, makes for a more concise, coherent, enjoyable listen. But, having started buying records in the 90s, on overstretched CDs, isn't twelve tracks, fifty-three minutes, an album? Their contemporaries sounded intumescent at the same length. They sound in control, sculpted, more powerful than Thom Yorke's bellyaching lets on. Actually, Kid A is only six and a half minutes shorter. That's one Paranoid Android. Would OK Computer be better without Paranoid Android? No. It hardly matters. I'm giving it 4.5 to allow some headroom for the other two to get 5, if I feel like it on the day. I'm confident that you'll give it 5 anyway, so it will be on aggregate and that feels most appropriate to me. It's a 5 star record, it is. I have to take care writing about this album not to get carried away with personal confessions. Here is one of two albums - along with Nevermind by Nirvana - I was introduced to at age 14 which I believe were formative not just to my musical habits as a listener or a guitar player but to my whole personality. I have listened to OK Computer hundreds of times and I know every bar in it like the voice of a parent. This makes it very easy to ignore when it’s on; not the case for me with music in general which I have always found utterly distracting from conversation or any kind of mental task. Here is my brain’s wallpaper. But when I do sit down to give it my attention, which I do perhaps once a year, I still find it very powerful indeed. There are moments in this record, the last minute and a half of Let Down for example, which I find almost unbearably moving. There is inescapable nostalgia mixed in there; the opening of Karma Police almost always puts me on a bus on Castle Street, the song playing in my headphones off a cassette tape while I pull a brand new cd copy of the album from a HMV bag and have a good old read/sniff of the liner notes. But I also believe that this music would stand as genuinely powerful art if I could strip it of all its advantage over me in the way of nostalgic associations. Or at least I must believe that - even in the horrible face of contemplating that there are people who believe the same about, for example, Dookie. Anyway I am happy with my position. I know there are lots of people who say that they wish they had been in the flush of youth in the mid 1960s so they could have experienced the Beatles or Hendrix first-hand. Well I love the Beatles and I love Jimi Hendrix but I am so grateful that I was 14 in 1997. I am grateful too to the people who introduced me to this music then - including my dear friend writing above. It would have been a terrible source of regret to me if I had, later in life, realised that a cultural moment like that had passed me by. Or, even more frightening, I might not care at all because I would be someone else entirely. 5/5
A few very very good songs that I wasn’t really aware of being by Radiohead pleasantly surprised overall a solid 3 close to 4 nearly.
I was deep into Radiohead for many years. But it’s been a long while since listening to. Man, this album is still amazing and I feel it to my core.
Rating: 5/5 | Favorite Track: Exit Music (For a Film) --- One of my favorite albums of all time. Cold, atmospheric, and explores themes of alienation and loneliness that still resonate today. What can praise can I give for this album that hasn't been said before?
It’s Dark Side of the Moon for disaffected millennials and I adore it so much. I could wax poetic but I’m just gonna rate a 5 and keep it moving.
greatest album ever made 3/5
7/10
No one else writes songs like this. Paranoid Android is the greatest rock opera of all time, Karma police hurts in a way little else does, right in the hypocracy. No surprises is so sad and beautiful and Fitter Happier is perhaps the creepiest calm song. This is the greatest album ever for a reason. It's not my favorite Radiohead album, but it is the bests one.
Never really listened to Radiohead before. Certainly not my favorite album ever, some of the really out there parts can be hard to listen to but tracks like Let Down and Electioneering were highlights for me
Enfusing
Surprisingly dull in hindsight
Starts off good, and keeps getting better (except for Fitter Happier, which seems out of place). Let Down, Karma Police, and No Surprises are all major hits, and Exit Music precedes a couple of them to really kick things off. Makes me wonder how much Radiohead’s sound influenced Manchester Orchestra, since they have the same slow singing style, just with less of a rock vibe.
This album will hit at the right time. Not every song is a banger, but a lot are Okay take your 5
Fucking elsker Radiohead, et næsten perfekt album
Superb
This is one that I've listened to before, of course. There's not much else that can be said about it that hasn't already. Band-defining, genre-defining. Re-invented Radiohead for their foreseeable future and basically created modern progressive rock. It feels sacrilegious to give anything other than a 5/5
Bloody good album. Very diverse and very versatile. Love 'No surprises' and Karma Police. Radiohead never disappoints.
Truly lives up to the hype. Had not listened to this in full for a long time, and never fully appreciated just how great it is. I remember listening to numerous songs from this album via the soundtrack of season 1 of Westworld (didn't bother with future seasons, S1 gave me everything I wanted), it became a part of my soul then somehow. Song-by-song I used to not like Airbag as an opener, how off was I? When it started playing yesterday on my earphones, I realised that I'd have to move to my home speakers to give the album justice. What an opener! Parnoid Android is one I had saved for a long time, before I even listened to full Radiohead albums. The weirdly distorted guitars make for quite the listen. Subterranean Homesick Alien kind of reminds me of Coldplay at their best, or perhaps better put: Coldplay if they had gone down a different route. Guess that opinion is rather personal though. Exit Music is one of the most beautful songs I've come across. Let Down is the most emotional one on here for me, the overall vibe is just so sad and dystopian. Karma Police is one I had played off-album quite a bit before, but holds up very well still, even after countless listens. Fittier Happier is the only song I didn't save from the album, and could be seen as a lull, but I think it adds to the aesthetic and atmosphere of the album in a way that fully warrants its inclusion. Electioneering is one I hadn't saved before but grew on me with this listen. Sounds like Radiohead doing 2000s indie/Britpop, but I guess this came before that time so may have influenced what came after. Good bop. Climbing Up The Walls - damn, I overlooked this song in the past. The drums in the introduction hit damn hard. That little "ding-ding" that interactions with it is wonderful too. Perhaps one of my favourites from the album after these listens. No Surprises is of course another one I had listened to many a time before, to the point that I think I am over-exposed to it at this point. Can remember I was blown away the first time I listened to it though. Lucky just sounds so damn good. One of my favourites from the album as well. "Pull me out of the air crash Pull me out of the lake 'Cause I'm your superhero We are standing on the edge" The Tourist is a beautiful way to finish. Honestly listened to it about 4 times in full yesterday, and will probably go and buy the CD this week. A true masterpiece. 5*
Awesome.
אגדי
בין הדברים הבודדים שאני אוהב בשנות ה-90
מושלם Exit music ו no surprises לוקחים אותי למימד אחר וגם lucky פסיכי וחדש לי
Fantastic record. Not my favorite one of theirs, but fantastic nonetheless. I saw them live in Japan and they were awesome!
Ok, so this is the one Radiohead album you must listen to. I actually prefer punch brothers take on the title track, done as it is with unaffected acoustic instruments. But Radiohead were deeply important for a bit and after this they fade a bit. That doesn’t detract from this album. 4 stars.
I remember my mate Peter commenting, in reference to OK Computer, that it hadn't taken long for grunge to turn into Pink Floyd. True that. I did love this record when it came out. I played it obsessively for a year or more. It was a smart, inventive art-rock album with great tunes, some stellar guitar playing and a paranoid, anxious outlook that seemed to sum up the times. Things have only gotten weirder since, which makes it seem prescient. I haven't listened closely all the way through in many years. I find the prog leanings (overly complex arrangements, lofty themes, borderline clever clogging) slightly unsettling, and am surprised that I connected to it so strongly, as I usually prefer my rock and roll much more straightforward. But the band can tear it up when they want to, and I mourn that they have steadfastly refused to ever since. I have seen OK Computer referred to as the last great innovative British rock album, and I think there is some truth to that. Even Radiohead couldn't live up to its reputation. The combination of gruelling touring and trying to meet the expectations arising from the critical adoration drove them to retreat into increasingly cerebral electronic music, which frankly bores me to tears. Other bands stepped into the vacuum created by this retreat (Coldplay, Travis, Muse, et alia), but none of them could hold a candle to this. When I look at the state of rock music these days, I see very few vital and important acts. I fear 'rock' is an increasingly irrelevant genre, and maybe OK Computer was the swan song for a once culturally dominant part of culture: the last truly important rock album. Certainly this 1001 albums project has failed to suggest any rock album since that is this important. Maybe the White Stripes, but their albums are more like a summation of the past than a way forward. Radiohead were clearly influenced by rock history, but were trying to move into something new, even if it turned out to be a dead end. Side note: why is Fitter Happier on this record? It is boring filler and annoying every time I hear it. I listened to the OKNOTOK extended version of the album, and they were clearly on a creative run at the time. They had _lots_ of songs in the can that were far better than this. If they felt the need for extra running time (which they probably didn't. I prefer a concise record). No excuses for this time waste. OK Computer is a great and important record, even if not perfect (I would argue that The Bends is possibly a better album). Five stars
Radiohead’s commercial domination still confuses me a bit, but they’re growing on me. This is a great album. It pulls you in and washes you out before you really know what’s happening. Phenomenal production to capture that dreaminess. Let Down was my fave.
I really don't get all of the critical love for this band. This album is fine and I have no objection to putting it on this list, but Apple including it in the 100 Greatest Albums of all time is a bridge too far. Just too esoteric for me.
I’d never heard any of this before except “karma police” but thought it was really impressive. All the tracks had some thing cool to offer even if not all my personal taste. The only one I truly didn’t like was the talking robot/computer one but I totally get what it was included. Really great guitar playing throughout too. More time with this probably gets it to a 5 for me.
Ok
emo ass music
Never liked this album as much as it has been hyped