Dirty

Dirty? Not really. Good? Not really. Whycome so many Sonic Youth, album lords? Why? What did I ever do to you?

horrible noise

This is not it. Weird thing going on with difference in songs.

Liked some songs but disliked a whole lot more. Not sure I could sit through this in its entirety again.

I didn't know this band. Mostly noise and poor vocals. Bad album.

Kinda went in one ear and out the other, unfortunately.

Legitimately infuriating how bad of a singer Kim Gordon is in this. It's unlistenable. Its embarrassing. It makes my head hurt what the fuck is going on? The non-Kim songs are subpar for what I expect from a Sonic Youth Album. I actively hated this. Best Song: 100% Rating: 2/10 Stars: 1

I can recognize that this is probably an exemplary example of experimental/noise rock, bc the musicality and lyrics are otherwise very good! Unfortunately the Noise is really not for me … at some pt of listening to this album, I reached the point where if there is a perfectly great song, I’d wonder “When is the Noise coming in? …Ah, THERE’S the Noise!” I’m particularly fascinated by the vocal choices of the female singer where it sounds like she’s throwing up. My “favorite” track from here was actually “Shoot” which was so offputting and strange in its gagging and off-key meandering that it wrapped around to being entrancing to listen to.

Truly horrible

Innovative and a few songs I like, but generally not a pleasant listen. Difficult topics do not need to be presented with music that is dissonant and Difficult to listen to.

Solid '90s rock album form one of the coolest bands of the era. I tend to prefer the songs where Kim sings to the ones where Thurston does, but it's not a hard fast rules. Favorite songs: Drunken Butterfly Sugar Kane

Jamais écouté avant. En attirant à eux Butch Vig, le producteur de Nevermind, sorti à peine quelques mois plus tôt, Sonic Youth réussisse un coup de génie : signer un album de rock alternatif accessible, empreint du grunge (genre qu'ils ont eux-mêmes largement inspiré, la boucle est bouclée) qui est alors au sommet de sa popularité, mais sans rien céder de leur abrasivité naturelle, de ce son de guitares torturées dont ils ont fait leur identité. Certes moins expérimental, moins cradingue, Dirty n'en est pas moins sacrément bruyant, mettant sa cacophonie électrique et son énergie punk au service de mélodies imparables et de longs passages instrumentaux à décoller les tympans. Très fort, et à écouter très fort. Top : Theresa's Sound-World Flop : Nic Fit

Not my style

tbh I didn’t really like this, all the songs blended into each other and singing was very monotone. I also have a headache rn and I don’t think that this was the album to help either this. So maybe I’m not being fair to this album…either way I don’t think I would listen to it again 2.32/5

I have no talent but I wanna be Nirvana so bad Also having an affair after 30 years of marriage, this guy is a douche! (1/5)

hating this

My fav

Great album with some standout tracks like Sugar Kane. As always, there is a lot to chew on that can't be captured on first listen. I enjoyed the distortion and erratic melodies.

abbrasiv wie immer, konzeptmusik.

Cool und grungig.

Some of the noisy parts are a little much, but I liked some of this quite a bit. Some Sonic Youth is really great, but much of it hasn't really clicked with me. So I was a bit worried about this. I do generally like both vocalists and when the music hits it really hits. The noisy/experimental stuff isn't so much for me, unfortunately.

One of their best I think

Love this one haven’t heard in many years

Demasiados discos de Sonic Youth.

прикольный нойз рок вайбовый люблю

Wonderful guitar sounds.

Apart from nic fit and creme brulee, this is a pretty solid album. I'm an occasional enjoyer of Sonic Youth. Big regret of mine never to not have the opportunity to see them live.

It's fine but ultimately I didn't enjoy it

This album opened the door for me to the beauty of noise, dissonance, and atonality. Long live sonic truth.

It's no Daydream Nation but it rips anyways.

Listening to a second album didn’t make me like them more.

Feels more 'grungy' than a lot of grunge albums. Alternated between some genuinely interesting songs and borderline unlistenable stuff. I just can't do atonal screaming, sorry.

Umm... Sonic Youth's pop album. There were only few concessions made to the mainstream but they're enough to make the whole thing a bit uniform. Meanwhile it seems a funny time for the band to dial back on the melody. There's some Youth classics on here and the lyrics are strong with Kim's influence to the fore.

I tried to listen to this in the morning on the way to work and it just did my head in and seemed so similar to other dirgy indie bands (perhaps ignorant of me since this was released before the contemporary indie rock lot) Then I had a bad day. And an angry bath and all of the sudden it put me in a nice little trance especially with Orange Rolls, Angels Spit and On the Strip And the speedy riffs on fuckin Chapel Hill had me almost feeling the wind rushing but I could really take or leave the vocals and lyrics which kinda killed it for me at points

If Pearl Jam can be summarized by a single album early in their career, why in the ever loving F can’t these guys? It’s literally all the same

Ovo je baš stravično loše. Ali ono, baš. 1/5, 1/10

Ripper

Sleazy Sonic Youth! Good, but not my favorite of theirs

Sonic Youth are Gen X the band. Noise rock pioneers, rambling heroes, and, ironically, forgotten within the larger music era that they helped to create. If you are into experimental or noise rock, this is a can't miss.

p694. 1992. 1 star. Noisy, shouty early 90s indie grunge with no redeeming features. This could have been made by any number of garage bands. And somehow this lot have FIVE - count 'em, FIVE - albums on the list of my edition of the book. And yet no room for anything by The Cranberries, or for "East Side Story" by Squeeze. FFS.

Not for me

Really enjoy this, kinda what I wish grunge sounded like generally

Not for me but I get the appeal for some

mid

Good later era disc from a killer band

Exhausting to hear such a long Sonic Youth album without any new ideas to their scratchy, noisy formula. Not awful, but they’ve done far better.

I liked this sonic youth album so much more than the first one I listened to in this challenge. Most of the songs were good, some were quite catchy, and while there was dissonance in plenty of the songs, it only bothered me a little bit.

Really good, but I prefer Daydream Nation and Evol to this one.

Actually im quite fond of sonic youth! This is a great album. An inspiration for many!

Meh. 2/5

Had Sonic Youth and I collided in my teenage youth and their height I think we would have got on better. As it is I had grown out of grunge by the time this released and although I can appreciate their input and impact, it has not rekindled my interest.

Sehr geil

For the adolescent hipster, who you hate, or at least when you hate them, is maybe even more important than who you love or when you love them. This album came too late in the band's career for anyone sufficiently immature at the time to possibly like it. Nowadays, I think it's pretty good on its own but I would have titled it Breaking No New Ground and it has no place in the top 1001 albums. This is one of perhaps 150-200 albums on this list I would have replaced with a jazz or reggae album, two genres chronically underrepresented here.

Nice to finally get to the final Sonic Youth album in the collection! I'm kind of embarrassed to admit that while I've owned this album for over 30 years, I barely recognized most of the tracks outside of their (relative) hits "100%" and "Drunken butterfly"; I guess that kind of sums up my affinity to this venerable NYC band. I *did* enjoy the various videos to several of their tracks, especially the "Meet the Feebles"-esque one for "Drunken butterfly" (which was apparently a fan film/video from an MTV contest). And while it's far too long for what you get, I do appreciate it that this album has the most song-oriented and quasi-mainstream(-ish) music from all of the SY albums we've gotten in this project.

Buenísimo el disco.

"I'm just from Encino, why are you so meano?" 😂 "Theresa's Sound World" 😍😍😍😍😍my favorite I like tracks 6, 7, 9, and 10 too ❁ thx

Loved it. I wish we had streaming when this came out. I didn’t buy any Sonic Youth, but in probably would have if I heard this album

You can tell a Sonic Youth song the minute you hear it and that's not nothing.

The vital sign that I really ought to give Sonic Youth a proper go beyond Teen Age Riot and Kool Thing, loved this. It's sort of the polar opposite of Pavement's slacker sound, all the dials up to 11 and some absolutely mental guitar work, but the same sort of nonchalant vocal styling, too cool for school Theresa's Sound-World has an unreal climax, proper chaotic wall of noise crescendo, Sugar Kane is much the same. I've heard Sugar Kane a few times before, really good, as is 100%, the other lead single that I don't think I've ever heard Last half kind of dragged though I thought Nic Fit was a very funny sudden shift into hardcore punk

Don’t really get Sonic youth or “noise rock” in general but I didn’t hate this 3

4 out of 5. Love seeing more Sonic Youth on here. While not my favorite of theirs this is still a solid album.

Album number : 48 /1089 Songs known going in : 0 favourite song : 100% rating 3/5 notes : i usually find myself attracted to this kind of music but nothing drew me in. It faded into the background a little too easily for my liking. A little disappointing because I was expecting to love this from everything ive ever heard of sonic youth

Maybe the best sonic youth ive heard. The earlier stuff is a bit too raw for me though Mildred peirce might be my favorite singular song. This record is just a little less harsh a little less wild. It makes for a better listening experience for me. Not that I dislike the old ones. This is more the lane im in. Ive always heard they were so cool but even now im still more into other bands of this ilk. Gimme the pixies every single day over these guys but I like alot of what's here. The 2 singers really do make every track sound differnt. They bring a differmt approach and energy. The instumental is more laid back mostly. Still alot of energy at points. I will say if I ever need to explain my favorite kind of music in 60 seconds im playing nic fit. Its exactly what I like distilled to the basic essence. Plenty of good songs outside of that, sugar Kane, 100%, purr, drunken butterfly. All very good songs that I saved and will be happy to hear again. And everything else was good too. Those are just the highlights. I like this more relaxed sonic youth. Also thr little guy on the cover is cute as hell. Great record

I’ve always felt like Sonic Youth could be a little hit or miss with me. Sometimes they really push the boundaries of what a song is, and those are the times where it gets pretty easy for me to check out. But I like this record alright; it seems to have enough structure for me to find it mostly enjoyable. I still think that Sonic Youth gets by more on "cool factor" than actual songwriting chops though. 7/10

It is

Un peu bruyant et fatigant à écouter, mais quelques riffs et rythmiques sympathiques

not dirty enough

way too noisy and chaotic for my taste

This appears to be my 5th (and last) Sonic Youth album from the list. I loved Daydream Nation and really thought I had changed my mind about the band. Now, listening to this and looking back at my last reviews, I think I was overzealous when I said I "changed my mind" about them. Daydream Nation was a great album by a band I think is average at best, and sometimes bad. On to this particular album...pretty annoying in parts, undeveloped flashes of brilliance in other places. When these guys make music, I'm into it, but mostly...well, not mostly; too often they make noise. I enjoy like 65% of what I'm hearing, but the noise breaks are way too long and detract from what I like. Ultimately, a band I don't like made an album I do like. My mind wasn't changed about them like I thought, and I feel comfortable saying that because I listened to 5 of their albums. And again, NO ARTIST SHOULD HAVE FIVE FUCKING ALBUMS ON THIS LIST, especially when most of their music sounds so samey. ⭐⭐75

didn't listen

Not for me

So a list of albums I must hear before I die that includes FIVE albums by Sonic Youth but ZERO albums by Warren Zevon pretty much lacks any kind of plot. This is getting pretty close to a Smiths/Morrissey level of overexposure. I'm willing to grant that everyone should hear ONE Sonic Youth album before they die. Why not? But this one becomes a kind of mess of noise by the final few tracks: yet another case of a band deciding they need a double album rather than keeping things focused and putting out a much stronger work with one-third fewer tracks.

Sugar Kane er konge, men synes ellers albumet er for langt og ujevnt.

It’s too harsh for me, although occasionally they let in some tenderness. I hear the talent. I just checked my history and they have FOUR albums on this list?? And I’ve said pretty much the same thing about each one of them. I guess we’re both consistent.

Ömsom riktigt bra ös och kul riff, ömsom lite bjäring. Blir lite drygt en 3a

Aldrig hört! Hade föreställt mig mer emo mindre drag. Blev bättre mot slutet. Några rätt feta låtar där.

mkt coolt mkt djupt

Sometimes maybe good, sometimes maybe shit

8/10

Some boring, some a bit catchy, but overall whatever.

I've been tepid on Sonic Youth after much exposure here, to say the least. I do think their sound got better with each subsequent album until around the early 90's, however (til right about this one I'd say). There's an even split on vocals between Moore and Gordon here, but I honestly didn't care for much the Gordon-led tracks. It's fine otherwise, with a few highlights (including "Sugar Kane") and encapsulated by a "dirty" grungy sound, for lack of a better descriptor. The group at large has never really been my cup of tea, as I've only interacted with them in passing (or via the shuffle button). Five albums of theirs later, and my opinion hasn't really been swayed too strongly one way or the other.

There are far too many Sonic Youths on this list (should only be daydream nation). This one just happens to be my favourite.

I think i'd have to be in the right mood to even semi enjoy this

Very good, but just barely not 5 stars

Meh. 3/5.

Summer 2025 I was at a local music festival. A choir I sing in did a set and then I grabbed a beer and joined a friend in the cannabis-smoking area. By the time we wandered back to teh Amin Stage Sleater-Kinney was just starting. Maybe it was the drug cocktail, but killer gig by them. I was very locked in. Anyways, my friend was completely unfamiliar with Sleater-Kinney, but kept telling "they sound just like Sonic Youth" over and over again. He wasn't wrong, but he probably brought it up a couple times too many for polite company. Dirty isn't peak Sonic Youth in my books, but it is still pretty much beyond reproach. Just goes to show how immense peak Sonic Youth is. I wasn't aware of my project partner's deep love of the album til this week, but that fact put me in a very willing mood once I actually got around to pressing "Play"

Every twelve months or so, I get this powerful urge to listen to Sonic Youth. I have about three hours to satisfy this craving or my brain will explode. Almost any album will do, but Dirty is what I reach for more often than not. The one-two punch of 100% to Swimsuit Issue is one of the best album openings ever made. It sets this sinister, yet slinky presence that permeates through the rest of the record, elevating the likes of Shoot, Sugar Cane and even Youth Against Fascism. It’s an unquestionable five-star experience for me.

Favorite songs: 100%, Theresa’s Sound-World, Shoot, Wish Fulfillment, Sugar Kane, Purr

Sonic Youth is good

This was excellent. Has me wondering why I have not listened to Sonic Youth more. Really enjoyed this sound. 4.5 on the 5 side.

Noise rock, Kim Gordon, best band, yada yada yada this is great. 5/5

This was a great album and fell squarely in my style of music. I did not end up saving too many songs but I would like to revisit the album more times. Good showing.

A good mix of songs, didn't get boring even though it was an hour long album. Had some good fun with this one.

нормалек, вайбово, качает.

*sniffs* "Mature...." *sips and swills* "...noisy as fuck..." *swallows* "...shite!"

Not perfect, but one of the best albums noise rock has to offer.

kinda hard to make an early 90s noisy alt rock album i wouldn't like honestly lol just one of those albums where the overall sound of the album is great enough that it doesn't matter if the song structures can be a bit shaky at times (probably just adds to the vibe if anything in this case i'd say) favourite songs: shoot, drunken butterfly, jc (god i love kim gordon's voice) least favourite song: none really, just enjoyed the ride

It's honestly like they want to get a bad score from me. Sometimes it's, like, almost not dreadful. But they do that on purpose, they lull you into a false sense of security before the guitar SCREEEEECHES and it sounds like everyone throws the instruments down a flight of stairs. Painful! The lyrics seemed rather repetitive as well. They want a bad score, so they can have it.

It’s another great album from Sonic Youth. Maybe my favorite band I was able to dive into as a result of doing this project. Just love their noisy guitars and vocals. Haven’t heard anything I dislike from them yet. Favorites were 100%, Theresa’s Sound-World, Wish Fulfillment, Sugar Kane, Chapel Hill, and Purr.

Standouts Sugar Kane