Dirty

Decent sounding guitars ruined by idiotic and annoying singing.

I really liked this! I’m already a casual Sonic Youth fan but I’ve never listened to a full album. Kim Gordon’s vocals are sometimes off putting but I did enjoy it though it was a bit long.

I never fully appreciated Sonic Youth, but they definitely left an impression. They sound like the bridge from post-punk/new wave of the 80's to the Grunge era of Alt Rock.

Angst vomit

Pros: LOUD NOISES!!!!! One of them learned to sing Cons: LOUD NOISES!!!!! 𝘖𝘯𝘦 of them learned to sing I'd love to hear someone else on the vocals. Or maybe even an instrumental album. Such a waste

It's the song I hate It's the song I hate It's the song I hate It's the song I hate It's the song I hate It's the song I hate It's the song I hate It's the song I hate It's the song I hate It's the song I hate

I don’t like sonic youth

Noisy

I really enjoyed this album. I think it's a 3 but i'm giving it a 4

Oh man! One of the formative albums of my youth. A nice mix of bangers like Swimsuit Issue and more meditative tracks like Theresa's Sound-World. A couple are kind of cheesy, like Youth Against Fascism, but I guess that was the spirit of the times. This isn't my favorite Sonic Youth album, but the songwriting is better than I remember, and it's definitely got its place in their discography.

4 people playing 4 different songs at the same time

4.0

Not for me

4/5

I like it. Four stars.

I want to say i "get" sonic youth, that i like this slightly challenging music. i don't. i do like the noisy aggressive and interesting music, but the ineffectual talky/singy vocals that seem pretty unmelodic mixed with music that doesn't either find a driving groove or has some engaging hook doesn't entirely add up for me.

You know how at live shows, at the end of songs, where the band just fills the stadium with sounds that don’t always go together? That is what Sonic Youth sound like to me, except during all their songs, not just at the end.

personally, im a little poppier and lean more toward clarity so "dirty" may be a little well, dirty for my taste, but there are a lot of cool ideas happening on this album. lee ranaldo's playing is amazing, albeit unsettling. i love kim gordon's work on it. sift through the tall overdriven grass of the guitars and she has some killer grunge basslines all through this. her dry and sultry vocals had me jonesing for a record solely led by her, and then i remembered the yeah yeah yeahs exist, so thats where i'm off to next!

I'm not digging this pre-Paramore punk band, but I get why some love it.

Not a fan of the vocals. Music isn’t too bad.

Just couldn’t get into it personally

A band I discovered way too late when exploring the 90s... Another classic, but I would not recommend to 1st time listeners. This band is always an afterthought but their music is still great to me.

Eh

Nope

I don't get it. This is apparently revered by some, and I really wish someone could explain why. It is muddy, flaccid and noisy. The vocals are flat and seemly deliberately off-key. The only track on here I can suggest I "like" (and I use the term in a very loose sense) is Sugar Kane, which goes on a minute too long. I guess if you grew up with Nirvana and were tired of grunge, this represents and a nice little change of direction, but jeebus it's a not a fun album to listen to.

I couldn't tell you which of the two Sonic Youth albums I've had was better I could only tell you that I didn't need two.

This one surely is dirty, but in a very good way. Like that one snackbar you always go to when you’re drunk.

Interesting to hear about how this album was received in the era of grunge and Nevermind. Frankly, noisy teen garage rock has never done anything for me, and this album didn't move the needle there. There were also a few songs where the singer adopted an "I'm about to throw up" sound to her vocals, which didn't work for me.

Not a fan.

Not my thing, but but for what it is it's good.

Rock alternativo. Ni fu ni fa.

3/5. This album started so good and I thought it was heading towards a 4 star rating, but it turned out to be top-heavy and the rest of the album spiraled it out of the upper echelon.

Second installment of Geffen's advance, more grandfathers-of-grunge sharp rock tunes. Spread over a double it doesn't have quite the focus of Goo, but several high points (100%, Sugar Kane, drunken Butterfuly) and an overall sense of a band both tight and loose at the same time. That old trick.

Epitome of sonic youth

Sonic Youth were already well-established when the whole grunge/alternative craze erupted, and most the prominent figures of that scene looked up to them. If anything, SY's sound was more adventurous than their contemporaries in 1992, so it's not surprising that they distilled their ethos a bit to have a shot at the scene they helped spawned. Dirty sounds like an édition raisonnée of everything Sonic Youth has been and everything Sonic Youth would eventually become. As such, it is their most direct album to date, the noise is still there, but it's even more structured than Goo was. Sometimes it works in their favor (100%, Youth Against Fascism, Sugar Kane), sometimes it makes them sound like a tame version of themselves (Shoot, Crème Brûlée). If all the lesser moments would have been cut, this would have been the classic it aimed to be. But the album sadly feels too long for its own good, and I think it would have worked much better if they had cutted 3 or 4 songs from it. That being said, there are also a lot of strong points to that album, mostly placed in the first half of the album. Theresa's Sound-World has to be one of my 10 best SY tracks, and 100% is up there too.

Probably the album that I enjoyed the most from SY's discography. The only problem with this one is the cringy vocals from time to time, but hey, that's punk I guess.

Another Sonic Youth classic. I feel this one is well balanced between their noisy/chaotic side and their strong compositions skills with more structured arrangements. Again, well played SY.

Dirty rock

Good album. Really long album! Enjoyed it but got a bit bored towards the end

I like Sonic Youth, and this is a good album, but no where close to an album I should listen to before I die.

Four really good tracks and too much filler and nonsense. Best track: 100%

Early grungy, punk kinda feel. Loved it.

Não gostei muito, mas sugar kane é boa.

Heilt greit, ikkje så minneverdig

"it's just noise"

3.9 the songs that are good are GOOOOOD but some are just a drag but overall has lots of songs that sound like they came out 15 years later fave songs: theresa's sound-world, wish fulfilment, Sugar Kane, JC, Chapel Hill

What a band, what an album.

I keep WANTING to like Sonic Youth more. So much of their stuff is what a lot of bands I like is founded on. But there's just something about the actual songs that just never clicks with me. Songs like "Swimsuit Issue," just seems like it's unfinished. "Theresa's Sound World" sounds a lot better though. It's not the guitars, the crunchiness. I think it's just Kim's vocals, there's not a lot of melody to it. Hearing "Drunken Butterfly" I'm like, yeah it sounds like that to me. I just never seem to "get" it. The elements are all things I like, and yet...?

If Sonic Youth would just stick to the great stuff and avoid going on too long and or being too full of itself with its experimenting, this would be an amazing album. Like look it me, I'm making this annoying scratchy high pitched sound (or singing gibberish) just because I can - see Nic Fit and Creme Brulee. In contrast, Tom Morello would drag his amp plug across his guitar but make it sound melodic. That said, the first half/9 songs is really good. When Kim Gordon sings, especially on on Swimsuit Issue and Drunken Butterfly, there's this great combination of screw you and what do I care. And the music twists and turns but it fits just right; ditto on the Thurston Moore-sung 100%, Theresa's Sound-World, and Sugar Kane (these ones are so smooth). And there continues to be some gems on the back half - On the Strip (great first half to the song, then gets a bit decadent), Chapel Hill, and Purr (bonus track Stalker also good). I guess there were only a few annoying songs. It could've been tighter but there's more to like on this album than others of theirs. They finally won me over for a full album.

I. Hate. Noise. Rock. It's a shame, because there are a few tracks that might have sounded ok without the horrible sounding guitars (e.g., 100%, Theresa's Sound World, Wish Fulfillment, Sugar Kane, Youth Against Fascism, Stalker). Songs that weren't awful: Drunken Butterfly, Chapel Hill. Songs that made me want to tear my ears off: Swimsuit Issue, Drunken Butterfly, Shoot (Kim Gordon sounded horrendous on this one), Orange Rolls Angel's Spit, Nic Fit, On the Strip, JC, Creme Brulee. Giving it a 2 because for me a 1 means there's zero redeeming value - but it was a close thing. In fact, it had the rare distinction of sounding worse on 2nd listen. Not looking forward to hearing more Sonic Youth albums.

Always nice to see Sonic Youth pop up on the list. Dirty is a double whammy, but completely justifies the runtime. Every band member gets a chance to showcase their skills, and with only a few misses like 'Nic Fit', the quality on this record is undeniable. A special shout out to 'Theresa's Sound World' - 'The Unforgiven III' by Metallica anyone?

Sonic Youth just delivers every time. Though the album peaks early on with the perfect “Theresa’s Sound-World”, where Moore delivers an incredible performance, the entirety of Dirty (not including “Nic Fit”) is just brilliant. There’s no denying what an incredible drummer Steve Shelley is, but on this album he shows up to become one of the greatest alive. His playing is so varied, expressive and explosive that I find myself in awe every time he hits just anything.

The 5th (and final) Sonic Youth album. Like the other ones... it is just fine. Nothing exceptional. Don't think they needed 5 albums on here.

A fair album but I'm not sure why it's on this list - it didn't strike me as particularly noteworthy in any way.

Oh more Sonic Youth 🙄 keeps making me think of Chronic Youth, early 2000s Raging Speedhorn. When it was in the background it was fine, but I kept listening when it was noisy 😠

Interesting, inventive, def there are parts that felt rockin' but I think ultimately it wasn't particularly engaging for me. High points: Purr, The Destroyed Room, Sugar Cane Low Points: Nic Fit

It was okay

Zero stars

Theresa's Sound-World was the highlight, cool post-rock sounding riffs. Also liked Sugar Kane and Chapel Hill. Actively disliked some others (ex: Drunken Butterfly) - vocals not working for me. Would listen again with some skips.

A band that I've always been vaguely familiar with, without ever having really felt the need to listen to. Very much from the early-90s punky / grungey / indie vibe, and that's no bad thing to be honest.

nice jams but got stressful

First time listening to sonic youth… I guess it’s okay??

Didnt really listen

Two observations. A) There seems to be quite a bit of Sonic Youth on this list and B) I'm not complaining.

Sonic Youthin hienos ei ole koskaan itselle valjennut. Ei oikein mitään tuntemuksia herää tätä kuunnellessa. Ihan ok ja harmiton, muttei kyllä tee mieli kuunnella uudelleen. 2,49*

Kaksjakonen levy. Hyviä biisejä makeilla tunnelmilla, mut sit välillä ihan joutolaisia seassa. Päällisin puolin kuitenkin jäi hyvä maku ja vois kuunnella uudestaan

Not a fan.

Tiukka ysäri! 4/5

Harvoja "raskaampia" bändejä, joita jaksan enää säännöllisesti. Jälleen tiukkaa laatua. Vähän liian pitkä, mutta silti 4/5.

Hyvää räminää, tykkäsin tästä enemmän ku SY:n aiemmista levyistä tällä listalla. 3/5

Not Sonic Youth's best album but still a pretty good album. There just not really a singular song that feels like a big hit.

Some high highs and some looooow lows. Tough to rate because of that.

I really like this.

Het is wel knappe, bijzondere muziek, maar vandaag bevalt dit me niet zo. Ik kan me wel voorstellen dat dit kan groeien als ik het vaker luister. Voor nu geef ik 3 sterren.

Not bad, but nothing really stood out to me on this one. Looking forward to hearing the other releases from Sonic Youth though.

Nothing terrible, but no stand outs either. Inoffensive music that I'd play in the other room while I'm doing stuff; nothing I'd want to actively listen to.

Released in 93 and produced by Butch Vig it was hyped up on MTV constantly, but I never felt it lived up to that hype. It's an ok album, it's a big a step down from Daydream Nation. A 3.5 but I'm giving a 3 due to the awfully dumb song Youth Against Fascism.

Not the best SY, but a solid record with some good tunes and a few that should maybe have been edited off the final release.

Between a 3 and a 4. I've been enjoying the Sonic Youth records more then I was expecting.

It's good. But it's sort of like you ran Sonic Youth through a generic 90s Grunge filter and this is what you get. No where near as good as Daydream Nation or Goo. But still not bad, I enjoyed it and will listen again.

Brilliantly brash and aggressive, the alternating male/female vocal leads showcasing a breadth of emotions

Solid album, I'm starting to come around on Sonic youth, especially goo and post goo

Second time listening to this album. Actually digging it more than the OG list. More saves this time around and just general better vibes enjoyed

"Musicians play loud when they want to act smart, right? "CORRECT"

its a hit and miss album. there are a few tracks on here with absolutely no purpose.

Perverts love this

Sonic Youth is cool. This is the third album I’ve heard from them on this list. They’re all basically the same. So - good job on staying consistently pretty good.

There were you a few songs I skipped because they weren’t my kind of vibe but all in all, not bad.

Crunchy.

Not as iconic as some of their other albums, but still very strong. Not sure if they were trying to be “poppy” but this definitely has some of Sonic Youth’s most accessible tracks. Sugar Kane is fantastic, so is 100%. Some interesting topics explored on the album as well. Would definitely come back to dig into this one more.

7/10. This sounded a bit like Garbage, but not quite as immediately enjoyable. I could see myself coming to like this album after further listening though, and I definitely liked it better than some other Sonic Youth albums.

Apt name. 7/10

Þetta er partý. Sérstakt partý, en partý þó.

There’s a damn fine case to be made for Sonic Youth as the greatest American rock band. At the least, they are the band that exemplifies what I consider to be “the American spirit” more than almost any other. Let’s review: Ambitious? Check. Adventurous? Check. Aggressive? Check. Rebellious? Check. Forward thinking? Check. Politically savvy? Check. Innovative? Check. Experimental? Check. Influential? Check. Unorthodox? Check. Unique? Check. Willing to carve out their own path? Check. Most importantly, they fucking rock. Dirty might be Sonic Youth at their most aggressive. It’s exceptionally loud, chaotic and noisy. If you want to scare the shit out of your neighbors at 3 am, pick up an original pressing of this record on vinyl (it’s mastered *so* hot) and crank it up. But it’s not without songs and melody. Sugar Kane is one of the greatest 90’s alt-rock songs - that it’s relatively unknown, outside of Sonic Youth fans, is a crime. The twists, turns and breakneck speed of “Purr”…the ethereal grandeur of “Theresa’s Sound World”…the blunt teardown of America’s sexual harassment problem on “Swimsuit Issue”…and the gorgeous, chiming, opening strains of “Chapel Hill”: These are the heights that hacks like William Corgan and the majority of your alt-rock heroes could only dream of attaining. Dirty isn’t the best Sonic Youth record and it’s not even my favorite - they made better records before and since - but it is the record that turned me into a Sonic Youth obsessive. For that, it will forever get high marks in book.

Slightly more refined, messy fun!

Love it! Now we're talking!

This album brings back a lot of fond memories for me and I found this time around to be quite enjoyable. 100% is still great, as is Sugar Kane, Creme Brulee just leaves me wanting more so let's go again!

Yeah, this is really cementing for me that I shoulda got into Sonic Youth decades ago. It's well badass. I could see more listens pushing this to a 5 easily enough. Fave track - "Youth Against Fascism" is delightfully catchy and off-kilter. Also really liked the vibe of "JC"...

Rock alternativo. Ni fu ni fa.

Personally, I think there are better Sonic Youth albums

I love sonic youth, and I agree this album should be on the list, but it’s not one of my favourite, day dream nation, sister and goo would rank ahead of it. Still on its own merit it’s a worthy 3 star album.

Probably my favourite Sonic Youth album, mainly because it was the group's answer to the far superior Nirvana. The album's not bad, but it's a far cry from the real thing. As in, it's hard for me to imagine a scenario where I'd prefer to listen to this album here over listening to Nirvana. Which is to say, I don't think this album's qualities merit its inclusion here.

Not for me. Young excited noisy band.

Cool

Sonic Youth go (sort of) commercial. But stay true to themselves. I've never listened to this despite being VERY familiar with the cover, saw it everywhere but least my brother's record collection. recognise a few tracks, the straight up bangers of 100% and Sugar Kane, but they sound the least like themselves. Was slow to get into it but it gets really in my skin a few tracks in and doesn't let up.

Not worth listening to Least fav: shoot Fav: Jc Guess I don’t really like noise music lol

Maybe when I was 22. Does that count for something??

I want to give Sonic Youth a chance but now is not the time.

This album is more accessible than some of Sonic Youth’s other work, yet still retains many of their best noise rock impulses. My biggest complaint is that some of their political points weren’t taken to a fuller conclusion. Other than that, I really enjoyed this album.

Even growing up with Sonic Youth and grunge, they never really spoke to me. It's heresy, I know, but I would not recommend this album. It does need to be heard as the sound does mean something for music in the 90's.

Loud and discordant. Loved it Saved tracks: 100%, Drunken Butterfly, Sugar Kane, Youth Against Fascism, Nic Fit, Purr

not sure i've ever listened to this. it's gloriously noisy. sounds exactly like how the 90s sounded for me.

Highlights: "Swimsuit Issue," "Drunken Butterfly," "Wish Fulfillment," "JC" This is what I expected Sonic Youth to sound like when trying out Daydream Nation and Goo: a mix of Glenn Branca (eg 1982's Ascension) with all the New Wave stuff to which it was responding. I don't think it's accurate to just say this was Sonic Youth being influenced by grunge, because what they're doing here is predictive of the edgy uptempo rock that would run through the decade until nu metal rap-rock took over.

Transports you back to the 90s

Ugh. It is not good. I just don't care for it. It is whiney and the music is not good. It is better than a one but not really a two. I will round down.

Part of me believes that Sonic Youth was just taking the piss on this album because of how accessible it seems. That being said, it's far and away the best Sonic Youth album that I've ever listened to

I love how messy and noisy it is, especially the guitar sounds throughout the album. Amazing Noise Rock album overall. I liked Theresa's Sound-World, Chapel Hill, JC. Only complaints would be that some of the vocals sound like they cant find the right key, but whatever. 7.5/10

Noise rock

Wonderful achievement here creating so much beautiful dirty noise. Not a SY Gan but may need a deeper dive. I assumed this was early due to how raw it was but the production value screamed established artist and boy oh boy there established art on this one

This album is so damn good that it is still going to get 5 stars even with the amount of screechy elements that made me recoil. Favorite track: Theresa's Sound-World

Some decent grungy noisy rock, I enjoyed it more than some of the other sonic youth ones. Maybe a 3.5?

Really influential album and sound. All of the instrumentals are dope and have a lot of cool dynamic changes. I also like the very straight forward lyrics in some of these songs. A lot of the noise/shoegaze bands usually have very cryptic lyrics but songs like swimsuit issue are almost like punk lyrics. I didn’t love Kim Gordon’s vocals at first but they grew on me and the music is just so good. JC has a haunting kinda sound that I really like and stuck with me. A lot of the songs have great riffs and/or melodies under the layers of noise and distortion which I feel like takes the songs to another level and conveys the energy of the writing really well. Whether it’s adding to a fast song to take it another level or destroying the more soft songs like JC. So many cool dynamic and tempo changes in this one too that draw you in and makes the album fly by. Sick album and I’m looking forward to listening to this and more sonic youth in general. 👍: JC, chapel hill, purr, sugar kane

Not a fan, too noisy and unorganized, get like random sounds a certain points

The pretty guitar on sugar Kane was a nice departure from the heavy noise in the rest of the album. Overall the project grew on me. Chatting about it with buddies def made me appreciate it more. Gonna have to look more into the discography to see if this sound is something I’m really into.

Heard of sonic youth before but never heard their music. Then I realized they were considered noise rock and figured I'd hate it. And while there were certainly songs that I hated (drunken butterfly was an utterly terrible experience), there were also some that I found enjoyable. Was it noisy? yes. But the album was a lot more melodic than I had expected. Some redeeming qualities here for sure. Yet another album that suffers from being too long. In my eyes, the track list could use some cleaning up, as there were a decent amount of tracks I would consider filler. On the other hand, I'm not typically a fan of the genre so maybe the tracks I would cut are considered essential by others. To each their own. The 5-6 tracks that I enjoyed are gonna keep this at a light 3 for me. If the track list was cleaned up, I could see this creeping into the high 3-4 territory. A pleasant surprise. Songs I liked: Theresa's sound world, chapel hill, sugar kane, wish fulfillment, purr MMM: ITS THE SONG I HATE! ITS THE SONG I HATE.

I’m not really one for 90s grunge, but this is pretty much the quintessential sound. Personally a 1, with context probably a 4

A few songs I liked we enough, but I listened to this album 3+ times and it just never made an impact on me

J'aime, c'est en effet un peu sale, drôlement défoulant.

While this is a decent enough album with some really good songs, some of the other tracks just drag.

I like the sound, the style and aesthetic that Sonic Youth has. But a lot of these songs were misses, and did nothing for me. A lot of decent songs as well like Sugar Kane and Wish Fullfillment. I'm gonna be generous and give this a 3. Something about the grunge sound here had potential to be better, but it ain't too bad.

Another week comes with another Sonic Youth album on the 1001 list. With one more, I promise to give 5 stars. Keep trying. For this one, it's not as good as the last SY (we are becoming friends) I received here, but it's not bad.

Very grungy, but a lot of it is guitar distortion just to make the noise. Not a massive fan.

This guys/girl fucks

15 doses para uso consciente de ruídos, distorções e efeitos sonoros. Para experimentar continuamente o rock dissonante e punk envolvente.

I really liked this fuzzy rockin’ album with somewhat nonsense lyrics

I knew a lot of people that enjoyed this album. I was not one of them.

Honestly, it just sounds too much like they're jamming the instruments and not playing? Really unsure but the whole album left me un-enthused.

Great atmosphere/production Vocals are great Great grunge album

When I was a teenager and first starting to get into music, Sonic Youth were one of those groups that challenged my tastes almost immediately. I sometimes get this drive when I have trouble understanding the appeal of a band or film that is surrounded by a lot of positive criticism. I can live with not liking it, but not understanding it is unacceptable to me. I remember coming across Teen Age Riot and falling in love immediately, it might as well have been a song built in a vacuum just for me at 16, but that was about all the further I’d get in the album proper. As soon as Silver Rocket’s screeching beginning would play, I could feel my ears begin to bleed. This felt wrong to teenage me, I couldn’t accept that I could love a song so much by a band but not enjoy their other stuff. I kept digging, and I eventually found more songs I liked. That started pushing me further into the stuff I didn’t like, and even the nosiest bits began making sense to me. I never became a fan of their entire catalogue (is anyone?), but I had developed a healthy mix of songs I loved and the ability to play Daydream Nation and Goo front to back. I never made it to Dirty, and I that was a mistake on my part because I think I would have loved it then. There’s no Teen Age Riot or Kool Thing on here, but this is probably the best melding of everything they had done up to that point. There’s still plenty of noise, but it is more refined here. It takes a few before it hits its stride, but things really pick up by the time Sugar Kane comes around. I haven’t spent much my adulthood with Sonic Youth, maybe it was a mistake to leave them with my teenage self, but it was great to have an excuse to revisit a band that became a gateway to many other bands I’d grow to love.

Very good album will definitely listen again

To me this just sounds like a college band. Not terrible, but nothing special. Didn’t know there was a female in the band though! Learned something new. Listen again: no Purchase for my collection: no Favourite Song: nothing stood out Worst Song:

I’m pretty sure I had this album. And yet I remember relatively little about it. I am letting it roll over me - fine but not fabulous. Sugar Kane was the highlight.

I have only ever been a casual listener to Sonic Youth. After hearing this album I may put a little more effort in. I enjoy the parts where there are actual melodies and singing to the more prolonged periods of sonic dissonance but I was never tempted to turn the album off. I thought about Hole and Pavement and Dinosaur Jr. while listening.

I was always turned off by Sonic Youth because they just seemed interested in making a lot of noise and I thought it ended there. This opened my eyes to the fact that there's actually some pretty effective songwriting going on, and the drummer is damned tight on this record. Surprisingly, I was a much bigger fan of Thurston Moore's vocals and songs than Kim Gordon's — and now I know who Courtney Love was listening to through the '80s and why Scott was so enamored with "Live Through This." So color me surprised. This album rates higher than I enjoyed it personally, I don't see myself turning to SY for a pleasure listen, but I have a better appreciation for what these kids are up to.

I discovered Sonic Youth in high school and spent the summer of '89 obsessing over every one of their albums, letting their unique musical vocabulary rewire my brain. When I was 18, I felt like they were the only band that mattered. Their musical textures were so rich and complex, I felt like I could live in these songs. Yeah, their lyrics were often (let's face it) kind of dumb, but I didn't care. The music is what mattered. Anyway, to say I love this band is an understatement. But I haven't listened to them much in the past two-plus decades. Unsure why, but maybe that's just how it is with bands you were so close to in your formative years. So I was curious how I would react to this one, which is not their best, but it was a bit of a return to greatness after the disappointment that was Goo. I'm also curious how y'all will react. If anything, this might be the best SY album to start with, since it's their poppiest album. (If you can believe it.) My reaction: goddamn, I still love their music. The way Thurston's and Lee's microtonal guitars weave through and over and past each other still thrills. No, this album doesn't quite reach the highs of Sister, Evol, or Daydream Nation. There are no extended jams that we SY fans love so much. But Thurston was on a songwriting roll here. Some of these tunes are among the band's best. But then there's Kim. I adore Kim. I do not, generally speaking, adore her singing or her lyrics. Although some of her songs are some of the all-time great SY songs, none of those songs are on this album. And unfortunately, there's a lot of Kim on this album, which makes this one uneven. But I'll be generous and give it a 4. Bad news for those of you who don't like Sonic Youth: There are, I believe, five SY albums on here. Even as a fan, that's probably about four too many for a list like this. If it were up to me, I'd just include Daydream Nation and say, "Hey, if you dig this, you're in luck. There are a ton of great SY albums for you to check out. But if you don't, you can say you gave them a try and move on."

Ok I don't love Sonic Youth. I do really get why people do and I can appreciate the skill and passion which does make me appreciate their music on some level. However, most of the songs really stress me out! Same on this album mostly although I actually loved the opener and the closer! 100% is about a roadie and friend who they lost and it's beautiful. Creme Brulee is also so so beautiful and really an interesting song. So this start and finish did intrigue me and bring my rating up to 3 I think.

What a classic. I enjoyed this so much. A lot of new ones for me as well.

I've always wanted to like Sonic Youth more than I really do. But listening this properly just now if probably the most I've enjoyed them. I know they are very important and influential to a lot of artists I love but I just don't love listening to it all

Just wailing guitars and off key singing. Every time I though a song was decent it failed to reach the point where I would normally say. “Hey, not bad!” Forgettable. Chapel Hill is passable.

It is dirty isn’t it? But great, powerful dirtiness. I liked that, it was good. Shame I didn’t discover that at the time, would have really appealed to teenaged me.

Not a huge fan of this one.

3.5

“I’ve been around the world a million times and all you men are slime.” Love love love this album. I have listened to plenty of Sonic Youth over the years but never sat to listen to an entire album. Nothing but love for this one.

Solid, vintage stuff from a band that positioned itself as the coolest on the planet for more than a few years. This isn't as good as Daydream Nation but not far off either. "Sugar Kane" is one's favorite cut, because it adds some Mascisesque licks to their signature industrial-slow burn-smolder affect.

I appreciate Sonic Youth more than I enjoy them.

Wow, this was a very cool album. Lots of really good tracks. I loved the contrasting vocals between the two as they alternated songs throughout the album. This was great listen. 4. T3B 1. Sugar Kane 2. Chapel Hill 3. JC 4. 100% 5. Shoot

Feels significantly less inspired and more annoying than Goo. Not great.

Probably won’t surprise you but I really liked this record. I love dissonant, overdriven guitar and monotone vocals

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH, con estas cosas sintonizo, estos son los discos que me perdí por la poca difusión en los medios masivos argentinos. Qué placer esta recomendación. Lo disfruté de punta a punta.

I am not familiar with Sonic Youth but have heard about them a lot. So it was good to have a chance to listen to them. My thoughts on this album? A bit meh. It’s fine as music playing in the background when I try to soak up in it I find most of the tracks too meandering with not much melody to make any of the tracks memorable. Maybe that’s the point with noise rock? And I usually like my fair share of noise and distortion. I think this kind of sound was probably groundbreaking in its time but after grunge became mainstream this doesn’t sound too exceptional. Anyways this is also supposed to be their grunge album. Disappointed that I didn’t like this album but afterwards I started checking out their earlier stuff and I like them a bit more. Standout track for me here is Chapel Hill with its catchy opening riff.

Dont touch m breast im just working the desk... super trash

Classic album. SOOO many of my favorite bands owe so much to this band. I can't help but love it.

Too noisy and messy for my musical taste

Yuck

Noisy. Flashes of cool instrumentals from the drums and guitar but overall not pleasant to listen to.

Rating: 8/10 Best songs: 100%, Drunken butterfly, Orange rolls,angel’s split, Nic fit

Not my cup of tea but at least they're anti-fascists lmao

Grungy, kinda plodding

3/1- Driving to School

Not a big fan

There’s a large bucket of albums on this list where I respect but do not like the music. This plops firmly into that pool.

Sonic Youth are a strange phenomenon to me: they tick all my boxes and still I find myself unable to connect with their music; I find them to be hard work too. Having said that, opener track 100% is a blast, and I have the tendency to fall in love with albums with strong openers. Then the sheer experimentation of the classic Sonic Youth kicks in with Swimsuit Issues. The whole album seems to be balanced between the noise rock for which they are mostly known and a somewhat pop side to their music. Butch Vig, who was behind the boards during the recording of Nirvana's Nevermind, is also the producer in charge here, and I can see how his approach streamlined the sound of both bands. Definitely an album that requires more than one listen in life, for people who are interested in sticking to it. They could have trimmed it to fit in a 45 minutes disc instead of an hour long album though, but hey, I guess that was the CD era!

Definitely some angst on this one. Doesn't click with me as enjoyable listening.

I'm not young or angry enough to enjoy this

not a fan for the most part. A few songs I liked

Muita influência. Mas pouca melodia, fica cansativo.

Very 90s sound but can you write a song that doesn’t sound like a dr. Seuss book

i liked this one. nothing too crazy but def not terrible

The album title fits the dirty punk rock well

Las voces a veces suenan como al borde del vomito, lo que me disgusto y costo seguirlo, el resto estuvo bien pero nada grandioso

Not their best effort, but feedback is always welcome.

Started with a screech... got worse... dreadful noise of extreme use of the wah wah bar mixed with resemblance of some melody or vocals. Drumming patterns were just smash smash smash akin to a school band on their debut in the school gym.

This is what dying feels like 👍 They really weren't lying. This is dirty alright. Fucking disgusting even, I love it. I'm not even the biggest noise rock fan, but a nice old assault on the ears once in a while never killed anyone I think. The funny little creature on the album cover is a very jolly fella and I hope he continues causing rambunctious hijinks in the near future.

Very cool. 4 stars

listened in high school

This is my fourth Sonic Youth album in this project. If I were a power that be, I would have suggested we could have just gone with this one and got all we needed. As the previous albums I listened to were earlier ones, I wonder if Sonic Youth kind of grew into the 90s. There were moments I liked this.

Oh, you Youth...why all the noisiness?? I almost liked a lot of this album and actually did like some of it.

OK. This is the least "huh?" of the many, many Sonic Youth albums we've listened to so far. If this had been the only one, I wouldn't be so mad. It's not bad. There are songs I actually would like to hear again. Good work, everyone.

Of the four Sonic Youth albums we have listened to in the first 500 albums, this is by far my favorite. I went into this with a negative attitude and was surprised I didn’t hate it. I actually listened to this twice. A real surprise! Favorite songs: Theresa’s Sound-World, Sugar Kane, Chapel Hill

Excessively noisy. DNF.

Fun noise

For Sonic Youth it was not that bad

My favourite Sonic Youth album after Sister: non-stop 5* rock songs, highly accessible without doing any concessions to their sound.

This was always my favourite Sonic Youth album, and it still sounds great today.

My best known Sonic Youth album: great noise rock.

Not the best Sonic Youth. I really want to like SY more than I do...and I feel like I should, but it is pretty much just always average for me. 3.5/5

not a good album

OK

El primer àlbum a la carrera de Sonic Youth que es pot considerar moderadament accessible. I, sense ser casualitat, un dels millors. 'Sugar Kane' és un dels grans clàssics de l'época

solid grunge sound from that era.

Barely registered.

Goo sounds like the OG great sellout record to me, then here they proved they could still sellout without compromising their noisy proclivities, Dirty is my favourite SY record and one of my favourite albums to play in the car.

Good grunge album - right mood required for entire album, but overall good listening experience

This was the album in high school that the cool nerdy kids were all into. I was never a cool nerdy kid. It’s got merit, for sure, but man, fuck those cool nerds. Ha.

Grungy, loud, distorarted post-punk at it's finest. My 14yr old heart would have been happy hearing this in 93 - but today I'm not feeling it. This album did not hold up, especially Kim Gordan's vocals.

I unexpectedly loved this album. I was not familiar with Sonic Youth at all and it just hit right this morning.

I never got into Sonic Youth. They weren't played on local radio. Didnt realize they started in '81.

Heilt greit, ikkje så minneverdig

This album just doesn’t seem to have the same energy or creativity as it leads you on to think at times with some of it’s songs, which are rather the exception to on otherwise just “loud” album

This hit something for me, somewhere between Chevelle and Nada Surf and Smashing Pumpkins. Although extremely low-fi, it had a really endearing quality to me.

Sonic Youth's brand of alternative just really doesn't do it for me. It's always noisy and off key, and has an improvised vibe that they clearly don't have the talent to pull off. 2/5.

Sonic Youth will always hold a special place in my heart.

Never really understood these guys popularity in the 90s.

The least sucky sonic youth album on the list so far.

All that angst

It’s like every time they get something interesting going they feel the need to throw in something avant garde so people know they’re still cool

Highlights: “100%”, “Purr”, “On the Strip”, “Chapel Hill” Listening to this made me return to “Sister” to try and figure out why I enjoyed that album more than this one. There’s catchy riffs in both, as well as plenty of distortion & screeching. I read there’s 5 albums by Sonic Youth, so maybe after the other 3 I’ll get why this entry is so acclaimed.

An acquired taste to be sure. If you're in the mood for the occasionally great melody smothered in feedback and no wave burbling then this is for year. Difficult music for men with glasses to obsess over, take over the stereo and clear a dance floor with and to name drop archly at parties... if they get invited to parties that is. Best Tracks: 100%; Wish Fulfilment; Sugar Kane

Good album and will listen again

Sort of rock. Sort of heavy metal without the lead guitars. Sort of punk. Not bad, just not great either. Not something I'm ever likely to listen to again.

Very interesting. Will need to listen to it more definitely, but really liked the vibe.

I love this album. A great mix of noise aggression and melody - lots of crazy experimentation but also very accessible and some lovely dreamscape tracks.

I’m sure this is great, and it should really suit my taste but I just couldn’t find a way into it.

I remain steadfast in my inability to appreciate what Sonic Youth did for punk. The screeching vocals on most tracks detracts from the music for me on most of the tracks. Sugar Kane was an ok song

Not my thing. Kinda noisy. Hey, Yutes - Get off my lawn!

Man, I really liked some of these songs-

bello punkettone e rumoroso come piace a me, nonostante questo melodico. belle le voci e creativi i motivi. Elettronica e chitarra con effetti. molto vario (diverso da varissimo) anche come emozioni anche se tutte sfumature di greve

Fajne

My only familiarity of Sonic Youth is Kool Thing via Guitar Hero. I didn’t particularly like that song, but it’s not on this album so no need to worry. Let’s see how we go with a full album and if I become a fan! Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Wish Fulfilment, Sugar Kane, Purr I was quite impressed with this. I’m somewhat unfamiliar with noise rock as a sub-genre of rock so it was quite different to what I’m used to, but it was certainly interesting! Youth Against Fascism shows excellent use of guitar to simply make noise, but (no so simply) without being grating. The distortion on the bass guitar is perfection throughout. The vocals aren’t amazing, but it would likely be too jarring if they were - the style suits the genre very well. Overall, I surprisingly enjoyed this and didn’t particularly expect to.

Nice guitar sound

Crap.

Not THE sonic album but still a blast from the past

Not a big fan of the noise-rock thing. I like some of their more accessible songs. 3 stars.

Good music but just not for me

Is it missing some hits? Playing this a couple of times. Keep thinking I’ve missed it , but nothing memorable. Cover art: please say no one was trying too hard for this

Not really to my taste in music, even in the songs where I would find connections with specific lyrics, it was always wrapped in discordant rock. I had to skip through a bunch of songs in 10-second increments because I found the inharmonious noise quite awful, sensory wise. I liked the guitar on Chapel Hill.

Definitely still not a big fan of Sonic Youth and this album was no exception.

absolutely no. from beginning to end it was awful. there was no good part anywhere.

Something that starts ok with "100%" but then shits itself with a non-effort like "Swimsuit Issue" just pisses me off and remains just as awful ... until it gets worse. Just an ugly-sounding hour of insulting laziness. no. 2/10 1 star

I like it. The alternating singers and the great variety of riffs and sounds make this a great listen. Didn't listen too closely to the lyrics, but they all felt very centered towards an idea, and I like that a lot.

5/10

Aptly titled

I'm just not feeling this album. Before starting this 1001 Albums experiment, I believed that rock took a nose-dive in the '00s and never adequately corrected itself. I'm beginning to think that (in my eyes, anyway) rock's decline was more gradual, and started in the '90s. There's plenty of rock from that decade that I like (Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Rage, etc.), but it sure seems like most of the '90s rock albums we've gotten so far have underwhelmed me. Maybe I was too busy listening to hip-hop and R&B in the '90s. Or maybe I was listening to more hip-hop and R&B because rock was starting to bore me. Can't say for sure, but either way, this album just ain't lighting up that oh-so-important dopamine pathway.

I'm ashamed to admit that I've only been actively listening to Sonic Youth for less than a year even though they're from my generation. Looking back, I wouldn't have appreciated them as much as I do now. Drunken Butterfly is my favorite off this album. I'm glad I finally added them into my rotation. Great 90s alt rock.

My only real memories of Sonic Youth are listening to Goo, and watching Cool Thing's video a lot. Definitely need to put more Sonic Youth into my musical diet.

Meh

Boring teenage rock.

Personally, I prefer the more dreamy, less grungy sound of Sonic Youth but it doesn't mean Dirty is not a good album.

I will have to give this one another listen. I liked several of the grungier songs, but there's also some noise-rock to contend with. Not nearly as bad a listening experience as I remember this being 30 years ago.

The grunge/shoegaze bits I like; the screamy/emo bits not so much.

Good album, the production and the title perfectly match. The whole thing has a very dirty feeling to it. The band seems to really understand their own sound and what they want to be. Stray guitar sounds, feedback, and peaking of the microphones all happen many times within the record. Very cool overall and very cathartic. Although in my own opinion the record did seem to drag a bit and I felt it could do without a couple of songs. Favorite Track: Chapel Hill Least Favorite Track: Orange Rolls, Angel's Spit

Interesante sonido

Sonic Youth are like bad radiohead, and radiohead are already kinda shit

A grab bag does not a great double album make. That said, all the music material on Dirty is pretty good Sonic Youth. The album is less spiky, though still full of noise and with its affect dependent on the person currently on vocal duty. Accessibility grows, and I'm not sure whether to point out at the sequencing or in at the listener. The lyrics deserve lowlighting as underbaked, unfortunately.

Un bon album, pas un qui m'a vraiment impressionné, mais je vois clairement sa pertinence dans ce palmarès. On entend tellement le son alternatif typique du début des années 90 qui a aidé a forgé la scène à venir.

Loud, aggravating noises and a horrid singing style turned me off from this album. This is the second album of theirs I've gotten and this is by far the worst of the two. Just not my thing, I didnt have the desire to finish the album.

Like most Sonic Youth albums, this one never fully coalesces as a whole for me. The tracks are mostly enjoyable, containing the usual noise-rock mixture the band is famous for, but at a certain point it feels more like a semi-related playlist than a fully-realized LP.

I can appreciate it but the sounds are just not my favorite.

Nope

It was good but nothing stood out for me.

23rd August 2022 Started on the 23rd but finished on the 24th on the tube to the office. Chilled evening watching house of the dragon after having a bowling lesson. Enjoyed this less than previous sonic youth albums. I get the whole “noise rock” thing but this was a bit jarring for me.

Too much noise. Some nice guitar riffs fail to make it listenable.

wtf

I had a hard time with some of the tracks but others were fine. Barely a 3/5

Loved this, missed til now, sonic excellence.

As always SY deliver but short of my fave.

C'est vraiment le concept de Sonic Youth. Il y a beaucoup de sonic. CA s'écoute bien pour une partie. L'autre est dure à digérer parfois. C'Est mon troisième album de sonic youth et je comprend le vibe du groupe un peu plus. Je dirais que j'ai préféré à Goo qui était mon mieux noté de ce band donc j'y vais avec un 3.5

This was okay. I didn’t dislike it but none of the songs stood out to me. It was very much a product of its time and I was never a big early 90s grunge fan.

la chanson creme brulee n’est clairement pas à la hauteur de la crème brûlée

One of the best Sonic Youth albums

It's just trying too hard to be cool. Admittedly, Kim Gordon is cool, but the songs are all scuzzy but kind of pedestrian.

I bought this when it came out and didn't get in to it then. I'm still struggling now.

Pretty good. Some absolute bangers but a lot of it seemed to fade into the background

Challenging. I don’t know how to rate this. I’ve never gotten into sonic youth, and the vocals here were actively, purposefully antagonizing me. If we’re going atonal I want angrier, louder, more aggressive vocals than what they offer. However, there was something undeniably compelling about the back and forth between pure noise, grunge riffs, punk, and the occasional burst of melody, and I got through the whole album having hit some weird understanding with it. Not sure I’m going to return to it though.

So hardcore. Almost too hardcore. Daydream Nation is a perfect album but I think this isnt that. Nothing to latch onto. Still Beautifully hardcore. 8.7/10

Wincyj dublarzy, kolejne soniki z ich siodmym krazkiem, taki sam sklad jak na daydreamie, ale jakos nie graja tak samo, nie ma tutaj jakiejs mysli przewodniej, a prawie godzinny material jest mocno roznoraki, tak jak na poprzednich krazkach preferencje wokalne w strone pana Moore, z rzeczy ktore slychac, ze sie zmienily to przejscie z post punkowej sciany dzwiekowej i malowaniej na niej w grungowe, czy moze bardziej nirvanowe granie, ktore slychac najlepiej na takich trakach jak sugar kane czy on the strip, wiec jest mocno gitarowo, ale brzmi to wrecz przytlaczajaco, z unikalnego brzmienia daydreama przejscie w ograny do bolu schemat grania, na plejke dodam openingowego 100%

eu não consegui ouvir tudo. eles pegaram o noise rock do velvet underground e enriquecerem, pena que enriqueceram um pouco demais

Pretty dang solid 90s sonic youth

Mixed feelings about the album. 'Theresa's Sound-World' was a really enjoyable track as it had a bit of craftmanship in the arrangement which meant it had some dynamics, contrast and a decent melody (and vocal). Another decent track for similar reasons was the creepy sounding 'Shoot'. I do like bands who experiment with guitar sounds but some of the tracks were just guitar noises with annoying vocals which made me want to skip to the next track. It's interesting to compare this directly to the Nirvana Nevermind album recorded at roughly the same time; both had the same production team of Butch Vig and Andy Wallace and sound similar but the Nevermind album is so much more interesting and listenable (to my ears).

Love this album. They’re not the greatest songs, but it exemplifies a time and place in guitar music

Dirty sounds and vibes, but pure emotion.

A very credible alternative to Nirvana in my opinion, there's a whole lot of stuff going on that is right up my street

"Can you sing it as if you have constipation throughout?" anon, Sound Engineer

I wasn't familiar with this specific album, good noise-music, enjoyed it.

3.8 - More an album I admire than enjoy. The guitar sounds create a boundless landscape, harnessing feedback, hollow arpeggiation, scratchy power chords and gritty noise. By themselves, the guitars make this album a compelling listen. The songs themselves, on the other hand, leave me cold. The lyrics convey dry cynicism and a snarky affect, especially when Kim Deal sings on "Drunken Butterfly."

These songs just sounded like a lot of racket. Nothing that appealed to me at all Hated it.

I dont have time for another listen, i think a few more may bump this up.

Listenable punk....not that that's a bad thing at all. The first time I ever heard these guys was when I saw them playing Bogarts in Cincinnati. This is a good album that sounds even better live.

Very loud punk and alt-rock. Not very good, I did not enjoy this very much. All the songs sound the same, it's terrible.

A bit of a samesie alternative rock album. Not bad, but nothing ground breaking!

I had heard some of these tracks before -- I remember liking "100%" when it was released -- but had not heard the whole album. It's as noisy, chaotic, and at times incredibly grating as I thought it would be, and none of those terms are meant in their negative senses. This interested me even though I don't usually listen to this style of music. Good stuff.

05/28/2022 Punk rock... is not for me. YELLING!

I've listened to it three times within weeks and still don't get it.

I like punk and alternative, but I found this album too long and sections really hard to listen to.

Not my cup of tea at all. Very messy and "noisy", the songs lacked structured and the vocals were more yelled than sung. All this for 60 minutes was just too much

Just like the last sonic youth album I got, I thought this was good but wasn’t super memorable. The mood is what stuck with me the most especially on tracks like shoot

Crappy tuneless nonsense that sounds even worse now than it did before

I didn't expect Sonic Youth to sound like this. Can't say I'm massively keen, although the alternation between songs with male and female vocals was... something... maybe. Otherwise, the only notable things are the 'having a difficult poo' vocals on Shoot and the presence of a song called 'Creme Brulee' which makes me wonder if Les McQueen from League of Gentlemen took inspiration from Sonic Youth? Rating: 2/5 Playlist track: Sugar Cane Date listened: 12/05/22

I really like Sonic Youth and this is their most accessible I think. It was a bit of a changeover from their earlier albums, and it sounded a bit more clean, especially with the production. It's an album I can still listen to on repeat. Not a masterpiece, but just great noisy rock 'n' roll

I like some of their earlier avant-garde stuff, but that’s more curiosity. It's like looking at an abstract painting and thinking, “That’s neat, but I’m not gonna look at it for an hour!” When they moved into the grunge-pop era with this, I was out.