Channel Orange

First tones smell like sampled hip-hop. Okay second song starts... nope still... After a couple of songs it gets more into soul and develops a nice sound... and juuuuuuuust when I was like: "Hmmm I might actually like this." NOPE have another bullshit sample. It slowly starts to grow on me. Might revisit at a later date.

Don't like his voice

Busy and ambitious.

decent

A chill album, almost to chill for me.

Some highs, some lows. Pyramids was my favourite, interludes were a bit naff... Apart from the PS1 start up tune!

Dope r&b album

A misnomer. There isn't one Channle Orange; there are dozens, and Frank flicks between them like it's way past midnight and he can't drag himself to bed. Leans into loungey suave a little too hard, but nowhere near enough to undermine his incredible vision or storytelling gifts.

Ok

Artista que no conocía de nada y que, paradójicamente, es de los más escuchados del mundo actualmente. Hace altern R&B en su mayoría.

Some really cool tracks

Gotta love frank ocean! Something doesn't click for me for his music though, maybe i just like the jazz covers

Mellow a little hip hop

Silky smooth tones but parts felt hollow. Liked enough to give it 3* but it's in no danger of tempting me into a 4*

Bit lengthy but I thought this was good overall

Incredible playstation console opening. Good melodies, musical writing. Good vocals. Kinda experimental rap / pop vibes which is not my favorite. Kendrick Lamar interlude vibes. Baby making music. Similar to Childish Gambino as well.

Need to come back to this

Buena voz. No entraría entre mis favoritos, pero funciona como música relajante

Rollo patatero zzzzzzzzz

I've heard a lot about Frank Ocean but I haven't listened to their music much. He does have a nice voice but I wasn't blown away.

Soul. Rhythm and blues, disco.

I enjoyed this more than I expected

Not my taste

Love this album solely because it was released on my birthday.

Pretty amateur and minimal musically, mostly driven by drums and high reverb synths. Some good songs throughout, but you can see how much Frank improved with Blonde

Better than I thought. Bordering on mumble rap. Still not convinced he gives a shit about what he's talking about but some of the lyrics are halfway decent.

Definitely some smooth jams, along with some genuine oddity

It was ok. not my favorite genre

It's aight

A bit annoying at first, not used to this music. Halfway through it's actually kind of good. Not mad

Good album, not my usual choice but I liked it.

Good album frank

Better than I thought it'd be.

not a fan of r&b but the album stands out

Decent.... this appears to be the gateway album to a lot of dirge that followed in the genre!

Billy > Frank

Not for me but not a badly produced album

2.4 1x

During "Pyramids" I accidently switched to listening to another album

Some good RnB in here but is overshadowed by some really bland and even bad tracks. As generic as some of them sound, the poppy and easy jazz chord progression harmonies are a bit guilty pleasure. I think any TTC album clears though (where is Flower Boy or Igor bro...). Favorite(s): Sweet Life Monks Least: Pyramids (the most "9-minute long 3-minute song" ever) Pink Matter 1.5/5

Fav: Sweet Life, Lost L: Super Rich Kids 2 To start, orange is my least favorite color. Most of the songs needed something more in my opinion. The lyrics got kind of annoying repetitive in parts. I wouldn’t be bothered if somebody put this on, but I don’t think I would ever listen to this again.

I can appreciate that this isn’t generic R&B and hip hop but it’s not something I see myself returning too

not my bag

It's okay. I honestly don't get much of the hype with Frank Ocean. Favourite Song: Lost

Is this album about a guy coming out as gay? Weird flex but okay. Its okay I guess.

Como ya es usual, no es el tipo de música que me gusta o estoy acostumbrado a escuchar. No suena mal y de hecho creo que tiene una buena producción. Tal vez es demasiado lento para mi gusto, a veces me gusta lo lento, pero hay muchas canciones en las que no llega a ningún lado y no hay algo que me llame la atención como para decir que me gusta. Aún así, Pyramids y Lost fueron las canciones que más resalté del resto del álbum. No volvería a escucharlo.

Eh

I was ready to write this off as an insta 2. Not into it but not as terrible as Kid Rock. Whiny voice, he's no Marvin Gaye, better rappers/RnB singers who talk about drugs. Who cares that the selling point is that you go falsetto then back to tenor with ease and grace. Then Pink Matter came along. Gamechanger. Or maybe it just took that long. All the songs have the same tempo and beat so I may have been lulled into acquiescence if not appreciation. Would have been better with some rain. Standing by my 2.

These reviews are wild so I’ll keep it simple. Not my style, but not an unpleasant listen. Kinda faded into the background.

Not my style. ★★

Not for me ta. It's not awful but also doesn't do much for me.

s/s, RnB, 2012 -> 2

I remember when this album came out and the waves it made on Tumblr at the time, so I had high hopes coming into it, but something about it didn't click for me. the André 3000 feature was a highlight though.

4/10

Could've been better

Rap meets Prince in places but not my genre

I don't exactly know what this was - Soul? RNB? Rap? All of the above? Anyway, high pitched singing and strange rhythmic phrasing. I miss rage and anger instead of the high pitched whining.

This seems fine. Reading about it, I'm not sure why this is required listening. There is some pretty good instrumentation. His voice doesn't do much for me. The production makes his voice sound separate and on top of the music, not a part of it. I probably just haven't found my way into this style of modern R and B, yet.

This type of contemporary R&B isn't my jam - or maybe it's just Him? Pitchfork: 9.5 Rolling Stone: Top 500 Albums #148 (2023)

kind of boring

Nice flow but it didn't pull me enough. Good album to be intimate in.

Just quite dull? It doesn’t have the sharp edges of 90s or 00s hip hop but it feels muted compared to say the RnB of an Usher or similar. There’s some mumbling and vague falsetto, some reasonable musicality in the backing music but not enough to get excited about. Even the more interesting themes covered cannot save it for me.

Listening to this was like buying supermarket honey. It's dressed up like honey but when you get it home you find it doesn't have the flavour of authentic honey. It's just sugary synthesised crap. Annoying, whiney, overproduced, lyrics that might sound deep to a young teenager.

Reminds of going to the bar or club in college. Soooo... I don't really care for this. Maybe there is something here I am missing. Overall just couldn't get into it.

This style of music has never been my thing. It has a chill vibe and he has a good voice, but I don’t see ever listening to it again. 3/10 Ho Hum

Interesting listen. It sounds great and there’s plenty of surprises. Not really my taste but I enjoyed listening to it.

Not my vibe

Overdue to check out Frank Ocean, interesting ideas musically, but vocally / lyrically not for me.

I listened a few times because I kept forgetting I listened. Didn’t make much of an impression on me. Not bad sounds, but kinda snooze worthy.

ANOTHER hour+ R&B debut with skits? *eyeroll* I gave it a generous two playthroughs, and sadly, the part that got me the most excited was the PlayStation boot up. I recognize the well-done production, and there are, indeed, a few good melodies here and there... but the lyrics are unrelatable and the length is unjustifiable for what's being offered. Several tracks feel like straight up filler, 'Pyramids', itself, is in desperate need of an edit and, yes, those pesky skits could and should be cut... though then I suppose we'd also lose the part that got me the most excited... *sigh*

This really does nothing for me. It’s well produced sure, but that’s about all i got from it.

2/5 Favorite Songs: Thinkin Bout You Pyramids White

I’ve never heard anything by him before so I was interested in listening to it, but this just wasn’t for me. I didn’t connect with the music at all, just not my style. It was like R&B meets electronica. He has a great voice though.

I tried before with Frank Ocean and just don’t get it. He clearly has an ear for melody but it sounds to me just whiny and over the top, not a single emotion sounds real or earned. Some of the instrumentation is lovely though.

498/1089 - Music for shopping at Sephora. The interludes were annoying.

Number: 146 Date: 05/29/2026 Artist: Frank Ocean Album: Channel Orange Year: 2012 Style: Contemporary R&B Familiarity: None (1) Rating: 2 Before: ======= Never heard of this artist or album. Looks like he has over a billion streams on Spotify for a couple of songs on this album? During: ======= I decided to be generous and give Super Rich Kids a 4. The rest were mostly 3's, 2's, and 1's. After : ======= This is not really my favorite style of music. Some of the tracks would be OK as background music but I think I would get bored with it pretty quick. 2 my personal rating 3 suitability for this list 1 impact ----------------------------------------------- 2 composite rating

Loved the opening song. Love to hear that PlayStation start up. LMFAOO, a potato flew into my room?? This guys keeps it silly. Not my personal vibe. It sounds very 2012.

Non è il mio genere preferito e c'è di meglio anche all'interno dello stesso genere.

This is just not at all my lane. I’m sure it’s fine if you like that kind of thing, but for me it’s just cold cat shit.

Not my thing.

I didn't like this any where near as much as I thought I might

Didn’t hate it, but none of the tracks really stood out and not something I would go back to

New to me and I quite enjoyed it, the good songs like “Fertilizer” were very good. Two stars. Tom.

Como que tienen algo las canciones que me dice que deberían gustarme pero a la vez me suenan raras la mayor parte del tiempo, como que el ritmo no me cuadra con lo que canta. Ademas hay algunas canciones que no son canciones, es alguien hablando como por 1 minuto.

I was honestly excited to get this one, it’s been mentioned so many times. How disappointing though. There is nothing memorable to me here. You can’t even tell if he has a good voice due to the auto tune effect which I find so grating. Touches of Stevie Wonder. Just a big old nothing burger. And too long

I've heard Frank Ocean before and like his music. I'm not certain this was an album for me, and this I didn't super love it. Very cohesive and pleasant in some ways.

I think I missed something with this album, someone will have to update me.....

I don't know what I was expecting as I hear Frank Ocean is highly rated and critically acclaimed. This just didn't cut it for me, felt like any other smoozy R&B album. There were some highlights, like the arrangement in Pyramids but even then it just felt full of those tired modern R&B tropes that is omnipresent in today's popular music. I think if I heard this album on a late night I might feel different about it. The second half of the album is much better than the first half so at least it started to get better.

Not really my thing. It was too much like pop.

Is every track a skit?

Some tracks are enjoyable but after a while they all seemed to blend together.

Crack rock must have rang loud whe. album was made…multiple refs

awful

Album #79: channel ORANGE - Frank Ocean Genre (W): Alternative R&B, progressive soul, neo soul Singles: Thinkin Bout You, Pyramids, Sweet Life, Lost, Super Rich Kids I have listened to this album before. Thoughts?: I love the sounds of this album, but only a select songs stand out to me as truly great ones. Thinkin’ Bout You and Pyramids are the best ones by far. Sometimes the lyrics stick, sometimes they don’t. I enjoyed the mood of this album. Favorite songs: Thinkin Bout You, Super Rich Kids*, Pyramids*, Lost*, White, Bad Religion

This is R and B. Monotonous over an album but I do like 'thinkin about you'.

I enjoyed some of the intros and outros, but this album did not resonate with me.

Thinkin Bout You

This isn’t the worst thing I’ve ever heard… but that’s about the highest praise I can give it. I spent most songs wishing they would end sooner and often felt that there was a lot of potential that was far from realized here. I’ve heard good things about Frank Ocean, and I know it’s the debut album, but I’m not hearing what’s so special.

I had never listen to much frank ocean because I understood him to be sort of a slower, more navel gazey Kanye, and he’s not beating the allegations

Decent beats, but other than that pretty boring lyrically.

Onda moderna, muchas fusiones. Mi favorita, Pyramids.

Slow jam soul, not my thing. Silly falsetto, goofy lyrics, weak hooks. This is music for kids to have sex to, today's Barry White, nothing more. Same tempo more or less on every track, just a drag. Impressive listener counts with over a billion people listening to "Thinkin Bout You" (which I found hard to sit through) and "Lost". The rest of the album has huge numbers with songs hitting 173M, 240M, 576M, 120M, 236M, 274M, 587M, 301M, off the charts. Was this shit on the actual radio?? They all blended together, hard to tell one from the next or when one ended and the next one began. "Lost" was the only song with anything going for it. Is this guy a genius and I can't hear it? I hated this, not sure what convinced people to over-consume this drivel but they did. About as talented as Drake and just as boring. I'm obviously too old & culturally removed to dig this one. 2 stars. Is he dead? No album since 2016. That's a long hiatus, but I sure don't care.

non mi è dispiaciuto ma neanche nulla di che, per nulla un capolavoro. forse avanti per il suo anno (2012) con suoni piacevoli ma testi indecifrabili alle volte

Lyrics are great, love how he sets the scene, pretty nice album!

The songs were good js truly not my style. I would recommend to someone that likes this type of music but I would not listen again.

This was kind of a drag

Oceans of franks nutsack

Boring

Not my kind of R'n'B

nothing new here don't make my top 5001 to be honest.

Contemporary R&B bores me in ways I can't even begin to explain.

mid. Très répétitif , assez ennuyant.

No es de mi agrado el álbum, no me gusta el sonido ni el ritmo, para otra gente les puede encantar. Pero en lo personal, no lo considero agradable.

Some was interesting

Just bland and boring. Monotonous autotuned mumble-rap over reverb. The plus side was any time I looked down I'd progressed 3 tracks without noticing them change.

Meh, this is slightly more interesting than some of the artists of this genre that I've been forced to listen to on this site but I won't be returning to it. Only one or two tracks stood out. 'Lost' was one of them.

I see that it's good but doesn't do it for me.

Another album that was way too overhyped IMO. Some good beats in here, but I don't love his lyrical style or cadence.

Not my cuppa tea

The pressure to like Frank Ocean made me really listen to this album to see if I like Frank Ocean and I feel like a heathen for admitting that I don't particularly care for Frank Ocean.

Ich mag Frank Ocean nicht immer weil sein Gesang so getunt anklingt. Ich habe nur ein paar Songs in meiner Playlist und skippe sie immer weil ich sie zu oft gehört habe und mir nicht mehr so gefallen aber zu gut sind um sie rauszuschmeißen

I mostly don’t care for the “song” fragment mode that’s on full display. The fully developed songs are pretty good & Frank’s voice is nice, but it’s just not my thing.

Orange album, but zero juice. 🍊

Poco atractivo para mi

Not for me

I don't know what it is about 2010s popular music that doesn't really do it for me. It almost seems like all the excitement and pizzazz left most popular music sometime in the later half of the 2000s and it was replaced by slow jams, lo-fi beats and overly hushed vocals that sound bored and uninspired. That's exactly how I feel about Frank Ocean and his 'Channel Orange' record. He's not a bad singer or anything, he's got a pretty decent understanding of rhythm and production, but for someone putting out their debut record (you know, the artistic statement you've toiled long and hard to get out into the world from obscurity), he sounds so bored and disinterested. Mixed among glitchy interludes, which is another complaint I have as I don't really understand how they're meant to build atmosphere, is nothing more than a series of relatively unexciting R&B jams that don't really do much for me. I don't really have much to say. It's produced well, but 'Channel Orange' is a great example of the bland and forgettable popular music landscape that made me retreat into 90s alternative rock. Best songs: Nil

I remember this being a big deal when it first came out, but I still don't get it. It doesn't resonate with me. The beats and music are too far off for my liking. I don't know. I guess I just don't get it.

Mwa. Dacht dat ik het leuk zou vinden na het eerste nummer. Maar viel vies tegen

Look just think this album is very dull

no es mi estilo de música para nada sin embargo hay un par de temas que guardé. tbh me pareció muy largo para lo q tendría que haber sido a mi gusto.

Incredibly boring for me, everyone in year 8 loved this album but i feel like it might not have aged great, it feels very 2010s. I think there is a nice overall vibe to the album but generally every song is pretty dull to me and there aren't many standouts

Very boring to me and nothing special. A 2.5 for me but nothing makes me bring it up to a 3.

A little bit disappointed. Everyone speaks sooo highly of his music. It wasn't groundbreaking for me...

por qué no acaba ninguna canción?

O esquema Ponzi é unha operación fraudulenta de investimento na que se prometen anormalmente altos réditos a custa do capital procedente de novos investidores máis que dos beneficios reais da operación. Constitúe unha forma sofisticada do venda piramidal que forma unha burbulla económica destinada ao colapso. O esquema débelle o nome a Charles Ponzi, un inmigrante italiano nos Estados Unidos, quen utilizou esta técnica na década de 1920, aínda que non foi el quen a inventou, pois xa Charles Dickens a describiu nunha das súas novelas. O esquema orixinal baseábase no cambio de Cupóns de Resposta Internacional enviados desde Italia por selo de correos estadounidenses, o que en teoría permitía obter beneficios pola diferente taxa postal entre os dous países, pero axiña derivou en que os novos investores paragaban os réditos dos investidores anteriores, facendo millonario ó propio Ponzi ata que foi detido acusado de fraude postal. (#18 dos 1.001 discos que escoitar antes de morrer: 2,5/5)

He escuchado este disco sin prejuicios preconcebidos porque no sé ni quién es este fulano (mi ignorancia en torno al r&b "contemporáneo" y similares es mayúscula). Me ha entrado guay para intentar dormir en el trayecto entre Soria y Calatayud mientras mi compañera de viaje no paraba de intentar rajar con el conductor. Sus disertaciones sobre el estado de las infraestructuras entraban en las canciones pese a la supresión de ruido y, bueno, igual hasta pegaba con eso de trabajar en las pirámides. Volveré a escucharlo alguna vez? Pues ya veremos.

Leuk stemgeluid, verder heel bizar, maar het heeft wel iets. Het trekt me op één of andere manier aan

Not really for me. Some cool sounds and beats, and Ocean has a good voice when he wants to use it but I didn't get anything out of this album. I thought a lot of the vocal delivery and lyrics seemed kinda phoned in and uninteresting. Not terrible but nothing really great. 2/5 for me.

4 - BAD

Not my thing. I feel I am not the target audience for this - I know it's revered by many but it doesn't speak to me. The melodies don't grab me and the minimalist production feels unfinished to me, like a mixtape of sketches to be fleshed out later. Some parts were interesting but overall I was a little bored. Didn't love it.

Wasn't a fan at the start, but it grew on me

Another Stevie Wonder wannabe. Yawn.

Ehhh... it was not super interesting. I could've fallen asleep to this. Favorite Track: Super Rich Kids

Meh.

Long and just not for me.

This album starts like so many albums of the early 2010s did — with a soundbite of them in their “real life”. The sound of a phone, a laughter. There were a few songs I enjoyed. But, there was a lot of bits of this album where I just wanted to press skip. Favorite Songs: Thinking About You - I remember this one. I know this one. I like it, it has fond memories for me. Super Rich Kids - I also like this one. I find the lyrics interesting. Lost - fun backbeat/sound, I like singing along.

Pooey boring boooo

eh I don't really like R&B. This almost went some cool places but I just didn't get it.

Honestly, I expected something different. More rap, less RnB, and I didn't find any song particularly great. Not bad, it's not boring or annoying, it's just forgettable. 2/5.

b o r i n g

Didn't care for it.

Fluctuated between being something I really resonated with to music I didnt connect to within a single song. Its seems experimental and unconventional, but not in a typical way. Each song was as surprising as the last, in a way that kind of became a pattern?? I feel like the artist deserves more than this rating for sure, but Im going by first impression. Not my style, but I feel like I could reconnect if a friend offered.

Pyramids is a decent song, but this wasn’t a great album.

This really didn’t sit well with me. Garbage

Kind of boring and generic sounding.

Glimpses of good but mostly meh

Is Frank a pimp? Or perhaps a one man cult? Crack Rock, Lost, and Bad Religion are listenable - the rest of the songs are annoying to me. Would not recommend Channel Orange to a friend. (1.7*s) Didn’t really like his falsetto or pimpin’. Although no crotch grabbing and pointing, it’s just not my style.

Kanye West meets Stevie Wonder. Channel Orange starts out terrible. At the midway point ("Super Rich Kids" - "Lost"), there is some decent work to be found. Back 6 tracks return to pretty terrible. I can see why this album got attention though. It has some common themes people can relate to paired with not so common production and a softer singing style. I'm expecting a surprisingly high review from openmindz as this record would pair well with a Robbie Williams/Kendrick Lamar mix. 1/3 of the album is good and I would replay that middle section again. Also willing to check out his other album so for that...1.96 Crack Rocks.

Haut mich net um

mah

I never really liked this type of music. I found out about him during the COVID lockdown, when his songs were trending on the gay side of TikTok (I don’t know if they were trending on the entire app, since that’s the only side I’ve ever been on). I don’t get the hype at all. I can kind of understand why someone would like it, but I just can’t. I really tried to get into his music when I was a teen, but I couldn’t. It seems like I haven’t changed that much since then.

I didn't find anything particular about this album. It's ok, but I don't think it really needs to be on this list. Nothing that special about it. He has an ok voice but that's about it.

This record has some very nice production, sounds great. I just prefer it when Frank Ocean leans more into the classic R&B sound. So much of this album is boring rap and generic pop, the best tracks had the instrumentation and sound of a true R&B song, which he has a great voice for. Standout Tracks: Sweet Life

state of the art for 2012, but it feels very dated now - no significant songs, nothing memorable

Opera dal sound vaporoso, qualche guizzo interessante qua e là, ma nel complesso il disco scorre in modo piuttosto piatto. A parte l'ottima prova canora di Frank Ocean, c'è poco altro che mi abbia colpito. Sicuramente non il mio genere.

I don’t get this genre - “R&B Hip-Hop”? The talking lyrics that don’t always rhyme, with the [intentional?] terrible attempt (?) at trying to sing in an alto vocal (think Biz Markie).

Yeah, this is just not for me at all. I got bored immediately. I hate these relaxed, mumble-y vocals so much. In terms of the instrumentation, there’s also just nothing interesting at all. There are some somewhat interesting parts, like the more energetic passages on Pyramids, but not enough to keep me engaged. Although I can’t say it’s awful, this album was a slog to listen to for me. I just don’t like this relaxed R&B/Soul. Not my thing.

The "easy-listening" R&B thing is not really my style, and the popularity strikes me as a bit confusing. That being said, Ocean is clearly innovative, although most of the content is pretty shallow. Favorite Track: Lost

Almost gave it 5 stars immediately for opening with a PSX boot noise.

I think I would have loved to see Ocean spend a little more time to figure out how to say what he wanted to say before he wrote everything

I know the name but not a lot else. Felt like somewhere between Andre 3000 and Kanye. It’s way too long and it’s just not my thing at all. It’s not all bad, but that’s about as positive as I can muster. It gets 2 stars for now but I’m contemplating 1.

Understated and unfocused. Pleasant enough though.

Only good track was with Andre 3000

Meh. Supongo que si está en esta lista es un disco a tener en cuenta. Pues me ha aburrido bastante señores

I was excited to get an album prompt not from 1969. Too bad, it was the most boring thing I’ve ever had to endure. Thank you FO, for making me think of breast feeding babies AND crack rocks.

Fine with a few interesting stylistic choices on certain tracks but overall unmemorable

Not for me.

Listening to Channel Orange, I can completely understand why it connected so deeply with so many people, even if it never quite clicked for me in the same way. There is a real intimacy to the album, the sense that you are being let into very private moments and emotions. Frank Ocean’s voice is smooth and expressive, and he has a gift for atmosphere, creating these hazy, late-night spaces where everything feels slightly blurred around the edges. There are tracks here that I genuinely enjoy. “Thinkin Bout You” is beautifully written and emotionally direct, and songs like “Pyramids” show an ambition that goes beyond standard R&B, stretching ideas out and playing with structure in interesting ways. But as the album goes on, I start to feel a bit detached. The pacing drifts, and some of the songs feel more like mood pieces than fully formed ideas, which makes it harder for me to stay engaged all the way through. I respect Channel Orange more than I love it. It is thoughtful, well-crafted, and clearly important, but it does not always pull me in emotionally. For me, it is an album I appreciate in parts rather than as a complete journey. There is a lot to admire here, even if it does not quite earn a place among my personal favourites.

Not a huge fan of R&B in general, but I did find a little joy in the songs Super Rich Kids and Bad Religion. He was wrong for doing Forrest Gump that way though. Voting 2 because 1.5 is not an option.

Would not buy

I'm too much of a millennial to truly appreciate this album. Haha! My favorite song had Andre 3000 on it so I know that it's true. I can appreciate it for what it is but leans a little heavy on the Gen Z for me.

Not my thing personally

Not a post hardcore album

This isn't un-listenable but there's nothing here that would compel me to ever want to listen to it again.

Never heard of this guy but when the first track used a sample of the old PS1 startup sound it hit that nostalgia button and I was looking forward to this. Unfortunately that was the peak. It’s a fine enough album, just really dull. The one track that stood out was Pyramids but then that was ruined by going on for near ten minutes which was completely unnecessary.

Not sure what this will be.... OMG no way lol A tornado flew around my room!? lol Well we'll see if I last through this one.

Thought it was getting better at one point but then it only dragged on further

Not my cup of tea

Not for me

I think this album sucks. I know it's acclaimed but meh - not for me

Not really my genre. Didn’t find any of the songs particularly catchy. Unlikely to play again.

2.5

Uninspiring in every way. I didn’t hate it. I’m not sure it’s possible to hate anything this boring.

As a genre, there are few R&B songs that I like. On this album, all the obvious auto-tune songs I did not like. There were one or two songs without auto-tune, or without my knowledge of it being used, that I enjoyed more. And one mostly spoken that caught a groove in my head.

Decent

Not for me, found it kinda boring.

Prods variées, mais ptn pas mon style j'arrive pas à accrocher à sa musique ça fait 5 ans j'essaye d'être dans la hype mais j'ai rien n'y fait. Je sais que je passe sûrement à côté mais j'y arrive pas deso franck.

voor rap nog best aardig

Not my thing....

Album feels like rap soundbytes

Really well made stuff but balls are missing.

More interesting than entertaining. I might give it another chance some day.

i dont get it

This was just not for me. I found it to be boring.

Things I like: the interludes especially the PlayStation and Street Fighter samples in Start. The instrumentation in general is pretty solid. I dig the drumming and bass throughout. There’s a couple nice guitar solos like on Pink Matter. Things I dislike: the modern hip hop / poppy R&B vocals. I just can’t stand it. It also overstays its welcome quite a bit.

Liked one song, "Sweet Life", was very chilled and easy listening. The rest was not to my taste at all.

I don't get the hype with Frank Ocean, really I don't. What is everybody seeing in this shit that I am not? Sure I can give credit for the somewhat interesting instrumentals, but Frank's whiney whispering/singing/talking gets so annoying so quick that it destroy them completely. I was looking forward to 'end' if I'm honest.

not great just generic 2010s music

I didn't find it that interesting. I liked the organ-like synth on Bad Religion

i honestly cannot see what makes this standout from a plethora of R&B albums that puts it in this list. 2 stars

Was able to listen until we end so being loyal with 2/5.

Not my favourite style of music at all. There was some inventiveness here that kept it a bit interesting but I wouldn't rush back to this.

I was a little weirded out when I heard a sample of my own work in Frank Ocean's first album track, "A Start". I am sort of flattered, but also have mixed feelings. 5 tracks in and I'm not hearing anything to differentiate this album from sounds of the last 20 years of R&B. Unlike like some listeners, I don't mind the atmospheric samples, even kind of enjoy them, but while the production and engineering is top notch, the songwriting and pacing is plodding and tedious. Over stays its welcome like most albums that are released in Hip Hop and R&B these days. It probably doesn't help my enthusiasm much that this artist was a songwriter for Brandy, Beyonce, and Bieber, as I haven't yet really enjoyed any of their music. Typical victim mentality / self pity record of the type that has come out of the Hip Hop and R&B community for the past 40+ years. "Lost" has the most enjoyable groove for me, but the lyrics were the least enjoyable part of the song.

I feel bad saying I didn't like this album because I really do think Frank Ocean has a great voice. That isn't enough to save it, however. It was just kind of annoying. A bit of a childish way to explain it, I know, but there's no better way for me to explain the "impact" this album had on me. I wasn't a fan. I will give an extra point for the talent, but that's as much as I can give.

I'm curious about this one. I've seen the album cover around, though I'm confident I've never heard of this artist before. "Frank Ocean" is an interesting name. Is this gonna be another neo-soul album? Oh, this kind of sound. I wasn't expecting to hear this brand of contemporary R&B on the list. Does anyone care for this style of music? Evidently so, though in my admittedly cynical ways I've always thought of this music as inoffensive radio filler. Nothing wrong with that, of course, though I find there's little for me to sink my teeth into - my jaws always slide off the overpolished sheen. The vocals are pretty lacklustre, too. Overproduced and lethargic, they take me out of the admittedly competent instrumentals. All that being said, the radio/television gimmick is always a fun concept to base an album around, so I did get some degree of enjoyment from this album. "Thinkin About You" is alright. I think I've heard it before. The mellow, atmospheric instrumental is nice, though the squeaky vocals aren't my cup of tea. "Super Rich Kids" is decent. The reuse of the blinker sound from the previous track is interesting, and I enjoy how the piano is paired with those wavy synths in the background. "White" is a good tune, even if it is an intermission. The sensual atmosphere is pretty good, and I dig that lead guitar. My 2005 edition of the book sadly doesn't contain an entry for this album (believe me, I've checked), so I'll just mosey on down to Wikipedia. A wide sampling of genres. Unique vocal style. Commercially successful and a critical slam dunk. Best-reviewed album of 2012. Hmm. Seems this like a solid pick for a contemporary album. I guess I can't fault it - it's influence is definitely felt today.

not really my favourite.

The songs are not for me and the other stuff that isn’t songs brings the rating lower. ———————————— My non-musician scoring system. 5 - Love it. Would play anytime, buy, see live… 4 - Good music. 3 - Average playlist. Depends on time and setting. 2 - I can’t listen to entire songs…skipped ahead on all of them 1 - No.

I honestly don't know if that was bad or just not a genre I like. There was influence from Motown, Stevie Wonder in particular, but it's buried under way too much overproduced crap music that I can't tell if the vocals are actually good. There were 2-3 really good tracks where I thought I heard good vocals, but the rest were just bad. And even on the good tracks, the songwriting was bad. Of course, that could just be coming back around to this isn't my genre.

En kuunnellu ihan kokonaan mutta vaikutti aika kakkaselta. Jotain ihmeen äänitehosteita ja jotenki sekava

me aburrió un poco, siento que es música de fondo para momentos muy específicos. no está mal, el chabón tiene una voz muy linda y algún par de temas me gustaron, pero no es un álbum que escucharía completo

I was never really aware of Frank Ocean so was surprised to recognize a couple of songs on this album. Overall I did not super enjoy this one, but Pyramids was a banger

I find this album overall…fine. It doesn't sound bad, but you can compare it to any prefer Pharrell-produced album from 2012. His voice is at times interesting between tenor and falsetto but I just don't find it exciting. I think I don't have nostalgia related to this album which makes my enjoyment less intense. The Andre 3000 feature was awesome! 2.5⭐️

I have seen this album in alot of greatest of all time lists. I don't get is. It was hard to get through, guess its not my thing.

5/10

As one half of uk RnB singer songwriting powerhouses Houmous & Chutney I know good RnB when I hear it. 2.1 2/17 Thinkin Bout You

This was ok. I have listened before. I never got into Frank Ocean. I wasnt listening very closely

It wasn't bad, but it all sounded like direction less noise

kinda boring

Not for me. It was good background music, but I found the lyrics uninteresting or repetitive.

Don't get it.

I don't liked it. I mean, is not bad, but this isn't my type of music. I respect the ones who liked it. I didn't enjoy listening to it.

Still better than Kanye West.

Not a huge fan of R&B, but this was pretty good. Won't reach for it, but didn't skip it.

Muy cantantecito negro pop de generación actual yankee, no me va

Mehhh Muy copado que arranque con el sonido de la play Pero después bastante plano se sentía todo

My first thought was, 'I wonder if he's Billy's crap cousin or something' This somehow manages to sound more dated than some of the albums I've had from the 1970s. Why is the first track just a PlayStation booting up? It improved as it went on, but the voice was annoying. There's no way they're related. I'm sorry, Billy.

Impressively immersive but still not really my thing

Can't get chill about it

I like the first song, and for the others, I only liked the music, not the lyrics. I wouldn't listen to them again, but it's okay if you don't focus on the lyrics.

Never heard of the artist, so completely new to me. Not something I'd normally listen to and wasn't horrible (I could get through the album) but not something I'd revisit.

Bored

Very chill one or too great songs but also forgettable

It's somewhat better than a lot of contemporary R&B I've heard (e.g., Ocean doesn't lean onto autotune with his full weight), but the interstitials of voicemails or whatever they are deteriorate the overall vibe of something that in the end is pretty mid.

Kinda liked it but mostly explicit and no clean version to be found

Mazy rubbish masquerading as jazz influence. Early weeknd albums much better in the same vein.

Not made for me, but I thought the musical arrangements were good.

Not my cup of tea

I like what he’s trying to do but not how he does it. 2.5

Not for me

Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and the like in a more modern context is what Frank Ocean is going for, and this is meant to be a downtempo stream of consciousness series of hits that every hiphop and R&B artist followed up with for the last decade, but man this abum doesn't hit like his influences do.

I switched from Megadeath to this. Let’s see how receptive my ears are… If you took away the beats, the ability to spit meaningful rhymes and gave Kanye some sort of sedation, this could pass for one of his albums instead. Nothing blows me away, aside from my choice cut. That’s re-listenable again. Choice cut: Super Rich Kids

Tästä ei nyt saanut selkoa, onko tämä laulua, puhetta vai jotain siitä väliltä.

En pysty kuuntelemaan tämän tyylistä. Annetaan nyt säälistä ⭐️⭐️kun nuoret sentään yrittävät tehdä jotain uutta.

This is... Not terrible... Certainly not good... It's just... Meh!

I'll be at the pyramids, pyramiiiiids... Honestly, this album was immediately forgettable as a whole. Mid, as the kids say. 5/10

I knew nothing going in on this listen. While it is not something I personally would listen to, he has undeniable talent - his craftsmanship, emotional range, and sonic choices are clearly intentional and refined.

I lived in the Fairfax during a lot of the Odd Future hype. And in some part, it transformed the neighborhood in irrevocable and kinda bad ways, (including running out decades-old businesses because the leases got so damn high on account of the trendiness brought in part by that hype). So I hold the output that came from all that desolation of the Fairfax I loved for two decades against really bright light. I mean, if it means that because of some label hype and new fad storefronts I can't enjoy the best Sicilian slice in LA at Damiano's anymore it better be worth it. RIP Mr. Pizza. So yeah, you got me: I'm a little jaded. I first head Frank Ocean on Jay-Z and Fuckhead's "No Church in the Wild" and I was really impressed by the verses he sang on that piece: the phrasing and especially the lyrics were provocative, heretical, and pretty punk rock. That said, this was made for someone, but it was not me. It was likely 100% eaten up by some of those kids wearing $95 t-shirts posting weird pix up on Tumblr and skateboarding up the street from where I lived though. There are a couple standout tracks, and I can definitely appreciate breaking with the conventions inherent in popular R&B here. It's coloring outside the lines and that part of it is great. However, being it's not my preferred genre at all, I was never gonna really like this. Or at least put it into any kind of regular rotation. However, it did last the exact time—to the second—it took me to edge, blow, and mow the front lawn, so I'm grateful no other free time was taken up with the assignment. Even still, I would almost say I could have died without hearing this, but I did genuinely enjoy the lyric "If it brings me to my knees, It's a bad religion" as much as the aforementioned verses on "No Church In The Wild." "Crack Rock" hit me as kinda funny, even though it's not probably supposed to. PS perhaps I'm being pedantic, but although "Pyramids" was pretty fun lyricplay and sounds like a certified club banger, it's super misinformed to equate the image of a dark-skinned African queen with a Macedonian/Greek descendent of Ptolemy who was probably her darkest when her olive ass got a sunburn. (Okay, not pedantic - no apologies, I was an anthropology major in college. Deal with it Frank. [And get your facts straight]).

dull, nothing special, dont see the hype at all

pretty good album, once I got into it and was able to pick out the actual songs. I guess, I don't like this style much. Someone needs to explain to me why this won Grammys though.

No, no y definitivamente NO!!!. No encuentras música, pero sirve para otra gente, bueno, eso para mí es un misterio.

Man I’ve had a rough weekend. This sucked, the music is bland and uninteresting while also being super thin, his vocals bordered on hellish multiple times, it went on forever despite all of this. Ok it wasn’t actually that long but I didn’t like it at all.

Ugh. No me gusta~

Типичная современная попса, которая играет в магазине, меня не впечатлило

Start n/a Thinkin Bout You 2.4 Fertilizer n/a Sierra Leone 2.7 Sweet Life 2.8 Not Just Money n/a Super Rich Kids 2.5 Pilot Jones 2 Crack Rock 3 Pyramids 2.6 Lost 2.4 White 2 Monks 2.4 Bad Religion 2.5 Pink Matter 2.3 Forrest Gump 1.6 End 1.8 Score: 2.357142857

Not my Type of music at all. I enjoyed 1/2 songs

Not for me

Drake kinda vibes mixed with kid cudi and Chris Brown (💩). Kinda meh, uninspiring and standard modern R&B. Just nothing really to it, kinda empty, samey and whiney but nice to be reminded of ‘Super Rich Kids’ but even that kinda flat. Not sure what I’m missing in the “critically acclaimed” and “visionary” but not getting that at all. Enjoyed ‘White’ but probably mainly down to John Mayer. Quite liked ‘Monks’ Again, can dig the backing, but voice just meh/detracting. (2.5)

Music that sounds like done better in some other records, like it only belongs in the background, and half the time made me wonder if my sound system is broken.

This debit album was crazy critically acclaimed. I must be obtuse because I found this boring and uninspiring. I didn’t connect with any one song. Most of this sounds the same. The songwriting is awful. It sounds like a dumb person trying to sound intelligent. I don’t get it..

This was fine. I like Frank Ocean's voice and the beats are fun but sometimes it drones on and on and I wish the songs would GO somewhere. Hes a really good singer and producer, but I'd just like the songs to do something new. Actual rating...2.5 Liked Songs: "Sierra Leone" , "Sweet Life" , "Pilot Jones" , "Pyramids" , "Lost" , "Monks" , "Bad Religion"

#602. What do you get when you mix a bad rapper, a bad singer, and a bad musician? Frank Ocean, apparently. 2/5: alternately bad and boring.

It’s got like 3 good songs and the rest I don’t care for. What does that make - an OK album, maybe good-ish?

The Good: We’ve got Orange! The Bad: It has nothing to do with The Netherlands… The Ugly: Seems that there are people who can see colors while listening to music… I call those people charlatans Never heard of Frank Ocean. Read the Wiki page, and now I am an expert in Frank Ocean… while my memory last regarding this expertise… what were we talking about? There are plenty of comments about how one can hear the influences of a Stevie Wonder and Prince, and I agree. However, and here’s where my ears started to shut down, I also noticed that the period which is similar for Stevie Wonder and Prince is the period where most people stopped listening to Stevie Wonder and Prince. Did I like it? No. Did I hate it? No. Will I listen to it again? Maybe, by accident, as I will be removing the memory of this album from grey matter. 2 1/2*

Meh

Not horrible, but not for me either.

I’ve heard a lot about his talent so was interested, but I found this to be a snooze fest. R’n’b tends to bore me and this was no exception.

Man, idk. Boring ass album, mostly sex songs there. Didn't even listen fully, I just can't listen to that crap. Cringy songs for tiktok. Saved songs: 1/17

So underwhelming and boring. I find his singing so forced and so tryhard

Lightweight, kinda sounds like make it up as you go

Probably a good album but since I don’t have any appreciation for this style of music I can’t really say.

I didn’t like this album very much but there were a couple tracks I dig

I couldn't enjoy this what so ever. :( Every song seemed the same and this vibe was not for me.

Not my cup of tea, so propably not a fair grade.

I found this to be super whiney and lacking structure. Not my thing.

I like conceptual albums like this that include radio station "swapping". Similar to the Weekend's recent album. Sweet Life is a standout for me. I really wanted to like this, but it just isn't quite my style honestly. If there were more satisfying harmonies I think it would've pushed it up a star.

Not liking this much. Very meta and surreal. Great singer, but a lot of the songs are very self indulgent. Sweet Life is an excellent song. Super Rich Kids is good. Pilot Jones is good. Crack Rock is on the nose and depressing, but not terrible. Pyramids is ok. Lost is ok. Think it needs to be a 2.

Wtf no

Sounded whiney when singing…okish

I just didn't find anything exceptional about this album, and being a genre that isn't typical for me... it was pretty OK

A bit all over the place for me. Lost is a good track that I can listen to multiple times, but the rest of it sort of doesn’t catch my interest.

soft and not all that interesting

Not really my jam.

Mildly listenable but rarely memorable. Pyramids and Lost the most interesting followed by the worst song on the album (Monks)

I don’t really like this type of music. I get that he has a good voice, but I am bored

It’s creative but not my jam

Very mediocre R&B. Not bad, but not worth listening to.

I like this album, but I certainly don't love it. The highlights are fun, but the whole experience really doesn't blend well for me - too stop and start to maintain a consistent sound/theme. I do appreciate the range of sounds he's attempting though. The vocals are too high in the mix for my taste. Best Tracks: - Pink Matter - Thinkin Bout You - Bad Religion Worst Tracks: - Sierra Leone - Monks Rating: 5/10

It was fine at first, but jesus christ it drags towards the end. When an album runs out of things to say it should stop, not repeat itself for another 20 mins.

From the PS1 system-on opening, I kind of figured this was going to be something. Thinkin Bout You is pretty middle-of-the-road R&B for 2012; Sweet Life has maybe a bit more; Super Rich Kids had me enjoying Earl Sweatshirt more than Frank Ocean. The interludes are interesting. Back half of the album opens up a lot more with Pyramids, Lost. Ultimately it's eclectic and pretty cool, but I'm surprised it was as hot as it was in 2012. It doesn't really feel special most of the time.

While I can appreciate why people would enjoy this & it’s considered a triumphant effort, it’s not my kind of thing at all.