I’m sure it’s very important and intellectual but here’s a “Concept” for an album: write some songs that I actually want to listen to.

Mingus? Dingus more like. This made my day worse.

Super nice. Interesting to read that it was self released but flopped and it only made it big through a rerelease 2 years later

Jesus, 1999. Were people still doing this in ‘99? Blur were forming The Gorilaz, Radiohead had moved on to Kid A, Kasabian were starting out… and Shack were making this. It’s fine I guess, it’s like a very good pub band but I can’t see any reason for it to be on this list. I got quite angry that this is included.

A horrific masterpiece. His rhymes are simpler but maybe less offensive than MM LP. When taken as a cartoon or a work of fiction it good fun.

Funkier than expected

Not as great as discovery

Zero space in my life for sea shanties, cheers anyway

Meh, never really got the doors

Great and all but gets a bit samey for me.

Better than Dylan

Did get a chance to fully listen

Yeah, that Adele tune is good

Too hard for me

Iconic, yet annoying

Much messier than I remember

Bit dated

Yeh, great

It’s no nation of millions

Iconic tunes in there

Whingy and annoying. No passion pit or vampire weekend

Fine, very Bowie/Stones

Good solid Indie/rock/pop album

I like the pop stuff but had to turn this off, too drab and moody

Pretty epic but queen we’re doing rock opera much better

A horrific masterpiece. His rhymes are simpler but maybe less offensive than MM LP. When taken as a cartoon or a work of fiction it good fun.

It takes me a while to get in to EJ songs. I should listen more.

Need to listen again. A bit bellyesque. Some sloppy time signatures in there though

Ok, no can’t buy a thrill

I’m sure it very influential and all but to sit and listen to... meh

A few interesting moments but too techno for me.

Classic

Good, not as psychedelic as I was expecting. More Beatles/mamas&papas/Simon and Garfunkel folk 60s vibes.

I never give ABBA enough credit and dismissed them because they are so popular. But they are popular for a reason.

Better than expected but I do find his voice annoying

Interesting background but the music didn’t stand out to me, Especially for late 70’s

I just done like his voice (or the sound of harmonicas).

Ok but kinda boring compared to rock and roll

Standard stuff

Some nice moments but also some sloppy ass scratching

Wanted to like this but god, Barry’s vibrato is annoying

Good stuff

More going on here than I was expecting

Some interesting production from ENO but man is Brian Ferry’s voice annoying

Good, solid, earnest, old fashioned dad rock.

Enough already

Amazing, heartbreaking album. Interesting to read some reviews that seem to dismiss her experience though.

Ugh, not for me thanks.

Some great moments but all a little fractured. Past their peak.

Very impressive and a few good tunes in there but 3 hours becomes a bit of a chore

A good album. Labcabin is so much better for me so have to give a 4

Seemed ok. Unfortunately got talked over and eventually turned down to an inaudible level

Super nice. Interesting to read that it was self released but flopped and it only made it big through a rerelease 2 years later

Side 1 is so good. Probably timeless songs. It does fall off on side 2 but still best Bowie album.

I came in wanting to like this but no, I was right the first time - human league are annoying. Interesting to hear the craftwerk influences though. Don’t you want me is a tune

Fine to have in the background

Some funky instrumentals but I still find the vocals annoying. Was going to give a 4 after half listening but a 3 on rehearing it.

Better than expected. Dubby and post punk. Didn’t know it was an all girl group. Still, not what I’d listen to by choice though

Great guitar but much more jazzy and soulful than I was expecting.

A couple of memorable stand out tracks but still a bit to Seattle for me.

Aah, you know what? Over rated. Made me want to punch someone (Liz). A couple of good tunes on there.

Better things to come.

Very mature album for 94 and a couple of bangers on there but a bit sweary for me

Bit self indulgent at 1 hour long. Seemed to run out of ideas and resort to odd cover versions in the second half

Not my thing but better than expected

Some big tunes on here

Good stuff. I enjoyed this much more than expected

Seminal trip hop album but a bit dull at times

Nice enough background shoe gaze

I don’t know why I’ve never listened to this before. Awesome stuff

I never got all the hype about this, thought it might make sense this time. Nope, still boring, they even sound bored of their own songs

Was ready to like this but couldn’t. Too busy being cool and contemporary instead of writing banging pop tunes

Self indulgent prog rock but they are very good musicians

A bit jazzy for me. I appreciate the skill but just don’t find it super pleasant to listen to

Great fun, super inventive

A lot of anger here. And a lot of homophobia. Good at rhyming though.

First steps towards greatness but not quite there yet. Better to come soon so I’ll save my ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ For their more mature albums

A solid early indie album. Good for 1990, I can hear lots of bands took influence from this later in the decade

Awesome phat old school production but the lyrical content and structure seems very basic and dated now

A nice surprise. ReListened to this one. Lots of interesting influences.

I’ve never been a big Joni fan. While this album didn’t change my mind in that, I did enjoy it more than I was expecting to.

Meh, a few decent moments in there but very messy and often unpleasant. An ugly cross between Simon and Garfunkel and the Beatles

What does Rod Stewart do? He’s not writing songs or playing instruments so it’s all about his look and his tone? Hard Pass

Tried a couple of times but just slipped into the background.

I can imagine if I was a moody 90s teen living in Seattle (or Chicago) this would really appeal to me. But I’m not, and it doesn’t.

Much more fun than I was expecting 🙂

Humm, I was listening to this kind of stuff in 99 and never heard of this. Better things going on on MoWax and Ninja Tune. Feel like another box ticking exercise to get the world music quota up

Some iconic moments in here. More jazzy and soulful than I was expecting. A little too much filler to get 5 stars though.

Some great, dark, a psychedelic soul. Shame had to listen on YouTube on my phone.

Phenomenal mix of funk, soul, disco and pop from the greatest performer of all time.

Really accomplished for a debut album. Great skill and style on show but no stand out tracks for me other than sultans of swing

A powerful and important album but maybe a few too many swears for me. Production was funkier than I remember. Not a fan of Easy-E’s voice but Dre and Ice Cube are dope.

Nice. This is what I was expecting when I got astral weeks a while ago but was disappointed. I’ll try to listen to more Van.

Lots of interesting things going on with time signatures and I think it might have a good sense of humour to it but TOO SHOUTY FOR ME

Super generic blues. I think his dog ran away to one point. Not my bag

Brilliant, love this album. Better without Becker IMO. Such a cool retro/futuristic vibe to it

In no mood for this radio 2, Elaine Page crap today. More international box ticking?

After my first half listen this review was going to be pretty hash, but a second spin I warmed to it a little. I had to listen to the wham version of Freedom to get that it wasn’t just a cover of his own song. Still not a fan but an easy enough listen.

Really good. Very dense lyrically and 72mins is a lot of work. Never listened much as dismissed as west coast gangster bull shit but Ice T has a lot to say, on par with public enemy.

Yeeeh. Listen 4 times to this one to try to understand the hype. Sure the rhyme structure is interesting, his flow is nice and the production from prem is tight. For me, I think it lacks any killer hooks and maybe that is the reason I’ve never really got into Nas.

This happened to fall on a sunny summer day, sat in the garden, so suited the mood beautifully.

I still want to like the cure, but the reality of actually listening to them makes me bored and depressed.

King of pop takes a miss step on this one. Some killer songs for sure but the middle of the album is undeniably filler.

Awesome accessible start but quickly gets a bit jazzy for me. 4 stars are mostly in the strength of Birdland.

Have a couple of listens. More to it than a one hit wonder. His voice sounds like a fun version of the cure. Interesting back story with all of the line up changes and affected image the main dude seems a bit of a control freak. And Dexy is a drug? Cool.

Stone cold classic. Good to read the wiki and understand how pivotal it is. Tbh, can get a little pedestrian at times, but that’s the vibe I guess

Maybe 15 years ago I would have been interested in hearing this at 05:00 on a Sunday morning but right now it’s not the album for me.

Never that fussed about Air. Pleasant enough background music.

Never a massive fan of The Boss even if he’s in his prime. A couple of songs sounded reasonably rousing while a couple seems pretty basic and childish. Right down the middle of the road for a 3

Tricky one. First impression is that I hate this folky prog rock nonsense. No time at all for pipe smoking mustachio twiddling warlock rock. But then there’s the odd blistering guitar that Hendrix would have been happy with or beat box flute that Jurassic 5 should be sampling. This gets everything from a 1 to a 5 so I guess we’ll have to go down the middle for a 3.

I keep trying but I can’t stand his voice (or harmonicas)

Mixed feelings about this one. Full of massive tunes but I’ve always found the lyrics to be a bit childish or sort of half though out. Don’t think I can give less than 5 stars though.

Discordant pirate jazz. Need to listen again probably but I found myself not hating it as much as I expected

Good fun. Makes me want to drink and dance

More fun than I was expecting, a bit of ska in there. I didn’t realise they did On a Rope.

Not normally in to the blues but I enjoyed this. Didn’t know they wrote Proud Mary.

Very cool. Great fusion of hiphop, blues and rock. The lead singles still sound awesome but some of the other tracks let it down a little, the chorus’s get a bit formulaic.

This started off as a four based on the year and how influential I could tell it was on the grunge scene that was about to emerge. But the more I listened the lower the score got, god is this unpleasant on the ears.

This album was my world 25 years ago. Mixed feelings now, some parts are overwhelmingly cringy but there moments of true quality. 5 stars just for my 15 year old past self.

Pleasant enough. Bit like Dido or Emma Rugg. Not what I’m really into at the moment.

Much like the best “cure” for Christianity is to actually read the bible, listening to 3 Cure albums has dispelled my belief that I like this band. I like 4 songs and the rest of their work can go suck a bag of dicks.

Tempted to give a 5 but I’m the end I did find getting to the end of the album a bit of a drag. Interesting to read that it was Frusciante’s return (from skag) that have the band the more mellow and melodic edge. Did not know it was their 7th album and I would have guessed earlier than 99. The biggest surprise though? Kiedis and Mel C! 😮

Awesome, loads of memories around this one. First saw the video to Remind Me early in the morning at Rachel’s flat down in London. Sparks was part of my chill out AV set for Shinobi at Welly. And the album as a whole takes me back to Jodie’s house down Morpeth st. The album stands up well, maybe tails off a little at the end?

A few nice melodic moments but overall to distorted and messy for my taste.

Standard stuff. Maybe if I was a teenager in 1980 this would be exciting for me, but I’m not so it ain’t.

Too progressive for me thanks! Nothing stands out as a track I can remember and there doesn’t seem to be any sense of fun to it at all.

Awesome Rock and Roll. Simple but killer riffs with a good sense of fun. Interesting to read that this was the break through album following the death of their previous lead singer through MisAdventure.

While the title track is undeniably dope, nothing else on here really held my attention. Sleazy style over content.

Enjoyed this more than their latter albums. Turns out Ray Manzerak was the main talent in the band, I’d assumed Morrison had written the big tunes but new respect for the organist.

Ugh, how quirky. If 10cc are Monty Python, these guys are Noel Fielding. Their one trick got old very fast.

Would like to listen again, seemed like a cool idea but 90mims was just a bit too long for today.

I guess I’m supposed to love this. I really like funk and this is one for the most famous, seminal fuck albums of all time. I kind of liked it but it honestly just doesn’t grab me.

Lots going on here. While I admire the ambition and it does include some belters, it feels a little disjointed and maybe too eclectic to earn 5 stars.

This really is 2 albums. I love speakerboxxx. One of my all time favourite hip hop albums. I find the love below a bit more challenging though. I think I have to give 5 stars for the strength of side A and the absolute banging singles from side B.

Didn’t give it the attention I should have but seemed more interesting than I was expecting

Ugh industrial post punk is not for me. I feel like if some one asked me to make an album this weekend, I could could probably bash this out easy enough but I wouldn’t be happy with the results.

Pleasant enough, didn’t make me angry or anxious which can sometimes happen with jazz.

Never really got the hype around this one. The one famous song is only good because of the sample. I do like “The Drugs Don’t Work” and I guess Lucky Man by extension, as basically it’s the same song. I feel like Ocean Colour Scene did this kind of thing MUCH BETTER a year previously.

Another one that works much better for me without the visual. Anyone who reads this: you must now sing the lyrics to Money’s too tight to mention to the tune of Let’s get ready to rumble by PJ and Duncan. Ta

Lots of interesting styles going on here. Hard to pin down to just “folk”. Country and blues in there and eastern vibes on the last track. And of course Everybody’s Talkin’ is a great tune.

Nice to have this come up, wanted to listen to ThunderCat for a while. Generally a cool vibe, but got a bit samey, needed the collaborations to differentiate the tracks.

Decent enough. Probably got some good songs on there if listened to a few times through. But there’s plenty of Crosby Stills Nash and Young on here so doubt I’ll listen to this one again.

“Noise rock” using “unorthodox guitar tunings” yeah, there’s probably a reason people use “orthodox guitar tunings” : it doesn’t sound like unpleasant noise.

Blues just isn’t my bag.

Who knew Chicago used to have a horn section!?!? Me, coz it keeps coming up this year. Still interesting to hear how much they changed from 60s to 80s and while I like the idea on paper it turned into a bit of a chore by the end of the album.

Not where I’m at right now. If I was a little bit older I can imagine this being important to me but without being on that scene it’s not doing much for me.

Very good golden age hip hop. I never really gave them much time before but should listen more.

Impressive that wrote, recorded, played and produced everything single handed. Funkier than I expected. But on a second listen, a lot of the lyrics are super religious, which is kinda lame.

Tried maybe 3 times but just nothing on here gripped me. I was looking forward to it as I like previous singles but this was a bit underwhelming.

Cool mix of house, techno, dub and triphop. Maybe too much techno for me to love though.

Not heard this one before. Good album: funky samples, tight beats, dense lyrics, decent rhyme flow, important message. Not super relevant to me as a white, middle aged, British guy in 2021 though

Decent. My eyes rolled when I read “post punk” but there’s plenty of stuff going on here. Not to be confused with Oran juice Jones. First hit to use a 303?

Ugh progrock. I’m sure your polyrhythms are very intricate and intelligent but could you not just write a chorus I can sing along to?

Good fun. Nice mix of punk, Indie and 60s hippy. Did I have Man Sized Rooster in tape 25 years ago..?

Mingus? Dingus more like. This made my day worse.

Nothing on here standing out at all, even on a second listening. Inoffensive enough though

Yeah, all the attitude of punk but a bit going on musically. Gives a real snap shot of grimy late 70s London living.

I wasn’t expecting to enjoy this particularly but it was awesome. Was considering 5 stars but the last track tipped it over the edge. Used on Jamie Thomas’ section on Toy Machine - Welcome to Hell. 🤘😝

There’s a time and a place for this kind of stuff, I’m not entirely convinced it’s on the main stage, on a Saturday night, of the world’s biggest festivals. Right now the middle with 3 stars

A classic with some stone cold bangers. I am going 4 stars though for the over used distorted mics and one too many bongo tracks.

Ok but pretty simplistic rhymes and often drawn of songs.

Kind of cool but got a bit ‘one trick’ pretty quickly. Fun to hear the ‘Where’s your head at’ sample.

Didn’t know they were doing this back in ‘83. Never been a super fan but nice enough in the background

I was never a fan of the jingle jangle guitar of the title track. I was trying to ignore the beta-cuck energy of be friends with you to give a safe 3 stars. But finishing with we’ll meet again push me from passive annoyance to activate disdain.

I’m not a fan of Jazz but there’s enough to cling on to on the first side to make this enjoyable.

I think that 15 year old me might have liked this 25 years ago, similar to The Charlatans or maybe Ash. Not where I’m at right now but I’ll give it a 3 from the person I used to be.

I like the Kinks, I feel like I’d have enjoyed this more if I’d paid more attention but it was perfectly pleasant to have in the background

Undeniably revolutionary. Such blistering talent. Sometimes a bit noisy for my taste but who am I to argue.

More fun and funky than I was expecting. Sounds late 80s so well ahead of it’s time

Maybe it’s a style over substance thing, but I’ve never understood the appeal of Roxy Music. Compared to their peers: I like Hunky Dory, I like Transformer, I like 10cc but this just sounds like unpleasant noise to me.

Not what I’m in to but seemed pretty good for what it was. 🤘😶

Seemed like a interesting mix of genres but not what I’m in the mood for today so only really half listened

Serious rock but fun…. Socks? 🤘😎

If this project has solidified one thing: I hate post punk. All the droning, talentless monotony without the enthusiasm or energy.

Good for blues good for a live album but still not really doing it for me.

Such awesome energy. A few albums can get me to sing along but this is the 1st to make me scream!

Kind a a theoretical 4. This is exactly the kind of stuff I was into 20 years ago, I bores me a little now and I’ve not got time for the full 70mins, but still a place in my heart for triphop.

A great mix of indie and dance production from Weatherall and Gillespie. I don’t love this quite as much as some of my friends did back in the day, but it still has a strong sense of nostalgia for me. And it does want me to get real messy on a cocktail of drugs, cigarettes, alcohol and staying up way too late.

Tricky, while I recognise how influential and ahead of it’s time this is, I also found it pretty unpleasant to listen to.

Enjoyed this, not heard of them before but like a boy band version of Dusty Springfield

I was never a big fan of this when it came out. Maybe lacking a big killer hook/hit for me. But a solid album throughout.

Very inventive stuff but bigger songs coming from them soon

Much closer to getting top marks than I expected. Busy boys to follow up with another album the same year as their debut. A couple of massive tracks on there and interesting jazzy stuff as well.

Nice,I recognise the lead single and lots of the influences. Might come back and listen again in the future.

(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻ One of the best albums of all time. I don’t even like gunge music but this is undeniably fucking brilliant. Got it on the 30 year anniversary of its release.

What happens if the beach boys are involved with a head on collision with the beastie boys? Fun but not particularly enjoyable.

Apparently super influential and a turning point in musical history. Don’t really see that myself. At 20mins at least it did not out stay it’s welcome

Not for me thanks. The odd melodic moment and occasional hints of funk in the bass but generally too angsty shouty for my taste

I think I’d probably give the vinyl of this 5 stars but what’s on Spotify is a bit of a mess.

Another one that I’m more of a fan of on paper than reality. Some interesting hybrids of DIY disco and electro but did grab my attention as much as I was hoping.

An interesting mix. Hard to pin down to a genre, definitely 80s meets 90s with a lot of influences and styles. Nothing I’ll revisit though

lol no, I’m not listening to that for an hour.

Like an incomprehensible Kate Bush, not in a bad way, just not really what I’m looking for in my life right now. Listened twice, couldn’t tell you how any of it went.

I’m not the biggest fan in the world. I think maybe I want funk to be dance music, where as this is definitely funky but kinda sit down funk? Maybe because he seems like a bit of a wanker? Dunno, but I like it but don’t love it.

I never thought I consider giving a country album 5 stars. Maybe it’s the content I usually dislike as much as the delivery? This unpatriotic antiwar album works for me.

Like it but don’t love it. Good but not great. Can be spoken of in the same conversation as The Beatles and Hendrix but not quite up to that standard

Excellent, political, trueschool hiphop. Taking a lot of inspiration from PE but much cleaner production.

Aside from the 2 lead singles it’s all a big droning and monotonous. Nearly tempted to push it to a 4 on the strength of Enjoy the Silence.

Maybe it’s not Jazz that I find stressful it’s shrill trumpets. As a simple trio I found this enjoyable.

Sorry, but I just don’t need another Neil Young album in my life right now

I get that this is pushing things forward in 1974. A steppingstone between Glam and Punk. Just didn’t enjoy listening to it.

OhMyGod I don’t like post punk. Enough already.

I wanted to like this but Christ, they included some unpleasant noise in there.

Enjoyed this more than expected, I was putting if off but the it didn’t bore me like blues has a tendency to do.

Awesome mix of styles to create something unique. Crazy that Costello produced this between Armed Forces and Get Happy in 79. Fun to discover that little snippet of Bohemian Like You in Little Bitch. Will definitely listen again.

Meh, I tried to make the most of this and do some hovering and cruise in for an easy 3, but nar, I just don’t get Kate Bush. Quirky cat wailing.

I get that it’s totally subjective and probably due to cultural bias but this made me super anxious to the point to nausea. I tried to get through it on 5% volume but 50mins was too much for me to handle.

Take that outlaw! Not what I would listen to by choice but I enjoyed this. Glad it included El Paso which I recognise after its excellent use in Breaking Bad.

I’d never describe myself as an R.E.M fan but this album is undeniable. Classic track after classic track, I don’t really see how anyone could give this less than 5

For post punk, at least it didn’t piss me off. Seems a bit like a cross between too many things. Halfway between The Clash and Nirvana, T-Rex meets Guns ‘n’ Roses. Maybe doesn’t have a load of personality of its own

Ooof, this was a little darker than I was expecting. I guess you can’t drag out pinball wizardry for a full 75mins but that didn’t prepare me for the torture of for poor inert Tommy to be his uncle’s fuckmeat. Musically it’s not doing much for me, I thought The Who were supposed to Rock, this is all jangly folk acoustic guitars. A bit forced and lame. Fun fact: how does Tommy play such a mean pinball? Answer: he’s not blind at all, it’s psychosomatic so his eyes are perfectly fine.

We have clearly established that I don’t like post punk. This was better than most but I’m really bored of this genre now.

Just because this Dimery character was unfortunate enough to be born in the early-mid sixties, means I have to listen to a fucking post punk album at least once a week. Discordant cat wailing. The instrumentation was decent though.

A couple of big tunes on here. More enjoyable than I was expecting, but I wasn’t expecting much.

How many Seminal Post Punk albums can there be? God these guys are over rated, I did find the instrumentals growing on me in the second half so one star would maybe be a little harsh.

Dark indeed. Quite cool if viewed as poetry set to music. I might listen again on my death bed with a whiskey in hand. Did hold my attention until the end though, even on a second listen.

Pretty cool distorted indie pop. Not enough to make me want to listen again but apparently more than just a two hit wonder.

Oh, cheer up lads.

Certainly unique and original. Weird surf guitar mixed with haunted organ and lots of shouting. I didn’t know they were doing this a full 10 years before Love Shack. It did get a bit ‘one trick’ to keep my interest for a full album though.

This is a nice find. The kind of stuff I used to listen to all the time. I’d probably make the effort to go see her live if playing locally.

I enjoy this at first and would have likes to give it 4 stars. It outstayed its welcome though And started to wear on my patience. Still had some nice finger picking but after 45mins I was glad when it finished.

Discordant ramblings of a drug-addled brain. Maybe I’m being too closed minded but I think I’d need some serious chemical assistance to expand my mind far enough to see the appeal of this one.

I never saw the appeal of T.Rex but I didn’t mind this. Some decent guitar and maybe his voice isn’t as whiny as and over effected as later songs? Interesting to read that they were doing folk songs a couple of years previously.

I can see the appeal a bit more now. Poetic, melancholy folk. Still not a fan though.

I really don’t like his voice but I did enjoy elements of this. I used to say he’s a better poet than a singer, but the lyrics are often rambling nonsense. Tried a couple of times but couldn’t make it through the double album.

Ah, disappointing. I find Kanye the most entertaining when he’s producing garbage and telling me it the greatest music ever made. This was reasonably good. Not genius, but reasonably good. At least it’s not Chipmunk Crap or vocodered to hell. This guy is a joke to me, I would love to tell him that. 🤡🤡🤡

Like a cross between Primal Scream and Kasabian but without anything to stand out, sing along to or remember.

A truly unique take. Interesting to hear a more poppy side of Björk.

What is all the fuss about? Very little on here stands out, even half of the singles are forgettable to me. Abrasive lullaby’s for the depressed. Too soporific to be exciting, too shrill to be relaxing. I had to go listen to The Bends to remind myself that Radiohead can write great songs. Fuck it, 2 stars.

Paul Simon is one of my favourite song writers of all time but I wouldn’t say this is a stand out album. A couple of brilliant songs on there and cool to hear him playing with reggae and blues influences.

I get that it’s a completely facile take on a talented woman’s career, but I just wanted her to break into Feeling Good or My Baby Just Cares for me. Sounded like Nina Simone but without the stand out tracks.

Is this a joke? Absolute shite, a real chore to get to the end.

Excellent. Finally an album I’ve not heard before that I really enjoyed listening to. Sounds like Shuggie could have been one of the greats but shied away from success after this release. Very impressive to write and perform that album at 21.

Nice to see Common on here. He’s got great tone, flow and lyrical content. Did not know this was produced by Kanye? Nice beats, still not a fan of the chipmunks thought.

I like this, I think a lot of this stuff is very context based. Listening to this on a grey day in Hull it’s hard to go higher than 4 stars.

I was never super bother about this when it came out, because of the simple, repetitive vocal hooks. But relistening now I’d discounted a lot of really nice production. I recognised a lot more of the instrumentals than I would have expected.

Seems like some decent, solid dad-rock but over an hour for a live album was too much for me.

I didn’t hate this - and I really do dislike Bob Dylan. I used to say that maybe he’s a better poet than a performer, but now listen to his lyrics, it actually seems like a lot of his stuff is arbitrary, rambling nonsense. Still, I found this album less unpleasant than most of his work.

I never understood all the hype around Kanye. While I did enjoy this album second time of listening I still think it’s over rated. Fun fact though: he wrote and mumbled Through The Wire after falling asleep at the wheel of his car, but still manages to frame himself as the victim. The guy is a joke, but I get that he was a reasonable talented joke at this stage of his career.

I want to like Prince. But listen to a full album is a bore and a chore. This would maybe have made 4 stars if he could wrap up a tune in 3 and 1/2 minutes, but everything drags out to 7mins and blends into each other - and I lose interest. Protracted and self-indulgent.

I’m not sure I like Radiohead but I love The Bends. Their next best songs (Creep, No Surprises) just sounds like tracks that could be off this album. Everything else I find boring or stressful. But this album really his the mark for me, perfect mix of grunge/BritPop/electro.

Very quirky and unique. Lovely British storytelling songs. Lots of interesting instrumental stuff going on. I’m not giving full marks though, as I’d say there’s only one Great song on here.

This is probably the most dated thing I’ve heard on here. In a good way. It makes me want to meet glamorous women in hotel bars and drink cocktails. Her voice is surprisingly rough though, I assumed it would be silky smooth, but she strains when she extends her range. Oddly felt like a Karaoke version of Steely Dan.

Stevie is one of the greatest of all time. I Wish I’d have got this album over the weekend to really do it justice and listen to every song properly - some dark moments in there - families eating dog food to survive. Even the double album with the bonus 7” doesn’t out stay it’s welcome. I’m probably going to listen to this again today.

Absolutely love One Day Like This but the rest of the album isn’t quite enough to push it to full marks.

Very cinematic but something I will revisit. Maybe Dummy and Glorybox were of their time. This sounds a bit clunky to me.

I like her tone and style but nothing grabs my attention. Right on the cusp of a 3 and a 4, just between ‘fine’ and ‘enjoyable’.

I was going to give this 5 stars for the serendipity of getting it on Christmas Eve, but when I saw my wife had the same album I had to rate it honestly. It’s got some classics on it and I will listen again, but not for a good 11 months, thanks.

Love The Beach Boys. This might not be their most mature or developed offering but it sure puts me in a good mood.

Ooh, I do not like Nico’s tone. The worst aspect of Velvet Underground without much to redeem it.

I’m sure it’s very important and intellectual but here’s a “Concept” for an album: write some songs that I actually want to listen to.

A lot of talent to write, play, record, produce, release this at 19. Not very “listenable” though. I did enjoy the unexpected Klingon remix of The Joker.

A good solid 4. Strong instrumentals and I suspect there’s some clever lyrics going on if I put a bit more effort in. But apart from the awesome energy of End Of The World there’s no thing very exciting or out standing.

Meh, I’d rather listen to Donna Summer - or even Robbie Williams actually.

🤯 Take that squares! 🤯 This flew very close to a one star, but there was enough to enjoy between the zany nonsense to save it. Still not an enjoyable experience for me though.

Odd one for 1980. Could have been released in 68 or 92, but this is right down the middle. Better than average though, so I’ll sneak it a cheeky 4.

Ugh The Byrds. Feels like this album is being pulled in a few different directions, but not all of them bad. At best there are tracks that sound like what The Beatles were doing two years ago. The worst parts are horrible though, the experimental psychedelic technique is sound amateurish and cack-handed.

I really like this, but I don’t think I love it. Skilful without showing off. Progressive but not pretentious. Intricate yet still accessible. Hard as fuck but not like offensively aggressive. I just can’t remember what any of the songs go like?

Nice one, a good find. Lots going on with horns, strings, ballads and dance tracks. Will defo listen again.

I was ready to love this but it’s all a bit messy and weird. Cool to read that he ran away from the law in New Orleans, bringing those swampy influences with him but not as funky as I was expecting.

Right down the middle. Not annoying, not outstanding. 3 stars all the way.

Excellent work, awesome energy and snarling, snarky attitude. I do prefer his 80s stuff, more complex and developed but it was cool to listen to this as a ‘basic’ 4 piece- the organ adding that extra dimension. While I enjoyed everything on here, they do get kind of similar, but I still listened twice in the day and didn’t lose interest for a second.

Not seeing the appeal of this one. All the charm of punk with non of the energy. I was tempted to slip it a cheeky 3 after a couple of decent songs on the second half, but the last track is deeply unpleasant.

Very close to full marks. Really nice clean sound, simple riffs but interesting structure and instrumentation. Maybe a couple too many covers to put in in the upper echelon.

OK, I maybe get the idea now. If I was born in the late 50s in New Jersey and had just bought my first car and was going to take my best girl to the prom, this would all be very rousing. But I don’t drive, I’m from Northern England, I don’t have a porch or a screen door so a lot of this ‘poetry’ comes off as a bit silly to me. Still got a couple of very good songs on there though.

All very pleasant. I didn’t have a full hour to listen through, but I don’t think I’ll have missed much. I’ll try and come back to this one.

Very powerful and talented. Closer to a 4 than I expected though. I had to listen twice to get hit by the melancholy nostalgia that runs through the album. Make me ache for a simpler time.

I found myself enjoying the first two tracks but the second side quickly descended into unpleasant chaos. Sounded like someone had picked up a saxophone for the very first time.

Brilliant fusion of jazz rock funk soul latin music. 1970 as well, i didn’t know how early this was. I could listen to this all day and not get bored or annoyed.

All very quaint, quirky and pleasant but nothing outstanding. I think it might be the production is a little muddy, maybe lacking a George Martin figure to punch it to a 5?

I feel like there’s a lot of Neil Young on this list? I was pleasantly surprised by this one though - more bluesy and funk influences than I expected.

The odd interesting groove but on balance there’s more annoying nonsense on here than good music.

A more mature and melancholy Beach Boys. It’s maybe not completely fair, but I can’t help comparing this to Holland - which they released 2 years later. Similar vibes but nothing on this one stands out as particularly fun or memorable.

So much Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young on here! I did enjoy this one though. Lots of variety: horns, organ, woodwind as well as the folky guitar rock I was expecting. Better that The Byrds for sure.

This holds up surprisingly well. 15 songs fly by in under 40mins and I recognise more of them than I’d expect.

Swedish punk? Who knew? Very talented with a cool mix of rapping and singing, she’s tackling some big issues but also showing a good sense of humour. I didn’t know she was so involved with Massive Attack and the Wild Bunch. A little bit drawn out and dated for top marks though.

*Checks my phone after 40mins: “Yup, still on track 2”. Bit of an ordeal this one, it picked up in the second half (or maybe I just turned the volume down) but I feel like I deserve some kind of reward for getting to the end.

I used to love Blur - literally had the T-shirt of this one. 15 year olds are funny though, sounds like a very different album 25 years later. Very morose and often a bit boring. Still some great tracks on there but Damon’s tone sounds as cringeworthy to me now as the idea of writing the names of your favourite band on your bag in TippEx

For an album that is so iconic, angry, energetic, seminal and revolutionary- the music is pretty damn boring.

Oooh that’s county alright. And I really don’t like country. I feel like there’s a possibility that this is a seminal album that might have set the mould for things to come. Don’t really care though, as it’s such a shitty mould. I did however, find my thumbs being inexorably drawn to the belt loops of my blue Levi jeans, so there maybe something powerful in this boring dross.

I fell asleep

I came in to this expecting it to just be acoustic, whispered suicidal song but was pleasantly surprise by the energy and variety of the first few tracks. It did end up settling down to a rather somber tone in the second half but certainly gave more than I was expecting.

Super smooth and mellow vibe. A bit protracted to get full marks though.

Aaaaaah Shit! Imagine it’s 1991 and you’re 18. Going to see an unheard of new band in a shitty, sweaty underground club. Moshing the fuck out to this. It makes all these other albums seem so weak and pointless. This is what music can be about and it’s powerful as fuck.

You’ve got to love the opening title track and Jealous Guy is also beautiful in its simplicity. But two great tracks don’t make for a five star album, a couple of nice moments throughout but the rest slipped into the background a little.

Yeah, decent. Like a cross between Kraftwerk and The Cure but actually more listenable. Not really what I’m into but certainly ahead of it’s time for 81.

The title track is so strong, it makes it hard for the rest of the album to live up to that massive legacy. I was a little disappointed with the first half but it picked up on the flip side. But just to say it again - the song Sweet Dreams is one of the best songs ever made.

I love soul but I was a little underwhelmed on first listen. I guess I prefer the dance tracks to the slow jams and I didn’t recognise anything on here. I enjoyed it more the second time around and do appreciate that he was an important step in creating the genre. His wiki is worth a read!

Wow this is over-rated. Such an iconic debut album but the music just can not stand up to the legacy. Well, maybe the music does but the delivery is where it falls down. This guy is the definition of Style over Content and without the visual it just sounds second rate to me. I had to go listen to Little Richard and Ray Charles to set things right after this finished.

Putting aside the incest and the peodophilia and the cultural appropriation this has some good tunes on it and is delivered with bags of energy. 1964 though? Wasn’t this all kicking off 8 years ago? Music and energy alone it would be 5 stars but his background, the date and the fact the only wrote a couple of the tracks knock it down.

Some decent smooth and jazzy production and a reasonably interesting flow. She’s got a fair amount to say with some interesting introspection. Just not a massive fan of her tone and the whole thing was a bit down tempo for me.

I was a bit worried when I heard the opening bars using a time signature that made zero sense to my ears, that I was in for a long 40mins. But this turned into a pretty fun mixture of of East meets West and absolutely everything in between. No chance I’ll come back and listen again though.

It’s very rare that I don’t get to the end of an album but I had to turn this off after around 30mins when I saw I wasn’t even half way through. Mostly pretty generic garbage/garage punk but then breaking into complete nonsensical twatery. Deeply unpleasant.

A bit gungey for me. Come on guys, it’s 98, contemporize.

Some rather simple, rambling songs, nothing I will revisit.

I wanted to give this a 3, on the logic that the cool instrumentals balance out the excruciating vocals. And I was happy with that, but I realised on the last track that the rest of the lads are at least complicit in letting Morrissey get all preachy about me enjoying a bacon sarnie. So 2 stars it is.

More compelling than I expected, really driving rhythm and blistering guitar riffs. Let’s turn a blind eye to the lyrics of Jailbait while also fully appreciating the lyrical genius of Ace of Spades - a random collection of gambling related clichés

I assumed this would be an easy 5. I love Nevermind but don’t think I’ve ever listened to this album all the way through, I came out a little underwhelmed. It is brilliant, I enjoyed it, great tracks, awesome delivery but I just can’t escape the feeling that I’d rather hear them rocking the fuck out than sat down strumming out a folky one. Maybe I’m holding this album to too high a standard, because I’m mostly comparing it to one of the best albums of all time, rather than judging it purely on its own merits. So 9/10 I guess, still 5 stars but not a Nevermind 5 starts.

Very pleasantly surprised by this one. I’ve had a Kate Bush album previously and it really got on my tits, I think I gave it a 2. This album really works for me today though, epic 80s production and I found her peculiar vocals charming rather than maddening. I’d probably give 4 on balance but to make up for how mean I was about her last time let’s push it to a 5.

2Pac: Murder, murder, murder. Kill, kill, kill. 2Pac *Gets killed 2Pac fans: 🙀

Ooooooi Some massive tracks on here. He’s got his own style and is doing his thing but I was never too into grime. Fix up still sounds huge and I’ll always turn that up as loud as I can go.

Chop this in half an it’s a easy 4 stars, but it couldn’t hold my interest for over an hour. I like RZA’s production but it gets repetitive after a while and even ghostface’s Gousto can’t elevate any tracks to really stand out . I really like Wu Tang but this feels a bit boring and bloated.

I’m not going through a break up right now, but keeping this one in reserve if that does come up… Nice to get it over a weekend so had the chance to listen a few times. I’m not sure what it reminds me of Pink Floyd/ Neil Young but I doubt I’d guess it was Beck, glad he’s got the freedom to release what he’s feeling though.

It’s tricky, because I can’t go to a Pre-Pet Sounds time and appreciate how important this album is. I love it, and I love the Beach Boys but I generally come away from listening to the full album slightly underwhelmed. In my opinion, there’s 4 or 5 great songs, but an equal amount of forgettable songs, which is kind of lame considering Wilson set out to make the first all killer no filler record. It’s an easy 5 stars, one of the best of all time, but it’s not quite as breathtakingly spectacular as the hype would lead us to believe.

Funky. Jazzy. Seems like there’s a lot of this Kuti fella on here but this is a good one, someone should probably sample those drums.

There’s no lack of late 60s early 70s folk-rock-americana on this list, but this is a particularly pleasant example. Why do I know Ripple so well? As soon as it started, I was humming along but I’ve not heard this album and apparently it’s not in a film… Maybe it’s just an all time classic but it’s now my favourite song I didn’t know I knew.

Not for me. The rhythm section seems like something I could get along with but the distorted guitar and morose vocals both stress me out and bring me down.

Pretty standard cock-rock. Good fun I guess, not taking itself too seriously but other than Love in an Elevator not much to sing into your hair bush about.

Love Blister in the Sun. I feel like there’s probably some other pretty decent tunes on here that I like if I was as familiar as I was with that opening track. I wouldn’t have picked Folk-Punk as one of my favourite genres, but I like the dirty DIY sound of this.

Belinda Carlisle and Jane Wiedlin? What is this, some kind of super group? Odd that I’ve not listened to them before. All pretty cool and I’d like to slip it a 5 but nothing that stands out as a massive tune.

Cinematic, epic and really unique. Lovely orchestration and enchanting vocal tone. Very impressive for a live album, an unexpected 5.

I’m sure it was fun at the time but all seems a bit messy and shouty now. A bit more going on musically than I was expecting though.

There’s no lack of late 60s - early 70s folk rock on here. This one seems like a particularly good example though, with a wide range of styles and influences: blues, rock and roll, honkytonk, even some yodelling in there. The funk pushed it to a 4 for me.

Paul Simon is one of the all time greats and he really shines on this album. Beautiful poetic lyrics, wonderful acoustic guitar licks and picks with a nice mixture of experimentation - moog/horns/strings. It feels as accomplished as the best Beatles’ albums but pretty much all written by one genius.

A couple of great songs on here but too drawn out for top marks. I would have liked to have got this over a weekend to give it a really good listen but it feels like something I have to “give a chance” or put in effort to “get” it doesn’t just grab me as being amazing in its own right, as with a lot of Elton John stuff. Just not a big fan I guess.

That’s a stone cold groove but anything with 10 mins of chatting shit over a single bass note is always going to struggle to get full marks from me.

I’m reluctant to use the terms “Masterpiece” and “Pop Punk” in the same paragraph but here we are. This Pop Punk album falls just short of being a Masterpiece for me because of a slightly drawn out second half, call it a day on When September Ends and it would have even more punch. Still a great work. I’m no fan of the original wave of punk, but this has all the energy and snarling sarcasm but has something to say to me, even across the other side of the Atlantic and nearly 20 years on, it still feels super relevant. Great mix of thumping punk energy and acoustic strummings, clever use of themes and motifs running throughout, just trim 12mins off and it would be even more brilliant.

Wow, this is boring as fuck. I was expecting to give a ‘controversial’ 4 as all my friends seem to love Daft Punk but I’m not so sure. I had to skip a few outros to make it to the end. A couple of cool songs but as an album this was a real chore.

Pleasantly surprised. More musical than muddy: maybe grunge is the wrong classification? Better a 3 and a 4 but we’ll round this one up as I was expecting a much more miserable ride.

I’m not a massive Bowie fan even when he’s at his best, so this just seemed “fine” to me.

Thankfully, there’s a song and an album called All Hope Is Gone so i feel like i did try to listen to this in full but Alexa scuppered my efforts by just playing the single. 2 starts for the talent but nothing I want to listen to.

That sure is The Blues. It’s good for me to finally figure out who John Mayall is - heard the name a lot, interesting to put Clapton into a bit more context and cool to see John McVie on bass. Not what I’m in to but a perfectly pleasant listen.

Brilliant album. Hauntingly atmospheric and truly unique. Easy five stars but…. ….I couldn’t really tell you what any of the songs go like.

Do I have to have a Backdoor Man? If I could opt out of that, that would be preferable for me. Killer riffs but I generally find Led Zep a bit stressful.

Cube’s got rhymes for days, with nice production from bomb squad - classic samples but less messy than Public Enemy stuff. His delivery is good but having Chuck D feature on there makes him sound a little tame by comparison. The flow is pretty basic, but hey it’s 1990. Decent album but not an all time classic for me.

Cool album. Probably deserves more recognition than just the whole Rod Steward thing, decent disco funk grooves throughout.

Never got The Who. While the first and last tracks are pretty iconic it still doesn’t do much for me. Even when they are pioneering weird synths, screaming vocals, blistering guitars, honky tonking pianos - it just hits me as middle of the road dad rock. And I normally like middle of the road dad rock! But this just bores me.

Very cool. I don’t hate jazz, I hate shrill & stressful trumpets, but the sax on this is smooth and mellow and lovely. It’s both accessible and challenging with the recognisable hooks but crazy time signatures. Good stuff.

Really strong start, I thought we might be on track for an unexpected 5 stars after hearing jazz, rock and trip hop in the first 2 songs. While the rest of the album was perfectly enjoyable, it seemed to settle into pretty standard fare, 4 star stuff. I will try and revisit this one though.

Brilliantly original, quirky and inventive. I love how they are doing their own weird ass thing. It remind me a couple of times of McCartney with the very silly and British “show tunes”. But then mix in the epic, soaring opera and blistering hard rock guitar solos. With 2 classic singles and album tracks full of interest, has to be 5 stars.

Some smooth grooves in there but that’s way too jiggy for me.

SweeeEeet wonderful ‘poo, Your face is fluffy and your heart is true. OooOoooh-often you smell, This odour follows me whenever I go. I don’t belieeeEeve in a standard spaniel, I prefer me a cockapoo. I’m not a faaaaAaaan of your purebred poodles, I want a mixture between the two. Yooou’re so fluffy and fun, You’re just a cocky cockapoo. (Repeat and fade) Like/follow/subscribe for more puppy based remixes. Also: best album of all time, but I think you guys have covered that side of things.

I really like early Arctic Monkeys stuff, not so keen on their later stuff. This sounds like Arctic Monkeys later stuff, to me. It seemed like a very long 35mins.

A decent mix of synths and songs but generally “good” or “fine” and never “great”. The whole album I was waiting for something to kick into True Faith or even Inbetween Days but it never quite delivered. I did get some sunny, last day of school vibs but not enough to elevate above 3 stars.

The more quaint and quirky British tracks I’m getting on here the less appealing I’m finding it. Some great music on here, in parts but knocked back down by the silly little spoken word stuff and messy use of faze and effects.

I guess I can see how this is important and super exciting for some people but it does very little for me. No sense of fun or even really anger, it’s all very skilful and complicated but I just had to trudge through it to get to the next one.

Oh wow, I’ve heard of MC5 and the phrase Kick out the Jams through a local night, but had no idea what kind of music it was, so I was interested to hear how this actually goes. Unfortunately, it was talentless, god awful noise. Maybe ahead of it’s time but not an enjoyable experience at all. How disappointing.

A wonderful surprise. Never heard of this one but will come back again in the future. Covering so many styles and genres I even won’t bother to listen it all here. It does make me think that a lot of my ratings are based on expectations. This is getting 5 stars partly because I was not coming in with a high standard to meet. Some of the world’s most iconic albums have received a low marks because they didn’t live up to the legend that preceded them. Not sure if that’s totally fair or not…?

Very atmospheric and if I was listen while watching the aurora borealis gently drifting over scandinavian fjords this could easily be 5 stars. But as I’m listening while walking my dog around the streets of Yorkshire, I quickly lost interest.

I used to love drum and bass but never really saw the point in Dance Music that you don’t dance to. This album bridges the gap somewhat with more hip hop influenced vocals, jazzy double bass and skittery live drums. I mostly enjoyed the half time triphop stuff like Watching Windows. It didn’t get nearly as much acclaim but Roni Size and DJ Die worked together again a few years later on Breakbeat Era, which I think really nails this style of more “listenable” D&B.

Slipped into the background but the bits I did notice seemed dull and dreary.

Ugh, horrible noise. Would probably scrape 2 stars if they didn’t have such a famous name and I expected much better.

Great but maybe not as fantastic as I’ve been lead to believe. I had this one over the weekend, must have listened 5 times and grew to appreciate it more and more each time. There are some stand out tracks but it’s seems to finish just as it’s getting going. They really nail the genre, the production is spot on and she writes some very poetic lyrics. I think the over hype might come from her wild personality, which the British press couldn’t get enough of. They love to put people on a pedestal but love it even more when they inevitably fall off. But still, a brilliant album and I’m glad I finally got round to listening to it properly.

A Rush of Blood to the Cock. By Ballplay. Feeling pretty ambivalent about this one. It’s full of soporific anthems and the most rousing dross you could hope to hear. The songs are beautiful in their sparse composition and excruciating in their childish simplicity. The lyrics are poetic cliché. I woke up singing these forgettable earworms. Clocks is a brilliant song, but I do kind of wish they would all fuck off and die. Tricky one - could go 1 star, could go 5. Call it a 3 I guess.

I’ve had an Elliott Smith album before on here and it exceeded my expectations, much more dynamic than I was expecting. This one didn’t. I’m not a big fan of his whispery tone and had to make a bit of an effort to listen all the way through. Nice enough but a bit too angsty for me.

A strong 4. I’m not normally a big fan of the quirky, warbling female vocal + piano/acoustic guitar but she really nails it. On the cusp of a 5 but I couldn’t find a stand out banger on there so had to listen to Cornflake Girl after it finished to round things off. Still a great debut.

On first listen, I was going to put this down as a disappointing 4 stars but It finishes so strongly though that I listened again the next day with different expectations. Maybe I was wanting a solid hour of Cross Town Traffic or Watchtower but that’s not what Jimi wanted and who am I to argue? So yes, a little bloated and rambling at times to my ears but for every 5 mins of blistering genius of Voodoo Child maybe you need a 15min jam of Voodoo Chile?

For a universally acclaimed work of musical genius this sure is boring. I had to make the effort to put aside 45mins to listen on headphones to see any appeal. Once I really focused in, I started to enjoy the soundscapes - particularly the bass and saxophone and I’m sure the production was pioneering for the time. Another album that can’t quite live up to it’s iconic reputation for me though.

Never really saw the appeal of Kendrick and this hasn’t changed my mind. I guess it’s kind of cool that he’s have a mental breakdown for our benefit? I usually rate hip hop on these criteria: Flow - kind of interesting but not amazing. Production - hit and miss, some funky licks but too jazzy for me, pretty messy at times. The major highlight being that Isley Bros reworking. Content - again, hit and miss. Too many N bombs for me to be comfortable with, shut up about God for a minute and i won’t think your an idiot and also: Boo Boo? Tone - can’t stand his nasal pitch, really off putting for me. He’s doing some interesting stuff and is brutally honest with his mental state but I just can’t get past the delivery.

A quality mix of punk, funk, hard rock, general silliness and heartfelt angst. Not as appealing to me in the second half when it lost energy and focused in on dead loved ones. Still much more than I was expecting, hard to pin down to a time or a genre, I’m glad this list brought it to my attention.

Haters gunna hate I guess, but ya’ll need to lighten up a bit. Sure, he’s nowhere near as good at rapping as Eminem, nowhere near as good at rocking out as Rage Against the Machine and nowhere near as good at…. line dancing as Billy Ray Cyrus? (I know nothing about country), but he is mashing up genres like he doesn’t give a fuck and I found the results are enjoyable. He didn’t really make it over to the UK at the time so I’m judging just on the tracks presented here. I reckon a lot of the 1 stars are from Americans who are judging this on the “full package”. I’m sure his personality is completely vile, but thankfully I’ve not really been exposed to that so can go purely off the music, which I think is good fun. How can you not love that Second Hand News sample?

Ahead of it’s time? sure, but god damn is it unpleasant to listen to. I reckon I spent half the time physically grimacing. 😣

A very nice poetic and acoustic blend. The title track is obviously super iconic and Vincent is a beautiful song. I feel like maybe if I was more familiar with the rest of the album it could reach five stars but nothing else is leaping out to grab my attention.

I was ready to love this based off the singles but it’s too punk for me. I like a lot of the elements- thumping bass; surf guitar; interesting backing vocals; but the over all impression is shrill, shrieky and a bit angsty. If I was born in a different place at a different time I can imagine I’d love it.

A cool and atmospheric blend of synths, funk and orchestral sounds. Didn’t keep my attention though and slide into the background after a few tracks.

Cool vibes but less engaging energy than I was hoping for. Closer to Joni Mitchell than Bjork. Nice enough but could have done with an electro banger or two to make me sit up and take notice.

Yeah, that’s punk. Nothing too severe or unpleasant but I was very happy to turn it off before they started playing through bonus tracks.

Not doing anything for me. Seems pretty out of date, punky grunge in 2000? I had it over the weekend end, listened once on the Friday and had no desire to listen again.

Over rated for me. I just don’t really like his tone and I don’t think the orchestral stuff is necessary. Knocked another star off for whoever decided to pull the album from Spotify.

This album was so pivotal for me. It was instrumental in moving away from indie in the mid 90s to trip hop and turntablism in the late 90s. I don’t think any other record will ever have that much of an influence on my musical tastes and cause such a seismic shift in on of the major passions in my life. Listen back now, it is kind of boring at times but I can’t really go anything other than 5 stars.

Not much for me to enjoy here, I couldn’t really get past the bleating vocals. Sounded a lot like Patti Smith to me but 20 years late, what’s the point?

This was a very nice surprise. I was expecting more boring Neil Young folk rock nonsense but instead I got: Blues, folk, jazz, country, soul, rock, funk, ragtime, psychedelic, 60s silliness. Will defo listen again.

“Sloppy” and “Amateur” Are perfectly fine adjectives to describe certain forms of artistic expression but not what I look for in Albums to Hear Before I Die.

How do you follow the best album of all time? Disappointment. After capturing lightning in a bottle on Rumours the only way is down. It feels a lot like The White Album to Sgt. Pepper: a bit disjointed and unfiltered. A collection of ideas for tracks that never really got focused into a cohesive album. A few nice moments but nothing to elevate beyond middle of the road.

“I’m tired” “I’m hungry” “My back hurts” “This GRAND piano isn’t as big as what I wanted” Oh suck it up jazz wanker, play Rocket Man or something. He did hit some decent notes though.

This was one of my first albums, I made my dad buy it on tape and listened to it in his car 30 years ago. I had pretty good taste as an 11 year old, coz this is a great album. It has some of the best live instrumental music I’ve heard in hip hop, Speech’s flow/tone/delivery are all very nice but the content is what makes this stand out. I’m tempted to breakdown each song’s messages and meaning here, but it would turn into quite an essay. Simply to say that even De La Soul aren’t rapping about their childcare issues, the positive aspects of a homeless life style or saying preachers dying is the only solution. The production does get a little muddy at times and it can feel a bit crusty towards the end, but it’s a really unique piece of work and I wish there was more hip hop like this.

Never been a huge fan of Janis Joplin but the Full Tilt Boogie Band are pretty cool. This was much funkier than I was expecting.

What’s going on? A country Christmas album… from Sheffield? You’re being weird Richard. Stop being so weird. Nothing offensive but nothing I’ll revisit.

I kind of want to give this a five but while it’s very “cool” “smooth” and “mellow” it never really hit “brilliant” “outstanding” or “awesome”.

It’s not doing it for me. All sounds technically adept but just a bit miserable for me. Lacking in any sense of fun. Could have scraped it’s way to 3 stars but it just kept going til I had to turn it off.

Started strong but got boring pretty quickly. I just don’t like punk.

Great album, I’m surprised I didn’t listen to this when it was out 20 years ago, it was exactly the kind of thing I was into. Awesome production, nice tone and flow but I was surprised by the amounts of niggers, hoes, gats and fags included: not quite as conscious I was expecting.

The opening track is a pop masterpiece but the only way is down from there. The Sun Always Shines On TV being the only other track that made any kind of impact on me. I guess I’m going 4 stars on the strength of the Take On Me. My favourite Norwegian band - apparently.

What an impressive debut! Really unique and individual take on things. Beautiful tone and delivery with zany yet poetic lyrics. The production has aged really well, orchestral trip hop with techno and trance beats throughout. I know Björk reasonably well but would not have listened through to this with being promoted. Very glad it came up.

Some pretty perfect pop songs on here. Iconic and anthemic. Loses a bit of momentum towards the end so I was considering 4 stars but the singles are so strong I’ve got to give it full marks.

Guy Chambers wrote a few great pop songs for this and I do like Robbie’s cheeky chappie, bad boy persona. The whole thing smacks a little bit of a desperation for authenticity and breaking away from his boy band baggage. It comes off as too manufactured for me. But hey, it’s a pop album - a decent pop album.

I was an ignorant 1 star wanker about Elvis myself once. Since I’ve hit 40 I’ve learned to embrace his snide, sneering, whinging cynicism. Y’all need to grow up.

Revolutionary but a bit boring. Futuristic but very dated.

Can not stand this guy’s whining nasal tone. Thankfully he’s dialled back the harmonica on this one, couple of vaguely pleasant tracks.

Time and a place for this kind of thing. 20 years ago - 04:00 in the morning surething. Not so relevant to me now.

God I hate this guy’s voice. The instrumentals save it from bottom marks.

There are some “nice” songs on here. Just a full album of this pace and tone gets pretty miserable. Interesting to see it’s preColdplay, they maybe get extra credit for that. What’s frustrating though, is that last hidden track: almost telling us what we could have won. If the rest of the album had just a few more moments of interest and energy it could be something I could really get behind.

A bit squelchy and weird for my liking. Do you Realise is beautiful but does really elevate everything else above middle marks.

Lots of familiar songs on here. And interesting blend of grunge and trip hop but all in all a bit muddy and miserable for my taste, I did enjoy it more than I was expecting though.

Good stuff! This is new to me. Excellent mix of funk, soul, blues, folk… Somewhere Tracy Chapman and Sly and the Family Stone. I’ll definitely listen to this again.

It’s very hard for me to hear Wild World or Father and Son and not sign along. Even hard to keep my voice for cracking at some point when you’re hit by the heart breaking emotion. Some beautiful songs on here.

I should buy a boat.

A respectably cool blend of rapping singing and shouting but way too emo for me.

I really disliked my last Miles Davis album but found this much more mellow and enjoyable. Still not what I’m into but a much smoother ride than Bitches Brew.

At first I wasn’t super pumped to listen to drum and bass made by a 69 year old with liver cancer, but this wasn’t half bad. Nice nadsat tune, I’ll try and listen to this album again.

Seems like I underestimated Dexys because of the Monster smash they had after this album, I had them pegged as a novelty pop act. I’m really glad I listened to this debut to actually put the band into real context. They were a legit soul/punk project with vision and purpose. Northern Soul Rebels, but they also had the ability to pen a massive pop crossover which overshadowed their authentic* beginnings.

Come on guys we need more world music, all you’re giving me is fucking post punk. How about that Jah Wobble? Awesome, what is he Jamaican or…? Says here he’s from Stepney. Ah, he’s black though, yeah? Nar, mates with the Sex Pistols. Oh ffs, does he make reggae though? Yeeeeh, kind of dubby-post punk. Oh whatever, stick it in.

Oh yeah, here’s an album I can really twiddle my handkerchief to!

I wonder what ever happened to SubSub, the guys who did Ain’t No Love (Ain’t No Use)…

Yeah, that’s a stone cold vibe but apart from the title tracks it’s all very incidental.

Very lovely and soothing but super middle of the road. I could maybe stretch to 5 stars if she had a couple more of her original compositions on there.

Now I’m not a fan of punk but this is something I can actually get behind. While it’s angry and still kind of ugly it does have a sense of fun that I’ve not heard from other first wave punk bands. The original pressing doesn’t out stay it’s welcome and I was even pleased to heard Police Truck on the extended version (as the whole thing did make me want to listen to Tony Hawk songs)

I only knew these guys as a novelty facial-hair / eyewear band but it makes sense they started out a bit more legit. Good chunkin’ blues with a touch of country and funk in the mix too. I’d say good but not great though.

How terribly dull. Some nice drumming and it did pick up a little in the second half.

I’ve had 2 Roxy Music albums already and I really disliked them. This offering seemed much more palatable. I think maybe Brian Ferry has tempered his vocals a little or maybe I was in a better mode because last time it really grated on me. Better without Eno, who would have funk it?

Yeah, I like this, it’s good… But do I like it half as much as if it were feat. Paul Simon? Pretty much.

Oh how very silly! There is no reason I should have to listen to this before I die.

I’m no expert but sounds to me like a lot of these are the wrong notes.

Oh man, this is a jam! By that I mean it sound a bit underdeveloped and/or unrehearsed. I want to love this but it’s just a touch too messy and shouty for me to give it 5 stars.

Mah. I never really got ZZ Top, but I had one of their early albums just last week and realised they did start out kind of legit in the 70s. They’ve refined that now and condensed it down to a simpler, more pop oriented sound. I was leaning towards a 4 but when the album finished, I got Radar Love by Golden Earring as a suggestion. It immediacy felt more driving, funky, energetic and focused. ZZ Top are just super average.

This seemed OK but not worth listening on YouTube. Going 2 stars, leave it on Spotify, wanker.

I like this. Quirky, kitsch and unique. I do however prefer “Something 4 the Weekend” by Super Furry Animals. Welsh band, also released in the summer of ‘96, so my first response was disappointment. But still, once I readjusted to what this is actually about, I could get into it. A lot of work went into this, big compositions, poetic but humorous lyrics. Granted though, if not in the mood his tone could be pretty annoying.

Just sounds like a really shit version of Screamadelica to me.

Jimi is one of the greatest of all time. But considering they only had three albums, this feels a little lacking in 💥Killer Hits💥. It’s not an issue of the quality of the tracks though, it’s the fact I’ve not listened to this album enough and am not familiar with all of the intricacies. In need to listen to most Hendrix.

Wow there’s loads going on here and I really like most of it. I’m already recommending it to people, I can’t understand why this has less than 3 stars?

Well that worked out well, I was probably going to listen to this today anyway. Y’all one star wankers need to grow up.

I had Elvis Costello yesterday, so I’m kind of done for cynical, middle aged, poetic singer song writers for this week. Not a big fan of his tone but he’s got a fair amount to say for himself, rather depressingly just a relevant today as it was in the mid eighties.

Well this seem very pleasant, interesting musically, intricate things going on with the time signatures and I have zero desire to get to the end of the album. Maybe just a bit wet? Three stars I guess?

I was ready to like this but came away disappointed. The instrumentals are pretty good but the vocals got a little annoying and repetitive. Take Me Out is a great song, the rest of the album just couldn’t live up to the strength of that.

I can see it now but I’m just not the right demographic for this. If I lived a few hundred miles to the west I’m sure I’d be thumping my chest and saluting my flag but it just doesn’t quite hit me in the heartland.

I know nothing about salsa but I guess I quite like salsa. This is obviously a good example of salsa, so it’s nice to have a goto salsa album if I’m ever in the mood for salsa. 💃 salsa 💃

Yeah I just don’t get Elvis. Maybe he was super charming or something but without the context and the visual it seems like pub signer covers songs. The Ghetto almost push it up to mediocrity but not quite.

It feels a little sacrilegious to not give Paul Simon full marks but this is a little too folky for me. A couple of brilliant songs on here but it almost feels like he’s trying to be a poetic genius where as at his best it comes across as less contrived. If not for his later work, I’m sure this would be 5 stars, so not really a fair metric…

Ugh, how dreadfully pleasant. Apparently these songs are all pop classics but I’m only familiar with Unchained Melody. I thought that was a pretty powerful song but he’s stripped it of any emotion, energy, vocal range or passion. The more I listen/think about it the lower my score gets. If this Outlaw County I hate to think what shit the In-laws are doing.

I quite like this, very cinematic, feels like the sound track to a thriller. I only got half way through on day one though and I don’t really have much desire to revisit it to finish it off.

Ugh, hippies. I’m no fan of 70s Pink Floyd but I didn’t make it to the end of this.

Not my thing but a decent sense of fun and weirdness kept me listening to the end. I’m no expert on the genre but it feels pretty advanced for the early 90, probably had an influence on things to come.

Dull droning dross. What a waste of a weekend.

Seems like pretty stand Bowie to me. Impressive considering his age/stage in his career but not massively appealing if you’re not a big fan.

I do love All The Young Dudes and this feels like there might be potential to have songs of a similar calibre. But I reckon it was very much Bowie who captured lightning in a bottle on that one. A fair amount of this is annoying and messy but I’ll be lenient and we’ll go middle marks.

I enjoyed this. Heard the name - obz, but not actually heard the music before. I’m not sure what I was expecting, I guess something along these lines, Tom Waits/Leonard Cohen etc. and it’s not miles off. Sinister yet a sense of fun that kept me entertained to the end.

This is an unexpected 5. Feat. Public Enemy, Mick Jagger, funk bass and occasional socialist undertones. I had Living Colour as UK synth pop in my mind but was way off the mark. A real cool fusion of stuff going on that I’ll have to revisit.

I’m a fan. Dark and brooding but somehow euphoric uplifting and catchy. I’m glad this project made me listen to this, I wouldn’t have done without being encouraged.

Stevie is one of the most talented people in the world. He is a genius at writing and performing music. To create this entire masterpiece at 23 incredible. I’m in awe of how good Stevie Wonder is.

How dull. It seems to move in the same circles as things I would like and the sound is reasonably ‘clean’ (last album by them was a real mess) but it’s all a bit miserable. The Smiths auto played after this finished and felt much more fresh and uplifting - which is really saying something.

Smooth and sleazy. Nice in the background.

All very ‘nice’. Pleasant arrangements and vocals but I won’t listen again.

While this does contain some pretty perfect soft-pop-rock singles, the whole thing lands somewhere between soppy Beatles and Simply Red - which isn’t the best place to be.

I like it. Contemporary blues. Brave of them to record the whole thing through a rizla stretched over a comb!

Not a big fan. I did bother getting to the end as not on Spotify, who do you think you are, Prince?

I was leaning toward 5 stars here, as this is very ‘listenable’ dance music. Much more interesting and breakbeat than what I was expecting. Lost a little momentum towards the end though, so dialling it back to a high 4.

Great debut album that explodes with energy and attitude. I would have loved it if i was a few years younger. I’d kind of lost interest in indie/guitar band music during this period but this still stood out at the time. The themes do get a bit samey towards the end: pubs/bouncers/coppers/clubs but it’s still an easy 5 stars for me.

Is That It? How disappointing. Maybe too iconic to live up to the hype. I know it’s cool not to care but they sound bored of their own songs. I don’t like Iggy Pop, I don’t like this. (Last Nite is a great tune though).

Bit of an odd one, I was kind of expecting to be disappointed but was surprised how much I enjoyed it. It’s very cool to like Talking Heads and when I’ve listened to albums in the past been a little underwhelmed. This was a quirky, perky, punky, funky, reggae party. It got a little too quirky at times to the point of getting on my tits but all in all good fun. Not quite as cool as the hype might lead you to believe but a decent 4.

Odd, I had their first album yesterday. I gave it a 4 as I was expecting it to live up to the hype. There’s no sense of surprise for me here though, a bit too quirky and over rated for me.

I guess there’s more to Black Sabbath than I’d give them credit for. Unexpectedly diverse. I do feel like when they sound “different” it’s a pretty straight “homage” to someone else - that sounds like Hendrix, this sounds like Led Zep, that sounds like late Beatles. OK but not what I’m in to.

This does little for me. Probably an important step between… boring 80s postpunk and boring 80s dance but that doesn’t interest me much. Is he out of tune half the time?

Here’s another iconic album that’s kind of hard to judge on it’s own merits because of the massive legacy that surrounds it. The first side can almost live up to the hype, in my opinion. A really strong start but it does lose momentum on the flip side. I like the anti-corporate American vibes of the closing track but the rest had little impact on me. Haters gunna hate and I think hating Eagles is what the cool kids are about, but screw them, I’m going to dig through my top draw for my capo and lock in on to 7th fret like I don’t give a fuck.

I really disliked this. She’s not writing songs or playing a note on here so what am I judging on? The songs selection, her delivery, the visual? It’s mostly covers, so we’re got writing credits of Al Green, Lennon-McCartney, Bowie, Knopfler… you’d expect some decent tracks? Her tone? aaaaah. Reading her Wiki just now and early label boss described it (as a good thing) like “screaming dirt”. I think I can agree with that. And her image… It falls for me somewhere between drunken aunty at a wedding disco and 3rd rate drag act. Maybe because she’s so iconic she is actually the genesis of these things but either way, it’s mutton dressed in leopard print and I am not a fan. It’s like the Rod Stewart of people - hard pass.

Awesome, totally new to me but very glad I listened. Somewhere between Nina Simone and Carol King with a Phil Spector vibe. Blending soul, jazz, blues into lovely accessible pop.

Ugh, is this out of time and out of tune? Horrible noise.

I’m no fan of Post Punk but this is an interesting take. Blues and kind of surf rock. I’m not a fan but it wasn’t unpleasant.

I do understand that this is all subjective and there’s no “right” or “wrong” options here… but… How is anyone not giving this 5 stars? It’s just a beautiful album. Timeless, across genres, who doesn’t love this?

Come on guys, grow up and get your own opinions rather than just quoting cult films. Two great singles and decent filler tracks, a solid debut album. The dude should not be a role model for you…

Yeah, funky 80s disco soul. Would have liked more funky disco and less ballads, only half the album so Spotify but I think I’ve got the idea.

I’m usefully surprised by how much I enjoy Morrissey/ The Smiths when they come up. Yes, I do still hate his voice and his persona but the songs are alright. Some interesting production on here, sounds like NIN, G&R and various other stuff I wouldn’t have expected. Still not a fan though.

How dreadfully dreary. A little like Paul Simon on barbiturates. I was almost tempted to turn it off half way through but the introduction to Diamonds in the Mine caught my attention. Something a little more upbeat, almost enjoyable? … then he started “singing”

I was ready to love this but it’s a bit messy for full marks. Sounds like the worst of The Beastie Boys. Some fun samples and classic cuts but a little shouty for me and a fair amount of nonsense. It’s cool that he’s doing his thing though.

I love true school hip hop but I was never really a biggy fan of Notorious B.I.G He is good though. Lovely laidback flow and interesting rhyme structures. Nice beats. I dunno, maybe a bit too R&B for me, while also out there shooting homies? I just done rate him as one of the all time greats. I’d have liked this over a weekend to dig into the rhymes. 4 or 5… let’s give him a break, he is pretty dead and phat, I go full marks.

Boring, droning, morose dross. I could scrap to 2 stars if it wasn’t so iconic. Knocked down to 1 start by the Primark T-shirts.

What is this edgy Elvis / Joy Division shit? 1/3 of this album is that 10mins teardrop track… Here’s Frankie by Sister Sledge: https://youtu.be/1Tl-c_puzbM

I just wasn’t aware how many ‘artists’ are out there making horrible noise, passing it off as music and receiving critical acclaim. Guess I can thank this list for bringing that to my attention…

He’s so good. They’re a great band. I only really know the obvious ‘hits’ but everything I hear is pretty great. I’m glad this project made me listen to another full album.

Nice perky pop. A couple of great singles on here. I do find it interesting that this was released just 4 months after Madonna’s debut album though…

Oh wow, I really needed this one today! This has solidified Paul Simon as my favourite musician and Graceland as my favourite album of all time. In my own crappy little way I’m having my own crappy little crisis - trouble with the wife, creative projects falling apart, low self worth etc. All standard middle age, white male bull shit. I’ve always loved the music on this album, but the story behind Paul Simon at this time of his life is the inspiration I need. To reinvent himself at 45 and produce this euphoric masterpiece is exactly what I need to hear right now. Fuck any talk of cultural appropriation, if you think the reason this album was made was anything other than the love of music and embracing of other cultures then I reckon that’s just your own cynical projection. I’m going to pick myself up and move on to my next challenge with this blasting in my ears. ❤️

Reasonable nice. It just kind of feels like the music an ex girlfriend would make. You want to be supportive and it’s cool she’s doing stuff but it all sounds a little bit average…

BLOODburylifesmellyourDEATHasitburnsdeepinsideofyouAbacinateeyesthatBLEEDpraying fortheendofyourwideawakeNIGHTMAREwingsofPAINreachoutforyouhisfaceofDEATHstaringdownyourBLOOD’srunningcoldInjectingcellsDYINGeyesfeedingontheSCREAMS Then yeah, it does that for half an hour or so. Lighten up lads.

Really good, funking soulful dancefloor ballads. Elevated by the additional of little brother Ernie providing screaming guitar licks on the 2 phenomenal singles.

I like this, it is great. Top quality from start to finish, lovely production and important message. I’ve just never been a fan of Curtis Mayfield, his tone doesn’t do it for me. Glad I listened though.

Fun, snarky, upbeat and cynical. Heartbreaking euphoric anthems.

What a fucking mess. Sounds like they’re smacked out on heroin or something? A very catchy and icon mess though (first side is anyway). Despite the underdeveloped backing tracks and “Whose line is it Anyway”-esque rhythm schemes i was grudgingly going to give this a 5. The last 10mins became a real chore though.

This would be fine as a sound track or music bed but I found it very boring as an album. I honestly didn’t notice when it finished. Probably important and ground breaking but not much fun to listen to.

Yeh, more self-indulgent noodling from the kings of pedestrian prog rock. Maybe, if it was 1975, and I was 20, and it was midnight, and I was stoned looking at my lava lamp, this could work for me. But as is it holds little interest or appeal. Some funky moments, some decent poetic lyrics but all very overhyped and I’m left very underwhelmed.

This is fine. Elvis without any visual is distinctly average for me.

All very indistinct. The sounds all seem to blur into each other and non of the tracks are able to stand out from the Wall Of Noise. Interesting to hear the influence on some of my favourite bands from around that time - early Blur and The Charlatans. My sister was into Ride but they never made much of an impact on me. The art work made more an impression on me than the music.

Odd mix of industrial krautrock and 80s synth silliness. Not unpleasant but certainly nothing I will revisit.

Nice grooves but seems a little bit slack. Like, I can play Jolene but the finger picking is a tricky rhythm, I reckon my dodgy version is still tighter than this? Once I noticed, everything seems a bit sloppy. Good grooves though.

Nice but dull. Pleasant and pedestrian. Soothing yet forgettable. The one track that stands out seems like a “homage” (ripoff) of Golden Brown. I was cruising down the middle for a 3 but reading the wiki and seeing 8 people created for supplying Handclaps (3 of those contributed nothing else to the album) has pushed me to a 2. Seems like epitome of celebrating mediocrity.

This album is just phenomenal. It’s like, every song is perfect, then somehow the next song is even better, then the next song is somehow even better again? I honestly want to go back and remark some of my other rating because they don’t deserve to have the same 5 stars as this masterpiece. What genre is it? pop/rock/disco/80/soul/funk? It is the best album, ever.

Crisp and clean almost to the point of being laboratory sterile. Jazzy yacht rock. It’s so tight it almost sound 80s quantized. I do like it, I don’t love it.

Not my thing at all but they seem pretty talented for punks.

“I in the sky You make me feel like I can fly So high“ This from “The Greatest Band in the World”. I don’t really get the fuss - positive or negative - around U2, half decent songs and annoying personalities. All very average but over hyped and over publicised.

Best band of all time? ✅ Best band’s best album? ✅ Best album of all time? ❌ It’s great. It’s innovative - revolutionary in fact. It’s fun, it’s heartbreaking. It’s top 10 for sure, but I think I maybe came into this whole thing expecting Sgt. Pepper to take number 1. And there are a few albums on here that our shine it for me.

I never liked the Manic Street Preachers and I was really into indie around this time. Listening now, the instrumentals are actually pretty good, the use of strings and brass is nice, subtle and pretentious or anything. I think it’s the vocals that rubbed me the wrong way. Just shouting the title of the song with a slightly different infection does not make a chorus. It’s all very faux poetry, seems deep and meaningful but as far as I can tell it’s actually silly nonsense. Better that I expected but I’m still not a fan.

Oh dear, I think my Alexa might need servicing, it seems to be playing out of tune?

It’s good, a couple of great songs on there but a step down from Hunky Dory as far as I can tell. I would probably give it 5 stars if I wasn’t expecting much more. Top 100 but nowhere near the top 10 for me.

My wife’s favourite band, I usually have to leave the room… I found this surprisingly palatable, it’s a strong start! powerhouse riffs, catchy chorus, nicely crafted pop/mosh music. I do find her tone like finger nails down a chalkboard though, she’s usually just dancing around the ‘correct’ notes, drifting in and out of tune. This album has not converted me, but it did surprise me. Didn’t expect I’d be able to get up to half marks but on the strength of the singles I can happily give this a 4.

This is fine and good. Nice production a couple of catchy hooks but do we really need a more developed and mature Supergrass?

I’d love to be able to give Earth, Wind & Fire full marks but this album is not quite there for me. Really strong start but it needs another outstanding song on the second side to push it over the edge. Still a great funky pre-disco soul album though. 🌍 🌬 🔥

Paul Simon is maybe the Greatest Of All Time but he’s not on top form here. Some bumping 80s bass and the odd bit of pretty poetry but generally the metaphors seem to miss the mark. Cars, trains, numbers and allergies not all great analogies or allegories. Glad I listened though and can’t go lower than 4 with this guy.

I’m missing something here. It’s fine, probably good, but I can not hear what all the fuss is about. I’d maybe give it a 4 but I’m knocking down to a 3 for everyone who wrote “It’s Prince - what can I say” Say something mate, coz I need a clue back here.

I get that it’s ahead of it’s time but ambient proto-post-punk just isn’t anything I want to listen to.

Gang Starr - one of best yet. But maybe not yet fully developed at this stage. Similar vein to Eric B & Rakim and Boogie Down Productions, a quality duo with classic samples and awareness in the lyrics. The album just got a bit macaroni cheese for me: I like Macaroni, I like cheese but after 50mins of nothing but macaroni and cheese I need something else in the mix to spice things up.

For ‘God’ this is very average.

Something about this rubbed me the wrong way. There are elements I enjoy but it just became a bit of a chore to get to the end. Maybe an interesting experimental blend but it didn’t work for me.

This is just brilliant. The epitome of Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll. I’m really not into this kind is stuff but how can you not love this album? It fun and serious. Hard but tender tender as fuck. It’s got my new favourite song about heroin addiction on it too. Yowsa!

How very forgettable. Don’t get the fuss about these guys, I love The Bends but find pretty much everything else they’ve done boring and whiny. 2 stars for the let down from the hype.

I love funk but this just doesn’t do it for me. I want to be able to give it a 5 but it just doesn’t do it for me. Maybe it’s a bit unfocused, seems like a cool jam but never really develops into a proper track? I can hear how influential it is, but I just can’t love it. It’s a prime example of the recommended tracks that auto play on Spotify after the album finishes being much better than what I was supposed to be listening to.

“This the kinda beat that go ra-ta-ta Ra-ta-ta-ta, ta-ta-ta-ta-ta Sex me so good I say, blah-blah-blah Work it! I need a glass of water” Yeah I’m not convinced. The first half was promising with decent feat. and some solid hip hop vibes but the B side got way too RnB for me. Her rhymes and rhythms are very basic. The main thing I enjoyed was her complete disregard for my opinions on the matter - fair play to that.

Garage Trash, about right. I feel like I could multi-track this together in the shed over a long weekend. You know when your dog is barking, and your wife is in your ear about some thing inane, and your toddler has broken your good glasses so your wearing a pair too small and they pinch the bridge of your nose, and you go to see what your album of the day is… I’d probably give this a 2 for the poor adherence to rhythmic conventions but we’ll knock another star off for the logo being on Primark T-Shirts.

Took a couple of tracks for me to get into this but once I settled into it I really enjoyed it. As stated by other, it really is great fun, after around 500 albums it think this is the first one that made me lol out loud. Tell you what though, if he ever invites you round for meatballs DO NOT eat more than your allocated amount coz this guy can really hold a grudge.

Not keen on this. It was more country - blues than I was prepared for. I don’t like slide guitar or harmonica. I expected much more.

Nothing here grabbing my attention. All very sparse, kind of feels like half a track most of the time.

There’s a fair about to like here. I didn’t think I’d be a fan but it’s not a as Country Rock as I was worried it might be. He jumps around styles and genres - a few nice down tempo ballads and a couple of pretty funky track with Chuc-Ka guitar and wailing organs. It all sounds a bit familiar: This is Rolling Stones or Primal Scream, elements of Jack Johnson here, David Gray there, if I was more familiar with heartland YankRock I suspect I’d recognise even more. I’m not sure if he is lifting a lot of ideas from others or maybe just making “obvious choices” when writing songs? I don’t think I can go higher than a 3 as I didn’t make it past the hour mark. Fair play, he’s wrote a lot of decent tracks there, but didn’t pull me in enough to get all the way to the end.

It’s good, but it doesn’t feel like a full album to me. Opening with a live track and then literally 1/3 of this album is the lead single. Motown really milking it.

Nice enough, certainly not too shrill or stressful. Cool grooves for sure but it didn’t really capture my attention, I almost put a podcast on half way through without thinking what I was doing.

I want to be able to give this 5 stars but I’m just not quite there. The idea of a cross between Revolver and Off The Wall sounds like something I could really get behind. I do like The Jam and particularly late Jam. That’s Entertainment is one of the best ballads about British banality ever and I do love the bass line for Start! The rest of the album wouldn’t have had to have done much to get top marks from me, but… Sorry Paul but I’d rather listen to The Police or Elvis Costello I reckon.

I just don’t get it. I love The Bends but this is annoying and forgettable. Would probably go 2 stars but knocking it down to 1 for the iconic status.

This was nice/fine/pleasant. I enjoy listening for 30mins and will never listen again.

I like old school hip hop but I’m not really in to gangster rap. I think I’d probably have given this 3 stars but will knock 1 off for not allowing it on Spotify.

Very pleasantly surprised by this one. 1983 - postpunk is not normally anything I can enjoy but this has a lot going on. Poetic pop with electro synth sounds. A couple of tracks sound like they could have been 10 years later. Just need to know how to say the The name now.

This crept painful close to minimum scores for me. They have done a couple of songs that I do really like but I found much of this excruciating. The twee and kitsch delivery just rubbed me the wrong way, over the Christmas weekend as well. Feel like they are maybe purposely straining notes to sound like Nico and/or Moldy Peaches. The final track - Dream of Horses completely pissed me off. There is enough pleasantness on here to lift it off the 1 star list though.

Quite enjoyed this. Often Led Zep stresses me out - loud, shouty, headache inducing. Sure, the odd fat lick but also often boring and kind of directionless. Did mind this one though, still not a fan but not unpleasant.

Fat as fuck French funk from da future.

Back in like, ‘95 I would have identified as the world’s biggest Blur fan, but by ‘97 - after The Great Escape and getting a flat and some decks, I lost all interest in Indie and was all about trying to mix Trip Hop. Shame, it seems like this might have been one of Blur’s best albums but I was busy elsewhere at the time. His voice kind of goes through me now though, so can’t go higher that a 4 without the emotional weight attached to their earlier stuff.

Never heard of these guys before so had no preconceptions. Not the kind of thing I’m into but this seems really solid - interesting rhythms and liking the amount of swears in there. Will try and listen to some more of their stuff.

“Oh wow, how terribly cultured and mature of the them” 🥱 - “Alright, that was actually tight as fuck and truly epic” 🤘😝

I expected I’d love this, but it feels a bit messy to me. Not saying it’s out of time or they’re playing the wrong notes or anything but… all a bit muddy and directionless.

I LOVE Michael Jackson. I LOVE Stevie Wonder. I DON’T MIND Prince. I’m not that bothered about 80s power-pop-soul. This album has some decent tracks on it but it’s not anywhere near as good as it thinks it is.

Probably my favourite punk album. I don’t like punk at all but this has the energy but comes with humour and musical talent as well.

It’s not doing it for me, all very messy and shouty.

Lots going on here. Some of it brilliant, all of it interesting and none of it bad. Rock, folk, blues, disco, prog. It does feel a little bit like he’s searching for his genre as a solo artist. A few tracks remind me of other big hits, but a little bit of research shows me they were all made after this came out. I was on the fence for a 4 or a 5 but Solsbury Hill really resonates with me right now. I had this album over a weekend and listened maybe 5-6 times and could happily listen again to find more going on. So full marks it is.

More like a collection of sonic textures than an album of songs. - That’s me being kind. My wife texted me from the next room: “Omg that “music” is making me want to kill myself” Not bad enough for me to give 1 star but I was hoping for more.

Disappointed with this. I remember the CD doing the rounds back in the day so was expecting to recognise a bunch of this. But only Bingo Bongo was familiar and that was not as good as I remembered. Along with a few other tracks, it felt a bit sparse and I was waiting for something else (drum and bass remix?) to kick in. Other tracks I found the nasal tone really painful.

Pleasant

Wow, so this one really devises opinion apparently. I was expecting to be team love it, and while I do love the funky white boi rock-rap vibes these no need for this to be over an hour long. There are skills on show and some “classic” track here but it got repetitive and formulaic.

Oh yeah, that is some archetypal Dad Rock. The opening riff to the opening song is so brilliant, it kind of has to go down hill from there, but it does keep pretty good throughout. Closer to a 5 than to a 3.

Jesus 2007. 16 years ago? Really? I loved the 3 singles on here but remember being disappointed with the rest of the album. To be fair, I love those 3 singles so much that the rest just had to not suck to get five stars and it’s done enough for that. 16 years, fuck…

Not sure about this one. I know the name but didn’t really know what to expect, it wasn’t this though. I like the production, bluesy, funky, electronic - didn’t expect any of those things. Just not a fan of her tone, somewhere between Tina Turner, Cortney Love with a sprinkle of Dolly Parton at times! She wrote half the tracks? Could be a 4 for the over all vibes, could be a 2 for her tone and the covers so we’ll have to split the difference and go with a 3

I’m so glad I managed to give up the idea of only liking “cool” music and allowed myself to enjoy ABBA. Pretty much the perfect pop package. Production, visual, lyrics, vocal - I can’t think of another pop act that does everything ‘in house’ so well. Worth noting that this is the first time they used that genius palindrome ambigram logo. And here’s their best album, jammed with hits. Has to be 5 stars.

What a disappointment. I love the lead single from this album and was kind of expecting to hear some similar (but slightly inferior) tracks and cruise in for an easy 4. But no. “Funky” piano house. I hate it. “I just wanna hear a good beat” - are they being ironic here? Such potential. I hope this hasn’t sullied my enjoyment for one of my favourite dance floor, cross genre hits.

He’s great, I’m sure this would have been a wonderful show to witness but… It’s a bit early in his career so doesn’t include the biggest hits and I’m just not that into live albums.

Probably an important step between dad rock in the late 70s to cock rock in the mid 80s. But I like dad rock and think cock rock is a bit silly , so this is not really much of an evolution to me. Not unpleasant though.

Yeah it’s slow and boring but that’s the point. I think I had Wilmot on 10” single. Good times.

Jesus, 1999. Were people still doing this in ‘99? Blur were forming The Gorilaz, Radiohead had moved on to Kid A, Kasabian were starting out… and Shack were making this. It’s fine I guess, it’s like a very good pub band but I can’t see any reason for it to be on this list. I got quite angry that this is included.

I remember getting a free tape with NME that have a version of Petrol on it and becoming a fan of Ash from that one song. Not sure if I had the EP: Trailer or not, but I know I was very excited to buy this album when it come out. And just like I felt 26 years ago when I listened then, I found this a disappointing experience. A couple of good singles and some punky energy mixed with the grungy sounds but I don’t recognise any of the album tracks at all. If think if they took a tip from some of the punk inspirations and kept the songs down to 3 mins I should maintain a 4 star rating but the noisy music and slightly out of tune vocals can’t keep me interested for more than 35mins.

A solid 4. Quality country/blues, doesn’t get repetitions but is a bit simple at times. Listened multiple times over a weekend without getting bored, a couple of tracks started to stick in my mind.

I guess George deserve a little bit of freedom but this just seems rambling and unfocused - like the worst parts of the White Album. I think Paul and John were doing important work keeping him reined in. No reason for this album to go over 100mins (other than self-indulgence).

I started off pleasantly surprised by this but my attention soon waned and I lost interest before the end. Seems to be reasonably ahead of the curve for electro-synth-pop but it’s not a curve I’m super excited to be involved in. Interesting to read that they are a splinter group from The Human League, very similar Sheffield sounds.

- REVOLUTIONARY! - ICONIC! - PIONEERING! - SEMINAL! - A BIT BORING! Sounds like it was more fun to make than it is to listen to. I’m sure it opened the doors for other electronica to follow but it’s not great on the ears. I found the flute at the end refreshing.

This is all fine. I think it might be time that I’m not really that bothered about Reggae, I just really like Bob Marley. 😮

First listen this probably started out as a 4 but as I tried to get to the end of the album I lost interest and everything started blending into one track. Loads of energy and a fair amount of invention and skill but just not the genre for me.

Yes, it’s like being on hold in an elevator, but it’s a pretty mellow, cool elevator. I think maybe the title track leads us to think the album is going to go one way, but it settles down into something else. I was in the mood for that something else so it worked for me.

There’s most likely a 5 star album in here somewhere but 2 hours is a long time. I don’t mind that he sounds like a frog with a sinus infection or that the true moshers claim they are inauthentic rich kids. I like the blend of tender ballads and dirty grunge, I’ve just not really got the time to listen to 1h20mins of it right now.

Tricky one, could honestly be 1 star or 5 stars. It ugly, aggressive protogrunge. Pioneering, interesting muddy and messy. To the point - yet protracted, fun yet stressful. Dunno man, 3 I guess?

Ugh, everything post The Bends is whiny, miserably, boring pap. Most over rated band ever?

I’m not a fan of live albums, I never liked The Who. Not particularly excited to see this one come up. I found out the original release was 37mins so that certainly help me make it to the end. I guess it’s pretty Led Zepesque, so that’s probably where the appeal lies. Personally, I’m just not a fan of this post 60s bluesy guitar rock.

Oh yeh that’s country, I don’t really like country. Pleasant enough if not pretty pedestrian. A couple more upbeat tracks could maybe have pushed it to a 3.

Somewhere between Happy Mondays and East 17, with a sprinkle of The Brand New Heavies. But obviously doing their own thing though. Nottingham, who knew? ‘92 - a simpler time when you could get away with this naff whiteboy rapping. A couple of really good singles on there and a lot of decent albums tracks, could benefit from dropping a bit of filler though, get it down to 40mins.

Yes, I think I’m a fan. Punchy contemporary euro pop. Solid production. The multilingual release is a nice idea. Personal pronouns aside all very good.

A strong start (obviously) but there just aren’t enough ideas on here to make a full album. All of the songs get repetitive and boring after a couple of minutes. Massive bass line from the opener keeps it a 4 stars though.

Still a bit shouty and stressful but starting to grow on me. Even when they are doing acoustic folk i find my face screws up. A few mellower tracks in amongst there though.

Ugh, horrible noise. Saved from 1 star by Where is my Mind and the cover art.

Quality. This is what Hip Hop has the potential to be. Funky breaks cut up but matched with slick production. Amazing flow from a diverse set of rappers. Intelligent lyrical content with a (generally) positive message. It could be trimmed down a little, second half falls off a bit. Still one of the best Hip Hop albums of all time though.

I’ve become a bit of an expert on North American acoustic folk rock from 1971 recently. Not by any desire or design, it’s just I’ve signed up to this 101 North American acoustic folk rock from 1971 albums to hear before you die thingy. To be fair though, this is a particularly decent example. It reminds me of a lot of songs and ideas that came soon after this, including but not limited to: Beach Boys, Pink Floyd, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Eagles, John Prine. And also brings to mind Paul Simon and Cat Stevens who I already enjoyed. More enjoyable to me than all the Crosby/Stills/Nash/Young that have been flooding my ears recently.

I did mind this one. Certainly wouldn’t describe it as phenomenal, genius or a masterpiece but I listened a few times and it didn’t get on my tits at all.

Very cool. Much more going on than I was expecting. Fun and funky and ahead of it’s time.

Oh god. This is way more stressful than I need today. It’s probably “good” but I had to turn it off- no way would I last an hour of this.

This is fine. I like early 90s UK trip hop, dubby, jazzy, breaky stuff. This is a decent example but nothing beyond the opening track stands out.

Humm, interesting one. It’s been a 2 and a 4 for me. I really like the 28 songs in 41mins and enjoyed the silly 60s Kinks-y qualities. But I wish they would have asked and I could have given them another £10 to maybe buy a better mic? Sure is LoFi.

I had another Gene Clark album just last week and was pleasantly surprised. This one did not exceed my expectations at all though. It’s ok.

1 - Back in the USSR 2 - Dear Prudence 3 - Ob-la-de, Ob-la-da 4 - While my Guitar Gently Weeps 5 - Happiness is a Warm Gun 6 - Martha my Dear 7 - I’m so Tired 8 - Blackbird 9 - Piggies 10 - I will 11 - Yer Blues 12 - Everybody’s Got Something to Hide 13 - Helter Skelter 14 - Revolution 1 15 - Good Night Chopped it in half and there’s still a few filler tracks. Can’t go lower than a 4 though for the great one on there.

These guys are great, such a vibe to this even on a snowy day in Yorkshire. Looks like this is kind of the Break Through album, I’ll save my 5 stars for some of their later work which are more jammed full of recognisable hits.

You have got to admire his confidence, if I looked and sounded like this guy I wouldn’t leave the house. “I'm the all time heavy weight champion of flowers I'm leading the league in at least six statistical categories right now Best flow, Most consistent, Realest stories Most charisma, I set the most trends And my interviews are hotter Holla” I tend to judge my hip hop on different criteria though: Flow - normally boring but when he does try to do something interesting it often sounds awkward or forced. Tone - ugh, I hate his attempts flat singing. Content - standard wannabe gangster shit. Production - all the ingredients are the there but it just sounds sterile to me. I remember friends liking this when it came out but I just don’t see the appeal at all.

I can’t really relate to all these emotions

Prog rock that actually feels progressive. I liked it more that I was expecting to.

Golden age. It’s a real shame that quantised and sterilised modern production will never allow this kind of hiphop to be made again.

This is a great example of late 60s/early 70s British bluesy-rock. There’s a lot of late 60s/early 70s British bluesy-rock on this list. I’m not a huge fan of late 60s/early 70s British bluesy-rock though.

Yeah, I like this, maybe if I’d grown up with my parents blasting it in the car (like The Beatles or Beach Boys) I might love it. But I was never much of a Stones fan…. It’s just not as good as Pet Sounds or Revolver is it?

They’re good Hot Chip, I should listen to them more.

I really like this, but it’s a bit Pimps and Hoes for my taste. Production is great, delivery is usually on point and a lot of the content is an interesting take on things. I just can’t help comparing it to Speakerboxxx/Love Below which I much prefer. Or things going on with Quanum Projects or J5 at a similar time.

That’s some epic whining.

I’m no fan of post punk but this hits all the right notes. It sits somewhere nicely between The Cure and The Smith with the positive elements of both but none of annoyances.

The back story is maybe a bit better than the end product.

He’s got a really interesting career trajectory Paul Weller. From his Punky teens and early 20s. His “pretentious” late 20s (I do still like the Style Council btw). Now we find his more mellow and “mature” mid-30s stuff and it works for me. He’s a great song writer and I like his tone. Good mix of acoustic tracks and upbeat blue-eyed-soul. Stuck between a 4 and a 5 but let’s stick this one in the top marks club.

Great swing to this but I can’t stand the tone of those trumpets: shrill and stressful. Couldn’t make it all the way through.

Lots of cool stuff going on here. Very pioneering and influential for 73. First listen was a 3, second listen a 4 and found the time to bump it up to 5 with a 3rd spin. I bet the visual was pretty intense back then too.

Lovely punky pop reggae. Of course covering topics like depression, isolation, prostitution, suicide. I don’t think we’ll ever get a band like The Police ever again.

Too hardcore for me. Liked the length though.