I was not expecting to like this at all, but I really did. Very diverse array of musical styles and the production was just impeccable. 4 stars.

My first reaction: This is pretty lame, generic throwback music that borders on easy listening. But as the album went on I really started appreciating the clever lyrics, interesting songs, and quality production. By the end he pretty much won me over. Happy to have heard this and will listen again. 4 stars.

This really grew on me over the course of the album. I think it was Roy's Tune that really got me. It's what I like about most Irish punk/post-punk - the emotion, the authenticity, the plaintiveness, the simple beauty. 4 stars.

It's weird, I like punk and I like pop, but punk-pop seems like a stupid genre to me. Unpopular opinion I know. The singer sounds like a 14 year old brat. 2 stars.

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad Phish gave the deadheads somewhere to go so they're not just out wandering the streets, but 2+ hours of pointless canoodling? No thank you. I'm sure it would be fun to see them live, but listening to this is not fun. 2 stars.

I liked this much more than I thought I would. A bit too frenetic for me at times, but a lot of interesting stuff going on. Strangely reminiscent of progressive rock at times, e.g. Yes. Will listen again. 4 stars.

Well, so far I'm two for two on the user submitted albums. Another good one. I've always liked the Arctic Monkeys, but never delved too far into their catalog beyond their first album, so happy to have the opportunity to listen to this. It's mellow, but really nice and interesting. Strangely evocative of David Bowie at times. Will listen again. 4 stars.

This is certainly interesting. Sadly, I can't understand the words as I don't speak Spanish, so I won't comment on that. Musically it's interesting, strangely it brings to mind the Alan Parsons Project for me. Kind of good, but also kind of generic sounding. The singing I don't really care for - not very pleasant to my ears. Overall this is just okay for me, but I'm glad I listened to it. 3 stars.

I've listened to this before, and I like it overall. The songs are good and interesting, but I really dislike the inorganic sounding electronic aspects of the album. It makes the whole thing sound kind of droning and monotonous. 3 stars.

When I decided to continue this journey with the user submitted albums, I told myself I wouldn't force myself to listen to something that had no appeal for me. But then I realized that I would be a little sad if people didn't at least give the album I submitted a chance. So, I've modified my approach: I'll at least listen to a sampling of an album and then decide whether to listen to the whole thing. So that's what I did with this one. I listened to 4 random songs on it. And to be honest I can sort of see the appeal. There's more going on than I thought. But at the same time I confirmed this really isn't for me. Maybe if I was in a very particular mood, but overall I'm just not a fan of this style. 2 stars.

Sort of like if Freddie Mercury and Kraftwerk got together and decided to make a disco album. Not really my thing, but not boring! 3 stars.

My first reaction: This is pretty lame, generic throwback music that borders on easy listening. But as the album went on I really started appreciating the clever lyrics, interesting songs, and quality production. By the end he pretty much won me over. Happy to have heard this and will listen again. 4 stars.

Always excited to hear a band from Detroit that I wasn't already familiar with. I liked this a lot, and I have a feeling it will be rewarded by repeated listening, so that's what I plan to do. Thanks to whoever added this! 4 stars.

Very nice! Excellent groove to the whole thing. 4 stars.

I always get the Posies mixed up with the Pixies. I don't care for the Pixies, but I like the Posies a lot. I consider myself a power pop fan - Big Star is one of my all-time favorites, and I love Matthew Sweet and Teenage Fanclub - but I haven't really listened to much by the Posies for some reason. I'll take this as a good reason to right that wrong. This album is great. I plan to re-listen and check out more of their catalog. It's a shame Ken Stringfellow turned out to be a bad guy, but I do try to separate art from the artist in general. 4 stars.

WOW. I had never heard of this artist before and from the very beginning it grabbed me. Simply sublime. Familiar-sounding yet completely distinctive. I have a feeling this will become a regular part of my listening rotation, and I will check out her other work as well. Thank you to whoever added this to the list! 4 stars.

Back in the good old days when I used to listen to the radio, the Lumineers would regularly get played on the station I usually listened to. I never turned the station, but at the same time I can't say I really loved it. It was always good, but maybe a little bland. That's how I feel about this album. There's nothing I can point to that's bad about it, but it's just a little boring. 3 stars.

I hadn't heard of this band before, but after a single listen it's clear that these songs stack up favorably with popular music of the time, e.g. Elvis Costello, Joe Jackson, Squeeze. The songs are catchy but not simplistic, well-produced but not over-produced. Surprising and disappointing that they weren't more well known. 4 stars.

It's good straightforward rock and roll. Nothing wrong with that, in fact I enjoy it. At the same time, it's pretty simplistic and not much about it is unique or groundbreaking. 3 stars.

Very nice! 4 stars.

I tried, I really did, but this just isn't interesting to me. 2 stars.

This really grew on me over the course of the album. I think it was Roy's Tune that really got me. It's what I like about most Irish punk/post-punk - the emotion, the authenticity, the plaintiveness, the simple beauty. 4 stars.

Very nice. Quite reminiscent of Elliott Smith and Sufjan Stevens but still different enough to be interesting. 4 stars.

I can appreciate that Donald Glover is super talented, but this just isn't my cup of tea. 3 stars.

I liked this a lot. Heavy, driving and psychedelic. It reminds me of something that I considered submitting as my user-submitted album - an album called Satori by Flower Travellin' Band from Japan released in 1971. It's got a very similar vibe, so if you like this album I recommend checking out Satori as well. 4 stars.

I've listened to this before and found it really interesting. Didn't know anything about the band though, and the fact that they only released two albums. Good stuff, reminds me a bit of the Decemberists. 4 stars.

I like this best when Mayer is rocking out a little, like on Bold as Love. The more polished, smooth stuff that makes up most of the album is good but a little bland. 3 stars.

Nice early prog rock. Very pleasant and interesting. 4 stars.

I was kind of into Dave Matthews back in the day. I even saw them on their Under the Table and Dreaming tour. Listening to this album I can see why I liked them. They are clearly great musicians who play well together, and the songs and arrangements are strong. If I'm being honest though, it's just a bit bland, and it goes on too long. 3 stars.

It's a fun boogie wonderland. Not my favorite type of music, but enjoyable to listen to. 3 stars.

This caught my attention right away; it felt fresh and interesting. But I have to admit by the third song it was grating on my nerves. Mainly his voice. I will listen to it again, maybe it will grow on me. But for now it's 3 stars.

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad Phish gave the deadheads somewhere to go so they're not just out wandering the streets, but 2+ hours of pointless canoodling? No thank you. I'm sure it would be fun to see them live, but listening to this is not fun. 2 stars.

This is great, glad I got to hear this! It's too bad the band only lasted for two albums. 4 stars.

When I was in college, probably around the time this album came out, I worked as supplemental security at an outdoor concert venue on our campus. They only hired students as extra security for the "big" acts that came through, so I got called to work the INXS concert. Basically we had to walk around in the woods along the fence line and try to stop people from sneaking in. Once it got dark, it was useless trying to keep people out, so we just took bribes from people wanting to get in. I couldn't hear much of the concert, but the INXS roadies brought us some beer to drink while we were hanging out in the woods, so that was cool. Anyway, onto the music. It's alright, but nothing I find that special or interesting. I like Michael Hutchence's voice, but musically it's sort of boring and simplistic. Some of the guitar riffs (if you can call them that) almost make me laugh - just like two chords repeated duh-duh.. duh-duh. Must have been excruciating to play over and over again from one night to the next. 3 stars.

I appreciate Steven Wilson for his support of prog rock and some of the great remixes he's done. I like his music also, but I find it a bit cold and emotionless. It's sort of how I feel about Rush compared to Yes. I absolutely love Yes, but with Rush, while I can appreciate their technical proficiency at the end of the day it leaves me a little unsatisfied. I will give his another listen though. 3 stars.

Definitely interesting and glad I listened, but not a big fan of the more abrasive stuff. I hadn't heard of her before, sad that she died much too young. 3 stars.

I like folk-rock, Americana, or whatever you want to call this style of music. The Avett Brothers aren't my favorite of the genre though. They're good, I wouldn't turn the station on them, but somehow they feel a little flat to me. I think it's the vocals. Overall I enjoyed this but so many other artists in this category I prefer - Gillian Welch, Ryan Adams, Be Good Tanyas, Justin Townes Earle, Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams, etc. 3 stars.

It's weird, I like punk and I like pop, but punk-pop seems like a stupid genre to me. Unpopular opinion I know. The singer sounds like a 14 year old brat. 2 stars.

Pretty good. Songs are good but I don't love his voice, it has sort of a flat quality to it, reminiscent of Evan Dando. 3 stars.

Good, solid punk rock. What's not to like? 4 stars.

Seems like they'd be a fun bar band. 3 stars.

I'm not a big fan of this "pop-punk" genre. I will say I like this better than the Blink-182 album I had recently, but it all sounds like 14 year old brats whining about stuff. 3 stars.

Once in a while I hear a Bon Iver song and thing, "Oh, that's pretty nice." But mostly I just find him pretentious. Naming songs the way Elon Musk names his children, and please, enough with the auto-tuner. 2 stars.

Better than I expected. I didn't know the story about this band or the singer, very sad that he died so young. 4 stars.

Listened to three songs. More than enough to know this isn't my thing. I feel bad for the kid, because based on the picture I saw of him on the album cover, he's just a disembodied head. Sad really. 2 stars.

Interesting one. Never heard of this group before, but it holds up well compared to other music of the time. Started out seeming a bit like a novelty act, but got better as it went along. I Was Cool reminded me a bit of Tom Waits. Too bad they weren't able to hold it together for more than two albums, would have been interesting to see where they would have gone. 4 stars.

Wow! I live in Ann Arbor, have been to Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum many times, had heard of the band Tally Hall, but never really listened to them and didn't know this album existed. What a revelation to not only find an album that hits so close to home, but to top it off it's really, really good. Excellent, up-beat energy. 5 stars!

Classic. Normally not a fan of compilation albums - I prefer to think of an album as an artist's vision at a particular time - but times were different back in the day so I can make an exception. I'm also not a big jazz-head, but I can totally appreciate and enjoy this. 4 stars.

Love this album. 4 stars.

This rocks hard. I like it. 4 stars.

I can't understand a word of what this guy is saying! Seriously though, this is really nice. Mellow but intricate and interesting. 4 stars.

I liked him as host of the Family Feud, but not so sure about this. Haha, I'm so funny. And old. I liked this. At its best reminded me of early Peter Gabriel and Genesis. A bit weird at times but kept my interest and I enjoyed listening to it. 3 stars.

Like Bon Iver but not as overrated. Pretty nice overall, not my favorite genre but I can appreciate it. 3 stars.

It's pretty good when it sounds like older funk/R&B, not so much when it veers into Red Hot Chili Peppers territory. Overall it's just okay for me. 3 stars.

The more upbeat numbers remind me of going to big tech conferences, when you're gathering for the keynote in the cavernous conference center ballroom, thousands of chairs arranged in a grid pattern, huge widescreen at the front with random factoids popping up while people are getting themselves seated. It's the type of music they play to get people's energy up, but is also inoffensive and bland to some degree. Overall it's okay, just not really my thing. 3 stars.

I feel the same way about this as the other blink-182 album that was user submitted (was there collusion???). I just don't care for it. The singer sounds like a 14 year old whiny brat. I'll even go so far as to offer another unpopular opinion - although I like punk and I like power pop, "pop-punk" is a crappy genre of music. It's a good album cover though, I'll give them that. 2 stars.

I like Garbage overall. The songs are good and I like her voice, but I'm not the biggest fan of the way its mixed. I don't really have the words to describe what I mean, but the instruments all sound sort of mushed together. 3 stars.

Pretty cool. Reminds me just a little bit of an artist I love called Spottiswoode and His Enemies. Vocals are different but similar style. If you like this then I recommend you check out Spottiswoode. 4 stars.

A bit too jazzy for my tastes, but it's alright innit? 3 stars.

I've gained a lot more respect for Jimmy Buffett since he passed away and all the tributes poured in. It was especially interesting seeing an old quote from Bob Dylan mentioning Jimmy Buffett as one of the songwriters he most admired. Having said that, this is all good, though a bit too country-ish for my taste. 3 stars.

It's alright for what it is, but not a type of music I enjoy much. 2 stars.

I love the Eels but for some reason I don't listen to them that often. So I was very happy when this one came up. Great album! 4 stars.

Man, I love First Aid Kit but to be honest I kind of forgot about them! So I was really happy when this came up. A great opportunity to revisit their beautiful music and harmonies. 4 stars.

Didn’t enjoy this at all. 2 stars.

Pretty decent, not super interesting though (other than the album cover). 3 stars.

It’s alright but not super compelling. 3 stars.

A nice reminder of how awesome Bruce Springsteen is. Not only has he written some of the most iconic songs and produced some of the greatest albums of all time, he and the E Street Band are certainly among the all-time greatest live acts. This album captures that live feeling about as well as you can on a recording. I saw them on the Born in the USA tour, but would have loved to have seen them in this era as well. 5 stars.

I tried, but I just can't get into this. 2 stars.

Pretty good. Not a big fan of “pop punk” but this is better than most. 3 stars.

"The Mediocre Letdown" would have been a more apt title. 2 stars.

I like a good singer/songwriter with a beautiful voice, and this certainly qualifies. Very nice, interesting songs, excellent lyrics, beautiful arrangements. I don’t like her hairstyle on the album cover, that’s my only real negative. 4 stars.

Not something I would normally listen to, but it's poppy and fun. Nothing wrong with that. Reminds me of Madonna. 3 stars.

This was pretty interesting. Not sure I would listen again, but glad to have the opportunity to hear it. Definitely not the same old same old. 3 stars.

This is really, really good. I need to listen to more Josh Ritter. 4 stars.

Yay, I get to review the album I submitted. First, I'll say that I knew I was going to add a Procol Harum album, because they are one of my all-time favorite bands and I think they have been unfortunately overlooked, often viewed as one-hit wonders with Whiter Shade of Pale being their first release and becoming such a mega-hit. They have so much amazing material though, that I struggled to decide which album of theirs to include. I could have chosen any of their first 7 studio albums, or possibly a good choice would have been their live album with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. This album to be honest is a bit inconsistent, but the songs that are great are really great, so I went with this one. (Yeah, I know the album cover is awful. Procol was not great at album covers.) Let's walk through the tracks: 1. A Salty Dog. The title song is one of the most beautiful songs ever created and recorded by a rock band. The strings are amazing, the melodies beautiful, Gary's voice is perfect, and the lyrics evocative. It's such a mellow song, but the drumming of BJ Wilson (one of the best drummers of all-time who turned down Jimmy Page's offer to be in Led Zeppelin) is just amazing and really completes the song. A masterpiece. 2. The Milk of Human Kindness. A bit of a throwaway. Not a super interesting song, but Robin Trower's guitar playing is nice. 3. Too Much Between Us. Another bit of a throwaway. A different, more mellow, sound for the group, but not their most interesting song. 4. The Devil Came from Kansas. It might sound like another throwaway on first listen, but there's some cool stuff going on here, including some harmonies, which is not typical for Procol Harum. This song reminds me of another of my favorite bands of the time, The Band. 5. Boredom. Another sort of filler song, but still interesting due to the use of some unusual instrumentation. Okay, after a few tracks that are inconsistent let's carefully flip our vinyl over to side 2, where things get really interesting. 6. Juicy John Pink. The purest blues that Procol Harum ever did. Sounds like three or four really talented guys sitting around in a basement jamming. 7. Wreck of the Hesperus. One of Matthew Fisher's best contributions to the band. The piano, the soaring strings and orchestration, the lyrics, it's a great complement to the title song. 8. All This and More. This is Procol at their finest. The song starts sounding beautifully classical, then evolves over the course of the song to reach moods that are both dark and ominous, but also soaring and inspiring, with great guitar and piano throughout. 9. Crucifiction Lane. Another great Robin Trower contribution. He was clearly going in a different direction from the band, but one of the things that makes this album great is the variety. Definitely the most diverse Procol album. 10. Pilgrim's Progress. Another of Matthew Fisher's best and a fitting closing to the album. Another classic Procol track, with classical/churchy sounding organ at the core, some nice piano in the mix, solid drumming by the amazing BJ Wilson, and lyrics that are mysterious and allude to seeking a higher truth and wisdom. The closing bit is just a perfect end. It's not a perfect album, but if you give Procol Harum a chance and check out their first several albums, you might discover some pretty amazing music that has been largely overlooked. Sadly, many of their best albums (namely Shine on Brightly, Home, and Broken Barricades) are still not available on Spotify. I finally got to see them in concert in 2019, more than 50 years after they got their start. Mostly different lineup, but I was shocked that Gary Brooker's voice still sounded largely the same at age 74 as it did in his twenties. Even their final album, 2017's Novum, while not up to the level of their earlier releases, is still excellent. 5 stars, of course.

Sorry, I just can't with those vocals. 1 star.

When I saw the words "Italian disco" I have to admit I was overcome by a feeling of dread. But this was actually very good. A little long maybe, but overall enjoyable. 3 stars.

Interesting at times, but overall not my thing. It was 37 minutes long but it felt like an hour and a half. 2 stars.

Very interesting! For some reason it reminds me of David Lynch. It has sort of the same vibe to it as Twin Peaks and some of his movies. I will definitely listen to this again. It seems like the type of album that rewards repeat listens. 4 stars.

Love the Decemberists and love this album. 5 stars.

I feel like a curmudgeon whenever I have to review a Frank Zappa album. I just don't get it. I think he's highly overrated. Technically he's a very good guitar player, but if a good guitar player plays stuff that isn't enjoyable to listen to is he really a good guitar player? 2 stars, because it's short and more listenable than most Zappa, and I actually liked the song Apostrophe'.

Very nice! Reminds me a bit of the Eels. 4 stars.

I know they say not to judge an album by its cover, but I did and I was wrong. I was expecting some type of death-metal/grindcore/growly vocal type bullshit, but this was like 80's throwback hard rock. Still not quite my cup of tea but not half bad. 3 stars.

It's not bad, it just feels a bit amateurish at times maybe? 3 stars.

Pretty nice. A little long. 3 stars.

Despite being unable to understand the lyrics, I quite enjoyed this. Kept my attention. 3 stars.

I liked this, but I also feel like it sounds like sooooo many other bands. 3 stars.

Wow, I love They Might Be Giants but to be honest I had kind of forgotten about them. Looking back on the original list, I'm shocked that there are on TMBG albums on it. What the hell? I love TMBG so much that my wife and I had the song Birdhouse in Your Soul played as the recessional song at our wedding. Their first children's album (No!) was a fixture at our house while our kids were little. Anyway, this album is great. Hadn't heard it before so I'm glad it was on the list! 4 stars.

Nah, can't do this one. Just not my thing.

Wow, great to see this album here. This came out when I was 18 years old, and at the peak of my Pink Floyd obsession. I bought it on vinyl, wore it out, and saw Roger in concert on this tour - only the second concert I'd ever been to, and it was amazing. I love that Roger Waters, on breaking up with one of the greatest guitarists of all time in David Gilmour, just called up his friend Eric Clapton and said, "Hey, mate, I'm making a new album. You wanna play guitar on it?" Eric was probably like, "I don't know..." so Roger says, "There's going to be a naked girl on the cover," and Eric's like, "Okay, I'll do it." It's honestly great guitar work by Clapton, a bit of a resurgence for him after making some pretty weak crap over the previous few years. The album itself is uneven at times, but the concept works. It's a lot like a dream in that there are crazy and random things happening (eating a sandwich with a puppy on it?!?) but at the same time it's a cohesive story. The lyrics are just amazing. "Fixed on the front of her Fassbinder face was the kind of a smile that only a rather dull child could have drawn." How can you not love that? Or, "Hey girl, as I've always said I prefer your lips red. Not what the good lord made, but what he intended." The song Gone Fishing is just perfect, the way it paints this idyllic picture of a family getting back to nature, but even from the beginning there are ominous undertones that portend disaster. Anyway, I love this album (obviously). Not quite up to the level of Pink Floyd's best work, but still worthy of 5 stars in my book.

Wow, it’s like discovering a Genesis album you didn’t know existed. That’s a good thing. 4 stars.

I was not expecting to like this at all, but I really did. Very diverse array of musical styles and the production was just impeccable. 4 stars.

This was pretty good. It rocked hard and I was especially impressed by the drumming. It was maybe a bit much though, too overwhelming, not enough space between the notes, if you know what I mean. 3 stars.

Only good thing about this album was how short it was. And the song about the frog was sort of cute, but that's not enough to redeem this one. 1 star.

I've never listened to any of Donald Glover's work, other than the one album that was on the original 1,001 albums list. Like that album, this also surprised me a bit, feeling more like classic R&B than what I would think of as hip hop. 3 stars.

I have a love/hate relationship with Bob Seger. When I was really young, like 10 years old, I loved him. In fact, Beautiful Loser is the first album I ever owned. The song Katmandu just connected with me somehow. But as I got older at some point I started hating him. I was more into progressive rock, and then later I got into alternative music, and Bob Seger just seemed lame by comparison. Now that I'm older, I can appreciate him again, even if I don't love his music. I definitely prefer his rockers. Feel Like a Number on this album is a standout for me. Overall, I enjoyed listening to this, even though I was already very familiar with most of the songs. 3 stars.

I like Sufjan overall, but only in small doses. 3 stars.

Very nice. Kind of blends into the background, but nice to have on while focusing. 4 stars.

I wanted to like this, really I did, but something about it rubbed me the wrong way. The songs were good but sounded awkward or forced in some way, like they were trying too hard to be clever. A good example: Liar’s Bar sounds like it could have been a really good song, but recording it with a bad Tom Waits impersonation? It just made me cringe. Made what should have been a really good song almost unlistenable. 3 stars.

What a great album. I remember well when it hit the airwaves back in the day. I tried to resist, mistakenly believing that anything this popular must be trash. I could only resist for so long because it's just that good. It's like Jimmy Page and Robert Plant were reincarnated in a single person. Great selection for an addition to this list, shouldn't have been overlooked. 5 stars.

Not great, but not nearly as bad as I was expecting based on the cover and the description. 2 stars.

Not a fan. 2 stars.

I'm not a big "southern rock" fan, but this is really nice. 4 stars.

Great album! 4 stars.

Not bad, but not super interesting either. 3 stars.

Intense! Love it. 4 stars.

Haven't listened to Death Cab for Cutie in quite a while, good to revisit them! Very nice album. 4 stars.

I like progressive rock, but I've never really gotten into the more modern stuff. This is very good. I like it better than some of the other more modern prog rock I've heard, e.g. Porcupine Tree. 4 stars.

This is great, certainly one of the more interesting artists I've been introduced to during this journey. Reminds me a bit of the Eels and maybe Carseat Headrest. Will definitely listen more! 4 stars.

I found this to be pretty annoying. Like someone trying really hard to be clever. 2 stars.

I enjoyed some of this, but at times it grated on my nerves, especially the vocals. 3 stars.

Funky and groovy. 4 stars.

I enjoyed this. Refreshing and catchy. A bit Oasis-ish at times. Nice album cover too. 4 stars.

Not my thing. 2 stars.

Didn't care for this much at all. 2 stars.

Wow, I really enjoyed this. At first it reminded me of Springsteen, similar energy, which was really good. Then the songs started slowing down a bit and the strings came in and it just blew me away. 4 stars, will listen again.

It's alright, not really my thing though. 2 stars.

It was alright, interesting at types, meandering and pointless at times.

I like Vampire Weekend well enough, but they tend to get a little cutesy-fartsy for me. 3 stars.

Not really loving this. 2 stars.

It was alright. For some reason I was expecting Graham Parsons and some country-rock. This was okay, but probably not something I'll listen to again. 3 stars.

Pretty nice but sort of average at the same time. I do like the album cover. 3 stars.

Chock full of good pop songs, like a more wholesome version of Madonna. Impressive that she wrote everything on this album herself and helped produce. Probably not something I'd listen to again, but it was enjoyable overall. 3 stars.

I was pretty big into Alan Parsons back in the day. I still like some of their stuff, but over time their flower has faded for me. This album sort of varies between sounding like a bad musical and a movie soundtrack score. There are some good moments, but overall it's just alright for me. 3 stars.

Fun, upbeat, catchy. 4 stars.

I really liked this a lot. Very unexpected, given that the genre listed is Soul. Sounds much more traditional folk/Americana to me, and I like it. 4 stars.

Every time I hear the Tragically Hip, I think to myself, "I need to listen to more Tragically Hip." They were so good. It didn't even occur to me until now that there was no Tragically Hip on the original 1,001 albums list. That seems like a pretty major omission to me, but what do I know. In any case, thanks anonymous person for adding this. 4 stars.

I have mixed feelings about Robyn Hitchcock. He's obviously talented, but often I find he gets too cutesy-fartsy. On this album though, the cutesy-fartsiness seems to be lower than average, and there are some really nice songs here. I'm going with 4 stars.

This is nice, very polished. Reminds me a bit of Daniel Lanois, both in terms of the atmospheric production and his voice also has some similarity. Some of the songs drag on a bit too long, but overall I liked this and will listen again. 4 stars.

I appreciate Ani DiFranco's talent, but at the same time her music never really connected with me that much. 3 stars.

It's nice, but feels like elevator music. 3 stars.

Eh, no thanks. 2 stars.

Not my thing.

It's alright, seems like pretty standard mid-80s fare to me. 3 stars.

I enjoyed it. 3 stars.

There's a certain type of guitar sound that I have a really visceral, negative reaction to, and this is it. It's that heavy, muddy sound. I don't know why, but I just don't like it. Some of the songs were pretty good though, especially the last one. 3 stars.

I liked this a lot. Very cool. 4 stars.

This was really nice. Mellow and haunting. 4 stars.

This was alright, but it could have been so much better. I'm not opposed to a DIY/home recording approach (Nebraska by Bruce Springsteen is one of my favorite albums) but this didn't work that well for me. It just comes across as being slightly pretentious and overly clever. Still giving it 3 stars, because at the core the songs are solid.

It's alright I guess as something to have on while you're doing other things, but not very interesting to me. 3 stars.

It's interesting, but ultimately just not my thing. 3 stars.

I'm a sucker for a beautiful voice and well-crafted, interesting songs, and this certainly qualifies. Will listen again. 4 stars.

It's alright, a bit too theatrical for me. 3 stars.

This is really nice. Long, but nice. 4 stars.

This was pretty cool. Reminded me a bit of that band whose music was used in the show Friday Night Lights, Explosions in the Sky I think they were called. 3.5 stars, rounding up to 4.

Perhaps it's just the mood I'm in, listening to this in the morning after waking up to the news that my fellow countrymen have inexplicably made the decision to elect one of the worst people in the world to the highest office in the land. It's a dark day for democracy and for the world. It's a dark day for women, for the LGBTQ community, for minorities, for immigrants seeking a better life. It's a dark day for dissent, it's a dark day for Palestinians, for Ukrainians. It's a dark day for justice, for the economy, for the middle class. It's just a dark fucking day. But back to the music. It's okay, just kind of strikes me as Nirvana-lite. Got better toward the end. 3 stars.

This should come with a warning label, sort of like strobe effects in a movie can cause seizures I felt like this was going to cause me a seizure. I could only listen to half of it. 2 stars.

Solid songs, solid performance, solid production. There's nothing really bad about this album, it's just sort of... bland, I guess. I think Mary said it best in her song "He Thinks He'll Keep Her" - Everything is so benign, Safest place you'll ever find. Lucinda Williams is a good comparison, since they're both in sort of the same category and Mary covered Lucinda's Passionate Kisses on this album. They're both talented singers and songwriters, but Lucinda just has that spark of something special, while Mary just sounds a bit generic. 3 stars.

This is really nice. Mellow with nice grooves. I could listen to it all day. 4 stars.

Nice. A bit reminiscent of Death Cab for Cutie. 4 stars.

Wasn't this already on the original list? Maybe it was one of the ones that was mistakenly added early in the project. Either way, happy to listen to it again as I love this album. 4 stars.