293
Albums Rated
3.22
Average Rating
27%
Complete
796 albums remaining
Rating Distribution
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Rating Timeline
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Ratings by Decade
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Activity by Day
When do you listen?
Taste Profile
1960s
Favorite Decade
Funk
Favorite Genre
US
Top Origin
Wordsmith
Rater Style ?
35
5-Star Albums
8
1-Star Albums
Taste Analysis
Genre Preferences
Ratings by genre
Origin Preferences
Ratings by country
Rating Style
You Love More Than Most
Albums you rated higher than global average
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peggy Suicide | 5 | 2.77 | +2.23 |
| Happy Trails | 5 | 2.8 | +2.2 |
| I Am a Bird Now | 5 | 2.84 | +2.16 |
| Cafe Bleu | 5 | 2.87 | +2.13 |
| Hypocrisy Is The Greatest Luxury | 5 | 2.88 | +2.12 |
| Fuzzy Logic | 5 | 2.94 | +2.06 |
| Street Life | 5 | 3.09 | +1.91 |
| Bluesbreakers | 5 | 3.16 | +1.84 |
| Loveless | 5 | 3.17 | +1.83 |
| Chicago Transit Authority | 5 | 3.2 | +1.8 |
You Love Less Than Most
Albums you rated lower than global average
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector | 1 | 3.28 | -2.28 |
| Bad Company | 1 | 3.26 | -2.26 |
| Little Earthquakes | 1 | 3.23 | -2.23 |
| Actually | 1 | 3.18 | -2.18 |
| Trans Europe Express | 1 | 3.15 | -2.15 |
| Ingenue | 1 | 2.94 | -1.94 |
| Bone Machine | 1 | 2.86 | -1.86 |
| Cut | 1 | 2.71 | -1.71 |
| Violator | 2 | 3.7 | -1.7 |
| The Score | 2 | 3.69 | -1.69 |
Artist Analysis
Favorite Artists
Artists with 2+ albums
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Bob Dylan | 3 | 4.67 |
| Deep Purple | 2 | 5 |
| David Bowie | 5 | 4.2 |
| Talking Heads | 3 | 4.33 |
Least Favorite Artists
Artists with 2+ albums
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Tom Waits | 2 | 1.5 |
5-Star Albums (35)
View Album Wall
Popular Reviews
John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers
5/5
A quintessential blues album which gained Clapton his “God” nickname. This influenced very popular guitar sounds in the years and decades which followed and is an album which many many successful artists will point to as inspiring.
I see there’s a lot of haters for this one. Like it or not, it’s had a massive impact. It’s not just “another blues album”, it’s one that helped bring the blues into the limelight for decades to come. It’s fine to dislike it or hate on Clapton out of context, I don’t even disagree with some of that sentiment, but in context, this simply is a transformative record for rock n roll, blues, the British Invasion, and guitar playing. Fuck the haters, 1966 Clapton is God.
21 likes
Antony and the Johnsons
5/5
For the record, nothing about this looked appealing to me ahead of time. Couldn’t have been more surprised to hear the beauty woven throughout the album. Anohni’s hauntingly powerful vibrato vocals shine as the music seems to dynamically flow from her singing. Loved nearly every song and noticed how the compositional style remains simple and elegant yet has surprising and unexpected turns whenever you think you have it figured out. Lou Reed sits in as a bonus.
16 likes
A Tribe Called Quest
3/5
Not a huge hip hop fan and this album didn’t change that. A few songs have some slightly interesting “jazz” vibes (If you call a simplistic repetitive phrase with slightly unusual chords “jazz”), but all in all I still don’t get the hype. It’s 4/4 repetitive rhythmns with rhyming. 3 stars since it’s a foundational album for many subsequent artists and my bias gives it the benefit of the doubt, but I really don’t see what’s so special about it myself.
10 likes
Beatles
5/5
Nearly every song is unique and memorable, plus it represents a big shift in the Beatles music and pop music as a whole. To those upset about “Run for your life”, you realize this is intentionally written to demonstrate the extreme emotional depths of jealousy right? The song sheds light on an ugly archetype, but one that nevertheless exists, and one that the Beatles clearly struggled with. Paul McCartney also found it worthwhile to write about monkeys fucking in a road. Another extreme human(and animal) instinct the Beatles wrote without necessarily being monkey fuckers themselves. This is how art works, you don’t have to like it, maybe the point is that you don’t like it.
7 likes
Sonic Youth
4/5
3 stars for music, extra star for doing really cool shit with their guitars
6 likes
1-Star Albums (8)
All Ratings
T. Rex
4/5
Sade
3/5
Smooth 80s sax/synth vibes
Cyndi Lauper
3/5
Nick Drake
2/5
Blondie
3/5
Kendrick Lamar
3/5
Fugees
2/5
Elliott Smith
2/5
Sounds like the Olivia tremor control guy without interesting music behind him.
Siouxsie And The Banshees
2/5
80s synth pop
Depeche Mode
2/5
Dark synth pop, mood music
Jimmy Smith
4/5
Hammond and sax jazz grooves
The Undertones
2/5
Punk pop
Michael Jackson
3/5
Sly & The Family Stone
5/5
TLC
2/5
Steve Earle
2/5
80s country rock
Bob Dylan
5/5
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
3/5
Nirvana
3/5
Ash
3/5
Belle & Sebastian
4/5
Upbeat, and diverse with rich tones and sounds
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
3/5
Sigur Rós
4/5
Willie Nelson
3/5
Mike Oldfield
4/5
k.d. lang
1/5
Electric Light Orchestra
3/5
Charles Mingus
5/5
Gang Starr
3/5
Creedence Clearwater Revival
4/5
The Pretty Things
2/5
David Bowie
4/5
Os Mutantes
3/5
Death In Vegas
4/5
Electronica, neo-psychedelia, shoegaze, krautrock
Stan Getz
4/5
Fun Lovin' Criminals
3/5
Bert Jansch
4/5
John Lennon
3/5
a-ha
2/5
Portishead
3/5
Inspired trip hop, James Bond vibes
David Bowie
3/5
Paul Simon
3/5
The Who
3/5
Beastie Boys
3/5
Elton John
4/5
Dusty Springfield
4/5
Guided By Voices
2/5
5/5
Bill Evans Trio
5/5
Dr. John
3/5
fIREHOSE
2/5
Somewhat diverse, 90s indie rock vibes mixed with a hint of zappa
Deerhunter
3/5
Self described “ambient punk”, psychedelic shoegaze indie pop rock
Bad Company
1/5
HE’LL YEAH BORTHER!!11
Deee-Lite
3/5
90s proto-house music
Small Faces
3/5
Amy Winehouse
4/5
The Youngbloods
4/5
Marianne Faithfull
2/5
About what you’d expect from Mick Jagger’s ex wife
Radiohead
5/5
The Cardigans
3/5
Trippy Swedish indie pop
Jimi Hendrix
5/5
Common
3/5
The Black Crowes
3/5
The The
2/5
Post punk rhythmic almost industrial vibes, singer sounds claypool-esque
The Verve
3/5
90s alternative rock, bittersweet symphony, rudimentary Radiohead-esque sound
The Doors
3/5
Mercury Rev
3/5
Neo-psychedelic pop, really a 3.5 star, precursor to the flaming lips
Talking Heads
5/5
Drive-By Truckers
3/5
2 stars for sound, 4 stars for lyrics and content. Generic raspy southern rock, with a true rock opera story about the birth and death of lynyrd skynyrd, perceptions of the south, political, moral, and racial issues
My Bloody Valentine
5/5
The Dictators
2/5
Glam punk
Eminem
3/5
Aerosmith
4/5
Queen
3/5
Cee Lo Green
3/5
The Jam
2/5
The Doors
3/5
The Cure
2/5
Wild Beasts
3/5
Fugazi
3/5
Coldplay
4/5
Ghostface Killah
3/5
Jane's Addiction
3/5
Brian Eno
4/5
Fleetwood Mac
3/5
Bad Brains
2/5
The Roots
3/5
Sonic Youth
2/5
Doves
3/5
Sonic Youth
4/5
Elliott Smith
3/5
Deep Purple
5/5
Elvis Presley
3/5
The Doors
4/5
The Notorious B.I.G.
3/5
Living Colour
3/5
Run-D.M.C.
5/5
The Monkees
2/5
Tori Amos
1/5
Nina Simone
3/5
Janis Joplin
4/5
T. Rex
3/5
Dusty Springfield
2/5
Jethro Tull
4/5
David Bowie
5/5
Grant Lee Buffalo
3/5
The Smashing Pumpkins
4/5
David Crosby
3/5
Iron Butterfly
3/5
Beatles crossed with the doors with a spritz of Zappa. Title track easily takes this from a 2 to a 3
Heaven 17
3/5
Frank Black
2/5
Manic Street Preachers
4/5
Siouxsie And The Banshees
2/5
Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart
3/5
Morrissey
2/5
Blue Cheer
4/5
The Who
3/5
The Modern Lovers
3/5
Wilco
3/5
David Bowie
4/5
Japan
3/5
Sufjan Stevens
4/5
The Flaming Lips
3/5
Tom Waits
1/5
I think there’s art in here somewhere??
The Slits
1/5
Carole King
4/5
Dirty Projectors
2/5
Creative, out there indie melodies, otherwise meh
Bauhaus
3/5
Stereo MC's
3/5
Ice Cube
2/5
Good continuity, solid beats, but gets monotonous, plus increasingly misogynist and trite.
Nine Inch Nails
3/5
Not my thing, but props to Trent Reznor for sonically simulating eternal suffering in hellfire.
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
2/5
Monotonous synth pop, very stereotypical 80s pop sound.
Finley Quaye
4/5
Solid reggae grooves
Penguin Cafe Orchestra
4/5
Beautiful music, folk style orchestral mixed with 70s electric sounds and some improv, produced by eno, very pretty and soothing.
PJ Harvey
3/5
Melodic folk punk pop grooves
Pearl Jam
4/5
Cat Stevens
3/5
OutKast
3/5
Butthole Surfers
2/5
Can see how this inspired future indie musicians but I’m not high enough to enjoy it yet.
Def Leppard
2/5
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
4/5
The Verve
4/5
Awesome neo-psychedelic album, definitely inspired some Radiohead vibes.
Pixies
2/5
Dizzee Rascal
2/5
Don’t get it, don’t like it, but certainly unique.
U2
2/5
The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy
5/5
Straightforward, yet so deep.
Hugh Masekela
4/5
Really upbeat nice jazz
Iggy Pop
3/5
Tina Turner
2/5
Talking Heads
4/5
Slint
3/5
Didn’t get it at first, but after reading some context, it does capture the feeling of “emptiness” quite well.
Pulp
2/5
Emmylou Harris
2/5
MGMT
4/5
Tom Waits
2/5
The Clash
3/5
Miles Davis
4/5
Stevie Wonder
4/5
XTC
3/5
David Gray
3/5
Lou Reed
3/5
Ray Price
3/5
Elvis Costello
2/5
Alice Cooper
3/5
Steely Dan
2/5
Have not done enough cocaine to fully appreciate this album. Best I can do is 2 stars.
Kid Rock
2/5
Faust
3/5
Pet Shop Boys
3/5
Buddy Holly & The Crickets
3/5
Al Green
4/5
Herbie Hancock
5/5
The Human League
2/5
Tried to like it, but it’s just *so* boring. Would’ve been 1 star until the last song. Guess that means I want you, Dare! OhhhhWoahhhhh
Chicago
5/5
Moby
4/5
Beastie Boys
2/5
Arcade Fire
2/5
Sonic Youth
4/5
3 stars for music, extra star for doing really cool shit with their guitars
Earth, Wind & Fire
3/5
Killing Joke
3/5
Definitely sounds before it’s time
Booker T. & The MG's
4/5
Massive Attack
2/5
Boards of Canada
4/5
Beatles
5/5
Nearly every song is unique and memorable, plus it represents a big shift in the Beatles music and pop music as a whole. To those upset about “Run for your life”, you realize this is intentionally written to demonstrate the extreme emotional depths of jealousy right? The song sheds light on an ugly archetype, but one that nevertheless exists, and one that the Beatles clearly struggled with. Paul McCartney also found it worthwhile to write about monkeys fucking in a road. Another extreme human(and animal) instinct the Beatles wrote without necessarily being monkey fuckers themselves. This is how art works, you don’t have to like it, maybe the point is that you don’t like it.
Shack
4/5
Incubus
4/5
Sparks
2/5
Billy Bragg
3/5
Fairport Convention
2/5
Malcolm McLaren
4/5
Weird but impressive album for 1983, world music, hip hop, and all kinds of unique elements ahead of their time.
Frankie Goes To Hollywood
3/5
Pretty good 80s synth pop with a few exploratory tracks, also a few well kno-I MUST KILL THE PRIME MINISTER OF MALAYSIAAAAAAAA
Fred Neil
4/5
Bon Jovi
4/5
Pavement
5/5
Bob Dylan
4/5
Soundgarden
3/5
The Adverts
2/5
Megadeth
2/5
Erykah Badu
3/5
Didn’t hate any of it, didn’t love any of it, not a huge fan of R&B but this sounds like a decent R&B album.
Leftfield
2/5
Traffic
4/5
Dexys Midnight Runners
3/5
Talvin Singh
3/5
Some parts sound incredible, other parts sound monotonous or slightly weird/annoying
Black Sabbath
5/5
The Sabres Of Paradise
4/5
Seemed to the nail the vibe it was going for
Guns N' Roses
4/5
The Afghan Whigs
3/5
Was gonna give it a 2, but the last few tracks bump it up to a 3
Morrissey
2/5
The Everly Brothers
2/5
I’m sure it was all the rage in 1961, but doesn’t seem that significant or interesting in hindsight. A stepping stone on the road to making blues whiter. 2 stars because regardless, they wrote few timeless songs.
Solange
3/5
Beck
3/5
All of it was good but nothing really stood out
The Replacements
2/5
Not bad, sounds kind of like a post-The Police sound…very short and nothing stood out though
The Rolling Stones
5/5
Gimme shelter, let it bleed, country honk, monkey man, you can’t always get what you want! I didn’t love *every* song, but there’s enough timeless bangers here that I can’t go under 5 stars
Soul II Soul
3/5
Buena Vista Social Club
3/5
The La's
3/5
The 90s indie pop sound in a nutshell
Bob Dylan
5/5
Metallica
3/5
Adding an orchestra to a rock band is cool, but this isn’t my favorite example of it. Some orchestral parts felt overdone and others felt lacking, definitely a cool concept, but didn’t do anything to impress me beyond what I know about metallica
Garbage
3/5
Liked more than some of the punk I’ve heard, some cool and interesting sounds on the record but not too memorable tbh
Van Halen
5/5
Iconic, loads of memorable hits, and for sheer instrumentalism alone it’s difficult to go under 5 stars here. No, these are not elegant compositional masterpieces, but there is nobody who can play or sound like classic Van Halen and this album is one of the best examples of that.
Ananda Shankar
4/5
I thought the rock covers were unnecessary, except I liked the shredding on light my fire. Looking into this, it looks like the label forced the band to compromise on keeping these in to appeal to a western audience. Considering that, the novel sounds and the talented musicians invoked, I’m bumming my initial impression of 3 stars up to 4, this artist clearly knows what’s good.
Coldplay
3/5
Can’t deny I love the hits but some of the album seems a bit boring.
Terence Trent D'Arby
2/5
I try to be open minded with all of these, but I’ve never loved R&B and the more I hear it, the less I get it or enjoy it.
The instrumentation in this album sounds very simplistic, the compositions sound underwhelming, and not one song stood out to me. The singing in it was great, but that’s not the only thing a good album needs in my book. Benefit of the doubt from me not getting R&B plus good singing take this from a 1 to a 2
Hanoi Rocks
2/5
Didn’t hear anything that interested me, sounded like very underwhelming generic late 80s/90s rock BUT then I saw the date and the fact that this inspired a lot of future bands like Guns N’ Roses. Still very underwhelming, but 2 stars instead of 1 for being ahead of its time.
Simon & Garfunkel
3/5
Iconic, but not really what I’m into, I started to get it though after a full listen through
The Kinks
4/5
Not too shabby for 1966, I can hear how this record is beginning to break some of the conventional molds of rock and roll for the time. I think the Beatles were venturing much further into unknown territory at the time but the kinks were certainly holding down and exploring their own thing
Iggy Pop
5/5
Was surprisingly disappointed in a lot of the punk records on this list. This record has changed that. This is how its done.
John Prine
3/5
Don’t know a lot of country for comparison and context’s same, but I heard a nice Dylan vibe, good lyrics, and overall just enjoyable to listen to. Nothing out of this world but my appreciation of country is limited so 3 stars
Ice T
3/5
Pretty cool and diverse album, covers a good amount of ground, don’t feel the need to listen many more times though
Joan Armatrading
4/5
Thought it wasn’t my thing at first, I was wrong! This one definitely heats up as it goes on, the funk got cool enough for me to raise my impression from 2 to 4 stars
The Crusaders
5/5
Not even halfway through and I’m calling it, 5 stars. Awesome funky jazz,m
Public Image Ltd.
2/5
Sounded pretty unique and cool when I started listening, my impression from the first song was almost 4 stars…..NOPE. It doesn’t get better. There seems to be no point to the chaos which just meanders and intensifies. Unique creative chaotic dissonance can be cool, I dig it when a band like Ween does this, but this album just falls flat. There seems to be no point to any of it, as it meanders and vamps on with boring bass lines and incessant nonsensical noise. 2 stars for being semi-unique in its time, but honestly wtf is this crap?
Neneh Cherry
2/5
Not into this style of music to begin with, but I’ve been doing my best to be objective on these. Unfortunately not much sounds that unique to me here. The 80s sounds in this album have not aged well imo and it’s overshadowed by a whole lot of music in 1989. Benefit of the doubt gives it 2 stars instead of 1, but I didn’t hear much to justify elevating it past 2
John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers
5/5
A quintessential blues album which gained Clapton his “God” nickname. This influenced very popular guitar sounds in the years and decades which followed and is an album which many many successful artists will point to as inspiring.
I see there’s a lot of haters for this one. Like it or not, it’s had a massive impact. It’s not just “another blues album”, it’s one that helped bring the blues into the limelight for decades to come. It’s fine to dislike it or hate on Clapton out of context, I don’t even disagree with some of that sentiment, but in context, this simply is a transformative record for rock n roll, blues, the British Invasion, and guitar playing. Fuck the haters, 1966 Clapton is God.
Super Furry Animals
5/5
Loved and was pleasantly surprised by the vast majority of it, I even vaguely recognized some of the hits. A pretty unique sounding 90s neo-psychedelic album with all kinds of diverse styles and vibes, yet maintained a very nice continuous thematic and musical flow. Idk much about this band, but going with my gut, 5 stars.
The Jesus And Mary Chain
3/5
Pleasant enough to listen to, but monotonous in some ways and somewhat simplistic, laid back, but just kind of average
Mudhoney
2/5
Sounds like yet another punk rock simplistic power chords and screaming record. I want to see the merit in this kind of music, but I just don’t. 2 stars cause it at least has some point to it, I just don’t see anything that stands out or is that significant whatsoever. I can play power chords and scream about my tortured soul too, why aren’t I on the list?
Frank Zappa
5/5
I’m biased as a zappa fan, but this iconic album has the perfect combination of jazz fusion and rock n roll shreddiness. Nobody does what zappa does, 5 stars.
Julian Cope
5/5
Sounds very diverse and creative, good flow through the album, liked a lot better than some of the other “punk” or “post punk” on this list. If out of 10 stars, I’d probably go 9, but I’ll give it the 5 stars for a truly creative piece of art and pleasant surprise that didn’t lose my interest over the long playback time
Eagles
3/5
I actually expected this to be a 5 star album, but eagles go a long way up from this album! Still great and timeless songs, but a lot of the album was less exciting than a large amount of the eagles’ catalogue I’m more familiar with.
Pet Shop Boys
1/5
I tried to get it, I even gave an earlier (though not memorable) pet shop boys album 3 stars. But after hearing another of their albums, I don’t get it. It’s very simple, very generic 80s techno pop that hasn’t aged well. I don’t really understand why this band is so successful, I guess I have to hear more to get it, which I really don’t want to at this point. Virtually nothing musically interesting on this album
Kanye West
3/5
Alright I’m biased, but at this point it’s difficult to disentangle Kanye’s superstar celebrity ego from his art, especially as someone who has not followed his music.
I’m not a huge hip hop fan, but it’s clearly an objectively good sounding hip hop album with good continuity and a counter culture attitude that was obviously very well received at the time. He’s also clearly very talented at composing art from tons of samples.
Does this make him a genius? FUCK NO. The guy self-admittedly struggles with mental health problems, yet he has an incessant god complex and compulsion to be a thought leader for people. Dude, you yourself know you can’t even lead your own thoughts. The anti-intellectualism sentiment in this album has also clearly “blossomed” into the shitfuck of a chaotic apocalypse looming world governed by fellow mentally ill celebrities who rely on cults of personality to protect them as they impose their psychotic ideals on the population. This album also came out at a time of hyper-materialism and sensationalism, a world where Kanye lives 24/7.
I’m giving it 3 stars because of my attempt at objectivity and the typical low importance I assign to lyricism (which is tricky with hip hop) but he really doesn’t deserve a rating that high. I think a lot of Kanye’s “message” is simply glorifying ignorance, materialism, and ego. You can learn and understand shit and still fight the system, Kanye. Your talent is manipulating stupid people to believe your simplistic views, and to reject authorities who put the work in to actually fucking learn things. Effectively, all you do is polarize and manipulate the population into contrarianism. The same thing Fox News does. You’re a tool being used to help the status quo to continue, congrats dumbass.
Boston
5/5
I think this is the most successful debut album ever. Legendary, iconic, packed full of timeless hits, epic guitar playing, epic bass and drum playing, incredible singing, prog rock, classic rock, arena rock, it’s difficult to see what you could conceive of to count against this, seems to cover all the bases of rock n roll and more, easy 5 stars.
Quicksilver Messenger Service
5/5
Alright I’m biased as a big fan of psychedelic bands from the 60s, especially ones from San Francisco, but surprisingly I didn’t know much about quicksilver other than hearing who do you love on car commercials. I thought about giving it a 4 because it certainly won’t appeal to everyone or be “objectively” great, but it’s accomplishes everything it’s going for and more. It’s an impressive feat to be a musically talented half forgotten live acid band in the 60s and yet still have your music played in mainstream 2020 commercials.
Dire Straits
3/5
Pretty good debut album, really this should go dead between a 3 and a 4. 3 stars because I like dire straits and I don’t want to favor a band I like, especially as this is not their best album
Muddy Waters
4/5
Indisputably hugely influential in its time, another building block for rock n roll and music for decades to come, 4 stars because I assume muddy’s music gets even better
Duran Duran
4/5
Understandable why they were so successful for 80s pop. Never loved Duran Duran, but this albums got good flow and indisputably catchy songs, can’t count much against it, other than nothing on the album blows me away
3/5
I mean, it’s “good”, but the sheer amount of incredible art and music being churned out in 1969 gives this a run for its money
Metallica
4/5
Not a huge fan of Metallica, but undeniably iconic, unique, and foundational for thrash metal.
Funkadelic
5/5
Iconic funk album which slays exactly the way it intends to slay. The incredible raw feeling and emotion in the title track alone does it for me, with some nice grooves afterward to come down to.
New Order
4/5
Pretty cool, not every song blew me away but there’s tons of pretty unique concepts and sounds that fill a void in my 80s rock exposure that I didn’t know existed
Supergrass
4/5
Another cool British rock album from a surprisingly good band I’ve never heard of. Contains a lot of different sounds almost sounding like they’re from different eras, punk to hard rock, to even psychedelic music
Paul Revere & The Raiders
3/5
It has a lot to contend with in its era, nothing incredible and bit of it are pretty corny and leans into the 1950s early 60s pop cringe, but still it brings enough to the table to spice up the 60s. 3 stars because I love it and I hate it
Talking Heads
4/5
Legendary album full of experimental grooves. Not my favorite talking heads album though, misses the mark for 5 stars despite having lots of awesome songs because some parts of this album can be abrasive and borderline annoying at times. It’s a unique piece of art but not the most enjoyable talking heads album to listen to
Donovan
4/5
Pretty nice grooves, stands out as something I could dig in an era full of unique musical innovation, a few iconic songs and decent grooves, 4 stars because it could be more exciting
The Style Council
5/5
Not sure if this *really* makes the cut for 5 stars or not, but it brightened my day.
Leonard Cohen
2/5
Had high expectations knowing of Leonard Cohen’s reputation as a songwriting legend, but I’m not quite getting this one. Songs are a little too bare bones for my taste. Doesn’t seem up to the same level other legendary folk artists were on by 1969, like Dylan.
John Martyn
3/5
Love the music, but not a huge fan of the vocals on most tracks, I might even like this record better with no vocals. That being said, John Martyn clearly has an extremely unique and distinctive voice so more power to him and those who appreciate it, especially when used interestingly in this world music western fusion context. I also thought on certain songs like “couldn’t love you more”, the vocals were extremely beautiful, but in that case the music was pretty basic. Can’t have it all on this record, so 3 stars.
A Tribe Called Quest
3/5
Not a huge hip hop fan and this album didn’t change that. A few songs have some slightly interesting “jazz” vibes (If you call a simplistic repetitive phrase with slightly unusual chords “jazz”), but all in all I still don’t get the hype. It’s 4/4 repetitive rhythmns with rhyming. 3 stars since it’s a foundational album for many subsequent artists and my bias gives it the benefit of the doubt, but I really don’t see what’s so special about it myself.
Black Sabbath
3/5
It certainly brings the iconic sabbath sound and presents a straightforward heavy, gritty metal sound, if you’re looking to rock out and not much else, this will do.
I don’t think it holds up to something like paranoid, not many memorable tracks or super interesting sections in songs apart from a few nasty guitar solos. 3 stars since I gave paranoid 5 and I think some other sabbath albums would fit better in the 4 star slot.
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
It’s hard to ignore what an iconic monolith of the 80s this is. Bruce captures the experience, plight, and hope in spite of it all of the working class American in ways nobody else could and he deserves all the credit in the world for that.
That being said, it really doesn’t pique my interest that much. Musically it’s pretty much as dull as pop gets, maybe a few notches above completely dull. I personally find it very uninspiring and even complacent, despite all the sadness woven through his lyrics, there seems to be an acceptance that the working class life is the one he and his folk are destined to live forever and they better learn to like whatever aspects of it they can. I get the sentiment and I don’t doubt it spoke to many many Americans in its time.
But in 2021, it exists in my mind as a relic of the 80s rather than something timeless. Usually when I hear this album or the title track being used in modern society it’s done in a fashion utterly unaware of the sentiment and purpose behind it, for example blasting the song at Trump or Ted Cruz rallies unironically.
My opinion of this is, if you’re gonna do simple basic pop music, don’t expect the general population to pick up the nuance.
More power to those who have been comforted, inspired, or serenaded by Bruce’s unending accounts of Tommy riding in the car past the cops til it broke down and he took a piss on the side of the highway while trying to fix the muffler as Suzy got out and asked when she could go home to her Daddy, etc etc etc….but that gets stale for me after about 2 minutes. 3 stars to balance my biased boredom with others justifiable love of this album and it’s objective legacy as an icon of the 80s
Creedence Clearwater Revival
4/5
Good but not my favorite of the era, was pleasantly surprised by some pretty good CCR tracks I haven’t heard before
Air
5/5
Loved it, have not heard of this band but definitely will be listening more, very beautiful and emotive instrumental soundscapes.
Minutemen
4/5
This is more the kind of punk I can dig unlike many of the other punk albums on this list. Lots of diversity and creativity, sure some of its raw and simplistic, but they put some damn heart and soul into it. Bonus points because jackass seems to agree with me.
Incredible Bongo Band
3/5
This kinda feels like a novelty album, so I feel like that limits it’s score, still can’t say I didn’t dig the song selection, in a Gaada da vida brought it and of course Apache has been immortalized now as “jump on it”
Cheap Trick
3/5
I’ve seen cheap trick live, this left me with about the same impression as that show did: meh. 2 stars until I found myself unable to resist singing and rocking out to surrender….fine, 3 stars.
George Jones
4/5
Solid country album
Leonard Cohen
2/5
Artistic and poetic, but I really can’t listen to album after album of depressed muttering
Arrested Development
3/5
Some awesome funk tracks and pretty great rhythmic hip hop and rap, samples a little repetitive/rough in some songs and albums pretty long with what felt like a lot of filler
Van Morrison
3/5
Very pretty sprawling music with diverse instrumentation which van Morrison uses as a background to repeat himself and make the WAHHH sound every 3 seconds
Sebadoh
4/5
Pretty unique and interesting take on a classic 90s indie sound, artistic dissonance, all kinds of experimental guitar sounds, blending of genres. A little out there musically but solid as an experimental project
The Allman Brothers Band
5/5
Almost gave it four stars for a less than ideal tracklist (a good balance of hits/jams, even for a legendary jam band like this, is ideal for a mass released album). But, the extended edition easily solves this problem. Legendary playing from a legendary band, live Duane easily earns it 5 stars
Deep Purple
5/5
Every track on this record kicks ass
Kraftwerk
1/5
Very disappointing, everything on it is slow and simplistic, homogenous, boring record. Almost gave it two stars because I started liking a song toward the end of the record and then it just ended. Lame.
Kate Bush
3/5
Not a fan of the synth pop on the first side, I feel like this style of music has not aged well at all. I get it was novel at the time but a lot of music seems to have suffered to simplistic boring overuse of synth.
However, the second side is an extremely creative concept album with all kinds of different sounds and songs, regardless of my opinion, it’s an undeniable work of art.
So 3 stars for being half weak and half awesome.
Megadeth
3/5
Some nasty guitar licks and pretty cool concepts for an album. Overall, not a huge fan of thrash metal and this record didn’t change that, but props to the musicianship on display during the solos.
The Kinks
3/5
I don’t know, maybe I’m resistant to getting the kinks or something, but sgt pepper just demolishes this album IMO. Not a bad work of art, it’s just you can’t compete with the Beatles at this time.
Lloyd Cole And The Commotions
2/5
If you told me to close my eyes and fart out a generic 80s indie pop album, I would produce this album exactly. Maybe I’m hating more on the form or the era more than the artist, but this slow 80s synth pop just bores me to tears. 2 stars because you have to be doing something right to fit perfectly into a stereotype. Wish I could appreciate them more, but the music seems to be giving me very little to work with. The last song was okay
Shuggie Otis
3/5
Really want to give it 4 stars. Love the laid back and soulful grooves and Shuggie’s whole vibe. However, this album felt a little hollow to me, not much stood out, not much went on, just nice, chill funk groovin’. Hope more of his albums are on this list cause he deserves at least one 4 or 5.
Willie Colón & Rubén Blades
3/5
I’m not a salsa aficionado but it was a pretty good record. I have little context to understand the novelty or popularity of this one so I’m going with enjoyment level on this rating
Paul McCartney and Wings
3/5
The first two and last songs slap, otherwise I was a little disappointed. Almost gave it 4 stars but McCartney set too high of a bar with his friends George, John, and Ringo
Antony and the Johnsons
5/5
For the record, nothing about this looked appealing to me ahead of time. Couldn’t have been more surprised to hear the beauty woven throughout the album. Anohni’s hauntingly powerful vibrato vocals shine as the music seems to dynamically flow from her singing. Loved nearly every song and noticed how the compositional style remains simple and elegant yet has surprising and unexpected turns whenever you think you have it figured out. Lou Reed sits in as a bonus.
Yes
3/5
Legendary prog rock album that I’ve enjoyed in the past but for some reason a listen through didn’t do it for me, seems scattered and not as cohesive as I remembered it. 3 stars with the hope that the yes album and closer to the edge will come up and get higher ratings
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
3/5
Tonally creative, gritty, with some nice pump up tracks, but overall kind of homogenous, contained, and at times abrasive
Led Zeppelin
4/5
A tough one to rate with some of zeppelins hardest bangers mixed with some pretty simple bluesy tracks. In many ways it deserves 5 stars, but I think the album would flow better if some of the weaker tracks were removed.
Kanye West
4/5
Well, I gave college dropout a 3 so this one’s got to be a 4. I’m able to see why Kanye has blown up in popularity, but I’m still going to dispute that he’s an “artistic genius”. Maybe on the grounds of modern pop hip hop, I can understand why he grabs so many peoples attentions. But, when actually analyzing, all I see him doing is glueing a bunch of other peoples art together, throwing stream of consciousness lyrics on top, and looping it. On top of that, a lot of his songs are like exhibit a for the concept of projection. Every song is about himself, his ego, and his utterly unthinkably deep lack of self awareness. What’s most nauseating is how many people parrot his egoic verbal diarrhea and bow down to worship the almighty Ye just because a bipolar narcissist figured out how to mix shit in a studio.
A. It’s innovative AF for hip hop (but, really is it when you just rely on sampling for all your shit?)
B. It appeals to the masses with its simplicity
C. It couldn’t possibly have been bad with the amount of collaborative talent involved
Credit where credit is due for this albums success, but no I don’t think he’s that talented of a musician. He’s talented at being a celebrity and controversial media masturbation fodder figure.
Various Artists
1/5
Seriously? Did any of these artists even write these songs?? Probably the only album on this list I’m not finishing.
Stephen Stills
4/5
Solid, great instrumental interplay, enjoyed most songs. Albums a little long (72m) though for its lack of peaks
Pulp
3/5
Pretty interesting 90s art rock album which sounds kind of like a blend between a post glam vibe mixed with 90s punk pop, on the high side of3 stars
Madness
2/5
Not a fan of the sound, to my ear it’s the same generic uninspiring synth pop vocals that plague the 80s. Music is somewhat simple and slow, with very anti-melodic, darker vibes. Tbh I didn’t understand why this even made the list until I heard….”OUR HOUSE”. Ah, now I get it. Two stars because they immortalized at least one song in coffee commercials, and because they use some interesting instrumentation, are obviously *somewhat* compositionally unique….but all in all, I hate it.
Frank Sinatra
3/5
Bossa nova Sinatra record. Not really sure how to rate due to the form of his music. Frank is obviously legendary but I don’t have the best grasp on his work to judge musically, So 3 stars.
Louis Prima
4/5
Infectious, light hearted, fun music with piano and brass, and Louis Prima’s mellow joy inspiring vocals. Tempted to give it 5 stars especially in context of 1956, but I think that might do a disservice to some of the deeper jazz that appeared in this era
The Temptations
4/5
Happy, lighthearted upbeat vibes, enjoyable music, but nothing really stands out to a 5 star level
Scott Walker
2/5
Sounds like a Disney movie or musical score where only the same one character sings endlessly. Surely it was unique and novel in its time but I don’t think this has aged well.