While I’m always down for a good “Greensleeves” cover, I think what was fresh about this very straightforward rock take on the blues in 1968 feels pretty, pretty tired in 2021. And, yeah, I’m mainly looking at you Rod Stewart. For all of Beck’s guitar virtuoso, the lyrics by and large completely take me out of so many of these songs. I get it, Rod. You’re horny. So was Marvin Gaye but he turned it into art. There’s a way.

I know Weller’s background is legit, but this… it just sounds like dentist rock to me. If I was a dentist? I’d rock out so hard to this on the drive home from work in my Audi. Trust me, there are days where I wish I was a dentist! Alas, today is not one of those days.

I mean, if the songs don’t do it for you then there’s still an entire comedy act in between them all.

Seven singles. Seven goddamn singles on this record. That’s insane. And thanks to a very kind and awesome 5th grade teacher who let us listen to cassettes during class… I have these tunes ingrained in my membrane. I “sang” Pour Some Sugar on Me over the phone to my first girlfriend at her request. She dumped me the next day. Okay, the timing here’s not exactly true but it didn’t last and it couldn’t last because when all is said and done, Love Bites. (At least in the 5th grade.)

When I fired this up I was thinking that if I had to pick one Maiden album to put on the list I don’t know that this is the one I’d go with. By the end of it I realized I was out of my goddamn mind. “Gangland” and “Invaders” aren’t favorites, but song for song it’s hard to argue with how melodically successful of an album this is for the band. (Or any band?) It ENDS with “Hallowed Be Thy Name” for ball’s sake, and every second of this record sounds better than most metal albums ever. I love it. The first show they play in South America after the pandemic is going to result in more pregnancies than a sperm bank.

Meh. “Most of Us Are Sad” ain’t bad.

Definitive sound of classic rock. “Child in Time” = epic, astonishing vocal.

First time listen beyond title track (which tuned down and through heavier amps would’ve been a doom metal classic) and “Locomotive Breath.” Dug “Hymn 43” and “Wind Up.” Still on the fence about the flute and all flute related breathing sounds here.

If “Unfaithful Servant” is the next to last song on your album, then you can name your band whatever the hell you want.

What is this? Who is this? 22 tracks?!?! Why are they just singing “Blackbird” in the middle of one song? Why is every album suggested so far overflowing with folk instruments? How many dudes are in this band?? Etc.

Such a good dance album, but on the tunes where the tempo slows so goes my interest. Also, how the hell did he come up with the notion to cram the words “keep on with the force don’t stop” into like two notes? Also also, that song’s about Star Wars.

So many great songs, but I think the sequencing is kinda whack. You can’t follow “Shout” with “The Working Hour,” sorry. Total buzzkill. Pretty amazing sax solo on that one tune!

Hmm. Somehow never listened to this whole thing before and it seems like a lot of these tunes are a little, dare I say, forgettable? I liked “Sons of the Silent Age” and “V-2 (Paul) Schneider.”

How in the living shit did I miss this when it was released in 1999? I mean if an album shouts out Sleater-Kinney, Billie Jean King and James Baldwin in one song, discusses Cassavetes in another, and calls Rudy Giuliani a fucking idiot in yet another, then yeah that’s an album that deserves to be on this list.

Should have called it “Git-tar Town.” Some of the vocal affectations drive me crazy, but that’s country. I liked the slower stuff... but not “Little Rock n Roller.” No no no.

Kinda loved this? Feels waaay ahead of its time for 1983, but maybe I’m just out of the loop. The only thing I can compare it to are moments from The Avalanches. Feels like an interesting collage, but unsurprising to read that none of the African musicians were credited. (Shocking)

First time listening to this since I was a teenager. Enjoyed it, but there’s no reason they shouldn’t have lopped off the first 4 tunes and just started with “Longview.” That song and “Basketcase” still completely work for me after all these years. They should’ve stopped twenty years ago. They could be gearing up for a hell of a reunion tour instead of doing whatever it is they are doing right now that no one gives a rat’s ass about.

I’m basically hip-hop illiterate. But this was much better than I expected! Plus, I once saw Ice Cube shooting basketball at some corporate event on the Fox lot. That’s gotta count for at least a star.

I mean, if the songs don’t do it for you then there’s still an entire comedy act in between them all.

Finally been getting into Elvis recently and I like this one a lot. The guitar tone is so great to my ears. Jazzmasters for everyone!

Goddamit now I have to listen to more Kanye West. Kinda blown away.

“Deriving their name from the metric total of semen ejaculated by the average male...” Lol. I’m glad I listened to this album if for no other reason than to learn that, but most of these songs sound like the tracks you skip on later Queen records. “Somewhere in Hollywood” was the standout for me. “Her beauty looks out like a trailer. Norman Mailer waits to nail her.” Out of Kanye’s mouth that would have been hot fire.

There are a few moments here and there that I enjoyed, but if I want to hear this much about weed I’d rather listen to Sleep than be lulled to sleep by this record. Pick up the tempo, Pete.

I wasn’t really looking forward to this one. My tolerance for Fogerty’s voice has about a three song limit, and I’ve heard the hits a million times. But holy shit “Ramble Tamble”! That’s a bold way to start a record and I loved it. More of that, please. Also, I had no clue that the unedited version of “Grapevine” was 47 minutes long. It’s a bit much.

Some grown ass white men have Dungeons & Dragons; I have classic Yes albums. Finally something I actually own! If this album is on the list in place of “Close to the Edge” that’s a shame, but I’ll take what I can get. Steve Howe is on my guitar Mt. Rushmore.

I can’t really hate this album. It came out when I was a freshman in high school in a small town, so the band may as well have dedicated it to me personally. But the adult me cannot fathom how many steps backwards Hetfield took lyrically from this moment forward. “And of things that will bite!” is one of the most lazy, vague lines ever sung all in service of a rhyme that sucked to begin with. I still dig “Sad but True,” “The Unforgiven” and a few others, but yeah… I’m not a freshman in high school anymore. Also, has there ever been a band as big as Metallica that has made as many wild, dumb swings with how their albums are mixed? How does one even make a hi-hat sound like it does on this record? Is that even a hi-hat? And sure, you can hear a bass presence unlike “Justice,” but can you actually make out what Newsted is playing? Is he doing anything other than doubling the low note of Hetfield’s chords? It’s like they all went shopping and bought new ears. I prefer their old ears.

No surprise to see Dylan on here, but this one didn’t move the needle much for me. It’s fine; I get why people flipped for him lyrically. There’s stuff I like here it’s just probably not something I’d ever feel like I just HAD to put on again. I do love that people got so upset that the dude started playing electric guitar music that they would literally go to his shows just to boo him. Hahaha. That’s how I feel whenever I see Dave Grohl with an acoustic guitar.

I like the two albums that follow better, but this got a lot of play on my first iPod. It feels a little long now. Still like “Radio Cure.” Why was this so acclaimed at the time? I think critics get a little more excited by any album that a band likes and a label hates than they do for just about anything.

I ran away from this type of music like the plague/COVID when I was kid, but I’m happily in a very new wave friendly place in my life. Love how this record sounds. “Sweetest Perfection” is sooo good. Did KMFDM really stand for “Kill Motherfucking Depeche Mode”? Need to get to the bottom of this.

I can hang with this record. The guitars are so freaking loud in the mix, ha. It’s almost overwhelming at times, but I bet this would have been fun as hell to see live at a festival in the UK in 1997. I both hate and like this guy’s voice? It’s definitely a thing. I’ll defer to Alex and file it away as one of those rock bands that was popular in the UK and not in the US for whatever reason (see: Travis, Biffy Clyro, etc.)

Just did not stand out to me and am I the only one who thought every female vocalist on this was… not great? I’ll just listen to Portishead, thanks. I’d welcome an instrumental version of this record though, for sure.

I didn’t remember this album being so long and uneventful but here we are. That seems to be my hot take on everything of late. Oh well! Dude’s problematic and all that, but even putting all that aside “Cold Roses” is the only one of his 900 albums I have any interest in revisiting these days. “Look Me Up” is a fine song and the one about NC is pretty enough, but I think trying to intentionally make music that sounds like it came out decades earlier than when you recorded it is a good way for shit not to age well.

Imagine making this masterpiece and later having people scream “Kokomo!” at you at every single show you play for forty years straight until you die, when you then have people scream “Kokomo!” at you in the afterlife for all eternity. Sometimes I get very sad.

When I fired this up I was thinking that if I had to pick one Maiden album to put on the list I don’t know that this is the one I’d go with. By the end of it I realized I was out of my goddamn mind. “Gangland” and “Invaders” aren’t favorites, but song for song it’s hard to argue with how melodically successful of an album this is for the band. (Or any band?) It ENDS with “Hallowed Be Thy Name” for ball’s sake, and every second of this record sounds better than most metal albums ever. I love it. The first show they play in South America after the pandemic is going to result in more pregnancies than a sperm bank.

If this album in any way contributed to Yoakam’s career in a manner that led to him crossing paths with Billy Bob Thornton so he could eventually be cast in SLING BLADE… then it was well worth the experience of disinterest I had listening to it. The mariachi Bakersfield tune was okay, I guess? Yoakam if you got ‘em!

Well, my favorite track on here was both the shortest and the one that had zero guitar in it. “Little umbrella” is great! I liked the last track, too. The rest felt kind of exhausting. I was expecting everything to be exponentially weirder. Instead, it sounded like a jam band parked in my ears and (mercifully) forgot to bring the vocalist.

I dig it. Had only heard “Cars,” before this and wasn’t expecting those cool ass instrumental tracks. Some of these tunes sound a little too much alike to my ears, but I really just want to know if Andy also saw people fucking at a Gary Numan show because I feel like that would make sense.

I like this era Elvis. I like the guitar on “Suspicious Minds.” And I like the guitar on the cover, which I assume Elvis had no real clue how to actually play.

Perfectly fine light background music for when I’m writing a script with a fantasy element. It’s a pretty narrow window of opportunity, but Fairport Convention crawled right in and kept it propped open with a lute.

Oh man. This takes me back to the early days of the oughts and checking Buddyhead every day. Never thought this band was as good as they thought they were, but I appreciate the effort. I dig “Caviar.” The song. Never had the food, cause I ain’t Richie goddamn Rich.

Okay, I by and large loved this! Now I’m thinking I maybe didn’t give the Fairport Convention album a fairport chance, guys. I’ll see what I can do about that. But in the meantime I’ll leave you with this little pearl of wisdom: “Lightning Crashes” by Live is “Calvary Cross” with more shouting. Prove me wrong.

Not my favorite Cave - I feel like some of the other records let the band shine as much as his voice - but I mean I definitely enjoy it. Does it need all these guest vocalists? I think I’d take a version of “Death is not the end” sung by Cave only over what’s recorded here. And I will stop picking those nits and get on with my life.

I had no idea that this song I’ve been hearing my whole life is called “Green onions.” I need to Google why the hell it’s called that, but I’m probably too lazy to do that. At any rate, these onions are pretty chill and I don’t even like onions. Put this on shuffle with some albums by the Meters and that’s a pleasant Saturday afternoon backyard bbq party.

When the drums kick in during Bells pt. 2 and that guy starts grunt-singing and howling in whatever language that was… I finally had my first genuine WTF moment with this entire list. And I liked it! This album really runs the gamut of the ridiculous and the sublime, and the whole time I kept thinking of A) The Exorcist B) that Oldfield should make a record with Tortoise and C) that Oldfield should make a record with Mike Patton. All enjoyable thoughts in my book.

When the topic of cultural appropriation comes up at dinner parties I bet Paul Simon breaks into a cold sweat that soaks him through his tiny coat. The guy’s an undeniable wordsmith and I appreciate the storytelling, just not nearly as much as I loathe every note of the bass guitars on this record.

If I had to come up with a list of 5 singers, knowing that when I woke up the next morning I would be able to magically sing like one of them, I feel pretty certain Rufus would make the cut. Just to be able to belt out shit like that in my car would make me so satisfied in life. Anywho, I’m more of a Want One guy, but this is definitely the more dramatic of the two and I enjoyed the most of it. No I won’t be the one, baptized in cum.” How did he make that sound pretty?! How???

Man, you guys were mean to Rufus. Who are drag queens supposed to listen to when they’re sad, huh?? Leonard Cohen? Maybe. But not this one. I can’t handle the instrumentation. “Jazz police”? Oof. “Everybody Knows” is still cool, but give me the early stuff, please.

You gotta keep ‘em constipated! Pfffffarrrrrrt.

But what if I do, do, do believe the hype?? This record slams. And I say that as someone who was an Anthrax fan first. Surprised at how well this holds up and how good this list’s track record has been so far with hip hop. (Three for three?) I could listen to Flavor Flav rap about food and stinky breath for hours.

I kind of can’t believe this came out in 1988. I wasn’t cool enough to listen to it then, but I definitely spent some time with it in the 90s. Oddly, it’s the only Jane’s album I’ve ever listened to in its entirety. I don’t even really have a good reason for why that is, but now I think there’s a clear divide between the songs they take seriously and the ones where they sound like they’re goofing around with horns and shit. I like the serious ones. “Ocean Size,” “Summertime Rolls,” and “Mountain Song” would have been a hell of an EP.

As short as this album is there’s such a sameness to so many of these songs. (Especially lyrically; good Christ, if there was a drinking game to the word “girl” you’d be legally dead before side B…) I really liked some of the guitar tones though and can see the appeal to a teenager at the time of release. Unfortunately, every time the singer broke out that goat boy vibrato I just wanted to rip my headphones off and give them to the homeless. Just cannot deal with that. Why did the rest of the band let that slide? Could no one have said, “Hey, you sure you want to sing “Jump Boys” like that? You know you’re going to have to do that every time we play this. Every single time.” Somebody should have stopped him. Anyway, is this pop punk? Genuinely curious to know what the hardcore punkers thought of this band at the time.

Surprisingly, this supremely technologically advanced website didn’t save my review of Raw Power, so here’s that one: Really uncomfortable with how Iggy sings the word “penetration” as if it includes my name. But yeah, otherwise, this album sounds like it was recorded in a garbage can in the best possible way. As for “Either Or,” well… I’ll just say that when I was in grad school I was a student teacher for a bunch of freshmen taking a required writing class that most had absolutely zero interest in taking. I had no clue what the fuck I was doing, but I know for a fact that I turned at least two students on to Elliott Smith by making the class write about a song from “XO.” So I did my part to make the world a better place. I hope those students are somewhere in Ohio feeling sad right now about being adults, listening to Elliott Smith just to cope. As it should be.

Julio is fine, but I swear to freaking Garfunkel if there’s one more Paul Simon solo record on this list I’m burning it to the ground.

What exactly is that in his eye on the cover? Is that like one of those jeweler’s magnifiers for looking at diamonds or what the hell’s going on there? Regardless, I enjoyed some of the songs here and merely listened to others. “Once I Was” is the winner for me, but mostly I found myself thinking about how this combination of folk and rock probably made him super popular with a certain type of woman in the 1960s. And look at those teeth! I bet he never left a party alone.

Some of this just sounds like an honest to God disco album to these ears, but I gotta say - the Rufus Wainwright fan in me really liked the super over dramatic moments where there are more strings in the instrumentation than slap bass and dance beats. The “mantrap” tune makes me think one could remix this album into some cabaret-meets-Portishead thing of beauty. But first they gotta change that band name. ABC? Seriously, brah?

This album is a trip! I spend the bulk of it thinking, “She has such a gnarly voice. Why are these songs so bland and tame? When is she going to be let off the leash?” Then the last track rolls around and suddenly she turns into Andrew Dice Clay screaming, “WHY DID YOU SPIT ON MY SNATCH?” Lol! Who saw that coming?? Excellent Lennon cover and snatch spitting aside, I really wish the whole record could have matched the driving urgency of the title track. I think I would have liked that quite a bit.

Wasn’t going to bother rating this, but it seems like it won’t let me proceed if I don’t. Hmm… Anyway, not sure “Run For Your Life” has aged that well, but then neither have I. More interesting question: what’s the WORST Beatles tune? I gotta think on it some more critically, but my immediate response is “Get Back.” Never liked that one. Feels like it should be on a Bachman Turner Overdrive record instead.

“I am a victim of the science age.” What a line! This is another one that feels kind of silly to rate. I don’t generally envy people older than me, but I do wish I had been 13 or so when this album came out in order to have that pure experience of hearing Eddie at a time when no one else on the entire planet sounded like him. I can’t really fathom what that must have been like for young guitar nerds. Anywho, it’s astounding how many singles are on this record. Just astounding. Shout out to the Running with the Dweezil podcast, which I’ve only heard snippets of but is pretty fascinating.

I like David Byrne and all, but could you imagine him singing over these tracks? Good call to take the instrumental path here. That said, while I was digging the hell out of the first couple songs it definitely ended up a bit too repetitive for my tastes. I wouldn’t mind having it on while writing though.

I feel like my enjoyment of this record would have been enhanced greatly by hearing it loudly in a sweaty room while drinking cheap beer. Instead, I listened comfortably while washing dishes and drinking tea. Love his voice and the overall sound of the record. The first song’s a classic (though his spelling needs work), but most of the rest just kind of washed over me.

My kind of Cohen. The depressive Dylan. How great is the yelling on “Diamonds in the Mine?” I would completely listen to an entire album of that. Anyway, off to watch McCabe & Mrs. Miller…

Despite the fact my brother plays guitar in a Talking Heads cover band… and their band is called Fear of Music… I’d never listened to this whole thing before. I mostly liked it! The back half especially. But anyway, if you’re ever in Richmond, VA go see Fear of Music. They’re good. Maybe skip telling my brother I’d never heard this album until 2021. Thanks.

Well. Little Timmy got all drugged out and horned up since the last time we heard from him, didn’t he? Haha. Good Lord! I did not expect to hear this dude speaking in tongues and talking about licking toe jam on this record, but I wholeheartedly approve. 👍 (But what’s up with all the double artist dipping on this “random” generator so far? We’ve still got 900-some records to go. Spread this shit out!)

Throw in a fuzz pedal and drop that guitar down to B tuning and this could be a pretty rad drone metal record. As is, not something I’ll likely listen to again but I love how clean and clear the production is. Dude looks pretty cool on the cover there. I want that chair.

Eh, this kind of just glazed over me. I’ve heard other Merle tunes that I liked but not much stood out to me here. Also, I’m tired and not in a honkytonk bar.

I’m way behind on my appreciation of this band, but I’ve always liked their name and wanted to do a deep dive. Maybe this is the push I need. Really liked it, especially the voice. Can clearly hear the influence on a ton of other bands I’ve listened to over the years. Good stuff.

Well, I now know where the theme from “Jackass” came from… I respect a lot of folks who respect Mike Watt, but this ain’t for me. Every now and then (“No Exchange”) I felt like I could squint and almost make out some Fugazi-esque moments. Mostly though I just felt like this is a thing for beefy So. Cal dudes to listen to in their backyards and say the words “bro” and “stoked” a lot. Not sure punk and funk ever needed to really share a bed, especially not for a 44 song double album.

I like the font? “Donkey Doctor” is a funny image? I don’t know, that’s all I got.

My parents were in their very early 20s when this came out. That blows my mind. I don’t think there’s a chance in hell that they listened to it then. Because I feel like if you hear “I’m Waiting for the Man” as a young person in 1968 then that’s pretty much game over. You’re not buying Steve Miller and John Denver records after that. And my dad definitely had THOSE records. Ah well… At any rate, I love how odd and imperfect it is but it will always need more Nico.

I can dig this. Jeff Beck’s guitar tones are solid, “Over Under Sideways Down” is fun, and the album cover looks like it was drawn by Tyler Baum.

Well, I liked this more than I anticipated. I don’t know how much that’s actually saying, because I was 1000% dreading this. But I liked nearly every song more than I like “American Pie,” which I will count as a victory. Anybody else remember that great moment in an episode of MAD MEN where they used “Babylon?” If for no other reason than that, 5 stars. Okay, two.

Never listened to this band all that much, but I feel kind of weird about the fact I really preferred some of the extra tracks on the extended version I listened to than the main tracks that make up the original sequencing. And, I mean, that nevvvvver happens. Usually those songs don’t make the cut for a reason, right? But “Orgasm Addict,” “What Do I Get?” and “Oh Shit,” are all pretty awesome. Favorite track overall though is “Sixteen.” Hands down. Otherwise, this is really a record that made me further realize that like 98% of all classic punk is really just sped up distorted pop songs.

Yeah, I don’t know about this. Was there some point in the early 2000s where this band was a thing and I just missed it? Was this album critically praised? I feel like it’s all but impossible to get a handle on what this is and who it’s for. There’s such a kitchen sink quality going on that I found myself liking parts and hating parts, all within the very same song. And in damn near every song. Oddly enough, I found myself thinking of the hippie hair metal band Enuff Z’nuff for some reason. There’s a mix of genres and styles here that just never quite felt right to me.

Not a fan of this whole Whisper Baby style of singing, but it was nice to break up the sausage party at least. I liked the boning with the lights on song and every now and then she’ll sing like a normal human being and it sounds great! I just don’t understand why she doesn’t do it all, or at least most, of the time. Is she responsible for this whole trend? Feels like Billie Eilish owes a nod or two her way at the very least. But yeah. Perhaps if 9 out of 10 movie trailers from the past five years didn’t have a cover song of a classic tune sung in this exact style I’d be more prone to be down with the Twigs. Not her fault, I suppose.

Yeah, son. I don’t know, son! Probably not really something I’ll listen to more than once, but what do I know, son?? Did he call himself “the Black Trump?” I wonder what the temperature is on that particular nickname at the moment. Son.

I loved pretty much every second of this. (Yeah, that last tune kind of makes the record feel like it doesn’t quite stick the landing.) Easily one of my faves that we’ve done to date! Good shit. Which most likely means we’re getting some hot turds this week just to balance things out. Enjoy!

I really like that first track! After that, it all just made me sleeeeeepy. Love the concept of writing an album to try and improve the crappy canned music at airports though, and can definitely hear the influence that first track had on a whole lot of film scores.

Interesting. I’ve never listened to this band, but recently learned David Pajo from Slint played with them at one point, so they were on the To Do list. Really like the 2nd track and some of the other French tunes, but this thing is kind of all over the place and ends with a fizzle. I do not like their graphic design. I do not like the title. The whole presentation here is hard to pin down. But not terrible! I’d listen to more.

Easy breezy. Not my thing but fine. Boy, you really realize just how insanely long most albums are doing this experiment, don’t you?

Was just reading on Wikipedia that A) this came out right around the same time as the Beatles’ Revolver and B) the UK track listing is crazy different from the US. No “Paint it Black” in the UK! What’s up with that?? Anyway, “Under My Thumb” and “I am Waiting” are songs I still enjoy on the 8,000th listen so they had to be doing something right on this thang. But that last track… why is it the last track of all these albums is a let down?

Seriously, these albums are so long! I like the album cover, I like some of the tunes, I quite liked the last track (“Mexico”) for a change and while I had never heard this before I am not the least bit surprised it is on this list. Every now and then it sounds like the Eagles or Don Henley to me, which ain’t my bag - but otherwise this is fine. I’d listen to a number of tracks again.

Some nice moments, but folks I like my Bruce with a side of sax and this waiter brought me a side of harmonica instead. They are not equals. I do not like harmonica. Sending it back.

I like it and I’m really sorry that girl sold all your shit, Andy. Five stars.

Hot take: this is easily the best of the 19 Paul Simon related albums on this list. For real though, with the exception of that pleasure machine song that sounds like The Monkees and the super depressing final track, I was kind of bowled over by how well this continues to hold up, especially for an album named after a spice rack.

I’m more of a “Moving Pictures” nerd, but never a bad time listening to this. Maybe those “hey this is Asian!” chord progressions don’t hold up so well in 2021? But it’ll probably be cool again by 2112, so hey. Life cycles and all that.

I had to run an errand last night so found myself driving around in the dark while listening to this and it was quite a nice experience. The moon wasn’t pink, but still… nice experience.

Finally! An album that ends strong. In fact, this one ends so strong that the last two songs are really the only true highlights for me. There’s something David Byrne does with his voice where he just about reaches the point of screaming that I absolutely love. Sadly, there are about nine other things he does with his voice that I have come to understand that I will just never fully appreciate. Frequently, he does all 9 of these things in a single song and it kinda drives me mad. It makes me think that if you were friends with David Byrne when he was 19 you’d tell your other friends, “David’s cool. Super talented. I just wish he’d tone it down a bit, ya know?” I don’t know. I think this will always be one of those bands that I want to like more than I actually like. Them and Winger.

I actually owned a Chemical Brothers album in college. You know, the one with the “back with another one of those block rocking beats!” song. I like this stuff in small doses and this album is no exception. I forgot they did the score for that flick HANNAH. Which, btw, is way better than the score for the new MORTAL KOMBAT movie which I just watched the other night. I don’t know where I’m going with all of this, so I guess I’ll just exit planet dust.

I’ve never heard of this band before in my life, but now I know where Edwyn Collins came from - even though his one hit wonder from the 90’s sounds nothing like anything on this album. But I really dug this! The vocals are weird, the random slide guitar is weird, the occasional singing in a non-English language is weird. None of this makes sense. And yet it worked for me. Not quite enough to excuse the Almost Famous cover here blurring out the entire rhythm section. But it worked.

Anyway, I could listen to “Fly” on repeat for the bulk of an entire day and not get tired of it. I was expecting an album of songs like this and was pleasantly surprised by how different it can be from track to track.

Miles better than the Raekwon album, IMO. I don’t know what makes “9 Milli Bros.” anything other than just a Wu Tang song, but I ain’t complaining. I would absolutely listen to this again.

If I had to sum this album up in one word that word would be “drugs.” If I had to sum it up in four words those words would be “a lot of drugs.” Odd bird that it is, I still enjoyed a wide swath of it. Way, way too long for its own good (see above) and not something I’m likely to return to. But if you told me this album influenced a whole slew of musicians that I like a lot I would not be surprised in the least. Because all musicians are drug addicts.

I’m not going to be able to compete with Alex’s review here and his stellar use of “hogshead”, so I’ll just add that I really like how there’s more than one song where they just lock into the chorus and repeat it over and over and over and it never gets old. But yeah, bit of a mixed bag where the good is so good it makes you forget the forgettable.

I know Weller’s background is legit, but this… it just sounds like dentist rock to me. If I was a dentist? I’d rock out so hard to this on the drive home from work in my Audi. Trust me, there are days where I wish I was a dentist! Alas, today is not one of those days.

I really love everything about this album and yet have always wished there was slightly more structure to the songs - if only because the stuff that feels more like a traditional arrangement is so freaking good. But really, I’m just not aware of anything that quite sounded like this before they unleashed it onto the world. Now? Like 20 million bands borrowing elements from this sound. That’s probably praise enough.

Was just thinking the other day that I ought to listen to something by Kendrick Lamar, given how well-received some of his records have been. I think that raised my expectations to a degree that I was prepared for something different than I got. I don’t hate it, but I don’t know… it didn’t immediately strike a chord with me. So many interludes! Anyway, I’ll listen to it again at some point but also this dick ain’t free, guys. Sorry.

I had a good time with this. Just having that little bit of audience interaction makes a world of difference in how I receive this kind of music. “When it was all said and done, the water may have been muddy… but the good times were clear.” - Me writing a review of this show for my local newspaper.

“Excuse me, record company executive, sir - I’m a young artist and I’d like to know how to make a record whose songs will be played over grocery store PA systems for the rest of all time.” *Record Executive hands young artist a copy of Tuesday Night Music Club* End Scene.

Seven singles. Seven goddamn singles on this record. That’s insane. And thanks to a very kind and awesome 5th grade teacher who let us listen to cassettes during class… I have these tunes ingrained in my membrane. I “sang” Pour Some Sugar on Me over the phone to my first girlfriend at her request. She dumped me the next day. Okay, the timing here’s not exactly true but it didn’t last and it couldn’t last because when all is said and done, Love Bites. (At least in the 5th grade.)

Somehow I don’t think I’d ever heard this entire album. I mean, if I had I’d like to think I’d remember the song “Mother” because that’s some batshit insane inclusion here. (And the 4th track on the album, no les!) The hits range from very good to just okay, in my opinion, and the rest is whatever because I really just want to know more about what the hell “Mother” is and what it’s doing here.

I started out really liking this, but then got tired of the voice/lyrics about halfway through. Would’ve been a damn good EP. This also feels a bit like the perfect example of a record from the 2000s+ that would have been praised by all the indie rock press, but that is actually a little boring to listen to and is super light on the “rock” part of that genre tag. There are worst offenses. THREE STARS!

I’ve always like the Lips from a distance, but sitting with this album and really actively listening to it made me realize that I think my issue with them really just comes down to Wayne. I don’t love the voice and, frequently, don’t love the lyrics. I really wish I did! Some super interesting arrangements throughout. I’m sure it’s fun live. But man… I would love to hear a different singer cover this from start to finish.

HEY YOU. Who said that??? We’ll never, ever know.

Have to admit that I’ve been trying to like the actual songs on this album (as opposed to just the mythology, artwork, etc.) for a really long time. Thankfully, it finally “clicked” this past year. This is one of those albums that definitely works better the louder you play it for whatever reason - perhaps because of how many songs are constructed around the bass guitar? At any rate, I get it now. And can see all the tendrils touching so, so many other bands I love. Highly recommend the podcast on Spotify that delves into all things Joy Division/New Order, as well, if you haven’t listened yet.

Oh man. I love this band. I liked them for years but never went full convert until the 2000s. While this album undoubtedly spawned some terrible other bands, I still look at it specifically as a gateway record for me to get into alternative music. They had a top 20 album BEFORE Nirvana, which I think provided a real blueprint for weird, heavy, melodic music to find commercial success in the midst of hair metal mania. (For better or worse.) That said, it’s in no way my favorite Faith No More record and Mike Patton’s voice is so nasally and whiny in places here I wonder if he himself can even believe he made that choice. Still, I love “From out of Nowhere,” “Zombie Eaters,” and “Woodpecker from Mars.” And in 2015 I saw them and Refused play an outdoor show in Raleigh on a perfect sweaty night and you know what? “Epic” fucking ruled right down to the somber ending, which is one of only about three things I kinda know how to play on the piano.

Some interesting moments and lyrics, but give me “Blue” over this any and every day of the week, please. Sad/weird fact: Joni Mitchell has Morgellon’s Disease which makes you feel like there are literal bugs crawling under your skin. Sounds like a Cronenberg movie.

Did I see them at Lollapalooza? That may have happened. Maybe. At any rate, I enjoyed listening to this. Perfectly pleasant. I could’ve sworn the tempo of “everyday people” was twice as fast as it apparently is, but other than that it’s an easy thing to have on in the background. And I was amazed to see they’ve been making records ever since. Will we see Digable Planets on this list???

Sorry I was late on the Marvin Gaye record, but after it made me pregnant the labor was complicated. Anyway…I think this is my favorite Fugazi record. When I was like 14 or something my family went to the beach and I spent a large chunk of the week shut in my room playing along to this cassette on my guitar. It was one of the greatest weeks of my life. I watched the Instrument doc last week on Amazon Prime. Listened to Coriky the other day. What I’m basically saying is that all the above is how I determine if a record gets five stars or not.

I’ve got some gigantic blindspots when it comes to the whole Bob Mouldiverse. But I enjoyed this. Dude’s voice is infectious. No wonder he’s been at it for decades.

While I’m always down for a good “Greensleeves” cover, I think what was fresh about this very straightforward rock take on the blues in 1968 feels pretty, pretty tired in 2021. And, yeah, I’m mainly looking at you Rod Stewart. For all of Beck’s guitar virtuoso, the lyrics by and large completely take me out of so many of these songs. I get it, Rod. You’re horny. So was Marvin Gaye but he turned it into art. There’s a way.

I know the dude’s a tool, but… I really don’t mind this album. I can put it on. It can play. It neither demands my attention nor entirely loses it. Of the electronic-based records we’ve had on this list, I’m more inclined to think I’ll remember a few of these tunes than, say, anything on that Chemical Brothers record. But, yes, I’m really just waiting for Portishead to appear and show mofos how it’s done.

Don’t hold me to this as I’ve never fully delved into the dude’s music, but every time I hear Q-Tip I think to myself, “That’s it. That’s my favorite voice in hip-hop.” Something about the ease of his delivery is so pleasant to my delicate white ears. Anywho, I enjoyed this. And I don’t want no ham & eggs, ‘cause they’re high in cholesterol (except yes, I do).

Pretty good but WTF? Sounds exactly like Greta Van Fleet.

I don’t know - maybe I just wasn’t in the mood, but holy crap this record felt like it was about six hours long. I had the band’s album that came out before this one and remember liking it quite a bit at the time. Now I’m wondering if that will still be the case or if we all got collectively seduced by their entire aesthetic in the early 2000s, and were way too forgiving of the actual songs themselves? Because with all that hype in the rear view there’s not much on here that’s doing anything for me in 2021. I’ll just listen to “We’re Going to Be Friends.” If Jack White ever makes a record that’s just variations on that one song, I’ll be on it like white on stripes. Until then…

Okay… I can’t be the only one here who didn’t know that song was called, “Brass in my Pocket,” right? RIGHT??? Anyway, if you talk about shitting bricks in the first minute of your first song that’s a pretty good way to make me a happy listener. An uneven record overall, but I love the uptempo snarly stuff.

I’ve put off listening to this “band” right up until about an hour ago and for no real good reason other than it just seemed like something I wouldn’t like. But I did! It’s almost as if my blanket generalization based upon absolutely nothing turned out to be kind of a dumb thing to do. Huh. Anywho, I like the mix of melody to beat and the whole 80s vibe of a lot of this. I will be exploring more of the catalog now.

This. This is what I’m talking about. 39 minutes long and barely even feels it! I’m not wild about the “Welfare Mothers” tune, but I’ll be happy to listen to as much Neil as this list will give me. Shit sounds fantastic. Even the harmonica. “Park bench mutations.” Who puts those words together in a song?? Nobody else.

Pleasant. Reminds me a lot of the Don Maclean record, for better or worse. It ain’t Neil Young…

This is silly.

I’ve only ever listened to “Urban Hymns” so I was a bit surprised by how rockin’ the first couple of tunes were on this. Overall, I quite liked a lot of this album, but boy the vocals and lyrics are really hit or miss for me. At times I like the imperfect nature of what he’s doing and then other times I’m just like, okay he’s not on pitch at all here. Example: loved the guitar sounds on “Drive You Home;” vocals sound like a first draft screenplay sung by a screenwriter. Other than that, I dig this band the most when they avoid the drawn out jams and just stick to the songs. And yet… there’s a reason they weren’t as big as Oasis. Still, I’d listen again.

I’m out of town and didn’t have a chance to listen to this, but am just going to assume it’s at least 4 stars because of the Silence of the Lambs connection.

Didn’t have a chance to listen to this but my Fogerty patience is always a thin line. I’ll just assume it’s a two star event. Cool.

Can an album simultaneously be the best and worst thing to ever happen to a band? Maybe it was inevitable that Billy Corgan would turn into a bit of a douche commode or maybe he already was, but this record is where I’ve always drawn the line as a fan. It’s so good and I liked it soooo much. Still do. (Those guitar sounds! The first three tracks!) But man, I didn’t touch a thing they did after this. Still have never listened to that double album, which I know is supposed to be good but… I was just tired of all things Pumpkins by that point. They flew too close to the sun, man. It’s too bad.

There’s like zero chance this list wasn’t created by a British journalist, right? Anywho, this album feels at times like it was made by more than one band. The band that does the slower, quieter stuff (“Shine a Light” and “Angel Sigh” in particular) is the band I like. The band that sounds like they’re just trying to convince everybody they do a lot of drugs is the band I could do without. And whoever decided to put that freak glitch out at the end of that one song is a meanie.

Definitely did not need to hear this before I die, because I have a feeling this is what will be playing in hell and I’ll hear plenty of it then. Also, decidedly false advertising in the title there, Mr. Mylo.

Aww, man. I really wanted to like this more than I did. When you come out of the gating swinging something like “Take On Me,” I suppose it’d be difficult for anybody to keep up that momentum. That song has given so much it’s at least worth two stars. Third star for spelling the band name in a weird way. (Why don’t we pronounced the A with a long vowel sound??)

Guys, I got to talk to Mike D on the phone once and he had to stop for a second to corral his kids out of the room because they were having a NERF war. Obviously, some of the hits here are silly and didn’t age so well but it’s still catchy as hell, fun, and I know most of the words without ever having even owned this record. If this is the only Beasties record on this list, I will burn this list to the ground.

First time listening to this entire album. I’ve always been impressed by Jeff Lynne simply because he was the one person in the Traveling Wilburys whom I had never heard of. Once I learned about ELO it still seemed like he was the non-famous one in a group of super famous singers. It totally makes sense though after listening to this record; this absolutely sounds like the kind of record other musicians would admire. I’ll have to listen to it way more than once to even begin to digest it all, but it was good going down.

Do you know what perfect pitch is? It’s when you pitch an old sofa into a dumpster and it lands on a box of harmonicas. #jokes Harmonicas aside, I like the ballad-y tunes on this album a lot. “Just Like a Woman,” “Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands,” and “Fourth Time Around” all work for me so much better than the bluesy uptempo stuff like “Temporary Like Achilles” decidedly does not. I probably would’ve been one of the jerks who went to see Dylan and booed when he got out his electric guitar. Kidding, I would do that when he got out his harmonica, so I would’ve been booing the whole show.

It was short! That’s pretty much all I got on this one. There was a fleeting moment with one song where Neil Young’s voice drew me in for a second, but the rest of it kinda just glossed over me. Wonder if The Simpsons ever made a Buffalo Shelbyville joke in an episode, hmm…

More than once now I have put this record on and thought, “Oh wait, is this better than I remember??” But then the first song ends and the rest of it happens and I remember that nah, there’s not another tune on either of these two discs that sounds at all like “Misunderstood.” And then I go another few years without ever thinking about it again. I do like a few other tunes, but for every one of those there are four bland pseudo-country or Stones/Replacements jaunts that bring absolutely nothing new to the table. Makes me wonder if I could cull this down into an EP sized collection that I mostly enjoy? Get out the scissors.

Oh man. This was such a welcome addition to this week’s listening. Really enjoyed it. “Germ Free Adolescents” is so good! Love that vocal performance. Somebody needs to do a playlist of tunes with saxophones in unlikely places.

I’ll again take issue with the notion that life is not worth living unless you’ve heard this album. Honestly, I could have heard it thirty times already in a dentist office and not even realized it. And that’s not necessarily an insult! As far as background lobby music goes, I thought this was really pleasant. Having a dinner party for your parents and all their friends? Now you know what to put on at a volume just loud enough to be heard but not intrude. And what a lovely name. Bebel Gilberto. I’ll be saying it in my dreams.

Hey I liked this one better than the other Joni ditty on here! I can’t really explain why, but as a hockey fan I did appreciate the line about having a bit of money riding on the Maple Leafs. Up until about two years ago, that would have been a notoriously bad gamble. Also, where else am I going to get another song that mentions a damn thing about hockey??? FIVE STARS.

Loved this so much I dyed my eyebrows black. It’s a good look! For real though, this was great. Now where’s a Type-0 Negative album on this list???

Not my fave Mustaine & co., but I do like a bunch of these tunes. Dave’s voice is in full snarl at times, which just sounds cooler than the infamous nasal-whine he so often resorts to. But dang… “I Ain’t Superstitious”? Yeah, that should have never been put on this record (or any, perhaps). I have a sneaking feeling that when it comes to metal we’ll be seeing more from Maiden, Metallica, and Megadeth. We’ll get some Sabbath and Slayer. Maybe - *maybe* - one Anthrax record. And that’s probably it. If there’s anything metal on this list that was recorded after the year 2000 I’ll be stunned.

Man, they really took that whole twinkly little guitar intro motif and ran it into the damn ground, didn’t they? Even beyond that many of these songs just sounded the same to me. Speed up the tempo and go more for the straight up Beatles rips (like on “I’ll Feel a Whole Lot Better”) and I would have been much happier, ya damn hippies.

Siiiiiigh… I don’t begrudge Dave Grohl for becoming a rock God, but this album makes me so nostalgic in all the saddest ways. I love this thing. Yes, I know “Everlong” exists, but song-for-song this entire album is everything I’ve ever wanted this band to be from the word go, and a totally painful reminder of how bland they’ve become. I saw them play Raleigh on this tour and it was a fucking blast. Still had William on drums. Grohl was still skinny with his stringy, long greasy-as-a-used-skillet hair. He didn’t talk to the crowd like he was trying to be Paul Stanley. It was just… the best. I used to play these songs on guitar so, so much, my dudes. And that cover art! I mean, it’s basically Han Solo’s gun!! X-Static (not Static-X) for life.

Gotta love an album that washes over you and makes you feel dirtier than you were when you started. Still think “I Wanna Be Your Dog” is the standout, but good God the whole thing would’ve spooked the hell out of me had I been alive in 1969.

Emo for boomers. I’m kidding, I just liked the idea of those words put together in a sentence like that. Anywho, I liked a lot of this record, thought a good bit of it was mediocre, and was completely and utterly blown away by the fact that I’ve never heard of a single person pointing out the fact that “Let’s Be Friends (Skin to Skin)” is basically that Sugar Ray song without the crumbling statues. I’m a changed man.

I actually bought this album around the time it came out and I 100% guarantee it was mostly due to that Pushead art work. I’m trying to think now of where I would have even heard a song off of this thing at the time. They weren’t playing it on the radio and there was no internet. I must’ve read about it in Alternative Press or some shit. Who knows. But, man, my instincts were right! This is still a ton of fun and super listenable. Now excuse me, I have to go call 1-800-PEEPEE5-1-DOODOO.

Ahh. Was nice to listen to this again after a very long time. It’s hard to imagine ever being at a point in my life where “Staralfur” won’t kind of just stop me in my tracks. I kind of wish that this album was just one amazing song from the next instead of those more ambient moments that are there purely just for mood, but damn… what a unique mood it is. Fuck it, I’m moving to Iceland.

Let’s just start with the fact that this guy’s name is Shuggie Otis. That’s pretty much my whole review. Part funky, part mellow, all smooth. All Shuggie.

Haircut 100? Huh. I genuinely cannot decide if that’s a good band name or not. Is it? Maybe. Then again, maybe not? I’m stumped. But I kinda enjoyed the tunes, overall. At times, it felt like an inferior version of Tears for Fears with more saxophone, but that’s also not something that sounds terrible in theory to me to begin with. “Love Plus One” is a song I’ll listen to more than twice. So, I’m happy I heard this if for no other reason than that.

I think this is the first Tom Waits record I’ve ever fully listened to. I liked it just fine, but I can’t imagine just falling head over heels for music like this. Are there super passionate Tom Waits fans out there? People who put this on in their car and sing along? I assume there are and I would like to meet one of them just to talk about that experience. So yeah. I liked it fine. Had no idea he’s the original pen of “Downtown Train.”

Who wants to be in my band Tamagotchi Store Girls? Anybody? Anyone? I’m either square, in a weird mood, or both because I really quite liked this. My wife walked in and said one of the songs sounds like the melody of a Eurythmics tune. Surprised she pulled that out of thin air, but she was right. There’s probably a lot of familiar melodies on this record, but I like the dude’s voice and here we are.

Ehhhh. Not my favorite of theirs by a long shot, but it’s still stupid that this is even on here. Prefer the original, but that cover of “You Really Got a Hold on Me” is something I could listen to on repeat.

SHAVE OUR TITTIES. I’m not the only one who thinks that when they hear “Save Our City” in Roadhouse Blues, am I? Eh, either way this is the first time I’ve ever listened to this record and it’s more blues rock than psych rock and I wish that was the other way around. Stuff I like (Indian Summer), stuff I don’t, pretty much the usual reaction except now I want to watch Oliver Stone movies and that new Val Kilmer doc.

We need a new Meat Loaf. Who out there can take the meat torch and run with it???

Hello, who is this? Never seen this name before in my life, but I like the album art (feels very 2000s) and a few of the tunes. But dang if you just put this on and told me it was some later Joni Mitchell record I would believe you like a devout Mormon. Still, “Poverty Blues” worked for me enough that I listened to it twice. The 60s were THE decade for cocaine songs. (I guess, I don’t really know.)

Well, I’m guessing there’s no way now we’re getting Loud Love or (still my personal fave) Badmotorfinger, but I fuckin’ love this band. Great voice over an even better rhythm section. I could probably listen to an entire record of just Kim farting around with a wah wah pedal and be a happy camper. So I’m a little biased over here. This album though has always felt like a bit of a weird mix of tunes, (even when you just compare the singles) but I think it was the first thing I ever bought on CD and I really, really love the production. This shit sings through headphones. Soundgarden was at their best, imo, when they were trudging through the chugs and then just randomly would shift into some weird tinkly melody that somehow made the whole tune come together. This record has a bunch of those moments: “Mailman,” “Head Down,” “4th of July,” etc. But yeah… at the end of the day, it’s the “Black Hole Sun” record. There are worse legacies.

Pretty sure this is what Ministry would sound like if they were French and Al consumed more Brie than heroin. In other words, I enjoyed it. (But kinda missed the heroin.)

I mean, c'mon.

If I’m being completely honest I don’t think I’ve ever been cool enough to entirely get this band. But I’ve always admired them and I can live with that. Really liked that “candle” song!

Crap. Didn’t get a chance to listen to this today, but based on that cover art and having the word “modern” in the name I’m gonna say… solid four stars. Don’t let me down album I didn’t listen to!

Kind of all over the map, isn’t it? I wasn’t expecting those drastic shifts from something like “I Don’t Mind” to “My Generation.” Lots of stuff I liked, but pretty clear they were still trying to find their identity by throwing everything at the wall to see what would stick.

I dug this. I can’t make up my mind if all these songs make some sort of cohesive sense or not, but I didn’t dislike the experience. I also had no idea that the “St. Elmo’s Fire” song on here was called that, because ya know… 80’s movies. But I might like this Elmo better than the other one? Maybe? I don’t know - I probably should give that more thought before committing to that on the record.

Damn this was fun. I love the little before and after speeches and that, somehow, she managed to get the names of Bill Gates and Donald Trump in there. Exactly what hip-hop had been begging for.

Queen’s good songs are so good that they almost instantaneously erase all their mediocre ones. For example, a lot of people don’t know that “You’re My Best Friend” and “Bohemian Rhapsody” are the only two songs on this album. Kinda weird that they called it an album at all, but then Queen was always pretty weird! I mean, you saw that movie right?

Yeah, I stopped when I got to that “Iron Man” cover. I don’t even think “cover” is the right word for whatever that was, but I don’t ever want to even speak of it again from this point on, please. Have we even had an actual Sabbath record yet??? This list is dead to me. RIP list. Unspeakable act of brutality aside, The Cardigans are fine.

This is pretty fun. I’d heard that opening track before and had no idea it was called that or was by this band. Good tune though. There’s also a song that straight up sounds like The Strokes. Was this band the Australian Strokes of the 70s? Hmm.

Gimme “The Stranger Song” all day long. Love it. And look at that dude on the cover! He’ll either kill you or sell you a car. Maybe both. Great marketing.

Is this album Pavement’s Pinkerton? Do they have a Pinkerton? I’ve always felt like I was right on that edge of liking this band, but could never fully commit. Listening to an entire album of their’s for the first time leaves me feeling like the reason is that I don’t get too bowled over by the jokey-snarky or whatever the hell you want to call them lyrics that Malkmus is delivering. But man, there are moments on here that I really like! Whenever they just lock in the rhythm section and slow things down I’m all ‘bout it. So give me a sad Pavement record! It’ll make me happy.

HEART ATTACK! HEART ATTACK MAN! This album is damn near perfect.

L-Krav seems like such a cool dude. What a waste of personality on music that basically has none. Also, considering the album he put out after this is the one with all the hits… does this mean there will be at least 2 Lenny Kravitz albums on this list?? Hoo boy. This thing is in need of a 2nd draft.

I don’t think I was ever the proper age to really receive what REM was transmitting in their hey day. Now that I am older and super fucking wiser, I’m pretty much delighted anytime I hear them. Even on the kids channel on Sirius where they play “Shiny Happy People” ever 12 songs. And yet I had never listened to this record in full. It’s pretty damn great. And, at least in this moment, I’m happy I’m old enough to feel that way.

Listening to this, I was struck by how kind of crazy it is that Ian Curtis has always been the focus of Joy Division in terms of the mythology of this band. If dude had just not died the way he did I wonder if there would not be an entirely different story altogether written about them. Because when you listen to the songs… it’s all about the rhythm section. They pick one riff that tends to start with the bass or drums, and they just ride that shit out! Was there even a chorus in any of these tunes? They’re almost anti-songs. And I kind of love that. But yeah. Ian Curtis. No way getting around the mythology. I guess he died so New Order could live? I have no idea what I’m saying and I’m going to bed.

Yeah, not really feeling this. And get your damn nostrils out of my face on that cover art, Crosby.

I couldn’t find this album, so I just listened to some random Fats Domino tunes and enjoyed the shit out of them. Also, how crazy is it that the popular naming convention of this era was Body Type + Game = Superstar? Something to think about. - Skinny Yahtzee

Man, if this album had just stopped after the first track then I’d be here saying it’s a 22 minute masterpiece. Instead, I’m sitting here thinking of car crash puns. Dang.

I’d like to praise this, but I’m not sure I sh-sh-sh-sh-shouuuuuuluuuuuldddddd. It’s fine. Beats and samples. I can’t dance.

Brits gonna Brit! This list totally came straight out of Buckingham Palace, lol. It’s fine. It’s the Verve. It’s _______. But I’m taking away a star for that dumbass title.

Didn’t get a chance to listen to this one, but… come on, it’s Bongo Rock. Five Stars.

Band names are so fun. All the words, in all the languages and these dudes landed on Prefab Sprout. Nothing else would do. Had to be Prefab Sprout. Ha. There’s nothing about this album that sounds anything remotely like whatever it is the name Prefab Sprout conjures in my head… and yet, yeah, a lot of this is pretty good! Who are these Sprouts? Why have I never heard or seen a word about this band anywhere ever? Band names. God bless ‘em.

I don’t really know what to say about this one, but I liked it. The whole time I thought this band was a solo project from one of those Animal Collective dudes, but Wikipedia confirms that I know nothing about this whole period of indie rock because I was too busy listening to Mastodon.

Kinda hard to compete with those first two bangers right out of the gate. I love this period Elton John. Won’t say the whole album is a masterpiece, but it’s all very, very listenable. Did it have to end on such a sad note though? Sheesh. Thanks a lot, Debbie Downer.

Was pleasantly pleased by this whole experience. Wouldn’t want to listen to it on repeat or anything, but I could see putting it on again from time to time. Made for some nice rainy day early morning tunage without being soul crushingly depressing. Although I do like soul crushingly depressing music.

Eh. I mean, really… Eh. Unless it’s being played after a wedding, I’m all good on ever hearing the title track again in my life.

I think I’ve always liked the title track to this, even in my early years of disliking anything remotely pop or pop adjacent. But is “Express Yourself” a terrible song or a really terrible song? And is Madonna just not that impressive of a singer? Really, this one’s all about that Prince song. How many good tunes did that dude just give away to lesser talents? It’s insanity.

So good. Even when there’s a song I tune out of or just generally dislike (looking at you “Coconut”), there’s usually a song right after that I’m all over. How great is that last tune? Strong closer, especially coming on the heels of “Jump in Ray Liotta’s Fire.” Gotta stir the sauce or it’s gonna burn, boys.

Bailed halfway through. Nice timing though, given that Nevermind turned 30 last week. Can’t celebrate that without bemoaning all the bullshit grunge that trailed in its wake.

Siding with Alex here on one front: there is that rad xylophoning (God, that better be a real word) going on in “Hong Kong Mambo” and then the brass comes in like a tsunami alarm and I can’t reach for the volume knob fast enough. Kills it for me. Tito Puente is one of the great all time names though. If I had that name I wouldn’t give two shits what anyone thinks about anything.

15 songs??? Ooof. I don’t think I have this in me today. I never even bought Blood Sugar Sex Magic, but I did see them play at Lolapalooza one year and it was fun. It’s a good time live and I don’t mind “Scar Tissue,” but… Also, I saw Anthony Kiedis eating once outside a Whole Foods. He was probably telling the person sitting across from him about how he had ideas for 472 more songs about California. Good conversation.

I don’t really have a clue what “All Mod Cons” means. Modified Converse Chuck Taylors? Stylish conservatives? I gotta get hip with this Brit street slang, bruv. Anywho, I liked this! Makes me think of like a cuddlier version of The Clash or something. Which isn’t something I thought I wanted, but maybe - just maybe - is something I needed.

Hey you guys ever heard of The Rolling Stones?

I’ve always wanted to like this band because they are undeniably cool. The music itself though… I could kind of take or leave. In hindsight, I feel as if I should have listened to it much louder than I did. Suspect it would make a greater impact. Also, I saw them live at Lolapalooza the same year as the Chili Peppers. They played at like 3 in the afternoon which felt wrong on every possible level.

Gotta say, I think I’m more likely to listen to the Sinatra record again than this Bob Marley one. There’s nothing wrong with it and I recognize that it’s good, but it still just feels like the background music that inevitably made it’s way into the air whenever I sat out on the hill by the elephants at NCSA on a sunny Saturday. Anyway, do you think Old Blue Eyes ever called his butthole Ole Brown Eye?

I tuned in and out of this and it’s not something I’d really ever gravitate to. And yet, overall I probably liked it more than I expected. “Bert’s Blues” is a solid tune and I’m really looking forward to the sequel, “Ernie’s Emo” any day now.

First song’s a classic, the rest are a class I did not enjoy it had to take in order to graduate.

I think if I turn into an old dude who only listens to Neil Young records, it’ll probably be a very happy retirement for the most part. This one is a little light on the falsetto driven ballads that I love, but still good from start to finish.

Huh. They don’t pick one of the two prior albums from this band? Weird. I’ll be honest, I haven’t had a chance to listen to this yet and I’m mostly just pissed I somehow missed …And Justice for All day. Because that shit was my jam in middle school. That’s the album that made me like Metallica. Is it as good as Master of Puppets or Ride the Lightning? Probably not. But it’s definitely more terrible sounding, but also terribly great sounding. An album truly made for cassette players, and it only cost every ounce of Jason Newsted’s dignity. Brilliant. Five stars.

Our 5th grade teacher used to let us play cassettes in class every now and then, and you bet your sweet ass this was on repeat. The boys supplied Poison, Def Lepard, Motley Crue and probably Bon Jovi; the girls brought the Dirty Dancing soundtrack and George Michael. What a crazy time to be alive! Anywho, listening to this now it strikes me as a tale of two halves. Those first four songs are pretty tight (I genuinely like “One More Try”), but it’s a drop off after that. “Monkey” feels like a blatant rip off of “Relax” by Frankie Goes to Hollywood and, as mentioned, it’s hard to imagine this album at all if Prince never existed. Still, it’s all really listenable and I get why the hits were big as shit. Sad that he left the earth when he did. There ain’t no joy for an uptown boy, after all.

Four songs! If I had made a hundred bets going into this as to how long the first song is, not a one of them would have been correct. 12 minutes! Who saw that coming?! And speaking of coming, that’s pretty much the whole point of this record, amirite? I’m guessing the songs are this long so as not to interrupt the flow of all the sweet baby making Hayes expected to happen whenever anyone put this on the victrola. I didn’t listen to it on a victrola or with a lady, but I am happy to announce that my laptop is pregnant! Also, I was kinda bored.

Didn’t get to finish it, but liked what I heard! Very sexy week indeed.

This is music for the whitest of white people, isn’t it? I’ve never listened to an entire album by Steely Dan before and I’m all but positive this means we’ll be seeing that Aja record. I don’t mind this stuff; the guitar work is impressive and I get that there’s overall some good musicianship here. But it just doesn’t seem to go for any big emotional moments at all. Like, if I have a choice between listening to this or any of the early Yes records, I’m picking the Yes records every single time. On repeat.

One of those records where you just want to grab one of the dudes in the band and go, “DO YOU NOT HEAR WHAT YOU’RE GOOD AT?? JUST DO THAT. JUST DO THAT THING. GET RID OF ALL THAT OTHER SHIT. PLEEEASE!” Could’ve been such a good dancey-synthy-indie-pop thing. Alas…

Some classics, some basics. I like it better than the other one we listened to. But really, this band will always be one I associate more with movies than with the music itself. And now I’m sitting here thinking I should go look up some Doors review by Lester Bangs because of Phillip Seymour Hoffman and I’m a go do that. Peace.

Audio book, lol. I forgot I had even heard this before until that song about being fit came on. Somehow this thing works, doesn’t it? I kind of can’t imagine listening to more than this one album from this dude, but I quite enjoyed myself with it.

Kind of felt like Mehlvis to me. Nothing really jumped out, alas. I assume we’ll be getting more so hopefully something else will pop. Elvis has always been someone I’ve wanted to appreciate more than I have to date. Where’s the shit with him singing pseudo-Hawaiian beachy stuff? That’s what I’m here for.

When I was in grad school and had to work as a teaching assistant, I had a student who really wanted to share his favorite music with me and burned a CD-R of a different record from Travis. (12 Memories) I liked that record. Not so much this one. Not a whole lot of variety going on from song to song and I sense a much bigger Thom Yorke influence on the vocals here than I did on the other. Are we keeping a tally of how many British artists are on this list?? I’ve lost count.

Is there another rap+rock record that’s even remotely as listenable as this one? It would kind of stand alone if for no other reason than that, right? But throw in “some of those who work forces are the same that burn crosses,” and try to imagine that on a major label album being sold predominantly to white kids and… can we just go back to the 90s already? Also, “Settle for Nothing” SLAMS. Forgot about that one.

I like the vibes. Very vibey. If it were a sex toy, it’d be a vibrator. An instrument, the vibraphone. I need to do my homework on this whole scene. Kraftwerk, Can, Neu! Who else do I need to check out?

Fine as background music, but I found it a bit impenetrable as something that I could pick out a single melody, let alone one I’d want to return to. That said, I was happy to see there’s a song called John McLaughlin because that dude smokes. Was nice of Miles to just name a song after him, ha. Anywho, cool cover and cool title, but I prefer the Kind of Blue stuff. I’m a simpleton.

If I worked at a place that played nothing but Billie Holiday all day, every day, I wonder how long it would take for me to get tired of it? I felt soothed by having this record on. Don’t you dare ask me to name a single song! Shame on you! But it was soothing.

Could use some Young and maybe I was just tree-hugging my inner hippie, but I enjoyed this more than I expected.

Crack rock! I just really wanted to write that. I liked several chunks of this album, and was lukewarm to others. There’s something about someone transitioning from rapping to singing R&B in the same song that is hard for my brain to process. If it’s a song where one person raps and another person sings? No problem. But if it’s all coming from the same mouth? I don’t know. It’s like a dude doing death metal growls and clean singing in the same tune. Just hard to get used to at first. But… Crack rock!

Aww man… I love her voice so much and the title track is a classic. I was hoping to like this so much more than I did, but so little here stood out to me. I liked “Jennifer”? Probably because it’s about Jennifer Grey (I assume). But that’s about it.

You know about 2Pac's mom, right? If not, look her up. Pretty fascinating family. Anywho, I found this really incredibly easy to listen to, which seems like an odd thing to say considering the image that followed this dude back in the day. Not gonna lie, "Old School" completely worked for me and also made me feel like there was a millennial right behind me with their arms crossed thinking, "Of course it did, DAD." Whatever. I would listen to this again and I don't have that reaction a ton with the stuff on this list.

Smoooooth. I can hang with this in the background, no probs. And I love the name Astrud.

Hmm. I'm inclined to give this 5 stars just based on Andy's story, but It's probably more of a 4 star thing for me, but then there's Andy's story and it's Friday so what the hell. Five goddamn stars.

Yeah, I'm with Andy here. Never owned this record, can't recall a specific time I listened to it, can't think of a specific friend who loved it, and yet somehow I knew damn near every song. Maybe it's because a bunch of these tunes found their ways into movies? I dunno and I'm not gonna Google that. Love the bratty imperfection of it all, and I feel somewhat safe in saying "Blister in the Sun" gets played on classic rock radio? Does that sound right to anyone else? Kind of amazing all around.

We’ve listened to a lot of the pop divas this year, because that’s what my daughter’s been gravitating to of late. (Don’t worry, she also likes Twisted Sister.) I knew a bunch of songs off this album and like a fair few of them just fine. But yeah, when you compare this to some of her contemporaries, Swift really truly sounds like a teenager who can’t sing or write as well as the older, cooler, meaner girls who have already been through some stone cold shit. I understand why certain people of a certain age worship her. I need to listen to some of the more recent stuff, but I don’t know - I still suspect there are more interesting and talented pop stars to hitch my old ass cart to when I need a ride to Top 40 Town.

Eh. I feel like we're going to get every possible trip-hop or trip-hop adjacent album of any note whatsoever on this list. I didn't hate it, didn't love it. Was different than I anticipated. But can we just skip straight to Portishead?

This'll probably comes as a bit of a surprise to you guys, but I'm not a recording engineer. I know, I know. I'm as surprised as you are. But as a non-engineer, I have to imagine that capturing the energy of an artist on record is not nearly as easy as just setting up a mic and pressing the record button. If it were, then pretty much every metal band I've seen live would have much, much better sounding albums. And live albums - oh God, those are the worst! They very rarely have any energy at all! Not. This. One. Not James Brown. The man exudes energy. You can see this performance as much as you can hear it, and that's crazy to me. So yeah, big thumbs up. I could listen to him just sing the names of cities for about thirty-six hours, no exaggeration. Cover the globe, James. I'm here for you. Also, kind of cool how close the artwork of this is to the Sarah Vaughn record. I guess it makes sense, given they're both live recordings. Anyway, I'm all caught up on my Thanksgiving listening. I liked the Vaughn record, but there's only one person who should be singing "Just a Gigolo" and his name is Diamond David Lee Roth. Three stars. Sugarcubes? Loved it. Bjork's energy is well on display here, too. What a wonderful weird record. At times, poppy and happy alternative-y, at other times kind of oddly menacing with some German sounding dude saying oddly menacing German things. "Fucking in Rhythm and Sorrow" might be the best song title we've come across yet on this list. Four stars.

Boy, they weren't kidding when they put the word "ambient" in the title of this. It was on, there were beats, I absorbed it all and yet retained not a millisecond of any of it. I don't really know how to have an emotional response to music like this, and I don't really suspect anyone in Aphex Twin even set out to achieve that with this record. It's got ambient in the title! It's not supposed to engage anyone! Which makes it all the more baffling that some dude thinks this record is one of 1,000 best records of all time. OF ALL TIME.

I liked this! Have to be in the right mood for this kind of shit-kickin' country, and I suppose I was. The whole thing sounded pretty clear and fantastic coming through my fancy speakers. It's not the kind of James-Brown-good that I'm going to quickly listen to it again, but I definitely would. And after yesterday's ambient lull-fest it was nice to feel like I had a beer in my hand, even though I didn't. Or did I????

A little hit and miss for me on this one. Really liked "In the Back of My Mind," which I don't think I'd ever heard before. But seemingly lots of songs about being young and being in love and wanting to get married blah blah blah. "Do You Wanna Dance?" is a banger, but I could cull a good handful of tunes from the middle of the album and probably be happier with the overall listen.

I don't believe I'd ever listened to this whole album before. It does feel rather unfair to write a review after one listen of something that's, if memory serves, 487 songs long. But my gut instinct tells me I'll reach for Who's Next over this every single time. I do like all things pinball though, so...

Schoolhouse Rock guy, lol. I think this is actually the kind of reggae that appeals to me. It blends into the background effortlessly, is incredibly consistent in rhythm, and is (above all) brief. 34 minutes was not a minute too long. I'd put this on again, even if I don't recall many specifics aside from the fact there was a song about slavery and one about pollution. But hey, if you gotta pick two social issues to sing about you could do a lot worse than those two, CRAIG.

Starts off with a trio of bangers and then kind of peters out to a weak little trickle of forgettable blandness doesn't it? Sounds about right for an album with a dobro on the cover. Why the fuck is there a dobro on the cover? Why is the dobro floating in the sky? Who thought that was an interesting concept for album artwork? I need to talk to these people.

OMG I loved this. Some of the slow jamz weren't the greatest, but god bless 'em for making a song where they sing about wanting to meet Stevie Wonder. Can you imagine being him and hearing that for the first time? hahaha. I wish YouTube existed then just for the reaction video.

Dang. This one kind of washed over me and I quickly grew tired of the you-say-one-word-then-I'll-say-the-next-word style that I 100% loved when I was a kid and sooo many rappers imitated. But it may also be that Raising Hell is simply a way better album than this; don't know, haven't listened to that in forever either. Regardless, respect to the legacy. Respect to the track suits.

I could listen to that riff from "In the Flesh" for hours. I just love it. I don't love the rest as much, but it is kind of fascinating to listen to as an entire piece vs. a collection of singles scattered across every classic rock station in the world. But you know what I never hear on any of those stations? "In the Flesh." Damn shame. I'm going to split the difference and go 3 stars. Would be 3 & 1/2 if I had the option, .

For some reason I expected this to be much more inconsistent than it actually is. Song after song it worked for me and overall I thought it sounded excellent. Cons? No songs about Optimus Prime. False advertising, bro.

Okay, but HOW did their house get in the middle of the goddamn street? I kinda liked this, kinda didn't. It's plucky in places. Songs are all over the map stylistically and melodically (hi there "New Delhi"), but it all still has that '80s stank on it. Like a lot of pop music from this era, some of it just does not hold up, in my opinion. BUT when it does there's something special about it that makes it feel like it will hold up forever. Like, I genuinely got excited when I heard the opening of "Our House." Something to be said for that.

Fine, but nothing here substantially jumped out to me save for the cover of "Grapevine." I liked that version and had never heard it before. Definitely beats the shit out of John Fogerty pronouncing "heard" as "hoid." My whole body shuddered just thinking about it.

I'm not gonna top Craig's review, but will agree with y'all about the mixed bag nature of this one. First of all, how many Beach Boys records do we even need on this list? And yet we still haven't had a single Black Sabbath album. Satan's not gonna be too happy about this and neither am I. But I do like "Feel Flows." And that artwork! There's a Don Quixote vibe to that painting. Cool image.

Cool enough. I'd still rather be listening to Portishead.

I’m gonna be behind on all of this from now until 2022, most likely. But I listened to most of this and I really enjoyed what I heard. As much as I criticize this list, their hip hop picks have been pretty solid overall.

I'm back! Happy 2022. Looks like we're kicking the year off with a bang, baby! Kidding. Unless we're talking Omicron. Anyway, nothing here really stood out to me at all except for the song "Junie." I have no doubt that lyrically there's all kinds of interesting commentary here. Some of that seeped into even my own cracker-white brain. But musically? Just felt kind of meh and blah to me overall. Happy New Year?

I had no idea that The Byrds migrated to Country & Western. This is news to me. Even crazier? I kind of really liked this. It felt like they fully committed to the genre and I can't fathom that this was a popular direction amongst their fans at the time. Maybe I'm wrong. Either way, it takes some balls. Not something I'll listen to on repeat, but I'd return to it again and I wasn't expecting to have that reaction. Good album art, too!

I am all about Elvis Costello on this list. Clearly I should have made more of an effort to get to know his catalog before now, but I am lazy and was too busy listening to some other bullshit because that's the life I've chosen. Didn't flip for every song, but overall it's an easy 4 stars from me.

I'm going to agree with the field on this one. I had zero interest in Tina or this kind of music at the time of this album's popularity and now I understand completely why it was so popular. It almost feels like a Bruce Springsteen record to me, at times. (Looking at you "Steel Claw.") Or maybe his album's feel like Tina's? I don't know. Chicken and the egg. Anyway, "1984" is a really terrible way to end an album that otherwise far exceeded my expectations. Who let that song make it to press??

"In the court of the Crimson AHHHHHHHH AHHHHH AHH AHHH! AHH AHH AHHHHHHH!" So damn good. I was lost during some of the quiet free-form jazz shit, but I am here for all of the rest. And one of the best pieces of album art of all time!

Don't kill me, but I've yet to go all-in on The Smiths in my life and I'm not sure I ever will. I don't dislike them. Not at all. But I haven't had that eureka moment yet with this band, for whatever reason. I want to! I dig the voice, like the guitars, and could listen to "How Soon is Now?" on repeat. But whenever I've tried to listen to a whole album... the songs just don't completely win me over. : ( And speaking of singers who have pissed off their fans with their politics, how good are "Holy Wars" and "Hangar 18" on that Megadeth album? I could chop the thing off right there and it would get 5 stars from me. Unfortunately, I don't think there's anything else that quite reaches the level of those two, but still... freaking love how the guitars sound on that record. Maybe 3 and 1/2 stars?

It ain't At the Drive-In, but I've always loved this band. Proggy, punk-ish, pretentious; they cover the three P's in spades on this one. I hadn't listened to this in forever. I like all the weird horns and shit they got into on the record that followed, but it was nice to hear this one again. Definitely more focused than most of their discography, for better or worse. Anyway, I remember that reading Pitchfork was pretty much a daily must for me back in the early 2000s. And then they just completely eviscerated the 2nd Mars Volta record, if memory serves. Just an absolutely brutal review and it occurred to me at that point that I didn't need to read Pitchfork any more.

I saw these guys open for the Arcade Fire back when the Arcade Fire could sell out a theater. My one takeaway from their set was that the singer is a baritone. Having listened to this entire record, my takeaway is still that one single thing. Dude's a baritone. There's absolutely nothing else I can distinguish as a single selling point for this band. Except, perhaps, for Andy's NPR thing. Other fun fact from that show: the Arcade Fire didn't play "Wake Up." I get it, I get it. You have one anthem in the arsenal, you just released your second LP, and you don't want to play that song again. But also: fuck off with that noise. We all paid good money to hear that one song and you couldn't be bothered to do it one more time. It was a pretty frustrating night.

That title song is so damn good. I had no idea it was sung by four white guys who look anything like the dudes on the cover art of this album. They were the Rick Astleys of their time... The rest of the songs have mixed results, but gosh it all sounds really good. I'd listen to this again just for the production.

Love it. "Breakfast in Bed," are you kidding me? Such a good tune. Suck it, Adele.

Not bad, not bad. It gave me Mark Lanegan vibes, minus a few hundred whiskey bottles and several decades of smoking cigs. Probably the kind of music that would work well in some David Lynch scenes, which is a very specific, but personally enjoyable compliment. If another Richard Hawley record shows up on this list I won't roll my eyes. Pretty. High. Praise, guys.

Weird. This felt more dated to me than several of the other hip hop records we've listened to that are technically older than this. Not sure why that is - maybe that high pitch synth thing? The lyrics? Both? And why is it that there's such a need in hip hop to make these records so damn long? Get off my lawn, please. Anyway, what I really want to write about is how this album completely transformed my suburban southern high school upon release. I mean, it was insane. Between this and Snoop's first record there was this, seemingly overnight, shift where about 80% of the whitest of white dudes at my school somehow convinced themselves they were gangstas. The clothes. Cars. Posture. Interest in marijuana. All of it completely changed. And then I remember going to Myrtle Beach and seeing some white kid who couldn't have been older than 12 rocking a Philly's blunt tee. Shit was out of hand. Funny, too, how so often grunge and alternative music gets thrown out there as the defining cultural moment of the 90s, when really - that bit only lasted like three years. By '94, everybody who was popular had moved on to West Coast rap and the alternative radio stations were playing Seven Mary Three and Sponge. And, look, I'd rather listen to the Chronic than Seven Mary Three, so it's hard to even blame folks.

I distinctly remember someone comparing this dude to Bob Dylan back when this album dropped. Lolololololol.

I didn't get a chance to listen to this today, but have heard it before. My memory is foggier than Barbara Bush's underpants, but I'm just gonna say that I liked it, didn't love it. And I can tell from the running time it's probably too long for me and my foggy-ass underpants. But "The Seed"! Always liked that one.

I like this. I hear a lot of Joni Mitchell in her voice at times and I'm cool with that. When I heard the first song and saw that this came out in 1999 and I immediately wondered if she had been on the Lilith Fair at some point. And damn if I wasn't right about that. I'm like folk-lady psychic. Ask me anything.

I don't know, I got into this one. I'm listening to "Speedway" again right now, matter of fact. Maybe there's hope for me as a potential Smiths fan yet?? Or does me liking this one mean the opposite? I'm really confused here.

Love it. I think I even mostly succeeded in listening to it without really thinking about a single Wes Anderson movie. I'm not sure I had ever heard "Miles from Nowhere" before, but now I've heard it twice in an hour. Really good tune - almost has classic Elton John vibes. Lyrics here and there don't always land, but overall this was a very pleasant way to start my Monday.

Wow, so this is his "White Album." It's quite a ride and while it for sure felt like an uneven one to my ears, I also found it hard to deny just the sheer impressiveness of the ground covered on all 672 of these tracks. Some bonafide classics and nice surprises (for me, at least) too. I didn't know "Village Ghetto Land" and that's a beautiful tune. I also didn't know about the "Gangsta's Paradise" connection, but that's on me and fairly embarrassing. I don't know that I'd put this on and just listen to it in sequence in one sitting again. But I could sure as shit cull a greatest hits from this record and listen to the hell out of that.

Do. They. Have. To. Always. Be. So. Very. Loooooooooooong?? This was too long. Just too long. Also, I like to think I'm a guy who has a fair amount of experience listening to music that's intentionally chaotic. And there are chaotic albums that I 100% listen to for pleasure. But there were moments on this record where it just felt like I was in a room with six or seven people and they were all talking at once about 6 or 7 different things and one of them had a drum machine and another had some LPs and all of it was going on all at once and all I wanted to do was just get the hell out of that room. So it was all too much for me today. I'm not saying I didn't appreciate the "Oh Shit" song or the one about your momma. I'm human, after all. But I was mostly annoyed by this one.

Some pretty good jams on here and let's be honest: if all country and western music sounded like this we'd probably be better off for it. Still though, the stuff that resonates the most with me is when those big band horns hit and that don't sound like no country at all, gawdammit. I might prefer the version of "Bye Bye Love" in ALL THAT JAZZ a tad more, but this one swings, cat. Might not be the record I reach for when I think of listening to Ray Charles, but perfectly good white folk dinner party background music.

Fun. They just wanna, y'all. So interesting. Like, do you think the person who made this was just a character that Cyndi Lauper played for a number of years, or is this truly what she's like when she's just hanging out eating egg rolls with her friends? Some good, infectious tunes and some that I'd be fine never hearing again. Also, it never really dawned on me how sort of ominous the music of "She Bop" is for a song about masturbation. Different strokes *ahem* for different folks, I guess.

I was kind of hoping for something more folky here, but this seems more like your grandpa's favorite jam band. Maybe this stuff works better live and with the benefit of drugs, but the closest I've come to seeing a jam band live was the last time I saw Primus a few years ago and they felt compelled to make every one of their classic songs an extra 8-10 minutes long, and simultaneously infinitely worse because of it. So I'm gonna have to pass on these young, bloods.

Yeah, kinda hard to argue with the sheer songwriting chops on this mofo. Every single song gives you something new to savor in a way that's different from the song that preceded it without doing a genre tour or trying to put on hats that do not fit. Which is extra good, because I don't think a lot of hats are going to fit on that big ol' Garfunkel doo anyway, amirite? Bonus points for inspiring at least two movie titles.

I really like this overall, but it's without question a lot to take in. I'm not at all prone to enjoy extended jams, but there's a moment in one of those 20 minute songs where they transition into the main melody of "Joy to the World," and - just for a second there - I was like, "Oh wow. That was nice. Maybe this is what people get out of the whole jam band experience?" Who knows? I'm not gonna invest too much (or any) energy to really find out. Anyway, some solid classic tunes throughout and really stellar guitar work. But absolutely something you gotta be in the mood for. And to play catch up, I will take this hands down over that Drive By Truckers record. My brother gave me that on CD years ago when it was first garnering praise, but I just can't with that one dude's voice. You know who I'm talking about. The main singer and the one who says Neil Young's name the most. I'll allow that there's something cool about a southern set concept album of sorts and I like the music well enough. But give me a different singer and different lyrics or I'm out. Emerson Lake & Palmer. I didn't mind, didn't love. Scratches an itch for me that's in the same wheelhouse as classic Yes, but not nearly as satisfying. To be fair, very little is in this space! Is it possible we'll get some Skynyrd, Alabama, and the Oak Ridge Boys this week?? Let's keep that Southern Rock thang going until we get some Mountain, please.

This was released in 2020? I thought this list was older than that. Good to know. I like how this album sounds and there are moments that ring out through the sameness, but lyrically it felt a bit like how PHILADELPHIA is a gay movie made for straight people. It's a tad on the nose, isn't it? There's obviously power in the repeated simplicity of saying something like "black is beautiful," but I guess I was kind of hoping it would dig deeper than that. (Not that it has to.) Maybe it does and I'm just tuning out due to the relatively relaxed nature of the music behind the lyrics... God knows I'm the last person to pretend to have any authority in this arena whatsoever. But if I want a glimpse into the black experience I feel like I could do better by reaching for a Kanye album or that last Stevie Wonder double-cheeseburger we just listened to. And those would have the added benefit of having some, you know, honest to god good songs.

I guess I’ll be the outlier here and bring down the rank. If you took these songs and added distortion and drums the criticism would probably be, “What’s the point of this music when The Clash already exists?” To which I would say, “Yeah, but it’s The Clash.” And by that I just mean why choose to be less exciting, ya know? It’s such an intentional decision to go the solo folk singer route as opposed to a full band and I get it - I know dude has the Woodie Guthrie thing - but it feels more intellectually or ideologically driven than emotionally so. Which resulted in a listening experience that, despite loving this guy’s voice and liking a lot of the lyrics, I had no real emotional engagement with. In fact, when it got to the second disc and the mandolins came in I could not hit the stop button fast enough. If he ever puts out a punk record (and maybe he has) I’m there. Until then, it’s just not for me.

This should just be a 45 with the title track on one side and "New Kid on Town" on the other. I'm hard pressed to think of another record that comes out swinging as hard as this one does and then disappoints further and further with each successive track, all the way to the last seconds of its merciful conclusion. How the same decade that gave us Taxi Driver also made this band a gargantuan success is something I'll never fully understand.

I don't really need to re-listen to this because I'm never not listening to it in my head. "Rudderless," "Allison's Starting to Happen," "Ceiling Fan in my Spoon," "Frank Mills," the Simon & G-Funk cover... it's everything that I want from this type of music, in that it's perfectly imperfect and constructed with the utmost simplicity needed to lodge itself in my brain. Evan Dando is probably an awful human being, but fortunately I don't have to date him. Also, “Nursery Cryme ” by Genesis. That’s the one to listen to instead of the one that was on this list.

Everybody knows the good stuff, so let's just talk about how bad that cover of "Lovesong" is. Why is it even here? You got 11 songs on your record, does it really need a 12th at all, let alone a cover? A cover?? Why??? And if you're gonna do it - which you shouldn't - why on earth would you slow down the tempo of the original to a sleep-inducing crawl? Did you hear that song and think, "You know what... the bones are good and all, but I reckon they didn't know what the fuck they were doing. Let's have a go." And if you have to cover The Cure - which you don't - you couldn't feel compelled to choose one of literally hundreds of other songs that didn't already have a chart dwelling cover by freaking 311??? It's baffling. But yeah, the rest is good.

Someone gave me this CD as a gift back in 199Whatever and I was sooooo disappointed by the mere suggestion that anyone thought this was something I might actually enjoy. Did they not notice my Helmet t-shirt? What else is a kid supposed to do to advertise that they ain't down with some pop-alt girl rock shit, ya know? And then I finally listened to it and... I didn't hate it. I think my big hurdle was just not really being sold on the whole angry image that "You Oughta Know" carried with it when that song was shot out of a canon and suddenly absolutely everywhere. Plus, I'm on the record as hating harmonicas in general, so that was a strike against her. But the more you listen here the more the likability of Alanis comes across and the catchiness of some of these songs either works or it doesn't. It mostly works for me. What I'm saying is that it kind of won me over, in spite of me. And THAT's ironic, Craig.

First, if you took guitar lessons as a young teen and didn't learn "Take Five" by The Dave Brubeck Quartet did you even take lessons at all?? I can still whittle my way around that melody on the ol' jingle axe. Great stuff. And connected to the Hendrix record via the exact same guitar teacher! My favorite song of the bunch is "May This Be Love." That was on the soundtrack for the movie Singles, no? Regardless, I remember hearing it in the mid-90s as I was getting into things like Pearl Jam and the Smashing Pumpkins and realizing that Hendrix had more in common with alternative music than with the Doobie Bros. This shit is timeless in an earned way. I can still listen to "Hey Joe" and actively enjoy it. Which is nuts. Also, I mean damn... that rhythm section could straight kill an entire marching band.

Well, it ain't my favorite Zeppelin album but it was honestly a little refreshing to listen to the band and NOT hear a song off of Zep IV, so there's something to be said for that. And while not every song here shakes the foundations... Jesus Christ, boys: I cannot for the life of me imagine what hearing "Dazed and Confused" in 1969 must have been like. For real, can you imagine hearing that on the radio when a mere decade earlier something like that song was just completely unthinkable? Bobby Darin was in the top 5 in 1959. *Bobby Darin*... I can't do nothin' but 4 stars, and that's only because I know they best it later.

Yep. It swings, hepcats. Really impressed by the production and how great the entire record sounds. Prima’s voice is one of a kind (just like Diamond Dave’s) and despite some of the weirder affectations he does with it I never grew annoyed or agitated by the performance (also, just like Diamond Dave’s). He clearly found a lane for himself and that voice and is just cruising with the top down, probably smoking like 90 cigarettes an hour. Thanks for the reminder, Craig. I just barely remember her in that movie but now I want to check out her solo stuff.

Let's get this out of the way: I'm rating this 3 stars just so that we have 4 different scores because that's how you have fun with numbers. I didn't love it though. It's tough to hear something that's essentially a covers album of tunes that are so well known in their original forms. I pretty much spent the duration thinking I'd prefer to be listening to the originals. But the stuff they wrote themselves was cool! "The VVitch" feels so gross, ha. I kinda love it. Sounds like it was recorded on rusty ass tuna cans. Alex, I couldn't quite tell if you were being sarcastic (because I'm American) but The Black Keys for sure covered "Have Love Will Travel" on one of their earlier albums. Which means The White Stripes most certainly did it sometime before that.

Stupid storytime: I worked with a dude once who got a high-up-the-food-chain tour of one of Donald Trump's hotels in Vegas back years before Trump ever ran for office. Apparently the woman (because of course it was a woman) who was showing them around the hotel kept talking about how Donald always says, "brass + glass = class." The reason I mention it is because this record has more brass than all of Trump's property holdings combined. So, so much brass. It kind of hurt my ears. I even used to play trumpet back in middle/high school... and it still felt like, "Whoa. That's a lot of brass." I didn't hate it by any means. But it could've used a lot more glass.

I can't help but laugh at how much I hated Oasis back in the mid-90s. I don't really blame myself as much as the Gallaghers and the clear joy they got out of being famous pricks who dominated the news. But at long last I finally caved and gave into the (morning) glory that is the album that came after "Definitely Maybe." And thank God I started with that one, because this album is almost like listening to a different band. The songs simply aren't there and they can't get by on attitude alone. I dig a few of them, but the leap they took between these two albums is pretty incredible. So, TLDR: I don't hate Oasis anymore, but this isn't an album I'll ever love.

This could be revisionist history, but I think this album came out right at the time I started to piece together some things about alternative radio, such that upon hearing the Woohoo Song, I immediately understood there would not be a single other Woohoo Song, or anything remotely like the Woohoo Song, anywhere on the rest of this album. And so I never bothered to listen to it… UNTIL NOW. I was right.

I don’t know, I don’t know… I got “Purple Rain” on vinyl not terribly long ago and it’s just an uninterrupted string of greatness from start to finish. I never really knew much about this one short of “U Got the Look,” and mostly I was distracted by how much I dislike the overall sounds of the drums here (and those moments of bass slappy-slappy.) On the whole it feels like one of those albums designed by someone insanely popular to be intentionally challenging to the fan base. Mission accomplished. I’m gonna go down the middle but will need to listen to this again sometime.

Well! I liked this more than I expected; perhaps my expectations were low? Aside from Morissey growling on track 2 (lol) I pretty much let the rest just wash over me and am now feeling properly clean and tidy. Listening to "Unhappy Birthday" for the 2nd time right now. Always a good sign!

For a band with such a cool front woman and a direct connection to THE landmark album of the 90s... I've always wondered how it is that Garbage's music sounds so dang tame. If there was an undercurrent of punk/garage it could've improved the entire endeavor, imo.

If this album was just the single of "Cry Baby" I'd still probably give it 4 stars. But I like enough of the other ones to cement my vote like a zeppelin made of lead. But good comp to Joe Cocker, Craig! I had never thought of that, but now it's all I can think of. Also, somebody buy me a Benz.

This one's all about "Frontier Psychiatrist." There's a reason it's the one song I ever heard from this band back when independent alternative radio was an actual thing; everything else barely made a dent. Speaking of dents, my relationship with this website is apparently broken. I wrote a whole thing for the Janis Joplin record, clicked "submit," and it promptly told me to go fuck myself by deleting every bit of it and not letting me even rewrite it. But I really liked that record. Even if "Cry Baby" was the only song on it I'd probably give it 4 stars. I like the others enough to keep it there. Also, spot on comparison to Joe Cocker, Craig. That had never occurred to me; now it's all I hear. Fishbone. I completely expected this entire album to be nothing but variations on "Bonin' in the Boneyard," (which lol, so so bad). Instead, I was pleasantly surprised that it was not that at all. I'd probably still prefer to listen to Living Colour or (for sure) Faith No More, if I'm in the mood for something that's at all in this ballpark. But it's a solid three star effort to my ears. Also, I still laugh at that story that supposedly John Cusack played some Fishbone song on set while holding up the boombox during that pivotal moment of SAY ANYTHING. Hahaha. Little Richard. You know what the drill is from the word "go," but as far as albums with songs that all kind of sound the same it's hard to argue against the effectiveness of this one. I assume this was all recorded live, as well? I mean, damn. "Ready Teddy" blows the roof off. No wonder white people stole this.

I’m in line with Craig on this one. I enjoyed it immensely more than I expected to and more than the other Cube record we heard. Furthermore, the social commentary was working for me in a way that still felt like Ice really meant what the hell he was talking about. Maybe I just like hip hop best when it’s either this angry or plain silly. I don’t know. Did get a good chuckle out of that one bit where he said something about not selling out. Whoo boy, if he could’ve seen into the future and imagined he’d be acting in family films…

I’m a day behind, but guys! You completely buried the lede here: there’s a song with Bone Thugz & Harmony. Hahaha! I was so happy when I heard that. Also, genuinely might be the most enjoyable song on the record. Anywho, I’m with Alex in that I have a very low tolerance for the breathy, whisperbrato she sings with on so much of this album. Is that even singing? I don’t know. All I know is when she sings at full volume (back half of “Butterfly,” parts of “Whenever You Call” it’s almost like a different person hopped in the recording booth. And I like it so, so much better. I just can’t with the endless vocal runs at a loud whisper. Project, Mariah! Hold a single note! All that said, I didn’t hate it all. “Close My Eyes” was the standout, imo, and I thought the Prince cover was okay? I mean, I never thought the song needed a shot of gospel but that’s an idea.

I don't know anything about this band and I have to be honest: I've spent most of this listening time wondering what the hell "Rum Sodomy" is. Did that get mentioned in a lyric and I missed it? Can one be sodomized by a drink? I don't want to think about anything worse than that. But as far as titles go, well... this is one I'll remember. Alex: am I understanding you correctly that these lads are not Irish and are just putting on an accent? If so, hmm... I don't think it really takes away any enjoyment for me and I simply can't imagine these songs without the accents. On the whole (or hole, if we're talking about that Rum Sodomy) I liked it but it's probably something I'm only reaching for at St. Patrick's Day parties. Still, I do think it's elevated above other stuff I've heard that tries to occupy this space. It's just not necessarily a space I'd want to spend too much time in, namely because of the RUM SODOMY.

Perfection. A truly incredible, incomparable piece of art. This list could have just been 1 Album You Must Listen to Before You Die and this would have been that album. My review has in no way been influenced by Craig's threat of blade-delivered violence. None whatsoever. FIVE STARS. (Is he gone?? Whew. I like this album a little more the more I listen to it, but I didn't know what the hell to make of it the first time I heard it. I definitely have nostalgia for this type of sound, but I still favor the actual songs of the first half to the last. I may need a few more listens before I really get on board with those. That is, assuming Craig doesn't cut me before I get the chance.)

Andy is psychic, y'all. Could you please mention something about Black Sabbath in your next review? Thx. Anywho, this came out in 1979??? I had no idea. They are an '80s/'90s band in my heart and there they shall remain. I enjoyed listening to this and I really do love the vocals across the board. That is the sound of this band, as far as I'm concerned. They could sing Will Smith's Oscar speech and it would fill me with joy. Nobody else sounds like this band because of those three vocalists. But man... did "Rock Lobster" have to be damn near 7 minutes long? They play that song on the kids' station on SiriusXM from time to time and I'm always in disbelief, because I can't keep it in my attention for 7 minutes so what's a kid supposed to do with it? (Know what else is also unapologetically long and feels even longer? That fucking "Space Jam" song. Oh my God in Heaven.) That aside, an enjoyable listen. I don't think I'll ever call myself a full-blown 52 Head, but I'd always welcome putting it on.

Loved how it started, but within the first ten seconds of song #2 I knew what the rest of the album was going to sound like. I wished they had lyrically embraced the macabre even more; the content of “TV Set” is gruesome and fun and I really wanted much more of that. Instead, the rockabilly creep got pretty old pretty quick to my ears. Still, “Mystery Plane” pulled me back in and that’s a track I would return to. At the end of the day though, I’d rather just listen to The Misfits. And speaking of, I’m so curious how it came to be that several punk bands gravitated towards these forms of early pop rock. Cramps, Misfits, Ramones - it’s like they all watched Grease and decided to form their own gangs at the same high school. I don’t understand how that happened, as opposed to, say, mimicking the Sex Pistols. I’m sure there’s an essay somewhere…

What a sweaty, sweaty album. I dig it. Maybe more mid-tempo overall than I'd prefer, but some solid jams. Does anyone know what "chooglin'" means? Let's make up a definition: a Google search while chilling. There. At any rate, I spent most of the time I was listening to this record thinking about APOCALYPSE NOW. As much as the Doors dominate the soundtrack of that movie, I still think of CCR as the go-to Vietnam band. Did they have a tune in GOOD MORNING VIETNAM?? I'm gonna go Choogle that. Belle and Sebastian. Hey, they did say the word "Sabbath" in a song and the band initials are B.S. (if you don't count the ampersand), so you were at least in the ballpark of telepathic influence, Andy. Don't beat yourself up. I wanted to like that record more than I did, but I couldn't get there. The lyrics were fairly interesting across the board ("Expectations" was fun), but the music and tunes never really equalled the stories. My favorite track was also the quietest and saddest sounding: "We Rule the School." Give me a whole record of that and I'll be there with belles on.

"This album is...hard white turds." - Craig Moorhead. Harsh, yo! Anywho, yeah I had a good time with this. Certainly the first and only time I've ever listened to the whole thing as, for some reason, I don't believe my brother ever owned this record or else we would've listened to it backwards and forwards in the car on family beach trips. (Like we did with "Purple Rain." My parents are cray.) So all I had to go on is the MTv barrage that was "Rio" and "Hungry Like the Wolf." Those two hold up, but as mentioned there are some other non-turds here that were never on my radar and really add to the experience. I liked "New Religion" even though I don't really like religions, so that was cool. And, tune aside, "The Chauffeur" is a great title for any medium. I'd happily listen again. Taking off a star for all that slappy bass.

You guys pretty much covered it all on this one. If I can go one step further, I almost think you could take 30 seconds from "So What" - the 15 seconds before the trumpet comes in, and then the 15 seconds after - and play that to any human being on Earth as a gauge for their tolerance of jazz. I really like a lot of Duke Ellington and that swing stuff, but there's no question that when people think of jazz as a genre they're thinking of the kind that's on display on this record. So, if you don't like that trumpet intro, then this ain't for you. If you do, then please drive through the gate. It's also nice that jazz is popular with audio nerds and these albums always tend to have really good remasters. Listening with headphones, I could hear what I assume is the reverb of the actual room they recorded in at times (especially with the sax on "So What.") Other times I could make out the faintest use of the brush on the snare drum, almost sounding like a record hiss or something. Took me a second to even realize what it was. Lastly, as someone who played trumpet in middle school and for one year of high school, I feel supremely qualified to comment that it's actually really hard to make a trumpet sound intentionally sad like it is on "Flamenco Sketches." Unintentionally sad? Yes. Daily. And I was first chair!

This one really ran out of steam for me after that song with "Heroin" in the title. That's a real problem when you're talking about the 4th track. But the three before it I enjoyed! I definitely would pick this up over that record from the Cramps again, and I genuinely like the guitar sound on this album. "Preaching the Blues" worked for me, mostly, and I kind of perked up again when it got to "Black Train." I think the idea of this album, and mixing blues and punk, is better than the execution. There's been some good stuff fairly recently that resulted from mixing blues-based ideas with hardcore (OX from Coalesce) and metal (Devil is Fine from Zeal & Ardor). But somehow the usage on this record made me think more of The Doors than anything else. I think it's the frontman. Something stylistically here felt like bo-bo Jim Morrison ,and I could never wrap my head around whether or not the vocals and singing added, detracted, or was indifferent to the music around it. I'll give it this: it was interesting.

Yeah, not a ton to say about this one. I was pretty much the right type of kid at the right time for this, though for whatever reason I mostly checked out of hotel Pearl Jam after the next album. I think it's because, as mentioned, at the end of the day they're primarily a band riffing on classic rock and the thing that truly differentiated them was Vedder. As he tamed down his vocal theatrics over the years (for the better, in a lot of instances) I guess that thing that made them different to me stood out less and less and my interest just went elsewhere. Either that, or the songs just weren't as good as they are here. The singles hold up and I particularly enjoyed hearing "Oceans" again. I forgot about that song. It's good. Fun fact: a year or two ago David Gordon Green told me he went to the same school in Texas where the "Jeremy" kid shot himself. I think he said they closed down the room to classes for a couple years, but everyone knew about it. Maybe Andy knows more about this six degrees of Kevin Bacon, but that's all I got.

Ahh, the fine line between fantasy and misogyny... I have to say, though, that I do like this kind of storytelling hip-hop and the songs have a certain way of pulling you in immediately that I often struggle with when listening to others in the genre. Still, the subject matter doesn't hold up very well at all, regardless of which "character" he's supposed to be rapping from the POV of. Too bad. Also, full disclosure: I "wrote" a Super Bowl commercial for Eminem and Brisk Iced Tea. You can find it on YouTube. They scrapped most of the script, but I didn't care. I got to talk to Eminem on the phone the day after I had my wisdom teeth pulled and all he really wanted to know is if we could see his "puppet take a shit?" It was claymation animation. No puppets. And it was one of the best phone calls of my life.

Hmm. This kind of struck me as a snooze-fest. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood? Or maybe it's... just kind of a snooze-fest? I liked "Burning of the Midnight Lamp," which is a tune I was not familiar with, but it feels like overall this record is here just to prop up the last two tracks. It's a damn strange thing to see an album where the best two songs are track numbers 15 and 16, ha. Pretty ballsy in a way!

I’m going 4 stars. I’ve always loved the sing-songy guitar parts and triptych structure of the title track. Like Andy, I had no clue “Jet” was called “Jet.” But how about “Let Me Roll It”? Again, the guitar part you can sing. I’m listening to it once more and I can barely pick out McCartney’s voice. You’d think that would be a negative, but it works. I dig it. But where’s the Weird Al track “Ham on the Run”? Gotta think that writes itself.

I listened to this record this morning and - no joke - completely and utterly forgot that I had until about 5 mins ago. (It’s 8pm. I’m not drinking.) So, uhh, yeah. Hey are there Kinks songs I need to know that weren’t covered by Van Halen and aren’t in a Wes Anderson movie? I wanna hear those. Pretty sure they weren’t on this album.

Man, this guy REALLY like reggae, no? This is a type of music that you either dig or you don't. I dig - but only on certain occasions and certain tracks. I appreciate the importance of Marley more than I enjoy anything on this album; that rhythm and those guitars have always been a barrier for me because of the lack of variety my ears can pick up on. I'm sure there's nuance here from track to track. I just can't hear it. Clearly, this is a me problem. Maybe one of these days it'll click. But today is not that day.

Is there another band that benefitted as much from their 3rd album as Radiohead did with this one? (Okay, just Googled that question and there's a ton: Born to Run, Dookie, Songs for the Deaf, Slippery When Wet, and so forth. Forget I even brought it up.) Anyway, yeah it still seems strange to me listening to this again for the 9,000th time that *this* is the record that scored higher with critics and audiences than The Bends. Especially on the heels of such a giant hit in "Creep," it makes zero sense in hindsight why The Bends was not more warmly received in the US than it was - and yet OK Computer was hyped beyond belief right out of the gate. I remember Matt Pinfield on MTV talking about how good this album was before it was released and then playing the video for "Paranoid Android." And you know, you hear that song the first time and it's real easy to go "What the hell is this?" Somehow people got it. Next thing you know, Radiohead is goddamn everywhere. The fact that they were the same band that hit with "Creep" became part of the narrative. It was like validation that they weren't just a one hit wonder and everybody was happy about it. BUT... The Bends exists! Why didn't that happen at the same level when "Fake Plastic Trees" and "Street Spirit (Fade Out)" were on MTV?? Those are easier songs to digest than "Paranoid Android," right? I. Do. Not. Understand. Society. But hey at least they got behind another good album. Listening now, I could lop off "Electioneering" and "Climbing Up the Walls," and probably be happier with the total package. But the guitars on "Let Down"... I will not ever get tired of that. Sad Radiohead makes me happy.

This is 22 minutes of damn near perfection. Wow. How good is that version of "Money"??? That thing STOMPS. Holy shit. What a freaking set. If I were a greaseball teen in the 1950s Jerry Lee would have been my grindcore. Reeeeally wish he hadn't married his 13 year old cousin... Also, holy crap - he's still alive! That seems impossible. This record is impossible. I'm done.

Steve Winwood: "All right, everybody all tuned up and ready to roll?" Band: "You got it, boss. Let's rock." Steve Winwood: "Timmy, you got that synth set to 'Elegant Farts'?" Timmy: *forces saddest thumbs up of all time in Winwood's direction* Steve Winwood: "Perfect, Tim. Let's make magic! And a one, two, three..." Or at least, that's how I imagine it went down. Anyway, this is not for me. I did like the title track well enough. Otherwise it's a cloudy blur.

I think all this soft 80s adult-oriented pop is payback for me having missed the two Black Sabbath records. That's on me, guys. You make a deal with the devil and the devil wants his due. I didn't mind "Heaven," "Holding Back the Years," or "Picture Book." But I'm going to have that lower octave singing of the line "Open Up the Red Box" stuck in my head the rest of my life and I am not sure I deserved that one.

Eh, fine. "Stay With Me" is a good time, but on the whole I spent most of the record wondering why I would choose to listen to this over anything of the similar era from The Rolling Stones. I think the answer is that, in most instances, I wouldn't. So the headline here is, "New Faces album isn't The Rolling Stones." Which isn't fair, really, but it's all I got.

Did we listen to another Stone Roses record already? I can't remember, but feel like we did. Anyway, yeah it's very listenable. I never raced for the skip button, but I sure as heck did a quick glance up when the song that is every bit a cover of "Scarborough Fair" by Simon & Garfunkle came on, and I'm genuinely confused why it's called "Elizabeth My Dear." Can you just change the lyrics and do that? I guess so. Huh. (And kudos to this list maker for finding a way to put even MORE Paul Simon in here, which I didn't think was humanly possible at this point.) I liked enough of the rest of it to not be mad we listened to it. And I can see why people thought this was cool in 1989. It feels easy and safe to say there might not be Oasis without the Stone Roses, unless I'm wrong about my dates.

Okay, now this I can get behind. I'm not familiar with Mrs. Armatrading, but first of all - that's a fun last name to say. Does she have a record called "Armatrading Places"? If not, she should. But also what a voice! It made me think of Joni Mitchell but in a different register. Lovely, warm production all around. I could be misreading this, but is "Water with the Wine" about date rape?? Kind of seems that way, but then I was watching I MAY DESTROY YOU last night, so maybe that's on me... Anyway, "Like Fire," "Down to Zero," etc. I liked most of it. Good stuff. Armatrading in some mediocre Britpop-electronica records on this list for more Joan Armatrading records, please.

Didn't hate it. Made for fine background music, but I definitely thought it started stronger than it finished. After about 5 tracks or so it all just fades into the air, which is kinda what I want from something like this. Works for me when I'm writing to have things like this playing - enough of a beat to be heard, but nothing so distinguishing about it that it really distracts me from what I'm doing. BUT... I feel like there was potential for this to be so much more than just background music. That creepy sample of a kid saying, "I love you!" in "The Color of the Fire" is the type of thing I wish ran through the entire album. Reminds me of that album from The Avalanches in this regard. You win or lose me with your creepy, funny, weird samples. And there are never enough. Who out there has made an album that is nothing but a collage of weird samples? That's what I'm looking for on this list.

Sorry, but I’m raising the average on this one. I liked it! Even listened to it twice! It doesn’t contain my favorite New Order songs, but still… I’m here for the new wave this year. I don’t know what’s happening to me.

Man, music was desperate for the next big thing in 2000-2001! How many bands/artists got a crack at the wheel? At the Drive-In, Ryan Adams, Interpol, The White Stripes, The Hives, the Vines, Jet, Wolfmother, Thursday (love ya, Steve) and like 47 other bands I can't even remember right now. Apparently we REALLY needed a new big thing, y'all. And, of course, The Strokes. I expected to be disappointed from listening to this again, not unlike my experience with that White Stripes record that was on this list. But not so much this time. I think I prefer their record after this (if memory serves), but I'm still very drawn to the guitars and bass here. I like the sound, I like the melodies, I like the rhythm. It's hard to separate the singing from the overall experience, but it's my least favorite part of what this band does. In fact, listening this time I was struck by how poppy some of these tunes are. Kind of makes me wonder what they would sound like with a singer who had more range and was able to lean into that side of their arrangements more. That said, what's there doesn't annoy me. Totally get the kidz bop reference though. There's for sure a whole air of adopting an aesthetic from a time period these dudes weren't even alive for yet. And that shit does kind of drive me crazy. (Looking at you Greta Van Fleet!) But over time I think that stuff fades away a bit and seems relatively harmless. The hype was probably only half their fault to begin with, and they definitely did not get to be the next big thing for very long. At least that one dude in the band got to date Drew Barrymore. Anyway, I'm watching a hockey game and they played "Unsung" by Helmet on the house P.A. during a stoppage in play, so I'm gonna go high-five myself.

Yeah, similar to what Craig said I did not pick out a single banger on this album, and yet... I mean, it's Stevie Wonder so it ain't like it's hot garbage. Perfectly listenable and enjoyable. But absolutely nothing stood out to me. Continues to be shocking that there's still so little overall variety on a list of one thousand records. Also, continues to be not shocking at all. We gotta be due some more hip hop or metal soon, right? Or country? When was the last country record on this list? And I guess they're just ignoring classical altogether, right? Dunno, but I think this list might be some bullshit.

I’m the clear Kate Bush newbie here, it seems. Shame on me. I liked this a lot! Definitely liked it more than Bush. (The band and the Presidents.) The sound of this record won me over pretty much from the word go. Beautiful sounds, colorful voice. I dig it. And now I’m wondering if there’s gonna be a Bush record on this list. I mean, probably. Ah hell.

If you had asked me a day ago who Lou Barlow is I could have told you he was in Sebadoh, Dinosaur Jr. and Folk Implosion. Of the three, the only one of those bands I've never listened to though is Sebadoh. Not sure how that happened. What a weird experience this album is. There was more that one tune that had me smashing that skip button pretty quickly. And yet... AND YET! We gotta talk about "Homemade." Holy shit. Go back and listen to that one if you let it just pass over you without paying much attention to it. Because that might be the best 90s era emo song I've never remotely heard of before. Like hall of fame level. I've listened to it three times already and it's going on a playlist. So what I've concluded is that when this band is a little more restrained, a little more quiet, and a little sad... I am a Sebadoh fan. "Happily Divided" is great. "Sister" and "Cliche" I liked a lot. Gimme "Think" all day long. But "Elixir is Zog"? "No Way Out?" Hard pass. I can't with the lo-fi spazz out stuff. The songs that sound basically like Dinosaur Jr. without Mascis on guitar aren't cutting it, man. And that stinks. Once we finish this list twenty-four years from now if someone asks me to name a record from it that had the highest highs and lowest lows, all on the same album... my answer might be this one.

Hot take: I might be ready to say that "Watching the Detectives" is my favorite reggae song of all time. Granted, I have not done my due dilligence (like, at all) and making this declaration would probably and rightfully offend the entire island of Jamaica, but... that's a damn good song. And to close out the entire album? Bold move that pays off in spades. It's so much moodier than most of what precedes it and the tempo/rhythm/instrumentation really support the story he's telling. Is dark reggae a thing? It should be if it can be done this well. Alas, I can't say I had the same experience with everything else on this record. In fact, while I like "Allison" something about it's placement in the track listing here didn't work for me. Also, maybe there's one too many tunes that sound like they could have been played by the band at the end of Back to the Future. This could be a shorter listen and I wouldn't complain. But still. Very solid record with an exclamation point at the end of the sentence. Costello has become one of the very few repeat artists on this list that I get excited to listen to again.

Similar to Craig, I was thoroughly enjoying this for the first half hour. 45 minutes later I was less captivated by the experience as a whole. That said, I don’t have much of a complaint beyond this one. Really like Kuti’s voice, as well as the background singers and even when the lyrics are on the nose (as in “Wonder” and the pondering of a United Africa) it still totally worked for me. Also, “Plenty Nonsense” is a darn good title for just about anything that needs a title. I’m just now paying attention to the track listing and seeing that there are two songs called “Nawa” and they come back to back on the album. The first is really only a brief appetizer for the main course, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen this done before. Good tune(s).

I quite liked this. I don’t really know her music beyond the few tunes that made it to MTV, but this was more moody and enjoyably lo-fi, quieter than I anticipated. All in good ways. The opening track, “Marlene on the wall,” “undertow,” etc. I would listen to this again and just think about her thinking about Andy’s tweet about her hair. Amazing.

I found myself thinking of that live Jerry Lee Lewis album from a few weeks ago while listening to this Motörbeast. Feels like he would approve of this set list. Get in, loudly blast through the high energy shit the fans are there for in the first place, and get out. It’s a pretty simple recipe and yet so rarely delivered that it stands out when someone offers it up on a greasy platter like this. What’s interesting is that Apple Music has four different versions of this album, all of which add extra tracks and extend the runtime. There’s a deluxe remaster that’s 71 songs and damn near 5 hours long! I know fans are gonna fan, but come on. The original duration is part of what makes the thing shine, what makes it feel like you’re actually at the concert. It’s like a story that needs to be a movie vs. the same story being stretched to an eight season TV show. I loved this album; I don’t love it at 5 hours.

Mannnn… so I’m alone in liking this one?? Oh well. I guess you guys won’t be joining my Blue Cheer fan club, which will be known as the Cheerleaders. You know you know want the semi-annual newsletter and free iron-on, dudes! Come on! Okay. Yes, this is a museum piece and yes this is proto-grunge and yes the last track is almost indefensibly indulgent. The whole thing just kind of sounds like crap. No argument. But it sounds like specific crap. And the crap I’m talking about specifically is Kyuss and the whole desert rock scene of the 90s. I like Kyuss and love a heck of a lot of Queens of the Stone Age tunes. I swear to God if you lopped off “Summertime Blues” and gave me a blank CD-R of this Blue Cheer album but told me it was an unreleased Kyuss demo I would 100% believe you. It sounds that close at times to me, especially with some of the lead guitar sounds. And in fact, I actually prefer the Blue Cheer vocals here to what John Garcia did on most Kyuss tracks. So, in some ways it’s superior. Genuinely liked it guys. Don’t know what else to say. Shawn Harwell Head Cheerleader

Here's the benefit of always being the last one to get his review in: I can just say, "I agree with all of you." Very true in this case, though I didn't find Easy-E as much of a distraction as Craig did. Some good tunes up front and whole lot of filler to round out the back.

I feel like the only other artist I can really compare Billy Joel to is Elton John, and isn’t it weird that they both have names that are really just two first names slapped together and the second one in both instances starts with a J? It’s the magical formula for pop piano storytellers. Also, I’m changing my name to Shawn Jerry. This is an enjoyable record. Even when I lose track of whatever story he’s telling, the tune is there to keep me engaged. I wouldn’t mind seeing another one of his albums pop up on this list and I suspect we will.

Not sure how I missed Aretha but I will have to check that one out. Sounds like a winner. Anyway, I have a theory, based on no evidence whatsoever, that if you were shipwrecked on an island with Elliott Smith and a single acoustic guitar you could’ve told him, “Hey man, we’ve been on this island for a few days now and I’m hungry, exhausted, and starting to wonder if we’ll ever get home. Could you spare me the sad songs and, I don’t know, write a dirty, funny one about a mermaid or something?” And then a few hours later you’d hear the dirtiest, funniest, and best song about a mermaid ever. I really like this one. I wish it was a bit shorter, but that feels like a shitty thing to complain about of someone who’s dead. Which still sucks to this day.

I was halfway into “The Killing Moon” when our home internet went out. It still has not come back on, sadly, and I don’t have unlimited data (phone plans are dumb and expensive in America, Alex) so I haven’t made it all the way through the album. I’m loving it so far except that “Crown of Thorns” seemed to be in the wrong place and killed the momentum. Give that track the boot and I’d be a very happy bunnyman. Can’t wait to hear the rest of it once Spectrum gets their shit together.

So much fun. I thought this was gonna be the kind of album that would get me pregnant, but I was happy that there’s a lot more variety here than just the baby-making jams I anticipated. Not sure I’m ready yet to call this version of “Summer Breeze” the definitive one, but I had never heard their take on “Listen to the Music” and I’m prepared now to pretend like the Doobie Bros. version simply doesn’t exist. Doobie who? I’m already doing it. Wonder if they ever figured out who that lady is tho’.

OMG The Godfather of grunge!! I still don’t really get that title. I know the man has recorded 237 albums, but I’ve listened to a lot of them and… never once did I find myself going, “Oh yeah, Alice In Chains.” Nope. Sorry, 1990s media. And thank goodness, because Mr. Young is so much more than that. There aren’t a ton of musicians who would make me pause if I had to pick between one of their acoustic or one of their electric albums, but Neil’s on that list. Goddamn those guitar tones. At times it just sounds like a pretty good bar band, but then they hit you with some of those fuzzed out leads where they just hold a single note or two and it makes me want to buy a new guitar. And then sometimes they do the opposite with an acoustic and it *still* makes me want to buy a guitar. So this album. It’s a weird one. I thought for sure “Rocking in the Free World” was on here, but instead we get a bunch of songs that are kind of in that ballpark but not quite. I liked a lot of them (“Fuckin’ Up”, “Love and Only Love”) and didn’t quite care for others (“Farmer John”). I’d say most of the songs here could be shorter, but doing so would mean losing some of those guitar moments I love. One of the best guitar bits is in the very last tune, which sounds like some sort of beautifully distorted take on “Amazing Grace.” But then the band starts singing those awfully-on-the-nose lyrics about mama earth and I kinda cringe. Still, even in the seas of cheese, I never once don’t believe Young and co. aren’t being earnest. He always is! Every single song. I don’t know how he hasn’t got tired of his own shit after all these years, but god bless him.

Man, you guys are coming out swinging today. I like Love Battery, too, but I don't think there's many from this era who can touch Mark Lanegan's voice. I guess you either like it or you don't. I love it! First three songs here are fantastic melodic grunge, and actually maybe I'll take back what I wrote on Neil Young. In some ways I can in fact hear shades and tendrils of "Ragged Glory" in this album. The rest of the album doesn't have the same hooks as those first three tracks, but I think they're a good precursor to where Lanegan was going with his solo stuff. Again, I'm won over by the voice and even when the songs weren't the strongest it still felt like I had a comfy blanket in my lap. In the off chance Alex likes this I'll recommend The Gutter Twins collab Lanegan did with Greg Duli of the Afghan Whigs. It's darker and smokier. And of course he's one of the standout components of the Queens of the Stone Age's classic "Songs for the Deaf." Also, guys he's dead! Lanegan died in February of this year and I feel like it barely made a blip in the news cycle. It makes me sad and really surprised, given he seems like a dude who other musicians adored. Where's the memorial concert?? I blame stupid Covid. Oh well.

This was a ride. Really liked the opening tune a lot. But "Religion(s) I & II" felt so long that I'm pretty sure they're still being recorded. I kind of liked the spoken word take, but part two was *physically* hard to listen to. It was like watching some of Gaspar Noe's movies, where you feel fairly certain that the artist actively wants you to hate their art. The mix is just kind of unbearable, right? Intentionally so, I'm sure but still. In fact, I'm seeing now on the Wiki page for this record that Jah Wobble (best bassist name ever?) is quoted as saying he felt like the mix "tries a bit too hard." I'm with Wobble. Of course, the mix is only trying to keep up with the lyrics, which are - ironically - pretty damn preachy. But after those two and "Annalisa," (eh) I was right back on board with "Public Image" and "Low Life." Good stuff! And then right back out with the song where they scream like Monty Python old women for 25 minutes straight. Shit. Is. Wild. Anyway, if you want to put this all in context Google "John Lyon Masked Singer" and enjoy the rest of your weekend. And remember: I'm with Wobble.™