275
Albums Rated
3.27
Average Rating
25%
Complete
814 albums remaining
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1950s
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Funk
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27
5-Star Albums
11
1-Star Albums
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You Love More Than Most
Albums you rated higher than global average
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slipknot | 5 | 2.67 | +2.33 |
| Yeezus | 5 | 2.77 | +2.23 |
| Something/Anything? | 5 | 3.03 | +1.97 |
| Devil Without A Cause | 4 | 2.06 | +1.94 |
| Scum | 4 | 2.07 | +1.93 |
| Honky Tonk Heroes | 5 | 3.14 | +1.86 |
| Since I Left You | 5 | 3.28 | +1.72 |
| Chirping Crickets | 5 | 3.29 | +1.71 |
| Bitches Brew | 5 | 3.3 | +1.7 |
| The College Dropout | 5 | 3.31 | +1.69 |
You Love Less Than Most
Albums you rated lower than global average
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natty Dread | 1 | 3.58 | -2.58 |
| Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols | 1 | 3.46 | -2.46 |
| Songs Of Leonard Cohen | 1 | 3.37 | -2.37 |
| The Specials | 1 | 3.3 | -2.3 |
| Hypnotised | 1 | 3.06 | -2.06 |
| Blood And Chocolate | 1 | 2.92 | -1.92 |
| 69 Love Songs | 1 | 2.85 | -1.85 |
| I Am a Bird Now | 1 | 2.84 | -1.84 |
| Back to Mystery City | 1 | 2.68 | -1.68 |
| Blood On The Tracks | 2 | 3.68 | -1.68 |
Artist Analysis
Favorite Artists
Artists with 2+ albums
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Kanye West | 2 | 5 |
| Bruce Springsteen | 2 | 5 |
Controversial Artists
Artists you rate inconsistently
| Artist | Ratings |
|---|---|
| Bob Marley & The Wailers | 1, 4 |
5-Star Albums (27)
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Popular Reviews
Michael Jackson
5/5
It's Thriller. You know, "best-selling album of all time" Thriller? "Respectable choice for best album ever" Thriller? "Beat It" Thriller? "Billie Jean" Thriller? Yeah, that Thriller.
I didn't need to listen to it again to know it was a 5/5, but I did and I can confirm: it's still a 5. RIP MJ
49 likes
Run-D.M.C.
2/5
My name is Greg and I'm here to say / Run DMC's rhymes sound old and dated
However important and influential it may be, this era in rap just sounds incredibly simplistic to my modern ears. "They walked so others could run", but they still walked. I'm glad I heard it once, but I'm not coming back to it.
31 likes
Bruce Springsteen
5/5
Springsteen has better albums than Born in the USA, but I don't know if he has a better collection of songs. What it might lack in cohesiveness or consistent tone, it more than makes up for in the fact that every single track is a classic. You could pick which songs would be the singles just by throwing darts at the tracklist. There is no filler, no song that you want to skip, just 45 straight minutes of beautiful music.
26 likes
Thelonious Monk
5/5
Excellent jazz. I don't know enough about jazz to say what makes it so great, but I know enough about music to say "I Enjoyed This Album."
24 likes
Beastie Boys
5/5
I consider myself pretty well-versed with the history of hip hop and most of the old records, but this is a side of the Beastie Boys I'd never heard before. I was expecting something more along the lines of "Licensed to Ill" or "Paul's Boutique", but this is something completely different. This isn't a rap album with jazz and funk influences, this is a jazz album with funky raps played over it. When "Sabrosa" came on halfway through, I had to double-check that I was still listening to the same album. Five well-deserved stars here
23 likes
4-Star Albums (90)
1-Star Albums (11)
All Ratings
Bob Dylan
2/5
From the first minute of listening, I suddenly understand why people compare early Springsteen (see: "Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ") to Dylan. "Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again" sounds so much like "It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City" and "Sad Eyed Ladies of the Lowlands" sounds so much like "Mary, Queen of Arkansas" that I'd almost call it plagiarism on Springsteen's part.
I can understand why people like Dylan so much, but his style just isn't for me. This is definitely one of those "I probably learned something from this, but I'm not going to listen to it again" albums.
The Doors
2/5
I had previously heard their self-titled album, but didn't care for it. I think I like the bluesier sound here more, but it's still not for me. It's not about the album (or the band) itself being good or bad, it's just not the style of music I like.
Air
3/5
I like this one a bit. It's mostly instrumental atmospheric stuff, with some vocals here and there. The song "Dead Bodies" has some great drums. Still not a "must add to my library" album, though.
Red Hot Chili Peppers
4/5
The first album I've been given that I've heard of before (even if I've never listened to it the whole way through). The title track is as good as it's ever been, and the whole album mostly succeeds in keeping the atmosphere alive. I think it drags a little bit toward the end and if somebody told me this was their favorite album ever, I'd look at them sideways. With that said, it's definitely a good album with a few standouts, it's just not exceptional.
The xx
4/5
I liked this one the most of all the albums so far. It's still not really what I listen to, but a lot of the beats had a great atmospheric vibe that I could get into.
Michael Jackson
3/5
It's Michael Jackson. You know who he is and what he sounds like. Bad is not his best album (two guesses what it is), but it's not bad (pun intended) either. The sound is dated, but it's been a very important and influential album so this makes sense as one of the "albums you must listen to".
Le Tigre
4/5
The music is good, but the lyrics are a little bit too ironic and inscrutable for me to really get into. Highlight of the album for me is "Slideshow at Free University".
Kid Rock
4/5
This album has no right to be as good as it is.
a-ha
4/5
I liked this one quite a bit, especially the opening track, "Take on Me". Very 80s.
Donovan
2/5
British guy makes psychedelic rock music but - get this! - he's not a Beatle.
Forgettable, IMO.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
1/5
Today I learned that I really, really, really do not like reggae. I'm sure this was an important album and all, but man do I not enjoy this. I'd rather listen to the Kid Rock album again than this one.
Stephen Stills
3/5
The album is clearly made by some talented dudes but it's very long and none of the songs had the je ne sais quoi to hook me.
Cyndi Lauper
4/5
This was a very good album. If it was just the first side, I'd give it 5 stars. The second half was a bit lackluster and samey, so 4 stars. The album art is amazing, as an aside.
Siouxsie And The Banshees
3/5
Talented and has some good tracks, but nothing outstanding. I think the vocals are mixed to be a little bit too quiet.
Kanye West
5/5
This is the first album on the list that I've already heard. It's Ye, man, how can you not love it? Absolutely a bona fide classic, five stars.
Grizzly Bear
4/5
Pretty good chill indie rock. The sort of thing to throw on in the background and not really pay much attention to.
Aerosmith
2/5
Some decent music, but the lyrics are kind of juvenile and none of it really stood out to me as particularly fun to listen to.
Fela Kuti
5/5
Fantastic drumming and percussion, with some horns thrown in for texture. This is the best non-Kanye album on the list so far.
Sleater-Kinney
2/5
I don't know what I'm supposed to get out of this. They've got some nice sounds at times, but it's droning and repetitive and I just don't especially enjoy it.
Tito Puente
4/5
Very good Latin music, but I'm never going to listen to it again.
The Magnetic Fields
1/5
Oh god it's literally 69 love songs
It's 3 volumes
It's 3 hours
I suffered through one hour and I can't take any more. Please kill me
David Crosby
3/5
Pretty good folk stuff. Not my kind of music, but certainly listenable.
Lucinda Williams
3/5
It's incredibly bland heartland/roots rock with country influences. Not something I'd come back to.
Radiohead
4/5
I liked this one quite a bit, especially the opening few tracks. I didn't enjoy the vocals as much, but some of the instrumentals were fantastic.
Charles Mingus
5/5
This was a great jazz album, and I'm definitely going to look into more albums by Mingus (note to self: Wikipedia says "Mingus Ah Um" is his other masterpiece).
Isaac Hayes
5/5
This album is so good, oh my god. It's truly a masterpiece and it almost makes suffering through all of the filler albums worth it to find one like this.
Joni Mitchell
3/5
It's one of those "objectively good" albums: well written, well performed, well regarded. But I just don't like folk music that much, and this doesn't stand out to me for that reason.
Pixies
4/5
Pretty good! Just good old fashioned hard rock music
Roni Size
3/5
Not bad, but not the best house/jungle/rythym-n-bass album I've heard either. Also, way, way, too long.
Joni Mitchell
3/5
I think I like this more than the other Joni Mitchell album, but it's the same sort of thing: she's clearly got tons of talent, but I just don't like the music.
The Who
5/5
This is a tough one to give a 5 to. I didn't find it a particularly enjoyable album, frankly, but it's clearly competent musically. I'm giving it a 5 mostly for its sheer scope and ability to make you feel things, even if it wasn't always pleasant.
Fatboy Slim
4/5
Good, but I preferred "You've Come A Long Way, Baby"
Pulp
4/5
Decent British arty pop-rock music. I think I liked the vibe of the album more than I did the actual music. Could definitely see this as a strong 3 instead of the 4 I gave.
Arcade Fire
2/5
It's fine, but man is it boring. I could easily forget that it was even playing.
David Bowie
3/5
I know Bowie was a legend or whatever, but I thought this album was kind of meh
The Modern Lovers
3/5
I thought it was all right musically but a bit weird lyrically: kind of ironically awkward, but just enough to be uncomfortable. It might be an "important" album but I don't think it's enjoyable.
Neu!
3/5
Another sort of "whatever" album. It's decent electronic rock to have on in the background, but it's entirely forgettable.
Metallica
4/5
Pretty good! I'm not really a metal fan, but the guitar work is obviously skilled. I think it's mostly the vocals I don't care for, but here it works well.
Air
4/5
Good calm trip-hop / electronica. Like their earlier album from this list (the soundtrack to The Virgin Suicides), this is great atmospheric music to put on and vibe out to.
The Yardbirds
3/5
Kind of dad-rocky Rock and Roll. They very well might be talented, but it just sounds old and dated to me.
The Chemical Brothers
4/5
Pretty good house/electronica, but I prefer their tracks without vocals to the ones that have them.
Lenny Kravitz
3/5
Not really my style. Can't call it bad, but I'm not coming back to it.
Beth Orton
4/5
She's got a great voice over some semi-ambient electronica/trip-hop beats. Very "lo-fi hip hop to relax/study to" vibes.
Louis Prima
3/5
I'm sure if I was alive in his time, I would have thought this was the greatest thing ever. But I'm not, so I don't. It's great swing music, I bet, but it's not for me.
The Velvet Underground
3/5
Being important does not make an album good.
Sonic Youth
4/5
Some good tracks on here, but overall, it's not my sound.
Tears For Fears
4/5
The album is short and stripped of filler, just how I like it. The opening track, "Shout", is a 10/10 masterpiece, but some others are a bit too singy for me.
Big Brother & The Holding Company
2/5
Another one of those "important" albums that I just could not get into.
The Fall
2/5
Arty punk music made by and for people who think that enjoyable music is too bougie for them
Santana
4/5
Expertly played guitar. It's a shame I prefer drums.
Meat Loaf
3/5
I don't especially like it, but I'm glad this album exists. It's a very bold album with big ambitions and it's unabashedly theatrical, and I appreciate its sincerity. It's just that in spite of all that, it doesn't try to *do* anything and doesn't really go anywhere or explore any interesting ideas. Combine the uninspired and cliched lyrics with mediocre melodies, and you get a 3/5 album.
The Verve
3/5
After "Bittersweet Symphony", I completely forgot I was listening to anything.
Circle Jerks
2/5
I think there's some decent music here, but it's ruined by terribly crude lyrics and a lack of substance. At least it's short.
Parliament
5/5
Magnificent funkadelia
Cream
4/5
Pretty decent Beatles-esque psychedelic rock.
Stereo MC's
4/5
Pretty good trip-hop. Reminds me a little bit of Massive Attack's "Blue Lines," although I thought that one managed the style better.
Ryan Adams
4/5
Classic Americana / heartland rock, that isn't absolutely boring.
Frankie Goes To Hollywood
3/5
I thought the album was interesting, but "Relax" was the only song that I could see myself wanting to listen to again.
Marty Robbins
4/5
Exactly what it says on the tin. Great Western tunes.
Tom Waits
2/5
Arty music I don't understand or enjoy. Tom Waits sounds like he's doing a sarcastic impression of himself.
4/5
Pretty good punk-ish indie rock. Not every song is my style, but the general sound of the album is very nice.
Soundgarden
3/5
It's fine, I guess? I don't think it's a masterpiece or anything like some reviewers seem to think, but it's certainly listenable. Maybe you had to be there, I don't know.
Queen
4/5
It's Queen, what more do you want? Classic hard rock
Fugazi
4/5
Wugazi without the Wu? Who could have imagined!?
Simple Minds
4/5
Pleasant semi-atmospheric rock. Not life-changing, but maybe a good album to put on while working when you don't want to get distracted.
The Jam
4/5
Good British rock, but that's about all I can say: it didn't stand out to me as anything too unique or interesting
The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy
3/5
Not a big fan of this one. It feels more like a monologue over a beat more than a rap album.
The Police
3/5
FTP 1312 and so on and so forth
The album is fine, I guess. I don't find it particularly exciting.
The Notorious B.I.G.
5/5
Absolute classic album. Do I wish there were fewer skits with him having sex? Of course. But the rhymes are enough to keep it a 5.
The Clash
3/5
I didn't enjoy this album at all. It felt rushed, inconsistent, and did not capture my imagination. I was astounded to read that so many reviewers consider this "the best album ever" when I was trying to decide if it merits a 3 or not. Honestly, if it weren't for those other reviewers, I would probably have called it a 2.
Joy Division
3/5
I thought this one was all right instrumentally, but I couldn't enjoy the vocals. Maybe it's just a preference thing, but it wasn't my style.
The Cars
4/5
80s classic rock / dad rock. It's a good album without any filler (literally zero filler), but I couldn't keep myself from picturing old dudes saying "now this is REAL rock and roll" the whole time I listened to it
Michael Jackson
5/5
It's Thriller. You know, "best-selling album of all time" Thriller? "Respectable choice for best album ever" Thriller? "Beat It" Thriller? "Billie Jean" Thriller? Yeah, that Thriller.
I didn't need to listen to it again to know it was a 5/5, but I did and I can confirm: it's still a 5. RIP MJ
Dinosaur Jr.
2/5
I'm not a fan. It's noisy punky rock with some nice sounds here and there, but not something I ever want to listen to again
The Crusaders
4/5
A very fun little funky jazz album. Certainly not the sort of thing you'll blast on repeat for days, but it's a good thing to put on for some creative energy while working.
Fiona Apple
2/5
God, I'm so bored. It's like somebody made one song and recorded it a dozen times to pad out a an album made to fulfill some record contract. The artist obviously has musical ability, but no talent for writing anything compelling.
Dusty Springfield
3/5
I think it's decent enough 60's pop, but it's in desperate need of a remaster. The mono 60's sound is incredibly dated and keeps the instrumentals decidedly behind Springfield's (admittedly very good!) vocals
Tim Buckley
3/5
Decent jazzy folk rock. It's certainly technically competent and I'm sure somebody thinks this album is amazing, but I'm just not into folk music.
Malcolm McLaren
3/5
I didn't *enjoy* this album, but I think it's worth listening to once just for how weird it is. World music combined with hip-hop and clips of a radio call-in show is standard fare by itself, but it's further mixed with square dancing callouts to make a completely surreal album
Motörhead
3/5
It's classic heavy metal music. It's well done, but it's not to my tastes
Dinosaur Jr.
3/5
I liked this one quite a bit more than the last album of theirs that this last had me listen to ("Bug"), but it still strikes me as a decent album hiding under a mess of screaming and distortion, sprinkled apparently randomly over the tracks
Ray Charles
4/5
Great jazzy/R&B/big band music from a legend
Cat Stevens
4/5
It's very good folk music, perhaps even the best on this list so far. But that can't save it from the fact that it's still folk music and I hate it
Lorde
4/5
I thought this album was pretty good musically, but Lorde's breathy vocals never appealed to me and some of the lyrics are painfully cliched. Still, there's enough here to get me interested in another album by her whenever it comes out
Mylo
4/5
A great house album. Wish there was a bit more energy behind it (and maybe some more drums, but what else is new?), but it's a great album to put on while working.
Eminem
5/5
Classic, masterpiece, and one of the best rap albums of all time.
Yes, the homophobia can be painful to listen to at times and it's easy to understand why that puts so many people off from this album. If this album was any less good, any less influential, any less *anything*, it could be written off as a product of an era destined to remain there forever as a forgotten time capsule.
But this is so much of everything that it's impossible to look away. This is the album that sold 21 million copies and turned Eminem into a global superstar. It's a pure demonstration of Em's lyrical abilities, technical skill, and - yes - his humor. If you can get past its transgressive attitude and offensive content, it's truly a gift to put on the MMLP and be able to experience the master at work.
Sonic Youth
2/5
This is Soundthony Badtano, bringing you another Not Good review. Come at me, Sonic Youth fans
Paul Simon
4/5
This is an excellently put together album, expertly combining Simon's folk rock stylings with South African street music. It is an exceptionally high-quality recording and well deserving of a five star rating.
...but I'm not going to give it a five star rating because no matter how much he tries to disguise it, it is still a folk album and folk is bad. Get folked, Paul Simon.
Primal Scream
4/5
Wikipedia says the band's frontman described this album as an "anarcho-syndicalist speedfreak road-movie record" and I think that's about as good a description as any I could come up with. I highly recommend this album to anybody who likes electronica, house, trip-hop, or similar
Thelonious Monk
5/5
Excellent jazz. I don't know enough about jazz to say what makes it so great, but I know enough about music to say "I Enjoyed This Album."
Talking Heads
2/5
I wasn't put off by this album or anything, but it was just *there*, with the vocals droning on and on as I waited for it to be over. None of the songs stood out to me or captured my interest in the slightest.
M.I.A.
4/5
Great African-styled dance music. Oddly enough, as much as I like the song "Paper Planes", it felt almost a little bit out of place here. Usually that's a sign of a single being better than the rest of the album, but here the album and the single are both great, they just have different grooves.
Beastie Boys
5/5
I consider myself pretty well-versed with the history of hip hop and most of the old records, but this is a side of the Beastie Boys I'd never heard before. I was expecting something more along the lines of "Licensed to Ill" or "Paul's Boutique", but this is something completely different. This isn't a rap album with jazz and funk influences, this is a jazz album with funky raps played over it. When "Sabrosa" came on halfway through, I had to double-check that I was still listening to the same album. Five well-deserved stars here
Bob Marley & The Wailers
4/5
Okay, this might be the biggest surprise on the list for me. The first Marley album on this list, "Natty Dread" was the first album I gave a 1 rating to: I found it legitimately unpleasant to listen to. Because of that, I was (natty) dreading this one, expecting it to be another trainwreck where I just couldn't "get" a popular/famous album.
Thankfully, no such problems here: this was a very enjoyable, entertaining album and I can completely understand why people like it. It's an album that tackles important issues without losing its upbeat, positive attitude and doesn't come off as preachy. If I have one complaint, it's that Marley's drummer seems to have a clear favorite drumroll and uses it on basically every track: it's not bad, but it feels kind of silly hearing it for the one hundredth time in a row.
The Undertones
3/5
Sounds like pretty standard whiny pop punk rock to me. A couple of interesting sounds here and there, but it's probably more historically important than it is fun to listen to.
Femi Kuti
4/5
Given how much I loved the Fela Kuti (Femi's father) album on this list, I had high hopes for this one. I certainly wasn't disappointed by this album, but it had a lot to live up to and couldn't quite get there. Make no mistake, Femi Kuti is a very talented artist and Femi Kuti is a very good album, but it didn't make me feel "definitely five stars, yes sir" like Fela Kuti's Live! did.
Nina Simone
3/5
It's a decent album of jazz singing, but it's nothing exceptional.
The Avalanches
5/5
An absolute masterpiece and one of the best sample-based albums ever made, if not the best. This is a fantastic album technically and musically, and I cannot come up with any serious criticisms of it. It is truly a wonderful album and always a pleasure to listen to no matter how many times I've heard it already.
Fats Domino
3/5
Note: I could not find the titled album, so I listened to his "Greatest Hits: Walking To New Orleans" instead.
This is another one of those cases where something is important for historical reasons but not necessarily good by modern standards. Yes, Fats Domino was a very influential person in musical history and I don't mean to downplay his skills or contributions at all, but this album simply did not do it for me.
To start, the actual quality of the recording is very poor by modern standards. On my modern hi-fi system, it still sounded like I was listening to a cheap wonky jukebox in a 50's diner somewhere. Maybe the masters are simply low quality and cannot be improved upon, but any sort of restoration attempt would be greatly appreciated.
The music itself falls into the Seinfeld trap: it may have been innovative when it first came out, but now that it's been copied and iterated on a million times, the originals feel quaint, dated, and cliched.
Black Flag
2/5
I could not enjoy this album at all. To my ears, it's an album of discordant guitars and whiny Californians screaming about how miserable their lives are. I know that this album is supposed to be one of the best punk albums ever, but I guess I'm not punk enough to understand it.
Kraftwerk
3/5
I thought it was decent enough electronica, but I couldn't really get into it. I wouldn't mind having it on in the background, but it felt rather repetitive at times.
The Gun Club
3/5
It was fine, I guess. Not an especially memorable album in my opinion. Not sure why it made it on this list instead of any of a million other rock albums.
The Who
4/5
It's hard to believe this is the same band that made Tommy, but that's not a knock against either album: it's just a completely different style. This is a Zeppelin-esque hard rock album, and it certainly stands well enough to be compared to them. I wish I could give this 4 and a half stars, because it feels too good for a 4 but lacks the je ne sais quoi that a true 5 needs.
Terence Trent D'Arby
3/5
A weird album. The artist clearly has talent and there are some great funky rhythms going on here, but it's mixed with completely bizarre songs like his interpretation of the "rain, rain, go away" children's song. The album's worth a listen for the curious, but somebody looking for something to enjoy listening to can skip straight to the singles.
Elliott Smith
4/5
Good indie rock for the sad crowd. The songwriting gets a bit repetitive at times, but the production is excellent and the sound is so engrossing that it's well worth a listen.
The 13th Floor Elevators
3/5
Early (Wikipedia says possibly the first) psychedelic rock music. It's certainly solid, but I feel like it's on the list more for historical significance than for being a great album.
The Byrds
4/5
Very solid folk rock. Normally I'm eager to turn off anything folky as quickly as possible, but I made it all the way through this one without trouble, including the deluxe edition bonus tracks.
Cheap Trick
4/5
Hard rock writ large, replete with screaming female fans reminiscent of Beatlemania. One of the better live rock albums I've heard.
The Zombies
4/5
Pretty good melodic British psychedelia, kind of in the spirit of a "Beatles meets the Beach Boys" fusion band. The album is solid, but the real standout is the closing track, "Time of the Season".
Napalm Death
4/5
I'm not a metal fan at all, but I dug this album. The vocals didn't do it for me (it sounds like random mumbling and grumbling), but the drumming and guitar is clearly expert and sounds fantastic. I don't think it's an album I'm coming back to again, but it's something I'm glad I heard once.
Tim Buckley
4/5
Good R&B / funk for a white guy
Todd Rundgren
5/5
Very solid, very diverse album from a multi-instrumentalist virtuoso. Rundgren mixes R&B, soul, rock, and pop into a delightful 90-minute double album that does not wear out its welcome at all. It's astoundingly consistent in its quality despite the wide variety of styles and eclectic influences. Highly recommended.
Buddy Holly & The Crickets
5/5
One of those defining classics that exists at a very particular time and place. It's an extremely well-performed, well-written album deserving of a place on this list for its historical importance alone, but it still holds up musically more than 60 years after its recording.
Fred Neil
4/5
I thought this was a very good softer, quieter rock album, primarily with Western and folk themes but with some more exotic sounds towards the end of the album. A 4 star rating might not do this one justice, but I don't think it quite rises to the "absolute classic" level of a 5.
TV On The Radio
3/5
It's got its moments, but it's kind of just a "meh" album. It sounds like an indie rock band realizing their shtick isn't working and they need to spice it up by adding a twist, but they can't decide what to throw in the mix
Devendra Banhart
3/5
Well-sung, but kind of an odd style of music. It's got the vibe of an old half-crazy Southern lady singing to herself
Creedence Clearwater Revival
4/5
I liked this one quite a bit. It's good, funky rock 'n' roll with a Southern flair. It's one of the albums on this list that I feel like I'm going to come back to, and those albums are few and far between.
George Michael
2/5
I was ready to write this one off based just on the artist's clownish pose on the cover and goofy shades, but I reread the album title and promised myself that I would give it a fair shake.
Thankfully, the music is just as clownish. The music is well-produced but takes itself much too seriously while saying nothing important.
5/5
Hot take: if this album came out today, I'd give it a 4. But it's The Beatles' magnum opus and perhaps the most important record of all time, so it has to get a 5. Maybe it only feels so weird to me because I wasn't there in the psychedelic era to understand it, but to my ears it's a bizarre kaleidoscopic tapestry of sound, throwing influences around like a Jackson Pollock painting.
Whatever it may be to me though, it is so much more to so many more people. Perhaps more so than any other album on this list, this is one of those albums you Must Listen To Before You Die, if only to understand this thing so many other people have heard and feel so strongly about.
Slipknot
5/5
I find metal to be hit or miss, but this album is definitely a hit. It's pure speed, music to bang your head to. The drums are the highlight of the album: they're crisp, loud, and powerful, a perfect compliment to the screamed vocals and heavy guitar.
Weather Report
4/5
Good funky jazz. Not going to be on any list of favorite albums I'll ever make, but it's the sort of thing you wouldn't be upset if it came on as background music
Green Day
5/5
I'm dating myself here, but American Idiot is the first album I ever owned. There are legitimate criticisms that can be made about it - it's firmly rooted in the Bush era and hasn't aged particularly well; it's a whiny sort of pop-punk for white kids in the 'burbs - but none of that is enough to detract from my rose-tinted nostalgia. Even today, I find the album's pure sincerity a very charming break from the 2010s ever-present air of irony.
Koffi Olomide
2/5
I could not get into this one. It just doesn't feel like anything special to me: background music, and nothing more
Bad Company
3/5
Decent enough hard rock, but nothing stood out to me or grabbed my attention.
Pulp
4/5
Very good 90's britpop. I've been returning to Pulp's "This Is Hardcore" repeatedly since I heard it on this list, and I had a lot of hope for "Different Class" because of it. I'd say that "This is Hardcore" had higher highlights, but "Different Class" is much more consistent. With that said, this album also has a couple of songs that drag on, and drag the album down from a 5 to a 4. But it's a high 4, and I still recommend the album.
Soul II Soul
3/5
House music with a few interesting moments, but not particularly exciting on the whole.
The Coral
4/5
This is a weird album, and I kind of love it. The opening track, "Spanish Main", is definitely my favorite: it's a psychedelic rock sea shanty, and I would listen to a whole album of songs like it. Unfortunately, this album is not that and the rest of it is more of a psychedelic folk rock album. Still, the highlights of this album more than make up for the lowlights and it's well worth checking out for anybody who wants to hear some stuff they've never heard before
Hanoi Rocks
1/5
This album is like a ridiculous self-parody of glam rock. The standard "Back to Mystery City" formula is awkward lyrics hurled over milquetoast guitar riffs with a surprising amount of passion and absolutely zero self-awareness.
The Mamas & The Papas
3/5
Folk vocalists who are better at singing than they are at anything else. It makes me think of what the Beach Boys would sound like without Brian Wilson's musicianship.
I recommend the tracks "Straight Shooter" and "California Dreaming", and only listen to the rest if you really enjoyed those.
Kate Bush
2/5
I loved "Hounds of Love", but I couldn't get into "The Dreaming". It's one of those albums that confuses being experimental with being good, and I just could not enjoy it at all.
The Only Ones
2/5
I cannot get over this guy's voice. Maybe it's a Danny Brown thing where after you hear it a million times you start to love it, but I'm not going to stick around long enough to find out.
Grateful Dead
3/5
Another album I just couldn't get into. It's absolutely musically competent, but I didn't find anything here that engaged me. Your mileage may vary
John Lee Hooker
2/5
It had some moments, but dragged on for way too long
The B-52's
3/5
I couldn't always get into their kitschy retro aesthetic, and there's a reason that "Rock Lobster" is the song they're best known for: it's the best song on the album by a mile. It's certainly not a bad album, but it's not for me.
Paul Weller
3/5
The opening track, "Sunflower", might be my favorite on the album.
I've spent more time trying to decide if he sounds like Dave Grohl (currently leaning toward "not really") than trying to decide if I like the album, so it gets a 3.
Thank goodness these reviews are anonymous
Taylor Swift
3/5
Better than I expected it to be, but it felt very empty and without substance.
It is truly a pop album, in the sense that it is designed to get radio airplay and promote the artist as a Pop Star instead of as a musician.
Deep Purple
2/5
I couldn't get into this album. They clearly want to be a hard rocking metal band, but they just don't have the riffs and the energy to keep it up.
Patti Smith
2/5
Another album I just couldn't get into. Some interesting instrumentals at times, but Patti Smith's vocals are just not to my taste.
Dire Straits
3/5
Decent but unremarkable pub rock. I'd recommend the single "Sultans of Swing" and check out the rest of the album only if you're truly enthralled.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
1/5
Maybe I was in a bad mood going into this album, but this is one of the few albums on this list that I actively disliked. Costello's voice is grating, the music is discordant, and the title of the song "Honey, Are You Straight or Are You Blind?" in particular rubbed me the wrong way.
Scott Walker
3/5
I really liked the sort of "over the top" Baroque sound contrasted with the bleak descriptions in songs like the opener ("Jackie"), but it's not the sort of album I'm going to come back to over and over again.
Fleetwood Mac
4/5
It's not "Rumours".
It's really hard to give any substantive criticism to this album because of how heavily the "Rumours" shadow looms over it.
"Tusk" is certainly a good album, but it's a little too long and drags at times. And at those times, I'm resisting the temptation to stop the album and put on "Rumours".
Nine Inch Nails
4/5
I enjoyed the aesthetic of the album more than I enjoyed the actual music. There are certainly some great songs here, but it's got filler on it too. I'm glad I heard it and I might even come back to it, but it didn't bowl me over start to finish.
Manic Street Preachers
3/5
It's fine, I suppose? I get the impression that they really felt they were making an album that was out there, truly punk and transgressive, but it feels almost tame by modern standards.
Also, all the songs sort of blend together. Not a favorite of mine, but I didn't hate it.
Frank Sinatra
4/5
Classic Sinatra.
The Temptations
3/5
A short little album with some inoffensive sounds on it, but there's absolutely nothing memorable about it.
Red Hot Chili Peppers
3/5
It's decent funky rock. I didn't love it, I didn't hate it. Probably not coming back to listen to it again.
Love
3/5
Sort of folky psychedelic rock from the late 60s. It's one of those albums that I'm sure some people point to as "that was when music peaked" but it's just not my style at all.
Jimi Hendrix
3/5
Very "out there" experimental funky psychedelic guitar playing. An influential and important album, I'm sure, but it's one that I'm only happy to have listened to purely for its historical significance. Hendrix's talent is undeniable, but I couldn't really get into the album and I didn't find it especially enjoyable to listen to.
Count Basie & His Orchestra
2/5
Rather boring orchestra / big band music.
OutKast
4/5
I love Southern rap, and Outkast are the progenitors of the whole thing. Atlanta wouldn't exist in music the way it does today if it weren't for Andre and Big Boi. Stankonia is a universally acclaimed classic and one of those essential albums that everybody should listen to.
And in spite of all that, I can't give it a 5. Don't get me wrong, there are phenomenal classic tracks ("Bombs Over Baghdad", "Ms. Jackson", and "So Fresh, So Clean" come to mind) on this album. But there are also some odd choices ("Toilet Tisha") and some groan-inducing skits that should have been left off.
Stankonia is absolutely worth a listen, but you're well within your rights to just stick to the highlights.
Bruce Springsteen
5/5
Springsteen has better albums than Born in the USA, but I don't know if he has a better collection of songs. What it might lack in cohesiveness or consistent tone, it more than makes up for in the fact that every single track is a classic. You could pick which songs would be the singles just by throwing darts at the tracklist. There is no filler, no song that you want to skip, just 45 straight minutes of beautiful music.
Bob Dylan
2/5
It's Dylan.
I swear I hear a completely different thing than everybody else who listens to him, because I can't get into him at all. His albums are too long, the songs all sound the same, and his legendary (Nobel prize winning!) songwriting just does not speak to me at all.
Pet Shop Boys
2/5
I feel like I could have gotten into some of the instrumentals here, but the vocals just did not do it for me at all.
The Human League
4/5
Another 80s album with great synthesizers and off-putting vocals, but this one quickly grew on me. I still think the vocals are kind of kitschy and camp (and I don't know if they were intended to sound that way or not), but they work fairly well here.
The Rolling Stones
3/5
Another album that's fine but just kind of "meh" to me. It didn't strike me as anything particularly special or exciting
Echo And The Bunnymen
3/5
Solid calm rock, but it's really worth listening to just to hear the pronunciation of "tortoise" on "Seven Seas"
Steely Dan
5/5
I almost gave this album a four after one listen, but I just had that feeling in my gut - the one that says "give it one more go".
Thank God for it, because this is a 5/5.
After that second listen, I put "Do It Again", "Midnight Cruiser", and "Reelin' in the Years" on repeat for several hours straight while scrolling through the entire history of the "Good Steely Dan Takes" Twitter account.
Frank Black
3/5
It definitely feels like a Pixies album, with all their surf-influenced punk sound to it. Whether that's a good thing or not will depend on your taste. To my ears, it's just fine and it's way too long.
The Band
2/5
It's acceptable rock music with Western influences, but it's not particularly exciting and doesn't have anything catchy enough to make me want to give it a second listen.
Missy Elliott
4/5
This album is really a trip to listen to in 2021. It's all about the vibe, above all else. The standard formula is Missy's smooth vocalizing setting the scene of a blunt smoke-filled room in late 90's NYC, followed by a guest emcee coming in to lay down the raps. It is maybe a tad repetitive, but it makes for an excellent chill album that's easy to listen to.
Jamiroquai
4/5
Good funky trip-hop vibes.
Billy Bragg
2/5
It's kind of a British folk rock type thing. It tries very hard to make political points, to the point that it sacrifices the idea of making enjoyable music.
Method Man
4/5
It might not be my favorite Wu-Tang solo album (that title belongs to GZA's "Liquid Swords"), but Tical is still an essential entry in the Wu catalog.
I reserve the fifth star only because it sounds a bit dated to modern ears, but Meth's talent and skills are completely undeniable and the best songs on the album ("Release Yo' Delf" jumps to mind) are bona fide classics.
N.W.A.
4/5
This is a real tough one to only give a 4 to. It is without a doubt one of the most important rap albums of all time and essential listening for anybody who cares to understand the golden age of rap. The best tracks on the album (the title track, "Fuck tha Police", "Express Yourself") sound as good today as they ever could have.
But I can't give a 5 to an album this packed with forgettable filler. The tracks that you don't remember on this album? There's a reason why you don't remember them. They are just not good or enjoyable to listen to. Outside of the big tracks, there is very little here to listen to today.
CHIC
5/5
Excellent funky disco. No skippers on the album, just good danceable vibes.
U2
3/5
I liked this one better than I thought I would given what U2 I've heard previously, but I'm not coming back to it to listen to again and again. It's well polished and it sounds good, but there was nothing here that really hooked me.
Haircut 100
2/5
Unremarkable 80s rock where all of the songs blend together and say nothing memorable.
George Jones
3/5
I think I like a good bit of country and I know George Jones is one of those mythical country heroes, so I figured I'd like this album. But somehow, it just didn't draw me in. It's got some solid guitar work and some groovy rhythm, but on the whole, I just don't see the appeal.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
3/5
Groovy 70s rock and roll with a bit of country styling. I didn't care for it enough that I'm planning to ever come back to it again, but there are enough interesting moments to make it an enjoyable listen instead of an album I had to suffer through.
The Offspring
3/5
Solid punk music, but it's just not my style.
Leonard Cohen
1/5
If you Dylan is too exciting for you, you might love Cohen, who delivers every line on every song in the same whispery tone. Instrumentation was clearly an afterthought, if it was even a thought at all.
Spiritualized
4/5
Straight out the gate, I'm impressed by how this album does not waste any time. You want a title? You got a title. With absolutely no delay, the first thing you hear from this album is a woman's voice saying, "Ladies and gentlemen, we are floating in space."
Aside from that, the music is pretty solid. It's kind of a shoegazy, atmospheric rocker with a lot of interesting effects that give it a feel sort of halfway between a traditional indie rock album and a collection of ambient recordings. I think I'll come back to this one.
Laura Nyro
4/5
A pleasant surprise of an album. Excellent singing by Nyro over an eclectic collection of sounds from diverse genres.
Dwight Yoakam
4/5
A very solid California take on honky tonk, with both traditionalist and modern influences. Recommended to country fans, but it's not likely to win any new converts.
Robert Wyatt
3/5
I liked this album's artsy, atmospheric instrumentation and maybe could have given it a 4 for that alone if it weren't for the vocals being so irritatingly distracting.
The Young Gods
1/5
Horrendous noise and indecipherable vocals in French. I couldn't make it through the whole album.
Booker T. & The MG's
4/5
Seriously good R&B instrumentals.
Tim Buckley
2/5
Boring folk music. Not a fan.
Ray Price
3/5
Solid country music, but didn't really grab me.
Fela Kuti
4/5
I was excited about this one because I enjoyed Fela Kuti's live album (w/ Ginger Baker) so much. I still think that's the better album, but this one is no slouch either. Excellent African rhythms and drums horns, with a good political message underneath it.
David Bowie
3/5
I could never really get into Bowie; I feel like you either get him and his music, or he's lost to you forever. I'm definitely in the latter category - I don't hate him or anything, but his music just does not speak to me. This album is some fine funky rock and roll with a sort of krautrock aesthetic to it, but that's about all it is to me - just "fine".
The Soft Boys
3/5
There are some interesting sounds here, but it just doesn't come across as a fun album you want to keep in regular rotation. It's worth the listen one time through, but probably not again.
Anthrax
2/5
I just couldn't get into this one. The guitar work is clearly skilled, but the vocals just sound so whiny and the lyrics are so silly that it kept me from staying engaged with it.
The Rolling Stones
3/5
I just don't like the Stones. I can appreciate why "Sympathy for the Devil" is considered a classic track and I wouldn't complain if somebody was listening to "Street Fighting Man" near me, but they just don't do anything for me.
Muddy Waters
2/5
Classic rock and roll. Historically important, I'm sure, but not especially entertaining to my ears.
The Specials
1/5
Couldn't get on board with this one. It's like a messy mix of ska and punk and it sounds incredibly dated.
Metallica
3/5
There's a very, very good 30 minute album here, the only problem is that "Metallica" runs over an hour.
"Enter Sandman" is a great track, but the rest of the album has trouble reaching those heights. The lowlights drag on for so long that by the time you get to the end, you've half-forgotten about the highlights.
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
1/5
There are a couple of albums on this list that I didn't finish, but this one might be closer to "Did Not Start". The album opens with a ridiculous wail, repeats it a few times with some added distortion, then manages to get even less pleasant to listen to.
I made it two tracks, scanned a bit further into the album, then gave up.
Rocket From The Crypt
4/5
Good punk rock (maybe pop-punk?). It's so whiny that if they made it today you'd be certain it was ironic, but in the 90's, who could really tell?
I wasn't sure about this album the first time around but sat on it for a while and gave it another spin and felt a bit better about it second time. I give it 4/5, but only barely, it's right on the edge of being a 3.
Peter Frampton
3/5
Solid rock and roll; enough to keep you interested and listening, but not enough to make you want to come back and listen to it again and again.
Elastica
4/5
Great rock, veering right on the edge of the "punk rock" label. Energetic rhythms make this one a breeze to listen through; it's nearly 40 minutes but doesn't drag for a second.
Iggy Pop
3/5
It's fine thumping rock and roll music, but it never rises above "just fine" to me.
Van Morrison
3/5
This is the sort of album where the guy is obviously very talented and I can easily understand why somebody would say "I love Van Morisson, 'Moondance' is one of my favorite albums" but it just doesn't speak to me. Aside from the title track (a wonderfully sung jazzy little number), nothing on this album really captured my imagination.
Bruce Springsteen
5/5
One of my favorite Springsteen albums, and I have a lot of favorite Springsteen albums. It's edgier and grittier than "Born to Run", but without the bleakness of "Nebraska". Absolutely essential listening, IMO
The Beach Boys
3/5
It's not Pet Sounds, that's for sure. I thought it was fine, but nothing spectacular.
Frank Ocean
4/5
Very good modern R&B, but I don't hear the "absolute classic" in it that a lot of online reviewers seem to. Well worth a listen, but it's not a new favorite of mine or anything like it.
The Temptations
3/5
A great funk/soul album marred by poor mixing. The left channel is so quiet (especially on the first track) that the experience is like going to a concert with a cotton ball in one ear.
Miles Davis
5/5
Excellent jazz. I don't know nearly enough about jazz to give a "real" critique, but it's one of maybe two or three jazz albums I already had in my collection before coming across it on this list, and I actually come back and listen to it every so often (unlike many other albums on this list).
Ryan Adams
2/5
Uninteresting, unmemorable, middle-of-the-road soft indie rock. It wasn't actively bad or anything close to it, it was just entirely forgettable. The album is over an hour long and I don't think there was a single moment where I felt an emotion stronger than "okay, sure, I guess".
The Band
3/5
I liked this one quite a bit more than their self-titled album. It's still very folky (which I don't like) but it's got a bit more Country/Western to it (which I do like). I think the highlight of the album is "The Weight", and the rest is kind of a "you'll like it if you like folk rock" sort of deal.
Pentangle
2/5
Technically accomplished folk music with high-art aspirations, but man oh man is it ever not my jam at all.
Bon Jovi
4/5
Excellent hard rock / hair metal. Drags a little bit in the second half, but the opening half (with all the big names: \"You Give Love a Bad Name\", \"Livin' on a Prayer\", \"Wanted Dead or Alive\") is exceptional and more than enough to carry the album.
AC/DC
4/5
Fantastic classic hard rock with all the usual fixins. Powerful guitar riffs, high energy vocals, and banging drums abound. If you know one AC/DC song, it's "Highway to Hell", and for very good reason.
My primary complaint with the album is that it runs just a little bit too long and the songs start to all sound the same. It's a minor criticism and if I could give it four and a half stars, I would.
Willie Colón & Rubén Blades
4/5
This was a nice groovy salsa album. I liked the disco vibes at the very beginning and was a little bit let down that it didn't continue through the rest of it. Still, a very solid album and one that I think I'm going to come back and listen to again.
The Black Keys
3/5
Very good bluesy indie rock with some excellent percussion. It's not exactly a new favorite album, but it makes for good background vibes.
The Undertones
1/5
Didn't finish this one. It's bland, uninteresting British punk without a lot of energy to it. Not my taste.
David Bowie
2/5
I just can't get into Bowie. Nothing against him or his talent, but it's just not my style of music.
The Doors
3/5
Solid with some good grooves to it, but not life-changing
David Bowie
3/5
I liked the funky vibes of this one more than the other Bowie albums I've heard, but he's still just not my thing.
Aretha Franklin
4/5
That's 'Retha Franklin, the queen of soul! Personally, I feel like the instrumentals (and recording quality) don't quite hold up to her fantastic voice, but it's still plenty to carry the album.
MC Solaar
3/5
There's no denying the man has talent, but I don't think there's much here for the English-speaking listener. Decent beats, but nothing exceptional.
Super Furry Animals
2/5
I couldn't get into it. It's a very diverse album with a bunch of different styles of music (well, different takes on "British guys with guitars", at least) on it, but it comes across as more exhausting than exhilarating.
The Stone Roses
4/5
I was surprised by how much I liked this one - it's like a little psychedelic alt-rock adventure. My favorite track on the album, "Fool's Gold", has a funky almost trip-hop beat that carries it along, and it's very nice. I have a feeling that I'll be coming back to this album.
Solange
3/5
A well-produced but somewhat lifeless R&B album. For all of the interludes talking about struggle and putting it into music, the actual music on this album never had the strength or emotional power to make it "real" to me.
Rod Stewart
3/5
Frankly, I was just kind of bored by this album. I didn't hate it, but I never thought "I sure am glad I heard this album because this song really speaks to me".
The Smashing Pumpkins
4/5
First things first: "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness" is a 10/10 perfect title.
As for the actual music: I'd heard this album quite some time ago and I remembered it being a bloated, grossly self-indulgent affair.
Listening to it again, I still feel that way, but I was reminded how good some of the songs are. The highs are high and the lows are never worse than "pretty good", but it just drowns in its own length. Worth listening to once (if only to say you've listened to it), but I can't imagine listening to it over and over again.
John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers
4/5
Blues rock with guitars. Wikipedia says they were some of the first to do it, but I think they suffer from the Seinfeld effect - everybody else does it too, so the original doesn't feel as groundbreaking (or bluesbreaking, I suppose). Well worth a listen, but not a new favorite album of mine.
Kanye West
5/5
Another modern classic from Yeezy; the kind of thing that makes you say "what was he thinking?" on the first listen, but gets more compelling every time you come back to it. It's raw, arrogant, and unfiltered in the inimitable Kanye style. How many other artists could assert "I Am a God" without sounding the least bit corny?
His incredible success is tempered only by his own self-destructive tendencies - on "Hold My Liquor" (possibly my favorite on the album, although "Send It Up" is a strong contender), Kanye reenacts a superstar's bender, the sort of horrific "the rules don't apply to me" story that make up a superstar's day-to-day. (And what good is being a superstar if you don't have some Mike Dean synths to back you up?)
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
2/5
It's a whole album of sad bluesy ballads that fail to move. I did not enjoy it at all, but at least it wasn't painful to listen to.
Sex Pistols
1/5
I did not like this at all. To my ears, it's just a discordant mess of screaming and whining. I feel like an old man who just does not get the whole "youth music" thing, despite not even having been born when the album was released.
Iron Maiden
4/5
Excellent heavy metal, but the songs tend to run a little bit long. Favorite song is the closer, "Hallowed Be Thy Name".
Elvis Presley
2/5
I honestly can't see why this guy was such a big deal. Maybe you just had to be there, because to me it's just some boring crooning.
Ali Farka Touré
2/5
I couldn't get into it. Not bad, just not for me.
Travis
3/5
A sad and angsty little album that has some good moments but just doesn't do enough differently to rate any better than "yeah, that was good, I guess".
The Rolling Stones
4/5
This might be my favorite Stones album of the ones I've heard so far, but that's not saying a whole lot. This album feels like a good houseparty, with Mick Jagger as host. It might be a bit long and meandering, but it always keeps the groove going.
Nick Drake
3/5
Gentle folky music with a bit of a jazzy, funky influence. It sounds like a bit of an odd combo, but it works surprisingly well. The fact that it's so relaxed means that I think it would work well as background music in a coffee shop, but I can't imagine somebody saying "Bryter Layter is my favorite album".
Jethro Tull
5/5
First listen: "this album is so weird, eww"
Second listen: "this album is so weird, I love it"
One of the very few albums on this list where I got to the end and immediately listened to it a second time. It is truly a bizarre prog-rock folk album where every song seems to have a flute solo, and I love it for it.
Pretenders
2/5
Didn't like this one much. It just didn't have enough interesting or different about it to capture my imagination. It just felt like some more generic rock with some fairly cringey lyrics.
The Sonics
2/5
Classic rock and roll with lots of energy, but apparently recorded using tin cans and strings, or maybe they just used the original masters as Frisbees. This is, without question, the worst-quality recording I've had on this list so far.
Suede
4/5
A huge album, grandiose in scope and ambition, but it manages to pull it off quite capably. It may come off as a tad pretentious, but it's held together by the fact that it just works so well: the sound is ethereal and dreamy while the lyrics sing about dark realities and the juxtaposition just feels right.
Little Simz
4/5
Solid British rapping, but I could do without the sung bits.
Richard Hawley
2/5
I'm sure somebody thinks this is well-written, well-performed music. To me, it's awfully boring.
Elton John
3/5
Decent enough rock music, but nothing on here was so good to make me think "oh, that's why Elton John is a household name".
The White Stripes
3/5
Hit or miss rock with some excellent drums
Pixies
3/5
It's like being in your high school friend's garage listening to his punk band. This album will appeal to you exactly as much as that idea appeals to you.
The Smiths
3/5
A couple interesting sounds here or there, but nothing memorable.
Sly & The Family Stone
4/5
Funky.
The Streets
2/5
It's a big ("grand") attempt at a rap opera and I respect the effort, I really do, but it's just not enjoyable to listen to.
Run-D.M.C.
2/5
My name is Greg and I'm here to say / Run DMC's rhymes sound old and dated
However important and influential it may be, this era in rap just sounds incredibly simplistic to my modern ears. "They walked so others could run", but they still walked. I'm glad I heard it once, but I'm not coming back to it.
My Bloody Valentine
3/5
Sounds like the Cocteau Twins going goth. It's not bad, but I'd rather be listening to "Heaven or Las Vegas" for the one millionth time.
Fishbone
3/5
This is one of those albums I'm glad I listened to once just for how weird it is, but I don't know that I need to ever listen to it again. It's not bad by any means, but it doesn't have any consistency in theme or genre, so it's hard to think "I'm in the mood for this genre or that genre, so I'm going to listen to Truth And Soul".
Queen
4/5
This is the one with Bohemian Rhapsody on it, which is still a great song no matter how many times you've heard it. Overall, the album is pretty darn good but doesn't scream "classic" to me. It comes with a sort of whimsical "Sgt. Pepper's" atmosphere, but just isn't as consistent. It's an album with brilliant highlights, but a couple of skippable tracks too.
John Lennon
3/5
If this album was made by anybody not named John Lennon, you wouldn't think it was especially good. The title track is the highlight and the rest is immediately forgettable.
Tom Waits
3/5
Waits' voice is certainly unique, and it works better on some songs than others. On the whole it's a pleasant accompaniment to his tales of losers and woe, but it's sometimes a bit grating and I don't think I could listen to it all day long. That's also pretty much how I felt about the album overall: it has a couple of great songs ("Mr. Siegal" might be my favorite) and enough filler to keep me from putting the whole album on repeat.
P.S. I didn't realize that "Jersey Girl" wasn't a Springsteen original!
Supergrass
3/5
I liked the opening half of this album, but it didn't really sustain itself toward the end. Give it a try for some decent British rock (bordering on pop punk at times), but I think it falls short of "classic" territory.
Serge Gainsbourg
4/5
A short groovy little album, with a bit of a Lolita theme to it. Worth listening to for some funky basslines mashed up with orchestral strings. It almost sounds like a sort of proto trip-hop album.
Metallica
4/5
Great metal album. Solid throughout, but the highlight is definitely One.
ZZ Top
3/5
A short little bluesy rock album. I wouldn't be upset if somebody put it on around me, but I'm not thinking "this was a great album I need to remember".
R.E.M.
3/5
"It's the End of the World as We Know It" is a catchy tune, but the rest of the album pretty much blends together.
Hole
3/5
Decent but not exceptional screamy alt-rock.
Bob Dylan
3/5
I'm not a Dylan fan. This album did not change my mind, but it didn't exactly bore me to tears either.
Bob Dylan
3/5
The quick tempos and rock sounds in the first half had me thinking this would be my favorite Dylan album thus far (and it still might be), but it drags on and on in the second half.
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
4/5
The Young songs are the best ones, but the whole thing is pretty solid folk rock.
The Pogues
3/5
Punk-twinged Irish folk rock. If that sounds like your thing, you're going to love this. Everybody else can give it a pass.
Carpenters
4/5
Very solid, very *very* soft rock. The title track and "We've Only Just Begun" are clear standouts.
Waylon Jennings
5/5
As far as I'm concerned, this is what Country music is and should be. One of those albums that are historically important (laying the groundwork for all the Outlaw Country albums to come), but also just good fun to listen to.
Penguin Cafe Orchestra
2/5
Too-arty rock that fluctuates between "I'm not cool enough to understand this" at its lows and "this is forgettable and inoffensive" at its highs.
Elvis Costello
2/5
I don't like Elvis Costello. I don't have a substantive criticism, there's just something about him that rubs me the wrong way. I don't like his voice, his music, his lyrics, what-have-you.
And yet, I can't deny that this album is clearly technically solid. The man has talent, even if his style is not for me.
JAY Z
4/5
While not destined to be the biggest news coming out of New York on September 11, 2001, The Blueprint is certainly the most enjoyable.
It doesn't quite hold the same mythical status as his debut album, but The Blueprint is still a solid entry in Hov's oeuvre. Some party hits, some tough rhymes, and a truly exceptional feature from Eminem in his prime more than make up for a couple of weak tracks in the lineup.
Nas
5/5
Illmatic is Nas' masterpiece. It's one of those classic rap albums that everybody claims to love, but this one is actually still enjoyable to modern ears.
Afrika Bambaataa
2/5
The sorted of dated dance music you’d expect to hear in the background of a period film set in the ‘80s. A few funky rhythms sprinkled in here and there do not make up for an otherwise uncompelling listen.
Manic Street Preachers
3/5
Solid British alt-rock. I doubt I’m going to come back to listen to it again, but if somebody else put it on I wouldn’t be upset about it.
Simon & Garfunkel
4/5
Some of the songs here are the softest folk rock ever put to wax, to the point of feeling like the notes float along on a cloud. But it’s impossible to discount the technical ability and the beauty of the recording process on display.
Pink Floyd
4/5
A very well-recorded album that touches greatest at its highest points, but is simply too long and self-indulgent. An enjoyable listen, but I can't imagine putting it on repeat.
Antony and the Johnsons
1/5
Every track is more and more wailing over a piano with occasional sparse accompaniment. Boring at best, unpleasant at worst. Did not finish.
The Teardrop Explodes
4/5
Very good! Sort of punk, sort of psychedelic, sort of A Flock Of Seagulls, often high energy. A couple of misses on the album tracks, but the singles deserve repeated listens.
Nirvana
4/5
I was born and raised in the Seattle area, so I speak with some authority when I say that the only thing more Seattle than Nirvana is telling out-of-towners "not everybody here is into Nirvana." Personally, I just could never really get into them. I think Nevermind is a very good album, but I wouldn't list it as one of my favorites. In Utero is even farther down the list for me. It goes on too long, the tracks aren't as memorable ("Rape Me" is the only one most would recognize), and its position in musical history is due more to its proximity to Cobain's death than to its musical merits. Worth a listen as an "important" album more than as an "enjoyable" album.
Talking Heads
3/5
"Psycho Killer" is the clear standout here. The rest of this album just isn't for me - all the tracks sound the same and Byrne's vocals just don't do it for me. I'm sure if I was in college in '77 I would have loved it, but listening to 2025, I'm just kind of bored by it all.
Paul McCartney and Wings
3/5
A solid but unremarkable album. I'm curious how I would have felt about this album if I had been alive for Beatlemania and had real opinions about McCartney and his solo career, but I wasn't and I don't. The opener (title track) and closer ("Nineteen Hundred And Eighty Five") are the standouts and I've already forgotten the rest of the album.
Sarah Vaughan
2/5
It's fine, I guess? The artist clearly has talent and skills, but it's music to put on in the background when you're trying to look sophisticated. I cannot imagine playing this album in 2025 and having somebody say "hell yeah, turn that up, this is my jam!"
3/5
I have friends who think this is one of the best albums ever made, but I just can't agree with them. It's got its moments ("Suffragette City" may be my favorite), but on the whole I just don't dig it that much.
The Cramps
2/5
Poorly recorded rockabilly. Sounds like a local band at a dive bar, not an album you Must Hear Before You Die.
Led Zeppelin
5/5
Some more of the classic hard rock Zeppelin is known for. Very good, but I don't find myself putting it on as much as IV or Physical Graffiti.
Nick Drake
2/5
It's inoffensive and you can put it on in the background if you want people to think you're sophisticated.