Journey Complete!
Finisher #369 to complete the list
1089
Albums Rated
3.41
Average Rating
100%
Complete
Rating Distribution
Rating Timeline
Taste Profile
2020s
Favorite Decade
Reggae
Favorite Genre
other
Top Origin
Wordsmith
Rater Style ?
193
5-Star Albums
61
1-Star Albums
Breakdown
By Genre
By Decade
By Origin
Albums
You Love More Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
OK
Talvin Singh
|
5 | 2.57 | +2.43 |
|
Kenza
Khaled
|
5 | 2.58 | +2.42 |
|
Heaux Tales
Jazmine Sullivan
|
5 | 2.68 | +2.32 |
|
90
808 State
|
5 | 2.69 | +2.31 |
|
Medúlla
Björk
|
5 | 2.72 | +2.28 |
|
Take Me Apart
Kelela
|
5 | 2.75 | +2.25 |
|
Beyond Skin
Nitin Sawhney
|
5 | 2.77 | +2.23 |
|
Tarkus
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
|
5 | 2.79 | +2.21 |
|
I’ve Got a Tiger By the Tail
Buck Owens
|
5 | 2.81 | +2.19 |
|
Club Classics Vol. One
Soul II Soul
|
5 | 2.82 | +2.18 |
You Love Less Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Wish You Were Here
Pink Floyd
|
1 | 4.3 | -3.3 |
|
Exile On Main Street
The Rolling Stones
|
1 | 3.61 | -2.61 |
|
Morrison Hotel
The Doors
|
1 | 3.59 | -2.59 |
|
Songs For Swingin' Lovers!
Frank Sinatra
|
1 | 3.52 | -2.52 |
|
Amnesiac
Radiohead
|
1 | 3.41 | -2.41 |
|
At Fillmore East
The Allman Brothers Band
|
1 | 3.39 | -2.39 |
|
The Band
The Band
|
1 | 3.37 | -2.37 |
|
Achtung Baby
U2
|
1 | 3.31 | -2.31 |
|
S&M
Metallica
|
1 | 3.26 | -2.26 |
|
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
|
1 | 3.25 | -2.25 |
Artists
Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Beatles | 7 | 4.71 |
| David Bowie | 9 | 4.56 |
| Stevie Wonder | 4 | 5 |
| Steely Dan | 4 | 5 |
| Bob Marley & The Wailers | 3 | 5 |
| Yes | 3 | 5 |
| Tom Waits | 5 | 4.4 |
| Miles Davis | 4 | 4.5 |
| Prince | 3 | 4.67 |
| Michael Jackson | 3 | 4.67 |
| Public Enemy | 3 | 4.67 |
| Beastie Boys | 3 | 4.67 |
| Aretha Franklin | 2 | 5 |
| Fiona Apple | 2 | 5 |
| Green Day | 2 | 5 |
| The Undertones | 2 | 5 |
| The Clash | 2 | 5 |
| Kendrick Lamar | 2 | 5 |
| Stan Getz | 2 | 5 |
| Dolly Parton | 2 | 5 |
| The Who | 5 | 4.2 |
| Joni Mitchell | 4 | 4.25 |
| The Smiths | 3 | 4.33 |
| Johnny Cash | 3 | 4.33 |
| Simon & Garfunkel | 3 | 4.33 |
| Nirvana | 3 | 4.33 |
| Kanye West | 3 | 4.33 |
| Pixies | 3 | 4.33 |
| Marvin Gaye | 3 | 4.33 |
| Creedence Clearwater Revival | 3 | 4.33 |
Least Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Robert Wyatt | 2 | 1 |
| Frank Sinatra | 3 | 1.67 |
| Aerosmith | 3 | 1.67 |
| Leonard Cohen | 5 | 2 |
| Scott Walker | 2 | 1.5 |
| The Mothers Of Invention | 2 | 1.5 |
| Public Image Ltd. | 2 | 1.5 |
| Super Furry Animals | 2 | 1.5 |
| Pere Ubu | 2 | 1.5 |
| The Rolling Stones | 6 | 2.17 |
| The Velvet Underground | 3 | 2 |
| Roxy Music | 3 | 2 |
| U2 | 4 | 2.25 |
Controversial
| Artist | Ratings |
|---|---|
| Pink Floyd | 5, 1, 4, 1 |
| Metallica | 5, 5, 1, 3 |
| The Doors | 5, 1, 3 |
| Ice Cube | 2, 5 |
| Run-D.M.C. | 2, 5 |
5-Star Albums (193)
View Album Wall
Popular Reviews
SAULT
5/5
Genre bending all in the service of this intense introspection. Don't Shoot Gun Sound then turns that into an immediate regrounding in the physical. This is cool to listen to as an art piece, but I don't know that I would come back to it. Clearly its a masterpiece.
18 likes
Foo Fighters
5/5
Absolutely smashing drums. Dave grohl storming the scene. That double overdrive guitar. Sounds like the band that took over the world. Crazy to think dave recorded all the parts himself and only brought a band together to play it live.
14 likes
Count Basie & His Orchestra
5/5
This big band record catches me in the right mood. Dude this album was great to sit and fill out a really angry company survey to.
14 likes
Napalm Death
4/5
Its early grindcore! I think its pretty alright 4 songs in. I wouldn't want to be at the show, but the album is a great showcase of the emergence of grindcore. I think a lot of people bitch and moan about how you cant hear what they are saying on most of the album but no one talks about how it makes them feel. Thats grindcore, an explosion of rage. Seige Of Power is a great track. Huge sonic difference A side and B side. A side is like a mad max car, B side is a lawnmower covered in underwater chainsaws. Dragnet is a good closer.
11 likes
Fleetwood Mac
5/5
This album is the mount olympus of music. Soaring highs, crushing lows, and the depth of human connection birthed from the most totured of circumstances.
9 likes
1-Star Albums (61)
All Ratings
Common
4/5
Dusty Springfield
4/5
the windmills of your mind is a great tune, son of a preacher man is good
The White Stripes
3/5
The sound of the 2000s. Its iconic. duh. In the cold cold night is a good one. ball and biscuit has serious hendrix envy
Bob Dylan
2/5
this was okay i guess
John Coltrane
5/5
Coltrane's sax texture is all over the map in the best possible way. THE BASS SOLO ON PART THREE!
Dire Straits
5/5
THIS ALBUM HAS GROOVE FOR DAYS
Ghostface Killah
4/5
This is real good. Three Bricks is an awesome closing track
Quicksilver Messenger Service
1/5
I spent most of this album hoping for it to end
Pearl Jam
4/5
This reminds me so much of Darren. wild and thoughtful, occassionally way too obtuse for me to get it
Aretha Franklin
5/5
R.E.S.P.E.C.T! I wanted that album like 15 more times on repeat. fabulous all the way through
Eminem
4/5
god this album is dark. Its Em processing his fame and celebrity while still digging into his own desperate childhood. Bitch Please II is iconic gangster rap song. Kim is graphic and disturbing and i never want to hear it again in my life
Supertramp
4/5
Opening thought: this is the perfect boat rock album
Jeff Buckley
4/5
Jeff's voice is weird, reminds me of like a 60s singer but the title track has this crazy prog rock sound. Lilac Wine is a good tune
Elvis Presley
2/5
god damnit do i have to? The guitar work has some nice fills on only the strong survive. bleh
Cheap Trick
5/5
This is probably the best, ballsiest sounding live record around. Big Eyes has huge energy on a weird guitar part that takes over the room like a big animal. turns out the audio is from Osaka and not at the Budokan, the recording there was a failure. FABULOUS ALBUM
Jimi Hendrix
4/5
I mean basically every song is a single, its all stoner rock, so i cant really say its for me a 5 star album. it gets a little languid in the middle, but hey its great
Deep Purple
3/5
This one fell flat for me. lots of guitar shredding, but just felt bland. maybe because all of the classic rock i listened to when i was younger
Oasis
3/5
Rock 'n' Roll Star: wtf? Oasis used to sound like this? what happened! rest of the album: oh this is why, because they sound like every other alt rock stadium band, though its hard to tell because they have always been aggressively generic. Married With Children is look ahead at the Oasis sound of (What's the Story) Morning Glory
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
4/5
Finally a good electro pop album. Zero checks a lot of boxes for me. HEADS WILL ROLLL. The album starts to peter out after that but its got great electro rock grooves throughout
Hugh Masekela
5/5
first track is very solid. Yea this is great in the pocket horn playing jazz. oh man this is great atmosphere. yea this thing is great not just good I feel like i am listening to something really special on track nine Maesha
Joni Mitchell
4/5
first blush is that it sounds like a concept album. interested to see where it goes. I really have no idea what to make of this album, will need to listen to it again sometime
Faith No More
3/5
the first punk record so far! actually its got a more stadium heavy/alt metal feel. great cover of war pigs. its just not really my jam, its just too close to bad religion without actually being bad religion. like the mass market version
JAY Z
5/5
First thought is that this sounds nostalgic, even though i have never heard it before. I like the opening groove on ruler's back, so richly textured, though the trumpets and brass is cheap sounding. The Takeover is one of those great follow-up tracks with a Fame callback. so good. Dude every track is incredibly crafted. I think that the track Renegade is the weakest one on the album
The Auteurs
3/5
This sounds like The Postal Service. Yea, I'm not super about this sound, but I can see it was ahead of its time for 1993.
Rush
5/5
Its great its everything its toasted its wonderful
Beck
3/5
The Golden Age is big space cowboy vibes. very much a low key breakup album, nice for zoning out but I didnt really get much out of it
Neil Young
3/5
Im not crazy about the tonality of neils voice but the tracks are wonderfully arranged. Heart of Gold deserves all the praise it gets. Alabama is a good diss the south country song. Great guitar work on the whole album
Count Basie & His Orchestra
5/5
This big band record catches me in the right mood. Dude this album was great to sit and fill out a really angry company survey to.
T. Rex
4/5
Big and up front 70s rock and roll sound. Feels like a fun album, definitely in the boat rock glam feel of things. Spaceball Ricochet is very David Bowie like. Yea this is peak boat rock
Björk
4/5
Its very much like sound as texture. like ASMR. Its cool but I am not quite sure what it makes me feel. I feel sort of lost in these sounds, can't quite predict how the songs will go. Its Not Up To You is a good track. Pagan Poetry is intense. Good album to have on in the winter. Yea this album is a lot about getting busy, and the songs themselves individually don't have the same impact as the whole thing in its totality.
TV On The Radio
3/5
Yea this is cool. Its like a more electronic, funk inspired They Might Be Giants. Its just not striking me in the right way today.
Nas
4/5
Its that bridge to modern hip-hop. Halftime is rad. Memory Lane is rad. Aint hard to tell is a great closer
Talking Heads
5/5
ooooooooooo that bass sound. dude this album is great.
Queen
3/5
Freddy's tone on Brighton Rock isnt great. Killer queen is incredibly, duh. Stone Cold Crazy is a cool thrash piece. Bring Back Leroy Brown is wacky. some good tracks but it didnt really leave me with much as a whole
Brian Eno
4/5
Weird proto-electronica sounds on the first track, though the drums sound way better played by a human. Also the bass is doing some weirdness. St. Elmo's Fire is such a weird track, I love it. wild and weird the whole way though.
Booker T. & The MG's
5/5
Greeeeeeeeeeennnnnn ONNNNNIOOOONNNNNSSSSS! this song is everywhere. this is sold rhythm and blues. Comin' Home Baby is fucking solid
Elvis Presley
3/5
I don't immediately hate this. the first track is pleasant. Fever is a good restrained second track. yea this was okay.
Fugees
4/5
Yea this is good. Ready or Not, Killing Me Softly, lots of good tracks. Cowboys is a good track. NO WOMAN NO CRY!
Brian Eno
3/5
america is calling is cool, mea culpa sucks. The album is a cool expirament with sampling. Jezebel spirit is a rad track. A secret life is really rubbing me the wrong way
A Tribe Called Quest
3/5
push it along/luck of lucien are a great 1-2 combo. its very much lyricist as a story teller and the poetry is nice. Pubic Enemy I could do without
Traffic
2/5
yea as far as jam band records go this was better than most. "Sittin´ here thinkin´ of my love is a giant pile of dogshit track. i might dock this album a star just for this bonus track. yea the end of this album went from okay to just languid. there is too much actual skill in here to say it is 1 star but hot damn
Led Zeppelin
3/5
Immigrant Song. though the rest really feels like a southern rock/blues record. Plant has some cool vocal lines. a solid record but its not really a zepplin one that i like
Frank Sinatra
1/5
no. goddamnit no. I could go an entire lifetime not listening to a single damn sinatra song and be happy as a clam. The band and arrangements are good, but sinatra ruins it with his too-smarmy-for-you vocal texture crooning. These lyrics are ridiculous, see Old Devil Moon
The Who
4/5
yea this is good. I wish it wasn't mono, its a little flat. My Generation is a killer single. Please, Please, Please, Please Me is a good cover. THAT GUITAR TONE ON THE OX!!!
Billy Bragg
5/5
NEEEEEWWWW WWWWAAAAVE. I like his ridiculous accent. I like how loose and shambolic this album feels
Bob Marley & The Wailers
5/5
OH YEAAAAAAAAA. Lively Up Yourself. No Woman No Cry, though I don't know that I have every heard it this upbeat and gospel. it almost feels rushed. dude this fucking album is so great.
Buck Owens
5/5
Its fun! Yea i like this Bakersfield sound. Good one two punch on this album. Yea this was a great honky tonk album
Heaven 17
4/5
BARNSTORMIN. WE DONT NEED THAT FACIST GROOVE THANG! solid electropop sound. lots of intense slap bass. Song With No Name is definitely weird. it gets weirder and weirder the longer it goes.
Fairport Convention
4/5
Oooo I wonder if Katie would like this? Matty Groves is a good tune. yea this is cool as a 60's acid rock folk album
Stephen Stills
3/5
yea this album is good and polished, I am just not finding anything that i would latch on to. Those blues man is great tune.
Primal Scream
2/5
meh im not really into house. dear god this is aggressively 90s. Come Together aggressively wears out its welcome after about minute 5. Damaged has the worst vocalist ever. guy isnt even close to in tune. These songs are forever long, especially if there isnt something that grabs you. totally over self indulgent in its sound. jesus thank god thats over
The Soft Boys
3/5
Its very REM. I guess i dont mind it but i dont really like it much either
John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers
2/5
Meh. Eric's guitar is cool, but man is the blues boring. god damn. this album would be a good exercise to pick apart just the guitar parts and clapton's playing, but really I'm bored out of my mind
Queen
4/5
Really getting a lot of the operatic influence on their sound. The guitar tone is thick and heavy, almost sludgey. Some day one day is a cool track. Ogre Battle kicks ass. The March of the Black Queen is a wild song
David Crosby
3/5
I generally like this album, there area few good guitar licks. though i cant say i will ever listen to it again
Paul Simon
3/5
Everything put together is great song. ME AND JULIO!
Elbow
3/5
This is very cold play esque. Mirrorball is a good, chill tune.
Billie Holiday
5/5
oh yesss. am i going to listen to a billie holiday album and not give it 5 stars? i dont think so. its just perfect. he casual mastery of her instrument is incredible. the orchestration does just enough.
Echo And The Bunnymen
2/5
yea im not into this album.
Iron Butterfly
3/5
meh. so much of the albums strength relies on the final 17 minute track. which i mean is super iconic but i dont really like it
Fever Ray
3/5
If I Had A Heart has some cool edge with its stereo panning. Its a cool album but I'm not super into it.
Chicago
2/5
You know, I think I would like a lot more of this album if not for the wild, out of place, forever long intros. See like on Beginnings, I don't mind the extended outro, but a whole minute of the same groove just to do a super slow fade out? come on! Free Form Guitar is one of those tracks critics love and I don't get because its not pleasant to listen to. I'm docking a star for a 14 minute jam song at the end.
Bee Gees
3/5
opening track has promise. yea i think this album needs another and deeper pass in order for me to really get it, but the sonic atmosphere is pleasant. though there is a bigger sonic change midway into the second side of the 1st LP. Give Your Best comes out of nowhere. nice climactic finish. yea i just missed a lot of the concept album stuff just listening to it at work
The Smiths
5/5
The bass on this is killer. great tone. I never knew that Morissey was my defacto english new wave vocalist. Yea holy cow the bass work is awesome. i like how the album shifts dynamically and it doesn't fail to grab me.
The Blue Nile
3/5
ehhhhhhh, this is a cool defy genre kind of piece, but its just not my vibe. From Rags to Riches is weird and cool. meh just not my style
Fiona Apple
5/5
hell yea fiona apple kicks ass! great debut album. Criminal is awesome. just a banger. The First Taste is also a good one
The Damned
5/5
Hell yea. This is so good. Noise, Noise, Noise is a great tune. I love this landmark statement of British punk rock.
Bobby Womack
5/5
Ooooooooo. funkay. Love the funk R&B on Secrets. So Many Sides Of You is a great opening track. I actually don't love If You Think You're Lonely now, but I still love this album. Great album, I had a blast listening to it.
Moby Grape
3/5
1967 guitar tone and styling. This is a pleasant listen but I didn't really take anything from it.
Badly Drawn Boy
2/5
Alt rock, meh. I find this album flaccid and boring. Magic in the Air is a pretty decent song. Disillusion is more my speed.
David Bowie
5/5
an oldie but a goodie. its amazing. Changes to Oh! You Pretty Things is a classic 1-2 punch. Life on Mars. Kooks. Andy Wahol. You cannot hide from the hits!
Parliament
5/5
This album is just so good i think my words fail me
Blondie
4/5
How do you turn off One Way or Another and a Heart of Glass? Though a lot more of the album just sort of passes me by.
Prince
4/5
1999 into Little Red Corvette is great 1-2. Delirious is a lot of fun, cool album
Santana
3/5
its good just not my style.
Green Day
5/5
Soundtrack to my child hood. a punk meets world album.
The Saints
5/5
Know Your Product is a great opening track. This is a real straight ahead, classic punk album, with the first sounds of ska. No, Your Product has a truck full of balls. The bonus tracks are kind of samey but i still liked some of it
The Undertones
5/5
The vocal tone is killer. I'm digging the bass work. There Goes Norman is a bop! Man, I am having a lot of fun listening to this album.
LL Cool J
4/5
This is a solid groove right between the gangster hop of later rap albums and the older sounds of earlier hip hop. Murdergram is a nice change from the more laid back rhythms. Mama Said Knock You Out is one of those cultural touchstones with a huge reach. Illegal Search is 31 years old and still applies to today.
Coldplay
3/5
The opening 2 tracks are nice. Not wild, not provacative, just nice. Yellow is basically the album but in miniature. Everything's Not Lost is a great closer.
Lou Reed
3/5
Its cool. Walk On The Wild Side is a generational tune. The Bowie connection on this album is strong. Its a good album that has that late 70's new york city metro sexual vibe.
Steve Winwood
2/5
meh. This is soft rock plus cheese synth 2 tracks in. Yea this kinda sucked eggs.
Neil Young
3/5
Some pretty rad guitar on the solo for Speakin' Out. Roll Another Number (For The Road) is great. New Mama has a cool ending. Solid Neil Young album, but I'm not huge on him. Would say I liked it better than Harvest.
Led Zeppelin
5/5
This album is just such a thundering monster in the best way. Good Times Bad Times hooks hard. Dazed and Confused is a muddy, spooky masterpiece. Communication Breakdown sets the stage for an explosion in music.
Stereo MC's
3/5
Connected is a bop for sure. yea this album fades into a funky backbeat groovathon.
Sade
3/5
R&B soft rock. meh. She has a cool unique vocal sound tho. good bass parts.
Talk Talk
4/5
cool drum pattern to start off Happiness Is Easy. Life's What You Make It is a good pop single. though some tones on that track come out of nowhere. This is good laundry folding music, or back yard barbequing music. Chameleon Day is very, very different from the rest of the album. Not a big fan of an 8 minute operatic ending on an album fueled by synth pop hits
Neu!
3/5
Its like a stadium soundtrack for an empty stadium. an audience of 1 or no one. Ambient rock. which is cool if that's your thing. Its a cool contrast between desolation and life. order and void.
Grizzly Bear
4/5
I think Southern Point is the first indie rock album opener I have liked in about forever. AH! I remember Two Weeks taking over the world for a hot second. This album has groove, though its a late 2000s indie album. Yea this album was cool.
John Grant
5/5
TC and Honeybear reached out and grabbed me. Where Dreams Go To Die has awesome lyrics and an uncomplicated soundscape to drive the focus on the lyrics. great tune. Then right on its heels Sigourney Weaver just comes in with the silliest lyrics. This album kicks ass.
Tom Waits
4/5
Oh man this album is a lot. Shore Leave is wacky. 16 Shells is super cool, like an absolute killer song. from there it dumps into Town With No Cheer, which is totally different. lots of musical whiplash. In The Neighborhood is an encapsulation of the album as a whole. Frank's Wild Years is the happiest nightmare I ever did hear. Rainbirds is an excellent closer.
Harry Nilsson
3/5
Ehhh. I'm not super into it at the halfway point. Coconut is cool.
Merle Haggard
3/5
I'm A Lonesome Fugitive is the seed of every cowboy country song. Yea this album is a solid encapsulation of the change of country from the blues to the outlaw.
Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart
2/5
Visions Of You does a good job of setting up the rhythmic style of Relight The Flame, but the vocals on Relight are a huge bummer. Bomba is cool. Ungodly Kingdom was a fun listen. Sweet Divinity has all the problems of Relight the Flame but none of the charm.
Elliott Smith
3/5
Somebody That I Used To Know features some killer acoustic guitar work. I liked L.A. meh its just not for me.
The Kinks
3/5
Death of a Clown and Harry Rag are my two favorites off the front side. David Watts I wasn't too impressed by. Musical shift to the more relaxed on the B side. Afternoon Tea is a bop.
John Prine
4/5
Illegal Smile has me hopeful about this album. I'm liking this wayyyyy more than Bob Dylan's Blood On The Tracks. Sam Stone is a great tune. Your Flag Decal would be a good punk cover song.
Iron Maiden
5/5
muahahahahahaha oh hell yea. gosh the bass line on Invaders is just everywhere. Goddamn even two songs in you can tell this is one of the best black metal albums ever made. Number Of The Beast still kicks the most ass.
The Byrds
5/5
So You Want To Be A Rock 'N' Roll Star is a wild awesome groove that sets the hooks in deep. CTA-102 comes in outta nowhere with the weird. hard to see where it fits. lots of great time signature and rhythm work. Hot shit the late 60's was just a genre soup where every band borrowed every texture and sound under the sun. Yea a real landmark of an album
Lorde
5/5
I really wish this wasn't today's album, but that's just personal circumstances. Green Light and Sober is a good 1-2 punch. The Louvre is.....uncomfortable right now at time of writing. Its good though. Then Liability happens. Jesus. THIS ALBUM IS AWESOME!
XTC
4/5
Summers Cauldron and Grass feel like a part 1 & 2 of the same mellow opening. The Meeting Place takes the next step in the journey. Ballet For A Rainy Day into 1000 Umbrellas is a fun counter point to the front of the album, though i like Ballet as a song better than 1000 Umbrellas. Then the album takes this really weird psychadelic space turn culminating in Another Satellite. Mermaid Smile has a great guitar intro. Cool concept album overall, one worth revisiting but first blush is a meh. Yea without Dear God as the final track, how does this album wrap itself up?
Flamin' Groovies
2/5
Yep this sounds like a knock off Rolling Stones or Aerosmith. not really my vibe. Yea its a louder, faster blues album.
Solomon Burke
2/5
This is basically an Elvis album. I can see how this is a bridge into R&B but I'm just bored
Malcolm McLaren
3/5
World music meets hip hop? ok. I mean its cool just not really my speed or style. Double Dutch has a cool hypnotic groove. Punk It Up is infectious. The second half of the album is starting to warm on me, with Jive My Baby. might be worth another listen at a later time, good summer party album. Duck For The Oyster would be fun to hear at a party but in a "wtf is this?" sense.
Ramblin' Jack Elliott
3/5
American roots album. The Boil Weevil is a good tune. New York Town with Woody Guthrie is a great tune.
Slint
3/5
uhhhhhhhh. This is very much Dan Hart music. roomy, heavy, weird. Don, Aman is a great, unnerving ride of a song. Good Morning, Captain feels so weird and strange. like walking through swamps with muddy boots
Beatles
4/5
I can see how this would cement The Beatles as icons. This sound is even still so unique and them. Till There Was You is a great cover.
Don McLean
3/5
American Pie is a perennial bop. Vincent is a tear jerker. This whole album is sad! Babylon is a choral piece.
Madness
2/5
Blue Skinned Beast is a pretty cool song, though this is not the best Madness album. That will always be One Step Beyond. Though Our House may well be the best Madness song. New Delhi is okay. yea the second half of the album drops way off after Our House.
Erykah Badu
5/5
funky and mad rhythm right off the bat. this album grooves so hard. Kiss Me On My Neck is a good groove. Yea this album slaps
Alanis Morissette
5/5
crazy to go from Green Eyes on Mama's Gun to All I Really Want. I'm hooked immediately. Her rage just drips from every single note and vocal stab. Loads of different layers. It feels beat up and triumphant at the same time. Head Over Feet, You Outta Know, Ironic? All on the same album?
Judas Priest
3/5
Sounds exactly like Iron Maiden, though its big hair metal. Breaking The Law case in point. Quite honestly, its interesting as a piece of metal history but I'm not particularly taken with the album.
New Order
4/5
Cool dance/house album sounds. I am big into the sound and feel after the first two tracks. Run is a great track to get lost to. Man what a great album to ride through. will have to give it another spin at some point
The Cure
2/5
I'm not sold on this album or the band's sound. Yea its tone goes out of its way to be the most over the top sad thing you could think of. Bleak, washed out guitar tones makes the whole thing feel like a gloomy rainy day in March or November. Fascination Street is actually my speed though. Growling bass fills a more harsh and aggressive soundscape. Yep this is teenage angst turned up to 11.
Queen
5/5
It fucking kills it. Thats it
Michael Jackson
5/5
Siouxsie And The Banshees
4/5
Spellbound is a cool opening track and I am excited for it. I am digging the dark moodiness, very like The Smiths. Night Shift is a great moody tune. Head Cut is another cool spooky tune.
Everything But The Girl
3/5
More 80s brit pop. okay. Its got good technique and a well crafted sound, but damn it is so soft rock-y that i cant latch on to it. She has a great voice but the content is just so smarmy I can't deal. Apron Strings I can see being a cool wedding song.
The Charlatans
2/5
More British alternative. Its basically a harder and heavier Oasis. One To Another is a good track. Yea this is like listening to a lost Oasis album, which means I'm pretty bored with the sound.
Napalm Death
4/5
Its early grindcore! I think its pretty alright 4 songs in. I wouldn't want to be at the show, but the album is a great showcase of the emergence of grindcore. I think a lot of people bitch and moan about how you cant hear what they are saying on most of the album but no one talks about how it makes them feel. Thats grindcore, an explosion of rage. Seige Of Power is a great track. Huge sonic difference A side and B side. A side is like a mad max car, B side is a lawnmower covered in underwater chainsaws. Dragnet is a good closer.
Franz Ferdinand
4/5
Take Me Out is a personally formative rock and roll tune. Funk roots and grooves sort of blend the first 4 tracks in my mind. Cool theramin into Auf Achse, which is a great track. Michael hits the right vibes. 40' is a great closer.
Jorge Ben Jor
3/5
Its cool. Afro Brasilian lounge jazz. Taj Mahal is a time capsule.
Radiohead
3/5
Radiohead is one of those bands that comes with a lot of baggage, so I will try to give it a fair listen. I like singing along to High and Dry. I will say, Thom York as a vocalist is very good. The album at mid way has a good sense of dynamism, even if it feels restrained. Just strikes me as very weird. My Iron Lung is a good tune. This album would be worth a revisit but right now I am just so sick of this English alt rock sound.
The Clash
5/5
One in the punk rock firmament. How could I not love the shit out of this album. The A side just comes out with so much panache and energy, it's infectious. The B side is equally solid. Love the hell out of it.
The Teardrop Explodes
3/5
Its hard to come up with an immediate reaction to the first two tracks. There is a sense of foreboding in the upbeat jams. Like a dance party in a cave. There is almost like a ghoulish, halloween feeling to this album. See Second Head for reference. I get sort of lost after that song. Thief of Baghdad was pretty cool, I guess? Reward comes and sonically breaks up the languidness of the back half of the album. the bonus tracks i have no idea what to do with.
Isaac Hayes
4/5
Theme from Shaft is rad. 3 songs in and I am hooked! Great song structure, interesting motifs, and a sense of grounding and authenticity in the sound. Man what a pleasure to listen to.
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
5/5
Holy Moly this is basically 2 albums. I love Nashville Blues. Tennessee Stud is another great song. Nine Pound Hammer, Tennessee Stud, Black Mountain Rag all kick ass. Though just the length of this double album is a workout; 2 hours is a lot of fecking bluegrass.
Spiritualized
2/5
welp space music it is. just not my speed. I'm docking a star for a 17 minute long, languid album closer.
Johnny Cash
5/5
Cash proves he is every measure the legend on this record. Even though the vast majority is covers, his crowd work is great and you can hear a pin drop on The Long Black Veil. Jackson is a cool duet. booing the warden on the last track is great
Milton Nascimento
3/5
Got that earlier 70s sense of groove. Tudo O Que has my interest. Cravo E Canela is a good tune. Um Girassol Da Cor Do Seu Cabelo has this wacky break section in the middle of the song and comes back with authority. Side 3 sort of breezed by me. Side 4 has some really weird parts. I would say side 1 and maybe side 2 deserve a relisten.
Fela Kuti
3/5
Cool Afrobeat record, but I feel like there is a lot of subtext that I miss.
Violent Femmes
3/5
Blister In The Sun! Great bass work on the album and is really a treat to listen to. Excellent sonic balance. Ugly is a great, loud, and loose track.
Buzzcocks
3/5
This is probably my least favorite punk record so far on the list. in that I like it but I don't immediately love it. The soundscape overall is very tinny and scratchy.
Sleater-Kinney
4/5
Dig Me Out is a super strong opener. Though I don't really love the dual guitar no bass setup, sonically it works. Though Corin Tucker's vocals cut like a frenzied, razor sharp knife. Not What You Want is great multi-layered track. I do love how the backing vocals are so distinctive on the album in general. Jenny is a strong closer.
Machito
4/5
Wild Jungle starts the party off right. Great trumpet tone. Kenya, Oyeme are excellent grooves. Holiday puts a smile on my face. Excellent album.
Dinosaur Jr.
3/5
Ok! Freak Scene. Good song. They Always Come sounds like an indie J-rock song. Don't is five minutes of feedback, which I could do without. Though its the better closer. The bonus track is kind of slapped on the back.
Garbage
5/5
MMMMM this feels like mid 90s alt comfort food. Stupid Girl partial writing credit is Joe Strummer from The Clash! Queer is an excellent song. Only Happy When It Rains is another great track.
Janis Joplin
5/5
Janice has a great blues voice. A Woman Left Lonely is a wild tune, transcending the genre. Half Moon Comes in with this funk rock intro and I'm all for it. Wow what a back half of an album.
Buddy Holly & The Crickets
2/5
That classic rock and roll sound. But no Peggy Sue?! Yea this album is a great time capsule but lacks the punch of his singles.
Morrissey
3/5
Much different from The Smiths sound of Morrissey. We'll let you know has some very not PC overtones. I mean its a great Morrissey album, its just if you are on the fence about him like I am, then its hard to say if it shifts it for me out of 3 territory.
Blur
3/5
I vaguely remember Boys & Girls from my childhood. I do like it more than some of the other Britpop of the era, but I'm sort of done with the genre in totality. Bank Holiday is pretty dope. However, To The End is boring as hell.
Eagles
4/5
Take It Easy, Witchy Woman is hard to beat in terms of a 1-2 punch. I mean the Eagles have a way of creating a laid back groove with ease. Yea these harmonies are where its at. Early Bird is real weird but i like the banjo.
The Flaming Lips
4/5
Race For The Prize has me interested. Three tracks in and I can feel the album really has musical legs that it is stretching. The lyrics of this album are really good. By the end of this album, I was hooked. Will merit a second listen.
Portishead
2/5
4 tracks in and I am still waiting to grab onto something. I don't find the acid club/industrial rock genre incredibly compelling in album format. I am sure they would be much different live, with a lot of sweaty people doing drugs and losing their minds. Deep Water with the surprise ukulele! yep the rest of the album is the same and I couldn't wait for it to end.
Stevie Wonder
5/5
Oh man very familiar with this album. Fucking pristine tracks cover to cover. Have A Talk With God up next to Village Ghetto Land is lots of whiplash. Contusion!! Sir Duke sparkles like a new copper penny with lush orchestration and feels just as joyful as when it was first made. Then to hit the listener with I Wish. Past time Paradise is a great track. I mean everything on here is a great track. Even the Extra LP tracks add a bunch of great tunes.
The Human League
3/5
This is the kind of synth pop that is unapologetic in its sounds. angular, refusing to blend. the task then is more in stacking them, which sounds like what I am in for. This almost feels like a less fun DEVO. Or like listening to a very poetic retro gamer stream. Some songs have interesting hooks but I'm just not super interested in the sounds. Don't You Want Me Baby keeps this from being a 2 star for me. Seconds is a good track.
The Cure
2/5
Oh boy One Hundred Years really sets the tone here. Too gloomy for me.
Mudhoney
3/5
Very Garage-y aesthetic. Let It Slide is good. The low recording quality makes all of the songs sound exactly the same. Shoot The Moon is more my speed, but Move Out was good too. The harmonica does a lot to add something bright and cutting with everything else being fuzzed out, like in Pokin' Around.
The Chemical Brothers
4/5
Cool rock electronica fusion. I appreciate the roomy kit sound. Playground For A Wedgeless Firm is probably my favorite track.
The Gun Club
4/5
Cool blues/roots punk. Sex Beat is a treat of an opener. great formational album of a lot of the grunge and alt rock.
Randy Newman
3/5
I can never take Randy Newman's voice seriously. Lonely At The Top is a dark carnival soundscape. Its a charming album, I just don't think I really care for most of it.
Le Tigre
4/5
Girl Punk! YaY! like an early Bombpops kind of sound. Almost hypnotic looping on Hot Topic. One of the founders was in Bikini Kill, so that explains the similarities in sound. The The Empty is great. Artist at Free University is also great. this will need another spin to say if it is a 4 or a 5 in my book.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
5/5
Concrete Jungle and Stop That Train are solid Bob hits, even if they arent the cultural juggernaut that some of his other songs are. Stir It Up is in that pantheon of greatest grooves ever conceived. Midnight Ravers kicks ass.
Abdullah Ibrahim
3/5
Mandela doesn't sound like anyone is playing in the same time. the downbeats are all mixed up. Song For Sathima is alright! Water From An Ancient Well is the axis about which the entire album turns. the ultimate chill and jazz album. Sameeda is a weird closer. I like it but man it is weird in the context of the entire rest of the album.
Sepultura
4/5
The vocals are so clear in this mix. i think its because the kick drum is so soft on the attack. Roots, Bloody Roots has my attention. Ratamahatta is a real cool groovy. Ambush has some classic hardcore metal gang vocals. I feel like I am obligated to take off a star because of a 12+ minute album closing canyon jam session, though one of the instruments is a gun?
Bob Dylan
2/5
Love Sick into Dirt Road Blues is an excellent contrast in tones. I still don't like Bob's diction. And after a while its just the blues. Tryng To Get To Heaven is a perfect example of Bob Dylan ruining a perfectly good song with his voice. Jesus I can't stand this guy's voice. Cold Irons Bound is a good tune, which I think is the only real reason I don't give this a 1 star. Highlands is bullshit.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
4/5
They have the early 2000s alt sound lined up and nailed. Date With The Night is abound with lipstick and neon. Maps is a great tune. Cool album, will need another spin
David Bowie
5/5
Bowie plus Eno. Really hear it on Breaking Glass. I am really feeling this sonic landscape. Warszawa and the second side where this album really stretches out its legs. Need to re-spin it.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
4/5
I like Thrasher a lot. The acoustic side is really roomy and sounds great. The Crazy Horse side is probably the best version I have heard of Neil Young yet. Welfare Mothers is a weird song though.
Lambchop
2/5
this is weird but also somehow pleasant? this is basically room music for me. its more just boring and strange.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
3/5
I am digging the sonic landscape of Elvis Costello. Really dig The Long Honeymoon. Lots of the album just feels like it lacks punch.
Travis
3/5
very alt british sound. kind of an oasis clone but i think a little more nuanced. Luv is a good track.
Jimi Hendrix
4/5
So I had to bootstrap this album together from different sources on youtube so the listening experience is way out of wack. Spanish Castle Magic finally gets the album started with some really modern sound guitar. Little Wing is a forceful beautiful song. Jimmy's guitar work is outrageous how relevant is still is.
Beach House
3/5
Its that laid back alt sound. I like how Norway opens up. Meh.
Dinosaur Jr.
3/5
Here's the thing about american rock in the 80s. lots of it sucks. but at least it has an edge. Brit rock of the era is so polished its boring. Little Fury Things is exhibit A of why American rock at least had something interesting when it sounded about. The Kracked is a great punk track with a psychedelic guitar solo. The Lung is like listening to proto-Nirvana. Poledo is a great time. Good cover of Just Like Heaven for the reissue closer.
Simon & Garfunkel
4/5
Save The Life Of A Child is a cool way to start off. The production quality gives the album this sheen. Great dynamics on Old Friends. Punkys Dilemma gets overshadowed by the meteoric hit that is Mrs Robinson. a Hazy Shade of Winter has the sounds of a single that never took off.
Madonna
3/5
Ray of Light is a pop hit, though these sounds are such a time capsule of late 90s electronica. Nothing Really Matters is the first track that I think the whole sound grooves for me. To Have and Not to Hold paints in the same sonic space as the soundtrack from Nier: Automata
Fun Lovin' Criminals
4/5
Cool hip-hop rock fusion sounds. Scooby Snacks is a great single. We Have All The Time In The World is a really refreshing mid album break.
Sparks
3/5
I'm not really in a glam rock kind of mood. this is a fine album.
Jungle Brothers
5/5
Aw yea. The simple kick snare pattern starts this trance like background where instruments and voices come in and fade out. sneaky Parliament sample at the end of Sunshine. Good Newz Comin' is a house beat jam. damn what a cool album.
Big Brother & The Holding Company
3/5
To me this feels like a weaker Janis Joplin vocal record. Piece Of My Heart is one of those rock and roll songs that will stay forever. But this album is mostly the blues. I still don't see what people find interesting about the blues. Janis's vocal tone is one in a billion, which you hear right in front on Ball And Chain.
Dire Straits
4/5
Oh hell yea. So Far Away is actually a great opener, Money For Nothing stuffs you right in the face with its hook in the most pleasant way, and Walk Of Life keeps it breezy and honky tonky. Your Latest Trick and Why Worry tread some pretty slow, cheeseball synth footsteps. Also Why Worry takes about a million years for noodling. docking a star for that. The Man's Too Strong is a great tune and doesn't get the respect it merits. Brothers In Arms is a little overly saccharine for me
Queens of the Stone Age
2/5
The first two tracks are soooooo boorrrrrring. This is the simplified song structures of punk, but slowed down and all the fun or edge taken out. its like a masonry wall or a piece of concrete that is just there. How To Handle A Rope connected with me. What the hell this sucked.
Leftfield
2/5
House album so tracks are long. And its house music from the mid 90s, so it all feels like the backing tracks to the club scene from blade. The best parts of the album are when it leans into its afro inspired samples, but these beats just sound dated and stale. I am sure at the time this shit was ground breaking but now its just dull. very dull
Miles Davis
3/5
The recording quality on this is the best but i will give it some slack being 60+ years ago. Not having the best jazz ear, I don't know that I would be able to pick a song in here that I latched onto. Though I do like jazz and miles davis.
Jane Weaver
4/5
Is this a synthwave album? this might be a synthwave album. Hell yea. Though its not like some cheeseball synth emulation, there is actually a really well crafted sonic vision on this one. The Architect slaps. Ravenspoint is weird.
The Doors
5/5
Break On Through To The Other Side!! I like how visceral these songs feel. That organ is used like a cannon! Wild and licentious.
Eagles
3/5
Hotel California and Life In The Fast Lane cement this album in the American psyche. Wasted Time is just one of those lazy ballads. I hear that Parliament synth tone in Pretty Maids All In A Row. The Last Resort is another overly saccharine effort.
Sheryl Crow
4/5
Opening track has some biiiiiiiig Sara Bareilles energy. Strong Enough is a certified banger. Its really interesting to hear her in her release. So much of her sonic landscape feels so different from what it would become. The country elements are there, but its such a pop record. All I Wanna Do is also certified banger status for good reason. We Do What We Can really sticks out on this album. In general a solid album with a set of weird closers.
The Cars
5/5
Oh yea Let The Good Times Roll. I hear DEVO and hair rock in this, blended together for mutual benefit. The first 3 tracks on this album are some of the best openers ever. This album kicks ass. Its like a best of but its the first release.
Joni Mitchell
5/5
Joni's vocal talent is way out in front, highlighted by sparse instrumentation. California basically ripped out my heart. This album should be required listening in schools. A Case Of You is another absolute thunderously emotional track. The Last Time I Saw Richard hits harder when i thought this album was out of punches. "Only a phase these dark cafe days"
Janelle Monáe
4/5
Looks like I am in for a real ride on this one. Yea this is all over the map in terms of genres and feels. Locked Inside is a groove at the end of the universe. Cold War is a great track made mediocre by too much heavy handed mastering compression. Tightrope is a banger. Come Alive is a another one. yea all of Suite II is good, lets see Suite III. I don't get Make The Bus. I like the vocal texture on Wonderland. I got lost about halfway through Suite III. It launches into these lavish soundscapes, and if you haven't been locked into the story, you will feel lost. But Monae's voice is so rich and plays so nicely with the the elegance of the soundscape.
Digital Underground
4/5
The Humpty Dance is a bop. Gutfest 89 is fun. The sheer amount of Parliament samples is quite impressive. Doowhutchyalike is a send up to early 90's hedonism. Its an afrofuturistic hedonistic album about sex and unrequited desire.
Television
3/5
So the seeds of an alt movement are in there. It almost gives off a proto math rock jazz vibe with a lot of counter melodies in the guitar voices. The vocal texture is okay. It has an early 60s vibe, but maybe a touch more focus. Marquee Moon is a track where it all comes together, the other tracks on the A-side don't feel harmonious(?) like the orchestration isn't paced out.
The Louvin Brothers
3/5
Its classic, but I'm not getting much from it. Its well built and has a solid tone, I just don't find it interesting.
Bob Dylan
4/5
Holy shit a dylan album where he can actually sing?! This is actually a real delight to listen to, the songs have a great personality and life. Desolation Row goes on about 3 verses too far.
Van Halen
5/5
Running With The Devil!!!!! This album is a masterpiece of hair and guitar shredding. Atomic Punk I think is the sleeper hit on this album. deep, moody, shreddy and paints a clear story.
The Who
4/5
This is really cool. not a 5 for me but definitely cool.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
5/5
I could listen to Bob albums all day. Jamming!!!! One Love, a song that completely barnstormed the entire world, just barely over 3 minutes. All of these tracks are a pleasure to listen to, i wish there was more of it.
MC Solaar
5/5
Interesting to hear rap in a different language but to hear it use a similar music language as lots of other rap music at the time, but MC Solaar's vocals are just sooooooo smooth. Caroline immediately grabbed me. La devise is a solid close to a killer album.
Nick Drake
3/5
Yea this is fine. His guitar work is great, I am just not into sad boi brit rock.
The Clash
5/5
Love it. The beating British punk heart. Goddamn this album is good.
The Doors
1/5
Not feeling this blues rock. really not feeling it. The whole album feels like its not interested in making a statement sonically. Ship of Fools and Land Ho! are the lamest Doors songs. Its lazy southern blues rock. Dear lord get me out of this album.
Orbital
3/5
Lush 3-1 is a good track. Its a cool sonic atmosphere but i just cant find it in me to put a house album above a 3
Bon Jovi
4/5
Sloppy, hairy, excessive. This band is like a house made double cheeseburger and loaded fries. In the moment, its deeply satisfying. On closer inspection, its very bloated and doesn't say or offer anything new. But hot damn You Give Love A Bad Name hits like few other hair metal tunes do. And Livin' On A Prayer deserved to take over the world. Raise Your Hands is a sleeper hit on this record.
Earth, Wind & Fire
4/5
Shining Star is hitting the right vibes on this friday. All About Love intro sound exactly like one of my coworkers. Africano's woodwinds is really nice. This was a fine album but not the best one by this band.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
3/5
Breakdown is still a great song, but Tom hadn't found his iconic vocal style on this album. I like the hammond organ on Luna. American Girl batts last on the record and is a perennial favorite of mine.
The Dictators
4/5
This albums is great, if not just for the craziness and sophmoric silliness that surrounds its creation. Its 100% a birthplace of punk. Master Race Rock is oddly endearing(?) not actually problematic. California Sun is the best song here, and really nails the punk sound to come.
D'Angelo
4/5
This is excellent. Great feeling RNB that strikes the right balance sonically. Jonz In My Bonz is a song that I don't fully get, maybe its just a song about boning. Cruisin' is good but When We Get By is waaaaayy good
John Martyn
4/5
I like everything going on except the vocals. They sound weak and winded. Like the guy just ran 6 flights of stairs to get to the studio. Big Muff is a good tune. I am really torn on this album, but I think there is enough here to merit me coming back to it.
Nirvana
5/5
Unapologetic and raw. Boisterous and moody. Authentic grunge right from the well.
SAULT
5/5
Genre bending all in the service of this intense introspection. Don't Shoot Gun Sound then turns that into an immediate regrounding in the physical. This is cool to listen to as an art piece, but I don't know that I would come back to it. Clearly its a masterpiece.
Ray Charles
3/5
This feels like a pretty forgettable big band record. Am I Blue is a great song
The Sugarcubes
4/5
This album has a fun infectiousness. Bjork sounds right at home in front of a post punk band. Delicious Demon is a sleeper hit. That was so fun!
U2
1/5
This is boring and toothless. God its the softest rock conceivable.
CHIC
4/5
GROOVE. Le Freak is a great time. The bass tone is great, and the singles kick. I don't think there is enough variety to make it a 5 star, but I thoroughly enjoyed this. At Last I Am Free lingers longer than it should, but being a ballad i guess that's just a personal preference. [Funny] Bone is a good track.
David Bowie
4/5
2nd of the Berlin Triology and hot off recording Lust for Life by Iggy Pop. Opening track is synth to the face, but that inescapable rock groove makes for a weird space age dance club. Heroes the single nails this sounds, creating a sonic horizon forever wide. The back half is a wild, Eno filled miasma. Secret Life of Arabia is a final french kiss dance hall ender for the album.
Joan Armatrading
3/5
Love And Affection is a good track. Its hard for me to put this album in a box 3 tracks in. Join The Boys has a mysterious groove behind it to kick off the back half of the album.
Thundercat
4/5
Oh yea! Uh Uh is a breakneck bass odyssey. Tokyo is funny. Friend zone is a huge lazy neon groove. The lyrics are so discrete. DUI is the shambling, triumphant and just weird af ending to a real trip of an album.
The Monkees
3/5
Its pleasant, but if I wanted more of this sound and better I would listen to the Beatles
Femi Kuti
4/5
Cool Afrobeat textures and sounds. Rock solid groove. Stubbor Problems is a gem.
David Gray
2/5
Babylon is a dated hit. Boorrrring soft rock nonsense. technically and sonically competent.
The Pogues
5/5
YESSSSSS! The title track sets up this celtic rock masterpiece. Turkish Song of the Damned is a thundering folk piece. Fairy Tale of New York is a ballad of a drunk sung by a drunk. Like quite honestly, his voice is sooooooo bad. Fiesta is a lot of fun. Worms is a great closer.
4/5
This is a high mark on this style of sound. I Really Don't Want To Know is begging for a modern cover. Tomorrow Never Comes is a stage for Loretta to really air out what she can do. The Devil Gets His Dues has this awesome major 7th root vocal movement and it kicks ass. This whole album is great!
The Byrds
3/5
Yea its fine, I'm not into it.
The Zombies
4/5
Again, Its fine. great vocal harmonies. Time Of The Season is a thundering hit in an album that is the quintessentially sixties experiment.
Wilco
2/5
I don't really know what to take from this album. Is it iconic because this sound was the first in a wave of bands cutting albums like this later? This album has interesting stuff in terms of sonic textures but I don't see the cohesive whole where I care about it? I don't give a shit about this album.
Radiohead
3/5
15 steps and Bodysnatchers are really good tunes and a nice 1 2 punch. Once it hits Nude, it all slows way down to ballading grandeous sounds into All I Need, which are interesting but I don't think Thom sounds good on this record.
Spiritualized
3/5
This is like if english pop and house had a baby. And then the Space Rock part happens. its pretty boring.
MGMT
4/5
Time to Pretend is an earnest repudiation of fame and fortune from someone who feels trapped inescapably. I am really digging this blown out eletro pop sound. Of Moons Birds and Monsters provides a lot of needed breathing on the album as a whole, though the back half, with the exception of Kids, is kess impressive than the first half.
3/5
This is ok.
4/5
An album with more singles than it knows what to do with. Taken by themselves, these songs are well written and have a fully formed sonic vision. Too much personal exposure blunts their impact on me now but something needs to be said for their ability to command attention. Its not a 5 star album for me because all of their low tempo acoustic stuff all sounds the exact same!
Sonic Youth
4/5
Dirty Boots into Karen is a strong 1-2. This album definitely has my attention.
Fairport Convention
3/5
This was a good relaxing time.
Adam & The Ants
5/5
Dog Eat Dog has some excellent beat and bass work. This sounds like the sound track for the lost boys in Peter Pan.
Portishead
3/5
The bells on Sour Times sounds like the Taskmaster TV show. And is also a cool groove! It's A Fire is another groove. Glory Box is a nice closer, though I personally feel this album as a whole is lacking.
The Black Keys
5/5
I like how this album brings the bass fuzz on Next Girl and is very comfortable in it's sonic atmosphere. Howlin For You is an excellent showcase of the power of this sound. I like Too Afraid To Love You, though it leans in heavy on a 60s nostalgia vibe. I love the story about the band getting plastered and asking their manager for a harpsichord. recorded at Muscle Shoals. I go back and forth on whether this is a 4 or a 5. I will be generous this morning.
Saint Etienne
4/5
Starting your album off with a cover? bold choice. Though its so transformational that its a nice setup for the rest of the album. Girl VII is infectious. I like Nothing Can Stop Us. Kiss And Make Up is fun as well.
Nick Drake
3/5
I like the blend on his voice in Time Has Told Me. River Man is a lot more of his second album sound, which was so damn depressing. I am a little sad about not being able to give this album a totally blank slate as work kept getting in the way. The guys has guitar chops, its just I am not into sad wistful rock.
Carole King
4/5
I Feel The Earth Move and You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman! Home Again has some pretty forward, dumb lyrics however. Where You Lead! Will You Love Me Tomorrow! wow this album is studded with hits.
DJ Shadow
4/5
This is of so much in electronic music ethos in here. Crazy to think of how much impact this style would basically take over the world and put music on its head. Changeling is a cool track and doesn't overstay its welcome even at over 7 minutes. Stem/Long Stem goes into some weird cool places. The Organ Donor theme comes up a couple times previously but the track itself is the power of a compelling hook. What Does Your Soul Look Like is a relaxed groove.
Billy Joel
4/5
MOVING OUT! and Scences From An Italian Restaurant. This album is basically all hits, though I don't know that I find Billy Joel especially compelling. It's supremely polished, no rough edges, and all about appealing to the widest audience possible. Which is a valid approach, but not one I find super compelling.
Elton John
5/5
I don't remember the huge extended musical intro to this album, though its got that early 70s grit. This album is so grand in vision scope and sound. It goes everywhere. Its incredible.
Incubus
3/5
The bass work is really wild. They have a great sense for song dynamics on Nowhere Fast. The album gets kind of same-y in the middle. Drive gives a breath of free air to this album. Battlestar is way out of place.
Fleetwood Mac
5/5
This album is the mount olympus of music. Soaring highs, crushing lows, and the depth of human connection birthed from the most totured of circumstances.
Kraftwerk
4/5
WE ARE THE ROBOTS. This album is all angles and geometry. Metropolis sounds way ahead of its time. Goddamn that specific song has been copy pasted to a wide variety of success about a billion times. The album as a whole is a great showcase of this sound and style. The influence it has on electronic music is hard to overstate.
The Jam
3/5
This was meh. They have 1 good song, thats spread out between 12 songs. like too much bread and not enough butter.
The Magnetic Fields
5/5
This album in it's entirety is more than Will The Circle Be Unbroken. Jesus what am in for? I am going to break this into two days of listening, because I am currently playing catchup so 2 albums a day isn't too bad. First 23 are filled with quirky and wonderful little songs like Reno Dakota, Chicken With Its Head Cut Off, etc. Come Back From San Fransico. Very TMBG vibes. Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side slaps. First 23 songs is good, though kind of tapers off the last third. 2nd album starts with Roses and Love Is Like Jazz, puts this on a darker and weirder footing. album 2 is super dark, Noone Will Ever Love You, If You Don't Cry and others. Long Forgotten Fairy Tale is G R O O V E. Papa Was A Rodeo is beautiful. I Shatter is a great way to end the 2nd album. Third album puts the album into an electronica space, very spacey and etherial. More groove in this one than album 2. Album 3 is just all over the place, like flying over the concept of love from 30,000ft away. Love Is Like A Bottle Of Gin perfect example. Zebra is a fantastic, weird, shambolic, perfect way to end this towering weird monument to love songs.
Sonic Youth
2/5
I really don't understand the critical appeal of this band. Wish Fulfillment is the only song on the album to grab me even a little this far into it. This is like punk but without the point. Dear god this album sucks. Chapel Hill keeps this from being a 1 star album.
System Of A Down
4/5
System Of A Down had their sound basically fully formed on this album, in time to lead as kings of the nu metal scene. They have this sense of dynamism and groove that is so rare in this space. Tankian's voice soars on Spiders. Soil and War? both have powerful lyrics. Mind I am not too fond of.
The Velvet Underground
2/5
I don't see what the big deal of this band is, but maybe its more of an influence thing than an actual product thing. Of course, when Andy motherfucking Warhol makes your album art I guess that's a good sign. Venus In Furs is not great as a song but cool as an artistic expression. Heroin is a legitimate masterpiece work of art. European Son is minutes of aimless noodling and feedback. I am docking a star for that bullshit.
Kanye West
4/5
The narrative intro on this album is really engaging, I'm hooked. Jesus Walks comes in like a bomb on the first third of the album. I think the album feels bloated in the middle. Get 'Em High is pretty bland. The New Workout Plan is pretty fun and very influential. Slow Jamz kicks ass. I really like School Spirit. Through The Wire is really impressive. Last Call is nuts and I love it.
Derek & The Dominos
3/5
southern boogie rock. its fine if thats your thing. Layla is a perennial hit.
The Boo Radleys
2/5
This album was shoegaze. its was lame and boring.
John Cale
3/5
Paris 1919 is good. everything else is meh
Various Artists
3/5
Probably the best sounding and arranged version of all of these songs. Parade Of The Wooden Soldiers is a weak song in general, even with the Phil Spector treatment. During the holiday season this is a 5, post holidays its a 3
The Who
3/5
I have a difficult time with concept albums, especially with linear story lines. I don't feel there is enough for me to grab on to and follow through in the music. The guitar work ranges from great to mediocre, but i think this would be worth another spin. Undertone is a good self contained groove. Pinball Wizard kicks ass. Sally Simpson is a cool groove. We're not Gonna Take It/See Me, Feel Me doesn't feel powerful enough musically to match the lyrical content cap of the album.
Blues rock band featuring Rod Stewart as the front man. Smart and tight performed, this gives good vibes with a blues sound. Stay With Me is pretty gross, mainly because it puts the image of Rod Stewart having sex in my brain, which I could do without.
Mekons
1/5
Alt Country? What in hell? This sucked ass
Hüsker Dü
2/5
This is fine. The guitar tone doesn't cut at all, so the sound seems a little too round for the style. Their sound is really reminiscent of a lot of bands, especially the vocal tone. Some of these songs I think could be really good, but the overly compressed sound and poor dynamic choices really hamstring this album's impact. Tell You Why Tomorrow is a perfect example.
Afrika Bambaataa
3/5
The title track has me curious. Looking For The Perfect Beat has a great intro. Renegades Of Funk is one of those great covers that couldn't be more different in its original version. The album leans in as hard into the new electronic production techniques of the time like on Go Go Pop. It sounds dated to modern ears but has a charm in its unabashed big boom hip hop styling.
Dusty Springfield
3/5
Dusty has a great soul voice. You Don't Own Me is a great tune. Will You Love Me Tomorrow and Wishin' And Hopin' are both classics. The album has great singles but there is not a unifying theme that ties the whole thing together.
Nick Drake
4/5
The third Nick Drake album! This I feel has the best sound of the three. It has a laser focus on nick's guitar work and his voice. The lyrics are more artistic and the songs in general more expressive. Things Behind The Sun for me is a standout track. Free Ride is another great example of this growth in sonic style.
Aerosmith
3/5
If you are into the melding point between Southern and classic rock, here it is. Walk This Way is too big to be ignored. The boogie is real on Big Ten Inch Record. Sweet Emotion is the other pillar of this album. It's just not something I'm interested in. The singles keep this from being a 2 star.
Brian Eno
4/5
48 minutes of ambient music, eh? well I guess. Eno says that this is music "Really, it’s music to resign you to the possibility of death." Its very calming after a while, so thats nice. Wow that album passed me by in a flash. Defintely soothing.
Beatles
5/5
In an album of stunning rock monuments and some of the most iconic pop culture statements, you get the colossal stinker Why Don't We Do It In The Road. Wild Honey Pie is in the same vein. The thing about this album is that the Beatles still had expiraments they wanted to do. It doesn't sound like a band ready to explode and splinter. Helter Skelter kicks so much ass. Revolution 1! Goddamn the final act of a cultural juggernaut.
Pretenders
5/5
Love this sound! Precious is tight, great jagged guitar tones! This is everything I love about punk in the 80s. Personality. Great songs. A real great ear for how to orchestrate something as simple as 2 guitars, drums, bass, and vocals. Brass In Pocket is a great tune. I had so much fun listening to this album!
Dwight Yoakam
2/5
The lyrics are actuallly quite clever in service of aggressively generic themes. In fact, the lyrics are to clever for the stories he's singing about. I Got You is a great example. Though it hits like a brick when you dig in on the title track. I hate the instrumentation. The Streets Of Bakersfield is underwhelming.
ZZ Top
5/5
Give Me All Your Loving is a great boogying tune. Its not just the singles that have this deep and abiding sense of groove. What a kickass album.
4/5
Thrashcore jazz? What in god? Holy shit, I guess we are in for a violent, unhinged jazz onslaught. Good Old Days takes a little off the gas pedal for some more synchronized power. The drums are just SO BOOMY! They sound like they are 50 feet away! This is a fun album to just sonically surf through. Ecars is a fun tune with the heaviest end beat imaginable. Mob Job is like a pulling up to the station as the last act of this jazz rollercoaster of bodyblows and razor blades.
Funkadelic
5/5
This album is like balm for the soul. The funk rock is just what I needed on this Friday.
Common
4/5
I love Common's beats, even if his vocals get kind of buried. They don't have that super in front compression. Oh shit it was produced by Kanye. That would make sense. Go is a great song. Testify kills.
Teenage Fanclub
2/5
How is this better than Nirvana's Nevermind, Spin Magazine? It's watery garage rock. Yea this is like shitty Oasis.
k.d. lang
4/5
Okay first track has me intrigued. Miss Chatelaine has a sort of easy riviara mood about it. Wash Me Clean has a nice hook.
Adele
3/5
Adele has this million in 1 vocal presence. Its got so much color while sounding so effortless. The song writing is kind of 1 speed though. Its all ballads. The singles (4 of them) are stadium shakers, but this album as a whole doesn't seem to shift out of that mood. I'll Be Waiting is sonically what this album needed more of.
Eels
3/5
This is okay? Has an early Ben Folds vibe. Spunky Is probably my favorite track, but the whole album is at once pleasant and forgettable.
Air
4/5
First two tracks have me curious about where this going to go. Lots of elements in the sonic landscape that are being pulled in and blended. Dirty Trip has these chords that don't ever feel like home. Sets me on edge and I kind of dig it! And then the tension release on Highschool Lover is just everything! Suicide Underground is just a cool song, even wrapping in a synopsis.
The The
3/5
Uhhhhhh. There is some cool vocal melodies in here, but its just not for me.
Syd Barrett
1/5
fuck this tedious and boring POS.
Michael Jackson
4/5
Don't Stop Til You Get Enough is pretty explosive. Rock With You is another one. Off The Wall is buttery smooth. Damn this whole album is a pop disco masterpiece.
The Pogues
4/5
Sally MacLennane is a great song. This album depends on your mood for that Irish folk style. right now this is hitting me on an above average day because it's friday.
New Order
2/5
This is bland english dance pop right in the front. Face Up was probably the only track that I found interesting.
The Black Crowes
2/5
Listening to these guys is 2022, they sound dated as hell. Like a last gasp of that southern rock sound. Hard To Handle is a hit but belongs back in the stone age. My issue is that this band's sound is so derivitive that its goes beyond homage. She Talks To Angels is the same spirit that this album needed more of. Alas, its more of the same after.
Hole
4/5
Violet immediately hooks me with the great dynamics in the song writing. The acoustic guitar work is a real highlight, they use it to cut the sonic atmosphere of the booming guitars and drums and make it a real treat for the ears.
Sigur Rós
3/5
very relaxing first two tracks, though with the average song being over 6 minutes, we are going to see if this album starts to wear out its welcome. Staralfur has the sappiest strings and is really effective right now, though the end leaves me cold. The rest of the album just sort of meanders aroud.
David Bowie
4/5
Oh hell yes. Young Americans is a GROOVE. This whole album is a great reinvention of Bowie out of the glam and into soul. again proves that Bowie is the ultimate musical chameleon. The Across The Universe cover is killer. Fame is a great funk closer.
Leonard Cohen
3/5
Alrighty, cant say I know much about this guy other than hallelugia. Master Song is kinda trippy and intriguing. This album was pleasant, but not really my thing.
Pixies
5/5
Debaser has me smiling this morning. This is a terrific thrash around punk album with great breakbeats, song structure, and a killer sense of song and album dynamics. Gouge Away leaves a yearning feeling in its wake.
The Avalanches
5/5
This album is so bouncy and fun, constantly weaving these grooves from all over. Radio is a jam. A Different Feeling reminds me of old Daft Punk. Frontier Psychologist is a favorite. Etoh into Summer Crane is smooth like butter.
Donald Fagen
4/5
Don Fagan, of Steely Dan fame, cutting tracks on his own. The recording style is T I G H T. I.G.Y feels meticulously crafted, with not a beat out of place. This album is very best of this style of sound. There is something so perfect about it, it feels stripped of its spontaneity.
OutKast
5/5
Holy shit a 2 hour double album. well strap in I guess. Unhappy is a mix of busy melody, groove, and a really interesting rape flow structure. The Way You Move is on this album? This is great. Church is a really cool, odd sounding song. Speakerboxx, great rap album. The Love Below is much more expiramental and I don't know where to latch on to it. The guy shouting ICE COLD on Where Are My Panties is my hero. Prototype slaps. Hey Ya kicks so much booooootaayy and then is followed up by Roses. She's Alive is a poignant song. A blistering backbeat on My Favorite Things adds a pretty awesome dimension to the song.
Gene Clark
2/5
A classic country album. Silver Raven has some interesting vocal moments. Halfway in and I can't say I have found anything that really grabbed me thus far. Some Misunderstanding is another standout song. meh
Michael Jackson
5/5
Ok so we are going to do the greatest pop album thats ever been made. Coolcoolcoolcool. Baby Be Mine has a couple wild transitions in the middle that caught me way off guard. The middle of this album is so stacked with hits that it is hard to ignore. I don't find it as good as Bad but better than Off The Wall if I had to do a shootout of MJ albums.
Missy Elliott
5/5
Let's go Missy! The sampling on this album is really heavy on the soul and jazz which gives the songs this sense of cool thats hard to beat. Work It is a generational groove. Back In The Day is just all up in my face with Jay giving the opening rap. Pussycat is incredibly explicit, but Missy comes in with an explainer. Aight cool. This album was great I loved it a bunch.
The Crusaders
4/5
Street Lights is a poppin' 70s groove. There is plenty to groove on in this album but nothing really feels spicy or exotic in the jazz styling. It feels closer to jam band music than jazz.
Led Zeppelin
3/5
Oh yea buddy. What Is and What Should Never Be is a great example of the range that Zepplin found in being able to explore this heavy sonic space. There is a lot of blues in this, which is not my favorite; see The Lemon Song. Ramble On is a perfect song. Moby Dick is a shit song. This album is just so blues heavy that I cant say i loved it. Good album I can appreciate the sonic space they were staking, but its not for me.
Paul McCartney and Wings
2/5
Band On The Run is a fine song and album opener. Dear lord, this side A is boring. Picasso's Last Words (Drink To Me) has some fun shifts and textures.
Pentangle
3/5
Same kind of folk sound like some of the earlier folk albums on the list from the same time period. Pleasant folk noodling. Folk noodling. Aghhh this is just not my cup of tea. Its fine?
Billy Bragg
4/5
Lyrics by Woodie Guthrie, music by Billy Bragg, with Wilco as the backing band. What a wacky idea. Way Over Yonder In The Minor Key has a familiar melody and is a great song. Birds And Ships is great. The compression on Hoodoo Voodoo basically sucks the life right out of it. She Came Along To Me has a knock at the facists. Thanks for that Woodie, kind of crazy how of all the things coming back into fashion, thats one of them. Eisler On The Go, Hesitating Beauty. Lots of great songs on this record.
Motörhead
2/5
The Ace Of Spades sets the tone and boy does this album never shift out of that gear. Jailbait is a rather unfortunate song. This album is peak 80s mysogeny, sex, drugs, and rock and roll. (We Are) The Road Crew is a nice send up for the tough life of a stage crew.
Red Hot Chili Peppers
5/5
Plenty of personal history with this album. Greased funk bassline grooves with Anthony's mercurial lyrical delivery comes together to make a really sonic statement. Power of Equality into If You Have You Have To Ask is smooth and sets the tone for the real groove flexibility the Chili Peppers display on the album. Breaking The Girl is a titan of a song. Suck My Kiss is another. The connective tissue on this record does the important work of creating the space for these monster hits. I Could Have Lied is a sleeper hit on the record. Give It Away punches us all in the face with how it takes over, with the most absolute insane soundscape. Followed immediately by Under The Bridge. Goddamn the hits literally cannot be stoped. The best part is there is this true thread that runs through all of these songs. They're Red Hot is a nice little bow on the end of the sprawling Mr Psycho Sexy. What a goddamn album.
Tina Turner
4/5
There is a huge laundry list of artists on this one. Also 4 different production teams? Tina's vocal delivery is POWER. What's Love Got To Do With It is a killer sad song. Can't Stand The Rain has that horns in a can sound, but it's only just on the verge of being too much. Let's Stay Together is a wild cover. Again, it borders on too much and I think crosses that line. Steel Claw is a raccous boogie. Though there is a lot of lyrically whiplash on this album. The Help! cover is not my favorite. The 1984 cover I think is spot on. So on balance I have no idea where to put this album. Will need to revisit this.
Julian Cope
3/5
Double Vegetation has a cool 90's alt vibe. The whole album is like that, so it gets a little old by the middle of the album.
Paul Weller
4/5
This is good morning music. I am finding it a useful tool to focus my energy where I want it after a grumpy start this morning. All The Pictures On The Wall is a good tune. Shadow Of The Sun is another one.
The Sabres Of Paradise
2/5
Mostly haunted and not really dancehall
Pink Floyd
5/5
Time to scale The Wall, I guess. To break this album up into tracks is almost a disservice. The story is so well told, a perfect marriage of lyrics and music. The orchestration allows for the lyrics to be clear as day and all of the associated background, atmospherics only furthers the narrative. Mother is the most disturbing rock song. The perfect concept album against which every single one after will be compared to.
The Dave Brubeck Quartet
5/5
Blue Rondo A La Turk is such a fun time piece. This is the home of the complete door busting hit Take Five. Damn this album is good.
Bonnie "Prince" Billy
3/5
The lyrics are poetic with a delivery that is genuinely catches me off balance. I have heard this album is a slow burn so I will see. Death To Everyone is good and creepy. Black is good. I get the lyrics, but it didn't really convince me of anything. Maybe worth a relisten?
Jimmy Smith
4/5
Back At The Chicken Shack doesn't ever say anthing interesting as it remains locked to its 12 bars like a weight around its neck. When I Grow To Old To Dream is a good track. Minor Chant is also a good listen, though I am generally not a huge organ jazz kind of guy. Yea I enjoyed every track on this other then the title track. Does it go wild off kilter places? no. But this was absolutely pleasant.
Can
2/5
Interesting blend of rock and out there ambient expiramentation. Cool as a museum piece. Aumgn is a deep trip down the rabbit hole. Peking-O is a bundle of trash falling on a crazy cat lady.
Marty Robbins
4/5
Big Iron is a fun song. There are some actually really nice musical progressions and modulations. All the songs have these tight narratives, and are just so enjoyable. The Master's Call is christian fan fic, though a god killing 100 cattle with a lighting bolt is pretty rad. El Paso is really violent for such an upbeat song. This was a great time.
The Roots
4/5
This is one of those rap albums that better lyrically minded listeners can parse. The album goes a lot of musical directions with its orchestration and is definetly a kitchen sink style. Definetly worth a revisit. Break You Off is so smooth.
Black Flag
4/5
YESSSSSSS!!!!! Rise Above punches people in the face. TV Party is funny. This is a decent punk record and you can hear the seeds of something more approachable and also the start of the more modern hardcore movement. But as an album on its own? not my favorite punk record.
Eric Clapton
3/5
Surfside beach blues tunes. The thing about Clapton is these songs are not locked to a blues traditionalist pattern and the ornamentation is more thoughtful. Still, the songs are that consistent mid tempo dad rock that is very mood dependent for me. I Shot The Sheriff is a great tune. the back side of this record is pretty dull.
The Monks
4/5
This is a punk album before punk even knew what it was. Higgle-Dy-Piggle-Dy is a perfect example. Complication is a sound straight out of the 80s almost 15 years before its time. Drunken Maria is another one.
3/5
This is cool as a museum piece. Like looking at a fossil of rock and picking out elements in it that would be refined over and over. The songs themselves are fine but I'm pretty full of this kind of sound. the fact that its in mono is also a bummer. Shangri-La is a good track. This would be a fun concert.
Buffalo Springfield
3/5
Ugh can i get out of the 60s yet? Its a decade that I cant seem to hate but also cant seem to wholly love. Honestly every song has this mid tempo genre soup with that one overdrive guitar sound. the mixes are great on this album.
Scott Walker
2/5
Blergh. This album is pretty boring.
Kate Bush
3/5
This album is like 80s bjork and a little sarah bareilles. Suspended in Gaffa is really a wild ride. Night Of The Swallow hits its stride right at the last third of the song. Houdini is Kate Bush letting it R I P. Man what a weird art rock album. Maybe worth a relisten?
Foo Fighters
5/5
Absolutely smashing drums. Dave grohl storming the scene. That double overdrive guitar. Sounds like the band that took over the world. Crazy to think dave recorded all the parts himself and only brought a band together to play it live.
The Jam
4/5
Love that bass tone. Set The House Ablaze kicks ass. Music For The Last Couple starts way in left field. The back half of the album sort of loses its way but that was excellent!
The Doors
3/5
Its a return to the Doors blues roots. Changeling has some of that magic that brought this group to superstardom. Love Her Madly is another catchy tune. But we hit Cars Hiss By My Window and things slow waaay down. L.A. Woman is a good tune. L'America is bullshit. Snake King and WASP are bullshit. Riders Of The Storm makes no sense as to why it's as big a hit as it is.
Khaled
5/5
kinda cool, never heard of an Algerian artist before. straight ahead pop with a mix of this almost bollywood style vocal sound. But then C'est La Nuit is a totally different vocal texture. Kind of a straight up cover of Imagine, but sure it's nice. Trigue Lycee is a fucking bop. This album goes a lot of places sonically. Goulalah - Dji is a prefect example. Wow what a great listen!
The Who
5/5
Baba O’Riley is a stadium shaker. And then Bargin is the two and cements this as one of the strongest opening one-twos in all of rock. The Song Is Over has the worst synth tone for a ballad. Getting In Tune strikes the right balance for a slower, more operatic feeling song. Behind Blue Eyes is great. Won't Get Fooled Again is another fanstastic stadium closer. Honestly, the strength of the Lifehouse songs on this is more than enough to merit a 5 from me.
Sepultura
2/5
That vocal just sits in the perfect spot in the mix. Dead Embryonic Cells is as heavy as any song could get get at this time. Digging the into on Desperate Cry. However this album really feels repetitive. It doesn't go anywhere. The wild solo on Subtraction could have had more room to breathe. The Orgasmatron cover puts it into the same sonic style as the rest of the album, which felt like a chore to listen to.
Wu-Tang Clan
5/5
How was Shame On A N***a ever given a radio friendly version? The sampling on this record is awesome. The way they break this up with different long form interviews and samples, this is more than an album. It's a manifesto. Wu-Tang Clan Ain't Nuthing ta Fuck Wit is the start of and a high point in the entire gangsta rap genre. Its also an incredibly DARK album, especially on the break right before M.E.T.H.O.D. Man.
Pixies
4/5
Woah there is some chugga in this opening track. Velouria is a cool 90s track. Is She Weird is a real power fun example of this 90s proto alt sound. Havalina is a good closer.
Suede
3/5
Britpop the band. yep, its brit pop alright.
Richard Thompson
4/5
A cool like country roots album. "I need to spend some money and it won't wait" The title track is a good groove with excellent and grabbing lyrics.
Fela Kuti
5/5
Fela Kuti clocking in another smooth funk masterpiece. Ginger Baker absolutely kills it on the drums.
Leonard Cohen
1/5
Story of Isaac sucks ass. I really don't see the appeal of this guy. He is continually flat, has the intonation of a dead goldfish and is just not interesting to listen to. Tonight Will Be Fine adds insult to injury with a goddamn recorder and whistle solo.
Jane's Addiction
5/5
Stop is a strong opener. Ain't No Right is way out there. This album really is not afraid to graft a new sound or texture onto the core of straight ahead hard rock. 3 Days is a great song and then straight into Then She Did. Classic Girl is a wonderful send up.
The Electric Prunes
1/5
I am struggling to find anything to say about this album. Its just such a blatant doors ripoff. I got through the album no problem but cant say that I would want to go back to it. The Toonerville Trolley is a real piece of shit and is a star demerit.
Primal Scream
3/5
Early dub and ambient. music to have a psychotic beak with reality to.
Tracy Chapman
4/5
Talking About A Revolution into Fast Car is awesome. Behind The Wall is awesome. Very nice album.
Patti Smith
4/5
This opens like its from the 70s. Redondo Beach is a fun forward feeling song. Birdland is a strange song choice for the third spot, but if a spoken work poem is more your speed then its fine. It has fun dynamics at least. Break It Up is a cool ballad. I'm on the fence on if I want to hear this one again.
The Undertones
5/5
Let's go baby. The drums on Family Entertainment is the big hook. A collection of grooving, uptempo old school Brit punk.
Fiona Apple
5/5
OOOOOOO great album. The expiramentation lends the album this off kilter, shambling kind of feel. Reminds me of a Tom Waits feeling. Relay is probably the song that grabs me the most. For Her is a heavenly blend of harmonies and rage.
The National
3/5
Terrible Love is an interesting song to put in the 1 spot. Sorrow was a single I remember fondly. Im just not really into it.
Kendrick Lamar
5/5
Let's go Kendrick. I don't have the best ears for lyrics, but Kendrick's beat and instrumentation is a real treat for the ears. i is such a release from a lot of the heaviness inside the album.
Eminem
4/5
Em's ultraviolent LP is a full exploration of the Slim Shady character is twisted, disturbing, and full of hot button celebrity culture chicanery. The songs themselves are tight and the samples come together to have incredible sonic textures; see Just Don't Give A Fuck. I can't tell if I was angry when I started listening to this album or if listening to this album made me angry.
Red Snapper
3/5
fun dub record. if dub is your thing. Bussing is feeling my speed this morning.
Anita Baker
2/5
That bass is killer. That's about it. kind of like a knock off diana ross
The Notorious B.I.G.
4/5
Things Done Changed is a song for history books. Gimme The Loot is a rad song. Biggie's flow was very beat and rhythm focused. There is a great sense of where a word falls in relation to the beat and he can choose where on it he falls. His story telling is crystal clear, though I don't really find the story he's telling all that interesting halfway through. Method Man's appearance on The What is killer. Juicy is a stellar track. Everyday Struggle starts to show the cracks in the character of Biggie, which is the drama his story telling. It's just not interesting to listen to someone tell a story about how great he is at sex or whatever, see One More Chance. There is no tension, no struggle. It becomes more of an advertisement than a story. Big Poppa is a huge single. Friend Of Mine is kind of a trash song. Suicidal Thoughts is the fall of a titan, and is the only proper way to end this album.
Steely Dan
5/5
I love that Steely Dan sound. Smooth, elegant, barbs in all the right places. The whole thing polished like a disco ball. Do It Again into Dirty Work is a great one two. Reelin' In The Years is another amazing classic. What a collection of great songs on the same sonic effort.
CHIC
5/5
Good Times!! This is a album full of peak 70's disco boogie funk goodness.
Steely Dan
5/5
oh man and the hits keep coming! I am such a sucker for this Steely Dan sound. Barrytown, Night By Night are great first side sleepers and the East St. Louis Toodle-OO is a really fun jazz cover. Parkers Band and Charlie Freak are both bouncing jazz fueled pop sendups. Its just such a short stinger of an album.
Fleet Foxes
3/5
I remember this being a huge album in the college environmental community. God I hated that music. time, distance, and a general broadening of my musical horizons might give me a better chance to listen to this. The harmony work right off the bat is ethereal and tight. Tiger Mountain Peasant Song is a good tune, I just don't like it. These high harmonies and the spacy open verb are good and I can see the appeal, I just don't really like it. its like modern church choir music.
Massive Attack
3/5
This is an interesting sound. if dub is your thing then this is your album. Hymn Of The Big Wheel is dope.
The Specials
4/5
STOP YOUR MESSIN' AROUND! The drums sound like they were recorded in an alley for Do The Dog. Nite Klub has that party ska sound that just took over the world. Much of this album is like a single speed bike. This is not an album for range but its very fun for a pleasure cruise. Stupid Marriage is good. Too Much Too Young. I didn't know Little Bitch was a Specials song!
The Smiths
4/5
This is really upbeat for a Smiths record. Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others is a certified banger!
David Bowie
5/5
This album is disturbing and glam. The title track has the extended free jazz solo that sounds like razor blades falling down a bunch of stairs. Panic In Detroit is probably my favorite song on the album. No, it's Cracked Actor. No, Let's Spend The Night Together is it. No, it's Jean Genie! this album goes to some fabulously depraved places with a vaudeville sensibility. Almost to say "Come See The Freak Show, Watch The Descent From The Bottom Up!"
Nirvana
4/5
Come As You Are is heightened by it being acoustic. The Man Who Sold The World takes on a whole new meaning when Kurt sings it. Something In The Way is a good cut. Never knew Lake Of Fire was a cover, specifically this version coming from a live album.
Dennis Wilson
2/5
Dreamer is a cool song. Thoughts Of You follows up and is also really stretches its dyanmic muscles. Decent album but im not really into the Wilson brothers mystique
Thelonious Monk
5/5
Brilliant Corners is one of the odd ball tunes. Its so spikey and angular, especially in 1957. I love this album just like I love all of Monk's music.
Arcade Fire
3/5
Keep The Car Running is a good tune. My big thing with Arcade Fire is that I am not up for trying to parse their lyrics and dig into what they are trying to say. There is a fair amount of depth in their instrumentation. Honestly, this album seems like some great elaborate attack that completely missed me.
Steve Earle
3/5
Honky tonkin guitar from the 80s. if thats your vibe then boy howdy do we have an album for you. Its well produced, and Steve's voice has a charm, I just dont like this hyper prodcued country sound.
Leonard Cohen
1/5
Avalanche is great guitar work with dumb vocals. "The crumbs of love" yes indeed, Lenny. "Like the shy one at an orgy". Another classic line, Lenny. Diamonds In The Mine sounds like he is going nuts.
Nine Inch Nails
4/5
I'm feeling the groove on Mr. Self Destruct and then on Piggy. Closer is an awesome genre bending single. Hurt is a banger.
4/5
Goddamn I love Matthew Bellamey's voice. His falsetto is so clean, I hate it! Starlight is great. Supermassive Black Hole is entertaining. Soldier's Poem is very Queen-esque. Knights of Cydonia is just so good. Gosh this album was such ear candy I can't help giving it a high ranking even if it doesn't converge on some grand ideal.
Bad Company
2/5
BLUUUUEEEEESSSSSS RROOOOOOCCCCCCKKKK. Bad Company is at its best when they stretch out their songwriting chops and get a little more ballady. And hey if blues rock is up your alley then these guys are what you want. if not, boy you are in for a long time. Crazy thing is they were english, even though I associate them with the Southern Rock sub genre. This is an album for divorced uncles.
The Beach Boys
4/5
Wouldn't It Be Nice is a great masterclass in harmony. I'm Waiting For Today has a couple weird lyrics but is a solid song. Let's Go Away For A While is a song? God Only Knows is a killer song. Caroline, No is another cool track. Definetly worth a respin. Weird album though.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
2/5
Cinnamon Girl and Everyone Knows This Is Nowhere are a goo pair of openers, by Down By The River is 9 minutes about nothing. Again I don't get why so many people have a hard on for this sound. Cowgirl In The Sand is 10 minutes of bullshit.
The Temptations
3/5
Heard It Through The Grapevine is given an upbeat cover and I don't hate it! meh on the whole album.
Frank Sinatra
2/5
Oh god damnit. His version of Girl From Ipanema is not terrible but there are other versions that i enjoy way better. The orchestration on the track is good. I still think Frank Sinatra is hilariously overrated because he is at best a 2nd rate vocal talent. However, his voice on this record is tempered by the softness of the orchestration. This modulation to a less forceful vocal texture makes his voice more palatable, at least to me. Also a change-up to a bossa nova record allows for a different viewing of the same voice. Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars and Meditation almost sound the same, though the latter has more of Frank's "upper register" which basically is just the sound of peanut butter melting on a string section. I Concentrate On You fucking sucks. Once I Loved also fucking sucks. Bossa Nova is a great music genre I will have to look more into and I still hate Frank Sinatra.
Herbie Hancock
4/5
4 songs for Herbie Hancock to lay it down. Chameleon is a solid funky groove all the way through and changes its stripes at set intervals. Watermelon Man is cool. Vein Melter also very cool.
Maxwell
4/5
Feels wacky having this be the second album after Herbie Hancock's Headhunters today. This guy is smooth and with a silky upper register. Til The Cops Come Knockin' is a song that drips.
Orange Juice
2/5
kind of a col mix of Bowie and Talking Heads. Breakfast Time sucks. Yea I am not into this by Flesh Of My Flesh.
Suzanne Vega
4/5
Pretty cool swing and lyrical delivery. Nice acoustic stylings in a straight ahead, not presumptuous manner.
The Youngbloods
3/5
Darkness Darkness and Smug is a solid 1-2. The middle is pretty meh with the exceptional line "If the world was peanut butter/We'd be sticking by each other".
5/5
oh holy shit 3 songs, 37+minutes. what in tarnation? Close To The Edge is heckin rad! woah what an incredible album
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
4/5
Song Of Joy gets this off to a spooky start. Curse Of Millhaven is rad. Wild Rose is okay but not my favorite on the album. O'Malley's Bar is a long string of murderous delight.
3/5
Some Other Time is a cool song. pretty bland punk sound.
The Offspring
5/5
17 year old me is screaming right now. Nitro still kicks ass, Bad Habit is still morbid fun. I find a lot of the albums brightest songs are the non-singles. Something To Believe In, Killboy Powerhead, So Alone are all fun songs. The singles on the album I feel are pretty dusty and tired but there is still a lot of nostalgia driven love for this album.
Marvin Gaye
5/5
OoOoOoOOOOOOOO. I feel a little uncomfotable listening to this in the morning of a work day. but oooooooo Let's Get It On has gotten countless hopeless fools laid so its irresistable. Marvin's upper register is woah! If I Should Die Tonight is a great song.
Joni Mitchell
4/5
Really cool guitar tones on this one. Blue Motel Room is a sweet low swung song. totally worth a revisit.
Kanye West
4/5
As much as I hate Kanye's ego, the first two tracks have me interested. BLKKK SKKKN HEAD has a great, light swing with very grounding textures. New Slaves has a big juicy hook. Bound 2s music video is stupid, but the song is alright. pretty solid record on the whole. a lot of musical texture to give it body.
Spacemen 3
1/5
The youtube link is all fucked. so I'm not going to get a clean run at this album. Though thats not a huge loss, three tracks in and its a big boring nothing burger so far. It lacks any apprechiable drive, or forward thrust. just sort of floating noodling. Then Revolution happens and the whole space thing is dissolved into something just as aimless but with rhythm. I don't think I have liked a single track thus far and its time for the 11 minute song Suicide. God, what a turd.
King Crimson
4/5
This album kicks ass. The aimless noodling on Moonchild is a bit much though. come on guys. Court of the Crimson King is just so good.
Belle & Sebastian
3/5
Tears For Fears
3/5
Shout has me off the bat interested in where this album goes. Everybody Wants To Rule The World is a perenial hit. The rest is just sort of filler.
2/5
This is fun in a barn party sort of way. depends heavily on how into barn parties you are into at time of listening. Motor City Burning is just a heavy blues song.
The Adverts
3/5
this is a fine early punk album.
Circle Jerks
2/5
These guys suck on an album. Behind The Door is the only song so far that has gotten my interest. The story of early punk and hardcore band beef is honestly the dumbest shit.
Willie Colón & Rubén Blades
5/5
OOOOO the slick funked out groove immediately has my attention. I like this salsa. I have absoltely heard Pedro Navaja before. And it fucking slaps.
The Allman Brothers Band
1/5
oh god its a live blues rock album. It's actually surprisingly tolerable if you just go ahead and ignore it, which is pretty easy to do. God I wish this stupid guitar solo would stop. Dear lord, its me. I am trapped in this neverending blues extravaganza. Down here, a Hammond organ and the blandest overdriven guitars do basic pentatonic solos with occassional blues notes follwed by 1 4 5 4 progressions. There is no color. There is respite. There is no where to hide. Only the blues. This was like 15 mins of music stretched out to almost 2 and a half hours.
Nightmares On Wax
4/5
This is a laid back, slow burn of an album. This is actually great for getting work done to.
Daft Punk
5/5
OOOOOOOOOOOOOO. This is an album I have loved for so many years. They took the world by storm and laid the foundation for the electronica explosion that was to come. Around The World has the best video.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
4/5
The songs are upbeat, driving and have a sense of purpose. Pump It Up is a killer hit. (I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea is a good showcase of brit punk/pop. Great album, will need to revisit
The Rolling Stones
3/5
Sympathy For The Devil is pretty tired at this point, No Expectations wisely takes things into a lower gear. There is a lot of roots american and blues acoustic on this record. Prodigal Son is a great song.
The Verve
3/5
Bittersweet Symphony is a throwback hit. This is like a slower, proto-Muse. Its pretty inoffensive.
The 13th Floor Elevators
2/5
First song is a hit. the rest is just psychadelia.
My Bloody Valentine
4/5
This is really cool sounding, like a Foo Fighters, but the vocals are this light airy thing balanced on these guitars that want to take off on a heavy Nirvana track. This was really enjoyable
The Verve
3/5
Its 90s brit rock. if its for you its for you. It sort of bounces off me. I am not a huge fan of the lead singer's upper register.
Fleetwood Mac
3/5
I wouldn't want to be the follow-up album to Rumors either. Over & Over starts on a pretty somber and slow foot. Its very ethereal and transitory. 10 songs in and Sisters Of The Moon is the first song I have liked on this. Tusk is a lot of fun. Ultimately, the album itself is not bad, not great, with a couple fun songs and other I'm not very keen on.
2Pac
4/5
The title track is a huge hit. Too Many Tears is also really introspective and fresh sounding. Heavy In The Game and Lord Knows are both songs I enjoy. This album is a no holds bared look into Tupac, similar in vision to Biggie's Ready To Die. Outlaw I am not too enthused about.
The Rolling Stones
2/5
I don't really like the Stones. Gimmie Shelter is like all of the backing parts of a song just got fully fleshed out but no song in the middle of it. Country Honk makes me want to die. I am really not in the mood for these clowns this morning. You Can't Always Get What You Want is a great tune. and that is what keeps this album from being a 1 imho.
FKA twigs
4/5
Weeeeiirrrd. Okay so a sort of tight vocal electronic sound. This is like Ellie Goulding but wayyy more art. The electronics are way more angular, grooves more alien. The vocal textures are at times so lush but always so crystal. This was really great music to read the new chainsaw man to.
The Fall
3/5
Bombast has me feeling the groove. The hooks are a lot like what I used to write when I was just learning guitar. In fact, these songs sound like a bunch of songs that any modern garage band could come up with. I am not particularly taken with it but I don't really hate it either.
R.E.M.
4/5
This is a good album and has a lot of good things going on, I am just not in the right headspace to take it in. 9-9 is a great song. This album was good, so i will throw a 4 on it so i can revisit it.
The Smiths
4/5
This was good, if a bit wistful and short.
a-ha
4/5
This starts with Take On Me? Wow that's a high mark to keep up. Hunting High and Low is deceptively complex. Every time I seem to wane interest in the sound, there is a new thing thrown in.
Radiohead
1/5
Is this a house or industrial album? Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors is very odd. This feels pretty irritating. God I hate Thom Yorke. Dollars And Cents is self important, self indulgent, and fucking boring. Living In A Glass House is way out in nowhere in context of the rest of this album.
Nina Simone
5/5
Four Women is indeed unforgettable. What More Can I Say is a soaring ballad, though its place on the tracklist is strange. The Lilac Wine cover is excellent. Why Keep On Breaking My Heart is Nina showing off. Wild Is The Wind is very nice. Great Album!
Elliott Smith
5/5
I am really hooked by this sound in the first few songs. Interesting vocal textures. Rose Parade is another great tune. Say Yes is a great tune! What an excellent album!
Electric Light Orchestra
4/5
With Mr. Blue Sky being on this album, the more important thing is trying to figure out the non-hits. Its got a lot of duwop and tight Brian Wilson like harmony. Jungle is a fun song. Summer and Lightning is a great tune.
Underworld
4/5
the first track still has me 4 minutes in. though holy shit your first two tracks are combined almost a half hour!? Confusion The Waitress is a solid dub/jungle sound. Its a pretty inocuous album but I have been able to get some solid work done this morning.
Devendra Banhart
1/5
I don't like their voice. I really don't like this. Yep, still don't like it even with it being in spanish and 4 and a half songs to go. This folk singer songwriter sound has never appealed to me and its sort of nice to know that it still very much does not.
Hanoi Rocks
2/5
This is pretty bland and generic, though its not as much of a torture session as yesterday's
Simon & Garfunkel
5/5
Cecilia is a hit. This album has a lot of sonic whiplash in it. some songs are these upbeat dance hall jams, then you hit So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright like a brick wall. The Boxer is a killer song. Bye Bye Love is another good tune. This was a good album!
The Replacements
4/5
This is a very digestible punk album. lots of sonic grit that is mixed very well, 3 tracks in.
Ride
3/5
This was upbeat enough to keep me entertained but it doesnt do much for me. Vapor Trail is a good track.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
4/5
Nick Cave is a story teller seemingly out of time. His lyrics are sooooo cryptic. "And I slid my little songs out from under you" is a good line. This is a concept album that has well and truely flown right over my head. I like Nick Cave's voice and the way he delivers his words. will have to come back to.
Orbital
4/5
Cool house/trap sound.
Iggy Pop
3/5
Title track is a fucking bop. The Passenger is fucking bop. The rest I can do without.
Sarah Vaughan
5/5
holy shit sarah sounds great! Sarah Vaugn makes each song leap to life and is just so effortlessly musical. That and so playful with her skat and call outs to various artists and flubs.
Talvin Singh
5/5
This is a very refreshing album this morning, Travelor is very busy yet free at at the same time. Its lush sound really just hit right today.
Rage Against The Machine
5/5
RAGE! Filled with heavy hitting singles and an overtly political sensibility, Rage synthesized a rap-rock sound that only has sparsly been replicated with success by others.
Hookworms
4/5
Big Kraftwerk energy. very boppable and enjoyable.
Stan Getz
5/5
Cool textures and rythms are found throughout.
Talking Heads
4/5
Cities is a real bop. The Talking Heads really lean into this funk disco sound on the open tracks on this album. Life During Wartime is rad.
Sex Pistols
3/5
This album has a lot of baggage for me but here's hoping I have fresh ears to listen. I think the non-singles on this are really solid. I remember Anarchy in The UK being a dogshit song and I wrote off the rest of the album. Three songs in and its pretty solid! Yep, still a piece of shit song. Its a pretty single note album, but its a landmark. I mean its not something I would pick out but its not something I would turn off.
2/5
The day has come. I mean saying fuck 48 or whatever times i guess is an accomplishment. Having just listened to Rage's self titled, there are so many sonic parallels, but replacing Zach D with Fred Durst is almost a crime. So its the complete vapidity of the lyrics, coupled with Fred Durst having a voice for silent film makes me feel so down about this album. Like the instrumentals are actually pretty competent and the sonic structure is sold. It's not just the lyrics, I also don't think his voice is a good fit for this style. Rollin' is a bonafide piece of shit song. It'll Be Okay has some great hooks, and if it had Chester, I would believe that this was a Linkin Park track. Jesus, why is there a 9min outro?!
The Afghan Whigs
3/5
peak 90s alt sounds.
AC/DC
4/5
What am I, 12 again?! The sexism is pretty blatant, but the guitar riffs I find immediately hookable. Back In Black into You Shook Me All Night Long is a classic 1-2 punch right in the middle of the album. Its just over so quick!
Donovan
3/5
weird brit psychodelia. Its fun to listen to but ultimately missable.
The Waterboys
3/5
Sweet Thing has an extended hommage to Blackbird. An okay folk album, not really my scene but totally fine.
Turbonegro
3/5
Its a send up of a lot of classic rock sounds from the late 70s and early 80s. The hard rock sounds are somehow nostalgic and new. While i think it goes hard, I havent found something to really latch onto. I am also not a huge fan of the singers voice with this sound.
Rush
4/5
Cool to know this is the first instance of the "Rush sound". Overture definitely has that boom, geddy's wild voice, cryptic fantasy lyrics, ripping guitar solos.
The La's
3/5
I am immediately intriuged. Oh its the There She Goes band. This was good but i don't know that I liked it enough to relisten.
Sufjan Stevens
4/5
This is pretty good. Sufjan experiments widely with textures, rythyms, and instrumentation to make an indie darling of an album. Reminds me of the genre fluid soup sounds of the 1960s.
Jethro Tull
3/5
AQUALUNG! Honestly, I dont really care for the rest of the album.
The Go-Go's
4/5
The bass is in your face, the drums are fast, and the guitar lines are hooky. The vocals are distinctive. This is an album genetically engineered to get a high score from me. I like the harmony on Lust To Love. They Got The Beat is still a fun song, even if it was drilled into me from guitar hero. A great album I had fun all the way through.
Happy Mondays
2/5
This is a sold meh from me.
A Tribe Called Quest
3/5
Butter is the first song that really grabbed me this morning. Their instrumentation and sampling is almost jazz like. I don't really care about their lyrics, a lot of them feel very static, with sort of dead end end rhyming schemes.
Willie Nelson
4/5
Blue Skies and All of Me are standouts. The arrangement is generally sparse, letting Willie do his thing. On the Sunny Side of the Street is another highpoint.
Marvin Gaye
4/5
This album is about ripping itself open and exposing all the ugly pieces of love falling apart, through a funk soul lens. This demands a second chance. Sparrow is a good track. This album does require some committment though.
Amy Winehouse
3/5
I don't really give a shit about Amy Winehouse. After hearing her disasterous cover of A Message To You Rudy, I haven't cared. Great voice on the record, a shame she didn't get a hold of her demons. Wake Up Alone is a B-side I can get behind.
Public Enemy
5/5
Bring The Noise is great. This rap album is incredible. Chuck D's voice is just so damn powerful. Prophets Of Rage is a great song.
Leonard Cohen
1/5
Oh god, what do people see in this guy?! His delivery is so wooden. Thank the lord that this is the last of his albums that I need to suffer through.
Curtis Mayfield
5/5
Billy Jack immediately has my attention with a bass tone that is just a hook machine. This is such a groovable record, So In Love is a laid back R&B track with a pocket so deep you could fall in it. How do these R&B singers get this damn high?! Great minor colors on Blue Monday People. Fabulous album.
Laura Nyro
5/5
This is a cool singer songwriter bop of a record. Great and effortless access to her head voice. Lonely Women is a great track. All these tracks are tight and powerful!
Aimee Mann
3/5
50 Years After The Fair Sounds like Tom Petty could be the guest vocalist. I am not a huge fan of the guitar sounds, reminds me a lot of country guitar from the 90s. The overall effect of her sound is this feeling of toothlessness.
Sugar
3/5
Hoover Dam is a good tune. I'm not a huge Huskar Du fan so this sort of leaves me in the lurch. Its a pleasant sound at least.
The Kinks
2/5
This album sounds so damn dated. The styling and sound is peak 60s. so if thats your thing this probably a 10/10 record. and there are parts I like. Its just that there are more things I am not liking.
Led Zeppelin
5/5
Black Dog is a song with a lot of history for me. The roots of so much rock that was to follow is here in this album. Rock and Roll is like the proto sound of southern rock and alternative at the same time. Battle Of Evermore is the perfect lead into Stairway. Stairway is pinnacle of Zepplin and that is so strange to think about. Misty Mountain Hop is arguably the worst Zepplin song the band ever made. When The Levee Breaks is the sound of hip hop.
Tom Waits
5/5
Oh shit guess we are in it now with Singapore. Clap Hands sounds really familiar. This one is more snappy and to the point than Swordfishtrombones, which was a good one. Gun Street Girl is killer. Walking Spanish is so evocative.
Fatboy Slim
4/5
Cool DJ stylings and the enduring hit Rockafeller Skank. Soul Surfing is good. This is a great get shit done album. Praise You is also a great track. Acid 8000 is pioneering.
Talking Heads
3/5
This album is fine for Headheads. Psycho Killer is a hot tune. Everything else is just kind of forgettable. Maybe worth a relisten?
Arcade Fire
5/5
Damn okday the title track is a strong start. Rococo has this big booming stadium sound. and then into Empty Room! what a banger! Sprawl I and II are also great. This album is fabulous, I need to relisten to get a full sounding of it.
Mike Oldfield
2/5
dude wtf is this?
The Shamen
4/5
I'm digging these 90s dance vibes.
Metallica
5/5
This album is a 5 just out of nostalgia alone. The way that Metallica was able to weave tension into their music was like a bomb going off in my tiny little brain.
Pink Floyd
1/5
20 mins in and its just sort of in this space rock groove. Still haven't gotten it yet. half an hour in and i still don't get it and im really starting to not like it. seriously what the hell was that?
The Pharcyde
3/5
This is a nice respite from the rap of the era. The lyrics are comical and humorous. The sampling is slick and varied. Somehow I am just not in the mood for it this morning.
Venom
2/5
Iconic, not heavy enough. also the vocals are way back in the mix and it generally sounds not great. super roomy sound that the angular sound just doesnt fit well in.
Jimi Hendrix
2/5
Voodoo Child is a powerful blues songs and its goddamn forever long. Burning Of The Midnight Lamp is pretty good. Still Raining, Still Dreaming sucks.
Jeru The Damaja
2/5
Meh. Da Bitchez has the best groove but I hate all the lyrics. You Can't Stop the Prophet is a great song. In general there are a lot of other, better rap albums of the era out there.
John Lennon
3/5
Oh god. Imagine is a legitamately good and uplifting song that has been beaten to death by replays ever since it aired. Crippled Inside blows that away with a jangly, honky-tonk song about emotionally stunted. The feel of the first side is more of like a bluesy jam band kinda vibe, but without all the extra fluff. arrangment on I Don't Wanna Be A Soldier, Mamma is pretty open. Oh Yoko sucks ass.
Ice Cube
2/5
Im not into this album. Dirty Mack is good, Check Yo Self is classic
Crosby, Stills & Nash
3/5
Suite: Judy Blue Eyes is fun! generally a pleasant album, kind of forgettable.
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
1/5
This album is going to be work. I hear Tom Waits in here. And there is no groove. its less songs and more every instrument floats in its own space and they sort of flex in and out of time with each other. It's anti-harmony. Wow Captain Beefheart was a terrible human. God this album is grating. She's Too Much For My Mirror is almost a song? There are several almost conventional songs but holy hannah is this an exercise in patience. The best part is when it ends.
Elvis Costello
3/5
Well almost anything would sound good after Captain Beefheart. I thought This Year's Model was way better than this. Its fine, if pretty dated sounding. Its like a 50s rock star came forward into the future.
Lauryn Hill
4/5
The opening is really slick heavy R&B. in the middle Lauryn really opens up her rap chops. on the whole its pretty good!
LCD Soundsystem
4/5
lots of 4 on the floor banging away. Time To Get Away has me interested. Someone Great was a radio hit. Watch The Tapes is another banger.
Steely Dan
5/5
This album is killer. Deacon Blues is a masterpiece. Peg is great. All these songs are awesome.
Christine and the Queens
4/5
(S)he has great tone. The tone is that electro pop rock sound. a couple tracks in and im intrigued but not blown away yet.
Lightning Bolt
2/5
oh man. all the songs thus far are like the intros to songs that end up being just the songs. About halfway into Towers and I just want it to stop. Man this stinks. some of it is followable, others is just a wall of sound.
Gorillaz
4/5
I like the Gorillaz sound, its sort of a soothing low energy bleakness. Like walking in the rain. See Tomorrow Comes Today. Clint Eastwood and Rock The House are two great singles. A good album all round.
Talking Heads
4/5
Really leaning into this staccato delivery. Artists Only grabbed me. This album is a great Talking Heads album, so I would revisit it. But a very reasonable person could just as easily pass on this. A fun listen, but not one to sell you on the Talking Heads imho.
The Style Council
3/5
Cool piano forward jazz-pop stylings. A Gospel is fucking bullshit. Here's One That Got Away is very Goo Goo Dolls.
Pavement
2/5
The lead singers voice is pretty bad. Like just talentless. he doesn't really sing, more rhythmically talks. All the other instruments play with different textures, and are pretty passable.
Astrud Gilberto
5/5
This has that old record charm. That trumpet on The Face I Love. I wish this album was like 10x longer.
Dr. Dre
4/5
I am a big Parliament fan so the production is really cool. I dig the flow, and its cool to see the launch of Snopp Dogg's career. The lyrics are pretty damn crass, but that lends to its "realness". The middle of the album starts to feel pretty slow, especially with the sketch. The Roach is a great homage.
Miles Davis
5/5
This is an instant 5 for me. The evocative tones, groove for days, and phenominal orchestration are just to die for. So What has these little jaunts into different key centers, like trying on different coats at a store. Flamenco Sketches is a song with so much internal story telling it is impossible to ignore. This worst part is that the album ends. Bill Evans on the piano for most of the recording is such a treat.
Kid Rock
1/5
Oh god. This is going to be a test of endurance. It's the worst of the rap rock fusions. His rhyming and vocabulary together make it the worst combo. "A garden hose made out of 24 karat", fuck you Kid Rock. What?! Eminem is on this album?
Manic Street Preachers
3/5
This is alright.
3/5
Why is this person whispering in my ear? This album is also fine. nothing in particular is grabbing me.
Tito Puente
3/5
have to say, this album left me kinda flat as well. I generally enjoy this stuff and if i were in a different mood my feeling of it would be different.
Little Richard
4/5
The guys had so much dynamism in his voice. The lyrics to Tutti Frutti sound so alive! God he is so vivacious, that the record can barely contain his voice. His band really suffers from the recording tech of the time. What a treat live he must have been.
The Incredible String Band
2/5
Oh boy the lyrics are a real wild ride already. wtf is this album? its real weird, like old hippie at a renaissance fair weird. This guy has a weird thing for lemons. Really starting to lose me by the 39 minute mark. That was kinda bullshit but I can see why others would like it. My ranking is from my perspective.
Gil Scott-Heron
5/5
Soul filled hammond and a reverence that speaks to the lyrics is how it opens and it is captivating. This piano on Rivers Of My Fathers is wild. Dude what a wholesome and uplifting album. OH THE WATERGATE BLUES IS THE BEST! wow what a great musical expression.
Peter Tosh
3/5
How can i not enjoy a reggae album. its a little more one dimensional than a bob album but there is something so soothing about this sound. This was just kinda there, for me.
Green Day
5/5
This album was the soundtrack of my youth. an exhuberant, dread inducing, landmark of the bush era that says no to war, no to isolation, and a send up to the human spirit.
Van Morrison
2/5
Cypress Avenue is a 3 chord vamp for about 20 minutes. Van Morrison is one of those artists that I just can't like. He made Brown Eyed Girl, but honestly. This album in particular I find bland and boring. classical instruments noodle aimlessly, while Morrison plays 4 chord songs and prattles on while occassionally screeches.
Peter Frampton
3/5
Pete sounds good on this recording. Talk box was super innovative. some hits, but kinda forgettable.
Penguin Cafe Orchestra
2/5
What in hell? alrighty then. The opening track loses its way about half way and then finds itself again. Great now these weird assholes are now singing about milk. Produced by professional weirdo Brian Eno. The Sound Of Someone You Love Who's Going Away And It Doesn't Matter is a pretty soothing song 3 minutes in and so far its my favorite on the album. you know the last 3 tracks were quite nice and pleasant. Zopf can fuck right off a bridge.
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
ok boss ok. Its that sort of stadium crooner sound of the 80's, talking about how your car is great and your girl is great and how your town is going to shit. Bruce's songs to me are important as historical artifacts but to me his songs are overly saccarine and sentimental without a purpose. It's a story just to make you cry. Not to inspire, not to cast blame, not to offer hope for a future. These are songs meant for and from the present.
T. Rex
4/5
Im a sucker for this pop, glam 70s style of music, so mambo sun has this record on the right foot. interesting that the next 2 tracks are more downbeat. Bang With A Gong is such a bop. the rest of the album is that sot of midtempo meh.
Cypress Hill
4/5
This album has this really rough, handcrafted feel. Even with the sampling, the lyrics are angular, plosive. They sit in odd spots in the mix. Its real nice. Psychobeatabuckdown.
Peter Gabriel
4/5
Solsbury Hill is a banger. Peter's voice is both so iconic and so well produced that its one of these distinctive sonic signatures in rock and roll. Down The Dolce Vita is also a banger. "stranded starfish have no place to hide."- Here Comes The Flood could be a fun cover.
Tim Buckley
3/5
I Never Asked To Be Your Mountain is a complicated song. well complicated in that he admits to being an unexpected father and not really caring? Phantasmagoria in Two is real good. In order to understand Jeff, you need to at least hear time. this album on its own isnt really my thing, but i am glad i heard it.
Public Enemy
5/5
This album kicks so much ass! aggressive, in your face, lyrics are to the point, and the overall sound is a punk afro boom beat.
Alice In Chains
4/5
This is peak 90s rock. Down in a Hole is so damn downbeat. There is so much of that early thrash metal sound in this record. Slayer and Metallica are all over the guitar sounds. Rooster is really where that unique Alice In Chains sound really congeals and becomes its own. Would is great album closer.
Radiohead
3/5
Two tracks in and I like the guitar stylings. I have also been able to make out 1 in about 6 lyrics as they go by. Which i guess is a plus. Thom's moaning and wailing seem to fit this speed. Karma Police is recognizable. No Surprises is okay. The Tourist is a nice chill ender to put this album to bed. This was probably the second most enjoyable Radiohead album I have had, so its not innoffensive but not my bag either.
X-Ray Spex
3/5
The opening track is a little listless but Identity puts the album on a firmer footing. The album is a punk classic and has that proto-second wave ska sound that still manages to bring it. Some of the songs feel pretty worn out on me, but i suppose thats more me than the recording. I see their influence on Mustard Plug and hear a lot of similarities to the British two tone bands.
Madonna
3/5
Like a Prayer is the lead single, and its the peak of 80s cheese synth. Cherish is also in that same vein. Honestly, this is a summer bubblegum album. Listening to it in winter seems a little wistful and not quite appropriate. Spanish Eyes kinda sucks. Summer I could see this being a 4. winter its a meh.
3/5
The first three songs are stadium shakers. Bullet the Blue Sky has Bono get some deep growly color which is cool. Red Hill Mining Town is boring. as is generally the back bit of the album.
Air
4/5
This is super nice. The downtempo doesnt ever feel like heavy baggage. Its like they found a way to float by going slow.
Iggy Pop
3/5
A not necessarily Bowie album, recorded just before Low. Sister Midnight is a cool tune. Iggy's delivery on Funtime sucks eggs. Its so stilted. China girl is another good song with really trash vocals. Dum Dum Boys is rad. The intro on Mass Production is some wack bs but also kind of a funny prank on record listeners. Man hard to tell. this felt like extras or a proto bowie record. hard to say will need a revisit.
Country Joe & The Fish
1/5
ah my old nemisis, the blues. still pretty boring. yep.
Prince
5/5
Jesus, Sign O'The Times has the bleakest lyrics of any Prince song I have ever heard. The whiplash is even further enhanced because of Play In The Sunshine. Prince's lyrics are this amazing blend of specificity and impeccible groove. The effect is this really enrapturing musical experience. That slap bass on The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker. Starfish And Coffee is a great song. U Got The Look is killer. I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man has the magic. The Cross is a nice respite, but a little tooooooo religious feeling for me.
Songhoy Blues
4/5
Its very hooky. its not that sort of stuck in the muck blues style. It actually feels like its going somewhere, about something. Ai Tchere Bele has some crazy polyrythmisim going on. That was good!
The Band
1/5
Southern Rock. If thats your thing, go right ahead. Up On Cripple Creek is a cool tune.
Incredible Bongo Band
4/5
The cover of Apache is cool. Dear god what were the 70's? where you had a charting bongo cover band?
Dr. John
1/5
Not loving this psycho-folk stew right off the bat but lets let er run. "...this boogaloo crap?" yea. Dr. John is subversive and dark and moody. Counter cultural. Who gives a shit.
The B-52's
5/5
The surfer heartbeat of this band has so much groove. The contrasting vocal styles is like you took everything about 60's surf culture, polished it to a mirror, and shot it back at the world. This album kicks ass.
Jazmine Sullivan
5/5
The grooves are Thicc. The spoken word interludes are a cool play on the form of the "concept" album work. The album is a deep dive on relationship dynamics and goes to some genuinely thought provoking and interesting places.
Curtis Mayfield
4/5
I like where this album is going already. This album has no need to go this damn hard.
Charles Mingus
4/5
What is this tim signature in the first song? the second and thrid track kind of blur but this 4th track is pretty cool.
Bebel Gilberto
3/5
This is a fine album, kind of in that downbeat style of the early 2000s.
Alice Cooper
2/5
An iconic guitar riff opens to a shockingly young growling Alice! wow. Gutter Cat vs. The Jets has a killer bass tone, but the overall tone of the song just sounds so dated. Though props for going at a showtune like that. WHO IS THIS BASS PLAYER?! Damn this album really opens up into these breathy bluesy wide soundscapes in the middle of the album. Grande Finale is not something I would have expected on this album. Big important listen for rock and roll history. for blues rock fans this is an easy 5. I'm not a blues rock fan.
Todd Rundgren
1/5
Ok side 1 is kinda bullshit. Side two is a more Steely Dan vibe, just without the goove. It's like someone put music of the era and put it in a blender and then portioned it back out. The really banal hooks are what kill me, see "Saving Grace". Black Maria sucks. This album sucks and it will not leave. This part 4 is like souless Billy Joel and that is saying something.
Fats Domino
4/5
Fats sounds great! This is a great album to reset and come back to ground on core rock and roll sound. The relentless blues changes sort of start to grate on me after a while but thats the blues.
Kendrick Lamar
5/5
This is a great album. Kendrick's flow, story telling, and beat and rhythm work are all top notch. I too wish I could fuck the world for 72 hours. m.a.a.d city does a great job of spinning an engrossing yarn of a terrifying existence, and then totally flipping the atmosphere less than halfway through. A story of violence, redemption, and retrospection. Wow.
Arctic Monkeys
4/5
this reminds me a lot of the OG Oasis stuff. Why do all british alt bands seem to be cut from the same cloth? They are super dancable. Perhaps Vampires Is A Bit Strong But... is a standout track for me. If I heard this when it debuted, it would have been a 5 for me, but I'm a crusty old man now and its just a 4 this morning.
The Byrds
2/5
A good old fashioned snooze of a country music record. Boring and dull with only flashes of fun ideas.
R.E.M.
4/5
These are really fun songs! The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight is not my favorite single by them but its fine. EVERYBODY HURTS!!!! The back half of the album is a little wishy washy for me. Man On The Moon and Night Swimming are both killer songs.
Pink Floyd
4/5
This album is a much looser concept album than the wall, though its trappings are so conceptual that its hard to pierce this morning after not a lot of sleep. Us And Them feels appropriately triumphant. Yea I just didnt get it. worth a relisten just for the culture around this album.
Nirvana
4/5
The last nirvana album. honestly I can respect the process for wanting to take a newer, angrier, noiser sound than Nevermind. Takes artistic balls. I think that of the two, this is the better grunge album. I think I like Nevermind more personally, but the craftsmanship in this album is more evident. Radio Friendly Unit Shifter is a personal favorite track.
Bauhaus
5/5
I am digging the groove right off the bat. shit that started me on the third track! I am still digging the groove. THE PASSION OF LOVERS IS FOR DEATH!!! In Fear of Fear is another cool tune. Great album really toroughly enjoyed that.
Rocket From The Crypt
4/5
This album has me with a smile on my face, especially with the ska sections. I don't love how the lead singer sounds, but the grooves are punk and chunky.
Supergrass
4/5
This is a really fun album!
Bob Dylan
3/5
Subterranean Homesick Blues is a great song which Bob sounds great on. I don't like Maggie's Farm as a song.
Paul Simon
5/5
Graceland the single fucking kills it. Gumboots is killer. Under African Skies slays. This album is so full of rich texture.
The Rolling Stones
2/5
whatever.
Stereolab
1/5
This is very french. I'm pretty over this stupid record by track 11. This is such a boring ass record.
The Police
2/5
What the fuck is Mother? The opening of this album is fun up to that song. Every Breath You Take is a creepy fucking song. Tea In The Sahara is cool.
Joy Division
3/5
The singer is perpetually out of tune but exudes aesthetic. The songs are great at evoking emotions, the the voice of the lead singer makes it feel like its an actor filling in for the actual lead singer.
Prince
5/5
This is a perfect album.
Megadeth
4/5
Yep its metal alright. The back half had me more interested than the front bit. My Last Words has a pretty amazing bass line. This album is probably worth a revisit.
UB40
4/5
Some easy reggae. Burden of Shame is great. Madam Medusa is also a bop.
Slayer
5/5
Thrash me. This is a great album! The recording is clean, the guitars are shreddy, Tom Araya sounds like a heavy metal priest.
Grateful Dead
2/5
Great a bunch of hippie dippy bullshit. the stereo guitar is fun on Friend Of The Devil. I hate all the gang vocals. So I am surprised that i am not actively pained by this music like some other 1 star albums which is a major positive. This is still a bunch of dumb bullshit songs that i would rather not be forced to listen to, but its more an annoyance if anything.
The Killers
5/5
An album I am pretty familiar with, and an interesting double header with Born In The USA. Mr. Brightside is a slick hit. All These Things That I've Done is another one. This whole album is one hit after another, so smooth and polished it's like an orb. Ponder the ORB!
My Bloody Valentine
1/5
Fuck this racket.
The Young Rascals
3/5
Yea sure this is music. Pleasant even.
The Mamas & The Papas
3/5
California Dreamin' is like a song out of a collective memory. Spanish Harlem is a creepy as fuck song. Its a fine 60s record.
Bruce Springsteen
4/5
I feel like I am listening to my mom's music. Bruce Springsteen sings powerfully about an America in decline, but rather than do anthing about it or offer some hope as to how to fix anything, he can't abandon his framing of one man versus the system and the system wins. His music is good his message sucks ass. Glory Days is a perfect example. His lyrics are all about repression, regression, yearning, and loss. He stirs a pot hoping to have a listener respond and fill in the gaps. It's effective, but i don't like it. It feels like I am being dragged through living all my worst moments.
The Pretty Things
4/5
Yea I like this sound. I can clearly see its influence in King Gizzard, and its a cool rock opera sound. Defecting Gray is H E A V Y but is a bonus track.
Rod Stewart
3/5
This kind of feels like I am listening to Steven Tyler. Its a fine album, even thrilling in parts. I just think its not my thing.
Isaac Hayes
4/5
This albm is great. A real slick cool groove soul record that always feels like it is driving towards something, even with only 4 songs and a 45 minute runtime. The extended story telling of this songwriter is a little boring though.
Michael Kiwanuka
4/5
I'm into this. very 70's sound. Piano Joint is great tune. Hero is another one. An album that is worth a re-listen, as it kind of went just above my head.
The Lemonheads
3/5
This is a lot of energy and noise that doesnt seem to get anywhere. Its not that it doesn't sound fine, it just leaves me flat.
Emmylou Harris
4/5
I'm here for this song Bluebird Wine. It's kind of amazing that this is an album of almost all covers, but it's counted as a debut. Tonight The Bottle Let Me Down is a fun one. Queen Of The Silver Dollar is solid. The bonus tracks are killer.
B.B. King
4/5
BB is so dynamic on this record. Its a lot closer to a rock and roll record. I have some room in my heart for the king of blues I guess.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
4/5
Green Shirt is killer. Everything feels so right in the pocket and Elvis has this iconic singing style. The snare on Sunday's Best is like a gunshot.
Taylor Swift
3/5
Ok Taylor. We have really come a long as way from country superstar. Blank Space is a hit but her lyricism is so....textureless? Its like if you took Hailey Williams, put her at like 90% output, and make her sing lyrics written by a toddler. Style I can get behind. I'm not super impressed with Out Of The Woods, though I am such a fan of Jack Antonoff normally. Shake It Off kicks so much ass as a club banger, burn the house down tune. Bad Blood is a song that I want to dislike but it's fine and enjoyable, though jesus her lyrics are so damn bland. Wildest Dreams I think is the first track on the album where there is this distinctive texture that is definitively Taylor, and it feels like her voice as a performer stands up to the task of carrying a pop song on its shoulders. I Know Places sounds like a rejected Linkin Park song. Man, I am conflicted about this album. When it is good its great and when its not good it sucks hard.
Roni Size
2/5
Brown Paper Bag is cool. DnB isn't really my bag but sure I can work to this. Digitial drags. Heroes is okay. This album is pretty dull and repetitive midway through with the occassional bright spot.
Ray Charles
4/5
I like the concept. Country tunes in a big studio orchestra style. Worried Mind is a good one. Hey Good Looking is also great.
Van Morrison
2/5
I can't believe this guy made the jazz standard moondance! everything else is pretty forgettable and bullshit.
Cocteau Twins
4/5
I am really digging Cherry-coloured Funk. I am really digging this entire album! It was a great time!
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
5/5
Ok this is genetically engineered to make me like it. If you love your mother break in She's Fresh is hysterical. Scorpio I don't love as much. Its cool mix of humor, funk, proto hip hop, RNB.
Moby
4/5
This is a fun electronica album.
Cyndi Lauper
5/5
Oh hell yea. Great big but also tight drum sound. Cyndi's voice just cuts so well and is so expressive. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun is a hit of hits. When You Were Mine is a great cover. Time After Time kicks a lot of ass. She's Bop isn't my favorite, but i like that its kind of a dirty sound. He's So Unusual into Yeah Yeah is everything. That album was amazing.
Run-D.M.C.
2/5
Rock Box is a really cool hip-hop rock mashup. In general im not a huge fan of this big boom kick sound. Yea this album becomes a slog after Rock Box and its kind of grating on me.
Elastica
4/5
Im digging this. It's like a long lost punk album that young George would have ate right up. Annie is a fun song. I hear shades of a 2000s rock sound like Bad Religion in here.
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
So this is the album that made Springstein a household name. This guitar tone on Thunder Road is just so fogey. Tenth Avenue Freeze Out is a fun tune. My problem with Bruce's voice on Born To Run is that his diction is terrible! it sounds like his tongue is too big for his mouth. The song is a pretty compelling hit though. The rest is just whatever. Fine Bruce you got a 3 star from me congratulations.
Scott Walker
1/5
This guy sucks. Every song is this grandeous sweeping gesture over acted horse water.
Pantera
4/5
Walk is a good song. Rise got me going this morning. As heavy an album as any on the list, this is a foundation of modern metal. As only a passing metalhead, I can't say I felt it move me to a 5 star but I found it enjoyable enough for a 4.
Death In Vegas
1/5
This is dull.
New York Dolls
3/5
Its a cool proto punk album, though its a little clunky and sludgy for me.
The Stone Roses
2/5
15 minutes in and I can't say anything has either grabbed me or repulsed me. same thing 50 minutes in.
Astor Piazzolla
5/5
Ripping accordian part on the first track. This is really pleasant and i like it. This is a really refreshing and lovely album. La Muerta Del Angel is just this beautiful icing on this total cake of an album!
Sonic Youth
3/5
This is proto indie alt. its a solid meh from me.
Genesis
4/5
A mid 70s concept album. Counting Out Time is killer. The first part is pretty unintelligible for me. As well as most of it. its really wild and worth a re-listen when i am less distracted.
Shuggie Otis
3/5
I am in for this ride. It goes from being a boogie soul album to a waiting room musak record?
Public Enemy
4/5
really into it by the track Incident At 66.6 FM. Damn what a masterclass in hip hop and race relations.
Jeff Beck
2/5
Do I have to listen to Rod Stewart blather and wail? Jeff's cover of Greensleeves is pretty good. Wow what a chore and a half.
Cat Stevens
5/5
I have a history with this album. One of the founding albums in an old romantic relationship. Which did eventually fall apart and then be built back into a good friendship. Cat's music has this loose, shambling rythym, which does well with his voice and subjects. Hard Headed Woman is a great song. Miles from Nowhere is another good one. The ending of the album I wish let its triumphant harmonies breathe a little more on the back end but such is life.
Happy Mondays
3/5
whatever
The Chemical Brothers
2/5
I get why these guys are foundational to electronic music. I don't like this album. Its dull and industrial, without a sense of evolution or progression. It just sounds like a rave in a machine shop.
The Stooges
3/5
Its what I imagine is just rock. not classic rock, not stoner rock, not punk rock, not fusion, not anything else. Just rock. which is kinda weird tbh.
Django Django
3/5
Pleasant psychodelia electronica with a sense of movement. Zumm Zumm is weird and infectious.
The White Stripes
4/5
Yea primitive sounding is a good descriptor of this album. Very chunky in parts, with Meg's sparse and boom style drums. Little Room plays this to its highest effect. It also adds in some genre expiramentation with the acoustic tunes. Aluminum is basically all down beats. Cool garage beat down of an album. not a 5 for me but this would be gasoline for a more impressionable person.
N.W.A.
3/5
I am a little burned out on early gangsta rap so this more a slog than I would hope. the funk and excellent background track beats is awesome. Though I am pretty tired of hearing about Easy-E's dick. 8-Ball sucks. Express Yourself is awesome.
Eurythmics
3/5
This is a terrible mix but the songs are fun. Sweet Dreams is a killer hit. The rest? This Is The House finally has some low end and that makes all the difference. This City Never Sleeps is an ambient track, so if you want an extended postlude this is for you. I'm not enthralled by it.
Jerry Lee Lewis
5/5
This is a piano bar but on a recording and Jerry is the maestro par exellence.
David Bowie
5/5
Ohhhhh Yesssssssss. Station To Station into Golden Years is just perfect. The whole thing is just perfect. Chef's kiss.
Love
3/5
Ok so its a Door's sound. cool a 45 minute jam session on the back. The last track is actually not the worst jam I have ever heard and I didnt mind it on the album. I also didnt think too much of the album but such is life I guess.
Aerosmith
1/5
I am sick as a dog today and don't want to listen to Steven Tyler sing about fucking broads. Don't Get Mad, Get Even showcases that the only lyrics this band is capable of making are cliches.
Stevie Wonder
5/5
Oh hell yes. Living For The City is one of the most compelling songs ever written. Higher Ground is great. The whole thing stem to stern is impeccable.
Röyksopp
4/5
I'm digging this dance record this morning. Yea I dug this.
Kraftwerk
3/5
Is it Fun Fun Fun On Ze Autobahn for 20+ minutes? I don't think so, but its so ground breaking its hard to believe.
Pixies
4/5
Something Against You is the track that hooks me in the beginning. Broken Face into Gigantic is pretty cool. Where Is My Mind is a total banger. I totally understand how this laid the groundwork for grunge's mainstream explosion.
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
3/5
I'm not really getting anything super impactful from this.
Arrested Development
3/5
The sampling is pretty cheeseball but it is refreshing to be less accosted by early 90s rap. Rainy Revolution is catchy. U is pretty lame. Tennessee is a pretty alright track.
The Stranglers
4/5
That bass tone is nasty! This album drips with swagger. Peaches is a good song.
Boston
4/5
More Than A Feeling is a hell of an opener. Then Peace Of Mind has the first two tracks swinging for the fences. Foreplay/Longtime is a rollicking good time though the back half feels like a thin premise held afloat by various stage tricks. Rock And Roll Band is pretty lame. I feel like that is the turning point of the album. Super influential, love that guitar sound. But I feel it plays all its cards in the first couple songs and then just recycles them
Tangerine Dream
3/5
For 1973 this is lightyears ahead of its time. kind of a listless, floating soundscape. not really my thing but sure.
Dizzee Rascal
4/5
This style is cool. Big boom grime and smooth english rap. Its a good combo that holds up even at a lower, more listenable volume. I Luv U is a standout track. Jus A Rascal is another banger.
Miriam Makeba
5/5
A wonderful vocal texture. Its basically a world jazz vocal album, and her voice just sounds great. Where Does It Lead kills. House of The Rising Sun is a great cover. The laughing on One More Dance is charming, and her voice soars. What a fabulous album.
The Sonics
2/5
Very 60's garage. These guys fly through Good Golly Miss Marley. I can see why they are as influential as they are. Sort of a band's band. but meh I could pass this as just another early garage band.
Al Green
4/5
Smooth as the day is long.
The United States Of America
1/5
Hard Coming Love is really grating on me this morning. this album is a visionary pioneer of 60's noodling, noise, and bullshit. Love Song For The Dead Che is fine.
Hole
5/5
Celebrity Skin is a great song. This album fucking rocks. See: Reasons To Be Beautiful. Northern Star is a good one. You can really tell Billy Corgan's fingerprints on this album.
Adele
4/5
Hello is thunderous. Send My Love is great. The front half is a completely air tight pop sound scape. The back half is more ballady but this is a really good album!
Germs
3/5
This is hardcore? okay. This is a punk album much like other punk albums on the list. This album gets dull in the back half.
Tom Waits
5/5
Waits ability to drill down to the most excruciating detail is what takes this from artifice to a painting with sound that comes alive. Putnam County kills. Thoroughly great beat proto rap jazz club quintessential Tom.
The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy
4/5
I love all of these lyrics. The sampling im not super into but i will take it. Its sad how little translation is required from something that came out in '92 and listening to it in '23.
Frankie Goes To Hollywood
4/5
The opening has me interested. Welcome To The Pleasure Dome is a cool song. Relax is a good single, dripping with 80s cheese and hedonism. The covers are wild. Cool album for sure.
Depeche Mode
5/5
This music is magnificent. Its like a future, alien earth with humanity in such a different context. The harsh verb feels like its for this purpose of finding humanity in a bleak and dehumanizing sound context.
The Mothers Of Invention
1/5
I honestly have no idea what the fuck to do with Zappa's work. There is a lens that you need to view his work through and boy I don't got it. This is satyrical, absurd, and a real chore to listen to.
Cornershop
3/5
Cool facets, but feels like a very small work.
Scritti Politti
2/5
This is like male Madonna stuff. very clinky and synthy. how ultimately dull.
David Holmes
2/5
Pretty cool street recording with house dub. Freaknik has this piercing synth that is just not pleasant.
Soft Cell
4/5
Frustration has my attention. Tainted Love has me in its claws. Seedy Films backs off of that stadium sound too much and just sort of feels bare. Sex Dwarf recaptures that sound that I think suits them best. Pretty rad!
Sebadoh
1/5
This fucking sucks. This really fucking sucks.
Lloyd Cole And The Commotions
3/5
The refreshing middling tones of brit pop to bring me back to even keel. Speedboat stinks, and Rattlesnakes could be good if the singer wasnt so....bland? Like pudding with raisins in it. Forest Fire is the first song that really gelled for me. over all its pretty meh, but i will take meh.
Dead Kennedys
5/5
super political is how i like my punk and i hit the jackpot
Fred Neil
2/5
A folk album with a big single in Everybody's Talking. its pleasant for sure but I am not planning on revisiting this. Why was there a point in the mid 60s where everyone thought it was a good idea to end an album with like a 10 minute raga?
Frank Zappa
4/5
Wow a Zappa album I can get behind. The Gumb Variations gets a little played out towards the end but sure.
The Smashing Pumpkins
5/5
Cherub Rock is a killer. Today is a landmark of a song. Hummer is actually kind of cool. Diasarm fucking kills it. The set-up into Silverfuck and then the execution was one of my favorites on the album. Luna kinda sucks and is a weak closer, but still this is a 5 for me.
Christina Aguilera
3/5
Can't Hold Us Down is pretty tight! Fighter is another bop. Impossible is good. It generally comes off as a cusp of adulthood sort of album, with naive songs on the first fulfillment of love, the stripping away of the dumb rougeishness of young affection, but also wanting to be swept up in that all encompassing way that is just too exhausting for a full adult. Beautiful is a nostalgic hit. Her ballads are just not my thing, otherwise. On the whole, its an ambitious album that I don't think has the chops to back up the ambition. It's spread thin.
Elvis Presley
2/5
Blue Suede Shoes is a perenial hit. His vocal delivery is both iconic and divisive. Its a little too artificial and forced for me. So he just took the blues and played it faster and boom: Rock and Roll. Yea this sucks as an album but important as a museum piece.
Aretha Franklin
5/5
Chain Chain Chaiiiiiiiinnnn! This album is such a treat. A Natural Woman is a great song. Every song is a soul bop.
Ozomatli
3/5
Who's To Blame with a Chali 2na verse! The rest of the album is meh but pleasant.
Beth Orton
4/5
This singing sounds exactly like Katie's. Sweetest Decline is a cool downbeat song. This is a very nice downbeat album, though it's something that doesn't call attention to itself. Blood Red River grabbed me. I would add this to the stable to come with.
Baaba Maal
3/5
Its an afro-islamic styling on some mid tempo stripped down world music. its cool i don't think it stirs enough in me to give it more than a three though. I really like the track Taara, glad i dug for it.
The Cramps
1/5
This sucks. The covers are the bright spots.
The Stooges
3/5
Search And Destroy! The whole thing sounds dated and beat to hell but i guess that's its appeal. To me this is another museum piece.
The Divine Comedy
1/5
God I am so tired of Brit-pop. This is just a slog of smarmed up bullshit. The operatic grand The Dogs & the Horses is the smelling cherry on top of this truely terrible album.
Ryan Adams
2/5
This is fine, though its so smoothed out that there really isn't much to latch on to.
Gene Clark
2/5
if I get really into the Byrd's then this will be higher on the list and worth a revisit. right now it feels kind of slow and plodding.
Gary Numan
4/5
The heavy synth glam sound is cool.
Björk
4/5
Lionsong is cool. Bjork songs are so hit or miss to me, always these huge swings and their either connect hard or miss the mark. Atom Dance is cool.
Richard Hawley
3/5
A modern day throwback album. Nostalgic in a totally alien way. Pretty boring, but not grating, like a ferris wheel ride.
Einstürzende Neubauten
1/5
Cool just the album for me this morning T_T. Literally the next song starts with a jackhammer. This album makes me want to crawl out of my goddamn skin. Music for people to chop their ears off to. This garbage is an assault to the concept of music, and its only merit is in its contrarian attitude. The listener is subjected to a sonic waterboarding experience. The best part is when it ends.
Small Faces
3/5
Now in stereo! They really lean into the stereo panning effects. Weird story telling. The fanciful language is a nice balm after the fucking brutal beatdown that was yesterday's album but this is weird.
AC/DC
4/5
Is the album more than the single? Walk All Over You has a strong showing. Beating Around The Bush is another strong track. Night Prowler is a strong closer. So this album is mid at best, but I am partiatal to the AC/DC sound. The lyrics are pretty cringe at times but I love that classic guitar tone.
Cee Lo Green
3/5
A fast RNB rap album. Cee Lo's distintive voice is a little much across an entire album, though his singles have punch and his rapping is skillful. Childz Play is a standout track.
Echo And The Bunnymen
2/5
Self important drivel. The music video for Seven Seas is extra bad.
Dolly Parton
5/5
This fucking slaps. Three totally perfect singers join voices in a sort of voltron esque creation of unstoppable country music. Telling Me Lies is the perfect example.
Sonic Youth
3/5
Shadow of a Doubt is cool. Starpower is cool. I think this album is where I finally start to see the appeal of Sonic Youth. In the Kingdom #19 is pretty odd. Maybe after this is done will do another pass at the Sonic Youth. There is something here that caught me, i just dont really know what.
Kraftwerk
3/5
This feels like an ancient record. Again, landmark in electronic music. But this doesn't grab me with its bleeps and blooping synth tones.
Beatles
5/5
Yea this album kicks ass. Like seriously, Nowhere Man is a thundering killer track. Michelle is another banger, but every track has a sparkle, a little sheen.
The Jesus And Mary Chain
3/5
This is cool. unfortunately it never shifts out of this peddling midtempo like your mom's new dirt bag boyfriend sort of cool.
Scissor Sisters
4/5
Thumping! Laura starts with the big hooky swinging and I am here for it. The lead singer's voice is so fucking high. Lovers In The Back Seat has so much groove. THERE AIN"T NO TITS ON THE RADIO!!
Duran Duran
5/5
Rio kills it. That slap bass sound is just so commanding. My Own way carries the sound from Rio forward, making a nice opening one two. Hungry Like the Wolf is about as big a hit as anyone can manage. Hold Back The Rain is also thunderous. This album is hit after hit after hit.
Morrissey
3/5
Everyday Is Sunday is quite mopey. The whole affair is pretty mopey, sonically complete though.
Barry Adamson
2/5
Ok, so a soundtrack to an imaginary movie. The Vibes Ain't Nothin' But The Vibes is a song? I guess? It's Business As Usual is not my cup of tea. The problem I am encountering is I am trying to treat this like an album when really its a movie, just without the movie parts. Fucking hell, what a chore. Vermillion Kisses is such a fucking tease. The Sweetest Embrace is the closest to an actual listenable song, because it has Nick Cave on it.
The Cure
3/5
Play For Today is good but this album keeps coming in and then jumping into the background. Like I don't give a shit about The Final Sound or Three, but A Forest is a total bop!
David Ackles
2/5
Love's Enough is a tight song. This gives me the feel of like a sad clown variety show. Pulling Montana Song out for an entire album maybe would have been more of a connecting album. the effort of the thing as a whole feels weak.
The Flying Burrito Brothers
2/5
This morning I'm just not into country.
Steely Dan
5/5
Hell yea. Boston Rag is where I need it this morning. Like all Steely Dan albums, this thing is so polished its a goddamn disco ball. it kills. every song is perfect.
SZA
4/5
I really like the vibe on the first track Supermodel. Doves In The Wind is a little...simplistic? Not my thing. Music video is tight. Normal Girl is good. in fact the last 3 songs are killer.
Korn
2/5
Freak On A Leash is a hit, even with the scat break that sounds like a dog eating a bowl of lumpy rocks and ice cream. Got The Life has a fun dance beat. Dead Bodies Everywhere sucks ass. God this album is cringy to listen to. Woof this thing is awful in the back half.
Taylor Swift
3/5
A cottagecore T.Swift album about closure? Swift almost feels like the second coming of the Beatles, or Michael Jackson. Or maybe the female Meatloaf? Totally in control of the pop stylings of a generation. I personnally have this predisposition to be pretty critical of her more intimate, sadder songs. Like Jesus Taylor, you are a bajillionaire and your daddy is a rich asshole. What the hell gives you the right to comment on normal people issues? But that's me being classist. 'tis the damn season tapdances with being too cloying. no body no crime is the same thing, though in the styling of an old gun fighter revenge ballad, which i guess i can get behind. happiness is a good song. I actually like her lyrics on ivy. But on other tracks the pithiness of her lyrics are so cringe inducing, see long story short. Making a song that is constant cliches is just not my thing. Ultimately, there are some good tunes on here but I had to work to get through this thing.
The War On Drugs
4/5
This album is a solid midtempo soft alt. I really liked An Ocean In Between The Waves. The songs stretch out for days, so its easy to zone out in the middle of something. Eyes To The Wind has big Bruce meets Bob energy. In fact that is a nice summation of the whole album. I don't really dig the Americana sound but sure its nice.
Joy Division
4/5
This is pretty sick 2 tracks in. Its a heavy goth ambient record, see She's Lost Control. Pretty cool!
Minor Threat
5/5
This album is going to be a quick one. But hella killer. Look Back And Laugh is awesome. Out Of Step is awesome. This is out of this world for punk albums.
Lynyrd Skynyrd
3/5
All right let's get this over with. Though to be fair to these guys this album is stacked with hits. Its only a question if you like this genre. If you do, this album is heaven. If you don't mind it, its fine. If you hate the genre this thing is dogshit. For me this is somewhere between a barn party with my uncles and being waterboarded. So a rating is hard to come up with. Would I come back to this album? No. Did I hate it? No. Did it make me feel things? I guess? FREEEEEEEBIIIRRRRRRDDDDDD
Weather Report
5/5
YESSSSS! JACO!!!!! Every song on here is beautiful and I love this mess. Teen Town kills it. Havona is so good. Damn this album is just so tight.
Frank Sinatra
2/5
Man to go from such a high to such a low. Fuck. Frank. Sinatra. Though it is very gratifying to hear him sing songs about him being a sad mopey piece of shit. halfway through and the novelty has left and I am just trapped in a cage with frank sinatra music.
Kings of Leon
3/5
This is a Kings Of Leon record alright. They have never done much for me other than Your Sex Is On Fire, and this album so far is not doing much to change that. Their rock and roll is fine, but the lead singer sounds like his mouth is full of mothballs. What a bland time.
Jacques Brel
4/5
I'm up for some french accordian music this morning. This is very forceful, french is being sung in such a muscular way. It's both refreshing and surprising. Tango Funèbre is a standout track.
Ramones
5/5
Blitzkrieg Bop is the bone marrow of every punk song. Beat on the Brat is a great follow-up. This whole album kicks ass in that old school cool way.
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
2/5
New Stone Age opens the album on an interesting note. There is this pervasive atmosphere permeating these songs. Even upbeat ones like Souvenir have this wispy, ghost like textures. The banging on an empty grain silo at the end of Sealand is really tonally upsetting because its just so damn loud. the rest of the album is sort of a wash out for me.
The Mars Volta
4/5
fuck yea. and Flea was a bass player on this?! Roulette Dares (The Haunt Of) really feels like the album is in full swing, but then immediately drops back. The obsessions with swinging 3s makes for a rythmically engaging sound. This album has a much more approachable sound than something like Francis The Mute. Eriatarka is my favorite track so far. Cicatriz Esp has this weird downtempo ambient section that just feels like a filler. The back end of Take The Veil Cerpin Text also feels a little languid.
Frank Black
3/5
This is really mid.
Simply Red
2/5
Come To My Aid into Sad Old Red is a really weird transition. This album is this really weird bland mashup in this 90s fashion. Money's Too Tight (To Mention) is just the most 90s song you could imagine. This kinda sucks.
Faust
2/5
This is pretty Krauty. god its so stylistically pure. I am feeling pretty spent about halfway through Lauft... Heisst Das Es Lauft Oder Es Kommt Bald..Lauft. It's A Bit Of A Pain is a real fucking stinker of a song because of the damn drone.
William Orbit
3/5
oh boy more electronic noodling, my favorite! Harry Flowers is a good track. nice music to dissassociate to, not really listen to. like the elevator music from outerspace.
Caetano Veloso
3/5
This really failed to move me in any meaningful way.
Arcade Fire
4/5
I can tell there is something deep in here. Wake Up is a good tune. That closer was so powerful, this is worth a deeper dive.
Goldfrapp
4/5
This is kind of a cool concept. like a melting classic golden age of hollywood soundtrack. I am feeling this album this morning, its a fun ride!
Beyoncé
5/5
Pretty Hurts is a lackluster tracks because of the hook, but I am digging the sonic landscape queen B is putting out. Haunted and Drunk In Love are killer, though I think Jay-Zs verse in it is weak. Blow rocks, No Angel is an impressive vocal line but I'm not taken with the song. Partition is fine but Jealous is so good. Rocket is so good! She is so masterful in her control of rythmic dissonance. Heaven is minamilist lyrics wrought to devasting effectiveness. what a killer record.
Robbie Williams
3/5
This has kind of a Blur vibe, which is pleasant. In fact all this aims for is pleasant. One Of God's Better People has some nice acoustic guitar work.
Björk
3/5
Human Behaviour didn't do much for me, but I can dig the hook on Crying. This is a really tame Bjork album by the standards of her others, with things being relatively straightforward beats and recognizable song structures. You can see the start of her expiramentation with the medium, but its just a glimpse. The back half of the album is kinda stale. Violently Happy is probably my favorite track on the album, but the rest of it i dont care either way.
The Beau Brummels
3/5
meh.
Massive Attack
3/5
Some English electronica. Heat Miser is cool, Protection is cool, the rest is just mid.
The xx
3/5
Ugh I'm really not about this gloomy ambient coldplay knockoff sound. This generic washed out guitar tone just grates at me. Nighttime is a passable song.
Sabu
3/5
If you are up for come handdrumming, boy you have come to the right place.
ABBA
4/5
A solid album with some really solid synth work and bobs.
Tricky
3/5
I'm not such a fan of Massive Attack, so this effort feels a little wasted on me. It has some cool moments, and is generally a cool way to do a down tempo hip hop ambient record. It just didnt move me.
The Rolling Stones
1/5
This album's success is entirely underwriten by the black artisits that contributed the original songs for the Stones to then cover. It has arguably 3 songs writtn by the Stones, and so its pretty damn disengenious to call this a product of them, let alone to call them England's Newest Hit Makers. I think this is one of the few albums on this list to actually make me mad.
Genesis
4/5
I am here for this opening track! THIS IS SUCH A FUN DREAMY PROG ROCK ALBUM!
Motörhead
4/5
This is probably the only way to listen to motorhead.
Justin Timberlake
1/5
Oh lord, it's a whole album of Justin Timberlake. The mouth clicking sounds on Cry Me A River are ewww. Rock Your Body is fine, but holy moses this is a slog.
Suede
2/5
The opening feels like a mix between the Black album by Metallica and a U2 record. it starts cool and then settles into something a little less than a bother but also less than inocuous.
Barry Adamson
3/5
Cool in concept. It definetly feels overdone. The Swinging Detective is pretty rad. But the issue is that this isn't a movie score. It is desperately trying to be one, but is not. So it feels the need to add on this extra cheese layer. It feels more suited to a video game soundtrack if anything.
Pet Shop Boys
4/5
One More Chance is a bop. I am actually really into this, and not just for the loose critique of Thatcherism. Kings Cross is a good song.
Mariah Carey
1/5
Fuck this stupid album. (Lora left me yesterday).
Black Sabbath
4/5
fuck you Changes. Supernaut and Cornucopia are metal visionary songs. Snowblind is surprisingly heartfelt. That was a good Sabbath album.
Jane's Addiction
4/5
Ocean Size was cool. Standing in the Shower... Thinking is also cool. I'm just happy this album didnt make me cry this morning.
Ash
3/5
I am getting big Foo Fighters vibes from this. The back end of I'd Give You Anything just seems to descend into guitar noodling for a little too long. Angel Interceptor is probably my favorite on the album.
Girls Against Boys
3/5
I am here for this bass tone. Satin Down I'm not so into. Bullet Proof Cupid is a cool song.
The Modern Lovers
2/5
Too proto-punk for me.
Wire
3/5
Jesus this thing goes by fast. Some songs I liked but on the whole I could leave this album.
Nanci Griffith
5/5
I can get down with this opening track. Love At The Five And Dime is a great tune! More Than A Whisper is such a strong lyrical song. Banks Of The Pontchartrain is another fucking banger. Goin' Gone is a great tune but it's a little hard for me to listen to right now. Something that shows through in her work is her effortless mastry of blending melody accents and lyrics. It shows off her sterling lyric work and usually catches me. One Of These Days kills. Damn what a fine album.
Ice T
4/5
ICE-T 1991 FOOL! Ice really lays out his personal manifesto, with deep love and also hatred for his native South Central. His chops are real, his sampling is on point. The general vibe is a little dated but still decent. The end shout out track is the punkest thing recorded in the 90s.
Dexys Midnight Runners
3/5
Wow a ska record made it on this list? I dont like the mouth noise on I'm Just Looking. Mid shit really.
10cc
3/5
This is kinda cool weird 70s pop. but there are too many gear shifts so the whole thing feels really lumpy and uneven.
Simon & Garfunkel
4/5
This is a cool album. I really did dig this.
Madonna
2/5
oh man the autotune on this record is atrocious. This is real bad. The only song I enjoyed was What It Feels Like For A Girl.
The Zutons
3/5
These guys are fine.
Marilyn Manson
3/5
Nuuuuuuuu Metalllllll. God damn Manson using the N word in '96? The Beautiful People is a banger. But the rest of this album is fucking tedious. The Reflecting God is okay, from like a doomer perspective.
Joanna Newsom
4/5
I really like the tone and feeling of the record, all the harp is entrancing and the harpist is fucking shredding the whole time. The lyrics are dense and I can't seem to penetrate them on this listen through. Cosmia I could see Katie covering.
R.E.M.
3/5
Man this album is a total time capsule. REM is such an odd band sonically, so its just lodged in my brain that their sound has this time period stuck to it. Nothing really got out of second gear for me, sorry REM.
Les Rythmes Digitales
4/5
This is a cool dance album. Jacques Your Body Makes Me Sweat is a banger.
Rod Stewart
3/5
This is probably the best i have heard Rod sound. The guitar work is good. Maggie May is a hit, though it already sounds tired. meh like the rest of his work.
Tom Waits
4/5
The Eath Died Screaming is a haunting track. This album is such a workout. Waits is determined to go under every rock to scratch the holes. A Little Rain is so totally out in left field. In The Colesseum is a killer, ramshackle dirge.
Megadeth
4/5
Holy Wars is one of the iconic guitar riffs. Poison Was The Cure has a cool opening bass line. Tornado Of Souls is killer. If I am in a heavy metal mood, this album should be in rotation.
Liz Phair
2/5
This sucks. It just doesnt go anywhere. Her music is just so tired sounding. Flower is just really uncomfortable to listen to.
The Kinks
4/5
The opening tracks have this fun jangle pop rock quality that is infectious. Phenomenal Cat is stupid as hell.
Tom Tom Club
1/5
This opening song sucks ass. The rest of the album isn't much better. Wow that stunk.
Pulp
2/5
wow this is off to a boring start. The middle is pretty mid. and the end just sort of happened. Whatever.
Love
1/5
The word play here is pretty damn lame. God get me out of this album. Thank god thats over.
GZA
3/5
Shadowboxing is a great song. Investigative Reports is another one. I'm not super into the first half of the album, but I'm vibing more with the end of it.
Grant Lee Buffalo
3/5
meh.
Joan Baez
3/5
House Of The Rising Sun is ascendent. Joan is a very technically accomplished singer/guitar player. But can someone please explain the appeal of this folk singer crap? I hated it in the 2010s and find it boring here, too. Though the strength of her vocal are the only thing that keep me interested.
The Residents
3/5
Man what goofy album. i hear the seeds of a lot of Primus's work in here. Some songs are fun and quirky, others are just flat out atonal and out in outer space. I have no idea what to do with this album, so i will give it a 3.
Jack White
4/5
Holy shit the video for Sixteen Saltines is the most punk shit I have ever seen. Love Interruption is a good song. Blunderbuss is a good song. I'm Shakin' is a blues swing rocker. Wow, a really strong modern blues rock album that is worth revisiting.
Mj Cole
4/5
I really like this. Its a chill dub record with a lot of soul.
Ali Farka Touré
3/5
Very world blues vibes.
Rufus Wainwright
3/5
Peach Trees is a cool song. The Art Teacher is immediately grabbing. but the rest is missable.
Public Image Ltd.
1/5
I think I finally understand how to listen to post punk. its going to be grating and atonal, don't expect it to come out and entrance you. You have to let it go on its own way and sometimes its nice and other times its not. I still think thats a pretty pretentious way to approach music but whatever. The Suit is where I sort of hit a wall. God the lyrics and the singing are just so bad. Fuck this sucks.
The Streets
1/5
this pretty lame. the flow is so stilted, and cant speak in tune. This guy is just pathetic. HE LOSES A THOUSAND QUID DOWN THE BACK OF A TV?!?!?! Fuck this record.
The Yardbirds
3/5
The Yardbirds doing the blues. It is cool that its all originals, I can respect a band trying to add to a musical cannon and not just ripping it off.
Soundgarden
5/5
This album is off to a strong ass start. Sonically, this is strong showing of tight dynamics, great tone blending, and overall sonic texture. This is a high watermark of that late grunge 90s sound. Black Hole Sun is a single that is set up perfectly by the other songs before it. Spoonman I think is not a great song but I don't hate it. The Day I Tried To Live is a killer song. The back end is a little long for my taste, but this is a killer record.
2/5
Oh Bob. His lyrics are pretty comprehensibile on this record so I get to have the full Bob experience. I guess I can see how someone can get swept up in his lyrics, but his vocal delivery is just not my thing. Desolation Row being goddamn 11 minutes long is a workout. and a whole 95 minutes of uncut Bob is a lot to take. I don't like how his songs feel without dynamic structure. Everything feels so..... uniform? It feels like all his songs are the same chord loop, alternate A and B style lyrics, harmonica solo, repeat for however long it takes Bob to read you The Grapes Of Wrath, and then do it all over again. The second side has more promise with an actual band with him. Nah, its more of the same with a blues band. god im not going back to this one.
The Beach Boys
3/5
There is a lot of technical meat on these songs, even if they sound ultimately quite dated. The fake track at the end is kind of a pain in the neck.
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
3/5
This is a very silly album. Gangbang is a very silly song. Giggy Up A Ding Dong features a keys solo that sounds like a child's keyboard. This record is like if you took an ACDC record, slammed it into a Sabbath record, and then made it listen to a Queen record or two. It is a really weird listen. The stereo fuckery at the end is poorly done.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
4/5
Broadly, I like Neil's work with Crazy Horse better than his solo stuff, though I am not enchanted with the toanl qualities of his music, so its hard to appreciate his mastery of songwriting. I think I am at piece with accepting his influence in artists that I like and not being totally into his work. I suppose of all the albums of his that I have heard so far, I like this one the best.
John Lennon
3/5
This is a really different John. It feels very emotionally raw, with lyrics that are so jagged. It's also a weird lumpy effort. Too high concept for me this morning.
Mike Ladd
4/5
The sampling on this record is the most expiramental I have heard to date, while still being in service to a hip hop beat. Its an out there record, and the lyrical themes are a little hard for me to grab, but i am also quite distracted by work this morning, so probably worth a revisit.
Solange
4/5
Cranes In The Sky kills. Damn, Lil Wayne with the introspective bars! and Solange has this effortless upper register. The harmony work is great. Junie is funky and fun. Don't Wish Me Well is moving. What a fine album.
N.E.R.D
4/5
dude what is this? The rap is pretty bad but the music itself is wild. It's almost like listening to lyrics from a sound cloud rapper mashed up with a totally disassociated band. Compels me though.
ZZ Top
3/5
a real bluesy southern rock record. La Garange hits with the force of a trailer truck.
Marianne Faithfull
4/5
Its pretty cool! Again that song Working Class Hero comes up. Why'd You Do It is a great tune.
Yes
5/5
YESSSSSSSSSS. Your's Is No Disgrace is sort of a place to start for listening to the whole band as a total. dynamics, central theme, wonky key shifts, it has it all. Starship Trooper is also stellar. I've Seen All Good People part A is so uplifting, and transitions into this goofy boogie woogie back beat. Perpetual Change and the two standalones aren't of the same weight but still have that damn growling barking bass tone so this is a dinger of an album for me.
Robert Wyatt
1/5
what in the heck? the second song is pretty atonal, and the vocalist is not about able to sing very well. What in the hell is this? This guy's vocal tone makes me want to puke. Blues In Bob Minor is solid surprisingly. I hated this.
Deep Purple
4/5
The energy on this is palpable. Killer drum solo on The Mule. This is a great jam out record. Space Truckin' is out there. As someone who doesn't go much for jam or blues, this record really hit the spot.
Basement Jaxx
4/5
I really enjoyed this. The front half was a barn burner and the back half really settled into a grove. There is an awkward transition point in the middle for a couple songs that I don't love but w/e.
Muddy Waters
3/5
Do you like the blues, kid? This is the gosh darn blues!
Pet Shop Boys
3/5
Yea, synth wave is having a bit of a moment right now.
In that context, this feels rather generic? But its not a really fair comparison to the mountain of this stuff that I have listened to in the last 2 years. My October Symphony is a visionary song.
The Go-Betweens
2/5
Its like knock off Bono
Beatles
4/5
very familiar with this one. Taxman to Eleanor Rigby is a weird 1 2. Both songs are great, but do they hand off one to the other? no way. This album is so sonically lumpy. The Beatles show their expiramental chops on this record but doesn't feel like it comes together.
American Music Club
1/5
This stinks and is boring.
Kate Bush
4/5
I am feeling Love And Anger. Heads We're Dancing is another bop. Kate Bush's voice is above all transcendent. Rockets Tail slaps. A second, more intentioned listening of this record is down right necessary
Tim Buckley
2/5
Strange Feeling settles into a cool place, though I'm not really taken with Love From Room 109 At The Islander. Or really the rest of the album, either.
Kelela
5/5
Wow this is a sexy, glittering, ethereal album. The soundscapes are very open, eno inspired synth atmospheres.
George Jones
3/5
This was fine, but not earth shaking. She Told Me So was funny.
Justice
5/5
YEESSSSSSSSS!!!!!!! This is a perfect dance album.
The Cardigans
5/5
This is off to the right start. fun band, great lead. Never Recover has this weird juxtaposition of bubblegum pop and some tense chords. THIS IS THE LOVEFOOL BAND?!?! Damn what a delightful album.
Belle & Sebastian
3/5
Me and The Major is fun. Get Away From Me, I'm Dying and If You're Feeling Sinister is a good one two. In general this isn't really my thing, this mellow alternative. It's not off putting but I don't really feel like coming back to any of it with any regularity.
Def Leppard
2/5
This is stadium hair metal, ready for grunge to come in and kill the ever loving shit out of it. Pour Some Sugar On Me is the soundtrack to every barn party with the increasingly aged and irrelevant. This album has had all its hard edges sanded over, and as a result lacks the bite of something trying to convey something. Its just selling a distorted guitar sound. It is just a commercial product at this point. And holy god does this album overstay its welcome.
Butthole Surfers
3/5
6 songs in and I don't know what to make of this. A weird mix of potty humor, expiramentation, heavy sludge riffs, and punk sensibilities. I'll give it a three because I don't know what to do with this.
5/5
A high water mark in human expression. Cool to think of the whole album as a show within a show that is a psychodelic circus vaudville band and also an indian raga band. The record even has this natural space that sounds like a hall. When I'm 64 is a personal favorite Beatles song.
Klaxons
4/5
I'm into this.
R.E.M.
3/5
This is good, though its a sound that is pretty played out to my ears.
2/5
The harsh computer tones on There's Always Room On The Broom are really harsh. Would not recommend this album if you have a migraine. We Fenced Out Other Gardens With Bones Of Our Own is cool creepy chapel music. A real weird listen that I didn't quite grasp though Flow My Tears, the Spider Said I think is approaching something I could grasp. Too bad its at the end of the album.
Skepta
4/5
This really goes hard. I loved this.
5/5
Easiest 5 star I have given so far. An album I am so familiar with, it's an old friend to me.
Kings of Leon
3/5
Sex On Fire and Use Somebody were almost impossible to escape growing up, and they are a big one-two. This band is actually a lot more mellow than their singles might suggest. I Want You is a surprising tune. Cold Desert is the closer on this album that I think it deserves. This one is right on the cusp for me. the middle is largely overshadowed by the singles but I think the whole thing is sonically complete.
Japan
2/5
This is getting old at track 5.
Holger Czukay
4/5
4 tracks and hardly sany information about the album on wikipedia. Ok! Cool In The Pool is an extended funk vamp with various instruments coming in and out. Oh Lord, Give Us More Money is a journey, though I am not sure where to. Persian Love is super cool, but Hollywood Symphony is super out there to start. And stays out there. W/e I had a fun time with this one.
Muddy Waters
3/5
It's the blues.
The KLF
3/5
Okay, let's go. Okay, it went.
The Isley Brothers
4/5
They got me asking "Who's that lady?" The grooves are butter smooth and the vocal work is excellent. The cover of Listen To The Music is just F I L T H Y! This album is great.
ABBA
3/5
OOOOO time for the slicked up stylings of some Scandos. Honestly, Dancing Queen isn't the single that it should be, and a lot of these songs are overly polished. Tiger has some teeth. Fernando is also good. But honestly, the singles are stronger than the sum of this one's parts.
Shack
3/5
Natalie's Party is a warm starter. In fact it's kind of just a warmed over kind of album.
Dexys Midnight Runners
4/5
I mean Come On, Eileen is one of those songs in the rock and roll firmament. And there is some cool stuff in this. Jackie Wilson Said is a killer. Listening to this on Youtube is a bear. man its a shame this album got lost in the sauce because of Come On, Eileen. This was a great record!
Meat Puppets
4/5
This is kinda cool. The influence on Nirvana was awseome to hear.
Mylo
4/5
This is a fun electronica album.
PJ Harvey
4/5
Dress was the first song I connected with on the album. Its a pretty solid, grungey sound. I'm not super taken with the mix though, as the vocals are wayyyy in the back. Joe is another strong song.
M.I.A.
3/5
I think its a really cool expirament in modern hip-hop. M.I.A is not afraid to take lots of textures and make them more than just samples. kind of reminds me of the genre soup style of the 60s.
Johnny Cash
3/5
This doesnt have quite the fire that Folsom Prison does, though the reprise of San Quentin is nice. A Boy Named Sue is a great tune.
PJ Harvey
2/5
ehhhhhh more PJ Harvey grunge. Not my thing. which is a terrible conclusion to come to in the first 3 songs because there are 14 on the album and now its just a drag. The mix is reallllly bad.
Peter Gabriel
3/5
Wow Pete out here getting weird with it. Its not mega pop hits right to the face so it's goes to some weird places. Post punk art rock anti war songs just don't land for me.
The Young Gods
3/5
dude what in the hell? Rue des Tempetes rocks. The title track is cool. It oscillated between like motorhead style metal and french cafe music in a post apocalyptic steampunk universe. I can see this music scratching a very very specific itch.
Method Man
2/5
eh this is kind of a let down.
Siouxsie And The Banshees
4/5
This is a cool record. Really an innovative sound to get the whole british alternative punk scene going. Though not so divorced from the British punk sound that you couldn't say have a Clash Banshees bill, which would be sick.
Alice Cooper
3/5
Some cool clasic rock right here. Bass work is pretty impressive on Billion Dollar Babies. No More Mr. Nice Guy is a boomer anthem. do i really want to relisten to alice cooper sing about fucking corpses? I guess not really.
4/5
Its free and funky and i dig it.
Dolly Parton
5/5
This album is awesome. I will hear no words to the contrary.
Jamiroquai
5/5
This album is awesome. Music Of The Mind is a great track. The whole thing is great.
Public Image Ltd.
2/5
The opening track sucks ass and I quote "I wish I would die". The middle is where the album becomes more approachable. and then the last track is a stinker.
James Taylor
4/5
I dig the shit out of this. some blues acoustic guitar shredding, some bluegrass, some folk singer songwriter. Comes together for a solid blend.
The The
4/5
Title track is, dare I say, infectious? Great bass work. This was super groovy.
Terence Trent D'Arby
3/5
yea this guy can sing. its fine if RNB is what you want.
Cocteau Twins
3/5
This is a pretty solid meh on the meh scale. 80's post punk. Pandora (for Cindy) is legitimately beautiful. Aloysius is another legit beauty.
Rahul Dev Burman
2/5
eh whatever
Dr. Octagon
1/5
This was a chore to listen to. I didn't find it doing anything really interesting other than moral shock stuff. god that stunk
Blue Cheer
2/5
whatever
Ella Fitzgerald
5/5
Its hard to overstate how classic this is.
Manic Street Preachers
2/5
second track is pretty good but this feels like grunge knockoff and i am not about it.
Sly & The Family Stone
5/5
Hell yea. funk and soul, groove and bop.
The Everly Brothers
3/5
God so much of rock was just ripped right out of a blues cradle. Always Its You is a good song.
Minutemen
2/5
What in the heck is this album? it reminds me of a band doing an extended set at a house party. Maybe Partying Will Help fits the vibe. This Ain't No Picnic is also in there.
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
2/5
Not really my thing but im sure its someone's.
Super Furry Animals
1/5
This sucks. Gathering Moss is so slow i feel like I am growing moss sitting here listening to this bs.
The Bees
4/5
Cool esoteric album.
Aphex Twin
4/5
This is great for just ambient vibes, which is what I have been feeling recently. Aphex is great for this vibe and I really enjoy this collection of songs.
4/5
Spotify didn't have it so i have to listen on youtube. River of Orchids is cool. This is a real solid musical outting. I get a Steely Dan vibe from it, but not in terms of sound. In terms of craftsmanship. Greenman undercuts it, because the soundscape is just so generically "Arabic inspired". After that, it loses that shimmering quality that the opening tracks have, but still a very nice time.
k.d. lang
2/5
meh she sound like she is doing a female elvis impression.
Neil Young
4/5
The title track is good. Southern Man is like a better Alabama. I don't understand why I liked this so much. but I really enjoyed this.
Red Hot Chili Peppers
4/5
The Chili Peppers at the absolute apex of their sound. Interested to see how they deal with Californication being in the first third of the album. To me, every Chili Peppers album after Blood Sugar Sex Magik sounds played out, but they still have great singles.
Haircut 100
3/5
A pleasant, beachy, smooth vibes only sort of record.
Q-Tip
3/5
a solid groove all the way through, but basically too smooth.
Rufus Wainwright
3/5
Kind of like a knock off Jeff Buckley. Which honestly is a compliment; Jeff is great. 14th Street is great.
PJ Harvey
1/5
dude this blows.
Joni Mitchell
4/5
Really crazy and expiramental. Harry's House/Centerpiece needs a lyrical deep dive.
Drive Like Jehu
3/5
This is a cool history piece for me, seeing how other scenes were sounding in this time frame. I don't know that I would come back to this but I am glad to find it.
Calexico
3/5
A cool Mexicali sound. for me it was again something nice to be exposed to but I didnt find it special.
The Fall
2/5
eh. Why Are People Grudgeful is about the only track I was into.
Goldie
4/5
I like this a lot, though I am a sucker for DnB.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
5/5
What a high watermark for blues rock and southern rock. The style doesn't get much better than as CCR slung it on this album.
Deee-Lite
3/5
Slick 90's dance party, and Groove Is In The Heart is pretty rad. But this is an album I would ned to be in a specific mood to jump into.
Snoop Dogg
3/5
Very iconic and groundbreaking for the genre, but personally not very invigorating. Loads of Parliament all over this record. Ain't No Fun is a bop.
Sinead O'Connor
3/5
Breathy, epic, and saccharine. I hate how this album is mixed/mastered. Some good tunes, but a lot of the impact is blunted because of the mix.
Killing Joke
3/5
fine goth rock.
Radiohead
4/5
I can get behind the artistic sentiment behind this. and I think I finally enjoy Thom's vocal work as a texture. Is Motion Picture Soundtrack is a song i despirately want to hate but structurally its a nice release. Ok i will admit it i enjoyed this.
David Bowie
3/5
This is a throwback to a more lush Bowie sound from the 70s. I feel like this is a lot more lyrically dependent listening, and includes a lot of guitar textures that just feel so.....old? Its a sound that feels both modern and dated. but that could just be where my ears are right now.
Marvin Gaye
4/5
Let's go baby, I'm in for some soullllll. Though its themes are a little overly saccharine for me. God is Love is a little too much. Inner City Blues is a bop though.
Bee Gees
2/5
This is nothing like any of the Bee Gees that I have ever heard. Its like a Beatles knockoff. not going to lie, this kinda sucks.
Johnny Cash
5/5
Cash with a last hurrah doing covers and smashing it out of the park. The Man Comes Around into Hurt has got to be up there with album 1-2s. Absolutely stellar!
Slade
3/5
weird sounding album. It strandles this line of being heavy blues or early metal. yea whatever.
Guns N' Roses
4/5
Probably as much of an apex album of this hair metal bad boy style as possible. Nightrain was a personal favorite growing up. Thought the back half of the album gets a little more languid in its excess, take away any track and you really lose a piece of the statement they were going for imho. for me its not a 5 star album but, for millions of Boomer dads, this is tops.
Lucinda Williams
3/5
Kind of a cool roots folk country style. I mean she can sing thats for sure. I don't know that I get a lot from it though. Its a nice antidote to stadium country. Greenville is a good song. Joy is a another good song, but I feel like I have heard it before?
John Martyn
4/5
This is groovy! Jazz folk blues with some awesome acoustic guitar work on The Easy Blues.
Brian Eno
3/5
King's Lead Hat is cool, but Julie With is odd. With this being his last personal "rock" album, you can definetely hear Brian Eno start to want to just float away into ambient music.
Gram Parsons
3/5
A young Emmylou! Love Hurts! In general, its a little too saccharine for me but the vocal work is excellent.
George Michael
4/5
George Michael! Fun pop stylings and some great high notes on One More Try. Monkey is fun. A Last Request is real creepy.
The Rolling Stones
4/5
White Horses hits this morning. This is a great Stones record. Not concerned with anthems or gyration, this album is trying to throw something more heartfelt at the listener, see Moonlight Mile.
U2 dialing up the cheese on this one.
Neil Young
4/5
This rules. For The Turnstiles is a great track. Really awesome downbeat folk stylings out of Neil on this one.
Can
3/5
Ambient rock groove stylings. cool as a filler and background, but more a mood setter than something I would actively choose to listen to.
Radiohead
3/5
parts are good, 2+2=5. parts are bad, We Suck Young Blood. The back half vocally is closer to like shitty ghost imitation warbling. the intrumentation is generally pretty rock solid though.
Gang Starr
5/5
This is probably my favorite of this 90's style hiphop. The range of sampling on display is just killer, and the flow just links up with it so well.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
4/5
Oh how I wish Proud Mary didn't have so much personal baggage. Though jesus CCR has some fucking pipes. It's dancable, its swampy, its groovy, its bluesy. What more do you want? Keep On Choogglin' is an appropriate blues outro that takes forever. But sonically, it totally works, even if I dont personally love it.
Fugazi
3/5
This album is all about taking big chunky swings at big topics with a simplistic fury. But I can't help but prefer Fugazi's faster, simpler fare.
Magazine
4/5
This is cool art punk. Shot By Both Sides is a banger track and I enjoyed this a lot!
Queen Latifah
5/5
you wouldn't have Beyonce without Queen Latifah. and this debut is jazzy, funky, groovy, and with a flow that is sterling. Ladies First is a killer song.
Beatles
5/5
Easiest 5 so far. Sleeper tracks are definitely Any Time At All, I'll Cry Instead.
Miles Davis
5/5
set a course for F U S I O N. Chick Corea on the keys and Wayne Shorter on the sax. LFG! Spanish Key, take me away. The perfect album to see the curviture of the earth to. oooo and then Miles Run the Voodoo Down.
Cream
2/5
Sunshine of Your Love is an ultraclassic. This original classic rock sound through a british lens just shows those guys across the pond were crazy about the blues. I am just not into this proto psychadelic blues rock sound.
fIREHOSE
2/5
Sure. Whatever.
Robert Wyatt
1/5
This guy can't sing. and im glad I had some data analysis to distract me through this, because it was a chore to listen to.
The Jesus And Mary Chain
1/5
Yea this blows. Feedback for its own sake, the lead singer cant fucking sing a bar, flat affectation and a lack of connection caused by the first two points. Make this stopppppppppp.
Bill Callahan
3/5
the only thing i can compare this to is Black Country New Road. cool for the eclipse but quite niche
4/5
LFG!!! Satisfaction is such a goofy cover.
Little Simz
4/5
This is cool and fun!
Guided By Voices
1/5
What in the hell is this crap? This is a bloated collection of songlettes that could have used an editor.
Björk
5/5
Pleasure Is All Mine is....wow. Its a modern exploration of a choral album? It is a cool concept, how do you make a choral album that sounds like the experience of intimacy, giving it these grunts, harmonies, beats. Like listening to an orgy in an art gallery. What to rank this? I think by my own scale it has to be a 5 but its a fundamentally a different experience than just throwing on an album for fun.
Roxy Music
1/5
This is pretty weak shit. Sea Breezes is in a class of its own by how much I hate it. The singer has the absolute worst tone on that track.
Laibach
3/5
This is very good and cool and fun and so Eastern Block. I have a really hard time takin this serious because this guy sounds like a troll motivational speaker. Also the horn quality is real cheeseball.
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
A very bruce album, and it's pretty long. There aren't really many barn burners, with the exception of Mary's Place and that also feels restrained.
James Brown
3/5
Honestly, a really awful recording of a great artist. the live sections really took away from what was happening in this.
Bob Dylan
3/5
Wow Bob this is downright listenable! Though damn that harmonica tone can get shrill. And then it's more of the goddamn blues. Jesus I'm so tired of the blues.
Everything But The Girl
3/5
This is a collection of the same dance song blended and rearranged track by track. its a good song but never shifts out of a second gear for me.
TV On The Radio
3/5
eh
Iron Maiden
4/5
oh yea baby. Its weird listening to them pre-Bruce, but its amazing just how many of the nuts and bolts on their sound were locked in this early. But this is S O L I D.
Echo And The Bunnymen
3/5
Oh boy another Echo and The Bunnymen album. This wasn't as aggressively bad but still sucked.
Traffic
3/5
If the genre surfing of the late 60's is your bag, boy do I have an album for you.
Youssou N'Dour
4/5
Love a good afrobeat record. The beat is awesome and the vamping is such a great reflection on the form. Just riiiiiiiiidddddeeee the wave.
Screaming Trees
4/5
This is like cooler U2. The witness was a good track.
Jefferson Airplane
3/5
A peak of this style. Somebody To Love is a real hit. The back half falls off for me into that noodling 60s stuff that i generally don't jive with. White Rabbit is iconic.
The Libertines
3/5
Jurassic 5
5/5
Lets go, Chali 2na. This is dope as hell. Great flow, great sampling, really well presented. Thin Line is a great track. Sum Of Us is another banger. WOW DDT!
Suicide
1/5
This sucks. Girl was the song that totally ruined this album for me. The fucking horseshit screaming on Frankie Teardrop really got this friday off to a shit start.
Black Sabbath
3/5
Oh yea is it heavy. but The Warning is just an extended blues jam. If I want Sabbath, I will listen to another album.
Supergrass
3/5
This feels like the british smash mouth. A little rougher, a little more expiramental. But I didn't latch onto much in this album.
Todd Rundgren
3/5
Honestly, I'm okay with this album being pretty cracked out. The soul medley is just the weirdest. It does have a Bowie quality to it.
Tortoise
4/5
crunchy post rock. There is some legit cool shit on this album. The bass tone on The Taut and Tame is exemplar.
Grateful Dead
3/5
Though my jam band tolerance has increased, this is still a loooonnnngggg time to jam out and the songs feel like they go on forever.
Wild Beasts
3/5
The lead singer's tone is.....distinctive on The Fun Powder Plot. God I hate this guy's voice. Which is a shame because the instrument work and structure is really great and also super approachable.
Deep Purple
4/5
This is pretty cool. A heavier, classic rock sound than Deep Purple's earlier stoner blues sound, I find more palatable. Smoke On The Water is actually surprising to me that it was the big hit on this album.
Beastie Boys
4/5
The Sounds Of Science really kicked in this album for me. dude this album GOES places.
Kings of Leon
3/5
The lead singer sings like he got socked in the face right before the recording started. Molly's Chambers is a trash single. The dynamism is very well thought out, so the album is more than the sum of its parts. And while I'm not enthralled by the parts, the whole is fine.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
3/5
I enjoyed Tokyo Storm Warning. I Want You is uncomfortable. Battered Old Bird is a good song. Couple of enjoyable songs, but I'm not taking this one on the island.
LTJ Bukem
4/5
I really like the drum-n-bass sound as a whole. very PS1. Goddamn you, Spotify, you have the wrong album. Demons Theme does sound super iconic. The vocal tracks are usually super well done. This whole thing cover to cover was work though.
Burning Spear
4/5
Oh yea baby. I feel like there is so much of context that I just dont have to dissect this album, apart from just jamming to the roots ryddums.
Ian Dury
2/5
This is off to a completely unhinged start. because Wake Up and Make Love With Me is filthy and delivered by someone who sounds like a british plumber. Wow this is real bad. Blockheads features the sound of a 8-bit shit.
Randy Newman
3/5
I bounced off of this album like a rubber ball.
The Triffids
2/5
What a snoozer.
Bert Jansch
4/5
This was genuine pleasure to listen to. Great acoustic guitar chops.
Beatles
5/5
Perfection. The sound of The Beatles going out on fucking top. I Want You (She's So Heavy) such a great side A ender.
Keith Jarrett
5/5
YES I knew I had encountered this album before! A fucking monster of a solo piano record. With all the vamping that occurs, this feels very close to a funk record, basically stripped right down to the studs.
Van Morrison
3/5
The first half of this is really bluesy and not for me. The more straightahead soul funk grooves are more my speed, like I've Been Working. Best live album ever recorded? not on your life. Have you heard Vulfpeck's Live at Madison Square Garden? Even Live at the Budokan.
Metallica
5/5
This was like my first album and I've listened to this thing a billion times. Enter Sandman's intro is permanently ingrained in my brain. That Hollywood style slow build, the floor tom sound. Metallica grabbed the world by the throat with this album with a more honed production that focused more on a vocal forward approach. The songs were constructed to be more than just shredding. They were meant to evoke something in the listeners. Which they succeeded at. Holier Than Thou was always a sleeper track for me.
Paul Revere & The Raiders
2/5
This blows. another beatles/stones sound ripoff.
The Dandy Warhols
2/5
I Love You stunk, but the singles are fun. Yea the weird bits are weird, but not something I'm interested in.
Depeche Mode
4/5
Sneaking this in while waiting for an inspector. Personal Jesus is a great single. The vibe is also pretty fucking stellar on this. Enjoy The Silence is another killer track.
Roxy Music
2/5
lord above i need to listen to more of this shit? Bryan Ferry CANNOT SING!
Frank Ocean
4/5
Off to a real interesting start on this RNB record. Sweet Life is good. A really good record that I have no idea what to do with or how to rate it.
Van Halen
4/5
Jump, Panama, AND Hot For Teacher!? there is enough stadium rock in just those three singles for at least a decade. Top Jimmy has these wild almost country licks.
The Divine Comedy
3/5
kind of a laid back easy lounge pop album.
Fishbone
4/5
a cool white boy reggae/soul/heavy rock album. But its also totally a ska record? Bonin' In The Boneyard was a good track.
Dagmar Krause
2/5
Have to watch this one on youtube. This is like a one woman musical. Yea without any kind of context i have no idea what to do with this. Listening to this on youtube is rough because the time syncing sucks.
Morrissey
3/5
Morrissey is hard to separate his personal antics from his music. This was fine.
King Crimson
3/5
We are here for the ride! This album has some cool grooves, like Easy Money.
The Velvet Underground
3/5
A mellow Underground album? I wasn't overly impressed by Pale Blue Eyes.
The Police
3/5
Right into Message In A Bottle eh? The title track makes for a cool 1-2 though, I would have flipped their order. Does Everyone Stare stinks. Some good tracks, some bad.
Kate Bush
4/5
Love this album! While Running Up That Hill (Deal With God) is the single, I honestly think the title track is the better song. That bass sound on Big Sky. Cloudbusting is such a killer song. The back half of the album is where this puppy gets weird. lots of ebbs and flows. The back half of this album is where the real meat is, it just takes concentration and a dedicated listen to in order to parse it, which I just can't do in the context of this challenge. Will need to come back to. The Morning Fog is like a minute too short.
Lana Del Rey
3/5
You know what, I don't really get Lana Del Ray or what is interesting about her. She has this like mellow chanteuse vintage sound, but I just generally don't vibe like that.
Paul Simon
4/5
Strong one two with Allergies and Hearts And Bones. Rene and Georgette is such a tender song and its followed by the absolute bullshit garbage song Cars Are Cars. The Late Great Johnny Ace is such a weird tune sonically.
Big Black
4/5
really scratchy aggressive synths plus shouted lyrics. Big Money got me going. Dude this thing kills. The guitars sound like they are industrial machinery!
Giant Sand
3/5
A cool exploration and breakdown of genre. not really feeling it 5 tracks in but its cool.
Ms. Dynamite
4/5
This is cool. Put Him Out really hit it out of the park for me. The guitar licks are just so tasty. It Takes More has some GRIT! The back half I wasn't as keen on.
The Beta Band
2/5
This is boring and horseshit.
Metallica
1/5
Oh man here we go. Ktulu feels like two songs passing each other and not actually blending. The ornamentation on Master Of Puppets just does not work. and the crowd. Lord above. Is there not going to be a sick shredding solo on a violin or are they only going to be a texture piece. Hero Of The Day is overwrought. Oh man doing this as just one big push is tough. James actually sounds really good/ true to intent. Wherever I May Roam is the first song to really feel like the orchestra is actually adding something. Sad But True is such butt rock and the orchestra doesn't help. One is just not helped by this treatment. Is there a concept in here? yes. But its not something you can just half ass bolt on the orchestration like this.
The Specials
4/5
Hey Little Rich Girl is a solid 2 Tone sound. What a landmark ska album. Sock It To 'Em JB is another stellar track. Holiday Fortnite is great!
Willie Nelson
4/5
Hell yea, let's go Willie. That ruled, but requires a second listen.
The Temptations
4/5
Holy Moses the 70's was not afraid to throw down the whole ass n word. Papa Was A Rollin' Stone is a cool song. I Ain't Got Nothin' is another fabulous song. The last three tracks sort of fall off for me but another great album in this run I'm on
Sly & The Family Stone
4/5
Stand and I Want To Take You Higher are good. Everyday People is a big hit. Sex Machine is a surprise 13 minute song, for which i will dock a star
Living Colour
5/5
Cult Of Personality is a great track. Desperate People is great. Which Way To America is killer. I loved this.
Mott The Hoople
3/5
getting kind of a washed out Bowie vibe from Hymn for the Dudes. Meh.
Gang Of Four
3/5
Damaged Goods is a killer track. Bass sound on the album is great all the way through. Tough rate though. If its revisitable. I think there are other British punk bands I would like to listen to more.
Morrissey
3/5
Ok Morrissey we get it America sucks and you hate it, sure. Irish Blood, English Heart is not my thing. I Have Forgiven Jesus is pretty good.
Stevie Wonder
5/5
Honestly, this album is wasted on me this morning. I'm in a terrible, distracted, stressed, and lovesick mood so its hard to let one of Stevie's masterpieces sink in. Creepin' is sort of a song that I know I like I just don't feel like listening to it right now. They Won't Go When I Go is more my speed today. Bird Of Beauty immediately has my attention. Maybe by the end of Please Don't Go, I'm feeling better. which is a good sign.
Black Sabbath
5/5
War Pigs!!!!!!and then into Paranoid has to be one of the best 1 2 punches on the entirety of the list. Planet Caravan is super weird, then Iron Man comes in. The back half of this album has enough heavy experimentation to almost fit in with a jam style band.
The Slits
2/5
Weird stuff on the first two tracks. the vocal lines are not directly anchored to the reggae beat. So there is this weird like floating feeling. Dude this was so weird. The cover of I Heard It Through The Grapevine was a real treat but its not an original release.
Animal Collective
2/5
I want to hate this album. My Girls is a fine single but I'm pretty toasted on it by having to live through college with it. This album feels very self important and up its own ass.
Sisters Of Mercy
4/5
This has cool goth vibes.
Missy Elliott
4/5
Timbaland's production on Hit 'Em wit da Hee is sick. I really like how it plays in the more RnB tracks, see Best Friends.
Prefab Sprout
2/5
This feels like a British version of Bruce Springsteen. but like sadder and less interesting. which is a talent.
Pet Shop Boys
3/5
I'm into the opening track. The bloops and blats are intricately wound into these lush layers, even if the core samples are pretty canned. This is probably the highest form that these bullshit samples can aspire to. its like trying to make a gourmet meal out of exclusively velveeta.
The Darkness
3/5
I BELIEVE IN A THING CALLED LOOOOOOVVVVVVEEEEE! the rest was fine.
Gillian Welch
4/5
First two tracks have a really cool feel to them. Red Clay Halo is a good song. I Dream A Highway is awesome, its just like everything I want in a chill acoustic song.
Lou Reed
3/5
I'm still not a big Lou Reed guy.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
4/5
This is ultimate big brother cool music. Nick Cave just has this way of spinning the darkest yarns. need to revisit. when I am not traveling.
The Icarus Line
3/5
The whole time this felt like I was listening to a knock off early White Stripes album that took direction from Lou Reed.
Dion
2/5
This stunk
Norah Jones
4/5
Smooth song stylings of a honeyed voiced vocalist. Shoot The Moon is a great track.
Leonard Cohen
4/5
Wow a Leonard Cohen album I actually like! His grave and gravelly voice meshes so well with this stripped down, foreboding song structure. Traveling Light was a standout track for me.
Gotan Project
3/5
French electronica tango? okay sign me up. This was really odd. cool ambient piece though, nice background for like a nice quiet evening at home.
Linkin Park
5/5
Hello old friend! God every track has some kind of memory, though it feels so old, like a piece of beach glass. that juxtaposition makes Chester's lyrics feel over done and over wrought. Still, the music is tuned to deliver what it has to say. Also did the drums for Runaway always sound this good? The mix is a little over compressed but that's the 2000s for you. How do I give this anything other than 5, even if its mostly a nostalgia vote.
Drive-By Truckers
4/5
Wow some southern rock that is rooted in some substantial soil. Guitar Man Upstairs is a good track on side A. Wow, Three Great Alabama Icons is coming right at me. A really self aware southern rock album. Though it is really doing a lot of work to try and like rescue(?), be in homage to(?) Skynard. Which is annoying because it feels like you can't approach this by itself on its own merits. has to be a must listen to fans of the genre, and a great perspective piece. but not for me.
Brian Eno
3/5
Brian Eno on the snake guitar and electric larynx. lets see what this weirdo was cooking with back in the day. Dead Finks Don't Talk is like from another planet.
Stevie Wonder
5/5
The fastest 5 I will ever give! I love this album and have listened to it so many times! Every single track is solid plated gold. With the absolute peach on top being I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever).
Hawkwind
1/5
oh boy a double album into absolute no where. Whatever the fuck the spoken word part The Awakening is. Orgone Accumulator is pretty good. This damn sonnova bitch is such a painful slog in one go.
Paul McCartney
2/5
Man We Was Lonely was the only track on the A side that grabbed me. Maybe I'm Amazed is a legit good song.
Manu Chao
4/5
Ah Clandestino! A very fun song from when I was learning Spanish! Very chill alt-reggae stylings.
Beck
4/5
E-Pro coming in hot! Girl also with the mid 2000's hit! This super slick rap rock sampling is very peak 2000s production, so this album is really a time capsule, see Hell Yes. digging the hell out of it though. The back half gets super swampy and dark. really cool album, though i cant justify a 5 for it.
Aerosmith
1/5
Yep just another can of slop from Aerosmith. If you haven't gotten over it from the last 18 billion servings, here is another.
Koffi Olomide
3/5
oh man this sample library is pretty low fidelity, which makes me think I'm in for a ride on the cheese express. the bass tone is great though. Desepoir has a pretty cool intro. There is this infectious drive to it, which is nice. oh but the CHEEEEEEESSSSSEEEE sounds. lord save us.
The Velvet Underground
1/5
What the hell is The Gift!? Motherfucker Lou, Sister Ray is so poorly mixed. god this stuff is a pain to listen to. Wow what a real pile of shit.
50 Cent
3/5
geeeeez this sounds like elementary school. In Da Club still hits. In general, I don't think 50 has a flow that I like. its very choppy and I'm not a huge gansta rap guy. 21 Questions is a good crossover RnB song.
Miles Davis
5/5
Oh yea. Wayne Shorter and Chick Corea on this album make it tops. this was a very soothing album for me
G. Love & Special Sauce
4/5
wow that snare tone is CAVERENOUS on the Opening track.
Soft Machine
3/5
The end of Facelift was a drag. Slightly All The Time is on a more approachable level, and was interesting and enjoyable the whole way through. Moon In June was also like that. The synth work on Out-Bloody-Rageous is nuts for 1970. Really i liked 3 out of 4 songs, so not bad.
Big Star
3/5
Some really classic songs on here like In The Street and Thirteen. I prefer the covers though. Speaks to the quality of the bones on this record.
Super Furry Animals
2/5
What ever the hell this is.
Bruce Springsteen
2/5
Oh god. I would prefer to not meet Bruce in Atlantic City. This album is full of songs of losers, outcasts, good people caught in the jaws of America in the late 70s and 80s. Its just that I am sick of Bruce's pervasive pessimism. Every person is a victim of the system, every thing is broken down, and all his characters are just stuck.
Cowboy Junkies
3/5
Blue Moon is great. Definitely music for a dystopian future western bar.
The Thrills
4/5
This is the craziest western country album to come out of Ireland.
Coldcut
4/5
OOOOOOOO what is this? Cool sampling with rock solid structure. Smoke Dis One is pretty rad.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
5/5
Hell yeah baby. Tarkus is a wild ride start to finish. Honestly this album goes so many places and throws so much at you it's hard to full wrap your arms around it. A Time And Place rules.
Raekwon
4/5
Big time boom type stuff. Guillotine (Swordz) grabbed me. The mythology of the Wu Tang stuff is just so deep and convoluted. Ice Cream is another good one. Without a deep dive into the lyrics, I cant see the full depth of this album. Grooves are great though.
1/5
This album is kind of rubbish. I just don't see the appeal yet. How is it that these guys were the rivals of Oasis? How is this album any better or more important than any of the million other Brit rock albums this list has?
Bill Evans Trio
4/5
A bass forward jazz record. Alice In wonderland is a really nice track. Jade Visions is also a really nice track. I don't think this is my favorite Bill Evans record, but it is still very good.
The Last Shadow Puppets
4/5
yea this is cool and vibey. Black Plant is cool.
The Beta Band
3/5
sure whatever this was.
Ute Lemper
4/5
I really enjoyed The Part You Throw Away. Split is a really solid song. Purple Avenue is another great one. Super cool album.
Beck
3/5
Meh.
David Bowie
5/5
The drum work on this is incredible. See Sue (Or In A Season Of Crime). Dollar Days is ascendant.
The Associates
4/5
Cool dark goth synth vibes. A little distracted this morning with this listen. Worth revisiting.
Ministry
3/5
Locked in chugging riffs, though kinda plain right out of the gate. Jesus Built My Hotrod is cool.
Throbbing Gristle
1/5
I swear to God I have listened to this before and it stunk the last time too! What a dull and thorough waste of my time.
Hot Chip
5/5
What a totally killer electronic album. Flûtes and Ends Of The Earth are two stellar tracks. The closer is a really strong one as well
The Smashing Pumpkins
4/5
The first disk is just immaculate. The second is just so much. Thats the problem with these double albums they just work you.
Thin Lizzy
4/5
Yeah this was good!
CHVRCHES
4/5
I really liked this but need a revisit to confirm if it's a 5 or not.
Blood, Sweat & Tears
3/5
A cool piece but I am not captivated by it
Mudhoney
3/5
Solid grunge fare.
The Prodigy
3/5
I didn't feel like I really connected to anything until the narcotics trilogy at the end. If just those songs were in an EP format, I would give that EP a 5
The Prodigy
5/5
Woah back to back prodigy albums! This album is full of big fat juicy hooks and solid grooves. Diesel power is great. this album hits so fucking hard.
Antony and the Johnsons
4/5
Deep melancholy and beautifully expressive vocals. Definitely bedroom music. Bird Guhl is a strong closer. This is worth a revisit.
Anthrax
3/5
Sure. This album was alright. The vocals are soooo drrrryyyyyyy. Which I guess makes them cut more in the mix but yeah this was sort of a dud for me.
The Mothers Of Invention
2/5
I mean honestly for a Zappa album it's kind of restrained. It is super cool to see this album as an evolutionary step in rock coming out of the blues and the freak scene in the west coast in the 60's. I'm deducting a star for 12 minutes of noodling being the last song.
Funkadelic
4/5
The maggot brain guitar solo is one of the greats. The groove and funk is really thorough, but maybe a little looser than I prefer. I like the tight concentration of Parliament, and Funkadelic always feels a little looser and more shambolic.
Ravi Shankar
3/5
Holy crap could Ravi shred. The end of Dádrá is wild. My thing with Indian traditional music is that I just have no attachment to the Ragas. I have no context, so it's all over my head any my head. And it takes a long ass time to get anywhere.
The Beach Boys
4/5
Cool and weird and worth a revisit.
4/5
Dude this album kicks so much ass. Huge yacht/classic rock vibes.
Bob Dylan
5/5
This is an absolute masterclass in folk song. The first three tracks are all worthy and poetic. I run out of superlatives for the way Bob spun these lyrics.
Ananda Shankar
2/5
You know I just don't like the sitar as a tonal instrument. So you can imagine what a freaking treat this has been to listen to.
Ice Cube
5/5
The albums rules.
Tori Amos
4/5
Definitely giving off Kate Bush vibes. A great opening 1 2. It doesn't ever really shift a gear for me though, most of the way through.
Slipknot
4/5
This mix goes hard. I totally get why this was such a formative album and group for a lot of people. Damn this tight. But yeah it does get old after a few songs. Like too much Mac and Cheese. The first bites are great but then you realize that the plate just keeps going and you can only hate your mom so much.
The xx
3/5
This was whatever.
Nitin Sawhney
5/5
I'm super into this. The concept is stellar, each track super distinct and yet functions as a clear distinct whole. The jungle beats are interspersed with a very tasteful and well executed indian sound blends and instrumentation. Great record.
Beastie Boys
5/5
The boys went all out with this one. The album is both fat dope lines, sick beats, wild samples, introspection, and kicking it old school. Only the haters give less than a 5.
KISS
2/5
This sucked
808 State
5/5
Conditional 5: be in a french laundromat on a rainy day. This album hit the spot in a really cool and weird way
The Rolling Stones
1/5
The early 70's had so much cool shit going on. One notable exception to this was the fucking Stones. Their boring over the hill blues rock sucks ass and I hate it to this day. Oh and they recorded this album while they were being tax cheats in the south of France. Yeah fuck this album and truck this band.
Big Star
3/5
Man, whatever the heck this is. Its sad boy brit singer songwriter but make it F A N C Y. Some good tracks, but really not anything I resonated with in any way. "Play it for me, guitarist" is about how I feel about this whole thing.
Janet Jackson
4/5
A totally solid album. A little too mealy mouthed in the beginning with it's social British for my taste but the grooves and hits are where it's at. Escapade was a total banger.
Baaba Maal
3/5
Cool but no idea what to do with it.
Culture Club
4/5
Karma Chameleon is a song that totally fucks. The consistency of the latter new wave bops makes for a really enjoyable effort. Really timely album to get on the Eurostar to jolly old Londontown. The album never goes from good to great for me though, so a 4 it is.
Bad Brains
2/5
Such a weird and out there album for these guys. Sort of bounced off me but definitely a lot for the fans to chew on
LCD Soundsystem
2/5
This was ass
My Bloody Valentine
2/5
Yea wow this is terrible. Sueisfine is the first song to actually interest me. The back half of the album is like listening to the foo fighters through a busted up CRT TV. God this was BS
Peter Gabriel
4/5
Red rain is a strange way to kick an album off. Sledgehammer is exactly that. Is that Kate Bush on Don't Give Up? Only love can make love is a good line on That Voice Again. Your Eyes another monster hit. Good album!
Throwing Muses
3/5
This is cool, but whatever
Bonnie Raitt
2/5
ehhhhhh this is not really my cup of tea. its that country cheese pop blend that I don't really like.
Lupe Fiasco
1/5
Kick, Push was a hit back in the day. I don't know its just not my thing, like a little too soft to be gangster, but not quite as story telling vulnerable as Drake and the people who came up after. And the sampling just feels soulless. The outro being 12 minutes is just a bunch of shout outs? get wrecked. Shout out to Myspace?! I might ding 2 stars just because of how ridiculous this is.
Nico
2/5
Well Nico hates this album and so do I! what a dull album.
The Coral
4/5
This is cool and hits the right spot with me. Spanish Main is a strong opener.
Elis Regina
4/5
ooo the syncopation on saudade eterna. This album has been ripping it! Though it does sort of trail off.
George Harrison
2/5
alrighty George, mi is kinda off with the vocals in the back but maybe that will figure itself out. This sounds a lot like an extension of Sargent Peppers. And if thats your thing, this album is like a goldmine. I'm sort of ambivalent on the thing. I am absolutely taking a star for making me sit through the Jam session.
Brian Wilson
4/5
Wow there is some really cool stuff in here. Like Heroes and Villians really goes all over with its arrangements. This album is wild. I honestly have no idea what to rate it. Good Vibrations after In Blue Hawaii is just nuts.
Soul II Soul
5/5
This is great. Its a super conditional rating but I am just vibing to the easy loops. There isn't anything too crazy happening in the sample work, just locked in grooves that make your body move.
Goldfrapp
4/5
Heartfelt, atmospheric, and soft electronic textures and acoustic instruments. Cool little pop piece.
The Strokes
4/5
What a fuzzed out modern yet classic rock sound. Someday is a great track. Last Night is another bop.
Waylon Jennings
3/5
Omaha is a really good home town song. Very honky, much tonk.
The Fall
3/5
What even the heck. This was a.....shockingly bland album.
Simple Minds
3/5
This is some HOT new wave. The cheese tone on the title track is a little aggressive.
The Byrds
2/5
The music from this era just feels so dated.
The Good, The Bad & The Queen
4/5
We won't make another record, and we didn't properly name the band, because a name is for a marriage. cool ethos for a super group. Northern Whale is a solid song. the drums on Three Changes are solidly wonky.
Os Mutantes
3/5
meh
Destiny's Child
4/5
The serendipity on this project continues, as I have had the most physically painful 24 hours of my entire life. Dont shave with dull rotorary razors children. This album has so many goddamn bangers. The really bad lofi synth samples are a little outrageous but its goddamn beyonce on this. She kills it. Though I am docking a star for the two god songs back to back. blegh.
Dirty Projectors
3/5
Its polyrythmic, poly tonal, and not afraid to let its freak flag fly. not my cup of tea but respect. very vampire weekend feeling.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
4/5
Ok baby lets strap in for some early 70's drug fueled prog rock. The concept is totally bananas. The Sage is probably the least unhinged, but the crowd going nuts for The Old Castle is just so crazy to me. This is the soundtrack to a mad scientist lair, especially The Hut of Baba Yaga. What is with this crowd?! The Nutcracker track at the end is fucking awesome. What am I supposed to do with this album?
Metallica
3/5
Going into this, I have always felt that this was the weakest album of the Metallica golden age, but lets see. I have to agree that the bass is almost inaudible and the mix is pretty dry. but the intro on And Justice For All is excellent guitar work. Eye Of The Beholder has a nice gallop intro and is pretty consistent. One is a real landmark of a song. Harvester Of Sorrow reminds me a lot of Pantera's Walk. Dyers Eve is fun.
Deerhunter
3/5
weird hipster alt stuff. each sonic texture of each song is concrete. I don't know that I connected with any of it. Yea this is an album for people with skinny jeans and roll their own cigarettes while talking about Andy Warhol. Helicopter was the fist track that I was able to sort of vibe with.
Led Zeppelin
3/5
This one is for getting the Led out occasions only. Should you listen to this in a garage with a beer in hand, you might ascend to nirvana. Otherwise, its just kind of a slog.
Joe Ely
2/5
Boxcars is a solid song, so is Jericho, though Cornbread Moon is just silly. Though this delivers on the promise of honky tonk for sure. I mean good god they say it enough in the lyrics.
The Hives
4/5
Compilation album! Cool rock sound on the front 1-2, Hate To Say I Told You So and Main Offender. Supply And Demand keeps the aggression up. Man this album is all fast, aggressive tunes.
The Birthday Party
3/5
Secret Nick Cave album. Nick what am i supposed to do with your magical lyricism if you hid it behind all this sonic insanity? What is Release The Bats?!
The Only Ones
3/5
Yea this is a pretty slick little album. though it falls off for me in the back half.
Ali Farka Touré
4/5
The time work on Erdi is really arresting. The title track is awesome. N'jarou is a real soothing closer.
Elton John
3/5
wow leading off with Tiny Dancer. Razor Face? the title track is good. They are all these really grand dramatic songs, which, idk sort of loses me because they all get to the same sorts of places.
De La Soul
4/5
Very old school style. Eye Know is a solid song. bringing Q-Tip from A Tribe Called Quest is a pro move, pairing that with the Jungle Brothers is another level. Me, Myself, and I is a great single.
White Denim
5/5
This is cool with a capital C. Strong 1-2 with Its Him! into Burnished. Street Joy is a laid back groove. Nice jazzy, jam rock stylings on River To Consider. absolutely smashing!
Sonic Youth
2/5
I would agree with wikipedia in that this is a lot more digestible than some of their earlier stuff that I have heard. Still very much in the experimental/noise sphere though. Or maybe they just use those sounds and textures as window dressing on this one. What the fuck ever, man.
Run-D.M.C.
5/5
It's Tricky!!!!!! Walk This Way. Holy shit this album rules. Somehow they manage to make the worst sounding drum samples stay fresh and exciting, while the raps and flow manage to maintain their edge and freshness. Dumb Girl is kind of a shit song. Proud To Be Black is an uplifting, if somewhat on the nose song but its earnestness is what makes it great.
Serge Gainsbourg
1/5
God the plot of this is so fucking French. Since its a spoken word piece more than an album, its hard to rate. I personally enjoy French language but the story being about some asshole hitting a 14 year old with his car, taking her to bed, and her dying in a plane accident is just.......weird and gross. its one saving grace is that it's fiction?
Finley Quaye
3/5
This has a super weird tonal diversity to it. some of it is rootsy Jamaican, some is straight ahead alt brit rock, some electronica/jungle style textures. The transition between Your Love Gets Sweeter to Supreme I Preme is very illustrative of this.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
4/5
Green River is an immediate groove. Southern Blues Rock at its most basic. Outside the singles, I don't know that I love this album, but the title track and Bad Moon Rising are both definitively hits.
Def Leppard
3/5
oh man when the band starts off the album singing about Rock as a concept you know its going to be a long listening session. Photograph is a slick radio single. I enjoyed the solo on Stagefright a little too much. Too Late For Love is again another slick radio hit.
Silver Jews
4/5
Time Will Break The World is more spoken word than music, which is always a pet peeve. Death of an Heir of Sorrows is a really poignant song. This is probably worth a second effort.
Boards of Canada
4/5
what have I even been listening to this entire time? Open The Light is really good. Super weird ambient album, though I really dug it.
The White Stripes
4/5
The Nurse is so weird but I love it. A very cool blend in and departure from the usual White Stripes sound. The Denial Twist and I'm Lonely (But I Ain't That Lonely Yet) are both good times.
Dexys Midnight Runners
2/5
ok that Werewolves of London riff on One Of Those Things is BLATANT. I can see why this was both a commercial and critical flop at release. Wtf why is this spoken word interlude taking 6 minutes? I am not a huge fan but I am glad this album exists, as its a great swan song for the fans.
Meat Loaf
3/5
I'm back in my uncle's garage. God this is so 80s. A hyper masculine rock musical in which all the characters have the depth of a sheet of paper. though the orchestration has this "everything and the kitchen sink" sort of quality which is charming.
Jean-Michel Jarre
5/5
Spacy and way out there in 1976. What an open and ethereal album! I love it!
Alexander 'Skip' Spence
1/5
This guy tried to kill his band mates with a fire axe and then made this? The mix is really rough and the vocal treatment is almost incomprehensible. There is no sense of any polish on this, which could appeal to someone, I suppose. This is a really dull folk blues combo with Leonard Cohen esque singing. Grey/Afro is a slog. Boy, this album really knows how to wear out a welcome.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
5/5
This is buttery smooth and honey vocal textures. These guys had an unmistakable tone that I think colors the listening of other groups to western ears. This tone is iconic.
OutKast
4/5
So Fresh So Clean into Ms. Jackson. huge high point in hip hop. Snappin' & Trappin' is really crazy with its samples. B.O.B. kills. We Luv Deez Hoez is also really good.
Pere Ubu
1/5
The opening track is an assault on my right ear, wtf? post punk silliness.
M.I.A.
5/5
Strong club banger start with Bamboo Banga. The first three songs are so strong! damn all of these songs are strong. The offkilter samples set up familiar grooves and gives the record this interesting sonic patina. Paper Planes certified banger. Its a shame the rest of this album got overshadowed by that one single, its awesome!
The Flaming Lips
4/5
This album has a great start and the title track fucking rips. Broadly, the album captures a lot of the synth and electronic experimentation of the late 60's or early 70's. Ego Tripping At The Gates Of Hell is solid. Do You Realize is not my favorite track but carries a sort of modern 60s aesthetic. A solid album.
Ryan Adams
4/5
To Be Young and My Winding Wheel set a really solid scene for this album. Oh My Sweet Carolina would be a good song to try and sing. Same with Why Do They Leave? Its maybe a little too silky and melancholic on the back end for me to give it 5 stars but holy moly a great album.
Slipknot
4/5
Ok Gematria is a great song. Psychosocial is still a good single, even if I couldn't stand it when I was younger. The perfect album to do a little drywall project to. All Hope Is Gone is a solid closer.
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
3/5
Dropout Boogie is like 1 or two notes from being "California, here we come". Honestly, this is the most approachable Beefheart record I have come across. Abba Zaba is a great song. Very recognizable blues groove rock sound with some of that freak scene influence.
Doves
3/5
This was a moody modern piece. I think the only track that really grabbed me was A House. Sort of a miss-able one for me but by no means bad.
The Who
5/5
Man that guitar tone explodes on Heaven And Hell. Young Man Blues is rad. An absolutely beautifully mixed record. Summertime Blues is great. Magic Bus is a great closer.
The Byrds
3/5
Mr Spaceman is pretty catchy.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
4/5
Papa Won't Leave You, Henry and I Had A Dream, Joe are both wild.
The Vines
2/5
I don't buy the Nirvana comparisons, This is all too slick and the songs lack a sort of authentic grit that you need for a good first album with this genre. If the whole album were like Get Free, those comparisons would make more sense to me. Oh boy, Factory is where this thing starts to take an unpleasant path for me.
John Lee Hooker
3/5
A solid wistful blues album with exceptional guest artists. I'm In The Mood and Substitute are 2 really good songs.
The Band
3/5
Ok well now I know the origin story of The Band. I'm still not really into Bob Dylan. The Weight is immediately recognizable. Long Black Veil is alright.
Sister Sledge
5/5
The front half of this album is funky disco perfection. and the back half. this whole thing is 24k dripping Chic gold.
Elvis Costello
3/5
13 Steps Lead Down is a good tune. Still Too Soon To Know is not my cup of tea. I do love the story of Elvis basically remaking the Attractions. My Science Fiction Twin is good. Favorite Hour is a fine ender.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
3/5
Nick Cave is a poet, I just don't resonate with his music.
The Psychedelic Furs
3/5
Yep it's new wave alright. the sonic landscape is really dense and layered, with lots of cross cutting textures. I Wanna Sleep With You is a good example. Mr. Jones is a little less dense and more my speed. Just fine I suppose.
Mercury Rev
3/5
Endlessly is a fun, swimming in stars kind of song.
Duke Ellington
5/5
Hell yeah, this is a triumph. Though I could do without Father Snorman and his damn announcements. A very impressive display of technical talent in that classic big band jazz style. A very nice thing. Diminuendo In Blue kicks ass. Solid drum solo on Skin Deep and the crowd goes nuts. What a killer album and story.
Fatboy Slim
5/5
Absolutely loving the fuzz on The Weekend Starts Here. The beat on First Down also gets me groooooooooving. The whole album is just a fun groovefest.
Buena Vista Social Club
5/5
Hey I love this album! You can't listen to De Camino a La Vereda and not have a smile on. Make that this whole album makes me smile.
Doves
3/5
Ok budget Coldplay lets go. Words into There Goes The Fear is really weird but I don't hate it. Satellites is a nice song. Yea a budget coldplay album
Stan Getz
5/5
Sick little brazil jazz album. If. you want a dive on bossa nova, start here.
Pink Floyd
1/5
late 60s Floyd is not my personal favorite Floyd. Interstellar Overdrive is just 60's noodling and I am not into it.
U2
3/5
The opening to Sunday Bloody Sunday kills. The singles on this album are very potent. This is a really tight, strident sonic package. Drowning Man is not my cup of tea though.
Ray Price
3/5
Honky Tonkin all the way home. Wild Side Of Life is a good tune. If She Could See Me Now is another good one.
Kacey Musgraves
4/5
Love the vocal texture on Slow Burn. Butterflies is a pretty on the nose country love song that does a good job with its earnestness. It's almost cloying but some clever lyric play keeps it just shy of it for me. Space Cowboy walks a similar line for me. Kacey is a very clever lyricist.
Otis Redding
3/5
A Change Is Gonna Come is a soul classic. Some solid covers but its so foundational that it comes off as sort of bland?
Stephen Stills
4/5
This is pretty peak dad music. The shredding on Black Queen rips and it sounds like a song from the 90s done by like Pearl Jam or someone.
Roxy Music
3/5
Bryan Ferry sounds good on the first track!?! sort of like a knockoff bowie sound on this record. Bitter Sweet is where this album hits a brick wall. Why oh lord is there a sousaphone here? The whole thing is pretty tolerable otherwise.
Tom Waits
4/5
This is the most approachable Waits album I have heard yet!
Yes
5/5
YES!!!! Roundabout is almost enough to make this a 5 star album by itself. South Side Of The Sky is another banger track. Long Distance Runaround feels pretty applicable to me today. Mood for a Day is really soothing. Heart Of The Sunrise is not my favorite but not enough to keep me from 5 stars on this one.
George Michael
3/5
Freedom is good. Cowboys And Angels is a bedroom smoker, though it feels maybe a little too soft to convey a real emotional depth about sorrow. In general, this feels too saccharine, too flabby, and just not my speed.
Sam Cooke
4/5
This has a beautiful live sound. Chain Gang is awesome. Twisting The Night Away is a classic. Somebody Have Mercy is soulfull.
Wilco
2/5
This is really not my bag.
Emmylou Harris
2/5
There is so much production on this and I'm not a huge fan. These songs feel so lifeless. Bang The Drim Slowly into J'ai fait tout is the opposite of a good one two in the middle of the album. One Big Love was the first song I genuinely enjoyed. What a disappointment!
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
4/5
Cool mashup of style on this record. Rocketship is a good song. So is Dynamite Lover. So is Hot Shot. Swampy, bluesy, punk, definitely the blues. Fuzzed out vibes on R.I. Got Soul.
Tim Buckley
3/5
This is a pretty cool, though very sexual boogie groove early 70s album. I wouldn't say there is anything really ground breaking or a lot that I personally take away from this, other than Tim is horny, but its as good as some of the other brit pop trash that's in this list so w/e.
Louis Prima
4/5
This is quirky. Jump, Jive, An'Wail is a rock solid rock steady standard. You Rascal You is also very fun.
Carpenters
4/5
Great organ tone. Karen Carpenter has a SOUND. Her delivery is so free, its a little unnerving. Baller Help! and Close To You covers. Really cool, will need a revisit.
Blur
3/5
Song 2 has such a ballsy bass tone. crazy that a song just over 2 minutes could be so fucking sonically COMMANDING. Chinese Bombs is also another strong track. There is a lot of experimentation in sonic landscapes on this album, but a lot of the low tempo stuff just doesn't do it for me.
Lenny Kravitz
2/5
Its like a sonic mashup of Prince and Elvis Costello. Mr. Cab Driver sounds like a demo tape from some punk kid in his garage. Wow this is really not good. Rosemary is a big pick back up, and then it goes into a bunch of god shit. ugh this was very not good, and I'm tempted to dock a star for the diet prince approach, though its not his fault for being multi-instrumental.
Neneh Cherry
4/5
Buffalo Stance and Kisses On The Wind are strong starters. Its got pretty strong pop chops, Next Generation, Heart. A really solid album!
Coldplay
3/5
The Scientisssssssstttttt. CLoooooccccckkkkssss. Honestly, two great songs. but I have heard them so much in my lifetime that I just don't need to hear them anymore for the rest of my life. Like why did Daylight get the shaft? Its got something more interesting sonically than either of the 2 smash hits.
Pavement
3/5
Pavement is one of these cult following bands before my time. Fame Throwa is cool. Jacks, False Grails: The Lonesome Era is also cool. This is cool garage rock but i don't see how these guys became a phenomenon on this.
Skunk Anansie
4/5
This is such a cool but absolutely DATED sound. My guess is that people shit on this because it sounds a lot like early Linkin Park. Those high bass pops! On My Hotel Tv is a fun track. I'm Not Afraid Sounds like a bible camp song, but otherwise a good and fun album that I enjoyed.
Pulp
2/5
Ah more goofy brit art rock. The Day After The Revolution is fucking 15 minutes long? That's a docked star. AND ITS ONE CHORD HELD THE WHOLE TIME? you total clowns.
Beastie Boys
5/5
Hell yeah. So solid all the way through. Paul Revere with the backwards high-hat. What an absolutely gold record stem to stern.
The Stooges
4/5
I Wanna Be Your Dog has to be the hardest song to feature jingle bells. Real Cool Time delivers just that. Very cool and iconic.
TLC
3/5
meh it is off to a very relaxed hip pop start. This is the Waterfalls album? okay cool. Andre 3000 on the last track! the guest spots are cool and the album has occasional flashes but is broadly a miss for me
Amy Winehouse
3/5
Alright Amy, you are starting in a hole with a nod to Sinatra and the lyrics on Stronger Than Me expressing a phenomenally shitty sentiment. I Heard Love Is Blind is a funny song. Her talent is undeniable, especially with her fast soul scatting through her passagios on Moody's Mood For Love/ Teo Licks.
The Cult
2/5
Wow this is derivative, even for the late 80s. Yea, the Born To Be Wild cover is real shit.
Britney Spears
3/5
oh lord. Well the nice thing is that I can exit this album any time after the 12th song. ...Baby One More Time is still a certified bop. and into (You Drive Me) Crazy has got to be one of the strongest pop 1 2s in the whole list of these albums. Sometimes is now the third song in a row about a distant/abusive lover and now its starting to get a little odd. I really commend Brittney for trying to go into a more soulful register with her voice. Born To Make You Happy? What the hell is this album? Some of the beats sound like they came out of a goddamn Casio keyboard. The Beat Goes On is a good cover. Autumn Goodbye is very bad.
Shivkumar Sharma
5/5
This is cool sort of ambient vibe record. Though very evocative with its instrumentation. What an absolutely lovely stroll through the mountains!
5/5
This album comes out SWINGING! Tasty slap bass grooves with a killer 80s pop silhouette. Wow the first brit pop album to blow me away in a long time.
Christina Aguilera
3/5
WOW! Britney Spears AND Christina Aguilera albums in the same week? and a double album no less. Really leaning into her soul voice on this record. Understand is a good song. Side one was pretty solid. Candyman is a funk soul 'nawlins style pop song. the instrumentation is good. it was okay! the double album didn't feel like a slog but it wasn't really my thing either.
Crowded House
3/5
Meh.
Kanye West
5/5
This is Kanye emerging as the complete public egomaniac celebrity asshole we know him as today. The first three songs are incredible though. Like who samples King Crimson on their lead single? The rhythm of his low on Monster is really good. Jay-Z is weak on Monster and So Appalled. Blame Game is good. Lost In the World/Who Will Survive In America also is cool, very rich in sonic texture. Wow an absolutely incredible & digestible album, that makes me feel very uncomfortable because this artist is a PRICK.
Pere Ubu
2/5
What is happening on Thriller? I don't know. This is how the project ends? not with a bang but with a thud? oh well. Codex isn't the ending I wanted but I suppose it is a goodbye.