Psychedelic-Folk crossed with Jazz Fusion is a combination of genres that I did not expect to see together. And I gotta say it's pretty enjoyable. I normally have a tendency to complain about albums having an excess of long songs. But I think it is something that both Tim and Jeff Buckley manage to do very well. "Love from Room 109 at the Islander (On Pacific Coast Highway)" Has as many words to the title as it does minutes in the song, but it was a great song to just sit there and vibe out to. "Dream Letter" is similarly wonderful to vibe to. "Gypsy Woman" is where it gets more experimental and feels like too long of a song. It isn't a bad song, but it's just not for me. Happy Sad is basically how I describe my personal musical style of both what I make and what I listen to. So this album resonates with me very well.
I would say that folk is my primary genre that I listen to and to me this is a decent early 2000s folk album. But as far as early 2000s folk goes there are much more notable albums missing from this list. Sufjan Stevens' Michigan had come out about a year before this and his album Seven Swans came out a little over a month before. Iron and Wine had also just released Our Endless Numbered Days which belongs on this list as well. That all being said I think it's still a good album and I'm just being picky because it is my genre of choice. I think there is a good exploration of different instruments and playing styles without being overwhelming. Which is something more experimental folk musicians struggle to achieve.
This is a strange album to process through. The front six are as the album self-describes "A Bouquet of Ear-catching Melodies" that are very easy listening. The second side is described as "The Cerebral Side" and I'm not quite sure that is the best description. Unless by Cerebral he meant "I've fucked up my cerebral cortex with too much acid" which then yes I agree. There are so many mood swings in these 6 songs but yet it's still enjoyable to sit through. Until you get to the Song of the Viking which just feels like a Ringo song. And then I Went to the Mirror drags you down into the trip with him. "The Kid Gets Heavy" side is the return to rock roots if the first two sides are the weed album and the acid album respectively. It just doesn't really all flow together well. Feels a bit like the songs that couldn't fit on the other sides got thrown together with the hopes that it would work. The back seven, otherwise known as the "Baby Needs a New Pair of Snakeskin Boots (A Pop Operetta)" side was an ummm........experience. Not exactly sure why the 4th side needed to be a Pop Operetta but yet it is anyway. As a standalone album it might actually work really well, but it is just a strange way to end and album. But then again the whole album is all over the place so it is fitting. And to end your album with a song called Slut is a power move. I think the first two sides despite their weirdness sit above a 4/5 for me. But the third side sits at a 2 and the fourth a 2 in this but a 3 or 4 standalone. So I honestly don't know how to grade it.
Avant-garde is certainly accurate for this album. I don't dislike it but I have a hard time enjoying the vocals throughout all of it. If this was a instrumental album or even a limited vocal performance album I would enjoy it more. I'm confused as to how to rate this album. At times I get it and love the artistry and at other times I just feel like I'm about to be possessed.
On paper I should love this album. It's chill, melancholy folk. It sounds like an album that I would write. It just has the right flourishes of alternative sounds mixed in like the strings or synths. But I just don't love this album. The flourishes can be a bit overpowering and I just don't like Beck's voice. Put some Sufjan Stevens or Ray LaMontagne vocals on this instead and it might be a 5 star album for me. Between the voice and the weirdness of some of the back half I just don't enjoy it that much.
This is an ok album. Not much of it thrills me. "Baba O'Riley" is a all time classic track but not really anything special to me. "The Song Is Over" is a painfully long song. Probably long for the sake of irony but still so long. "Behind Blue Eyes" is also a classic track that I enjoy thoroughly. And "Won't Get Fooled Again" is an amazing song that is just a little too long. All in all a pretty good album but not something too special to me.
This is a wonderful R&B/Soul album. You could say it just makes me feel much better. And I enjoy Earth, Wind & Fire much better when September isn't being shoved down my throat. Giving it a 4/5 because I didn't enjoy the funk parts of it as much.
This was the third album on my list, but I am rating it while I am currently on album 142. Finally Kanye has been out of the new long enough for me to be willing to listen to it. I do have to admit it is a decent hip-hop album. It does feel very dated to the early 2000s. Still not my thing but better than I expected going in.
As somebody that is not a big fan of hip hop this was a very enjoyable album to listen to.
When I am reviewing these albums I try to not be overly critical about genres or artists that I am not familiar with. That being said I am damn near an expert when it comes to American Folk in the 1960s and 1970s. And I cannot stand this album. Now in full transparency I am just not a fan of Bob Dylan so that contributes to my dislike of this album. But there are so many more issues that outweigh that dislike. To start with it is a live album which is bad enough, but add onto that the fact that it is a "Bootleg Series" live album released 32 years after the original concert. There are also not 1 not 2 but 5 songs that are over 7 minutes in length. I like long songs but that is ridiculous. There are only two of his top songs played in the show and they were the worst versions of them I have ever heard. Even though it was early in his career he still had some of his top songs all time already released. This album was terrible for all 95 Minutes and 18 Seconds of it. I'm not looking forward to the next 6 Bob Dylan albums on this list. But I am comfortable knowing that they aren't worse than this one. I appreciate everything he has done for music and the genre of Folk and I admire his talent as a songwriter. But I just have never enjoyed him. And I despise this album.
All in all a pretty good album. Contains some essential Elvis songs but also contains quite a few filler songs that aren't at all memorable. But also a couple of underrated sleeper tracks. Just a good nice easy listen.
Good album. Nothing too special but a fairly easy intro to metal for somebody that hasn't really listen to metal before.
Not a genre I would have likely discovered on my own. I really like this album. Good arrangements with powerful significance behind the songs.
Listening to Eminem reminds me of my angsty middle school years when I thought I was hard. It definitely has not aged well in terms of content. Musically still holds up very well though. And funny enough I got this album on February 13, 2022 the same day Eminem performed the Super Bowl Halftime show.
This is a very mediocre album to me. I just am not much of a Queen fan. It is certainly a listenable album but not necessarily one I'll come back to. It didn't have any bad tracks but certainly some mid tracks. Killer Queen is a fantastic song and obviously the best one on the album.
This album it a good example of why I really enjoy this list and this website. I would never listen to this album or have even heard of it otherwise. This was a really enjoyable album despite not being able to understand most of it.
This album gives me major flashbacks to middle school when I was a "my generation doesn't appreciate music" kid. And it is a good album that is certainly formative to the Hard Rock sound. That being said it is fairly consistent in sound throughout and the only really memorable track is Highway to Hell.
This album is... interesting. I had high hopes after the opening track but then it just got kinda weird. I was still feeling the vibe musically until Aftermath when it got really weird with a flute interlude. And Abbaon Fat Track was... let's go with a "lyrical journey" hidden behind a very good jazzy track. The rest of the album after that was just a bit of a fever dream.
This is a strange album to process through. The front six are as the album self-describes "A Bouquet of Ear-catching Melodies" that are very easy listening. The second side is described as "The Cerebral Side" and I'm not quite sure that is the best description. Unless by Cerebral he meant "I've fucked up my cerebral cortex with too much acid" which then yes I agree. There are so many mood swings in these 6 songs but yet it's still enjoyable to sit through. Until you get to the Song of the Viking which just feels like a Ringo song. And then I Went to the Mirror drags you down into the trip with him. "The Kid Gets Heavy" side is the return to rock roots if the first two sides are the weed album and the acid album respectively. It just doesn't really all flow together well. Feels a bit like the songs that couldn't fit on the other sides got thrown together with the hopes that it would work. The back seven, otherwise known as the "Baby Needs a New Pair of Snakeskin Boots (A Pop Operetta)" side was an ummm........experience. Not exactly sure why the 4th side needed to be a Pop Operetta but yet it is anyway. As a standalone album it might actually work really well, but it is just a strange way to end and album. But then again the whole album is all over the place so it is fitting. And to end your album with a song called Slut is a power move. I think the first two sides despite their weirdness sit above a 4/5 for me. But the third side sits at a 2 and the fourth a 2 in this but a 3 or 4 standalone. So I honestly don't know how to grade it.
This album might be responsible for more human lives than any other album. Just a classic album that makes you feel happy to be listening to, or doing other things to.....
I understand just enough German to make this album enjoyable. It is just really weird. I just don't really get the appeal of industrial music. I don't think it's a bad album just not something that I will ever consider listening to again.
Side one might be one of the best single sides in music history. With the exception of Mother which is just a real quick downward mood swing. Which is still a really good song just fits strangely in the order. Side two leaves a little more to be desired musically following that first side. But it is still a fantastic musical journey. And when you factor in the plot narrative of it as well it is just fantastic character development. Side three is a bit strange and depressing which from a regular album standpoint is weird because it also contains two of the best songs ever written. But for the narrative of the rock opera it is fitting. Side four really begins to feel like I expect a rock opera rather than just a regular album. Which is also still very fitting to the narrative as its where Pink's "show" actually occurs. And to end it a peaceful resolution to the story that loops back into the top of the album. Just rating this as a top to bottom album it is a great album but probably like a 3.5 or a 4. It flows weirdly and has a lot of strange mood swings. Rating this as the beautiful work of art that it is and the fantastic narrative story it is certainly a 5. It's influence on the music industry is and will likely always be lasting. It has three of their greatest songs which are just flat out three of the greatest songs of all time. I'm happy that this is my first 5 that I've given. I'm only on album 17 but I am surprised it took this long to get a 5.
This is THE ALBUM to show people who say they don't like country music. I'm not even a big country fan but this is a fantastic album. It reminds me of what my Grandpa would call "attitude adjustment" music. You just can't be mad while listening to it. El Paso invokes memories I forgot I had of childhood. The fact that this album was recorded in a single 8 hour session makes it all the more impressive just how good the album really is.
It really just sounds like imitation pop punk/rock. And this is an era of that music that I like a lot. I feel like I've heard all of these songs before but don't actually know any of them. Just doesn't hold up as one of the greatest albums of all time. This might be one of those albums/bands like Sparks where the average person doesn't know about them but all your favorite bands say they are a major influence, but I just don't see it. The only track that feels "individualistic" was Hoover Dam. I think a 2 or 2.5 is fair. It's not an album I wanted to turn off but I don't see myself listening to any of these songs again.
I enjoy the musical side of this album. I'm not the biggest fan of the vocals but it isn't too bad and is very fitting for the genre. My biggest gripe with this is the length of the songs. 2 songs over 9 minutes and another two over 7 is a bit much. Just gets stale after a little. I really like the first 4 and a half minutes on Luau but after that there were still 5 more minutes to suffer through. Sinews however I think does justify the length.
I'm not fully sure why we are taking Manhattan or Berlin but I'm pumped to do it! "Everybody Knows" is an all time great track. "Take this Waltz" is a beautiful song. "Jazz Police" however is a terrible track in the midst of beauty. Ironically I first found this album through a video of the worst songs on great albums (shoutout to Alfo Media). The album recovers in the last two songs though. As a big fan of folk I know and love a lot of Cohen's early work. I do forget just how good Cohen's mid career was. Some of the songs are a little long and "Jazz Police" is what it is. I would give it a 4.5/5.
I'm a folk fan so I really enjoy this album musically. And its lyrically solid. I just am a much larger fan of American folk music and get tired of the English whine at times. It is still a really good album just not the vocal sound I enjoy.
This was better than I was expecting. Not having to try to remember my three years of high school German was nice and unexpected. And the one German titled song was French. Krautrock at least on this album feels like the 80s landed in German far before they hit the US. I liked parts of it and others were a little too experimental than I care to listen to.
This is a great album. Being raised on quite a bit of Brit-Punk this just gives me so many good vibes. Alright is just an all time classic. Only song I didn't really like was "We're Not Supposed To" which was just a really strange departure from the rest of the album. "Sofa Of My Lethargy" is a good track that just goes on for a little too long. This also might be the most upbeat punk album that I have ever heard.
I liked this album well enough but it isn't too special to me. I likely will not return to any of these songs. My album yesterday was also a Brit-Pop/Rock album and I enjoyed that one significantly more.
I've never been a fan of Iggy Pop and I did not enjoy this album. Search and Destroy is a good track and Gimme Danger isn't bad depending on the version of it. But the rest of it is just growly and displeasurable. Giving it a 2 because I'm very picky about what I give a 1.
I wasn't quite sure what to expect from an album listed as Acid Jazz. Then I realized just how much I had heard the titular track. I think this is a nice groovy album that is very listenable. It gets a little repetitive at times and falls flat at others.
Biggie's flow is amazing and the beats are fantastic. Big Poppa is one of the greatest songs of all time. I'm not a huge fan of Hip Hop but this is a fantastic album. The interludes also made it real strange at times, I didn't need to hear what I really hope was simulated sex.
Holy Mother of long songs.... I find a lot of this album musically intriguing. But I just don't really vibe with instrumental music that much. Also as for my first comment, five 6 and a half minute plus songs is ridiculous. The James Bond cover is pretty good. I just don't think this belongs on this list.
This is by no means a bad album but it is in my opinion the weakest of Zeppelin's albums featured on this list. "In My Time of Dying" and "The Wanton Song" are very solid songs. "Kashmir" is of course an all time classic. Shining moments but very flat in others.
I really like the bass on this album. "All The Pictures On The Wall" was really the first song on the album that pulled me in. "5th Season" is also a great song with a good solo. "The Weaver" follows it up with a groovy vocal line. "Shadow Of The Sun" grew on me in the second half with the instrumental jam on the outro it just feels like jamming the homies and brings out good feelings. "Holy Man - Reprise" is also a good feeling jam track. The album ends kinda flat after that, but overall it is a very good album. Having a track called "Instrumental Two" and another named "Instrumental - Pt. 2" is a weird idiosyncrasy, but neither are essential to the album in the way "Instrumental - Pt. 1" is. Having a song that is a reprise of a parenthesised part of another song is also a strange naming convention but that's a good song so I can forgive it.
I too love fast cars, but the only part of that song I liked was the bass. And that is about all I like on this album. It's classic Brit-Punk but isn't that formative to the genre to me. The Sex Pistols had come and gone by the time this album was released. And The Clash had put out one of their two albums on this list. It's a listenable album and fits the genre well. I mean they essentially started as a Sex Pistols fan band after all. For a debut album it isn't bad but their next album is significantly better than this one. Just doesn't really feel like it is one of the greatest albums ever.
Morrissey is a piece of shit and a sad excuse for a human being. But damn is he an amazing songwriter. If you are able to separate the art from the artist with Morrissey his catalogue is a fantastic lesson in music history especially in The Smiths era. And if you don't know how The Smiths wrote music it's worth learning because it is a strange situation that became wonderful art. All that being said this is an amazing album. It opens strong and then "Spring-Heeled Jim" is a weird track and "Billy Budd" falls flat. "Hold on to Your Friends" has a beautiful guitar part. "The More You Ignore Me, the Closer I Get" reminds you that Morrissey is a creep while backed by a great song. The next two tracks just feel like classic Morrissey but nothing too special to me. "Lifeguard Sleeping, Girl Drowning" is strange vocally but solid musically. The next two have that classic Morrissey sound again and "The Lazy Sunbathers" is my second favorite song on the album. "Speedway" I think is the most progressive song on the album, it somehow balances the Morrissey sound with a much more progressive musical sound that is an energetic masterful way to end an album. Morrissey is a 0/5 person this album is a 4.5/5. If Morrissey wasn't a shitty person and was more of a musician I'd be inclined to give it a 5, but I'll stick to a 4.
I'm not a big fan of Nu Metal or Korn. But their cultural impact cannot be denied. I often think of the band before I think of the grain and I have never lived more than a mile from a cornfield. That backwards R is iconic as well. "Freak On a Leash" is definitely the best track and probably the only Korn track most people know. It's not a bad album by any means just not something I vibe with very hard. Its impact is a 5/5 but personally I view it as more of a 2/5. Factoring both of those I'll give it a 3/5
This album sounds like the Beach Boys meet Punk Rock. Also in true punk fashion it sounds like it was recorded on the cheapest mic they could find. For a collection of screamy covers it is not too bad of an album. I get where it was a influential sound to early Punk. "Strychnine" is my favorite track and it's an original so that's cool too.
I wasn't sure what to expect from a genre called Sophisti-pop. But I actually really like it. I definitely hear the Peter Gabriel influences and at times I feel a bit of lyrical style similar to Leonard Cohen. At times it can be an overload of Synth tones, but it is a very musically progressive sound that I do enjoy when the overload isn't too much. I think it is one of my favorite synth basses I've heard recently. I was not expecting a song that said automobile noise over and over again but it was honestly kinda good. I think my favorite part of this list is getting to discover new genres and actually enjoy more of them than I would have expected.
As far as Springsteen albums go this is not the best. It isn't a bad album just not as good as a lot of his discography. It is also a really depressing album when you read the message behind it. I do have this to thank for one of my favorite albums of 2021, "Pressure Machine" by The Killers.
This is a pretty good album. Psychedelic-Folk is a calmer launching point into Psych music than I really got. This is especially true as a large 60s and 70s folk fan. I've been trying to get into more psych and really enjoyed this album. And "Season of the Witch" is a classic psych track that everybody should know. Even though I enjoyed it thoroughly I have fewer thoughts than I expected to.
This is a pretty good album. I can hear so many different bands that too influence from it as it played. It definitely fits the Jam Band vibe that the recording sessions ended up being. The guitar can be a bit screamy at time and the feedback on some of the songs is not kind on the ears. All in all it doesn't really do that much for me. "Candle" is my favorite song on the album.
Psychedelic-Folk crossed with Jazz Fusion is a combination of genres that I did not expect to see together. And I gotta say it's pretty enjoyable. I normally have a tendency to complain about albums having an excess of long songs. But I think it is something that both Tim and Jeff Buckley manage to do very well. "Love from Room 109 at the Islander (On Pacific Coast Highway)" Has as many words to the title as it does minutes in the song, but it was a great song to just sit there and vibe out to. "Dream Letter" is similarly wonderful to vibe to. "Gypsy Woman" is where it gets more experimental and feels like too long of a song. It isn't a bad song, but it's just not for me. Happy Sad is basically how I describe my personal musical style of both what I make and what I listen to. So this album resonates with me very well.
I've never really given Rush the credit they deserve. They are certainly masters of the Prog-Rock era. It still isn't exactly my thing, but I do think it is a masterful album and why it deserves a place on this list.
Avant-garde is certainly accurate for this album. I don't dislike it but I have a hard time enjoying the vocals throughout all of it. If this was a instrumental album or even a limited vocal performance album I would enjoy it more. I'm confused as to how to rate this album. At times I get it and love the artistry and at other times I just feel like I'm about to be possessed.
I think there are better Beach Boys albums, but I don't think it is necessarily a bad album. It flows a little strangely and is a bit more experimental at times than I really enjoy.
I'm not the biggest fan of having compilation albums on this list, it just seems like a little bit of a "cheat" if that was a thing. I do think this is a great album as far as compilations go. The first two tracks are all time greats with "Main Offender" being one of my favorite Rock Band songs. "The Hives Are Law, You Are Crime" is my favorite track I hadn't heard before. It had some fun mixing with the back and forth guitar. Just a good punk rock compilation album.
I would say that folk is my primary genre that I listen to and to me this is a decent early 2000s folk album. But as far as early 2000s folk goes there are much more notable albums missing from this list. Sufjan Stevens' Michigan had come out about a year before this and his album Seven Swans came out a little over a month before. Iron and Wine had also just released Our Endless Numbered Days which belongs on this list as well. That all being said I think it's still a good album and I'm just being picky because it is my genre of choice. I think there is a good exploration of different instruments and playing styles without being overwhelming. Which is something more experimental folk musicians struggle to achieve.
I will say a British lady named Susan Janet Ballion calling herself Siouxsie Sioux feels slightly problematic. It's not a bad album. It is very front loaded in tracks and blends together after a bit. I think most punk albums benefit from being about 30-35 minutes. This just feels a bit long at 41 plus the 12 minutes of bonus tracks. Especially because the last main album song is 7 minutes and is definitely where the album earns its art rock listing. I would say that I do like it overall. Surprisingly the 3 additional remixes were what brought the album back around for me.
Not a bad album just not as comparable to their other albums.
035036503530! Great album with some all time great songs. "Highway Star" is one of my favorite Rock Band songs to play even if it gets tiring by the end. "Smoke On The Water" is obviously one of the most well known songs of all time. I think every guitar player has played that classic riff at least once. My favorite track though is "When A Blind Man Cries" which unfortunately didn't make it on the original track listing. I just love the groovy band jam vibe of it.
Decent metal album. I think it's slightly better than the self titled that is also on this list. "Run to the Hills" is another great Rock Band track.
This is a pretty mediocre metal album to me. Not much else comes to mind to say about it.
If they had separated this into two seperate albums instead of a double album both could very well be on this list. It's just good in every genre it touches. And on the second album even though I knew it was there I was not expecting "Hey Ya!" to come in where it did. All in all a great album and just a fun listen.
Though all parts of it were interesting a 21 minute fully instrumental intro track that had at least 5 different mood swings is not the right way to start an album. After that I was expecting lyrics, but then I read about the genre of Post-Rock. I am usually against instrumental albums because they lack that extra flavor that lyrics add. That being said I do quite enjoy the album because past the lack of vocals I enjoy the musical style. "Glass Museum" and "A Survey" were the top tracks for me. And if "Djed" had been split up into multiple songs a few of them would have fit on there too.
Nu Metal is just not my thing. I get this is a very formative album in the genre, but I can't get into it. The rappier tracks I like a bit more they remind me a little of Rage Against The Machine. Not something I will return to. If I had found this when I was first learning to play guitar and still wanted to play the heavier and shreddier sound I probably would have enjoyed it more.
This is one of the milestones I've been waiting for since I started this journey. This is the first album that I get to listen to on vinyl instead of Spotify. My pre-relisten review is that it has a unmemorable A-side but the titular 17 minute B-side is a classic Psychedelic-Rock track that is fun to get super high and just jam out to. I think I will give it a 4/5. Now for the relisten review. "Flowers and Beads" is better than I remembered and feels like it should be on a Peter Quill Awesome Mix. As for the rest of the front side "Most Anything You Want" is also a good track, but as predicted the rest falls flat. I could have done with a little less electric organ or at least slightly lower in the mix at times. The titular track is pretty much exactly how I remember it a groovy psych track with a great drum interlude around the 7 minute mark. The only detracting part is the strange elephant type of noise. I normally am against long songs, but this is how you do a long song right. It holds your attention the entire way through. The album as a whole held up to my expectations and I stand by my 4/5.
Very 2000s Hip-Hop mixed with synth pop. Not terrible but not a single thing I latched onto.
It's not bad, but I personally enjoy LCD Soundsystem's earlier work. Still an enjoyable album to listen to.
A great classic album. The A-side is a collection of great songs, but it honestly drags a little bit on the B-side. I expected to have more to say about such a classic album but I don't. But it is still a great album.
"Song 2" is an all time classic song. However the rest of the album is pretty lackluster 90s alt rock.
I don't give Pet Shop Boys the credit they deserve. I think "West End Girls" just made me immediately disqualify them as something I'd like. The front four were good but it was "Dreaming of the Queen" that really pulled me in. "To Speak Is a Sin" was also a great track. "Go West" is a fun song to listen to waiting for the bonus track was not as fun. I'm surprised at how highly I am rating this album based on my preconceptions, but that really is the beauty of listening to all of these albums.
This makes me disappointed to be Scottish. Scottish Electronic music just should not be a thing. I just can't get behind most electronic music in general, but this is another level of painful. There were individual "instruments" on songs that I liked the sound of. The one song I actually somewhat enjoyed was "Possible Worlds". I'm selective about what I give a 1 to in these ratings...I do not feel bad about this one at all. I am in pain, but I somehow made it to the end without turning it off.
"Devils Haircut" is a classic Alt Rock song that I feel like I heard a ton as a kid. "Where It's At" is very much so the same in that regard. It's a decent album. There just wasn't anything I loved about it.
This is an all time classic album whose legacy will last forever. I am not a fan of rap or hip hop and I am certainly not qualified to speak to the message of the album, but it is a great album musically and socially. Great album!
David Byrne is a musical genius. The Talking Heads take everything I dislike about dance music, art pop, and new wave and do it in a way that I actually enjoy. This isn't my favorite of their albums, but it is a great album from a great band. "Once in a Lifetime" might be my favorite of their songs overall though. And if for some reason somebody is still reading this review and hasn't watched the Stop Making Sense film do yourself a favor and watch the amazing art that it is.
Just good classic country. A simple beat and melody that just make you happy. Another of what my grandpa would call "attitude adjustment music" type of album. And Willie Nelson played bass and sang on this album too which makes it even cooler.
I'm about 40 minutes away from Rockford, Illinois right now so I have to be careful about what I say or the Cheap Trick assassins will come for me. This is not a good album. It isn't recorded well, but it is a live album from 1978 so that is forgivable. The music isn't my thing either. But given that this album was the launching point for their popularity in the United States and formative to the hard rock genre in the US as well I understand its place on this list. But my rating is lowered because I hate live albums. "I Want You to Want Me" and "Surrender" are all time classic songs, but I still prefer the album versions.
"Planet Claire" sounds like a Bond song. "Rock Lobster" is honestly not a good song, but it's humor factor and bassline make up for the rest of it. All in all not too bad of an album just early new wave.
This was a very enjoyable album to listen to. Just great Indie Rock. At some point I might come back when editing is added and give it a 5 after a few more listens, but right now I'm giving it a 4 because some of the scratchier sounds don't appeal to me as much.
This is a strange album. There are moments where I think this is exactly what I enjoy musically and then something else comes into the mix and ruins it for me.
Paul McCartney is a musical genius. While his work with Wings doesn't hold up as well as The Beatles work. This is still a very very good album and I enjoyed it a lot. Paul McCartney's bass playing is one of my favorite parts of anything he's on and that is the case on this album as well.
Fuck Morrissey, but damn this is a good album. It is so impressive to me that the music and lyrics are completely separate creative processes within The Smiths and still manage to be so damn cohesive. This album is a fantastic sound that keeps you encapsulated the entire way through. I just can't really put into words that make sense how good I find this album.
Fun easy to listen to R&B with a solid bassline. Nothing that I personally grasped onto but I still enjoyed it.
English Folk Rock is always a strange experience. I am the biggest fan of American Folk Rock that I know and I just can't get into the genre. This album sounds like if Björk was a folk artist. The can horn version of reveille playing in the background of "The Glorious Land" was a strange thing to hear I actually looked outside during the first one to see if somebody was being annoying in my parking lot. There are parts that I really love and musically and vocally. But there are also times where the vocals much like Björk just are too shrieky and strange for me to enjoy. Overall I didn't dislike it, but I just didn't like it and I have a hard time believing there is 3 more PJ Harvey albums if they are all like this.
This album is very strange. Especially "The Gift" at least the stereo mix that is, where the short story and music are panned hard left and hard right respectively. I don't think it is bad and it was certainly an influential and critically acclaimed album, but I don't think it is The Velvet Underground's best album. I feel bad about ranking this low, but I know that the other two albums I'll end up rating higher.
Wow that was bad. I had high hopes after “If I Had A Heart" and then it just got worse and worse and worse. By the end my ears were actually hurting. Why is this album on the list at all? Just a bad album.
I am drowning in organ music. I do however enjoy the bass on the album. But the only song I think I will ever listen to again is the titular track. Though I will probably listen to a different version of all of the covers at some point. Just way too much organ to want to listen to these ones again.
Not a big Hard Rock fan and I have always had prejudice against Meat Loaf because of the name. But I do have to admit that this is a pretty good album. More melodic than I expected it to be. Rest In Peace Meat Loaf!
Fuck Morrissey! But I do really really enjoy The Smiths. This is not my favorite of their albums, but it still is a very enjoyable album. Johnny Marr is an amazing musician and to be able to write as good of songs as they did without being in together while they write is so impressive.
I can't believe I putt of listening to the Fiona Apple albums I had in the backlog for as long as I did. This is fantastic. I need to get into her other stuff. No idea why I thought I wouldn't like them, but I do. Certainly will listen to this album again. I didn't like it as much as Tidal but it was still really good.
I liked this album more than I expected to. I don't know exactly what I expected from it. But it was in my backlog of albums I had to skip for one reason or another, right next to another Fiona Apple album. I put them off for months but I was so pleasantly surprised and regret putting it off. This will be an album I re-listen to at least one or two more times to pick it apart.
Some of these songs are ingrained in my brain from the countless times my parents played them throughout my childhood. The songs I didn't know going into this didn't do it for me. While I did enjoy "Waiting for the Night" it felt out of place on the album especially leading into "Enjoy the Silence". All in all I did really enjoy this album and the childhood memories it brought out. However the non-single tracks are a little harder to enjoy and at times are overboard with the synth. Though it is a Synth-Pop album so I should expect that, but I just am not the biggest fans of synths if they aren't used tastefully. With all that being said I am giving it a 4/5 because a 4.5/5 isn't a thing.
I just do not get Björk. It is just not my thing in anyway.
Something I have noticed in the process of this project is that I am less critical of world music than I am of English music. I am not a big fan of dance music in general salsa I do think is the best of it though. I don't understand the album but it is fun and upbeat and it being the best selling salsa album in the history of salsa music certainly gives it a deserving spot on the list. I liked it though it doesn't have the relisten value that some of the other foreign language album that I have heard on this list.
The front half is fantastic. Very melodic and calm. The warm smooth baritone of Engel/Walker's voice is so satisfying. "The Seventh Seal" finds a groove that I didn't expect from the intro to it. The bass manages to drive the song while not drawing undue attention to it in the mix of so much else. It is such a complex track that feels like it belongs in a old movie as a main characters theme. Which makes a lot of sense reading about what it was based on. "Angel of Ashes" is another very peaceful somewhat ethereal track. I really liked the song "Boy Child", my mom has called me that since I was young. The lyrics are pretty strange though for that connection. The back half starts off strange. "Hero of the War" is a complete shift in style. "The Old Man's Back Again (Dedicated to the Neo-Stalinist Regime)" fall somewhere between the sound of the first half and the energy of the opening to the B-side. That track has fantastic bass on it. "Get Behind Me" is another great bass driven track. Though I don't love his scatting on the outro. "Rhymes of Goodbye" was a good but nothing too special outro track. I am conflicted on what to give this album. I love the way the album is mixed. The vocals for the most part are smooth and easy to listen to. The bass work on the album is fantastic as well. There is so much to pick out and dissect that I will need to listen to a few more times to grasp fully. I however don't love the back half as much. It jumps around and is a completely different mood to the front half. It still contains good songs, but the mood shift is a bit harsh. I think I do need to give it a 5 star rating. I love most of the album and certainly will listen to it again.
I want to like this album more than I actually do. It is a good album, but just not really my thing. I love a lot of artist that this album inspired though I don't love the album itself. "Ballrooms Of Mars" was probably my favorite track, the guitar work on it made the song shine. I think its cult status is persuading me to give it a better rating.
On paper I should love this album. It's chill, melancholy folk. It sounds like an album that I would write. It just has the right flourishes of alternative sounds mixed in like the strings or synths. But I just don't love this album. The flourishes can be a bit overpowering and I just don't like Beck's voice. Put some Sufjan Stevens or Ray LaMontagne vocals on this instead and it might be a 5 star album for me. Between the voice and the weirdness of some of the back half I just don't enjoy it that much.
I am so conflicted on how I feel about this album. On one hand I like the style a lot and the music is pretty good, on the other hand I really don't vibe well with the sound of the vocals on most of the album. I think it is a pretty solid 3 for me. I do love that Carol Kaye played on this album, she is a legend of a session musician and bass player. Everybody should go watch the video Polyphonic on YouTube made about her.
I put listening to this album off for a day because I was in the middle of finals. I'm glad I did put it off it is just what I needed to relax and wind down after two stressful weeks of projects, papers, and exams. It is not my favorite Marvin Gaye album, but it was a lovely way to spend my evening. It'll be a 4 for me today, but when a edit feature comes around it might get bumped up to a 5 on a second listen.
I do not typically like Heavy Metal and this isn't exactly a exception to that rule either. I understand Judas Priest's importance to metal as a whole and I am sure the metal I do enjoy was influenced by them. Also "Breaking the Law" is an all time classic. The album cover drops the slight thought of a 3 completely out of my mind and settles it as a 2 for me.
Past "Leave Home" I just did not enjoy this album. I just cannot get into Electronica or House music.
Musically I enjoy this album, vocally not so much. The bass work is amazing on this album and the way it fits in the groove with the drums is magical. And the guitar work is fairly intricate and fun for a garage/hardcore band. It just is not a repeat listen album for me. Based off the vocals alone I would give it a 2, but the music and legacy of the album inclines me to bump it to a 3. I was pleasantly surprised with the music.
Jazz is just not my thing. I know that is sacrilegious to music lovers but oh well. It is good jazz, but good jazz is still jazz. Miles Davis was a musical genius and I appreciate the impact he has had on music. Just not my thing.
Easy 5! This is my second album where I am able to listen to it on Vinyl and this is easily my most valuable record in my collection. I don't think there is a bad track on the album. "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" is a great opening track and leads into what is one of my favorite Beatles songs in "With a Little Help from My Friends" for uh certain relatable reasons. Then you have "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" which is an amazing song and as much as John insisted it wasn't a euphemism I do not believe him. The song flows way too much like an actual acid trip to not be 100% about one. I mean this is the Acid album afterall. "Getting Better" and "Fixing A Hole" are two of the weaker songs on the album, though neither is in anyway a bad song they just don't stand out as much. "She's Leaving Home" is one of the Beatles more underrated songs in my opinion, if you can even call a song that popular underrated. "Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite!" is certainly one of the stranger songs, but feels right as a summation of the A side of this album. "Within You Without You" also lands as one of the stranger songs, but I think these 'weird' songs are the beauty of The Beatles' studio bound years. The exploration of world music instruments and styles really is the beauty of the latter years. "When I'm Sixty Four" is certainly a departure from the sound of the previous two tracks. It's a fun bouncy track that if it weren't for the general strangeness of this album doesn't feel like it should fit. That and "Lovely Rita" both fit into the category of weaker songs on an amazing album. "Good Morning Good Morning" while maybe not your regular listening type of Beatles song is still a really great and fun song. Though the animal sounds on it do take it down a peg. The "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - Reprise" I almost like more than the originating track. "A Day In The Life" is a great track and a good way to end the album. Listening to albums I've heard before is great too because I get something new out of them. The exploration of different instruments and techniques in this album is what makes it one of my favorite albums. The mixing on the album is also very masterfully done. The hard panned vocals certainly throw you for a loop at times. Especially if like me you grew up on the bad digital stereo mixes that hard panned every sound and had no blending. If I weren't listening to the vinyl I would have assumed that was just the case. This is one of the few albums I have ever seen where every single song has its own Wikipedia article. Truly a masterpiece. All in all this is an amazing album that should be rated no lower than a 5 and anybody that puts it lower than a 4 just shouldn't be trusted in their judgement of music.
What in the actual FUCK is this album? It is just so damn bad. Early 80s New Wave and Synth-Pop is always very hit or miss. And this is one of the worst misses I have had the displeasure of listening to. The first few songs are mediocre at best. "Geisha Boys And Temple Girls" is problematic. It is creepy and racist and I'm sad I left Spotify to be able to listen to it. "Let's All Make A Bomb" while a strange song to follow that up with is probably the best song on the album. I do not understand how this album made it to the list. It wasn't even that influential to the genre. It's just terrible!
"Singapore" sounds like if Leonard Cohen were trying to sing in the style of "The Monster Mash" but right after smoking an entire pack of cigarettes. "Clap Hands" was just weird and I can't believe there is a polka song following it. I listened to the rest of the album, but I couldn't be bothered to trying to assess it any further. I can see how some people like him. I am not one of those people. His voice is just gross to me. The music isn't terrible, but it's simple. Maybe his four other entries on this list are better, maybe I'm finally just accepting that Robert Dimery is a bad music critic.
Terrible album! How does this at all belong on this list. I don't care who it allegedly inspired. It is a badly badly mixed album and bad music. I can't understand why this is on here. These are the albums that make me consider if this project is even worth finishing. I mean it's so bad Spotify doesn't have half the songs and whoever made the YouTube playlist couldn't even be bothered enough to put playlist the right way up so I heard the first 5 seconds of each song at least twice. Xbox 360 headsets had better audio quality than the mics they used to record this album. I am still hesitant to give it a 1 because there are worse albums, but I am just so tired of getting so many bad albums so it gets what it gets.
Good album just nothing too special. I prefer later Blur when they got more alternative. Brit-Pop is just not really my thing, but this is a great Brit-Pop album.
Good classic country that is just fun to listen to. Nothing to special on it, but it just puts a smile on your face and is an easy listen.
Noise Rock is a different kind of genre, it certainly is not for everybody. I would not place it as one of my favorite genres but I do enjoy this album. "Assassins" feels like a Muse interlude or filler track. It is good it just is all build with no resolve. Honestly that entire sentiment tracks for the album, "2 Towers" is seven minutes of build which is anxiety inducing. The back half of "On Fire" was good minus the vocals on that. "Longstockings" is a great track until the scratchy breakdown at the end and again minus the strange vocal parts. I want to love this album and at the same time I want to hate this album. Some of the noise was a little too much for me and other parts were amazing. It sounds like a lot of different artists most of the time I was getting Muse and I also heard some RHCP elements in there too and some others that I can't place but know. It is also a fairly quietly mixed album and I had to bump up my volume to hear it clearly.
There were two rules for music in my moms car, if Jack White comes on you have to call him a musical genius and if the Beastie Boys come on you crank the volume. So that is exactly what I did today. While this isn't my favorite of their album it is still a great listen and contains some deep cuts I haven't heard in years. I thoroughly enjoy getting the chance to re-listen to albums I've loved my entire life.
My best friend is probably the biggest Cocteau Twins fan I will ever meet and formally introduced them to me last year. I can't tell you how many nights I've spent with him on one of our couches or in one of our cars stoned out of our mind just disassociating to "Lorelei" and more songs from Heaven or Las Vegas. This album just brought about some good memories. While this is certainly their second best album and coming into it I only really knew "Lorelei" and the general sound of the band, I did enjoy this album. I found some tracks I like that I haven't heard before like "Pandora (For Cindy)" that were really good. All in all this was a great album to get blazed and vibe out so hard to.
Fake record static and skips ruin an album for me, I'm just imagining someone that buys this on vinyl and then is just frustrated with why the brand new album is in such bad condition. About the only thing that made the album better was thinking about that and laughing. "Frontier Psychiatrist" was good just because it's honestly relatable. I don't get why this is on here. I was doing homework so at least I didn't fully waste an hour of my life.
I liked this first half of this more than I expected. It was groovy and relaxing. The back half though I disliked thoroughly. It was strange and off putting to me. Speaking of off putting what the hell is this album cover.
A great classic album. RIP EVH! "Eruption" is top 10 on the list of songs that made teenage boys want to play guitar. The cover of "You Really Got Me" is one of the best covers of that song. "Jamie's Cryin'" was also a great track. Overall I liked the album, but it is not my favorite Van Halen album I look forward to 1984.
I wanted to like this album and some of it I really did enjoy. Some of it however I just can't get behind. I think that is the genre breakdown within the album, the experimental and psychedelic rock sides of it are great the electronica is where it loses me. I'm just conflicted on how to rate it probably needs more listens to appreciate it or hate it more.
I like this more than The Slider for sure. "Cosmic Dancer" is a classic and "Bang a Gong (Get It On)" is an all time classic. "Monolith" wa a somewhat deep cut on this album that I vibed with and "The Motivator" was the same way. Pretty good album.
A nice chill album to sit and listen to. "Sunken Treasure" was a vibe until the noise breakdown at the end still my favorite on the album. I also do like that Tweedy cut most of his proceeds from the album so he could sell it at a more affordable price. Not my favorite Wilco, but still a really good album. The second disc really made it for me.
I love Folk Rock so Americana and some Alt Country is fully in my lane. And knowing that she toured with Jason Isbell just makes me like her and this album more. "Right In Time" and the titular track were two of my favorites. I certainly attach more to the Americana aspects, but it is good Country music too. A very re-listenable album for sure!
"Suzanne" might be one of the most beautiful songs ever written. In my opinion it is his best song very closely followed by if not tied with "Hallelujah". The rest of the album is beautiful, albeit not nearly as special as the the first. While the second most popular song on the album, "So Long, Marianne" just didn't do it for me. It would have been strange buying "Suzanne" as a single and then experiencing that on the B-side. A beautiful album by an amazing songwriter.
My dad loves New Wave and particularly loves The Cure, so an album where I only know one song ahead of time is surprising to me. It is a good album, certainly not their best work but you can tell it is the foundation for a lot of New Wave and their later work.
This was an enjoyable album with a lot to listen for. I liked the bass line on most of the tracks and thought that it sat fairly well in the mix. I could see myself listening to some of the tracks again and possibly giving the album as a whole a second listen at some point and possibly boosting its rating.
It is an interesting album, it's just not my thing.
Pretty good album with some all time party bangers. Garage rock as a genre does tend to lose its allure for me around the 35 minute mark so this album being 55 minutes is just a little wearing. I still like the album, but prefer some of The Black Keys other albums more.
People will continue to debate what the best Led Zeppelin album is. I put my money on this album, though I do understand the case for most of their others as well. "Black Dog" is a beautiful way to open an album and it became an all time classic. "Rock and Roll" is a good track, though not my favorite. "The Battle of Evermore" I feel is an underrated track on this album, understandable why with the rest of the songs on here that it just doesn't quite hold up to. And then of course we have one of the top 5 greatest songs of all time on anybody's list. "Stairway to Heaven" is a masterpiece of a song. It alone could put this album at a 4 in the midst of bad songs, though obviously that is not the case. The only qualm I have is that it got so popular that it became the forbidden riff in guitar stores. "Misty Mountain Hop" and "Four Sticks" are the two weakest tracks on the album and I don't have much to say about them. But "Going to California" is my favorite Led Zeppelin song and I could listen to it on repeat for days and not get tired. It is amazing how it balances sad and hopeful in such a beautiful and effortless way. "When the Levee Breaks" is tonally different than the rest of the album, but is such a powerful song. It is also a masterclass in recording a cover song. This is an amazing album! It is an all time classic and one of the greatest albums of all time. I knew from the second it came up on my homepage that it was going to end up being a 5 star album!
Pretty good album. I enjoy the chill energy of a lot of their music. I knew "Why Does It Always Rain On Me?" coming into this and it still is my favorite from the album. "Driftwood" and "Writing To Reach You" were also highlights of this album. Though I enjoyed the style and the album as a whole it really wasn't anything too special.
A very good and very poignant album. I am not the right person to dissect the meaning of this album, but the message is important. Not to mention that the features on this album are insane from Thundercat to George Clinton to Snoop Dogg they all add special flare to their respective tracks. I will note that the fact that DAMN is not featured on the list is criminal. I'm not even typically a fan of rap and I know how important that album is. This album is good, but I don't see myself relistening to most of the album.
I respect Madonna's fame and notoriety as a musician and her impact on music as a whole will last forever. I just do not enjoy most of her music past her hits. It is just not my type of music and most of it is just meh. She gets a 3 instead of a 2 just because of her impact on music.
Wow that was not a good album. It had one or two good songs, but by the end I just had bad listening fatigue. I didn't hate it enough to give it a 1 so 2 it is.
This album gets a boost by being constantly played in my home growing up. Songs like "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" and "The One I love" are all time classics. The rest of the album is honestly a little bland, but the memories give it the extra point boost. An all time favorite!
If there is a album with a more famed and established list of songwriters I would like to put it head to head with this one and watch the world explode. James Brown and Curtis Mayfield alone puts this album in a separate category, but you also have The Vegases and Jerry Wexler. And of course not to mention the combination of Carole King and Gerry Goffin who are one of the best songwriting combinations of all time. And I won't even begin to list out the legendary list of artists that played on this album, as I already know this review is going to be substantially long. But damn, is that just as impressive if not more impressive. "Chain of Fools" is a fantastic opening track followed by a couple of solid fillers. Then you have the one and only "(You Make Me Feels Like) A Natural Woman" the fact that this is just the end of the A-Side is possibly the one disappointment of this album. It rightfully belongs as the culmination of a fantastic album (as Carole did on her fellow 5 star album Tapestry). "(Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You've Been Gone" is a great open to the B-Side. But the groove of "Good to Me as I Am to You" speaks to me in a special way. What a work of art on the bass! "Groovin'" is exactly what it claims to be. "Ain't No Way" is the only song that I can understand putting at the end over "A Natural Woman". The only way to end an album other than a song that powerful is with a song this heartfelt and powerful in a completely different way. All in all this is an album that you could apply every positive adjective you could ever think of to and it would be accurate. A masterpiece of an album! Anybody that gives it lower than a 4 star rating should be declared incompetent. That being said it should absolutely be a 5 star album!
I read Jazz Pop and then Steely Dan on the Wikipedia page and immediately rolled my eyes thinking I was going to dislike the album. I however was amazed at how much I enjoyed it. Right off the bat "I.G.Y." hits you with this groovy bass driven, borderline funky jam. I can see why this song is so loved by audiophiles and used as a reference song by so many sound engineers. It has so much to digest and I imagine in many more listens I will only continue to appreciate it. The next three songs are nice easy listens and then "New Frontier" is another fun energy boost right in the middle. The titular track is probably my least favorite on the album, but it still isn't a bad track. The final two tracks are a nice calm, but happy way to end an album. This is the first album I have found on this list that I had no exposure to beforehand and I instantly want to get on vinyl. Right now this is a 4 for me but I need to give it a 5 upon a few more listens.
One of the best modern country artists out there right now. Her list of artists that inspired her is a list that I loved to read from, John Prine (Rest in Peace!) to Alison Krauss (gotta respect somebody from my hometown who went to high school with my dad) to Jim Croce (my favorite songwriter) and even people like, Cake, Weezer, and ELO (the last of those you can hear on the song "Oh, What A World"). I'm leaving some notable country artists off of there but, the point is she has great taste in music. I also love a country artist that is willing to openly support progressive social movements, helps me not feel guilty about enjoying country music. As for this album "Slow Burn" is a wonderful song that is enjoyable to listen to and to find out she was on acid while writing it makes me like her even more. "Butterflies" was intriguing song with a lot to pick apart and some nice bass fills. The middle of the album is peaceful but mostly forgettable. I also quite enjoy the upbeat yet chill energy of "High Horse", it maybe sits a little late in the album for me but I like the song. "Golden Hour" was calm with an interesting guitar line. "Rainbow" is the perfect peaceful, but powerful way to end an album. All in all I enjoyed this album more than I expected to. I was expecting a 3 going in but by the end I felt it was a 4 for me. The calm energy that tows the line of country and folk is a musical spot that I love, though her voice gets a little twangy at points for my liking.
While I wholeheartedly believe that OK Computer is one of the greatest albums ever written and will certainly give it a 5 when it come up on my list, I do not enjoy much of their work that came after. I do admit the fact that it is largely due to my distaste for electronica, in fact my summary lists it as my worst genre. That being said I do feel there is a reason this album isn't as well known as their other albums like The Bends or Pablo Honey, or even their electronica albums of Kid A or In Rainbows. It feels like a lot less of a complete album as the other, its folly is likely that it was recorded in roughly two weeks. I think it also leans too heavily on the electronics at times, but I am impressed that they were mostly live recordings rather than overdubs. The electronics are overwhelming on some tracks and when they aren't, Thom often uses the whiney voice that I just despise to hear on any album. "We Suck Young Blood" is a good example of this, it is a lovely bass and piano song that is simple and erie with a surprising but wonderful uptempo break in the middle, but the song is just ruined by the whine. Though I did not love the album it did have some favorable parts. The message of course is good I love when people take the opportunity to chastise the failings of George W. Bush, I mean I was a Green Day kid that loved American Idiot. I also enjoy the bass work that drives a lot of the songs. The tracks that incorporate what you might consider more typical rock aspects are also more appealing to me. While I didn't hate the album the listening fatigue set in quick. I do feel as though my hatred of electronica is jading my perspective in giving it a low rating. Towards the end I started to appreciate it more for some of the musicality, but the fatigue made it too hard to give a second chance. Maybe it'll be one I revisit when I finish the list or after I give more of Radiohead's electronica albums a closer listen. It probably deserves better than a 2, but today that is just what it gets.
The volume levels are horrendous on this. At times I have to crank my volumes by 20 to 30 percent to be able to hear anything and others I have to drop them below normal to be able to not burst my eardrums. It's a live album so that might be some of it, but I think it was mostly intentional. I didn't dislike this album, but I don't think it is necessarily belongs on this list. It wasn't bad but it isn't that great of an album in my opinion.
There is no such thing as good house music, but if there was..... This would still be bad house music.
Joy Division and New Order were bands that I was raised on. While it isn't the sound from my childhood that I latched onto the most, I do love their music. This album is not as good as Unknown Pleasures to me. It is also a tragedy that "Love Will Tear Us Apart" was never released on an album. All in all a good album that reminds me of childhood.
This is a great album! I grew up on 80's New Wave especially Depeche Mode. I can't say that much about this album other than I love it and have so many good memories of these songs.
I liked it more than I expected to. I hate electronica as a genre in general so this is still a bad album, but it was very melodic and dark so I enjoyed it in that regard.
A pretty good album. I am not really a Lynyrd Skynyrd fan but this album contains two all time classics in "Simple Man", my personal favorite of the album, and "Free Bird". The latter is a great song, but I do think it is overhyped and it's just so long. It is also the bane of any gigging musicians existence so I like it less as a result of that. It is a good album with two great songs.
I am a massive folk fan and I absolutely recognize how amazing of a songwriter he is. I however hate Bob Dylan. I think almost every Bob Dylan cover is better than his originals. That is certainly the case here with "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue", easily the best two songs on the album. Both of them were done considerably better by The Byrds. Dylan's voice pre Royal Albert Hall concert is considerably better than after. But it is still just so nasally. And OH MY GOD put down the fucking harmonica once in awhile! After this list I will probably never intentionally play a Bob Dylan song again. This however does not deserve the one star that most of his other albums do.
This was a fun and funky album. I liked the bass but most of the time I wanted it to sit a little higher in the mix. It was a good album, just not really my thing.
This leans a little too country and less folk than I enjoy, but tows that line pretty well. I enjoy it more than I expected to at first. "Bluebird Wine" was the only track I knew well before this and it is a great song. "Boulder to Birmingham" was another standout track. "Sleepless Nights" based off listen counts is a underrated song on this album, it is calm and heartfelt. I really enjoyed this album a lot more than I thought I would.
A lot cooler than I expected. It was very fun. I don't love hip-hop so it isn't that much of my thing. If I knew how to speak french it might be more interesting.
It is a good album, but certainty a very interesting and strange album. I got a little overwhelmed at times, but was very intrigued at others. I though enjoy other psychedelic albums and other concept albums from the era better.
I hate Jazz, but the Afrobeat side of it was not too bad though. I just got listening fatigue way too early and I just did not like it. Might be a little unfair giving it a 1, but that is just how I feel right now.
A really good album, but just not my style.
Not a bad album, but not a good album either. Just very very meh. "Karma Chameleon" is a classic track, though very overdone as a meme and I'm over it. Nothing else really stands out to me on the album.
This album has some all time classic songs. It also has quite a bit of filler. But for a grunge album from 1995 it surprisingly does not get tiresome after 45 to 60 minutes. It holds up for the whole two hours. The filler isn't bad, but if it was just the highlights this would easily be a 5 star album. The filler drops it to a 4 and Billy Corgan being such a dick makes me want to drop it to a 3 or a 2, but if we are separating the art from the artist this stands as a 4 star album.
A decent album, but not Bowie's best. The front half is fairly weak as far as Bowie's songwriting goes. The back half includes some fun ambient tracks that would be nice to chill out and vibe to while high as hell. Maybe will revisit it at some point in the future. Right now I feel it is a 3 star album, mostly because of the quality of his other work.
While this is not my favorite Metallica album, that title going to The Black Album, it does contain what I think is my favorite Metallica song though with "One". I do agree with the criticisms of the mix and have laughed at my fair share of ...And Justice For All lack of bass memes. It just isn't there. The length of these songs for a metal album is also a point against the album. Despite these negatives there are way more positives and this is still a great album that certainly deserves its spot on this list.
I was raised on 80s New Wave, and while I never choose to listen to it on my own time I do have a soft spot for it. This is a pretty good New Wave album, it has a couple of all time classic songs in "Shout" and "Everybody Wants To Rule The World". Another standout on the album was "The Working Hour", the rest of it didn't stick out much to me but was a nice chill listen.
Not Van Morrison's best album. Not a bad album though. I am disappointed that this is on here but Blowin' Your Mind! isn't. Decent just not anything special.
Kraftwerk is what I would consider "good electronica" but then again there is no such thing as "good electronica" so still just not my thing.
Norwegian Death Punk.....what a unexpected genre to see come up. It was actually a pretty good album and I was pleasantly surprised.
This is not a good album, I do not understand its place on this list. It was made well past the height of Synth-Pop and wouldn't even break the top 10 in the genre on anybody's list. And what the hell is Post-Disco. This might have ruined a Buffalo Springfield classic for me. I did not need a 4 minute synth version of it. I do have to give him credit though. He produced some of my favorite albums and songs by The Killers. Luckily this album didn't quite seep into those to have enough effect to make them bad.
A pretty good album. "Common People" was certainly the highlight of the album. It is a really good song that is pretty much my idea of good Britpop. I would listen to this entire album again.
A decent album. Not really my thing, but it is a groovy album with a wide range of features. Thundercat is a god of a bass player and I aspire to be a 10th as good as he is. And his main bass is just insane and I can't imagine trying to stretch my hands around that thing.
Just meh, very mediocre. I didn't hate it but there is so much better country out there to listen to. A Guitar Town is my type of town though.
It's not a bad album, but I just don't see why I needed to listen to this before I die.
Decent Punk from the 70s. It's good, but I don't have the formative memories of this album in the way I do with The Clash or Sex Pistols.
This is a great album. An absolute classic. "It's Tricky" and "Walk This Way" are amazing songs. "Walk This Way" might be the best cover song/collaboration song of all time. Not all the tracks are classics, but every one of them is worth hearing.
This wasn't as bad as I expected it to be. That does not mean it was good because it wasn't. "La femme d'argent" was certainly the highlight of the album. Some of the chill energy at the end was a nice vibe though not my favorite musically. Overall it had decent bass, but that was really the last of the positives for me. I just don't understand why Robert Dimery has such a affinity for Electronica.
This was a good album. I really enjoy the energy of this album and would re-listen to pretty much all of it. "Electronic Renaissance" being one of the lowlights of the album. The first two tracks were probably the best of the album with my personal favorite being "The State I Am In". "I Could Be Dreaming" was a song that I enjoyed, but didn't necessarily feel as though it fit the album in the way I wanted it to. "My Wandering Days Are Over" was another song I liked quite a bit. Overall a really good album that I would enjoy listening to again.
I am just not a fan of 95% of the Synth-Pop/New Wave era of music. This is not an exception. It is just mildly ok Synth music. I have heard much worse Synth music, but also have heard much better. "Cars" is a good classic track though. That however is all I really enjoyed about this album.
Ah yes, the racist, pedophillic, incestual, music stealing piece of shit. That being said, for 1964 this is a fairly well recorded live album. That doesn't mean it's recorded well, just not bad for the time. I'm not quite sure why half the album is missing but I am also not complaining. The two songs he is credited as a songwriter on are the two weakest on the album and the others are about half as good as their originals. Live albums in general just do not have a place as an album that I MUST hear before I die. There are very few worth listening to and this just isn't one of them.
While I would consider Hysteria their best album, this is a pretty good album. The highlights for me were "Photograph", "Too Late For Love", and "Rock Of Ages" the middle being my personal favorite.
This was a fun groovy album that was nice to listen to. The bass was fantastic and really drove the album. I however did not love the length of some of the songs, I just think anything over about 5-7 minutes has to do a lot to justify the length. I think "Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic" did justify the song length, but nothing justifies a song title that long. "By The Time I Get To Phoenix" was also another lowlight it was just so slow and I don't love the talking over the cymbal taps. The second half of the song goes back to the form of the rest of the album and is chill and groovy. I'm between a 3 and a 4 so I'm going to give it the bump up and will be more likely to give it another chance.
Of CSN and sometimes Y (I laughed way too hard writing that, curse my Dad and his love of tagging me in dad jokes on Facebook), I probably listen to Stills the least. And I certainly hadn't heard of this band from one of their breaks. This is a good album, though it skews more bluesy than I typically prefer. I tend to like the more folk rock aspects of CSNY. Some of this hits that spot but most falls in that blues route. "Jet Set (Sigh)" was probably my favorite track, it was a great blues song that had an exciting turn at the end of it. I do find it hilarious that all four members of CSNY had an album in the top five at the same time, though two of them were together on an album.
This is my third and final Blur album on this list, funny enough I got them in reverse order of release. While the other two were certainly more commercially popular, I think this one is my favorite of the three. It is just so musically intriguing to me. Parklife and their self titled album are just a little more alt rock and loud while this is a slightly quieter and full of interesting instrumentation. The mixing is also very well done, some of the pans on songs like the guitar intro to "Colin Zeal" starting panned hard right and then panning over to the middle and then a second guitar that is panned more left. The bass intro on that track is fantastic too. I still can't quite get over the typical Brit-Pop vocal sound though on some tracks like "Villa Rosie" it flows a lot better for my ears. Great Album!
It is a decent album with some interesting aspects to it and good bass. But overall I don't think it is all too special. "I'm Glad" is probably the track that I like the most, but the one that feels like it belongs on the album the least.
I'm not a big hip-hop guy, but this is a fun groovy album with some great bass lines. I love the amount that this album talks about weed, because I just love weed. I also appreciate this album for giving me one of my favorite Rage Against The Machine songs which I also just learned was a cover. I really enjoyed this album.
Wow this is just a terrible album. Only two songs of twelve are under 5 minutes and 7 over 6 and a half minutes. All of them too long. My ears were hurting after the first three songs and it never stopped. I don't get how anybody can listen to Techno. I really cannot believe this band has a second album on this list either. Just a really bad album, I will never understand Dimery's affection for electronic based music, there is just way too much of it on the list for the to all be musts.
My mom is a big Elvis Costello fan and she was excited when I got this album today. Unfortunately I will have to be disappointing her, while I do think this is a good album it is really just not my thing. Costello is a wonderfully talented musician and I respect his impact on music and I know he is a particularly creative lyricist. It just doesn't really hit the spot for me.
I did not expect to be reading about the history of "swinging" today, but that is the beauty of having the Wikipedia articles hyperlinked on here. Part of me likes to think that this was the reason for the choice of name. Sinatra had such a wonderfully smooth voice. I normally have a lot more to say about my 5 star albums. This one speaks enough for itself without me talking too much about it. "You Make Me Feel So Young" and "I've Got You Under My Skin" are all time classics and cement my choice of a 5. I Would very happily listen to it top to bottom again.
I love the musical genius that is David Byrne. This however is not his best work. I am constantly disappointed that Speaking in Tongues is not included in this book, its my favorite of the Talking Heads albums. Stop Making Sense is also one that should be included, but that is something that should be watched instead of just listened to. All that is not to say that I didn't enjoy this album because I did like this album. I think I'd only put two or three of the songs as essential to knowing the Talking Heads. Just a lot of deep cuts.
This album aged better than the Slim Shady LP. I still find it hard to believe how into Eminem I was in middle school, I could have ended up much differently if I had kept listening to him religiously. It is a pretty good album, but I just hate the use of slurs in pretty much any music so it takes me out of it when it is just so prevalent.
I don't love this album that's for sure, but it is not a bad album. "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" in my opinion is one of the most overrated and overplayed songs ever. The message is good, but damn Cyndi I got it the first thousand times it was said in the song. "Time After Time" still holds up and I think it is a great timeless song. I never realized how great the bass on that song was. The bass on the album as a whole was the real highlight to me. I think this is the perfect definition of a 3 for me. I didn't love it, but it was a nice listen that I didn't dislike. It has a couple of timeless classics (even if I was a little hard on one of them) that everybody should hear at least once. Though in reality a 3 ends up being a much more broadly assigned rank.
When I refreshed the page this morning and saw this album pop up on my screen I was so immensely happy. This is one of my favorite albums of all time and Fleet Foxes one of my top bands. To put it in perspective, 5 of the 11 songs are in my daily playlist (10 total by the band), and 4 made it to the playlist I made for my mom to get a better grasp on the music I love. All that to say it is an instant 5 for me and I am more than happy to give it another listen through with some long listening notes (song by song time! WOOT WOOT!). "Sun It Rises" - I love the traditional folk vocal intro to set the pace of the album in a way. The guitar intro is fun and uplifting and the ethereal vocals on the rest of the song fit my listening style of treating the voice as an instrument and not noticing lyrics right away quite well. The outro riff gives me a almost strokes vibe. "White Winter Hymnal" - It sounds like they are making an indie folk cover of a traditional folk song, but no its an original. I do love the Pentatonix version of this one too. "Ragged Wood" - This is one of the best songs on the album, certainly a departure from the first two song in terms of rhythm and BPM, it plays to its favor though pulling you back in after you drift off to dreamland during "White Winter Hymnal". The bass on this song is fantastic when it is poking through in the energetic parts it is captivating and then a simple but not overbearing bass solo as it then builds instrument on instrument back to that energy. I have listened to this song 62 times according to Spotistats and have never really had the reaction I just had to the bass on that song and I processed some of the vocals in a way I hadn't before. It sounds cheesy, but that moved me. Maybe it was listening through my studio headphones instead of speakers for once but it was amazing. "Tiger Mountain Peasant Song" - This goes back to that traditional folk sound of the doubled guitars making a harp like sound is just purely gorgeous. When they sync up for a measure or two at a time it brings the contrast of the two together. It reminds me of the composition of Simon & Garfunkel's "Scarborough Fair/Canticle". The near shouted vocals on the what I guess you could call choruses have such a visceral feeling to them. "Quiet House" - This is probably my least favorite track on the album. It has amazing instrumentation to it especially that bass it really pulls the other parts together. The "Don't give in" section is what really throws me off, I just hear "Donkey Man" over and over again. The guitar on the outro is also very fantastic. I still really like the track just not my favorite. "He Doesn't Know Why" - I can't quite place my finger on it but the vocals on the intro reminds me so much of another song. It has bothered me since the first time I heard this song and still does. Great song with more great instrumentation. I love the in sync rests they do just before the bridge. "Heard Them Stirring" - I don't have too much to say about this one. It is a good filler track. I don't have strong feelings either way it is just a meditative respite in the middle of the album. "Your Protector" - Another of my favorites. The vocal and flute intro is very gently powerful. The build of the chugging cymbal leading into the bass dig in and then an explosion of instrumentation. There is so much to dissect in this song and I love it more and more each time. "Meadowlarks" - Another one of my lower listen count songs. I love the guitar part under the vocals. They work as two different songs in one that just fit with each other. The chorus of vocals that come in for the middle of the song are very relaxing. The song as a whole is very relaxing. A little too low energy for it to be on my everyday playlist, but I love it. "Blue Ridge Mountains" - The song named for my favorite place on this planet. Is it my favorite for that reason or because it is just an amazing and beautiful song. A little combination. I do prefer the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina but close enough. Another traditional folk sound on the intro. I close my eyes and I am taken there while listening. I can't wait to go back. It is the most beautiful and peaceful places I have ever been. Its fitting for one of the best Indie Folk albums to have a song about part of Appalachia one of the birthplaces of American music and particularly folk. Everybody should drive at least part of the Blue Ridge Parkway in their life. The rolling blue mountains for as far as the eye can see just have the most beautiful calming aspect. "Oliver James" - Another "lowlight" of the album for me. Doesn't mean it isn't a good song I just wish it was in a different spot and it ended with the fade out of "Blue Ridge Mountains". I was going to try to provide a little bit of an objective review at the end but that will not be possible. This is a top 10 album for me all time. It is just a beautiful indie folk album that is in my opinion and absolute must listen before you die. If for some reason you are still reading my long winded review I highly recommend that you listen to A Very Lonely Solstice by Fleet Foxes. It is one of my favorite live recorded albums I have ever heard. It certainly benefits from being recorded with no audience during COVID so not a live album in the typical way. I love this album, I love this band, I was having a stressful week and this just melted so much of my stress away.
I'm surprised just how much I like this. I normally despise house music. This is just chill enough for me, probably those soft rock samples. Like most house music it does have really good bass synths they manage to not be overwhelming which tends to be a rarity in house. The rest of the synths find a somewhat peaceful balance too, again a rarity. It is a very very rare day when something listed as house or electronica gets higher than a two from me. The titular track is just weird, funny but very weird. Quite a few good names there (though some pronounced horribly wrong). Not sure I love that with the title itself makes me concerned. Though after reading the Wiki page about the song those both make so much more sense. But anytime you name drop my hometowns most famous band I'll like it. I have to be an REO fan by law. Though this being on the list and none of theirs being here should be against that law.
Decent album, really just more ok Britpop that good ole Bobby Dimery is obsessed with. This does fit on the better end of the britpop he put on here. The influences from The Smiths are very apparent, probably why I like this more than most Britpop. I liked it, but nothing stood out to me from it.
A good groovy album. Just a nice album to sit around and vibe out to. It's better than their self titled, but it is a shame that "For What It's Worth" didn't make an appearance on the list. By far their best song of course. I don't know if it quite makes the bump to a 4 star for me, but if I put it there now I'll be more likely to listen again and give it another try.
The titular song is amazing. Past that it is just mediocre still gets the bump to a 3 because of the legendary song.
Very meh album. I thinks its good just nothing special. "Phanta" was probably my favorite track. "Deceptacon" is also a good track.
My initial reaction to opening the Wiki was "What the Fuck Rob Dimery, an Electronic album from 2019 has zero place on this list" My sentiment remains similar, I think there are much better albums from the era that could take its place. It is not another horrible electronic album. It certainly leans more towards the Ambient genre it is listed as. The first three tracks are actually very good. It gets a little more forgettable after that. Didn't dislike the album, just not something that is a must listen. Especially considering he has four more albums on this list.
Unfortunately this is the only of Simon & Garfunkel's studio albums I don't own on vinyl and it's the first of the three on this list that I have gotten. The second I see it in a record store I will certainly be buying it. This is not my favorite of their album, but it is still a 5 star album. "Bookends Theme" - A intro that is short and simple and sounds like a S&G instrumental track. (Reprise) - The way the note from the last song fades in. This is the instrumental at the start with the lyrics you'd expect to be there. Great way to do a reprise. "Save the Life of My Child" - This sounds like somebody covering a S&G song. By that I mean it feels like a S&G song in the lyrics and rhythm, but after that it sounds like a psych band got their hands on it. I like it but it throws me off every time how little it feels like it belongs. "America" - One of my favorite all time S&G tracks. Truly an all time classic and a example of perfect lyrical storytelling. I could write an essay on this song alone, but I will leave it simple and call it one of the most beautiful songs that has ever been written. "Overs" - Definitely a deep cut in the S&G discography, a good chill out song. The guitar drives the track in the most beautifully subtle way. "Voices of Old People" - Yeah....could have done without this one if I'm being honest. Just disconcerting. I could see this one being the reason it drops a star for some people. "Old Friends" - Wow! I don't know that I have listened to this song with as much focus before. The strings tell a story within a story. They start more elegant and in tune with the story and lyrics and as the song goes on they become more chaotic. I also love how that last high note fades into the Theme Reprise. "Fakin' It" - Another somewhat disconcerting start of a song. A bridge into the psychedelic folk world. It's a genre I as a folk head should like more than I do. I like psych music too which is why that confuses me even more. That aside it is still a good song. "Punky's Dilemma" - I too wish I was Kellogg's Cornflake Paul. Not sure about the English Muffin though. I love the bass on this track. A different type of deepcut still a good one. "Mrs. Robinson" - This song speaks for itself and is one of the greatest songs of all time. The guitar on this song is fantastic and I love trying to dissect it. Lyrically fantastic as well of course, no surprise there. "A Hazy Shade of Winter" - The one S&G song that I think you can argue the cover version is better. The Bangles made this song their own. This is still a great version of it and yes the original, but it belongs to The Bangles. "At the Zoo" - The walking bass line does a great job of driving the song from the background. There is so much going on that grabs your attention. The bass pokes through that haze but doesn't overpower any of it. An immaculate album indeed. Not their best, but contains some of their best songs. An all time classic and certainly a must hear.
Very few people can command a stage quite like James Brown could. And literally nobody I've ever heard before could translate it so well to a live recording. And damn is the audio quality great on this for a live album from 1963! Great performer, great artist, great album!
The teenage boy inside of me really wants to love a band named Butthole Surfers, I just don't though. Noise Rock is just not my thing. "Human Cannonball" sounds more like a classic Punk track and is probably my favorite. It's an album that I get why some people like it and the name of the band is just awesome, just not my thing.
I really love parts of this and then others get too experimental for my tastes and the noise rock aspects are overbearing. "Two Doves" was my favorite song from the album. Overall the bass was very good throughout the album.
An album of Beach Boys deep cuts. I mean it is still a good album, but it's just not an amazing album. I do like it more than Surf's Up which I also thought was a strange inclusion when neither of their first two albums got a spot. The influence of those two albums on Surf Rock and then the influence of Surf Rock on so many other genres makes me so confused as to why they didn't get a spot. The leading single on both of those albums have more streams by themselves than this entire album totaled. I however won't disagree with the inclusion of Pet Sounds. Good album just not anything more than a 3 star to me.
A good album over all and really good bass. It just is all deep cuts and not really anything too special. I like the Temptations, but there are other albums that belong on here over this.
GOOD FUCKING PUNK! Without the 80s punk scene in Arlington, Virginia and Washington D.C., Nirvana would not have been what it was. The Foo Fighters wouldn't exist and music would be a different world than what we know now. I am a much bigger fan of MacKaye's work on this than I was on Fugazzi when that came up for me. Good album that I was happy to listen to.
Instant 5 Star album! "Is This It" - A good LoFi sounding indie song with a very rounded bass sound that cuts through the faded sound of the rest of the song quite well. "The Modern Age" - A good song but certainly not my favorite on the album. "Soma" - I think this is a bit of an underrated song on the album. A very good intro though the rest leaves a tiny bit to be desired. "Barely Legal" - A really good song and I like the guitar on the bridge and the bass work. The chorus guitar work is not my favorite though. "Someday" - My personal favorite song on the album. It is an all time classic indie rock song that I listen to on a regular basis. "Alone, Together" - In terms of deep cut tracks this is the one I would say is the best. "Last Nite" - Another all time indie rock classic. While the most popular it is not the best to me. It is a great song with so much good energy to it. "Hard To Explain" - My number 2 track on the album I would say. It is nice and bouncy making for a good listen. "New York City Cops" - A good song that has a wonderfully accurate political message to it that sadly is still too accurate 21 years later. "Trying Your Luck" - This is a lot more chill than the rest of the album which is also a good thing for me. It is one of the tracks that I notice more of the lyricism on. Also really good sounding bass and a nice chunky guitar tone. "Take It Or Leave It" - Good song, but not my personal favorite song but has good energy. I would like it more a little higher in the track listing to end the album on the chill of the previous track, but that's just personal preference. An all time classic album and one of my personal favorites!
This was a good album. It was very intriguing to me I heard a lot of things I like and I look forward to listening to it again to try to pick out even more interesting sections.
Why the hell is this on the list? My issues with Rob Dimery are really highlighted by his modern additions to his list. I feel like I could make the most dogshit Britpop-Electronica crossover album of all time and he would add it to the list without a second thought. The Search For Everything - John Mayer The Nashville Sound - Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit Capacity - Big Thief DAMN. - Kendrick Lamar Stranger in the Alps - Phoebe Bridgers Those are just 5 albums released in 2017 that aren't included on this list but absolutely deserve a spot on this list over another mediocre unheard of album. I could probably include more from that year but my point stand with those 5. I did not hate the album so I am being a little harsh. I would listen to any of those 5 albums 10 times each before I replayed this one though. Its a 2 star album because I'm pissed about the disrespected albums, but it might deserve a 3 if I was in a different mood.
A very formative band to prog rock and music as a whole just not really my type of music. But I do really have to appreciate the arrangements on it and just how good some of the guitar is.
Not R.E.M.'s best album but still a great album. "Radio Free Europe" is certainly the highlight of the album. It is a lot more chill of an album, while not what I think of when I think of R.E.M. I enjoy their softer side.
I really have nothing to say, this is just a very ok album. Not good not bad, but I don't want to give it anything more than a 2 star rating.
All Nirvana studio albums are deservingly 5 star albums, and I cannot wait to get to the Unplugged album on the list that is one of the greatest live albums of all time. And so it is also time for a song by song review. "Serve The Servants" - Not bad but just a week intro track for what lies deeper within the album. "Scentless Apprentice" - This is where I could see a lot of people turning off the album because they don't have the patience to go further, not a good song. "Heart Shaped Box" - Not only one of the greatest Nirvana songs of all time, just straight up one of the greatest songs of all time. Its musically speaking one of their more complex songs and lyrically is just a magnificently complex and painful love song. Or about cancer, but even if Cobain himself said that is what it is about, I just doubt it. "Rape Me" - Made sure to turn the volume down on this one before it started. Don't need the neighbors asking questions. It is an amazing song despite not being one you can blast in public. It is a classic feminist track at this point and while crude gets the message across. "Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge On Seattle" - Holy hell is that a long song title. This is certainly as much of a filler song as the two opening tracks, but certainly in a more classic Nirvana tone that is much more digestible. Very painful and somewhat concerningly relatable lyrics. "Dumb" - Whether you believe Cobain's interpretation of his song or the one his daughters interpretation 21 years after his death the meaning is sad and relatable. There are many people I can place in his description that I am just confused but oddly jealous of their contentment in life. But I personally relate to the outer view more always working to progress myself and become a better person every day. But it's not always easy sometimes I just want to space out and let the world go by around me and just be happy. His daughter's feelings towards the song are also relatable to the feelings of inadequacy I sometimes feel. A great song that has so much to think about despite its simplicity. "Very Ape" - It is filler, but pretty good filler at that. Nothing more to say really. "Milk It" - I think it must be the bass, but I just really enjoy this song. It doesn't quite feel like a Nirvana song but more of the later side of darker grunge music. I like that side of grunge too but usually think there is more separation between the eras. "Pennyroyal Tea" - Another great Nirvana sounding somewhat filler track. The vocals also somewhat remind me of Chris Cornell, though very much so same genre same era. "Radio Friendly Unit Shifter" - Just more filler. All I really have to say. "Tourette's" - This is what I call bad filler. But really the only bad song on the album. "All Apologies" - Maybe one of my favorite Nirvana songs. Just a great track. So beautiful and expressed with so much pain behind it. All around one of the greatest albums of all time and certainly very deserving of a place on this list. One of my all time favorites too.
A great album that was very of its time in the ironic way they intended. "Time to Pretend", "Electric Feel", and "Kids" have become cultural icons in music. The Youtube channel Middle 8 did a wonderful video essay on the band that I recommend to anybody that enjoys this album. "Weekend Wars" was a highlight track that I never noticed in my first few listens of this album, great bass and interesting melodies on that song.
This is a pretty damn good hip hop album. I love Jurassic 5's collaborations with Dave Matthews as well.
Decent shoegaze but there are significantly better albums in the genre. The highlights for me were "In a Different Place", "Polar Bear", "Decay", and "Vapour Trail" the last of those being the only one I knew before today. Good album but just not super special to me.
I love the instrumentation on this album a lot. I don't love Fagen's vocals on this album. Though I did really love his solo album. I think I am going to give this the bump to a 4 just because I enjoyed it a lot more than I expected. I highly recommend watching Polyphonic's YouTube video "Steely Dan: More Than Just a Band" if you want to learn more about Steely Dan. My favorite songs were "Rikki Don't Lose That Number", "Any Major Dude Will Tell You, and the titular track. Overall a really good album with amazing bass and drums.
Decent punk, decent new wave. Doesn't do either great though. It is a good album to just have on in the background.
Jefferson Airplane's impact on music is far greater than their actual music. This is by no means a bad album in fact it is a damn good album. I just don't think it gets the bump to a 4 or 5 star album for me. My top tracks were "She Has Funny Cars" and "Somebody to Love" the latter being the one that nearly bumped it to a 4 in my book.
If I don't give the album containing "Black Magic Woman" a 5 I would be insulting all guitar players. Santana is a God among men on the guitar. I still always find it hard to believe though that Fleetwood Mac wrote the song. "Oye Como Va" is another all time classic. My other highlights are "Incident at Neshabur" and "Samba Pa Ti" I could say more but its Santana and he speaks well enough for himself.
A legendary album! An all time classic that deserves a 5 instantly. So song by song time. "Once" - A great grunge track that just rocks! "Even Flow" - This one speaks for itself. That intro riff is one any self respecting music fan knows from the first second. The one thing I have always wanted from this song was more bass in the mix. Other than that it is a perfect song. "Alive" - Another perfect song. I can't quite put it into words, but the song just speaks to you and it's impactful on many levels. Also a legendary guitar solo, one of the all time greats in an all time great song. "Why Go" - This song makes up for the bass that is missing on the first few tracks. Certainly a deeper cut on the album, but it is still is a good song. "Black" - For a grunge song from a grunge band it is just so melodic and beautiful. Vocally and lyrically it is also particularly gorgeous. If you close your eyes and let the song take you on a ride it is absolutely worth it. And good bass that sits too low in the mix. "Jeremy" - Another guitar intro that everybody should instantly recognize. I love where the bass sits in this song in addition to great guitar and drums. It is also lyrically complex and sad. "Oceans" - This is where we get to the more deep cut tracks. I don't have strong feelings either way on it really. The lyrics/vocal style take me out of it a little bit. Good instrumentation though. "Porch" - For a deeper cut on the album it is a great song. I think the more uptempo energy of it is a bit off-putting compared to the rest of the album. "Garden" - More good instrumentation with mediocre lyrics and vocals. It also contains a good guitar solo that I quite enjoyed. "Deep" - Not bad just by a decent margin the worst song on the album. "Release" - This is a good outro song. I love downtempo songs to end an album and this serves the job perfectly. Don't know that I love the hidden track though. All in all this is one of the all time great albums. The back half is slightly disappointing given just how great the front half is. The front half automatically solidifies it as a 5 star album though. I will always enjoy giving this album another listen.
Man Q-Tip is just so much better on a project than he is in his solo work. Also when he is in the booth he thrives, man can produce the hell out of an album. This is an amazing hip-hop album and I look forward to listening to their second album when it comes up for me. The bass on this album was amazing. My top tracks were "Push It Along", "Luck of Lucien", "I Left My Wallet in El Segundo", "Can I Kick It?", and "Youthful Expression" the second to last of those being my favorite. Great Album!
Good album with good instrumentation. I just didn't like it as much as Pretzel Logic or Fagen's solo album The Nightfly. I liked the album, but I do not see myself returning to it later.
I can't not give this album 5 stars. It is an all time classic and foundational to so much music. Especially a lot of the bands that I love. Every song is good but my personal favorites are; "Out on the Weekend", "Harvest", "Heart of Gold" (My number one on here and an all time great song), "Old Man", and "The Needle and the Damage Done". An all time great album from an all time great artist. I would much rather have Neil Young on Spotify than Joe Rogan, but unfortunately they don't feel the same.
A classic formative pop punk album for sure. I think there are better albums in the genre and era and even from the band. The top tracks for me were; "Gotta Get Away" (which sounds like it should be a Nirvana song at the start), "Come Out and Play", and "Self Esteem". I think for me it gets the nostalgia boost to a 4 star rating, but I do think there are some much better albums from that year that are missing from the list.
This is a damn groovy album! I just love good bass work on any album and this is some damn exceptional bass work. And of course the titular track is an all time classic. "He's the Greatest Dancer" has to be my favorite song on the album though.
I think of the numbered Led Zeppelin album this is probably my least favorite. "Immigrant Song" is such a strong opener, but other than "Since I've Been Loving You" the rest of the album falls somewhat flat for me. I know that'll disappoint any hardcore Zeppelin fans but oh well.
A pretty good blues album. Nothing more to say about it really.
Didn't even have to think about my choice for a second. Instant 5 star album! American Idiot: A great opening and titular track. A classic song that when listened to right is a wonderful protest song, and when listened to wrong becomes a beautiful form of irony. Jesus of Suburbia: While the song doesn't compare to it's inspiration in terms of sound or legacy, it is a damn good song, that even at 9 minutes and 8 seconds long doesn't drag. Holiday: If the fact that this is a protest album hadn't set in yet this track has to make it apparent. Boulevard of Broken Dreams: This track really just speaks for itself. It is one that stands on its own as its single and while I don't mind the message behind the album it is nice to have a less political song. Are We the Waiting: I think this song is super underrated just a nice melodic break in the middle of the punk. St. Jimmy: Good classic punk sound for the first half and more rock opera like at the end. Not my favorite but good. Give Me Novacaine: Also very underrated, I like melodies and I will not apologize for it. I love punk and pop punk but they could benefit from more melodic parts sometimes. She's a Rebel: Not bad just not that special of a song on this good of an album. Extraordinary Girl: This is probably the weakest song on the album, just nothing special about it. Letterbomb: I like this song a lot, but I get why it isn't as popular. Wake Me Up When September Ends: I mean it is the all time classic song. It is just such a damn good song. Though I hate the memes that get made from it and the annoying commenters that "inform" everybody what it is about even though we all already know. Homecoming: This tries to do everything that "Jesus of Suburbia" did, but it just doesn't quite do it as well. It is supposed to be the wrap up to the story and it does have a lot of resolve to it, just not as much of a hitter on its own. Whatsername: Just a nice closing song to a great album! I love Green Day I love this album! Green Day was my first ever concert and I went with my Mom. Will forever be one of my favorite memories! This album is a 5 in so many ways and just never gets old. As a concept album and as a album with great singles it excels. Polyphonic on YouTube has a great video breaking down this album.
I love folk but damn do I just not like Dylan. The pre-Royal Albert Hall (1966 tour in general) era of Dylan is a lot more tolerable than his later work. Though better his voice is still whiny on this album and just wrecks what are admittedly really good songs at their core. And for the love of GOD if Dylan just never found the harmonica I might actually like some of his music. I like this album more than most of Dylan and "Like a Rolling Stone" is an all time classic of course. And like most Dylan, it has fantastic lyricism and instrumentation, but I just would like all of these songs better covered by somebody else. I am overly harsh to Dylan and I think it would get a 3 or 4 depending on a different artist, but he gets a 2 today.
This feels like it's just on here because it is a Bowie album. It really isn't anything more than mediocre, especially when you compare it to the body of work that Bowie is known for. Just let the good Bowie albums speak for themselves and don't focus on the mediocre albums.
Certainly a formative album to the genre of Heavy Metal, but the genre isn't really my thing to begin with nor is it particularly exciting compared to others in the genre. Great guitar as to be expected. Not too bad of an album all together though. I did however skip out on the two unavailable songs.
Sure you can argue what the best U2 album is, but if you are arguing any album other than this one then I'm afraid that you are just wrong. Easy 5 star album. I would normally do a song by song review, but today I'm just not in the mood. It deserves one and I'll get around to it when the edit feature comes around. U2 is one of the two bands that I instantly associate with my Dad. I have so many good memories of listening to U2 in the house while I was growing up. The opening three songs are all time classics that instantly cemented this album's legacy. And tracks like "Bullet The Blue Sky", "Running To Stand Still", and "In God's Country" are all amazing tracks in their own right and just bolster the album's resume. And even the less popular songs on the album are pretty good.
There are certainly far worse albums on this list, and far worse albums with disappointingly better global ratings. That being said, I just have never really bought into the Beyoncé hype. I think she is a good singer and certainly very damn attractive, but just not as good as the overwhelming hype she gets every time a single word leaves her mouth. The first three tracks have all become classics, the titular song having gained an unintentional but extremely powerful message behind it. All in all it is a very mediocre album that even though it isn't my thing I can at least understand why it made the list.
This is a very interesting album. I am not exactly sure what to think of it. I certainly hear the Nick Cave influences in this album, I also hear a bit of Scott Walker at times. I do really enjoy it, but like when I got my first Scott Walker album on the list, I just have a hard time actually digesting it. I think it will get a 4 from me today and a revisit at a later date. Pretty good album.
Jack White is a musical genius. This is a damn good album. Though I would say as far as his discography goes this falls fairly middle of the road. My top tracks in order are; "Fell in Love with a Girl", "Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground", "I Think I Smell A Rat", and "We're Going To Be Friends". Though I do not think there is a bad song on the album. Great album, just not quite a 5 star when I compare it to other White Stripes albums.
When all you really know from Pixies is "Where Is My Mind?" this album is a bit of a surprise. That's not to say I'm complaining, I love me some grungy punk like this. The aforementioned song is by far the best on the album it is a damn all time great track! Other standout tracks are "Broken Face", "Gigantic", "Cactus", and "Tony's Theme" the last of those being a very fun song.
I mean I know it is a formative album and "In The End" is an all time classic song. But I just can't get into Nu Metal. I don't know what I want to give it, but the aforementioned song is making me lean towards bumping it up to a 3 star.
This album is a lot to process. Cole cited Bob Dylan directly as an influence, and while I don't hear this as much in the sound, I can tell from the lyricism. The good thing is the one thing I actually like about Dylan is his lyrics, I can't stand his whine or the egregious use of harmonica, but he can write a damn good song. He also cites Booker T. & the M.G.'s, which for that to be mentioned by name seems heavy for the one song I recognize their influence on. I might be mistaken, but I hear quite a bit of Elvis Costello's influence on the album, if the band name didn't hint at the like of him. I also get a bit of Nick Cave in the first half of the album, and if naming conventions do mean anything to this band, it also tracks. All that wordiness behind me I do like the album, not sure if I'd give it another listen or if it is a "Must Hear", but it's good.