I listened to this with my wife and now I'm pregnant, so - five stars.

Man, time has a weird way of changing the way thinks look. I mean, as far as mid-90s rap goes, this is probably as good as it gets if your name isn't De La Soul. I didn't listen to this back then, but I knew it was a big assed deal. But today, listening to this and reading about Tupac... I mean... I feel like I would hate this dude automatically if he was a bearded white guy. 1992 he dropped his gun, it discharged and killed a 6-year-old. He beat another rapper with a baseball bat. He raped a 19-year-old and went to prison for it. So I mean... sure, it's you against the world, I guess. You sound like an asshole.

So - an incubus is a spirit that rapes women and I mean, yeah, that's pretty much the vibe I get from this music. This is AGGRESSIVELY 1999 soul patch rock and 100% not something you need to hear before you die. I don't know if I could dislike this more. Wait - the album cover. Okay yeah, I dislike it more now, so there's still room to grow. Oh! "I feel emphatic about not being static." Yes, there's much further to go. Down, straight down. Oh no - Battlestar Scralatchtica. FUCK. YOU.

I love everything about this album. The tunes are strong, the subject matter is dark, it was recorded on 4-track. Spooky Americana about desperate people. And some cars. If I have a favorite Springsteen album, it's this one.

This another one where the first half is full of great stuff and the longer it goes on, the more I wish it had stopped. This is a ten song album in a fifteen song sack. still, pretty listenable.

This starts strong, and the rock flute is really somethin' else. When your brand is rock flute, you don't have a ton of competition. That said, this rolled off into the background and I only realized later that it had stopped.

By turns haunting and forgettable. But mostly pretty great. This is, like, what all classic rock should be but rarely is.

Surprised in many ways by this album - I didn't pay attention at all to the date on the album and figured this was something from the late 60s / early 70s before it started up. Lots of energy here, but not a lot of it grabbing me. Solid work, no doubt.

Shout, Everybody Wants to Rule The World, and Head Over Heels are pretty foundational 80s songs for me. But I think it's a pretty objective truth that this is a very good album.

Hey, it's all good, but only one track really grabs me. The rest of it is top tier background at this point in my life.

Deceptacon is a very strong opener for a little album. And while this whole thing didn't keep me all wrapped up the whole time, it reminded me of the good indie albums of the 90s, the stuff that did what it wanted. I'd probably check this album out again and put Deceptacon on a few mixes.

I'm not a big country fan, but this is pretty good country, I think.

This was released in 1983??? This is like a decade before its time. Holy shit.

This is a very solid album. Green Day has their vibe and if you can't abide it, then none of this will work for you. But this songwriting is tight as a drum. Every song here has something melodic to grab on to. Even lowkey lofi closer is pretty crucial.

I haven't even listened to this one with much attention before. Didn't realize how much flower child is in this one. I always thought it was a little more punk than that. Sort of a sweet folk album and a noise rock album smooshed into one.

This one starts out pretty strong. I like Lost Woman a lot, Over Under Sideways Down is pretty great, The Nazz Are Blue, I Can't Make Your Way, and Rack My Mind are all pretty good. But man, the last three tracks on this just take a severe nosedive. Turn into Earth is like some bad high school poetry. Then a sort of environmental protest song? Maybe? And then a Satan=$$$ song? Hoo man. Yeah, no, those three just about tank the whole thing for me.

Alright, so - I still like the title song a lot. I always have, since I was a kid. I don't know if it actually means anything, but it sure sounds like it does! And the song 'Everybody Loves Me, Baby' is pretty great, too. The other songs didn't really get me, but they didn't turn me off and I kind of loved the sound of the album, the acoustic guitar and all that. So this one I liked purty good.

Pleasantly surprised by this one! Very 2001 in its deployment of techno-city. Got a lot of late stage Elvis Costello in this. And more than anything, really loved Shoot Doris Day. I may start listening to this band!

Man, I like twigs - maybe based solely on that one Apple commercial - but there's only one song on this one that I get into - Two Weeks. The rest feel like songs that never start and I get real frustrated with it.

Couldn't get hooked by this one at all. Started out strong at the top, setting me up for a concept album about a guy doing what he had to to get his family out of the life. But then it was a lot of gats and bitches and... blargh. Sounds pretty generic to me.

I always think I don't like SatB until I actually sit down and listen to them. While there are a couple songs here that feel like a stretch - the last track, mainly - there's something for me in every other song here.

I don't know. I'm not hearing a single. I'm not sure what this album wants from me, except for me to let it play on in the background. And on that note, it works perfectly. It is, absolutely, ambient.

I don't know, some of this is fun, but it tends to just go into the background for me. And background music, it is pretty good though, so one extra star!

Man, so much of this is the kind of ambitious and maybe over-produced vibe that I can really dig. But why does his voice destroy it for me? Something about it doesn't fit, like he's trying too hard or something. Something about the whole album seems to say "This is a serious album" and I can't take it seriously. And I can't help thinking about Brian Wilson's stuff and how it's more ambitious and less serious and how I like it more than this. But not 100% more. I also just found out my folks voted for Trump a second time, so I'm not in a great mood. Sorry, Dennis.

I love everything about this album. The tunes are strong, the subject matter is dark, it was recorded on 4-track. Spooky Americana about desperate people. And some cars. If I have a favorite Springsteen album, it's this one.

I kind of love how bad the production is on this. It can't destroy how much I like these songs. Not an album I was familiar with before, but will listen again.

Simon is an incredible songwriter. Maybe Garfunkel is, too! I don't have a good way to judge that. But beyond a classic like Homeward Bound, did you hear how he totally sold the dorkiness of 'Feelin' Groovy'??? This isn't my favorite Simon stuff, but it's pretty dang good.

Rush has some balls, kicking off their rock album with a 20 minute track. I can barely summon the courage to listen to most 7 minute songs, much less 20. But this whole album kept me listening! I'm not a big Rush fan, and I knew more about why people didn't like them before I'd ever heard any of their songs, but this is a very listenable album. Didn't love that last track, though. Felt phoned in.

Listening to this, it seems so unlikely that these guys were as big as they were in the 80s. But the songs are generally pretty good. Also, when I hear the song Legs, I picture a video where a woman is going around, kicking guys in the nuts. So, extra star.

Man, those chord changes. I like this album for a lot of reasons, but especially those chord changes.

God bless David Byrne and his weird pop music. This one for me, it's all just a lead up to Psycho Killer, but it's also a bunch of happy-sounding pop with weird darkness under it, so I'm game.

Much like Eno's album, this one absolutely fought my attention every step of the way, demanding to stay in the background. And it did.

Why do I like this more than Eno or Gaton Project? A little more variation? A little more aggression? I don't know. But I do. Still, around the halfway mark - backgroundsville.

He did again! Love this dude. Can't believe I haven't listened to all this stuff before.

Man, I listened the hell out of this back in 2006. Kilo has a great, great hook and I didn't remember anything else about the rest of the album. But I think pretty much every song on this is a gem.

This album is great great great. This album was like an oasis in 2015. Love this one.

The first side of this one is, yeah, it's okay. Then the second side hits you over and over again and puts you in a pretty good Police state.

This is another one I have very fond memories of. Transmissions from the Satelite Heart was my first Flaming Lips album and I loved it dearly. This one isn't my favorite, but it's still one of their better albums, for sure. What takes this one down a notch for me was that it included a remix at the end, which felt kind of dumb and/or cheap to me. I didn't get. I still don't. Still, Flaming Lips.

Man, this is almost as good as their first album. It's just hit after hit for, like, 8 straight songs. I even like 1984 as the opener. But it all comes crashing down on House of Pain. It was like a precursor to the generic rock years with Sammy Hagar. But still, very solid.

This is another tape I wore out. It was kind of exactly what I needed after graduating from the Poison and Metallica diet I had been on up to that point. The same hard-edged music that was just a good bit weirder. I think the tunes and performances hold up.

I love the sort of free-flowing inventiveness of the song structure and the arrangements here, but none of it ever sinks in for me.

I listened to this with my wife and now I'm pregnant, so - five stars.

I don't really love any of the songs on this one, but I love the energy of all of them. I could really listen to this all the time.

I got Bob Mould's solo album, the eponymous one that came out in 1996. I loved that album. It had all the loud guitars on it that I could want, but didn't sound like anything else I had. I can't find that album anywhere, now - doesn't seem to be streaming. But this is a pretty good substitute. I still love the guitars.

Truthfully, I liked this. Sounds a lot more modern to me than 1968, though some of it sounds like Zeppelin might have ripped it off. Still, plenty of tasty riffs here.

This is a rough bit of business, this is. The good songs are good for about one to two minutes and then I'm just waiting around for them to stop. It felt like this album went on forever and I didn't even listen to the B-sides on the dang deluxe version.

Based on the title of the album, I was expecting something a little heavier and a little deeper than what I got. What I got was sort of a throwback to when hip hop was just guys having fun, making words rhyme and not really bothering with anything deeper than that. Which is also fun, but at some point kind of makes me ask why I'm listening. These guys are a lot of fun to listen to, but I never got past this question.

This another one where the first half is full of great stuff and the longer it goes on, the more I wish it had stopped. This is a ten song album in a fifteen song sack. still, pretty listenable.

This was the album where I started to feel like this White Stripes thing was kind of a one-trick pony. Or at least it was like they covered a corner of the music world that was too specific for me? And so three albums in I was like "Yeah, this is about as much as I need of this." Some good songs on here, to be sure. But the charm started wearing off here for me.

I love the song Brass In Pocket. I love the energy of Chrissie Hynde - Karen O owes a debt to her, for sure. And that arrangement on Precious is pretty fun. But this is another one that seemed to go on too long for what it is. Still, Brass In Pocket.

I really like the whole vibe of this. I was always a fan of Daft Punk is Playing At My House and this is a bunch more of the same. Even the songs that go on forever I kind of like. Would listen again.

I can't believe I've never listened to this album. I mean, I've known about it. I've heard Out of the Blue many times, but never listened to this whole thing. Deceivingly simple songs, here. I liked this a lot!

Really liked the production on this one, but something about sounded so archaic to me that I couldn't get into it. Almost like it was a parody of this kind of music.

I love this album top to bottom. It's exactly the kind of album I like and I like this one in particular.

This one was a slog for me. Every song, I looked at my phone to see how much time was left in the song and it was routinely 2 more minutes. No, thank you.

They aren't all hits, but I get from Breakdown to American Girl mainly just on the enthusiasm of the whole thing.

I like Creedence and always have. Probably because they were featured at the beginning of Twilight Zone The Movie. Regardless, three of their best songs are o here - Green River, Lodi, and Bad Moon Rising. The other ones are good, too, so what can you do?

I'm grumpy. Why is this cover art not the original cover art? Why do I care? I don't know. But I do. This is such a sentimental favorite that I'm blind to how long it goes and how drone-y and generic it gets in places. There are three to four great songs on this album, so maybe that's enough for me. I don't know. I'm hungry.

I really liked the first little bit of this, but it sank into the background after a bit. I couldn't key into what my man was singing on and on about and the music is pretty good in the background, so there it stayed.

I didn't love this, but I didn't mind it, either. I listened to it all the way through.

It's really hard to reach the heights of that first track. That's an era-defining bit of business right there. Nothing else quite has that 80s synth kick.

I didn't get into any particular song on this one, but it did put me in the mind of some lost goth 80s movie that I really enjoyed. Wouldn't turn it off.

When I was a kid, and maybe this is just where I grew up, but there was a choice you had to make - were you a Metallica guy? Or a Megadeth guy? Well, I heard the song Battery and decided I was a Metallica guy (even though Megadeth was a much cooler band name). But then later I heard the Megadeth song 'Go To Hell' and thought, oh, that's not bad. But after listening to this one, I gotta say - in the Metallica vs. Megadeth war, I'm still a Metallica guy.

I mean, those first two songs are just so strong. Nothing else on this album really takes me to that same place. But those two songs are so good.

Man, I almost like this, but it's consistently pushing itself into show-tune territory and I just can't stand it. Like, I don't feel like she's brassy enough to pull off these big moments for me. I wish it was a smaller album, maybe? Like, a little more intimate, like what the album cover seems to suggest.

You can't argue with the fact that Chris Cornell has an incredible voice. And a handful of these songs are really engaging. But goddam, Spoonman just wipes it all out for me. Maybe that's because of my initial reaction to the song when I first heard it, which was "Is he singing about a guy who plays the spoons?" And it turned out he was. And it just seems too ridiculous to me - the song is so heavy, but it's about a guy playing spoons. Maybe it was even more ridiculous back in 1994, when there was so much heavy, serious music going on. I just couldn't dig it. Black Hole Sun holds up pretty well, though.

This one escapes me. It starts out real fun, like some kind of dark carnival. But I just drifted away from it over and over again.

This was my first real metal album - had it on tape - and I think still holds up. Battery is just a great opener and I don't think the rest of the songs every let me down. Sanitarium is also that mix of heavy and ridiculous that I just love.

All the things I like about Sonic Youth are here, but then there's sort of twice as much as I actually want? I love any band that can make noise entertaining and Sonic Youth has given me some of the best noise I've ever heard. Still, this one does go on a bit.

Why do I love this so much? Partially because it's good, but ya know, these songs are pretty repetitive and they go on for a bit, two things that usually repel me. But I just love this album. I love it!

Is it just me or does The Who get by mostly on it's energy? Or maybe theatricality? I mean, they're entertaining as hell and there are some real good songs here. But when they start going after James Brown and Diddley, it's like... I don't know. None of that stuff works for me. I'm also pretty sure I got suckered into listening to a deluxe super long edition of this album, which doesn't help.

I'm kind of surprised I wasn't familiar with St. Elmo's Fire before now. That sounds like a song I should have heard? Regardless... I found myself engaged with most of this one and feeling surprised that it was over when it was over. Good stuff.

I love Missy Elliot because I feel like she keeps hiphop weird. Timbaland is probably also responsible for some of that, but I can't mistake her for anybody else. Every song I've ever heard of hers I liked. A natural.

Yeah, I mean, this hits all my sweet spots. It rocks. It's huge. It's dumb. It's weird. I love it. If you also love this and you've never heard The Kleptones A Night at the Hip-Hopera, I suggest you do so. This is all good.

I mean... I still like Lovefool. And the Ironman cover is interesting. But nothing on the rest of this grabbed me.

This was pretty great! A punk record kicking off with horns. Man, I got into every little bit of this. good stuff!

So Long, Marianne is too much of a sentimental favorite for me to be in any way objective about this album. He can be pretty rambly and I wonder if he really wanted to be a singer at all. Maybe he really just wanted to write and this is what started paying first. Regardless, he's one of a kind and I can't fault any of this. I like the whole dark vibe even if I don't get into some of the songs themsevles. But also, the way the Master Song ends, just so suddenly... I love all that.

I didn't get into any of this until the Stephen Malkmus - Stephen Malkmus album, and then I circled back. I like so much of this, but sometimes it kind of works itself down into an eddy and I lose interest. But a lot of good stuff here.

What I like a lot about this album is that it's all over the place with vibe. Some straight punk, a bunch of scuzzy Brooklyn whiteboy hip hop, some very mellow instrumentals. But it still outstays it's welcome for me. Right around Heart Attack Man, I'm ready for the party to be over. But there's not a good closer, ya know? Like maybe if Sabotage was the last song or something, you'd feel like it closed real strong. But I think I've turned this one off around here more times than not.

There's not a bit of this that grabbed my attention. The song Let Love Rule is fine, but the rest of it just never got its hooks into me.

Finest Worksong, End of the World, and The One I Love are sort of the tentpoles of this one. And there's good stuff here and there, but mostly there's just the indie REM vibe that works for me. I can have it on in the background and not want to turn it off.

As Shawn was saying, these songs really settle into one groove and just go with it. Not a lot of variation and not really a turn off, but also the production or mixing or something here sounds pretty low end. It's not a great sounding record. But still, I don't want to turn it off!

I didn't hate anything here and I liked the general vibe quite a lot. But nothing ever stood out and demanded a 4 star rating. So...

Man, I loved every song on this one. Each one just perfect, great energy, and aims to please. I liked this a lot!

This was strictly background for me, but it never intruded. I was kind of surprised at how pleasant it was? I have an impression of Kraftwerk being sort of industrial, but maybe I just didn't know what the hell I was talking about. This sounds like the background of Epcot Center and I don't mean that as an insult.

Solid if meandering classic rock. I like envisioning being there, in a Tokyo arena with a Tokyo crowd, listening to American rock more than I like the actual album. But it's pretty fun, nonetheless.

Again - every song starts out interesting and then runs itself into the ground. I'm not into it.

This album cover perfectly captures my feelings on this album. Butt. I don't know. There's a lot of activity and it sounds like people are working very hard, but this never left the realm of vanilla to me. Very clearance bin 1998.

Pre-listening feelings upon seeing the album art: Oh no. Post-listening feelings: So... these are covers of popular songs of the day, but with bongos? That's... that's what this is? Just to clarify - why 1,001 albums, exactly? Why not, ya know, 200 maybe. Weed out a couple. But also - reading up on it, I guess this album has been sampled a good bit, which makes it a little bit interesting. But I'm not otherwise loving it.

Never heard of 'em. Why do I love this? It's not really grabbing me but... everything is perfect at the same time? I listened to this three times yesterday. Can't believe I've never heard any of this. I kept expecting their hit to play and it never came.

This guy is such an oddball to me for some reason. Is he really an oddball? I don't know. But I love so many of his songs and the fact that he was ever popular seems strange to me. He doesn't seem to fit in a particular genre of music.

Really loved that first song. And that second song title is pretty damn great. But it all falls off for me after that. By the third track, everything runs together for me.

This is pretty hard to argue with. I don't know that I would put this on any old time, but it's some pretty feel good stuff that isn't tied to any trendy junk.

The first time I heard these guys was 1991. I bought the Blood Sugar Sex Magik album and all I can say is that, at the time, I was looking for music that didn't sound like anything else. And, like, the song Give It Away just seemed like - wait, is this guy having sex with some girl's entire family? Like what is this about? It seemed like something my parents would hate. But now, looking back on most of the songs by this band, nothing seems all that good. Scar Tissue is maybe the song that sticks on this one. But in the first track, he rhymes 'entertain ya' with 'Pennsylvania' and then the sweat stains on the rhymes in Californication are real rough. And then comes Purple Stain and I'm like, man, fuck you.

While nothing here really grabbed me, it's a good listen all the way through.

Brown Sugar and Wild Horses are old favorites. Can't You Hear Me Knocking and Bitch are strong. Probably Sway is the only song on this one that I wish could be over soon. This feels like ideal Rolling Stones - it feels timeless in an old-fashioned way.

When I was a naive, church-going 13 year old, I thought this band and The Jesus Lizard were probably satanic. They seemed way more out of reach than Metallica or Slayer to me. Pretty funny to find out they're pretty much just dark pop. There isn't a standout to me on this album, but I do like listening to all of these.

I have a movie version of what the Rat Pack was like in my head and when I hear Frank Sinatra songs, that's what I imagine. I'm pretty sure that if I had been alive in 1967 this would not have been what I was listening to. But it's a very pro album made by lots of pros and there are several good tracks here, so who's arguing?

I don't like reggae as a rule. Partially because I attach it to some potheads I knew as a kid that I never really understood. And also because I didn't have a terribly struggle-filled upbringing, so I was attracted to darker stuff - or at least stuff that wore its darkness on its sleeve. But also because reggae tends to sound very samesy to me, probably the way hip hop sounds very samesy to someone who doesn't listen to it much. That being said, this album got to me. Stir It Up is a great song.

Donovan is one of those 60s pop rock acts that had a cool dark edge to him that I always liked. And then when his Hurdy Gurdy man was used in Zodiac, I was like "exactly". I love all this stuff.

Aawwwwwwwwwww sheeeeeeeeeit. Yeah, that opening on Good Times. This album is great. The bass playing alone on this album makes me want to listen to it.

I haven't listened to this one since I decided Metallica were greedy posers for wanting money from Napster. Times change. Here's what doesn't - Metallica still sounds silly to me, lyrically, but goddam these boys got some riffs.

Cinnamon Girl. That's a great way to kick this off. Nothing grabbed me as much as that one, but these were all good, all had their own personalities. And they all had Neil's personality, which I guess is good, too. There's also a dog on the cover, so you know this album is okay, probably.

I appreciate this more than I enjoy it. Great song structures and production, some really catchy stuff, but somehow it never totally gets in my head.

Faith the song is exactly 3:16 long. My first thought on listening to this is that, goddam, Faith is a catchy motherfucker. Has anyone mashed this up with Prince's Kiss? Anyway, the other thing I think about is how GM had to hide who he was through all this. At least, when this album came out, he wasn't out. Which seems pretty ridiculous looking back on it. But that must've been fucking horrible. But as far as 80s pop albums go, there are some heavy hitters on here. There are also some very slight, forgettable tunes.

This record is pretty wild. I don't know if I love the whole thing, but I would absolutely put this on in the background any time.

I mean, this is all very strong. Not always my vibe, but there's something about all of it that I love. 'Shit, Damn, Motherfucker' woke me up for a second, for sure.

There's a lot of great stuff in here, but jesus, if I gotta hear one more time about Biggie bustin' a nut... I mean, I don't really need to hear about that shit from anybody. Songs about how many "bitches" you "bust a nut" in are automatic zeroes for me.

This one left me cold. Had the same Cohen vibe I like a lot, but nothing here made me want to listen again.

I mean, I've loved this album for years, so. This is not going to be an objective rating. All the reasons people tend to not like Steely Dan are the reasons I like them, I think. I know every song on every album. I mean, My Old School is a pretty great song however you cut it. It is what it is.

I can't believe this is from 14 years ago. That seems weird. But I was really into this when it came out and I still like it a lot.

Jim Morrison sounds like such a mess on this to me. I could take or leave this one, but I do love Riders on the Storm. That one works for me all the way. Love Her Madly is also strong. But the rest... ehhhhh.

This is another one I listened to a lot when it came out. Still holds up for me. It's sort of just on the right side of amateurish and I like the story.

Man, yet another sentimental one. I actually don't love a lot of these songs, but Nightswimming is grafted onto my soul, somehow, like a 90s alt-indie horcrux. Anyway... plenty of catchy stuff here and not at all hard to listen to.

The rendition of Fever on this album made me feel embarrassed while I was sitting alone, listening to it. The musicianship is great throughout, but this was not for me.

I know people who love the hell out of this band and they don't come off as posers or anything, but this stuff just slid right on by me, like plain oatmeal. Production sounds great, the band doesn't seem to be faking it. But man, I could not get into this. It always seems ready to tip over into some of my favorite Radiohead stuff? Maybe that's the block for me.

I remember thinking of Rage as the smart and good rap-rock band, I guess along with Faith No More. It seems like that subgenre could've just ended there and we woulda been fine. But Rage were still always at arm's length for me. Nothing here really gets me. Killing in the Name comes the closest. This just never connected with me.

A decent vibe here and sounds way ahead of its time. Maybe only ten years ahead of its time, but still. It stayed in the background, but it had some pep.

Hahaha as a kid I thought they were satanists. I thought this album was probably very scary and that these dudes were seriously dangerous. Then I grow up and realize these album covers and the satan vibe were pretty much stoking the flames of all the uptight assholes who thought all rock n roll was devil's music. Hahaha. Anyway. AC/DC seems like the most likely band of this time to actually have some satanistic tendencies, but that's okay because this is a pretty great album. Songs with dumb names like 'Beating Around the Bush'... I mean... Dumb and scary, just like rock should be?

Alexa had to censor the "Bitches" in Bitches Brew. Woke-ass device. Anywyay - I find all of this enjoyable and at the same time it doesn't connect with me. I love almost everything about it, down to that incredible album art, but I would never say this is my favorite thing. I'm glad he did it, though.

Where am I at with this one? It's Billie Holiday and I love a lot of her songs. This is good and all, but there's something in her voice that sounds tired to me and I couldn't get that out of my head. It's nice to listen to but I don't think I'd go back to it.

Inarguably some great songwriting here. The album starts strong and while it fell off for me after a while, I still love these voices and love this songwriting. Good stuff.

This is another one where I can't really find fault with anything here - Q-tip is great! - but I didn't really get sucked in at any point, either.

Another very nice sounding album with a lot of good moments, but nothing that ever stood out and stuck to me.

Not sure how I feel about those guttural grunts on this first track. They're really throwing me. Everything is sort of good setting for Sweet Dreams to take off somewhere in the middle. But none of this sticks with me.

Man, time has a weird way of changing the way thinks look. I mean, as far as mid-90s rap goes, this is probably as good as it gets if your name isn't De La Soul. I didn't listen to this back then, but I knew it was a big assed deal. But today, listening to this and reading about Tupac... I mean... I feel like I would hate this dude automatically if he was a bearded white guy. 1992 he dropped his gun, it discharged and killed a 6-year-old. He beat another rapper with a baseball bat. He raped a 19-year-old and went to prison for it. So I mean... sure, it's you against the world, I guess. You sound like an asshole.

I am absolutely predisposed to enjoy this and I did. So - pretty boring rating over here.

I like the general vibe of this, but I didn't walk away humming anything, ya know?

A lot of fun to listen to, but not super grabby for me. Listened twice but can't remember any tune. Love the energy, though. And the cover art.

5 stars. Automatic 5 stars. Steve Belcher loaned me this tape at 7th grade camp. I was mostly listening to GNR, Metallica, Poison, etc. at the time. This was a real mindblower for me - acoustic but sounded dirtier and dangerouser than anything else I was listening to. Love it.

I listened to this album the first time under duress, assuming I would hate it, but the only really bad track on here is Bad Blood. Is this my favorite music ever? No. But I think the best part about it is that it absolutely nails what it's going for and for that reason I like listening to it. It makes me feel like a heartbroken teenage girl all over again. And I only mean that half-jokingly.

This one surprised me. Not at all what I thought it would sound like based on the cover art. I was thinking something more industrial? I didn't walk away humming anything, but a nice listen all the same.

I mean, it's Bjork. There are a couple of songs here that grabbed me, but nothing crazy. But still - I like Bjork. She still sells the stuff that I'm not that crazy about.

This is fine. I think that the prevalence of loop software has made things like this seem much, much less special than they actually are. Kind of like how TikTok can make me look exactly like an old man but they couldn't erase Superman's mustache in that one movie.

I don't really love any of these songs, but I do like this strain of short, pithy country road house songs. They have sort of a bad pun or just a juxtaposition of words in the title, super simple, maybe some good guitar licks. I don't know - I like it.

This may be one I would need to listen to several times to get into it. After spending the last week listening to Sondheim, this doesn't really measure up. If you told me that they made most of this up as they went along, I might buy that. Pinball Wizard is still a pip, but nothing else comes close to how strong that one song is. Whereas, like, Sweeney Todd? I mean, dudes. Sweeney Todd. It's a scary musical. The music... is actually scary. And sad. And funny. I'm not getting anywhere near that much out of this. It's not a fair comparison and I should judge this album on its own merits, but I don't wanna right now.

I think I know why I don't like reggae - it's one of those genres that's built on a specific sounding beat. So there's a point where it all runs together and I tune out. It all sounds very well done here, but there are no stand-outs for me like on some Marley Records.

Man the beginning of Money for Nothing is great. Walk of Life is strong. And the mid-80s vibe is second to none. Knopfler is a great player. Even when I don't really love the song, I like how he plays. Fun for the whole family.

I was already pretty familiar with The Message, the song. But I wasn't ready for Dreamin', which seems like it's from a different album altogether. Really appreciate the robot voices on Scorpio. Pretty fun listen all the way around.

I mean, it's Run DMC. I'll always be a fool for Run DMC. I think a lot of what they do is still pretty tight by modern standards even though the sound is very 80s.

This is another one that I love to much to be objective. First listened to it as a young teen and I think what surprised me is that it never lost me, all the way through. Sort of the opposite experience of Tommy (and maybe what I expect from Tommy).

I always forget how many hook-ish songs Lou Reed wrote. Perfect Day is one of those songs. So are Wild Side and Satellite of Love. I never think I'm going to really like a Lou Reed record, but then I listen to it and I do.

This is pretty hard to argue with. I don't know that I walked away with anything that I can't live without, but Love is a Hurtin' Thing I thought was pretty great and everything on here is very tight.

"Hey guys, you know, this world is facing a lot of problems, ya know?" "Yeah, some pretty bad problems." "Agreed. Let's make up some songs about 'em right now and record 'em." "Record 'em right now?" "Yeah. Strike while the iron's hot, ya know? Don't overthink it." "Sure, sure. But maybe if you took a day or two, and kind of worked the songs out before you recorded 'em --" "We're the fucking Beach Boys, Jerry. Roll tape!"

I don't love this, but I do like it. There are just enough good choices here to keep me listening.

There are a couple of favorites on this one, but I like every song here. I can't believe I've never given this one a full listen. This is good stuff.

I mean, yeah, this could play forever in the background. I really like that version of Street Life. This is all good.

Not my favorite REM record, but it starts very strong and, at all times, it's very REM-y. A little jangly with a good beat. The song Moral Kiosk makes up for its name by being pretty fun. I like.

I always forget how many hook-ish songs Lou Reed wrote. The Murder Mystery is one of those songs. So are Candy Love and After Hours. I always think I'm going to dislike a Velvet Underground record, but then I listen to it and I do.

I love this album. I love the sound of it, I love the tunes, the choices are just top notch. She had to have written some of Beyonce's Lemonade, right? And for that matter - where is Lemonade on this list? Offspring was on this list and we haven't hit Lemonade yet? Psssshhhhhh.

So - the Byrds are ever weirder than I give them credit for. Was The Christian Life a joke or not? I wasn't clear. I figured it was a joke, but now I'm thinking about that a whole lot. Regardless, this is fine. Nothing really stuck with me, but it did make me wonder if Ween's 12 Golden Country Greats might have come from listening to this? Anyway, who knows.

Tell you what, this album had me in its mid-80s clutches for the entire thing - even through Help which I was sure I was gonna hate. But then... 1984. Hoo boy. But otherwise, I really enjoyed this. Probably a little because of nostalgia - it just sounds like the mall when I was 10. But still - enjoyed it.

This was not for me. It kept slipping into the background and there it stayed.

The riffs are pretty glorious here, as is the cover art. I mean, what the hell is that cover even saying? I love whatever that story is. But the lyrics in the songs are pretty rough and I wish I couldn't tell what he was saying. Like if Mustaine was just constantly screaming non-sensically, I might enjoy that more. But this is pretty fun anyway.

There was a time when I couldn't stand The Smiths, but these albums - the albums of the 80s anyway - really hit for me now. Morrissey's voice still hits me as whiny and he doesn't seem like that great a guy nowadays, maybe. But I kind of love how tight the music is and how sloppy the lyrics are. It works for me.

I mean, this is high-intensity noodling and the melodies are pretty strong, but it just feels like it goes on forever and I start to tune it out.

So - an incubus is a spirit that rapes women and I mean, yeah, that's pretty much the vibe I get from this music. This is AGGRESSIVELY 1999 soul patch rock and 100% not something you need to hear before you die. I don't know if I could dislike this more. Wait - the album cover. Okay yeah, I dislike it more now, so there's still room to grow. Oh! "I feel emphatic about not being static." Yes, there's much further to go. Down, straight down. Oh no - Battlestar Scralatchtica. FUCK. YOU.

"I was carried to Ohio in a swarm of bees". Not everything here connects for me, but this is very listenable. There's some very good stuff here. Very warm production. I do like it.

A Girl Like You is a pretty strong start. How Can I Be Sure is one I've heard a hundred times. But this also feels a little like it's standing in the shadow of the Monkees and it doesn't quite have the personality to break out on its own.

Son of a Preacher Man is a good enough song that this album could get 4 stars based just on that. The fact that the whole album maintains that same vibe and that there are a few other good songs here (like No Easy Way Down) makes it a solid 4 for me.

This one's tough. The album cover kind of looks like a self-distributed album by one of your friend's dads. And then you start listening to it and the strings come in and you feel like "uh-oh, what am I in for." But then the vocals come in and it's not the amateur hour thing you thought it was going to be. But then as it goes on, you realize none of this is connecting with you. And maybe that's because you don't know who Richard Hawley is and nothing in the music is giving you a ton of affection for him. I don't know what the personality is here. I couldn't get into it. But it's a pretty pro sounding record.

This was the soundtrack for white frat boys in my first year of college, who for some reason wanted to play at being hard. First 30 seconds, it's all about dicks and guns and assaultin' the ladies. Aggressively homophobic. Insecure as shit. Snoop lets you know he's in the motherfuckin' house a number of times. I hated this then, I hate it now. 3 Feet High and Rising better be on this list somewhere, because jeez.

David Gray's voice reminds me a lot of Ryan Adams. Am I alone in that? The music isn't nearly as all over the place as Adams, but the voice is just about the same to me. This is pretty bland for me, though.

I love this one and I've love The Roots in general so this can't be objective. I remember hearing 'The Seed' for the first time and just howling, like, what the hell am I listening to? If 'The Chronic' is a Netflix-era Michael Bay movie, this one is a late 80s John McTiernan movie. It's just as fun, but it's got something to chew on, too.

Man, I was really hopeful looking at this album art. But this just never rose above lounge music to me. It's pleasant, but there's no grab to it. As soon as that lead singer started in on 'Darkness, Darkness' - I don't know what I was expecting, but probably just something a little less thin.

This is some seriously hippy-dippy bullshit and the fact that I still love it means that it gets a 5. I feel like the title song, one degree to the left or right, just becomes too dumb to live. But right where it is, is perfect. Also, the album art has always made Garfunkel look like he's got a massive fu manchu. But it's also got three or four all-time great songs ever written, at least.

I liked this a whole lot more than I thought I would, mostly just out of respect for some guys who are really, really, REALLY into the music they're making. Like, you can tell if they couldn't make a dime on this, they'd be doing this. So that's cool. And there's very clearly a lot of talent going into this. But I did not connect with this at all.

I was pleasantly surprised by this. I was a bit in and out of it, but the parts that punched through were really interesting. And kind of naive in an early 2000s kind of way? But the kind of heart in the right place, struggling with that Southern identity that I kind of identify with having grown up in the South. I will be listening to this again.

I mean look, these guys are very good at what they do. But Statesboro Blues was the only song I had a passing familiarity of and even that one was pretty noodly. I hung with it for a few songs, but it fell into the background never to return.

Nothing really grabbed me here, but I did like the sort of kitchen sink production of it. Which I've probably said before. But I liked the flow of the album - it felt like one piece. But it also had that feeling of IMPORTANCE that was distracting to me - but that was probably because of the Wikipedia page, which I shouldn't have read. Anyway, not one I would listen to again, but sounds like a lot of work went into it.

I've always dug Billy Bragg's vibe more than I've dug the songs, though there are a fair number that I like a lot. A New England is one of those. But I also really love the commitment to just him and a guitar most of the time and how he's able to create pretty potent experiences with just those two things. Sometimes these songs fall into the background for me, but it's something I'd listen to 8 times out of 10.

I want to be into Genesis because there's so much of it and there are so many people who revere them. There's some really good songwriting here, I think. And the Battle of Epping Forest was so 1973 that I couldn't help liking it. But there's nothing here I'd put on a playlist.

The first side of this record and Victim of Love are all pretty good. The Last Resort is a little embarrassing, maybe more so now than it was then. But I LOVE the story that The Eagles had to stop recording this sometimes because Black Sabbath was being too loud in an adjacent studio. Anyway, I don't hate the Eagles and the songs are pretty catchy. I like the song Hotel California mostly for the eerie weirdness of the story. It's close enough to a horror movie to enjoy. And I like Life in the Fast Lane because I dig a good Hollywood live-fast-die-young story. I also like the production stories on this one. Is the music worth 4 stars? I don't know. But the whole package of this one gets it there, I think.

5 stars immediately. Sentimental favorite. Way too many memories attached to this one to pretend. But also I think these quickie songs hold up - catchy as all shit and taking you to some unusual places - at least for music made in '92. If you like this and have never listened to their album 'Hate Your Friends', give it a try.

I hate the production on this album and when you really listen to the lyrics of any of these songs, they're just so... overthought? Or underthought? Both? I don't know. Ironic still makes me angry in a language snob way. Every song just sounds like it's a list, like they listed what the song should be about and then they decided the list was the song. And yet. AND YET. There are melodies here that are bulletproof. 'Head Over Feet' (god that dumb title), 'Hand in My Pocket', 'You Learn', and goddam 'Ironic' - the melodies are great. It's also the album of choice of a couple of 90s ex-girlfriends and, look, I like my ex-girlfriends, so I don't know what you want from me. This gets 3 stars.

Oh, this is that song! Take Five! How did I not know the name of this song? Anyway, I enjoyed this enough that I didn't even stop it when it dove into the bonus tracks, which there were more of than original album tracks. It was in the background and it wasn't. This one got into my ears pretty good.

I haven't listened to this in a long time. Jimi became a t-shirt in the 90s, along with Morrison and some other folks, and it sort of felt cliche to be into Jimi Hendrix. But jesus, listening to this - his playing can't be overhyped. And add to that his vocal performance which just makes you believe everything that comes out of his mouth. Song for song this is one of the best albums ever made. It's practically a greatest hits collection. Except for that last song. Woof.

I bought Led Zeppelin IV first (of course) because I was already sort of familiar with several songs, especially the big one. Then I bought Led Zeppelin II and I remember being surprised at how much I liked the whole thing. It seemed unlikely at the time that I would like two albums, front to back, of the same band. Then I remember buying this one and thinking 'No one ever talks about this one, I don't know any of the songs. This is probably going to be terrible.' And then 'Good Times, Bad Times' started up and I loved it again. I figured the blues-hippie-Tolkien -ock thing would burn off at some point, right? But it seems like these guys just had endless riffs and melodies to mine. I still think this is a great album.

Fucking love "Just a Gigolo". This whole album is amazing. A real crowd pleaser - pure entertainment. Damn. Good stuff. I listened to this thrice through and I mean I actually listened. Also - Shawn, that's Keely Smith on The Lip! From Thunder Road. Remember? Remember? Anyway. Five stars.

A ton of energy here, but they do not sound better than The Contours on 'Do You Love Me' and that hobbles them right off the top. This kind of carries through. I'm bringing a lot of baggage into this, but these look like they're, maybe - maaaaaaybe - some rich kids who have some better than average talent? I don't know. I was not won over by any of these tracks.

'Sympathy for the Devil' is just one of those songs. One of the greats. Then there's this long stretch. And then 'Street Fighting Man'. And then some more songs. So then I made a playlist where I took out those two songs that I know too well and just listened to the songs around it. And that helped a lot! I really liked No Expectations and Salt of the Earth much more when it wasn't sort of obscured by the two greatest hits songs on this album. Still, I don't love this one as a whole. Great work here, but it still leaves me pretty cold.

I'm surprised at this one - not at all how I thought The Afghan Whigs would sound. Nothing grabbed me here, but I believed it at least, so I mean that's at least 2 stars.

I listened to this whole thing, it held me in its grip the entire time and I feel like I ate a gallon of coffee. Jeezo.

Oasis has a few really great songs, but just like back in the 90s, it takes a lot for me to get past Liam's whiney drawl. And there's still that aftertaste of just constant fighting in the band and the weird, constant bitter anger that seemed to surround them. Or maybe just Liam. I don't know. 'Live Forever' absolutely works. 'Supersonic' works for me. But there's still so much going against this band for me.

I had Blur up against Oasis in my head early on, before I understood anything about the Britpop thing in the 90s. And I always dug this sound a little more. Whereas Definitely Maybe loses me after a couple songs, this one carries me all the way through. Very different sounds, but this is the one I gravitate to more. In this case, the most known song on this album - Song 2 - is maybe my least favorite. And I like it a lot. Mostly I like the mixtape feel of it - how different each song is from the others. They all have their own little personalities. Love it.

There was nothing for me here.

I bought this album through one of those Columbia House offers, where you get however many tapes for a penny. I bought it mainly because I loved Purple Rain. I had no idea what this was going to be. And very lucky for me, I really loved this one. I think the only song on the radio was 'You Got the Look'. (At least, on rural NC radio). But Jesus, these songs - Housequake, Play in the Sunshine, I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man. If Was Your Girlfriend??? Do you know what that song means to a 13-year-old kid in the rural South in 1987? Well I'm just saying it's a perspective on sex that you do not get anywhere else. And then to have a track like The Cross at the end... definitely the best Christian-themed song ever written? Aside from maybe O Holy Night, but that's a whole different conversation. Anyway. Another sentimental favorite here.

I'm still fairly cool on The Smiths, but Girlfriend in a Coma is worth a couple of stars at least.

As mid-90s alt-rock goes, this holds up surprisingly well. I haven't listened to this in a good while. Am I crazy? Even when it's dripping with that sort of 90s faux-angst, the tunes hold up. I feel like I should want to roll my eyes at 'Only Happy When It Rains', but it works for me. Maybe I just believe it more when Shirley Manson says it. Regardless - a happy surprise. I might put this one on more often.

Like the Louis Prima record, this is another one that's just pure entertainment from head to toe. Also, I love the way he sings the line "Well long, tall Sally She's built for speed, she got" I'm talking about the cadence of that, it's just incredible. That kickass voice. This is five stars for me.

Fishbone is one of those groups that I really wanted to love. In 1988, this was a group that was very different from anything else I was taking in. Had a cool logo. Looked cool in band photos. Seemed to go hard. And man there's so much energy all over this thing. Talent for days. But just not connecting here.

I really go back and forth on this one. There are a few songs on here that work for me - Cry Baby, Me and Bobby McGee, Mercedes Benz. And she's got the personality that's pretty unmistakable. She's sort of the other side of the coin with Joe Cocker, maybe? I like all the energy. Some of the songs are indelible. But it's also not something I really reach for. There's something that seems a little put on or something that I don't love.

5. Fucking. Stars. I found this album on Limewire back in the day when I was a poor kid just out of college and I have no idea why I was looking for it. I downloaded it all and had no idea what order the songs went in. But one listen to 'Frontier Psychiatrist' and I fell in love. As usual, I love the kitchen sink production. Aside - why, on Wikipedia, do they have a thumbnail of the cover art and when you click on it, it takes you to a page where you get the exact same art at the exact same size? Like... why even link it, Wikipedia?

This still feels pretty stale the way a lot of gangster rap does now, but this is probably top stale shelf. Whereas The Chronic seems to be pretty much in love with itself, this one feels like it has something to say. Ice Cube also has a killer delivery and more than a few lines that are pretty great. Like, Check Yo Self is one you could put up directly against anything on The Chronic and Cube would be the winner. It Was a Good Day is a stand out, but there's enough here to keep you listening at least once.

As far as I know, I've never heard anything from this album. And I'm a fan of at least a few early Mariah songs. So let's see what's what. Yeah, this is pretty generic. Sounds great, production-wise, but I don't remember any of these songs. And they don't seem memorable. And then The Beautiful Ones turns out to be the best song, but this is a pretty dull version. So... yeah. No Vision of Love? Not even Fantasy? Nope, no coming back for more here.

Yeah, so I mean, Highway Star still gets me. I mean, the lyrics alone on that song - there's a lot to unpack there. Smoke on the Water is one of the first songs I ever learned on guitar, so there's a werid sentimental attachment there. But it is a pretty plodding song, for sure. But overall this doesn't move the needle much. Feels very stuck in its time and doesn't deliver a whole lot of memorable moments.

This might be a great album but it demands a few more listens. Love the sound of it but I don't really love any of the songs. But they all pull me in one way or another - whether it's the voice or the meter, I don't know. But it didn't get my undivided attention. I'd listen again, though, so, 3 stars.

10 stars. This album is foundational to me as a human being. I developed a crush on a girl because she looked almost exactly like the lady on this cover. I can't separate this album from myself. When I look in the mirror, all I see is Surfer Rosa. I'm a little snobbishly put out that 'Where Is My Mind' got so mainstream there for a while. It was a song only I knew about, dammit. This is an unbroken string of great songs, even though toward the end it sounds like they just threw a bunch of outtakes on the thing to fill it out. Don't say a cross word about it or I'll cut you.

I mean, the B-52's are some fun-loving folks and this is some pretty upbeat music, but this is too much of a good thing to me. Feels repetitive. And Rock Lobster is almost 7 minutes long? I don't need all this.

I've never really listened to The Cramps, but this is pretty fun. Doesn't outstay its welcome and really knows what it's got going for it. I'd listen again.

I like Belle and Sebastian but this one is not my favorite. All the song work is there that I like, these sort of winding melodies that are very light and can be pretty dark, pretty funny. But this one doesn't pull me in the way that, say, Dear Catastrophe Waitress does.

I don't know - it's Creedance. I like these songs. I think Fogerty has a thing about him that's pretty great. I don't think about Creedance a lot, but this is solid work.

This album is really underrated. Mostly by me. I've gone through a lot of these 80s albums (because I don't like greatest hits packages), looking for little lost gems and usually I get a lot of hard white turds. But in this case, not so. This was a pretty excellent listen and I would do it again, without shame.

This is that kind of album where everything is exactly where it should be. Every note of it. It can play in the background or it can play in the foreground. It's whatever you want it to be.

I wasn't aware of The Gun Club at all before this and I gotta say, I really liked this. For the Love of Ivy is a great song. I don't know a ton about who they're pulling from, but I'm gonna do a dive on them. Good stuff.

I coudn't figure out any way to listen to this album, so instead, I'm going to leave notes for Want One by Rufus Wainwright. Only because I saw that this list already offered up Want Two and I'm like "Want Two? The fuck is wrong with this list?" Because Want One is every good part of Rufus Wainwright in one album. If you're not won over by the first two tracks of Want One, then... then you probably wouldn't like the rest of it. But it's one the perfect albums and I would give it 5 stars. Maybe Khaled's Kenza is exactly the same way.

When this album came out I listened to it non-stop for months. I'm happy to say that this mostly holds up for me. At the very least, the music is ambitious in a way that a lot of the copycats after them weren't. It veers into self-seriousness a little but somehow manages to stop short of it. Or the worst of it, maybe. This is another album where the vocalist is what pulls me through - it doesn't really matter what gobbledy-gook he's singing, I believe it.

This held my attention for generally half of each song before it fell into the background. I can't argue with the playing on here, but it all seems more like noodling than something you can really invest yourself in, listening-wise. Would've loved to have heard this when it first came out - maybe it would've blown my mind. But having lived through the 90s when most acts were repurposing this sound... it doesn't come off especially special for me.

Yeah, man, all of this worked for me. Was disco that bad? Doesn't really seem like it. Love the production on this and most of this really works for me. I'd listen again.

This album is so deeply 90s. I find it hard to dislike, but there are no songs on it that weren't on the radio that I really like. The idea that this was whittled down from 60 songs seems crazy. There are several more I would've cut, but maybe if I gave it a super close listen, I'd change my mind. Regardless, there are six pretty great songs here and they're spread out enough that the filler-ish songs don't hurt you. 'Bodies' is probably the best of the lesser-known songs? But it is also maybe the most performatively sad of them all. I mean - love is suicide. Sheesh. Sidenote - around the time this came out I had a friend I made music with and we had the idea of doing an original Christmas album by a band called Bring Cosby and the name of the album would be Bells and Holly and the Infinite Santas. That was the best part of the idea and that was as far as it went. Maybe some day.

I listened to this one twice in a row. I've always been a fan of Costello's early stuff but hadn't heard much of anything beyond the 80s. These are really strong, am I crazy? I'm surprised I've never heard a single one of these. This is Hell was a real stand out for me. I like it.

This isn't stand-out Kinks, but it's still Kinks and so it's still pretty listenable all the way through.

I've listened to this one a bunch of times but I came to it pretty late in the game. If this had been one of those albums that bowled me over as a teen it would probably mean a lot to me. But there's was something that didn't add up between Ozzy's persona and what you get from Black Sabbath. Growing up, it was like Ozzy was satanic or something. And you listen to this and they're a bunch of hippies. It's crazy how not scary it is. Kind of like the first time you listen to KISS, maybe, if you came to that late, too. And you're like - wait, is this fucking disco? What the hell was everybody worried about? Anyway, this album is good. I don't love it, but it's a good listen, I think.

I really liked Nevermind and back in the day, I was a very big fan of Nirvana. But this is not very good Nirvana. At the time there was some kind of coolness about not wanting to be doing the thing that you were doing, especially if what you were doing was something that a lot of people liked. Listening to this now - there are a few tracks that are really strong performances but man... a lot of it is also a drag. I don't need to hear every one of these tracks. Kurt didn't want to do this. And I don't want to listen to it.

This was better than I expected. Not sure what I expected, though. From the cover art - looks like three different kinds of bands. But 'neo-psychedelia describes Spacemen 3 pretty well. Only a few tracks were really grating. The rest were pretty listenable. I might dive back into this band, if not this album, again sometime.

I waited for this album to get its hooks into me and it never did. Very hard not to make comparisons to Oasis. This is like Oasis with less personality, maybe? I don't know. It's all very tight and thought out, but just didn't get to me.

I love the energy of this. I can't stand the band name. None of the songs get under my skin, but if I went to bars, this would probably be the bar band I'd want playing.

5 stars. Loved it then, love it now. Somehow, this sadsack never came off like a phony. This album was necessary for a fifteen-year-old kid with big feelings and nowhere to put 'em. Good stuff.

Can't separate this one from real life. This came out almost exactly when I was ending a long-term relationship. That then became a relationship again. And then ended again. So dumb. But this was kind of the soundtrack to that, so it's hard to be objective. Still, I think all of this sounds great. I'd been a big fan of Beck since the beginning and this was all sort of a whole new range that really worked for me. Great stuff.

I'm not a vocals snob at all, but there's something about the lofi, low effort vocals here that are not doing it for me. Sometimes I find this kind of thing really charming and genuine. But in this case, it's just not doing it.

This album is inextricably linked with a group of dudes from art school who called themselves the Full Flavors. I can't listen to this and not think of them. This is both good and bad. Regardless, though, this is a very fun album.

This is another 5 star-er for me. I like the world Tom Waits comes up with. His albums are one of a kind. And this one is a favorite. Goin' Out West is an all-time great song.

I hated 'My Name Is' the first time I heard it on the radio. When this came out it sounded like something geared toward 14-year-old boys who were just realizing that they wanted to upset their moms and weren't sure why or how to do it. I was WAY to old to enjoy this stuff back then. Older than I am now. That said, I don't really enjoy any of this. It feels like a comedy record where the comedian couldn't come up with funny stuff, so they went for the shock. There are bits and pieces that are fun and then sometimes it comes real close to saying something, but then sort of undercuts it. I don't know. Not for me. Two stars because there's clearly talent invovled here. I don't think this is something just anybody could do.

It's kinda crazy that there are only two songs on this entire thing that I really 'like', in that I really respond to and I can't help but get into - Crosstown Traffic and Watchtower. And yet every track on here grabs me.

A pleasant listen. 'Pleasant' is the best descriptor I can come up with. It's a little better than fine? I don't mean to put it down - I thought this was pretty good. It's hard to crawl out of the shadow of the Beatles, though, you know? But yeah, it doesn't reach the heights of a Beatles record, which is maybe a high bar, but hey, I didn't set the bar, maaaaan.

Extremely Kinks. For a record that has very few Kinks songs on it that I know, this is very Kinks. Very listenable, very few generic songs here. No huge standouts, just Kinks-level Kinksdom, which is good enough for me.

I mean, I get it. I get it! I get it. I get why people like this. I just don't like it that much. Three Little Birds is great. It's a very chill listen. I just don't like it that much. I'm sorry.

I don't know if I loved any one song, here, but this could play all day every day in the background of where ever I am and I'd be okay with it.

Hmmmm. There's a free-flowing nature to these tracks that I am not digging, baby. Nothing here that I could sink my teeth into. As soon as it felt like I had a tune, it would slip out of my grasp and go spinning off in some other direction. I just couldn't do it.

Season of Hollow Soul and Constant Craving I like. And there's that early 90's VH1 vibe to all of this that I find some kind of comfort in. Something how I don't see how this could possibly be a hit these days. It's nostalgia, I guess, for a thread of music that I wasn't very into at the time but still made up a percentage of the atmosphere. Still, I don't get very wrapped up in the songs. Pleasant to have on in the background, but not something I'd put on a lot.

I worked at Camelot Super Store in Charlotte, NC when this album came out. For the first month seeing this album cover, I thought the idea was that 'Tical' was an extension of 'Method', so like, the album was called 'Methodtical'. But then a co-worker hipped me to the real - it's a blunt. With cocaine maybe? Dipped, too, maybe? Regardless... a pretty good listen. Method Man's delivery works for me. I didn't walk away with any new best songs, but I liked the production and didn't mind it playing.

I really like the overall sound of this album. You can hear the sweat in these tracks. Great energy. They're all strong performances, but you can see why Layla is far and away the most popular one. I would probably put this on in the background if I could get some of those Eric Clapton quotes out of my head.

I'm starting to like this black Sabbath. Do you know I didn't know they did the original Supernaut? I'd only ever heard - and loved - the 1000 Homo DJs version of that. Haha. Life, am I right? Anyway, no wonder people like Black Sabbath. The songs are good. It's heavy, but that's not what makes it good. The songs are good. I liked this album.

This is one of the best top-to-bottom albums I ever heard. Usually, when I'm disappointed in an album it's because I'm hoping I'll feel about it the way I feel about this one on the first listen. This is the peak of Radiohead's work. Everything after this feels like interesting ideas but not a cohesive whole. I also had way more time on my hands when this came out than I do now so who knows.

Hey, it's this song! I didn't know this song was called this and was from this album. Kind of love the pitch bend keyboard buzz here. This isn't a grabber of an album for me except for a sort of nostalgic time capsule, which I do dig.

I didn't have cable growing up, but my grandparents did and we'd visit them a couple times a year. I wanted them to have MTV, but the cable tier they had only had Vh1. So I got a big dose of this, Tracy Chapman and Swing Out Sister. And I'm all the better for it. Holding Back the Years is a great song. Hoo boy, though, Jericho. That one almost broke me. Yeah, nothing really gets to that same height as Holding Back, but this isn't hack work. They're putting their backs into it.

I liked the heck out of this. Stay With Me is the high point, but I listened to this twice through and didn't get tired of it. Even the stuff that hangs in the background still has enough meat on it to keep it interesting. Simultaneously sounds old-fashioned and cooler than a lot of newer music. Funny thinking Rod Stewart was once not middle-aged.

This album has chased me around for a couple of decades. It's the kind of album that, even though I've listened to it more than once, I feel like I haven't heard it. And I think that's because I don't really like it that much? But I feel like I should, in the sense that I like everything around it, but I don't like very much what's in it. I mean, it's solid, but I just don't love it.

This one just never grabbed me, though I feel like I'm missing a boat here. I'll try it again, but this slipped right past me.

Pure background. Reading the critical response to this album on the Wikipedia page makes me feel like I come from another planet. A lot of this kind of music tends to come off ponderous and repetitive and this is a prime example here. Like an album whose prime directive was 'don't bother anyone'.

As a kid, I always loved New Order's design and I had no idea what they sounded like. My older sibling just wasn't into it, I guess. I'm very glad it sounds like this, though. Nothing that fully grabbed me, but I welcomed the background.

This sounds a lot thinner to me than it once did - I remember hearing this for the first time and it was like a life preserver in a sea of shit. But some very simple, catchy rock, sort of on the order of The Cars, maybe. It cut through everything else that was going on and think what was going on was sort of a Limp Bizkit / Boyband / Sleaze techno phase. So anyway, this was better than that. Still very listenable - I don't know if there's a track on here that doesn't hook me at one point or another. But I have no idea what this guy is singing about, so... I'll still give it 4 stars because I'd listen all the way through.

First of all, that's a great album cover. Second, that's a great album title. And while this one didn't leave me humming anything in particular, I'm hard-pressed to find a bad moment on this one. I could let this play in the background forever and probably let it play in the foreground for a few spins, too. I'd need a good long car ride alone with it to focus on it, probably. Regardless, glad I heard it.

So what this is telling me is that St. Vincent owes a lot to Kate Bush. Everything I like about St. Vincent is here in this album, it seems like, though I don't have that one song that gets stuck in my head, like 'New York'. But that's neither here nor there. I've listened to other Kate Bush work before but it never grabbed my attention like this one. And this is lesser Kate Bush? Fantastic.

Bruce Springsteen has grown on me in the last few years, at least to the point where I started to understand the crazy die-hard fanbase he's got. I mean, Iiked plenty of his songs, but I didn't really start to understand the deep loyalty of his fans until I heard Nebraska, I think, which is still one my favorite albums. I started to see how much of a connection he's constantly going for with the audience. I don't know if there is another musician out there today that is this earnest and this sincere in just being barely more than a person in the audience himself? The hell am I talking about? Anyway, this is a good album, too, even though it doesn't really get its hooks into me. I'd listen to it for the mood itself.

Man, I really liked the vibe of this when it started, all schlubby singing and discordant chording. Everything was mismatched in a really compelling way. And seeing that this one is the first they did in a real studio also makes it endearing - I like these albums where a group stretches their muscles and gets a little money behind them. But for some reason this seemed to go on twice as long as I thought it would. It lost me, is what I'm saying.

I've heard this before, but maybe I didn't really listen to it. Regardless, I love this album. Alison is an all-time great song. But there's not really a filler song on this thing. There's a great collision of old-fashioned rock n roll with something unhinged that just really works for me. Great stuff.

This started out really strong. Those first few tracks are catchy as all hell and they get into bone real good. But then it felt like more of the same the longer it went on. By the end, I wanted that beat to just stop, to change up for a minute, but it never seemed to. It's a very infectious beat. But like more infections, after a while, you wish it would go away. Still, a very solid bit of musicking here.

So this is Suzanne before Luka. Nothing here has that Luka-level grab to it, but I liked listening to it. She has an unassuming but engaging voice and the arrangements were interesting. Not something I would run back to, but worth the listen.

I never listened a lot to Motorhead, but this album really never lets you down. It's all sort of this thundering and very tightly held together mess. If you wanted to make a song that sounded like a hungover guy who hadn't showered in a week running from the law on a Harley that was about to fall apart, this is what that would sound like.

Ehhhhhh?

It's funny how childish this sounds to me now, though Ice Cube is convincing. I believe whatever Cube says. Several of these tracks are duds. I mean, 'Gangsta Gangsta' is some stilted stuff. Whereas 'Fuck tha Police' is timeless. Sadly. And also, any time Eazy E shows up - hoo man, the whole thing takes a real nosedive. I don't believe a word of that stuff.

Even the lesser-known songs here are pretty strong. Really, everything through 'She's Always a Woman' is solid stuff. It was only the last two songs that I tuned out a bit. It's a lot of crafty songmansships and I dig it.

I mean... five stars. How do you argue with this? Even the no-name songs, they still have Aretha singin' on 'em.

This is another group of songs - kind of like The Stranger - where every song grabs me somehow. I like that he's stretching a bit on this one - the songs sound a little more open, they sound like they're in a room full of people instead of just you and Smith in his basement. Which I also like, but... This isn't my favorite Elliott Smith, but it's pretty damn strong.

The first time I heard the band name 'Echo & The Bunnymen', I thought it was a novelty group, like Weird Al. And since I already loved Weird Al, my first thought was the Echo were a copycat and I never gave them a listen. Having listened now, 'The Killing Moon' is the only real standout for me. The rest of it just never gets there, wherever there is. It's not here, though, I know that. What do I want - more Cure? More Erasure? More Depeche Mode? Yeah, probably something like that. This one never broke through.

This is a good time top to bottom. Love the production on this, even though some songs don't really grab me. At worst, this is great background music.

Ragged Glory is a great title for this album. I love the story behind how it was recorded - it sounds a bit like a live record, like it has that energy. There are a couple of stand out songs here, like Fuckin' Up, Over and Over, and Mansion on the Hill. But I can get behind pretty much all of this. Still, when it falters, it falls all the way into the background. But I think I'll put this one on again, so I'll give it the big four.

I associate this sound with most late 80s pop and yet I think maybe all of that sound was in this album. Maybe a little bit in 'Control'. But anyway, there is some filler here, for sure, but for an album that was intentionally going for socially conscious subject matter, this is pretty strong. Rhythm Nation, Miss You Much, Escapade, and Black Cat all work for me. Come Back to Me has some sort of comforting '89 dentist office feel to it. I don't know - mostly this works.

If this is one of the 1001 best albums of all time, then I feel like the stuff I've recorded is solidly in the 2000s.

This one had me for a little bit with 'Religion'. Love that cover and all the possibilities that lie therein. But this all felt pretty repetitive, not really taking me to a new and special place.

This is some fine stuff, but I'm still dealing with my deep, deep feelings of disappointment at this and the two previous albums in the wake of Ok Computer, which I loved. I wanted more of that, and just didn't get it. I wanted fan service! There's good stuff on all the albums, but none of it got anywhere close to OK Computer for me. Not fair to compare an album to an expectation, but that's where it is. Some bright spots on this one, though - 2+2=5, Sail to The Moon, Go To Sleep, The Gloaming

5 stars. Love this one, listened to it lots. Love how simple the songs are and the ambiance of the prison audience. The announcements here and there are just great. This works as foreground and background for me.

I think the only song on here that will be any good is 'Humpty Dance'. Let's see. Yeah, I think that's it. I do like the production on it - there's some depth to these beats. I'll give this one extra points for being a concept album about a drug that makes astronauts orgasm? And the song Gutfest '89 also gets some extra points for bein' real gross. But that still only adds up to a 3.

Hey, look, this is some lively, lively stuff and great background music. Top notch background. The beginning grabs me and there's a lot of great work here, but it doesn't hold my attention. They can't all be Incubus.

I'm really torn with this one. I liked the energy and some of it really had me hooked. But the production sounded off to me - too thin or small or something? And the more I listened to it, the more I wanted it to end, which isn't great. I won't go back unless some really explains it to me.

5 stars all up and down the road. All those cheesy "bow bow bow bow bow"s on Second Hand News? Love it. Not a bad track here. Clinton couldn't even kill my love for 'Don't Stop'. But the best here - 'The Chain', 'Dreams', 'Songbird'... I don't know, this is all great. And the back story on it, what was going on when they recorded it, is pretty great, too. Where's the biopic of the recording of Rumors? And Shawn - can I write a treatment of that and pitch it? To Lindsay or whoever? The story would kill and the soundtrack sells itself. Call me. (I listened to this three times today. I'm not a superfan, really, but this is good stuff.)

This is very close to being The Faces, and that's great. The vibe is very much like that Faces album we already listened to. It's not Rumours good, but it's pretty good. Every song has something to grab on to, and I'm not a fan of Rod Stewart's voice. I'm liking all of this in spite of that. The album starts strong and builds to Maggie May, and then gently plays itself out. I don't know if I'll go back to this on purpose, but I wouldn't turn it off if it came on.

This is not what I thought Hanoi Rocks was going to sound like. Am I crazy? As a glam rock consumer of the mid to late 80s, I thought they arrived much later than they actually did. So this is kind of a nice surprise, though still pretty thin. Engaging songs, but nothing that made me want to hear it twice.

Am I a Motorhead fan? Maybe I'm a Motorhead fan. This is the second album of theirs on this list and... I mean, I like the whole thing. So I think I'm a Motorhead fan. I'm not a Motorhead superfan, but I'd say I'm definitely a fan, for all the reasons I enumerated in my last Motorhead review, linked here: [no link was found]

Getting bad Filter / Incubus vibes from this album art. Never listened to Massive Attack before, so let's see what this is. There's a fine vibe here overall but it never pulls me in. That is, until we get to this version of Light My Fire at the end and, oh man, if you wanted me to want to turn this off, mission accomplished.

My appreciation for ABBA has grown a lot over the last few years, to the point now where I have to say - this is absolutely at least a 4 star album that I will put on again.

This is a 5-star for me. A little bit of that is sentimental, but I admire the shit out of her songwriting. She's one of those songwriters who goes wherever she wants with a song and never loses me. I remember hearing her first few singles on the radio and feeling like they were lightyears beyond what was getting a lot of play.

I mean, look - t's Parliament. There are a lot of albums that have this much swagger and don't have even half as much to offer. I'm looking at you, The Chronic. This is just effortlessly good. It's not even engaging the whole time, but every bit of it is right. I might give this 5 stars and it'll be the first one I've given 5 stars that is kind of a background album for me. But I might not. We'll see tomorrow.

The title track is an incredible opener that immediately justifies having every instrument on that cover. Fairytale of New York is amazing. A lot of great energy and playing here. I especially appreciate the inclusion of the track 'Worms'. But then my streamer pulled a fast one and tacked six b-sides onto the end , ruining the experience. I really hate that shit. I really do. It's my least favorite thing about streamers, that you have to weed out bonus material. This album ending at 'Worms' is great. Ending where it did wanted me to never go back to it again.

I'll tell you what, this album won me over. This album art did not give me high hopes - I was getting 311 vibes and that's not a scene I dig, man. And that tie fighter sound at the top was probably a lot cooler to hear in 1996 than it is now. There aren't huge standouts here for me, but especially like some of the bigger, buzzier moments. I probably would've gone for this in '96, if I'd heard it first.

5 stars. Everything up to Jamaica Jerk-Off is great, great, great. JJO feels cheap to me. Not a terrible tune, just sounds thin and unnecessary. After that, it kind of lurches around. 'Seen That Movie Too', 'All The Girls Love Alice', 'Saturday's Alright For Fighting', and 'Social Disease' are all pretty solid. 'Harmony' is a pretty good closer. Even with the filler, though, I still do love putting this album on every time.

'Somebody to Love' and 'White Rabbit' are great, just great. There's a lot that's very good here - psych rock that's not embarrassing. It's not Jefferson Starship, tough.

This is a tough one. I really like opener, but despite Freddie Mercury's voice and some fun ideas along the way, this one never really sits down and gives me a hug.

This is one of those albums, man. Has the stink of genius all over it. Imagine is still a great song. So is Oh Yoko. Jealous Guy is also pretty good. But this isn't really even as good as Rumors, ya know? This is not one I would listen to three times in a row. And I love the Beatles and John Lennon in general. I'll give it four stars because Imagine still strikes me as something that would bother religious conservatives. But that's as far as I can go.

This album art is giving me impossibly high hopes. I don't know this album or what is on it. Let's see what happens. This is fun and there's a lot going on here. When our kids were small and they'd get into a very serious mood and they'd be in and out of the room and carrying stuff in and out and building something, my wife and I would say "they're so busy." Todd is very busy here. This doesn't all hold together for me - it doesn't feel like there's something running through all of it outside of ambition or enthusiasm, but it's pretty much all fine craftsmanship. There are no songs that really pull me in, but it's not grating either. So it's background. The covers are strange - they sound... almost exactly like the originals? To the point where I had to say to myself "Are these the originals?" I don't know how to feel about that. I feel like if you're going to cover something, you gotta give it something of your own, otherwise what's the point? But anyway. Fine background for me.

I like this album and I've kind of always liked Arcade Fire even though when I think of them in the abstract, they seem kind of boring. A friend of mine had free tickets to a show of theirs, a big arena show, and invited me along. I went but kind of felt like it was going to be a slow evening. It definitely wasn't. It was a helluva show and they worked their asses off. The songs are all sort of big emotion songs, though I feel like if each one was just a few degrees off from where it actually lands, I wouldn't be able to listen to any of it. But this album in particular is one of their better ones and I've listened to it plenty. And I'll listen again, so - 4 stars.

This album is what I was afraid Black Sabbath would be. There's some good work here, of course, but there's a lot more wallowing in the sludge. This isn't nearly as fun as Vol. 4, but they had to start somewhere, so I'm glad they started here.

If you're anything like me, you listened to a lot of Zeppelin in your early teen years and in short order, you pretty much knew all those albums backward and forward. Then in the early 2000s, they released 'How the West Was Won', and every track on it sounded 1000% better than any of the albums. It pumped a few extra gallons of blood into each one of those songs. Anyway, that's what I hope for whenever I hear a new live album. I didn't get it here, but most of the hits sound great - great energy behind them. Much like other Who albums, though, this feels like it goes on too long.

Here's the thing about Portishead - they're the first artists I ever heard of who recorded their music and then sampled it to turn it into the songs on the album. Maybe I don't have that exactly right, but I seriously dig that worth ethic. But anyway, the first two songs are GREAT. The third is good. Then the fourth one is kinda like "uh-oh, are they going for Sade, here? Because I like Sade, but I don't want that from Portishead." But then it clicks back in with Wandering Star and builds up to Glory Box which is a GREAT closer. This is a good album. I like Portishead.

Pffft. 5 stars. There are few perfect albums and this is one of them. All killer, zero filler. Most of it shouldn't even work but it does. Like, this opening with the organ and the eulogy? This could've crashed and burned. But it's fucking great. I like a lot of Prince's stuff, but he never got back to this. I bet this album benefitted from him writing, like, 200 songs and then paring it down to 9; that was his beef with WB, wasn't it? That they wouldn't let him release multiple albums a year? Anyway, I think curation helped this one a lot. I kinda wish he'd taken every three albums after this and pared those songs down to one album. Imagine. Extra points to Prince for making me believe, when I was 10, that somehow when I grew up, adult life would be something like what is on this album and its cover. Oh but here is some bullshit - on the 'normal' album on Apple Music, the end of I Would Die 4 U doesn't lead directly into Baby I'm a Star. Like, it just stops the party at the end of Die 4 U. I will take one star away from Apple Music for this and give Purple Rain 6 stars.

I've always wanted to like Roxy Music but haven't gotten into any of their stuff. But I haven't heard this before. Let's see what's up: The album starts strong. Listening through twice, I like the feeling of all of it, but I'm not drawn in. And it's been so long since I listened to something new that really drew me in that I wonder if the problem is me. For sure I shouldn't be listening to this during work. Work is a real distraction. But I'll give this a few more listens when I can really listen. Maybe I'll end up liking Roxy Music after all. Aaaaaand now I see that Apple Music has screwed me again - I was just thinking "jesus this is a long album" and that was because of the 14 extra tracks tacked to the end of the album. Come on with this.

There are three Nina Simone songs that are all-timers for me - Feeling Good, Strange Fruit, and Mississippi Goddam. I've never done a deep dive of her stuff, but I know that I've heard plenty through samples in other people's music - Four Women, for instance. But she is one performer who always sounds like the truth and every song she sings is an experience. It's a world to itself. And this album is a great example of that. First time I've heard this one, and I'll call this five stars.

Moondance - this is a solid four stars for me. The first side of this one are all pretty great and I've heard 'em a million times. The flipside is decent but fades into the background a bit. Good performances across the board, I think, but not as engaging. Kid A - This is a big disappointment for me following OK Computer, which I liked every corner of. There's great stuff in it, but it's not something that holds my attention all the way through. It sounds so canned that I just want there to be a little bit of fresh air in it. Anyway - Moondance gets 4, but Kid A gets 3.

Man, I couldn't care less about what these guys are talking about. A few songs in, and the hardcore rap-ness was dulling. BUT what's under those rappings? That works pretty well most of the time. I complain a lot that albums don't grab me and pull me in, but this one did numerous times and I didn't want to get pulled in. So anyway, good beats, bad raps, 2 stars.

This stuff has been sampled and mapped over so many times, it's hard to think of what this must've felt like, hearing it for the first time. Great party energy, though it did fall into the background. Thought that's probably because of repetition - it alll already sounds so familiar. I'll give it an extra star since, when I was a kid, I thought Afrika Bambaataa and Mr. T were the same person and that seems wrong.

Seriously, though, fuck Deluxe Expanded editions. And maybe fuck Apple Music? But the only edition of this album on Apple Music has 114 tracks. For fuck's sake. For the sake of fuck. No one needs that many versions of The Magic Bus. Townshend's in his grave, like "enough already". First of all, Pete Townshend is not dead. Did you wonder for a second, though? Second - I enjoyed the shit out of this, from the very first second on through. It's that kitchen sink thing that I like. Unpredictable but lovely and seems like they're just throwing tons of ideas into the mix and it keeps paying off. I'll listen again.

I'm not sure I've ever listened to Emmylou Harris. I get her mixed up with other folks in my head and I can't think of, ya know, that one Emmylou Harris song. But damn this is strong. This is just one of those perfect little albums, where everything fits. Even her doing a cover of Coat of Many Colors works just perfectly. I'd only heard that from Dolly Parton, with that distinctive Dolly Parton voice. And yet Harris knocks it out of the park. Is it that I believe everything that comes out of her mouth? Probably. Dug this one. I'll go back.

Take Me To The River is my very least favorite Talking Heads song, so this is probably my least favorite Talking Heads album. That being said, this is fine. For some other bands, this would be amazing. For Talking Heads, this is fine and I would let it play. It's got all the sounds and some of the moves of the best of TH, but there's a spark that just isn't here, and I think that's exemplified in Take Me To The River. Anyway, 3 stars.

Okay. 3 tracks. The first one is 20 minutes long. Okay. Opening up my mind and heart. Let's do this. I hate that I sound like a broken record, but this is another one that doesn't grab me. I'm not in a headspace to go on a sonic journey with Yes right now. The playing is great, lot of talent here. And I was never annoyed by it, but I can't remember anything I heard in it and I listened to it twice. I star for each track.

The cover is great. I want to like this album more than I do but only because so many teens wear Slayer shirts now and I want to say to them "You don't know what Slayer is all about! I do!" But I don't. What I do know is that I really like the production here and I like Tom Araya's voice. Metal vocals can sometimes really ruin your whole day, but these sound great. Still - at a certain point it feels like a pummeling and not in a good way.

Kate Bush and me, we just ain't meant to be. Every song is just around the corner from something that I would love, but I can't key in on exactly what she's after. It reads like parody sometimes and I'm looking for the sense of humor, to figure out what the joke is, but I can never put my finger on it. Super interesting arrangements and tunes, but nothing that sticks in my head. I really want to be a Bush-baby, but I don't think it's gonna happen.

Very, very 1967. Some nice moments here and there, but nothing that really stuck out for me. Mostly, it felt very much of its time and that can be fun. This was good background.

Never heard of it. You know, on this one, there's always something to carry you through. Whether it's a killer hook, incredible guitar work, or the sheer audacious stupidity of the song lyrics ('let me cut your cake with my knife' is some Spinal Tap-level shit), this never gets boring. I wouldn't say it's all killer, but it never loses me. And it's got a few all-time greats.

I know this has been around forever, but I've never listened to it because it always sounded more like a concept that came from a committee than from an actual good idea. "What if... See if you can follow me here, Ted... What IF... we took Metallica, right? And we had them play with a symphony. You know, because they're so opposite. Who conducts a symphony? I don't know, who's a symphony guy? John Williams? Can't get him? Okay, I don't know, just get somebody. And we could call it 'S&M'. Get it? Get it? No, it stands for 'Symphony and Metallica! Because that's what it is!" It just seems to be trying too hard from the get-go. But let's see. Having listened - I expected there to be more hits? As I haven't listened to much Metallica post-Black Album, a lot of this was like listening to a band that always has an orchestra behind it. Kinda like a movie soundtrack. But not much emotion here. Then 'Master of Puppets' hits and it sounds really weighed down. It's beholden to this classical music idea. It all really sounds lethargic. I stopped listening at One. I figured that was the one that would benefit the most from this treatment, but no. Dear god, when they hit "hold my breath as I wish for death" is just bloodless. That was a real slog for me. Just took all the juice out of Metallica. Not looking to hear that again.

This is a tough one. That opening sounds way more modern than I expected. If Fat Boy Slim never sampled that, then he's lost a step. None of the tunes stuck with me, but I enjoyed listening to all of them. I liked the exact level of weird humor here. It never took itself too seriously, but it also wasn't a parody - at least not a parody of anything I could recognize. The production is over-saturated and carries a great groove most of the time. If the songs were just a hair more catchy, this would be an essential album for me.

The first three tracks are hard to argue with unless you already hate U2. I mean, Bono is an acquired taste. Probably less back then than now. But anyway, the first three songs are very strong. And if the rest of the album could've kept up that pace, it would be a five-star album. 'Where the Streets Have No Name' sets a scene that the rest of the album doesn't quite live up to. They do stay in their bucket the whole time - there's not a late album polka or anything. And 'In God's Country' is a nice little boost toward the end there. Through, there's the jangly U2 sound that lets you know who you're listening to, and that's comforting for some reason. So - it starts strong, it fades into nice background. Three stars.

Nick Cave has always been a tough one for me. Murder Ballads is great, The Boatman's Call is great and just generally the songs are strong structurally and melodiously. But usually, at some point, he completely loses me and I get the feeling I need a masters in English lit to follow him wherever it is he's off to. And yet - this is pretty great. This is one that I think I'll dive into a little further.

This was a badly needed breath of fresh air when it came out and now I'm pretty tired of breathing it. So stripped down, it brought to mind Billy Bragg and Violent Femmes, at least to me, at least in 2001. Just the way that, without a ton of studio tricks, these songs were compelling. 'Hotel Yorba' is a sentimental favorite and I still like its optimistic view toward relationships. 'I Think I Smell a Rat' is abysmal and I don't want to hear it ever again. That's a big range. A lot of it sounds kind of samesy after a while and fades into the background.

It pains me to say it, but this may be one of my least favorite Bowie albums. 'Lazarus' is a fantastic song and gives me everything I want out of an album that was recorded when Bowie knew he was on his way out. Nothing else steps up to that song though. Interesting digressions to be had here and there, but it's more of a jazz album than a Bowie album, at least to me. Maybe it needs a closer listen, but none of these songs really seem to take off. Background, though, for sure.

'Bittersweet Symphony' is an alright tune, overshadowed by all that Rolling Stones business. This didn't annoy me until the song about 'Looking back on my life' and, coming from a 26-year-old, that's a little bit rich. I don't agree that this was the best alt album of 1997, especially when OK Computer came out the same year. This slipped into the background and into oblivion. Not a lot for me here.

I bought this one when it came out, mainly because of the hype around it. This was an album rescued from oblivion - a hell of a backstory. And there are some great moments on this for sure. But I've never successfully listened to this all the way through. It's just a smidge over 45 minutes - not that long a stretch. But it feels like twice that to me. Maybe that's because it has so much to live up to? Still, Heroes and Villains, Roll Plymouth Rock, Surf's Up, Child is Father of the Man... all good stuff. Good Vibrations strikes me as a tug of war between Wilson and Mike Love. Those verses are hauntingly beautiful. Then the chorus busts in and "She's giving me excitations" - jesus that's bad. It's always been bad. I can't stand it. So this is better than background, but it always ends up in the background for me. 3.5 stars.

You shoulda been there the first time I realized that quote from the opening of 'The Breakfast Club' was from the song 'Changes'. Haha oh boy. What a day. But really, what a bunch of great songs - Changes, Oh!, You Pretty Things, Life on Mars?, Kooks, Quicksand, Fill Your Heart, Andy Warhol, Queen Bitch... there's plenty of good stuff to go around. This one doesn't meander or, at least if it does, it comes back with something interesting.

Man, I love the sound of this. I have seriously underestimated this group. Or maybe just this album. You guys ever listen to Ex Hex? Ex Hex is great, too, but owes a massive debt to the Go Go's. Anyways - Our Lips are Sealed, We Got The Beat, Fading Fast, You Can't Walk in Your Sleep. Even Skidmarks on My Heart, which is a terrible title, still works! And all of this makes me want to hear what they sounded like when they were straight punk. Anyway, enjoyed this one a lot.

Goddamit. Put this on yesterday, didn't look at the track listing. It was 17 tracks long and around the 12th track I was like "Jesus, when is this gonna be over." And of course, it's a 10 track album in a 17 track sack thanks to streaming music. But anyway, sounds like the Byrds were getting into experimenting with sonic textures and, I mean, awesome. Enjoy. But Mind Gardens is rough going. The alien voices on CTA 102 are cartoonish. This one has several okay songs. My Back Pages and So You Want To Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star are the best and that's not really a super high bar. But this is a solidly 1967 album. It feels and sounds of that year and it doesn't seem like it traveled far beyond it.

You remember Buster Poindexter? I only remember him because he'd pop up on SNL every now and then. I had no other frame of reference for him. He was kinda scary and kinda corny, big showman vibe but with a low-rent central casting look? He was the cabby in Scrooged. You remember. Anyway, David Johanssen in great. I wish I'd known about New York Dolls before Buster Poindexter. I might have found it all a lot funnier. Regardless, I like this album. Each song is catchy in the exact same way. I really like Personality Crisis, but it might be the only one I really remember. Either way, fun album, good sound. Thanks Buster.

I'm so torn on this stuff. I think the arrangements and rambling melodies work amazingly well for something that has no hooks. As non-engaged as I am by every song here, I can't say the songs are bad. Like the last thing we listened to of hers - the unpredictable nature of the tunes are great - breath-of-fresh-air great. But man, they ramble and I can't get into them. Seems like something that if I listened to it nonstop for a week it would click. But like this, I just can't get in the door.

You know how on track 15 it starts with 'Ladies and Gentlemen... Cee-Lo'? That bugs me. You could maybe lead off the album with that. But when it happens just before the 15 track... it starts to feel like, you know what, maybe this album should be over already. I don't know - another album I'm torn on. I like Cee-Lo's voice a lot. I like the sense of humor generally. But the songs don't get under my skin. And this one feels overlong and out of focus. Tons of good material, but maybe it needed a little curating. I bet at 12 or 13 songs... even 10 songs... it plays a little better.

There was a time when I really couldn't stand The Smiths and maybe that was because I saw myself as someone who listened to louder, cruder, harder stuff. And also because I hadn't listened to any Smiths. This is a hard one not to like! You have to buy into the ridiculousness of the songs to an extent and once you have, it's a little party. The dark humor and emoishness mixed with the popishness, it all works for me now. These songs are good, that's all.

I mean, yeah, this album was so overplayed by 1991 it was the butt of probably the best joke in Wayne's World. But it's fuckin' Led Zepplin IV. What are you gonna do? If you heard this album for the first time today, you'd still be like "okay, that's a different level." Unless you'd already been a fan of Greta Van Fleet, maybe.

Late 90s Dylan, huh? Alright. I mean I'm a fan of a lot of 60s Dylan. And some 70s Dylan. Even some 80s Dylan (that song he did on the Band of the Hand soundtrack I stand by forever. Probably the best song on any forgotten B-movie soundtrack ever.) This album won me over. I was not at all excited about it. 'Not Dark Yet' is pretty great. 'Love Sick' is a good start. 'Standing in the Doorway' sounded so good. 'Trying to Get to Heaven' jumped out at me. It's all kind of what I would expect from Dylan, a little less urgent but a better experience than with some of his more rambly bits. I'll be listening to this again.

Excellent, excellent background. Transporting background. Not interested in listening to this closely, but would never turn it off in the background.

A black metal album with a cross-eyed goat-faced man on the cover. Can anything live up to it? Yeah, kinda. I mean - this is some black ass metal. Short tight songs, leaning toward the transgressive. Silly because it's definitely for teenaged boys, but still fun. It's not Regurgitated Guts, but it'll do til some gets here.

Common is one of those guys... Is he an actor? Is he a musician? I know he's been in plenty of movies and made plenty of albums, but I can't name one from either category. He doesn't have that one song that everybody knows, ya know? Ice Cube does. Ice-T does. Tupac does. So on and so on. So anyway - let's see. I don't know any of these songs. I can't say that they stuck. But this is a very listenable record. The production on it, the samples, the arrangements are all really strong. I wouldn't turn this off if it were on.

What kind of guy do you have to be to use the term 'mama' to refer to a potential romantic partner and not sound weird? And to tell said 'mama' that you want to show her 'sweet delight'? I don't think I could pull either of those moves off, but Boston does. So that's worth a point. This is pretty good. It's definitely inoffensive. But there are also moments that are pretty undeniable. The first three tracks, for instance, are hard to forget. It's sort of like that Howard Hawks quote about making movies - have 3 great scenes and no bad ones. That's kind of this album. I could actively listen to this again.

Do you remember when Walk This Way came out, with Aerosmith and Run DMC and you were 12 and it was like "oh SHIT!" and then sometime later you heard the original Aerosmith version and you were like "oh."? And then you heard Guns 'n' Roses' version of Mama Kin and you were like "OH SHIT!" and then you heard Aerosmith's version and you were like "what?"? That's pretty much my relationship with Aerosmith. They belong somewhere in the rock n roll landscape, but they always feel about two steps back from greatness. There was that point at the end of the 80s / beginning of the 90s where the brought in songwriters and became really popular and had some catchy tunes. And hey, I owned Permanent Vacation and Pump. There's nothing on this one for me, though. These feel like sketches of better songs. These songs were recorded too soon. Two steps back from greatness.

The cover is fantastic. I wanted a whole album of 'Let Me Go' level stuff. This wasn't it. Interesting, but nothing that made me take notice. Makes sense that this album came first. I'd leave it on in the background.

Never heard this one before and ended up liking every song on it. I can't really put my finger on exactly why, so I'll chalk it up to 'good songwriting' and leave it at that. It's possible that I'm an Elvis Costello fan.

This is not for me. I remember people loving it, but it feels needlessly aggressive and bitter. Like a 20-something pretending to be cynical. It's not my vibe. Some nice sounds, though.

Is this guy bleeding from the head? Is he okay? Getting Adam Levine vibes. This one lost me at Bongo Bong.

Nope. What I always hated so much about Kid Rock, before I even knew how bad a guy he was, was that he really ruined rock for a number of years. Maybe it's not his fault, but the whole army of these rap rock bands just took a shit all over the place and made rock die. The fact that this was ever popular is kind of disheartening. This asshole is rapping and it's fucking atrocious. Fucking cornrows. Fuck this guy. I got two songs in. I tried. The first verse of Cowboy did it. This was created in a lab that makes things for me to hate. I listened to Return of the Frog Queen and I feel so much better.

Can anything sound bad after Kid Rock? I don't love everything here, but it's very listenable. Yellow is pretty strong. It's at least fine background.

Here's how good Trent Reznor is - this stuff is comedically angry and bleak. And yet - very listenable. I love the sound of it and there are occasional sparks of greatness. My mind wanders a bit on the way through, but he makes bleeps and booms sound better than most people.

The first song on this album was very welcome after this past week of the dregs of this list. And NIN. Three tracks in, we've got Stephen Sondheim. Give this man a Nobel Prize. We end on Sondheim, too? What is this album? It's a delight, that's what it is.

Here's the thing - I really like Steely Dan. I don't know much more about them than the music. I've never seen them live. I got their box set at some point during film school and it was one of those situations where you listen to something and you like every single song you hear. As if you'd heard it all before. And some of it I had heard before, but the deep cuts were just as good if not better than the hits. And among Steely Dan albums is probably my favorite. I like the way it sounds, I like that it sounds like easy listening and the subject matter is drugs and porn and losers. And Ulysses, I guess? I love it.

This cover is ugly. And not because of the Ed Roth troll driving a hot rod. That part is cool. It's because it looks like it started out as a good t-shirt decal and then someone airbrushed purple and pink over it for no reason? Oh man. It's bad. The music is better, though it didn't sink in. There's something to it that kept trying to drag me back in and I'll probably give it a closer listen some other time - though if I'm saying that now, it's also very possible that won't happen. It's a little like other Nick Cave stuff - it either grabs me at the top and holds on or I feel like I can't get in. With this, I can't get in.

I loved Electro-Shock Blues - that one has some all time great songs on it for me. This one feels like that one's little brother. 'Novocaine for the Soul' was a song title that fit in well the year it came out - a little over-dramatic, a little too on-the-nose? But I still like the general sound of all of this, even if 'Novocaine' is the only song that stands out for me.

I win this time, motherfucker! I knew a minute into 'Moog Raga' that I was listening to some 'expanded edition' bullshit! I win! I win! I was like "what are these mouse farts doing?" and then I knew. Whew. Anyway - this entire album played in the background and never grabbed me once. Just nothin'. Nothin'. Absolutely fine background.

I wasn't big on the rave scene. It seemed like a lot of drugs and repetitive beats. This sounds a little more entertaining than that, but not by much. It sounds like there's some thought going into this, which is more than I can say for other music in this category, so that's cool. But there's nothing here that stays with me.

A friend recently called us, saying they have two tickets to Gorillaz that they can't use. It was only then that I realized I only liked one Gorillaz song. The rest of it is good design. I owned this one, always tuned out after Clint Eastwood. Sounds great, but there's nothing for me after that.

Never listened to this before but heard plenty of Curtis Mayfield. This was great. Love it. Now I know where the Beastie's got that one sample on Paul's Boutique. I mean, this is great. What's not to like?

Lively. Clear. Not something I feel super connected to, but definitely some good melody work here.

From the first words, I simply cannot take this seriously. This music needs to cast a little more of a spell before it dives into "ROHTS! BLOODY ROHTS!" I'm giggling from the outset. 'Ratamahatta' came around and I was still sort of bemused by it all. On 'Dusted', it ain't gettin' any better. This guy seems very upset. I'll tell you what, a lot of the vocal performance here made me laugh. This probably isn't for me and I'm definitely not keyed in to whatever this is supposed to be doing. Good playing, though? There's a brief respite with Itsari - that was pretty enjoyable! Then we dive right back into the angst. I checked out at the beginning of 'Canyon Jam'. Sepultura did not earn another 12 minutes of my life.

I seem to remember having the tape of this with the censored cover. It's almost weird to see this cover art. That said, this is pretty good, but not near as good as Nothing's Shocking, which is a tape I wore out quite literally. Played so much it erased itself. Reading up on this, I learned that there was this entire back story to the album that I didn't know about and, now that I know... it's still pretty good. This one meanders too much for me. This cover is great, though.

Full disclosure: I did not listen to the deluxedition. And I will never do so unless I love this. Strong start. I could listen to Roundabout several more times. That bass work, brother. Jeez. And yeah, okay, yeah, sure, yeah, this is fine, this is just fine! Just fine indeed! Every song is either pretty snappy or good background. I'll go along with this, sure! Not listening to the deluxedition though.

For a songwriter who seems to have only one move, sound-wise, Mascis really makes the most of it. I wasn't a big Dinosaur Jr. fan back when Dinosaur Jr. was a big deal, so I don't have any other attachment to these songs, so they kind of play as pleasant 90s grunge background. Pleasant it is, though. Also - is the last track on the album supposed to abruptly cut off? Anybody else experience that? I took three tries at it and it ended suddenly in the same place each time.

I mean - this is great! I'm not even a blues man, but this entire album is a great time, beginning to end.

Synth punk? Absolutely. Minimalist? You bet. Interesting? Sure! Listen again? Probs not.

I want to like this a lot more than I do, which is a weird thing to want. I guess it's because it has all the trappings of something I would love, but somehow it never gets all the way there. 'Common People' is a great song, but I first heard William Shatner's version. Maybe that's the problem right there. I like this more than just as a background record and I'll keep trying with this one, so maybe that makes it a 4. Yeah, I guess it's a four then. Okay.

I bought a bootleg tape of Pink Floyd's Delicate Sound of Thunder at a flea market in Myrtle Beach back in 1988. I didn't know a lot of Pink Floyd - mostly things from The Wall. But that first track, Shine on You Crazy Diamond, is pretty fucking amazing. And I gauge that mainly by two criteria- 1) I really love it and 2) it's almost 12 minutes long. This one opens with a lesser version of 'Shine' - it feels lethargic compared to the live version. That said, it's hard to deny the chops of these guys. They aren't playing in a standard songwriting sandbox and yet this is frequently engaging. Pretty good stuff.

I think I've always liked the idea of Sufjan Stevens more than the music. There's a song on Michigan that I really love. Chicago and John Wayne Gacy, Jr. are standouts on this one. But in the end, it always fades into the background and sounds samesy after a while.

I own this, I love it. There's almost no downtime in here for me - this is all great. Everything good about these musicians is on this record. Love it.

The tunes here worked pretty well for me. This album had a strong start and I found it pulling me back in several times as it played in the background. This one I'd give a closer listen to. I like the production a lot, I like the genre-jumping songs - sounds almost like a mixtape. I didn't give a close enough listen to buy into the details of the lyrics, but I think I just might.

I like this cover - I like the idea of posing people on, in, and around a tree. Like, yeah, this is just how we hang out. When we're not playing music, we tend to hang out in, on, and around a tree. Anyway, Papa Was a Rollin' Stone deserves at least 4 stars alone. But even without it, this is some pretty strong soul funk, if that's a thing. I'd listen again.

There's talent here, but I still can't stand the sound of any of this. His voice, the jerky beats. It's super cool he got to make several albums so that he could talk about how much he wanted to kill every woman in his life. Stan is dark in an interesting way. The Real Slim Shady is an abomination.

There's so much to like here that I'm a little dismayed I don't like it more than I do. This mix of ingredients is very cool and sometimes delivers some powerful moments. But having listened, there is no tune stuck in my head. The best I can give this is a three.

Victoria is a great song and a great opener. I really like this a lot. As someone seemed to note in the Wikipedia write up, this is like Tommy if it had good melodies. I can listen to this a bunch more.

For noise rock, this is pretty great. A few tracks went on a smidge to long, but somehow they still held it all together. How did I miss this in 1994? I was probably still listening to Dirty.

This is one of those albums that works for me all the way across the board. Crazy to think that this came out 4 days after Cobin killed himself. I remember kind of reeling from that - one of those deeply Gen X 90s moments. I bought this the day it was released and wore it out. There's nothing here that doesn't work for me. And Rock Star is an incredible closer.

Oh fuck - I know for SURE I'm not finding a version of this without 38 bonus tracks attached to it. But alright, the album itself, the one that was released with just 9 tracks on it? That's some solid work. Some real solid work. Not a lot of downtime on this one. Baba O'Riley is a good one, of course. Bargain is tough to listen to without thinking about it in that car commercial, but it's still a strong one. On side one, only My Wife doesn't stand out for me. On side two, it's Getting In Tune. Otherwise, it's all strong stuff. Not a perfect album - I'm not really emotionally moved by much of it - but strong enough for a 4, no problem.

Generic vocals, generic instrumentation, generic aggression, weak production. The lyrics sound like they were written by a 14-year-old who just got grounded for smoking a cigarette: Fuck it all! fuck this world! Fuck everything that you stand for! Don't belong! don't exist! Don't give a shit! Don't ever judge me! This is a deeply unpleasant listen.

I do love this record. Love the production on it, love the takes on these songs. Bridge Over Troubled Water is a little off, but I still love hearing these. Good stuff.

I really liked this one. Not sure I've listened to Randy Newman outside of some Toy Story movie soundtracks and this was really good. Maybe you have to get past his vocals? They're distinctive enough that if they hit you wrong they'd ruin the whole thing. But they don't for me. He feels like the flipside of the Warren Zevon coin. Does that make sense? Anyway. Good stuff.

I love the cover concept. That's fun. And I want to love this album, but it doesn't pull me in at all. This feels like some talented people fucking around in a studio, seeing what they come up with. This doesn't feel like recorded a ton and the cut it down to the gold. I'd rather listen to this than Slipknot, though, that much I've learned.

I'm not what you'd call a Def Leppard superfan, but I enjoyed listening to this yesterday. If you're a glam rock / hair metal fan at all, this stuff rises above the rest. It feels like it's in its own realm, and two or three songs here grab me. The rest have a nostalgic feel to them. The album art is pretty great. A fun listen.

This album was like when you make pancakes or something, right? And you put in a little too much salt and little too little sugar or something? It has all the pancake ingredients, but it doesn't taste right. It's not satisfying or enjoyable, but it smells pretty good? Anyway.

I dug what I heard of this, but I must confess, it wasn't enough to keep in my ears through that day. A solid 3 and I'll maybe go back to it.

I have a long, drowsy history with Beach House. I have to work today, so here's hoping this doesn't knock me out. Eh, I mean - this wasn't the worst. It stayed in the background but at the same time it didn't sound completely generic. I could see it working it's way to a four some day.

Love me some Television and some Marquee Moon. Maybe this is in that same vein of Violent Femmes - it's deceptively simple. Nothing fancy about it, but all these parts work really well together. Even Marquee Moon, the song, at about 11 minutes - man, normally I would have no patience for that. But this one? It's all good.

When this came out, I turned my nose up at it. It was not underground enough for me. It played way too much on the radio next to Live and The Offspring and I just said "no thanks." But let's not be crazy - this is good pop songwriting all up and down the road. The title track, Wonderwall, Don't Look Back in Anger, Champagne Supernova. This is all very solid work. The songs themselves are pure nonsense, but the melodies, the guitar work, the bitter vocals and maybe some nostalgia all mixes together for something pretty good. This is pretty good. The only song on it that I really don't want to hear is 'Roll With It'. Then there are a couple generic boys. But other than that, pretty good.

Looking up this one, I saw more remixes than albums and that's a red flag for me. This album cover is crazy uggo, and that's another red flag. This one is digging out of a hole for me is what I'm saying. The blurb on the wikipedia page that basically says this is a refreshing departure from Wobble's shitty music of the past is pretty lukewarm. Upon listening, this was not for me.

A week after I bought this, I woulda told you this was a 5-star album. It hasn't aged terribly well. The conviction that I heard back in '96 I don't hear now. Now it feels more like a put-on for some reason. But I know every word of this. I mean, some of these bars... And my panache will mosh your entourage Squash your squad and hide your body under my garage. And when the cops come lookin' I'll be bookin' to Brooklyn Leave the trails broken flippin' tokens to Hoboken That's worth a couple stars alone.

A nice change of pace and a good listen, though a lot of it went to the background for me. I'll probably give this another listen. Seemed like there was something going on here.

This is close. This is close to something I'd like. It doesn't sound bad. But it also doesn't sound great. The tunes are inoffensive. The whole thing is a little beige.

Alright, Kate Bush. Let's try this again. Running Up That Hill is pretty great. And that Gen X music snob inside me really wants to not like it because it got popular again through a nostalgia porn show. But it's good! Still, I feel the same way I do about this one as I did the last one - there's something that's too much about it. It's like fingernails on a chalkboard. I can't do it.

I heard this one because I was deep in my LimeWire phase at the time and was downloading anything that anybody talked about. I didn't know who she was, didn't know her music. I wouldn't even consider myself a big fan of the sort of alt-folk/country whatever it is that this is supposed to be categorized under. But I loved it. 'Everything is Free' is an all-time great song for me (and quite ironically so, given my LimeWire addiction at the time). 'Revelator' isn't far behind. Plenty of good stuff in between. Love the sound of the guitars, too. Pair this with Neko Case & Her Boyfriends' Furnace Room Lullaby. (Dammit that album better be on this list somewhere or it's all horse puck.)

There are some Bob Dylan songs that I really love. But when I dive into the greater discography, it all cuts so close to parody. The fucking harmonica and the nasal whine of the vocals here can grate. That's the first half. Even Like a Woman and Mr. Tamborine Man... not great. But then the second half? The second half is a hoot. I mean, look, did I fall in love with any of the songs? No. But they had a lot of blood in 'em and made for a very good listen.

I know I've heard this album before, but I don't remember having a strong reaction to it. I gotta say, this is pretty great. It scratches a certain late 80s itch for me. It's music from the era that I haven't already worn out. These aren't all winners, necessarily, but this is strong enough to punch through from the background several times. Also love that album art.

I expected more screaming.

5 stars. This is the first PJ Harvey I owned and the only thing I don't like about it is that it was mixed so low and every mixtape I ever put it on, all the energy just dropped out as you futzed with the volume. But then that just led me to listen to this whole album many times. She some other very good stuff, but this is by far my favorite. Rid of Me, Man-Size, 50 Ft. Queenie, Yuri-G. And all the rest. A great album.

As repetitive as daft punk can be, there's something about it, something playful maybe, that still makes it fun. It slips in an out of the background. Around the World woke me up, for instance. It works for me.

Whoa - this is great. I love this. I've heard of John Prine but never listened and this is pretty great and deserves a closer listen from me.

This isn't my favorite hair metal, but as hair metal goes, it's pretty good. I mean, just in terms of listenable songs, song structure-wise and melody-wise, pretty good. I appreciate the attempts at story-songs, too. If somebody was like "Is hair metal any good?" then I think you'd give them this and let them make up their mind.

The melodies are nice, but this singing voice is driving me a little crazy. Can vibrato drive a person crazy? I think it can. Three songs in now and damn, seriously, leEeEeEet UuUuUup on the vibratoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo. So then I thought "Well maybe if I see the guy singing, maybe that will help. It'll put the voice in context and it'll make sense to me." NOPE When Wainwright shows up later on, everything feels right. I can't do this much vibrato, I'm sorry. Vibra-no.

I always did like White Riot pretty good. The energy here is pretty great. But yeah, not much keeping me listening.

Agreed.

Look, the beats aren't bad. But the rest of it is pretty weak.

Oh ho shit. Friends, this was 14/15 year old Craig's jam back in 1989. Craig saved up his pennies and bought this tape and wore it out. I'm pretty excited to have an excuse to give this a listen again. And it holds up! If you can buy into this being 100% dumb sex rock, you are ready to go. Only a handful of generic songs on this one - most of them have melody that at least gets into your ear. Whereas earlier Aeorsmith was pretty thin, with even the hits - Walk This Way and Mama Kin - getting way better treatment by Run DMC and Guns N Roses, this feels like a full-throated bar band having a good time.

The album art is pretty great here, but I didn't walk away with anything better than No More Mr. Nice Guy, which is still a good song, but the rest of this evaporated.

This was the first album I ever bought on CD. This was during a time when I was buying things to find out what they sounded like. I knew the larger Zeppelin IV hits, but I knew nothing about this one. And I loved it. Played it constantly. Always tuned out during The Lemon Song and Moby Dick (maybe there's a connection there?). Anyway, it's Zeppelin. The songs are good. What are you gonna do?

I mean, this is pretty great to stuff to just have on at all times. I didn't walk away humming it, but my brain was happy.

Not quite Purple Rain, much better than Graffiti Bridge.

Look, this is Isaac Hayes' Shaft. What do you want?

These first three radiohead albums are my favorites and this one probably comes in at #2 with OK Computer being #1. Black Star, Planet Telex, Fake Plastic Trees, My Iron Lung... these are the songs you need and no one else was quite scratching this same itch. Not Blur, not Oasis, not Verve or Pulp or Supergrass. This was the only shit.

One of the best albums I've heard in my whole godforsaken life.

I shouldn't have gone back and rated this one. The first song, yeah, that's a solid song. Solid radio-pleasing U2. You can see it fitting nicely on a greatest hits album. But the rest of this, even with all the high dollar production, just ain't as good.

This album doesn't quite live up to its cover in terms of where it can take me, but there's enough inventiveness and fun and energy here to keep me listening. Some of it gets a little samesy, but when it's the same as something that's already pretty good, that's fine. This is fine.

I listened to this twice and can't remember anything from it.

For a 20-track album, this plays out amazingly well. I don't pretend to know all of these songs well, but none of these songs played like filler to me. It all demands a closer listen. And the friction between Chuck D's serious as a heart attack delivery and Flavor Flav's chaos is kind of perfect. What a great, weird mix.

Man, I do like this album art. The playing on this is just fine, just fine indeed. But jam bands, brother, they go into the background for me.

I mean... it's a good listen and there's a neat spookiness to these old bad recordings. Something fun in the simplicity of these songs. And Cocaine I have a weird long history with, where I think I heard it first as a young kid because I left a radio playing and woke up to it in the middle of the night once. I don't fell particularly moved by any of it, though.

I lot of good tune work here, some solid beats that get under the skin. But I don't walk away from it wanting to hear more. By the end, I'm glad it's all done. I don't need much more of it.

I don't know ya know? It's Miles. Does it sink in and leave me humming? No. But it sounds great.

Ideal album for me, thanks.

While there are some Springsteen albums I've grown to like more than this one, you can't deny this one's got the hits! Almost every song here is solid gold, baby!

I own this album and Heartbreaker. There are some very good songs on both and there's some filler. New York, New York and La Cienega Just Smiled are standouts for me. But I haven't listened to this in years because when I think about Ryan Adams now I think about a guy in his 40s having phone sex with an underage girl. And it's like, fuck, all you have to do, the minimum you have to do, is know the age of someone and they only really need to be, like, 21. You're a famous musician. You're not desperate. All you have to do, if you're going to have phone sex with someone, is know that they are 21. If they're 21 and everyone consented, then I don't even ever have to know about it. And I don't want to know about it. But you can't say "Oh, I saw photos of her and I thought she was older." and expect everything to be okay. If you're a man in your 40s in this country and you're a famous musician and you don't know about underage girls who look older than they are, then fuck you. I really like some of your songs and I need songs that I like. Songs are how we survive this life shit. There are fewer and fewer good songs as time goes on. So you're not allowed to take a shit on them. Just 21. Or, here's an idea - fucking grow up, how about? You're having phone sex with strangers? The fuck is wrong with you? You wrote La Cienega Just Smiled - you don't need anyone's validation. You were married to Mandy Moore. She seems terrific but now she hates you. You wrote Shakedown on 9th Street - why would you do things that make Mandy Moore hate you? Do the dishes, bring her some water at bedtime - it's not complicated. I mean, shit.

Look, I loved this when it came out. Listening to it now, I got herpes.

While I didn't walk away humming anything outside of Sultans of Swing, I do love the tight guitar work on this. And the way the musical phrases repeated themselves here and there. This deserves a closer listen.

I've had a visceral dislike of Rod Stewart since I was a kid. I just never liked the look of him nor the sound of his voice. A lot of his songs have grown on me over the years, but I'm still not completely over it. This album was pleasant to listen to, but I'm still not won over by any of it either. Even among Rod Stewart work, this feels like lesser R-stew.

Iron Butterfly found one very good riff and groove. I'm not sure if there's anything else here worth sticking around for, though.

There's something I love about this album in a nostalgic, boring, VH1 sort of way. Fast Car is a great song. I don't think anything else lives up to that one, though. Tracy's voice is perfect for this. I love the production on it. But nothing gets under my skin better than Fast Car.

Not my favorite Bowie. I like a more focused Bowie. I like a poppier Bowie. A less Eno Bowie? I appreciate Eno being Eno and taking us places we otherwise might not go, but still. Not my favorite Bowie.

pummeling. i am pummeled.

I've never given Tusk a close listen until now and... ya know what... I like this. It doesn't have the sort of hit-after-hit feel of Rumors, but for all the talk of experimental music, this was surprisingly grabby. I'm grabbed.

Plodding, grindy, grimy, sluggish, perpetually whiny vocals. I just can't get into Alice in Chains. Couldn't then, can't now. Also what is the thing where a song fades out... then fades back in? What is that supposed to do for me? Especially when I'm not looking for seconds.

Weird that this album feels way longer than it used to for me. That said, there are some standouts - London Calling, Rudie Can't Fail, Lost in the Supermarket, The Guns of Brixton, Train in Vain - but even the songs that don't totally bowl me over all have something to 'em. I can listen to this album straight through still and I've done that a number of times. I've never jumped into The Clash with both feet but I like this whole thing quite a lot.

Dentist office background music. I don't hate it, but I also don't like it.

This Beck built well on the previous Beck and gave me more of what I wanted with less filler. Mellow Gold lost me more than it kept me, though at the time the mix of musical styles really set this stuff apart. Loser and Beercan are all I remember off of that one. Maybe that has something to do with the song titles that had little do with the songs? Whereas on Odelay, somebody sat Beck down and said "Look. Simple titles. Call these songs the same thing that the people who will listen to them will call them." So we get Devil's Haircut, Hotwax, Lord Only Knows, The New Pollution, Derelict, Where It's At, Readymade... Each one of these I can immediately hear the tune in my head. Not as a good as Midnite Vultures and Sea Change, though.

This is pretty top-drawer though backgroundy stuff (mainly because of the day I was having. Nothing was going to be foreground music that day.)

The only good Dead album, start to finish. Also the first one I ever heard, recommended to me by an older Deadhead cousin. I listened as a young teen and thought - I get why people do this! Then I went to a Dead concert and thought - no, wait, no I don't get this at all. This album though? This is, like, the best version of the Dead.

While this was a bit of background, I would put this one again in a second. I liked everything I heard on this.

This soundtrack reminds me of why I could never connect to Virgin Suicides. It sounds like what somebody thought would be a cool soundtrack rather than what would fit that movie. It still doesn't make sense to me. And listening to it now - it all sounds fine, but it doesn't take me anywhere. It feels a little aimless and fades into the background.

I did not listen to this closely, but every time it bubbled up, I liked what was going on. It's not spectacular, but this is very solid work worth another listen.

I really like the energy of the Specials, but ska lulls me into a state of hypnosis. That beat turns it all in to white noise. There are moments that rip, though and Message to Rudy is strong. And Little Bitch was a blast - that's a edgy one.

I love everything about this cover. I like the music. I don't remember it, but it was a good listen, no matter what.

I'll always have a soft spot for this one. At the time it came out, it did a good job at what it was doing, which was threading a needle between parody of and love letter to glam/classic rock. The songs aren't half bad at all. I mean, 'Love On The Rock With No Ice' is a pretty sweaty title, but mostly it rides a fine line and comes down on the right side of it.

Not a big grabber on this one for me, but I do love this vibe. It was fine background that deserves a closer listen.

Monk is always five stars for me. Always has been, always will be. The music is always on point but more than that? The covers are ALWAYS on point.

Absolutely built to live in my background and to potentially get me to call the police if it plays too late into the night because, seriously, teenagers. But also - extended editions strike again. I was halfway into 'Afro Ride' and was like "I can't listen to this whole album. This is starting to hurt." So now because of a terrible expanded streaming album, my first impression of this group is 'did not finish'.

I'm getting closer and closer to becoming a Joni Mitchell fan. These songs are constantly surprising to me and I thought a Joni Mitchell album would be a pretty dour affair. I can't say I've got standouts here, but damned if this album isn't actually fun. Which is weird to say? 3 surprising stars.

Oh no. Oh fuck no, please. No. This can't be here. Not this, no. Please. Jesus, sweet jesus no, please. I can't - no, jesus. Pre-checking this shit, deleting bonus content. Fuck you, 1001 albums generator. It's a fucking Monday. Fuck you. If I actually like this album it's going to be the start of my midlife crisis. The thing is, if I had been 13 in 2000 when this came out, I might have been a Linkin Park fan. This has that undefined trauma melodramatic feel that I might have gone for at that age. But here's the thing - the first My Chemical Romance album came out two years after this and buried it. Same basic emotional palette, but one of them has good songs.

There was a folksiness that I liked on this, but I give it three stars because I did not pay real attention.

This is not my favorite PJ Harvey, but it's still very much PJ Harvey.

My review got erased! ERASED! Anyway, you can imagine the poetry but to sum it up - this album is great, is one of those that I associate purely with the 80s sound (even though it's '78, I know I know) and there's barely a dud here. Is there a dud here? I don't know, I don't think so. The cover is a delight. End of poem.

I mean it's prime Tribe.

I wish Eric Clapton wasn't such a wank. His playing is really pretty great to listen to. I'm not sure I'm on the 'Clapton is God' bandwagon but apparently, he wasn't either. His one redeeming quality outside his guitar playing is that he at least once said that Prince was the greatest, which is most likely true. Anyway - the guy is pretty wanky and that kinda bums me out. But this is a very fun listen.

First time I'd heard of these folks was from their ep that a friend of mine had. And it hit one of my sweet spots - that of some ugly, loud music that was somehow all held together by some ragtag melody and non-obnoxious enthusiasm. I played the shit out of that ep. Then this comes along and it's exactly what I wanted out of their full-length album - same vibe, polished only to the point that it made the edges clearer, with all the melody and the energy intact. And look at that beautiful, ugly album cover. Love this one.

I've never liked Golden Years. The only David Bowie song that just sounds so square to me I can't take it. Other than that? Fine Bowie. This is just fine Bowie. Not a huge standout, but I do like the production on it - a good listen.

I remember this as a documentary. I still have no real idea what it's about - outside of that it's about music. The production on this sounds great. These melodies are infectious, there's no denying that. I don't have a real emotional reaction to any of it - at least nothing that really wallops me - but this is a fun listen, for sure.

The The's Dusk is a top 10 album for me. Or at least top 20. Definitely in the top 50 no matter which way you slice it. But what I like about Dusk is almost completely absent here. And that's not to say that this doesn't have a good sound. But for an album call 'Soul Mining', it didn't get anywhere near my soul the way Dusk does. Some good stuff, wouldn't turn it off in the background, but I'm not rushing back to hear it again.

If the rest of this album is as good as this first track, I'm all in. Am I supposed to take this as funny? Or at least tongue-in-cheek? I mean, they're covering Queen, so it can't be all that serious, right? This was more fun than I thought it would be. But it's also less good than I wanted it to be. Things got pretty long in the tooth toward the end. A case of out-staying one's welcome.

A lot of this album lives in the shadow of Gimme Shelter. That's as strong a start to an album as there ever was. Then this Country Honk song confused me more than delighted me. And this Midnight Rambler - this can't be the version I've heard most of my life. I must've been hearing a live version, probably? And then the whole closes out with another fantastic song. Those two songs are too good to just be 3 stars. I'll have to give the rest of it more listens.

This is folk. It's kind of exactly what I expected and it stayed in the background. You know how Joni Mitchell kind of grabs you by the lapels every now and then? This one couldn't find my lapels. And they're right there. I did kind of dig the overly harsh picking on Casbah, though.

As live albums go, this is pretty solid. A couple of real strong performances right in the middle there with I Want You To Want Me and Surrender. Doesn't out-stay its welcome. The little bit of backstory that the audio in this is not from Budokan but from a smaller show in Osaka is a nice little touch.

I knew Get A Grip On Yourself and Peaches and... yeah, man, this was exactly what I needed to hear today.

When I was a kid, I was gonna one of two ways - I was gonna go for Devo or I was gonna go for They Might Be Giants. Of the two, I understood They Might Be Giants so that's the way I went. The first two songs here are a great start and if that could be kept up, this would be a hard album to deny. But deny it I do! After those first two songs, it's a slow slide down. I love the spirit of it, I love the energy of it, but I just don't love the songs.

This opening to Buffalo Stance is rough. The hook on the song is pretty strong, but the rest of the performance feels forced. There's no flow to it - it doesn't sound genuine, more like something that was scripted out beforehand. And this carries throughout - any rap on this album sounds like it's coming from someone who doesn't mean it. The rhymes are pretty weak. "If you want to rock, you've got to roll it / If you gonna live, you've got to show it" - this sounds like something that came from a producer saying "The kids don't give a shit what you say as long as it's got a beat!" The hooks are fine but pretty thin overall. Outre Risque Locomotive is probably the second-best song on the album - it punched through from the background. The lyrics don't help it, but the hook got into my head. And putting this in context - this is an album I needed to hear before my inevitable death? And we still haven't seen a De La Soul album? No Whitney Houston? Not even the Lauryn Hill solo album? Come on.

I said, "I wanna be a singer like Lou Reed" "I like Lou Reed," she said, sticking her tongue in my ear This Pixies lyric is mostly to blame for why I like Lou Reed and, by extension, The Velvet Underground. This album, I barely like this. Just barely. But ya know, it's Lou Reed, so it's fine with me. Was it just me or was the whole last song about somebody sucking on his ding dong? That was pretty cool. Would put on in the background again.

I did not know that song was called Tumbling Dice. And that's really the only song on here that I know. But you know what - whatever it is I like about the Stones, I guess it's all on this album because I liked it so much the first time through that I listened to it again. This was pretty great. The fact that it got rebutted by Exile in Guyville makes it all the better.

This was fine, but never held my attention. It's a busy day, so it's not like this one had no competition. I have to rate these albums by how much they demanded my attention when I'm also trying not to lose my job. That's a steep hill. I'd be okay with this in the background again, but I'd probably rather put on a film score or something.

Reading up about Destiny's Child, no wonder I didn't get into this. I mean, sure, this wasn't the section of the record store I was in generally, anyway. But also - it seems like across the first three or four albums the group kept dropping and adding members. I can't follow that kind of stuff - I need a rock solid group of people that I'm listening to. Beyonce wasn't Beyonce yet so that didn't mean anything to me. So anyway. This is pretty sharp. Remember a few days ago when this list tried to tell us that the Neneh Cherry album was a must-hear? And is it supposed to be on the same level as this? Because it isn't. Beyonce could deliver pizza and make it feel like a premium experience. That said, there seems to be a lot of calling out folks who I don't know - from what I read it's about the former members of the group. I don't know - I don't need all that shit. It makes everything seem petty, like an album based on some reality show. Real Housewives of Destiny's Child. Pretty disappointing. "You know who you are" is a piss poor lyric. Still, it's Beyonce, so like it probably could be 4 stars, but all that weird in-fighting bullshit throws it down to 3.5, so then it becomes a 3.

I really fell for Sleater-Kinney with the One Beat album. I didn't know what it was about, I only knew that a girl I liked liked it, so I listened and then found a bunch of songs grappling with 9/11 and it just had me, all the way. Still love every song on that one. That said, I think the vocals are an acquired taste with SK and if you can acquire that taste, you're good as gold. But if you can't, it's just never gonna work out for you two. I like the vocals, but this one still doesn't hold me in thrall like One Beat. Still, it's a welcome bunch of songs that I might like more if I listened a few more times.

Kind of excited to hear this one. I've heard the name Lana Del Rey for a while, never heard a single song (as far as I know), I only know she's a big deal in some circles. Here we go. On any other day I think I would hate this whisper singing. But this is working for me. And several times this broke out of the background on a busy work day. I don't know - I think I need to listen to this again, so that's an optimistic 3.

I love this album. For some reason, on Apple Music, the song 'Jeepster' is not available which is a crime. What is Electric Warrior without Jeepster? Anyway - love it.

That's a pretty good cover. And this is a pretty good album. No standouts, but it seems like Blur's heart is in it. Might need to give this one another listen.

The Eagles really tempt me to hate them, but I don't. The timid distortion on those guitars? The Grateful Dead-lite vibe of some of these songs? Sorry, guys. I don't know what it is, but this works for me in a very light-rock, nostalgic way. Is this the first band I reach for? No it is not. But it ain't dead last, either.

I didn't realize it until just now, but I missed Amy Winehouse. Man, this first track is so much sadder now. But this album is pretty solid, through and through. I remember listening to it a lot when it first came out - this was a much fresher sound back then and was easy to replay over and over. Amy's got some distinguished pipes and these songs - ahem - slap. Nothing wrong here.

This is very much like the last Specials album. Very consistent. A bouncy beat that fades into the background a bit. I'm just not a ska guy.

Man, I really want to love me some Souxsie and the Banshees, but this never grabs me.

Pink Moon is a great song and it feels right that the only reason I know this song is because it was used in a car commercial. That should be vaguely nauseating but then again I think of the marketing genius who suggested the song - there was absolutely no cache to having a Nick Drake song in a commercial. It had to be that they loved this song and pushed hard for it. And I like to imagine that the campaign was considered a failure in marketing circles and that this disgraced marketer is working in a bar somewhere or maybe selling used cars - that's even better - and they are completely satisfied with how things turned out. Thanks for this song, marketing genius! 'Road' is also a fucking banger.

Never have I ever listened to a full Sly and the Family Stone album. I shouldn't be that surprised that I liked it this much, though. Everyday People is pretty undeniable song. And Don't Call Me Nigger, Whitey was a nice surprise. It's Sly and the Family Stone - what do you want from me?

This album is long as hell, but there's very little about it that I don't like. The 'Feeling good, feeling great. Feeling great, feeling good, how are you?" bit in the first song wins me over immediately. I didn't pay attention to the whole thing, but kept getting pulled in over and over again. It's good stuff.

I love Janelle Monae and I don't care who knows it. This album hits me very much like Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. I didn't listen to everything on it, but several times the sound of it pulled me in. What a weird mix of stuff. I'll have to give it a closer listen.

Kinda cool. Inoffensive. I wasn't into it.

I like that cover, but man - one track in and you're already hitting me with repetitive noise, huh? This was not for me.

I bought this tape when I was a kid. I was firmly in the classic rock Aerosmith / Led Zeppelin mode and The Doors was a necessary album at the time. And that tape was censored, which I didn't know at the time. So that bit in 'Break On Through To The Other Side' when he screams "She gets high!" for me was just "She gets!". Which honestly made enough sense back then and hearing "high" now sounds all wrong. Anyway - these tunes are good. Jim Morrison is just a good enough poet to land some good lines and the rest of it comes off as ridiculous pretentiousness that's pretty fun. It's a heckuva mix, which intentional goodness and untintentional goodness that adds up to a lot of goodness. I mean 'Soul Kitchen'? 'Soul Kitchen'? It's hard to hate an album that has a song about sleeping in someone's soul kitchen.

This is so late 80s that I grew a couple of shoulder pads just listening to it. But you know what? I'm sick today and this went down real easy. Thing Called Love is pretty strong. A lot of the other songs don't really register, so I'm gonna give this a 3, but thanks for the medicine, Bonnie.

Cult of Personality went harder than any other song on the radio in 1988. Nobody my age had a clue what the fuck Glover was talking about, but it sounded smart as hell. And hold up hold up - this song goes 100 times harder than any other rock on the radio and these are black dudes??? This blew my young mind. Also - did it cause any kind of waves that he says 'Like Mussolini and Kennedy'? I don't remember there being any talk around this song, but hoo boy, American hero Kennedy being compared to Mussolini is pretty bold! This song will never not be relevant, it seems. But then the second song sounds like something Backstreet Boys would've done, minus the guitars. And the longer this goes on, the less I like it. Open Letter still has some good stuff in it but that initial blast of heat from Cult of Personality is long gone after a bit. Still, in 1988? This was a big swing.

Cool in the Pool was sort of fun. And even though the rest of it didn't hold my attention, what I did hear was interesting. But there's not much to come back to for me.

I like the vibe, but I really don't like this thin-ass papery production. Great energy throughout, some mild fun number - Mama We're All Crazee Now, Gudbuy T'Jane. But man, that production sounds so bad. And none of this really, really digs in for me.

I was pleasantly surprised by this one. The name of the band turned out to be pretty fitting - they WERE pretty sensational. Gang Bang is a hoot and Next made me sit up and take notice. I might listen to more of this.

I can't take any of this music seriously. It's SO serious it just kills me. Production sounds fine, but this strikes me like the DC movies - it's for people who wish the silly thing they like was taken very very seriously.

This is a shame. Nothing close to Live Through This. The first song sounds like what a radio hit sounds like. The rest of it is not so hot.

Gainsbourg can't be disliked. This works in the background and in the foreground. I don't really know any of his songs, but I've never disliked one.

Big Ten Inch Record is a song so dumb I'd be disappointed if it WASN'T on this record. Sweet Emotion is still a great song. Walk This Way is a pretty okay song, if a little weak sounding. This is pretty good Aerosmith. This sounds like what Aerosmith always wanted to sound like, ya know? They did it here. So good on them.