1001 Albums Summary

Classic album, so many songs I didn't know I knew. Every song larger than life, great production and engineering. Definition of "classic rock."

Sometimes the story behind the album really elevates it: new songs recorded live with the back half of the set featuring electric guitars. Another fantastic rock album!

I have never ever heard of this album or artist. Curious to listen! Update: digging the instrumentation but not pa-paw's lyrics. Some real boomer shit here. Update 2: Shadow Of The Sun is a cool jam, mostly because there's no lyrics in the back half. Final Update: Way too long, not very compelling most of the time.

Obviously have heard "Take Me Out" but never the whole album, looking forward to it! Update After Listening: solid album but beyond the hit single none of the songs really stood out to me. Middle of the road, a little bland. A lot of the songs don't really go anywhere. Feel like I've heard better versions of what they were going for from Interpol, Arctic Monkeys, Fratelis, etc. But not a bad record.

Pretty good! Haven't listened to a lot of electronic music but the blending of all the samples sounded very impressive. Definitely a vibe.

It was okay, wasn't totally in a disco mood but it's a vibe for sure.

Never really listened to Sonic Youth before. This album was solid, definitely hear the pre-grunge influences. It felt long and a bit disjointed though, a little difficult to get all the way through.

Shaft is a fuckin vibe.

I've never listened to Elvis Costello, interested to see what this sounds like... UPDATE 1: Is it weird to say this reminds me of Bruce Springsteen?? Listening to "Tokyo Storm Warning" and if there were a little more keyboard and sax this would be a Boss song. UPDATE 2: Wtf is "honey are you straight or blind"???

What the hell is this?? UPDATE 1: V Talking Heads inspired. Not a bad thing, it grooves. UPDATE 2: Eh, this was okay. Nothing I'd ever return to but not upset to listen to it once.

Love the closing track, just this distorted, distopian jam. Weird album overall but really dug it.

Oh boy, looks like some Oasis wannabe ripoff band... UPDATE: I can't finish this, this album has no ability to hold my interest. Zero stars.

REM fuckin rocks but I've never heard their debut before. It was an interesting listen, no obvious hits but you can hear the foundation of what would evolve into their signature sound.

Every song is more unexpected than the last! The first track really sets you up for something generic but "Been It" comes in with a slappin' riff and "Heartbreaker" slows things down with this dreamy, waltzy vibe. Really digging this!

Damn this sounds gnarly right off the bat! UPDATE: This shit ripped.

This shit was dope but Dumb Girl was weird, felt a little slut shame-y. It was a different time I guess?

This was okay, not my favorite output from The Who.

This was awesome! Really enjoyed it.

I've heard such good things about this record, excited to listen to it! Shit was dope.

Some beard slappin' ass tunes.

Hmm, is this really a good album or does it just have "Tainted Love" on it... UPDATE: Gave up at "Sex Dwarf" wtf is this shit lol

I actually listened to this for the first time a few weeks ago! Looking forward to revisiting it. UPDATE: Okay I like Bad Brains, but sometimes the vocals have zero power behind them and just feel a little weak. But the guy has power, just weird where he chooses to reel it in. UPDATE: "Re-Ignition" is the perfect example of this vocal thing. The drums are driving, the guitars chunky, yet the vocals are half whispered and just don't bring the same vibe as the instrumentals.

I've heard this one! Love it! My first and only exposure to Neil Young before "Rust Never Sleeps" from this list. UPDATE: Love this album, great vibes.

Getting through this has been a little difficult, it's not quite my vibe today. But I press on!

Couldn't finish this one. Not my vibe at all.

Shit rocks!

Not a big electronic music fan, this was pretty good but not really my mood today.

Shit rocks! Never listened to a full Sabbath album before but it was pretty good. More soft parts than I though there would be, kind of a nice surprise.

Never listened to T. Rex but super excited to check them out. UPDATE: This is getting way more rockabilly than I thought it would but I dig it.

This shit goes hard as FUCK.

Super excited to revisit this album, used to love it when it came out.

Kinda boomer-y, like the kinds of songs my uncle has been jamming and singing to himself for 20 years. Not terrible though.

Love Rubber Soul!! This was the first Beatles album I ever bought on vinyl, there was an old copy at a thrift store. It's beat to hell and sounds a little scratchy but that just adds to the charm of it.

Fucking bops, all around.

Love The Smiths, but fuck Morrisey's stupid ass. Great album.

Pretty good album, solid songs.

BIG IRON ON HIS HIIIIP

Didn't hate this but not feeling it today, couldn't finish.

"Keep on Chooglin'?" Lmaoooooo

I love Pavement!

Wasn't feeling the first half of this album but the second half really picked up and got crazy. Not a bad record.

Damn, this rips!

Did not enjoy, very repetitive and boring.

Miles is the king baby

I thought I was going to hate this but it's actually awesome! Super weird, creepy, reminds me of Radiohead just a little bit.

Not bad, definitely a sadder, mellower Beck.

Pretty good, enjoyed this one even though it wasn't really my vibe.

Didn't finish this one.

I was just telling a friend yesterday that I'd never listened to all of Dookie, what a coincidence! UPDATE: Some of the mixing is absolutely terrible, especially on "Having a Blast." UPDATE 2: More terrible mixing on Welcome to Paradise, weird jumps in loudness.

Lots of respect for Jimi but I don't know if I can listen to him solo for an hour straight... UPDATE: Couldn't do it, skipped right through to Watchtower and then turned it off lol

Feels like these dudes really wanted to make fun of shitty 80's rock so they made an album of all shitty 80's rock. Respect. UPDATE: Ripping on glam rock by making parody glam rock still means you made glam rock.

Not bad, some of the songs are a little too long but well written and performed.

V I B E S

This was good.

This was good.

Classic as fuck

This is just not my thing. The instrumentals are fine but the tracks just draaaaaag. It genuinely felt like "One Love" was ten minutes long. Everything gets very repetitive to the point it's annoying.

More electronic music! This wasn't bad, I feel like when I come across an electronic/house album I enjoy it more when I'm too busy to pay attention to it lol I liked the interspersed recordings, especially the one about the Continental Club.

Funky, a little psychedelic, jammy. I enjoyed this record, don't know if I'd ever revisit it but while it was on I was into it!

Never listened to Sigur Ros but always wanted to check them out, guess this is a good excuse! UPDATE: This shit's long as fuck. Good, though!

"We all want someone we can cream on." Yeahhhh fuck the Rolling Stones and their misogyny. Songs lack structure, just 4-ish minute jams that don't go anywhere with dumb lyrics that repeat over and over. This is probably my favorite release from them because it's kind of short.

Not in the mood for Bob today, sorry.

This album was so fucking dumb but the songs were so well written and enjoyable. Truly a confusing listen but I loved it.

Okay I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about a fucking KISS album but it was only 30 minutes long so I gave it a shot. Honestly, it kind of slapped. Also, didn't realize the song Paul Rudd sings at the end of Role Models to his love interest Beth was the song "Beth" off this album, nice to connect those dots.

Not bad, pretty weird. I'm not a big Pink Floyd fan but this was one of the more interesting albums I've heard from them.

This was not very good.

Not bad, not bad

This was decent. I wasn't fully in the mood for ambient music today so I didn't finish the entire album but what I heard sounded good. Definitely intend to keep this in mind for when the mood is right.

Classic. Iconic. UPDATE: Love the outro jam for "Parental Discretion Iz Advised."

Didn't finish this, wasn't my vibe at all.

This was incredibly fun to listen to! Really enjoyed this record, definitely outside of what I’d normally listen to but hey that’s what all this is for, right?

This was incredible! Loved the guitar work, loved the attitude, loved the rawness. I feel like Jack White owes PJ Harvey a thank you card at least. This record just flat out rocked.

Love this album!

Frank was a good way to start the day, dude is emo as fuck.

Never given New Order a listen, but always loved Joy Division so high hopes. UPDATE: Elegia fucking rocks! It's like a cut from the Halloween soundtrack!

"Finally, some good fucking food." Memes aside, this is the type of album that gets me on concept alone: imaginary score to a noir thriller set in Manchester. Love the idea, let's see how the execution goes... UPDATE: Loved it.

An interesting listen. Couldn't get enough of some of it while I couldn't stand other parts! There's a good variety of electronic/house music here so there's bound to be something to connect with. I'm not huge on this type of music but I really enjoyed some of the darker, heavier music. It was reminiscent of music from some old FPS games.

Solid. Again, nothing I found exciting but it was a decent listen.

Never listened to ABBA before but this was a little darker than I expected. Pretty good!

Decent album. Decent covers, solid mix of instruments. Nothing exciting but nothing offensive.

This is such a fascinating collection of tracks. Some punk, some ballads, some arena rock. I genuinely didn't know what to expect when the next song started, and that went on for all of the record's TWENTY-TWO tracks! I didn't love everything that was here but it was all executed so effortlessly that it all fit together well. I'll need to revisit to pick out my favorites, this is my first Frank Black experience and it will definitely have me exploring more.

This is already one of my favorite albums ever, I have this on vinyl and will be listening to it later today. UPDATE: This is such an incredible album. Weirdly dark in places, lots of different influences mixed in.

No bad, not exciting.

Not bad, haven't listened to them before. Some of it was a little dated but there was a longer song towards the end that was pretty interesting.

I'm so mad I got distracted and let this play for an hour. Corny shit. "Intro" was pretty funny.

Eh, unremarkable.

Not bad, not bad.

I didn't finish this but I liked what I heard! Just got distracted.

Pretty good! Classic songs here.

Ugh, this missed Tom Waits' birthday by like one day! UPDATE: This is fucking weird. I love it. UPDATE 2: "I gotta go see a man about a dog" is one of the best ways to end an album

Eh, it's Elvis.

Despite the cover art, this album is kind of boring and uninteresting to me. Guess you had to be there.

I like this "Country Girl" song, it's got a very sprawling narrative feel to it.

Story time: In high school I used to love Flogging Molly, and one time I was wearing a shirt for them and my English teacher asked about it. I told her it was an Irish punk rock band and they were the best. She told me to go back and listen to The Pogues, who did it Irish punk first. I never did but I always remembered her telling me that these guys were the OG's. Excited to give this a listen.

A few tracks in and this sounds like a Talking Heads album with louder mixing. UPDATE: This was a great album, loved it!

This kicked ass. I never knew where "Brass in Pocket" came from so it was great to stumble across that absolute banger in the track list. Strong songwriting dripping with attitude, finely produced. Very good record, will need to check out more from Pretenders.

Eh, pretty bland honestly. Not very engaging.

Wow this fucking slapped hard. MASTAPIECE!

This is one of those albums where the context matters: an angular, low-fi punk album from 1977 that was a little ahead of its time. Fun listen.

Never listened to Willie Nelson before, excited to hear this. Love the album art here! UPDATE: This was a great collection of covers. Don't know if it's a strong read on Nelson's own writing but I enjoyed what I heard.

I'm sure this is impressive but this is not the vibe today. Maybe I'll come back to it later this afternoon.

Immediate thoughts: this is super creepy in a bad way, mixing is terrible. UPDATE: This shit sucks lol

Absolutely legendary jazz album.

This shit ripped! What should be a pretty standard crop of early rock n' roll tracks gets an extra edge from the singer's performance and the speed/energy of the instruments. It's like a bunch of garage punks had to dress up for the function, and it feels like at any moment one of them is going to smash their guitar through an amp.

Not bad, but didn't hold my attention very well.

Decent album but not something I think I'd ever revisit.

Solid!

This is already one of my favorite albums from Sufjan, definitely appreciate an excuse to listen to it today!

Not exciting.

This isn't really my cup of tea, but I'll give props where they're due: Mariah has a phenomenal voice, and it sounds like she worked with some of the best producers on this record. That being said, I don't think many of the songs stood out and it was very long.

Johnny Cash is so fucking badass. What an iconic live performance that really highlights Cash's attitude alongside his musical skill. Almost worth getting arrested just to see a show like this.

Hadn't ever given this a front-to-back listen. I felt underwhelmed, especially given how iconic this album is. Felt a little bloated with songs and not super focused, but I did like a good amount of what was on here.

Pretty good, never heard them before but lived up to the hype!

Meh, kind of uninteresting.

Absolute classic, probably my favorite MJ album? "Thriller" is my favorite song for sure, and the music video might be the best music video ever created! More thoughts: it's interesting that this album was described as "darker" by critics initially. It's a more mature voice for MJ but I don't think the songs are any more or less dark than his prior offerings. Just my opinion though.

I really do not like this guy's voice, it's very whiny. The music underneath is okay, and thankfully the songs are pretty concise. Overall, pretty meh on Thomas Petty here.

This generator really said "PLAY FREE BIRD" and I was like "yeah okay" lol legendary

This one ripped! Blondie is fucking iconic, punk attitude with a glam veneer.

I think I like AC/DC but I can't stop thinking about this tweet: "listening to AC/DC and laughing cause all the songs are like “YEEEEEOW I’m the man who roooocks.” this shit sucks ahahha"

This was far and away one of the best live recordings I've ever heard! The instruments were all so vibrant it felt like I was actually at the show. And the drum solo at the end was amazing. This is probably my favorite record off this list so far that I hadn't already heard or been aware of already. Pure excellence!

Funky, fun album. Good vibes, performances are great!

Pretty rockin' tbh

I like this a lot.

Absolute masterpiece.

The title track is of course fire (shoutout Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3) but the rest is kind of meh. Not that it's terrible, it just falls into that Kiss territory of cheesy hair metal. And I refused to listen to anything past a song called "Jailbait."

Classic.

Probably one of the first full Rolling Stones albums I ever listened to, got into them a little back in 2019. UPDATE: I don't think I like the Rolling Stones lol I can respect that they were popular and talented but that 11 minute song kind of illustrates what my problem is: they just jam on songs and gets repetitive and boring. Every song on this album could have been 11 minutes long if they hadn't just stopped playing at 4 minutes. That's how meandering and formless these tracks are.

Pretty smooth and relaxing. Really enjoyed!

This record slapped pretty good! Funky as fuck, total vibe. Great playing, especially the bass.

I see what Vampire Weekend was talking about.

Good listen, interesting instrumentals and arrangements. Don't know if I'd ever revisit but enjoyed it while it was on.

Didn't finish disc 2 but this was pretty good, very ambitious. And I love a concept album.

Ripping album but sounded a little weird and flat.

Fucking iconic.

Pretty solid! Very straightforward alternative rock, these guys aren't just a one-hit-wonder.

I've never really listened to Beastie Boys outside of their singles and holy shit, this album is phenomenal! UPDATE: Love the jazzy interludes on this album. On the Wiki, there's a passage about how the photographer they tapped didn't quite understand the music, describing it as "a secret language." I think that's very fitting, but in a good way.

No.

This is incredible! How have I never listened to this before??

Fantastic album, love Beyonce but hadn't listened to this record yet.

This had a lot to live up to after hearing "Ill Communication" the other day and I have to say, it didn't quite get there. The beats were impressive but I think I prefer the actual instrumentation on IC. Still, this was a very good listen.

Merle has a phenomenal voice. This didn't do too much for me personally but I'd like to give props for great performances, excellent production, and strong songwriting.

Solid. Not really up my alley but the songs were concise and well-written. James is an excellent performer on top of that so this made for a pleasant listen.

Not huge on electronic music, as you've probably heard by now. But that being said, I enjoyed this record a lot. Production is fresh (despite being from 1998!) and the songs hold energy and originality that feels timeless.

Pretty good, pretty fun! Never listened to Willie before so this was a treat.

Decent country album, nothing that blew me away but it was pleasant to have on.

This kind of kicked ass!

Mastapiece

I really dig this, totally a vibe. Will have to check out more of their stuff.

This was a really good album, didn't know what to expect and was pleasantly surprised!

This is awesome! You never know what you're going to get listening to the soundtrack for a film you've never seen. It's a widely diverse soundtrack. Lots of swelling instrumentation. A surprisingly fun listen!

I enjoyed this album a good amount. Goes from pretty chill to funky to soulful, great range of songs and production is top notch.

A lot more interesting than I thought it would be! Very enjoyable, quick listen.

This is one of my favorite albums of all time. Unfortunately I never got into any of the other Flaming Lips releases as strongly as this one. But this one is just incredible.

This fucking slapped. Love a 20 minute long jazz/soul song.

"High Violet" is absolutely, far and away, one of the best albums I've ever heard. I got into The National after "Boxer" came out and HV was the first new release I got to experience. A truly incredible work, 10/10.

Not bad but a little boring.

I've tried getting into this album since high school and I haven't. Maybe sixth time's the charm? UPDATE: Yeah, not really doing much for me. I feel like once you've heard "Last Nite" and maybe two other songs you pretty much get the gist of everything this band has to offer.

This shit sucked lmao

Pretty rockin' album here. Great performances, songs are catchy but a little too long. Didn't realize the classic hit "Rock Lobster" was 7 minutes long. But a fun album outside of all that.

Never was a huge fan of Oasis. I guess you had to be there.

Pretty good, makes me want to watch the movie!

Not bad. Started strong but the last few songs dragged a bit. Hadn't listened to this album before but am definitely a fan of other SP releases.

Bob Dylan should either sue or be sued...

Ugh, I didn't want to be depressed today...

Eh.

Eh, not my thing but decent.

Not bad, a little bland but didn't hate it.

Corny but interesting.

Decent album, enjoy the skits. Beats are solid.

I like this album but not in the mood for it today. Plus I've probably heard half these songs about one billion times.

Already one of my favorite albums! They just released new music that sounded like it harkened back to this era, so revisiting their early stuff might help prime their new album.

I will never willingly listen to this.

Megadeth should slap but Dave's voice is just not good. It's not terrible enough to ruin the listen but I think it's a big reason why I don't revisit Megadeath a lot.

I've recently gotten into Viagra Boys, and finding this Monks album is like stumbling across the base formula for VB. It's raw, tounge-in-cheek, and fuckin' nasty. Can't believe this came out in the 60's!

This one was interesting. Definitely benefits a lot from the context of the album and surrounding circumstances.

Pretty good, hadn't ever heard this one and definitely need to spend some more time with it. Not my favorite Floyd based on first listen but that can change...

"Hey, want to listen to a Beatles album but like one of the early, early ones that's all covers and also you won't know any of the songs?"

Is this one of those white bands who lifted all their stuff from black musicians? Kinda sounds like one of those white bands that lifted all their stuff from black musicians. Not that it's bad or they're not talented but yeah...

Eh, it's the Beach Boys.

Damn this shit boring as fuck lol

Yo fuck Eric Clapton

This is way smoother than I thought it would be, it looked like some weird electronic shit.

Yo fuck Eric Clapton.

Fuck Ryan Adams

Wow, nothing but bangers on this one!

Pretty rockin'!

A very long listen but well worth it. I think there are a handful of songs that could have been cut or re-ordered to make this double album a smoother listen but overall it's a phenomenal album.

Absolute masterpiece. The first Beatles record I listened to where I finally \"got\" it as a teenager. Elanor Rigby is in my top 5 Beatles songs to this day.

Eh, a few big songs on here and some fun guitar work but didn't hold my interest very well.

LOL no thank you

Solid release, not my favorite but a decent listen.

This shit fucking slaps! Never spent much time with The Replacements, glad they came up on this list!

Very kick-ass, classic punk.

Pretty fun listen! In hindsight I get why I couldn't get into this album when I first tried back in my teens. Can really appreciate what Beck's doing here that was so groundbreaking and fresh for the mid-90's.

Don't usually go for dance/house/electronic music but this fucking slapped. I appreciated how a lot of the songs continued off of the previous one, sort of borrowing each others' energy. Very cool album.

One of my favorite Metallica albums, some of my favorite Metallica songs and riffs. I know this record gets a lot of hate for its mixing but I've always thought it gave the instruments this cold, detached feeling that mirrored the subject matter of the songs (war, injustice, etc). The guitar sections were long, technical, and robotic. Even the cover is this blank white stone imagery. All of it always felt intentional to me and elevated the themes of the record well. Still could use more bass though.

A whole vibe, "beach samba" is the perfect description.

Some ass kickin' punk.

Not bad, some good riffs on this thing for sure.

This is an interesting album for them, definitely more "experimental." Some of the tracks are a bit longer and more indulgent/jam-y. I like it! UPDATE: "Tusk" turns into a straight up marching band anthem! I love the unexpected turns in music happening on this record. I just wish it weren't over an hour long.

Probably my favorite Black Keys album, feels like this is the pinnacle of the sound they were going for with enough fresh twists to not sound completely derivative.

Absolute masterpiece of an album. What a treat.

I love this album but in recent years I've really come to understand why Fantano gave it a 6. And Kanye himself said he wasn't fond of it overall, saying it wasn't bringing anything new to the table. I see MBDTF as a complete perfection of the music he'd been pulling off since his debut, but it didn't blaze any trails. It was a total flex/victory lap. It's not bad at all though, and has a lot of iconic tracks. Kanye's a little tainted for me recently, though, so not really listening to him anymore.

So many bangers on this one. The in-between songs are decent too.

This was a really good album, definitely worthy of the praise it receives.

Classic Metallica album but for me, it was the start of their shift away from what I loved about their earlier records. Definitely not a bad thing that they started to diversify their sound and explore shorter, more approachable music. Hell, after the AJFA tour I would never want to play a song over 6 minutes ever again either.

Huge fan of Folklore, so when Evermore dropped I was ecstatic! I don't think it left the same impression as Folklore, though. It's a little more subdued and a little darker in subject matter. If Folklore is wandering into the woods then Evermore is getting lost. Great album though!

This is one of my favorite albums ever. I used to hate it when it first came out. Compared to Neon Bible and Funeral, I thought it was boring and overly long. But it really grew on me and now it's one of my favorites. The opening run of songs is fantastic and Sprawl II is in the top 5 Arcade Fire songs of all time.

Not really digging this. I know it's kind of an old album but the production is so muddy and the vocals are not good. I love metal, harsh vocals aren't a deal-breaker but bad harsh vocals are. I'd rather just listen to Korn.

I've never been a big Rage fan, they've always felt a little too "I'm 14 and this is deep" for me. However, I'm really enjoying the deeper cuts on this album a lot more than their typical popular songs. Oh, and that one song from The Matrix is on here so that's pretty cool.

Absolutely legendary album. Shadowplay is one of the best songs ever written and The Killers cover of it is phenomenal. I prefer "Closer" to this one but only because I'm a sad little emo kid.

Not really my thing but I can see why it would be someone's thing.

Electronic music is generally not my thing, but this is pretty solid. It's not holding my attention but it doesn't feel like it's supposed to. Each track kind of ebbs and flows one after another in a pleasing way. I dig it.

Ugh, another electronic album. It's not bad but definitely not in the mood for it today.

Never been a fan of Oasis. I feel like folks in the 90s were too easily enamored by a British accent.

Decent vibes on a Monday.

Love Kate Bush, hadn't listened to this album before. It was very 80's, even for her! Still loved the instrumental flourishes here and there. Very solid album.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!" -Opening line of "Reign in Blood" if I remember correctly UPDATE: I remembered correctly. This album fucking TEARS. UPDATE 2: This one is an absolute burner. I don't think I've ever noticed that it's almost completely seamless. There's a slight break before Raining Blood kicks in but other than that it's just wall-to-wall insanity. Love it.

This was pretty great! I'd heard the one song from Donnie Darko but the rest of it held up and more. Would definitely explore this band more.

The singles off this album are strong but there isn't a lot else here, and most of everything interesting is on Andre's side. In over 2 hours of music, I expected a lot more. If you've heard "Hey Ya" then you've heard the best this double album has to offer, unfortunately.

Love Yes, this album is pretty awesome. Roundabout is iconic, weird to hear the whole song and not just the drop in the beginning lol

This was a great album! Loved the different variety of instruments and songs. Felt a huge traditional influence here, probably due to the added members. This got me in the mood for the Renaissance Festival this year!

Absolutely incredible work. Never heard this before but this might be one of my favorite Miles Davis studio albums.

Oh boy, it's gonna be one of those kinds of days... I love The Cure but I haven't spent a lot of time with this whole album. To prepare I decided to start with "Charlotte Sometimes" since that was the single that preceded the album but didn't make it on. Great track, you can feel the angst and sorrow emanating from it. Excited to dive in... UPDATE: This was a truly phenomenal record! I think I'm going to go right through a second time. The way the final track unravels, you could call THIS album "Disintegration." Everything is just so dark yet vibrant, very much a haunted record. The beat for One Hundred Years is subtle yet oppressive; it really drags you right into the uneasiness of the guitars and lyrics. UPDATE 2: I listened to this album three times today. Love it! Definitely my favorite The Cure record.

I listened to most of this. Not bad but if you've heard 5 ZZ Top songs you've pretty much got the gist. Really boils down to what kind of vibe you're looking for; today is not a ZZ Top day for me.

I've never been a huge fan of NIN. In high school, I thought they were a metal band; I was very disappointed when I finally listened to them and discovered it was "just techno." Listening as a full-grown adult, I still find it hard to connect with most of the lyrics. Maybe I'm just not edgy and angry enough? I will say, I loved a good portion of the album, especially the back portion as the vocals seem to bleed out of the tracks and the music takes on a darker, harsher tone. I'm about 80% closer (ha) to "getting it" and can see why this album is held in high regard.

I really liked the diversity of instruments in the first half of the album. The last few tracks dragged a little but were still decent. Good album, will definitely revisit it sometime!

A surprisingly good album considering the new direction. I enjoyed hearing the other members' voices throughout.

I recently got into Gil Scott-Heron's 2010 album "I'm New Here" and it's fantastic. I'm excited to dive deeper into the catalog. UPDATE: This was fantastic! And it was recorded near where I live! H20 Gate Blues was definitely a standout track.

WOW NO FUCKING WAY LMAOOO UPDATE: This album is great, Morrissey is a piece of shit.

Yeah I can't get through this.

This album goes hard. Love the samples from Shogun Assassin!

Some fun, punky songs on this but there are just too many of them. 15 tracks is a bit much, even when they clock in under 40 minutes. There are a few standouts though, even later in the tracklist.

I've been meaning to get into Björk and even had this album saved already so great excuse to start. She's got a new record coming out soon, too! UPDATE: This was a beautiful album. Very subtle and finely textured. The closing track was especially gorgeous. I'm curious to go back and listen to her work leading up to this and would be interested in a louder, bolder version of her sound.

Oh shit. In case you couldn't tell by my other album reviews, I fucking love Radiohead. That said, I haven't ever really given The Bends a solid try so this is kind of exciting. UPDATE: The raw Radiohead ingredients are here, just not polished or assembled in the experimental ways I'm used to. It's interesting to hear so much more guitar presence. I think this is a great album. It sounds almost uncomfortable and restless like the band was ready to evolve past where they were at but just hadn't figured out how.

Fuck Eric Clapton.

It took me a while to get into Dylan but I'm glad I put the effort in. This is definitely one of his best records, and some of my favorite lyrics of his come from the closing track. Great album, classic Dylan, not many complaints here!

I really enjoyed this! It was a little trippy but in a Costco-sample kind of way. The melodies were nice and I liked how the squiggly, weird sound effects would blaze right through an otherwise typical arrangement. Thank you, The Byrds, very cool!

Nice, this is far-and-away my favorite White Strips album. I've listened to it recently and it definitely holds up, though my opinion on Jack White has soured in recent years. Update: This was good still. The last few songs kind of drag, they don't seem to have the development that the first 13 or so have, but it's not a huge issue. "I Think I Smell A Rat" is still one of my favorite WS songs, and of course "The Union Forever" jams. I have a soft spot for "Little Room" in how simple and childish it is.

I've heard the singles off this record so many times it makes me want to vomit. Trying to be open-minded about the other songs, we'll see how far I can make it... Update: Three tracks in and I cannot do this. Shitty lyrics, cheesy riffs, and over-indulgent guitar solos. I struggle to understand why this is so "acclaimed." An actual line from a review: "rock is at last being wrestled from the hands of the bland, the weak, the jaded, the tired, the worn, and being thrust back into the hands of the real raunch rebels." Oh thank god at last rock will be in the hands of horny white dudes who think rebelling means hitting on the waitress at Applebee's and then chugging beers in the garage while this plays on a piece of shit boom box.

I've never listened to Deerhunter but have been aware of them for awhile. Album was solid but kind of felt like a watered down version of other bands I already listen to. I might give another Deerhunter album a try in the future but nothing here grabbed me that strongly.

The last The Cure record blew me away. This one is from earlier in their catalog so I was curious to hear how it differed. It felt a little more jammy, a little less produced, a little rawer sounding. This definitely feels like the foundation for the sound they would eventually cultivate on later releases, and for me, it was a great listen. The shorter intro/interlude tracks help pace the album out properly. And "A Forest" is one of my favorite The Cure songs by far!

What the fuck kind of nightmare fucking album art is this holy shit. This was super forgettable to me. It's possible I was just extra busy and distracted, but nothing from this was memorable. Not that it was a bad album, just very plain.

"Incorporated elements of jazz" is probably one of my favorite phrases and a surefire way to get me excited about listening to an album lol Listening update: I dig this, though it's more vibe-y than attention-grabbing. I do think Mr. Buckley delivers on the "Happy Sad" title, as the longer songs seem to swing between these moods effectively. There's a wide breadth of instrumentation, some subtle and some focal. Decent listen for my first Tim Buckley experience.

I've been trying to get into this band/album recently. It's a very good album, it just doesn't grab me. Production is interesting enough but I just don't remember any of the tracks after four or five listens. Maybe some day this will click!

Jammy and fun. Definitely needed on such a rainy day!

Damn, this shit was gritty and nasty! Reminded me of a band called The Horrors that I used to listen to in high school. Sure enough, they list The Birthday Party as one of their influences. This record felt a little drawn out but there was such a wealth of textures and sounds that I didn't mind it too much. Will definitely check out more from this band.

I didn't get all the way through this one because I kept getting busy but holy shit, this was amazing! Loved the beats, the lyrics, the performances, everything! Super laid back and yet all the flows were so precise. I only knew De La Soul from the "wash yo ass" song on Tony Hawk but now I need to get to know the rest of their discography.

Elvis Costello isn't really my thing but this album was okay. Probably one of those "had to be there" things. I appreciate the songwriting and the use of different instruments, specifically the keyboards on certain tracks. Not bad.

I love The War on Drugs for their more recent albums (Deeper Understanding, I Don't Live Here...) but I haven't listened to this one. Excited to dig in! Update: Good record but a little meandering. I found myself looking at how much time was left in some of the songs to discover that while the main portion of the song had ended, there were still a few minutes of instrumental wankery to be had. I think later releases benefited from a little trimming. All that being said though, I enjoyed this a lot! The tracks sound very nostalgic like they're from some by-gone era we're all remembering fondly...which honestly could describe 2014 lol

I've been reading a lot recently about how good Paul McCartney's solo work is, so I'm excited to dive into that a little. Update: I'm liking this record. It's got strong, fun melodies like some of Paul's classic Beatles work. Couple instances of strings and sax don't hurt either! The lore behind the recording process though.....wild! Glad they were able to get through it.

This is hella cheesey, not sure I'm going to make it through the whole album but the vibe is here for now! ELO is one of those groups where if it's up your alley then you're going to just love every song. If it's not up your alley, you pretty much get it after five or six tracks. This isn't quite up my alley but I can appreciate the tight instrumental performances, the vocal harmonies, and the inventiveness.

This is like a weird precursor to Gorillaz, I dig it! A little hip-hop, a little rock, very chill stuff. Funk influences for sure. Love the Norwegian Wood cover at the end too!

This one isn't really clicking for me. It's a little cheesy and the tracks don't feel like they develop very much past the first verse/chorus cycle, despite a number of the songs being well over 5 minutes. I also feel like Prince's guitar work is missing. This is probably more enjoyable on the dance floor than in an office.

I've probably heard most of this album 10,000 times. Adele is very talented and has a phenomenal voice. I am rarely in the mood to go out of my way to listen to her music, but I don't mind hearing it. I think for me she's been overplayed to death.

Wild how clearly influenced by Ok Computer this record is. I feel like Travis owes Radiohead a billion dollars just based on the song "As You Are" alone. This isn't bad but it's like that meme where mom tells you we have Radiohead at home. This is the Radiohead at home. Update: Holy shit, even "The Last Laugh of the Laughter" (dumbass title) is literally just ripping off "Paranoid Android." This is egregious!

This was a total vibe! Very enjoyable, vibrant performances. Solid album.

Nice listen. Frank's music is typically welcome. It's got a nice vibe and can really soothe the soul. I liked this collaboration, it added an extra dimension to what would be the usual offering from Mr. Sinatra.

This is one wild motherfucker. I enjoyed the dense variety of the instruments, with some tracks being borderline demented circus shit. Tom's voice is very hit or miss to me (and probably many others), but even when I wasn't feeling the vocal performance, it still worked very well compositionally with the music.

I literally just bought this on vinyl a few weeks ago, just to see what the hype was about! I'm a little familiar with some of their hits but the non-singles on this album really rock. The guitar work is sublime as well. Excited to give this another listen today. Update: This record rocks! I think some of the guitar work and effects are a little dated but the core songwriting is still phenomenal. Really great album, I'll have to spend more time with AiC's other work.

This was okay. I have a feeling this wouldn't have had much lasting power without "There She Goes" on it. The songs are pretty earnest and endearing but not super memorable. Seems like the thought was there but maybe not the execution? The closer is very good though!

This album rocked! Definitely had the same energy as early Bowie or The Smiths. Manic depressive to its core and very creative.

This was a pretty decent rock record! I'd already heard about half of this on the radio, which just goes to show how strong the songwriting is here.

Some very solid early punk. I think I prefer their later work but this is classic.

This record is funky and I really fucking dig it! However the absolute slapper of the album is the ballad "At Last I Am Free," something about it really grabbed me. Fantastic record, timeless sound, great production, and switching between vocalists kept things engaging.

Hmmm this is interesting! It's like a prog/psychedelic version of Gorillaz, I really dig it.

"Post-rock" holy shit fuck me up fam. Update: This was awesome, loved it! Need to check out more from this band.

Wow, didn't realize "Solsbury Hill" was Peter Gabriel! This is one of my favorite songs ever. The whole record is awesome! Love Petey Gabe's stuff, especially the more theatrical cuts. Hope more of his work pops up!

This was unexpectedly great! The word "unapologetic" comes to mind: truly a band writing and playing exactly what they feel like, diving head first into the sounds and textures they want to explore. I found a lot of the guitar work to be very interesting. It was reminiscent of early Modest Mouse and reminded me a little of Silversun Pickups (who were obviously very influenced by Pixies). Great record, I get why it gets the praise it gets!

I have a feeling this is going to be super cheesy... Okay I wasn't wrong but holy shit, the jazzy Blue Turk really came out of nowhere! Pretty wild track. Also enjoyed Gutter Cat vs. The Jets. All in all, I don't hate this as much as I thought I would. In fact, the only song I don't care for is School's Out. Everything else has some pretty cool riffs and the songs take interesting directions in structure and instrumentation.

I love mbv but I've only really ever listened to Loveless. This was definitely a more raw version of their sound but I found it to be a little more dynamic and interesting. There was more open space in the songs and the production made the instruments feel like they were alive! As if every track were breathing in and out. Truly incredible work, though not as polished as Loveless you can really see the foundation of the sound they would come to master on later releases.

Ha, mbv two days in a row! Y'all must really want me depressed. I thought this record was decent, but it felt like they got lost in their own experimentation this time. The album was much longer and meandered in certain pockets a little too much. Some of the experimentation was really gorgeous though, which really makes up for some of the pacing issues. Probably my least favorite mbv record but still highly enjoyable.

This is pretty un-interesting mid-90's rock. Like it's fine, but not exciting. Most of the tracks would work well over a montage of teenagers roller blading or some shit.

Ray is a genius! Love the record, Ray Charles is like his own subgenre and I'm never upset about indulging in it.

The funny thing about digging into B&S at this point in life is the songs kind of lose the element of surprise, because it sounds similar to a ton of more modern bands that I've been listening to for a decade (Decemberists, Shins, Death Cab, etc). But I have to remind myself that these groups built their sound off of the blueprint B&S laid out well before. The songs here are fantastic: some of the tightest songwriting and performance are consistent throughout the entire record. Tracks will feature little details and flourishes that keep things lively, like the clips of children playing in the title track or the light keyboards and sax in the following track "Mayfly." It's an album that sounds as effortless as a breeze, as if they came into being as they were being performed.

Eh, Motorhead is fine. Motorhead live is also fine.

Jeez, back-to-back butt rock albums? Yayyyy... Okay I've just read that this is actually Cock Rock, not Butt Rock. Huge difference apparently, but boils down to generic macho rock music. I'm sorry, I know Aerosmith is """classic""" but there just isn't anything I find engaging about the music. "Nobody's Fault" is decent but it sounds more like Zeppelin than Aerosmith. The guitar work is okay but it kind of just melts together at a certain point. Steven Tyler obviously has a great voice, I just don't care about what he's singing.