User Albums Journey
Exploring beyond the book, one album at a time
View 1001 Albums Summary540
Albums Rated
3.45
Average Rating
Rating Distribution
Rating Timeline
Taste Profile
2000
Favorite Decade
Reggae
Favorite Genre
US
Top Origin
Cheerleader
Rater Style ?
56
5-Star Albums
13
1-Star Albums
Breakdown
By Genre
Top Styles
By Decade
By Origin
Albums
You Love More Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Nail
Scraping Foetus off the Wheel
|
5 | 2.42 | +2.58 |
|
Sing To God
Cardiacs
|
5 | 2.54 | +2.46 |
|
Mekanik destruktiw kommandoh
Magma
|
5 | 2.7 | +2.3 |
|
Symbolic
Death
|
5 | 2.77 | +2.23 |
|
Goat
The Jesus Lizard
|
5 | 2.79 | +2.21 |
|
Katamari Damacy
Various Artists
|
5 | 2.86 | +2.14 |
|
Geogaddi
Boards of Canada
|
5 | 2.9 | +2.1 |
|
Atrocity Exhibition
Danny Brown
|
5 | 2.91 | +2.09 |
|
Desire, I Want To Turn Into You
Caroline Polachek
|
5 | 2.93 | +2.07 |
|
To Be Kind
Swans
|
5 | 2.97 | +2.03 |
You Love Less Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
The Decline
NOFX
|
1 | 3.06 | -2.06 |
|
Images and Words
Dream Theater
|
1 | 2.94 | -1.94 |
|
Once
Nightwish
|
1 | 2.77 | -1.77 |
|
Come And Get It
Rachel Stevens
|
1 | 2.62 | -1.62 |
|
The Great Outdoors Jam
Pigeons Playing Ping Pong
|
1 | 2.56 | -1.56 |
|
Stranger In Town
Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band
|
2 | 3.52 | -1.52 |
|
Millennium
Backstreet Boys
|
1 | 2.49 | -1.49 |
|
A Live One
Phish
|
1 | 2.46 | -1.46 |
|
The Simple Plan
August is Falling
|
1 | 2.42 | -1.42 |
|
TEKKNO
Electric Callboy
|
1 | 2.41 | -1.41 |
Artists
Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Bon Iver | 3 | 4.67 |
| Godspeed You! Black Emperor | 2 | 5 |
| Songs: Ohia | 2 | 5 |
| Vampire Weekend | 3 | 4.33 |
5-Star Albums (56)
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Popular Reviews
The Upsetters · 16 likes
5/5
My own entry on this list. Of course it's one of the greatest (reggae/dub) albums ever made and of course it should have been on the original list.
Electric Callboy · 15 likes
1/5
This is one of the worst albums I ever listened to in my life. I surely hope the submission of this album was a bad joke. It is (thank God) very short and full of Scooter style metalcore rave tracks. The lyrics are stupid (special mention "Fuckboi") and uninteresting. It also has schlager style tracks (f.e. "Hurrikan"). Maybe this is "fun" on a summer festival, but even then I would be annoyed after a track or two. A one star rating does not do this album justice.
Cardiacs · 15 likes
5/5
Thanks for adding a Cardiacs album to this list, contributor! One of the most neglected bands of all time. I like “A Little Man… Window” and “On Land And In The Sea” more; this is a great album though. The music is very eclectic and overcomplicated, but full of ideas, beautiful melodies, humor and funny lyrics.
Godspeed You! Black Emperor · 14 likes
5/5
Fantastic post rock album by the masters themself. No other act knows how to go from some subtle introvert spare notes in slow tempo to all-in disrupting noise and tension and go back again. Great soundscapes and sounds: "cinematic" and "breathtaking in its grandiose beauty".
Opeth · 11 likes
5/5
In the progressive death metal genre swedish band Opeth has been one of the top acts for several decennia. Blackwater Park is their fifth and one of their best. I can understand that not everyone is into this kind of music, but if you're open to it, there is a lot to enjoy. The album has a lot of variation in style and tempo. Even the grunting vocals are alternated by clean vocals often in slower (passages of) songs.
4-Star Albums (228)
1-Star Albums (13)
All Ratings
blink-182
4/5
Lots and lots of energy, fun and catchy tunes. I like it.
Haley Heynderickx
4/5
Great modern indie folk album. Sorry about the horse that died.
Gang of Youths
3/5
I would like to give this album 4 stars, but halfway the album gets band and unappealing. It could have been a great one.
INXS
3/5
New Sensation and Need You Tonight are good songs. , Never Tear Us Apart is fantastic. The rest of the album is not so great though.
Richard Dawson
4/5
Strange and very interesting folky album. Sometimes a bit too much experiment and too little song.
Madvillain
5/5
One of the rap albums that was missing on the original list. What's not to like about MF Doom music.
Phish
1/5
Lots and lots of solos and other musical muscle performance. It lacks soul, integrity, good songs and the attempts to be humorous are not appealing.
Louis Armstrong
5/5
Should have been on the original list. Fantastic performances of Armstrong and his band in their peak.
The Postal Service
4/5
Interesting project using the postal service to collaborate on the songs. Too bad they gave up after one album. Such Great Heights is a highlight.
Kaizers Orchestra
4/5
Interesting concept album about sanity with a great album cover and good songs.
My Chemical Romance
4/5
Never thought I'd really like an Emo album. This one is very good. Forgive me for my prejudices.
LaBelle
4/5
Of course I already knew Lady Marmalade. The rest of the album is not bad either with fantastic vocal performances.
Protomartyr
4/5
Very great post-punk album with great performance of the musicians.
Switchfoot
2/5
I'm not so into Christian Rock, though the main complaint is it's lacking any originality and is bland and middle of the road.
Koritni
2/5
Uninspiring and generic Hard Rock with mediocre songs.
100 gecs
4/5
How to get energetic and confused at once? Put on this record of 100 gecs. It is annoying as hell in a good way.
Amon Düül II
4/5
Interesting Krautrock that does not sound outdated at all.
Chromatics
4/5
Funny Italo Pop album by Chromatics. I knew only their previous music and this is something completely different.
Sufjan Stevens
5/5
Very fragile and lovely album by Sufjan Stevens about his parents in emotional songs.
Primus
4/5
Nice weird album of Primus with lots of humor, great songs and incredible bass guitar playing.
Weezer
4/5
Weezer debut album with lots of great catchy songs, fun and energy.
Earth, Wind & Fire
3/5
Nice funky album with Boogie Wonderland as a highlight, but also some forgettable songs.
blink-182
3/5
I like Enema Of The State a whole lot better. It's not a punishment to have to listen to this energetic and catchy album though.
Jellyfish
4/5
Sometimes the songs fall apart due to the complexity, most of the time all juggling with styles and tempo just works. Somewhere between Supertramp and Queen is not the worst place to be.
Nuyorican Soul
4/5
Nice Latin album music with a long list of guest appearances.
Mull Historical Society
3/5
An ok indie pop album. I must admit I like the album cover more than the music.
Steven Wilson
4/5
Good prog rock album by Steven Wilson. I like the album cover too. The music gets complex sometimes. Smart, but not too smart.
3/5
I really like the electronic madness, but the sugar laced ballads are not my cup of tea.
Oingo Boingo
4/5
Everybody know Weird Science. I was pleasantly surprised that the rest of the album also consists of funny, happy, catchy and weird songs.
Marillion
3/5
Marillion is not a favorite of mine. I find Misplaced Childhood an album to avoid, but Afraid Of Sunlight is not that bad. The songs are better, less theatrics and more consistency.
The Posies
4/5
Of course we all know Weird Science. I was surprised that the rest of the album was also full of funny, catchy and weird songs.
Garmarna
4/5
Nice dark folk album. (My Swedish is not good enough to confirm. Every song could be about daisies and honey). The up tempo songs (f.e. Gamen) are the most impressive.
4/5
A great collection of songs although Eels has created better albums.
Freddie Gibbs
4/5
An impressive rap album by MadGibbs reminding me of Wu-Tang Clan.
Neutral Milk Hotel
5/5
Maybe the best album of the 1990s and it was not on the original list. Mastery crafted folky, indie songs with sort of a concept album story about Anne Frank.
The Decemberists
4/5
Good album with nice indiepop songs. I like their earlier work (Castaways and Cutouts, Picaresque, The Crane Wife) better. Still this album also contains several impressive songs with well written lyrics.
Savages
5/5
I've always loved the sound of Savages especially live. Their combi concert with Bo Ningen in Utrecht was one of the best I ever witnessed. Silence Yourself is a terrific post-punk album.
Bran Van 3000
3/5
I completely forgot about Astounded which I a put on several playlists at the time. That is a fantastic song. Too bad the rest of the album is not of a similar quality.
Daniel Bélanger
4/5
Daniel Bélanger was new to me. Good pop songs and just that extra taste by using some electronics.
The Lumineers
3/5
Nice little folky album. Ophelia and Cleopatra are good songs, the other songs are just ok and a bit boring.
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
5/5
Not the King Gizzard album I would chose, but then again there are so many to chose from. It is a sublime one with great guitar licks, microtonal tuning and an infinite loop. The tempo of the album breaks down every negative opinion about it.
Igorrr
4/5
Igorrr knows how to keep me awake. It's not an album that I will ever forget and not to bad either. Quatre points pour l'originalité.
Garbage
4/5
I like the debut album better. Nice thing about this one is you feel there is some more coherence between the music, lyrics and vocal melodies as Shirley Manson was involved from the beginning.
Susanne Sundfør
4/5
Great folk singer-songwriter album. I like this better than her electronic music.
Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band
2/5
I do not like this kind of Middle of the Road stadium rock from the 1970s. I find it boring and uninspiring.
Hikaru Utada
2/5
Bland music produced way too smooth and without interesting songs. Each song was forgotten within minutes after hearing it.
Extrechinato y Tu
4/5
Very interesting project putting poems by Manolo Chinato to music by Poesía Básica. I had not heard of the poet or the band(members) before. Great music and I assume also great lyrics. (Yeah, I admit I'm too lazy to google translate and read it).
Cluster
4/5
I'm impressed by the number of Krautrock albums on the original- and user list. Having listened to them, I must admit they all deserve to be on it. Zuckerzeit (great album cover) is a banger.
Josh Ritter
4/5
Nice intimate singer-songwriter album. My favorite tracks are Girl in the Water and Good Man.
The Weeknd
3/5
Blinding Lights is a classic song, the rest of the album shows The Weeknd as a second rate Michael Jackson.
Hombres G
2/5
When I saw the album cover I knew this would be either very good or very bad. It's the latter. The songs are mediocre, the singer sings off key a bit too often and the performance is uninspired. A third rate Manu Chao with incompetent singer.
Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass
3/5
The album cover is the only reason to put it on this list. If so, submitter you are forgiven. The music is easy listening that does not add anything to your life.
Men I Trust
3/5
Easy, lazy dream pop and jazz. This makes it a bit boring after a while.
Bruce Springsteen
4/5
Live albums should not be on this list (and certainly not very long ones). Then again this is an incredible album with a great Bruce Springsteen and an E Street Band on fire.
Snarky Puppy
2/5
Though Snarky Puppy seems to like it here, I don't really like them here. This music if much to bland and indifferent. It lacks soul, effort and inspiration. It must be awful to be a great musician, but a mediocre composer.
Maldita Vecindad Y Los Hijos Del 5to. Patio
4/5
What a pleasant surprise this album is. Great Mexican rock with several influences, styles and a fantastic opener in Pachuco.
The Burning Hell
4/5
Little folky indierock album with sweet songs.
The Jesus Lizard
5/5
Excellent noise rock album (another Steve Albini) that sounds like a steamroller between your ears. Then Comes Dudley makes me think it's better if he stays the hell away from me.
Bon Iver
4/5
The first a album of Bon Iver with more experimental electronica and voice modulation. I think I like the first two albums more, but there's nothing wrong with this one.
Salif Keita
4/5
Great Salif Keita album. Lots of fantastic rhythms and a pleasure for my ears and hips.
Rachel Stevens
1/5
Come on, sorry I don't get it. It's bland, slick, undistinctive and boring as hell.
Alex Cameron
3/5
After listening to this album twice I still do not understand it. In one way it's very generic and uninteresting rock, in another way it's quite ok. Great guest performers!
Bloc Party
4/5
Great indie rock debut with a lot of terrific songs (Helicopter, Banquet, The Pioneers)
Scraping Foetus off the Wheel
5/5
I understand why a lot of people dislike this album: the noises, bombastic sound and horrific lyrics. These things together make it a very special experience and an acquired taste. I adore it!
Angelo De Augustine
4/5
I did not know Angelo De Augustine as a kindred soul of Sufjan Stevens. While listening to this album I discovered a lot of the elements that I make me like Sufjan's songs so much.
Valerie June
4/5
I like the classical soul and roots music on this album. Not very original, but splendid performances by singer and band.
Graham Parker
4/5
Graham Parker is one of those artists that should have deserved some more appriciation from the public. Great songs and fantastic lyrics (You can't be too strong) that up to this day are open to debate.
Mustafa
4/5
Watching the album cover thought it was rap, but instead it's a good RnB album with even some folky elements. Very refreshing!
GAS
4/5
Inspiring ambient album. Never heard of it before, but it's now one of my favorites in the genre.
Procol Harum
2/5
Several musical styles are covered, but none of the songs stick. This album is not for me I guess.
Ani DiFranco
3/5
Fine album, not much melody and somewhat repetitive though.
Arthur Russell
4/5
Some freakish experiments with sounds, cello and electronics. Very amusing results.
The Mountain Goats
4/5
Good consistent Lo-Fi rock/Folk album by The Mountain Goats. The lyrics are great as allways.
Alexisonfire
2/5
There are so many great post-hardcore albums and this is not one of them. Songwriting is bland and performance mediocre.
Sparks
3/5
Nice change in style to synth-pop with producer Giorgio Moroder. The songs are not that spectacular though.
Joan As Police Woman
4/5
Nice pop/rock album an great guest performance by Anthony Hegarty.
Gurrumul
3/5
The album certainly has moments of something original and personal with the traditional Aboriginal songs and melodies, but much to often the production is too slick turning it into some middle of the road pastiche. Too bad!
Jimmy Buffett
3/5
After reading all the Wikipedia information about Jimmy Buffett, I effortlessly tried to like the album. I think I like the guy and his island escapism. The ablum is not bad, but just not that good either.
The Upsetters
5/5
My own entry on this list. Of course it's one of the greatest (reggae/dub) albums ever made and of course it should have been on the original list.
Sampha
4/5
Good and diverse RnB album with bouncy rhythms and great production.
Vampire Weekend
4/5
Various exotic musical styles are combined and still sound cohesive. The Talking Heads of the 2000s.
Roger Waters
3/5
Being part of Pink Floyd kept Roger Waters from some stupid decisions like this album cover, making over complex and pretentious music. Some of his solo material and half of this album is quite good.
Mogwai
4/5
Great post-rock debut album with fantastic soundscapes.
Wussy
3/5
Great vocals, but these indie rock songs lack real quality.
3/5
Ok rock album, nothing special.
Bad Religion
3/5
I'd like to love it more, but the songs are not that spectacular.
Debbie Gibson
2/5
The fact that Debbie (co)wrote most of these songs while only sixteen does not excuse her for putting the annoying Shake Your Love on repeat in my head for weeks.
Ian McDonald
4/5
Great prog rock album by two former King Crimson members.
Freestylers
2/5
At the time I was impressed, but not enough great songs (like "B-Boy Stance", "Ruffneck", "Here We Go")
Thee Oh Sees
3/5
Live albums should not be on this list. I've seen this band live as the OSEES a few years back. It was ok and this album confirms that opinion.
Arctic Monkeys
4/5
One of the albums after the Arctic Monkeys slowed the music down and Alex Turner became a smooth operator. I has a chique plastic mood making me almost feel guilty about loving it.
Chet Baker
4/5
Chet Baker is a fantastic jazz singer. This album is none of that. I's about an even better jazz trumpeter.
TOOL
4/5
Listening to TOOL is not a pleasure, not a burden but very intense and cathartic. Impressive album!
THE SPORTS
3/5
Wiki states that The Sports were a big thing in Australia. I didn't miss much by not knowing them before.
Sublime
3/5
What I Got" and "Santeria" are great ska punk songs. The rest of the album is ok.
Status Quo
2/5
Middle of the road daddy hard rock. Not my kind of music.
Tame Impala
3/5
I find Tame Impala quite boring. One slow song like Let It Happen is fine, thirteen in a row is not. Some variation in tempo would have been nice as the songs are not that bad on their own.
Courteeners
2/5
The songs are ok, but the vocal performance is poor. Just not that interesting.
Childish Gambino
4/5
Nice rap album by Donald Glover. Some of the weirder songs remind me of Danny Brown. Acting and music seems to be a good combination (compared to sports and music. Something about creativity, I guess).
The Hold Steady
4/5
Great rock album. Not the most original, but the performance is spot on.
Nik Kershaw
2/5
"Wouldn't It Be Good" if all of the album was of the same quality as that song and "I Won't Let the Sun Go Down on Me"...
Sunny Day Real Estate
2/5
An album with a lot of emo style music I dislike and it just drags one (unlike My Chemical Romance)
Tally Hall
3/5
Nice little album. While listening I enjoyed reading about Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum itself.
The Tragically Hip
4/5
I always tend to forget about The Hip and when I listen to their music I wonder why. Great guitar hooks, energy and sublime songs.
Frank Zappa
5/5
Watch out where the huskies go and don't you eat that yellow snow. The pleasure was all mine, Mr. Zappa!
King Tubby
5/5
One of my favorite reggae albums that certainly deserves a place on the original list. I've got a fever and the only prescription is more melodica!
John Mayer
3/5
An ok album with a few highlights. John Mayer is a fabulous guitar player and writes decent songs. If only he would not always stay within the lines.
Dave Matthews Band
4/5
This album sounds so "normal" and consistent while the arrangements and rhythms are really crazy and complex. Outstanding performance and songwriting.
Jai Paul
2/5
I understand these are sketches and demo's and that is how it sounds. It's more or less ok, but far from finished.
Fontaines D.C.
4/5
Fantastic post-punk album of Fontaines D.C. Best songs: Boys in the Better Land, Too Real.
Stromae
4/5
Great rap and electronic album by Stromae with personal lyrics and great tunes. Favorite Songs: "Papaoutai" and "Formidable".
Korn
3/5
I remembered it as a great album, but I guess it did not age that well. It's lyrics are personal, horrific, immature and honest at the same time.
Billy Squier
2/5
I'm afraid I have to say No to Billy Squier. I do not like this MOR stadium hardrock sound and the songs are mediocre.
Mary Chapin Carpenter
3/5
Normally I dislike this kind of smooth country music, but the songs are good and the performance is not bad either (apart from an awful duet).
The Marcus King Band
4/5
Nice southern rock album by The Marcus King Band. The voice and performance of the singer is truly outstanding.
Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera
2/5
Another forgettable album from the 1960s. I'm afraid it does not add anything to my musical palette.
Killswitch Engage
3/5
A fine metalcore album. Not that spectacular though.
Chucklehead
2/5
I never heard of Chucklehead and I understand why (they never became famous). I understand that it must have been a great live band.
Boy Azooga
3/5
I listened to the album twice three weeks ago and today I cannot remember a thing about it. It's a fine album nothing more.
5/5
Truly great indie rock album. All songs are beautiful and Sunflower is sublime.
They Might Be Giants
3/5
I prefer earlier albums of They Might Be Giants. This one is not a punishment to listen to. I think they must have been a big inspiration to the Magnetic Fields that deliver better songs and lyrics.
Godspeed You! Black Emperor
5/5
Maybe the best album to listen to while driving on a dark, deserted highway at night.
The Alan Parsons Project
3/5
The idea of a concept album based on Edgar Allan Poe stories is great, several songs are not.
Stars
4/5
Very nice album with beautiful arrangements and melodies. Reminded me of Death Cab for Cutie.
MF DOOM
5/5
One of my favorite rap albums and a concept album about food. The title is an anagram. I like the flow of his raps and the usage of samples.
Anaïs Mitchell
4/5
I never heard of Anaïs Mitchell before this list. The album consists of great songs, inspiring lyrics and terrific guest singers.
The Beautiful South
3/5
The album consists of properly written songs and pleasant melodies. Don't Marry Her is fantastic (as a kid I thought it was Don't Marry Her, But Me)
Robyn Hitchcock
2/5
The album starts with some cool and weird song structures, but rather quickly it gets lost in the experiment.
Faith No More
4/5
What a banger this is: various musical genres are explored and still it does not lack any coherence.
Death Cab for Cutie
5/5
One of my favorite indie pop/rock albums. A concept album about long distance relations with beautiful melodies and even better lyrics.
Shania Twain
2/5
Come On Over is happy, smooth and catchy, though in the end the lack of any substance makes it a forgettable album.
Marillion
2/5
To my hears Marillion exists between crying cats and a cheater begging for forgiveness. It's not the best place to be.
Jimmy Eat World
3/5
This album is like a hotdog. At first it seems like a good idea, but in the end it was ok and nothing more.
First Aid Kit
3/5
It's an ok album. Nothing to get excided about.
The War On Drugs
4/5
It's like The War On Drugs has created only one song and is repeating itself over and over again. If it wasn't just such a banger...
Ty Segall
3/5
I like the sound of the guitars and the style of music. The songs are ok, but a bit interchangeable.
The B-52's
4/5
Another fantastic album of the B-52's. Every time I adore the guitar work by Ricky Wilson.
Amadou & Mariam
4/5
Great album with music from Mali with assistance from Manu Chao (who knew what he was doing)
Kano
3/5
Just a proper rap album, nothing less, nothing more.
Type O Negative
4/5
A classic in gothic metal with terrific songs like Christian Woman and Black No. 1.
The Avett Brothers
3/5
Folk and Americana album with quality production and performance.
Childish Gambino
4/5
And another good rap album by Childish Gambino. I like his flow and when things get a bit weird.
Calibro 35
4/5
Great groovy (and a bit funky) album. Some instrumentals, some songs with vocals.
Gotcha!
2/5
Mediocre Red Hot Chilly Peppers rip off.
Biffy Clyro
3/5
A really fine album with great performances. Too bad everything is just not that special and none of the songs lifts it to a higher level.
Screaming Females
4/5
Female singer with a great voice. Nice compact and (mostly) uptempo indie rock/post-punk songs with hooks and grungy guitar sound.
4/5
Great folk rock album of the best songwriter at the moment (Lenker). A bit long though...
Damien Rice
4/5
I know there is always some discussion about Damien Rice his integrity. The lyrics are often somewhat depressing and emotional like a Elliott Smith ripoff without the street credibility. Then again the first four songs of this album are of excellent quality and the rest is not that bad either.
Adam Green
4/5
Adam Green must be on Santa's naughty list... such a dirty boy. Did I miss some parental advisory, explicit content sticker? For a few minutes I was humming along, but suddenly I choke on a... Just kidding, funny lyrics and happy music, a pleasant surprise!
Tori Amos
3/5
Nice album with (over)emotional pop songs. I like Little Earthquakes better. On this album the voice acrobatics tend to irritate me slightly.
Crash Test Dummies
2/5
Ok indie rock album with one great song (4xmmm) and a lot of mediocre ones. The singers voice is great, but starts to annoy me after a while.
Chappell Roan
3/5
Great fun catchy pop album. Diverse songs and amusing lyrics. The production is sometimes a bit too flat and the songs do not always stand out.
Cardiacs
5/5
Thanks for adding a Cardiacs album to this list, contributor! One of the most neglected bands of all time. I like “A Little Man… Window” and “On Land And In The Sea” more; this is a great album though. The music is very eclectic and overcomplicated, but full of ideas, beautiful melodies, humor and funny lyrics.
Jeff Rosenstock
4/5
Good punky rock album. The artist writes catchy powerpop/rock songs with a lot of energy and great hooks. I like the distorted, lo-fi sound of the album and the singers voice when it’s a bit screaming. Nice photo on the album cover (of his wedding), though I don’t understand how it’s related to the album title.
Pink Floyd
4/5
I consider Animals the fourth or fifth best album of Pink Floyd. Then again it is a damn good piece of rock music with a nice lyrical concept. None of the songs really stand out, but if you listen to it as a whole, you will not be disappointed.
Pedro The Lion
3/5
This is a nice Indie Rock album. Smart lyrics and nice grunge sound. I must admit I like contemporaries like Death Cab for Cutie and The Weakerthans better. Their lyrics are smarter, melodies better and the voice of David Bazan gets a bit boring after a while. But I learned something: "If it isn't penetration. Then it isn't worth the kiss". I wonder if that is a good advice though...
The Amazing Devil
3/5
Ruin of The Amazing Devil is a nice album with folk and rock songs. The songs vary between ballads, folk songs and accoustic hard/prog rock (a bit like Tenacious D). Sometimes the performance is a slighty too much dramatic and it gets annoying.
The Chats
4/5
Great punk/garage rock album. No nonsense uptempo and energetic. Especially “6L GTR” is a fantastic start of the album.
The National
5/5
My favorite The National album. Great indie rock with fantastic songs (Slow Show, Gospel, Mistaken For Strangers, Brainy). I really like the witty and decadent lyrics.
The Dear Hunter
3/5
This is a nice prog rock/pop concept album. Theatrical and a little too often over the top. Good musicians and interesting lyrics.
Vulfpeck
2/5
Great musicians (especially the bass guitar player) playing decent funk and soul music influenced by Stevie Wonder, The Meters and Booker T). Must be fun to attend a performance. Minus points for being a live double album and including the band introduction as a separate song.
Pigeons Playing Ping Pong
1/5
Like Vulfpeck and Phish another extreme long live album of a groovy rock band with excellent musicians with bland and pointless songs missing any urgence or drive. This album consists of 90% guitar solo and is boring as hell.
Khruangbin
3/5
Nice groovy (mostly) instrumental lounge album. A bit repetitive and the lesser songs sound like elevator music.
Streetlight Manifesto
3/5
Highly listenable ska punk album. The voice of the singer is a weaker point of the band. A lot of fun, but not groundbreaking in any way.
Harmonium
3/5
Prog Rock is a hit or miss for me. I did read the wiki: prog rock, french canadian, over 80 minutes and pretentious. Listening to it took most of the fears away. The album consists of very varied music, from ballads, folk, orchestral, chansons to rock fit in a prog format. With great theremin, horns and good vocals. Some songs are too long (Come un Sage) or unnecessary elevator music (le corridor, epilogue). All in all a pleasant surprise!
Porter Robinson
3/5
Nurture is a nice and varied pop, edm and electronic music album. Personally i perfer the electronic music tracks. When the songs tend to be more pop or edm i'm missing some substance and believe contemporaries like Caroline Palochek, Charlie XCX and Olivia Rodrigo better.
Avicii
3/5
Solid EDM album by Avicii on which some other genres are touched (fusion, reggae, blue grass). There’s a thin line between being catchy and generic/inoffensive. That line is sometimes crossed and the bland lyrics do not help. Overall an ok effort.
That Handsome Devil
3/5
Amusing rock album with some Tom Waits and Fun Lovin' Criminals vibes. Very varied musical context (blues, hip hop, hard rock, surf) and dr. John like vocal delivery. An entertaining eclectic and dynamic trip it is!
The Sound
3/5
Nice post punk album by the Sound. Musically somewhere between Joy Division and early U2.
Shudder To Think
4/5
Great post-hardcore album showing the "poppy" side of Shudder To Think. Performance of band, vocalist and production are excellent.
Transvision Vamp
3/5
The songs with a punky attitude (Trash City, I Want Your Love, Psychosonic Cindy, Tell That Girl to Shut Up, Sex Kick) are nice, but the slower and 1980s songs (Sister Moon, Wild Star, Hanging Out With Halo Jones, Andy Warhole’s Dead) are a drag.
John Martyn
4/5
It's never a punishment to listen to a John Martyn album. This album is less diverse and eclectic than his famous albums Solid Air and One World. Most of the songs are jazz rock, soft rock or blue eyed soul. I personaly prefer the other albums (the Phil Collins assistence has made it very smooth and conventional 1980s music), but I cannot deny its quality.
Jóhann Jóhannsson
3/5
This debut album of Jóhann Jóhannsson contains modern classical music mixed with electronic elements. He has also a history of creating soundtracks for films. I get why that works as his music is slow and inoffensive. It's taking a step back, creating an atmosphere and does not demand attention. That is a quality, but also a weak spot.
Café Tacvba
4/5
Great mexican rock album mixing various latin and western musical styles. The band delivers a lot of energy. All changes make the music a bit restless and eclectic, but in a good way.
Kayo Dot
4/5
55 minutes of metal, post-rock, jazz and noise madness. The usage of horns and strings distinguishes them from other bands in this area of music. A large contrast exists between the subtle parts and the all out destructive parts of the songs.
Death
5/5
One of the true metal classics by the band that defined the death metal genre. It's not repetitive distorted drone the way death metal bands bands like Mayhem produce, but more technical with a lot of great guitar riffs and solo's. Very varied music too. The classical guitar notes in Crystal Mountain combine beautifully with the real distorted dual guitars and bass I'm not a fan of grunting unless it's so clear that I can still follow the lyrics (as on this album).
Touché Amoré
3/5
It is a good album, but I did not like the vocals. I don't have issues with screaming, but the music has subtilities that the vocal delivery diminishes. I guess (for me) the guitars should be more distorted than the vocals. The other way around does not work. So grunting with death metal is ok, screaming with rather elegant guitar rock does not. The songs with partly "normal" vocals sound a lot more appealing (Benediction, Water Damage).
Joe Cocker
2/5
This is a live album with cover versions of already famous songs. Most of these covers do not have added value. Joe Cocker has a great voice. I do not like the way Claudia Lennear sings (on Let It Be) and the album sounds very dated.
The Cure
4/5
Beautiful goth rock album by The Cure. This is the first album featuring Reeves Gabriels, the former David Bowie guitarist. It has 8 long and slow tracks sounding similar to the slower tracks on Disintegration.
Teenage Fanclub
4/5
This is maybe the most consistent Teenage Fanclub album. Thirteen great power pop/rock songs. Bandwagonesque has the best tracks (The Concept, Star Sign), but also some weaker ones.
Operation Ivy
2/5
This is a best of album of a punk rock and ska band that is the direct antecedent of Rancid and I'm not a real fan of the latter. The songs on this album sound a bit interchangeable and the vocals are not so great. It's ok, I guess, but no need to add best off albums to this list.
Charli xcx
5/5
This is a fantastic album full of EDM club bangers (360, Club classics, Talk Talk, B2b, Mean Girls, 365), but also beautiful slower tracks (So I, I Might Say Something Stupid). I'm not a fan of autotune, Charli xcx knows knows how to use it in an inventive way though (like Bon Iver does). The instrumentation is full of sophisticated bleeps and sounds. The production is very impressive. The remix/collaboration album "Brat and It's Completely Different but Also Still Brat" is also great.
Roky Erickson
4/5
Great horror rock album by Roky Erickson. Quite diverse songs with funny b-movie horror lyrics. Good performances and vocals. Best album by the best artist of this genre (are there any other? Maybe Alice Cooper, but he’s more metal/hardrock than rock). Lots and lots of fun.
Karnivool
3/5
Nice metal album. Sometimes sounding a bit too much like tool. I do not really like the ballads (f.e. New Day), but that probably is a matter of personal taste as they are favorites of a lot of listeners.
Les sheriff
2/5
I like to have more non-english albums on the user list, but I was not wanting for another punk rock, double and live album. I think the best tracks of this album could be a great 45 minute album with a lot of catchy, melodic punk pop/rock and energy, but in this form it is just too long and with too many mediocre songs.
Björk
4/5
One of the many beautiful albums of Bjork. Full of weird electronic pop songs. Highlights are Joga and Bachelorette.
TOOL
4/5
This third album of Tool contains a lot of fantastic alternative metal songs with many (rhythm) twists and turns. A bit long though.
The Stooges
2/5
Metallic K.O. Is a live registration of Iggy & The Stooges with a hostile audience and Iggy is feeding the bad fibe. You can feel the tension which is interesting in a way. Musically the performance is not that good and the recording quality is poor.
Nightwish
1/5
Nightwish makes metal music for toddlers. It is very simple melodic rock with cliché melodies and dumb lyrics. Symphonic/ Gothic metal is not a musical style I like, but even in this genre there are many better bands (Evanescence, Within Temptation, Epica).
Margot & The Nuclear So And So's
4/5
Nice indie rock/pop album. I like the (more rock) second half a bit better. Good vocals and overall performance.
Godspeed You! Black Emperor
5/5
Fantastic post rock album by the masters themself. No other act knows how to go from some subtle introvert spare notes in slow tempo to all-in disrupting noise and tension and go back again. Great soundscapes and sounds: "cinematic" and "breathtaking in its grandiose beauty".
Bob Mould
3/5
This third album of Bob Mould is a nice alternative rock album. He played all instruments and provided all vocals. This makes the album sometimes a bit dull. Bob does not have the most dynamic voice and arragements of the instruments are not all that spectacular. It's not a punishment to listen to it though.
Titus Andronicus
3/5
These rock songs are quite good and the lyrics and concept of the album is interesting. Also a lot of other instruments (even bagpipes) and several old melodies of the civil war. I like the lo-fi sound, the guitar skills of the many guitar players on the album are not very impressive though. That's not a problem. The problem is that the vocals of the lead singer get on my nerves. If it works, he sounds a bit like Shane MacGowan of The Pogues: lazy and a somewhat off-key. Much too often his limited skills get annoying and diminish the quality of the songs and overall performance.
The Angelic Process
3/5
Interesting wall of noise somewhere between shoegaze and industrial. Several good songs, some are a bit too long and interchangeable.
HELLYEAH
2/5
Simple and over the top groove metal. The slower southern rock songs (Alcohaulin' Ass) are boring and emphasize the poor lyrics. Not my cup of tea.
Yeasayer
3/5
The debut album of Yeasayer consists of nice art-rock/pop songs. Their second album (Odd Blood) has more highlights, but on this album the overall quality is better. I like the way Yeasayer always finds a way to write and present a song in a way it stands out from the “normal” pop/rock format.
Modest Mouse
3/5
\The Lonesome Crowded West of Modest Mouse is a fine indie rock album. It shows the beginning of the band capable of creating a great album (Good News for People Who Love Bad News) in the future, but just not yet at the time. That makes it hard to judge for me. Some of the songs are a bit too long and a 45 minute selection would have created a better album.
Joe Jackson
4/5
Classic album with pointy pop songs. Great diverse songs like "Is She Really Going Out With Him" (marvelous melody and bass), "Sunday Papers" (reggae), "Fools In Love" (reggae again) and "Got the time" (up-tempo as hell; the cover version by Anthrax is also fantastic).
Polvo
3/5
This is a nice noisy indie rock album. It hovers somewhere between contemporaries like Fugazi, Therapy! and Pavements. The vocals are a bit weak, but great guitar sound.
Courtney Barnett
4/5
Smashing indie rock from Australia on the debut album of Courtney Barnett. A lot of talk-singing in a nice and original way with great songwriting.
Slowdive
5/5
Fabulous shoegaze album by Slowdive. Majestic soundscapes with slow melodic changes provide a perfect sunday morning feeling.
Jimmy Eat World
3/5
Another ok album by Jimmy Eat World. Fine uptempo rock songs that are nice, but not remarkable. (I'll never get the necessity to make albums like these that long).
Avenged Sevenfold
3/5
This is an ok heavy (prog) metal album. For me the artist wants to do too much: ideas, melody changes, instruments, vocals and choirs. It gets on my nerves (while I can take a lot).
CAKE
4/5
This alternative rock album by Cake contains the successful singles "The Distance" and "I Will Survive". The rest of the album is not bad either. Funny lyrics and good guitar (and horn) performances. The songs that are covers really add something to the original versions.
Mylène Farmer
3/5
It was a big frustration to get hold of this album anywhere. On the streaming services I can only find an instrumental version (no idea why that exists).
In the end I succeeded. I'm not sure if it was the worth the effort. The music is commercial French pop. Not bad, but it does not make me very happy either. I was surprised that I recognized the hit single Désenchantée. I'll give it three (instead of two) stars for the fact it is not from the UK or USA.
Amyl and The Sniffers
4/5
Great punk/garage rock album, I like the Australian accent of singer Amy Taylor. Sounds a bit like Sprints; lots of energy. In retrospect it was a bad decision by me to skip their performance at Best Kept Secret Festival in 2024.
Carly Rae Jepsen
3/5
Easy listening album with retro 1980s pop. Reminds me of early Cindy Lauper and Madonna music.
Jack Johnson
3/5
Nice relaxed folky singer-songwriter album. Starts strong, but in the end it’s just a lot of simular songs (instrumentation, tempo, melody).
Great Big Sea
2/5
Album full of folky songs. The performance is technically ok, but not very inspired. The album misses the raw edge that this kind of music needs. It’s sort of a nerdy schoolboy version of The Dubliners.
Chloe x Halle
3/5
An album full of generic commercial sounding R&B. It’s not too bad, but somewhat overproduced and the songs are not noteworthy to remember.
Boards of Canada
5/5
One of the best Boards of Canada albums and one of my favorite electronic albums. During the albums the sounds get stranger and the compositions weirder (The Devil Is in the Detail). An absolute must listen!
The Tragically Hip
4/5
Great album by the Hip. On this record the band is a guitar rock powerhouse. A little more consistent, but also a bit less raw than Road Apples. Nearly every song is good, highlights are Courage and Eldorado.
Chris de Burgh
2/5
This is a pop/rock album that sounds dated. "Spanish Train", "Patricia the Stripper" and "A Spaceman Came Travelling" are ok. The ballads ("Lonely Sky", "This Song For You", "The Tower") are over the top and not to my liking. The other songs are boring. I never knew Chris de Burgh apart from "Lady in Red", but don't think I've missed much.
Ornette Coleman
5/5
Great free jazz album. It was included in the Rolling Stone list of the 500 greatest albums of all time and National Recording Registry. "Lonely Woman" is one of my all time favorite jazz compositions.
TOOL
4/5
This fourth album of TOOL is not their best, but still great progressive rock music. Some slower songs and the closer are not that interesting.
Daft Punk
4/5
Great disco/electronic/house album by Daft Punk. A lot of auto-tune on the vocals used in an innovative way.
Fontaines D.C.
5/5
Fantastic and diverse album by Fontaines D.C. After the 2023 solo album of lead singer, the band also leaves the path of straight post-punk. The music is more approachable and polished. All kinds of rock styles, slow songs and electronics and it all fits. An instant classic!
The Caretaker
4/5
Intriguing ambient album consisting of samples and loops of early ballroom music. The abudant presence of cracks and hiss is sometimes somwhat over the top.
Bon Iver
5/5
What an absolute beauty this debut album is. I am convinced the subsequent albums are more impressive from an innovation standpoint, but this is sheer pleasure. Great laidback folk songs with fantastic melodies, tantalising vocals and impressive instrumentation.
Martha
4/5
Great indie rock album with a lot of energy and fun in uptempo songs. My favorites are “Beat, Perpetual”, “Every Day the Hope Gets Harder” and “Baby, Does Your Heart Sink?”
Wishbone Ash
3/5
Early prog rock album. I like the dual lead guitars, but the music and lyrics have not aged very well: it’s all a bit boring. “The King Will Come” and “Throw Down the Sword” are the best songs.
Backstreet Boys
1/5
This is a classic album in the boy band genre, but that does not make it a classic in general. The uptempo songs are ok, though generic and commercial. The ballads, there are a lot on this album, are an absolute horror to listen to.
Arca
3/5
An interesting electronic album with strange sounds and modulated voices and raps. Too disruptive to be compared to EDM, more a mixture between industrial, electronic and rap. A grandchild of Love's Secret Domain by Coil.
The 1975
3/5
This pop/rock album was well received by the critics, but it's not my cup of tea. There is not a lot of difference between the songs in tempo, they all lack any urgence and everything is much too soft and slick in my opinion.
Daft Punk
4/5
First I thought there is more than enough Daft Punk on the original list and by user added regular albums. Certainly for electronic acts a live album is more or less a best of album. In this case I must admit that the live versions add a lot musically and are a lot of fun to listen to. The album is a bit long, but keeps being interesting.
Songs: Ohia
5/5
This is the best album of Jason Molina. It's full of tragedy and overwhelming sadness, but also brings a bit of cheerfulness and relief. The title song is one of my favorite songs of all time.
The Vaccines
4/5
Great garage rock album by The Vaccines. A lot of energy and attitude in direct songs. Reminds of the Jesus and Mary Chain (reverb) and Arctic Monkeys (debut album).
Great indie rock album. I’m stunned I never heared of Mew. I listened to the whole album thinking it was a female singer. So I’m impressed by the vocal range of the frontman. I do not think all material is strong, but I was captured by the second half of the album (She Came Home for Christmas, Eight Flew Over, One Was Destroyed and Comforting Sounds). Certainly the last two are amazing.
Alexisonfire
3/5
On repeat: There are so many really great post-hardcore and emo albums and this is not one of them.
I like this one better than "Watch Out!", but still I do not like it that much. The spoken words parts are interesting though, they should do this more often (I get a Slint feeling). I'm in a happy state, so I'll give it 3 stars.
David Baerwald
4/5
Great pop/rock album by a artist I thought I never heard of. After reading his wiki page I now know he is one of the Tuesday Music Club (Sheryl Crow) members and co-wrote the songs on that album and played guitar on it. The album cover and lyrics are more depressing and confronting than the music. I get a bit of "Somewhere Down the Crazy River” (Robbie Robertson) vibes, because of spoken word parts and the underlying unease. I like the strange political atmosphere and the tension you can feel in a lot of the lyrics. And as other reviewers also state: it keeps getting better if you listen to it multiple times.
Sports Team
4/5
Good rock album with a lot of energy and funny lyrics. Especially "Here's the Thing" is very very very catchy.
Talking Heads
4/5
This album was originally recorded for the movie. I have it on DVD and watched it many times as it is one of the greatest live registrations and an easy five star choice. But having only the audio, you are missing so much of the fun. The strange large suits of David Byrne, his absurd dancing and deliverance. That’s why live albums are not the best option (and these are also “kind of best of”-abums, so cheating). Speaking in Tongues or Little Ceatures would gave been a better choice.
Times New Viking
3/5
Nice Lo-Fi album with an extreme amount of distortion. Something for people that like Guided by Voices. Songs vary between a good and ok quality (3-3.5 stars).
System Of A Down
4/5
This is a very good rock/metal album . To be honest the first tracks are more of less ok, but certainly after the fantastic "Chop Suey" each song is a banger till the end of the album
Sufjan Stevens
4/5
Good collaboration album of Sufjan Stevens with Angelo De Augustine with beautiful songs. The result is more a Sufjan album (compositions), but it certainly has a Angelo vibe also. It fits and the guys give each other the space they need. It seems like they've had a good time creating it. And no.. it won't mention the album cover.
Olivia Rodrigo
4/5
Great poppy rock album of Olivia Rodrigo. It was one of the highlights of 2023. Normally I would say it is too mainstream for me, but the vocals, production and very catchy songs cannot amount to less than four stars
Screeching Weasel
3/5
Amusing punkrock album. Not too special, but entertaining. Nice cover version of “I Can See Clearly”.
Refused
4/5
If you read on the Wikipedia page that an album was a commercial and critical failure at the time, you know it must be good. This is a great (post)hardcore album with a lot of dynamic songs. The subtitle "A chimerical bombination in 12 bursts" could not have been more to the point.
Unwound
4/5
Fantastic post-hardcore album by Unwound. I like Leaves Turn Inside You a bit better, though this one is a great listen too. Compared to the latter album it still has more up-tempo and edgy songs. I really like the baselines and the shaky vocals.
Manchester Orchestra
4/5
Good indierock album with sometimes a bit over the top dramatic songs. Great production and I absolutely love the album cover.
Talk Talk
4/5
Nice early post-rock. Never knew Talk Talk produced anything besides their well known (and certainly not bad synth-pop).The nasal singing voice of Hollis still annoys me after a while.
Emicida
4/5
Great Brazilian hip hop album with very cheerful and happy songs. I don't understand a bit of the lyrics, but to me it sounds like a party is going on here and I wanna join.
Guy Clark
3/5
This country album is a good listen. It's not groundbreaking, but excellent musicians, nice lyrics and decent songs. Just a bit little middle of the road and never urgent or surprising.
Crystal Castles
3/5
This album is a great albums when it comes to classic electronic beeps. Too bad it has these noise tracks that are ok, but not that great with a production that makes these sound a bit hollow.
Noname
3/5
Nice hip hop album. Smooth and relaxed with a great vibe.
Portishead
4/5
A solid album by Portishead. Not as great as the other two studio albums or the live recording, but still a pleasure.
TOOL
3/5
This is my least favorite TOOL album. It sounds much too overthought due to the many years it took to create. The album lacks the urgence and spontaneity their other albums have. It is too long and just drags on.
The Breeders
4/5
Nice indie rock album by The Breeders. Some weakers songs (Mad Lucas, Roi, Hag), some absolute bangers (Cannonball, Divine Hammer).
Johnny Winter
3/5
I really admire Johnny Winter as a guitar player. Too bad that his songwriting skills are not of the same level. This is a decent, but predictable and not adventurous blues rock album with great guitar play and solo’s.
Bon Iver
5/5
I personally like this Bon Iver album the most. The songs are mature and have an original sound. The first album was folk and singer-songwriter stuff, this album is all about nature in epic soundscapes. Listening to it feels like sitting on a porch at a cabin at the edge of the forest looking to the clouds passing by. Almost too bad that Vernon started experimenting even further on the following albums.
Enter Shikari
3/5
Enter Shikari combines metalcore with trance. When I first listened to them live at the Eurosonic Festival in 2007, I was impressed. Now I think it sounds a bit dated and the synth/dance is too rare to make it differentiate from other post-hardcore albums.
Al Stewart
3/5
Nice and happy pop/rock album from the 70s. Of course Year of the Cat and On the Border are great songs. The other songs are also not that bad. All in all a pleasant listen, but not something I would put on again (apart from the two classic tracks).
3/5
I like this album better than their other music. The individual songs are ok, but the varied collection of styles makes the album less cohesive.
R.E.M.
4/5
Good album of R.E.M., but certtaintly not their best. Still great songs Losing My Religion, Near Wild Heaven, Country Feedback and some forgettable ones Belong, Radio Song, Low, Endgame.
Os Mundi
3/5
Os Mundi delivers a strange combination of krautrock and latin lyrics. Too bad the songs just are not as good as I would like. It's a decent effort anyway.
Lo Fidelity Allstars
3/5
This is a nice Big Beat album. It sounds somewhat outdated, but it's still groovy. Lo Fidelity Allstars was a good live band too.
Spose
2/5
The music on this album is ok, but it's way too long. The first half "Get Rich" an alternative rock album, the second half "Die Ryan" a rap album. The performance and songs are nice, but the lyrics fail. Even considering they are supposed to be funny a lot of the time, they are shallow and all about frustration and blaming others.
Sam Fender
3/5
An entertaining album of Sam Fender. His most recent at the moment. I don't really understand this selection as his previous two albums are much better (and not on the 1001 or user list). It's a pleasant listen, but it won't blow your head off as it's never daring or getting wild.
Dead Boys
4/5
Good american punk and garage rock album from 1977. An album with song titles like "Ain't Nothin' to Do" and "Caught With the Meat In Your Mouth." You know what you'll get and won't be disappointed.
New Model Army
3/5
New Model Army has never been one of my favorite bands and this album did not change it. But opinions differ and it contains solid rock songs (Green and Grey, Inheritance, I Love the World ) with a folky flavor. With all bonus tracks the streaming services are offering it's much too long and these tracks (apart from White Coats) are not very strong. So you should skip these.
Ween
5/5
Chocolate & Cheese is the best and most accessible album by Ween. The production is very good (not lo-fi) and the songs are clearly finished. Apart from some adolescent fun most songs show the great craftmanship of these two guys resulting in classics like "Freedom of '76", "Baby Bitch", "Buenas Tardes Amigo", "What Deaner Was Talkin' About", "A Tear for Eddie" and "Don't Shit Where You Eat"
The Chameleons
2/5
Though I understand this is a gothic rock classic, I do not like this album. It has a specific 80's vibe that makes all my alarm bells ring. It sounds like a band that takes itself much and much too serious and the production is overdramatic.
Jason Isbell
4/5
This is a good southern rock album by Jason Isbell. I think his previous two solo albums (Southeastern and Something More Than Free) are better. His albums (solo or with Drive-By Truckers) certainly deserve a place on the user and/or 1001 list. Great songwriting (lyrics and music) and live he is one of the best artists at the moment.
Ex-Easter Island Head
4/5
I never heard of Ex-Easter Island Head before, but this is a nice addition to the user list. Minimal electronica with a lot of songs with sounds that are slightly off-tone and/or off-beat. Songs like Easter make you irritated and interested at the same time.
Tosca
4/5
Really nice and relaxed electronica album with a bit of triphop. It uses also vocal samples as musical instruments and that sounds great.
Yo La Tengo
5/5
I'm glad someone decided to grant this album it's rightful place on the user list. The band's best work and one of the best albums of the 1990's. The music varies between rock, pop, noise going fast and slow. The Neil Young like, slightly off key, vocals of Ira Kaplan are a delight.
Beyoncé
4/5
This is the magnum opus of Beyoncé. I don't know why the eponymous album of her is on the 1001 list as that is a decent album, but this one is much, much better. Great vocals, fantastic songs like "Daddy Lessons", "Don't Hurt Yourself" (featuring Jack White), "Freedom" (featuring Kendrick Lamar) and a lot of variation in styles and tempo.
John Coltrane
4/5
Beautiful collaboration album of saxophone player John Coltrane and singer Johnny Hartman with definitive versions of "Lush Life" and "My One and Only Love". If you're into jazz ballads, this is the way.
Psyche Origami
3/5
This album did not make me very happy. It's sort of old-school, but also very outdated hip hop. The breaks on this long album are similar on the tracks and the production sounds late 1990s. The constantly returning Psyche Origami phrase got on my nerves. It's not bad, but in the end quite boring.
Neil Cicierega
2/5
Mouth Sounds is a mashup mixtape from 2014. As far as I can remember mashups were a popular thing around 2000-2005. I cannot find a thing this album adds to the tracks released a decade earlier by dj's (f.e. Soulwax's Dewaele brothers) and mainstream artists like Kylie Minogue. Bills Like Jean Spirit sounds annoying and clumsy with the voices of Cobain and Jackson fighting for the spotlight. Mashups are a nice trick, but most of the time they just sound gimmicky and outdated.
Final Fantasy
3/5
Experiencing an Owen Pallett live show around 2010 was great from a technical standpoint. All the usage of loop pedals building up a song structure is interesting. The problem is that on an album it is not a impressive as at a live performance, having multiple takes. Apart from that it's a method used by a lot of artists (f.e. Andrew Bird). Anyway, the album is ok. The songs are nice, but not outstanding. The violin parts are great, but a more diverse collection of instruments would be better and not all vocals are on the spot. Still it contains a lot of funny and interesting ideas.
Vangelis
3/5
Nice electronic soundtrack of Vangelis. The movie with the classic Tears in the Rain lines of Rutger Hauer is of course fantastic. This score is supporting the movie as a score is supposed to be, but musically sounding like a 1980s album from 1994.
Medeski, Martin & Wood
3/5
I guess this is an OK album. Jazz fusion is often an annoying collection of too long solos in too long songs without structure. This album is not. Too bad the songs are just not that outstanding in quality and performance. When choosing essential jazz fusion lots of other albums should come to mind.
Lady Gaga
3/5
This debut album of popstar Lady Gaga is heavy loaded with hits at the beginning (Just Dance, LoveGame, Paparazzi, Eh Eh and Poker Face), but it goes downhill after these tracks.
Frightened Rabbit
4/5
Good indie rock album with folky influences. Lots of songs with urgency and a drive. You can find this in the music and also in the quite direct lyircs ("It takes more than fucking someone (you don't know) to keep warm").
Duncan Dhu
2/5
Album with a some rock songs and many, many ballads, soft rock and pop tracks. I like the fact that it's a non-English album, but I'm afraid that's one of the few positive things about this album I can mention: it's too long, too soft and boring.
Magdalena Bay
3/5
A dream pop style electronic album. Some tracks are interesting, but after a few the soft baby faced style of singing starts to annoy me. It could have been good if it just wasn't as boring as it is.
Electric Callboy
1/5
This is one of the worst albums I ever listened to in my life. I surely hope the submission of this album was a bad joke. It is (thank God) very short and full of Scooter style metalcore rave tracks. The lyrics are stupid (special mention "Fuckboi") and uninteresting. It also has schlager style tracks (f.e. "Hurrikan"). Maybe this is "fun" on a summer festival, but even then I would be annoyed after a track or two. A one star rating does not do this album justice.
Deltron 3030
4/5
Good early 2000s rap album with lyrics themed around a dystopian future. The interludes sound a bit dated, the music and production are not.
Jon Batiste
3/5
This is a nice RnB/soul album. The songs and performance are ok, but not extraordinary.
Rita Ora
2/5
This dance-pop album is of the "in one ear and out the other" kind. It's mostly harmless, but also quite forgettable. The fact that the best song by far, "Praising You", is a reworked version of a far better original hit by Fatboy Slim says it all.
I like punky folk-rock bands with well written lyrics. I think this niche in musical history started with bands like Violent Femmes and proceeded with Mountain Goats and Cat Power. They produce songs with a certain urgence that it only limited by the acoustic instruments. A feeling that can not be reproduced by a distorted electric guitar, because that sounds all too easy.
This particular folk-rock album is also a great one with interesting lyrics. Best songs are "Rejoice", "Bad Bad Things" and "People". The only mistake is the unnecessary "Mrs. Robinson" part in "People II: The Reckoning" (while the rest of that song is not too bad).
Cat System Corp.
2/5
I never heard of this Dutch musician, but I'm afraid I did not miss very much. He has produced a lot of albums during the last 13 years (more than an album a year). I now know how to achieve this: sample complete songs by other artists, slow the songs down and drop some radio conversation samples in between. I compared these versions to some originals (Torcuato Mariano and Rippingtons) and was struck by the lack of difference apart from speed.
I like the usages of samples in general and do not know vaporwave as a genre, but just using complete songs with hardly any changes seems copying to me, not sampling. I really not impressed by this album.
Pearl Jam
4/5
Nice rock album by Pearl Jam. It is certainly not their best, but songs like "Daughter", "Dissident" and "Rearviewmirror" make it 4 star worthy.
The Groundhogs
3/5
An 1970 concept album about the great war. The blues rock music with some psychedelic accents sounds nice with some good guitar licks. The songs are fine, but not great and the lead vocals are weak.
Yellowcard
3/5
A nice punk pop album with very catchy tunes. Sometimes it is just too poppy and commercial sounding ("Miles Apart") and the songs are fine, but not great. Several tracks with violin and even country ("View from Heaven") are incorporated and seem to fit seamless with the more common sounding tunes.
The Who
3/5
Another concept album by The Who. Maybe the idea behind the album is better than on Tommy, the songs are not. It misses the hit singles and is much and much too long. It's not a bad album though, just not one of their best.
ISIS
4/5
I love this post metal album. It sounds like shoegaze with a metal vibe and it hits all the right spots.
Kashmir
4/5
I know Kashmir from way back (The Good Life (1999), Zitilites (2003)) and saw them live multiple times in the early 2000s. Later in 2010 I saw them again with a singer who lost his long hair and looked a lot like actor Christopher Nash Elliott (Get A Life, How I Met Your Mother). That was a bit distracting and not a compliment, but that concert was (musically) good. This album was already out at that time, but I missed it. Too bad as it is a solid album with great songs and support from two of my heroes (Bowie & Reed). Nice entry, thanks!
Reincidentes
3/5
Nice punkrock album from Sevilla. Not that special to me, but it’s a pleasure to listen to nonetheless.
Aesop Rock
4/5
Aesop Rock is a rapper with a “wickedly extensive vocabulary”. This results in rap virtuosity with fabulous rhythm, flow and visualization. Musically the monumental songwriting and production are also to the point. Great (s)tuff!
Baroness
3/5
A fine hard rock / metal album. The songs are good, but the production and vocals weak. I like the mosquito sound in Twinkler. And the "I can't forget the taste of my own tongue" part in Eula is great. Too bad it's much too long and the second half has a lot of weaker songs.
Ozzy Osbourne
3/5
Ozzy Osbourne in Black Sabbath was fantastic. Ozzy Osbourne solo is meh. As Ozzy does not write the music or even the lyrics. His albums depend on the musicians that write songs for him; in this case Randy Rhoads and Bob Daisley. The songs are ok, somewhere in between the styles of Rainbow and Whitesnake, but not outstanding and it sounds very 1980. As I like Ozzy, it gets three stars. (I dislike Sharon even more after reading this Wiki page).
Agalloch
4/5
Great post metal album. It has a lot of variation with also impressive acoustic bits. You can hear the influence of Godspeed You! Black Emperor in the atmospheric guitar layers. Not similar to Godspeed, but a inspiring reuse of a layering method in another music genre.
Bruce Hornsby
3/5
The only remarkable part of this album is the cover by Edward Hopper. The music and performance on this jazzy pop rock album is harmless in every way. Quality elevator music I guess.
of Montreal
4/5
Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer? is the best album of of Montreal aka Kevin Barnes. Indie rock with disruptive melodies that twirl, but in the end land on their feet. Songs with very personal lyrics. "The Past Is a Grotesque Animal" is a modern classic.
Harry Styles
3/5
It is a fine pop album. The singles are the better songs, the sound of the album is fresh and entertaining. Many of the songs are a bit forgetable, but pleasant during listening.
Dream Theater
1/5
Dream Theater makes a kind of music that is a horror to me. Certainly the ballads like Another Day irritate me to the core of my listening experience. It's a collection of bombastic and pointless sounds that feel like eating like cheap prefab noodles. It sort of fills the room with sounds that are familiar, but add nothing to your life.
BABYMETAL
3/5
Metal Forth is the Fifth album of Babymetal. Like the debut album it's a combination of melodic metal and j-pop. Within this style the album has quite some variation in the songs with many guest appearances.
Fall Out Boy
2/5
Fall Out Boy makes very catchy rock songs with lot of bombastic arrangements. The songs individually are ok (but not great) and listening to an album as a whole the repeated trick that is used makes it boring and inoffensive. This album will not Save Rock And Roll.
Boredoms
2/5
Normally you can always count me in for Noise and garage rock from Japan. But this is not normally: this is an album full of abnormal music with an abundance of humor that gets lost in (cultural?) translation. I don't get it and after over one hour of madness, I think I don't want to get it.
Turnpike Troubadours
3/5
I like this country, honky-tonk and blue grass album. It is well produced, but does not sound like a modern commercial country album.
BABYMETAL
3/5
I like this album when the tempo goes up and the cheerleader background vocals fit like a glove on the melodic metal riffs. The album is a bit too long.
Living Colour
5/5
One of my absolute favourite albums of the 1990s. Fantastic rock, metal and funk played by a fabulous band. Vernon Reid is an all-time guitar legend. Live they were great at the time, but I also saw them this year and it was a lot of fun. Glover has lost his energetic movement and the drum- and bass solo's were unnecessary, but hearing all the great songs of the first three albums was a delight.
Amália Rodrigues
3/5
This is a best of album, so it's cheating a bit to add it to this user album list. Nevertheless I'm glad I had the pleasure to be introduced to the fado singer Amalia Rodrigues. She has a beautiful voice and the songs are great. Too bad the lyrics (in original language) are lost on me as I understand many of these are written by great poets.
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
4/5
Polygondwanaland is one of the many many and more albums of the prog rock band King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard. This album is full of good psychedelic prog rock. "Crumbling Castle" is one of my favorites of their songs.
David Allan Coe
2/5
This is the kind of mainstream country that I don't particularly enjoy. The songs and lyrics are ok, but never very interesting. It's a collection of sentimental songs that sound outdated and predictable in every way. It's background music in this genre.
Various Artists
3/5
The Rocky Horror Picture Show as a live musical (or with a good crowd at the movies) is a five star experience. Watching the movie is a four star event, especially with friends. The album alone with mostly mediocre songs is barely three stars. It's not Jesus Christ Superstar or any other musical with mostly great songs. It's a lot of fun, but not the music specifically.
The Church
4/5
This album of The Church came to me as a surprise in 2023 as I only really knew Starfish from 1988. It does not add as much to their discography as confirm the sound and songwriting skills of a more matured band.
Yoko Ono
1/5
Fly is the second album of Yoko One. I only heard some solo songs and the Plastic Ono Band before. I knew ahead Fly was experimental, but I was not prepared for such a long album with outdated material. It aged like milk. The length of the individual songs does not help either. Each track has one basic idea and after 30 seconds you get it, but the tracks drag on for another 5 (up to 23) minutes.
Deafheaven
4/5
Great metalgaze album with dark atmospheric soundscapes. Sounds like Sigur Rós, Mogwai and Godspeed You! Black Emperor, but more in a metal format.
The Heads
2/5
This album of the remaining members of Talking Heads (after David Byrne left) is a collection of leftover songs with the other band members or guests on lead vocals. It is mediocre and never even reaches the quality of subpar Talking Heads of Tom Tom Club albums. "Don't Take My Kindness for Weakness" is a low point with awful vocals by Shaun Ryder.
Michael Hurley
3/5
Laid back folk album by Michael Hurley. Some of the songs (“Hog Of The Forsaken", "The Time Is Right") are re-recordings of own material from way back. With age his voice is getting weaker and the songs sound more fragile, but that is rather a charm than a problem.
Charly García
4/5
I think this is the worst album cover of all original and user albums on the list. That does not mean the music is bad. I understand it's one of the essential albums of Argentina. It's ambitious and unpolished. Sometimes the ideas go in all directions and result in something that does not work. Still there is a lot to like. I would say 3,5 stars that get rounded up for not being British/American origin and English Language.
The Tragically Hip
4/5
Up To Here is the debut album of The Tragically Hip. It is not as good as what is to follow (Fully Completely, Road Apples and Phantom Power), but still a fine piece of music on it's own. It has all the elements (energy, drive and good guitar licks) that can be found on the albums that will follow.
Depeche Mode
3/5
The debut album of Depeche Mode is a nice synth-pop album. It has three good songs: "New Life", "Puppets" and "Just Can't Get Enough". Other songs vary between instantly disposable pop ("What's Your Name?"), subpar produced songs ("I Sometimes Wish I Was Dead") or forgettable tracks (sorry, I can't remember which). All in all it's ok, but you can better listen to their later work.
Shihad
3/5
The General Electric is the fourth studio album by Shihad. Nice rock songs sometimes reminding me of Faith No More in the heavier and bombastic parts. Good to have another New Zealand entry (as far as I can remember Crowded House is the only other one).
Powderfinger
3/5
Odyssey Number Five by Powderfinger is an ok rock album with lots of slower songs. Not bad or awful, but also not outstanding in any way.
Ornatos Violeta
4/5
This is a quite versatile rock album by Portuguese band Ornatos Violeta. Many of the songs have impressive arrangements (f.e. "Dia Mau") with the help of Corvos (a string quartet that plays mostly rock songs). The songs have lots of ideas and are complex, but most of the time it works great.
Quicksand
3/5
Post-hardcore album with nice catchy, pointy and edgy rock songs. Intense, a lot of energy and dynamics. Reminds me of Helmet and Fugazi.
Jaco Pastorius
4/5
Jaco Pastorius is the debut solo album of "one of the greatest and most influential bassists of all time". Most of the songs are great jazz rock tracks with of course fantastic bass guitar licks. "Come On, Come Over" is the odd one out as a funky tracks with vocals.
Kenny Wayne Shepherd
3/5
It must have been great fun and an honor for Kenny Wayne Shepherd to work with all these blues legends. Too bad it's just an album with subpar versions of well known blues classics you can find on an abundance of compilations in better shape. It's nice to hear B.B. King, but as most of the contributors, he is var from his magnificent shape years ago. In the end it is ok as an album and nothing more.
Modern Life Is War
4/5
Witness is a good hardcore album. Outstanding tracks are "The Outsiders (AKA Hell Is for Heroes Part I)" and "D.E.A.D.R.A.M.O.N.E.S.". I sometimes find the vocals a bit bleak and unconvincing, but the great instrumental part surely makes up for it.
Descendents
4/5
A classic early punk pop (and rock) album from California. The album title (Milo Goes to College) is due to the fact the singer (Milo Aukerman) was leaving the band and going to become a molecular biologist. He did, but kept on returning to the band in the following decades. The classic album cover is a great cartoon version of the man and the band's mascot. The song lyrics are sometimes a bit too stupid, but the songs are catchy as hell.
Denzel Curry
4/5
Melt My Eyez See Your Future is one of my favorite albums of 2022. "Melt Session #1" and "Walkin" are highlights, but the rest of the album is great too. A lot of variation in styles and tempo, but everything sounds like it is created with one live band in a studio (what is not the case). His raps are more controlled compared to his earlier album and right on the spot.
Future Islands
3/5
Future Islands makes 1980s synth pop with an very expressive singer. When you listen to an individual song, it sounds pleasing ,not impressive or very distinctive from other synth pop. When listening to a full album each song is similar and it gets a bit boring.
Spinvis
4/5
For the second Dutch entry on the user list we get the debut album of Spinvis. It is an collection of strange indie pop songs with introvert lyrics. For listeners not understanding the lyrics it is probably a mediocre album and a bit boring full of inadequate vocal performances. If you understand te lyrics most of these are quite touching. For example "Ronnie gaat naar huis" about someone leaving an institution going back to the outside world. The only lacking this quality is "Handige Tante - Jonge Met Geld".
Alabama 3
3/5
Exile on Coldharbour Lane is an interesting album. It is more or less half filled with bluesy songs combined with electronic baselines and drums that are great ("Converted", "Woke Up This Morning" and "Hypo Full of Love (The 12-Step Plan)"). It also contains ballads that are very, very, very weak and blasé ("Speed of the Sound of Loneliness", "The Old Purple Tin (9% of Pure Heaven)"). The third category are songs that differ not that much from "Cotton Eye Joe" ("U Don't Dans 2 Tekno Anymore", "Mao Tse Tung Said") and are utterly annoying.
"Weird Al" Yankovic
2/5
Frank Zappa asked: Does humor belong into music? I would say certainly, as I'm a big fan of acts like Zappa and Ween. Too bad this album aged like milk and Weird Al is a great guy, but it at its current status this album is a collection of daddy joke and daddy rock songs. With pretty mediocre instrumentation, especially the accordion parts in My Bologna and Another One Rides the Bus. I still like "Fat" and "Like a Surgeon", but not this one.
Robyn
4/5
Good pop and dance album with several great tracks "Fembot", "Dancing on My Own" and "Call Your Girlfriend". Overall the quality is ok, even on the "weaker" tracks and the stuff is catchy and you know it.
Everything Everything
4/5
Get to Heaven of Everything Everything is great art rock album with an eclectic sound. I got a bit annoyed with the length of the album combined with the falsetto vocals that got on my nerves. That was my fault, I was listening to the deluxe version that is a bit too much. While listening I discovered I already knew "Distant Past" and "Regret". These are fabulous songs. The complexity of the songs is somewhat overdone. Nevertheless I had a The Voice experience with the start of the album. "To the Blade" starts with an a capella part that almost made me turn my carseat around when the song fully blasted into existence.
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
3/5
Tomorrow Belongs to Me is the fourth studio album of The Sensational Alex Harvey Band. While their second album, on the original list, was more glam rock, this album moves towards a hard rock sound. It is a likeable album and certainly not weak or bad, but also not very remarkable. I know a lot of 1970s rock and would not choose this one over a lot of the other ones.
Black Devil Disco Club
4/5
Black Devil Disco Club is a fine example of early electronic / disco music. It reminds me of Giorgio Moroder (and his Donna Summer hit singles). There is a lot to like.
The Notwist
5/5
Neon Golden one of the best alternative rock albums of the 2000s. It was the first album of The Notwist incorporating electronic elements and that works fantastic. When choosing a highlight track over half of the album would be a right selection ("One Step Inside Doesn't Mean You Understand", "Pilot", "Pick Up the Phone", "Trashing Days", "Consequence").
Lift To Experience
3/5
I didn't know this and it was certainly not what I expected after seeing the album art and reading the wiki page. It's a nice mess of post-rock, shoe gaze and indie rock. I like the concept of the album. Too bad not all the tracks are of the same high quality and the album is too long and a bit incohesive.
Paul McCartney
3/5
Ram is the second album of Paul McCartney after The Beatles. It was poorly received at the time and very good in retrospect. I think the truth is in the middle. At the time it was compared to the excellent work of The Beatles, now it is compared to the extended catalogue of solo McCartney. If you look at it the latter way, it is not that bad. "Too Many People", "Dear Boy" and "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" are good songs and the rest is nothing special.
Paramore
3/5
It all sounds formulaic and even the better songs ("Ignorance", "Brick by Boring Brick", "The Only Exception") sound a bit bleak and not very remarkable. I knew Paramore before and was never impressed. Reading their wiki page I understand that at the time of this album the band members were really young. That is why I will not be too harsh. Maybe that's also why they remind me of the first hit singles of Avril Lavigne. I hope they will improve and rise with age, but at this moment/album, it's just not that good.
Metric
2/5
Generic sounding indie pop/rock album with a singer with childish sounding vocal delivery. After a few songs it got on my nerves. It has a formulaic 1990s sound. Music and lyrics are mediocre.
3/5
Hurry Up, We're Dreaming is a nice French electronic / dream pop album. "Reunion" is a fantastic song. The first 6 tracks are great, but after these the quality drops and the songs get indistinguishable and boring.
Mac Miller
4/5
Though I like rap, I never knew Mac Miller, besides an nice Tiny Desk concert. In retrospect I should have paid attention. Circles is a great hip hop album and his other albums are also worth listening to. Several songs are Mac singing and he is certainly not that great at it, but in a way this imperfection makes the songs intimate and personal. The music is laid back and jazzy/funky. A bit of an Anderson .Paak vibe.
Barenaked Ladies
2/5
Gordon is the debut album of Barenaked Ladies. It is full of pop rock music with great vocal harmonies. The problem is that it is absolutely boring. The music is harmless soft daddy rock and the daddy joke funny lyrics do not help.
Floating Points
4/5
Great minimalistic collaboration album of Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders and London Symphony Orchestra. It delivers beautiful soundscapes with dreamy jazzy atmospheres.
Mr. Bungle
4/5
California is often a mess, but a beautiful mess. Full of ideas, urgence, innovation and fun. It results in an album that you would not expect at a major label. With great songs like "Sweet Charity", "None of Them Knew They Were Robots", "Ars Moriendi" and "Pink Cigarette". The problem is that after a while the silliness is abundant and weakens the result. I like Mike Patton as a person, but when reading Wikipedia about his RHCP parodies, I can't blame the RHCP for being annoyed. You can prove a point by pressing a cigarette butt in someone's arm, but is that an effective method...
The same for this album: it could have been great (even fantastic), less is often more though. Still 3.5 stars rounded to 4 for the effort.
Nujabes
3/5
Modal Soul is a nice laid back hip hop album by Nujabes. I do not like the production/mixing of the album though. For example on "Feather" the piano is way too loud pushing the rap to the far distant background. "Ordinary Joe" has a similar issue with too dominant drums. The songs are good in the beginning, but the quality (or my interest) starts to decrease halfway.
Chico Science
4/5
Afrociberdelia is a nice album by Chico Science. the songs are energetic rock with hip hop vocal delivery. The quality of the songs varies. Some are rather generic rock and sometimes the song and performance work great. I understand that the front man (Chico Science) died in a car crash after the this album was created, giving it some legendary status. Having non-English contributions is always refreshing, so it will get 4 stars to support our Brazilian friends.
Daft Punk
2/5
I was very disappointed by this album. I'm a big fan of Daft Punk and like a good and original soundtrack album. I expected a Daft Punk electronic and bleepy variation on a soundtrack album, but most of the tracks are the default Hans Zimmer way of making a soundtrack: big orchestral pieces with a log of big gestures and cheap emotions and lots of bombast. The occasional electronic tracks (especially "Derezzed" and "Troy Legacy (End Titles)") are great and really stand out. Of course these few songs can't save this album from mediocracy.
Stray From The Path
3/5
Only Death is Real is not a bad metal core album. It is just too much a copy of Rage Against The Machine in all aspects. And if I want to hear Rage Against The Machine, I can listen to their debut album. This does not add that much as a weaker imitation.
DARKSIDE
4/5
Psychic is the debut album of Darkside (the duo Nicolas Jaar, who I already knew, and Dave Harrington). It's a good dark and atmospheric album in some songs are ambient soundscapes, other a bit more uptempo with vocals. Highlights are "Golden Arrow", "Freaks Go Home" and "Paper Trails".
Vampire Weekend
5/5
Only God Was Above Us came as a surprise to me. I completely forgot Vampire Weekend after their first two good albums. I still have to listen to album three and four, but this album is a fabulous comeback. Musically the variation in genres and styles is immense. It's a collection of great songwriting and the tunes are very catchy. For example "Classical" immediately makes you hum along.
Weezer
4/5
Pinkerton is a nice alternative rock album. It was not well received by critics and fans at the time, but it aged well. It misses songs that really stand out, though as a whole it works fine. This album (and Weezer as a band) are a bit too soft and intellectual for my taste, I'm missing some guts and urgence. Good album nonetheless.
Charles Aznavour
3/5
Charles Aznavour is one of the legends of the chason. Too bad my French is not good enough to fully appreciate the lyrics. He was often compared to Frank Sinatra. That is not fair as Aznavour also wrote the songs he sang. He was not only a singer, but also a songwriter and actor. Sinatra was the better actor though. Que c'est triste Venise contains the eponymous song which is a classic. It is a nice album, but not really my style to be honest.
Glass Animals
4/5
The music of Glass Animals has a distinctive own sound. If a song works, that's a plus, but if not, it takes the surrounding tracks with it. Most of the material is at least ok, so no complaints from me. It results a good indie pop album with a concept that can be ignored if you are not into concepts (11 songs about 11 people as portraited on the cover).
WHY?
4/5
Alopecia by WHY? is an interesting indie rock album. It varies tracks with the frontman singing with songs that having hip hop influences in the instrumentals and rap. Still the albums sounds pretty cohesive.
Tom Petty
4/5
Wildflowers is a great solo album of Tom Petty. As on all of his better albums (solo or with The Heartbreakers) it is full of solid rock songs. The reason to make a solo album with Rick Rubin was to have more creative freedom. I can't say I can notice that. To me each Tom Petty album sounds the same (only song quality differs) and in his case that is a good thing.
4/5
Joy as an Act of Resistance is a great punk rock album by IDLES. All tracks are full of passion, power and vulnerability. "Colossus" and "Danny Nedelko" are two of their best tracks.
Matthew Good Band
3/5
Beautiful Midnight is the third album released by the Matthew Good Band. It sounds a lot like the various post-grunge indie rock bands like Live and Bush. It is a concept, that's why I don't really understand why there are versions of the album with different track order. Anyway the concept in the lyrics doesn't stand out and the music is rather generic indie rock of the late 1990s.
Bright Eyes
5/5
"I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning" is the best album of Bright Eyes. Full of amazing singer-songwriter songs with interesting (but often depressing) lyrics. The vocal contributions of Emmylou Harris and Gillian Welch and Maria Taylor are quite lovely .
Malibu
3/5
One Life is the debut EP of Malibu. It is only 4 tracks long. The songs are atmospheric sound shapes sound pleasant, but can also disappear in the background if you don't pay close attention. It's ok, but does not add anything and is quite forgettable.
Hamilton Leithauser
4/5
I Had a Dream That You Were Mine is a good indie rock album. The songs sound a bit messy and organic as if it's a live recording or a demo. Also a lot of early rock styles (1950s) are used, which results in a late Tom Waits album without the avant-garde, but also with great songs that are a bit more accessible. Nice entry!
Comus
4/5
There was a hole in my 1970s rock/folk knowledge and that was Comus. First Utterance is maybe not one of the best albums I ever heard, but it is an experience never to forget. I cannot remember an album that intrigued me this much in years. It is full of organic, black and disrupting folk songs that sound like desperate cries from the depths of a deep abyss. Progressive folk from 1971 that is so dirty that Lankum sounds like a bunch of choir kids.
No Doubt
3/5
Tragic Kingdom is the breakthrough album of No Doubt with the international hits "Don't Speak" and "Just a Girl". "Spiderwebs" is also a nice song, but the quality of the songs and performance (especially the singing of Stefani) varies widely. There are songs in all styles and genres resulting in an eclectic collection of tracks.
Various Artists
5/5
As a soundtrack of a video game I did not expect this. I know a lot of soundtracks of video games and anime, but never heard of this. Katamari Damacy is f*****g fantastic, absurd and diverse at the same time. I did not like every song and certainly not it's length as an album. But oh my god what a beautiful mess this is. I never played the game, that is quite crazy too and will be put at the top of my backlog. Thanks a lot submitter! I'll keep it on my playlists until I get it (indefinitely).
Nic Jones
4/5
True quality cannot be denied. Penguin Eggs is such quality. It was voted various times as one of the best folk albums of all time. Sublime tunes performed in a classical way. It sometimes sounds like you are transported centuries back in time (in a good way). If even the great master is a fan (Dylan covered "Canadee-I-O"), who is someone else to question it.
Ookla The Mok
1/5
Smell No Evil of Ookla The Mok is a filk album. I never heard of this music genre, but I did not miss much. It is an album that is supposed to be funny and is centred around a monkey theme. The humour is of daddy joke kind. Boring, unremarkable, tongue-in-cheek and always harmless. Like Beavis in Butthead and then translate all the dirt to ape synonyms. "heh heh monkey, bananas, heh heh". The result is devastating to my mood and irritates as hell. Compared to this Weird Al and Barenaked Ladies are the sharpest tools in the shed. I don't know what the expected audience is, not children, but probably people that do not want something complicated or unpredictable and certainly not anything offensive. The music is also very mediocre.
The Brian Jonestown Massacre
2/5
I already knew "Methodrone (1995)" and "...And This Is Our Music (2003)" from this band and I was not surprised that this album was also not my cup of tea. Most of the songs are in an early Rolling Stones style (psychedelic and garage rock). This would not be a problem if the songs were really outstanding or if the band was from the same period. Now they are just an echo fading out of another band that once was great.
Brand New
4/5
The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me is a good emo album. Normally not my genre, but Brand New nails it. The album has a great production and the arrangements of the songs are impressive. If the lyrics would have been a bit better, the album would have been really great.
Billy Strings
2/5
Highway Prayers is an country album by Billy Strings with great musicians and enthusiastic performances. Too bad the style of music is very generic and traditional. You would expect some innovation by such a young artist. Too bad it is just too predictable in a world with many artists doing exactly the same.
Chuck Berry
4/5
St. Louis to Liverpool is the Chuck Berry album that the original list was missing. This is his "comeback" album after being a legend in the 1950s and one of the biggest inspirations for the Beatles and Stones. This explains the fitting album title. Full of classics starting with "Little Marie" with one of his best lyrics. You are in for a treat as "No Particular Place to Go, "Promised Land" and "You Never Can Tell" are also on it.
Porcupine Tree
3/5
Fear of a Blank Planet is a prog rock album by Porcupine Tree. It's sometimes over- dramatic and complex. An album on which every note is scripted and the gut feelings are tucked away.
Espers
4/5
II is the third album of the psychedelic folk band Espers. It is a dark kind of folk that is more subtle in its darkness than a band like Lankum. To quote the Pitchfork review: "intricate, vaguely menacing folk songs are smarter, sharper, and more relentlessly compelling than their trappings might suggest". For me personally it just sounds a bit too perfect and lovely and it misses some rawness and fragility. Still a good album though.
Bohren & Der Club Of Gore
3/5
Sunset Mission is a noir jazz album. Also ambient is stated everywhere, but that is the tempo and atmosphere, not the style. It is a nice album with soundscapes that fit perfectly to a film noir movie. That is also a bit my problem with this album as it sounds like background music. It doesn't really grab your attention. Still very entertaining and southing music.
Rodríguez
3/5
The story of Rodriguez as portrayed in the documentary “Searching for Sugar Man” is of course amazing. Too bad this album is not. “Sugar Man” is a great song, “Crucify Your Mind” is good and the rest is mediocre.
Blackalicious
4/5
Nia is the debut album of hiphop duo Blackalicious. It contains songs with great vocal flow, combining two excellent and smooth rappers combined with great singing. The interaction between both rappers works fantastic and gives the tracks a dynamic that is often missing on album with a single rapping frontman. The production on these groovy songs is sometimes somewhat sparse to open space to an individual bass line or rhythm. One minus is the length of this album, it keeps a high song quality till the end though.
Warren Zevon
4/5
Excitable Boy is the third studio album by American musician Warren Zevon and his most successful one. It contains his most famous song: "Werewolves of London". The other songs are great pop rock tracks, reminding me of Harry Nilsson. Warren Zevon has never been a real popular artist, mostly praised by critics and other musicians. That could be a reason this album was not on the original list as it should be. Maybe we can make some room? Could you offer a seat for Zevon, Elvis Costello? I guess he would as Costello is great guy and most aware of music history.
Soul Coughing
4/5
Ruby Vroom is the debut album of Soul Coughing. As a whole this is a better album than Irresistible Bliss, but this one doesn't have a classic like "Super Bon Bon" and it's a bit too long. Still it is full of jazzy and blues rock music that is very pleasing to the ears.
Gerry Cinnamon
3/5
Erratic Cinematic is the debut album of Gerry Cinnamon. It sounds as if it is an Scottish singer-songwriter album of the late 1960s. That is also the problem as it sounds like the past 55 years have not happened. If the songs were very great this could be forgiven. The songs "Sometimes", "What Have You Done", "Keysies" and "War Tv" are the best ones, but several are mediocre. Now it's just a fake time capsule with reasonable songs, but nothing more.
Pink Floyd
2/5
I do not know what a live album of a band that is far away from their peak performance adds to this list. And certainly not if the album is over 150 minutes long and boring. Is this a joke of some sort? Ummagumma and Delicate Sound of Thunder are far better Pink Floyd (semi) live albums. These two also have better album covers. A blinking pulsating led in the cd case, what a boomer kind of design.
65daysofstatic
4/5
One Time for All Time is the second album of 65daysofstatic. It is a solid post-rock album with layered guitar sounds that compose a atmosphere filled with distortion and slow changes of pace and melody.
Wet Leg
4/5
The debut album of Wet Leg is a good indie rock album. The lyrics are funny, eloquent and to the point. The hooks in the songs are great and the contrast between the innocent girlie vocals and the outspoken and ofte explicit lyrics and distorted guitars work very well. "Chaise Longue" and "Wet Dream" are modern classics.
STARSET
2/5
Transmissions is a rather generic sounding prog/hard rock album by Starset. What to write about it? It sounds ok, but just not interesting in anyway. It reminds me of 30 Seconds To Mars, a band that makes 30 seconds a very long time to experience.
Q65
3/5
As a Dutch native, of course I know of the existence Q65. I never tried their music, apart from the (parts of) songs I listened to by accident. Now experiencing a full album, I feel no regret. Too me this still sounds like a subpar contemporary blues rock band (internationally speaking). Maybe they were great at live shows at the time, but on record it is something many artists at the time produced and not noteworthy.
Cindy Lee
5/5
Diamond Jubilee is a strange indie rock album by Cindy Lee. Strange in the sense that it is so long, so lo-fi, so hard to find on streaming media and still so intriguing. The tracks are sometimes more unfinished shapes of music, but it all works great. All combined it is a banger of an album and the best of 2024, though I understand it's not for everybody.
Built To Spill
4/5
Keep It Like a Secret is another great indie rock album by Built to Spill. Amazing songs and impressive guitars (technically simple, but mesmerising melodies). "Carry the Zero" and "Broken Chairs" are epic.
Pop Will Eat Itself
3/5
"This Is the Day...This Is the Hour...This Is This!" is a cross-over rock and electronics album. It is from 1989 and sounds very like the music from that time. Like contemporaries like Happy Mondays, The Charlatans, 808 State and Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine it has a certain production and feeling that is very dated. The late 1980s are my teenage years, so I have some positive sentiment, though I can understand that many people would agree this has not aged well.
Eric B. & Rakim
4/5
Paid in Full is an early hip hop classic by Eric B. & Rakim. The instrumentation is sparse and the drum rhythms sometimes childishly simple. Some of the songs are too long. Still this album provided a solid ground for later hip hop acts to follow.
Danny Brown
5/5
Every Danny Brown record is top notch. He is just a extreme bit too off to be main stream accepted. Atrocity Exhibition is one of his many albums showing his genius. He is sometimes just rapping on a slow or medium tempo and all is well, or the devil comes out and the mad scientist of Mr Brown full tempo crazy mf shows his skills. Any way, this is utterly great and if you don't get it, it's your loss. All you could wish for on a modern rap album and one of the few artists still innovating music as it is.
Beyoncé
3/5
RENAISSANCE is an album of Beyoncé, someone who needs no introduction: a great singer, performer and personality on stage. Also an artist that does not really write her own music or lyrics, but makes very small adjustments in music, arrangements and lyrics to justify co-writing credits. This way of acting does not affect the quality of the songs of course.
The usage of various different writers has it's limitations though as getting a incoherent album is a serious risk. That is the problem for me on this one. Earlier albums as Beyoncé and Lemonade sounded as a collection of songs of one artist with one artistic direction. This is a messy combination of lots of different styles and ideas and that does not make a good (but still decent) album despite having several good songs.
Auri
2/5
Auri is sort of an acoustic/no-distortion version of symphonic metal. A folk version of Within Temptation, but with generic songs of far lesser quality. Should we call it symphonic folk or just over-produced bland Disney folk? I don't know, but what I do know is that I don't like it. The music of a song like "Aphrodite Rising" could be on the Frozen soundtrack and that is not a compliment. The lyrics I don't know and I don't care.
Ween
4/5
Quebec is a good album, but by Ween standards just a decent one. I personally like most of their other studio albums better. "Transdermal Celebration", "I Don't Want It" and "If You Could Save Yourself (You'd Save Us All)" are fantastic songs, the others are ok.
Shpongle
4/5
Are You Shpongled? is a psychedelic trance and ambient album by Shpongle. It combines traditional music from all over the world with dance and electronic music. The style and tempo of the tracks is diverse and lead to an album that goes in all directions, but still manages to get to its destination.
Savatage
2/5
Hall of the Mountain King is not my cup of tea. It is the kind of over the top heavy metal that sounds like a parody. Certainly "Prelude to Madness" is a joke I don't really get (or are we serious?). After listening to the full album it's like throwing things to a wall and nothing sticks.
Songs: Ohia
5/5
"Magnolia Electric Co." by Songs: Ohia is one of my favorite americana/indie albums ever. These alt-country folky indie singer songwriter songs are beautifully instrumented and the overall mood is a bit depressing, but there is so much beauty to be found in fantastic compositions. Several tracks start quietly and then slowly erupt into guitar heavy indie rock. Another album produced by Steve Albini, so you know it must be something special.
Getatchew Mekurya
5/5
This is an album full of steamy urgent jazz-punk-afro-funk and an absolute delight in every way. The Ex is the Dutch punkrock band that from early eighties has evolved from punk to postpunk to noise & avantgarde to all sorts of world music. First European folk and later African music. Getatchew Mekuria was an Ethiopian jazz sax player full of Jazz and African Funk and open to a new perspective on his musical views. This collaboration resulted in a combination of distorted postpunk guitars and punky aggressive vocals combined with seventies sounding African brass funk. A combination that works in every way. It sounds strange, but the rhythms and sheer pleasure fit like a glove and produce something that is more than the individual parts.
Swans
5/5
Finally some Swans on the list. If it was up to me there were multiple albums (also Cop, Children of God and The Seer). It's the kind of droning rock that beats you to pulp and takes your breath away until nothing remains apart from some asthmatic gasps for air in the rhythm of the music. It sounds evil, built tension and discharges. The often long songs are monuments of repetitive hypnotizing hits and screams. Still there is also some tenderness and embracement to be found. "Just a Little Boy (For Chester Burnett)" and "A Little God in My Hands" are my favorite tracks.
Foxing
4/5
Nearer My God is the third studio album by American rock band Foxing. It starts fantastic with the first four tracks and especially the album opener "Grand Paradise". The songs are beautifully arranged and orchestrated by the large team of musicians. Sometime things get a bit over-complex and overthought.
Yello
3/5
Stella is the album on which Yello turns into a more traditional synthpop direction. A bad decision according to my music taste, but it brought the guys a lot of success. Nevertheless Desire, Vicious Games and especially Oh Yeah are great songs. Too bad the extra special Yello flavor is gone.
Tom Misch
2/5
Geography is the debut album of Tom Misch. It's filled with easy jazz rock with hip hop influences and contributions of great guest musicians. It starts of pretty good with "Lost in Paris" and "South of the River". "It Runs Through Me" is also nice. "Water Baby" is sort of ok, but even Loyle Carner (still none of his albums on the user list) cannot make it more than that. The other songs are utterly boring, even as background music.
Muse
3/5
Origin of Symmetry is certainly not my favorite Muse album. "Plug In Baby" is an absolute fantastic song, "Hyper Music" and "Bliss" are worth listening, but the other songs are a bit meh. As "Black Holes and Revelations" is on the original list, I would have preferred "Showbiz" and "Absolution".
Bo Burnham
3/5
Inside is an album themed around the COVID periode by musical comedian Bo Burnham. It handles subjects like isolation and mental health. The lyrics and humor are not very sharp apart from usage of the f-word. So if that is not a problem, it's is suitable for a large audience. I personally like humor to have some more rough edges and find it quite plain and boring. Even so it is far more entertaining than the other humorous contributions on this user list. The music is certainty not bad, often a bit musical stylish. The over-usage of autotune irritates me on some songs as other songs show it is not necessary as the vocal capacities of Bo are fine without it.
August is Falling
1/5
August is Falling = Pat Finnerty, a youtuber creating a series called "What Makes This Song Stink". One of the songs that he really hates is "Kryptonite". I don't particularly like this song either, but to keep repeating you hate it, is a bit childish. "Kryptonite" is a boring and uninteresting generic rock song. And that is the problem with this album, The Simple Plan. It is a rather generic and unoriginal pop-punk and emo album. Sounds a lot like Blink-182 and other end of 1990s beginning of 2000s artists. And it sounds dated too. If you blame other for making mediocre music then you will have too make a damn good album yourself to make a point. This album does not do that and will get the same treatment in "What Makes This Album Stink". One star for the effort.
Zamilska
4/5
Zamilska has created an album full of dark electronic and noisy drone music. It sound evil, disgusting and depressing in a good way. Great music for a long ride in your car at night. Great album cover, let the night terrors begin!
Crass
3/5
This is a rather generic sounding early punk record. Some songs ("Asylum", "Do They Owe Us a Living?", "Well?... Do They?") have some potential, but most sound like a simple bunch of chords, bad production, fuzzy vocals and just go ahead. I think the original list (and the user list) contain many albums from this period that have a lot more quality.
Bruce Cockburn
2/5
"If I Had a Rocket Launcher" as a political song has a special place in my heart. I never bothered to look up other music by Bruce Cockburn. I never knew he is mainly making Christian music, not my favorite genre. This album has a more general spiritual theme. It just has the same issues most Christian music has: it’s all too safe, friendly and lacks conviction and intent. I’m a big fan of church of soulful gospel or religious rasta songs like Bob Marley made. This is just soft, MoR and uninspiring folky stuff and that’s too bad.
Dolly Parton
3/5
The Grass Is Blue is a nice album with blue grass and country interpretations of older songs. The song selection is not really a surprise as a lot are well known. The vocals and instruments are impressive and the arrangements are good. Too bad it's not that original, but great craft(wo)manship. If the songs were more obscure finds, it could have been great.
Turnstile
3/5
Glow On is a nice punk rock album by Turnstile. Nothing wrong with compositions or performance, but it sounds like so many punkrock albums anno 2021. Best songs are "Mystery", "Holiday" and "Wild Wrld".
Queens of the Stone Age
5/5
Songs For The Deaf is a fabulous desert rock album. The songs "No One Knows", "First It Giveth" and "Go with the Flow" are modern rock classics. Great rock riffs, drums by Dave Grohl and guest vocals by Mark Lanegan.
Current 93
4/5
All the Pretty Little Horses is an apocalyptic folk album by Current 93. The fact that the band (David Tibet) has an industrial music background is quite clearly audible. The songs (and lyrical themes) have the same feeling as the acoustic songs on albums of Swans (Children of God). The quality is not as high, but it is still a decent album with nice contributions of Nick Cave. And the album cover is a beauty in all its kitsch.
Lady Gaga
2/5
Artpop is the third album by Lady Gaga. I consider it her weakest album, so no idea why it was selected. It does contain some (hit)singles, but again not her strongest and biggest. The music is more dance pop (after the previous album exploring some rock influences) and it's forgettable. The vocal performances and certainly impressive, but the songwriting is uninteresting and the arrangements are messy.
ROSALÍA
5/5
Normally I would say it's much and much to early to give an album a classic status (only a few weeks old at the moment). In the case of LUX by ROSALÍA there is no doubt. Het previous album was also a great one, but this is clearly a milestone in (pop)music history. A song like "Berghain" is a monument on its own.
Broken Social Scene
4/5
Broken Social Scene (album) is a good indie rock album. It sounds a bit you would expect Radiohead to sound if they wouldn't have parted with more traditional song structures and rock after OK Computer. So it's indie rock with detuned noises, lot's of variation, but still some traditional songwriting and melody hidden under layers of wackiness. With some help of members of fellow indie rockers The Weakerthans and The Dears.
Mastodon
4/5
This fourth album of Mastodon is less aggressive, prog and sludge than earlier work. I like this evolution and compared to for example Blood Mountain this album sounds more original, fresher and energetic. Though it's not exactly my cup of tea, it's certainly enjoyable and a good album within the progressive metal genre with a great production and good musicians.
The Civil Wars
2/5
Barton Hollow is a folk / singer songwriter album by The Civil Wars. I guess I must have missed this was a thing around 2011, I did not miss much though. Nothing new and predictable compositions and arrangements. The track "Barton Hollow" is nice and the rest is forgettable.
As one of the professional reviews on online media states: "Their natural vocal chemistry makes Barton Hollow a satisfying listen straight through. That said, the album is heavy on made-for-TV dramatic balladry, the sort of thing that features so well on Grey's Anatomy".
So not my cup of tea.
Low
4/5
I'm a fan of the music of Low. The albums Things We Lost In The Fire, The great Destoyer, Trust and Drums and Guns are my favorites. HEY WHAT is one of their weaker ones. It is one ofd their more recent ones and it does not add a lot to their oeuvre. It's not a bad album, but in comparison...
Ryan Adams
3/5
Ryan Adams created great albums with Whiskeytown and his first two solo albums are sublime. After that his albums are unbalanced. Each album contains some great songs, but also several mediocre ones. Love is Hell was originally not one album, but two EP's. As an album he should have removed a few of the weaker compositions and it could have resulted in a good album. Now the inferior tracks drag the album down and it's ok, but nothing more.
Vince Guaraldi Trio
4/5
A Charlie Brown Christmas is a nice jazz interpretation of Christmas classics. A such it is a classic by itself. The jazzy songs are never very exciting and certainly not brave. It's happy, comforting, but will not rock your world.
Extremoduro
1/5
Canciones 1989-2013 is a 3.5 hours (what the f... !!!) compilation album of Extremoduro, a Spanish rock band. This is a compilation album, but what is a compilation album of 3.5 hours? A best of...? A worst of...? All of...? Or none of these options, but I think it's certainly too much of. Much and much too much of a very mediocre rock band with songs that are also much too long (average song length is around 5 minutes). The awful album cover really brings the album to a new low in this list.
The Mountain Goats
4/5
The Sunset Tree is one of the many great albums of The Mountain Goats. Full of folky songs that often sound quite optimistic. The somewhat squeaky voice of John Darnielle produces lyrics that are cynical, dark, but often very much to the point. This album does not contain one of their best songs, though the overall level of the compositions is impressive.
The Weakerthans
4/5
Reconstruction Site is one of my favorite indie rock albums and I'm glad it got selected. The songs "One Great City", "The Reasons" and "Reconstruction Site" are fantastic and the rest is good too. I like the theme of the album and the way it is used within the lyrics.
Lizzy McAlpine
4/5
Older is an indie/chamber pop album by Lizzy McAlpine. I can hear a lot of quality in the compositions, but several slower tracks on the album bore me to death. These are just generic and uninteresting. The more uptempo tracks are of better quality and overall the lyrics too. I guess it deserves a 3.5 stars rating in total (but barely).
Porcupine Tree
3/5
Stupid Dream is yet another album of prog rock band Porcupine Tree. Similar to Fear of a Blank Planet it is a well produced album. "Wilson is easily pegged as a studio junkie, searching for a perfectly manufactured environment for his complicated pop songs". Every form of urgence, spontaneity and rawness has been removed, leaving an album that is rather boring with mediocre songs.
Digable Planets
4/5
Reachin' is a nice jazzy rap album by hip hop trio Digable Planets. The production sounds somewhat outdated with a lot of reverb on the raps. The fact these are two men and a woman sharing the lead vocals makes the sound quite varied. Good laid back listening music for the weekend.
Wilco
3/5
A.M. is the debut album of Wilco. Wilco has so many albums and so many great albums. This is not a great album. It has some nice songs, but in total it's just ok. Several band members consider it a failure. Summerteeth, A Ghost Is Born, Wilco (The Album), Sky Blue Sky, The Whole Love, Schmilco, Ode to Joy, Cruel Country and Cousin would be more deserving.
Less Than Jake
2/5
Hello Rockview is a late 1990s punkpop album by Less Than Jake. I never heared of it and did not miss much. It has pointy punkpop and punkrock tracks and also some ska. Lots of horns also in the punk tracks. Too bad the compositions don't really stand out and it also sounds very inoffensive. Maybe the lack of rawness is due to the over usage of autotune (though that does not show on first listening). It's like punk for kids musically, lyrically it's just uninteresting.
NOFX
1/5
The Decline is an EP from skate punk pop band NOFX. The original EP consists of one song of 18 minutes. I already get annoyed by live and best of albums on this list, so an one track EP is certainly a no go for me on this list. It opposes a lot of things the idea of this list stands for. The song itself is a messy punk collection of riffs with bits returning later one and other parts only occurring for a single time. There is not something to bind it together and making it one solid composition. I don't like it and it certainly should not be here.
Imogen Heap
4/5
Speak for Yourself is the second solo album of former Frou Frou singer Imogen Heap. Her powerful voice combines on a top level with the music consisting of electronic soundscapes. Some songs are synth pop sounding quite commercial others are more experimental. Heap produced, recorded, arranged, mixed, and designed the cover art on her own.
Mansun
3/5
Six is an OK album. Sometimes it's better than OK, but then something follows that is clearly over-complex and not working in any way. For example the song "Six" consists of three different songs with a section of the first part reoccurring in the third part. The three parts have varying tempos and the transition between the parts is silence. This does not work in the sense that it does not feel like one piece of music at all. The singer can sing, but is not a great singer. He tries to overachieve (and sounds like Billy Corgan in those moments and that is not meant as a compliment). Also the compositions are not bad, but also not fantastic. In this period other bands (f.e. Faith no More, Suede, Manic Street Preachers and Smashing Pumpkins) make better music with the same intentions.
The Hold Steady
4/5
"Separation Sunday" is yet another album of indie rockers The Hold Steady. They already had two as "Boys And Girls in America" is the infamous double entry on this user list. I think that one this also the better one. Still this is another example of rock with filthy guitar licks and a singer that more of less sings with a broken voice. In one way there is nothing new and it is basic and done so many times before, but it is also performed so elemental screaming with urgence that it just crawled its way on to this user list.
The Housemartins
4/5
I had completely forgotten The House Martins. This album with classic tracks "Happy Hour", "Sheep" and "Flag Day" is an energetic and happy album. The lyrics are great and funny. Also somewhat engaged, especially in "Sheep". The story about the album title is quite funny too.
Queen
4/5
A Day At The Races is the fifth album of English rock band Queen. It contains the classic "Somebody to Love" and good songs "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy" and "Tie Your Mother Down". The ballads are not that good ("You and I") and some other songs are also some of their weakest ( "White Man"). Still as a whole with excellent guitar work by Brian May, it's a decent album.
Gorky's Zygotic Mynci
3/5
Barafundle is a psychedelic folk album. Never heard of that music style, but I guess it's not my cup of tea. I don't like the voice of the singer and the songs are boring and keep dragging on. Still I like the fact half of the album is in Welsh and that it is something original musically too, so I won't be too harsch.
Roy Harper
3/5
Stormcock is a progressive folk album by Roy Harper. It contains just 4 very long songs. In some of the songs that's fine as they have some evolution during the song and dynamics change. The first song of the album on the other hand is for the most part a three chord progression that is rather boring, but it like the theme about Caryl Chessman. The album also shows Roy Harper is an excellent guitar player. Most of all I learned what a stormcock is. So my dirty bird name collection is ever expending and it deserves it's rightful place next to the Great Tit.
Vampire Weekend
4/5
I never listened to this album as their second album ("Contra") was a bit of a letdown. This album contains the elements of the previous two albums in a more evolved form. The music does not sound like copying specific styles, but is a more fluent container of an abundance of influences and ideas. Great album.
Mac DeMarco
4/5
Yet another easy laid back rock album by Mac DeMarco. This one also contains several great songs and if you close your eyes, it gives you the feeling of a micro holiday on the beach.
Helloween
4/5
Walls of Jericho is a good speed metal album by Helloween. The only one on which one of the guitarists does the lead vocals and these vocals are rather good. I guess he rightfully decided to choose the superior instrument
Jawbreaker
3/5
I did not know Jawbreaker while I'm a fan of early 1990s punk rock. The sound is a bit like Green Day (same producer as Dookie) and the song style is similar to The Offspring (melodic punk rock). Too bad the songs and performance (vocals) are subpar compared to these two bands.
Zero 7
3/5
When it falls is a pleasant electronica album. It has a melancholic and lush feeling. Sounds the band Air, but not as interesting and good. That makes it a bit boring at times.
311
3/5
Music by 311 is one of the albums of the crossover genre of the 1990's. It's a decent album mixing rock with metal, rap, reggae and funk. Considering this album is from 1993 it's a late album in this style. It reminds me of "Mother's Milk" by Red Hot Chili Peppers and "Mental Floss for the Globe" by Urban Dance Squad, but these albums are from 1989. And the songwriting on these albums is also far superior. The main distinction is that this album even incorporates a larger diversity of styles. Too bad that these additional styles (f.e. reggae) provides the weaker material.
My Morning Jacket
5/5
My Morning Jacket has made several impressive albums full of psychedelic indie rock album with heavenly singing by front man Jim James. Z is one of their best and certainly my favorite. Of the ten songs only three are good "Into the Woods", "Anytime" and "Dondante". The other seven are not good, but fantastic. A five star review guaranteed.
Massive Attack
5/5
On Mezzanine the band Massive Attack has move from a sould and trip hop style to something more. Blue Lines and Protection are also fantastic albums, but the collection of styles and soundscapes on Mezzanine is unbelievable. Their adaptation of Angel is mesmerizing and Teardrop is so full of beauty. Listening to this album gives me the goosebumps every time.
Self Esteem
4/5
A Complicated Woman by Self Esteem is a decent pop album from 2025. It's not one of the best albums from that year, but it's no punishment to listen to it with nice songs with often original lyrics and a lot of variation in style.
Counting Crows
4/5
I wouldn't know how often I listened to "August And Everything After" at the time it came out. It was everywhere. Now turning it on 30 years later, it is still a nice album. I understand that people get annoyed by hearing Adam Duritz his voice for a full album. Also apart from good songs ("Round Here", "Omaha", "Mr. Jones", "Time and Time Again" and "Rain King") there is certainly some filler.
The Ike Reilly Assassination
3/5
The first song has an Fun Lovin' Criminals vibe, after that it is more straight rock. The songs are ok, not great. The production is not always very balanced and clean, but it captures the drive of the band. If the songs and performance wouldn't have this unbelievable drive and spirit, I would consider this a subpar, middle of the road and uninteresting album. Now it is a nice album to listen to.
Paco de Lucía
4/5
I would normally say an album full of acoustic instrumental guitar songs is too much, even being a guitar player myself, but this album is full of unbelievable virtuoso. Reading the wiki page I understand this is a groundbreaking flamenco album and they are not kidding. Great entry!
Wolf Alice
4/5
Great indie rock album. Quite varied in tempo and intention. Some songs really rock, others are more dream pop and quite catchy .
Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine
4/5
30 Something is an energetic pop, punk and rock album by Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine. It's an album with some good and some mediocre songs (Shopper's Paradise), but the enormous drive and fun makes up for the weaker parts. Maybe not the best album of that year, but lots of fun. Smart (but very British) lyrics.
Slapstick
2/5
Slapstick is a 1990s ska-punk album. I don't know what it is supposed to add to this world. Everything is mediocre from songwriting to performance and production. And with 25 songs in 54 minutes it's at least 10 songs to long.
Black Country, New Road
5/5
Ants From Up There is the second album by Black Country, New Road. Their original singer and main songwriter left the band after this one, but the other members produced a great successor anyway. This album goes in every direction with structures that seems to fall apart and combine again to something that works. Still the songs are catchy and do not sound overthought or too complex.
Clutch
4/5
Psychic Warfare is a fun stone/hard rock album by Clutch. The music is muscle rock with a lot of drive. The lyrics are not that serious. Great car music.
Porcupine Tree
3/5
Listening to this album without any additional background info, I thought the guitar sound was a lot better than the often too clean and overthought sound of other Steven Wilson albums. Now I know that's party thanks to the contributions of Adrian Belew (ex-King Crimson and ex-Bowie). It must have been an honor for Wilson to have such a legend and musical hero on his Team. He lifts two of the song enough to make these interesting and fun to me the others are hit (up-tempo ones) or miss (ballads).
Silverchair
2/5
I always thought Silverchair to be a grunge band. On this album most of the grunge and rock has disappeared. Instead it's full of ballads in a baroque or prog-pop format. The songs with some guitars have the sound of a declawed tiger; a lot of compression to make the guitars sound radio friendly. The lyrics are of a subpar level. It all sounds like a mediocre band trying to force commercial success and I don't like it. A proper candidate to a Night of the Proms event. And that is not a compliment.
Tyler, The Creator
4/5
Flower Boy is a good rap & neo-soul album by Tyler, The Creator. Laidback songs with personal lyrics and tracks sound effortless. Sometimes a bit too harmless, but it just so nice and relaxing.
David & The Citizens
4/5
I once saw David & The Citizens perform at the Eurosonic showcase festival in Groningen in the basement of NewsCafe. I still consider it one to the worst sounding bands ever, but that's due to the sound engineers. With lots of effort I could extract something that sounded like songs and I thought these compositions were not that bad.
So looking them up, I found out that "Now She Sleeps in a Box in the Good Soil of Denmark" is indeed a fantastic song, and "I've Been Floating Upstream Since We Parted" and "Song Against Life" are also good. The rest of the material varies between good intensions and ok songwriting.
All in all it is a decent debut album for a band with an awful name. Wonder why they did not have a commercial breakthrough... wink wink. It's not the best album on this list, but a nice one to listen to and for people with found memories of a performance like me, it deserves those four stars.
My Morning Jacket
4/5
Okonokos is a live album and concert film by the American band My Morning Jacket. So that's two reasons it should not be on the list. Also it's mostly material of the albums Z (on this list) and It Still Moves (should have been on it). Still I must admit it's a great album with great performances and the voice of Jim James is live even better than on record. Also some fantastic guitar play.
Gorillaz
4/5
Demon Days is the second album of the Damon Albarn project Gorillaz. It contains the classics "Feel Good Inc.", "Dare" and "Kids with Guns" and is produced by Danger Mouse. It's an eclectic clash of musical styles and ideas, but it works great. It's full of collaborations with Neneh Cherry, Bootie Brown (The Pharcyde), De La Soul, Ike Turner, MF Doom, Shaun Ryder and even legend Dennis Hopper. The album sounds more mature and consistent compared to the debut album and far less like a gimmick.
Sea Power
4/5
This is a powerful indie rock album. It starts rather noisy, but after a few songs it quiets a bit down. Overall it delivers a lot of great compositions and original ideas. Too bad the production and vocal quality (in capacity and mixing) is not that great.
Mansun
3/5
Attack of the Grey Lantern is an indie rock album with rave reviews. For some reason I don't really get it. Nothing stands out and I've heard it all before. An ok album I guess, nothing more.
The Sundays
3/5
Reading Writing And Arithmetic is a nice indie pop album. The Sundays power is the voice of Harriet Wheeler, their weakness is the absolute boring rhythm section on this album (especially the drums). "Here's Where the Story Ends" and "Can't Be Sure" are great songs, but the other tracks a not as great. As a complete album it's a bit of a drag to me.
Interpol
5/5
Turn On the Bright Lights is one of my favorite indie rock albums. The songs like "PDA", "NYC" and "Stella Was a Diver and She Was Always Down" do not have an uplifting atmosphere and sound like Ian Curtis has risen from the dead. Mostly because the usage of the same melodic bass guitar play (Peter Hook) as Joy Division.
Zach Bryan
4/5
Zach Bryan is a modern country album. Normally I don't like modern country as the production is much too smooth and it all sound commercial and uninteresting. This album is an exception. From the start a feeling of integrity is all around. The songs are solid and the performance is to the point. "I Remember Everything", "Hey Driver", "Overtime", "Spotless" and "East Side of Sorrow" are good songs. The guest contributions are spot on. This album also has its flaws as the lyrics are often not that great and there should be a law against such poor album cover design.
dEUS
4/5
The Ideal Crash is an indie rock album by Belgian band dEUS. At the time this album was everywhere in The Netherlands. The songs "Sister Dew", "One Advice, Space" and "Instant Street" are fantastic. The other songs are good too. The album has a certain 1990s sound that some will dislike and I must say I like their earlier, more experimental work better.
Chris Thile
3/5
Chris Thile & Brad Mehldau is the collaboration between bluegrass mandolin player Chris Thile and jazz pianist Brad Mehldau. This album certainly works as it seems like the artists have worked together for ages and the resulting sound is organic and natural. Too bad it's a bit boring at times. For example the cover of the majestic Elliott Smith song "Independence Day" is forgettable. Then again "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" is a cover that is one of the best I heard. So I get a bag of mixed feelings when listening to this album.
King Crimson
4/5
Discipline is a classic prog-rock album by the 1980s version of King Crimson. So that's an album with Adrian Belew and Robert Fripp, two of the most inventive guitar players ever. This makes the album sometimes a bit experimental and complicated, but never too much.
Pescado Rabioso
4/5
Artaud is a classic Argentinean rock album by Pescado Rabioso. It consists of solid soft rock in Spanish. Extra points for the fabulous album cover/format in its original form.
Dënver
4/5
Música, Gramática, Gimnasia is a good indie pop album by the Chilean duo Dënver. The songs are in Spanish, so I only get a bit of their lyrical content, but I'm glad there's another Non-English album on the list. The music varies between soft indie pop and some electronic influences. The songs are beautifully orchestrated with a lot of instruments. It's a great listening on a lazy sunny Sunday as a breakfast treat.
Charles Mingus
5/5
Mingus Ah Um is a classic jazz album that was missing in the original list. It's an album full of references to other jazz greats ("Open Letter to Duke", "Bird Calls", "Jelly Roll") and to racial segregation ("Fables of Faubus") and a tribute to gospel ("Better Git It in Your Soul"). Beautiful play by the horns and of course the rhythm section with Mingus himself.
The Shins
4/5
Wincing The Night Away is a indie rock/pop album by The Shins. This band writes the most beautiful melodies you can imagine and this album is no exception. "Australia", "Phantom Limb", "Red Rabbits", "Turn on Me", "Spilt Needles" and "A Comet Appears" are examples of their craftsmanship. The quality of the other songs is also good enough. This album is nearing Chutes Too Narrow, but I prefer the latter.
Gaelle
3/5
Transient as an album consists of two parts. The first half of the album is mostly jazzy and soft rnb, the other half is more electronic with a (slow) dance vibe. The transition during the album is slowly creeping in. I think I prefer the electronic part, but I think it would have been better to stick to one of these styles and make a more consistent and shorter record.
Gary Clark Jr.
4/5
This land is the third album by blues guitar player and singer Gary Clark Jr. His music is mainly blues but takes trips around surrounding genres like soul, rnb, hip hop and rock n roll. "Pearl Cadillac" is for example a great ballad that could have been written and performed by Prince. This album is good, but a stricter song selection would have resulted in a real great album. There are just some tracks that don't add that much like "Dirty Dishes Blues".
Prolapse
4/5
The Italian Flag is an indie rock album by Prolapse. I didn't know what prolapse meant and now I won't forget. Strange name for a band creating this kind of music. The music is also something different, a sort of mix of Sonic Youth post-punk with The B-52s dynamic vocals. As with The B-52s these vocals are not always that strong, but that attributes to its charm. The music is solid, uplifting and quite catchy.
Frank Ocean
5/5
Frank Ocean creates modern RnB music with sometimes an experimental spin. Channel Orange is (according to me) the superior album, but this one is a banger too. According to music critic Ann Powers it "equal parts psychedelic indie rock, post-IDM electronica, post-U2 / Coldplay-esque Eno-pop, post-Drake hip-hop, and post-Maxwell drifty soul / R&B," and wrote that "experimental, druggy sonics abound." I think that captures the spirit of some of the album. That is also the reason why a lot of people will not like it and why I adore it. It is so full of ideas and genre-bending that too many will find something to dislike.
MGMT
3/5
Loss Of Life is the fifth album of MGMT. It is not a bad album, but MGMT is one of these band that has made a great debut album and the following albums do not add that much. The problem of this album is that it is overcomplete. You can listen to this album or you can give their debut album another spin.
Foo Fighters
4/5
The Colour And The Shape is the second album of Foo Fighters. It is more a group thing than their mostly solo debut album by Grohl. The material is also somewhat better. It contains the majestic "Everlong". "My Hero" and "Monkey Wrench" are not that bad either. Overall it's a decent 3.5 stars attempt.
Rozi Plain
3/5
Friend by Rozi Plain is a decent indie pop album. It contains nice and harmless soft pop songs with interesting arrangements. The problem is that nothing really stands out. It just meanders from from song to song, from begining to end with uninteresting lyrics.
American Football
4/5
This album was a real surprise. The first reason the fact I never heard of it (or the band). The second reason is that this album is supposed to be emo, not my favorite genre. When listening to it, it was something completely different. Especially the slow tracks almost without vocals and with great saxophone playing. These tracks mix in a good way with the indie rock tracks. It was a interesting experience and I will listen to it in the future for a fourth spin.
Edge Of Sanity
4/5
Crimson is a death metal album by Swedish band Edge Of Sanity. It sounds just like a lot of Death metal albums these days. That is where I made a mistake as I did not know this album is from 1996 and already 30 years old. So this is one of the albums that created the standard for this genre and we should praise it for it.
Beastie Boys
4/5
Check your head is the album on which the Beastie Boys became a lo-fi, alt-rock groove band and rap was no longer the main focus of their music. It's the predecessor of Ill Communication on which this style had grown to perfection. This album is not as great as Ill Communication or Paul's Boutique or as groundbreaking as Licensed to Ill. Still it's a good album with several good tracks and one of their best in "So What'cha Want".
Tindersticks
4/5
Tindersticks is the second album by chamber pop band Tindersticks. Their sound is dominated by the distinctive sound of the voice of the lead singer. I heard them live on several occasions and then he is even more impressive. The album consists mostly of slow songs ("Talk to Me", "No More Affairs", "Mistakes") and ballads like the wonderful duet "Travelling Light".
Ikd-sj
4/5
World's End Fruit Basket is a typical Japanese take on nu metal. Like fellow countrymen Dhidalah (spac-rock) and Bo Ningen (noise rock) the music goes through a meat grinder and something weird comes out. The songs and album go in every direction and the dynamics change a lot. It's a bit messy and unconstructed at times. Still It like the original result.
Stereophonics
3/5
Stereophonics is a nice Welsh rock band and this is a nice rock album. But it is not outstanding. Maybe this is not fair as your competion from Wales in the 1990s-2010s is Manic Street Preachers. And in 1997 the competion of UK based rock bands was Urban Hymns - The Verve, OK Computer - Radiohead, Blur - Blur, Ladies & Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space - Spiritualized, In It for the Money - Supergrass, to name just a few. All in all it's a nice listen, but not something I have a special urge to give another spin.
John Frusciante
3/5
John Frusciante is a great guitar player and his contributions to the Red Hot Chili Peppers have been essential. Their best albums are with John on lead guitar. This album is his most consistent one. It have a lot of ideas and inspiring guitar parts, but most songs are at best mediocre as a whole and the ballads and singing is subpar.
Itoiz
3/5
Espaloian is an album of the Basque rock band Itoiz. They were a popular band in the region. I was a bit disappointed with the overall quality of the material also apart from the language it does not have that much of a sound that shows from what part of the world it comes from. It not bad, but not distinctive in any way.
The Beautiful South
3/5
This is the debut album of The Beautiful South. I liked the other album on the user list (Blue Is the Colour) a lot better. On albums after this one a female singer is adding a pleasant dynamic in the vocals and overall presentation. Also this album has an second half of the 1980s production with prominent drums that sound dated. Not a bad album though.
Caroline Polachek
5/5
“Desire, I Want To Turn Into You” is my favorite album of 2023. It is a collection of near perfect pop songs. Though pop music is not realy my genre and is often too shallow and commercial, this album has enough depth in lyrics, composition, performance and production to make me love it.
The Last Dinner Party
4/5
Prelude to Ecstasy is a (glam)rock album by British band The Last Dinner Party. It is very theatrical and campy. Not only in composition and performance, but also in lyrics. The ladies have listened a lot to Queen, David Bowie, Marc Bolan and Elton John.
The music may not be that original, but the writing is strong and it sounds like a fresh take on the (sub)genre. Maybe years later it will become clear it was an important album, but at the moment it's just lots of fun and there is nothing wrong with that.
Allan Rayman
4/5
Roadhouse 01 by Allan Rayman was a pleasant surprise to me. I never heard of the album or the artist and it was also not what I expected after reading the wikipedia and looking at the album cover. It's a nice collection of dark themed/sounding bluesy, soul and rock tracks. Allans vocal style is an acquired taste switching from spoken word to rap to singing, but it fits the music and adds another layer.
Poets of the Fall
1/5
Temple of Thought is an album by Finnish rock band Poets of the Fall. I like the music in the films of Aki Kaurismäki and especially Finnish tango. What I don't like are the poorly written power ballads and other attempts to make music on this joke of an album.
As one of the other reviews already stated: "Cradled in Love" is one of the worst songs ever written. I would rather listen to any of my previous one star rated albums as a whole than listen to this one track again. This song is that horrifying.
I hope the submitter entered this album as a joke, though it's not a funny one.
Lou Reed
4/5
New York was the comeback album of Lou Reed after several mediocre albums in the late 1970s and 1980. The singing of Lou Reed has become some form of talk-murmuring with hardly any melody. The songs are not that melodic either and sound a bit similar and long. Strange thing is that it works. New York and his later works are not his greatest, but the combination of great lyrics with monotone music give it a spoken word vibe that enlarges the focus on these lyrics.
Dio
3/5
I'm or was not a heavy metal fan, but this list made me adore Iron Maiden as a band I always overlooked. So maybe that statement is history. Holy Diver is an album by Dio who is a legendary heavy metal singer. He was also the singer of Black Sabbath for a while. The vocals on this album are great. The songwriting is ok, but not great. Also the songs vary between subpar Iron Maiden heavy metal and mediocre ACDC hard rock. It's not bad, but not good either and certainly not my cup of tea.
At the Drive-In
5/5
I can remember the first time I heard "One Armed Scissor" by At the Drive-in, it was a defining moment remembering me that rock is still not dead yet. The dynamic shift, energy and aggression give me the goosebumps every time. The rest of the songs on Relationship of Command are pretty good too. Not all are as straightforward and dynamic as "One Armed Scissor", but it's post-hardcore with some prog mixed into it. One of my favorite albums of the 2000s.
The Presidents Of The United States Of America
4/5
Is this album by The Presidents of The United States of America something you should hear before you die? No, of course not. It's nothing new and the amusing lyrics get boring after a while. But it is a lot of fun and after hearing it for the first time in almost 25 years, I gave it another spin while screaming out half of the lyrics.
New Order
4/5
Power, Corruption & Lies is a good synth-pop album by New Order. Several great songs ("Age of Consent", "Your Silent Face", "Leave Me Alone"). Influences of Kraftwerk and certainly Giorgio Moroder are there. Only the subpar singing of Bernard Sumner is a minor disappointment.
Sahara Hotnights
3/5
I find it to be a bit shocking that this album (after five votes) has such a low rating. I agree there is nothing essential or very original about it. The quality of the songs is quite ok though. And the album is full of energetic, up-tempo and catchy melodic rock songs. An album full of "I Love Rock 'n Roll" (Joan Jett) like bangers can't be a bad thing.
Opeth
5/5
In the progressive death metal genre swedish band Opeth has been one of the top acts for several decennia. Blackwater Park is their fifth and one of their best. I can understand that not everyone is into this kind of music, but if you're open to it, there is a lot to enjoy. The album has a lot of variation in style and tempo. Even the grunting vocals are alternated by clean vocals often in slower (passages of) songs.
They Might Be Giants
3/5
They Might Be Giants is a band that makes great and smart songs. If it works the lyrics are great and funny and all the complexity in the melodic and rhythm structure adds another layer. If it does not work, the complexity of the songs is annoying and the lyrics are pretentious and boring. It has great tracks in "Birdhouse in Your Soul", "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" and "Whistling in the Dark". The other tracks work most of the time, but not all, resulting in another TMBG album leaving me with mixed feelings.
GRiZ
2/5
Rainbow Brain by GRiZ. I did not like this album. I thought it was some dubstep with other dance/EDM styles, but it's something more undefined and it goes all over the place. It's like someone who read a book about dance music and tries to reinvent all the things that already have done before by so many other artists. Each song only scratches the surface of an individual subgenre with all the bleak and uninteresting characteristics and it hops on to the next. It even sounds dated while being only 5 years old.
The Fall
4/5
To quote Wikipedia "The Unutterable is the 21st album by English rock band the Fall"... the twenty-first... and almost every The Fall album has a solid three stars quality or up. This is one of the better albums. The music is one big repetition with a drone sound that almost wears you out. Over these chord progressions a manic is shouting... no... Mark E. Smith is spitting the words in your face with lyrics that are funny and eloquent. These are not songs, but a play between torture and reward. In the end the reward remains.
Pulp
3/5
I have never been a big fan of Pulp. The songs are just not that great. Jarvis Cocker is just too much an act and not a real personality. And the main problem is the competition of Pulp at the time of a lot of greater brit pop bands. I think with "Different Class" and "This Is Hardcore" there is more than enough of their music represented. More albums (like this one) only show that there are not that many important songs beside on the former two albums and we are left with tracks that sound like leftovers.
Girl Talk
3/5
Feed the Animals is an album of Girl Talk. Mashup means creating songs by using significant parts of other often famous tracks. The album is a lot of fun. It's sort of a musical pubquiz. The songs are composed with great care and technically it's a great achievement. Too bad that in the end, there is not a lot of substance. Comfort food, but not a great meal.
Carla Bley
3/5
Life Goes On is a jazz collaboration album of pianist Carla Bley with saxophonist Andy Sheppard and bass guitarist Steve Swallow. As an jazz album from 2020 there is nothing shocking to discover. The compositions and the performance is solid. It's the kind of jazz that you can turn on as background music for a dinner party. For me that is a bit of a problem. If the music and artist are willingly participating to be forced to a role as an extra, it's not something I would listen to regularly. It's a 3+, but not a 4, stars entry though.
The Hotelier
4/5
"Home, Like Noplace Is There" is an indie rock album by The Hotelier. I remember that at the time I was very impressed. Listening to it now, the vocals/voice sometimes gets on my nerves and not all songs are that good. I guess it's a solid 7.5/10 album.
Sum 41
3/5
I always mistake Sum 41 for Blink-182. Sum 41 is more a metal orientated band and more serious. This is a solid album with decent tracks, but apart from the singles ("Pieces", "We're All to Blame", "Some Say") it's not unforgettable. Not something to turn off, but also not an album I must listen to very often.
Toots & The Maytals
5/5
Funky Kingston is one of the best reggae albums made. When listening to it, I'm always impressed by the great voice of Frederick "Toots" Hibbert. The songs are fabulous. Each of the cover tracks ("Louie Louie", "I Can't Believe", "Country Road") is a rewritten version that adds a lot to the original song. Certainly the extended (1975) edition including "Pressure Drop" as one of the best reggae songs ever, is a must listen.
The Flaming Lips
2/5
Zaireeka is an experimental album by indie rock band The Flaming Lips. The idea is to use 4 record- or cd players to play the 4 tracks of each song at the same time or in time-shift variations. As you can imagine most people don't have the equipment to do this. One solution for this is to get assistance of friends to create a shared experience.
I searched for and found a version that provides the four tracks mixed together. This made it a lot easier to listen to the musical result. I think the idea is weird and fun. Too bad that the music itself is not up to the standards that you could expect from the band that has made so much great music. Most of the songs are sort of soundscapes that are quite boring. So I guess, it's an "Okay, I'll Admit That I Really Don't Understand"
Gorillaz
3/5
Cracker Island is the eighth album of indie band Gorillaz. I listened to four of their earlier albums frequently and they were 3.5 (good) to 4 (great) star albums. This one is not, it deserves hardly a 3 stars. The earlier albums of Gorillaz are not the best in songwriting or performance in rock/pop history, but they are great because of innovation, energy and experiments. This is a lame and boring collection of songs. The title track is not a bad song, but what follows sounds uninspired and uninteresting. A big disappointment for a band that has made great music.
King Crimson
5/5
King Crimson is one of my favorite rock bands in a genre (prog rock) that I have ambivant feelings about and Red is one of their top albums. At the time the band only consisted of the core members Fripp, Wetton and Bruford leading to an album with maybe a bit less experiment but more consistency and great songwriting. The marvelous starless is their magnus opus.
Lankum
4/5
The Livelong Day is an (dark) folk album by Lankum. Especially the songs "The Wild Rover" and "The Young People" are great. It's a good album, but I prefer their next album False Lankum that offers everything this one does and more. Still this kind of medieval drone folk music with a haunting atmosphere is a great listen.
Mötley Crüe
2/5
Shout At The Devil is a glam/heavy metal album by Mötley Crüe. In the 1980s it was a top-selling act with hit singles "Looks That Kill", "Too Young to Fall in Love" and "Shout at the Devil" on this album. Nowadays it sounds very dated and the songs and performance are not good either. Especially the look of the band and the lyrics make you feel you are listening to a parody. It's not awful, but still a 35 minutes waste of time.
Bloodywood
2/5
Nu Delhi is a nu-metal album by Indian metal band Bloodywood. Most of the music is rather generic nu-metal. "Bekhauf" is featuring Babymetal, but is indistinctive for the most part. The tracks at the end of the album ("Daggebaaz", "Tadka" and "Nu Delhi") show some native musical influences, making these songs a bit more interesting. Too bad the damage is already done at that moment and my interest is lost.
Supertramp
4/5
Breakfast in America is the sixth album by progressive pop band Supertramp. It contains the classics "The Logical Song", "Breakfast in America" and "Take the Long Way Home". Too bad the other songs are not that great, but a pleasant background listen and some are even weak ("Lord Is It Mine"). All in all it's still an ok album and for the three outliers it deserves just over three stars.
My Chemical Romance
4/5
Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge is the second album of emo band My Chemical Romance. In some way their music has aged like good wine. At the time I thought it was ok and not more than that, but nowadays I really enjoy it. The Black Parade is a better album, but this one shows a preview of what's to come. "Helena", "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" and "The Ghost of You" are great songs and the rest of the album is not bad either. Not any filler material there.
Andrew Lloyd Webber
2/5
I'm not the greatest fan of musicals and there are just a few that have music good enough to stand out on it's own without the visuals and story. The Phantom Of The Opera is not one of these. The music (as the title explains) reminiscent of opera/operette, but in a very blunt and unsophisticated way. Apart from a few decent tracks it only contains over the top drama. Andrew Lloyd Webber has created good music, but this is not the quality of Cats and certainly not of Jesus Christ Superstar.
W.A.S.P.
2/5
The Crimson Idol is a heavy metal album by W.A.S.P. in name only as it is more or less a solo project of leadsinger and (bass)guitar player Blackie Lawles. This rock opera tells a rather bland story of the rise and fall of a rock artist. Most of the songs are too long and over the top theatrical. The bombastic production does not do the sometimes decent songwriting ideas any favors. Do not get tricked in listening to the remastered edition as you will get treated to a spoken word story of 16 minutes that is just a waste of time.
Tywanna Jo Baskette
2/5
Fancy Blue by Tywanna Jo Baskette is an acquired taste. The music and songwriting most of the time fine to good, but the problem is the vocal performance. The whispery vocals are something that can really get on your nerves. For a few songs it's ok, but after ten, it gets annoying (and the album has 19 tracks). Also, the album contains several acapella (or almost spoken word) songs and sketches of songs that are not nearly completed. All this makes the album sound very pretentious and the quality of the music is not good enough to justify it.
Himiko Kikuchi
2/5
Flying Beagle is a jazz fusion album by Himiko Kikuchi. It sounds like the soundtrack for a cheap romantic 1980s show like The Love Boat. Also it's great as background music in a shopping mall or elevator music. To listen to it directly is sooo boring as it's too predictable and harmless.
Lady Gaga
3/5
Joanne is the fourth album by pop singer Lady Gaga. As the album suggests the center piece of the album is the song Joanne. It’s a personal tale of her aunt that died young and a great song in composition and lyrics. Too bad the rest of the album contains more straightforward generic pop songs.
Nine Inch Nails
4/5
The Fragile is a good album by industrial band Nine Inch Nails. The album has a lot of dynamical changes within the tracks and they vary between aggressive and fragile. As such it follows the idea of the previous album The Downward Spiral. Compared to that album more elements of ambient and electronic music appear. The Fragile is not as good as The Downward Spiral. The quality of the first four tracks of that record is not nearly matched and "The Great Below" is great, but not as marvelous as "Hurt". In the end the record is a bit too long and gets weaker during the second ("right") disc. Still it's a solid four stars.
Coheed and Cambria
2/5
In Keeping Secrets Of Silent Earth: 3 is a progressive rock album by Coheed and Cambria. As pretentious the title sounds the overall lyrics are indeed. The problem is that the song titles sound more interesting than the lyrics and music they over. Also the production of the instruments (especially the guitars) sounds flat. I guess due to too much compression. Also the guitar sound in almost all tracks is exactly the same (pedals and other guitar effects). This makes it a mediocre experience that mentally moves to the background. Only tracks that offer some alternative to one big sound that goes on forever are "Blood Red Summer" (variating in drum and feeling), "The Camper Velourium III: Al the Killer" (finally guitars sounding different) and the outro of "The Light & the Glass". It is just too boring and almost 70 minutes long.
Lowest of the Low
3/5
Shakespeare My Butt... is a solid album of Lowest of the Low. It's a sort of (happy, but not too) happy folky rock with a lot of good vocals. Listening to the album I heard some small error, but nothing to disturbing. I thought that leaving these imperfections in was a brave decision, but reading the Wikipedia page, I understand this is rather a bunch of demos and not a produced album. Maybe that's the reason it all sounds spontaneous and fresh. Also minor compositional weakness in a guitar solo is not a problem. The lyrics are no literature, but even Shakespeare wrote The Taming of the Shrew. We all have moments that we do not excel. And probably that is the main issue with this album. A bit more song selection ("kill your babies") would have greatly improved the album. It could have been an easy four star experience if only the ten best songs were used.
Slim Krusty
2/5
"endin on a high" is a singer-songwriter album by Slim Krusty. It starts with decent, but rather bland folky tracks in which his raw vocals are an upside, but the lyrics express a forced “jenny from the block” authenticity. During the album this factor keeps getting worse with less and less interesting music and increasing cursing. The low point is “Messy Pinkman”, a rewrite of Blackbird (The Beatles) that sounds like a ten year old being proud to say a lot of swear words. “Pisstake” and “100% Spin” are also awful.
Steve Reich
5/5
The original 1001 albums book (and list) are supposed to exclude classical music. As such this album should not appear on it. The music on the album is a modern genre called minimal music. As it's full of small themes repeating it has a large overlap with several popular music genres like electronic and ambient. Philip Glass, another minimal music artist, even made remakes of David Bowie albums. So, the question of whether this album belongs on this list is a difficult one.
Music for 18 Musicians is one of the best music pieces of Steve Reich. The repetition in the musical themes with small changes works great and creates an almost organic atmosphere ("the duration of particular note-pulses is determined by the natural breath rhythms of the musicians"). One of the top 25 albums of all time according to David Bowie.
Hayden
4/5
Before this entry I never heard of Hayden (as most of us never heard of Elk-Lake either). It is a pleasant surprise. The first track with its original chord progressions immediately shows this is not the default singer-songwriter. Several songs are highlights like "Home by Saturday", "Hollywood Ending" and "My Wife". The usage of a hidden track after "Looking Back to Me" is my only complaint. I'll certainly will check out the Skyscraper National Park album too.
3/5
Bricks Are Heavy is an album by female grunge/punk/rock band L7. It contains their best known song "Pretend We're Dead". To be honest, I wish it wasn't. The band was known for their outspoken, funny and feminist lyrics. The lyrics of this song are rather dull. The album as a whole has not aged that well compared to contemporaries like Hole. Still not a punishment to listen to it after all those years.
5/5
Mekanik destruktiw kommandoh is a fantastic rock opera by Magma. This sounds a lot like a piece of minimal music (Philip Glass, Steve Reich) on steroids with rock instruments. The vocals in a fabricated language that sounds mystical and sometimes quite funny. Something that should have been on the original list.
Lin-Manuel Miranda
2/5
I respect the fact that Lin-Manuel Miranda has written all music and lyrics of the musical and also plays the main role. Too bad not all of the music is great. His singing is ok, but the rap parts... As another reviewer states: "talentless one-note hackey faux-rap schtick"
Another issue is that a musical is created for a stage with acting and visuals. It is not only the music. So an album containing a musical is missing several of the dimensions of a musical.
At this moment a story that glorifies the American founding fathers and the consitution and democracy they created sounds misplaced. As have these stories about the USA have allways been. Praising the "democratic" history of a country grounded on wiping out the complete native population.
Burial
5/5
Untrue by Burial is one of my favorite albums of this century. Fantastic dubstep in soundscape that are almost empty, but still a lot happens. Every sound is something that adds a meaningful element to each song. This album sounds laidback while it's still danceable. One of the essential albums in electronic music.
Dry the River
3/5
Shallow Bed is an indierock album by Dry the River. It sounds a bit like early 2000s indie bands like Keane. It's the same goody-goody and unoffensive type of music. Exceptions are the first track Animal Skins, Shaker Hymns and certainly No Rest. If all tracks had the same intend and tension as that last one it would have been a great album. Now this album is just ok and fine.
The Cranberries
4/5
Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We? Is the debut album bij alternative rock band The Cranberries. “Linger” and “Dreams” are great tracks. The other songs are not that bad either. The vocals of Dolores elevate the performance of the band. I like this one a lot more than the (even more succesful) successor “No Need to Argue”
J Dilla
3/5
Donuts is the second album of hip hop producer J Dilla released three days before his death. The tracks are all short sketches composed of a lot of samples. It received great reviews. Personally I think it's OK, but not more than that. As I wrote these tracks remain just sketches and at thew moment the rhythm and song structure start to stick they have ended. Also each of the songs heavily rely on a few of the samples, making you question you are listening to a remix or a new composition.
Depeche Mode
4/5
Black Celebration is the fith album of Depeche Mode and it's the first one that shows the potential of the band. Of course Music for the Masses, Violator and Songs of Faith and Devotion are better, but these are submitted already (though Faith and Devotion just now). The album has great songs in "Black Celebration", "A Question of Lust", "A Question of Time" and "Stripped". Also the Martin Gore sung ballads "Sometimes", "It Doesn't Matter Two", "World Full of Nothing" are there, worth to be skipped asap. All in all it's a bit inballanced, but gives a good impression of great things to come.
YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA
4/5
Solid State Survivor is an early synth-pop album by Yellow Magic Orchestra. One of the band members is electronic and Japanese pop/rock legend Ryuichi Sakamoto (Soundtrack of The Last Emperor and several other films). This album contains the classic "Behind the Mask" song. The music sometimes sound somewhat outdated now, but it's from 1978. So I won't complain. The beeps often remind me of a (16bit) video game in progress. Funny how the music sounds very Japanese in the melodies (like an soundtrack for a 1980/1990s cartoon series).
Jeff Tweedy
4/5
Twilight Override is the fifth solo album of Wilco singer and songwriter Jeff Tweedy. These solo and other projects of Tweedy exist in large numbers. This is one of the better ones. His solo albums are comparable with the slower work of Wilco. This means you will miss the dynamic of the Wilco songs that explode in guitar eruptions and the variation between soft, strange and up-tempo. I personally miss the Nels Cline guitar insanity the most. Also this album is too long. It is not one of those long albums that is full of filler material, but a more condensed version could have been a truly fantastic one. Still this is a solid 3 to 4 stars submission.
Converge
4/5
I can't say I normally enjoy metalcore, but Jane Doe by Converge is the exception to the rule. The wiki is rather funny with the "critics praising its poetic lyrics" part, certainly if I take a look at the lyrics online (no way anyone can understand these by listening).
The music is shock and awe in a good way and it's a full force taking you over and leaving you behind in the dirt as a piece of garbage. It's overwhelming, without compromise, in your face. It clears you head and makes space for your next user album (being yet another fusion jazz funk no fun one of course).
Midnight Oil
4/5
Diesel and Dust is the result of the Australian band Midnight Oil getting involved and inspired by the native people of Australia and concerns about us all f***ing up nature. This fact should be a reason to give still album an additional star. It is the home of one of the greatest rock hits of the 1980s ("Beds Are Burning"). The other songs (f.e. "The Dead Heart", "Bullroarer", "Sometimes") are also ok. Normally I hate the 1980s upfront drum sound, but in this case this just emphasizes the urgence and commitment of the lyrics and performance. All in all it's not the best album ever made, but a good and sincere one.
SHIBUSASHIRAZU
4/5
Shibuboshi is a free jazz album by japanese group Shibusashirazu. Some of the performers are former members of Sun Ra Arkestra. That means a lot of chaos and rock elements and even traditional music in "Naadam". It's a lot of energy and sometimes some John Zorn (Naked City) sounding horns. It is fun!
The Knife
4/5
Silent Shout is the third and best album of the electronic duo The Knife. This one is the first one with the dark feeling that Karin Dreijer fully exhibits as Fever Ray. Pitch-shifted vocals and unearthing samples that create a dystopian soundscape. Lot's of fun...not. But great music.
Bladee
2/5
The Fool is a rather generic rap/pop album by Swedish rapper Bladee. It is over-produced an is full of auto-tune. All tracks sound simular and as a whole it's just boring.
Depeche Mode
4/5
Songs of Faith and Devotion is one of the best Depeche Mode albums. It captures the dark mood the band expresses perfectly. The best songs are "I Feel You", "Walking in My Shoes" and "In Your Room", but the rest is also solid.
Syrius
4/5
Syrius was a 1970s prog rock band. I get the impression that is was not very famous outside of some Eastern-European countries. The music is prog rock with jazz influences, especially because the usage of horns. Some parts sound a bit like King Crimson (second part of "Devils Masquerate"), too bad the music is not as good. Still it's certainly an OK album and a nice addition from a part of the world that has been ignored on the list so far.
Ghost
2/5
"Rite Here Rite Now" is a concert movie of metal/rock band Ghost. The music on the album is the soundtrack. Ghost makes rather cheesy bombastic hard rock. Musically it is not interesting. The visuals on stage during the performances of Ghost are the opposite. It's a bit like Rammstein, but the music is worse. I can imagine a performance of this band or this movie being a four star experience. This album (and live albums should not be on this list) is not.
Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers
5/5
Moanin' is a fantastic bebop jazz album by Art Blakey. Songs like "Moanin'" and "The Drum Thunder (Miniature) Suite" are true classics. Band leader Art Blakey being a drummer the rhythm section is excellent and most of the songs are written by saxophone player Benny Golson. So it's full of marvelous melodies.