Thoroughly enjoyed this album. Reminds me of a decent amount of post-punk music I’ve listened to that came out more than 30 years later. Not every track is great but some (Spellbound, Monitor, Night Shift) are what I’m always in the mood for listening to. Great singing, great guitar and bass. Had never listened to Siouxsie before and this definitely exceeded my expectations. Not giving it 5 stars because it’s not perfect, just good, but 3 seems too low so 4 it is.

I started out listening to this thinking I liked the darker tone of Mezzanine better, and after finishing it I still think that stands. But other aspects of this album - Tricky’s rapping in particular - are better. Solid 4 stars.

When I first started this album, it didn't really grab me. But it grew on me as I worked through it, and there are some legitimately great songs on here. I like the interesting instrumentation, and the song structures are experimental without being too far out there. I can also see a through-line from this to the modern-day psych rock and fuzz folk that I have listened to, which makes this interesting historically as well. So, even if I didn't really *enjoy* listening to it, I did find it interesting, and that's worth a couple of stars.

I would have thought that I would be *totally into* an album with a 20-minute long song about a giant armadillo that got transformed into a tank. But it just doesn't work. Parts of the title track are good, but the random prog-rock interludes feel like filler. Emerson noodles up and down the same scales, showing off how fast he can play on 3 different keyboards at the same time, but there's no actual musical value to it and it doesn't go anywhere. Also, frankly, it's not even that great of a technical showcase as the band falls slightly out of sync at various points especially in the first couple of movements of the song. The tonal difference and contrast between the a side and the b side is almost unbelievable. The b side starts with a jaunty almost ragtime-y piano melody in a song that's like 2 minutes long compared to Tarkus' 20. I want so badly to like this but honestly the whole thing feels hollow, like a monument to excess without meaning.

SPIDERLAND is one of those albums that’s been with me for so long it’s like it’s woven itself into my musical DNA (and maybe even my sense of self). It’s hard for me to review objectively, and I’m not even really going to try. While some of the lyrics are (as noted by at least one other reviewer here) kinda cringeworthy, so much of the album of so good - the soft-loud dynamics, the use of interesting time signatures, the energy at the album’s high points - that I’m more than willing to give them a pass.

Overall a weird album. Didn’t love most of the songs. Feels like everything’s been slowed down, like maybe this is what the world feels like when you’re on tranquilizers (which I suppose they were when they recorded this).

I don’t consider myself a big folk music fan, but this album is absolutely fantastic.

Some tracks have great backing, some tracks have great rapping, but all in all not my cup of tea.

Thoroughly enjoyed this album. Reminds me of a decent amount of post-punk music I’ve listened to that came out more than 30 years later. Not every track is great but some (Spellbound, Monitor, Night Shift) are what I’m always in the mood for listening to. Great singing, great guitar and bass. Had never listened to Siouxsie before and this definitely exceeded my expectations. Not giving it 5 stars because it’s not perfect, just good, but 3 seems too low so 4 it is.

To be honest, this album is kind of boring. Very minimalistic, with songs that chug along repetitively. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure it’s a landmark of electronic music, but I’m not going to sit and listen to this every day.

Fiona has a fantastic voice. Great album. The first 4 tracks (through "Criminal") are very strong, but it's weaker through the midsection. "Carrion" is a great finish, though. I don't know if it's really worth 4 stars, but it's worth more than 3 to me, so I'll just have to go with 4. If you had told 1996 me that I'd give a Fiona Apple album 4 stars, I would probably have laughed at you, but here we are. Oh also, this is surely a better album on headphones than on speakers in a crowded room. Easier to hear the great production.

"Shining Star" and "Africano" are great songs, mostly for different reasons. The rest of the album is fine, but not great.

This album is really long, especially the 2009 multi-disc version. The original stops at “Las Vegas Basement” so I’m counting it done at there. First few songs don't do much for me. "Hanging Out And Hung Up On The Line" is a good song, it has energy that the first few don't. Overall, I think this isn’t a coherent album. I like Cope’s musical style, though he tends to excess, and that’s my general problem with this album. He needed editing. When he’s good he’s great but a lot of it is mediocre. Also, maybe you have to be English for the lyrics to resonate but they just didn’t do anything for me. I agonized over what to rate this, and I guess I’m settling on 2 stars. I’d be willing to give another Cope album a shot because I like his musical style in general but this is not to me a great album.

The songs I like on this album are really great. Others are okay and grew on me over time. Overall, okay album.

This album is really good. Much better than later Foo Fighters albums. It’s amazing to think that Dave Grohl played and recorded this all by himself.

I started out listening to this thinking I liked the darker tone of Mezzanine better, and after finishing it I still think that stands. But other aspects of this album - Tricky’s rapping in particular - are better. Solid 4 stars.

This album feels like the kind of light jazz/downtempo that you heard in every coffee shop in the late ‘90s through mid 2000s. I’m not a samba expert but I feel like this is pretty good. It’s listenable and Bebel has a nice voice. I guess I’d give this 3 stars.

When I first started this album, it didn't really grab me. But it grew on me as I worked through it, and there are some legitimately great songs on here. I like the interesting instrumentation, and the song structures are experimental without being too far out there. I can also see a through-line from this to the modern-day psych rock and fuzz folk that I have listened to, which makes this interesting historically as well. So, even if I didn't really *enjoy* listening to it, I did find it interesting, and that's worth a couple of stars.

This was a really good album.

So far this is fine. It's not really my style. I guess the songwriting is decent, and the singing is good, but it doesn't do anything for me in particular. After a few tracks, I feel like I wouldn't listen to this again. After a few more tracks, I like the ones that are kind of more funky but for the most part this is like generic '70s pop. It's not *bad* but it really doesn't grab me.

I went into this not sure how I’d feel about it. I haven’t heard much of Morrissey’s music, but I’ve gotten the general impression that he’s kind of a dick. After listening to most of the album, I was inclined to give it 2 stars because it just seemed kind of generic and didn’t really do anything for me. Sure, Morrissey has a good voice, but he uses it to do this kind of mopey crooning that’s just blah. But, Margaret on the Guillotine convinced me to bump that up to 3 stars. That song is great and a perfect way to end the album.

I liked this album quite a lot. I had heard of Traffic but I’m not sure I’d ever actually listened closely to any of their music. My favorite parts were the jazz improv parts of “Glad” and “Freedom Rider”, and honestly after “Glad” I was disappointed to hear Steve Winwood’s voice, which to me personally is the weakest part of the whole thing. If I could do half stars this would be 3.5 but since I can’t I’m rounding up to 4 in this case. Would listen to more jazz-rock in the future.

I definitely recognized Womack's great voice from his work with Gorillaz on the song "Stylo", so I was interested to hear this album. But though he's a great singer, these songs are mostly not doing anything for me. "Stand Up" is the only exception. Great use of synthesizers, funky rhythm, just a good, danceable song. Everything else just strikes me as relatively generic soul/R&B, and I'm not really a fan of R&B from like the '70s onward. It's not unlistenable, but it doesn't do anything for me.

This album just blew me away. The production is phenomenal and is the perfect complement to the incredible, complex rapping. I think this is probably the best thing I've heard while doing this so far.

I’m not sure I initially liked this album as much as Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme, but the more I’ve thought about it the more it strikes me that this album is just so well crafted and has such good songs on it and is just so *interesting* that I’m going to rate it just as high even if I wouldn’t just pick it up and listen to it whenever.

I would have thought that I would be *totally into* an album with a 20-minute long song about a giant armadillo that got transformed into a tank. But it just doesn't work. Parts of the title track are good, but the random prog-rock interludes feel like filler. Emerson noodles up and down the same scales, showing off how fast he can play on 3 different keyboards at the same time, but there's no actual musical value to it and it doesn't go anywhere. Also, frankly, it's not even that great of a technical showcase as the band falls slightly out of sync at various points especially in the first couple of movements of the song. The tonal difference and contrast between the a side and the b side is almost unbelievable. The b side starts with a jaunty almost ragtime-y piano melody in a song that's like 2 minutes long compared to Tarkus' 20. I want so badly to like this but honestly the whole thing feels hollow, like a monument to excess without meaning.

This album is tough to judge. It has some very good tracks and some that don't do anything for me - and I'm not sure the ones I like are the ones that are critically acclaimed. Definitely not my favorite Simon & Garfunkel, but still worth a listen.

With the exception of “Common People”, a thoroughly unremarkable album. I thought I liked Britpop when I lived through it in the ‘90s, but it’s been 25 years and Times and tastes change.

This was a really interesting listen. I wasn't sure what to expect, and it's probably good I didn't have solid expectations because this album is all over the place. I liked it. I’m giving it 3 stars instead of 4 because I didn’t love all of it but I’d definitely listen to more Miles Davis in the future.

SPIDERLAND is one of those albums that’s been with me for so long it’s like it’s woven itself into my musical DNA (and maybe even my sense of self). It’s hard for me to review objectively, and I’m not even really going to try. While some of the lyrics are (as noted by at least one other reviewer here) kinda cringeworthy, so much of the album of so good - the soft-loud dynamics, the use of interesting time signatures, the energy at the album’s high points - that I’m more than willing to give them a pass.

The title track of this album is obviously a "sexy song" meme at this point, but damn is it fantastic. The whole rest of the album is also great, with a couple of weak points in the middle that are still at least pretty good. Amazing vocal work from Gaye that showcases his whole range.

I don’t really have time to write a detailed review here, but I liked this album and would listen to it again. If half stars were a thing I think I’d give it 3.5, but since they aren’t and I’m feeling generous today I’ll round it up to 4.

I feel like an absolute 2000s millennial hipster stereotype saying that Johnny Cash is the only country artist I actually like listening to, but damn this album is so good. I don’t know if this is the “definitive” Johnny Cash recording, but if it isn’t it’s got to be close. The Legacy edition is worth a listen, specifically, because it feels like a recording of the whole concert straight through, without the weird abridged version of Folsom Prison Blues cut out of an outro medley that was originally included on the album.

Eh, this album is okay. Nothing great, nothing terrible. A couple of tracks stand out. My favorite is the second half of Chemical World.

I wanted so badly to like this album, but I just couldn’t get into it. Björk can clearly sing but the songwriting on this is mediocre to bad and the backing tracks sound extremely dated.

This album was fine. Nothing exceptional to me. I do like synth pop but I don’t feel like there was a standout great song on this album… the base quality was better than average, though, so 3 stars.

I’m not sure I know why but this album just ticked every box for me. Dark, moody synthesizers, driving beats, interesting multipart harmonies, it all just works. I enjoyed this way more than I was expecting to.

This was an interesting listen. I had no expectations going into it, and was pleasantly surprised. Cherry is a decent rapper and a better singer. I do think this album would’ve benefitted from some editing - every song seems to be trying to do everything, and some of them are all over the place. “Buffalo Stance”, “Manchild” start the album off strong, then it’s weaker through the middle with a strong finish on “My Bitch”. Oh also, it’s interesting that a couple of members of Massive Attack helped write “Manchild” - it sounds almost like a proto-Massive Attack song.

Nothing wrong with this but it wasn’t my cup of tea.

I enjoyed this album. It's not perfect, but I liked it - I prefer this kind of old-school folk to the Bob Dylans of the world.

This album is so good. Not every song is perfect, and a couple of the more experimental ones kind of drag on, but the imperfections are outweighed by some really great tracks.

I think this must be my favorite Radiohead album. The whole thing works and flows beautifully, and it has my two favorite songs ("Bodysnatchers" and "Reckoner") - plus "Videotape" is such an amazing and haunting song to end on.

This is the best Queens of the Stone Age album because it sounds the most like a Kyuss album.

As a person who existed in the US in the ‘90s and listened to the alternative rock radio stations, I of course have heard “Stop” and “Been Caught Stealing” many times before. But the rest of this album is really very good, and if “Been Caught Stealing” wasn’t generally kind of overplayed I probably would have listened to it before. I’m not sure it’s quite on par with some of my other 5-star ratings but I really have enjoyed it so there you go.

There's a lot to like about this album. The music is good; great production value with lush orchestral arrangements, and on top of it all the vocals are a rich baritone (which I always like). But what drags this album down are the absolutely idiotic lyrics, which I can't get over (example: "If you were a tree / I could carve my name into your side / and you would not cry / 'cause trees don't cry... If you were a horse / I'd clean the crap out of your stable / and never once complain."). The orchestral interludes are really great... it's a shame because this would definitely be a 4-star album for me if not for those lyrics.