Journey Complete!
Finisher #470 to complete the list
1089
Albums Rated
2.92
Average Rating
100%
Complete
The Bends
Radiohead
Favorite Album
Rating Distribution
Rating Timeline
Taste Profile
2010s
Favorite Decade
Grunge
Favorite Genre
US
Top Origin
Wordsmith
Rater Style ?
62
5-Star Albums
64
1-Star Albums
Breakdown
By Genre
By Decade
By Origin
Albums
You Love More Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Throwing Muses
Throwing Muses
|
5 | 2.98 | +2.02 |
|
Exile In Guyville
Liz Phair
|
5 | 3.02 | +1.98 |
|
evermore
Taylor Swift
|
5 | 3.04 | +1.96 |
|
Make Yourself
Incubus
|
5 | 3.07 | +1.93 |
|
Dig Me Out
Sleater-Kinney
|
5 | 3.08 | +1.92 |
|
Le Tigre
Le Tigre
|
5 | 3.13 | +1.87 |
|
The Bones Of What You Believe
CHVRCHES
|
5 | 3.18 | +1.82 |
|
Elastica
Elastica
|
5 | 3.22 | +1.78 |
|
Little Earthquakes
Tori Amos
|
5 | 3.23 | +1.77 |
|
Sweet Baby James
James Taylor
|
5 | 3.24 | +1.76 |
You Love Less Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Different Class
Pulp
|
1 | 3.42 | -2.42 |
|
Bitches Brew
Miles Davis
|
1 | 3.3 | -2.3 |
|
Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)
Eurythmics
|
1 | 3.24 | -2.24 |
|
I'm Your Man
Leonard Cohen
|
1 | 3.1 | -2.1 |
|
Autobahn
Kraftwerk
|
1 | 3.09 | -2.09 |
|
Murder Ballads
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
|
1 | 3.08 | -2.08 |
|
Deserter's Songs
Mercury Rev
|
1 | 3.02 | -2.02 |
|
Music From The Penguin Cafe
Penguin Cafe Orchestra
|
1 | 3.01 | -2.01 |
|
Future Days
Can
|
1 | 3 | -2 |
|
Reign In Blood
Slayer
|
1 | 2.96 | -1.96 |
Artists
Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Led Zeppelin | 5 | 5 |
| Radiohead | 6 | 4.33 |
| R.E.M. | 4 | 4.5 |
| Pixies | 3 | 4.67 |
| Beatles | 7 | 4.14 |
| Aretha Franklin | 2 | 5 |
| Green Day | 2 | 5 |
| Elliott Smith | 2 | 5 |
| Yeah Yeah Yeahs | 2 | 5 |
Least Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Sepultura | 2 | 1 |
| The Mothers Of Invention | 2 | 1 |
| Slipknot | 2 | 1 |
| Kraftwerk | 3 | 1.67 |
| Dexys Midnight Runners | 3 | 1.67 |
| The Fall | 3 | 1.67 |
| Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds | 5 | 2 |
| Leonard Cohen | 5 | 2 |
| Pulp | 2 | 1.5 |
| Robert Wyatt | 2 | 1.5 |
| Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band | 2 | 1.5 |
| Can | 2 | 1.5 |
| Public Image Ltd. | 2 | 1.5 |
| Todd Rundgren | 2 | 1.5 |
| Scott Walker | 2 | 1.5 |
| Emerson, Lake & Palmer | 2 | 1.5 |
| Pere Ubu | 2 | 1.5 |
| Elvis Costello & The Attractions | 4 | 2 |
| Tom Waits | 5 | 2.2 |
| Kanye West | 3 | 2 |
| Yes | 3 | 2 |
| My Bloody Valentine | 3 | 2 |
| Madonna | 3 | 2 |
| Pet Shop Boys | 3 | 2 |
| Steely Dan | 4 | 2.25 |
| Talking Heads | 4 | 2.25 |
Controversial
| Artist | Ratings |
|---|---|
| Miles Davis | 3, 1, 4, 5 |
| Joni Mitchell | 5, 2, 3, 2 |
| Pink Floyd | 3, 5, 4, 2 |
5-Star Albums (62)
View Album Wall
Popular Reviews
Sleater-Kinney
5/5
Lots of feelings and vulnerabilities exposed with this one. I first heard Sleater-Kinney when they opened for Pearl Jam in 2003. I was…not a fan. My ears felt assaulted. In the almost 20 years since I first heard them, I have tried several times to like them. I SHOULD like them because they have all the pieces of a band I should love. Women who rock and pull no punches. A sound that is unique and a message I can get behind. I can’t quite figure out what I turns me off so much and I have spent way too much time pondering this question. I thought at first that it was the way her voice sounds like reverb to me, but I think that could be really interesting used in the right way. I actually really dig the music so that isn’t it either. I think what it boils down to is that it feels like she is just shouting at me. Now stick with me here because this is the soul bearing part. It turns out that I have a huge double standard. I can listen to a man scream into a microphone and find it earnest and impassioned. I listen to a woman scream into the microphone and I find that I want her to tone it down, pretty it up, not be so emotional. Oh fuck, how did I get to be so sexist?! And now you know my deepest shame. It turns out that I want to smash the patriarchy but in a nice (and more melodic) way, which is really not smashing it at all but just succumbing to my programming. I’m giving this album 5 stars and I will keep listening to it because this album, more than any other, has made me think about myself and how I view the world and who taught me to view it the way that I do. It turns out I disliked Sleater-Kinney because it feels like an exposed nerve, which I think is kind of the point. And one that I want to keep exposing.
58 likes
Fatboy Slim
2/5
This album spans the generations. It managed to annoy me AND a carpool full of middle schoolers.
49 likes
Fugees
5/5
Intelligent, a little angry, and with effortless cool. Perfection.
“So while you fuming, I’m consuming mango juice under Polaris
You’re just embarrassed 'cause it's your last tango in Paris
And even after all my logic and my theory
I add a ‘motherfucker’ so you ignant niggas hear me”
Mic drop
27 likes
Pulp
1/5
I don't hate the music the whole time, but I really HATE the lyrics. Every song is about revenge or sex or sex for revenge. And then there is the rape fantasy. "Oh I really love it when you tell me to stop, Oh it's turning me on." All the lyrics do for me is turn me off.
23 likes
The Slits
1/5
I found that I was relieved when my phone unexpectedly lost connection and the music was paused, I preferred the sweet sweet silence to this.
17 likes
1-Star Albums (64)
All Ratings
Eminem
3/5
Eurythmics
1/5
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
2/5
Johnny Cash
3/5
Taylor Swift
4/5
The Jesus And Mary Chain
2/5
Coldplay
4/5
Rush
3/5
Brian Eno
2/5
Paul McCartney and Wings
3/5
Venom
1/5
Some of the industrial music on this list is worse but not by much.
Tina Turner
5/5
I forgot how much I like Tina’s voice. I wouldn’t skip any song on this album with the exception of 1984, which just made me laugh with how 80s it was (so maybe I wouldn’t skip that one either).
Duran Duran
2/5
I can’t unhear the saxophone now...
The White Stripes
4/5
Drive-By Truckers
2/5
Aretha Franklin
5/5
Cocteau Twins
2/5
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
The Saints
3/5
Aside from track 3 (yikes!) this is a fun little album.
The Cramps
1/5
It sounds like a blend of a bad Elvis impersonator and bad punk music. The songs were mostly boring until they got unpleasant. I prefer bands that make sounds that sound good together rather than making sound for the sake of making noise.
2/5
Elvis Presley
3/5
Cee Lo Green
2/5
False advertising, wanted more soul.
The Blue Nile
2/5
This could have benefited from some editing but it was fine for background music.
TLC
4/5
False advertising, wanted more soul.
The Byrds
2/5
Suede
3/5
I’m stuck between and 3 and 4. I hear things I like and it reminds me of The Smiths. Ultimately, I could definitely listen to this but no song really grabbed me so I guess it gets the 3 rather than the 4.
The Verve
3/5
Jane's Addiction
4/5
This is the link that gets us from 80s metal to 90s alternative. I only knew Mountain Song and Jane Says but this album could easily be could be on regular rotation.
Nick Drake
3/5
I would listen to this on a rainy day, I like his voice but I get bored by the end of the album.
Sleater-Kinney
5/5
Lots of feelings and vulnerabilities exposed with this one. I first heard Sleater-Kinney when they opened for Pearl Jam in 2003. I was…not a fan. My ears felt assaulted. In the almost 20 years since I first heard them, I have tried several times to like them. I SHOULD like them because they have all the pieces of a band I should love. Women who rock and pull no punches. A sound that is unique and a message I can get behind. I can’t quite figure out what I turns me off so much and I have spent way too much time pondering this question. I thought at first that it was the way her voice sounds like reverb to me, but I think that could be really interesting used in the right way. I actually really dig the music so that isn’t it either. I think what it boils down to is that it feels like she is just shouting at me. Now stick with me here because this is the soul bearing part. It turns out that I have a huge double standard. I can listen to a man scream into a microphone and find it earnest and impassioned. I listen to a woman scream into the microphone and I find that I want her to tone it down, pretty it up, not be so emotional. Oh fuck, how did I get to be so sexist?! And now you know my deepest shame. It turns out that I want to smash the patriarchy but in a nice (and more melodic) way, which is really not smashing it at all but just succumbing to my programming. I’m giving this album 5 stars and I will keep listening to it because this album, more than any other, has made me think about myself and how I view the world and who taught me to view it the way that I do. It turns out I disliked Sleater-Kinney because it feels like an exposed nerve, which I think is kind of the point. And one that I want to keep exposing.
Prince
3/5
I appreciate the constant creative experimentation; however, I like other work from Prince more.
Kendrick Lamar
4/5
It was interesting to wait until after we got 50 Cent to go back and rate Kendrick Lamar. Both benefited from the guidance and executive production of Dr. Dre but they could not be more different. Where 50 Cent was very one note (just pure aggression), Kendrick Lamar was all over the place, exploring different themes and musical styles. Not all of it works for me but it was captivating.
PJ Harvey
4/5
The Smashing Pumpkins
4/5
Creedence Clearwater Revival
4/5
k.d. lang
3/5
Stevie Wonder
2/5
Love superstition, wish there was more of that funk groove on this album.
Big Brother & The Holding Company
3/5
I had never heard of Big Brother & the Holding Co, but this is the classic rock sound I love (plus no one sounds like Janis). Pass me the bowl, I can listen to this and chill all day.
Fugees
5/5
Intelligent, a little angry, and with effortless cool. Perfection.
“So while you fuming, I’m consuming mango juice under Polaris
You’re just embarrassed 'cause it's your last tango in Paris
And even after all my logic and my theory
I add a ‘motherfucker’ so you ignant niggas hear me”
Mic drop
Nitin Sawhney
3/5
Gary Numan
2/5
This album may technically be 70s but the synth heavy sound came to define the 80s pop music. Just not my thing.
Fela Kuti
2/5
The xx
3/5
Easy, chill background music.
The Slits
1/5
I found that I was relieved when my phone unexpectedly lost connection and the music was paused, I preferred the sweet sweet silence to this.
2/5
Stan Getz
3/5
Pixies
5/5
Love the variety and “Hey” is on just about every mixed tape I ever made.
Billy Bragg
2/5
This one is mixed for me, I like some of the music but I think I would like it more with a different lead singer.
Anita Baker
2/5
Great voice, the 80s easy listening is not my thing.
The Coral
3/5
I feel like someone took a bunch of music that I like, chopped it into jigsaw pieces, and then put it back together randomly. Too disjointed for me to really get into, the album was bookended by some songs with lyrics that were pretty terrible, but I enjoyed dreaming of you.
The Police
3/5
Fugazi
4/5
The Rolling Stones
4/5
Classic, love the bluesy influences.
Soft Cell
1/5
One star for my daughter repeatedly asking me what a sex store is because of this album.
4/5
Maybe it’s the pop-punk loving side of me, but I really enjoyed this album, especially the first and last tracks sung by the female vocalist. I liked the blend of 50s rock with the driving pace of punk. This is the more palatable version of what The Cramps were trying to achieve. I waffled between 3 and 4 stars and ended at 4 because I want to look up more music by X.
Anthrax
1/5
I can handle the music for a couple songs, I can’t handle the “singing”. I just can’t get sit through more than a couple tracks, so it’s a hard pass from me.
Röyksopp
2/5
Fleetwood Mac
5/5
Embarrassing truth, I have never listened to this album before, I have never even actively chosen to listen to Fleetwood Mac…and yet I knew all but 3 songs. A testament to the song writing that every song was such a big hit that I knew them anyway. This album is pervasive in our culture’s collective consciousness for a reason.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
2/5
The Young Gods
1/5
Parts of this reminded of the boat tunnel scene in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It got weird, dark, a little creepy, and altogether unpleasant.
Billy Bragg
4/5
Much more pleasant than the solo Billy Bragg album.
The Chemical Brothers
3/5
I had this album on in the background for many a homework session in high school because it’s not too slow but also not too distracting. Background music is all its good for though.
The Specials
3/5
I like the ska sound (4 stars) and dislike the lead singers voice on many of the tracks (2 stars). I guess that leaves me with an average rating of 3 stars.
Pink Floyd
3/5
Happy Mondays
3/5
Jane Weaver
3/5
Buena Vista Social Club
3/5
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
2/5
Joni Mitchell
5/5
Orbital
2/5
Shhhhh! I almost turned this off within the first track. Any time they sample someone speaking it loses a star as it interferes with my ability to let this fade into background music.
Ray Price
1/5
Coldplay
4/5
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
1/5
This might be my least favorite of the way too many Nick Cave albums on this list. Telling that the song I liked best was a Dylan cover sung by vocalists I like more than Nick Cave.
Arctic Monkeys
4/5
Don McLean
3/5
Vincent is pretty song, the title track is all too familiar. Nothing else really caught my ear.
Patti Smith
3/5
The Flaming Lips
3/5
Incredible Bongo Band
3/5
Upbeat and fun if not exactly original.
Turbonegro
3/5
These guys desperately want to be more hard core than they are. They end up sounding a little juvenile ("Don't Say Motherfucker, Motherfucker" and "Good Head") but ultimately this is a fun little album if you just roll your eyes at how seriously they want to take themselves.
Sepultura
1/5
The Teardrop Explodes
3/5
Meh, it’s fine. But is it just me or did all the songs have the same speed/drumbeat?
Blue Cheer
2/5
Could have been good with a little self-control.
The Smiths
4/5
The Smashing Pumpkins
5/5
While, as others have pointed out, this album is less polished than melancholy, I find that to be a point in its favor. I like that’s it’s a little more raw, a little more rough around the edges. I love this album. I find Disarm to be hauntingly beautiful. All in all, this album is so quintessentially 90s and yet has so many levels it keeps me coming back.
Erykah Badu
2/5
I varied between it fading into the background and actively wanting to switch it off. It was a mash-up of spoken word poetry, jazz, and soul that ultimately I just don’t get.
Frank Sinatra
3/5
The Byrds
3/5
Motörhead
2/5
Guitar is great, recording quality not so much. Don't put a live album on the list unless the quality is better than this.
Dr. Dre
3/5
Beats hold up, lyrics not so much.
Green Day
5/5
Riley says 5 stars and I agree. I have a soft spot in my heart for pop punk and Green Day does it better than anyone. Jesus of Suburbia is like a microcosm of the whole album, a tiny pop punk rock opera all on its own. Even if you don’t love them, you have to appreciate the ambition here.
Goldie
4/5
Primal Scream
2/5
The White Stripes
3/5
Not as good as Elephant
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
4/5
The harmonies always blow me away. Sometimes the song writing veers too far into a country sound I don’t enjoy as much.
Radiohead
5/5
I first heard a song from this album, Fake Plastic Trees, in the movie Clueless staring Paul Rudd and some other people. This movie, and the Baz Luhrmann version of Romeo and Juliet (starring Paul Rudd!) which also featured a Radiohead song (Talk Show Host), introduced me to Radiohead and led me to an album that has become one of my top 5 favorite albums of all time.
The album starts with a woosh like something is blowing in, then hits you with the guitars, and honestly this might be my second favorite opening to an album (behind the base line for Seven Nation Army). I get excited every time I hear that woosh because I know what is coming next. The layers of sound! The guitars get loud like an arena rock show, then soft again, always layered in a way that is indicative of how experimental they are/will continue to be. At times you get flavors of U2, Oasis, REM, and yet they have a sound that is uniquely their own.
The music is always vulnerable, eerie at times, angry at times, and broken in the most hauntingly amazing way. I am a lyric person but despite the fact that I can't tell what Thom Yorke is saying 80% of the time, the combination of his voice and the music transcend the often unintelligible lyrics. The snippets of what come through can be devastating. The rejection of the fame/attention, the futility of life, and the intense longing to belong. The optimism and positivity is cut with cynicism (Nice Dream) but you are quickly brought back up from the nihilism of Fake Plastic Trees by the reverb-y guitars of Bones. They achieve a balance in this album that I can't find in many other works. Case in point is the fade out of Street Spirit which is a perfect contrast to the way the album wooshed in with Planet Telex
The Bends would be in my desert island 5-disc CD changer. It perfectly encapsulated my 90s angst while managing, like Paul Rudd himself, to never age.
Megadeth
2/5
Is it the most annoying thrash metal album on this list? No. I guess that is good enough for the extra star.
Al Green
3/5
The Allman Brothers Band
4/5
It's like a good electronica album. I can put it on, let it blend into the background, and really get shit done. Keeps my toes tapping and my fingers typing.
Caetano Veloso
2/5
Gene Clark
3/5
Nick Drake
4/5
Aerosmith
3/5
Screaming Trees
3/5
Television
3/5
His voice is the only thing that kept this from being 4 stars. I just couldn’t settle in all the way and enjoy.
Suzanne Vega
4/5
First of all, this album does not sound or feel like it was made in 1985. Second of all, the mid-90s success of female singer/songwriters owe a TON to this woman. Shawn Colvin, Natalie Merchant, Indigo Girls, Aimee Mann, Sarah McLachlan, Tori Amos, and even Sinead O'Connor. I hear Suzanne Vega in all of them. I like the songs where the acoustic guitar takes the lead more than some of the other synthesizer sounds. I love cracking, small blue thing, and undertow in particular for the guitar parts and for how intimate the lyrics feel. It might not be in my list of favorite female singer/songwriter albums of all time but it’s certainly responsible for them so 4 stars seems appropriate.
George Michael
2/5
Oof. I want your sex has not aged well.
Tom Waits
2/5
I can’t take Tom Waits in any more that very small doses, a whole album is too much.
Aphex Twin
3/5
The Cardigans
3/5
Delightful little pop album but ultimately too light and fluffy for my taste.
Sinead O'Connor
3/5
JAY Z
2/5
Jurassic 5
4/5
I can’t believe I have never heard Jurassic 5 before! Lyrics that play on grammar (“pass” participles), reference DDT, and Herman Munster? What’s not to love. They also have that almost jazz-like groove that I love in digable planets and de la soul. Thanks 1001 albums, this is one I will be coming back to.
Santana
4/5
Teenage Fanclub
3/5
Elliott Smith
5/5
I had to wait until an appropriately gray day to listen to this because Elliott Smith is not sunny day music. I only ever had Figure 8, but thank goodness this album is on the list because it reminded me how much I enjoy wallowing in his music. He is like the male Aimee Mann to me, not quite folk but folk adjacent, not the biggest voice/range but super emotive, distressed in the best way like soft jeans.
The Pogues
3/5
Haircut 100
3/5
I enjoyed this more than I thought I would based on the description of them as "new wave"; less synth-y and more jazzy. Really liked the almost a bossa nova sound on Lemon Firebrigade.
Q-Tip
3/5
Elton John
4/5
So Bennie and the Jets is far and away the best song on this album. Side note: thanks to Diana’s “cute boots” story, I only hear electric boobs rather than electric boots and it makes me laugh every time. I hated the candle in the wind song that got popular following the death of Princess Diana (so many Diana references today!) and I had no idea at the time that it was a rewrite. The lyrics about Marilyn Monroe were way less sappy and more interesting. Not interesting enough for 5 stars but listening to this did make me want to go watch Rocketman so I will bump this up to 4 stars based the fact that my interest has been piqued.
The Rolling Stones
2/5
I didn’t know there would be stones songs I actively disliked. I disliked dear doctor. Jigsaw puzzle went on way too long. Factory girl was out of place. The intro to sympathy for the devil is iconic and got me all pumped but the rest of the album was a let down.
Bee Gees
2/5
Boring and too long. No wonder they made the pivot to disco.
Gotan Project
3/5
The Smiths
3/5
Herbie Hancock
2/5
Miriam Makeba
4/5
Missy Elliott
4/5
I don’t know if it’s the slower pace, the beats, or the samples used, but this is undeniably 90s and that it comfortingly familiar even when I have never heard any track beyond The Rain. Is this the best hip hop album? No. Would I put this on while I get shit done. Absolutely. I hover between 3 and 4 but I think pure nostalgia bumps this up to 4.
Finley Quaye
2/5
Ok, trip hop reggae, this could be interesting. I am not sure it really worked.
Blur
2/5
Oh Blur, there are some moments where I like the music and then you go and ruin it with something I actively dislike. You could be so much better.
Simon & Garfunkel
4/5
I realized that A) I have this album on tape that a friend in high school made for me but I had no idea the tape he made was a straight album; and B) he must have run out of room on that one side because I have never heard the last 3 tracks before.
Public Enemy
3/5
Waylon Jennings
2/5
Johnny Cash
3/5
This one is a little longer and has some slower stuff than "At San Quentin". This one just generally seems less rowdy. This version of Jackson with super growly June Carter is the best though.
Bon Jovi
3/5
I think I might like Bon Jovi?! At least for walking the dog. It kept me moving and I didn’t get bored. I could do without the intro to Social Disease though.
Rod Stewart
3/5
Meh. The only song I really liked was Maggie May. I do like a lot of the guitar, but his voice really doesn’t do it for me.
Roxy Music
3/5
The Only Ones
2/5
Pavement
4/5
Frank Sinatra
3/5
Thin Lizzy
3/5
Charles Mingus
3/5
The Everly Brothers
3/5
This is fine for what it is, the whited-down, I mean watered-down version of early rock and roll. I'd head to the hop and twist the night away listening to this.
Iron Butterfly
2/5
Huh, I thought Iron Butterfly would be heavier. More guitar driven. Disappointed.
Pulp
1/5
I don't hate the music the whole time, but I really HATE the lyrics. Every song is about revenge or sex or sex for revenge. And then there is the rape fantasy. "Oh I really love it when you tell me to stop, Oh it's turning me on." All the lyrics do for me is turn me off.
Jimi Hendrix
4/5
I was skeptical as the initial track descended into staticky, sonic chaos. Good thing Jimi pulled it back from the brink. There are some true gems here. Little Wing, with one of the sultriest guitar solos ever made, just leaves me wanting more. The title track has big finale energy, great way to wrap up the album.
Jazmine Sullivan
4/5
Super authentic, perspectives worthy of repeated listens.
The Stooges
4/5
808 State
2/5
I don’t know a ton about electronic music but this was somehow both strange AND boring.
The Cure
4/5
The best of the Cure albums on the list although I probably would have enjoyed this less had I been listening on a bright sunny day. It's better suited for night time wallowing.
The Dave Brubeck Quartet
3/5
So it’s hard for me to rate jazz. It’s not my thing, I don’t seek it out, but as jazz goes, this was pleasant. Riley proclaimed it repetitive but I liked the variations on a theme rather than a bunch of experimental sounds that don’t tie together. Riley’s criticism was hilarious though considering she listens to the same damn song or album on repeat for weeks or months at a time.
John Martyn
2/5
Remember when I said jazz wasn’t my thing? This feels like guitar jazz. Is he saying words? Is he skatting? Who can tell.
William Orbit
2/5
Come on 1001 album random generator, give me something GOOD! This album suffers a little bit from being the latest in a line of albums that range from terrible to just meh. There is just nothing to get excited about here.
Cornershop
2/5
The Kinks
3/5
Pretenders
4/5
SAULT
3/5
I appreciate the concept, but ultimately the music is too repetitive to hold up well to repeat listening.
Van Morrison
3/5
Prince
4/5
Wilco
3/5
2/5
I would have told you before we embarked on this journey that I liked Blur. Somehow I owned a Blur album that I liked (neither one we have had so far have been it) but it turns out that growing up has meant moving on from Blue. While this album was better than the last one, it is still very hit or miss. The hits aren't good enough and the misses are too big for it to break even.
The Icarus Line
2/5
I like Spike Island, and then Getting Bright at Night through White Devil but Kiss like Lizards and particularly Meatmaker are bloody awful. They were so close to being more than noisy noise.
A Tribe Called Quest
3/5
Great vibe but suffers from being too one note. Scenario is the only song that stands out as being different on this album.
ZZ Top
3/5
Jerry Lee Lewis
3/5
Good energy but super short! I feel like the fans at this live show got shafted.
10cc
2/5
The lead single "The Worst Band in the World" failed to chart. Are they they worst band in the world? Not by a long shot based on other albums included in the 1001 albums list. But just because they aren't the worst band in the world, does that make them worthy of inclusion on this list? Absolutely not.
Prince
3/5
This one is hard for me. I like it more than Sign O the Times because it is less all over the place which made Sign O the times probably very exciting for people who were not me. I don't like it quite as much as Purple Rain; however, which means I should be giving this a 3.5 but our stupid rating system doesn't allow it. Fun fact, being in the class of 1999 meant that this song was requested and played at every high school game/function my senior year. However, it was NOT our official class song because the administration thought the line "I've got a lion in my pocket, and baby he's ready to roar" was too inappropriate. Of all the Prince lyrics about sex to get huffy about....
The The
2/5
Aimee Mann
3/5
Nirvana
3/5
Ok, I am about to get my 90s kid credentials revoked. Let me preface this by saying that I like grunge. I like the mix of rock and punk and all the grit and distortion that comes with it. But for whatever reason, I just could never get totally behind Nirvana. There are lots of songs I like (All Apologies, Dumb), some I love (Heart-Shaped Box), and some I don't really get but I'm willing to go on that ride (PennyRoyal Tea). But I actively dislike Scentless Apprentice and especially Tourette's (why is that possessive??). They are just noise for the sake of noise. Rape Me has always bothered me because it is supposed to be an anti-rape song like "go ahead and rape me but I will survive this" but you can't really get that unless you read that Kurt intended it that way.
Ultimately I feel like Nirvana is Ethan Hawke's character, Troy, in Reality Bites. Trying to be counter culture, anti-everything artists on the outside with a soft, sensitive center...but in reality Troy (and Nirvana) just aren't as good as people want to believe them to be.
OutKast
4/5
I love Outkast. I love their sound. Do I wish they bent their considerable talents towards worthier lyrical topics than their many conquests? Yes. However, contemplating the aftermath of those conquests as in "Ms. Jackson" makes it clear to me they have something more to say than just rapping about "Gangsta Shit" (but they can do that too).
Skunk Anansie
3/5
For the first 30 seconds, I thought this was going to be a very different album than it turned out to be. I dig the harder rock sometimes veering into punk sounds. Lead vocals are powerful and I like the strings on Secretly. Actually, the parts of the album (Secretly in particular) reminded me of Evanescence. They are similarly melodramatic, they both incorporate hard rock with orchestral elements, and they have powerful lead vocalists....too bad I can't understand any of Skunk Anansie's lyrics. Even reading them, they are gibberish ("skinny kack para, para dutty dykie nigga") so even if I want to scream along, I wouldn't know what to say. The lyrics leave this one at 3 stars but there were some pleasant surprises with this one.
Killing Joke
2/5
I did not enjoy this album until The Wait which is track 5. Aptly named.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
4/5
Fiona Apple
5/5
I think I knew at the time (but I had since forgotten) that Fiona Apple was still a teenager when Tidal came out but this album has never sounded like a teenager wrote it. It is emotional, raw, and definitely more musically complex than the standard radio fare of the mid to late 90s. To teenage me, these songs were permission from an older, wiser, much cooler girl to be whatever I wanted to be, whether that was sultry, angry whatever. It's a message I still need to revisit sometimes and this album will forever be in rotation for me.
Queen
4/5
Huh, turns out I enjoy Queen even when I only recognize one of the songs.
The Go-Betweens
3/5
Iggy Pop
3/5
Frank Ocean
4/5
I might need to listen to this album a few more times before I can figure out how I really feel about it. My first impression is that the back half (from Pyramid on) is really in the groove but now I need to go back and listen to the first half. The fact that I WANT to listen to this album a few more times to figure out how I feel about it speaks volumes when compared to so many other albums on this list.
Various Artists
3/5
Listening to jaunty Christmas music in March (because I forgot to rate the album when it came up on Christmas) is weird. It is marginally less weird than the out of tune Christmas music that emanates from the run-down ice cream truck that rolls through my neighborhood on sunny days. Some of these (Christmas (Baby Please Come Home and Winter Wonderland) are the tracks that you hear ubiquitously as soon as Halloween is over and some I had never heard (and really never need to hear again). I will stick to listening to Christmas music during the month of December (except for the ice cream truck).
System Of A Down
3/5
I honestly don’t know why I like this better than the other thrash metal on this list, but I do. Which is still only good enough for 3 stars.
The Band
3/5
Almost a 2 because of any song with lead vocals by Richard Manuel. I much prefer Helm’s voice.
Faust
2/5
Jefferson Airplane
3/5
Isaac Hayes
3/5
ABBA
3/5
I don’t know if I will ever actively seek out ABBA but you can’t help but move your feet a little.
Thundercat
2/5
Stevie Wonder
3/5
Common
4/5
Radiohead
5/5
OK Computer is only slightly, ever so slightly, below The Bends for me as it skews more experimental and electronic than it's predecessor. But it still contains a lot of the guitar that I love about the Bends with a more dystopian feel. I was reading old reviews of OK Computer and someone called it “body music that circumvents the head to reach the spirit.” That's a pretty apt description of what both The Bends and OK Computer mean to me. Radiohead is one of a handful of bands for which the lyrics are only very distantly important. For me, OK Computer is almost entirely about the feeling evoked rather than the poetry expressed.
Sly & The Family Stone
2/5
Cocteau Twins
3/5
Gang Of Four
3/5
Travis
3/5
Grateful Dead
4/5
I would have told you I didn't know any Grateful Dead songs but I did surprisingly know a few of these, the best of which was Friend of the Devil. I was glad to listen to an album with normal length tracks. The live albums and 25 min of jamming for one song are unbearable. Since this album was pleasant and concise by comparison, it gets an extra star.
2Pac
4/5
This is the most emo rap album I have ever heard. So much self-loathing, anger, and hopelessness. The bleakness was actually kind of refreshing in a way. He definitely has an opinion on the nature vs. nurture debate.
X-Ray Spex
4/5
Fred Neil
2/5
The Lemonheads
4/5
Cypress Hill
2/5
Why does every track end up sounding the same?
Paul Weller
3/5
Aerosmith
4/5
Stylistically "Big Ten Inch Record" was jarring both for the lyrics and the sound. It's like someone plunked a Jive song down in the middle of a rock/blues album. Turns out there is a reason it doesn't sound like the rest of the album, it was a cover.
Simon & Garfunkel
5/5
Bridge Over Troubled Water is one of my favorite songs (the way it builds!), The Boxer is one of only songs I could remember all the words to when I was sleep-deprived and blearily rocking my infants to sleep in the middle of night, and Cecilia just always makes me happy.
Bill Evans Trio
2/5
It did not help that I was listening to this in the late afternoon when I was already tired but this is sooooo low energy.
Muddy Waters
3/5
Tracy Chapman
5/5
My family listened to this album on repeat. Nothing beats her delivery, she made me feel her pain even when I was too young to understand why she was in pain. Unfortunately, this album remains relevant.
Drive Like Jehu
2/5
Steely Dan
3/5
Sly & The Family Stone
2/5
The Black Crowes
3/5
Chicago
2/5
This album feels like the score to a show that I can't see. Despite the diversity of sound, I ultimately have no idea what is happening on stage or how the story is progressing so I lose interest.
4/5
First of all, the beginning of the song Morning Glory sounds like The One I Love by REM. How did I never notice that before? Secondly, how did his voice not annoy me in the 90s? Don't get me wrong, I still like some of these songs. Hello is underrated and is an excellent start to an album. Roll With It sounds like they want to be the Beatles while Don't Look Back in Anger actually sounds like it could be the Beatles. And of course there is the aforementioned influence of REM. It was a nice walk down memory lane, even if it's one I am not likely to repeat any time soon.
Frank Black
4/5
Love the Pixies, back half had more of the Pixie sound than the front half. The main problem with this album is the length.
Machito
3/5
Gang Starr
3/5
I haven't ever heard this but it feels like the jumping off point for Digable Planets and De La Soul. It feels a little more dated but definitely in the same ballpark.
The Velvet Underground
4/5
I am having a tough time with this one. There were moments of listening to this that were not entirely pleasant. But somehow they were unpleasant in an interesting way that made me want to listen to more. I can't figure out why that is, but due to the fact that I want to hear more, I am giving this 4 stars.
Orange Juice
2/5
New wave is just not my jam. I did wonder why Edwyn Collins (A Girl Like You) was stuck in my head and then I read that he is the vocalist and it made sense. He has a very distinct way of singing that really doesn't work for me. The best track was A Million Pleading Faces which sounded nothing like the rest of the album. One extra star for the drums and flugelhorn (you don't hear a lot of flugelhorn in pop music).
Fishbone
2/5
Kelela
4/5
Was digging this vibe. Fills the R&B hole in my playlist that is good for chilling in the dark (Imogen Heap, Frou Frou, etc). I could listen to Onanon on repeat.
Supertramp
4/5
Like a cross between Elton John and Pink Floyd. I enjoyed this and will listen to more.
The Band
3/5
Isaac Hayes
2/5
I feel bad giving this a 2 considering the cultural significance and the fact that the sound is perfectly pleasant. The problem for me lies in the fact that it was designed to be background to what was happening on screen. It is not designed or intended to be digested on it's own.
Leonard Cohen
1/5
This album feels like the musical equivalent of walking into a modern art exhibition and being told that a wadded up gum wrapper is the hottest new art piece. I don’t get it, which makes me angry because I feel like I have been conned. How is this the same man that wrote Hallelujah?! This album is a con job, it has to be. I was sold a bill of goods when I saw the name pop up and what I got was a saxophone laden eighties dumpster fire in which Cohen doesn’t sing so much as recite bad spoken word poetry.
Kanye West
2/5
Some of the samples and hooks are really catchy. It’s Kanye’s rhymes that are often delusional or just bad.
Songhoy Blues
3/5
Gene Clark
3/5
Jeff Buckley
5/5
1994 was one of the best years in music, maybe ever, and this album was part of the reason why. In contrast to the distortion and discontent coming from Seattle, Jeff Buckley made an album that was just as emotional and raw but beautiful. His vocal control is amazing as are his musical choices about when and how to use it.
Lover, You Should Have Come Over is one of my top 10 favorite songs and was on just about every mixed tape I ever made. I even wrote a psychology paper on that song in undergrad, got an A :). That sigh before the first note of Hallelujah gets me every time. He may not have written it, but it's most definitely his song now. The opening of Last Goodbye sounds a little like it was ripped off by Oasis for Champagne Supernova (the "how many special people" part). And I actually love the way that So Real falls apart in the middle and then puts itself back together.
This album is different and classic at the same time. Unlike some of the other music from '94, my love for this album has only grown and that speaks to the wide array of musical styles from which it draws inspiration. That range is apparent in who has claimed to be influenced and inspired by Buckley. Everyone from Adele to PJ Harvey, Radiohead to Lana Del Rey. Hell, Jimmy Page said this album was close to being his favorite of the decade and David Bowie said it was one of the 10 albums he would bring to a desert island. I gotta agree with the greats on this one.
Marianne Faithfull
1/5
The voice is a huge turnoff and I could not hate that broken English song any more than I do.
Common
3/5
More aggressive and harder than the album Be. I like Be better but I generally like his flow.
Daft Punk
3/5
Background music
Billie Holiday
4/5
I will always love the texture and unique quality of her voice.
The National
4/5
Public Enemy
3/5
They turned up the political and social commentary ("I Don't Wanna be Called Yo Nigga" is particularly interesting considering the pervasive use of the word in later hip hop). I actually like this better than It Takes A Nation.
Björk
3/5
Massive Attack
3/5
The parts I like, I like better than Tricky's Maxinquaye. Blue Lines is a stand-out but then Thankful for What You've Got doesn't sound at all like it belongs on a trip-hop album. Ultimately, I think both this and Maxinquaye deserve 2.5 so I will split the difference and give this a 3 and Tricky a 2.
Nas
3/5
Sade
2/5
Remember how pretentious-ass couldn't get past the saxophones to appreciate Tina's voice? I feel the same about Sade. I can't appreciate the voice and the general groove because all I hear is the sax.
Tricky
2/5
Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart
3/5
New Order
2/5
Garbage
4/5
This is a 3.5 star album. I am going 4 because I was so pumped to see them last year with Liz Phair and Alanis. Stupid pandemic.
Leonard Cohen
3/5
The best Leonard Cohen album on the list. Vibes are more Simon and Garfunkel than Nick Cave which explains why its my highest rated of the LC albums. Guess he should have stopped at 1.
Brian Eno
2/5
The Mothers Of Invention
1/5
Clearly these guys can play, but why they chose to play this is unclear. And really? A kazoo?
Bob Marley & The Wailers
3/5
Pink Floyd
5/5
Maybe the only example of prog rock that I can really get into. I didn't go into this expecting to like it more than than Dark Side of the Moon but man this is a balanced album and I love that they keep bringing it back to the same riffs. Feels very complete.
Funkadelic
3/5
The Mamas & The Papas
3/5
M.I.A.
3/5
I appreciate the unique sound.
Kraftwerk
1/5
Miles Davis
3/5
Ryan Adams
3/5
I used to love this album. It was my perfect rainy day music. Then came #metoo and a slew of allegations that he was a manipulative, abusive, lecherous fuck. Sigh. I can’t separate my feelings about the man from my feelings about the music. If I could, this would be a higher rating.
Led Zeppelin
5/5
One of the greatest rock albums of all time. There is both an edge and a sultriness to Led Zepplin. Maybe it’s the way they slide between notes, maybe it’s the blues influence, or maybe I have just seen dazed and confused too many times, but this album makes me want to do drugs and get laid. I guess I now better understand the phrase “sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll”.
Iggy Pop
4/5
The Rolling Stones
3/5
Jeff Beck
3/5
Rod Stewarts voice was made to sing the blues. Ol' Man River and Greensleeves were odd choices for this otherwise bluesy album.
Suicide
2/5
Milton Nascimento
3/5
Cheap Trick
3/5
ABBA
3/5
U2
4/5
Roxy Music
2/5
Adam & The Ants
2/5
Ray Charles
2/5
I love his voice but found myself getting bored
The Mars Volta
3/5
It’s not boring…
Kendrick Lamar
3/5
This album feels very ordinary, particularly when compared to To Pimp a Butterfly.
Van Halen
2/5
Violent Femmes
5/5
David Bowie
3/5
Leonard Cohen
2/5
I never quite get to loving LC. It's more like songs that I tolerate and hate.
The Roots
3/5
Underworld
2/5
Some of these tracks remind me of the background music that you would play in a scene where life around the main protagonist is sped up and blurry to denote the passage of time. Similarly, these tracks blurred together and nothing stood out for me. It was fine as background music.
Kate Bush
2/5
The Who
4/5
I never really got the hype about The Who, never really got their concept albums. But this is a solid album of rock songs, opening and closing with some of the best tracks we have heard from The Who. If there were more albums like this, I would get the love.
The Temptations
3/5
Deep Purple
3/5
Siouxsie And The Banshees
4/5
Peter Tosh
3/5
Goldfrapp
2/5
I literally almost fell asleep.
David Bowie
2/5
Red Hot Chili Peppers
4/5
I kinda love the RHCP but I know other people hate them (or at least feel very ambivalent about them). I have always enjoyed their more bass driven sound. 1 star off for anytime Anthony Kiedis tries to do that rap-rock thing.
David Bowie
3/5
The avant-garde jazz vibes (looking at you title track) almost downgraded this for me, but this is better than some of the other Bowie on the list.
Roni Size
2/5
Fairport Convention
3/5
Deerhunter
3/5
The first track had me worried I wouldn't make it through this album. Thankfully it got more listenable, but never rose to the level that I would actively seek this out to listen again.
The Chemical Brothers
3/5
I had this album. I did a lot of homework while listening to the repetitive beeps and boops. It was a feature, not a bug, but now it just bugs me.
AC/DC
3/5
AC/DC only has one level, 11.
Dead Kennedys
2/5
Kacey Musgraves
3/5
Dire Straits
2/5
Paul Simon
5/5
My first boyfriend was convinced that Paul Simon sold his soul to the devil after his failed relationships (with both writing partner Art Garfunkel and wife Carrie Fisher) to come away from those failures with Graceland. The album is a blend of such unique styles and sounds and it is amazing to me how joyous the album sounds despite the preceding failures of Simon's personal and professional life. My first boyfriend was not the brightest but he may have been correct in this case.
Germs
2/5
You know you are in for something fast and furious when you see 16 tracks in a total run time of 38 min. I guess this is on the list because its considered "the first full-length hardcore punk album" but maybe there weren't full length hardcore albums before this because people can't take that much hardcore punk....
Shuggie Otis
2/5
Dizzee Rascal
3/5
The Hives
3/5
It takes balls to declare yourself everyone's new favourite band. The first and last songs were the best on the album but even though they have a sound I like, I started getting tired of it.
The War On Drugs
4/5
Man, lead vocalist Adam Granduciel sounds an awful lot like Ryan Adams (but without the problematic personal life that I know of!), Yay for modern Americana that I don't feel guilty listening to!
The Young Rascals
3/5
Orbital
3/5
Ray Charles
3/5
David Bowie
3/5
The overuse of the saxophone on this album makes this feel dated but I like the funk undertones, particularly on Fascination. I still don't like Bowie's voice so its looking like Bowie albums have a ceiling of around 3 stars.
Hugh Masekela
3/5
Traffic
2/5
What did John Barleycorn ever do to anyone?! Together with Jethro Tull and King Crimson, I think it is really the genre of Prog Rock that must die.
Jungle Brothers
3/5
Sure it sounds a little basic now, but it is refreshingly upbeat and keeps me tapping along.
The Rolling Stones
3/5
How is the best Stones song (Paint it Black) on the most meh Stones album?
Elvis Presley
3/5
Bob Dylan
3/5
New Order
3/5
Nirvana
4/5
Fiona Apple
3/5
The Kinks
2/5
The Velvet Underground
3/5
Beatles
4/5
Peter Frampton
4/5
Is Peter Frampton Yacht Rock? "Baby, I Love Your Way" screams Yacht Rock to me but the rest is fine classic rock.
Love
3/5
Roxy Music
2/5
John Coltrane
3/5
N.W.A.
2/5
I get that this album is important. I also get that you grew up hard and you are a bad-ass motherf***er. I get it. But damn it is hard to listen to these sexist and derogatory lyrics now (ever?). I often wonder if the most popular female rap/hip-hop artists today listen to early gansta rap and what they think about it.
The Prodigy
3/5
XTC
2/5
Yes
2/5
The Cure
3/5
Robert Wyatt
1/5
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
5/5
It's loud, high-energy, punk flavored rock that set the stage for all the female fronted rock bands I love today.
Elvis Presley
3/5
Wikipedia tells me this is "the first rock and roll album ever to make it to the top of the [Billboard] chart." Even though I will never actively chose to listen to Elvis, I can't give this anything less than 3 stars for the cultural significance and for bringing rock and roll into the mainstream.
Badly Drawn Boy
4/5
Linkin Park
3/5
My least hated nu metal/rap rock album on this list?
The 13th Floor Elevators
2/5
Buffalo Springfield
4/5
Before I clicked play, I had it in my head that I would be hearing a different Springfield, Dusty Springfield. So I was confused but pleasantly surprised to hear the rock sound and male vocals on the first track before realizing my mistake. Despite my mix-up, I ended up liking this album more than a lot of the Neil Young solo albums on this list.
Derek & The Dominos
4/5
I don't know who this Derek character is but hooray for an album that sounds like Eric Clapton without the guilt of supporting a racist POS. Wait, did Clapton cover Layla from Derek? Oh Shit...Derek IS Clapton. Damn it.
Steely Dan
2/5
Joy Division
2/5
The voice ruins this for me.
Judas Priest
3/5
My least hated metal band yet? I guess that’s good enough for a 3.
My Bloody Valentine
2/5
Touched and To Here Knows When are bloody awful but if you can push past (or better yet, just hit skip) on those two tracks at the beginning, the rest of the album has that muddy, lo-fi sound that is so early 90s alt rock but not grunge. Not enough here to bump it up to 3 stars but I don't hate it.
Destiny's Child
2/5
Rage Against The Machine
4/5
Elliott Smith
5/5
Depeche Mode
2/5
The lyrics of this album are awful. The music is meh but the beats are repetitive enough that I found myself unconsciously tapping my toe so I guess that is something.
Dexys Midnight Runners
2/5
Not a great sign when my favorite track on the first half of the album is instrumental. Why oh why did Kevin Rowland ever think that "putting that 'crying' voice on" was a good idea?!
The Sonics
3/5
Nick Drake
3/5
A jazzy Nick Drake is different but maybe not better than a sad Nick Drake.
Cream
3/5
2 really excellent classic rock standards (Sunshine of your Love and Tales of Brave Ulysses), 4 really good bluesy tracks (Strange Brew, SWLABR, Outside Women Blues, Take it Back), 3 really meh tracks that were too psychedelic for me (World of Pain, Dance the Night Away, We're Going Wrong), and 2 real stinkers (Blue Condition, Mother's Lament) leave me squarely in 3.5 territory. Sadly, I expected more.
Morrissey
4/5
R.E.M.
4/5
Pulp
2/5
“You are hardcore, you make me hard.” There is nothing sexy or seductive about Barry or this album.
Foo Fighters
5/5
Def Leppard
4/5
Arcade Fire
4/5
Beyoncé
3/5
Led Zeppelin
5/5
I am less familiar with this Led Zeppelin album compared to their earlier albums but that is an oversight I plan to rectify. The four song progression from the bluesy slide guitar of In My Time of Dying, to the rock of Houses of the Holy, to the more funky sound of Trampled Under Foot, to the classic opening of Kashmir (even my 4 year old can’t help but bob her head along to this guitar riff) shows all that Led Zeppelin has to offer. Y’all know how I feel about Led Zeppelin 😉 and this album is no different.
Neil Young
3/5
Talking Heads
2/5
I guess I expected the Talking Heads to sound more synth-y (a la Burning down the House). The music was more rock than I expected but I guess this album was part of their transition. Too bad the only good song isn't even their song.
Sebadoh
3/5
I had a couple Sebadoh albums (Bakesale and Harmacy) and I have literally never met anyone else who has even heard of them, let alone liked them, so I was surprised as hell to see them pop up on 1001 albums. I also was surprised as hell with some of the sonic chaos on the album. I get that they were all “look at us we are so lo-fi and cool” but why make so many sounds that don’t sound good? Turns out there is a good reason why this album sounds like two different bands, all the songs I like are written by Lou Barlow and all the songs I don’t were by Eric Gaffney who left the band after this album and didn’t appear on Bakesale of Harmacy (if you like the first couple songs, give those other albums a listen). I wish I could give this album a higher rating because the songs I like, I really like, but overall it’s a mess.
The Jesus And Mary Chain
3/5
Creedence Clearwater Revival
4/5
The Go-Go's
4/5
LCD Soundsystem
2/5
First listen I did not like this album. 2nd listen was better and I got a lot of work done thanks in part to the driving beat of most of the songs but it still faded into the background for me. Split the difference, 2 stars.
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
2/5
Bob Dylan
2/5
Sorry guys, I like the music (why don’t people use a harmonica anymore!), but I just can’t with his voice.
Richard Thompson
3/5
Bruce Springsteen
4/5
5/5
Everything But The Girl
4/5
The The
2/5
Minutemen
3/5
Miles Davis
1/5
I didn’t finish the album. I feel bad rating it on a (very) incomplete listen, but I feel like the fact that couldn't finish speaks for itself.
Gil Scott-Heron
3/5
Bad Brains
3/5
I dunno, maybe this benefited from being short and fast after a couple very long and slow albums. At least this wasn’t boring.
Merle Haggard
2/5
So I like bluegrass, I like some country, I have even been to MerleFest…and yet Merle Haggard is not my thing. The slow songs kill any joy I get from the faster paced songs. I also prefer the music when he is not singing. I would go back to MerleFest though.
The Damned
4/5
Never heard of The Damned before but damn if I am not a fan.
Janelle Monáe
4/5
Janelle Monae strikes me as someone exceedingly creative and the album is eclectic and interesting as a result.
Tom Waits
3/5
Huh, so I CAN like Tom Waits. I was convinced after we got Bone Machine that I did not like Tom Waits, not no way, not no how. But somehow his voice works better on this slower album? Based on Jersey Girl, where he seems to slip in and out of his growl, it appears the gravel is a CHOICE. My throat hurts just from listening but this is an album that I may come back to when I need a good wallow.
New York Dolls
3/5
Little Richard
3/5
The sound is high-energy, it's classic, and the importance of Little Richard on the trajectory of both rock and roll and desegregation of musical audiences cannot be overstated. That being said, there are really only two songs (Tutti Frutti and Long Tall Sally sound almost identical while Can't Believe You Want to Leave and Miss Ann are slower but very similar to eachother).
Incubus
5/5
Lang said "I can see why late 90s, coming-of-age, angsty teens, who rejected the culture of the cools, would be in to this." His review was basically describing me. Incubus was my bridge between my 90s alternative roots and the emo of the early 2000s. I first got into Incubus with their preceding album, S.C.I.E.N.C.E, an often schizophrenic combination of heavy metal guitars, bass-driven funk, electronic/scratching, and Brandon Boyd's intense but also melodic voice was so interesting to me. Make Yourself is definitely more refined but still incorporates all those different styles. I take issue with the idea that at some point the angst should lift, I will never grow out of my enjoyment of screaming/singing along with Brandon Boyd.
The Jam
3/5
Alice Cooper
2/5
Van Morrison
3/5
My roommate in undergrad swore that Van Morrison was the best get-it-on music. I never understood. I still don't. Don't get me wrong, the music is perfectly pleasant. But this album is more likely to put me to sleep than put me in the mood.
Air
2/5
I am glad I waited a few days to rate this. I am flummoxed by the high reviews. Very few of these songs feel like stand-alone tracks, it feels like a collection of sounds that accompany and play a supporting role to a visual medium I can't see. I don't hate the general feel or sound but something is definitely missing (it doesn't even feel that emotional to me, perhaps because the visuals are adding that piece of the puzzle). It's funny we got Nine Inch Nails two days after this because I am no NIN fan but that album feels MUCH more cinematic to me. Instead of missing a piece of the puzzle, I can almost see a movie playing in my head during large chunks of the NIN album. Not so with Air. Ambient music is weird to me. How am I supposed to get invested in something that is purposefully so chill and designed not to grab your attention?
Taylor Swift
5/5
Hands down my favorite Taylor Swift album. Stripped of most of the big pop production, you are left with writing that is poignant and an album that feels much more intimate. Folk-y Taylor Swift is my favorite of her reinventions so far.
Nine Inch Nails
2/5
Everything about this album, even the chaos, feels like a purposeful choice with a specific point of view. It's emotional and demands attention. That being said, a lot of this album makes me feel a little ill. The opening lyrics of Closer make me deeply uncomfortable. The whole album is about self-destruction but that song and Big Man with a Gun very explicitly detail how that self-destruction violently drag others down too and the glorification of those darker thoughts have always left me on edge.
Lynyrd Skynyrd
3/5
CHIC
2/5
If you like a song on this album you better like it a LOT because each song is repetitive af.
Gillian Welch
4/5
I listened to this album a fair amount in the early 2000s. It occupies the same sad hole in my heart where Aimee Mann and Elliott Smith also reside. I can only listen to them when it's a little gloomy out and when I am in a certain mood. Gillian Welch's voice and harmonies are beautiful. I love the way the music highlights traditional bluegrass instruments like the banjo but with a dark twist. If I had one critique it would be that sometimes the music is so slow and soft it sometimes takes on a droning/dirge-like feel that can put me to sleep. Like I said, gotta be in the right mood.
Muddy Waters
2/5
Massive Attack
3/5
The Smiths
3/5
Belle & Sebastian
4/5
The Magnetic Fields
1/5
Maybe I was already pissed because I saw the length of this album. Maybe I was already annoyed because choosing to do 69 love songs is a terribly immature joke. Maybe I could have overcome those annoyances if it was good, but it wasn't.
Run-D.M.C.
3/5
It feels so basic now, but points for paving the way.
Adele
5/5
Adele clearly went through some shit but damn I am glad we got this album as a result. This album is a pop masterpiece with infusions of R&B, gospel, and soul. Her voice has a very unique texture and tone that makes every note ooze with her heartbreak, anger, and depression. By the time Set Fire to the Rain is done, I am emotionally exhausted, and it's only halfway through the album! This album will be in my regular rotation forever, it was a classic the moment it was released.
Jamiroquai
3/5
my first thought was "is that a didgeridoo?", my second thought was "is this jazz? funk? disco? lounge?". The answers are yes and I don't know. I don't know how to categorize this but it's fun to listen to, a huge juxtaposition to the apocalyptic warnings of many of the lyrics. Some of the tracks ("Music of the Mind") veer too close to improvisational jazz for my taste but the album is nothing if not unique.
Circle Jerks
2/5
Most of the songs just repeat one line over and over. I don't hate the energy, I hate the lazy writing.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
2/5
Michael Jackson
3/5
4-star album (too much unremarkable filler like Speed Demon, Liberian Girl, Another Part of Me and MJs ballads like I Just Can't Stop Loving You are really not my thing), but the real question is do I give it 4 stars when I can't hear a Michael Jackson song without thinking about the allegations of abuse? My ability to listen to his music is tainted. Lose a star.
The Cure
3/5
When I first start listening to a Cure album I think "Oh, I really like the Cure!" but I tire of it around 2/3 of the way through the album.
Lana Del Rey
2/5
I dislike when she sings in her high register with that breathy whisper (most heavily featured on White Dress but in other songs too), it is unlistenable. Overall I am not sure what the fuss is about with Lana.
Arcade Fire
5/5
This album benefits from the context in which it was discovered. I had grown very weary of what passed for early 2000s "alternative" rock and this album comes along and it was love at first listen. I had also just started dating someone really great so the time in my life when this album was on heavy rotation was rose colored for sure.
Led Zeppelin
5/5
I feel like I should give this only 4 stars just to differentiate it from the Zeppelin albums we have had on this list so far...but I can't. Their whole sound is just so iconic and while often imitated, it has never been duplicated. It is to be expected that the third album they put out in the span of less than 2 years will have some weaker material, and it doesn't matter because they are at such a high level that those differences are meaningless.
Sonic Youth
1/5
Oh and you know what? I bought another Sonic Youth album and it sucked... it's just noise. - Juno MacGuff
Maybe she bought this one?
The Byrds
2/5
Earth, Wind & Fire
3/5
Ute Lemper
1/5
Prefab Sprout
3/5
I like the first song. The rest of the album didn't quite live up to it for me but it was fine.
Ride
3/5
I generally liked it, it needed something more special to really get it over the hump to a 4. Nothing to complain about but nothing to get excited about either.
Solomon Burke
3/5
"Without soul, there'd be no rock, and without rock, there'd be no soul."
The Cars
3/5
Really a 3.5, I enjoyed this much more than I thought I would. This might be my favorite 80s album that isn't really an 80s album, probably because the rock is more prominent and the synth didn't totally take over.
Ghostface Killah
2/5
Mj Cole
3/5
Penguin Cafe Orchestra
1/5
Willie Colón & Rubén Blades
3/5
Jimi Hendrix
5/5
Queen Latifah
3/5
Jane's Addiction
3/5
Arcade Fire
3/5
Beck
4/5
I put Jack-Ass on a bunch of mixed tapes I made for people. I always enjoyed that that it was so different from the omnipresent Where It's At. The main draw of Beck is that he is not boring.
Dire Straits
3/5
Grant Lee Buffalo
4/5
Beatles
4/5
Can
1/5
Wikipedia tells me that Future Days distinguishes itself as the group's "most weightless achievement, perpetuum mobile, solar-powered in an eternal peach sunset, skipping over the tips of green coastal sierras, gulping lungfuls of delicious air." The description is randomly assorted words to which we are supposed to attribute meaning, much like this album is a bunch of random sound bits strung together to make "songs".
The Pogues
4/5
The Rolling Stones
4/5
Leonard Cohen
2/5
Supergrass
3/5
Mostly solid album. Loved "Alright", brings me straight back to the 90s. Hated "We're Not Supposed To", why do they sound like chipmunks? Averages out.
Stereo MC's
2/5
Sister Sledge
3/5
I wish every song wasn't so repetitive. Cut 1-2 minutes from each track and this would have been 4 stars.
Fatboy Slim
2/5
This album spans the generations. It managed to annoy me AND a carpool full of middle schoolers.
Koffi Olomide
2/5
Mostly happy upbeat music which is at odds with how he is described in his wikipedia article (multiple assault charges and a conviction for statutory rape). I have a history of docking stars for artists who use their status to exploit others and no exception will be made here.
Madonna
2/5
Oof, this album has aged about as gracefully as Madonna herself. Super dated sound, weird artistic choices (looking at you Act of Contrition). The title track is still solid.
Belle & Sebastian
4/5
Electronic Resistance seemed out of place at first but I was pleasantly surprised by the departure from jangly pop into jangly electronica.
George Michael
3/5
I listened to this back-to-back with Faith and I prefer this album to George's debut. They Won't Go When I Go was particularly nice.
Portishead
5/5
The whole album is a vibe best enjoyed after dark. It’s lonely and yet makes me feel like I am not alone. It’s hauntingly, achingly ethereal but also tinged with a sour regret you can’t quite stop thinking about. Glory Box is a standout for me but the whole album is perfection.
The Jam
3/5
Super Furry Animals
2/5
The Adverts
3/5
Van Halen
3/5
Femi Kuti
3/5
Carole King
4/5
Afrika Bambaataa
2/5
Neil Young
3/5
Steely Dan
2/5
Creedence Clearwater Revival
3/5
Jorge Ben Jor
4/5
Beach House
3/5
Michael Kiwanuka
4/5
The Last Shadow Puppets
3/5
Sounded like the soundtrack to a 60s Bond movie...which I guess is what they were going for?
Amy Winehouse
3/5
This is jazz where the main featured instrument is Amy's voice. I love the unique texture of her voice but the style of these songs is not really my thing.
Solange
3/5
The music may not hold my interest but the interludes and messages do.
Minor Threat
3/5
Can I just listen to an instrumental version? Strong dislike of the voice but love the energy.
Yes
2/5
No. Prog rock is not my thing. The Brahms was an unexpected surprise.
Keith Jarrett
2/5
I find the random voices very distracting. I kept looking behind me thinking someone was talking to me.
The Zombies
2/5
Was it an artistic choice to have this album sound muffled? Or a limitation of the recording equipment?
The Doors
4/5
The Yardbirds
3/5
Saint Etienne
2/5
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
2/5
Sarah Vaughan
4/5
Beautiful voice, I wish the recording quality were better or I was there in person.
The Replacements
4/5
Probably would have been a 3 but damn if Androgynous wasn't super ahead of its time.
Willie Nelson
3/5
Iron Maiden
3/5
Is Jack Black consciously trying to sound like Iron Maiden? Should they be flattered or offended?
Lauryn Hill
5/5
Can't Take My Eyes Off You is maybe my favorite cover ever, Everything Is Everything had an amazing video, and Forgive Them Father might low key be the best track on the record. It has everything that makes Lauryn Hill unique, the hip hop paired with her incredibly soulful voice and tinged with reggae. Her lyrics that are often about being authentic and her deep disappointment with other people/systems that are not genuine. Her confidence and vulnerability were all on display in this album and that resonated deeply with me as high school senior trying to find her footing and place in the world.
Def Leppard
3/5
I give Pyromania a slight edge. Hysteria veered a little more towards the pop-side of pop-metal.
Gorillaz
4/5
Gorillaz kind of defies musical categorization and seems to pull samples and influences from lots of genres which keeps it interesting. Ultimately, that inclusion of different influences results in a sound that is much more sonically pleasing compared to Blur. But I do feel like I am missing something by not seeing the accompanying visual art that is part of the "virtual band" experience.
The Monks
3/5
This album made me laugh, not sure that was what they were going for…
Quicksilver Messenger Service
3/5
Lots of great stuff here, but like all jam bands, it gets boring and hard to differentiate the who and what (the where was easily the worst)
Grizzly Bear
4/5
Grizzly Bear is at times very reminiscent of Fleet Foxes (Ready, Able in particular). It's good dreary day music but it took a couple listens because it tends to fade into the background.
Blur
3/5
The best of the crappy Blur albums on this list.
Madness
3/5
Blondie
4/5
Rush
4/5
Well turns out I like 70s Rush way better than 80s Rush. This has a classic rock sound...like what Jack Black sounds like when he tries to be super rock n' roll.
Metallica
4/5
If Enter Sandman is your entrance music, you better back that shit up because you are declaring yourself to be bad ass. As the best closer in baseball, Mariano Rivera backed that shit up. Virginia Tech uses Enter Sandman as the team takes the football field and the whole stadium is jumping up and down like the writhing snake that graces the album cover (spoiler, they do not always back that shit up but its still the most bad ass entry into a sports arena). Metallica, for the most part, also backs that shit up by delivering what has become kind of a standard against which all other heavy metal is judged.
The Kinks
3/5
Korn
1/5
Whatever you want to call this, nu metal, rap-rock, aggro-metal, alternative metal...it sucks. Look, I like to scream along as much as the next kid, but stop growling your lyrics at me. Wikipedia tells me people liked this album with Entertainment Weekly reviewer Jim Farber calling it "a big load of dumb fun" and said that "going to almost laughable lengths to mess with metal cliché". They got the laughable and clichéd part right.
Fleet Foxes
4/5
I feel like the album cover really reflects the album. From far away, the picture is calm and serene. Up close, there are so many intricacies. This album is really beautiful but ultimately I prefer my serene music to be a little more depressing so that I can really get a good wallow.
The Stooges
3/5
There is so much potential here and a lot to like. Ultimately, I bumped this down from 4 to 3 because it just didn't feel like a cohesive album. More like a starting point that could go lots of different directions.
The Who
4/5
I like that kept hearing reprises of the song My Generation throughout the album, it made it feel cohesive.
Meat Puppets
3/5
The instrumental songs are great. The lead singers voice is terrible. I don't love Kurt (Cobain)'s voice but it is miles better than Curt (Kirkwood)'s on the MP covers that Nirvana did for Unplugged.
Radiohead
3/5
3/5
Boards of Canada
2/5
Green Day
5/5
This is the album that kickstarted my little pop-punk loving heart.
ZZ Top
4/5
Mercury Rev
1/5
I am rarely (never?) tempted to go track by track in a review. But this album has so many different reasons to hate it, it's impressive so let's take this journey shall we?
Holes - The beginning screams Coldplay but like a crappier version of Coldplay...oh wait, is that a saw? wtf?
Tonite It Shows - It sounds like a song from a musical for a character who is like walking alone but then comes to some big realization. It feels very theatrical...but sung by someone who can't quite hit the notes.
Endlessly - Is that the saw again? Is that a chorus of people trying to sound like the saw?
I Collect Coins - Like an old timey jukebox running out of power and going slowing out of tune
Opus 40 - oh! this song doesn't suck...wait, why are they dragging out the end so much? stop ruining this!
Hudson Line - dear god the 80s saxophone and just 10 extra seconds of a single high pitch at the end. Why?!
The Happy End (The Drunk Room) - Is the drunk room in a creepy funhouse? What is with the weird stop in the middle where I was blissfully relieved it was over, but no!
Goddess on a Highway - oh! a second song that doesn't suck, let's try not to ruin this one at the end.
The Funny Bird - NOW you are self-conscious about your voice and singing through some voice distortion box? why now? Oh good, let's end this song with a bunch of random noise.
Pick Up If You're There - I didn't hate this one even though it was a little like a funeral dirge...until that effing saw sound again, and then for some reason an unintelligible answering machine message. Seriously, now you guys are just fucking with people, laughing at what they will listen to and call it music.
Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp - I don't have a huge problem with this song. But it's way too little, way too late....oh wait, 3:50 seconds in it ends and becomes a hidden terrible track that again sounds like the backing to a bad musical that happens in a creepy funhouse.
2.5 not crappy songs are not enough to pull this out of 1 star territory. Also they made me spend all this time listening to the songs again so I could write this review and I am spiteful about that.
Curtis Mayfield
2/5
Death In Vegas
2/5
Tears For Fears
3/5
Queen
3/5
David Holmes
2/5
The Black Keys
5/5
Genesis
3/5
Buddy Holly & The Crickets
3/5
The Stranglers
2/5
Started strong, but I was expecting a little harder sound with a name like The Stranglers. Ended up getting a very Doors vibe on some songs with that electric organ. Ended up being more silly than subversive.
Paul Revere & The Raiders
3/5
The Divine Comedy
2/5
Blessedly short. not my thing.
Beatles
5/5
Ella Fitzgerald
4/5
Songbook, phonebook, sing anything you want Ella, I will listen.
Alice In Chains
4/5
Its funny to me that on the list of "100 Greatest Metal Albums" in Rolling Stone, #24 is Rage Against the Machine, #25 is Metallica's Black Album, and #26 is Dirt. I agree with this order, but there is little daylight between these and I enjoy each of them immensely for different reasons.
Buzzcocks
4/5
Really dig the guitars in this, nice find!
Stan Getz
3/5
Manu Chao
4/5
I mostly don't know what Manu is saying because he sings in "French, Spanish, English, Italian, Arabic, Catalan, Galician, Portuguese, Greek, and occasionally in other languages", but despite the language barrier, Clandestino is varied and interesting.
Alice Cooper
3/5
The Pharcyde
3/5
Kanye West
1/5
It's hard to listen to this now and not see the mental health problems. It's like a sonic manifestation of his bipolar disorder. Couple that with his recent anti-semitic comments and listening to this album 10 years after it dropped feels more like listening to a cautionary tale rather than experiencing ground-breaking art.
Barry Adamson
2/5
Bee Gees
2/5
Not the fun upbeat disco Bee Gees you were expecting.
Sam Cooke
3/5
Sounds like a party.
The Isley Brothers
3/5
Everything But The Girl
2/5
I love Tracey Thorn's voice but I very much dislike the smooth jazz vibe. Her voice is the only reason this is getting two stars instead of 1.
Mekons
1/5
The spoken word of Trouble Down South and Psycho Cupid was off-putting. Darkness and Doubt had some twang that was completely out of place. At least on Abernant the twang verged towards irish drinking song. This album is a big No.
Peter Gabriel
2/5
2/5
DJ Shadow
3/5
I like the vibe but it never grabbed my attention to rise above background music.
The Modern Lovers
2/5
Poor man’s velvet underground
Christine and the Queens
3/5
Sufjan Stevens
4/5
John Lee Hooker
4/5
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
3/5
Culture Club
3/5
Sonic Youth
4/5
Sonic Youth tried their best to ruin a great album with last 30 sec of Mildred Pierce and the end of Scooter + Jinx. Despite them trying to ruin their rating, there is a lot to like and appreciate about this album compared to some other Sonic Youth on this list.
The Avalanches
2/5
Tori Amos
5/5
I didn't discover Tori Amos until Under the Pink (1994) and then I went back and listened to Little Earthquakes relentlessly. Tori was basically a different, less distortion driven way to express my teenage angst at a time when grunge music was dominating airwaves. Grunge and Tori Amos were two sides of the same coin for teenage me.
Metallica
3/5
Sabu
2/5
John Martyn
3/5
This one is hard to nail down, is it blues? jazz? pop? Sometimes his voice really worked for me (Couldn't Love You More) and sometimes it really didn't. Overall, I am more intrigued than turned off.
John Cale
2/5
His voice reminded me of Belle and Sebastian, but without the jangliness that makes Belle and Sebastian pleasant.
Marvin Gaye
3/5
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
2/5
Mudhoney
4/5
Ice T
2/5
Tom Waits
2/5
I can see how his voice works better for fronting a more pure jazz album like this than it does for Bone Machine. I just can't handle that this album is more like a live reading of a collection of short stories.
James Taylor
5/5
James Taylor's voice is a warm blanket, soft and cozy. I sang Sweet Baby James to my kids when I would rock them to sleep while Fire and Rain is my favorite James Taylor song. Even though I don't put James Taylor on much anymore, I know I can always go back and put this on and I'll have a friend to make me feel better.
Nico
2/5
Leonard Cohen
2/5
My 4 year old said "He sounds like a bad guy" and she is right. The title track gives me major Scar vibes from The Lion King. In a way, the music actually fits his voice better than some of the other albums we have had to listen to. That is the only reason that I am giving this an extra star and should in no way be misinterpreted as a softening of my dislike for this artist.
Marvin Gaye
3/5
Iron Maiden
3/5
This album sounded like the backing track to an awesome training montage in an 80s action movie. I'm pumped, point me toward the bad guys.
Heaven 17
1/5
The Divine Comedy
2/5
Ramones
3/5
Mudhoney
4/5
The Fall
1/5
Sonic Youth
4/5
Best Sonic Youth album on this list.
The Temptations
3/5
Eagles
3/5
UB40
2/5
Nanci Griffith
4/5
My family took a lot of road trips when I was a kid. We lived in NC But we drove to TX, Yellowstone National Park, and Rocky Mountain National Park at different points. Nanci Griffith was the soundtrack to these drives across the country and honestly I can't think of a better soundtrack to driving through the mountains and across the heartland of this country. This probably veers too far into country music for my taste these days but the nostalgia of it is strong, her voice is beautiful, and her music helped shape my love of blue grass even though I don't love country.
Boston
4/5
The Darkness
3/5
The Beach Boys
2/5
I can respect the musicality, but The Beach Boys is not my jam.
Jethro Tull
2/5
Flamin' Groovies
3/5
George Harrison
3/5
The Byrds
3/5
Red Snapper
3/5
Spacemen 3
2/5
I only ever noticed it when it was annoying, not for anything that I liked.
Jean-Michel Jarre
3/5
Way more space-y than Spacemen 3 (the album generated the day before this one) despite this album being released 13 years before the Spacemen 3 album.
Astor Piazzolla
3/5
Madonna
2/5
Spiritualized
2/5
The Charlatans
4/5
I don't know what they are trying to say calling themselves the Charlatans. Are they falsely claiming to have a special knowledge or skill? Are they frauds? I actually think that description applies much more to Oasis, but mostly because the Gallagher brothers seem to have an inflated estimate of their importance. I dig this rockier, more self-effacing version of Britpop.
1/5
I do NOT like the falsetto in the first track, and no matter if I like some of the punk music that follows, this recording quality is shit and the vocals are unintelligible.
Method Man
3/5
Simply Red
2/5
Nice elevator music.
Soundgarden
5/5
My review of Grace by Jeff Buckley referenced how 1994 was the most incredible year for music (Portishead, Weezer, Beck, Jeff Buckley, Beastie Boys, Green Day, Live, Tori Amos, Cranberries, the list goes on) and Superunknown is part of what made 1994 incredible. Chris Cornell is one of the best male rock vocalists of all time, his range is ridiculous, and his voice is just raw power. Soundgarden may not be my favorite of the projects of Chris Cornell since I prefer Audioslave to the more heavy metal sound of Soundgarden, but his voice is nothing short of 5 stars every time.
The Soft Boys
2/5
Juxtaposing harmonies with lyrics about insects laying eggs under the skin or the stream of consciousness lyrics of I Got the Hots, The Soft Boys are not pleasant to listen to but at least they are not boring.
John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers
4/5
Jimmy Smith
2/5
I literally almost fell asleep.
Bert Jansch
4/5
The instrumental tracks are the best. What beautiful guitar work. Soothing and cozy on a gray, rainy day.
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
3/5
I know it’s a lot of noise, but somehow, and I can’t put my finger on why, it’s not JUST noise and I dig it.
Weather Report
2/5
Mariah Carey
2/5
I respect her range but I hate how she uses her voice to sing in that breathy way.
Depeche Mode
3/5
Gram Parsons
2/5
Johnny Cash
4/5
I love when covers make the song something totally different. This is the case for most of the covers on this album. Hurt is a real standout. But Personal Jesus also stands out for just how different it is from the original.
Fever Ray
4/5
Lupe Fiasco
4/5
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
3/5
Neneh Cherry
1/5
Raekwon
2/5
Public Enemy
3/5
Well damn. This sounds old but somehow the message is still relevant. That is depressing.
Pink Floyd
4/5
I literally wore this record out. Money might be my fav Pink Floyd song but I think Wish You Were Here might be the better whole album. Pretty close though...
Dusty Springfield
4/5
I love her voice but I prefer the songs with more of the soul/motown vibe. I did not know until seeing the album cover that Dusty Springfield was white and I definitely would not have guessed she was English.
Genesis
2/5
Slade
4/5
Elvis Costello
2/5
Was ok for the first 4 songs and then hit a rough patch. The slower songs are particularly brutal.
The La's
3/5
Soul II Soul
3/5
Don't think I ever heard any of these "classics" in the club, but they were fine for background music. Back to Life is the clear standout and the only track that made me stop what I was doing and listen.
Miles Davis
4/5
This some how seems "jazzier" than Kind of Blue but I think I prefer the melancholy of Kind of Blue.
Metallica
3/5
I like the idea. I would have preferred leaning into the concept even further and making instrumental only versions of Metallica songs.
The Verve
3/5
M.I.A.
3/5
I generally like the vibe, problem is each song is so repetitive.
Wild Beasts
3/5
David Crosby
3/5
KISS
2/5
Janis Joplin
5/5
A singular voice.
Björk
3/5
Frank Zappa
2/5
Goes off the rails the last couple tracks.
Pixies
4/5
The middle third of the album was great. I have a special place in my heart for Gigantic since my roommate in college originally thought the lyrics sounded like "amphibian love" instead of "a big, big love". I still like to sing it that way. Ultimately, this album is not my favorite Pixies album, it doesn't feel as intentional as Doolittle, but I still love the Pixies sound.
The Who
3/5
King Crimson
2/5
Goldfrapp
4/5
Magazine
2/5
Lightning Bolt
1/5
Noisy noise a la Sonic Youth
King Crimson
2/5
This reminds me of Jethro Tull, so it gets the same rating.
The Incredible String Band
1/5
Rufus Wainwright
3/5
Ozomatli
4/5
Elton John
3/5
3.5 stars really. I enjoy Elton John, but sometimes it feels overindulgent. But maybe that is just who Elton John is.
4/5
Randy Newman
2/5
The best thing about this album is that it reminded me to go re-watch Major League.
The Rolling Stones
3/5
Jack White
4/5
The Stooges
4/5
Do I overlook LA Blues? Would have been a solid 4 without it.
SZA
3/5
Lucinda Williams
4/5
Her voice sounds like she swallowed some of that gravel road and I love it. Can't Let Go is a personal fav.
David Bowie
2/5
The title track props up this album.
PJ Harvey
3/5
Black Sabbath
3/5
Strange to think this is the album that kicked off heavy metal and resulted in much pearl clutching, I expected it to be more intense. Mostly it just sounds like a bluesy rock album with some kick ass guitar solos.
Dinosaur Jr.
3/5
Man, "Don't" kill my vibe! I was digging this fossil of the early grunge/indie rock era...until they went and blew it with the song "Don't". One star deduction for that monstrosity of a song and making it the longest song on the album was just adding insult to injury.
Abdullah Ibrahim
3/5
Booker T. & The MG's
3/5
Apart from the first track, I felt like I was at the enchantment under the sea dance before Marty McFly spices things up.
Mylo
3/5
Semantic satiation is a phenomenon whereby the uninterrupted repetition of a word eventually leads to a sense that the word has lost its meaning. Halfway through drop the pressure Mylo says morherfucker’s so many times it loses all meaning. Not only are the lyrics repetitive, the repetition of the same sounds renders this album nothing more than background music.
Holger Czukay
1/5
I am not a fan of krautrock. I am a fan of my pre-K daughter's song about being cool in the pool (to the tune of "do your ears hang low"):
I will stay real cool in my little swimming pool
On a sunny summer day, I will splash around and play
When I wear my bathing suit, I will be cool and cute
In my swimming pooooool!
The Cult
3/5
The Mothers Of Invention
1/5
The Beach Boys
3/5
God Only Knows is a masterpiece. However, I mostly dislike vocals sung entirely in falsetto so some of the slow songs I find to be grating. They are at their best when the tempo is a little faster.
Scissor Sisters
4/5
I am genuinely shocked this is from 2004, it mostly sounds like it could have been made decades earlier. Fun record.
The United States Of America
1/5
Steely Dan
2/5
The song that got me unconsciously doing a little shimmy was East St. Louis Toodle-Oo. Unfortunately, that is not reflective of the rest of the album.
Baaba Maal
3/5
Joan Armatrading
3/5
Oh so this is what a poppier Tracy Chapman would sound like! I guess Joan came first so technically Tracy sounds like her rather than the other way around. Either way, great voice, but without the emotional starkness of Tracy.
Joanna Newsom
3/5
So Bjork-y. Sometimes it works and sometimes its just odd.
Maxwell
2/5
Veers too much into smooth jazz territory for my liking.
Ryan Adams
3/5
This album screams America to me maybe more than almost any other on this list (sorry Bruce). It has a classic sound, a fusion of rock, country, and folk. I guess a man abusing his privilege/influence/power to prey on young women is not uniquely American though. Sigh.
Public Image Ltd.
1/5
They leaned into the sound from the wrong parts of the debut album. Not an upward trajectory.
Throbbing Gristle
1/5
So many different ways to make noise that aren't at all what I would consider music.
Tom Waits
2/5
Underground had a dark circus vibe that I kinda like. Ultimately, like other TW albums, this album is sunk by the voice that only partially works in a narrow set of circumstances (like on 16 Shells, a highlight of this album for me).
Michael Jackson
3/5
Japan
3/5
The Doors
4/5
The Beta Band
3/5
Cowboy Junkies
4/5
I am actually surprised I never heard this album before. It is squarely in my family's wheelhouse of country adjacent folk music like Nanci Griffith. I love the mix of an original song and a cover on Blue Moon Revisited. Ultimately, this band is probably too country for me to pick up much these days, but perfect for a passing time on a rainy day and a pleasant surprise.
Beastie Boys
3/5
Ramblin' Jack Elliott
3/5
Miles Davis
5/5
The best selling jazz album ever and with good reason. Even though I think this album is timeless, it's interesting to me that later in life Miles Davis refused to play anything from Kind of Blue because remaining static stylistically was the wrong option. But then why even make a jazz album? Albums are inherently static. Jazz is inherently improvisational and dynamic. It's a distinction that makes it hard sometimes for people to enjoy recorded jazz. Maybe jazz is always meant to be enjoyed live where the music can follow or lead the vibe of the whole room at a particular time and in a particular place but I do enjoy this album quite a bit. It is soothing and subtle and moody in all the right ways. It makes jazz accessible to everyone.
Louis Prima
4/5
Paul Simon
3/5
Ali Farka Touré
3/5
Tim Buckley
2/5
Clearly Tim Buckley has a great voice, but man could he benefit from some editing.
The Shamen
2/5
Sisters Of Mercy
4/5
Apparently I like new wave if its all dark and gothic. Who knew?!
Eric Clapton
3/5
Electric Light Orchestra
4/5
I was surprised how much I enjoyed this album, it just made me happy. I knew Mr. Blue Sky but not much else and I loved the emphasis on the orchestra and the combination with the pop hooks and falsetto harmonies that reminded me of the Beach Boys. The album felt grand and dramatic like Queen, but lighter.
The Beach Boys
3/5
I definitely found this album more interesting than Pet Sounds. The attempt to address heavier topics in the lyrics was laudable but felt jarring as it didn't mesh with the overall vibe. 3.5 because I am glad I was exposed to a different side of The Beach Boys but ultimately, I probably wont be revisiting.
The KLF
2/5
Justin Timberlake
2/5
I think the album is supposed to make me feel like sexy time, but it just makes me feels old. The album sounds dated and some of the lyrics are just terrible. JT can sing but what’s the point if words and music are mostly meh.
The Clash
4/5
fIREHOSE
3/5
Napalm Death
1/5
Dagmar Krause
1/5
As the first song says "It's not good, It's not good!"
The Zutons
3/5
3/5
Crosby, Stills & Nash
4/5
I like the songs fronted by Crosby best, more bluesy guitars like on Long Time Gone and Wooden Ships please!
AC/DC
3/5
My review of Back in Black was that AC/DC only has one level. That is an apt review of Highway to Hell as well. It's all just a Touch Too Much.
Wilco
4/5
Wilco occupies that early 2000s indie rock space where Conor Oberst and Ben Gibbard also reside. None of them have traditionally "good" voices but they are emotive and distinct and somehow just work with their song writing. YHF gets better the more I listen to it and thanks to the 1001 albums project, this will be back in my rotation more frequently.
Neu!
2/5
I saw this was described as krautrock and was dreading it. I saw this got not 1 star reviews and I was curious. Was it just me or did the first track feel like it could have been written by Mannheim Steamroller?! Is Mannheim Steamroller krautrock?! Anyway, not what I was expecting, but still not my favorite.
Grateful Dead
2/5
Likes: less twangy than American Beauty.
Dislikes: TOO LONG. 25 min versions of songs?! This is why I never listened to the Grateful Dead. This is and the fact that I never did enough drugs.
The Libertines
3/5
Hanoi Rocks
3/5
My Bloody Valentine
2/5
American Music Club
2/5
The album (maybe its the band?) is a little all over the place. Bad liquor is punky but transitions to Now You're Defeated which is in the ballpark of bad country. Occasionally he sings in a very 80s moan-y way but generally I can't place this as 80s which is maybe the nicest thing I can say about this album. I found Lonely to be particularly annoying. But I guess that makes sense, no one likes being lonely.
The Associates
1/5
Just no.
50 Cent
3/5
Ultimately, this album is fine but there is little that makes 50 Cent innovative. He certainly wasn't breaking any new ground with his lyrics which don't have any of the vulnerability, humor, or introspection of some of the other hip hop artists on the 1001 album list and his delivery is nothing special. My favorite part of this album was Patiently Waiting which featured Eminem.
Joy Division
2/5
I can't get past the voice.
Rahul Dev Burman
2/5
Kate Bush
2/5
There are times that the way she uses her voice reminds me of Tori Amos. I prefer those moments but most of this is just too experimental and not cohesive enough for me.
Lambchop
2/5
The Notorious B.I.G.
4/5
3.5 stars. I am bumping this up to a 4 because I gave Tupac a 4 and I don't want to further this east-west rivalry. Both artists were very talented and came across as genuine, often brutally so.
Metallica
3/5
Run-D.M.C.
3/5
I get this is important but man does it sound dated. The evolution of hip hop in the 5-7 years after this is huge.
Marty Robbins
2/5
Talking Heads
2/5
The Vines
4/5
I forgot I like the Vines. They were a welcome return to a more grungy sound amidst the rock played on the radio in 2002 (3 doors down, Nickleback, etc.). Does anyone else think the intro to In the Jungle is screaming out for more cowbell?
Deee-Lite
3/5
Dexys Midnight Runners
1/5
Emmylou Harris
4/5
Fleetwood Mac
3/5
Amazing that while I have never actively sought out listening to a Fleetwood Mac album, I knew almost every song on Rumors. Interesting that only one song on the follow-up, Tusk, even sounded vaguely familiar. More Stevie Nicks would have bumped this up, love her voice.
Traffic
3/5
Other than "Feelin' Alright?" this was just fine. There are lots of other 60s rock albums I would pick up before this album.
Big Star
1/5
Terrible lyrics, discordant sounds, rhythms that were all over the place...it's hard to see what was redeeming/interesting enough about this album to warrant a place on this list.
Pixies
5/5
Einstürzende Neubauten
1/5
I was worried when I saw this was 80s and German. I was even more anxious after reading the blurb about industrial noises from self-made music machines. All my fears were well founded. If I could give this negativ nein stars, I would.
Doves
4/5
There are moments that remind me of the trip hop coming out of the UK in the early-mid 90s. And then there are times (Here it Comes) where he straight up sounds like Chris Martin from Coldplay. I like the niche they have carved out and this is one that I will be revisiting.
Norah Jones
4/5
Very pretty, but also pretty low energy.
Rod Stewart
3/5
Not a crooner, best when faster, more upbeat.
The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy
3/5
Well that was a lot more intense than I was expecting. It was like a hip hop version of rage against the machine. The beats felt old but the lyrics were still relevant. I have never heard of this group but they made me sit up and pay attention.
The White Stripes
4/5
Simple Minds
3/5
Dennis Wilson
3/5
Janet Jackson
3/5
Beastie Boys
4/5
Bruce Springsteen
4/5
Sepultura
1/5
Is there a Sepultura album with no vocals? I could get down with that. I'm glad I heard Itsari, that is about the only nice thing I can say about Sepultura.
Marvin Gaye
3/5
Slipknot
1/5
Bonnie Raitt
4/5
The Beta Band
3/5
Brian Eno
3/5
Mike Oldfield
2/5
There was plenty of this that was perfectly pleasant, but the naming of the instruments in track 1 and especially the growling in midst of track 2 ruined this for me.
Cat Stevens
4/5
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
2/5
Amy Winehouse
4/5
Bad Company
4/5
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
2/5
Used in the right way (i.e., used as a backing track to scenes in everything from Peaky Blinders, to a Harry Potter movie, to Ted Lasso) Nick Cave songs can be effective and even enjoyable. However, after listening to 4 albums of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds I am convinced that albums are not the "right way" to appreciate Nick Cave, which is best in small doses.
The Auteurs
3/5
Stephen Stills
3/5
The Waterboys
4/5
I was pleasantly surprised by this album, an album by a British/Irish band from the 80s that I had never heard of (dammit1001 albums, just when I was starting to give up on your over representation of British bands that never made it across the pond, now I can't quit you)! The mix of traditional Irish music with rock made this album sound like it could have been plucked from the late 2000s/early 2010s indie folk revival and I am here for it. From the Wikipedia article, this album may have represented a departure from a bigger 80s rock sound but I will be checking out more of their catalogue to see if I can find more like this.
Laura Nyro
3/5
Klaxons
3/5
Fairport Convention
3/5
Interesting blend of traditional folk and some psychedelic rock.
Tim Buckley
3/5
Elbow
3/5
If Sting and Coldplay had a baby band, it would be Elbow. They briefly get divorced in "Grounds for Divorce" but then get back together (for the child). Grounds for Divorce is by far my favorite song, probably because it doesn't sound like the rest of the album and it sounds like it could be on a Black Keys album or something.
Doves
3/5
I think I prefer Lost Souls but Caught by the River was a bright spot for me.
Laibach
1/5
Alanis Morissette
5/5
It's a little shocking that I never owned this album. It was squarely in my wheelhouse as a teenage girl in the mid-90s. Maybe I never felt the need to own it because I heard it everywhere. Upon my first real listening of this album, a few decades removed from being a teenager, I am transported to the feelings of angst rooted in contradiction, and the euphoric relief that someone finally said all the things. My favorite line from a review of Jagged, the documentary based on Jagged Little Pill, is that Alanis wasn't just giving concerts — she was a herald, bringing the news about all the things women were not going to be quiet about anymore. This album feels more confessional than angry but I think that makes it even more compelling. Two of my favorite tracks are ones that weren't singles and are therefore new to me, Perfect and Right Through You, and I wonder if part of the reason these cut so deep is that I have gone from being a teenage girl to raising one.
I think this album falls off a bit towards the end, but this album still deserves 5 stars for how influential it was. Alanis was a herald in more ways than one. The documentary Jagged makes note of the fact that there was basically a very small quota for the number of female artists getting airtime and they weren't allowed to play female artists back-to-back. Alanis helped open the doors for more female artists to break into the mainstream and my female-artist dominated playlists thank her for that.
John Lennon
4/5
I was underwhelmed upon first listen. But if I skip Imagine, which suffers from being one of the most overplayed songs and feels contrived as a result, there is a lot of like here. Surprisingly, Oh Yoko! might be my favorite track, the jangly piano is a harbinger of the brit-pop of the mid-2000s.
Leftfield
3/5
There is a lot to like about this album but ultimately it never rose above background music for me unless it was for a negative reason that took me out of the flow (looking at you incessant beeping in Original). Solid 3.5 but probably wont be revisiting since there are other triphop albums I would pull up first when in that mood.
Neil Young
3/5
Sometimes Neil Youngs voice works (harmonies) but a lot of the time it sounds like he is straining and its not pleasant. Southern Man was the highlight of this album for me.
Ministry
2/5
Definitely not the worst metal album on this list. Some of the guitar parts were even enjoyable. Not enjoyable enough to make me ever choose to listen to this again.
Radiohead
4/5
This album makes me want to sit in dark room and feel all the feelings. Not my favorite Radiohead album but even a lesser Radiohead album is 4 stars.
The Strokes
4/5
I remember this album cutting through the noise that was rock radio in early 2000s and being so refreshing.
Lloyd Cole And The Commotions
3/5
Robbie Williams
3/5
Blah Blah Blah, wait...did he just say "cover me in your golden shower"? what am I listening to?! Some strange lyrical choices but mostly this album is just very meh.
Brian Wilson
2/5
CHIC
2/5
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
2/5
The Human League
3/5
Throwing Muses
5/5
1001 albums for the win! I greatly enjoyed this album by a band I was only peripherally aware of as they related to Belly and Kim Deal/The Breeders/The Pixies. The album is all over the place but in the best way, like one of those brightly colored rubber bouncy balls. Energy that can't be contained. I hear elements of Sleater-Kinney and even Liz Phair (even more apparent on later albums). Great find, I have already listened to two other Throwing Muses albums as a result.
Wu-Tang Clan
4/5
Listening to the little skits and intros makes me laugh, partly because these guys are having fun together, and partly because I remember all the middle-class white boys in the 90s listening to Wu-Tang and trying to pretend they were badass. But after laughter comes tears. Behind the bravado are lyrics which detail a pretty bleak existence "But as the world turned, I learned life is hell, Livin' in the world no different from a cell". I will probably always prefer the more jazz influenced hip hop like Tribe Called Quest, Digable Planets, and De La Soul but I can't deny or overstate the influence this album had on the popularity and direction of the genre.
Deep Purple
3/5
Deep Purple may be the most obvious evolutionary link between classic rock and heavy metal I have ever heard.
Missy Elliott
4/5
Rufus Wainwright
3/5
PJ Harvey
4/5
It is the moments of quiet that explode and the rawness of her voice that keeps me hooked. It is jarring at first but sucks me in and I can't stop listening.
White Denim
4/5
Bob Dylan
3/5
Fela Kuti
3/5
Bruce Springsteen
4/5
MC Solaar
3/5
Björk
4/5
First half is a 4, Black Lake is by far my favorite track but after Black Lake is a 3. I guess I will stick with first impressions.
Ms. Dynamite
3/5
The Who
2/5
This album has a couple great rock riffs buried in a lot of meh psychedelic stuff that maybe I need to do more drugs to really "get".
Moby
4/5
Richard Hawley
3/5
The Sabres Of Paradise
2/5
This sounds like someone got an electric keyboard for their birthday and spent the day trying out all the sounds. “Look mom, I can make beats!”
Kanye West
3/5
Catchy, fresh, great production. Back before we knew how messed up Ye is, everything was looking up. Now I hate to give him streams or any attention. Great album but minus a star for all the truly terrible things he has said.
Morrissey
2/5
I can't with these lyrics. I actually enjoy Morrissey's voice, I just wish he used it to say something that didn't make roll my eyes.
Ananda Shankar
3/5
Björk
3/5
Beatles
5/5
Maybe not the "best" Beatles album because there is a lot of weird on here. But it's the album in my parents collection that I wore out. It's got my favorite individual Beatles songs and some fantastic storytelling.
Todd Rundgren
1/5
TV On The Radio
4/5
I don't know that I love this TVOTR album in particular but I DO know that TVOTR is my go to when I want to seed a new playlist. Their influences are so varied that a station based on TVOTR brings in a ton of great things (example, just started one and I got Spoon, Band of Horses, Beck, The Postal Service, Cold War Kids, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Arcade Fire, Metric, Modest Mouse...). Try it, you will not be disappointed.
Dwight Yoakam
2/5
Billy Joel
4/5
Big Star
3/5
David Bowie
3/5
The Monkees
2/5
People may say they monkey around....but they would be wrong. Monkeying around implies something interesting would happen. This was just boring.
Willie Nelson
2/5
I agree with Willie that these are great songs. These are maybe not great covers of great songs as Willie doesn't have the range for some of these (looking at you Unchained Melody).
The Afghan Whigs
3/5
Van Morrison
4/5
This is the best Van Morrison album on the list. There is an energy to this live album that is missing from the studio recordings.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
3/5
It was a grey and rainy day and I enjoyed this melancholy backing track. I can't tell if my enjoyment means this is the best Nick Cave album on the list or if I just needed the right setting for the other albums....
The Fall
2/5
B.B. King
4/5
David Ackles
2/5
Kings of Leon
4/5
Cyndi Lauper
4/5
I have been so disappointed by the Madonna albums on this list since I only knew the hits, but even only knowing the hits from this Cyndi Lauper album, this album is everything I want and expect from an 80s pop icon. Cyndi should have been bigger and Madonna doesn't deserve her rep, at least not based on the albums on this list.
David Bowie
4/5
I dislike slow ballads because Bowie's voice is not my favorite. But the faster, rockier songs on this album (and the minimal use of saxophone compared to other albums) are actually among my favorite on this list. I will likely not be revisiting Bowie but I am ending my 8th and final Bowie album on this journey on a high note.
FKA twigs
4/5
Great find, reminds me a little of the song Roads on Portishead's Dummy. A modernized 90s trip hop vibe, I dig it.
Sugar
3/5
Immediately identifiable as a 90's power pop, post-grunge band, which should be in my wheel house but leaves me feeling kind of meh. I just read that the Gin Blossoms have announced a co-headlining tour with Toad the Wet Sprocket. Sugar would fit right in on this tour.
Coldcut
2/5
Duke Ellington
4/5
The Police
4/5
Rocket From The Crypt
3/5
Bob Marley & The Wailers
3/5
Beatles
3/5
I guess this is what made the Beatles popular, but it isn't what made the Beatles pioneers and icons.
Django Django
4/5
Fun Lovin' Criminals
4/5
So I CAN like rap-rock, who knew?! This vibe is way more chill than the rap-rock of late 90s/early 2000s and it is as advertised, fun lovin'.
Franz Ferdinand
4/5
Franz Ferdinand is fun, a dancy follow-on to the grittier saviors of alternative rock like The Strokes, but I remember what a welcome change this was to hear on the radio rather than the nu metal that dominated the airwaves.
R.E.M.
4/5
Shivkumar Sharma
2/5
Deep Purple
4/5
Oh 70s hard rock, I can never quit you.
Beth Orton
4/5
Beth Orton sounds like what happens when you tell Delores O'Roidan of the Cranberries to make an album for Lilith Fair. After some reading, turns out Beth Orton played every iteration of Lilith Fair so that tracks. She sounds like a British Natalie Merchant...right up to Stars All Seem to Weep which definitely could have been plucked from an Everything but the Girl album. Overall, this feels like an album I should have/would have loved had I found it in 1999.
Arrested Development
3/5
Yes the album sounds dated, but some of these tracks really hold up.
Adele
4/5
More filler songs than 21 but there is no denying the voice!
N.E.R.D
3/5
Soft Machine
1/5
Lost me in the first minute, I could not make it all the way through Facelift. Please make sounds that sound good together.
The Clash
3/5
I expected punk. I got a weird mishmash of other styles. Probably wont be revisiting this particular Clash album.
The Byrds
2/5
Not sure the twang makes The Byrds better, or any more deserving of so many albums on this list. Twang is not my thing but at least it was different.
Hawkwind
2/5
Brian Eno
3/5
Led Zeppelin
5/5
The band's name was chosen it was suggested that a supergroup with Page and Beck would go down like a "lead balloon"...The group dropped the 'a' in lead at the suggestion of Peter Grant, so that those unfamiliar with the term would not pronounce it "leed". The word "balloon" was replaced by "zeppelin", a word which, according to music journalist Keith Shadwick, brought "the perfect combination of heavy and light, combustibility and grace" to Page's mind.
I love this story of the origin of the band name and they certainly satisfy with their combination of heavy and light. Combustibility and grace/flow? Check and check. Is there any music more sexy than Led Zeppelin?
Spiritualized
2/5
Are they trying to fill up the emptiness of the space they are floating through? The songs are too long, there are often too many layers of sound (ends up being discordant rather than lush). Too bad the the whole album wasn't more pared down. Broken Heart was a real highlight for me, but overall this album would benefit from some editing.
2/5
Elis Regina
2/5
Morrissey
3/5
Tom Tom Club
2/5
Red Hot Chili Peppers
4/5
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
3/5
Did not make an impression, but I guess that means it was pleasant enough that I didn't reach to turn it off. 2.5.
T. Rex
3/5
Aretha Franklin
5/5
Slint
3/5
Moby Grape
3/5
Public Image Ltd.
2/5
First 3rd of the album is pretentious garbage. How is Religion I even considered a song when Religion II is the same words set to music? The middle 3rd of the album contains what I consider to be minimally listenable tracks (Annalisa through Low life) and the last 3rd is experimental noise (seriously how do you even categorize Fodderstompf). I hope Metal Box (also on the 1001 list) has more than 1/3 listenable tracks.
Queen
3/5
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
3/5
LL Cool J
3/5
It's not really anything special, but having listened to Run DMC and Notorious BIG in the last few days, I am hearing this differently as the evolutionary step between the two.
Basement Jaxx
3/5
The Birthday Party
1/5
I will be stocking up on all the garlic, holy water, and stakes to keep away the "sex horror sex bat sex sex horror sex vampire." Definitely not inviting this album in to my home or onto my playlists.
Guided By Voices
4/5
GBV is something I listened to in high school as I fell down the rabbit hole of lo-fi, indie bands like Sebadoh and Pavement. I have a lot of nostalgia for the overall sound even when there is not one track that sticks out.
Scott Walker
2/5
Better than Scott 2. That is the only positive thing I can say.
Echo And The Bunnymen
3/5
Nirvana
5/5
My favorite Nirvana album and maybe the best Unplugged performance of the series.
Motörhead
3/5
Could have been higher, the guitars absolutely shred. But damn the vocals and the lyrics are bad to mediocre. Love me like a reptile is goofy rather than sexy and Jailbait has not aged well...
Pet Shop Boys
2/5
Best part of this album is the strings on October Symphony...which are immediately ruined by the super 80s laser sounds at the beginning of So Hard.
Pentangle
3/5
CHVRCHES
5/5
Chvrches is a weird one for me. I shouldn't like it. I mostly don't go for synth pop. I mostly don't like singers who sing in such a high register. And yet Chvrches is one of my favorites and my go to music to help pull me out of a funk. I have spent so much time trying to find similar bands and I can't quite find anything that is similar despite the ubiquitous synth pop sound. Lauren Mayberry's lyrics are constantly challenging her relationships, the way she views the world, and the way the world views her. Chvrches is a complete package and even though it makes no sense, I am drawn to it like a moth to the flame.
Joni Mitchell
2/5
Echo And The Bunnymen
2/5
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
4/5
Are there better Tom Petty albums? Yes, but Breakdown might be my single favorite song and this is getting bumped up a star for the entirety of his work, not just this album.
Queens of the Stone Age
3/5
Steve Winwood
2/5
Tortoise
3/5
The Good, The Bad & The Queen
3/5
Of the Damon Albarn albums on this list, this falls somewhere between Blur (2 stars) and Gorillaz (4 stars).
Harry Nilsson
3/5
I enjoyed this more than I expected to based on the dismissive album title.
The Undertones
3/5
Bobby Womack
3/5
Butthole Surfers
2/5
Little Simz
4/5
Super talented and I really like her flow, Venom is particularly powerful. Some of the tracks manage to sound fresh and throw-back at the same time (Selfish and Wounds in particular give echoes of late 90s).
Kraftwerk
2/5
Why do they ruin perfectly fine tracks like Spacelab with what sounds like a game of laser tag. They get an extra star because it was better than Autobahn.
Slayer
1/5
Sheryl Crow
2/5
I actually really dislike her voice, she sounds like she is straining. Strong enough is solid though.
1/5
I played this noisy noise for my teen specifically to annoy her. It worked. Bonus is that now she knows how bad music can be, so she is much more willing to listen to my regular music now.
Supergrass
4/5
De La Soul
3/5
I always think I like De La Soul, and I do, but the problem is there is not much differentiation across the album. They have a solid vibe but its only one flavor.
Liz Phair
5/5
Look, I get why this wouldn't hit today the same way, but damn if it wasn't amazing to hear a woman brashly saying all the quiet parts out loud in 1993. Teenage me needed to hear what Liz had to say. 6'1 is still her best song and F&R is still devastating.
G. Love & Special Sauce
2/5
I mean, it's pretty silly. At least it is unique? The 90s were a weird time man.
James Brown
3/5
Left wishing I could see the passion that I can only hear and imagine.
Britney Spears
1/5
This album is terrible. At least some of the other bubblegum pop stars blowing up at that time could sing. I never really got the big deal with her.
The Electric Prunes
2/5
Talking Heads
3/5
Really a 2.5 but the most tolerable TH album on the list so bumping this up to a 3.
2/5
This is somehow both peak Dylan songwriting but also the peak of the spoken word poetry delivery that I hate. Two discs = too many = two stars.
Beck
3/5
Tito Puente
3/5
Fun and high energy, but most of the songs sound very similar to me.
Kings of Leon
3/5
The Flying Burrito Brothers
2/5
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
1/5
Talk Talk
2/5
a-ha
3/5
Country Joe & The Fish
3/5
Sonic Youth
3/5
Eels
2/5
Dr. Octagon
2/5
Stevie Wonder
3/5
Terence Trent D'Arby
3/5
Talvin Singh
3/5
Could kind of get what he was going for, but ultimately it was too trance-y for me and that ultimately means it fades into background music and can't rise above 3 stars. Nice to hear a different set of sounds in trance music though.
Peter Gabriel
3/5
Radiohead
4/5
I liked this upon re-listening better than I remember liking it when it came out.
3/5
Turns out I don't like prog-soul any more than I like prog-rock. First couple songs are good and then we fall into jazz pretensions that go on FOREVER (or at least that's what it feels like). I can appreciate the musicianship, but it's not my cup of tea.
Thelonious Monk
2/5
Oh jazz, I will be so happy to quit you when this journey is over.
Ravi Shankar
2/5
Like a lot of jazz on this list, I can appreciate the mastery of an instrument, but ultimately this is not an album or a genre that I would return to for listening pleasure.
The Gun Club
2/5
The Prodigy
2/5
Pet Shop Boys
2/5
Ice Cube
3/5
The transition from It Was A Good Day to We Had to Tear this Motherfucka Up is a real gut punch. How are we still having the same conversations almost 30 years later?! That being said, the album sounds 30 years old and not in a good way.
Black Sabbath
3/5
This album starts in what feels like the middle of a guitar solo. A few too many "Changes" from their classic sound on this one (e.g., Laguna Sunrise was not an unpleasant surprise but it was not identifiable at all as Sabbath).
Pink Floyd
2/5
As I said when we got the Syd Barrett solo album, Pink Floyd was better off without Syd.
Hole
4/5
The 90s are having a comeback moment and I feel like the trend is seeping through to indie rock. Some of these songs would not be out of place on today's indie radio stations.
Mike Ladd
3/5
This album defies categorization. "Is this jazz? This is semen pizzazz." Somehow this one lyric tells you everything you need to know about this album.
Jacques Brel
2/5
Wikipedia tells me this genre is Chanson, which they also tell me is generally any lyric-driven French song. Too bad I don't speak French so the lyrics are lost on me.
John Lennon
4/5
Primal Scream
2/5
LTJ Bukem
3/5
Drum and bass by design fades into the background and can therefore never rise above "fine." Maybe I need to do more drugs to understand the appeal...for science.
Digital Underground
2/5
Dinosaur Jr.
4/5
More Sebadoh than Sonic Youth, I dig it.
Madonna
2/5
Overall Madonna has been maybe the biggest disappointment of any artist on this list. Making a name for herself as a maverick, the song on this album "What it feels like for a girl" just feels empty of any of that rebel spirit. This journey has taught me that I like about one album's worth of Madonna's songs across her whole career. Too band none of those songs are on this album.
Hüsker Dü
3/5
Huh, I thought with a name like Husker Du, this would be more hardcore. It’s very pop-punk but kinda blah pop punk.
Christina Aguilera
3/5
Look there is no denying Christina has a great voice. Its up there with Mariah Carey but I greatly prefer Christina's full throated and sometimes growly delivery to Mariah's breathy whistle notes. That being said, many of these songs are kinda boring, it took me so long to get to Mercy Me which is maybe the low key best track on this album. Side note, how does Christina have two albums on this list and Whitney Houston has NONE?!
Kate Bush
3/5
It's clear she was a big influence on Tori Amos but some of the avant garde arrangements (the stretch of Under Ice through Watching You Without Me are intolerable) keep this from being accessible for me. Better than the other two KB albums on this list but only because of Running Up That Hill (still prefer the Meg Myers version).
The Style Council
2/5
Wikipedia says The Style Council is "Sophisti-Pop". They got the pop part right, but not as in popular. Rather, they seem to make an album out of whatever pops into their heads! Some of this is really quite pleasant but the back half of this album is schizophrenic and off it's meds.
Julian Cope
2/5
Nightmares On Wax
3/5
Kings of Leon
3/5
When the second lyric of the album is "She's 17 but I done went and plum forgot it", I know this is going to be a hard album for me to connect with. I like the sound of Kings of Leon, I even like the way Caleb Followill's voice breaks. I just think they need better lyrics.
Love
2/5
The Specials
2/5
I enjoyed the debut album but I don't need MORE Specials.
Lorde
4/5
The Pretty Things
2/5
2/5
Bruce Springsteen
4/5
Beck
3/5
It’s like Beck decided to make an Elliott Smith album. It’s not bad, it’s just not Beck-y. Sad Beck is pretty but maybe not as interesting.
Dusty Springfield
4/5
Its hard for me to rate an album of mostly covers but I do love her voice on these tracks with more soul/motown flavor.
Stevie Wonder
3/5
I was today years old when I found out that Ganstas Paradise is based on a Stevie Wonder sample. I think as much as I can appreciate the idea of Stevie Wonder, the reality is that it's just not my jam, especially the slow ballads. An album with just the faster, funkier songs like I Wish would be a different story.
Pere Ubu
2/5
Les Rythmes Digitales
2/5
Oooh a techno album that doesn't just fade into the background! Unfortunately it was noticeable for all the wrong reasons.
Barry Adamson
2/5
Why is this on the list? The concept of a concept album isn't even unique on this list. Here's a concept for all those concept album artists, why don't you just focus on making music that sounds good?
Funkadelic
3/5
Side one: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Side two: ⭐⭐
I guess I take the average? Waste of a great start.
Big Black
3/5
4/5
GZA
3/5
Cold World is a standout for me. Too much forgettable filler.
Elvis Costello
3/5
Best Elvis Costello album on the list. Guess he should have stopped at one album, just like this list should have stopped after including one EC album (six EC albums on this list is obscene).
The Thrills
3/5
I'm actually kind of surprised I didn't hear this in college when I was deep in the middle of my early-naughts indie-folk-rock rebound from what passed for alternative music radio. It is pleasant enough, like a twangier Travis.
Girls Against Boys
3/5
Pantera
2/5
I legit thought the first 4 songs were just one long song. There is no variation in speed or sound until you hit the first half of this love. There’s some good stuff in there but it’s hard to hear when everything is turned up to 11.
Slipknot
1/5
Nu metal is just terrible. To quote one of the very few lyrics I could actually discern through the general growling, "fuck you all."
A Tribe Called Quest
4/5
Tangerine Dream
3/5
This album is a whole mood. Walking the dog around the dark neighborhood past creepy Halloween decorations is definitely one of two ways that you can enjoy the 17min opening track. The other is to be very high (I imagine).
Silver Jews
2/5
I like the lo fi sound but does anyone else feel like it was a hallmark of this time in indie folk that male lead singers be kind of crappy vocalists? Also the lyrics leave something to be desired although they did make me laugh out loud. Several songs were very stream of consciousness meets elementary school poetry where things have to rhyme but not make sense (Time Will Break the World was the funniest to me containing gems such as "A kitten from Great Britain" and "tanning beds explode with rich women inside").
Jeru The Damaja
3/5
R.E.M.
5/5
My favorite R.E.M. album as whole. You can hear the shift in sound after Document and while "You are Everything" gives a hint to what comes next on Automatic for the People, there are fewer of these slower tracks. Perfectly balanced for me.
Ice Cube
2/5
It is hilarious to me that in the intro to You Can't Fade Me, Ice Cube says "Drop a old school beat". This whole album is nothing BUT old school beats. The misogyny is exhausting.
The Sugarcubes
4/5
As I listened to this I thought, "this sounds like a pop-y Bjork" only to read that this IS a pop-y Bjork album. I have always loved her voice, this is no exception, but I enjoy hearing it set to music that is less experimental and dramatic.
2/5
They sing, "there are no words for me inside Your Dictionary", but sure there are, u-n-b-e-a-r-a-b-l-e for one.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
2/5
1 extra star for the cover art which is clearly the best part of this album.
2/5
Dolly Parton
4/5
It's not typically something I would search up to listen to, but after a string of bad albums it was a relief to listen to something so very pretty.
Pavement
4/5
There is something so comforting about early 90s lo-fi, indie rock. It's fuzzy like your most favorite sweater.
Os Mutantes
2/5
The Residents
1/5
This makes me want to Ducking Stab myself in the ear holes.
Dr. John
2/5
Antony and the Johnsons
4/5
I can see how Anohni's voice would be jarring. It was for me upon initial listening. But as I sunk in, it was reminiscent of Jeff Buckley where the voice becomes perhaps the featured instrument. I find her voice to be ethereal and emotional (the lyrics and subject matter couldn't be more personal) and worthy of a re-listen.
Robert Wyatt
2/5
Khaled
3/5
Scott Walker
1/5
No. The most commercially successful song on this album was Jackie which was banned by the BBC. I guess this proves the "any publicity is good publicity". So the first song is banned for being offensive and the rest of the album is forgettable. Why are we listening to this?!
David Bowie
4/5
1/5
It's like everyone in a jazz band is performing their most hard core solo at the same time without paying any attention to what the rest of the band is doing. It is the aural equivalent of flashing, flickering lights and should come with a warning that it can cause seizures. Pure cacophony.
Steve Earle
3/5
I can see how this would be a standard in a genre that I don't love. The songs that skew more Springsteen are my favs.
U2
4/5
Bauhaus
3/5
I’m stumped. I was expecting to hate this and I don’t.
The Doors
4/5
Aerosmith
3/5
Too bad they ruin a good sound with such oversexed lyrics. When the album starts with a song that tells you that “you better keep your daughter inside”, I know this album is not for me.
Carpenters
2/5
Pretty. Pretty boring. The only time I perked up was when I thought they were saying Mr. Gouda and singing about cheese, but they were not. Now I am disappointed and hungry.
Manic Street Preachers
4/5
Baaba Maal
3/5
Morrissey
4/5
I hate that I kinda like Morrissey.
The Bees
4/5
Interesting. To say this sound is eclectic and varied is an understatement. At one point I heard a dog barking and it was kind of on the beat and it didn't immediately occur to me that the dog barking was not part of the recording. It wasn't unpleasant, just all over the place. In a way that makes me want to listen for what comes next.
Justice
2/5
My husband asked if I was listening to two different songs at the same time. Tells you all you need to know.
Ash
3/5
Talking Heads
2/5
Four TH albums on this list and apparently they were very influential for a bunch of bands I like....but I just can't get into them. The best thing I can say about them is that the songs aren't slow and boring. So at least they have that going for them.
Hole
4/5
Courtney Love has always rubbed me the wrong way for whatever reason so I never listened to much Hole, but the album is solid and fits right in with the female-fronted alternative rock bands that reside in my mental happy place (which is apparently not very happy at all).
The Triffids
2/5
OutKast
4/5
I know it's long but more of a good thing is a good thing.
Sparks
2/5
T. Rex
3/5
David Gray
4/5
It's a relaxing and chill album for a gray day.
Scritti Politti
2/5
It's not offensive to my ears like some of the albums on this list but damn it feels derivative. Maybe it felt more inspired when it came out but now it sounds like the ghost of 80s music.
Syd Barrett
2/5
Dark Globe is terrible and what is happening during If It's In You? The remaining songs are fine but clearly Pink Floyd was better off without Syd.
Faith No More
3/5
Malcolm McLaren
2/5
There are moments that are good. But this may be the least cohesive album I have ever heard?
Portishead
3/5
I will always and forever love Beth Gibbons' voice, loss of a star for some of the abrupt changes in sound/tempo that were jarring.
Manic Street Preachers
3/5
I had to go back and listen to Holy Bible to figure out why I didn't like this one as much when I remember really liking Holy Bible. Holy Bible lyrics are dark but the quick pace and driving beat makes it a little harder than pop punk, early emo. Everything Must Go has lost some of the edge with a slightly slower tempo and the inclusion of the orchestral and synth sounds. I prefer the earlier work.
Donovan
2/5
Legend of a Girl Child Linda killed this album for me. Otherwise it was a solid 3.
Frank Sinatra
2/5
Beautiful voice, warm, cozy and ultimately boring album. I think Jefferson Airplane summarized this album best and they didn't even know it. You just want somebody to love. You need somebody to love. Wouldn't you love somebody to love? You better find somebody to love.
The xx
4/5
TV On The Radio
3/5
An eclectic band and it shows in their debut. Ultimately maybe a little too eclectic for me.
Eminem
4/5
Super conflicted about Eminem. Do I think he is the most talented rapper on this list? Yes. Do I think his lyrics are often abhorrent? Also Yes. What he saying is so objectionable and yet the way he says it is so objectionable. I have been pondering why this is true for 2 decades now and I don't think I will ever figure it out.
MGMT
5/5
Remarkably consistent sound without every song sounding the same.
Siouxsie And The Banshees
4/5
Simon & Garfunkel
3/5
Leave favorite of S&G albums on this list. America is beautiful but some of the tracks feel like filler.
Bob Dylan
4/5
So much Bob Dylan on this list, but this is the album that put him on the map. Masters of War is my favorite Bob Dylan song but like most Bob Dylan, I like the songs best when sung by other artists (Eddie Vedder does the best Masters of War cover).
Paul Simon
3/5
Hookworms
4/5
Serge Gainsbourg
2/5
The Fall
2/5
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
3/5
Buck Owens
2/5
To quote Buck Owens:
"Wham bam, thank you ma'm, I'll be on my way
Thank you but no thank you, not today"
Randy Newman
2/5
Parliament
3/5
I feel funked up.
Donald Fagen
2/5
LCD Soundsystem
3/5
Burning Spear
2/5
Suede
3/5
Le Tigre
5/5
Loud, unapologetic riot grrrl music was exactly what I needed on the day that a 78-year old white man tried to define what it means to be female by executive order. Fuck that.
Shack
3/5
Beastie Boys
4/5
Radiohead
5/5
Fats Domino
3/5
I can't help but feel transported to the Enchantment Under the Sea dance in Back to the Future.
D'Angelo
4/5
"Who's the black private dick that's a sex machine to all the chicks?" You might say Shaft but you would be wrong. It's D'Angelo. This is music to put on so you can get it on.
Snoop Dogg
3/5
Love: beats, flow, overall vibe. Hate: lyrics, recent sellout behavior. I guess that leaves me at a 3?
Michael Jackson
4/5
My parents had this album on vinyl and I wore it out. Undeniably a great album. Undeniably a complicated legacy. I honestly can't hear MJ and just enjoy it so loss of a star.
The Dictators
3/5
Pet Shop Boys
2/5
The Flaming Lips
2/5
Hate his voice. Hate it even more after hearing him live and him telling me every 30 seconds to clap louder. Why don't you sing better and THEN I will clap louder.
John Prine
3/5
John Prine is like a less annoying Bob Dylan. Veers too country for my taste but some good songwriting buried in there and it can shine when covered by other artists (case in point: the covers of Angel from Montgomery by Bonnie Raitt, Brandi Carlile, Dave Matthews and others). The song "Your Flag Decal Won't Get You into Heaven Anymore" seems particularly relevant again.
Joe Ely
2/5
Only tolerable because of some great guitar solos.
Jimi Hendrix
3/5
There is a lot to like. The main issue is just that there is a lot in general.
The Who
2/5
I’ll keep Pinball Wizard as a great classic song on its own, but a rock opera just doesn’t belong on this list any more than a soundtrack does. It’s meant to be consumed in a different delivery system.
Sex Pistols
4/5
Peter Gabriel
3/5
Count Basie & His Orchestra
3/5
Joni Mitchell
3/5
I think my problem with Joni has always been that I can’t enjoy music as much when I can’t sing along. I appreciate the instrument that is her voice but the jazz inflections make this more difficult to access and connect with for me.
Led Zeppelin
5/5
Is Stairway to Heaven too long? Yes, but the second half of Stairway would be a top 10 LZ song in its own right. Led Zeppelin II might be my favorite album but When the Levee Breaks is the song I can't get out of my head.
Black Flag
2/5
5/5
Animal Collective
3/5
I want to like this but I just can’t get into it. I think maybe I don’t like things described as experimental or psychedelic. I’m just a basic bitch I guess.
Tim Buckley
2/5
The Streets
1/5
Nina Simone
5/5
Thank you 1001 Albums! I have never listened to a Nina Simone album but I have heard plenty of covers (including on other albums on this list) and I am so grateful that this oversight in my musical education has been corrected. It doesn't matter if Nina is singing her own songs or covers, her voice is powerful. Four Women was a particular punch to the gut.
Paul McCartney
3/5
Kraftwerk
2/5
Bebel Gilberto
2/5
Nothing specific to dislike here. I just feel like I am on hold.
Otis Redding
4/5
Kid Rock
1/5
I hate Red Bull. Vodka is meh. Put them together and you have the only way that Red Bull is tolerable. Sheryl Crow is Vodka, just kind of bland. Kid Rock is Red Bull. The song Picture is the only tolerable Kid Rock because it's cut with Sheryl Crow. This album has nothing to cut it, it's the worst.
Ian Dury
1/5
No to the voice. No to the lyrics. Is that a saxophone? No to the saxophone. Just no.
My Bloody Valentine
2/5
Some of the songs are aggressively annoying and for different reasons. Tracks 2-4 are good and I enjoy the lo-fi sound but the rest of the album is all over the place. Pick a lane.
Lou Reed
4/5
There are some duds in there but overall you get a unique voice used in the best possible way on songs like Perfect Day and Walk on the Wild Side.
Living Colour
4/5
They really are Middle Men, sitting somewhere in the overlap of the Venn diagram created by heavy metal, pop, funk, and even hip hop. The opening moments of Open Letter would even sound at home in a big theatrical stage production like Rent (Glover has one hell of a voice). As four black men playing a blend of hard rock that resists easy categorization, these guys defy all musical stereotypes.
The Beau Brummels
2/5
Completely unspectacular. It's kind of impressive how with songs this short, some of them still suffer from pacing issues.
Giant Sand
2/5
Oh good more talking rhythmically and calling it singing. AND we are adding random sounds into otherwise fine songs in order to sound experimental and edgy. No thank you.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
3/5
I don't think I will ever like NY's voice. But I do really like the music. Maybe I need an album of NY covers?
Bill Callahan
2/5
Super Furry Animals
2/5
Ok, so this is an electronica/ambient album. Wait no, this is rock album. No, this is definitely pop. Wait no, we are back to electronica. Wait, wtf is this random answering machine message or this autotuned elevator music? I don't even know how to categorize this. The smooth jazz saxophone, the beeps and boops, the moments of harder rock and sugary pop close harmonies mixed in...this album broke my brain. I get wanting to be unique, but this tripping over themselves to not be pinned down just comes across as a seriously debilitating fear of commitment. Clearly the "genre" of prog pop/rock/techno is not for me.
The Stone Roses
3/5
Man I really like the first track, I had such high hopes for the album based on that initial track. Ultimately it didn't live up to my expectations but it ends with a bang. Too bad the middle is just kind of meh.
John Grant
2/5
Golden champagne juicy grapefruit lucky monday
High school football hot fudge buffalo tulip sundae
Almond caramel frappe pineapple rootbeer
Black and white pennyapple henry ford sweetheart maple tea
what kind of word salad is this?!
Meat Loaf
3/5
Makes sense this album was developed as/from a musical, it sounds very theatrical. The beginning of "You took the words right out of my mouth (hot summer night)" made me laugh out loud. Some drama club kids taking themselves way too seriously.
Frankie Goes To Hollywood
2/5
I hate the super dated synthy sounds. I don't care if George Carlin comes back from 2688 to save 80s music so that a future utopian society can form, this music can die. The only reason this isn't 1 star is because it doesn't physically hurt my ears. But it is far from pleasurable.
Skepta
3/5
Marilyn Manson
1/5
One decent song does not an album make. Manson has always struck me as a person who just desperately wants attention rather than artist with something meaningful to say. Despite my policy of deducting stars for lecherous fucks with credible allegations of sexual assault and emotional abuse against them, I am not allowed to give this album zero stars.
Stereolab
4/5
Stephen Stills
3/5
Some real high points to bookend this album but lots of meh in the middle. Black Queen was unexpected and my favorite track. I will overlook a lot of meh for that gravely vocal and guitar solo.
Guns N' Roses
4/5
Kurt Cobain once said that his band was "not your typical Guns N' Roses type of band that has absolutely nothing to say." He isn't wrong, but there is a reason why this is the best selling debut album of all time. Superficial fun often beats thought provoking. I for one could use a little fun these days.
The Dandy Warhols
3/5
Todd Rundgren
2/5
Happy Mondays
2/5
Bummed is an apt name. Why do English bands of the 80s sound so similarly moan-y?
1/5
In Clueless, one of Cher's main gripes about Josh is that he listens to "complaint rock" (aka Radiohead), but I have never heard a band complain more than Limp Bizkit. While Radiohead may complain about how they don't fit in because they aren't good enough for the world, Limp Bizkit act like they don't fit in because the world isn't good enough for them. I love a good "angry at the world" song (Break Stuff might be their most tolerable and relatable song but it is unfortunately not on this album) but dude, the world doesn't owe you shit. The entitlement is annoying and exhausting. Also the music is tedious and repetitive, the songs mostly sound the same with a lot of f-bombs thrown in.
Brian Eno
3/5
This definitely feels like a bridge between two different versions of Brian Eno. The second half of the album was markedly different, more ambient, and would have garnered an additional star if it was reflective of the album as a whole.
Blood, Sweat & Tears
2/5
Sonic Youth
3/5
And with the 5th and final Sonic Youth album on the list, my love/hate relationship with SY comes to an end. Overall I think I have come around a little bit and ended net positive since I first listened to EVOL. That's basically how I feel about this double album (did it really need to be a double album?), overall net positive but there are definitely moments of just noise.
Small Faces
2/5
Huh, that was weird. Kind of like when my youngest used to make up songs filled with nonsensical words. Maybe she was speaking “Unwinese”.
The Velvet Underground
2/5
Extra star for making me laugh out loud at the randomly yelled words towards the end of Lady Godiva.
Youssou N'Dour
3/5
Neil Young
3/5
Considering how the album cover is what I picture when someone says Neil Young, I thought I would know more songs from this album. Alas, all my other NY reviews stand and his voice just doesn't work for me most of the time.
Crowded House
3/5
Other than a very jaunty song about Chocolate Cake and the hilarious lyric "There goes God in his sexy pants and his sausage dog" there is nothing to see here. It's very Toad the Wet Sprocket kind of meh 90s alt rock. Not unpleasant but nothing to really get excited about.
Wire
3/5
Eagles
4/5
Some of the guitars kick ass, the slow ballads are not my jam. Really 3.5 but the familiarity bias is real.
Joni Mitchell
2/5
Mott The Hoople
3/5
Bonnie "Prince" Billy
3/5
Well that was sad. Not the thing to listen to whilst taking a walk on a beautiful, sunny spring day full of new life.
Bob Dylan
3/5
Joan Baez
2/5
Joan Baez has a beautiful voice but ultimately I tired of the sparseness of this album's sound (which I think is the main draw for many). I also can't help but question whether an artist who mostly arranges and sings other people's songs deserve a spot on this list even if they were a cultural icon?
Elastica
5/5
After slogging my way through a bunch of folk music, this album was such a breath of fresh air. Fun, female fronted post-punk that I somehow missed in the 90s when it is right in my wheelhouse and should have been the soundtrack to my high school years. Happy to have found it now, even if I am a few decades late to the party.
The Undertones
3/5
Curtis Mayfield
2/5
Emmylou Harris
3/5
Pere Ubu
1/5
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
3/5
It is nice to hear the call and response "I love my mother" as part of She's Fresh (we mother's aren't often celebrated for our coolness). Scorpio may have been ahead of it's time but feels very dated and tiresome now and some of these tracks don't feel like hip hop at all. We all love Stevie Wonder but Dreamin' felt out of place. Mixed bag.
Beatles
3/5
Title track shows their potential but too much of this album is forgettable.
Black Sabbath
4/5
Black Sabbath definitely turned it up to 11 on Paranoid compared to their debut. The title track and Iron Man are standard bearers of the genre. This may not be the heaviest of heavy metal on this list but extra points for leading the charge.
Calexico
4/5
This gets better every time I listen to it, especially the front half. Such a great blend of styles.
Dexys Midnight Runners
2/5
When I look up a list of "one-hit wonders", Paste magazine has Dexys Midnight Runners up there at #1 with Come on Eileen. So if Dexys Midnight Runners is a one-hit wonder, why do they have THREE albums on this list?! This is the best of the three but that is not saying much.
k.d. lang
2/5
Great vocalist. Not my jam.
The B-52's
2/5
It’s not you, it’s me. I just hate new wave.
Dolly Parton
4/5
I have a habit of detracting stars from artists who are shitty people so it’s only fair I award Dolly an extra star for being a really good person.
The Louvin Brothers
2/5
The faster tracks with the bluegrass banjo are much more tolerable compared to the slow ballads.
Pearl Jam
5/5
Someone at work once asked me if I was stuck on a desert island with an ipod with only one artist loaded, who would it be? It would have to be someone with a deep catalog and a sound that varies so I can listen to it in any mood. Pearl Jam is the only band I can think of that fits that bill and it all begins here, with Ten. Ten is arguably one of the strongest debut albums ever with no bad tracks. Jeremy might be my least favorite track on Ten and it's one of their most popular. Eddie Vedder's growl as he starts Once gets me pumped and by the time I get to him screaming why in Black, I am emotionally exhausted. The guitars of Stone Gossard and Mike McCready are more classic rock/Led Zepplin than the punk/heavy metal sound of some of the other standard bearers of grunge like Nirvana or Soundgarden. Even though Once and Black are great tracks, the back half of the album is actually my favorite with Porch through Release being an incredible stretch of 4 tracks and a tiny microcosm of the band's varying levels. Hearing a whole stadium of the most dedicated fans sing along to Release is powerful and I would be remiss not to mention how in awe I am of PJ's live shows and the incredible fan base they have built over 35 years. I have seen PJ shows in 3 separate decades now and of the 6 shows I have been to across 3 decades, PJ has never played less than 25 songs. Thanks to industrious and dedicated fans, there is an app that tracks setlists so I know I have only seen 9 songs repeated at more than half the shows I attended. I have never seen less than 6 new songs that I have never heard played live (and that is only because I went to two show on the same tour, but even then less than 1/2 of the songs were the same). The memory and energy PJ has (at 60 years old!) to play for 2.5+ hours and vary the set-lists as much as they do is just unbelievable. I know I sound like some kind of a super fan but believe me, I got nothing on some of PJs long time fans like my husband. All this to say, 5 stars: great album, great band, great people, great shows, great fans.
Oasis
3/5
Really a 3.5, definitely, maybe…
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
1/5
Ooof no. Wikipedia tells me "the album is regarded as an important work of experimental music and art rock", but it sounds like someone dumped a bunch of instruments on the floor of a toddler playdate (toddlers with very deep and gravely voices) and recorded the result. Unlike in science where the negative results at least give you useful information, not every musical experiment is worthy of publication.
The Youngbloods
3/5
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
5/5
Took a dancier turn from Fever to Tell and it works great for them. Still very identifiably Yeah Yeah Yeahs but with a shiny new toy.
The Crusaders
3/5
Other than the title track, this is dinner party music that you put on because it’s pleasantly uninteresting.
Air
4/5
Good chill music to get stuff done, will definitely be on rotation at work. Doesn't hurt that I picture 10 Things I Hate About You during the second track.
Alexander 'Skip' Spence
2/5
Christina Aguilera
3/5
Despite Christina's great voice, this album feels very sophomoric. Infatuation seems way out of place on an album that is generally trying to declare she is a strong, independent woman...except when she can't help herself? Beautiful is in fact beautiful, but the rest of the slow jamz are snooze fests.
Echo And The Bunnymen
2/5
Why so moan-y??
Lou Reed
3/5
Fatboy Slim
2/5
very few tracks I didn't want to press fast forward 1/2 way through.
Lenny Kravitz
4/5
Slow and quiet is not where his voice shines so the beginnings of some tracks were a little rough as a result. But he quickly hits his stride and the middle of the album has a great, funk bass driven backdrop to his rock screams.
Astrud Gilberto
2/5
I am sure it's good...for someone else. Not my cup of tea.
The Boo Radleys
3/5
It's fine. It is identifiably 90s. It sometimes has that jangly sound like it could be a precursor to Belle and Sebastian. Mostly I am disappointed that after 1073 albums I am still asking "why is this album on the list".
R.E.M.
5/5
This is an easy "Automatic" five stars. If I had to choose only one REM album, I would still prefer to listen to faster paced albums like Green but this is the album I go to when I want to feel things.
Tom Waits
2/5
The voodoo witch doctor (I picture Dr. Facilier in Princess and the Frog) vibes are strong here. Sometimes it works, sometimes it's interesting, but almost an hour of it is too much.
Devendra Banhart
2/5
Dion
2/5
The Psychedelic Furs
2/5
The Offspring
4/5
One of the rare occasions that I like a band more now than I did when I first heard them.
Megadeth
3/5
Hot Chip
3/5
I waffle between 3 and 4. I would have told you I had heard Hot Chip before, but after this album and listening to their top ten most popular tracks across multiple albums, I felt like I only recognized one piece of one song. Does that mean that I changed the station when it came on? Nothing is really off-putting about Hot Chip's sound, but nothing really grabs me either.
Sigur Rós
4/5
Ouch, soothing, perfect for today (a grey rainy day).
Dirty Projectors
2/5
This is a little like walking into a modern art museum; it's interesting, but you're not sure you really get it. It makes you feel something, but mostly just uncomfortable with the fact that something is just "off" about it. This is a museum I will not be revisiting.
Bob Dylan
2/5
I don't care if he is a Pulitzer prize winning poet. If I can't listen to the poetry because I can't get past the voice, what are we doing here?!
George Jones
2/5
So sloooow. Dude needs more pep in his step for this grand tour.
Can
2/5
Was all prepared to retract my harsh judgement of krautrock after the first half of the album, which I actually enjoyed. But man they really tried to tank the album on the back half. The track “Augmn” was unlistenable.
The Killers
5/5
Ali Farka Touré
3/5