The Platonic ideal of a 70s country album

Love the new wave/post punk production, it's in the vein of Dylan's "Infidels" or "Empire Burlesque." I wasn't super familiar with much by Faithfull before listening to this, at least outside of her version of "As Tears Go By," which is gorgeous. This is a whole different animal, her alto has lost the honey sweet smoothness of the British Invasion days but it's beautiful in a more complex, adult way. The more I think about this, the more I'm in love with it and I want more.

One of the things I'm discovering I love about this album generator thingy, is that it's helping to fill in some holes in my music listening history. I've listened to some fIREHOSE, mainly If'n (the album) which I love but other than that covers EP and a other songs here and there, I don't know much else so I'm glad this one popped up.

Bolan takes the pop and rock and roll that came before him and makes something that somehow stills sounds and feels futuristic. It’s fun, sexy, sleazy, dirty, funky and gorgeous. An actual peer of Bowie and an antecedent to Prince.

Had this one on cassette back when it was new. Freak Scene is one of the best songs of the 80s. The rest of this is good too. I've always had a soft spot for Don't.

I had just relistened to this for the umpteenth time a couple of days ago, it's one of my favorite albums, the best album of the 90s if you ask me. I was originally hooked by Boys and Girls but every time I listen to it a different song jumps out as a new favorite, the title track, "End of a Centurty," "This Is a Low," even "Jubilee." Currently it's "To the End."

A little Shaun Ryder goes a long way for me. There's some good stuff here, Wrote For Luck and Lazy Itis are great but I think I like Pills 'n' Thrills better.

One of the things I'm discovering I love about this album generator thingy, is that it's helping to fill in some holes in my music listening history. I've listened to some fIREHOSE, mainly If'n (the album) which I love but other than that covers EP and a other songs here and there, I don't know much else so I'm glad this one popped up.

I've definitely never listened to this whole album. I know Babylon and remember when it was a big hit and maybe I've heard another song or two from this album in passing at some point. It's not bad, I probably wouldn't go too far out of my way to put it on again or explore more of Gray's music but it wouldn't make me change the station on the radio or anything if it came on. It's fine.

pure fun!

A decade ahead of it's time

Pretty much every time I listen to any one of Al Green's classic albums I think it's the best one but this one might actually be his all time best.

It's weird to me that this album was considered such a failure. It doesn't sound that far removed from the kind of country inflected rock Neil Young or Stephen Stills we're doing around the same time. This didn't blow my mind or anything but it's good. It seems like its commercial and critical failure really did a number on Clark and that's sad.

I don't mind The Black Keys, their music is well produced but I can only take so many mid-tempo bluesy garage rockers.

First VU I ever bought after they were covered and name dropped by R.E.M. on Dead Letter Office (which was actually the first R.E.M. album I ever purchased). 16 year old me didn't completely get it but it sure grew on me. An all time classic by a band whose entire studio catalog is comprised of nothing but classics (I can pretend Squeeze doesn't exist, try and stop me)

This album might be an acquired taste that I have yet to acquire. I've liked other stuff I've heard by Tim Buckley so I'm curious to dig a little deeper and honestly I can recognize the musical and songwriting skill here it just isn't my thing.

I wanted to like this, I really did.

Bolan takes the pop and rock and roll that came before him and makes something that somehow stills sounds and feels futuristic. It’s fun, sexy, sleazy, dirty, funky and gorgeous. An actual peer of Bowie and an antecedent to Prince.

The Dan would reach greater heights on successive albums but this is a great debut. Only A Fool Would Say That, Dirty Work and Do It Again (with its electric sitar solo!) are among the highlights and Reelin' In The Years is an all-timer with one of the greatest guitar solos ever.

I was never super into thrash metal, I think I need more pop hooks so this isn't really my thing. That being said, I think this does what it sets out to very well so I'm giving it three stars instead of two.

Had this one on cassette back when it was new. Freak Scene is one of the best songs of the 80s. The rest of this is good too. I've always had a soft spot for Don't.

I like to listen to all different kinds of music but if someone made it so I could only listen to Mambo from now on I wouldn't be upset.

This will always be one of my favorite albums ever. It's certainly their high point as a band. Song For My Sugar Spun Sister, Fool's Gold and especially I Am The Resurrection are the highlights.

So I know I've listened to this before but not recently, maybe the other times I wasn't paying real close attention because I never noticed that the "title track" was just four seconds of silence. I was prepared to go on here and warn other Spotify listeners in the U.S. about the track being missing. I'm glad I did a little research because that would have been embarrassing. Anyway, great druggy funk album, one of the best I've heard, five stars.

My memory of this album is that it was good but a little front loaded and to be fair, the first half is incredible, the first five songs might be as good as any five song sequence to start any 80s album. But you know what? The rest of this album is amazing! Fast Car (an all time classic single) and many of the other songs, Behind the Wall and Across the Lines especially, are as prescient as they were in 1988.

Second great album in a row from 1988 (got Tracy Chapman's ST yesterday) and man Vernon Reid is a monster! I still dig a lot of this, obviously Cult of Personality is great song with a classic riff. I had forgotten about Chuck D and Flava Flav popping up in Funny Vibe. Open Letter To A Landlord and (Talking Heads cover) Memories Can't Wait are also highlights.

The prototypical messy, overindulgent, late career double album. I almost always appreciate them but sometimes it's more about the ambition and cohones then it is the final result but I mean, it's the Beatles, it's perfect. I'm pretty sure this was the first Beatles album I ever owned and I've listened to it hundreds of times probably. It holds up of course, it's fun, it's weird and there's nothing else I can say that hasn't already been said by smarter people and better writers.

Bruuuuce!

I get what they are doing. Never dug super deep into QOTSA but I'm familiar enough and I think I like them in smaller doses, in fact if this album had been, I don't know, fifteen minutes shorter I think I would've liked it a lttle more, it just gets a little too samey after a while.

The second album of Neil Young's "comeback" period is a garage rock classic, how could it not be when he's playing with Crazy Horse? I hadn't listened to this in a few years and my takeaway this time is that it's fun!

This is another one of my all time favorite albums so I'm pretty sure I won't be able to review it objectively. Or maybe it's just one of the greatest albums ever. Noisy, jangly, perfect power pop from Scotland. Fun fact: Spin magazine picked this as album of the year in 1991 over Nirvana's Nevermind. Usually when this fact gets brought up it's to show how short-sighted Spin magazine was but maybe they were just brilliant. Don't get me wrong, I love Nevermind too but I listen to Bandwagonesque way more often.

"This ain't Areosmith" It's probably not this simple but it felt at the time like this album changed hip hop overnight. Groundbreaking sonically and commercially.

One of those groups I've heard mentioned but I don't think actually listened to before now. Definitely motivated to check out more. Can I assume Black Francis was a fan?

One of the greatest live albums ever

All but three songs on this album have been FM radio staples as long as I've been paying attention and this is a debut, it's difficult to imagine an album have that kind of pop cultural impact today, I think it would be impossible.

Ugh. Shut up, Brian. I'd rather listen to Skinny Puppy, Nine Inch Nails, Alice Cooper and Pink Floyd.

Was not expecting the Queen cover

The Platonic ideal of a 70s country album

Just so great. I think in most cases a live recording in which the listener can hear the screaming fans during the actual songs might get old really fast, but I would argue that in the case of "At Budokan," the fans are what make this such a fun, energy-filled live album. They make "I Want You to Want Me" better, that's for sure. This version of "Surrender" is so much better than the studio version that they might as well be different songs. This is the high water mark for Cheap Trick.

One of the best debut albums of the 90s.

I agree with Kyle Brofloski

At some point in the 90s they (MTV, the music industry) stopped calling techno "techno" and started calling it "electronica." I don't know if anybody calls it that anymore but when I hear that word this is the album that pops into my head. I don't think is because this is some kind of pinnacle of the genre but I do remember it being a pretty big deal and it's a pretty fun example of late 90s techno music.

The best of the pre weed smokin' Beatles albums.

Solid late 90s Britpop/rock, good but not super memorable or anything. I have to confess though that I inadvertently listened to the whole album on shuffle, didn't realize till the second to last song. In hindsight I remember hearing at least one song that kind of faded out in a weird way, probably was supposed to fade into whatever the actual next song was. I just thought it was a weird production choice.

Don't love a lot of the lyrics, not the lyrical themes, the actual words. Got a real Father John Misty vibe here which is not a positive as far as I'm concerned. I think musically though this was pretty great.

I liked this better than I thought I would

Like a cross between Woody Guthrie and Suicide.

I saw Jonathan Richman play live a few years ago and I can't really explain it but I just felt so happy during and after the show, I really did have the proverbial warm, fuzzy feeling. I guess what I'm saying is I love this album.

In the early 90s I was a DJ at this local, publicly-funded, alternative radio station. Certain songs were in rotation and we had to play those at certain times so that they got played a specific number of times per day. If there was time left before the next required song we could pick out a song of our choice that wasn't in rotation as long as it fit in with the format. Because of this I hated having to play long songs, I wanted the world (or at least the part of Western New York State that was in our small listening area) to hear what amazing taste I had. "Water From a Vine Leaf" the seven minute leadoff track from this album was my bete noire. Now when I listen to it and the rest of "Strange Cargo III," especially on some good headphones I really appreciate it.

I'm not sure what it was that got me interested in this album enough for me to purchase the cassette but I did. It just was not the type of music I remember being into at the time, I was an avid reader of Circus and Hit Parader, magazines that largely focused on hard rock and heavy metal. Ratt, Dokken, Judas Priest and Iron Maiden were more my speed. We didn't have MTV but there was Friday Night Videos on network tv so that mustbe were I came across these guys. There's some great stuff here of course, the three singles, "Shout," "Everybody Wants To Rule The World" and especially "Head Over Heels" are mid 80s all-timers. I probably liked "Shout" cause it seemed kind of pissed off and badass and then the rest kind of sorted it out I suppose. Looking back on the year this came out and the other music that came out around the same time, I was definitely into Rush's "Power Windows," (sort of a hard rock band really leaning into synths) "Brothers In Arms" by Dire Straits and Weird Al's "Born To Be Stupid" so I guess it was a transitional time for me. I was growing up and it probably had something to do with girls.

This is not for me, a 50-year-old man, and it wasn't for me in 1999 either (you can do the math) but maybe if I was a disaffected, bummed-out teenager who needed an outlet that sometimes only agressive music can satisfy, well then I think I might be into this. This is definitely better than Korn or Limp Bizkit or whatever other nu metal I may be lumping it in with either fairly or unfairly but I mean if I was at a party or bar or on a roadtrip and someone put this music on I'd probably leave or consider jumping out of the car. Maybe I'd just see if there was anything by the Deftones to put on. With all that being said Slipknot are good at what they do and next time I see some kid in one of their t-shirts I won't automatically assume they have shit taste.

Just when I thought I had never heard anything by this group BAM! Geico caveman commercial song.

Don't get me wrong, I don't hate all double albums, there are a few I've given five stars to, but just because you can make a 75 minute album doesn't mean you should. There's some great stuff here, "Jacksonville," "Chicago" and. "The Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts" stand out. I'm gonna have to give "John Wayne Gacy, Jr" another listen or two; Stevens says we're all capable of what Gacy did, speak for yourself dude. I know this album is beloved by a lot of people, I just like some other of his stuff better, "Carrie & Lowell" is his real masterpiece, here he could've used an editor or even made "Illinois Part 2."

Love the new wave/post punk production, it's in the vein of Dylan's "Infidels" or "Empire Burlesque." I wasn't super familiar with much by Faithfull before listening to this, at least outside of her version of "As Tears Go By," which is gorgeous. This is a whole different animal, her alto has lost the honey sweet smoothness of the British Invasion days but it's beautiful in a more complex, adult way. The more I think about this, the more I'm in love with it and I want more.

Hadn't revisited this in quite a while and really all I remembered were the three big songs ("Fight Test," "Do You Realize" and the title track) so I expected a lot of filler. While I still prefer "The Soft Bulletin," "Transmissions From The Satellite Heart" and "Clouds Taste Metallic," this ended up being a pleasant surprise.

The third of four spectacularly great Rolling Stones studio albums in a row. I don't know what else there is to say here. "Can't You Hear Me Knocking," "Bitch," "Wild Horses," "Moonlight Mile" and "Dead Flowers" (and even the recently disavowed "Brown Sugar" could be one side of a Stones best of collection. I can't imagine giving this fewer than five stars.

How can anyone not love this? Even if it didn't have one the best Christmas songs (that makes me cry) ever on it, I still would.

Had to cobble this together since it's not available on Spotify in the States. All the songs are though, it was pretty easy. I like this era of American pop songs from the Brill Building, Motown etc. and Dusty (the proto Adele?) is a great interpreter. Her truly great days are still ahead of her here but this is a nice collection.

Seriously question: Has anyone seen these guys and Daft Punk in the same room before. I haven't looked but I wonder how many people have made this same joke before me.

The second of three Radiohead albums in a row that shattered expectations based on the previous one. Who else has done that?

Even though not every song here was written in the aftermath of 9/11, this is Springsteen's 9/11 album. It was also his first great album in about 15 years (since 1987's "Tunnel of Love") and as of now his last truly great album of original material. I've liked his stuff since then (and I liked the a lot of the stuff between "Tunnel" and this album) but "The Rising" is a whole other level.

My favorite kind of hip hop is weird, off-center hip hop that sounds great which is the perfect way to describe this. Kool Keith, Dan the Automator and DJ Qbert really hit my sweet spot. I'm giving it 5 stars notwithstanding the very creepy "A Visit To The Gynecologist"

Let's say you get dumped by the love of your life. You can deal with it in the healthy, boring way, nobody's gonna judge you for that. By all means take care of yourself, you do you. My way is a little different though. Get yourself a bottle of Jack Daniel's and a couple of packs of Camel Straights and put on this album ("Sings for Only The Lonely" will work too) and get good and drunk while chain smoking, you'll eventually feel better the next day.

"Block Rockin' Beats" is probably what most people remember from this and that's not without reason, it's the epitome of big beat electronic music. If "Dig Your Own Hole" was just more of that it would still be one of the best of its genre but it is definitely not just more of that. Instead we get a solid dose of Beatlesque psychedelia featuring Noel Gallagher at the height of Oasis-mania on "Setting Sun" and the gorgeous journey that turns into a really bad trip (and one of the best songs of the 90s) "Where Do I Begin" with a stunning vocal by Beth Orton (where has she gone?)

There are times when I'm pretty sure that "Jesus Built My Hot Rod" is the greatest song of all time, those times are usually whenever I hear it.

This makes me want to put on an Armani suit and get down. For the sake of clarity, my favored wardrobe consists of jeans and band t-shirts and I most certainly can't dance but this makes me feel like I have sartorial taste and an actual sense of rhythm. In an alternate universe this is the soundtrack to a colorful, early 80s movie musical that while very much of it's time and critically savaged upon its release is now considered a groundbreaking cult classic.

Jarvis H. Tapdancing Cocker

Man I had to scroll down quite a bit further than I expected to find a negative review of this. I wouldn't say I hate The Doors but do kind of think they're for high school boys who think they're more sophisticated than they really are. Man, that's a super pretentious thing to say isn't it? Even if it is, it for sure was a pretty good description of high school me. I definitely owned the double album greatest hits collection, it was one of my earliest Columbia House purchases and I definitely bought into the myth that Jim Morrison was like a real poet, dude. Listening to this now I think I'm liking it more than I would have believed. Maybe it's the fact that I don't really listen to classic rock radio anymore, so it's not as omnipresent in my life as it was back in the day. I'm not gonna say this is dated because that's a stupid criticism, what does it even mean? Morrison is a pretty good songwriter and maybe there's a cult of personality surrounding him (maybe? Lol) but he actually is an amazing front man and really no one else sounds like The Doors musically, certainly not in 1967 anyway. They'll never be my favorites again, that Crystal Ship has sailed (sorry. Also that song will always make me think of The Dead Milkmen, iykyk) but this might be their best album. 4 stars.

What am I gonna do, give this less than five stars or something? C'mon!

Is it enough that the title track is possibly the greatest album opener in the history of music? It might be but it doesn't have to be because this album also contains "Fascination" perhaps the grooviest song of all time (or at least the grooviest Bowie tune.) Also, "Fame" features an actual Beatle, so there's that. I know this isn't as beloved as the Berlin trilogy or as iconic as the Ziggy Stardust stuff or as popular as the "Let's Dance" album (I absolutely love all that stuff too by the way) but if I had to pick one favorite Bowie album, it would be this one and maybe that's weird but I don't care, "Young Americans" is my favorite David Bowie album.

"1999" and "Purple Rain" notwithstanding, this is the greatest Prince album. Not only that but this is definitely in my top 5 albums by anyone of all time, I'd give it 10 stars if I could.