My User Albums Journey

Album	You	Global	Diff
A Live One Phish	5	2.48	+2.52
Eye Robyn Hitchcock	5	2.68	+2.32
Squeezing Out Sparks Graham Parker	5	2.86	+2.14
Boys And Girls in America The Hold Steady	5	2.9	+2.1
Diary Sunny Day Real Estate	5	2.93	+2.07
All Hail West Texas The Mountain Goats	5	3.01	+1.99
Funeral Dress Wussy	5	3.01	+1.99
Mad Dogs & Englishmen Joe Cocker	5	3.05	+1.95
Get Fucked The Chats	5	3.08	+1.92
Hammersmith Odeon, London '75 Bruce Springsteen	5	3.12	+1.88

Album	You	Global	Diff
Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino Arctic Monkeys	1	3.03	-2.03
Piledriver Status Quo	1	2.81	-1.81
Korn Korn	1	2.62	-1.62
Because the Internet Childish Gambino	2	3.24	-1.24
Somewhere In The Between Streetlight Manifesto	2	3.15	-1.15
Brat Charli xcx	2	3.15	-1.15
Come On Over Shania Twain	2	3.11	-1.11
Puzzle Biffy Clyro	2	3.06	-1.06

The Burning Hell

4/5

This the first user submitted album I've gotten and what a pleasant surprise! I'll be honest when this showed up I thought it was some kind of black metal something or other so I was dreading listening to to it but this is great. Like others have noted there are similarities here to Bill Callahan and the late great David Berman although what I really like about this is how it's almost whimsical. I'm not sure if that's the most accurate way to describe it but that's what I'm going with. If I was capable of making cool, animated movies, I'd make one based on "Barbarian." Someone get to work on that, please. Finally, this sort of reminds me of another Canadian band whose debut album, the Todd Rundgren produced "Love Junk" was a favorite of mine back in the day, The Pursuit Of Happiness. The music here is a little more instrumentally eclectic the TPOH's loud power pop but I feel a connection here lyrically.

Carrie & Lowell

Sufjan Stevens

4/5

I listened to this quite a bit in 2015 when it came out, I remember it being among my favorite albums that year. Since then however, I'm not sure if I've revisited it even once. This is an unfortunate result of so much music being available on demand, it's overwhelming and even the best stuff can get lost in the cracks. Anyway, this is a beautiful and terribly sad album and while I'm not a Sufjan Stevens expert or a completist, I think this is him at his best.

22, A Million

Bon Iver

4/5

It's cool when a band or artist takes a weird step forward with a new album. It can be risky but in this case it pays off.

I Am

Earth, Wind & Fire

5/5

Just jam after jam after jam

Out of the Blue

Debbie Gibson

2/5

I'm actually a little impressed that Debbie Gibson wrote and co-produced a good part of this but it's definitely not my thing and it wasn't in 1987 either.

Hammersmith Odeon, London '75

Bruce Springsteen

5/5

A legendary performance by one of the all time great rock stars and singer-songwriters relatively early in his career, backed by one of the greatest live bands ever. I don't care if Springsteen had 12 albums on the list and this was six hours long, bring it on.

"Awaken, My Love!"

Childish Gambino

3/5

I'm more familiar with Donald Glover's work as an actor and television writer/producer/creator than I am with his music. I'm not sure I've listened to this before if I did I don't remember. I enjoyed him on Community, I think his casting as Lando was genius and Atlanta was truly one of the great TV shows of this century. Maybe that's why this feels like a little bit of a disappointment to me. It's not terrible or anything, it actually sounds amazing. I was surprised to learn that he regularly works with Ludwig Göransson who has done so much wonderful soundtrack work in recent years. He and Glover make a great team but a lot of this feels like pastiche. It's well produced r&b and funk but there's something empty about it. I know this is considered a departure musically so maybe if i were more familiar with Glover's discography, pretty much all I can recall is This Is America (and of course that's memorable because of its video) so maybe that unfamiliarity is causing me to miss something here. I don't hate this, I'd add it to a mix for a road trip or a get together but it's kind of forgettable.

Weezer

5/5

Yeah this is an all timer and so is the follow up. There isn't much to say that hasn't already been said a thousand times, just some perfect power pop that should be cranked up loud.

Kick

INXS

4/5

Misplaced Childhood

Marillion

3/5

Do hardcore Marillion fans get indignant when their favorite band is compared to Genesis/Peter Gabriel and Pink Floyd? I generally like that kind of stuff I like this too, I've always meant to check this band out anyway. Maybe if I delve deeper into their discography I'll have stronger feelings their music.

Goat

The Jesus Lizard

3/5

Don't Throw Stones

THE SPORTS

4/5

Nail

Scraping Foetus off the Wheel

3/5

After Hours

The Weeknd

3/5

If the rest of this album sounded more like Blinding Lights or In Your Eyes or even Save Your Tears, i.e. 80s technopop, I'd like it a lot better. So much of this is so dour though. On the other hand it's amazingly produced, it sounds great in my headphones. Overall just a little too monotonous.

King Tubbys Meets Rockers Uptown

King Tubby

4/5

Eye

Robyn Hitchcock

5/5

El Circo

Maldita Vecindad Y Los Hijos Del 5to. Patio

3/5

Poesía Básica

Extrechinato y Tu

3/5

Join Us

They Might Be Giants

3/5

TMBG are great but this is like their 12th best album

Nonagon Infinity

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard

4/5

Afraid Of Sunlight

Marillion

3/5

Watch Out!

Alexisonfire

2/5

I can't with the screaming, I think I'm too old

Currents

Tame Impala

4/5

About a quarter of the user submitted albums that have generated for me have been by Australian artists and I'm not mad about it.

Korn

1/5

Discosis

Bran Van 3000

4/5

I swear to God if you had asked me about Bran Van 3000 before today I would've told you they were a White Zombie side project. Why did I think that? Anyway I think the stuff on this album that's an eclectic mix of hip hop, club music, funk, soul and psychedelia is great, it reminds me of fun stuff like Dee-Lite, De La Soul, Gorillaz, Pizzicato 5, Cibo Mato and maybe late period Beastie Boys. The last third of the album veers into more conventional pop music; I don't hate it but it's a little jarring. I think if they left out the more pop stuff this would be a five star album but the pop stuff is pretty good so I'll still give it four.

A1A

Jimmy Buffett

3/5

Englabörn

Jóhann Jóhannsson

3/5

McDonald and Giles

Ian McDonald

3/5

Oncle Jazz

Men I Trust

3/5

I thought about not listening to this and just giving it a one after looking at this user's project. I'm not saying everyone has to like all the same kinds of music but I genuinely don't get how someone can hate all of that. If you told me that this user thought a one was the highest rating ("We're number one!") I'd believe you. I think it's equally possible that this user just has really weird, very specific taste or that this user is a troll, which if the latter is the case, then I've played right into their hands. Also, I was under the impression that user-submitted albums were required to have a Wikipedia page. Anyway this is clearly better than anything by The Beatles, Radiohead, Miles Davis, The Pixies, Dolly Parton, Primal Scream, The Smiths, Stevie Wonder or Wilco. 3 Stars.

The Best of The Hot 5 & Hot 7 Recordings

Louis Armstrong

5/5

I'd give this five stars if it was just West End Blues

Enema Of The State

blink-182

4/5

I'm sure that I've mocked this band over the years and I'm a little annoyed thinking about Tom DeLong walking around the stands in San Diego wearing a Padres jersey while they were beating my beloved Dodgers in the playoffs last night (first thing I thought of when this album was generated last night.) I'm not gonna deny catching myself singing along to All The Small Things when it came on today though. There's always been a place for pop punk going back to The Buzzcocks and this is a fun poppy representation of pop punk that I totally would've been into if I was in high school when it came out.

A Live One

Phish

5/5

I love Phish and this is from the era that I discovered them. I'm not big on convincing people why something I love is good, if you don't get it, it's okay, if you hate it, that's fine too. I will say that Trey, Gordo, Page and Fishman are four of the best musicians working today and this band is tight as fuck. A lot of people feel that their studio material is vastly inferior to their live stuff but I think that's over-stating it, they actually have some pretty great studio albums (Rift, A Picture of Nectar, Hoist, Billy Breathes and The Story of the Ghost are all good) that are maybe a better starting point than this. But this is kind of like Phish's Europe '72 (if you'll excuse me for making an over used comparison to the Dead) in that it's not a recreation of the live Phish experience but a good compilation of great performances from a certain period in the band's career. When I first heard this it was soon after my first show (it literally was released a week later) which had blown my mind and I was hungry for more. Eventually, I got into tape trading (the band allowed people to record their shows and some tapers would make copies for anyone who sent them blank cassettes and postage, this is a more fair comparison to the Dead who's fans pioneered this early form of viral marketing) but for a time this was my only way to hear live music, on demand from my new favorite band and hear great versions of Harry Hood, Gumbo, Chalkdust Torture, You Enjoy Myself and The Squirming Coil.

A City Dressed In Dynamite

That Handsome Devil

3/5

You know when I first put this on I felt like it was just going to annoy the shit out of me but as I continued to listen it did kind of grow on me.

Super Ape

The Upsetters

3/5

When Smoke Rises

Mustafa

2/5

I feel like a jerk giving this such a low rating because this is one of the more heartfelt and sincere user submitted albums that has generated for me so far. I can even pick up on that as I just casually listened as I did stuff around the house so I can imagine if I payed closer attention to the lyrics and what I guess are excerpts interviews etc. but I really can't stand James Blake and his ilk or that style of folky neo soul or whatever it's called. Maybe I'd appreciate this more if it was some kind of written word situation.

Re

Café Tacvba

3/5

In the Aeroplane Over the Sea

Neutral Milk Hotel

5/5

Zuckerzeit

Cluster

4/5

Home Sweet Home

Kano

2/5

Go Farther In Lightness

Gang of Youths

4/5

Piledriver

Status Quo

1/5

Hand. Cannot. Erase.

Steven Wilson

3/5

Bloody Kisses

Type O Negative

2/5

Don't Say No

Billy Squier

3/5

I And Love And You

The Avett Brothers

4/5

All Hail West Texas

The Mountain Goats

5/5

Contra

Vampire Weekend

4/5

Blink-182

blink-182

3/5

Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera

3/5

I Need to Start a Garden

Haley Heynderickx

3/5

Bob Boilen-core, not that there's anything wrong with that.

Daisies Of The Galaxy

Eels

4/5

I gave Beautiful Freak 4 stars and I honestly don't remember anything about it, I must have liked it and I like this too. I'm curious to see if that album reminds me of Beck as much as this one does because if you put this on and told me it was a late nineties/early aughts Beck album I would definitely believe it. That being said regardless of if that's a fair comparison, I really did enjoy this.

Tomb

Angelo De Augustine

3/5

Wild Planet

The B-52's

4/5

OMFG some bands have more than one album on the list, what's the big deal?

Squeezing Out Sparks

Graham Parker

5/5

This should definitely be on the list, I'm actually a little surprised it isn't

Piñata

Freddie Gibbs

3/5

Loss

Mull Historical Society

3/5

A week from now I'll have absolutely no recollection of hearing this

We Like It Here

Snarky Puppy

3/5

Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino

Arctic Monkeys

1/5

I don't really like the more conventional Arctic Monkeys stuff, not much anyway. I knew this album was considered something of a departure for them so maybe it would be more up my alley. Nope. I actually hate this. Did Alex Turner stick is face in a pile of blow, hit record and then just start talking about whatever stream of consciousness bullshit popped into his head?

Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You

Big Thief

4/5

Spilt Milk

Jellyfish

4/5

Dimanche à Bamako

Amadou & Mariam

4/5

The Animal Years

Josh Ritter

4/5

Tales Of Mystery And Imagination

The Alan Parsons Project

3/5

Sailing The Seas Of Cheese

Primus

4/5

Carolina Confessions

The Marcus King Band

3/5

Version 2.0

Garbage

3/5

Yeti

Amon Düül II

4/5

Human Racing

Nik Kershaw

3/5

Djarimirri

Gurrumul

4/5

This is really cool and unlike anything I've ever heard, whoever contributed this, thank you for sharing.

Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum

Tally Hall

3/5

St. Jude

Courteeners

4/5

Continuum

John Mayer

4/5

Recipe for Hate

Bad Religion

4/5

No.1 In Heaven

Sparks

4/5

A Salty Dog

Procol Harum

4/5

Cleopatra

The Lumineers

4/5

World Of Echo

Arthur Russell

4/5

Bleed American

Jimmy Eat World

4/5

Man, "The Middle" is a perfect god-damned song

Racine carrée

Stromae

2/5

Not completely without merit but definitely not my thing

Phantom Power

The Tragically Hip

4/5

Maestro

Kaizers Orchestra

3/5

Live in San Francisco

Thee Oh Sees

3/5

Ruin

The Amazing Devil

3/5

Transatlanticism

Death Cab for Cutie

5/5

The Hazards of Love

The Decemberists

5/5

Music For People In Trouble

Susanne Sundfør

3/5

Somewhere In The Between

Streetlight Manifesto

2/5

Frosting On The Beater

The Posies

4/5

La cagaste... Burt Lancaster

Hombres G

3/5

Dead Man's Party

Oingo Boingo

5/5

The Lion's Roar

First Aid Kit

4/5

Madvillainy

Madvillain

5/5

Whipped Cream & Other Delights

Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass

5/5

A Deeper Understanding

The War On Drugs

4/5

Lahai

Sampha

2/5

Wow this is more than one year old

Give Up

The Postal Service

5/5

Come On Come On

Mary Chapin Carpenter

3/5

Night Drive

Chromatics

4/5

Come And Get It

Rachel Stevens

3/5

Animals

Pink Floyd

5/5

O

Damien Rice

3/5

Fuzz

Chucklehead

3/5

Silence Yourself

Savages

3/5

Savage Sinusoid

Igorrr

3/5

Ænima

TOOL

5/5

Game of Fools

Koritni

2/5

MOMENTUM

Calibro 35

4/5

Apostrophe(')

Frank Zappa

5/5

Set Yourself On Fire

Stars

4/5

Moffou

Salif Keita

3/5

Relatives in Descent

Protomartyr

4/5

Mm..Food

MF DOOM

3/5

F♯ A♯ ∞

Godspeed You! Black Emperor

5/5

Emotional Mugger

Ty Segall

4/5

Diary

Sunny Day Real Estate

5/5

The first thing I actually listened to while ringing in the new year was The Jerry Garcia Band playing a live version of They Love Each Other. Sunny Day Real Estate's Diary is the first actual album I listened to. The Garcia band and SDRE have very little in common and I'm not going to try to create some kind of artificial link between the bands or their music but I will make one between their "vibes" in relation to this new year 2025. I don't think there are too many people with any amount of self-awareness or empathy who thinks this year is gonna be amazing, maybe some billionaires will be able to keep more of their money, maybe some dictators and authoritarian leaders will feel less pressure to real in their more extreme positions and policies, and maybe some people who are full of hate for various vulnerable people and populations will get to feel seen and approved of. I think many people, my self included, are looking towards the future with some combination of disgust, fear and shame. I think it's going to be important to look out for people who need looking out for, make our angry voices heard by the people in power but also when possible, give ourselves a break. Let punk rock be one of our guiding principles but also remember to love one another, dance and laugh when we can. Don't let yourself get burned out because they want you to give up. Do what it takes to maintain your sanity. I don't know if I successfully brought together the vibes of JGB and SDRE, this has turned into some kind of stream of consciousness thing. Be safe everyone.

Rêver mieux

Daniel Bélanger

3/5

Silent Alarm

Bloc Party

3/5

All the pretty ballady stuff probably a four, all the super repetitive, shouty stuff probably a two so three stars.

The Universe Smiles Upon You

Khruangbin

3/5

Angel Dust

Faith No More

3/5

Come On Over

Shania Twain

2/5

Hadestown

Anaïs Mitchell

4/5

This is great and as a side note, Ani DiFranco should have an album on this list.

Pop

GAS

4/5

Pony Express Record

Shudder To Think

3/5

Young Team

Mogwai

3/5

Act IV: Rebirth In Reprise

The Dear Hunter

3/5

Funeral Dress

Wussy

5/5

Under The Pink

Tori Amos

5/5

I love her first album (we're not counting Y Kant Tori Read, c'mon, it was the '80s) and this one is even better.

Sublime

4/5

Gotcha! Gotcha! Gotcha!

Gotcha!

2/5

Leak 04-13 (Bait Ones)

Jai Paul

3/5

Live At Madison Square Garden

Vulfpeck

4/5

The Black Parade

My Chemical Romance

4/5

Chet

Chet Baker

5/5

Stranger In Town

Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band

5/5

Boys And Girls in America

The Hold Steady

5/5

Stories

Avicii

3/5

WORRY

Jeff Rosenstock

4/5

From The Lions Mouth

The Sound

4/5

Pop Art

Transvision Vamp

3/5

Choirs Of The Eye

Kayo Dot

3/5

Dogrel

Fontaines D.C.

3/5

Before These Crowded Streets

Dave Matthews Band

4/5

Because the Internet

Childish Gambino

2/5

The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking

Roger Waters

3/5

Pushin' Against a Stone

Valerie June

3/5

Forced Witness

Alex Cameron

3/5

Vedergällningen

Garmarna

3/5

Sing To God

Cardiacs

2/5

Alive Or Just Breathing

Killswitch Engage

2/5

Get Fucked

The Chats

5/5

Faith in humanity restored, at least a little bit

Puzzle

Biffy Clyro

2/5

The Beautiful Letdown

Switchfoot

2/5

The Evil One

Roky Erickson

3/5

Nightbirds

LaBelle

4/5

Rose Mountain

Screaming Females

3/5

You'd Prefer an Astronaut

Hum

4/5

Ultra Blue

Hikaru Utada

2/5

Symbolic

Death

2/5

We Rock Hard

Freestylers

3/5

Peasant

Richard Dawson

2/5

Had to scroll down to see if anyone else had made a Family Feud joke and of course they had. No shade because if they hadn't it would have been me. Anyway, this is absolutely not my thing. I'm not saying it's worthless or anything but I definitely got zero enjoyment out of it.

Nuyorican Soul

4/5

10,000 gecs

100 gecs

4/5

On paper, I shouldn't like this but it gives me an early Ween vibe if Ween were zoomers who were into Primus. Four stars.

Songs Of A Lost World

The Cure

5/5

As good as anything they've put out. Normally I'd be hesitant to give something this recent five stars but this is an instant classic.

Brat

Charli xcx

2/5

Grace And Danger

John Martyn

3/5

Control

Pedro The Lion

3/5

L'Heptade

Harmonium

3/5

Blue Is The Colour

The Beautiful South

4/5

Nurture

Porter Robinson

3/5

Oil of Every Pearl's Un-Insides

SOPHIE

3/5

Boxer

The National

4/5

The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess

Chappell Roan

4/5

Gemstones

Adam Green

3/5

Grand Prix

Teenage Fanclub

5/5

For all of the complaints right or wrong, that there is too much 90s UK music on the list, it's ridiculous that there's only one Teenage Fanclub album, when this album and Songs From Northern Britain are right here. Is this them at their Big Stariest? Maybe, but that's a good thing. 5 damn stars.

Dilate

Ani DiFranco

4/5

1, 2, Kung Fu!

Boy Azooga

3/5

Real Life

Joan As Police Woman

3/5

Mad Dogs & Englishmen

Joe Cocker

5/5

User Albums Journey

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