My 1001 Albums Journey

Album	You	Global	Diff
Tank Battles Dagmar Krause	5	2.12	+2.88
L'Eau Rouge The Young Gods	5	2.32	+2.68
Opus Dei Laibach	5	2.39	+2.61
Punishing Kiss Ute Lemper	5	2.41	+2.59
Moss Side Story Barry Adamson	5	2.53	+2.47
Idlewild Everything But The Girl	5	2.57	+2.43
Devotional Songs Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan	5	2.58	+2.42
Tragic Songs of Life The Louvin Brothers	5	2.58	+2.42
Penthouse And Pavement Heaven 17	5	2.61	+2.39
Scott 2 Scott Walker	5	2.63	+2.37

Album	You	Global	Diff
Rage Against The Machine Rage Against The Machine	1	4	-3
The Marshall Mathers LP Eminem	1	3.49	-2.49
Ready To Die The Notorious B.I.G.	1	3.37	-2.37
OK Computer Radiohead	2	4.1	-2.1
Slanted And Enchanted Pavement	1	3.03	-2.03
Reign In Blood Slayer	1	2.96	-1.96
Tical Method Man	1	2.94	-1.94
AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted Ice Cube	1	2.93	-1.93
Fromohio fIREHOSE	1	2.89	-1.89
Vincebus Eruptum Blue Cheer	1	2.8	-1.8

Artist	Albums	Average
Beatles	7	5
Leonard Cohen	5	5
The Rolling Stones	6	4.67
Tom Waits	5	4.6
Steely Dan	4	4.75
Joni Mitchell	4	4.75
Pink Floyd	4	4.75
Michael Jackson	3	5
Paul Simon	3	5
Kate Bush	3	5
Kraftwerk	3	5
The White Stripes	3	5
Beck	3	5
Nick Drake	3	5
Madonna	3	5
Frank Sinatra	3	5
Simon & Garfunkel	3	5
Prince	3	5
Peter Gabriel	3	5
Jimi Hendrix	3	5
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds	5	4.4
Björk	4	4.5
The Kinks	4	4.5
U2	4	4.5
R.E.M.	4	4.5
Stevie Wonder	4	4.5
Arcade Fire	3	4.67
Elvis Presley	3	4.67
Pet Shop Boys	3	4.67
Creedence Clearwater Revival	3	4.67
The Doors	3	4.67
Beastie Boys	3	4.67
Johnny Cash	3	4.67
Bob Dylan	7	4.14
Dire Straits	2	5
Air	2	5
Amy Winehouse	2	5
Emmylou Harris	2	5
ABBA	2	5
Depeche Mode	2	5
New Order	2	5
George Michael	2	5
Adele	2	5
Fleetwood Mac	2	5
Taylor Swift	2	5
Eagles	2	5
Elliott Smith	2	5
XTC	2	5
The The	2	5
Oasis	2	5
k.d. lang	2	5
Ray Charles	2	5
Scott Walker	2	5
Aretha Franklin	2	5
Dusty Springfield	2	5
Lou Reed	2	5
CHIC	2	5
Stan Getz	2	5
Isaac Hayes	2	5
The Pogues	2	5
Muddy Waters	2	5
Belle & Sebastian	2	5
Randy Newman	2	5
The Clash	2	5
Rush	2	5
The Divine Comedy	2	5
Can	2	5
Coldplay	2	5
The Police	2	5
Barry Adamson	2	5
Van Halen	2	5
Dolly Parton	2	5
Goldfrapp	2	5
Rufus Wainwright	2	5
Led Zeppelin	5	4.2
The Byrds	5	4.2
Bruce Springsteen	5	4.2
Neil Young	4	4.25
Miles Davis	4	4.25
The Beach Boys	3	4.33
Queen	3	4.33
Marvin Gaye	3	4.33
Nirvana	3	4.33
Yes	3	4.33
Bob Marley & The Wailers	3	4.33
The Velvet Underground	3	4.33
Echo And The Bunnymen	3	4.33
The Who	5	4

Artist	Albums	Average
The Fall	3	2

Artist	Ratings
Robert Wyatt	1, 4
Ice Cube	1, 4
The Mothers Of Invention	5, 2
The Who	5, 5, 5, 3, 2
Black Sabbath	4, 2, 5

DJ Shadow

4/5

Reminds me of the Maxwell Implosion, Dimitri from Paris, Chill Sirius XM station. Downtempo electronica. Not feeling like it's hip hop. Maybe I don't know what hip hop is.

Buena Vista Social Club

3/5

I enjoyed how this album made me feel like I was in Havana as I walked and drove with it playing.

Brothers In Arms

Dire Straits

5/5

A favorite from back in the day

Eliminator

ZZ Top

3/5

Rain Dogs

Tom Waits

4/5

The Stone Roses

3/5

This is a real "album." It sets a nice consistent mood for an hour without ever jarring you out of that mood—even with a particularly catchy tune. An hour of "like" without any moments of "love." It does take me back to late 80s moody college dorm rooms, but I can't say I knew it in particular.

The Undertones

3/5

It was fun! Good rock n roll.

The White Album

Beatles

5/5

I had never listened to this whole album. I owned and loved Sgt Pepper and listened to that over and over again back in the day, but I couldn't afford many albums, and so I had Beatles compilations. They threw every kind of thing in this one, didn't they? I found some old loves, and some new favorites (including, but not limited to, Glass Onion, Bungalow Bill, Savoy Truffle). I liked the blues songs the least. I didn't finish the album in my first session, so when I was able to get back and listen to the rest, the first "song" was Revolution 9. Oh. Oh. Was it a local radio station that ended broadcasting each night with "Good Night"?

Ramones

5/5

I wasn't excited to see this one come up, but as soon as I listened it was immediately a favorite. Energetic and naughty, humorous and provocative, it fired me up good. I love "I Don't Wanna go Down to the Basement." I love Joey Ramone's articulations.

Nick Of Time

Bonnie Raitt

2/5

Well, I love her story of perseverance and overcoming that led to this album. I certainly appreciate her voice and the musicality. I just don't feel that I ever need to listen to this album again. It's not her, it's me.

Ritual De Lo Habitual

Jane's Addiction

2/5

I hated listening to some of this album, but not all of it. I enjoyed some of the creative moments here and there.

When I Was Born For The 7th Time

Cornershop

5/5

I walked into work this morning with a huge grin on my face after listening to this on my commute. This is what I've been waiting for. It started with an accordion! "Sleep on the Left Side" hooked me right in. "Brimful of Asha" had slipped away from my consciousness in the last 20 years, but was a joyful reunion. Bosom is the best word! The rest is lovely, interesting, fun, and begs to be listened to again and again. Allen Ginsberg!?! Wow! "Good Shit" needs to be my aspirational theme. And I loved the perfect Punjabi "Norwegian Wood." Happy happy!

The La's

4/5

"There She Goes" is an absolutely perfect song and it's understandable why it is the ubiquitous soundtrack to every joyful moment in the 90s (and the "Gilmore Girls" pilot). If I were to go to Tower Records back in the day and get the album it came from because I liked this song so much, I would have had certain expectations I wanted it to live up to. This was always the gamble when buying an album. Well, I should have bought it then, because it delivered! I love this music. The first other standout song to me was "Doldrum." Next were "I Can't Sleep" and "Feelin'." But there was nothing I didn't enjoy on this jangly, awesome album!

Vincebus Eruptum

Blue Cheer

1/5

I have this weird vivid memory of me at age 7 or so proclaiming, "I like rock, I just don't like acid rock." I'm thinking it was directed to my older brother who had music like this in his collection. Well, although the term "acid rock" hasn't really been in my consciousness since 1978, some things never change. "Summertime Blues": Okay, this is a valid, hard rock take on the classic, but makes me miss the original. "Rock me Baby": We're getting into a bluesy groove that I get. B. B. King song! Maybe I'll kind of like the rest of this album okay. "Doctor Please" is the first original song of the band. Not enjoying. Is it almost done? Oh, no, it's eight minutes long. Hmm, I'm kind of tired of the guitar and the screaming, and the drummer is certainly drumming. Those are interesting guitar noises. Please end. Please end. Oh, thank God. Maybe the next song is better. "Out of Focus." Holy shit, it sounds exactly the same as the last song. Is it even a different song? "Parchment Farm": Good, this one at least sounds different. Picking cotton? Hmm. "Second Time Around": I feel like Dickie's throat must be pretty sore by now and could use some lemon tea. Oh, wait! The guitars stopped for the first time. Oh, this is a drum solo! Is it done now? No, bass fading back in. Now lots of wailing guitar sounds again! Six minutes going. Aaaaaand it's done. Phew.

Electric Prunes

The Electric Prunes

4/5

Another new one for me. I love the opening track and biggest hit, "I Had Too Much to Dream," with its wonderful psychedelic 1967 sound. The songs that keep with this sound are my favorites. I like the sound of "Train for Tomorrow" and "Try Me On for Size" has a good marimba in it. What kind of name is "Onie?" I really enjoyed the whole thing, although I'm not sure ending with "The Toonerville Trolley" was the right way to go. Was the piano solo supposed to do that?

Bad

Michael Jackson

5/5

"Bad" is a good song. Really, really good. A worthy successor to "Beat It." Oh, I just compared it to the Thriller album. So hard not to. Sorry, Michael. I love the brass, the percussion, the keyboards, the backup singing, and of course, the iconic bassline. All not to mention the one and only MJ's vocals. But this is yet another album that I had never listened to as such. So here we go. I've always loved loved the way "The Way You Make Me Feel" makes me feel. "Speed Demon" is a new one. Fun. "Liberian Girl": smooth eighties. "Just Good Friends": You think a duo with Stevie Wonder would be better... "Another Part of Me": Fine. And then we're back to hit territory. Sincere and heartfelt "Man in the Mirror" and the absolutely perfect love duet, "I Just Can't Stop Loving You." How can you not want to dance with your love to this with fog on the floor and a wind machine in your hair? Then we have the growly rock tribute to evil seductress "Dirty Diana" (she likes the boys in the bands, and is, apparently, irresistible to any man, so, yeah, it's her fault), and then we go from temptress to an irresistibly catchy song about the battered female victim of a "Smooth Criminal." This one has always bothered me since I listened to the words. Would "You've been hit by, you've been struck by, a smooth criminal," be the first words to a bleeding and dying woman after "Are you okay?" "Smooth?" really? And then we DANCE, cuz this song is smokin' hot! But did she survive? You said it was her doom, so did the mouth to mouth resuscitation not work? I have lots of questions. I think if it had different lyrics, however, it would be a near-perfect electric jam. And then we finish with "Leave Me Alone" which I haven't heard in years but immediately brings to mind the amazing video, which I had to watch again. I'm going to leave those to speak for themselves. Some pretty amazing things on this album, which after some doubt, I think was indeed a worthy followup to Thriller and strongly brought the MJ sound to the late 80s and vice versa.

Virgin Suicides

Air

5/5

I saw this movie in the theater when it came out, and the thing that I remember most about it was that I was blown away by the music and I immediately looked for the soundtrack. However, there were two albums available, the "score" and the "soundtrack" and I think I got overwhelmed trying to pick (why didn't I get both? I don't know) so I just (slowly) downloaded "Playground Love" on dial-up Napster. (Why isn't the "soundtrack" available anymore? I particularly remember "I'm Not in Love" being very effectively used in the film.) Anyhoo, I am still blown away by this music and I'm so mad that I didn't buy it (and the soundtrack) in 2000. It creates such a setting and such a mood and feels as striking now as it did 20 years ago. Besides the theme, which has never left my playlist, I can't quite elevate one track above another as they each have their own complementary sound to the album as a whole.

Guitar Town

Steve Earle

3/5

I was not familiar with this before. I enjoy "Guitar Town." I did not like "Little Rock 'n' Roller." I liked the old school country sound of "Think it Over." What I hear is an 80s country album. I don't know enough about the genre to know what might be special or innovative about this particular album. I don't know what makes it stand out, although I know that sometimes it was the first to sound this way.

Bringing It All Back Home

Bob Dylan

5/5

This is what I signed up for—listening to iconic albums that I never would have otherwise. This one is so revered and thoroughly discussed that I have trouble giving my own humble opinions. There is an entire Wikipedia article for each song! A barrier to being a true fan has always been that I struggle with Bob Dylan's voice. Like being able to make it through listening to one song. But here we go! "Subterranean Homesick Blues" Well there you go. Can't not see the famous "video" in my head. I love what he does with the sounds of words in putting them together– lots of alliteration and cleverly arranged rhymes. I read someone saying that a lot of his songs are structured like raps, and you get that here. Maggie's Farm is an example of a song where I really can't take his voice. But then I like it in the next song "Love Minus Zero/No Limit." "On the Road Again" made me smile the whole time. "Bob Dylan's 115th Dream" was also delightful, all the more for the laughter at the beginning. "The waitress he was handsome." There are sure a lot more verses in his version of "Mr. Tambourine Man." I am really enjoying going for the full ride. "It's Alright Ma" really feels like a rap over acoustic guitar. The sound and rhythm of the words are part of the music and this is one of my favorites. Glad I dove in deep to this one and listened more than once. I think I finally got to genuinely feel why people love this album so much.

All Mod Cons

The Jam

3/5

I enjoyed this album. I associate the sound with the 80s, so it’s interesting to me that it’s from 1978. They seem to be a connecting link from 60s Britpop to many modern genres.

Scream, Dracula, Scream

Rocket From The Crypt

2/5

Didn’t get to spend as much time with this as I could have. I liked the clever lyrics/titles and hearing a horn section in a hard rock sound. Didn’t love the vocals personally, although they fit the title just fine.

Master Of Puppets

Metallica

4/5

Why is it that I liked this album so much? What made it so listenable? This isn’t usually “my” genre. But I enjoyed the rhythm of it, and it made me move the whole time. I liked the use of lyrics as sound. I liked the lyrics as a message. I liked the vocals—hard but not ugly. I liked the guitars and percussion—so much hard energy but always rhythmic and musical. I can’t fully explain the difference with other albums, I just liked this one. I would play it again. Phrases I will steal: “the thing that should not be,” and “bow to leper messiah!” The title track really, really swings I think. And “Welcome Home (Sanitarium)” will be a good drive-to-work anthem.

Foo Fighters

4/5

I really enjoyed this album (especially second time through). I don't usually let the story of the album dictate whether I like it or not, but this really does feel like an amazing heretofore hidden talent going into the studio and working out, "What shall 90s music be?" and then influencing (or reflecting?) so much of what came after. I'd never taken much time to explore Foo Fighters or Dave Grohl's story before and how he was exploring himself as a musician post-Nirvana, but I felt it in this album. I did think that something had gone terribly wrong with my wireless headphones when "Exhausted" came on. With that, I can't say that there were no "misses" on these experimentations, but all in all I liked this album very much.

John Prine

5/5

Embarrassingly, this was an introduction to me. I only knew the song "Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore." I did realize that I'd heard a few of the other songs, whether performed by John Prine or other artists, but I was so delighted to spend my time with this one. Another walking into work smiling kind of day after listening on my commute. I'm having trouble thinking he was 25 when he recorded this. His voice sounds like he's been around and seen a lot more. There's something special about a song that's so clever or poignant you want to listen to it again and again, and by as many artists as you can find performing it. These songs all feel that way. (And I did.) I've missed out. I wish there were a voice like his in modern day music. We need it.

Hearts And Bones

Paul Simon

5/5

So, this was a surprise. If you'd asked me about Paul Simon albums, I could have told you there was "the one from 1975" with all the good songs and then "Graceland" in 1986, which I owned, and listened to over and over and over back in the day. You then might have pointed out, "Late in the Evening" came from a 1980 album, and I'd say, "Oh yeah, I love that song, too." So for our first Paul Simon album to be this one from 1983, it was a surprise. But again, such a joyful surprise! There's not a song I didn't love. I love the sound of all these songs. I love the lyrics. "Allergies" is such a fun song! "René and Georgette Magritte with Their Dog After the War" is so lovely lovely lovely! The rest of the songs are all very fun ("Cars are Cars"), or painfully lovely, or both. "The smartest people in the world/Had gathered in Los Angeles/To analyze our love affair/And possibly unscramble us." !!! "Hearts and Bones" says SO much with just the lyric "the arc of a love affair." Man. Love this one. Love Paul Simon. Glad for this one.

Paranoid

Black Sabbath

4/5

How I wish I'd gone to that Black Sabbath concert on May 5, 1982. I guess it only took 40 years to realize that. I was scared away at the time. How was I to know with everyone freaking out at the time? Good grief, this review will be more obscene than the album is. How can you not go, "Fuck yeah!" through this whole album? It's the "War Pigs" that are satanic! Fuck, yeah! What is this freaky, spacey, awesome sound in "Planet Caravan"? Fuck, yeah! Oh my God, that riff in "Iron Man" is so epic that we're going to play it and sing to it over and over for five and half minutes and never get tired of it. (When you look up "Riff" in Wikipedia, this is the riff that illustrates what a riff is. Fuck, yeah!) I went batshit when that voice that kind of sounds like Animal from the Muppets chanted "Electric Funeral! Electric Funeral" Fuck, yeah! When "Hand of Doom" slowly, creepily builds and builds to "Now you're gonna die!" Fuck, yeah! (Well, maybe not "yeah" except that it's definitely not glamorizing drug abuse, so, okay, fuck, yeah!) I will never get tired of the title "Rat Salad." Fuck, yeah. The album so far has dealt with war, depression, the end of the world (twice), and drug abuse, and ends with "Fairy with boots and dancing with a dwarf." Fuck. Yeah. (Granted it might have had to do with the "smokin' and trippin'" but as the album ends, "Yeah!") I had to giggle a few times when the lyrics really struggled to fit the rhythm "Ca-an he-e see-e, or is he blind?" and then I laughed again when I realized it sounded like Jack Black was singing, but I felt like a goddamn badass pulling up to work with it blaring on my car stereo and now I finally get it all.

Halcyon Digest

Deerhunter

3/5

I'd been agonizing what to think about this album all day, and played a bit for my spouse, who immediately said "I'd listen to this as background music just fine but I don't love it and I can't understand anything he's singing." I like the mood it sets and how it evokes certain eras with the music. I can't find a whole lot of meaning in the lyrics, but it seems to have been made that way. They like to repeat phrases at least three times in many of the songs. I'm told the songs are inspired by images in memories (real or imagined) without much explanation and the lyrics just come as they come. I like "Revival," "Memory Boy," "Basement Scene," and "Fountain Stairs." "Sailing" sounds to me like the 60s classic "Onie" by the Electric Prunes. "Coronado" has a somewhat 80s saxophone solo! The album seems to end very abruptly at the end of "He Would Have Laughed." Was that as it was supposed to be? Very jarring.

Reign In Blood

Slayer

1/5

This project has enabled me, for the first time, to be able to tell you the difference between a number of heavy metal bands. Slayer is no Metallica. In this relentless 28 minutes there is no variance of tempo, no recognizable riffs or remarkable solos, and neither melody nor rhythm to any of the lyrics. I couldn't tell you which song is which upon hearing a sample. Is it bad that I laughed out loud a few times listening to this? Is "How can we really freak mom out?" the sole driver of this creation? There is absolutely no meter or structure to the random, screamed lyrics. I was trying to imagine what else might be performed in this manner. Julia Child's recipe for Bœuf Bourgignon? And then it hit me that I wanted to hear the poem "This is Just to Say" performed in this manner. "...so cooooooooooooooooooold!" This isn't to say that it doesn't represent its genre well. It has a consistent badass sound and scary lyrics. I love the scream at the beginning of "Angel of Death" but it did make me laugh as I listened to it over and over, and I'm not sure that's the intended effect. Some of my favorite lyrics: "How long can you last in this frozen water burial?" "Dismembered destiny" "Transforming five toes to two" and "These shackles will be useless when your life is out of time" I love that the somewhat timely "Epidemic" ("pulmonary overthrow") ends with the ominous line, "Years will pass before it can be cuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuured!" Hail, Satan!

Rock 'N Soul

Solomon Burke

3/5

I like that this project has introduced me to underappreciated talent. I did not know of this singer, this album, or any of the songs. And I appreciate Solomon Burke and this album now. I really like his voice and how he interprets these songs. I like that he championed the term "soul singer" and I think it's apt. Songs that stand out to me are "Can't Nobody Love You," "You're Good for Me" and "He'll Have to Go." I definitely love the backup singers on this, as well as the instrumentation backup.

Back To Black

Amy Winehouse

5/5

This was yet another time when I had known and (really) loved a few songs, but wishing so much I'd gotten the album back in the day!! Upon listening, I was so happy to hear the familiar first two songs: the always incredible "Rehab" and the glorious, sultry "You Know I'm No Good" (I forgot how much I love that song). THEN! THEN! THEN! A glorious, soulful, retro intro leads to "What kind of fuckery is this?" and I think I laughed and yelled and I immediately listened to that intro about 7 times over again and this is when I knew I should have bought the damn album a long time ago. I listened to the song "Back to Black" about 12 times today, because I forgot it was one of my favorites ever and I missed it lots. (I also had missed some of those lyrics! Whoa!) "Tears Dry on Their Own" with the homage to "Ain't no Mountain High Enough" was so cool and good (ran out of adjectives, sorry). I was going to say that "Addicted" wasn't my favorite until I heard what she rhymed that word with. I was so glad to have listened to Solomon Burke the day before, because Winehouse's connection to 60s soul music is so loving and spot on. I read that she wouldn't listen to anything from after 1967. I absolutely love her voice and her songs. I love the instrumentation and the retro feel that still seems fresh and new. I loved getting a top of the tops album at this point in this project. How I wish she were still with us.

Buenas Noches From A Lonely Room

Dwight Yoakam

3/5

We'll begin by talking about the music. Not being a country music aficionado, I've enjoyed spending a little more time exploring these artists and their albums. I was surprised how much more I enjoyed the music on this album than Steve Earle's Guitar Town, which came out around the same time. Not that I didn't like most of that album, but I thought it felt kind of generic 80s country. Dwight Yoakam's album was not only just more classic honky tonk sounding, but had much more variety and creativity with the instrumentation, going into Mexican-American styles and so on. I'm always a sucker for an accordion. But on the other hand, let's look at Earle's "Goodbye's All We've Got Left," a song about a painful breakup where the singer feels unable to pick up the phone and figures that maybe he can deal with his emotions some years down the road after some healing and they've gone their separate ways, etc. etc. It's a lovely song about heartache with an appropriate end. The title track of this album first enchanted me with what seemed to be a similar broken heart themed song. (Listen to that lovely accordion!) And then... and then... Oh my God! He just shot her! No, that's not okay! I'm not okay! I feel like the Kill Bill sirens should have sounded at that point! This guy is a murderer and this poor woman is yet another victim of a psychotically possessive monster! And wait a minute, not just in this song, but this murder has been foreshadowed in the previous songs, too! The songs that I was SO enjoying with their steel guitars and mandolins and all as I missed his jealous, murderous intentions. It really traumatized me and there's too much of this that goes on in real life for it to feel like I can deal with it as just some sort of romanticized fiction. No. Once we got past that, and the "Dixie" song (again, musically lovely, but I can write a whole essay on some issues I have with that one), I loved the accordion-enhanced duet "Streets of Bakersfield" (I was just recently in Bakersfield, which is the birthplace of my spouse, so I wish I'd had this to play as we drove around town), and I thought "Floyd County," "Send me the Pillow," and "Hold on to God" were lovely classic country songs with three very classic country themes and no explicit violence against women. Okay, so this album does have its merits! I really love a lot of it... ...And then my player starts the album over again. I remembered that this first song was kind of a witty take on poverty. Let's listen again. "I've had to buy back damn near everything I own/From a little man whose name is Saul and has a lot of money to loan." Oh. no.

Fromohio

fIREHOSE

1/5

I think I really would have preferred a 501 albums project, and then I don't think this would have made the cut. I was bored, I didn't enjoy the music or the singer's voice, and I just couldn't get hooked in by any of it. Two drum solo tracks? Not even if the second one is appropriately called, "'Nuf that Shit, George." Bleah. Next!

Rust In Peace

Megadeth

4/5

I enjoyed this one. A lot. Surprise! When the first track, "Holy Wars...the Punishment Due" started, I thought, "I'm noticing the guitars and I like what they're doing. I'm noticing the drums and I like what they're doing. It's not boring and it's not noise. I'm moving with the music." Dave Mustaine, as I would notice through the whole album, did interesting, varied, and effective things with his voice. You get that change in tempo and the scary deep voice comes out, and it was so cool. "Take No Prisoners" employed a heavy metal backup call-and-response chorus, and I realized that there needs to be more of that. This one made me want to move my body. "Five Magics" went from the anti-war themes into a bit of geekery. Extra points for bringing "wyverns" into it. Extra points for the Exorcist voice effects and the demon backup singer "Possessed with hellish torment!" I love the cackle at the beginning of "Lucretia." And this song gets a little jazzy and swingy in a way I much appreciate. "Lucretia rocks away...yay!" "Dawn Patrol" is a 30-year-old warning about climate change done in a creaky, creepy voice. "We end our lives as moles." "Rust in Peace...Polaris" was inspired by an anti-nuke bumper sticker. Wow! Last comment is that while I usually have a hard time with guitar solos, I really liked these, and I couldn't tell you why, but I did.

The Hour Of Bewilderbeast

Badly Drawn Boy

3/5

Just to be clear, this album is a clearly perfect 3.5 to me, so whether I give it a 3 or 4, neither will be quite right. I enjoyed listening to this one, and I even wanted to keep listening when I had to take a break. But then when I resumed it did go on a long time and I got a bit weary by the end. And then when I went back to the beginning, I really liked it again, but didn't feel the need to listen to everything all the way through again. So nice to hear such interesting uses of varied musical instruments. I liked "The Shining" with the cello and French horn and acoustic guitar and mellow singing voice singing about the sunshine. "Fall in a River" was kind of cool when it, well, fell in the river. I liked "Once Around the Block" and "Bewilderbeast." By the last 20 minutes of the album, though, I enjoyed it well enough, but it was well enough. Lovely album, thank you.

Jagged Little Pill

Alanis Morissette

5/5

Wait, she was 20 when she co-wrote and recorded this? Whoa. It's a nearly perfect album, and yet another one I've never listened to as such. This is why I'm here. I don't need to go on about the perfection of the six singles that came from this album. They speak for themselves. But in the context of an hour of listening it's all the more amazing how they go together with each other and the rest of the songs. "Perfect" will make you gulp (at the least!) if you're the parent of a teenager. I like that there's a raw edge to the singing in this one. "Right Through You" is so timely. Why didn't we talk about this more in 1995? You could make a two line poem from "You took a long, hard look at my ass/And then played golf for a while." That says all you need to know. "Your shake is like a fish/You pat me on the head" Ew. Ew. Ew. So happy she gets revenge. "Forgiven" is a powerful, emotional real song that goes so well with "Perfect." That anguished adolescent struggle to figure out how to reconcile who you feel you are, who you want to be, with who you are told you are supposed to be. Which is all the more terrifying for those who are threatened with eternal damnation for getting it wrong. "Mary Jane" was the one non-single that most grabbed my attention the most while listening through the album the first time. I've known a number of Mary Janes in my life and this brought them to mind vividly. "Not the Doctor" seems to be a good sequel and prescription to Mary Jane. "Wake Up" is a lovely end to the original album. Special bonus for the special bonus a cappella track "Your House." Scoring these albums has been tricky. I think about balancing the quality of singing, the backing music (interesting instrumentation played well), the songwriting and lyrics, the collection and progression of songs as an album, whether it's got a good beat and I can dance to it, and so on. Rating this album is easy, 'cause yes.

Happy Sad

Tim Buckley

4/5

It's a good thing I love the vibraphone so much. I truly loved this album, although I could easily imagine listening to it on the wrong day and not appreciating it. It walks an edge, as does anything an artist tries out of the ordinary. I was trying to figure out what genre this album would be classified under, and saw that Apple Music labels it "Pop." Hmmm. I really liked Tim Buckley's voice and I truly loved the instrumentation. Not many pop albums combine vibraphone, acoustic and electric guitar, congas, string bass, and marimba. I loved the effect. Long tracks can be a killer for me. Luckily these created moods I wanted to be in. "Gypsy Woman" may have tested that a bit, but I really got into it the second time through.

Daydream Nation

Sonic Youth

2/5

There were some moments and sounds that I really liked or appreciated (not always the same thing). Sometimes a jarring sound can make you think, "Wow! That's interesting!" but then when it repeats over and over and goes on and on it just can get hard to bear. The songs with Kim Gordon's vocals were much more interesting to me than Thurston Moore's. By the time I got to his monotone "Rain King" (or as I would later see Wikipedia refer to it, "the rarely played 'Rain King'" yay!) with its shrill background I wanted to rip off my ears. I think there are days that a bit of Sonic Youth would be just the thing. There were a couple moments where the music matched my inner negative energy and I got it. But an over hour-long double album of constant dissonance wasn't doing it for me today.

Peggy Suicide

Julian Cope

4/5

I really enjoyed this one. It was interesting and different, but still very musical. I liked the variety of instruments and sounds, and how Julian Cope varies his resonant voice. The lyrics definitely make relevant statements to 1991 Britain, and some which definitely speak 30 years later in the USA. I didn't love every track but I liked most of the eighteen. A few quickly picked favs might be "Double Vegetation," "East Easy Rider," "You...," and "Beautiful Love."

Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge

Mudhoney

3/5

I'm not sure "charming" is the adjective that comes to mind with this album, but it does have an exuberant, fun garage band feel without ever becoming unlistenable. I like the fast, edgy "Thorn." Not too many songs stand out for me, though. I was going to remark that the lyrics as a whole were pretty bland, but then I got to the verse about "Driving reckless in your Pinto/full tank of gas" which made me smile real big, but I didn't find many other moments like that. I liked the look into early Seattle grunge. I liked it more than I thought I would (and probably more than I would have in 1991). I didn't like it enough to listen to 15 bonus tracks.

Spiderland

Slint

3/5

For me personally, Spiderland suffers from being the third album of its genre in the last four days--and not a favorite genre of mine. But I will learn what there is to learn, and appreciate what there is to appreciate. I thought the first song was a respectable representative of its ilk, and I liked enough the back and forth of spoken word with soft music to angry shouting with a hard rock backing. It does take a while to settle into this one, and I still struggle with 8-minute tracks, but I got into it a bit more as the day went on. Interesting vocals and lyrics pushed it up a notch.

Debut

Björk

5/5

I've had this CD since it came out in 1993 and I listened to it quite often back in the day. It was fun to get reacquainted with it after at least a decade. I love its creativity with styles, genres, instruments, and so on. I love a pop song with prominent timpani drums, and I've always loved the sound and feel of "Human Behaviour." I always liked the way "There's More to Life Than This" sounds as it's described on the CD, "Recorded live at the Milk Bar toilets." "Big Time Sensuality," though, was my favorite song on the album, if not the year 1993, and I played it over and over. It's different to review an album you've already been in love with. I was so glad to spend some time with it again today!

Hounds Of Love

Kate Bush

5/5

I was SO happy to listen to this album today. Although a review I read said that this album helped define 80s music, I thought that it really sounded timeless. "Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)" has always been one of my absolute favorite songs of all time, so there's that. And of course "Cloudbursting" is another great one, enough so that one line from it made a hit for Utah Saints. The second "side" is pretty magical. "Waking the Witch" has always been mind-blowing. I love the journey this set took me on, and I recommend listening to it in the chilly autumn rain, as I did. I love the mix of instrumentation (from synthesizer to strings), sound and voice samples, and of course, Kate Bush's amazing voice. Going back to the timeless comment, it really stuns me that Kate Bush was the first female British artist to top the charts with a song she wrote herself. I'm so happy she paved the way for so many other creative souls.

Haunted Dancehall

The Sabres Of Paradise

3/5

Well this was a long one, wasn't it? It certainly had a lot of electronic sounds, and not unpleasant ones. It took a long time to warm up and get going, though I imagine that this was by design. I was very happy to get to the middle section, with "Wilmot," "Tow Truck," and "Theme," where it went to interesting places beyond ambient for a while before heading back. I enjoyed those pieces. Some cool, interesting stuff.

(Pronounced 'Leh-'Nérd 'Skin-'Nérd)

Lynyrd Skynyrd

5/5

There are a few reasons I may not have given Lynyrd Skynyrd much of a chance before, but I really did love all the music on this album. I love the rock/folk/blues/country feel of it. Mandolins and funky keyboards and the first time I was compelled during this project to air guitar. I really didn't expect to gush about this album, but I have to say there wasn't a song I didn't enjoy, as well as the unexpected variety of sounds going from song to song. I think seeing "Free Bird" performed live in concert must truly have been the most amazing experience, as the legends say. I like to imagine that while I listen. (I've complained about long songs before, but I've listened to this one four times today. It doesn't feel like nine minutes!)

Red Dirt Girl

Emmylou Harris

5/5

I wasn't sure how much I would love this album at first, but by the end my eyes were glistening and I wanted to go back and start over. Knowing of Emmylou Harris forever, but not being that familiar with her work, I didn't realize this was the first album she recorded with mostly songs she wrote or co-wrote. I love these songs. It was, however, "Red Dirt Girl" that really first caught my attention and grabbed my heart. Then "My Baby Needs a Shepherd" came on and "What are you doing to me?!?" Then "Bang the Drum Slowly" came on and "Oh no! *sob* I can't take it!" Going back and listening to everything again, I just thought it was a beautiful album. Beautiful music, beautiful voice, beautiful songs.

Trans Europe Express

Kraftwerk

5/5

What's not to love about Kraftwerk? Groundbreaking electronic music and German accents! I've been a fan since a very young age. The Siouxie and the Banshees version of "Hall of Mirrors" was an important moody college song, but sounds positively jaunty next to Kraftwerk's masterpiece of existential dread, which leads nicely to "Showroom Dummies." We are all showroom dummies; "we go into a club, and there we start to dance." I never had this album, but "Trans Europe Express" was on a Kraftwerk collection I had, and was always a favorite of mine with its funky train beat in the background and (retroactively) futuristic feel. On a sleek, high speed train of the future, speeding through the European landscape, I'm filled with ennui and angst under this façade I'm forced to wear. Timeless perfection.

Frampton Comes Alive

Peter Frampton

3/5

There's absolutely nothing like the feeling of live music, but I've never been a fan of live albums. They don't give you the feel of being there, they don't sound as good as a studio album, and every flaw or random noise is annoyingly repeated every time you listen. This one, however, is justifiably at the top of live albums. "Do You Feel Like We Do" does make me wish I were there, and probably gives the best feel of a live event. And the talk box (along with the crowd reaction to it) is still, very, very cool. It was my favorite part of the album and I enjoyed the full 14 minutes. The other singles from the album are classics, but have never been favorites of mine. Beyond that, it was an hour of similar, well-performed stuff.

The Visitors

ABBA

5/5

The first cassette I ever bought for my new tape recorder was ABBA Greatest Hits Vol. 2 with money from Christmas 1979 in 6th grade. My mom helped me pick it out. I listened to it a billion times as I couldn't afford many other tapes and thus ABBA was my jam. When "The Visitors" came out in 1981 no expense was spared and I excitedly bought the new album (on cassette, of course). I remember being taken aback somewhat by the different tone of this music, which was a little less infectious than the compilation. The opening title track had a long, moody introduction, for example...but then 2 minutes in...oh yeah! Like a number of the songs on this album it has a cool build-up and transition. "When All is Said and Done" is a favorite and is the song that sounds the most classic ABBA, maybe, despite its theme of maturity (they were more than 15 years younger than I am now when they recorded it. Dang.) For forty years I've thought the voice on the phone in "Two for the Price of One" said "Al is waiting." It's still a fun song, nevertheless. Having listened to this album over and over in my youth, there's no way I can't love the whole thing to this day.

Live 1966 (The Royal Albert Hall Concert)

Bob Dylan

2/5

"Bringing It All Back Home" was a perfect way to introduce a person to Bob Dylan and why he's revered. This album, however, seemed more for the existing big fans. My spouse and I both made the observation that it sometimes sounded like someone making an over-the-top, mocking imitation of "Bob Dylan." Some of the songs really went on forever. Giving it a quick second listen, I know I might have liked it better with the proper setting and time to appreciate it. But I'm scoring it as music listened to while cooking dinner, and I just really couldn't take any more of his voice.

Rejoicing In The Hands

Devendra Banhart

4/5

I enjoyed the acoustic guitar on this album very much. My appreciation of the singing waxed and waned. I know I would really enjoy some of these songs on a playlist.

Dummy

Portishead

3/5

I really enjoyed the first two songs of this album with the theremin and the cimbalom in each respectively. "Sour Times" had a very cool James Bond feel to it, was my favorite, and raised my hopes. But as it went on, however, the songs seemed to get less interesting and less distinct. I think the album as a whole was ahead of its time, and I think has had many imitators since.

Snivilisation

Orbital

2/5

This project so far has had its fair share of electronica in this playlist. Each has been in its own niche. This one fits in the "long and repetitive" niche. I laughed out loud when I read it was on a list of the 25 best dance albums ever, as I had spent a lot of the time listening to it thinking, "how would you dance to this?" Not that there aren't some cool things here. But I noticed that there was a vast difference between my feeling after listening to the entire album (minus 3 minutes, see below) and listening to 30 second samples of each track for a review. The first eight notes of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, for example, is brilliant. Hearing it repeated over and over for 9 minutes without ever moving on to another phrase would make me murderous. "Forever" was a good and hopeful start to the album for me. I liked the sound of it quite a bit. "I Wish I Had Duck Feet" was an interesting collection of sounds and percussion. Still liking the album although both tracks were overly long. "Sad but True" was where it started getting on my nerves. "Crash and Carry" was your standard '90's dance club beat, but I always found those boring and long. "Science Friction" had an interesting enough sound but like so much of this album, repeated ad infinitum. I liked the voice samples in "Philosophy by Numbers" but not much else. "Kein Trink Wasser" went on forever in a piano-pounding, nerve-fraying way. "Quality Seconds" then blared out of the speakers and I thought my music player had malfunctioned. Very jarring but mercifully short (if still repetitive). "Are We Here" went on for twice as long as the songs I've labeled "too long." And I will confess that I skipped about three minutes towards the end of the 12.5 minutes of "Attached." I was just feeling done with it. Did I miss anything?

Teenager Of The Year

Frank Black

3/5

Twenty-two songs made it a little hard to get to know this as an album in one day. There are definitely some songs I would have enjoyed lingering over, but also ones that I wouldn't have minded skipping. I liked "(I Want to Live On An) Abstract Plain" and "Calistan." There are definitely some fun things going on with lyrics. "Speedy Marie" was my initial favorite. "Freedom Rock" is a super fun look at musical taste...(I think?). I liked the sound of "Big Red." I'm fairly sure that more time here would make this rating go up.

Illmatic

Nas

3/5

A genre outside of my usual comfort zone, I was definitely not feeling okay about the world through "N.Y. State of Mind" and wasn't sure I could do this. "Life's a Bitch" was also rough, but I appreciated the sound of it more. And then I found myself quite liking "The World is Yours" and "Halftime" with its jingle bells. Heck, I liked the rest of it. Many of the repeated themes in these songs felt cliché, but I reminded myself that this was 1994 and these were compositions that inspired the clichés. It was a voice that ended up drawing me into its world for a little while.

Be

Common

3/5

Definitely some lovely things in this album. A few things I didn't love. I'm glad I spent some time with it.

Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space

Spiritualized

3/5

There was a lot of this album that I really enjoyed. I really liked the first three three tracks, and Broken Heart. I did not enjoy the long, unpleasant, discordant sections in many of the songs. A bonus that "Cop Shoot Cop" quoted John Prine, a minus that it went on for 17 minutes with an unlistenable, interminable center.

Bitte Orca

Dirty Projectors

3/5

Well, on first listening, I found I liked the most traditional-sounding song, "Two Doves" and found the rest hard to get into. I worked a little to get into "Stillness Is the Move" and started to appreciate it a bit more. Repeated listening may spark more appreciation, but there's hundreds of albums to go and I'm not gonna.

Kenya

Machito

5/5

Oh boy, I was excited to have this one. I had not known of Machito before, so this was a new one for me and it was instant love. "Wild Jungle" came on with instant energy, immediately clearing out any sullen 90s/00s alternative cobwebs from the brain. Yeah, baby! The horns! The percussion! We are all dancing like mad! Then "Congo Mulence" comes in cooooooool. We're sitting down to sip our Cuba libres and catch our breath. I love the piano and bass to the percussion rhythms. "Holiday" with the muted trumpet makes me very happy. I laughed out loud when a song called "Frenzy" came on. It was a word that had already come to mind listening to this album. I loved "Blues a la Machito" and "Conversation" ...and all the other songs too. I also have to add that the remastered album sounded amazing. I found this joyful and fun!

Songs Of Love And Hate

Leonard Cohen

5/5

Leonard Cohen was someone I was hoping and expecting to listen to in this project. I have always wanted to explore his earlier music. I had owned a 1991 tribute album which was how some of his songs were most familiar to me. My favorite song from that compilation was “Avalanche,” sung in French by Jean-Louis Murat. I played it a lot. It sent chills to hear Leonard Cohen’s version with its classical guitar sound and his resonant voice opening this album. I wish I knew why I am so seized by that song. And the rest of the album seized me, for that matter. I walked into work late just to finish a song first. “Famous Blue Raincoat” completely pulled me out of the world and took hold of my heart. This album makes me really, really feel; like I’m plugged in to something beyond myself while I listen.

Revolver

Beatles

5/5

I kind of wish I were listening to the Beatles albums in order, to follow their evolution, but it's also interesting to look at each album as a snapshot of one point in time, and to hear the familiar and unfamiliar songs in their original collections together. I do remark how this album represented an exploration of what it meant to craft recordings in a studio as its own thing, as opposed to capturing a group performance. I wouldn't really have noticed that if I hadn't read about it, but it's quite interesting to me to learn the details and innovations they came up with. I loved all the songs, from the very familiar to the less. I'm sure there would be a different favorite every time I listened. Today, unpredictably, it was "Got to Get You Into My Life."

White Blood Cells

The White Stripes

5/5

In 2004 I bought the soundtrack album of "Napoleon Dynamite" because I loved all the music, but especially for two songs. Those two songs were not on the album. One of them was "We're Going to Be Friends," which remains one of my favorite songs ever (including when sung by Jack Johnson). Had I bought this album for that song (instead of using Limewire—it was 2004 after all) I think I would have been very shocked since I was not, at that time, very familiar with the White Stripes. Oh...this is not an album of such acoustic sweetness. My first listen through was rough. All I heard was harshness—in voice, guitar, and drums. Didn't like. Started over before I finished. "Good lord, look at the praises to this album!" I noted. I'm gonna have to dig deeper and figure this out. I spent more time re-listening and reading about this album than most any I have reviewed. I watched all the videos. (The Lego one!!!) It's kind of amazing when you start to see the light, especially when, just as often, relistening reinforces and deepens your dislike. His crazy voice, the distorted guitar, and heavy percussion are raw and cool! The lyrics! "Little Room!" An homage to "Citizen Kane"! I love "Hotel Yorba." My score might be slightly inflated, just to incorporate the lovely feeling that getting a challenging assignment led to new appreciations this time.

Surf's Up

The Beach Boys

4/5

I guess I didn't really know what happened to The Beach Boys between 1966 and 1988. There was a lot more than I imagined, and this was a really amazing experience for me. Really interesting, varied stuff! Different voices, different styles...always a hint of earlier Beach Boys there. I loved "Disney Girls (1957)" and "Feel Flows" and "'Til I Die" and "Surf's Up," maybe all for different reasons. The songs "Don't Go Near the Water" and "Student Demonstration Time" and "A Day in the Life of a Tree" are fascinating looks at 1971 through an adapting Beach Boys lens. I really enjoyed this "discovery," and feel that several of these songs will stay with me for some time.

I See A Darkness

Bonnie "Prince" Billy

5/5

Oh, this one seized me. It didn't leave me when I was done listening. Yikes. I became a bit obsessed with it, which I didn't even see coming while I listened to it for the first and second time. The songs are beautiful, I think. I don't always understand the lyrics, but when I do, they stab. (And I HATE phony, whiny, "depressive" lyrics. These feel so real.) Someone needs to take "I See a Darkness" away from me, because I keep going back to it. And the Johnny Cash version with backing vocal by BPB. "Death to Everyone" is another one. There isn't a song on here that doesn't make me feel something. I need a Captain & Tennille intervention.

The Atomic Mr Basie

Count Basie & His Orchestra

4/5

This was very much fun to listen to. I love the big band sound of it. The opener, "The Kid from Red Bank" is lots of piano fun, and "Duet" has great muted trumpets. Some very fun songs are "Flight of the Foo Birds" and "Teddy the Toad." "Splanky" has my favorite name and is just swingin'. I really love the slow, sultry numbers "After Supper" and "Midnite Blue." A great, fun, classic album.

Funeral

Arcade Fire

4/5

Another album that took a while to grow on me, having not been familiar with it before. I didn’t grow fond of the lead vocal, though. It's a pet peeve when lyrics are unintelligible (said the crabby old person), and there's a quality of his voice that I struggle with. That said, it's because I started to like the rest of the music so much that his voice stood out so much to me. Maybe I'll get that, too, at some point. I enjoy this album more each time I listen. I like the very different musical sounds of each of the songs, and I can't really pick my favorites without listing most of them. I did have a special fondness for "In the Backseat" and the lyric "My family tree's losin' all its leaves" stabbed me a bit. It really did conjure up vivid emotion and imagery that goes with the album title.

Teenage Head

Flamin' Groovies

4/5

What a surprise this was. I was completely unsure what to expect. The band name and title made me a li’l nervous. But then there was some good ol' bluesy, old school rock 'n' roll sounds that I really liked from the first time through…the whole thing, in fact. The vocals are sometimes a little wonky, and I jumped when they started screaming in "Yesterday's Numbers," and I'm not a big fan of gun violence threats against girlfriends (which seem to be very common in several genres of popular music). But I love all the varied guitar sounds in this. I love the bass in the title track. Each of these songs is just a little jarringly weird, and I really like them.

Tracy Chapman

5/5

What an amazing album. It came just at the right time, in the middle of college for me, and I remember how this voice was just the one so many of my friends wanted and needed. I heard it a lot. Much of it is still so relevant and heartbreaking. Her voice and music are intimate and real. "Fast Car" was and is a masterpiece.

Jack Takes the Floor

Ramblin' Jack Elliott

4/5

This was fun. You gotta love an album where the singer tells you it's yet another one of them East Texas prison songs. I love his introductions to these very earthy songs about insects, dogs, prison, hunting, and, naturally, cocaine. He obviously has a love for this music and a desire to share it. He finds interesting connections between American folk subcultures jumping from Texas to Harlem, all sounding raw and soulful.

Sheer Heart Attack

Queen

4/5

My acquaintance with Queen is mostly a mixed-up mish-mash of their incredible greatest hits, which can be an overload of over-the-top. I really enjoyed listening to this early breakthrough album to get a true sense of where they were and what they were doing and trying when they really made it big. I like all the personalities and styles represented in this. It's amazing to me that with such diversity, representing the complete gamut of mid-70s rock, that they all still sound like Queen songs.

3 + 3

The Isley Brothers

4/5

So funky! "That Lady" is a new favorite. As for the rest, I really loved their electrified versions of early 70s chestnuts. I definitely enjoyed their "Listen to the Music" more than the original and "Summer Breeze" is so smooooooth. I love the instrumentation in this album. This put a whole bunch of needed soul in my step today.

Back to Mystery City

Hanoi Rocks

3/5

It's decent rock 'n' roll. Absolutely listenable. I love the descriptions of the songs on Wikipedia maybe more than the songs themselves. They certainly enhanced the experience. I think I liked "Tooting Bec Wreck" the best. Synthesizer, rats, drugs, and a great neighborhood name.

Raising Hell

Run-D.M.C.

5/5

This album is so iconic and influential that I have to remind myself sometimes it's not a parody. "Not bad meaning bad, but bad meaning good!" "It's Tricky" is a song I rediscovered a few years back and has been in my playlists since. So fun. "Walk This Way" has had such an influence on music since it came out that it's hard to remember how novel it was back in the day. "Perfection" has what might be my favorite lyrics ever in a rap: "I got prescription glasses and my eyes are correct/ Two times every year I go to have them checked." "You Be Illin'" is the one I listened to multiple times. I love the sound and the humor. I loved the beatboxing, the scratching, the beats. This is where it all became a Big Thing.

Smokers Delight

Nightmares On Wax

3/5

I can't believe that it's taken me 72 albums to have the thought, "Hmm, this album doesn't sound like I thought it would from the cover," and, duh, oh yeah, there's a saying about that. I guess this was the first time I misjudged, and so I figure, just maybe, since about 1955, you CAN usually judge an album by its cover. When I read that it was in a list of the top 50 trip-hop albums of all time, my thought was, "There's 49 more of these?" I think we've already gone through a bunch of that list. Not that I don't like it fine enough. It's not designed to be catchy or anything. Re-listening to snippets, I enjoy them more than the 6–7 minute song experience. The one time it really caught my attention on first listening was the phrasing of "and me... you... and me... you" which I thought was kind of cooly jarring.

I’ve Got a Tiger By the Tail

Buck Owens

5/5

This good, old-timey country music was a good old time! I loved his original songs (title track), the classics "Streets of Laredo" and his take on Chuck Berry. I love the classic steel guitar sound. This was well worth pulling off a dusty shelf!

Drunk

Thundercat

3/5

There were times this reminded me of the impromptu song Buddy the Elf sings to his dad in the movie "Elf." Now he's meowing. Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonald reinforced the impression of dissonant soft rock...smooth jazz that puts your nerves on edge. Listening while making dinner, I was asked to turn it off halfway through, as it was neither energizing nor soothing. Definitely intriguing, though.

Since I Left You

The Avalanches

4/5

Would it be fair to call this a musical quilt? Lots of little fabrics stitched together to make its own thing? Sometimes it seems really chaotic and crazy, but it also is delightful sometimes. I love it when you get just a moment of something recognizable that sits in an unfamiliar setting, like Debbie Reynolds singing "Tammy" over a 70s funk beat. It doesn't always work perfectly, but it's fun to see what happens.

Dare!

The Human League

4/5

Oh how excited I was for this. Early 80s English synth-pop was my jam back in the day, and one of my favorite songs ever is "Don't You Want Me." The first couple of listens through, it seemed like too much of the same thing, and I got a little bored. Philip Oakey's monotone, so cool in each song on its own, gets a bit much over ten in a row. This is not to say that I didn't enjoy it! I did! But maybe I had my expectations too high. Maybe sometimes it's okay to love a single more than its album. I will keep listening to this one, though, until I know for sure.

Fever To Tell

Yeah Yeah Yeahs

3/5

I was very much won over when I heard the opening lyric "I'm rich" purred by Karen O. I really enjoyed this track and her vocals. The rest just kind of made me feel on edge. I think it's a well-crafted album, but it's too much for me.

Rocks

Aerosmith

4/5

Again, I'm learning how much more I seem to enjoy classic hard rock than I thought. "Back in the Saddle" is an awesome triumphant anthem. I love the teasing intro, the growly bass line, and Steven Tyler's yodeling. "Last Child" gets bluesy and funky, and rhymes "south Tallahassee" with "sweet sassafrassy." You know we got "Rats in the Cellar"? This one is rockin' and chaotic. I like the duet of voices in "Combination." And the rest, as the title says, Rocks. It feels like rock 'n' roll oughta.

Vento De Maio

Elis Regina

5/5

I love it when you grow fonder with each listen. I didn't get enough time with this today, but I made my mother and son listen to it, and that made three generations who enjoyed it. I was so happy to be introduced to Elis Regina today. I look forward to spending lots more time with her. My first favorite today had to be "Só Deus É Quem Sabe." Really took me to a dreamland.

Emperor Tomato Ketchup

Stereolab

4/5

I enjoyed listening to this album. It has a smooth, sophisticated song sound mixed with the repetitive and extended feel of electronica tracks. I enjoy the vocals quite a bit. I enjoyed "Les Yper-Sound" quite a bit. I liked how they sang "op-PO-sites" (they did that kind of thing a lot with words). The title track was an example of where it could get a little tedious with its 1:40 one-note intro. But mostly I really enjoyed this music and would listen again.

You Want It Darker

Leonard Cohen

5/5

The title of this album is perfect. I had said in my notes on “Songs of Love and Hate” that I was really interested in listening to more early Leonard Cohen, since the album I had been most familiar with was from the 80s. Why didn’t I pay attention when he made music in the 21st century? I didn’t even really aware of this later work. It was rather amazing to jump almost 50 years in his career. His voice still mesmerizes me. His words are still somewhat inscrutable but always intriguing. The composition, instrumentation, and backing vocals are amazing and beautiful in this. I think it’s interesting that the composer of the title track’s music is the co-writer of Madonna’s “Like a Prayer.” It has more in common than I would have thought. I love the organ and backing choir. The religious feel is intense. It’s a feel that carries through the rest of the album. “Treaty” carries so much pain and regret it’s hard to listen to. And then “Leaving the Table” comes on with even more...although there seems to be some relief in letting go. But that’s still pretty heavy. Come to think of it, “Traveling Light” also has a similar story. “If I Didn’t Have Your Love” at least suggests an intense love, but focuses on a pretty dang dark “what if?”. We then get in to some interesting religious pain and regret territory with “It Seemed the Better Way” and “Steer Your Way.” Mind you, I love these songs so much that you may find me in a dark room listening to them again and again, and it may be a good idea to get me outside in the sunshine.

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Beatles

5/5

In the early 80s I made an effort to add the Beatles to my music collection, but was on a limited budget. So I bought the "red" and "blue" compilations (which in retrospect I am happy about because of the number of favorite Beatles singles it had that never were on an album). I knew I also wanted one of their original albums, and this was the one I chose after the limited sort of research one could do before the Internet. (I also have to admit that I was a big fan of the 1978 movie starring Peter Frampton and the Bee Gees. But we won't talk about that right now.) Having recently listened to the White Album and Revolver, I find that this one really feels most like its own thing; a concept from beginning to end. It certainly contains similar sounds to both but I enjoy the uninterrupted flow from track to track. Maybe having listened to it a million times already it doesn't seem jarring to go from the Indian sounds of "Within You Without You" to the clarinets of "When I'm Sixty-Four," so I will grant that. A. I believe there's a reason this album is so famous, and B. It was my first and only Beatles album that I consistently knew as an album for almost 40 years, so I'm not totally objective here. Love love love from beginning to end. Love it just as much today if not more than I did all those years ago.

Truth And Soul

Fishbone

2/5

Am told that Fishbone had been known as a ska band and that they were venturing into harder and "more serious" rock. I didn't love this venturing. I mostly liked the ska parts. I really prefer the Curtis Mayflield version of "Freddie's Dead," (although as I often notice, I like Fishbone's better the more times I hear it). The album really moves around the styles, meaning it's hard to get a sense of who Fishbone is supposed to be, and none is really a favorite style of mine, meaning it's hard to want to hear more. But I don't disagree with it being in this list. Definitely interesting things happen. I liked "Slow Bus Movin'" and "Change" the most. The latter song really doesn't sound like anything else on the album, though.

Psychocandy

The Jesus And Mary Chain

2/5

This time, the more I heard this, the angrier I got at it. I liked the first song, "Just Like Honey." I was looking forward to more of this. I thought it had a very cool 80s sound to it. I really liked the vocals. And then, so much horrible, ear splitting noise! I seriously checked to see that I hadn't messed up the playback with some terrible setting. I couldn't even hear the vocals! "Never Understand" sounds like the neighbor in the next door apartment is listening to a catchy song, the other neighbor is trying to log in to AOL, and 10 garbage trucks with bad brakes are emptying all the squeaky-hinged dumpsters behind your building. Why? It's a shame, it made me more and more sensitive to all the overuse of feedback noise in the album. A shame, because, underneath it all, I really liked the music.

Odelay

Beck

5/5

I hate finding something like this that I should have gotten 25 years ago. I really love it. "Devil's Haircut" and "Where It's At" played pleasantly in my background in the 90s, and I suspected that I might like Beck, but I never pursued his music as I ought to have. I love this whole thing lots. Its trip through genres is a trip I loved. Although I would like to share my affection for each track, I will just share my favorite pants-related lyrics from three different songs: "In the chain-smoke Kansas flashdance ass pants" "Going back to Houston/To get me some pants" "Okay, now do like designer jeans [...] ooh, la la Sasoon"

The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady

Charles Mingus

5/5

This was pretty amazing. Very different from the usual collection of songs. It was absolutely jazz, but it really felt like listening to a classical composition with its length, movements, and unity. I sometimes struggle with recorded musical improvisation (not so when it's a live performance), but I never felt that with this work. A lot of recorded jazz sounds tedious to me, but this never did. I think being presented as a unified work actually made it more listenable as it progressed from movement to movement, repeating melodies here and there, and introducing Spanish guitar when it was ready for it. It's hard to compare this to a pop collection of songs. This felt a little more work to listen to, but it was really good, enjoyable work, and I so appreciated the opportunity to experience it.

Remedy

Basement Jaxx

4/5

I have gotten to listen to a good variety of electronic dance music so far on this project. Because this genre is by nature repetitive, it can veer to tedious and boring. I didn't feel that with this album. I love the little interludes, especially "Jazzalude," and I like the variety of sounds that each track has while still feeling cohesive to the whole album.

Abraxas

Santana

5/5

Santana is its own thing, isn't it? Like a genre unto itself. Instantly recognizable but hard to describe. It's even more interesting to me as the songs are from a variety of songwriters (Fleetwood Mac! Tito Puente!) and yet sound so cohesive. How is it that no one else plays the guitar like that? Copyright? Trademark? I mean, 29 years later, with another big hit album, you knew it was Santana again. Having never heard this album besides the two big songs, I really loved the ride this took me on.

Elvis Presley

5/5

The King's début! It's an artifact as much as entertainment. And it is entertaining. The intro to Blue Suede Shoes is maybe one of my favorite album openers, ever. Love this song. "One-Sided Love Affair" is a new favorite. "Tutti Fruitti" is an old favorite. It's true that part of my love for this album is as a historical document, but I do love this music!

Stardust

Willie Nelson

5/5

Oh, I love these songs so much. And Willie Nelson did, too, and he sang them on this album, and they're perfect. I will listen to this many times again. Hooray for a celebration of the most beautiful songs by a unique, lovely voice.

It's Blitz!

Yeah Yeah Yeahs

4/5

Having just reviewed "Fever to Tell" a couple of weeks ago, I was glad to get another Yeah Yeah Yeahs album to review. That one hadn't been my favorite, but I knew there was something about the band that I really liked. I really enjoyed this one a lot more! I like the groove of it very much. I even found that I had known and liked a YYYs song, "Heads Will Roll," a song I've heard here and there without knowing the artist. (I see that it was mashed up with Thriller on Glee.) It is my favorite on the album. It had everything I liked about the first album with a much more polished sound.

Melodrama

Lorde

5/5

I always knew that "Royals" was an awesome song, but I hadn't spent much time with Lorde's more recent music. This is a pretty incredible album. A very emotional and yet very catchy collection of songs. This is one I definitely want to keep listening to. I had lost some of my usual listening time today, but found myself making more time to spend with it. "Green Light" is a new anthem song for cranking up in the car. I love her vocal range in this with those growls. "But my hips have missed your hips" from "Sober" is the sort of lyric that leaps out of the speaker and slaps your face with its freshness. I felt similarly with "Homemade Dynamite." "The Louvre" is a song I adore for lots of reasons, which I will not list here for the sake of brevity. "Liability" and its reprise are absolute stabs in the heart. Stabs in the heart. And speaking of, "Writer in the Dark" really grabbed me and gave me a good shake with its overwhelmingly powerful emotion. And the rest! Wow!

Sex Packets

Digital Underground

3/5

There are some really fun moments on this album, and I was really grooving to them. "Humpty Dance" is, as always, a fun funky classic. I like the way they swing on "The Way We Swing" (schwing!). "Rhymin' on the Funk" and "Underwater Rimes" continued the fun and I was really getting into this album. I liked how they seemed to really be having fun with this and not taking themselves too seriously. (Did I wince several times? You bet. It's early 90s hip hop. You're gonna wince.) The rest of it, however, while always funky, didn't feel as fun. "The Danger Zone" seemed out of place. Grim. By the time it got to "Freaks of the Industry" it was a little cringy. And then came the songs about the titular ;-) sex packets that were just...strange and creepy. Anyway, it's hard to rate because I did move to this music and I liked their sound so much. I just don't wanna hear about the underage fetish sex packets anymore.

Nixon

Lambchop

4/5

I do enjoy the soothing sound of this music. It feels like maybe it was recorded in 1969, but then it has a few humorously startling phrases to break that spell (e.g. "And decapitate a rodent or a mouse.") The song titles are all delightful. I love the full instrumentation. Vibraphone! On first listening, this music sometimes slipped into the background. Giving it a more focused listen, I really appreciated it. My list of favorite songs keeps getting longer. I will thus single out "Nashville Parent" as a song that has everything I love about this album.

Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea

PJ Harvey

3/5

This was solid alternative rock with a strong female voice. I liked it. I was happy to discover that I was familiar with the enjoyable "One Line," which had been on the "Gilmore Girls" soundtrack album. I really liked the duet "The Mess We're In," and the lead single "Good Fortune." I didn't find the something, however, that made this album stand out from the crowd for me. But I will be interested to see where else she may take us down the road.

Five Leaves Left

Nick Drake

5/5

A warning: while driving and listening to this album I was taken to such a state of reverie that I forgot where I was and what I was doing for an out-of-body moment before waking up in a panic behind the wheel. Nick Drake's music is soothing and yet so powerfully emotional at the same time. A haunting voice, obviously; I love the beautiful instrumentation of all these songs. The double reeds on "Fruit Tree." I had been an admirer from the use of his songs on early 2000s soundtracks, but I'm so happy to have spent this time with his debut album.

Songs The Lord Taught Us

The Cramps

4/5

Listening to this album brought to mind the "Eerie" and "Creepy" magazines that my older brother used to read and my mother hated. The old-timey rock vibe makes sure the horror-themed lyrics are taken humorously. I'm not sure why this one doesn't come out more on Halloween. It's perfect for that. I won't listen to it much otherwise, but it was fun while it lasted!

Appetite For Destruction

Guns N' Roses

4/5

One of the most popular albums in American history and this is my first time listening to it. It definitely rocks; a headbanging delight; hard rock at its hardest. "Sweet Child O' Mine" remains an anthem. Besides the other two well known hits "Welcome to the Jungle" and "Paradise City," I was fond of "It's so Easy" and "My Michelle." The lyrics on all these songs are not warm and charming, but that's rock 'n' roll I guess!

Brothers

The Black Keys

4/5

"Lonely Boy" from their album after this one has been a favorite song of mine in my playlists. I was glad to go a bit deeper into The Black Keys' music with their breakthrough album. I enjoy their blues rock sound. "Tighten Up" and "Howling for You" were justified hits, and the latter has earned its place in sports arenas. Besides these, I enjoyed "Sinister Kid" quite a bit. I now really want to listen to "El Camino" and see where they went from there.

I Against I

Bad Brains

2/5

I needed someone to guide me through appreciating this album, since I couldn't really do it by myself. There were moments where I liked the music, but I never got hooked into it. I liked "Secret 77" and I think I liked the gimmick of "Sacred Love" literally being phoned in.

Dear Science

TV On The Radio

3/5

There are some moments I really enjoy on this album. Sometimes I really didn't love it. I think I needed to spend more time with it. I liked "Halfway Home," "Dancing Choose," "Golden Age," and "Family Tree." Sometimes it just seemed dissonant or repetitive, but there were also very cool and fun instrumentations.

Violator

Depeche Mode

5/5

Oh, I did enjoy this album when it came out. One of my last cassette purchases and one of my first iTunes digital album purchases from the iPod era. The opening song, "World in my Eyes" sets a moody synth pop tone which perfectly fit the soundtrack of my early 20s and is a sound that I still love. I may have blared "Personal Jesus" a number of times in the day, singing it loudly with friends, feeling a bit naughty as we were rejecting religious hangups and speculating that it referred to a phone sex hotline (how 1990 is that phrase?). It's still a masterpiece (which was made clear when it was covered by Johnny Cash). (This has become an exercise in nostalgia rather than a review. I apologize.) I never get tired of listening to "Enjoy the Silence" and "Policy of Truth" (which always have to be listened to together, I think, with their weird interlude between). They are constant favorites in my playlists. An all time favorite.

Pornography

The Cure

2/5

Many of my friends were drawn to the Cure in their late adolescent angst and ennui. I tried but couldn't take much of Robert Smith's uniquely grating voice. Although there are later works of theirs that I enjoy, this is not one of them. The pain in this music seems more self-indulgent than other depression-inspired music. But that may be because it doesn't connect with my own feelings, which tend not to go towards "look at how depressed I am, everybody!" I thought I was making it fine through the album, until I got to the last and title track. Six and a half minutes of whine AND noise. Yeesh.

A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector

Various Artists

5/5

So many classics I have heard here and there over all the years, and I never knew they all came from this one album! Though it's not really a surprise, since they all share the same Wall of Sound production. This was a wonderful Christmas surprise.

Lazer Guided Melodies

Spiritualized

3/5

This album felt more like floating in space than their album with that title. There was nothing unpleasant or discordant here as I noted in that review. It was a cool, easy vibe for the most part. I liked the soothing instrumentation and soothing voices. As I have noted with other albums of similar genre however, I often like the sound and feel of a song as it starts, but get annoyed when it feels like it's long outstayed its welcome, and that often happened here as with the last album.

Low-Life

New Order

5/5

Ah, New Order. I never had this album, but I knew every song from various compilations, mix tapes, and an obsessed college roommate. Some of these I haven't heard in many years. Although I was a huge fan, I never learned the song titles very well, since they are never very well connected to the lyrics. Thus I didn't make connections later in the download age. Eighties British electronic dance music was my favorite in college, and New Order was right at the top. Although this would probably not be my favorite New Order album, I love it and I was happily brought back in time and I score it on that feeling.

Pretzel Logic

Steely Dan

4/5

Although one of my favorite albums is The Nightfly by Donald Fagen and I've always loved the sound of the Steely Dan hits, I've never pursued them into their deeper cuts. This was very cool, and well worthy of "Rikki Don't Lose That Number." I love the touch of jazz (more than a touch on "East St. Louis Toodle-Oo"!) with a soft rock vibe without being boring. It really just sounds like you'd want a Steely Dan album to sound. Lush. And the lyrics are just pretty fun. "I have never met Napoleon/ But I plan to find the time." "Any Major Dude Will Tell You" is a new favorite.

Talking With the Taxman About Poetry

Billy Bragg

4/5

I had friends in college who were Billy Bragg fans. His earlier stuff really was just an angry voice and a guitar. I didn't get into it so much since I didn't think it was great music for a party and I wasn't much for being angry and alone with it. This album is much more musical, and I found that I enjoyed it more now. I'm still not going to put it on for dinner with friends. A few protest songs are timely; a few are dated. The "love" songs express how feelings aren't enough for a relationship. I really liked the last two songs, since they seemed to go beyond lecturing and scolding and get to some more nuance and a little bit of warmth along the anger. "The Warmest Room" and "The Home Front" both expressed uncertainty and the complications between feelings and ideals. The latter definitely feels appropriate to contemporary times.

Too Rye Ay

Dexys Midnight Runners

4/5

Part of the fun novelty of "Come On Eileen" was the addition of a fiddle sound to pop music, and that is true throughout this album. What I didn't expect were the horn sections as well, plus piano, making for a very eclectic but fun sound. Kind of old timey, but definitely not old fashioned sounding. It's a shame this band is shorthand for "one hit wonder" in the US, since I think there is lots more to get to know and enjoy.

Face to Face

The Kinks

4/5

This was a very enjoyable listen. I love this sound of the Kinks, very sixties pop, but another example of a band of that era reaching a little further into musical creativity. I appreciate the interesting lyrics. "Most Expensive Residence for Sale" is a good tune with a wry story. "Sunny Afternoon" is a song I have always enjoyed, and it fits very nicely in this context. I was happy to listen to it again. I hope we get to listen to more of the Kinks.

Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1

George Michael

5/5

It's always fun to be pleasantly surprised, but I should have taken the advice of the album title. When I read it was a move away from George Michael's dance music, I imagined something boring. I ended up loving it. I will steal the comment of a contemporary critic and say that this felt "personal, not commercial." I really felt connected to it and loved its sound. "Freedom! '90" is the song I well remember and always liked, but I liked digging into it a bit deeper and listening to its lyrics about the emotional consequences of his fame. "Cowboys and Angels" is a lovely heartfelt waltz with a saxophone solo. I enjoyed the seamless transition to the Rolling Stones in "Waiting for that Day." And the rest! I liked all the songs on this. It was perfect music for the day.

Songs Of Leonard Cohen

Leonard Cohen

5/5

It was a jump to go from "You Want it Darker" from 2016 to this album 50 years earlier, the first of Leonard Cohen's career. This was clearly poetry from a younger man who still has time to find other loves and pathways. But as I said about that other album, his lyrics here are also inscrutable but always intriguing. I don't know why I've always loved the line, "And she feeds you tea and oranges that come all the way from China," from "Suzanne" (I also love what the melody does at that point). I thought of it in "Stories of the Street" with the line, "We will find that farm and grow us grass and apples there." There are too many phrases that catch my ear to satisfactorily list them here. Again the sound is dreamlike: the classical guitars, the backup vocals, a lot of 3/4 time...I enjoy floating along...

A Night At The Opera

Queen

4/5

"Bohemian Rhapsody" is 5 minutes and 54 seconds of extravagant, lavish spectacle; some of the best pop music ever. I had never heard the album from whence it came, so I had very high expectations for the experience. "A Night at the Opera" was indeed 43 minutes of extravagant, lavish spectacle. It is a true tour de force. (Forgive me using that phrase, but it is absolutely appropriate here.) Maybe it was just a bit of sensory overload from all that spectacle today, but I really started to think about "Sheer Heart Attack," and I went back and listened to it, and I felt more at home with that album. Such a surprise. It's also perhaps time to confess that I have never liked "You're My Best Friend" with its "Ooh, you make-uh me live, now honey!" So what are you going to do? But there is much I love about this album, including the vitriolic "Death on Two Legs" transitioning immediately into the '20s (er, 1920s) music-hall-styled "Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon." "'39" is a sweet song that I was not familiar with, but it's been the one I keep playing. I liked it even more when I learned it came from Brian May's background in astrophysics. Ending with their guitar-and-cymbals "God Save the Queen" is reminiscent of Jimi Hendrix's "Star Spangled Banner," and is the absolute perfect way to have ended this album.

Very

Pet Shop Boys

4/5

That feeling you get when it's the first appearance of one of your all time favorite bands...but your fifth favorite album. I bought this CD with its weird orange case in 1993 and vividly remember wondering why it continued spinning in my crappy portable (but not movable-during-play) CD player after "Go West" ended. I don't remember how long it took me to discover the "hidden" track, but who didn't love the novelty at the time of hearing Chris Lowe singing? However, it quickly got to be an annoyance when I got to the point of having a CD shuffler, and later when I chose not to rip my favorite song from the album for my iPod, because of its ball and chain of 2 minutes of silence. (A ball and chain that still exists on the digital platform.) Perhaps because this album was lower on my list, I spent some time today rediscovering it and reconnecting to some favorite songs. The two songs that I did rip for my new iPod nano circa 2005 were "Can You Forgive Her?" and "A Different Point of View." Today I would keep the former, and swap the latter for "I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing." I always liked "Dreaming of the Queen," but especially because of the way Neil Tennant sings "For I was in the nyude/ The old Queen disapproved." That one gets added too. Also maybe because it's already enough of a museum piece to be the plot of the upcoming season of "The Crown." "Go West," with its backing chorus, elevating the sound of the disco original to a majestic anthem, continues to be the one song that I love well above the rest. In any case, I really enjoyed my time with the Pet Shop Boys today. This is a good, solid album, but the connection wasn't as strong as with some of their others.

Smile

Brian Wilson

5/5

This is pretty amazing, a resurrected labor of love from decades previous. Rather than a collection of songs, it is a musical work in movements, full of interesting vignettes complete with sound effects. Although that sounds very high and mighty, it is still a lot of fun. Each listening reveals another gemstone. It is impossible to separate this work from its long, complicated history, but beyond that amazing achievement, it's a joy to listen to. "Heroes and Villains," "Surf's Up," and "Good Vibrations" were each amazing as Beach Boys recordings, but they sound absolutely incredible here. Each of them is composed of their own internal movements. This is an absolutely amazing experience!

Vol. 4

Black Sabbath

2/5

I really enjoyed the Black Sabbath album "Paranoid." I was hoping to recapture some of that love in this one. While there are moments I appreciate, this just wasn't quite the same. Most of the moments I did appreciate were not really the heavy metal base of the album (those parts all kind of melted together in my mind): the mellow sound of the piano-backed "Changes," the hashish-inspired "FX" sounding very hashish-inspired, the surprise conga line that appeared in the middle of "Supernaut," and "Laguna Sunrise" coming out of nowhere with its guitar and orchestra clearly evoking a sunrise. Also of note is "Snowblind," the jaw-dropping ode to cocaine that really didn't age well with its lyrics, "Don't you think I know what I'm doing? Don't tell me that it's doing me wrong. You're the one that's really the loser." We all know how that turned out. Of the heavy metal proper, I thought that "Under the Sun/Every Day Comes and Goes" was the closest I felt to pumping my fist, with its classic "I wanna live my life" theme.

Africa Brasil

Jorge Ben Jor

4/5

What fun to see what the writer of "Mas Que Nada" was doing with Brazilian music in the 70s. Happily it still has a good dose of the cuíca, which makes everything sound like it's a Carnaval party parade. This was a great listen. Standout songs were "Ponta de Lanca Africano" (a soccer anthem), "Taj Mahal" (which apparently snuck into Rod Stewart's head), "Xica da Silva" (about an 18th century woman born into slavery who became a "great lady"). Brazil hasn't disappointed me yet. Hope to hear more. I'm swaying and moving and singing along (the best I can) and enjoying every minute.

Metallica

3/5

"Enter Sandman" is an epic work. It is at an apex of hard rock. It is a perfect intro to the album. The rest of the album is good. Interesting lyrics and themes, some new sounds for Metallica, going beyond thrash (although I was quite fond of Master of Puppets). I enjoyed it, though I got a little weary of the second half by the end of the hour.

Eli And The Thirteenth Confession

Laura Nyro

4/5

It's a shame that with a voice and songs like hers that I have never heard of Laura Nyro. This was a pretty great album and though it seems a lot of artists knew that, I think it deserved more love from the general public. "Lonely Women" caught my ear as something even beyond really good, late 60s singer-songwriter material. I love the range of her voice in it. And then it goes right into the energetic "Eli's Comin'." This is when the album really stood out for me. "Stoned Soul Picnic" is a crazy cool song, and it's hard not to think of the 5th Dimension as I always associated them with this song. So much of what I thought was their sound is Nyro's sound. The song that really has everything I love about Laura Nyro is "Once It Was Alright Now (Farmer Joe)." I really wish I could figure out what the story is, but I sure like hearing it. I didn't fall in love with every song, but I am so happy I got to listen to this, and I look forward to listening to more of her as well as being aware of her influence on so many other artists.

Led Zeppelin

5/5

It's daunting to stand before a Very Important Album and pass my own humble judgment. As a youth, I was not a huge fan of Led Zeppelin, or Album Oriented Rock for that matter. Not that I was unaware of the reverence and veneration that they elicited among the rock connoisseur. I just didn't get it. It was cool to listen today and really feel that I get it. There are amazing things here. This is the history of rock and roll.

Brilliant Corners

Thelonious Monk

4/5

It's exciting to finally listen to a renowned artist I've always heard of but never spent time with. This one is hard for me. If I let it float into my subconscious, I enjoy it quite a bit and I ride the ride. If I listen carefully and try to figure out what's going on, I'm perplexed. I struggle with the idea that these are "compositions" (rather than pure improvisations) that I would ever recognize when played by another musician. There seems to be a lack of a melody that my brain can hold on to. They sound like random notes playing, and yet I know they're not. It seems pure "feel" to me, and yet I know there's some sort of structure in there. But as a listener, if I just go with the "feel" it usually feels pretty good. Repeated listening reveals more each time. This is just the beginning of a journey I've never had the patience to take. It's cool.

Live At The Star Club, Hamburg

Jerry Lee Lewis

5/5

I haven't had this much fun since I got snowed in at the Elks Convention! Exuberance and exultation! Jerry Lee Lewis makes the piano sound like his own unique instrument. I loved hearing him perform live and hearing all these amazing classics with his own twist. This is one time where I think being live made it all the more spectacular, and I appreciate him even more than I did before. It was a sad discovery that the Apple Music version of this cut out 5 great songs out of 13, but I'm happy to have found the whole album elsewhere. It was well worth finding. Infectious joy! Love this lots!

Quiet Life

Japan

2/5

This album was FINE, and by that I mean "adequate." It just sounded like the back end of a second tier Duran Duran album. When do we get to see Duran Duran on this list? "All Tomorrow's Parties" just made me wonder when we're going to get to get to see the Velvet Underground on this list. I needed to know why this album is on the list, because I couldn't hear it. It was completely listenable, mind you, just not very memorable or distinctive to me.

Modern Life Is Rubbish

Blur

3/5

I enjoyed this time with 90s Britpop. It didn't seem to get played in the US then as much as it deserved. I definitely would like to spend more time with Blur, and I think my appreciation would grow. I definitely enjoyed its connection to classic British pop.

Slanted And Enchanted

Pavement

1/5

Ech, no. Not feeling it. Sorry. Can't. There are three listenable tracks on the album, but that doesn't overcome how **unpleasant** it was to listen to the rest. It's okay, I've listened to 125 albums so far and I'd rather listen to at least 124 of them before this one again. It's clearly in the bottom quintile. I accept that there are good reasons this album is here, and know that there are loving fans of it, but they're not my reasons and I am not one of those fans. Now if I could just get a hold of Ferrante & Teicher's Keyboard Kapers...

Olympia 64

Jacques Brel

5/5

I have always held a number of Jacques Brel's songs close to my heart, but I had never heard much more of his work, nor heard him singing to a live audience. The combination of his voice, his emotion, and his poetry is absolutely captivating. It isn't a surprise that there have been so many attempts to translate his work, but as he is such a master of the sounds of the French language, there will always be something missing in translation. Each song carries me away and paints such a vivid picture. How I wish I'd been at the Olympia then!

Dry

PJ Harvey

4/5

This is my second PJ Harvey album, having heard "Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea" recently. This earlier album definitely sounded more "raw" and I wasn't very fond of it first time through. Songs that did first grab my attention were "Dress" and "Sheela-Na-Gig." Spending more time with this, I found it even more engaging than the "Stories" album, as each song in turn revealed something striking.

Heaux Tales

Jazmine Sullivan

2/5

I definitely appreciated hearing the points of view expressed, and the vignettes are interesting glimpses into the lives behind the songs. As a very recent album, however, I maybe hoped to hear some themes that I haven't heard before in other artists' work. As for the music itself, I like "Pick Up Your Feelings," but I really didn't enjoy much more than that.

Bluesbreakers

John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers

4/5

I quite liked this venture into 60s British blues rock. The singing isn't spectacular and a couple of numbers miss the mark ("What'd I Say"), but overall I really enjoyed their playing.

Dub Housing

Pere Ubu

2/5

This is the musical equivalent of drinking Jeppson's Malört. It's an extremely challenging experience that seems mostly to exist as an initiation into a group or a rite of passage. You get to watch your friends make that distinctive face when they realize how horrifying it tastes, and then find appreciation for a completely unique experience. It becomes a shared bond and lively conversation piece. This is not enjoyable music. But it's kind of compelling in a WTF kind of way.

Bright Flight

Silver Jews

5/5

These are songs I have listened to over and over already. I wasn't sure about David Berman's voice at first, but it is the right voice for these songs. Each time I listen there is another lovely discovery. "The snow falls down so beautiful and stupid" played as I drove through the snow today, and it was perfect. There is a constant, real ache in this music and yet it feels lovely in a way.

Peace Sells...But Who's Buying

Megadeth

2/5

The guitars are pretty awesome, and it's indeed what you'd want in a thrash metal album, but I did not enjoy this as much as "Rust in Peace." It's just not quite as interesting to me.

The Healer

John Lee Hooker

5/5

I first became an admirer of John Lee Hooker from his memorable cameo in a movie full of memorable cameos, The Blues Brothers. It makes me so glad to know that he finally received the recognition he deserved from this album. I love the collaborations and interactions between him and the many other amazing musicians on this album. I could listen to this over and over and over. It's hard to pick a favorite song as I love listening to this as a whole. "The blues healed me."

Here's Little Richard

Little Richard

4/5

I think that so much of the last 65 years of popular music contains DNA from this album. This is Rock 'n' Roll! "Tutti Fruitti" is a bizarre song that has been recorded so many times, and yet I think Little Richard is the only one who really sounds right at home singing it.

Walking Wounded

Everything But The Girl

4/5

I've always loved the song "Missing," but I never dug deeper into Everything But the Girl. I should have. I love Tracey Thorn's voice and I love the music with her voice. I would have played this a lot.

Brown Sugar

D'Angelo

3/5

I've never been a big fan of slow jams, but I do have to recognize D'Angelo's talent here as singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist. It's good to hear his neo-soul version of Smokey Robinson's "Cruisin'" as a way to connect his style with more classical soul and show off his work. Overall, I just don't enjoy the slow, repetitive style of most of the album. It does intrigue me, however, to listen to "Shit, Damn, Motherfucker" as its slow, cool style is so contrary to the content. "I got a jonz in my bonz" is one of my favorite lyrics, but I am left really wanting to know more details about exactly what for. In any case, I engaged with this album more than most of its genre.

Exit Planet Dust

The Chemical Brothers

4/5

I quite liked this. It's not something that you can just sit and listen to, but it sure makes a good, energetic soundtrack to anything you do to it. Electronica, especially without melody or vocals, can sometimes bore me, but I didn't get bored with any of it.

Crime Of The Century

Supertramp

4/5

I was a big fan of Supertramp in the early '80s, having bought their albums "Famous Last Words" and "Brother Where You Bound" when they came out, and being very familiar with "Breakfast in America" and their previous 70s hits. I've been thinking about how they had slipped somewhat out of my consciousness since then and how happy I was to hear them again. It was really great to listen to an album early in their success. I always enjoyed "Bloody Well Right" and "Dreamer," and the rest was a lovely discovery. But I can't help but be itching to listen to some of their subsequent work.

Rising Above Bedlam

Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart

3/5

Interesting blend of music styles and languages.

Lost In The Dream

The War On Drugs

5/5

This album was warm and perfect for the day and has become more and more appealing with each listen. It does have a pensive 80s vibe and has little hints of the decade (most notably for me with "Burning" reminding me of Rod Stewart's "Young Turks"). I guess that's why it does have a nostalgic feel to it while also feeling quite spot on for today. I like all the moods presented here, so it is hard to pick a favorite representative track.

Horses

Patti Smith

5/5

Now that's what I'm talking about. An album that both changed music and kicked ass. Patti Smith, everyone!

Fuzzy Logic

Super Furry Animals

4/5

I liked right away that "hamster" was a lyric in the first two songs. This was fun and Welsh. The subject matter of the songs has to be some of my favorites ever. It's a bit of a crazy mix of styles, but always made me smile.

Fear Of Music

Talking Heads

3/5

While I've always enjoyed a lot of their music, the Talking Heads always felt a little like they were for much cooler people than me. And this album really felt like a set of deep cuts from their œuvre. Too cool for me. I felt the first half was fine, but I had a hard time getting through the second half. I think a little more time might help me out, but I didn't have it to give today.

Unhalfbricking

Fairport Convention

4/5

This was lovely. I would like to hear more of them.

KIWANUKA

Michael Kiwanuka

5/5

I loved this album that was both so enjoyable and so meaningful to listen to.

Kings Of The Wild Frontier

Adam & The Ants

3/5

Fun new wave music. Not much that leaped out at me as memorable.

Only Built 4 Cuban Linx

Raekwon

2/5

There were some interesting and enjoyable musical and rhythmic moments. However, I found it mostly pretty unpleasant and distressing to listen to. I really had trouble finding a track that wasn't quite problematic to me.

The Band

3/5

This album clearly had a lot of influence in the 70s. A whole genre of Good Ol' Boy rock was to follow. It has a nostalgic sound, as though many of the songs were old American standards instead of their own new compositions. The instrumentation is a lot of fun, and they switch and blend their voices to a good effect. It also has a bit of that Good Ol' Boy-ness that feels a little uncomfortable nowadays...

James Brown Live At The Apollo

James Brown

4/5

How much fun to listen to a live concert by James Brown from 1962! No one can scream like James Brown. Hearing the audience screaming and shouting really made this an exhilarating experience. There was a lot of screaming overall. The structure of this album was surprising to me. An almost two minute introduction with a long list of hit songs. Five songs of about two minutes each. Some short jazzy interludes. A six-minute medley of eight of his hits. And in the middle of it, an 11 minute tantric opus that apparentely was spread over two sides of the LP. Ow! Aaaaaaaaugh! It seemed that 31 minutes would be short for an album, but I was worn out at the end.

Doolittle

Pixies

4/5

I didn’t expect to like this, but I really did.

Loveless

My Bloody Valentine

2/5

I kind of liked the ethereal voices over the sounds in this album. More than I thought I would. But maybe just in little doses. That repeated phrase that was cool for 30 seconds was nice, but repeating it over the next 4 minutes kills the love. The whole album felt like a real test of my patience and endurance. “To Here Knows When” was the soundtrack to standing in the checkout line, watching the sloth movements of the sullen teenage cashier, who at one point interminably studied the list for the code for grapes, unable to find it; only when that’s all finally done to have the customer ahead write a check, which then got lost in the machine and couldn’t be retrieved despite the work of several employees, who never acknowledge you and your 12 items waiting…and waiting…

Countdown To Ecstasy

Steely Dan

5/5

It's interesting that there were no hit singles from this album. There were no songs that I had known from it. However, I have always loved Steely Dan, and despite being wary of the unknown, I loved this whole album. I understand that there wasn't a standout song, but that also strengthened the idea that the whole thing was consistently wicked-good.

Pearl

Janis Joplin

5/5

This really felt like a personal experience with Janis Joplin. This is a voice that's raw and real. I listened over and over today.

Who's Next

The Who

5/5

It's very exciting to listen to a classic album for the first time and to find that the whole thing is as engaging and enjoyable as the classic songs I know from it. I consider myself a bigger Who fan as of today because of this one.

Untitled (Black Is)

SAULT

5/5

This album took me on so many journeys, both with its beautiful, varied music and its beautiful, varied messages. It is so very much about today, and yet a very old story. I was moved, I was taught, I was heartbroken, I was inspired, I was hopeful.

Wild Wood

Paul Weller

3/5

It's interesting to hear the same voice from The Jam singing in such a different style of music. I enjoyed the fairly timeless singer/songwriter vibe of this album. It went well with a lunchtime walk around the neighborhood.

21

Adele

5/5

Listening to this album, I might well have thought, "This must be the greatest hits album of a long established artist!" rather than the second album put out by a 21-year-old singer/songwriter. There are so many songs here that have become rightfully inseparable from the last decade. This is a masterpiece.

No Other

Gene Clark

4/5

It took me the second time through to appreciate this properly. It seems that’s been the history of this album. I enjoyed Gene Clark’s singing and songwriting.

Tidal

Fiona Apple

4/5

I was quite enamored with this album. More than I think I was in the 90s. I'm not sure why. Maybe because I am more aware of its older jazz influences. A pretty amazing talent all around.

The Gershwin Songbook

Ella Fitzgerald

5/5

Oh wow. There aren't many folks I'd like to spend 3.25 hours with. But Ella Fitzgerald, Nelson Riddle, Ira Gershwin, and George Gershwin... This was a magic time, and I'd have gladly spent more time with them. I can't imagine a more perfect combination. This was a lovely day to spend with these masters. I'd do it all again.

The Only Ones

2/5

I might have enjoyed a song or two on their own, but the whole album really started to get on my nerves today. But I sense that it might have just been bad timing and that there might be the right day for some whiny British pseudo-punk, which sometimes just hits the spot. We'll see.

Live At The Harlem Square Club

Sam Cooke

5/5

This was pretty incredible. I am realizing how good a live album can be. This was such a very alive performance, and hard to imagine that it was shelved for 20 years for being too "raw." I loved it.

Technique

New Order

5/5

This was one of the first CDs I ever bought back in the day. "Fine Time" was (and is, honestly) a favorite party tune. This is some fine music and nostalgia as well.

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

Elton John

5/5

I am so happy to hear so much more than I knew about Elton John at this time! I loved it!

Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols

Sex Pistols

4/5

I've listened to a number of albums in the this project that were labeled "punk," but this is the first one that really sounds like that I thought "punk" was. And I probably enjoyed listening to those other albums more. This one is aggressive and was a challenge for the morning commute to work. However, it kind of grew on me over the day, probably especially for Johnny Rotten's unique vocalizations. I find it kind of funny that this album is held in such reverence by those who have created the rock canon. It doesn't really want your reverence. I really don't know how to rate it except that I'm glad to have finally experienced it.

Sticky Fingers

The Rolling Stones

5/5

The Stones! Rock and Roll!

Sunshine Superman

Donovan

4/5

You've got a love an album that can take you to the swinging sixties via medieval times. Guinevere and Cass Elliot, Merlin and Bob Dylan. Throw in some lovely sitar for good measure.

Rumours

Fleetwood Mac

5/5

This is probably as near a perfect album as exists. A perfect blend of voices, sounds, talents...and so many iconic songs. This could well be my desert island pick.

1989

Taylor Swift

5/5

I felt a little ancient the first time I realized that Taylor Swift named this album 1989 not just because it pays homage to 80s pop, but that it was also the year she was born. It's also funny because I know that I would have loved this album in the 80s even if I pretended I didn't think it was cool. Which is pretty much exactly how I secretly felt about Taylor Swift in the 2010s (secret except for that time I nailed "Look What You Made Me Do" at karaoke). Although I've never listened to this album through before, so many of these songs are burned in my brain from listening so much. I've gotten a whole lot of joy listening, dancing, singing along, and de-stressing to "Shake it Off" in the car. This is my own musical tonic. There isn't a song on here that I don't enjoy.

Welcome to the Afterfuture

Mike Ladd

4/5

It definitely caught my attention when the first track made a "Space: 1999" reference. That was just the first of a lot of intriguing references. Did he just refer to "Mummenshanz"? The mix of painful contemporary realities and speculative fiction was fascinating to me, even if a lot of it is not something I want to go back to listening to for pleasure. "Red Eye to Jupiter," for example makes a "Trouble with Tribbles" reference, but I don't think I'll choose to play that one again. "To the Moon's Contractor" was...long? But there were also songs I really enjoyed, like "5,000 Miles West of the Future" and "Airwave Hysteria." Why couldn't I find more information about Mike Ladd? "Feb. 4 '99" definitely gave me a glimpse into a story I wanted to know better.

Superfly

Curtis Mayfield

5/5

This one was an easy repeat listen. Again and again. Amazing songs with beautiful orchestrations that tell a compelling story. Start to finish.

Cypress Hill

4/5

I enjoyed the sound of this album quite a bit more than I thought I would. DJ Muggs created a variety of groovy sounds and beats all the way through. I liked the combination of B-Real and Sen Dog's voices playing off each other and the frequent Spanish appearing with ease. It does raise that age-old question of how to appreciate a really good jam that has challenging themes and lyrics. At best it's not going to join the family singalong, and at worst some of it is repellent to me, but it certainly doesn't veer too far from the tried and true themes of its genre. As such it was more enjoyable and interesting to me than a lot I've heard.

Rage Against The Machine

1/5

This was perhaps supposed to inspire me to feel rage against the machine, but all I felt was rage against Rage Against the Machine.

Teen Dream

Beach House

4/5

This was my first time with Beach House, but I am now a fan. I really love this album. I very much love Victoria Legrand's voice and the beautiful sound of this music. I am looking forward to hearing them again.

Bat Out Of Hell

Meat Loaf

5/5

Loaf! Meat Loaf! This is its own genre, I think. Gorgeously theatrical and over the top.

Hotel California

Eagles

5/5

What can I say? This is a deservèd classic.

Tommy

The Who

5/5

This took some audacity to make, and I love that about it. A double album telling the epic story of... well, maybe it's not an epic story but it involves playing pinball. It's always been weird and mysterious enough to be quite compelling. I love that it feels like what it created, a rock opera. It feels orchestral but it's all rock instrumentation...plus French horn, of course. While many of the songs, although being part of a sequence, are great standalone songs, it's not true for them all. "Fiddle About" may be the most horrifying thing I've heard all year. *shudder* But as a whole, listening to this felt like an event today and it was great.

Your Arsenal

Morrissey

4/5

Wow, how did I miss this one for thirty years? I guess I just lost track of Morrissey at some point. This album rocks, and Morrissey sounds great on it. I loved it.

Bryter Layter

Nick Drake

5/5

My introduction to Nick Drake came from two of the songs from this album, which were on movie soundtrack albums I bought in the early 2000s. They have been favorite tracks ever since. It was wonderful to hear this whole album, which was a little less ethereal than Five Leaves Left, but no less beautiful.

Court And Spark

Joni Mitchell

5/5

I loved this album, both the songs I'd known and loved, and the new ones I discovered. I love the ventures into rock, pop, and jazz on this that made me rethink what I thought I knew about Joni Mitchell. In fact I spent a lot of time today learning as much as I could about her. Love.

A Grand Don't Come For Free

The Streets

3/5

The homemade sound of this album was both off-putting and its charm. The closest comparison I can think of is the Shaggs. I liked the idea of a rap opera, but I would like to see and hear the movie cast... The story was interesting and fun. I liked listening and hearing it unfold. I just have to ask, do I really want to listen to it again...

Black Holes and Revelations

Muse

5/5

I was a bit taken by surprise by this one. Singing "You will burn in hell" to a Philip-Glass-sounding synthesizer caused me to short circuit. The more I listened, the more I got it. It's pretty operatic. I love all the amazing sounds on this album. I also realized that I bought Muse's song "Uprising" some years ago and have always been a fan of it without really hearing that those lyrics are also pretty over-the-top.

Lady In Satin

Billie Holiday

5/5

I made the mistake of playing this while I ate lunch alone today. I didn't have much time to linger, but I completely forgot where I was, when it was, who I was... I was completely drawn into it, floating along with this beautiful heartache, feeling feeling feeling.

Brutal Youth

Elvis Costello

2/5

"Well, good!" I thought. "Another opportunity to find love for a well-regarded artist I didn't enjoy 30 years ago." It's happened before. It didn't happen today. All I could feel was my 30-years-ago self switching off the alternative music radio station (that I tried so hard to like) when the crushing tedium of long, meandering tracks such as this got the best of me. So there's some clever lyrics here and there. It didn't make up for me counting down the 57 minutes through which I never connected to this music. All hope is not lost, however, because apparently I have five more of these opportunities with Mr. Costello coming up.

Mask

Bauhaus

2/5

Often a second listen helps me to appreciate an album more. It made it worse today. Sometimes a few decades help. Bauhaus was the favorite band of my first college roommate in 1986. I tried then, and I tried today. What is one supposed to feel when one listens to this? And is that something one would choose to feel? *sigh*

Arrival

ABBA

5/5

You simply can't go wrong with ABBA. It was a delight to listen to songs I'd never heard before alongside beloved classics. All were wonderful.

Selling England By The Pound

Genesis

3/5

A colleague just noted today an article discussing the shortening of attention spans in the modern era. I must be a victim. I had a hard time with this one fading away into the background during its long long passages. I also had a hard time imagining that this was the same band that produced "Invisible Touch." It's not going to be my favorite, but it was fun to hear the Genesis of Genesis.

Le Tigre

5/5

What a delight this album was. A retro sound of early 80s new wave/punk, itself evoking 1960s pop, with so much brilliance to say in a clever way. Put a big smile on my face.

Head Hunters

Herbie Hancock

4/5

Today I learned about the groovy clavinet. How could I not have been aware of this marvelous instrument before now? Wow, I loved the first half of this album! Funky and fun! The second half was a little less fun I thought.

American Beauty

Grateful Dead

3/5

I've never listened to a whole Grateful Dead album, so that was a worthwhile check on my list. It's got a good folksy sound and I get the appeal of the mellow ambiance it creates as a whole. Nothing really there to grab your attention and pull you away from that vibe.

Slippery When Wet

Bon Jovi

4/5

This was some rocking fun, as well as awesome nostalgia. The first "side" of this album was nearly perfect. Yay Bon Jovi!

Franz Ferdinand

4/5

This was fun stuff. I enjoyed. I’ve known and liked “Take Me Out,” but “The Dark of the Matinée” is a new favorite.

Rock Bottom

Robert Wyatt

1/5

I like something distinctive, unique, original...weird, even. But not this, not today. No. Sorry.

One Nation Under A Groove

Funkadelic

2/5

I did love the title track of this album. The next two songs were okay if just a little long and tedious. And then there was an eleven-minute song about bowel movements and fried ice cream that just lost me. And the rest just kind of went on from there. Like many albums I've experienced here, I like the sound of short samples when I listen again, but it was the hour-long experience that was more negative.

Crosby, Stills & Nash

5/5

Another wonderful opportunity to listen to a classic album for the first time. "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" is a very familiar classic, of course (though I never knew that it was about Judy Collins!). Much of the album has their amazing signature harmonies, but I really enjoyed the different sounds that they brought to their first album. "Guinevere" and "Lady of the Island" were two new favorites, both apparently taking some inspiration from Joni Mitchell!

Cross

Justice

4/5

Enjoyable dance music.

Power In Numbers

Jurassic 5

4/5

I enjoyed this quite a bit. Great backing tracks, fun rhymes.

Either Or

Elliott Smith

5/5

A number of times in this project I have listened to beautiful music I have a strong connection to, only to find that the artist was full of terrible pain. Here we are again. I loved this one.

Maverick A Strike

Finley Quaye

2/5

I’m not a huge fan of most reggae. There want too much for me to hold on to here to overcome that.

This Is Fats Domino

Fats Domino

5/5

“Blueberry Hill” has been a favorite since “Happy Days.” So much fun to listen to the whole album!

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

4/5

I was never sure how much I liked Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. This definitely brought it up a few notches. Hearing their début album was very informative AND enjoyable in this endeavor.

Bert Jansch

3/5

Solid folk music.

The Joshua Tree

U2

5/5

I don’t imagine I’m the only Gen Xer for whom this album is a touchstone of a specific time in life. This album is, for me, everything about being 19, second year of college…it all comes back so vividly. U2 was held in reverence by my peers. This was the soundtrack to my 1987 and everything I felt in that ridiculously serious transition to adulthood. This one is all about the memories, but the music is still great, too.

OK Computer

Radiohead

2/5

It’s entirely possible this was the wrong day to listen to this album. Being on a 5-hour flight seemed a great opportunity to listen to the album of the day and pass the time. It did not pass the time. Long, dreary, whiny songs made five minutes seem like five hours and I got restless and claustrophobic in my seat and I had to break up the listening into intervals. I do imagine that on a different day I might have liked it somewhat, but today was not the day.

Murder Ballads

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

4/5

I first encountered the term "murder ballad" when I was reading Wikipedia about Dwight Yoakam's album "Buenas Noches from a Lonely Room." There was a link to an entire article about them. I realized that I was familiar with them--just one of those things you don't really think about until you wonder why there are so many of these old murderous songs that are often beautiful sounding...like the title song from that Dwight Yoakam album. I also read that Nick Cave created this album as a home for "O'Malley's Bar," since on its own I think it would cause lots and lots of concern. (I was still concerned. It's a very concerning song.) But so now the album's title makes it very clear what to expect. Murder. And lots of it. Although, I'm not sure these all count as the sort of beautiful folk ballads that go with the second part of the title. Mind you, "Where the Wild Roses Grow" and "Henry Lee" are right there on point. Beautiful, but...oh! "Stagger Lee," however... not sure I could imagine an Appalachian waif of yore singing that one. But it's been a while since a song brought me so many jaw-dropping surprises after surprises. Whoa! Whoa! I haven't really been able to process this album yet. "The Curse of Millhaven" made me feel like I was hit by a Mack truck, driven by a 15-year-old. This was a trip to a very disturbing dark side. I don't know if I liked that, but it's definitely made an impact on me, and I can't say it wasn't absolutely fascinating. I don't think I'll forget this one soon.

Wonderful Rainbow

Lightning Bolt

2/5

Noise rock. "Noise" is defined as "a sound that lacks an agreeable quality or is noticeably unpleasant or loud." When explaining the raison d'être for noise rock, guitarist Steve Albini of Big Black said, "Anybody can play notes...the point here is stretching the boundaries." I would point out that a hug is something pleasant, but stretching the boundaries makes it strangulation. Stretching the boundaries is not always good. I like notes. There were some moments of interest in this, but I would have enjoyed a "best five minutes" version.

Rapture

Anita Baker

4/5

This brought me back to my days of working as an office temp in the early 90s with smooth adult contemporary radio stations so often playing in the background. "Spending the workday with your favorites from the seventies, eighties, and today!" It was never music I chose, but it was always music that was there. And today I realized I kind of miss it. Although it's never been in my nostalgia collections, it's been long enough that it was a pleasure to listen to and it took me back in time in a good way. It feels like a lavish 80s soap opera with elegant ladies in sparkling evening dresses. It's a grown-uppy kind of thing our society doesn't seem to do anymore. Is there still sumptuous music like this being made nowadays? Although this was yesterday's background music, this album has stood out in this project as something special!

Physical Graffiti

Led Zeppelin

3/5

As a heathen to the Church of Zeppelin, the missionary work of this project has deepened my appreciation and understanding of this religion. I really enjoyed their original album, for example. This one was a little harder for me. The first three songs (over 20 minutes) really never grabbed me, and I was worried I wouldn't like it at all. Once we got to "side two," things got going better for me and it was my favorite of the four original LP sides. "Kashmir" was the one classic I knew and have always appreciated. I enjoyed the variety of styles once it got going. I really needed to spend more time with it to deepen my appreciation, but I just didn't have time to get there today.

The Notorious Byrd Brothers

The Byrds

4/5

This was a kind of snapshot of so many things that were going on musically in the late ‘60s. I have been learning a lot about the Byrds and how interconnected they were to so many things going on in music then. I really enjoyed this.

Clube Da Esquina

Milton Nascimento

4/5

I really enjoyed this collection from artists who got together and decided to try a lot of styles to see what Brazilian popular music in the 70s could be. The length allows for a lot of this freedom, and whenever there was something that wasn't my favorite, there was something immediately following that was my favorite.

Here, My Dear

Marvin Gaye

3/5

I did not know of this album before. It is something. Sometimes you hear a work is "intensely personal" but this is more like "uncomfortably personal" or even "embarrassingly personal." It was hard to get over the shock at first. All I could hear was a Troy McClure-type voice announcing, "Including such divorce classics as, 'When Did You Stop Loving Me, When Did I Stop Loving You?' 'Anger' and 'You Can Leave, But It's Going to Cost You.'" Could this be real? Has the word "please" ever been rhymed with "attorney fees" in any other song? And let's throw in a sci-fi love song in the middle there for good measure. It's funny, though, that when I had it playing a second time and wasn't paying attention to the lyrics about violating marriage vows, weaponizing child custody, and such, I found that I liked a lot of the music and found it pretty engaging. I liked "When Did You Stop Loving Me" (the instrumental is nice), "Anger," "Is That Enough," "Time to Get it Together"...and well, "A Funky Space Reincarnation" is a pretty amazing piece of work all the way around. That's a pretty good chunk of the album where I really liked the music. I definitely understand why this was an album to hear, and I've gone through a few stages in my appreciation of it (or fascination with it). Whatever rating I end up giving it isn't going to feel quite right.

Skylarking

XTC

5/5

Oh, this album was a breath of fresh air. I know for a fact that had I known it existed in 1986, it would have been a favorite. Why did it take this long? Interesting instrumentation, interesting lyrics, and all so enjoyable I listened to it four times today. "Umbilical" is much more fun to say when it rhymes with "cycle." Favorites are "Grass," "Ballet for a Rainy Day," "Season Cycle," "Mermaid Smiled," "The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul," and "Dear God," but there's not a song I don't like. It's so much fun to get an album I've never heard before that I love so much!

Tical

Method Man

1/5

This project has helped me to be more open-minded about music and to find stuff I like in genres I'd mostly rejected, such as heavy metal and hip hop. I have found albums I really like and have learned to distinguish between sub-genres. (Hip hop is a really broad category, I've found.) For example, I've learned that I am much more inclined towards West Coast Hip Hop than East Coast. To quote Wikipedia, "In contrast to other styles, East Coast hip hop music has prioritized complex lyrics for attentive listening rather than beats for dancing." I like dancing better. I attentively listened to the lyrics of this album, and other than the occasional Schoolhouse Rock reference, I found them distressing...and maybe not so complex. Violent, destructive lyrics without a whiff of humanity or redemption, accompanied by a complete lack of catchy beats to make you want to move. You can't win them all, and there are reasons I thought I didn't like hip hop. This is exhibit A.

She's So Unusual

Cyndi Lauper

5/5

One of the pleasures of this project is discovering delightful new favorites. Another great pleasure, like today's, is rediscovering artists and music that I've taken for granted and giving them a deserved closer look. Cyndi Lauper is an absolute jewel and I am so happy to have spent some time with her. I was 15 when this album came out and Cyndi Lauper became a phenomenon. It's hard to express how novel she was, especially because I think she has had so much influence on style since then. I think I had it in my head at that age that being outside the mainstream meant being gloomy. For me, she was someone who was not only exuberantly different, but always fun and humorous. Wow! This could work! Just the cover of this album makes me smile with its pose and primary colors. We're going to have some fun! And this was fun. The four hit singles, which yesterday I might have told you were a bit worn out, shone brightly on a careful re-listen. (The three music videos, a big part of the old MTV days that I hadn't watched in decades, are masterpieces.) As I had never owned this album, I loved hearing the whole thing, with six other songs that were all enjoyable. I love the variety of styles and moods. "She Bop" is wicked fun, and "Time after Time" has some of the most lovely lyrics. This was the introduction of a national treasure.

Truth

Jeff Beck

3/5

It seems that in the late 60s quite a few amazing British musicians were inspired by the blues. There may have been so many that they all blur together a bit for me, as it had never been a period and genre I connected with very much. This is particularly well done, especially for an artist I wasn't familiar with. It was definitely interesting to listen to Rod Stewart's early work, as his voice was instantly recognizable and prominent throughout the album.

Tonight's The Night

Neil Young

3/5

I was not always a big fan of Neil Young, so I haven't listened to his music very much. I appreciated the opportunity today to listen to an album of his that I was not familiar with. However, I am still not a big fan of Neil Young. What allowed me to listen to the whole thing with a smile on my face (did there really need to be an exact duplicate part II of "Tonight's the Night"?) was the realization that Young's voice is somewhat similar to Jerry Nelson's, the Muppeteer who performed Floyd Pepper of the Electric Mayhem, Emmet Otter of his jug band, and Kermit's nephew Robin. I just pictured any of them singing Neil's part and I loved it. This isn't to say I didn't like this album. I liked that it had an almost live sound to it—like the microphone wasn't totally set up right and there weren't a lot of takes, and that made it feel a bit more personal. I also understand that this album was an expression of grief, and I feel that. So this felt a bit more like music appreciation homework than something I would choose to listen to, but I was glad I listened to it.

Hot Rats

Frank Zappa

4/5

Frank Zappa was an icon when I was young, but I didn't really know why. He was one of those celebrities who was famous for being famous. It was a big deal when "Valley Girl" came out when I was 14, but again it was probably the Valleyspeak it brought attention to and his daughter's name being Moon Unit that were more famous than the song itself. Somehow this rock-jazz fusion was not what I expected. But then although this is an acclaimed Zappa album, there is no "typical" Zappa album it seems. In any case, it certainly doesn't sound too "experimental" or "out there." I sometimes get very restless with the longer pieces, but I didn't with this album, so I give it credit.

Tea for the Tillerman

Cat Stevens

5/5

How happy I was to listen to this today. I wish I had better words to talk about it. It's beautiful. It's both nostalgic and timeless. A few limited observations among many: The lyrics of "Into White" intrigued me. I love the build-up in "Miles from Nowhere" as his search progresses. And as the father of a teenage son, "Father and Son" caught me by surprise and took the wind out of me.

The Blueprint

JAY Z

4/5

It's still not my favorite genre, but this has its charms and merits.

All Directions

The Temptations

3/5

This was a bit of a mystery. I was not really very fond of most of this album, but somehow in the middle of a bunch of 3-minute songs is their almost 12-minute "magnum opus" (to quote the Wikipedia article on the Temptations), "Papa Was a Rolling Stone," which is about as perfect as such a long song can be. That track is a definite five, but I can't say that for the album as a whole.

Kid A

Radiohead

4/5

Being unfamiliar with most of Radiohead’s work, this is the second full album of theirs I’ve listened to after OK Computer. It’s quite different from that one isn’t it? I actually found this one more intriguing and engaging with its series of different soundscapes. Even when it gets challenging (“National Anthem,” for example) it’s somehow interesting to me.

Like A Prayer

Madonna

5/5

I guess I grew up with Madonna. The teen pop she was known for was something I really enjoyed when I was a teenager. This album, which marked her transition to more personal and adult themes came out when I was 21, at a transition to more personal and adult themes... Beyond that, it's absolutely enjoyable to listen to now as it was, as well as being emotional and relevant. It's also so satisfying to see an artist be able to grow and define her own art. To quote a friend from the era, "Madonna is a genius!" Hail holy queen!

Private Dancer

Tina Turner

5/5

This is a masterpiece. Tina Turner reigns supreme. I am in awe.

Elvis Is Back

Elvis Presley

4/5

This album sounds great! Elvis sounds great, and so do the rest of the musicians, as does the stereo sound. These are not his famous songs, but it's incredibly Elvisy in such a good way that I would play it to show why people liked Elvis so much.

Beautiful Freak

Eels

4/5

Interesting music, interesting lyrics, totally listenable but never boring. It's a perfect choice of 90s alternative and "Beautiful Freak" is an apt description.

People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm

A Tribe Called Quest

4/5

This was fun and joyful. It was funky and groovy. A good time!

Swordfishtrombones

Tom Waits

5/5

This is amazing. My father was a huge fan, and while I thought Tom Waits was a bit challenging to listen to then, I really appreciate him now. Love.

Blue

Joni Mitchell

5/5

A few observations: What happened to autoharps? They were all over when I was a kid, especially for elementary school music teachers. I like them. An entire bonus point has been granted for the lyric, "Acid, booze, and ass." (Also, "I want to shampoo you" and "There'll be crocuses to bring to school tomorrow") I wasn't immediately in love with this album, but each listen reveals something marvelous.

The Seldom Seen Kid

Elbow

5/5

I was not familiar with Elbow but happily now I am! I love the grand, orchestral sound and the first lyric, "How dare the Premier ignore my invitations/ he'll have to go." What a wonderful opening song. "Darling, is this love?" Yes. "Mirrorball" is magical and beautiful. "Grounds for Divorce" has a great, gritty rock sound. "An Audience with the Pope" sounds like one of the better James Bond themes. "The Fix" is just great story telling and I love the duet of conspiring voices singing lyrics like "the redoubtable beast has had Pegasus pills." This is definitely a new favorite.

Entertainment

Gang Of Four

3/5

Well, this certainly is a reasonable representative of its genre. It just isn't my genre. I did find a line in it that quite described how I felt listening to it: "How can I sit and eat my tea? With all that blood flowing from the television"

Pump

Aerosmith

3/5

Aerosmith wasn't my sort of thing back when this album came out. However, in this project I have rediscovered and liked so much music I had once passed over, so I had high hopes for this. Perhaps too high. It was F.I.N.E.

Cosmo's Factory

Creedence Clearwater Revival

5/5

I was unaware just how short a window Creedence Clearwater Revival's existence was. They did a lot of amazing things in that time. This album is packed with great songs and awesome music, sounding like a true bridge between the birth of rock 'n' roll and the emerging 70s.

Golden Hour

Kacey Musgraves

5/5

Well this was a delightful surprise! This was such a perfect soundtrack to a lunchtime walk on a beautiful spring day. Kacey Musgraves in my ears, sunshine and a smile on my face. I loved her voice, her songwriting, and the creative instrumentation of this album. I enjoyed how she played around with the country genre to create something fun and so engaging. I enjoyed every song. A few notes include the creative reuse of the "Space Cowboy" title, the gloriously lovely "Velvet Elvis," the clever "Wonder Woman," the exquisite country-disco mashup of "High Horse," the beautiful title track "Golden Hour"... and the rest!

Tarkus

Emerson, Lake & Palmer

4/5

The beauty of the late 60s and early 70s was the ability to unironically try something absolutely "out there" for the sake of Art. "It's gonna be about the de-evolution of a giant armadillo tank!" This is not an album that will be in my casual playlists, but I appreciated what went into creating it. (Mostly. Some of the songs on side 2 were a little WTF.) Low listenability but high creativity and musical skill.

Machine Gun Etiquette

The Damned

3/5

I enjoyed a good bit of today's album. I find that I prefer my punk with a side of humor or fun.

Blood Sugar Sex Magik

Red Hot Chili Peppers

3/5

I was looking forward to this one. "Under the Bridge" has always been a top favorite, and "Give it Away" has always been a solid jam. I loved about a third of the very long album. That third would get a five. But there’s that whole other hour there.

The Sensual World

Kate Bush

5/5

Kate Bush is incredible. In looking at previous work in this project, Hounds of Love is one of my favorite albums ever. This album didn't quite show the variety of voices and styles that I appreciated so much in that one, but I still very much love so much of it. The title track has always been a sensual favorite, and "This Woman's Work" will always be emotionally connected to the scene from "She's Having a Baby," which it was written for. I did notice the influence from the very popular in the late 80s "Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares" keep creeping in, and then saw that it had an actual Bulgarian women's choir join in. "Deeper Understanding" is strangely prescient of our times for 1989! "Love and Anger" continues to be the sort of engaging song that made it on the US charts.

Medúlla

Björk

4/5

Would I play this at a party? No. (That's a lie, but most people probably wouldn't.) This is not decorative. But it's interesting. Beatboxing and throat singing in the same work? Wow. Experimentations with the human voice as instrument. I don't know how to rate this. Some of it was intriguing. Some of it made me laugh out loud. Some was really challenging to keep listening to. Sometimes, listening on my headphones made me feel like I was possessed and had voices in my head. Björk didn't just stick to what worked before, did she? So, I'm going to celebrate her artistic audacity here.

Chirping Crickets

Buddy Holly & The Crickets

5/5

Fun and catchy, absolutely classic.

The Contino Sessions

Death In Vegas

3/5

This was quite listenable for electronica. It makes sense that a couple of tracks have been used for background music in movies, games, and such. "Dirge" has a great, mysterious mood to it. "Aisha" is driving and dark. "Death Threat" caused me some stress as I was driving in traffic and I thought my lane departure alarm kept going off. It's still long and repetitive, but that's to be expected.

Being There

Wilco

4/5

Sometimes in this project I steel myself for something I don't think I'm going to like. "Have an open mind, but don't pretend to like something you don't." Seventy-seven minutes is a significant commitment, and 90s alternative can be a scary place. It was seventy-seven minutes well spent. This felt like an album ought to, as it kept my attention without taking it over, stayed consistent in quality throughout, gave an interesting variety of songs, and provided over an hour of consistent enjoyment.

Lust For Life

Iggy Pop

3/5

I truly love the cover of this album. Who knew such a portrait would be so subversive of album norms? I've always loved the title track (slightly soured perhaps by repeated cruise commercials). And "The Passenger" is a cool song (which was very nicely redone by Siouxie and the Banshees, and that may be the version I knew better). Other than those songs, I really wasn't familiar with Iggy Pop's music, so I was very glad to finally listen to a signature album of his. He's one of those icons whose fame I know, but not whose music I know. I didn't love it, but I still enjoyed the journey.

Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde

The Pharcyde

4/5

I really enjoyed the backing tracks and the rapping on this album. It's got a good enjoyable sound, but I'm not sure I agree with Wikipedia that the lyrics are just "playful" and "wacky," even for 1992. Yeesh.

Blackstar

David Bowie

3/5

I love David Bowie. I loved listening to his last album. I certainly appreciated what he did with this one. I just can't say that I'd ever want to listen to this again outside of this project. So that makes for a challenging rating. Whatever I rate won't reflect all that I felt listening to it.

Infected

The The

5/5

One of my very favorite songs in college was "This is the Day" by the The (from their previous album), but I had not followed up to hear more of them, and that song went off my radar along with its mixtape. I totally would have loved this album. The more I have listened to it, the more I have liked it. Good sound, interesting lyrics. As this album came out with a video compilation for each song, I was intrigued and watched them all. Some crazy stuff! Love it.

Channel Orange

Frank Ocean

3/5

There were moments listening to this that I thought, "Wow, this is really good!" Unfortunately, there were more moments where I thought, "Hmm, this is kind of tedious."

O.G. Original Gangster

Ice T

4/5

So this is the affable, older gentleman from the insurance and cereal commercials. Oh, Gee! It's hard to keep me hooked for over an hour, but this album sounded pretty good from start to finish. I was moving along the whole time. I was dreading the rap-metal track, but I really liked it. After having been expanding my hip hop/rap horizons, this album seems so much more self-aware and analytical than previous works. Not just "here were are," but "why we are here." I gained some understanding, insight, and appreciation from this album. That said, I completely missed the logic in "Bitches 2." So, "ladies," it's not so bad to be called a bitch because... now wait, what? And again so many references to women's body parts without ever really referring to a sentient human being attached to those parts...but...sigh. But aside from that general complaint about most hip hop, I enjoyed this album.

Bone Machine

Tom Waits

4/5

I love Tom Waits and this is a great album. This one is delightfully grim. I would also say that I know there are at least three other albums of his that I prefer, that this one felt a little long, and that I had more trouble finding a song I really connected to. But those are nitpicks.

Groovin'

The Young Rascals

3/5

I certainly enjoyed this album. "How Can I Be Sure?" is such a great song. Having not really been familiar with the (Young) Rascals, I'm happy I better know who sang it, as well as the classic, "Groovin'." But, while it was good listening, it wasn't overly memorable or remarkable for me.

Surrealistic Pillow

Jefferson Airplane

5/5

What should a 1967 psychedelic rock album sound like? This. This. This was an amazing and wonderful convergence of talent. The whole thing is amazing. But I still especially like Grace Slick...

(What's The Story) Morning Glory

Oasis

5/5

I really loved this one. I probably didn't give Oasis enough credit when they came out with this one. Solid.

Roger the Engineer

The Yardbirds

3/5

I enjoyed this just fine. Some good sixties British rock. Nice guitar work.

Kind Of Blue

Miles Davis

5/5

This was not an immediate favorite but it has really, really grown on me as I let myself go with it, listening over the day. (Maybe jazz isn't meant for 6:00 a.m.) It worked much better on a lunchtime walk, although my surroundings kept transforming into a wet night with neon lights reflected on the sidewalk. After that first encounter I tried to figure out what I was supposed to be hearing. I read a lot of Wikipedia trying to understand just what "modal jazz" is. (Boy, that's a technical article. Is this how the musicians communicated about their work?) My very fragile understanding is that Miles Davis created a canvas that allowed for improvised, unrestrained solos. When I had that in mind, it became more remarkable, because, at its worst, jazz can sound like unbearable chaos to me. A bunch of random, screeching saxophone is my nightmare. This, however, was always lovely and harmonious despite flowing freely. It was something to "feel" more than "hear" and I loved how it felt.

The Message

Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five

3/5

This gets an extra point for being an interesting historical artifact. However, I really didn't love listening to it for listening's sake. My favorite pieces were more reflective of the tracks the DJ was spinning. I also liked hearing some different themes in the lyrics, even if an ode to Stevie Wonder came as a bit of a surprise.

The Score

Fugees

4/5

This was a really wonderful album. I appreciated how musical it was for hip hop, as well as interesting and often clever.

Live At The Witch Trials

The Fall

1/5

Hmmm. Trying to think of something I liked about this one. Hmmm. Nope.

Beauty And The Beat

The Go-Go's

5/5

I loved this when it was new, and it still sounds so good!

Junkyard

The Birthday Party

1/5

I won't claim that this was without artistic merit, but I sure hated listening to it. So, um, yeah.

The Lexicon Of Love

ABC

5/5

This was one of my favorite cassette tapes in the 80s but I hadn't listened to it for over three decades since the transition to CDs. So much fun to listen to again today. I forgot how much I loved ABC.

You've Come a Long Way Baby

Fatboy Slim

5/5

I bought this CD when it came out, and it was definitely a favorite. Electronic music can be pretty dull in its repetitiveness, but this is special. There's something always exciting happening in the music and the repetition is actually pretty groovy here. It was so good to hear the whole thing again, it'd been a long while.

A Date With The Everly Brothers

The Everly Brothers

4/5

This was the music my mother told me she chose over Elvis when she was in high school. They have a recognizable sound, but it is hard to classify—a little bit country, a little bit rock 'n' roll. There's a good, fun mix of stuff on this album. I didn't try dancing to it, but I agree it was great for listening.

Bad Company

3/5

I was never really into '70s guitar rock, so Bad Company was never really on my radar, although I certainly recognize a number of tracks from this album just from hearing them over the years. I liked this well enough. It was short, so I listened four times today and enjoyed it just fine. The Apple Music description ("the definition of no-nonsense '70s hard rock") is fairly apt, though maybe less on the hard side than I imagined.

Wish You Were Here

Pink Floyd

5/5

"How about an album of '70s progressive/art rock where all the tracks are longer than five minutes?" "Mmm, no thanks. I've just not been a fan." "It's Pink Floyd..." "Pink Floyd?! That's different! Play it!"

In A Silent Way

Miles Davis

4/5

"What's your favorite track from the album?" "Shhh." *whispers* "What's your favorite track from the album?" It was a lovely coincidence that I started my Miles Davis journey with Kind of Blue not two weeks ago, and then got to experience this great and controversial transition to electricity that happened a decade after that album. I was a bit nervous that I wouldn't like it. I keep waiting for that jazz album that I'll hate, but this wasn't it. I love the funkiness added with the electric pianos and guitar. I really thought it was a proper fusion, giving it an unmistakable contemporary (to 1969) sound. I did prefer Side A to Side B, which I found a little draggy, but I certainly did enjoy the whole thing.

Live!

Fela Kuti

3/5

I enjoyed listening to this. It would have been something to be at this concert.

Mama Said Knock You Out

LL Cool J

2/5

I expected to like this but I found it kind of long and uncompelling.

If You Can Believe Your Eyes & Ears

The Mamas & The Papas

5/5

This was a really great listen for the day. All four times. It was kind of surprising to me that I had never heard all of this album. What a joy it was! I loved their original songs like "Go Where You Wanna Go" and "Somebody Groovy," and I really loved their versions of "The 'In' Crowd" and "Spanish Harlem." There is no other song like "California Dreamin'" and it was perfect to have "Monday, Monday" as the first thing I listened to on a Monday morning. Their splendid harmonies gave good vibrations to the whole day.

Murmur

R.E.M.

4/5

Green and Out of Time were iconic albums of my youth with iconic songs. I bought the latter on CD when it came out. As a fan of R.E.M., it was such a great experience to go back and listen to their beginnings. I didn't find any iconic songs standing out here, discovered or undiscovered, but there were 44 minutes of a really special sound, with truly, as was apparently intended, a timeless feel. It was quite exciting to listen to this grand beginning of an amazing group.

In The Wee Small Hours

Frank Sinatra

5/5

Wow, this was gorgeous. I've always loved the brash and campy '60s Sinatra, but I forget that there was really something beautiful about his work for all those years before that. A man with an amazing voice singing sublime torch songs to Nelson Riddle's orchestra. Wonderful. This was truly like buttah.

Hybrid Theory

Linkin Park

4/5

What the hell is this? Turntable scratching, power guitar, electronica, rapping, piano, and lots and lots of screaming. Do I like it? I think I do... Wild.

That's The Way Of The World

Earth, Wind & Fire

5/5

This is delightful. It has an unselfconscious seventiesness to it that I love.

The Grand Tour

George Jones

4/5

If you had asked me as a kid in the '70s why I didn't like country music, this would have been Exhibit A. Twang twang twang. This is Bob's Country Bunker kind of stuff. However, various people in my life and the aging process over the past forty years have had me come around to a new appreciation. I find it interesting that just a few days ago I was listening to Frank Sinatra sing in 1955 and I thought, "I think this is what traditionally masculine emotional vulnerability must sound like." I had the same thought with George Jones today. This is clearly classic country at its roots. Lovely.

The Doors

5/5

Here we have another band that played some of my all-time favorite songs, and yet I never listened to a whole album of theirs before. I was happy to start with their first and was never disappointed. "Light My Fire" is one of those favorites, as well as "The End." That one will always be associated with "Apocalypse Now" for me because it made the movie perfect. I was surprised and pleased to hear some different styles from those two epic pieces on this album. "Soul Kitchen" and "Twentieth Century Fox" are delightful. "Alabama Song" (the Marxophone!) and "Back Door Man" were really interesting takes on very different classics.

Fetch The Bolt Cutters

Fiona Apple

5/5

This was brand new to me and it made me go "wow" so many times as I first listened to it: her distinctive voice, the percussion, the piano, the dogs, and the really really interesting lyrics. Wow wow wow. A few times I had to rewind and listen again since it begged constant careful listening. Just blew me away, and what an exciting feeling that was!

Grace

Jeff Buckley

5/5

Sometimes I wear extra-strength skepticism filters when I see lots of praise for an album I'm not familiar with, especially if I feel it might be somewhat elevated from other factors, such as the emotions of losing an artist too soon. That was all blown away by this beautiful and powerful work. And the loss of this artist did, in fact, bring tears to my eyes as I listened to his incredible music. "Hallelujah" is one of those favorite songs that may have been overdone in the '00s, but I really think it was because Buckley's version set the standard. It was like I heard the song for the first time today and I felt the joy again. It is magnificent from beginning to end. It's possible that I enjoy Buckley's clearly Zeppelin-influenced pieces more than I do Zeppelin... This is one I will definitely want to spend more time with. There is more to explore and feel, I think.

Rings Around The World

Super Furry Animals

3/5

This album maybe suffered coming after 9 albums in a row that I loved, as well as my having less focus on it while listening. It had some interesting things, and an interesting variety of sounds. I was just never really engaged or wowed (which I have been…nine times in a row. Nine times? Nine times.)

Electric Warrior

T. Rex

2/5

My first exposure to T. Rex was as the weird original version of the Power Station’s awesome “Get It On,” which was very popular when I was in high school. I got to appreciate the T. Rex version more as time went on. I did feel like this was the album you’d get if you just bought it for that song. It sounds about right for the group, but there’s nothing better on it to grab your soul. It’s not unpleasant, but it’s just not obvious to me why it’s on this list.

This Year's Model

Elvis Costello & The Attractions

2/5

Elvis Costello, take 2. Perhaps this more classic album than the last one I listened to (Brutal Youth) will be what hooks me in. I mean, I really want to be the sort of person who likes Elvis Costello! But again, no. Sorry. I never really had trouble listening to a stand-alone song like "Pump it Up," but listening to this whole album created an ever-gnawing irritating unpleasantness. I tried listening to it hours later to see if it struck me differently. Nope.

Ingenue

k.d. lang

5/5

This was gorgeous and lush.

Parsley, Sage, Rosemary And Thyme

Simon & Garfunkel

5/5

When you've always loved Simon & Garfunkel, but never listened to any albums other than greatest hits... This was a joy.

The Genius Of Ray Charles

Ray Charles

5/5

This was a surprise and a discovery to listen to. I guess I thought I knew my basic Ray Charles. Big band and orchestra arrangements? Pop standards? But it was pure Ray singing, and while I was at first just a little skeptical, the second time through I just enjoyed the ride and loved his take on some classics. "Let the Good Times Roll" was really a ton of fun and "Am I Blue" was gorgeous. I'm so happy I got to hear this today!

New York Dolls

2/5

I think it would have been a kick-ass time to see this band live back in the day. Exuberant and naughty. I just don't feel that I ever need to listen to this record again. Not something I enjoy listening to outside of that context. My old nerves.

Dance Mania

Tito Puente

5/5

Mambo! Hips moving uncontrollably! Yay!

Butterfly

Mariah Carey

3/5

This gave me a chance to spend some time with Mariah Carey, as generally in the past I had avoided her. I was not previously familiar with any of the songs here, even though they seemed to have been popular. "Honey" isn't the sort of song I would normally pick to listen to, but I found it a somewhat interesting and engaging piece, especially the second time through. Then, there was the rest of the hour of warbling slow jam adult contemporary (maybe best exemplified by "Fourth of July") with a soupçon of hip hop (see "Breakdown"). This very, very extended smooth mood seemed only to be broken by the dancey anthem "Fly Away (Butterfly Reprise)" which did inspire me to raise my arms and strut along a bit before going back to the boudoir. I might just feel a little more appreciative of her work, although it's not likely I'll be back. I have, however, filed "Fly Away" for inspiration emergencies.

Every Picture Tells A Story

Rod Stewart

3/5

I've personally never been much of a fan of Rod Stewart's ragged voice or most of his music, but I do appreciate this album for what it is, Sir Roderick's breakthrough to understandable fame. It didn't really start off great, perhaps, with the title song, which doesn't seem to have aged well, let's just say. The rest is folky, bluesy, raspy, so raspy. Repeat. It's Rod Stewart. Not my fave.

The Bends

Radiohead

4/5

This is the third Radiohead album so far in this project, coming after the two that were released subsequent to this one. I can understand that if you really liked this album, you'd have been somewhat dismayed by the follow-ups. This was the most accessible and musical of the albums I've listened to, and I actually found most of it quite lovely.

The Dreaming

Kate Bush

5/5

This album is just cool. Kate Bush does all kinds of cool things with percussion, instrumentation, and her voice! Her songs each have cool stories. Cool cool cool.

Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs

Derek & The Dominos

2/5

I appreciated that this album showed up in the project. These are indisputably amazing musicians. I certainly wanted to like it. It started with a fairly high rating. And then it went on and on and on. My personal feeling is that this period and genre have been over-represented in this project, but it may just be that I've never really been into the guitar rock of this era and I'm just getting over listening to so much of it. After an hour and ten minutes of long blues guitar solos and more long blues guitar solos, and I was begging it to please, please, please end, finally came "Layla," which is what I'd come for. It's truly an incredible song, both movements. "I Am Yours" was the only other song that stood out for me, and I quite liked it.

Rid Of Me

PJ Harvey

3/5

As the third PJ Harvey album in this project, I found this one the hardest to listen to. It's a rough one, isn't it? But I guess that was on purpose. I appreciated a lot of it, but I also turned the volume down a lot.

Vauxhall And I

Morrissey

4/5

The best of Morrissey is being moody and lovely. This is both.

Giant Steps

The Boo Radleys

3/5

I didn’t hate or love this. It seemed very long, but never unlistenable.

In Utero

Nirvana

3/5

I found this a very interesting album. The songs I liked I really liked, and the songs I didn't like, I really didn't like. I seem to recall that when this album came out, people said it was rougher than Nevermind, and I found a few tracks really hard to listen to. "Heart-Shaped Box" and "All Apologies" are great, classic songs, though, and I am fond of "Dumb."

Disintegration

The Cure

4/5

I think The Cure and I were more in sync in 1989 than in 1982. I found this a much more interesting, enjoyable, and engaging album than Pornography. "Lovesong" has always been one of my favorite songs (very much including when sung by Adele). I still might struggle some with Robert Smith's voice, but I think it is in a really good setting here with the band's arrangements. I was not familiar with most of the other songs, but I found "Lullaby" to be an interesting, creepy piece with Smith using his voice in a different way. I enjoyed this.

evermore

Taylor Swift

5/5

Each song on this album took me to such a vivid place. I loved each of these journeys. This is one I want to listen to again and again.

Born To Run

Bruce Springsteen

3/5

I was waiting expectantly for this one, as someone who wasn't very familiar with Bruce Springsteen's work beyond his hits. I appreciated that it had its own sound for the 70s, with piano and saxophone appearing prominently (and, I think, influencing music that came afterwards). I have always been disappointed at not being able to understand Springsteen's lyrics. I'm told they're poignant, but I can't understand most of what he sings. I really think that "Born to Run" is a great song. I did appreciate the rest of the album, and I don't deny the artistry, but I just don't love it.

Car Wheels On A Gravel Road

Lucinda Williams

4/5

This was a new name for me, but I know I have heard Lucinda Williams' music before, playing on our public radio station's morning show. This album definitely painted lovely pictures of the South, and I enjoyed the ride. The title itself evokes such memories and stirs up emotions as it repeats through the title song.

Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret

Soft Cell

2/5

Oh my gosh, sometimes expectations and reality don't meet. So many reasons I thought I was going to enjoy this, but found that so much of it is unbearable. "Youth" probably comes closest in this project for making me want to take a tire iron to the car radio. Was the awfulness of that song what made its followup, "Sex Dwarf," seem so good? "Tainted Love" is a masterpiece, but none of the rest of the album sounds like it.

E.V.O.L.

Sonic Youth

3/5

I don't know why, but over the years, whenever I've heard the band name Sonic Youth, I've always pictured a bunch of friendly, happy kids performing at the 1962 Seattle World's Fair. They are not that. These are dark and sullen kids. Turns out this was some of the worst road trip music I've ever played, but it definitely came up a point listening with headphones. I found it more cohesive, interesting, and listenable than Daydream Nation, but it's still not going in my library.

B-52's

The B-52's

5/5

I do have a deep love and appreciation for this album. In the early 80s, as a young teenager, it was the first time I'd connected with music outside of the mainstream that appealed to me individually and authentically. It featured volcanoes, planets, sea creatures, bouffant hairdos, and "Downtown." It didn't take itself seriously. It sounded wonderful and fun. I particularly remember riding around in a car with a friend, listening to it, feeling exhilaration and connectedness to something that finally felt like it was meant for me. "Rock Lobster" was my favorite song at high school dances because it was the only time everyone went crazy to the music and did their own thing completely joyously and unselfconsciously. There would be a lot of wonderful music to come from the B-52s, but this one is particularly important to me.

Goodbye And Hello

Tim Buckley

4/5

This is the second Tim Buckley album I've listened to, after Happy Sad. That jazz-influenced album apparently was too weird for some of the fans of his earlier work, but I think Happy Sad was more interesting and engaging to me. However, although it was very different from the other album, I liked this folk rock sound quite a bit, finding it very personal and revealing.

Opus Dei

Laibach

5/5

The tracks "Opus Dei" and "Geburt einer Nation" were in heavy rotation on my friends' and my college-era mixtapes. I loved the subversive take on pop music. There may have been some very exuberant sing-alongs with the former. Listening to this album for the first time, I was a bit surprised to hear "Leben Heißt Leben" since it's an entirely different version of the song I'd known. (By the way, I knew neither of those previously mentioned songs by their proper titles. Not everyone was good about writing proper song titles and artists on their mixtapes in the 80s, which was a pet peeve of mine.) But it was delightful, and the "proper" version of "Life is Life" was thankfully still there as well. I'd love to write a proper review of this and more specifically why I love it. Suffice it to say that I think it's magnificent. We needed this desperately in 1987.

Live Through This

Hole

3/5

I didn’t get to spend the time with this album that it deserved. I mostly heard “harsh,” which isn’t my favorite, but I know that this harshness was used to proper effect. I just wasn’t able to get to that connection.

American Idiot

Green Day

5/5

This was pretty amazing. I knew a number of the songs but listening to them in the context of this concept album was a new experience. It so very much captured the Zeitgeist of 2004 as well as predicting where we’ve gone since.

All Hope Is Gone

Slipknot

2/5

This was a bit tricky to review. There were moments I was surprised to find I liked. It sometimes makes me laugh to hear the scary monster muppet voice proclaim doom. This isn’t going to be my thing, but I appreciated the exposure today.

Kala

M.I.A.

4/5

I loved this. “Paper Planes” has been a favorite song for years, and I loved hearing the rest. ❤️

Hunky Dory

David Bowie

5/5

"Changes" will always remind me of joyfully singing along with friends in a car in the 80s. I had never heard this wonderful album that contains it and it was a delight for me. I want to listen again and again and discover all the things I know I've missed. Wonderful!

This Nation’s Saving Grace

The Fall

2/5

Oh. So these guys again. They get another one? Hmm. I don't think I hate this is much as the witch one, but... I'm extremely annoyed by it. A lot of repetitive phrases backing the song title repeated over and over, going for 4–5 minutes each, for over an hour. Next!

Live At The Regal

B.B. King

5/5

Does it make sense to joyously listen to the blues? Well I did. It's a rare and wonderful live album when you can feel the crowd around you as though you were there, because you're having the exact same reactions as the folks in the 1964 audience were having. I loved this one.

Selected Ambient Works 85-92

Aphex Twin

4/5

I enjoyed listening to this quite a bit today. (Thankfully, it fit the day quite well. It may not always have.) I liked it being mellow and groovy but also with a beat. Am I meditatin' or dancin'? Both!

Oracular Spectacular

MGMT

4/5

I like this album quite a bit. It has a sound that I have appreciated in pop music of its decade but have not explored extensively. "Kids" has been a favorite, played frequently on my Pandora station, and "Time to Pretend" is a great synth anthem. I also really like the neo-disco "Electric Feel." I'm happy to spend more time with them!

Dirt

Alice In Chains

2/5

Growly male voice, growly guitars, prominent heroin abuse, '90s Seattle angst. Of that very well represented genre this is by far not my favorite.

Third

Portishead

3/5

I was curious to know where Portishead would go in the 15 years since their album I had heard previously. I initially felt some promise and excitement as I found the sound of this album intriguing and cool. However, as it dragged on it felt both ponderous and uneasy, as though I'd been slipped a mickey and was struggling to fight its effects.

Miriam Makeba

5/5

I first learned about Miriam Makeba some years ago when I was researching South African music for a school project, and I immediately became a fan. "Pata Pata" has been in my playlists ever since. This was a wonderful album and I loved listening to this amazing voice so much. What an interesting collection of songs! I love when this project brings us to artists I haven't known so well, but really appreciate, such as this. Love Love Love.

Real Life

Magazine

3/5

I liked the ahead-of-its-time sound of this album. There are definitely interesting things going on. I like the synthesizer in "Definitive Gaze," which was a great start to things. "Recoil" feels really punk. The carnival feel of "The Great Beautician in the Sky" clashes with the slurring vocals. And I very much love their take on "Goldfinger." It did go on a bit and I didn't always love the lead vocal, but overall it was good stuff.

Fleet Foxes

5/5

Oh, this was a happy discovery! I am sure I have heard "White Winter Hymnal" before somewhere, but I wasn't familiar with Fleet Foxes before. I happily listened 3+ times today. I am intrigued by the sprinkling of random names in the songs. Who is Michael? Who is Jesse? Sean? All the songs are my favorite! "White Winter Hymnal" is a beautiful piece with its harmonies, instrumentation, and percussion. "Tiger Mountain Peasant Song" and "Your Protector" are both beautiful and a little scary. "Meadowlarks" and "Blue Ridge Mountains" are just lovely and timeless (except for that connecting flight reference). This is a group I can't wait to hear more from, and the rare occasion where I want to go to the bonus discs!

The Last Broadcast

Doves

4/5

This was really enjoyable British pop with fun, creative instrumentation throughout. Unfortunately, Doves hadn't ever made it to my attention before. Maybe there's just a limited supply that makes it across the Atlantic, so we miss out on some great stuff over here. This was good listenin'!

Ananda Shankar

5/5

I suppose I would look no further than the cover of this album for my comments. Ananda Shankar fulfilled his dream, I think. It is melodious and touching, and so interesting to bring the Moog synthesizer and the sitar together. I enjoyed the entire album, which has quite a range of music, making it difficult to pick favorites. I always love when something new and exciting is brought to a well worn song, and that happened with both "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and "Light My Fire." I think "Metamorphosis" is a beautiful piece that showcases the creativity and skill of Shankar and makes its novel blend of instrumentation make absolute sense. "Raghupati" was such a lovely way to end the album with its joyous singalong. It feels very much of its time, but I really liked that about it. Beyond that, it was just beautiful music for a walk along the river today, nicely accompanying the sun shining through the trees and sparkling on the water.

S.F. Sorrow

The Pretty Things

3/5

I probably should have noted that the last four tracks I listened to were bonus tracks, and that it wasn't just my attention wandering that made me lose track of the story here. However, after listening to it twice, there were still lots of surprises when I read the storyline on Wikipedia. ("Oh, I thought HE died in the war and I was trying to figure out why we still had half the album to go!") Mind you, this was a far less ludicrous story for a rock opera than The Who's Tommy, but I think Tommy had much more engaging music. Sorry, The Pretty Things. Not that it wasn't interesting. I had a real dialogue with myself about it, too. "I like what they're doing here, and how the songs each have a different feel." But then time crawled slowly and my mind wandered and two more songs slipped by without making a mark in my consciousness. "Oh, but I really want to like this! They got such a crummy deal in 1968 and I want to make up for it! This oozes a real creative effort!" I fully support this album being on this list. It is good, but it's more about its rightful part in music history than because it's great.

Led Zeppelin IV

Led Zeppelin

5/5

I don't claim any cred when it comes to Led Zeppelin. I probably avoided them deliberately all my life as a reaction to rock snobs. (I think being a music fan should be more about joy and fun than a taste contest.) In doing so, however, I've missed out on some real enjoyment. So, in my naïveté, I quickly realized that this is my favorite of the Led Zeppelin albums I've listened to. And to compound my sins, my appreciation for "Stairway to Heaven" has only grown and I would happily declare it my favorite Led Zeppelin song of all. What can I say, I've not worn it out over the decades, and it brings me joy. But I also grew an appreciation for the rest of this album, honestly enjoying every track, Side 1 and Side 2. It's all great to me. (Truth be told, I am especially fond of the folky tracks, "The Battle of Evermore" (with Sandy Denny!) and "Going to California.") This album was my real "I get it" moment. Maybe I'm still a novice, but I get it now, as long as I can just like what I like.

British Steel

Judas Priest

4/5

My previous knowledge of this album was limited to Beavis and Butt-Head. This project has again helped me find what I like in genres I had avoided. This is good, pure, enjoyable, rockin' metal for almost 100% of the album.

Bummed

Happy Mondays

1/5

The Wikipedia article states that this album was made under the influence of lots and lots of drugs. The thing about drugs is that they make things seem better than they are. This was not good. Not good. There is a genre of British rock in which the lead singer just shouts/moans in place of singing. It sometimes works, but here it just filled me with rage and resentment. Although it is usually my practice, I was unable to bring myself to listen to this more than once, and mind you I stopped immediately at the end of track 10 on the super-extended Apple Music version available to me. Maybe I missed out. If I did, please let me know.

Come Find Yourself

Fun Lovin' Criminals

4/5

When I saw "Hip-Hop/Rap" as the genre of this album on Apple Music, I wasn't expecting that my previous experience with this group would be from my 1997 Lounge-A-Palooza compilation CD, on which they sang 10cc's "I'm Not in Love." But not knowing that until after I listened, I found myself joyfully surprised through most of this album that they did seem to be serious about the "fun lovin'" part. Interesting instrumentations (I love a rap with an easy-listening background), clever tongue-in-cheek lyrics, and a pretty straightforward rendition of a James Bond movie theme. I really enjoyed this and I will be listening to their compilation Mimosa shortly.

The College Dropout

Kanye West

3/5

Hmm. Kanye West is a complicated topic, so there was some trepidation to tackle an album of his today. However, since it was his debut album, I decided to listen as though it were 2004. I'm glad I got to do that and find out why he came to fame. I enjoyed this album much more than expected, and appreciated that it brought personal, creative, and humorous themes to hip hop. There are brilliant moments. I didn't love it all, though, and the nine minutes of monologue in "Last Call" were particularly trying and redundant.

I Should Coco

Supergrass

4/5

This was fun and exuberant with a kind of timeless, youthful British pop sound. I didn't recognize the band name, but I definitely was familiar with "Alright" which has always been a favorite song. So happy to hear more of them!

The Cars

5/5

Heartbeat City was one of my absolute favorite albums when I was a teen. I was less familiar with this one, but many of its songs are well known classics to me. I really enjoyed this trip to their origin point! It does feel like they helped create the sound of the 80s by going beyond guitar-bass-drum rock. "Moving in Stereo" really feels like we're there already.

World Clique

Deee-Lite

5/5

In the late 80s, most folks my age looked with horror at the psychedelic looks and sounds of the late sixties and early seventies. Tangerine, avocado, lemon, tomato: these colors (not foods) filled thrift stores because no one wanted them. Most of my peers were in Goth Black or Eco Earth Tones. Gloomy Grunge was fighting its way into the mainstream. Austin Powers and the Brady Bunch movie were some years away. "Groove is in the Heart" hit me like a truck. It was so fun and so groovy (and we weren't allowed to say groovy anymore), and when I saw the video I swooned. These weren't things we heard and saw. Sampling and mixing sounds at a level such as this was brand new, and on top of that it was catchy and made you want to move! And then the video! Glorious color and movement! Finally something made for me! It would be hard to judge how creative and innovative this album was at the time just listening to it today. This was one of the first CDs I bought when I finally got a player. I may have overplayed it in the 90s, so that I didn't really revisit it after that. It was really fun to listen to the whole thing again for the first time in a couple of decades. Sure, there's a nostalgia element to my rating, but that's one of the reasons I'm here.

Red Headed Stranger

Willie Nelson

4/5

Listening to this felt like watching a movie made in black and white to keep it spare and a bit lonesome-feeling. Kind of lovely in the right setting and mood, but also the sort of thing that would kill a party.

Tapestry

Carole King

5/5

Because of the way it's printed on the cover, as a kid I thought the singer's name was "Carole King Tapestry." And in fact, you didn't often hear the name "Carole King" without it being followed by "Tapestry." In any case, this album is what fives are for. Perfect.

Time Out Of Mind

Bob Dylan

3/5

This one is a little tricky to figure out for me. I really enjoyed the blues sound of it and even Dylan's "croaking vocals" for the most part. The nature of blues, however, seems to be that there is a lot of repetition in the backing music and not much melody to the vocals. So a song can go on. And on. And the next one can sound a lot like the previous. By the end of an hour, when "Highlands" came on, it went on for so long that I had this feeling like I didn't remember what my life was like when that song wasn't playing and Dylan wasn't rambling on and on in my ears about hard boiled eggs and women authors.

Solid Air

John Martyn

4/5

It took me a time to really warm up to this album, but I did. It has a nice variety of easygoing sounds in different genres: folky, bluesy, funky. Good stuff.

Scott 4

Scott Walker

5/5

At first, I couldn't tell whether this was very ordinary or very weird. I very very soon got sucked into the first track, a precise retelling of the plot of the dark, gloomy, medieval-set film "The Seventh Seal" done in a very jaunty 1969 easy listening style, sung in his smooth, lush voice, of the sort that you just don't hear anymore. (I love this voice!) Then came "On Your Own Again" which made me feel like I was in a soft-focus film montage documenting my journey from old pains into a new life. But always behind the music were interesting songs! A lament of the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia with the lyric, "And they queue all day like dragons of disgust" backed with a groovy electric bass and Eastern bloc men's choir. Wow! What an introduction to a musician I must now learn more about!

Heroes

David Bowie

3/5

I suppose this is where you find out if you're really a Bowie fan or not. Having quite enjoyed Hunky Dory, I really struggled with this one. This may be a case where I should have read about the album and how it was made and presented before I just put it on. For example, I just wondered what the hell happened to the songs halfway through, instead of expecting a transition to 17 minutes of atmospheres. It might have made more sense listening on an LP when flipping to Side 2 made it sound quite different than Side 1. And as I felt that many of the vocal songs sounded like they were made up at the microphone, I didn't know that was as intended. I liked "Beauty and the Beast" right away, and "Heroes" is a deserved classic, but I didn't connect with much else. However, I think it's just an album that one doesn't put on casually and that I might find something more in it at another time.

Meat Is Murder

The Smiths

3/5

Several of my friends were big fans of the Smiths and this album back in the day. I found them whiny and unlistenable, so I looked forward to see how my appreciation for them might have evolved since then. It had somewhat. Morrissey didn't seem nearly as whiny (until we got to "I Want the One I Can't Have," but which I found the only truly whiny and unlistenable song). The rest had some interesting lyrics and Morrissey does emote appropriately. What I really noticed was that I appreciated the music behind Morrissey quite a bit, which I assume has a lot to do with Johnny Marr and his guitar. Some really good stuff here. I appreciated this revisit quite a bit, but it's still not really going to be my thing.

The Number Of The Beast

Iron Maiden

3/5

I like my heavy metal to be operatic, to tell a good story or two, and have a healthy dose of hellfire. This fit the bill.

Sister

Sonic Youth

2/5

Just past the one-third mark in this project and I've heard so many amazing artists. There are also lots of amazing artists I have yet to hear from. And this is the third album by Sonic Youth I've had to listen to. I don't question their place in this list, but I do question three albums from a three year period, especially when I don't detect anything distinctive about one from the other (the others being EVOL and Daydream Nation). Pick one, and let's make room for someone else. Unpleasant sound as an art form. I get it. I got it. Next!

At Mister Kelly's

Sarah Vaughan

5/5

This was delightful.

Off The Wall

Michael Jackson

5/5

I have been a fan of this music since it was new. Listening again, I enjoyed every song.

Vulgar Display Of Power

Pantera

3/5

First, I love the title of this album. "Oh my! Those are some rough vocals!" was my first reaction to listening. I'm often not a fan of being yelled at. But behind that voice was some pretty amazing guitar work that really grabbed my attention (especially as I'm not usually a rock guitar guy). And soon I found myself moving my head to the beat and finding that the guitar and voice were really working together. I liked "Mouth for War" (that part towards the end where it goes nuts), "Walk" has some hard swinging syncopated moments, and "Rise" kicks ass! The rest can get tiresome and make me beg for relief, but I was surprised how much of it I got into.

The Nightfly

Donald Fagen

5/5

This has been one of my favorite albums since it was new and I.G.Y. was on the radio and the video for "New Frontier" was on MTV. Although I was a young teen at the time, I still really connected with the nostalgic themes and optimism for the future. This is an album that shines best as the whole album, as each song is a vignette that continues the theme. This is one of the few in this project that I've listened to so many times over the past 40 years that I can play it in my head (well, the line, "Won't you pour me a Cuban breeze, Gretchen?" is one that I hadn't remembered but love love love.) This is smooth and jazzy and wonderful. One of the best.

The Man Who

Travis

3/5

This was a new album to me, and although there wasn't much about it that stood out for me, it was quite enjoyable for an afternoon listen.

I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You

Aretha Franklin

5/5

I never loved an album the way I love this. Well, not quite true, but I couldn't resist, and it's not mightily far off. I've listened to "Respect" about 476,000,000 times in my life, but I've never listened to this whole album, which is a shame. This seems to be the album that made Aretha Aretha. This is truly when the Queen of Soul debuted, and I love the variety of wonderful songs here. Spectacular!

Blur

3/5

I tried to listen to this attentively, but looking back it's all a blur. Two words that don't seem to go together came to mind: "interesting" and "tedious." How can it be both? I suppose there are interesting moments of '90s alternative experimentation, but that they are lost in an overall tedious experience. "Song 2" stands out on this album, however, as a track that still rocks like it did as a fave 25 years ago (although I only knew it for years as the "woo-hoo" song).

Tuesday Night Music Club

Sheryl Crow

4/5

What an amazing debut album! I had never listened to this, although I know several of the songs. A great and interesting variety of songs. Absolutely enjoyable listening.

Dusty In Memphis

Dusty Springfield

5/5

I have not spent enough time with Dusty Springfield, apparently. (Not the first time this has happened in this project, but I'm definitely feeling it today.) I've always loved her smoky, soulful voice in the hits I know. I would say her voice was unique, but I like the idea that this album was the prototype for the wonderful wave of British female singers of the 2000s. I definitely appreciate and get that idea (as well as that she gave credit to Peggy Lee and Aretha Franklin as influences) but I would still always be able to pick her voice out. Anyway, this is just the thing for the end of a long, hard day, with soft lights and a glass of wine. Lovely.

Songs For Swingin' Lovers!

Frank Sinatra

5/5

I love this as a counterpart to In the Wee Small Hours. That one, torchy and emotional, with this one, joyful and exuberant. He made it through the dark night and finally found love! Whoopee! As with that album, this never feels campy or over the top. What I noticed is that Sinatra is such a master of syncopation and phrasing that people have constantly imitated, parodied, and exaggerated it ever since (including Frank himself down the road. I've tried to imitate it and it really can go terribly wrong.) The real thing, however, is masterful. For a good example, I would suggest the opening of "Anything Goes." Subtle, but distinctive and effective. I was intrigued by the idea (simplified here) that Sinatra's fame in the 40s was due to his natural abilities, but that in the 50s he worked really really hard to develop his voice and get back in the game after a lull in his career. "I've Got You Under My Skin" really showcases how good he sounds through a wide vocal range. It's an incredible performance at the apex of his singing. It's also important to give credit to Nelson Riddle, who was absolutely key to making this album so great. Any singer was lucky to sing to his arrangements and orchestra.

Innervisions

Stevie Wonder

4/5

I do love Stevie Wonder’s early seventies synthesizer work! There are some marvelous moments on this album. It's funky and has a few important messages. It's a perfect time capsule of 1973 and mostly a great time.

John Barleycorn Must Die

Traffic

3/5

This was fine, if not especially memorable for me. I was not really a fan of Steve Winwood's voice here. I liked the funky "Glad" as well as the folky title song.

Odessey And Oracle

The Zombies

4/5

I quite liked this. Lovely stuff.

Scott 2

Scott Walker

5/5

Wow! This is the most magnificent thing I have ever heard in my life! Wow! Love!

1999

Prince

5/5

This is a pretty epic album and it's clear how it broke Prince out into stardom. It was probably a bit much for me at the time, as a young teen, but I definitely appreciate and admire it more now.

Disraeli Gears

Cream

4/5

A clear classic! It's still not my own favorite, but I get this one.

Chocolate Starfish And The Hot Dog Flavored Water

Limp Bizkit

1/5

I get that the album title is supposed to make me throw up a little each time I encounter it, but really do we have to make an effort to make the world a worse place? Same thing with the music tracks here. I won't deny that after a particularly distressing and upsetting morning that it wasn't a little cathartic to hear someone screaming "fuck" 49 times and "burn this fucker down" and so on two hours late on my way to work... But that was only 1/4 of the way through the album. And then it went on and on and on and got worse and worse and worse. Whosoever wants to hear the last track more than one miserable time? I mean really?

The Rising

Bruce Springsteen

4/5

I have not been much of a Bruce Springsteen fan before but I loved this album. I thought the E Street Band sounded absolutely perfect, and that the songs were all just what was needed in 2002. Having listened to Born to Run recently, I really noticed how this was a Bruce who's seen and felt some things since then, bringing all those experiences and feelings into this. Really good.

Foxbase Alpha

Saint Etienne

3/5

I liked this well enough. It kind of faded into the background, but I think it was supposed to, to some extent. I was impressed that it was from 1991, as I would have guessed it came some years later. I'm going to give it credit for really helping to create a sound that was later often imitated in the late 90s.

Come Away With Me

Norah Jones

5/5

This one is a little subjective, as the title song was my wedding song. So it's a well loved album already. I love Norah Jones' voice, the lovely instrumentation, and the songs are all wonderful.

Suicide

2/5

So I would describe this album as repeated primitive electronic phrases with some ranting and yelping over them. It's interesting enough, and I get why its creativity is celebrated, but I did not enjoy it, especially "Frankie's Teardrop" which was absolutely distressing music to paint a bedroom to.

Highway to Hell

AC/DC

4/5

The title song is a classic of hard rock, and the rest of the album keeps the tone with no surprises or much deviance from the formula. I got a little weary by the end, but I thought it was overall very good at what it was doing.

Bookends

Simon & Garfunkel

5/5

As much as I have always enjoyed Simon & Garfunkel, I have never listened to their albums. This one is great! So glad to listen to it several times today.

Remain In Light

Talking Heads

4/5

I enjoyed this album quite a bit, and more than "Fear of Music." "Once in a Lifetime" is a choice classic, and the rest of the album sounds both interesting and enjoyable.

Savane

Ali Farka Touré

3/5

I'm really happy to finally have West Africa in this project. It was definitely worth being included as noteworthy and interesting. I really appreciated hearing the connection to West African music and African-American blues. That said, this one felt a bit more like homework than listening for pleasure, so I’m not putting it in my rotation, but I'm still glad to have experienced this.

A Girl Called Dusty

Dusty Springfield

5/5

At first, I didn't get the depth and emotion and individuality here that I got listening to Dusty in Memphis. It seemed to sound very much like other 60s girl groups (which is not in any way a negative, mind you!). However, listening again, many of the songs being classics with well-known performances by others, I really got to appreciate the debut of a real talent. I really loved her performances of the classic songs, noting that I'm not sure I could pick Dusty or Dionne when it comes to Bacharach/David. (They both win!) It was "Don't You Know," though, that her singing really blew me away. I could listen to this one over and over and over.

The Queen Is Dead

The Smiths

4/5

I enjoyed this more than Meat is Murder, and part of that might be that I spent more time with the lovely lyrics this time. A song about plagiarism in a cemet'ry? Okay! Morrissey is still whiny, but I get and appreciate the humor and I enjoyed most of the album apart from "I Know It's Over."

Actually

Pet Shop Boys

5/5

This album came out when I was 19. I had it on cassette and played it all the time in those days. It is one of the soundtracks to my college years, as well as a wonderful document of Britain in the the late 80s with its subtle references to Thatcherism. Having spent some time with Dusty Springfield's wonderful music in this project, I am so happy that this album helped to bring her back into the spotlight (and that Dusty in Memphis was Neil Tennant's favourite album!) I love the synth-pop sound, the dancy tracks, and the emotions in this. An absolute favorite then and now.

Ctrl

SZA

2/5

This is a genre I struggle to enjoy, and I really didn't hear what might have been noteworthy about this long album, other than some clever and interesting lyrics sprinkled here and there.

Transformer

Lou Reed

5/5

I didn't realize that my four favorite Lou Reed songs all came from the same magical album! (Not that there aren't others that I just haven't thought of.) And in addition to those four, I enjoyed the whole thing, discovering some new delights and the wonderfully prominent use of tuba. I listened several times today enjoying so many phrases both familiar and new each time.

Surfer Rosa

Pixies

2/5

There were definitely some elements I appreciated on this album, but I just can't say I enjoyed it. And I know I enjoyed it less than the Pixies' album Doolittle (which was given the dreaded label "accessible"). Perhaps it was just my nerves today, because this generally got on them. I did like "Gigantic" well enough, and "Tony's Theme" kind of made me laugh. I think there might be days where I'd like this more today was not one of them.

Music For The Jilted Generation

The Prodigy

2/5

Argh, I don't know if it's album fatigue or what, but I just wasn't having this today. Too many recent albums I just didn't enjoy listening to on busy stressful days. This one went on forever. Even back in the day, I didn't enjoy bouncing up and down in a crowded club to endlessly repeating phrases and loud beats.

Back At The Chicken Shack

Jimmy Smith

4/5

I love the jazz organ and this album really features it superbly. Really enjoyable music for the day!

Play

Moby

5/5

Yeah Yeah Yeah! This is how you do it. Moby's masterful cobbling together of so many incredible sounds and voices made something wonderful. It has a clear voice and theme (I love the blues voices so much!), but each track is distinctive. Repeated samples only add to the ever-building layers of music. An hour went by and I was ready for some B-sides or to hear it again. I'd never heard this whole album before ("Porcelain" and "South Side" were already favorites) but it made me happy happy happy today.

The Scream

Siouxsie And The Banshees

3/5

I've always enjoyed Siouxsie and the Banshees as a "song on a mixtape" kind of deal. Although I knew "Hong Kong Garden" in that capacity, I didn't know the rest of this debut album. There were definitely elements I liked here but maybe also some songs I'd skip. A whole album's worth can be a bit much to take, I think, but I’m definitely intrigued to hear more.

Hysteria

Def Leppard

4/5

Solid rockin' fun!

School's Out

Alice Cooper

5/5

I was led to believe (as a child of the 70s) that Alice Cooper was just too scary, and I'm a little upset to find that this album I've never listened to is magnificent and full of humor and musical variety. Even just the packaging with its model desk cover and panties album sleeve is celebration-worthy. Mind you, the title track has been a favorite of mine for years, and I should have suspected that the band was more fun than I thought (the lyric "We can't even think of a word that rhymes" has always made me laugh). Today I learned that "Alice Cooper" was the name of the band at this time as well as the persona of the lead singer. When a song about an alley cat segued into the "Jet Song," then went into the jazzy, meow-filled "Street Fight" my mind was blown. This album is taking me to incredible places. I don't even know how to begin describing "Public Animal #9" but I love it sooo much. "Alma Mater" is a wonderful closing to the school story. And then it's possible that "Grande Finale" is my favorite album closer of all time. Pow!!!

Heavy Weather

Weather Report

3/5

I was really surprised that this was the original recording of "Birdland." I definitely recognized this version, but as someone very familiar with The Manhattan Transfer's version, I didn't realize the song's history only went back to this album. It really got things going off to an amazing, energetic start. Then it kind of took things down a bit. Once I got my mind wrapped around the change in tone, I appreciated the electro-jazz sound that recalled driving along Chicago's Lake Shore Drive in the 90s to WNUA Smooth Jazz 95.5. The whole rest of the album felt fairly continuous in this groove... That is, except for the seemingly random, two-minute live recording of "Rumba Mamá" which seemed quite jarring and out of context here.

Supa Dupa Fly

Missy Elliott

3/5

As "Get Ur Freak On" is one of my favorite jams ever, I really looked forward to hearing this debut album for the first time. While there were some good moments, for most of the hour I did not connect with what felt very repetitive. I still don't love dragged out slow beats without a change in tempo here and there, and I just got both annoyed and bored with a lot of it.

BEYONCÉ

Beyoncé

5/5

This is a pretty damn epic album, which does explain some of the worship given to Her Majesty. There were a couple of times my arms almost went up in the air in praise. We all knew she could sing, but here was a real VOICE. Anyone who can sing an ugly word like "ass" the way Beyoncé does in the opening line of "Rocket" is truly a virtuoso (virtuosa?). I almost felt overly voyeuristic in the more erotic numbers because they were so personal and intimate. But I suppose that goes for all of the emotions expressed in this album as well. "Pretty Hurts" is quite a message coming from someone who we all just sort of assumed reigned over the world with effortless beauty. The video is pretty gut-punching. And speaking of videos, I note that this album was meant to be accompanied by all the videos (I never saw an "Audio Only" warning on an album), but I was only able to sample a few today. It was time well spent.

The Pleasure Principle

Gary Numan

4/5

I definitely enjoyed this, but looking through the lens of how it sounded to me 40 years ago, it was pretty dang amazing at the time. An iconic sound.

Abattoir Blues / The Lyre of Orpheus

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

4/5

I realized today that I had some negative feelings towards Nick Cave that were based on The Birthday Party's 1982 album, Junkyard. This was not that. I also remembered that I had listened to Murder Ballads, and that although dark, I had enjoyed the music. I was glad this one came on a day where I could listen to the whole thing in one go on a walk. It accompanied the solitary early autumn afternoon quite well and I was quite enchanted with it (...or them). Mind you, there are still dark, disturbing lyrics (cannibalism, etc) but some glorious rhymes (Orpheus/orifice) and this felt like real storytelling.

16 Lovers Lane

The Go-Betweens

4/5

I was not aware of this album in 1988, but I really would have liked it then. I really enjoyed its sound, especially the first two songs.

Rio

Duran Duran

5/5

The overwhelming feeling that this album brought to me was how much I loved watching MTV in the early 80s. Now, I had to go to friend's house to watch, but watch I did and it all came back to me. Because of MTV, many of these songs came with visual memories as well. It was so much fun to listen to this whole album! I know that part of my joy at listening to his was feeling like I'm 14 again, but I'm okay with that. It's still great pop music.

Apocalypse Dudes

Turbonegro

2/5

I'm going to give this album an extra point for having songs called "Rock Against Ass" and "Rendezvous with Anus." I played those two songs several times and they rank higher for making me laugh out loud. In fact, the best part of this album were the ever-so-slightly ungrammatical or curiously pronounced gratuitous obscenities that made me think of naughty 13-year-old Norwegian boys. However, upon listening to the whole album again, I came to the same conclusion as I did the first time: that this was for the most part both unpleasant and boring to listen to. Except of course when they ended that one song by shouting "Anus! Anus!" Pure gold.

AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted

Ice Cube

1/5

I'm glad I got to experience this whole album once, but now I'm done. No more, thanks.

Chris

Christine and the Queens

3/5

I think maybe I set my expectations a little high after reading the description of this album. Overall this kind of sounded like the bland 80s/90s French pop I used to listen to on the radio in France back in the day and I got kind of bored (if not a little nostalgic). I am certainly open to the possibility that I could spend a little more time with it to appreciate it more, especially the lyrics. (What I noticed most was the frequent use of the subjunctive.) The French language versions of the songs sounded much more natural, and I preferred that half quite a bit. I didn’t love this but I’m open to try again.

Led Zeppelin II

Led Zeppelin

3/5

I'm finding that I'm running hot and cold with the Led Zeppelin. This is the fourth album I've listened to in this project (that's like halfway through their œuvre!) and it is definitely lower on my list than I or IV. This one often sounds like why I avoided Led Zeppelin as a youth.

Trafalgar

Bee Gees

4/5

There really is nothing like the early Bee Gees (except maybe Christopher Guest in “A Mighty Wind”). More vibrato than falsetto. Although when I say early, I had no idea this was their ninth album! And it's kind of a dark one. Interesting and compelling. And so sad sometimes!

Band On The Run

Paul McCartney and Wings

5/5

This made me very happy today. Good stuff!

Pink Moon

Nick Drake

5/5

I spent a lot of this album focusing on the beautiful and varied sounds of Drake's acoustic guitar. This one felt especially intimate. I've sometimes felt that three albums from one artist was excessive in this list. Not so here. I am so sad there are no more. I will have to just go back and listen to these three again and again and be happy that they exist.

Blood On The Tracks

Bob Dylan

5/5

As illogical as it seems, I never really imagined Bob Dylan existing in the 70s. (This despite the fact that I realized I knew "Shelter from the Storm" from wherever in my memory.) But here he was, distinctive Dylan voice and harmonica, but also sounding quite different from the 60s and 90s albums I've listened to already in this project. I really enjoyed this the first time through, and by the third time I had really grown quite attached. Oh, this I like! Oh, this is a nine-minute song that held me captivated the whole way through! Oh, I never knew I could like Bob Dylan so much! Wonderful!

In Rainbows

Radiohead

3/5

Radiohead has not been my favorite, and here we are at album number four. One thing I can say, however, is that each album sounds quite distinct, so I'm not going to begrudge these choices as much as certain other groups. Something interesting happened during this one. I listened at least four times today. I would find that my attention would wander away from a focus on the music, and I would notice that I was enjoying it and bring more attention to the songs. Then I would realize that I really didn't love them. I didn't like the same songs each time through... I don't know why. Does this one speak more to the subconscious than the conscious? Do I average my score for each?

american dream

LCD Soundsystem

4/5

This was a new one for me, and I quite liked it. Some of it I absolutely loved. "tonight" is a masterpiece.

The Soft Bulletin

The Flaming Lips

4/5

This was an interesting and compelling album. Interesting orchestrations and so many lyrics that jumped out while listening.

A Seat at the Table

Solange

4/5

This is a wonderful example of an album I wouldn't have listened to if it weren't for this project, and one I feel enriched for hearing. It was personal and interesting. I liked Solange's voice (in both meanings) and hearing the stories from her parents. Absolute appreciation. It's not the only soul-baring-over-slow-beats album we've listened to, but it's one I enjoyed more than others (even if it's still not going to be a "go to" record or genre for me). And wow, what a cover picture! Amazing.

Darklands

The Jesus And Mary Chain

4/5

When your first encounter with The Jesus and Mary Chain is filled with scraping metallic shrieking feedback all the way through, it's a little daunting to get back on that horse. But happy I did, since I really enjoyed this album. It has a nice 80s alternative sound with 60s influences. It was something I would be glad to revisit again.

Licensed To Ill

Beastie Boys

5/5

This album exudes tons of late adolescent male bravado, causing one's inner middle-aged schoolmarm to grimace disapprovingly from time to time. But I suppose that's its clear intention and charm. I sometimes amused myself imagining that it was Lenny and the Squigtones performing at the Pizza Bowl. It definitely seems very tongue-in-cheek sometimes. How could it not with callouts to Abe Vigoda and Phyllis Diller? (But I do kind of wish that "She's Crafty" were more about scrapbooking and macramé.) There is a near-perfect meld in here of hip hop and hard rock that others have tried without such catchy success. Not all the songs have a metal sound, but there is a metal attitude throughout that takes hip hop to a new place. This was a fun journey for the day.

Vanishing Point

Primal Scream

3/5

This album had a lot going on. I really liked a bit of it. I really didn't like other bits of it. And the rest I wasn't so sure. I could have used a bit more time maybe for this one. As it was, I just didn't feel the vision and my reactions to the songs were all very different. I did tend to like the instrumentals more than the vocal songs. I kind of like the James Bond/John Barry sound on "If They Move, Kill 'Em" and "Trainspotting." Other numbers, not so much.

Country Life

Roxy Music

3/5

I'm not sure about this one. I realized that I know and like some of their music (and Brian Ferry's) from the 80s well enough, but I hadn't recognized that when I first listened to this. What I did notice was that although I did like some of the interesting instrumentations backing him, I thought Brian Ferry's vocals and melodies in these songs had a weird, disconcerting quality to them that I wasn't so fond of.

Pretenders

4/5

This wasn't an album where I ever thought, "Oh, hey, THIS is a great song!" but rather one where I thought, "I like this journey it's taking me on over its course." Now, "Brass in Pocket" is an exception, as the only song I knew from the album, and quite well (although I would never in a million years have been able to tell you its true title or known that those words existed in the lyrics). It's a catchy classic. Is it new wave? Is it punk? Is it classic rock 'n' roll? A little all of the above? Whatever it is, it's pretty cool and I enjoyed this listening day.

Nothing's Shocking

Jane's Addiction

2/5

I hate to recycle, but about a year ago we listened to Jane's Addiction's album that followed this one. Apparently I felt pretty much the same with that one as I felt today: "I hated listening to some of this album, but not all of it. I enjoyed some of the creative moments here and there." Yep.

Born In The U.S.A.

Bruce Springsteen

5/5

I’ve never considered myself much of a Bruce Springsteen fan, but I get why this was such a monster album. It’s amazing and I loved the whole thing.

Speakerboxxx/The Love Below

OutKast

4/5

Well, forty tracks are a lot to process, and I wish I had had more time to spend with them today. However, as it was, I quite loved the funkiness of this music. "The Way You Move" and "Hey Ya!" are both classic favorites of mine. There are some delightful rhymes (Fallopian and Ethiopian comes to mind) and a few WTF moments as well. I really would like to go back and be able to spend more time with this. Today's score will just have to be as a work in progress.

Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)

Wu-Tang Clan

4/5

I quite enjoyed listening to this exuberant album. A happy surprise as I haven’t always be able to appreciate all of their work.

Gentlemen

The Afghan Whigs

4/5

I didn’t always love listening to this but I found it really compelling. I found it a fairly effective take on the concept album, creating complex, troubled characters on a fucked up journey.

C'est Chic

CHIC

5/5

Ah, delightful!

90

808 State

4/5

I sometimes get bored with electronic music, but this one was quite enjoyable. I loved that it sampled the Hustle.

Ready To Die

The Notorious B.I.G.

1/5

Brutal and distressing and long.

Kick Out The Jams (Live)

MC5

2/5

I really really hated this the first time through, so I thought I'd better give it another go. Yeah, still didn't like, but appreciate the pure rock and rollness of it.

Midnight Ride

Paul Revere & The Raiders

4/5

I really enjoyed this late '60s fun (if sometimes quite dated). Hey, they're from Boise!

Jazz Samba

Stan Getz

5/5

For decades, one of my favorite albums has been Getz/Gilberto. How then, did I miss this wonderful previous work? Getz's saxophone is warm and familiar to me, and I loved the addition of Charlie Byrd's guitar. It definitely feels like jazz meets samba, and so is an apt title. This delightful album made me swoon. Blame it on the bossa nova!

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

Wilco

4/5

This is a bit hard to rate because as it went from song to song, I'd think, "Oh, this is really sloggy, noisy, and annoying!" but with the next one, "Wow, there are some really charming moments and it's got a nice sound!" Listening a second time, I found that I liked more of the songs than not, but the sloggy ones were really long and took up more time. However, since I really liked the songs I liked, I'm going to round up.

The Village Green Preservation Society

The Kinks

5/5

I really enjoyed and appreciated this delightful album. It’s warmly nostalgic and so much fun to listen to.

Rubber Soul

Beatles

5/5

This is the fourth, and earliest, Beatles album so far in this project. I have not listened to the Beatles in the context of their albums for the most part, so it's always been a joyous experience of the very familiar and new. What I noticed about this one, especially after hearing their later work first, was that this one felt the "Beatle-y-est" to me. It felt exactly like how a Beatles album of my imagination would sound. This one also felt more like I was listening to the group rather than its individuals. I loved this one, too. I could listen over and over and over. ("Run for Your Life" though... am I right?)

...And Justice For All

Metallica

2/5

This is the third Metallica album I've had in this project, and I was not as taken by it as Master of Puppets or the Black Album. Not that there aren't some classic Metallica elements that I recognize and like. I get that they seem to be going for a bit more of an epic feel with the extended songs and changing tempos, but it lost me a bit. I'm also not sure what I think of environmentalist peacenik thrash metal. I like the message but it doesn't FEEL quite right.

Sign 'O' The Times

Prince

5/5

I didn't realize how familiar this album was going to be. It came out when I was in college in Minnesota (where Prince was king), and apparently was the soundtrack to many a gathering there in the late 80s. Listening, I definitely had some vivid and nostalgic flashbacks, despite never owning this album other than having some of the tracks on mixtapes (and "U Got the Look" being a favorite party tune). I really enjoyed this, more so even than 1999.

Talking Heads 77

Talking Heads

4/5

I quite enjoyed this début album. A good quirky listen; just how I like my Talking Heads.

Elephant Mountain

The Youngbloods

3/5

I quite liked this. An enjoyable listen. I didn’t fall in love or anything, though.

Repeater

Fugazi

2/5

I didn't enjoy this, but I did appreciate that it predated a lot of similar-sounding ‘90s alternative. But give me a good Strauss waltz over this any day.

Pieces Of The Sky

Emmylou Harris

5/5

Oh, I was needing this. Absolutely lovely, and sounding both old fashioned and very modern (both in good ways). It made me laugh ("Queen of the Silver Dollar") and cry ("Coat of Many Colors"). I love hearing a talented voice sing a wonderful variety of songs by amazing artists (Merle Haggard, Lennon-McCartney, Shel Silverstein, and Dolly Parton!) with backup by Linda Ronstadt! Speaking of Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt... I'm still waiting!

Fuzzy

Grant Lee Buffalo

5/5

It took me a bit to warm up, but warm up I did! This was new music and a new band to me (although I realized I'd seen Grant-Lee Phillips as the troubadour on "Gilmore Girls"). I really liked the acoustic alternative sound. I'd be happy to listen to more!

Mama's Gun

Erykah Badu

4/5

This was a bit challenging to rate for me. There were moments where I was in rapture, thinking how much I loved it. There were also times where it got draggy or repetitive and I got antsy. I think if I were able to curate my own favorite 40 minutes of this album, that it would be just right. But of course that's about me and not about how I feel it should have been done! I love this very modern take on classic soul sounds.

Space Ritual

Hawkwind

2/5

Now I know what happens when I remark that an album is a tad long. I apologize, oh 1001 Albums overlords! This was indeed a case of Sonic Attack. I know this because I felt dizzy, and the need to vomit, and there was bleeding from orifices, and an ache in the pelvic region. Thankfully I knew what to do! There were some fun and interesting moments on this album, so I give it credit for that. I can even imagine that watching them live with the assistance of a substance or two might have made it more compelling, but as it was I was subject to fits of hysterical shouting Or even laughter.

The Beach Boys Today!

The Beach Boys

4/5

As a fan of the Beach Boys I very much enjoyed listening to this album and hearing a good number of songs I'd never heard before. It is interesting to consider as a transitional album away from their famed early teen pop sound towards Brian Wilson's more creative experiments.

Stankonia

OutKast

3/5

Okay, here we go again: This was long. It had some great beats and good funk. There was some distressing content. There were some witty rhymes.

Penthouse And Pavement

Heaven 17

5/5

This is a fine, fine example of early 80s British synth-pop, which is a genre I strongly connected to in my adolescence. Not that I knew this album, but I wish I had. It also gets points for the politics of the time. Coming today, on the U.S. election day, "(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang" helped me emotionally cope with a terrifying day. Maybe I can get through this with a defiant dance beat! Is it perfect? No. But it speaks to me and it made me happy today. And it has a perfect cover.

Hot Buttered Soul

Isaac Hayes

5/5

This was a wonderful blend of soul and orchestra. "Walk on By" is a masterpiece. "Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic" is quite fun. "By the Time I Get to Phoenix," however, might have brought the rating down a bit. It made me laugh out loud that it took my whole 8.5 minute commute to actually get to Phoenix just as I turned the car off. But on the other hand, that's a pretty spectacular intro while holding that key down on the organ the whole time.

The Real Thing

Faith No More

3/5

This was at the intersection of an interesting Venn diagram of music. I really appreciated that.

Nevermind

Nirvana

5/5

This was clearly a landmark album in its time, and yet I'd never listened to it as such. I wasn't sure I'd like it, but I loved it. I knew much more of it than I realized. Wow! I get it. (And we're going to pretend we never encountered that endless, nameless hidden track at the end.)

En-Tact

The Shamen

3/5

This was decent electronic music. I liked it well enough. Not sure what might have been especially noteworthy about it, though.

Rum Sodomy & The Lash

The Pogues

5/5

Put together a tin whistle, banjo, and accordion and I'm in. Add some powerful stories and it's perfect. Lovely.

Let's Get It On

Marvin Gaye

5/5

Featuring such songs as "Let's Get it On, "Keep Gettin' It On," and my favorite, "You Sure Love to Ball," this is a steamy album. Its liner notes even refer to "one's genitals." Soulful and sexy, this is fairly perfect.

At Newport 1960

Muddy Waters

5/5

I loved listening to this album that was such an influence on so many 60s musicians to come. This was the real, original deal.

Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness

The Smashing Pumpkins

3/5

You mean all four songs I really love from the Smashing Pumpkins are all on one magical album? Neat! Oh, wait, you mean this is basically like listening to three whole albums in a row that have about one hit each? Hmmm. There's a lot of nineties rage to get through. "Tales of a Scorched Earth" nearly made me give up, but I was happy to get to the autoharp on "We Only Come Out at Night". I do appreciate and like the varied styles in this, especially regarding said hits, which each sound very different from each other. Billy Corgan has an awesome, distinctive voice, but by the end I'd quite had enough.

Boston

5/5

If I were to select something to represent what classic 70s rock sounds like it would be this. I was surprised just how well I knew this album without knowing I did. It's just sort of always been part of the fabric of society, I guess.

Tubular Bells

Mike Oldfield

4/5

It's funny how the first couple of minutes of this album is so well known, but it is really just one part of a pretty amazing piece of work. I love the announcements with the instruments towards the end of part I. It's a bit tricky to go from listening to so many albums that are collections of songs to something like this, but I quite enjoyed this detour! Lovely listening today!

Seventeen Seconds

The Cure

5/5

Oh, this was a surprise! After having listened to Pornography, I was dreading something whiny, but instead I got something gloriously gloomy. Gloomy is much better than whiny! In fact, I was swept up with this one the whole way through. I really loved it!

Tusk

Fleetwood Mac

5/5

This was the first Fleetwood Mac album I ever had, circa 1981. Turns out the album I wanted was Rumours, but this is the one I got. While it could still be argued that "Tusk" is my favorite Fleetwood Mac song ever, and I listened to the song itself quite a lot, the rest of the album didn't get so much play. And decades passed. Turns out, I just needed to listen to it as an older person. I realized I was listening to really great songs. I really enjoyed this.

Home Is Where The Music Is

Hugh Masekela

4/5

I have discovered so much jazz that I enjoy through this project. I am thinking that jazz is maybe best enjoyed in the long form of an album? I also appreciate the number of African musicians I've gotten to listen to. And this one has a Miriam Makeba composition on it! This was solid, and a perfect accompaniment for a walk on a cold but sunny wintry afternoon.

The Predator

Ice Cube

4/5

Apparently I liked this much more than AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted. I sort of appreciated that Ice Cube addressed some of his critics in this, but I sure didn't get any answers except that he wasn't having it. There were some amazing moments reflecting the painful racial issues in 1992, and then jumping to songs about not trusting bitches, which gave me a bit of whiplash. In any case, I enjoyed listening to this, even when I wasn't comfortable. And I was mostly okay with not being comfortable. Except I really hated the ending. But above all, it had a good beat and you could really move to it.

Roxy Music

2/5

Oh, I really didn't enjoy this one. Less than Country Life, for sure. Just weird in an unpleasant way.

3 Years, 5 Months And 2 Days In The Life Of...

Arrested Development

5/5

This was a breath of fresh air. Strong messages of empowerment to a good beat.

Emergency On Planet Earth

Jamiroquai

5/5

I was first introduced to Jamiroquai by the iconic dance in "Napoleon Dynamite." I had assumed it was a 70s classic I had somehow missed along the way. Turns out I missed out on Jamiroquai throughout the 90s! How sad that was! How could this happen? This was funky and topical and fun! I'm sort of mad at myself for not pursuing this music after "Canned Heat" became a staple of my playlists. Feels like I missed my second chance then. But here we are, and I love this groovy music.

Talking Book

Stevie Wonder

5/5

funky and wonderful!

69 Love Songs

The Magnetic Fields

5/5

Three hours is a daunting commitment for a day. Happily, this was worth it, and I just wish I had had the time to savor it more. I know I missed wonderful bits. Bits I did love: "A Chicken With Its Head Cut Off" is catchy while being such a horrid but hilarious metaphor. "The Cactus Where Your Heart Should Be" is another perfect weird metaphor in an old folk style. "Love is Like Jazz" makes a delightful simile, which had me laughing out loud, but again is more perfect than silly. "Washington, D.C." is probably my new favorite city song. "Acoustic Guitar" brought Steve Earle, Charo, and GWAR together. "Love is Like Gin" again makes such a wonderful simile. "For We Are the Kings of the Boudoir" is sexy harpsichord perfection. And that's just a small percentage... I love the mixture of styles and genres and clichés. Something sounds Renaissancy and then veers into modern slang. All the glorious figures of speech and plays on words. What an amazing achievement this is.

Screamadelica

Primal Scream

3/5

When your assignment is a previously unknown album called Screamadelica by Primal Scream, you might well imagine something different than this. The only screaming here was when I was begging "Come Together" to please finally end. For the love of God, make it stop! Other than that track, this was a reasonable listen and provided a decent soundtrack to the day. It's not a favorite genre, though, and I have a feeling that this is one of those that will soon slip out of my memory.

Here Are the Sonics

The Sonics

4/5

I like the idea that The Sonics are on the bridge between classic Rock 'n' Roll and Punk. They have a raw energy and exuberance that is pretty incredible.

D.O.A. the Third and Final Report of Throbbing Gristle

Throbbing Gristle

4/5

The name "Throbbing Gristle" makes me recoil and shudder every single time I encounter it. I think that's what they were going for. Well done. This was not a popular morning drive accompaniment, and the passenger kept turning the volume down during the first two tracks. I sort of appreciate this more that it's from 1978. It seems a little more daring in that context than even if it was from 10 years later. Was this an enjoyable listen? No. But did I have genuine reactions? Yes. Each track was a different experience! It must have been a good day because I was intrigued and engaged all through. Wow.

Get Rich Or Die Tryin'

50 Cent

2/5

Without intending to, I first listened to the censored version, which was unlistenable because it was missing every other word. Then I listened to the uncensored version, which was unlistenable because of the constant assault of violent language. There were some good beats, especially the big hits, "In da Club" and "P.I.M.P.", but that fact was overwhelmed by the relentless gun violence that just left me feeling dismayed and confused.

Bandwagonesque

Teenage Fanclub

2/5

The first time I listened to this, it just sort of melted out of my memory having made very little impact. It all sort of blended together in the same sound. Then I read it was picked by Spin as "Album of the Year" over Nirvana's Nevermind in 1991. Wait... what? And then more and more accolades! Listening again, I caught a little more of it. Okay, it's fine. Score goes up a notch. But what am I missing? What am I missing? It's still not great! Third time, I'm wondering why I'm trying so hard. This isn't worth it. Score goes back down a notch. Is there some sensory receptor I'm lacking? A piece of my soul?

Fire Of Love

The Gun Club

4/5

It was a real revelation to hear this very classic 80s sounding punk, melded with blues and country and folk and rock 'n' roll roots. This album has everything! And it works! Even if it won't be going into regular rotation in my playlists, the craft of it is something I absolutely appreciated from beginning to end. I hadn't ever heard this, but I could absolutely tell it influenced much of the 80s alternative sound that came after that I did listen to. Really cool!

Chelsea Girl

Nico

4/5

The first two songs were very familiar favorites to me, being on the soundtrack to The Royal Tenenbaums. Also knowing her songs from the Velvet Underground, I was very excited to hear this album. Her voice is so interesting to me. I've always been a bit fascinated. There is a lot I really loved in this. This album was a bit of an overdose, though. Getting through "It Was a Pleasure Then" was not a pleasure. And I have to say that Nico was right to get angry that the flute stuff was added without her input. It kind of drove me crazy before I even read that.

Close To The Edge

Yes

4/5

Although 90125 was one of my favorite albums, I wasn't so familiar with the older work of Yes, so I was glad to spend some time here. Generally, I've found I'm not so fond of the long form 70s progressive rock pieces structured in movements, finding them somewhat noodly and pretentious. This was definitely that. But there was also a lot I liked, with random church organs and harpsichords in there. Was that a Moog synthesizer?

Little Earthquakes

Tori Amos

5/5

This is amazing. Love.

Picture Book

Simply Red

3/5

Before I listened to this, I knew I always liked "Money's Too Tight to Mention" and that I never liked "Holding Back the Years." So I was curious to know how I'd like the whole album. Turns out, it was kind of the same hot and cold feeling. I liked the song I always thought was "Come to My Head" so it was a good start, but at the end I really disliked "No Direction" and "Picture Book." I had to go back to the beginning to remember that I did really like some of it. It's kind of all over the place, so I'm going to place it in the middle.

Life Thru A Lens

Robbie Williams

4/5

I haven't ever really had much Robbie Williams on my radar—I assume just for being on the wrong side of the Atlantic. “Millennium” was pretty much the extent of it. I really appreciated this today! I was happy to let you entertain me, Robbie, with your lovely songs. Here's looking forward to more!

Is This It

The Strokes

4/5

I like this. I wasn't quite sure at first, but it's good stuff.

Fisherman's Blues

The Waterboys

3/5

I was certainly rooting for this one. I just didn't love it like I was hoping for. Felt a bit more like work to get through today.

Born To Be With You

Dion

2/5

I tend to go with Dion's own assessment of this sounding like funeral music, more than with the 90s folks who rediscovered this. I thought it was a real slog. I needed a little more guidance and encouragement, maybe.

Time Out

The Dave Brubeck Quartet

5/5

It's not often that I choose to listen to the day's album over and over, but this was one of those. It's pure magic from beginning to end. I love that a musical experiment turned into something both joyfully listenable and engaging.

Scum

Napalm Death

3/5

Upon reading the description of hardcore punk/extreme metal/ grindcore, I prepared for an audio assault and a test of my endurance and patience. What I wasn't prepared for was that I would be roaring with laughter the entire time. Side splitting, sore stomach laughing. And then I listened a second time and a third time. Still laughing all the way. The first time listening, thankfully I had the lyrics scrolling along. The screen read, "The multinational corporation/Makes its profits from the starving nations" but the Aggressive Cookie Monster voice I heard roared "Eh mo ta co ta ma pro fa sto na!" On side two, the lyric read "Vicious circle of mindless greed," but the newly added shrill Tasmanian Devil voice screeched, "Ra ra ra ra ra ra ra ra!" He wasn't even trying. It felt kind of like watching a Star Wars movie when the alien creatures are speaking their own monster language with subtitles. This all to intensely fast drumming that sounded like a washing machine spinning out of balance. It was the most ludicrous thing I've heard in a long time, and although I don't know that I reacted in the way the artists intended, I was well entertained today.

Made In Japan

Deep Purple

2/5

It's a rare live album that makes you feel the excitement of being in the crowd. This, unfortunately, wasn't one of them. 70s guitar rock was never really my thing, but in long form with interminable solos, it's pretty deadly to me. This album has some good moments, but especially the 20 minute track at the end did me in.

Second Toughest In The Infants

Underworld

5/5

Driving in the car, this album kind of faded into the background, as tends to happen to music of this genre. However, listening with earphones a second time revealed much more, and I really appreciated it. Very cool, sophisticated techno with interesting touches. I really liked it.

GREY Area

Little Simz

4/5

I appreciated listening to this today quite a bit. There was lots about it that I really liked. It’s not an album I’ll probably choose to play again ever, but it was a really good journey for today.

Alien Lanes

Guided By Voices

2/5

I definitely disliked this the first time through. It seemed very random and disjointed and unpolished (which, apparently, is the point of "lo-fi"). A second listening revealed a bit more charm, but not enough for me to be a fan.

Odessa

Bee Gees

4/5

Although this was a long double album, it certainly had a bit of everything to keep it interesting. And a lot of vibrato. Made me laugh a bit to read that it was re-released with the surging popularity of the disco era Bee Gees. Not sure this is what you'd want if "Stayin' Alive" was your thing. But it's a pretty cool experience and artifact of its time.

Chicago Transit Authority

Chicago

5/5

I'd never listened to this whole album before, so this was a great experience. As a casual Chicago fan over the past decades, it was great to experience their first work and hear where they came from. Several songs are ones that have always been in the background of my life's soundtrack, but I am glad to give them more attention. I appreciate its experimental, "lets try this!" feeling, which works more often than not. The sounds that really worked are the sounds that continued through their later work. ("Free Form Guitar" is simply unbearable, but we're going to chalk that up to a time when seven minutes of guitar noise seemed like something that was worth trying. Win some, lose some.) In any case, the rock-jazz monster that is Chicago is magnificent! I am compelled to continue to follow their albums and connect the dots of my favorite songs of theirs.

Wild Is The Wind

Nina Simone

5/5

This is pretty gorgeous. It gave me goosebumps. Although I was familiar with some of her songs, I’ve now become quite fascinated with Nina Simone.

Music in Exile

Songhoy Blues

4/5

I just finished teaching a unit on the history of West Africa and the Songhai empire to my middle school students. One of the questions they were asked was how musical and oral traditions have kept their culture alive through the past centuries. I wish I had had this album to use to really demonstrate this connection between past and present because it speaks to both so well. And it jams. Really good!

Kimono My House

Sparks

5/5

This is wonderfully weird, over the top, and so much fun.

The Fat Of The Land

The Prodigy

3/5

This was decent electronic music and I liked it well enough. Not much stuck out about it, although it did have an interesting metal attitude to it. And I love the cover.

1977

Ash

4/5

I wasn't sure about this, but I really enjoyed it!

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

Kanye West

2/5

If I didn't know who this was, and I couldn't hear the tiresome, tiresome lyrics (notable exception for the use of the word "reupholstered"), I would like this quite a bit. The music tracks and the singing vocals are quite enjoyable.

The Low End Theory

A Tribe Called Quest

4/5

A distinctive jazz sound and creative rhymes make this a worthy listen. It's also a celebration of the dawn of the '90s!

Behaviour

Pet Shop Boys

5/5

Having owned this album and having listened to it quite a lot in the early 90s, this was a lovely revisit of an old friend. This might well be my exhibit A for folks that look down on synth-pop as somehow robotic or mechanical. Listening to this I realize how masterfully the synthesizers are used to craft really interesting sounds and music. A couple of these songs have amazing bridges. There are authentic emotions and clever social commentary. And it begins and ends with harp flourishes! Bravo!

Station To Station

David Bowie

4/5

I think I need to listen to this more times, because I did not fall in love with it today, but I was really intrigued, and lots of it were truly wonderful. I have remarked before that some of Bowie's albums are not ones that work as a casual, one- (or two-) time listen. "Golden Years" is a song I've always liked, but "Wild is the Wind" was really a revelation for me in appreciating Bowie as a singer.

Vespertine

Björk

5/5

I like that Björk tries something completely different when she gets bored with what has worked for her. Despite being very different from other albums, this is absolutely, unmistakably Björk. This was the swan dress as music. It was a bit challenging to listen to at first, but once I just started flowing with it, it took me on quite a lovely journey. It has a consistently dreamy mood throughout. I like her apt description of it as a "winter record." I had questioned having a third Björk album in this project so far, but now I'm hoping for another.

The Who Sell Out

The Who

5/5

This was so much fun! It makes me happy after so much SERIOUS music to have a group just laugh with it all. All the songs were delightful and I felt like I was listening to the radio when I was a kid.

The Slim Shady LP

Eminem

3/5

This one defies a satisfactory global rating for me. This album deserves to be on this list. It sounds incredible. Eminem uses his voice to create a different sound and mood in each song, which, to me, sets him apart from other rap artists. I appreciate much of the raw emotion that came from a not very distant life of hardship. He is creative and skilled. That said, the constant violence feels poisonous to me. I realize that much of it is fantasy, and it's explained that this is meant to shock and provoke as though it were a horror movie rather than reality. I just don't like violent horror movies myself, and that's the same feeling I get when I see one. I also realize that my repulsed reaction (and those of my ilk) is exactly what he was going for. I would say Eminem achieved the goal he set in creating this album, but it just wasn't created for me.

Younger Than Yesterday

The Byrds

4/5

A little bit folky, a little bit psychedelic, a little bit country, a little bit of humor, some nice harmonies and guitar... This was an enjoyable listen.

Clandestino

Manu Chao

5/5

I knew of Manu Chao from a few tracks a friend had put on some mix CDs twenty years ago. I was definitely a fan, although I never looked for more of Chao's music. I've been missing out. This has such an interesting and engaging sound, and with only a basic knowledge of Spanish, I caught enough to want to decode the compelling lyrics further. I loved listening to this and I would like to listen to more!

Soul Mining

The The

5/5

This is the sort of music that was my favorite in college. "This is the Day" was a favorite song of mine then. I never had the album, but it sounds faintly familiar as a friend must have played it sometimes. I love the instrumentation, Matt Johnson's moody singing...I feel 20 years old again when I hear this.

Deserter's Songs

Mercury Rev

3/5

This was interesting, but I didn't love it. It just maybe didn't come together for me. For example, I love a musical saw, but it just seemed to be really sticking out here, rather than an integral part of the songs. I appreciated it more as a group that took risks than something I will keep listening to. There are some great lyrics, and "Goddess of the Hiway" is wonderful.

Dig Your Own Hole

The Chemical Brothers

2/5

This is what I wrote in my review about the first Chemical Brothers album, Exit Planet Dust: "Electronica, especially without melody or vocals, can sometimes bore me, but I didn't get bored with any of it." What a difference with this album, because the only word that played in my head over and over listening to this one was "boring." I felt that it could have replaced my white noise machine to put me to sleep.

Berlin

Lou Reed

5/5

This one is kind of rough and gets rougher as you go along. The story is quite upsetting but absolutely emotionally compelling. I really loved the instrumentation. It's such an interesting way to weave together songs that had been done before ("Stephanie Says" becomes "Caroline Says") and I love the idea of following what happens after a lovely romantic vignette like "Berlin," even if it does go to such a dark place. I couldn't get myself to listen to "The Kids" again the second time through and had to skip it—not because it is a bad song, but because it is so difficult emotionally. This one gets you involved and sticks with you.

Nighthawks At The Diner

Tom Waits

5/5

Listening to this, I kept reaching for the non-existent drink and cigarette that were conjured up on the imaginary table in front of me by the atmosphere this album created. Even when I didn't get the 1975 Los Angeles references, the audience's delighted reactions made me share in the enjoyment. I loved the storytelling feeling of this, with Tom Waits' always amazing turns of phrases, e.g. "Just like a bastard amber Velveeta yellow cab on a rainy corner." His piano and guitar, and the rest of the jazz ensemble were wonderful. For being a longer album, and a live album, this held my rapt attention as I enjoyed the whole show.

Melody A.M.

Röyksopp

4/5

This is an electronic music album I really like. It has varied, interesting sounds to each track. I love how house meets easy listening in such an effective way. A delight.

Buffalo Springfield Again

Buffalo Springfield

3/5

It was interesting to listen to this sort of proto-Crosby, Stills, (Nash) & Young album. It had a variety of voices and sounds that I appreciated, but it's not something I'll really care to revisit.

The Infotainment Scan

The Fall

3/5

Being assigned an unforgivable third album by The Fall caused me great dread today. Turns out that those two earlier albums were the more unforgivable ones, making this one sound quite listenable. The Fall has gone soft in their third decade! Listenable, mind you, in that much of the time it was like being at a fairly decent instrumental concert while some obnoxious drunk guy in front of you starts pontificating loudly and obliviously to his friend the whole way through. I'm like, "Dude! Hey! Sit down! Save your slurry rants for after the show! This band is pretty good and I'm trying to hear them over you!" That said, I kind of liked this one.

Different Class

Pulp

5/5

I was introduced to "Common People" by William Shatner, which then led me to the original version by Pulp. The song is an all-time favorite in both versions. It's absolutely brilliant in so many ways. The more I listened to this album today, the more I loved it. It has such great storytelling with such a great sound. Such images and emotions!

Thriller

Michael Jackson

5/5

I clearly remember listening to the radio in late 1982 and the announcer telling us that we were going to hear the first new single from the long-awaited new Michael Jackson album. It would be a duet with Paul McCartney and I was excited. The song was “The Girl is Mine,” I was 14, and, doggone it, it made me vomit. “Well,” I thought, “so much for that album.” It was then a surprise that for the whole next year, the soundtrack to our lives was most of the rest of the album. Apparently I wasn't the only one wondering, "What the hell were they thinking starting with that one?" There are a couple more sickly sweet songs on the album, but even so, as a whole it is a powerhouse of amazing, iconic songs (and videos) that changed the course of 1980s music. "Beat It" will always get me fired up. This album definitely made its place in history and there it rightfully remains forty years later...even if we'd all happily forgotten about that doggone girl and the cringy banter over her.

The Man Machine

Kraftwerk

5/5

"The Robots" is one of the most magnificent pieces ever created. What else did you want the future to be? "Spacelab," "Metropolis," "Neon Lights," and "The Man-Machine" continue to conjure up this sleek, shiny, slivery world. "The Model" gives us the ice queen character in this new world, with my absolute favorite line, "She's posing for consumer products now and then." This was electronic music as electronic music.

I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got

Sinead O'Connor

5/5

Sinéad's voice is quite amazing. It can go from etherial and angelic to deeply powerful and sharp as a razor. I think that range was really what made "Nothing Compares 2 U" so notable. This album had all of it. It sometimes felt religious in that O'Connor sings with such emotion and fervor. This is quite a work!

Hypocrisy Is The Greatest Luxury

The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy

5/5

This was indeed "Music and Politics." I thought the music was quite good, and the poetic rap lectures touched on so many crucial issues of 1992 that are all still crucial issues thirty-one years later. I nodded my head quite a lot through this. "Language of Violence" is one of the best treatments of the issue I've ever heard. "Water Pistol Man" ended the album with a positive message and metaphor for the overwhelmed...which we needed. Because honestly this did get on the verge of heavy-handedness and I was feeling that I was in a lecture hall and needing a break. This isn't an album I'm going to put on again unless I want to use it as a teaching piece. Michael Franti himself described what I was feeling when he discussed forming his next band: "The big problem with Disposable Heroes was that it was a record people listened to because it was good for them - kind of like broccoli. I want Spearhead to be more like sweet potatoes."

MTV Unplugged In New York

Nirvana

5/5

I guess I was completely unconnected to pop culture in these years, since I didn't know this existed. I really was in for a something special. Although I read that this was filled with deep cuts, they were some of my favorite Nirvana songs and so well done. The covers also were wonderfully chosen and performed. "Where Did You Sleep Last Night"...what a performance. Wow.

Maggot Brain

Funkadelic

4/5

This album really encapsulates the essence of 1971, or at least how I imagine it. It's kind of a strange album, with two extended instrumental pieces bookcase five very different songs. It also has a fairly epic ending with a coo-coo clock, fart noises, and a nuclear explosion. It's all nicely funky, though, and that's what holds it together.

Autobahn

Kraftwerk

5/5

This album holds quite a lot of nostalgia for me, so that skews its rating up some. This was one I listened to a lot in the early 80s. I very much love the imagery that each of the pieces in this evokes. The title track has always been a favorite, conjuring up a car trip quickly passing through different environments along the highway. Then we go with a comet in the sky, amplified midnight noises, and a morning walk. All pretty perfect.

Calenture

The Triffids

3/5

This was new to me. I enjoyed it well enough. It speaks to the late '80s alternative music I liked. There are some really good lyrics here and there. I did find it a bit rambly and not super memorable, though. It might just need a little more time to grow on me.

Young Americans

David Bowie

3/5

When I finally got to "Fame" it made sense that this "blue-eyed soul" album was the context of that glorious song. It was, however, the only song I really loved. I really disliked his version of "Across the Universe" and wasn't too fond of many of the others, even when I appreciated what Bowie was doing with it. This won't be my favorite, but I appreciate its vision and distinctiveness from Bowie's other work.

Kollaps

Einstürzende Neubauten

4/5

This album was certainly interesting in a "German guy is yelling at me while hitting pots and pans" kind of way. With titles like "Schmerzen Hören," at least you knew this wasn't gonna be Easy Listening. The title track was quite long, but I got through it smiling as I imagined it as a karaoke choice. I would enjoy that. I was intrigued and engaged, and I appreciated the experience as an exploration of sound, and that's how I rated it. The question of whether I "liked" it or not seems irrelevant.

Dirty

Sonic Youth

3/5

This is my fourth Sonic Youth album in this project. If I were a power that be, I would have suggested we could have just gone with this one and got all we needed. As the previous albums I listened to were earlier ones, I wonder if Sonic Youth kind of grew into the 90s. There were moments I liked this.

Shake Your Money Maker

The Black Crowes

3/5

This is a little tricky for me to score because this is not my kind of music, but I realize that this is a really well done album. They certainly captured the spirit of 70s southern guitary blues rock with piano and brought it forward to the 90s. I do appreciate listening to something good that I wouldn't have chosen, but I also won't be putting it on again anytime soon.

Viva Hate

Morrissey

3/5

I'm feeling a little too weary and depressed to write a decent review today. Sigh. This is the third Morrissey album in this project for me, after Your Arsenal and Vauxhall and I. I think I liked those two more than this one. Not that I disliked this one. I was glad to hear his first post-Smiths album, and it certainly has some lovely moments. I think it may be the first album in this project where a track was deleted and replaced by the artist 24 years after the original release, though... What is this, Return of the Jedi?

Fever Ray

3/5

This had quite an interesting droning effect. I don't mean that as a negative, but it did tend to lull me to a trance while I was driving, which at the worst is dangerous. Interesting sounds, interesting vocals, and the use of "dishwasher tablets" as a lyric were plusses. However, I also don't see myself playing this one again.

Hot Fuss

The Killers

5/5

I've been a fan of the Killers since before I knew who they were and why they were singing about a boyfriend who looked like a girlfriend from February of last year. Despite all that, I'd never listened to this whole album as such. It is quite an amazing debut album with a fine selection of deservèd hits.

My Aim Is True

Elvis Costello

2/5

I really do try to find what is to appreciate about each of these albums in the project, but I am really struggling with Elvis Costello. This is the third album of his so far, and I know more are coming. What is it about him that gets him on the list so often? I find his voice unpleasant, and not in an interesting way. The songs just sort of go on and on. I can't remember a thing about them when they're over. This isn't bad by any means, and certainly not my least favorite of the three so far, but it just isn't that good to me. What is it I'm missing?

The Slider

T. Rex

3/5

I'm pretty sure I liked this better than Electric Warrior. It was kind of fun, kind of cool. "Telegram Sam" sounded like "Bang a Gong" which might be sort of repetitive but that's a good song, so I'm okay with it. Not spectacular, but not a waste of time.

LP1

FKA twigs

3/5

I thought this was really striking at first, but I got really tired of it by the end. There was kind of a formula where FKA twigs would warble repeated ethereal sounding phrases about jealousy to a background abstract painting of sounds. It is kind of a cool effect. However, all ten songs were this. There wasn't much beat, rhythm, or melody, and I kept hoping something would drop, but it never did. Does it make any sense to say I found it interesting but boring?

Heartattack And Vine

Tom Waits

5/5

This is my fifth Tom Waits album in this project. I think this is definitely the seediest so far. Lots of prostitutes and whorehouses. But these characters are fascinating and heart-wrenching, the music seizes your soul, and Tom Waits voice is used to absolute perfection here. This album definitely seems like the triumphal end of Waits' early period, before the more experimental sounding albums that started with Swordfishtrombones.

Will The Circle Be Unbroken

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

5/5

What an amazing project this was! So much fun to hear these musicians play with such joy.

Yeezus

Kanye West

3/5

This review will be similar to the last one (My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy). I found the backing tracks and samples to be really, really interesting, well chosen, and enjoyable. Absolutely well crafted. (Except maybe for chipmunking Nina Simone's voice?) Again, however, I found Ye's rapping voice and lyrics to be mostly annoying and grating. I think my favorite part of the album was the instrumental last minute and a half of "Hold My Liquor." I would like to listen to this album with just the backing tracks. "Blood on the Leaves" and "Guilt Trip" were more listenable because he did different things with his voice, and I liked the sound of them.

Woodface

Crowded House

4/5

I only knew the hits from their first album, so I was really happy to hear more of Crowded House harmonies with this. It's not an album that hits you over the head, but it is just what it is supposed to be. Although I think I need to listen to it a couple more times to really take it in properly, I was sure happy to hear something lovely like this today.

Siamese Dream

The Smashing Pumpkins

3/5

Since we already listened to the five-and-a-half hour long Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness that came out two years after this album, which I would argue is their great opus, and because this didn't have much else to say that that album didn't, I felt that this was not a necessary addition to this list. It was certainly another nice representation of the band's work, containing a couple of their worthy hits. But I'm just not sure why this takes the place of other artists I haven't heard in over 500 albums so far.

Definitely Maybe

Oasis

5/5

This was a time when it was a great thing to have two different albums by one great band in this project. I was definitely familiar with the incredible Morning Glory but not this album, their debut. I really appreciated hearing where Oasis came from before that album. This felt a little more raw and rock n roll and I loved it. I will probably pronounce "sunshine" like this forever more.

Bayou Country

Creedence Clearwater Revival

4/5

I was excited for this album. I really loved the previous assignment, Cosmo's Factory, and "Proud Mary" is CCR's perfect signature song. "Born on the Bayou" creates a pretty awesome atmosphere for being written by a group from San Francisco. I love their take on "Good Golly, Molly" and "Penthouse Pauper" is fun. There were some moments that I didn't love. I don't know why "Graveyard Train" about did me in, but it pretty much killed my vibe for a long, long while until "Good Golly, Miss Molly" rescued things.

Rattus Norvegicus

The Stranglers

3/5

I had trouble at first distinguishing this album from several other 70s albums of similar genre I've listened to in this project. I felt it might suffer from being past my point of tolerance for "not my favorite" music that I've already spent a lot of time with. A second, closer listen revealed some things I really enjoyed: the keyboards were a pretty cool mix of future and retro. I better heard some of the proto-new-wave sound that foreshadowed the 80s. I also followed the lyrics more closely, and must say there were more than a few WTF moments in there. This isn't going to go on my own list, but I get why it's on this one.

Straight Outta Compton

N.W.A.

5/5

This was eye opening for me. This was something special. This was the prototype. This sounded amazing from beginning to end. It tells a story that needed to be told. Lots of imitators never quite hit this sweet spot.

Me Against The World

2Pac

5/5

Having listened to what feels like a lot of hip hop/rap in this project, I hadn't yet (or ever, really) listened to Tupac Shakur. I haven't every really known much about him, beyond his being killed violently. A lot of the violent gangsta rap is distressing to me for many reasons. This felt a little like someone was finally explaining it all to me—the background and the context and the emotions of someone finally trying to process his life experience as he reached adulthood. It goes beyond the protective bravado to, for me, a more interesting place. Beyond being interesting lyrically, a good album has to be good musically, and I think this is high up there in the hip hop genre. Good beats that make your body move. This one made quite an impression on me overall.

My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts

Brian Eno

3/5

I think this must be a bit more revolutionary than it sounds, which I think happens when many other artists follow up on something really interesting. I have to remind myself that this is from 1981. It does sound somewhat timeless, although also very much like post-Talking-Heads David Byrne. There are some moments I really love here.

Natty Dread

Bob Marley & The Wailers

4/5

I've never really been a big reggae fan and I still am not. However, taking the time to listen to such artists as Bob Marley and getting the opportunity to appreciate his great work is exactly the sort of thing I signed up for in joining this project.

Pictures At An Exhibition

Emerson, Lake & Palmer

4/5

I liked this take on a favorite classical work, performed live.

The Velvet Underground

4/5

I've been waiting for the Velvet Underground to appear in this project, but I guess I was always assuming I'd see the "banana" album. This was a new one to me. I was quite taken with it. I would like to spend a bit more time with it and just absorb it a bit more.

Devotional Songs

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

5/5

I really loved this music and learning of the great esteem so many had for Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, especially, but not only, in Pakistan. It's always a little humbling to realize there's so much I'm not even aware of in this world. Turns out I have listened to him performing a different recording of "Allah Hoo" on the soundtrack to "Monsoon Wedding," which I played quite a lot when it came out. There he was all this time, and me not aware of who this artist was. I do feel a certain joy and contemplation while listening, which I think just hints at what really lies behind his music.

Da Capo

Love

3/5

I just really don't know what to say for this one. It's a bit all over the place. Oh that's cute! Oh that's weird! My, that's a long solo! We're screaming now? Was that one of those old cow mooing toys? I haven't seen one of those in a long time! Six songs and then an interminable jam? I have said before that I love the spirit of experimentation that was so free and unselfconscious in the late sixties, but also know that lots of it didn't work out. This was my first album by Love, and from what I can tell, they were indeed working to find their sound. Some worked here, some didn't for me.

Hejira

Joni Mitchell

4/5

Listening to this album this morning my teenage son said, "She didn't really write songs, she's just telling stories in a singing voice." I don't think he was wrong, as confirmed by descriptions in the Wikipedia article: "Mitchell had abandoned melodies and memorable tunes in favour of "new, seductive rhythms" and "lush guitars,"" as well as "characterized by lyrically dense, sprawling songs." This is another album that needs time to absorb and discover new bits each time. I haven't yet connected with it like I did with the two earlier albums we've listened to. I completely lost track of what was going on in "Song for Sharon" for example, but this time that made me want to hear it again.

Cheap Thrills

Big Brother & The Holding Company

4/5

When I listened to Janis Joplin's Pearl in this project, I was so amazed and wondered why I had it in my head that I wasn't really a fan of hers. Then I listened to this album and remembered. Now, I have grown a real appreciation for Joplin that I didn't have before, but this really reminded me that in the past I thought she sounded like a cat with its tail being stepped on. I suppose that's the quality some call "raw" and I do appreciate it more now. This album and this band has such an intense quality to it that is both jarring and exciting...if not totally unhinged. I'm not in love, but I'm in awe.

From Elvis In Memphis

Elvis Presley

5/5

This is a great big heapin' helpin' of genuine American corn. It's fantastic.

Bug

Dinosaur Jr.

2/5

"Freak Scene" started this album fairly positively for me, but then the rest never gave me anything else I could say I liked or found interesting. This was mostly grating, unpleasant, and not in any sort of novel way. By the time "Don't" came up, I was done. Ouch! My ears! Five minutes of screaming the same thing over and over at me. And that, I'm sorry to say, is why I don't like you.

Steve McQueen

Prefab Sprout

4/5

This was a happy discovery. I had never heard this group, but I quite liked the vibes of each song and the interesting lyrics. It wasn't a surprise that Thomas Dolby was involved with this album, because he was always a favorite of mine back in the day.

The Dark Side Of The Moon

Pink Floyd

5/5

What do I say about this album? This one was in my older brother's record collection in the 70s and was one of the few that I liked to listen to. I was also fascinated with the cover. "Money" was my favorite song. I bought it on CD in the early 90s and definitely tried to sync it with "The Wizard of Oz." It's simply a perfect listening experience from beginning to end and always has been. Even though it had been years since I listened to it, it's so burned into my brain that I wouldn't know what it was like to hear it for the first time.

Tigermilk

Belle & Sebastian

5/5

I was not familiar with this album, although "She's Losing It" was given to me on a mix CD many years ago by a dear old friend and was enough of a favorite that it made it into my iTunes playlists in the iPod era. I hate to call it delightful, since that seems like it's more lightweight than it is, but it was. My rating reflects that I really wanted to spend more time with it today than I was able.

Hypnotised

The Undertones

4/5

The last time I listened to the Undertones was 500 albums ago when this project was new to me and I was not quite as adept at writing a daily review as I am now. For their first album, I wrote, "It was fun! Good rock n roll," which I think is still true. I will add that I thought that Feargal Sharkey's vocals are distinctive and fun, again, and that I liked their clever young angst lyrics, again. It's been so long that I'm not sure how distinctive this album is from the first, but I did enjoy it, again.

The Renaissance

Q-Tip

4/5

Although there wasn't a specific track that really grabbed me here, I really enjoyed what felt like a fresh take on hip hop with a funky and jazzy feel and interesting lyrics.

Stand!

Sly & The Family Stone

4/5

Soulful and funky. A classic. I like hearing all the voices in these songs. "Stand!" and "Everyday People" are beloved classics for a reason.

Ocean Rain

Echo And The Bunnymen

5/5

I realized that I mostly knew Echo and the Bunnymen from 80s movie soundtracks, including "Lost Boys" and "Pretty in Pink." This album is one that I wish I had had back in the 80s, as I know it would have been a favorite. "The Killing Moon" is an incredible song I've not spent enough time with, and "Silver" is a new favorite. I've always liked Ian McCulloch's voice, and I really loved the orchestration of this music. It was interesting and enjoyable and made me quite happy today.

The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators

The 13th Floor Elevators

3/5

I was looking forward to listening to this as I do love psychedelic sounds and was intrigued by the idea of an electric jug as instrument. While I could see that this likely had some influence on later works, it never really grabbed my attention. It had a bit more garage band feel than what I'd think of as psychedelic. "Reverberation" would be an exception. Once I noticed that the electric jug sounded like Curly from the Three Stooges was in the background, then that's all I could hear.

High Violet

The National

5/5

Each of these songs takes me on a journey that's hard to put into words. The instrumentation, the vocals, the lyrics, all come together for me into an album I'd like to spend the next few days with while putting the rest of the project on hold. This was new to me, and I want to get to know it very well and make up for the last decade I was without it. It's a headphones in the dark kind of album that makes you forget what year it is as it carries you to Ohio in a swarm of bees.

Closer

Joy Division

4/5

Joy Division? More like the Misery Division! I sort of went back and forth between hating this and being absolutely fascinated by it, and still haven't quite resolved myself into a satisfactory opinion.

Morrison Hotel

The Doors

4/5

This was a really great collection of bluesy songs that I didn't know. However, there really wasn't anything that made me think, "Oh, this is special and why I love The Doors."

New Boots And Panties

Ian Dury

5/5

I was a little confused by the Wikipedia description of this album as "punk rock - pub rock - disco - music hall" but after listening, yep. It took a bit to warm up to, just being a little different sounding, and my not having paid enough attention to the lyrics ("I come awake with a gift for womankind" OMG!), but I ended up quite loving it.

Juju

Siouxsie And The Banshees

4/5

This is the second Siouxsie album I've listened to in this project and as opposed to The Scream, this is more along the lines of the music I associate with this band and have appreciated. "Spellbound" is a pretty kickass classic tune. I didn't love the whole thing, as I got a little weary on Side B, but this is pretty good stuff. Siouxsie's voice is an extreme, powerful force, whose energy sometimes reminds me of Carol Burnett's Tarzan call. The band's sound is pretty fantastic and the guitar work of John McGeoch is deservedly celebrated.

Gunfighter Ballads And Trail Songs

Marty Robbins

4/5

First of all, I have always really loved the song "El Paso." It's a masterpiece of the "Western" kind of Country and Western. It tells a compelling story, Robbins' voice is wonderfully warm, the backup vocals are superb, and the guitar playing is marvelous. The rest of the album is much the same. Which is maybe why I got a little tired of it by the end. That said, I still think it's the definitive album of Western ballads, and as such I very much appreciate it.

Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables

Dead Kennedys

4/5

I steeled myself to get ready to listen to this one, but was somewhat surprised how much I appreciated it today. I'd known some of the songs from mixtapes in the 80s. I mostly thought of the Dead Kennedys as just being shocking for the sake of being shocking, which, I must say, was a valid thing in the late teens. I didn't think it would translate well to my older self, however. It's still shocking, and Jello Biafra's voice is still creepily distorted. However, some things that I noticed this time: The music is good. I've heard some hardcore punk in this project, and I'd take this rock 'n' roll over many other works. The satire is darkly humorous, viciously biting, and much more clever than I'd remembered. I'd never be very comfortable calling myself a Dead Kennedy's fan, but in the realm of hardcore punk, they're up there.

Darkness on the Edge of Town

Bruce Springsteen

4/5

This is Bruce Springsteen album number four in the project so far. I have had to admit I have grown in my appreciation for his work through this, but today took a bit more effort. We've had the breakthrough album, the blockbuster album, and the reflective mature album, all of which made sense. This one was more of a challenge to get. There was that pained and strained wailing moan of an intro (and outro) in "Something in the Night" and the oh-so-morose drag racing dirge, "Racing in the Street," and I thought I was really done. When I worked to take it for what it was, and listen to it through the ears of those who love it, I got to appreciate more the intimate empathy for the struggling souls he was singing about. The music is barer, Springsteen's lyrics are clearer, and the affection is absolutely sincere.

Out Of The Blue

Electric Light Orchestra

5/5

In the summer of 1980, my older teenage bad boy cousin's favorite band was Rush. He got me to declare to his older brother, my studious college student cousin, that I also liked Rush better than ELO, the older cousin's favorite band. Both cousins are gone now, but I still feel badly about what was then, and is now, a lie, told out of affection and fear. It's funny what memories music brings back. I miss them both. That digression aside, this is a pretty magnificent album. It is epic and grand and glorious. Strings, and choral backgrounds, and the vocoder! A Concerto for a Rainy Day! Mr. Blue Sky!!! Lovely.

Exodus

Bob Marley & The Wailers

5/5

We recently listened to Marley's album Natty Dread, and I wrote how I appreciated hearing a full album of his work. This one I can say I truly enjoyed. I didn't realize that all my favorite songs of his are pretty much in a row on Side 2. And I quite liked the somewhat different feeling Side 1 as well. This is a classic with great, distinctive, lovely songs.

Ill Communication

Beastie Boys

4/5

This Beastie Boys album, as opposed to the first, was not really on my radar when it came out. I had been quite fond of the naughty boy rap of that first one. This one feels like it's from a much more mature group, and I wasn't sure at first if that was a good thing. What I found (after the initial dislike of the feeling of being yelled at this morning) was that this was a really interesting album, full of all sorts of musical influences. I need to come back to this one some time.

Veckatimest

Grizzly Bear

3/5

I was all set to really really like this album. The description really sounded like my kind of thing. The first song, "Southern Point," was good, but as for the whole thing, I got pretty bored with it. I even gave it some extra time to better connect with it, but I didn't get there and it's time to move on.

Tanto Tempo

Bebel Gilberto

5/5

I remember clearly when this album came out. As a fan of bossa nova and her father João Gilberto, I was definitely interested. I read reviews and planned to buy it...and evidently didn't. This was quite a lovely update of the bossa nova into a 21st century feel. It's wonderful to revisit such a great version of "Summer Samba," one of my all time favorite songs. It was quite perfect for a first walk outside on a sunny, crisp day after a long, cold winter. This was lush and lovely.

Eagles

5/5

Because I've never listened to this album, it was an interesting mix of either songs I've heard 17 billion times or songs I've never heard. The songs I'd never heard held up to the classics, and this was some good stuff.

Strangeways, Here We Come

The Smiths

5/5

This is the third album by The Smiths in this project, and I think it is my favorite so far. How can you go wrong with such titles such as "Girlfriend in a Coma," "Death of a Disco Dancer," and "Unhappy Birthday"? "Girlfriend in a Coma," by the way, has always been my favorite Smiths song. The only really dreary moment here was the first two minutes of the also-perfectly-dreary-titled "Last Night I Dreamt that Somebody Loved Me." But overall I really liked this album, and it's too bad The Smiths ended just as they got to this really good place.

Sail Away

Randy Newman

5/5

I guess I'd forgotten that Randy Newman did anything but Pixar movie music and "Short People," and that's too bad. These were songs to listen to again and again, each time finding those brilliant little hidden gotchas that lurk under the affable, delightful surface.

At Budokan

Cheap Trick

4/5

I recognize this as a classic must-have album I'd never fully experienced, so I was glad to listen today. Being new to it, I was a bit surprised that all through Side 1 it just sounded like generic 70s guitar rock to me, which has never really been my thing. Oh, then Side 2 got to the good stuff. Partially probably because I recognized so much more of it, but it also seemed more interesting and varied.

The Suburbs

Arcade Fire

5/5

I was quite taken with this. More so than Funeral, I think. I wish I could listen to it all day tomorrow again.

All Things Must Pass

George Harrison

5/5

This one certainly went into extra innings, but man it was an unbridled blast of pent up creativity! it's such a great work of collaboration and exploration, and here it all works so well to make an album you really like listening to. I loved this. You go, George!

Paul's Boutique

Beastie Boys

5/5

Oh my this was fun! It had escaped my notice when it came out (and apparently I wasn't the only one) but I had a good time listening today. The use of samples makes it so different from Ill Communication, which we listened to just a week ago. I remarked how many samples I recognized from this 1001 Albums project, as well as how well I thought they were used to make something slightly familiar but also original sounding. It's more fun and less yell-y and so far is my favorite of the Beastie Boys albums we've listened to in the project.

Freak Out!

The Mothers Of Invention

5/5

Where has this been all my life? It's brilliantly weird and wonderful. The satire is great, it seems quite a bit before its time, and the more experimental parts are still quite worth the listening.

American IV: The Man Comes Around

Johnny Cash

5/5

Reading a phrase like "sixty-seventh studio album" is pretty incredible. The album itself it pretty incredible. It drew a tear more than once. Cash's original recording of "Give My Love to Rose," for example, might come across as just sentimental and maybe corny. This version conveys all the emotions of a really heartbreaking song. This is true throughout the album, whether it's "Streets of Laredo" or "In My Life," or "Personal Jesus." I love this seemingly random collection of largely familiar songs that have become something entirely different and filled with meaning. "The Man Comes Around," the song Cash wrote for this album, is quite epic, and of course "Hurt" is beyond perfect. It's got to be one of my favorite albums ever.

Harvest

Neil Young

4/5

Having stated that I wasn't much of a fan of Neil Young before, I was glad for the opportunity to listen to this classic one as I quite enjoyed it. Of course, it's the most popular album of his, and I think with good reason. This is your Neil Young gateway album. I'd be happy to keep listening.

Queen Of Denmark

John Grant

5/5

I was so excited to see "soft rock" given as a genre of this album on Wikipedia, since I don't think I've seen it applied to anything after 1983. It certainly fits this in a 21st century way with its flutes and guitars and pianos and John Grant's smooth, lovely voice. Oh, and it's so much more! Such deep emotions mixed with the most delicious and humorous references. It's the most wonderful thing to laugh while a tear falls, 'cause you can relate, and that happened more than once listening to this one. "I wanted to change the world, but I could not even change my underwear," for example, is a line that is just too horribly and wonderfully relatable. I love this album so much.

I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight

Richard Thompson

4/5

Good English folk music, lovely and grim. I enjoyed this listen today.

Everything Must Go

Manic Street Preachers

3/5

I did try and give this some extra time, but I couldn't really connect with it. The first four or five songs never made an impression on me with their somewhat generic 90s rock sound. Upon re-listening in the car with others, the album was vetoed and banned before we could get to the two songs I found interesting, "Small Black Flowers that Grow in the Sky" and "The Girls Who Wanted to be God." Based on those, the album goes up a point. Overall, there was nothing I disliked about this album, but not much I really liked, either.

The Marshall Mathers LP

Eminem

1/5

Thought 1: I remember when "Stan" came out, and how I liked the sound of it. Then the radio started playing Dido's "Thank You" without Eminem and I said "thank you" to the radio stations. What I liked was Dido. Thought 2: I found it interesting, especially after listening to his backstory in The Slim Shady LP fairly recently, to hear the follow up stories about what it's like to go suddenly from a challenging life in invisible survival mode to being a spotlighted celebrity with expectations to behave in an educated, courteous, and social manner. This being after becoming famous for being the opposite, and then suddenly being held responsible for those ill folk who would take him as a role model. It makes sense that this was stressful and I thought this was a story worth telling. Thought 3: Fuck this poisonous, horrifying hour-and-a-quarter of soul-destroying, anger-filled, hateful, violent vileness. He can complain about what people say, and certainly states at the same time that he doesn't give a fuck, but shit like this makes the world so much worse, and I think Eminem is fully guilty in making it so, intentional or not.

The New Tango

Astor Piazzolla

4/5

You can't really go wrong when you bring together the bandoneon and the vibraphone for some tango music. It was sometimes a little too "new" for me, making me think that I haven't had the opportunity to listen to enough traditional tango music first, but I definitely appreciate this musical exploration.

Moondance

Van Morrison

4/5

Although I've always really loved the song "Moondance," I've never really appreciated much other music by Van Morrison, so I never spent much time with it by choice. Taking the time to this whole album a couple of times today helped my appreciation grow.

Madman Across The Water

Elton John

4/5

This is just as the album that gave us "Tiny Dancer" and "Levon" should be. It's classic Elton John, and absolutely a nice listen for the day.

Introducing The Hardline According To Terence Trent D'Arby

Terence Trent D'Arby

4/5

I enjoyed this listen today. It’s somewhat nostalgic since this was extremely popular in France when I lived there in 1988. Is it a little pretentious at times? Sure, but that goes along with being a 20-year-old study-abroad student. For the most part it was a sound I quite liked.

My Generation

The Who

3/5

I was really interested in this as a historical document and getting to hear how The Who sounded at their début. Beyond that it’s not an album I find particularly distinctive, or one that I’d want to listen to again, besides the iconic title track.

Neon Bible

Arcade Fire

5/5

I’m continuing to enjoy my voyages with Arcade Fire. This has such an interesting sound.

Beach Samba

Astrud Gilberto

5/5

I remembered I had an Astrud Gilberto collection album when I listened to this. It had the song "Beach Samba." I've been a fan of her voice and style for a long time, starting from "The Girl from Ipanema," of course. I love that this album has a very smooth 1960s cocktail party vibe, but then suddenly a parade marches through before we go back to our pink squirrels. The duet with her son was also a lovin' spoonful of a detour.

Devil Without A Cause

Kid Rock

4/5

To quote Mr. Rock himself, this was indeed "redneck, shit-kicking rock 'n' roll rap." I really enjoyed the fusion of styles and I think it was done really successfully overall. It does make you feel like you're in a rowdy bar with a bottle of beer in one hand, shaking your fist to the music with the other. There's a real energy to it. Of course, there's lots of tiresome tropes in the lyrics, and not a lot of creativity there...even for being 25 years ago. But it's really more about the attitude, I guess.

Dookie

Green Day

4/5

I was not much of a fan of the singles that came out from this album at the time, and so I didn't consider myself much of a Green Day fan. After I had kind of written them off, I was impressed by later work of theirs, but never got too much into them. Spending some quality time with this today, however, my appreciation grew and I connected more with their talent. It’s some solid punky rock and a great breakthrough album.

Millions Now Living Will Never Die

Tortoise

4/5

First of all, I think "post-rock" is a really bad term for this genre. Just needed to say that. This has a variety of interesting atmospheres and textures. It feels very modern and sophisticated. There was a kind of cool, jarring moment in "Djed" when I thought my cassette tape was being eaten by my Walkman, but otherwise it was quite soothing.

Black Sabbath

5/5

Starting with the wonderfully creepy cover, then getting to the rain, thunder, and clanging chimes of doom, I was very excited about this one. Then you get to the scary guitar, looming bass, and ominous drums of a real nightmare band before growly Ozzy comes in with sinister lyrics about a figure in black. What a debut! This is quite perfect as an album with its structure of suites and consistent, perfect mood all the way through. Who knew I'd love early Black Sabbath so much?

Among The Living

Anthrax

2/5

There are some good moments on this album, but as a whole I found it both loud and uninteresting. The lyrics are an interesting departure from your typical heavy metal music, but they're mostly just shouted over the same chugging guitar and frantic percussion the whole time.

Bongo Rock

Incredible Bongo Band

5/5

This is absolute happy music. I love it so much. The fact that it started from the soundtrack to "The Thing with Two Heads" is just amazing. "In a Gadda da Vida" is a masterpiece.

White Ladder

David Gray

4/5

This is quite lovely.

The Clash

5/5

This is not only proper punk, but it's a blast to listen to. It’s angry and catchy in a shake-your-fist kind of way. I love it.

The Idiot

Iggy Pop

4/5

This album certainly does have a David Bowie flavor, and I might have always thought that "Nightclubbing" was a David Bowie song. Then, to hear a really rough version of "China Girl" was a big surprise! I found that I quite liked Side One, but Side Two not as much. All in all, though, it's an interesting journey that I enjoyed today.

Searching For The Young Soul Rebels

Dexys Midnight Runners

4/5

I enjoyed the punky horny brassy sound of this. The sobby vocals weren’t always as captivating. While there wasn’t any one song that really stood out, it was a good listen overall.

To Pimp A Butterfly

Kendrick Lamar

3/5

Reading about this album made me really interesting in listening to it. Listening to it, I found it really long and monotonous, and I ended up losing the message in the slog. The only song that really stood out, stood out because it sampled "That Lady."

The Sun Rises In The East

Jeru The Damaja

2/5

This might have suffered from coming a day after a much more interesting hip hop record. It certainly didn't feel "must hear before you die" worthy. I didn't enjoy it, bichez. Next!

Automatic For The People

R.E.M.

5/5

I mentioned in an earlier review that Green and Out of Time were my favorite R.E.M. albums from back in the day. Kind of strange that this one, coming right afterwards, never found its way into my collection. Maybe because I thought "Everybody Hurts" was a whiny dirge? But other than that, I had liked all the other singles from this album so who knows? In any case, I was quite happy to listen today, and I quite loved this music...even "Everybody Hurts."

Water From An Ancient Well

Abdullah Ibrahim

3/5

This was lovely jazz, indeed, but felt quite languid after the initial track, "Mandela," and I found myself wishing there were something a bit more uptempo in the next 45 minutes. After listening, when I was reading about the artist, I was a bit surprised to learn he is a pianist when I just mostly remembered the saxophone and flute. It was nice but not memorable to me.

2112

Rush

5/5

This is one of those times where I had to listen to an album I never would have freely chosen, and it's also one of those times I really enjoyed what I listened to, despite being out of my genre comfort zone. It's an album to be enjoyed as an album, and quite well done for that.

Live And Dangerous

Thin Lizzy

3/5

This is one of those times where I had to listen to an album I never would have freely chosen, and this time I was right. While this is never a bad album, it never caught my attention beyond being a whole lot of unmemorable mid-70s guitar rock to me.

OK

Talvin Singh

4/5

I appreciated this for being distinctive and interesting, and I enjoyed listening to most of it.

Planet Rock: The Album

Afrika Bambaataa

4/5

Although this was new music to me, it was a very nostalgic listen. Record scratches! Simple lyrics! Quite a lot of fun!

The Bones Of What You Believe

CHVRCHES

4/5

Being a big fan of 1980s synth pop as well as some more modern incarnations such as Icona Pop, I had high expectations for this album. The first listen through didn't meet those. However, listening again made me realize that I might really love this one, given a few more listens. I quite enjoyed it and would like to get to that point.

Catch A Fire

Bob Marley & The Wailers

4/5

Going over 500 albums without any Bob Marley and the Wailers, it's been interesting now to get three of their albums in a relatively short amount of time. I can understand how this was a breakthrough sort of album. I enjoyed it, even if I do get a little weary of the reggae beat after a time.

Throwing Muses

2/5

I will freely admit I think I missed some things here. It was hard to find, and so I didn't get to listen to it under the best circumstances. That said, what I heard I didn't enjoy much.

Music

Madonna

5/5

This was a nice revisit of a CD I had bought when new, but went with the other CDs into a box some time ago. It's been a while. This one really shows how Madonna has been able to successfully reinvent herself so many times. It was a sound that felt very modern at the time and which I think has held up since then. "This is the one with acoustic guitars and robot voices," is probably how I would distinguish it. I loved it, it made me move and groove today.

Let's Stay Together

Al Green

5/5

I really enjoyed this soulful album. Highlights were "So You're Leaving" and an amazing performance of the Bee Gee's ""How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?" I loved this.

Songs From A Room

Leonard Cohen

5/5

I found it interesting that this album felt different and distinct from Songs of Leonard Cohen and Songs of Love and Hate, which were previous listening assignments in this project. While those two albums hit me immediately, these seemed to be songs to savor, and I was happy that I was able to listen to them a few times, finding new things each time and growing deeply in my appreciation for them. The songwriting really shone through this one, where the instrumentation and the vocals were quite simple. I probably shouldn't say it quite like that, as the classical guitar work is masterful, but it gets to shine through brightly here with the occasional Jew's harp accompaniment. Just as an example, each time I listened to "Story of Isaac" I was knocked over at a new bit of the message it gave, using the Biblical story in a way that blew my mind. There's a good reason so many artists have performed these wonderful songs.

Arise

Sepultura

2/5

I didn't hear much beyond the typical thrash metal here—the growling dun-dun-dun-dun electric guitars, the frantic out-of-balance spin cycle percussion, and the Muppet monster vocals. I've heard that stuff before from others. Not being much of a fan of this genre, I just didn't hear anything distinctive or interesting and I was bored.

The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan

5/5

So this is where it all came from! I get it! A wonderful album of wonderful songs, simply and perfectly performed.

Histoire De Melody Nelson

Serge Gainsbourg

5/5

It's a classic story. Man runs over teenage girl with a Rolls Royce, has an illicit affair with her in a sketchy hotel, and then she dies in a plane crash. I've been a fan of Serge Gainsbourg's songs for a long time, including "Ballade de Melody Nelson," but I'd never listened to this concept album of his. I quite enjoyed the progression of movements, incorporating orchestra and chorus along with sultry bass and funky guitar. It's a unique and compelling sound.

Parallel Lines

Blondie

5/5

Another "how have I never listened to this?" album. I absolutely loved this and all the variety of songs it had. Debbie Harry's voice is iconic throughout. So much fun!

Ray Of Light

Madonna

5/5

Oh, this is a good one. As with Music, I had this on CD when it came out, but hadn't listened to the whole album for years. In this very successful reinvention of herself, this is the mystical electronica dance one. It's pretty awesome. The title track may well be my favorite Madonna song. The whole thing sounds great and I'm happy to hear it again.

The Chronic

Dr. Dre

3/5

Insert usual speech about mixed feelings regarding violent and misogynistic gangsta rap. There's plenty about this I don't enjoy listening to, and elements I really hate. When it began with obscenity-filled rants about Dr. Dre's previous employer and colleagues, I really wanted to be done. (Although later I was thinking that if I had done such a thing a couple of years ago it might have been something wonderfully cathartic.) Thankfully, the tone changed slightly and we could focus on some good funky beats and some catchy refrains. Some so catchy that I'm afraid I'm going to go into work some morning unconsciously singing "Bitches ain't shit but hoes and tricks" (or worse), just because there are a few such inappropriate earworms in here. I was also impressed with this as Snoop Dogg's début. He really stands out here.

Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not

Arctic Monkeys

3/5

I would say the Arctic Monkeys are quite successful here in achieving the punk/indie/rock sound and themes they're known for. It's just not music I personally enjoyed very much today.

Central Reservation

Beth Orton

3/5

This was sometimes quite lovely, sometimes a little tedious. I probably didn't give it enough time to sink in, so it didn’t make much of an impression today, but it was a fine enough listen.

Heaven Or Las Vegas

Cocteau Twins

5/5

The Cocteau Twins and their album Blue Bell Knoll were quite popular with many of my peers when I was in college, so I heard a lot of them. Seemed to be pretty good music to study by. Even though this subsequent album isn't one I heard much, it was still very nostalgic to listen to them. No one else sounds anything like this, and it's a wonderful, ethereal sound. Lovely, warm feeling with it today.

Darkdancer

Les Rythmes Digitales

3/5

There are a couple of really good electronic dance numbers here, but I think that it’s pretty accurate that this was named the 97th greatest dance album out of 99.

Something/Anything?

Todd Rundgren

5/5

I was a little nervous about committing to a 90-minute double album, but I found it a quite interesting journey. It helped a lot to follow the album liner notes that gave a different title and feel to each of the four sides. I really enjoyed this.

New Wave

The Auteurs

3/5

I didn't hate this. I didn't love it. Not much stood out for me.

We Are Family

Sister Sledge

5/5

Disco deee-light! There are some pretty awesome numbers here beyond the classic title song, making this a pretty stellar album.

Maxinquaye

Tricky

3/5

There are some really groovy and interesting moments on this, but for me they were a bit too few and far between. I was "Strugglin'" not to skip ahead a number of times.

More Specials

The Specials

5/5

I wasn't quite sure about this at first, but as I kept listening, it got more and more fun. There are so many ingredients in this recipe! Ska-punk-mariachi-lounge organ-music hall with themes of nuclear war, James Bond films, emotional alienation, and maybe plane crashes?

São Paulo Confessions

Suba

5/5

This evokes its title for sure. It feels very city, very Brazilian. It is a smooth sound pleasure.

There's A Riot Goin' On

Sly & The Family Stone

5/5

I was a bit surprised to have enjoyed this album today a bit more than Stand! (which still has my favorite Sly and the Family Stone songs on it). I suppose this one felt more like an album listening experience, and despite some long tracks, I found them compelling rather than boring and I grooved with it.

Safe As Milk

Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band

4/5

I enjoyed the somewhat weird blues here.

Marquee Moon

Television

2/5

First and foremost, I didn't enjoy the whiny vocals. And maybe not so much the repetitive rest of it. It just isn't my thing.

Ace of Spades

Motörhead

2/5

Hmm. I think it might be quite true that this was a strong influence on a lot of other heavy metal artists. I acknowledge that. However, I found this repetitive and boring and sometimes offensive (jailbait).

Bridge Over Troubled Water

Simon & Garfunkel

5/5

Yay! Yay! Yay! This is the best! Five plus plus plus plus plus!

Copper Blue

Sugar

3/5

This has a very 90s grunge-tinged sound while feeling a bit more listenable and pop (which is a good thing, as far as I'm concerned). Having never heard this before, it doesn't beat out the giants of the 90s, but it was a fine listen today.

The Wildest!

Louis Prima

5/5

I jumped, i jived, an’ then I wailed. Indeed it was the wildest! So much fun!

Pink Flag

Wire

4/5

I think it's a little strange that this was listed as "post punk" when it came out just a year after the start of the punk era. However, I understand its long term influence on music that came after. Take an iconic 90s song like "Connection" by Elastica for example. I liked the short vignettes, and overall it worked quite nicely!

Tragic Songs of Life

The Louvin Brothers

5/5

I always love when I'm listening to these beautiful old-timey harmonies and mandolin and just when it might start to feel a bit monotonous, I hear a lyric about stabbing oneself or beating someone to death with a stick for no discernible reason. I also wasn't able to decide whether Kentucky or Alabama have the loveliest tribute song. This isn't an album I'm going to play much again, but I so appreciated hearing something different like this in the project that it gets bonus points for being special.

Homework

Daft Punk

5/5

I have sometimes complained in this project of electronic music that consists of endlessly repeated phrases, and that's really what this is, but this is done right and with a good dance beat. There is some nostalgia with "Da Funk" and "Around the World" that enhanced the listening experience today. All in all, this was a great album to do dreaded yard work while drowning out the noisy neighbors with my earbuds today. I'm so happy to finally get some Daft Punk in this project! They're the best!

Gorillaz

4/5

I think in the context of just listening to an album of music, the idea of a virtual band gets a little lost. But it certainly adds to the story. I appreciate that Damon Albarn really has taken his art in so many places in so many ways. I don't always love it, but that's maybe not the point here. He's not one for the tried and true. So this scores higher in "let's try some interesting things" than in "I can't wait to listen again!"

Let's Get Killed

David Holmes

4/5

There were moments I really loved in this, some moments I could have done without, but it was always interesting and creative.

The Boatman's Call

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

5/5

In this project, I've enjoyed hearing the musical journey of some of the artists. These were not murder ballads, for example. Some lovely and thoughtful songs. It didn't hit me as something I loved right away, but it's been nice to savor it over the day. I do mostly love these arrangements and lyrics (and the stuff I don't really like is still always interesting). This is one I'll be happy find again one of these days and see what new things leap out and strike me.

Orbital 2

Orbital

4/5

Apparently I liked this quite a bit more than Snivilisation. Or maybe it was just the perfect soundtrack for a brisk lunchtime walk on a sunny spring day.

Boy In Da Corner

Dizzee Rascal

2/5

This was one of the most annoying things I've heard in weeks. It managed to be on my nerves the whole time, poking and poking at me like an annoying sibling in the back seat. No thank you!

Phrenology

The Roots

4/5

Interesting, thoughtful, and varied hip-hop. I didn't love it all, but I really liked much of it.

Good Old Boys

Randy Newman

5/5

Again, gut-punching lyrics hidden in affable music. And sometimes affable lyrics with gut-punching effect. It's pretty amazing.

So

Peter Gabriel

5/5

This is a Very Special Album, having been a prized tape in my cassette collection from when it came out. The whole thing is so good from start to finish, and I was happy to really notice lyrics and instrumentation that I hadn't really thought about back then. The variety of styles and instruments and voices (Youssou N'Dour was there this whole time?!) are amazing. It opens pretty epically with "Red Rain" before going to the spectacular "Sledgehammer," the song and video of which blew my mind. "Don't Give Up" is a beautiful song that's much more meaningful to me now. Bombastic "Big Time" was another favorite that I'd hadn't heard in too long. "This Is the Picture" is a very cool work featuring Laurie Anderson that I was happy to rediscover. I loved getting to listen to this today so much!

Queen II

Queen

5/5

I am a little surprised at how much I enjoyed this album, given that I'd never heard any of it before. Maybe that's why. It seemed to flow theatrically and be a pretty amazing experience. It really felt like something new, fresh, and creative, and totally rockin'. I can't explain much better, but I felt what I felt.

D

White Denim

4/5

After a few powerhouse albums, this one slipped a bit into the background, sounding a bit like the late morning show on public radio. However, a second listen got me to really appreciate their somewhat retro but always interesting sound. I liked this a lot.

American Pie

Don McLean

5/5

It sometimes mystified me why the long, inscrutable ("but the levee was dry") song "American Pie" had such an impact, but when my 16-year-old son sang all the lyrics along with the entire song this morning in the car (it lasted the entire commute, plus 30 more seconds that he insisted on finishing before he got out) it did really hit me how much it has connected with people for the last 50 years. This time I got to hear it for the first time in the context of a whole album, and it was a pretty wonderful experience. You might even say McLean was killing me softly with his song. (I always thought that song was inscrutable, too, but now I know.) I hadn't really listened closely to "Vincent" in a long time, but this time I could vividly picture each of the paintings he was singing about and Vincent's eyes of china blue (that one is less inscrutable now). Marvelous. All of the other songs (besides the beautiful, not-Boney-M., "Babylon") were new to me, and I could listen to them again and again. "Crossroads" was a song that particularly spoke to me today.

Our Aim Is To Satisfy

Red Snapper

3/5

Oh boy, yet another long-ass album of mostly unremarkable atmospheric electronica from around the turn of the century. It was fine. Next!

At Fillmore East

The Allman Brothers Band

4/5

At first I thought, "Oh boy, yet another long-ass album of blues guitar solos from around 1970" and indeed that was what this was. However, at least before the last track, it was quite listenable and I really enjoyed it.

Something Else By The Kinks

The Kinks

5/5

These songs are wonderfully told vignettes, each with a distinctive sound, old-timey and modern at the same time. This gives us three consecutive Kinks albums from the 1960s, but I'm okay with that, as long as we get to hear more.

Feast of Wire

Calexico

4/5

I very much enjoyed this charming, eclectic collection of songs.

Life's Too Good

The Sugarcubes

4/5

It was very much fun to experience the album that brought the Sugarcubes, Iceland, and Björk to the attention of the world.

In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida

Iron Butterfly

5/5

The first half of this album has a great psychedelic feel with organs, ragged guitar, and a unique vocal sound. It's a solid 4. The title track, however, is a nearly perfect 17 minutes of pure bliss. I could listen to it over and over and over, h-always. Just the percussion solo is my favorite, even.

Gasoline Alley

Rod Stewart

4/5

Rod Stewart's voice seems to be at home here with the folky instruments of this album. This one grew on me more than I thought it would, especially when there were mandolins and violins.

Birth Of The Cool

Miles Davis

4/5

This is the third Miles Davis album for me in this project, and it's been interesting to listen to these milestones of his career (out of 61 albums!!!). Kind of Blue, from 1959, was considered the masterpiece of his early work, and In a Silent Way, from 1969, demonstrated the boundaries that Davis was pushing by adding electricity. (I'm still waiting for Bitches Brew.) This might have the earliest recordings we're listened to in this project, being from 1949-50. This is, as the title suggests, the introduction of Davis' cool jazz. I am very glad to have listened to this really enjoyable album. Out of context, however, I'm not sure it would have been greatly distinctive. So much that came after followed this lead, and it led to so much jazz that sounds just like this.

Axis: Bold As Love

Jimi Hendrix

5/5

Jimi Hendrix is one of those artists I hoped to get to know better through this project. Although this wasn't the album that came to mind first, I certainly got to experience some great music today. Although I'm not saying anything that hasn't been said, I got to really feel his absolutely distinctive and remarkable guitar work. This in the midst of some really groovy, psychedelic, and soulful songs.

We're Only In It For The Money

The Mothers Of Invention

2/5

So how much is too much? I had quite enjoyed the album Freak Out! as an exercise in satire and experimentation. This one maybe not so much. While this album had some great moments of spot-on satire, much of it reminded me of when I was 12 and used to make tape recordings with friends of noises and silliness that were hilarious to ourselves then, but definitely haven't stood the test of time. It was interesting as a historical document, but I don't think I'll ever want to listen to it again.

Joan Baez

5/5

Here's another artist I was hoping to get to know better in this project, and I'm glad it was her debut album for us to start. This was so earnest and sincere that it's sometimes hard not to think about Bluto smashing a folk singer's guitar in Animal House. (Stephen Bishop!) But once I get my mind set to appreciate it, it's quite beautiful and wonderful and I enjoyed Joan Baez's unique voice and her selection of songs very much. As the child of parents who appreciated, played, and sang folk music, this was a nostalgic day.

Exile In Guyville

Liz Phair

5/5

Wow! This was great. Loved the music, voice, lyrics. So exciting to see an artist like this burst out with something really exceptional.

Follow The Leader

Korn

2/5

I was surprised to find that I was kind of enjoying this album at first despite it not really being my kind of thing. It was rockin' and I was getting into it. Then "All in the Family" came on (this was their first single release?!?) and it was so terrible it tainted the rest of the album, which seemed to go on forever with the screaming and the fucks and the rest to finish up the over-an-hour with the most painful, pointless skit ever.

If You're Feeling Sinister

Belle & Sebastian

5/5

There were a few moments that I thought this was just a little too precious or twee. But just a few. I want to keep listening to these songs again and again.

Mermaid Avenue

Billy Bragg

5/5

What an amazing project this was! And how well it was done! I loved this very much.

A Love Supreme

John Coltrane

3/5

In this project I have had to reevaluate my appreciation for jazz as I have heard so many incredible albums that I have truly enjoyed. Sadly, this wasn’t one of them. Perhaps I missed something. I read all the praise for this album but I didn’t hear what they did. I will say that I thought Part 4 was quite beautiful, but it took a while to get there.

Pet Sounds

The Beach Boys

5/5

So many interesting things going on in this album! So many instruments and sounds! Such good songs! It deserves its acclamation. I could listen again and again and again.

With The Beatles

Beatles

5/5

I wasn't sure what I was going to think about this one. The project has given us several later albums, and to go back to this fairly simple setup of four guys, guitars, drums, and old rock 'n' roll songs is a bit of a shock. And just two years before Rubber Soul! Turns out I loved this lots. This is what got people to fall in love with the Beatles, and all that admiration is what allowed all their explosive creativity in the next few years. So much fun to listen to, so fun to hear their takes on other rock and Motown standards, all in all this was great. At some point I'm going to have to just listen to their albums in order and marvel at how much happened in eight or so years.

Shaka Zulu

Ladysmith Black Mambazo

5/5

So glad to hear the beautiful choral harmonies of this group and the soul of South Africa today.

If I Should Fall From Grace With God

The Pogues

5/5

This was a bit more varied in style than Rum Sodomy & the Lash, and I wasn't sure at first if I liked that. But listening again, I did. It's a great album.

Aha Shake Heartbreak

Kings of Leon

2/5

There were moments where I really didn't hate this, but there were moments I really did.

Rip It Up

Orange Juice

3/5

Not really a fan. I couldn’t get a hold of what this was supposed to be. Although the songs had different styles and vocals I didn’t really connect to any of them. That said, it was never something I disliked.

Chemtrails Over The Country Club

Lana Del Rey

4/5

This was maybe a dangerous album for listening to while driving down the interstate. The languid and ethereal feel nearly lulled me to sleep at the wheel. However, it was pretty and there were some lovely moments of music and lyrics.

Inspiration Information

Shuggie Otis

3/5

I enjoyed this smooth and funky music but didn’t find it especially memorable.

Lam Toro

Baaba Maal

4/5

I enjoyed this voyage to Senegal.

On The Beach

Neil Young

5/5

When you're sure you're not going to like an assigned album, it's always such a joy to discover something you actually love, despite the anger at yourself for getting it so wrong. I love this album.

Heartbreaker

Ryan Adams

4/5

A lovely twangy moody mood to this one.

Ragged Glory

Neil Young & Crazy Horse

2/5

So two Neil Young albums in a week. While I loved On the Beach, this one not so much. This is the stuff that made me dread listening to two Neil Young albums in a week. It was a solid three for the first third, but by then just became interminable, indistinguishable jams with Young's whhhhhiiiiiiiiiiny voice throughout.

...Baby One More Time

Britney Spears

4/5

Whatever else a person can say about this album, it's a pretty impressive debut from a teenager with plenty of deserved commercial appeal and a instantly recognizable voice and singing style. The title song is still a classic. I was surprised but happy to see such a bubblegum pop album in this list. It definitely sets a standard for the genre.

Shaft

Isaac Hayes

5/5

There aren't many soundtrack albums in this project, but if I were to guess one that would be on the list, it would be this...even though I've never listened to it aside from the incredible theme song. This is wonderful music!

It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back

Public Enemy

3/5

I appreciated the message of this album, but I don't think I'll ever want to listen to it again.

Antichrist Superstar

Marilyn Manson

2/5

I would say that I have have always really appreciated the song "Beautiful People" since it came out. Turns out the rest of the album is just getting yelled at by someone who wants to shock me for an hour and a quarter more. Nope.

Connected

Stereo MC's

5/5

I've always liked the title track to this album, although I was never really aware of Stereo MC's as a band. It was good to hear the rest of the album, and the early 90s cool funkiness really grew on me as it went along.

Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots

The Flaming Lips

5/5

I really enjoyed this. I think the crazy concept mixed with earnest singing, and the acoustic plus electronic gave something 1969-1971 experimental about it, in a good way.

Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music

Ray Charles

5/5

I always love listening to the unique take different singers have on familiar songs. Ray Charles makes you forget there were other versions. This was marvelous.

Casanova

The Divine Comedy

5/5

"And I see naked bodies twist and turn on the futon of dreams fulfilled" "I'd rather die than be deprived Of Wonderbras and thunder thighs. This album is perfectly smarmy and just the right amount of creepy. It exemplifies its title perfectly. Neil Hannon's voice is glorious amongst the strings and horns and harpsichord. I love it!

Songs In The Key Of Life

Stevie Wonder

5/5

I hate to admit that I was really unhappy to see that this album was an hour and 45 minutes long, and that the first 7-minute track didn't pull me in. Mind you, I've had a lot of music to catch up on, and not being familiar with this album, I didn't know what was coming up. Then it started blowing me away. This is a pretty incredible album with incredible songs, all the way through, with well known favorites and happy discoveries.

Can't Buy A Thrill

Steely Dan

5/5

I've sung the praises of Steely Dan before, and they continue to be one of my favorite bands of the 70s if not all time. This introductory album set a very high standard. The Latin beat of "Do It Again" will always make it the perfect song for me.

Music From The Penguin Cafe

Penguin Cafe Orchestra

4/5

It isn't quite enough to call this folk, but it's a bit tricky to describe it with its electric instruments, ukulele and spinet. It was really a joy to listen to. I enjoyed it quite a bit.

Don't Come Home A Drinkin' (With Lovin' On Your Mind)

Loretta Lynn

5/5

Two-thirds of the way through this project and there hasn't been a single album by Tammy Wynette or Patsy Cline or even Dolly Parton. Where have all the classic country queens been? So hooray for Loretta Lynn finally making the list! These were heartfelt songs giving a needed voice to so many women's emotions (my wife said "amen!" when I told her the title). This had never been the sort of music I listened to much before, but I want to hear more.

There's No Place Like America Today

Curtis Mayfield

4/5

A very good album with some great funk and heartfelt singing. I particularly liked the first and last songs.

Unknown Pleasures

Joy Division

4/5

Gloriously and perfectly grim and moody, but the whole album is a lot to take at once.

Microshift

Hookworms

4/5

This reminded me of late sixties, early seventies electronic music in some ways, when synthesizers were a new toy. I liked that. Overall it was an interesting listen. 4

The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars

David Bowie

4/5

Listening to this without having prepared myself for all the cultural weight this album holds, I heard music that was fine enough. Afterwards, reading of its contextual importance and lyric nuances and the makeup and costumes that one associates with it, I feel like I should spend more time with it, as none of that comes through by just listening to it once. Or twice. Or maybe I should just rate this on the music I heard today.

White Light

Gene Clark

3/5

I certainly enjoyed listening to this with its lovely country/folk sound. I just can't really remember anything particular about it.

The Age Of The Understatement

The Last Shadow Puppets

5/5

Cinematic and lush, this is a perfect homage to grandiose late-60s music.

Fulfillingness' First Finale

Stevie Wonder

4/5

This is the fourth Stevie Wonder album I've listened to in this project, all from 1972-1976. It is certainly wonderful and a great listen, but at least two of the others outshine this one.

New Gold Dream (81/82/83/84)

Simple Minds

4/5

My first encounter with Simple Minds was from The Breakfast Club soundtrack. Their sound blew me away, I recall. Although I am familiar with their later work, this was new to me, and I wished I'd listened to it before. This was the sort of sound that I really loved in '81-'82-'83-'84.

Destroyer

KISS

4/5

I love me some 70s KISS. I didn't love every song on this album.

Greetings From L.A.

Tim Buckley

4/5

This is the third Tim Buckley album in this project, and like the others it has its own distinct sound, and I wasn't sure if I loved it or hated it. The first try listening was more on the hate side, but when I gave it another chance it was bluesy, kind of funky, and somewhat kinky and I really liked it.

Stripped

Christina Aguilera

4/5

I didn't expect a long, epic album from Christinia Aguilera, but I suppose that her being underestimated is what led to this expressive and varied manifesto. I was surprised and delighted at how much I enjoyed it.

Damaged

Black Flag

3/5

As with a lot of punk rock, I really get into it for about a minute and then I'm done. So I did a little bit of thrash and then waited for it to be done. Most of the songs were fairly indistinguishable except for "TV Party," which was a song shared with me on a compilation tape in the 80s by a dear friend, and one that I've always quite liked. If you're looking for solid punk rock, not too chaotic, not too melodious, I think this hits that mark just right.

At San Quentin

Johnny Cash

4/5

I certainly expected Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison, but I got this one that I didn't know first. It is most fun for his banter with his audience (I certainly can't imagine such a thing happening today) and for some good old Johnny Cash songs sung live.

Achtung Baby

U2

4/5

This is a fine album, only suffering from not being The Joshua Tree. I am not quite as attached to these songs, wonderful as they are. As I never did really listen to this album as such (knowing just the four singles) I think I need to spend more time with it.

Arc Of A Diver

Steve Winwood

4/5

So much synthesizer! And he played all of it! I was never a huge Steve Winwood fan, although I had a very good friend in college who was a strong, unabashed fan. This makes me think of her with more fondness than I have for this music. That said, the music is quite listenable, though “Second-Hand Woman” is somewhat… bizarre.

A Hard Day's Night

Beatles

5/5

Listening to the Beatles has been a favorite part of this project because although so many of these songs are very familiar, I’ve never listened to the albums. I’ve loved finding that there is a clear story and progression to each of the albums that I find so intriguing. This is clearly when they took off and when they still were making performable music, as well as it being the soundtrack to a movie I really feel stupid for never having seen. This is the apex of the “early” Beatles and so wonderful to listen to! (Is it horrible to admit that I only know “I’ll Be Back” because of Stars on 45? I keep hearing the segues!) I got the Beatlemania bad with this one!

Kenza

Khaled

4/5

Bonus points for representing North Africa! This was a quite enjoyable blend of a variety of styles.

Machine Head

Deep Purple

4/5

Solid early '70s guitar/Hammond organ rock. "Smoke on the Water" remains iconic, and "Space Truckin'" is awesome as always.

The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway

Genesis

2/5

It's probably because this was not the sort of thing I was interested in listening to at the time, but I found this to be annoyingly bloated and pretentious, even for progressive rock. I couldn't really follow the story in the lyrics, so it just went on and on and on for hours. Not one song seemed to stand out from the others. None of it was terrible to listen to, but boredom became annoyance before it was done.

Tago Mago

Can

5/5

This one is a little tricky. It may not have made for the best road trip music, but it was certainly interesting. Firstly, I saw the year 2011 on the album description and thought it was from then. When I realized it was from 1971, that changed a lot of how I regarded it. I had completely believed this was much more contemporary, rather than something so innovative from half a century ago. In listening to the first half, the review in my head stated that my favorite thing about this were the rhythms and percussion. Absolutely awesome all through that point. Then we got to "Aumgn," and no more of that. My co-listener asked if it was the soundtrack to a very artistic haunted house, and we began to build the mental images as we went through, including a casino room. In any case, because it blew my mind so many times, I had to revisit this one, and I just found it to be fantastic.

If I Could Only Remember My Name

David Crosby

4/5

This was a very pleasant listen. I loved the mellow, harmonic feel.

It's Too Late to Stop Now

Van Morrison

5/5

I have said before that I had never been a huge fan of Van Morrison, but this sort of thing might change my mind. If you can keep me engaged in a 90-minute live album, you've got me. These were stellar performances with a band that absolutely rocked. The songs were jazzy and rockin' and bluesy all the way through. Gotta give it up for this one.

Amnesiac

Radiohead

3/5

Today I will take issue with this being the fifth Radiohead album in this project. Over two-thirds the way through, I believe there are other artists I haven't heard from who deserve to be here more. This just didn't stand out. That said, this often had a very cool sound that I appreciated, like you were somewhere special late, late at night with the last folks at a party. It also sounds like no one on this album had slept in days, that they were absolutely weary and dreary and barely able to stand up. Thom Yorke's vocals, in fact, sound like he's already dead and his ghost is haunting the studio.

Graceland

Paul Simon

5/5

This was one of my very favorite albums when it came out and I had it on cassette. I have missed listening to it, so it was a happy reunion today. There's not a song here that I don't love.

Ys

Joanna Newsom

4/5

This was my introduction to Joanna Newsom. I think I need to spend a bit more time with it to fully absorb her music. I especially loved the orchestra arrangements with the marvelous harp. I was a little less enamored, but very much intrigued, by her vocals and wandering lyrics. Maybe a little Björk mixed with Blossom Dearie? I just can't say I loved this, but I really would like to try it again sometime.

Vivid

Living Colour

4/5

Since I was around in 1988, I thought I might recognize this music, but I didn't. This is some solid power rock with some needed points of view. It's really only because this is a genre I don't love that I don't love this more.

Djam Leelii

Baaba Maal

3/5

I certainly respect this music, but I didn't really enjoy it very much. The repeating guitar phrases and nasal voices just kind of went on for a long, long time. That said, I was glad to have something like this to experience in the collection.

Happy Trails

Quicksilver Messenger Service

4/5

I don't always love long long wandering rock, but it must have been the day because I liked this fine. It went well with a long long wandering walk.

Honky Tonk Heroes

Waylon Jennings

5/5

Waylon Jennings was not part of my musical education growing up, except for the theme to "The Dukes of Hazzard." So this was the first time I really listened to his music. I'm really glad this album is in the project. I have found that the country albums that have actually made it on the list are amazing. The songwriting is perfect, and Jennings' performances as well.

Rust Never Sleeps

Neil Young & Crazy Horse

3/5

Neil Young number five. I've been all over the place with his albums. This one has its own feel sometimes, although I don't think it rates with some of the others, and I'm really thinking that Young is over-represented in this project at the expense of other deserving artists.

Basket of Light

Pentangle

5/5

Oh I do love some wonderful folk music. It was a lovely blend of voices and acoustic instruments, and a lovely blend of traditional and new songs.

GI

Germs

2/5

Well, no, I didn't like it, but am I supposed to? Is music that gets folks to riot and attack the band just more of an intended irritant? That's just what hardcore punk is, right? So do I rate this on how successfully it was irritating? Then it's up there! But if I keep to my usual rubric, while I didn't hate it, this isn't something I enjoyed.

I Am a Bird Now

Antony and the Johnsons

5/5

Having never listened to this before, lead singer Anohni's voice was a bit of a shock at first. I wasn't sure I was going to take it. Soon I began to embrace the uniqueness of it as it was sung over such beautiful music and expressing such feelings. And what a collection of interesting guest voices to add to the mix! I don't imagine that I'll listen to this all of the time, but listening to it was indeed quite a special experience.

Cee-Lo Green... Is The Soul Machine

Cee Lo Green

3/5

My feelings about this album were all over the place listening to this today. "Oh yeah! I like this!" to "What the hell is this and how long is it going to last?" After what I thought was a strong beginning, the middle seemed to drag, and then it got better towards the end. I like this best when it's drawing on its soul roots, notably the collaborations with Pharrell Williams.

Hms Fable

Shack

4/5

This is an example of some of the music from the UK that never made it to my ears over the years (especially in the 90s) that I've been so happy to give a proper listen. This is music I really enjoyed listening to, with its lush instrumentation and lovely melodies. Although I didn't find anything especially remarkable about it, it made me very happy today.

Doggystyle

Snoop Dogg

4/5

This album contains the same tiresome sexual bravado, misogyny, and glorification of murder that one hears in so much of this genre. The lyrics are in no way original. It comes with the territory. Disclaimer made. I noted in listening to Dr. Dre's The Chronic that Snoop Dogg was a highlight. He brought his strong qualities and presence here, and the funky beats and Snoop's smooth as silk voice made me enjoy this listen quite a bit and increased my cognitive dissonance in liking it.

Deloused in the Comatorium

The Mars Volta

3/5

Multiple positive reviews of this album said that it demands multiple listens to absorb. I'm sorry I wasn't going to give it that. Didn't feel any sort of hook to get me to do that. I did notice that I was frequently frantically reaching for the volume as it would instantly go from too quiet to too loud over and over again, like some lower-tier cable TV show going to commercial. So fully admitting I didn't give it the required hours of full concentration to get more out of it, I got a hint of its interest but mostly it was kind of noisy.

Shleep

Robert Wyatt

4/5

Apparently I was not a fan of our last Robert Wyatt album, Rock Bottom, from 1974. This one, being from 23 years later, (and me being quite a bit further in this project), made me very interested in what I would hear. On listening to the second track I was walking though an area filled with grasshoppers who were flying randomly around as I walked though the grass, and it fit the music perfectly. So, beyond that I was quite surprised at how much I liked this. Definitely a bit strange and different, but in a good way that I quite liked.

War

U2

5/5

Are the first few seconds of "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "New Year's Day" iconic or what? Although I never owned this album, it is the one that introduced me to U2 and the one that I probably think of as THE iconic U2 album, even more so than Joshua Tree. Listening to it today was brilliant, and I think I appreciate it more now than I did then.

Get Behind Me Satan

The White Stripes

5/5

Our last White Stripes album was White Blood Cells, which was about 650 albums ago. It seems I had to really work to appreciate that one, but certainly did in the end. This one came across as a favorite right away. Its varied styles held my interest all through, and I think it's brilliant.

Goo

Sonic Youth

4/5

I have not been very kind to Sonic Youth, as this becomes the fifth album in the project so far. However, I must admit that this is the first one I liked, a perfect blend (for me) of music and dissonance, the pleasant and the unpleasant, not too tart and not too sweet.

Before And After Science

Brian Eno

4/5

I wasn't surprised that a lot of this sounded more contemporary than it was. I was surprised that I enjoyed it so much. An interesting and compelling listen.

Fear and Whiskey

Mekons

3/5

From Wikipedia: "It blends the band's previously-established punk rock style with a country music sound." Well, that sure sounds like it could be a lot of fun! Oh. Well, bless you for trying something new. Here's +1 for a creative risk. Next?

In The Court Of The Crimson King

King Crimson

4/5

"Progressive Rock" has become a red flag for me, but I enjoyed this album just fine. Nothing earth-shattering, but certainly cool to listen to.

The World is a Ghetto

War

3/5

This started out as a clear four, but even though I liked the sound overall, I got pretty bored with it by side two.

...The Dandy Warhols Come Down

The Dandy Warhols

5/5

I had "Not If You Were the Last Junkie on Earth" on a mix CD from back in the day. It's always fun to hear the context of what was always a random lone song that I liked and liked to share on other mix CDs. The more I listened to this, the more I liked it, and it always makes me happy when that happens. This is the sort of music I enjoyed in the '90s (even if I forget that at times), and I quite enjoyed it today. Such a cool sound!

Exile On Main Street

The Rolling Stones

4/5

As we arrive in the last third of this project, I expect to hear a lot more of the Rolling Stones. I was so surprised that this was just our second, after Sticky Fingers. I enjoyed this entire album. It's a solid double portion of classic blues-influenced rock and roll sound. What I didn't hear much of is a distinct Rolling Stones sound. I didn't really know any of the songs and none really stood out. However, since many folk consider this the best Rolling Stones album, maybe this is the sound that I'm supposed to think of. I'm no expert.

Merriweather Post Pavilion

Animal Collective

3/5

I enjoyed listening to this today, but it wasn't able to grab much of my attention (repetitive electronica tends to seep out of my consciousness if I try to do anything else, like drive or make dinner). But maybe this sort of music is supposed to seep into our subconscious, so on that metric, it succeeded splendidly and pleasantly.

Whatever

Aimee Mann

3/5

When I got this assignment, I thought, "I haven't thought of Aimee Mann in a long time!" While I did enjoy listening to this today, I thought that there might be a reason I hadn't thought of her in a while. There were a few other singers of her genre that have stood with me a bit more.

Blue Lines

Massive Attack

3/5

The first time I encountered Massive Attack was in the early '00s when I downloaded a file named "Heat Miser" on a dial-up connection free song sharing site. It was not only not the song I was hoping for, I've never wanted to listen to it again, and yet it still lurks in my Apple Music library. I wouldn't be adverse to listening to this album again, but it would probably be so low on my ever-growing list, that I shall bid this a fair adieu and maybe we'll meet again on the Sirius XM Chill channel one of these days.

Leftism

Leftfield

4/5

If I were to rate this as house music, it rates very highly. It's far less tedious than most, incorporates some other interesting elements, and made for a background that caused the people in the room to start moving unconsciously to the beat. But being house music, it is still a bit tedious.

Ogden's Nut Gone Flake

Small Faces

3/5

This was certainly had some decent late '60s sounds to it, and got kind of cute at moments, but I'm not exactly hungering to hear it again.

Apocalypse 91… The Enemy Strikes Black

Public Enemy

5/5

This one was great! Great messages, great music, great rapping, some thrash metal thrown in, and no tedious filler taking it over an hour. I liked the sound of this quite a bit more than "It Takes a Nation..." Yeah, boyeeeee!

They Were Wrong, So We Drowned

Liars

3/5

I often felt that I hated this, but then I often felt fascinated by it. And sometimes it was really cool.

Fred Neil

4/5

Fred Neil is a new one for me! I enjoyed the songs, his distinctive voice, and the guitar in this very much. "Everybody's Talkin'" is probably one of my favorite songs of all, and I'd never known this original version. It's absolutely perfect.

Tellin’ Stories

The Charlatans

3/5

A repeat of what I wrote upon listening to a Shack album recently: "This is an example of some of the music from the UK that never made it to my ears over the years (especially in the 90s) that I've been so happy to give a proper listen." However, although it was absolutely enjoyable enough to listen to, it felt fairly middle of the road and not much grabbed my attention or stayed in my memory.

Architecture And Morality

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark

4/5

This album predates my interest in OMD and I was not familiar with it, except maybe for "Souvenir." I enjoyed the comment from Ultimate Classic Rock that declared it a connecting point between synth-pop's early industrial dirges into the sort of pop music that I loved in the '80s. That seems to be true for a lot of these bands. I enjoyed it from that point of view, but it's not going to be my go-to for OMD.

Fragile

Yes

5/5

Yes! I was not totally in love with Close to the Edge, but this is some Yes that I knew, and some that was new that I really loved to hear today. Hooray!

Penance Soiree

The Icarus Line

2/5

Yeah...hmmm...no...not my thing...maybe it was the day, but...didn't enjoy whatsoever. Nearly was a one. Ecch.

Shadowland

k.d. lang

5/5

Yay! Gorgeous voice, marvelous songs, I sure needed this today. "Black Coffee" has been a favorite from back in the day, and "Honky Tonk Angels' Medley" is a goddamn world treasure with Kitty Wells, Loretta Lynn, and Brenda Lee! More amazing women like all of these, please!

Billion Dollar Babies

Alice Cooper

4/5

I was not quite as enchanted with this as School's Out, but it still has plenty of tongue-in-cheek humor and naughty fun.

Hail To the Thief

Radiohead

3/5

Six Radiohead albums? No! Enough! It was long and moody, just like most of the others. I didn't hate it, I didn't love it. Are we done?

Aja

Steely Dan

5/5

We've gotten to listen to some wonderful early Steely Dan, and here we are at what might be considered their apex (not better, but just exactly what you think of when you think of Steely Dan). Peg!!! (I may have been obsessed with this song for years.) And the rest! Love it.

Playing With Fire

Spacemen 3

2/5

Having not heard this group before, I was not surprised that one of the members founded Spiritualized. Some more languid, spacy electronica, but with some weird detours. "Revolution" just kind of jars one out of the trance. "Suicide" is a ten minute torture. Torture. I skipped ahead before it ended. Couldn't take it. I've only done that maybe 3 times with the last 732 albums. So it's sometimes interesting, and probably somewhat pioneering, given its 1989 origins, but I don't really like it and I'm a bit tired of getting more and more of this genre at the expense of others.

Celebrity Skin

Hole

4/5

I never gave Hole a chance back in the day, and that’s too bad. I like this much more than I thought I would have, and I hate that it took so long to give it its due. Good rock!

L'Eau Rouge

The Young Gods

5/5

Hmm, do I like this? It gets real metal in places, sometimes reminded me of what Laibach in French would sound like, and there were even a few times I thought of Tom Waits, and then back to the metal. I may not play this at parties, but I enjoyed listening to something quite distinctive today. Thank you.

Back to Basics

Christina Aguilera

5/5

When I said that Stripped was a long, epic album, I didn't realize we weren't through. Woah! This did really feel long sometimes, but man it also packs a lot of amazing stuff in it! I'm impressed! I'm blown away! A powerful tribute to the women who inspired her.

You're Living All Over Me

Dinosaur Jr.

2/5

Cuz one album by Dinosaur Jr just wasn't enough, here we go again. I didn't hate this one as much as Bug, finding it maybe a bit less grating and unpleasant, but I also didn't find it very interesting either.

Manassas

Stephen Stills

4/5

This feels like a real journey through American music. A long, thorough journey, but also a quite lovely one.

Duck Rock

Malcolm McLaren

4/5

I certainly really enjoyed a lot of this album. It does go on quite a strange path, though. A little bit of this and a little bit of that. I need to ponder it some more, but for now I will think of the parts I liked.

Killing Joke

2/5

Yeah... no.

Sweetheart Of The Rodeo

The Byrds

4/5

I'm finding that I really didn't know much about the Byrds. This was kind of a surprise but a very nice one. A little country, a little folky, and little old-timey...is there rock here? I might have missed it. But it’s all good.

Fear Of A Black Planet

Public Enemy

4/5

I feel that I have had ample opportunity to sample Public Enemy with their previous two extended albums already heard in the project, It Takes a Nation... and Apocalypse 91... This felt a bit like a rerun. That said, I'm glad I like them and that this was pretty good stuff again.

The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn

Pink Floyd

4/5

I was very happy to have this music history lesson. I was really blown away at what the Pink Floyd sounded like at this point. My father used to keep asserting that he had been a fan of theirs in the ancient times, but I never really had a sense that there was anything before The Dark Side of the Moon. It seemed a little jarring, the mix of British pop songs with a psychedelic flavor, moving into long, long improvised instrumentals. It's not going to be something I go back to, but I really loved hearing this premier album.

Chore of Enchantment

Giant Sand

4/5

This is one of those albums that begs to be listened to again for all the stuff I missed the first time today. Although it was new to me, it has a great and familiar sound that I appreciated. A good discovery for me.

McCartney

Paul McCartney

5/5

This album isn't epic or earth shattering, but it does feel very intimate and casual, like you're just hanging out with Paul instead of The Legendary Beatle. It made me feel very happy listening to it.

Toys In The Attic

Aerosmith

4/5

I was really glad to have this one here. I have found that I quite like the 70s incarnation of Aerosmith. While "Walk this Way" is a bona fide Aerosmith classic, I'm embarrassed to admit that "Sweet Emotion" is one of those songs I've heard frequently all my life, yet had no idea it was Aerosmith. Who knew? My favorite new discovery was the big ol' over-the-top orchestrated "You See Me Crying."

Like Water For Chocolate

Common

3/5

There was much to like and admire about this album, but personally I also couldn't wait for it to be over.

Metal Box

Public Image Ltd.

2/5

Did I hate this? Oh yeah, you bet. But was I also fascinated by it? Indeed. And isn't that was avant-garde post-punk is all about?

Moving Pictures

Rush

5/5

This is what I imagine when I imagine Rush. It's pretty dang good, even if The Camera Eye almost took it down a notch.

Risque

CHIC

5/5

Clams on the half shell, and roller skates! roller skates! These are the Good Times. What else does a party need? As excited as I was to listen to this album, there are some tedious moments. It gets a tad repetitive for such a short album. Apple Music skipped "A Warm Summer Night" the first time through. When I started playing it my heart kind of sank a little. It's the sort of slow sensuous song that made me ill when I was a kid...and to be honest still does. However, the extended silence at the end of the six minutes of smoldering passion, finishing with an echo-y "te quiero.......papi!" made me laugh out loud and brought me joy. A string section and tap sequence made "My Feet Keep Dancing" my favorite by far. I love the aspirations of the narrator who wants to go to space or play a good game of golf. Side 2 isn't remarkable, but who cares, it's Chic! Yay!

Night Life

Ray Price

4/5

Well now, this was some real old timey honky tonk! Not especially remarkable, but definitely great stuff.

Tres Hombres

ZZ Top

3/5

I quite enjoyed this as a music history lesson. What were the origins of the 80s juggernaut ZZ Top? Turns out it was some solid, if not super remarkable, 70s Southern blues rock. The best song, clearly, is the classic "La Grange," which obviously owes a lot to John Lee Hooker. The rest, especially "Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers, is an enjoyable listen (except for the absolutely insufferable "Hot, Blue and Righteous." Ecch. Just wanted to put that out there in case anyone wants to fight me over that.)

Pelican West

Haircut 100

5/5

Oh boy, I have to admit I love this one. I'd never heard this album beyond the favorite "Love Plus One" with its iconic guitar-marimba-saxophone-aye-aye-aye-aye-aye-yah intro, but I was not disappointed. I'm just a sucker for a great brass section in some happy jazzy new wave pop! I'm happy that I noticed that Kingsize doesn't have the lyric "you're my little fat one" as I'd originally thought, although that might be just a little funny.

m b v

My Bloody Valentine

3/5

This is the second MBV album in this project, and it seems to have been a long wait between albums. This one also features ethereal voices over "sounds." My complaint of the previous album was its repetetiveness. I was going to note that at least this one didn't feel that way...then we got to listen to "nothing is" which was nothing but. "who sees you" made me almost drive off the road, making me feel somewhat badly altered, sounding like when you played a 45 on a record player without the spindle adapter, so it got all wobbly (I used to try really hard to get that thing centered properly but it never worked). But those are the lowlights. I still didn't love much, but there was some variety and interest in it as a whole.

Frank

Amy Winehouse

5/5

I have often remarked about how much I appreciate hearing pre-fame albums in this collection, even if I don't love them as much as the "heyday" albums. This felt as wonderful as Back to Black, although it was all new to me. Absolutely glorious, and making me so sad that there isn't more.

Crocodiles

Echo And The Bunnymen

3/5

Kind of funny how I thought "I'm sure I love a lot of Echo & the Bunnymen songs, so this ought to be good." Weird how perceptions are. I had known a couple of their songs, but nothing from this album. And there was nothing on this album that I loved.

S&M

Metallica

5/5

Wow wow wow! One of the most epic things I've ever heard! Heavy metal and orchestra done perfectly.

Deja Vu

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

5/5

This is an amazing album. I have always loved this music with its wonderful harmonies.

Modern Kosmology

Jane Weaver

5/5

It's not too often, but my favorite thing in this project when an album assignment goes from, "oh, who the hell is this now?" to "Ah, this was JUST what I needed to hear today!" I don't even know where to begin to talk about the album, it has some sort of timeless (well, within the last half century) electronica to it, but also lovely melodies and such an engaging voice. I never got tired of listening to it. Wonderful!

Oxygène

Jean-Michel Jarre

5/5

Although I quite enjoyed this the first time through, it was on my second listen that I really realized how incredible and beautiful this album is. Obviously (yes, obviously) Part IV has always been an absolute favorite, but the rest is quite wonderful when one is able to listen and appreciate all that is here.

Peter Gabriel

5/5

Really quite enjoyable and interesting! There were times I thought it was Randy Newman, but that added to the delightfully unexpected beyond the classic "Solsbury Hill."

Music Has The Right To Children

Boards of Canada

5/5

Although I don't think I ever get excited about this genre, there is much I loved about this album. It's hard for me to really stay engaged in the long, ambient bits, but when I pull them back into consciousness, these are really, really good. I love the mix of seventies synthesizer and hip hop beats.

Konnichiwa

Skepta

4/5

This started out very strong for me, but I got a little bored and annoyed by the end of it.

Yank Crime

Drive Like Jehu

2/5

So, this may well be a marvelous example of its genre, but personally I don’t ever enjoy being screamed at unintelligibly for an hour. My favorite part was thinking that he was screaming “raw clams!” for the first six minutes.

Green Onions

Booker T. & The MG's

5/5

The title track has always been a favorite of mine, an absolute perfect piece of music, and the rest of the album didn't disappoint. So happy to jam with this today.

good kid, m.A.A.d city

Kendrick Lamar

4/5

This wasn't my favorite, but there were parts I really liked.

Two Dancers

Wild Beasts

3/5

This was fine listening, but I didn't really love it or connect with it much, even being a genre I usually enjoy.

Astral Weeks

Van Morrison

2/5

I enjoyed the first two Van Morrison albums in this project, and in their reviews I noted that I had to rethink my dislike of Van Morrison. This album reminded me of what I disliked. Ack! I did not like this album. His meandering, squawky voice in the long wandering songs made me want to punch someone...hard. I didn't even really like the flute bits, which is the sort of thing that usually wins me over. There was precisely one song I liked on this album, "The Way Young Lovers Do," but that was largely by comparison to the rest of the album.

A Rush Of Blood To The Head

Coldplay

5/5

Hooray for an album that was just right for the day! Yay! "Clocks" might well be one of my favorite songs of this century, and the rest of this album (which was mostly new to me) didn't disappoint. I would have sworn Coldplay has come up in this project before, but here we are, over 3/4 of the way through the project, and this is Coldplay number one. More please! There's not a moment on this album that I don't adore and I don't care who knows it.

Imagine

John Lennon

4/5

As the title track is iconic (to the point of being a bit tired for me) I had some high hopes for this album. Mind you, it's good, but I never felt that it went beyond that. I enjoyed the listen, but I never got excited about any of it. Maybe it was high expectations of a legend. "I Don't Want to be a Soldier," for example, made its point early on, and just got old quickly in a 6 minute track.

Rhythm Nation 1814

Janet Jackson

5/5

I wasn't sure what I was going to think of this one, but I loved it beginning to end. I was surprised how many of the songs I'd known although I'd never listened to them in album form. I enjoyed the flow from song to song and even the bits between. The title track is such a good funky intro to the album. "Escapade" remains one of my all-time favorite songs. I drove a few extra miles to keep listening to it while driving. Perfection. "Black Cat" was a song I didn't remember much, but I really enjoyed the heavy metal feel. That was unexpected. I could listen to it all over again today.

Pills 'n' Thrills And Bellyaches

Happy Mondays

3/5

This was listenable enough, but I never really got into it. I'm not so much a fan of the vocals, although I appreciate the instrumentation.

Guero

Beck

5/5

I took a little longer with this album, as I wanted to really savor it. It is fantastic. I was not familiar with this album of Beck's or even these songs, but that made me sad I hadn't spent time with it before. I could listen to this lots and lots. So funky and fun, I want this as my life soundtrack right now.

Sweet Baby James

James Taylor

5/5

Again it has happened to me, I was SURE we'd heard James Taylor already, being over two years through this project. But this is the first one! And it's so good! Having not really listened to Taylor by the album before, this is pretty much what I would have hoped for. "Fire and Rain" is such a wonderful 70's folky juggernaut, and hearing "Oh, Susannah" lead into it is glorious. I love the blues touches, and although it does contain topical themes of the time, it still feels comfy and warm and reassuring. Thank you.

Strange Cargo III

William Orbit

4/5

Quite good electronic music among a lot of quite good electronic music in this project. Not a stand-out, but absolutely listenable.

Are You Experienced

Jimi Hendrix

5/5

Gracious! I'd have thought this was a greatest hits album, as it contained all the songs! As much as I know so many of the songs, I'd never listened to this as an album, and it was one of the top experiences I'd hoped for in this project. It's amazing.

In It For The Money

Supergrass

3/5

When I read that this was supposed to be "more fun than watching a wombat in a washing machine" (according to NME, which should have been my first warning), my expectations were perhaps set unreasonably high. It's some decent '90s Britpop. I liked it enough. It was not especially memorable for me, though.

Bossanova

Pixies

4/5

If you can successfully combine elements of surf music and early '90s grungy alternative music, then you've done something interesting. I quite enjoyed this today.

Led Zeppelin III

Led Zeppelin

5/5

I might still hold IV a bit higher, but this was great! "Immigrant Song" is such an amazing, rocking opener, and by the end we have Jimmy Page on banjo featured in a great series of folk/acoustic songs. Good stuff!

Garbage

5/5

"This is Garbage!" is what anyone would exclaim upon hearing the shortest snippet of this instantly recognizable band. I don't even know how to describe their music except to say that they sound like they'd make a great James Bond theme, which of course, they did. When this album came out, it sounded very edgy and very new, while still being something you could dance to. It still sounds great, and now I want to listen to more Garbage.

Black Metal

Venom

4/5

One of my spouse's criteria for evaluating an album is being able to understand the lyrics. I definitely appreciated this clearly enunciated metal. It also rocked hard and fit the Halloween mood today with so many songs about death, hell, and burials, just perfectly. Is there a heavy metal song with a better title than "Countess Bathory?" "Her skin doth crack and peel!"

Superunknown

Soundgarden

4/5

“Black Hole Sun” is one of my favorite songs of the 90s. The album is a good context to hear it in, although it’s gets a tad long for me.

Immigrés

Youssou N'Dour

4/5

I have looked forward to spending some time with Youssou N'Dour in this project and was glad he was included. It didn't disappoint, taking me to a party in Dakar, where so many influences have come together to make something unique.

All That You Can't Leave Behind

U2

4/5

What's not to love about a good U2 album? A great day of music! It doesn't quite compare to the greatest U2 albums, but it's still quite wonderful.

Crossing the Red Sea With the Adverts

The Adverts

3/5

Some good, exuberant British punk from the late 70s. It was fun to listen to, but I'm not going to be headed back any time soon.

The Last Of The True Believers

Nanci Griffith

5/5

One of my favorite songs in college was "Once In a Very Blue Moon" by Nanci Griffith, which I had on a mix tape. It was nice to spend some time with her again today. This is lovely and it makes me wonder why she wasn't more of a country music superstar, since she does it so very well.

Mr. Tambourine Man

The Byrds

5/5

Ah, here are the jangly Byrds I was looking for! After three albums from their 1967-68 era (worth listening to, mind you, but so so very different) I was very happy to finally hear an album of what I always thought of as the Byrds' signature sound. In the jingle jangle morning I'll come following you! Yay!

Floodland

Sisters Of Mercy

5/5

Oh, boy, this took me back to college, which was when it came out. I never had this album myself, but this was music that was all around me then. Gothic dance party! Electronic, grim, and with a good beat! It makes me laugh a little, but I love it so much!

Nilsson Schmilsson

Harry Nilsson

5/5

I hate to say that I have never really been super aware of who Harry Nilsson exactly was, even as I knew and loved so many of his songs. How sad I feel about that now. That said, I did immediately download "Gotta Get Up" after watching "Russian Doll" on Netflix in 2019. "Without You" and "Coconut" are songs that have existed in my space for decades, and yet it never never never would have occurred to me that they are sequential songs on the same album by the same artist. I have a vivid memory of a childhood friend, circa 1979, who told me that the local AM radio station had played "Coconut" the night before. I expressed my despair at missing it, and she called the station and urgently requested it, but they refused, saying it had been played too recently. That's what we had instead of Spotify. Kids don't even know. But I digress. This is marvelous, each song its own unique gem. The first four songs made one of my best drives to work early in the morning ever, even though I didn't want to go to there. Five stars.

Talk Talk Talk

The Psychedelic Furs

4/5

Being familiar with later hits of theirs, this was an interesting venture into their earlier stuff. Like a lot of 80s new wave bands I've listened to in this project, what we've gotten to hear is a bit rougher around the edges. Although I thought I knew a good selection of Psychedelic Furs songs, there weren't any tunes I knew, except a rougher version of "Pretty in Pink." As with many of these early career albums of 80s "modern rock," I was more interested in examining the band's journey than really enjoying the music.

A Nod Is As Good As A Wink To A Blind Horse

Faces

4/5

Does Rod Stewart get some award for being featured in three "1001" albums released in a two-year-period? (Or even four albums in a four year period if you could the Jeff Beck album.) Hmmm. This was good, I'll freely admit, but I didn't love it lots, or feel that I was getting something I hadn't gotten before.

Kilimanjaro

The Teardrop Explodes

3/5

This stays on the edge of something I'd really like, related to other early '80s British new wave pop, but it never quite gets there for me. It got a little tedious and I got a little annoyed at times.

Mothership Connection

Parliament

5/5

Awesome funky goodness here with our finally-arrived first album from Parliament. I really love the groove of this. "Give Up the Funk" has always been a favorite, so it was great to hear the rest of the album. How I wish I could see the entrance of the mothership in their shows! (I may have grimaced a few times at the lyrics of "Handcuffs," but it's supposed to be hyperbole, right?") This put a glide in my stride and a dip in my hip! Yes!

Logical Progression

LTJ Bukem

3/5

This was fine for background music in that new boutique, but I didn't quite get why it was special (and why there are so many more albums of this genre). I was totally confused by the disconnect between the track listing of the Wikipedia article and the album online, which seemed to link all the artists in their own track. What am I even listening to? Absolutely fine, but never remarkable to me. I got really, really bored.

Sulk

The Associates

2/5

I tried, but I'm not a fan. Nope. Just too challenging for my ears. Yeesh. Although I kind of liked their take on "Love Hangover," that's already a favorite song, so it doesn't seem quite fair.

The Velvet Underground & Nico

The Velvet Underground

5/5

As this is a Cultural Artifact, I was very happy to be able to listen to it in its entirety, which I haven't done in years and years. I enjoyed very much of this, although the last 5 minutes of "European Son," being the last song, made me think I hated it. Ignoring that, it's pretty cool.

xx

The xx

5/5

After not thinking I knew this band, I recognized the "Intro" track right away as one that plays frequently on my Pandora channel. The rest I wasn't so familiar with, but I loved loved the mellow, dreamy vibe and dual vocals. This is an album I'd be very happy to keep listening to.

The Good, The Bad & The Queen

4/5

This was fun listening. I enjoyed it.

The Köln Concert

Keith Jarrett

4/5

I play instrumental solo piano music from time to time when I work, so as I was listening to this while working today, it just seemed kind of the same thing. I had to listen to this a second time to really get it out of the background and notice how good it is. I enjoyed it quite a bit.

What's That Noise?

Coldcut

4/5

Some good dancy dance electronic music from the late '80s. Although I didn't really recognize this (apart from many of the samples that were commonly used then!) it felt quite happily nostalgic for days of yore and kept me moving while I cleaned the kitchen.

In Our Heads

Hot Chip

4/5

Going from an actual '80s electronic dance album to a 2012 '80s-inspired electronic dance album the next day was somewhat interesting and fun to compare. I enjoyed this today.

The Colour Of Spring

Talk Talk

3/5

While I love me some 80s New Romantic synth-pop, and indeed some of Talk Talks earlier hits (e.g. "It's My Life") are faves, this one felt a little dreary and I got somewhat tired of Mark Hollis' voice over the course of the album. I realize it's more of an artistic reach and statement, and I appreciate that, but sometimes that isn't what you want to listen to when you're making pie crust.

Duck Stab/Buster & Glen

The Residents

4/5

In 1987, my college roommate and I used to listen to "Hello Skinny" over and over again and laugh and laugh. Somehow the sinister clarinets would get me every single time. There were a number of other songs we listened to by The Residents that we liked, but none from this album, other than maybe "Constantinople." I noticed that the first listen to this album as a whole was a bit challenging, but I was a bit more endeared upon a second survey of the songs. I mean, it is okay to laugh while listening, right? There's some fun crazy stuff here.

Californication

Red Hot Chili Peppers

5/5

I might not have been thrilled with the whole long Blood Sugar Sex Magik album, but this one thrilled me beginning to end. Red Hot indeed.

Vulnicura

Björk

4/5

The things I didn't enjoy about listening to this album (basically the hour of long, wailing, painful songs) were certainly intentional, and from that point of view, beautifully and interestingly done. The strings are particularly effective at conveying the emotions here. It's hard to rate because I also couldn't wait for it to be done.

Dr. Octagonecologyst

Dr. Octagon

3/5

I liked the backing tracks of this, with a very cool, original, spot-on 90s sound. But I got fairly bored with it by the end, and I have to admit that I don't really like creepy sexual doctor humor much.

Superfuzz Bigmuff

Mudhoney

2/5

Well, what do you know? A second Mudhoney album. I didn't exactly rave about the first one we listened to, but this one seemed even less compelling. Not bad, mind you, but just not something that stands out for me. The best part was that it was 22 minutes long! And I was not tempted to listen to the extra 2 hours of the deluxe version, except for their version of "The Rose," which I thought might be fun. It wasn't.

Songs From The Big Chair

Tears For Fears

5/5

It's been a while, a good while, since I was so excited to see an album show up. These were songs I loved in high school, and while definitely being of their era, they still sound so good to me. Not having had the whole album (I did have "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" on a tape recorded from French radio that my pen pal sent me, though) there are a few moments I don't love, but those don't take away from the whole experience of joyfully listening to this new wave British synth-pop album today.

La Revancha Del Tango

Gotan Project

5/5

"Época" and "Santa Maria" are staples of my beloved 13-year-old Pandora channel, my having given them big thumbs up in the past, and even having downloaded "Época" years ago before I was on the streaming. I loved listening to this whole album. Not a surprise, as I love me some tango, and I love me this neotango electronica.

Fun House

The Stooges

2/5

I was glad this came up as Rock History, but only the first two songs held much interest for me.

Os Mutantes

3/5

I was really excited when I first read about this album, thinking it would be interesting at best, but I have to say that I found its cacophony boring.

Underwater Moonlight

The Soft Boys

4/5

The Apple Music description of this album as "80s college rock before its time" is apt. Although it was new to me, it definitely reminded me of music I heard on campus in the 80s. It made sense when I made the connection that Robyn Hitchcock was a part of this band, since he indeed was frequently played by college friends in those days. I enjoy the jangly songs, and can definitely hear the influences this album had on later artists.

Go Girl Crazy

The Dictators

3/5

I note that the Wikipedia page categorizes this album from 1975 as "proto-punk," while Pink Flag by Wire from 1977 is "post-punk." Does that mean that the punk era itself was just the year 1976? I've always been sort of fascinated by the discovery of how close a lot of punk music is to 60s surf music. Definitely some elements here, not even to mention the cover of "California Sun." This is fun and silly, and certainly influenced other bands, but I can't say I love it.

Electric Music For The Mind And Body

Country Joe & The Fish

4/5

This actually benefited from being played three times today. I enjoyed it more as the day went on, and got into the psychedelic stoner groove.

Document

R.E.M.

4/5

This album comes just before I really became an R.E.M. fan with their next two albums. "The One I Love" is certainly one of my top songs by them. I had never listened to this whole album before like the next two. So why didn't I like this more? It may be because I am feverish today, but I couldn't get into most of it, and I also really wasn't having that saxophone. And I may have transposed "Leonard Bernstein" and "Leonid Brezhnev" when trying to sing along to "End of the World." Both were mentioned, so I didn't feel too bad.

Sunday At The Village Vanguard

Bill Evans Trio

5/5

Besides being the right album for me today, this was another example of things I have learned to love about jazz through this project. This trio melded together perfectly while flowing in a way that felt absolutely free but obviously wasn't. I loved the whole thing.

Phaedra

Tangerine Dream

3/5

Growing up with a brother who was a huge Tangerine Dream fan in the 80s, I heard a lot of their music growing up. I was a bit surprised, then, that I didn't really recognize any of this. I would probably add to that that I didn't feel that there was much that was memorable here, actually. I am guessing that this might be on the list more for its place in music history than as the "best" TD work, introducing a new genre of electronic music in 1974. I definitely appreciated it, but I didn't love it. And my brother reports that this one is not even in his top ten.

Call of the Valley

Shivkumar Sharma

4/5

Quite lovely, it does serve as a perfect introduction to Hindustani classical music.

Larks' Tongues In Aspic

King Crimson

3/5

The first track was a thirteen and a half minute journey through all kinds of musical lands, and I was quite appreciating it. Then we went to a weird, semi-traditionally structured 3 minute song that I wasn't having. Didn't enjoy the next two less-traditional but dirgy dirges. Things picked up again for me with "The Talking Drum" and the closing track. Turns out I just liked the instrumentals, and I'd give those tracks a clear four on their own, but then there's that almost 20 minutes of two-ness in the middle, so we'll just take the average.

Synchronicity

The Police

5/5

This was my absolute favorite album when I was 15. In fact, it inspired me to declare to myself that The Police were going to be my first official favorite band and that I would buy every single one of their albums to come. Sigh. Nothing else sounds like this album, not even the other Police albums. It was quite a joy to listen to the whole glorious thing today again.

Siembra

Willie Colón & Rubén Blades

5/5

I loved this. Terrific salsa!

John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band

John Lennon

5/5

Okay, so this is the one! This felt raw and real and emotional and grabbed my attention, which I didn't quite get from Imagine. Imagine that! Honest and vulnerable don't always make for easy listening, but sometimes it's a powerful experience.

Liege And Lief

Fairport Convention

5/5

I quite loved this. The folk with the rock bits just carried me away today.

The Sounds Of India

Ravi Shankar

5/5

I loved the little lessons before each song even if I didn't always understand them very well. (I never thought classical Indian music was kind of like jazz until he told me it wasn't.) I like his willingness to teach to help others appreciate it more. And it's wonderful, timeless music. (It also benefited from being on Apple Music so that I could listen to it more easily and closely than our other recent classical Indian album.)

The Next Day

David Bowie

5/5

Well, yay, this was worth the wait! This felt like an album of the kind of David Bowie songs I love, always interesting and always enjoyable and totally listenable again and again.

I'm Your Man

Leonard Cohen

5/5

This album was my introduction to Leonard Cohen and was probably my absolute favorite CD in my grad school days of the early '90s. Whenever a friend of mine from that time and I had a drink or two, this would come out and we would sing along. "And I thank you for those items that you sent me!" Joyful memories there. It's been so great to have listened to several earlier and later works by Leonard Cohen in this project to put this album into context. I actually love it even more for that. He took the '80s synthesizers and backup singers and made them absolutely, perfectly his. I would like to take a few more days and just listen to this more times. It's been too long.

Warehouse: Songs And Stories

Hüsker Dü

2/5

As a college student in Minnesota in the '80s, Hüsker Dü was a well-known name. However, I couldn't have told you much of anything about their music. Turns out I didn't find anything memorable in this long, long repetitive album. I didn't enjoy it. I will say that it definitely anticipated the explosion of "alternative" music in the 90s, but I was never really into that.

Electric Ladyland

Jimi Hendrix

5/5

Usually a long album gets tedious, but I have to admit that this was epic. This was one of the experiences I was looking for in this project. And I don't know what "Electric Ladyland" is exactly, but it's got to be one of my favorite titles ever.

Green

R.E.M.

5/5

This was a very popular album when I was in college. Almost everyone I knew had it and played it. While I definitely was aware of their hit songs before this album, this was really when I started to be more aware and be a fan of R.E.M. as a band. I'm quite fond of this one.

Porcupine

Echo And The Bunnymen

5/5

Their album Crocodiles made me question whether or not I was a real fan of Echo and the Bunnymen. This one made me remember that I was. It benefited from the closer listen that I was able to give today. When I tried listening a second time while driving and cooking (not at the same time), it didn't come through as well. But despite that I will go with my first impressed impression.

Moss Side Story

Barry Adamson

5/5

As opposed to yesterday's album, this one was quite perfect for driving to. My usual boring commute was filled with emotions, thrills, and intrigue. Exciting and fun, I enjoyed this imaginary soundtrack very much.

Urban Hymns

The Verve

3/5

"Bitter Sweet Symphony" is one of those songs that I get really excited about at first, but then it seems to get kind of tedious and whiny by the end. But the first minute and a half is perfect. Turns out maybe I just like the song it sampled more than the rest of it. This album as a whole was kind of like that. The first half I was thinking it was a solid four. Getting somewhat bored of it by the last track (my least favorite track), and the hidden track (Oh, how I HATE those and especially this one!), I was thinking the album was a three. So I listened again, and confirmed that the first half is good but the last of it rounds it down.

Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul

Otis Redding

5/5

Otis Redding! Soul! What else could you ask for?

After The Gold Rush

Neil Young

5/5

So, this being album number six, it's been embarrassing to look back on how many times I've stated my feelings about Neil Young, only to have had to revise them with each subsequent album. (The one constant is that voice.) The more I listen to this one the more I settle into its mellow grove and the more I'm enjoying it. These are wonderful songs (as evidenced by some wonderful covers by other artists). It's a great album.

Cut

The Slits

4/5

It's never quite right to use the word "enjoyed" when listening to punk or post-punk. That's not how it works. So, first of all, this wasn't something that enhanced my afternoon making homemade eggnog on Christmas Eve, but rather the opposite. However it did have a fascinating edge to it, an effective use of reggae beats, and a healthy dose of grrrrrl power that I liked. I would have liked to have been able to listen at a better time.

Van Halen

5/5

An unquestionable classic!

Close To You

Carpenters

5/5

Being quite familiar with greatest hits compilations of the Carpenters, I was quite blown away at how much I loved every single song on this album that I'd never listened to. Adored, in fact. It's such a wonderful collection of interesting songs and styles, all with that Carpenters magic. This one should have been with me a long time ago.

Sound of Silver

LCD Soundsystem

5/5

This wasn't love at first sight, but it soon seduced me with its charm and wit and effective use of tongue-in-cheek electronica.

Colour By Numbers

Culture Club

3/5

"Church of the Poisoned Mind" is probably my favorite Culture Club song, but the rest are from Kissing to be Clever and "Karma Chameleon" is definitely not one of them. I certainly wanted to love this album, but I just didn't. It's mostly of an ooey gooey 80s style I don't enjoy. "Church of the Poisoned Mind" gets a five but the rest is a miss.

Coat Of Many Colors

Dolly Parton

5/5

I've been hoping and hoping for Dolly Parton to show up in this project for over two years. And when she finally appeared she didn't disappoint. I listened to this album four times today and I could probably listen a few times more if time hadn't run out. "Coat of Many Colors" is probably the only song I can think of that will genuinely make me cry. It should be the goddamn Mother's Day theme song, I tell you. The song that definitely shouldn't be is the very next one, "Traveling Man," which is, nevertheless, quite outstanding and entertaining. What an amazing pair of songs about mamas! The rest of the album is pure country perfection, and I give special praise to Dolly's performance of "The Way I See You," which gave me goosebumps as maybe my favorite love song ever. I knew she should be here and I’m still so amazed at how she exceeded my expectations. ❤️

Aqualung

Jethro Tull

4/5

Nothing like a little hard, progressive, folk rock with flute. And the riff from the title track never leaves your brain. Never. Jethro Tull is unmistakable for anyone else. A very worthy entry.

Oar

Alexander 'Skip' Spence

4/5

Well, this won't make it into my New Year's Eve party playlists, but it is a fascinating and haunting document of a musician's rough year. I'm glad to have spent some time with this today.

461 Ocean Boulevard

Eric Clapton

4/5

I enjoyed this more than I thought I would, and certainly much more than Derek and the Dominoes. It's an interesting collection of songs very well done in interesting styles. I never got bored with this one, and in fact appreciated it quite a bit.

Your New Favourite Band

The Hives

4/5

This may not be my new favourite band, but I certainly enjoyed it more than I thought I might. This, as punk, hit the sweet spot between being edgy and aggressive, and also something you can bop your head to in your car on the way to work. The songs and the album are just the right length for the amount of energy they exude. "Hate to Say I Told You So" is a song I will always enjoy.

Reggatta De Blanc

The Police

5/5

I was frustrated as a student in the 80s when I couldn't afford to buy all the Police albums that preceded Synchronicity. The best I could do was get the greatest hits collection when it came out. So this was a delayed pleasure to go back and listen to this album today. It is one of my least known albums of the Police, but I have really loved listening it today, with my appreciation growing with each listen to songs I wasn't familiar with.

#1 Record

Big Star

4/5

This was not love at first sight, but then "Thirteen" came on, and I was so happy. I couldn't have told you song's title or who sang it beforehand, but it turns out I had enjoyed it on the Gilmore Girls soundtrack album quite a lot 20 or so years ago. And somehow I missed that "In the Street" was used as the theme to "That '70s Show" but I appreciated it more when I made that connection. And then I found more to like. This is mostly pretty good stuff!

California

American Music Club

3/5

This music felt very much like the comfortable indie music played in the mid-mornings on my public radio station. It was nice to listen to, but nothing really stood out (except for "Bad Liquor," in a bad way). It probably deserves another listen, but I wasn't very anxious to do so.

Southern Rock Opera

Drive-By Truckers

3/5

I did kind of like the feeling of sitting at a bar having a guy tell me his life story and where he came from, but then sometimes there's that point where it has gone on quite a long time and you realize you're trapped, still smiling and nodding as he keeps talking about himself and getting repetitive. "Did I mention Lynyrd Skynyrd?" This gave a strong point of view, theme, and story, but as it got longer and longer, I noticed I hadn't been enjoying the singing and music so much.

Paul Simon

5/5

In the project so far, I've listened to three Simon & Garfunkel albums from 1966-1970, and two Paul Simon albums from the '80s. This was a nice bridge between the two sets (and I’m guessing and hoping not the last). There wasn't a moment on this that I didn't love, on the songs I knew and the ones new to me.

Queens of the Stone Age

2/5

If this were earlier on in this project, I might have given this a more generous review. As it is, after 848 albums, I didn't feel the need to listen to this again (fully admitting that I might have found that I liked it more). I liked this fine and didn't hate it whatsoever, but listening to it I just didn't feel that it was really worth my time today when I'm still waiting for Breakfast in America by Supertramp (among others).

Deep Purple In Rock

Deep Purple

3/5

As I don't always love this genre with its long guitar solos, this one had moments when I was truly enjoying it. Followed by more long ass solos. If I try to average my rating dial, it was more often in the three zone, but I would like to acknowledge those moments that really rocked!

Let Love Rule

Lenny Kravitz

4/5

This was before I really was aware of Lenny Kravitz, so I am not as familiar with these songs as much as later ones. I really enjoyed listening to this unique sound today and was glad this came up.

Welcome To The Pleasuredome

Frankie Goes To Hollywood

5/5

This took me right to my dorm room my first year in college. I had this on cassette and listened to it a lot. What a strange and eclectic album! And how happy I was to listen to the whole thing again after all these decades. Intros and outros, an end-of-side-one discussion of orgasms, the absolute classic suggestive-but-incomprehensible dance song "Relax," the epic "Welcome to the Pleasuredome," ...and even in 1986 I thought side two was such a completely bizarre, but charming mix of things. What are "Krisco Kisses"? This tape was the first time I heard and understood the lyrics to "Born to Run" and today I marvel at an album that then segues into "Do You Know the Way to San Jose?" (which was on any mix tape I would have made you that year). I still love the synthesizer sounds and vocals in this all through its crazy journey. It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but it definitely influenced me for better or worse.

Blood, Sweat & Tears

5/5

Another interesting, eclectic album. I quite enjoyed this mix, both the music that was new to me and the wonderful classic hits.

System Of A Down

3/5

This wasn't terrible for the genre of music where guys scream at you. I kind of liked "Sugar." The whole thing kind of got to me, though, after a while, and I certainly didn't get the messages they were conveying through their lyrics. Not my thing, but not bad either!

Future Days

Can

5/5

I did love this and the amospheres it created. It's much less "crazy" than Tago Mago (should I say "eclectic" instead?) but that was just fine with me today. A perfect album for a Sunday afternoon.

Trio

Dolly Parton

5/5

Take three amazingly talented women with distinctive, wonderful voices, and bring them together in the most beautiful harmony, singing lovely songs, accompanied by absolutely perfect instruments. This is pretty glorious and delightful. I might not have really sought this out when it came out. I wasn't quite into country music then, but I have learned better, and this has been one of my most anticipated selections in this project. It was well worth the wait and I am so happy.

Under Construction

Missy Elliott

4/5

Besides Missy Elliott's talent, this has a pretty amazing collection of guest artists! And it is fun to listen to. Each song had a distinctive sound and feel, and while I didn't love all of them, I really loved some of them.

Slipknot

2/5

My review for All Hope is Gone applies appropriate for this album: This was a bit tricky to review. There were moments I was surprised to find I liked. It sometimes makes me laugh to hear the scary monster muppet voice proclaim doom. This isn’t going to be my thing, but I appreciated the exposure today. I would just add that I don't love the "guy screams at me" genres, but it was kind of fun to hear him scream at everyone from my car as I left work today.

Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim

Frank Sinatra

5/5

This collaboration between two amazing artists is a slice of heaven. I love each on their own infinitely, and together they make magic. Two great tastes that taste great together!

Justified

Justin Timberlake

4/5

I really do enjoy some of these songs and the hits have always been favorites. I don’t think that I really needed this whole album, though.

Survivor

Destiny's Child

5/5

Bootylicious!

Armed Forces

Elvis Costello & The Attractions

4/5

This is what I thought I would experience when I first listened to an Elvis Costello album in this project…something kind of cool, interesting, and enjoyable. It’s just taken four albums to get here.

Arular

M.I.A.

4/5

Being only familiar with "Paper Planes," and it being a favorite of mine, I looked forward to this album. Although I didn't find it quite as catchy as that song, it has an interesting, unique, percussive sound that I appreciated quite a bit. And of course, when "U.R.A.Q.T." sampled the "Theme from Sanford and Son," that was the best!

Crazysexycool

TLC

4/5

I enjoyed this more than I thought I would, so it gets the pleasant surprise bonus. It’s some good stuff!

L.A. Woman

The Doors

5/5

A pretty awesome blues album with the inimitable classic "Riders on the Storm" as absolute icing on the cake. Gets better with each listen!

Joan Armatrading

4/5

Solid seventies singer-songwriter stuff!

The Modern Dance

Pere Ubu

3/5

The last time I listened to a Pere Ubu album was much earlier in this project, over 700 albums ago. Although there are times where it still sounds like an unsupervised middle school band room, I am wondering if I have developed more tolerance for such cacophony or if I liked this one better. I think it may be tolerance. For God's sake, the thing starts with what sounds like a smoke detector going off. Not a great way to start a groggy morning commute. My spouse later walked into the room with the sounds of glass breaking and some shrill reed squawking and wasn't impressed. So, the fact that I didn't hate this must mean something has happened to me in these two years. Mind you, I still didn't like it. But it was certainly remarkable and quite unforgettable.

For Your Pleasure

Roxy Music

2/5

So, I just couldn't figure out anything likeable or interesting about this album. It's just kind of warbly and annoying. It's the third Roxy Music album in this project, and I hate to admit I just don't get it. Love the cover, though!

Public Image: First Issue

Public Image Ltd.

2/5

No, I didn't like this at all. But again, are you supposed to "like" this sort of thing? Do people? "Let me just put this on while I do the dishes." I didn't find it as fascinating as Metal Box, so mostly I was just unhappy through most of this. It's very long and shouty. For that it's a one. But I did find myself somewhat interested in its place in the history of music and especially culture, so it gets a point for that.

Destroy Rock & Roll

Mylo

5/5

I was happy the whole time listening to this today. It's a quite wonderful mashup of lots of things I love.

Locust Abortion Technician

Butthole Surfers

3/5

I wasn't sure about this one, but I found it awfully funny, and I think I was supposed to... Batshit crazy without being pretentious. I can get behind that!

Hot Shots II

The Beta Band

5/5

Wow wow wow! An album and group I'd never heard of, but it was simply music that I loved listening to today! No having to think about it or look for the artistry or look for the message or the relevance or whatever, but just really lovely stuff all around!

The Rolling Stones

5/5

This might not have scored as high as it did if I didn't just love hearing where the Rolling Stones came from and their ode to this music. What a great début!

The Trinity Session

Cowboy Junkies

5/5

I love in this project when you get something just so wonderful that you've ignored for 35 years even though it wasn't like you didn't hear of them and didn't have their wonderful version of "Sweet Jane" floating around all that time. You mean we could have been friends all this time?

Dust

Screaming Trees

4/5

Yesterday I thought of this album as enjoyable but unremarkable. I didn't quite get finished, so when I listened to the rest today, and especially the last track, I found I liked it quite a bit more. I liked the genre-crossing in this.

Double Nickels On The Dime

Minutemen

4/5

I liked the "all you can eat buffet" feel of this, with so many little interesting tidbits of this and that to sample. Of course, the length made it feel like that old skit, "Not all you WANT to eat, all you CAN eat!" where I was then force-fed for three days. It was a fun little surprise to hear the "Jackass" theme in the middle there. Glad to now know its provenance. It's not always a great listen, but it's fun and interesting.

Scissor Sisters

5/5

I was so happy to get this album I know and love today. It was the summer of '04, my last visit to France, and it was on the radio there constantly. I bought the CD there as I'd not yet heard them in the U.S. Gloriously disco-y fun, this takes you to a place where you dance in joy with your friends, leaving all the troubles of the world outside. It's joyful and fun and absolutely glamorous without ever being pretentious (I mean, your Continental's just been towed...)

The Specials

4/5

This is an example of an album that I probably never would have chosen to listen to, but one I quite enjoyed, both for the music and the music history/culture aspect. Ska ska ska!

Sheet Music

10cc

4/5

This is fun and creative in a mid-1970s kind of way. There's probably only the one 10cc song that I really knew before, so I enjoyed hearing what else they had to offer. It was a good time!

Zombie

Fela Kuti

4/5

This was very catchy for protest music.

A Walk Across The Rooftops

The Blue Nile

5/5

Despite this getting a little slow for me by the end, I really loved the sound of this music: a little synth, a little piano, a little strings. Nice.

Let It Be

The Replacements

4/5

I enjoyed this more than I thought I was going to. Some good songs here!

Lady Soul

Aretha Franklin

5/5

This is Aretha Franklin. What else do I need to say?

Sincere

Mj Cole

3/5

As might have been suggested by the cover, much of this kind of sounds like early 2000s upscale shopping center music. Listening to it outright made it feel more repetitive and LONG than if I'd been riding escalators and sipping a latte while it pleasantly played in the background. So I liked it fine, but it didn't stand out for me much.

Third/Sister Lovers

Big Star

4/5

I can see both how this didn't make a big splash on release, and how appreciation for it later grew. It seemed an awful jumble of stuff the first time through, but I started to really appreciate some of the songs as I took a bit more time with them.

Take Me Apart

Kelela

3/5

I liked the sort of electronica sound of this at first, thinking it might lead to an exciting new sound for this album. But I didn't really find that. I couldn't really tell any song from the other and I got super bored by the end.

The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter

The Incredible String Band

4/5

I think I will give this one extra credit for being interesting and creative, although I don't know that it's something I'd ever probably play again. Although, if I did, I have a suspicion it might grow on me quite a bit.

The Libertines

4/5

I enjoyed the timeless rock sound of this album.

Imperial Bedroom

Elvis Costello & The Attractions

3/5

I appreciated all the different sounds that were brought to this album. It was a fun departure from the usual Costello sound, and I thought I might really like it. But I didn't. Despite the cool sounds and harpsichords I really just didn't engage with the songs much. But points for doing something different from the others.

Wild Gift

X

5/5

A band I've never heard of, a genre that I'd generally avoid, and I loved it. Just loved it! What a happy discovery!

Felt Mountain

Goldfrapp

5/5

Lush and lovely, I was absolutely swept away by this wonderful album. A little slice of electronified mid-century lounge exotica. I thought it was absolutely perfectly done.

Paris 1919

John Cale

5/5

Wonderful songs. I enjoyed them more and more as I listened more carefully.

Low

David Bowie

3/5

Didn't we do this with Heroes already? The thing were the songs suddenly transition into ambient music? (I know it was Side 2 of the LP, but I still don't quite get it.) Having listened to about 11 David Bowie albums in this project so far, this one doesn't stand out for me at all, Side One or Side Two.

Sunshine Hit Me

The Bees

4/5

I enjoyed this quite a bit, especially the second time, even if I didn't find it especially remarkable. I sometimes thought of Jack Johnson and wondered why we haven't heard from him in this project.

Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle

Bill Callahan

4/5

This was a new artist to me, and I mostly really enjoyed the slow, easy feel of this music and soothing voice.

Done By The Forces Of Nature

Jungle Brothers

4/5

There was a good funky beat through this album as well as interesting lyrics.

Here Come The Warm Jets

Brian Eno

4/5

I have to admit I liked this more than I thought I would. Some of these experiments and accidents worked just fine.

Gold

Ryan Adams

4/5

I called Ryan Adams' first album "twangy" which I wouldn't have called this one. Not quite country, not quite rock. I really enjoyed these songs and they seemed particularly suited to listening while driving.

Legalize It

Peter Tosh

3/5

I'm not a huge reggae fan, and this didn't change that. It was worth hearing, but it didn't hook me in by any means.

The Poet

Bobby Womack

3/5

The last three songs were real long slogs for me, so it was hard to remember that I enjoyed the more upbeat songs quite a bit more than the slows. This is fairly consistent with my musical tastes though, as opposed to the artist's talent.

Bitches Brew

Miles Davis

4/5

I can't quite decide if this is a masterpiece or unbearable. Or maybe just an unbearable masterpiece. I tried listening while I was doing some work and found that it would absolutely not let me concentrate on anything else. It would not allow itself to meld into the background. So it took me forever to listen to, and I definitely felt fatigue as it went. It kind of made me feel anxious to try to just sit and listen to its endless musical rambling. But I also felt some sublime moments! For sure!

American Gothic

David Ackles

4/5

Oh my, this was dramatic, wasn't it?

Want One

Rufus Wainwright

5/5

I love the lyrics, the music, the voice. One I want to keep listening to. Wonderful!

Peter Gabriel 3

Peter Gabriel

5/5

I think it's official that I am more of a Peter Gabriel fan than I even thought I was. I really, really enjoyed this album and found it made a good connection between the 70s and 80s versions of his work. I had not heard these songs before (except for the "She's so popular" song, as I thought of it in the 80s, which of course, it never was).

Lost Souls

Doves

4/5

Nice dreamy stuff.

25

Adele

5/5

I adore Adele. This was a masterful follow-up to 21, taking us on that emotional journey into young adulthood. Absolutely gorgeous.

Beyond Skin

Nitin Sawhney

5/5

I have gotten slightly weary of some of the downtempo electronic albums that have been offered in this project over 900 albums in. At first I was not excited about this. However, this one got better and better and got my attention as a stand out. It has a strong connecting message along with a great variety of very different sounding tracks. The South Asian sounds woven throughout are only a plus for me.

Aladdin Sane

David Bowie

3/5

It's certainly an iconic cover, but I found myself bored through a lot of this and resenting that we needed a ninth album of his, which is my least favorite so far.

Youth And Young Manhood

Kings of Leon

2/5

This was so not my thing and my patience was short today.

At Folsom Prison

Johnny Cash

5/5

I still can't quite believe that these concerts actually happened, but this is an absolutely perfect album.

Electric

The Cult

3/5

I didn't love this. I didn't hate it. It was indeed hard rock.

Who Killed...... The Zutons?

The Zutons

5/5

I certainly loved this sound! A happy new one to me. What a terrific album from beginning to end!

Blunderbuss

Jack White

5/5

I enjoyed this quite a bit! A happy surprise!

Highway 61 Revisited

Bob Dylan

5/5

Ironically, just this weekend, I was at the supermarket and "Like a Rolling Stone" was playing on the store's sound system. While walking down the bread aisle, I was feeling really annoyed by it and its length and, having been studying popular music for the last 3 years, made a mental note that maybe I actually hated that song. Turns out that it was maybe just the context wasn't right, which calls into question all of my 913 previous ratings—because today I was quite taken by it. I was quite taken, in fact, by the whole album. I am sure that I will have, by now, ratings for Bob Dylan all over the place. But I remind myself that being required to listen to someone isn't always going to work out well. But some days it does.

I See You

The xx

4/5

Like the last album from the xx, I also greatly enjoyed their sound on this one. Smooth and dreamy and a lovely blend of vocals.

Dire Straits

5/5

This is one of those albums that I really ought to have heard by now that makes me grateful for this project. Love this!

Suzanne Vega

5/5

This one takes me right back to my dorm room my first year in college, where I used to listen to it a lot. It's one I haven't listened to in years and years, yet it was so comfortably familiar. I love these songs and Vega's voice. It’s a little less polished than her later, more famous work, but I love that I was all in from the beginning.

Marcus Garvey

Burning Spear

4/5

I liked this reggae quite a bit, especially the first track.

Bubble And Scrape

Sebadoh

2/5

Yeah, no. First song sounded promising but, although I might have missed something in a somewhat distracted listening, I didn’t like the rest of this much at all.

The Hissing Of Summer Lawns

Joni Mitchell

5/5

I've listened to several Joni Mitchell albums from the 70s, but this one is the most 70s of them, I think. That's not a bad thing. It just feels a little less timeless than the others. Favorite misheard lyric: "Edith Ann, the Kingpin."

Live / Dead

Grateful Dead

3/5

Twenty-minute-tracks of late 60s bluesy jamming really aren't my thing, but I do acknowledge the talent behind this.

Tank Battles

Dagmar Krause

5/5

This certainly takes me back to 1920s Berlin. Krause's voice is quite remarkable! I'm not going to play this a lot, but I loved hearing something unlike anything else I've listened to in 900+ albums.

Twelve Dreams Of Dr. Sardonicus

Spirit

3/5

This was fine, very much of its period. Not super memorable.

Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)

Eurythmics

5/5

This has been an absolute favorite since it came out. So happy to listen to it today!

Punishing Kiss

Ute Lemper

5/5

So...THREE days after remarking that I hadn't heard any theatrical German women in this project after 900 albums, I get to hear another? Yay!

Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes

TV On The Radio

4/5

I enjoyed this much more than I thought I might. Always interesting, for sure.

A Short Album About Love

The Divine Comedy

5/5

Love this lots! I was just listening to Neil Hannon singing with Ute Lemper the other day and remembering how much I love him and The Divine Comedy. I don't say this often, but I wouldn't have minded a longer album about love.

Django Django

5/5

I loved this! The harmonies, the percussion, the cool vibe. Good stuff!

Fly Or Die

N.E.R.D

3/5

I appreciated that this had a different kind of sound. It was an interesting mixup of genres. There were times I liked it, but I didn't love it ever.

Qui sème le vent récolte le tempo

MC Solaar

5/5

I had bought MC Solaar's subsequent CD, Prose Combat, many years ago and it was a favorite. I was very happy to listen to this one today for the first time. I am happy to know my French, because just like with that album, he uses the sounds and meanings of French words masterfully. He has so many good messages in his lyrics. I love the cool, smooth sound of the tracks as well.

Music for the Masses

Depeche Mode

5/5

This is another good one and I'm so happy it's here. I loved these songs when they were new and I still do. I didn't buy this album then, but I did buy the 45 single for "Behind the Wheel" because "Route 66" was on the B side. I had many of the other songs on tapes, but today I was so glad to hear it as an album (including the bonus tracks such as "Route 66").

Nowhere

Ride

3/5

I don't really like shoegaze as a genre, but if I had to listen to some, this wasn't bad.

The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill

Lauryn Hill

3/5

I was looking forward to this one, having missed it back in the day. It did indeed have solid raw emotions expressed all the way through. Well done. I also hated listening to it, finding it long, long, long and rambly. But now you don't. Now you don't. Okay, I got it. I got it.

No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith (Live)

Motörhead

2/5

Listening to this, I guess I'm not a Motörheadhead. Surprisingly, I liked this live album more than the Ace of Spades studio album that we listened to not that long ago. It's a 2.5, but I'm going to round down.

Faith

George Michael

5/5

I vividly remember this being a big deal in the fall of 1987 when it came out. Videos with such memorable butts! It was one that I listened to quite a bit at the time, even if I didn't own it. I quite enjoyed it still today!

Tom Tom Club

5/5

Before MTV there was HBO Video Jukebox, and "Genius of Love" with its fun animated video played a lot between movies back then. I only knew the song from that context for a long time. I loved hearing the whole album today! It's fun and cool and I wish I'd listened to it long ago.

Let It Bleed

The Rolling Stones

5/5

This is very very good! I have sometimes complained about late 60s British blues, but this is done right! Most excellent!

3/5

I think it's funny that this is the third time we've heard the title song in this project; the previous times being from Scott Walker and the author Jacques Brel. I had such a weird sense of déjà vu listening today until I figured it out. I didn't love this, but I think if I'd had more time for it to grow on me it could well have.

Moon Safari

Air

5/5

Really enjoyed this! Smooth and cool, retro but modern. A nice sound.

NEU! 75

Neu!

3/5

This album does take a turn, doesn't it? Side A and B are not the same thing. Although Side B was perhaps more "interesting," I enjoyed listening to Side A more. I found it to be fairly timeless, if not exciting, music, while Side B was a little more tiresomely experimentally 70s.

Group Sex

Circle Jerks

4/5

Fourteen songs in fifteen and a half minutes! It's perfect for this genre. Gets the angry out and gets it done. "World Up My Ass" has been a favorite for decades, and the rest stands up to it. Mind you if it went on much longer, this probably wouldn't be true.

Now I Got Worry

The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion

3/5

There were moments when I hated this (screaming at me first thing in the morning) and moments that I really enjoyed it (in the afternoon). I'm not sure what to think about it as a whole. I'm not sure I ever really got what it was supposed to be for me.

I’m a Lonesome Fugitive

Merle Haggard

5/5

This album is a country gem and was much appreciated today.

Another Music In A Different Kitchen

Buzzcocks

3/5

I’m a little punked out at this point, but an accidental second listening made this a bit more enjoyable than I’d first thought. Some of my cooler college friends were fans of the Buzzcocks (my brain always thinks of the band name in a Chicago accent because of one of them) but I’d never really listened to their music at length until today. I’m not going to be a super fan, but there definitely was some fun to this.

Street Life

The Crusaders

4/5

Reminded me of listening to the smooth jazz radio station in Chicago in the '90s, which I played any time I was driving on Lake Shore Drive. Some very easy listening '70s music here. "Street Life" remains a very cool track.

Make Yourself

Incubus

4/5

Some strong '90s power music here. I thought it sounded a little generic except for "Drive," which has been a favorite since the day, and "Battlestar Scralatchtica" which stands out here and was quite enjoyable. All in all, getting to listen a second time was the charm and I liked it.

Grievous Angel

Gram Parsons

5/5

Country folksy goodness plus Emmylou Harris. What's not to like?

Third

Soft Machine

3/5

Nearing the end of this long project, I probably appreciated this long and noodly/noisy work more than I would have any previous time in my life. It's still not very high up there, but definitely higher.

Treasure

Cocteau Twins

4/5

Ah, nothing like the Cocteau Twins. Ethereal and lovely. Makes me think of my college days and the friends who loved them, who all surely have had cats with the same names as any of the songs on here.

Sound Affects

The Jam

3/5

I thought this was fine, but I'm not so sure that I had to hear this, or that it was necessary after All Mod Cons.

The Coral

4/5

I liked the neo-60s sound of this.

Atomizer

Big Black

2/5

I really didn't like this one at first, then it kind of grew on me about a third of the way through. Then I got sick of it by the end.

Better Living Through Chemistry

Fatboy Slim

4/5

This is no You've Come a Long Way, Baby, but then, that title was quite apt. On the other hand, all of the things that make Fatboy Slim great were clearly born here.

So Much For The City

The Thrills

5/5

"Who the hell is this, now?" I thought to myself, seeing the "post punk revival" category on the Wikipedia article. "Here we go again. *sigh*" As soon as I listened I liked them very much and they sounded very familiar (and not at all what I'd consider post punk). Turns out I had saved two of their songs from this album in my Apple library from a Las Vegas-themed mix CD a dear friend gave me 20 years ago. I really enjoyed the folky, jangly, piano-y goodness of this one, and getting to hear the whole delightful album. Yay!

Post Orgasmic Chill

Skunk Anansie

2/5

I didn't enjoy this at all. 954 albums in and this comes up and all I can think of is, "Why is this here instead of any Evanescence?" Not that I'm a huge Evanescence fan, but all I could think of was how much I'd rather be listening to them than this. This far in, I want the good stuff. This wasn't it.

Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite

Maxwell

5/5

That was smooooooooooth. Wow! I couldn't help but be swept away by this to be surrounded by incense, wine, and candles. I'm not often a fan of the slow soul, but this was just perfection.

Myths Of The Near Future

Klaxons

5/5

So cool, I loved this sound! Amazing to hear something so distinctive and enjoyable after nearly a thousand daily albums.

Sea Change

Beck

5/5

I love when you get an album by someone who's been featured in this project already and you get something so different and wonderful each time. Such is Beck. This wasn't a sound I expected, and when I got super strong Serge Gainsbourg Melody Nelson vibes my mind was blown away. Heartfelt songs and strings will always get me.

Blonde On Blonde

Bob Dylan

4/5

This had much of what I both like and dislike about Bob Dylan. There were moments I really enjoyed the songs, and moments that I railed against Dylan's voice. Today I got to learn what the actual title of what I always thought of as "Everybody Must Get Stoned." Still very happy to have listened to this classic album.

Nebraska

Bruce Springsteen

5/5

I quite loved this, with its intimate feel and compelling stories. A bit of a surprise for me but a happy surprise. Uh, maybe "happy" is not the right word for this album...

Violent Femmes

5/5

This may well be up in my top ten albums, certainly in part for sentimental reasons. It definitely plays a role in the soundtrack of my youth. In high school I was the antithesis of cool, but I had a friend who drove an old yellow Saab with a broken muffler, and as soon as you heard that motor in the neighborhood, you knew she was coming to gather you and a motley group of friends and drive around town listening to this cassette over and over again while making fun of all the other "cruisers" on "the strip." For this while I felt very cool. The album was also very popular at my college and I recall one classmate whose claim to fame was having attended the same high school in Milwaukee as the Violent Femmes. When "Blister in the Sun" played at a party everyone would go nuts. Still I only ever heard this album as something friends had, rather than anything in the media. I think it was in the movie "Reality Bites" when I first heard a Violent Femmes song outside of my circles. It's been fun to hear it become a classic over the years, and it still makes me feel cool.

Aftermath

The Rolling Stones

5/5

This is a wonderful stop on the journey of the Rolling Stones becoming the Rolling Stones. Some very cool boundary-pushing creativity here making for some very classic songs.

The Madcap Laughs

Syd Barrett

3/5

I kind of enjoyed this, but I certainly didn't love it. Somewhat whimsical but uneven as far as I was concerned. Got a little weird there towards the end...

Cupid & Psyche 85

Scritti Politti

2/5

"Perfect Way" is a decent song in a mix of '80s pop. And I generally love me some 80s pop. But listening to this whole album was a bit of a sugary overload in some way, and I found myself somewhat annoyed by the cutesy-sounding vocals. Maybe just because I was sick and grumpy when listening.

Apple Venus Volume 1

XTC

5/5

A very interesting journey on this one. I didn't always love it, but I loved the ride it took me on.

Figure 8

Elliott Smith

5/5

Really enjoyed listening to this one. It has a different feel from Either/Or, but one that I also very much appreciated.

Iron Maiden

3/5

Since I've never ever really chosen to listen to Iron Maiden, this was a valuable part of my musical education. It seems to be right on the edge between 70s and 80s heavy metal. I liked it more than I feared, but I never really connected to it either.

Faust IV

Faust

4/5

This album nearly caused a car accident when the extended hazy-dreamy end of "Jennifer" was broken by an unexpectedly loud cymbal crash, before going into some old-timey piano. Along those lines, nothing from this album was expected, so I guess that's pretty good for a fifty-year-old work. I probably won't be playing this ever again, but it was a hell of a ride today.

Parachutes

Coldplay

5/5

This just continues to cement my affection for Coldplay. Really love this.

Beggars Banquet

The Rolling Stones

4/5

I'm a little surprised that this is the sixth Rolling Stones album in the project so far, and there's still been nothing after 1972. Even if you could argue about their "best" albums (which this project doesn't), I still am curious about the following fifty years of their music. Mind you, this is a still a damn fine album, but I thought this one wasn't notably distinctive or superior compared to so many other examples I've listened to from the same five year period, especially if you take "Sympathy for the Devil" (an amazing song) out of the equation.

Fishscale

Ghostface Killah

2/5

It took me three days to get through this album. Now I'm behind and resentful. On the bright side, I can say that it didn't glamorize the drug trade for me whatsoever.

Another Green World

Brian Eno

3/5

I found this boring album somewhat interesting.

Let England Shake

PJ Harvey

5/5

Whatever I thought of the three previous PJ Harvey albums (I liked them), I totally fell in love with this one! Just has an amazing unique sound (autoharp!) and such interesting lyrics, but most of all this one is one I want to listen to more times for pure enjoyment.

All Hail the Queen

Queen Latifah

5/5

All hail the queen is right!

Want Two

Rufus Wainwright

5/5

Is it cheating to say the same thing as I did for Want One? I love the lyrics, the music, the voice. One I want to keep listening to. Wonderful!

Suede

3/5

This never really engaged me much. It had a Smithyness to it that I kind of liked and was kind of annoyed by at the same time. It might have been the day. Maybe I'd like it more another time.

Seventh Tree

Goldfrapp

5/5

Another delightful album from Goldfrapp! I love them. A happy day.

The White Room

The KLF

4/5

I bought this CD when it came out, and I'm pretty sure I bought it because of the "Justified and Ancient" song with Tammy Wynette...which was not on this album. I also have the CD single which had her version, and I have a very vague memory that maybe they were packaged together. I listened to my CD today as the version on Apple Music is somewhat changed. I realized that I don't think I ever listened to this much, and it's been at least 25+ years since I've played the CD. Without Tammy, I don't really love this, but there are some definite good bits.

Caetano Veloso

5/5

I enjoyed this one more and more the more I listened to it. I love the variety of instruments and styles. It also could be my favorite album cover ever.

Meat Puppets II

Meat Puppets

3/5

Cowpunk? That sounds about right after listening to this album. Unfortunately, despite its distinctiveness it never really got into my head and made a mark.

Blood And Chocolate

Elvis Costello & The Attractions

3/5

There were moments where I was quite enjoying the music, and then moments where Costello's voice ruined it for me. Six albums has been more than enough. Are we done now?

Isn't Anything

My Bloody Valentine

3/5

This often reminded me of that moment in a '70s TV drama when the detective, going undercover in a gritty hard rock club, realizes she's been slipped a mickey in her drink and is going to wake up after the commercial break tied to a chair in the bad guy's office. We realize it because the music goes distorted and wonky. This goes along with my experiences with the previous two ([why?]) my bloody valentine albums: that they are masters of creating a disconcerting, uncomfortable vibe with their music. Beyond that I never really was amazed by it.

Movies

Holger Czukay

4/5

I quite loved the opening of this album with the quirky "Cool in the Pool." I was not surprised to learn that Holger Czukay had been a founder of Can as I listened to the rest. It's not something easy to describe, but it was worth listening to.

Hard Again

Muddy Waters

5/5

I love having music from a national treasure. Ladies and gentlemen, the blues.

The Wall

Pink Floyd

5/5

This is pretty damn epic. It's been a while, but I loved revisiting this.

The ArchAndroid

Janelle Monáe

5/5

Wow wow wow I've never heard this before and I loved it so much! Thanks for reminding me why I am still doing this project 3 years later. I'm so tempted to listen through the whole thing again today, but I'm a day behind and gotta go on.

Roots

Sepultura

4/5

I was not thrilled to see Sepultura return for a second album in the list after not really appreciating Arise. However, I thought this one was more listenable and more interesting and better earned its place here. Having traditional Brazillian percussion and indigenous chants sneak their way into a heavy metal album was pretty cool.

Back In Black

AC/DC

5/5

Even I gotta recognize a deserved classic of the genre. Some head banging joy with the windows open in the car today.

G. Love And Special Sauce

G. Love & Special Sauce

3/5

I did not like this at first, but along a lazy afternoon it kind of grew on me as a lazy afternoon kind of album.

You Are The Quarry

Morrissey

4/5

I've never listened to this album, or anything by Morrissey after the early '90s for that matter, so I think this was just the sort of thing you'd want to have heard from him in 2004. It's pure Morrissey, so I roll my eyes once in a while, smile once in a while. It was pretty good.

Honky Tonk Masquerade

Joe Ely

4/5

Really nice timeless country music. I enjoyed listening to this a lot.

The Rise & Fall

Madness

5/5

I had many of these songs on my Madness compilation tape from 1983, which was one of my favorites at the time. I really enjoyed hearing them again (It's been a long time!) as well as the rest of the content that I'd never heard before. Of course the song and video for "Our House" were favorites. This was very much fun!

The Modern Lovers

4/5

Loved this before-its-time alternative sound that made me think of so much 80s college music. As a fan of "Pablo Picasso" from the Repo Man Soundtrack, I'd never known it was a cover. And a "fifties apartment building" being sung about in the seventies made me laugh.

Coles Corner

Richard Hawley

4/5

I did appreciate this album and its retro charm even if I didn’t love it.

Time (The Revelator)

Gillian Welch

4/5

This was lovely and soothing and I enjoyed it. It was so soothing that I almost fell asleep, though, especially that last 15-minute track. There wasn't anything here that I have to revisit, but I was glad to spend some time here.

Run-D.M.C.

3/5

I really didn't expect to find this somewhat boring, but I did. It is definitely of historical interest, though.

New Forms

Roni Size

3/5

This about did me in. So long. So very long. So much repetition. The thing is that I would enjoy this quite nicely in smaller doses or in the background of a boutique hotel lobby bar sipping a cosmopolitan circa 2003.

Broken English

Marianne Faithfull

4/5

Very cool, I enjoyed this a lot.

Talking Timbuktu

Ali Farka Touré

4/5

A nice listen to bluesy West African music, maybe not very different from our other Touré album, Savane.

Live At Leeds

The Who

2/5

We've heard some good Who albums, and we've heard some good live albums. This was neither, I'd say. I imagine the live act was great, but I didn't feel it so much on this recording.

Parklife

Blur

5/5

Third time's the charm, I guess. And it is indeed full of charm. I absolutely loved this album and would listen again and again.

Illinois

Sufjan Stevens

5/5

This was a splendid gem. For album number 1002, this sort of thing will keep me going. Having lived in Illinois for four years, I loved all the references to its history. Perfect perfect perfect from beginning to end.

Abbey Road

Beatles

5/5

Again, embarrassingly, a new experience to hear Beatles songs in the context of their album. Wonderful! The medley is so good. No surprise to see it highest rated.

Diamond Life

Sade

5/5

So lusciously smooth indeed. Sultry saxy Sade! I had The Best of Sade CD back when, but haven't listened in a long time. A lovely trip back.

The Stranger

Billy Joel

5/5

Until the age of 12 or so (circa 1980) most of my musical listening was from the local top-40 AM radio station, and I never paid much attention to who the artists were (there have been a good number of '70s songs in this project that I could still sing along to every word that I could never have given you the title or artist). Around that year I clearly remember a conversation with friends in which it was revealed to me just how many of my favorite songs on the radio were by Billy Joel, especially from this album and Glass Houses. I was very stingy about spending my money on albums for fear that there would just be the one "good song," but these two went right into my growing cassette collection and were listened to frequently. In any case, I continue to love the variety of songs on this album and there's really not any I don't like. I would happily do a sing-along to this entire album. Although I was not the one to expose these songs to him, my 17-year-old son could sing along with most of them, having discovered them on his own, which speaks to me of their timelessness. (For the record, my affection for Billy Joel would peak with The Nylon Curtain and promply end with the doo-wop abomination of An Innocent Man.)

Protection

Massive Attack

4/5

I have already documented in a previous posting for Massive Attack that I was massively betrayed when the track "Heat Miser" had nothing to do with a 1974 Christmas TV special. "Previous posting for Massive Attack"? I wondered. Surely there are lots of artists that I haven't heard from in over 1000 albums so far, and do we need another from this group? No. No is the correct answer. It's true. That said, I think I liked this more than the last Massive Attack album and so here we go.

Don't Stand Me Down

Dexys Midnight Runners

4/5

And we all laughed when Homer Simpson said we haven't heard the last of Dexys Midnight Runners. So here we are! And it's an interesting album. I can see both why people didn't take to it right away and why some people find it something special. Mind you, I didn't really love it at first, but I found something compelling about it, and it definitely didn't sound like everything else on the radio.

Getz/Gilberto

Stan Getz

5/5

Oh, I have been waiting a long time for this one. I have been in love with this album for decades, and it was so good to listen again today. Smooth bossa nova perfection.

Step In The Arena

Gang Starr

4/5

This is pretty solid early ‘90s hip hop.

Fifth Dimension

The Byrds

4/5

Sounds like classic Byrds as opposed to the later incarnations we’ve heard. I liked it fine.

Heroes to Zeros

The Beta Band

3/5

This was kind of cool but not super special, I thought.

Raw Like Sushi

Neneh Cherry

4/5

Having just observed some bison in Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota, it gave some new meaning to what exactly a "buffalo stance" is. This was an enjoyable trip back to late '80s pop.

Germfree Adolescents

X-Ray Spex

4/5

Some proper new wave punk with Poly Styrene's piercing and distinctive voice. Something the edgy kids in college would listen to that I would struggle with then but somehow enjoy more now.

The Downward Spiral

Nine Inch Nails

4/5

I bought this CD when it came out out of appreciation for "Closer" which I thought was so amazing (and still do). However I don't remember the rest of the album very well, so I assume that I wasn't so into repeated listening of the extended amounts of angry screaming. That said, it's rough to listen to but still very powerful.

Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire)

The Kinks

4/5

I really loved this as a snapshot of late 60s Britain, although it's not going to be my favorite Kinks album.

Timeless

Goldie

1/5

Having just had a drum and bass album with Roni Size a couple of weeks ago, this enraged me that it was on the list. I didn't enjoy that one, and this one, being far less interesting, just made me super super annoyed that I was expected to endure two hours of it. Where's Linda Ronstadt in this project for fuck's sake?

Headquarters

The Monkees

5/5

I loved this album as well as the story of how it came to be. TV executives create a fake band who actually wanted to be a real band, and this is what they got to do when allowed. It is so fun and so good and so very very representative of its time.

Oedipus Schmoedipus

Barry Adamson

5/5

As with Moss Side Story, I loved this. It's amazing, I think. Each track paints such a picture. I'm going to listen to Soul Murder now because I want more Barry Adamson!

Elastica

4/5

This is a very fun album, sounding very new wave/punky but somehow being from the mid-nineties. I was always a fan of the song "Connection."

Dog Man Star

Suede

3/5

This just wasn't my cup of tea, being long, weary, and whiny as far as I was concerned.

Street Signs

Ozomatli

5/5

Fun and festive with some messages to boot, I loved the whole thing!

Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo

Devo

5/5

When I was 10 years old my brother and I first saw Devo perform on Saturday Night Live and our minds were blown with their yellow suits and crazy sound. As my father usually turned the channel during the musical acts, he must have been intrigued as well. My brother and I would go on to become big Devo fans (one of the few bands we equally shared) and had all of their albums on cassettes. So, while it's slightly possible I wouldn't have completely loved this album on one cold listening today, and the fact that I probably loved a couple of other later Devo albums better (e.g. Freedom of Choice, Oh No! it's Devo) it brings a great deal of affection and nostalgia to hear, and I'm guessing this is going to be our one Devo shot. Love it!

Raw Power

The Stooges

3/5

I supposed "Raw Power" is the correct title for this album. I give it credit for having plenty of it. I also didn't enjoy it much, but that's just me, I guess.

Highly Evolved

The Vines

3/5

Some good variety of styles here that make a decent album, although it's not something that I'd go back to.

First Band On The Moon

The Cardigans

5/5

I was always a fan of "Lovefool" (as well as "My Favourite Game") but I never really thought to pursue listening to more of the Cardigans. Turns out I missed out! I love this! It's absolutely delightful and their take on Black Sabbath is glorious. I'd have listened to this a lot.

Henry's Dream

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

4/5

Nick Cave continues to be an interesting and unique storyteller in this album. It's not an everyday listen (reminded me most of Murder Ballads, I think), but definitely something special for the right moment. I enjoyed it.

The Holy Bible

Manic Street Preachers

3/5

I just didn't connect with this and wondered why, again, two consecutive albums from a group that feel very similar. Maybe I missed something. I think it might have been a bit more interesting than Everything Must Go, but I'm not coming back to this one anytime soon.

White Light / White Heat

The Velvet Underground

4/5

I love the boundless freedom that such artists felt to experiment in the late sixties. However, that doesn't mean that everything they tried always worked. That said, this is pretty good.

It's A Shame About Ray

The Lemonheads

4/5

I always did like my nineties music to be on the jangly side. A great album for a summer walk.

Venus Luxure No. 1 Baby

Girls Against Boys

1/5

Usually I just don't care for some albums, but this one I hated. Boring and unpleasant and long (seeming) will always lose.

Idlewild

Everything But The Girl

5/5

I may not always be in the mood for some saxy sweet love, but when I am, I am. This had everything but the techno from Walking Wounded, but I quite loved it. Music to sit and eat chocolates to.

Green River

Creedence Clearwater Revival

5/5

It's possible this is my favorite CCR album of the project? A bit hard to tell, since they all have the signature sound, but I did really really enjoy this one.

Triangle

The Beau Brummels

4/5

Some good folky, psychedelicy, late 60s fun.

This Is Hardcore

Pulp

4/5

I found this a bit on the pretentious side, but I think there might be times when I would appreciate it more, as I did with Different Class.

Black Monk Time

The Monks

4/5

I always like when an album comes up that really feels like music history as well as something unique. This made me a little giddy especially thinking of it in a 1966 context. Terrific!

Moby Grape

3/5

This is the fourth late 60s album in the last five assigned, so I think it suffers quite a bit from not being as distinctive as the previous three. I think I've heard this sort of stuff before and even listened to the songs available on Apple Music twice to give it a fair shake. Surprisingly I seemed to enjoy the songs that I had to go to YouTube to hear. Wish I could have heard the album properly.

The Yes Album

Yes

4/5

So three consecutive Yes albums from this era, but I'm still so sad not to have 90125, which gave them a powerful 80s rebirth. Oh well, what can I say, these have all been so good! Especially when prog rock can bore me so much. Well done!

Winter In America

Gil Scott-Heron

4/5

So glad I got to hear this today—too bad it's so hard to find. It deserves better. Jazz for sure, but also much more here and definitely a good snapshot of the early 70s in America.

Ten

Pearl Jam

5/5

An epic album, an epic debut. What else can I say?

Pacific Ocean Blue

Dennis Wilson

3/5

I was very interested in listening to this album, as having read about Dennis Wilson in researching the Beach Boys (because of this project), I had wanted to hear his music. So for that, this was a great choice and I was glad to see it appear. Without that background, however, I'm not sure I would have enjoyed this album much.

Ambient 1/Music For Airports

Brian Eno

4/5

This was designed to have a calming effect on airport travelers, and I think it is perfect for that. I was especially thinking about the tunnel to Concourse B at O'Hare Airport in Chicago. As for car travelers on the highway, I don't recommend it. The calming effect is not beneficial to attentive driving. I am impressed how this did, in fact, create a common genre of music. It's hard to remember that when it sounds so commonplace now.

Traffic

3/5

This was a decent album of late 60s British folk/blues-influenced rock. I liked it fine. Of course, since we have heard about 476 other late 60s British folk/blues-influenced rock albums in this project, I just didn't think this one stood out much from the others.

Femi Kuti

5/5

This kept me moving and grooving for over an hour. Marvelous!

Mott

Mott The Hoople

3/5

This definitely felt like a homework assignment to slog through. Although it has its merit, this is just not stuff I enjoy listening to.

Signing Off

UB40

4/5

As I am most and too familiar with UB40's version of "Red Red Wine," a song that always sends my adrenaline glands into fight or flight mode, I was glad to hear an album that goes back to their roots and give me a better appreciation for the group. A very relevant and listenable album.

Cafe Bleu

The Style Council

4/5

A fun and interesting change of pace. It's not the greatest thing in the world, but I enjoyed listening to it.

Dig Me Out

Sleater-Kinney

3/5

While I was excited by the idea of some strong punk women’s voices in this project, I found this to be pretty one note and grating without being able to hear any interesting lyrics.

Purple Rain

Prince

5/5

This album is an icon of the era. It, along with the movie, came out when I was a teenager and they definitely made their mark on impressionable me. So many songs that were part of the soundtrack of my youth, and that hold up today for me.

Permission to Land

The Darkness

3/5

I'm struggling to rate this one. I didn't like listening to it really, but the more I hear "Get Your Hands off My Woman" the more amused I have gotten. I'm thinking I missed something the first time through this weird 70s-80s hard-glam-rock revival.

More Songs About Buildings And Food

Talking Heads

3/5

As much as I love the title of this album, I was quite bored through it all. I'm feeling badly that I didn't enjoy the Talking Heads as much as I thought I would, but also that maybe we didn't need all of their first four albums. (There were better early albums and I think there were later albums that were more distinctive and that I quite liked!) I just didn't get anything there that I loved. "Take Me to the River" is the one hit I knew, and it is probably one of my least favorite of the Talking Heads hits.

The Gilded Palace Of Sin

The Flying Burrito Brothers

5/5

I loved this album. Countercultural classic country had me smiling the whole way through.

Pyromania

Def Leppard

5/5

I was not a metalhead in the 80s, but we all loved Def Leppard. It was gateway metal, I guess. This gets a slight bump for nostalgia but it's also a good rockin' time.

Ellington at Newport

Duke Ellington

5/5

This!

Only By The Night

Kings of Leon

3/5

This was okay but maybe not really my cup of tea. The strained vocal style got on my nerves by the end.

Forever Changes

Love

4/5

As the follow up to Da Capo, I think this album was more consistently listenable. I enjoyed the late 60s slightly psychedelic sound.

Smash

The Offspring

4/5

As an album, this gets a bit yell-y for me by the end, but as a fan of "Come Out and Play" and "Self Esteem" back in days of yore, I knew what I was getting into. Overall I liked it more than I thought I would.

KE*A*H** (Psalm 69)

Ministry

3/5

It's got a good dose of early 90s industrial noise, some de rigueur blasphemy, and scary voices. It amuses me now and than, and sometimes it's just tiresome shock value. Definitely not the worst of its ilk.

London Calling

The Clash

5/5

I always liked The Clash, but didn't listen to them enough. I'm happy to help make up for that today. I don't always get excited when it's a double album, but I enjoyed this all through. I would love to play this a few more times at the expense of catching up with my reviews.

Rattlesnakes

Lloyd Cole And The Commotions

5/5

This is the sort of album that if I'd known about it at the time, would have been something that I'd have listened to over and over. I quite enjoyed this and Lloyd Cole's voice.

Spy Vs. Spy: The Music Of Ornette Coleman

John Zorn

1/5

As I near the end of this project, so many times I have had to reevaluate my feelings about jazz, most of them being very positive. I have heard so many amazing albums I have loved! This is the album I will play when asked, "How could anyone hate jazz?" Oh, boy, I hate this so so so much! This is why. Mine ears hurt.

1984

Van Halen

5/5

This album came out my first year of high school and it completely engulfed us at the time. It was absolutely everywhere. Today it made me feel the excitement and anxiety about being a teenager again. I loved it.

Club Classics Vol. One

Soul II Soul

4/5

I was very much a fan of "Back to Life" when it came out, so it was somewhat unsatisfying to hear the album version. However, although I don't often say this in this project, hooray for bonus tracks! Other than that, this was a good, solid listen, and hard to imagine that it was 1989 as I agree that it influenced a lot of music to come with its smooth beats.

Out of Step

Minor Threat

3/5

I think I've heard this sort of thing before. Not much to distinguish it from a lot of other punk albums in this project. This one lands in the middle for me. I didn't hate it and I didn't love it.

Palo Congo

Sabu

4/5

It's the rhythm of the island like the sugar cane so sweet. If you want to do the conga, you've got to listen to the beat.

The United States Of America

4/5

A variety of some very cool psychedelic sounds. This was an ambitious undertaking, I think.

Slayed?

Slade

3/5

I didn't love this at first, but by side 2 I was rocking along with it.

Liquid Swords

GZA

3/5

This was fine but it definitely didn't stand out much for me.

Music From Big Pink

The Band

2/5

Not sure why this The Band album was here. I preferred the self-titled album to this one and gave that one a 3. I was bored and annoyed most of the time. Even "This Wheel's on Fire" had no life.

A Northern Soul

The Verve

2/5

Looong and whiny. I had enough of The Verve with Urban Hymns.

A Wizard, A True Star

Todd Rundgren

4/5

This gets bonus points for being an interesting journey, a real trip. Instead of being a collection, it's a 55 minute rambling, exploring work. Even if I don't think I'd go back to it often, it's the sort of thing that I'm here for.

Stephen Stills

5/5

If you can't listen to the album you love, honey, love the album you're with. And I did today. One I've never listened to, but so good!

Eternally Yours

The Saints

3/5

In a crowded lineup of similar albums of the same genre and era, this one is just slightly above average. It had a good sound from time to time, but didn't have much variety or distinctiveness.

Ghosteen

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

5/5

Compelling and strangely beautiful.

Haut de gamme / Koweït, rive gauche

Koffi Olomide

4/5

Exuberant African music.

Ágætis Byrjun

Sigur Rós

4/5

Lovely and soothing

One World

John Martyn

4/5

This was a new artist to me, and after hundreds of albums, I appreciate that this one sounded distinctive. I have enjoyed it more as I return to it, but I haven't quite figured it out completely. It's one of those that I wish I had time to savor a bit more.

The Stooges

4/5

There was something very fun and free about this, even if I didn't love every minute of it.

Gris Gris

Dr. John

5/5

Loved me some of this New Orleans casserole!

Cloud Nine

The Temptations

3/5

It's interesting that the albums from the Temptations in this list don’t feature the earlier hits that have stood the test of time ("Papa Was a Rolling Stone" excepted) so we have explored more into their experimental era. I appreciate that creative part of it, but I just don't love this lots and feel that it's just kind of dated in a bad way.

Trout Mask Replica

Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band

2/5

So this is album 1,080 for me and here's how the review would once have gone: Something about the unbridled creativity and free expression of the late 1960's, something about Frank Zappa, something about the blues, maybe, takes a while to "get it," listened three times, etc. etc. etc. The truth now, however, is that I was not in the mood for this long-ass noodly horseshit.

A Little Deeper

Ms. Dynamite

4/5

This music is never really going to be my thing, but I had to admit that this was pretty good overall.

Hunting High And Low

a-ha

5/5

This was such a lovely nostalgic journey. I bought this cassette tape when it came out and listened to it lots at the time. I haven't listened to it in decades. Synth-pop was just my favorite then, and this was a favorite of that genre. It just made me feel happy and 17 again.

Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere

Neil Young & Crazy Horse

4/5

Neil Young number 7. Comments on this topic have been made. You ever get kind of relieved when you get to the last track of an album, and you're like, "Oh boy, I can get on with my life soon," and then the song goes on and on and on and on and on forever and ever? That said, I liked this one fine.

3 Feet High and Rising

De La Soul

5/5

It's hard to rate this without considering that I've been working on this project with someone who's waiting three years for De La Soul to appear. Seriously, we're on our last week and now we're finally here! Yay! Aside from that I loved loved loved "The Magic Number" and "Transmitting Live from Mars" since back in the day. There are lots of great samples and good raps on this album. It was fun then and fun now. it's a good memory of when hip hop was kind of fun and a little nostalgic for the sounds they sampled.

What's Going On

Marvin Gaye

5/5

"What's Going On" and "Mercy Mercy Me" have always been favorite songs, and this album does them justice. A meaningful and beautiful album.

Elephant

The White Stripes

5/5

I was watching the closing ceremony of the Paris Olympics this summer and as the athletes were walking into the stadium, some of them started to chant the opening notes from "Seven Nation Army." It quickly caught on as all these people from all over the world chanted it along with each other. Kind of an amazing moment. This is White Stripes album I've been waiting for and it's terrific!

Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor

Lupe Fiasco

5/5

I was a bit skeptical about a hip hop album I hadn't heard of at this point in the project, but it really won me over the more I listened. The backing tracks are absolutely fantastic, the material is interesting and relevant, and overall, that's terrific rap!

Crooked Rain Crooked Rain

Pavement

3/5

Definitely more listenable than Slanted and Enchanted (although it has been over 900 albums ago), this often sounds like decent 90s alternative music with a few abrasions here and there. It might grow on me with repeated listening, but as of today I thought it was fine, but not something I actually want to go back to.

Shalimar

Rahul Dev Burman

5/5

All I knew before is that Shalimar was the name of my grandmother's favorite perfume. Apparently this is my last album in the project. I'm so happy that it was something different from the usual themes and it felt like a wonderful discovery on my last day listening to assigned music. What a great variety of sounds and styles! I think I'm going to have to watch this movie. Goodnight, everybody!

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