My User Albums Journey

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User Albums Journey

Exploring beyond the book, one album at a time

View 1001 Albums Summary

130

Albums Rated

2.86

Average Rating

Rating Distribution

Rating Timeline

Taste Profile

1990

Favorite Decade

Punk

Favorite Genre

Top Origin

Wordsmith

Rater Style ?

5-Star Albums

1-Star Albums

Breakdown

By Genre

Top Styles

By Decade

By Origin

Albums

You Love More Than Most

Album	You	Global	Diff
Goat The Jesus Lizard	5	2.79	+2.21
Super Ape The Upsetters	5	3.2	+1.8
Exile On Coldharbour Lane Alabama 3	5	3.22	+1.78
Young Team Mogwai	5	3.26	+1.74
Black Devil Disco Club Black Devil Disco Club	5	3.3	+1.7
F♯ A♯ ∞ Godspeed You! Black Emperor	5	3.32	+1.68
Comfort To Me Amyl and The Sniffers	5	3.37	+1.63
Alive 2007 Daft Punk	5	3.66	+1.34
The Feeding of the 5000 Crass	4	2.68	+1.32
How to Operate With a Blown Mind Lo Fidelity Allstars	4	2.77	+1.23

You Love Less Than Most

Album	You	Global	Diff
Transatlanticism Death Cab for Cutie	1	3.32	-2.32
Yellow & Green Baroness	1	3.13	-2.13
Hammersmith Odeon, London '75 Bruce Springsteen	1	3.1	-2.1
A1A Jimmy Buffett	1	2.76	-1.76
Human Racing Nik Kershaw	1	2.69	-1.69
Love Is Hell Ryan Adams	1	2.67	-1.67
I Am Earth, Wind & Fire	2	3.66	-1.66
Harbor Lights Bruce Hornsby	1	2.66	-1.66
Vs. Pearl Jam	2	3.65	-1.65
Out of the Blue Debbie Gibson	1	2.58	-1.58

5-Star Albums (9)

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Popular Reviews

Dear You

Jawbreaker · 3 likes

2/5

I struggle to differentiate between any of this American punky-pop stuff, all seems a bit insubstantial to me. Is this better than Blink182 et al?. Possibly, but it's a low bar.

TEKKNO

Electric Callboy · 1 likes

1/5

Thank you for answering a question that didn't need to be asked - is there a place for a metal-europop crossover? No, there isn't, it's a terrible idea and this album unequivocally and definitively confirms this.

Excitable Boy

Warren Zevon · 1 likes

3/5

Liked this more that I would've expected, my initial thoughts were 'less camp Elton John' but it turned out to be far more interesting -the storytelling was great. Another good choice album

Tales Of Mystery And Imagination

The Alan Parsons Project · 1 likes

3/5

I'm not a fan of prog rock and I generally don't go for concept albums either so this was never going to be top of my list. That said, it's certainly better than I expected

All Hour Cymbals

Yeasayer · 1 likes

4/5

Rich & complex immersive stuff; love it! Good album

4-Star Albums (32)

1-Star Albums (13)

All Ratings

Ultra Blue

Hikaru Utada

2/5

Glad to have been introduced to a new sub-genre of music, the true spirit of this project. Sadly a bit too repetitive, and the switch in and out of different languages started to irritate but overall it was nicely done

The Lion's Roar

First Aid Kit

3/5

A bit too country-esque for me but a very pleasant chilled and laid back vibe

Rip It Off

Times New Viking

2/5

Blurry. Like my hangover.

Grace And Danger

John Martyn

2/5

The 80s vibe jarred and ruined this for me. Solid Air was a better choice.

I Am

Earth, Wind & Fire

2/5

Polished & passable disco funk I suppose but it's all a bit tired and vapid. Good as it is, Boogie Wonderland can't carry the rest of the album

Fully Completely

The Tragically Hip

2/5

Very 90s (which is fine), very REM (which is less fine). It's not that it's bad, more that it just doesn't float my boat

Before These Crowded Streets

Dave Matthews Band

4/5

Knew nothing about this, really rather enjoyed it.

Fashion Nugget

CAKE

4/5

Like Beck with trumpets, which is not a bad thing at all. Not sure how I'd not listened to this before, think I might've got distracted by electronica through the 90s

10,000 gecs

100 gecs

4/5

Wow! That was fun, thank you!

Pinkerton

Weezer

2/5

Darker lyrics seem at odds with the band's jaunty style. The whole thing just doesn't work for.me, but I never was much of a Weezer fan for some reason

All Hour Cymbals

Yeasayer

4/5

Rich & complex immersive stuff; love it! Good album

Come And Get It

Rachel Stevens

2/5

A triumph of style over substance. Very much of it's time, a pretty vapid attempt to capture some kind of kitsch vibe.

Contra

Vampire Weekend

3/5

Competent and pleasant enough but nothing that Paul Simon didn't do 40 years ago

Script Of The Bridge

The Chameleons

4/5

Always a fan of their dark droning post-punk sound though by the end of it I sort of want to shout out 'Oh come on mate, cheer up a bit'. Surprised it wasn't on the original list, so good shout

Tales Of Mystery And Imagination

The Alan Parsons Project

3/5

I'm not a fan of prog rock and I generally don't go for concept albums either so this was never going to be top of my list. That said, it's certainly better than I expected

Out of the Blue

Debbie Gibson

1/5

Is this some kind of in-joke? I don't get it and it's not funny

Human Racing

Nik Kershaw

1/5

I lived this hell vicariously through my teenage sister the first time around. Revisiting it is not enhancing my life in any way

The Feeding of the 5000

Crass

4/5

Seminal punk album driven by an unwavering political stance - take a look Johnny, no butter advertising in this timeline. Sadly ironic that the 'pay no more than £3' originals are now so expensively collectable but it is a reflection of how important and highly regarded this band is. Great album choice.

Bon Iver

3/5

Perfectly fine but rather forgettable. Apart from the last track which stuck in my head as weirdly out of keeping with the rest of the album, it was very 80s-ballad-y

I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning

Bright Eyes

4/5

Something compelling about the melancholy lyrics drew me back after a rather underwhelming first listen. Liked it more second time around, good album choice

A Charlie Brown Christmas

Vince Guaraldi Trio

3/5

Festive fun

Hurry Up, We're Dreaming

M83

3/5

Not bad but lost me after the first few tracks when it all started to sound very similar.

TEKKNO

Electric Callboy

1/5

Excitable Boy

Warren Zevon

3/5

Liked this more that I would've expected, my initial thoughts were 'less camp Elton John' but it turned out to be far more interesting -the storytelling was great. Another good choice album

A.M.

Wilco

2/5

I'm not a fan of the country influences and it's all so very mid-90s sounding. Just doesn't work for me, sorry

Body Talk

Robyn

3/5

At its best this is pretty pop perfection, but there's a lot of less than perfect filler tracks too.

A Live One

Phish

2/5

Feels more 70s than 90s. It's not that the music is particularly bad in itself, but I am struggling to see the relevance or value of a lengthy live jam session album.

The Great Outdoors Jam

Pigeons Playing Ping Pong

1/5

Another extended.jam session album that I'm struggling to understand why it's here or even why it exists. It's all very competently done, but it just ultimately sounds very self-indulgent and unnecessary

Older

Lizzy McAlpine

2/5

Pleasant enough if slightly underwhelming,, didn't really work for me

10,000 Days

TOOL

3/5

I'm surprised that Tool weren't on the 1001 list, they do what they do very well. This album is a bit too long & overblown at times though and nothing particularly stands out for me

Yellow & Green

Baroness

1/5

Dreadful. Too long, the (relatively) interesting tracks are lost on a sea of generic not-metal-enough/trying-too-hard-to-be-metal mediocrity

Songs Of A Lost World

The Cure

3/5

Another well-honed but hardly ground-breaking album from everyone's favorite goth granny. Whether this earns any kind of legendary status only time will tell, though I personally doubt it. Given that the Cure are already well represented on the original list I'm certainly surprised and maybe a little disappointed to see this album nominated to this list so soon after its release

Take It From The Man

The Brian Jonestown Massacre

3/5

Yeah sure it's a bit derivative but it's well done and an enjoyable listen, maybe a little bit too long. Good album choice though

Englabörn

Jóhann Jóhannsson

2/5

So ambient it barely registered. Like a soundtrack to a film that I fell asleep to - comfortable and not unpleasant but a bit annoying that I missed what was going on

Erratic Cinematic

Gerry Cinnamon

3/5

Without adding bagpipes could this be any more Scottish? Likeable enough, not something I'm likely to revisit but not bad by any means

World Of Echo

Arthur Russell

2/5

I enjoyed this until I didn't. The experimentalism initially grabbed me but then somewhere in the middle I oscillated between drifting off, finding it fascinating and finding it a bit annoying. Better shorter

Reconstruction Site

The Weakerthans

2/5

When the album notes promise something more interesting than the album itself

10 Days Out: Blues from the Backroads

Kenny Wayne Shepherd

3/5

Solid blues album but no new ground broken

Hand. Cannot. Erase.

Steven Wilson

2/5

I thought the album title sounded like a what three words address but the closest I could find was hand.carrot.erase which is a small patch of the South Atlantic Ocean to the southeast of the Falkland Islands.

Katamari Damacy

Various Artists

3/5

Whilst there's occasional moments of brilliance that lift it above what ultimately just sounds like a game soundtrack, it is ultimately just a game soundtrack and I'm not sure that makes for a great album. That said, I did enjoy those moments of brilliance

The Impossible Kid

Aesop Rock

3/5

For all the technical and lyrical skill going on here it somehow felt a little bit flat and cold

Mm..Food

MF DOOM

4/5

Witty, fun, accomplished. A startling omission from the original list

Is Ellipsis

Psyche Origami

4/5

Enjoyable old-school beats

Telefone

Noname

3/5

Liked this, nothing outstanding but easy enough to get into.

Bob Mould

4/5

Doesn't really add much to what we've already heard from Hüsker Dü or Sugar, it's just more of the same really so I'm not sure that it warrants a place on this list

Brat

Charli xcx

2/5

Not sure if this knows really what it wants to be or if it's me not knowing what I want it to be. But I found it simultaneously irritating (especially the auto-tune excess) and intriguing, though probably more of the former to be honest. Maybe time will tell but I doubt this will be seen as a pivotal music moment.

Game of Fools

Koritni

2/5

This boat sailed decades ago. Come on boys, keep up.

Choirs Of The Eye

Kayo Dot

2/5

Chucking your drum kit down the stairs isn't the best way to start an album but it does set the tone. Had its moments but I guess avant-garde metal is not for me

You'd Prefer an Astronaut

Hum

2/5

It's not bad. It's just a little bit dull and generic sounding and nothing really exciting or new. I appreciate that. It holds a nostalgic pull for some but not for me

Black Devil Disco Club

5/5

Awesome record! Really enjoyed this, great addition to the list.

Squeezing Out Sparks

Graham Parker

3/5

Solid album choice. +1 for sounding like Elvis Costello. -1 for sounding like Elvis Costello.

Gordon

Barenaked Ladies

3/5

Like a Canadian Housemartins, just not as good

Control

Pedro The Lion

2/5

Rather morose grunge-tinged indie landfill

Has A Good Home

Final Fantasy

2/5

Interesting start but I found my interest quickly waning. By the end of the album I'd pretty much switched off which was a disappointment

Relatives in Descent

Protomartyr

4/5

I hear the Nick Cave comparisons but this is great, this stands up in its own right. Great album .Glad I've been introduced to this band, I'll certainly look out some more of their stuff

Broken Social Scene

3/5

This was fine. Just fine. Nothing bad but it just didn't stir anything or excite me or even interest me by the end. Maybe I'd feel differently with some kind of nostalgic connection, but for me the very definition of a three star album

Dear You

Jawbreaker

2/5

I struggle to differentiate between any of this American punky-pop stuff, all seems a bit insubstantial to me. Is this better than Blink182 et al?. Possibly, but it's a low bar.

Alive 2007

Daft Punk

5/5

This was far, far better than it had any right to be.

Nurture

Porter Robinson

2/5

This sounds like the sort of music that plays in in those oh so cool shops and bars (just to be clear, that's not a good thing, nor a recommendation)

Thank Christ for the Bomb

The Groundhogs

4/5

Authentic sounding, sits just the right side of psychedelic weirdness-infused blues-rock. Good choice.

Version 2.0

Garbage

3/5

Not bad,, but doesn't really add much or move things forward from the first album

Sailing The Seas Of Cheese

Primus

4/5

Uncategorisably great strangeness. Good choice

The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess

Chappell Roan

2/5

"So how do you like your pop served?" "I think I'd like standard á la mode girl pop with a little bit of spice please, sort of 2023-style" "Here you go" ... "And how did you find your pop today?" "It's all good thanks" (but really thinking "don't think I'll try that again, not really spicy enough for my taste")

Fear of a Blank Planet

Porcupine Tree

2/5

Competent enough but doesn't convince me that 'modern' and 'prog' belong in the same sentence

Jaco Pastorius

2/5

There were tracks in here that I enjoyed but they were far outnumbered and overshadowed by the ones that I didn't. As an album it felt very disjointed and disconnected. Not one for me I'm afraid

No.1 In Heaven

Sparks

4/5

Back to the future! Great stuff, must've sounded wild back in 1979

My Love Is Cool

Wolf Alice

4/5

A band I keep hearing about but have never got round to giving them a listen, enjoyed it.

Mad Dogs & Englishmen

Joe Cocker

2/5

Decent enough blues-rock covers, but I'm just not sure that it's decent enough to warrant nomination.

The Universe Smiles Upon You

Khruangbin

4/5

I've been meaning to look out some Khruangbin for some time and it didn't disappoint, loved the chilled vibe. Great stuff.

Joy as an Act of Resistance

IDLES

4/5

Doesn't live up to the greatness of Brutalism but still a good album. Sadly time and the subsequent albums have taken the shine off it for me though

Exile On Coldharbour Lane

Alabama 3

5/5

Great album, evokes lots of happy memories but still a great album in its own right. Good choice, thanks!

Funeral Dress

Wussy

4/5

Solid indie rock, something just lifted it a bit from the landfill of similar sounding stuff

Frengers: Not Quite Friends But Not Quite Strangers

Mew

3/5

Some bits of this were great. Not all sadly, but I am glad I got to give this a listen

Transatlanticism

Death Cab for Cutie

1/5

Wow! Rocks like Coldplay rocks. Impressively shit

Young Team

Mogwai

5/5

Mogwai and GY!BE were both on my shortlist of albums to nominate so I'm very happy that both are on this list. My dilemma continues... This is an epic album, five stars all day long.

Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino

Arctic Monkeys

2/5

Trying too hard. Just sounds pretentious

Misplaced Childhood

Marillion

4/5

So very 80s. Even if the music itself is questionable at times this reminds me of some great times and great mates. A three star album elevated to four due to the power of nostalgia

F♯ A♯ ∞

Godspeed You! Black Emperor

5/5

Outstanding album, one of my all time favourites.

Harbor Lights

Bruce Hornsby

1/5

Dreadful, I struggled to find anything enjoyable here. It's the antithesis of everything that music should be in my view.

Geography

Tom Misch

2/5

Competently dull.

Pony Express Record

Shudder To Think

1/5

Initial spark of interest quickly waned. About 50 minutes too long

Speak & Spell

Depeche Mode

3/5

Patchy, pop-heavy debut, I much prefer the later & darker DM though

A1A

Jimmy Buffett

1/5

Quite an achievement to manage to make country sound even worse than it usually does

Ruin

The Amazing Devil

2/5

Like a soundtrack to a Lord of the Rings-esque film. All very dramatic and worthy and a little bit over the top. Worth a listen but only the once for me

Stage Four

Touché Amoré

3/5

Musically so-so, but the lyrics have a power that resonates

Magnolia Electric Co.

Songs: Ohia

4/5

Couple of duff tracks broke the spell but overall a rather enjoyable slice of mellow loveliness

The Mantle

Agalloch

4/5

Dark and broody and sounds somehow Scottish (I know, they're from the US really). Also a bit like the Scottish football team, comes loaded with hope and expectation and occasional moments of brilliance but still somehow manages not to fully deliver. Good album overall though

Super Ape

The Upsetters

5/5

Dubtastic!

Y Ahora Qué?

Reincidentes

3/5

No idea what they're on about but they sound like they mean it and it was energetic and fun to listen to

Crack the Skye

Mastodon

2/5

Expectations met. Done reasonably well but nothing that hasn't been done decades before

Comfort To Me

Amyl and The Sniffers

5/5

Love this, punky perfection.

Spilt Milk

Jellyfish

2/5

Must have seemed like a good idea to someone but a Supertramp-Queen hybrid band/album was never going to land well for me

Penguin Eggs

Nic Jones

4/5

Well that was all very quaint and lovely and really rather enjoyable, loved the storytelling

Only Death is Real

Stray From The Path

1/5

RATM did it better. This is just tiresome

McDonald and Giles

Ian McDonald

2/5

The briefly annoying and jarring parts detracted from what was otherwise an interesting, if forgettable, album.

Vs.

Pearl Jam

2/5

When pearl jam landed in the early '90s, my head was in a very different space musically and I thought they were derivative and a bit dull. Never really changed that view, it just doesn't excite me - it's fine but I can't see that I would ever choose to listen to it

RENAISSANCE

Beyoncé

2/5

Not my thing but not nearly as bad as I'd feared. Still not convinced it belongs on this list though

Promises

Floating Points

3/5

Very chilled, so ambient I almost missed it.

Modern Vampires of the City

Vampire Weekend

2/5

Ineffectual sounding, never really developed and started to grate after a few tracks

Sublime

3/5

Some fun ska-punky tracks, some less fun tracks too. Mostly fun though.

Café Tacvba

3/5

Eclectic fun, and the kind of.thing I was hoping for from this list - an album or a genre new to me that I wouldn't otherwise have come across

30 Something

Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine

4/5

I preferred 101 Damnations but this is still unstoppably great. Bonus points for Fruitbat's live on TV rugby tackle on Phillip Schofield.

Odyssey Number Five

Powderfinger

3/5

Not great but not bad either. Perfectly straight down the middle

I Had a Dream That You Were Mine

Hamilton Leithauser

4/5

Yeah enjoyed this. Some good stuff in here, it's all right

Slapstick

3/5

Ska-punk is a difficult blend to get right. This was energetic fun but ultimately I think these guys were right to throw in the towel

Rose Mountain

Screaming Females

4/5

Proper enjoyable punky grooves, liked her voice

Blizzard Of Ozz

Ozzy Osbourne

3/5

Far too cheesy. It was alright but not great, apart from Crazy Train which was ace

Highway Prayers

Billy Strings

3/5

MORBUD4ME was just laughable and an hour and a quarter was far too long but this was not nearly as bad as I had feared. Still not really my thing though.

Hammersmith Odeon, London '75

Bruce Springsteen

1/5

Total waste.of time. I already knew that I don't need Bruce Springsteen in my life and two more hours of this shit was never going to convince me otherwise. Tedious nonsense.

Fly

Yoko Ono

1/5

Dragging us all into this new level of hell is an unforgivable act of aural shithousery.

Because the Internet

Childish Gambino

4/5

Lots to enjoy here, good album

Wet Leg

4/5

Fun, irreverent, witty. There is still hope and life left in modern alternative music

How to Operate With a Blown Mind

Lo Fidelity Allstars

4/5

Biding its time for a(nother?) 90s electronica revival. In the meantime it's still a fun listen though.

Mouth Sounds

Neil Cicierega

2/5

The zombie corpse of the mashup just won't stay down. Hilariously shit and a bold choice, but ultimately the joke wears a bit thin

Turn On The Bright Lights

Interpol

3/5

Not sure how Interpol had fallen off my radar. Somewhat generic sounding (reminded me of the Chameleons, Strokes, etc) but done well and an enjoyable listen

Chet

Chet Baker

4/5

Lovely, proper Sunday morning stuff

Gemstones

Adam Green

2/5

Intriguing and irritating by equal measure. Actually, irritating wins out.

City Of Evil

Avenged Sevenfold

2/5

This resurrected corpse of '80s metal doesn't make '80s metal any better. Good drummer though

Sparkle In The Finish

The Ike Reilly Assassination

3/5

Not bad, not exciting either. 3

Cracker Island

Gorillaz

2/5

The fact that this is the eighth Gorillaz album somehow simultaneously surprised and didn't surprise me but after the freshness of their initial stuff they seem to have just got a bit stale and tired. I wanted to like this more, to be reminded of the greatness that Gorillaz can be. Sadly this album didn't do it, nor any of the preceding ones really.

Nightbirds

LaBelle

4/5

Lady Marmalade is outstanding of course, but the rest of the album supports it superbly. A startling omission from the original list. Great choice!

Go Farther In Lightness

Gang of Youths

3/5

21st century indie rock by numbers

Hall of the Mountain King

Savatage

2/5

Of its time, but sounds exactly like what the cover.suggests

The Evil One

Roky Erickson

4/5

Initial impression - not great, but it kinda grew on me as iit progressed, enjoyed a second listen much more

We Rock Hard

Freestylers

2/5

Dated, too long, not great

Young, Loud And Snotty

Dead Boys

2/5

Sounds like punk and looks like punk, but apart from a couple of moments it just seemed to missing the anger and the wit that I associate with early punk

Stop Making Sense

Talking Heads

5/5

Even better with the film but nonetheless, without it this is still an absolute belter of an album.

Love Is Hell

Ryan Adams

1/5

No, love is not hell. Ryan Adams' albums are hell, and we've already had two of the bloody things on the main list.

Goat

The Jesus Lizard

5/5

Love this, a very welcome wake up album this morning. Still able to hold its own after 35 years which is impressive

Discipline

King Crimson

4/5

Not a fan of prog rock generally but I do have a soft spot for King Crimson and this is a great album