810
Albums Rated
3.91
Average Rating
74%
Complete
279 albums remaining
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Taste Profile
1950s
Favorite Decade
Punk
Favorite Genre
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Top Origin
Enthusiast
Rater Style ?
259
5-Star Albums
14
1-Star Albums
Breakdown
By Genre
By Decade
By Origin
Albums
You Love More Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Kollaps
Einstürzende Neubauten
|
5 | 1.9 | +3.1 |
|
Duck Stab/Buster & Glen
The Residents
|
5 | 2.03 | +2.97 |
|
Junkyard
The Birthday Party
|
5 | 2.16 | +2.84 |
|
Dub Housing
Pere Ubu
|
5 | 2.35 | +2.65 |
|
Locust Abortion Technician
Butthole Surfers
|
5 | 2.38 | +2.62 |
|
Suicide
Suicide
|
5 | 2.46 | +2.54 |
|
The Modern Dance
Pere Ubu
|
5 | 2.48 | +2.52 |
|
Moss Side Story
Barry Adamson
|
5 | 2.53 | +2.47 |
|
Timeless
Goldie
|
5 | 2.53 | +2.47 |
|
Playing With Fire
Spacemen 3
|
5 | 2.54 | +2.46 |
You Love Less Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Thriller
Michael Jackson
|
1 | 4.22 | -3.22 |
|
Bad
Michael Jackson
|
1 | 3.81 | -2.81 |
|
Off The Wall
Michael Jackson
|
1 | 3.78 | -2.78 |
|
Ready To Die
The Notorious B.I.G.
|
1 | 3.37 | -2.37 |
|
Neon Bible
Arcade Fire
|
1 | 3.35 | -2.35 |
|
Bluesbreakers
John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers
|
1 | 3.16 | -2.16 |
|
Wild Wood
Paul Weller
|
1 | 3.09 | -2.09 |
|
Heartbreaker
Ryan Adams
|
1 | 3.03 | -2.03 |
|
Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite
Maxwell
|
1 | 2.91 | -1.91 |
|
In Rainbows
Radiohead
|
2 | 3.84 | -1.84 |
Artists
Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| David Bowie | 8 | 4.88 |
| Miles Davis | 4 | 5 |
| Bob Dylan | 6 | 4.67 |
| Leonard Cohen | 4 | 4.75 |
| Sonic Youth | 4 | 4.75 |
| Public Enemy | 3 | 5 |
| Kraftwerk | 3 | 5 |
| Nick Drake | 3 | 5 |
| Johnny Cash | 3 | 5 |
| The Velvet Underground | 3 | 5 |
| The Stooges | 3 | 5 |
| Bruce Springsteen | 5 | 4.4 |
| Talking Heads | 4 | 4.5 |
| R.E.M. | 4 | 4.5 |
| Brian Eno | 4 | 4.5 |
| The Fall | 3 | 4.67 |
| Jimi Hendrix | 3 | 4.67 |
| The Kinks | 3 | 4.67 |
| Neil Young & Crazy Horse | 3 | 4.67 |
| George Michael | 2 | 5 |
| Oasis | 2 | 5 |
| Black Sabbath | 2 | 5 |
| Billy Bragg | 2 | 5 |
| Sly & The Family Stone | 2 | 5 |
| The Cure | 2 | 5 |
| Funkadelic | 2 | 5 |
| Spiritualized | 2 | 5 |
| Pixies | 2 | 5 |
| Pulp | 2 | 5 |
| Massive Attack | 2 | 5 |
| Love | 2 | 5 |
| Elliott Smith | 2 | 5 |
| Blur | 2 | 5 |
| Happy Mondays | 2 | 5 |
| Beastie Boys | 2 | 5 |
| Fatboy Slim | 2 | 5 |
| Jane's Addiction | 2 | 5 |
| The Prodigy | 2 | 5 |
| Mudhoney | 2 | 5 |
| Cocteau Twins | 2 | 5 |
| A Tribe Called Quest | 2 | 5 |
| Pere Ubu | 2 | 5 |
| Beatles | 5 | 4.2 |
| Neil Young | 4 | 4.25 |
| Marvin Gaye | 3 | 4.33 |
| Nirvana | 3 | 4.33 |
| Roxy Music | 3 | 4.33 |
Least Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Michael Jackson | 3 | 1 |
Controversial
| Artist | Ratings |
|---|---|
| Arcade Fire | 5, 1 |
| Madonna | 3, 2, 5 |
5-Star Albums (259)
View Album Wall
Popular Reviews
Kraftwerk
5/5
Music made by men pretending to be robots for people who are pretending not to be robots.
Overall my favourite Kraftwerk album
41 likes
Einstürzende Neubauten
5/5
A band and album that is so hard to properly describe. I got into Neubauten through listening to the Bad Seeds and I was lucky enough to see the play in 1991. It was like visiting hell, am I mean that as a compliment to the unabashed fury on display that night. Cut pieces of shopping trolley raining over the audience and sparks from angle grinders adding a sense of danger that they may just set the venue alight. This album doesn't even come ose to capturing that but it still gets five stars as it is still on a whole other level to most of the albums on this list
35 likes
Talking Heads
5/5
This and the other two albums in the "Eno Trilogy" were a staple of my teenage listening. Talking Heads were my band and spoke to this oddball from the suburbs, I even used "Artists Only" as a tag for a little while.
This album is testament to the fact that they were four talented artists, not just David Byrne's dog and pony show
15 likes
The Sonics
5/5
They are the anti-Beatles right?
Get rid everything that "good and pure" or radio friendly about the Fab 4, rough it up, add some fuzz and some guttural vocals and you have The Sonics.
Not detracting from either band but I am so glad The Sonics existed to lay the roots of punk and Garage rock. I love them and could listen to this album in repeat for hours (which I did).
9 likes
1-Star Albums (14)
All Ratings
Beatles
5/5
Amazing what a massive leap their sound and songwriting took between Help and this album
Aerosmith
4/5
I know the hits but not an album I am going to put on high rotation
George Michael
5/5
Couple of dud tracks but an otherwise crucial album
The Rolling Stones
3/5
I have a confession. I don't think I am that much of a Stones fan.
DJ Shadow
5/5
Amazing album, one of my favourites. Why don't I own this on vinyl yet
Dr. Dre
4/5
Some of the lyrics are really dated and ruin the listening experience. The production, beats and grooves still reign supreme
ZZ Top
4/5
I used to own a tape of this when it came out. Classic album that I haven't listened to for years.
The Clash
5/5
The only band that matters. If I was told I could only listen to one album for the rest of my life it could well be this one
Harry Nilsson
4/5
I had only ever listened to best of's before so was surprised by how this works as a cohesive album. Coconut jarrs being such an over exposed silly song, it however works as a middle point of the record
10cc
3/5
This is a tough one to score. I had never listened to this before and I have listened to a small amount of 10CC. I thought some songs were amazing, early 70s glam tinged weirdness, while others were a bit ho-hum. I did give it another listen and explore the band some more
The Youngbloods
3/5
Very late sixties/hippy indulgence. Not terrible, just not what grabs me. Main grip was they can't really decide what kind of style they are and sound enough like other bands of their era that I would rather delve deeper into those artists.
Bob Dylan
4/5
Classic Dylan. I had never listened to this before or was aware of many of the songs, maybe this is because they are ones that don't get dragged out into the hit parade. I had no idea it was from the mid-90s as some of the songs are comparable to his best. One to listen to again in a mellow moment
Anita Baker
4/5
Really beautiful album. I will give Anita Baker more of a listen.
Franz Ferdinand
4/5
From when I first heard, Take Me Out in 2004, I became a fan. They lit up the dance floor of ever indie club across the world. Them touring this album in Australia was a special time as it coincided with the opening of Spectrum, a venue I would go on to do the art for over the next 6 years. I still love the rest of their work but none could ever match this debut
Nightmares On Wax
4/5
I got heavily into trip hop around the time this album came out. Problem is that I never heard this album until about a decade later so it is never going to be my go to of this genre. I do like the how its sounds are missing link between Acid Jazz and Trip Hop and beyond. This is a great album if nothing but for its legacy
The Specials
5/5
Definitive ska album and set the (two) tone for so much to come
Bruce Springsteen
5/5
The perfect album about the United States. Shame the ideals that Bruce wrote about have been perverted in the 37 years since this was released.
Steely Dan
3/5
Some great songs, some good songs and some terrible songs. Patchy
Gary Numan
5/5
Do you like Gary Numan?
Perfect album and it's influence screams out in so many acts that have followed
Paul Weller
1/5
Not a fan, sorry.
Sounds like sub-par Eric Clapton
ABBA
3/5
The ABBA album that didn't get hammered into the Australian psyche. Beautiful in parts it heralds Benny & Björn's shift to musicals. The album is hampered by some of sameness between some songs and feels flat in places
Michael Jackson
1/5
Nope, not a chance am I listening to this again. Quincy Jone production is amazing but sorry, the legacy of Jacko taints this album.
It's one pub debate I will walk away from
New Order
4/5
Near perfect album by New Order. Peter Hook's bass is the star of this album and a very bright one at that
Ice Cube
3/5
At the height of grunge, one of the hardest and angriest albums released was this hip hop one. Hard to deny what an phenomenonenal lyricist Ice Cube is. The production suits Cube's rapping perfectly, more bomb squad that Dre, DJ Pooh is criminaly underrated
Would have given this 4 stars but some of the tracks are sexist and dated.
Miles Davis
5/5
This album is the musical equivalent of lucid dreaming. The cover art encapsulates the sounds within better than most other albums.
Worlds away from Kind of Blue and with an artist like Miles Davis you would hope for that
Sparks
4/5
I remember my older cousins owning this and probably playing it for me when I was a kid. I (re)discovered Sparks in 1997 when they teamed up with Faith No More for This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us, the original of which is on this album. While never a die hard fan, I was aware of what and influence their sound has had on so many other artists. Like many others, my passion for Sparks has been increased in the lead up to the Edgar Wright doco (which I am yet to see)
This album is one of their best. Uncomfortable in places it straddles a fine line towards being too wierd. It is weirdness done well, which makes this album so good.
Haircut 100
3/5
Love Plus One is not only one of my favourite songs but in my opinion, one of the most perfectly crafted pop songs of all time. The rest of the album is good, but not great. A post ska, afro ear-lite sound that blends into Level 42 and A Certain Ratio fails to keep my interest for the full album
ZZ Top
2/5
I like Le Grange and that is about. I get bluesy jam bands are a lot of people's thing but just not mine
John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers
1/5
Go listen to John Lee Hooker, Buddy Guy, Robert Johnson or any one of hundreds of other blues artists instead.
How this is an essential album is beyond me
Don McLean
2/5
You know what, I tried but apart from having the title track and Vincent etch in my memory this album kind of washed over me. By the numbers overly sentimental pop-folk
Marty Robbins
5/5
I have had this on repeat all day. That voice, like gold soaked in honey but with a slight hint of menace on par with Johnny Cash. I can hear Marty Robbins' sound in the DNA of American, Outlaw Country, Gram Parsons and even Nick Cave in his murder ballad era. Amazing stuff and an original artform
The Fall
4/5
Mark E. Smith's singing is garbled, the instruments sound out of tune and it sounds like it was recorded in a toilet block, with a cheap cassette player. Yet it is a brilliant, unique and exciting album that has served as an inspiration for so many acts that followed (yes I am looking at you Pavement).
I don't listen to the Fall nearly enough
George Michael
5/5
So very different to Faith or his work with Wham, this album is the pinnacle of George Michael's career. Even to a casual listener and not a super fan like my wife, it is hard to deny that this is pop perfection
The Smashing Pumpkins
4/5
This album meanders in places which is why I dropped a star, but damn me if it isn't worth 4 stars for Cherub Rock, Today and Disarm.
I'm not the most ardent of Smashing Pumpkins fans due to Billy and the gang disappearing up their own bottoms for the next few albums. This album however is a testament to blend of sounds the band embraced, from Grunge to metal to Dream pop, Sonic Youth style noise and R.E.M.-like sensitivity.
Nina Simone
4/5
Beautiful, stark and at times confronting album. A surprise for me, knowing only Nina Simone's more popular work as I was expecting smooth jazz
Marvin Gaye
3/5
David Bowie
5/5
I will probably give all of Bowie's albums 5 and this is no exception. The man was a master
Metallica
4/5
When this came out I was mostly listening to a lot of hip hop, Joy Division, New Order and The Doors. I never really warmed to Metallica but would say this is my favourite album. It marks a turning point for the band from their aggressive speed metal to their slow commercial stuff. I think this middle point is the band at it's best
Dr. John
4/5
Unexpectedly amazing. I had wrongly written off Dr John as some proggy old blues appropriator. An amazing blend of Cajun, blues and psych rock here. I and hear how he has influenced the sound of many bands that followed. The layering of some of the tracks is like nothing I have heard from that era
Now to explore some of his other albums
The Beach Boys
3/5
It's not Pet Sounds, is it? There are some great songs on here, namely the last three tracks. The rest of the album? Not that that great. This album is marred by soupy production and a patchy song choice, especially "Student Demonstration Time" which just sounds condescending and dated rather than being the protest song it intended to be.
The Strokes
5/5
Never has an album felt so familiar yet been so new. It came out at such the right time. So much music had felt stale and to me this album revitalised music. I saw the Strokes a few days before this came out and the day the album came out, I ended up listening to it for about 8 hours on repeat. When it came up as my album yesterday, I listened to it about 5 times along with a few of their other albums.
PJ Harvey
3/5
Truly beautiful album but something about it didn't grab me. Maybe it is my personal taste as this album ticks all the right boxes and much more sonically mature and accomplished in comparison to Stories From The City.
Maybe it neeslds a few more listens.
PS: whoever thought the bugles on the third track was a good idea needs a talking to
Cornershop
4/5
The only thing that let this album down was the main single, Brimful of Asha getting treated like a novelty song after the Norman Cook remix. The album is full or really interesting sound excursions, sitting somewhere inbetween an indie, big beat and Trip Hop while having its own unique sound. I remember finding the album really refreshing in the post Britpop malaise
Oasis
5/5
With this album it will forever be 21/22 year old me drunk on the dance floor of an indie club at 3am, a gin and tonic in one hand, a cigarette hanging from my lips, ready to take on the world.
Forget the Britpop hype and all the other BS, this is a powerful band in its raw form. Listening back to it after such a long time I am struck by the fact it still gives me tingles up the spine. To me it really is a good album. Later one the may have disappeared in a pile of white powder and too much borrowed Beatles riffs but this a solid debut
Motörhead
5/5
The musical equivalent of a Lancaster Bomber exploding into your ear drums
Bee Gees
2/5
If the music on this album was a colour, it would be beige.
Some epic sounding tracks in amongst a slew of ones that sound like they a lifted from an off off Broadway musical.
This is the Bee Gees who are no longer the Aussie pop darlings and not yet the doyens of disco
Iggy Pop
5/5
This album is a testament to the symbiotic relationship that Iggy Pop and David Bowie had in the mid-70s. Both were lost musically and mentally, the collaboration on this album had them bring out the best in each other while surviving the worst.
It is argued that this is primarily a David Bowie album but I would disagree as Pop's influence over Bowie stands out in the rawness of much of this record. The dark keyboard and drum sequencing of Nightclubbing would have sounded cleaner without Iggys suggestions and wouldn't have had the impact on so many post punk and new wave artists that heard this album.
It is a shame in some was that Iggy moved away from this type of sound later on
David Bowie
5/5
So nice to have this album come up the day after Iggy Pop's The Idiot. Because where that was the prologue to the "Berlin Trilogy", this is the middle act. So I had already listened to it in the morning before it came up on here.
It is one of the many highlights of Bowie's career and agreeably his greatest album. This is another one of those template albums that broke/enhanced new ground which led later musicians to follow.
You will find me giving most Bowie albums 5 stars, this I want to give at least 6 to
Talking Heads
4/5
This is Talking Heads before David Byrne hijacked the name and started treating the other three as his backing band and long before he started doing Broadway specials. The thing people forget is just how talented the band were as a whole.
This album is raw and loses direction in places however overall it is a stunning debut and lacks the cynicism of their last few albums.
Arty, funky, punky songs with real heart
Eric Clapton
2/5
I'm not much of an Eric Clapton fan but this isn't too bad. The most popular song on the album is my least favourite as it jars with the smoothness. I've always found it odd that someone who actively spoke out about Jamaican immigration should cover a reggae classic
Beatles
3/5
Good but not overall not as great as the Beatles albums that bookend it. I find some of the cover versions on here a bit underdone.
Difficult second album syndrome perhaps, which makes it their weakest album for me.
Blasphemous or not, I actually prefer Meet The Beatles to this.
Led Zeppelin
4/5
I've never really gotten into Led Zeppelin although I do appreciate their fusion of blues, hard rock and psychedelia. They made a sound that was not so much of their own but far better than their contemporaries.
There are some epic songs on here which far out weighs the selections on here that are purely masturbatory
Jerry Lee Lewis
4/5
I cringed at the thought of playing this but the more I listen to it, the more I want to go back and hear it all again. I was expecting hokey, old timey rock 'n' roll but instead my ears were blessed with a hardcore punk like energy and so many good tunes.
Wilco
4/5
Wilco are one of those bands that I have kind of avoided, namely because some Wilco fans I've met have been a bit tedious.
This is good. Not the second coming like some people have led me to believe but solid. They sound like a mellower, possibly more refined Replacements, with Jeff Tweedy even emulating Paul Westerberg's vocals in places. Sonically the album is pretty amazingly in places. It has so many layers of sound.
Overall I like it and will listen to it and them again. The only negative is a few of the songs towards the end feel drawn out and it is a brutally long album already
Devendra Banhart
3/5
This album triggers the olfactory memory of patchouli oil and B.O. wafting from Devendra's fans.
This probably isn't a bad album just not just me for me.
Autumn's Child is a beautiful way to end the thing
Black Sabbath
5/5
Extra special this album coming up on my list on Ozzy Osborne's birthday.
This album for me is working back till 3am on many deadlines, alone in an office with this blasting out of my computer's speakers.
Perfect album
Leonard Cohen
5/5
Yet another perfect album. Like many others I became aware of Leonard Cohen through the movie Pump Up the Volume and Nick Cave. I though this album was a compilation at first as it has a number of my favourite Cohen songs on it
Ride
4/5
Stunning debut! I was 18 when this came out and Ride's brand of Shoegaze was music I could lost in. This album and the first eps dominated my walkman for many months that year. I had a long sleeve t-shirt with the cover on it that I got from their Australian tour and it wore it with pride. For me this is a perfect blend of a sonic onslaught and Byrdsesque jangle pop.
Stand out tracks are Polar Bear and Vapour trail.
Four stars because as much as I love this, it still doesn't capture how good they were live or the perfection of their first eps.
The Beach Boys
3/5
This is the Beach Boys so there are amazing pop songs with flawless harmonising on here. It's just that as with most Beach Boys releases it is just a collection of songs instead of a proper album. I like it but compared to Pet Sounds it overall lacks something
Hawkwind
4/5
Another of those bands that I am aware of but haven't really listened to. With its sludgy cosmic soundscapes I have definitely become a new fan. That said, the album is a bit hit and miss, going a bit too hippy and a bit too jam band for my tastes at times. Maybe I was on the wrong acid or it was a case of you had to be there and that whole era
The Byrds
3/5
Sure it's a pivotal album in terms of folk pop, country and psychedelia but it is patchy!
Again, some great songs, and too many not so great ones.
If you want a better cover of Hey Joe, go listen to the one by Love on De Capo, also released in 1966.
Jeff Buckley
5/5
I hadn't listened to this album in full since the day we found out he had died. I was backpacking around Europe and was drinking cheap sangria in a cheap resort bar in the foothills of Florence. The fellow Aussie I had made friends with convinced the bartender to play his copy of Grace on the stereo.
Man what a talent that was lost.
Not a huge fan, mostly again by the glut of imitators who followed Buckley (badly) and the over zealous fans who worshipped him to the exclusion of all else.
That said, I can appreciate his artistry and his skill as a singer song writer and performer
Aretha Franklin
4/5
I didn't think I'd heard this before but knew every song, knew every word. I honestly thought it was a greatest hits.
My only minus would be it does feel like it is a collection of songs rather than a cohesive album.
Blondie
4/5
I love Blondie. I find it hard to deny that Debbie Harry and Chris Stein are geniuses, however while there are many classics on this album there are a few songs that kind of plod along. Which had me struggling between giving this 3 or 4 stars.
It's highlights are new wave at its finest
Billy Bragg
5/5
Woody Guthrie was always one of those artists that I'd spoken about in reverence but never really took the time to listen to until a few years ago. It took the teacher of a lettering workshop I attended talking about Guthrie having been a sign writer travelling where the work took him in the days before he became a recording artitst for me me finally listen closely. I became a staunch fan after that.
So I finally listened to this album after side stepping it for so long. It is one of the few albums on this list so far that I would say is a truly important one. It is not only great music split between Wilco and Billy Bragg but it brings to life these lost lyrics. And they tell a story of a forgetten America and showcase how powerful what Woody had to say was. It also showcases what a fun and clever writer the man was.
So good to hear his legacy at work.
Now to go listen to some more Billy Bragg and Wilco as I have neglected them for way too long
The Who
4/5
A band that stands its own when compared to the Beatles and the Stones. This one of the many templates for punk and still rippling with youthful rebellion over 55 years since it's release.
The odd muddled throwaway track pulls off a star but this is a fantastic album
Fela Kuti
4/5
I've not listened to enough Fela Kuti or Afro Beat. I've heard 100s of bands who are influenced by him and sampled him. I first heard of him through the Beastie Boys Grand Royal magazine when they did a piece on his life and work.
I loved the energy and the grooves on this album and the Ginger Baker/Tony Allen drum off is such a bonus.
Janelle Monáe
4/5
This is an exhaustive album. Janelle Monáe has taken me on a musical history lesson that spans the last century. Eclectic is one way to describe it and in a way I am reminded of Beck who did a similar kind of genre smashing.
Needs a few listens to capture what is going on, and no interruptions which has been hard listening to it while working in a busy office. Maybe a bit over long and unaccessible in places but I'm OK with that
Carpenters
3/5
I love Karen Carpenter and some of the Carpenters greatest songs are on this album but also some of their worst. Overall it is an average album not helped by the worst cover version of a Beatles song of all time.
The Crusaders
2/5
They all sound like really good musicians, but for me this alb just doesn't hit the mark.
If this list was for inoffensive background music to play at dinner parties whilst drinking over priced champagne and running off to the bathroom to do bumps of coke then I would give it 5 stars.
But it's not and nothing about this ablum screams essential listening.
Sigur Rós
4/5
Moving album. It fills my head like a film soundtrack, which is what the more know songs on the album have been used as.
Sigur Rós flew under my radar for the most part until ( ), and I have never really explored their early work.
The beautiful, etheral vocals firm Jonsi put this apart for me. His voice is its own instrument.
Elvis Presley
4/5
Rush
2/5
Must be a 70s American thing...
Jeff Beck
2/5
I can appreciate that this is seen as a seminal album in the evolution of hard rock/heavy metal but...
To me this is just a turgid mess of borrowed blues riffs and a lot of showy guitar playing. And yeah, they can play, the musicianship on this album is phenomenonenal but that doesn't necessarily translate to enjoyable listening.
Not for me.
One final note, the cover of Greensleeves is possibly the most out of place track ever included on a record
Bonnie Raitt
4/5
Not my usual choice of listening but can appreciate this pop country gem.
I give it higher marks for just how influential it is and mainly for the fact that I enjoyed it a lot.
It is Christmas Eve Eve today so this was a nice break from my Xmas song play list. I will come back and listen to this again as it seems like a good soundtrack to kicking back in the summer sun
The B-52's
5/5
This is one of the best (my favourite) debut albums of all time. Considering this came out at the height of punk and American mucho stadium rock, this is a very revolutionary album.
Nothing I have read has ever summed up the vibe of the B52's than this quote from issue 19 of Rick Remender and Wes Craig's comic, Deadly Class:
"B52's are a true original, that's pretty rare. A bunch of art school kids from Athens Georgia putting together a mix of Doo-Wop, surf tones, and free flowing oddball psychedelic lyrics. Two knockouts running around in beehive hairdos, this flamboyant gay guy who is just fearless. They're not trying to plug themselves into some stunted adolescent need to feel tough"
Curtis Mayfield
3/5
I wanted to like this a lot more than I did.
Maybe it's just the mood I am in but overall this album fell flat. It felt like Curtis Mayfield by numbers rather than being an essential work
Various Artists
3/5
Don't let Phil ruin Christmas for you, skip the last track.
Lovely collection of songs, fantastic vocals and an amazing array of talent on display. It will be nice to get this on vinyl to play next Christmas.
To its negative it is just a Christmas album so the appeal is limited.
Spector has pulled out the stops with his wall of sound. In places it takes the songs to an amazing level, in others it sounds like a flat mess with the sounds cancelling each other out
Culture Club
3/5
Fantastic pop album but I prefer their debut.
Talking Heads
5/5
This and the other two albums in the "Eno Trilogy" were a staple of my teenage listening. Talking Heads were my band and spoke to this oddball from the suburbs, I even used "Artists Only" as a tag for a little while.
This album is testament to the fact that they were four talented artists, not just David Byrne's dog and pony show
Public Enemy
5/5
This album is a Revolution!
Sly & The Family Stone
5/5
Powerful grooves.
Music with a message that you can dance too.
Influential and oft sampled.
I love it
Astrud Gilberto
3/5
I was expecting to love this but found it too mawkish to completely enjoy.
Astrud Gilbert has an amazing voice and there are some really nice bossa nova and pop tunes on here. However, there are some tracks that are just plain cheesy or simply never rise above background music in a budget cocktail bar.
Go listen Getz/Giberto in preference to this
Jimi Hendrix
4/5
I punkish friend of one of my sisters taped this for me when I was 14 back in 1987. He'd taken the liberty of excluding Exp and the Noel Redding track, which was a good call.
This is the first time I listened to this album since the early 90s but it still is a sonic blast and Hendrix was a true pathfinder. I had forgotten what a good lyricist he was, especially with Little Wing and Castles Made of Sand.
Got me listening to a bunch of other Hendrix today which isn't not a bad thing
Alice Cooper
3/5
Some killer tracks surrounded by penny ante theatrical numbers that are the crux of the Alice Cooper personality. Not completely for me but not a bad album.
The Young Gods
4/5
Kurt Weill, Swans and Einstürzende Neubauten walk into a bar...
Seriously though, any band that influences Bowie rates high for me.
Wasn't that familiar with this album and only ever got into T.V. Sky, the follow up to this which is in English.
Not an album that I will have on high rotation due to its brutal sounds but this rates high for me
Paul Simon
3/5
On one hand this is an album with some great songs the opened the door to people listening to more South African artists. On the other it can be seen as musical colonialism and didn't do much more for the black South Africans apart from steal their tunes.
I am torn as I would like to believe Paul Simon went into this project with the best intentions and the legacy of this album is a mostly positive one.
The xx
3/5
I tried but never got into this band. Sure they sound good and I get little flashes of other bands I really like which instead of warming me to The XX just make me want to go and listen to the others.
This album just washed over me and hasn't left that much of an impression. With some other bands I get implored to give them another listen in the hopes that something will grab me, in this case I am just going to move on.
Kate Bush
3/5
It is a run of the mill Kate Bush album. A touch of weirdness, some beautiful vocals, histrionics and sublime lyrics. Overall it isn't as great as some of her others albums and I would listen to Kick Inside or Hounds of Love in preference to this
My Bloody Valentine
5/5
One of my all time favourites. Shoegaze is the completely wrong term for this as it is a sonic onslaught. It is one of the best albums released in 1991 and it had some tough competition.
I hold seeing them live in November 1991 as one of the most memorable shows I've been to and the one which no doubt caused me the most hearing damage.
Neu!
5/5
Another aural dreamscape. I haven't listened to much Krautrock apart from Can and Kraftwerk so was really surprised as how much Neu!'s sound is echoed in newer acts.
They really reminded me of Stereolad who obviously are influenced by them which was great by me. I also picked parallels with Suicide and am curious as to who influenced who or if they hit their sounds independently.
Either way, I love this and will be listening to it a lot more
Nirvana
5/5
It is just a few weeks away from it being 30 years since Nevermind and Smells like Teen Spirit topped the charts across the world. It is also nearly 30 years since I stage dived at their show at Sydney's long since closed Phoenician Club. Never was there a gig with such energy and excitement, it was impossible not to get caught up in the atmosphere.
Few if any albums have captured a zeitgeist as well as this one and it was the perfect soundtrack for 18 year old misfit from the suburbs to find his people.
Primal Scream
5/5
This list is giving me a treat this week as this is the 3rd album from late '91 that happens to be an absolute favourite of mine. I was 18 when this came out 30 years ago and what a time it was be be immersed in music. Some have said I am biased because of mny youth but this, Nevermind and Loveless have stood the test of time with me. And in the case of Screamadelica, I love it more now than I ever had.
This album is genius on every level and I am forever grateful for Andy Weatherall and Alex Paterson for helping take a bunch of leather clad noise merchant's and shape them into the blissed out rave gods of this album.
5/5
One Beatles album worthy of all the hype. Sgt Peper caught them at the right time, they had rightly moved on from being a boy band but not hit the full tilt in fighting and thinking they were untouchable geniuses. She's leaving home is one of my favourite Beatles tracks and it is in good company with all the tracks on the album being high points for the band.
James Brown
3/5
I Have confession, I found this album a bit of a slog to get into. Maybe it was my mood but I just didn't find this as good as Live at the Apollo Vol II which I used to play to death as a teen. Something about it just misses the mark for me. Maybe the mix or production doesn't do it justice on Spotify - I feel like I am listening to the gig for the foyer rather than being up front in the thick of the action
Screaming Trees
3/5
It is a decent enough album but another one of those ones I question whether it is essential listening.
I always saw this band as grunge also rans. A band that changed their style to suit a trend. Mark Lanegan has an amazing voice and there are some nice songs on here but nothing that will get me to put this on high rotation
Prefab Sprout
4/5
I bought my copy second hand and it came from the library of a radio station (not sure which). They labelled the album with \"Mellow, contemporary, soft rock\". Which is kind of apt when you think about it.
Paddy McAloon is a genius song writer since re-discovering Prefab Sprout through my wife, I have always wondered why they weren't bigger.
Grizzly Bear
2/5
Another one of those albums that question how it sits on an essential list. Again it is musically good even if it does meander but nothing stands out. I didn't even realise the album had finished when Spotify decided to autoplay random songs after it had finished.
Finley Quaye
4/5
Though it came out in `97, I always associate this album with the middle of 1998.
At the time, this album along with Eagle Eye Cherry's Desireless and Ian Brown's Unfinished Monkey Business were my Sunday afternoon chill out albums. Shaking off the hangover from the night before they hit the rest button before I went off and did it all again. I remember getting paid out for liking these albums but they were important to me at the time.
Listening with fresh ears after not having played Maverick a Strike for over a decade, the parts I loved are still as good as I remember. Flawed in places, it still deserves the acolasdes it got in Britain and I wish it took off more in Australia.
Van Morrison
4/5
One of those albums that feels like a comfy blanket or a warming drink. Soothing without being trite.
Along with Tupelo Honey this is a an Morrison at his finest
Nirvana
4/5
The best thing about this album is that Nirvana used their set to showcase the Meat Puppets, The Vaselines, David Bowie and Lead Belly.
Another stand out about this album is it's accessibility. I remember at the time it was released on CD, a person who never would have listened to songs off Bleach commenting to me what an amazing song writer Kurt Cobain was.
To be honest, I found watching the Video of this performance to be a bit boring. The pauses between songs drag and the show is visually too subdued. Thankfully on the record the gaps are edited out and you don't have to watch a disinterested Cobain and instead concentrate on the music
Wilco
2/5
Again, I sidestepped this album at the time it came out due to overly slavish Wilco fans. I am finally warming to the band, I swear but my immediate reaction to listening to them is to be reminded of another band and go listen to them instead. For example, Heavy Metal Drummer is the best song that Pavement never wrote (I actually though it was a Steve Malkmus solo effort when I first heard that song).
Did I enjoy it? Sure
Was it good? A bit twee in places but yeah it was good
I can't say I will ever become a dyed in the wool fan like I am with Big Star, Belle and Sebastian and the Replacements but Wilco are finally starting to grow on me
U2
4/5
A U2 album I don't actually hate.
While I didn't mind a few singles this was never a band I got I to as a teenager, they were just never as interesting as they wanted to be. Maybe that was part of their appeal and what hated then and still to this day.
This album grew on me. It took hearing One as a single to finally hook me. I had avoided it at first, not by choice but it being late `91 as music lover I was spoilt for choice.
Achtung Baby and it's follow up Zooropa we're a welcome relief after Rattle and Hum and Joshua Tree. This was Bono and the gang at their most adventurous and most fun. All the posturing of the previous albums was replaced with... Well more posturing, but of a different kind
Give me MacPhisto any day over a low-rent Southern Preacher wannabe.
And the music is good. It is a really nice distillation of alternative music at the time. I can hear Young Goods, Pixies, MBV and many others buried in the sound of this album.
While Achtung Baby never converted me to a fan it is still 30 years on an enjoyable listen
KISS
5/5
This ablum holds a special place for me. By 1994, I had written Kiss off as a bit a joke band who had gone away when they lost their make up. So the week or so before I turned 21 that year I was browsing a second hand market when I ran into the boyfriend of a friend of mine. He was in a semi popular local band and I was always embarrassingly in awe of him. He said he had heard it was my birthday coming up (probably as I told everyone and anyone who would listen). When we hit a stall selling old tapes and CDs, he picked up a Tape of Destroyer and asked me what I thought. I scoffed and he corrected me by saying that it was one of the greatest rock albums of all time, and that the band where all showmanship and class. He handed over the $2 the tape was selling for and then put the tape in my hands saying, go home have listen to is with out abn preconceptions and just enjoy it.
I did. And I enjoyed it. Even though I was elbow deep in listening to all things Alternative© at the time, this was revelation.
Kiss rocked so well.
I got paid out about my new love of Kiss but got my revenge at my 21st by putting this tape on and watched my friends who either hadn't listened to the band since they were 7 or secretly loving them and hiding it all enjoying Destroyer
Public Enemy
5/5
Ferocious and powerful album. I remember being amazed by it at the time it came out and am still amazed by it now. Lyrically it is peak Public Enemy and the beats behind the raps take on a new level. In comparison, It Takes a Nation of Millions sound stripped back.
It is an uncomfortable listen at times and the length of the album made it an impossible task to listen to in one sitting. Worth it for the amount of top tracks on here, 911 Is A Joke, Welcome To The Terrordome, Burn Hollywood Burn and Fight The Power all as relevant as the day they got released
Gillian Welch
4/5
Another of those albums I missed when it came out which is a shame as I love Gillian Welch's contributions to the O Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack.
I'll admit Time (The Revelator) loses my interest towards the end but I have a feeling that this would fade with more listens and an increased familiarity of Welch's style of Folk Country.
After this album I do want to listen to more of her work
Buena Vista Social Club
4/5
Blinkers on listening to indie and big beat, I didn't appreciate this when it came out and never saw the associated doco by Wim Wenders. When I finally realised what amazing music this is through , I couldn't find a copy of the CD anywhere! So I bought a compilation that used other versions of the songs on there.
I have a confession, I when I finally listened to this album I still preferred the compilation. There was something about those other recordings that had a rawness that gets lost on Buena Vista Social Club which at times sounds too polished. At times this album too sounds like a compilation rather than a cohesive album
I do love this album though and it was instrumental in introducing people to a music mostly lost because of the pointless embargoes put on Cuba by the US.
It is worth checking out the Afro Cuban Allstars if you enjoy this. They share members and recorded in the same studio around the same time. More up tempo and raw than the Buena Vista Social Club.
The Who
3/5
As a full album this just doesn't work for me. The whole added jingle concept just falls flat and is mostly farcical instead of the cutting satire it is trying to be.
Some classic Who songs on here for sure but overall it was a struggle to get into.
I am going to chalk this up to being another of those lauded albums I just don't get.
Skunk Anansie
3/5
One of those albums that make me wish we were able to give half stars. While Post Orgasmic Chill is far better than most of the albums I have tagged with 3 stars I don't think it is as engaging and memorable as Stoosh or Paranoid & Sunburnt.
One reason why I won't argue against its inclusion in this list is how formidable the band and how until listening to this album again I never drew the connection between them and a heck a of a lot of loud/quiet emoesque bands that followed at their heels.
I was lucky enough to see Skunk Anansie supporting Garbage on their Australian tour in 1996, just when Stoosh was released. Skin has such a presence as a front woman that she gave Shirley Manson a run for her money that night.
The Cure
5/5
This one gives Disintegration a run for its money in the moribund stakes. Millions of sad goths united listening to this album, no doubt finding a kinship lost to them in the isolation of whatever suburban hell they were living.
What I love about this album is that it is rawer sounding Cure with Robert Smith and co. crafting almost a concept album around depression. With only Hanging Garden (one of my Favourites) sounding even remotely like a single this is vastly different to most other Cure albums which usually contained a radio friendly pop hit or two.
I can hear the influence of Krautrock and Joy Division on this album and the fact that this album influenced every dark wave band to follow.
While Pornography isn't my favourite Cure album, it's darkness a bit to hard to handle sometimes it is one of the most cohesive and best works
Roxy Music
4/5
Another of those bands that I appreciate are really good, really influential etc but never got into beyond the singles.
This album is great and I don't recall having listened to it before. Wierd thing is I can hear how Bryan Ferry's voice influenced Nick Cave's vocal styling. A connection I had never made before.
Really they are a band I should listen too more
Soundgarden
4/5
I always associate this album with seeing them play at the Palace in Melbourne 1994. It was just over a month before Superunknown was released but I remember hearing a few tracks that night. It was the night grunge was well and truly over for me as the venue was packed with aggressive shirtless jocks sweat dripping from ceiling due it was so hot and the venue was so poorly ventialed. The sound was terrible and Chris Cornell dynamic frontman that he was struggled over the muddy guitars.
So I never really got into this album. It was never a grunge album but beyond a few releases in the early days, few bands pegged with the tag were.
This was metal to me. Really good metal but not what I actively listened to.
Black Hole and Fell On Days are both amazing songs but Spoonman is generic Soundgarden and could well be Jesus Christ Pose MKII.
Roxy Music
5/5
When I listened to For Your Pleasure by Roxy Music two days ago, as part of this challenge/list I concluded by saying I need to hear more of the band. Well my request was answered and I got Country Life by Roxy Music.
This is an altogether better album than For Your Pleasure which was in itself great. The thing about this is that the band's music clicks with me and I am now a fan. I never go to listen to this growing up, God knows the reaction my strict father would have had to the baudy artwork. By the time I was old enough to seek them out for myself, to my own detriment I wasn't bothered.
I can see now why this band is so influential. Along with the Sparks that same year, Roxy Music transcended glam rock with this album and sewed the seeds of British punk and New Romantic that would follow
5/5
Testify!
Kick Out The Jams is one of the best debut albums and one of the best live albums of all time. This and the Stooges debut are the birth of punk.
I can not describe how much I love this album. I'd the name MC5 for years seeing the name dropped by so many bands. Pre internet it was nearly impossible to track this stuff down. Hearing the Bad Brains version of Kick Out The Jams while watching Pump Up The Volume finally put the music to the name and got the reverence for the band straight away.
I don't think I listened to this album in whole until I went out and bought it finding out I was to design the poster for a special show by MC5/DTK. I have never been so excited by designing anything as much as that poster.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
5/5
Exciting album. Exciting times! Part of the Post Strokes/Hives breaking the indie wall and making music fun again. Big Beat and electronica no longer felt new, Nu Metal was getting old and indie was all Radiohead/Jeff Buckley sound alikes.
A frantic call from a friend in New York, sent me to see one off show by them in 2001 at the Annadale Hotel. It was a blistering performance and I was amazed by all the sounds coming out of Nick Zimmer's guitar. Karen O was a front woman extraordinare and had a whole room of people who knew maybe one song if that eating up the worthy hype.
So this album captures that night perfectly. The production really captures that energy and style and makes this a perfect debut.
Date With Night and Maps couldn't be two more different songs and that extreme is one of the things that still has me loving this album nearly 20 years on
Emmylou Harris
4/5
I know Emmylou Harris from her work with Gram Parsons which I love but regrettably have listened to much more. That is the great thing about this challenge as it is getting me to listen to more than my dozen favourite albums on repeat.
This is a beautiful album. Really good traditional country that just shys away from the Nashville glitz. I need to give this a few more listens for all the songs to sink in. A couple of songs lose me but a few others sound as good as her work on Grevious Angel.
Hüsker Dü
4/5
I love Hüsker Dü especially Zen Arcade and Candy Apple Grey as well as Bob Mould's other work. So I don't know if I conciously avoided Warehouse Songs or just never got around to it. There are some great songs on here which always the case for Hüsker Dü but it just feels over-long and I don't think the magic of the previous albums is there.
Lana Del Rey
3/5
Look, I didn't exactly hate it, but
Chemtrails over the Country Club just wasn't for me. There are some good songs, which surprised me as I never really rated Lana Del Rey before. The most notable song being White Dress. Unfortunately the rest of the album mostly sticks to a flat tone which gets boring fast. I guess the monotone, low husky vocals are Lana Del Rey's raison d'etre and she does a great job of it but it isn't for me.
I do find Lana Del Rey alarmingly pretentious and this album with the exception of White Dress that is very much on display.
Jack Anton as producer off gets a special mention. This album does sound pretty good but I can't work out if he is a genius bringing artists to new heights or a scourge, banding out what could have been fun and interesting. I posit this because in the gaps between Lana's voice I could've been listening to Taylor Swift or Lorde. Whatever works for them, I guess
Beatles
3/5
How can a band as lauded as the Beatles also be responsible for releasing on of the worst songs ever recorded. Yes I am talking about Maxwell's Silver Hammer.
The rest of the album is all over the place and with the exception of Here Comes The Sun, I don't make it through side 2 as it is a struggle.
The purists will hate me for it but comparing Abbey Road to Sgt. Peppers or Revolver, this just isn't a fantastic album
Muddy Waters
4/5
Solid blues/rock n roll album. While I find it odd that this list leans into too many live albums, this is one of the great one. Heard live these tracks are more interesting to my ears as I find Blues can go a bit samey for me. No disrespect to the genre, just not completely my taste. No doubt a hardcore blues fan would think the same of some of the punk and pop I love.
Muddy Waters is at the top of his game here and his backing band are tight. This is good stuff
Donovan
4/5
Sublimely beautiful album. Truly under rated if you consider that most people know Donovan as a kind of novelty act from only hearing Mellow Yellow. Sunshine Superman shows he was a doyen of psychedelia and blending it with folk. It parallel what was happening in the Laurel Canyon scene at the same time but half a world away.
I'd never listened to this album before but had a best of CD that I was given that I used to cherish which had most of the tracks on it.
Great album which I need to listen to more.
Funkadelic
5/5
Why I don't have a copy of this on vinyl is a mystery. I compare this album to a short acid trip, you definitely get taken on a journey and it is a delightful, sprawling cacophony of funk and psychedelia.
Maggot Brain is another of those albums that I had never heard completely until relatively recently. It was always played at friends houses, winding down after a long night out or tracks from it made it onto mix tapes and compilations.
Essential listening if only for that fact that it is pretty genre defying and doesn't easily fit into a neat category.
It feels way longer than it's 36 minutes because George Clinton, Eddie Hazel and the gang fit so much music in there. I got to the end, surprised only a short amount of time had passed so I gave it a few more listens just to be sure I hadn't floated into another dimension.
John Lee Hooker
5/5
Like many other people my age, I first heard of John Lee Hooker by seeing him in the Blues Brothers. So I was surprised when he released this back in 1989. Admittedly I didn't fully appreciate this album until I saw Henry Rollins talked about John Lee Hooker in an interview a few years that I really gave this a proper listen.
Blues isn't my go to genre and I find the production a bit slick for my tastes in places. This is a great album, for one to have a performer in their 70s turning out such grooves is amazing and there is a real craft on display here.
Kraftwerk
5/5
Beautiful sometimes uncomfortable listening. How can an album so subdued make me feel so anxious? The layered sounds, pioneering synth lines and monotone vocals of Trans-Europe Express are a master work.
This is another album that is so influential I find it hard to imagine what it would have been like to be one of the artists inspired by it hearing it for the first time.
Malcolm McLaren
4/5
Up until this album the only hip hop I had heard Rapture by Blondie and a few Sugarhill and Furious Five tracks. OK I was not quite 10 but for this lanky carnival barker who was told was someone important, it was time to give this genre a listen. It was also my first introduction to so called world music as well, years before Paul Simon colonised the genre. Having said that, I am taking a star off for McLaren and Trevor Horn's failure to credit Boyoyo Boys or Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens.
Anyway great album, essential really because of the fact that the same guy who a few years earlier was marketing Punk bought Hip Hop to a wider appeal.
I was lucky to pick this up on vinyl a few years ago so am pretty happy with that
Erykah Badu
3/5
There was one good song on this album, it is just a shame that it got repeated for 72 minutes.
I really wanted to enjoy this album as I like some songs I've heard from Erykah Badu in the past. This album though is not for me. I never got into the whole Neo Soul style. Her voice and the instrumentation is great but I don't find any highs or lows on Mamma's Gun just mid range monotony.
Bill Evans Trio
4/5
The first thing I noticed about this is how accessible this album is. I would bet I could play this to a hardcore jazz aficionado or someone who didn't listen to any jazz and they would enjoy it. The recording and the playing on this is masterful. Orrin Keepnews the produced is as much to credit hear as the band as he captured this performance so well.
Spiritualized
5/5
I can't begin to describe how much I love this album. I was aware of Spaceman 3 but initially didn't make the connection between them and Spritualized and letting my own musical snobbery take hold thought they would sound like watered down Mercury Rev. Boy I was wrong.
I friend gave me a rip of a recording of a live show Triple J broadcast when Spritualized toured Australia one time. I found myself listening to it over and over again. I was mesmerised by the performance, especially the tracks that came off Ladies and Gentlemen. So I I tracked down the album and it became a firm favourite of mine.
It has become my soundtrack to those days that the world gets too much. The dreaminess and swirling sounds negate any dark mood I am in, the sonic equivalent of a valium.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
4/5
After listening to that I feel hungover from too much moonshine, and drenched in sweat from the bayou. I am not complaining, Cosmo's Factory takes you to a particular time and place, that is for sure. Creedance aren't what I usually listen to but this has some raucous good tunes on it so I would mind giving it another listen one hot afternoon
Suede
4/5
I remember being disappointed with this album when it came out. It was just so different to the youthful exuberance of Suede's debut that I didn't know how to absorb it. Where their first album was a celebration of lust and difference, Dog Man Star was smack laden depression.
You can hear the tension between Brett Anderson and Bernard Butler seething behind the music which at the same time adds excitement to the album but also weighs it done.
With the benefit of the decades since it was released I think this album is a triumph. How brave for the band to release such a discordant album while their peers were going into "ello guvnor" Britpop shallowness.
Not an album I listen to on a regular basis, in fact it was only a couple of weeks ago I listened to it for the first time in many years but I really enjoyed rediscovering it.
Common
3/5
I tried really hard to like this. Musically the beats are solid but by the end of the album it began to feel like they were on a loop. I also found Like Water For Chocolate over-long which is probably what caused the album not to grab me.
Maybe it is my background but I found some of the lyrics like Common says in the last track "not for me". That is fine, I can't for a second say that I know what a black person in America goes through. It is a form of Common's story telling fair enough but I found the more gangster elements of the album a bit false. I also found a couple of lyrics a bit sexist and couldn't work out if Common was being serious in what he rapped.
A good ablum overall but one that isn't going to go on my high rotation list.
Ryan Adams
1/5
At the time it came out I did enjoy this album but given Ryan Adams history I thought I would give this a pass.
I instead listened to Mandy Moore's Silver Landings and Phoebe Bridges' Punisher, both stellar albums in their own right.
Nick Drake
5/5
As someone who has battled with depression on and off for most of my life, Nick Drake is one artist who I decided to avoid. His death was such a tragedy and the fact that his music was largely unsung during his lifetime is such a shame.
So when I played this yesterday, I was expecting to come away crying like I do when I listen to Elliot Smith but instead I was struck by how beautiful Pink Moon, and what a lose it is to me that I had never given it a proper listen before. Contrary to my preconceptions this is a joyous album.
I played it this morning on our lounge room speakers unsure if it was the right soundtrack to a restless Saturday morning. My wife said she enjoyed it and that it wasn't what she was expecting either. My daughter, just said, "this is really nice, I like this music". They both have great taste.
Dizzee Rascal
4/5
When this came out I was struck by how off the wall it was. Such good grooves and clever nasty lyrics. I remember dance floors getting filled when tracks from Boy In Da Corner got dropped.
Listening to it again after many years I was surprised by a possible Sparks influence on track. Dizzee Rascal made an intelligent album that never took itself too seriously while still being important
Orbital
4/5
It's February 1994 and I am at a spontaneous illegal rave on a beach near La Perouse. I am dancing in the ocean the water up to my thighs. The sun is just coming up on the horizon as the cops come to tell us to move on. Apart from a few sculls of goon on the drive there mind is not altered in any way, just vibing to the beats and rhythm coming off the sound system.
I'm not sure if even anything off this album was playing that night, which was mostly local doof DJs but listening to this album evokes the memories of that night.
I still love listening to the Orb, this album threading the sacred ground between anthem and come down music. Best played through my headphones at a volume not right for my damaged ear drums.
Amy Winehouse
4/5
Such a voice, such a talent, such a waste.
I wish Amy Winhouse had been able stick around for a couple of lifetimes longer to keep making albums like this.
Johnny Cash
5/5
So many live albums on this list. I'm not complaining, especially if they are ones of the calibre of Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison.
This is the album I would tell people to listen to next if the discovered Johnny Cash through his NIN cover or the bio movie. Really nice cross section of the Man in Black's career until that point.
None of his other recordings capture the underlying humour of Cash's music, something that is often overlooked about his work.
San Quentin is a perfect follow up to this release so check it out if you haven't already.
Tina Turner
4/5
So unashamedly 80s and hits the mark because of this. Finally out of the shadow of (and trauma caused by Ike) Tina Turner shone on this album. So many hits, so many good songs.
I'd forgotten the covers too. Tina really makes Let's Stay Together her own and manages to follow it with a just as good Bowie cover of 1984, a song I would never have pictured her performing. OK, I'm not a fan of the Beatles cover nut I think that one is down to my taste.
Only thing against sound is too polished in places which is at odds with Tina's raw vocals.
CHIC
4/5
Once you get past the fact that some of the songs are so over played and trigger memories of drunk people who can't dance trying to dance, C'est Chic is a solid album
It's disco but something more as well. There is funk and pop in there that helped shape music through the 80s. This thankfully isn't some cheaper attempt at capturing a trend but something more valid.
This is mostly due to Nile Rodgers deft touch at producing timeless classics.
The Sonics
5/5
They are the anti-Beatles right?
Get rid everything that "good and pure" or radio friendly about the Fab 4, rough it up, add some fuzz and some guttural vocals and you have The Sonics.
Not detracting from either band but I am so glad The Sonics existed to lay the roots of punk and Garage rock. I love them and could listen to this album in repeat for hours (which I did).
The Jam
4/5
Great album even to a casual The Jam fan like myself. While never a stalwart fan of Weller, I can see the appeal of this album and the perfect blend of punk, new wave and sixties mod aesthetics.
Give or take the rest of the album it is worth just for Down in the Tube Station at Midnight which to me is the best Jam song and worth listening to the album to get to.
5/5
Are there many other albums as perfect as this?
Paul Simon
3/5
Sounds like 34 minutes of Paul Simon trying to sound different to when he was with Art Garfunkel. Some of the songs are nice and memorable, with the stand out being "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard" but the rest just faded into the background.
Nick Drake
5/5
Initially I thought that Bryter Layter wasn't as good as Pink Moon which I got to listen to properly for the first time last week. I'm still giving it 5 stars as it is an amazing album.
The problem I had was that I was so ready to compare the two which was my error. Where Pink Moon was Nick Drake's soul stripped bare this is his heart, with him trying to show the world his talent that we didn't get to experience for long.
I can hear attempts to be commercially friendly, a little bit of Van Morrison, a taste of the Stones but this is very much Nick Drake. I really can see why he so revered now.
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
3/5
So amazing and expansive but also so long. I wasn't expecting to like this as much as I did, for some reason I thought it would be some Dr Hook or Grateful Dead hippy Jams. I was not prepared for nearly two hours of devine bluegrass.
I really need to explore this again when I am not trying to also look after a sick 5 year old and meet deadlines.
Part of me wonders if it is too long and could have done with losing a few songs.
Not quite 4 stars, more lile 3 and a half
The Charlatans
3/5
I try so hard to love the Charlatans as they are everything I want in a band but then again they just aren't. With the exception of a couple of early singles I have always found the band excel at being average. I wouldn't go as far as calling the also rans as they have etched out a reasonably successful and long career, they have just never burnt as bright as some of the contemporaries.
So that brings me to this album Tellin' Stories, it came out at a time where Brit Pop was on the wane, big beat had stared to take over, Blur had reinvented themselves etc. Nothing on this albllum is exciting or new. Even 25 years on it feels like a lesser version of other bands. And Tim Burgess, his vocals start to grate by the time the album finally ends.
For reasons, I can't even remember, North Country Boy is one of my least favourite songs of the era. I cringe when I hear it.
Anyway, not a bad ablum but maybe not that essential either.
David Bowie
5/5
Such a great album as nearly all David Bowie's are. The title track and fame being stand out singles in Bowie's long career. You can however hear the exhaustion taking hold and sense of unrest within the music. The massive amounts of cocaine taking their toll as well. You can tell listening to this that Bowie was ready for another change which he did in the form of his partnering with Iggy Pop and then the Berlin Trilogy.
Siouxsie And The Banshees
3/5
Astonishing debut that set the style for Goth. Siouxsie and the Banshees were still finding their feet musically so the sound flits from punk to noise to something new entirely. It doesn't sound pretty in places and regardless of whether or not that was intentional, it does start to grate.
Overall it is a good album and worthy of its praise just not one I would revisit regularly.
Minus points for Helter Skelter, a terrible cover of a terrible song.
Pixies
5/5
It's the Pixies so of course I am going to love it as they are one of my favourite bands. Veloouria and Dig For Fire are the stand out tracks but this album works best listened to in one sitting. When I was first getting into the band I remember a guy in the year above me at school refer to the band as surf music for people who hate the beach. It was a pretty accurate discription.
Pink Floyd
3/5
What more can be said about Dark Side of the Moon that so many of others have already written?
It is a good album and I don't mind it on occasion. It is a bit pompous for my like and dare I say patchy. It maybe got a bit overplayed and over worshipped by others for me to get into. I get the the love but this is another one of those albums that never really had much impact for me.
Fiona Apple
4/5
The soundtrack of Covid, and BLM. Not because any of the songs related to those events but due its release date Fetch The Bolt Cutters was being played on repeat and my twitter feed was filled with people singing its praises.
I didn't like it on first listen, finding it a bit over the top and somewhat pretentious. I gave it a few more listens because something about it did intrigue me. I ended up really enjoying the offbeat instrumentation and clever lyrics finding some of the songs were really catchy and others had a depth few artists can match.
For me, this is the best work by Fiona Apple
The Velvet Underground
5/5
White Light/White is an unflinching and at times brutal album which in many ways surpasses Velvet Underground & Nico. Gone is the softness added by the chanteuse Nico, replaced by John Cale's sardonic spoken singing.
Sister Ray is the stand out with it's assault of noise becoming and influence on kraut rock, Joy Division and the whole no-wave scene.
This is another one of those albums soaked in turmoil. You can hear the turmoil between Lou Reed and John Cale bubbling over and in this case leads to a couple of the less amazing parts of this album
Often overlooked when compared to the Velvets first album.
Van Halen
4/5
Great pop rock album. The only thing I would say is that listening to this again years on, I would hardly call this heavy or metal. That is not to say it is not a great album with Diamond Dave shining like... well... A diamond. The Van Halen brothers are on fire, pushing their music beyond the simple hard rock that was by then expected of them.
Stan Getz
3/5
The influence Jazz Samba had is indefinable however I have to confess it didn't really grab me. Where later Stan Getz albums perfected the art of Bossa Nova, this one just misses the mark, playing it too safe. While not with its moments, this album is more like something you would chuck on in background of a dinner party rather than feel in your heart
a-ha
3/5
A-ha have always been much more than a one hit wonder. Take On Me ranks as one of the best pop songs and certainly the most memorable film clip of all time and for that, a-ha deserve their place on this list.
Hunting High and Low is a fantastic pop album. Very mucb of its time but also innovative in terms or its synth arrangements, I would hazard a guess that they were a tiny bit influenced by Sparks (but who wasn't in some way or another).
Listening to the album again after so long, I am surprised Love Is The Reason and The Sun Always Shines on TV didn't chart better at the time.
Some of the songs sound dated or are obvious filler which is the main downside of the album.
Coldplay
3/5
I would be lying if I said I hate this album. There are a few songs I really like on the album, namely Don't Panic and I admit that Yellow probably wasn't bad before hearing it 800,000 times rendered it unlistenable for me.
This is Coldplay before Chris Martin disappeared completely up his own ego and there are some shining moments as well as some floundering ones as the band were searching for their own sound. It is a soundtrack to what they could've been along with what they became.
Love or hate Coldplay now but Parachutes is a solid debut.
Television
5/5
Another one of those albums that I listen to over and over. It is a perfect soundtrack to a hwad clearing walk when I need to get lost in my thoughts.
Everything But The Girl
2/5
I love Tracy Thorne's voice especially the work she did with Massive Attack. However with the exception of the Todd Terry remix of Wrong, this album is largely dull. Walking Wounded is trip hop light an better suited as waiting room music than anything else.
Musically sound and lyrically decent but hardly ground breaking stuff.
Depeche Mode
5/5
Such beautiful and dark album. I wrongly considered Depeche Mode a fluffy pop band before this and had my eyes/ears opened hearing Personal Jesus when it first came out. Nothing prepared me for Enjoy the Silence, how could it be so slow and so intense at the same time.
Happy memories of this album as well. Of getting convinced to go to a Goth club by a workmate and after being scared of entering a room full of living vampires I had the delight of watching those mad kids pounce around so joyously to tracks from this album.
The Temptations
2/5
Apart from a few songs I found this album underwhelming. Maybe I caught it on the wrong day.
The Black Keys
3/5
Over rated and over long, Black Keys, Brothers is one of those albums I never took to.
Queen Latifah
4/5
Wow, I wasn't expecting All Hail The Queen to sound like it did. OK I wasn't sure what to expect but it certainly wasn't a mix of house and soul and the best of the Native Tongues collective. I had heard a few tracks off this before I just that were Queen Latifah guesting with others not out the front. I have to give this some more listens
Eminem
3/5
Some clever lyrics and excellent beats. My Name Is, is still a killer after 23 years. The rest of the tracks are juvenile, sexist, borderline racist and in places just dumb. The parts I enjoyed I really enjoyed but for the most part the album was a struggle.
I've kept it as 3 stars as it is landmark album even though it is very dated
Radiohead
3/5
Are Radiohead and overrated band?
Absolutely.
Is the Bends still a decent album?
Definitely.
I never got that into Radiohead in any large way. I have always found too aloof, too pretentious to form any real connection to the band. That said there are some fantastic songs on here, especially Just and Fake Plastic Trees. There are a few clunkers where the band just want to showcase whatever it is they try to showcase.
Manic Street Preachers
3/5
The Holy Bible reminds me of my early 20s, unrequited crushes on Manics fans, missing Richie.
Not my favourite album of the Manic Street Preachers, that honour goes to Generation Terrorists. This album while mostly really good, has some dull or patchy moments. That said after not listening to them for decades i am surprised but the fact this sounds like a prototype for My Chemical Romance.
Simon & Garfunkel
3/5
Will I go to hell if I say I thought this was overrated and boring?
I ask this because I feel like I am stuck at a Christian youth camp in the late 80s whenever I have to hear the title track
Bee Gees
2/5
Not my favourite album on this list
Frank Zappa
4/5
I have always appreciated Frank Zappa but when ever I listen to his work I always feel like I am missing something. It is like I am not privy to some kind of in joke and I would suddenly get it if I got told what the reference meant. Or like the comedy of Monty Python, I will just never get, no matter how many times it gets explained to me.
Having said that, I still enjoy this album and consider him and the other talented musicians on this geniuses. It is just that I probably won't rush out and listen to Hot Rats again for a while.
Barry Adamson
4/5
The greatest soundtrack to a movie that does not exist. Barry Adamson is a maestro.
Side note, if you are a fan of the classic, first Bad Seeds album, this should appeal
The Doors
4/5
The greatest soundtrack to a movie that does not exist. Barry Adamson is a maestro.
Side note, if you are a fan of the classic, first Bad Seeds album, this should appeal
Dexys Midnight Runners
3/5
Classic album for the most part but I did feel it dragged along towards the end. There are a few gems on there I had forgotten about and of course Come On Eileen which is close to perfect even if you have heard it eleventy-thousand times and are sick of it.
The album is patchy in places which let's it down
Ella Fitzgerald
4/5
Not 100% sure I listened to the right album. Not to worry as that was a couple of hours of exquisite jazz sing by an angel.
Taylor Swift
4/5
I had heard that Folklore was good but I wasn't expecting to like it as much as I did. I can't really add more than other reviews have. It was really enjoyable to listen to and there is beautiful depth to Taylor Swifts voice and songwriting. The synergy with her collaborators is spot on, strengthening her style rather than being dominated by something different.
Only minus is that some of it sounds like I have heard it before. Probably due to Jack Antonoff having written with so many other artists recently. Not necessarily a bad thing but distracting
B.B. King
3/5
I can appreciate this but I'm just not that much of a B.B. King fan. Personal taste really
The Notorious B.I.G.
1/5
Some of the beats were good and the rapping smooth but I really didn't enjoy this album.
Echo And The Bunnymen
5/5
A truly miserable album which is what makes it so perfect.
Neil Young
4/5
Strange, after all the Spotify turmoil which led me to join Tidal and spend two days listening to Neil Young records, most of his stuff has disappeared from that platform as well.
Anyway, I still have my beat up, scratched to hell copy on Vinyl which I got for about $1 back in 1994.
Though I don't play it often, I love this album. For me it is the most accessible of Neil Young's work. Not too Mellow not too driven by directionless noise.
Lauryn Hill
3/5
I dislike the Fugees so I wasn't expecting to enjoy this album as much as I did when I picked a tape of it (yes a cassette) at a discount music store selling it as part of a 5 for $20 deal.
I do love her voice, the production and some of the songs are amazing. It is a bit all over the place and a few of the not quite cover versions border on over indulgence.
First time I have listened to this in ages and can hear the influence it has had and understand that it was ground breaking at the time. I still enjoy it just not as much as I used to.
The Go-Betweens
5/5
I love this band, I love this album
2/5
Listening to this album again for the first time in 33 years was torture. It was a flash back to being forced to go to a Christian youth camp and listen to bad cover versions of the songs on it.
It is not that I hate U2 or this album and admit that some of the songs a great when I hear them by themselves but together to my ears this is a cacophony of pompous twaddle
Sorry Bono
Prince
5/5
If not Prince's best album (which I think it is) it is his most accessible.
Suede
5/5
Oh to be young, free and careless again, and to fully embrace the anxiety and confusion that comes with it. No album somes that time up better for than Suede.
Led Zeppelin
3/5
Led Zeppelin are always going to be one of those bands that no matter how hard I try I just don't get into. I can appreciate why people love them but not for me
John Martyn
3/5
Another of those albums that I appreciate that just doesn't grab. Seems like I am just not that big on white boy blues.
Kraftwerk
5/5
Music made by men pretending to be robots for people who are pretending not to be robots.
Overall my favourite Kraftwerk album
Suzanne Vega
4/5
Great album.
Living Colour
4/5
I forgot how much I loved this album when it came out. It was one of the first heavier bands I ever listened to. I always admired their mix of punk and metal. So much energy, so much rage.
Pulp
5/5
So much better than I remember. At the time I thought This is Hardcore was luck lustre compared to Pulp's previous albums. It is just different and in many ways better. It is like a concept album focusing on a very British brand of sleaziness. I can almost smell the stale cigarettes, disinfectant, and vaseline as I listen to this album.
Where I doubt I could listen to Common People again on a regular basis, I have now found a new Mellow album to wind down to in This Is Hardcore
Talking Heads
4/5
I love Talking Heads and was obsessed by them after seeing Stop Making Sense when it came out on video. That said, as brilliant as this album is, it is tainted by the sheer pretentious of a couple of songs.
Talking Heads were always more than just David Byrne, and the other three are geniuses in their own right. This is the point with Talking Heads where Byrne really starts to dominate and they are lesser for it
Silver Jews
3/5
Beautiful Americana/alt country but is it ground breaking or life changing enough to be on this list.
Willie Colón & Rubén Blades
4/5
Really enjoyable Latin salsa. Usually I find this style of music gets pretty same but there was some really nice variations going on. Something to play again when the weather gets hot and it is time to party on the sand
Pulp
5/5
If 1995 were to be summed up in an album it would be this one. Forget Blur or Oasis, Pulp were always the clear winners of the Britpop wars.
I hadn't listened to this in years, as I had overplayed it and felt it was maybe dated. Hearing it with fresh ears it is a such am amazing album. Timeless but also so link to an era it is a document of social commentary
To 22 year old me, "Won't it be strange when we're all fully grown?" because yeah it is
Creedence Clearwater Revival
4/5
I am reading "Our Band Could be Your Life" at the moment and I was really surprised by the amount of bands with hard core punk roots were name checking Creedance as a major influence. I wouldn't have picked it before then but now I have had a chance to listen to them I can see why they were such a beacon to disaffected kids of the late 70s.
This is a raucous and powerful album and going on to my want list for a copy on Vinyl
Frank Sinatra
3/5
Frank Sinatra has a great voice and I do love his work but this is largely back ground music. Go listen to some Chet Baker or even better Sammy Davis Jr instead
Earth, Wind & Fire
3/5
Enjoyed this, especially all the breaks that found another life sampled on other tracks. Not usually my thing and I really need to give this another few listens to decide between 3 or 4 stars
Public Enemy
5/5
Revolutionary in every meaning of the word!
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
3/5
I had been a massive Nick Cave fan for nearly a decade leading up to this coming out. Murder Ballads marks a point where I started to lose interest in the Bad Seeds. For all the grime and murder than is sung about this album sounds as dangerous as the poser at the local shopping mall pretending to be a gangster. The days of the wild Birthday Party Nick Cave were long gone, replaced by a Nick more suited to parlour rooms and red wine.
It is still a good album if what a little subdued and patchy in places
Steely Dan
3/5
Some nice hits and good song writing. A bit too middle of the road and bland for my tastes
David Bowie
5/5
Black Star is the most perfect requiem ever written. David Bowie knew he was dying and injected that last months of soul searching and reflection into this album. It was heart wrenching to listen to its for the first time a feq days after he had passed away. I one way it felt ghoulish but for the most part it was a fitting tribute and parting gift from an artist that has meant so much to me.
Yes
2/5
How about no...
The Temptations
3/5
Perfect singing, nice arrangements but ultimately it didn't grab me as much as I hoped.
Portishead
3/5
After excitedly waiting what felt like years for this album to come out when it finally came out it was a bit of a let down. I remember discussing it with a friend after I'd brought it and lent her the CD, never bothering to get it back.
It just doesn't feel like an evolution from Dummy 14 years earlier and music, especially lad back trip hop electronica had moved on.
Listening to it again after another 14 years it is unquestionably a good album but I am still just not that excited by it?
PS: suddenly halting the songs mid note was a @#&*ing terrible idea and not clever like the band throught it would be
The Undertones
4/5
Nearly peerless in its influence on post punk bedroom heroes. It is not without it's flaws but damn me if Teenage Kicks isn't one of the best pop songs of all time. This album makes me want to crush up a couple of dexies and wash them down with the cheapest vodka I can find.
Soul II Soul
3/5
Great album. A bit patchy and dated in places but I remember how good it was when it came out
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
3/5
The last Nick Cave album I got into. Warren Ellis dominates the sound and drowns out Mick Harvey and Blixa Bargeld a bit to much for my like. This is like a hand over album of the Seeds that were to what they are now. Not necessarily bad but lacking the fury of Nick Cave's earlier stuff.
I saw them play in Austria when they toured this and it was a terrible show with Nick Cave bumbling around even falling off stage.
Jungle Brothers
4/5
This is great. I hadn't listened to much Jungle Brothers apart from singles before and this is as good as every other release from the Native Tongues Collective. Amazing blend of hip hop and early house. More mature than De La Soul and more fun than Tribe Called Quest. I will definitely play this some more
Adele
3/5
Not too bad but I started to lose interest by the end of the album. Adele can sing and the production is great but it all just feels too safe.
R.E.M.
5/5
Overall not completely amazing but this gets 5 stars for the fact that "The One I Love" and "It’s the End of the World as We Know It" are so perfect.
Isaac Hayes
5/5
Amazing album. Wish I had more time to write my thoughts about this album
Mike Oldfield
2/5
Musically proficient and rumour has it that it paid for the Sex Pistols but this is so not my thing.
The 13th Floor Elevators
4/5
A Psychedelic master work! I would give this 5 stars if I could edit out the electric jug
Arctic Monkeys
3/5
Fantastic debut but not as good as some people feel it is. To me it is dated and clunky in places the singer's wry lyrics sounding a lot more affected as the years pass. I do enjoy the album, don't get me wrong but it just feels like a safe nephew or what the Libertines had already just done. Could be worse it could be Coldplay
Red Hot Chili Peppers
4/5
Fun album. I remember loving it when it came out as so many other great albums including Nevermind came out around the same month. Really nice depth and wide range of songs, the band were definitely at their peak when recording this and they have never captured that same energy for me as they did here. Some of the songs grate after 30 years but that is forgiven as the rest of the album is worth it
Beck
3/5
A good album, just not a great one. Beck has always been a chameleon and some of his musical dalliances have been amazing. He is at his weakest when he does the folky thing which is where he got his start.
It is refreshing to see him not lean into the weird vibe of previous outings which he could have easily done. If only the material was as strong as his earlier stuff
Depeche Mode
4/5
The challenge is making me realise how much I love Depeche Mode. I have really neglected them in the past but wow what an amazing body of work.
Baaba Maal
4/5
Really hard to describe this album. It is beautiful stuff. It is easy to call it World Music but that does it a disservice as that can just be used for anything not euro/American.
I really enjoyed it and want to hear more
David Bowie
5/5
One of my favourite Bowie albums.
Bob Dylan
5/5
Bob Dylan at his best. Poetry and folk music wedded in perfect bliss. The artfulness of his lyrics on this album is rarely surpassed
Jacques Brel
4/5
Enjoyable. I've heard of Jacques Brel but never really listened to him before. I was well aware of his influence and now have a better understanding of why he is praised. Performance wise, I don't need to understand French to get the story telling involved in his songs.
Sarah Vaughan
4/5
I love how relaxed the atmosphere is on the album. It is like Sarah Vaughan is putting on a show just for you. Such an intimate live album as opposed to the at times bombastic stadium fillers.
I need to listen to Sarah Vaughan some more.
Jeru The Damaja
4/5
I previously had only heard of Jeru through him being sampled by DJ Shadow. This is great stuff and with the exception of one dated track really top class Hip Hop.
The Teardrop Explodes
3/5
Teardrop Explodes are one of those bands that I appreciate but have never really gotten into. I can't put my finger on it as they tick all the right boxes for me musically. I found my mind wandering while listening to Kilimanjaro. There are some great cosmic, very English songs on here, Reward is a pop classic. Good album that just didn't capture my attention
Nirvana
4/5
Not as good as Bleach or Nevermind. Still a great album but lacking the ferocity of Nirvana's previous albums. I always felt the production too clean for what they were trying to do. After listening to this, I had a listen to the Steve Albini mixes. They were right to change the vocals as they were too Low in Albini's mix but the rest of the sounds were perfect. The released result being to slick.
Still this is the soundtrack of a band who couldn't deal with the massive changes success had brought. Cobain's lyrics being were conflicted.
Fun fact: I was interning at Juice Magazine (an defunct Australian mag that was partnered with Spin) when the advance copy of the album cam into the office. Even though I was there as a graphic designer, one of the editors invited me to listen to the album with him so I could give a punter's opinion. I can't remember exactly what my response was. Something along the lines of not being as excited by it as Nevermind but still loving it. 29 years later my opinion hasn't changed that much
Massive Attack
5/5
Perfect album. Defies definition.
The Young Rascals
3/5
Run of the mill sixties stuff. Not bad, just not pushing any boundaries. The singles are good, but the rest of the album isn't very exciting
The Cramps
5/5
How can I not like this album? Raucous, primal, swampy punk produced by Alex Chilton no less. My only regret is that the Cramps never really hit my ears and loins until way past my teens when they would have been so potent. I can't fault this album. I will admit that it is maybe not for everyone but isn't that the case for all great bands
Dire Straits
3/5
Not really my thing but I enjoyed. I like how Dire Straits took the often turgid Eric Clapton take on the blues and made something interesting out of it
The Flaming Lips
4/5
Good, though at times sprawling bit of noughties psychedelia.
Pixies
5/5
Over the years this has become one of my favourite albums. Challenging, jarring, just plain wierd in places but so beautiful and uplifting. I remember seeing this in a cousin's record collection when it came out but never got to listen to it properly until a couple of years later. By then It was all about Doolittle for me.
The songs on here are so amazing, Gigantic, Bone Machine and Where is My Mind all classics. And the skit songs, show the band didn't take themselves anywhere near as seriously as some of their fans
Heaven 17
3/5
Fun synth pop album. Very 80s but that is a great thing. I took of a star as along with all the amazing there a few duffers.
Adele
3/5
I really tried but I found this bland. Three stars as she must be doing something I am missing and her voice is something special
Elton John
4/5
Brilliant but sprawling album. Not always my taste but I appreciate how great it is.
The War On Drugs
3/5
I have heard people raving on about this band for a while. I remember trying to get into them but never could. It is good and all but just a bit boring for me. Nothing terrible, just nothing special either
Eurythmics
4/5
A pop masterpiece
SZA
3/5
Not what I would usually listen to. Some tracks were just trite, runn of the mill boasting raps. Drew Barrymore and the last track were excellent though and worth every ounce of praise. The production is top notch and so beautifully layered
Steely Dan
3/5
For a band that named itself after a fictional steam powered dildo, this is some pretty inoffensive music. I can't fault the playing of the songs, I just don't find them that interesting
The La's
3/5
I am going to burn in hell for saying this album and the La's are massively overrated. There are a few unbelievably great songs on here, "There She Goes" of course and "Timeless Melody" but most of the album sounds like sub par Hermins Hermits to my ears. I wonder if they would be as revered if they released more albums
Muddy Waters
4/5
If you were to check my profile, it will no doubt show that Blues is my least favourite genre. This really isn't the case as it only that insipid English Claptonesque Blues that I have an aversion to. This Album and Muddy Waters in general is the stuff of greatness. His growling voice, the metronomic rhythm section making this music dirtier and meaner than young Eric could dream of playing.
Death In Vegas
4/5
Dirge and Aisha are the stand outs In this latenight comedown.
I love this album and could listen to it I. A loop as the droney electronica washes over me
Hole
4/5
Brilliant ablum with in some ways the worst timing of any release in the history of music. I feel sorry for how much that Courtney Love was hound after Kurt's death and I watched her unravel on stage not quiet a year later. Took me ages to listen to this again but when I did it eclipse most other late grunge releases.
Kanye West
3/5
I didn't hate this. I did find it overbearing and found the otherwise solid beats were ruined by Kanye's braggadocio
Chicago
3/5
I liked some of the tracks a lot more than I thought I could with Chicago but there was a decent bit of sonic blues assault going on. The rest of the album not my thing but can appreciate it
The Waterboys
3/5
Decent enough but nothing I would put on repeat
Stevie Wonder
3/5
I love Stevie Wonder but probably in small doses. This is a beautiful album but I actually had to double check I had already listened to it. Maybe I was distracted but the album didn't leave a lasting impression on me
Robert Wyatt
4/5
It is albums like this that keep me doing this list. Having only know of Robert Wyatt through his song Shipbuilding I was expecting an album of folk ballads. That would have been OK but an album of wild sounding jazz fusion mixed with psychedelia was a 100 times better.
I had to check I was still listening to the right album at one stage as some of the noises wouldn't have been out of place on some bands I like that came 10-20 years after this release.
I had no idea about Robert Wyatt's accident and the struggle he had gone through in the lead up to this album. It makes what I heard on Rock Bottom even more meaningful.
I need to explore more of his work now
Arcade Fire
5/5
It wasn't until Neon Bible took me by surprise when it was released a few years later that I finally got around to listening to this. I'm not sure what caused my resistance to Arcade Fire, I think it was that I thought that they would be another lame Radioheadesque mess of a band. I was very wrong.
The music on here is so rich and deep. It has filmic quality where my mind images scenes from some unmade movie that this is the soundtrack of. I also love how it is so melancholic yet joyous at the same time
Aerosmith
4/5
Fun rock album. The best I've heard the band and enjoyable from start to finish
Paul Simon
3/5
Nice but not that essential
Wire
5/5
One of those perfect albums.
Massive Attack
5/5
Another perfect album
Roxy Music
4/5
What amazing debut album. Perfect glam played by a band that looked the part and played the part unlike the other brickies in lipstick that doomed the genre.
Four stars for this one though as it was in many ways a band still discovering their sound. The experimenting feeling disjointed stacked against Re-Make/Re-Model and Ladytron
Les Rythmes Digitales
4/5
Feels like a lifetime since I listened to this. Great album that blended French disco with 80s synth pop. I forgot how much I loved this. I have vague memories of seeing him DJ but I may have hallucinationed it. Fun times
Deee-Lite
4/5
Another of those classic albums that has so many memories tired up in it for me. Still such a ground breaking and more importantly fun album.
TV On The Radio
3/5
Generic American indie. I like it but not as much as their previous album. Some solid tunes but not really essential
Deerhunter
3/5
Wilco-Lite
Nice production, good music but nothing that grabbed me. Maybe it isn't for me or maybe I have it all before
Charles Mingus
4/5
A powerful and sublime piece of music. Pushes the boundaries of jazz
The White Stripes
4/5
I love this album. It so simple, so primal but at the same time so accessible and skilled. It took me ages to fully appreciate this band. I always thought they were a bit pretentious (and I still do) but Jack White's passion give the music and honest edge that is rare.
The Smiths
4/5
I love this album (mostly). Melodic guitar pop delivered with witty lyrics. Music that makes being miserable fun and not so bad as it seems.
With the exception of Frankly Mr Shankly. I feel sorry for Marr, Rourke and Joyce to have written the music to this only for Morrissey to add some of the worst lyrics ever.
I find it hard to listen to the Smiths since Morrissey turned into an embarrassing racist uncle but strangely enough I listened to the Queen is Dead the day before this came up on my list.
You have got to love happenstance
Tom Waits
4/5
I find Tom Waits a tough listen, always have. So it was a nice surprise that one of his stranger albums is his most appealing.
Billy Bragg
5/5
I love this album and Billy Bragg is a true troubadour. Who else can mix lovelorn Ballads with protest songs with such conviction and perfection
Black Sabbath
5/5
The only bad thing about this album is that I waited until my mid 20s to listen to it.
This isn't music, this is a force of nature
Gorillaz
5/5
As someone who had been a fan of both Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett for nearly a decade when this came out, I knew I would be and instant fan. I honestly thought it would be an experimental noise fest like the Blur remix album. I was wron, this was an instant classic and a soundtrack that lifted me up during some pretty rubbish times.
Supergrass
3/5
Unlike their debut, this album takes itself way too seriously. I few tunes but they are outweighed by musical onanism
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
3/5
I love Elvis Costello but at worst this just feels by the numbers and at best it is a bunch of unfinished ideas for later works. Not that bad, just not that memorable
The Go-Go's
4/5
My first loves. I was 8 when this came out and I was enthralled by not just the their looks but the fun and memorable pop the Go-Go's were making. This was a welcome far cry from Bucks Fizz and their ilk to my young ears
Cyndi Lauper
4/5
Such a fun album and it is hard to believe it is a debut release. The first half of She's So Unusual plays out like a best of. The second half meanders a little but that is forgiven as it serves as a counter point to the first half.
Pavement
4/5
At the time the Pavement appeared they felt like a nice break from the testosterone driven grunge clones that dominated the scene. Too bad they turned out to be a bunch of smug jerks at times, too clever for other people's good and platitudes about what is cool.
Musically I still love this but it was the last Pavement album I enjoyed.
Go listen to Slanted and Encanted to hear what the band could've been
The Cure
5/5
Such a amazing album. The Forest is still my favourite Cure song
R.E.M.
4/5
Perfect debut for R.E.M.
It really set the template for all the work to follow. Left of the mainstream jangle pop with a lot a heart and even more sensibilities
Queen
3/5
More glam and heavy than I was expecting. I'd only listened to Queen's later albums in full before and had only heard a few tracks off this previously.
I don't think that they hit their stride until the next album but this lays down so pretty nice groundwork for what was to come
Blue Cheer
1/5
Turgid
Leonard Cohen
4/5
Chilling echo's or Bowie's Blackstar in that this album was recorded with Leonard Cohen knowing that his time was short. A suitability dark Leonard Cohen album it understandably is missing some of his almost trademark sardonic humour. I was too sad about his passing to give this a proper listen when it came out. Listening to it now I am struck by how sparse it is, but this suits the themes and the lyrics perfectly
The Modern Lovers
5/5
An amazing album and arguably on of the most influential releases of all time with it's pronto-punk weirdo genius.
Even more amazing as it was nearly never released
Love
5/5
It would be easy to that this album does psychedelic folk rock by the numbers, but that fact is that Arthur Lee and Love wrote the rules then broke them as many times as they could.
How does an album so syrupy on one level exhude such punk as f**k energy?
Milton Nascimento
4/5
This is a hard one for me to rate as I am not really familiar with this style of music. Language was also a barrier and the times the album lost me is when I feel the lyrics would have carried the songs. It did sound amazing and had such a interesting blend of sounds
Youssou N'Dour
4/5
Beautiful. Not much more I can add
The Pharcyde
3/5
Trailblazing sure, especially in respect to the fact the band side stepped gangsta rap to continue the daisy age vibe of De La Soul. Great fun raps with a nice array off beats. I had never listened to this before in full but had one of their later albums which I would blast while working in '95.
I have to admit I struggled a little with this album as it got a bit messy - lots of ideas not all of them winners
Kendrick Lamar
4/5
This grew on me as I listened to it. Kendrick Lamar's rhymes are solid and show an at times harrowing amount of depth. The beats are what drives this album for me. Having said that it gets repetitive by the end and the skits/dialogue between tracks pulled me out of the moment rather than added to the experience.
If we could do half stars I would give this 3 1/2 but will give this 4 as I appreciate the importance of this album even if it ain't completely to my taste
Beatles
5/5
My favourite Beatles album and the only one I listen to from beginning to end. I think this is the Beatles at the peak of their powers.
The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy
5/5
Amazing album amazing band. I count myself lucky I got to see them live
PJ Harvey
4/5
Fury and bliss all rolled into one. For all the angry songs on here there are also the ones that lull you into a false sense of safety. I love this album.
Gil Scott-Heron
4/5
Hard to get a grasp of this after only one listen. Powerful and smooth at the same time. I need to listen to more of Hill Scott-Heron's work
The Allman Brothers Band
3/5
This mostly isn't my music but damned if that epic version whipping post didn't astonish me.
Red Hot Chili Peppers
2/5
I love Blood Sugar Sex Magik and even some moments on One Hot Minute but this just sounds like laztly garbage in comparison. I thought so at the time it came out, even stand out track Scar Tissue sounds by the numbers
Spiritualized
5/5
Spiritualized are what me dreams sounds like. I was lucky enough to see them live a few weeks ago and it was amazing
So of course I give this 5 stars
LCD Soundsystem
3/5
I love some of LCD Soundsystem's work but this just washes over me. A decent listen but I will go back and give their other albums a relisted instead
Tears For Fears
4/5
Essential '80s album. Admittedly the second side lose a bit of steam but the rest of the album is a classic
Throbbing Gristle
4/5
Chaotic bunch of noise that rips through the norm. Not a comfortable listen but not all music needs to be. Bonus points for just how influential this is, even for the bands that have listened to Throbbing Gristle
MC Solaar
4/5
Solid French hip hop. I remember it being a breath of fresh air for me after a wave 2nd string gangster rap and New jack swing had left me cold on hip hop. Wish I knew French but that doesn't stop me enjoying this
Hugh Masekela
4/5
I enjoyed this album and it is something I need/want to listen to more as I think I have only begun to experience it
The Jam
5/5
Post punk fury mixed with Kinksesque pure pop. The Jam at their best and a go to album for them
Gene Clark
3/5
Really nice folksy country. The album didn't completely grab me but I really need to listen to it again.
Wish you could alter your score on here later but I will give it a 3 today
The Replacements
5/5
Raucous genius. A band at the height of their sound. I love the Replacements
XTC
3/5
I swear I tried to like this but I find XTC one of those impossible bands that most of my friends love that I just don't get.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
4/5
Having not been bothered by Nick Cave's output post '97, I had never listened to a single not off this. I was actually pleasantly surprised. It is the most focused I have heard Nick Cave since the Good Son. There are some nice subtle elements on here, Warren Ellis managing to accompany rather than dominate the sound.
The only negative is I found it a bit over long especially the last track that felt like an afterthought rather than the epic it wanted to be
Steely Dan
4/5
I was surprised by this as I hated the last Steely Dan album I had to listen too. There is a great groove happening in a few of these songs and the overall sound of the album is never dull
Duran Duran
5/5
Perfect album.
David Gray
2/5
This album is so ADULT©!
This album is 1998/2001 and people who kept telling me to grow up always seemed to mark this as the favourite album. They were probably right but if their idea of adult was David Gray I'm glad I kept on being a ne'er-do-well.
Also, why does this album sound like a bunch of bad B-sides by the Verve?
Björk
3/5
Some amazingly bright moments on this brought down with an bit too much dull and aimless experimentation. Worth a listen for the good tracks
Badly Drawn Boy
2/5
I was excited by the first time I heard Badly Drawn Boy when he appeared on the UNKLE album Psyence Fiction. However this album capture none of that. Tuned down shambling folk. Good for some but I found it half baked and over rated
Lambchop
3/5
I remember loving a few songs off this album when it came out but was left lost after listening to the whole thing. Twenty odd years have passed and I still feel the same. Some good Americana on here though nothing revolutionary
Willie Nelson
3/5
Interesting and unexpected album. Willie Nelson takes these standards and makes them his own in every way. I had never realised some of these were cover versions.
Stevie Wonder
5/5
Perfect!
Even if hated the rest of the album I would still give this 5 stars for the last track
Sepultura
5/5
Raw fury!
Bob Dylan
5/5
I am more of a casual fan when it comes to Bob Dylan and this album is in my opinion one of his finest.
MGMT
5/5
One of those albums that is fun and fresh even after years of listening to it
2Pac
4/5
2pac was one talented person and it is horrible that his life was cut so short. How can something be so smooth and so angry at the same time?
Hanoi Rocks
4/5
Really enjoyed this punkish dose of proto hair metal.
The Pogues
5/5
A joyous album when compared to Rum Sodomy and Lash. Some of the bands best work and such an interesting mix of many different styles of music. Now I am off to do a jig
Cream
3/5
Probably the only Clapton effort I actually enjoy. The first side is some killer blues rock. The second half loses its way into jammy filler which means I rarely flip the record over an listen to it
Electric Light Orchestra
5/5
Great album and I am glad I own a copy of it on vinyl as the cover art is amazing
The Rolling Stones
3/5
It is usually the Stones singles that hit the mark for me, in this case Let It Bleed has a few of those. Unfortunately like all Stones Albums half of what you get is bluesy harmonica laden filler. Great for some but it brings down the quality songs on here
Can
4/5
Fantastical sonic journey.
4/5
I had no idea this was considered an essential album by the critics. Not that I am complaining as this is a brilliant slice of 80s pure pop. ABC were a great band
Pink Floyd
5/5
My favourite Pink Floyd album and a glorious dose of madness. Interstellar Overdrive on repeat with the volume loud = heaven
Michael Jackson
1/5
No MJ, you aren't Bad, but you are average
Kacey Musgraves
3/5
Some nice music but not being a big fan of commercial sounding country it is hard for me to judge.
Beyoncé
3/5
I enjoyed this album but it felt like it came to an end before it really got started. Maybe I need to give it another listen one day
Sepultura
4/5
Rightly brutal and helped me work off the bad mood I was in when I listened to it. Not as much of an impact for me as Roots is which came up for me to listen to a couple of weeks ago
Elliott Smith
5/5
Perfect album. I still miss Elliott Smith
Einstürzende Neubauten
5/5
A band and album that is so hard to properly describe. I got into Neubauten through listening to the Bad Seeds and I was lucky enough to see the play in 1991. It was like visiting hell, am I mean that as a compliment to the unabashed fury on display that night. Cut pieces of shopping trolley raining over the audience and sparks from angle grinders adding a sense of danger that they may just set the venue alight. This album doesn't even come ose to capturing that but it still gets five stars as it is still on a whole other level to most of the albums on this list
Missy Elliott
4/5
Overall this is one of those albums that is better played loud! I find the spoken parts break the flow but understand they are important to what Missy Elliot wants to say
Carole King
5/5
A perfect blissful album. A friend described it as all hits, no filler. Essential listening really
Femi Kuti
4/5
Very much his father's son in terms of music. This album sounds so big, the production makes it sound like you are being surrounded by horns, enveloped by the sound.
Not really listening to afro eat that often I found it a bit repetitive but by the same token the beat was like a metronome, becoming hypnotic as the album progressed
Booker T. & The MG's
4/5
Instrumental masterpiece. I can't help but think of The Blues Brothers when I hear the title track. Such a groove
T. Rex
4/5
In some ways this is more artifice than art, Marc Bolan jumping on a trend. It paid off and there are some stonking tunes on this album.
The Kinks
5/5
So this is what caused Britpop?
PS: I love the Kinks
Bob Dylan
4/5
My third favourite Bob Dylan album. Tangled up in Blue is arguably my favourite Dylan track and overall it is a perfect folk album that can be appreciated by anyone not just the Dylan die hards
Madonna
3/5
The singles are some of Madonna's best but the rest of the album is a bit of a mess and average at best
The Louvin Brothers
3/5
Going off first impressions and in this instance trying not to look at the history, I thought these recordings were a lot older than they are. I enjoyed this album but overall it was nothing I haven't heard before done better. Not writing it off, just intrigued as to how essential this is
Big Brother & The Holding Company
3/5
Janis has a belting good voice and the band is tight. Hard for me to judge otherwise as this jammy style of hoe down rock just isn't something that excites me
Radiohead
2/5
Wants the be seminal but comes in off as insipid
Bruce Springsteen
5/5
Why I never properly listened to this before is a mystery.
Joni Mitchell
4/5
I soft and sombre masterpiece. This album is the musical equivalent of a reassuring hug
Aretha Franklin
5/5
Amazing and I want to listen to more Aretha.
This is another review I wish I the time to write more
The Everly Brothers
5/5
OK so this is early Beatles and Beach Boys before those bands existed. I never gave the band much of a listen as I wrote them off as mid-American hokum. I was wrong. This is pop bliss and whether it is directly or note this album is so much of an influence on what followed.
Dead Kennedys
5/5
Oh, to be a outrageous and overcompensating teenager again. The fun and the fury of the album will never get old for me
5/5
My Favourite Blur Album and their best in my opinion. Others have better tracks or were more revered or sold more. From memory this one didn't fare too well at the time so it is nice to see it recognised
Funkadelic
5/5
Funking brilliant
Barry Adamson
5/5
One of the greatest soundtrack albums for a film that will only ever be made in our imaginations
The Isley Brothers
5/5
Smooth and dirty
Jorge Ben Jor
4/5
I mish mash of so many styles. I wasn't expecting some of the sounds coming out of this. It took me a bit to get used to but I got hooked when I realised this is the missing like between Fela Kuti style Afro Beat and the stuff Talking Heads infused into their music
Serge Gainsbourg
4/5
This album stinks of Gitanes and sex.
Fats Domino
4/5
This is a blueprint, a template, a guide book, a whole damned education in what Rock and Roll (emphasis on the Roll) should sound like
Joni Mitchell
4/5
This has been on repeat all day as I try to solve the mysteries of this album. This is truly music as story telling.
Mekons
3/5
It made me want to go listen to The Wedding Present and The Go-Betweens. This is a style of music that I usually love but I found this album fall flat in comparison to the aforementioned bands
M.I.A.
4/5
Kickin' album.
The mash of Where is My Mind and Blue Monday on 20dollar still astounds me.
Korn
3/5
Parts of this album still rocks as hard as it did when I got a preview copy of it back in early `98.
The fury, the fear, the intensity.
Too bad half of the album is just dated and some of the lyrics are majorly (as the kids these days say) cringe.
No quite a 3, more of 2.5
Billy Joel
4/5
So smaltzy! Billy Joel is so not my thing but I have to admit this has some fine pop stuff on it.
Deep Purple
4/5
OK, I needed this as a kick start this morning. I enjoyed it despite myself
Brian Eno
4/5
I first became aware of this album (and Eno) through the movie Dogs In Space. One of the people in the chaotic share house the film is based around would put this on as whenever he took a lady up to his room, much to the disgust of his fellow housemates.
While I am not ready to admit if I used this album as the soundtrack of any of my adolescent fumblings, I did have a tape of this that I was played until warping on my yellow walkman
Manu Chao
3/5
I really enjoyed this but it did get a bit samey by the end
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
5/5
35 years from first hearing this album I still can't find the words to properly describe it. I do enjoy it, though it isn't something that has been on regular rotation. Maybe that will change now
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
3/5
Well it is unmistakably an Elvis Costello album. I love Elvis Costello but to be honest, apart from I Want You, this album isn't essential. That isn't to say it isn't good album
Baaba Maal
3/5
Parts of this are the smoothest and most hypnotic Afro Beat I have encountered on this list. However other parts attempt a similar sound to Youssou N'Dour but don't teach the same heights
The Cardigans
4/5
I am most likely one of the first people in Australia to hear this ablum and possibly the only perto review it ahead of it's release. From memory the albums release got put back from around June to September and missed the memo so we ran the review early. No great landmark as it was for an unknown teen Mag that had a readership of maybe 12,000 on a good month. By the time the album came out I had been telling people about this amazing Swedish band and how their song Lovefool eclipsed 99% of the pap masquerading under the banner of Britpop. I gave my copy of the CD to and indie DJ in the hope she would play it. She did eventually but that was after a certain movie was released.
I remember saying in my review that whole it was easy enough to slot the band as saccharine heirs to the crown of ABBA but their Black Sabbath influences gave them a hard edge under the sweet appearance
Lucinda Williams
4/5
Perfect Sunday soundtrack that just rolls through the heart. Even though I now barely drink and haven't touch a cigarette in over a decade, for me this album envokes the sweet haze of a mild hangover, more sleep deprived than feeling ill, your body infused with the scent of stale cigarettes as you chainsmoke lying in the afternoon sun
Happy Mondays
5/5
Wicked!
Beck
5/5
Seminal album. Arguably Beck's finest effort as it is still filled with purposeful experimentation and not the dry cynicism of some of his later stuff.
Very much a snapshot of the potential of music back in `96
Johnny Cash
5/5
Along with live at Folsom this is the perfect introduction to the Man in Black
Frank Black
3/5
I love Frank Black and I live the work he has done with the Pixies. I do really enjoy this album and regret not taking the chance to properly watch him perform at the `94 Vivid Festival. I was there and know I watched a bit of his ste but that is about it.
This album just doesn't hit as hard as some of his others. Maybe he was taking a break from the persona of Black Francis, which is fine. Maybe it will grow on me a bit more now that I have rediscovered it but for now I will give it 3 stars
The Sugarcubes
4/5
I wonder what a mix of this would sound like if you removed Einar's shouty vocals?
Linkin Park
3/5
More 3 1/2 stars. I really wanted to give this 4 or higher as there are some powerful songs on here. I am being honest, this album is overwrought with Nu-Metal plating and pre-emo histrionics which dampen the obvious fury rather than enhance it.
Metallica
3/5
Metal for the massess
Randy Newman
3/5
Is it considered blasphemous to say that most every Randy Newman song sounds the same? I'm sure people think he is charming or even a genius but I seem to be missing something
The Byrds
3/5
I'll admit this has been my favourite Byrds album as a whole package. Their other albums have better songs but this delivers a listenable consistency I didn't think the band were capable of.
Elbow
3/5
Not terrible but not what I consider essential
George Harrison
3/5
Should have been a double album.
I dropped a star for all the songs that could have been left at Demo stage (I'm looking at you, "It's Johnny's Birthday").
Michael Jackson
1/5
Nope
The Stooges
5/5
A musical onslaught
Incredible Bongo Band
3/5
Amazing that parts of this album have been sampled so much and make up the basis of so many songs I love. Listening to this I can't help but feel that this just a novelty record that got lucky in its second life and the DJs that came after are the trust masters. Taking throwaway breaks and making something better
Prince
4/5
One of Prince's best.
The Yardbirds
3/5
Good playing and boy they can plays but stock standard British blues Rock doesn't hit the buttons for me
R.E.M.
4/5
Every wanted R.E.M. to be the next U2 but instead they gave us this. Diverse challenging, not as good as Green but still a solid album.
Maybe a bit too much mandolin
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
4/5
Beautiful album. I need to explore Neil Young's back catalogue a bit more
Cypress Hill
4/5
A blast*
(*I want to write an essay of a review but don't have the time)
Neil Young
4/5
I did say I needed to listen to more Neil Young after getting another of his albums a few days ago.
Again this is a beautiful album. More of the same but different enough to warm my interest. I feel like I should be laying back and relaxing as these stories unfolded
The Specials
4/5
I love this album, The Specials and ska in general. I don't think it is as good as their first album which is hard to beat.
Leftfield
5/5
Again I don't have a chance to write my essay style review. This is an album I keep coming back to
The Chemical Brothers
5/5
This album is the heart of the party. It came out when I was 24, travelling Europe. It along with Daft Punk's Homework soundtracked my adventures. Even after 25 years the music on hear still gives me e-like chills and tingles.
One highlight etch in my brain was having this album on an inflight channel for my flight home. The Private Psychedelic Reel coming on as my plane circled Sydney on approach to landing. The plane tilted and banked giving me rarely experienced view of my hometown
The Slits
5/5
Brazen and brace. I am a massive Clash and Sex Pistols fan but wish the legacy of the Slits was as revered. Punky, reggae ska and pop thrown in a blender. From what I've read they copped a lot of abused and threats which to me makes the righteously dangerous
Willie Nelson
4/5
Blissful and beautiful with just the right amount of rough edges.
Note to self: Listen to more Outlaw Country
Stephen Stills
3/5
Some amazing songs and a nice vibe for the most part. Downside is that it is way too long and overflowing with hippy dribble. Stills filter was a bit broken, wasn't it
The Who
4/5
Another band I need to listen to more. In the past I have only gotten pieces of this album and never fully appreciated it. Without reading the wiki entry, it feels like a more complete concept album than the other Who ones. The flow between the tracks and the modes is fantastic. Now to work out the full story
Bad Company
2/5
Turgid
Scott Walker
4/5
Genius and over indulgent is the same breath. I have never warmed to Scott Walker completely but hi influence on so many bands I love is inescapable
Dusty Springfield
4/5
Amazing voice. Great songs
Megadeth
4/5
You've got to love a bit of hobby glue metal and Megadeth are the masters of it
Ali Farka Touré
4/5
Malia music meets delta blues
Beastie Boys
5/5
One of my favourite albums. It got released at just the right for me and for a couple of years the Beastie Boys were just about the coolest guys to grace the planet. Blending punk, funk, hip hop and bosanova this is a record collection on one disc.
Tricky
5/5
Amazing album and probably my favourite of all the music labelled Trip Hop. I even rate this over Massive Attack.
AC/DC
5/5
Beast of an album and thinking about it, AC/DC could have sunk without a trace if the chemistry between the Young's and Brian Johnson. As much as I love this album, I don't think it capture where the band were heading with Bon Scott up front. The sense of danger that eminated from him would have been impossible to try and replicate. Johnson did a unbelievable job of capture the bawdy swagger and the band nailed the brief on making radio friendly hard rock
Sonic Youth
5/5
I can't recall if I was aware of the band before this moment but forever etched in my brain is the first time I heard Teenage Riot. It was New Years morning 1989, I was a few months off turning 16. I had taped a few hours of film clips from the show Rage and set about watching them or fast forwarding through them. I can't remember if it was the sounds or the vision that hit me first but I made a pact to discover and listen to all the bands in the clip. I did eventually in that pre-internet age and the stars of that clip became my bible, my university and my North Star.
The rest of the album stands the test of time. Pop perfection through an angle grinder
Miriam Makeba
4/5
All I know is that listening to this bought me out of a rubbish mood.
Fatboy Slim
5/5
We're Gonna party like it is 1998.
An album that just has fun is often all you need
Public Image Ltd.
4/5
If only John Lydon hadn't grown up to be such a disappointment.
This album is light years away from what he did in the Pistols. Less Furious but no less angry.
Motörhead
3/5
I love Motörhead but this album didn't grab me. Touted as the ultimate live experience, it sounds muddy and flat, like it is coming out of a vocal PA at a pub not meant for live music.
A couple of the songs come off OK but in this instance it has none of the bombing run on my ears I have come to expect with Motörhead
Jethro Tull
3/5
OK, so Jethro Tull are a bit more than some dude with a flute. Good to know.
I enjoyed this album so much more than I anticipated. Nothing stood out as a landmark or life changing for me so I am going with 3 stars
Goldie
5/5
When I first heard this when it came out, Timeless was like entering another world. There were echoes of trance and jungle but this was so much more. The depth.
The build ups.
This was punk as f**k and furious cloaked under a veneer of something Mellow
Taylor Swift
4/5
Pop perfection.
Not what I generally listen to but I warmed to Taylor Swift through my daughter loving her.
The National
4/5
Wondering if it was intentional or coincidence that The National followed Taylor Swift. I have been aware of this band since they came up but never gave them a proper listen until now. Boy have I been missing out. This is just the right mix of Americana and pop with an almost hidden reverence to the Smiths. I have spent the day listening to their back catalogue and was surprised by how many songs I recognised but attributed to other artists
Elvis Presley
4/5
Prime Elvis.
Crosby, Stills & Nash
4/5
It didn't 100% grab me but the fact this albums influence stretches across so much stuff I love makes me appreciate it
Khaled
3/5
I am going to put this down to me having no interest in the MOR pop on display in this album. An extra star for the fact it is in Arabic, a language I have not come across on this list before. And thank goodness it isn't another half-baked British Blues band.
Too cheesy for my likes
Otis Redding
4/5
Wonderful and rich album. That voice!
Slipknot
4/5
So angry.
Pantera with industrial beats and funny masks.
It doesn't suck
Bebel Gilberto
2/5
Underwhelming bosanova lite
Alanis Morissette
4/5
Peak 90s and a guilty pleasure. One of those acts I was too cool to admit enjoying. I still think Jagged Little Pill is criminaly over produced, especially You Oughta Know. Alanis's voice is perfect and she captures the angst of the era and the age she was when writing the album
4/5
Sublime and beautiful.
Syd Barrett
4/5
Fractured genius.
Orange Juice
5/5
Not as well known as they should be but wow, I didn't realise how much of a template Orange Juice's sound was for the Smiths and a those C86 bands I love so much
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
4/5
This album doesn't hit as hard and feels more polished than the previous Yeah Yeah Yeahs. It still sits on the precipice of art rock and noughties indie which is a nice place to be.
Bad Brains
4/5
Probably the first Bad Brains I listened to. Regrettably I didn't properly get into the band until my mid-30s. I wish 13 year old me had better taste and better access to music. I had forgotten how melodic and almost metal this album was. Almost Misfits in places too. Worlds apart from their first album but listening to that straight after I Against I makes me appreciate how much they had grown in their sound
Tom Waits
4/5
I usually find Tom Waits a struggle. He is like a really good friend from my very chaotic booze fuelled years that had more highs than lows. I appreciate their friendship and will always hold the fact that they stuck by close to my heart but now they are little too full on and too much of a reminder of days go by.
ABBA
4/5
Being a little kid in the late 70s in Australia, you just couldn't avoid hearing this album. It is part of my psyche. You either love or you hate it but you can avoid it.
Faust
4/5
I appreciate the influence this album has on so many bands I love but I found it a bit to proggy for my tastes.
Still giving it for stars for the songs that made an impact on me, namely the opening track, Krautrock
The Divine Comedy
3/5
If only this had been released a year and a half earlier or 4 years later. Coming at the tail end of Britpop the fatigue was really setting in. There is some good Scott Walker/Vaudeville inspired sounds on hear but for me this album falls short of what Pulp had already done.
Fleetwood Mac
3/5
I love the songs I love, namely the title track and The Ledge. Mostly I find this album a bit too indulgent and a bit too directionless
Cat Stevens
4/5
Sentimental without being mawkish.
Goldfrapp
3/5
Dreamy and listening too it put me in a better mood than I was in. Maybe I need to listen to it some more but I fould Seventh Tree lacked the impact of Black Cherry
Rufus Wainwright
4/5
Rufus Wainwright was on my list of artists I had been meaning to listen to, now he is on my list of artists I need to explore further.
Mellow Americana with hints of light Opera make this feel like I am in a dream. I had Want Two on repeat for most of yesterday and followed that up with Want One. Which meant I had to listen to this album again to see how they fit together. Rather than an extension or a repeat the work as parts of a whole that can be enjoyed on their own
The Verve
3/5
I get why people may like them but The Verve were never a band for me. This is Music has one of the most cringe worthy lines ever recorded. I don't hate the rest of the album and even would go as far as saying I love the song, On Your Own (which I swear I used to think was Mercury Rev)
3/5
Overblown and overlong though thankfully with a decent amount of bombastic flair. I can see why some love Muse, I do and I respect that. Matt Bellamy has a great voice and is a phenomenonenal guitar player but something about the band and this album feels flat to me
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
3/5
OK, I was surprised how much of the album has influenced other bands (hello, Primus and yesterday's album by Muse). As with most proggy stuff it is evident that EML can play well. Playing your instruments well is not always enough and this album dragged on dur to the jammy indulgence.
Metallica
2/5
That was ill advised. There were only a couple of songs the suited or synced up with the symphonic accompaniment. This album was a struggle
The Electric Prunes
3/5
The opening track is amazing, career defining, responsible for launching a million garage bands. The rest of the album? Not so much
Circle Jerks
4/5
I love punk that is able to not take itself too seriously while also not falling into parody.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
5/5
I still can't get over the fact that Neil Young released this a year before grunge broke. Such a good dirty sound sounding album especially F'ing Up.
I wish I had paid more attention to it when it was first released
Dennis Wilson
5/5
So Brian wasn't the only troubled genius in the Beach Boys.
Wild Beasts
3/5
Enjoyable album that maybe needs a few more listens to sync in. My first impression was Hercules and Love Affair lite. I could be wrong
Sonic Youth
5/5
One of my favourite albums of all time. I could bottle what it was like to be 17 this would be the essence
Tracy Chapman
4/5
I remember having a cassette of this and playing it often when it was first out. Time made me remember it as silly or cheesy but listening to Tracy Chapman again after so many years has let me do so with fresh ears and appreciate it on a new level.
This album filled will simple, heartfelt folk which is timeless
Underworld
5/5
Genre defining, ground breaking etc
Mercury Rev
5/5
This is one of those albums that has grown on me over the years. From originally thinking of it as a good album but not holding much sway over me, to sinking into my brain and becoming a favourite of mine. In this album they come off as a psychedelic R.E.M. swirling around the edges of dream pop tinged Americana.
At first I found Jonathan Donahue's vocals left me on edge but now they have a calmling quality over me
Leonard Cohen
5/5
He was the ultimate story teller, especially when it came to love, loss and lust
Minutemen
5/5
"Our Band Could Be Your Life"
This is a close to perfect an album as possible for my tastes. Perfect blend of punk and melody and most importantly heart.
Another of those bands that I regrettably only got properly into a few years ago
Alice Cooper
4/5
Fun rock and roll album. The beauty of this record is that Alice and the gang never take themselves too seriously
Keith Jarrett
3/5
Don't get me wrong, the playing was amazing and the spirit was there but damn if you must because I felt like I was at an piano I'd been forced to attend to part of this.
Siouxsie And The Banshees
4/5
A Goth hymn book. I love Siouxsie and the Banshees and this album is extra special for how much it pushes the sounds. So layered and chaotic
fIREHOSE
3/5
I started enjoying this more once I stopped comparing fIREHOSE with the Minutemen. In fact it feels like this album owes more to Creedance than punk rock. Well Creedance were an influence the Mike Watt was never shy in revealing.
Fromohio is a really good album but just misses the mark on being an essential one for me
Ramones
5/5
One of the most important albums on this list and much more than just punk. The Ramones managed to distil the history of pop music into this record. Fast, fun and immediate
Jane's Addiction
5/5
For the 17 year old me who got to hear this when it first came out, this was life changing. Released a full year before Nirvana's Nevermind it was one of the fires that led to the inferno of alternative music breaking through.
Mott The Hoople
3/5
It was like listening to meat and two veg. Apart from the Bowie penned track I found this stodgy as
The Velvet Underground
5/5
Seminal. Maybe not as seminal as the Andy Wharhol album, or maybe more so
The Band
3/5
I love the Last Waltz but this album is just run of the mill folk rock to me. I appreciate the influence they have to so many bands
Waylon Jennings
4/5
Not my go to music but this was a fun album. Real, down to earth country without a hint of rhinestone in sight
Peter Frampton
3/5
Stodgy and spacey. It has a legacy for sure but it is a little lost on my ears. Frampton is unquestioningly an amazing guitar player but is that enough?
Sam Cooke
4/5
Blissfully smooth
Pearl Jam
5/5
It took me a while to warm to Pearl Jam when this was first released. Stupidly believing they were Johnny come latelys to the grunge scene, not knowing knowing the history of some of the member or the fact this came out a few weeks before Never mind but to a lot less fanfare. I was only after hearing Mother Love Bone that I fully began to appreciate them. Eddie Vedder's voice is perfect, gruff and melodic at the same time; Ament and McCready's playing straddling a perfect line between 70s stadium rock and garage punk
Ice Cube
4/5
Hardcore beats and rhymes that still hold power 30 plus years on. You have to also consider that the main stream's idea of hip hop that year was saccharine garbage like MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice.
One star off though because the braggadocio and overuse of the b-word bog that album down at times
The Rolling Stones
3/5
This album further cements my feelings that the Stones write amazing singles that sit between filler.
And a great single does not mean a great album
Elastica
5/5
Unashamedly cops riffs from Wire but we'll forgive them for the fact this is arguably the most fun 38 minutes of the whole Britpop Era
Elvis Costello
3/5
This is definitely an Elvis Costello album. You get what you pay for and you get your money's worth.
This is not a bad thing as I love Elvis Costello's unique brand of agit-pop and his work is consistently great. I am just wondering if this something that is essential enough for this list.
Rod Stewart
3/5
What a voice! Again, not a go to artist of mine which made it a pleasent surprise to discover this album had none of the cheesiness is Rod Stewarts more know tracks. There are some very rocking nearly punk tracks on here along with some soulful balladeering
The Velvet Underground
5/5
I'm biased because this is one of my favourite albums so I believe that the Andy Warhol album is one of the most remarkable records in history.
Sade
3/5
There is no question that Sade has an amazing voice, it is just a pity that she is backed by what sounds like lift music. The arrangements on this album have really dated, which is a shame really
T. Rex
5/5
Marc Bolan could have rivalled David Bowie in creativity and spark. He did at this stage and this album proves it. Shame he didn't keep up the momentum and his life was tragically cut short before any chance of a second act. Solid album filled with glam stompers and cosmic jams
Nanci Griffith
3/5
Beautiful and engaging country. For bits and pieces the music stars into generic Amy Grant style blandness but overall this sounds like it broke a few molds and led to inspire some even better Americana
Machito
3/5
I enjoyed this enough but wonder if a bosa nova revival 50 years after the fact is that essential
Laura Nyro
4/5
I wasn't expecting it to sound like this. I always thought that Laura Nyro was a female Bob Dylan. So I was wrong, she is so much more than that. I almost felt like I was listening to a motown girl group at some stages and the Carpenters without the saccharine at others. I need to explore more of her work
Genesis
2/5
Influential? Probably.
Essential? Maybe.
Personally, even though the playing on it is amazing, It was a wacking great proggy mess.
Can
5/5
Metronomic greatness. If you can class this as proggy, this is how it should be not that bloated Genesis album I just had to listen to.
Simply Red
3/5
I enjoyed this more than I thought. I put my prejudice against Mick Hucknell aside and tried to listen to it with fresh ears.
He does have a great Blue Eyed Soul voice and the songs on the first album are really good. Never was a fan of the singles - I can't put my finger on why exactly
Blur
5/5
At a time when I seriously thought Blur were going to either call it a day or deliver another Brit Pop follow up to Great Escape, they go head and release what is my second favourite album of theirs. Definitely their most ambitious and successful album. Sure Song 2 got a flogging but it is a fun tune which is world's away from Country House but a natural sequel to Popscene.
Elliott Smith
5/5
Superb album which I often overlook when playing XO on repeat. So bitter-sweet and tortured I can't even grasp what it was like inside the mind of Elliot Smith
Spacemen 3
5/5
Best played loud.
This is my type of music, so where some may fine it grating, I get a sense of euphoria as the noise hits me and takes me on a ride
Bruce Springsteen
5/5
Haunting (I may overuse that word but in this case it is the perfect word).
Shades is Woody Guthrie and Nick Drake. This album is bleak and filmed in grainy black and white. I can feel the wind biting through my clothes, chilling me to the soul
Bruce is another one of those acts that this list has made me explore more and find a deeper appreciation
Janis Joplin
3/5
Janis had a powerful voice. I won't argue that.
Maybe I find the songs average outside of Janis' singing or maybe I have heard to many buskers and talent show contestants commit murder that it has broken my ears.
Beth Orton
3/5
I love Beth Orton's Trailer Park album which I just a fresh listen and it is still as calming and uplifting as I remember. Central Reservation never grabbed me in the same way. I still like it but it feels stilted and forced compared to her debut.
The crash to her first albums smooth come down
Kate Bush
3/5
This album is hit and miss compared to Kick Inside and Hounds of Love. Overall it is a good album but it just didn't capture my heart
Fleetwood Mac
5/5
One of those perfect albums.
Lorde
4/5
Once I started getting into this i really enjoyed this album. It is almost a concept album about a bar hoping teen finding herself after a massive break up. It is both uplifting an chaotic - two things I live in the music I listen to. Lorde is not someone I have readily listened to. Maybe I am not her target market or maybe I just need to listen to different things.
On a side not, I am still not convinced by Jack Antonoff. I still don't know if his production elevates or ties down all the amazing artists he works with. I am beginning to think that his signature style is not unlike a sampler, pro-tools or even an antique effects pedal with each artist using him as a tool. Time will tell.
This album. Is one of those ones I wish I could score out of ten as I don't feel it deserves 4 stars but it is so much better than most of the stuff I give 3s to.
Throwing Muses
5/5
Crazed blissful caterwauling. I have been a fan of the Throwing Muses for decades but was admittedly unfamiliar with this album.
To be honest, I didn't like it at first but decided to push through. I gave it a second listen, then a third, then a forth. It had grabbed me. It is like a dream or a lucid waking nightmare.
It also paved the way for a lot of American indie/underground music that follow Pixies being a prime example
Jimi Hendrix
5/5
I over listened to this as a grotty teen so took a 30 plus year break from hearing Are You Experienced.
Still as great as I remember, so easy to get caught up in.
Miles Davis
5/5
I felt like I was being folded into the sound
The Saints
5/5
One of the only albums better than this is the Saints debut. Raw, primal stuff with added soul
Nitin Sawhney
3/5
Mixed feelings about this. I wanted to feel like this was a land mark album but it never pushed the barriers I thought it would.
The Offspring
4/5
So much fun! I saw them at the start when they toured this album. The venue got so hot it was raining sweat.
Queens of the Stone Age
3/5
An interesting album from a band that has never fully grabbed me. At first listen this sounds like demo tapes of an artist still tryeto find their sound
The Hives
4/5
Hey! I thought this list didn't include complications or best of's! You have to salute the genius of Oasis discoverer, Alan McGee to repackage this band to ride the imminent Nu-Garage movement that landed around that time. Great Marketing, great songs by the Hives so this collection made sure a band that would gone unnoticed hit its potential.
Tried an true method though as the same was done to AC/DC, the Beatles and heaps of other bands to break them into new markets
Paul Revere & The Raiders
3/5
There's the hits which sound great and the production but overall this is second rung stuff compared to other music of the era. On the production side, it is hard to pick if this is cutting edge or throwing all the tricks of the time and hoping they form something cohesive.
Beastie Boys
5/5
A landmark album from one of my favourite acts.
Slade
4/5
Fun album. I had now idea they stomped so hard. This is proto hair metal (which I guess is what glam was)
Fiona Apple
4/5
I rediscovered Fiona Apple with her recent album Fetch the Bolt Cutters. She is the dictionary definition of pretentious but that ads to the stuff she does. And her madness seems pure rather than some marketing gimmick to win over the outcasts.
Tidal gets a bit samey and is over produced in that mid-90s way but as a debut it is a great piece of work.
And that voice!
Belle & Sebastian
4/5
I hated Belle & Sebastian and this album when I first heard them. Too fey for their own good, coming off as milquetoast instead of clever.
I still think they are fey and sometimes milquetoast but love their music now.
Not perfect, which doesn't matter when your heart is hanging off your sleeve
Anthrax
4/5
I didn't really listen to Anthrax until they released Bring the Noise with PE.
Which is interesting because I enjoyed the Anthrax side project S.O.D.
Amoung the Living is great model glue sniffing thrash. So you are going to love it or hate it.
Only minus is even though it is a single, Indians sounds dated and out of place on the album
Fred Neil
5/5
This is one of those times that following this list pays off. I had no idea who Fred Neil was before, having always thought Harry Nielson wrote Everybody's Talkin'
I spent the day listening to a few of his other albums and this on repeat
Marilyn Manson
1/5
Tryhard.
Go listen to NIN, KMFDM, Nitzer Ebb and literally hundreds of other better bands
Dolly Parton
4/5
Dolly Parton's music is a thing of beauty that I don't listen to enough
Goldfrapp
3/5
Solid debut and a gorgeous sounding album. I really like Goldfrapp but for me this skirts outside the realm of essential when compared Black Cherry which is also on this list.
File under: raspy post trip hop chill music
Fairport Convention
3/5
The band you book when Jefferson Airplane are busy.
Belle & Sebastian
4/5
I love this album and all its tweeness.
On a side note, I do think this list would be greatly improved if they didn't include multiple albums by the same artists. This is my second Belle and Sebastian album in a week and even I will say they are an acquired taste
Mariah Carey
3/5
5 stars for Mariah's voice
1 star for the very dated mid-'90s production
Maxwell
1/5
The decades haven't changed my opinion of this album. I find it outrageously dull, and void of any of the soul it seeks to chase
Jimmy Smith
4/5
OK, judging the music by it's cover, I was expecting some dub reggae, funk or bluegrass. What I wasn't expecting was some of the most mind clenching jazz this side of Miles Davis.
A really interesting album that I need to listen to some more
LCD Soundsystem
5/5
Perfect punk/indie/dance/trash bag anthems
Bob Marley & The Wailers
4/5
Bob Marley is revolutionary but to be honest I find this album slightly bland compared to other reggae I have listened to. Maybe it's power is in the fact that it is Music for the masses taking its message further than more niche (and exciting sounds).
Queen
3/5
A band on the cusp of greatness. Not there
So this adds to my quibble of multiple albums by the same artist. Is this as good as Sheer Heart Attack or Night at the Opera? If not, is there another album by an artist not featured on this list get a look in?
Some artists do deserve multiple entries, of which Queen already do but in this case, regardless of how much I love Queen II, it falls short
Bob Dylan
5/5
A classic album that transcends Bob Dylan. The song writing on here is flawless and it wrote the book on the drawled coffee house folk singer.
Manic Street Preachers
4/5
An album filled with such sadness in the wake of the disappearance of Richey Edwards.
Such a move away from the metal edged sludge of earlier albums. I love their old dirty glitter but this album has a sense of dare I say maturity
Jane's Addiction
5/5
In a way this album saved my life. At age 16 I felt like the biggest freak on the planet then along came this band that made being a freak the status quo.
The Doors
5/5
14-18 year old may have gotten a bit obsessed by the Doors. Hard not to as they are a teenage nerd's wet dream of rebellion and cool. The bad poetry, the swagger, how hard was it to resist.
I laugh at it now and many people scoff at the pompous nature of the music but I don't think I would have the wide music taste I have today without this band. They got me passionate about music and hunting for more. They were a gateway into punk and hip hop and anything underground. Even though they were a commercial band they never felt safe like the Beatles or the Stones and lay open the darkness that was possible in music
Buffalo Springfield
4/5
This album. Captures the mood of the free love era perfectly. Hopeful protest songs
Bon Jovi
4/5
Great straight forward meat and potatoes, suburban anthem rock and roll.
I enjoyed most of it and can't deny there is some catchy stuff going on.
Close your eyes and it is stone wash and teased mullet big hair for miles
Mj Cole
3/5
Started off absolutely hating this but it grew on me. I never got into UK Garage, finding it too soft for my likes but this does have some nice grooves to it and is definitely enhanced by Elisabeth Troy's singing on some of the tracks.
Tom Waits
4/5
Well that was a Tom Waits album!
Listening to Heartattack and Vine really warmed me. Lyrically it was up there with Leonard Cohen and Dylan. True storytelling pictures in my head kind of songwriting.
4/5
Apart from the first track which is my favourite Kinks song this album took a little for me to get into. It is a very ambitious record but does seem a little lost in places.
The Davies brothers are geniuses without question which makes this a worthwhile record.
If it feels like you have heard some of the sounds on here over and over. That it is because the has strip mined especially during the Britpop era
Shuggie Otis
3/5
Very laid back and soulful. Maybe too laid back for my tastes though I did find it a great album to listen to on a Sunday afternoon while relaxing
Incubus
2/5
I unfortunately remember this band form when they came out. I struggled through this as to me it is just watered down pap
Def Leppard
3/5
Unashamedly soft rock/hair metal. Standard rather than stand out. I enjoyed it for was the fun romp it is
Sonic Youth
4/5
The noisy (beautiful) mess that was before that part of Sonic Youth's music went from art rock to what was to become the main stream.
Richard Thompson
3/5
Nice folk stuff, I guess. It didn't really grab me but that isn't to say it was bad, just no my taste
Michael Kiwanuka
4/5
I wasn't sure what to expect with this album and I am glad. Fantastic is all I can say.
I need to explore more of Michael Kiwanuka's music
Bob Dylan
5/5
If you never plan on listening to Bob Dylan give this one a go as it his best album (IMHO) and the one where his (croaky) voice stretches out across all tastes.
Brilliant lyrics too
Herbie Hancock
5/5
A funked up jazz fusion trip out
Brian Eno
5/5
File under uneasy listening. As this album starts it seems ethereal and relaxing. It turns out it is hiding a dark secret where the noise below the sound grates and puts you on edge. Like an orchestra of nails down chalkboard.
Amazing stuff really and responsible in many ways to a fair amount of technology and soundtrack work that followed
Nine Inch Nails
5/5
Phenomenonenal album. It came out at a great time. 1994 was a year of love, lust, heart break, experimenting with drugs and self destruction but most of all being plagued by crippling depression that I hid from the world. Downward Spiral soundtracked those times. Thankfully it was a guide to getting through it all.
Amazing music too
Beck
3/5
That rich kid from high school who acted weird because he has the money to get away with it.
I do like early Beck but this began to drag
The Soft Boys
3/5
Thugs in silk shirts!
What I liked on this album I loved but the rest just passed me by.
Worth listening to just for the first track, "I Wanna Destroy You"
Stevie Wonder
4/5
Apart from the classic that is Higher Ground to me this album is the sound of an artist testing the waters, trying to grow but not there yet. Too many false starts but enjoyable to see Stevie Wonder exploring his sound
Miles Davis
5/5
With the exception of Kind of Blue, nothing tops this. Birth of the Cool is a flawless album. Intamite and immediate while also challenging
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
Classic Springsteen the is let down by some of the production choices and the length of the album. I would have given this 4 stars except for the following:
- He could done without the drum machine tape loop backing on a few songs. A technique that really suits some artists but in this case grates against Bruce's voice and guitar.
-The Length and the songs choices. Although this is actually a shorter album than the River it feel much longer. It was draining to some degree.
That all said, there is enough powerful songwriting from the Boss to make me want come back and give this another listen
Patti Smith
5/5
An epic album, especially considering the time is came out. I'm not sure how much insight I can add that has been said by countless reviewers.
A great album that kept returning to
Duke Ellington
4/5
It took a bit to get into this (maybe someone should remaster the intro speech so it doesn't sound like my walkman is about to chew the tape).
Now onto the rest of the album. It starts off sedate enough, a throwback to the big band sound. Then the party gets started. It gets wild towards the end and I can imagine people dancing on tables
The Prodigy
5/5
Such an amazing band at the height of their career. The anticipation for this album from me was huge. At that stage I had seen Prodigy a few times and they are still one of the best live acts I have witnessed. This album captures a of that and more
N.W.A.
4/5
Brutal album! More hard-core than most punk and metal,I remember when it first came out my New Jack Swing loving friends were genuinely terrified by it.
The message is clear and strong, the anger is evident.
Some of the language is nothing but sexist trash and I wonder if it was every acceptable.
Madonna
2/5
It's no Ray of Light, is it?
That American Pie cover is so painful it makes the original sound great
The Flying Burrito Brothers
4/5
Top notch Americana that has rarely been surpassed.
I do hate the last track and find it almost ruins the album for me
Scott Walker
5/5
It does take me to get used to Scott Walker. So relaxed but so sinister. The more I listen to him, the more I start realising that his understated genius
Rahul Dev Burman
4/5
Admittedly I am not that familiar with Bollywood music but I really enjoyed that. It had a depth tk it I wasn't expecting
The Rolling Stones
4/5
I imagine at the time this came out it would have been pretty revolutionary. It is fun and it rocks
Joni Mitchell
4/5
Ethereal
Van Halen
5/5
Astounding debut and it set a high bar for everything the released after (which they had not trouble topping). Hard rock with a very healthy dose of glam and showmanship
TLC
4/5
Often emulated but never matched. Not usually on my playlist but I had fun revisiting this album.
Bobby Womack
4/5
Note to self - listen to more Bobby Womack as this is impeccable
Randy Newman
4/5
Rollicking and clever. I confess that as wonderful as I find him, Randy Newman songs tend to blend together but in this case I found all the tracks distinct.
David Bowie
4/5
I love Bowie so it would be rare for me to go under 4 stars for one of his albums. This one is on the borderline. I love the idea behind it but admit it mostly feels like series of demo's or sketches reliving ideas from past albums. I figure that was the point of it given the cover is a clever reuse of the Heroes artwork.
Definitely an artist at the stage of his career where he has no one he needs to please except himself. That is one of the more entertaining aspects of this album.
I have mentioned this before for other artists and releases on this list and I again wonder if this album deserves to be on this list
Pavement
5/5
Such a fun album. I have such fond memories of first hearing Trigger Cut and excitedly waiting for them to first tour Australia. I missed out on tickets at first but the venue they were originally didn't get it's licence. So I ended up seeing the play 3 of the 4 nights they played Sydney. At the final show Gary Young their original drummer greeted everyone as they entered.
Those nights were a confluence of love, lust, laughter and broken hearts with a healthy dose of me being a jerk.
This album resonates with me because it is the perfect song track of those ne'er-do-well days
Ministry
5/5
Brutal, memorable and strangely commercial. I love this and the previous two Ministry albums
Cheap Trick
5/5
One of the best live albums I have heard. Live albums can be hit or miss. They often feel a bit sterile and remove you from the action. What sets this album apart is the immersion of it. The excitement builds as the album progresses and it is hard not to feel like you are in the crowd.
It also helps if you like Cheap Trick which I do
Gang Of Four
5/5
I can't fully express how much I love this album.
Eagles
4/5
Eagles before the bloated stadium rock era. I enjoyed this more than i thought i would. Some really good countrified rock
Billie Holiday
5/5
Billie Hoilday's voice <insert heart emoji>
The Birthday Party
5/5
Distilled chaos dipped in blood and poetry
Little Richard
5/5
Rock and roll showmanship at its finest
Mudhoney
5/5
The time of some of the albums that come on this list is just evil sometimes. Mudhoney are playing their First show in Sydney in 9 years tonight. I decided not to go months ago but bam, this comes up and I regretting the fact I'm not going.
Seeing them at the Bondi Pavilion at the tail end of 1990 was one of the best thing to happen to me at stage of my life. Most of what they played is from this album which to me is still as blistering, and fresh as on that day standing just behind a sun burnt drunken mosh
The Zombies
4/5
Before listening to this album - "hmmm, i don't really know the Zombies"
After - "I knew most of those tracks and didn't realise they were by this band"
Conclusion - timeless classic
Thin Lizzy
4/5
Raucous fun.
Note to self, listen to more Thin Lizzy
The Prodigy
5/5
The anger felt by the Criminal Justice Act of '94 making it basically illegal to dance is amplified through this album. The band, once interesting but throwaway had transformed into a beast from hell. Rave beats mixed with punk riffs. I got to see a few shows they played around this time and they still stand as some of the most exciting live acts
I've got some terrible memories attached to this album. A pious bully I worked with would play this one repeat and blasted "Beautiful Day" when I finally quit.
So it was hard to listen to this with an un tainted view.
It feels like a misstep to me. The band had done some interesting stuff during the 90s and then follow it up with something that sound bland in comparison. Would this album even be on this list if it wasn't U2?
The Black Crowes
4/5
Close to perfect rock and soul. A really fun vibe fills this album
Pink Floyd
3/5
A bit too overblown for my taste. Some great songs and some great sounds which are bogged down with loose ideas getting wedged into to fit the concept.
Megadeth
4/5
Nice a brutal. I've not listened to this for over 25 years and didn't appreciate how good this album is. Thrash with a bit of a Sabbath influence is not a bad thing
Dirty Projectors
2/5
I like my noise pop albums but this was the height pretentiousness.
And the male singers voice,what is going on there?
Elvis Costello
5/5
The perfect Elvis Costello album. I have noted that he features a bit too much on this list but in this case you couldn't ask for a more worthy album.
Singer songwriter, punk poet, all around angry young man.
Marianne Faithfull
4/5
This is an exceptional album
Deep Purple
3/5
Stodgy 70s rock.nothing wrong with it but not really my taste. Again this is one of those live albums that gets lost in translation. None of the energy you should feel is there
The Jesus And Mary Chain
5/5
Perfect droney guitar pop.
Morrissey
2/5
What you get when you order a Smiths album on AliExpress...
Peter Gabriel
3/5
Mid way between his proggy heights of Genesis and his MTV hit making. Interesting in place but again not really my taste
New York Dolls
5/5
One of my all time favourite albums. Ground Zero for a lot of the punk, new wave and hair metal to follow
Judas Priest
4/5
Judas Priest Rules*
*If you haven't already check out Heavy Metal Parking lot...
Louis Prima
4/5
This is the type of music I wish my Dad had listened to more. Such a fun album and the energy is through the roof. Listening to it makes me want Jump,Jive an' Wail
My only minus is the intros to a few of the songs start to sound the same - that never dampened my love of the Ramones
Radiohead
3/5
I didn't hate all of it. Most of it is low rent glitch electronica and you would be better off spending your time listening to Autechre or Boards of Canada.
If only the majority of the album was like Motion Picture Soundtrack which is the more amazing song and my outright favourite Radiohead track.
Like I often say, maybe I am missing something but I just don't get the adulation this album receives
The Mothers Of Invention
2/5
There are people who are obsessed by Zappa and proclaim him a genius.
Whenever I listen to him I feel like I am on the outside of some elaborate joke that is impossible for me to find funny
Red Snapper
3/5
Nice enough chilled electronica but a bit generic. I remember a few friends revering this but it never hooked me in.
Not a bad album all up just not essential
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
4/5
Ok, there may be too much Elvis Costello on this list. This is another album that really deserves to be on here. Angry bloke, pop perfection
Radiohead
4/5
Miserable album, but that is what they were going for. I don't listen to it much these days but have some great memories of when it was first released.
Joni Mitchell
4/5
This album gave me warm feeling inside. Blissful folk pop at its finest
Merle Haggard
3/5
I enjoyed this for what it was. Rather than really grabbing me it sounded like the background music you would hear in a honky tonk bar.
CHVRCHES
3/5
Haunting later day synth pop. The only Chvrches I listened to previously never grabbed me but this album has made me want to listen to more of them. Still not sure if there is anything exceptional about this album but I did enjoy it
Tori Amos
5/5
Beautiful and moving album
The Divine Comedy
3/5
What a great Scott Walker album.
Seriously though, they wear their influences on their sleeve don't they?
I enjoyed it for all it's bombastic pop glory. Some very interesting tunes for a post Britpop world.
The Streets
4/5
Top artist. This almost can be classed as a concept album of sweary stoner, beer boys from the bleak suburbia of England. Grim and joyous at the same time.
Great album but I prefer Original Pirate Material and think Everything is Borrowed is his best work
Cocteau Twins
5/5
Perfect rainy day sitting in a cafe reading, being all pretentious and trying to impress the quirky goth waitress.
Heavenly memories of a misspelt youth.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
4/5
A brilliant start to this band's output. Very solid, straight forward rock with the stand out track being American Girl. I did find it dull in places but overall it was a great soundtrack to my afternoon
Raekwon
2/5
I like Wu-Tang and the beats on this album but found the lyrics draining. It got boring fast with. Not for me
John Lennon
3/5
My honest opinion that apart from a few songs that have become icons in themselves, most of the album is pedestrian. Great if you are a Beatles diehard or love the song Imagine and there are as I've said some inspired moments
Queen
5/5
I love this album. So much pomp and drama.
Jean-Michel Jarre
5/5
Ok, so I have gone from taking the Mickey out of Jean-Michel Jarre to being enthralled.
As someone who discovered spacey synth soundscapes late in the piece this album is a revelation. The overplayed pt 2 finds new context when listening to this album on as a whole
Joan Armatrading
4/5
Found myself listening to this a few times. Her voice grabbed me. Only being familiar with Drop the Pilot off a later album I was expecting similar. Instead I got a soulful groove.
I need to listen to more of Joan Armatrading's work
Björk
5/5
Perfect, um... debut.
I loved the Sugarcubes except for the shouty guy and like nearly every teenage indie kid in the late 80s I had a massive crush on Björk. So I was excited about it before i'd even heard a note.
30 odd years on it still sounds so fresh and exciting.
Dinosaur Jr.
4/5
I love this album. I got into Dinosaur Jr through Bug and Green Mind so it was only a few years ago I first heard this album in full. Really nicely put together chaotic melody
Daft Punk
5/5
One of my favourite albums. It came out at a perfect time, I was just about to go travelling when Da Funk was released, it soundtracked the drive to the airport. A few weeks later I was able to hear them play a DJ set/perform at the New York Club Twilo to launch this album.
Not just fantastic music but a lot of strong memories attached
Derek & The Dominos
3/5
I'm usually not that into white-boy blues but found this album enjoyable. All about balance for me and this had a good mix of blues with pop sensibilities. It also didn't sound like I was trapped at a pub on a Tuesday night listening to a jam band
Bruce Springsteen
4/5
Balladeering bar room anthems.
Brian Wilson
4/5
Straining.
For every blissfully perfect song on here there is another that doesn't feel finished.
There is no questioning Brian Wilson's brilliance and this would have made an excellent addition to the Beach Boys catalogue and wish it was released in the 1960s
Magazine
4/5
Short and intense.
Leonard Cohen
5/5
My first prop introduction to Leonard Cohen was through this album, specifically Everybody Knows appearing in the movie Pump Up The Volume.
With the exception of the song Jazz Police, this is my favourite Cohen album. It has more range than his folkier albums and it excels at a sardonic humour that stops this from being moribund.
King Crimson
4/5
Admittedly I have avoided listening to this album so so long, I've forgotten my original reason. I enjoyed the proggy vastness much more than I imagined I would and need to come back to it again later.
As I did suspect it was a little bit self indulgent but not enough to overstay it's welcome
Butthole Surfers
5/5
Chaotic genius
My favourite Buttholes album. I perfect mix of experimental weirdness that doesn't overshadowed some well crafted industrial grunge sludge that is strangely indebted to Sabbath
Talking Heads
5/5
My favourite Talking Heads album and the one I think they are their best.
De La Soul
5/5
Definitely my favourite hip hop album of all time.
A Tribe Called Quest
5/5
An amazing hip hop album which is for me only topped by a few others.
To be played on repeat
Nick Drake
5/5
It so tragic what happened to Nick Drake and it will always overshadow his music for me. So melancholic and beautiful.
The Roots
4/5
First rate hip hop from a band I need to explore more
Slayer
5/5
I could write a long winded review or I could tell you about the time I blasted Raining Blood ear splitting volume to scare away seagulls trying to steal my fish and chips. This was done much to my then 3 year old daughter's delight
U2
4/5
I like this more than most U2 albums. I find it a difficult listen as it brings back memories of over pious Christian Youth camps that turned me into the irreligious person I am today.
Trying to look at it objectively, this is a band that found it's sound before it became formulaic
Klaxons
3/5
A fun TRIP back to 2007. I remember them being a welcome relief after a glut of very serious English bands the hits the record company conveyer belt around that time
The Mamas & The Papas
4/5
Dreamy
The Stooges
5/5
Seminal
GZA
3/5
I definitely prefer this the Raekwon album I got on this list a few weeks ago. This album has the right balance of dirty hoodlum and grooves. My only negative is that it feels like an adjunct to the Wu-Tang sound rather than a stand alone
Jamiroquai
4/5
Solid debut filled with fun funk.
Parliament
5/5
Perfect George Clinton craziness
Sly & The Family Stone
5/5
My third funk album in a row on this list and my favourite of the picks. I lost count of how many songs and sounds on this album I have heard sampled or inspiring other artists.
Played on repeat of course
Aphex Twin
5/5
Acid come down memories.
30 years on I still love this glitchy masterpiece and the fact that listening to it came still relax me or put me on edge.
A work of genius
The Killers
5/5
You know what, I like this album more and more as the years go by. I thought this was a fun album when it came out and now I think it is close to perfect. I still regularly listen to it nearly 20 years on where other bands from the same era are not shown the same love.
There are some cheesey moments but that just adds to the appeal
Frank Sinatra
5/5
The voice of an Angle and a Devil with the songs behind him to match
Thundercat
4/5
Solid
Air
4/5
I knew I would love this album as soon as I saw the Mike Mills artwork on the cover. From that I was expecting something like Bosanova Beastie Boys or a Funkier Air, not the dreamlike french pop/soundscapes. Probably my least favourite song is Sexy Boy which in retrospect is tacky and doesn't gel with the rest of the songs on the album
The Stooges
5/5
Seminal
Curtis Mayfield
5/5
One day I will see the film but regardless this is still one of my favourite soundtracks
Neil Young
4/5
Very mellow, almost Dylan with a different voice.
Terence Trent D'Arby
3/5
Unsure how this album made the list. It's not bad just not what I find essential.
Morrissey
3/5
It certainly isn't the Smiths, is it?
I lived Kill Uncle but this has drifted into self parody
I am being generous with my 3 stars
Stereo MC's
4/5
I have mates that claim this is one of the greatest albums released, I am not sure I agree with them but it is good. Their drugged up rave funk is epic in spots but at times feels like you've been cornered at a party by that geez who has mixed their smack and the whizz.
Connected and Step it are smashing anthems
Tim Buckley
3/5
Stacked up against his earlier work I don't find this album as good. With the exception of Get On Top it sounds like run of the mill San Fran psychedelia 5 years after the fact
Genesis
4/5
I enjoyed this more than I imagined I would. Very proggy and overblown but tight as well. Where I groaned at first, seeing how long the album was, by the end it didn't feel like a struggle. I probably won't have this on high rotation but it was an interesting listen
Slint
5/5
One of those albums I half missed when it came out but I was very aware of as my muso friends would speak about it in such reverence.
Slow and lumbering angry music like coiled spring
Sugar
5/5
Excellent next step for Bob Mould post Husker Du. Powerful album
Peter Gabriel
4/5
My favourite Peter Gabriel album (from what I've listened to). Games Without Frontiers is a career high
Dwight Yoakam
3/5
I enjoyed this dose of dusty rhinestone country. Hints of Gram Parsons and Willie Nelson (I not as versed on Country music as I could be).
So interesting tunes on an album that didn't outstay it's welcome
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
5/5
Typical, I switched back to Spotify as I wasn't that happy with YouTube Music and the list throws out two Neil Young Albums in a week.
Anyway, this is a great album and I wish I could listen to it properly again but I totally understand why he pulled his music.
Bert Jansch
4/5
Albums like this make following this list worthwhile. I'd never heard of Bert Jansch before and really got into his Scottish take on delta blues. Also impressive was his lyricism which made me think of Leonard Cohen at times.
I will be listening to this again and exploring more of his work when I get the chance
Rocket From The Crypt
3/5
Good solid post grunge rock and roll. I saw them a few times when they toured that album and remember there being what felt like hundreds of RFTC bowling shirts worn around town in their wake.
Great memories but I admit that it has been a couple of decades since I gave them a listen. Good fun album and it was definitely a breath of fresh air at the time but nothing really groundbreaking. I will have it on repeat for the rest of the day but that is just me
Marvin Gaye
5/5
One of those perfect albums
Sinead O'Connor
4/5
Brilliant and lost at the same time.
The Boo Radleys
4/5
Memories of happy times. I always loved this band for their blend of baggy and shoegaze. Very much of their time but a way bigger influence, especially on some Britpop era bands than they get credit for
My Bloody Valentine
3/5
I'm torn. Their first two albums were life changing for me but this one, whilst decent enough just isn't.
Some decent swirling guitars and droney melodies but nothing close to the unbridled chaos of Loveless.
Fun Lovin' Criminals
4/5
That was fun! I can't remember the last time I listened to these guys and then proceeded to play through their discography.
I remember a record rep describe them as a smooth hoodlums which they are.
Even without the Tarantino samples Scooby Snacks is as catchy as f### but it is remembered as a novelty song.
Anyway it is a solid album
John Lennon
2/5
So apparently this guy used to be in a really successful band...
FKA twigs
3/5
An album that is a few decades too late. If it came out in the mid 90s I would maybe laud it, however it offers nothing new to me.
Rod Stewart
4/5
His was voice was in its prime and the song choices are mostly perfect.
Slipknot
3/5
Not bad but didn't hit home for me. I like my angry loud music but this felt monotonous by the end
Van Morrison
5/5
Heavenly sounds. The storytelling is so rich and his voice is perfect
Pere Ubu
5/5
Not necessarily regularly listening for me but the importance of this album is clear. Considering the time this came out and the influence it has had it is a landmark album
Love
5/5
My favourite album of all time. A work of collective genius
Rush
3/5
The devotion to this band must be a North American thing. I liked a few tracks but overall the songs just blended together
Tangerine Dream
5/5
Perfect soundscape album.
It took me ages to discover it but when I did was the perfect time. It is really hard to describe the effect this album had on me. After it was suggest led by a friend, I found myself playing it on repeat, lost in a world of sound. Best of all it shut out all the noise from the world and I was able to win back some focus I had lost.
Tom Waits
4/5
It is certainly a Tom Waits album. I do love this album. I remember a cousin playing it to me when I was little and I didn't know what was happening - the cover is unmistakable which is why I know it was this particular album. Not that I listen to Waits much this is probably my favourite. He is like a disheveled Leonard Cohen soaked in cheap whiskey and stinking of cheaper cigars
Frank Ocean
4/5
Having heard nothing that I knew of by Frank Ocean and having no idea what to expect, I was nicely surprised by this. It has really blending of urban beats and soulful melodies that works just right for me.
Crowded House
3/5
In comparison to their first album I always found this one a bit lackluster. It does contain some of their most well known songs but even those feel like rewrites of their earlier work.
k.d. lang
4/5
Gorgeous voice that in many ways knows no era. The album is a really special blending of country and vaudeville - it brings up visions painted sunsets and fake horses on a Western soundstage
Britney Spears
3/5
Ha! I enjoyed that a lot more than I would've admitted when it first came out. I have some good memories linked to this album. I art directed a couple of teen mags at the time this album came out and Britney was our cover star on a few occasions.
So apart from a couple of tracks this is a fun piece of pure pop and Max Martin and co did a fantastic job of harnessing Britney's talent.
Even though I like it, the album is overall run of the mill and I wonder what it is doing on this list.
5/5
Landmark album of unbridled kookiness.
Simon & Garfunkel
5/5
A masterwork of folk pop. A couple of weak tracks that are more than forgiven due to the track the album gets it title from and the very haunting 7 O'clock news
Emmylou Harris
3/5
I used beautiful to describe voices a lot, in this case I am more than justified.
This didn't capture me as much as other Emmylou Harris albums I've heard. I can place my finger on what is didn't. May be my mood today
File under give this another few listens
Miles Davis
5/5
One of my favourite albums.
And another that I can't do justice too amongst all the reviews for it.
Part of my intro into loving jazz.
Timeless
Talvin Singh
4/5
I can't remember the last time I listened to this. Such an eclectic mix of styles that somehow works. I need to listen to this some more
Julian Cope
3/5
I tried to enjoy this album as Julian Cope pulls out all the stops with sounds and styles I usually love.
This just felt bloated, directionless and weird. I not the the let your freak flag fly kind of weird, more the I am changing carriages on this train to get away from this guy weird.
Some good songs and I can see the influence he has had on other artists
UB40
3/5
Swearing off UB40 for life after hearing Red Wine way too many times it took me a bit to work up to listening to this.
On listening I heard a solid dub/reggae album that included a couple of tracks I had no idea were UB40. Plus it was punk as @#$* in places.
My only issue was it dragged a little and my interest wanted by the end
The Byrds
3/5
I really want to love the Byrd's. I get their influence but every album I listen to falls flat for me. Their are no doubt some moments of brilliance but this being my third Byrd's album on this list, I wonder what other albumin could be exposed to instead
Lightning Bolt
2/5
More tired than wired.
I love my noise but this felt a bit formulaic, and if you can call a noise act this, derivative.
Interesting that this album got listed but so many other noise acts seem to have been forgotten.
I started off liking it but was a bit tired of it by the end.
Thanks BTW to the reviewer on here that mentioned the Boredoms being ignore by this list. I am going to spend the rest of the day listening to them as a palate cleanser and I advise that you do so too
Buzzcocks
5/5
Power pop/punk perfection.
Spent the afternoon with this on repeat, what more do you need
Killing Joke
5/5
An epic album ahead of its time
A Tribe Called Quest
5/5
One of the greatest hip hop albums ever released.
The Libertines
4/5
Classic album. Not quite 5 stars, I will leave that for the best of that combines the choice songs from their first two albums.
Some incredible songs, some incredibly forgettable songs.
A bit of personal trivia - I was commissioned to design the poster for their first Australian tour around the time this came out. Pete left the band and the touring company swapped so my design didn't get used. As a consolation I got tickets to one of their shows. Unfortunately without Pete in the band it was a bit dull so I left about half way through
The Damned
5/5
Seminal!
Turbonegro
3/5
Big dumb fun. Good stock standard punky tunes with a bit of Glam metal thrown in. Mix up Ramones, Kiss and the Misfits together and you are pretty close to the sound on display here.
I really enjoyed this album but it is isn't world changing to my ears. Best to ask a Turbojugend as maybe they can tell you.
Don't ask me to ask a Turbojugend as few things weird me out but those beautifully obsessive fans are an exception
The Triffids
5/5
This is a hard one as I am always conflicted about the needless tragedy of David McComb's death (and life).
This album is one of hopeful hopelessness, of loss and longing. Backroom ballads for the disaffected. All the while having pop friendly polished edges that let the Triffids skirt the edges of the Mainstream
Madonna
5/5
Madonna has always been the Queen of Reinvention and jumpin on trends. This is one of her peak moments. William Orbit brought out the best of Madonna with this blissful collection of techno pop. Unlike the bulk of her albums this one isn't patchy either, it is a solid piece of work no song feels like it needs to be skipped
Sufjan Stevens
3/5
Remember that Drama Teacher who wrote a musical and had aspirations of making it on Broadway? That pretty much sums up this album.
I like the concept but clocking in at over a hour it wears thin. Chicago is an epic and enjoyable but some of the other tracks are nothing more than superficial filler. I would love to give this a higher score for the songs I love but as an album this falls short
Little Simz
3/5
Some nice moments but nothing that grabbed me. Not bad just not essential
Johnny Cash
5/5
The timing of this hitting my list is interesting. It marks the 20th anniversary of my father passing away. He was never a Johnny Cash fan but he sat and listened to a few songs of this album that I had downloaded, Hurt and the title track. It was one of the last moments we shared before he went into hospital for the final time. I lost count of how many times I played Hurt and this whole album in the days and months after. After all this time it still hits me hard, especially with it also coming up on 20 years since Johnny Cash passed away.
The Rolling Stones
3/5
Yep, it is a Stone's album. A few outstanding tracks with a bunch of countrified-blues filler. Not bad as their offerings go but not essential for me
Napalm Death
4/5
Unrelenting noise that will brutalize you 33 minutes but somehow feel longer.
I liked it. I hadn't listened to Napalm Death for decades but appreciate this slab of grind core. I will admit the vocals annoyed me after a while but that is the point in some ways.
I questionably influential
X-Ray Spex
5/5
Much more influential than the boys would like you to believe
Iron Maiden
5/5
Brutal with a nice mix of melody.
The Kinks
5/5
I've always loved the Kinks but for some reason this album was off my radar for many years. I was given a burnt copy as a last minute birthday gift one year and on first listen I found it bizarre on first listen.
Months later it cam up on random and I decided to give it another go and discovered this is one of the best concept albums ever released.
Why the change in opinion?
There isn't a song out of place, no filler, no half sketched ideas. Perfectly crafted pop that's influence lives on over 50 year later - it is more important to Brit Pop than most other albums.
OutKast
4/5
Pumpin'!
It does get a little tired towards the end which is why it only gets 4 stars
Tim Buckley
4/5
Ethereal and lost. Beautiful sounding album of blissed out late '60s troubadouring
John Coltrane
5/5
Perfect album to my ears. One of the best jazz albums for a casual listener to be exposed to
Teenage Fanclub
5/5
I love this album. Always have. I didn't discover it until months after the initial release, either the record company had held off on putting out in Australia when it was released overseas of they were doing a push to get it out their. But anyway, it was the morning of my 19th birthday and I was watching the music show Rage ( an Australian institution), the Concept came on and I was blown away. It mixed the droney shoegaze guitars with a 70s bubblegum pop. A perfect blend. That night I went to an indie club for the first time as they were a rarity back then and was given a copy of Bandwagonesque as part of a promotion. It was meant to be
Big Star
4/5
I love Big Star, I love Alex Chilton, Jody Stephens and Chris Bell, I love #1 Album.
But...
Third is a bit of a mess. There are some perfect songs on here but the whole things is a jumble sale that at times taints the legacy of the first two (proper) Big Star albums.
I still really like this album but I wouldn't give it to someone as their first introduction to the band
Iron Butterfly
4/5
Epic, swirling proto metal. I get it, I dig it. Not perfect bunch it packs a punch
Brian Eno
4/5
My introduction to this album was Sky Saw being featured on the soundtrack of Dogs in Space. Watch it for the strange context.
Anyway I got given a tape of it and maybe it was a bit beyond my 15 year old brain and definitely a world removed from the Bowie and Talking Heads Eno I was used to.
I appreciate it these days.
File under uneasy listening
Lynyrd Skynyrd
4/5
Enjoyed this more than I thought
Paul McCartney
3/5
Endearing.
Some great songs but I will honestly ask would this album be here if he wasn't a Beatle.
Not a bad album just not essential
Moby
4/5
So torn as I really did love this album when it came out and even saw Moby a few times when he toured it. But he is a Morrissey level jerk and a pretty creep.
Ok, so separating the artist from the art. While brilliant Play does sound dated, probably because songs from it got used pretty much everywhere in '99-02.
I also years on still found the lack of real recognition to Vera Hall and Bessie Jones a minus
Pet Shop Boys
4/5
Fun album. I listened to this a lot when it came out. Clever lyrics over sublime electro pop, or is that sublime lyrics over clever electro pop?
Cocteau Twins
5/5
Superb. Ghost like dream scapes
Violent Femmes
5/5
Oh to be 15 again so I could hear this for the first time.
Peter Gabriel
5/5
Overblown at times but captured the MTV 1986 so well with the silly songs like Big Time and the haunting Don't give up.
I difficult listen for me as I used to play this so much and after nearly 10 years my cassette of So warped away. It has been about a generation since I listened to this album in full. Flood of memories both good and bad wash over my brain. Thankful for them but happy that they live in the past.
Maybe I wil
Mudhoney
5/5
Whenever I hear this album I hear the distant thunder of a revolution.
This is grunge!
Everything else (except for the Melvins) are also rans.
Released a full two months ahead of Nevermind this was touted as the album that would break through. But overall it wasn't. Too dirty sounding, having used an 8 track to do the recording, this wasn't a radio friendly album.
That is why it is important. As it flew against the expectation and in a way Mudhoney took a step back so they could keep having fun.
And that is what it is all about - having fun.
I still hate the cover though but treasure my limited pressing on Fudge coloured vinyl
William Orbit
4/5
Ok so having not listened to the Strange Cargo series for about 20 years I had no memory of it being a series
For this exercise I listened to all them back to back and found volume 3 to captivate me the least. Still amazing but more like waking up from a post comedown sleep than the feeling of chemicals seeping away at 5am in a chillout room.
Seriously worth exploring the three together as they are groundbreaking electronica
Koffi Olomide
4/5
Best part of doing this list is getting given music to listen to that is not what would usually be played by me. This is great example. It took me a few false starts as it didn't hook me at first.
Once it did I found I was in a soundscape of grooves and beats. I couldn't understand stand a word but Koffi Olomide has such an amazing range.
File under listen to more Ndombolo
Christine and the Queens
3/5
Blissful but throw away pop.
The second disc with songs in French sounds better as the product on the first few tracks feels hollow and a bit too slick for my taste. Enjoyable overall though hardly essential
5/5
"Daddy, what did you do in the Britpop Wars?"
It was an epic time when this album came out. I had just started working as junior graphic designer at Smash Hits Magazine Australia, and hanging out in indie clubs being called a sellout.
Never gave a toss really as music is music and this album was a belter!
On a diet of cheap gin, cheaper champagne and stolen cigarettes, this and Great Escape were my soundtrack that southern hemisphere spring.
A massive highlight was getting an advance cassette of Morning Glory and having a listening party at a friend's house, a dozen of us crammed in his tiny front room dissecting the album
I got sick of it in the end and went a Long time not listening to Oasis. Still a belter of an album
Dexys Midnight Runners
4/5
It took a long time to find out Geno and Burn It Down were Dexy's songs.
I had this on repeat as I was having a blast listening to it over and over.
Led Zeppelin
3/5
Led Zeppelin are good but never really grabbed me. Maybe I am missing something
Portishead
5/5
I loved this album when it came out but got sick of it as it seemed to get played out in every cafe in the world alongside sub par Cafe Del Mar compilations.
Ok so that shouldn't diminish how amazing the album is and I wish I could time travel back to 1994 to hear it for the first time.
Björk
3/5
Ethereal and amazing but lacking the impact of her earlier albums.
Was she being somber or just bored
Jimi Hendrix
5/5
Perfect album. I used to play this obsessively back when I was about 15 so to listen to it again after so long felt great.
Fela Kuti
4/5
Spectacular rhythm
Green Day
3/5
Punk band writes a musical.
Not bad just not my thing
Meat Loaf
5/5
Overwrought, bombastic and tragically kitsch - what is not to love?
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
5/5
Hearing this again sent me into a week long Bad Seeds binge and when I resurfaced my project at 1001 Albums Generator has been paused due to low activity.
This is a very strange and haunting but wonderful take on accepting fatherhood and getting used to a life without addiction. That is how I saw it anyway. So much regret mixed with hope.
David Bowie
5/5
Strangely this took a long time for me to get into. The reason is mostly lost to time but it may have had something to do with every penny ante indie band in the mid '90s claiming it to be the main inspiration.
Plus pre-streaming it was near impossible to find a copy (at least that is what I found).
Brilliant album, possibly David Bowie's best work.
Buddy Holly & The Crickets
5/5
Every pop and rock act that came after owes this album a debt of gratitude.
Happy Mondays
5/5
"I think that Shaun Ryder is on a par with W.B. Yeats as a poet." - Tony Wilson, founder of Factory records.
He's not wrong and add to the mix the fact that Shaun's brother and rest of the Happy Mondays along with Paul Oakenfold were loved up geniuses.
Alexander 'Skip' Spence
2/5
I did try but found this to be a bit of a folking mess
The Sabres Of Paradise
4/5
I was underwhelmed by this the first listen. Usually that is enough for me to move on but I realised I'd been in a mood so gave it another go.
Glad I did. So many layers, twists and turns.
Destiny's Child
5/5
Fun album. I'd forgotten just how good it is.
New Order
5/5
Perfect blend of early electronica and house. Loved this album when it came out and still love it now.
Jefferson Airplane
4/5
Cosmic psychedelic fun.
I can't fault this
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
5/5
I hadn't listened to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan for well over 25 years. Beautiful voice with music that makey mind travel
Dexys Midnight Runners
3/5
Where 'Searching For The Young Soil Rebels' was damn near perfect, this album struggled to gain my full attention. 'Don't Stand Me Down' is musically accomplished but overall feels pretentious and a little bit jaggy.
Rage Against The Machine
5/5
Angry college kid soundtrack since 1992.
I love parts of this album and parts of this band. The rest feels forced and by the numbers.
I remember a classic interview with Ritchie Manic and he bagged them out saying something along the lines of "what does that even mean? Are they telling their Mum they won't clean their room?"
Anyway, still gets five stars for all the jerks who didn't realise they were a political band
Deep Purple
3/5
If this album had a smell it would be BO and beer farts.
Some major riffage but overall drab. More of a light beige than a deep purple
G. Love & Special Sauce
5/5
Very much and album of its time. The Slacker blues-jazz meets hip hop sloppy sound seems to have hit an epoch in '94 with similar sounding Beck and Bran Van 3000 popping up independently at the same time.
I forgot how much I loved this post grunge break from seriousness
The Fall
5/5
You can always count on Mark E Smith to deliver the goods. Glam Racket is a scathing highlight, prediction the Britpop era sess pool on the rise.
The biggest triumph is the Fall delivering a fresh take on their own sound while Indy darlings of the era were plundering their back catalogue
Nas
4/5
I forgot that I ended up with a copy of this at work back in about '95 and would play it a decent amount. I in turn passed it onto a workmate when I left that job to go travelling.
Such a solid album. Under the surface it is so angry with as much rage as any Public Enemy album but it gets delivered with a groove akin to a Tribe Called Quest.
The best thing about hearing it after so long is that it has dated. The sounds are still sharp and the lyrics powerful with little cringe worthy bragging and rampant sexism other albums of that era a tied down by - not a prude just hearing that stuff ad nauseum is tired.
Anyway glad to have this record back in my life
Radiohead
3/5
I don't hate Radiohead but find them way too lauded for the at times mediocre music they deliver. I do think occasionally the release some amazing some amazing songs which make me rethink my ambivalence towards them.
This album isn't one of those times. I didn't find it very engaging and the one song thought was ok used a template stolen from a Beta Band track.
Sheryl Crow
4/5
Fun album. It feels like a '90s summer day without too much of a care.
Stereolab
5/5
Perfect album that I could listen for days on end - which I kind of did once I saw it on this list.
R.E.M.
5/5
One of those albums that saved my life. R.E.M. made me realise there was music outside the confines of what the commercial stations played us. Ironically they were on the cusp of commercial success.
My forever big regret is not lying to my parents that I was working and going to see them at the Horden Pavilion in 1989 on their Australian Tour.
Kraftwerk
5/5
50 years on this is still the sound of the future
Ute Lemper
3/5
I feel like I should like this given some of the talent involved. Unfortunately rather than hitting any heights this just sounds like background music in a cafe.
Black Flag
5/5
Angry anthems for the jaded and disaffected. At age 51 this album still resonates with me as much as it did at 15 when I heard random tracks on a mix tape given to me by a school mate.
The Monks
4/5
Giving this 4 stars because of the history behind it. This spasm of proto punk isn't the nicest sounding bunch of songs helped birth punk in a way. I dropped a star because some tracks felt tacked on and lost
The Beta Band
3/5
I love the 3 EPs so much but can't help but feel this is wasted potential. Some nice ideas, some moments of brilliance hidden inside a load of meandering.
I do like some of the meandering but the album lacks something special
Coldcut
5/5
Revolutionary album at the time it came out. I was amazed after listening to this for the first time in nearly 40 years how commercial sounding this is by today's standards.
The Fall
5/5
Rough shod and angry, not an easy listen at all and far from their more polished ( if the Fall could ever be called polished) later work.
Grows on you with each listen. Mark E. Smith was a genius
Aimee Mann
4/5
Ethereal sounds that enoke the early '90s.
Not really what I would usually listen to but I found the light dreaminess comforting. Admittedly it didn't grab me at first, having finished my first play through of the album with none of it sinking into my brain. But I gave it a few more listens as it kept me coming back for more. Not being instantly engaging is part of this albums beauty as it feels at times like a mystery that doesn't give away it's answers too easily
Richard Hawley
4/5
Richard Hawley unquestionably wears his Scott Walker via Jarvis Cocker influences on his sleeve but he does it's so well. Dreamy pop ballads the feel like you are flying through a cloud.
Led Zeppelin
3/5
I love Immigrant Song but otherwise I'm not really that big a Led Zeppelin fan. Try as I might nothing much grabs me. They can play and they can sing and some of their songs are epic however something feels missing
Girls Against Boys
3/5
Not bad but a bit generic.
I remember being impressed by the idea of Girls Against Boys when I first heard of them but they didn't make that much of an impact in Australia (at least to my knowledge). When I finally heard their music it wasn't bad but just nothing that different to loads of other bands
Neil Young
5/5
Captivating and Sublime.
Neil Young at his best. Think it it as a kind of a calm fury
The Dandy Warhols
4/5
Brilliantly sloppy.
I love the Dandy's and love even more how little they care about being serious.
This is a crazy mixed up album of Mercury Rev style drone slapping up against pure pop songs.
John Cale
4/5
Note to self - listen to more John Cale.
Beautiful album which I feel like I have only just scratched the surface of.
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
4/5
You will never be as cool as Jon Spencer circa 1996. No one ever will be - that is just a fact
Drive Like Jehu
5/5
Brilliant, brutal and unquestionably influential.
I missed them when they were first around, only aware of them being spoken of in hushed reverential tones. I was massively into Fugazi and Nation of Ulysses back in '94 so am kicking myself I missed Drive Like Jehu.
Anyway this is a fantastic album
Hookworms
3/5
Well that was a bit of pretentious non-event.
Nothing terrible but nothing groundbreaking
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
3/5
I like it more than Trout Mask Replica.
Beefheart are another of those bands that I don't click with.
Soft Cell
4/5
You've heard Tainted Love so many times that it is easy to forget that it was pretty revolutionary when it came out.
The rest of the album live up to its title and is sleazy does it.
Does drag towards the end but only in a minor way
Songhoy Blues
4/5
Something about Mali Music that really soothes me. The combo of the voices and unique instrumentation is was does it.
Iron Maiden
3/5
I'm not saying I didn't enjoy this but it was a little underwhelming. I forget that metal is ballady hard rock sometimes which just isn't my thing.
Lou Reed
5/5
Such an amazing album. Over 50 years since it's release some of the concepts on here are still ground breaking. Even now the idea of singing along to an anthem to burn out, transvestites and the find art of fellatio would send segments of "society" into a tither.
Ray Price
4/5
Fun album. Over the top and and a bit of an oddity but that is the way we love it, don't we?
Justice
3/5
Chaotic electronica.
I love it but is it any better than a host of similar releases around the same era. Fun album just not as groundbreaking as this list likes to think it is
The Magnetic Fields
3/5
Is it over yet?...
Overall I didn't mind it but like many other listeners I found it a test of endurance. 25 years since it's release and I had never given it a listen and now I realise why I avoided this album.
Unquestionably genius in some parts, what it does lack is Stephin Merritt having the ability to take a step back do decide to tidy up a song or two.
In a way this is the musical equivalent of the book, Infinite Jest
File under "self indulgent indie" right next to Illinoise
Brian Eno
5/5
Brian Eno is one of those artists I can't help but love due to his hand in the work of so many artists I enjoy as well as his influence on countless others.
Of his solo work, I am more familiar with Before and After Science and always find myself listening to that. So it was nice to be made to listen to an album I can't recall having played in full.
It was near perfect. The only downside is it felt over too soon.
Jazmine Sullivan
3/5
Didn't love it, didn't hate it either. I am probably not the target market but do agree on two things I have seen in other reviews here:
-The production felt a bit light on, even sounding flat in places
-Jazmine is definitely inspired by Lauryn Hill which isn't a bad thing.
Some hard hitting lyrics that get a bit juicy. Not my thing but it works here. My only issue is it felt a bit tired by the end of the album
Kings of Leon
3/5
Honestly I loved their 1st album at the time, even seeing them live twice when they toured four 2004 Big Day Out.
They were rough and raw, coming across as a hillbilly answer to the Strokes (who Kings of Leon Supported one night).
Fast forward half a dozen years and the had evolved in the a very safe and radio friendly ballad band.
I know people who eats this stuff up but to me they were had become bland and about as dangerous as a fluffy bunny.
Fleet Foxes
5/5
I wasn't expecting this. One of those bands I thought would be painful twee disco indie sub par Killers knock offs.
Well I was wrong.
I was familiar with a few of their songs already but never made the connection. I could write a page dissecting their music but only really have time to say that they have filled a hole left by some bands that proved problematic.*
*I hope I haven't spoken too soon
Jurassic 5
4/5
That was a fun trip to the past! I was a massive fan of the first Jurassic 5 album but this mostly passed me by as life got a bit hectic around then.
Anyway this is a superb hip hop album. Right mix of jazz and beats without any fluffy.
I need to get back into listening to more of this band
Fever Ray
3/5
I loved the Knife.
I had no idea Karin Dreijer from the Knife is behind Fever Ray until a few months ago.
I also liked the show Vikings but always thought the theme song was out of place.
They are a genius but this album is dull. I know it is meant to be dark and dreary but you can achieve that with out being dull. something the Knife never where.
I did enjoy this album but overall felt there was something missing
Pantera
4/5
Great timing to listen to this as I was in a bad mood and needed some angry music to let the steam out. Pantera delivered with the exception of a few ballady songs that just didn't suit Phil Anselmo voice.
Tortoise
5/5
It's been way too long since I listened to Tortoise. Perfect post rock noise scapes that grate and entice. This album is sloppy at times which threw me a little as I am more familiar with TNT which has laser sharp precision.
I wonder if they are fans of Barry Adamson's Moss Side stories or maybe they share the same influences. Either way both Millions and that record share a muddy dirge that feels like the sound is smothering me.
The Vines
3/5
I was there at the time and thought they were over rated back then.
Some good songs but in hindsight the genius tag was just too much pressure for the band.
Ray Charles
5/5
Nice and smooth.
Not sure I have anything to add as this is greatness
Hole
3/5
When I first heard Pretty On The Inside I never would've imagined that the Nancy Spungenesque punk princess would evolve into a latter day Stevie Nicks
Great songs on an at times run of the mill AOR album
Sebadoh
4/5
Sloppy brilliance
Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart
3/5
Patchy will some glorious moments.
Visions of You as a perfect song, with Sinead O'Connor delivering one of her best vocal performances.
The rest of the album ebbs and flows with experimental dub and demo quality tunes.
Not bad but overall not fantastic
Suicide
5/5
Pure noise
Skepta
3/5
I even gave Konnichiwa a few listens in different circumstances because the first time just didn't grab me.
One of those albums that isn't totally my taste but did enjoy the beats and the rapid fire lyrics. I found the spoken breaks over long, forced and with the exception of one, broke the momentum.
It did grow on me and reminded me of hearing Wu-Tang for the first time.
The Incredible String Band
1/5
I lasted 1 1/2 songs
Doves
3/5
Too many memories linked to this album to give it another whirl.
Musically accomplished and well crafted dream pop. Ultimately Lost Souls and the Doves in general are so disarmingly dull it is almost offensive.
Frustratingly they were better than most of the teal sounding artists, who half listened to a Jeff Buckley song that seemed to be spreading like a venereal rash back in 2000.
Frank Sinatra
3/5
I love Sinatra but this is light on dinner party music. Sedate but charming though nothing groundbreaking to set the world on fire
The Beach Boys
5/5
Perfect album.
Arcade Fire
1/5
I used to live this album and the band but I've moved on and found 998 albums I would rather listen to instead
Eminem
2/5
The singles are great but did anyone else find the rest of the album exhausting?
David Holmes
5/5
Another of those albums that I think is close to perfect. From the opening beat this album takes you on a gutter level trip through mid 90s New York.
The sound collage that results still has me peeling back layers 27 years after its release
The Band
5/5
The Band is one of those artist that just never crossed my radar before. I think that is a great thing as what I would have written them off as dull or just another 60s band.
The depth of this album, the vocals.close to perfect
Grateful Dead
3/5
Didn't mind this. I have avoided the Grateful Dead mainly because a subset of their fans creep me out and partly because I don't know where to begin.
Maybe a bit too jammy for my tastes but overall a bit cleaner sounding and driven than I was led to believe.
So am I now a Dead Head? Not but I do have a better appreciation of the band
Pere Ubu
5/5
Every post punk, new wave, no wave band that followed owes this album a debt of gratitude.
Not everyones taste and jarring at times but influential and important
Snoop Dogg
4/5
Smooth Funkadelic beats matched with even smoother rhymes.
The sexism gets a bit on the nose but not to the extreme of some other hip hop albums of the era (or hard rock/metal bands).
M.I.A.
3/5
Not a bad album.
I used to really like M.I.A. before she started selling tin foil hats, now she is a bit hard to take seriously.
Still like her music but some of it loses its gravitas
Björk
3/5
More of the same
N.E.R.D
3/5
N.E.R.D. and the Neptune's as well as In Search Of are generally excellent.
In comparison this album just feels average.
Not bad just not anything special
The Undertones
4/5
Faultless, fun punk pop. Thankfully not taking itself seriously in the process.
Marvin Gaye
5/5
Just about one of the smoothest and sexiest albums ever recorded. If you don't feel the vibe you ain't got a pulse
Peter Tosh
4/5
Alarmingly chilled but Powerful in its message. The title track tends to get treated like a novelty song, which it is, although it hides a message of political and religious freedom to invite the 'erb.
Pure '70s reggae with an overlay of dub
Lupe Fiasco
5/5
One of my favourite hip hop albums I have been introduced to via this list. I was aware of a few of the tracks on here but never associated them with Lupe Fiasco.
Even though this album is nearly 20 years old it sounds fresh and vibrant. More importantly it seems void of the stock standard fronting that comes with many hip hop acts.
Tempted to take a star of as the last track dragged like a anchor but I changed my mind when I realised it was a sweet fade out for the tone of the album
Holger Czukay
5/5
This album took me a few minutes to get into. To be honest I nearly switched it off for another time as I thought I wasn't in the mood.
Then it grabbed me.
Not knowing Holger Czukay was from Can, I started to think this was folk music take on Kraut Rock.
F'ing mesmerising stuff. I was kind of upset when it ended as only about 28 minutes had passed. Felt like hours but in a good way
Al Green
5/5
Pure bliss.
Listening to the Reverend Al Green is like a religious experience for me when it comes to this album
Lou Reed
4/5
What if Bertolt Brecht was a junkie living in squalor on New York's Lower East Side circa 1973?
Flawed genius from the ultimate flawed genius
The Cars
4/5
Perfect '80s pop. This album really did write a few chapters in the book of how to write a great song. I can hear it's reach of influence across a lot of acts I love.
I did find a couple of songs sound a bit dull or dated hence 4 stars
Os Mutantes
5/5
Only a recent discovery for me. I got into them after reading their praises sung in the Beastie Boys Book.
I had no doubt heard and came across their songs before during the lounge music revival of the 90s - I did latch onto Esquivel & Gilberto Gil during that time. OS Mutantes elevates that sound with a healthy dose of psychedelic garage rock that no doubt inspired a bunch of other bands
Quicksilver Messenger Service
4/5
Cacophonous psychedelic jam band and I mean this as a compliment
Pentangle
3/5
Probably not it the mood for this today.
On a side note even when I am not in the mood for something an album can cut through that. Basket of Light wasn't up to the task.
I am sure it is an amazing album for fans, mediaeval, psychedelic folk and I wonder if this had an influence on the Cranberries, Cocteau Twins, Clannad and even Zeppelin. Doesn't mean it struck a chord with me
The Smiths
5/5
Paraphrasing this from somewhere else so don't lay claim to it:
Imagine being Johnny Marr, you've just laid down one of the most sublime guitar lines of your career. You come back to studio the next day to find that Morrissey has warbled on some Carry On Nonsense about his imaginary girlfriend being in a coma.
That sums up the Smiths. I still like them, still appreciate them even though is a bit of a part these days. Perfect escapist pop for all the lonely boys and lonely girls of the world to unite together
The Flaming Lips
4/5
R.E.M. if the took more drugs, better drugs and had less quality control.
I saw the Flaming Lips once back in 1994 at Sydney's Alternative Nation. They came on just after the tab of very strong acid, fittingly called a Superman. I can't be sure what was them or an hallucination.
Anyway, it took me a while to want to listen to them again fearing a full on flashback.
So this album is lovely weirdness of the kind many second tier indie bands try to emulate with unremarkable results.
Four stars but only because you really have to be in the right mood to spend an hour with Wayne Coyne
Sex Pistols
5/5
37 years since I first heard this album.
47 years since this album was released.
Go on I dare you to play Bodies on full pelt and not offend someone.
Sometimes dismissed as grubby pub rock in fancy clothing, Never Mind The Bollocks is a landmark album.
Lloyd Cole And The Commotions
5/5
Literate high grade '80s pop.
Twinges of the sound of the era, a kind of white boy should that pervaded a lot of post new wave.
Muture beyond its years and a timeless classic
As an aside I had an acquaintance describe the as The Smiths for people who drink and have sex
The Beta Band
3/5
Greatly prefer this album to Hot Shots which previously appeared for me on this list. That album was a bit of a pretentious mess where Heroes to Zeros just sounds more interesting.
It still doesn't capture that pure energy and freshness from the Three EPs but I guess that would be hard to match.
Calmly, stock standard indie when boil down to it. Not bad, just not falling under the category for me of needing to hear it before I shuffle off
Fatboy Slim
5/5
It's always 3am somewhere and the party is just getting started.
This memory brings back fond memories of hearing tracks from this album, not knowing who they were by. I remember being completely blown away when I first heard "Going Out Of My Head"
Less drugs and more like copious amounts of alcohol fuelled those times for me. To me this album is still exciting 28 years
Primal Scream
4/5
I have a soft spot for Primal Scream and this album. It is nice to see a band reinvent itself with every album (at that stage at least).
I love the concept of them giving the cult film that shares the name Vanishing Point a new soundtrack.
Tracks like Kowalski and If They Move Kill 'Em are some of Primal Scream's best. Some of the other tracks nice experiments. Medication sounds like an outtake of their previous album, and feels totally out of place and to be honest isn't that good.
Four stars from me as the album evokes strongs memories of '97 and seeing them live a few times when they toured the album
1/5
Didn't like it when it came out, years haven't changed that opinion
How did this one make it on this list?
The Avalanches
5/5
This is a very special album for me, both musically and personally.
A few names to be dropped, I first came across the Avalanches in 1997. They were supporting The Sneaker Pimps at a long closed venue in Newtown, NSW. I loved them from the moment they came on. The were more brash at that stage like a weird cross between Pavement and the Beastie Boys. They wore those influences on their sleeves but you wouldn't see me complaining. Steve Pav, the guys who had bought Nirvana out to Australia in '92 and would go onto sign The Avalanches to his label Modular, came up and he asked me what I though. "Freaking amazing!" was my reply.
Over the next few years I saw the band play every time they came to Sydney (I think). Getting to vaguely know Darren Seltman, at least enough to chat about music and graphic design.
I was waiting for this album to come out for ages and first heard it in around September of 2000, getting an advance review copy through work, on cassette no less. I took the tape to a friend's party that weekend. She claimed to hate the Avalanches so I slipped on her cassette deck under the guise of it being a mixtape. Every one at the party got really into it, even my friend who did slap me across the arm when I revealed my deception.
Anyway, great album that I never tire of listening to
Doves
2/5
Another band who's blandness outweighs their merit.
Confused as to how they got two albums on this lis
Grant Lee Buffalo
3/5
This album encapsulates the music of 1993. A safer mellower take on on grunge and the 1980s underground sound. Not to say it is a bad album and it has some absolute gems, namely Fuzzy which is perfect in its drawling melancholy.
Grateful Dead
3/5
Out of tune vocals, sloppy over production and musicianship, and songs that just meander.
Surprisingly I didn't hate American Beauty by the Grateful Dead. I did come close to turning it off at one point but stuck through. I can kind of see the niche appeal and cultish freedom the represent.
The Residents
5/5
Phenomenally weird.
File this under uneasy listening for its groundbreaking strangeness. Not an album you would listen every day (or maybe you do, which is cool).
The Byrds
3/5
I love the Byrd's as an artist. No one can argue that they perform great songs which are in many ways timeless.
Their albums don't appeal to me. They feel disjointed with a few hitsongs surrounded by run of the mill filler. Mr. Tambourine is unfortunately not different
The Shamen
4/5
Back when this album came out, you have to understand there wasn't much else like this. Rave Music was kind of getting started so to to have a group that were essentially a rock band pick up samplers and sequencers and release something like this was revolutionary. Sure others followed and did it better but En-Tact had made this list because of what pathfinders they were.
Move Any Mountain is still an anthem
Abdullah Ibrahim
3/5
Enjoyable though not that special. To my tin ears it just sounded generic not unlike the house band at a super club. That they are accomplished musicians can't be argued with but did they bring anything new to jazz?
Coldplay
4/5
I have to confess that even though I have gone on record as not liking Coldplay, I really enjoy this album.
With the exception of the last two tracks that are an inspid U2-lite style of stadium rock, the rest of the album is pretty brilliant. I love In My Place in all its Echo and The Bunnymen glory and the very haunting The Scientist.
Shame at least for me that they evolved into something less interesting to me
TV On The Radio
2/5
Well that was tedious.
Musically I didn't mind it but by the end of the album, I just wanted the singer to shut up. I find his vocal style so grating.
Frankie Goes To Hollywood
4/5
What a trip down memory lane that was.
I remember before this was released me and my siblings would try and tape all the 12 inch remixes of both Relax and Welcome to The Pleasuredome off the radio.
I remember being slightly disappointed when the album came out as I was too into the cover versions of the weird little Ronald Reagan skits.
11 year old me was pretty oblivious to the sexual innuendo going on throughout the album. Still slightly oblivious...
Bill Callahan
4/5
Haunting and beautiful. Bill Callahan is one of those artists I wish I had listened to more of earlier in my life.
I love his sardonic lo-fi country ballads that give a dark and lonely feeling. He uses repetition to the point where they become mantras.
To be honest the album didn't grab me at first and I thought it was a bit dull. Once I settled into his style and the mood of the album I was enveloped by its duskiness
Joy Division
5/5
One of my favourite albums of all time along with Unknown Pleasures.
I told this story before when I reviewed Unknown Pleasures but I will it again:
I was 14 year's old and what you would describe as a weird kid. I never fit it, I still don't, well no really. I had no musical identity or interests beyond what my siblings listened too and I was well aware of this. So one Saturday morning I was doing my usual rounds of the newsagents, book exchange and local Vinnies op shop to hunt for comics. When I got to the Vinnies there was a big box of records there, I didn't recognise any of them but I gravitated to Closer by Joy Division. At that stage I had no idea what to expect. I'd never heard of them before but the cover art drew me in. So for the exorbitant sum of $2 (this was 1987) I bought the record.
I took it home and played it on the stereo in our lounge room, glad no one else was home. With each song my mind opened the desolation, the distress somehow mixing with music felt more vibrant and real that anything I had listened to. I still feel that same way 37 years on.
I went back to the op shop a few days later and picked up Unknown Pleasures. Time travel would be fun so I could see what else was in that box
Buck Owens
3/5
Interesting album. I don't know enough about country to gauge the influence and impact of this album so I have to go off what I heard.
Straight away, I couldn't help make comparisons to other country artists I know from the era. Obvious comparisons come from his version of Streets of Laredo which has many other artists have recorded. His just feels odd in comparison.
I enjoyed the album but overall didn't find it that special
Afrika Bambaataa
1/5
Definitely influential and another time I would have given this a lot higher score.
But I can't anymore
Count Basie & His Orchestra
5/5
Bombastic sounding jazz that is as in your face as an Nuclear explosion. Count Basie really set a rhythm and bop.
Sonic Youth
5/5
Probably the high Point of Sonic Youth's career. Commercially palatable without being the sell outs they never aimed to be. Plus this came out at a great time - right when grunge was riding high on people's minds and Sonic Youth were seen as one of the progenitors of that musical style.
Plus it is a great noise fest of an album. No one was cooler than Kim Gordon. I was lucky to see them touring this album, playing the Big Day Out in '93 and a triple bill with Mudhoney and Helmet. A gig with so much feedback I thought my insides had been rendered into jelly.
Morrissey
3/5
I used to think I loved this album but realised it was Bona Drag, which takes the best bits of Viva Hate and bundles them in with a few of his non-album singles.
So by listening to Bona Drag, I missed out on the absolutely woeful, Bengali in Platforms which just highlights Morrissey's dangerously naive racism.
Anyway so amazing songs on this album along with some stinkers and plod alongs.
Seriously go listen to the Smiths or Bona Drag instead
Supertramp
4/5
Very seventies best described as glitzy yacht rock.
Steve Winwood
3/5
The singles on this are timeless pop. The rest of the album is swirling yacht rock synths that sometimes miss the mark
Jack White
3/5
I dug this album but with the exception of Karen Wilson's backing vocals the album was more of the same from Jack White. I'm giving it three stars because while I enjoyed it there wasn't anything groundbreaking to have it earmarked as essential listening