Journey Complete!
Finisher #534 to complete the list
1089
Albums Rated
3.29
Average Rating
100%
Complete
Rating Distribution
How you rate albums
Rating Timeline
Average rating over time
Ratings by Decade
Which era do you prefer?
Activity by Day
When do you listen?
Taste Profile
1950s
Favorite Decade
Rock-and-roll
Favorite Genre
other
Top Origin
Balanced
Rater Style ?
114
5-Star Albums
84
1-Star Albums
Taste Analysis
Genre Preferences
Ratings by genre
Origin Preferences
Ratings by country
Rating Style
You Love More Than Most
Albums you rated higher than global average
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| White Light / White Heat | 5 | 2.88 | +2.12 |
| Music Has The Right To Children | 5 | 2.91 | +2.09 |
| The Gilded Palace Of Sin | 5 | 2.93 | +2.07 |
| 16 Lovers Lane | 5 | 2.94 | +2.06 |
| Reign In Blood | 5 | 2.96 | +2.04 |
| Searching For The Young Soul Rebels | 5 | 3 | +2 |
| Slanted And Enchanted | 5 | 3.03 | +1.97 |
| 1977 | 5 | 3.04 | +1.96 |
| Kimono My House | 5 | 3.06 | +1.94 |
| Music For The Jilted Generation | 5 | 3.07 | +1.93 |
You Love Less Than Most
Albums you rated lower than global average
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grace | 1 | 3.71 | -2.71 |
| Hotel California | 1 | 3.6 | -2.6 |
| Morrison Hotel | 1 | 3.59 | -2.59 |
| Blackstar | 1 | 3.48 | -2.48 |
| Parachutes | 1 | 3.46 | -2.46 |
| Tusk | 1 | 3.46 | -2.46 |
| Darkness on the Edge of Town | 1 | 3.42 | -2.42 |
| Hybrid Theory | 1 | 3.39 | -2.39 |
| Aftermath | 1 | 3.39 | -2.39 |
| Made In Japan | 1 | 3.29 | -2.29 |
Artist Analysis
Favorite Artists
Artists with 2+ albums
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Radiohead | 6 | 4.67 |
| Beatles | 7 | 4.57 |
| Van Morrison | 3 | 5 |
| Nirvana | 3 | 5 |
| Kraftwerk | 3 | 5 |
| The Smiths | 3 | 4.67 |
| Johnny Cash | 3 | 4.67 |
| The Velvet Underground | 3 | 4.67 |
| The Smashing Pumpkins | 2 | 5 |
| Joy Division | 2 | 5 |
| Aretha Franklin | 2 | 5 |
| Belle & Sebastian | 2 | 5 |
| Manic Street Preachers | 2 | 5 |
| Led Zeppelin | 5 | 4.2 |
| Leonard Cohen | 5 | 4.2 |
| Sonic Youth | 5 | 4.2 |
| PJ Harvey | 4 | 4.25 |
| Creedence Clearwater Revival | 3 | 4.33 |
| Blur | 3 | 4.33 |
| Nick Drake | 3 | 4.33 |
| Arcade Fire | 3 | 4.33 |
| The White Stripes | 3 | 4.33 |
Least Favorite Artists
Artists with 2+ albums
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Bee Gees | 2 | 1 |
| Robert Wyatt | 2 | 1 |
| Rufus Wainwright | 2 | 1 |
| Yes | 3 | 1.67 |
| Genesis | 2 | 1.5 |
| King Crimson | 2 | 1.5 |
| Eagles | 2 | 1.5 |
| Barry Adamson | 2 | 1.5 |
| Deep Purple | 3 | 2 |
| Madonna | 3 | 2 |
Controversial Artists
Artists you rate inconsistently
| Artist | Ratings |
|---|---|
| Coldplay | 1, 4 |
| Fleetwood Mac | 1, 4 |
| Lou Reed | 2, 5 |
| John Martyn | 4, 1 |
| The The | 1, 4 |
5-Star Albums (114)
View Album Wall
Popular Reviews
3/5
I've never heard any XTC before, and I'm not sure this was the best place to start; sounds like a bunch of middle-aged men in a shed in Shropshire doing a Beatles-prog crossover on the weekend. It's fine, but not great.
16 likes
Baaba Maal
4/5
People love to complain about this list being overpopulated by English alternative rock (and they're not wrong) but then consistently give low scores to all the non-Western music on here.
2 likes
Girls Against Boys
1/5
Just painful. Angry adolescent noise. (Having said that, I'd probably have been really into this when I was about 15.)
2 likes
Eagles
1/5
The dude was right. The 1 star is for the title track, even though Gipsy Kings did it better.
2 likes
UB40
3/5
UB40 deserve to have greater recognition for this type of work than their later more MOR hits. Having said that I appreciate this album and its importance, but I don't actually like it very much.
1 likes
1-Star Albums (84)
All Ratings
Creedence Clearwater Revival
4/5
LCD Soundsystem
2/5
Pink Floyd
3/5
Sigur Rós
5/5
Tracy Chapman
4/5
Tito Puente
4/5
Wild Beasts
2/5
Raekwon
2/5
Paul McCartney and Wings
3/5
DJ Shadow
3/5
U2
2/5
Radiohead
5/5
David Bowie
1/5
Black Sabbath
3/5
Hookworms
4/5
Jimmy Smith
3/5
Beach House
2/5
The Band
4/5
Beastie Boys
4/5
Eric Clapton
2/5
Sabu
3/5
Coldplay
1/5
The Mars Volta
1/5
Simple Minds
2/5
Tina Turner
2/5
SAULT
3/5
Nitin Sawhney
3/5
The Kinks
5/5
Mylo
3/5
Blondie
5/5
The Rolling Stones
3/5
Hawkwind
2/5
Jimi Hendrix
4/5
The Smiths
5/5
The United States Of America
1/5
The Rolling Stones
3/5
Fleetwood Mac
1/5
Elvis Presley
3/5
Guns N' Roses
5/5
Lou Reed
2/5
Buddy Holly & The Crickets
5/5
Lou Reed
5/5
Gorillaz
2/5
Joan Armatrading
2/5
System Of A Down
3/5
Brian Eno
3/5
Jimi Hendrix
5/5
Dead Kennedys
3/5
Pantera
4/5
Daft Punk
4/5
Blur
4/5
Gang Starr
3/5
Alice In Chains
2/5
The Smashing Pumpkins
5/5
Soul II Soul
1/5
Bruce Springsteen
1/5
The Stooges
4/5
Bob Marley & The Wailers
4/5
Louis Prima
4/5
Cyndi Lauper
4/5
Green Day
3/5
Missy Elliott
2/5
Bee Gees
1/5
Nine Inch Nails
4/5
Joy Division
5/5
Motörhead
4/5
Supergrass
3/5
Black Sabbath
4/5
Small Faces
1/5
The Smiths
5/5
The Cardigans
4/5
Jacques Brel
4/5
Isaac Hayes
1/5
Screaming Trees
2/5
The Pogues
4/5
A Tribe Called Quest
4/5
Michael Jackson
4/5
Fleetwood Mac
4/5
The Electric Prunes
3/5
Cheap Trick
3/5
Fats Domino
4/5
Earth, Wind & Fire
4/5
Weather Report
2/5
Donald Fagen
2/5
John Lee Hooker
1/5
Björk
4/5
ABBA
3/5
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
3/5
Sly & The Family Stone
4/5
The Charlatans
3/5
Johnny Cash
5/5
Simon & Garfunkel
4/5
Finley Quaye
3/5
Deep Purple
1/5
Beatles
4/5
Ute Lemper
1/5
Kendrick Lamar
2/5
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
4/5
Lauryn Hill
4/5
Echo And The Bunnymen
4/5
The Beau Brummels
2/5
Public Enemy
4/5
Adele
4/5
The Stone Roses
4/5
Black Flag
3/5
4/5
New Order
4/5
Jamiroquai
2/5
Joni Mitchell
5/5
Van Morrison
5/5
Arctic Monkeys
4/5
Tori Amos
3/5
George Harrison
4/5
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
4/5
T. Rex
4/5
Peter Gabriel
3/5
The Pogues
4/5
Depeche Mode
4/5
Roxy Music
1/5
Beastie Boys
3/5
Tim Buckley
3/5
The Cars
4/5
The Chemical Brothers
3/5
The Who
3/5
Abdullah Ibrahim
2/5
Donovan
2/5
The Rolling Stones
3/5
Nirvana
5/5
Grateful Dead
4/5
OutKast
4/5
The Jam
4/5
Booker T. & The MG's
3/5
Scott Walker
4/5
David Bowie
4/5
John Lennon
2/5
Wilco
4/5
Rush
3/5
The Shamen
1/5
David Bowie
4/5
Neneh Cherry
1/5
Stevie Wonder
4/5
The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy
1/5
Death In Vegas
3/5
Led Zeppelin
4/5
Neil Young
2/5
David Crosby
1/5
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
4/5
Madonna
3/5
The Clash
5/5
Eels
3/5
The Isley Brothers
4/5
Public Enemy
1/5
T. Rex
4/5
Frank Black
3/5
Kanye West
3/5
Bob Dylan
4/5
Badly Drawn Boy
5/5
Taylor Swift
3/5
Gillian Welch
4/5
Beastie Boys
5/5
Brian Eno
4/5
David Bowie
4/5
Genesis
1/5
The B-52's
4/5
Pretenders
3/5
ZZ Top
3/5
Judas Priest
3/5
Jane's Addiction
3/5
Thelonious Monk
4/5
John Coltrane
4/5
Lynyrd Skynyrd
4/5
Marty Robbins
4/5
Tom Waits
3/5
Metallica
4/5
Stan Getz
4/5
1/5
Bob Dylan
4/5
Kate Bush
2/5
Wu-Tang Clan
4/5
Curtis Mayfield
4/5
The Birthday Party
1/5
Alice Cooper
3/5
Radiohead
4/5
John Prine
3/5
X-Ray Spex
1/5
The Smiths
4/5
The Divine Comedy
4/5
Billy Bragg
4/5
Amy Winehouse
4/5
The Beach Boys
3/5
Creedence Clearwater Revival
5/5
Jefferson Airplane
4/5
The Doors
3/5
The 13th Floor Elevators
3/5
Jorge Ben Jor
4/5
Le Tigre
3/5
Metallica
4/5
Iggy Pop
4/5
Joy Division
5/5
Röyksopp
3/5
Grant Lee Buffalo
3/5
Napalm Death
2/5
Duke Ellington
5/5
Bob Marley & The Wailers
4/5
The Flaming Lips
3/5
Rage Against The Machine
3/5
Joni Mitchell
3/5
Marianne Faithfull
2/5
Rocket From The Crypt
2/5
LL Cool J
3/5
Jurassic 5
5/5
Carole King
5/5
Coldplay
4/5
The Adverts
3/5
John Martyn
4/5
Nick Drake
4/5
Beatles
5/5
Metallica
3/5
Gary Numan
3/5
Supergrass
4/5
The Allman Brothers Band
2/5
The Pretty Things
2/5
Drive-By Truckers
1/5
Sade
2/5
Turbonegro
3/5
Nick Drake
4/5
The Notorious B.I.G.
4/5
Nirvana
5/5
Eminem
3/5
The Kinks
3/5
King Crimson
2/5
Bauhaus
3/5
Elastica
4/5
Neil Young
4/5
Leonard Cohen
5/5
Big Brother & The Holding Company
4/5
Dire Straits
3/5
Aside from the hits, a lot of dated 80's filler.
Bob Dylan
4/5
The Go-Go's
4/5
Led Zeppelin
5/5
Dusty Springfield
4/5
Roxy Music
4/5
Laibach
2/5
Arcade Fire
5/5
The Smashing Pumpkins
5/5
Keith Jarrett
2/5
M.I.A.
3/5
The Mamas & The Papas
4/5
Boston
4/5
Maxwell
3/5
Love
5/5
Iggy Pop
3/5
FKA twigs
2/5
Harry Nilsson
4/5
Iron Maiden
4/5
Scritti Politti
2/5
Bob Dylan
3/5
Television
5/5
Nas
3/5
The Crusaders
2/5
Michael Kiwanuka
4/5
Count Basie & His Orchestra
4/5
Minor Threat
4/5
Miles Davis
2/5
Missy Elliott
4/5
Buena Vista Social Club
5/5
Penguin Cafe Orchestra
3/5
5/5
Aretha Franklin
5/5
Elbow
3/5
Elton John
4/5
The Avalanches
3/5
The Temptations
3/5
Roxy Music
3/5
The The
1/5
Sly & The Family Stone
4/5
Dizzee Rascal
2/5
Adam & The Ants
3/5
Haircut 100
3/5
Beatles
5/5
Happy Mondays
1/5
Bee Gees
1/5
Iron Maiden
4/5
I didn't think I liked heavy metal. But, I really, really liked this, a lot. Very melodic, very fast, very loud.
Astor Piazzolla
3/5
Really not my thing, but more enjoyable than I would have anticipated
Fishbone
3/5
Robert Wyatt
1/5
Rock Bottom is right
Elton John
4/5
The Young Gods
1/5
TV On The Radio
3/5
Beck
4/5
Suede
4/5
Dwight Yoakam
4/5
Not really a country guy but I dug it
Hole
4/5
Pink Floyd
4/5
David Bowie
2/5
Title song is a classic. Fame is pretty good. The rest, let’s be honest, is proto-Simply Red stuff
Sonic Youth
4/5
Joni Mitchell
5/5
Never listened to this Joni album through before, but love it
The Black Keys
3/5
Nice but unmemorable garage rock
Ryan Adams
4/5
The Doors
1/5
The Doors are basically the Stones, if the Stones were a bunch of predatory jocks. Douchebag music.
Led Zeppelin
4/5
Little Simz
4/5
This is a really good record: not overlong (like many/most rap albums); great lyrics, good music. Pleasant surprise given I'd never heard of Little Simz before now.
Dennis Wilson
2/5
Ho-hum 70s MOR
Taylor Swift
3/5
Hugh Masekela
3/5
I'm not a big jazz person, but I thought this was pretty ok. Pleasant enough background listening, not too noodly. But I wouldn't go out of my way to listen to it again.
Patti Smith
5/5
The Byrds
4/5
Pretty pleasant, but mostly forgettable, with the exception of the Dylan cover
Youssou N'Dour
3/5
Pleasant but not exactly memorable
Van Halen
3/5
Good songs:
Ain’t talking bout love
You really got me
Atomic pink
The rest is pretty meh
Shuggie Otis
2/5
kinda boring
The Lemonheads
2/5
I never really got the Lemonheads; had friends who were super into them, but they always seemed a very generic and not particularly interesting iteration of late 80s-early 90s college rock. Hard not to think the tenuous Harvard-MIT links did a lot of heavy lifting in giving them greater prominence than they deserved.
Having said that Mrs Robinson is a banger, one of the best covers of all time (but wasn't originally even on the album). Title track is good. The rest totally forgettable.
Suede
2/5
Never understood the friends who preferred this to Suede or Coming Up, and still don’t. The Asphalt World is alright but the rest is cat.
Paul Simon
4/5
Solid album, but not as strong as any of the S&G stuff or Graceland.
Merle Haggard
3/5
Korn
1/5
Crosby, Stills & Nash
4/5
It's pretty good - not as good as Déjà Vu - but gets an extra star for Helplessly Hoping alone
Meat Puppets
1/5
Truly an awful album. Some of the worst singing I’ve ever heard. The only halfway decent songs are the ones covered on the Nirvana Unplugged album (and much better there because Cobain could sing at least a bit). Hard not to think this is on the list only because Cobain loved them for whatever reason. I love Lake of Fire but even that doesn’t save this from being one star, sorry.
Paul Simon
4/5
Eurythmics
4/5
Better than most 80s synth pop albums. But title track is far and away the best thing on this.
Doves
3/5
A solid album but the only outstanding track is The Man Who Told Everything.
Oasis
4/5
Japan
2/5
Title track raised hopes - really interesting forerunner of Duran Duran & the others. But the rest of the album was painful, especially the shockingly bad cover of ATP.
Steely Dan
4/5
Top-tier dad music and I am loving it
Bruce Springsteen
2/5
bo-ring
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
1/5
The Cult
1/5
Not good.
Steely Dan
2/5
Queen
2/5
Slint
2/5
Interesting to hear the early stages of post-rock, which I know more from later successors (esp Mogwai). But there's something a bit adolescent about the vocals, in particular - this would have been a much much stronger album if wholly instrumental.
The Verve
3/5
Hasn't aged well, but some decent tunes in here.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
3/5
It's OK, honestly nothing super special.
Heaven 17
1/5
unlistenable shit
Fred Neil
2/5
Mostly meh, very tedious last song.
David Bowie
4/5
Simply Red
3/5
Not as shit as I expected
Bonnie "Prince" Billy
3/5
Frank Ocean
3/5
Pleasant enough. Fave track: Lost
The Magnetic Fields
4/5
nice.
Robert Wyatt
1/5
nope nope nope
Girls Against Boys
1/5
Just painful. Angry adolescent noise. (Having said that, I'd probably have been really into this when I was about 15.)
The Temptations
3/5
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
3/5
Lambchop
4/5
Johnny Cash
4/5
not as good as san quentin but still pretty lit
Ghostface Killah
4/5
Sometimes I think I just don't like hip-hop that much, then I listen to an album like this and realise I've just not been listening to enough of a range of hip-hop. Top stuff here; much prefer this to the Wu-Tang collective output.
Bad Brains
3/5
It's fine, more melodic than most hardcore. Return to Heaven is a real stinker though.
Bill Callahan
4/5
Solid, not sure I'd put this ahead of his Smog output
Cocteau Twins
4/5
5/5
Listened to this on heavy rotation when it came out. Still stands up, still rocks, still in my top 10 of all time.
Aerosmith
2/5
meh
Red Hot Chili Peppers
4/5
First half is 5 stars, stone-cold classic. 2nd half is 2 stars. 3.5, rounded up to 4 b/c Flea.
Morrissey
2/5
It's fine, not in my view one of Morrissey's better solo albums.
Suicide
2/5
I can see how it's influential and really pioneering for the time, but honestly, aside from Ghost Rider, this didn't do it for me. 'Girl' was serious cringe.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
3/5
It's fine, I think maybe I just don't like Nick Cave as much as the author of this book.
Beatles
5/5
In my Beatles top 3 for sure
Megadeth
4/5
this really shreds
Stereolab
3/5
I really like stereolab, but honestly, they’re kinda samey after a few songs.
OutKast
4/5
20 years on I now much prefer Speakerboxxx to The Love Below, which just seems weirdly retrogade and misogynistic on a lyrical level (especially 'Roses'). Too many skits and interludes. And instead of 2 separate albums this could have been one stellar album. Still 4 stars, though, I think?
2/5
as a Dubliner I have an in-built U2 bias, but when I was young and innocent I bough the Joshua Tree and listened to it so so many times trying to figure out what the fuss was. Still don't get it. U2 have some terrific singles (first two on this album, for example, I never really liked WOWY), but they're not an album band. And yes, Bono is a gobshite. One star for each outstanding song.
Scissor Sisters
5/5
being objective I know part of the 5 stars is because this was the soundtrack to a really pivotal time in my life. But I still love every single song on this album. In my top 10 for sure.
Talvin Singh
3/5
Not my thing, but I get it.
Radiohead
5/5
Has been in my top 3 since it came out.
Solomon Burke
4/5
Great stuff, maybe a bit tame overall, but what a great voice. Favourite song: Won't You Give Him (One More Chance)
The Human League
4/5
The reputation of DYWM (which is a sensational pop song, btw) has maybe overshadowed how innovative the Human League were, and this album really was the one that put synthpop on the map. A real study in contrast with Heaven 17's debut, and a significant step forward from the earlier Human League work.
Wilco
4/5
I've listened to so much Wilco over the years but never this one all the way through. Is it my favourite Wilco? No, not even in the top 3. But still a great album.
Willie Nelson
4/5
Syd Barrett
2/5
I did not need to hear this before I died, sorry
3/5
Obviously this is a very important album to hear, given the pivotal moment of Dylan 'going electric' in the history of music. Honestly, this is not a really interesting album, and what stands out is how much *better* electric Dylan is, because (1) way less harmonica and (2) Dylan's frankly awful voice is less centred. Dylan's a great songwriter, the Nobel was a travesty, this is an essential album to hear, but not a very good or interesting one: all of these things are true and not incompatible with one another.
Duran Duran
4/5
Very strong album across the board - aside from the 3 hits, personally liked Lonely in Your Nightmare and Last Chance on the Stairway in particular
Al Green
5/5
A true masterpiece
The Dave Brubeck Quartet
4/5
I'm not a jazz person, so I don't really get it, but this was fun to listen to.
Isaac Hayes
3/5
Would be 4 stars if not for the long spoken-word stuff on the last track
k.d. lang
2/5
k.d. lang has one of the best voices in music, and k.d. lang is a Canadian hero, but... this album is just by-the-numbers crowd-pleasing C&W. Music for line-dancers, and I just can't get into it, sorry.
Circle Jerks
3/5
Real edgelord vibes and it's hard to credit that people in their mid-20s could write lines like 'All the people look the same / Don't they know they're so damn lame', but there are decent tunes at least, and I respect the brevity.
The Doors
3/5
Stand by what I said about Morrison Hotel (douchebag jock music that is intellectual in the way your 13-year-old poetry is intellectual), but there are at least 2 great tunes on here (not Light my Fire), plus a bonus star for the Apocalypse Now tie-in and the general death-of-the-60s and harbinger-of-worse-times-ahead vibes.
Koffi Olomide
3/5
Nice enough, nothing special
Electric Light Orchestra
3/5
Funky and sometimes mellow but overall pretty safe. Maybe the best ‘pop’ prog album? Mr Blue Sky is a masterpiece.
Prince
3/5
When Doves Cry and Purple Rain are all-time great songs. Let's Go Crazy...not so much. The rest is all pretty good, I guess.
Jeff Buckley
1/5
average singer and subpar songwriter
The Cure
4/5
Really strong album that, surprisingly perhaps, has aged very well - a lot here even beyond the hits. (Though the music video for Lullaby used to give me nightmares as a kid).
Randy Newman
2/5
'Satire' that has aged like milk. Nice tunes but they all sound exactly like the Toy Story song.
The Clash
4/5
Solid but not as good as london calling by a very long way
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
4/5
After who knows how many Elvis Costello albums on this list, FINALLY I get it. This is a great album - not, for me, a 5 star, but one where EC’s greatness and clear songwriting skill very clearly shines through.
Pixies
4/5
Still revolutionary
5/5
Yes, it’s prog rock for the Radiohead generation, but that’s my generation, baby. Bombastic and over the top but amazing hooks in here, and knights of cydonia is one of the all time great songs
Gene Clark
1/5
the longest 51 minutes of my life jfc
Guided By Voices
2/5
Sounds like all the other GBV I’ve ever heard. Middle aged man noodling in his shed. Fawned over by other middle aged men.
The Good, The Bad & The Queen
1/5
I thought this was OK when it came out; now, I don't understand why I had any time for it. Plodding and tiresome. More overvaluing of albums by artists who have done good stuff elsewhere.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
4/5
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
3/5
Don't have as much patience for this as I did 20 years ago, but still a milestone in experimental rock, and Orange Claw Hammer is a great song.
Burning Spear
4/5
Pretty cool
Michael Jackson
3/5
wore out the cassette of this when i was like 7; really struggled to listen to it straight through now, partly b/c of, you know, and partly because this is just very dated now; really, smooth criminal is the only one that really still stands up. leave me alone is ok too.
Sheryl Crow
3/5
A bit too MOR for me but she's a great singer and a solid songwriter
Skunk Anansie
1/5
The first two SA albums were pretty good; this one just sounds like every other alt-rock soft-metal band from the late 90s/early aughts - frankly not very interesting
Radiohead
5/5
Got it as a christmas present in 1995 (or maybe 1996?), one of the first albums i ever owned, and haven't stopped listening to it since. soundtrack to my adolescence, for better or worse.
Parliament
4/5
Not my favourite parliament album but still great
Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart
3/5
I tapped out after the embarrassing spoken-word stuff in the title track.
Ella Fitzgerald
4/5
Would have been 5 stars if it hadn't been over 3 hours long - so many terrific songs, but they all just run together at this length. Standouts I'd never heard before: A Foggy Day, Stiff Upper Lip, I've Got a Crush on You, Treat Me Rough, Slap that Bass
Adele
4/5
Phenomenal singer, a bit MOR, but equally one of the most eloquent and certainly most honest of contemporary lyricists in articulating emotions. The depth of the quality on the non-singles tracks is amazing too (think I'd only heard Hello before).
Chorus of Send My Love really sounds a lot like Paper Planes by M.I.A.
David Bowie
3/5
If you asked ChatGPT to write a Ziggy Stardust album it would sound like this.
Dusty Springfield
4/5
Pixies
2/5
Look, it's OK, but it doesn't really do it for me; wouldn't be on this list if it wasn't by the Pixies.
Funkadelic
4/5
Sinead O'Connor
4/5
Goldfrapp
3/5
Cocteau Twins
3/5
Massive Attack
4/5
4.5, on reflection, Unfinished Sympathy (one of the greatest songs of all time) is not quite enough to make this a 5-star overall
Leonard Cohen
4/5
It's pretty good but not his best album by a long way...
The Velvet Underground
5/5
3/5
I've never heard any XTC before, and I'm not sure this was the best place to start; sounds like a bunch of middle-aged men in a shed in Shropshire doing a Beatles-prog crossover on the weekend. It's fine, but not great.
John Martyn
1/5
one word: wank
Fun Lovin' Criminals
2/5
just sounds so adolescent now. Drugs and guns are cool, guys!
Santana
2/5
It's fine, cover of Oye como va is great, otherwise a bit ho-hum.
Jeru The Damaja
3/5
Less violently misogynistic than a lot of his contemporaries (and successors) but to paraphrase Mrs Doyle, it's wall to wall bitches in here. A shame because this is otherwise a likeable and solid album (which I'd never heard, or even heard of, before this list).
Nick Drake
5/5
Finally got my favourite Nick Drake album; this one's a 5/5. For me the one where you hear most clearly his incredible abilities and sense for melody; the potential that was never fully realised is there. Hard not to separate the art from the artist's tragedy in this case.
My Bloody Valentine
4/5
Pretty good but a real music journalist choice
Pentangle
1/5
the worst kind of village-fete renaissance fair folk shit.
Morrissey
3/5
Standard Moz solo fare (not as good as the Smiths, handful of great songs)
Tom Waits
3/5
Afrika Bambaataa
4/5
Love old-school hip-hop.
Eagles
1/5
The dude was right. The 1 star is for the title track, even though Gipsy Kings did it better.
Madness
3/5
Our House is a classic (even if the lyrics are a bit naff); the rest is a curate's egg.
Madonna
2/5
Aimee Mann
3/5
Devendra Banhart
3/5
Neil Young
4/5
The Coral
2/5
Bit meh, Dreaming of You is a great song, the rest sounds (as it did at the time) like pretty generic post-Britpop stuff
Tom Tom Club
4/5
pretty, pretty, pretty good
Country Joe & The Fish
3/5
Fine, just kinda...boring?
Bon Jovi
2/5
5 stars for Livin' on A Prayer, minus 3 stars for everything else being shit
The Associates
2/5
Meh
Ali Farka Touré
3/5
The The
4/5
Tom Waits
5/5
My third TW album off this list, and head and shoulders above the other two (Nighthawks and Bone Machine). Not saying I'd choose to listen to this on the regular, but listening to this I get him in a way I didn't with the previous albums; weird in a good way
Janet Jackson
1/5
Dated so badly
Elvis Presley
4/5
Björk
2/5
Alexander 'Skip' Spence
3/5
Miles Davis
5/5
I can't stand jazz but I love this
Ride
3/5
The Last Shadow Puppets
3/5
Slipknot
2/5
Femi Kuti
4/5
Van Halen
4/5
George Michael
2/5
Marilyn Manson
2/5
Crowded House
3/5
1/5
Kraftwerk
5/5
The Zombies
5/5
Jerry Lee Lewis
4/5
Pet Shop Boys
4/5
The Who
3/5
PJ Harvey
3/5
Janelle Monáe
4/5
Einstürzende Neubauten
3/5
Giant Sand
4/5
Sonic Youth
5/5
The Modern Lovers
3/5
The Fall
3/5
I like it, I don't enjoy it.
Various Artists
5/5
Ramones
5/5
Calexico
4/5
The Auteurs
4/5
Elis Regina
3/5
Slade
3/5
Belle & Sebastian
5/5
Mudhoney
4/5
Cee Lo Green
1/5
David Bowie
4/5
Hot Chip
4/5
Would not have picked this specific Hot Chip album but it's pretty solid
Fairport Convention
4/5
Norah Jones
2/5
Not bad, just boring
Steely Dan
4/5
Dr. Dre
3/5
Bloated, overlong, lyrics that were problematic at the time (never mind not aging well...), on the other hand, marks the birth of the G-funk era, and Nuthing but a G Thang is a song for the ages. 2001 is miles better tho.
Dirty Projectors
1/5
Pound shop Animal Collective.
And I fucking hate Animal Collective.
Jimi Hendrix
3/5
Feels like heresy to give this 3 stars but it is just so bloated and meandering
Joan Baez
4/5
Not my thing, but glad I listened
1/5
Linkin Park
1/5
Travis
2/5
Frank Sinatra
3/5
5/5
The Incredible String Band
2/5
Pet Shop Boys
4/5
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
2/5
Snoop Dogg
4/5
Terence Trent D'Arby
3/5
Pearl Jam
2/5
Minutemen
3/5
TLC
4/5
Skepta
2/5
ZZ Top
4/5
Orbital
4/5
2Pac
2/5
Sonic Youth
4/5
Khaled
4/5
Aside from the Imagine cover, this is a really solid and fun listen
Pere Ubu
2/5
Leonard Cohen
4/5
Happy Mondays
4/5
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
3/5
Michael Jackson
4/5
CHIC
4/5
The Blue Nile
1/5
Music for guys who 'aren't like the other guys' and whose favourite novel is Tender is the Night.
Give me strength.
Siouxsie And The Banshees
4/5
Neil Young
5/5
Massive Attack
4/5
Billy Bragg
4/5
The Pharcyde
4/5
Pet Shop Boys
3/5
The Police
3/5
KISS
1/5
I guess if it weren't for this project I'd never have listened to an entire Kiss album right through. An unfunny and significantly less musically talented Spinal Tap.
Bob Dylan
4/5
Talking Heads
3/5
Kraftwerk
5/5
Todd Rundgren
3/5
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
4/5
Fugazi
5/5
Thin Lizzy
4/5
Sex Pistols
4/5
Shivkumar Sharma
3/5
Drive Like Jehu
3/5
Throbbing Gristle
2/5
Sleater-Kinney
4/5
The Jesus And Mary Chain
4/5
Ramblin' Jack Elliott
2/5
Steely Dan
3/5
MC Solaar
4/5
Aphex Twin
5/5
the only album my da ever forbade me from playing on the stereo because 'it's not real music, it's just noise, it's doing me head in, would you not just put on some of them radiohead lads again, at least there's a bit of a melody in their stuff'
Love you da but there’s more to music than the Fureys
Julian Cope
4/5
R.E.M.
4/5
Def Leppard
2/5
Not terrible, but very hard to take this type of hyper-polished 80's pop-rock seriously...
Doves
4/5
A very good album, but not exactly innovative, or so outstanding that it's more memorable than many other albums that aren't on this list... I like it a lot, I bought it when it came out and listened to it a bunch then, but probably haven't heard it in 20 years. Still holds up, but I don't really understand why it's on this list.
Throwing Muses
3/5
David Ackles
2/5
The Jam
3/5
Portishead
3/5
Christina Aguilera
3/5
Elliott Smith
4/5
Beatles
3/5
Studio versions don't do justice to what a great live band they were at this point: listen to live versions of Money; All My Loving; etc., and you'll see the difference.
The least good Beatles album.
3/5
Fugees
4/5
Leonard Cohen
4/5
Ryan Adams
4/5
The Flaming Lips
3/5
Fever Ray
4/5
Queen
3/5
3/5
The xx
4/5
Yes
2/5
Gram Parsons
4/5
Lana Del Rey
3/5
Billy Joel
4/5
The Byrds
3/5
The Stooges
4/5
Queen
3/5
Everything But The Girl
2/5
Queen Latifah
2/5
Traffic
2/5
Moby
4/5
Red Snapper
3/5
Gang Of Four
4/5
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
Kate Bush
3/5
AC/DC
5/5
Willie Nelson
4/5
Kings of Leon
3/5
Hole
4/5
The Sugarcubes
3/5
UB40
3/5
UB40 deserve to have greater recognition for this type of work than their later more MOR hits. Having said that I appreciate this album and its importance, but I don't actually like it very much.
Faith No More
1/5
Django Django
4/5
well this was an unexpected delight
Fiona Apple
3/5
Dolly Parton
3/5
The Rolling Stones
2/5
Tim Buckley
3/5
Bobby Womack
3/5
Miles Davis
4/5
Frank Zappa
4/5
Air
4/5
Dinosaur Jr.
4/5
Dexys Midnight Runners
4/5
4/5
The Stranglers
3/5
Frank Sinatra
3/5
The Saints
3/5
The Cure
4/5
Jane Weaver
3/5
Anita Baker
2/5
Franz Ferdinand
5/5
Baaba Maal
3/5
The Damned
3/5
Dion
2/5
Manic Street Preachers
5/5
Might be my favourite album ever.
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
4/5
Love
4/5
Tom Waits
4/5
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
3/5
Public Image Ltd.
3/5
Pavement
4/5
Marvin Gaye
3/5
Not terrible. But it wouldn’t make the list if anyone other than MG had made it. And 30min too long.
Billie Holiday
2/5
I feel bad giving this such a low rating but it really doesn't do it for me; background music.
4/5
The Waterboys
4/5
Stevie Wonder
3/5
Elvis Costello
4/5
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
4/5
Amy Winehouse
2/5
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
3/5
Dinosaur Jr.
3/5
fIREHOSE
3/5
Eagles
2/5
The White Stripes
4/5
TV On The Radio
2/5
The Killers
4/5
Butthole Surfers
1/5
Rush
3/5
Animal Collective
2/5
The Velvet Underground
4/5
Peter Frampton
4/5
The Chemical Brothers
4/5
a-ha
3/5
Nightmares On Wax
3/5
The Mothers Of Invention
4/5
Destiny's Child
3/5
Paul McCartney
2/5
Tim Buckley
3/5
The Roots
3/5
Talking Heads
3/5
Grizzly Bear
4/5
Violent Femmes
2/5
Rufus Wainwright
1/5
most overrated Wainwright.
James Taylor
3/5
Radiohead
5/5
The Dictators
3/5
1/5 for first half, 4/5 for 2nd half.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
3/5
Nanci Griffith
3/5
Jack White
3/5
Buck Owens
3/5
Not my thing (too honky-tonk), get the sense it's important, but I don't know enough about country to judge. Not actively bad tho.
Bebel Gilberto
4/5
The Youngbloods
4/5
Gil Scott-Heron
4/5
Os Mutantes
3/5
Lightning Bolt
2/5
I love noise rock, this is not good noise rock.
Lupe Fiasco
4/5
This was fun; very Kanye-like. Skip the Outro.
Jane's Addiction
2/5
Jungle Brothers
4/5
Can
3/5
Randy Newman
2/5
Air
5/5
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
5/5
Björk
4/5
Method Man
3/5
Orange Juice
4/5
The Stooges
4/5
Led Zeppelin
4/5
Ministry
2/5
Manu Chao
4/5
Carpenters
1/5
Sufjan Stevens
4/5
XTC
1/5
Nico
3/5
Pavement
5/5
Bob Dylan
3/5
Orbital
4/5
Deerhunter
3/5
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
Simon & Garfunkel
3/5
Richard Thompson
3/5
Morrissey
4/5
Fatboy Slim
3/5
The Vines
1/5
Tortoise
3/5
Steve Winwood
1/5
John Lennon
2/5
The Only Ones
2/5
Sugar
3/5
Janis Joplin
4/5
Peter Gabriel
4/5
The Who
4/5
Don McLean
3/5
3 stars for one of the best songs of all time; 0 stars for everything else
Mekons
2/5
Beyoncé
3/5
Beck
3/5
Venom
3/5
Pulp
5/5
Quicksilver Messenger Service
2/5
The Zutons
2/5
N.E.R.D
2/5
The Rolling Stones
3/5
The Fall
4/5
Sonic Youth
4/5
Iron Butterfly
2/5
Portishead
5/5
Buffalo Springfield
2/5
The Beach Boys
5/5
Thundercat
4/5
Genesis
2/5
Ray Charles
4/5
Dolly Parton
4/5
Madonna
1/5
Ozomatli
4/5
The Velvet Underground
5/5
Cornershop
2/5
The Beta Band
4/5
Super Furry Animals
4/5
Big Star
4/5
Paul Revere & The Raiders
3/5
Scott Walker
4/5
Malcolm McLaren
4/5
The Beta Band
4/5
Tears For Fears
4/5
Coldcut
3/5
Dexys Midnight Runners
3/5
The Black Crowes
1/5
Utterly forgettable.
Spiritualized
4/5
Kings of Leon
3/5
Elvis Presley
2/5
Brian Eno
3/5
Funkadelic
4/5
Deep Purple
2/5
The Kinks
3/5
What a disappointment; 3 stars for Waterloo Sunset alone (one of the best songs of all time) but the rest is just dreck.
Willie Colón & Rubén Blades
5/5
Super Furry Animals
4/5
Rod Stewart
4/5
Lenny Kravitz
1/5
New Order
4/5
Ian Dury
2/5
Ash
5/5
A great great album and another one I heard at a young & important age (still remember staying up late to tape their 1996 concert at the Point off the radio). 5 stars for me for sure. Slightly doubting whether it should be on this list (question how influential it's been) but it is a way better and more polished piece of work than probably half the stuff on this list. And they were *so* young. This album is teenage potential and teenage possibilities in a bottle.
Favourite songs: Goldfinger, Angel Interceptor, Darkside Lightside.
John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers
4/5
Kings of Leon
3/5
Run-D.M.C.
4/5
Neu!
3/5
Chicago
3/5
Stan Getz
4/5
The Yardbirds
3/5
Common
4/5
Pulp
4/5
Kanye West
3/5
The Byrds
3/5
R.E.M.
4/5
Nirvana
5/5
4/5
American Music Club
1/5
Caetano Veloso
3/5
GZA
4/5
Jean-Michel Jarre
3/5
3/5
Fiona Apple
4/5
The Soft Boys
3/5
The Rolling Stones
1/5
Stephen Stills
3/5
Tangerine Dream
4/5
3/5
Slayer
5/5
The Thrills
3/5
Barry Adamson
1/5
My Bloody Valentine
3/5
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
3/5
B.B. King
4/5
Ice T
4/5
Miriam Makeba
4/5
Suzanne Vega
4/5
N.W.A.
4/5
Ali Farka Touré
3/5
Talk Talk
3/5
Muddy Waters
5/5
Sarah Vaughan
3/5
The Monkees
2/5
The Prodigy
4/5
Eminem
1/5
The Divine Comedy
4/5
Antony and the Johnsons
1/5
The Boo Radleys
3/5
Brian Eno
4/5
Lucinda Williams
4/5
Led Zeppelin
4/5
Milton Nascimento
4/5
Aerosmith
3/5
Soundgarden
4/5
Ravi Shankar
3/5
Cat Stevens
4/5
The Monks
3/5
Rod Stewart
3/5
Erykah Badu
4/5
Roni Size
3/5
The KLF
4/5
Richard Hawley
3/5
Dagmar Krause
1/5
Steve Earle
4/5
Songhoy Blues
5/5
Van Morrison
5/5
Paul Simon
2/5
Britney Spears
1/5
Solange
3/5
Dire Straits
3/5
Fela Kuti
4/5
Big Black
1/5
White Denim
4/5
Ice Cube
4/5
The National
3/5
Blue Cheer
2/5
The Icarus Line
2/5
My Bloody Valentine
5/5
Marvin Gaye
5/5
Def Leppard
3/5
Stevie Wonder
3/5
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
4/5
The Darkness
5/5
Saint Etienne
4/5
The Sabres Of Paradise
3/5
The Dandy Warhols
3/5
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
3/5
Germs
3/5
Kate Bush
2/5
De La Soul
5/5
The Prodigy
5/5
The Replacements
5/5
SZA
1/5
John Cale
4/5
Serge Gainsbourg
3/5
Astrud Gilberto
3/5
Big Star
3/5
PJ Harvey
4/5
The Who
3/5
Kraftwerk
5/5
Sisters Of Mercy
4/5
Justice
5/5
Klaxons
3/5
Spacemen 3
2/5
Dr. John
3/5
Mj Cole
3/5
Charles Mingus
4/5
Prince
2/5
Supertramp
3/5
The Who
3/5
Faust
3/5
The Police
2/5
Mott The Hoople
3/5
Hüsker Dü
4/5
Bad Company
3/5
Slipknot
3/5
Jeff Beck
3/5
Alice Cooper
4/5
Sister Sledge
4/5
Sparks
5/5
Lorde
4/5
The Beach Boys
2/5
The Libertines
4/5
Echo And The Bunnymen
4/5
Teenage Fanclub
4/5
4/5
Queens of the Stone Age
3/5
George Michael
3/5
808 State
2/5
Public Image Ltd.
3/5
Metallica
3/5
Sepultura
4/5
Mariah Carey
1/5
U2
3/5
True maturity as an Irish person is acknowledging that U2 have written some absolute bangers while maintaining that Bono is a bollix.
Barry Adamson
2/5
Stevie Wonder
5/5
The Flying Burrito Brothers
5/5
The Cure
4/5
Belle & Sebastian
5/5
Prefab Sprout
3/5
Megadeth
2/5
David Gray
3/5
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
3/5
Leftfield
3/5
M.I.A.
4/5
King Crimson
1/5
Holger Czukay
2/5
Silver Jews
2/5
The Jesus And Mary Chain
4/5
The La's
4/5
Aretha Franklin
5/5
Gene Clark
3/5
50 Cent
4/5
The Young Rascals
2/5
Kacey Musgraves
3/5
Radiohead
4/5
Peter Tosh
4/5
The Louvin Brothers
2/5
CHIC
4/5
Siouxsie And The Banshees
4/5
Laura Nyro
3/5
Deee-Lite
4/5
Joni Mitchell
3/5
New York Dolls
3/5
Depeche Mode
4/5
Everything But The Girl
3/5
Mudhoney
4/5
Dr. Octagon
1/5
Blood, Sweat & Tears
4/5
Deep Purple
3/5
Primal Scream
2/5
Kid Rock
2/5
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
3/5
Lloyd Cole And The Commotions
3/5
Green Day
5/5
AC/DC
4/5
Frank Sinatra
3/5
Frankie Goes To Hollywood
4/5
Anthrax
3/5
Bert Jansch
3/5
The Go-Betweens
5/5
Stephen Stills
5/5
Pink Floyd
5/5
Christine and the Queens
4/5
Emmylou Harris
3/5
Joanna Newsom
4/5
The Everly Brothers
4/5
Pink Floyd
3/5
Baaba Maal
4/5
People love to complain about this list being overpopulated by English alternative rock (and they're not wrong) but then consistently give low scores to all the non-Western music on here.
Alanis Morissette
5/5
The Strokes
5/5
Can
4/5
The Fall
4/5
5/5
Ice Cube
3/5
The Specials
4/5
James Brown
4/5
The xx
3/5
George Jones
3/5
Bruce Springsteen
4/5
Spiritualized
4/5
Wire
4/5
Les Rythmes Digitales
4/5
Jazmine Sullivan
2/5
Bonnie Raitt
2/5
Bob Marley & The Wailers
4/5
Tom Waits
4/5
Talking Heads
4/5
A Tribe Called Quest
4/5
The Afghan Whigs
1/5
Justin Timberlake
3/5
The White Stripes
5/5
Todd Rundgren
2/5
Prince
3/5
Nina Simone
4/5
Magazine
4/5
Flamin' Groovies
3/5
Fairport Convention
4/5
Bill Evans Trio
4/5
The War On Drugs
4/5
The Mothers Of Invention
4/5
Manic Street Preachers
5/5
Arcade Fire
4/5
Paul Weller
3/5
The Undertones
5/5
Otis Redding
5/5
G. Love & Special Sauce
1/5
The Slits
2/5
The Bees
3/5
Stereo MC's
4/5
Ananda Shankar
2/5
The Byrds
3/5
Brian Eno
3/5
Echo And The Bunnymen
4/5
Marvin Gaye
4/5
Elliott Smith
4/5
Digital Underground
3/5
Beatles
5/5
The Band
5/5
Simon & Garfunkel
4/5
PJ Harvey
5/5
William Orbit
3/5
The Triffids
2/5
Black Sabbath
3/5
Soft Cell
3/5
Miles Davis
4/5
Brian Wilson
4/5
The Style Council
4/5
CHVRCHES
4/5
loved this, great discovery
Goldie
4/5
Basement Jaxx
3/5
Jethro Tull
3/5
Yes
2/5
k.d. lang
2/5
The Psychedelic Furs
2/5
Waylon Jennings
3/5
The Streets
4/5
Kelela
2/5
MGMT
4/5
R.E.M.
4/5
D'Angelo
1/5
Little Richard
5/5
Fatboy Slim
4/5
Leonard Cohen
4/5
Arcade Fire
4/5
Kanye West
4/5
David Holmes
4/5
Tricky
4/5
Motörhead
3/5
Boards of Canada
5/5
Arrested Development
4/5
Gotan Project
2/5
Ray Price
2/5
The Specials
3/5
Incredible Bongo Band
3/5
The Undertones
4/5
Sebadoh
2/5
Soul and Fire is just OK... and nothing else on here is as good as it.
The White Stripes
4/5
Moby Grape
3/5
Robbie Williams
1/5
The Teardrop Explodes
3/5
Mike Ladd
3/5
Muddy Waters
4/5
Killing Joke
2/5
Curtis Mayfield
3/5
Emmylou Harris
4/5
Buzzcocks
4/5
3/5
Derek & The Dominos
4/5
Culture Club
2/5
Pere Ubu
2/5
Garbage
4/5
John Grant
4/5
Dexys Midnight Runners
5/5
10cc
1/5
Rahul Dev Burman
4/5
The Gun Club
4/5
Björk
3/5
Fela Kuti
4/5
Sepultura
4/5
The Verve
1/5
Christina Aguilera
3/5
Johnny Cash
5/5
Machito
5/5
Van Morrison
5/5
LTJ Bukem
3/5
Q-Tip
4/5
Talking Heads
4/5
Ray Charles
5/5
Fleet Foxes
4/5
Common
4/5
Run-D.M.C.
3/5
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
3/5
The Hives
3/5
Cowboy Junkies
2/5
Soft Machine
1/5
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
3/5
Liz Phair
4/5
Mercury Rev
3/5
Herbie Hancock
4/5
Living Colour
2/5
Public Enemy
4/5
Cypress Hill
4/5
Shack
3/5
Cream
4/5
Blur
5/5
LCD Soundsystem
3/5
Goldfrapp
3/5
Incubus
1/5
Aerosmith
3/5
Foo Fighters
3/5
JAY Z
4/5
Meat Loaf
3/5
Hanoi Rocks
2/5
Underworld
3/5
Morrissey
2/5
Primal Scream
5/5
R.E.M.
3/5
The Byrds
4/5
The Offspring
4/5
ABBA
2/5
Rufus Wainwright
1/5
Sam Cooke
4/5
Elvis Costello
3/5
Pixies
3/5
Peter Gabriel
3/5
2/5
Joe Ely
4/5
Beth Orton
4/5
Kendrick Lamar
3/5
Ms. Dynamite
4/5
Grateful Dead
2/5
The Cramps
4/5
The Residents
1/5
Mike Oldfield
4/5
Beck
4/5
Red Hot Chili Peppers
4/5
Sonic Youth
4/5
The Sonics
4/5
Traffic
4/5
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
4/5