My sophomore year in college, I got mono and listened to nothing but The Smiths for two months. I don’t listen to them too often anymore but I formed a bond to the music during that window of time and I’ll always count them among my favorite bands. Their style is a balancing act - the music can have a muscular rock sound (I love that fat and funky bass!) but they can be delicate at the same time (like how they add that twinkling synth at the end of “The Queen Is Dead”). Morrissey is the king of sad and melancholy rock but he’s also very funny. He can really sell these ballads of unrequited love but there’s usually at least a hint of irony in his delivery. He’s one of my favorite lyricists too. “Frankly, Mr. Shankly” is a hilarious song and “I’d rather be famous than righteous or holy” is a great line. Here’s another line I love in “Bigmouth Strikes Again”: “Now I know how Joan of Arc felt / As the flames rose to her Roman nose / And her Walkman started to melt.” Ugh lines like that make me want to write rock lyrics. The album is stacked with great songs but these are probably my favorites: “I Know It’s Over,” “Bigmouth Strikes Again,” “The Boy With the Thorn in His Side,” “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out”

Like someone put 90's hip-hop and alt-rock into a blender. The gloomy mood makes it perfect rainy day music but the record scratches and samples keep the music from becoming too downbeat or melancholy. It’s a cool, druggy vibe. Favorite tracks: “Sour Times” (one of those songs I didn’t even know that I knew until it came on), “It Could Be Sweet” (that bass line!) and “Wandering Star” (love the record scratches and background layers).

I can’t believe I’ve never heard of her before. I’ve been listening to this all weekend. The album feels like a singer songwriter record but depending on the song, she does folk rock, country rock, funk and soul. And somehow it all still sounds like one cohesive style. Her vocals tie everything together. She has such a strong, distinct voice and she’s a mesmerizing performer. The songwriting is fantastic too. She writes about love and relationships with depth and maturity, touching on issues of vulnerability, power and confidence. I know I just heard it for the first time a few days ago but I could find room for “Tall in the Saddle” on my top 100 rock songs of all time. What a song! It starts with Pink Floyd style guitar and adds her deeply soulful singing before pausing for a guitar solo that would be at home on “Dark Side of the Moon.” Then it builds to a climax and tears into a funky breakdown followed by an insanely danceable refrain. Even the phrase “tall in the saddle” is great. The song is a takedown of a womanizer in his prime but even post-breakup she concedes how much fun he was. (I love the way she sings, “Fun, fun, fun, fuuun!”) I can’t wait to listen to more of her. Easily my favorite new discovery from this list. 💯

This album is a personal favorite of mine and one of the strangest, funniest and overall best debut albums of a rock band. Part surf rock parody, part punk rock, part acid trip at a 50’s drive-thru movie theater, the album is filled with spiky guitar riffs and absurdist humor. Fred Schneider’s vocals get most of the attention in The B-52’s and understandably so; he sounds as if the Mad Hatter were a radio announcer. But Cindy Wilson deserves equal billing here. She’s an absolute maniac on the microphone, screaming and wailing one minute, and slurring her way through a bizarre baby voice the next. She’s a powerhouse on the hypnotic “Dance This Mess Around.” Side A is untouchable for me - the sequence of “Planet Claire,” “52 Girls,” “Dance This Mess Around” and “Rock Lobster” is incredible (the latter two are both top 100 songs for me). The second half of the album is a blast too though, with loads of goofy humor, sexual innuendo and a charming cover of “Downtown” to cap things off. How fun to hear a band experiment and fool around the way The B-52’s do here. It’s a brazen, joyful album that sounds like nothing else. I’ve listened to it dozens of times and it never gets any less strange or thrilling.

I love The Velvet Underground. Every album of theirs is distinct and different. This one - their second - is their strangest. The music is mostly fuzzed out, low-fi rock and the production is unpolished and sloppy in a way that feels confrontational towards the listener. The songs are an odd batch. The title track is simple enough (before deteriorating into noise right at the end) but is quickly followed by "The Gift," a weird little short story about a man who mails himself to his girlfriend and gets a knife to the head when she cuts the box open. The background music simmers underneath, keeping a steady beat while the guitar riffs on some psychedelic vibes. "Lady Godiva's Operation" continues the psychedelic music while telling the story of a botched sex change operation. I love how Lou Reed jumps in to emphasize certain words in a monotone voice. It's a crude, jarring effect that I think is really funny. The first half ends with "Here She Comes Now," a beautiful gem of a song and a generous track to include on an otherwise abrasive album. (Nirvana does some really good covers of this song.) But then the real chaos starts. "I Heard Her Call My Name" is a blast of noise and feedback that turns out to just be a warm-up for the 17-minute "Sister Ray," a truly insane assault on the ears. You can really get lost in it. Lou Reed's vocals are wild too as he shouts about drugs and sex. "Too busy sucking on a ding-dong!" must have been a controversial thing to include on an album in 1968 but it's also hilarious. It's nice to know that even as the band was upending what rock music could be and inventing new styles, they had a sense of humor about it all. It's aggressive for sure but you can hear them having fun too.

This was in high-rotation for high school Steve. Sometimes I take a break from this album for years at a time because I feel like the songs are overplayed on classic rock radio but then I come back to it and the big songs blow my mind all over again. I forget about the more melodic tracks too. Really nice. This song isn't on here but listening to the album again reminded me of this scene from Louie where he takes his daughters on a long car ride: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhAn6ZB5Vg0

I didn't know Smashing Pumpkins contained such multitudes. A wild, sprawling album with a track sequencing designed to give you repeated whiplash. One moment they're playing dreamy ballads, the next they're thrashing through blistering hard rock and even metal. It's hard to predict what's coming next. The band seems to want to disorient you, even at the expense of a better flowing album. Once you open yourself up to the experience though, there are some terrific highlights. They can spin alt-rock gold like "Tonight, Tonight," "Muzzle," and "1979." They can turn up the aggression on tracks like "Jellybelly" and "Zero," or push their rage to the limits like on "Tales of a Scorched Earth" and "X.Y.U." And then there's the sweet spot for me, "Bullet With Butterfly Wings," which has huge hooks but doesn't skimp on the hard rock sound. Other favorites were the "An Ode to No One" (epic!) and "Love" (I love that drenched in fuzz sound). Dizzying and definitely too long but that's the point, right? Really impressive overall.

A little bit surf rock, a little bit glam rock, a little bit jazzy, a lotta bit funky and so many bongos! More than a few of these songs reminded me of stuff you'd hear in a Quentin Tarantino movie. Listening to it straight through would be a lot but it feels more like a compilation of hits than a true front-to-back album. I love the covers of rock songs too. And man, those drum solos! How many drummers did they have? Really fun stuff.

Man, this guy has such a distinct voice. I hadn't listened to much Offspring aside from the big hits that came when we were in middle school (I was more of a Green Day guy) and I really enjoyed this. On this album, they're hardcore but also playful, and the songwriting is pretty tight and focused. A lot of the songs are pretty poppy too (the classic "Self Esteem" is so catchy). Punk is the driving energy here but there's a little grunge on the early tracks and they even dip into ska a bit ("What Happened to You?"). I also have a soft spot for "CD albums" - the intro track invites you to enjoy this "compact disc" and there's a hidden track! P.S.: Dreena yelled at me for playing this album too loud so that's how you know it's good.

I love Norah Jones and I love this album. Her vocal performance is incredible and the music is so soothing.

Solid singer-songwriter album with some country twang and a few songs that nod towards Irish folk music. Favorite tracks: "I Don't Want to Talk About It Now," "Bang the Drum Slowly," "One Big Love."

Wow. Pure joy blasting out the speakers. They don’t make them like this anymore. I love how hard the drums are on a lot of these songs. Everything on here is gold but “Twenty-Four Hours From Tulsa” wrecked me. Also, she can really wail! "Don't You Know" in particular has some fantastic, soulful vocals in the second half. (I had to stream that one on the album "Dusty" for some reason.)

The production on this album is perfection. The drums are so crisp and tight; the bass is thick and funky; and the horns blend beautifully, sounding like an organic extension of the rest of the band. And a lot of great guitar. There's some killer psychedelic shredding and I was totally drawn in by that strange tone on the guitar in "The Heathen." I found his vocal performance particularly entertaining. I love the flow of his vocals on “So Much Things to Say” - I’ve never heard Bob Marley sing like that. (The bonus single “Punky Reggae Party” even has him scatting.) Throughout the album, he sounds so free and expressive. Some really soulful stuff here. There are a lot of classic songs on this album but I also really enjoyed the album cuts. Some songs on here I've never heard before. P.S.: Remind me to show you a music video my friends and I made in high school for “Jamming.” 😎😂

The Pogues are a unique and dynamic band but their style doesn’t get a lot of mileage with me. I do love the drunkard’s brogue of the lead singer but I can’t do much Irish folk music.

I don’t always focus on lyrics but you have to with Joni Mitchell. They’re literary but still emotionally direct. And the music on this album is spare enough to highlight them, adding playful flourishes to accent her stories. I’ve listened to this album a bunch over the years but the little moments always surprise me. I love the seemingly improvised nature of her phrasing - when she chooses to sing high, when she lingers on a syllable, when she jams a long phrase into a short space. A beautifully constructed album all around. (“Carey” is a personal favorite of mine and Dreena’s. I’ll never get tired of imitating the way she sings “buy you a bottle of wine.”)

Bruce’s best? (Talk to me on a hot summer afternoon and I’ll tell you it’s “Born in the U.S.A.”) This is certainly the album where he perfected his signature sound. How do you even describe the E Street Band’s style here? Heartland rock spiked with jazz and doo-wop? Listening to the album again, I wondered: What is it about this music that makes it so timeless? Is it that saxophone wail? The twinkle of the piano? The way Bruce distills a wide variety of influences and makes them his own? (On “Backstreets,” he croons like Elvis and screams like John Lennon.) Or maybe it’s just the sheer drama of it all. Few songwriters can take small moments like driving with the windows down or going out for drinks after a long day of work and make them feel like the huge, existential things they are when you’re in them. And who else can write preposterous lines like “The highway’s jammed with broken heroes on a last chance power drive” and get away with it? (The answer is probably Meat Loaf but he got it from Bruce.) A classic album and a thrill to listen to.

A top 10 rock album for me. Musically it’s a perfect cocktail of a lot of my tastes: Beatles-esque pop mixed with hard rock, psychedelic vibes, punk riffs and big drama. It’s a loose concept album about the rise and fall of a self-obsessed rock star (I think)* and the sequencing of the album has such a great emotional sweep to it. The melodies are so catchy, the hooks are big and Bowie is a hell of a performer. “Moonage Daydream” is a personal favorite and “Five Years” kills me every time. But every song is great - truly an album with no filler. *Wikipedia explains that Ziggy Stardust is an alien who becomes a self-obsessed rock star, so I was close. 👽😁

A fun, unpretentious rock album. The first half dips into blues and country, and the second half is more musically ambitious. In the past I haven't thought much of Aerosmith but I was impressed by how comfortably they slip in and out of styles. The big hits "Walk This Way" and "Sweet Emotion" are the clear standouts but I also enjoyed the heavy metal crunch of "Round and Round." It's a first-rate Led Zeppelin knock-off. And "You See Me Crying" is an excellent example of that blown-out string-accompanied 70's drama. Aerosmith don't seem to take themselves too seriously, which adds to their appeal for me. I rolled my eyes at "Big Ten Inch Record," but was surprised to learn that it's a cover of a song from 1952! (The original by Bull Moose Jackson is just as silly.) So Aerosmith aren't just goofy horndogs, they're also scholars of goofy horndogs past!

What a weird, funky, horny album. I like that even though a lot of the music is synth-heavy dance music, none of it feels overly processed and robotic like the majority of pop and club music today. There's an organic quality and an off-kilter energy that runs throughout the album. The songs feel alive and unpredictable. I didn't know Prince was so filthy and funny. I can't get enough of that spoken word portion in "Lady Cab Driver" where he has sex with the cab driver and dedicates his thrusts - at first to personal resentments and societal ills and eventually getting abstract as he melts into an orgasm. Really hilarious, strange stuff. And wow, what a performance on the closer, “International Lover.” It’s a supremely cheesy song and he does some kind of character or parody on it but he has incredible range as a singer.

This album was almost all new for me. I knew the main single "I Can See For Miles" and I think that's the best song here. Not many others connected for me. The goofy fake commercials and radio interludes are fun but the main set of songs here isn't very strong. I see this more as a snapshot of where they were as a band - their early hits were behind them and they were about to make some very ambitious albums. Hilarious album cover though.

Her voice has a kind of hypnotic power. Interesting to listen to this shortly after the Joni Mitchell album - she must count Joan Baez as an influence. Their voices are similar. Recently I’ve enjoyed listening to mellow music on headphones late at night when everything’s quiet and this album fits that mood. I may have to add her to the nighttime rotation. (And she sings in Spanish too? God bless!)

A little tough to find online because it's not available on streaming but almost all of the songs are on Youtube and someone put together a playlist in tracklist order. This is so up my alley right now because I've actually been listening to a lot of Ornette Coleman recently while I write. He's an incredible jazz artist who essentially invented free jazz, where you deliberately play atonal notes and sometimes ignore the melody all together. (The album of his I've listened to the most is "Change of the Century" and it's a good intro to the style because it's mostly melodic jazz with some experimental stuff in the improvisations.) I think it's so cool that someone drew a line between free jazz and hardcore punk. I remember listening to the title track on "Change of the Century" and thinking, "This is crazy. This has such a punk rock attitude.” It still sounds wild in 2022 and must have been truly nuts in the late 1950's. But a lot of the songs that John Zorn and his band cover on this album are already so fast and chaotic that playing them even faster and louder and more chaotic turns them into more of an experimental curiosity than anything I'd actually want to listen to for fun. You have to be in the mood to be musically assaulted. Still, some songs really worked for me. "Good Old Days" has blasts of pure noise but breathes enough that you can follow the structure. (It was also one of the only songs I knew going into this so it was cool to hear.) "The Disguise," "Blues Connotation," "Ecars," and "Broadway Blues" stood out to me too. (Also, having two drummers is such a crazy, cool thing to do. I love that.)

What a stunning debut album. How was she this good right out of the gate? Her singing is powerful and expressive, her lyrics are razor sharp and the music is rich and complex. I love how she turns the piano into something aggressive and angry. Or on “Never Is a Promise,” how that one sour note complicates the whole song. “Criminal” is a classic (even better than I remember) and “Sleep to Dream” and “Shadowboxer” are incredible songs too.

An excellent album and probably the solo album of his that sounds the most like the music the Beatles were making when they broke up. There are other John Lennon albums I like more, probably because they're a little more rough around the edges than this one. But it’s a great summary of who John Lennon was as an artist. I always feel weird about the Paul McCartney diss track "How Do You Sleep?" though. I know they had a falling out but it just feels so harsh to rip into Paul like that. It feels petty and needlessly negative, especially after the peace and love message of "Imagine.” "Oh Yoko!" was a big song for me and Dree when we first started dating in college. I put it on a mix CD for her and I'll always associate it with early memories of dating in college and moving in together after graduation. There are a lot of great songs on this album but that one is an easy favorite for sentimental reasons.

Like someone put 90's hip-hop and alt-rock into a blender. The gloomy mood makes it perfect rainy day music but the record scratches and samples keep the music from becoming too downbeat or melancholy. It’s a cool, druggy vibe. Favorite tracks: “Sour Times” (one of those songs I didn’t even know that I knew until it came on), “It Could Be Sweet” (that bass line!) and “Wandering Star” (love the record scratches and background layers).

Damn, she’s got swagger. The strength of this album isn’t really in the songs but her performance. Her voice is an elastic band and it’s fun to hear her play with it and riff on these melodies. She’s clearly having a lot of fun. On her next album, she’ll dial back the riffing a smidge and record some truly great songs. But this album captures her raw and unfiltered, doing some loose and jazzy numbers about love, sex and nightlife. The production oozes cool, balancing retro and modern styles, and provides a perfect stage for her to do her thing. Song after song she lets it rip and it’s a blast to listen to.

I dig the energy even if this isn’t totally my taste. I always respect a sound that’s this distinct and carefully calibrated. Those big, 80’s drums! “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” is one of those songs you can’t get away from but it is very good. And “Shout” is a jam! Definitely my favorite track here.

I can’t believe I’ve never heard of her before. I’ve been listening to this all weekend. The album feels like a singer songwriter record but depending on the song, she does folk rock, country rock, funk and soul. And somehow it all still sounds like one cohesive style. Her vocals tie everything together. She has such a strong, distinct voice and she’s a mesmerizing performer. The songwriting is fantastic too. She writes about love and relationships with depth and maturity, touching on issues of vulnerability, power and confidence. I know I just heard it for the first time a few days ago but I could find room for “Tall in the Saddle” on my top 100 rock songs of all time. What a song! It starts with Pink Floyd style guitar and adds her deeply soulful singing before pausing for a guitar solo that would be at home on “Dark Side of the Moon.” Then it builds to a climax and tears into a funky breakdown followed by an insanely danceable refrain. Even the phrase “tall in the saddle” is great. The song is a takedown of a womanizer in his prime but even post-breakup she concedes how much fun he was. (I love the way she sings, “Fun, fun, fun, fuuun!”) I can’t wait to listen to more of her. Easily my favorite new discovery from this list. 💯

60’s rock like this is butter on my bread. Such a gorgeous, clean sound. David Crosby’s vocals on “Almost Cut My Hair” are stunning. I guess I’ve never heard him before. A real showstopper of a song! Other favorite tracks: “Carry On,” “Woodstock,” “Everybody I Love You”

I would love to mentally time travel and hear this sound with fresh ears. The production is perfection but inevitably sounds dated. To hear it in 1986 when this was the hardest, freshest sound would have been awesome. This still hits hard though. These drums are so tight, so crisp. And the shouted style of the rapping matches the intensity of the music (and vice versa). The use of guitar throughout is killer, especially on the title track. Rap and rock are fused beautifully (gotta love some Rick Rubin production) and “Walk This Way” is an inspired song to remix (cover?). Steven Tyler sounds insane here too. Great that they brought him in on the fun.

This album is a personal favorite of mine and one of the strangest, funniest and overall best debut albums of a rock band. Part surf rock parody, part punk rock, part acid trip at a 50’s drive-thru movie theater, the album is filled with spiky guitar riffs and absurdist humor. Fred Schneider’s vocals get most of the attention in The B-52’s and understandably so; he sounds as if the Mad Hatter were a radio announcer. But Cindy Wilson deserves equal billing here. She’s an absolute maniac on the microphone, screaming and wailing one minute, and slurring her way through a bizarre baby voice the next. She’s a powerhouse on the hypnotic “Dance This Mess Around.” Side A is untouchable for me - the sequence of “Planet Claire,” “52 Girls,” “Dance This Mess Around” and “Rock Lobster” is incredible (the latter two are both top 100 songs for me). The second half of the album is a blast too though, with loads of goofy humor, sexual innuendo and a charming cover of “Downtown” to cap things off. How fun to hear a band experiment and fool around the way The B-52’s do here. It’s a brazen, joyful album that sounds like nothing else. I’ve listened to it dozens of times and it never gets any less strange or thrilling.

We happened to be on vacation in Arizona for this one and it was great for a scenic drive on our way to the Grand Canyon. I like folk rock like this and I appreciate that Love has two lead singers with pretty different styles - the rocker and the more melodic folk singer. The rocker almost sounds like Screamin’ Jay Hawkins at times! Wow, that last track “Revelation” covers a lot of ground! An epic 18-minute jam! I’m looking forward to spending more time with this album.

Really solid album here - strong songwriting and gorgeous production. Hard to complain. I hear a Beatles influence in a lot of the songs (“As You Are” sounds a lot like “Across the Universe”). Even more so, a lot of these songs sound like The Bends-era Radiohead, which makes sense because Radiohead’s producer, Nigel Godrich, produced this album. Still, I don’t see Travis as a knockoff as much as I see them carrying the mantle of 90’s British guitar rock that Radiohead mostly abandoned by the time this album came out. (Technically these guys are Scottish but, you know.) This album is excellent, melodic mood music. I don’t think it’s quite in classic territory but I like it!

There are some classic songs on this album for sure but overall I got a little restless listening to it straight through. (There are a few filler songs and two jams longer than 13 minutes!) I can’t help but feel the album could have packed a bigger punch with some editing. But I’ll confess I gave this a close listen on a plane and maybe I didn’t do it justice. I’ll try listening to it more. The bluesy numbers would probably benefit from being played loud in the house where they can stretch out some more. This feels more like speakers music than headphones music. Even the less than great songs have killer guitar shredding on them though. The band’s brand of hard blues still sounds awesome today. Jimi Hendrix was a hell of a performer and considering this was his last album, maybe it’s no so bad to have more than you need here. 🙌🎸

One of my all-time favorites. Packed with great songwriting. An incredible debut album. I love how confidently he uses different genre styles throughout the album. There’s some doo-wop on “No Dancing,” country twang on “Blame It On Cain,” old fashioned rock n roll on “Mystery Dance,” and reggae in the beat of “Watching the Detectives.” Most of all Elvis Costello just sounds so cool. He’s a great performer. I remember listening to this in high school and even though I was too nervous to date girls at the time, this album gave me a little window into an adult world of relationships and sex. Hearing Elvis Costello sing about dating with a snarky attitude had a huge impression on me. He was smart and nerdy looking but still had swagger. A lot of songs went over my head — I still don’t know what “(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes” or “Less Than Zero” are about) — but I loved the style with which he sang them. Fun fact: I was Elvis Costello for Halloween in college once and I based my look on this album cover. I’m sorry to say no known photographs exist of this costume but I swear it was really good.

Hahaha wow I know almost all of these songs because they play at the restaurant. I was laughing listening to this because one after another I was going, “Yep, I know this one too.” “Queremos Paz,” “Una Músical Brutal” and “Vuelvo Al Sur” (plus a few others) are probably among my most listened to songs of all time because they play every day at work. Honestly though the music itself is pretty cool. A lounge-y mix of Latin American music with French jazz but… I just can’t separate the music from how I know it. One day, years from now, this will be a 5-star listening experience for the nostalgia. It’s gonna bring back a lot of memories. But today I have to give it a 2 hahah

Gorgeously produced country rock (with some psychedelic rock too). Totally the kind of thing I like playing in the backyard in the summer. “Strength of Strings” drags a little but other than that this is a really strong album. The electric guitar on “Some Misunderstanding” is so expressive, especially right at the end! And I love the backing vocals throughout.

This one is going to be in high rotation for workout music for me for a while. I love the energy. The music is full of surprises too. Every song is a marathon dance jam with twists and turns and layers of details in the mix. Amazing production. I love how they use sound effects in the music. There’s breaking glass in “Break & Enter,” a pitch-corrected voice that sounds like a dying cat in “Their Law,” and race cars and car alarms in “Speedway.” The album has an eclectic mix of dance/techno styles and a lot of different vocal samples that make it a great, varied front-to-back listen. Even some more upbeat stuff (that flute melody in “3 Kilos” is great!). I wasn’t familiar with this beforehand but it definitely feels like a classic of the genre.

I can appreciate the cold, electronic minimalism of this album’s style but I found the repetition of some of these songs grating. I like a nice long song but I need some variation or tension or drama to justify an 8 or 9-minute song length. “The Hall of Mirrors” might work for me if it was half as long. “Showroom Dummies” is a highlight. I like the dystopian imagery of people mindlessly going about their routines. It matches the severity of the music unlike the title track, which is just about catching a train? Haha the tone doesn’t match the lyrics for me. Like, lighten up, dudes. It’s just a train. Cool to hear an album that has recurring motifs but there’s not enough variation for me that I’m happy to hear the main theme come back. It just makes the long songs feel even longer. I can imagine this being an influential band / album for a lot of artists. I can definitely hear Daft Punk drawing influence from them. The other album I hear in this is Kanye’s “808s & Heartbreak.” This album had to have been on the mood board when he produced that album. The mostly instrumental “Franz Schubert” is another highlight. Really beautiful.

I love The Velvet Underground. Every album of theirs is distinct and different. This one - their second - is their strangest. The music is mostly fuzzed out, low-fi rock and the production is unpolished and sloppy in a way that feels confrontational towards the listener. The songs are an odd batch. The title track is simple enough (before deteriorating into noise right at the end) but is quickly followed by "The Gift," a weird little short story about a man who mails himself to his girlfriend and gets a knife to the head when she cuts the box open. The background music simmers underneath, keeping a steady beat while the guitar riffs on some psychedelic vibes. "Lady Godiva's Operation" continues the psychedelic music while telling the story of a botched sex change operation. I love how Lou Reed jumps in to emphasize certain words in a monotone voice. It's a crude, jarring effect that I think is really funny. The first half ends with "Here She Comes Now," a beautiful gem of a song and a generous track to include on an otherwise abrasive album. (Nirvana does some really good covers of this song.) But then the real chaos starts. "I Heard Her Call My Name" is a blast of noise and feedback that turns out to just be a warm-up for the 17-minute "Sister Ray," a truly insane assault on the ears. You can really get lost in it. Lou Reed's vocals are wild too as he shouts about drugs and sex. "Too busy sucking on a ding-dong!" must have been a controversial thing to include on an album in 1968 but it's also hilarious. It's nice to know that even as the band was upending what rock music could be and inventing new styles, they had a sense of humor about it all. It's aggressive for sure but you can hear them having fun too.

This was mostly new for me but I’m loving it so far. Musically, it’s a lot of soul and funk, and the style is very loose and free. David Bowie has an incredible band behind him for this one! Whoever plays bass on this is awesome. The drummer too! I’m going back and forth on my rating but I’m gonna tip it in favor of a 5 because I anticipate spending a lot more time with this album.

Funny to have another Velvet Underground album so soon on the list. This is their first album and musically, it’s a fascinating mix of psychedelic pop (“Sunday Morning,” "I'll Be Your Mirror") and more experimental avant-garde fare (like the gloomy BDSM jam “Venus in Furs” and "The Black Angel's Death Song"). There are also songs that exist somewhere between those poles (like “All Tomorrow’s Parties,” which has a simple enough structure but features druggy mood music in the background). The album has some great rock numbers too. I love how "I'm Waiting For My Man" keeps that steady rhythm throughout. The music only changes slightly between the verses and choruses. "Run Run Run" takes a relatively basic rock/blues sound and pushes it towards noise rock, and then "European Son" takes things even further into experimental territory. Somehow the sequencing of the album balances all these different styles. Having Nico sing lead vocals on a few songs helps break up the stranger, more challenging material. The album is a weird, wild ride but I really love it. P.S.: If you're not sure about this one, their sound definitely changes after the experimental first two albums. Their self-titled third album is mostly melodic acoustic songs and their fourth (and basically last) album "Loaded" is a big, beautifully produced pop album with some major hits. P.P.S.: Funny to hear the name Severin used in "Venus in Furs" - I never knew he was saying a name there until now!

Guitars! Lots of guitars! I’m happy to get some classic alt-rock on this list because there are a lot of classic bands like Sonic Youth I’ve never listened to before. Cool to listen to this right after the Velvet Underground albums. You can draw a pretty straight line from them to Sonic Youth, especially the noisy back half of “Mote.” I dig the energy more than the songwriting. Not a lot of songs stood out to me, at least on a first listen. I bet they were great to see live though.

So good. The songs are really dynamic — they switch tempos (and sometimes even genres) mid-song but Black Sabbath has such incredible chemistry as a band at this point that everything clicks. The music sounds alive! I love the melodic songs too. I always knew Ozzy was a great singer but "Changes" was the song that made me realize he's one of the all-time great rock singers. The instrumental "Laguna Sunrise" is beautiful too. An eclectic album full of amazing performances. The way "Under the Sun" ends, with the band gradually slowing down, I always feel like I should applaud at the end. Great stuff.

Moody and melancholy but also muscular rock. Lead singer Robert Smith is great — so expressive! I like that the songs aren’t afraid to take their time. The album is long but I don’t think there’s any filler here.

Off-kilter, spiky songs with a feminist streak that take equal influence from punk and reggae. “Typical Girls” was a standout track for me. The bonus track cover of “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” is a gem too.

We’ve had a lot of albums like this on the list so far. This one is a mix of easy-going soft rock and more psychedelic music. I’d rate it as good but not especially great. Highlights: “What’s Happening?,” “Eight Miles High,” “Captain Soul” Interesting to start to hear repeats of songs on this list. Joan Baez did a version of “John Riley” and of course Jimi Hendrix does the most famous version of “Hey Joe.”

Wow. The rhythm section here is unbelievable. “Crosseyed and Painless” and “The Great Curve” in particular are stunning. Just relentless in their energy. Amazing. The whole album is solid and it has “Once in a Lifetime,” which I’ve heard a million times before but still sounds fresh.

Raw, political, aggressive and loud. Very loud. There's so much going in the music - so many layers of samples - that it can be hard to focus on anything sometimes. But when it works, the energy is unlike anything else. I also think the songs are better the louder you play them. This was designed to be played at maximum volume. Chuck D's flow hits really hard and doesn't sound as dated as a lot of other hip-hop from this era. "Welcome to the Terrordome" stood out to me as a good example of his rapping. Other highlights: “911 is a Joke,” “Burn Hollywood Burn,” “Power to the People,” “Fear of a Black Planet,” the beat on “Reggie Jax,” “Fight the Power”

Music like this always makes me smile. Cool to know they were among the first hardcore bands out there. Lead singer Darby Crash sounds truly insane. Highlights: “Land of Treason,” “Richie Dagger’s Crime,” “Manimal," "Shut Down (Annihilation Man)"

I’m definitely going to want to spend more time with this one but it’s made a strong first impression. I like the mix of melodic guitar and harder blasts of feedback. A lot of these songs are shapeshifters, moving from one mode into the other and sometimes back again. Beautiful album cover too. Highlights: “Teen Age Riot,” “Silver Rocket,” “‘Cross the Breeze,” “Total Trash,” “Candle,” “Kissability,” “Eliminator Jr.”

Another 60’s rock album, this one with a lot of blues and hard rock. There’s some fun oddball psychedelic stuff too like “Hot House of Omagararshid” (maybe my favorite song). There’s a cheerful, playful spirit to the album, especially in the vocals. Not exactly a high water mark of the era and it’s a little all over the place but there’s a lot of enjoyable music here. Other highlights: "Lost Women," "Over, Under, Sideways, Down”

One of the things I’m really loving about going through this list is how I’m starting to see connections between different artists across different time periods. With this album, for example, I immediately heard the influence of Kraftwerk. The cold electronic production and the emotionally detached vocals remind me of the Kraftwerk album we listened to previously, “Trans-Europe Express.” And yet Depeche Mode does it in their own way. This album has a goth club vibe and a lot more pop hooks than that Kraftwerk album. I’m digging it so far. Here’s another connection: On “Personal Jesus,” the heavy breathing and drum beat that happens around 2:15 is almost identical to the bit on Kanye’s “Black Skinhead”! Kanye’s version seems like a deliberate reference to this song but I’m surprised there’s no songwriting credit given to Depeche Mode. It’s really similar!

This is my first time listening to Metallica! Their sound encompasses a range of metal subgenres and they switch back and forth between them making this a wild ride! I definitely hear the heavy metal drama of Sabbath. Then they get into more dark and thrashy sounds that I typically associate with metal. And the guitar solos! Some real melt your face shit! There’s even some psychedelic vibes on “Orion.” I dig the anti-war lyrics too. The album cover says a lot and songs like “Disposable Heroes” are really powerful. Highlights: “Battery,” “Master of Puppets,” “Disposable Heroes,” “Orion”

A very good singer-songwriter album. Beautifully produced too. I’d never heard of her before. I wouldn’t put it on a ‘best of all time’ list but I do like it. The first half is better than the second half though. Highlights: “Stolen Car,” “Sweetest Decline,” “Couldn’t Cause Me Harm,” “So Much More,” ”Pass In Time,” “Stars All Seem to Weep,” “Central Reservation (The Then Again Version)”

A perfect Sunday morning album. The closing track is even called “Sunday”! I love jazzy folk-pop like this. There’s certain times (Sundays, mornings on vacation) when I put on Van Morrison because nothing else feels right. But now I know - Nick Drake is an option too! But while Van Morrison is wild on the microphone, Nick Drake is much more sedate. The emphasis in these songs is on the guitar playing and the gorgeous arrangements. (How about that flute! Front and center!) Highlights: “Hazey Jane II,” “At the Chime of a City Clock,” “One of These Things First,” “Poor Boy” (the piano on that song!), “Northern Sky”

One of my all-time favorites, an album my parents played a lot in my house growing up and one I continue to listen to on a regular basis. The music is magical to me. The arrangements are rich and layered but they feel so natural and organic. The songs flow like water. Van Morrison’s vocals are stunning. He bends and stretches his voice in ways I’ve never heard before or since. Sometimes I just have to laugh at the way he delivers a line. He’ll slur through his words and I’ll have no idea what he’s saying but I feel the emotion! It’s an amazing performance. Loose and jazzy and full of life! I definitely have favorite songs and favorite moments but I tend to think of the album as one piece of music. When I think about it, I remember the big, sweeping emotions and the sound of all these instruments (the strings, the flutes, the piano, the guitar) and how they blend together for one unique sound. Just beautiful. (So funny to get this album right after the Nick Drake album after I compared him to Van Morrison.)

This album has a pretty eclectic mix of sounds and styles. There’s some experimental stuff and also some more pop-friendly (even clubby) jams (like “Poor Leno”). Some are in between like “Eple,” which has those weird little off-key notes in its hook. There’s also some chill, blippy-bloopy electronica (like “Remind Me,” “A Higher Place,” and the spacey “In Space”) and even some jazzy numbers (“She’s So”). This is an album worth listening to closely but it can also slip into the background for hangouts, smoking, studying, or writing. There’s a newer electronic artist I like called Caribou that a lot of these songs remind me of. No question Caribou counts Röyksopp as an influence. Cool to hear that connection! Also “Sparks” sounds like Portishead! Highlights: “So Easy,” “Eple,” “Poor Leno”

A roll the windows down album of Southern rock that owes a lot to bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd and Aerosmith but The Black Crowes do it just as good! It’s got big riffs, great energy and soul. I love the bluesy piano too. This would be an excellent album even without “Hard to Handle” and “She Talks to Angels.” But with them it pushes toward classic territory. “Cause mama, I’m sure hard to handle now” - I’ve heard that line 1000 times but never knew what he was actually saying 😂 Also, I just learned that that song is a cover of an Otis Redding song!

My sophomore year in college, I got mono and listened to nothing but The Smiths for two months. I don’t listen to them too often anymore but I formed a bond to the music during that window of time and I’ll always count them among my favorite bands. Their style is a balancing act - the music can have a muscular rock sound (I love that fat and funky bass!) but they can be delicate at the same time (like how they add that twinkling synth at the end of “The Queen Is Dead”). Morrissey is the king of sad and melancholy rock but he’s also very funny. He can really sell these ballads of unrequited love but there’s usually at least a hint of irony in his delivery. He’s one of my favorite lyricists too. “Frankly, Mr. Shankly” is a hilarious song and “I’d rather be famous than righteous or holy” is a great line. Here’s another line I love in “Bigmouth Strikes Again”: “Now I know how Joan of Arc felt / As the flames rose to her Roman nose / And her Walkman started to melt.” Ugh lines like that make me want to write rock lyrics. The album is stacked with great songs but these are probably my favorites: “I Know It’s Over,” “Bigmouth Strikes Again,” “The Boy With the Thorn in His Side,” “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out”

A few months back I went through a major Beach House phase. I wanted to catch up on their older albums in preparation for their new one (which is very good!). I’d always liked them before but something suddenly clicked in my brain chemistry and I became obsessed. I would stay up late listening to them until I fell asleep. Their dreamy, melancholy style sounds particularly good after midnight and they became a part of my end of the night routine for a while. This album might be the best example of their style. The songs are excellent, the arrangements are lush, and the drumming gives the sleepy music a little extra energy (some of their albums just use a drum machine to keep time). There’s a magic in their music I can’t get enough of - I find it very soothing. Favorite tracks: “Zebra,” “Silver Soul,” “Walk in the Park,” “10 Mile Stereo,” “Take Care”

Frank Ocean has the voice of an angel and he’s great at writing one-liners. There’s a lot of different sounds and styles on this album (funk, soul, hip-hop, electronic) and it can almost be too much - it’s overwhelming to listen to straight through. But it’s ambitious and the highlights are incredible. Highlights: “Thinkin Bout You,” “Sweet Life,” Earl Sweatshirt’s verse on “Super Rich Kids,” “Lost,” “Bad Religion”

Manic and experimental, wild and weird, there’s nothing quite like it. So many of these songs (and the entire album in general) feel haphazard and randomly stitched together and yet everything clicks. Every sudden genre switch, every vocal effect and every sound effect feels like it’s right where it’s supposed to be. I’d love to learn more about the editing and mixing of this album. It’s perfectly paced and sequenced. Beck knows when to push it and when to reward the listener. The easy, country vibe of “Jack-Ass,” for example, feels like a cool breeze after the chaos that comes before it. Fun, playful and insanely entertaining.

A classic Bob Dylan album. One of his best and probably the one I listen to the most. It could be a greatest hits. It’s also the one I think gives the best sampling of his style and talents. It’s got everything: storytelling folk songs, more hard-rocking numbers, blues, harmonica solos, long drawn out vowels that he rhymes one after another. There’s a lot of lyrics that pack a major emotional punch. And an equal number of lyrics that make me go, “Wait, huh? What is this song about?” I love that. So many great songs but “One of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later)” is one of my all-time favorites. I love how the piano amps up the drama. And “Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat” is one of his funniest songs.

Very interesting - the production is 80’s pop but the style is art rock. Kinda sounds like Bowie mixed with Tears for Fears and The Smiths. On paper that sounds good but I’m not sure about the vocals. His voice is so dramatic and warbly. I’m not totally into it but the music is definitely grabbing my attention. Great album cover.

I respect an ambitious concept album and this reminds me a lot of The Who in rock opera mode. But even those Who albums I tend to enjoy at an arm’s distance. The style can feel pretentious which is definitely the case here. The explicit reference to Broadway is fitting - it sounds like a Broadway show and annoys me the same way a lot of musical soundtracks do. How about this line from “Counting Out Time”: “Erogenous zones, I love you / Without you what would a poor boy do?” Jeez 🤦🏻‍♂️ Also, wow - I read the plot summary on Wikipedia. Truly bonkers. Shame that the final product isn’t more fun considering the story is so trippy and ridiculous.

Hell yeah! Riffs galore! Big drama! Great energy. Really fun stuff. Their rhythm section reminds me of a train chugga-chugging along relentlessly. It makes for an awesome foundation for the songs.

How amazing to have everything I love in music in one place: psychedelic guitar, jazz improvisations, soulful vocals and stellar drumming that can keep up with all of the above. Also, horns! There’s a special dopamine hit I get when my favorite rock bands include horns on a song and Chicago seems to be designed around the principle that more horns is pretty much always better than less horns. I agree! “Free Form Guitar” is a bit much but I always thought of Chicago as a clean-cut band and it’s nice to know they did drugs too. (The same goes for the wild but kind of exhausting 14-minute closer “Liberation.”) Other than those though, this is great. Favorite tracks: “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?” (such a great song and I’ve never heard that jazzy intro before), “Poem 58” (that guitar!), “South California Purples,” “I’m a Man”

Sweeping and cinematic but also psychedelic and strange. It took a few minutes to grow on me but I got into it, especially once musical motifs started reprising. Very satisfying to hear melodies come back in a long-form piece of music. I do think it requires your full attention though. It was perfect for a long car ride. A few moments that stood out to me (I took screenshots on my phone to remember them): Pt. 1: 12:30 - When the bass joins in. Such a cool, kinda creepy vibe. Pt. 1: 14:25 - A guitar riff! This surprised me. Pt. 1: 17:20 - The music gets quiet but there's tension and drama. You can tell something big is coming. Pt. 1: 20:15 - Haha when he starts listing all the instruments! It's kinda silly but also helpful for me to appreciate everything that's going on here. Pt. 2: 8:40 - After a slow burn, that guitar (?) ripping into the song is a cool effect. Pt. 2: 11:45 - After the narration of musical instruments in Pt. 1, I was wondering if there would be vocals in Pt. 2. Well, here they are! Haha wow I did not expect this insane monster growl gibberish! Mike Oldfield is one weird dude. I love how often this album surprised me.

Sometimes I think of artists’ styles like a cocktail. Shuggie Otis, for example, is 2 parts Stevie Wonder-style soul, 1 part smooth jazz, 1 part funk rock and a dash of reggae, shaken and served over ice. The music goes down easy. The back half is particularly mellow and mostly instrumentals. I’m curious to hear more by him, especially more of the upbeat, soulful, funky songs. Apparently he wrote “Strawberry Letter 23” — for years I’ve loved the version by The Brothers Johnson but didn’t know it was a cover. (I first heard it on the Quentin Tarantino soundtrack for “Jackie Brown.”) His version (not on this album) is excellent too! Highlights: “Inspiration Information,” “Aht Uh Mi Hed,” “Rainy Day”

A strong Neil Young album. I especially dig some of the longer feedback-heavy jams. I enjoy Neil Young in country-folk mode but I like him even more in hard rock mode. His voice can be pretty but he doesn’t have a conventionally good singing voice. That unconventional voice works well though with the loose and unpolished guitar work on these songs. Crazy Horse is a great backing band and they sound awesome here. Highlights: “Country Home,” “F*!#in’ Up,” “Over and Over,” “Love and Only Love”

I'm definitely going to want to spend more time with this one. There's a wide variety of sounds on here and I have a feeling that some of these songs won't fully reveal themselves until a few listens in. A lot of tracks bury their melodies under heaps of reverb and fuzz, like "No More Sorry," which has a sad, Beatles-esque melody underneath layers of effects and noise. I've heard about My Bloody Valentine for a long time and now I see why. I can hear 1,000 indie artists from the last 20 years in these songs. They've clearly had a huge influence on a lot of bands. Highlights: "Soft as Snow (But Warm Inside)," "Feed Me With Your Kiss," "Nothing Much to Lose" (those machine gun drums are wild!)

One of the best debut albums of a rock band — a classic. 45 years later and its energy hasn't dampened at all. It still rocks. The "Noo-whooa-ohh!" vocals that come in at 1:44 on "Janie Jones"?! So good. Listening to this for the first time in years, I paid more attention to the social and political lyrics that mostly went over my head when I was a teenager. This is actually my first time listening to the UK version of the album. I've always listened to the US version. (Both CDs were options at Best Buy when I bought it in high school and I had to make a decision.) The US version cuts a few songs and adds a few more so it was cool to hear some of these tracks for the first time. On the other hand, a few of my favorites are missing from the UK version. "I Fought the Law," "(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais," and "Jail Guitar Doors" are all incredible songs. I didn't realize they were singles that weren’t recorded at the same time as the original album.

On this album, The Cure seem to have put more emphasis on mood than songwriting. I dig the sound and energy - pained vocals over melancholy, sometimes spooky music. A few tracks even sound like a horror movie score. There aren't a ton of songs on here when you take into consideration the instrumentals and transitional tracks. But the album is focused and works well as a whole. Highlights: “In Your House,” “A Forest”

Juvenile and silly but they have the musical chops to back up their goofy antics. The music is mostly punk but there’s moments when they sound like the Stones too. And on at least one song, “(I Live For) Cars and Girls,” they do a straight-up Beach Boys parody. Their cover of “I Got You Babe” is pretty good too, but even that they do a bit tongue-in-cheek. “Back to Africa” is a little cringe-y. Reading over the lyrics, they definitely intend it as a criticism of colonialism but I think the band is a bit too childish to really pull it off. Overall this is a fun one from a band I’d never heard of before. Kind of reminds me of the music some of my friends’ bands in high school made.

Wow. I love the live, loose feel of this. Sounds like the songs were recorded in single takes. Even the way the saxophone comes in at the end of “1970” and then stays on for the next two songs feels like a live show. The music is raw, visceral and loud. This is really fun, sexy stuff. I’ve liked Iggy Pop in the past but man, I’m a full convert now. He’s incredible on this album. His vocals on the last two minutes of the song “Fun House” are insane. Also, is it just me or does the opening riff of “T.V. Eye” sound a lot like Rage Against the Machine’s “Sleep Now in the Fire”?

Loose, weird, bluesy and experimental. It’s got an energy all it’s own. “Croker Courtbullion” sounds like a broadcast from another world, or maybe a recording from someone’s dream. Hearing his growling, half-spoken delivery, it’s pretty clear we wouldn’t have Tom Waits without Dr. John. Highlights: “Mama Roux,” “Danse Fambeaux,” “Jump Sturdy,” “I Walk on Guilded Splinters”

I like the harder rocking songs more than the pastoral folk sections. In general, I found the music impressive but it didn’t grab me and move me the way my favorite rock bands do. Part of the reason for that is the heady lyrics. I didn’t emotionally connect with these songs. One moment that stood out to me: that flute solo that comes in halfway through “My God.” You can hear his breathing and his voice while he plays. It’s a cool effect and ups the drama for me.

One of the Stones’ best albums. They’re at the height of their power here, taking blues, country and soul, making those genres their own, writing great songs and then jamming on them. “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking” is probably my favorite song of theirs. That jazzy breakdown that ends up taking over the song… incredible stuff. I could jam to that forever.

Nice — he has a style like Michael Jackson. His vocals are great — he’s very soulful and a showman too. Solid, funky 80’s pop. Highlights: “If You Let Me Stay,” “Wishing Well,” “Dance Little Sister,” “Let’s Go Forward,” “Rain,” “Who’s Loving You”

The songs have an easygoing vibe with playful and inventive improvisations, particularly from Stan Getz on saxophone. The Latin-style guitar is beautiful too. Highlights: “Desafinado,” “Samba De Uma Nota So”

Yes — I love 80’s throwback pop like this. Albums like this are a goldmine for party playlists. 😁 Her voice is perfect for this style and the production is packed with fun details. Some of the lyrics surprised me. Like the chorus of “Doesn’t Matter,” where she sings about not knowing if God is real. Most songs in this genre are about about hooking up in the club. I love the willingness to go for deeper subject matter in dance music. Highlights: “Comme Si,” “The Walker,” “Doesn’t Matter,” “Goya Soda,” “Feel So Good,” “The Stranger” On streaming you can also listen to the French version of the album. Very cool to hear the French versions of these songs!

An incredible collection of performances from possibly the greatest soul singer of all time. Man, he can really rock too.

A really enjoyable batch of songs. Not quite as great as their best albums but it does have some classic tracks on it like “Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before” and the record industry takedown “Paint a Vulgar Picture.” I also really like the glistening closing track “I Won’t Share You.”

An eclectic mix of country twang, soft rock and 80’s pop. The album is held together by an easygoing energy, clean production and Mark Knopfler’s Dylanesque vocals. Some of these songs I know from growing up with classic rock radio but never thought much about who sang them. I particularly liked “Why Worry,” which starts like a lullaby and extends into a power ballad jam. The dusty cowboy style of “The Man’s Too Strong” stood out to me too.

Man, “The Rockafeller Skank” takes me back to childhood. So good. I’m very happy to know there’s a whole album of that energy. This is a really fun album with an abundance of personality. Other highlights: “Gangster Trippin,” “Soul Surfing,” “You’re Not From Brighton,” “Praise You,” “Love Island” (wow, the bass on that one!)

I love how the vocals are produced on this album. His voice has so much texture and putting it front and center in the mix highlights that. At its best, the album feels like reading poetry. The songwriting isn’t complex and the production is sparse. We really get to sit with the lyrics and his voice. I’d be curious to return to this album after listening to more Leonard Cohen. He seems to have crafted it knowing it would be his final album. That’s not something a lot of artists have the chance to do. Great album cover. Highlights: “You Want It Darker,” “If I Didn’t Have Your Love” (I like that he found room for a pretty straightforward love song on this album), “It Seemed the Better Way” (such a sad and beautiful violin melody)

A powerhouse singer with a killer rock and soul band backing her. Great songs too.

This album is a blast. You really feel like you’re in the room. The songs are good and his voice is great. The rest of the music is produced in a pretty rough way but his voice stands out. Mostly though I enjoyed the in-between banter and stories he tells. He’s a great entertainer. I love the part when he plays “San Quentin” twice in a row and asks a guard to bring him water in between and you can hear the crowd boo the guard as he walks over. I didn’t realize Johnny Cash recorded 4 live albums in prisons. I had heard about “Folsom Prison” but never heard it. This makes me want to listen to them all.

A classic. They’ve got a huge sound that must have been great in stadiums. You can put this on in the background and jam out or pay closer attention because the songwriting is excellent too. Liam Gallagher sounds great singing these big, John Lennon-esque melodies with a little added sneer. These are beautiful songs and he gives them a little extra rock edge. Oasis might be the only band I know to include transitional instrumental tracks on an album that rock instead of being slow, mood-setters. I love that. A lot of great songs but I think "Don't Look Back in Anger" is my favorite.

The album is at its best when it’s raw and wild. I didn’t get into this nearly as much as the other Stooges album we listened to, “Funhouse,” but it’s cool to hear them on their first album developing their strange, snarling style. I thought the 10-minute “We Will Fall” was going to build to something more. Not sure why they made that one so long when they could have snuck another song on the album instead.

Fun, playful punk. I hear a lot of The Clash and some B-52’s in their sound. But there’s also some country rock in here too. The male singer adds an interesting tone to some of these songs. I got a kick out of the Roy Orbison affectation he puts on for “Adults Books.” And “In This House That I Call Home” has a little of that Orbison drama but mixed with punk riffs. The lyrics are sharp and funny too (“Back 2 the Base” is a wild one!) which makes the songs worth paying closer attention to. I’m definitely going to want to spin this one a few more times.

The production is very clean and crisp, especially for 1959. But I found the album a little tedious and repetitive, both musically and lyrically. How many songs had the image of notches on a gun? I wonder if I’d enjoy one or two of these songs more on their own instead of all in a row.

A mix of absolute classics (“Bad,” “The Way You Make Me Feel,” “Smooth Criminal”), some enjoyable if not quite great songs, and some less memorable filler tracks (“Liberian Girl” is a funny one). I’m not sold on it as a great album but man the highlights are incredible.

Willie Nelson is a wonderful singer and songwriter. There’s a great mix of melancholy songs and upbeat tunes (including a little bluegrass and ragtime here and there). And the production has a warmth that complements his expressive vocals.

This is a new band for me. I think I’d enjoy this more if I’d heard studio versions of the songs first. But the live recordings definitely capture the energy of the band. They sound like a great live act - the lead singer in particular is pretty wild. (That closing track “Starship” tried my patience though.) Highlights: “Kick Out the Jams,” “Motor City is Burning” (some nice blues riffing here), “I Want You Right Now” (I feel like this track gave me the best sense of who MC5 is as a band)

Manic, untamed and experimental. They pack a lot of musical ideas into a relatively short runtime, which makes for a fun listen. The songs crackle with life, feeling almost spontaneous and unrehearsed. The album is pretty hard and unpolished but then “Where Is My Mind?” comes out of nowhere with a big rock anthem. Such a great song. Awesome stuff.

As smooth as a fine scotch. I can’t get enough of her smoky voice. “Smooth Operator” has slowly worked its way up my list of favorite songs over the years. Any time I hear a cover of it on the radio or in a department store, the song makes me happy. And the original is incredibly seductive and sultry. The opening 1-2-3 punch of “Smooth Operator,” “Your Love is King” and “Hang On to Your Love” is really impressive and the record continues with a string of very strong album tracks. I’m loving this.

“Seven Nation Army” is one of the greatest rock songs of all time. What an opener! And amazingly, the rest of the album lives up to it. “There’s No Home for You Here” is another great song. I think it’s a good example of how they draw influence from a lot of different musical styles but blend them into something unique. Like, there’s no doubt who you’re listening to with that song. It’s so White Stripes. Their version of “I Just Don’t Know What to Do With Myself” is stunning. It starts with a slinky, sexy energy and explodes into grungy hard rock. “Ball and Biscuit” is an epic one too. Scorching hard blues. 🔥 And “The Hardest Button to Button” follows it? Wild. The back half of this album is stacked with head banging hard rock. I want to list other album highlights but I feel like I’ll just end up typing out the whole track list. Great album.

I'm loving these Johnny Cash albums. He's a great performer and knows how to work the crowd. The songs feel carefully selected for his inmate audience. Most of the songs are about imprisonment, loneliness, betrayal and guilt. He keeps them short and sweet too; sometimes I get the impression that he wraps up a song and moves the show along to make sure he keeps the crowd's attention. June Carter has similar crowd-pleasing instincts too. She's not on the album much but she really goes for it on "Jackson." She wants to make sure these guys get a good show. Johnny Cash is a great singer but I can't say enough what a great performer he is. He handles interruptions from the crowd with humility and humor. Like on "The Long Black Veil," one of the saddest songs I know, he pauses to laugh at the reaction to the line "I had been in the arms of my best friend's wife." There's a lot of humor in the songs too. "25 Minutes to Go" is really fun and "Flushed From the Bathroom of Your Heart" has some great one-liners.

I have a soft spot for old-school 60’s psychedelia so I got a kick out of this. They’re clearly a band that enjoys goofing around in the studio with sound effects as much as they do songcraft. Which is not to say the songs aren’t good - they are! But a lot of my enjoyment of this comes from the little production surprises and oddball choices. Funny that such an experimental band decided to name themselves something so mundane. I’m guessing that’s the joke? Highlights: - “Hard Coming Love” (I love that ripping guitar that opens the song) - “I Won’t Leave My Wooden Wife For You, Sugar” (This one cracked me up - I think it’s a good example of sound effects enhancing the song by bringing out the humor) - “Coming Down” (Great fuzzy riff) - “The American Way of Love” (Nutty, druggy chaos but there’s some great hard rock mixed in here. Also, I thought the very end of this suite was kinda beautiful)

A stunning live album and a personal favorite. Their original songs sound amazing - totally transformed and rich with emotion. And their choices of cover songs are impeccable. ("Where Did You Sleep Last Night" -- what a closer!) I love imitating the way Kurt Cobain sings "Fourth of Juu-lyyy!" on "Lake of Fire."

“Green Onions” has got to be one of the greatest rock songs of all time and I didn’t even know what it was called or who performed it. It’s just wedged in my brain from being featured in so many movies and TV shows. Top notch blues riffing on this album. A great inclusion on this list. Feels like an important piece of rock history.

I remember hearing about this album when it came out but never took the time to really sit with it until now. I loved it! The production is gorgeous - meticulous layers of drums, synths and guitars. Every instrument and layer feels carefully placed but the music still retains a nervy edge. The music owes a lot to early 80's new wave. "Other Voices" and "Change Yr Mind" sound a lot like "Remain in Light"-era Talking Heads, which we had on this list a few months back. And on "How Do You Sleep?", "Call the Police," and "Emotional Haircut," James Murphy sings like Bono on the early U2 albums! For my money, "Tonite" is the centerpiece of the album. There are a lot of lyrics about being middle-aged on the album but I love the sense of humor on this one. The lyrics about how today's pop songs are all about fear of death and mortality cracked me up. LCD Soundsystem clearly tried to make a major statement of an album and for my money they succeeded. The album is a rich, emotional and musical experience with great grooves.

Might be Adele's best album. (Although the new one - "30" - is really good too.) This is the one that launched her into the stratosphere and it's easy to see why - the album has four major hits on it and her singing is incredible throughout. It's a great showcase for her voice with some killer pop songwriting too. (Plus a cover of The Cure's "Lovesong"!)

This is maybe my second Coldplay album I’ve ever listened to. (I definitely listened to “Viva la Vida” a few times my freshman year of college.) It’s gorgeous. And jazzier than I thought it would be. Something about that melodic acoustic guitar. Really nice. I love this album cover. It’s very memorable. And I just realized after staring at it for a while that it’s a globe of the Earth. I always assumed it was Jupiter or some other planet. Anyways, I think it’s beautiful.

I’ve said a few times already that I have a soft spot for 60’s psychedelia but I find it interesting to think about why some psychedelic albums from this era sound timeless while others (like this one) sound very much of their time. Songwriting is probably the biggest factor. The Byrds are using similar production techniques and effects as The Beatles were around this time but obviously the songs on this album (while still enjoyable) aren’t on the same level. Of course, it’s unfair to compare any band to The Beatles in terms of songwriting but I do think songcraft is what separates classic music from good music, at least when it comes to pop and rock. Still, if I imagine myself in 1968, sitting cross-legged on the floor of a friend’s room listening to this album on freshly purchased vinyl, I would have been very into The Byrds. Their sound has a nice mix of druggy mood music and folky country rock. “Change is Now” stood out as a highlight for me.

One of the most tightly wound records I’ve heard in a while. But it’s eccentric and weird too. The tone oscillates between wacky, horny and menacing. Wild stuff. Really fun. The music is full of spiky riffs and big hooks. I love that keyboard tone too. (It’s featured pretty prominently on “Hanging Around.”) It’s one of the trademark sounds of new wave rock and I pretty much can’t get enough of it. Great musicianship all around - some excellent guitar playing too. “(Get a) Grip (On Yourself)” in particular is fantastic. It’s my favorite track here.

An excellent follow-up to an excellent debut. I might prefer “Surfer Rosa” on a gut level but they’re very close. On some songs the band sounds like they recorded the songs before perfecting and polishing them too much, so they still have an unpredictable energy. The bass is great and drives the tone towards slightly menacing territory - so distinct, very Pixies. “Here Comes Your Man” is a personal favorite that I used to listen to on repeat in college.

There’s a great mix of songs and styles on this album. And the songwriting has humor and wit. Ian Dury seems to enjoy embodying despicable (even misogynistic) male characters - a surprising but frequently funny choice. I like when singers sing in their natural accent (like The Clash) and it’s very fun to hear Ian Dury sing almost conversationally in such a thick accent. Though sometimes the album can almost be a bit too British for me (“Billericay Dickie,” for example).

60’s rock + traditional folk music. Reminds me of Joan Baez, whose debut album we had on this list a few months back. But while the songs on the Baez album were stripped down and minimalistic, these songs have complex music and a full band sound. “Come All Ye” and “Tam Lin” were highlights for me.

Powerful antiwar lyrics with a focus on the personal experiences of soldiers, mostly in the First World War. The compositions are interesting too. I can’t say I particularly enjoyed this album though. I recognize the high level of artistry but didn’t emotionally connect to the music. “Written on the Forehead” stood out because of that reggae vocal sample. That was a cool surprise.

Reminds me of a lot of British alt-rock bands from this general era (a number of which we’ve had on this list already): early Radiohead, Oasis, Coldplay, Travis. If I was ranking those bands, that’s the order I’d put them in and I’d rank Doves behind all of them, at least on the strength of this album. The songs are fine but not much jumped out at me. I don’t think the band has as much personality as those other acts. “There Goes the Fear” is a solid track though.

I wish someone asked me to guess what year this came out before I saw the answer. I don’t know what I would have said but probably not 2005. Richard Hawley had a great, old-fashioned style and his songs are filled with nostalgia, both in the musical influences and also in the bittersweet, sentimental lyrics. The music feels deliberately timeless. He has a great voice. Sounds a lot like Morrissey at times. “The Ocean” could be a Nicole Atkins song. I guess they’re both drawing from similar influences. She’s always had a pretty old-fashioned style too. The closing track “Last Orders” is stunning. (And probably the track that would most tip me off that this is a more modern record.) Such a beautiful instrumental. It’s the kind of calming music that could soothe you to sleep. Really wonderful.

2Pac has such a great, distinct voice and his bouncing flow is so much fun to listen to. I love these funky beats too. Occasionally, the musical style pushes toward G-funk but I wouldn’t call most of this gangsta rap. 2Pac generally avoids glamorizing violence. He’s more soulful and introspective. He describes the awfulness he sees around him and tries to promote positivity at every turn. “Old School” is a personal favorite. I used to love putting that one on party playlists. This is one of those albums that’s talked about as a classic and I think it holds up really well. It’s over an hour long but there’s no filler, which is rare for a 90’s rap album. Even some of the classics will have a dud track here or there. This is solid. (Side note: I always love finding connections between albums on this list. On “It Ain’t Easy,” 2Pac raps about not wanting to get locked up in San Quentin, the prison Johnny Cash sings at for his second live prison album.)

Live reactions from late Tuesday night after work: For an album with such an eclectic mix of influences, these first few tracks aren’t as fun as I would have thought. It’s almost there but not quite raising my pulse. Ok I just got to “Dennis and Lois,” which is really scratching the itch for me. It sounds like U2’s “Mysterious Ways” with a little extra disco influence. Really digging it. (Fwiw, U2 released that song a year later so maybe it’s fair to say they were influenced by this album?) Maybe it’s this double IPA I’m drinking but the second half of this album is hitting way better than the first. The flute on “Bob’s Yer Uncle” is so fun. And that female backing vocal having an orgasm on the track? Haha I love it. Yeah I’m officially into this. “Step On” is a banger. And the last two tracks are really fun too. I’ll need to go back and listen to the first half of this again because I’m thoroughly charmed right now. Listening again on Wednesday morning and I’m really enjoying it. Their style took me a minute to connect to. His hoarse, shouted vocals are cracking me up. It’s a fun choice for a dance-y record. This one’s gonna go into high rotation for me for the next few weeks.

As far as best opening tracks of a debut album go, “Blister in the Sun” has to be up there. What a great way to introduce yourself as a band! But the rest of the album doesn’t quite live up to it. I found myself looking up how old they were when they recorded this. (The answer is they were in their 20’s — and the lead singer was only 19 — which feels right.) There’s a certain first album charm to their immaturity and goofiness. But there’s a limit to how far that takes me. Maybe I’m getting older or maybe I’m just 100+ albums into this list. 😅🤷🏻‍♂️ “Promise” opens with a grungy Nirvana-esque riff, which makes me wonder if this album was more influential than I’m giving it credit for. The album feels like a bridge between the experimental rock of The Velvet Underground and the alternative rock of the 80’s and 90’s. And man, I can’t believe this is the original version of “Gone Daddy Gone”! I know it from Gnarls Barkley. What a great song! Also, the last song, “Good Feeling,” is lovely. There are some gems on this album. Excellent album cover too. One of the best we’ve had on this list so far.

Wow! It’s been a minute since I’ve listened to this. Just incredible. “Once” is such a heavy track. It’s got the kind of hard rock operatics you hear on a metal album. Killer stuff. But this is more than hard rock. There’s so much passion and emotion in these songs. Pearl Jam isn’t just rocking out for the sake of rocking out (nothing wrong with that btw) — there’s an intensity of feeling, the intensity of life, that drives the energy of this music. Damn — “Deep” is such a wild track. After the mega hits (“Even Flow,” “Alive”), this might be my favorite. So intense. So good. I’ve listened to very little Pearl Jam in the past and revisiting this album is making me realize what a mistake that is. I’ll need to dive deeper for sure.

R.E.M. is another band I’ve always liked but don’t listen to often. In college, when I was reviewing albums for the radio station to play, R.E.M. released a new album that they announced would be their last. I was tasked with writing the blurb that all the DJs would read and rating the best tracks to play. Having never really listened to R.E.M. at the time, I was a little intimidated. I knew that a bunch of music snobs who potentially love R.E.M. would be reading what I wrote and I worried I would seem like I didn’t know what I was talking about. So I gave myself a crash course in their catalog. I listened to a few early albums and a few that have big hits on them (including this one) — while simultaneously listening to the new album. It was fun and the new album ended up being really good! I got on an R.E.M. kick them that semester (and I don’t think anyone ever suspected that I’d never listened to them before writing my review). Anyways, this album isn’t exactly my favorite, but man, it’s beautifully produced and has a ton of classic songs. “Everybody Hurts” is incredible, and “Man on the Moon” and “Nightswimming” are favorites of mine. I appreciate the literate, wordy lyrics. I didn’t pay close attention to what all the songs were about but I love when surprising words, phrases and lines jump out at me. Michael Stipe is a great performer too. I love that moment when he laughs around 2:30 in “The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite” (another great song).

Experimental, druggy and deeply sexy. FKA Twigs is one of the most interesting artists around right now. I’d categorize her music very loosely as R&B but the cool thing about her is how little she seems to think about genre. She’s draws equal influence from avant-grade electronic music as she does more conventional “bedroom music.” And her voice is stunning! She can go so high and tap into this big sense of drama. I love it. (She’s got some awesome music videos too.) Highlights: “Two Weeks,” “Video Girl,” “Numbers”

I underestimated how many Oasis knockoffs there are out there. Granted, Britpop is a style that a lot of bands did in the 90's/2000's, but this album feels particularly derivative and tame. There's some folk twang here and there and “Captain’s Table” has an interesting dreamy quality that sets it apart. But nothing jumped out at me that would make me remember this band. Pleasant but forgettable.

My favorite Rolling Stones album and a top ten rock album for me. A terrific collection of songs across a range of blues and country styles. Song after song, they sound like they’re having an absolute blast in the studio. There’s an abundance of joy and exuberance that they captured in the recording. The album makes me happy every time I play it.

Pure joy. I can’t resist music like this. Those strings at the halfway point of “I Want Your Love” have this great, driving drama. And then the horns join them! Wow. A lot of fun music here but this is the standout track for me. 🕺🏼🕺🏼🕺🏼

I love the signature Led Zeppelin sound - hard rock with a blues influence, a lot of times tipping into heavy metal territory. "In My Time of Dying" is such a good example of it. I guess it's a blues number at its core but it's heavy, man. Those drums sound huge! The appeal for a lot of these songs for me is the way the band slips into a groove and stays there. The beat and rhythm are so important to their music. A lot of great songs here, including some real epic ones ("In My Time of Dying," "Kashmir," "In the Light," "Ten Years Gone") but I think my favorites are "Custard Pie," "Trampled Under Foot" and "The Wanton Song." Those three capture that rhythm and groove feeling I love about Led Zeppelin. And the riff on "The Wanton Song" is insane.

The vocals remind me a little of the weirdo theatricality of The B-52’s and the music is similar to the muscular and moody post-punk we heard on albums by The Cure and The Smiths. The band also reminded me of a more modern indie band that I like, Wolf Parade. Bauhaus was probably an influence on them. Overall I enjoyed this. It’s dark and a little wild. But I enjoyed it at a bit of distance. Cool to hear but nothing I’ll revisit anytime soon.

Such an incredible collection of songs. And the sequencing is so bold. A lot of perfect segues but also a lot of sudden left turns. Somehow I never quite heard this line on “Taxman”: “Now my advice to those who die / Declare the pennies on your eyes.” That’s so good. Really funny. “I’m Only Sleeping” blew my mind a little when I first heard it. It’s such a perfect song about that feeling of not wanting to wake up. I didn’t realize at the time that you could just write a song about a very specific feeling. It seemed kind of radical and freeing that a song or story or any art could be about something mundane as long as it captures a feeling. “She Said She Said” and “And Your Bird Can Sing” are such great rock songs. So tight and lean. “I Want to Tell You” and “Got to Get You Into My Life” each could have been an incredible closing track. Instead the Beatles do one after the other and follow them with “Tomorrow Never Knows,” the most experimental track on the whole album. It’s such a ballsy, brilliant move. “Sgt. Pepper” gets all the credit for being a perfect pop album that dabbles in psychedelia but this album came first and checks all those boxes even better. Of course, “Sgt. Pepper” is great too but “Revolver” could just as easily be the one everyone touts as the “greatest absolutely ever” - it deserves that title just as much or more. Like, if this isn’t a top ten rock album, nothing is. (I gotta start keeping track of how many albums I give the top ten title to 😂 I’m probably about half way to ten and we still have around 879 albums to go.) Listening to this on nice headphones in flawless remastered audio was distracting at first. I think sometimes these remastered versions can almost be too perfect when you get up close to the songs. But I did hear a few new details in the mix that I’d never heard before - a finger snap here, a surprising instrument there - which was cool.

Gorgeous. The warble in her voice mixed with the strings creates a kind of drunken wooziness. The album casts an intoxicating spell. It gives off late-night jazz club energy. Billie Holiday’s voice on this album is so… weathered. Hard to believe she was 43 when she recorded this. She sounds older. But man, her performance on this album is so expressive. “The End of a Love Affair” might be my favorite here. Such a fun song.

I really like Tribe Called Quest but this is my first time listening to solo Q-Tip. His lyrics are fantastic - really sharp, clever wordplay, and the songs are focused. There’s a lot of storytelling too. But you can also kick back and just enjoy the jazzy bounce of his flow without paying close attention to the words. He moves fast but somehow sounds laid back at the same time. His flow on “Won’t Trade” in particular is great. The beat on the first half of “Move” is insane! I’ve always heard J-Dilla talked about as a legendary producer and now I understand why. The sampling on this track is ridiculous! Man, Norah Jones should sing more hooks on rap songs. Her voice is actually perfect for songs like these.

Oooh, like butter baby. This is great. Silky smooth and funky as hell. "Pusherman," "Freddie's Dead," and "Superfly" are all classics but the album is solid front-to-back. Just phenomenal musicianship all around and a fun, funky energy.

Gorgeous harmonies and good vibes. That last minute of “Judy Blue Eyes” has such a perfect, joyous melody. I enjoyed the CSNY album “Deja Vu” a little more but this one is a bit different. It’s mellower. A few songs sound like Simon & Garfunkel. Highlights: “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes,” “Marrakesh Express,” “You Don’t Have to Cry” (I love the lyrics and message of this one), “Long Time Gone”

Fascinating stuff though I connect with a lot of these songs on a cerebral level rather than emotionally. But this is only my first time listening and this is so the kind of album that you need to hear a bunch of times before you fully “get it.” The strings on “It’s Not Up to You” add a layer of whimsy that I associate with some of Björk’s music. It’s like she spiked the song with an old movie score. “Undo” is one I can groove to. There’s a skittering, glitchy beat that you can dance to (living room dancing, not club dancing). Ooh her vocals on “Pagan Poetry” get pretty raw. I think it’s awesome that she gives herself the space to explore on these songs. There must have been a lot of interesting vocal takes to choose from for any of these tracks. Her performances feel very immediate and of the moment. Makes me want to watch some live videos of her. Incredible that Björk is the lead producer on most of these songs. They’re really complex and filled with interesting details. (The warped bass sound on “An Echo a Stain” is what made me check the producer credits - it’s a great effect.) And to think all these reactions are just to the music. I didn’t pay much attention to the lyrics on this first listen but given the emotional intensity of her vocals, it’s clear that the subject matter is worth paying attention to as well. Highlights: “Hidden Place,” “It’s Not Up to You,” “Undo,” “Unison” (a playful but also epic closer!)

What a gem — such a solid alt-rock album with a mix of styles on it. I’ve listened to it twice through on long-ish drives and really enjoyed it. It’s great highway music. He’s a great singer too. He sounds like Father John Misty on a few tracks. The opening notes of “Jupiter and Teardrop” sound so much like David Bowie’s “Moonage Daydream.” It has to be a direct reference / deliberate fake-out. I got a kick out of that. My favorite songs so far: “The Shining Hour,” “Jupiter and Teardrop,” “Fuzzy,” “Stars n’ Stripes,” “Dixie Drug Store”

A very impressive album — I love how it transforms from seductive psychedelic music to mellow folk-rock to Doors-y hard blues to jazz. Very cool for a folk rock album to be so dynamic and eclectic. Highlights: “Solid Air,” “Go Down Easy,” “Dreams By the Sea”

Moody, dramatic goth rock. I didn’t totally dislike it but it didn’t do much for me. Reminded me of seeing an opening act for a show, waiting for the headliner. Afterwards you think, ‘That was kinda cool’ but then you never listen to that band again. “Monitor” is a cool one. Sounds way ahead of its time.

What a great performer! He’s so dramatic and expressive. I wish I understood what he was singing about though. Since the focus is mostly on his vocals and charismatic performance, I’m sure there are funny, witty, and romantic lyrics in French that I’m missing. A lot of songs even sound like show tunes. Still, I love this energy and I’m happy to know about this singer. I’m sure he’ll come again up at some point in my life. Hopefully I’ll have someone translating the song meanings for me. (Or maybe if I have time, I’ll try listening to a few of these alongside a translation.)

Every song that came on, I had a smile plastered across my face. What a contagious, fun energy. I love the fast, playful bee-bah-ba-doop way he scats. And he’s a phenomenal, spirited trumpeter too! “The Lip” is hilarious. I love these time signature changes. And that bit in the middle of “Basin Street Blues / When It’s Sleepy Time Down South” when he scats off time and sets up the change? So good! I tried to list the album highlights but realized I was just typing out the track list. Every song is a blast. But if I had to pick one, “Just a Gigolo / Ain’t Got Nobody” is my favorite. Just amazing.

This is good! They sound like a lot of bands I like. I hear some Clash, some Who, maybe even some Smiths and Elvis Costello. (A lot of those artists were contemporaries of The Jam or came after so it’s probably fair to say those artists took influence from these guys.) I think this is a good album but not necessarily a great one. I’d be curious to hear other Jam albums and see if there’s an even better entry point into their music. The last track — “Down in the Tube Station at Midnight” — surprised me. There are a lot of great details in the music. Makes me want to revisit the rest of the album and see if there are more great songs I missed on the first listen. Highlights: “In the Crowd,” “Billy Hunt,” “The Place I Love,” “Down in the Tube Station at Midnight”

Started by listening to the ‘Very Best’ and then spent the weekend listening to all three hours of the full songbook. Really wonderful - great to spend so much time with her voice. I haven’t listened to a ton of Ella so I enjoyed the deep dive. She has such a soothing voice. But there’s also a playfulness and a flirtatiousness about some of her performances (“Fascinating Rhythm”). A lot of these lyrics are fun and funny, and she knows how to bring out the jokes with a wink and a smile. But when the songs call for it, she brings a mature seductiveness to her singing (“Oh, Lady Be Good,” “Someone To Watch Over Me”). Man, these songs are so good. Great clean, classic pop songwriting. And the lyrics have a wonderful wit and humor. And the big band behind her?! Incredible. I love that full orchestra sound. A lot of gems but these were ones that stood out to me (including some stellar versions of absolute classics): “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off,” “Oh, Lady Be Good,” “Nice Work If You Can Get It,” “Things Are Looking Up,” “They All Laughed” (I love this song so much), “My Cousin in Milwaukee,” “He Loves and She Loves,” “Treat Me Rough,” “Slap That Bass,” “Isn’t it a Pity,” “They Can’t Take That Away From Me” (at our wedding, we danced to the version with Louis Armstrong for our first dance so the song has a special place in my heart - this version is a little different, cool to hear), “Funny Face,” “I Got Rhythm” (oooh the scatting in this! 💃)

Great beats - I love that hard funk sound. The music is a great fit for his tougher-than-nails vocals and unflinching lyrics. “Wicked” stood out as a really wild one! There’s a lot I could quibble with lyrically in 90’s gangsta rap - the misogyny, the glorification of gang violence, homophobia and the use of ‘the other f-word.’ To an extent, these lyrics are dated and today’s rap has moved past some of those things (there’s still a lot of misogyny in today’s hip-hop) but I think it’s worth pointing out. But my brain goes to music first anyways and there’s an abundance of great music on a lot of albums from this era. Listen to the jazzy piano part that comes in for the last 30 seconds of “Dirty Mack.” The whole song is filled with great jazz and funk samples - there’s a real appreciation for great music in addition to tough guy gangsta posturing. Took me a second to recognize it but there’s a Steely Dan sample in the beat on “Don’t Trust ‘Em.” (“Green Earrings” is the Steely Dan song.) This one is a good example of me loving the beat while also acknowledging the deeply sexist and demeaning message of the song.

I enjoyed this. They’ve got a big, cavernous sound that feels designed for live shows. It sounds great on record but the songs must have really come alive in concert. This would be a perfect example to play for someone curious what “post-punk” sounds like. The label can be pretty broad but I tend to think this sound is the core of the style. Moody, dramatic, spacious, big emotions. I’m not sure I’ll ever completely love Joy Division. Right now I respect and admire the music (they’ve obviously had a major influence on a million bands) but I don’t connect deeply to them. I wonder if I just need a certain time in my life when nothing but this sound will do. 🤷🏻‍♂️ In the meantime, I dig the energy.

This was one of the first CDs I ever bought in middle school (it just felt like an important thing to buy to start a record collection), though a few years passed before I actually got into it. In high school, two friends and I all got into Nirvana at the same time. Many summer days were spent listening to their albums together while playing Halo on Xbox. Nirvana is one of those great bands where I can hear the influence of each band member. Krist Novoselic’s bass has a big, fat sound. It’s much more prominent than in a lot of other rock bands. It influences the tone of a lot of songs too — it can be menacing and dark or have a lighter bounce and rhythm. And Dave Grohl’s drums have a thunderous energy. These might be my favorite drums to air drum to while listening. Some of his drum fills are pretty straightforward but man, he plays the hell out of them. And then Kurt Cobain. His guitar is rough and expressive, and it roars in his solos. There are a ton of great riffs here too. And of course, his vocals. This album has long been a soothing balm for my angst and his singing is a big part of that. His screaming is cathartic. It’s been a while since I’ve played something on headphones loud enough to hurt my ears. This was a fun album to revisit and hit me on a day I needed it.

Scott Walker sounds something like if Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys made an album in the style of Tom Jones. (I wonder if Turner is a fan of Scott Walker.) The singing is lounge-y and dramatic and the lyrics are packed with jokes and surprising details. I enjoyed discovering the odd songwriting of these songs. “Jackie” feels like a clear standout, packed with strange specifics sung in a breathless style. “Next” is a funny number too - it could be an interlude in some larger concept album or musical but here it is, on its own, a weird melodramatic little episode. Wow — I was just thinking that some of these songs reminded me of the French singer Jacques Brel, who we had on this list last week. Turns out Brel wrote three of the songs on this album including both of the aforementioned songs! That makes a lot of sense. (Great to hear some of Brel’s tunes in English!) (Also, I guess this list isn’t in totally random order, right?) There’s actually more straightforward love songs and ballads here than the first few tracks would suggest. I prefer the humorous songs. Highlights: “Jackie,” “Best of Both Worlds,” “Next,” “The Girls and the Dogs”

“Alone Again Or” is in my top 100 rock songs. I first heard it in the Wes Anderson movie “Bottle Rocket” and it’s what got me into this album in high school. The driving drama of the song pulls me in every time. The whole album is excellent - great songwriting front-to-back, with a lot of surprising turns in the songs to keep you on your toes. It's also one of those albums where every instrument and detail feels perfectly placed. There are moments of shredding psychedelic rock balanced with gentler folk passages and some wonderful horn parts too. This is a top 20 rock album for me. “The news for today will be the movies for tomorrow” - what a great line. (“A House is Not a Motel”) I love the new melody that gets introduced in the last minute of “The Red Telephone.” “Oh the snot has caked against my pants” is one of the craziest opening lines of a song I’ve ever heard. I love it 😂 ("Live and Let Live") "You Set the Scene" is an epic one and has a couple of great moments I love: - The bass line that comes in at 1:58 sounds so good - The way the song slows down at 2:20 and introduces the horns - At 5:08, Arthur Lee drops in this soulful vocal riff as if it's a Smokey Robinson song, lets it fade into the track and then moves back into the song. How does that work so well?! Genius level stuff, man. Recently I've been skeptical of modern remasters of 60's albums but this sounded fantastic on headphones. Crystal clear but stays true to the feel of the music.

A classic and a personal favorite. It has Steely Dan’s two biggest hits — “Do It Again” and “Reelin’ in the Years” — songs I never get sick of hearing. There’s also a ton of other great songs — “Dirty Work” is incredible and “Kings” is a favorite of mine. This was back when Steely Dan was a full rock band (later it would be just Donald Fagen and Walter Becker writing songs and playing with studio musicians). I tend to think of this album as their most straightforward rock album but there’s still a bunch of awesome jazzy solos and complex songwriting. (“Fire in the Hole” has a great jazzy strut to it.) It’s always fun to hear other singers take lead vocals on a few songs on this album. They definitely have ‘prettier’ voices than Donald Fagen but I’m glad he stayed the lead singer after this album. His singing is so unique. He’s capable of adding a strange drama and theatricality to the songs (and there’s something kind of sleazy about his voice too). I’m totally at risk of giving 100 albums a ‘top 20’ designation but I’m gonna do it again (no pun intended). This is a very much a contender for my top 20 or top 30 rock albums. It’s solid front-to-back, no filler. Such a great album cover too. It’s tacky and gaudy and vulgar but I think it’s very funny and pleasing to look at.

“Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground,” “I’m Finding it Harder to Be a Gentleman” and “Fell in Love With a Girl” are classics. “Little Room” is such a great quick one. The a way Meg White smashes the cymbals relentlessly captures what’s so great about her as a drummer - simple, direct, hard hits. She keeps time with an attitude. “We’re Going to Be Friends” is a wonderful little ditty. Jack White is such a gifted songwriter - he can write big rock anthems, blues songs and pleasant melodies like this. And all of them will get stuck in your head for years. There are a lot of songs packed into 40 minutes here so we also get some oddball numbers like “I Think I Smell a Rat” and experimental stuff like “Aluminum.” Eclectic album that rocks hard!

Nice jazz-rock fusion. Some of it’s smooth, some of it’s spacey, a lot of it is funky and weird. A lot great percussion too. My favorite track is “Palladium.” Sick album cover too.

They have a punk energy and attitude but the music is more dense and complex than that. Also, the guitar solos are so much more epic and dramatic than I might have expected for the punk-ish / alt-rock music. Some real stadium rock shit. The guitar reminds me of The Who at times. I love it. Some of the long songs near the end drag a little but overall I really like the album. Highlights: “Stop,” “Obvious,” “Three Days” (wow, what an epic long song!)

My first time listening to this album. The production is rougher than I expected. I’d previously only heard a live version of “Atlantic City” but this stripped down original version is really growing on me. I’m very used to hearing Bruce Springsteen in wailing rock star mode but he’s a wonderful, emotive singer in this mode too. Wow - “State Trooper” has a really hypnotic energy. I really like the bells (?) that come in around the one-minute mark of “Used Cars.” On the first go-around, I enjoyed the album but wasn’t convinced it was the masterpiece everyone says it is. But I spent the weekend listening to it a few more times and I’m starting to get it. A subtle but great album.

Some songs feel like 60’s pop with a dark psychedelic edge, others are hard blues rock. There are some absolute classics — “Light My Fire” is probably a top 100 rock song and “Break on Through (To the Other Side)” and “The End” are both amazing — plus a lot of really good album cuts too. I really enjoyed “I Looked at You” and “Take It as It Comes.” Man, I guess I haven’t heard “The End” in a while. It gets really wild around the 9-minute mark.

Lots of interesting musical ideas but I wasn’t too into it. I wasn’t crazy about the lead singer’s vocals. “Hudson Line” (which has a different lead vocalist) and “The Funny Bird” stood out as strong tracks.

Hell yeah - these songs sound massive! I love the energy and drama of this album. Ridiculous guitar solos too! I had this on in the background so I wasn’t paying close enough attention to have favorite tracks yet but I enjoyed the ride. Looking forward to diving deeper.

Solid alt-rock with a range of styles. Some songs reminded me of Pixies, others reminded me of R.E.M. Grungy songs are mixed with bright and sunny pop songs. Overall probably not something I’ll spin often but I enjoyed it.

One of the most joyful albums I can think of. This is Paul McCartney at his best, writing classic pop songs with a great backing band. Ooh that saxophone! “Let Me Roll It” rocked my world the first time I heard it because of how much Paul sounds like John Lennon. People always assume Paul wrote the pop songs and John wrote the rock songs. But clearly Paul is very capable of writing killer rock songs (and singing the hell out of them too)!

I love this album. The music is magic. You can’t ask for a better album to put on when cleaning the house. The pianist, Rubén González, is phenomenal. He had such a light, playful touch. I’ve listened to some of his solo albums too and for a period of time they were my go-to choice when I was stressed or anxious. When you focus on his piano playing, it’s impossible to not smile. “Pueblo Nuevo” on this album is a great showcase for his playing.

Really fun energy. I love the lead singer's willingness to get goofy and over-the-top in his vocals. A true entertainer. “Come on Eileen” is a classic that I fell in love with as a kid after listening to some "Best of the 80's" mix CD my sister had lying around the house. It’s still a great song. The cover of "Jackie Wilson Said" is really good too - it's a great fit for this group.

That “dum-dum-dum” drum fill before the chorus of “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds” is so simple but so effective. Ringo’s drumming isn’t flashy on this album (or any Beatles album really) but he always complements the songs nicely. “Getting Better” is a great pop song and it’s got that weird little dark part in the middle where the speaker sings about beating his woman. Such a strange section that complicates the tone of the song. Feels almost like a joke, especially the way the song cuts back to the upbeat chorus afterwards. I love that this weird, druggy album has achieved a such a high level of status and appreciation in our society. It’s talked about as this grand masterpiece but it’s got a lot of strange, trippy moments. I love that. Man, “Within You Without You” is a jam. “Lovely Rita” is a great song with these big, dramatic moments. And it’s about having a crush on a woman writing parking tickets 😂 “Good Morning Good Morning” into “Sgt. Pepper (Reprise)” is ridiculous. Some of the best rock the Beatles have ever recorded. “A Day in the Life” has to be a top 10 Beatles song. I don’t know many other songs like it. As a teenager I gravitated toward this one — it opened my mind as to what songs and art could be. It also reassured me that being bored with my daily routine was a normal emotion. The song is about feeling overwhelmed and disillusioned with the state of the world while simultaneously feeling stuck in a meaningless daily rhythm. It struck me as a high schooler and it resonates with me now too. This album was an absolute pleasure to revisit. And I have to shout out that album cover. One of the all time best ever. 💯

Never heard of this band before but they’re totally the kind of group I like. This album can be a bit much (lots of long, dense, sludgy jams) but I’d be curious to hear a more streamlined batch of studio-recorded songs from them. The opening number “Born to Go” has a big thunderous energy! And “Down Through the Night” keeps the momentum chugging along. Their rhythm section in general really keeps things moving on these long songs. “Lord of Light” has some ripping saxophone in it! 🎷🕺🏼 There’s a fair amount of druggy instrumentals and spoken word nonsense that I could do without. But this was a live show so I understand the theatricality of that. “Master of the Universe” is a heavy, hard-rocker. 😎👍 Sometimes the live recording makes the songs feel a bit distant when I wanted a louder, more immediate sound. I felt like I was in the third mezzanine wishing I was upfront next to the stage.

An excellent album featuring pleasant melodies, great beats and fun details. Feels like it was ahead of its time in sound and style. Highlights: “Xtal,” “Pulsewidth,” “Ageispolis,” “We Are the Music Makers,” “Ptolemy,” “Actium”

Amazing. One of the best discoveries from this list so far. Funky and danceable with African rhythms and melodies commingling with Latin rhythms and touches of soul. He’s a great, charismatic singer. His vocals on “Xica Da Silva” are awesome. Really catchy song. The music is crazy fun. It’s also complex at times. On “Cavaleiro Do Cavolo Imaculado,” there’s an interesting guitar part that comes in around 2:10. It feels detached from the melody and adds a cool layer of tension and contrast. Definitely an album where every track is strong but these ones particularly stood out to me: “Ponta De Lança Africano,” “Xica Da Silva,” “Cavaleiro Do Cavolo Imaculado,” “África Brasil (Zumbi)” (wow - this one really rocks)

Elegant and atmospheric electronica. Some songs (especially early on) also have a nervy, glitchy sound. I really like the overlapping vocal loops on "Telephasic Workshop" — it creates a strange, surreal tone. Beautiful production with a lot of different tones and styles mixed throughout. The closing track “Happy Cycling” stood out to me as well. It’s got an eerie, hypnotic vibe.

A lot of these songs have a melancholy vibe but the production buries them in layers of feedback and noise. The insane amount of feedback and reverb on the guitars in “Dreams Burn Down” is a good example of this. When the music turns up to 11, it feels like hard rock but it’s not a hard rock song, really. I love that contrast and I love the energy of this band. I’m surprised that I’ve never heard of them but delighted to now. They’re a hell of a rock band — the drums on opener “Seagull” are fast and ferocious and never let up. And the rest of the band piles on the noise! It’s a great opening statement and a great track. (I love the drumming on “Polar Bear” too.) 4 stars for the songs and music + a bonus star for this drummer working overtime. He singlehandedly transforms a few of these songs with his playing.

One of the great soul voices. And the music is fantastic. The horns! The strings! “Let’s Stay Together” is a great song. And “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart” is phenomenal — might be the best track here. I love the strings around 2:45 that imitate the wind. I’m a fan of stuff like that in music.

This is my first time listening to Alice In Chains. The songs fall on a spectrum of styles from thrashy heavy metal to more radio-friendly grunge. There are also some beautiful, slower moments. A number of songs made me think of Queens of the Stone Age. They’re one of my favorite current bands and I enjoyed listening to this album and hearing the influence Alice In Chains clearly had on QOTSA. By the end of the album, I was a little exhausted though. I respect the music but can’t fully embrace it — the songs are pretty bleak and tortured. Maybe not the best music to listen to on a sunny Friday afternoon 😂

Awesome. Half of these songs are on their greatest hits and the other half are good enough that they could be. Perfect classic rock with a lot of blues rock.

D'Angelo is the master of baby-making music. This album is loose, jazzy and sexy. I really enjoyed it and it works just as well when you pay close attention to the music as it does simmering in the background. "Shit, Damn, Motherfucker" is a wild song. Aside from the (amazing) chorus, the lyrics about catching his wife with his best friend and murdering them both caught me by surprise. 👀😂

Ooh I really like this! There are a number of Dylanesque songs (“Fisherman’s Blues,” “Strange Boat”) and a few that remind me of U2. They incorporate elements of Celtic folk into their music but it feels fully integrated into the rock sound, at least on the early tracks. Like “We Will Not Be Lovers,” which has this surging drama led by the strings. It’s got that folky influence but with a stadium rock energy! (Later songs dive fully into Celtic folk and I enjoyed those too.) I dig the Van Morrison cover “Sweet Thing,” which also throws in Beatles lyrics from “Blackbird”! Highlights: “Fisherman’s Blues,” “We Will Not Be Lovers,” “World Party,” “When Will We Be Married”

“In the Flesh?” is a great, dramatic opener. It has the grandeur of a stage production but it rocks too. “Another Brick in the Wall, Pt. 2” has gotta be the strangest rock anthem ever canonized on classic rock radio. (Especially when you listen to it with the intro track “The Happiest Days of Our Lives,” which references the teachers’ “fat psychopathic wives.”) It’s a banger, no doubt about that, but the subject matter and theatricality of it is bizarre. I love it. The chorus of “Comfortably Numb” is so emotional. Easy to see why the song became so famous. Great guitar solos on this song too and throughout the album. Man, “The Trial” is bonkers 😂 Pink Floyd made better albums than this. They definitely made tighter albums. But excess comes with the territory on these big, pretentious concept albums. You get a lot of filler tracks that move the story along but aren’t great songs on their own. Still, I like this album better than a lot of other concept albums. I admire the audacity of it.

One of my absolute favorite albums. It might be the album Dree and I have listened to together more than any other. Hard to imagine a road trip or a long car ride for vacation without us putting this on in the car. The music bursts at the seams with joy. Paul Simon writes some of the best pop songs of his career, blending his style perfectly with African melodies and rhythms. His lyrics are also sharp, funny and endlessly quotable. Always a pleasure to revisit this one.

Smooth, sexy and sweet. The music casts an irresistible spell. There’s also an air of melancholy over a lot of these songs. There are a lot of lyrics about wanting a lover back or yearning for a new love who hasn’t quite agreed to “get it on” just yet. The closing track “Just to Keep You Satisfied” captures this romantic sadness exceptionally well. What a voice. Just impossibly, superhumanly beautiful.

Awesome angsty post-punk. Lots of spiky riffs and shouted vocals. The music crackles with restlessness, sexual frustration and anti-establishment feelings — they really capture an energy. The songwriting is really strong too. Highlights: “Ether,” “Natural’s Not In It,” “Not Great Men,” “Damaged Goods,” “I Found That Essence Rare,” “Glass,” “5.45” (I like the theme of this one - how tv turns war into entertainment)

The title track sounds like the score to a sci-fi or horror movie. “Mysterious Semblance…” is beautiful. I was drawn in by those warped tones that almost sound like music being played underwater. I don’t listen to enough ambient music to be a proper judge of how good this album is or how groundbreaking it might have been. But I was moved by some passages and I’d like to listen to it more. This would make great background music for writing. I’ll have to find the right project that matches this tone. Could be a fun way to listen to it more and get into it.

I like how adventurous and unpredictable the music is but I can’t be the only one who finds his voice grating. His vocals held back a few of these songs for me. I’m sure this is a grower of an album and one listen while running errands on a Thursday isn’t going to do it justice. But there weren’t a lot of songs that I could wrap my hands around and enjoy on a first listen. I’m open to persuasion on this one but it didn’t do much for me on the initial go-around. A few tracks stood out as standalone songs: “Race for the Prize,” “Waitin’ for a Superman,” “The Gash,” “Feeling Yourself Disintegrate”

A pleasure to listen to from the opening bounce of “Rockin’ Around (With You)” to the classic “American Girl.” The album has an old fashioned rock ‘n’ roll spirit but there’s some new wave and country rock here too. Tom Petty also sings in variety of styles. Maybe he was still figuring out his style. He’s definitely having fun.

Even at the end of his life, Johnny Cash's voice is like no other and he commands a gravitas and drama that's all his own. Some of the covers are great. His version of Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt" is excellent. And I really like his quiet, pensive take on "In My Life." It's one of my favorite Beatles songs and he more than does it justice. Other covers I wasn't as sold on. His version of "Bridge Over Troubled Water" didn’t land for me. “Tear Stained Letter” stood out as a particularly good track. Overall, a nice set of songs on a pretty low-key album.

I enjoyed this one! What a mix of sounds and cultures. A lot of the songs (especially the ones where the English guy sings lead) sound a little like the Happy Mondays album we had a while back. That clubby dance-rock style was called Madchester and I hear of lot of that in this music. But then there’s Spanish lyrics, African music and Middle Eastern melodies - each song seems to hop to a different country (and a few blend multiple genres together). There’s a druggy energy that ties it together and big drums on every track that sound like they were recorded in a vast warehouse. Highlights: “Visions of You,” “Bomba,” “Ungodly Kingdom”

90’s grunge but with a 60’s rock spirit. Some tracks sound like something The Doors might have done if The Doors formed thirty years later than they did. “Generation Genocide” has a psychedelic feel and “Something So Clear” could almost be a grunge-ified “Break On Through (To the Other Side).” Hearing harmonica on a few songs was a surprise! The album has a fiery punk energy and strong songwriting. An excellent album overall.

I enjoyed this album, though not quite as much as the last John Martyn album we had on this list, “Solid Air.” (I thought the songs were better on that one.) There’s a lot of great music and the production has some interesting choices. Occasionally I felt the production gave the music a kind of muddy sound but just as often I found it hypnotic. Same goes for Martyn’s vocals — he’s an excellent, emotive singer but chooses to bury it on a few of these tracks. “Dancing” is a particularly fun song. Overall I like it. I ended up going back and listening to “Solid Air” a bunch of times after the initial listen so I’m expecting to do the same with this album.

These guys are clearly musical geniuses. I was impressed by the ease with which the band switches between medieval folk, hard rock and prog. But I just can’t get over how pretentious it all sounds. A lot of that stems from Peter Gabriel’s vocals. Not for me. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Grade A Britpop. Lots of catchy hooks and bright melodies, delivered with a playful and mischievous spirit. The influence of The Beatles and The Kinks are clear (the music proudly asserts itself as very British) with some harder alt-rock sounds and styles blended in. The production has an abundance of fun details too that I’m sure will make this album particularly enjoyable to replay. This is a pretty long album and I wonder if it’s too long. Still, I respect a band that had so many ideas that they just couldn’t pick and put them all on the album. Blur is one of those bands I’ve been meaning to listen to for years. One of the things that’s been great about this list is that I’ve finally been finding time for all those bands I’ve heard about but never gave proper attention to.

Fun, appealing dance music. I’m not sure I’d be able to pick MJ Cole’s style out of a lineup of other DJs / producers but this is solid music for dancing or working out. The back half gets a little more eclectic. There’s some moody, atmospheric numbers and the disco-soul of “Rough Out Here” was a pleasant surprise.

I can’t remember the last time I heard an album with so many excellent songs on it. I love the lyrics - lots of sharp, clever writing. Their sound has a lot of country twang but they can also rock like the Stones (“Monday”) or do Beach Boys-style pop (“Outta Mind (Outta Sight)”). What a great opening line for an album: “When you’re back in your old neighborhood / The cigarettes taste so good / But you’re so misunderstood.” Very impressive to hear an hour-plus album that’s this consistent. Highlights: “Misunderstood,” “Far, Far Away,” “Monday,” “Forget the Flowers,” “Sunken Treasure,” “Someone Else’s Song,” “Dreamer in My Dreams” (those fake-out endings are so good!)

Packed with personality and filled with surprising twists and turns. Great beats with music that kept me guessing. Those overlapping piano loops in “Kein Trink Wasser” are beautiful. Highlights: “Sad but True,” “Crash and Carry,” “Kein Trink Wasser,” “Attached”

Grace Slick is the clear star here. Her voice is so distinct and dramatic and she sings lead on the two major classics, “Somebody to Love” and “White Rabbit.” Without those songs, this album would blend in with other (good) psychedelic albums from the era. Those tracks help distinguish this album from the rest. But there are other good songs here too. The quiet, melancholy of “Comin’ Back to Me” grabbed my attention. It slows things down nicely and has some wonderful lyrics. Ooh the guitar instrumental “Embryonic Journey” is great! “Surrealistic Pillow” is a funny title. Some real late-60s psychedelic nonsense. 😆

People have been telling me forever that Thin Lizzy is awesome but I never really believed them. I believe them now. They're awesome! They have a hard rock style that stretches from heavy metal to blues rock and everything in between. “Emerald” even takes an Irish jig melody and turns it into a heavy metal jam - never heard that before! I was feeling pretty down this afternoon and “Still in Love With You” just completely changed the direction of my mood and my day. What a great song and a great performance! Love those guitar solos! And I love that intense drum solo on “Sha-La-La” and the way the crowd joins in by clapping! Really fun to hear the live performances. It's a well-recorded live album and captures the fun and energy of the show. Phil Lynott is a great showman and I enjoyed hearing his intros and banter. I'm probably gonna come back to this in a few months and go, "I shoulda given this one a 5."

Great mix of dance pop, bass-heavy club jams, world music and atmospheric electronica. The production is phenomenal and the music isn’t formulaic and cookie-cutter like a lot of pop music today. There’s some really cool choices and instrumentation. The songwriting is very strong too! Man, “Ray of Light” is an incredible song. One of those dance tracks that can turn your living room into a club. Impossible to resist. Highlights for me after the first listen or two: “Swim,” “Ray of Light,” “Candy Perfume Girl,” “Ashanti/Ashtangi”

Such a classic sound. I love how up front the drums are. They sound great. The beats are nice and minimal with just a little piano or keyboard to create a hook. Gives the whole album a loose feel. I haven’t listened to much Wu-Tang in the past so I don’t have the ear yet to pick out who’s rapping on any given verse. But I had the Genius app open for lyrics so I could see who was catching my attention. Ol’ Dirty Bastard is an easy favorite. (Is he everyone’s first favorite from the group?) He has such a fun style. He’s not afraid to get weird and wild. Great performer. GZA’s verse that closes “Protect Ya Neck” stood out to me as well. That piano loop on “C.R.E.A.M.” is so good! Classic beat, classic hook. “7th Chapter - Pt II” has an insane beat. Big energy.

More strong Britpop from Blur, this time with an emphasis on guitar rock. I dug the energy but didn’t quite connect with the songs on a first listen. I’ll have to revisit this one. “Song 2” is great! One of those insanely catchy songs that takes on a life of its own and becomes more famous than the band. I didn’t know that song was by Blur.

A delightful album! I didn't think I knew Harry Nilsson but turns out I knew a few of these songs, especially "Coconut" -- such a great, fun song! Lots of strong pop songwriting with a 70's rock sound and a Beatlesque feel to a lot of the songs. Nilsson can write and sing in a variety of styles -- the album kept surprising me by changing tone but I think it holds together nicely as one album. He's a charismatic performer and a joy to listen to. I liked his riffing in the second half of "Early in the Morning," the way he croons the word "crap" at 0:43 on "The Moonbeam Song," and every second of his singing on "Coconut." The 7-minute "Jump Into the Fire" caught me by surprise too. It's a helluva rocker and there's a desperation to his wailing as he tries to convince a lover that they can make each other happy. I'm excited to listen to more Harry Nilsson. With such a diverse collection of great songs on this album, he must have a lot more on other albums too.

I love this album. It has a gentle, easy-going energy, which is a total left-turn from the first two Velvet Underground albums. The hardest-rocking songs are "What Goes On" and "Beginning to See the Light," which are both relatively mellow (especially compared to the experimental noise rock from the Velvets' previous album "White Light/White Heat"). A number of songs feel like lullabies, like "Candy Says," "Pale Blue Eyes" and "Jesus." They're beautiful songs with understated singing from Lou Reed. Rather than pushing the boundaries of rock like their other albums do, this album focuses on songcraft. The only hint that they were wild experimentalists is the strange psychedelic penultimate track "The Murder Mystery." But if you make it through all 9 minutes of that song (I rarely listen to the whole thing), you're rewarded with the closing track "After Hours," a gem of a song and a personal favorite sung by the drummer Moe Tucker.

Rip-roaring blues rock from one of the best bands to ever do it. Love the long extended jams. You know what this album is perfect for? Cooking. Play it loud, pour a glass of wine and start chopping onions. Dinner will be ready in no time.

Peter Gabriel is clearly a man with a thousand ideas running through his head. One minute he’s singing in theatrical voices on “Moribund the Burgermeister,” the next he’s crooning on the pop song “Solsbury Hill.” There’s rockers like “Modern Love,” the old-timey throwback “Excuse Me” and multi-part songs like “Slowburn,” where he tries to capture the breadth of his musical interests in one dramatic song. I think it mostly works! It’s certainly interesting to hear him go for it all. At times I found it overblown the same way I do the proggy Genesis albums Gabriel made just before leaving the band. But these songs are more accessible. There seems to be more of an effort to cater to popular genres and styles. Gabriel sounds like he’s having fun too. “Solsbury Hill” is the clear standout. It’s a bright and catchy pop song but it isn’t simplistic or formulaic. Feels like his genius was more focused on this track and the result is a classic song.

I like this album a lot more than “Trans-Europe Express.” The songs have more energy and while they’re definitely still repetitive, they’re paced well. The music develops in satisfying ways and kept my interest. The production is fantastic - very crisp, clean and polished. They must have been meticulous in the studio. Sometimes that kind of production can drain the soul out of the music. Not here. There’s a lot of emotion in the music! I love the rubber band synths on the first two minutes of “Neon Lights.” The album has some nice, playful touches like that. Wow — “Neon Lights” really builds into a stunning song! That melody (is it a processed voice? a synth?) is beautiful. The beat on “The Man Machine” slaps!

I have a confession to make. I’m a big Simon & Garfunkel fan but I’ve never loved the track “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” The song itself is beautiful but I think it’s overproduced on this album. It’s so dramatic, so big, so loud at the end. I can’t help but wonder if it would have been better to record a simpler, more understated version of the song. The rest of the album is fantastic though. So many great songs. “Cecilia” is one of the catchiest songs Paul Simon ever wrote. And “Keep the Customer Satisfied” almost matches it in its energy. The bossa nova influenced “So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright” is a wonderful gem of a lullaby. And “The Only Living Boy in New York” is gorgeous. A personal favorite. “The Boxer” and “Baby Driver” are both excellent as well. I just noticed that a lot of these songs are about heartbreak (“Cecilia,” “Why Don’t You Write Me,” “Bye Bye Love”) but they’re disguised as upbeat pop songs. There’s a fun contrast between the lyrics and the music.

Good beats and cool grooves but I occasionally wondered if the album was a little too loose and formless. There are a lot of musical ideas but there aren’t a lot of full-fledged songs. A track like “Black,” for example, has a great hip-hop beat and a catchy hook but feels like it’s missing a rap feature. Other tracks loop a vocal hook over an instrumental for a few minutes but don’t ever develop into a song with verses and choruses. It’s not bad exactly but feels incomplete. There are some strong standout moments though. The singing on “Wildfires” is beautiful, the African funk of “Bow” was a highlight and the closing track “Pray Up Stay Up” has a great vibe.

I like the bright, cheerful energy of these songs. The music is complex and ambitious like a lot of prog-rock but you can also hear the band enjoying themselves on these big, long songs. There’s a looseness in the performances even while the song structures are complex. The band seems to enjoy improvising and a lot of the solos have a spontaneous, even jazzy feel. “I’ve Seen All Good People” is a highlight. It’s the one track I knew and it really stands out here.

So tight, so precise, so intense. I love the drumming in particular - there’s a lot of power in the playing but it’s really focused and on point. I can’t imagine how in sync with your bandmates you have to be to pull off music like this. There are some very drastic time signature and tempo changes but every band member clicks into place like a machine. Sepultura has a brutal, punishing style but it’s carefully controlled. I admire the technical precision of the band but one thing holding me back from loving the music is that a lot of songs blur together for me. I’m sure the more I listen to the album, the more the different songs will stand out. But I could use a little more color or personality to distinguish the songs.

There's magic in The Beach Boys' music -- the way their vocal harmonies float in the air, the way bass drums and timpani add drama with a buh-dum-dum. I can't believe I've never listened to this particular album before. I'm loving it. "Do You Wanna Dance" is one of my favorite songs and The Beach Boys' version is one of the definitive takes on it that all other versions get judged against. Something that struck me after listening to the album a few times is how many songs are about male insecurity. On "Good to My Baby," a guy swears that he treats his girl right and that she loves him but it's pretty clear that's not really the case. "Don't Hurt My Little Sister" takes the opposite perspective. An older brother is worried his sister's boyfriend isn't good enough for her. On "Help Me, Rhonda," (a classic) the guy is just using Rhonda as a rebound hookup after getting dumped by his fiancee. The music makes it sound like an upbeat love song but he's really just hurt. Rhonda looks good but he doesn't seem to care about her at all. "She Knows Me Too Well" is a song from the perspective of a jealous man and on "In the Back of My Mind," a man is paranoid his happy relationship will eventually crumble. There are a lot of insecure and unhappy men in these songs. You can put this on in the background and jam out to the music (which I did a few times and loved) but a closer look gives you a deeper (and sadder) experience.

Loose and raw blues rock. The star is obviously Janis Joplin. Such a powerhouse. I can’t believe her voice sounded like this at the age of 25 — so rough and raspy. Great stuff all around. What an album cover. A few things don’t age well on it 😬 but I love the energy of it and how busy it is.

Phenomenal. I’m not sure I’ve ever heard an album quite like it. It combines such an eclectic mix of styles and somehow sequences them into a cohesive listening experience. Hip-hop is the predominant genre. "Root Down" has some of the best rapping I've heard from The Beastie Boys and the Q-Tip collab "Get It Together" was a highlight. But there's also a lot of hard rock. "Sabotage" is a classic. And I enjoyed the two noisy punk rock tracks, "Tough Guy" and "Heart Attack Man" (this one even turns into midtempo metal sludge for a moment). There's also a ton of jazz and funk infused into the music. (The flute sample on "Sure Shot" is gold. One of those beats I could listen to on loop for hours.) There are some incredible instrumental tracks (like "Futterman's Rule") that combine everything together for some awesome jams. I checked out the album credits, expecting to see a long list of samples and was surprised to find that a large portion of this album features live instrumentation. A little digging shows there’s a fair amount of sampling too but I’m impressed by how much is newly recorded. The Beasties could have been a jazz-rock fusion band if they wanted to!

Experimental and hypnotic, sometimes leaning towards atmospheric electronica, sometimes more focused on grooves and rhythms. I tended to enjoy the rhythmic tracks more, though I think the Eno-produced Talking Heads album "Remain in Light" does that style better. (Wikipedia tells me that "My Life in the Bush of Ghosts" was recorded the year before "Remain in Light" but came out the year after that album. That makes sense to me. This feels like the experimenting that led to an even better, more focused album.) The music is fascinating and full of interesting sounds and grooves. But very few of the tracks develop into what I would consider songs. I suppose the album was made in a more of an ambient spirit than a pop one. Still, I wanted more development and structure. Most tracks just do their thing for a few minutes without introducing any new ideas. (I think my favorite was actually “Very, Very Hungry” — it’s the one that sounded most new and strange to me.)

I’ve always liked Aimee Mann’s voice. She’s a good lyricist too. This is a solid singer-songwriter album but there wasn’t a lot on it that stood out to me to make me want to return to it anytime soon. There were a few moments where the music took on a full-bodied rock sound (the second half of “Say Anything,” “I Could Hurt You Now”) and I would have liked more of that.

Such a terrific backing band. They’re all very much in sync with each other but they also have a loose, organic style. The music feels alive. And James Brown is an incredible entertainer. The call-and-response portion of “Lost Someone” is fantastic. You can feel the electric energy in the room.

The funk here is absolutely top shelf. Great jazz solos too. The slow jams are gorgeous, though probably a bit too cheesy for me to replay often. “See the Light” is tremendous though! Definitely has that cheese but it’s big and dramatic and features some great playing!

Calm, soothing music but a bit too slow and repetitive for me. Some of the songs build to a big climax but others don't and left me wondering why they were as long as they were. It’s nice music but not for me. I was surprised to hear the rock climax of "Ny batteri" get a little emo-y. Interesting.

Bob Dylan has a lot of great albums in his catalog but this is in the running for his best. The songs are excellent and the arrangements are impeccable. He's backed by some terrific country and blues playing but the band has just enough tasteful restraint to showcase Dylan's singing and songwriting first and foremost. The sequencing and pacing are perfect. "Tangled Up in Blue" is a phenomenal opening track. And the long songs are spread out nicely with the shorter songs. I’ve listened to this album a lot but I don't always pay close attention to the lyrics. His phrasing is always interesting and his singing style is so distinct that you can kick back and enjoy the music of his vocal performance without knowing exactly what any given song is about. But the lyrics are great! The storytelling songs are packed with memorable details. And the more direct first-person songs capture heartbreak and divorce with honesty and humility. Listening to the album is definitely a melancholy experience but I don't find it depressing or dreary. There's a catharsis in hearing him sing about his regrets and loss. And that catharsis feels good. (Of course I say this now, while I'm in a very happy place in my life. The day I'm faced with heartbreak and loss, I'm sure these songs will wreck me.) “Idiot Wind” is an incredible, epic breakup song. One of those songs you hope nobody every writes about you. This part stood out to me: "You hurt the ones that I love best And cover up the truth with lies One day you'll be in the ditch Flies buzzing around your eyes Blood on your saddle" Oof. What a way to say 'one day you'll get what's coming to you.'

This album has an interesting sound. Hard rock brushes up against jazzy theatricality. The banger “School’s Out” is followed a few tracks later by a cover from the West Side Story soundtrack. 😂 And on “Alma Mater,” Alice Cooper sounds like he’s imitating Paul McCartney. I never realized that the school blows up in “School’s Out.” I wonder if the song is meant to be a little more radical than just a first day of summer anthem.

“Krautrock” is a stunning opener. Noisy (but beautiful) soundscapes that gradually shift and change over the course of nearly 12 minutes. There’s a steady pulse maintained throughout which gives the piece focus. I found it mesmerizing. “Giggy Smile” is a standout as well. The track begins with some playful psychedelic pop before shifting into a free jazz sax solo. Then it morphs into an epic jam that straddles the line between psychedelia and noise rock. There are a lot of overlapping layers in this last stretch but the music still feels playful even as it gets experimental. Incredible! Those two tracks feel like the major achievements here. The album is rounded out by a mix of experimental pop and rock and overall reminded me of The Velvet Underground at their most avant-garde. I’m very interested to hear more Faust.

I adore this album. From the epic opening one-two punch of dance jams “Zero” and “Heads Will Roll” to the quiet bedroom pop of “Little Shadow,” this is an exceptionally well-rounded and sequenced album. I have a strong nostalgic attachment to this album too. I played it a ton in college (working at the radio station, it was one of those albums all the DJs got excited about) and Dree and I listened to it a lot together in our early months of dating. But aside from my own emotional attachment, there’s no denying this album is excellent. It’s filled with big hooks, big emotions, hard rock and dance songs (I love the sexy electro-funk of “Dragon Queen”), alongside more tender moments (I totally forgot about “Hysteric” until it came on and it just totally overwhelmed me with emotions - such a great love song). One of my all-time favorite album covers too.

My favorite U2 album. It’s packed with great songs. There are plenty of the dramatic and cinematic songs U2 is best known for, along with songs that lean more toward alt-rock and even a dash of funk. “Mysterious Ways” is my fav U2 song too. Excellent album cover - captures the energy of the music.

I've heard about Frank Zappa for a long time and wondered what the best entry point is for his music. This wasn't it for me. Impish and experimental, the album makes fun of 60's culture and music. I'm sure this felt radical at the time but it feels like a relic now. There aren't enough standout moments to elevate it beyond being a curiosity of the era. "What's the Ugliest Part of Your Body?" was my favorite. Absurd and goofy and parodies 60's R&B very well, but it's real goal is to shake you out of your mundane existence and tell you that your life is a lie. I think that's the goal of the whole album but this was the only time that message really clicked and worked for me.

One of the more laidback classic rock albums on this list so far. A little bit country, a little bit bluesy, some Beatles influence and a dash of reggae (even before "I Shot the Sheriff," which is a solid cover). Easygoing, approachable and enjoyable.

Fantastic. Equal parts punk and pop, with a fun, breezy energy. The album cuts are excellent and “One Way Or Another,” “Sunday Girl” and “Heart of Glass” are absolute classics. Especially “Heart of Glass” — that’s one of those magic songs that sounds like nothing else. The backing vocals throughout the album are really playful. They added fun details to a lot of these songs. I feel like the more I listen to this, the more I’m going to love it so I’m smashing the 5 on this one.

Excellent. I love Thelonious Monk but this was my first time for this album. Monk’s playing is fantastic and the whole band is in sync with his off-kilter, stop-and-start style. Really fun to hear them play around the melody. I love in a live jazz performance when you hear the applause after a solo. This is a studio recording but some of these solos are so good, it feels wrong not to hear clapping after them. I found myself quietly applauding a bunch while listening on headphones.

Bluesy country twang with a relaxed, laidback vibe. I dig it and I could see myself really digging it with time. “Sultans of Swing” is a classic too. Highlights: “Setting Me Up,” “Sultans of Swing,” “In the Gallery”

The Ramones are always a pleasure. Simple and pure punk. The opening three songs are classics and the rest of the album has a lot of good songs too. By the midsection, it starts to get repetitive. But how you can get mad at these guys? They rip through 14 songs in 29 minutes. Maybe they could have spent more time writing more varied music but then they probably wouldn’t have captured lightning in a bottle like they did here. Two details I loved on this album: - The way he pronounces the ‘r’ in massacre on “Chain Saw” (“massa-cree!”) - That heavy metal riff on “Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue” at 0:34

Todd Rundgren is definitely an artist who contains multitudes. This is an eclectic album with a lot of different styles on it. Side 1 is particularly strong - a fantastic batch of pop songs with “I Saw the Light” leading the pack. From there, the album is more eclectic and there are a few tracks I could have done without ("Song of the Viking," for example). It starts to feel more like some of the other 60's/70's rock albums we've had on this list, where the artist throws every weird idea they had onto the album. But there’s a lot of good stuff too, including a fair amount of hard rock. The rocker "Black Maria" is a highlight. Man, “Slut” is a weird closing track. Great energy but don’t love those lyrics. 😬 Overall, really enjoyed this one and I’m especially looking forward to revisiting the opening stretch of songs.

CCR are awesome. This album has some loose and bluesy jams, and some ripping rock n roll. Great example of everything that makes them great. Sweet album cover too.

I was hoping we’d get a Christmas album on this list! This is my favorite Christmas album and I’m very happy to see it here. I love the drummer on this album. On some of these songs, I wonder if anybody told him what song he was playing. He goes so hard. Listen to his drum fills on “Frosty the Snowman” — he’s so intense! I love that. Really ups the energy. Great selection of songs, all beautifully arranged and produced (many of them are over the top but just so good). A bunch of these are among the best versions of these songs. A+ all around. ❄️🎄⛄️💯

I like to rate rappers in three main categories: lyrics, technical skills and performance. Jay-Z is a very good lyricist and his technical skills are excellent but the category he most shines in is performance. There's never any question who you're listening to when he's on a song. He has one of the most recognizable voices in music and he infuses his verses with personality and humor. I'd have a hard time naming a more charismatic rapper. This album has gotta be his best. He's at the height of his popularity here and he doesn't take it for granted, though he does sound relaxed. He's enjoying himself in a way that I find infectious. On a great Jay-Z album like this one, I end up smiling and laughing a lot. The beats are fantastic too. Great use of sampling with big, catchy hooks that make this accessible as a pop album. Sometimes the beats are so good that it can be hard to focus on Jay-Z's rapping. You can get lost in the greatness of the music. Which brings me to the elephant in the room. Kanye produced a third of this album and those tracks are all phenomenal. I haven't listened to any Kanye music since his bizarre appearance on the Alex Jones show a few weeks ago and I've been avoiding it. I figured this would be a good way to test the waters since he's mostly in the background. But man, "Never Change" made me feel sad. The best is so quintessentially Kanye -- chopped up soul samples with hard-hitting drums. It reminds me why I fell in love with his music. Listening to it again was like hearing a voicemail from a friend I've lost touch with. There's an unresolved tension for me with Kanye though. It's upsetting to hear music that I love and to think about what's happened to the man that made it. But I also don't fully understand what's happened to him. Have we finally lost him completely? And what have we lost him to? Right-wing extremism? Mental illness? Was he always despicable, deep down? The story doesn't feel like it's over yet, for better or worse, which leaves me in a weird place when revisiting his music. I can't quite compartmentalize my feelings yet. It feels too soon to be able to separate how awful I feel when I think about him from the joy his music has given me over the years. But revisiting this album at least reassured me that I wasn't wrong about how great he was. "Takeover" goes so hard, "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" is one of the greatest pop-rap songs of all-time and "Heart of the City (Ain't No Love)" is still one of the songs I'd play for someone who thinks they don't like rap to convince them they're wrong. Those songs, combined with the other hits on the album make this a classic in my book. Side note: Jay-Z's use of the other f-bomb at 0:24 on "Heart of the City" feels late for that word. It's an unfortunate fact that a lot of old-school rap tosses the word around but I was surprised to hear it here on an album from 2001.

Solid, muscular rock from David Bowie near the end of his career. You can hear echoes of his past music but it doesn’t feel nostalgic. Overall a strong batch of songs. The inclusion of horns on a lot of these tracks is awesome. “If You Can See Me” is a really good one. That menacing bass (or is it a synth?) is fantastic.

A mix of sweet and pure soul along with some edgier funk. Everything is smooth and beautifully produced. I liked it.

What an overwhelming album. A wild fusion of hip-hop and funk that sounds like nothing else. And it’s a big album too. The chorus of “Gasoline Dreams” is incredible - such a hard beat, such a catchy hook. “So Fresh, So Clean” and “Ms. Jackson” are fantastic - insanely catchy songs that have reached a higher level in the culture (and still sound great after 1000 listens). Jeez, “B.O.B.” moves at such a breakneck speed. The music morphs and changes throughout while André 3000 and Big Boi spit rapid-fire. And those are just the major tracks. There’s a ton of inventive music here from hard-hitting rap to more playful and goofy songs. A weird, eccentric, awesome album.

The music has a rough, alt-rock edge in the production but underneath the songs are good-hearted power pop. I enjoyed the music but didn’t love the lead vocals, but I think that’s just a matter of taste. Awful album cover 😬 😂

I’ve previously known Gil Scott-Heron to be more of a spoken word poet but he has a very nice, expressive singing voice here. And he’s accompanied by some terrific jazz piano/keyboard. The album has a calming, soothing sound. (“The Bottle” is a jam though!) Ooh “H2Ogate Blues” is great — this is the Gil Scott-Heron I’m more familiar with. I love how loose the performance is. So funny (sad, really) how much of this still rings true today. I don’t know every Watergate reference he drops here but it reminds me of the scandals within scandals that I used to follow so closely when Trump was in office.

Fantastic. "Song for Sathima" is so sad and beautiful. And the melody kept surprising me with where it went. The players interact with and contrast each other in interesting, surprising way. Like the bassist who sounds like he's playing these little fragments of scales almost removed from what everyone else is playing. But it fits into the larger picture. The bass is awesome throughout -- it sounds almost funky on "Mannenberg Revisited." I like that the bass is upfront in the mix. Sometimes it can be hard to hear the bass solo in jazz but not here. There's a lot of creative, inspired playing throughout the album. The solos feel untamed. I was surprised to learn that the band leader is the pianist because that's the instrument I noticed the least on a first listen. I'm looking forward to playing to this album more and listening for him.

Excellent country rock. Great, clean production. I’m picking up Bruce vibes on a lot of these songs. “Little Rock ‘n’ Roller” is such a sweet, heartbreaking song!

Wild stuff. This album went by in a blur. Sounds like the product of a band equally obsessed with rock, musical theater and music theory. The songs rocket along, always with a lot going on, but there’s a cheerful theatricality that lightens the busy music. I’m not sure I’ve found my way into the music in terms of enjoying it yet but I do respect its madness.

Jazzy, vibey music with an electronic pulse. But there’s live instrumentation as often as there are electronics — there’s even an orchestra on some tracks! Only a few songs sound like a product of the 90’s. I don’t think I would have guessed the time period of lot of these songs if I didn’t already know. Highlights: “La femme d’argent,” “Sexy Boy,” “Talisman”

Juvenile, ridiculous and a ton of fun. Definitely one of those albums where they captured lightning in a bottle. Their goofy lyrics and signature shouted vocals are only part of the equation though. The music is fantastic and a lot of the credit for that goes to producer Rick Rubin (though the Beasties are credited as producers too). Crisp, hard-hitting drums, blasts of fiery electric guitar and a lot of fun sampling. Some of the samples are just long enough to register in your brain but too short to figure out what they're from. It's almost a game to try and guess them. (The closing track "Time to Get Ill" goes wild with that.) "Fight for Your Right" and "No Sleep till Brooklyn" are mega hits and personal favorites but there's a bunch of other great songs here. The album is pretty close to being a masterpiece but some of the childish lyrics hold it back a little for me. Still, it's definitely a classic and I had fun revisiting it. Jeez, so many White Castle references. Between that, Budweiser and Chef Boyardee, I hope they got paid for the product placement.

Tom Waits is a one-of-a-kind artist and a favorite of mine who I don't listen to enough. I wasn't very familiar with this album but it's excellent. There's a lot of different blues, folk and jazz styles here, all played exceptionally well and infused with his unique style. The music is full of minor chords and off-kilter rhythms to match the odd, disturbed lyrics. And his vocal performance is always bold. He has an incredible range. All the songs are great but here's a handful of favorites: - "16 Shells from a 30.6" (Awesome stripped down blues rock) - "In the Neighborhood" (What kind of style is this? A march? I love his singing here. It's rough but also triumphant and beautiful.) - "Frank's Wild Years" (Hilarious and bizarre spoken word story) - "Swordfishtrombones" (So many interesting lyrics here) - "Trouble's Braids" (Whoa! What even is this? Amazing energy) - "Rainbirds" (A stunning, jazzy finale)

Awesome energy. This is definitely up my alley. I’ll have to play it a few more times to pay more attention to the songs but I love the performances and the style. The horns that come in on “Happy Death Men” were a surprise. I wish more songs on the album had stuff like that. Feels like a bonus treat on an overall strong album.

The Kinks are great because their songs are colorful and filled with details that make them distinct. Every song feels like it has its own personality. The concept of this album is ambitious - “The Decline and Fall of the British Empire” - but the lyrics don’t get in the way of the music. Ray Davies is too good of a pop songwriter for that. You can ignore the words and still have a great time listening to this album. But the lyrics (that I caught on the first listen) elevate the songs even more. I’ll have to pay more attention to them in the future. Fun listen from front to back.

Excellent. Sarah Vaughan is a wonderful singer and she sounds very relaxed and comfortable on stage here. I like that the recording leaves in the loose and candid moments too. Like when she jokes that she messed up “Willow Weep For Me,” or when she confesses she doesn’t know the words to “How High the Moon.” Great backing band. The pianist (Jimmy Jones) in particular caught my attention a bunch.

Oasis are a fun band. They clearly pride themselves on delivering premium rock: loud guitars, big energy, plenty of attitude. But at the core of their songs there’s always a seed of a catchy melody. Good pop songwriting and singalong choruses are just as important to them as blaring feedback and guitar solos. They clearly worship The Beatles; aside from an explicit reference to “Yellow Submarine” on “Supersonic,” there are little moments here and there that remind me of other Beatles songs. Also Liam Gallagher kinda sounds like John Lennon sometimes. Ok so here’s my funny line about Oasis: You know how you get a Coke bottle sometimes and it says ‘Made from 40% recycled plastics’? Oasis makes music from 40% recycled rock songs. Listen to the beginning of “Cigarettes and Alcohol” — they totally rip off the opening riff of T. Rex’s “Bang a Gong.” A bunch of times throughout this album I thought, ‘Ooh that reminds me of something,’ but for some reason I give them a free pass when they copy other artists. It feels playful when they do it. They drop in a melody or chord progression from another song but then change it up and do something different with it. It triggers a memory in my brain, makes me smile and that nostalgic feeling for classic rock transfers onto their music. Oasis are rock star pros. They know what they’re doing. (Btw, I love how he sounds drunk on “Cigarettes and Alcohol” - that’s a fun touch.)

Excellent, jazzy rap. Fantastic beats on every song. The production is really crisp and clean. I was convinced there was a lot of newly recorded live instrumentation on this but looking at the credits, there doesn’t seem to be much. I’m impressed that the sampling is clean enough that the music sounds like a live band in the studio. The album also closes with “Scenario,” one of my all-time favorite rap songs and probably a top 100 song of any genre. Such a fun jam. Busta Rhymes’ verse is classic.

Brutal. Savage. Relentless. Definitely the kind of music I respect more than I enjoy. But man, wild stuff. "Human Garbage" was a favorite. It starts out with that fun punk drumming and then devolves into anarchy and noise before morphing into a heavy metal riff. And all in a minute and a half! Holy shit the guy who takes over vocals on the second half of the album (Lee Dorrian) is insane. I already thought the vocals on the first half occasionally sounded like a barking dog but he sounds like a rabid dog on "Success." And the 1 second long song "You Suffer." Hahah you gotta love it. Taking a closer look at the album cover and noticing the corporate logos on the bottom. I wish I could understand more of the vocals on these songs. I think understanding the political rage of the lyrics would be the key for me in terms of getting into this a little more.

I learned about Hugh Masekela a few years ago and I’ve been loving him. Great music to put on while relaxing on a Sunday. There's a lot of playful music here, some really sweet and tender melodies and other tracks that are just flat-out beautiful. And all-around sublime playing from the whole band. Hugh Masekela is incredible -- he absolutely shreds on the title track! The singing on the last track “Ingoo Pow-Pow” is wild! I love that. Personal fun fact: One of the most fun things about planning our wedding was picking out all the music and our DJs gave us a worksheet to fill out so we could choose songs for all the major moments that call for music. For the entrance of the bridal party at the start of the reception I picked Hugh Masekela's version of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" (not on this album but highly recommended). It's such a fun, high energy version of that song.

Man, Little Richard is wild. A few of these tracks feel like the studio can barely contain his voice. His range is really impressive too. I thought there was a woman singing guest vocals on “Baby” at first but no, it’s him. So “Tutti Frutti” is about sex? It’s gotta be, right? Hearing it with adult ears for the first time and realizing that 😂

Excellent funk (with some ultra-smooth R&B too). Some songs have a bit of an edge but they somehow still sound laid back. A few of these tracks were sampled by hip-hop artists later, or have a certain sound that was copied, like the whiny synth at 3:35 on "Sunshine (Go Away Today)" that sounds like something off of Dr. Dre's "The Chronic."

Interesting mix of styles. There's some drum 'n' bass type electronic music but also bits of jazz, classical and Indian music. My favorites were the rhythmic, dance-influenced tracks, especially when they added in Indian vocals. Whoa, “The Conference” is amazing — I’ve never heard vocals like that before haha. Incredible!

Greg Lake has a beautiful voice. His singing on “The Sage” is gorgeous. Damn those drums that come in half way through “The Old Castle” have power! I almost wasn’t into this. But this is actually pretty sweet. That bass line riff is really hooking me. I was skeptical about this album at first -- I thought it might be a little pretentious or something. But I ended up enjoying a bunch of songs. It definitely feels a little dated in parts and some of the synth solos can be a tad grating but these guys can really rock when they all groove together! Track 8, “The Hut of Baba Yaga,” really captured that energy for me. Some head banging jamming there.

Similar to the Sparks album we had a few weeks ago, I think it's safe to say the members of Madness are brilliant. These are complex songs with a lot of layers and surprising turns. But complexity is rarely the friend of pop music. I can appreciate the band’s craft from a distance but the songs were too busy and complicated for me to get into, at least on a first listen. I'm sure repeated listens would open up the album more. I usually like this kind of Kinks-y British pop but I didn’t connect to this album. "Our House" is a jam though! I know it from the Maxwell House coffee ads 😂: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKuOQSQj9OI Last track was good too - a nice, straightforward jazzy number.

A strong singer-songwriter album of Beatlesesque pop. I tended to enjoy the songs with a full band sound the most. Highlights: “Son of Sam,” “Junk Bond Trader,” “Stupidity Tries,” “Bye” (beautiful little instrumental to end the album)

The more metal I listen to from this list, the more obvious Metallica’s incredible musicianship becomes. They’re operating at a higher level. Really intricate, beautiful music. They have an intense hard rock style but it’s not just brute force. There’s real craft behind these songs. You know me, I’m always attracted to the drums on an album. And jeez! These drums sound insane! That extra bass kick in there is so powerful. And the guitar solos! Some epic, stadium rock, guitar hero shit here! 🎸🔥 Wow - that transition from the melodic intro of “To Live is to Die” to the opening riff is really something! The whole song is stunning. I like Metallica though I probably respect their music more than I love it at the moment. But it's all new to me and I look forward to listening to more. Excellent album overall.

Cool post-punk with an Iggy Pop influence on a few tracks. I really like the rough, jangly guitars and the loose style of the band. Some of the songwriting gets repetitive though (there’s a few too many songs that chant a refrain over and over again). I like the sound but I’m not sure the songs drew me in enough for repeat listens.

Ooh I've never heard of this group before but I'm loving it. The lead singer (Mick Hucknall) has an incredible voice. I was definitely surprised when I googled him and saw what he looked like haha - not what I expected. “Come to My Aid” and “Look at You Now” are jams! The album has some good cheesy 80’s pop, some jazzy songs and some Michael Jackson-style funk. Also a smooth cover of Talking Heads’ “Heaven.” “Jericho” was a highlight too.

At its best, the album is terrific fun. Big hooks, big energy and a wild wail from lead singer Brian Johnson. Their sound distills the 70s hard rock / heavy metal sound down to its most essential elements and turns up the volume. “Hells Bells,” “Back in Black” and “You Shook Me All Night Long” are classics that have taken over classic rock radio and defined the genre. At its worst, the album is juvenile and misogynistic. “What Do You Do For Money Honey” is nasty and mean. And “Givin the Dog a Bone” and “Let Me Put My Love Into You” are are goofy enough to be Spinal Tap songs. A lot of the other songs just copy the formula of the hits and the album gets a bit repetitive. But I’m sure I didn’t do this any favors by listening on headphones. This is a ‘blast it in the backyard’ album. These are songs built to scream out of car windows down the highway. This is rock and roll, best not to overthink it. The final line says it all: “Rock and roll is just rock and roll!” How can you argue with that?