It's genuinely heartbreaking that this album isn't on any streaming services, because it means that De La Soul has fallen out of the conversation of greatest 80s and 90s hip hop groups. This album, their debut, is absolutely brilliant. Funny, corny, listenable. It influenced so many modern artists, and I didn't realize before hearing it how much my favorite albums (such as Wildflower, by the Avalanches) are based on it. I can't identify a favorite song or moment, because they're all so good. This is an instant 5/5 for me, and it's by far the best album on this list that I'd never listened to before.

this list has really forced me to listen to some excellent jazz albums, i’ve found a real appreciation for the genre i wouldnt have expected. i still feel like i dont know enough to critically rate jazz, i just sit back and enjoy it. i really sat back and enjoyed this album though.

this is a legendary album for a reason, i’ll never not listen to it if given the chance.

uncomfortable cafe chairs and sweet coffee, drifting out to sea, classical guitar, folk tale with strings, blackbird but if it were eleanor rigby, crocuses in the rain, lesser harrisong uplifted by flute, ooh jazz!, weird metaphor over beautiful chords, swung mccartney. overall a really beautiful album with a unique vibe — not one i can see myself returning too often, but once every few months when i’m in the mood, i’ll really enjoy this album. feels like a sunday afternoon.

the first reggae album i’ve ever really listened to. i cant super judge it, but i really enjoyed listening to it, and it was super political. felt it dragged a bit on the late first side, but there are some really excellent songs.

this was a real stinker. lyrics were either nonsensical or inane, music was forgettable. just not very good.

the vocals are way prettier than i expected, there’s some really cool stuff here. i feel like it drags a bit at the beginning of the b side and i dont love this hallelujah, but otherwise a really solid record.

a very Joni Mitchell album. honestly dont know how to rate this — really liked some songs, thought others were boring. it didnt feel that cohesive, i guess, though that doesnt make much sense.

really pretty album, especially the nature songs.

not really sure how to rate this honestly, some of the songs were really good, others i just didnt get. giving this a 3 as a baseline, i guess.

sank into this in a really enjoyable way

wasnt expecting orchestral disco, but this was quite good. really liked the b side, especially theme from “mantrap”. the a side had a few songs with awkward lyrics, but overall was fine.

synth pop!

wow i liked this a lot more than i was expecting.

this was very 2000s singer-songwriter, but with meh lyrics and boring instrumentals. very disappointing

ehh. not particularly impressed.

always in for some folk rock, this was quite nice

first song was solid, the rest of it was ehh to bad.

sounds like it was literally recorded in a garage and i absolutely loved it

this is definitely one of the queen albums of all time. some good songs, some boring songs. ehh

this was great tbh, i really want to get more into nirvana and this was a good intro

karma chameleon and the next song were great, rest was ehh to bad

these were some lovely soundscapes

this was great! really good production, really good lyrics, enjoyed it a lot.

this is one of the best rap albums of all time and i love the lyrics, but it also isnt the most relistenable album.

this one just really couldnt keep my interest, i’m not sure why

there were a ton of songs on this album. some were great, but some were bad and a lot were forgettable.

i’m kind of burnt out on punk at this point, not sure i took the time with this album that i should have

i didnt really vibe with the synth-soul stuff, i feel like it didnt mesh really well which is odd bc i’ve heard synthy-soul-y production on rap tracks before and really liked it — maybe a feature of how old this record is?

this was really great! i liked the production more than the other public enemy record we listened to

one of the legendary shoegaze albums, it’s just incredible

i was surprised at how much i liked this. the production is largely simple but good, and T has some real lyricism here.

i’m surprised more of these songs didnt become popular, this album has a distinct radio feel to it. not really my cup of tea, but some good stuff here

not really sure how to rate this so i’m giving it a 3, but it’s an album i could see myself coming back to after i learn more about jazz

ehh. her voice was good, but this just doesnt do it for me

this was fine i guess?

lou reed’s best solo album, this is just excellent — it’s produced by bowie and mick ronson, and you can really tell, they combine with reed’s songwriting incredibly well.

ehh. wasnt interesting to me, didnt enjoy listening

man i just love a ray charles album, this was really nice

heyyyyyyyyy, watermelon man!!!!!’ this album is great.

man these guys really like leonard skin nerd, huh? i didnt like this. the songs were individually bad, and the story of the album wasnt particularly compelling

i thought this was pretty good! not sure if i’m gonna come back to it but it was a fun listen

very good album, didnt love my first listen but it’s really grown on me. feels oddly similar to the avalanches

yeah this album is just incredible

i’m always down for some nashville country, but this album didnt really speak to me. it was fine?

i liked this album, but i’m not really sure about it — this is a high 3, could be a 4 under other circumstances

tbh i was slightly disappointed by this — it’s still good, but i felt it dragged in a couple of places.

the first song i like a lot but the rest weren’t very interesting to me.

i really enjoyed the instrumentation here, which imo made up for some weak lyrics from lou reed.

this was disappointing to me, a lot of the songs felt similar and not very musically interesting.

the fact that two of the guys on this album were also in pavement isnt surprising, but i feel like this lacked something pavement had. didnt enjoy it

yeah this is basically what i expected from a pavement record. it’s fine, not super memorable

this feels like an album i’m gonna revisit in a few months and really like, but right now i don’t really _get_ it.

i really couldnt get into this. i think the mixing is weird enough that it just didnt work for me, i didnt enjoy it

i liked this! i always somewhat drift when listening to electronic music like this so i dont really have specific likes and dislikes, but i enjoyed it

“vapid midcentury rock”

really liked this album, you can see the direction the group is moving in and how they were pioneers of dreampop. this has some flaws, it’s no heaven or las vegas, which is why it’s a 4, but it’s a very high 4

this was really refreshing, i’d never heard any of these songs before and enjoyed the album a lot

this is a legendary album for a reason, i’ll never not listen to it if given the chance.

some real good tracks here, this album is one you can really sink into. didn’t know anything about tim buckley except for his son, going to check out more of his music.

this is the greatest live album of all time. just perfect. i could listen to it any time for any reason and be happy.

i’d heard a bunch of the songs before, but this was my first time listening to the album as a whole. despite some awkwardness, this is brilliant and you can see how it influenced hip hop in the 2010s so well.

i always find myself disappointed by coldplay albums. it feels like there’s a potential for something really interesting there, and then 2/3 of the songs sound the exact same.

i really didnt expect to enjoy a meat loaf album, but this was excellent. it was apparently adapted from a musical, and you can tell — it feels like a movie. some songs (paradise…) were extremely long, but none of them felt like they dragged. surprisingly excellent all round.

this was one of the most prototypical “wall of sound” albums i’ve ever listened to, and i think i understand what that means way more now. it was musically interesting, though i grew a bit bored midway through when it felt like we were getting the same themes over and over again. the lyrics made up for this, they were really funny in places, though some haven’t aged well. i don’t usually notice lyrics at all, so this was a welcome surprise. a fun listen, though i don’t think i’ll come back to it anytime soon.

one of my favorite albums of all time. great lyrics, but genuinely perfect production. i dont think we’ll ever see an album like this again, hold my liquor and bound 2 are top 5 and blood on the leaves is top 1. to get the most out of it, play it over headphones and turn it up until the bass plays through your whole body. this listen i great to appreciate i’m in it a lot more, assassin is so good on his feature, i’m shocked i havent listened to anything of his before. this album is quite divisive, and for good reason, but to me it’s a true masterpiece. my favorite album we’ve heard so far, will likely be in my top 5 for the entire list.

there’s something compelling here, but i found it hard to focus on the lyrics and didnt love the production.

i really vibed with this, something about it just spoke to me.

i’d only heard money for nothing off this album before, and the rest was pleasantly surprising. the instrumentation was excellent, the lyrics were generally good, but there were some really heinous ones which knock this down to a 3. would be a 4 otherwise.

mariah has an incredible voice of course, but the production and songwriting just isnt there. feels like i would get the same enjoyment listening to her perform a book of vocal etudes.

really enjoyed this, great mix of musical styles but was super listenable throughout

this felt like nothing, just overdone synths and label-provided lyrics. i felt nothing new during or after the album.

this is a classic for a reason. it vibes the whole way through, and marvin has an incredible voice. i just didnt feel much emotionally from it, and some stuff felt the same.

this album is legendary, but tbh i dont think i’m going to come back to it very soon.

i love weird albums and this was weird, but the vibes were really good.

oasis is trying to do a beatles-stones crossover thing and they end up being worse than both, but this album is still very listenable. very much of its time, but it’s of its time because it inspired a lot of other people. not my favorite but solid overall

this gets knocked down a point because it’s all covers, but the harmonies were really good

yes. fun and fruity

this one didn’t land for me, not really sure why. giving it a 3 for technically good music, but wasnt my jam

took me two full days to listen to, i kept getting bored and moving on. like the white album, i dont think an album this long can ever be _great_, because there’s bound to be some stinkers on there. this had some good songs and some bad, but if it was half the length with only the good songs it would be so much better

this is just pure fun. cant help but love it

it’s csnl so you’re always guaranteed some quality music, but this wasnt anything special.

there’s absolutely an element of nostalgia going into this review (my mom loves the smiths), but i really enjoyed this. morrissey is morrissey, but johnny marr has some amazing work on this album. every song sounds similar, but they all sound great so i’m fine with it. the meat is murder track is wild, super into it.

i’m probably being harsh here, but i expected a lot more from an earth wind and fire album. this was totally fine, everything was solid, but there wasnt anything that really stood out to me

i can never listen to stuff like this without thinking about woodstock ‘99 and the whole “rock for white dudes only” movement. yes it’s technically good, but man you can really see why grunge was needed right after this.

i dont think i’m ever going to be a metalhead, but this was a fun album. not to my taste, but you can see how it influenced people

really fun, super listenable, this is my new favorite album to listen to while working.

this is one of the easiest 5’s i’ve given so far. just an amazing album in every respect

ehh. very much ehh.

this is a Good Album by a lot of measures but i felt let down by it. still enough to get a highish grade, but not what i remember it being

didnt really enjoy this. i think wilco just isnt for me

i think i’m just burnt out on punk at this point

i stopped midway through. at some point i’m sure i’ll smoke and listen to this, but not rn.

sublimely weird. i loved it

gloriously weird. incredibly fun. a little less than a 5, but a solid 4

i dont think i’d ever listened to a full michael jackson album before this, but wow. the hits are the best, but every single song has something great about it.

i feel nothing about this.

this was fine. didnt particularly care for it.

i’ve never been a fan of u2, and this album signifies why. It’s just not good.

It's genuinely heartbreaking that this album isn't on any streaming services, because it means that De La Soul has fallen out of the conversation of greatest 80s and 90s hip hop groups. This album, their debut, is absolutely brilliant. Funny, corny, listenable. It influenced so many modern artists, and I didn't realize before hearing it how much my favorite albums (such as Wildflower, by the Avalanches) are based on it. I can't identify a favorite song or moment, because they're all so good. This is an instant 5/5 for me, and it's by far the best album on this list that I'd never listened to before.

this is fine. it’s just fine.

i was slightly disappointed by this album, and i’m not really sure why. bowie is always good, and i liked his use of soul music, but there was something missing. i didnt love the beatles cover, even though that seems to be the focal point of the album. it’s a 4, but a weak 4 for me

i found this really fun! there’s an earnestness to it that’s been missing from a lot of the punk from the same era i’ve gotten before. i think part of it could be that it’s a belfast band playing during the troubles, which lends a real authenticity to everything. it can’t be a 5 because it’s musically too simple, but it’s a solid 4.

this was really nice! i dont really know anything about jazz, but i found this great to listen to.

i’ve always struggled with eminem. the production and actual rapping are genuinely brilliant. the lyrics are terrible, and i just really cant get past that. i don’t think i can go below a 3 just because of the technical proficiency here, but with better (less heinous) lyrics this could easily be a 5.

genuinely unlistenable. 90s nu metal was a dark period in history

yeah. whatever.

this was weird but in a great way.

man morrissey really called it. anyways, this album is excellent and i’m always happy to have an excuse to listen to it

short and sweet, just like the queen of country herself.

i didnt really get the concept part of it but individual songs were good

i’m definitely biased here, i’ve never been a fan of the beastie boys. giving this a 3 because i don’t think i can fairly rate it and the technical aspects are solid

this was disappointing. tainted love is of course excellent, but there guys really needed to steal some lyrics for the other songs. boring synth pop

this was my introduction to chic — i found it really fun! lots of great instrumentation, i didn’t really focus on the lyrics so i don’t know what those say.

i kind of loved it? hadn’t heard any of the songs but solisbury hill, and that banged, but i didn’t realize it would be so weird. gonna check out more peter gabriel now

probably my favorite coldplay, but i still just feel almost nothing about it. giving it a 4 because it’s better, but it’s a low 4

listen, it’s sinatra. you know what you’re getting, and it’s going to be great every time.

not my jam. the technical aspects are all excellent, but i just can’t get into these long songs, i felt bored after 2 minutes.

disappointed in this. i like some songs from the national, so i expected to like this, but it just felt so disconnected, and the individual songs didnt really stand out

you can really see brian eno’s influence on this album, and it feels like exactly what i want from the talking heads.

i think i’ve been spoiled by the legendary 90s albums because even though this was great for the time, it fell flat to me.

this is the newest album we’ve gotten so far, and you can tell why it was included. amazing production, great features, and sza is an excellent vocalist. very solid 5

legendary album, but not really to my tastes.

this feels like a step backwards for radiohead given what i know of their earlier work. it’s….fine. 2+2=5 is solid, but everything else is meh.

it’s exactly what i’d expect from bon jovi, which isn’t much. organ was fun

this is about as highly as i can personally rate a metal album. it’s good, but not for me

i can’t believe i’ve never heard of this group before. they’re on my list now, this album was excellent.

this is just amazing. this album was my introduction to radiohead, and i still absolutely love it

when i was 12 and heard a rush song for the first time (tom sawyer), i wanted to listen to more music of theirs, so i looked up their scifi rock opera concept album. at age 12, i thought it was self-important, boring, and a bit fascistic. my opinion hasn’t changed. it’s higher than a 1 because of the technical skill, but only barely. fuck you geddy lee.

i liked this a lot! have been recced beefheart before, i’m gonna listen to more now

lyrics and flow are truly excellent. production is mid to bad, mixing is terrible. makes sense that this is a debut album, but with some better choices this could be a strong 5. it missed a bit

this was really excellent. a mix of classic flaming lips song styles and some delightful weirdness. i thoroughly enjoyed it

this was great! no idea about the lyrics, but everything else was genuinely excellent

this was kind of nothing to me. couldnt really focus on the songs

another reviewer described it as “background music” and i feel that

this mashup of punk vocals and very country instrumentals shouldn’t work, but it really really does. that’s ireland for ya. not a 5 because it wasnt very polished

i generally really like it when pop artists go in a totally different direction, so i was quite disappointed that this fell so flat for me. madonna’s vocals are just uninteresting, and this feels like an album which was either ruined or salvaged in the edit. either way, it’s just not very good.

Every time I listen to good kid mAAd city it brings me back to the first time I heard it. It's like nothing before it and nothing since. Someone once described this album to me as a visual movie, and that's always stuck with me. It's a concept album executed perfectly, Kendrick's memoir. Beyond that, every single song has something amazing about it, and the density of great songs is higher than any project I've heard except for TPAB. As with any album I love, every time I listen I find a new song to appreciate even more. This time it was Compton, which makes sense as I've been on a bit of a Dre kick recently. Just excellent, the easiest 5 I've given on this list. I know taste differs, but I can't imagine anyone who actually listened to the entirety of this album rating it less than 4.

this was lovely, i listened at work and it just flowed really well.

this album is pretty symbolic of my general feelings about the beastie boys — excellent production and technical skills, ruined by bad flows and lyrics. rating it a 3, and i think that’s about as high as i could go on a beastie boys album.

i didnt really get the oasis-beatles-stones comparisons when the only song i knew was wonderwall, but i can totally see it now. this was a really cool album, one i know i’m going to come back to a lot. it’s not perfect, but i enjoyed it

wow. didnt think i liked metal that much, but this was excellent

there’s a reason this is commonly cited as the best rap album of all time. incredible lyricism, great production, all around just excellent. couldnt imagine rating it less

this is the prototypical def leppard album. this sort of hair metal will never be my thing, and i really dont vibe with the singles. cant give this a 1 because of the technical quality, but i didnt enjoy the listen

this list has really forced me to listen to some excellent jazz albums, i’ve found a real appreciation for the genre i wouldnt have expected. i still feel like i dont know enough to critically rate jazz, i just sit back and enjoy it. i really sat back and enjoyed this album though.

genuinely didnt know that janis was in a band before listening to this album, but it’s excellent. her vocals are, of course, amazing. the instrumentation falls a bit flat for me at parts, but it’s an album i’m going to come back to

this is mid-tier floyd which is still pretty great

i’ve somewhat soured on queen in recent years, but this still goes so hard.

apparently i’d entirely forgotten that this album was in the background for the majority of my childhood, so thanks mom! i’ll fully admit to bias here, but i just love this album a lot.

yeah i mean this is incredible. no notes

it’s a legendary album for a reason. it does have some of the misogyny 90s hip hop is famous for, but it’s also the best album from one of the best artists of all time.

apparently grunge is a big gap in my musical knowledge because i’d never heard of this group, but this was really excellent. lyrics are fine-not-great but i didnt come for the lyrics, and everything else was really grimy and somewhat trippy. i really liked it.

i’m just never going to be a beck fan, i always find him unbearably corny

with the obvious caveat that i dont know what the lyrics are saying (though the title of this album is a delightful pun), this is truly excellent. sounds really ahead of its time, perfectly matched samples and excellent mixing, and the flow was just super nice and pleasant. all around really good listen.

this was.. perfectly fine and pleasant. nothing really stood out to me, and i dont think i’ll revisit it, but the vocals were good and the instrumentation was fine.

bit weird of a listen because this album has been sampled so much, i’m not sure if that’s bringing my score up or down. overall good, but not super special

ehh.

we all know i love some country, this is nothing too special but it’s pretty nice

beautiful, sad, everything i’ve ever wanted from leonard cohen. i cant believe his voice sounded this good at his age, truly aged like a good wine.

this feels like it should be a greatest hits record but just isnt. not sure what’s going on here, but i was disappointed

as a certified hater of mr. brightside, i was pleasantly surprised by how much i liked this album as a whole. not perfect, but quite good. very cohesive 2000s pop punk, which is about all you can ask for

this was…significantly better than i expected. i havent enjoyed tom waits before, but i really liked this.

meh.

it’s not as good as her latest, but still an excellent album.

simply too 90s for its own good

i’m absolutely a biased sucker for morrissey. i accept that. this wasnt my favorite of his, but still quite good imo

honestly this is disappointing for radiohead. still totally fine, but i expect more from them

man i love vintage country so much

tbh i’m kind of just sick of this genre of sadboy britpoppy punk

very mellow, stoner music at its finest. i enjoyed it, but tbh i think it fails in the way a lot of mellow stuff fails — you have to be high to listen to it. it’s a strange album to try and rate, but i’ll do my best.

this felt soulless which, more than anything, is unforgivable if you’re trying to make punk music.

james taylor is a bit of a musical blind spot for me, and i wish he wasn’t, because this is excellent. great vocals, great guitar, the bit with the horns was super cool. just a great album.

disappointing. i’m often very into early 90s hip hop, but that’s mostly because i only listen to the best from that (great) era. this is not the best. the samples are badly chosen, the flows are super basic and boring, and (of course) there’s a ton of casual misogyny.

some real genuine classic country. very much a product of its time and place, but solid nonetheless. short and sweet, which is what i like.

i don’t think i can give this album less than a 5, though it’s the hardest nirvana album to listen to. still nirvana though.

i mean, what else could you want? this is excellent.

i’ve always loved mia. this is clearly her best work, and it’s one of those albums where i wouldn’t change a single thing. perfect sound, perfect production, perfect lyrics.

this was, frankly, boring. i’m not very interested in another 80s rock-pop-punk thing with uninteresting lyrics. it gets a 2 because it’s listenable, but really didn’t make an impression.

i mean, this is a legendary album for a reason. truly excellent soul/hip hop, amazing lyrics and sound, and a great listen. tbqh, i don’t love the density of interludes but that’s just a feature of the era, can’t do much about it. clear 5, if this isn’t a 5 then nothing is.

one of the bigger differences between title and sound i’ve heard. great album

yeah. perfect.

didn’t know i needed jefferson airplane in my life but wow. this kind of blew me away

this was quite solid! janis of course has an iconic voice, but i found the instrumentation to be a bit lacking in parts. a lot of legendary songs, though.

absolutely biased here. i’ve never liked u2, and this doesn’t do anything to change that for me.