Longstanding fan of everything up to and including Dookie. But nah, there's easily 2002 better albums to listen to this. Never listened before because I was fully done with them by this point. Heard the singles and thought nah. Maybe It's ok. Maybe I just stopped liking new Green Day stuff when I stopped being a teenager when they came out. It's a theory. Wait, what? The second track is 9 minutes long. Who are this band? Starts off aping the Beach Boys and then segues into All the Young Dudes. Actually quite funny how all over the place it is. What the hell, the next track is 8 minutes. Ha, Bush sent them mad. Ok I'm on board now. Might get 3 stars just because of how ridiculous it is. Yeah boulevard is still as dull as it always was. I see what's happening here, they've just removed the space between separate songs. Nah, too long and too many mediocre songs. 2 stars it is.

Well this is already great. Previous knowledge of Can was basically all of Tago Mago and Vitamin C. But this is Can chilled out and spaced out. Real head music, as they say... So glad I've got another go-to record by them now.

One of my favourites, know it inside out

Longstanding fan of everything up to and including Dookie. But nah, there's easily 2002 better albums to listen to this. Never listened before because I was fully done with them by this point. Heard the singles and thought nah. Maybe It's ok. Maybe I just stopped liking new Green Day stuff when I stopped being a teenager when they came out. It's a theory. Wait, what? The second track is 9 minutes long. Who are this band? Starts off aping the Beach Boys and then segues into All the Young Dudes. Actually quite funny how all over the place it is. What the hell, the next track is 8 minutes. Ha, Bush sent them mad. Ok I'm on board now. Might get 3 stars just because of how ridiculous it is. Yeah boulevard is still as dull as it always was. I see what's happening here, they've just removed the space between separate songs. Nah, too long and too many mediocre songs. 2 stars it is.

Apparently obligatory Big Lebowski reference. With that out of the way, I can't really argue with Take It Easy, oh well, until the banjo kicks in, fuck off man. This album came up early and I skipped it for months because it's The Eagles. Came back to give it a fair crack now. If Witchy Woman is representative of the better songs, then this isn't going to be fun. Shite. I didn't have high hopes for a song called 'Chug all night' and those expectations were realised. Following that with Most of us Are Sad is actually hilarious. The vocal harmonies are very nice. There are some songs I can tolerate... (Train leaves...) And heck, these obviously influenced Midlake and other stuff I like. But, well - Ok I'm just going to say, it's not for me. 1 star for an imagined version of Take it Easy with no superfluous banjo, and 1 star for being in some way responsible for Van Occupanther.

Just a joy. Love a bit of this. Mambo!

Will be the first listen for me. Only really heard the title track and the Triple H entrances. Need to listen to more Hawkwind as well. I mean it was never going to be a surprise was it. Loads of amazing, meaty guitar solos. Jailbait, well, yeah..hmm. Listening to an album like this first 40 years after its already influenced your musical tastes vicariously for years, can sometimes be a touch underwhelming. So, not blown away for those reasons. But there's no doubting it's a fantastic album.

It's energetic isn't it. So this is what my mates were listening to at school. I was happy with Faith No More. Does sound pretty much exactly like I imagined it to. Apparently massively influential, so again the curse of I've heard loads influenced by it but not the thing itself. All good metal, not massively my thing, I think I prefer my metal slightly less noodly in, always space for some of this for me but more likely in small doses. Mind you the solos and rhythm guitar for the second half of Lucretia are excellent.

Nope. Selling loads doesn't mean i have to listen to it, I heard all the identical singles 1001 times, that's plenty. Babylon is a place where this doesn't exist.

Very nice. Not my thing particularly, but would happily stick on a Sunday afternoon.

A pop classic from the off. Such style, an iconic record, not much point writing more. Launched a lot of inferior rips, but not their fault.

Superb album that gives the lie to the idea that records after long hiatus are never good. This is excellent. Such a lush and glorious sound. It's not quite as good as Loveless, but MBV albums are so rare that doesn't matter. Finishes off with a wonderful cacophony as well.

Another one I skipped because I wasn't in the mood. Doesn't sound nearly as 80s as I expected it to in 2022. maybe if i played it through my mum's kitchen radio then it would. It's a very nice sound - but it doesn't take long to fade into the background. samey. Frankies first affair was good. As was I will be your friend. Not very likely to come back to this often but it was good.

I bet this has aged terribly.

Well this is already great. Previous knowledge of Can was basically all of Tago Mago and Vitamin C. But this is Can chilled out and spaced out. Real head music, as they say... So glad I've got another go-to record by them now.

WHO TOOK THE BOMP FROM THE BOMPALOMPALOMP, WHO TOOK THE RAM FROM THE RAMALAMADINGDANG!? Love Le Tigre. Love this album.

Ha, excellent timing to give me this during Jubilee week. Not listened because I played this to death growing up so it's indelibly marked upon my psyche, I can play it to myself whenever I want.

Both Eminem albums? 1 year apart. Nah. Surely you drop this one to make room for something new and groundbreaking. Still, when I look at what's on this it's hard to argue against. Bought it, like everyone else when it came out, same as the debut. Kind of not interested in listening again though.

The title track doesn't feel like 8 minutes. Always liked Vincent, but mainly for punk covers by the likes of NOFX. I will say I prefer the cover, like the godless heathen I am. Crossroads is quite beautiful and understated. I do not like Everybody loves me baby. The other tracks washed over me.

This is what I'm doing this for. Love a bit of Afrobeat and well aware of Fela Kuti's legend (and of course Ginger Baker's) but not got around to listening to many legendary albums. The groove is alive. Oh my god, the drumming. Superb

1997, great year for music. I listen to this all the time, but probably only discovered it about 10 years ago. One More Hour, right in the feels. Oh you've got the darkest eyes.

Not fond of the title track, the late 80s production really leaves me cold, and Santana's guitar coupled with this just feels easy listening. In the Mood is more the blues sound I was expecting and much better. Not a big Bonnie Raitt fan though, have a feeling this isn't going to be for me. The Canned Heat one is pretty good, decent groove. The George Thorogood one is excellent. Rockin Chair just John Lee on his own is great. Some really good tracks here then. As a whole album though I'm underwhelmed.

So, fan of the Undertones but only really heard those singles. This is all good fun, none of the first 5 are really getting their hooks in me before they're already finished, but hey that's ok, another one will be along in less than 2 minutes. And I guess that's the point. Feargal sounds a bit like Hugh Cornwell on Jump Boys in places, the first song that stands out for me. Here Comes the Summer is fantastic obviously. In, shake it all about, out, done, in a minute and a half. Bosh. True Confessions really stands out from the jangle pop that surrounds it, great stuff. And after that, more fun, fine but fairly forgettable pop punk. So there's 5 terrific tracks here in the middle for me.

My assumed position is Led Zep 3 is the best but the first 3 tracks here, you know, you've got to question it. Absolutely love the Battle for Evermore. And I mean I like the lord of the rings and everything but if anything that takes away rather than adds from it, I just love it as a thing. Never particularly understood the obsession Stairway to Heaven gets. Also don't recognise it in anything Wayne plays in the guitar shop. But hey it's a good song. Misty is loads of fun. Going to California, oh my heart. Yeah, at When the Levee Breaks and it's confirmed. Stairway is the only song on this album I don't absolutely love.

A really nice album. Like her stuff generally but hadn't heard this before for some reason. Silver globe and Amber are really great. Lots of gentle motorik beats all over this.

Being 8 when this came out the singles unsurprisingly surrounded me. I liked the title track of course. Less bothered by the others. Into the Groove is fabulous but not on this album, which I've never listened to before now. I was not aware of the Prince duet, which is a lovely little nugget to add to my library. The deleted track Supernatural is also going in. Exception on the singles, Dear Jessie I had completely forgotten existed and reminds me a lot of Erasure on The Circus. Nice.

Another band I've always liked but it occurs to me I've never listened to their albums. I've listened to more Style Council albums it turns out. Not really a fan of any of Weller's solo work. First impressions are that this is nowhere near as immediate, or spiky as I would expect from The Jam. So will it reveal itself from repeated listens, maybe so. After the first 3 fairly nondescript tracks, the following three are terrific, I'm really settling into this, In The Crowd a brilliant closer to side 1. The lyrics are predictably interesting. Musically not much arrests me on side B until the big single that sends us home. Probably a grower.

Had a couple of late 80s albums this week taking me back to my youth. But really striking how contemporary they sound these days, ten maybe 15 years ago this would sound as dated as hell but not now, aside from the odd scratch noise. This sound is everywhere in modern music. All time bangers front and centre, it's a blast at the beginning. I drift off halfway through as nothing can compete with the absolute classic singles particularly, but it's still a great, fun, pop album.

Serie A, Channel 5, John Barnes! Will forever associate Phantom pt 2 with that one season that happened. Another fun album, possibly more fun and zippy than Daft Punk were, but admittedly not as good. I can see this one getting displaced by better stuff down the line but you never know, there's some weird choices in the list. Even so, this is one I come back to semi-regularly. D.A.N.C.E, Phantom, New Jack, The Party, Stress all obvious highlights.

Not usually a fan of country but there are exceptions, I went into this with an open heart. First track I thought hmm. 2-4 I'm genuinely enjoying it, perhaps for the novelty, perhaps they're standout. I can see it's good, but after that I'm tapping out tbh, I just lose interest. Weird that there's absolutely no Lee Hazelwood in this book. Stuck Nancy & Lee on immediately afterwards to cleanse my palate.

What can you say, one of the great Dylan albums. Subterranean is outstanding, 115th Dream is still hilarious, Tambourine, Eden, Only Bleeding and Baby Blue still some of his all time best songs. The first side is great, but side B is pure gold. Not a duff song on here and the best was still to come.

The first album that's no longer in the book as of 2021 edition (app must have missed this). It was always weird that The XX's 3rd album was ever included, but that's gone too. Feels slightly harsh on the debut which is pretty good, although from memory there were only about 4 songs on it that were standout, being generous, and they very much capture the moment around the end of the 00s. Immensely parody-able, listening to it now, and tbf the overtly stylised nature of the band meant they always were at the time. The rest of the album just sort of maintained the mood, meandering without doing anything special. But the standout songs were good, some not as good as I remember, and sometimes we're just in Chris Isaacs territory... I always found the bloke annoying. In the end agree with the decision to ditch from the 1001.

Only vaguely heard of this guy but I knew the French love their hip hop, never explored before. This is pretty great, love the title track. I love 80s hip hop and rap but I kind of got off the bus somewhere early to mid 90s and never truly got back on. Always got time for exceptions like Dave and such. I don't like the ragga one, I'm not target audience, but I won't hold it against the album as a whole which is well worth a listen. This has a lot to like about it, much genres covered, and some of that early 90s production that works great for some things (this) and terribly for lots of other stuff. Kind of doesn't matter that I haven't got a clue what he's rapping about, it's a great soundscape.

Up against a deadline at work this morning and this is precisely what I needed to keep me motivated. All killer no filler.

Yeah Ok, so i have to say most of it washed over me somewhat as nice enough folk noodlings at first, until Do You Hear me jumped out, and enjoyed "Ramblings..." The guitar playing is obviously excellent throughout. Casbah is superb. Went back to relisten to Needle of Death. Am getting it now, need to settle into it, it's not a one listen wonder. Can see how influential this would be, as a big Robyn Hitchcock fan I knew the name, but had never heard before.

The book has it right, this is a low key, brilliant album. Unquestionably their best, and most consistent. Been a fan of these since Losing My Edge turned up on a label sampler my friend had, thought that was cool, then heard the amazing, blipping, squelchy Yeah and the New-Order-on-amphetimines Beat Connection and I was sold. The debut was good with some obvious high points but I found myself listening to the familiar disc of pre-existing singles much more. This is a fully formed album from the off, opener Get Innocuous dismissing any fears they'd spaffed most of their best ideas before even releasing an album. The weaker songs 'time to get away', 'watch the tapes' and the title track are still full of hooks and good enough to keep the vibe going. 'Weaker' being a relative term, as compared against the delicious joyful-mournfully celebratory 'Someone Great' and ultimate anthem to nostalgic wanderings through lost weekends and togetherness, 'All of My Friends'. Far and away the 2 best songs here, and the latter probably the best the band ever did. After that Us V Them is an admirable attempt to combine their best bits from other songs and does a good job, 'New York...' sends us home tripping up the first two stairs on our way to bed with a crashing indie rock jam. It's a great album.

This was my favourite Stevie album, until I got into Inner Visions. Wonderful

The first Neil Young album to come up in my journey, suspect I may feel similarly about all of them but we'll see. Have never particularly got Neil Young, despite following lots of artists and bands who sing his praises to the moon. Generally, all nice and good for a Sunday afternoon but it just doesn't grab my attention.

Great

Used to love these as a kid, but only ever had two different Best of albums. Naturally much of this was on it. So I never got around to listening to any of their albums proper, here we go. You've got to love that bass. Kicks off with a song about smacking your girlfriend around, nice. I knew there was always this edge, with Peaches obviously, who knows if it's sincere. Had a feeling the lyrics wouldn't age well, but the sound is wonderful. Grip was always one of my favourites of there's and it's my favourite on this album. Absolute stone cold banger. I don't think there's anything else here quite up to that high standard, but it's good. To be fair though, I will probably go back to the best ofs next time I need my Stranglers hit. Need Strange Little Girl and others.

Magical

Why is Little Wing so short. It's just getting started and it ends, I want more. Patchier and scratchier than the debut certainly but still some stonkers here.

All I understood ZZTop to be was this incredibly 80s, incredibly American sound. So I look forward to hearing Le Grange etc for the totally different sound. Never a huge fan of the singles, though they're obviously big old pop songs and you can't fault the craft. Tbh I think only Gimme all your Lovin had a serious impact in the UK. For me anyway. Great for any time I'm feeling in the mood for big daft rock such as this - not in anyway to denigrate it, those times and places do happen.

If you ignore Suede (who aren't really Britpop) this is pretty inarguably the best, most consistent Britpop album. The absolute peak, and a lovely old evisceration of the somewhat vacuous culture that surrounded it. That the 90s are now looked upon by many as the good old days, tells you everything you need to know about the absolute state we are in now, in 2022.

Haha, nice. I never did listen to song that The Man Don't Give A Fuck sampled. But Showbiz Kids is a cracker.

Yeah, can't be arsed with this one. Enjoyed it back in 2007 or whenever, but not a single one of their records since and the Alex Turner hero worship that followed is kind of annoying. But mainly I just didn't like the music. This is clearly the best one though and obviously the lyrics are clever. Blah

Ahh FFS. He's actually good isn't he. Not consciously avoided him but have somehow got this far without listening to him or much awareness at all besides the daft shite he gets up to in public life. But this is bloody good. Never Let Me Down is pretty special. Have tried tracks on their own in the past and just shrugged. Maybe I was never in the mood. This is ridiculously good actually. Surely one of the all time greatest debuts. Guess I'd better check the other good ones.

All time classic.

Well very nearly, 2 days before the 25th anniversary this comes up. Lovely. It does sort of feel its age to me this one, I guess because I lived through it and heard it lots at the time but not much since. This is the last Scream album I listened to in great detail. The 90s big beat style is front and centre. Medication is a hangover from when they thought they were the Rolling Stones and sounds a lot like 'Rocks', I can take or leave that one. Still, it's a very good album. The dub stuff is great, Long Life is great, Burning wheel is up there with the best things they've ever done, and Trainspotting stands up well, probably the one song on this album I have heard the most down the years in fact.

So having only ever listened to one Queen album, The Miracle, when I was a kid, this will be interesting, I recognize zero of the song titles here. Thought BR would be on it given the cover, but nope. Ok. So yeah this sounds like Queen (apart from the exceptions below), except you just haven't heard the song eleventy billion times. Oh and sometimes it's batshit crazy (ogre battle). My favourite song by a distance is one that doesn't sound like Queen and instead sounds more like quiet Led Zep, Some Day One Day. In fact, Billy Corgan 100% knows and likes this song, whatever he says, basically half of Siamese Dream (an album I love, but credit where it's due) is this song. The Loser sounds even more like Led Zep, loud version this time, creditable Robert Plant impression from Roger Taylor taking over vocals. Funny How Love is sounds a lot like good era Beach Boys so that's good. So, more tolerable, but mostly sounds like Queen, so I'll pass thanks. Appreciate Queen for what they were and there is a lot to like but it's not for me. Overall did enjoy the listen but probably will only listen to the Smashing Pumpkins one and the Beach Boys one again.

Interesting, so yeah, I am of the incorrect culture to know this guy, or anything much about Rai in general. So going in more or less blind, it's a lot of fun, a lot of variety of styles (funk, samba, samba accordian, sir?) so you're never bored. Do skip over the cover of Imagine though as that is an abomination. Track 3, man, really? Do you want people to listen to your long long record, or not? The persevering explorer however will be rewarded with a good time. I could do without a second soft rock version of C'est la nuit though.

Smooooooooth. Niiice! Grrrreat Schmoking! Mmmm, nice. Wonderful! Suuuuuperb.

Most of this isn't on Spotify anymore, but I listened to what I could. After getting Ice Cube the previous day, the contrast for me is stark. As much as I loved that, this just leaves me cold. Never been a Snoop fan, or a Dre fan particularly. I get what he does and that it is good, it's just not for me. A few decent tracks here but I find I'm appreciating them rather than enjoying them, it's just literally not for me.

What a record. Very nearly 30 years old. Terrifyingly little progress in some quarters in that time since the Rodney King riots. Righteous anger and vitriol ripples through this. Today was a Good Day, obvs one of the best rap songs of all time, even if I sort of blame it's success for Puff Daddy trying to repeat the formula over and over again for years with boring results. But this album is just really high quality the whole way through.

Big fan of Odelay and Vultures, I've been a sporadic fan since. One of those artists I keep intending to get through their last few albums but I never quite do. So, um yeah, this one took me almost 20 years to get around to. Oops. Woah, Paper Tiger. Getting his Serge on. Ooh, it's sad Beck. Okay. Lush production on Lonesome Tears. Gorgeous song. Some of the quieter ones I think are going to take a few listens to appreciate. At the end, yeah, rating this after one listen feels fraudulent. But I will definitely revisit this.

Listened to Air recently which I loved for the Stepney/Reich vibes in equal measure. That's nothing like this, I've only heard bits before, enough to know that Air was a departure, and that they released music faster than I could keep up. This is pretty wonderful. Never stays the same, never dips in quality. Fully justified inclusion, hopefully will withstand the brutal culls that more modern albums suffer with each new edition.

Often heard about them when reading REM interviews in the music press way back when, but pre-streaming/internet I would never hear them. So I guess now I'm going to hear them. The full album is on A***on Music, which trump's Spotify's pitiful offering of missing tracks. And, well, it's beautiful. Of course I was going to like this as a lifelong fan of REM, particularly their early stuff, of which this is most reminiscent, or vice versa. You can absolutely hear the Replacements too, and stuff like the Green Pajamas. Yes the production is loose as fuck, but for me thats all part of the charm. There's great tunes here, that vary between up tempo freak outs (You can't Have Me) and quietly devastating (Holocaust). Kanga Roo feels like a precursor to shoegaze in places and is absolutely wonderful. Anyway I'm a sucker for the mythology around 'lost' records like this, and 'Smile', with tracks scattered around all over the place, where noone can agree on the running order. Then someone finally does, decades later. Love it.

Absolutely wild, I never heard this before. What an amazing good time gig. What else can you say about Sam Cooke. Who knows if this would be the peak of his powers. Absolute tragedy that 18 months later he'd be killed.

Well, this falls into the category of yeah I can see what they're doing, but I'm not going to suddenly like Dire Straits after all these years. Aside from sultans of swing I'm not really feeling anything. I got really really bored towards the end.

Bring the scuzz, properly dirty. Lovely. In N out of Grace is epic

Very much a toe dipper in the world of Nick Cave, I like what I hear but not delved into the albums. So why not start with a double album, yeah. First track is surprisingly raucous, though I know he's got that side clearly, Birthday Party, Grinderman. And it's great. Few tracks in, loving the vibe. Oh my god, There She Goes my Beautiful World, how have I never heard this before, this is fuckin ace. Nature Boy I have heard and it's fabulous. This is so great. Second half sounds different but still has some bangers, Spell being the most obvious, just wonderful. So at the end of it, happily knew several tracks so I've not been totally missing out, but what a great, warm album, altogether. Going on the list.

Funny one this. Came to Floyd for the Syd Barrett stuff, via Robyn Hitchcock, I have no real love for later iterations and that's always been my position, despite mates and the entirety of society insisting it's one of the best records ever made. Certainly one of the best covers. So let's see. There's some obvious classics here, Breathe, I wish was as long as Money (see below), 2 minutes is a waste of that lush sound. Great Gig, is obviously stratospheric. Aside from that, On the Run is some fun noodly noises, fine, Time is nice in a cross between the previous two tracks kind of way, so far we are all good for playing on a hot day. Money, I just do not care for that much. I enjoy the odd time signature, that's good, but other than that it's just a blues rock song, which is fine, I just don't feel it. Us and Them is the centrepiece I warm to, that's great. I like that the rest of the album bleeds into eachother and Eclipse is a good finish. So ok, it gets a 4 - mainly because of the classics. will I listen to it often, no.

Sounds nice and sounds like Willie Nelson. It's just not for me.

It's a Jurassic 5 record. Day at the races, What's Golden, I Am Somebody are sublime. The rest is merely great.

First off, go to YouTube. Ignore the Spotify version which is not good. This is pretty magical, all told. The last track is gorgeous. It's a shame you have to faff with YouTube and VLC and whatnot as otherwise I can see me sticking this on more often.

Didn't listen this time but it's a classic, probably their best, most consistently great album.

The The are great. I think I might like this one more than Soul Mining. Not sure. Obviously the production has way dated now, but they're still great. Mrs sat next to me says it really shows how much INXS ripped them off and by god she's right.

Dunno why but I just get put off listening to this one - The best songs are not the singles (although Sway is great, if that counts) - Can't you hear me knocking probably my favourite, superb riff. Moonlight Mile. There's some nice blues and stuff. I much prefer Townes Van Zandt's version of Dead Flowers. It's a good album no question but I've never completely understood why it's vaunted by many as the best Stones album.

Great lyrics, great voice. Ultimately not my thing though. Fast Car is timeless obviously. Behind the Wall sadly still totally relevant. Baby Can I Hold You utterly tarnished in my mind by the ubiquitous Ronan Keating bloody version.

Summer of 69 and On a Rope don't get old. Love the horn section. It's a blast. Come see Come saw is basically Jumping Jack Flash, but hey the whole album is a gas gas gas.

It's a good indie rock album. Mad that it's nearly 20 years old and there really haven't been many good indie rock albums since. Not hugely surprised it's left the book as for all it's qualities, aside from Take Me Out it's not that outstanding/noteworthy in this context. Michael and Darts of Pleasure my favourites.

Bossa Nova. Tick.

It's Curtis Mayfield.

Listened to this a bit before but only a bit. Love the rhythms and fusion. Boyz is great, Jimmy is spectacular. Wasn't sure 20 Dollars worked as a lifelong Pixies/New Order fan, but on repeat it's a banger. XR2 is parp-tastic Paper Planes is a classic. But it's sampling the Clash so of course it is. It's a great record. Shame about the whole antivax bullshit, but you can't have everything.

App deleted my notes. Anyway. This is good. Looking forward to the other two given the fuss made of Kevin Rowland in the music press if this is the worst one.

Probably his best album. Automatic 5 stars.

Friends have banged on about Mick Head's bands for ages now, I've heard this and thought it was alright but I'd already been listening to Teenage Fanclub for years so just hear that in it. I'm told Shack had that sound first, I don't know, but Sparky's Dream existed for years before 'Comedy' and I can't help but hear the exact same chorus. Although, that is a delightful song. Beta Band vibes on the backing vocals of Captain's Table. Streets of Kenny is really great. With a really weirdly abrupt ending. So, to my ear nothing original, and tbh, after Streets of Kenny nothing really holds my interest (except Since I Met You). But it is really well done. Had I heard this back in 1999 I would very likely have been all over it.

Almost as good as The Soft Bulletin. Do You Realize is one of their greatest ever songs.

Immediately exiled from the book after one edition! That's harsh, and somehow symbolic. The world doesn't care, but likes to appear that it does, then quietly undo everything when people aren't looking. And so many garbage albums that outlived their relevance years ago remain. Yes, David Grey. Anyway, this is really good. To be fair, there's quite a lot of excellent desert blues and whatnot floating around these days if you listen out for it. Which is a great thing. This is a good example of it.

Yeah it's nice and that. I'm always just left a bit cold by Neil Young. Obvs there's more variety here because there's Stills too. And some other people! And it's late 60s flower music, groovy and stuff. It's good, but nothing really stands out for me and I just can't see me sticking it on again.

So many ideas. Ex lion tamer and Mannequin fantastic pop punk. Strange I heard the REM cover first. Short, stabby, songs everywhere else. No need to write much here it's so massively influential. The longer it goes on the better it gets. Fabulous album.

Bar a few songs, not a Metallica fan. I like my metal but they just bore me. So here we go. 1 track in, in danger of bouncing off immediately. Played to perfection, just not particularly interesting. Title track appeals to my Prog-livities, much better. Eye of Beyolder- meh. One, lovely intro. An intro as long as several Wire songs. One is one of the few Metallica songs I already like going into this and it's obviously one of the greatest metal songs of all time, Billy Corgan also obviously loves this song and Siamese Dream very reminiscent of it. So, moving on, what's after that? Lots more meh, it turns out. Was literally mind wandering then I heard the line "loss of interest, question wonder", ha. I think this is getting a 2 because I need to like more than 2 songs in an hour of music. But One deserves more than that on its own. Shame it brought it's mates. Ah, damn. Dyers Eve is good, right at the end. Still though, I like less than half the album so it's gotta stay a 2. Went back to Megadeth to remind me thrash could be fun.

It sounds great. Obvs hugely important. Judging it as an actual record - Most of the album tracks are, well, a bit shit aren't they. 6 great tracks ranging from really good to all time classics, 6 shite tracks. 6.5/10

A glorious racket.

Got this the day after The Birthday Party. It's funny how people's definitions of 'unlistenable' vary so radically. This is such a slog. Although it regularly meanders into the background, so easy forget it's on. A bit like all the singles did when they came on the radio in the kitchen in the 80s. But also overlong. Half the album is just twinkly nothing. And I'm sure you could do the prog intro to Money For Nothing and still close out the rest within 5 minutes. 8 and a half? Get out. The first album in project I have to give a 1 to, I just dislike all of it. It is absolutely not necessary to listen to this before you die.

Wasn't surprised on looking up to see this has gone from the book, it's a fine, decent indie dance genre-hip-trip-hopping album but 20 years later (eek) I don't exactly think of it as earth changing. We are also slap bang in the era of too-long albums from bands who feel they must squeeze all the space out of a CD. Not many of these tracks are what I'd consider essential, either. There's a couple of surprises though, the smokey Latin Simone saunters in towards the end and steals the show for me. I have no memory of this at the time. 19-2000 holds up well. Slow Country was nice. The band was a fun gimmick, giving Jamie Hewlett a paycheck after Tank Girl, which is nice. The Clint Eastwood remix at the end is, and always was, hella annoying.

Have floated around Roxy all this time but never truly dove in for whatever reason. Daft because I would clearly love it. This is one of the albums I've never even listened to once. Well, this is great. Thrill of it all, and Out of the Blue, both superb. The whole last half of the album.

Bounced off these for so long because of the horrible populist noise they became in the Invisible Touch era. Despite knowing they're prog behemoths under Peter Gabriel. But anyway, how could I like the Flaming Lips and not like this, is I guess. There's still lots to find annoying, and it's partly the stuff here that's pisstake-worthy (see The Battle of Epping Forest's singular ridiculousness) and the worst excesses of Yes that I blame for my not realising how much fantastic music there was to discover in the prog genre until way late in my musical journey. But if you put all your preconceptions aside, and just give in to it, this is a joyous record.

It's Blonde on Blonde.

Oh Christ. This is going to test my commitment more than Brothers in Arms did, isn't it. Ok, I listened. It's toss. Actually a shame, an album full of left leaning, anti-capitalist lyrics including a massive smash hit taking the piss out of Reaganomics at its absolute height, you just want it to be good. A Talking Heads cover, as well. To be fair, Come To My Aid has a decent track struggling to get out with decent Orange Juice/Smith's guitar work but Hucknall smothers it by being annoying all over the top of it. The rest is cod lounge-jazz crap. Or the worst kind of 80s mainstream electro rock. With Mick Hucknall being really annoying all over the top of it. I was softening slightly thinking about the good points but then Open the Red Box happened and sealed the 1/5.

It just sounds epic. Listened for the first time only a few months back. Couldn't believe I'd left it so long. I would watch the imaginary stage show that all these songs are taken from, and have a good cry, I'm sure. The Kids is a real tough listen.

Removed again. Yeah fair enough. Felt Mountain is obviously great, Black Cherry is possibly even better so if a 2nd Goldfrapp album is going in it's 100% that one, I love both those albums and regularly go back to them. I stepped off though at Ooh La La because it sounded just like Train but without the character so I thought, ah, out of ideas. So I never listened to Supernature - I think I may have listened to Seventh Tree once as it cropped up in year end lists but it definitely didn't leave an impression on me at the time. So, here goes... Will this be another lush, sumptuous album you could just drown in... or not? And the answer is.... Well the first track is certainly gorgeous. More than a hint of those sweeping John Barry strings that have always hovered around their sound. To be fair, it stays good. Not the same impact as those two albums but enough to encourage me to check out their later stuff and give this a listen again.

Riffage. Not really ever going to be my thing but it's fun. Classic case this of me having absorbed 40 years of culture influenced by it but never the source material. For instance can't hear Ain't Talkin About Love without wanting it to go the way Apollo 440 took it. I wish the tunes were as good as the guitar work. I can bet this will go down better with me than the 1984 one, but will have to wait and see.

My brother is always banging on about Bridge Over Troubled Water, I gave in an listened a few months ago and thought it was good, but, you know, not amazing. So I was a bit surprised to enjoy this as much as I did. Simon not quite decided on his sound, between the absolutely gorgeous folk, and the somewhat sub-Dylan stompers (Simple Desultory...), it's also somehow steeped in the politics of the time. Scarborough fair is just absolutely lush. Obviously Homeward Bound is one of the best songs ever written. But besides this, everything is gorgeous, even Feelin Groovy's slightly twee sound in 2022 doesn't spoil the mood. The juxtaposition of Silent Night and the swirling chaos of the mid 60s news is particularly effective. A flawed masterpiece.

This contains one of my favourite Nick Caves. Also, it's 25 years old this year, another 1997 classic. Into My Arms. Oh god... Just stunning. The ultimate spiritual love song for unwashed heathens such as myself. (Although 'There is a Kingdom' does confuse this somewhat) The rest of the album is great, understated, sad. Doesn't quite hit those early heights again for me but a good listen.

50% solid gold 60s teenybop bangers Beach Boys, 45% Pet Sounds gold Beach Boys (plus 5% withering Beach Boys recorded for all time for some reason at the end) What's not to like? Apart from that last bit.

Another daft hole in my music listening history (I was listening to Orbital when in these moods instead, so far from a total loss). Wonderful.

Kicking off with Now My Heart is Full, instantly nostalgic and remembering a time when it was OK to like Morrissey, because he wasn't obviously a terrible cunt at this point. Also, remembering that Morrissey really did used to be terribly good. Hold on To Your Friends, words to live by as you get older and it gets harder. Lifeguard Sleeping is great too, really unique on the record. This is a terrific album, and easily his best solo effort, for me.

When Chris Bailey died earlier this year I was inspired to dig into The Saints, thinking I didn't know them - but obviously I did, they wrote stone cold classics. Starting with I'm Stranded off the debut. Know Your Product is an absolute banger. The rest of the album is solid, well produced, is it post-punk? I mean some of this could have come out this year, people are still going for this sound, it feels oddly contemporary.

Another prog band I wasn't into because I'd been lied to that all prog was bad. Constantly skipped past Rush in record shops while looking for R.E.M. 12"s. Only Rush song I heard until relatively recently was something about trees, and I was not a fan. Tom Sawyer is fucking ace. Strangely first got into this by playing it on Beat Saber after Neil Peart died. So that very much dates my lateness. Love the shifting rhythms. Geddy Lee's vocals are going to be the sticking point for me here I think, because they're pretty annoying. Can not argue with his bass work though. YYZ is epic. Ungh, couple of tracks later I've got to admit I'm drifting off. I think I'm very much hit or miss with Rush. Witch Hunt grabbed my attention back, decent. Now there's some sort of Sting reggae shit going on. Ah, the last track. Ok, overall, not for me, but some great individual tracks. Not an entirely unexpected reaction, to be honest. Ha, everybody got mixed feelings. You are correct.

Yep! Time to find out finally what these were all about. So it's not Krautrock. I like half of the first track, very atmospheric. 2nd track could be the soundtrack to Dune. Ok, all of that was so wonderfully chilled, I loved it. Was starting to feel pretty aggravated before I listened and now I feel much better.

My partner likes John Martyn, or rather, she really likes Solid Air, I'm not sure I've heard her play anything else tbh. I like that kinda, it's not really my thing but it's nice and chilled. So, expecting more smokey, chilled and timeless acoustic stuff, the first track here was a bit of a surprise. It sounds much more dated to me, sadly. Nah, I'm really not feeling this. Even the more chilled, acoustic ones just seem...busy, somehow.

Yeah it's a great album, justified selection, changed the face of pop music for a good few years. Some wonderful, heart-wrenchingly open lyrics. Would never really choose to put this on because I've heard half of it more than enough times just by living life. It's genuinely good, but I'm done with Rehab, thanks. Tears Dry on Their Own has always annoyed me by not being Ain't No Mountain High Enough, you don't have to rip the whole thing and then leave us hanging, the rest of the album shows that, and all this technique does is remind me constantly of a far, far superior song. More durable however are the title track, which is easily one of the greatest songs written this century - I'll never get tired of that. Also Love is a Losing Game, another timeless Bond theme that never was. The album tracks are consistently good but nothing truly arrests me like the above. Wake Up Alone or Addicted probably best of the rest.

A decent hip hop album. Most of it faded into the background though while I was working. Some tunes jumped out (Sacrifice, Water, Something in the way of things). Some I found annoyingly reminiscent of 90s soul (Break You Off) which I guess in 2002 is perfectly fair but I don't have to like it. Overall, good.

Is this the best Dylan album? Maybe, maybe not, but it's top 3.

Absolutely love this as an idea. And as it turns out, also in its execution. The first Bjork album I didn't pay attention to when it came out, I think after 4 absolutely fantastic albums, I felt I had enough to be going on with and checked out other stuff. Came back to this recently ahead of going to see her at Bluedot. Triumph of a Heart is spectacular (watch the video), Who is It, Oceania also excellent. This has gone from the book but Vulnicura remains, which I find harder to like and find less noteworthy really because of the unique (lack of) instrumentation here. I want to argue with people who think Bjork only makes mental music, get to the point where they're willing to listen to examples to back up the argument, then play Ancestors to them and run away.

Any excuse to stick this on. Also it's the 25th anniversary of its release next week. First heard 6-7 years after its release, and then went mad for the sound, grabbing compilations of Compay Segundo and Omara Purtuondo's stuff. It is, obviously, wonderfully transportative music that could lift any mood. Just great.

Gave this a few spins when it came out but didn't quite land for me, and I haven't been back until today. I think it started with them just cutting off the really great opening track as soon as it really gets cracking. Feels like setting out to make it an uncomfortable record to listen to for no good reason. Not many of the following tracks do anything much for me, not like the 1st two albums. Nice little motorik bit on The Rip. We Carry On is the standout track for me, absolute monster. Machine Gun is certainly arresting and interesting, do I want to listen to it much? I'm not sure. In fact, I could say the same of the entire album. I much preferred the Beth Gibbons and Rustin Man record from a few years earlier.

Of all the original punk bands, Buzzcocks wrote the absolute best singles, that's just a fact. Apart from the Damned's New Rose. So, none of those singles are included here because it's those days when you did that. There's still some great thrusting bangers here, but initially I was itching for the hits. Then side b kicks in and you know why they let the album stand on its own, fantastic. Will be giving it repeat listens.

Yeah, Janes Addiction. Enjoyed clocking the PWEI sample of the yelp in Ocean Size for Get the Girl Kill the Baddies. What a yelp Perry has on him. Not that familiar with Jane Says, must not have been that big over here, always immediately think of Been Caught Stealing. I don't listen to JA much but I like what they are.

Loved the Longpigs the Sun is Often Out back in the 90s, this is very not that. Had this recommended a year or so ago from someone who seemed to love everything and anything that came out of Sheffield. Anyway. This is a nice, huggly sound. Kind of sounds like fellow Yorkshireman Chris Rea except good. But will I think to listen to it more than the two times I now have? Questionable. The archetypal 3/5 for me, nothing stands out, nothing to dislike. Actually a few tracks in, I realised the problem. It's really nice and cosy for a track or two. After that though, I'm bored rigid. This is on the list when something else more interesting isn't. 2/5

Certainly an important album because of what it kick-started, and those singles, but not as sure it's an essential album in and of itself. This production sound is almost as era-defining as the Stock, Aitken and Waterman sound was for the couple of years before it. And, well, despite anything else I say here I know which one I prefer. Erm, why is African Dance followed by the same song with less flute and more talking? Just don't stop, carry on. Kind of responsible for the explosion of artists I wasn't into, like, I dunno, the Brand New Heavies and stuff. It's aged in a way that Bjork's Debut hasn't (though nowhere near as much as some here are making out imho), although they both remain extremely transportative listens to their times.

It's a bonus Chic album. There's even an argument to say it's the best Chic album, high praise indeed. You know how songs get overplayed on the radio, you love them for decades and then get sick of them? Well that's not possible here, as these are some of the greatest pop songs even written. Hearing them in their full glory, 5-6 minutes long, just adds to the joy. Annoyingly only the 7" version of We are Family is available on Spotify, you need the record or YouTube for the majestic full 8 minutes (only this one link seems to have the correct tempo) which needs to be experienced. The bass work is simply out of this world. https://youtu.be/FLRvVZ_Q1Iw If you don't like disco, even just a little bit, I just don't think we're going to get along. Absolutely stunning. One of the easiest 5 ratings in this whole project.

Can't hear Love is A Stranger now without thinking of the LCD song that massively ripped it off (I Can Change). They're both great though, the original, and the pretender which took the ball and ran with it. Never listened to them beyond the singles but their value is obvious. The big synth sound is great. Probably wouldn't listen again given I don't have the nostalgia pulling me back in, but no doubt it's a decent and important record.

Have never listened to these. Or The Black Crowes. Or Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. I have listened to Black Sabbath. Anyway, yeah, this was alright! Kind of forgettable first listen though. But enjoyable enough. Tighten Up sounds like a million other things that were out around then and can't say I like that sound. Fake old, with modern production just fucks me off. Ahaha, the next song is that Glitter Stomp one that was the Heardle the other day I didn't get because I guessed Gary Glitter over and over because that's what it was. The longer this album goes on I can tell I'm not going to take it seriously because it's not my thing. Next song sounds like late 90s Lenny Kravitz. I think I'm out, there's nothing interesting for me here, kinda average 6music fodder, fine but that's it.

Put this on again recently around Andy's untimely death. Absolutely terrific album, some of their greatest ever songs, an easy 5. Also the Depeche Mode album I think which most influenced the glorious Turrican and Turrican 2 soundtracks.

Loads of fun.

Well. 4-5 songs excellent, the rest I don't really care for. Mother's Lament is incredibly annoying. Clapton is a massive clanger also.

First listen to a Sinead album, the first song pulls me in gradually and subtly. Then there's a very 1990 hip hop sort of thing. Then we're back to the gorgeous stuff. Then a sort of MOR pop song. The standout track, obviously. It's a mixed bag but in glad I listened to it.

It's Dusty Springfield, she was a hero.

I found Rust In Peace energetic and quality but ultimately not for me. So I don't know why, if it was just my mood, but I'm finding so much more to enjoy here. Absolutely balls to the wall, don't give a fuck, and so good. Good Mourning/Black Friday is simply immense. Peace Sells, Wake Up Dead, obviously ace. There's only a couple of tracks here I don't completely love. Will have to revisit Rust in Peace. I remain unconverted to Metallica yet, but we'll see.

Wonderful album, his masterpiece. Easy 5.

I said Exile was probably their best, most consistent album. I'm still not sure if that's right. There's some real stonkers on here and the potential of the band is really showing. A cracker of an album.

My Steely Dan education continues... Definitely falls into the 'troublesome 80s production' category - this is ridiculously smooth - though I can find value here. IGY overcomes the initial aversion to the sound, gently dragging me in by just being good for 6 minutes. The next two don't manage this. Green Flower Street, is it quite a song? What key is it in? I'm so confused. The Nightfly is also good, just can't shake the Smooooth, MOR 80s film soundtrack vibe for most of the album sadly.

Coyote is so gorgeous. All of it is gorgeous. I think I start to lose interest towards the end around Black Crow.

Kinda annoying faffing between spoti-tube. The funk ones are the best, particularly Runaway Child, 9 minute banger. The Motown stuff is still good though, particularly towards the end (don't let him...)

The cover looks like a meme. "Past Van Morrison tries to make sense of future Van's ramblings" Annoyingly, considering how much of a massive bell end the guy is, this is absolutely fantastic. "Throughout my career I have always preferred to let my music speak for me" he said in 2015. You what mate? Tell the last couple of years you. Anyway. Yeah, great record. The horns! The soul! The, erm, the clavinet! It's just great.