Journey in Progress
Discovering music one album at a time
979
Albums Rated
3.51
Average Rating
90%
Complete
110 albums remaining
Rating Distribution
How you rate albums
Rating Timeline
Average rating over time
Ratings by Decade
Which era do you prefer?
Activity by Day
When do you listen?
Taste Profile
1950s
Favorite Decade
Reggae
Favorite Genre
US
Top Origin
Generous
Rater Style
310
5-Star Albums
109
1-Star Albums
Taste Analysis
Genre Preferences
Ratings by genre
Origin Preferences
Ratings by country
Rating Style
You Love More Than Most
Albums you rated higher than global average
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trout Mask Replica | 5 | 2.28 | +2.72 |
| Locust Abortion Technician | 5 | 2.39 | +2.61 |
| We're Only In It For The Money | 5 | 2.47 | +2.53 |
| A Grand Don't Come For Free | 5 | 2.67 | +2.33 |
| Sex Packets | 5 | 2.67 | +2.33 |
| Space Ritual | 5 | 2.68 | +2.32 |
| KE*A*H** (Psalm 69) | 5 | 2.69 | +2.31 |
| G. Love And Special Sauce | 5 | 2.74 | +2.26 |
| Third/Sister Lovers | 5 | 2.79 | +2.21 |
| Vincebus Eruptum | 5 | 2.8 | +2.2 |
You Love Less Than Most
Albums you rated lower than global average
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Definitely Maybe | 1 | 3.52 | -2.52 |
| Sign 'O' The Times | 1 | 3.45 | -2.45 |
| My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy | 1 | 3.42 | -2.42 |
| Songs Of Leonard Cohen | 1 | 3.37 | -2.37 |
| Blur | 1 | 3.33 | -2.33 |
| This Year's Model | 1 | 3.32 | -2.32 |
| Meat Is Murder | 1 | 3.32 | -2.32 |
| Yankee Hotel Foxtrot | 1 | 3.3 | -2.3 |
| The Slider | 1 | 3.28 | -2.28 |
| High Violet | 1 | 3.24 | -2.24 |
Artist Analysis
Favorite Artists
Artists with 2+ albums
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Beatles | 7 | 4.86 |
| Led Zeppelin | 5 | 5 |
| Pink Floyd | 4 | 5 |
| Bob Dylan | 6 | 4.67 |
| The Who | 5 | 4.6 |
| Radiohead | 5 | 4.6 |
| The Rolling Stones | 5 | 4.6 |
| Bruce Springsteen | 4 | 4.75 |
| R.E.M. | 4 | 4.75 |
| Miles Davis | 4 | 4.75 |
| Beastie Boys | 3 | 5 |
| The Velvet Underground | 3 | 5 |
| Metallica | 3 | 5 |
| Jimi Hendrix | 3 | 5 |
| The White Stripes | 3 | 5 |
| Black Sabbath | 3 | 5 |
| Nirvana | 3 | 5 |
| U2 | 4 | 4.5 |
| Stevie Wonder | 4 | 4.5 |
| Björk | 4 | 4.5 |
| Bob Marley & The Wailers | 3 | 4.67 |
| Johnny Cash | 3 | 4.67 |
| Talking Heads | 3 | 4.67 |
| Pixies | 3 | 4.67 |
| The Cure | 3 | 4.67 |
| Michael Jackson | 3 | 4.67 |
| Red Hot Chili Peppers | 2 | 5 |
| Ray Charles | 2 | 5 |
| The Temptations | 2 | 5 |
| Fiona Apple | 2 | 5 |
| A Tribe Called Quest | 2 | 5 |
| Jane's Addiction | 2 | 5 |
| Funkadelic | 2 | 5 |
| The Specials | 2 | 5 |
| Run-D.M.C. | 2 | 5 |
| The Flaming Lips | 2 | 5 |
| Amy Winehouse | 2 | 5 |
| Def Leppard | 2 | 5 |
| Isaac Hayes | 2 | 5 |
| Van Halen | 2 | 5 |
| The Chemical Brothers | 2 | 5 |
| Aretha Franklin | 2 | 5 |
| Lou Reed | 2 | 5 |
| The Mothers Of Invention | 2 | 5 |
| The Pogues | 2 | 5 |
| Ice Cube | 2 | 5 |
| John Lennon | 2 | 5 |
| Eminem | 2 | 5 |
| Creedence Clearwater Revival | 2 | 5 |
| David Bowie | 9 | 4 |
| PJ Harvey | 4 | 4.25 |
| The Stooges | 3 | 4.33 |
| Simon & Garfunkel | 3 | 4.33 |
| The Doors | 3 | 4.33 |
| Aerosmith | 3 | 4.33 |
| Steely Dan | 3 | 4.33 |
Least Favorite Artists
Artists with 2+ albums
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Morrissey | 3 | 1 |
| Tom Waits | 5 | 1.6 |
| Elvis Costello & The Attractions | 4 | 1.5 |
| Dexys Midnight Runners | 3 | 1.33 |
| Bee Gees | 2 | 1 |
| Ryan Adams | 2 | 1 |
| Slipknot | 2 | 1 |
| Super Furry Animals | 2 | 1 |
| Fairport Convention | 2 | 1 |
| Barry Adamson | 2 | 1 |
| The Divine Comedy | 2 | 1 |
| Emerson, Lake & Palmer | 2 | 1 |
| Leonard Cohen | 4 | 1.75 |
| Kanye West | 3 | 1.67 |
| Blur | 3 | 1.67 |
| Genesis | 2 | 1.5 |
| Belle & Sebastian | 2 | 1.5 |
Controversial Artists
Artists you rate inconsistently
| Artist | Albums | Variance |
|---|---|---|
| The Smiths | 3 | 1.63 |
| Prince | 2 | 1.5 |
| Paul Simon | 2 | 1.5 |
| Manic Street Preachers | 2 | 1.5 |
| Todd Rundgren | 2 | 1.5 |
5-Star Albums (310)
View Album Wall
Popular Reviews
Steve Earle
1/5
If you played this album for me and told me it was a parody of country music, I probably would believe you. Its so cornball its like its making fun of itself. The only redemption is that Steve sounds a little bit like Springsteen, but its not enough to get the album to 2 stars.
1/5
17 likes
R.E.M.
5/5
Sometimes I feel like I can't even sing
I'm very scared for this world, I'm very scared for me
Eviscerate your memory
Here's a scene
You're in the backseat laying down, the windows wrap around
To the sound of the travel and the engine
All you hear is time stand still in travel
And feel such peace and absolute
The stillness still that doesn't end
But slowly drifts into sleep
The greatest thing you've ever seen
And they're there for you
For you alone, you are the everything
Amazing album in its theme and its lyrics, and also in its encapsulation of the feeling of a decade. I dont always agree with this list, but this is definitely one of the albums that everyone should hear.
5/5
16 likes
Arcade Fire
4/5
They heard me singing and they told me to stop
Quit these pretentious things and just punch the clock
These days, my life, I feel it has no purpose
But late at night the feelings swim to the surface
'Cause on the surface the city lights shine
They're calling at me, "Come and find your kind"
Sometimes, I wonder if the world's so small
That we can never get away from the sprawl
I mean, its pretty good.
4/5
14 likes
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
5/5
My spirits made up of the ocean
And the sky and the sun and the moon
And all my eyes can see
I cannot go back to your land of gloom
Where black jagged shadows
Remind me of the coming of your doom
I want my own land
Take my hand and come with me
It's not too late for you if it's not too late for me
To find my homeland
Where a man can stand by another man
Without an ego flying
With no man lying
And no one dying by an earthly hand
Let the devils burn and the beggar learn
And the little girls that live in those old worlds
Take my kind hand
My smile is stuck
I cannot go back to your frownland
Here's the thing, this isnt FOR you. Its for THEM. The people who made this album made it because THEY wanted it. They didnt give a fuck that it wasnt going to make any money, it was ART. Art for the sake of art? Man, we could use more of that in this late-stage capitalist hellscape.
5/5
11 likes
Klaxons
2/5
Meh. More brit-pop techno-disco-electro shit. Nothing special and not on the level of anything anyone would say you must hear before you die.
2/5
10 likes
1-Star Albums (109)
All Ratings
Leonard Cohen
2/5
It's OK, I guess? If you've never heard Leonard Cohen before, this is a pretty good example of his sound. That said, his sound is kind of hit or miss.
Van Morrison
3/5
If you like Van Morrison then this album is fantastic - It's all the hits. That said, if you dont then its not like this album is going to make you suddenly change your mind. I'm indifferent to Van Morrrison - 3/5
The Smiths
5/5
This is a great album and an excellent jumping off point for both The Smiths and also for pretty much all post-punk 80s stuff.
5/5
The Smiths
3/5
This is the second Smiths album in a row that this system has recommended, and while I gave the first one ("Strangeways") 5/5 I just cant recommend this one as highly. 3/5 its got a couple of solid tracks.
Alice In Chains
5/5
1992 was a crazy good year for music, and Dirt is a strong contender for best album of 1992. Every song on Dirt is a banger, there arent ANY weak tracks. Its also one of the clearest "cries for help" you'll ever hear. 5/5
Pink Floyd
5/5
I absolutely believe that everyone in the world should hear this album at least once BUT they should also watch the film. 5/5
The Beach Boys
3/5
I'm not sure why this would be an album that everyone should listen to, unless the reasoning is that Brian Wilson was influential on all Rock & Roll? Anyway, this is kind of a standard rock album of the mid-60s in that it has 2 top 10 songs and 8 filler tracks. Its fine, I guess. 3/5
Emmylou Harris
4/5
I didnt know much about Emmylou Harris before I heard this album, but shes got a hell of a voice and theres not a weak track on this whole album. Special credit to "Bottle let me down" and Beatles cover "For No One" - 4/5
The Jam
2/5
I really dont know what to say about this one. Its OK, I guess? Decent album, maybe I'm just not into mod stuff. I kept on wishing it was more like the Kinks. - 2/5
Beastie Boys
5/5
My favorite Beastie album is Check Your Head, but Ill Communication is a close second. Amazing lyrics, samples, and they doubled down on the cool funk jazz stuff. 5/5
Tracy Chapman
2/5
This is a good album, but I feel like Tracy Chapman is better in small doses. My sister REALLY loved this album and spent all of 1989 with this in her CD player. There are a couple of good tracks on it - 2/5
Pearl Jam
5/5
It feels overplayed, but thats just because its such a great fucking album that it cant help but be in your head all the time. One of the all time top albums of all time. Literally every single track is amazing - 5/5
Fleetwood Mac
5/5
Just to lead off, The Chain is one of the greatest songs ever made. This album is a cross section of every single radio station in the late 70s and early 80s. It feels played out, but as I wrote in a different review, thats just because every single song is perfect and plays in your head 24/7. One of the all time greatest albums ever - 5/5
Jacques Brel
1/5
Thanks but no thanks. 1/5
Small Faces
2/5
It seems like everyone knows and enjoys the title track, but I admit I had never heard the full album before it came up in 1001 albums. Its not a great album, with some rock-opera style stuff filling out 7 tracks. 2/5
Soundgarden
5/5
Soundgarden's best album, and defines an entire decade of music. Every single track is solid - 5/5
Red Hot Chili Peppers
5/5
Absolutely amazing album which hits like a baseball bat - Pure LA sound and a complete reshuffle/breakdown of the rock scene when it dropped. Every track is a winner and at least half this album is top 10s. 5/5
Elliott Smith
3/5
Elliot Smith is a tragic figure, and this is a good album. Its not an album with a bunch of top 10 songs or any particular earworms or bangers on it, but its an overall very good and very listenable in general. 3/5
Van Morrison
2/5
Second Van Morrison album this list has recommended to me so far, and I remain indifferent to him as an artist. Nothing particularly impressive on this album, in my opinion. 2/5
Beatles
5/5
One of the beatles best, and I feel like this makes me lose a recent argument that I had regarding whether an album has to be "themed" in order to be 5 stars. Although there isnt any particularly clear theme for hard days night, the songs are all amazing and stand alone. 5/5
Napalm Death
4/5
First time I have ever heard it, and I like this album!
I can see how some people wont, though - Its mostly screaming vocals and very quick tempo.
4/5
Neil Young
2/5
On The Beach is an OK album, but hard to point out anything special as a casual listener to Neil Young. Its got a couple of OK tracks, but its mostly aging rocker bellybutton analysis. 2/5
Sade
4/5
Diamond Life is a great album with a ton of killer tracks, and it makes up as a total one of those perfect cross section "sounds of the 80s" kind of vibes. 4/5
Caetano Veloso
1/5
I played the whole album through to try and figure out if any of it was worthy of the praise it gets on Wikipedia, but I couldnt find anything about it that appeals to me at all. 1/5
Meat Loaf
5/5
OMFG GOAT In all seriousness, I cant imagine any top 10 albums of all time list that doesnt include Bat Out Of Hell. Its an absolute triumph of an album, with perfect theming and timing, and every single track is perfect on its own and as a whole. The album art is fantastic, its so overwrought and over the top in every way. 5/5
The La's
2/5
Decent album with good songs and one big hit song. Its OK but nothing special. 2/5
Bee Gees
1/5
Very weird album, and I cant help but think that I would be pissed off if I had actually bought this as an LP 50 years ago.
I mean, this is a REALLY bad album.
Its kind of confusing as to why it would even be on this list, except as a cautionary tale. 1/5
Marianne Faithfull
5/5
This basically just needs to be listened to. It encapsulates an entire decade of thought and attitude by white people in the UK in one album. 5/5
Tina Turner
5/5
Such an amazing album. Theres all kinds of history and reasons why this is an incredibly empowering album and a triumph for an artist as well, but the short version is that its just a fantastic album. 5/5
David Gray
2/5
This is OK, I guess? It feels kind of middle-of-the-road to me, and the top track "Babylon" is extremely forgettable. British people seem to love it though. 2/5
Dire Straits
4/5
That aint workin, thats the way you do it, get your money for nothing and your chicks for free.
Great album - 3 absolute banger tracks. 4/5
Sarah Vaughan
4/5
Great jazz album and Sarah Vaughan has an incredible voice. One of those albums where youre like "wait the popular version of that song was a cover?" Definitely worth a listen. 4/5
Fugees
5/5
The Score is an amazing album, with 3 of the best hip hop artists of all time. Seriously, this is a fantastic representation of the entire genre. Its got at least 4, maybe 5 number ones on the album. 5/5
ZZ Top
5/5
This is a great album, and its absolutely crazy how completely together and tight ZZ Top is as a band. All great tracks - 5/5
Brian Eno
3/5
Meh. Ok album, no stand out tracks. Its OK for relaxing, I guess. 3/5
Elvis Presley
3/5
This is an OK album, and I dont even really like Elvis! In the Ghetto and suspicious minds are both amazing songs, and all the tracks are good (even if you dont like country music like me). 3/5
Bobby Womack
3/5
This album is OK but doesnt have a great theme. Its got a couple of good tracks, but I dont think I would recommend it to anyone who wasnt already into Bobby Womack. 3/5
The Stooges
4/5
This is a good album, punk themes and good standalone tracks. 4/5
Eagles
4/5
Unlike The Dude, I kind of love the Eagles - This is a pretty great album! Great flow and theme, and pretty much every song stands up on its own - more than a couple of top 10s in there too. 4/5
Paul McCartney and Wings
4/5
Its not a "bad" album until you consider that this is the solo album for 1/4 of the number 1 most popular band of all time. When you consider that, it feels like shallow pop and pretty sophomoric in context. Still, decent album with a few top 10 tracks. 4/5
Germs
1/5
Meh. This album isnt even on Apple Music at the time of this review, so I went and listened to some of the tracks on other services. Nothing special, not worth comment. 1/5
Elbow
2/5
Meh. Kind of forgettable, and not a great album. 2/5
Orange Juice
2/5
Didn’t love it 2/5
Depeche Mode
4/5
4/5
Earth, Wind & Fire
4/5
Great album 4/5
Aphex Twin
3/5
3/5
Bob Marley & The Wailers
5/5
Amazing. 5/5
Prefab Sprout
3/5
Meh. 3/5
Portishead
4/5
Good. 4/5
Curtis Mayfield
5/5
Outrageously great. 5/5
Weather Report
3/5
3/5
Santana
3/5
3/5
Cat Stevens
4/5
Pretty great album - A few top 10s and good theme. 4/5
The Mars Volta
2/5
OK album but worth noting that it doesnt have any singles on it. Its a good listen but its very much the kind of album that you have to listen to the whole thing all the way through in the order they recorded it. Its not one that I plan to listen to again or anything. 2/5
Prince
4/5
Its actually an excellent album. 4/5
Brian Eno
4/5
Decent. 4/5
Simon & Garfunkel
4/5
classic 4/5
Kate Bush
4/5
As an album its only OK, but running up that hill stands on its own hard enough to rate the album at nearly perfect. 4/5
DJ Shadow
4/5
So good. Sums up so much of the 90s - 4/5
Little Richard
5/5
This is like the definition of rock n' roll. 5/5
Roxy Music
3/5
Decent album. Great cover. 3/5
Sufjan Stevens
2/5
I'm so confused. 2/5
Bonnie "Prince" Billy
3/5
It's OK. 3/5
Kraftwerk
2/5
When someone says that they like kraftwerk, this is probably what theyre talking about. Its OK, heavy synth stuff and decent early electronica. 2/5
Harry Nilsson
4/5
So many great songs on this album! 4/5
Tom Waits
2/5
meh. 2/5
Joni Mitchell
3/5
Decent. 3/5
The Who
5/5
Transcendent. I dont always agree with this list of albums, but this is an insanely great record that everyone needs to hear. 5/5
Violent Femmes
5/5
Amazing album. This sums up all of my later high school years in one album. 5/5
ZZ Top
4/5
The tightest band ever and this is their tightest album. 4/5
Burning Spear
4/5
Really good album. 4/5
ABBA
4/5
This is a one stop shop album for like all the disco. 4/5
Johnny Cash
4/5
This album is ridiculously good. Cash's version of Hurt and Hung My Head are definitive. 5/5
Cocteau Twins
2/5
meh. 2/5
Anthrax
4/5
Hilarious. Not amazing, but hilarious. And sometimes thats enough to make it great. 4/5
10cc
2/5
Not great. 2/5
Alexander 'Skip' Spence
3/5
I mean, I guess this was an influential album? Its not terrible, but its not great either. 3/5
AC/DC
5/5
Fucking incredible. Australian national treasure. 5/5
Silver Jews
1/5
Meh. Why is this on a list of best anything? Its really forgettable crap. 1/5
Neil Young
5/5
One of the very best. 5/5
The Velvet Underground
5/5
Outstanding album. Every song is a standalone hit, and put all together its one of the best of all time. 5/5
The Who
5/5
Amazing. This is absolutely an essential album for all of rock history. 5/5
Fleet Foxes
3/5
decent. 3/5
Deee-Lite
3/5
Stupid, but fun. 3/5
The Cardigans
2/5
meh. 2/5
TV On The Radio
4/5
Fantastic album, not all top 10 tracks but overall an excellent listen. 4/5
Billie Holiday
5/5
I dont even know what words could review this album. Billie's voice is one of the greatest enjoyments available to humans. 5/5
Led Zeppelin
5/5
Transcendent. 5/5
Gene Clark
3/5
It's pretty good. Not amazing, but not bad. 3/5
Frank Sinatra
4/5
ring a ding. 4/5
Louis Prima
4/5
Hilarious, joyful, and great. 4/5
Johnny Cash
5/5
This actually is legit an album that everyone should hear at least once. Incredible. 5/5
The Adverts
3/5
british punk rock. not sure who decided that this was an essential album. 3/5
Jeff Buckley
3/5
One good track, otherwise forgettable. Its a really good track though. 3/5
Supergrass
3/5
decent. 3/5
Ute Lemper
1/5
why? 1/5
Primal Scream
3/5
Good album, cool theme. Only one outstanding track though. 3/5
Circle Jerks
4/5
Short. Wild. 4/5
U2
5/5
amazing album with a ton of great standalone tracks and defined the tone of the early 90s singlehandedly. Absolutely one of the best albums of all time. 5/5
Ramones
5/5
Fundamental. This actually is one of the most important albums of all time and everyone should listen to it. 5/5
Faith No More
5/5
Really excellent album which kind of set the tone for rock of the early 90s. 5/5
Thelonious Monk
4/5
Pretty great jazz stuff. 4/5
Les Rythmes Digitales
3/5
This album is an extremely accurate example of all the dance sounds of the early 2000s. Decent. 3/5
Kate Bush
3/5
Its got "this womans work" on it, and thats a song that everyone should experience. Other than that, though, meh. 3/5
Emmylou Harris
3/5
Emmylou Harris has a great voice, but most of the songs are overly similar and unremarkable. The only thing that saves this album from being a 2 is her voice, which is amazing. 3/5
Elliott Smith
4/5
Its a great album. But its sooooooo emo. But its great. 4/5
The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy
5/5
Essential sound of the 90s and of all time really. 5/5
Dinosaur Jr.
3/5
They're pretty good and this is an OK album. Putting aside all the "influence" they had on other, better, bands though; at the end of the day its only an OK album. 3/5
Sister Sledge
4/5
Its a pretty great album, and from the perspective of 2022 its absolutely nuts how literally every track has been sampled in basically everything since. 4/5
Mariah Carey
1/5
It's fine, I guess. I'm just not really into it. 1/5
Boards of Canada
4/5
Really good electronica and a high level example of the best of the genre, 4/5
Sugar
3/5
Decent. 3/5
The Crusaders
4/5
Smooooooooooth. 4/5
Dead Kennedys
5/5
Amazing album. All great tracks and theres always room for jello. 5/5
Nico
3/5
This is the kind of album that really illustrates just how weird and fucked up the music world is, and definitely was in the 60s. 3/5
Ray Charles
5/5
amazing. 5/5
Gotan Project
3/5
Sounds like soundtrack music for like any artsy movie from the 90s. Thats not an entirely bad thing, but it does get kinda old after a few tracks. 3/5
Radiohead
5/5
Its great on the first listen, and then it just keeps getting better every time you play it. 5/5
Bruce Springsteen
4/5
its played out for americans, especially those who grew up in the 80s listening to the radio, but its still actually really good. 4/5
Elvis Presley
5/5
It still holds up - most tracks are top 10 stuff. 5/5
Spiritualized
3/5
Decent.
3/5
Wu-Tang Clan
5/5
Amazing. This really is an album that everyone should hear at least once. 5/5
T. Rex
3/5
Its fine, but kind of a one-note thing. 3/5
Coldplay
4/5
I mean, its a great album, I just feel like its played out big time. 4/5
Jamiroquai
4/5
Its some really decent deep cuts shit. 4/5
Nightmares On Wax
3/5
Good triphop stuff, very much a sound of the 90s kind of thing. 3/5
Green Day
4/5
Fantastic album, tight sound and all great tracks. Captures the sound of the 90s. 4/5
The Cars
4/5
Doesn’t anyone knock anymore? 4/5
Shack
2/5
It's fine, I guess? I dont see the particular appeal or why this would be an album that everyone should hear. 2/5
New York Dolls
4/5
Good shit. Such a quintessential sound that basically laid the groundwork for punk rock and was absolutely a defining element of rock and roll. I agree that everyone should hear this. 4/5
3/5
Its technically good, but a lot of it just sounds like some dudes fucking around on their guitars. 3/5
Pet Shop Boys
3/5
Howie Hamburger Dude : How about the future of rock 'n' roll, anyway? Huh? The future of rock 'n' roll?
Chong : Yeah.
Howie Hamburger Dude : Bruce Springsteen
Chong : Yeah.
Howie Hamburger Dude : Is fucking it all up.
Chong : Yeah. Hey, can we have a check?
Howie Hamburger Dude : Hey, hey, hey. Shh, shh, shh. Bruce Springsteen's fucking the whole thing up.
Chong : Bruce Springsteen?
Howie Hamburger Dude : New Wave.
Chong : New Wave?
Howie Hamburger Dude : New Wave!
3/5
My Bloody Valentine
3/5
Its pretty great. IMO Its not a must-listen album, though, and there are only a couple of must hear tracks. 3/5
5/5
Insane. Like, literally crazy. But in the absolute best possible sense of the word. 5/5
Talking Heads
4/5
Such a great album by one of the top 10 bands of the 20th century. 4/5
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
4/5
I don’t always agree with this list, but this one is indeed one of those albums that everyone should hear. It’s got a bunch of top 10 tracks and it’s incredibly well themed. Its incredibly pure and the heart of the hippy lifestyle. 4/5
Cheap Trick
4/5
Rock and fucking roll man. 4/5
OutKast
3/5
Decent album - Distinct sound, no real standout tracks, good representation of hip hop of the turn of the century. 3/5
Scott Walker
2/5
What a weird album. I'm not sure why anyone would say that everyone should hear it, other than to say to others "check out this weird ass album". It's not bad, per se, the music is OK - It's just weird as hell. 2/5
Frank Ocean
3/5
My son likes it. 3/5
Kanye West
3/5
A reminder that ye was once up and coming and may have earned his "musical genius" self proclaimed title. Its a really good album, but I cant give it anything more than 3 stars in light of who he is. 3/5
Cocteau Twins
2/5
Its OK. I dont know if I would say that everyone should hear it though. 2/5
The Jesus And Mary Chain
3/5
You can hear some of the influences on later alternative music, but the album itself isnt anything outstanding or particularly special. Its aggressively average. 3/5
Eurythmics
4/5
Transformative in every conceivable way. Transcendent. 4/5
Carole King
5/5
Great album. The best word to describe it would be "real". You know? Anyway, every single track is a top 10 and the theme is difficult to define but is definitely present. 5/5
The Doors
4/5
It really is an excellent album and sums up the tone and theme of the 60s rock bands of LA in a perfect way. 4/5
Raekwon
4/5
Staten Island is really only good for two things - The mob, and the wu-tang. This kind of wraps up and connects all that shit into a modern gangster mobster rap 90s thing. Anyway, its a good album. 4/5
Leonard Cohen
3/5
Its got one or two good tracks, but its fucking leonard cohen. again. 3/5
The Temptations
5/5
This is a hell of a good album. Top 10 tracks throughout, amazing theme, and perfect music. 5/5
Robert Wyatt
3/5
This is pretty good. Not great, but pretty good. 3/5
Solomon Burke
3/5
Not bad, kind of classic but there arent any top 10 tracks or anything. 3/5
Suicide
3/5
I dont hate it, and its certainly unique. Especially when you consider the time it was released, its groundbreaking stuff. That said, there arent any stand out tracks and its not amazing. 3/5
Pulp
3/5
Pretty good, but as an american its sooooooooo british it hurts. 3/5
Astrud Gilberto
3/5
Its smooth and easy, nothing offensive to the ear here. But its also completely unremarkable. This could be the music you hear in a supermarket or shopping mall. I dont hate it, but its very weird that it would be included on a list of must-hear albums. 3/5
Fiona Apple
5/5
Heaven help me for the way I am
Save me from these evil deeds before I get them done
I know tomorrow brings the consequence at hand
But I keep living this day like the next will never come
5/5
The Shamen
3/5
Future feeling, new sensation
Body is rocking and the mind is reeling
And rolling race changing motion
Flowing like a river into the ocean
Better get yourself ready for the new vibration
My vision, one nation, one tribe
One day'll come the might to move any mountain
3/5
Throwing Muses
3/5
OK, so this album is apparently discontinued and not available on any streaming service. I was able to hear a few of the isolated tracks, but I cant properly judge the entire album. 3/5
Jethro Tull
5/5
Difficult to quantify exactly what makes this such a good album - There are plenty of other songs about homelessness and the disenfranchised. There are plenty of other intense guitar heavy rock songs from the 70s. Somehow this stands out among the crowd and is indeed an album that everyone should hear. 5/5
Queen
3/5
Fear me you loathsome, lazy creatures
I descend upon your earth from the skies
I command your very souls you unbelievers
Bring before me what is mine
At the seven seas of Rhye
Decent album, not their best though.
3/5
MGMT
3/5
Decent album - Consistent theme and a bunch of earworm tracks. If you dont like the sound of the 2000s then its not going to change your mind, but its a decent album. 3/5
The Jam
3/5
From a US perspective - It's OK, but nothing particularly special IMO. 40 years later, there arent any tracks which I remember or that held up. I guess they kind of sound like the beatles, but thats not necessarily a good thing. 3/5
Alanis Morissette
5/5
I recommend biting off more then you can chew to anyone
I certainly do
I recommend sticking your foot in your mouth at any time
Feel free
Throw it down (the caution blocks you from the wind)
Hold it up (to the rays)
You wait and see when the smoke clears
One of the top 100 albums of all time. Every track is solid, and the theme is outstanding.
5/5
The Stooges
4/5
Look out honey, 'cause I'm using technology
Ain't got time to make no apology
Solar radiation in the dead of night
Love in the middle of a fire fight
4/5
Tito Puente
3/5
I dont even know how to rate this. Its upbeat, I guess? 3/5
2/5
The thing we should all ask ourselves is how did the british successfully convince the entire world that they were the ones to emulate? This is an OK album, but nothing about it other than its british-ness stands out at all. 2/5
Crowded House
1/5
Well, there's a small boat made of china
It's going nowhere on the mantlepiece
Well, do I lie like a lounge-room lizard
Or do I sing like a bird released?
I have no idea how this middle of the road, frankly just not good, album ended up on this list.
1/5
Sly & The Family Stone
4/5
Outstanding funk. 4/5
Traffic
3/5
Its OK, but nothing special as albums go. 3/5
Eric Clapton
2/5
OK, first of all we all should know that Eric Clapton is a complete piece of shit. Just a garbage human. Its telling that the biggest hit on this album is a song he stole from a black guy. All that said, hes also a great guitarist and does an excellent job of appropriating other peoples music for his own. Eric Clapton is a 1/5, but the album is a 4/5. Lets settle on a 2/5 - I really cant overstate how awful of a person he is.
Primal Scream
4/5
I really like Primal Scream, and this is a very good album. Its got at least three stand out tracks, and the whole theme of being on drugs among young people is very consistent.
4/5
Various Artists
5/5
I was hesitant considering the whole Spector thing (being a murdering psycho that is), but this is actually a great holiday album! 5/5
Buena Vista Social Club
3/5
I remember when this was popular in the 90s - Its not the kind of thing that I would typically listen to but its actually a good album nonetheless.
3/5
Dizzee Rascal
4/5
It's a very good album and has a sound that is unique even after being imitated since its release. 4/5
50 Cent
5/5
First of all, this is a good album. Its got a TON of other social and racial factors tied up in how its perceived and who the artist who made it is, but in the end its a damn good album and it represents something that everyone should at least make an effort to understand. 5/5
Talk Talk
3/5
Baby, life's what you make it
Don't backdate it
Baby, don't try to shade it
Beauty's naked
3/5
GZA
5/5
When I was little my father was famous
He was the greatest samurai in the empire
And he was the Shogun's decapitator
He cut off the heads of a hundred and thirty-one lords
It was a bad time for the empire
The Shogun just stayed inside his castle and he never came out
People said his brain was infected by devils
My father would come home, he would forget about the killings
He wasn't scared of the Shogun, but the shogun was scared of him
Maybe that was the problem
Then, one night
The, the Shogun sent his ninja spies to our house
They were supposed to kill my father but they didn't
That was the night everything changed
This album is crazy good. 5/5
SZA
3/5
Good album. 3/5
Beyoncé
3/5
Heres the thing - This is technically a great album. The beats, vocals, themes, music, theyre all outstanding.
BUT its so heavily produced and led by committee that its impossible to give it a good score. How can I say its a great album if it was written by 500 people and then each track was fed through a focus group before release? Its not an album that you can really get into, but its got tracks that you can really visualize the toyota commercial for.
Its OK, I guess - But I cant rate this any higher than a 3. 3/5
Depeche Mode
5/5
Amazing. Despite the usual complaints about only british pop music being on this list, I actually agree with this one - Everyone should hear this album (especially catholic high school girls!). 5/5
Devendra Banhart
2/5
Reminiscent of Elliott Smith, but not in the "everyone should hear this" category at all. 2/5
Paul Weller
2/5
More brit rock. Its OK, but its not an "everyone must hear this" album. 2/5
Leonard Cohen
1/5
Ugh.
"I won't say anything 'cause no one ever listens to me, anyway. I might as well be a Leonard Cohen album." - The Young Ones
1/5
The Doors
5/5
The future's uncertain and the end is always near
I LOVE this album.
5/5
Frankie Goes To Hollywood
4/5
The animals are winding me up
The jungle call
The jungle call
Who-ha who-ha who-ha who-ha
In Xanadu did Kublai Khan
A pleasure dome erect
Moving on keep moving on, yeah
Moving at one million miles an hour
Using my power
I sell it by the hour
I have it so I market it
You really can't afford it, yeah
Really can't afford it
4/5
A Tribe Called Quest
5/5
Back in the days on the boulevard of Linden
We used to kick routines and presence was fittin'
It was I, The Abstract
And me the five footer
I kicks the mad style so step off the frankfurter
Yo, Phife, you remember that routine
That we used to make spiffy like Mr. Clean?
Um, um, a tidbit, um, a smidgen
I don't get the message so you gots to run the pigeon
One of the best. Rhymes like literally no one else has ever produced and the purest east coast hip hop that the 90s ever had.
5/5
Simon & Garfunkel
4/5
really an outstanding album just in general, and when you get some perspective as to who they were at that time and what new york city was like in 1970 it kind of blows your hair back.
4/5
Richard Hawley
1/5
Why was this album included on a must listen list? Its so aggressively mediocre it hurts. Why.
1/5
Arrested Development
4/5
Really good album. People are gonna say that its too "preachy" or that its too "clean" compared to its contemporaries, but the basic reality is that its a really fucking good album.
4/5
3/5
Something about the way you taste
Makes me wanna clear my throat
There's a message to your movements
That really gets my goat
I looked for silver linings
But you're rotten to the core
I've had just about all I can take
You know I can't take it no more
3/5
Gang Of Four
4/5
Crazy that this punk political message is still relevant in 2023. Great album.
4/5
M.I.A.
2/5
I really love one track, paper planes, but the rest of the album is a solid meh.
And its worth noting that paper planes is mostly a banger because of the Clash sample.
Its a little complicated, as I'm a big fan and proponent of anti-establishment music in general, and MIA does a good job of bringing attention to some things that are otherwise ignored. But the trouble is the album is derivative and not that great.
2/5
The Go-Betweens
1/5
I'm trying to give this album a chance, but its just not good. Theres very little to suggest it to anyone - Lyrics are uninspired and melodies are derivative and boring.
This is pretty bad.
1/5
Air
4/5
This is a good album! I never saw the movie or heard of this soundtrack, but its very good. Not a lot of top 10 tracks, being a soundtrack and all, but its got good theming and its easy to get lost in it. Definitely better than average. 3.75 out of 5.
4/5
Television
4/5
Remains unknown
It's time to sit up
Up on the throne
It's seen before but it's always new
So look close and see who's come thru
Never again to face this night
I already marked 3 songs from this album as "loved" in Apple Music. Its not one of my all time favorite albums or anything but its pretty fucking good.
4/5
Franz Ferdinand
3/5
Eyes burning the way through me
Overwhelm, destroying so sweetly
Now there is a fire within me
A fire that burns
3/5
Iggy Pop
4/5
Before you go
Do me a favor
Give me a number
Of a girl almost like you
With legs almost like you
I'm buried deep in mass production
You're not nothing new
I like to drive along the freeways
See the smokestacks belching
Breasts turn brown
So warm and so brown
4/5
Radiohead
5/5
In a little while
I'll be gone
The moment's already passed
Yeah, it's gone
And I'm not here
This isn't happening
I'm not here
I like OK computer better as a collection of songs, but I agree that this is probably the more "must-listen" album. Its a fantastic album with great themes and a bunch of top 10 tracks. 5/5
Marty Robbins
5/5
In this town there lived an outlaw
By the name of Texas Red
Many men had tried to take him
And that many men were dead
He was vicious and a killer
Though a youth of twenty-four
And the notches on his pistol
Numbered one and nineteen more
One and nineteen more
This album is so fucking good. One one level, its something that everyone should hear as a representative of the era and genre.
On another level, its got amazing pace and theme, and these tracks are absolutely amazing.
5/5
Morrissey
1/5
ugh. Its so melodramatic and emo, and he is SUCH an asshole.
1/5
King Crimson
5/5
The keeper of the city keys
Put shutters on the dreams
I wait outside the pilgrim's door
With insufficient schemes
The black queen chants
The funeral march
The cracked brass bells will ring
To summon back the fire witch
To the court of the crimson king
5/5
I havent heard any other U2 albums on this list yet, but this is not their best work. Its got a couple of decent songs, but its nowhere near the quality of achtung baby or joshua tree. Its not "bad" but its not great.
3/5
Bob Dylan
5/5
The hysterical bride in the penny arcade
Screaming, she moans, "I've just been made"
Sends out for the doctor, who pulls down the shade
And says, "My advice is to not let the boys in"
And the medicine man comes and he shuffles inside
He walks with a swagger and he says to the bride
"Stop all this weeping, swallow your pride
You will not die, it's not poison"
Mama's in the factory, she ain't got no shoes
Daddy's in the alley, he's lookin' for food
I'm in the kitchen with the tombstone blues
Every single track is amazing and the whole album is fucking great.
5/5
T. Rex
1/5
Automatic shoes
Automatic shoes
Give me three D vision
And the California blues
Me I funk but I don't care
I ain't no square with my corkscrew hair
The 70s were a weird decade and this was a fine example. I like weird, but the trouble here is that the album kind of sucks.
1/5
Chicago
4/5
When I kiss you
I feel a thousand different feelings
A cover of chills
All over my body
And when I feel them
I quickly try to decide which one
I should try to put into words, wooah
Try to put into words
Ive got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell.
4/5
Metallica
5/5
What I've felt, what I've known
Never shined through in what I've shown
Never be, never see
Won't see what might have been
What I've felt, what I've known
Never shined through in what I've shown
Never free, never me
So I dub thee unforgiven
I agree that this should be on a list of albums that everyone should hear at least once. Its an outstanding representation of metal, and the albums theme and tracks are perfect.
5/5
Elton John
3/5
Goodbye, Norma Jeane
Though I never knew you at all
You had the grace to hold yourself
While those around you crawled
They crawled out of the woodwork
And they whispered into your brain
They set you on the treadmill
And they made you change your name
You cant deny that there are some catchy tracks, but its not a 4 star album.
3/5
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
3/5
Well, it was kinda cold that night
She stood alone on her balcony (Ooh)
Yeah, she could hear the cars roll by
Out on 441 like waves crashin' on the beach
And for one desperate moment there
He crept back in her memory
God, it's so painful when something that is so close
Is still so far out of reach
Its so LA it hurts, and its a good catalog of 70s rock. Overall, its decent.
3/5
Blur
1/5
This album does not belong on a "must listen before you die" list under any circumstances - Its really mid. Theres like one top 10 track and the rest is totally forgettable, damon-albarn-fucking-around-on-a-mixer stuff.
1/5
The Isley Brothers
4/5
Leaving all the sorrows and the pain
There's no love between us that remains
Although you are the one
You're not the same
So the other side of the road
Can only take me back home
Now this is actually an album that everyone should hear before they die. Some of the best funk of the decade, packed with great tracks.
4/5
Talvin Singh
2/5
I feel like this is on the list so that british publishers can feel like theyre "multicultural" and "not colonizers". Well, heres the thing - the albums not great, and the british are fucking awful.
2/5
Jane's Addiction
5/5
Señores y señoras
Nosotros tenemos más influencia con sus hijos que tú tiene, pero los queremos
Creado y regado de Los Angeles, Juana's Addicción
Outstanding album. Pretty much perfect.
5/5
Public Image Ltd.
4/5
You never listen to a word that I said
You only seen me
For the clothes that I wear
Or did the interest go so much deeper
It must have been
The colour of my hair
This is some solid punk, great album with good theme. Its not a top 10 thing, but thats not what its about AT ALL.
4/5
The Incredible String Band
1/5
Is this album on this list as a prank? Why the fuck would anyone want to hear this weird hippy shit. Seriously, its REALLY bad.
1/5
The Band
3/5
I took up all of my winnings
And I gave my little Bessie half
And she tore it up and threw it in my face
Just for a laugh
Now there's one thing in the whole wide world
I sure would like to see
That's when that little love of mine
Dips her doughnut in my tea
Its funny in retrospect that a bunch of canadians wrote a song (not the quoted one) that the american south held so dearly. But in the end the whole thing is actually worth a listen.
3/5
Queen
5/5
Walking down the street
Shooting people that I meet
With my rubber Tommy water gun
Here come the deputy
He's gonna come and get a me
I gotta get me get up and run
Outstanding album - basically perfect.
5/5
Buffalo Springfield
3/5
Listen to my bluebird laugh
She can't tell you why
Deep within her heart, you see
She knows only crying
Just crying
Decent album.
3/5
The Afghan Whigs
4/5
Tonight I go to hell
For what I've done to you
This ain't about regret
It's when I tell the truth
And once again
The monster speaks
Reveals his face and searches for relief
A little boy is tied to you
Attracted only 'til it comes unglued
Great album. Tells a story in a way that most dont.
4/5
James Brown
5/5
Absolutely fucking incredible.
5/5
Blondie
5/5
Really a great album. Hit tracks and a great theme - For some reason I always associate it with Canada and not New York, even though I know that its all CBGBs and shit. Anyway, great album.
5/5
Spacemen 3
3/5
Interesting. I never heard this before, and its pretty good.
3/5
PJ Harvey
3/5
Its decent - Not bad at all, but not amazing. I dont know why this would be on a list of albums that everyone should hear before they die.
3/5
Buck Owens
4/5
As I walked out in the streets of Laredo
As I walked out in Laredo one day
I spied a young cowboy all wrapped in white linen
Wrapped in white linen as cold as the clay
Honky. Tonk.
Its a good album, and a good representation of the genre.
4/5
The Rolling Stones
5/5
I went down to the Chelsea drugstore
To get your prescription filled
I was standing in line with Mr. Jimi
And, man, did he look pretty ill
We decided that we would have a soda
My favorite flavor, cherry red
I sung my song to Mr. Jimi
Yeah, and he said one word to me, and that was "death"
I said to him
You can't always get what you want
Amazing album on so many levels. The tracks are all top 10 stuff. The theme is so solid, so profoundly sympathetic to the death of an entire generation of hippy asshole optimists.
5/5
Funkadelic
5/5
One, two, three, four, five
People think cause we are here
Our jazz ran out the ships won't steer
No more. We picked up on the rhythm here
If you just take a toot and have a beer
We're gonna make it clear
Yes, and when the morning gets here
Jazz and soul
Great funk album. This was a weird time in America's history, and this album does give you some insight into how some people were dealing with it.
5/5
Talking Heads
5/5
Facts are simple and facts are straight
Facts are lazy and facts are late
Facts all come with points of view
Facts don't do what I want them to
Facts just twist the truth around
Facts are living turned inside out
Facts are getting the best of them
Facts are nothing on the face of things
One of the greatest albums of all time.
5/5
Jane Weaver
3/5
Decent. I dont agree that everyone should hear it, and its not like a special album for any reason, but decent.
3/5
Peter Tosh
5/5
You're only acting like
You are somebody
But I don't no say
You know nobody
You're only a show off
Your painted face, yeah
But underneath that face
Your just a disgrace
Amazing album, I agree that this is one that everyone should hear.
5/5
Bon Jovi
5/5
Absolutely excellent album.
5/5
The Velvet Underground
5/5
5/5
JAY Z
3/5
Decent. The wild thing is you can totally hear how he’s going to eventually be a much bigger deal than this album. 3/5
Ryan Adams
1/5
Hes a scumbag and this album is crap. Why is this on this list?
1/5
John Coltrane
5/5
Amazing. Not so much for the album part, which is incidental, but amazing music performed amazingly by an amazing artist.
5/5
Rahul Dev Burman
3/5
What?
3/5
The Pretty Things
2/5
So I can see (hear) how this album influenced a lot of other bands work in the late 60s and 70s and maybe even the 80s, but that doesnt make it "good". Its overwrought and the lyrics are boring and unappealing. All of the albums which were influenced by this are better than the original work itself. All in all, I'd rather be listening to the Moody Blues.
2/5
The Who
4/5
The Who are great, and one of the best bands of the era to experience live. That said, the mixing is not great and these recordings barely qualify for an album. It gets 4 stars for the quality of the music but loses 1 for the recording.
4/5
Eagles
5/5
Blowin' and burnin', blinded by thirst
They didn't see the stop sign, took a turn for the worse
She said, "Listen baby, you can hear the engine ring"
"We've been up and down this highway, haven't seen a goddam thing"
He said, "Call the doctor, I think I'm gonna crash"
"The doctor say he's comin', but you gotta pay him cash"
They went rushin' down that freeway, messed around and got lost
They didn't care, they were just dyin' to get off, and it was
Life in the fast lane
OK, a couple of things - One, 1976 was a fucking amazing year for music. Two, this album is one of the handful on the list that I 100% agree is one that every human should hear.
5/5
The Specials
5/5
And you think it's about time that you died
And I agree, so you decide on suicide
You tried but you never quite carried it off
You only wanted to die in order to show off
And if you think you're gonna bleed all over me
You're even wronger than you'd normally be
And the only things you want to see are kitsch
The only thing you want to be is rich
Your little pink up-pointed nose begins to twitch
I know, you know, you're just a little bitch
One, two
5/5
Pink Floyd
5/5
So, so you think you can tell
Heaven from hell?
Blue skies from pain?
Can you tell a green field
From a cold steel rail?
A smile from a veil?
Do you think you can tell?
I spent an entire summer of my life listening only to this album. It very certainly changed my life.
5/5
Pet Shop Boys
3/5
When I look back upon my life
It's always with a sense of shame
I've always been the one to blame
For everything I long to do
No matter when or where or who
Has one thing in common too
It's a sin
So, its an OK album but I'm confused by its presence on this list. Why is this an album that everyone should hear before they die? Because its more 80s brit pop? Cant have too much of that?
3/5
fIREHOSE
4/5
Workin' out them simple things day by day
Words and dreams just cross through my mind
I been sympathizing, compromising things to say
But everything's been going my way
Well should I stay, should I leave
How can I be here
Words and dreams all pass through my mind, and I still
Spend some time with you
Never heard of this band or album before. Not bad. Bluesy guitar, good vocals, pretty good.
4/5
Mylo
2/5
Meh. Why the fuck is this on this list? Oh right, its UK pop shit.
2/5
Boston
5/5
Now you're climbin' to the top of the company ladder
Hope it doesn't take too long
Can't cha see there'll come a day when it won't matter
Come a day when you'll be gone
I understand about indecision
But I don't care if I get behind
People living in competition
All I want is to have my peace of mind
Such a great fucking album. Every track is a killer and the theme is an outstanding vision of rock in the US in the 1970s.
5/5
David Bowie
2/5
Dont get me wrong, I love Bowie. He was an amazing artist and brought new ideas and life to music in a way that rivals Mozart.
However, this album is not his best. Its self indulgent and not up to his self set standard. I know, I KNOW, its his last work and should be celebrated, but not in a way where we tell everyone that they HAVE to hear this album. Thats not fair to Bowie, either.
2/5
Jurassic 5
4/5
Solid album. Not enough hip hop on this list in general, and this is a welcome addition. That said, its not a five star album. Its solid at four stars but not holy-shit-you-must-hear-this five stars level.
4/5
Hanoi Rocks
2/5
Meh.
2/5
Paul Simon
5/5
It was a slow day
And the sun was beating
On the soldiers by the side of the road
There was a bright light
A shattering of shop windows
The bomb in the baby carriage
Was wired to the radio
These are the days of miracle and wonder
This is the long distance call
The way the camera follows us in slo-mo
The way we look to us all
The way we look to a distant constellation
That's dying in a corner of the sky
These are the days of miracle and wonder
And don't cry, baby, don't cry
Don't cry
Thats how this incredible album starts - which maps the global music of the mid-80s, a time when technology had become the new favorite deity and drugs were cheap and plentiful.
Did he appropriate music and culture from Africa and the Caribbean? You bet your fucking ass he did. It doesnt detract from the album, which is outstanding. Paul Simon, who couldnt write a bad song if he tried, stealing from global music and writing a masterpiece.
5/5
Run-D.M.C.
5/5
Hard times are coming to your town
So stay alert, don't let them get you down
They tell you times are tough, you hear that times are hard
But when you work for that ace you know you pulled the right card
Hard times got our pockets all in chains
I'll tell you what, homeboy, it don't have my brain
All day I have to work at my peak
Because I need that dollar every day of the week
Outstanding.
5/5
Terence Trent D'Arby
3/5
Its OK. Decent, but not great.
3/5
Beck
4/5
She's got a hand on a wheel of pain
She can talk to the mangling strangers
She can sleep in a fiery bog
Throwing troubles to the dying embers
She's alone in the new pollution
Good album. I admit that I didnt appreciate it when it released, but in retrospect I understand what some of my friends were making such a big deal out of.
4/5
David Bowie
4/5
Some of these days, and it won't be long
Gonna drive back down where you once belonged
In the back of a dream car twenty foot long
Don't cry, my sweet, don't break my heart
Doing all right, but you gotta get smart
Wish upon, wish upon, day upon day, I believe, oh Lord
I believe all the way
Come get up, my baby
Run for the shadows, run for the shadows
Run for the shadows in these golden years
Solid Bowie album.
4/5
The Flaming Lips
5/5
Do you realize
That you have the most beautiful face?
Do you realize
We're floating in space?
Do you realize
That happiness makes you cry?
Do you realize
That everyone you know someday will die?
And instead of saying all of your goodbyes
Let them know you realize that life goes fast
It's hard to make the good things last
You realize the sun doesn't go down
It's just an illusion caused by the world spinning round
Up there with Dark Side. No shit.
5/5
Rufus Wainwright
3/5
I never heard of this before, but its not bad. Decent tracks, nice and relaxing. Reminds me of Thom Yorke or maybe Peter Gabriel.
3/5
Jefferson Airplane
5/5
Her neon mouth with the blinkers-off smile
Nothing but an electric sign
You could say she has an individual style
She's a part of a colorful time
Secrecy of lady-chrome-covered clothes
You wear 'cause you have no other
But I suppose no one knows
You're my plastic fantastic lover
Fucking hippies made an excellent album. They all turned out to be some of the most awful rotten people later!
5/5
Kanye West
1/5
At this point it hardly even matters whether the music or the album is any good, because kanye is SUCH a narcissist racist shithead asshole that nothing can ever get past that.
1/5
Funkadelic
5/5
Mother Earth is pregnant for the third time
For y'all have knocked her up.
I have tasted the maggots in the mind of the universe
I was not offended
For I knew I had to rise above it all
Or drown in my own shit.
Outstanding album. One of the best things George Clinton ever made.
5/5
Pulp
1/5
Booooring.
Strictly mid. Doesnt belong on the list.
1/5
Elvis Costello
3/5
It all feels so contrived. Its OK, but its def not great.
3/5
Beatles
5/5
Is this the best beatles album? I'm partial to the white album, but this is so goddamn good that its hard to tell which is better. Anyway, its a 5/5, but the whole beatles catalog would be tough to score under a 5.
5/5
Elton John
3/5
Slow down, Joe, I'm a rock-and-roll man
I've twiddled my thumbs in a dozen odd bands
And you ain't seen nothing 'til you've been
In a motel, baby, like the Holiday Inn
This is a weird album - I dont love it, but its inescapably catchy tracks and lowkey positivity in some kind of dark scenarios makes it a decent album.
3/5
The Rolling Stones
5/5
I'm feeling so tired, can't understand it
Just had a fortnight's sleep
I'm feeling so stuffed, I'm so distracted
Ain't touched a thing all week
I'm feeling drunk, juiced up and sloppy
Ain't touched a drink all night
I'm feeling hungry, can't see the reason
Just had a horse meat pie
Yeah when you call my name
I salivate like a Pavlov dog
Yeah when you lay me out
My heart is beating louder than a big bass drum, alright
Yeah, you got to mix it, child, you got to fix
It must be love, it's a bitch
This is a GOAT album - When it was released on vinyl, the fucking zipper on the album worked!
5/5
Sex Pistols
5/5
Now I wanna know, now-now I wanna known why
You never look me in the face
Broke a confidence just to please your ego
Should've realized you know what I know
You're in suspension you're a liar
Such a great album that defines the punk sound even today in 2023.
5/5
Arcade Fire
4/5
They heard me singing and they told me to stop
Quit these pretentious things and just punch the clock
These days, my life, I feel it has no purpose
But late at night the feelings swim to the surface
'Cause on the surface the city lights shine
They're calling at me, "Come and find your kind"
Sometimes, I wonder if the world's so small
That we can never get away from the sprawl
I mean, its pretty good.
4/5
Robbie Williams
1/5
Holy shit this is a bad album.
Why would this piece of britpop shit be an album that "everyone should hear before they die", unless it was to make sure that everyone is exposed to middle of the road bad music made by rich English people?
1/5
Ice T
5/5
Hustler, word, I pull the trigger long,
Grit my teeth, spray till every nigga's gone.
Got my block sewn, armored dope spots,
Last thing I sweat's a sucka punk cop.
Move like a king when I roll, hops,
You try to flex, bang, another nigga drops.
You gotta deal with this cause there's no way out,
Why? Cash money ain't never gonna play out.
I got nothin to lose, much to gain,
In my brain, I got a capitalist migraine.
I gotta get paid tonight, you muthafuckin right.
[something] my grip, check my bitch, keep my game tight.
So many hos on my jock, think I'm a movie star.
Nineteen, I got a fifty thousand dollar car.
Go to school, I ain't goin for it,
Kiss my ass, bust the cap on the Moet.
Cause I don't want to hear that crap,
Why? I'd rather be a New Jack-----Hustler
Brilliant.
5/5
Coldplay
4/5
Oh no, what's this?
A spider web and I'm caught in the middle
So I turned to run
The thought of all the stupid things I've done
And I, I never meant to cause you trouble
And I, I never meant to do you wrong
And I, well if I ever caused you trouble
Oh no, I never meant to do you harm
I think I'm supposed to hate coldplay? Thus; I didnt want to like this album, but the problem is - its fucking excellent and I ended up really enjoying it.
4/5
Mike Oldfield
1/5
Um. So somehow something got fucked up and they put the music from the exorcist on this list. Just figure someone should know that they made a mistake, because theres no earthly way this would be an album that anyone should listen to, much less everyone should listen to.
1/5
FKA twigs
3/5
Meh.
3/5
Pixies
4/5
From distant star to this here bar
The me, the you, where are we now?
Hurray the blues of everyone, Allison
Outstanding album, worth the listen.
4/5
Carpenters
4/5
LOL this is schmaltzy and awful, but its also somehow simultaneously great. I'm going 4/5 because I honestly dont know how to evaluate this album.
Mercury Rev
4/5
Well she tossed all night like a raging sea
Woke up and climbed from the suicide machine
With her Spanish candles and her Persian poems
Stuck on the rocks inside opus 40 stoned
And scratching her wrists in the pouring rain
She collapses down upon the ocean floor again
Tears in waves minds on fire
Nights alone by your side
Catskill mansions buried screams I'm alive
She cried but I don't know what it means
Somewhere out there across the moonlit sands
There's a line drawn like the lines on her own hand
And slamming her eyes locking the door
She collapses down upon the ocean floor again
This is a great album, especially if you like Flaming Lips. Its not perfect, but its great.
4/5
James Taylor
2/5
This album and Taylor in general are the anti-gonzo - The compromise between actual rock and the easy listening take-it-safe-just-do-what-everyone-else-is-doing mentality that was used to poison the counter-culture movement of America in the last half of the 20th century.
Its the lowest common denominator of music for a bunch of disillusioned hippies finally realizing in 1970 that they werent ever going to get any of that freedom and consciousness expansion shit they thought they were going to win 5 years ago.
I feel like I should maybe rate it higher just because its finally not a britpop album on this awful list, but I cant bring myself to give it better than a 2.
2/5
The Dave Brubeck Quartet
3/5
I think "take five" might be the quintessential jazz song. Like, if someone says "jazz", you would think of that song.
3/5
3/5
Anyway, heres Wonderwall.
3/5
Amy Winehouse
5/5
Amazing album. Left us too soon.
5/5
Grant Lee Buffalo
3/5
The Prodigy
4/5
Firestarter.
4/5
The Slits
4/5
Hey, it’s that album with boobs on the cover! J/k - it’s actually a really good album with a lot of replay-able tracks.
4/5
Ian Dury
3/5
Meh.
3/5
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
4/5
great album.
4/5
Bob Dylan
5/5
This is a GOAT album. Every track is amazing, as a whole its fucking transcendent.
5/5
Jeru The Damaja
3/5
Decent. Not amazing, but decent.
3/5
Klaxons
2/5
Meh. More brit-pop techno-disco-electro shit. Nothing special and not on the level of anything anyone would say you must hear before you die.
2/5
Jimi Hendrix
5/5
For real, most incredible guitar playing of all time.
5/5
Johnny Cash
5/5
I agree that this is an excellent album that everyone should hear.
5/5
Erykah Badu
4/5
I had never heard this album before today, and it's crazy how good it is and how I missed it! Great album, with good themes and excellent tracks. Not quite GOAT material, but outstanding work nonetheless.
4/5
Hugh Masekela
3/5
Smooooooth Jazzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
3/5
Beatles
5/5
The second-best Beatles album.
5/5
Don McLean
2/5
A long, long time ago
In a galaxy far away
Naboo was under an attack
And I thought me and Qui-Gon Jinn
Could talk the federation in
To maybe cutting them a little slack
But their response, it didn't thrill us
They locked the doors and tried to kill us
We escaped from that gas
Then met Jar-Jar and Boss Nass
We took a bongo from the scene
And we went to Theed to see the Queen
We all wound up on Tatooine
That's where we found this boy
Oh my, my this here Anakin guy
Maybe Vader someday later, now he's just a small fry
He left his home and kissed his mommy goodbye
Sayin', "Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi"
Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi
Did you know this junkyard slave
Isn't even old enough to shave
But he can use the Force, they say
Ahh, do you see him hitting on the queen
Though he's just nine and she's 14
Yeah, he's probably gonna marry her someday
Well, I know he built C-3PO
And I've heard how fast his pod can go
And we were broke, it's true
So we made a wager or two
He was a pre-pubescent flyin' ace
And the minute Jabba started off that race
Well, I knew who would win first place
Oh yes, it was our boy
We started singin'
My, my this here Anakin guy
Maybe Vader someday later, now he's just a small fry
And he left his home and kissed his mommy goodbye
Sayin', "Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi"
Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi
Now we finally got to Coruscant
The Jedi Council we knew would want
To see how good the boy could be
So we took him there and we told the tale
How his midichlorians were off the scale
And he might fulfill that prophecy
Oh, the Council was impressed, of course
Could he bring balance, to the Force?
They interviewed the kid
All training they forbid
Because Yoda sensed in him much fear
And Qui-Gon said, "Now listen here"
Just stick it in your pointy ear
I still will teach this boy
He was singin'
My, my this here Anakin guy
Maybe Vader someday later, now he's just a small fry
And he left his home and kissed his mommy goodbye
Sayin', "Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi"
Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi
We caught a ride back to Naboo
'Cause Queen Amidala wanted to
I frankly would've liked to stay
We all fought in that epic war
And it wasn't long at all before
Little Hotshot flew his plane and saved the day
And in the end some Gunguns died
Some ships blew up and some pilots fried
A lot of folks were croakin'
The battle droids were broken
And the Jedi I admire most
Met up with Darth Maul and now he's toast
Well, I'm still here, and he's a ghost
I guess I'll train this boy
And I was singin'
My, my this here Anakin guy
Maybe Vader someday later, now he's just a small fry
And he left his home and kissed his mommy goodbye
Sayin', "Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi"
Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi
We were singin'
My, my this here Anakin guy
Maybe Vader someday later, now he's just a small fry
And he left his home and kissed his mommy goodbye
Sayin', "Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi"
Weird Al did it better.
2/5
Britney Spears
2/5
OK, but … why?
2/5
The Pharcyde
4/5
Your mama got snake skin teeth
Your mama wears coat hangers for earrings, dude she looks like
Your mama was making sex threats to Ricky Bell and shit
Your mama jacked the Kool-aid man for a sip, nigga
Your mama was walking down on Sunset with a 99 cent sign on her back
(You're a sellout) Your mama's a sellout nigga your mama
Nigga your mama did a pop tune nigga
Your mama's glasses are so thick she look into a map
And see people wavin' at her
Your mother got an Ouija board on her back
Sidney with EQ and everything what he be sayin'
His mother be hooked, fishin' with a hook and reel at the frozen food section
Tre's mama got Playdough teeth
Your mother be eatin' Daytons like Now and Laters and shit
Your mama's an extra on the Simpsons and shit
Your mama's so fat you can't even see her legs
It just looks like she's just gliding across the floor
I mean really, those rhymes are tight.
4/5
Stevie Wonder
3/5
On the beach we're sitting
Hugging, squeezing, kissing
Why must it be
That you always creep
Into my dreams
In my dreams
When I'm sleep at night, baby
I feel those moments of ecstasy
When you sleep at night, baby
I wonder do I creep into your dreams
Or could it be I sleep alone in my fantasy
3/5
The Triffids
1/5
It's bad. Like, really bad. No conceivable reason why this album would be on this list unless someone was being paid off.
1/5
808 State
2/5
Dance music. It doesnt make for a great album, but the tracks are OK.
2/5
Echo And The Bunnymen
3/5
Meh. Nothing outstanding about this album, except is has "Killing Moon" on it, which is a great track.
3/5
The Fall
4/5
I haven't ever heard of this album before, and it took me by surprise how good it was. It's not life-changing or anything, but it's quite good - The quintessential sound of 80s British post-punk.
4/5
Def Leppard
5/5
Love is like a bomb, baby, c'mon get it on
Livin' like a lover with a radar phone
Lookin' like a tramp, like a video vamp
Demolition woman, can I be your man?
Razzle 'n' a dazzle 'n' a flash a little light
Television lover, baby, go all night
Sometime, anytime, sugar me sweet
Little miss innocent sugar me, yeah, yeah
Now c'mon, take a bottle, shake it up
Break the bubble, break it up
Pour some sugar on me
Ooh, in the name of love
Pour some sugar on me
C'mon, fire me up
Pour your sugar on me
I can't get enough
5/5
It's decent, but not great.
3/5
Big Brother & The Holding Company
5/5
One of the best albums of all time. Amazing theme, great tracks, amazing artwork, its got it all.
5/5
Beach House
4/5
I had never heard of them before, but I like this album. Good theme and catchy tracks; good vocals tie it all together.
4/5
The Sugarcubes
5/5
Brilliant.
5/5
The Cure
4/5
Robert Smith is on a whole different level. I know the Cure and like them, but I hadn't heard this album before. Its on their usual standard, which is to say that its pretty damn good.
4/5
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
2/5
Meh. Neil Young and Crazy Horse are OK, but this is a boring and repetitive album.
2/5
Isaac Hayes
5/5
They say this cat Shaft is a bad mother
(Shut your mouth)
But I'm talkin' 'bout Shaft
(Then we can dig it)
So good. One of the pillars of the Stax sound, and deserves to be on a top 100 list.
5/5
Talking Heads
5/5
Everyone is trying to get to the bar
The name of the bar, the bar is called Heaven
The band in Heaven, they play my favorite song
They play it once again, they play it all night long
One of the best of all time.
5/5
Hole
3/5
Its OK but not amazing and I'm not sure that I agree that it belongs on a top 1000 list.
3/5
Pere Ubu
3/5
Decent. It's not great, and might not belong on the list, but I appreciate that American post-punk got a spot, so I'm giving it a 3.
3/5
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
5/5
This is a lot of fun to listen to, and it's got a lot of replayability. I guess that old-time sound is still alive and well!
5/5
a-ha
2/5
Really? The album only has one good track, and it's on the 1001 list?
2/5
Marvin Gaye
5/5
Nobody makes albums designed to be good for fucking anymore.
5/5
Travis
1/5
I initially said "Meh" and gave it three stars, but after listening to this album all the way through to the end, I can now say that it's actually bad and give it 1 star. It's got nothing redeemable in lyrics or melody throughout. It's essentially late-90s UK elevator music, just pointless and bad.
1/5
Rage Against The Machine
5/5
Come on, although you try to discredit
You'll still never edit
The needle, I'll thread it
Radically poetic
Standing with the fury that they had in '66
And like E-Double, I'm mad
Still knee-deep in the system's shit
Hoover, he was a body remover
I'll give you a dose
But it will never come close
To the rage built up inside of me
Fist in the air, in the land of hypocricy
Fucking A plus album right here! This is the absolute best way to put into words how the 90s counterculture felt and what we thought we knew and could take action on then. This is one of those high water marks of a generation.
5/5
Holger Czukay
1/5
It is now time to dance on sprockets.
1/5
Koffi Olomide
1/5
It's OK but nothing remarkable. No standout tracks or themes. And then I read the wiki and this guy may be a terrible person.
1/5
New Order
4/5
This is a good album. Solid theme, catchy tracks, does exactly what you think its going to do and does it well.
4/5
Crosby, Stills & Nash
5/5
Outstanding musicians who work extremely well together. With all this talent, it's not surprising that this is an excellent album.
5/5
Penguin Cafe Orchestra
2/5
This is actually kind of dull. There aren't any tracks that I would save or any theme that would make me want to listen to the entire album again. It's just Brian Eno-style "experimental" fucking around for 45 minutes.
2/5
4/5
Kind of has a Sugarcubes/Bjork thing going on at first, the more I listen the more I like it. Never heard of Suba before, but this is good shit.
4/5
Van Halen
5/5
Absolutely incredible. Everything about this album, this moment in time and these musicians, is exceptional.
5/5
Calexico
4/5
I never heard of Calexico before, at least not directly. They may have been on a compilation or been on a soundtrack, but didn't jump out at me. That said, this is a good album. Its got great theming - This is an album of the American desert if I ever heard one - and a few tracks have replay-ability.
4/5
Sabu
3/5
Not bad. Not great either, but not bad.
3/5
The Notorious B.I.G.
4/5
Biggie never appealed to me the way other hip hop of the 90s did, and I thought it was ridiculous when people said he was assassinated. I was like, well he's an admitted criminal and drug dealer in his lyrics, why is anyone surprised when violent people meet violent ends?
Anyway, listening to the whole album today, I can see the appeal that eluded me in the 90s. Its a good album.
4/5
Guns N' Roses
5/5
Incredible album that defined hard rock/metal for a generation. Its hard to look at anything past and see that it still shines despite knowing what we do now about the artists and the environment, but this album does indeed continue to shine.
5/5
Fun Lovin' Criminals
4/5
Running around robbing banks
All whacked on Scooby Snacks
I actually like this album a lot. I'm not saying that its "good" or that it "belongs on a 1001 best albums list", but I do like it.
4/5
The Only Ones
1/5
This is just crap.
1/5
Wilco
1/5
This is so unremarkable that I'm inclined to believe that this albums inclusion on this list is the result of someone's having been paid off.
I mean really. I make it a point to listen to each of these albums at least once through, but this one was a real challenge to not skip the aggressively boring tracks.
1/5
The Byrds
3/5
No I'd rather go and journey
Where the diamond crescent's glowing
And run across the valley
Beneath the sacred mountain
And wander through the forest
Where the trees have leaves of prisms
And break the light in colors
That no one know the names of
And when it's time I'll go and lay
Beside the legendary fountain
'Till I see her form reflected
In its clear and jewelled waters
And if you think I'm ready
You may lead me to the chasm
Where the rivers of our visions
Flow into one another
I will want to dive beneath the white cascading waters
She may beg, she may plead, she may argue with her logic
And mention all the things I'll lose
That really have no value in the end she will surely know
I wasn't born to follow
Its pretty hippy-dippy shit, but its actually pretty good too. Giving the album a 3 due to its only having one outstanding track, though.
3/5
Slipknot
1/5
Hey, you want to listen to some terrible modern nu-metal from Iowa? No, me neither.
1/5
Jimi Hendrix
5/5
Down the street you can hear her scream you're a disgrace
As she slams the door in his drunken face
And now he stands outside
And all the neighbors start to gossip and drool
He cries oh girl, you must be mad
What happened to the sweet love you and me had
Against the door he leans and starts a scene
And his tears fall and burn the garden green
Absolutely amazing album. Hendrix is a transcendent guitarist, thats a given - But this album goes beyond his skill as a guitarist and shows what a great songwriter and overall musician he was.
5/5
Deep Purple
5/5
Holy shit, this is a great album - I cant believe I never heard of this before! I mean, sure, everyone knows smoke on the water, but I had no idea they made an album like this one.
5/5
Magazine
3/5
Meh. Not bad, but also not great. I never heard of this band or album before, and they're OK.
3/5
The Chemical Brothers
5/5
Fantastic album. My buddy Dave was working at tower records outlet when this came out, and this hot french girl came in and was looking for this album. He had to tell her that they didnt sell it at his part of the store and sent her to the other building. He was so bummed that he didnt get to sell her this album - I was intrigued enough to buy it myself. I mean, if this album gets hot french girls to tower records, dont you want to have it on repeat?
5/5
Green Day
4/5
The 2000s were kind of a wasteland for american art. Compared to previous generations, music wasnt the great communicator and rallying of a generation that it had been. This was one of the like 20 albums of the decade that was something that everyone had heard and tended towards liking it.
4/5
Madness
4/5
This album isnt available on any streaming services, so I listened to Madness (1983), which was the next closest thing.
I like the band Madness a lot, and I do think that UK ska should be represented by one album in the 1001 list. It does stand out, even on this anglophile list, as an exceptional entry.
4/5
Genesis
1/5
Holy shit, this is awful.
I knew that Genesis was very different before the pop songs they produced in the 80s, but I hadnt heard it before. Having now experienced it, I guess its good that they split up later to make better stuff independently.
1/5
Blur
2/5
Sounds like the soundtrack to a guy ritchie movie. Its not bad, but this list is making me increasingly weary of british music. Its also boring.
2/5
Lynyrd Skynyrd
5/5
Excellent album by an excellent band which would later be reshaped to be a really shitty band by racists. But for that time and that place, they were amazing.
5/5
Bruce Springsteen
5/5
When the night's quiet and you don't care anymore
And your eyes are tired and there's someone at your door
And you realize you want to let go
And the weak lies in cold walls you embrace you
At your insides and baby I ain't no liar I walk
Streets of fire
Incredible. Love is the force that conquers all the bad shit in America.
5/5
Bob Dylan
5/5
Now the preacher looked so baffled
When I asked him why he dressed
With twenty pounds of headlines
Stapled to his chest
But he cursed me when I proved it to him
Then I whispered Not even you can hide
You see, you’re just like me
I hope you’re satisfied
Oh, Mama, can this really be the end
To be stuck inside of Mobile
With the Memphis blues again
Everybody must get stoned? I couldnt agree more.
5/5
Beatles
5/5
Desmond has a barrow in the marketplace
Molly is the singer in a band
Desmond says to Molly girl I like your face
And Molly says this as she takes him by the hand
Ob-la-di ob-la-da life goes on brah
La-la how life goes on
Ob-la-di ob-la-da life goes on brah
La-la how life goes on
-And-
Your inside is out when your outside is in
Your outside is in when your inside is out
So come on come on
Come on its such a joy
Come on its such a joy
Come on let's make it easy
Come on let's make it easy
Make it easy, make it easy
Everybody's got something to hide except for me and my monkey
Enough said, really.
5/5
Sepultura
2/5
I never knew sepultura was from brazil, but then again I never really cared. This is OK, but its not great, and its far from the best representative of thrash metal.
2/5
The White Stripes
5/5
It's quite possible that I'm your third man, girl
But it's a fact that I'm the seventh son
It's quite possible that I'm your third man, girl
But it's a fact that I'm the seventh son
And right now, you could care less about me
But soon enough, you will care by the time I'm done
This is an excellent album. Its exceptional in theme and in replay-ability, I dont think that theres anything else that directly compares to it in terms of a blues-rock album.
5/5
Bee Gees
1/5
Its so fucking bad, the only list this should be on would be the "worst albums ever recorded by a band who later made better work".
1/5
Sigur Rós
4/5
This album is like some ancient alien technology shit. Its beautiful and strange, and I dont understand it in the slightest.
4/5
Led Zeppelin
5/5
Mean old levee taught me to weep and moan, Lord
Mean old levee taught me to weep and moan
It's got what it takes to make a mountain man leave his home
Oh well, oh well, oh well
Don't it make you feel bad
When you're tryin' to find your way home
You don't know which way to go?
If you're goin' down south
They got no work to do
If you're going down to Chicago
GOAT album right here.
5/5
Rush
4/5
I mean, you figure Rush has to be on the list someplace, and I guess that Moving Pictures is probably the most logical album to appear on a list of 1001 essential albums.
Its a good album, and can be repeated endlessly. I'm not saying I like it, because I don't. But I recognize quality, and its very good.
By the way, did you know that the British royal family owns like 90% of the land in Canada?
4/5
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
1/5
Ugh. Just no. This is a bad album, and should not be on any list of good albums.
1/5
Amy Winehouse
5/5
Upstairs in bed with my ex-boy
He's in a place, but I can't get joy
Thinking on you in the final throes
This is when my buzzer goes
Run out to meet your chips and pita
You say when "we're married"
'Cause you're not bitter
"There'll be none of him no more"
I cried for you on the kitchen floor
I cheated myself
Like I knew I would
I told you I was trouble
You know that I'm no good
This is a spectacular album. Themes and tracks are some of the most profoundly dark stuff you'll ever hear, and the overall album is absolutely excellent.
5/5
The Libertines
1/5
I'm getting so bored with british music from this list.
I cant find anything redeeming or interesting about this album. Its sooo boring. Its got like one halfway decent track that I probably wont listen to ever again.
1/5
Aretha Franklin
5/5
If I lose this dream
It's goodbye love and happiness
Yes you're the one I need
I don't want a love that's second best
There've been things all of my life
I wanted to do that made me blue
Help me hold onto this dream
For sometimes dreams often come true
And they all come true they all come true
For me and you
Wait a minute baby
This album is so fucking good that it makes up for all the awful britpop and UK post punk shit that I've had to endure on this list. This is a solid soul album that will change your life the first time you experience it.
5/5
Stevie Wonder
5/5
Very superstitious,
Writing's on the wall,
Very superstitious,
Ladders bout' to fall,
Thirteen month old baby,
Broke the lookin' glass
Seven years of bad luck,
The good things in your past
When you believe in things
That you don't understand,
Then you suffer,
Superstition aint the way
Stevie Wonder is a musical genius!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0_vTUnokNU
5/5
Beck
3/5
Meh. One good song and a bunch of forgettable stuff. Not terrible, but why in the world would anyone put this on a list of 1001 albums that everyone should hear?
3/5
The Police
4/5
This is a great album but its not their best work (Synchronicity is). Anyway, it does indeed deserve to be on a list of albums that everyone should hear and its got a shitload of replay-ability and some great stand out single tracks.
4/5
U2
5/5
Under a blood red sky
A crowd has gathered in black and white
Arms entwined, the chosen few
The newspapers says
Say it's true
And we can break through
Though torn in two
We can be one
I will begin again
Good album. Not one skippable track, and you could put it on repeat for a week and not ever get tired of New Years Day.
5/5
Aerosmith
3/5
Decent. Aerosmith is a little overrated, IMO, but this is a decent album.
3/5
David Bowie
5/5
It's a god awful small affair
To the girl with the mousy hair
But her mummy is yelling no
And her daddy has told her to go
But her friend is nowhere to be seen
Now she walks through her sunken dream
To the seat with the clearest view
And she's hooked to the silver screen
But the film is a saddening bore
For she's lived it ten times or more
She could spit in the eyes of fools
As they ask her to focus on
Sailors fighting in the dance hall
Oh man, look at those cavemen go
It's the freakiest show
Take a look at the lawman
Beating up the wrong guy
Oh man, wonder if he'll ever know
He's in the best selling show
Is there life on Mars?
Amazing. There really arent any words which do justice to this album, its just outstanding and absolutely deserves to be on a list of the albums that everyone should hear.
5/5
Björk
5/5
He's exploring the taste of her
Arousal, so accurate
He sets off the beauty in her
He's Venus, a Venus as a boy
All across your lips, oh, then until
Well be that, it's a little now, until
He believes in a beauty
He's Venus as a boy
He believes in a beauty and gentle
She's incredible. There isnt anyone else like Bjork, she is a truly unique voice and artist.
5/5
4/5
Night and day
I dream of making love
To you now baby
Love-making
On-screen
Impossible dream
And I have seen
The sunrise
Over the river
The freeway
Reminding
Of this mess we're in and
The city sun sets over me
Man, I fucking love New York too. She gets it.
4/5
Massive Attack
4/5
This girl I know needs some shelter
She don't believe anyone can help her
She's doing so much harm, doing so much damage
But you don't wanna get involved
You tell her she can manage
And you can't change the way she feels
But you could put your arms around her
I know you wanna live yourself
But could you forgive yourself
If you left her just the way you found her?
I stand in front of you
I'll take the force of the blow, protection
This is some quintessential 90s sound. Massive Attack is a great band, and this is a good album. Not great, but good.
4/5
Kendrick Lamar
4/5
I said I'm trapped inside the ghetto and I ain't proud to admit it
Institutionalized, I could still kill me a nigga, so what?
If I was the president
I'd pay my mama's rent
Free my homies and them
Bulletproof my Chevy doors
Lay in the White House and get high, Lord
Whoever thought?
Master, take the chains off me!
America is a pretty fucked up place - We went a long time with white people not recognizing the shit that the white government and white people have done to black people.
4/5
Arctic Monkeys
2/5
I like the arctic monkeys, but this album in no way belongs on a list of the best albums of anything ever.
2/5
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
5/5
My spirits made up of the ocean
And the sky and the sun and the moon
And all my eyes can see
I cannot go back to your land of gloom
Where black jagged shadows
Remind me of the coming of your doom
I want my own land
Take my hand and come with me
It's not too late for you if it's not too late for me
To find my homeland
Where a man can stand by another man
Without an ego flying
With no man lying
And no one dying by an earthly hand
Let the devils burn and the beggar learn
And the little girls that live in those old worlds
Take my kind hand
My smile is stuck
I cannot go back to your frownland
Here's the thing, this isnt FOR you. Its for THEM. The people who made this album made it because THEY wanted it. They didnt give a fuck that it wasnt going to make any money, it was ART. Art for the sake of art? Man, we could use more of that in this late-stage capitalist hellscape.
5/5
The B-52's
4/5
She came from Planet Claire
I knew she came from there
She drove a Plymouth Satellite
A-faster than the speed of light
Planet Claire has pink air
All the trees are red
No one ever dies there
No one has a head
Great album! 4/5
Big Star
5/5
Thank you friends
Wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you
I'm so grateful for all the things you helped me do
All the ladies and gentlemen
Who made this all so probable
Thank you, friends
I rejoice to the skies
Dear ones like you do the best I do
As far as can see my eyes
THIS is why I started listening to this list - I never heard of or heard this album before, and its excellent!
5/5
Bob Dylan
5/5
it ain't no use in turning on your light, babe
That light I never knowed
And it ain't no use in turning on your light, babe
I'm on the dark side of the road
But I wish there was somethin' you would do or say
To try and make me change my mind and stay
But we never did too much talking anyway
But don't think twice, it's all right
How many albums can you think of where EVERY SINGLE TRACK is amazing?
5/5
Madonna
3/5
Its OK, but not great. Couple of good dance tracks, and there you have Madonna's last good album. Its got no place on a list of albums that everyone should hear before they die.
3/5
Fatboy Slim
4/5
I wish I could go back to the late 90s and hear this again for the first time.
4/5
Parliament
4/5
Do not attempt to adjust your radio, there is nothing wrong
We have taken control as to bring you this special show
We will return it to you as soon as you are grooving
Welcome to station WEFUNK, better known as We-Funk
Or deeper still, the Mothership Connection
Home of the extraterrestrial brothers
Dealers of funky music
P-Funk, uncut funk, The Bomb
Coming to you directly from the Mothership
Top of the Chocolate Milky Way, 500, 000 kilowatts of P-Funk-power
So kick back, dig, while we do it to you in your eardrums
And me? I'm known as Lollipop Man, alias the Long-Haired Sucker
My motto is
Make my funk the P-Funk
I want my funk uncut
You gotta love George Clinton. This is an undeniably funky album.
4/5
Simply Red
1/5
Simply no reason for this to be on this list. Is this like a nostalgia thing for Brits?
1/5
Shivkumar Sharma
4/5
The original album/recording wasnt on itunes or spotify, but youtube had a version of the original album. So, it took some more clicks than usual to get to the album but it was worth it! Really great classical Indian album, very relaxing and beautiful.
4/5
Stereolab
4/5
Les allees, les venues, labyrinthe, mais qu'y vois je?
La sortie, je la voie, elle est la, on est peu,
Bien trop peu, au travers, murs epais je peux le faire,
Faire tomber, les ecrans, do trompage, do trompage
Different from everything else, and in a really great way.
4/5
Motörhead
4/5
You know I'm born to lose
And gambling's for fools
But that's the way I like it, baby
I don't want to live forever
And don't forget the joker
Pushing up the ante
I know you got to see me
Read 'em and weep
The dead man's hand again
I see it in your eyes
Take one look and die
The only thing you see
You know it's gonna be
The Ace of Spades
So fucking good.
4/5
David Ackles
1/5
Its like an even worse version of Neil Diamond. I mean seriously, how does anyone find any value in this? I had never heard this before, and I was better off not knowing about this terrible shit.
1/5
Hookworms
1/5
It is now time to dance on Sprockets.
Seriously, why is this very mid shit on this list?
1/5
The Temptations
5/5
Love woke me up this morning feelin' fine
I had you on my mind
Love woke me up this morning
And I haven't had a heartache today
And all my little tears are gone away
Skies are blue because of you
Love woke me up this morning
Thinkin' of last night
You know, you make me feel all right
Love woke me up this morning
I'm so glad baby
Because of you, happiness is really mine
And my cloudy days are far behind
Absolutely incredible album. Some of the most original sounds youll ever experience, and papa was a rolling stone is one of the top 10 songs of all time.
5/5
Cream
4/5
I fucking hate Eric Clapton, but I cant deny that this is a fantastic album.
4/5
The Beach Boys
4/5
All my life I spent the night
With dreams of you
And the warmth I missed
And for the things I wished
They're all coming true
I've got my love to give
And a place to live
Guess I'm gonna stay
It'd be a peaceful life
With a forever wife
And a kid someday
Well, it's early nights
And pillow fights
And your soft laugh
Fantasy world and Disney girls
I'm coming back
This is a good album, but its weird. Its weird like the fact that Brian Wilson was friends with Charles Manson and let the whole family stay at his place for a long time - Its some heavy incongruous shit thats hard to wrap your head around. But its also a really good album.
4/5
R.E.M.
5/5
Sometimes I feel like I can't even sing
I'm very scared for this world, I'm very scared for me
Eviscerate your memory
Here's a scene
You're in the backseat laying down, the windows wrap around
To the sound of the travel and the engine
All you hear is time stand still in travel
And feel such peace and absolute
The stillness still that doesn't end
But slowly drifts into sleep
The greatest thing you've ever seen
And they're there for you
For you alone, you are the everything
Amazing album in its theme and its lyrics, and also in its encapsulation of the feeling of a decade. I dont always agree with this list, but this is definitely one of the albums that everyone should hear.
5/5
Black Sabbath
5/5
I want to reach out and touch the sky
I want to touch the sun, but I don't need to fly
I'm gonna climb up every mountain of the moon
And find the dish that ran away with the spoon
I've crossed the oceans, turned every bend
I found the plastic at the gold at rainbow's end
I've been through magic and through life's reality
I've lived a thousand years and it never bothered me
Got no religion, don't need no friends
Got all I want and I don't need to pretend
Don't try to reach me, 'cause I'll tear up your mind
I've seen the future and I've left it behind
This is basically a perfect album. Even better if you are intimately familiar with the chemicals that helped to create and appreciate this music.
5/5
Buzzcocks
2/5
Meh. Middle of the road brit punk shit. I know, I know, theyre a huge influence on other (better) bands and artists, but meh.
2/5
The United States Of America
4/5
Whoa. This is WEIRD. I think I like it, though.
4/5
The Clash
4/5
When they kick at your front door
How you gonna come?
With your hands on your head
Or on the trigger of your gun
When the law break in
How you gonna go?
Shot down on the pavement
Or waiting in death row
You can crush us, you can bruise us
But you'll have to answer to
Oh, the guns of Brixton
Solid album, great sound. Fundamental to what came after.
4/5
X-Ray Spex
2/5
Its not a great album. Its interesting, and punk with a saxophone is different, and the lyrics are smart, but its not great. Or even good.
2/5
1/5
Excuse me, I seem to have ended up on the list of "Albums that no one should have to hear before they die" somehow.
This is shit. Its just bad. Lyrics, music, themes, its all shit.
1/5
Paul Revere & The Raiders
3/5
Sounds of the 60s! Pretty good (if incredibly derivative in every conceivable way) and some decent tracks on this album I hadnt heard before.
3/5
Pink Floyd
5/5
Down and out
It can't be helped
But there's a lot of it about
With, without
And who'll deny
It's what the fighting's all about
Out of the way it's a busy day
I've got things on my mind
For want of the price of tea and a slice
The old man died
One of the top 10 best albums of all literal time. In thousands of years, this will still be remembered as a great human achievement.
100/5
Madonna
3/5
Its OK, but not the best Madonna album. I feel like Madonna being on this list more than once is kind of wrong, though?
3/5
Arcade Fire
3/5
Pretty good album. Unique sound, has a genuine, honest feel to it.
3/5
Frank Sinatra
4/5
Good stuff! I dont have a lot to say about this other than that its a great album full of earworm tracks that will have you upbeat and whistling all day.
4/5
Pixies
5/5
If man is five
And if the devil is six
Then God is seven
This monkey's gone to heaven
Fucking excellent album! Great themes and overall sounds, and the tracks are all top 10 stuff.
5/5
Japan
2/5
I'm sure that this is someone's favorite album. I am not that person. The only saving grace is a decent velvet underground cover.
2/5
Tricky
4/5
This is a sex album, and thats not a bad thing.
4/5
Neil Young
3/5
Meh. Its not bad, but its not good. My parents hated Neil Young, and I suspect this album was the reason why. And why in the world should everyone hear this?
3/5
XTC
3/5
Decent album with a great closing track. Its a little stodgy, and not to my personal taste.
3/5
Metallica
5/5
I agree that this is an album that everyone should hear. This represents some of the best metal of the 80s, and Metallica is an incredibly tight band.
5/5
The Doors
4/5
I want to tell you 'bout Texas radio and the big beat
Comes out of the Virginia swamps
Cool and slow with plenty of precision
With a back beat narrow and hard to master
Some call it heavenly in its brilliance
Others, mean and rueful of the Western dream
I love the friends I have gathered together on this thin raft
We have constructed pyramids in honor of our escaping
This is the land where the Pharaoh died
The Negroes in the forest brightly feathered
They are saying, "forget the night
Live with us in forests of azure
Out here on the perimeter there are no stars
Out here we is stoned, immaculate"
Listen to this, and I'll tell you 'bout the heartache
I'll tell you 'bout the heartache and the loss of God
I'll tell you 'bout the hopeless night
The meager food for souls forgot
I'll tell you 'bout the maiden with wrought iron soul
I'll tell you this
No eternal reward will forgive us now for wasting the dawn
I'll tell you 'bout Texas radio and the Big Beat
Soft, driven, slow and mad, like some new language
Now, listen to this, and I'll tell you 'bout the Texas
I'll tell you 'bout the Texas radio
I'll tell you 'bout the hopeless night
Wandering the Western dream
Tell you 'bout the maiden with wrought iron soul
This is actually difficult to grade. This is an excellent album the first time you hear it. However, after MANY repeat listens it gets a bit stale. Also, in retrospect these guys stole all the good hooks. Still, it carried me for almost a decade - 4 stars.
4/5
Nanci Griffith
2/5
I never heard of Nancy Griffiths or this album before - Not great, but not terrible either. Its nice for like one listen, but nothing sticks and its kinda monotone. That said, Nancy has a good voice, but the album as a whole is a 2.
2/5
Marilyn Manson
3/5
90's goth, but now from the perspective of 2023.
Oh, the 90s. The decade that gave us so much for music also gave us Marilyn Manson. This album may as well be a NIN album, though - Its very clearly a Trent Reznor production, you can hear his footprint all over this.
Theres some level of rear view perspective to be applied to the album's criticism of the hypocritical nature of the American religious community, and it turns out that MM was completely correct in their message - The fascist "christian" scumbags of america have done their level best to fuck everyone over in the name of their racist ideology.
Anyway, its a decent album. Couple of good tracks, and the theme is solid.
3/5
Throbbing Gristle
1/5
What. The. Fuck.
I think I figured out this list - Its not just like "the best albums ever that everyone should hear", its also "holy shit this is the worst album of all time and you have to hear it to believe it".
This is the worst album I have ever heard, and possibly even the worst of all time.
0/5 (have to give 1 star, but its not even a 1 star album)
A Tribe Called Quest
5/5
I pulled over to ask where we was at
His index finger, he tipped up his hat
El segundo, he said, my name is Pedro
If you need directions, I'll tell you pronto
Need a civilization, some sort of reservation
He said a mile south, there's a fast food station
Thanks, señor, as I started the motor
Ali said, "Damn, Tip, what did you drive so far for?"
5/5
The Hives
1/5
Do you like commercial british mediocre wanna be punk? Then you might like this shit.
Seriously, this very obviously doesnt belong on this list. Its apparently a "best of" album (although how you would establish that any of this shit is the best of their awful catalog is beyond me), and it sucks.
1/5
Beatles
4/5
Are all the beatles albums on this list? Like, if you had to choose 3 beatles albums would this be one of them? I'm not sure, but I dont think that it would. Its a good album, maybe even a great album, but the beatles basically defined rock and roll for a generation or more. Anyway, 4 stars.
4/5
Belle & Sebastian
1/5
Wikipedia - "often ranked among the best albums of the nineties"?!?!
In no way is this album "among the best albums of the nineties". The production quality is OK, and thats the most generous thing I can come up with.
1/5
Tom Tom Club
3/5
What you gonna do when you get out of jail?
I'm gonna have some fun
What do you consider fun?
Fun, natural fun
I like this album. BUT its not great - its really only got two good tracks. In general, Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth's contributions to The Talking Heads are more memorable/relevant.
3/5
Radiohead
4/5
I want you to know
He's not coming back
Look into my eyes
I'm not coming back
So knives out
Catch the mouse
Don't look down
Shove it in your mouth
If you'd been a dog
They would've drowned you at birth
Look into my eyes
It's the only way you'll know I'm telling the truth
So knives out
Cook him up
Squash his head
Put him in the pot
I want you to know
He's not coming back
He's bloated and frozen
Still there's no point in letting it go to waste
So knives out
Catch the mouse
Squash his head
Put him in the pot
Basically Kid A part 2, and thats not a bad thing.
4/5
Fela Kuti
4/5
Zombie no go go, unless you tell 'em to go
Righteous.
4/5
Michael Jackson
5/5
Legendary album. Its kind of a masterpiece of production and songwriting - Theres a reason why its like 34x platinum or whatever.
5/5
The Beau Brummels
2/5
Never heard of this album or band or artists before. Listening to it now, its not remarkable, its kind of forgettable. If someone told me that it was a practical joke and this was composed for a parody album about the 60s, I might believe it.
2/5
Super Furry Animals
1/5
Are you really trying to tell me that there werent 1001 other albums that were better than this one? I feel like all you have to do to be on this list is be
from the UK. Its not even a requirement that you be halfway decent or have any talent whatsoever.
1/5
Roni Size
3/5
Its OK, but not like an essential album or anything.
3/5
Frank Zappa
5/5
Fucking incredible.
5/5
Turbonegro
3/5
I dont hate it.
3/5
Gang Starr
5/5
OK, this is one of the rare times I agree with this list - This is one of the 1001 essential albums of all time.
The KLF
2/5
Oh look more british euro trash shit. Gets one extra star for nostalgia.
2/5
Bonnie Raitt
3/5
Not the worst, but absolutely not my thing. Bonnie has talent, thats for sure, but this album is the sort of music that makes me leave a room.
3/5
Jerry Lee Lewis
4/5
Rock n roll, baby.
4/5
Miles Davis
5/5
So cool. Seriously, you could keep a side of beef in this album, thats how cool it is.
5/5
5/5
So funky it'll make you want to institute change for the better in your community.
5/5
The Rolling Stones
3/5
There are much more relevant Rolling Stones albums than the first one. That said, its not a bad album.
3/5
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
2/5
Good wallowing in self inflicted pain music, but its not a "great album." In fact, its repetitive and boring, and not great.
2/5
Jeff Beck
2/5
Meh. Are you really telling me that when you count up all the albums on earth, there arent 1001 albums better than this?
Its OK, but its not great. In fact, I'm hard pressed to define it as good. Decent guitar work, but nowhere near the best stuff any of these musicians have made.
2/5
Saint Etienne
3/5
Decent club music from the early 90s. Not great by any measurement, and not an album I would say needs to be heard by anyone before they die. That said, I have a soft spot for this music that I grew up with, and its not a "bad" album.
3/5
Tears For Fears
5/5
I can't stand this indecision
Married with a lack of vision
Everybody wants to rule the world
Say that you'll never, never, never, never need it
One headline, why believe it?
Everybody wants to rule the world
All for freedom and for pleasure
Nothing ever lasts forever
Everybody wants to rule the world
Dennis Miller's weekend update represent.
5/5
Patti Smith
4/5
Great punk album, I agree that this is a worthy member of the list. This is a perfect representation of the East Coast punk sound of the 70.
4/5
Booker T. & The MG's
5/5
Perfect.
5/5
Baaba Maal
4/5
Never heard of this album or artist before, and the music style itself is something I dont hear often (even in New York!). I like it.
4/5
Gary Numan
3/5
Meh. Synth of the 80s. Its distinctive, but repetitive. Cars is a great track, but the rest of the album isnt memorable.
3/5
Roxy Music
2/5
Not awful, but its hard to understand why this is an essential album. Its OK. But its not much more than OK.
2/5
Echo And The Bunnymen
3/5
Makes me feel like I'm in a John Hughes movie.
On an unrelated note, there is WAY TOO MUCH brit pop bullshit on this list. I find it incomprehensible that when presented with a catalog of all albums in the world, that this one somehow didnt have 1001 albums better than it.
3/5
Doves
4/5
Never heard of this album before - Its not bad. Maybe I was busy with other stuff in 2000? Anyway, its good and reminiscent of other stuff in that period - I hear more Filter/Coldplay sort of vibes than Oasis in here.
4/5
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
1/5
Ugh. Elvis Costello and the Attractions sounds like a middle school band, cant stand this album.
1/5
4/5
Good original sound. I never heard this album before, but its a good precursor and original muse for the punk-pop of the late 80s.
4/5
Lou Reed
5/5
When I watch you come, baby, I just wanna run, far away
You're not the kind of person 'round I wanna stay
When I see you walking down the street
I step on your hands and I mangle your feet
You're not the kind of person that I want to meet
Oh, babe, you're so vicious
You're just so vicious
5/5
Sinead O'Connor
5/5
I'm walking through the desert
And I am not frightened although it's hot
I have all that I requested
And I do not want what I haven't got
I have learned this from my mother
See how happy she has made me
I will take this road much further
Though I know not where it takes me
I have water for my journey
I have bread and I have wine
No longer will I be hungry
For the bread of life is mine
I saw a navy blue bird
Flying way above the sea
I walked on and I learned later
That this navy blue bird was me
I returned a paler blue bird
And this is the advice they gave me
You must not try to be too pure
You must fly closer to the sea
So I'm walking through the desert
And I am not frightened although it's hot
I have all that I requested
And I do not want what I haven't got
I never listened to this album all the way through before - I initially dismissed Sinead as "too cool for herself" and only really heard Nothing Compares 2U. That was really something, but it wasnt enough to make me listen to everything else.
Well, its an excellent album and she was an excellent singer (and human). I'm not surprised, just aware that it was me getting in my own way again.
5/5
Stan Getz
5/5
Ah, se ela soubesse
Que quando ela passa
O mundo sorrindo se enche de graça
E fica mais lindo por causa do amor
Tall and tan and young and lovely
The girl from Ipanema goes walking
And when she passes, each one she passes goes ah
When she walks she's like a samba that
Swings so cool and sways so gently
That when she passes, each one she passes goes ah
Oh, but he watches her sadly
How can he tell her he loves her?
Yes, he would give his heart gladly
But each day when she walks to the sea
She looks straight ahead not at he
Excellent sexy album. Why isnt sexy music more popular any more?
5/5
Coldcut
3/5
British DJs. Its not bad, but I'm partial to electronica from the early 90s. Honestly I would probably give it a higher score if I hadnt had to listen to like 100 albums by mediocre british artists on this list already.
3/5
Sheryl Crow
3/5
Its fine. I dont love it, but its OK.
3/5
Megadeth
4/5
What do you mean, "I don't believe in God"?
I talk to him everyday
What do you mean, "I don't support your system"?
I go to court when I have to
What do you mean, "I can't get to work on time"?
Got nothing better to do
And, what do you mean, "I don't pay my bills"?
Why do you think I'm broke? Huh?
If there's a new way
Oh, I'll be the first in line
But it better work this time
What do you mean, "I hurt your feelings"?
I didn't know you had any feelings
What do you mean, "I ain't kind"?
Just not your kind
What do you mean, "I couldn't be the President
Of the United States of America"?
Tell me something, it's still "We the people" right?
If there's a new way
Oh, I'll be the first in line
But it better work this time
Can you put a price on peace?
4/5
The Flaming Lips
5/5
Two scientists are racing
For the good of all mankind
Both of them side-by-side
So determined
Locked in heated battle
For the cure that is their prize
But it's so dangerous
But they're determined
Theirs is to win
If it kills them
They're just humans
With wives and children
I fucking love the flaming lips. This album is brilliant, and has some of the best storytelling journeys in music ever.
5/5
Thin Lizzy
3/5
Its good, but its not great. Maybe this album set a standard, but it sounds so much like all the other 70s rock, you know? Anyway, its got a few good tracks but it doesnt grab me for some reason.
3/5
Supertramp
4/5
This is one hell of a good album. Bunch of hit tracks, and even though I'm tired as fuck of british artists from this list its due its 4 stars.
4/5
Sonic Youth
4/5
There's something in the air there
It makes you go insane
Brings you back to me
It's been so long
All's I have to do is live along
It's coming, coming down over me
Do you want to see the explosions in my eye?
Do you want to see the reflection of how we used to be?
Beauty lies in the eyes of another's dream
Beauty lies lost in another's dream
It's coming, coming down over me
Do you want to see the explosions in my eye?
Do you want to see the reflection of how it used to be?
Hey, baby
Hey, sweetheart
Hey fox, come here
Hey, beautiful
Come here, sugar
4/5
4/5
Not bad. Theme tracks of the 80s.
4/5
Bad Company
5/5
Rebel souls
Deserters we are called
Chose a gun
And threw away the sun
Now these towns
They all know our name
6 gun sound is our claim to fame
I can hear them say
Bad company
And I won't deny
Bad, bad company
Till the day I die
5/5
Frank Sinatra
4/5
Sexy smooth bossa nova. Good stuff.
4/5
Serge Gainsbourg
4/5
Sexy.
4/5
Ramblin' Jack Elliott
4/5
Good stuff, different from what I usually see on this list and better for it.
4/5
Astor Piazzolla
1/5
meh. Its like bad theme music. I dont know what its the theme to, but its boring AF.
1/5
The Waterboys
1/5
Are you seriously trying to tell me that you couldnt find 1001 albums that were better than this one? This is egregiously mediocre. No, I suspect that this is on this list merely because its another white UK band. Really, this list should be "1001 british-published albums that need promotion."
1/5
Lucinda Williams
3/5
Hard album to rate. Williams' vocals are bland, 90s country pop - BUT the lyrics are outstanding. The overall sound is uninteresting, but then when you take a close listen there are a lot of layers. Taking off some points for the boring part that I had to penetrate to get to the lyrics/nuance.
3/5
Dirty Projectors
4/5
Pretty good. I never heard them before, at least not consciously - But this is a decent album. Its not AMAZING or anything, but its pretty good.
4/5
Muddy Waters
5/5
All you people, you know the blues got a soul
Well this is a story, a story never been told
Well you know the blues got pregnant
And they named the baby Rock & Roll
Muddy Waters said it, you know the blues got a soul
James Brown said it, you know the blues got a soul
Well the blues had a baby and they named the baby rock & roll
Ray Charles said it, you know the blues got a soul
John Lee Hooker said it, you know the blues got a soul
Well the blues had a baby and they named the baby rock & roll
Otis Redding said it, you know the blues got a soul
Queen Victoria said it, you know the blues got a soul
Well the blues had a baby and they named the baby Rock & Roll
Outstanding.
5/5
Cyndi Lauper
5/5
Lying in my bed I hear the clock tick and think of you
Caught up in circles
Confusion is nothing new
Flashback warm nights
Almost left behind
Suitcase of memories
Time after
Sometimes you picture me
I'm walking too far ahead
You're calling to me I can't hear
What you've said
Then you say go slow
And I fall behind
The second hand unwinds
If you're lost you can look and you will find me
Time after time
This is actually a fantastic album disguised as an 80s candy pop album. Nostalgia aside, the lyrics and themes are outstanding.
5/5
The Verve
2/5
Boring. Its not "bad", but its boring and bland.
2/5
Death In Vegas
4/5
Aisha, we've only just met and I think you ought to know
I'm a murderer
I have a portrait on my wall, he's a serial killer
I thought he wouldn't escape, Aisha, he got out
4/5
PJ Harvey
5/5
I like stories from the city, stories from the sea better as an album - but this is brilliant in any case.
5/5
Liz Phair
5/5
Don't know what they told you
Don't even care what about
All I know is I'm clean as a whistle, baby
I didn't let the cat out
I love this album. Everything about it is great.
5/5
Peter Gabriel
4/5
Climbing up on Solsbury Hill
I could see the city light
Wind was blowing, time stood still
Eagle flew out of the night
He was something to observe
Came in close, I heard a voice
Standing, stretching every nerve
I had to listen, had no choice
I did not believe the information
Just had to trust imagination
My heart going Boom-boom-boom
Son, he said
Grab your things, I've come to take you home
Hey, back home
To keep in silence I resigned
My friends would think I was a nut
Turning water into wine
Open doors would soon be shut
So I went from day to day
Though my life was in a rut
Until I thought of what I'd say
Which connection I should cut
I was feeling part of the scenery
I walked right out of the machinery
My heart going Boom-boom-boom
Hey, he said
Grab your things, I've come to take you home
Hey, back home
When illusion spin her net
I'm never where I wanna be
And liberty, she pirouette
When I think that I am free
Watched by empty silhouettes
Who close their eyes but still can see
No one taught them etiquette
I will show another me
Today I don't need a replacement
I'll tell them what the smile on my face meant
My heart going Boom-boom-boom
Hey, I said
You can keep my things, they've come to take me home
Great album, but I will admit that only Solsbury Hill is a heavy repeat listen.
4/5
The Thrills
1/5
Meh. Boring and bland. Why this would be an album that anyone would say you must listen to before you die is beyond me.
1/5
Kate Bush
4/5
I am the concierge chez-moi, honey
Won't let ya in for love, nor money
Let me in
My home, my joy
I'm barred and bolted and I
Won't let you in
Get out of my house
Its like a demented pop opera, way ahead of its time.
4/5
Deerhunter
3/5
This is like pure distilled 200 proof indie alt rock. Which isnt a bad thing. It does come off as shoegaze-y and a little contrived sometimes though.
3/5
Miles Davis
5/5
This album is so cool you can keep your beer in it.
5/5
Lloyd Cole And The Commotions
2/5
Generic boring british bullshit pop album. Only reason its on this list is because its made by british white people. Not so bad that it deserves a 1, but not good enough to get past a 2.
2/5
The Chemical Brothers
5/5
I love this album - I put so many tracks from this album on mixtapes. Theres a theme for pretty much everything in here. Great beats and a fantastic groove. It stands up to the test of time, and is just as good to listen to now as it was in the 90s.
5/5
Kraftwerk
3/5
I just cant take this album seriously. I mean, doesnt it seem like its some kind of doctor demento joke? Its not terrible, but its just silly.
3/5
Spiritualized
2/5
I'm pressed to find anything remarkable about this album. I think its trying to be clever or deep, but all I can hear is smug bullshit.
2/5
k.d. lang
3/5
Great voice, but the album feels too long and drags on.
3/5
Missy Elliott
4/5
Missy it's Diane
Here's the information for the
Where, where you can send the flowers to
The florist for Aaliyah
I'll give you the phone, phone number
In case you need it
Okay Missy take of yourself
I love you
I love you bye bye
I been checkin on your moms and dad
And your brother, since the day you left
Passed on and went away with god
But for your momma it's been so damn hard
I hate to even hear her cry
Aaliyah she asked me why
Would her baby girl go this way
Can you give me better words to say
One day she'll see you again
With the same old beautiful smile
Long hair and the voice of a humming bird
You'll be singing them same old songs
Aaliyah can you hear me
I hope that you're proud of me
Me and Tim we been doing our thing
But it's never been the same since you had to go
I ain't never met a friend more incredible
4/5
Gene Clark
3/5
Pretty good. Nothing which grabbed me and wouldnt let go or anything, but pretty good.
3/5
Tom Waits
1/5
This is not a good album. Its discordant and generally unpleasant listening. Maybe thats the point? But in any case, one star.
1/5
Cee Lo Green
4/5
How could I possibly, be inconspicuous
When my flow is fuckin ridiculous?
"That's quite an accent"—See, I'm from the South
But some of the most beautiful things come out my mouth
And I'm on stage just as soon as I come out the house
So I might as well give them something to talk about
I bust a rap to make a blind man believe in the boogie
And if you came here to move with Cee, then boogie on
4/5
Air
4/5
You'll feel cooler just by listening to this album.
4/5
R.E.M.
4/5
Good album, but I think that REM improved with later albums. Its an outstanding album and absolutely a must listen, though.
4/5
Steve Winwood
2/5
I mean, I guess Steve Winwood should be represented as a "sound of the 80s" kind of thing. But I dont think that this album would be anything that anyone would say everyone should hear before they die.
2/5
Drive-By Truckers
1/5
I'm pretty sure that this album is a practical joke. Like, this is just a joke that everyone misinterpreted.
1/5
Merle Haggard
3/5
Man, the 60s and 70s were a weird time in america. This was what country shit-kickers were listening to when they got drunk on cheap beer in dirty bars. Crazy.
But in any case, its a decent album.
3/5
The Roots
4/5
Downtown everybody move to the beat
Uptown everybody moving the heat
Cross-town the party where both sides meet
Eastside, westside, there's always beef
Downtown everybody move to the beat
Uptown everybody moving the heat
Cross-town the party where both sides meet
Eastside, westside, there's always beef
Better than you might think if you read the wiki.
4/5
Ryan Adams
1/5
I hate this album. Its as phony and contrived as things can get.
1/5
TLC
5/5
I've been watching you watching me
And I know you want it
Come on let me kick a little game to you
Laying against the wall, checking out the scenery
All I see is everybody trying to get with me
So I continue to play it crazy-sexy-cool
Lost all composure when I laid my eyes on you
You just wanna know if you can kick some game
Come with something more clever than just your name
See it's like this I wanna take you home
But you gotta show me that your game is on
I've been watching you watching me
And I know you want it
But it depends on how you kick your game
5/5
The Byrds
4/5
Eight miles high and when you touch down
You'll find that it's stranger than known
Signs in the street that say where you're going
Are somewhere just being their own
Nowhere is there warmth to be found
Among those afraid of losing their ground
Rain gray town known for its sound
In places small faces unbound
Round the squares huddled in storms
Some laughing some just shapeless forms
Sidewalk scenes and black limousines
Some living some standing alone
4/5
Goldfrapp
3/5
I dont hate it, but I dont love it either. I'm confused as to why this would be on a list of albums that everyone must hear before they die, though.
3/5
2/5
Pretentious and derivative. Not the worst album ever, but nothing I'll ever voluntarily listen to again.
2/5
Leonard Cohen
1/5
I'm trying to imagine living in 1969 or maybe 1970 and going to the record store, like actually going out and going to Tower records or Bleeker Bobs. And when I get there, the thing that I'm going to buy is this. A Leonard Cohen album. And not just any Leonard Cohen album, but one that is so dull and terrible that its impossible to actually listen to it.
Why would this happen? Who would do this?
1/5
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
3/5
Oh, I just don't know where to begin
Love doesn't wait forever
It's now or never
But she keeps 'em hangin' on
The silly champion
She says she can't go home without a chaperone
Accidents will happen
They only hit and run
You used to be a victim now you're not the only one
Accidents will happen
They only hit and run
I don't want to hear it cause I know what I've done
3/5
Snoop Dogg
5/5
I got bitches in the living room gettin' it on
And, they ain't leavin til' six in the mornin'
So, what you wanna do?
Shit, I got a pocket full of rubbers and my homeboys do too
So turn off the lights and close the doors
But (but what?) we don't love them hoes
So we gonna smoke a ounce to this
G's up, hoes down, while you motherfuckers bounce to this
5/5
De La Soul
5/5
Greetings, girl, and welcome to my world of phrase
I'm right up to bat
It's a Daisy Age, and you're about to walk top-stage
So wipe your Lottos on the mat
Hip-hop love this is and don't mind when I quiz your involvements before the sun
But clear your court cause this is a one-man sport
And who's better for this than Plug One
Now you don't have to worry about me squashin' other deals
'Cause they've already been squooshed
Freeze a frame about moods the same which we can continue right behind the bush
You'll stay with me
Eye know this but not because of all my Earthly treasures
Or regardless to the fact that I'm Posdnuos
But because eye know I love you better
My favorite movie is blood sucking freaks just like your mama.
5/5
Joanna Newsom
2/5
Weird album. And not in a good way.
2/5
The Darkness
3/5
Great guitars and drums, but wtf is up with that lead singer's voice? Its like Tiny Tim did a metal album.
3/5
Madonna
2/5
Madonna gets old. One decent track on a pretty boring album.
2/5
The Stooges
5/5
So messed up, I want you here
In my room, I want you here
Now we're gonna be face-to-face
And I'll lay right down in my favorite place
And now I wanna be your dog
5/5
Aerosmith
5/5
Last night I tried to tease her
I gave my love a little pinch
She said now stop that jivin'
Now whip out your big ten inch
Record of a band that plays the blues
Well a band that plays the blues
She just loves my big ten inch
Record of her favorite blues
5/5
Van Morrison
3/5
Meh. Van Morrison in general is overrated, and this album is nothing special. Its not "bad" - Its just average.
3/5
Bruce Springsteen
5/5
This is a great album, especially when you actually listen to it and realize that almost the entire album is critical of the conservative right wing pro military groups that idolize it.
5/5
The Soft Boys
5/5
I wanna destroy you
I feel it coming on again
Just like it did before
They feed your pride with boredom
And they lead you on to war
The way you treat each other
Really makes me feel ill
Cause if you want to fight
Then you're just dying to get killed
I wanna destroy you
Great album. Kind of retro hipster, but great despite that.
5/5
Manic Street Preachers
4/5
Images of perfection, suntan and napalm
Grenada, Haiti, Poland, Nicaragua
Who shall we choose for our morality
I'm thinking right now of Hollywood tragedy
Big Mac, smack, Phoenix, R., please smile y'all
Cuba, Mexico can't cauterize our discipline
Your idols speak so much of the abyss
Yet your morals only run as deep as the surface
Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose - The more things change, the more they stay the same.
4/5
Moby Grape
5/5
Moby Grape is some hardcore hippy shit, and it slaps.
Wilco
3/5
Its not a bad album, but I dont think that its an album that belongs on a list of the thousand greatest albums of all time.
3/5
Nina Simone
5/5
Brilliant. For once, I agree that this is indeed an album that everyone should hear before they die.
5/5
The Who
5/5
I know you've deceived me, now here's a surprise
I know that you have 'cause there's magic in my eyes
I can see for miles and miles
5/5
Culture Club
3/5
This is a pretty good album but its dated AF and makes me long for the heady carefree days of Thatcher's Britain.
3/5
Nas
5/5
Visualizin' the realism of life in actuality
Fuck who's the baddest, a person's status depends on salary
And my mentality is money-orientated
I'm destined to live the dream for all my peeps who never made it
'Cause yeah, we were beginners in the hood as Five Percenters
But somethin' must've got in us, 'cause all of us turned to sinners
Now some restin' in peace and some are sittin' in San Quentin
Others, such as myself, are tryin' to carry on tradition
Life's a bitch, indeed. Outstanding album.
5/5
Slint
3/5
Kind of forgettable, if I'm being honest. Not bad, but not groundbreaking or outstanding.
3/5
The Magnetic Fields
1/5
I think I hate it.
1/5
Ray Charles
5/5
I'm gonna love you, like no one loves you
Come rain or come shine
High as a mountain, deep as a river
Come rain or come shine
I guess when you met me
It was just one of those things
But don't ever bet me
'Cause I'm gonna be true if you let me
You gonna love me, like no one love me
Come rain or come shine
Happy together, unhappy together
Wouldn't it be fine
Outstanding album. Classic, yet fresh on every listen.
5/5
Lightning Bolt
3/5
Its chaotic, and not always easy to listen to, but its pretty good at its heart. Not 4 stars good, but not bad.
3/5
Jimi Hendrix
5/5
This is an exceptional album in every possible way. Its so unique and outstanding that no one has been able to duplicate or imitate it in any way that even comes anywhere close to the original.
Not to mention, listening to it with a head full of acid will seriously make you a different person.
5/5
Mudhoney
4/5
I am the diamond you left in the dust
I am the future you lost in the past
Seems like I never compared
Wouldn't notice if I disappeared
You stole the love that I saved for myself
And I watched you give it to somebody else
But these scars no longer I hide
I've found the light you shut inside
Couldn't love me if you tried
Am I still not good enough?
Am I still not worth that much?
I'm sorry for the way my life turned out
Sorry for the smile I'm wearing now
Guess I'm still not good enough
Flannel and guitars - This is a great album.
4/5
Massive Attack
5/5
Though you may not drive a great big Cadillac
Diamond in the back, sunroof top
Diggin' the scene
With a gangsta lean
Gangsta whitewalls
TV antennas in the back
You may not have a car at all
But remember brothers and sisters
You can still stand tall
Just be thankful for what you've got
I love this album, it really stands up as a great album. Takes me back to my CD changer and how long this CD was in the rotation (it outlasted many other albums.)
5/5
CHIC
4/5
Surprise baby, here I am
I'd like to have a few words with you
Just to talk about all of these things
That you put me through
Oh no daddy, she can stay
For once in our lives
We can get a straight story
Little punk, do it for me
Or I'll number your days
Every night I pray
Can't stand to love you
And every night and day
I can't stand to love you babe
I know that you are a sneak
You do these things behind my back
You could try to be discreet
I let you go
Now you think I'm a sap
The way that you treated me
You'd think I were into S&M
I can't deal with it
You won't get away with it
This album still feels fresh in 2023, and really stands up.
4/5
Suede
3/5
Won't someone give me a gun?
Oh, well it's for my brother
Well, he writes the line
Wrote right down my spine
It says, "Oh, do you believe in love there?"
Meh. Decent.
3/5
Moby
4/5
This is a tough one. I hate moby as a person - Hes just the worst. Maybe not as awful a human as kanye, but you wouldnt want to spend 5 minutes in an elevator with him.
BUT this is a great album, absolutely outstanding. I guess I'll take a star off for how awful he is, but the album is still worth a high rating.
4/5
Venom
3/5
The witches brew a pot of hate
With lizard, bat and man
With a smile they laugh their spells
And stir with wretched hand
Calling demons Baphomet and Mephistopheles
The tattered figures cackle
As their mortal victims bleed
Don't burn the witch
The ways of Hell aren't wrong
Don't burn the witch
Let them brew their song
I'm generally in favor of anything that would upset tipper gore. This is an OK album, but it does get kind of background noisy after a few tracks.
3/5
The Mothers Of Invention
5/5
I don't do publicity balling for you anymore
The first word in this song is "discorporate, " it means to leave your body
Discorporate and come with me
Shifting, drifting
Cloudless, starless
Velvet valleys and a sapphire sea
Unbind your mind
There is no time to lick your stamps
And paste them in
Discorporate and we'll begin
Flower power sucks
Zappa stands alone. This album is very much a response to the time it was created, but it stands up 55 years later.
5/5
Iron Butterfly
5/5
This album really only has one side that everyone listens to, but its a great overall album.
Plus, the song in-a-gadda-da-vida has one of my favorite movie placements in Michael Mann's "Manhunter".
5/5
Os Mutantes
3/5
The whole album had like one good song. Its not a "bad" album, but its not a "good" album. I'm also at a loss to explain why anyone would say that it deserves to be on a list of albums you must hear before you die.
3/5
The Smashing Pumpkins
4/5
My wife hates this album. She says its the big sell out album for Corgan, but I cant help but really like it. The theme, the tracks, its just got some great production and ends up being a pretty good (if way too long) album.
4/5
The Cure
5/5
Come closer and see
See into the trees
Find the girl
While you can
Come closer and see
See into the dark
Just follow your eyes
Just follow your eyes
I hear her voice
Calling my name
The sound is deep
In the dark
I hear her voice
And start to run
Into the trees
Truly an outstanding album.
5/5
The The
2/5
I cant think of a single reason why this album would be on this list. Its not a good example of brit post punk, or 1986, nor does it have great production or sound. It kind of sucks?
2/5
Bill Callahan
1/5
Is this a parody album? I honestly cant tell. Its not good, in any case.
1/5
Joni Mitchell
3/5
It's fine, I guess? I listened to the whole album and I'm just not into it. Its not bad, though, its just not for me.
3/5
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
5/5
Ah, Scorpio
Show no shame
Shake it, baby
He is DJ Flash and he came here to give you a blast
And we are the Furious Five and we're rocking, shocking all the way live
Show no shame
Shake it
Shake it, baby
Ah, show no shame
Don't be shy, girl
Show no shame
Higher baby
Higher now
Great album. The Message is the main thing, but the rest is solid.
5/5
King Crimson
3/5
I like King Crimson, but this album kind of drags on. By the time you get to the second part of the title track, you'll probably have checked out. Its good experimental stuff but sort of needs drugs to keep any kind of focus. Anyway, in terms of this list, I dont think that this album belongs here. There are better KC albums and this one doesnt bring much to the table in an argument for being on the list of albums you must hear.
3/5
Supergrass
3/5
Sometimes I think that the editors of this book/list had genre and decade quotas to fill and just put some albums on it due to popularity. This isnt a bad album, but only an algorithm or AI would have chosen it as an album that anyone should hear before they die.
3/5
The Beach Boys
5/5
We come on the sloop John B
My grandfather and me
Around Nassau town we did roam
Drinkin' all night
Got into a fight
Well, I feel so broke up
I wanna go home
So hoist up the John B's sail
See how the mainsail sets
Call for the captain ashore, let me go home
Let me go home
I wanna go home
Well, I feel so broke up
I wanna go home
The first mate, he got drunk
And broke in the captain's trunk
The constable had to come and take him away
Sheriff John Stone
Why don't you leave me alone?
Well, I feel so broke up
I wanna go home
This is an outstanding album - More than just a selection of great songs, it is expertly produced to capture an exceptional emotional portrait.
5/5
Van Halen
5/5
Wait a second, man
What do you think the teacher's gonna look like this year?
Oh yeah, teacher stop that screamin'
Teacher don't you see? Don't wanna be no uptown fool
Maybe I should go to hell but I am doing well
Teacher needs to see me after school
I think of all the education that I've missed
But then my homework was never quite like this
Got it bad, got it bad, got it bad
I'm hot for teacher
I've got it bad, so bad
I'm hot for teacher
Hey, I heard you missed us, we're back!
I brought my pencil
Give me something to write on, man
One of the greatest of all time. Literally a perfect album in every way.
5/5
Joe Ely
4/5
I had never heard this album, or even heard OF this album, before this. Its pretty good! It certainly makes a good primer for the sounds of country music and has some nice country-to-rock bridges, along with some southern zydeco sounds. Not a perfect album or anything, but definitely worth a listen.
4/5
The Damned
3/5
I like this phase of punk where artists really embraced just being weird. Its not a great album, but its pretty good.
3/5
The Auteurs
2/5
This album doesnt do anything for me. Its not bad enough to rate a 1-star, but its so dull and british that I wont ever listen to it willingly again.
2/5
The Strokes
5/5
Oh Maya says I'm lacking in depth
I will do my best
You say you want to stand by my side
Darling your head's not right
Ah see, alone we stand together we fall apart
Yeah I think I'll be alright
I'm working so I won't have to try so hard
Tables, they turn sometimes
Oh someday
No I ain't wasting no more time
And now my fears they come to me in threes
So I
Sometimes
Say fate my friend you say the strangest things
I find sometimes
This album is pretty great.
5/5
Julian Cope
3/5
I listened to the whole album, but its just not grabbing me. Its reminiscent (derivative?) of a bunch of other artists, but it never does anything that stands out as exceptional. Its not bad, but its not good either.
Also, I really think that this list is making me biased against british music. Theres just far too many mediocre albums being held up as something better than they are merely because of their national origin.
3/5
Can
2/5
I've never heard of this band or album before, and its certainly interesting. The first few tracks are pretty good, but nothing will prepare you for the last half of the album, which is basically what happens if you go full retard with experimental music. I like experimental, but this is just too much.
2/5
Beck
5/5
All the battlements are empty
And the moon is laying low
Yellow roses in the graveyard
Got no time to watch them grow
Now I bade a friend farewell
I can do whatever pleases me
It's only lies that I'm living
It's only tears that I'm crying
It's only you that I'm losing
Guess I'm doing fine
Yeah, this is a really good album.
5/5
Ray Price
3/5
Is this an album that I should hear before I die because the list needed some country stuff from the 60s? Cause it doesnt seem like anything special, really. Its OK, but its not a great album or a pure representative of country or anything.
3/5
The Mamas & The Papas
5/5
This really is a great album. The production and performance are outstanding, and its infinitely listenable. Its a little corny/dated in 2023, but I think this does deserve a spot on the list.
5/5
Frank Black
3/5
What a weird album. Not in a bad way, but man, what a weird thing to listen to. I'm not sure if I like it, but its not bad at all.
3/5
Aimee Mann
5/5
Nothing was saving our day
There was nothing to say
But you said something anyway
Claiming I stepped out of line
Which forced you to leave me
As if that idea was mine.
Oh, you stupid thing
Speaking of course as your dear departed
Oh, you stupid thing
It wasn't me that you
Outsmarted
Oh, you stupid thing
Stopping it all
Before it even started
I fucking love this album.
5/5
The Clash
4/5
Decent earlyish punk, solid album.
4/5
The Modern Lovers
5/5
Some people try to pick up girls and get called an asshole. That never happened to Pablo Picasso.
5/5
Megadeth
4/5
Pretty good album - How many Megadeth albums are on this list, though?
4/5
Garbage
5/5
My lover's charms
Are in a box
Beneath my bed
And piece by piece
I'll cherish them
Until the end
Send me an angel to love
I need to feel a little piece of heaven
Send me an angel to love
I'm afraid I'll never get to heaven
They burn my hand
Scar my face
And blind my eyes
I'll steal your breath
And throw away
What I despise
Send me an angel to love
I need to feel a little piece of heaven
Send me an angel to love
I'm afraid I'll never get to heaven
Good stuff.
5/5
Songhoy Blues
4/5
Good album. I never heard this band, album, or any other Mali music before, and its pretty good.
This is a more worthy addition to this list than yet another brit-pop forgettable album, thats for sure. This is the kind of thing that I am here for.
4/5
Pink Floyd
5/5
I've got a bike, you can ride it if you like
It's got a basket, a bell that rings
And things to make it look good
I'd give it to you if I could, but I borrowed it
You're the kind of girl that fits in with my world
I'll give you anything, everything if you want things
I've got a cloak it's a bit of a joke
There's a tear up the front
It's red and black, I've had it for months
If you think it could look good, then I guess it should
Syd Barrett Pink Floyd is the best Pink Floyd.
5/5
Rocket From The Crypt
4/5
I never actually listened to an entire album from TFTC, but I have heard of them. Pretty good stuff. Takes me back to the 90s.
4/5
ABBA
4/5
You know, I cant hate abba. Theyre a really tight, well produced group and this is a good album. I dont know if there are other abba albums on this list, but if this is the only one then I'm completely ok with it.
4/5
Gil Scott-Heron
5/5
This is a difficult album to find on streaming in 2024. That said, its worth looking for as its absolutely outstanding. This is a great "shits all fucked up and someones gotta say something" work of art.
5/5
John Grant
5/5
Anyone know that game "life is strange?" I love that game. Part of what makes that game so great is the outstanding soundtrack.
Anyway, this sounds like it could have been in that game. The music is great, and the lyrics are outstanding.
THIS is what I came to this list for.
5/5
The Young Rascals
3/5
I guess its a classic album? Its OK.
3/5
Dr. John
5/5
People think they jive me,
Know they must be crazy.
I don't see their misfortune,
Guess I'm just too lazy.
Ju suie le grand zomb' baby,
My yellow belt of choison.
Ain't afraid of a she-rat,
Fill my brains with, fill up my brains with poison.
Walk through the fire, children
And you fly through the smoke, oh yeah. .
Sssee my enemy on the end of a
On the end, on a rope.
Gris-gris on your doorstep,
And soon you'll be in the gutter, children
Melt melt your heart like butter now,
I can make you, o-o-oh, I can make you ssstutter (Kon)...
Kon killy, killy kon kon
Walk on guilded splinters.
This is some crazy good out there shit.
5/5
UB40
3/5
Decent. Its not great, the whole album kind of drags on and becomes 80s ska background music like youre in an episode of some bbc thing or maybe miami vice. Not that I mind, but its not great.
3/5
Mott The Hoople
2/5
Mott the Meh.
2/5
Lauryn Hill
5/5
Outstanding album. Lauren Hill is equally great as a singer and a rapper, and the album is full of some deeper level shit that you dont get everywhere else.
5/5
Ananda Shankar
3/5
This is a cool album, but kind of a one-trick pony. That jumpin jack flash cover is something else though. THATS what covers are supposed to be - a different take on an established song that really stands out on its own.
Anyway, not bad but nothing youll listen to twice.
3/5
Kanye West
1/5
No way is there room for more than one kanye album on this list. Fuck that fish stick motherfucker.
1/5
Michael Jackson
4/5
Good album, notably the best of the Weird Al parody covers.
4/5
Paul McCartney
5/5
Maybe I'm amazed that this album is on this list.
1/5
Ministry
5/5
Soon I discovered that this rock thing was true
Jerry Lee Lewis was the devil
Jesus was an architect previous to his career as a prophet
All of a sudden, I found myself in love with the world
So there was only one thing that I could do
Was ding a ding dang my dang a long ling long
Nobody with a good car needs to worry about nothin', do you understand? Nobody with a good car needs to be justified. I come a long way since I believed in anything, and I come halfway around the world.
5/5
Tortoise
1/5
ASMR album. Not sure why anyone would say that this is an album that everyone should hear before they die. MAYBE everyone should listen to it to help them get to sleep.
1/5
American Music Club
1/5
The label or band must have had some falling out with the Powers That Stream, because this album is nowhere to be found on 21st music listening services. That said, its not good anyway.
1/5
Steve Earle
1/5
If you played this album for me and told me it was a parody of country music, I probably would believe you. Its so cornball its like its making fun of itself. The only redemption is that Steve sounds a little bit like Springsteen, but its not enough to get the album to 2 stars.
1/5
David Bowie
4/5
I dont know if this scores as the best Bowie album, but its definitely up there.
4/5
Haircut 100
3/5
80s John Hughes movie soundtrack stuff. Not bad, and I guess this should be included for historical purposes if nothing else.
3/5
Incubus
2/5
This is pretty awful. Another reviewer wrote that its like something that Jesse Pinkman would listen to, and I think thats right on the money.
2/5
The 13th Floor Elevators
3/5
Not bad. Definitely a distinct sound of the 60s. Not a real banger of an album though - It starts strong but kind of fizzles in spots.
3/5
Deep Purple
5/5
This is an excellent album. Solid drums, guitars, and vocals all the way through.
5/5
Kelela
3/5
Dreamy and cool, I really like the overall production of this album. I'm not sure I'll ever listen to it again, but it was decent.
3/5
Waylon Jennings
3/5
Waylon's got a good voice and this mercifully short country album's got some decent guitar work.
3/5
The Young Gods
3/5
THIS is what I am here for. An album that I have never seen by an artist I have never heard of? And its a crazy orchestral french bad acid trip reminiscent of tom waits but better? Yeah thats some decent shit. I probably wont listen to it again any time soon (I dont really "like" tom waits) but I was more happy than unhappy to discover this.
3/5
Billy Joel
5/5
You got a nice white dress and a party on your confirmation
You got a brand new soul
Mmm and a cross of gold
But Virginia they didn't give you quite enough information
You didn't count on me
When you were counting on your rosary
And they say there's a heaven for those who will wait
Some say it's better but I say it ain't
I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints
The sinners are much more fun
You know that only the good die young oh baby
This is a fantastic album.
5/5
Dr. Dre
5/5
Wake up, jumped out my bed
Murder was the case that they gave me
Dear God, I wonder, can you save me?
I'm only 18, so I'm a young buck
It's a riot, if I don't scrap, I'm getting stuck
But that's the life of a G, I guess
Eses way deep, shanked two in the chest
Best run 'cause brothers is dropping quicker
Uh, too late, damn, down goes another nigga
Bouncing off the walls, throwing them dogs
Getting that rep as a young hog
It ain't nothing like the street life
You better be strapped with your shank, 'cause ain't no fist fight
So I guess I gots to handle mine
Since I did the crime, I gots to do my time
Them say me grow up to be nothing
Look at me now and tell me what you see
I am what I am, it's only me
Little ghetto boy
Playing in the ghetto street
What you gonna do when you grow up?
And have to face responsibility?
Legit hardcore album. Worth every second.
5/5
Morrissey
1/5
This album sucks. How it charted anywhere near the list is confusing - Its just awful.
1/5
Isaac Hayes
5/5
This is one of the coolest things ever created. You will be cooler just for having listened to this album.
5/5
Genesis
2/5
Meh. Forgettable and not great.
2/5
Todd Rundgren
4/5
I saw the light is a great song. Holds up 50 years later.
Anyway, like lots of albums from the 70s it can drag if youre not in the mood for it, but its a pretty damn good album all things considered.
4/5
George Michael
3/5
Freedom 90 is worth it alone. Good album overall.
3/5
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
1/5
No, thank you. This is not an album that I think anyone has to hear before they die, and I couldnt even make it all the way through (I do make an effort to listen to every complete album on this list). It just sucks.
1/5
Belle & Sebastian
2/5
Putting a naked lady on the album cover is such a cheap, yet effective, strategy.
Other than the tits, this album doesnt have a lot going for it though.
2/5
Laibach
2/5
I am definitely never listening to this album again. Not the worst thing ever, it had some moments worthy of redemption, but not good.
2/5
Pet Shop Boys
4/5
Each morning after Sunblest
Feel the benefit, mental arithmetic
I waited by the staff room
In time for benediction
Living a law just short of delusion
When we fall in love there's confusion
This must be the place I waited years to leave
To our voices nobody's listening
We shiver in the rain by the touchline
Then a coach ride to the station
"My lord, the carriage awaiteth!"
Living a law just short of delusion
When we fall in love there's confusion
This must be the place I waited years to leave
This must be the place I waited years to leave
And how
How long?
Not bad.
4/5
Sonic Youth
5/5
Yeah, tell'em about it
Hit'em where it hurts
Hey, Kool Thing, come here, sit down beside me
There's something I go to ask you
I just want to know, what are you gonna do for me?
I mean, are you gonna liberate us girls
From male white corporate oppression?
Tell it like it is!
Huh?
Yeah!
Don't be shy
Word up!
Fear of a female planet?
Fear of a female planet?
Fear, baby!
I just want you to know that we can still be friends
Let everybody know
Kool Kool Thing, Kool Kool Thing
When you're a star, I know that you'll fix everything
5/5
John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers
3/5
This is a difficult album to rate. Like, if I didnt know anything about clapton, and I didnt know anything about institutional racism and appropriation, and I was only listening to this one album and not taking anything else into consideration, then its a damn fine album. But if I have to take anything else about the album or the artists or the time period or the culture or the history then the rating suffers drastically. I think I'm just gonna ride up the middle and give it a 3.
3/5
Steely Dan
5/5
Times are hard
You're afraid to pay the fee
So you find yourself somebody
Who can do the job for free
When you need a bit of lovin'
'Cause your man is out of town
That's the time you get me runnin'
And you know I'll be around
I'm a fool to do your dirty work
Oh yeah
I don't wanna do your dirty work
No more
I'm a fool to do your dirty work
Oh yeah
This is a fucking great album.
5/5
The Rolling Stones
5/5
Everywhere I hear the sound of marchin', chargin' feet, boy
'Cause summer's here and the time is right
For fighting in the street, boy
Well now, what can a poor boy do?
'Cept to sing for a rock-n-roll band
'Cause in sleepy London Town
There's just no place for street fighting man
Hey, think the time is right for a violence revolution
But where I live, the game to play is compromise solution
Well now, what can a poor boy do?
'Cept to sing for a rock-n-roll band
'Cause in sleepy London Town
There's just no place for street fighting man
This is in my top 10 albums of all time. The stones made 2 great albums, this and exile on main street, and of the two this one has a more consistent, reliable feel to it.
5/5
Foo Fighters
5/5
I remember when this album came out and I was skeptical that the drummer from nirvana would have made anything good, but I listened to it a few weeks later and was surprised that it wasn't only good, it was great. Fast forward to today and now I can say that I love dave grohl.
5/5
Blue Cheer
5/5
This is what I'm here for! I had never heard or heard of these guys or this album, and its a great album. Its very "of its time" but its got a lot of future-looking sound in it as well.
5/5
Radiohead
4/5
Something for the rag and bone man
Over my dead body
Something big is gonna happen
Over my dead body
Someone's son or someone's daughter
Over my dead body
This is how I end up sucked in
Over my dead body
I'm gonna go to sleep
Let this wash all over me
We don't really want a monster taking over
Tiptoe around, tie him down
We don't want the loonies taking over
Tiptoe around, tie them down
May pretty horses
Come to you
As you sleep
I'm gonna go to sleep
And let this wash all over me
Not the greatest radiohead album, but not a bad album standing alone either. It's pretty good.
4/5
Pantera
1/5
Meh. Kinda boring, really. The album sounds like it was made by a bunch of conservative small dick racist texas good ole boys, which is pretty close to accurate. The only reason to include it would be to illustrate how bad metal can be.
1/5
Red Hot Chili Peppers
5/5
Scar tissue that I wish you saw
Sarcastic mister know-it-all
Close your eyes and I'll kiss you, 'cause
With the birds I'll share
With the birds I'll share this lonely viewin'
Push me up against the wall
Young Kentucky girl in a push-up bra
Fallin' all over myself
To lick your heart and taste your health 'cause
With the birds I'll share this lonely viewin'
Blood loss in a bathroom stall
A southern girl with a scarlet drawl
I wave goodbye to ma and pa
'Cause with the birds I'll share
With the birds I'll share this lonely viewin'
Fire.
5/5
Brian Wilson
4/5
I've been in this town so long that back in the city
I've been taken for lost and gone
And unknown for a long, long time
Fell in love years ago with an innocent girl
From the Spanish and Indian home
Of the Heroes and Villains
Once at night, cotillion squared the fight
And she was right in the rain of the bullets
That eventually brought her down
But she's still dancing in the night
Unafraid of what a dude'll do
In a town full of Heroes and Villains
Weird album full of antique vibrations and history of mental illness. Its pretty good, though.
4/5
3/5
Prescient hippies.
3/5
Aerosmith
5/5
There goes my old girlfriend
There's another diamond ring
And all those late night promises
I guess they don't mean a thing
So baby, what's the story?
Did you find another man?
Is it easy to sleep in the bed that we made?
When you don't look back
I guess the feelings start to fade away
I used to feel your fire
But now it's cold inside
And you're back on the street
Like you didn't miss a beat, yeah!
Tell me what it takes to let you go
Tell me how the pain's supposed to go
Tell me how it is that you can sleep in the night
Without thinking you lost everything that was
Good in your life to the toss of the dice?
Tell me what it takes to let you go
Great album.
5/5
Tom Waits
1/5
No thank you.
1/5
The Pogues
5/5
I met my love by the gas works wall
Dreamed a dream by the old canal
I kissed my girl by the factory wall
Dirty old town
Dirty old town
Clouds are drifting across the moon
Cats are prowling on their beat
Spring's a girl from the streets at night
Dirty old town
Dirty old town
I heard a siren from the docks
Saw a train set the night on fire
I smelled the spring on the smoky wind
Dirty old town
Dirty old town
I'm gonna make me a good sharp axe
Shining steel tempered in the fire
I'll chop you down like an old dead tree
Dirty old town
Dirty old town
I met my love by the gas works wall
Dreamed a dream by the old canal
I kissed my girl by the factory wall
Dirty old town
One of the greatest of all time. RIP Shane.
5/5
Scissor Sisters
5/5
When you grow up, living like a good boy ought to
And your mama takes a shine to her best son
Something different, all the girls, they seem to like you
'Cause you're handsome, like to talk, and a whole lot of fun
But now your girl has gone a-missing and your house has got an empty bed
The folks'll wonder 'bout the wedding, they won't listen to a word you said
We're gonna take your mama out all night
Yeah, we'll show her what it's all about
We'll get her jacked up on some cheap champagne
We'll let the good times all roll out
And if the music ain't good, well, it's just too bad
We're gonna sing along, no matter what
Because the dancers don't mind at the New Orleans
If you tip 'em and they make a cut
Do it, take your mama out all night
So, she'll have no doubt that we're doing all the best we can
We're gonna do it, take your mama out all night
You can stay up late, 'cause baby, you're a full-grown man
I unironically love this album.
5/5
Happy Mondays
2/5
Meh. How this album scores a spot on a list of albums you must hear before you die is beyond me.
2/5
Lana Del Rey
3/5
Take out your turquoise and all of your jewels
Go to the market, the kids' swimming pools
Baby, what's your sign?
My moon's in Leo, my Cancer is sun
You won't play, you're no fun
Well, I don't care what they think
Drag racing my little red sports car
I'm not unhinged or unhappy, I'm just wild
I'm on the run with you, my sweet love
There's nothing wrong contemplating God
Under the chemtrails over the country club
Wearing our jewels in the swimming pool
Me and my sister just playing it cool
Under the chemtrails over the country club
Meet you for coffee at the elementary schools
We laugh about nothing as the summer gets cool
It's beautiful how this deep normality settles down over me
I'm not bored or unhappy, I'm still so strange and wild
You're in the wind, I'm in the water
Nobody's son, nobody's daughter
Watching the chemtrails over the country club
Suburbia, The Brentwood Market
What to do next? Maybe we'll love it
White picket chemtrails over the country club
Decent.
3/5
The Sabres Of Paradise
2/5
It's OK, but not a great album. Repetitive trance-y tracks for an hour and 16 minutes. Why in the world would anyone say that this is an album that everyone should hear before they die?
2/5
The Everly Brothers
4/5
Love hurts, love scars, love wounds and mars
Any heart not tough nor strong enough
To take a lot of pain, take a lot of pain
Love is like a cloud, holds a lot of rain
Love hurts
I'm young, I know, but even so
I know a thing or two
I've learned from you
I've really learned a lot, really learned a lot
Love is like a stove, burns you when it's hot
Love hurts
Some fools rave of happiness
Blissfulness, togetherness
Some fools fool themselves I guess
But they're not fooling me
I know it isn't true, know it isn't true
Love is just a lie, made to make you blue
Love hurts
Ground zero for so much that came later.
4/5
2/5
Meh. Self indulgent brit navel gazing. Also not available on any US streaming service.
2/5
Dolly Parton
5/5
Fly away from my window, little bluebird
Fly as far as you can away from here
And let not your song fall upon my ear
Go spread your blue wings, I'll shed my blue tears
For the one that I have loved, he has left me and gone
And I am in no mood for to hear your sad song
And bring not your light into my dark room, yellow sunshine
Raise not your warmth on the coldness in here
Trouble me not, go elsewhere (go elsewhere)
Go light your blue sky and I'll shed my blue tears (shed my blue tears)
For the only one that I have ever loved has gone away
And I am in no mood for the sunshine today
And I don't know when, or if ever again
I will see your sweet face, but I feel
It's forever goodbye, though I can't say why
But I'll sit here and cry my lonely blue tears
Go spread your blue wings
Go light your blue sky, I'll shed my blue tears
Dolly is the GOAT.
5/5
Miriam Makeba
5/5
This is an excellent album by an artist I have never heard of before. THIS is what this list is for, not endless promotion of mediocre british musicians.
5/5
Tom Waits
1/5
Ugh. Why would this be on a list of anything that anyone should ever listen to? People compare tom waits to beefheart and zappa, and I feel like this album just proves all that wrong and shows that hes not "experimental" or "unique", he just sucks.
1/5
Fairport Convention
1/5
This might be the most boring thing that I have ever voluntarily listened to.
1/5
The Mothers Of Invention
5/5
You're probably wondering why I'm here
And so am I
So am I
Just as much as you wonder
'Bout me bein' in this place (yeah)
That's just how much I marvel
At the lameness on your face
You rise each day the same old way
And join your friends out on the street
Spray your hair and think you're neat
I think your life is incomplete
But maybe that's not for me to say
They only pay me here to play
(I wanna hear Caravan with a drum solo!)
You're probably wondering why I'm here
And so am I
So am I
Brilliant.
5/5
The xx
3/5
You, you still have all the answers
And you, you still have them too
And we, we live half in the day time
And we, we live half at night
Watch things on VCRs, with me and talk about big love
I think we're superstars, you say you think we are the best thing
But you, you just know, you just do
When I find myself by the sea, in another's company by the sea
When I go out the pier, gonna dive and have no fear
Because you, you just know, you just do
Watch things on VCRs, with me and talk about big love
I think we're superstars, you say you think we are the best thing
But you, you just know, you just do
I dont hate it. But I also like the game Life Is Strange. This album reminds me of that - Of teenagers in the early 2000s not having all the answers and being inundated with nostalgia for a time they never knew. Still, the album isnt worth 5 or even 4 stars, its too "background" for a higher than average rating.
3/5
Mekons
3/5
Its not a bad album, but I cant get into it. Theres nothing wrong with it, its just not grabbing me. Three stars because its OK, but cant go higher unless theres something there, and there aint.
3/5
Adam & The Ants
1/5
Another example of this list/book/editor favoring british albums that have no place on this list. Wanted to give it 2 stars but after consideration, it only deserves 1.
1/5
The Stone Roses
5/5
I can feel the earth begin to move
I hear my needle hit the groove
And spiral through another day
I hear my song begin to say
Kiss me where the sun don't shine
The past was yours
But the future's mine
You're all out of time
I don't feel too steady on my feet
I feel hollow I feel weak
Passion fruit and holy bread
Fill my guts and ease my head
Through the early morning sun
I can see her, here she comes
She bangs the drums
Have you seen her, have you heard
The way she plays? There are no words
To describe the way I feel
How could it ever come to pass?
She'll be the first, she'll be the last
To describe the way I feel
The way I feel
This is a pretty damn good album.
5/5
Steely Dan
4/5
Really tight, good album. Doesnt hang around too long with anything that you dont want, gets in and out and does the job. Good production, and the band is hitting all the marks.
4/5
Joni Mitchell
4/5
Don't interrupt the sorrow
Darn right
In flames our prophet witches
Be polite
A room full of glasses
He says, "your notches liberation doll"
And he chains me with that serpent
To that Ethiopian wall
Anima rising
Queen of queens
Wash my guilt of Eden
Wash and balance me
Anima rising
Uprising in me tonight
She's a vengeful little goddess
With an ancient crown to fight
Truth goes up in vapors
The steeples lean
Winds of change patriarchs
Snug in your bible belt dreams
God goes up the chimney
Like childhood Santa Claus
The good slaves love the good book
A rebel loves a cause
This album is worth the listen.
4/5
Wire
4/5
There's something strange going on tonight
There's something going on that's not quite right
Joey's nervous and the lights are bright
There's something going on that's not quite right
There's something going down that wasn't here before
Keep your eyes so screwed to the floor
No one's gonna save your life
There's something going on that's not quite right
Not bad.
4/5
Pere Ubu
2/5
I like punk and post-punk, but this album is almost impossible to enjoy. Its extremely discordant and very poorly produced. You can see how in retrospect it was influential but I cant help but think it was partly a lesson in what NOT to do.
2/5
Common
5/5
This is a pretty great album.
5/5
Dion
1/5
Awful. Was this added to the list as a joke?
1/5
Pentangle
2/5
Folk music album from the UK? What a surprise to find more UK artists on this list! /s
Slow start to this album, started out thinking maybe its just not for me. It picked up a little towards the middle of the album but not enough to make it good. Best I can do is 2 stars for good vocals.
2/5
The Allman Brothers Band
5/5
One of the best, if not THE best, live albums ever recorded.
5/5
Marvin Gaye
3/5
Not Marvin's best.
There's a LOT in and around this album, with alimony and lawyers and estates and royalties and all kinds of rich people in the 70s shit, not to mention the hot takes from a guy who probably honestly at one time did actually love his wife.
But none of that makes it a better-than-average album.
3/5
AC/DC
4/5
HELL of a good album.
4/5
Dolly Parton
4/5
Good album - Production, vocals, writing, and music are all solid. This is good country music, a perfect example of what the genre CAN be.
4/5
Sleater-Kinney
5/5
Saw johnny at the store
I said Get your car let's hit the road
Oh tell me baby what's wrong?
He said Tell me baby what's wrong?
do do do do....
She's on fire now
You think you wanna watch
I think you'd better not
Do you wanna get the wheel
Swerve my heart
It pounds with steel
Oh tell me baby what's wrong?
He said Tell me baby what's wrong?
It's not what you want it's everything
Got my foot on the floor
We'll go 80 95 maybe more
Tell me baby what's wrong?
He said Tell me baby what's wrong?
It's not what you want it's everything
This is a great album. I never listened to an S-K album all the way through before this - Its exactly what it needs to be, and its solid all the way through.
5/5
Ride
3/5
I have never heard of or listened to this album or band, somehow they completely escaped my attention in the 90s. It'd decent
This reminds me of the "Life is Strange" soundtrack, which I loved. It does kinda get stale after a bit, though.
3/5
Love
2/5
Check out hippie han solo over here. Boring album, the only thing I can say for it is that at least its over quickly. 7 and 7 is a decent track.
2/5
Fatboy Slim
5/5
Michael Jackson
Tina Turner
Michael Jackson look what you've done
I love this album. Literally every track is fantastic.
5/5
Ali Farka Touré
5/5
Every now and then, this list completely redeems itself and produces an excellent album by an artist that I had never heard before. This is one of those times.
5/5
The Avalanches
4/5
Since I left you
I found the world so new
And every day
Yeah, this is pretty good.
4/5
White Denim
4/5
I don't mind the sound
Of your voice, of your voice
When you use it like your gun
So much fun, fire your gun
Casual as you are, gets hard to say
I won't say, 'less you're going away
He strings himself on up to your front door
You've been a wall of ideas about the rich and the poor
We could start home talking
Make your focus break
When you're left to yourself
You throw it out anyway
I don't differentiate
We from they, we from they
Feel my appetite
Why is life sleepless night?
Lean my head against an angry moon
Always room, angry moon
In and out of a metal chair
In an unknown apartment where
I can build myself up
Before I make the scare
String myself up onto your front door
Yeah, this is pretty good stuff.
4/5
Sonic Youth
3/5
This is an OK album, but not great or anything. There are better sonic youth albums (goo), its kind of weird that this one would be on the list.
3/5
Pavement
3/5
Can you treat it like an oil well
When it's underground, out of sight
And if the sight is just a whore sign
Can it make enough sense to me
Pretend the table is a trust knot
We'll put our labels down, faith is down
I'll watch the yarn of twine unravel
And you'll never get it back
It's what I want, it's what I want
It's what I want, twine comes down
It's what I want, it's what I want
Don't you know, I could make you try
Make you try, make you try, make you try
I've been crowned the King of Id
And Id is all we have, so wait
To hear my words and they're diamond-sharp
I could open it up
And it's up and down
Good album, lots of stuff in here thats worth listening to.
3/5
N.W.A.
5/5
You are now about to witness the strength of street knowledge.
5/5
Simon & Garfunkel
5/5
This is actually a pretty great album. Its not my personal taste in music, but it absolutely belongs on the list.
5/5
KISS
3/5
My parents think I'm crazy and they hate the things I do
I'm stupid and I'm lazy, man, if they only knew
How flaming youth will set the world on fire
Flaming youth, our flag is flying higher and higher and higher
My uniform is leather, and my power is my age
I'm gettin' it together to break out of my cage
Cause flaming youth will set the world on fire
Flaming youth will set the world on fire
Flaming youth, our flag is flying higher and higher and higher
3/5
Faust
1/5
WTF is Krautrock? And why in the world would anyone say that you have to listen to this album before you die?
1/5
Prince
1/5
I like prince, but this album is not good. I think most people would agree that purple rain or maybe 1999 could go on a list of albums that everyone should hear, but this most definitely should not.
1/5
Goldfrapp
3/5
I dont hate it, but I dont love it either. I'm not sure why this is on the list, to be honest.
3/5
Taylor Swift
3/5
I agree that this should be on the list. I dont have any opinion about Taylor, but this is a pretty good album.
3/5
Brian Eno
2/5
Meh. "greatest ambient album of all-time" isnt much of a selling point.
2/5
Otis Redding
5/5
Amazing album! Every track is perfect, this is an album which actually does belong on the list.
5/5
Lenny Kravitz
3/5
I dont like lenny kravitz, but this is a pretty good album, especially considering that its essentially a one man band recording.
3/5
Guided By Voices
2/5
Maybe it gets better with multiple listens, but I dont think I WANT to listen to it again.
2/5
R.E.M.
5/5
Six o'clock, T.V. hour, don't get caught in foreign tower
Slash and burn, return, listen to yourself churn
Lock him in uniform, book burning, bloodletting
Every motive escalate, automotive incinerate
Light a candle, light a motive, step down, step down
Watch your heel crush, crush, uh oh
This means no fear, cavalier, renegade and steering clear
A tournament, a tournament, a tournament of lies
Offer me solutions, offer me alternatives and I decline
Pretty damn good album.
5/5
Shuggie Otis
5/5
This album is fire! Great sound - funky, clean, pure.
5/5
The Sonics
1/5
This is a pretty rotten album. Production is terrible, vocals are awful, its almost all badly performed covers.
1/5
Tim Buckley
3/5
Interesting album - Its not my usual thing, but the vocals and lyrics are pretty good and the production is good. I cant go higher than 3 stars, because its merely "good", but it IS good.
3/5
Willie Nelson
4/5
I'm not a big country music fan, but this is an excellent album. Great vocals and theme and solid production.
4/5
The Smashing Pumpkins
5/5
Fool enough to almost be it
Cool enough to not quite see it
Doomed
Pick your pocket, full of sorrow
And run away with me tomorrow
June
We'll try and ease the pain
But somehow, we'll feel the same
Well, no one knows
Where our secrets go
I send a heart to all my dearies
When your life is so, so dreary
Dream
I'm rumored to the straight and narrow
While the harlots of my perils
Scream
Mother, weep the years I'm missing
All our time can't be given
Back
Shut my mouth and strike the demons
That cursed you and your reasons
Out of hand and out of season
Out of love and out of feeling
Fool enough to almost be it
And cool enough to not quite see it
And old enough to always feel this
Always old, I'll always feel this
No more promise, no more sorrow
No longer will I follow
Can anybody hear me?
I just want to be me
And when I can, I will
Try to understand
That when I can, I will
This is just straight up an amazing album.
5/5
Cypress Hill
5/5
Kickin that funky Cypress Hill shit
Take a lot of mental for the blunted to chill with
Cuz I'm the chill one, known to get ill one
They stepped to the Hill "What's up?", I had to kill one
Now I'm headed up the river with a boat and no paddle
And they got me on lock down
Headed up the river with a boat and no paddle
And they got me on lock down
Living like a nigga who done lost his mind
Cause I ain't goin out like a spineless jellyfish
Some say life is a bitch
Ask that punk who dug his own ditch
Out for the Hill fuckin up at a party
Tried to get funny, put a hole in his body
Look at all of those funeral cars
Cause I'mma
Sawed off shotgun, hand on the pump
Left hand on a forty, puffin onna blunt
Pumped my shotgun, niggas didn't jump
I love this shit.
5/5
Stephen Stills
3/5
Decent. Not great, but decent.
3/5
Sparks
3/5
Caroling kids, caroling kids
A trifle premature
In tones so rich and pure
And crystalline
Call for the day, the popular day
It's fast approaching now
But will the mood allow
One dissent?
If this were the Seine
We'd be very suave
But it's just the rain
Washing down the boulevard
Thank God it's not Christmas
When there is only you
And nothing else to do
Thank God it's not Christmas
Where there's just you to do
The rest is closed to public view
Good lyrics, but I dont love the vocals or the album in general. Its all right.
3/5
The Jesus And Mary Chain
3/5
Not bad, but I might be missing whatever it is some people think is great.
3/5
Tangerine Dream
2/5
I mean, I like the 80s. And I like movies from the 80s. But that doesnt mean I want to hear an album of music from 80s movies. Why in the world would anyone say to anyone else, "oh man youve got to hear this album" about THIS album?
Like, not the worst thing Ive heard on this list, but still highly questionable.
2/5
Nine Inch Nails
5/5
He sewed his eyes shut because he is afraid to see
He tries to tell me what I put inside of me
He got the answers to ease my curiosity
He dreamed a god up and called it Christianity
God is dead
And no one cares
If there is a hell
I'll see you there
He flexed his muscles to keep his flock of sheep in line
He made a virus that would kill off all the swine
His perfect kingdom of killing, suffering and pain
Demands devotion, atrocities done in his name
God is dead
And no one cares
If there is a hell
I'll see you there
Yeah, this is pretty fucking good.
5/5
The Byrds
4/5
The reasons why
Oh, I can't say
I have to let you go, baby
And run away
After what you did
I can't stay on
And I'll probably feel a whole lot better when you're gone
Baby, for a long time
You had me believe
That your love was all mine
And that's the way it would be
But I didn't know
That you were putting me on
And I'll probably feel a whole lot better when you're gone
Oh, when you're gone
4/5
Butthole Surfers
5/5
Great.
5/5
Janis Joplin
5/5
Theres this part of the Monterey Pop festival documentary where you see Mama Cass hearing Janis go off and shes just floored by her voice. I feel like that sums up my entire take on this album.
5/5
Paul Simon
2/5
Not great. Why in the world would this be on a list of albums to hear before you die?
2/5
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
4/5
Off with your head
Dance til you're dead
Heads will roll
Heads will roll
Heads will roll
On the floor
Glitter on the wet streets
Silver over everything
The river's all wet
You're all chrome
Dripping with alchemy
Shiver stop shivering
The glitter's all wet
You're all chrome
The men cry out the girls cry out
The men cry out the girls cry out
The men cry out, oh no
Not bad. Or at least, not as bad as the lyrics might make you think it could be.
4/5
The National
1/5
If I was hanging out with someone, and they said to me "hey listen to this album, its essential that you listen to this before you die", and then they put this album on, I would think a few things. One, I would be concerned that they might mean to do me harm. Two, I would question their musical taste and I would probably hang out with them less in the future.
1/5
The Replacements
4/5
Look me in the eye
Then, tell me that I'm satisfied
Was you satisfied?
Look me in the eye
Then, tell me that I'm satisfied
Hey, are you satisfied?
And it goes so slowly on
Everything I've ever wanted
Tell me what's wrong
This is a pretty good album. Its very down to earth and genuine, and doesn't wear out its welcome.
4/5
Nick Drake
5/5
Brilliant.
5/5
Bruce Springsteen
5/5
Damn good album.
5/5
The Cure
5/5
I agree that this is an album that everyone should hear.
5/5
Kacey Musgraves
2/5
Meh.
2/5
Queen
4/5
This is a funny album. It has bohemian rhapsody, sure - But it also has I'm in love with my car which kind of cancels that out.
4/5
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
2/5
Not great.
2/5
Robert Wyatt
1/5
*Looks at Beefheart and Zappa albums*
"No, no, you see THIS is worth SOMETHING."
*Looks at Robert Wyatt albums*
"THAT is worth NOTHING."
1/5
Thundercat
4/5
I'm your biggest fan, but I guess that's just not good enough
Is it 'cause I wear my hair in or because I like to play Diablo
Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking 'bout
Cause I really don't wanna have to spell it out
And next time you call me
I'm gon sit and stare at the screen
Waiting for the call to end
You stuck me in the friendzone
That's that bullshit
I'm gonna play Diablo either way
You can go or you can go
Because I'd rather play Mortal Kombat anyway, hey
I want a love like Johnny Cage
If you're not bringing bottles I suggest you start to walk away
Bitch don't kill my vibe
I can tell you've kinda got uncomfortable
So let me break it down for you
Don't call me, don't text me, after 2am
Unless you plan on giving me some
Cause I got enough friends
I will throw you in the garbage
Cause you play too many games
I'm better off by myself
Loving you's bad for my health
No one wants to be in the
Friendzone
This initially sounds like some vanilla R&B but when you listen to it closely it turns out its brilliant.
4/5
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
4/5
Very different from my usual tastes, but this is a very good album.
4/5
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
2/5
I'm starting to get the idea that the editor of this list loves Nick Cave. I dont feel the same way, and I question the decision to have more than even one Nick Cave album on the list at all.
2/5
Cowboy Junkies
4/5
Sometimes a cover version of a song can be the definitive version. Cowboy Junkies Sweet Jane is up there with Johnny Cash Hurt for this title.
Album is kind of overpowered by that one track, but still good overall.
4/5
The Dictators
2/5
Terrible band and awful album, but I can see the appeal behind having a proto-punk album on a list of albums that everyone should hear. Still, not good.
2/5
Hot Chip
2/5
Maybe I'm just not in the mood for it this morning, but I'm not feeling this album. Just background noise, and nothing I would wish on anyone else as an album they "must hear before they die."
2/5
Led Zeppelin
5/5
We come from the land of the ice and snow
From the midnight sun where the hot springs flow
The hammer of the gods
Will drive our ships to new lands
To fight the horde, sing and cry
Valhalla, I am coming
On we sweep with threshing oar
Our only goal will be the western shore
We come from the land of the ice and snow
From the midnight sun where the hot springs flow
How soft your fields so green
Can whisper tales of gore
Of how we calmed the tides of war
We are your overlords
On we sweep with threshing oar
Our only goal will be the western shore
So now you'd better stop and rebuild all your ruins
For peace and trust can win the day despite of all your losing
Yeah, this is a must-hear album if there ever was one.
5/5
Buddy Holly & The Crickets
5/5
Last night as I watched the stars from my window
I pray Lord above to guide and protect you
Though I'm not wanted now, I still love you somehow
That is my only prayer, for you
Last night as I gazed through the mist in my eyes
I wanted you here to hold you so near
But silence tells me, you didn't hear my plea
I miss you so much since you left me
My heart ached apart since you left me
Though I'm not wanted now, I still love you somehow
That is my only prayer, for you
Classic.
5/5
Bauhaus
3/5
So goth it paints its room black and smokes clove cigarettes. I dont love it, though - Its not a great album. Three stars for being what it is unironically.
3/5
Nirvana
5/5
It's so relieving
To know that you're leaving
As soon as you get paid
It's so relaxing
To hear that you're asking
Whenever you get your way
It's so soothing
To know that you'll sue me
Starting to sound the same
I miss the comfort in being sad
Yeah, this is a pretty amazing album.
5/5
OutKast
4/5
Really good album which perfectly illustrates 2000.
4/5
Barry Adamson
1/5
Seriously, what the fuck is this doing on a list of albums that everyone should hear? Its not good.
1/5
Norah Jones
3/5
Its too bad that the album feels so bland and corporate, because she has a great voice and I appreciate her talent. The production overall is pretty good. But sadly at the end of the day this album is full of music for corporate coffee shops and lobbies.
3/5
Grateful Dead
5/5
Fare you well my honey
Fare you well my only true one
All the birds that were singing
Have flown except you alone
Going to leave this broke-down palace
On my hands and my knees I will roll, roll, roll
Make myself a bed by the waterside
In my time, in my time, I will roll, roll, roll
In a bed, in a bed
By the waterside I will lay my head
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul
River gonna take me
Sing me sweet and sleepy
Sing me sweet and sleepy
All the way back back home
It's a far gone lullaby
Sung many years ago
Mama, mama, many worlds I've come
Since I first left home
Easy to dismiss as hippie shit, but its actually a really good album.
5/5
Aretha Franklin
5/5
If you had a dollar, and I had a dime
I wonder, could I borrow yours as easy as you could mine?
Because when you need my love, and I give time after time
And turn around to find me no returns, then, my friend, you've used my dimes!
If there's water in the pitcher, and we both need a drink
To stay alive, my darlin', I'd need less water than you think
My love, my love, these things, I swear, I say are true
And all I'm really saying is be as good to me as I am to you
Oh, yeah
Perfect. Everything about this album is perfect.
5/5
Christina Aguilera
2/5
Why would this be on a list of albums that everyone should hear? Its aggressively mid in every possible way.
2/5
Pretenders
5/5
I cant believe that this album came out in 1979 - It just "feels" like more of a mid-80s album to me. Anyway, solid album with great production and good overall vibes.
5/5
Justice
3/5
Decent album. Not great, but decent.
3/5
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
1/5
Not only does this album not qualify as an album that anyone should have to hear before they die, it DOES qualify as an album that is almost impossible to listen to at all. Its bad in every way. The production is bad, the lyrics are bad, the vocals are bad, and the music is not good.
1/5
Sebadoh
2/5
Meh. Its not bad, but its pretty boring.
2/5
Gorillaz
5/5
Finally someone let me out of my cage
Now time for me is nothing, cause I'm counting no age
Now I couldn't be there, now you shouldn't be scared
I'm good at repairs, and I'm under each snare
Intangible bet you didn't think
So I command you to, panoramic view
Look, I'll make it all manageable
Pick and choose, sit and lose all you different crews
Chicks and dudes, who you think is really kicking tunes?
Picture you getting down in a picture tube
Like you lit the fuse, you think it's fictional? Mystical? Maybe
Spiritual hero who appears on you to clear your view
When you're too crazy
Lifeless to those the definition for what life is
Priceless to you because I put you on the hype shift
Did you like it? Gut smoking righteous with one toke
You're psychic among knows possess you with one go
Yeah, this is some really good shit.
5/5
Led Zeppelin
5/5
I went to sleep last night, I worked as hard as I can
I bring home my money
You take my money
Give it to another man
I should have quit you, baby
Oh, such a long time ago
I wouldn't be here with all my troubles
Down on this killing floor
Squeeze me, baby till the juice runs down my leg
The way you squeeze my lemon
I'm gonna fall right out of bed
When I was 16, I would listen to this album at least 3 times a day. Amazingly, its STILL not played out and I still enjoy it. Its that good.
5/5
Adele
5/5
This is a really good album. Its not my usual kind of thing, but Adele has an outstanding voice and the production is very very good.
5/5
Fishbone
5/5
The sun will shine on brighter
And the wind will always blow
Some think life's a breeze
Others feel love is sin
I've found beauty in dancing stars
To you, your dreams may be a farce
And you think that you can't feel pain
And you think we can't feel at all
Can you sing out in the pouring rain
Yeah, this is a pretty great album.
5/5
Nick Drake
5/5
Please beware of them that stare
They'll only smile to see you while
Your time away
And once you've seen what they have been
To win the earth just won't seem worth
Your night or your day
Who'll hear what I say.
Look around you find the ground
Is not so far from where you are
But not too wise
For down below they never grow
They're always tired and charms are hired
From out of their eyes
Never surprise.
Take your time and you'll be fine
And say a prayer for people there
Who live on the floor
And if you see what's meant to be
Don't name the day or try to say
It happened before.
Don't be shy you learn to fly
And see the sun when day is done
If only you see
Just what you are beneath a star
That came to stay one rainy day
In autumn for free
Yes, be what you'll be.
Please beware of them that stare
They'll only smile to see you while
Your time away
And once you've seen what they have been
To win the earth just won't seem worth
Your night or your day
Who'll hear what I say.
Open up the broken cup
Let goodly sin and sunshine in
Yes that's today.
And open wide the hymns you hide
You find renown while people frown
At things that you say
But say what you'll say
About the farmers and the fun
And the things behind the sun
And the people around your head
Who say everything's been said
And the movement in your brain
Sends you out into the rain.
Its just perfect for what it is.
5/5
Red Snapper
2/5
I dont hate it, but I wouldnt say that I'm satisfied by it.
Not a terrible album, but a lot like everything else coming out of clubs in the UK in 2000. Ultimately not anything anyone should have to hear, and entirely forgettable.
2/5
Stephen Stills
2/5
This isn't an album that anyone has to hear. This is an album that would be playing as background music in a bar in Kentucky in the 80s.
2/5
Billy Bragg
2/5
This is an interesting album. I'm not saying its a good album, but I can at least see why it might make a list of albums that everyone should hear. Why not just put some Woody Guthrie albums on this list instead, though?
Anyway, its not bad, but its not good either. I love Woody Guthrie, but this doesnt capture any of the feelings from his lyrics here.
2/5
Dusty Springfield
2/5
What an odd choice for a list of albums that everyone should hear before they die. First, its not available on apple music. Second, its all cover songs. Third, its an album out of time - Its mostly songs from the 50s recorded in the 60s. Dusty has a good voice, but its an ultimately forgettable album.
2/5
CHVRCHES
3/5
This album isnt bad, but its just not doing anything for me. Breathy vocals and urgent synths can sometimes be my jam, but this isnt grabbing me.
3/5
New Order
5/5
Maybe you would write me a letter
And tell me why I never met you
Our rendezvous just ended in sorrow
Without you, there's no tomorrow
I tried, but I can't find you
Tell me now, what do I do?
I tried, but I can't find you
Tell me now, what do I do?
I can't find my peace of mind
Because I need you with me all of the time
I used to think about you night and day
I didn't care what other people would say
Oh, I can't find you
No, I can't find my peace of mind without you
Yeah, this is a really good album.
5/5
Motörhead
2/5
I like motorhead but this album isn't great. Its a live album and it never really gets there, you know? Its not bad, but I don't think its a "must-hear" album under any evaluation.
2/5
Neu!
2/5
I would never say to anyone, "oh man you have absolutely got to hear this album" in reference to this very mediocre album.
2/5
The Zutons
1/5
Dude. Really? This is supposed to be a list of albums that you would recommend to someone as an album you must hear. Who in their right mind would believe that this is an album that anyone would recommend for any reason at all ever?
1/5
Scritti Politti
1/5
Holy shit, this album is TERRIBLE. Like, the only way this makes a list of albums you must hear is either as a joke or as a payoff.
1/5
The Kinks
4/5
Not my favorite kinks album, but its a good one nonetheless. I love that the kinks are basically spinal tap in the early years.
4/5
Afrika Bambaataa
2/5
Arent we all just looking for the perfect beat?
Edit: I just read the wiki and now I dont know how to grade this album. I didnt know that afrika bambaataa was a child molester which makes it difficult to give the album the 5 star rating I originally made. I'm revising my score to a 2 of 5, keeping a star for being a groundbreaking and powerful work but losing 3 stars for being led by a garbage human.
5/5 - revised to 2/5
Rod Stewart
3/5
I like the faces and i like rod stewart, but this album is a weird choice for the list. Its very bland and inoffensive in pretty much every way, and there are far better representations if thats what youre looking for.
3/5
Sisters Of Mercy
3/5
OK, so now I've heard three goth albums on this list. Who edits this book?
This is an OK album, but its weird that of all the musical subcultures goth is represented more than something like ska or black metal or electro.
3/5
Minor Threat
5/5
I want to tell you a little story
'Cause it makes me warm inside
It's about some friends growing up
And all the things they tried
I'm not talking about staple shit
They went for something more
I guess it was too much dreaming
Too much to hope for
One day something funny happened
But it scared the shit out of me
Their heads went in different directions
And their friendship ceased to be
I'm telling you I want it to work
I don't like being hurt
Something's not right inside
And I can't always put it aside
What can we do, what can we do?
Try
I guess I make it too much shit
Someday we'll look back and laugh
Mr. President, go away
Come back and fuck with us some other day
Mr. Feelings, run and hide
You have no right to what you feel inside
Motherfuckers, quick to kiss
Talk your shit, but don't fuck with this
All I want to know is
Am I holding on? Am I moving on?
What can we do, what can we do?
TRY
Look at those assholes, ordinary fucking people. I hate 'em. - Repo Man
5/5
Jane's Addiction
5/5
Wish I was ocean size
they cannot move you
no one tries no one pulls you
out from your hole
like a tooth aching a jawbone
I was made with a heart of stone
to be broken
with one hard blow
I've seen the ocean
break on the shore
come together with no harm done
It ain't easy living
I want to be
as deep
as the ocean
mother ocean
Some people tell me
home is in the sky
in the sky lives a spy
I want to be more like the ocean
no talking
all action
Yeah, this is an amazing album.
5/5
LCD Soundsystem
5/5
I really like this album. It kind of makes me feel like a hipster from GTA4, but thats fine.
5/5
Roxy Music
3/5
Meh. Great cover, music doesnt do much for me. Vocals are overwrought and the production is too slick.
3/5
Skunk Anansie
5/5
I've been biting my tongue
Been so subtly kind
I've got to think so selfishly
'Cause you're the face inside of me
I've been biding my days, you see
Evidently it pays
I've been a friend with unbiased views
Then secretly lust after you
So now you feel lusty, you're bored and bemused
You want to do someone else
So you should be by yourself
Instead of here with me
Secretly
Trying hard to think pure
Bloody hard when I'm raw
You're talking out so sexually
'Bout boys & girls & your friggin' dreams
Now you feel lusty, you're hot and confused
You want to do someone else
So you should be by yourself
Instead of here with me
Secretly
So now you've been busted, you're caught feeling used
You had to do someone else
You shoulda been by yourself
You had to do someone else
You shoulda been by yourself
Instead of here with me
Secretly
THIS is what I am here for. I never heard of this band or album before, but this is excellent and I love it.
5/5
Nick Drake
2/5
Why is there more than one nick drake album on this list? Pink Moon is fine, but this is just taking up space that should be used for something else. +1 star for not being a terrible album, though.
2/5
Derek & The Dominos
3/5
OK, so clapton is a scumbag so we're gonna lose some stars there but I actually agree that this album belongs on the list. It stands alone for the year it was released as one of the best rock albums with some of the most talented musicians of the time and its very well produced. Tell you what, if clapton wasnt the garbage human that he is it would have been a 5 star album but lets say it loses 5 stars for clapton but then gets 2 stars back for the production and Duane Allman and then gains one more star for the track "Layla."
3/5
The Gun Club
4/5
I can see clearly
From my diamond eyes
I'm going to the mountain with the fire spirit
No-one will accept all of me
So the fire will stop
Up through the streets
And the gunfire of cars
Am going to the mountain with the fire spirit
And no one will take all of me
So the fire will stop
I will be cheating
The whole ritual
I'm going to the mountain with the fire spirit
No-one will expect all of me
So the fire will stop
Someone will step out of the circle
Someone will turn and burn a world
Someone knows a better cell
Where the old north wind blows through southeast hell, yeah
Invention was betrayed by the machine
Promised like it was promised to me
I'm going up to the mountain to see
How the last thing, will set me free, yeah
I had to do something
I was wearing down
I was going down
Why can no one ever touch a fire spirit?
Yeah, this is a pretty good album.
4/5
Janelle Monáe
3/5
Interesting. Not amazing, but interesting and good.
3/5
The Vines
4/5
I'm feeling happy, so highly evolved
My time's a riddle that will never be solved
Dreamin' for somethin', reachin' for somethin'
Just waitin' for the sun to carry me in
If you feel low
You can buy love
From a payphone
I don't feel low
My brother Bill, he work for the market
Life is an arrow now and he is the target
Dreamin' for somethin', reachin' for somethin'
Just waitin' for the sun to carry me in
If you feel low
You can buy blow
From a payphone
I don't feel low
Not bad at all.
4/5
Love
3/5
60s deep cut, you can hear how this album influenced other artists of the 60s and 70s, but the somewhat sad reality is that those artists that this band and album influenced had more talent. Not bad at all, but ultimately forgettable.
3/5
Dexys Midnight Runners
1/5
One dexys album was more than enough for a list of albums to hear before you die. The editor of this list has a hardon for british one hit wonders, and its a bit obvious.
1/5
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
5/5
THIS is what I'm here for. Beautiful and different, and I love it.
5/5
Bert Jansch
4/5
Good album. Honest, real.
4/5
Le Tigre
4/5
Good album full of good end-of-the-90s stuff.
4/5
Bob Marley & The Wailers
4/5
"Last week Andy set sail for the Bahamas to sell his family’s boat, and he took his brother, but not me. I was kind of sad at first, but then I remembered that Bob Marley song. "No, woman. No cry.""
(Erin, The Office)
4/5
Jean-Michel Jarre
3/5
Decent.
3/5
Joan Armatrading
5/5
Excellent. Never heard this album before, but its great!
5/5
The Zombies
3/5
I think maybe 60s music just leaves me flat. Its not bad, but just cant get any kind of reaction from myself on this one.
3/5
Dinosaur Jr.
1/5
Not a good album, and not a good representation of dinosaur jr or the genre. Begs the question - Who the fuck is making this list?
1/5
Dr. Octagon
2/5
I love the automator stuff that came after this, like deltron, but this is a little too raw. Not a one star album, but the production is so amateurish that it cant rate three stars either.
2/5
Joy Division
4/5
This is a good, but extremely dark, album. Worth a listen.
4/5
Iron Maiden
3/5
Not a bad album, but far from the best of iron maidens albums and in comparison it must be almost embarrassing for them how amateurish and poor the production and art is when put up against their later albums.
3/5
Jazmine Sullivan
4/5
This isnt always the best-produced album, but the vocals and lyrics more than make up for that slight shortcoming. Very much a representation of 2021, black women will eventually save us all.
4/5
Christine and the Queens
3/5
Light and poppy, but nothing really grabs me on this album. Not bad, but not outstanding as albums go. Good representation, though?
3/5
Anita Baker
5/5
Basically a perfect album. Fantastic vocals, beautiful composition, and flawless production.
5/5
Dennis Wilson
3/5
Not a bad album, and Dennis Wilson is arguably the most talented and visionary of the Beach Boys, BUT of all the albums in the world I wonder why this one gets on the list over something else more profound in an unknown status. Plus it goes on for wayyyy too long.
3/5
The Undertones
3/5
Punky. Poppy. British.
Nothing else really outstanding about this very mid album. At least it doesn't wear out its stay.
3/5
Fleetwood Mac
3/5
Not fleetwood mac's best album, but still not a "bad" album. I guess you might include it on a list of 1001 albums that everyone should hear so that you could talk about how it was a cocaine-fueled fall from critical acclaim, but wouldnt it be more worthwhile to just pick a better album?
3/5
Lupe Fiasco
4/5
Good album, good production. Someone should have talked him out of that outro though.
4/5
Gillian Welch
4/5
Good album. Gillian Welch has a great voice, and the production and composition is great. Not sure why its on this list over some other more foundational bluegrass and folk stuff, but still worth a listen.
4/5
David Bowie
5/5
I will be king
And you, you will be queen
Though nothing will drive them away
We can beat them, just for one day
We can be heroes, just for one day
And you, you can be mean
And I, I'll drink all the time
Cause we're lovers, and that is a fact
Yes we're lovers, and that is that
Though nothing will keep us together
We could steal time just for one day
We can be heroes for ever and ever
What d'you say?
I wish you could swim
Like the dolphins, like dolphins can swim
Though nothing, nothing will keep us together
We can beat them, for ever and ever
Oh we can be Heroes, just for one day
I will be king
And you, you will be queen
Though nothing will drive them away
We can be Heroes, just for one day
We can be us, just for one day
I can remember
Standing, by the wall
And the guns, shot above our heads
And we kissed, as though nothing could fall
And the shame, was on the other side
Oh we can beat them, for ever and ever
Then we could be Heroes, just for one day
OK, now this belongs on the list. Basically perfect album that everyone should hear at least once.
5/5
The Fall
2/5
I never heard of this album or band before today. Maybe because I'm not british? Anyway, thats kind of the whole reason I'm here is to discover music thats new to me so lets do this.
/listens to entire far-too-long double album
OK, so its not a terrible album, but its not really good either. Vocals and composition are nothing special, and the production is unremarkable. And it goes on for WAYYYY too long.
2/5
Ravi Shankar
4/5
Good album. KInd of all blends together, but gets 4 stars for being something new and different from the rest of the list.
4/5
Charles Mingus
5/5
This is some seriously next level shit. Brilliant and clear production, this album will change your life.
5/5
Linkin Park
2/5
OK, so I can understand including this album as an illustration of how pissed off and directionless the world was in 2000. The republicans were poised to actually steal the presidency (for the first time) and the middle east was boiling over, the rich had become far too powerful and the poor had lost their voices. That said, its not a good album and its not really worth listening to unless you want to feel that same kind of "why am I even here" that adolescents in 2000 were going through.
2/5
Flamin' Groovies
3/5
OK, so I listened to this and while I like it, I dont think that it belongs on this list. I cant imagine myself under any circumstances saying to anyone that this is an album that they MUST hear. That said, its pretty good I guess.
3/5
The Velvet Underground
5/5
And what costume shall the poor girl wear
To all tomorrow's parties?
A hand-me-down dress from who knows where
To all tomorrow's parties
And where will she go and what shall she do
When midnight comes around?
She'll turn once more to Sunday's clown
And cry behind the door
And what costume shall the poor girl wear
To all tomorrow's parties?
Why silks and linens of yesterday's gowns
To all tomorrow's parties?
And what will she do with Thursday's rags
When Monday comes around?
She'll turn once more to Sunday's clown
And cry behind the door
And what costume shall the poor girl wear
To all tomorrow's parties?
For Thursday's child is Sunday's clown
For whom none will go mourning
A blackened shroud, a hand-me-down gown
Of rags and silks, a costume
Fit for one who sits and cries
For all tomorrow's parties
OK, I 100% agree that this album belongs on a list of the best albums of all time. It also has immense social impact and is a historical marker of a counter cultural high water mark where the 1960s broke and rolled back in the US and Europe. This is one of the rare occasions where I completely agree with this list and say that absolutely everyone in the world should hear this album.
5/5
The Pogues
5/5
One of the best albums of all time and contains my favorite christmas song ever.
5/5
Badly Drawn Boy
2/5
I don’t hate this album, but it’s not great. The production isn’t good, and the vocals and composition don’t make up for the amateurish nature overall. Can’t give it better than 2 stars.
2/5
The Rolling Stones
5/5
Every time I'm walking all down the street
Some pretty mama starts breaking down on me
Stop breaking down
Baby please stop breaking down
Still I'm gonna bust you brains out dear
Yeah I'm gonna make you lose your mind
You Saturday night women now you just ape and clown
You don't do nothing but tear my reputation down
Stop breaking down
Mama please stop breaking down
Still I'm gonna bust you brains out dear
Yeah it's gonna make you lose your mind
I love my baby ninety nine degrees
But that mama got a pistol and laid it down on me
Stop breaking down
Baby please stop breaking down
Still I'm gonna bust you brains out baby
Yeah I'm gonna make you lose your mind
Yeah, this is a pretty amazing album.
5/5
The Teardrop Explodes
1/5
So much 80s indistinguishable british pop albums on this list that I'm starting to think that the project was started just to give some wanker the material to justify making his mates listen to crap music that only he likes.
1/5
Q-Tip
5/5
Yo Tip, why'd you drive so far for?
5/5
The Last Shadow Puppets
3/5
Meh. Its OK, but not great.
3/5
The Associates
2/5
This isn't a good album, but its interesting enough that it gets one extra star.
2/5
The Coral
1/5
The only reason I can think of that this album would be included on this list would be for some british publisher to try and be more "inclusive" and have some white british artists that were less popular than the other white british artists that this white british list already has on it in a very white british way.
1/5
4/5
Experimental and funky and interesting, which is more than I can say for a lot of the white british shit on this list. Not always a great album, but better than average.
4/5
Bebel Gilberto
5/5
This is a great album. This is one of a handful on the list that I would actually say to someone else that they had to listen to before they die, and not even in a sinister way.
5/5
Elvis Costello
1/5
No. There is no reason why any elvis costello album belongs on a list of albums that anyone should hear ever. This is a bad album.
1/5
Malcolm McLaren
3/5
Decent album made by an awful person.
3/5
Queen Latifah
4/5
OK, I get why this should be on the list - No other album represents women in rap in this period (80s-90s) as well. Love the Queen - That doesnt make it a great 5 star album, though. It loses a star for a little less than half of the album being filler tracks and some lackluster production.
4/5
Mudhoney
4/5
Good album - Solid 80s Sub Pop grunge before MTV caught on.
4/5
Fiona Apple
5/5
I would beg to disagree, but begging disagrees with me
I told you I didn't want to go to this dinner
You know I don't go for those ones that you bother about
So when they say something that makes me start to simmer
That fancy wine won't put this fire out, oh
Kick me under the table all you want
I won't shut up
Fuck yeah, this is a great album.
5/5
Slipknot
1/5
OK, so first thing - This is not a good album. Its weird that there are more than one slipknot albums on this list, cause the other one isnt good either.
But, from the future of 2024, this album is prophetic. You can hear how the people listening to this are getting dumber and more angry, and will eventually try to tear it all down in epic fashion in their stupidity. I can only hope that the people listening to the albums of the 2020s will be judged in 30 more years as climbing out of the mess that the 1990s made of the world. And that there will still be people with the ability to look back and judge in 30 more years.
Anyway, this is a bad album.
1/5
Björk
5/5
Beautiful. Hard to even quantify or find words to describe this album - At its most simple definition it is a pure representation of Love.
5/5
Michael Jackson
5/5
Great album, and belongs on this list. Not much else to say - Every track is well produced and has gold all over it.
5/5
The Divine Comedy
1/5
Why would this be on any list of anything? This is like some AI generated thing where the prompt was "make me a british pop album thats the most boring thing ever."
1/5
Herbie Hancock
5/5
This is a very good, very funky album. I wonder how much herbie hancock is on this list opposed to how many fucking brit pop bullshit albums the editor decided were important.
5/5
Willie Colón & Rubén Blades
5/5
Outstanding album. This is a welcome departure from the other items on the list recently - I dont normally listen to salsa albums, but when I do they are Siembra.
5/5
The Style Council
3/5
I didnt hate this album, I like the instrumental tracks. The vocal are bland, and the rap vocal track is not great, but the overall vibe isnt bad. That said, I probably could have died without ever hearing it, you know?
3/5
Dexys Midnight Runners
1/5
I thought dexys midnight runners were great on the young ones. This album though? meh. Also, am I wrong or are there multiple dexys albums on this stupid list?
1/5
Ice Cube
5/5
Left my homie's house paid
Picked up a girl been tryna dig since the 12th grade
It's ironic, I had the brew, she had the chronic
The Lakers beat the Supersonics
Felt on the big fat fanny
Pulled out the jammy and killed the punani
And my jimmy runs deep, so deep
So deep put her butt to sleep
Woke her up around one
She didn't hesitate to call Ice Cube the top gun
Drove her to the pad and I'm coastin'
Took another sip of the potion, hit the three-wheel motion
I was glad everything had worked out
Dropped her butt off and then chirped out
Today was like one of those fly dreams
Didn't even see a berry flashin' those high beams
No helicopter lookin' for the murder
Two in the morning, got the Fatburger
Even saw the lights of the Goodyear Blimp
And it read "Ice Cube's a Pimp"
Drunk as hell but no throwin' up
Halfway home and my pager still blowin' up
Today I didn't even have to use my AK
I gotta say it was a good day
Yeah, this is a pretty great album.
5/5
The Stranglers
2/5
Turns out we can pretty easily track the whole fucked up racist brexit shit all the way back to the 1970s by looking at what the british were listening to and defining as punk music when star wars came out. Anyway, not a terrible album but the fact that this list puts up mediocre british albums over other more deserving albums of the world kind of puts the whole album in some sort of perspective, right?
2/5
Neil Young
4/5
Well, I dreamed I saw the knights in armor coming
Sayin' something about a queen
There were peasants singin' and drummers drumming
And the archer split the tree
There was a fanfare blowin' to the sun
That was floating on the breeze
Look at mother nature on the run in the nineteen seventies
I was lyin' in a burned-out basement
With a full moon in my eyes
I was hopin' for replacement
When the sun burst through the sky
There was a band playin' in my head
And I felt like getting high
I was thinkin' about what a friend had said
I was hopin' it was a lie
Thinkin' about what a friend had said
I was hopin' it was a lie
Well, I dreamed I saw the silver spaceships lying
In the yellow haze of the sun
There were children crying and colors flying
All around the chosen ones
All in a dream, all in a dream
The loading had begun
Flyin' mother nature's silver seed
To a new home in the sun
Flyin' mother nature's silver seed
To a new home
Fucking hippies, man. Anyway, its a pretty good album.
4/5
John Lennon
5/5
This is really an exceptional album. John was a complete asshole, but also a complete musical genius. This one actually belongs on the list.
5/5
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
5/5
Baby I'm afraid of a lot of things
But I ain't scared of lovin you
Baby I know you're afraid of a lot of things
But don't be scared of love
Cause people will say all kinds of things
That don't mean a damn to me
Cause all I see
Is what's in front of me
That's you
Well I've been dragged
All over the place
I've taken hits
Time just don't erase
And baby I can see
You've been fucked with too
But that don't mean
Your loving days are through
Cause people will say
All kinds of things
That don't mean a damn to me
Cause all I see is what's in front of me
That's you
Well I may be just a fool
But I know you're just as cool
And cool kids
They belong together
Yeah, this is a hell of a good album.
5/5
Living Colour
3/5
Not bad, but gets a little repetitive and kinda boring by the 4th track ("desperate people").
3/5
The Flying Burrito Brothers
4/5
Good album - Influential for it's time. Solid covers and good songwriting with good production, and putting it on a list of your favorite albums gives you some deep cut hipster cred, I guess.
4/5
Ash
3/5
Just imagine if you brought someone back to your room and said "hey you must hear this album before you die" and then you played this album.
First, they would probably leave. Then, you would wonder why this album would ever have that status for you or for anyone else. I mean, really. Its not bad , but even if you were Gareth Hutchinson it would be a stretch to put this up against other more significant albums with that "before you die" being the basis for comparison.
3/5
Siouxsie And The Banshees
4/5
Not bad. Little repetitive after about 3 tracks, but good lyrics, composition, and production. Good album, good goth rock stuff.
4/5
Grateful Dead
2/5
OK, sure. This checks all the boxes and is an album with an important history and cultural milestone, it belongs on the list. However, it kinda sucks. I think that if I'm being completely honest with myself, I only ever listened to the dead when I was in a social circle that liked them and being able to relate and speak to their music was the best way to score free drugs.
2/5
Baaba Maal
3/5
Good album and great to see this list not have white british men represented for once. Good composition and production, worth a listen.
3/5
Bob Dylan
5/5
If you had to pick a single Dylan album as the best of the catalog, this would be a very close contender. Some of the best songwriting ever, excellent composition, and solid production. This is definitely one of the rare times I agree with this list.
5/5
Meat Puppets
5/5
Foundational album - This is actually a must-listen. Helped to establish a sound that defined a generation (or something).
5/5
Django Django
4/5
I like it.
Yes
2/5
Meh.
Randy Newman
4/5
Funny, and not a bad album!
David Bowie
3/5
Decent, but far from the best Bowie album. Weird that its on this list, actually.
3/5
Joan Baez
1/5
I really couldnt stand this album. I mean, I guess I can see how some people might be into it, but I just couldnt stand it.
1/5
Fred Neil
3/5
So this is an album with the original versions of songs that other musicians covered with better versions? Its not bad, but its kinda hipster-y to include on a list of albums that everyone must hear.
3/5
The Louvin Brothers
3/5
What a strange album. I cant see myself recommending it to anyone, but its interesting as hell. Bluegrass-y songs about tragic failures and death in post-war America.
3/5
Rush
3/5
I kind of cant stand rush. I understand that they are influential and have a place in the halls of rock, but man they just go on and on and it bores the shit out of me. This is an OK album, but ugh.
3/5
Method Man
5/5
This is one hell of a good album. I could actually see myself telling someone that they had to hear this album before they die. I wouldnt kill them after or anything, though.
5/5
Rufus Wainwright
1/5
No thanks, don't want one.
1/5
Lou Reed
5/5
Lou Reed is a very complex person, and this album is a perfect example of that complexity. Its not like the other stuff of its time, but you can hear how he influenced pretty much everything in this.
5/5
The Prodigy
5/5
Im the law and you can't beat the law
Fuck em and their law
Crack down at sundown
Fuck em and their law
Revolutionary and foundational. Amazing album.
5/5
George Jones
2/5
Its certainly an album. I dont know why you would have to hear it, though.
2/5
Gram Parsons
2/5
Emmylou Harris kind of saves this album. Like, its OK but not great but then Love Hurts plays and it makes the whole thing worth it. Still struggle with giving it 3 stars though, its mostly pretty boring.
2/5
Steely Dan
4/5
I never seen you looking so bad my funky one
You tell me that your superfine mind has come undone
Any major dude with half a heart surely will tell you my friend
Any minor world that breaks apart falls together again
When the demon is at your door
In the morning it won't be there no more
Any major dude will tell you
This is unironically a great album.
4/5
Elvis Presley
2/5
OK, but how many elvis albums are on this list?
Elvis was a hero to most
But he never meant shit to me you see
Straight up racist that sucker was
Simple and plain
Mother fuck him and John Wayne
2/5
LCD Soundsystem
3/5
Not a bad album, but it kinda drags a bit. Cant quite get to 4 stars.
3/5
Janet Jackson
4/5
So I remember the late 80s and early 90s, and while Janet Jackson wasn't anything me or my friends would listen to, this album was EVERYWHERE for a while. I never listened to this album all the way through before, but I sat down and ate the whole thing today. Its not bad! Its still not my taste, but it has great range, composition, Janet has outstanding vocals, and is a pretty good album.
4/5
Eminem
5/5
Damn, this is a great album! I didn't expect this list to acknowledge any actually great albums, this one stands above like every album I have rated for at least 2 weeks.
5/5
Fever Ray
3/5
Not terrible, but also nothing that I would say is anything that you have to hear before you die. Sometimes this list feels like a practical joke.
3/5
John Prine
4/5
Not bad, decent album. Go to the country, eat some peaches.
4/5
Minutemen
5/5
Holy shit this is a fantastic album, this is the fucking goat.
5/5
Underworld
5/5
Choose Life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a fucking big television, choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players and electrical tin openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol, and dental insurance. Choose fixed interest mortgage repayments. Choose a starter home. Choose your friends. Choose leisurewear and matching luggage. Choose a three-piece suit on hire purchase in a range of fucking fabrics. Choose DIY and wondering who the fuck you are on Sunday morning. Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing, spirit-crushing game shows, stuffing fucking junk food into your mouth. Choose rotting away at the end of it all, pissing your last in a miserable home, nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish, fucked up brats you spawned to replace yourselves. Choose your future. Choose life... But why would I want to do a thing like that? I chose not to choose life. I chose somethin' else.
5/5
3/5
Decent album, but it goes on a little long and if you dont necessarily already like dylan when you start listening, then youre not guaranteed to like him when its done.
3/5
The Byrds
3/5
So let me see if I have this right - The byrds made a country-rock album with gram parsons and the editors of this list thought that it deserved to be called an album that everyone should hear before they die? Is that correct?
This isnt an awful album, its got good composition and production, but its nothing special. Cant do any better than 3 stars.
3/5
Grizzly Bear
4/5
I was working a job in san francisco in 2010 and one of the people I was working with was listening to this album. I must have heard it like 30 times over that week, which would have made me intensely dislike most albums/people normally. Thing is, I didnt get tired of it or dislike it then, and in fact I find that I still like it now.
4/5
Einstürzende Neubauten
2/5
I've seen this symbol on shirts and didnt know what it meant, now I guess I know. So, this is not a great album or anything - Is this on the list for cultural/historical significance? One extra star for the sound engineering, which is good.
2/5
TV On The Radio
4/5
Different, in the best kind of way. I like Dear Science better, but this is a solid album with great lyrics, production, and composition, and its absolutely worth a listen.
4/5
Miles Davis
5/5
Outstanding album which will make you feel cooler just for listening to it.
5/5
John Martyn
3/5
Meh. I dont hate it, but I'm not likely to ever listen to it again, you know?
3/5
Blood, Sweat & Tears
3/5
Decent album, but forgettable with the exception of one track (Spinning Wheel). Good production, but the instruments are all over the place and the lyrics aren't profound or anything.
3/5
Queens of the Stone Age
5/5
Setting sun deals hands of gold there's velvet eyes in Mexico
Just a fall away and all she said was true
Speak in tongues speak in lies drooling livers born to die
It's a wonder that those guns don't point at you
Keep sayin Go on
Keep sayin You won't live forever
Point and shoot I know just what you mean
In a world that's full of shit and gasoline babe
One dogs dead ones on the phone just leave a lung or leave it alone
Its that same old song again I hate it cause it's true
Absolute world heavyweight champion of some primal, soul-grabbing driving beat shit that will change the way you look at the world. Or not. Its a hell of a good album, though.
5/5
Everything But The Girl
5/5
Really great album - production, composition, vocals, and lyrics are all very well done. I've heard this album a bunch of times already, it seemed like everyone had this CD at one point, but I still enjoy the whole thing.
5/5
LTJ Bukem
1/5
If someone said to you that you had to hear this album before you die, you would fully expect them to kill you.
Pretty bad album. Repetitive drum and bass loops and not much else.
1/5
George Harrison
4/5
Great album, and makes you think about the power structure and dynamic of a band and how john and paul held down their best songwriter for the sake of their own egos. Loses a star for being a little muddy in spots.
4/5
Animal Collective
2/5
Man, the 2000's were kind of a wasteland of good music for a while there. This album is all over the place, but it reflects the time that it was made. I cant in good conscience give it 1 star because it does have a few really great tracks, but I also cant give it an average 3 star rating because I would be pissed off that I wasted my money if I had actually paid money for this album.
2/5
David Bowie
4/5
Hell of a good album, drags a little in spots but entirely solid as a rule. Title track is a banger, and closing track (fame) is outstanding.
4/5
Kid Rock
1/5
You've gotta be fucking kidding me.
1/5
Rod Stewart
4/5
OK, so this album starts off with rod singing about how he prefers this asian woman to all the other scattered ass he was scoring. Classic rod. That said, its a very good album, and its got maggie may on it. Loses a star for being a little too much of a dated rock star pick-up album.
4/5
Slayer
4/5
This is still just as raw and moving as it was in the late 80s. We would play this at keg parties in the bronx, its the kind of album that defines your appreciation for metal.
4/5
Country Joe & The Fish
4/5
She hides in an attic concealed on a shelf
Behind volumes of literature based on herself
And runs across the pages like some tiny elf
Knowing that it's hard to find
Stuff way back in her mind,
Winds up spending all of her time
Trying to memorize every line
Sweet Lorraine, ah, sweet Lorraine
Sweet lady of death wants me to die
So she can come sit by my bedside and sigh
And wipe away the tears from all my friends eyes
Then softly she will explain
Just exactly who was to blame
For causing me to go insane
And finally blow out my brain,
Sweet Lorraine, ah, sweet Lorraine.
Yeah, this is a pretty great album.
4/5
Bad Brains
4/5
In the quest for the test to fulfill an achievement
Everybody's only going to pursue themselves
When the fact of the matter is they just don't care
To extend a helping hand to anyone else
So tell me why did you have to lie
And try to make me all confused about the USA
When the fact of the matter is you just don't care
To comprehend or understand a single word I say
I don't wanna have I go against I
Well, I don't wanna have I go against I
Well, let me tell ya
The same old story, no factual glory
I against I against I against I against
And I say I don't like it and I know I don't want it
I against I against I against I against I against
This is a pretty great album.
4/5
Destiny's Child
5/5
Barely move, we've arrived
Lookin' sexy, lookin' fly
Baddest chick, chick inside
DJ, jam tonight
Spotted me, a tender thang
There you are, come on, baby
Don't you wanna dance with me?
Can you handle, handle me?
You gotta do much better
If you're gon' dance with me tonight
You gotta work your jelly
If you're gon' dance with me tonight
Read my lips carefully, if you like what you see
Move, groove, prove you can hang with me
By the looks I got you shook up and scared of me
Buckle your seat belt, it's time for takeoff
I don't think you're ready for this jelly
I don't think you're ready for this jelly
I don't think you're ready for this
'Cause my body too bootylicious for ya, babe
Enough said, really.
5/5
Stevie Wonder
5/5
OK, this one absolutely belongs on this list.
5/5
Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart
3/5
Not available on streaming at time of review.
3/5
Björk
4/5
The pleasure is all mine
To get to be the generous one
Is the strongest stance
The pleasure is all mine
To finally let go
And evenly flow
Who gives most
Good album. She has the most incredible voice, and the whole thing feels dreamy and profound.
4/5
Brian Eno
1/5
I dont hate brian eno, but this album just isnt great. It drags on and on and never has a high or low point. Its like listening to static or a truck engine.
1/5
Iron Maiden
4/5
White man came across the sea
He brought us pain and misery
He killed our tribes, he killed our creed
He took our game for his own need
We fought him hard, we fought him well
Out on the plains, we gave him hell
But many came, too much for Cree
Oh, will we ever be set free?
Riding through dust clouds and barren wastes
Galloping hard on the plains
Chasing the redskins back to their holes
Fighting them at their own game
Murder for freedom, a stab in the back
Women and children and cowards attack
Run to the hills
Run for your lives
Good album. I always think they must have been the primary inspiration for Spinal Tap.
4/5
PJ Harvey
5/5
Hey I'm one big queen
No one can stop me
Red light, red green
Sat back, I'm watchin'
I'm number one
Second to no one
No sweat I'm clean
Nothin' can touch me
I'll tell you my name
F-U-C-K
Fifty foot queenie
Force ten hurricane
Biggest woman
I could have ten sons
Ten Gods
Ten queens
Ten foot and risin'
Hey I'm the king of the world
You ought to hear my song
Ah come on measure me
I'm twenty inches long
Damn, this is a pretty great album.
5/5
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
4/5
Naked a sin
An army towel, covering my belly
Some of us weep, some of us howl
Knees turn to jelly, but Next! Next!
I was just a child
A hundred like me
I followed a naked body
A naked body followed me, Next! Next!
I was just a child when my innocence was lost
In a mobile army whorehouse
A gift of the army, free of cost. Next! Next! Next!
I didnt think I would like it, but holy shit this is actually a good album!
4/5
John Cale
1/5
No thank you.
1/5
The Killers
5/5
Comin' out of my cage and I've been doin' just fine
Gotta, gotta be down because I want it all
It started out with a kiss, how did it end up like this?
It was only a kiss, it was only a kiss
Now I'm falling asleep and she's calling a cab
While he's having a smoke and she's taking a drag
Now they're goin' to bed and my stomach is sick
And it's all in my head, but she's touching his
Chest now
He takes off her dress now
Let me go
And I just can't look, it's killing me
They're taking control
Jealousy
Turning saints into the sea
Swimming through sick lullabies
Choking on your alibi
But it's just the price I pay
Destiny is calling me
Open up my eager eyes
'Cause I'm Mr. Brightside
This is a pretty great album.
5/5
The Birthday Party
2/5
The best thing I can say about this album is that if the cover appeals to you, then you'll probably at least like it a little. Other than that, its not great. Its almost a punk parody album, which is fine but not anything I'll likely listen to again.
2/5
George Michael
3/5
Well I'd write your heart a letter
But I think you know me better
If I keep on asking baby maybe
I'll get what I'm asking for
Why can't you do it?
Why can't you set your monkey free?
I think this album cover looks like he's sniffing his own armpit. Decent album though.
3/5
Soft Machine
1/5
Why in the world would you start your album with 10 solid minutes of tuning up and making noise?
1/5
Alice Cooper
5/5
Rain is falling down my cheek
Searching for the sea
Tomorrow, like the rain
I'll be back home again
I watch, the bus
As it pulls out of view
Someday like that bus
I will be leaving too
But you know
It breaks my heart
To leave you
Camelback
My high school
And now, alone
Crying in my beer
Cause old friends said goodbye
I guess I'll be leaving too
Yeah, this is absolutely a great album and worth the listen and then some.
5/5
Suede
1/5
I dont hate it, but I sure dont love it either. Its OK at best, and derivative and boring at worst. Nothing I'll ever listen to again.
1/5
The Cramps
4/5
I was a teenage werewolf
Braces on my fangs
I was a teenage werewolf
And no one even said thanks
And no one made me stop
I had a teen-land mind
I had to blow my top
And under teen full moon
No one could make me stop
No one could make me stop
A teenage werewolf
A parallel bars
A teenage girlfriend
Got a lot of scars
Somebody please, make me stop
Please, stop
You know, I have puberty rights
And I have puberty wrongs
No one understood me
All my teeth were so long
Ooh, and no one made me stop
No, good God
A Mid-west monster
Of the highest grade
All my teachers thought
It was growing pains, oh no no
Ahh, somebody stop this pain
The 80's were a great time to be weird.
4/5
Teenage Fanclub
1/5
Nope. This is not an album that anyone needs to hear before they die, and its kind of shit.
1/5
Electric Light Orchestra
5/5
When the day is done and there's nowhere to run
And the people of the city have all lost and won
In your city dress you stand and stare
And you smoke another cigarette and comb your hair
And the light that shines
Paints a trace of sadness
On the street I wait
But I can't seem to get to you.
Well, you start to sway check your Cartier
Cause it's getting late you can't afford to wait
So you move along where it's going on
And the people of the night are playing 'til the dawn
And the sun that shines
Paints a trace of sadness
In your eyes that cry
Wishing and hoping
Oh
Sweet, sweet is the night
Now you are near
Dark dark were the days
They disappear
Sweet sweet is the night
Now you are near
Yeah, this album is pretty fucking great.
5/5
Public Image Ltd.
3/5
Hmm, so heres the thing. I dont hate this album, and I dont hate PIL. But I wouldnt suggest this album to anyone, really. Its not great, and its only saving grace is that its a pretty good representation of post-punk. Cant do better than 3 stars, really.
3/5
Donovan
3/5
See, I think that an exceptional album, like, an album that you really love and want to share, has to have at least half of its tracks be such great songs that it makes the entire album raise up. That is not the case for this album. Its got 2 good songs, only one of them a classic. Wouldn't recommend to, well, pretty much anyone.
3/5
Kings of Leon
5/5
I'm just going to say it. This album fucks. Am I right?!
5/5
Sly & The Family Stone
5/5
Time still creepin
Specially when you're sleepin
Wake up and go
For what you know
Yeah yeah yeah
You can make it if you try
I wonder if you can judge an album by how many samples it generated for later works. Anyway, if thats the case then this is like the greatest album of all time. If we're just judging on usual criteria (composition, production, lyrics, etc) then this is still an absolutely outstanding album.
5/5
Manu Chao
4/5
I have never heard of this album or artist before, but this is a great album! Good on every level and meter that I would judge an album with, and produced expertly without the benefit of a huge studio.
4/5
Hole
4/5
Courtney Love got a raw deal. She's also incredibly lucky, but her talents werent as recognized as they could have been compared to her peers.
4/5
Creedence Clearwater Revival
5/5
Wish I were back on the bayou
Rollin' with some Cajun Queen
Wish that I were a fast freight train
A-just a-choogling on down to New Orleans
Born on the bayou
What more would anyone need to say?
5/5
Killing Joke
3/5
It's not bad, but not sure I would qualify this album as being one that one should listen to before they die. Decent post-punk, but a little monotone.
3/5
Stevie Wonder
5/5
OK, this one absolutely belongs on the list. Stevie is one of the best musicians that the human race has ever created, and this album is one of those pieces of evidence of that.
5/5
Nirvana
5/5
We can have some more
Nature is a whore
Bruises on the fruit
Tender age in bloom
I didn't appreciate this album in the 90s, but in my defense, I was an idiot.
5/5
Todd Rundgren
1/5
If this were made today, in 2024, you might say that it was AI generated. Its so random and disjointed and the cover looks like it was made by someone/something that doesnt understand the human form. Thats not a deal breaker, necessarily, but this album also happens to be boring and not good.
1/5
The Charlatans
1/5
Its not possible for me to like this album any less.
1/5
Basement Jaxx
3/5
This is a strange one. I like this album, but I wouldn't under any circumstances include it on a list of albums that anyone should hear before they die. Its dance music, repetitive synth and beats, like the stuff you would hear at a bar with blacklights and blue directional lighting behind wall cutouts. I guess its historical? Anyway, not bad but I cant do more than 3 stars.
3/5
SAULT
5/5
Thief in the night
Tell the truth
White lives
Spreading lies
You should be ashamed
The bloodshed on your hands
Another man
Take off your badge
We all know it was murder
Murder, murder
Murder
We are dying, it's the reason we are crying
We are crying
But we will never show fear
Even in my eyes
I will always rise
In wildfires
I ain't never been scared
Even through my tears
I will always care
In wildfires
But we will never show fear
Even in my eyes
I will always rise
In wildfires
Fucking A. This is a great album, and given what we in America just did in Nov 2024 (show that we are inherently a bunch of shitty racists) it should be celebrated now more than ever. To everyone rating this with 2 stars and saying you're "tired of black identity stuff" you can go fuck yourself all the way out the door.
The Beta Band
1/5
As I woke up this morning on Nov 6 2024 and found that we are now looking down the barrel of a fourth Reich and another national depression in America, I am hard pressed to find anything redeeming about this album.
1/5
Barry Adamson
1/5
Wow. This is a truly terrible album. The only reason I can think of for it to be on this list would be as an example of when a concept is so awful that you want a physical piece of evidence as to how shit it can be.
1/5
Eminem
5/5
Meet Eddie, 23 years old
Fed up with life and the way things are going
He decides to rob a liquor store
But on his way in, he has a sudden change of heart
And suddenly
His conscience comes into play
Yeah, this album is amazing.
5/5
One thing though, I do think that this album is exceptional and deserves to be on the list BUT it is truly and deeply offensive to women. It needs to be acknowledged that this way of thinking is part of the problem that we currently find ourselves in in america in 2024.
Leftfield
5/5
I love this album. I know that its dance music and not, like, the best album ever or anything, but it really speaks to me.
5/5
Fairport Convention
1/5
Nope. I couldnt get through this album. Its generic 60s nonsensical shit.
1/5
Donald Fagen
3/5
I dont hate it. I listened to the first 2 tracks and thought it sounded a lot like steely dan before I read the wiki and figured all that out. Its not amazing or profound or anything, but its solidly "OK."
3/5
Yes
2/5
Meh. Its not bad, but its also the most generic british 70s/80s rock you can possibly get. Puts me right to sleep.
2/5
Mj Cole
1/5
I wonder if the editors of this list are the same people who make those "NOW THATS WHAT I CALL" awful CDs that a far future alien race will discover and marvel at.
1/5
LL Cool J
3/5
I thought this album was kind of a joke back when I first heard it, but it grows on you. Still not a top 10 by any chance, its a little too posture-y, you know? But anyway its not bad.
3/5
The Youngbloods
3/5
This is a pretty good album. Its not full of tracks that you're going to put on repeat or make a playlist with, but its pretty good. There's nothing that you might skip, its just a solid dose of the 60s folk rock. That said, I'm not likely to listen to it again anytime soon.
3/5
Joni Mitchell
2/5
This is certainly a joni mitchell album.
2/5
Youssou N'Dour
4/5
This is what I'm here for! Good album, not at all the sort of thing I have heard before, and definitely a keeper.
4/5
The Blue Nile
1/5
Oh boy, well, we're back to Scotland again with this album. This album kind of sucks, not because its Scottish or pseudo-intellectual pop shit, but because its got nothing to say and no way to say it.
1/5
The Divine Comedy
1/5
I really like comedy albums. When I was a kid, my favorite albums were Weird Al Yankovic in 3-D and Monty Python's Contractual Obligation album. This album is funny, but you can tell that they didnt really mean it as a joke or maybe even bitter Irish irony. Its pretty bad, and I have no idea how this ends up on a list like this.
1/5
Elastica
5/5
Drivel Head wears her glad rags,
She's got her keys, money and fags,
I know that her mind is made up,
To get rocked.
Drivel Head needs a new man,
As only a drivel head can,
He's a hormonal nightmare,
So beware.
Another victim of line up in line,
Line up in line is all I remember.
Oh, how their favours change,
You could have been kinder.
Yes, yes, line up in line,
Line up in line is all I remember.
Oh, how their favours change,
You could have been kinder.
Yeah, this is a pretty damn good album. This list has made me resistant to most UK music, because theres been enough mediocre post punk or pop crap on this list to fill a "now thats what I call" CD, but this is an actual good album.
5/5
Orbital
2/5
I cant in good conscience give this any more than 2 stars, even though I like orbital a lot and I like about 1/3 of the album. Its just not a good album. Its too repetitive, its decent dance music but that just doesn't make it a good album.
2/5
The Monks
5/5
Not available on streaming services as of Nov 2024, but look around for it and you will be well rewarded. This is an outstanding album and one of the rare times I agree with this list.
Its just different from everything else in the best way possible.
5/5
David Bowie
4/5
He looked a lot like Che Guevara, drove a diesel van
Kept his gun in quiet seclusion, such a humble man
The only survivor of the National People's Gang
Panic in Detroit, I asked for an autograph
He wanted to stay home, I wish someone would phone
Panic in Detroit
Yeah, this is a pretty good album.
4/5
William Orbit
1/5
"Tonight on music from hearts of space we go on a cosmic joyride with some space music by various bay area artists." - Mystery Science Theater 3000, Pod People
This album kind of sucks.
1/5
G. Love & Special Sauce
5/5
Could I get a cold beverage? I need some leverage
It's sweaty outside, some lemonade would be nice
Or a Sprite from the drive-thru at B.K.
Yo, I'll buy a girl a drink, but girl's got to pay
On the front porch, yeah, I got some iced tea
If you'd like a taste of tea, then come along with me
Summertime is steamin', don't give me no bug juice
Grab some ice and a dash of vermouth
It's martini time, yeah, yeah, feeling golden
Bring your own beverage, just make sure it's cold
Enough said, really. This is a great album.
5/5
Beastie Boys
5/5
Because mutiny on the bounty's what we're all about
I'm gonna board your ship and turn it on out
No soft sucker with a parrot on his shoulder
'Cause I'm bad, gettin' bolder, cold getting colder
Terrorizing suckers on the seven seas
And if you've got beef, you'll get capped in the knees
We got sixteen men on a dead man's chest
And I shot those suckers and I'll shoot the rest
Most illingest B-boy, I got that feeling
'Cause I am most ill and I'm rhymin' and stealin'
This album is some serious marie kondo shit, it brings me so much joy.
5/5
The Streets
5/5
In one single moment, your whole life can turn 'round
I stand there for a minute, staring straight into the ground
Lookin' to the left slightly, then lookin' back down
The world feels like it's caved in, proper sorry frown
Please let me show you where we could only just be for us
I can change, and I can grow, or we could adjust
The wicked thing about us is we always have trust
We can even have an open relationship if you must
I look at her, she stares almost straight back at me
But her eyes glaze over, like she's looking straight through me
Then her eyes must have closed for what seems an eternity
When they open up she's looking down at her feet
Dry your eyes, mate
I know it's hard to take, but her mind has been made up
There's plenty more fish in the sea
Dry your eyes, mate
I know you want to make her see how much this pain hurts
But you've got to walk away now, it's over
This album tells a story, and its a hell of a tale.
5/5
Screaming Trees
3/5
Not a bad album at all, but also not great. It's just OK, and in no way belongs on a list of albums you must hear before you die.
3/5
The Go-Go's
5/5
Quiet now
Still of night
Inside fire burning bright
Right moment
Laying down
Oh, still no sound
It's all automatic
No thought
Automatic
Golden hair
Skin glisten
Beating heart but don't listen
Angles sharp
Crash together
Time and consciousness sever
Mind in automatic
Time stop
Automatic
I unironically love this album. Its got some of the strongest feel-good vibes of anything that the 80s ever produced, and its just simply great.
5/5
Black Sabbath
5/5
OK, again one of the rare times that I agree with this list. This is an album that stands alone in human history as one that everyone should hear.
5/5
B.B. King
5/5
Yeah, this is a hell of a great album.
5/5
The Icarus Line
2/5
This is the album that some hipster doofus plays when you say that you like white stripes or queens of the stone age and theyre all like "oh yeah they learned everything from these guys that I bet you havent heard of" and so then they put this album on and youre like "yeah ok you know I have an early day tomorrow so I've gotta go" and anyway its not a BAD album but its not as good as lots of the other music that it is supposed to have influenced.
2/5
Missy Elliott
4/5
Decent album. Not Missys best, but still a solid, decent album.
4/5
The Psychedelic Furs
2/5
This album isn't bad, but its only got one outstanding track and I wouldn't recommend the album to anyone.
2/5
The War On Drugs
2/5
It's not bad and unlisten-able, but its really boring and nothing I would voluntarily listen to.
2/5
Korn
1/5
This album is maybe the best example of an album that absolutely no one needs to hear before they die.
1/5
Ozomatli
4/5
I had heard "saturday night" before but never listened to this album (or even heard of the artist, really) before this. This is a good album!
D'Angelo
3/5
This isnt a great album. Its not terrible, either, but its all kind of same-y and never goes anywhere. I can see celebrating the success of a young artist who is mostly self-made, but it doesnt make for a lasting album.
3/5
The Saints
5/5
This is a great album! Really solid and imaginative punk album, great lyrics and love those horns.
5/5
Metallica
5/5
Spineless from the start
Sucked into the part
Circus comes to town
You play the lead clown
Please, please, spreading his disease
Living by his story
Knees, knees, falling to your knees
Suffer for his glory
You will
Time for lust, time for lie
Time to kiss your life goodbye
Send me money, send me green, heaven you will meet
Make a contribution and you'll get a better seat
Bow to Leper Messiah
Absolute classic and deserves to be on this list in every way.
5/5
Radiohead
5/5
This dates me big time, but I remember hearing this album while I was looking for something else at tower records and going up to the booth to ask what this was so I could buy the CD.
5/5
Ms. Dynamite
3/5
Not a bad album, but also not anything special that anyone needs to hear before they die.
This is another one of those albums that makes me question whether the people editing this list are the same people that make the "Now Thats What I Call Music" CDs in the UK.
3/5
The White Stripes
5/5
I'm thinkin' about my doorbell
When you gonna ring it, and when you gonna ring it
Great album.
5/5
Tori Amos
5/5
Look I'm standing naked before you
Don't you want more than my sex
I can scream as loud as your last one
But I can't claim innocence
Oh God could it be the weather
Oh God why am I here
If love isn't forever
And its not the weather
Hand me my leather
Yeah, this is a pretty damn good album.
5/5
Slade
2/5
She's a queen can't you see what I mean;
She's a queen
See, see, she's a queen
And I know she's alright, alright, alright, alright
I say you're so young, you're so young
I said goodbye to Jane, goodbye to Jane
Get a kick from her Forties trip boots
Goodbye to Jane, goodbye to Jane, has them made to match up to her suits
Mom: No, we already have AC/DC at home.
2/5
3/5
I love the Kinks but this album is just too british to get any better than 3 stars.
3/5
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
1/5
I'm trying to imagine the scenario where someone hears this album and says to themselves, "holy shit, this album is so great that everyone should hear it before they die" and I cant make myself picture it.
Its a live album, and its not a great one or even a good one.
1/5
Billy Bragg
4/5
Billy here has a bit of a grating british voice, but I like this album in spite of it. Great lyrics and simple, catchy tunes.
4/5
Happy Mondays
2/5
I mean, I get that the editors of this list are British but is this really an album that deserves to be on the best 1001 albums of all time?
Plus one star for having some decent lyrics, but not a good album.
2/5
Hawkwind
5/5
Holy shit - This is great stuff. Such a great dirty driving hard rock sound, this is an outstanding album. Note: listen to this under the influence of something for maximum effect. Remember, everyone was high AF in the 70s.
5/5
Peter Frampton
3/5
Thanks, I hate it.
I mean, I understand that this is a landmark album which defines a sound for the decade and everything, but its just plain awful. I'll go to 3 stars to acknowledge its "importance" but I'll be damned if it gets a better than average rating from me.
3/5
N.E.R.D
3/5
I mean, its not great. But its not terrible, either - Its pretty decent.
3/5
The White Stripes
5/5
Outstanding. This album has a little bit of everything for everyone, and it cooks.
5/5
Finley Quaye
3/5
Wow, now this is some serious hipster shit. Scottish reggae from the '90s? I bet you NONE of your friends and family have EVER heard of or heard this album - You're going to get some serious music hipster cred when you pull out this vinyl.
That aside, its kinda forgettable. Its OK, but not great.
3/5
Little Simz
4/5
Pretty good, but not great. Simz has good vocals and the instrumentation is well done, but it never hits that spot that would make it a great album. Still, pretty...pretty...pretty...pretty good.
4/5
Common
3/5
Not bad, but not an album that belongs on a list of the best 1001 albums of all time, either.
3/5
k.d. lang
3/5
Great vocals but kind of a boring album. Let's split the difference.
3/5
Suzanne Vega
5/5
She has an excellent voice and is an absolute poet. Comparisons to dylan are unfair - She's far more talented.
5/5
The Good, The Bad & The Queen
3/5
I like damon albarn, but this whole album is pretty forgettable. I cant put my finger on any tracks that stand out, and the whole thing just kind of sounded the same. Still, not bad to listen to I guess.
3/5
Tim Buckley
2/5
I guess pretty much anyone could make an album with just their face on it and a bunch of really boring music back in the 60s? This is not a good album. Plus one star for being mercifully short and not being actively unpleasant to listen to, just incredibly boring.
2/5
Dwight Yoakam
1/5
Ugh. THIS is what I get on Jan 1 2025? This isnt a good sign of things to come for this new year.
This is a bad album with only one halfway good track and terrible lyrics throughout.
1/5
Laura Nyro
3/5
Laura's vocals are confusing. She clearly has a great voice, but she goes back and forth with her tone and does this brassy broadway thing a lot. Maybe it was the fashion at the time, like an onion on your belt?
Anyway, decent album. Annoying in parts, but she clearly has some chops.
3/5
Digital Underground
5/5
All right, stop whatcha doin' 'cause I'm about to ruin
The image and the style that ya used to
I look funny, but, yo, I'm makin' money, see
So, yo, world I hope you're ready for me
Now gather 'round, I'm the new fool in town
And my sound's laid down by the Underground
I drink up all the Hennessey ya got on ya shelf
So just let me introduce myself
My name is Humpty, pronounced with a Umpty
Yo, ladies, oh, how I like to funk thee
And all the rappers in the top ten
Please allow me to bump thee
I'm steppin' tall, y'all and just like Humpty Dumpty
You're gonna fall when the stereos pump me
I like to rhyme, I like my beats funky
I'm spunky, I like my oatmeal lumpy
I'm sick wit dis, straight gangsta mack
But sometimes I get ridiculous
I'll eat up all your crackers and your licorice
Uh, yo fat girl, come here, are ya ticklish?
Yeah, I called ya fat, look at me, I'm skinny
It never stopped me from gettin' busy
I'm a freak, I like the girls with the boom
I once got busy in a Burger King bathroom, I'm crazy
Allow me to amaze thee
They say I'm ugly but it just don't faze me
I'm still gettin' in the girls' pants
And I even got my own dance
Five stars for getting busy in a burger king bathroom.
5/5
Dusty Springfield
5/5
OK, so Dusty has an absolutely amazing voice. Its sooooo smooth and just makes you feel good to listen to her sing. This album isnt super amazing or anything (except for preacher man, which is just perfect in every way) but her vocals carry it to 5 stars. Worth the listen for the whole thing.
5/5
Sonic Youth
3/5
This isn't a great album, its not even the best sonic youth album. Why in the world would this be on this list?
Anyway, its not great or even really good but its also not completely unlisten-able.
3/5
Ice Cube
5/5
Once upon a time in the projects, yo
I damn near had to wreck a ho
I knocked on the door
It's Ice Cube come to pay a little visit to ya
And what's up with the niggas in the parking lot
She said, Fuck em cause they get sparked a lot
I sat on the couch but it wasn't stable
And then I put my Nike's on the coffee table
Her brother came in, he's into gang-bangin
Cause he walked up and said What set you claimin
I don't bang, I write the good rhymes
The whole scenery reminded me of Good Times
I don't like to feel that I'm put in a rut
By a young nigga that needs to pull his pants up
He threw up a set and then he was gone
I'm thinkin' to myself, won't this bitch bring her ass on?
Her mother came in with a joint in her mouth
And fired up the sess, it was sess no doubt
She said, "Please excuse my house, " and all that
I said, "Yeah" 'cause I was buzzed from the contact
Lookin' at a fucked up black and white
Her mom's bitchin' cause the county check wasn't right
She had another brother that was three years old
And had a bad case of the runny nose
He asked me who I was, then I had to pause
It smelled like he took a shit in his little drawers
I saw her sister who really needs her ass kicked
Only 13 and already pregnant
I grabbed my 40 out the bag and took a swig
'Cause I was getting overwhelmed by BeBe Kids
They was runnin' and yellin' and playin' and cussin' and tellin'
And look at this young punk bailin'
I heard a knock on the door without the password
And her mom's got the 12 gauge Mossberg
The nigga said, Yo, what's for sale?
And the bitch came out with a bag of yayo
She made the drop and got the 20 dollars
From a smoked-out fool with ring around the collar
The girl I was waiting for came out
I said, "Bitch, I didn't know this was a crack house"
I got my coat, and suddenly
The cop busted in and had a Mac-10 pointed at my dome
And I said to myself, "Once again, it's on"
He threw me on the carpet and wasn't cuttin' no slack
Jumped on my head and put his knee in my back
First he tried to slap me up, wrap me up, rough me up
They couldn't do it so they cuffed me up
I said, "fuck, how much abuse can a nigga take"
Hey yo, officer, you're making a big mistake
Since I had on a shirt that said I was dope
He thought I was selling base and couldn't hear my case
He said, "Get out my face" and musta had a grudge
His reply, "Tell that bullshit to the judge"
The girl I was with wasn't sayin' nothin'
I said, "Aiyyo bitch, you better tell 'em somethin'"
She started draggin' and all of a sudden
We all got tossed in the paddy wagon
Now I beat the rap but that ain't the point
I had a warrant, so I spent two weeks in the joint
Now the story you heard has one little object
Don't fuck with a bitch from the projects
Yo man, motherfucking project with a name kinda chill
Tell 'em
Especially motherfucking ones in Walton South of New LA, boy
Don't fuck around with 'em projects boy
Rats will whoop your ass
Quit that hoe man, I'll buss out and wild
Straight up
You can criticize that this album is misogynistic or dated and all that damn sure applies, but all that said it also tells one HELL of a story.
5/5
The Undertones
3/5
Goofy, punky, happy album.
Nothing else stands out, really - Its OK but nothing I would recommend to anyone.
3/5
The Black Keys
5/5
Well the crooks are out
And the streets are gray
You know I wouldn't have it any other way, yeah
Your mother's words, they're, they're ringing still
But your mother don't pay our bills, yeah
A sinister kid is a kid who
Runs to meet his maker
A drop that spreads from the day he's born
Straight into his maker's arms
And that's me, that's me
The boy with the broken halo
That's me, that's me
The devil won't let me be
I got a tortured mind
And my blade is sharp
A bad combination in the dark
If I kill a man in the first degree
Baby would you, would you flee with me?
Here's the thing - This is a great album. I know that its 2 white dudes playing blues rock and appropriating all kinds of shit with both hands but at the end of the day its still just a damn good album.
5/5
Count Basie & His Orchestra
5/5
Holy shit, this is a powerful album! I feel like that part in "The Jerk" when Steve Martin hears white music for the first time ever and suddenly understands rhythm.
5/5
Keith Jarrett
3/5
OK, so this guy is seriously good at playing piano. But that said this album is interminable. It just goes on and on with him noodling at the piano for-fucking-ever. Maybe its a good representation of jazz piano and what a great musician can do, but it doesn't make a good album. 3 stars for talent, but nothing I'll ever listen to again.
3/5
John Lee Hooker
5/5
This is a hell of a good album. I understand the criticisms - That its a collaboration or that its over-produced - and they're valid. Thing is, even with any negative stuff taken into account, its still a hell of a good album.
5/5
My Bloody Valentine
2/5
This isn't anywhere near their best, and shouldn't be on this list. In fact, I think that Loveless is on this list, which begs the question "what the fuck is this album doing on this list at all?"
2/5
The Human League
5/5
You were working as a waitress in a cocktail bar
When I met you
I picked you out I shook up and turned you around
Turned you into someone new
Now five years later on you've got the world at your feet
Success has been so easy for you
But don't forget it's me who put you where you are now
And I can put you back down too
Don't don't you want me?
You know I can't believe it when I hear that you won't see me
Don't don't you want me?
You know I don't believe you when you say that you don't need me
It's much too late to find
You think you've changed your mind
You'd better change it back or we will both be sorry
If you dont like 80s synth pop then you absolutely arent going to be able to get past that, because thats what this album is chock full of. BUT if you can deal with that, there are some fantastic songs on here and with more depth than you may think.
5/5
Black Sabbath
5/5
The world today is such a wicked thing
Fighting going on between the human race
People got to work just to earn their bread
While people just across the sea are counting the dead
A politician's job they say is very high
For he has to choose who's got to go and die
They can put a man on the moon quite easy
While people here on earth are dying of all diseases
A woman goes to work every day after day
She just goes to work just to earn her pay
Child sitting by but his life's much harder
He doesn't even know who is his father
Yeah, this is a pretty fucking great album.
5/5
Christina Aguilera
3/5
OK, so Christina has an excellent voice, but this album went all the way up its own asshole and cant find the exit. It sounds like the same track all the way through - Its not a bad track, but it gets really old about 20 minutes in. Plus 2 stars for her voice and the production, both of which are very good.
3/5
Bob Marley & The Wailers
5/5
Four hundred years
Of the same philosophy
Four hundred years
And, the people they still can't see
Why do they fight against
The youth of today
And without youths
You'd be gone all gone astray
Come on let's make a move
Now that the time, the time has come
Fools don't see
But I know the weak is strong
So come with me
To a land of liberty
Where we can live
Live our lives and be free
godDAMN this is a good album.
5/5
Duke Ellington
5/5
This album is so cool it doesn't need air conditioning in the summer.
5/5
Run-D.M.C.
5/5
Walk this way is really all this album needs for a 5 star rating, but the album is even more than that. Everything on this album is basically just perfect.
5/5
Beastie Boys
5/5
Now I rock a house party at the drop of a hat, yeah
I beat a biter down with an aluminum bat
A lot of people they be jonesin just to hear me rock the mic
They'll be staring at the radio
Staying up all night
So like a pimp I'm pimpin
I got a boat to eat shrimp in
Nothing wrong with my leg just B-boy limpin
Got arrested at the Mardi Gras for jumping on a float
My man MCA's got a beard like a billy goat
Oowah oowah is my disco call
MCA hu-huh, I'm gettin rope yall
Routines, I bust, and the rhymes that I write
And I'll be busting routines and rhymes all night
Like eating burgers or chicken or you'll be picking your nose
I'm on time homie that's how it goes
You heard my style I think you missed the point
It's the joint
One of the top 20 best albums of all time. Yeah, its that good.
5/5
Portishead
5/5
I'm ever so lost
I can't find my way
Been searching but I have never seen
A turning a turning from deceit
Cause a child roses light
Tried to reveal what I could feel
I can't understand myself
Anymore
Cause, I'm still feeling lonely
Feeling so unholy
Cause a child roses light
Tried to reveal what I could feel
I'm lonely
It just won't leave me alone
Oh no
I'm fooling somebody
A faithless path I roam
Deceiving to breathe this secretly
The silence, the silence, I can't bear
Cause a child roses light
Tries to reveal what I could feel
And this loneliness
It just won't leave me alone
Oh no
And this loneliness
It just won't leave me alone
A lady of war
Yeah, its pretty good.
5/5
Incredible Bongo Band
5/5
Oh, so THIS is where all those samples came from. Solid.
5/5
Can
4/5
This is what I'm here for! I never heard of this band, album, or any of their songs before this, and while its not life-changing this is some pretty good shit.
4/5
The Who
4/5
Decent album, but I agree with Pete Townsend that this was a rushed attempt by their label to profit from their successful singles. Feels a little all over the place, but holds up due to their talent.
4/5
Tom Waits
3/5
This is an OK album, even though I dont love tom waits. Great lyrics and good composition, but its all very tom waits-y at the end of the day.
3/5
Ella Fitzgerald
5/5
A few things for this album:
1. Its an outstanding album. Vocals are pristine, composition is flawless.
2. It goes on for DAYS.
3. Does it deserve to be on this list? Well, it definitely deserves it more than a bunch of the other brit-pop bullshit that I've had to wade through to make it to here.
5/5
Cornershop
4/5
There's dancing behind movie scenes
Behind the movie scenes, Sadi Rani
She's the one that keeps the dream alive
From the morning, past the evening
To the end of the light
Brimful of Asha on the 45
Well, it's a brimful of Asha on the 45
Normally I shit on the British-dominated nature of this list, but I'm OK with this one. Good album, one huge hit and the rest are on theme.
4/5
Bill Evans Trio
4/5
OK, so heres the thing. This is a great JAZZ album. If you dont like jazz, you arent going to like this album. Like, at all. I mean, sure, put it on the list. It definitely deserves it more than Pantera.
Its a very very good album, and a great jazz album.
4/5
The Specials
5/5
It's good to be wise when you're young
cause you can only be young but the once
Enjoy yourself and have lots of fun
So glad and live life longer than you've ever done
Enjoy yourself it's later than you think
Enjoy yourself while you're still in the pink
The years go by as quickly as you wink
Enjoy yourself enjoy yourself it's later than you think
Fun story, I discovered this album at the height of covid when I was out walking in a cemetery to get out of my house and get some exercise without being around anyone else. It profoundly affected me.
5/5
Soul II Soul
3/5
Not as bad an album as the review scores would indicate. Not anything that's going to change your life either, though.
3/5
The Cult
2/5
This is a pretty weak cult album. They had stronger stuff later, this is ultimately forgettable and not the cult album I would put on this list. Then again, maybe it will turn out to be like other british bands and it will turn out that literally everything they have ever done is on this list.
2/5
Super Furry Animals
1/5
Meh. More mid brit-pop. Nothing you'll remember or think about once the album is done.
The Band
5/5
They say everything can be replaced
They say every distance is not near
So I remember every face
Of every man who put me here
I see my light come shinin'
From the west down to the east
Any day now, any day now
I shall be released
They say every man needs protection
They say that every man must fall
Yet I swear I see my reflection
Somewhere so high above this wall
I see my light come shinin'
From the west down to the east
Any day now, any day now
I shall be released
Now, yonder stands a man in this lonely crowd
A man who swears he's not to blame
All day long I hear him shouting so loud
Just crying out that he's been framed
I see my light come shinin'
From the west down to the east
Any day now, any day now
I shall be released
Worth listening to the whole album, which is great, for the excellent end track.
5/5
Public Enemy
5/5
So many of us in limbo
How to get it on, it's quite simple
3 stones from the sun
We need a piece of this rock
Our goal indestructible soul
Answers to this quizzin'
To the Brothers in the streetSchools and the prisons
History shouldn't be a mystery
Our stories real history
Not his story
We gonna work it one day
Till we all get paid
The right way in full, no bull
Talkin', no walkin', drivin', arrivin' in style
Soon you'll see what I'm talkin' 'bout
'Cause one day
The brothers gonna work it out
Yeah, this album cooks.
5/5
Echo And The Bunnymen
1/5
This album not only shouldnt be on this list, it should have been forgotten to the sands of history. Its so boring and bland that you'll probably have difficulty distinguishing it from the other british bands on the list.
1/5
Joy Division
5/5
That I had to phone her friend to state my case
And say she's lost control again
And she showed up all the errors and mistakes
And said, "I've lost control again"
And she expressed herself in many different ways
Until she lost control again
And walked upon the edge of no escape
And laughed, "I've lost control"
OK, so there's a good reason why you see this album cover everywhere.
5/5
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
5/5
They call me The Wild Rose
but my name was Elisa Day
Why they call me it I do not know
For my name was Elisa Day
On the third day he took me to the river
He showed me the roses and we kissed
And the last thing I heard was a muttered word
As he stood smiling above me with a rock in his fist
On the last day I took her where the wild roses grow
And she lay on the bank, the wind light as a thief
As I kissed her goodbye, I said, “All beauty must die”
And lent down and planted a rose between her teeth
Damn, this album is fire.
5/5
Def Leppard
5/5
Gunter gleiben glauchen globen
I got somethin' to say
It's better to burn out than fade away
My best friend in 7th grade introduced me to this album, and life was never the same after that.
5/5
Led Zeppelin
5/5
Okay, I agree that this is an album that everyone should hear. I dont know if its my favorite, but its a fucking amazing album. Hell, put the whole zep catalog up and replace some of the leonard cohen bullshit on this list.
5/5
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
1/5
This whole album is like some Temu Pink Floyd. Not great, wish I could return it.
1/5
Beatles
5/5
This is sort of the definition of a perfect album. Incredibly talented musicians writing catchy songs with perfect production. I mean, I dont love the beatles but you gotta recognize.
5/5
Nitin Sawhney
1/5
Second bad imitation album in a week. This time its Temu Portishead.
1/5
John Lennon
5/5
Now that I showed you what I been through
Don't take nobody's word what you can do
There ain't no Jesus gonna come from the sky
Now that I found out I know I can cry
Some of you sitting there with your cock in your hand
Don't get you nowhere, don't make you a man
I heard something about my Ma and my Pa
They didn't want me so they made me a star
I found out
Theres so much emotion in this album it leaks and gets into your psyche and makes you think about what it means to be a human.
5/5
Pixies
5/5
I'm the horny loser
You'll find me crashin through my mothers door
I am the ugly lover
You'll find us rolling on the dirty floor
Break my body hold my bones
Hold my bones
Yeah, this is a damn good album. Ahead of its time.
5/5
Duran Duran
5/5
Out on the tar plains
The glides are moving
All looking for a new place to drive
You sit beside me
So newly charming
Sweating dew drops glisten fresh in your side
And the sun drips down bedding heavy behind
The front of your dress all shadowy lined
And the droning engine throbs in time with your beating heart
Way down the lane away
Living for another day
The aphids swarm up in the drifting haze
Swim seagull in the sky
Towards that hollow western Isle
My envied lady holds you fast in her gaze
And the sun drips down bedding heavy behind
The front of your dress all shadowy lined
And the droning engine throbs in time with your beating heart
And the sun drips down bedding heavy behind
The front of your dress all shadowy lined
And the droning engine throbs in time with your beating heart
Sing Blue Silver
I never gave duran duran enough credit when I was younger. This is a fantastic album.
5/5
R.E.M.
5/5
Okay, so some of these songs are a little played but this album is more than 30 years old and it still holds up. Everybody hurts is the song that everyone will absolutely need at some point in their life.
5/5
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
2/5
This is pretty bad, but I dont hate it. I cant go higher than 2 stars though, it might just be because I'm sick today but this is really not doing it for me right now.
2/5
The Police
5/5
Once that you've decided on a killing
First you make a stone of your heart
And if you find that your hands are still willing
Then you can turn a murder into art
There really isn't any need for bloodshed
You just do it with a little more finesse
If you can slip a tablet into someone's coffee
Then it avoids an awful lot of mess
It's murder by numbers, one, two, three
It's as easy to learn as your ABC's
This album is on some real shit.
5/5
Alice Cooper
4/5
This is a genuinely good album. I think its a tie between this and Welcome To My Nightmare for my vote for best AC album.
4/5
Pavement
4/5
I never heard this entire album before, but its worth the listen. Solid, genuine, and well produced. Very much "of its time", but what isn't?
4/5
Milton Nascimento
4/5
This is exactly what I'm here for. I never heard of this album or artist before, and it's absolutely a great album which deserves a listen. Beautiful melody and composition, and haunting vocals and lyrics.
4/5
Björk
4/5
Once it was simple
One feeling at a time
It reached its peak then transformed
These abstract complex feelings
I just don't know how to handle them
Should I throw oil on one of these moods
But which one?
The joy peak
Humor peak
Frustration peak
Anything peak
For clarity
Maybe he will come out of this loving me
Maybe he won't
I'm not taming no animal
Maybe he will come out of this
Yeah, Bjork is pretty good.
4/5
Manic Street Preachers
1/5
Good lord, no thank you. This is an awful album.
1/5
Hüsker Dü
3/5
I avoided these guys because of the dumb name, but this is a really decent album. Kind of hard to believe that this came out of the 80s, really.
3/5
The Smiths
1/5
OMFG how many fucking smiths albums are on this fucking list?!
Theyre all bad, stop it!
1/5
Dexys Midnight Runners
2/5
Theres literally one song on this album worth listening to. How in the world did this score a spot on this list?!
2/5
Girls Against Boys
3/5
It's OK, but nothing that you need to hear before you die or anything.
3/5
Deep Purple
2/5
Ugh, live album. Why in the world this would be on this list, I have no idea. They're good musicians, and I'm sure this was a good show, but its kinda shit as an album.
2/5
Big Star
3/5
Not bad, but its not doing anything for me either.
3/5
Kraftwerk
2/5
Nein, danke dir.
Oasis
1/5
Ugh. Why would this be on a list of albums you should hear before you die for any reason other than you might off yourself after listening to it?
1/5
John Martyn
1/5
OK so heres the thing - I started this intending to get to hear some music that I hadnt heard before and hopefully get exposed to some new stuff. But the problem is that way too much of the stuff that I was unaware of on this list is just british shit that I never needed to know about because its shit.
1/5
Femi Kuti
4/5
Terrible album art, good album.
4/5
5/5
This is a legit incredible album. If you told me that this album was the inspiration for this entire project, I wouldnt doubt it.
Anyway, this album is absolutely fantastic and holds up after all the plays.
5/5
Morrissey
1/5
This is a bad album even without taking into consideration that I cant fucking stand morrissey in general.
1/5
Abdullah Ibrahim
3/5
This absolutely one of the jazz records of all time.
3/5
The Electric Prunes
1/5
Sigh. So I started this project in order to discover some new music, and now I have discovered this album. This is unfortunate, as it undermines the entire purpose of the effort - What if all the other remaining albums that I havent heard of on this album are as bad as this one?
1/5
Miles Davis
4/5
2 tracks, 40 minutes long, this is a great album to do practically anything while listening to.
4/5
The Monkees
4/5
This is the original spinal tap album. The funniest thing is that its actually pretty good!
4/5
5/5
I have kissed honey lips
Felt the healing in her fingertips
It burned like fire
This burning desire
I have spoke with the tongue of angels
I have held the hand of a devil
It was warm in the night
I was cold as a stone
But I still haven't found what I'm looking for
Yeah, this is one hell of a good album.
5/5
Orbital
2/5
This is an odd choice for this list. Its not orbital's best album by a long shot, and its not a great representation of, well, anything. Its not a terrible album, but its not great either. Best I can do is 2 stars.
2/5
Jungle Brothers
4/5
You see some listen but still don't hear
Some seem far but are real near
I climb a mountain to reach a kingdom
And if they're willing sure I'll bring them
Think to the needy and then to the greedy
Rely on the heaven and earth to feed me
Move to the motions of the moon
Take out your shades cause the sun comes soon
To plan my day I look at the sky
I see rain and I still ask why
Broke the airwaves, trying to make waves
Finally came through but came in mono
Frequencies I kept on fighting
Satelliting what I was writing
Three years, finally got through
Came through in stereo
So hello everybody and how ya'll doing
We gonna say a few words and keep on stepping
People watching to see what we would do
Live on air you heard us say to you
The city's a jungle and we are the brothers
This so-called King Of The Jungle will run for cover
All of your minds have been set into a trance
So instead of fighting out our problems
We order ya'll to dance
Good album. We honestly should have more like this on this list. Has a couple of weak spots but overall very good album.
4/5
Nirvana
5/5
Hell of a good album, one of the best.
5/5
Creedence Clearwater Revival
5/5
There's a bathroom on the right. Great album, holds up.
5/5
The Fall
3/5
This is an odd choice for this list. I didnt hate it, but its absolutely not an album that I would say ANYONE has to listen to.
3/5