As insane as it sounds, I don’t think I’ve ever heard an entire song by Taylor Swift. I’m not of the demographic that usually likes her music, so I’ve never felt a need to try it. I know she has country influences, which also has put me off it. I’m cautiously optimistic for this album. It certainly has a upbeat start with the first track. It’s a very well put together pop album and I enjoyed much more than I thought I would. I also recognized the beginnings of a couple of songs. I also think how the album flows from uptempo to slower is very well done. And to top it all off, the homage to 80s pop is great and hits well with me, as I love 80s pop in particular. Fav Track: Blank Space 5/5

Lyrically similar to Springsteen, musically more Tom Petty/Traveling Wilburys. Not as positive as Springsteen’s lyrics, even happier sounding songs are sad lyrically. Fav Track: Baby Can I Hold You 4/5

Great album, really shows the beginning of how the Beatles matured as a band in the second half of the 60s. I love nearly every track on the album and grew up listening to a few (Yellow Submarine, Good Day Sunshine). Many are very catchy and hard to get out of your head. Save Here, There and Everywhere I could listen to this entire album all the way through. Fav Track: And Your Bird Can Sing (so hard to choose! Maybe Eleanor Rigby? Got To Get You Into My Life?) 5/5

Neil Young removed all his albums from Spotify so this one was a little harder for me to get a hold of. I’m not a huge fan of Neil Young’s voice and his folk is a little too close to country for me. All said, this album was not nearly as bad as I was expecting. I enjoyed quite a few songs (A Man Needs A Maid, Heart of Gold, Old Man). Fav Track: Words (Between the Lines of Age) 3/5

For a debut album, it’s shocking how many songs became hits or at least recognizable. Nothing is groundbreaking (by today’s standards at least), but for an album released during the heyday of both the Beatles and The Rolling Stones, it shows the Doors can hold their own, even though it falls apart a little toward the end of the album for me. Fav Track: Break On Through (To The Other Side) 4/5

I only knew Steely Dan from Reelin in the Years and the anecdote that the band name is in homage of a vibrator. To be honest, this album didn’t do much for me. I came in expecting stuff of Reelin in the Years’ quality and found it somewhat lacking. I didn’t find any of the songs standout, but I didn’t find anything I despised either: it’s just an album that exists. I also find most of the songs overly long. Fav Track: My Old School 3/5

I only know that Iggy Pop is a musician; I don’t think I’ve listened to a single Stooges song that I can remember. I had no expectations coming in, aside from that I tend to like proto-punk. It feels more like punk than I was expecting, especially lyrically. The music isn’t as harsh or fast on a whole as punk tends to be, which I feel clashes a little with the sometime incomprehensibility of the lyrics. It’s very interesting to see the evolution of one of the genres I like a lot. Fav Track: I Need Somebody 3/5

I quite like a few of the Kinks’ songs, but I’ve never listened to a full album of theirs. I found this one to be very eclectic and jumbled. It seemed like a collection of songs rather than a cohesive body that flowed. I didn’t dislike it, but it was very much not what I was expecting. The songs are exactly what I expected for the era, if a little more psychedelic rock. Fav Track: Two Sisters 4/5

Came into this expecting nothing. Never heard of Suba, don’t listen to electronica much if at all. I don’t speak Portuguese so I don’t understand a word off the album, but it is very much a nice easy listening album. I enjoy how much it flows from track to track: as a whole, very cohesive. Fav Track: Antropofagos 3/5

I’ve only heard parts of Chop Suey and know nothing else about System of a Down. I’m not a huge fan of metal and do not like heavy metal. That said there are a few bands that are metal/hard rock that I do like, so I have some familiarity with the genre, even if it is much softer than System of a Down. I can definitely now see the appeal of mosh pits at metal concerts now after this album. I enjoyed this much more than I thought I would. I especially like how quite a few tracks start quieter then get louder quickly. Fav Track: Spiders 4/5

I’ve never heard of this band or this album, but I do like 2000s indie rock. It feels much more produced and loud than the indie rock I know, which is not at all a bad thing. Turns out I do one song by this band, Heads Will Roll, as a meme song (I think the meme song is a remix, which is actually much worse in my opinion than the original). The rest of the album seems to be much more in line with what I was expecting for an indie band. I did kind of like the super high energy of the first two tracks, which is a bit of a shame as the rest of the album is much more mellow. Still a very good indie album. Fav Track: Soft Shock 4/5

I’ve never heard of this band or this album, but I do like 2000s indie rock. It feels much more produced and loud than the indie rock I know, which is not at all a bad thing. Turns out I do one song by this band, Heads Will Roll, as a meme song (I think the meme song is a remix, which is actually much worse in my opinion than the original). The rest of the album seems to be much more in line with what I was expecting for an indie band. I did kind of like the super high energy of the first two tracks, which is a bit of a shame as the rest of the album is much more mellow. Still a very good indie album. Fav Track: Soft Shock 4/5

This is the Kinks album with my favorite song of theirs, Sunny Afternoon, so I’m pretty excited already. Instantly, however, not impressed. Party Line is pretty simple and not great. Rosy Please Come Home redeems it a little though. Maybe it was a fluke, cause Dandy is pretty similar to Party Line. Overall seems pretty simple. Definitely not as great as Something Else by the Kinks. Fav Track: Sunny Afternoon 3/5

As insane as it sounds, I don’t think I’ve ever heard an entire song by Taylor Swift. I’m not of the demographic that usually likes her music, so I’ve never felt a need to try it. I know she has country influences, which also has put me off it. I’m cautiously optimistic for this album. It certainly has a upbeat start with the first track. It’s a very well put together pop album and I enjoyed much more than I thought I would. I also recognized the beginnings of a couple of songs. I also think how the album flows from uptempo to slower is very well done. And to top it all off, the homage to 80s pop is great and hits well with me, as I love 80s pop in particular. Fav Track: Blank Space 5/5

I’ve never heard of this band, and seeing that they were a 60s garage rock band just makes me more interested. The first track does definitely blend garage rock and 60s rock, but it’s not mixed well and is pretty simple. It doesn’t bode well for the rest of the album. And looking at the rest of the tracks, these are mostly covers. And to add insult to injury, they completely bungle Roll Over Beethoven, which hurts me even more as I’m a huge Chuck Berry fan. I honestly can’t recommend this album to anyone: it’s too disappointing. Fav Track: Have Love Will Travel 2/5

I’ve never heard of Nico and I’ve never heard a song by the Velvet Underground before, so I’m going in totally blind. Starts very nice, but the mixing is not great: the music often overwhelms her voice. Her voice isn’t great for listening to repeatedly, I think. It’s starting to grate on me a little. Songs and music are nice, though that seems to be due to Jackson Browne, who I really like as well. It might be due to her voice, but all the songs sound the same. It’s an okay album, sadly fairly forgettable. Having looked into her a little more, she was an anti-Semite. No reason to listen a single track by her. Fav Track: The Fairest of the Seasons 1/5

Never heard of the band, and the name sounds pretty dumb so I’m not psyched. It’s not weird, but very odd. It’s very much the weirder side of 80s synth music. Not bad, just strange. So far, I’m actually enjoying this much more than I thought I would. The lead singer’s voice isn’t great on its own, but with backup instruments it’s not bad. Pretty good overall. Fav Track: This Is the Day 3/5

I’m a big CCR fan, but I’ve never heard their second album before. I’m looking forward to it. Starts off exactly as I expect CCR songs to, so it’s looking good. The only problem I can see is how short the album is: 33 minutes. It’s a little mellower than my preferred CCR albums, and nothing stands out a whole bunch, but for a sophomoric outing, this isn’t bad at all. Fav Track: Proud Mary 3/5

I despise country, but I’ve never listened to older country (because I don’t like the genre), so hopefully it will be better than modern country. Reminds me instantly of the songs I didn’t like from the Fallout New Vegas soundtrack. Not looking forward to the rest. I’m just glad it’s short, because it’s exactly what I was expecting from country. Do not recommend. Just stereotypical country. Fav Track: none 1/5