883
Albums Rated
3.36
Average Rating
81%
Complete
206 albums remaining
Rating Distribution
Rating Timeline
Taste Profile
1950
Favorite Decade
Grunge
Favorite Genre
US
Top Origin
Wordsmith
Rater Style ?
263
5-Star Albums
109
1-Star Albums
Breakdown
By Genre
By Decade
By Origin
Albums
You Love More Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bubble And Scrape
Sebadoh
|
5 | 2.65 | +2.35 |
|
Odessa
Bee Gees
|
5 | 2.72 | +2.28 |
|
Take Me Apart
Kelela
|
5 | 2.75 | +2.25 |
|
Scream, Dracula, Scream
Rocket From The Crypt
|
5 | 2.77 | +2.23 |
|
Kings Of The Wild Frontier
Adam & The Ants
|
5 | 2.83 | +2.17 |
|
A Wizard, A True Star
Todd Rundgren
|
5 | 2.84 | +2.16 |
|
Mask
Bauhaus
|
5 | 2.85 | +2.15 |
|
Among The Living
Anthrax
|
5 | 2.85 | +2.15 |
|
Street Signs
Ozomatli
|
5 | 2.87 | +2.13 |
|
This Nation’s Saving Grace
The Fall
|
5 | 2.88 | +2.12 |
You Love Less Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Pink Moon
Nick Drake
|
1 | 3.65 | -2.65 |
|
Bryter Layter
Nick Drake
|
1 | 3.51 | -2.51 |
|
Illinois
Sufjan Stevens
|
1 | 3.5 | -2.5 |
|
Odelay
Beck
|
1 | 3.46 | -2.46 |
|
Five Leaves Left
Nick Drake
|
1 | 3.46 | -2.46 |
|
Come Away With Me
Norah Jones
|
1 | 3.38 | -2.38 |
|
Songs Of Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen
|
1 | 3.38 | -2.38 |
|
Debut
Björk
|
1 | 3.37 | -2.37 |
|
xx
The xx
|
1 | 3.36 | -2.36 |
|
You've Come a Long Way Baby
Fatboy Slim
|
1 | 3.34 | -2.34 |
Artists
Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| David Bowie | 8 | 5 |
| Beatles | 5 | 5 |
| Metallica | 4 | 5 |
| Led Zeppelin | 4 | 5 |
| The Who | 5 | 4.8 |
| Talking Heads | 4 | 4.75 |
| R.E.M. | 4 | 4.75 |
| Jimi Hendrix | 3 | 5 |
| Marvin Gaye | 3 | 5 |
| Miles Davis | 3 | 5 |
| Queen | 3 | 5 |
| Bob Dylan | 6 | 4.33 |
| Michael Jackson | 3 | 4.67 |
| Steely Dan | 3 | 4.67 |
| Yes | 3 | 4.67 |
| Johnny Cash | 3 | 4.67 |
| Nirvana | 3 | 4.67 |
| Beastie Boys | 3 | 4.67 |
| Creedence Clearwater Revival | 3 | 4.67 |
| The Flaming Lips | 2 | 5 |
| Run-D.M.C. | 2 | 5 |
| Traffic | 2 | 5 |
| The Temptations | 2 | 5 |
| Pink Floyd | 2 | 5 |
| The Smashing Pumpkins | 2 | 5 |
| OutKast | 2 | 5 |
| A Tribe Called Quest | 2 | 5 |
| The Doors | 2 | 5 |
| The Clash | 2 | 5 |
| AC/DC | 2 | 5 |
| Iron Maiden | 2 | 5 |
| Green Day | 2 | 5 |
| Megadeth | 2 | 5 |
| Muddy Waters | 2 | 5 |
| Elvis Costello & The Attractions | 2 | 5 |
| The Pogues | 2 | 5 |
| The Band | 2 | 5 |
| Van Halen | 2 | 5 |
| Funkadelic | 2 | 5 |
| Siouxsie And The Banshees | 2 | 5 |
| The Jam | 2 | 5 |
| Kendrick Lamar | 2 | 5 |
| The Verve | 2 | 5 |
| The Jesus And Mary Chain | 2 | 5 |
| Manic Street Preachers | 2 | 5 |
| Radiohead | 5 | 4.2 |
| Sonic Youth | 5 | 4.2 |
| Stevie Wonder | 4 | 4.25 |
| U2 | 4 | 4.25 |
| Black Sabbath | 3 | 4.33 |
| The Rolling Stones | 3 | 4.33 |
| Van Morrison | 3 | 4.33 |
| Prince | 3 | 4.33 |
| The Stooges | 3 | 4.33 |
Least Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Leonard Cohen | 3 | 1 |
| Nick Drake | 3 | 1 |
| Joni Mitchell | 4 | 1.5 |
| Björk | 4 | 1.5 |
| Tom Waits | 4 | 1.5 |
| Tim Buckley | 3 | 1.33 |
| My Bloody Valentine | 3 | 1.33 |
| Pere Ubu | 2 | 1 |
| Morrissey | 2 | 1 |
| Public Image Ltd. | 2 | 1 |
| Fatboy Slim | 2 | 1 |
| Beck | 3 | 1.67 |
| Scott Walker | 2 | 1.5 |
| Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band | 2 | 1.5 |
| Kate Bush | 2 | 1.5 |
| Rufus Wainwright | 2 | 1.5 |
| Belle & Sebastian | 2 | 1.5 |
| Wilco | 2 | 1.5 |
| Goldfrapp | 2 | 1.5 |
| Robert Wyatt | 2 | 1.5 |
| Brian Eno | 5 | 2.2 |
| Kraftwerk | 3 | 2 |
| Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds | 4 | 2.25 |
Controversial
| Artist | Ratings |
|---|---|
| Missy Elliott | 5, 2 |
| XTC | 2, 5 |
| Bee Gees | 2, 5 |
| Kings of Leon | 1, 4, 2 |
| Bob Marley & The Wailers | 2, 5, 4 |
5-Star Albums (263)
View Album Wall
Popular Reviews
Kings of Leon · 26 likes
1/5
Imagine a band where every single artistic decision doesn't even come remotely close to landing. I present: Kings of Leon
Lightning Bolt · 16 likes
1/5
Genuinely who the fuck is this shit for
Einstürzende Neubauten · 6 likes
1/5
It's strangely comforting to know that this sounded exactly as insane as I thought it would upon reading the description
Serge Gainsbourg · 5 likes
1/5
Probably the most pretentious, least enjoyable pile of absolute shit I've ever heard. Who the hell is this for besides music students who need to pretend that awful music is good to feel smart?
Limp Bizkit · 5 likes
1/5
Lmao, come on man. What the hell are we doing here?
1-Star Albums (109)
All Ratings
Michael Jackson
5/5
Pretty much a flawless album
Air
3/5
Not at all like most stuff I listen to, but most of the tracks were pretty cool. Any songs with lyrics or voiceovers severely detracted from the album as a whole though. Favorite track: Dirty Trip
John Prine
2/5
Did not like the start to this album at all. Lyrics were dumb and instrumentals weren't interesting. It got better toward the end, but country music just isn't my thing. Favorite track: Far From Me
The Flaming Lips
5/5
I absolutely love this album. Today was my first time listening to it, and it will be stuck in my head for the foreseeable future. Genuinely very fun, interesting music. Flaming Lips will be in my rotation henceforth. Favorite track: Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell
Steely Dan
4/5
Liked this album a lot. Very easy to listen to, and the jazz vibes throughout the album are right down my alley. Favorite track: Night by Night
Aretha Franklin
4/5
Just an absolutely stunning voice every time. Not as good as Lady Soul was, but still a transcendent talent. Favorite track, non-Respect division: Good Times
X-Ray Spex
3/5
Fun album. Instrumentals kicked ass, but the lead singer's voice was hard to listen to at some points. Favorite track: Identity
Ice Cube
4/5
The thing that stands out the most with this album is how poignant its main points remain 30 years on from its release. I understand why each interlude track was included, but it did feel like they broke up the music too many times. That being said, the music is phenomenal. It Was A Good Day sticks out like a sore thumb because it's nothing like any of the other tracks--just a funny part about an iconic song. Favorite tracks: When Will They Shoot?, Dirty Mack
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
3/5
This album is pretty bland until Powderfinger. Then, it's like a switch flipped: Powderfinger, Welfare Mothers, and Sedan Delivery all carry what was set to be a pretty underwhelming album for me. Even the outro version of Hey Hey, My My has considerably more interesting instrumentals. I'll be interested to hear more Neil Young albums to see if this is a trend for him. Favorite track: Welfare Mothers
Milton Nascimento
1/5
Honestly, this album always had an uphill battle with all the lyrics being in Portuguese. But all that put aside, this simply isn't the type of music that moves me. Favorite track: Clube Da Esquina No 2
Roxy Music
2/5
Pretty cool instrumentals at points in this album, but lyrics and singing didn't do anything for me. Calling it plain or bland would be inaccurate, but it just didn't move me at all. Favorite track: Virginia Plain
The The
4/5
Really, really cool album. First track plays hopscotch with the "weird vibe that's genuinely interesting"-"weird for the sake of being weird" line, but all the others nail the genuinely interesting side of it for me. Very much enjoyed this album. Favorite tracks: Uncertain Smile, Giant
Lou Reed
2/5
The Bowie-Ronson influence in the production and instrumentals is very obvious and great. However, the elephant in the room is that they're working around a bad singer. They cover for it well in some of the tracks (Perfect Day, Hangin' 'Round, Walk on the Wild Side, I'm Free), but he honestly just sounds bored on most of the other ones. Favorite track, non-Wild Side division: I'm Free
The Smiths
2/5
Morrissey's voice gets pretty hard to listen to after a while. Plus he can go fuck himself.
Supergrass
4/5
Really fun album! It's a bit long, but it held my interest throughout. Favorite tracks: Sun Hits the Sky, Sitting Up Straight
Venom
1/5
This album made me wonder if I actually like metal as much as I thought I did. Favorite track: Don't Burn the Witch
Jeru The Damaja
5/5
This album fucking rules. If you need introduce somebody to 90s rap, do it with this album. Beats are great and interesting--I'll always for jazz-inspired beats like on Da Bichez. Lyrics are great and important, flow is great. Favorite tracks: Da Bichez, Ain't the Devil Happy. Honorable mentions to Mental Stamina and My Mind Spray
David Bowie
5/5
I mean, come on lol. Album is obviously amazing and the titular track is the best song on it. Going right down the middle with Bowie is ironic since his music is anything but that, but sometimes there are just facts of life. Whole album is incredible, including the instrumental-only tracks.
PJ Harvey
1/5
Nah, I just can't listen to this album again.
Pixies
3/5
Very enjoyable album. Favorite track: No 13 Baby
Devendra Banhart
1/5
Boring, pretentious crap. Was there actually an intentional "outtake" left on Todo Los Dolores???? Perfectly sums up music like this--trying entirely too hard to be artsy and against the grain
Super Furry Animals
4/5
This album walked so Random Access Memories could run. This type of music and use of electronics had to have been considered extremely advanced for 2001. And sure, some of the electronica moments are over-modulated and can sound cacophonous or overwhelming. But this album was awesome overall. Favorite track: Juxtapozed With U
Jean-Michel Jarre
4/5
I normally can't stand listening to straight up electronic music, but this album is genuine art. It is very well composed rather than feeling like it's testing out all the noise settings on a synthesizer. The album listens like a suite from start to finish, so picking a favorite track feels disingenuous. But I really enjoyed this
Elastica
3/5
Exactly my type of music. Enjoyed listening to this album because of the genre and style, but nothing really stood out to me as special either. Favorite track: Never Here
Harry Nilsson
4/5
What a pleasant album to listen to. Very enjoyable tracks and good vibes all around. Favorite track: Jump Into the Fire
The Roots
5/5
Truly unbelievably good album from the best musical act out of Philadelphia. Album starts out hot, stays hot through the middle, dips a little before the end, and ends on a high note. So many great tracks, but my favorite has to be Rolling with Heat
Wild Beasts
2/5
My biggest pet peeve with Indie music is how it sounds like the singer is singing poorly on purpose. This is no exception. Instrumentals are cool though. Favorite track: Two Dancers (I)
Tracy Chapman
3/5
Just a beautifully sung album honestly. It gets a little repetitive for me, but that's about the only thing I can point out. Favorite track: Mountains O'Things
Jimi Hendrix
5/5
Low hanging fruit is still fruit: the guitar work on this album is amazing. Favorite track: Hey Joe
King Crimson
4/5
This album was really cool! Definitely nailed the "genuinely interesting" side of weird music. Favorite track: 21st Century Schizoid Man
Fleetwood Mac
4/5
Beautiful album from an extremely talented band. This album is nowhere close to being as good as Rumours, but still a great listen. Favorite track: Sara
Minor Threat
4/5
Fuck yeah. Tony Hawk Pro Skater video game soundtrack music, which is a big compliment for me. Favorite track: Think Again
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
3/5
Traditional African music has always interested me. While I was not at all expecting this album to be a cappella, I enjoyed it all the same. Favorite track: Wawusho Kubani?
Yes
5/5
Amazing!!! The range shown on this album is nothing short of spectacular. Absolutely loved listening to this. Favorite track: Yours is No Disgrace
The Notorious B.I.G.
5/5
Lol, like I was going to give this anything less than a 5. Favorite track: Gimme The Loot
Maxwell
2/5
R&B just doesn't do too much for me. Nice background music, but that's about it. Favorite track: ...Til the Cops Come Knockin
Happy Mondays
4/5
This was great! Awesome instrumentals, fitting vocals, interesting compositions all around. Favorite track: Loose Fit
The Monkees
3/5
It was completely fine. 2.5 stars/5. Favorite track: Sunny Girlfriend
Marvin Gaye
5/5
Absolutely beautiful album from a complete legend of music. I never wanted this album to end. Favorite track (non-Let's Get It On division): Keep Gettin' It On
B.B. King
5/5
I would have started levitating if I attended this show. Favorite track: How Blue Can You Get?
4/5
I really love the unique sound of this band. Pretty sure I could pick a new favorite track every time I listen to this album, but this time it was Arthur
Incubus
5/5
Incredible. Just incredible. Every song, every aspect. Just loved it. Favorite track: Make Yourself
The Mothers Of Invention
3/5
This is my second time listening to this album, and it did grow on me from the first time. However, the (purposefully) bad singing still prevents this rating from being higher. Favorite track: Motherly Love
The National
3/5
I liked this album more than I expected to honestly. There are some very interesting musical elements at times, but ultimately it can't overcome what always happens to me with Indie music: it starts to all sound the same, and I get bored. Still, overall a decent album. Favorite track: Afraid of Everyone
Metallica
5/5
Talk about two of my worlds colliding. This absolutely kicked ass. Favorite track: Master of Puppets
Scott Walker
1/5
Fake crooner music is the absolute worst. No soul to this music at all. The Seventh Seal was good, but every other song is pointless
Deep Purple
4/5
This album rules. Deep basslines and overall rock sound. Favorite track: Space Truckin'
The Byrds
4/5
Enjoyed listening to this one. Favorite track: It's No Use
Run-D.M.C.
5/5
So. Goddamn. Good. Four absolute heaters to start the album, and the rest of the tracks follow suit. Favorite track: My Adidas
Arcade Fire
3/5
This was a nice album to listen to. Nothing terribly interesting to me musically, but solid al around. Favorite track: Empty Room
The Byrds
3/5
Album is perfectly fine. Favorite track: Moog Raga
Ramones
4/5
This is for you, Tony Bourdain. Favorite track (besides Blitzkrieg Bop): Listen to My Heart
Boards of Canada
1/5
Every song feels like it's either a rap beat or just plain boring. Awful, awful album
David Bowie
5/5
Just an incredible album. I liked this one better than Heroes (another incredible album) because of the jazz vibes in the instrumentals. Bowie really was a special artist. Favorite track: Cracked Actor
Aphex Twin
1/5
An hour and thirteen minutes of background music. Why are there so many electronica albums in this experiment
Traffic
5/5
Awesome album musically. So many bases covered--I love it. Favorite track: Glad
James Taylor
4/5
What an interesting album. James Taylor is a great songwriter with a very nice voice, but the style can get a little redundant to listen to after a minute. But then, out of nowhere, two big band tracks break up the monotony. I liked this a lot. Favorite track: Suite for 20 G
Cornershop
4/5
Really liked this a lot! The instrumentals were awesome, and the vocals were pretty decent too. Interesting album all around. Favorite track: We're in Yr Corner
The Strokes
4/5
Album fucking rules. Favorite track: Alone, Together
LCD Soundsystem
3/5
The bears/instrumentals are really cool. The lyrics leave much to be desired though. Favorite track: tonite
Foo Fighters
3/5
Album is obviously good, but I felt a little let down by it too. There wasn't that epic climax anywhere that I'm used to with the Foo Fighters. Favorite track: Floaty
Parliament
4/5
FUNK. Favorite track: Supergroovalisticprosifunkstication
Orange Juice
4/5
Second time listening to this album, and I still really like it a lot. Still have A Million Pleading Faces and I Can't Help Myself as my favorite tracks
The Black Keys
4/5
This album was great! It was refreshing to hear a relatively recent rock album be this good musically and lyrically. Favorite track: Howlin' for You
Black Sabbath
4/5
This was quite a bit different from what I expected, but it was great. Interestingly, I thought the two most popular tracks were the two weakest ones on the album. Getting into a groove on hard rock tracks is so impressive to me. Favorite track: Wasp / Behind the Wall of Sleep / Basically / N.I.B.
Moby
2/5
I have survived this album, barely. Favorite track: Inside
Jamiroquai
5/5
This album is right down the middle for everything that I like. What a treat this was. Favorite track: Revolution 1993
Santana
4/5
Hell yeah. Just awesome musically throughout. Favorite track: Samba Pa Ti
Blondie
3/5
The peaks of this album were very fun. There is quite a bit of filler in this, which knocks the rating down a bit. Favorite track: One Way or Another
The Temptations
5/5
Funky music sure enough does turn me on
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
2/5
Album is way too long to listen to again. Orange Blossom Special is the best song on it, and I do enjoy the bluegrass.
System Of A Down
3/5
System of a Down is a strange one for me. The highs with them are awesome, the lows with them are awful, and they're often for the same reasons. Sometimes things work, and sometimes they don't. Favorite track: Sugar
Elliott Smith
2/5
Pretty bland on the whole. Favorite track: Pictures of Me
Carole King
5/5
The amount of hits on this album is pretty stunning. How can it get anything besides 5 stars on that alone? Favorite track: I Feel the Earth Move
The Rolling Stones
3/5
The two smash hits are great. There is a decent amount of filler on this album though. Favorite track: Paint it Black
Bob Dylan
3/5
Admittedly, I never really "got" Bob Dylan. This album did a little bit to change that, but it's still music that I only moderately enjoy at best. Favorite track: Not Dark Yet
Leonard Cohen
1/5
I fucking hate this album so much
The Cure
3/5
This album was alright. The Cure don't really move me too much, but this was fine to listen to. Favorite track: Fascination Street
Johnny Cash
5/5
One of the most beautiful albums I've ever listened to. It's almost hard to believe that he was able to produce such a beautiful album with the myriad of health issues he had at this point. Favorite track: I Hung My Head
Joni Mitchell
2/5
Just not for me I'm afraid
Rod Stewart
4/5
I loved this! Rod Stewart really showcases his talent well on this album. Favorite track: Mandolin Wind
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
Bruce simply isn't for me. Instrumentals on the album are awesome, but it just doesn't connect for me. Favorite track: Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
Suzanne Vega
1/5
Glorified slam poetry
Keith Jarrett
3/5
The piano playing was beautiful, but it's pretty difficult for me to relate to a solo instrumental performance meaningfully when I don't know the music
Nirvana
5/5
Beautiful songs played with beautiful emotion. Hard to beat that. Favorite Nirvana song on here is About A Girl, favorite cover is The Man Who Sold the World
Don McLean
4/5
I liked this album. The headline maker is obviously the titular song, but there are some other tracks that stuck out to me too. Winterwood was my favorite non-American Pie track. Everybody Loves Me, Baby and Babylon are also interesting to me. Nice album, Mr. McLean
Mudhoney
3/5
Interesting album. The most popular song is comfortably the worst one on it, some of the songs feel more punk than grunge to me, several highlights I enjoyed, but it feels like it drags on as well. Favorite track: In 'n' Out of Grace
Country Joe & The Fish
4/5
This album was so damn trippy...but I think I loved it musically. I honestly have no idea why because this spectrum of music usually turns me off. Favorite track: Section 43
Various Artists
4/5
I had no idea so many of these classics were all from the same album. Favorite track: Frosty the Snowman
4/5
This album was cool. Very much fit the mold of 90s alternative that I like. The mid-track changes were a touch that landed for me. Favorite track: Sunday Sunday
Slipknot
2/5
Said it before, and I'll say it again. Slipknot is too far down the metal spectrum for me. Album was mostly noise, but there were some highlights. Favorite track: Dead Memories
Randy Newman
2/5
Not much interesting here for me. Favorite track: Lonely at the Top
fIREHOSE
3/5
This album had a lot of interesting musical choices that didn't really land with me. I can appreciate the effort though--it definitely wasn't being weird for weirdness' sake. Favorite track: Understanding
Pink Floyd
5/5
Such a cool album that portends nicely to what was to come for Pink Floyd. Enjoyed listening to this piece of history a lot. Favorite track: Matilda Mother
New Order
4/5
This album was really cool. Perfect balance of instrumentation and enhancing it through electronic sounds. Favorite track: Mr. Disco
The Byrds
4/5
This is my favorite Byrds album so far in this exercise. Favorite track: My Back Pages
The Boo Radleys
2/5
Album was basically background noise for me. Favorite track: Lazarus
Björk
1/5
I am determined to make it through this album. But I am 6 tracks in and it is not easy. Closest I've come to turning an album off so far
Update: I've made it. My God that was painful. Favorite track: Desired Constellation
Aerosmith
5/5
What an awesome album. Aerosmith tend to be hit or miss for me, but pretty much all of these songs were hits. I couldn't get enough of it. Favorite track: F.I.N.E.
Earth, Wind & Fire
5/5
Hell yeah. One of my favorite ever music acts comes through again. Favorite track: Shining Star
Fela Kuti
4/5
What a cool album. Beautiful jazz vibes, and love hearing jazz as a form of protest--Charles Mingus would be proud. Favorite track: Mistake
Jurassic 5
4/5
The rap albums in this exercise are so damn good. I loved this album. Favorite track: A Day at the Races
Crosby, Stills & Nash
4/5
Of course this is good. Favorite track: Judy Blue Eyes
The La's
3/5
Enjoyable album that I did not have high hopes for going into it. That's the nice thing about this exercise though. Favorite track: Doledrum
Q-Tip
2/5
This album didn't really move me at all sadly. Favorite track: WeFight/WeLove
The Lemonheads
3/5
I liked this album. It doesn't sound very 90s to me at all, which is likely a good thing honestly. Favorite track: Confetti
Ryan Adams
3/5
Was not expecting to like this album so much. The instrumentals carry a lot more than most other singer songwriter albums in this exercise though, and I appreciate it. Favorite track: Tina Toledo's Street Walkin' Blues
Ray Charles
4/5
I'll always be such a sucker for jazz. Great album from a legend. Favorite track: Come Rain or Come Shine
Dexys Midnight Runners
4/5
Very fun album. Come on Eileen obviously the smash hit, but my favorite track was actually Until I Believe in my Soul. This album was significantly better than I thought a one-hit wonder album would be
The Smashing Pumpkins
5/5
I mean, what is there to say. Such an excellent album. It wears on just a little bit too long for me, but the diversity of the instrumentation and feel of each song makes it work. Favorite track: An Ode to No One
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
5/5
This album is awesome. CSNY's usage of vocals is so impressive to me, and the instrumentation is excellent as well. Favorite track: Country Girl
Billy Bragg
2/5
This style of music is just not for me. Favorite track: There is Power in a Union
Peter Frampton
5/5
This is excellent. Awesome production and sound quality on a live album. Every song is well performed as well. Favorite track: Show Me the Way
Johnny Cash
5/5
The greatest country album of all time. Favorite track: I Got Stripes
Thelonious Monk
4/5
JAZZ. Beautiful things happen when legends team up. Favorite track: Bemsha Swing
Frank Sinatra
5/5
Come on now. Favorite track: I've Got You Under My Skin
Talvin Singh
3/5
This album was pretty cool. The electronic elements were nowhere near overkill and enhanced the music. Favorite track: Decca
Blue Cheer
4/5
Really interesting album. At first it was hard to hear the influence on heavy metal, but it definitely grew to be like that as the album went on. I enjoyed the mash up of 60s sound, blues, and hard rock. Favorite track: Doctor Please
Coldplay
2/5
I hadn't listened to a full Coldplay album before. Their music is fine in bits and pieces for me, but a full album doesn't do a whole lot. Favorite track: Sparks
Stan Getz
3/5
Well performed music here, but not my preferred style of jazz. Favorite track: Samba De Uma Nota So
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
2/5
Too weird for the sake of being weird
Dizzee Rascal
2/5
Wasn't a fan of most of this album. Far too much going on in the background of most of the tracks. Favorite track: Jus' a Rascal
PJ Harvey
3/5
I applaud PJ Harvey's decision to stop making bland, boring music. There did not need to be 3 albums by her in this exercise though. Favorite track: The Colour of the Earth
Metallica
5/5
All-time album. No misses. The best track is Master of Puppets. Alright, let's listen to the album now.
Buddy Holly & The Crickets
2/5
Boring. Favorite track: Oh Boy!
Tom Waits
2/5
Not sure if I've ever heard such a dichotomy between instrumentation and vocals. That was...interesting. Favorite track: Jersey Girl
The Smashing Pumpkins
5/5
I'm stood up in my office giving this album a standing ovation. Wonderful album. Favorite track: Cherub Rock
Taylor Swift
3/5
Liked this significantly more than I thought I would. This is the most thoughtful and least pop-y I've heard her, and it led to a pretty good album. Favorite track: long story short
Duke Ellington
5/5
Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. Pinnacle of jazz right here. Introduce your friends who don't know/like jazz to this album, and they'll be hooked. Favorite track: Festival Junction
Fela Kuti
4/5
Fela Kuti has quickly become one of my favorite artists I've discovered in this exercise. Once again, strong, swinging jazz from his group. Very strong Mingus vibes. Favorite track: Black Man's Cry
Stevie Wonder
4/5
Fantastic. The funky instrumentals are unbelievably gripping, and the voice is so uniquely suited for it. Great album. Favorite track: Another Star
Donovan
2/5
Second time with this album, and there's just not much interesting here still. The titular single is a Trojan horse for the rest of the album, as it sounds nothing like anything else on here at all. Favorite track: The Trip
Tom Waits
2/5
Becoming pretty convinced that Tom Waits just is not for me. Favorite track: Gin Soaked Boy
Van Morrison
5/5
This album was wonderful. Big time improvement from Astral Weeks for me. This is the Van Morrison I expect to hear. Favorite track: Glad Tidings
Bad Company
4/5
There's something about an album called Bad Company by a band called Bad Company with a song called Bad Company on it. For real though, great classic rock here. Heavy instrumentation with a lighter singing voice pairs so nicely here. Favorite track: Can't Get Enough
Joy Division
4/5
Some of the most self-tortured lyrics you will ever hear. I have no idea how nobody knew about Ian Curtis' mental state until he passed. Favorite track: Passover
Simon & Garfunkel
4/5
The progression in this album is very interesting. At first, Mrs. Robinson sticks out, but it then sets up a much more lively ending than the beginning. Simon & Garfunkel have done it again. Favorite track: A Hazy Shade of Winter
Frank Sinatra
4/5
Beautifully sung and performed, but I'm looking for a little more variety in the album than being in love with a woman or getting over a woman. Favorite track: I'll Be Around
Radiohead
5/5
Masterpiece. Favorite track: Let Down
Jefferson Airplane
2/5
Giving this one star was too harsh before, but the comments stand. These are not good songs outside of the hits. Favorite track: Somebody to Love
Arcade Fire
3/5
All normal edgelord Indie themes aside, there is some really nice music on this album. Arcade Fire do not fall into the trap of "having your lyricist sing poorly on purpose," so they get some marks up in my book for that too. Favorite track: The Well and the Lighthouse
Missy Elliott
5/5
This is the funkiest rap album I can remember ever hearing. It's awesome. Favorite track: Don't Be Coming (In My Face)
5/5
The breakout for the most famous character of potentially the most interesting artist ever? Yes, I think this will get 5 stars.
Shocker. This is art right here. Favorite Bowie track ever is Suffragette City, but the whole album is a classic. Not a single skip here
Booker T. & The MG's
2/5
Green Onions and Mo' Onions are the only tracks worth time in this experiment. Everything else just sounded like a cheap organ at a dive bar.
Pulp
2/5
This album isn't bad musically, but I think it's the horniest album I've heard in my life. Favorite track: Common People
SZA
4/5
I was pretty uneasy at the beginning of this album, but it was wonderful at the end. Favorite tracks: Broken Clocks, 20 Something
The Streets
2/5
People from England will defend this album until their last breath. Neither the music nor the story arc were interesting at all though. Favorite track: What Is He Thinking?
Koffi Olomide
2/5
Music was fun enough I suppose, but pretty difficult to have any of it land meaningfully. Favorite track: Elixir
Dire Straits
5/5
Where has this album been all my life? Stunning mixture of rock, blues, country, swing, probably countless other genres I'm forgetting right now. A pleasure to listen to. Loved all tracks, but In the Gallery is what pushed it to a 5 for me
The Smiths
3/5
Great band with an awful singer who also happens to be an awful person. Favorite track: Unhappy Birthday
Joan Armatrading
5/5
I've made my thoughts on singer-songwriter albums very clear in this exercise. If they were more like this one, then I would feel very differently. Where most others fall short for me is that the focus is about 90% on the singing/lyrics and 10% on everything else. For me, that's a pretty bland listening experience unless the singer has one of the top voices ever.
This album is decidedly not that. Joan Armatrading's sultry vocals are powerful and emotional enough on their own, but the instrumentation is excellent as well. It creates a more holistic experience for me, and it makes me love this album. Favorite track: Join the Boys
Happy Mondays
4/5
Very fun album. Favorite track: Mad Cyril
Adele
3/5
Her voice is amazing. The production is amazing. But...it just feels like something is missing? The risk-taking thing kind of just sounds like people parroting music critics, but I guess that could explain how I feel overall. Favorite track: Send My Love (To Your New Lover)
Nirvana
4/5
What a whirlwind of an album. Definitely an ambitious step away from what Nirvana came up on. Some of the vocals are cacophony to me, but a lot also lands beautifully since I like harder rock. Favorite track: Milk It
Depeche Mode
3/5
Pretty cool album. Not a ton resonated with me, but it was a simply enjoyable listen. Favorite track: Strangelove
Sonic Youth
4/5
This album is so crazily unique, I needed a second listen to land on my rating. Ultimately it's a 4, though I thoroughly enjoyed it. There were hust slightly too many non-musical artistic directions in the middle of the album to get the 5 star rating here. Beginning and end of the album are top quality. Favorite track: White Cross
Kate Bush
2/5
Nothing interesting here for me. The lyrics are meh, and there's very little vocal range shown. Instrumentals nothing to write home about either. Just background music mostly. Favorite track: The Fog
Dirty Projectors
1/5
Like if you gave Captain Beefheart wireframe glasses and a Timothee Chalamet haircut
Nick Drake
1/5
Singer sings the same song while playing an acoustic guitar over different variations of elevator music behind him.
*saves review to notes for every other singer-songwriter album in this exercise*
Gil Scott-Heron
4/5
Yep. Favorite track: The Bottle
The Prodigy
2/5
This album would be much better if each song was about a minute and a half shorter. It's fun for the most part, but every single track is repetitive beyond belief. Favorite track: Narayan
50 Cent
4/5
An album that's so good, they named a movie after it 2 years later. Nuff said. Favorite track (besides the obvious ones): Lifes on the Line
Aimee Mann
3/5
This album was considerably better than I thought it would be going in. The first two tracks are quintessential 90s music--honestly could be part of a soundtrack to describe how they sounded. The most popular track, 4th of July, was comfortably the worst one for me. I appreciate this singer-songwriter album for approaching the music holistically--it made for a much more cohesive listening experience than most of the others here. Favorite track: Fifty Years After the Fair
Frank Sinatra
3/5
It's Sinatra, so it's obviously good. I did find myself wishing that Jobim would have a bigger singing role than he did though--more of the play between English and Spanish vocals would have been interesting. But, I didn't find a lot of variety between the tracks. The performances were beautiful, but this is the weakest of the Sinatra albums I've had so far in this exercise. Favorite track: Meditation
OutKast
5/5
You go into this album expecting to get the epitome of 2000s hip hop, and come out with a full anthology showing how talented both of these artists are, individually and together. I'll forever maintain that Big Boi is the most underrated figure in hip hop. The best tracks on each are obvious, so the best of the non-obvious tracks:
Speakerboxxx: Flip Flop Rock
The Love Below: Love in War
UB40
3/5
I genuinely have no idea how to feel about this album. It's almost like a ska band's take on reggae at some points, which sadly can drift into being elevator music-adjacent. But the instrumentals are far too sophisticated for that at the same time. Lyrics/vocals are nothing to write home about. Favorite track: Madam Medusa
Joy Division
3/5
This album makes Closer seem even more haunting. Even the tone in Ian Curtis' voice is noticeably brighter throughout this album, and the lyrics aren't even close to being as self-tortured. That being said, a lot of the music didn't grip me as much as I'd have liked. It was definitely good, but not one of my favorites. Favorite track: Day of the Lords
The Rolling Stones
5/5
This album is exactly how the Stones are supposed to sound. Absolutely perfect encapsulation of what makes them incredible. Mick being Mick, incredibly arranged instrumentals, variations in musical feel, everything. Awesome, awesome album. Favorite tracks, non-Tumbling Dice division: Rip this Joint, Happy, Shine a Light
Fugees
5/5
Special, special album. Sometimes you can just feel the overwhelming talent in a performance, and this is one of those times. Favorite track: Zealots
Blur
4/5
Yeah this album was great. Variation in styles throughout, strong vocals and instrumentals. Favorite track: Trouble in the Message Centre
LL Cool J
3/5
This album was pretty good. I wasn't as moved by it as I was hoping to be, but it's still very good 90s hip hop. Favorite track: Farmers Blvd
Deerhunter
1/5
Shoegaze: mumble rap for white hipsters
The Slits
1/5
I wanted to like this going into it...but good lord. This was a disaster. Unlistenable vocals, mostly basic instrumentals, woof. I Heard It Through The Grapevine was the only cohesive track, because it turns out you have to actually pronounce the words in a cover
Led Zeppelin
5/5
I really like albums like this. Complete changeups from a band's normal archetype--it feels like they're doing it specifically to prove how talented they are. I can't speak for their motivation here, but I can speak for Led Zeppelin's talent. To change up the style so much for this album while maintaining their unique vibe is probably the hardest thing you can possibly do as a band. Favorite track (besides Immigrant Song): Out on the Tiles
Common
4/5
This album was great. Common has always been one of the most likeable rappers, and that shines through here. Favorite track: The Corner
The Temptations
5/5
I think people who don't like funk or soul music might just be racist. Favorite track: Hey Girl
Tim Buckley
2/5
Cool instrumentals, stupid lyrics, annoying singing voice. Overall, not for me. Hong Kong Bar and Make It Right put in a hell of an effort to make me change my mind on this album, but the damage was done
Lou Reed
4/5
Lou Reed is such a confounding one to deal with because, well, he is an awful singer. And yet...his extreme talent still makes him a fitting frontman. The arrangements on every one of his songs are simply stunning. I found myself enjoying this album much more than Transformer because the instrumentals are so, so good, and so is the songwriting. It's why How Do You Think It Feels is the biggest and best track on the album, but I felt similarly about Lady Day as well.
David Bowie
5/5
My favorite ever artist stepping outside of his comfort zone to perform in one of my favorite genres of music, recorded in my hometown. This could be the worst piece of shit ever made and I'd still give it 5 stars.
Of course, this is not even remotely close to being that. The backing vocals and instrumentals are incredible. Bowie continues to cement himself as an elite performer. Such an amazing talent to make his voice fit the feel of this music perfectly. Every single song the album is great, but the favorite track is Somebody Up There Likes Me
Teenage Fanclub
3/5
This album just sounds like the 90s. I enjoyed listening to it. Favorite track: Alcoholiday
Bill Callahan
3/5
Really interesting album. I usually can't turn albums like this off fast enough, but something about this one kept my attention. The tracks are very well arranged, and the overall gothic country feel is something I'm not sure I've ever heard before. Favorite track: All Thoughts are Prey to Some Beast
The Kinks
3/5
Nothing especially wrong with this album, it just doesn't really sound like The Kinks at all. I appreciate bands who can deviate from their sound for a different project, but this felt less like an artistic decision and more like a "we need to ride this Beatles wave" decision. They've done it well enough, but it just doesn't feel that authentic either. Favorite track: Sunny Afternoon
Frank Black
4/5
This album is a lot of fun. It doesn't really feel groundbreaking, but that's okay. The vocals are fun and sung well, the instrumentation is arranged well. Favorite tracks: Speedy Marie, Superabound
Björk
1/5
I'm sorry man, I just don't get it
Jimmy Smith
4/5
The type of album that you know exactly how soulful it'll sound as soon as you see the cover and title. Favorite track: When I Grow Too Old to Dream
Circle Jerks
3/5
PUNK
Prefab Sprout
2/5
This album had all the makings of something I'd despise going in. Stupid name for a band, album title that seems to be making fun of album titles for no reason, Britpop...not great. And then the album started out hot. And then quickly became what I thought I would hate about it. The music just becomes so uninteresting so fast. Favorite track: Faron Young
Ghostface Killah
3/5
The album definitely is not bad, but it definitely did not grip me in any meaningful way either. Favorite track: The Champ
Television
5/5
Categorize this as one of my favorite new discoveries in this exercise. Pretty shocking to think that this is typically a punk band making an album like this, but it just shows the breadth of talent wonderfully. Favorite track: Guiding Light
Marvin Gaye
5/5
He's done it again. Favorite track: Inner City Blues
Queen Latifah
3/5
There are some really fun highlights in here. Some very, very funky beats that had me locked in (Come Into my House, Latifah's Law), but everything after Ladies First pretty much all ran together for me. Favorite track: Come Into My House
Sonic Youth
5/5
This album is so damn good that it is still going to get 5 stars even with the amount of screechy elements that made me recoil. Favorite track: Theresa's Sound-World
Sly & The Family Stone
5/5
FUNK. This album brings it in spades. Favorite track: Sex Machine
Louis Prima
4/5
Man, this album really swings so hard. Really made me want to find a woman and dance, which is a hell of an achievement for an album. Favorite track: Oh, Marie
Beastie Boys
4/5
Typically fun Beastie Boys album here. Their ability to remix and repurpose classic sounds for their own music is pretty cool. Favorite track: B-Boy Bouillabaisse Medley
Ravi Shankar
2/5
Not for me
Tears For Fears
3/5
The hits are quite good. The other tracks are quite dull. Overall, fine album, but not one I have much desire to sit down and listen all the way through again. Favorite track: Shout
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
1/5
An entire album where almost nothing notable happens at all. Yay.
Big Brother & The Holding Company
5/5
This album fucking rules. Janis Joplin makes every track she's on more fun, and the backing instrumentals are right there with her. I'm really glad I got to hear this album. Favorite track: Ball and Chain
Miles Davis
5/5
This is the best jazz album I've ever heard, and I grew up playing jazz band in school. Their groove just grabs you and never lets go throughout the entire album. Just simply incredible.
Mariah Carey
1/5
Hard to even consider this an album. It's just an exhibition of her vocal range, which gets old after about 10 seconds
Radiohead
4/5
The first three tracks are Radiohead leaning way too hard into what made OK Computer unique--musically, that's not an interesting way to start an album. But then the rest of the tracks are leaning into what made OK Computer good, which is the music ultimately. Still a really good album, but this is a pretty massive step back from OK Computer. Favorite track: Knives Out
Stevie Wonder
4/5
Man, he really cranks up the emotion dial for the second half of the album. This would have been an easy 5 star if I felt this for the whole album. Favorite track: You Haven't Done Nothin'
Elton John
4/5
Never been Elton John's biggest fan, but I really enjoyed this album quite a bit. The squeaky helium voice is pretty much nonexistent outside of Tiny Dancer, where it fits anyway. So it allowed me to focus on the superior arrangements and songwriting, and now I have a greater level of appreciation for him. Thank you, 1001 Albums. Favorite track: Indian Sunset
Sex Pistols
5/5
This is as good as punk music gets. Favorite track: Liar
Ramblin' Jack Elliott
1/5
One of the most boring albums you will ever hear
Killing Joke
5/5
Well, this album is significantly better than the 2003 "The Killing Joke", which I may or may not have listened to first. I really enjoy this blend of punk and hard rock, and the band doing the mixing themselves with such a clear idea of the sound they wanted is damn impressive. This is certainly going to be in the rotation going forward, and it's probably even going to make it onto my gym playlist. Favorite track: Complications
Beach House
1/5
This album does have a great place on this list: it's a perfect encapsulation of why I hated 90% of the music that came out in the 2010s. It's anti-pop, which was necessary because the pop scene was completely out of hand. But then anti-pop itself is just this bland, high-pitched, whiny crap that's so high off its own farts to be anything interesting at all.
5/5
Hot take: this album is good. Favorite track (besides the obvious ones): Trip Through Your Wires
The Cars
5/5
I mean...every single song on the album is a hit. Not really much else you can rate this album as. Favorite track: Don't Cha Stop
Sade
3/5
This album has most of the right ingredients for me: strong jazz influence, thoughtful lyrics, strong voice. The arrangements are nice, but it feels like there could have been more sophisticated uses of the instrumentation. Favorite track: Smooth Operator
The Sabres Of Paradise
1/5
If there's a genre that is way overrepresented in this, it is electronica. And this album is all the worst stereotypes about the genre imaginable. I've remarked on other albums in here that sound like an album of beats, but this is the final boss of those. It doesn't even feel like there was an attempt to make this music. The funny part is that there are some alright parts towards the end, but the beginning of the album pissed me off so much that it's getting a 1 anyway.
On the bright side, the reviews are absolutely hilarious. Great job, team.
Massive Attack
2/5
Finally, at long last, a 90s English electronica album. Seriously, how many of these can there possibly be in this book?
In all honesty, this is far from the worst one out there. There are clear attempts to make this a cohesive music project, but this genre has such a hard ceiling with me altogether.
Nine Inch Nails
3/5
The first time I heard this album, I hated it. Viscerally. Just sounded like pure cacophony. While those elements still exist to me, my appreciation for it has grown significantly, and the artistic decisions made on it are much more clear to me.
It is a very jarring listen, and that was the intention. The arrangements are extremely particular and do well to portray the album. I can't say I will be revisiting this album very often, but I definitely get it a lot more now. Favorite track: Hurt
Curtis Mayfield
4/5
Fucking brilliant funk. Favorite track: No Thing on Me
3/5
It's definitely a fun album with much more sophisticated instrumentals than I initially gave it credit for. But I'm not sure how else to say this...I feel like I can't take this album seriously? Both the lyrics and singing style feel mostly childish. Still, it's an enjoyable listen. Favorite track: Mongoloid
Frankie Goes To Hollywood
4/5
This is a really fun album with some pretty epic parts to it. The covers are entertaining, albeit not all too creative, takes on the originals. Favorite track: Welcome to the Pleasuredome
Brian Wilson
3/5
Beach Boys are usually nails on a chalkboard to me, so of course this album ventures into that territory at times as well. But I appreciate the overall message of the album and the amount of effort that went into the arrangements--that much is very apparent. Favorite track: In Blue Hawaii
A Tribe Called Quest
5/5
I mean this is obviously just an awesome album. Very important piece of rap history, and a project that is very deserving of that moniker. The ability to change feel from track to track while maintaining cohesion is the mark of truly incredible artists. Favorite track: Luck of Lucien
De La Soul
3/5
I wanted to like this album a lot more than I ended up doing so. Good production value and fun enough lyrics, but it never felt remarkable to me throughout the album. Favorite track: Eye Know
Suicide
1/5
I feel like all of the accolades of this album are gaslighting me. It is beyond boring musically, and it's pretty stunning to think that any of the electronic sounds were ever considered innovative. Everything just feels basic as hell.
Burning Spear
3/5
Pretty interesting album, especially for my first time extensively listening to reggae. Really strong jazz vibes throughout, and the balance of upbeat feeling music that really takes colonial nations to task is cool. Not sure how often I'll be revisiting, but it was an enjoyable listen. Favorite track: Jordan River
Einstürzende Neubauten
1/5
It's strangely comforting to know that this sounded exactly as insane as I thought it would upon reading the description
Sarah Vaughan
4/5
Live jazz albums hit so different. You can feel how intimate the setting is, and the artists tend to be the most personable with their audience. Performance wise, this is excellent too. Her voice is magnificent. Favorite track: Thou Swell
Queen
5/5
Truly awesome album. It shouldn't be a surprise that Queen deliver an epic, action-packed album for a full EP, but it's still so impressive to experience. Favorite track is obviously Bohemian Rhapsody, but out of the non-obvious ones, it'll be The Prophet's Song
The Doors
5/5
What a God damn album. The Doors do the blues like nobody else, and it's awesome. Favorite track: Been down so Long
Lynyrd Skynyrd
5/5
It's just so unbelievably good. Nothing much more to say than that. Favorite track: Simple Man
Paul McCartney
2/5
It's pretty basic listening for most of it, but it also is impressive with the knowledge that it's almost literally all him for every track. At the end of the day, there's really only track that matters here and we all know which one it is
Dusty Springfield
4/5
This is really quite good! This is not the type of music I usually gravitate to, but there's a lot of emotion in the songwriting. And the arrangements are top tier. Favorite track: In the Land of Make Believe
Beatles
5/5
It's just pure genius, man. Nothing else to say. Favorite tracks: Back in the USSR, Helter Skelter
Machito
4/5
Afro-Cuban jazz. The most fun version to play, and the most fun version to listen to. Favorite track: Cannonology
Rufus Wainwright
1/5
I really cannot stand this type of music at all. If you love listening to whiny, nasally voices, this is for you. I enjoyed The One You Love, and it turns out that's because it's the only track that attempted to be holistic music. You know, with actual arrangements, changes, feel, basically anything besides sitting on a stool and droning on behind a mic?
Beastie Boys
5/5
Fuck yeah. Favorite track: Brass Monkey
The Who
5/5
Incredible album from an incredible band. Everything about it is perfect. Favorite track: Won't Get Fooled Again
The Clash
5/5
Truly one of the greatest works of art of all time. Every single genre and feel that was attempted in this album was mastered by the band. Favorite track: Spanish Bombs
Miles Davis
5/5
I think that the album featuring Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Cannonball Adderley is going to be good.
What a surprise, it was. Favorite track: All Blues
TLC
2/5
Man, they were really proud of this album title. It was alright, but not much interested me here besides Waterfalls.
Def Leppard
5/5
I think everybody has that one genre where they instantly drop any kind of critical lens and just fucking have fun with it. That's hard rock for me, and this album certainly delivers on the fun elements. The guitar work is phenomenal, and the vocals work kind of like a harder version of AC/DC. This will definitely be in the rotation going forward. Favorite track: Rock of Ages
Fleet Foxes
3/5
This genre generally doesn't do much for me, but this album addresses some of the things that typically turn me off to it. First, the production value is spot on. Indie albums usually feel fake to me because they're overproduced and make the sound too far away from the authentic instruments. Fleet Foxes does not do that at all--everything sounds like real music, and the pairing of vocals to instruments works very well. Second, there is nice variation to the feel from track to track. Often times in Indie music, I feel like I'm listening to the same whining or breathy chorus sung by 4 guys each track. Fleet Foxes do very well to avoid that.
All that being said...Indie simply has a hard ceiling with me. This style of music is best served as a changeup on an album rather than being an album itself for me. I like to be gripped by heavy instrumentals in general. There are moments where this happens, but not enough for me to call this one of my favorites. Favorite track: Ragged Wood
The Doors
5/5
This band's treatment of the blues is just so uniquely special. I cannot get enough of it. Favorite track: Roadhouse Blues
John Lee Hooker
3/5
As a straight ahead blues album, this is pretty much as concrete of an example as you can get. And I really did enjoy the treatment of it for the vast majority of the album. However, this book has exposed me to so many other treatments of the blues that are so much more interesting and unique than this. Still, it is a very good album with badass instrumentation and good collaborations. Favorite track: Cuttin' Out
The B-52's
1/5
Wow, this album truly fucking sucked
Simple Minds
2/5
It's really not bad. It's not great either, but not bad. It is, however, the same exact song 9 times over. I guess stick with what's working? But it wasn't anything that great where they can't deviate styles at least a little bit. Favorite track: Someone Somewhere
Portishead
3/5
It's fine. For me personally, this album gets let down by the extreme overrepresentation of this genre, because it quite clearly is the best one of all these 90s UK electronica acts. But I'm pretty jaded at this point, and electronica still has a hard ceiling with me.
Pere Ubu
1/5
Cool instrumentals like 25% of the time, purposefully, irritatingly bad vocals 100% of the time and instrumentals 75% of the time. Get out of my life.
Eminem
4/5
I came into this album fully expecting to give it a 5, but I think the exposure to the other classic rap albums in this book has made me realize it really didn't hold up over time as well as others. For the first time, I really found myself questioning how much I liked listening to the violence in his music. As evidenced by the rating, I still clearly do. But the fact that I had to question it at all kind of proves the original point. Favorite track: Role Model
Jerry Lee Lewis
4/5
Fuck this piece of shit. Great album though. Favorite track: Money
The Young Gods
3/5
The French Pink Floyd and Nine Inch Nails having a baby review might be the most accurate review on this whole website. Difference is I liked it a bit more. Favorite track: L'Amourir
Pixies
4/5
Really good album. I liked the variation in feeling between tracks, which is why I like 90s alternative so much. Being able to be cohesively versatile is a really good marker of a band's talent. Favorite track: Velouria
New Order
4/5
Really enjoyed this one, and it was flirting with a 5 until the final track. It's difficult to make dance rock also sound objectively good musically, but they nailed it. New Order's ability to pivot to this type of music after Joy Division is also very impressive. Favorite track: Elegia
Germs
2/5
It's a shame that it was so grating and unlistenable at the start, because it became surprisingly pretty decent by the end
Emmylou Harris
3/5
I typically don't go for the more folksy style of country, but I found myself really liking this one. My thing will always be on the use of instrumentals, and Emmylou nailed them here. All of them were interesting uses in the background, and they paired with her voice very well. Favorite track: Queen of the Silver Dollar
Curtis Mayfield
4/5
I really wished I didn't hate Mayfield's singing voice so much, because the funky instruments & lyrics are absolutely phenomenal. Favorite track: Hard Times
AC/DC
5/5
I like to think of myself as somebody with at least halfway thoughtful musical takes and fairly diverse interests. But, there will always be something about hard rock that will make automatically fall into "FUCK YEAH" mode. And I think it's beautiful that music has the ability to do that to me as well. Favorite track: Hell's Bells
David Bowie
5/5
Surprise, surprise. I've fallen in love with another Bowie record. Favorite tracks: What in the World (with lyrics), A New Career in a New Town (instrumental)
CHIC
3/5
Another fun disco album. As far as uses of soul and funk go, this is towards the bottom of the list for me. However, it is still soul and funk nonetheless, which means it's still good. Favorite track: Good Times
Shivkumar Sharma
2/5
I really tried my best with this one, but I just simply could not get myself into it. I guess it was alright background noise for work, but I couldn't envision myself using it for any more than that.
The Yardbirds
4/5
The song that features Jeff Beck the most is the best one on the album, go figure.
Seriously though, enjoyed this one. My thing has always been melding different styles together cohesively, and they do so here with rock, country, and folk. So much so that they even border on psychedelic rock for a bit. Could have done without the album being on there twice, but I can't complain too much about listening to a good album back-to-back.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
5/5
I could live in Stu Cook's basslines for the rest of my life and be the happiest man on earth. Just top notch instrumentals all around from CCR again. I cannot get enough of, well, most of the tracks on this album, but I Heard It Through the Grapevine is one of those 10 minute epics that do not feel like it at all, like Marquee Moon or Jesus of Suburbia
Oasis
4/5
Yeah, it's just really god damn good. Favorite track: Cigarettes & Alcohol
The Who
5/5
Up through La-La-La-Lies, it felt like they were shoehorning them into The Beatles sound box. However, from there, it very quickly becomes The Who we all know and love. Man, they really hit their stride from that point on. The drumwork on The Kids Are Alright in particular really stands out in this sense, and the whole band really came together strongly for It's Not True. The Ox is pure chaos that also works together almost counterintuitively, which is about the best explanation I can come up with for The Who. Awesome album from an awesome band.
Missy Elliott
2/5
This is my second time listening to this album all the way through, and I still have the same feedback: what do any of the songs have to do with the Under Construction theme she establishes at the begining of the album? The songs aren't bad, although they get very repetitive in feel and theme. Her feelings about losing Aaliyah are obviously genuine, but talking about all those deaths in hip hop before dropping these songs just feels like the definition of monetizing tragedies. Give me Supa Dupa Fly over this any day.
Miles Davis
5/5
It's a 2 song album. And it's awesome.
Electric Light Orchestra
5/5
Just a seriously awesome album. Absolutely loved listening to this. ELO are really good at building through tracks without making them overwhelming. Favorite track: Mr. Blue Sky
Norah Jones
1/5
Perhaps the most "Not for me" album in this book
David Crosby
1/5
Not sure what I was expecting with this one, but what we got was a pretty watered down version of Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young. Unfortunately, I found that to be pretty boring. It eventually devolves into just repetitive soundscapes that did nothing for me at all.
Brian Eno
2/5
Man, this album really tapered off quickly for me. Not sure if I've ever gone from pretty decently interested to background noise so quickly before. Favorite track: Kurt's Rejoinder
Raekwon
2/5
Man, this was disappointing. The fun parts of the album are simply relative to the rest of the album, and they're in fact pretty much just average 90s rap tracks in the grand scheme of things. Favorite track: Guillotine (Swordz)
Alice In Chains
5/5
Just a seriously, unbelievably good album. Incredible singing, incredible songwriting, incredible guitar work. The way they change their feel within tracks is captivating. I was looking forward to getting this album in particular through this exercise, and it delivered in every way. Favorite track: Would?
Songhoy Blues
4/5
This album really is so good and funky. Not at all what you'd expect going in. Favorite track: Soubour
Digital Underground
1/5
Completely mediocre rapping over completely mediocre beats. Performers who sound bored performing their own music...what exactly are you doing this for?
Super Furry Animals
4/5
Man, I'm really finding that I like these guys quite a bit. Their influence on Random Access Memories is so readily apparent, but I'm also hearing a strange amount of Radiohead in some of these tracks? Pretty cool band. Favorite track: Mario Man
Blood, Sweat & Tears
5/5
The first time I listened to this album must have caught me on a bad day, because I feel like I've fallen in love this time. I can do without the Variation tracks, but understand their inclusion. But the energy, swing, and soul on all the other ones are fantastic. Favorite track: Blues, Pt. 2
Neil Young
2/5
This style of music really does not do much for me at all. I know it's probably the rawest display of musical talent, but it just feels so bland to me so often. Add on to it that I really do not like Neil Young's voice, and this is the result. Favorite track: Revolution Blues
Iron Maiden
5/5
Fuck yeah. Favorite track: Run to the Hills
Kings of Leon
1/5
Imagine a band where every single artistic decision doesn't even come remotely close to landing. I present: Kings of Leon
Sugar
5/5
The description read like a perfect recipe for what I want to listen to, and the album did not disappoint in the slightest. The marriage of punk power chords and the alternative vocals really works well for me. The album itself feels like it transitions from punk to alternative as it goes on, and I love it. The instrumentation is simply fantastic--I hear REM in here very strongly. Favorite track: Changes
Steely Dan
5/5
Brilliant album from a brilliant band. The documentary on the making of this album does well to highlight just how much of a Dream Team of studio players they put together for this recording, and it shows so clearly. Favorite track: Deacon Blues
Elton John
4/5
Why, oh why, are all of this guy's big hits the songs where he goes squeaky helium mode?! His full albums, where he sings like a normal human, are so much better and show off his superior songwriting abilities. Admittedly, the songs about women at the end of the album are hilarious knowing what we know now. Favorite track: Social Disease
Pink Floyd
5/5
I mean...what is there to say? A truly epic musical journey that tells a story far more people can closely relate to than they would like to admit. This album is incredible and a cornerstone part of music history. Favorite track: Comfortably Numb
Eels
2/5
It's not bad, but it just feels so...average? Nothing really ever really sticks out to me in this album. Favorite track: Novocaine for the Soul
Beatles
5/5
Obviously lol
Hüsker Dü
3/5
The REM influence on Bob Mould is so hilariously obvious. It sounds like he's doing a Stipe impression on some of the tracks.
The songs themselves, individually, are pretty good. But this album drags on for an eternity. They are way, way too similar for an album this long. Favorite track: Ice Cold Ice
Green Day
5/5
The people who said that this didn't age well can shove it. Musically, this album is unbelievable. Just epic from start to finish. The statements made on suburbia, people just going through life existing, American government propaganda, etc are all arguably even more prevalent today than when it was written. Just because it's not treated with the same eloquence as somebody like Rage Against the Machine doesn't mean that the album didn't age well or had a pointless message.
Okay rant over. Back to the music. Billy Joe Armstrong really sets himself apart from the rest of the field in terms of songwriting on this album. The fact that Green Day has had *several* eras of relevance and styles is enough evidence of it, but American Idiot was what got that statement to the mountaintop. Jesus of Suburbia is one of the greatest songs ever written. Holiday and Boulevard of Broken Dreams are timeless classics. American Idiot was an unbelievably huge opener. But every other song on the album is special too. The double tracks all work, even when they're wildly different styles. Just an awesome, awesome album that I will never hesitate to listen to.
Favorite track: Jesus of Suburbia
Michael Jackson
4/5
The hits on the album are obviously top notch. The arrangements are also top notch as per. This is the first Michael album where I felt like the deep cuts were slightly lacking though. Of course, this is all relative to the rest of his works, so it's still fantastic. Favorite track: Smooth Criminal
Peter Gabriel
4/5
Pretty good and creative songwriting, as to be expected from Peter Gabriel. He does fall into the weird for the sake of being weird trap a few times for me, but still quite liked this broadly. Favorite track: Lead a Normal Life
Dolly Parton
3/5
Really enjoy getting to explore these classic country albums that I never would have touched otherwise. Dolly's voice is beautiful on this album, and it's the perfect length for songs that are all pretty similar to each other. I enjoyed the rock elements I heard in Traveling Man, and the message in Coat of Many Colors is a fantastic one. Favorite track: Coat of Many Colors
Travis
1/5
It's very rare for music of any kind to render no reaction in me at all. Congrats, Travis.
Nina Simone
4/5
I feel like this album would make me fall in love with whomever I simply look at while it's playing. Favorite track: What More Can I Say?
Beatles
5/5
Another example of casual greatness. Favorite track: In My Life
Shack
4/5
The average rating on this feels incredibly harsh. It's a fun album to listen to with some pretty attractive arrangements throughout. I understand the gripes over its actual place in this book, but it's clearly better than a 2.8ish average. Favorite track: Since I Met You
Method Man
3/5
This was probably my favorite Wu Tang project so far, but it is still further proof that they aren't for me. I just don't feel enough variability between the tracks or flow to hold my interest in the whole album. Favorite track: Mr. Sandman
The 13th Floor Elevators
5/5
I never knew how much I loved psychedelic rock until I started listening through this book. The ability to produce sounds like this through instruments is so impressive to me. This was wonderful, and it's a clear rotation piece going forward for sure. Favorite track: Roller Coaster
Stevie Wonder
5/5
So god damn funky. So god damn good. Favorite track: Higher Ground
Frank Zappa
5/5
It is very safe to say that I was not expecting to fall in love with a Frank Zappa record. However, that is the beauty of this exercise. All of these songs absolutely slap. It's a magnum opus of saxophone playing. They are completely grooving from the very start of the album. This is wonderful. Favorite tracks: Son of Mr. Green Genes, The Gumbo Variations
Megadeth
5/5
Awesome album. Megadeth was always hit or miss for me, but then they crushed it when I saw them live. So I'm forever biased.
The guitar and drum work are just so fun to listen to throughout the album. It feels like grooves and metal shouldn't go together, but that's the exact feeling I got each track. That's just what happens when the instrumentals are so tight. Favorite track: Holy Wars...The Punishment Due
The Who
5/5
The first rock opera I ever listened to as a kid. And it's awesome...because it's The Who. It really is that simple sometimes. One of my favorite ever album covers too. Favorite track: Pinball Wizard
The Undertones
4/5
Fun album with pretty unique sounding vocals and heavy instrumentals. Favorite track: Under the Boardwalk
Michael Kiwanuka
5/5
What a truly stunning album. I was not expecting to wholeheartedly love this at all, but that's the beauty of this book. The passion in his voice is so apparent, and the arrangements are so perfectly done. I love the variation in feel from track to track as well. I can hear the influence that What's Going On had on this album, and what an album from which to draw inspiration. Welcome to the rotation, Michael Kiwanuka. Favorite track: Final Days
The Velvet Underground
5/5
Heroin alone earns this album 5 stars.
The arrangements here are just simply second to none. The only complaint I have is how Nico swindled a solo mention here. She is outsung in terms of quality, quantity, AND consequence by Lou Reed here!
1/5
Lmao, come on man. What the hell are we doing here?
Simon & Garfunkel
3/5
What a beautiful, legendary album that I will spend almost no time listening to going forward. This style of music just isn't my go-to in any leisurely setting, but this is still an obvious great one. My relationship with Bob Dylan has really evolved heavily lately, as I've gone from "still not getting him" to "loving the song that parodies him the most because it still does remind me of him." Favorite track: A Simple Desultory Philippic
Meat Loaf
5/5
I chuckled when I got this album because, for some reason, it just seemed like one to never take seriously despite not having listened to it.
Well, I was SORELY mistaken. This album is so good! And it's legitimately fun! I love the range of feels shown in only a handful of songs here, and the arrangements are all on point. This is seriously one of the more surprising revelations to me in this exercise so far, and I was so relieved to see the reviews showing me that I was not wide of the mark in terms of my enjoyment. Favorite track: All Revved Up with No Place to Go
LCD Soundsystem
2/5
It had its moments, but nothing much interested me here at all. Favorite track: All my Friends
U2
5/5
My discovery of how much I enjoy U2 is one of the more unexpected byproducts of this exercise so far. This is, once again, a complete album with great songs, songwriting, arrangements, etc. Hats off to them for exceeding expectations again. Favorite track: Like a Song...
Prince
3/5
I didn't find myself moved by anything in this album until Hot Thing, which is simply not at all what I expect from Prince. It's not offensively bad at all, but a pretty startling amount of stuff that only registered as background noise to me.
The album does pick up quite a bit at the end, though. It's Gonna be a Beautiful Night is more of the energy I love from Prince typically. The second half of the album is a much higher score on its own, but this score is representative of the whole thing. Favorite track: It's Gonna be a Beautiful Night
George Michael
4/5
This album really starts out pretty spectacularly and tails off mightily at the end for me. Overall, I would still say I enjoyed most of it. The songwriting in here is very, very good, and I like the transitions in feel over the course of the album. Favorite track: Waiting for that Day
John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers
5/5
This album absolutely rules. The blues are tight as fuck. The arrangements beyond the guitars are top notch. The guitar playing...I mean, the words don't exist. Just so superlative. Favorite track: Hideaway
Fats Domino
3/5
Very clearly important album in music history. His voice really is a pleasure to listen to, but just by the nature of how foundational of an album this is, the music feels so, so basic for the large majority of the time. Favorite track: Honey Chile
Linkin Park
5/5
Let me make this clear: there is absolutely no chance in hell I am rating this below a 5 going into it. This is such a seminal album of my childhood, it's already locked in. Alright, let's listen.
Yep, of course this held up for me. Pretty much every song is a hot, and they're all pretty much in regular rotation for me, especially for working out. I know the lyrics play into the psyche of typically angsty teens, but they really do a better job than most artists at describing those feelings artistically. Chester's singing is iconic, Shinoda's rapping is a perfect change of pace, and the instrumentation kicks ass. Favorite track: Papercut
Crowded House
2/5
Everything about this album is right down the middle. The singing is fine, not great. The instrumentals aren't anything to write home about, but they aren't bad or detrimental at all. Overall, the album isn't bad at all, but it's really not good either. Just a whole big pile of meh. The fact that I can't really pick a favorite track because none of them stand out at all is pretty much a perfect encapsulation of my point
Antony and the Johnsons
1/5
I'm going to assume that this album is viewed as hugely, culturally important in art and the LGBTQ+ movement. I'm not going to confirm that assumption though because I honestly couldn't care less. Her voice sounds abysmal for most of this album. Traditionally bad singing voices are not a disqualifier for me obviously, but they are a mutually exclusive concept with any kind of chamber music. I'm glad Anohni was able to find the peace she very clearly longs for in this album, but the album itself is bad. Real bad. Very, very difficult listen.
Muddy Waters
5/5
Legendary. Favorite track: Tiger in Your Tank
Gorillaz
3/5
Gorillaz are a band I always meant to explore more beyond the hits, so I was glad to receive this one. However, I found myself disappointed in much larger portions of this album than I expected. Some parts I really vibe to quite a bit, but there's a pretty uncomfortable amount of time where it just feels like I'm listening to background beats rather than holistic music. I would say that I like the album overall, but it's certainly not what I was expecting.
Lorde
3/5
As far as pop music goes, this is about as good as it gets for me. The problem with pop music is that the production is always what carries the project, and that bores me pretty quickly. I really do like Lorde's voice quite a bit and would like to hear her perform with some sort of symphony orchestra or chamber group. But myself and pop are just not meant to be. Favorite track: Sober
2/5
Your Dictionary might be the single worst song I've heard in my life. The rest of the album ranges from good to fine to bad, but Your Dictionary is horrific. Favorite track: Greenman
Led Zeppelin
5/5
Just pure excellence. Favorite track: Bring It On Home
Talking Heads
5/5
And you may ask yourself...how can you rate this anything else?
Bob Marley & The Wailers
2/5
I found myself disliking this album for much longer stretches than anticipated. A lot of the stereotypes used to make fun of reggae are very prevalent in here for me, like repetitive, very basic beats. I also didn't anticipate a borderline horny album from Bob Marley
Massive Attack
4/5
Really cool vibe on this album. If each song was 1 minute shorter, we'd really be cooking with gas here. Still enjoyed this quite a bit more than I usually do with electronica. Favorite track: Unfinished Sympathy
Alice Cooper
4/5
Alice Cooper is always a fun listen, and there actually is a lot more musically going on here than you'd think. It's always interesting hearing hard rockers go back to their roots and play straightforward blues like he does on Generation Landslide. It's a nice reminder that hard rock is the blues, just presented very differently.
David Bowie
5/5
One of my favorite ever albums (as all Bowie albums are). Once again, his ability to meld and blend distinct styles of music into a cohesive project--let alone an epic musical journey--is unmatched by anybody else in the history of music. This is the work of a genius, even if he didn't know it at the time of recording. Favorite track: TVC15
Sam Cooke
5/5
A live album from a soul singer whose yelling at the crowd voice is nearly exactly the same as his singing voice? Yeah, that's an automatic 5 stars. Favorite track: It's All Right / For Sentimental Reasons
Bill Evans Trio
4/5
There's no doubt that this is excellence. You really cannot play these classics any better than the trio are both individually and collectively.
But...I just can't give a rhythm section trio a perfect 5. Brass and woodwinds just add far too much to my enjoyment of jazz. This is probably the rating I regret the most thus far, but I have to be honest with myself here. I do take pride in having seen a show at this legendary venue though, and I am very glad to have it be coronated in this list.
Yes
5/5
Yeah, Yes have done it again here. The amount of power chords they produce from their selection of instruments is really difficult to explain. The grooves they get into on each track are flat out addicting, and the influences drawn from other genres are all welcome and interesting. Favorite track: Roundabout
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
5/5
This album is just brilliant man. I really love the punk feel throughout, and Costello's voice is so cool. Plus, an album from an Irishman taking Anglos to task is always a W. Favorite track: Moods for Moderns
R.E.M.
4/5
Another really great REM album here. Much, much more introspective look than their previous ones, but their talent shines through all the same. Favorite track: Man on the Moon
Ice T
3/5
Body Count is what Limp Bizkit tried to be. I'd listen to a full album of songs like that from Ice T
Beck
2/5
This album is simply incontrovertible proof that Beck is not for me. I'm quite literally going through a breakup right now, and this album is still boring the life out of me. The only songs that moved me even a little bit were Lonesome Tears and Sunday Sun. Everything else felt like a stereotypical sad singer sitting on a stool.
Black Sabbath
4/5
This album really has so many tremendously heavy parts. Really, really cool look at the talent of this band, especially with the feel shift in Changes. Favorite track: Snowblind
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
2/5
I just gave Dimery a heart attack by telling him "Nick Cave and Tom Waits are nowhere near as important to the history of recorded music as you think."
I despise the premise of the album. I'm tired of listening to Nick Cave treat his albums like e-books. PJ Harvey and Kylie Minogue are the guest artists from my personal hell. The instrumentals...are actually kinda cool. They'll spare this album from the 1 I truly want to give it.
DJ Shadow
3/5
The album is actually more interesting than I thought it would be. But with that being said, a lot of it still all runs together for me. Electronic music without lyrics still feels like half a song for the most part to me. Also...the songs are just entirely too long. Favorite track: Building Steam with a Grain of Salt
ZZ Top
4/5
The songs that really hit here are so phenomenal. La Grange is an absolute icon of a track. The blues are hard, heavy, and fast here. Favorite track: La Grange
The Mamas & The Papas
3/5
I enjoyed this one for the nostalgic sound of growing up listening to this in my parents' cars. The songs still hold up today, though that bubblegum sound doesn't do a whole lot for me on its own anymore. Favorite track: California Dreamin'
Deep Purple
4/5
This is a pretty god damn phenomenal live performance. The jams are awesome, but a little long to listen to outside of the live setting. Still, the talent here is just overwhelming. Favorite track: Highway Star
Finley Quaye
1/5
Man...so much of this album is just noise to me. The instrumentals on their own might be decent, but his voice is very difficult to hear for nearly an hour.
Janet Jackson
2/5
It's a fun dance album for sure, but 64 minutes of a fun dance album is entirely too much time. A lot of the social commentary, which itself is fairly enlightened, has its impact cut short in this format for me too. Favorite track: Rhythm Nation
The Thrills
2/5
The instrumentation is interesting. The singing voice is like nails on a chalkboard. Ditto for most Indie albums. No real standout tracks here to pick a favorite.
Green Day
5/5
One of my favorite albums of all time. I can't stress enough how difficult it is to write an album about this subject matter in this style and have it be this objectively good musically. And Billie Joe did it when he was 21! It's a special album from a special band, and it will always hold up for me. Favorite track: Longview
Air
3/5
Much more of a vibe than I was anticipating. Electronica simply never does it for me, but I really felt a cohesive project and musical progression, which almost never happens in albums like this for me. Favorite track: Le voyage de Penelope
The White Stripes
3/5
Pretty interesting album in how many feels it covers. I tend to appreciate albums like this, even though there were a fair few of these tracks that faded to background for me. The talent is very apparent though. Favorite track: Instinct Blues
The Damned
5/5
Absolutely loved this. Each direction in here hit all my rock spots I was looking to have hit. And each one is done excellently. Honestly, I wasn't sure I ever understood the term "proto" until I heard this album. I really enjoyed this journey quite a bit, and will certainly be incorporating this to the rotation. Favorite track: Plan 9 Channel 7
Paul Revere & The Raiders
4/5
Psychedelia!!! Favorite track: Little Girl in the 4th Row
Paul Simon
5/5
Pure brilliance. One of the most artistic albums you'll ever hear, and every single direction clicks beautifully. Favorite track: I Know What I Know
Prince
5/5
A sincerely incredible album that touches almost every musical genre you can imagine. What an artist. Favorite track: Let's Pretend We're Married
Supertramp
5/5
Truly love this album, which makes my mom very happy. Favorite track: Bloody Well Right
The Pogues
5/5
Love this album beyond words. Absolutely raucous fun, extremely tight instrumentals, perfect singing voice for the feel, a myriad of feels covered from front to back. This album feels like it was singularly made for me. Excellent, excellent, excellent. RIP Shane. Favorite tracks: Metropolis; Medley: The Recruiting Sergeant / The Rocky Road to Dublin / The Galway Races
The Icarus Line
3/5
Well, I certainly do not hate this as much as the population of reviewers on here do. There are elements of cacophony here, but they definitely do draw away from the album for me like they do for others. 2004 does feel a little late for a band like this though
Eminem
2/5
I really can't believe I've hit the point where Eminem's music primarily makes me cringe. The "aged poorly" line about music is way, way overused, but it fits particularly well for, well, pretty much all his albums. His actual rapping ability is obviously great, but the music is just so hard to listen to now. Favorite track: Under the Influence
The Band
5/5
Take folk music, and make it rock. And jazz. And soul. And blues. And psychedelic. And then suddenly I like folk music. Funny how that works. Favorite tracks: The Weight, We Can Talk, Chest Fever
Paul Weller
5/5
Have never listened to Paul Weller at all...and I honestly couldn't tell you why. This is wonderful! Great marriage of blues and soul here, and it's certainly going to get me to listen to him a lot more now. What a great discovery here. Favorite tracks: Has My Fire Really Gone Out?, 5th Season
Van Halen
5/5
Fuck yeah. Favorite track: Eruption
Steely Dan
5/5
Just absolutely love this band. Could not be more down my alley if they tried. Instrumentation, overall vibe, lyrics, writing style...just all perfect for me. Favorite track: Reelin' in the Years
The Police
3/5
I liked the Police better when Kevin was singing and playing the drums. Favorite track: Synchronicity
Supergrass
5/5
This was phenomenal. Really great energy and feel to all tracks. I'm very surprised I've never come across this group before apart from Alright...this is exactly down my alley. Favorite track: Lenny
The Zombies
3/5
Really nice album. It's kind of like bubblegum psychedelia. Favorite track: Time of the Season
The Cramps
1/5
Really struggling to see how this is essential listening by any stretch of the definition. I actually enjoyed their treatment of Fever, but otherwise there was really nothing appealing here to me.
Mekons
3/5
Punk country? Strange, I dig it. Favorite track: Hard to be Human Again
The Last Shadow Puppets
4/5
One of my biggest shocks of this exercise is finding out how much I like Indie music. Favorite track: Standing Next to You
Talking Heads
5/5
Love, love, love this band. The roots of funk, soul, punk, and garage rock make for a really magical connection in all of their works. Favorite track: Psycho Killer
Hole
5/5
Tell you what, finding out that I like Hole was one of the more painful moments of my life. (Phrasing). Favorite track: Heaven Tonight
Elvis Presley
3/5
I know I have the benefit of hindsight here, but it's wild to me that this album is the one that ushered in rock and roll across the American mainstream. Well, we all know why that's the case, but it's really crazy to listen to this with the context of knowing that so many artists did this style of music so much better and more interesting than what's put out here. Still, the importance of this album to my favorite music to listen to cannot be discounted or disrespected. Favorite track: I Got a Woman
Willie Nelson
2/5
I want to like this so badly...but this is the type of country music that simply does not retain my attention. Sorry, Willie.
The Flaming Lips
5/5
Simply an incredible band. If you have the chance to go see the Flaming Lips in concert, DO IT. It's impossible for me to objectively rate this band's music anymore because of the time I saw them.
The fact that this is universally seen as the album that launched their career to a new dimension makes it automatically one of my favorites. But all the elements that make people love the Flaming Lips are overly present here: high degree of creativity in arrangements, very high production value, poignant lyrics that never take themselves too seriously, unpredictable songwriting. Favorite track: Race for the Prize
Taylor Swift
3/5
Fellas, if you're in a pinch and need to give "your favorite Taylor Swift song" to somebody on Hinge who swears they're the only person who asks this, just pick a song on this album. It'll make her happy, and you've definitely heard the song before, even if you didn't know it was by her
Metallica
5/5
Lol, 6 of the first 7 tracks on this album are on my gym playlist. Favorite track: Nothing Else Matters
3/5
Fuck the Gallaghers, all my homies hate the Gallaghers (the music is mostly good)
Kacey Musgraves
2/5
Her voice is beautiful. But every single song on the album is the same. I remember how popular this album was when it dropped, and I can see why. But it's also a good explanation as to why I'm so rarely drawn to recent pop releases. Favorite track: High Horse
Funkadelic
5/5
Man...this album slaps like nothing else. Heavy, heavy grooves throughout, and I absolutely cannot get enough of it. This is a lovely gift for my 30th from the generator, and now I'll be hunting for this vinyl. Favorite track: Maggot Brain (live) (including bonus tracks), Who Says a Funk Band Can't Play Rock?
Iron Maiden
5/5
Am I crazy, or is this--like--significantly better than The Number of the Beast (already one of my favorite albums)? It's easy to only think of metal bands as being loud, but the musicianship on this album is top notch. There are more than a few albums like this in this book where metal bands show their chops, and I really appreciate them quite a bit. Favorite track: Running Free
John Lennon
3/5
The more I listen to John on his own, the more overrated I find him to be. He's still very good, clearly, but there's just so little about his solo (& duo work with Yoko) that moves me at all. Favorite track: Gimme Some Truth
Syd Barrett
2/5
This album is super interesting, because it really helps to delineate what was Pink Floyd and what was Syd Barrett on the Piper at the Gates of Dawn. It's really hard to get around the elephant in the room here: if they hadn't exiled (this version of) Barrett from the band, I really doubt Pink Floyd would have reached anything close to their heights. He was clearly talented and a musical mastermind at one point, but he really is starting to succumb to his addiction here. Especially compared to the band.
Dagmar Krause
1/5
Pretty much every effort has been made for me to not listen to this...therefore I won't
Thin Lizzy
4/5
This is a pretty epic live performance, significantly better than I was expecting honestly. Favorite track: The Rocker
Fleetwood Mac
5/5
Truly brilliant album, one of the best ever written. I'm trying to envision a scenario where a musical group goes through this much turmoil to create an absolute masterpiece simply because they all respect each other too much as artists. And I've pretty much reached the conclusion that it could never happen today. It's honestly pretty amazing it even happened back then. Favorite track: Break the Chain
The Flying Burrito Brothers
4/5
Enjoyed this one. The psychedelia-country crossover is not one I really ever expected to encounter, but it seems like was a pretty regular thing back in the 60s and 70s. I need some more of that. Favorite track: Wheels
The Dandy Warhols
4/5
I really, really enjoyed this for the most part. Especially the beginning of the album...it hits the perfect 90s sound that I cannot get enough of. However, the middle of the album then really leans way, way too hard into the lo-fi sound that becomes very hit or miss to me. Then the ending recaptures that feel I really like from the beginning. The drop off is too stark to get the perfect 5 for me, but many tracks from this will happily end up in my rotation
Grizzly Bear
1/5
This album felt SIGNIFICANTLY longer than 52 minutes. And not in a good way.
OutKast
5/5
Excellence in rap music right here. Favorite track: B.O.B.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
3/5
This album starts out really, really strongly and tapers off for me. The instrumentals are all interesting, and way, way heavier than you'd expect going in at times. But the overall sound of the album fades to background for me beyond the first 4 or 5 tracks. Favorite track: Soft Shock
Lightning Bolt
1/5
Genuinely who the fuck is this shit for
Belle & Sebastian
2/5
A duo whose life ambition was elevator music
The Stooges
5/5
Really, really fun album. To call this proto even sounds reductive though...it's like a heavy version of Less Than Jake. And it rules. Favorite track: Dirt
Frank Ocean
2/5
I've been forcibly removed from the millennial generation by standing on the hill that Frank Ocean and this album are both terribly, terribly overrated
Justice
2/5
*listens to first song* oh cool! It's that song! Surely something else on this must be notable or even at all interesting
Fun Lovin' Criminals
2/5
It's like the 90s version of mumble rap
Quicksilver Messenger Service
1/5
An album where there are 4 mic checks bookending the 2 actual songs on the album. The psychedelia here is manufactured at best too. There's simply no reasonable way to consider this a foundational album to recorded music. There are plenty, plenty of early psychedelia albums that can take the place of this boring mess.
Radiohead
3/5
As far as Radiohead goes, this one just doesn't do it for me. I appreciate their creativity and abstract nature. There's just very little here that interests me. Jigsaw Falling Into Place is a pretty fantastic palate cleanser though. Favorite tracks: Jigsaw Falling Into Place, Weird Fishes/Arpeggi
The Smiths
3/5
Morrissey is the worst singer of all time. Why does he have to be in such a good band otherwise
Dusty Springfield
4/5
Really, really was not expecting to find myself enjoying Dusty Springfield this much, but both her albums in here so far have been pretty great. The arrangements are all very impressive and big band-derived, which is an easy way to capture my interest. Her voice sounds pretty significantly ahead of its time here too. Favorite track: Don't You Know
MGMT
5/5
I really like discovering music from my era that I genuinely enjoy. My contrarian nature was great for forming very strong opinions and relationships with older music I still love to this day, but I was way too hardline against modern music at the same time. This is fantastic art, and I will certainly keep MGMT in my rotation. Favorite track: Of Moons, Birds & Monsters
Sinead O'Connor
2/5
I like the variation in feel between tracks, but honestly not a whole lot stood out to me here
M.I.A.
3/5
I'll be honest, I was not looking forward to this album at all upon assignment. But I actually enjoyed it quite a bit. I feel like it's not very common to see this much global, specifically island, influence on a hip hop record, so I appreciated that part. Favorite track: Bucky Done Gun
Led Zeppelin
5/5
Absolute masterpiece. This album starts hot and never cools down in terms of quality. Led Zeppelin's ability to cover all feels while ostensibly being a metal band is one of the more impressive things you'll see in music. Favorite track: Misty Mountain Hop
The Band
5/5
The Band's approach to music is so interesting to me. It's like a cross between The Doors and Lynyrd Skynyrd...and they came out considerably before both of them. There's little doubt in my mind that they're plastered in the "Your favorite band's favorite band" Hall of Fame alongside Television. Favorite track: Up On Cripple Creek
Minutemen
3/5
I don't think I've ever experienced lo-fi punk before, but it was pretty cool here. I strangely hear the influence on, like, a lot of my favorites here. Dinosaur Jr in particular. Interesting listen even though I likely won't revisit very often. Favorite track: No Exchange
Spacemen 3
3/5
The first track and a half are such a gigantic whiff that it nearly ruins an otherwise pretty great album. I understand building up the feeling of the album, but you can do that with more than just long presses on a keyboard. Favorite track: Lord Can You Hear Me
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
5/5
Elvis Costello is an outstanding songwriter and the owner of one of the coolest singing voices I can think of--he and Tom Petty exist in a class of their own where their singing voices just sound cool. I'm making my uncle proud with this one. Favorite track: Man Out of Time
Neil Young
4/5
Neil Young really has a great way of transporting you to the exact setting of his songs. The folk bordering on psychedelia is a really interesting feel to his music. Favorite track: Heart of Gold
Pixies
2/5
Cool instrumentals, but very irritating vocals
Siouxsie And The Banshees
5/5
What an excellent album this is. Everything thing about it just screams "tight." This was a new discovery for me when I heard it my non-group account, and it fits perfectly into that punk-adjacent sound that I crave. Favorite track: Sin in my Heart
Morrissey
1/5
Morrissey is the worst singer in human history. Fitting that I have to listen to this stupid piece of shit's album on the stupidest piece of shit streaming platform: YouTube Music
Tricky
2/5
I thought it wasn't so bad, until I suddenly realized "holy shit, this is still playing?!" when the penultimate track started. I guess that says all you need to know
Nico
1/5
Turns out the solo vocalist who got outsung by Lou Reed on an album just isn't very good
Buffalo Springfield
3/5
I was ready to call this album an unmemorable dud until Broken Arrow. That song did the Lord's work to bring the score up
ZZ Top
5/5
Heavy, tight, awesome. Favorite track: Gimme All Your Lovin'
Kanye West
5/5
PURELY MUSIC-BASED REVIEW ONLY: man it is absolutely brilliant. One of the all time great recordings in music history. 0 skips (apart from Hov's verse on Monster). Favorite track: Devil in a New Dress
The Waterboys
3/5
As reductive as it is to compare them to The Pogues...the comparison isn't not warranted. And they're just simply not as good or entertaining. With that being said, I did enjoy the listen, particularly at the beginning. Favorite track: Fisherman's Blues
The Divine Comedy
2/5
It's funny...as I listened to this album progress, my thought was "this sounds way more like a solo artist album than one by a band", and now Neil Hannon is now listed as it's only member. Score another one for weird observations by my brain...
This is a pretty interesting album to me overall...so much so that I'm not sure if I like it or not. I like the variation in songwriting and feels, I like the instrumentals, the voice pairs well with them...but something just doesn't connect with me as much as I'd think given all the components that I like. Favorite track: Through a Long and Sleepless Night
The Mars Volta
3/5
The music is pretty good, but it feels...overbearing? There are some points where it feels like I'm getting sensory overload just from listening, and that gets to be a little much over the course of an hour or so
Ms. Dynamite
2/5
Perhaps the single most unremarkable album in the entire book
Fred Neil
2/5
There's not much that interests me, pretty much solely due to the genre. However, Cynicrustpetefredjohn Raga was awesome.
Iggy Pop
5/5
I really, really enjoyed this album. Iggy Pop is not somebody I (knowingly) experienced much of before this book, but he's somebody that's really captured my interest. Is it primarily due to his proximity to Bowie? Maybe, but their styles are very distinct to me despite being clear influences on each other. The Berlin Era is something I will study extensively at some point because the amount of great music it produced as essentially a rehab exercise is so interesting. Favorite track: The Passenger
Coldplay
2/5
The older I get, the more bored I become of Coldplay
Sister Sledge
3/5
It's a fun album
Sheryl Crow
1/5
Oh boy, a mixture of pop and country, my favorite!!!!
Wire
5/5
This is the third best punk album I've ever heard after the Sex Pistols and London Calling. The singing voices/styles are the most immediately recognizable elements of punk, but these bands are so incredibly good at their instruments. If an album's instrumentals alone could be 5 star, you've got a pretty god damn good one. Favorite track: Champs
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
2/5
I mean, the last track was pretty cool? Creating a mostly forgettable 20 minute long album opener is quite an accomplishment. Favorite track: Are You Ready Eddy?
The Cult
4/5
Hell yeah. A lot of fun to listen to...nothing groundbreaking here, just some good hard rock to have fun with. Favorite track: King Contrary Man
2/5
Pretty much just an average country album to me
Mike Ladd
1/5
What a truly awful album
Pere Ubu
1/5
There is no way in hell I'm expected to listen to this singing voice on Navvy for the entire album, right?
Update: apparently I was
5/5
Man...this is excellent. One of my favorite totally new discoveries so far. The songwriting here is just top, top class. I definitely hear the parallels between this and Neil Young all the way through. If there's anything I love in an album, it's mood shifts and variations in feel, even within the tracks themselves. This album has that in spades. Favorite track: Morning Will Come
Red Hot Chili Peppers
5/5
Just an awesome album, so many big hits on here. And they're accompanied by really good surrounding tracks as well to come up with a cohesive project. RHCP will never struggle to come up with hits, but it's the rest of the tracks that define whether or not an album is great or a Best Hits one. Favorite track: Otherside
Leonard Cohen
1/5
Very few things make me as angry as the amount of Leonard Cohen I've been forced to listen to by Dimery. I don't give a shit how influential this allegedly is...he sounds bored while he's singing. What other emotion am I supposed to feel when that's the case
Beatles
5/5
Don't overthink it. Favorite track: Things We Said Today
Public Image Ltd.
1/5
Throwing on Never Mind the Bollocks as a palate cleanser following this total mess
Gene Clark
3/5
It's like if Bob Dylan was a slightly better singer and half as interesting as a songwriter...which is still pretty good. Favorite track: 1975
John Lennon
1/5
Absolutely not. Not taking the time to listen to this smoldering heap again
Black Flag
2/5
My rating of 1 the first time I listened to this was too harsh. It was much more listenable to me this time around, but I'm just simply not a hardcore fan. I will always appreciate how good punk rockers are at their instruments though. Favorite track: TV Party
The Stooges
3/5
I think it's very important to listen to both mixes here. The Bowie one is quite clearly what the band wanted to go for when making the album, but the Iggy one is way more digestible and helps you, well, understand the songs. With that being said, I'm so, so disappointed that I don't like this more than I do. The influence on my favorite music is obvious. The influence on the album from my favorite ever artist is obvious. But...I just don't like listening to it as much as I wanted to. Favorite track: Raw Power (Bowie Mix), Death Trip (Iggy Mix)
CHIC
3/5
Fun album, not sure that multiple CHIC albums are necessary for this exercise though
The Adverts
5/5
Man, this was excellent. The evolution of punk over the years is really, really interesting to hear--this one feels like an artifact all the way through. Favorite track: Great British Mistake
The Fall
5/5
The first time I listened to this, I was unsure as to how much I liked it--I knew that I did, but I was not sure if it was approaching a favorite status. The second time, I am positive that I love this. It reminds me of a UK Double Nickels on the Dime, which is an interesting statement for a post-punk band. The ending of this album is so, so good. Favorite track: Gut of the Quantifier
Doves
3/5
There are some really cool moments in here that connect with me, but also quite a bit that quickly retreats to the background. Favorite track: There Goes the Fear
The Libertines
3/5
I liked this one. This album is a true roller coaster of rhythmic feelings. Favorite track: Tomblands
Siouxsie And The Banshees
5/5
What an awesome band this is. I just love the way that punk bands play their instruments...so much power and connected rhythms. I could listen to both this and Juju on repeat forever. Favorite track: Switch
Arctic Monkeys
5/5
This is such a fun album to listen to. The bass riff on Dancing Shoes is so gripping. I have this one on vinyl, and it is in the very regular rotation for me. Great album from a great band. Favorite track: Dancing Shoes
Wilco
1/5
Nothing grinds my gears more than a singer who sounds like they're bored while singing
The Jam
5/5
I like this one, definitely an interesting feel to the instrumentals. These early punk albums really grip me a lot more than I ever thought they would. Favorite track: That's Entertainment
Lauryn Hill
2/5
Sigh...a legendary album that I just cannot get myself to find anything besides boring. I'm so sorry everybody. R&B just sounds like elevator music to me
Ali Farka Touré
4/5
The vibes on this album are immaculate. Favorite track: Lasidan
Ian Dury
1/5
Dimery deserves to get fought for some of these albums
Jane's Addiction
5/5
Hell fucking yeah. This album is exactly my niche sound that I crave. Grunge, punk, metal, hard rock, alternative, emo...all here in spades. And I cannot get enough of it. This is my first time listening to the entire album, and it will not be close to my last. Favorite track: Been Caught Stealing
Faust
3/5
It's lowkey a vibe. Favorite track: Giggy Smile
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
1/5
Oh great, another Nick Cave album. Surely this one won't be boring, pretentious crap.
Just yelled "Oh, shut the fuck up, already" during Black Hair. Things are going great.
Welp...it was boring, pretentious crap.
Kate Bush
1/5
I think I've pretty thoroughly proven throughout this exercise that I do not need to have a traditionally great singing voice to appreciate the music. However, if your singing voice sounds like it's trying to be bad on purpose, I have almost no time for you. Kate, you're a singer-songwriter, for crying out loud. Can you try not using your Bene Gesserit voice on half the songs?
The Psychedelic Furs
3/5
This is an interesting one. There are points where the album feels like it's dragging on for an eternity, and there are points where I feel like I could live in the basslines for the rest of my life. This is my first time listening to a full Psychedelic Furs album...I think they might just be best reserved for playlists for me even though I really do love some of these moments. Favorite track: Mr. Jones
Marvin Gaye
5/5
Some of the most raw emotion you'll hear on an album. That paired with the funk and jazz elements throughout make this one pretty addicting for me. Favorite track: A Funky Space Reincarnation
Adele
3/5
I'll always be amazed by the amount of power she packs in her voice. Favorite track: Set Fire to the Rain
Queen
5/5
It's really interesting to hear Queen do fairly straightforward rock. Major shock: they're very good at it. Favorite track: In the Lap of the Gods
Deee-Lite
2/5
I kept wondering why this was on here until it finally got to *that* song. Dance albums are largely pointless though, they're intended to be singles by nature
Michael Jackson
5/5
R.E.M.
5/5
Scritti Politti
3/5
The Dave Brubeck Quartet
5/5
This is pure excellence in jazz right here. Favorite track: Take Five
T. Rex
3/5
I actually found myself disappointed by this one. I was just expecting to hear more interesting instrumentals than what I got. Granted, my expectations were decently high coming in, so this album is still pretty good overall. It just left me wanting on several songs. Bang a Gong will always slap though
Django Django
5/5
I'm actually floored that this is going down as a 5 for me. Open-mindedness is a superpower, kids. Favorite track: Waveforms
The Youngbloods
4/5
This album is super cool, I love the many variations on the blues seen throughout
The xx
1/5
An audio-ization of paint drying
Black Sabbath
5/5
Legendary
Billy Bragg
3/5
Billy Bragg & Wilco together initially made me want to vomit. But this was actually much better than I thought it would be, so I'm choosing to credit Woody Guthrie's lyrics for this instead. Favorite track: Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key
Baaba Maal
2/5
Mj Cole
1/5
I suppose I was due for one of these boring UK electronica albums
Bob Dylan
5/5
One does not fully mature until they realize how incredible Bob Dylan is
Isaac Hayes
3/5
Fun enough album to listen to while working, but it is a soundtrack after all. A lot doesn't really connect outside of the film.
Genesis
5/5
This is a truly brilliant album. Turns out having two legendary songwriters in one band is good for the quality of the band's music. Favorite track: Dancing with the Moonlit Knight
Kendrick Lamar
5/5
FUCK yes. Incredible album, will forever be one of my favorites. I'm not sure how hot of a take this is, but I think this is his best album over To Pimp a Butterfly. This is one of a few albums from my lifetime that I remember where everybody pretty much immediately accepted the artist as a great one. The album felt both of the era and out of the 90s simultaneously, which is probably the best way to describe Kendrick anyway. Also, Jay Rock's verse on Money Trees is my favorite hip hop verse of all time. Favorite track: Money Trees
Kraftwerk
2/5
I'm going to guess that this album was significantly ahead of its time...but I also couldn't care less
Def Leppard
4/5
Really fun album that is entirely too long and same-y for what it is. But this is supposed to be fun, damnit, so I still love it all the same. Favorite track: Armageddon It
Pentangle
3/5
The instrumentation in this album is really, really cool. The singing? Woof...52 minutes is a lot of time to spend listening to falsetto faery voice. Overall, this was much better than most folk albums I've experienced due to the high variation in arrangements. Favorite track: Lyke-Wake Dirge
Primal Scream
3/5
I can't be the only one who noticed that Movin' On Up sounds exactly like Love the One You're With, right
Drive Like Jehu
1/5
LOUD. NOISES. (there are very few moments where the music comes together and sounds great. But the moments are fleeting at best)
I was also shocked to find out that I had written that review during the 4th song. The album genuinely felt like it was wrapping up during it and it had felt like the right run time for an album...so that is probably the best way to explain this one
Wu-Tang Clan
3/5
It is a good album. Let's get that out of the way.
I cannot get myself to hear "all time great" album no matter how hard I try. I am so sorry. Favorite track: Wu-Tang Clan Ain't Nuthing Ta F' Wit
John Coltrane
5/5
Pure excellence
Talking Heads
4/5
A subpar Talking Heads album is still considerably better than most others
Bauhaus
5/5
This album is so bizarre that I think I'm in love with it. Favorite track: Satori
Stephen Stills
3/5
Ali Farka Touré
2/5
Dr. Octagon
1/5
Wow, another rap album where all the tracks and interludes are about how much sex the rapper haves. Exhilarating
Beck
1/5
No thank you
The Zutons
3/5
Pretty fine, mostly enjoyable album. Not sure that it belongs in the list, but it was a good listen. Favorite track: Zuton Fever
Madonna
2/5
In which Madonna attempts to simultaneously ride Brittney Spears' and Shania Twain's waves
Femi Kuti
5/5
This was fantastic!! A wonderful combination of funk, jazz, Afro-influence...really, really fun discovery. Favorite track: Stubbor Problems
Echo And The Bunnymen
3/5
The Killers
5/5
A very formative album for me, and what an album to have that distinction. It's aged excellently, all the hits are still hits, just a really fun album to revisit. Favorite track: All These Things That I've Done
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
1/5
I genuinely wanted to give this a second try, but it's not on Spotify! And I'll be damned if I'm both listening to this and also dealing with YouTube Music's horrible user experience, so the initial ranking stands
Lupe Fiasco
5/5
While I had previously enjoyed the Lupe Fiasco I'd listened to quite a bit, I never listened to a whole album because I thought it would be too pretentious. But this was wonderful. Really fun selection of beats and his flow is immaculate as always. The Outro was obviously too much, but man this was a great album. Favorite track: American Terrorist
Tom Waits
1/5
If a friend recommended this album to me, I'd assume they were a secret serial killer
Björk
2/5
https://youtu.be/khM0EIAFbFI?feature=shared
Willie Colón & Rubén Blades
3/5
The trombone player on this 🤌
Queen
5/5
This really is a fantastic album, and for Queen to make such an album without any major hits on it is a huge display of their talent. Favorite track: Seven Seas of Rhye
Nick Drake
1/5
I knew I hated this the moment the first track started
The Stranglers
5/5
This is the most range I've heard on a punk album besides Marquee Moon and London Calling. Almost every single track brings you an entirely unexpected sound or feel, and I cannot get enough of it. Punk organ slaps unbelievably.
70s/80s punk is becoming very close to being an auto 5 star for me. Picking a favorite track here is very tough, but I'll go with Princess of the Streets and Down in the Sewer
4/5
Man, that take of Like a Rolling Stone was a hell of a climax to a pretty cool bootleg tape
The Isley Brothers
5/5
Holy shit, what a beautiful, incredible album
Fishbone
5/5
Hell yeah. It should be a surprise to nobody that black ska is way better
Ute Lemper
3/5
Hand up, came in fully expecting to hate this album. I mean, featuring songs by Nick Cave, Tom Waits, and Scott Walker is basically a war crime for me. But this was pretty good for the most part. Definitely not monotonous or plain underneath the vocals. Fair enough, Ute. Favorite track: Punishing Kiss
The Police
3/5
I like the instrumentation. I like the Talking Heads-esque treatment of funk ideas in the arrangements.
But man...Sting's voice is really tough to take over the course of a full album
Stereolab
5/5
This type of music almost never connects with me, but they really figured out a nice, trance-y groove that had me for the entire album. This is my second time going through it, and I was fully preparing myself to ask what I actually saw in the first listen that made me love it. Instead, I received confirmation of why I do. Favorite track: Olv 26
Dion
2/5
I have literally almost no opinion of this album. It was kind of just on while I started work.
American Music Club
2/5
The only song that was interesting at all was Bad Liquor. This is the type of Indie music that made me hesitant to listen to Indie music of the aughts.
Barry Adamson
1/5
No, absolutely not
The Saints
5/5
This album kicks so much ass, man. The talent in punk bands never ceases to amaze me. Favorite track: No, Your Product
Klaxons
3/5
Marty Robbins
5/5
Folk storytelling in a country album should be a combination for a very low score from yours truly. Turns out if the stories are being told by somebody with a 10/10 captivating voice and they're being backed by interesting instrumentals, I still enjoy it. Add some conditioning from Fallout, and here we have this album's score. Favorite track: Big Iron
The Hives
4/5
Ah, so this is where the Arctic Monkeys get it from. Can't give a greatest hits album 5 stars, but rest assured that each of the works that make this up are on the vinyl list
Richard Thompson
2/5
This album interested me so much that I started doing a required training for work in the middle of listening to it instead
Radiohead
5/5
Wow...I truly didn't think they could make an album that would compete with OK Computer, but this is right alongside it for me. Radiohead's albums have the most unexplainable brilliance to me. Favorite track: Sulk
Tangerine Dream
2/5
I personally believe that I could have died without listening to this one
Big Star
5/5
This is a fun one! I haven't had many seminal "they sound like the Beatles" moments in my music listening, so I'm glad I got to finally experience that. And it's really good! Very, very cohesive project with cool sounds and feel switches throughout. Great new discovery. Favorite track: Feel
Creedence Clearwater Revival
5/5
Dem. Basslines. Doe.
Ray Charles
5/5
Ray Price
3/5
Nick Drake
1/5
I cannot stress enough how much Nick Drake absolutely bores me
Liz Phair
2/5
I will admit that this was a fair bit better than I thought it would be going in, but the album also wore out its welcome with me about 2/3rds of the way through
Eurythmics
2/5
This is the House is the only track on the album that actually attempts anything different, and it is the only good song on the album. 50 minutes of the same synthesizer riff otherwise
Duran Duran
5/5
I had a lot of fun with this one, and sometimes that's just what music is all about
Rocket From The Crypt
5/5
This is my second time with this album, and it really connected with me this time. Reminds me a lot of Less Than Jake, whom I will always love. Very fun album to come back to. Favorite track: On a Rope
Madonna
2/5
A pop album with catchy singles and nothing else interesting at all. Rinse / repeat
Stan Getz
5/5
Common
2/5
Man...that one particular interlude was extremely off-putting, wasn't it? You all know which one. It really ruined an album I otherwise mostly enjoyed.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
5/5
My Bloody Valentine
1/5
It's not as bad as my first listen, but it's still dreadful
Scissor Sisters
3/5
N.E.R.D
2/5
Magazine
5/5
The Modern Lovers
3/5
Rod Stewart
4/5
The Dictators
3/5
Sly & The Family Stone
3/5
Mylo
2/5
He destroyed rock and roll by making a terrible, uninteresting song and naming rock artists over it, ooooh so edgy
The fact that this kinda did destroy rock and roll is a perfect summary as to why I hate modern music
George Harrison
5/5
It is laughable how much better this album is than the other Beatles solo projects. This is just pure brilliance
Talk Talk
3/5
Gillian Welch
2/5
Charles Mingus
5/5
Charles Mingus might be the single biggest musical impact on my life. 5 stars doesn't even come close to covering it
Brian Eno
3/5
This might be the most influential Eno project I've heard so far. Unfortunately, I like just about everything it influenced more than itself. Thanks for the Talking Heads though, Brian.
The Style Council
4/5
I'm not sure that this is a cohesive album at all, but man did I have fun listening to most of it. Favorite track: Strength Of Your Nature
Sabu
2/5
An entire album of congo music wears out its welcome rather quickly
Khaled
2/5
This was way funkier than I imagined it would be going on, but 15 tracks at 5 minutes each is a lot to get through
The Cure
3/5
I'm really not sure why, but I just can't get myself into The Cure as much as I should. They check every box of what I love, but for some reason their projects are just alright to me.
Korn
3/5
I love Korn...in spurts. 67 minutes of Korn got to be a little much. But still, some pretty personally important songs to me on here, so I have no choice but to rate the album pretty highly. Favorite track: Freak on a Leash
Death In Vegas
2/5
There are some pretty fun grooves in here, but the majority of the album is just noise to me
4/5
I'm moreso amazed that music like this was made in 1969 rather than the music itself. I've never listened to this album before, but I have to imagine that it might be one of the single most influential in this list.
Meat Puppets
3/5
To be a fly on the wall when these guys found out they were the biggest rock musician in the world's favorite performers
Skepta
1/5
I'm sorry I just cannot get myself to take grime seriously
Rufus Wainwright
2/5
More like Do One
Anita Baker
3/5
Belle & Sebastian
1/5
I would pay a significant amount of money to never hear Sebastian's voice again in my life
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
4/5
Hard Rock Neil Young! And it mostly works! Never would have guessed it. Farmer John keeps this from 5 stars
The Jam
5/5
Paul Simon
3/5
The Electric Prunes
3/5
Garage rock 🤘 it tails off at the end for me, but I did appreciate them demonstrating their musical range
Giant Sand
1/5
Putting 14 bonus tracks on this flaming pile of garbage is perhaps the most delusional thing I've ever seen. Do yourself a favor and just watch an ASMR video instead of subjecting yourself to this crap
Roxy Music
4/5
MC Solaar
5/5
Big Black
3/5
Ella Fitzgerald
5/5
The serendipity of getting this box set on the day of a cross-country flight for myself. In almost any other setting, the 3 hours would grate on me eventually. But this is perfect. She is perfect. The songs are perfect. I'm so happy right now.
The War On Drugs
5/5
Eric Clapton
4/5
Wilco
2/5
Hanoi Rocks
4/5
Anthrax
5/5
Welcome to my gym playlist, Anthrax
Kings of Leon
4/5
(reads my highly rated comment on Aha Shake Heartbreak) uh...I apologize Kings of Leon, I was unfamiliar with your game. Favorite track: Crawl
Tom Waits
1/5
Once was way more than enough for this album, trust me
David Gray
3/5
The Verve
5/5
Cocteau Twins
3/5
The instruments are cool, the voice is quality...but are there any actual lyrics in this album? The singing is just variations of dreamscape sounds that really become annoying over the course of an album. My "Shoegaze is mumble rap for white hipsters" take is aging beautifully.
TV On The Radio
5/5
This is such an awesome album. It gives me a 2000s grunge feel, in addition to all the other blends of genres they bring in.
R.E.M.
5/5
Todd Rundgren
5/5
The Specials
5/5
Echo And The Bunnymen
4/5
This band has all the ingredients for what I love, but for some reason I just can't fully get behind it. It is very good still with some stuff that really clicks with me. I just can't determine why I like it but don't love it
Bruce Springsteen
2/5
I survived 75 minutes of Bruce Springsteen, where's my purple heart?
Joni Mitchell
1/5
Kraftwerk
2/5
It will forever amaze me that people can listen to entire albums of this for enjoyment purposes. There's no variability anywhere, not even in the lyrics. What is holding all of your collective interest?!
Boston
5/5
Fuck yeah
Tim Buckley
1/5
I really hate this guy's music and his voice
Ozomatli
5/5
Latin funk & hip hop. And it fucking rules. Favorite track: Dejame En Paz
Bonnie Raitt
3/5
Badly Drawn Boy
3/5
Some really, really interesting instrumentation and songwriting with some of the most dull singing I've ever heard
Beyoncé
1/5
Its a real damnation on the artistic side of the music industry that such talented vocalists regularly produce such uninteresting music. Hey, at least some executive's bottom line looks great since music has never been more accessible and listeners have never been more susceptible to algorithms, though!
Fever Ray
2/5
This is my second time listening to this one, and while it still doesn't do much for me at all, I will concede I was harsh on my first review. There is an interesting vibe to the album, particularly for early morning listening. But overall, it's just not music I can really ever see myself voluntarily listening to.
Serge Gainsbourg
1/5
Probably the most pretentious, least enjoyable pile of absolute shit I've ever heard. Who the hell is this for besides music students who need to pretend that awful music is good to feel smart?
The Triffids
3/5
The Young Rascals
2/5
Van Morrison
5/5
It is absolutely remarkable how similar his studio and live voices are as somebody with such a unique singing voice
The Birthday Party
1/5
The Shamen
2/5
Like most experimental electronic music, it starts out pretty cool but wears out it's welcome very quickly
Todd Rundgren
4/5
Todd, Todd, Todd... your musical mind is such a beautiful thing. There's no reason at all for this to be an hour and a half long! But man, the many highlights of this album are so good
Grateful Dead
3/5
808 State
2/5
At long last, an early British electronic music album
Echo And The Bunnymen
5/5
The Beta Band
2/5
Otis Redding
5/5
This is just pure brilliance
Julian Cope
4/5
Once he dropped the Nick Cave impression from the first few tracks, I started to quite like this one.
My Bloody Valentine
2/5
I really cannot stand listening to this band. They tease you with some actual musicality in their instruments, but it then quickly devolves into the least trance-like soundscapes you can possibly imagine. All of it paired with overly whiny singing voices.
David Holmes
1/5
"oh is this finally over?!" - me, when I realized the album had looped back to the beginning (still one of the stupidest features I've ever seen, Spotify)
The Rolling Stones
5/5
God, I love this band. Their singles are obviously top-notch, but the range they show on each of their albums is flat out addicting to me. This album is no exception. Favorite track: Midnight Rambler
The Monks
3/5
This was a pretty cool album, almost like a history lesson in garage and punk rock. I likely won't revisit this one often, but I'm glad I listened.
The Specials
4/5
Björk
2/5
I am once again begging you to stop making me listen to Bjork
Throbbing Gristle
1/5
This entire album feels like a joke that everybody else is in on besides me
Pet Shop Boys
2/5
An entire album of dance music will never resonate with me. Some things are just meant to be singles in a playlist
Bee Gees
2/5
Needless to say, this was quite a bit different from what I was expecting out of a Bee Gees album. Unfortunately, what I expected and what I got still yielded the same level of interest: fleeting
Nirvana
5/5
Pet Shop Boys
2/5
Elvis Costello
4/5
Dennis Wilson
3/5
Ministry
2/5
Kraftwerk
2/5
The Teardrop Explodes
3/5
The Soft Boys
5/5
Cheap Trick
3/5
Rage Against The Machine
5/5
The Kinks
4/5
Tim Buckley
1/5
Jungle Brothers
4/5
R.E.M.
5/5
Justin Timberlake
1/5
Buck Owens
3/5
The amount I like old country is so shocking to me lol
Prince
5/5
The Beta Band
4/5
The Beach Boys
3/5
Britney Spears
3/5
Destiny's Child
2/5
Silver Jews
1/5
Lana Del Rey
1/5
Amy Winehouse
4/5
My takes on pop music from this era have mostly aged well. Amy Winehouse is a stark exception though...I really wish I let myself enjoy this back then because it really is great
Solomon Burke
3/5
k.d. lang
3/5
Brian Eno
3/5
Kings of Leon
2/5
Simply Red
4/5
Doves
5/5
Nightmares On Wax
2/5
I'd absolutely listen to this while smoking. However, there are approximately 0 other contexts in which I'd listen to this.
The Jesus And Mary Chain
5/5
There's something really hypnotic about this band to me, and I love it
Eagles
3/5
5/5
This album is so fantastic. One of the favorite records I own
FKA twigs
2/5
Hmm, turns out imagining if Bjork had come out in the 2010s doesn't make me like the music any more
Sonic Youth
4/5
I really love this band, but this is the album where the noise goes off the rails just a bit too often. That's a critique that only knocks it down from perfect to good for me though. Favorite track: Mote
U2
4/5
Paul Simon
3/5
Dinosaur Jr.
5/5
Calexico
5/5
Hot Chip
3/5
Fairport Convention
3/5
Fatboy Slim
1/5
The Byrds
5/5
Hugh Masekela
4/5
Girls Against Boys
2/5
Elvis Presley
4/5
Jimi Hendrix
5/5
Leonard Cohen
1/5
Leftfield
1/5
Soul II Soul
1/5
I understand why dance tracks of this era had to come out in albums. I do not understand why such albums are considered to be essential listening
The Prodigy
2/5
TV On The Radio
4/5
The Go-Go's
4/5
Lucinda Williams
1/5
Lucinda, I'm sorry nobody told you this any sooner, but you cannot sing.
Fatboy Slim
1/5
I'm expected to listen to this shit for over an hour???? This album is all of the worst stereotypes associated with electronic music. Way too long, entirely repetitive sounds within and across tracks, nonsensical samples that add no value at all...Dimery could have cut out about 50 other UK electronica albums from this exercise and used this album as the sole representation of how shit the genre is
The White Stripes
3/5
Jacques Brel
3/5
Laura Nyro
4/5
Gene Clark
5/5
Throwing Muses
5/5
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
2/5
Prog rock can be many, many things. One thing I never really considered it could be until now was being relatively straightforward and a bit boring?
Amy Winehouse
5/5
Caetano Veloso
2/5
I will never understand singers who sound bored while they sing
Baaba Maal
3/5
Cream
5/5
Mike Oldfield
1/5
Today I learned that the RuneScape soundtrack is considered an all time influential album
Peter Gabriel
5/5
XTC
5/5
Goldfrapp
1/5
Muddy Waters
5/5
There was zero chance I was ever giving this less than 5 stars
Jimi Hendrix
5/5
For my money, the best Jimi Hendrix album. And now my living room looks funny with the Axis poster above my record player along side the Axis vinyl in my "Now playing" holder
Morrissey
1/5
Sonic Youth
3/5
Jethro Tull
3/5
Tom Tom Club
5/5
I really love all the funk and punk components and influences they incorporate into their projects, both as Tom Tom Club and Talking Heads. I was just always destined to like anything this collection of musicians would put out.
Brian Eno
2/5
Sebadoh
5/5
Pulp
3/5
Small Faces
3/5
Funkadelic
5/5
Bob Dylan
5/5
Alexander 'Skip' Spence
1/5
I feel like nobody would care about this album if they didn't know the backstory to it. The production of the album is beyond dreadful, and it sounds exactly like a producer being told to perpetually record a musician known to have lost his mind. Maybe some people can call this art, but to me this feels like a psychological experiment gone wrong where the end results are highly uncomfortable to anybody outside the experiment.
Coldcut
2/5
Traffic
5/5
Bruce Springsteen
2/5
Sigur Rós
4/5
Another great album just tarnished by its lack of brevity
The Jesus And Mary Chain
5/5
Portishead
2/5
"Let's take our electronic instruments, where the possibilities are endless, and make absolutely no interesting sounds at all" - the writers of half the albums in this book, apparently
Fairport Convention
3/5
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
1/5
The Stooges
5/5
Fiona Apple
4/5
Slipknot
3/5
2/5
As a huge fan of jazz, even this is a too avant-garde for me for most of the tracks. Most of it just sounds like repetitive, poorly executed bebop. My enjoyment picked up a bit at the end of the album, but the entire first half of tracks was very, very tough to get through
Cowboy Junkies
1/5
Pantera
5/5
Ah, yet another album that's effectively a soundtrack of me going to the gym
The Who
4/5
Skunk Anansie
5/5
Wow, to say I appreciated this a lot more on second listen is an understatement
Talking Heads
5/5
I once again greatly enjoyed a Talking Heads album
The Magnetic Fields
1/5
There is not a single chance in hell that I am listening to this ridiculous concept of an album a second time. I hardly even consider it to be a musical project at all because the music itself is so apparently not the main focus of the project. It's a "Oooh it's the sex number 🤣🤣🤣" joke where the music is ironic and not at all interesting
Beck
2/5
Cyndi Lauper
3/5
Stephen Stills
3/5
Shuggie Otis
1/5
Oh, I recognize this album from when I was on hold with any company ever
Dr. John
3/5
Moby Grape
4/5
Gotan Project
1/5
I still fail to see the point of albums where the music is solely intended to be danced to
Megadeth
5/5
Those time signature changes 🤌🤌
KISS
2/5
Fiona Apple
2/5
The only word I can come up with to describe this album is "Unfocused"
Madness
4/5
Ska just works for me. Had they leaned further into either the jazz or punk vibes, it'd be a 5 star album for me. However, still a very strong showing with gripping instrumentals.
Goldfrapp
2/5
Rush
4/5
The Cardigans
1/5
So much of this album just seems annoying
Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart
3/5
Kendrick Lamar
5/5
Jane Weaver
5/5
David Bowie
5/5
Don't overthink it. Legendary album from a legendary artist
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
4/5
The Avalanches
1/5
Le Tigre
3/5
The Beach Boys
3/5
Japan
2/5
LTJ Bukem
1/5
Underworld
2/5
I don't totally hate this, but it's so incredibly long. Like, entirely too long. I am writing this during the 4th track. There is no need for these tracks to be this long at all, or there is no need for music like this to be considered albums. They are great dance tracks. But they don't fit the album aesthetic and have very little applicability to any listening scenario besides dancing
Nitin Sawhney
1/5
Merle Haggard
3/5
1/5
Sonic Youth
5/5
One of the most addictive albums I've ever listened to. 70 minute long journey, all killer, no filler. Squarely among my favorite albums of all time
Kelela
5/5
Perhaps the most surprising album I've loved on this list so far. Electronica & R&B is almost an impossibly bad combination for me, but this one strikes me. And I'm not entirely sure why. I was torn between 4 and 5, and I ultimately went with the 5 just to make sure it qualified for my list of vinyl to buy
Joe Ely
3/5
Am I starting to like country music 🤮
Ice Cube
4/5
Judas Priest
4/5
Robbie Williams
2/5
Deep Purple
3/5
Van Morrison
3/5
Manu Chao
1/5
JAY Z
5/5
Nas
5/5
They don't make them like this anymore
Joanna Newsom
2/5
Joni Mitchell
2/5
The best Joni Mitchell album I've experienced in this exercise so far by a country mile. Blue, Hejira, and The Hissing of Summer Lawns were all deadly dull to me. The elements that made them dull were felt in the middle of the album. But the bookends actually did include some movement that gained my attention, finally. Finally I will not have an involuntary recoil to seeing her pop up in any playlists
Faith No More
4/5
Dexys Midnight Runners
3/5
Instead of complaining about this band having 3 albums in here (it is objectively ridiculous that they do), I'll just stand on the take that this band could have been really good if Rowland wasn't so irritating with his vocals and lyrics. The amount of times I thought "Oh, shut the fuck up" to just him in particular during these songs was staggering. The horn-based punk derivatives worked fantastically for me otherwise!
Scott Walker
2/5
Love
3/5
Robert Wyatt
2/5
Slayer
3/5
Pavement
3/5
The Byrds
2/5
By far the most country I've heard The Byrd's play in, so it's not surprising that most of this wasn't really all that interesting to me
Led Zeppelin
5/5
Pearl Jam
5/5
Sepultura
3/5
The Chemical Brothers
1/5
That last track did its best to save this album from its fate. 57 minutes too late, I'm afraid
CHVRCHES
3/5
The Good, The Bad & The Queen
3/5
Culture Club
3/5
Jeff Buckley
5/5
What a prodigious talent
Beastie Boys
5/5
(checks that a few particular verses were by Q-Tip) never a doubt! Good job, Beastie Boys
Gary Numan
3/5
I don't think I could name an album that sounds more like an Eno album without his involvement whatsoever if I tried
M.I.A.
4/5
Manic Street Preachers
5/5
Between this and The Holy Bible, Manic Street Preachers are firmly in the camp of totally new discoveries that I love thanks to this exercise. Love the energy throughout the album. It touches on all the punk, alt, and grunge feels that seem to always strike me
Manic Street Preachers
5/5
Back to back days with MSP, and what have I done to deserve to be so blessed!?
Marianne Faithfull
2/5
David Bowie
5/5
If an album ever underscored the singularity of a musician, this is it. How can an artist release one of his best albums 2 days before his death nearly 50 years after his initial legendary run of albums started?
T. Rex
3/5
Dead Kennedys
3/5
John Martyn
2/5
😴
Pretenders
5/5
Absolutely slaps
Beatles
5/5
I really wanted to hate on this one, but I just cannot do it
Creedence Clearwater Revival
4/5
Bob Dylan
5/5
Jazmine Sullivan
1/5
Bee Gees
5/5
Perhaps the biggest dichotomy between expectations going in vs the reality I've ever experienced in this book. I think that gap in perception earns it 5 stars alone
Robert Wyatt
1/5
Tortoise
2/5
Buzzcocks
5/5
🤘
The Go-Betweens
2/5
At least he's a better singer than Morrissey, but turns out even invoking the imagery of him is enough to turn me off to your project
The Auteurs
3/5
Steve Winwood
4/5
Cee Lo Green
1/5
Sepultura
2/5
ABBA
5/5
Radiohead
4/5
Queens of the Stone Age
5/5
AC/DC
5/5
Randy Newman
2/5
I think we all get that Randy is playing a character here...doesn't make it any easier to listen to a white dude sing the n word *that* many times
Bob Marley & The Wailers
4/5
The Verve
5/5
Van Halen
5/5
Spiritualized
3/5
Again, I am asking for just an ounce of brevity on an otherwise pretty interesting album
Bobby Womack
5/5
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
2/5
It's the perfect double album. Abattoir Blues is Nick Cave at his absolute best, and Lyre of Orpheus is Nick Cave at his absolute most boring.
Beth Orton
1/5
Literally nothing in this album even registered my attention until Stars Seem to Weep. And that was solely due to the change in backing track
Gram Parsons
2/5
Les Rythmes Digitales
2/5
The Stone Roses
5/5
Motörhead
4/5
The xx
3/5
Slade
3/5
The Crusaders
5/5
Soul & jazz in an album together 😍
The Chemical Brothers
3/5
As far as electronica albums go, this really wasn't so bad!
Tito Puente
4/5
Alice Cooper
4/5
Röyksopp
3/5
A Tribe Called Quest
5/5
The Incredible String Band
2/5
Suede
2/5
A lot of non-notable tracks for me, but Animal Lover was an absolute banger.
Al Green
5/5
Roxy Music
3/5
Abdullah Ibrahim
4/5
GZA
5/5
My Bloody Valentine
1/5
This band is the master of making about 95% shit tracks, and then one that all comes together. I love a lot of noise rock, but man I can hardly ever find MBV's direction on their tracks
Neil Young
3/5
George Michael
3/5
Alanis Morissette
4/5
Isn't it ironic...how some of these songs are truly beautiful and some others are like nails on a chalkboard?
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
4/5
Holy shit, a Nick Cave album I didn't hate!
Ride
5/5
It turns out that I don't hate shoegaze, I just hate My Bloody Valentine
2Pac
4/5
Patti Smith
5/5
David Ackles
2/5
This is a pretty confusing listen. The tracks go in so many different directions within the same songs. The singing voice and instrumentation are both really good, but I don't think I've ever heard more literal lyrics in my life. It's almost like he's singing a journal entry
The Clash
5/5
Public Enemy
5/5
Metallica
5/5
Hawkwind
2/5
This is like if Fatboy Slim played actual instruments. I am so sick of hearing the same driving drum and bass lines for nearly 90 minutes. The tracks individually are pretty cool, but the album experience is a tough, tough listen
ABBA
3/5
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
3/5
Johnny Cash
4/5
Ash
5/5
Nanci Griffith
3/5
The Who
5/5
The The
5/5
Animal Collective
4/5
Eagles
3/5
Janis Joplin
5/5
Stevie Wonder
4/5
Cocteau Twins
3/5
Soundgarden
5/5
5/5
The Sonics
4/5
It's like punk boogie, awesome
Janelle Monáe
5/5
Peter Tosh
2/5
Neneh Cherry
4/5
The White Stripes
2/5
Starting a support group for rock fans who find the White Stripes and Jack White boring. I know there are more of us out here
John Cale
3/5
Mudhoney
4/5
Blur
3/5
Stereo MC's
5/5
Iron Butterfly
3/5
John Martyn
2/5
Joni Mitchell
1/5
The Only Ones
4/5
I really like what I hear instrumentally quite a bit. But my classic pet peeve of a singer sounding bored while they're singing is raring its ugly head
Run-D.M.C.
5/5
Brian Eno
1/5
I struggle to think how any kind of ambient music at all can be considered quintessential listening in the history of music. It's in the name: ambient music is meant to be unspectacular, uninspiring, and unnotable. And that's what this album is as a listening exercise. It feels like a tremendous waste of time.
The Sugarcubes
1/5
Ryan Adams
2/5
Grant Lee Buffalo
3/5
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
Bob Dylan
4/5
3/5
Public Image Ltd.
1/5
Sufjan Stevens
1/5
The Coral
5/5
Saint Etienne
2/5
Erykah Badu
2/5
4/5
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
4/5
Youssou N'Dour
2/5
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
The KLF
1/5
The Pogues
5/5
What a band, man
Bebel Gilberto
2/5
Everything But The Girl
2/5
New York Dolls
3/5
The Afghan Whigs
4/5
Adam & The Ants
5/5
Buena Vista Social Club
5/5