Best new find yet. I listened to it three times already and I’m liking it more each time. Peter Gabrielish voice, clever lyrics, good stuff.

Classic. Good to listen to it again with a more attentive ear.

Provocative, cynical, catchy, I can see why they were so big.

Beside the ones that got airplay - which are all good - I like 4th Dimensional Transition, which channels old, psychedelic Pink Floyd. The Handshake, Future Reflections also keepers.

Minimalist but engaging, just guitar and voice, and sometimes just guitar. Short songs, gotta enjoy each while it lasts. Beautiful fingerstyle playing that I need to try.

I can see why it was such a popular album, but it’s not for me. Her lilting style grates on me.

Less clever and more teen angst and relationships than the first album, but grew on me on the second trip through

Every song is a different style. Groovy to atmospheric to soul singer. I can listen to this many times, and only skip a few.

Grooving to the sweet organ sounds. Somehow I missed out on the Jimmy Smith phenomenon. Will have to listen to some more of his MANY albums.

Classic. Good to listen to it again with a more attentive ear.

One of my favorite albums from one of my favorite bands. All of the quirkiness and clever lyrics.

This one was both challenging and fascinating. Took me two listens to *kinda* find the beat.

Some of their best songs, sprinkled - like many of their albums - with a few blues/country clunkers. Take out 2-3 songs and this album is perfect.

Many very short songs, 2 min and shorter. Feels like brief, disconnected thoughts. As far as I know; I couldn’t understand much of the lyrics. Some catchy, some punk thrash.

Really interesting, especially reading the history. Like a symphony at times, but bouncing between rich harmonies, complex songs, and goofy, childish tunes. Only a few that can really be called songs. A huge range of instruments.

The master of making a simple song so good. Teeters on the edge of cheese a few times, but forgivable knowing the time frame. I wouldn’t say powerful, or cathartic, but maybe soothing. Or empathetic, speaking for a nation in pain.

I’m Fred Armisen in the hip hop episode of Portlandia, trying to learn the roots of the genre. Clueless.

My third favorite of their albums, which is still 5+ stars

Fun one. Tapped into my 70’s prog rock concept album pleasure center. A little like Muse making The Wall.

A huge talent that I just don’t get into. Lotsa sexy lyrics in this one.

I listened to this one many times when it was new. On re-listen I found it still enjoyable, if a bit tired.

Wow good! I had no idea. She nails every one of these great songs.

Meh. This kind of thing is not my bag, baby.

Rockin fun. I’d love to go back to 1970 and see them play this live.

Really got into this one.

Garage band fun

That amazing, full-length Do You Feel Like I Do is enough. The rest is gravy.

Janis showcase. She was so good.

Never heard of them before but really liking the album. A mix of styles. A few songs sound like Soup Dragons meet Kate Bush. One sounds like Pet Shop Boys. One has a middle eastern or maybe Indian styled but the words are in Spanish.

Best new find yet. I listened to it three times already and I’m liking it more each time. Peter Gabrielish voice, clever lyrics, good stuff.

I liked this more when it came out. It didn’t really catch my interest on re-listen. Not bad, actually quite good, but it’s lost its newness.

Quick listen, didn’t capture my attention.

Hundreds of listens and I’m still hearing new details.

Bleh

First time I’ve heard the originals of some of these. Pretty interesting. I got a Beach Boys vibe at times.

I’d have gone with Paranoid but this has some interesting stuff.

Loved it. Minimalist and clean and not a note or beat out of place. Perfect horns.

Pretty cool, lounge music and other styles. Voice like Portishead singer. Good one for a dinner party.

Most amazing first album. Classic right out of the gates.

Not really songs, more like he finds a hook and repeats it for a song length. Works sometimes, especially on Praise You. Just repetitive on others.

So much smooth flowing Marvin goodness. Then I read the background and had to listen again.

Psychedelic space rock. Not bad but not great. I only made it partway through, it’s a veeeery long album.

Couldn’t make it through the whole thing.

Almost spoken word, his voice is so low. Captures him at the end of life, still the wordsmith.

I didn’t listen to the whole thing, not really in the mood, but I still liked what I heard, mostly.

One of the great first albums.

Garage band fun, but an upscale garage, with epoxy floors and glass doors

Classic rap sounds, fun listening. Now I want to listen to more by them.

No need to listen to this one again. Experimental sounds, interesting at times but not much there.

First side is very Bowie-esque. Good listen overall.

“Desert blues,” a genre I didn’t know existed. Love it. Guitar driven, American blues influenced but very African. Great stuff.

Bouncy ska fun. Turns out I only know two Specials songs, and neither is in this album. But it’s still a good listen.

Not as good as remember. For its time I suppose it was impressive but it hasn’t aged well.

Some CSN, some CBGB.

Love the song. The album isn’t as good.

From what I read, one of the best albums of the nineties. I don’t see it.

Lots of great songs. A few unlistenable thrashers.

Song after song I thought Oh, this is a good one!

Great soul and blues

A few of my favorite Doors songs: L.A. Woman and Riders on the Storm. Some rough blues.

TIL: John Fogerty didn’t grow up on the bayou. And he did write Proud Mary. And I’m still sick of CCR.

Raw, dynamic, rockin’ goodness

Amazing singer.

Good to delisted to this, it’s been a while. Clever, raw songs and terrible vocals.

First side good, short songlets. Second side ambient and bleh.

Some greats that have aged well

Typical not-quite-chaos of OC, hard to listen to

Four stars for the lyrics, minus one for the terrible singing, which may or may not be an affect. Think of it more as a wobbly, spoken word performance.

Saweeeet! Listen to this many more times.

Great Irish music, but it gets to be a bit much - 18 songs!

There’s a common style running through these Scottish bands of the time: these guys and Soup Dragons and Jesus and Mary Chain. Very good stuff.

Not my thing, but they do play tight and high energy. Lyrics are meh.

We’re goths, not vamps! I don’t love the style. And that super low voice is distracting.

Brown Sugar, Wild Horses, Can’t You Hear Me Knocking and Bitch all on one album. And the rest is solid too.

The literal one man band. A few bland ones but mostly keepers.

All new, to me, and a lot of good stuff. Makes me want to go on an exploration of their catalog.

I didn’t give this one enough time but I liked what I heard.

A bunch of the classic Christmas songs I’ve heard over the years.

Listen to this again when you have more time on

A few fun listens but I skipped through a lot. Don’t revisit.

Listen to this when you have more time and the wife doesn’t have to hear it.

I’m sure I would get more out of this if I took the time to listen to it head-to-head with the Stones. Someday.

Hard to listen to it objectively but I feel like it has aged well.

Significant at its time, I guess.

Quite an assortment of styles. Goofy at times.

Really? Two albums by PJ Harvey already? Ok, this one is odd, kind of a cross between Bjork and Sinead O’Connor. Listenable but not very interesting. Maybe there’s more in the lyrics that I wasn’t hearing.

Rocking goodness, and better with each listen.

Still works. Not my favorite of theirs, but high on the list.

Enjoyable but didn’t hold my interest.

Good album but I’m still sick of them.

Excellent album. A slightly too-80’s production, like a smooth jazz backing band around her great, smoky voice.

Good stuff., a variety of folk and groove. Check out more of his stuff, there’s a lot.

Great first album but my god, the squeakiness! Some stars for All Through the Night and Time After Time.

Mixed bag. I could do without the waltzes.

Great, rambling funk rock from the master.

Well, it’s SPLHCB. One of the greatest albums ever produced. I listened to it more carefully this time as a concept album, rather than the individual songs I’ve heard many times, and realized I’ve never really appreciated it that way before.

Notes of The Clash but less political and less known.

Possibly the same person as Otis Redding. Has anyone ever seen them together?

British KISS minus the makeup. I bet the mosh pit was a blast.

Still my favorite male voice. Mostly great. A few songs are just plain goofy.

Tried it twice. Bland and depressing. Two stars for decent lyrics.

You know you’re enjoying the album when every song seems to end too soon. Even the title track, which is more than 8 min long.

I only recognizes one song but enjoyed the whole album.

Too polished and produced at times but hey, it’s MJ. Always great.

Holds up well. Some straight up blues. Interesting to read what perfectionists they were. Their demos sound just like the album versions

My initial reaction in seeing this was WTF?! THREE albums by PJ Harvey?! Is she married to the editor? Then I listened to it and realized this is the good one.

Probably an important album but not my taste. I tried it twice but nothing grabbed me. Interesting, at least, to listen to and think about the different song structures and singing styles.

Gave it a more thorough listen, the lyrics are better than I’ve noticed before and the non-single songs are good, too.

Mostly covers, but it’s Eric Clapton, so they’re great listening. Especially liked Motherless Children. I Shot the Sheriff is good, of course, but more credit to Bob Marley for that.

Most interesting listen yet. Smoky bluesy Cajun flavor that gets under your skin.

Hmmm. I loved Automatic. This one is even higher on the jangle-o-meter. Above my threshold for enjoyment on about a third of the songs.

Amazing album, so many huge hits.

Art rock / prog rock, the early edition. The first and last songs are perfect.

I would not have come across this one on my own. Different, enjoyable, worth another listen.

My favorite version of them, the masters of gloomy, gothy, wonderful stuff. I’d only heard the hits from this album but the rest is great, too.

His “blue eyed soul” phase, lots of good stuff. The title song is one of my favorites from Bowie.

I’d have put Hounds of Love on the list instead, but this was good. I need to listen to it more closely some day.

So good. I listened to it three times and still want to hear it more.

Some classic tracks, some meh. Winwood was so good.

Peak Yes, for my money. It’s a close race with The Yes Album but this is my favorite of their albums and their many lineups.

I am not sure how to describe this one but I enjoyed it twice. I will listen again.

Starts off interesting, unusual, and veers into drifty, ambient blah.

Significant album, just not my thing.

The Beatles hitting their stride

Best of their albums? Maybe. Hard to beat Safe from Harm. But maybe. Tracy Thorn - great.

I missed this one, it was well before I got into Latin music. Clearly he nailed this long before Gloria Estefan. Great album, and I will be listening to it again.

I love old ZZ Top, when they were more blues, and less pop cheese and innuendo.

Darker than Pretty Hate Machine, still great.

First time I’ve really listened to Alice Cooper. Some good tracks that stick in my head, especially Hello Hooray, Raped and Freezin, and Bilkion Dollar Babies

She was so good. Just nails every song.

Impressive right out of the gate, and a true original sound.

Got through most of it but nothing caught my attention

Enjoyed a couple of listens. Some throwback sounds, some hints of Blackstar.

Like his voice, good beats, some good lyrics but too much “I’m great” theme. And lots of cliches in some songs.

Spanish, French, English singing, interesting but not grabbing me.

Only knew two tracks: I Want You to Want Me and Surrender. Interesting that I only knew the live versions, which both still hold up. The rest of the album is similarly rocking, with great energy and screaming fans.

Classic grooves. The kind of stuff that gets imitated and sampled endlessly.

Country without the country formula and country cliches. Sweet songs, if a bit simplistic, or maybe child-like is a better description, in the innocent sense.

Impressive first album. Nothing I knew but all listenable and ages well.

Like Heart of Saturday Night but live, with some funny commentary between songs. Good but doesn’t top HoSN on my list.

Sweet voice and guitar, lightly dark lyrics, nice all around

I feel like I should like this more. Just not into the genre.

Original style, some new ideas, some formula

Beautiful voice, just not into it

I’m usually a sucker for prog rock albums but this is a bit beyond me.

Bleh. Gio was right.

I had this album! Somehow lost it and forgot about it but I still knew it well. Good to hear again. A nice departure from the gangster rap of the time.

Classic jazz, could listen to this any time

One of those artists who can keep coming up with new sounds and ideas. And make them entertaining.

Great stuff, less pop-y and more thoughtful, mature and interesting than much of his work.

Well this is straight up fun.

Three great classics, but the rest is good too. Hard to believe this album is so old! Barely out of the sixties!

They set the standard for Unplugged. Shows how talented they were.

Great, amazing debut. I remember hearing this for the first time and asking “Who TF are these guys?!” And it’s the same reaction now. They get close to the ‘poor me’ genre but thankfully don’t dip too deep.

Still sounds good. Poppy lyrics but with some complexity to the music.

Still great after many, many trips through this album.

On the positive side, it was a groundbreaking album, launching the gangsta rap genre that still survives. And musically at least half of the tracks are pretty catchy. On the negative side, I don’t like the violence, the mysogeny, and the tough guy act.

So good! Makes me want to pick up my guitar and play and sing them all.

Sure it’s an important album but not my cup of tea.

Punk with a dance beat, or funk with a jangly guitar and British accent… I’m going to call it pfunk. Not to be confused with P-Funk. But pretty fun stuff and worth another listen.

Every track is imbued with a certain… randynewmaness. If you love that sort of thing, more stars. Me, no.

Lots of great songs. I join the 80’s soccer moms in my appreciation of Billy Joel.

Definitely worth another listen. Her voice is so high, though, it’s distracting.

A couple of keepers

The original Byrd, apparently. Dylan-esque but fuller sound. Good but not my cup o tea

4th album on the list from PJ Harvey. I don’t get it.

The fourth(?) Bowie album on the list so far and I’m still loving him. Hard to believe he made this while coked out of his mind. Love Golden Years and TVC15 especially.

Groundbreaking I know, but I’m just not big on Nirvana.

Huge right out of the gates. Interesting how different his voice sounds on different tracks.

Hard to listen to, and not enjoyable. Novelty songs about all of the people they don’t like.

Enjoyable but I don’t need to listen to it again.

Not as good as I was expecting. Their best songs are great but there’s a lot of filler.

They brought an original sound, which is not easy to do. Worth a few listens, at least.

Not bad, as thrash metal goes. Hard to connect it with any Norwegians I know.

Bland

Rockin’ poetry

So unlike where they ended up, it’s strange to listen to. Beatles influence and 50’s bubblegum rock. A few songs hint at the good things to come.

The birthplace of ambient music, so I read. It’s difficult to listen to with any close attention, really by definition. I will say it is inoffensive.

Starts off sounding like The Cure - which is not a bad thing - but shows a lot of where they were headed.

So many great songs. Peak Mac.

Well centered on my trip hop taste. Interesting that he mixed himself down so low, letting the vocalists have the spotlight.

Typical RS album: one great song, Sympathy for the Devil, one my all time favorites. Street Fighting Man is good. One or two others in the not bad pole. And then a bunch of what seems like filler.

Listening to this I realize I’ve never actually listened to a whole album of his. Really good, and improves with each listen.

Many trips through this album and I’m still hearing new things.

Rockin’ good times. I mostly missed these guys when they came out.

Interested blend of styles, in an era when there weren’t that many to work with.

Ok, beyond the magnificence of Bohemian Rhapsody, there are other excellent tracks. The Prophet’s Song is similarly complex, You’re My Best Friend is an enduring and sweet love song, Love of My Life is beautiful. And then there’s I’m in Love With My Car… let’s not talk about that.

I like the funk influence, the bass lines, and his vocals are great as always. Have to put up with the gangsta crap: the violence and misogyny.

I still remember every note and lyric, and it’s still perfection. Engineer rock for sure, with the precision and perfectionism. But also great composition and technique, and I love the harmony.

A little bit Radiohead, thankfully not too much. Listenable but not very compelling to me.

Still rocks. A mixture of heavy metal, funk and rap. Lyrics are a little weak. Nice cover of War Pigs.

Funny to hear what was considered hard rock in 1980. Pretty tame. Guitar tone sounds more like punk. 2.5 stars; I’m rounding up.

So much goodness. (Except Backstreets - bleh.) The tracks that didn’t get air play are even better than the ones that did. I’m loving the last three.

I need to listen to this one more closely. It’s poetry with a little musical backing.

Reminds me a lot of Was Not Was: a big variety of styles, jazz and funk and rap and more. It’s a good listen.

Maybe I’m rounding up a bit but I love this album. Inventive in so many ways, especially the lyrics and his vocal creativity.

Not a fan, but I can get into it I’m some moods.

Nice throaty tone but too lilting and vibrato for my taste.

Sinatra smarm. I hate it.

Reminds me of my childhood; mom had this album. Some beautiful songs, some goofy (the flea one, the laughing one). The African ones are the best by far.

Provocative, cynical, catchy, I can see why they were so big.

Interesting but not my thing. Theatrical singing, with song style that borders on novelty. Steven Sondheim meets Spike Jonz meets Moody Blues.

I have now listened to a Taylor Swift album. I enjoyed it more than I expected to. She tapped into my 80’s / 90’s brain.

Starts strong with 1969 and I Wanna Be Your Dog. Then it wanders through a variety of oddities. Some hints of Pink Floyd influence.

A bit of a guilty pleasure, but very listenable, creative, and would be pretty dull in concert.

Love the fury of You Oughta Know and the words and music on most tracks. A few throwaways. And Ironic is just annoying. But great album.

Sweet Emotion belongs on my “best songs ever” list, and the whole album rocks heartily.

One of the more unusual new finds for me. Very personal songs for him, real anger about his upbringing. His style is unique, random words at times making it feel like a novelty album.

Oof, tough listen. Barbara Streisand and Bjork had a love child, who sang James Bond theme songs on Broadway.

Some cliche and self-absorbed lyrics but original style and a great break from gansta. All Falls Down is great.

Excellent, my new favorite (for now) Beck album.

A near perfect album, with classic after classic.

I’ve owned this for years and only listened to it a few times. Which says a lot about how much I like it. Not bad but doesn’t really grab me.

A lot of good stuff, beyond the ones that got air play. The second half is straight up blues

4.5 starts really but it still rocks after many listens.

Loving this.

Prog rock delight.

Hmmm, I’ve always loved Automatic, but hearing this I realize that contained a lot of rehashing, and this album was first. So my Automatic love gets automatically transferred here.

Genius might be a bit much, but he was definitely a classic

Amazing talent, right out of the gate.

Pretty voice, but I can only take so much of this music. And that is 1.5 songs.

Rock & Roll Woman and Mr Soul stand out. I suspect Steven Stills was the strongest part of this group.

Ok so they helped create the country rock genre. Doesn’t mean I have to like it.

Transition album, from “I can’t understand what he’s saying” to “I can understand him but I don’t know what he means.” Great album though, with a few of my favorites from them, especially Orange Crush and the beautifully dreamy You Are the Everything.

Bruce hits the big time. Much pop-ier than earlier work but all good.

I preferred Lust for Life, but this isn’t bad. You can definitely hear the Bowie influence.

This thing is all over the place. Psychedelic, blues jam, even a touch of country. And the Lear Jet thing… Still, a few jems. 5D, Eight Miles High are keepers.

One of the groups that keeps impressing me with their inventiveness. And it started with their first album.

I put several of their other albums ahead of this one.

That voice. Somehow sweet and powerful at once.

Not a lot different from CS&N, which I think is a good thing. Good listen, especially the first half

My favorite Kings of Leon, when they were raw, hillbilly-sounding rock. Everything later was more polished and produced. Still great, but this first album is the most fun.

Possibly peak R.E.M., although it’s a broad, flat peak. Definitely one of my favorites.

Not a lot of variation, some of the tracks are easy to confuse with others. But damn it’s a good formula. More punk influence than I expected.

Self-absorbed, angry, violent, childish. But Stan is a great song.

In a word, bland. Not bad but nothing I felt the desire to revisit.

Too much gangsta for me. Guns and violence.

Objectively, she’s a great singer. But I don’t like the diva style, with the never ending flourishes. And many of the songs are barely songs, with little to no melody, and just serve as vehicles for her singing.

Started off not liking it, morphed to okaying it, and gradually got to really liking it. Vibes of instrumental Pink Floyd, with a touch of Jesus and Mary Chain.

My first CT, apart from the few songs that got airplay. I love the sound and style, full and rich, and her beautiful voice.

All new to me. Like most of his albums, I might obsess on it for a few hundred listens.

Such an original group. The keyboards were amazing. Prog rock candy.