853
Albums Rated
3.01
Average Rating
78%
Complete
236 albums remaining
Rating Distribution
Rating Timeline
Taste Profile
1990s
Favorite Decade
Grunge
Favorite Genre
UK
Top Origin
Perfectionist
Rater Style ?
27
5-Star Albums
33
1-Star Albums
Breakdown
By Genre
By Decade
By Origin
Albums
You Love More Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | 5 | 2.84 | +2.16 |
| Eli And The Thirteenth Confession | 5 | 2.94 | +2.06 |
| The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter | 4 | 2.15 | +1.85 |
| Junkyard | 4 | 2.16 | +1.84 |
| Astral Weeks | 5 | 3.27 | +1.73 |
| The Slim Shady LP | 5 | 3.29 | +1.71 |
| The College Dropout | 5 | 3.31 | +1.69 |
| The Downward Spiral | 5 | 3.35 | +1.65 |
| Urban Hymns | 5 | 3.35 | +1.65 |
| Songs Of Leonard Cohen | 5 | 3.38 | +1.62 |
You Love Less Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buena Vista Social Club | 1 | 3.66 | -2.66 |
| Highway to Hell | 1 | 3.66 | -2.66 |
| Brothers | 1 | 3.58 | -2.58 |
| At Newport 1960 | 1 | 3.55 | -2.55 |
| Raising Hell | 1 | 3.51 | -2.51 |
| Back At The Chicken Shack | 1 | 3.39 | -2.39 |
| Brilliant Corners | 1 | 3.33 | -2.33 |
| Sunday At The Village Vanguard | 1 | 3.32 | -2.32 |
| Me Against The World | 1 | 3.25 | -2.25 |
| The Rolling Stones | 1 | 3.25 | -2.25 |
5-Star Albums (27)
View Album Wall
Popular Reviews
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
2/5
This guy wrote a whole album about his weiner and somehow it ended up on 1001 albums to hear before you die
31 likes
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
3/5
This album is very EA Sports mid-2000s game menu core. Every track on this album sounds like it could be playing in MLB 2004 or Madden 05. Overall the album is a little too raw for my tastes except for Maps which is a classic.
21 likes
The Rolling Stones
2/5
You ever hear the saying that Pennsylvania is "Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Alabama in between"? Well, this album is Gimme Shelter, You Can't Get What You Want, and dogshit in between.
18 likes
2Pac
1/5
Fitting that this album is by 2pac, not Tupac, cause it stinks like a big ol' number 2!
12 likes
Doves
2/5
Very surprised to see a second ! Doves album on this list. This one doesn’t hit anywhere near as hard as the first one we got. Even the other one had mostly boring-ish songs but it had enough musically to carry it and make it a solid overall album. This one was just the boring songs without much else. Good to see that they evolved as a band between this one and the other one we got which was released 2 years later I think
6 likes
1-Star Albums (33)
All Ratings
Fleetwood Mac
4/5
Blur
2/5
WOO HOO
John Lennon
2/5
Waaaah waaaah war bad, u gonna cwy wittle Johnny?
Ray Charles
2/5
Honestly solid but I'd probably never listen on my own
The Smiths
3/5
They have to be trolling rn
The Jam
2/5
Nothing special. Sounds like XTC. Why did we need to hear this before we die? Saved one tho so I'll give it like a 1.5
Can
3/5
Nice and relaxing and poggers
The Crusaders
2/5
The Undertones
2/5
Sex pistols but unprovocative lyrics and cringe choruses
Jimmy Smith
1/5
Sufjan Stevens
5/5
Sadly goated.
Sounds like you're in a small town in the corn fields of Illinois
Billy Bragg
1/5
Thought this might be a 2 but it just kept going and getting worse. 1 save.
k.d. lang
2/5
Had its moments. Relaxing
Spiritualized
4/5
Probably like a 3.75 but I'll round up
The Youngbloods
3/5
Genesis
3/5
Metasis
De La Soul
3/5
44 minutes in 😳
Ray Charles
2/5
Common
3/5
Beatles
3/5
Bruce Springsteen
2/5
Bruce is good but idrfw this album
Penguin Cafe Orchestra
3/5
Adele
3/5
Christine and the Queens
2/5
2.4ish, had some meta
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
4/5
I light the fire, you place the flowers in the vase that you bought today
Dire Straits
2/5
Decent but forgettable
Pink Floyd
3/5
Tfw you're swimming in a fish bowl
The Smiths
3/5
Sneaky 4 songs saved but also that song about having a gf in a coma irrationally pissed me off so much. That was peak cringe from Morrissey, who is no stranger to cringe.
Elvis Presley
2/5
LeElvis
Fleet Foxes
3/5
Iggy Pop
3/5
It would be cooler if his name was ciggy instead of iggy because this album sounds like how the smoking circle outside a dive bar smells. 3 stars
B.B. King
4/5
BB was bumping. This album sounds like the wildest party since prohibition.
New Order
4/5
Pretty baller man. Felt the groove of the late 80s pulsing through my veins.
Green Day
3/5
They named an album after poop and then sung about jerking off. Grow up, Green Day!
Buena Vista Social Club
1/5
durmiente residente
Paul Simon
4/5
Feels like I've heard this one before
Weather Report
2/5
Resident sleepy jazz
The Mothers Of Invention
2/5
Zappa is a troll eh Nolan?
Nolan: yuh
Les Rythmes Digitales
3/5
Take daft punks music and imagine a guy with frosted tips and a shark necklace making it and that's what this album sounds like
David Bowie
4/5
Tis a pity Jim was a whore eh Nolan?
Nolan: Yuh
Tori Amos
2/5
Tori kinda snapped but not enough, eh Nolan?
Nolan: Yuh
Leftfield
2/5
Leftism? Biden's America eh Nolan?
Nolan: Yuh
Dr. Octagon
3/5
Nolan, you haven't been to the octagonecologyst in a while bud, you should really make an appointment soon!
Nolan: Yuh
The Only Ones
3/5
Pretty groovy tunes eh Nolan?
Nolan: Yuh
2Pac
1/5
Fitting that this album is by 2pac, not Tupac, cause it stinks like a big ol' number 2!
OutKast
4/5
Quite the classic eh Nolan?
Nolan: Yuh
Goldfrapp
3/5
Surprisingly solid eh Nolan?
Nolan: Yuh
Anthrax
1/5
Like Metallica but really bad
Crowded House
4/5
Woodface whatface? P good Nolan
Nolan: Yuh
Neu!
4/5
Relaxing but still meta. Lowers the heart rate a bit eh Nolan?
Nolan: Yuh
Michael Jackson
3/5
Nolan are you okay, are you okay, are you okay Nolan?
Nolan: Yuh
Fairport Convention
3/5
Decent tunes
Ryan Adams
3/5
(Argument with Jim B concerning Nolan)
Japan
2/5
Meh
Fatboy Slim
3/5
I'm gonna pog on you like I should
Rage Against The Machine
4/5
Peter Tosh
1/5
Reggae sux
Miles Davis
3/5
Sip some black coffee, watch the rain fall, and listen to miles Davis pog for 2 hours. Would recommend
Prince
3/5
Horny boy
The Zombies
4/5
Baller
The Velvet Underground
3/5
Don't you just love Heroin (the song)?
Nolan: Yuh
Ministry
2/5
Meh-tal -- you like that one Nolan?
Nolan: Yuh
Paul McCartney and Wings
3/5
Ball(er) McCartney
Doves
4/5
Unexpectedly poggers
Michael Kiwanuka
3/5
P good
Taylor Swift
2/5
Had some moments
Kate Bush
3/5
At the beginning of listening it was good but then I wasn't in the mood for it at the end and it sounded like shit. Music in a nutshell
Venom
1/5
Didn't like wouldn't listen again
Big Brother & The Holding Company
3/5
We all know the classics but I thought the rest of the album was pretty forgettable. Also hot take but Janis's voice low key sounds horrible but it works
Missy Elliott
2/5
Old school
a-ha
2/5
Another 80s sleeper with a one hit wonder
Britney Spears
3/5
I feel like some of my earliest music tastes were from riding in the car listening to pop radio when stuff like this was playing
Bob Marley & The Wailers
2/5
No woman no cry is a certified banger but the rest wasn't noteworthy
Iron Maiden
3/5
Not their best but still some solid Maiden
Grateful Dead
2/5
LeJerry Garcia was a system Jam Bander carried by his team!
Röyksopp
4/5
Sounds like if Daft Punk and Portishead teamed up to make ambient-inspired music. Listen at night for best effects
Syd Barrett
2/5
The Octopus
The Monks
3/5
Kinda meta
The Pretty Things
4/5
Pretty good, since I'm in such good holiday spirit on Xmas eve (observed) I'll round up to 4 here
Various Artists
2/5
ABBA
3/5
3 stars only for dancing queen
Stevie Wonder
3/5
Stevie always meta
Mylo
3/5
I fucking love random European electronic music, gotta be one of my favorite genders
Lucinda Williams
2/5
Boring
Leonard Cohen
4/5
Playoff Lenny (Cohen)
Jane's Addiction
4/5
James Addiction (milk)
Finley Quaye
2/5
Had some moments but overall pretty resident sleeper
KISS
1/5
Kiss blows. Only ever knew the one Kiss song on Guitar Hero 3 (Rock and roll all nite), but I didn't realize EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEIR SONGS is about the same things as rock and roll all nite (wearing leather, playing rock and roll, partying, and making love). Thank God their final tour ever ended last month so no one ever has to be subject to this crap in person again.
The Stone Roses
4/5
Very meta album and one of my all time top 100. She Bangs the Drums and Made of Stone are bangers. I Am the Resurrection is an awesome penultimate song. If I'm rating objectively I'd give it a 4.5 just bc it drags at some parts.
Fiona Apple
2/5
Just not my thing
Radiohead
3/5
Jigsaw Falling into Place is a fire song but the rest of the album where Thom Yorke is just moaning sadly into the mic like a dog begging for food doesn't do it for me
Dirty Projectors
4/5
Pretty meta, saved a bunch
The Adverts
4/5
Another solid one
Hanoi Rocks
1/5
Shit 80s arena rock
Curtis Mayfield
3/5
Solid tbh
Elliott Smith
4/5
As someone who has been to Portland, OR one (1) time, I can say with certainty that Elliott's music matches up perfectly with the vibe there
Ramblin' Jack Elliott
2/5
Meh
Pink Floyd
5/5
First time I've listened all the way through. I thought it was an incredible album. It's got its share of hits, but even the lesser known songs were great and kept the album moving at a good pace. I love how many tracks flow into each other, giving a real sense of cohesiveness to the album. My new favorite Pink Floyd
Carole King
2/5
Had some spots but just not my thing
Bon Jovi
2/5
Few bangers but overall meh
LCD Soundsystem
4/5
Meta poggers
Elastica
3/5
Average
David Bowie
3/5
Solid Bowie, 3.5
Peter Gabriel
4/5
Ketchup tier poggers
Q-Tip
2/5
Q-Mid
CHIC
2/5
Funky disco freak out
The Yardbirds
3/5
Roger
The Monkees
2/5
Meh
3/5
P good but bono is kinda cringe
Metallica
2/5
Kinda mid besides master of puppets
Massive Attack
3/5
I liked like 75% of the sound of every song. Respect tho
The Cardigans
3/5
Some good ones but overall meh. Reminded me of No doubt
Deep Purple
3/5
A couple bop.coms
ZZ Top
2/5
Resident zz
Thelonious Monk
1/5
theLonious
Beatles
2/5
Pre-drugs Beatles were shit
2/5
Not the best kinks but a few slappers
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
3/5
American Girl is an all time banger. RIP Tom Petty
2/5
Not memorable but I fe white girl
Tricky
3/5
Inject the trip hop into my veins 💉
Eminem
5/5
People usually say MMLP is Eminem's best but I think it's this one. He's completely unhinged and super creative. There are plenty of hits but even the deep cuts like My Fault (+ skit beforehand), As the World Turns, and 97 Bonnie and Clyde go hard. No misses IMO
Maxwell
2/5
Maxwell
The Smiths
3/5
Morrissey aka peak cringe personified. He makes pretty good music though
Mariah Carey
2/5
Not the best but not the worst
Pulp
3/5
Feel like I should like this album more than I do. Common people is kind of a banger
Iggy Pop
3/5
Solid album, some groves on here. Iggy finally clicking a bit for me
Neil Young
3/5
"Neil Old"
Mike (just ripped bong): 😂🤣😂🤣
Eminem
3/5
Solid album with some bops but some songs just 100% miss
Run-D.M.C.
2/5
Dog shit album and very cringe that they rap a line together by alternating words. Gotta give them back half a star though for the innovative (at the time) beats
Van Halen
3/5
it's so weird that "hair metal" was a genre. why did all of the bands have long hair and play the same music i don't get it
Parliament
4/5
This album is a party that I'm not cool enough to be invited to
Hugh Masekela
2/5
If I ever own a fancy Italian restaurant this album is gonna be blasting through those speakers 24/7
TV On The Radio
3/5
Decent album but nothing stuck out
Fats Domino
3/5
Pretty solid for an oldie
David Bowie
3/5
Solid bowie
Jamiroquai
2/5
Stevie Wonder ripoff. 20 years too late bozo!
Bee Gees
2/5
I listened to this 1 day ago but literally cannot remember a single note that I heard
Animal Collective
4/5
Cacaphony
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
4/5
Nick Cave snapped on this one. Haven't ever liked him before listening to this album yesterday. Good stuff
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
4/5
Dank Neil Old & Crazy Horse. Ty Neil for pulling it off Spotify due to concerns about misinformation. I was able to listen on YouTube, a platform known for its high-quality and factual content, instead!
Massive Attack
4/5
Pretty good stuff
Lorde
4/5
Queen
Madonna
2/5
Weird album, corny lyrics and very 90s-esque dramatic beats. Feel like the list has been heavy on 90s pop that's pretty mid
My Bloody Valentine
3/5
decent but not really memorable
The Rolling Stones
3/5
some good ones here but overall an ok album
New York Dolls
4/5
Some bops on here for sure
Amy Winehouse
3/5
RIP Amy. Sadly, it's one of the all time aged-like-milk moments that she sang about not going to rehab and then died from substance abuse 5 years later. Good album though.
Buzzcocks
2/5
Decent but not memorable
Bauhaus
2/5
Mid
Lou Reed
4/5
Didn't love at first but it got good towards the end
Pulp
3/5
🅱️ul🅱️
Manu Chao
3/5
Surprisingly meta
Prince
3/5
Purple Rain (song) is a certified bop. Went to karaoke in NYC once and some guy was killing it on Let's Get Crazy. The rest of the album is a little weird and/or too freeform for me
Mott The Hoople
3/5
She Mott on my Hoople until I The
Ella Fitzgerald
2/5
She's no Etta James that's for sure
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
3/5
Decent album from Dr. Nick
Bill Evans Trio
1/5
Imagine being at the club in NYC while the Bill Evans Trio is belting out this classic 🎶 you'd get some of the best sleep of your life right in that club 😴
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
2/5
Unnecessarily long but somewhat troll
Billy Bragg
3/5
Solid collab
Deep Purple
3/5
Most deep purple songs lull me to sleep but then some wake me up in a psychedelic dream state
The Mars Volta
4/5
EXOSKELETAL
The folks will never forget the meta that was initiated at Terminal 5 in NYC in late September. The boof was hit, Mike V was met, Family Guy was watched (the open with Osama bin laden doing comedy), and the fellas initiated meta.
Travis
2/5
Mid
New Order
3/5
Can't get into this 80s sound
Malcolm McLaren
3/5
It's like if you took a GTA radio station and made it into an album
Dolly Parton
3/5
Dolly kinda snapped
Joy Division
4/5
Dark, dark album, feels like it's Ian Curtis writing with one foot in the grave. The feels are here on this one
Nick Drake
3/5
Standard
Paul Revere & The Raiders
2/5
Generic 60s boop bop rock
Teenage Fanclub
3/5
Ride ripoff
Neil Young
4/5
Hey Jim, if you want Neil Old back on Spotify maybe you should stop supporting Joe Rogan spreading misinformation!
The Pogues
2/5
Irish shanty ass music
Echo And The Bunnymen
2/5
Nothing special
Rush
4/5
This absolutely melted peoples faces back in the 80s
Jethro Tull
4/5
This album went kinda hard ngl. Reminded me of early Genesis
Metallica
4/5
Ngl, I was pissed at first when I saw this was a 2 hour long Metallica live album that I'd have to slog through. The SF Symphony Orchestra popped off though. Shout out to the legend Ennio Morricone for a little Ecstacy of Gold starting the album off. Surprisingly good overall
Violent Femmes
4/5
Classic but some songs on this are weak
Siouxsie And The Banshees
3/5
Sonic Youth meets Blondie
Thin Lizzy
2/5
Enough of the live albums cmon list
Eric Clapton
3/5
P chill
Cream
3/5
George Harrison
4/5
George snapped. Def best Beatle
The Black Crowes
3/5
Standard 90s poppy college rock type stuff p solid tho
Fishbone
3/5
Some bangers in this one for sure
Beastie Boys
3/5
Wacky background music
Beach House
3/5
Mid house
The Specials
3/5
2nd wave ska meta
Lightning Bolt
2/5
Boring stoner rock
The Hives
2/5
Generic MLB 2k ass music
Gillian Welch
3/5
Not bad tbh
Red Hot Chili Peppers
4/5
Absolute classic. I'll never forget back in the Jersey days tailgating at the Bayonne Costco with some pig pistols and blasting Easily from this album. There was nothing like those fruit smoothie glizz burps. The list is on fire giving us this heater of an album heading into US MDW
Elton John
3/5
Album was kinda carried by the hits and even those weren't Elton's best
Buddy Holly & The Crickets
2/5
Ooo-wee-ooo Nolan looks just like buddy Holly, Oh-Oh and Jim's Mary Tyler Moore
Aretha Franklin
3/5
Went pretty hard actually
Goldfrapp
2/5
Not memorable the other goldfrapp was better
Alanis Morissette
5/5
Cause I got one hand in my pocket, and the other one is typing "poggers". Fire album, we stan our queen Alanis
Little Simz
3/5
Jim hates
Crosby, Stills & Nash
2/5
They need Young bad
The Auteurs
3/5
Reminded me of George Harrison
Bad Brains
2/5
Easiest 2 stars of my life
Run-D.M.C.
1/5
Run DMC is so bad. How did people actually like this music? The terrible beats (guy just spamming cowbells or whatever that is), the choppy ass flow with EMPHASIS on every few words, and lyrics cornier than an Illinois farm make this so unlistenable. The only silver lining of this album is that it makes you appreciate how hip hop and rap have come so far since the mid 80s. This album should be left in the past and left off this list.
Television
4/5
Classic album with a lot of solid tracks
David Bowie
4/5
Album overall is ok, gets weird in the 2nd half. Heroes is such a good song, though, that I gotta give it 4 stars. Those loopy guitar chords, the steady rhythm, and Bowie's lyrics match perfectly and vividly capture the profound significance that the little moments of everyday life can have on us. It might be in my top 10 favorite songs of all time.
Santana
4/5
Fuego
The Last Shadow Puppets
4/5
Kinda went hard. Didn't know this existed before, it's like a bonus arctic monkeys album
Franz Ferdinand
4/5
Take me out
GZA
3/5
Some decent songs but I just struggle to get into older hip hop/rap music as a whole
Dusty Springfield
3/5
Pretty solid, especially for a 1964 album. Had some bops also the white stripes copied her
Elliott Smith
4/5
Depressing but in a good way. RIP Elliott
Elis Regina
2/5
No bueno
David Bowie
3/5
Your average bowie
Wilco
4/5
Good album but not even my favorite wilco album. I respect the dark themes and somewhat ambient instruments, I just don't like them that much tbh. It's still got some bops in some of the more upbeat songs though
AC/DC
2/5
Never really liked AC/DC that much. They're bottom-tier dad rock with some very cringe songs. You shook me all night long is a good song tho
The Beach Boys
4/5
Pretty good not gonna ngl. It's like the poppy jolly music in the lyrics but more experimental instrumentals. Makes for a nice cocktail of sound
The Jesus And Mary Chain
3/5
Average album. Sounded decent but went in one ear and out the other. Good focus music
Jefferson Airplane
3/5
Decent album. A little poppy and a little psychedelic. The 60s seem like they were a much simpler time to get high with less stimuli all around. I imagine there were a ton of people that took LSD, tossed this record on, and had the trip of their lives. No cell phones, no internet, no distractions, just living in the moment with some Jefferson Airplane grooves in the background.
Frank Sinatra
2/5
Standard Frank, don't like it that much
John Coltrane
3/5
It grows on me every listen. Coltrane was def cooking something up on this one, still don't know exactly what it is though
Django Django
4/5
Solid trancy album, never heard of these folks before but I'll prob listen to them more
Black Sabbath
4/5
Dedicating this 4 star rating to Nolan. Ty Nolan
Frank Ocean
4/5
Great album with some amazing songs like Thinking About You, Bad Religion, and my personal favorite, Pyramids. On top of the innovative instrumentals, Frank's stream of consciousness style lyrics turn the song into an intimate space where he explores life, love, and lust. Ultimately, though, the same stream of consciousness style holds back the album as there are points where it is a little too loose and freeform for my liking. Easy 4/5 and nearly a 5/5 for me
Lou Reed
3/5
Liked but didn't love
Bobby Womack
4/5
This is the first soul music that I've really liked tbh
Marvin Gaye
2/5
I just can't get into this album. Unironically, I think I can't relate well to the subject matter bc of my privilege. I also don't like the sound of it
Pixies
3/5
The highs are high on this one but overall it's kinda raw and has some real stinkers. Shout out Jim's old boss Tony who rides a bicycle and wears superhero shirts.
Beastie Boys
2/5
On one hand, it's got some classics like no sleep till Brooklyn and girls. On the other hand, the flows, beats, and lyrics are all kinda wack. It's good knowing that in later albums they were able to round out their sound into something a little more cohesive, but this one is a miss for me
The Stooges
3/5
The stooges/Iggy always have moments for me where they sound awesome but sadly just not consistently through their albums. Maybe it's Seinfeld effect though where they invented the sound and now it sounds generic after so many acts have followed and copied them
Stephen Stills
4/5
Before Marvel, there was the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young extended universe. Just like Marvel, they cranked out content but unlike Marvel, almost everything they did was high quality. This album is no exception!
Brian Eno
2/5
Before Tom Wamsgams and Greg Hirsch, there was Brian Eno and David Byrne. Yup, these guys are the original disgusting brothers and, by God, they got stanky on this ol thang.
The album sounds like what AI would generate if it were trained on Eno and Talking Heads. It sounds like a musical representation of a description of a musical representation of a description of a song. It sounds like they recorded an album, cut it into chronological pieces, and randomly shuffled those pieces all around.
Is it interesting? Yes. Is it pleasant to listen to? Not really. 2 stars (one for each of these legends)
Belle & Sebastian
3/5
I like Belle & Sebastian a lot and they're usually on my rotation of music that I regularly listen to. That being said, I just don't think this album is all that great. There aren't many songs or moments that stand out. I much prefer their pair of albums from 1998 where they really round into form and get creative
Jerry Lee Lewis
4/5
Jerry was shooting flames out of his piano in the first half of this album but then he cooled off at the end
The Jam
3/5
Extremely average album. Exactly 0 standard deviations from the mean. Right at the center of the bell curve.
The Incredible String Band
4/5
There's something about Celtic music that just goes unreasonably hard. Combine that with Sgt. Pepper-like instrumentals and you got yourself a certified banger.
Sonic Youth
4/5
Solid album, I'm starting to come around on Sonic youth, especially goo and post goo
The Replacements
2/5
Putting the MID in mid-80s
Johnny Cash
3/5
Old man Johnny
Miles Davis
2/5
Yuh this was a yuh / 10 (2/5)
Stephen Stills
2/5
Much bluegrassier than the other Stills, couldn't get into it very much
Bob Dylan
4/5
I feel like this is the most Bob Dylan Bob Dylan record. He spits fire start to finish but also has some bangers like Mr. Tambourine Man and It's Alright Ma (shout-out AJ Soprano and his gf in season 6 for bumping this one).
AC/DC
1/5
Piss poor
Steely Dan
3/5
Some of these songs are solid but in some weird way the album feels a little pretentious
Leonard Cohen
4/5
Playoff Lenny with his swan song. Common Leonard Cohen W
Queen
4/5
Good album. I guess I'm a bit of a sucker for 70s prog rock. This was more than just prog rock though, it gave it an arena rock/opera feel to it as only Queen can do.
Carpenters
2/5
We've only just begun is a bop but overall this album is very aged. The type of songs you'd hear playing at an arts and crafts store. RIP Karen Carpenter
Justice
2/5
Not a fan, felt like it went on forever. Too much noise not enough direction. Only had a few moments that were enjoyable to me
Ramones
3/5
I liked the song Ramones off the album Ramones by Ramones where the lead singer said ahh were the Ramones hear us Ramone
Radiohead
3/5
TIL there's a little drawing of a guy on this cover. I never saw it before but had it up on the PC Spotify and it was finally large enough to see. Mind blown 🤯. 3/5 music though
Queen
2/5
Didn't hit at all for me
Wire
3/5
Short and sweet
Stereolab
4/5
Had some bops in here for sure. Common 90s electronic music W
The Smashing Pumpkins
4/5
So many good songs but also so many duds. If Billy just took the best 12 songs from this whole double album it would be an easy 5.
Also, classic Billy Corgan releasing a 6-hour long deluxe edition with 3 full disks of demos and remixes. One of the most self-righteous musicians out there. Great musician though.
Last thought: one of the best shirts I own is themed off this album. Look up the Mellon collie Huf collab button down tee it's gas ⛽
Yes
4/5
The prog champ of our generation? Not according to Nolan (Rush)
The Residents
3/5
Really weird but in a good way. Felt like a horror movie
The Everly Brothers
2/5
😴
Pearl Jam
5/5
This album has everything:
- The smash hits (Jeremy, Black, etc.)
- A fire opener (Once)
- Good deep cuts (Deep, Porch)
- The song that people playing Skate 3 play while their character that looks like Jesus does a Christ Air off the Mega Ramp (Even Flow)
- The song that Nolan screams over and over while Eddie Vedder rants onstage and guys are passing out in the crowd (Release)
Altogether this album is a...Ten out of 10
Stevie Wonder
3/5
Some bops
Sister Sledge
2/5
Groovy but felt short idk
Adam & The Ants
2/5
Boring 80s quirk pop
Deep Purple
2/5
I think I gave the album with most of these songs a 4 but I don't like this over as much. idk why this album is on the list, feel like live albums that make the cut should be absolutely legendary (which this isn't) or have unique versions of songs that aren't recorded (which this kind of is but just a little extra jamming)
The Prodigy
3/5
90s electronic trance
Elbow
4/5
Strong 3/light 4
The White Stripes
2/5
This feels like a distillation of the earlier White Stripes sound but with all of the fun stuff stripped away. Almost too minimalistic to make it good music and instead it feels like it's a Jack White ego piece
The Rolling Stones
3/5
Sympathy
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
2/5
Really weird but I feel like I understood where he was coming from on some of this. Still doesn't make it good music
Arcade Fire
4/5
I really liked the over-the-top theatrical instrumentals on this one. Overall enjoyable album
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
3/5
This album is very EA Sports mid-2000s game menu core. Every track on this album sounds like it could be playing in MLB 2004 or Madden 05. Overall the album is a little too raw for my tastes except for Maps which is a classic.
The Doors
3/5
Mister MOJO RISING
3.5/5 round down
White Denim
4/5
Told Nolan I was listening to D and he thought he was getting Deez Nuts'd 🤣
1/5
Unbelievably wack. It's an hour long tirade of douchey, yet trashy rhymes that make you feel like you had one too many monsters before booze cruising around the streets of Jacksonville. The same way we look back in time at questionable fashion choices, I look back at this album and think "how the fuck was this ever popular?". This album is a cocktail of bud light, testosterone, energy drinks, cigarette smoke, and insecurity that gets spit out at the listener through the corniest bars of all time. Silver linings: I'm now realizing that I should be grateful that I was too young to ever get into this album or know who Fred Durst was while the album was popular
The Fall
4/5
This one surprised me. There were some moments of songs that were incredible and had me stop whatever I was doing to listen. The thing is, they'd always come back to earth on the next track. Pretty unique sound, though, with their steady house/dance rhythms, James bond-esque guitars, and their rambly talking heads-ish singer
The Who
3/5
Solid album with some classics
Pixies
4/5
Debaser is an all-time and probably my favorite pixies song (shout-out skate 3). A lot of other solid tracks on this one. I still feel like the pixies haven't really clicked for me yet so I'll give this like a 7/10 and round up
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
2/5
Doesn't sound great but there is some very troll poetry/lyricism in this one "A squid eating dough in a polyethylene bag is fast and bulbous". Sounds like the fellas just took a bunch of LSD together and had fun at the studio making weird ass music
Taylor Swift
4/5
Solid t swift album. Her sound is growing on me, or maybe it's just my girlfriend has played so much Taylor that's I've been incepted into liking her. For the hits, I hate shake it off so much. Blank space is ok and brings me back to college where 1 year everyone would play that song. The deeper cuts are good though
JAY Z
4/5
Great album, just couldn't get to 5. Listen to Big Brother by Kanye to see how much of an ass Jay was to Kanye during this time
4/5
It's a classic
Curtis Mayfield
3/5
This went unexpectedly hard. I don't typically like old soul but Curtis was saucin on the track. Also listening to old music like this makes you realize how much today's hip hop is built on the backs of soul music (Chance with Pusha Man).
Traffic
4/5
This went pretty hard ngl. They were murdering those keys
Thundercat
2/5
I just don't like Thundercats music really. Even the songs I saved would probably rank in the bottom 10% of all of the songs I've saved on my Spotify. It seems like the industry and other artists love Thundercat for whatever reason but I just can't get into it. When the album got to the point of him talking about how he loved Dragonball Z as a kid it was time to turn it off
Sugar
4/5
It's not the most revolutionary album I've ever heard, but it's got that early 90s sound that I have a sweet spot for and it sticks to it consistently throughout the record. The sound is the perfect cross between the heavier shoegaze of the early 90s like Ride, Catherine Wheel, etc. and the poppier college rock that dominated the whole decade. All in all, I just really liked the album, although I don't think I can get to 5 stars since it didn't totally blow me away
Radiohead
2/5
Thom Yorke is the whiniest white boy I've heard since John Lennon.
Radiohead be like: beep boop society
I be like: beep boop 2/5
OutKast
3/5
Too long but had some bops
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
Decent Bruce. Nothing crazy. If it's not one of his first 3 albums it's probably a 3
David Crosby
3/5
She Crosby on my Stills until I Nash
Joni Mitchell
3/5
Went into a wikipedia rabbit hole looking at Saskatoon Canada as I was listening to this. Canada is crazy, there's so much land and I feel like it must be snowy like 75% of the year in 75% of Canada. The fact that there are nightclubs in Saskatoon and that Joni Mitchell used to play in them blew my mind. Decent album but after a while the sound got kind of old to me :(
Air
4/5
This list just doesn't miss with the 90s electronic albums, eh Nolan? This shit is smooth like butter on the bread and jam on the toast
Count Basie & His Orchestra
2/5
He said
Bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum
William Orbit
2/5
Kind of a snooze fest but kinda good ?
David Bowie
4/5
Good Bowie album yuh
The Killers
5/5
Back in 2016, Flowers admitted that he considered The Strokes’ debut album to be better than his band’s own ‘Hot Fuss’ –and previously told NME that he felt “depressed” after hearing ‘Is This It’ for the first time. “That record just sounded so perfect,” he said. “We threw away everything [we were working on] and the only song that made the cut and remained was ‘Mr. Brightside.’”
It's a great story that Brandon ended up listening to Is This It at seemingly the perfect time, because he followed up that inadequacy he felt with the incredible Hot Fuss, which I think turned out even better than Is This It. Like a fine wine, it's aged well over the years, with Mr. Brightside becoming a party anthem and Somebody Told Me still getting airplay. It still has some flaws, though, so it's a tough choice between a 4 and a 5 for me. Let's walk through it
Jenny was a friend of mine - Good opener, great song
Mr. Brightside - Even though I've heard it a million times I never get tired of it
Smile like you mean it - One of the weaker tracks on this album
Somebody told me - Smash hit but, unlike Mr. Brightside, I get sick of this song
All these things that I've done - I saw a take once that "I've got soul but I'm not a soldier" makes no fucking sense and, frankly, I've got to agree. That tweet singlehandedly ruined this song for me, but, although it's corny, it's still a nice little ballad
Andy you're a star - I would say this is a weaker one. I still don't really understand this song
On Top - the horns at the beginning are abrasive, but once you're past that I think it's a decent song, but still one of the weaker ones on the album
Change your mind - This song starts off a strong stretch to end the album. I've always loved this one and its tone that yins and yangs between gloomy and hopeful
Believe me Natalie - The most underrated song on the album, it sounds and feels like a wonderful rambling drunk evening in NYC
Midnight show - DRIVE FASTER BOOOOOOOY
Everything will be alright - A mediocre closer, it's still got some moments as it ends the album with a haziness that engulfs the listener
All in all, this album has been around and on my rotation for a good portion of my life ever since I picked up the CD at a Best Buy as a 10 year old kid with my best friend at the time. The album was a 5 for me then, that same kid is still my best friend today, and Hot Fuss is still a 5/5 today.
Beatles
4/5
I think this might be my favorite Beatles album. It's when you really start to hear the drugs come out in their songwriting and it makes the album somewhat of a journey. It's also a point where they seem to round into form with Paul providing poppy hits, John providing a psychedelic slant, and George bringing some wildcard elements that help expand their songs into different genres. Not totally consistent throughout, though, so it's only a 4/5 for me. Personal Favorites: Eleanor Rigby, Love You To, She Said She Said, For No One
R.E.M.
2/5
R.E.M. has a lot of good albums 🔥. This is NOT one of them 🙅🙅🙅
The Blue Nile
4/5
This went unexpectedly hard. It was like Talk Talk (last 2 albums) with some Seinfeld music influence. I'll be coming back to this one for sure
1/5
Pros:
- the names of the songs were kind of spooky and funny
Cons:
-just about everything else
Pixies
4/5
Pretty fire and almost shoegazy pixies album
The Rolling Stones
2/5
You ever hear the saying that Pennsylvania is "Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Alabama in between"? Well, this album is Gimme Shelter, You Can't Get What You Want, and dogshit in between.
The Strokes
4/5
I love the Strokes and I love this album. I just think it's a little one-dimensional at times. Like 5/10 songs are all-timers but the others are only decent. It was a great start, though, and I think the strokes were able to build off of this start in later albums to really blossom into a powerhouse of a band
Willie Colón & Rubén Blades
2/5
I wish I could understand what they were saying
The Stooges
2/5
Solo Iggy way better than this
Grateful Dead
3/5
Cherry Garcia
Aretha Franklin
2/5
Aretha I love you girl but this album needs a remaster bad
The Band
4/5
This is how I wish Grateful Dead sounded
Machito
3/5
This went kinda hard ngl
Don McLean
3/5
Cousin Donny with a solid Americana staple
Faust
3/5
It was ok I guess. Should have smoked a Doobie beforehand, maybe then I would have given it a 4
Bruce Springsteen
2/5
I never really liked this Bruce album or even the popular songs on it. Although it's good songwriting from Bruce, the album just doesn't sound good, especially compared to a lot of his other albums. Not a fan
Eagles
2/5
Wraparound Oakley's: On
Cigarette: lit
B*tch ex-wife: left me
Dodge ram: 85 mph
It's life in the fast lane time 😎
Tito Puente
2/5
Ok music I guess. Never listening to this restaurant lobby ahh music again tho
808 State
3/5
Interesting mix, the style is like 2000s club but with 80s sounds. Went hard for about 3 songs
The Chemical Brothers
4/5
Love me some Chemical Bros. The list just doesn't miss with the 90s electronic
Blur
4/5
Never heard this one by blur before but it was pretty good! Britpop baby yeah
Amy Winehouse
4/5
I can't have my handle named after stano and not give his girl Amy at least a 4. Amy actually snapped here
Eels
4/5
SHREK IN THE WILD (My Beloved Monster)
Really good album with a lot of great tracks. E has that nice balance between utter depression and beautiful art in his songs. I'd recommend his autobiography to anyone that likes this album or just likes musician's stories in general.
M.I.A.
1/5
I bet...if you played this for a baby...they'd cry waaaah waaaah 😭
Deerhunter
3/5
It's a decent album, but super slow in the first half. I hate that the album art doesn't match the album at all
The Doors
3/5
The Doors just don't stand out to me, probably since they're super famous and I've heard them throughout my whole life
The Cars
2/5
There's only one good Cars song (Drive) and it's not on this album. L +
The The
3/5
It was decent, saved a few. Ty the the
Eurythmics
3/5
THROBBING synths. HOT and BURNING choruses. CRAMPING rhythms.
This album is PAINFULLY 80s.
Rufus Wainwright
2/5
It sounds good but the songs are just bad idk how else to describe it.
Kanye West
5/5
Get em high and breathe in breathe out are 2 mid songs but just about everything else on this album (including skits) is good, great, or incredible. Songs like Jesus Walks show Kanye's ability to make a smash hit while the school spirit skits show his humor. The New Workout Plan is one of the most unique hip hop songs I know and shows the creativity of Kanye in his beats, lyrics, and songwriting. Through the wire shows might be his best sampling. And finally, Two Words, one of Kanye's most underrated songs, shows Kanye's ability to bring the best out of features in his tracks to make truly unique and fantastic songs.
Prob a 9/10 album but a 5/5 for this list.
Daft Punk
2/5
Even though I like later DP releases I just don't like this one. The songs are moreso collections of noise than coherent songs imo. Maybe I'm not on enough layers of irony or something
Jungle Brothers
3/5
Pretty darn good for old hip hop. I'd take this over Run DMC or even Beastie Boys. The beats were good and innovative for 1989. Some of those songs were great. But the majority was pretty forgettable
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
2/5
This guy wrote a whole album about his weiner and somehow it ended up on 1001 albums to hear before you die
Nas
5/5
Just as close to perfect as you can get for a Rap album. Every song has something to offer and goes UNREASONABLY hard.
Listening to it really makes you feel like you're right alongside Nas gooning around and hustling in the streets of New York. Nas takes the relatively shallow subject matter of being a gangsta in the city and reflects thoroughly on it, giving the album an incredible depth where you can feel the conflicts of morality and practicality that many young people in cities across the world wrestle with every day.
10/10
The Temptations
3/5
Fine oldies album
Supertramp
3/5
I'm not sure why the list felt the need to include this. How is this any different or better than the other prog rock albums around this time that were way more successful? There's definitely a dad rock bias in the list
Lynyrd Skynyrd
4/5
Wynyrd Skynard, cause this album is taking no Ls
Skepta
3/5
It sounds so weird when British people rap lol talking about "the tele" and stuff while trying to sound hard. This album specifically was kinda whack at first but the more I listened the more I found myself bumping along. So I guess it turned out to be a solid listen
David Bowie
3/5
It was ok but not really too memorable. Fame gets stuck in my head and gets hella annoying
Jurassic 5
2/5
Mid and cap
Sam Cooke
4/5
This went very hard. 60s live albums just have a different energy to them
The La's
4/5
Pretty GAS. There she pogs
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
3/5
Definitely better than that other Elvis!
So tacky that the first lines in the whole album are the same as the title of the album. L-vis Costello for that
Dr. Dre
4/5
The highs are high and iconic but some of these tracks are wack and cap, like the skit where Dr. Dre is having sex with some lady. I'm listening to this album at work for God's sake!
+ Points for being the original Deez Nuts. 3.6/5
3/5
Welcome Jason and Dom (and Jason again) and whoever "garbanzo-beans" is to the group!
This album was decent, a few saves but overall didn't really click for me. It's funny that even though it's not really a pop album it has a similar but of sound to a lot of the late 90s/early 2000s pop songs around that time
N.W.A.
2/5
Childhood is idolizing West Coast rap. Adulthood is knowing that NY and East Coast rap clears.
Louis Prima
3/5
For 1956 this was pretty meta. Nice little swing record. It wasn't very memorable, after a song or 2 it all blended together. Strong 2/Light 3
Dexys Midnight Runners
2/5
ELO mixed with the Cure mixed with 3rd wave SKA. Sounds pretty bad when you mix it all together
Buffalo Springfield
4/5
When I'm old and senile, don't send me to a retirement home. Send me up to the Poconos with a bottle of whiskey and this album and let me die a happy man
Stevie Wonder
4/5
This was good. Real good. Probably now my 2nd favorite Stevie album (after songs in the key of life)
Earth, Wind & Fire
3/5
Groooooooooooovy
Beatles
4/5
This has gotta be one of the best if not the best Beatles album. It flows consistently throughout and the instrumentals on the songs were great.
Merle Haggard
3/5
Was looking forward to some classic country on this list and this one didn't disappoint
Randy Newman
3/5
Crazy that this guy ended up doing film scores for like half of the Pixar movies. Album was ok I guess
Van Morrison
4/5
Now this is the kind of dad rock I like! Soulful ramblings about making love, gypsies and making love to gypsies.
In some ways this feels thematically and lyrically similar to his previous album, Astral Weeks. However, on this one he really managed to tighten up the instrumentals and pull it together into more concise and coherent songs. Although many people probably like this album's style better, I prefer the long, freeform songs on astral weeks.
Tl;Dr Gypsy lalalala gypsy avenue
The Avalanches
3/5
Not gonna lie I just don't get this album as much as I feel like I should. It's got some potential and cool grooves but at the end of the day the songs themselves aren't very good imo
Os Mutantes
4/5
This album spoke to me...I don't know what it said, though, since I don't speak Brazilian
On a real note, this actually went pretty hard. It was psychedelic and wacky and cacophonous in a good way. Much better than I expected opening the page and seeing a 1960s album from another language.
Was very close to giving it a 5. Maybe I'll listen a few more times and regret the decision but for now it's a 4
Pink Floyd
2/5
Pink Floyd was more like Stink Floyd with this Mid Barrett guy amirite? A couple decent moments but overall the direction of the album just didn't hit with me. The songwriting is a lot like the other Syd Barrett work that I've heard which isn't my favorite. We should all be glad that David Gilmour joined and Roger Waters took over the songwriting for the later albums
Giant Sand
2/5
Just didn't feel much of anything on this album. Aside from the 1 or 2 songs that I saved I won't ever be coming back to it
Radiohead
3/5
I used to like this more but Radiohead just doesn't do it for me like they used to. Whiny Thom. It's a pretty good album still, 3.5/5 rounded down
Harry Nilsson
3/5
POV: You're a White Anglo-Saxon Protestant man who retired with a multi-million dollar pension and moved to Key West with your wife (that you hate). Your kids (that you hate) are visiting. You're tempted to make a nice stiff drink when you wake up, but decide instead to take out your boat and throw on Nilsson Schmilsson to get away from the family. For just a moment, life is good.
The Byrds
4/5
The Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young (trigger warning Jim) extended universe might be one of my favorite genres of rock and music as a whole. Just chill ass dudes making chill ass music. Throw some folk in, some psychedelia, meet the Beatles, smoke a Doobie, and sing along to that beat. Poggers in chat
Sheryl Crow
3/5
More mom's Toyota Corolla core eh dom?
This album had some great moments, like that Las Vegas song, but it just wasn't consistent throughout. I'd give it another chance some time and also fw Sheryl Crow so maybe I'll check out her other stuff
The Cure
3/5
Edgar Allen Poe ahh music
T. Rex
3/5
It took me 3 tries to get to listening this album all the way through since I was busy each time. By the time I got to the 3rd though it was actually pretty solid. Bang a gong baby
Beck
3/5
There are a bunch of good songs on here but a bunch of real snoozers as well. As much as I want to give it a 4 I just don't think this is Beck's best
Alice Cooper
2/5
Kind of weird hearing a 24 year old sing so much about school. Move on brother, it's just creepy at this point! This album sounds like it's tailor made for playing faintly over the shitty speakers at a dive bar. The thing is, if you dropped me in the 70s, put 5 beers in me, gave me a couple cigs, and sent me to that dive bar, I'd rock right along with the music. 2/5
Billie Holiday
2/5
I swear all albums before 1960 sound like Christmas music even if they have nothing to do with the holidays
Ryan Adams
5/5
The first song came on and I was thinking damn this is some good ol Americana. Classic but not too classic and catchy but not cliche. To my surprise, it more or less continued consistently throughout the whole album. Some songs stood out more, but overall there were no misses.
Altogether, since I enjoyed it, there were some great songs and really no duds, and the album flowed together the whole way through, and I'll definitely be coming back to it, I think this deserves a 5
Tears For Fears
3/5
80s music is the epitome of "I am cringe but I am free". Through all of the wacky, over-the-top, theatrical synths on this album, it actually turns out pretty good and has some fire songs on it
Green Day
5/5
Damn Green Day is really marketing the shit out of their new album. First they do the subway concert with Jimmy Fallon, then they give our group American Idiot on the 1001 albums list!
I'm never not giving this album a 5. I've loved it for so long and I feel like I've grown up alongside it. There are no misses (except maybe homecoming) and there are plenty of songs that I've latched onto over the years. Jesus of Suburbia was one of my favorite songs in high school and is still up there now. Letterbomb used to be the song I'd play when maxing out my lifts in the gym. Whatsername is an all time listen and stare out the window of the car song. And there are so many more great ones.
Manic Street Preachers
4/5
This was good yuh. This guy was pissed at the UK and America
The Rolling Stones
1/5
As someone who mainly only knew the hits of the Rolling Stones, this list has really opened my eyes to how much terrible music they've made. This album was a struggle to listen to. Can I Get a Witness is the only mildly listenable song, but I could see that basic piano chord progression getting annoying after a few listens.
There is still plenty of other Rolling Stones on the list. It's time to remove this album and replace it with something newer and more listenable
Rush
4/5
Yup Rush rips. We know this. Dom knows it, Jim knows it, Jason (if you're still out there) knows it. The 20 minute song rips, the rest of the album rips. Yuh^2/10 (yuh squared out of 10)
Van Halen
3/5
A peppy, positive form of boomer rock
Frank Sinatra
2/5
Frank: doo-we-doo-wop it's the 1950s and I'm making whoopee with lots beautiful women
A bunch of horns: WAH WA WOMP
Led Zeppelin
3/5
Later led better
Steely Dan
4/5
I liked this a lot. Dad rock-ish but also just a tad goofy. Good vibes all around
Love
4/5
Another slapper! Never heard of Love before but damn this album was good. It's relaxing but still has a good amount of energy like a boiling pot of water that is bubbling just below the edge of the pot
The Cure
5/5
It’s that “fuck it, we 5” mentality. This is #47 on my topster. It’s just too good. Bob Smith and the boys really slow it all down for you and take you through the pain inside them at their own leisurely pace. Sit back and let it flow through you
Paul Simon
3/5
I can call you Dutch, and Dutch when you call me you can call me Ace
Donovan
3/5
Donovan McNabb
SZA
4/5
I liked this a lot. SZA is growing on me for sure
Turbonegro
2/5
These guys sound talented enough, but this type of music just isn’t my thing nowadays
The Police
3/5
I went in thinking this was going to suck and I was pleasantly surprised that it didn’t
Sly & The Family Stone
2/5
If I wanted jams this funky, I would have just gone to the Sea Monster lounge on December 15 with Jason, Dom, and Jim
Marvin Gaye
3/5
I feel like I should like Marvin Gaye more than I actually do
Randy Newman
2/5
As a God fearing American, this was pretty g—
Just kidding, this was boring and weirdly religious. Uncle Randy with the increasingly common L
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
1/5
This shit was not what I needed to hear during a stressful day at work
Keith Jarrett
3/5
He was killing it on those keys. Saved this to revisit while I’m reading or studying or rising & grinding
The Smashing Pumpkins
5/5
Can’t 5 star this album fast enough. Once I hear that opening drum roll of Cherub Rock, the emotions of the album come rushing back and I get excited for the next hour of listening. Aside from all of the amazing sounds and creative guitar work, I love how personal to Billy Corgan it is.
As much as Billy Corgan is an egomaniac, control freak, and unpleasant pontificator, you can’t help but to feel bad for him as you start to understand that there is a deep insecurity rooted within him. This album feels like it’s Billy’s way of showing that insecurity to the world; of psychoanalyzing himself for all to hear. The record starts with and has some of its strongest moments in the grand, arrogant, powerful chords that capture Billy’s harsh side; the lust for greatness and belief in supremacy over all of the other poser musicians in the world (including those within his own band). While it progresses, it starts to see-saw between the grandiose and a milder, sweeter, sadder sound. As the Pumpkins guide us into these more melancholic moments, it begins to feel like you’re hearing the truth of how Billy feels inside. That he would gladly return all of the stardom and fame and acclaim for the chance to go back in time to those days of his childhood when he was the most disconsolate and make them just a little bit better. That every extra bit of fame makes him feel even worse for carrying around all the pain and makes him want to withdrawal from the world to spend his days in bed alone.
The album is magnificent, anxious, dejecting, angry, calm, and, most of all, beautiful. 10/10 — best non-singles: Hummer & Silverf***
Madness
2/5
Actually pretty good album. Our House is a classic but it’s got other good songs too. -1 star for not being on Spotify or Apple Music
Liz Phair
2/5
Part of me really wants to give this a 1. Not a single song or moment stuck out to me on the whole album. It feels scattered, unstructured, and zero-dimensional to me. However, Liz is consistent with her approach and I feel like there is <i>something</i> there with some meaning in the consistency…I just don’t know what
David Gray
3/5
The first song with the trip hop-esque drum machine and classic singer/songwriter piano had me thinking this was going to be incredible but after that I didn’t think it was all that noteworthy
The Dave Brubeck Quartet
2/5
Ba dum bum bum bum bum bum core
Nina Simone
3/5
Nina snapped here. Lilac wine was good and so was four women.
R.E.M.
4/5
This is IMO R.E.M.’s best and most consistent record. I remember the first time I listened to it start to finish and how it finally made me realize why people like REM. The final 3 song stretch of this album is 5 star worthy
Bob Dylan
3/5
Not the worst Bob Dylan but also not the best. Like a rolling stone is overrated
Charles Mingus
3/5
Day boi Mingus
Otis Redding
3/5
Short, sweet, and to the point. Ty Otis
Nirvana
4/5
Yup, this is a classic
The Zutons
3/5
I can’t tell if this completely sucks or it’s actually really good
Janis Joplin
3/5
I’ve always loved Me & Bobby McGee, and even though Janis didn’t write it herself she definitely snapped on it. There were some other bangers on this album too like cry baby.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
3/5
This is the 3rd nick cave album we’ve gotten on this list and I thought it was definitely the weakest of the bunch. Still, I just like his music in general. Even though this was weak for his standards I still feel a 3
Nick Drake
3/5
Nick is definitely growing on me. Kind of interesting that this album is on the list when it’s the least famous and least good of his 3 albums IMO. This is real sad boy fall music, you gotta be in the right mood for it. Tough 3 near 4
Duran Duran
4/5
Although we’ve already had Eurythmics and Tears for Fears, there is a real argument that this is the most quintessentially 80s album we’ve gotten so far. The synths are deafening, the vocal reverb is intense, and the bass lines are Seinfeld-esque. What a weird time it would have been to be alive
Marilyn Manson
2/5
After Marilyn was dropping racial slurs left and right in the first song, I was sure this was going to be a 1. Fortunately, as I listened along, the Trent Reznor production sound came out and a lot of the songs just ended up sounding like a Nine Inch Nails rip off with edgelord lyrics. The lyrics on this album are like if Saw (the movie), Limp Bizkit, and a Facebook comment section had a baby. Overall, very strange vibes on this album, and Trent Reznor is just about the only thing going for it.
Gary Numan
4/5
Whenever I open this website up and see an album from the late 70s, I really don’t know what to expect. I feel like it was a time when a lot of different musical techniques developed over the previous years were maturing and turning into genre-inventing movements (punk, 2nd wave ska, new wave, etc.). The Pleasure Principle seemed to be right at the beginning of a budding synth-pop wave that would take over the 80s and still remains the defining sound of that era.
I was really impressed at the creativity in the album with the use of synths. Unlike most later synth-pop, this album felt like it was a complete piece of art and effectively demonstrated the versatility that a synth and other electronic musical elements can provide an artist. Albums like this, ones that open your eyes to the pioneers of sound that expanded the musical palate of the world and that I would never have listened to otherwise, are the gems of this list.
Depeche Mode
2/5
I feel like no song was great on this but also no song was bad. More of a minimalist take on 80s music. Probably won’t ever listen to any of this again besides enjoy the silence. Strong 2
The Notorious B.I.G.
3/5
Why did rappers in the 90s/early 2000s think it was a good idea to include skits of them fake having sex?? Was everyone that horny back then? Nothing worse than trying to concentrate at work while moans and dick sucking sounds from Biggie’s album come through your headphones.
Aside from being criminally horny and pathologically violent, I thought this was a decent album with some good moments and classics.
Bad Company
2/5
Yet another example of this list's bias for the middest of dad rock. I felt absolutely nothing as I listened to this. For some reason, the lead singer of the band Bad Company singing "Bad Company" over and over again on the song Bad Company from the album Bad Company just didn't do it for me. It's generic as can be. There are no impressive moments throughout the record. If you asked a random person to name as many dad rock bands as they could, how many would they name before Bad Company? Probably at least 30. This album should be at the top of the list of albums to remove for the next revision of the 1001 albums book. The only thing going for it is that it's not a horrible listen, so to me this is barely a 2
Buck Owens
3/5
Buck was trollin on this one
Doves
2/5
Very surprised to see a second ! Doves album on this list. This one doesn’t hit anywhere near as hard as the first one we got. Even the other one had mostly boring-ish songs but it had enough musically to carry it and make it a solid overall album. This one was just the boring songs without much else. Good to see that they evolved as a band between this one and the other one we got which was released 2 years later I think
Talking Heads
3/5
I don't see the appeal of Talking Heads that much. They've never clicked for me. I feel like they were a "had to be there" kind of band.
David Byrne played at a festival I went to in like 2017 but I didn't pay attention at all and didn't realize he was the lead singer of the talking heads lol whoops. Lost opportunity
The Waterboys
4/5
This low key ripped. Love me some Irish influenced music. Ty list for giving this to me in March ☘️
Robert Wyatt
4/5
This ripped! It sounds a lot like progressive rock albums from the same era like CAN and Faust and Genesis and Pink Floyd but it’s more of a rock/pop/jazz genre fusion than any of these other albums. Very unique and very good. Had me zoned in at the PC absolutely tearing through work, writing emails at an impressive clip
Serge Gainsbourg
3/5
The whole album is kinda like a middle-song breakdown where the band slows down and gets quiet and lets the lead singer whisper. Like the second half of Nervous Young Inhumans by Car Seat Headrest. Except the whole album is this and the singer is speaking another language and it’s not ironic. I still fw it though, was an interesting album
Deee-Lite
2/5
Groove is in the heart is just about the only thing noteworthy on this album, and apparently in this artists career
Missy Elliott
2/5
Jim u gotta show Dom the pic of Busta Rhymes at our gym in Hoboken. Not the best missy not the worst
Suzanne Vega
2/5
Mid and 😴. My sister says it sounds like something that would play at Kohls between Kohls Cash ads. Department-store-core
Isaac Hayes
3/5
Chef from south park
Donald Fagen
3/5
Didn’t realize this was the Steely Dan guy. Album is ok. Very 70s but with a little more smooth jazz/downtown city influence
Marvin Gaye
4/5
Marvin serenading us with his instrument
X-Ray Spex
4/5
Surprisingly good. Felt like this was full of sounds that other bands would build on in the 80s. Like punk Blondie. Light 4
Death In Vegas
4/5
I liked this more than I thought I would seeing the album cover and band name. First thoughts were that it sounds very much like massive attack/chemical brothers/other 90s dance music but I feel like there were some unique wrinkles in there like the 70s-rock-esque organs they’d mix in. Overall pretty good listen with some unique and interesting songs
Gil Scott-Heron
3/5
Kendrick sample in the wild (from probably my favorite Kendrick song) on the first track went hard. The watergate song was pretty troll. Overall I really enjoyed it but gotta -1 for not being on spotify
Slayer
4/5
Enjoyed this. Don’t really know enough about metal/thrash music to write anything intelligent here. Take my upvote, kind stranger!
The Young Gods
1/5
Dogshit Tom Waits ahh cacophonous stinky French “album”
10cc
1/5
There’s a kid I know from school that thinks he’s the funniest person in the world and does standup comedy. The thing is, he’s painfully unfunny and the “jokes” in his routine just kind of boil down to talking in weird goofy voices. I feel like this is the demographic that this album is tailor-made for.
Sorry for being a hater, but this album pissed me off so much that now random kids from my past are catching strays. See what putting bad albums on here does, list maker? There’s only one thing that can cure my rage and it’s WEEZER’s BLUE ALBUM (put it on the list!)
Pantera
2/5
Passionately anti-woke guy from high school that still posts his entire life on Facebook core.
The Flaming Lips
5/5
Been thinking long and hard about whether to give this a 5 and decided if I’m thinking about it this much it’s a 5.
I discovered this album right around the beginning of covid when things were really really shitty. The morale of the world was low and the anxiety was high from all of the unknowns. Yoshimi is forever linked in my mind to this time, especially as it explores a lot of the same themes that the world was confronting at the time like mortality, courage, and fight or flight. Musically, it also mirrors the time with the dream-like tracks (magicians, hypnotist, pavonis mons) intertwined with reflective musings (fight test, do you realize).
So to me, this album doesn’t evoke a great mood or anything, but it does make me appreciate how far things have come since 2020. It’s a good listen
Suede
4/5
Very solid album. Nearly 5 stars + saved
Steely Dan
2/5
Kinda cap dad rock. Musically it feels decently creative but the songwriting and singing to me miss the mark. No saves, will probably never listen to this one again
The Fall
3/5
Most average 70s punk record
Joy Division
3/5
I want to like this album more but after the first 2 songs there’s very little else that’s good IMO. Hot take but Closer is the better Joy Division album. Disorder absolutely rips in Skate 3
Laibach
3/5
Feels like they’d play this at an Illuminati meeting in Eastern Europe. Not bad tbh
Hole
4/5
I was recently wondering what Hole actually sounded like after visiting MoPop and seeing that this is the band where Courtney Love originated. I enjoyed this a lot, nice little ripper. Light 4
The Icarus Line
3/5
More EA Sports game menu core! This and Fever to Tell by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs are MLB 2k5 pilled and Madden 04 celled.
In fact, a song on this album was actually in a Tony Hawk game soundtrack. So I’ll expand the genre to PS2 core. Some defining characteristics of PS2 core: distorted guitars…and vocals…and everything else, pop-punk lyrics, couch co-op, media player buried in the settings where you can remove songs from your game, that one dad in your neighborhood that had the PS2 internet card and played strangers in madden online, rogue rap songs that can’t be found on the internet anymore, bad graphics and worse dialogue, chaotic drums. I look back with fond memories but objectively don’t love the music
Dagmar Krause
1/5
Here it is…. My first 0/5!
Really didn’t enjoy listening to this, so that’s a 1/5. Adding in the -1 for not being on Spotify, that’s a 0/5 folks.
That being said, it was a unique album. The fact that it was recorded in English and in German by the singer is wild. It’s just so far removed from my style of music that I could barely stand it.
Iron Maiden
4/5
Ripper of an album! I’ve got like 3/4 of this album saved. It’s got some classics like the Number of the Beast and Run to the Hills. I’ve definitely set some PRs at the gym to Hallowed be thy Name and the Prisoner. Strong 4
Dinosaur Jr.
3/5
This whole album kind of blends together. There’s some crazy guitar which, fittingly, with all of the distortion and layers with the bass, sounds kind of like a bug buzzing. I like Dino jr. but don’t love this album
Nitin Sawhney
4/5
I thought this album was awesome. It’s like the Asian Fusion of trip-hop. I’ve just never heard anything like this before and some of those songs were incredible and unique. There were a few songs that were a tad annoying, but overall the experiments on the album worked very well. I’m looking forward to returning to this at some point and think it has potential to change my perspective and tastes in music long term
Beatles
2/5
Early Beatles is nursery rhyme tier. These guys are down so bad. They’re so thirsty for just a bit of human affection on every song on this album. Beatles pre-drugs are one of the most overrated and cap bands of all time. Beatles post-drugs are genre-defining, game-changing psychedelic pop. Sadly, this album falls in the former category.
3/5
A live album of a bunch of songs that are already on this list. Not sure why this qualified, there wasn’t much energy or anything. It just sounded like Bob Dylan singing Bob Dylan which is exactly what it was
Brian Eno
3/5
Completely okay music. Good for focusing or for a quiet morning but won’t ever be in my regular rotation. It’s like some abstract art you see in a museum that you appreciate and admire but you'd never buy a piece like it for your own house.
WHAT DOES HE KNOW? BRIAN ENO
Kings of Leon
3/5
Musically, I was surprised. Lyrically, I was not
Kate Bush
2/5
You really have to be in the mood for Kate Bush or else she sounds horrible. Wasn’t in the mood today :( The maximalist yet abrasive sound is just too much
Creedence Clearwater Revival
2/5
I like CCR but I don’t really like any songs on this album. Except maybe proud Mary
Talking Heads
3/5
David Byrne yelling about stuff
Baaba Maal
2/5
It’s 2016, I get dropped off in a field in the middle of Dover, DE. I’m fresh off a breakup and full of adrenaline and can’t wait to get hammered and dance around. I find my buddies’ campsite and Josh who’s been awake on a Molly binge for 72 hours nearly has a stroke when I show up. My trusty fake ID and the bit of cash from long hot days at the deli get enough drinks in me to kill a small village while I’m inside the festival grounds. There’s some trend where girls are daring their friends to make out with strangers, so I’m snogging random women left and right. I find my new fwb and her friends and jam with them at Blink 182 (the Matt Skiba era L) and then lose them in the crowd immediately after. With no service, having lost everyone, and unsure how I’m going to get a ride home, I wander into the Mumford and Sons crowd. They quiet the crowd and announce that they have a special guest coming out to perform…and they bring out BAABA fucking MAAL.
Thanks for coming to my TED talk about the time I saw Baaba Maal IRL at Firefly in 2016. 2/5 album
Common
3/5
Solid album, chill vibe
The Pogues
3/5
This was much more solid than I thought it would be looking at the cover. Love me some Irish influenced music
Queen Latifah
2/5
I had no idea Queen Latifah was a musician lol just thought she was an actress. Anyway, I just really dislike this period of hip hop. Pretty much everything from my Run DMC reviews also applies here. This one is probably just a tad better and more listenable though
Al Green
3/5
Some sweet soul music, I’d put this above a lot of other soul we’ve gotten so far on the list
Leonard Cohen
3/5
It’s a typical Lenny album. Old man yells at cloud energy but in a good way. He’s that type of grandpa that smokes weed and participates in protests with the Green Party.
Belle & Sebastian
4/5
At one point this album was a 5 for me but it’s not anymore sadly. Still a great and somewhat unique album that I’ve listened to a lot since I’ve found it. The stars of track and field and the title track are highlights for me, but I think this album also has some snoozers like Fox in the Snow. My grandmas name was Judy and she loved horses, so I always smile at that last track, but I still think it’s one of the weaker tracks.
Lloyd Cole And The Commotions
2/5
1st song was serial killer vibes. Average 80s album, probably shouldn’t be on this list
Living Colour
4/5
Strong 5 consideration but ultimately, I didn’t like it as much as I feel like a 5 should be liked. Still, this was a very impressive album. Cult of Personality is an absolute banger and might be a top 5 Guitar Hero III song. The rest of the album, which I hadn’t heard before, was a wonderful blend of many different flavors of dad-rock. These ranged from Van Halen-esque over-the-top arena rock to grounded and groovy Fishbone-like bass lines which truly gave the album some….living colour
Red Hot Chili Peppers
3/5
The most Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers album. Flea slapping on the bass, Frusciante pumping in sweet melodies, Anthony Kiedis singing about his penis. It has some of their best songs (Under the Bridge, I Could have Lied) mixed with some of their most annoying (Apache Rose Peacock, If You Have to Ask). It has Sir Psycho Sexy which is both one of their best and one of their most annoying (that police woman verse…Jesus Christ).
Ultimately, while the Chili Peppers are iconic and world-famous from Flea and AK, their best music comes straight from Frusciante’s genius. This album has some songs that feature John heavier and those are the good ones. The others sound like Flea and AK on a drug bender and, while those songs can be fun, they sound like shit.
Miriam Makeba
3/5
This album was pretty solid, especially for 1960. One More Dance was an absolute vibe with Charles Coleman cracking up on the track. It was a cool mix of African music with traditional folk music, definitely a good unique inclusion on this list
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
2/5
The guy's got some pipes (and apparently like 1,000 albums on spotify?) but this was a very, very long album. It was decent background music and honestly not the worst thing I've ever heard. 2/5
Ali Farka Touré
3/5
This settled into a nice smooth groove. Soukora was kind of a banger! Also Ry Cooder is a pretty sick name
Suicide
3/5
If nothing else, this album was…interesting. Its sound is like low-fi drone background with satirical classic rock/pre-new-wave vocals. It almost sounds like Nick Cave if he were to say every word on an over exaggerated out breath. The subject matter lives up to the bands name, it’s dark, obsessive, mutilatory, and deranged. Frankie Teardrop is the peak of the album and one of the darkest songs I’ve heard.
I actually didn’t mind it overall. I’m glad I listened but I can’t imagine returning to this album much as long as my mental health remains in good shape
John Martyn
4/5
If Nick Drake joined up with the Grateful Dead to make an album of contemporary coffee shop background music, the result would be this album. I enjoyed it. Low 4
James Brown
4/5
This era is the only era where live albums are better than the studio ones. So much energy. The Jerry Lee Lewis one that we got and this one both hit. As soon as Fats Gonder introduced JB I knew it was gonna slap.
Alexander 'Skip' Spence
2/5
Bad Leonard Cohen ripoff
Meat Loaf
4/5
Classic album. Paradise by the dashboard light is an all time song. Ty meat
Nine Inch Nails
5/5
Just a phenomenal album. It's honestly not one of my favorite albums to listen to because of how abrasive it can be, but I appreciate the greatness of it all. It's harsh, thoughtful, insane, haunting, and brilliant all at the same time. I love the little details of the album, like how the title and album cover match the subject matter so well.
Most of all, I love how relatable it ends up feeling (theoretically) and how Trent Reznor used all of the tools to his advantage to maximally fill the auditory space on each track to convey the intense and manic mental breakdown of the character in the album. If music is all about being a medium for expressing feelings and emotions, this album does it as well as any that I know of.
Femi Kuti
3/5
An absolute Gatsby-esque party of an album. It just lasted a little too long and ended up making me feel as if the party would never end as my energy drained and I prayed that everyone would leave my house soon.
Richard Hawley
3/5
Before jumping into the listening of the album, my immediate reaction to this album cover is that it's shit and I'm afraid of the music that I'm about to hear if it matches the vibes in this cover. The cold war era diner esque building with the basic 60s/70s font mixed with the 90s/2000s appearance of Hawley gives some immediate dissonance when combined. Even separately, they are not very pleasant to look at like beige mixed with brown.
After listening, I kinda see how the music matched the cover. The music itself wasn’t bad. It was like some sappy 60s/70s love songs with 2000s content and a thick layer of irony. It reminded me a lot of The Magnetic Fields’ 69 love songs. Decently pleasant listen but nothing stood out in particular
Björk
3/5
I feel like one day Björk is going to click for me but she just hasn’t yet. I think this album is a good starting point though and I may return to it and give it another chance some day
3/5
You tell him girl 💅
4/5
All timer. Nothing else to say
Pet Shop Boys
4/5
Flaming Lips meets electronic disco pop. It slapped
Grizzly Bear
3/5
Bland indie. Put some spices on that chicken damn
Pavement
4/5
IM TRYING IM TRYING IM TRYING IM TRYING
Best pavement album IMO. Zurich is stained, Conduit for Sale, Summer babe, Jackals False Grails all bangers.
David Ackles
2/5
This is almost nearly close to being good music, but it just doesn’t hit. Every time it’s about to build to something good, he switches it up on us. It’s musical edging
Bee Gees
4/5
Solid album! The opera influence at the end went dummy
Mudhoney
4/5
Something about that Sub Pop late 80s/early 90s album art vibe makes me think that every release through their label is going to be a cacophonous shitstorm of loose and angry grunge. I’m picturing early dinosaur jr. but with even more distortion. This album didn’t fit that mental mold, though. It was pretty solid honestly and had coherent songs that I enjoyed. They’re like a fuzzier sounding sonic youth. Light 4
Little Richard
3/5
The instrumentals are basic and very indicative of the era but Little Richard kills it on the vocals and with his energy. I can see how he had so much influence
The Coral
3/5
Of all the 2002 rock albums to put on the list, this one was picked? Instead of Turn on the Bright Lights??? Ridiculous… Gonna go make my own list, with blackjack and hookers
Miles Davis
3/5
You don’t hate jazz, you fear its lack of boundaries
Norah Jones
3/5
More Toyota Corolla core. Solid album tbh
Public Enemy
4/5
I thought I hated all early rap because of past Run D.M.C. albums on this list, but turns out I just hate Run D.M.C. This album kinda ripped, the beats were fire and it was a party on the track but also with meaningful lyrics. I’m no longer afraid of early rap
Duke Ellington
2/5
Long one. Nothing really stood out aside from the intros
Queens of the Stone Age
4/5
Common list L not including the best album from an artist. How in the world was this chosen over Songs For the Deaf?? Also, …Like Clockwork should be on one of the revised versions of the list as it’s a masterpiece IMO.
This album is fine. Desert rock QOTSA with those deep throbbing guitars. I like this kind of music so it’s a 4 for me. The other 2 albums I mentioned would probably be 5s
Arctic Monkeys
5/5
The Adam Sandler cigarette album
Cheap Trick
3/5
The one with I want you to want me yeah. Ok album
Soundgarden
4/5
Light 4 for the grunge
Robert Wyatt
4/5
I like this guys music. It’s as simple as that.
Joanna Newsom
2/5
I can certainly see the appeal and the reason that this album is on this list. However, I personally did not like this album at all. Listening feels like biting into a juicy, ripe fruit with a flavor that I just don’t like. The album meanders along like a butterfly flapping through a garden, jerking in the wind to whichever direction it feels, occasionally stopping on a bright and beautiful flower. And while this would be a sight to behold for some, I personally don’t belong in this metaphorical garden ogling at the beauty of nature (I’d be something like a caveman doing brute, monotonous tasks in the metaphorical Yeezus world).
All things considered, it’s probably objectively a 4, personally a 2, and -1 for not being on Spotify, so giving it a 2
Primal Scream
4/5
More 90s electronic (ish?). This was a good mix of a bunch of different styles. Some tracks were like the Deee-Lite album that was also on this list but more fleshed out. Others were more in the Fatboy Slim/Chemical Brothers mold with hypnotizing beats and chopped up samples. Still others sounded almost like an Oasis ballad. Only some tracks really stood out on their own as good songs, so I’ll give it a light 4
Queen
3/5
This album fluctuates between fantastic songs, forgettable songs, and the worst songs you’ve ever heard. Luckily, most of the bad songs are short, but you can’t ignore the bad taste they leave
The Beta Band
2/5
Boring and forgettable. I will probably never think of this album again, much less listen to it. On to the next
Joni Mitchell
3/5
Before Toyota Corolla, what was the mom car? Joni Mitchell is pre Toyota Corolla core
Love
3/5
Forgettable and average
Herbie Hancock
2/5
Could fall asleep to this (in a bad way). Pretty boring but had just a bit of that jam band essence. If Grateful Dead is a Dr. Pepper, this is a La Croix
Paul Simon
2/5
Kind of an exhausting Paul Simon album. So many words just to say nothing important or relevant or thoughtful. Also he’s a wife beater
Ananda Shankar
3/5
Troll covers. Peaceful music
The Birthday Party
4/5
I get why this is globally rated low as it’s unpolished and abrasive, but I really enjoyed this. It got my adrenaline pumping and has a crazy vibe to it. It’s the musical equivalent of getting punched in the face, tasting blood, and feeling your anger ignite you as your endorphins kick in and numb you.
The bass absolutely rips, the guitar shreds, and Nick Cave is on one here, sounding like David Byrne going through a manic episode. This’ll put some hair on your chest!
Sarah Vaughan
3/5
She had some pipes ngl
Aphex Twin
3/5
Aphex Twin is growing on me, the music definitely gets more listenable each time I try. Still, it’s just kind of boring music that I feel like you need a specific headspace for. Maybe it’s my 21st century, constantly stimulated brain that can’t handle it, or maybe it’s meant to be enjoyed on a cocktail of rave drugs.
It’s hard to argue with the influence that Aphex Twin had. I feel like, if modern music is a tree, aphex twin’s music is at the roots of the tree, foraging through the ground for vital rhythms and sounds that allow the greater musical industrial complex to thrive. I wonder if every other mid-20s white guy that wants to become a DJ knows that he’d probably be off doing something else like jogging or playing video games or developing a cocaine habit on Wall Street if not for Aphex’s influence.
3/5
Kings of Leon
3/5
On one hand, this is kinda groovy early 2000s rock that sounds like a Eddie Vedder-ified White Stripes. On the other hand, there's just something about Kings of Leon that feels strangely pretentious, and this rubs me the wrong way. I really don't know what to give this album so I'll just give it a 3
Blondie
5/5
When you’re in a don’t miss competition and your opponent is Parallel Lines by Blondie 😳
This album slapped. 0 misses start to finish and even some bangers in there. Picture This and 11:59 are two favorites that I hadn’t previously heard.
The album was a nice mix of pop/rock/new wave, but it wouldn’t reach the highs that it does without the singer Debbie Harry. She’s got pipes that mix extremely well atop the new wave grooves and guitars and she kills the performance from start to finish.
Welcome to the 5 club, Blondie
The Vines
3/5
The first song was so shit that I was mentally writing another “no Turn on the Bright Lights but this”. It turned out to have a few good songs, though. Extremely EA Sports mid-2000s game menu core. Bland garage rock with a psychedelic twist. Just a hair above a 2
Minor Threat
3/5
This is NOT your average punk album. Oh wait…that’s exactly what this is
Black Sabbath
3/5
Solid Black Sabbath album. Most songs were pretty good but some were dull. That’s all I have to say about that
Dusty Springfield
3/5
60s sensibilities
Tangerine Dream
3/5
Decent ambient/atmospheric background music. Kinda museum exhibit core
Tom Waits
2/5
Sounds like a bad musical. Tom Waits? More like Two (out of five) Waits XD
Terence Trent D'Arby
2/5
The guy has some pipes but the songs weren’t that good imo. Just not my favorite type of music
Robbie Williams
1/5
Just terrible. Generic ass music with cringy angst lyrics and nursery tier rhymes. I’m glad America won the revolutionary war so that we don’t have to be exposed to this garbage on our airwaves
The 13th Floor Elevators
4/5
This was really good especially for 1966. This plus some LSD probably melted faces and obliterated egos back then.
Lupe Fiasco
4/5
I’ve always liked this one even though it’s Great Value Kanye. Kick Push is a classic
LTJ Bukem
3/5
Find this full album on any digital platform challenge (IMPOSSIBLE)
The Cure
4/5
This album has grown a lot on me since the first listen. Some songs sound like the Cure parodying themselves. You can hear the early roots that eventually blossomed into Disintegration, which is an all time album, on this album.
The more I listen to the Cure, the more I like and appreciate them. They have a ton of versatility over their discography and kind of do it all on the pop/rock/post punk spectrum.
4/5
The more late 60s rock I listen to, the more I think that rock peaked as a genre then and anything after was watered down. I surprisingly liked this album a lot
Fun Lovin' Criminals
3/5
Fell to my knees in a Wendy’s as Scooby Snacks came on and turned my review from a 4 to a 3.
This album is actually a pretty fun musical cocktail. The nu-rap vocals mixed with funky beats and a little jazzy/SKA garnish end up complimenting each other very well. The problem is, this album is PAINFULLY 90s, and the subject matter is some of the most mind-numbing, dated garbage I’ve ever heard. It’s lyrically about 1 level above limp bizkit tier.
3/5 for the sounds
Sinead O'Connor
2/5
Weird slow singing style that sounded the same after a while. Pretty much every song was mid
Heaven 17
2/5
New Wave? More like Poo Wave…because this stank!
CHIC
3/5
Decent album. Would be a vibe in the 70s at a disco
Jean-Michel Jarre
4/5
Was pretty good and enjoyable chill music. You already know I saved this to the reading/focus playlist
Rod Stewart
3/5
Bloke
Koffi Olomide
3/5
When I say Poussez, you say poussa!
Poussez!
Nolan: poussa!
Surprisingly good groove. Désespoir is an early favorite and hella fun song with like 3 musical twists and turns. Saved 1 song and didn’t hate the entire album and that’s all you can really ask for an album in a completely different language
4/5
Imagine Dragons if they made good music
U2
4/5
Bono
The Teardrop Explodes
3/5
Happy go lucky ahh music
UB40
2/5
Resident sleeper. Reggae sux
Rod Stewart
2/5
2nd Rod Stewart in 7 days. Starting to hate his voice. Fantasizing about finding him on the streets of Britain and giving him a cough drop.
The Sugarcubes
3/5
Unique album. Not bad
Arcade Fire
4/5
This has some fire on it for sure. Kind of weird concept for an album but Arcade Fire does their thing and squeezes as much content from the concept as possible, while teetering on the edge between fantastic and pretentious
The Saints
2/5
Pretty average late 70s punk. Nothing special
Guns N' Roses
4/5
Man this album is full of star power. The average American probably knows over half of this album just from incessant radio play of the hits (of which there are many). The album itself didn’t age too well, but I think this is more of a product of the genre than the content. It’s in a tough spot between the regrettable hair metal era of the 80s and the “hard” rock era of the early 2000s that I wish we could forget. Somehow, the album ends up being a blend of the best of all of these deprecated sub genres of rock and ends up standing out amongst it all.
Megadeth
4/5
>Bang the hell out of the drums
>Sing about sci fi action fantasy government conspiracy gore war gun bullshit
>2 minute guitar solo
>Song over
This shit rocks
The Velvet Underground
4/5
I was ready to come in with the hot take that Velvet Underground is overrated and was only popular bc of Andy Warhol, but this album was actually really good. Good job folks
The Style Council
3/5
Quirky little album. Fusion of all kind of weird stuff
The Byrds
2/5
The Byrds trying to be a British electric blues band…brutal
Morrissey
4/5
It’s ok Morrissey, America hates you too!
Good album though
Quicksilver Messenger Service
3/5
Western vibes for sure. Wouldn’t return to this although it was a nice vibe while I’m out west
Sepultura
2/5
Too damn long. Half decent songs at the beginning but I really don’t like this genre
Michael Jackson
4/5
Banger after banger
4/5
The progchamp of our generation
Digital Underground
2/5
Way too long! Second half definitely was better than the first half which was Run DMC levels of cap. Early hip hop is so brutal sometimes.
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
2/5
Doesn’t have the weirdness of Trout Mask Replica but also doesn’t really have the uniqueness of it. Forgettable album save a few songs.
Gang Starr
3/5
The beats were cool, the raps weren’t amazing but had more unique style than their excessively corny peers of early rap. Giving this a 3 but I could see it becoming a 4 if I end up revisiting it again
Slipknot
3/5
The more screaming they did on the songs, the worse they were. However, I thought the slower songs were really enjoyable. Saved a couple
Nico
3/5
It’s not my cup of tea per se but I can see the influence that this has, especially on later albums in this list like Björk and the Cure
The Louvin Brothers
3/5
Good ol’ good ol’ music
Cyndi Lauper
2/5
Not my favorite flavor of 80s pop
R.E.M.
4/5
Early R.E.M. slapped. Imagine being in college and this is the hottest thing on the college radio station. Would be sick
Nanci Griffith
3/5
Low key some bumping bluegrass. I liked it
Simon & Garfunkel
3/5
Sgt. pepper rip off in the first song. The rest of the album was ok, the white bread of music
Kelela
3/5
Smooth and easy listen
Mike Ladd
3/5
Weird album. I feel like they were onto something a little bit though. I hear a lot of the elements that make up today’s critically acclaimed experimental hip hop in this album. The beats are their own little world sometimes.
The Police
4/5
Actually pretty solid besides the hits. The deeper cuts were way different than I expected from only knowing the hits
Led Zeppelin
4/5
Raw but rockin
SAULT
3/5
This got better as it went along IMO. It’s a little early to say this but it feels like a period piece for 2020, the crazy and emotional year that it was.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
5/5
Solo Neil Young: I sleep
Neil Young & Crazy Horse: REAL SHIT
I love this album so much and think it’s Neil’s best by far. “Down by the River” and “Cowgirl in the Sand” are two fantastic songs that serve as pillars of the album. There’s something about the leisurely yet precisely deliberate pace of each that is hypnotizing and transforms the soundscape into a world with rushing rapids, a hot dry sun, and a meaningful hard days work.
Sit me down in that album cover in the shade of the tree with a glass bottle of coke and let me look out over the mountains. That’s what this album sounds like
Dolly Parton
2/5
Here’s a trio for you: this was mid, cap, and L
Radiohead
4/5
This is a solid album that’s a good bridge between alt rock Radiohead of the bends/pablo honey and the deep beep boop stuff. I can’t seem to get into Radiohead as a whole and I realized as I was listening to this album that it’s because of Thom Yorkes voice and singing style. I hate it. The moany, pitch-changing, falsetto wailing is insufferable. I can’t even tell what he’s saying bc he draws out every other word for 10 seconds.
Baaba Maal
1/5
This was brutal to listen to not knowing the language that they were speaking in combined with the instrumentals that were just the same chord progression over and over again. It all felt like psychosis to my western music adjusted brain
Bob Dylan
5/5
Fuck it we 5 mentality. This has always been my favorite Bob Dylan album. It’s his peak of songwriting and instrumental sound IMO. So many bangers on this one like I Want You, Stuck Inside of Mobile, Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands. It’s also versatile, with wacky songs like Pill Box Hat and Rainy Day Women. Altogether a phenomenal album. Probably a 9/10 rounded up
Todd Rundgren
4/5
It’s always awesome when an album’s sound matches its cover. This was surprisingly really, really good! It’s a high 4 for me for the creativity and fearlessness (and the songs are good too)
Country Joe & The Fish
2/5
Nothing stood out here. Just another psychedelic album
Ozomatli
2/5
An interesting mash of genres. The poppiness and funkiness was good, the hip hop was ok, and the raps were Hopsin tier (bad). A whirlwind of an album that didn’t end up holding my attention for the right reasons
Roxy Music
4/5
This did not sound ANYTHING like the cover. It caught me really off guard. Fun album with an eclectic mix of rock and new wave sub genres
XTC
2/5
I really dislike XTC and their happy go lucky sound
Dr. John
1/5
Piss Piss. I hated it
Sigur Rós
4/5
It’s good music, it just is. The perfect album to cast to your TV while you sit on the couch with a book and a cup of coffee to sip on. Inner peace core
Anita Baker
3/5
Pretty decent soul
Talking Heads
3/5
This one has some of my favorite talking heads songs. Heaven…Heaven is a banger. Overall a little too raw and weird though for me to bump consistently
Elvis Presley
3/5
Ba dum bum bum ahh music
Frankie Goes To Hollywood
4/5
Epicly 80s
Spacemen 3
4/5
This is my type of music. Droney shoegazy spacey atmosphere. I get why some people wouldn’t like it but I love this shit
Red Snapper
3/5
Is there just not enough good music out in this world? This is like the 10th trip-hoppy late 90s/early 2000s album that sounds about the same as all the others. But I don’t even know what to replace it with for 1001 albums, maybe the 2010s and 2020s have more gems now that electronic and industrial elements have fused more solidly into the fringes of music to put a hyperpop/intense spin on a lot of genres for eclectic new blends of sounds. But lord knows the boomer that made this list won’t include any of that
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
3/5
Goon squad
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
2/5
Second straight day of Elvis (more like L-vis) Costello. I’m sick of this wanker
Shuggie Otis
3/5
Not bad honestly. Groovy and easy listening
Hot Chip
2/5
Broke millennial version of the Chemical Brothers
My Bloody Valentine
4/5
Before the went full vacuum cleaner. It sounds just like they took Loveless and dialed back the deep frying 50%. Pretty good tbh
The Verve
5/5
Drug inspired Britpop. On one hand this album has some filler, and might be a track or 2 too long. On the other hand, the best songs on this album (Bittersweet Symphony, The Rolling People, The Drugs Don’t Work) are incredible. I’ll give it a 5 since it’s my favorite britpop album
Shivkumar Sharma
2/5
Museum exhibit core. Stimulating on the imagination yet at the same time strikingly repetitive and bland
Ride
4/5
Some of these songs are sick and I love the shoegaziness. It drags on a tad too long, and it’s also not the best Ride album IMO. Light 4
Sonic Youth
3/5
This was a musical album by the band Sonic Youth
Gene Clark
2/5
Boomer
Grant Lee Buffalo
2/5
Holy mid. Resident sleeper
Can
3/5
This has gotta be the most resident sleeper CAN album out of all resident sleeper CAN albums (of which there are many). I CAN’t give this any higher than a 3
Public Image Ltd.
4/5
Idk why I had such a negative opinion of these guys going in. This album was solid. Vocals like a less ridiculous talking heads with the punky/pre new wave instrumentals make for a good, almost trippy, yet stoic mix.
Kraftwerk
2/5
Not my favorite flavor of prog. Can’t believe a whole subgenre was named after these guys
Marty Robbins
3/5
Big Iron is a certified hood classic (shoutout fallout new Vegas). The rest of this album is rootin…and certainly tootin
The Bees
3/5
WTF THESE GUYS COVERED OS MUTANTES. This is the type of little satisfaction that the list is good for. Random album I’d never listen to on my own covers a song from another random album I’d never listen to on my own. Completely useless yet satisfying thing that no one outside of this list will ever understand.
The Who
2/5
Live albums, to make up for the shittier sound quality, off pitch singing, and unbalanced mixing, have to be incredible in some other way to be considered great. I didn’t think that was the case here. My generation medley was the closest thing to greatness but it was slow and dull.
Pere Ubu
1/5
Honestly stunned that this doesn’t have a lower rating. Bollocks cacophony
3/5
In high school I watched some 80s movie about Michael J Fox doing a bunch of cocaine (before I knew who Michael J Fox is or what cocaine is). I don’t remember any details of the movie, yet when I heard this album that movie is all I could think of. Just sounds like an 80s New York cocaine romance vibe
The Rolling Stones
3/5
My expectations for this were all time low since much of The Rolling Stones discography can be a brutal listen. Luckily, this album exceeded those expectations and was only slightly bad
Jack White
4/5
Decent enough I guess. White stripe
Van Morrison
5/5
I love this album so much. The freeforminess of it all and how Van’s wails dance around the beats like a leaf flapping in the wind. This album has been out for almost 60 years, yet no one has been able to replicate the magic on it unlike other pieces from its era. Madame George is firmly in my top 100 songs of all time. Just a beautiful album even if the guy who made it is an all time asshole nowadays
Stevie Wonder
5/5
Not only is this one of the best Stevie Wonder albums, it’s also one of the best albums of all time. Stevie is throwing 100 throughout the album with many bangers throughout and an insane consistency over the 1 hour 45 minute runtime. It’s fun, poppy, and lighthearted but also deep and reflective. It’s the type of hits we all love mixed with jamming and unconventional songwriting. Tl;dr this rocks
Kid Rock
1/5
The first few songs were bad. The rest of the album was even worse!
Don’t like the aggressive, limp bizkit cover band playing at a country bar, nu-metal mashups? Good news! You get to hear kid rock auto tuned to hell singing some slow jams too.
And if you got through the first hour of the album and thought “it’s been bad but at least it hasn’t been racist”, that last song will shatter even those expectations.
Silver linings: I never have to listen to this again!
Tina Turner
4/5
This was gas! Ty Tina
Jeff Buckley
4/5
Incredible voice and bellowing, dramatic compositions. They seem less like songs and more like grand displays of art. It blows you away in isolation but makes the album weaker altogether.
Tim Buckley
4/5
As someone who has recently taking a liking to Nick Drake, I found this album quite pleasant
Fred Neil
3/5
Good tunes. I definitely know the one that Harry Nilsson covered but idk where
The Fall
4/5
This is the most forgettable list band that I like. This is the 3rd album I’ve gotten by them and I had no idea until I looked on Spotify and saw that I had saved songs previously from The Fall.
This was another solid album. More saved songs. I make a frown face when I listen to them because I’m so locked in on the groove. 😠🤘
Jazmine Sullivan
2/5
Not my favorite kind of music. Not bad I guess though
Big Black
4/5
Delicious noise. RIP Steve Albini
James Taylor
2/5
Hypnotically white
ABBA
4/5
Not the first group of songs that one might think of when they hear ABBA but this was surprisingly good! Different vibe than the poppy jangly Mamma Mia songs
Tortoise
3/5
This album sounded very similar to the title and how the cover looked. Background music core
Alice Cooper
2/5
Pretty standard Alice Cooper. Weird and edgy yet some half decent songs. Grow up Alice!
The Libertines
3/5
First song is a banger but it’s all completely forgettable after
Afrika Bambaataa
2/5
Early hip hop is just not my favorite genre. This has some iconic songs tho
Steve Earle
2/5
Only connect with some of the soul put on display here. Didn’t like it too much
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
3/5
Costello makes some average ahh music. Nothing special about it
Coldplay
4/5
Such a nice album. Shout out garden state
Marianne Faithfull
3/5
A fine singer/songwriter album. Dark and moody and beautiful
Holger Czukay
4/5
Very cool album. Wacky yet groovy songs that explored a lot of different places but never got tiring
Ice T
3/5
The beats are real good for the age of this
Mekons
4/5
This album was sick. Take some folk/bluegrass/country and chop it up with a bunch of hypnotic drum lines, add some punk, then finish it off with some wild songwriting. Every song was so different. You go from Trouble Down South, which is a punky bluesy freaky number to Psycho Cupid, which is a totally futuristic desert cyberpunk trance. This is the exact weirdness that I like doing this list for
Neil Young
3/5
Neil (without crazy horse) just doesn’t do it for me
3/5
*Tom Brady showing his plastic surgeon this album cover* yeah I wanna look like him doc
The Young Rascals
3/5
Pleasant yet dull
Dexys Midnight Runners
3/5
Surprisingly decent. Unsurprisingly pretentious
Destiny's Child
4/5
Idk if this was really good or this album just came out right when my first memories of music were formed and it’s nostalgic. Either way, it’s got some BOPS
Scott Walker
1/5
Weird weird album. It’s the sound of the oldies without the charm of the oldies mixed with the singer/songwriter pontification style that I’ve heard in other list albums from the 70s/80s. I hated it
Funkadelic
4/5
Critically acclaimed for good reason
System Of A Down
4/5
This album finally clicked for me. Liked it a lot
The United States Of America
2/5
Not great bob
Dwight Yoakam
2/5
This album made my will to live go Buenas Noches
Air
3/5
It’s hard to appreciate film scores when you’ve never seen the film and you barely know the artist. It sounded fine idk
Paul Weller
3/5
Sounds like if Collective Soul spawned in the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young extended universe
k.d. lang
2/5
Slog
Kings of Leon
4/5
I don’t know if any other band out there has suffered more from radio overplay than Kings of Leon. I HATE Sex on Fire and I used to like Use Somebody but that admiration was burned out of me because of alternative radio SPAMMING Kings of Leon from 2008 all the way through the 2010s. So I generally don’t have a favorable opinion of Kings of Leon.
But here’s the thing: the rest of this album is really good! The rest of the album sounds like what I imagine those radio DJs heard in Sex on Fire and Use Somebody. Would I get sick of this guys voice and vocal deliver if say, Revelry was played a billion times on the airwaves? Probably. But I’ll be sure not to make that mistake on my Spotify playlists.
I’ll treat this album like an Arby’s sandwich — give myself an occasional taste and savor the rich, fatty, sounds. But make sure I don’t enjoy too much or too often or the taste will turn and I’ll feel nauseous every time I see or hear of it.
Tl;dr Kings of Leon is the Arby’s of alternative rock
Killing Joke
2/5
This album had like 2 enjoyable moments out of the 60 minutes
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
3/5
Much prefer wild rocking maximalist Nick Cave to piano ballad Nick Cave. Even that birthday party album that’s one of the lowest rated on the site is more preferable to me than this. This wasn’t bad, just not my type of music
Beck
3/5
Album cover 100% matches the sound. I feel like I can’t call Beck “Slacker rock” because this dude definitely doesn’t slack from how he bounces all around. Yet the end product feels…lackadaisical.
It’s the type of album that a guy with multiple bongs on the coffee table and a divot in the couch (that he got for free off Craigslist) from where he always sits would bump. I can smell the stale air when I hear this album. The type of guy that has no ambition in real life but manages to engineer heinous contraptions and skillfully manipulate the scariest dealers in order to smoke 10% more weed 15% more efficiently would love this album.
I guess I was too stone cold sober for this to click for me
Led Zeppelin
4/5
Ez 4. Stairway to Heaven
Skunk Anansie
4/5
I liked it. Nice fusion. This came out right as I was a young lad forming my first memories and one song sounded eerily familiar I wonder if I heard it back then and was remembering. Maybe. Maybe not
Iron Butterfly
3/5
That long ass last track kinda ripped
The Band
3/5
Completely ok dad rock
Brian Wilson
3/5
Bri guy
Culture Club
2/5
Glad I wasn’t alive in the 80s when this was the peak of the culture!
Fever Ray
3/5
It was trippy, but it didn’t hit too hard ever. Forgettable overall
Nick Drake
4/5
Nick Drake has grown on me so much. Such a pure soul
Big Star
3/5
Easy listen, unmemorable
King Crimson
4/5
Absolute classic album with some amazing songs. Some boring moments but overall you can see the vision of the album. Hugely influential too
Hole
4/5
Good album. Shout out Dom who had this on his topster
CHVRCHES
3/5
The Mother We Share is a certified classic and is for sure in my top 100 songs of all time. It got played on the alternative radio station in the deli hundreds of times. I can still smell the pickles and the bleach and the capicola when I hear it.
I had never heard the rest of this album before. I don’t think it’s all that great, although it feels like a landmark in time of the end times of the hipster indie era. The type of shit that was filling up firefly in Dover, DE in the mid 2010s. Good times
Jimi Hendrix
4/5
It’s quite raw production and quite and old album but I felt like the magic managed to shine through anyway
Julian Cope
3/5
Most average list album
Public Image Ltd.
2/5
Distorted guitars and reverberated weird vocals. Only liked the first song
Janelle Monáe
4/5
Hearing so many other albums on this list helps you appreciate how this one is a genre-bending, well-produced, expansive piece of art. It simply blows away many of the earlier list albums by building upon many of their elements all at once. If you don’t give this 4+ stars, you’re probably a bitter boomer
Willie Nelson
4/5
Quite lovely honestly. Classic country is a genre that I’ve barely listened to over my life, but I see the appeal here. Simple yet soulful and sorrowful. Makes me want to sit on a rocking chair on a front porch on an August summer night and ponder
Sepultura
1/5
This sucked. Bland basic thrash metal. The intense drumming, power chords, and incoherent voice are just thrown together and I don’t see at all what they amount to. Never again
Creedence Clearwater Revival
3/5
Decent album, a solid vibe throughout but no special songs besides Bad Moon Rising
Talvin Singh
3/5
Pretty sick blend right here. I rock with the Indians (shout out young turbo). This list has a weird obsession with 90s trip-hop & dance fusion. I feel like the list badly needs someone younger to redo it and make it more modern. I’d still include this album though
Chicago
3/5
Agree with Dom, Questions 67 and 68 was quite poggers, but the rest of the album was just ok
Peter Gabriel
2/5
First song was good. The rest was mid. In your eyes is one of those songs that was annoyingly stuck in my head ALL DAY after I heard it. This album seems like it’s the point where Peter fully sold out. It’s a long way from those early Genesis releases which I enjoy very much
Sonic Youth
2/5
Early sonic youth is tough. They need a major label bad to get the rawness out. But the one thing they do happen to do well on this record is set a mood
American Music Club
2/5
Sounds like the counting crows guy joined XTC. A couple decent songs. -1 for not being on Spotify (everyone knows the rules)
My Bloody Valentine
4/5
I mean it’s a classic, you can’t argue with that. Vacuum cleaner whir shoegaze down bad noise never sounded so good before or after this
Kendrick Lamar
5/5
One of the best rap albums of all time. It’s got some bangers that we’re all over the radio and clubs and house parties, but also has a deeper soul. No one mixes the narrative raps with the pop sensibilities quite like Kendrick.
It’s an incredible journey that makes you feel like you’re boolin around in Compton with Kendrick. You feel the highs and lows alongside him. Somehow, even with a different background and having grown up in a different environment, you feel connected to his younger life while the songs play. And that broadening of the perspective is what art and music is all about.
To all the 1 ratings on this album that are some combination of “I’m old”, “I’m lame” or “I’m subtly racist”, SHUT THE FUCK UP BOOMER
Arrested Development
2/5
Kids bop gangsta rap
Nightmares On Wax
2/5
I (I need) need smoke (oh, whoa, whoa)
(I need) I (I need) need to smoke
Who gon' hold me down now?
I wanna get high y'all
I wanna get high y'all
Need it, need it to get by y'all
Can you get me high y'all?
I wanna get high y'all
I wanna get high y'all
Need it, need it to get by y'all
Can you get me high y'all?
I'm just what you made God, just what you made God (nee-need it)
I'm just what you made God, I'm just what you made
(Nee-need it) I'm just what you made God
I'm just what you made God, I'm just what you made God
Chill album. Added to my reading playlist. Little too long
Björk
2/5
I’ve tried so many times to get into Björk and she’s never stuck for me. Frankly, I find her music pretentious and unenjoyable. It’s almost as if she’s gone so far off the experimental end that she’s lost all listenable elements and ended up with a mumbo-jumbo of weird cadences, rhythms, and noises. Music for people with artistic PhDs basically (no offense to those folks, but to a common peasant like myself it’s garbage)
Simon & Garfunkel
3/5
Quite chill
Flamin' Groovies
2/5
Like the worst parts of The Rolling Stones mixed with a little Elvis mixed with *insert generic 60s/70s psychedelic sound here*. And too damn long
PJ Harvey
3/5
PJ is trending up for me. She’s good, but gotta listen more to appreciate more
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
4/5
Heads will roll is an all time banger! The rest of this album doesn’t live up to that song, but it’s a pleasant listen, much moreso than Fever to Tell. The deluxe edition acoustic tracks are also good additions, which is usually not the case on deluxe albums
Wu-Tang Clan
2/5
Some classics on here like CREAM, Wu tang clan ain’t nothing ta f wit, etc. I don’t love it overall, though. I’d say NWA was the better rap group of this era.
Kids in middle school whose favorite movie was the Boondocks Saints would always slap people on the back of the neck and yell “PROTECT YA NECK”
Incredible Bongo Band
3/5
Solid album with a branding problem. What kind of an album name is “Bongo Rock”?? And the artist name “Incredible Bongo Band” is no better. It makes it sound like the type of baby music that would be played during a gymnastics class for 1-2 year olds.
The album kind of ripped though, except for 3-4 songs having nearly the same beat as Apache (I guess you can only get so creative with Bongos). The brass and bongos were bumping
Super Furry Animals
4/5
Another not very memorable 90s U.K. bullshit album. But I liked it, accidentally listened to it twice. It’s sports video game menu core
Youssou N'Dour
2/5
Solid international album listened to by a classless fuck that has no taste for international music
Steve Winwood
4/5
This album feels like a transitional plane between the 70s and 80s. It was rad
The Clash
5/5
Incredible album top to bottom (save a few songs towards the end). The songs are so diverse that it doesn’t feel like punk at all. It’s a very hyped album and IMO it lives up to that hype on every listen. It’s a 5 for me.
Favorites: The Guns of Brixton, Spanish Bombs, and The Card Cheat.
Screaming Trees
4/5
Grungegaze
Inject all the 90s rock right into my veins. I don’t care how mid it is, just the fact that it came from the 90s makes it COOL and AWESOME anyway. There’s a certain veneer to these albums from this time period that scratches an itch in my brain. Ty Kurt Cobain for saving us from hair metal and synth-pop and carving out space for bands like Screaming Trees and Sponge and Sugar
George Jones
2/5
Type shit you hear at your friends grandparents vacation home
The Black Keys
1/5
Peak piss millennial hipster music. Long beard ipa drinking flannel and fake glasses wearing $25 burger selling ass bullshit music. What, you think you’re better than us because you add reverb to all of your vocals? Fuck off. Or is it the shitty tambourine stomp clap beats that have you on your high horse? Fuck off. On the Wikipedia page the lead singer refers to the drummer as “homeboy”. Fuck off. Fuck off. Fuck off.
Howlin for you has to be one of the worst songs of all time to get significant radio play. Hey let’s make a song that sounds like it should be playing on a sports video game menu, but with as much pretentiousness as we can fit in the 10-track recorder.
I generally like the black keys overall, but man I hated this album. I can tell that I would despise all of the band members just from how the album sounds. And that’s why this gets a 1
Tom Waits
2/5
About 3 levels too far off the deep end for me to be able to appreciate. But I can see the appeal a teeny bit. I feel like in order to be under 30 and like Tom Waits, you have to have had a parent or uncle who was really into him and indoctrinated you from your youth
Barry Adamson
2/5
At first I was like damn this is a nice film soundtrack, this movie probably slaps. But then I looked it up and it’s a soundtrack for an imaginary film, so I feel like I have to discount it.
The Lemonheads
2/5
It’s okay. It’s not bad. It was a fine enough listen. I just can’t get to a 3 for this XTC ripoff of an album
Brian Eno
3/5
Similar to Heroes by David Bowie to me. Top end good songs but also some experimental wacky music. Is it innovative and unique? Yes. Is it the best album I’ve ever heard? No.
This feels more like an album geared towards winning critical acclaim rather than toward gaining actual listeners…prestige music
Sparks
4/5
Sounds like ABBA on amphetamines. Surprisingly good!
Echo And The Bunnymen
4/5
Right up my alley (shoegazey post-punk)
The Flying Burrito Brothers
3/5
Some psychedelic country music. Nothing was safe from the hippies in the 60s huh
Big Star
3/5
The slower songs are the strength of this record IMO. They have an ephemeral, decaying feel to them which is unexpectedly beautiful
5/5
I feel conflicted on this one. On one hand, it seems like Liam Gallagher is a massive prick and, had I been alive and in Britain for the late 90s, I would probably be so burned out of Oasis.
On the other hand, there are so many good songs on this (ignoring Wonderwall). Some might say? Banger. Champagne supernova? Banger. Don’t look back in anger? Iconic. If you add in the songs from the deluxe edition, it gets even deeper (shout out to the Masterplan live at Knebworth park).
I don’t feel great about it but I have to give this a 5
Emmylou Harris
2/5
When the best songs on your album are covers, it’s not a good album ‼️
The Flaming Lips
4/5
Another great Flaming Lips album. Psychedelic and eccentric arrangements combine with the indie elements to make something one of a kind.
Meat Puppets
3/5
Listening to this sent me down a Nirvana MTV Unplugged rabbit hole (“the brothers meat”). If nothing else, it deserves 3 stars for that. May come back to this one at some point
Oasis
4/5
The heavier songs on this album are sick. It’s no what’s the story morning glory but it’s close
Tom Waits
2/5
I think I understand what he’s trying to do and certainly think it’s a unique sound but I just don’t like to listen to it. It’s like deconstructed folk with an old timey feel. The type of music you put on at the end of the night to get everyone to leave the party
The Rolling Stones
4/5
Rare solid Rolling Stones album. I knew a few songs ahead of time but I was surprised by how good the rest were. Props to Mick Jagger for mostly resisting the urge to put any terribly slow wailing blues songs on the album. We’ll give you You Gotta Move
Circle Jerks
4/5
These guys are so punk that they made their album only 15 minutes long. Take that, music industry!
Favorite songs: the one about skanks, the one about vasectomies, the one about being wasted, and the one about having the world up your ass. And of course, the title track.
DJ Shadow
4/5
Look up “Beats to think to” on Spotify. The playlist pic is me listening to Endtroducing
Frank Sinatra
3/5
This is probably my favorite Frank Sinatra album of the ones I’ve heard. But I think this is more about Bossa Nova being a better genre than American Oldies than it is about Frank’s performance on the album. The Girl From Impanema is a timeless classic and holds up way better over time than any original Frank song IMO, but I can’t give this album credit for it. Solid performance but nothing original
The Doors
3/5
The Dalton Line of Doors albums
The Associates
2/5
80s ✅
From the UK ✅
Unnecessarily long ✅
Mid ✅
Perfect for this list! Considered a 1 here but it had just enough for a 2. Call it a 1.6
The Afghan Whigs
3/5
Started out hot with some classic 90s rock rizz guitars but cooled off and was kinda cringe thirst incel lyrics
Madonna
3/5
Solid pop album, would listen again
Manic Street Preachers
4/5
These guys are pretty good eh Dom?
ZZ Top
4/5
I’m pleasantly surprised by how much I didn’t hate this. In fact, I liked it quite a bit. The mumbly singing and the lead guitar taking turns like they’re having a conversation is what did it for me. Good bluesy sound that separates them from other boomer rock of the time (like Deep Purple) while also remaining a pleasant listen unlike other Blues Rock albums at the time (Rolling Stones). It had enough moments to put it in the 4 range
Muddy Waters
3/5
The instrumental parts of this album go so hard. They’re almost psychedelic, which is not something I would think to describe the blues as. I’ve been on a big alt-country/folk kick recently, maybe I’ll expand out to the blues as well.
Mudhoney
2/5
There was nothing noteworthy about this album. Other than the name Mudhoney which I only know as a band that Nirvana made obsolete
Leonard Cohen
3/5
A fine Leonard cohen album (of which there are many)
Gene Clark
3/5
It’s got some soul for sure. You can hear the Byrds but also some Tom Petty and some Neil Young. If his name was something cool and country like Shooter Jones instead of the WASPy “Gene Clark” I bet this would have sold better
Cypress Hill
3/5
Goon shit right here. It feels like the influence to a lot of more modern underground rap I’ve heard over the years
The Isley Brothers
4/5
Smooth & Groovy, it felt like a pop-rock refinement of Parliament/Funcadelic. Enjoyable listen. Saved it & will be bumping it this summer for sure.
Coldcut
3/5
This album is like that optical illusion with the rabbit and duck where you can see either one depending on your perception in the moment. And you can focus in on it and force yourself to see the other way.
Similarly, this album either hits you like a brick wall of cacophonous noise or puts you in a strange psychedelic-like trance. If you concentrate, you can feel both at the same time
Morrissey
3/5
A pretty OK album. Doesn’t actively hurt the ears but also nothing much to grab onto
Lauryn Hill
4/5
I think this is the first time I’ve listened to this in full and I see the hype, although I wasn’t totally and completely blown away like I’ve been with other critically acclaimed albums. It’s nice and smooth and kind of refines a clunkier early 90s hip hop sound while also adding enough pop, soul, and r&b elements to become something wholly new. 4/5
Dennis Wilson
2/5
When she gives you a 30th Anniversary Edition Disc one: Pacific Ocean Blue (bonus tracks) first track 😳
The Dandy Warhols
3/5
The musical equivalent of eating too much sugar and then feeling like shit after…but I think that’s what they’re going for? Kinda works…
The Damned
4/5
Hell yeah brother this is some good good 80s punk rock and roll. Back before smart phones and the face book there was the Damned and they made punk music
Ravi Shankar
2/5
The little bit of a music theory lesson was troll. Now I know the sounds of India!
The Mothers Of Invention
2/5
If Frank Zappa was born in 2000 he probably would have made a meme page or become a twitter troll. Since neither of those things existed, he had to give us this crap instead
John Lee Hooker
2/5
Completely unmemorable, like the Men In Black guys wiped my memory right after I listened
Badly Drawn Boy
3/5
I like it. Would I say I needed to hear it before I died? No. Slightly too long
Bob Dylan
3/5
*Ramble for a bit* *Harmonica solo* *Ramble again* *Another harmonica solo* *end of song*
I’m just kidding (a little bit). This album has some bangers for sure: Blowin in the Wind, Masters of War, Bob Dylan’s Blues/Dream. But it’s a tad too raw for me. He’s still coming into his own here and hasn’t yet hit the peaks as a songwriter and performer that he one day will
Black Flag
3/5
Wide ranging album in terms of content, but not necessarily in terms of musical chops. Not much different than the average punk album, but that’s only because Black Flag became the template for all punk artists. There’s about 1 good song (TV Party) and the rest are 20-60% of a good song & I can’t get over this aspect
John Lennon
2/5
Really wish I was alive in the 70s so I could be a John Lennon hater in real time :/ Oh well, guess I’ll have to settle for snarky reviews on a strangers website dedicated to another strangers book about his favorite albums
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
3/5
Finally, some decent music. In a huge list slump recently. Thankfully, the list gods went back to the well and gave me a nice 70s progressive rock album. High-floor genre
Soft Cell
3/5
If nothing else, it’s like a photograph that captures a moment and feeling in time. I’m thinking Taxi Driver type mood with the opulence and cocaine of the 80s mixed in. Was it good? Not really. Did it do what music should do, evoke thoughts and feelings of something intangible? Yes
Waylon Jennings
4/5
I gotta listen to this era more damn. So much soul. Torn between a 3 and 4 but think I gotta go with 4 from the deep cuts on this album carrying so hard. Low down freedom makes me wanna belt out the chorus along with him, and we had it all just tears your heart out at the end of the album
Rahul Dev Burman
3/5
Pretty interesting and unique album. Made me wanna watch the movie to see what Bollywood is all about
Fiona Apple
4/5
Solid album. Criminal is a banger of course. Orders of magnitude better than Fetch the Bolt Cutters imo.
Fatboy Slim
4/5
DJ Sabrina the Teenage DJ said that Santa Cruz from this album inspired her to make music and I can see that. Good album
The Offspring
3/5
Taco Bell for punk is a good analogy, shout out to whoever wrote that. I feel like the lack of strong identity of exactly what the offspring are hurt them. They’re stoner-ish but not at the level of a Sublime. They’re slacker-ish but not at the level of a Pavement. They’re incel-ish but not at the level of a Weezer. They’re pop-punk-ish but not at the level of a Blink-182.
Combine all of these qualities and what are we left with? Some grade C beef, a dubious mix of spices, globs of cheese, hard-shell tortillas, and an overall average meal. But when it’s late at night and you’ve had a few beers, The Offspring, like Taco Bell, just might hit different.
Sleater-Kinney
3/5
I’ve always seen Sleater-Kinney in festival lineups and wondered who they were. Now I know
Bob Dylan
4/5
Surprisingly good bob dylan album. His voice is cooked but the songs are still fire. Last one is a little too long and slow though
The The
3/5
Nothing special
Cowboy Junkies
3/5
Boring album but I could feel the soul a little bit. Quite an apt band name, because cowboy junkies is exactly what they sound like
A Tribe Called Quest
4/5
Probably the best ATCQ album. Primo shit for 1991
The Beach Boys
4/5
First, the list gave us The Queen is Dead the morning after Queen Elizabeth died. Now, the list gives us Beach Boys the day after Brian Wilson dies…. And gives us an album where you can hear Brian’s personality as he’s chatting with the other Boys on *checks notes* “Bull Session With ‘Big Daddy’”.
I sometimes get a surreal feeling when listening to music from artists that have passed away. It feels like you’re hanging out with ghosts, their spirit and soul being captured in the vessel of the music. Sadly, some songs don’t reach their peak of meaning _until_ the artist dies. I think of Mac Miller on Malibu “I might die before I detox” — once Mac died from a drug overdose, this song’s meaning morphed from a sad, yet tongue-in-cheek snapshot of his mental health into a morose past-premonition of current realities. I think of Jason Molina’s many indie-blues projects that emanate an atmosphere of depression, and how those same demons of which he shared a snapshot on his albums are those that dragged him down into an early death from alcoholism and its complications.
Luckily, it’s not as sad with Brian Wilson. On the last track here (I refuse to call it by its name again), you can feel the happiness and the love that these young men have for life and for each other. You can almost feel their smiles through the dialogue captured on the track, and can hear that their lives are, in reality, just as fun and free-spirited as their music.
Accordingly, as I listen to Brian Wilson (and his band’s) creations after he’s passed, I don’t feel any sadness. Instead, I think “what a life!”. He and The Beach Boys sang about and lived a life of girls, beaches, and surfing, they were both widely popular and critically acclaimed, and their music is known and instantly recognizable across generations and across the globe.
Most of all, I’m grateful that many of the snapshots of Brian Wilson from his music that will endure over time are ones of pure joy, sun, laughter, love, and friendship. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could all leave a legacy like this?
R.I.P. Brian Wilson
Small Faces
2/5
Was ok until they started talking at the end of every track. If this list is going to feed me crappy music, please at least let it be music I can zone out with while I do something else. Can’t do that with the talking
The Kinks
4/5
I’m ready to have the conversation that the Kinks made the best pop/rock music of the 1960s. Dead serious. This beats any Beatles pre-drugs/musical experimentation. Everyone else like the Byrds, the Hollies, CCR doesn’t stand a chance against the Kinks. I’m surprised that the Kinks aren’t super popular today since I think their music holds up well
Steely Dan
4/5
First ballot entry into the vibes hall of fame
Portishead
4/5
It’s no Dummy, but it’s good
Le Tigre
4/5
The evolutionary midpoint between 80s synthpop and the incoming waves of indie sleaze. Surprisingly good and definitely unique
Hüsker Dü
2/5
Couldn’t listen to this without my mind being distracted by other things, but it had a few good songs
Siouxsie And The Banshees
2/5
We have Sonic Youth at home ahh
John Martyn
2/5
DO NOT let Nolan find this rock/jazz fusion album. We need him back on the Modest Mouse bad
Metallica
3/5
Technical and mainstream metal. It rips, but not as hard as Megadeth. I don’t feel like there’s too much that’s special here, even One (shout out guitar hero III) is one of their less good hits IMO. It doesn’t even fully have the boomer with a bench press in his garage sound.
My personal top Metallica songs:
1. Master of puppets
2. Fade to Black
3. Enter Sandman
4. Their cover of Whiskey in the Jar (my all time bench press PR was to this song)
5. The Call of Ktulu (live w/ San Francisco symphony orchestra)
The Thrills
3/5
Every time I zoned out listening to this I would zone back in and think I was listening to Grandaddy for a split second. Their singers sound extremely similar. I kind of liked this more than Grandaddy though. Less gimmicky stuff and more of a solid, simple tune
Bob Dylan
3/5
70s Bob Dylan discography feels a little stale to me. Like he’s already done all of this stuff musically and now he’s just repackaging it with different stories.
To be fair, it’s hard to match the peak of Bringing It All Back Home/Highway 61 Revisited/Blonde On Blonde. It just is!
The Verve
3/5
It’s less “Bittersweet Symphony” and more “The Rolling People”. Not for all people.
We badly need a USA version of this list. I’m sick of mediocre British albums
Devendra Banhart
2/5
Tough one. Bad voice yet Nick Drake like guitar playing. It’s like a minimalist Lumineers
The Cramps
3/5
Decent listen. Mostly forgettable punk. About the 100th album from this era that sounds like this on this list
Saint Etienne
4/5
Another European trip-hop-esque 90s electronic/dance/club album of MANY on this list. I gotta say, this is my favorite sub-genre I’ve discovered through this list. A wonderful mix of all kinds of musical elements creatively mashed together for a trippy and rhythmic ride. Aka the type of music that would hit different if you smoke some weed first
Everything But The Girl
3/5
I liked this a lot at the beginning but it blurred together at the end. Plus, I don’t feel like it’s all that unique compared to other releases around this time.
The Undertones
2/5
Not good. Not that bad either, but definitely not good. 1001 ways to say you like girls
Everything But The Girl
4/5
Another crappy English electronic/trip hop/dance club album….but I loved it. Nearly gave this a 5 but relistened and it didn’t keep the same sheen as the 1st listen. Saved it and saved a bunch of songs from it so I’ll be listening again in the future
The Darkness
4/5
Interesting choice. All I knew about these guys is that I Believe In A Thing Called Love was a lukewarm alternative radio hit. I half-expected the rest of the album would be bad but to my surprise it lived up to my expectations from only knowing the hit.
It’s something you don’t hear much of — a new take on 80s rock scene. You could call it something like second-wave glam, or post-hair…or maybe not. Either way, it builds on the legacy of its hair metal predecessors that the entire world seemed to burn out of on September 26, 1991 (when Nevermind was released) and becomes something new and fresh. It strikes the delicate balance between the glam rock pizzaz and musical originality, one that later bands of similar post-hair waves, like The Struts, fumbled.
Fun album, thank you list!
Muddy Waters
1/5
Slightly emotional 1 since this album is so far away from the vibe I want right now after just having gone through a significant life event that it’s in a different time zone. Also a much weaker live album than others of the era (shout out Jerry Lee Lewis). Low energy, but I guess that’s just the genre. The other Muddy albums I’ve heard so far from the list were much better than this too
Prince
2/5
So incredibly horny that I couldn’t finish on the first listen. Prince is on another plane of sexuality than the rest of us. I’ll stick to Purple Rain
Roni Size
4/5
One of the top reviews for this albums says “Listening to this entire album felt like having a panic attack in the back row of an international flight.”
The funny thing is I did exactly this (minus the panic attack) and really liked it. The drums and bass were hypnotic and I kept thinking I wish I had the skills to do that even on a drum machine. The drums evolved throughout the album it felt like and put me in a trance that helped me escape my reality of sitting on a plane.
I feel like a plane, actually, is one of the best places you could be to listen to an album like this. You’re in that enclosed space and just lock in to the enclosing music. Debated a 5 for this but if I listened to this while working or some other more stimulating atmosphere I probably wouldn’t have liked it as much
Richard Thompson
4/5
Some gas old folk. Passionate yet heartbreaking songs. Unreal vibe. Have heard this before but now I have it saved and will be adding it to my regular rotation
Cat Stevens
3/5
Some sad getting old bops. Probably won’t listen again ever
Lana Del Rey
3/5
I feel that Lana’s and Frank Ocean’s music are quite similar. LA subject matter and vibe, passionate arrangements, a freedom in their vocal performances. This is probably one of my least favorite Lana albums though. Give us some NFR, list!
Lambchop
4/5
Had no idea these guys were this old lol I found them after their album in 2022 and really like that album. This one was good too. Love the chamber pop and artsy feel to it
Basement Jaxx
2/5
Album doesn’t really know what it is. Too diverse to have any sort of identity. It was ok
Bonnie "Prince" Billy
4/5
This is probably the closest thing to Jason Molina on this list so I’ll give this as close to a 5 as I can give to an album that’s not on spotify
Black Sabbath
4/5
Rip Ozzy. This album goes hard, although I don’t feel like there are many recognizable songs on here. Just Going Through Changes which is kind of a weak sabbath song. But the rest on this album are dank
Pet Shop Boys
2/5
Mish mash of 80s musical cliches. Thankfully these guys changed by the 90s
Shack
3/5
Hmm British ok
Kacey Musgraves
2/5
Not my cup of tea
1/5
Reasons to listen to this album:
- You dislike music that sounds pleasant
- You want to activate your fight or flight response
- You want to impress strangers on the internet
- You want to feel superior to those people around you that listen to music with normie concepts like “harmony” and “chords”
- You have too many people in your house and it’s late at night and you want them to leave as soon as possible
Orbital
2/5
Almost put me to sleep
Happy Mondays
3/5
Pretty ok to decent album. Had some bops. Yet another British band that the list includes over many other deserving artists
Hawkwind
4/5
Good Friday/weekend album. Long jammy psychedelic sci-fi prog rock rippers. Would listen again, especially when doing some focused work
Super Furry Animals
2/5
It’s the opportunity cost that makes me sad really. How many amazing albums by incredible artists could have been in this spot instead of a second (!) Super Furry Animals album??
The Beta Band
3/5
Daydream sample ‼️ (not as good as Lupe’s though). Decent album
Jane's Addiction
4/5
These guys aren’t just cool, they’re late 80s/early 90s LA cool. And that’s worth 4 stars in and of itself
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
3/5
Certainly interesting. Probably is the flagship album of some silly sub-genre name like experimental art-new wave. A very list-ey list album
Hookworms
4/5
First minute or so of this album was a jumpscare that had me thinking we were due for another British bullshit electronic album. Luckily, I was wrong and it turned into a more conventional pop/rock/electronic track. That song took me through the whole range of stars, from 1 star all the way to 5, and I don’t think any other song on this list has run me through that series of emotions. Solid 4 of an album
Mj Cole
1/5
House electronic music might be my least favorite subgenre of music. At what point in your life do you think “Yeah lemme listen to a bunch of limp-dick beats and generic reverb background vocals on a loop for over an hour”? I can think of 2 reasons:
1. You’re on a dopamine detox. You’ve determined that doomscrolling or drugs or the internet has compromised your brain to the point where you need to take a tolerance break from all dopamine-producing sensations in order to feel alive again. This album will make you hate listening to music so much that things like working, painting a house, or hard exercising will feel like an orgasm in comparison.
2. You run a business that specializes in pretentiousness. Think NYC rooftop happy hour spot or Miami gimmicky restaurant. House music will give you a colorless and uninspired soundtrack that will perfectly match the vapid personalities that the venue attracts.
As you can tell, I disliked this album a lot. I’d rather listen to the heaviest heavy metal, the sparsest ambient, the most experimental Zappa-pilled progressive atonal chaotic 70s joke-rock or the sitar-iest Himalayan singer/songwriter than this spiritless garbage.
The Triffids
2/5
Generic and bad. Shame on you list
Milton Nascimento
2/5
The heart just wasn’t in this one. And the heart wants what it wants
Orbital
3/5
Not as bad as the last Orbital album I got. This one was decently listenable
Dinosaur Jr.
3/5
It’s good but it’s just…incomplete. Fragments of everything are there but the overall songwriting doesn’t build anything out of them. Random cutoff in just like heaven to end it is apt
Tough 3 since I really do like this album overall but I don’t feel like it deserves a 4
The Go-Betweens
4/5
Solid album. Saved a few songs. Easy listening
Bebel Gilberto
3/5
Pretty ok. Bossa Nova is a solid genre overall and this fit right in
Motörhead
2/5
Was a decent 3 until “Jailbait”. Oof
Justin Timberlake
2/5
This is a good example of the problems of this format of media — a book documenting the “best” of an ever-changing artistic landscape. As soon as 2006, when Justin Timberlake released FutureSex/LoveSound, this list selection became completely invalidated. FutureSex/LoveSound is better in almost every way than Justified, with much more creativity in its musical elements, more pop-power, a wider range of sonic influences, and staying power and influence on music as a whole….but this book was originally written in 2005.
It got me thinking that this list is quite outdated. One could argue that music as a whole since 2005 has produce more must-hear albums than the entirety of music before 2005. There’s been an endless multiplication of genres into ever more niche sub-genres that’s accompanied the explosion in musical availability via streaming platforms. Combine that with the many online communities which enabled increased discourse in more precise pieces of the musical culture and unparalleled access to resources to create your own music, and you get ample opportunity for anyone who wants to create music to create music — good music.
How can a book, a static ranking, possibly provide a lasting slice of the culture? As long as the culture is changing, and as long as the boundaries of what’s possible are being pushed, it can’t. So while I’ll continue to do the list, I’ll do it out of a desire to discover the past, and not out of a craving to find the best, since, as we see in the selection of this album, this book and all future books like this, will never have the best.
Beatles
3/5
Fine for 1964
Elvis Presley
4/5
For every Beatles that take drugs and become cool and creative and psychedelic, there’s an Elvis that destroys his young body with substances. Sad to see. Pretty good Elvis. Suspicious minds is definitely his best song and many others hit. Fuck if we 4
3/5
Oh yeah it’s the other Brit pop band (or the other other if you like Pulp). Fine album, but you can tell why Oasis won the battle, this isn’t anywhere near as accessible as definitely maybe
The xx
2/5
The “anyone can get greenlit for Netflix” joke but make it any British musician can get their bland album added to 1001 albums list
Sonic Youth
4/5
Deep and vast. Like the Mariana Trench of indie noise rock
Laura Nyro
5/5
Holy gas ⛽️. I would have never guessed this was from 1968, the production sounds wayyyy ahead of its time. Her voice is insane and the songs are unique — bouncing between oldies, 70s-esque disco/funk, showtunes, and crescendoing piano ballads. The album reminds me a lot of Grace by Jeff Buckley with its compositions built around showcasing the incredible voice of its singer.
It simply blows me away that this is from 1968. And for that reason it’s a 5
Aimee Mann
2/5
Not great. Songs don’t stand out as much as other pre-indie singer/songwriters of that time. Was a pretty boring listen
Todd Rundgren
4/5
The buddy Todd is always a good hang
U2
4/5
Bono is kinda cringe but this album went hard. One is in my top 100 favorite songs of all time. And the second half of the album was pretty good. Don’t kill the part of you that’s cringe, kill the part that cringes
Supergrass
3/5
Very interesting. Partly Britpop and partly psycho experimental rock. Decent to solid
Ice Cube
3/5
I love post NWA breakup albums, gotta be one of my favorite genders
Kraftwerk
2/5
Repetitive. But not a terrible listen. Probably won’t listen again
Method Man
3/5
Pretty good. Kinda like it better than Wu Tang, nice to focus in on one voice more
3/5
This was ok. Jazzy bits at the end yuh. I’m sick of this list :))))
King Crimson
2/5
Just because you can doesn’t mean you should
Girls Against Boys
4/5
The evil Sugar (in a good way). Full of absolute sludge that gets hurled into your ears (in a good way). It's got a heavy thick stamp of 90s sound (in a good way).
Janet Jackson
2/5
Didn't like It. For one, a lot of the content seems preachy and shallow, and a touch insincere. Something about the mega-label pop machine putting out a melodramatic album like this rubs me the wrong way.
Ultimately, I feel like singing about the world’s problems like this ultimately creates more distance between the public and those problems. It drives a wedge between the artist + the listeners and the problems. “They”, the children with the problems, are different from “we”, the famous pop star and contemporary music listeners.
I much prefer music that unifies the listener with the problems since, after all, most of us are closer than we think to a dark path. Art and music are about sharing and understanding different perspectives that can’t be captured with simple language, and the best of this helps expand your mind to understand those lives that are different than yours. And maybe once we understand those that are different at such an intimate level, we can truly empathize and understand how to make those problems a little better.
Leonard Cohen
5/5
At some point Will Toledo from Car Seat Headrest had a public Spotify and he had a playlist called “Workout” or something along those lines and it was just Suzanne by Leonard Cohen 10 times
Björk
3/5
Björk told me I fell off, ooh, I needed that
Suede
3/5
Not as good as the other Suede album on this list, but not bad
The Roots
4/5
Pretty good, I fw the roots
Slade
2/5
I listened to this yesterday and remember nothing from it
Ray Price
3/5
The intro was pretty cool
MC Solaar
3/5
Kind of troll international album. Musically diverse. I liked the rapping even though I couldn’t understand any of it
Eagles
3/5
Surprisingly hella chill
Paul McCartney
2/5
Eh nothing memorable besides maybe I’m amazed. Love Paul but this album is not great
Garbage
4/5
Came dangerously close to giving this a 5, but upon a relisten it didn’t hit as hard. Still very good though! The production was nice and thicc and boy I sure do love 90s music
The Sonics
2/5
I must be Losing My Edge because I didn’t think this was good. Mostly just other mid 50s/60s songs repackaged into a more lo-fi/garage band sound. I enjoyed LCD Soundsystem singing the band name more than I enjoyed this record
PJ Harvey
2/5
I’m not British enough to like this album
Linkin Park
4/5
It’s not their best, nor their most meaningful, but it might have been their most popular. Some of these songs were on heavy rotation on my iPod nano in 5th grade. So I agree with a lot of the other reviewers that it’s a little juvenile, it’s almost like a nu-metal emo crossover. But I still like it
Dexys Midnight Runners
2/5
Irish af
Willie Nelson
3/5
Willie Nelson makes an oldies album
The Beau Brummels
3/5
Type of album cover that catches your eye at a dingy record store. And sounds like it too
Tom Waits
4/5
The rare accessible Tom Waits. I can get behind this
Wild Beasts
2/5
It was okay I guess
Bob Marley & The Wailers
4/5
1) Reading about the history of SKA on Wikipedia is such a trip. It’s hilarious to me that this niche Jamaican music culture eventually evolved to give us a suite of comically unserious (yet immaculately good-mood) bands like Reel Big Fish, Less than Jake, and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. Sublime, in their hits, is the one band I can see with a spiritual connection to the first wave of SKA.
2) The weed branding for Bob Marley is bad for the music in my opinion. The music is good and can totally stand out on its own, but it’s too often associated with stoners. And thinking about weed when listening completely changes my perception of the music. I picture myself being fried off the ganja and stuck in a chair while the meandering loops of the baselines repeatedly walk around in my head and I get a little nauseous. But then again, remembering that it’s a religious ritual with the Rastafarianism for Bob makes me appreciate it, even though I don’t like the trip it gives my mind.
3) This Moroccan guy at the deli I worked with thought Bob was saying “Benjamin” in “Been Jamming”. Always was geek when he sung along.
4) I haven’t liked the other reggae that this list gave us, but both Bob Marley albums I’ve had so far have hit. Good job Bob
Dizzee Rascal
3/5
Pretty crazy beats. Idk what this bloke was on about though, I don’t speak British
Kate Bush
2/5
Industrial romantic 80s pop. Hits you like a strong perfume emanating off a lady with gobs of bright red lipstick. Similar to the Joanna Newsom, I appreciate this on some level, but it’s not for me unfortunately
Throbbing Gristle
3/5
Finally, the worst rated album in the whole list! I’ll zag and say it’s not the worst thing I’ve ever heard (unlike many others who have listened). It’s like a further deconstructed GY!BE. Definitely abstract but it kinda works in a dark, psychotic way. It sounds like the deepest recesses of the subconscious, both of the oppressed and the oppressor, and I’m not sure which of those is more unsettling
Public Enemy
2/5
She watch channel zero is a banger but the rest of this album doesn’t hit for me at all. I don’t like hip hop much at all until the 90s tbh
George Michael
3/5
I felt some pieces of this in my soul. It’s a little melodramatic but it’s pretty good
Brian Eno
3/5
Brian’s non experimental stuff is just ok. Good song here or there but you’d be insane to have this album on heavy rotation if you’re under 50 years old
Sly & The Family Stone
3/5
I was listening to Snow Strippers before this which is like indie sleaze on speed so throwing this on was quite the vibe change. Pretty chill album
Bruce Springsteen
2/5
Bruce is good. You know this. (Besides that one song about Atlantic City)
Napalm Death
1/5
Yeah no
The Boo Radleys
3/5
Had its moments. Fine album
Bonnie Raitt
2/5
Resident Sleeeeeper. 1989 album with the vibes of 1982. This can’t be all that noteworthy if it’s just replaying the same old formula
Simply Red
4/5
Pretty meta tbh. Moneys too tight to mention. Good talking heads cover (Heaven). Fuck it we 4
Stan Getz
4/5
Good ahh album. Listened to this in exactly the right environment (coffee shop). The girl from impanema is an all time banger
Beastie Boys
3/5
Pretty sick samples and beats. Content and rapping is eh. It is growing on me, but I don’t think it deserves a 4 yet
Faith No More
4/5
After a few more listens I feel like this album will really click for me. Epic is a classic, and I love that the same chord progression was used later in the album. I’m a sucker for musical callbacks. Sick War Pigs cover. Other songs had enough moments that I’ll put this at a 4
Throwing Muses
3/5
More EA SPORTS core
Sonic Youth
4/5
One of the best sonic youth albums. Kool thing is definitely their best song, but Tunic (RIP to the queen Karen Carpenter), Mary-Christ, Dirty Boots, My Friend Goo are all solid too. A little weak in the second half of the album
Soul II Soul
3/5
Was ok, piano went dummy
2/5
Electric intro speech. Not much else besides a cacophony
Megadeth
4/5
Megadeth rips. You literally cannot refute this
G. Love & Special Sauce
4/5
Interesting album. This is the type of thing I look to this list for. Genre-mashed good vibe albums that I would never discover on my own. It had a slacker feel, almost like a Beck precursor
The Dictators
3/5
Album cover very much did not match the music lol
The Who
2/5
Some good songs here and there but the rest was a tough listen. The uncle songs *shudder*
The Streets
3/5
Decent Br*t*sh rap. I like Original Pirate Material by these guys better
FKA twigs
4/5
I enjoyed this quite a bit. Very immersive music
Wilco
4/5
Is Wilco dad rock?
Bruce Springsteen
5/5
Like this review to instantly be transported to the Jersey Shore
Bill Callahan
3/5
Old man bill. Even when he was young he was old
Brian Eno
3/5
There are a couple really good songs on here (like the title track which is amazing IMO). But overall it’s not that strong and has a lot of tedious parts
Klaxons
4/5
I liked it. Pretty cool instrumentals behind a somewhat generic indie rock song set. Felt a lot shorter than it was
Led Zeppelin
3/5
Bangers only at the beginning but most of the rest was pretty forgettable
Radiohead
3/5
Meandering wailing whimsy. Not for me
Happy Mondays
2/5
Mid, 1980s bollocks
Roxy Music
4/5
Good album altogether. Enjoyed listening to it
Neil Young
3/5
Neil without Crazy Horse is like peanut butter without jelly
Derek & The Dominos
4/5
Pretty based and sad rock album. 4/5
Supergrass
4/5
Dark, intense, and brooding. 4
Boston
4/5
One of the most complete Classic Rock albums of all time. End to end bangers. For no other reason, this has to be at least a 4
N.E.R.D
4/5
Period piece. Extremely early-to-mid 2000s. I have referenced EA Sports core for a few other albums. This is EA Sports BIG (the studio for the NFL/NBA street and SSX games) core. It's got a little more hip hop/urban soul than the punchy, rock-ey EA Sports soundtrack albums. But it's still got that consistent energy throughout that makes it perfect for an NFL player selection menu in NFL street or snowboarding radio in SSX.
Bad album cover but good album.
Gorillaz
3/5
L that this is the only Gorillaz album on the list. Demon Days and Plastic Beach absolutely deserve a spot
Johnny Cash
4/5
Awesome live album. Lovely appearance by June Carter, fantastic banter with the prisoners/guards, troll songs. Close to a 5
Talking Heads
2/5
Sure this is crazy, cool, experimental, unique, and sophisticated. But so were Bored Ape NFTs. Just because the album is all of these things, doesn’t make it a good listen. Maybe some day this will click for me, but for now it just feels like it’s too excessive in its pompous, yet nerdy chaos. Shout out Once in a Lifetime music video though
Calexico
4/5
This album was pretty sick. Awesome fusion of a bunch of different genres and influences that sounded very pleasant. Very much fits in with the American southwest geography