Pleasant to listen, will definitely revisit. While the songs work very well and at no point was I bored I am not sure it works well as an album composition though.
Amazing, all time classic. Opening (title) track is a banger. Perfect embodiment of typical Smiths atmosphere.
Some good compositions and great production value but some songs are straight up meh. And mainly - Chris Martin's singing is a gimmick that barely works in a short feature. Listening to whole albums length of it is bordering on suffering.
Truly a masterpiece. Great diversity among the songs but they create cohesive album and fit the concept. Great to hear Roger singing. Love '39 and The Prophet's song.
Essence of the 60's, I was actually quite surprised how I enjoyed it. Few songs stood out (Care of Cell 44, Changes), generally more a of a very pleasant background music.
This one didn't catch my heart at all. First couple of songs are okay-ish but sitting through Racing in the Street was just painful and the rest of album could not get back on the road for me. Needs way more guitar riffs and less piano and sax.
Overall pleasant to listen, but it turned into just background music very soon. Instrumentals were very nice, vocals did lag behind a bit but didn't disturb. I liked it but just can't see this as a must listen album.
Amazing experience, will definitely listen many times again. Great opus.
It's just incredible how this still sounds like it could have been releasef just couple years ago. This shows how influential it has been and it must have been mental to hear in the 70's. Great sound.
Combination of somewhat simple yet catchy guitar riffs with intensive and often distorted Julian's vocals work very well. Title song and Soma stood out.
This was a Dylan album alright. Will listen again multiple times to read up on the lyrics better.
Amazing, this almost feels like a greatest hits album but it's not. The essence of CCR.
When I saw this album I almost burst out in tears. This is one of the best pieces of music with special place in my heart. I'm not sure if it's the best Pink Floyd album per se, that's just so hard to say, but it's the one that brings out the most emotions out of me.
Jazzy melodies and smooth voice delivery but impossible for me to connect lyrically. Some tunes got me interested but others just passed and didn't provoke any emotions at all. Torn between 2 and 3 stars.
Each song is an individual shard in a mosaic of this album, reminding me of GBV. These are all full length though which pushes the album over hour in length. I was surprised how well it holds up and the lyrics are witty. It's not a bad album but it doesn't feel like something I had to listen. It is not transcending it's timeframe well, lot of songs feel like soundtrack for teenage movies or sports videogames from it's period.
Masterpiece album and the background of it gives it even more depth. It's everlasting presence in the top steps of any "best of" ladder is well deserved.
This was easily the nicest surprise for me so far. Had no knowledge of this band and was blown away since the start. I have to say I very much preffer the lady vocals.
What an amazing album. Somehow I managed to skip this one in a queue and return to it back after long months. And man would it be a shame to miss it. Lyrically strong and well performed ballads all around.
Aggressively mediocre music. Also Don Henley is a prick.
Vibing funky and soulful beats and the delivery is not bad either, but lyrically it falls behind and stretches for just too long.
This album has some hits but it desperately lacks some bangers. It's far from pain to listen to, I would even say it's good. But it reeks out false sentiment in some places and bores in others.
Reggae record. A good reggae record I would say but it's so hard for me to quantify that "goodness" in this genre compared to others, it just gets too similar to my ears. What I can appreciate is the lyrics however much I am surely lacking in the historical and cultural department for full understanding of them.
Hardest album to rate so far. I will start with the negatives. Generally I don't like albums that are not conceputal to last over an hour and I can clearly see some stuff being crossed out here. Despite being a solo record it's heavily carried by Snoop Dogg (and to lover extend by other guests, Dre is clearly the weakest rapper on most tracks). On the positive side this is very clearly massively influential record and what I appreciate the most - it puts you in a mood. This has no chance of turning into background music like a lot of albums does. It bangs and slaps and paints clear picture of 90's West Coast scene for you. And I enjoyed it. I don't agree with this failing the test of time or ageing poorly, because it doesn't try to stay relevant - it is true to it's time.
Joyful classic that makes you go up on your feet and give yourself to the rock'n'roll.
The performance was spot on and the sound quality was surprisingly good. It was generally a pleasant record to listen and would be amazing to see it on video. However I just can't appreciate this as an album, not a fan of treating live records the same way as studio ones with new material (with the exception of Daft Punk's Alive). I also felt a bit uneasy about the romanticization of prison and outlaw life in general. So in spite of me enjoying country music I have to rate this rather low.
I expected this to be interesting and it was! Very cool combination of Irish folk and punk sound but in the end it's not really my favorite or something I will revisit much.
The atmosphere, the tension, the shivers. Music that feels to fit precisely into some of your mood and makes you feel uneasy and uncomfortable in so many others. Lyrics and their vocal delivery makes you think this might be a project of setting some beat generation poetry to music.
In spite of this being one of my favorite genres and the record is very well executed it just lacks a bit of some extra spice that will push it over the edge of "quite good" and make it stood out. I might be in a minority here but I vastly preferred songs where Lane had the lead vocals.
First song was so good I was immediately thinking this will be another hidden gem. Bud sadly that just didn't happen. It felt rather stale after a while and the vocals seemed disconnected from the instrumentals.
Björk's singing just got my heart. This album is so strange, upbeat, so many different things going on, very good.
The whole album felt like a soundtrack to some post-apocalyptic/cyberpunk-ish sci-fi game. I could see some of the tunes being played in a neon-lighted bar where humanoid robots play them on instruments made of scrapyard metals while others pretend to drink their oils to mimic what people of the past use to do. Others were made for some action running-fighting sequence or cutscene, others were just ambient. Usually this ability to evoke such kind of feelings and imagination is what I rate highest for albums, but sadly here it's not enough. For one thing some parts are just noise to me and it's simply too long. For other part, it's nice music for something but without the "something" it's just not enough. The significance in it's context and how influential it was is undeniable which makes it all the more hard to rate but I can't push myself to give this 4 stars.
Well there went 2 hours of my life that I am never getting back. It wasn't all bad but man when it was bad it was bad. And the bad parts went on for so long. Why is so long, just why? The weakest point is easily the lead singer. Anytime he tries to actually sings it sounds like someone recorder their singing while cleaning a house with fully blasted headphones on. Meaningful lyrics are non existent and even the album's name is sad attempt at pun. How this made the list compared to some other albums from similar genre and time period is beyond me.
High production value pop which doesn't sound quite bad but it's supposed to be a concept album and it fails on that level. The style doesn't fit the message and all and the lyrics are just so meh. Basically a rich celebrity just saying "The world is bad, bad things are happening, it's so sad, why is world like this".
I guess hip-hop and sampling ruined soul for me. I would dig myself into the music and then random sequence would play and I was just fully expecting some Kanye-esque beats to drop and turn it into a proper banger. But putting that aside this was very enjoyable and surprisingly up to date. Initial part of the spoken word song went for a bit too long though.
I expected this to be terrible based on other comments. And it wasn't! It was not great either though. The title is massively misleading. This is mostly okay ambient electronic music for chores or focus time on your IT job with some parts that I can only assume are random clicks on sound effect board. I am unable to estimate how original this was back in it's day but now it's as generic as self-made youtuber music for their video to not have copyright issues.
Very close to hitting the 5 star mark for me but not just quite. Still and awesome album though.
This is a concept album and it's story revolves around a girl names Melody Nelson. And it's super important for the artist that you don't forget that for a second. Not the story, just the name. It's in the title of the album, it's in the title of most songs, it's in every other lyric line. Purely musically this wasn't so bad. But it was just so annoying. And pretentious. My desire for it was at the max level. At least it's short.
Super weird, have no idea what was going on lyrically. But it's funky, it's happy music, that's something to always appreciate.
A bit too long, start is on fire but gets way too stale and repetitive in the final stages, mainly the beats just feel uninspired. I don't think this stood the test of time that well, compared to other albums of similar origin (and I am not talking about the lyrics on which most people fixate).
I very rarely care for live albums with audience interactions and this was not one of the few where I would. And I can't help but think that the reviews of this are more of a wishes for Nirvana to actually produce a studio album with this semi acoustic sound and the nostalgia for it. Combining with the fact that the covers, especially the Bowie one, were the best songs, I just can't hold this to the same standard as "regular" albums on this list.
I feel like this was executed well, the riffs were grabbing, production was top tier. But it seems a bit too one-dimensional. I really enjoyed some slower and more melodic songs like Down in a Hole. But most of the album went the angry violent way and I just couldn't really differentiate the songs looking back and I am unable to see them fitting for any mood.
So pleasant to listen to. Another late 60's gem I found out in here. I think this is the strongest 4 starts I have given yet, almost inclined to 5.
When I saw this album I had zero expectations, no previous knowledge of the artist. But it turned out to be this very cool jazzy and (despite its political message) joyful record. Maybe the build-up phases were a bit too long for my taste and usage of repetition too frequent but nevertheless lovely sounds and mood level 100. But making one track out of four a live concert recording segment instead of studio one - I have to consider that a Mistake.
What a beast of an album. Genre defining stuffed with classic hits instantly put you in a mood and feel like immediate choices for soundtracks to paint the idea of 60's. Grace Slicks vocals are just amazing.
I get what the album is trying to say and evoke in your mind and it does that pretty well. But I just didn't like it much. Highlight was Kometenmelodie 2 and some sections of title track. But other than that I was just hoping for it to move on. I guess my mind was also clouded from disappointment since I really enjoyed other Kraftwerk album I got earlier.
Most of the album just flew buy me without leaving a significant impression. I disliked the horrendous cover and the music felt like something I imagine oldschool American dads listen to. But then the last song came and that is just straight up amazing hit song. Made me return back to a few other songs as well and redeemed the record a lot in my eyes.
Not unpleasant to listen to but I got bored so easily. I guess I just favor more fast paced country such as The Weatherman on this record, didn't feel the vibe from most of the album.
So smooth and soulful. I would never expect someone's 15th album to hold up this much. Really enjoyable compositions. On the other hand it goes for a bit too long, the lyrics get a bit repetitive and I just don't feel like they match the vibes I get from the music. These things keep the record from being perfect 5 start but not from me digging it.
Right of the bat it starts so strong I fully expected this to be 5 star album. The first song is on fire and is followed up by surprising variety. The second half was a bit weaker, not bad, just missing the sharpest of edges, therefore I tune the rating down a notch.
What an interesting find. This draws inspiration from various genres and combines all of it amazingly to the RnB baseline. Top tier production and ideas for days. Some of the songs try to present more classic RnB sound, and that just falls so flat in contrast. Just nothing new there, mainly the vocals start to fall flat. Also, the fact that this is second (and third) part of something and I had to listen to it without knowledge of the first part (still this being a proper debut while the first segment is in a form of an EP) triggered my anxiety.
No, just no. I don't know what people see in this dude but for me it's just not happening. Strangely the very end of the album had a few somewhat decent moments, usually it's the other way around. Apart from the music itself - it's fine to name an album after a title song, but it should follow a theme. Naming an album Nebraska, a location, and follow this first and title track by song called Atlantic city - a completely different location - what?
As convinced as I am that main purpose of this is to be interesting rather than pleasant I just kept getting a bit bored. 10% of the album is just annoying noise, 10% is very interesting and inspired but 80% just flew by me despite it's best efforts to be anything else than boring.
Boogie on Reggae Woman was super fun but most of other songs just miss the same energy. Nice but nothing to write home about.
When I refreshed on yesterday's morning I couldn't hide disappointment. Couple of my previous albums were somewhat challenging, mostly instrumental, jazz-influenced. I was hoping for proper rock bangers or something similar. And I was proven so wrong! This was on fire, amazing, mood oozes all over the place.
Extremely consistent rock record filled with typical Stones' blues-country-ish infusion. I will admit I am a fan of this sound and this album gives you over one hour of it and Mick's vocals don't even get annoying despite this length. Throughout listening to this came a few moments where I thought "yes, this is all very good, but right now it just starts to melt together and lacks some variety and a proper distinct hit" and then the strong distinct hit came along as the very next song. I just keep wondering if I should even get to the point of wonder, even when satisfaction came in the end each time. Wonder if this wound function better as shorted album. 4 stars seems low because it is a masterpiece, 5 stars seems a bit high because it is not flawless. But 5 it is.
I expected to like this given all the 5 star reviews and this being an old school hip hop but I just couldn't care for it at all. Nothing explicitly wrong, just no impression left to the next day.
This is just pure treasure and one of my most valued records. I don't even know what more to say. Doubling down on streaming services just because Spotify is missing Neil Young is worth for this album alone.
Unpleasant surprise for me. I never listened to any The Beach Boys album as a whole and I expected this to be full of the upbeat, fun, juicy music I know from any hits collection. But most of it seemed so dull, I felt "fun" feelings being sucked out of me if anything and I expected the exact opposite.
If you want to have fun, go for this album even if you are not a girl. Amazing vocals, cool synths, energy for days.
Throughout the album I kept thinking to myself: "are there really living musicians just repeating the same guitar riff for couple minutes long?". Apart from that the music is not bad by any means, but lyrics are awkward and vocals average. I think the composition of the album is missing some powerful ballads.
I will be in a minority here and say that Layla itself isn't that much of a hit for me. On the other hand I did enjoy the album as a whole. Nothing really stood out that much, but looking back at the length of it - never really felt like it dragged and that is a big compliment coming from me when it comes to records over 1 hour.
My third Kraftwerk album in what is short of 70 days long journey and I rate it somewhat in the middle. No annoying parts but no really bangs either. Overall enjoyable music but from time to time I kept thinking: "This sound right here was added just because they could and thought it was cool, not because it sounds good".
Thanks to this list I have come to realize, that my understanding of the country genre has been very limited. I associated it with upbeat, banjo-filled music that country is represented by in my country. These American classics - someone in other comment have dubbed them "og emo" - caught me a bit by surprise. I quite like it, but it does miss a bit of an edge for me. Wasn't very fond of vocals on this one either.
I guess that proto-punk > punk. "Raw" is the word that fits this record the most and I enjoyed a lot of it.
Late 60's / early 70's psychedelic/folk rock entries on this list just never seem to disappoint. Verging on the border between 4 and 5 starts but missing just that bit of an edge to deserve the top rating. Still an amazing listen.
Lovely vocals singing not very interesting lyrics and set to rather forgettable tunes. Amazing voice but the album felt uninspired. Highlight song was The Queen and the Soldier.
Very okay-ish rock album. When I started listening I banged - or rather nodded - my head and thought to myself: "This will be a good one" and when it ended I didn't really recall any of it.
Since 10 seconds in I was just hoping for it to end.
I expected this to be more rowdy and on the same note as title song. Nevertheless an amazing album, but it was lacking a bit of energy, I thought it would be overflowing with it.
Loved the first 80% of it. After the famous Sultans of Swing the rest felt like it lacked that special something so I was hesitating to give it full rating. But looking back at the album makes me smile. What a lovely record with unique feeling.
The instrumental Intro is easily the highlight of entire album. Rest of it feels like something Netflix would use as a soundtrack for teenage drama couples scene.
This might be easily the best punk album I have ever listened to. Surprised how much I actually liked it despite it not being my go-to genre. Starts and ends with absolute bangers, overall amusing and full of life.
Album was very pleasant to listen to, but at the same time quite forgettable. Great uninspired background music.
Very interesting from the begging. From someone else's commend - dark but not depressing. Cool, raw sounds. But it just continued as more (and worse) of the same and in the second half I just got bored. Last 3 songs made it better. Hard to decide between 2 and 3 stars.
I can't get myself to ride the Nirvana fan train. Majority of the thing was boring and un-musical.
It's a live album so it sucks by definition. Any of the shouting annoyed the hell out of me and attempts to sing weren't much better. Guitar riffs were doing at least something to push it towards two stars but that last abomination of a song killed such attempts.
Kind of cool music with somewhat basic lyrics that show very well that they are not native English speakers. I expected a bit different sound but the first song of the album struck me and pleasantly surprised. After that it just sort of stayed solid but nothing else really stood up.
I don't mind Brit-rock/Brit-pop, not at all, quite the opposite and this seems like a one fine example to me. Solid 3.5/5 but after a bit shitty run I had I'm willing to push this to 4.
What a banger of an album. Properly mad and cover is one of the hardest images ever. I mean, it start's with Smack my bitch up, enough said.
Before I saw the band once at a festival I actually thought this was a duo of people named Belle and Sebastian. Strangely enough I think more female vocals would benefit this album. It didn't really catch me in a mood for it and I can't put my finger on what mood this does fit - it sounds so melancholic but not depressing. Still enjoyed it.
This was my 3rd Springsteen album and I am still didn't even hit first 100 mark. I did not care for the first two and I expected this one to be the same story, apart from the few songs I already knew. Turns out this is just a straight bangers only records and I am on the verge of giving it 5 stars. Did not expect that....
Great album. Inspired with amazing production.
Pretty decently listenable to but only the already known hits stayed with me after the 1h mark.