264
Albums Rated
3.45
Average Rating
24%
Complete
825 albums remaining
Rating Distribution
How you rate albums
Rating Timeline
Average rating over time
Ratings by Decade
Which era do you prefer?
Activity by Day
When do you listen?
Taste Profile
2010s
Favorite Decade
Grunge
Favorite Genre
other
Top Origin
Wordsmith
Rater Style ?
39
5-Star Albums
11
1-Star Albums
Taste Analysis
Genre Preferences
Ratings by genre
Origin Preferences
Ratings by country
Rating Style
You Love More Than Most
Albums you rated higher than global average
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Third/Sister Lovers | 5 | 2.79 | +2.21 |
| Fuzzy | 5 | 3.01 | +1.99 |
| Mermaid Avenue | 5 | 3.18 | +1.82 |
| If You're Feeling Sinister | 5 | 3.18 | +1.82 |
| Pink Flag | 5 | 3.21 | +1.79 |
| Closer | 5 | 3.22 | +1.78 |
| Melodrama | 5 | 3.31 | +1.69 |
| The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady | 5 | 3.32 | +1.68 |
| Gunfighter Ballads And Trail Songs | 5 | 3.34 | +1.66 |
| Debut | 5 | 3.37 | +1.63 |
You Love Less Than Most
Albums you rated lower than global average
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eliminator | 1 | 3.38 | -2.38 |
| All Mod Cons | 1 | 3.25 | -2.25 |
| The Wall | 2 | 4.14 | -2.14 |
| Hejira | 1 | 3.13 | -2.13 |
| Country Life | 1 | 3.11 | -2.11 |
| At Budokan | 1 | 3.1 | -2.1 |
| Armed Forces | 1 | 3.09 | -2.09 |
| White Ladder | 1 | 3.07 | -2.07 |
| Meat Puppets II | 1 | 3.02 | -2.02 |
| Back In Black | 2 | 3.86 | -1.86 |
Artist Analysis
Favorite Artists
Artists with 2+ albums
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Radiohead | 5 | 4.4 |
| Jimi Hendrix | 2 | 5 |
| Beatles | 3 | 4.33 |
| Neil Young & Crazy Horse | 3 | 4.33 |
Controversial Artists
Artists you rate inconsistently
| Artist | Ratings |
|---|---|
| The Smashing Pumpkins | 5, 2 |
5-Star Albums (39)
View Album Wall
Popular Reviews
Count Basie & His Orchestra
4/5
I love putting this on walking around my neighbourhood built in the 50s and imagining I’m back in time. Simple yet beautiful. The melody on the last song is heartbreaking too.
7 likes
The Velvet Underground
5/5
Whenever a big album like that comes up, I'm thinking - it can't be that good, right? And then I play it and realize that it is even better than I remembered. It's one of those where you can't overstate their influence. I mean you can hear all types of indie rock tracing their roots back to this thing. And it was made almost 60 years ago? You'd expect it to lose at least some appeal due to age, right? But no, it's as enjoyable as ever. This is one of those albums that this list was created for.
6 likes
Daft Punk
4/5
I haven’t heard this one before. Definitely my top electronic album found on this list so far. Really enjoyable. I see other people’s reviews complaining that it’s repetitive. Well, isn’t that the point? At the same time the duo manages to put some ear catching noises that grab your attention throughout each track. One more thing - now I feel like I understand Yeezus better, some of the sounds are exactly the same. Favourite tracks: Rock n Roll, Rollin and Scratchin. I’m giving it a 4.5, rounded down to 4 because yeah it is a bit too long but it may grow on me up to 5.
4 likes
Lorde
5/5
it's a homemade d-d-d-dynamite! I think I must really be out of touch with modern music because this one completely blew me away. Absolutely loving it and it's totally outside of my comfort zone. I think there's not a single weak track (although some of the more poppy tunes are a bit too much for me, see Supercut or Perfect places). The lyrics are youthful but mature, and Lorde's voice is just beautiful. The entire album stands out from all the old classic folky albums I've been tortured with recently. Plus the artwork is so pretty it makes me want to purchase a vinyl copy. Favourites: Green Light, Homemade Dynamite, Liability, Writer in the Dark (that Kate Bush chorus!) and that short ending to Hard Feeling/Loveless. Straight to my favourite albums.
3 likes
Grant Lee Buffalo
5/5
I didn’t expect it but the album has everything I enjoy and will easily become one of my all time favourites. Grungy 90s vocals, folky tunes, Americana and just a right amount of politics make this a perfect combination of 90s alternative. I love it! Also I feel like there’s not a single filler on it - each song has something that draws me further into them. Hard to pick a favourite track!
2 likes
1-Star Albums (11)
All Ratings
A Tribe Called Quest
4/5
Hard for me to rate a hip-hop album as I don't know much about it - I'll definitely need to give it more time once I go through more rap albums.
For now, I really enjoyed the minimialist jazzy beats and double bass. It made other instrumentals stand out more and allowed for more focus on the lyrics.
I loved the first song - Excursions, both intrumentally and lyrically, I think it's one of the best openings to any album I've heard so far.
Overall, 3.5/5 for me personally, +0.5 for the cult status this album has due to its apparent significance to the genre.
Fatboy Slim
3/5
I didn't like it in the beginning except for the few major hits (Praise You, Right Here Right Now) - I found the repetitivenes and the breaking down of all those beats too long and annoying. But then I played it on my headphones while working out and I found that I actually enjoyed it a lot more than expected. Still, it's not something I'd play on a daily basis and the loooong ending to Rockefeller Skank is just too much for me.
3.5/5 rounded down to 3.
Love
4/5
I really loved this one. I’ll still need to dive into it more, especially to go through the lyrics. My favourite tracks:
Alone again or; Andmoreagain; Maybe the people… (especially loved the solos on this one)
Mylo
4/5
I was surprised to like it so much - it's definitely not something I'd have picked up if it wasn't for this list. But I really liked it, especially the more downtempo parts in the beginning and ending. Tracks such as Valley of the Dolls, Sunworshipper, Zenophile, Need You Tonite, Emotion 98.6 gave me a nice dancey vibe with a bit of nostalgia which suits this early autumn weather just perfectly. At times sounded a lot like Royskopp, which is perfectly fine with me. Drop the Pressure is pure fun.
4.0/5, will definitely be going back to this one
Willie Colón & Rubén Blades
3/5
I don’t really know much about the genre, and the dance culture around it kinda irritates me. But an album like this one on its own is great. I enjoyed putting it on in the background while working or cooking. Definitely favourite track is Plastico and then Maria Lionza. 3.5/5 down to 3 simply because it’s not really my thing
Billy Bragg
5/5
I love everything about this album. It makes me want to move to some remote place in the mountains and just chill with a guitar on a porch. Favourite tracks except for the obvious first track and California Stars are One by one and Eisler on the go.
5/5
Parliament
3/5
I’m sorry I don’t get this. Maybe I really am boring and the funk doesn’t get to me. I can appreciate the technical side and it’s very good. But overall I don’t really feel like listening to this
Arctic Monkeys
5/5
This is the 8th album since I've started and it's the first one that I know and love. I may not be very objective as it's been one of my favorites for a long time and brings back a lot of memories. It's a perfect mix of garage rock and dance and lyrics tell simple stories of a life as a teenager/early adult that bring out a lot of nostalgia for me. Favorite tracks: I bet you look good on the dancefloor, When the sun goes down, A certain romance.
5/5
Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart
3/5
Album No.9 - Not really my thing, I tried giving it a go and I really enjoyed the first two tracks which are actually pretty good. As for the rest of it, I'm not enjoying it too much and cannot imagine going back regularly to this, more like a curiosity of an era.
3/10
Beth Orton
3/5
Album No.10 - I didn't have time to go through it in detail as I'd like to - I'd do that over the weekend. So far, I like the ambience created by the vocals and soft instrumentals in the back. Will definitely have to go back to check the lyrics out. Not quite my type of an album, but a nice one to put on in the background - and my wife enjoys it a lot, which is important too.
3.5/5 - for now down to 3.0 but maybe 4.0 after a while?
The Chemical Brothers
4/5
Album No.11 - it's also the second album that I got from the Big Beat genre following Fatboy Slim (which was a bit of a let down for me). I liked this one much more - it seems more consistent than FS while at the sine team being much less poppy and hit driven. There’s also less boring moments consisting of deconstructing of beats which annoyed me a lot when listening to FS. Also one more observation: it flows by really fast, I’m always a bit surprised that it’s already over.
4/5
Megadeth
4/5
I really enjoyed listening to this one - great rythm changes, amazing drumming following the bass riffs and then the layers of guitars - songs are just filled with great riffs. Also, a lot of great small gems, such as the acoustic guitar passage in Holy Wars. The vocals were not the best but sometimes reminded me of Mike Patton on Easy so that wasn't such a bad thing after all. Didn't really care much for the lyrics but the music was amazing.
4.5/5 down to 4.
Happy Mondays
3/5
I was expecting something more similar to Stone Roses so at first I wasn’t too impressed with this. But then, after 4 or 5 listens it grew on me. It’s definitely a more chaotic and nonsensical side of the genre - especially lyrics are a mess. But this kind of chaos is addictive. I enjoyed the jangly guitars in the background building the atmosphere throughout the entire record. The bass lines were also distinctively groovy at times. My favourite tracks are Moving In With, Mad Cyril, Performance, Bring a Friend and Lazyitis (ticket to ride + a great guitar outro to the entire album).
Overall, I think I enjoyed more the vibe the entire album gives off rather then particular songs. You can feel this very particular era of madchester on this album. But I’d still choose Stone Roses over this anytime.
3.5/5 down to 3 for the lack of any particular song that really grabbed my attention
Big Star
5/5
This is a great album but it required a couple of replays from me to fully appreciate it. Definitely not something to just put in the background. The listing is a mess and varies in each issue, which results in sudden change of moods and styles. I was listening to Spotify version with a few bonus tracks.
I can definitely see how this band and the album (which I have never listened to prior) was so influential to (mainly) American alternative bands. There's a wide spectrum of genres that can be spotted on the album, from powerpop (O, Dana), baroque pop (For You), glam rock (You Can't Have Me) and more folky tunes (Big Black Car). My favorites are the ballads which go from extremely sad and depressing (Holocaust, Big Black Car) to sweet love songs (Blue Moon, For You). I also enjoyed a lot the bonus track - Till The End of The Day which sounds like the Beatles meets powerpop. I also love the fragile voice of the singer, at times on the verge of completely breaking down. The only thing I did not care for was the Holocaust analogy, I think its a bit over the top and unneccessary, sounded a bit juvenile.
Overall, the album is not only relevant thanks to its later influences, but also is a great piece of music on its own.
The Undertones
4/5
Simple and energetic pop punk from 1980. Very cool! I have only one issue with such albums - there's like 50 songs on it and they all sound very much alike. Hard to really pick something out of it as a result. Still, the album is very consistent throughout its entire duration (pretty short) and is packed with cool hooks. The instrumentals, production, lyrics - all of that is simple and just stands out of the way of pure fun coming from listening to this record.
Plus, this is a great album to listen to while driving!
Favorites: There Goes Norman, See That Girl (with a bit of a 60s parapapa in the background), Under The Boardwalk, Wednesday Week (totally sounds like a Beatles song)
4/5
Beatles
5/5
One of my favourites. The best of the early Beatles era. Short album but just packed with bangers.
5/5
Bob Marley & The Wailers
5/5
I love it! short and beautiful - except for the obvious, I especially enjoyed the guitar playing throughout the album, with interesting chord progressions. Will definitely play this one more often.
4.5/5
Underworld
4/5
It's really good and I think it's actually the best from all the electronic albums I've heard while doing this challenge (including Chemical Borthers, Fatboy Slim, Milo) - it's the most complex one while at the same time not annoying and very much enjoyable. My only issue with this is that it's a bit too long, especially for such a repetitive kind of music. I'll be definitely going back to this one. 4/5
no, no, no this is just too corny, bland and unoriginal. I was 8 when this came out so can't really remember that it was so hyped. imagine my shock when reading about all the awards and critical appraisal. it annoys me that it seems like they try really hard to appeal to the listener. i would have given it a 2 but i still enjoy "beautiful day" and the production throughout the album, which is just crystal clear. i don't really wish to relisten to this but will probably force myself though to check if i missed anything.
ps new york new york new york oh fuck off. i dont really understand how did it make it on the list? maybe to represent the bland 2000 rock era? if so, than it does its job very well
2.5/5 up to 3/5
Pearl Jam
5/5
this is one of my favorite albums ever since high school! i love every single track on it, but Alive is probably one of the top 10 songs of the 90s alone. the whole album, musically, is just such a perfect mix of grunge with more classic hard rock. and lyrics are great too - incredible storytelling on Jeremy and just pure emotion on Once and Black. i called out the biggest hits here but seriously there's not a single song i dont enjoy and i always come back to stuff like Ocean, Garden or Release Me. the only problem i have with this is that its such a great debut that they never really managed to top it or even come close to it. luckily, in the end Vedder went on to to find himself in more folky things such as the soundtrack to Into the wild.
5/5
The Band
4/5
A beautiful autumn album. Perfect to chill to on a lazy Sunday afternoon. It’s very consistent throughout. Also, one of a few examples of albums where the second half sounds much better than the first. Favourite tracks: Tears of Rage, The Weight, Lonesome Suzie, This Wheel’s on Fire.
4/5
Milton Nascimento
4/5
I'm a big fan of Brazilian music - especially from that era - I love bossa nova. So I guess I was expecting something similar. This is much different though. It still has this amazing warmth mixed with melancholy to it that is so typical for Brazilian albumst that I've heard. However, I got lost on some tracks - maybe it's because it's a long album with many songs and I feel like I'm missing out on a lot due to not understanding the language.
Trem de doido is a magnificent track - mixing the fuzz guitars with the calm and warm vocals is just perfect.
Other songs I remember: tudo que voce podia ser and Um girassol da cor de seu cabelo (with that outro!)
4/5
trem de doido
Dr. Octagon
3/5
expected to hate this based on what i've read and my overall ignorance in the hip hop genre - but so far i actually enjoy this a bit. probably helps that im not native english speaker and can ignore the bullshit lyrics and just focus on the flow and beats which are both really good. its still too long and the porn bits are just too much sometimes.
My favorite track is Halfsharkalligatorhalfman - the idea of a 208 year old uncle as the final boss is hilarious.
Also, there's another album about a horny gynecologist - Doc Gyneco made in France in the same year - who was first here? Don't really care but I think the French one is much better.
3/5
Elvis Presley
4/5
It’s just so pretty and fun. Elvis’ voice is deep and beautiful, the production is crystal clear. Most of the songs are rather simple tunes that make you want to drop everything and dance. Then by the end of the album it goes a bit more bluesy which is a bit of a surprise but a nice one. My favourite track is The Girl of My Best Friend - his voice on this makes me swoon and I’m a 30yo straight guy. I also love the Fever cover especially the sparse drumming.
Alice Cooper
3/5
It's certainly an enjoyable album but did not really captivate me in any way. Also does not seem too original, the sound reminds me of a typical rock band from the 70s. I guess I never really cared for glam rock. I also did not have the time to go through the lyrics, so maybe I'll still grow fonder of this album? No More Mr Nice Guy is a banger though!
3/5
Nick Drake
3/5
I knew Nick Drake's Pink Moon before and loved it, so naturally I had high hopes for this one and it kind of.. disappointed? I tried giving it multiple chances but it just didn't captivate me in any way. I still enjoy Nick's delivery and the jazzy parts on this release are great, however there is not a single track that I'm thinking about after the album is over. It's just a nice record to put on in the back for me but that's it. Maybe I'll grow fonder of it with time, but there's just one day for each album at this point so for now it's 3/5 from me.
Gary Numan
4/5
I have never heard Gary Numan before and I really liked it. I can definitely see how innovative and influential it must have been at the time. Nowadays it’s still enjoyable and sometimes surprising. In particular I was impressed how they used layers of synths as guitar riffs. Cars is the obvious hit here but I think M.E. is my favourite. I’ll be definitely coming back to this. 4/5
Wire
5/5
I love it, one of my favorites! Probably the best of the early punk era. And 'Mannequin' is one of my top songs ever.
5/5
Grant Lee Buffalo
5/5
I didn’t expect it but the album has everything I enjoy and will easily become one of my all time favourites. Grungy 90s vocals, folky tunes, Americana and just a right amount of politics make this a perfect combination of 90s alternative. I love it! Also I feel like there’s not a single filler on it - each song has something that draws me further into them. Hard to pick a favourite track!
A Tribe Called Quest
4/5
I don’t know much about rap but this has been great. It’s my second album by the group (after Low End Theory) and its definitely less artsy and influential but at the same time feels much more authentic and fun. I particularly enjoyed the tracks with snarky and funny verses (the parts with nonsense in French are just perfect). Definitely one of my favourite rap albums of all time, which is not that impressive my lack of knowledge in the field, but still!
4.5/5
Justice
4/5
First 3 tracks - 5/5, the rest of it going between 3-4/5. a total of 3.5/5 brought up to 4 because of the initial trio
I love how the first three tracks flow into each other seemlessly. Genesis is a great opener to the album setting the tone of the entire record, then followed by Let there be light constatly repeating the same melody over broken beats and amazing bass lines to ultimately flow into D.A.N.C.E. - just a perfect dance track (the bass on this!). This trio of tracks is just perfect. However, I feel like this was all there was to the album and the rest of is ok but does not go back near anywhere to the quality of the three openers. oh and I don't mind the Party and kind of like it - on the other hand, i thought DVNO was much more annoying
Dusty Springfield
4/5
Just a beautifully done easy listening album full of tunes that could have easily been picked up for any Bond movie. The biggest strength of the album is the incredible voice of Dusty - it is maybe not the strongest of female voices but it’s timbre is so sexy it won’t leave anyone indifferent. My favourite except for the obvious Son of a preacher man was The Windmills of your mind - Dusty vocals meeting bossa nova - perfection.
Burning Spear
3/5
It's a good roots reggae album. I liked the title track and the rest of it kind of flew by me in the background. Not really my type of music but it's nice enough. 3/5
Creedence Clearwater Revival
4/5
I love CCR and this is their best although it does not contain my favourite tracks. It's a great statement of a particular place and time that sounds even exotic for someone from a completely different part of the world. Favorite tracks: Looking Out My Back Door, Who'll Stop The Rain, I Heard it through the grapevine and Long As I Can see the Light. I have to admit though, the rock and roll / bluesy parts did seem unoriginal and a bit boring to me. Hence, 4/5
Soundgarden
4/5
I love Chris Cornell and consider him one of the very top rock vocalists ever. As for Soundgarden, it has always been my least favourite of grunge's big 4. They played a much different sound than the rest of the scene and you'll hardly find any poppy tunes here as on Nirvana or even Pearl Jam's releases. However, this is not to say it's bad - on the contrary. The music on this album is energetic hard rock with depressing suicidal lyrics, which create great contrasts and break my heart considering how it all ended. They also played much more with progressive side of rock, adding multiple tempo changes and unusual time signatures. In that respect, it's much closer to Stone Temple Pilots than the rest of the Seattle scene. Listening to the album I get a feeling that this is also the most mature music that came out of that era. Other than Black Hole Sun (which is easily among the best tracks of the 90s), my favourites: Head Down, Mailman and Fell On Black Days which has one of the best lyrical description of depression I've heard in music.
4.5/5
The Smashing Pumpkins
5/5
This is one of my favourite albums of all time. The guitar tone on this especially Mayonaise is just pure heaven. Love it. I don’t think there’s any bad track on it. Pure 90s perfection. 5/5
The Rolling Stones
4/5
This is the breakthrough Stones record. It contains some of my favourite songs of theirs, such as Out of Time, Mothers Little Helper, Under My Thumb, Lady Jane and my favourite on the album - I Am Waiting (love the scene from Rushmore!). However I don’t really care too much for the rest of the bluesy country tracks and never did. Also I absolutely hate the fact that there are two different versions and only the US one has one of the best songs of all time, Paint It Black. 4/5 for all the great tunes but not consistent enough for 5/5 for me
The Pharcyde
2/5
This is so weird and at times very silly. And it doesn't help that I'm not that much into hip-hop. I have to admit that it grew a lot on me because at first I wanted to completely disregard it (especially after the unnecessary gore parts of 4 Better Or 4 Worse). There are two tracks that I really enjoyed - in big part due to exceptional instrumentals: On the DL, Passin' me By - and I'll definitely be coming back to those. Ya Mama gave me a chuckle too. All in all I guess this must have been interesting back in the day but for someone completely outside of the genre it's just a weird record with annoying lyrics and at times great instrumentals. 2.5/5
Brian Eno
3/5
I don’t get this. Hard to fall in love with such an experimental album overnight I guess. The parts giving off Bowie vibes I enjoyed (on some faraway beach, dead finks are both very pretty) but there were some parts that made me want to pull my hair out (blank Frank, driving me backwards). I don’t really have too much time to dive into this right now. 3/5 rated up due to some parts I enjoyed and the apparent significance based on what I’ve read so far
Bauhaus
3/5
Enjoyed this one but I guess expected a bit more. Feels like they had plenty of great ideas but didn’t really finish working on them or as if these are merely leftovers from other projects. Still, The Passion of Lovers is a great track. And I guess I expected more of the same, but didn’t really get it in the end. Overall I really enjoyed the cold winter vibes and I got to listen to it on the first day of snowfall which was just perfect coincidence and helped me immerse more into the atmosphere of the album. One thought I had while listening: it could use much more synths In the back. The additional material on the Spotify version is simply bad and completely superfluous. 3.5/5
The Rolling Stones
3/5
I try and I try to get into the Rolling Stones and I can't. This album has an undisputed musical quality and its impact on rock n roll cannot be questioned. It's also overflowing with masculine energy, yet it sometimes goes too far and the energy is a bit tiring after a while. Their usage of country and blues maybe was important for the popular music at the time, but right now - for someone picking up this album for the first time - it just gets boring and annoying (Dear Doctor is garbage).
What I liked about it: Sympathy for the Devil is a really great tune and it stands out so much when compared to the rest of the album. Also, I like the slide guitars on some tracks which is apparently one of the last contribution of Brian Jones. Salt of the Earth is a nice closer too. Other than that, many easily forgettable songs, which is also one of my major problems with the band - incredible bangers scattered throught multiple albums among generic blues rock songs.
3/5 - due to its apparent significance and track 1
The Crusaders
3/5
Street Life is a banger. The rest of the album is a nice thing to put in the background but nothing too interesting. 3/5
Ryan Adams
3/5
It’s nice enough but I’m not too impressed with this kind of folk albums. I think I’ve had too much recently. Plus the guy sounds incredibly pretentious. 3/5 cause I liked the melody in the first track
Buffalo Springfield
3/5
it's pretty enough but just a bit inoffensive and unattractive? there's nothing here that kept my attention for longer. what stood out? instrumentals, especially the punchy bass on Everydays, acoustic guitar solo on Bluebird. I liked Expecting to Fly (pretty vocals), Sad Memory (beautiful electric guitar hidden in the background). I feel like there's lack of any strong hit here and as a result there's no anchor to keep me listening to the rest of it. Pretty cover art . I don't know, it just feels incoherent. 3/5
Lorde
5/5
it's a homemade d-d-d-dynamite! I think I must really be out of touch with modern music because this one completely blew me away. Absolutely loving it and it's totally outside of my comfort zone. I think there's not a single weak track (although some of the more poppy tunes are a bit too much for me, see Supercut or Perfect places). The lyrics are youthful but mature, and Lorde's voice is just beautiful. The entire album stands out from all the old classic folky albums I've been tortured with recently. Plus the artwork is so pretty it makes me want to purchase a vinyl copy. Favourites: Green Light, Homemade Dynamite, Liability, Writer in the Dark (that Kate Bush chorus!) and that short ending to Hard Feeling/Loveless. Straight to my favourite albums.
Jimi Hendrix
5/5
Little wing is a supreme guitar song. Nothing can ever top it for me. It’s just pure bliss. And I love that it’s so short too. I mean SRV elaborates on the subject and it’s great I like it. But Jimi just goes straight to the point and it cuts short before the melody flies away. Perfection. How can I rate an album with Little wing on it anything lower than 5/5? And there’s more to it too: Bold as Love, Spanish Castle Magic, Castles Made of Sand, Wait Until Tomorrow, One Rainy Wish - they’re all beautiful songs. And how about the tone of Jimis guitar on this entire album? then you have the rest of the band which is so easy to overlook but they’re there and they are doing great work to showcase Jimi’s magic. Last but not least - I think with Hendrix it’s so easy to focus solely on the guitar but please take a closer look at the lyrics: Castles Made of sand, Bold as Love and of course Little Wing - Jimi is very underrated as a writer.
5/5 perfect guitar album with the greatest electric guitar tune in rock and roll history.
New York Dolls
3/5
I still have a bit of an issue with glam - it all sounds pretty much the same to me. However this one is a bit different and I guess that’s because they were among the pioneers and I can appreciate the value it must have added back in the day. You can definitely hear how bands like The Clash or Pixies were influenced by this album. Still, this sounds exactly as I was expecting - like a bridge between The Rolling Stones and punk, which is a great thing to get a better understanding of music history. But it still does not have much replay value to me at this point. I really enjoyed the guitar playing on this especially considering that they’re not put in the forefront. Don’t care too much about the vocals which sound too Jaggery for my taste. Cover art is super cool! makes me want to get a vinyl copy even if I don't care as much about the music. Favourite tracks: Personality Crisis, Frankenstein. 3/5
Badly Drawn Boy
4/5
Exactly why I’m doing this challenge. I would have never heard of it otherwise and I enjoy it so much! Great collection of songs with simple yet beautiful melodies, interesting acoustic guitar arrangements, nice and warm voice (but not too pretty luckily!). There’s plenty of songs I marked as favourites so I’ll just pick one in particular - Pissing in the wind! I’m rating this as 4/5. Not a 5 because I feel like it’s a bit too long and has too many filler, which makes this album go all over the place sometimes. But still very much enjoyable piece of music.
Jeff Beck
4/5
Simply a great blues rock album by a great band of gifted musicians. A teenage me would have absolutely loved this. My favourite tracks are Greensleeves, Rock My Plimsoul and Beck’a Bolero. Great guitar playing - I would actually enjoy if it was made more prominent on the album since Beck has such an original sound and it seems a bit overshadowed by Stewart’s singing. The version on Spotify contains also a bunch of b-sides out of which I’ve been drinking is a great addition to the album and should have been included in the original release. Also Love is blue makes me think of Mad Men. That’s a rare thing for me to actually enjoy the bonus tracks to deluxe editions. 4/5
The Clash
5/5
I don't think I can explain how much I love this album. It's probably among my top 5 albums ever. I've been listening to it since I was 17 and it just never gets old. Such an eclectic mix of styles with punk flavour on top! There are no weak tracks and I can’t name all of my favourite ones, so here’s my absolute top, other than the obvious hits: Card Cheat, Koka Kola, Brand New Cadillac and I’m Not Down. This last track got me out of so many depressing situations. Love love love this album
Ray Charles
4/5
It's a beautiful album with incredible singing from Ray Charles. There's nothing much to say - I put it on in the back while walking through the city with Christmas illuminations and it was definitely working its magic. It just sounds too generic to me but this is probably due to its old age and being completely outside of my usual area of expertise. Still, a beautiful album with easy listening songs.
ABBA
4/5
Suprisingly, I am really enjoying this. It's at time a bit too sweet but still a very solid album. From what I've read, this is the last album of ABBA recorded during the time when not only the group was falling apart but also the marriages of the members. This is reflected in the lyrics, most notably in One of Us. I like the theatrical I Let the Music Speak, which also foreshadows the next projects of the men from the group, who went into musicals. I also feel like Weyes Blood must have listened a lot to this album when making Titanic Rising because I hear a lot of similarities here and I love it. One of Us and Head Over Heels are great pop songs with incredibly catchy hooks - still ABBA's magic showing through. Also, One of Us makes me thing of The Sign by Ace of Base (notabene also a Swedish group) - pay attention to this little backing voice part in the chorus that sounds exactly like "life is demanding without understanding". Bass line on For the Price of One makes me think of this obscure Polish song from the 90s about animal rights (Buzu Squat - Nasze Przebudzenie). Again, sometimes too sweet, especially Slipping Through My Fingers (though the lyrics are really touching, reminiscent of She's Leaving Home by The Beatles). The cover art is beautiful and reflects perfectly the contents of the album.
4/5 - will be definitely coming back to this one.
The Zombies
5/5
update: honestly, this is one of the best things I've heard in a while. The songs are incredibly catchy yet not too simple to remain engaging upon repeated listens. the songwriting is incredibly varied, the instrumentation is great (i love the drum playing and the occasional organ solo) and the vocals with the harmonies are just perfect. happy, uplifiting but with a hidden undertones of shadow - just not too sweet! I'm listening to this on the first day of spring, which seems like a perfect day to blast it to the entire world through open windows. 5/5
Kanye West
4/5
I'm not into hip hop so never really listened to Kanye and always kind of wondered what's the big deal with this guy. Never really got a chance to listen to his albums. Then recently all kinds of disgusting things he said I assumed I'll just skip him entirely. And now I get this on my challenge. At first I was going to skip and give it a 1 star like some people here (always enjoy reading those reviews). But then I though that I listen to and enjoy many artists that were horrible people and did some questionable things. I mean, talk about the entire classic rock genre, guys like Jimmy Page or putin sympathizer Roger Waters. So I decided to give it a try and I'm glad I did. It's probably the best hip hop album I've heard so far. I don't know much about influences in this genre so I rely on other people's opinions in this regard, but man, the music on this just flows. And it's so accessible to non hiphop heads, I can definitely see myself using it as a gateway into the genre. The lyrics are impressive and I'll be damned but I can't find traces of anything he will have said in 2022. I'm gonna tell myself that this young Kanye from 2004 was a different person and continue to enjoy this. Now let's try some more of his works.
Isaac Hayes
2/5
I have never seen or even heard of the movie. It’s a nice soundtrack album, funky jazz with really nice rhythmic section. But that’s all there is to me. It lacks context of the movie. And therefore I’m really puzzled if this should even be on that list?
Aretha Franklin
4/5
I love Aretha! This is such a great album to put on in the background but then her vocal delivery grabs your attention and makes you listen to the lyrics.
Iggy Pop
4/5
Overall I love how positive and energetic this whole thing is especially when you consider Iggy's previous album, The Idiot. It’s like a completely different thing and there was just a couple of months between both records. The two iconic tracks - The Passenger and Lust for Life - are all time classics. The rest of the album is top tier as well. I really liked the riff on Some Weird Sin, the Bowie-like melodies on Tonight. Success was great if not a bit too long and too repetitive (would have been great if it was cut earlier), Turn Blue is a great and atmospheric track. Neighbourhood Treat is ok. The last son fall in love with me is too much glam and less interesting. Sixteen is similar and they’re both the weakest tracks for me on the album. I really enjoy the instrumentals throughout the album: strong drums, nice guitar riffs and atmospheric keyboards from time to time. The lyrics are cool. Iggys delivery is great. Cover art makes me smile. He looks like such a nice guy here. It’s a 4 from me but I can easily see myself growing into loving it much more over time so a potential 5 in the future or if I had heard it earlier in my life it would have been a 5.
Koffi Olomide
2/5
really not my thing. only one song got my attention - Conte de fees, which had cool guitars and all. other than that, did not really find this interesting.
10cc
2/5
I was very excited at first because the first track is soo good. The Wall Street Shuffle has a fantastic guitar riff (and what a tone!), cool and timeless lyrics as well as great melodies with interesting instrumentals. However, the rest of the album is a huge disappointment. It seems like they threw at this all of their ideas hoping something will stick. And maybe it would if they followed through on some of those. But no, if anything interesting appears on this album it is immediately followed by some other - most often silly - idea. Luckily it doesn't drag too long as it's only 37 minutes and in the end there are some better tracks but the middle part of it is at times unlistenable, with special regards to the Worst Band in the World. Few highlights of the album except for the first track: Hotel, Baron Samedi. Overall its been a big disappointment.
Janet Jackson
4/5
I had no expectations as it's completely out of my usual genre and absolutely loved it! From the new jack swing snare to heavy guitars on Black Cat, the production and instrumentals are just a perfect representation of the era. The tracklist consists primarily of solid dance tunes with sociopolitical message, which sometimes may sound naive but it seems like the author was completely aware of that and had all the best intentions. There are some weaker points, sure, especially towards the end which is unnecessarily packed with ballads, but its still a very good album overall. I will be definitely coming back to this and I'll try some other albums from Janet. 4/5
Aphex Twin
4/5
already knew this one before and I like it a lot. It's a great thing to put on in the background. Favourite tracks: Xtal, Tha, Ptolemy. I really don't like Green Calx, which is the only one track that actually bothers me on this otherwise perfect ambient album. 4/5
Otis Redding
4/5
Smooth and beautiful. Incredible vocal performance. Not much to be said here. I think I sort of have a problem with those oldies as I love putting them on as a background but can't get too invested into their actual content. Maybe it's because they've become such a standard at this point it's hard to be bothered to find something new and exciting?
The White Stripes
5/5
It's one of those formative teenage albums for me. I first heard it in 2004 when I was 12 and I've loved it ever since. This thing not only made me dig deep into the blues and garage rock, it pushed me to pick up an electric guitar! It still rocks and I don't think there's any weak track on the whole thing. Still, all the heavy guitar playing aside, I think my favourite is In the cold cold night. I just have so many memories come up when I hear it! Love this album, one of my all time favourites.
The Everly Brothers
3/5
I have trouble rating albums this dated. I can definitely appreciate how interesting this must have sounded back in the day, McCartney and Lennon were known to be the British copy cats of The Everly Brothers in the early days. But I still can't really identify with this music. It sounds more like a curosity, a testament of an era rather than something to enjoy on daily basis. When I think of that I start to worry like what if my favourite music will sound like that to my kids? Or was there a point at which they managed to make music that is timeless and will remain enjoyable for the generations to come? If so, this kind of oldie makes really appreciate the geniuses of Paul McCartney or Brian Wilson. I'm giving it a neutral 3/5
Arcade Fire
3/5
I don't think I get the appeal. There are a couple of songs I enjoyed (Ocean of Noise, The Well and the Lighthouse, My Body is a Cage) but overall it seems pretty bland to me. Moreover, when I look through the tracklist it seems that the album starts really slowly and the songs at the front are not nearly as good as the second half of the album, which probably impacts my overall sentiment. I enjoy the instrumentals, especially considering that the band is full of multinstrumentalists. Especially like the organs on the last track. I didn't get trhough the lyrics too much - they're a bit too complex and poetic for me as a non-native speaker to dig through over one day. I don't know why but I get a feeling that these guys are a bit pretentious though? Not sure if this is right, just a feeling. Still, it is a good album but does not match the hype for me.
3.5/5
Beastie Boys
2/5
I really enjoyed Ill Communication for its jazzy production but I just can't get myself to listen to this thing till the end. Anytime I hear them rap-screaming I see Michael and Dwight from the Office doing a rap video about Scranton.
R.E.M.
4/5
It's a great album that I have a lot of nostalgia for. Kinda makes me wish I grew up 50 years ago in some random town in the middle of nowhere in US. Still, I thought it was a little bit better back when I first heard it. 4/5
Mariah Carey
3/5
It's a great representation of 90s music with extra quality added by Mariah's exceptional vocal performances. Three tracks stood out for me: My All, Outside - both with just perfect, dramatic vocal delivery and the first track - Honey, which stands out lyrically from all the sweetness elsewhere on the track - due to its not so subtle double meaning. These double meanings are a bit surprising - if not shocking - for this particular type of an album, which then also makes the entire album more interesting and daring. Still, the sweetness and cornyness drags on a bit too much and there's a bit too much filler. Luckily, the most beutiful vocals are kept for the ending which makes you want to keep on listening to the album to hear that Outside. 3-3.5/5
The Temptations
4/5
I'm still not entirely sold on funk, but this album seems special. The groove on the Papa Was a Rolling Stone just takes me away to some other place long before the song even properly starts. And yet, to all of the complaints about the supposedly weaker B-side, I have to admit that I actually find it more enjoyable to the first half. That is due mostly to my immediate love for Mother Nature - a song with beautiful timeless lyrics. It could easily be a 5 star album, but I'm still not that captivated by the rest of the songs - they are beautiful but maybe just not that interesting after all this time? 4/5
Jeff Buckley
4/5
It's a great album that only makes you wonder what could have been. Haunting vocals, great guitar playing, good lyrics. The only major problem I have with it is "Last goodbye" which is a horrible song, incredibly corny and in a bad way. It kinda seems like throughout the entire album he was balancing well between making catchy romantic ballads and at the same time making them interesting musically or lyrically, but on last goodbye this balance is broken and its just a mess, ed sheeran style.
It could have been a 5 but very skippable last goodbye makes it a four.
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
It's a great album dealing with what it was like to be an American working class man living in the 70s. The music is typical rock and roll with a bit of 70s corniness that still seems to add into the whole vibe of the album (I mean the sax solo, guitar solo and then back again to sax? that's just crazy and yet somehow it works here). Some of the lyrics are great and relatable - Adam Raised a Cain is a great thing to listen to all the men today trying to be better dads then their own. And some of the lyrics are just too specific for the time and space when the album was made - all the talking about cars means nothing to me but please note that I'm not American and I was born much later. Overall, good, nice vibes but nothing outstanding to me.
Led Zeppelin
4/5
It's good but damn is it too long.. The passage of In My Time of Dying, Houses of the Holy, Trampled Under Foot and Kashmir is some of the best rock ever. The groove is just amazing, makes my head bop like crazy, the rythmic section on this album is something else. But then... it just drags on, repeating itself over and over again. Too bad, because it largely diminishes the awe generated from these four songs (as well as some other gems here and there). 4/5
Count Basie & His Orchestra
4/5
I love putting this on walking around my neighbourhood built in the 50s and imagining I’m back in time. Simple yet beautiful. The melody on the last song is heartbreaking too.
Aerosmith
2/5
I think I’ve finally found my least favourite genre. It must be this 70s American macho arena rock. I’m a bit surprised because a teenage me would have probably loved that. Not anymore I guess. Why exactly is this so popular? It sounds so lazy and uninspired. All of the songs sound the same and not only in the context of this album but overall, throughout the entire genre which must consist of thousands of similar bands. What made Aerosmith stand out? It could not have been Tyler’s vocals now could it? Ugh no. I’ve barely made it to the end, which came to my surprise super early. That’s one of the major highlights of this album - it’s only 34mins long! I also somewhat liked the melodies on Nobody’s fault and Home tonight. Sorry Aerosmith fans but I don’t wanna miss a thing is much better than anything on this album!
Johnny Cash
5/5
This is going straight to my favourites. So much raw emotion of a man at the end of his life reflecting on what he's been through and what remains ahead. It made me tear up multiple times, especially at Hurt, First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, Danny Boy (those church organs!) and the last song. Think of it, ending the last album issued during Cash prolific life with "we'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when.." is just so beautiful and sad, but at the same time hopeful, it makes me cry. 5/5 rarely do I get so emotional from listening to an album.
Elliott Smith
4/5
I've hear of Elliott Smith before and maybe even listened to this album, but I don't remember much of it. This time, I put in some effort and really enjoyed it.
Pros: short and to the point; beautiful and ear catching melodies; just a perfect production for this sort of album - you can almost feel like you're listening to the dude live in some small obscure venue or in a bedroom; poetic yet easy to understand lyrics.; cohesive as an album. Cons? Only one issue - the lyrics are so depressingly bleak and focus so particularly on alcohol abuse, it's hard to relate sometimes. Say Yes is just a perfect song though. 4.5/5
Manic Street Preachers
4/5
That was great! The biggest hit of this album - A Design for Life is a total banger with a fantastic message hidden underneath those catchy hooks - the ironic reflection on the way the society looks down on the working class, great stuff. Everything Must Go is another great track. However, I feel like it's a bit too long and repetitive in the middle so then I lose interest a bit and did not have time to dive into the rest of the lyrics over just one day. For now, it's a 4+
Korn
1/5
This is my first 1/5 during this challenge. I hate everything about this album and can't find any redeeming qualities. The worst part is hearing things practically stolen from great alt metal bands like Faith No More and then made substantially worse. Why would you listen to that then? Why did it got so popular and put on that list? This is garbage
The Velvet Underground
5/5
Whenever a big album like that comes up, I'm thinking - it can't be that good, right? And then I play it and realize that it is even better than I remembered. It's one of those where you can't overstate their influence. I mean you can hear all types of indie rock tracing their roots back to this thing. And it was made almost 60 years ago? You'd expect it to lose at least some appeal due to age, right? But no, it's as enjoyable as ever. This is one of those albums that this list was created for.
The Police
4/5
Firstly, he drumming - Stewart Copeland is an absolute genius! I love what he's doing on the hi-hat, especially on Message In a Bottle, which is also the best song on the album. The rest of it is good too, the highlights include Walking on the Moon, Bring On the Night (oh how I love this subtle guitar riff in the background) and The Bed's Too Big Without You. The rest of it is a bit of hit and miss, which I've found to be the usual within the new wave genre. Regarding the accusations of cultural appropriation - I don't know, I read somewhere that Sting grew up in a neighbourhood with immigrants from the Carribean and that made him fall in love with the music and this is sort of a tribute. I want to believe that. Also, the reggae inspired instrumentation is fantastic. It only gets a bit weird when Sting tries to do the accent too hard. The lyrics are smart and amusing (as is the title of the album). I like it a lot, just a few filler tracks but overall 4/5
Pixies
4/5
I used to listen to this album a lot when I was at university. Contrary to what I've read, it's actually probably my favorite from Pixies. The songs are just pure vibes and the lyrics don't seem to matter. And yet they manage to paint some nice visuals (The Happening!). I'm tempted to give it a 5 but I think that I shouldn't and that it's just nostalgia talking through me influencing my opinion on this album. Ok, let's go down a bit, 4.5
Neil Young
3/5
My least favourite Neil Young's album so far. Although I get the sad tones and the overall vibe of the album, there are simply no particular songs that caught my attention.
Peter Frampton
2/5
I don't care about it at all. The most basic of rock and roll. The talking box was a nice addition, but overall - I have no idea why it made it on the list. apparently it was extremely popular? I keep on realizing that I really don't like the 70s music.
Frank Sinatra
3/5
Again, I can't seem to rate these old albums. I understand that they're important, I can appreciate the craft put into this by the artist and yet.. it doesn't really speak to me. I'll put it in the background and won't care about it other than getting a bit of a Christmassy vibe (mind you it is August). I feel pressured into giving it a better rating and I'm getting anxious thinking - what if my kids or grandkids have the same kind of opinions on my favorite albums? Scary
Fugazi
3/5
It seems to have a cult following. As someone from a completely different part of the world - I have never heard of them. It's giving me skate punk vibes with a bit of ambition to be something more than that. And it kind of irritates me because it somehow gets pretentious and insincere? I don't know. Repeater is a great tune though. up to 3
Daft Punk
4/5
I haven’t heard this one before. Definitely my top electronic album found on this list so far. Really enjoyable. I see other people’s reviews complaining that it’s repetitive. Well, isn’t that the point? At the same time the duo manages to put some ear catching noises that grab your attention throughout each track. One more thing - now I feel like I understand Yeezus better, some of the sounds are exactly the same. Favourite tracks: Rock n Roll, Rollin and Scratchin. I’m giving it a 4.5, rounded down to 4 because yeah it is a bit too long but it may grow on me up to 5.
Solange
3/5
Never heard of her before and didn’t know what to expect. I absolutely loved the cover art - love the stare, the hair, the clips. However, as for the music, I have rather mixed feelings. I enjoyed the beats and the smoothness of it all. I think it lacked a bit of stronger hooks sometimes because I’ve listened to this like three times today and I hardly remember any melodies. The lyrics are ok, but sometimes seem a bit too naive I guess? In particular the Cranes song I felt like these metaphors were a bit like something this one artsy friend from high school might have written. I much preferred the lyrics of the interludes which is a bit ironic. Also, I think that it’s one of the rare occasions where the album is backloaded. Don’t touch my hair and FUBU are my favourites! I don’t know how to rate it, the vibes were great but there’s this feeling of something missing. Let’s try 3.5 down to 3 for now with a definite potential to grow on me with more listens.
Elvis Costello
3/5
It’s my first Elvis Costello album. From what I gather it’s not really that representative of his catalogue. What I’m hearing is a kind of typical wordy pop rock with grungy guitars here and there, strong 90s vibes. I can definitely hear a lot of references to Bowie, Dylan or the Beatles. Sounds a lot like Pulp too, but this influence goes rather the other way, right? Overall it’s ok. Not bad but also does not really stand out. The songs flow nicely one to another and I really enjoy his singing (although my wife says he sounds like Ryan Gosling). Apparently the lyrics are supposed to be fantastic. I can’t tell. English is my second language and I can’t force myself to go through the entire album and analyse all the hidden meanings in one day. I really liked Rocking Horse Road sound - reminds me of Like a Rolling Stone. Overall, 3/5. Maybe it could grow on me with time up to a 4.
Hüsker Dü
4/5
I have heard of these guys but never actually listened to anything they made. And from what I gather, the album is not really representative of their style. Still, I am really enjoying this and will definitely look for other records from Husker Du. I really love the vibes. I read somewhere that Krist Novoselic said about Nirvana sound that Husker Du has already been doing it, way before them. And it really makes sense - there's so much punky energy and guitar layers underneath but on top we have excellent ear catching melodies. Some of the songs have great surprising instrumental additions that spice things up (especially on guitar and drums). I didn't have too much time to check the lyrics but the ones I briefly looked through added on to the overall vibes of the album. And yeah, it is a bit too long, otherwise it may have been close to perfection - at least to my taste. 4/5
Stan Getz
5/5
Finally an album I know and love. This is na absolute classic and I don’t think I can describe the way it makes me feel. It’s just this overwhelming warmth and comfort it gives yet there’s so much melancholy in these melodies. My favorites - except for the obvious hits - are O Grande Amor (that sax tone!) and Para Machucar Meu Coracao. Also the cover art is perfect goes with the vibes of the album. If you’re completely new to this album - treat it as an entry point to the incredible wealth of Brazilian music. Go check out some of the albums by Tom Jobim, Joao Gilberto, Jorge Ben Jor, Nara Leao… it’s really worth it. Oh and this album makes a great soundtrack to a romantic evening with your significant other.
Jerry Lee Lewis
2/5
I should like this but for some reason I don’t. I can appreciate the energy, rock n roll and the amazing piano playing. But overall I’m not feeling anything. And I really hate the vocals. Plus then I read all about this guy and like it even less. 2/5
Massive Attack
4/5
I really love trip hop and Portishead's live album from Roseland NYC has been among my all time favorites since I discovered it in high school. This album has two songs that stand out significantly to me: the first track, Safe From Harm starts with a bass line which is just nasty. Absolutely loving it. And then the second outstanding track is the obvious hit - Unfinished Sympathy with that memorable video. These two tracks are so great that I feel like the rest of the album kind of melts into the background unnoticed. It's still great - you can both put it in the background and not pay too much attention to it - or the opposite - focus on each track and find something new and exciting every time. Still, I feel like it is a bit uneven, especially compared to their follow-up album - Mezzanine. 4/5
Jungle Brothers
4/5
The best thing about doing this challenge for me so far (album #103) is how it helped open my ears to hip hop. Me, a white nerd from Eastern Europe. I have never even heard of these guys and yet I'm loving it so much. They're mixing this seemingly typical 80s hip hop with so much styles, like house, jazz, funk and whatnot. And the lyrics give off nothing but positivity. When I listened to it for the first time I caught myself smiling the whole way through. I love how they're touching on subjects that are very typical for hip hop but in a way that seems much more respectful (Black Woman is just beautiful). One last thought - I think Kendrick must have given it a spin or two while working on To Pimp a Butterfly - there's so many references here (I mean the blacker the berry, the cocoon and the butterfly etc are all mentioned directly here). It's 4.5/4
Solomon Burke
4/5
Such a beautiful voice. It’s a perfect album to put on in the background at home on a weekend. I’ll be definitely going back to it. It does seem a bit monotonous though. My favourite song is Goodbye Baby!
Linkin Park
3/5
This is a pretty basic pop album that pretends to be something edgy. Overall, the hooks are catchy, the instrumentals are ok, the vocal delivery is impressive... I was asking myself what is it that I don't like about this music? And I think that it sounds insincere, overproduced, written track by track using a template. All of the songs blend together, they seem like they are all sketches/variations of the same song that actually worked out really well - In the End (it still bangs after all these years). It was a great gateway album into music for a lot of angsty teenagers back in the early 2000s. But it doesn't really work outside of that context. It's a 2, but I'm going to bump it to 3 due to all the nostalgia.
Buena Vista Social Club
4/5
A classic. Goes really well with the heatwave that hit my city recently. Makes me want to make myself a Cuba libre and just chill. I really enjoy the Latino rhythms and drumming, especially some of the offbeat playing. Really makes my body move. Beautiful. Could grow to be a 5, for now just a 4 because I need to see the lyrics
The Cult
3/5
That was unexpectedly good. I was expecting dumb hard rock from late 80s and that’s exactly what I got only it somehow sounded really good. I wonder what made the difference and I think that it was this characteristic vocal tone. I read that they were doing more gothic stuff before making this record so that makes sense. It made the album stand out among all of the bands that sounded almost exactly the same. A nice dose of refreshing fun. Only the Born to be wild cover is reaaaally bad. 3.5/5
Prince
2/5
I don’t get Prince. I was quite surprised to see all those positive reviews. It seems I’m just not hearing what everybody else is. Sure, there are some good moments but none of those is really outstanding. And the rest.. this album is just super bloated and you can’t convince me otherwise. It’s boring and repetitive, with goofy humour on top. I was just waiting all the time for it to end but nooo, it’s 80minutes long. It does get a bit better at the very end, but it does not really feel gratifying. is everyone just saying it’s so amazing because they’re supposed to? Im really curious. 2/5
Dr. Dre
4/5
A classic with an influence that cannot be overstated. The beats throughout the record are incredible and are easily the main feature of the album. Although the lyrics are repetitive, sometimes dumb, sometimes really offensive, they contribute to create the vibe that the album gives off. It is cool to be a gangsta. This definitely contributed to the huge success of the genre which overshadowed all other varieties of hip hop for quite some time, for better or worse. My favourite tracks: Let Me Ride, Nuthin but a G Thang, Deeez Nuuuuts, Lil Ghetto Boy. The last one is my favoriteof the album, this flute feels so out of the context and yet it fits right in with the beat, adds lots of depth into the record. All these tracks come in the first side of the album, then it gets a bit worse. The skits were dumb but kinda funny, although after first two listens I now skip them immediately. Last thought: I enjoyed Dre’s rapping and I think the best tracks on the album include him as a rapper.
Led Zeppelin
4/5
I'm over 100 albums in and I've discovered a lot of great music during this challenge for which I'm grateful. So when I got a Led Zeppelin album I was excited to get something I know quite well and love since I've been a teenager. So you can imagine my shock when after my first listen I found myself not actually liking this album that much. I think it might be related to my overall dislike for all the things rock and roll (I absolutely hated Aerosmith or Jerry Lee Lewis recently). Maybe it's the overexposure to that genre? I mean I've recently discovered so much fascinating genres that this sounds just very basic and uninteresting. There are other factors that get on my nerves here, such as the theft of black music without bothering to credit the authors, the sexual innuendos that go really bad with all the allegations regarding Page (the orgasm part on Whole Lotta Love is just.. tiring). It's still a banger, I love the riffs and the solos, and the rhythm section rocks (ironically, I think Plant is the weakest link here, his screaming gets tiring after a while). I found some new things I didn't pay attention to before (What is and what should never be) and Ramble On is my new favorite. And you have to appreciate the overall influence this thing made on rock music. Oh, one last thing - Moby Dick fucking sucks. And say it as a drummer. It just feels like showing off completely out of the context of the rest of the music, which is already bad. But then the solo just sucks you know? Like, is that really the best you can do? 3.5/5, rounded up to 4 due to all the influence.
Robbie Williams
3/5
Good dnoygsupzcwj 90s pop album. Nothing too revolutionary or outstanding, but of course that’s not the point here. It’s good enough to put on in the background although some tracks are just weird. Angels is amazing though, a perfect pop ballad. There’s plenty of references to britpop, some tracks just plain sound like smoothened out Oasis. There’s also a Beatles reference, when Robbie tries singing like Lennon on Old Before I Die. There are some nice instrumental additions here and there, occasional piano passage or the horns in the back of the chorus on Ego Agogo. Not sure if it should be on the list, maybe as a perfect embodiment of a specific time and place in music? It would be a 2.5 but Angels is really good, so let’s go with a 3. Oh and the cover art is pretty.
Jimi Hendrix
5/5
This is the apex of blues rock. It simply doesn’t get better than that. Yeah it’s long but my god the vibes it gives off. The guitar tone on Voodoo Chile, the organs, the drums, the bass. It builds beautiful musical landscapes with melodies (yay 1983) and then just goes crazy with the improvisation showcasing a total mastery of all instruments. Such a waste!
Beach House
4/5
I have listened to this many times before and I think that this impacts negatively my final rating. I feel like I enjoyed it much more the first time. Now, after repeated listens, it kind of blurred with the background and does not attract so much of my attention anymore. It doesn't help that after listening to the album X times, I still struggle to tell each of these songs apart. Don't get me wrong, this is a great album that I greatly enjoy but it's no longer as effective as it used to be and I've found that the truly great albums continue growing on you the more you listen to them, not the other way around.
The Who
3/5
The Who is pretty unknown where I'm from. I know they were part of the big UK bands from the 60s British Invasion era, I know "My Generation" and some other hits (mainly because they were used in the CSI series). I like the sound, but it does seem pretty generic to me. From what I've read the band was still trying to find their own sound and it shows. My Generation is clearly the most outstanding one in terms of style, but the rest of the album is just ok and it would be difficult to discern it from other similar groups from the era. I also found it a bit cringeworthy when the vocalist pretends to be black at some of the tracks on the B side. The drummer is a beast though - there's plenty of creative stuff going on and a lot of fills which still do not distract from the rest of the music on the album. Not really something I'll be looking to go back to.
Beastie Boys
4/5
I wasn't very happy when I saw another Beastie Boys album. I didn't particularly enjoy Paul's Boutique and it is considered their best album so I was really surprised to enjoy Ill Communication as much as I did. I think it's because there's less whiny screamy raps (reminiscent of Michael Scott and Dwight Schrute "Electric City") and more interesting musical stuff going on in the background. As a drummer, I particularly enjoyed this part of the album as they went more and more into jazz playing some creative rhythms on the drum set. I also enjoyed the album as a whole and I think it's thanks to the great sequencing - the jazzy songs are intertwined with hip hop and/or hardcore punky tracks. As a non-native English speaker I didn't really pay attention to the lyrics but I really enjoyed the instrumental part of the album. Lastly, Sabotage really rules. It's easily one of the top songs of the 90s.
4/5
All-time classic and a ground breaking album on the day of the release and yet I thought I would enjoy it more this time. I remember listening to it when I was in high-school and thinking it's one of the best things ever. And now I'm not sure if this was my actual opinion or rather something I was supposed to be thinking? I'm forever grateful to this website for 1) exposing me to an incredible variety of music and 2) forcing me to try and formulate my personal thoughts on each album every day. This process made me much more aware of my own preferences and now I'm able to express them and explain when I'm enjoying something and when I'm not. Here, in regards to this particular giant of an album (in terms of its stature), I can at the same time appreciate its influence and say that I'm not really enjoying the content that much. And when you remove all the reputation that comes with it, you're left with an album that goes in so many different directions it does not reach any of them fully. Thus, it leaves you with a feeling that there's just too much filler, which seems like a crazy statement for an album of 39 minutes. Still, in the end comes A Day in the Life, which really does manage to explain where the album's reputation came from, even in 2023. Final verdict: 5 for the reputation and significance in music history, 3 for my personal enjoyment = 4/5.
Rod Stewart
4/5
I didn’t really like it at first, it sounded to me as generic rock and roll from the 70s and Rod’s grandma-like vocals were annoying. But then after a couple more listens I got to really enjoy it, especially thanks to the folky parts, guitars and mandolins and whatnot. Great stuff to put on in the background on an autumn day like today. I’ll be definitely coming back to this one.
The Vines
3/5
It was my first time hearing this album and I really liked it. I definitely get the Nirvana/Beatles comparisons, you can hear the references throughout the entire thing. Were those critics exaggerating? Maybe, but it’s still a very enjoyable album throughout. There’s hardly any filler. And I thought the entire “green” stylistic was pretty cool. 3.5/5 with the potential to grow on me further
Jorge Ben Jor
3/5
I knew Jorge Ben Jor before from his earlier work, I've never listened to any of these songs though. I had to let this one sit for a while - I've put it on my 1001 backlog list - because at the time it didn't quite resonate with me and I knew there had to be something more in it. Turns out there is, but I'm still not enjoying this as much as I though I would. Naturally, I love this crazy mixture of funky and latino rhythms and I find myself bouncing or tapping the table as the album is playing in the background. I love the three songs in the middle - Meus Filhos, Meu Tesouro (such a beautiful love song to his children!), O Plebeu and Taj Mahal. But really, I find the rest of the album to be a bit tiring, especially towards the end. At some point, there's just too many things happening at the same time and it leaves me with this.. noise (and I'm not just saying that about cuica, but yeah it is kind of an acquired taste if you're not from the culture). I don't know, maybe it's just not my thing. I still have trouble rating it. On its own, it would be a 3, but I'm not sure if this is the only album from Jorge on this list? Hope not.
Pink Floyd
2/5
Let me just say that this is an iconic album and its influence cannot be overstated blabla. Having said that, I absolutely hate it. Anything that follows is a strictly personal flow of negative thoughts and emotions this thing has awaken in me.
First, Roger Waters is a horrible human being - a genocide-denying piece of shit. Fuck you, Roger.
Second, his singing is ridiculous. It sometimes even gets hilarious - when he yells and cries he sounds like an angry old man (which he has become in the end). It's particularly strong on these slower acoustic songs. It completely destroys the vibe and makes me laugh and I can't focus on the MEANING.
Third, the story is not that great as everyone seems to believe. It reeks of graphomania. Something an angsty teenager might have thought to himself under a shower and thought he's the only one in the world to have ever thought that. Fits Roger's persona perfectly though, so there is consistency.
Fourth, it's so damn long and most of the songs do not really add that much.
Lastly - I just wanted to say that I really enjoyed the music (when Roger was not there). David Gilmour is a god among guitar players, Wright and Mason add amazing value to the musical layers on the album. Based on that - I cannot give it a 1, that would be crazy. 2 it is then (f you Roger)
The Adverts
2/5
Definitely not my cup of tea. It sounds just like any other punk band from that era. Nothing grabbed my attention and I was struggling to go through it all. Next please.
Nina Simone
5/5
So beautiful! Usually I’m having a hard time rating such classics, because they tend to be pretty but dont really do anything for me. This one just blew me away. Her voice and her passion, with all the conflicting emotions made me stop and fully focus on listening. I’m giving it a 5 and I’ll be looking out for a vinyl copy to add to my little collection. (Still I like Bowie’s cover of the title song better)
Santana
4/5
This is my first full length Santana album (not counting Supernatural that was playing on repeat in the background when I was a kid) and it already has 3 of the biggest hits that I knew beforehand. A lot has been said about these three so I’m just gonna state the obvious that Black Magic Woman is probably among the top songs ever. I just love how the guitar sound grows in the beginning among the synths and the rhythm section and then just completely breaks free. The rest of the album compliments the top 3, especially the jazzy parts. They are well within the balance of jazzy/interesting and easy listening. Also, as a drummer, I’m a sucker for all these Latino jazzy rhythms which can be hear throughout the entire thing. A perfect soundtrack to a sunny lazy Sunday evening.
4/5
Never heard of this and it was great to learn more about Suba, his music and the unfortunate fate he met in the end. The album evokes in me very specific imagery: sitting in a beautifully lit, cozy apartment in a building overlooking a busy street just over the tree line. It’s a warm summer evening and it’s raining hard, people are running to hide and it’s just so nice to just stay inside and listen to this thing. I also enjoyed how you can hear the Balkan influences on some of the tracks. 3.5/5 lifted up to 4 due to the Balkan connection
Green Day
4/5
Great pop punk album. Short and to the point, no filler, just pure fun. Very nice drum playing too (Tre Cool - that has to be ultimate name for a pop punk drummer?). Makes me think of the good times, playing playstation with my friends in the morning before going to school for the afternoon. 4/5
Ramones
3/5
Pure energy. It must have been a revolutionary record that pushed a lot of young aspiring in musicians to just go for it and start a band in their garage. Nowadays it doesn’t hit as much I’m afraid and it’s too repetitive to enjoy. 3.5/5 based on it’s status in music history and it makes me think of playing thps 3 back in the day.
4/5
Muse was pretty important for me when I was in high school. I remember seeing them live in 2010 and it was probably the first big music show in my life. I loved this album although I remember I much preferred the Absolution, which was much rawer and even then seemed more authentic to me. Black holes and revelations is still great but it is true that it’s epically over produced and too smooth. I can still enjoy it and I can’t pretend otherwise. It’s 3.5 from me 0.5 nostalgia points = 4
The Doors
4/5
It could have been a 5/5 and maybe it should have. Musically, this is so great. But I cannot shake the cringe from some of the lyrics and the way the generations upon generations of teenagers (including myself) were influenced by Jim Morrison to be the among the most obnoxious types on the planet.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
1/5
Just dreadful. Such a chore to get through the whole thing (and it’s objectively short). It feels like I’m in a circus against my will and there’s this old washed clown singing in my ear some “clever” ironic lyrics. And then all of the sudden he starts throwing slurs around but apparently it’s ok because he’s a clown. Nah I don’t get this guy and never will.
The Killers
3/5
This is a great representation of a very specific era in rock music and I still remember it so well. As such, it definitely has a place on the list. There are some total bangers here which to this day rule karaoke nights around the entire world. Still, the rest of the album does feel like a bit of an overpolished filler and the lyrics - if you dig into them - suck real bad. 3/5
Simon & Garfunkel
4/5
I love Simon and Garfunkel. The album Co twins some of their biggest hits. The lyrics are beautiful, especially on America. It could have been a 5 based on the quality of songs alone. However, I thought that this doesn’t really work as an album. The first side follows an interesting concept, however there’s barely any time to elaborate. The concept is abruptly ended after just 15mins and the second side is just a mix of various songs that couldn’t fit anywhere else (still, amazing songs). I wish the entire album would follow side a’s ideas instead. 4/5
David Bowie
3/5
I think I liked it a lot more when I was giving through my Bowie phase a couple of years ago. Today it’s just ok. Maybe I’ve become more exposed to other kinds of music and it doesn’t impress me that much anymore. It’s still great that Bowie was trying different kinds of music without being constrained by race especially right after his Thin White Duke era. There are some parts that are a bit cringe though (the sax on the title track makes me think of an intro to a 90s sitcom for example). Nice step away from glam but what lies ahead in Bowies catalogue is way better than this. 3/5
Deep Purple
3/5
I don’t really like live albums except for a very few outliers. This one is not one of them. Also, prog is not among my favourites and this album sees these amazing musicians go and show off.. kinda for the sake of showing off? Not my thing but I can still appreciate the skill. Deep Purple seems to me as one of these bands that everyone seems to agree they’re amazing but no one really listens to them except for a few snobby boomers that run these old rock radio stations. I was relieved to see that the second disc on Spotify is not really a part of the original release so I gladly skipped it, the first disc was more than enough.
Queen
5/5
This is probably my second favourite from Queen, no 1 being Queen II. This one sees the band taki g a step away from prog towards arena rock and yet it’s still in this fun middle part between both worlds where you can both enjoy the big sound and sing along to the songs (especially the last one) and still be blown away by all the different sounds they tried. I know that Queen is being kinda frowned upon today by music nerds so I’m going to go against the current and say that Freddie absolutely deserves a 5 and this album is probably the best suited for this occasion.
AC/DC
2/5
Again, this challenge has ruined hard rock for me. All of a sudden, I'm finding it to be bland and uninteresting. Yeah, the album has great energy and some huge hits, but the overall enjoyment is killed with the vocals. I'll give it a 2/5 given the album's overall stature and that I actually like some of the riffs.
Metallica
5/5
Flawless. I’m not a metal guy but this still sounds so fresh after listening to countless hard rock albums on this list. I can’t even imagine what it must have felt like to listen to this album when it originally came out. It’s so angry but at the same time they manage to include such beautiful melodies. I can’t even pick a favourite track because all of them are amazing and each one brings something else to the table. I still think I slightly prefer Ride the lightning but I totally get why this one is on the list instead.
Neil Young
4/5
This is probably my first full Neil Young album. He's not really known where I'm from (Eastern Europe) and his music seems very American to me (ok, North American since he's obviously Canadian). I like it but seeing such enthusiastic reviews here I realized I probably don't get the full context. That's fine, I think we have a lot of amazing sung poetry music here in my country so this album doesn't really stand out that much to me. The things I enjoyed the most:
- the minimalist production on the first three tracks where you only get like two-three instruments per track and no bass or drums and then suddenly there's this little horn part on the title track. It's just lovely. You wish it'd come back more, but the fact that it's so brief makes it special;
- Only Love Can Break Your Heart - prior to today I've only heard the St Etienne version and always loved it - this one is great too and I'll appreciate the St Etienne cover even more now;
- the roughness of the Southern Man - I've read that Neil Young was later trying to say that he went too far but I just love how he poured his heart out in this one. Especially the part with the distorted vocals and then the guitar solo is just nasty and feels so grungy. I love how towards the end it's just one dissonant chord on repeat - perfection;
- The rest of the album is much lighter which is good I guess since it really pushes out the roughness of the Southern Man into the spotlight. I Believe in You is also very pretty and helps with keeping things interesting until the end of the album.
Overall, it's a 4 from me but I can totally understand how it might be a 5 for some people. I'm really thankful for this challenge that it exposes me to such interesting music I probably would have never picked up on my own.
The Clash
4/5
Amazing. Pure unfiltered energy from the very first track until the end of the 35min album. Great lyrics showing unusually progressive ideas of the band members for those times. The sound is punky and chaotic and yet there’s so much interesting stuff going on musically in the background, it must have really made them stand out back in the day. London Calling is probably among my top 10 records ever and this one is not as good, not as polished and innovative but I think it shows better the spirit of London music scene in late 1970s. You can’t stop singing along to White Riot!
Marty Robbins
5/5
This took me by surprise a now I’m completely in love with it. I think I’ve listened to the whole album 6 times today already. Even though I’ve never listened to it before it brings back so much nostalgia in me I want to cry. When I look back to my childhood, one of the happiest memories was definitely watching Westerns with my dad every Sunday at noon, right after coming back home from church. The way each song on the album tells a different western story takes me back to those times. I also enjoy the musical layer. Marty has a beautiful clear deep voice and he uses it perfectly to underline the drama in each song. The voice is obviously the most prominent instrument here, but it’s very well supported by the crooning male backing vocals. I’d have never picked it up if it wasn’t for this challenge!
The Young Gods
1/5
I didn’t like it at all and I had to make myself to listen until the end. And then I read up on it for a while and decided hey maybe there’s something to it I didn’t get the first time? So then I made myself listen to it again (and I really didn’t want to spend my evening walk with this thing). And turns out I still can’t see why this album should be on the list. I was thinking of maybe giving it a 2/5 on account of it being so experimental. But then I thought that it’s not really such an accomplishment to make something weird if it doesn’t really catch your attention and make you want to relisten again and again. And that’s my main issue with this album. It seems performative and avantgarde for the sake of it. I mean these are not even proper songs. And I like some weird shit but that’s just not it. Also, the vocals are simply comical. He really seems like he’s trying way too hard to be nasty. I’m definitely not going to listen to it ever again. I wish Mr Bungle’s California was on the list instead or please at least one album from Eastern Europe. No? Ok.
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
3/5
It’s not easy to rate this one as it’s not really an album but rather a compilation. As such, it’s a great testament on American music history. It’s full of great songs with amazing musicianship and there are times when it made me dance a big and fantasise about a simple life somewhere in the mountains. But as an album, it’s just damn too long. It took me a whole day to just get through to the end and I was so tired at the end I could hear the banjo in my head when I closed my ways to sleep. It would have been magnificent if it was condensed to like 45 mins and I would even consider a 5 since it’s so different than everything else and the production (including the short pieces of conversation) is perfect for the genre. But it gets tiring after you get through the second album and the third one is just you trying to survive. 3/5
Japan
2/5
The first track is really good. I loved the beat, the bass and the synth immediately. And maybe the first song is too good and sets the bar too high because I was expecting more of the same, but the rest of the album does not really deliver. Of course, there's still some great instrumentation going on (I really enjoyed how the bass is locked in with the drums throughout almost the entire record), but I didn't really care for the vocals (also didn't really have time to go through the lyrics today). Also, there are some parts that really suck, like the cover of All Tomorrow's Parties. It just sounds uninspired. The sequencing also seems a bit off. There are really good first two songs with a lot of energy, but the entire momentum is killed immediately by Despair. And I actually liked the song in the beginning, but then it's completely butchered by the terrible French pronunciation. Oops, I forgot to rate this one and came back after a couple of weeks and I don't remember anything about this album anymore except for that first song. 2/5 then it is.
Kate Bush
4/5
Ok wow, I've never listened to a full album by Kate Bush before. I'm blown away but at the same time I need some time to reflect as there's too much to digest here (especially on side 2) for just one day of listening. Side 1 is just pure hits with this particular artsy twist and I love them all. Especially Cloudbusting. Together with the video and the whole backstory, it's incredibly touching and it made me cry today. The lyrics throughout the album are all great and, strengthened by her one of a kind delivery, give off this strong feminine energy, it really makes the album stand out from the rest on this list (dominated by men). Side 2 is more demanding though and on the first listen it's even not that enjoyable. But I can definitely see more depth to it, I just need some more time with it. I'm giving it a 4/5 for now but I can see it becoming one of my favorites in the future.
Radiohead
4/5
This is probably my third favourite Radiohead album (after OKC and IR). I like it on a personal level though and I must contend that it's not objectively among their best. I think I just enjoy them putting out their emotions (anger!) on display. My favourites are 2+2, Where I End and You Begin and especially A Wolf at the Door. This last one paints such a vivid image of the "Wolf" calling you on your phone and telling you how he's gonna mess you up. It's scary, paranoid and makes you so angry. I absolutely adore it. Trying to be a bit objective here though, I'll have to save space for other Radiohead albums at the top so let's stop at 4.5/5 with this one.
Belle & Sebastian
5/5
This has been my summer holiday soundtrack since our honeymoon in Portugal 6 years ago. Everything about this album makes me think of the happiest times with my wife. Sunshine, beaches, fresh cold orange juice, train rides and long drives through hills and forests. Somebody wrote here that listening to it feels like receiving a warm hug and I cannot agree more. I love it, there are no skips, always a pleasure to go back to. A well-deserved 5/5
Joni Mitchell
1/5
Not for me I’m afraid. A lot of big sad words over minimalistic music. It’s really hard to follow through when the entire album is like that. Plus for Jaco
The Smiths
4/5
I love this album but I can see that it's not perfect by any means. Morrissey is a cunt is such a cliche at this point but yeah he is and you can't really stop yourself from rolling your eyes at some of the pompous language he uses in his lyrics (especially when English is not your native language). Mixed with his vocal style it really makes you think of a spoiled privileged Brit who doesn't know any better. Marr and Rourke are amazing though, especially on tracks like Headmaster Ritual, Joke Isn't funny anymore (that outro!), Nowhere fast or Barbarism begins at home. Coming to think of it I love almost all of the songs on it, maybe with the exception of Rusholme Ruffians and the title song. And that last song is an immediate skip, even for me, a person who cares dearly about animal rights I just can't force myself to listen to this shit while walking around the park or something. It's a 4.5/5 because the Queen is dead is slightly better and I'm going to give it a 5, although I find myself coming back to this one more often.
Sex Pistols
2/5
I'm a bit conflicted here. On one side, it's a monumental piece of music history and the energy is just crazy. On the other, I don't really enjoy listening to it anymore. It was ok when I was doing some cleaning around the house but having it on made feel like an old fart these guys would hate. I also found their English accent and pronunciation rather funny than rebellious. 2.5/5 marked as 2 because I can't see myself going back to it voluntarily.
Prefab Sprout
3/5
Wow, that was a pleasant surprise. I've never heard of this group or any of the songs so I didn't know what to expect. It gives off this mid 80s UK sofisti-pop vibe but with an American bike on the cover so you know it's not too soft and there are some country influences on it. It's very sweet though, especially the parts with the female harmonies scattered across the album (one of my favorite features of this whole thing). The first side is very strong with Bonny, When Love Breaks Down and Goodbye Lucille #1 as my favorites. Sadly, the second part is very repetitive and there are no more memorable tracks. It doesn't go anywhere further but tries to repeat the same motifs used at the beginning and fails. I still enjoy it and listened to the whole thing several times. I just wish it went somewhere different on the second side. 3.5/5
John Lennon
3/5
Imagine is probably the most overrated song of all time. I understand why it's so popular but today it's become so annoying, I skip it every time I hear it. Same goes for I Don't Wanna Be a Soldier Mama, but this one is not only pretentious, its just bad a song. On the positive side, I really liked Jealous Guy, Oh My Love and Oh Yoko! These are all great songs, especially Oh Yoko! which is just plain love you sometimes feel towards your wife and you just can't contain it, it just goes out. It's cute. How Do You Sleep? would be a great diss track if not for one thing - Paul is so much better than John. The rest is filler, especially those bluesy/country tunes. Overall, this doesn't really feel like a consistent piece of work and I don't really like it except for a few songs. The rest is just covered under a huge pile of hypocrisy of John Lennon as a person vs artist and I can't shake it off. 2.5/5
Merle Haggard
3/5
I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I went out with my dog, sat with her on a bench in our local park and put this on on my headphones and it was a pretty nice moment. I have never really listened to anything country and I definitely enjoy the cowboy/Wild West stylistic so that was a nice listen. Merle has a great, charismatic voice! I think I might give it a couple more spins in the future, let's go with 3.5/5
Eagles
2/5
I don't get this hate the album seems to be receiving here or on RYM. It's definitely not amazing either. It's a pretty ok but bland country rock record. Seems like a nice road trip soundtrack but nothing more than that. Maybe it shouldn't be on the list if it's just ok? On the other hand, it seems like Eagles were pretty important for the US music in the 70s so maybe that's justified, but I'm not sure, save for Hotel California, they were never really popular in my part of the world. It's a 2.5/5 for me because nothing really sticks after a couple of listens. I don't think I'll be coming back to it so I'm marking it as a 2.
Tears For Fears
5/5
It's a perfect 80s album. It has big hits on both sides, including Everybody Wants to Rule The Word (to me, a strong contender to the top 10 best pop songs of all time). The songs between the big hits are not simple fillers and add a lot of flavor and depth to the entire album, especially the smooth jazzy The Working Hour or the moody closer Listen. And while I don't love all of the songs individually (Mothers Talk in particular), I can enjoy them as part of the whole listening experience, which makes it a perfect album to recommend to someone who would try to get into listening to entire albums instead of songs or playlists. Someone in the comments recommended watching Rick Beato's video and I second that, it's really great and goes in detail to dissect the sound which will make you appreciate the thought and work behind the music even more.
Fugees
3/5
I know it's probably wrong, but it's hard for me to rate this without comparing it to Lauryn Hill's solo work. I thought that since the Miseducation is one of my all-time favorites, I was gonna love this one too. But apart of the major hits, I didn't. The only parts are really enjoyed were the ones involving Lauryn Hill's singing or rapping. You can really hear how much she stood out from the rest of the group. The rest of the album was a bit boring and tiring to me. Maybe it's because I don't particularly enjoy reggae, which is everywhere on this album? Also, the lyrics were too heavily focused on the bragging. Yeah sometimes the rhymes were clever, but repeating how you're the greatest gets old really fast. The hits are amazing though, including the Roberta Flack song, which is a strong contender for the best cover of all time. All in all, it's not a bad album, it's fun and easy to listen to but I guess I had too high expectations. 3.5/5
Doves
4/5
Right up my alley! Never heard of them before but I love the feel of turn of the century rock music. Probably because I was in my early teens at the time and the sound kind of evokes the vibe of those times. Plenty of comments saying it's a more quality Coldplay album and it's true, it does feel that way. Even my wife said something very similar after hearing just a short fragment of the title song. I like how you can find traces of different sounds from britpop (plenty of Radiohead's Bends feeling on this) or even shoegaze (the instrumental break on Satellite feels like When the Sun Hits by Slowdive). I loved it and have already listened to the whole thing many times. I'm looking forward to checking out more albums from their catalogue.
T. Rex
4/5
I liked it a lot immediately - it's very catchy and easy to listen to. At the same time, it doesn't seem to treat itself too seriously (without going too far in that regard) which makes me like it even more. I like how sexy it is without going too macho like other 70s rock bands. More like, yeah it's all fun and a bit magical, isn't it? I have quite a long list of favorites from this album: Mambo Sun, Cosmic Dancer, Monolith, Get it on, Planet Queen and Life's a Gas. It could have been a 5 but I felt like something was missing from perfection. Still, I'd like to get it on (!) vinyl!
The Go-Go's
4/5
Simply amazing! I have never heard of this band before so I was a bit afraid it was gonna be another new wave band with weird Brit as a vocalist but no, I was in for a surprise. Immediately upon hearing the girls singing and harmonizing I was locked in. What a relief. It's so refreshing to hear a girls band rocking so effortlessly. There's not much substance to it but that's not the point, it's simply cool. I loved almost every track on it and I'll be looking out to find it on vinyl. Potential for growth to 5, for now I'm leaving it on 4/5.
ZZ Top
1/5
I feel like this challenge, by opening me to so many artists and genres, completely ruined hard rock for me. I can't listen to it anymore, it all sounds so bland now. There's nothing that stands out on this album for me. I listened to it once and I really don't want to go back and give it another chance. I can't imagine ever wanting to put this on again and the album is not groundbreaking or otherwise important for the overall music history, which all together makes it a 1/5.
Frank Ocean
4/5
Amazing summer vibes. Just a perfect album to put on for a long sunny road trip. I much prefer Channel Orange to Blonde, probably due to the cool vibes on this one. Also lol at all the dad rock fans losing it in the comments
Radiohead
5/5
This is one of my favorite late summer albums. I have this special category of music that fits perfectly this particular feeling you get during the last days of summer (late August - early September), when it's still sunny and beautiful but you get that its all coming to an end. There's this beautiful sunlight and nostalgic feeling, school/university is just behind the corner and the autumn is already seeping through. In Rainbows, not only among my personal top 3 Radiohead albums (no particular order, OKC and Kid A) is one of the strongest late summer albums. I love it and I can't imagine not listening to it every year.
Arcade Fire
4/5
I missed out on Arcade Fire when they were big and yet the music still takes me back to early 2010s, which I find confusing but in a positive way. Really enjoyed this one, great concept and execution. I'm a very sentimental person and just love to reminisce about the past, times and the places you can't really go back to because there's no one there anymore.
The Isley Brothers
3/5
Straight from the beginning, I immediately went "I love myself!" - thank you, Kendrick. I really enjoyed the vibe of the album and the guitar playing is amazing. The comments say there was a rumor at the time that it was a posthumous recording of Hendrix, which of course makes perfect sense. However, apart of a few songs I liked, I found the rest of the album to be a bit underwhelming, which is a shame. Sadly, except for the first track and maybe Summer Breeze or The Highways of My Life (which were covers, so that lowers the impact a bit) there's not much to go back to. Still, it's great to fun to put it on during a road trip. 3/5
Missy Elliott
2/5
I liked Timbaland's production but didn't particularly love the rest of the album, especially given that the lyrics feel really monothematic. 2.5 to light 3/5
Portishead
5/5
I really don't want to sound pretentious, but this album is an amazing sonic experience. I have had a soft spot for Portishead since high school - I particularly remember falling asleep to "Roads" on an overnight bus to Spain, so I admit I'm really biased here. All of the big hits are amazing and, in my opinion, they were even more perfected on the live recording of the Roseland NYC album (I fear that it's not on this list, which is shocking considering how many boring hard rock live albums I've had to endure so far). It's worth noting that not all of the songs are perfect (especially in the middle of the album), and yet none of them are weak as they all further add to the overall vibe of the entire thing. I love the pulsating bass with simple beats juxtaposed with the occasional snare rolls. And then, on top of that base, you get those haunting synths or samples, the beautiful guitar playing and the heavenly voice of Beth Gibbons. I have check out more trip hop albums. 5/5
The Smashing Pumpkins
2/5
Disclaimer: I rated Siamese Dream at 5/5 and I really love it. It managed what this record fails to do: deliver good music and shut up. I feel like Billy really believed he's something else and tried to make himself a monument. He failed, this sucks (with a few exceptions such as 1979). I have the comfort of having English as my second language so I can just tune out and not listen to the horrible, horrible lyrics. Otherwise, I'd have probably rated it at 1/5. I feel like the people I respect rating it at 5/5 are only doing it because of nostalgia, there's no way someone actually enjoys it front to back.
U2
4/5
It's popular to dunk on U2 nowadays and for good reason. Big thanks to this challenge for making me go back to their early catalogue and finding out what made them so huge in the first place. This is great. Obviously I had known the two evergreens before, Sunday Bloody Sunday and New Year's Day and I always liked them (especially the latter for its piano sounds), but it was great to listen to them in the context of a full album. My new favorite though is Like A Song... - the drums make this song, the patterns Larry Mullen Jr goes through are simply amazing. He's an incredible and underrated drummer (have you heard that anecdote that he complained the metronome was dragging and it turned out it was.. by 0.6 sec? superhuman time feeling). This song also features some great singing from Bono - it's imperfect, not polished, he sometimes seems to go out of tune but damn it's powerful and expressive! I also liked how the last song "40" is a psalm and makes a reference to the first track ("how long must we sing the song?"). I don't think I ever realized that U2 is kinda a Christian rock band. Some of the songs in between are less strong which makes it a 4/5 instead of a 5, but it's still a great album! I am definitely going to give it more time in the future.
Stephen Stills
3/5
This is something my dad would enjoy a lot even though he wouldn’t understand the lyrics and it makes me smile just thinking about it. For me, it’s just ok though. It's inoffensive, easy listening, full of pretty melodies and harmonies. Perfect to put in the background while working or driving. Still there’s not much that grabs my attention with the exception of a few songs (Colorado, So begins the task, The treasure). Not sure if I’d come back but I like to think I will. 3/5
Muddy Waters
4/5
At around 200 albums in, this is the first blues album, which feels wrong. It was really refreshing to listen to it today, which sounds ironic given how old and repetitive blues can be. The first song is a great opener and it made my morning that the first thing I head that day was "Everythin' gon' be alright this mornin'". The music makes it seem like a happy blues album even though the lyrics are the complete opposite of that. Although blues is schematic and repetitive, the album did not drag and I was happy to find something new at each of the three listens I gave it. I'll be definitely coming back to it.
Pixies
3/5
I understand its cult status and I get where it's coming from. Still, I'm not loving it. Outside of two-three songs (Where is my mind, Gigantic), nothing really stands out to me although I have to say I really enjoyed the rhythm section. I much prefer Doolitle and Bossanova. 3/5
OutKast
4/5
I only had time to listen to the entire album once yesterday but it’s so much fun! Im definitely going to spend the weekend with it. For now, I’m giving it a 4/5 as it is incredibly long and at times does feel bloated but who knows maybe upon further listens it can grow to a 5. Also, except for a few songs, I think I much preferred Big Boi’s side for now.
Charles Mingus
5/5
This album made me feel a lot of things. I have a really hard case of ADHD and this crazy chaotic music made me feel at peace. My wife on the other hand could not stand it so I switched to headphones laid down on my bed, closed my eyes and just completely drifted away. It does not happen to me very often. I always need to be doing something else when listening to the music. Drawing, walking with my dog, exercising, the list goes on. It's very hard for me to just sit down and listen. Not this time. Thanks Mingus, you made me want to get into jazz on a much deeper scale than before!
Donovan
2/5
I thought I was gonna like it but I didn’t. Donovan’s voice annoys me and none of the songs really caught my attention, I was mostly bored. Luckily it’s short. I kinda liked Bert’s blues and Season of the witch. The rest was a bit too sameish. 2/5
4/5
Bowie is one of my favorite artists of all time. And although this album is considered by many his magnum opus, it is definitely not my favorite Bowie's work. I don't really know what it is, but the glam is really not my cup of tea. There are amazing songs on this that I love with all my heart, but there's much better work ahead and I feel like giving this one 5/5 would not be fair to albums like Station to Station, Low or Heroes. 4.5/5
Beatles
4/5
Amazing album with a huge cultural impact. There's not much to be said that hasn't already been said by so many other people, much more eloquent in this field than me. Still, on a personal level, it's not the one I'd pick up when I feel like listening to the Beatles. 4.5/5
Led Zeppelin
4/5
I feel like I need to explain myself for giving this album anything less than 5*. The big hits alone should bring it to one of the top albums ever, right? And I'm sure that they do - having Stairway to Heaven, Black Dog, Rock and Roll AND When The Levee Breaks makes this thing one of the top musical things ever. And the impact it had on pop culture and music history make it an objective 5/5. However, speaking on pure personal perspective - I'm not loving it as much as I thought I would. It may make some people angry, but I feel like Led Zeppelin is a "greatest hits" kind of a band - their albums are terribly uneven and contain a lot of songs that are not that enjoyable (to say the least). But when you pick out the best tunes out of each album and put them on a compilation (like the most recent one, "Mothership") - they sound like the best band ever. 4.5/5
Sonic Youth
2/5
Uninteresting and pretentious. I'm really surprised this band has such a cult following. Do people actually enjoy their music or is it more of liking it makes you look cool kind of thing? I do enjoy noise rock but I also want to have it go somewhere or have some interesting ideas on top of it. This album simply doesn't deliver. The best example of that is my favorite track from the album - Mote. It starts off real good, everything clicks, the vocals sound cool, you have this underwater effect in the chorus which feels a bit dated but fits in well with the rest of the song.. and then they just decide to kill the rest of the song with a bunch of noise that goes nowhere. I feel like they're telling me we're too cool to go with the typical song structure, catchy melodies, no, let's just end the song and go with something for the real connaisseurs. I have to say, if I was a teen that would definitely work on me. Maybe I'm just too old for that
Moby
3/5
Listened to it a couple times today. I really enjoyed three tracks: Porcelain, Why Does My Heart Feel so Bad? and Everloving. The album is way too long, it would heavily benefit from cutting a lot of deadweight. It's downtempo enough, no need to make it boring. The whole idea behind the album of working on old blues samples feels pretty great in the beginning. Especially on tracks such as Why Does My Heart...? But - it gets old quickly since there's not that much going on other than that. The melodies are pretty and feel familiar, piano goes well with synths and the rhythm patterns are easy to follow. I like it but a) it's way too long, b) it is a bit boring. 3/5
Snoop Dogg
4/5
I'm really happy it fell on a Friday so I could relax to this album over the weekend. I gave it multiple re-listens and it's sooo good and chill. The production is great - a perfect testament of the era and although a bit dated, still incredibly funky, made me bounce in my office chair the whole Friday. Snoop's flow is so smooth and relaxed it goes so well with Dre's beats. I think I even like it more than the Chronic - just because there's more Snoop on it and it's much less serious. Regarding the lyrics - I have the comfort of a non-native speaker - I can just tune out and not listen to the sense of the words but more to their sound and that helps a lot. I guess if it was in my native language, the cringe would be too much at times. My favourite track is Murder Was the Case (I just love those bells in the background!). Strong 4/5
David Ackles
2/5
Based on the cover art alone - I was convinced I was gonna like it. Unfortunately, I did not. I come from a country where sung poetry is a pretty big thing and we consider it our specialty. This was really bad in comparison. Firstly, the lyrics are bland and sometimes cringe (One night stand). Then, even when you get at least the beginnings of a song, melodies - you are suddenly hit with weird theatricals, which I thought were unnecessary and annoying. Then, when you finally get to the end of the album and you're thinking oh, that wasn't as bad as other reviews might suggest - you get hit with everything that's bad with the album at the same time. Too bad, because from what I gather, David Ackles is quite revered among other artists. But this is just not doing anything for me. 1.5/5 - I'm upping it to 2 because it's just so different from all the bland rock albums I got recently.
Cheap Trick
1/5
Hey ChatGPT, please give me the most average rock album from the 70s. Please make sure that it's a live recording and that its quality sucks.
Seriously though, I didn't like anything about this album. None of the songs stayed with me afterwards. What's the point of including on this list so many "rock and roll" albums that are almost indistinguishable from each other? There's so much more interesting music out there.
Michael Jackson
4/5
Phenomenal album. Michael and Quincy took the disco by its neck and made one of the best albums in the genre. The first side is just a hit after hit and it's impossible not to move. Then on the second side, right after the title track (which is my favorite), the quality dips down a bit with the two ballads, only to get back on good track with the last three songs. So objectively, it should be a 5 - taking into consideration the album's influence and stature. But speaking from my pure enjoyment it's more of a 4. I think I prefer his later work, Thriller, Bad and even the new jack swing hits from Dangerous. Oh and I love how awkward Michael is on the cover art. Final verdict: 4.5
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
5/5
This is amazing. Sketches of raw and gritty songs, fantastic sound for 1969. The dissonant instrumentals (guitar solos, violins) add so much emotion to the dramatic folky lyrics. I love the cover too - I've been listening to it a lot during long morning walks with my dog along the frozen river here in Warsaw. Nothing but the misty river surroundings, a cup of coffee and this on my headphones. A perfect album
Al Green
3/5
The title track is amazing, 5/5 all time hit. The rest of the album falls behind, kind of a victim of placing an all-timer right at the beginning of the album. It makes you wait in anticipation for something that comes close and it doesn't deliver. This feeling definitely leaves an impact on my opinion of the whole thing. And although this is a perfectly fine album, just right to put on in the background when cooking or having a pleasant meal with your loved ones, it's not as good as you'd expect.
Willie Nelson
4/5
I'm not American so I don't know much about Willie Nelson or this particular album but, while doing this entire challenge, I have found I have a soft spot for country/Americana. I loved the first track immediately and how perfectly it corresponds with the cover art. From the start, I was transported to a little house on a prairie, sitting on a porch under warm late-summer night with clear skies, family dinner noises coming through dimly lighted windows.. yeah its really great, I'll be looking to find this on vinyl.
Deerhunter
3/5
Never heard of this before. At first listen I hated how monotonous and unengaging it is. I was really bored and wanted to rate it 1/5. Upon further listens I found out that it's pretty good as background/work music. Still, the fact that the songs blend together and not much happens throughout the entire album makes it tops 3/5.
Nas
5/5
"I never sleep 'cause sleep is the cousin of death." It's one of those albums that can (and should) make you fall in love with hip hop. When I was growing up in the 90s in post-communist Eastern Europe, New York for us was a symbol of capitalism, success, Western world, an El Dorado. This album takes me to the parts of New York that I could not even imagine existed at the time. It's gritty, dark, cold and cloudy, the streets are dangerous and living day to day is hard. And yet there's this magic in the air that shines through the album, especially when you're with your crew, sitting on a bench just outside your block reminiscing. The contrasts between the beautiful jazz loops and hard knocking beats set a perfect background for Nas' incredible almost liquid flow. It's just perfect.
Simon & Garfunkel
3/5
Simon & Garfunkel are very much a "the best of" band. Their albums contain too much filler which contrasts heavily with some of the most memorable and beautiful melodies ever.
Stevie Wonder
4/5
Stevie was never that popular in my country. You'd knew of him, some major hits but a deeper look into his catalogue was rare. I was really surprised the first time I listened to his actual records, rather than the radio friendly hits, how - behind the facade of poppy melodies and beautiful voice - there was so much complexity in rhythm, chord progressions and entire compositions. This one is no different and I really enjoyed it although I must say some parts felt being made complex for the sake of it and that was a bit annoying. 4/5
Norah Jones
3/5
Such a beautiful voice. I remember this album was huge when I was growing up, my father used to play it all the time while ironing. Nice memories. The album is good, the artist is competent, and it’s all nice and warm and polite. But it quickly becomes boring. I mean it’s perfect to put it on In the background during a cozy evening at home. But on its own, it quickly loses its appeal.
Skunk Anansie
3/5
I really liked this, it's so different from everything else on this else. Very, very 90s production - it would be difficult to find something sounding more 1999 than this. Reminded me of Muse at times, but kinda better? Maybe because of the strong female vocals. Too bad that the album is uneven and tends to go too mainstream at times, it could have been a strong 4. As it is, I'm giving it a 3.5/5 - I like this and will potentially come back to it, but it's not an immediate favorite.
Björk
5/5
I love the production, the mash up of different styles, the purely 90s electronic London vibes, her vocals and quirkiness. Also the positive energy is just contagious, you can really feel that she enjoyed herself so much while making this record. It's a great album for both - casual playing in the background during work/study and attentive listening on headphones.
Nirvana
5/5
Easy 5/5. Checks out all of the boxes I have for a strong 5: I like all of the songs, I will be coming back to it a lot (and already have in the past in this case) and it has had a huge impact. Amazing song writing skills from Kurt as always. The way he managed to juxtapose noise with beautiful poppy Melodie’s was what made the band timeless. Is it better than nevermind though?
The Undertones
2/5
I found out that I really dislike this kind of UK 70s punk records. The Clash really were the greatest of them all. If not for this one particular song, I would have given it 1/5
Wilco
4/5
Even though it’s nothing special and it’s definitely bloated it just feels so nice, warm and cozy. I can’t help it, I’m a sucker for this kind of sound. Will definitely be coming back to it and can’t wait to check out more from Wilco (I’ve given 5/5 to mermaid avenue).
Songhoy Blues
3/5
Pretty good and interesting to listen to something different, although I was expecting something more engaging. After a few spins I don't really remember any of the songs in particular.
Nick Drake
3/5
I don’t get it and I feel so bad about it. I love Pink Moon and yet I can’t get into either Bryter Layter or this one and I cannot put my finger on the reason why. It’s all objectively good, the guitar playing is amazing, the production is rich and beautiful, I love the melancholy and yet.. it just doesn’t click for me. Something’s missing and the fact that I cannot tell why frustrates me. 3.5/5
Richard Thompson
4/5
Didn't know anything about this album before. I really enjoyed it! The thing I liked the most was that some of the folky tunes were built on those old renaissance-like melodies that you can imagine a bard singing at a king's court in 1500s. This was particularly visible with the Great Valerio - my favorite song from the album. Also, as a wife guy through and through, I loved that it's a married couple's album and they're both featured as co authors.
Metallica
3/5
I got excited when this showed up on my page in the morning. It used to be my favorite Metallica album in high school. Unfortunately it doesn’t hit quite like it used to do back then. Naturally, there’s One which still slaps but the rest of the album lacks in quality a bit. Firstly, it’s way too long. The tracks go on and on (yes, even One) repeating the same riffs over and over again. There are some tracks where this is particularly annoying when I felt like there’s nothing interesting in those riffs, just droning noise. It becomes tiring at some point and I felt like skipping a few tracks in the middle. Still, the good parts are very good, the title track, to live is to die and my new favorite The Frayed Ends of Sanity (a few tweaks here and there make it very interesting, too bad they didn’t apply it to other tracks). You can definitely feel that the key creative mind behind the band is now gone, which kinda justifies the drop in quality. Overall it’s still a positive review, but nothing more than 3/5.
Richard Hawley
3/5
Never heard of Richard Hawley before. I immediately liked the first song which goes perfectly with the cover art. I really enjoyed the rest of the album. It’s nothing special and yet it’s not just generic boring music, there’s plenty of interest stuff happening throughout the album. Richard has a very pleasant voice, perfect for this style of music. I feel like my opinion on this album is influenced by the fact that it fell in the middle of October and listening to it was a great addition to cozying at home in the evening. Really close to a 4/5.
Leonard Cohen
5/5
This is incredible. I've been listening to it the whole weekend and I still can't get enough. I'll be definitely going back to it - I need to review all the little details in the lyrics. It's harder for a non-native speaker and yet Leonard Cohen was incredibly popular here where I'm from. I guess his music and poetry go really well with our sentimental nature. What I like about it: the minimalistic production (and yet plenty of little tweaks here and there to make it more interesting), the monotonous voice and delivery against the hard hitting lyrics, the female backing vocals on So Long Marianne, the masterful guitar playing and the the atmosphere of a poorly lit room with wooden floors overlooking a cold, freezing city. Just perfect.
Elvis Presley
3/5
I have found that it's really hard to rate oldies like this one. Obviously, Elvis' influence on popular music cannot be overstated, but his music has grown old faster than some of the other albums from the same era. It's good to hear it and understand its place and importance, but its still not really my thing to go back to and enjoy. 3/5
Primal Scream
1/5
This is so annoying, self-indulgent and most of all - definitely not worth being on this list. Really don't want to give it more time.
My Bloody Valentine
4/5
There’s something that I can’t explain that doesn’t allow me to rate it 5/5. I enjoy it, love the textures, the noise juxtaposed with soft melodies. It’s very pretty and really feels like inside of a lava lamp. Maybe I just wish there was a tiny bit more energy? More of When you sleep and less Touched? It’s still a great album and maybe with time it will grow on me more. For now, from two of the greatest shoegaze albums, I much prefer Souvlaki.
Van Morrison
4/5
Oh it's wonderful. On paper these are simple songs but they managed to make them more interesting with all the jazz additions. Also, usually I don't dive too deep into the lyrics but these have been great, especially with the uplifting message on Brand New Day and Crazy Love. I'm going to be coming back to this and I'll be on a lookout for a vinyl copy
Pixies
5/5
Perfect. This is the third and probably the last Pixies album I’ve had during this challenge and it’s undoubtedly the best. Just a perfect mix of garage rock, noise and poppy melodies. I liked all of the songs, the album was hugely influential and I have and will definitely be coming back to it many many times.
Miles Davis
5/5
I have always loved this album and my appreciation for it continues to grow. Today, listening to it a bit more actively made me do a little research on modal jazz and I fell into a rabbit hole. Blue in green makes me stop in my tracks every time and just fall into melancholy for a while. Perfect soundtrack for a sunny yet cold afternoon in November.
Red Hot Chili Peppers
3/5
Heavily frontloaded. The first half is amazing, full of hits, songs ranging from crazy funk to pretty pop songs. The second half is a bit of a mess and it's not clear where it's going, seems like a compilation of b-sides. 3/5.
Common
4/5
prime Kanye production, a perfect background for the low and smooth flow of Common. Didn't have time to get deeper into the lyrics (not a native speaker, always a challenge with rap) so it may still grow on me. "I miss the old Kanye"
Deep Purple
4/5
I was surprised to enjoy it as much as I did. Obviously I knew highway star and smoke on the water before. But the rest of the album, although being typical 70s hard rock, is at the same progressive and purely fun to listen to. Probably one of the best dard rock has to offer
Maxwell
3/5
I am really baffled by some of these super negative reviews. For what it is, a smooth rnb album, it is really good. Maxwell has a great silky voice, the bass is funky and goes crazy (especially on the first half), there's plenty of small musical things going on in the background to keep in interesting even if the tracks are long and the overall vibe is perfect to put it on in the background. Still, I have to admit, it tends to drag by the end of the album and it would really benefit from trimming approx. 15 minutes, that would make it a really great album. 3/5
David Gray
1/5
First time hearing this - I'm not from the UK so I've never heard of David Gray before today. The music is inoffensive and a bit boring. It really does sound like a soundtrack to a sad scene placed somewhere in the middle of a romcom movie (maybe a slow motion reminiscing scene or a sad male lead looking through the window to the rain juxtaposed with the female lead laying on the couch with a blanket and a phone). The most interesting part of it is how it includes bits of folktronica, which was interesting and I guess kinda innovative. I feel like if it hadn't been made in the UK, no one would have cared today. Instead, we have all those sentimental reviews how it reminds people of their childhood without any mention of the actual qualities of this album. There's so many better albums that were not included on the list instead. 2/5 (This Years Love is so annoying it made me want to lower it down to 1/5). Actually having listened the entire thing, I got really annoyed with the last three songs. 1/5
Steve Earle
2/5
Just when thought I started getting into country, I got this and didn’t like it at all. I’m not even sure what I don’t like about it. It just feels really bland and uninteresting. Still I didn’t hate it and liked some aspects- especially the steel guitar. I added Fearless Heart to my playlist for its great solos. 2/5
Bob Dylan
4/5
How does a 20 year old write such beautiful love songs as "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright" or "Girl from the Northern Country"? How do you write songs that make a 30 year old guy cry - 60 years ago later? Also, I just love when the cover art perfectly compliments the content of the album. It’s not 5/5 for me though because some of the bluesy songs were less interesting to me
U2
4/5
Achtung Baby is definitely a grower. The first time I listened to it I thought it was good but maybe overproduced and a bit boring. But then each time I listen to it I like it more. Obviously One is probably one of the best pop rock songs of all time but there are other gems here and overall they manage to keep the quality high throughout the entire duration of the album. It’s a 3.5 from me, up to 4 because of One with a caveat that I like it less than War.
Blue Cheer
2/5
It is usually fun to discover the pioneers of new ideas and see exactly when some genres might have been born. Unfortunately, most of the time these are not that great outside of their context and were quickly overtaken by their successors. The same thing can be said here. While it's good to listen and know, it doesn't really do anything for me and I can't imagine picking it up again any time in the near future. Hard to rate it - 2.5/5 as a neutral rating
The Byrds
4/5
I didn’t expect to like it but I did. Except for really pretty and catchy Melodie’s the album is filled with experimentation so typical for 1967. It stands out! Although I’d have to say the sequencing is a bit weird and I really don’t like the baby alien voice. Light 4
Tracy Chapman
2/5
Nah these lyrics are just… bad. They feel incredibly cheesy as something that an angsty high schooler would have written. Love is hate / war is peace / no is yes / and we’re all free. The melodies are great and very catchy and her voice is just angelic. But I just don’t like the vibe. It feels like somebody is forcing me to like it because it is supposed to be protest music with important message. I wholeheartedly agree with the “secretary rock” review. It’s just too beige. 2.5/5
Cyndi Lauper
3/5
Blasting Time after time on my headphones, fully suited walking into my corporate job made me feel like Patrick Bateman! I really enjoyed it but then there are parts that annoyed me more. I’m not much of a new wave guy and I can’t get into it as much as I’d like. 3/5
Steve Winwood
3/5
It was my first time hearing this and I quite liked it, especially the Night Train. Great 80s vibes, nice mix of pop with progressive and really good synths. I’m not the biggest fan of this type of vocals though, sounds so typical for the era, just like Phil Collins or Peter Gabriel. Overall, a perfectly nice 80s album!
James Brown
3/5
I don't really feel the funk. I can appreciate it, bop my head a bit and feel the vibe for a moment. But it does nothing to me like other genres do. At first I felt bad but not anymore, there's so much music for everyone, you don't have to like what everybody else does. This is objectively good, but just.. not for me.
Minor Threat
2/5
I have a lot of respect for the energy and emotions that were put into recording this. But outside of going to see bands perform live (which I used to do a lot growing up) I don't really enjoy listening to punk. I can't really see myself going back to this.
Bob Dylan
5/5
I decided to give this one more time to grow on me and I’m really glad I did. I’m not a native English speaker so with anything rich in lyrics I need extra time to truly immerse myself in the ideas of the writer. This is the best full album I’ve heard from Dylan and I’m gonna give it a 5/5 and continue to listen to it closely. He really captures different emotions that almost everyone goes through during break up and the fact that each song reflects a different perspective makes it so much better. I really love this and I continue to discover new meanings with each listen
Eagles
3/5
It’s ok although not really that interesting, except for the title track. I never knew these guys are so hated among music nerds, I’m not American. I guess the hate these guys get is due to them being so popular while there’s plenty of other much better artists and I think I get that. Still it’s not that bad. A perfect 3
Meat Puppets
1/5
Nah fuck this, im turning it off, even though it is so short. The vocals are just too annoying and cringeworthy. Just listen to Nirvana’s unplugged instead. Don’t pretend that you like it, don’t be a pretentious asshole.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
4/5
Some great songs on here and the fact that it was recorded live is incredible! Not my favorite Neil Young’s album though, and I really dislike Welfare Mothers. A veeeery light 4
The White Stripes
4/5
This one brings back a lot of memories. I’ve been listening to this album a lot in high school. Now after all these years it feels like it didn’t get old or anything, it’s even better. Pure fun and rock and roll, so much better than all of those countless 70s hard rock albums on this list. I’m not giving it a 5 since I gave one to Elephant and I think it’s better but yeah this one is as close as it gets
Donald Fagen
2/5
This was my first time hearing this. Based on the lovely cover I was expecting something completely different. The first track was great but the rest of it disappoints. Of course, the music is tight and production is close to perfection (which also makes it kinda boring). But I just can’t stand the vocals. This cabaret, Elvis Costello like style annoys me to no end.
2/5
Steely Dan
2/5
I was hoping for this one to come up so I had high expectations. Never listened to it before but I like the concept of yacht rock. Unfortunately, this... was not for me. And I really tried to enjoy it. The famous production truly is perfect. As a drummer, I was shocked by the crisp clear sound of Gadd's drums, it's really impressive. I also enjoyed the jazz breaks scattered throughout the album (especially on title track). BUT, the songs... suck! Big time! The compositions are too complex and do not bring any enjoyment. I am really annoyed with this particular songwriting style where the melody starts to form and get some traction and then.. instead of going somewhere with it, you kill it. It just dissolves into nothingness. And it seems like it's being done on purpose, for the sake of being different/progressive, which makes it masturbatory. I do actually enjoy nice melodies in my music. And it's not either/or. You can put jazz and all that complexity while having nice tunes at the same time. Really disappointed. 2/5 (i was thinking of giving it 1, but this production truly is otherworldly and Deacon Blues has some nice moments).
Sly & The Family Stone
2/5
That was definitely not for me. I appreciate the music as technically good but it just didn’t feel interesting at all to me. I’m so surprised by these overwhelmingly positive reviews and I feel like I’m missing something. Well, it’s not the first funk album I can’t get into.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
3/5
It's ok, quite fun at places, but most of it blends together and is difficult to tell apart. Plus for a female rock vocalist and creative playing on hi hats. I must admit though that at times it felt like a bunch of spoiled rich kids cosplaying as edgy punks. I don't know if there's any truth to that, that's just my impression. I liked Pins, Maps (the only track I knew beforehand) and Y Control, which is also the best on the album. 3/5
Joy Division
5/5
One of those albums which are hard to listen more than once in a day. It's one of the saddest pieces of music I've heard in my life. I just can't wrap my head around the fact that Ian Curtis was just 23 when he wrote those heart wrenching lyrics. The overall tone is so depressing but beautiful at the same time. One of my all time favorites, but only in small doses.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
4/5
The first thing I thought when I saw this in the morning was “no way, another Neil Young record? It must have been six of rive already”. It didn’t help that it starts kind of lazily. I was ready to hate it. But, once again, Neil Young won me over. He has unmatched songwriting skills. The middle of the album towards the end is just banger after banger. Absolutely loved this, it’s now my second favorite album by Neil! 4/5
Radiohead
5/5
One of the earliest albums that I've listened to throughout on repeat, back when I was a teenager that was just getting into music. Also got me back then into actively listening full albums instead of casual listening to random mp3s on winamp:) Gave it a spin just now and it still stands out so much. Love it
LCD Soundsystem
3/5
My first time listening to this album. Somehow I missed out on LCD when growing up although I remember the name. Overall, I enjoyed it, especially the mix of dance-punk with early 2000s vibes. Pretty cool, but also maybe too repetitive and it gets old pretty quickly. Didn’t care for the ballads either, definitely the best part of the album were the fast tempo tracks with 16s on hi hats.
Fairport Convention
4/5
I didnt know anything about this band beforehand. I was in for a really pleasant surprise! I absolutely loved some of these tracks (especially the ones that feature those angelic female vocals). It felt cozy and warm, beautiful Melodie’s, reminiscent of a simpler life far away from my everyday struggles. 4/5
Franz Ferdinand
4/5
One of my favorite albums from my teenage years. Still makes you want to throw everything in the air and just dance. Really really love Franz Ferdinand!
Bob Marley & The Wailers
4/5
Possible the most popular reggae album of all time? Amazing collection of hit singles (although in between there is some filler which lacks in quality, but this may be due to the unreachable tier of the hit tracks). Personally, I liked Catch A Fire much more as a whole project, this felt much more as a 'best of' kind of album. 4/5
Foo Fighters
3/5
Never really got into Foo Fighters and it always seemed to me as this kind of generic, radio-friendly rock music. Listening to it I realized that in fact it is exactly what I thought but it's still pretty enjoyable! I added a few tracks to my favorites. My rating is raised by the excellent drumming (duh!) and the back story - the album being recorded by Dave on his own as a sort of catharsis after Kurt's passing.
The Human League
2/5
Hm, I expected to like it much more than I did. Usually I enjoy synthpop but somehow here, except for the hit single which I love, I got really bored and tired of the sound. I'll try again some other time.
John Martyn
4/5
Never heard of this guy. Really enjoyed it. Before doing this challenge I didn't even know there existed such a thing as British Folk Music. And now it's probably the third album from the genre and I loved them all. My favorite parts were the ones with the jazzy elements but I also liked all of the more traditional folk tunes. The lyrics seem to be the stream of consciousness which doesn't really bother me and it goes really well with his mumbling-singing style. I'll be definitely looking out to check out more from his catalogue.
Sarah Vaughan
4/5
So warm and cozy. I just felt transported in time and place to a Chicago nightclub in late 1950s, filled with cigarettes smoke, alcohol and beautiful, warm voice of Sarah Vaughan. Perfect album for a late night at home.
Blondie
3/5
Some great songs (Heart of Glass really is a class of its own), but overall I kinda dislike the new wave style. I hate to admit it. It just sounds too.. noisy? I'm not sure if this is the producing style or whatever but I get tired really fast with any new wave albums. So overall there's some great songwriting here and amazing hits, but as a whole, I got tired really quickly and don't want to go back to this too soon.
Terence Trent D'Arby
3/5
That was pretty enjoyable, especially the late 80s rnb vibes. I get the criticism that it tends to treat itself too seriously - as if, instead of being content with making a great pop album, Terence tries to make it like a big piece of art, which it really isn't. And yeah, the acapella song is a perfect embodiment of this, annoying as hell.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
2/5
I have never heard this before. It doesn't suck completely. It just failed to grab any of my attention. The whole album just flew by and I was waiting for it to either catch on in any way with me or to just end. Boring and uninspiring.
Radiohead
4/5
Soundtrack of my life in high school. It's still amazing, especially the less known songs (Nice Dream, Bulletproof, Black Star). It's really close to a 5, but I just feel like there are other Radiohead albums I prefer much more. I'd put Bends in the 4th place, hence 4/5 (a strong one though!)
The Kinks
2/5
I'm confused. I'm trying really hard to understand what's so great about this and I'm not getting it. Sure there are some nice moments but it feels too much like a try hard case - where they were trying to go experimental for the sake of it. It's hardly Revolver or Pet Sounds.
The Jam
1/5
Wow I really did not like it. This is a perfect example of this particular genre of music that I can't force myself to like. It's always from the UK, the vocalist is bad and sings in a screamy, non-melodic manner, the songs are kind of punky or new wave and there's very few engaging melodies. Instead, it's pretending to be somehow alternative or cutting edge for killing momentum of any interesting melody that might appear in their songs. They all sound the same to me. I really, really do not like it and I feel like if it wasn't from the UK, no one would care about it. There's so much more interesting music outside of this 'genre' - in particular, from non-English speaking countries.
It's Rod Stewart with his band. It's okayish rock n roll, bit bland and boring. Even though there were some nice tunes on it I feel like I'm going to forget this existed in a week.
Elton John
4/5
After listening to the first few tracks I was amazed and thought it was gonna be one of my favorite albums ever. But then it went on for much too long with too many weak songs. Shame, because I really thought the first side was fantastic. It's still a 4/5 but I wish it was a bit lighter
Steely Dan
2/5
Another approach to Steely Dan. This one is less polished and a bit more interesting than Aja. Still, I feel like I'm listening to a masturbation contest. Not for me, but slightly better than Aja. 2.5/5
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
4/5
This is why I'm still doing this challenge. Please, less hard rock and UK punk from the 70s and more of hidden gems like this one. Yeah its repetitive, but its truly an outstanding piece of music from a far away culture. I play it to my newborn to make him fall asleep, it's perfect!
Lana Del Rey
4/5
I liked it a lot. In fact, I think I liked every song on the album. Nothing groundbreaking or revolutionary but just a pleasant experience. I have found that I really enjoy americana. I'll have to dig into the lyrics more but so far - 4/5!
Dire Straits
4/5
Mark Knopfler is one of my favorite guitar players ever. His technical abilities, sparse and tasteful licks, deep affection for jazz as well as quirkiness (famously not using picks) kind of remind me of Stewart Copeland but for guitar! This album is a testament to his incredible guitar tone. I didn't love all of the songs, especially tracks 2-5, but then you get Sultans of Swing which is just massive and the rest of the album keeps it at a high level. strong 4
Guns N' Roses
4/5
I was very sceptical at the beginning but it's been so much fun! IT must have been great partying to this in late 1980s. Welcome to the Jungle and Sweet Child O'Mine are clearly the big hits and deservedly so (the latter is just incredible towards the end). There are some unintentionally funny/cringe parts with all the machismo (the unexpected whistle on Paradise City gets me every time) and the lyrics with vocals are probably the most annoying parts of the whole thing. But, the musicianship is great and tight and its just pure fun to listen to it. recommended for a heavy workout!
Kanye West
5/5
Not going too much into detail on this one. One of my favourites of all time and a gateway to hip hop some time ago. Thanks Kanye. It's modern baroque music. There's too much of everything and yet somehow it works amazingly.
I didn't want to do the usual "music good, kanye bad" review, just a small note: Kanye's arch from a young and promising yet troubled genius to a fully psychotic attention whore who lost his mojo makes me more sad than anything. And yet the indignant reviews "im not listening to his music" make me laugh a bit - just a quick check in most of these guys pages and there's positive reviews of albums made by 70s rock bands full of rapists and pedos. Seriously?
Cowboy Junkies
4/5
My kind of music. I feel like I’m falling asleep in a barn after a very long day. There’s firelight creeping through barn walls and the last sounds of a dying party around the campfire. So good
The Stone Roses
5/5
"have you seen, her have you heard? the way she plays, there are no words, to describe the way i feel"
It's one of my all time favorites, probably top3-5. I don't have much to say about it, except that it's still amazing, after all this time. It's one of those pieces of art that makes me nostalgic for a place in time which I haven't even experienced.
Boston
3/5
Probably the most American sounding album I’ve ever heard. I was seeing eagles, choppers, highways running through the desert, huge American flags flying in the wind. It’s definitely fun, especially the first three songs. Later on it gets a bit bland and repetitive but there are still some interesting things here and there like the organs or whatever that was on Smokin. A very strong 3/5
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
this would go very hard on a long drive through the US in constant rain. It's very American, even the lyrics remind me of Cormac McCarthy stories with their nihilism and despair. I enjoyed it but I must admit that it got a bit boring towards the end.
Buddy Holly & The Crickets
3/5
Not really my tuning but some of those tracks made me feel like in the beginning of a David Lynch movie and I enjoyed that! 3/5
Radiohead
4/5
I really love Radiohead. This special kind of nostalgia hits hard, especially now, as I played it on a morning walk in the park with my dog in the middle of November. I see this one gets a bit of hate and I can probably understand why, it’s definitely not for everyone’s taste. Still I believe there are some objective bangers on it, I Might Be wrong and knives out stand out in particular. 4/5
Funkadelic
3/5
Another funk album that I can't really get into. I feel a bit sad because I've been waiting for this one to appear. Maybe the funk is just not within me. I appreciated the instrumentals (especially the rhythm section) and the guitar on the first track blew me away. But the rest of the songs just didn't do anything for me. And then it ends with baby cries and fart noises. Why
Pretenders
2/5
Nope, trying really hard to like new wave at this point and still can't get to enjoy it. It's a shame because I know some of their hits and the vocalist can sing really well, but here she mostly does melo-recitation and the biggest hit, brass in my pocket, i find it really annoying. its a shame
Robert Wyatt
2/5
I decided to give it a go as it seemed so different from everything I've heard lately and I really enjoyed the instrumentation. But the vocals, man they suck. Its this particular way of singing thats sadly typical to UK prog. Sounds like an old man shouting at the cloud. Roger Waters style (ugh). And then it goes completely off key for "artistic" reasons. Nah
Creedence Clearwater Revival
3/5
I love CCR, but this one is not their best - I put it on in the background and it worked fine, but I don't care too much about any of the songs in particular.
De La Soul
4/5
This was a lot of fun. Amazing production for their times, some of those beats made me dance in my kitchen with my toddler. Clever and light-hearted - they are serious when necessary, but never take themselves too seriously, which is so refreshing to hear. I'll be definitely coming back to this one. 4/5 with a strong potential for growth
Red Hot Chili Peppers
3/5
First of all, amazing instrumentals - especially Chad on drums, fantastic playing. There are some great songs on here too, my favorites: Breaking the Girl, I Could Have Lied (what a guitar solo uff) and of course Under the Bridge. Why does it have to be so long though? cut out almost half of it and it could have been a strong 4/5.
Nick Drake
4/5
Of all Nick Drake albums its the only one that truly speaks to me. Simple and sparse, guitar with piano here and there and warm yet clearly troubled voice. I think I used to enjoy it a bit more, I was expecting to give it a 5, but I'm not that sure anymore. Maybe it'll come back in more fitting circumstances. For now a very strong 4/5
Supergrass
2/5
Not for me. I realise it’s supposed to be like that, but there’s just too much cacophony, noise, chaos. I can’t listen to it without getting really tired and overstimulated. Maybe on another day but so far I don’t feel like coming back to this one (2 stars because I liked two songs)
Pet Shop Boys
2/5
I was excited to listen to something different for a change and in the beginning it was promising but then it went fully outside my comfort zone into the kitschy poppy sounds and I kind of drifted away. not really looking forward to giving it another try (and i like some of the earlier albums of theirs)
The Police
2/5
I tried to like it but couldn’t get through. “Mother” didn’t help. I liked Reggatta much more, this one felt a bit soulless and masturbatory.
George Harrison
3/5
I probably should enjoy it more and I felt bad for thinking of giving it a 2 and therefore bumped it simply due to the number of hits. It's just way too long and repetitive. You could cut out 2/3 out of it and it would be a great album. It's just going on and on in the same exact direction for 2 hours.
Billy Joel
4/5
I really liked it, especially Anthony song and Vienna. Really nice flow throughout the album. There are however some cringeworthy moments (Italian restaurant in particular), which prevent it from being 5/5
Roxy Music
1/5
Wow that was annoying. I tried to like it but really struggled. There was only one track that grabbed my attention.. for a while, then it immediately went full circus/cabaret mode (who likes that?). Then I went on to check the notes and sure enough, its Brian Eno. I have no idea why but the fact that his albums are so revered and I really can't find any enjoyment in them baffles me.