The hits hit hard. The entire album is a little more mixed. Some of the subjects are going to come across as dated. I try to keep the context in mind when rating this one. An iconic album but not as complete as I remember it.

Jangly. Poppy. Not something I’d search out on my own. But not a bad listen. Just not my cup. 3/5

This is more my speed. I did take a course on the history of rock music and this kind of classic, foundational music was something I was really into. There's so much energy here. I can imagine being a kid in 1957 and this would have been like getting shocked if you stuck a fork in the electric socket. Your hair standing on end, your spine-tingling, and your feet jittering. This is just amazing because I can't even imagine rocking on a piano like this now. Besides Billy Joel and Elton John, do we even see pianos anymore in rock setups? I'll totally come back to this. I forgot how great this album was. 5/5

This is pretty mellow for my liking. It also is my first James Taylor album. I know him. Never listened to him though. Not bad. Not something I’d be to interested in listening to regularly. It feels timeless and dated at the same time. ‘Fire and Rain’ is a great song. But that’s about it for me on this one. For a greatest album, I feel like it should have more hits or really sticky songs. Cormac called it pleasant. But why am I listening this country stuff? 3.5/5 75/100

Torn between 3 & 4 stars here. It’s a good album. Uneven in spots. But I have fond memories of it as well. 75/100 4/5

I like the beats. The rhymes not so much.

I’m surprised that I enjoy this. It also reminds me of a period of time in music. Reading the liner notes on Apple Music, adding guitar would have killed these songs. Trust the artist.

This is great for just grooving and locking in on my work. I like jazz and EDM for focusing. 4/5 85/100

I like this. It’s depressing but good. 4/5 83/100

72/100 3/5 Solid. Trippy. I remembered it differently than when I listen in 2023.

AMAZING! 5/5 90/100

Never listened to Morrissey before. It’s nice. Sad but nice.

3/5 Melodic and heavy.

Power pop is how I’d describe this. Pleasant but nothing special.

An Irish jig or something. Knew the name but nothing else. I like this even if it’s completely something I’d never listen to. Pop with Irish folk influences. 4/5

Cmon. This is the best. 5/5

Fine. Not my thing. Not that interesting to me. 2/5

“I don’t believe you! You’re a liar! Play it fucking loud!” 5/5

A favorite of dad rock. 5/5

New to me. I knew the name, but this is solid classic 70s-ish rock. Hints of psychedelic music. Poppy. I’m not sure I’d search it out normally, but I like it and I’d listen again.

This is wild. I never would have known this was The Beach Boys. These are complicated songs with serious subject matter that still rock and hit. Crazy. If you are a set in the stone The Beach Boys have to be poppy listener, you’ll hate this. If you can approach it from a new angle, this is pretty interesting to listen to.

The guitar picking is good. It’s totally fine. But not my thing.

Good. Not great. At points fun. At others, repetitive. Would I listen to it again? Some of it. An hour? Not sure.

Pleasant. Fine. Not great.

Enjoyed this more than I might have thought.

I didn’t find this all that interesting. In places, I forgot I was listening to it.

Like it but wouldn’t search it out.

This sounds before it’s time. It’s crazy the sounds that these guys used. 5/5

Epic

Not my thing.

Obviously 5/5

Not my favorite. Muddy guitar that sounds a little generic dirty rock guitar. 2/5

Knock off Rage Against the Machine.

I thought the Korn album was awful. This is the worst music I’ve ever heard.

4/5

I always walk away from these Adele albums saying she has a great voice and the music is solid, but it’s music that doesn’t move me a lot. There’s always that last step she doesn’t take.

Would never have discovered this without the site. I wasn’t sure what I was listening to at the start but by the end I loved it. 5/5

3/5. Not my favorite Funkadelic but some of the songs still jam.

I saw someone say "this is a soft 4." I feel that. The guitar work and tone are great. The musicianship is tight. But, at the same time, it isn't as over the top great as I might have started out thinking. Maybe a rounded up 3.5 to a 4 for me. But good stuff and if it was on in the background, I wouldn't be pissed.

4/5 Before my time but good.

5/5 I’ve listened to this a lot lately due to the Ryan Adams take on the album. I’d forgotten how great it was.

A nightly soundtrack during the early nights of my career when I was involved in nightclubs. A great album.

4/5

Some of this is good. Some of it is filler. I remember having a lot of fun at this tour though. I’ll go 3/5

Seductive, obviously. Not as dated as you might expect. 3/5

Make sure you go for the explicit version. I like the beats and jazz influence. The flow is different compared to the hip-hop I grew up on. But it’s a solid album. 3/5

I think this might be what I sound like when I'm in the shower, singing, after having had a few too many. It isn't a very appealing thing to listen to. Most of this is incoherent. I wouldn't know that this was in any way someone attached to the formation of Pink Floyd. This was just not very good.

Not sure if this is really metal since Metallica had evolved so much by this point. But it’s heavy and melodic and I have time for it when it comes up in my suggestions.

I like this. Love the energy and the beats. Still feels fresh. 4/5

I can understand the negative reviews. The first couple of tracks felt like some sort of joke. But as I got deeper into the album, it started to come together for me. Some good beats. Very mellow like a micro dosing funk.

The ultimate in inoffensive butt rock. Totally groovin’ and nothing too far out there. You wouldn’t get any complaints or compliments playing this at a backyard BBQ.

Love these songs. Knowing some music history, I know that The Go-Gos are a bit more punk than this record would lead you to believe.

Like this. I do agree that it is heavily polished but isn’t that sort of the thing with a studio album? I won’t go as far as to give it 5 stars but solid 4 for me.

Maybe folk isn’t my thing. I do feel like it could be songs from a renaissance festival. Not bad but not something I’d choose to listen to regularly.

3/5

Totally fine. Just a random walk in the 90s power pop world.

Just the right album for a holiday weekend. The driving beats. The songs that are familiar. The songs that aren’t as famous. It all mixes nicely together to make a really good album. 4/5

This is the most boring form of pseudo-intellectual rock I've listened to in a while. It isn't bad. It is just boring and been done a hundred times earlier on this list. This sounds like the kind of music my dentist would have on while performing a cleaning on my teeth.

This is one where the context really matters because I get it: samples and sampling! It is a totally fine album to listen to, but because it is 2023, the amount of sampling is the shoulder shrug emoji. I typically try and put myself into the mindset of what must this have sounded like when it came out and can't quite get there with this one. It isn't dated per se. It doesn't feel relevant to me either. I just feel like it sounds like a lot of the electronic albums on this list. Which is probably a testament to how important this one was at the time, but as a listener now...not as important.

Loved this one. It was ahead of its time when I first listened to it in the 90s. I’ve occasionally put this on over the years. To me, it holds up and doesn’t sound dated. It’s a vibe. 4/5

This is pretty amazing. I only knew the newer stuff starting with Mule Variations. I really like this and am going to add this to the rotation.

A regular before this came up in my project. I like the beats and the indecipherable lyrics because it doesn’t disrupt me when I’m working and is soothing. As far as a trip hop album goes, I think this is what I consider trip hop to be. I don’t know if I would be able to tell you any other albums. Groovy. Ethereal. Seductive. 5 of 5.

4/5 Solid but not spectacular.

I’ve always loved this album. When my son was a little guy, we listened to this all the time on the way to preschool. What holds me back is when I’ve seen them in concert the show isn’t as good as the album, but that isn’t the albums fault. Good solid, blues based rock. 4/5. If I could, I’d probably go 4.5 but not all the way to 5.

Torn between 4 and 5. This is the most consistent Stones album I’ve listened to IMO. The musicality is amazing. The riffs and jams are solid. I’m going 4 but could have said 5 on another day.

2/5

Great musicianship. I only know ‘Jenny’ but a good solid album.

I get the glam influence. I didn’t find this to be essential or especially great. The hits are good, but the rest feels like filler. I’ll go 3 due to the hits, but this is really a 2.

What is chamber music anyway?! Never knew that’s what this style is supposed to sound like. It isn’t bad. I wouldn’t call it good. The lyrics are hokey with a little Lawrence Welk thrown in. Won’t remember this. Won’t likely ever look for it again.

Really solid album. A lot of great songs that I had totally forgotten about, but knew them as soon as the first notes played. Probably a 92-93, but I’ll give it a 5. 1984 is the only song that seems out of place. It isn’t very good. But it’s the last song.

My wife says, “all bangers.” I was never a huge fan until this year when I went to see the show at the baltimore arena. I’m a convert.

I like this one better as a whole than some of the other Bowie albums I’ve received. The hits are always great, but I’ve found the albums a bit more uneven. This one is thematic and consistent. I guess this is Thin White Duke Bowie, but I try avoid too much research in this. Punk with dance beats. 4/5

Love it. Great dance album. 5/5

Highway to Hell is a banger. The rest is repetitive. It’s all good but a bit one note.

It’s a lot. Not bad, a lot. But not 5 star great either. It can be a touch indulgent in places. But it’s very funky and eclectic. I’ll go strong 4 stars but not quite 5.

This is a solid album throughout. It’s got hip hop, soul, R&B, and it vibes. I don’t know if I ever listened to the whole album all the way before, but I would put this on just like the Erykah Badu album I heard earlier on in this. Just good music.

Peak folk Dylan. Some very memorable songs. Maybe not my ultimate Dylan, but I’ll go 4.

Starts strong. Some of it is good. Some of it is average or below. 72/100

Perfectly fine. Pretty one note for the most part. Nothing to be bothered by.

I remember drinking at a bar in Ft. Lauderdale with one of the guys that Marilyn Manson had fired from the band back in the 1990s. I also remember a NYE show in Ft Lauderdale as well. I haven't listened to this stuff in years, but I was surprised at how much of it I remember from my early-20s. In listening to these albums, I try to put myself in the mindset of where or what I would think of the album with no knowledge of the artist or the years since the album was released. So, I'll grade this album on that scale as a 4/5...like a 89.

A double album that has songs that will fill a double album. Not 100% bangers, but nothing that’s really filler. I think this holds up well. I was a fan in the days. I’m still a fan now.

This album hasn't aged one bit...it is as fresh as it was the first time I heard it. The power. The lyrics. The creativity. I think it might be hard for folks to realize how radical this was when it first came out in the early-90s. There wasn't any rap/rock mainstream music minus the Run DMC/Aerosmith collab of "Walk This Way". 5/5

This is a great album. I heard talk about Flint's water in the opening...man, nothing changes. 5/5

I find this to be awful because it feels designed to be inoffensive and bland. I read the description and the context and that makes it even worse IMO. It’s techno and a coming out party at once and it’s less likely to make me dance than anything I’ve listened to in a while. And, it seems pretty generic and not super introspective from a sexuality standpoint. Really disappointing.

I like this one. It has range from heart ache and soul to rocking and bopping. Most people will know most of these songs. I'm really into this version of 'Satisfaction', it is pretty amazing.

Totally fine. Not good. Not bad. 2.5 so 3. I guess.

This is one that I have a favorable impression of due to the time it came out. It was 2002 and it was Bruce's response to the September 11th, terrorist attacks. It was also the first Bruce Springsteen album I ever really got into. Moving to NYC in 2002, the album felt poignant to the angst and uncertainty that people felt during that first year after the attacks. I remember visiting NYC for the first time in May 2002 staying in a hotel downtown on Wall Street and waking up with a bloody nose because of the grit and pollution still in the air. Then I remember moving there in November 2002 and it wasn't that people had moved on, but it had become a joyous time in NYC because people seemed to just embrace that it could all go away. So when I listen to this album, I think of all of this. On a scale of 0-100. This is around an 89 for me. But do to everything I reviewed, I'll probably give it 5 stars for the combo music and emotional context.

I've actually listened to this one a lot over the last year or so because it is ambient and that helps me work on things without the distraction of lyrics. I know nothing about the band and nothing about any of this, but I love the textures and the grooves. Since it is on regularly in my house...I'm going 5 stars.

I know the Talking Heads, I know 'Once in a Lifetime'. I was excited to listen to this one because my wife went to see David Byrne's show on Broadway on a business trip a few years back. I didn't think this was bad or good. 'Once in a Lifetime' was and is still a good song. The rest of the stuff just kind of blended together for me. I wouldn't need to listen to the full album again. 3/5

I like this. I started with going 4, but this is a 5 because it’s fresh and the remastered version brings out the brightness of the instruments. I’m going 93/100

C'mon... Do I even need to review this one for my group? I've been to 20 Pearl Jam shows to the point where 'Alive' has moved from a lament to a celebration. When I was sick with COVID and the complications from Long COVID, the thing that kept me going was the Pearl Jam show at MSG scheduled for 9/11/22. I got there and 'Garden' tore me up. The production on the album is very early-90s and the remixed version of the album is truer to the band's live sound, but this is an anthemic album...one that I still listen to regularly. 5/5

The hits hit hard. The entire album is a little more mixed. Some of the subjects are going to come across as dated. I try to keep the context in mind when rating this one. An iconic album but not as complete as I remember it.

It’s good. I can see why Nirvana and other bands were inspired by this.

As the kids say, "low key" banger. This is pretty great. I didn't realize I was going to know all of these songs. The more surprising thing is that the sound is still vibrant and alive. This is a really great example of early American rock 'n roll. 95/100 5 stars

I enjoyed this. A lot of interesting beats.

I enjoyed this. Probably add this to my workday rotation.

I like it. Very techno and house.

Didn’t love it or hate it. 2.5

Love ‘Tommy’. As a kid, my son and I would listen to it all the time. He loves ‘Pinball Wizard’ even now as a surly teenager.

Great voice. Great artist. This was too one tone for me to get very excited about though. 3/5

4/5

4/5 Not as revolutionary now as I’m sure it was in the days. It’s a very tight album. I was torn between 3 & 4 because I was expecting a bit more. But I realized I’ve been too ready to drop a 3. And, 3 should be reserved for the “meh, didn’t hate it and don’t need it.”

4/5

I remember this. It’s catchy and somewhat silly. I don’t know if it belongs on a list like this but I enjoy it as a novelty compared to some of the more serious options we’ve had over time. 2/5

I have always really loved this one. Reading the reviews, I never took into consideration the influences that helped bring this one to life. For me, it reminds me of living in NYC in the mid-2000s. 5/5

4/5

Not my favorite LZ but still pretty rocking.

This is in the regular rotation as it is. 'Seven Nation Army' is an all-time rock anthem for that riff alone. The best part of this album isn't the rocking, but the simplicity of the music. It is simple, but powerful. 5/5

This is dark... On the other hand, it is unbelievably catchy. Weird, but beautiful. I don't know. It is totally out there. I love it. 5/5

It's fine. I didn't lose my mind over this even though I remember Ryan Adams name checking 'Viva Hate' at the start of his first solo album. So I kind of expected more. It is fine. It is a bit one tone for me. And, sad. I wouldn't need to listen to this regularly and I wouldn't necessarily turn it off if it was on. 3/5

5/5 From a Dylan standpoint, this is it. The song craft is just perfect.

For me, it’s poppy and punk at the same time. This is the formula that the Foo Fighters have used for years now, but it’s all Dave Grohl, trying to figure out what he’s going to do now that Kurt Cobain is dead. Is it top of the Foo Fighters pyramid, IMO no. But it is fun and great. So 5 stars for me.

This is pretty great. I knew a lot of these songs from other artists. It’s just a lively, fun album. If this is Big Band, I dig it. 5/5

Not the worst thing, but not really good either. 2/5

I enjoyed this more than I expected. It’s not terribly transformative, but the beats work and the context of the music is solid.

Sounds like a soundtrack to a spaghetti western. It’s good. 4/5

4 star

4

Pretty joyous and funky.

I forgot I was even listening to this. It is fine but not 100% memorable to me.

A couple of all time hits on here that tons of people will know. It’s also very specific to the 80s. It’s catchy and easy to listen to. I like it. I might not catch myself going back to it regularly but you do have to admit that Cyndi Lauper did a tremendous job of building a persona for her that started with this album. 4/5

4/5 I liked this more than I thought I would. It’s poppy.

4/5

4/5

3

This is a pretty epic pop album. You have to really divorce yourself from MJ’s personal life but it’s a great pop album.

Perfectly fine. Totally average. Wouldn’t need to search this out. 3/5

All bangers. 5/5.

Catchy and fun. 4/5

I don’t know what this is. It’s fun. It’s interesting. I don’t know if I’d ever search it out.

I will admit, I didn’t get Wilco for a long time. I saw them open for REM. Meh. Listened to their stuff because a woman I was dating loved them. Meh. Had a chance to listen to their live album. Finally got it. That’s a long intro into once I got it, I listened to this album with fresh ears and it’s just great. It’s sort of the best of Wilco in the songs are well crafted and musicians are experimental without stealing from the songs. Excellent stuff.

I like country music in some ways. But this isn’t it for me. 2/5

Listened to it twice. I guess I liked it. 😁

4/5

4/5

This is probably the peak of U2. It’s anthemic and grandiose. It’s driving and soft. They’ve never been my top top favorite but this is pretty great.

3/5

Not something I couldn’t have lived without hearing. But not bad. If my baseline is average at 2.5. Round up to a 3.

4/5

4/5

3/5

3/5

I’ve still listened to Kid Rock during this project. So this isn’t the worst thing. But it is fucking awful.

4/5 The beats are great. The lyrics, meh. Not as catchy as other stuff but the music hits.

3/5

4/5

4/5

Love this. Moody and melodic. Its not my favorite Radiohead album but I put it on regularly as mood music to work to.

I like electronic music, but this is not a good example of the genre.

Not the worst thing I’ve ever listened to, but it is close.

This is great. The blues like they should be.

Hard meh. 2/5

Pretty good. I like it more than I imagined when I saw it pop up. Jangly. Catchy. A bit dated, but still fun. 4/5

4

4/5

Couldn’t find the album but picked out the songs and made a playlist.

3/5

The cover of “I See a Darkness” is the only highlight and the only thing I remember about this.

Quite pleasant. 4/5

2/5. LCD Soundsystem’s shout out gets this 2 stars. This isn’t that great minus the last song.

I’m surprised that I like this one so much. It’s funky, fun, and melodic. Not earth shattering but good.

4/5

Like this more than I thought I would. There are a couple of songs I knew. A lot I didn’t. I’d put this on in the background, I think. 3 seems too low. 4 too high. But I’ll round up to 4.

4

Meh. 2/5

This is decidedly average pop/rock music. It doesn’t suck. It isn’t great. If it was a 1/10 scale, I’d say it’s about a 5. Meh. 3/5

Not my thing. 2/5

4/5

4/5 Listened to this yesterday on my walk. Ha!

3/5

Didn’t know what I was getting. It was fun and I’d put some of these songs on at a BBQ or party for the energy and to get my friends scratching their heads. Is it earth shattering or revolutionary? Probably not.

I was just watching a show about U2 and the Zoo TV era. This is a really great album. It holds up and I like it more than the other albums they made around this time. It’s probably my age that says that since my wife is way more into Joshua Tree. I call it peak earnest Bono.

3/5

This was pretty bad. It wasn’t interesting at all. 2/5

2

This is honestly one of the most godawful things I’ve been exposed to. It seems to have little or no redeeming qualities.

I’m from this part of GA. So I’ve got a soft spot for this one. In REM’s total discography, I find this not as great as other albums. But it’s good stuff and a very solid debut.

3/5

I don’t find this particularly interesting. 1/5

4

The first half is great. The lyrics are dated including the use of “f$g”. The second half is kind of “mid”. The riffs are solid. 4

3

I like this one. I don’t know if I’ve listened to it before. But I want to dance a jig. 4

4/5

I both like this and find it utterly uninteresting. I’m really about down the middle on this one.

Fine. Something that has a title like this should be more fun. I’ll stick to Jimmy Buffet. 2/5

Not sure why this is on the list. Its a perfectly fine album but essential seems a stretch.

Pretty standard issue blues based rock. Nothing world beating and nothing bad. This is definitely 5/10 not 3/5. 3/5

I know it is important. But it’s pretty boring. 2/5

Get in. Get out. Rock. 4/5

Meh. Fine. Not 1000 albums before I die great.

3/5

2/5 Meh.

Why is this on the list? What a waste of a spot on a list that’s supposed to be the bangingest of the bangers.

These songs are spare and cold. That makes them memorable to me because this was the first Dylan album released in my lifetime that seemed to really matter. He’d released tons of music, but he was washed. This album was the start of a string of music that was relevant and felt real, important. I understand why some folks don’t like this one, but for me…this is great.

Very 80s. One hit for me. Not great as a whole. 2/5

This is solid. It is raw. It is hard. There are rough edges. PJ Harvey was kick ass from the start.

This was my go-to album during COVID lockdowns. I had never really paid much attention to this one. I was always more into 'Kid A'. But during 2020, I got heavily into this one.

3/5

Totally fine. Not something essential. 3/5

I love LCD Soundsystem because there are so many callbacks to other artists. This is like a shoe gaze, mood music album. Would I call it my favorite, no. Would I still listen to it whenever I get a chance...100%.

3/5

4/5

4/5

Kind of dull. 2/5

3/5

I like the album. But I can’t muster up more than 3 stars though.

Meh. I’ve had Limp Bitzkit and Kid Rock on this journey. Nothing is as bad as that. This is excessive and boring. 2/5

Not very compelling. The music is kind of a jumble of sounds and beats without much in the way of a theme. 2/5

I’m calling this a generous 3.