Journey Complete!
Finisher #626 to complete the list
View User Albums Summary1089
Albums Rated
3.08
Average Rating
100%
Complete
Favorite Album
Sister
Sonic Youth
Submitted Album
Almoraima
Paco de Lucía
Rating Distribution
Rating Timeline
Taste Profile
1960
Favorite Decade
Latin
Favorite Genre
US
Top Origin
Perfectionist
Rater Style ?
30
5-Star Albums
22
1-Star Albums
Breakdown
By Genre
Top Styles
By Decade
By Origin
Albums
You Love More Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Pictures At An Exhibition
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
|
5 | 2.64 | +2.36 |
|
Happy Sad
Tim Buckley
|
5 | 2.78 | +2.22 |
|
Out of Step
Minor Threat
|
5 | 2.93 | +2.07 |
|
Black Monk Time
The Monks
|
5 | 2.94 | +2.06 |
|
Reign In Blood
Slayer
|
5 | 2.96 | +2.04 |
|
Sister
Sonic Youth
|
5 | 3.02 | +1.98 |
|
Duck Stab/Buster & Glen
The Residents
|
4 | 2.03 | +1.97 |
|
Music For The Jilted Generation
The Prodigy
|
5 | 3.07 | +1.93 |
|
Double Nickels On The Dime
Minutemen
|
5 | 3.11 | +1.89 |
|
They Were Wrong, So We Drowned
Liars
|
4 | 2.11 | +1.89 |
You Love Less Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Transformer
Lou Reed
|
1 | 3.67 | -2.67 |
|
Blood On The Tracks
Bob Dylan
|
1 | 3.67 | -2.67 |
|
Wish You Were Here
Pink Floyd
|
2 | 4.3 | -2.3 |
|
Private Dancer
Tina Turner
|
1 | 3.3 | -2.3 |
|
A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector
Various Artists
|
1 | 3.3 | -2.3 |
|
Bongo Rock
Incredible Bongo Band
|
1 | 3.26 | -2.26 |
|
MTV Unplugged In New York
Nirvana
|
2 | 4.2 | -2.2 |
|
The Wall
Pink Floyd
|
2 | 4.14 | -2.14 |
|
I'm Your Man
Leonard Cohen
|
1 | 3.09 | -2.09 |
|
Ambient 1/Music For Airports
Brian Eno
|
1 | 3.07 | -2.07 |
Artists
Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Amy Winehouse | 2 | 5 |
| Stevie Wonder | 4 | 4.25 |
| Beatles | 7 | 4 |
| The Smiths | 3 | 4.33 |
| Pixies | 3 | 4.33 |
| Jimi Hendrix | 3 | 4.33 |
Least Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Leonard Cohen | 5 | 1.8 |
| Bob Dylan | 7 | 2.14 |
| Lou Reed | 2 | 1.5 |
| Happy Mondays | 2 | 1.5 |
| Brian Eno | 5 | 2.2 |
Controversial
| Artist | Ratings |
|---|---|
| Sonic Youth | 4, 1, 5, 4, 4 |
| Nirvana | 4, 5, 2 |
5-Star Albums (30)
View Album Wall
Popular Reviews
The Good, The Bad & The Queen · 3 likes
4/5
I would call this psychedelic prog folk dub. Too psychedelic for my taste, but it's good (if you can stand Damon Albarn's singing). Favorite song: Herculean
Emerson, Lake & Palmer · 3 likes
5/5
Amazing. It's a live record. It's as metal as you can be without distorted guitars. Favorite part: the gnome.
Incredible Bongo Band · 3 likes
1/5
Kitsch. Novelty. Not even done very well. But it's fun to listen to for a while. Some songs are alright, but there's also some very bland versions of more spicy originals, like Pipeline and Satisfaction. A full album of this is too much. If you need samples for your hip hop or dance music, this record is for you. Otherwise ignore it. In my opinion this doesn't belong on the list. Favorite song: Kiburi.
D'Angelo · 2 likes
1/5
Booooring. Next. I mean, it's very monotonous. Whatever interesting may be going on in the background is drowned out completely by the bass and the singing. Especially the bass is very monotonous. I don't like falsetto singing and he does that almost all the time. The harmonies all sound the same. The shortest song is 4:20, which is already too long. I hate all the songs. Music like this should be actively discouraged.
Beach House · 2 likes
2/5
Objectively there's nothing wrong with the music. But I hate this. I hate the way of singing, the tempo is too fast to be relaxed and too slow to be anything else, the drums are too laid back, there's way too much reverb for my taste. I'm pretty sure this music is supposed to be relaxing, but it annoys me. Makes me want to punch them in the face to get them going. Least hated song: Norway
4-Star Albums (322)
1-Star Albums (22)
All Ratings
R.E.M.
2/5
REM have some great records, but this one is boring. It has some of their most popular songs, which are exactly the ones I don't like. Drive, Man on the Moon, Night Swimming. Favorite song on the album: Ignoreland.
Massive Attack
3/5
There is some kind of suspense in the music. That's a good thing. But there is no climax. That's bad. It's great background music. It's too slow for dancing. The songs are long and there's not enough variation to keep my attention 5+ minutes per song. Favorite song: Heat Misser.
JAY Z
3/5
It's all good, but nothing stuck in my head. Wide variety of samples, good flow in the lyrics, not too repetitive, it stays at the same level until the end. He sure likes himself very much for all the wrong reasons, according to the lyrics. Favorite song: All I Need.
CHIC
3/5
The songs are basically long loops of a short chord progression with lots of subtle changes in the arrangement. It's played well. The songs are the right length for dancing, but very long for listening (only one song under 4 minutes). Favorite song: Good Times.
The Smiths
4/5
Great melodies, great lyrics. It's jangle pop with keyboards. The singer has a very distinct voice. Favorite song: Stop me if you think you heard this one before.
Sonic Youth
4/5
I like this a lot, but it's probably not for everyone. The singing is not that great. The production is noisy. Guitars are out of tune. But it wouldn't be as intense if it was all tight and tidy. Favorite song: Eric's trip.
The White Stripes
2/5
I like the production of the album. Most of the songs have a good hook, but I don't like the singing on most of the songs. The cover version of I Just Don't Know What to do with Myself is an abomination. Favorite song: Seven Nation Army.
Small Faces
4/5
This album is not for headphones. The stereo image is very weird. The songs are great. This band is underrated. When talking about 60s British rock, people mention the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, maybe the Kinks and the Who. This record is on par with them. Favorite song: the Journey.
Beach House
2/5
Objectively there's nothing wrong with the music. But I hate this. I hate the way of singing, the tempo is too fast to be relaxed and too slow to be anything else, the drums are too laid back, there's way too much reverb for my taste. I'm pretty sure this music is supposed to be relaxing, but it annoys me. Makes me want to punch them in the face to get them going. Least hated song: Norway
The Replacements
3/5
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
5/5
Amazing. It's a live record. It's as metal as you can be without distorted guitars. Favorite part: the gnome.
Judas Priest
3/5
This is a very important record in the evolution of heavy metal, but it's outdated now. Production is remarkably good for a heavy record this old. Musicianship is great. The songs are just not that interesting to me. It's too hard rock for metal and too metal for hard rock. 5 stars when it was new, 3 stars now. Favorite song: grinder.
It's all done well, but nothing stands out. The style has been done to death. The band rose from the ashes of the Small Faces. Apparently the creative genius was someone else from the band. This record is not bad, but it lacks the element of surprise. Favorite song: Stay with me.
Saint Etienne
4/5
Laidback dance music. Enough variation. It's not all about the groove, it's mainly proper songs. Production is a little primitive. Some of the s-sounds are like nails on chalkboard. With contemporary production, this could probably be popular in the indie scene if it was released now. Favorite song: like the swallow.
Stan Getz
3/5
Very smooth. I like the saxophone and the rhythm guitar. I don't like the lead guitar as much. Favorite song: One Note Samba.
Arrested Development
3/5
It's still listenable, but it's a document of its time rather than a groundbreaking masterpiece. Not that different from what Dela Soul did a couple of years before. I don't think any current hip hop was influenced by this. Favorite song: Mr Wendel.
Miles Davis
3/5
Miles Davis has always been one step ahead of everyone else. I like his influence, but I don't like his music as much. Newer music wouldn't be the same without him. I only know a couple of his records. I hadn't heard this one before. I like it better than the newer ones I know. Favorite song: Venus de Milo.
Franz Ferdinand
4/5
This was not included in the 2018 revision of the book anymore. I think it should be. It's better than a lot of other albums on the list. The late 60s/early 70s are overrepresented. Favorite song: 40 feet
The Roots
4/5
Sounds surprisingly modern for a 20 year old hip hop record. Enough variation to stay interesting for the most part, but it could have been a little shorter. I mean, 10:24 is very long for a song with basically 1 riff and some noise. Favorite song: In The Way Of Things.
Pink Floyd
3/5
I remembered this as a very boring record. It's not as boring as I remember, but I don't enjoy it very much. I don't like the vibe. Favorite song: On The Run.
Koffi Olomide
2/5
Very repetitive African folk music inspired pop with late 80s production, which is a mismatch. The bass player is really good, but overall the music is very cheesy. Favorite song: Porte-monnaie
Sigur Rós
4/5
Very slow and smooth. It sounds like the soundtrack to a very dramatic movie. I usually don't have the patience for this kind of music, but this record is actually quite good. Favorite song: Olsen Olsen
Queens of the Stone Age
3/5
This is the only Queens of the Stone Age record on the list. It's the wrong one. It's a bland version of what they became in the 2000s. Pretty good, but not very exciting compared to their later albums. Favorite song: Give The Mule What He Wants.
The Clash
4/5
The Clash were the most creative of the OG punk bands. They were probably also the most influential one on a wide range of artists. There's a lot of variety on this record. The good songs are awesome, but not all songs are good. Favorite song: London Calling.
Dr. Dre
4/5
Every newer 90s hip hop album tried to be this. The flow of the rapping sounds dated. The gangsta rap lyrics are stupid as always, especially the later songs on the album are ridiculous. The beats are varied enough for an entire album. Favorite song: Stranded On Death Row.
Duran Duran
4/5
A lot of great songs and a couple of good ones. No real bad ones. This is a great album, but because it wasn't influential at all, besides maybe the music videos, I can only give it 4 stars. Favorite song: Save A Prayer
3/5
It's good, but there's more than 1000 more essential albums. Favorite song: Kamikaze.
Sparks
2/5
One song in this style is great, 2 is annoying, a full album is torture. They’re trying too hard to be original. It sounds incoherent and unnatural. Favorite song: this town ain’t big enough for the both of us.
Wire
3/5
Very influential, but I like the bands they influenced better. Joy Division, Husker Du, Fugazi, Gang of Four, etc.
The album has a couple of great songs, but also some filler. The production is boxy. It's great for the slower songs, but not for the faster ones. The guitars lack punch. The fast drum parts sound very weak.
Favorite song: Three Girl Rumba.
XTC
4/5
This album was a pleasant surprise to me. I knew them from Making Plans for Nigel and Senses Working Overtime, both not on this album. Those songs are OK, but didn't make me check out an entire album. I should have. It's great. Todd Rundgren was supposed to make this sound less European. I don't think it worked. Reminds me of lots of other artists - older artists like Duran Duran, ELO, Joe Jackson and newer like Blur and the Kaiser Chiefs - but it sounds consistent. Most songs are great, but they could have left the last 2 off. Favorite song: Mermaid Smiled.
The Chemical Brothers
3/5
This sounds very 1990s. Loop based music, which means it's very repetitive. It has variation in sounds/FX to try to keep it interesting. It's probably better for dancing than for listening. It could have been shorter. The songs are long and the middle of the album is quite boring. Favorite song: Setting Sun.
Mudhoney
2/5
This is somewhere between Nirvana and Dinosaur Jr, they probably influenced Queens of the Stone Age, but it's not as good as any of them. It's not really bad, but it sounds like they want to rock hard without putting in the effort. It's OK, but not essential. Favorite song: Who You Drivin' Now.
Miriam Makeba
4/5
Not my style, but it's good. The singing is very much up front and the instruments are very much in the background. She's a very good singer and the harmonies are great, so it works. Favorite song: Where Does It Lead
Depeche Mode
4/5
Depeche Mode definitely belongs on the list. Two albums made it, Violator and this one. This album is good, but I would have included an older album instead. This is a transitional album from the mechanical 80s mode to the more organic 90s mode. It makes more sense to include one of each or the transition. Favorite song: Behind the wheel
Marianne Faithfull
1/5
It's bluesy rock with spacy synths. It sounds newer than it is. Weird combination of styles. I don't like it. Her voice is quite monotonous. I don't think anyone needs to hear this. Favorite song: Why'd ya do it
Joan Armatrading
3/5
I like her voice. The songs are not bad, but not very memorable. Favorite song: people
Echo And The Bunnymen
4/5
Quite good. No filler. Soundwise somewhere between the Simple Minds and the Cure. Probably influenced Suede and Muse. Favorite song: nocturnal me.
Pixies
5/5
Bands as diverse as Drive Like Jehu and Weezer wouldn't be the same without this album. And Nirvana wouldn't either.
It all sounds very simple, but it isn't. The rhythms don't stick to the normal multiples of 4 all the time. A lot of dissonance. The guitar and bass patterns are sometimes intentionally out of sync. The singer is not that great, but he's perfect for the music.
Favorite song: Wave of mutilation.
Supertramp
4/5
If you put everything 70s in a blender, this is what you get. Maybe with an extra touch of Steely Dan and Chicago. It's all played, recorded and arranged very well. Almost too well. Most of the songs are good, but longer than they should have been (especially Rudy). You keep listening, because they have so many changes and something interesting might come up. Despite all the changes it sounds coherent, unlike a lot of their contemporaries. They have two singers. The one who sings the most and the best songs has an annoying voice. Favorite song: dreamer
Arctic Monkeys
3/5
It's not bad, but it's all been done at least as good by other bands before them. Somehow this got them to be one of the biggest "indie" rock bands of the late 00s. Favorite song: Still Take You Home.
Elliott Smith
4/5
The songs are good, but the album could have been a lot better if the singing wasn't as weak. It's too restrained. As if he didn't want to wake up his little baby in the next room. He sounds like he could have done a lot better if he tried. The songwriting reminds me very much of the Posies. Similar chords and melodies. Favorite song: Angeles.
Johnny Cash
3/5
He has a great voice. I like the live vibe. Half way I got bored. I did finish listening to the record, but I didn't enjoy the 2nd half at all. Too much too similar in a style that I don't like very much in the first place. Favorite song: Folsom prison blues.
Machito
4/5
I like this a lot. Especially the more up tempo tracks. Favorite track: Wild Jungle
Fats Domino
2/5
I thought I would hate this, but it's not that bad. I don't like it, but I understand why people do or did. Probably more did than do, because it sounds very outdated. There's a charm to it like to little kids drawing stick figures. Favorite song: Honey Chile.
Lou Reed
1/5
At the time I rated this, the average rating was 3.74. That's 3.74 too much. This is a piece of garbage. I can't think of anything positive to say about, except Walk on the Wild Side has a cool bass line. People stop fooling yourselves. This is not good. Least hated song: Walk on the Wild Side.
A Tribe Called Quest
3/5
Sounds newer than it is because of the huge bass sound. Not enough going on in the midrange to my taste. It sounds unfinished because of that. The lyrics are not as cringy as a lot of their contemporaries'. Favorite song: Everything is fair
Basement Jaxx
3/5
It's great for dancing. Songs are a little long for listening. Some are great, some not so much. They should have left off the last couple of songs. Over-all it's a feel good record. It's funkier than a lot of their contemporaries. Kind of a mixture of big beat and house music. More on the house music side, but not as synth based. More sampled. Favorite song: U can't stop me.
Pixies
4/5
Coincidence. They just played here yesterday. I like this record, but it's a little messy. Everything fell into place on their next record. Favorite song: River Euphrates
2/5
Every aspect of tear jerkers done to perfection. I hate tear jerkers. 2 stars for effort.
3/5
It has everything I like in music, except I can't stand the singing. It's weird, but catchy. Favorite song: Space Junk.
Minutemen
5/5
They're one of my favorite bands. I like their older records better. Not as long and more manic. But this one is very good too. Favorite song: the glory of man
The Dave Brubeck Quartet
3/5
To me this sounds like classical musicians trying to play jazz. They're good at it, but it's not as exciting as some other jazz records. It sounds very composed. Favorite song: Take Five, but parts of Blue Rondo a la Turk are better.
Tim Buckley
5/5
Very good. Too short. I didn't think I would ever say that about an album. Favorite song: Strange Feeling.
Bob Dylan
2/5
This isn't terrible, but it isn't very good. It doesn't live up to its 3.81 average rating so far at all. The lyrics are good. It would have been better as a collection of poetry. But it's music, so the music matters. The songs are way too long. Not enough going on to keep my attention. He's not a very good singer. Guitars are out of tune half of the time. But it's listenable. I can imagine it was quite something when it was new though. Favorite song: Ballad of a thin man.
Bill Callahan
4/5
Pleasant voice. Slow entrancing music. Nothing ground breaking, but not a dime a dozen. I usually don't like this style of music, but this record was a lot better than I expected.
Favorite song: Rococo Zephyr.
Incredible Bongo Band
1/5
Kitsch. Novelty. Not even done very well. But it's fun to listen to for a while. Some songs are alright, but there's also some very bland versions of more spicy originals, like Pipeline and Satisfaction. A full album of this is too much. If you need samples for your hip hop or dance music, this record is for you. Otherwise ignore it. In my opinion this doesn't belong on the list. Favorite song: Kiburi.
a-ha
3/5
Whoever said A-ha are a one hot wonder has never been to Europe. They were one of the most successful bands of the late 80s over here. They had around 15 big hits, including the title track of a James Bond movie, and 3 top 10 albums. That being said, this album definitely has some filler. Half the songs are good, but the filler really isn't. In general the singles are the good songs. Obviously Take On Me, but also my favorite song on the album: Hunting High And Low.
The Undertones
4/5
I never heard the album in full, but I knew a lot of the songs. They're still played between bands at punk rock shows. I think they were very influential in American punk music. Bands like Bad Religion, Descendents and 7 Seconds, the subsequential 90s punk rock boom and newer bands like Pup and Wavves. Probably not so much in British punk, because they went either more aggressive or more arty. Favorite song: I know a girl
Billy Bragg
3/5
Nothing on this album sounds particularly bad or good to me. In one ear, out the other. It sounds more like an album by two artists than like a cooperation because of the different vibe of the songs. Favorite song: Eisler on the go.
Nine Inch Nails
3/5
The record sets a specific mood. Probably exactly the mood they intended to set, but not a mood I like or can relate to very much. That being said, it's not bad at all. Favorite song: heresy
PJ Harvey
4/5
I like listening to this album. I'm 100% sure I heard it a couple of times before. I listened to her entire discography a couple of times. However, I didn't remember any of the songs. They sound good, but they don't stick. It's like a bluesy version of Nirvana and the Pixies. Right up my alley. The drums sound like Nirvana's Nevermind. Favorite song: Rub 'til it bleeds.
New Order
2/5
This fits somewhere in the middle between The Cure and Depeche Mode, but it's not as good as either of them. The music is alright, but the singing drags the level down. It doesn't sound like an artistic choice to add character to the music, it's incompetence. The songs are longer than they need to be. There's probably over 1000 better records than this. Favorite song: the perfect kiss.
Billy Bragg
2/5
It sounds like a very long demo. About twice as long as it should be. Apparently the original release didn't have as many songs as the internet version. Some songs are good, most are average. The lyrics are better than the music. Favorite song: Greetings to the new brunette.
Hookworms
3/5
The record sounds very 2010s arty alternative. The scene was already at its peak when Microshift appeared. They barely caused a microshift, rather than a landslide. I think this style is already covered with Tame Impala and MGMT. Not bad, not essential, not to my taste. There's over 1000 albums more worthy to be on the list. Favorite song: Boxing Day.
Sonic Youth
1/5
I love Sonic Youth. Sister, Daydream Nation and Goo are some of my favorite records. They also made some of the most unlistenable music ever, like the Silver Sessions and this record. Very dissonant, soundscapes rather than songs. Too much of a good thing for me. Favorite song: Expressway to your skull
The Black Crowes
3/5
Decent retro rock album. Nothing new, but it was different from what everybody else was doing at the time. Songs are quite generic, but the singer lifts them to a higher level. Favorite song: She talks to angels.
Hanoi Rocks
3/5
Second album by one of the original hair metal bands. The style is somewhere between Motley Crue and Def Leppard. A pop version of hard rock. It's more about fun than about art. Not bad, not great. I don't think it's essential. Favorite song: Mental Beat.
Ian Dury
2/5
This record was popular because it's naughty. It's not terrible, but I don't enjoy most of it very much. Favorite song: Blockheads
Stevie Wonder
4/5
Very good. Only bad thing about this album is, the 2nd song is too long. Favortie song: Big brother.
The Specials
3/5
Good but not great. Favorite song: (Dawning of a) New Era
Rod Stewart
3/5
It was OK. Better than I expected. Favorite song: Gasoline Alley
Pink Floyd
2/5
One of the most overrated records ever. I don't like the general vibe of the album, but most of the instrumentation is well crafted. The main problems, it's way too long and the singing is awful at times. Favorite song: is there anybody out there
Michael Jackson
4/5
This album definitely belongs in the list. I'm not a Michael Jackson fan. I hadn't played the album before, but I knew every single song except the last one. It's not my style, but there's nothing to complain about on this album. Favorite song: wanna be startin' somethin'
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
2/5
To me this has very strong theater nerd or art school vibes. Doesn't mean it's bad, 'cause it's not. Does mean that I don't like it. I don't have the patience for this kind of music. And it's long too. Favorite song: Waiting for you
Isaac Hayes
3/5
Some of the songs are too long without the visual support of a movie, but most of them are great on their own. It's mainly instrumental music, so probably not for everyone. Most people value singing too much. Favorite song: No name bar.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
4/5
The White Stripes did it before them, but the Yeah Yeah Yeahs did it better. No need to listen the Arctic Monkeys anymore once you heard them. One of the first records so far that's too short. Favorite song: Pin
Sonic Youth
5/5
This is one of my favorite albums. It's very noisy, but the noise is catchy. Favorite song: Catholic Block.
Buffalo Springfield
3/5
Incoherent mix of folk, psychedelic rock and soul. Not bad, but I don't think I'll play this again. Favorite song: Good time boy
Elvis Presley
2/5
Couple of good songs and lots of filler. Favorite song: Fever.
Lorde
4/5
She sings like she's singing to a baby. That's a little annoying. Otherwise it's good. Favorite song: Hard Feelings.
OutKast
2/5
This album is much longer than it should have been. A couple of the funky songs are good. The more hardcore songs are not very good and sound outdated. Too much filler in between. Favorite song: Bombs Over Baghdad.
The Sabres Of Paradise
2/5
This is all rhythm and sound design. Techno, but not as bass heavy and entrancing as rave techno. The vibe is more similar to Aphex Twin and maybe Nine Inch Nails. I appreciate the creativity, but I don't like the music very much. Favorite song: theme 4
Hole
3/5
Grunge was over, so they made a power pop album. And they did a good job. Not very original, but there isn't a single bad song on this album. Favorite song: Use once and destroy
The Zombies
4/5
The Beach Boys did it better, but not by much. Slightly more European vibe to it. Hard to pinpoint what it is. All songs are good, but Time of the Season is obviously the best.
Drive-By Truckers
2/5
I wasn't a big fan of this cowboy rock style in the first place, but by the time "Moved" came up, I really wanted to turn it off. And that was only halfway. None of it is objectively bad, but there's too much of it. Favorite song: dead drunk and naked
Ozomatli
2/5
I couldn't find 2 of the songs: not available in my country. The first song sounds promising. Most of the rest of the record is not very exciting. It's Latin pop, but there's more to it. They try to incorporate a lot of styles in their music, but they're not particularly good or bad at any of them. This would not be on the list if I was in charge.
Favorite song by far: Who's to blame
Radiohead
3/5
I hated this record when it was new. I don't hate it as much anymore. The singing annoys me a little. Otherwise it's pretty good. Favorite song: Airbag
Super Furry Animals
4/5
I think this is underrated. I hadn't heard it before. People don't mention the band very often. They combine lots of styles into a cohesive sound. It has anything from the Beatles to Acid House. And it's all good. Definitely better than the average record on the list. Favorite song: Sidewalk serfer girl
Alice In Chains
3/5
In my memory this album was better. Most songs are longer than they should be. Some are great, some just drag along. I don’t like the vocal harmonies most of the time. Favorite song: would
Alanis Morissette
4/5
This sounds like a lot of music I heard before, but nothing I know sounds like this. The bass player is really good. Almost half of the songs were hits. My favorite song is not one of those: right through you.
Drive Like Jehu
4/5
This sounds like a more intense version of the most intense Nirvana, Fugazi or Sonic Youth songs. I like this record, but it's a little too repetitive and dissonant for the sake of being dissonant at times. I like most of John Reis' other bands better (Hot Snakes, Rocket from the Crypt, Plosivs, etc.) and some of the bands this band influenced are among my favorites, like At the drive-in and Refused. Favorite song: Do You Compute.
Carole King
3/5
About half of this record is wallpaper music, the other half is very good. Favorite song: Home again
Wild Beasts
2/5
I don't like this record. The music is too monotonous for me and the singing is annoying, but it sounds completely intentional. I'm convinced they tried to sound like this and succeeded. Favorite song: All The King's Men.
Sex Pistols
3/5
They put punk on the map overnight, so they definitely belong on the list. That being said, I like a lot of the bands they influenced better. Favorite song: Pretty Vacant.
Simon & Garfunkel
3/5
It's a good album. Some songs are great, some are good, none are bad. But there's three Simon and Garfunkel albums on the list. I like the other two better. That makes this record a good candidate to make way for newer artists. Favorite song: The Dangling Conversation
Steely Dan
3/5
I don't understand what emotion this music is trying to caption or evoke. The songwriting is creative, but the performance and production are about as boring as it gets. Very listenable, though. Very inoffensive. Favorite song: Parker's Band
Air
3/5
I can understand why people would like this, but I don't. It reminds me of Pink Floyd. Not my taste, but it's obviously quality music. Favorite song: Empty House.
Fatboy Slim
2/5
Couple of good parts and a lot of rubbish. Favorite song: Praise You.
Hawkwind
3/5
I think a double album is too much. They could have made a great single album from these recordings. The first couple of songs are very good. The singing is not entirely up to par. Maybe that's why there's not so much of it. Then the middle part is not very interesting to me. My favorite song is near the end: Master of the Universe.
Stevie Wonder
4/5
Very good. Every song is good. But it's not his best. Favorite song: They won't go when I go.
3/5
This album is not all about the music. It's as much about acting and styling and story telling. The Ziggy Stardust persona was a big part of the success, I imagine (I wasn't born yet). That's the main merit of this record, not the music. The singing is a little flat almost all the time. The band sounds more like individual musicians than like a solid unit. The drums sound weak and they drag slightly. Guitar sounds boxy. Overall the timing is a little shaky. The songs are not bad, but not great. Similar to what the Small Faces and the Kinks already did better before. All in all it's not terrible, but the current 4.3 average rating is too generous. Favorite song: Suffragette City.
Siouxsie And The Banshees
3/5
Every song has at least one good idea, but none of the songs are good from start to finish. I think I understand what the appeal of this music is. The singing is very annoying, but the good parts are really good. I hear echoes of this album in the obvious Joy Division and Gang of Four etc., but also early U2 and later Dead Kennedys. Favorite song: overground, because it's the most consistent.
Bill Evans Trio
2/5
It’s all a blur to me. No catchy hooks, hardly any dynamics, songs are way too long. If you play as many extra notes in a chord, every chord sounds the same. Pointless.
Björk
3/5
This would be great as a very dark and dramatic movie soundtrack. The singing is an acquired taste. Favorite song: Heirloom
Suzanne Vega
2/5
I knew Marlene on the Wall before and I like it. Most of the record didn't live up to my expectations. Favorite song: Freeze Tag.
Beastie Boys
3/5
I think their next 2 albums are better, but this was a huge step forward from Licenced to Ill. It's funky and it has enough variation. I don't like all the songs, but there's definitely some good ones on this record. They shout too much.
I'm not an expert on hip hop. I don't know how this compares to other hip hop from the same time. To me it sounds somewhere in the middle between Dela Soul and Public Enemy, but that's just me.
Favorite song: Eggman
Fugees
2/5
They were very popular, but they were pop hip hop rather than innovators. Compared to the other hip hop on the list so far, this is a little boring. Favorite song: Fu-gee-la
Alice Cooper
3/5
Not the greatest record ever, but I like it. Favorite song: Grande Finale.
Queen Latifah
2/5
She's better than the Digital Undergrounds and Salt-n-Pepas of the world, but that's what I associate this sound with. And that's a bad thing. Favorite song: Wrath of my madness
Cheap Trick
4/5
Over-all a very good power pop album. The most important part is good, the songs. Except maybe the 2 long songs in the middle. Favorite song: Goodnight.
The Pogues
3/5
I don't like it, but it belongs on the list. Favorite song: Fiesta.
The Slits
3/5
Post-punk dub or something. I like it. That is, I like every song by itself, but an entire album is too much. Favorite song: instant hit
Beck
3/5
Not bad at all, but I like most of his other albums better.
Favorite song: Paper Tiger
Joni Mitchell
4/5
It's good. Towards the end it gets a little boring. Favorite song: the jungle line
Coldplay
3/5
I heard about half of the songs before. And while they're good songs, I don't like them. I didn't like the songs I didn't know before either. I never thought about why, but while listening to the full album I found a couple of reasons. The performance in general sounds very lazy to me, unexciting. The singing makers me want to yawn alinea. And all songs are a couple of bpm off of the ideal tempo. Favorite song: god put a smile upon your face.
Motörhead
3/5
It's a wall of sound. Very monotonous. Production is not that great, but that's not uncommon for live albums. It's fun for as long as it is. It shouldn't have been any longer. Favorite song: the roadcrew
Stephen Stills
2/5
Played well, sang well, just not my taste. The more psychedelic songs are OK, I hate the more Americana songs. Favorite song: it doesn't matter
Miles Davis
3/5
I understand the importance, but I like my music more succinct. Favorite song: so what
Quicksilver Messenger Service
3/5
I usually don't have the patience for this kind of music, but this didn't annoy me. Probably underrated, because very few people mention them these days. On the other hand, they're not as good as Led Zeppelin or Pink Floyd. Favorite song: when you love.
Elastica
3/5
I like most of the songs, but this record is not essential. They were followers, not leaders. Almost every song reminds me of an older song by someone else. But in a good way. Favorite song: Smile
Beck
4/5
I like this a lot better than his album Sea Change, that I got about a week ago. Especially the first half. Favorite song: Black Tambourine.
Motörhead
3/5
Somehow more than one motorhead album made it to the list. With a lot of the dame songs. It only needs one and it's this one. It's a very influential album for both heavy metal and hardcore punk. They do one trick, but they do it well enough to justify a 36 minute album. Favorite song: Bite the bullet.
Elbow
4/5
I like this album. The melodies and the instrumentation are good. They set a very specific mood. Recognizable. Unique enough for the list. I usually like shorter songs, but these songs seem shorter than they actually are. I like this record. However, I can't think of any occasions on which I would want to put on a record like this. Favorite song: the fix.
Brian Eno
1/5
I don't understand why this would be good for airports. This would be perfect background music for a David Attenborough documentary or something, but the music by itself is extremely boring. Nobody needs to hear this album before they die.
Ramones
2/5
This record was a necessary step in the evolution of music. It's been done a lot better by thousands of bands after them, but they couldn't have done it without this record. Favorite song: I don't want to walk around with you.
Siouxsie And The Banshees
3/5
This is an improved version of The Scream. I like it better. It kind of has the same issues to some extent. I don't like the singing much and most songs are good, but not from start to finish. Favorite song: Into the light.
The Velvet Underground
2/5
I hadn't heard this band before, because I hate Lou Reed's solo work. It's not as bad as I expected. It's good for a while and then it's very repetitive. I understand why this record is important. I like some artists who were obviously influenced by it, like Sonic Youth and the Pixies. Favorite song: The Gift
Crowded House
3/5
I never played this record before, but I knew quite a lot of songs. Good pop record. It could have been great if they skipped a couple of songs. Favorite song: four seasons in one day.
Nas
3/5
I heard it before. I didn't remember a single track. Most of the beats are not very interesting to me. I wouldn't rate this as the top hip hop album of all time, as many reviewers say. But I don't hate it. Favorite song: the world is yours.
John Cale
2/5
Well crafted music. The singing isn’t terrible, but his voice is boring. He was one of the members of the Velvet Underground. This record is the opposite. Favorite song: Paris 1919.
Beatles
4/5
I knew most of the songs before, but not all of them. A lot of variation, and it’s all good. No atrocities like yellow submarine or ob la di. Production is not great. It’s was new and everybody was still learning. Favorite song is hard to pick, ‘cause they’re so different: Girl.
Supergrass
4/5
I already knew a couple of songs. They were popular over here. I never heard the entire album before. I like it. Most songs are great, no bad ones. Favorite song: strange ones
The Incredible String Band
3/5
Fascinating record. It's weird and objectively bad sometimes, but it seems intentional. I bet they had a good laugh making this. Favorite song: Waltz of the New Moon
808 State
3/5
It sounds maybe 5 years newer than it is. Lots of attention to detail regarding the drums. The bass and the rest of the music are sometimes in completely different keys. It definitely belongs on the list, but I don't like it very much. Favorite song: anacodia.
Aretha Franklin
3/5
A greatest hits of Aretha Franklin album would be great from start to finish. This album has a couple of songs that would definitely make it onto that, and also a lot of dime a dozen Fats Domino style rhythm and blues. None of it is bad, but not all of it is great. Favorite song: don't let me lose this dream
The Jam
3/5
All of the songs have great parts. Most have a couple of unpleasant transitions or chord changes. The singing is flat sometimes, especially the harmonies. Favorite song: boy about town
The Blue Nile
2/5
They managed to perfectly capture the sound of indifference. The songs are way too long. Otherwise not particularly good or bad. I only knew Tinseltown in the Rain before. Favorite song: Stay
Jazmine Sullivan
2/5
I hadn't heard of her before. A lot of the music reminds me of Lauryn Hill with more modern production (low end way out of proportion etc.) Not bad, but I'm not sure many people will remember this in 20 years. Favorite song: the other side.
Van Morrison
3/5
It's alright. Sounds old. Not sure if I like his voice. Favorite song: Everyone
Frank Zappa
4/5
I like it. There's so much going on. Favorite song: son of mr. green genes.
Haircut 100
3/5
I knew their name, but not their music. In my head they were Duran Duran wannabes. Not too far off at times, but it doesn't do them justice. They're funkier. More guitars and horns. Not bad at all. Pleasant surprise. But after around 20 minutes, they couldn't keep my attention anymore. Favorite song: lemon firebrigade
Norah Jones
3/5
Very smooth folky jazz. Very well done. A little too smooth for me, but I can understand why people like it. Favorite song: cold cold heart
David Bowie
4/5
I didn't like either the Bowie or the Eno records I got before very much. But this one is alright. They obviously bring out the best in each other. The best thing is, Bowie doesn't sing much. Favorite song: a new career in a new town.
David Gray
2/5
It's ok, but never great. Better than I expected, but I had very low expectations. A lot of the songs remind me of songs by different artists. Not good enough to put it on myself, not bad enough to turn it off. Favorite song: we're not right
The Rolling Stones
3/5
This is from the time when an album was the singles plus B-sides and other filler. As one would expect, it has a couple of great songs and lots of filler. Most of the filler is not too bad. Favorite song: Under My Thumb
Earth, Wind & Fire
3/5
Most of it is good. Favorite song: Happy feelin
The Auteurs
2/5
Not terrible, but nothing special. Favorite song: bailed out
Curtis Mayfield
4/5
Psychedelic soul done to perfection. I don't even mind the falsetto singing. Favorite song: blue monday people
The The
2/5
This has almost everything people hate about 80s music and it doesn't have much of what people love about it. Favorite song: angels of deception
Kraftwerk
3/5
Better than I expected, but not something I would ever play much. Favorite song: the robots
Sister Sledge
3/5
I rated the Chic album from the same year 3 stars. This one is slightly better. More varied, some songs are better, some songs are not that long. But it's not worth 4 stars. Favorite song: lost in music
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
2/5
I don't know this style of music very well, so I don't know how it compares to similar music. I don't hate it, but the songs should have been a lot shorter. Favorite song: yaadan vichre sajan dian aiyan
Jimi Hendrix
4/5
This is my favorite Hendrix record. It shows the widest range of his capabilities. A little out of control at times, but that's great. Favorite song: crosstown traffic.
The Byrds
2/5
I understand what's good about this. I think this album was a necessary step in the development of music, but I don't recommend going back to it anymore. It's a little too sweet for me. Production sounds very thin. The B-side is more interesting than the A-side. Favorite song: tribal gathering.
Burning Spear
3/5
First impression was, I liked it a lot. But they couldn't keep my attention all the way to the end. Favorite song: slavery days
The Velvet Underground
3/5
It has some moments of genius, but some of the record is just bad. Favorite song: there she goes again
Pink Floyd
2/5
I don't think this recorded adds much to the list. It's a lot like Dark Side Of The Moon. While DSOTM was not as boring as I remembered, this record was more boring than I remembered. Over 2 minutes to the first chord change, for god's sake.
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
3/5
Not bad, I just don't like the vibe of most songs. Favorite song: our house.
Queen
3/5
I don't think this is essential. It's good, but the list also has their next two records. Those are the essential ones. This doesn't bring anything much different to the list and the newer records are better. They should have included one of their 80s synth heavy records like The Works instead, to show more of the bands versatility. Favorite song: Ogre Battle.
Bob Dylan
2/5
I don't get it. I think you must have been there when it was new to fully appreciate it. Favorite song: I want you.
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
3/5
I saw them at a festival around that time. Not very impressive. I never checked out their records. I like it better than I thought I would. Not all of it, but it has a lot of good parts, besides the weird parts. I also understand this doesn't work very well live. Favorite song: identity
Bruce Springsteen
2/5
Not bad, but nothing special. It's been done a lot better by lots of people. Favorite song: Atlantic City
Madonna
3/5
This is not in the latest issues of the book anymore. Probably because it's not different enough from Ray of Light. It's not the worst album on the list by far, so that can't be the reason. It's alright. Not a record I would pick myself. Favorite song: What it feels like for a girl
Ray Charles
3/5
I didn't think I'd like it, but I did. His flow is amazing. Favorite song: Alexander's ragtime band.
The Afghan Whigs
3/5
The rhythm guitars are great. Very melodic with lots of maj7 and 9 chords etc. Probably influential to late 90s/early 2000s emo like Sunny Day Real Estate and the Get Up Kids. Not all songs are very interesting. The singing is a little flat at times. I'm not sure about the lyrics. Favorite song by far: Debonair.
Todd Rundgren
2/5
I appreciate the creativity, but the music not so much. Somewhere in the middle between Zappa and Supertramp. Very 70s. It's all over the place. So it's not all bad. Production is so so. Favorite song: Tic tic tic
Depeche Mode
4/5
First song is not that great, the rest of the album is. Even the bonus tracks. Favorite song: Enjoy the silence
The Flaming Lips
3/5
I saw them at a festival and I didn't like them. I never listened to their albums. The songs are not bad, but the singing is. Favorite song: race for the prize
Sebadoh
2/5
It's hit and miss. Not essential to me. Favorite song: Homemade
Tina Turner
1/5
She's a good singer, but her voice is a complete mismatch with the super clean emotionless 80s production. Quite a few cover songs. None of them are better than the original. I don't like the originals on this album very much either. Favorite song: I can't stand the rain.
R.E.M.
4/5
Great. First record I got for this challenge was Automatic for the People. That's boring. This is a lot better. A lot. Favorite song: The One I Love
Dirty Projectors
2/5
It's a weird record. At times it seems completely random, off the beat and incompetent, at times it's genius. Over-all it's a mess. The male singer annoys me. He sings most of the time. It's still a good addition to the list, if only to show people what's possible. Favorite song: stillness is the move
Janet Jackson
1/5
I can't listen around the awful production. Hurts my ears. Least hated song: Come back to me
The War On Drugs
3/5
It's not terrible, but a little boring. Same level of intensity all the time. Sounds like one very long song. Favorite song: under the pressure
The Mamas & The Papas
3/5
It's pretty good from start to finish. One song stands out: California dreaming
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
3/5
You could make a best of Elvis Costello record and it would be one of my favorite albums. But his regular albums have to much filler besides the couple of great songs. Nothing bad, but just not that great. Favorite song: Accidents will happen.
Everything But The Girl
2/5
I'm sure there's over 1000 more essential albums than this. This is the musical equivalent of color by numbers. Everything by the book. The result is not really bad, but it's not exciting in any way. Favorite song: blue moon rose
CHIC
3/5
2 Chic albums on the list. Very generous. They're not bad, but they're pretty much the same. The songs are long and repetitive, with subtle changes in the arrangement. Perfect for dancing, not as much for listening. I'd keep this one on the list and remove Risque. Favorite song: funny bone
Neneh Cherry
2/5
It sounds outdated, but it's not the worst of that time. The singing is not that good. The rapping has a more natural flow than a lot of her contemporaries. The first three songs were big hits here, but they definitely wouldn't be if they were released now. Favorite song: So Here I Come.
John Grant
2/5
Not bad, not great. Incoherent. It wouldn't be on my version of the list. Favorite song: supernatural defibrillator.
Duke Ellington
4/5
I like it. Favorite song: the blues to be there.
Suede
3/5
It's alright. A little long. They're a key early Britpop band. Probably underrated, but only slightly. They probably listened to the Smiths and David Bowie and Echo and the Bunnymen. I like them better than Oasis, but I don't like Oasis very much. Favorite song: the asphalt world
Nanci Griffith
3/5
Nothing objectively bad about, but it's not my taste. Favorite song: Fly by night
Kanye West
4/5
A lot better than I expected. A lot. But some of the lyrics are very immature. Favorite song: BLKKK SKKKN HEAD.
Yes
3/5
There's a lot going on. I don't like all of it. It has really good parts to listen to and parts that are just for showing off their skills, sometimes both in one song. The good parts are really good, the showing off is not very annoying most of the time. Favorite song: the fish
Pet Shop Boys
2/5
There's 3 pet shop boys albums on the list. PSB definitely belong on the list, but not 3 albums and not this one. It's not bad, it's not great. Favorite song: Yesterday When I Was Mad. But really none of the songs are very memorable.
Jeff Beck
4/5
This is good. On par with Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin. A little too bluesy for my taste at times, but so are Hendrix and Zep. Lyrics are not very good. Favorite song: Morning Dew.
Lynyrd Skynyrd
2/5
It's a bit of Led Zeppelin and a bit of The Band, but not as good as either of them. In all fairness, they were there before The Band. They know how to play, but the songs are not very interesting to me. Favorite song: I ain't the one. Because they obviously aren't.
Portishead
4/5
I thought I'd only know 1 or 2 songs off this album. Turns out I knew about half of the album. Must be a classic then. I like it. Favorite song: roads.
Silver Jews
2/5
This is probably on the list because it's the most mediocre record ever. I can't think of any other reason. It's not good, it's not bad, it's right in the middle. Generic alt. country. In one ear, out the other. Favorite song: Transylvanian Blues.
Finley Quaye
3/5
Some songs are good, some are just Ok. I read a lot of reviews blaming him for not playing real enough reggae. The Rolling Stones were not playing real enough blues and people worship them anyway. This record is obviously not pure Jamaican reggae. It also has big beat and trip hop influences. And that’s fine. Favorite song: sunday shining
The Strokes
3/5
It's OK, but very much of the same. The Brits did it better. Favorite song: hard to explain
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
3/5
I liked their other record on the list better. A-side 4 stars, B-side 2.5 stars. Solid 3 stars. Favorite song: Tarkus
Boston
4/5
I like their 2nd album better. It's more consistent. This one has some great songs (obviously More Than A Feeling), but also too many generic 70s rock parts (like Smokin'). Favorite song: More Than A Feeling.
Billy Joel
3/5
Somehow I'm not convinced of the sincerity, but most of the songs are good. Favorite song: She's always a woman
Traffic
2/5
Well done, but not very memorable. I don't remember what my favorite song is. It's not the title track.
M.I.A.
2/5
Very percussive and repetitive, very little else going on. It's not just your typical hip hop percussion, but also some exotic samples. I guess that's why it's on the list. Fine. It's just not for me. Favorite song: the turn
k.d. lang
2/5
I like her voice. I like the lyrics. I don't like the music very much.
Favorite song: black coffee
Talking Heads
2/5
I like a lot of bands that were influenced by them, but I don't like the Talking Heads themselves as much. Singing is annoying. Songs are too monotonous. Not terrible, but it doesn't stick. Favorite song: who is it
Ministry
3/5
This is the missing link between thrash and nu metal. It's not missing anymore. To me when this came out, it was a noisier, more sarcastic, less heavy version of what Godflesh already did a couple of years before. Favorite song: Psalm 69.
Steve Winwood
2/5
What a waste of talent. The man made some great music in the 60s and then he made this. It doesn't sound very original or very good.
Metallica
4/5
I played this a lot when I was young. I still like it. On the other hand, I don't recommend this record. You had to be there when it was new to fully appreciate it. Master of Puppets was better. Most of the songs are too long. The singing is not that good. It's not very heavy by today's standards. Lots of people complain about the lack of bass, but it wouldn't be as tight and punchy with more bass. Favorite song: Battery
Genesis
3/5
The good parts are really good, but it is sooooooo long. Way too long. They could have made a 5 star single album instead. Favorite song: Back in NYC
Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart
1/5
Weird album. It took a couple of tracks to learn to ignore the terrible singing. Still not that great once you can. Kind of reminds me of the last record by the Clash, which was terrible.
Girls Against Boys
3/5
I only knew one of their newer records before. This record is a lot better. Sludgy post-hardcore. People who liked them were probably also into Fugazi, the Jesus Lizard and maybe Quicksand and Helmet. GvsB have a less harsh, more laid-back vibe. The songs are repetitive and long, but I like them. Favorite song: Billy's One Stop.
The Killers
3/5
It's alright. They sound very European for an American band. They remind me of Pulp and Editors at times. The songs are good enough to justify their popularity. Nothing annoying about any of them. Easy to listen to. A lot of the songs go in one ear and out the other. Favorite song: Somebody Told Me.
Bad Company
3/5
70s rock. Easy to listen to. Lots of ballads and the occasional hard rocker. The genre has been done to death in 70s and 80s, so I'm not really impressed. It's definitely above average, though. Favorite song: movin' on.
Belle & Sebastian
2/5
It sounds 10 years newer than it is. Doesn't mean I like it. It's not terrible, but I hate the singing. I haven't heard their other records. Judging by the reviews, they have a more essential one. So I'd take this off the list. Favorite song: Expectations
The Doors
4/5
Most of the songs are great. Some aren't. Probably their most consistent album. Favorite song: Light My Fire.
Mercury Rev
2/5
'90s psychedelic rock with an annoying voice. If you can stand the singing, it's probably quite good, but I can't. Favorite song: Pick up if you're there, because it's instrumental.
Tom Tom Club
2/5
This record could have only been made in 1981. Tom Tom Club were a novelty act. I don't hate this record as much as I thought I would, but I don't like it very much. Songs are long and repetitive. It's fun for a couple of minutes. An entire album is too much. Favorite song: Lorelei.
Randy Newman
3/5
Rhythm and blues with ironic lyrics on social issues. It's alright. Not really my style, but it's done well. I would probably like every song if it popped up in some playlist of random music, but an entire album is too much for me. Favorite song: Louisiana 1927
Amy Winehouse
5/5
In a time when people associated soul with Destiny's Child and Mariah Carey and similar super slick music, Amy Winehouse put the soul back in soul. Great record. Very influential. Favorite song: Rehab
Eric Clapton
2/5
Not bad, but for the most part not very interesting. The songs are nothing special. Playing is good enough, but not great. "Clapton is god" was obviously based on his '60s work, not on this. Favorite song: Mainline Florida.
Pavement
3/5
The good parts are really good, the bad parts are a mess. There are quite a few good parts, but also quite a few bad parts. I like it, but I can imagine it's not for everyone. I like it a lot better than Malkmus' other SIlver Jews that I reviewed before. Favorite song: Conduit for sale.
Paul Simon
4/5
That bass guitar is really amazing. The songs are alright, but some should have been a little shorter. It was definitely different from what was popular at the time. Last 2 songs feel a little out of place. It's not one of my own favorite albums, but no doubt at all it belongs on the list. The youtube playlist is very uneven mastering wise. Favorite song: Under African Skies
The Band
2/5
I just finished playing the entire record. It sounded good while it was on, but it doesn't have anything that stands out. I don't remember a single song. I think it's 2.5 stars. The average rating so far is a little too high, so I round it down.
Booker T. & The MG's
4/5
Feel good music, even though it's the blues for the most part. Favorite song: Green Onions, but they're all good.
John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers
2/5
It's been done a lot better after them. It sounds clumsy by today's standards, not essential at all.
Guns N' Roses
4/5
They became famous despite having Axl Rose as their singer. This album was one of the first I bought as a kid, so I played it a lot. Over the years it's moved to the bottom of the stack and I hadn't played it for years until now. I didn't remember all the songs. That means not all of them are great. About half of the record is awesome, the other half is just OK. Favorite song: Welcome to the Jungle.
The Mothers Of Invention
2/5
I appreciate the creativity, but it's exhausting to listen to. I'm glad I heard it, but it was the last time. Especially the "funny" voice FX are annoying. The humor is hit and miss, more miss than hit. It's very much about 60s themes, like hippie culture, and I guess you have to be in on it to appreciate it. Or maybe it was never funny. Favorite song: flower punk, which is obviously a parody of Hey Joe.
Destiny's Child
4/5
Pop perfection. Intricate rhythms. Enough variation in chord progressions and melodies. Too many ad libs for my taste, but I can live with it. Favorite song: fancy.
The Notorious B.I.G.
2/5
The album has a handful of above average hip hop tracks, but with 2/3 I wondered why anyone would even consider recording it. The man is full of contempt and obsessed with sex and violence. I'm pretty sure the world became a little better the day he died. Favorite song: things done changed.
Marvin Gaye
3/5
Nice but a bit samey. At least the samey parts are good. Favortie song: Mercy Mercy Me
Missy Elliott
3/5
It's alright, but I lost interest after about 7 songs. Favorite song: Back in the day
Talk Talk
4/5
I never heard this full album before. I remembered a couple of songs from when they were hits back in the day. I love the production. Most of the songs are good. Some are a little boring. The voice is an acquired taste. Favorite song: Living in another world
Cat Stevens
2/5
There's nothing wrong with this album, it just doesn't resonate with me. Favorite song: Longer Boats.
The Fall
2/5
This could have been a good post-punk album if literally anybody else sang it. This guy is even worse than Loud Reed. I hate Lou Reed. The bonus tracks are awful. Favorite song: Glam-racket
The Shamen
2/5
It's not terrible as background music. Not very good to actively listen to. Obviously made for dancing, but I don't think anyone would dance if you played it at a party these days. It sounds very outdated. Way too long. Favorite song: Move any mountain. (it's on the US version)
Patti Smith
3/5
The beginning is dull, later on it becomes better. Or maybe it just took some getting used to. Favorite song: Kimberly.
Waylon Jennings
3/5
Not really my taste, but I understand what people like about it. Favorite song: Omaha.
Skunk Anansie
4/5
I knew the album before this one, but only 2 songs off of this one. I like it. The other record was more grunge like. This is leaning towards the pop side of nu metal like Incubus and Alien Ant Farm, but with a much better singer. Favorite song: Tracy's Flaw
G. Love & Special Sauce
3/5
Only problem is, it's too long. It's not particularly good at any of the genres it blends, but I like the blend. Favorite song: this ain't living.
Johnny Cash
3/5
It's good, but very samey. Favorite song: I hung my head
Kendrick Lamar
3/5
The music is very good. Lyrics... Half of them are basic dick and bitches hip hop lyrics that make you look stupid, no matter how eloquent you are. The other half is pretty good with recurring motifs etc. Favorite song: God is gangsta.
Black Sabbath
3/5
This album is a lot better than their first one. It has great songs like War Pigs and Planet Caravan, but it also has the atrocity that is Iron Man. Not a big fan of the titel track either. Favorite song: war pigs
4/5
Besides the hits, I only knew their 1st two albums. They had some good ideas and lots of filler. This album doesn’t have any filler. Apparently critics say this is the album that finally combined their influences to a sound of their own. Probably true. I’m not a big fan of the overly dramatic style of singing, but I think it complements the music well. And it’s instantly recognizable as either Radiohead or Muse. The music is put together very well. There’s a lot going on and none of it is coincidence. Favorite song: map of the problematique
Ananda Shankar
3/5
I like most of it, but the 13+ minutes Sagar is booooring. Favorite song: snow flower.
Justice
3/5
Nice electro disco. It starts of great, but there’s definitely some filler on this record. Favorite song: newjack.
The Jam
3/5
I already got their newer album Sound Affects before. The song structures of this album make more sense to me. Paul Weller always sings a little flat, but less on this album. So this album is slightly better. But not enough for an extra star. Favorite song: A-bomb on Wardour Street.
Beastie Boys
2/5
This is by far their worst album. It's also their most important one. I loved it when it was new and I was 10, but it didn't age well. The flow is very unnatural. The samples are very short loops and a lot of the time it's just a drum machine with rapping. Favorite song: no sleep til brooklyn.
Joni Mitchell
4/5
I liked this better than The Hissing Of Summer Lawns, which was also very good. Favorite song: Car on a Hill
Love
2/5
Yesterday I got Joni Mitchell. So this is a little disappointing. It’s not bad, but nothing that hasn’t been done better. Some of the chord progressions are very far fetched. Not essential if you ask me. Favorite song: you set the scene.
Talking Heads
3/5
I liked this better than the debut. It has the same flaws to less extent. Repetitive, annoying singing. Favorite song: Warning sign
Bruce Springsteen
4/5
Good with a couple of songs that are almost great. Favorite song: Candy's room
The Undertones
3/5
I like it, but their debut was better. Favorite song: Hypnotised
10cc
4/5
If Queen made a yacht rock album, it would sound something like this. It shas a lot of variation. For the most part it's good. The not so good parts are short. Favorite song: worst band in the world.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
3/5
It's alright. Some of the songs are a little too predictable. The singing is full on all the time. Would have been better with more dynamics. Favorite song: Green River.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
4/5
Better than I expected. Repetitive, but somehow it works. Favorite song: Them Belly Full
The Beau Brummels
2/5
I don't understand why everybody needs to hear this before they die. It's not terrible, but it's not good. Favorite song: Only dreaming now.
Arcade Fire
3/5
The songs are good, but I can't stand the flat singing. Would have been an extra star with a different singer. Favorite song: neigborhood #2.
The Hives
4/5
I read the reviews and lots of people compare them to the Strokes. I don't hear it. It's like comparing Cheap Trick to the Sex Pistols. The strokes are a drunk indie band, the hives are excited rock 'roll puppies. Favorite song: Outsmarted
The Who
4/5
Great. Favorite song: la-la-la-lies
D'Angelo
1/5
Booooring. Next. I mean, it's very monotonous. Whatever interesting may be going on in the background is drowned out completely by the bass and the singing. Especially the bass is very monotonous. I don't like falsetto singing and he does that almost all the time. The harmonies all sound the same. The shortest song is 4:20, which is already too long. I hate all the songs. Music like this should be actively discouraged.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
5/5
There's too many Elvis Costello records on the list, but this one belongs on the list. Favorite song: the beat
Cornershop
3/5
This is great, but they should have made a shorter album. They only had about 30 minutes worth of good ideas and made a 54 minute record. I like their noisier records they made before better. Favorite song: Chocolat.
Deep Purple
4/5
Child in Time is awful. The rest is great. Basically a tighter, better version of Led Zeppelin with an organ. Favorite song: speed king
Elvis Presley
4/5
He’s a great singer. Obviously. First songs are ok and then it just keeps getting better almost until the end. Favorite song: suspicious minds.
Talvin Singh
4/5
I thought I'd hate it, but I didn't. It does what it's supposed to do, entrance you. Favorite song: OK.
U2
2/5
I like some U2 records, but this one not so much. I think this is their take on the Madchester sound that had been around for a couple of years already. It's neither groundbreaking nor very good IMHO. Favorite song: Ultra Violet.
Cocteau Twins
3/5
I think I understand what people like about this record. I just don't like it very much myself. It's good enough and original enough to be on the list. Favorite song: Frou-frou foxes in midsummer fires
Yes
4/5
A while ago I got to rate their next record Fragile. I gave it 3 stars. This record sounds more natural than Fragile. I like it better. I still don't like the singer's voice very much. Favorite song: Yours is no disgrace.
The Cramps
2/5
Let's be honest. The Cramps were not famous for being great musicians. Their main claim to fame is the manic freakshow they put on live. That was really something. The music is a very punk version of rockabilly. Horror lyrics, but the real horror is the music: out of tune, off the beat. Favorite song by far: their cover of Fever.
The Byrds
4/5
The vocal harmonies are a bit too much at times, some of the spacey sound effects are annoying, but most of this album is really good. Favorite song: Everybody's been burned.
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
Some of the songs are great, others are generic stadium country rock. Favorite song: glory days
Jethro Tull
2/5
It's not terrible but not great. They combine hard rock and folk. The hard rock is not very good compared to Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin. The folk is just OK. Favorite song: Mother Goose.
Beck
3/5
It's Beck. He does whatever he wants. Some of it's great, most of it just exists. Usually I like the first half of an album better and lose interest after a while. On this record I like the second half better. Favorite song: Minus.
The Vines
3/5
I never checked them out. They were always bracketed together with the Strokes. I didn't like the Strokes very much. I like the Vines better. If Nirvana were a brit pop band from Australia, they would have sounded like this. 3.5 stars. Favorite song: Outtathaway
Coldplay
2/5
If you have trouble getting to sleep, this album is for you. I literally fell asleep listening to this record. Middle of the day. Never happens.
It's not as polished as their newer records, so that's good. None of the songs are bad, but I don't understand how they got to be one of the biggest bands of the world. Favorite song: Shiver.
Little Richard
3/5
All the songs are pretty much the same, but it's good. More bands should have songs as short as these. I like the intensity of the performance. Favorite song: doesn't really matter because they're all the same.
Pentangle
4/5
I hadn't heard it before. Pleasant surprise. It reminded me of fairy metal like Nightwish and Within Temptation, but it's obviously not metal at all. The singing, the mysterious fairy tale lyrics, the entrancing arrangements. Very well played. Sometimes they get carried away with melodies that are more appropriate for instruments than for singing, but in general it's very good. Favorite song: Light Flight.
Iggy Pop
2/5
I'm a little disappointed. This doesn't sound that different from the Rolling Stones to me. Some songs are alright, some are nothing special. Favorite song: lust for life
Deep Purple
3/5
It's good, but the songs are toon long. I prefer the studio version.
FKA twigs
3/5
Sounds mysterious and surreal. Reminds me of triphop, dubstep and Bjork. Not my taste, but I can understand why people like it. It's unique enough to be on the list. Favorite song: closer.
Primal Scream
2/5
Apparently a rock band with rave influences. But really they do both, but they don't blend them. They're not very good at either. Not essential, but not 1 star bad.
Little Simz
4/5
There's some tension in this music that's lacking from most other hip hop I got so far. I like it. Favorite song: 101FM
A Tribe Called Quest
4/5
It's good, but a little too long. As opposed to their later records, there's actually something going on in the midrange. Favorite song: Luck of Lucien.
The Byrds
2/5
Eight Miles High, the rest goes in one ear and out the other.
Michael Jackson
3/5
Some songs are great, some not so much. Example: I Can't Help It has a great bass line, but the other parts seem kind of random. Favorite song: off the wall.
The National
3/5
The tempo of must songs just doesn't feel right to me. I would have liked it better if it was either quite a lot faster or a couple of bpm slower. Favorite song: Bloodbuzz Ohio.
R.E.M.
3/5
There's 4 REM records on the list. That's too many. I like this record, but it's not their best by far. Not the worst by far either. But I don't think this should have been on the list. Sounds like a British new wave record with an American singer. Favorite song: Pilgrimage.
TV On The Radio
2/5
I don't like it. I don't hate it, but I don't like it. It does belong on the list. A perfect example of that horrible 2000s electronic indie sound. A warning to not ever make music like that again. Favorite song: Dancing Choose.
3/5
Starts off alright and gets better with every song. Favorite song: Beetles in the Bog.
The Stooges
3/5
Part garage rock, part psychedelic rock. I like the garage parts. The psychedelic parts are boring. Favorite song: I wanna be your dog.
George Harrison
2/5
He definitely proved he's not just that dude who was allowed to hang out with Lennon and McCartney. I would have liked this record better than John Lennon's solo records if it wasn’t way too long with way too much filler. Favorite song: Art Of Dying.
The Avalanches
4/5
Fun dance record. It suffers from the same repetitiveness as other dance records, but somehow it's more tolerable. Favorite song: Since I Met You.
Louis Prima
3/5
It's good for such an old record, but I don't think I'll ever play it again. Favorite song: Buena Sera
Christina Aguilera
3/5
First of all, the production is like nails on a chalkboard. Especially the S-sounds and some of the percussion. That being said, she has a good voice. The songs would have been good with a more organic production. The arrangements are too tight, too perfect, emotionless. And it's longer than it should have been. Apparently this record is not in the latest editions of the book anymore. There's other records I would remove before this one, despite the obvious shortcomings. Favorite song: Oh Mother.
Throbbing Gristle
1/5
Really? Why? It could be a good soundtrack for an art house movie. But as an album of music and nothing but music, it's awful.
The Cure
4/5
Some of it is great, the rest is good. I don't have the patience for all of the songs. Favorite song: lullaby
The Beach Boys
2/5
It's not surf rock anymore and it's not the masterpiece that Pet Sounds is. It's a transitional record. To be honest the transition is not very interesting. Everything is OK, but nothing stands out. I don't think this belongs on the list. The link to youtube music was dead, but it's there if you search for it. Favorite song: When I Grow Up To Be A Man.
David Bowie
2/5
Not terrible, but it wouldn't be rated anywhere near 3.65 average (current rating in 2023) if it wasn't Bowie. Favorite song: Fame.
Snoop Dogg
4/5
The music is high in the 4 star range. The lyrics about misogyny and gang life and stupid stuff like that definitely don't raise it to 5 star. Favorite song: Gz and Hustlas.
Taylor Swift
2/5
I heard the album before, but I didn't remember much of it. Some of the safest, least offensive music ever. That's probably why she's so successful. Three of the songs were big hits in my country. Two of them are still played a lot everywhere after 10 years. Her voice is unremarkable, so are most of the songs. I don't hate it, it's just not very exciting to me. Shake It Off is by far my favorite song off the album.
The Divine Comedy
2/5
I thought I didn't know this band, but I recognized Become More Like Alfie. Starts out as britpop like Pulp etc. and slowly morphs into music for theatre nerds. It's all well-crafted, but I don't like it very much. I'm pretty sure there's over 1001 records more essential than this one.
The Black Keys
3/5
There’s one album by the Black Keys on the list and it’s not El Camino. El Camino is better in every aspect. This one is not bad at all. It probably should have been under 45 minutes (most albums really). Favorite song: Tighten up
Nick Drake
2/5
Beautiful, but a little boring. Favorite song: Hazey Jane I
The Pretty Things
3/5
It's late 60s psychedelic rock that sound exactly like late 60s psychedelic rock. Their experimental parts are a little more out there than most of their contemporaries. It's alright, but nothing sticks with me. Favorite song: SF Sorrow Is Born.
Bee Gees
3/5
Lots of tear jerkers. Done well, but not my taste. I don't hate it. I played the entire record and I don't remember any song.
Leonard Cohen
2/5
I understand what's good about it, but I was not in the mood. I very rarely am. Doesn't help that it's very samey.
Kate Bush
4/5
It's great for the most part with some filler. There's a strange atmosphere to it in a good way. Favorite song: Cloudbusting
Radiohead
4/5
I wanted to hate this, but I didn't. I still hate their later records. Favorite song: Bones
Al Green
3/5
It's Let's Stay Together and some other songs that are easy to listen to, but not as good as the title track.
Aerosmith
3/5
It's alright, but not essential. Reminds me of early Queen, but not as good. Favorite song: You See Me Crying
Thin Lizzy
3/5
If only they left off the filler, it would have been a 4 star single LP. Favorite song: massacre.
Afrika Bambaataa
3/5
It's sounds old, but it aged better than most old hip hop. Favorite song: Planet Rock
Fiona Apple
4/5
I didn't know what to expect. It's good. Smooth but not too smooth. Good songs, good lyrics. Favorite song: the first taste
Suede
3/5
Early Britpop, they say. I think they deserve their own spot in music history. It sounds darker and much more dramatic than Blur and Oasis and the likes. They're closer to the Cure and the Smiths. The singer has that Bowie gasp. Favorite song: Pantomime Horse
Big Star
2/5
Doesn't sound very special to me, but I don't mind listening to it. Favorite song: The India Song
Neil Young
2/5
There's a lot of Neil Young records on the list. This is the first one I got. I hope the others are better. It's not bad but, I just don't like it very much. Favorite song: on the beach
Television
3/5
I don't hate this as much as I remembered, but I'm not a fan the singing. Favorite song: elevation
The Beach Boys
4/5
It start OK. Then it gets better and it stays good until the end. Favorite song: 'Til I Die
Dr. John
4/5
Never heard it before. I knew Dr. John played some kind of blues. I'm usually not a big fan of blues, so I always ignored him. What a shame. I didn't expect it to sound anything like this. Mysterious, psychedelic, ominous. I like it. Even though some songs are too long. Favorite song: Danse Kalinda Ba Doom.
Pixies
4/5
It's good, but not as good as Doolittle. Favorite song: Allison.
The Stooges
3/5
I like it. I don't love it. The Sex Pistol and Black Flag obviously listened to it. The 50th anniversary edition is too long. Just listen the Iggy mix songs. Everything else is filler. Favorite song: Shake Appeal.
Digital Underground
1/5
This didn't age well.
Pantera
4/5
This record and the album before, Cowboys From Hell, were truly eyeopeners in metal. At the time, metal was supposed to be fast. Death metal was the main style. This record was a step back to Metallica's ...And Justice For All, which sounds very similar to me, and then a step in the other direction. More focus on a New York Hardcore punk style groove (Cro-Mags, Prong, Biohazard, etc.). That being said, I never really liked Pantera. Favorite song: A New Level.
MGMT
3/5
I hate this style of singing with all my heart, but it's a varied, creative album that deserves to be on the list. Favorite song: of moos, birds and monsters
Paul Weller
2/5
His singing improved a lot over the years. It was always the weakest part of the Jam. That being said, I don't understand what makes this album special. It's not bad at all, but I'm sure it wouldn't have made the list if it wasn't from the UK. Favorite song: all the pictures on the wall.
Wilco
2/5
Perfect background music for coffeeshops. Well played, varied alt country, with a voice that suits the music. Probably a highlight in the genre. However, it doesn't resonate with me at all. On the contrary. When I feel like this music, I'd rather play something to snap me out of it. And despite the variety, it bores me. Favorite song: outtasite
King Crimson
3/5
It must have been quite something when it came out. By today's standards the good parts are great, but they're few and far between. For the most part it's boring. I thought I would like this album better. Favorite song by far: 21st century schizoid man.
Dwight Yoakam
2/5
Color by numbers country music. It has everything I hate about country music and not much more. I don't hear what's special about it.
Rufus Wainwright
4/5
I only new him by name. The first song is boring. Then it gets better. Actually really good. As if Radiohead made a cabaret record. It could have been shorter. Favorite song: Old Whore's Diet.
Merle Haggard
2/5
Not my taste. I think I understand what people like about it. Favorite song: there was this song I liked better than the rest, but it turned out I didn't turn off youtube's autoplay (I did, but somehow it didn't work) and it was not from the album.
The Stone Roses
3/5
I remember I didn't like the band when they were new, but they're not bad. The singing is the weakest link and overall the album is a little monotonous. It has a couple of great songs, though. Favorite song: I wanna be adored.
Dinosaur Jr.
4/5
Yesterday I got the Stone Roses. This record is similar. It's a wall of sound with lazy, unconvincing singing. While the Stone Roses are a nice plastered wall, this is rough with bricks sticking out of it, which makes it more interesting to me. Favorite song: No Bones
Linkin Park
4/5
Good entry level heavy rock. Nu metal was already well developed by bands like Korn, Deftones and Limp Bizkit when Linkin Park emerged. Their sound is somewhere between Limp Bizkit's rap metal and Deftones' more melodic approach. Not groundbreaking in any way. What made them so successful is, they have very catchy choruses and a way better singer than 99.9% of their genre mates. Favorite song: Crawling.
Rush
3/5
It's quite an accomplishment to make an album like this. That being said, it doesn't speak to me at all. I don't hate it. I appreciate the effort. There's good parts. The voice is probably an acquired taste that I haven't acquired yet. Favorite song: YYZ
Johnny Cash
4/5
3 of his albums made the list. This is the best one. Favorite song: it's not really about the songs, it's about the performance and the interaction with the audience. The songs are not that special.
Q-Tip
3/5
It's alright, but not as good as his older work with A Tribe Called Quest. Too monotonous. Favorite song: Official.
Mariah Carey
2/5
It's around a week until Christmas. I've had it with Mariah Carey.
The mix is very tiring. Big smiley curve EQ. Unpleasant to listen to. Occasionally she shows how good she can really sing, but most of the time the ad libs sounds as if she can't hit the right note properly. She also sings very breathy. I can't stand that. It's a complete mismatch with the loud rhythm section. The songs aren't bad per se, but I don't think anyone on this record was on the top of their game. Favorite song: 4th Of July.
Marvin Gaye
3/5
This is supposed to be one of the sexiest albums ever, but I don't feel it. Should have been a little slower, if you ask me. Nothing about this record is bad, but nothing is as good as I hoped it would be. Favorite song: Distant Lover.
U2
3/5
It has a couple of really great songs, but at times the album is a little boring. Most of the songs are too long and not catchy enough. Favorite song: New Years Day.
Penguin Cafe Orchestra
4/5
Fascinating record. Part chamber music, part psychedelic like Pink Floyd, part minimal music like Philip Glass, part plain weird like Zappa. But it all sounds smooth and gentle. Even the weird dissonant parts. Favorite song: Penguin Cafe Single.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
3/5
I think his voice works better for Natty Dread. It suits the message of this album, but the music is too sweet. Not that it's a bad record. It's just a little predictable. Favorite song: waiting in vain
R.E.M.
4/5
Probably their best. It shows their full range. I don't like all of them, but most of the songs are great. Favorite song: Stand
Manic Street Preachers
3/5
I like this record, but it's far from essential. Like a lot of CD era albums, it's longer than it should have been. It sounds very 1990s. More American than most of their Brit pop colleagues. Reminds me of the Posies. Or maybe the Posies sound more British than other American bands. Favorite song: A Design For Life.
Slayer
5/5
Burst of energy. Every fast metal band was influenced by this record. It holds up surprisingly well for an old heavy record. Favorite song: Raining Blood.
Amy Winehouse
5/5
She will always be remembered for Back To Black. I gave Back To Black 5 stars. This is at least as good, but it doesn't have the big hits everybody knows. Favorite song: Help Yourself.
Santana
4/5
Great, but I can imagine there's not enough singing for a lot of people. I don't mind. Favorite song: Oye Como Va.
The Youngbloods
3/5
It sounds very much late 60s. Somehow reminds me of the Monkees, but it doesn't sound very much like them for the most part. Not bad, but not at all essential. Favorite song: Sham
Various Artists
1/5
Doesn't belong on the list. Various artists. Against the rules. Plus it sounds very dated. Favorite song: it's a marshmallow world
Beatles
4/5
This album has some of their best songs and some of their worst. It could have been an easy 5 star record if it was a lot shorter. Favorite song: blackbird
The Saints
3/5
I colleague gave me this record when he got rid of his vinyl collection. Pleasant surprise. It's very similar to OG UK punk like the Damned, but more energetic. I think it's good, but not essential. Favorite song: Run Down.
Weather Report
4/5
They definitely know how to play. The lively parts are exciting, the other parts are kind of boring though. Favorite song: Birdland.
Marty Robbins
2/5
It's not bad, but it's uninteresting. It's Johnny Cash without the great voice. I think there's other old country music that belongs on the list more, like Chet Atkins or Jerry Reed, who didn’t make it. Favorite song: I don't really care. I lost interest after 2 songs. I did finish playing it, but it didn't register.
Steely Dan
3/5
It feels more human than Pretzel Logic, so I like it better. Favorite song: Bodhisattva
Morrissey
3/5
It's good but not great. Sounds like it could have been the next Smiths album. Favorite song: they're all good, but none of them stand out.
B.B. King
3/5
It's alright. He had already been going for 15 years when this was recorded. This is probably a good summary of his early work. Without BB King, rock 'n roll and everything after would have been different. I like his influence more than his music. Favorite song: woke up this morning
Pere Ubu
4/5
I like this a lot. It's weird, but not annoying post-punk. Very dissonant, but it sounds intentional. Favorite song: on the surface.
Baaba Maal
2/5
Production is good. It sounds mysterious, but it's too repetitive for me. The songs are way too long and the riffs are very short.
Elvis Presley
3/5
This record must have been quite something when it was new. It's not as samey as most of his contemporaries. Not all the songs are the same tempo, more dynamic singing. But music has evolved a lot since then, almost beyond recognition. This record is not relevant for anything that is fresh and new today. Favorite song: Money Honey
Jimi Hendrix
5/5
Awesome. The songs are great, the performance is very lively. Only bad thing is, production sounds like a thick layer of dust on your vinyl LP. Favorite song: third stone from the sun.
Anthrax
4/5
Great. I played this a lot when I was young. They're the most fun of the big 4. Favorite song: Skeleton in the closet.
The Fall
3/5
There's 3 albums by the Fall on the list. This is the 2nd one I got. I didn't like The Infotainment Scam because of the terrible singing. The music was good. On this record, there's more conviction to the singing. It's still flat/atonal, but the timing is not as lazy. The music is more on the punk end of the post-punk specter. Someone decided to add a lot of "bonus" tracks to the reissue. Why do people do that? The album was borderline too long as it was. I skipped those. Favorite song: futures and pasts.
Aretha Franklin
5/5
Great from start to finish. Favorite song: Chain of fools.
Portishead
3/5
I understand why people like this, but I don't do drugs. Favorite song: Nylon Smile
Red Hot Chili Peppers
4/5
The music is great, the lyrics are stupid, the album is about twice as long as it should have been. This is a great album to play along with as a drummer. Chad Smith has a great style. He knows what notes not to play. That's rare and more difficult than you think. Favorite song: Breaking the girl.
MC Solaar
4/5
Smooth. Not as annoying as a lot of US hip hop. Reminds of 90s skateboarding videos. Favorite song: Caroline.
LCD Soundsystem
2/5
I hate it, but it belongs on the list.
Japan
3/5
It's Duran Duran, but not as catchy. It's good, but it doesn't stick. Favorite song: Fall in love with me.
The Doors
4/5
The best parts are awesome, the worst parts are OK. I don't like their bluesy side very much. The more mysterious sounding songs are better. And my favorite song: Peace Frog.
Jeff Buckley
3/5
I hate his voice. Or at least his way of singing. Too unsteady. Doesn't sound like he's in control. The songs have good parts, but they're far fetched at times. Reminds me of early Radiohead. I'm not a big fan of theirs either. My review is very negative so far, but I appreciate the creativity. Favorite song: last goodbye.
Willie Nelson
4/5
My first thought was, oh no, not another one of those outlaw country singers. But this is different. The songs are better. More variation than his genre mates. He's not the best singer out there, but he makes it work. Favorite song: Stardust
Jacques Brel
3/5
Quite different from most UK and US music. It's singing, but it sounds more like he's telling a story half the time. He definitely has conviction, even if I only understand half of the French. The length is good. Short, but it shouldn't have been longer. Favorite song: Le Plat Pays
David Ackles
3/5
I like his voice. Reminded me of Neil Diamond even before I read the reviews. The music is more like Broadway musicals. Especially the last song. It's good, but not what I'm looking for in music. Favorite song: Blues for Billy Whitecloud.
The Who
3/5
It's good, but I'm not sure it's still good in 20 years. I like it less than I did 20 years ago. It's very long. I had to take a break half way. Best song by a mile: Pinball Wizard.
John Lee Hooker
2/5
Apart from the title track, this isn't very good. I don't understand why it's on the list. It was already old when it was new. Favorite song: the healer.
Badly Drawn Boy
4/5
Not something I'd have thought of myself, but it's good. Favorite song: everybody's stalking
Jefferson Airplane
4/5
Great. Better without the bonus tracks. I knew more songs than I thought I knew. Favorite song: 3/5 of a mile in 10 seconds
The Residents
4/5
Very weird music. Fascinating. Favorite song: the electrocutioner.
Arcade Fire
3/5
It's good, but over-rated. I liked it better than Funeral. The suburbs is also on the list, but I haven't heard it yet. Favorite song: black wave.
The Birthday Party
4/5
I imagine bands like the Jesus Lizard, Nomeansno, Drive Like Jehu, even the Pixies listened to this. My favorite bands' favorite band. Favorite song: kiss me black
Stevie Wonder
5/5
Flawless. Favorite song: living for the city, but they're all good.
The Smiths
4/5
The music has its ups and downs. The dark cynical lyrics are great throughout. Favorite song: bigmouth strikes again.
Megadeth
4/5
The singing is annoying. The music is a better version of Metallica. This was a big improvement over their debut (not on the list), but they peaked a couple of years later with Rust In Peace (also on the list). Favorite song: wake up dead.
Iron Maiden
3/5
Yesterday I got Megadeth, who are better at every aspect of heavy metal. The singing on this record is very flat a lot of the time. The songs are OK. They stood the test of time. They're a spectacular live band. Favorite song: Hallowed be thy name
Jane Weaver
3/5
I don't feel I needed to hear this. I don't mind hearing it. Dreamy female vocals with psychedelic synths and occasionally some jangly guitar. Nothing fresh and groundbreaking. More like newish music for old people. Not bad though. But it shouldn't be in the next edition of the book. Favorite song: Modern Kosmology
Jurassic 5
4/5
I don't really like hip hop, but this album is alright. Of the hip hop I got so far, this is among the best. They should have made this 40 minutes and skipped the filler. Especially the last song. Favorite song: If you only knew.
Van Halen
3/5
Good but not great. Favorite song: hot for teacher
Neil Young
3/5
Some of these songs are pretty good. Too bad Neil Young sings them. I hate his voice. Favorite song: old man
Pink Floyd
4/5
Pleasant surprise. I don't like their newer music very much. Too perfect. Perfection is boring. This has the youthful energy their newer stuff lacks. It sounds more human. The lyrics are... let's say they're better at writing music. Favorite song: Lucifer Sam
Deee-Lite
2/5
Of course I knew Groove is in the heart. Based on that song I expected more of a P-funk or disco sound, but it sounds more like the British house music of that era. The album has one stand-out track: Groove is in the heart, which is really a great song. The other songs are nothing special and not my taste.
3/5
This was huge when it came out. I like their older music better. This record doesn't sound spontaneous at all. It's not dark enough to be dark, not sparkly enough to be sparkly. It's kind of meh in between stuff. Favorite song: with or without you.
Run-D.M.C.
2/5
It was important that somebody made a record like this around that time. Run DMC did it. Probably a big step in the evolution of rap music. But it sounds very outdated. Very bad by today's standards. If it wasn't such an important record, it would be a 1 star from me. There was one song that I didn't hate as much: Rock Box
Leonard Cohen
2/5
He sounds bored. It's contagious. Favorite song: avalanche
Count Basie & His Orchestra
3/5
It's good, but samey. It doesn't help that the bonus tracks are some of the same songs. Favorite song: double-O.
Massive Attack
3/5
The songs with singing are great. The rapping didn't age very well, like most older rap music. Favorite song: hymn of the big wheel
John Martyn
4/5
Strange combination of psychedelic soul and folk music. But it works. Surprisingly modern for a record that's over 50 years old. Favorite song: Go down easy
Kacey Musgraves
3/5
Sounds like a better version of Taylor Swift. Not much better, but better. With a pinch of Norah Jones. Inoffensive elevator music. Favorite song: High Horse
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
3/5
They have two albums on the list. They are quite different. This one is not bad, but the other one speaks to me more. I prefer their rock side to their synth pop side. Favorite song: Heads Will Roll, which reminds me of Blue Monday.
Gram Parsons
2/5
I hate everything about this. Next.
Blue Cheer
1/5
This sounds like Black Sabbath, but it's older. It's also nowhere near as good. People shouldn't be listening to this anymore. I don't recommend any of the songs. Listen to Clutch or Fu Manchu instead.
AC/DC
3/5
It's exactly what you expect. No surprises. Good but not great. Favorite song: walk all over you.
Meat Loaf
3/5
It's like Bruce Springsteen playing Queen songs with Elton John. Made well, but not my taste. Favorite song: You took the words right out of my mouth
Eagles
3/5
It's too perfect. It's boring for the most part with a few highlights. The lead guitars on the title track are amazing and my favorite song off the album: life in the fast lane.
Common
3/5
Sounds good, but I didn't remember much of it after one spin. Favorite song: Be (intro)
Green Day
4/5
One of the few bands who hit the jackpot twice ten years apart. It's kinda tame for punk music from that era, but it probably wouldn't be as successful if it wasn't. Ironic how this record has a couple of those songs with lots of different sections like the 70s prog rock that the OG punks rebelled against. Favorite song: American Idiot.
Björk
2/5
I appreciate the creativity, but the result is awful for the most part. Favorite song: Who is it?
Public Enemy
4/5
Most old rap music sounds very outdated, but this doesn't. It doesn't sound anything like modern rap music, but it's still very listenable. The flow is better than their contemporaries’ and it sounds more sincere. Favorite song: Brothers gonna work it out
Nightmares On Wax
2/5
First song is good, but most of the album is boring.
Tom Waits
4/5
Weird, but not too weird. I like it. Remarkable voice. Instrumentation with horns and stuff. Favorite song: Swordfishtrombone
Pearl Jam
3/5
It's good, but this record is responsible for Nickelback and Creed. Favorite song: Deep.
The Pharcyde
3/5
This came out a couple of years after De La Soul and Gang Starr and a Tribe Called Quest. So they don't really bring anything new to the table. The beats are alright, the flow of the raps sounds awkward and outdated at times. Over-all it's not terrible, but not great. Favorite song: soul flower.
Bobby Womack
4/5
Like Marvin Gaye, but slightly better. Marvin is the better singer, but Bobby's music is better. First song is amazing, the rest is not that good, but there are no bad songs on the album. I didn't know his solo work, only Womack&Womack, which is kind of boring, so this was a pleasant surprise. Favorite song: So Many Sides Of You.
The Style Council
3/5
One of the songs is called "my everchanging moods". That's what it is. Part ultra retro jazz, part ultra modern (for the mid 80s) rap and almost Prince-like funk. None of it is terrible, but none of it sounds like the real thing. Favorite song: council meetin'
Carpenters
2/5
The songs are good, but the performance and production are way too sweet for my taste. Especially the singing. Favorite song: love is surrender.
The Icarus Line
2/5
They were neither very popular nor innovators nor trendsetters, so I don't understand why this album is on the list. Not the worst ever, but 3 songs too long for me. Bands like the Birthday Party, the Jesus Lizard (not on the list) and Girls vs Boys did it better years and years before. Favorite song: spit on it.
Metallica
2/5
They should have done fewer songs and worked on the arrangements more. Some songs were done quite well, but on most songs, the orchestra is just filler for the last available milliseconds. If you're gonna play with an orchestra, at least give 'em some space to play.
Favorite song: Battery. It works surprisingly well with an orchestra.
Sufjan Stevens
5/5
Great, but too long to listen the entire album in 1 go. That's the only weakness. Sometimes the music is quite complicated, but it sounds very natural. Favorite song: the man of metropolis.
Ute Lemper
2/5
It's a cover album with 3 original songs. I think they wanted to include some German music. They obviously didn't know much German music and opted for a collaboration with someone they did know. I wanted to give it 1 star, but it's too well crafted. This definitely doesn't belong on the list.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
3/5
First song is good. The singing is not as annoying as on his later records. The rest of the album has its good moments and its mediocre moments. I can understand why people like this record. Favorite song: Cinnamon girl.
Nirvana
4/5
It's harder to listen to than Nevermind, but it's good. It's more on the post-hardcore side of grunge. I'm sure the Deftones heard this when they were young. Favorite song: radio friendly unit shifter.
Goldfrapp
2/5
Sounds mysterious at first, but it becomes a trick after a couple of songs. Blend of 60s/70s movie soundtracks and trip hop. Favorite song: Pilots
The Sonics
3/5
I like the energy of this record. It's like Little Richard with more variation. They even do a Little Richard cover. They do a lot of covers, but their own songs are just as good. The sound quality is pretty bad. Favorite song: Have Love, Will Travel (which is a cover song)
The Soft Boys
4/5
Great. I never heard of them, but I knew the Circle Jerks' version of I Wanna Destroy You. It has too many bonus tracks, but some of them are even better than the original album. Favorite from the original release: Positive vibrations. Favorite including the bonus tracks: Where are the prawns
Kings of Leon
3/5
It's good, but it doesn't have any real highlights. They received more hate than they deserved from the self-appointed gatekeepers of rock 'n roll. Reminds me of Bush. The singer sounds like a rock singer in a cartoon would sound. Almost a funny voice. Favorite song: sex on fire.
The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy
2/5
It's too long. The beats and the flow sound dated. The message is still relevant for the most part over 30 years later. Favorite song: satanic reverses
GZA
4/5
Like most 90s albums, this is too long. It's not bad, just too long. And quite monotonous, but that's obviously intentional. Favorite song: liquid swords
Dolly Parton
3/5
Good length. More variation than the Johnny Cashes of the world. Her voice is unpleasant to my ears, but that's a matter of taste. Favorite song: early morning breeze.
Robbie Williams
2/5
Not as bad as I expected, but not great. I knew the 2 biggest hits from the album. They were everywhere at the time. The rest of the album sounds more like a less miserable version of Oasis. I expected a more danceable album. Favorite song: Ego Agogo.
TLC
3/5
It's alright. Favorite song: Switch.
PJ Harvey
4/5
I heard this album several times before. I like it a lot, but I didn't remember much of it. Favorite song: Victory
Ride
3/5
The songs are OK. Basically psychedelic rock with a lot of distortion. Great background music, but it's all one big blur. Nothing stands out. The producer must have had some serious hearing damage, because the production is very shrill. Way too much of those disco dip frequencies that you lose first. Favorite song: doesn't matter much, it's one big blur.
Aerosmith
4/5
I like this better than their 70s records. Favorite song: F.I.N.E.
Steely Dan
3/5
Same review as Pretzel Logic. I don't understand what emotion this music is trying to caption or evoke. The songwriting is creative, but the performance and production are about as boring as it gets. Very listenable, though. Very inoffensive. Favorite song: Peg.
The Dandy Warhols
2/5
They sound like all those brit pop bands, but more boring. On drugs or very tired. Best song by very far: not if you were the last junkie on earth.
Dizzee Rascal
4/5
The British accent sounds more musical than an American accent to me. I like it for a while, and then about half-way in, it becomes annoying. Favorite song: fix up look sharp
Astrud Gilberto
4/5
I like the music, but it would have been a lot better if the singer had any emotion whatsoever in her voice. Favorite song: Nao Bate O Corocao.
Love
3/5
I like it better than their other record. Song structures/chord progressions make more sense. The last song is way too long. Favorite song: Stephanie knows who.
Peter Tosh
2/5
Boring. Too repetitive. Favorite song: Watcha gonna do.
Suicide
1/5
Yesterday I got Peter Tosh. My review was, it's too repetitive. Now this... Some kind of proto house music or something. I think I understand why it's on the list, because it has a weird atmosphere unlike anything else I know. Doesn't mean I like it.
Sleater-Kinney
4/5
I like the general atmosphere, but most of it is not very catchy. They sound like the American version of PJ Harvey, who has the same issue. Favorite song: words and guitar
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
3/5
Starts off better than I expected, the rest is a little disappointing. Old school rap music, still with a lot of disco and soul influences. Some songs are sung instead of rapped, but the singing is not that good. The importance of this record is mainly that it was the first big rap record. It was original, but it's been done a lot better since. Favorite song: she's fresh.
3/5
They didn't do anything that hadn't been done like 5 years before on the Judgement Night soundtrack or by Korn. The singer doesn't sing with conviction and his voice cracks a lot when he's rapping. That's annoying. The lyrics are cringe. The riffs are catchy as hell though. They had lots of friends all across the music biz. Some of them are featured on the album. That was the main key to their success. And they had a mysterious weird looking guitar player. Favorite song: the one.
Joy Division
4/5
Songs are great, production is awful. Favorite song: new dawn fades
Van Morrison
3/5
The songs are good, but too long and I hate his voice. Good use of more traditional instruments like violins, double bass, and I think I heard a bassoon somewhere. Favorite song: Sweet thing.
UB40
4/5
I got into music in the mid 80s, so I'm familiar with their pop reggae side. This sounds quite different. It has the desperation and sincerity that their later music lacks. Favorite song: Tyler.
Animal Collective
3/5
I understand why it's on the list. Good to have some more modern music on there too and this is a good example. Psychedelic like Tame Impala with better singing. Some songs remind me of the Beach Boys if they made trance music. At times it's very good, but for the most part it's not my taste. Favorite song: Brother sport.
Joy Division
3/5
The songs on their other album are better. Production of this one is better. I like the other album better. Favorite song: Passover
Orbital
3/5
I think I understand why people like this music. The songs each have a different vibe, more so than most EDM. Not all of them are good. The songs are repetitive, but they still manage to build tension. The last 2 songs are way too long. Favorite song: Kein Trinkwasser
Baaba Maal
3/5
I like it. I'm not very familiar with this style of music. Couldn't keep my attention all the way to the end, like most albums really. I liked it better than his other album on the list. Favorite song: Hamady Boiro
Fleetwood Mac
3/5
The first couple of songs didn't sound very special, but it got better later on. I thought maybe I just had to get into this record, so I played it again. Those songs were just not that good. It has some very good moments, but I don't think this album needs to be on the list if Rumours is. Favorite song: Beautiful Child
My Bloody Valentine
4/5
Great. Like a more structured version of Sonic Youth. I don't like this style of singing very much. Favorite song: Feed me with your kiss
The Mothers Of Invention
4/5
Great, but there's some room for improvement. He's not the best singer and side 3 and 4 are too much. Also the weird stereo image, but they probably didn’t have the equipment yet to do it properly. Favorite song: Motherly Love.
2/5
It has some good songs, but most of this record is forgettable elevator music. Reminds me of the Beatles, the Beach Boys, some of Sting's solo work and especially They Might Be Giants. But not as good. Favorite song: river of orchids.
Shack
2/5
It's not bad, but not essential at all. I'm absolutely sure there's over 1000 more important records than this one. The songs remind me of Oasis and Train. As I said, not terrible, but nothing special and not trend setting. I don't understand why it's on the list. Favorite song: Streets of Kenny
James Taylor
2/5
Most of it is boring. Towards the end there's some better songs, but the performance is still boring. I don't think I'll ever play this record again. Favorite song: Blossom.
Cyndi Lauper
3/5
A couple of great songs and some filler. Best song is obviously Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, but there's more good ones on the record.
Joni Mitchell
4/5
Great record, but not as easy to listen to as her other records on the list. Favorite song: Coyote.
Chicago
4/5
I heard it before. These days they are mainly known for their soft rock. Their first couple of records (this is the first one) sound more like Deep Purple with horns. It's great, but the songs are too long. Favorite song: does anybody really know
Sam Cooke
2/5
His singing reminds me of Chris Rock. Once I heard it, I couldn't unhear it. Favorite song: Having a party.
Leonard Cohen
2/5
I don't have the patience for this music. He should have been a writer instead of a singer. He obviously doesn't enjoy singing. Least hated song: the partisan.
Robert Wyatt
2/5
It's weird, but it sound as if it's only weird because it's all he can do, not because he's creative.
Alice Cooper
3/5
It's alright but I liked his other album on the list better. There's a couple of good songs, but towards the end it gets worse and worse. Favorite song: unfinished sweet
Boards of Canada
3/5
It has some good parts and some boring parts. More boring than good. But I can understand why people like it. Favorite song: roygbiv
John Lennon
3/5
Not bad, but far from great. Not nearly as good as his work with the Beatles. Favorite song: how do you sleep
Marvin Gaye
2/5
He has 3 albums on the list. The other 2 are better. I don't even like those very much. I think this album is way too long and it doesn't belong on the list. Favorite song: Time to get it together.
Primal Scream
2/5
They have 2 albums on the list. This is the newer of the two. It’s more consistent. The music got better. The singing got worse. Really bad at times. Favorite song: kowalski
Kelela
3/5
Not bad, not great. The singing is too one dimensional. Production was apparently futuristic for Americans, but the Brits had been doing similar things for years already. Favorite song: enough
Orange Juice
2/5
Sounds like early Spandau Ballet with a bad singer to me. It’s not awful, but I wouldn’t call it good. Favorite song: I can’t help myself.
Gorillaz
4/5
Sounds like drugs. Some great ideas. I wonder how good it could have been without the drugs. I don’t like it when he does funny voices. Favorite song: slow country
Bob Marley & The Wailers
4/5
If I’m not mistaken there’s 3 Bob Marley albums on the list. This is my favorite. Exodus is too sweet, Natty Dread is too bluesy. This hits the sweet spot right in the middle. Favorite song: no more trouble.
The 13th Floor Elevators
4/5
Awesome. People still try to sound like this. White Stripes, King Khan, etc. This record sounds more sincere. And even though it’s mono, it sounds powerful. I skipped the bonus tracks. They’re not part of the album, youtube. The original album is perfect length. Favorite song: reverberation.
Mike Ladd
4/5
I’m not really into hip hop. I never heard of this before. It’s pretty good, but I don’t think it will be on heavy rotation at my house. Favorite song: no 1 st
Coldcut
2/5
Important step in the development of bad music. Big inspiration for the techno to come, I guess. I hated this when it was new. Usually I come round a little over time, but not in this case. Still hate it. Writing on the wall that this isn’t on the major streaming services. Least hated song: smoke dis one
Justin Timberlake
2/5
A couple of good songs and a couple of godawful ones. I hate the falsetto singing. He doesn't do that all the time. Weird how right after Cry me a River, which is a genuinely great song, the next song is the atrocity that is Rock Your Body, with the singing in a different key than the music. What the hell. Favorite song: cry me a river.
Buck Owens
3/5
I'm not a big fan of country music. This is definitely not the worst country record on the list. I like his enthusiasm. Doesn't mean I'll ever play it again. Favorite song: Memphis.
LCD Soundsystem
3/5
I like this better than their other record on the list. Usually I don't like songs this long, but in this case it doesn't really bother me. Only the last song is too long. Favorite song: Emotional haircut.
Marilyn Manson
3/5
Better than I expected. More like Nine Inch Nails and the post hardcore bands of that time like Rollins Band etc. than like Korn and Limp Bizkit (that's what I expected). There's some good songs and some filler. The songs are generally too long. Favorite song: tourniquet
Moby
2/5
Some of it is OK, a lot is boring. Favorite song: Run on
Muddy Waters
3/5
Better than I expected, but too samey for an entire album. Favorite song: I can't be satisfied
Creedence Clearwater Revival
4/5
This album has more great songs than most albums on this list. It also has a couple of very predictable blues rock songs, like Ooby Dooby and Before you accuse me. The singer has a great voice, but it would have been better if he wasn't raging full-on all the time. I heard it through the grapevine is a good example of what could have been. So great album, but not perfect. Favorite song: I heard it through the grapevine. Favorite song that's not a cover song: run through the jungle.
Ella Fitzgerald
4/5
It's all great, but it's too much. Favorite song: promenade
The Byrds
3/5
I like it, but most of it is not very memorable. Favorite song: it's no use.
Pulp
3/5
Good but not great. The singer is obviously influenced by David Bowie. I don't like that way of singing. Favorite song: common people
Van Halen
3/5
It's good, but I'm sure it was better when it was new. Favorite song: ain't talkin' 'bout love
James Brown
4/5
I was familiar with his later work. That's too much of the same thing, so I didn't check out more of the man's music. This record is better than I expected. It has enough variation. The songs are good. The audience is excited. Nice and short. Favorite song: think.
Country Joe & The Fish
2/5
Not bad at all, but I think this is one of the albums that has to be taken off the list eventually. Somewhere between the Doors and the Byrds, but not as good. Leave it on for now. Favorite song: the masked marauder
New York Dolls
2/5
Glam rock version of the Rolling Stones. Also reminds me of the Clash at times. The songs are not very good. Production is better than I expected. It seems a lot longer than it is. Favorite song: trash.
Neil Young
4/5
Good songs. I just wish someone else sang them. Favorite song: Don't let it bring you down.
Barry Adamson
2/5
I like some of it, but did I need to hear this before I die? Is that a rhetorical question? Favorite song: the big bamboozle
Nick Drake
3/5
I don't like it very much, but I understand why lots of people do. Favorite song: Free ride.
Wu-Tang Clan
3/5
I hadn't played this record for years. It's good, but not as good as I remembered. Favorite song: Da Mystery of Chessboxin'
Cowboy Junkies
2/5
Boring with only a couple of good moments. They obviously sound exactly the way they want to sound. It's actually quite hard to play this slow. So it's hard to call it bad. But I don't like this record at all. Favorite song: blue moon
Roxy Music
4/5
Great. I hadn't heard it before. Favorite song: Editions of you
Donovan
2/5
Good example how old is not the same as classic. This is just old. It's not bad, but nothing about this record feels essential to me. Favorite song: sunshine superman.
Roxy Music
4/5
I got For Your Pleasure 2 days ago. I like them both, but I don't see why they both need to be on the list. This one starts strong and is 2 or 3 songs too long. Stylistically, it's all over the place. Glam rock, some noise, almost-punk like at times, some prog parts... Favorite song: re-make/re-model.
2Pac
3/5
Gangster rap, but at least he's not glorifying it like a lot of his contemporaries. So his message is better. I don't like his flow very much or the music. Most of the guest rappers have better flow IMHO. The album is, like a lot of CD era albums, too long. It didn't age very well. Favorite song: death around the corner
Cream
3/5
The drums sound like cardboard, the singing is not very good, bass is great, guitar is great. I'm sure it was groundbreaking, but it's been done better later by lots of bands. Favorite song: strange brew
Adele
3/5
I liked 19 and 21 very much. This one is not as good. Not really bad, but not list worthy. Favorite song: Send My Love.
Radiohead
2/5
2nd radiohead album I got. I wanted to hate first one, but I didn't. I do hate this one. I do appreciate the effort, but not the music. I don't have the patience. Favorite song: dollars and cents.
Death In Vegas
2/5
At times I feel it, at times I don't. When I don't, it's boring. Favorite song: Lever street.
Ray Price
2/5
I'm not the youngest myself, but this is for people older than me. It was alright at first, but after a while I got bored. Favorite song: they all sound very similar to me, so it doesn't matter.
Fleetwood Mac
4/5
Good, but over-rated. Quite a few of the songs are great, but not all of them. Favorite song: dreams.
Nick Drake
4/5
All his studio albums are on the list. This is the last one I got. I didn't like the other ones very much, but this one is absolutely great. Favorite song: river man
Brian Eno
3/5
I don't know what to think of this. Glad I heard it, don't like it very much. Kind of proto-punk, but in a completely different way than the Stooges and the New York Dolls, etc. The Americans were more about playing hard and fast, this more about not giving a shit and just doing whatever. Very sloppy and off-key at times. Favorite song: here come the warm jets.
Public Enemy
3/5
This sounds more dated than Fear Of A Black Planet. Makes sense. It is older. It has a couple of classic tracks, but I'm not going to play this very often anymore. Favorite song: party for your right to fight
The Who
2/5
People seem to hate the jingles in between songs. I don't mind those. What bothers me more is the bad mix. I see this as a transitional record from My Generation to Tommy. I like them before and after the transition, but I don't like the transition itself very much. There's some really good parts, but as a whole, it doesn't sound essential to me. Favorite song: our love was
Led Zeppelin
3/5
Better than I remembered. Most of this album is good. I don't like the basic blues songs. There's a couple of those. I don't like the vocal acrobatics on some of the songs either. The production is not up to today's standards, but it's not terrible. Favorite song: good times bad times.
Rush
3/5
The music is good, but I hate the singing. Favorite song: 2112
Foo Fighters
4/5
I remember I saw them at a festival about a month after this came out. Nobody heard it yet. All we knew was, it was that guy from Nirvana's new band. Some songs even sound like Nirvana, but not as depressed. Other songs sound heavier or more like the Beatles. I think Dave Grohl is a better songwriter than Kurt Cobain, but his voice doesn't have the same emotional depth. Favorite song: Weenie Beenie
Incubus
3/5
This is a transitional album from their more energetic bouncy side to the mellower pop rock they made after this record. I liked it a lot when it was new. With today's ears, it's too polished and the singer's voice is a little boring. Favorite song: pardon me.
Sepultura
4/5
One of the few metal albums I still play all the time. Is it perfect? No, not at all. But it's so energetic. I was very disappointed when Chaos A.D. came out after this one. Favorite song: desperate cry.
3/5
I like all their other albums better. It's not terrible, but it doesn't belong on the list. Favorite song: Advert.
The Go-Betweens
2/5
A blend of U2, the cure and the smiths, but not nearly as good as any of them. A couple of decent songs, a couple of boring ones, and only one good song: streets of your town.
Bonnie "Prince" Billy
2/5
The songs are OK, but he doesn't even seem to try to sing in tune. I know people who love it and I kind of understand why, but I disagree. With very little extra effort, this could have been a 3 star record to me, but alas. Favorite song: death to everyone
Miles Davis
4/5
3rd Miles Davis album I got. I like this better than his 50s work. Favorite song: Pharaoh's dance.
Tricky
2/5
Starts strong, but it's not enough for a full album. Samples sound random and unconnected. Favorite song: overcome.
fIREHOSE
3/5
The Minutemen were awesome, I liked the first fIREHOSE record better than the last minutemen record, but this sounds like they got old. I liked them better when they were young. Good but not great. Favorite song: in my mind
LL Cool J
2/5
It's not all bad, but a lot of it is. Favorite song: Eat Em Up L Chill
Spacemen 3
3/5
Name checks out. Spacey and 3 stars. I usually don't like this kind of monotonous drones, but this record is fine. It doesn't bother me at all. Favorite song: so hot.
The Temptations
4/5
Good background music, but very repetitive. And suddenly it was over. Favorite song: papa was a rolling stone.
Eels
4/5
This is like the American version of Elvis Costello. Not spectacular, but it's good. Very popular with the 90s alt rock scene. Favorite song: Novocaine for the soul.
The Only Ones
3/5
It's alright, but they should have taken the singer's vocal range into account when writing songs. So he wouldn't have to sing like Lou Reed and whoever the singer for the Strokes is. Favorite song: the immortal story
Leftfield
3/5
At first I thought it was alright, but it's way too long. I got bored halfway. Favorite song: Black flute
Ryan Adams
3/5
A friend of mine is a big fan. I never understood why. Still don't. Most of this record is boring, but it has some good parts. Good background music. Favorite song: Amy
Stephen Stills
3/5
One song is head and shoulders above the rest: Cherokee. The rest is good for the campfire in case you run out of wood
The Beta Band
2/5
On one hand electronic music is under-represented on the list, when you consider its utter dominance of European pop culture the last 35-odd years. On the other hand it's not an album genre and a lot of it just isn't very good. Crossover with rock music are often not good at either genre. This is a good example of that. The first song is alright, the rest is boring.
Aerosmith
3/5
Nothing is bad about this album, but still it sounds like a poor man's Led Zeppelin. Favorite song: Last child
Antony and the Johnsons
4/5
I can understand people hate the voice. It's like an exaggerated version of Billy Holliday. Apparently too much for a lot of people. I like it for the length of the album and probably not much longer. Favorite song: fistful of love
De La Soul
4/5
I remembered I liked this, but I liked it better than I remembered. Sounds newer and fresher than it is. Favorite song: Eye know
Röyksopp
4/5
First 2 songs are awesome. The rest is not that good, but still good. Great background music. Favorite song: Eple.
Fleet Foxes
3/5
They are very good at setting a specific atmosphere that I don't like very much. The music is just there. Not bad, but it doesn't stick. Favorite song: he doesn't know why.
Bob Dylan
1/5
How the hell is this rated 3.68 average to this date? What's wrong with you people? Way too high. 3rd Bob Dylan album I got. My least favorite so far. 4 more to go. The songs are boring and it doesn't help he's a terrible singer.
The Sugarcubes
4/5
I only knew them by name. Better than I expected. Everything pop and alternative of the mid to late 80s in a blender probably gets you something like this, but not quite. It's better than that. Except the lyrics, but it's not their language, so you can't really blame them. Favorite song: sick for toys.
3/5
Even though their first album Los Angeles is more iconic, I like this one better. Not sure it's essential. Favorite song: We're desperate.
Sonic Youth
4/5
Great. Reasonably easy to listen to for a Sonic Youth record. Still quite harsh, but it's actual songs. It has their biggest hit and only a couple of misses. Good starting point if you want to get into the band. Favorite song: Orange Rolls, Angel's Spit
Bob Dylan
3/5
2nd Bob Dylan album I got this week. I don't like Bob Dylan. This is not as bad as the other album. It's more rock than folk music. It doesn't matter as much that he's a bad singer with this music. Favorite song: Love minus zero
Richard Hawley
2/5
Everything about this record is just fine. Nothing is great. The songs are just fine, the instrumentation is just fine, his voice is, well he ain't no Frank Sinatra, but it's fine. I wonder how this ended up on the list. It was neither groundbreaking nor the start of a new revival. It's just fine. Favorite song: Tonight.
Solange
4/5
Reminds me more of stuff like Massive Attack than US R&B. I like it, but it seems longer than it is. Maybe because all the best songs are in the first half. Favorite song: Don't touch my hair.
Hot Chip
3/5
Some songs are great, some are pathetic attempts to sound like the 1980s synth pop their parents used to play. Songs are long. Favorite song: these chains
Frank Sinatra
3/5
It's obviously quality music. Played well, sung well. I just wasn't in the mood for this today. And most days. I don't have the patience. Favorite song: glad to be unhappy
Dinosaur Jr.
3/5
Great, but the singing is really bad. The very lo-fi stuff towards the end is also not for me. Favorite song: the lung
The United States Of America
4/5
Great. Starts of sounding more Pink Floyd than Pink Floyd, the rest is more like an improved version of Jefferson Airplane. Their music should be as popular as those bands. I don't know how much of an impact they had when they were new. That could be a reason why they're not as popular today. Plus the playing is too sloppy at times. Favorite song: the garden of earthly delights
The Cure
4/5
This is probably their most consistent album. Starts great, good almost until the end. It's the dark sound they're still associated with today, more than their later pop sound. The singing is flat a lot of the time, but it doesn't really bother me. There's enough space in the production so it doesn't clash with anything too bad. Favorite song: a short term effect
Parliament
3/5
Easy to listen to, easy to dance to, played well, recorded well, but not memorable. Favorite song: give up the funk
Spiritualized
3/5
It's made very well, but it's not at all what I'm looking for in music. It's like Beck playing Pink Floyd. Favorite song: electricity.
Beatles
5/5
A lot of variation and all of it is great. Favorite song: here comes the sun.
John Lennon
3/5
Yesterday I got the Beatles' Abbey Road, the last album he was on before this one. This is not as good. Not even close. None of the songs are bad, but none are great either. Favorite song: Hold on
Peter Gabriel
3/5
All songs are good, only Solsburry Hill is great. I didn't remember any of the other songs after one go, but they are well-crafted.
Dexys Midnight Runners
2/5
I don't understand why it's on the list. It was not a hit record. It was not influential. It's not even very good.
Air
4/5
Not something I would put on my own playlist, but it's good. Sounds very French. And it is. It was over before it started to annoy me. Favorite song: ce matin-la
Leonard Cohen
1/5
Awful. Just awful.
Milton Nascimento
4/5
These kinds of hidden gems are my main reason to take on this challenge. Most bands would be proud of a record that is good at one of the many styles that are blended together flawlessly on this album. These people are good at all of them. Never heard of them before. Favorite song: Lilia
Django Django
3/5
Good, but hardly essential. I remember Default was a hit here. I didn't know the other songs. They're not as annoying. Favorite song: Silver Rays.
Stereo MC's
2/5
I think it's supposed to be dance music, but I don't feel it. Favorite song: Pressure.
Ali Farka Touré
3/5
Very repetitive, but for a reason. It's entrancing. And it actually works on this record. On a lot of other records, it doesn't. But they could have left a couple of songs off. Favorite song: sega.
Jane's Addiction
3/5
They didn't sound like anyone else. Still don't. Alternative rock, but funky. The singing is flat and has the timbre of nails on a chalkboard. The music is good. The songs are too long. Favorite song: stop
DJ Shadow
3/5
Up until this record, most people picked samples so the sample set the mood for the song. DJ Shadow took samples and turned them into something completely different. Cut them up, change the accent, etc. So it's an important record for the development of music. However, like a lot of other groundbreaking records (black sabbath, frank zappa, run dmc,...) , I wouldn't recommend it to young people. Because by today's standards, it's not that good. Favorite song: organ donor.
Khaled
2/5
It's not terrible, but hard to believe this is the creative peak of the genre. It was a big commercial succes, of course. I think they wanted to include something arab-ish and didn't know anything else. Favorite song: Derwiche tourneur
The Jesus And Mary Chain
2/5
The songs are not terrible. I even remembered a couple of them. However, the performance is bad. If you wanna play loud, you gotta sing loud. Or no one will hear you. So this sounds very unrealistic. Production sounds like a bad demo. Favorite song: the hardest walk.
Adam & The Ants
4/5
I liked it so much, I even played the bonus tracks. I usually don't. The bonus tracks are even better. He's not a very good singer, but it suits the music well. Favorite song on the original album: Kings of the wild frontier
Morrissey
3/5
I played it once or twice before, but not more. I recognized some of the songs. Probably my favorite solo album of his. It's good, but not spectacular. Favorite song: How Can Anybody Possibly Know How I Feel
Jamiroquai
3/5
Groovy disco soul. Played very well. The singer is alright but not great. Sound wise, there's a big hole in the mid range. It lacks warmth. I played this quite a few times in the past. I only remembered a couple of songs. Great background music. Favorite song: music of the mind.
Janis Joplin
4/5
Good. Not much else to say about this record. Favorite song: move over.
Charles Mingus
3/5
It's good, but I don't like all of it. Favorite song: track A solo dancer
Led Zeppelin
3/5
Some of it is really great, but there's also quite a lot of filler. That goes for the album as a whole, but also within songs. Favorite song: Kashmir (by far)
Frank Ocean
4/5
I heard it for the first time. I like it. Surprised me. I think I'll like it less the 2nd time without the element of surprise. Favorite song: lost
Fatboy Slim
3/5
I don't remember hearing of the songs before. The good parts are not as good as his other record, but the filler is a lot better. Favorite song: everybody needs a 303
John Prine
2/5
I understand what makes this good, but I don't like it at all. You can have very good termites in your porch's wood, but that only makes it worse. Favorite song: Hello in there
Van Morrison
3/5
I wanted to hate this, but I didn't. I usually don't like live records, it is much too long so I didn't listen the entire thing in one go, I don't like his voice very much, but the band is good, the songs are ok, must have been a hell of a night if you were there. favorite song: I believe to my soul.
My Bloody Valentine
3/5
On one hand, if you make a wall of sound and you sing like that, no one's gonna hear it. On the other hand, if you sing like that, I don't even want to hear it. Same problem I had with the Jesus and Mary Chain the other day. But this is not as bad. At least it doesn't sound like it was recorded in a toilet. Some riffs are cool. Songs are too long. And as I said, the singing is awful. Favorite song: she found now
Dusty Springfield
4/5
Some songs are almost perfect, some are just good. Favorite song: the windmills of your mind
The Good, The Bad & The Queen
4/5
I would call this psychedelic prog folk dub. Too psychedelic for my taste, but it's good (if you can stand Damon Albarn's singing). Favorite song: Herculean
T. Rex
3/5
I don't mind hearing this at all. Not great, but definitely not the worst album on the list. Favorite song: bang a gong.
Brian Eno
2/5
Sounds a couple of years newer than it is. This man is very creative. Some parts are really good, some are pretty bad. I don't think he cares what I think. Favorite song: Kurt's rejoinder
Raekwon
3/5
At first it was pretty good, but it just kept dragging on and on and on. The lyrics are stupid, but I like his flow. Favorite song: rainy dayz
Ramblin' Jack Elliott
1/5
It sounds very amateurish. It's very old. May have been good when it was new, but people shouldn't listen to this anymore.
Run-D.M.C.
2/5
This record doesn't sound as awkward as their other record on the list, but it's not quite 3 star material. Favorite song: walk this way
ABBA
4/5
I didn't recognize any of the titles, but I definitely heard some of these songs before. This record is made very well. Almost too perfect. There's nothing really wrong with this album. Production is perfect. I just don't like the theatrical vibe that some of the songs have. But it makes sense. The Bs next project was the music Chess. Favorite song: Soldiers
Dexys Midnight Runners
3/5
Good, except the singing. People always refer to them as a one hit wonder. They're not. Geno was a hit. Favorite song: seven days too long.
Dire Straits
2/5
Sultans of swing. The rest is boring. They can definitely play. They're just not that good at writing memorable songs.
Iggy Pop
4/5
There's 3 stooges albums and 2 Iggy albums on the list. I think it's too much, but this record is different enough. Punk was still brand spanking new and this was already post-punk. Favorite song: Baby
Caetano Veloso
3/5
It's alright, but I expected something more energetic. Especially the singing is kind of bland. Favorite song: Anunciação
Janelle Monáe
4/5
There's a lot going on on this record. Lots of different styles and influences. But somehow it sounds coherent. I really enjoyed it. Wouldn't have found it without this challenge. Favorite song: Dance or die.
Bad Brains
2/5
Very influential record, but a lot of bands did it much better later. Bands like Sick Of It All, Refused, Turnstile, hell even Korn and Limp Bizkit wouldn't be the same without this record. But if you are used to listening to hardcore punk (I am), this is too tame. Especially the vocals. I don't really like any of the songs. I don't even think this is a good gateway into hardcore punk. Listen to some newer bands instead.
Public Image Ltd.
2/5
Songs are way too long. The awful singing makes them seem even longer. It's not 1 star bad, but not much better. At least the production is OK. I think this was the right record at the right time when it was new, but it's not now. Favorite song: Poptones
Fever Ray
3/5
It's not my taste, but it's made well and different enough to be on the list. They probably wanted to sound like this. Very minimalistic. Favorite song: Seven (which is actually the 4th song)
Grateful Dead
3/5
Nothing is bad about this record, but nothing is memorable either. I usually don't like long songs. It doesn't bother me on this record. Except Feedback. What the hell is that about?
Elliott Smith
3/5
This is what all the local bands around here sounded like in the 90s. Not bad, but I'm not impressed.
The Adverts
4/5
I heard it once or twice before. I remembered some of the songs. Good sign. Or very bad. Good in this case. I don't like all of them, but the best ones are really good despite the mediocre singer. Favorite song: safety in numbers.
Mott The Hoople
3/5
Solid glam rock album. Doesn't feel essential to me. Favorite song: Crash Street Kids
Can
4/5
The first half is amazing. Like a much better version of Pink Floyd (they are so overrated). And then they ran out of good ideas. Favorite song: Oh yeah
Red Hot Chili Peppers
4/5
Not their best, but it's alright. Most songs are good, except when he tries to rap. Lyrics are very adolescent for a bunch of almost 40 year olds. He said fornication, huh huh. Favorite song: Parallel Universe. Not as good as Blood Sugar Sex Magic, which was ****. Not bad enough for ***.
Brian Eno
2/5
There's too much Brian Eno on the list. Some of his work is good, but this is him doodling again.
The Band
3/5
Not bad, just not memorable at all. Favorite song: up on cripple creek
Blur
4/5
The irony. Today the big news is, there's an Oasis reunion and I get this record. Blur, proving once more how much more creative and versatile they were than their rivals. Good album. Could have been shorter. There's 3 Blur albums on the list. I think 2 would have been enough and this should be one of them. Favorite song: Song 2.
Grizzly Bear
3/5
Some of it is really good, some of it is too arty. Favorite song: Fine for now
Scott Walker
3/5
This man has made some weird music later in his career, but this is easy on the ear. Favorite song: plastic palace people.
Maxwell
3/5
This kind of music has a very strong music school vibe to me. Very well done, but not very original. This is basically a remake of Luther Vandross and Barry White etc. with updated production (which is very good by the way). Especially the voice lacks character. The start is alright, but towards the middle it became too smooth for me and it only got worse later on. Favorite song: Ascension.
Britney Spears
2/5
This album was better than I expected. Musically it's not groundbreaking, but there's not as much filler as I expected. Or you could say the filler is not as bad as I expected. I didn't like the hits very much, but I didn't hate any of the songs. Britney was unavoidable at the time, so that alone is a reason to put her on the list. Favorite song: and the beat goes on, of the originals: soda pop, which doesn't really sound like her singing. Sounds more like Christina Aguilera to me.
3/5
Not bad, but I don't understand why they got the biggest out of all the brit pop bands. Must be more about the drama than about the music. It's quite samey and especially the singing is really not very good. Sounds as if the singer doesn't like the music. Massively overrated. Favorite song: she's electric.
Barry Adamson
4/5
The first couple of tracks are very good. Act 3 and 4 are not that good, but still not bad.
George Michael
2/5
He has a great voice. I just don't like his songs. Favorite original song: They Won't Go When I Go (originally by Stevie Wonder)
Scritti Politti
2/5
Never heard the album before. I think The Word Girl and Absolute were hits here. I remember some other parts. Maybe they were used as background music somewhere. I can't stand the singing. Makes it almost unlistenable. I'd swear I heard autotune on this record, but it hadn't been invented yet for another 10 years or so. Favorite song: Don't work that hard.
Minor Threat
5/5
Not only the music was influential, but also the message. Still sounds angry and energetic by today's standards, unlike a lot of other old "angry" and "energetic" albums (Bad Brains, Iron Maiden for example). Favorite song: No Reason
Gang Of Four
4/5
I like this record. Production is great. Sounds newer than it is. They sound like a funky version of Talking Heads or Minutemen. Funky and punky. Usually I don't like that combination, but they do it well. Songs are each quite monotonous, but they are different enough. Favorite song: Love Like Anthrax
Tim Buckley
3/5
I got Happy Sad before. That was amazing. This was just good. It didn't feel essential to me. Favorite song: Devil Eyes.
The xx
3/5
Not bad, but a little boring. Not my taste. Favorite song: a violent noise
Frank Black
4/5
I played this a lot when it was new. I liked the album before and the album after better, but this is better than I remembered. It's more versatile. Not all of it is good. I'd rather have a more consistent good record. And shorter too. Favorite song: Two Reelers
Paul McCartney and Wings
3/5
It has some great parts, but over-all it sounds outdated and almost corny at times. Favorite song: Jet
Keith Jarrett
3/5
I got bored halfway through the first song. I paused it and continued later. It's very good, but it's too long.
2/5
I didn't enjoy this at all. Least hated song: mr. tambourine man.
Tim Buckley
4/5
Last week I got Postcards from LA. I like this better. It sounds more sincere. Favorite song: Phantasmagoria in two.
New Order
3/5
I got low-life before. This is a lot better. Especially the singing. Still not great, but good enough. During the first track I hoped the rest of the album would be different. Fortunately it was. Most bands who try to combine indie rock and dance music fail miserably, but except for the first track this album sounds reasonably coherent. Favorite song: run.
Michael Kiwanuka
4/5
Great. He has a great voice and I like the mood of the instruments. Favorite song: Rolling. (but most of them, really)
Todd Rundgren
2/5
It's not all bad, but it's not great. I'm sure there's a 3 star album between all the filler.
Buzzcocks
4/5
Great. Very influential. Definitely stood the test of time so far. Favorite song: I don't mind (the title is I don't mind)
Björk
3/5
About half of the album is great, the other half is awful. Favorite song: human behaviour.
The Last Shadow Puppets
3/5
This album is fine. But does everybody really need to hear this before they die? I don't think so. Favorite song: separate and ever deadly
The Byrds
3/5
I usually hate country music, but this is alright. The songs are more creative than most country music. Well played, well recorded. Favorite song: one hundred years from now.
Blood, Sweat & Tears
4/5
I only heard Spinning Wheel before. It's not one of the highlights of the album for me. The album blends all kinds of styles together. Played very well. Great singer. Production sounds timeless. The music sounds of that time, or maybe 5 years later. But that's not a problem, in the way that it's not a problem with Strauss or Beethoven either. Favorite song: Smiling Phases.
The Stranglers
5/5
The Stranglers are largely ignored by the current punk scene. Maybe because they're not politically correct enough or maybe because their later work is not very good. This album is great though. Of the original punk bands, they were obviously some of the best musicians. The songs have enough variation. Production is good. I love the bass sound. Favorite song: get a grip
Sly & The Family Stone
3/5
It's good, but it doesn't feel essential to me. Favorite song: you caught me smiling.
Jerry Lee Lewis
3/5
Piano rock 'n roll. It must have been wild when it was new, but it sounds outdated now. Favorite song: money.
Megadeth
4/5
It has some of my favorite songs, but not all of them are good. And the singer is not very good. Guitar is very melodic. Almost like classical music sometimes. Favorite song: Holy wars.
The Stooges
3/5
Every song has a cool riff that they just keep repeating forever until it's boring. There's a lot of Iggy Pop on the list and this doesn't need to be there. Favorite song: Loose
Bon Jovi
3/5
I bought this when it was new. 10 your old me loved it. I haven't played it for years. I completely forgot half of the songs of Guns 'n Roses - Appetite for Destruction, which I bought around the same time. I remembered most songs on this album. The music is somewhere between Van Halen and Bruce Springsteen. Not great, but not bad. Enough variation. Lyrics are not that great. Favorite song: I'd die for you.
Lloyd Cole And The Commotions
3/5
I only knew them by name before. Some songs are very good, the album as a whole isn't that great. Favorite song: perfect skin.
Hole
3/5
I like this kind of music, but I've always thought of them as followers rather than leaders. Not bad though. Favorite song: Gutless.
Ali Farka Touré
3/5
For listening actively it's too repetitive. I used to play this as background music at work. Perfect for that. Favorite song: Savane
Peter Gabriel
3/5
This album was made with great attention to detail. I like his voice. The album has very inconspicuous weird rhythms at times and some occasional uncommon chord progressions paired with a super tight 80s production.
However, I can't relate to this music at all. To me, this sounds like the kind of music someone without any emotional urge would make for the sake of making music, applying all their music school tricks to conceal it. And the songs are soooo long.
It's too well made and not annoying enough for 2 stars, so 3 it is. But barely.
Favorite song: Big Time, but I don't like it very much.
Buena Vista Social Club
4/5
There's quite a few great songs on this album, but also some unremarkable ones. I can't help but wonder if there's not dozens of Latin musicians like this or even better who never made it to the west because they didn't have a western patron or didn't even have the means to record their music properly. Favorite song: Chan Chan
Circle Jerks
4/5
"I don't want to live to be 43" Well, they're playing again and it's 44 years after this album was released. Probably one of the fastest and most aggressive records of its time. Most of it still sounds alright by today's standards. They could have released it last year and people would have loved it. Favorite song: red tape.
Big Black
3/5
I heard it before. Didn't like it then. I wasn't ready for it. I liked it better this time. Kind of a missing link between Husker Du and Ministry or something. Favorite song: Passing Complexion.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
2/5
Some artists have too many entries on the list. Neil Young is definitely one of them. I don't think this album should have been included. First of all because I can't stand his voice. Second because the quality of the recording varies a lot. It sounds like a collection of scraps instead of a coherent work. Third only a couple of the songs are good. That being said, some songs are actually good. Favorite song: ride my llama.
Otis Redding
4/5
I like it. Some of the covers are better than the originals. Favorite song: Shake.
Garbage
3/5
I hear a lot of influences on this album. Especially from the 80s, like Talk Talk, the Cure and Killing Joke, but the result sounds very 90s. The album starts of with a couple of big hits. The middle is... I wouldn't say garbage, but not as good. Towards the end it gets better again. Favorite song: Queer.
Bee Gees
3/5
Slightly better than Odessa. I didn't hate Odessa. This album is not very different. Tearjerkers. Both of them on the list is too generous. I prefer their disco phase. What struck me is, it's the Brothers Gibb (BG, Beegee), but it sounds like the same singer all the time. Favorite song: Lion in winter.
Lou Reed
2/5
This album could have been OK if it was sung by someone who could actually sing or at least enjoys singing. But it's not. The songs are better than on his other album on the list, Transformer, but the singing is just as awful. Favorite song: Lady Day
Dire Straits
4/5
This album has been in the charts of my country for over 8.5 years. Used to be the longest ever. It's now Adele who is still top 10 after 13 years. It's better than I remembered and definitely much better than their other album on the list. It starts off very strong, the middle is boring, the title track at the end is my favorite song of the album.
Elvis Costello
4/5
Not a bad song on this album, but the production is too basic. Sounds as if something is missing. His next 2 albums are much better. I don't think this needs to be on the list. Favorite song: Welcome to the working week.
Leonard Cohen
2/5
There's a certain tension in the music that is lacking from his other records on the list. It's still mumbling, but his timing is not as awkward. I don't hate this as much as his other albums on the list. I don't like it very much either. Favorite song: it seemed the better way
David Bowie
4/5
It sounds like 2nd rate Beatles to me. 2nd rate Beatles is still pretty good. Favorite song: changes.
The Allman Brothers Band
3/5
They're probably proud of this record. No reason not to be. They're good at what they do. It's good background music. And that's what it automatically becomes, because they can't keep my attention. Favorite song: you don't love me
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
4/5
Some great songs, some OK songs. I'm not the biggest fan myself, but I understand why it was so popular when it was new. Favorite song: O'Malley's Bar.
Wilco
4/5
Good, but too long. Favorite song: I am trying to break your heart
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
4/5
Not something I would have chosen based on the description, but it's good. The singer doesn't have much control. That makes the synth music sound more alive. Favorite song: Georgia.
The Magnetic Fields
2/5
Not terrible, but definitely not great. And there's waaaaaay too much of it. This is 3rd rate They Might Be Giants or something. Favorite song: a chicken with its head cut off.
Everything But The Girl
3/5
They had been around since the early 80s. They adapted to the ever changing trends. To be fair, they could have done a lot worse. It sounds sincere, not a pathetic attempt to stay relevant. Nice cross section of the popular EDM styles of that era. They were not leaders of any of them, but they cherry picked something album worthy, while the leaders were too one-dimensional. Favorite song: before today.
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
4/5
Can't deny it's weird. That's what great about it. It's also why it's not for everyone. Favorite song: she's too much for my mirror.
Gil Scott-Heron
2/5
I can imagine H2O was groundbreaking. The rest is boring.
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
3/5
Never heard of it before. Piano hard rock or something. I like it. Except the lyrics. They're awful. Favorite song: swampsnake.
50 Cent
3/5
First two songs are not very good. Then it gets better with ups and downs. It's too long. Could have been an extra star if it didn't have as much filler. Favorite song: in da club.
The Waterboys
4/5
Odd choice. The album was not very successful in my country. It didn't chart at all, neither did any of the singles. I only knew one of their songs, Whole Of The Moon, and it's from a different album. I don't like that song very much.
When I heard the first song of this album, I thought it wouldn't be for me. But it was. The bonus tracks are too much though. Favorite song: when will we be married.
Big Brother & The Holding Company
4/5
Side 1 is solid 5 stars. Side 2 isn't, so 4 stars it is. Favorite song: combination of the two
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
2/5
If this exact record had been made by anybody else, it wouldn't have been on the list. Not even if it was Elvis Costello. Favorite song: Mansion on the hill
Arcade Fire
4/5
Their other albums on the list were just OK to me. I don't like the unsteady singing on this album very much either and it's about twice as long as it should have been, but otherwise it's good. Favorite song: month of may
Sade
3/5
Never heard this album, but I knew quite a few songs. It's alright. Nothing new when it was new. Good but not spectacular. Well made. Very smooth, but not in an annoying way. I like her voice. She could have dug a little deeper. Favorite song: smooth operator.
Metallica
4/5
One of my all-time favorites, but it has the song that should not be. I always skip that one. Only reason it's not a 5* album. Favorite song: all the other songs.
Slade
3/5
It's the party version of AC/DC and Led Zeppelin. They won't win the Nobel prize for literature. I enjoyed it, but I skipped the bonus tracks. Favorite song: look at last night.
Mylo
4/5
It's alright. Inoffensive background music. It doesn't even bother me that it's very repetitive. Favorite song: Otto's Journey.
SZA
3/5
They could have spent some more time on the songwriting and some less on sound design. She's a good singer. The backing tracks aren't really going anywhere. They spent a lot of effort to cover it up with a super slick production. I almost fell for it. Favorite song: 20 something.
Michael Jackson
3/5
I like his older records better. This one sounds like cheap keyboards. Too robotic. The best songs are towards the end. I thought maybe it took some time to get into it, so I started over. Same. I remember it was huge when it was new. I didn't like it then. I'm still not a fan. Favorite song: man in the mirror.
Sepultura
3/5
I like Arise, but I could never get into the music they made afterwards. Each song has half a song worth of riffs and too much repetition. Favorite song: breed apart
Slint
4/5
It's a more extreme version of Fugazi. More dynamic. More awkward, but fascinating. Not as groovy. Favorite song: Breadcrumb Trail.
Shivkumar Sharma
3/5
Great background music. Too monotonous too stick. Favorite song: Bhoop
Simple Minds
3/5
They can play. The singing is better than average from that era. They probably sound exactly the way they want to sound, but nothing about the album is spectacular. Favorite song: promised you a miracle
The Teardrop Explodes
3/5
Yesterday I got the Simple Minds. This is not very different. Also good but not great. A little faster. I like this one better. Most songs are alright. I skipped the bonus tracks. Strange how the title track was not on the album originally. Favorite song: Second Head.
Tom Waits
4/5
I like it. It's like an improved version of captain beefheart with a bit of the residents blended in. Favorite song: Cemetery Polka.
The Darkness
3/5
It's not terrible but I don't understand how this is on the list and all those 1980s American bands who did it at least as good with a better singer aren't. Favorite song: growing on me
Turbonegro
3/5
They were very popular with the northwestern European rock festival crowd. Always lots of people in turbo jugend uniforms (their fanclub). They were tight and loud with a good show. And naughty. That being said, on the record, the lyrics sound very childish. The music is alright, but not groundbreaking. There weren't too many bands like this when they were around, but there had been before. Like a blend of Motorhead and the Ramones. Favorite song: prince of the rodeo
Elton John
4/5
Could have been a 40 minute 5 star album, but it's too long. Favorite song: funeral for a friend
Mekons
3/5
Never heard of them. Sounds alright. Noisy folk rock. Bad singer, but not too annoying. Favorite song: chivalry
Blur
4/5
So much better than Oasis. Favorite song: Bank Holiday
The Bees
3/5
This is like the 2000s version of yacht rock. It's easy on the ear, but I don't understand why it's on the list. Amazing how they blend in various styles of music and still make it all sound the same. Favorite song: sunshine
Liz Phair
3/5
Reminds me of PJ Harvey very much, who debuted 2 years before, or a more folky version of Nirvana. Lots of people in the comments complain about the singing. I don't agree. It suits the music. It's the blues. Great for about half and hour, then I got bored. That means it's around twice as long as it should have been. Favorite song: flower
Ray Charles
4/5
Good. Well played, good voice. Decent songs. I don't think it's very relevant to current music anymore, but it doesn't have to be. Too many similar bonus tracks, as is often the case with reissues. Favorite song: hey good looking.
Julian Cope
3/5
The songs on this album are all very different. None of them are really bad. Some of them are good, some of them are boring. Most of them are too long. And there's too many of them. It has elements of almost every popular alternative rock style of the late 80s. I hear paisley underground, madchester, bands like the Mission, the Doors, Neil Young... And somehow it's not exciting at all. I don't understand the emotion of this album. Favorite song: hanging out
The Beach Boys
4/5
It's made very well, but too laid back for me. I can definitely understand why many people love this record. Favorite song: God only knows.
Morrissey
3/5
Some songs sound like the Smiths, but most sound darker. More goth. With computer drums and all. I can understand why people like it. Favorite song: suedehead.
Emmylou Harris
3/5
It's good but not my taste. I only like one song: for no one.
Dennis Wilson
3/5
Post Beach Boys Dennis Wilson reminds me of pot Beatles Paul McCartney. You can hear where he’s coming from, but he tries to incorporate some more modern influences. As far as an almost 50 year old record can be modern. Favorite song: thoughts of you
Pere Ubu
4/5
I like most of it. The vocals are too loud in the mix, which makes them annoying. Favorite song: life stinks
Beatles
3/5
They probably did it better than anyone before, but by today's standards it's just alright. Production is especially bad. The technology wasn't better yet. The songs are good. I prefer their later work. Favorite song: all my loving.
Madonna
4/5
It's good, but the songs are too long and there's too many of them. Favorite song: frozen
Sisters Of Mercy
3/5
I like the atmosphere. However, there’s not enough variation for the length of the songs. The singer sings below his normal vocal range. It sounds uneven. Favorite song: this corrosion
The xx
2/5
Most boring album so far out of almost 700. Not annoying enough for 1 star.
M.I.A.
3/5
Like her other album on the list, it's too percussive and monotonous with some exotic samples. I don't understand why there's more than 1 on the list. I like this one slightly better. Favorite song: Sunshowers
Kate Bush
3/5
Some of it is very good, a lot of it is just weird. Favorite song: pull out the pin.
Scissor Sisters
2/5
This album is pretty much everything I hate about music. However, I can imagine other people genuinely like it. So not bad enough for 1 star. Favorite song: return to oz.
The Isley Brothers
4/5
There’s songs you and like, but you don’t know who the artist is. Lots of those on this album. Favorite song: sunshine.
2/5
Combination of samba and house music. Could have been good, but it's boring. Somehow it didn't feel as long as it is. Alright for background music.
Miles Davis
2/5
Sounds like the soundtrack to a movie. It's not interesting enough without the movie.
Femi Kuti
4/5
Great. I only knew him by name. The songs are long, but there's enough energy for even longer. Favorite song: plenty nonsense
Gang Starr
3/5
It's good, but half an hour of this would have been enough. Favorite song: execution of a chump
Oasis
3/5
I like it better than their other record on the list. Still don't understand the hype. Very basic. Not innovative in any way. Good but not great. Favorite song: bring it on down
Prince
2/5
Almost 700 in and this is the first Prince record I got. He left a very big mark on 80s pop music. He was a great innovator and very prolific, so it surprises me it took this long. He was unhappy with his record company because they didn't want to release everything he recorded. I think they were very generous allowing this album to be as long as it is. The man is obviously very musical. However, we have very different taste in music. Favorite song: strange relationship
Abdullah Ibrahim
3/5
I don't understand why this is on the list. It's not bad, but it sounds 30 years older than it is. Not bad, not great, rehashing what already existed. Favorite song: tuang guru.
Simply Red
4/5
I like most of the songs on this album. Notable exception: the title track. Why would you name the album after that song? Good voice. Tight production, but not too tight. Decent songs for the most part. Favorite song: holding back the years.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
3/5
Some of the songs are great, but not all off them. The singing is tiring. That man is either on or off. No in between. Favorite song: born on the bayou.
4/5
I never heard this before. I like it. It's fascinating. Weird. Not really songs. It was over before I understood what the hell I was listening to. Favorite song: they don't want your corn, they want your kids.
Spiritualized
2/5
Extremely boring, but not in an annoying way.
The Young Rascals
4/5
It's good. reminds me of the kinks and the monkees and the animals. Not quite Beatles or Beach Boys, but reminds me of them too. A lot of variation. And none of it is bad. Not only traditional rock instruments, also violins and stuff. Favorite song: you better run
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
3/5
I was familiar with his 90s work and his work with the Traveling Wilburys, so I didn't expect much from this. It didn't blow me away, but it's good enough to stop making fun of people who like Tom Petty. Favorite song: American Girl.
The Crusaders
3/5
Basically disco funk soul without the singing. Very smooth. Maybe too smooth. Songs are too long, otherwise not bad. Favorite song: streetlife
Paul Simon
4/5
Lots of variation. It sounds too polite, though. Great for wallpaper. If you pay attention, you can hear that it's very well made. Still sounds like wallpaper. Favorite song: Armistice Day
Prince
3/5
I appreciate his work ethics and creativity, I just don't like the result very much. And there's too much of it. Favorite song: 1999
Soft Cell
3/5
The right length. The music is alright. The singer is not that good. Favorite song: sex dwarf.
Method Man
3/5
Some of it is good, most is nothing special. Favorite song: tical.
Daft Punk
2/5
On one hand there's not enough dance music on the list. On the other, this is too monotonous. There's only a few highlights. Favorite song: da funk
Paul Revere & The Raiders
4/5
Not bad at all. I don't think it's essential. There's better similar music on the list. It holds up better than, say, the byrds or the rolling stones' 60s work. Especially because there's only good songs on this album. Favorite song: stepping stone.
Lambchop
2/5
I don't like it. Elevator music. Not memorable at all. Sometimes he sings falsetto. I hate that. Most of the songs are not bad, but none of them stand out in a positive way to me.
Napalm Death
3/5
They were one of the first to do this, and certainly the most influential, but they were not very good at it at this point. It's a mess. It's not even the same band on all songs. Two sessions with only the same drummer. Songs of the 2nd session are better, production of the 1st session is better. They got better later, when they became a metal band. This is more hardcore punk like Discharge, D.R.I. and Lärm, but there's definitely some Slayer in there as well. It was so influential, they even got to play national children's TV and all. Favorite song: common enemy.
Venom
2/5
People, let's just stop pretending this is good. It sounds more like a bad version of motorhead than like the genre that was named after them. The lyrics are immature and silly. They don't play very well, the singer is pretty bad. I'm sure it was quite something when it was new, but nothing justifies listening to this album anymore.
Traffic
3/5
They're obviously very good at what they do. I just don't like it very much. It sounds like it's for people older than me. I'm pushing 50. Favorite song: crying to be heard.
The Louvin Brothers
3/5
I'm usually not a big fan of country music, but somehow I enjoyed this. Good stories, the music is OK, the harmonies are great. About halfway in it was too much of the same. Favorite song: in the pines
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
2/5
Yesterday I got the Louvin Brothers. My review was, I generally don't like country music, but somehow I enjoyed it. This record here is more in line with my general opinion on country music. I can imagine people liking this record, but I hate it. And seems like it's 100 hours long.
The The
3/5
This is very 80s. Not great, but unlike his other album on the list, this actually has some good parts. Favorite song: uncertain smile.
Black Sabbath
3/5
This was groundbreaking, but it’s been done a lot better later by countless other bands. It belongs on the list. No need to play it more than once before you die. Favorite song:the wizard
Paul Simon
4/5
My first thought when I got this album was, does the list need yet another Paul Simon album, one that I don’t even know a single song from? Yes it does. Favorite song: allergies.
The Zutons
4/5
This came out right before the Arctic Monkeys. I think they have roughly the same influences. Somehow the Arctic Monkeys were far more successful while the Zutons made far better music. Favorite song: Zuton fever.
Gotan Project
3/5
Good background music. Mix of EDM and tango. Odd combination. It kind of works, but it’s not very exciting. Did I need to hear this? No. Did I mind hearing this? No. Favorite song: la del Ruso
Pulp
3/5
Basically the same review as Different Class. Good but not great, I don’t like the singing. Favorite song: seductive Barry, because he sings differently on that song.
Electric Light Orchestra
4/5
I’m sure there’s a 5 star EP or even single album on there, but they got carried away and nobody told them to snap out of it. Favorite song: turn to stone
Grateful Dead
3/5
They must have been very charismatic. The music is nothing special. It’s neither bad nor great. 2nd rate Crosby Stills and Nash with some skynyrd. Favorite song: till the morning comes.
Gene Clark
2/5
Boring. Reminds me very much of Tom Petty’s boring 90s work. “For a Spanish guitar” on a steel string…
Erykah Badu
2/5
It's very monotonous. Short loops repeated with uninspired singing. There's a 7 minute song with only 2 chords. That's not proper songwriting. Favorite song: hey sugah
Willie Nelson
3/5
It doesn't speak to me at all, but I can imagine people like this. Favorite song: Bandera
The Kinks
4/5
Almost up there with the Beatles. Not as experimental, but the songs are good. Favorite song: Big Sky.
TV On The Radio
3/5
If it wasn't for the awful singing, I could have liked this record. Ditch the falsetto, put in just the tiniest bit of effort, couple of extra takes to get it right. There's no excuse to sing this bad on a record after 2000. Favorite song: staring at the sun.
Steve Earle
2/5
I don't like it at all. All by the book, no emotion whatsoever. Favorite song: my old friend the blues, but I don't like that one very much either.
Pretenders
4/5
Pleasant surprise. I only knew a couple of their songs and I don't really like those. But this album rocks. At least, side A does. I like the high energy songs. I don't like the slow songs very much, like the only song on the album I knew before: Brass In Pocket. So basically, I don't like side B very much. Favorite song: Tattooed Love Boys.
The Verve
2/5
They were a one hit wonder. That hit is not on this record. Even one album on the list is very generous, but it definitely shouldn't be this one. It's like an even more boring version of Oasis. Nothing stands out.
Fiona Apple
4/5
I gave her album Tidal 4 *. This is much better, but not quite 5 *. Favorite song: Shameika
Jack White
3/5
It's not bad. It just doesn't bring anything new to the table. Maybe new to him, but not to the world. And I don't like his voice. Favorite songs: take me with you when you go.
Les Rythmes Digitales
4/5
Weird album. Never heard of it. Turns out the man is a multiple Grammy winner, but not for this record. I like it. Some of it is retro 80s synth disco, some of it is more modern with glitches and d'nb wobbles and stuff. The variation keeps it fresh until the end. Favorite song: soft machine.
Frankie Goes To Hollywood
2/5
Relax is an icon of the 80s, but a whole album of this, let alone a double album, is way too much. Favorite song: Born to run. Not a even a very good version.
Rage Against The Machine
4/5
They're a one-trick pony, but it's a good trick. Sounds like they mean it. Favorite song: township rebellion.
The Smiths
5/5
I think it's their best. Good from start to finish. Favorite song: Nowhere fast.
Peter Gabriel
4/5
I like it better than I expected. I don't like all songs, but there's a couple of great ones on this album. Favorite song: no self control.
Heaven 17
2/5
Probably the most 80s sounding record on the list. I don't like it very much. This kind of music should be either catchy or mysterious. It's neither. It doesn't sound essential to me at all. It doesn't have their biggest hit Temptation. I didn't really have a favorite song. None of them stand out.
American Music Club
4/5
Never heard of them. Not something I would pick, but I enjoyed the album. Somehow it just resonates with me. I read the reviews. A lot of people think it's boring. I don't agree, but I understand. Favorite song: somewhere.
Meat Puppets
4/5
It's not really good, but I like it anyway. Instruments are OK. Singing is not very stable. Songs are good. Reminds me of the White Stripes, but this is much older. Favorite song: Teenager(s)
Os Mutantes
3/5
I have mixed feelings. Some of it is really good. They combine styles I like. Garage rock and more traditional Brazilian music. More energetic than some other tropicalia artists. But it sounds as if it's covered in a thick layer of dust. It's hard to listen to. Favorite song: A Minha Menina.
The Cardigans
2/5
I knew a couple of their songs. I like those. Only one is on this album. The album is not as good as I expected. Most of it sounds kitschy. It gets better towards the end. Favorite song: losers.
The Police
4/5
Message in a bottle is one of the greatest opening tracks of any album. The rest of the album is also good, but none of the songs come close to Message in a bottle.
ZZ Top
2/5
They're hot rod guys. They sound like they have a big engine, but they're only cruising. It's a wall of sound, but it sounds low effort. It doesn't have the energy of Van Halen and AC/DC. I can imagine it works very well live and I can imagine people like this record, but I don't. Favorite song: sharp dressed man
The Flying Burrito Brothers
2/5
They may or may not have been the first to do this generic country rock, but they're not the first I heard and they're not the best. So I'm not impressed. They're not doing anything wrong and also nothing exceptionally well. Doesn't help that I don't like this style of music.
Magazine
4/5
Better than I remembered. Definitely belongs on the list. It's kind of punk, especially the singing (can't be 5 star with a singer like that), but it's also kind of psychedelic. Favorite song: recoil
Fairport Convention
3/5
I can understand why people like it, but for me it's too monotonous. British style folk with lots of drone notes in the background. They know how to play. They're good at setting a mood. It's entrancing. I prefer more dynamic music. Favorite song: medley the lark in the morning
Dolly Parton
2/5
They are good at something I don't like.
The Go-Go's
5/5
I only knew one of the songs before. I like them all. Great. Favorite song: tonite
Radiohead
3/5
One of the albums on the list that sounds the least like the other albums. I appreciate the creativity, but I don't like the result very much. It's trippy. That's not what I want from music. And I hate the singing. Favorite song: the national anthem
The Lemonheads
3/5
I remember this. Mrs. Robinson was the hit song. The album's alright. Not a bad song on it, but nothing great either. There were lots of bands like this at the time. I think in future editions of the book, this is one of the albums that can be replaced. Not because it's bad, but because there's similar better albums on the list. Favorite song: Bit part.
Fugazi
4/5
This is probably their easiest record to get into. Some of their other records are quite boring. This has enough variation to keep it interesting. It was very influential. I grew up with this. I like it a lot, but it should have been 30 minutes max. Not every song needs to be there. Favorite song: turnover.
The Velvet Underground
2/5
This doesn't need to be on the list. There's 2 more VU records on the list. They're both better and this doesn't add anything new. Plus it's boring for the most part. One of the few highlights is my favorite song: murder mystery.
Frank Sinatra
3/5
The voice singing Brazilian music. Nothing like football or carnaval. Very smooth and relaxed. Not bad, but I prefer more energetic music. Favorite song: I concentrate on you.
Cocteau Twins
3/5
I understand what's good about it. Definitely belongs on the list. But I'm not going to play it again. Especially the singing gets on my nerves. Favorite song: Cicely
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
2/5
This is the 3rd Nick Cave album I got. I believe there's 5 on the list. I really liked Murder Ballads, but this is a snooze fest. Not bad enough for one star, just very uninteresting.
The Dictators
3/5
I almost like this record. If I hadn't heard thousands of bands who did the same thing better (especially the lyrics), I would have. That being said, they were definitely ahead of the curve and deserve some credit for that. I don't like their sense of humor. The album doesn't have any songs that stand out. They're all OK-ish if you don't mind the singing and the lyrics. None of them are better than OK-ish.
David Holmes
2/5
I don't understand the importance of this record. It sounds very middle of the road. It came after DJ Shadow and Goldie and stuff. It didn't bring anything new to the table. There's not much EDM on the list if you consider how popular it is, but Most EDM albums are as boring as this one. Not enough variation. The loops are too short and repeated too often. However, it's not annoying. It is good background music. Favorite song: This music goes in one ear and out the other, so I don't care.
Elvis Costello
3/5
If the author needs to make room for newer records, this can easily be removed. I like it, but it sounds too much like his old albums to be on the list. Favorite song: 13 steps lead down
Moby Grape
3/5
Sounds good but not essential. For a change I liked the bonus tracks better than the original album. I usually don't like bonus tracks. Favorite song: Looper
Talking Heads
3/5
I got 2 older talking heads records before. It has the same problems as the other albums, too repetitive and annoying singing, but some songs are alright. Favorite song: born under punches
Stereolab
4/5
Somehow I thought they were the Stereo MCs. They're not. What a pleasant surprise. This is more like a danceable indie version of Air. Yesterday I got the Talking Heads, which was too repetitive. This is as repetitive, but it makes more sense. The middle part of the album is the best. Favorite song: OLV 26
The Specials
4/5
Their first 2 albums are on the list. This is their 2nd album. The first album was probably more influential, but this one is so much better. Favorite song: man at C&A
Radiohead
4/5
5th Radiohead album I got. I like some of their music and I also hate some of their music. This album has some of their typical dreamy prog tracks that I don't like and also more upbeat songs. Sound like they were in a better place than their previous couple of albums. I like this much better. Favorite song: body snatchers.
Ice Cube
2/5
Sounds very outdated. "Some don't think I can flow" If you can, why don't you?
Tom Waits
4/5
I can imagine not everyone likes his voice or his way of singing, but I love it. Favorite song: Jersey Girl
The Associates
4/5
Never heard of them. It's good, but too dramatic. I understand the hate in the reviews. I also understand why it's on the list. It's a more sophisticated Spandau Ballet or Duran Duran. The 2000 remaster sounds HUGE. Favorite song: arrogance gave him up.
Giant Sand
3/5
It's like a slightly improved folk version of Lou Reed. I don't like folk music. I hate Lou Reed.
Bert Jansch
3/5
It has good parts and boring parts. Favorite song: Veronica
The Jesus And Mary Chain
2/5
This is one of those bands that I should like on paper, but don't like on their records. Nothing much happens on this records. The songs are not bad but very basic, the singer sounds uninterested, guitars are straight forward and predictable, drums are computers. Boring.
John Martyn
3/5
The music is great. I don't like his voice very much on this record. Not as good as Solid Air, which is also on the list. Favorite song: small hours.
The Everly Brothers
3/5
I was expecting something very samey, but it wasn't. Quite good actually. Favorite song: stick with me baby
Jungle Brothers
3/5
Reminds me of De la soul and Tribe called quest. The beats are good. It has some of that awkward old school flow, but in general it sounds more fluent than a lot of their contemporaries. Favorite song: sunshine
Doves
3/5
Great production. Solid wall of sound. Quite repetitive. Too long. I don't mind listening to this album. Not essential, of course. Nothing that hadn't been done before. Kind of like Oasis at times. Favorite song: N.Y.
Christina Aguilera
3/5
This was mixed by someone with severe hearing loss in the 4kHz range. Hurts my ears. Otherwise pretty much the same review as Back to Basic. About twice as long as it should have been. Not bad, but could have been better with some more emotion in the backing tracks. Sounds like it came out of a lab. In general the singles are the best songs, but my favorite song is Make Over.
Isaac Hayes
4/5
In general I don't like songs this long. However only the last song on this album was too long. The others are fine. There's enough tension in the music to justify the length of the songs. I don't have a clear favorite, just not the last song.
Queen
4/5
Great. A lot of variation. Not the same high level all the way through, but none of the songs are bad. Remarkable how much better it is than Queen II which was released earlier in the same year. Favorite song: stone cold crazy.
Manic Street Preachers
4/5
British band, but they sound American (besides the accent). Style wise they're closer to Smashing Pumpkins and Jimmy Eat World than to Blur and Oasis. As the album progressed, I liked it more and more. Favorite song: Revol
Bebel Gilberto
3/5
It's supposed to be a modern take on bossa nova, but it sounds quite traditional for the most part. I don't mind at all. Towards the end there's some more pop influences from that era (especially Bananeira). I don't like those songs very much. As usual for Brazilian music, the singing is very laid-back, using only a very limited section of her vocal range. But that's the style. She does it well. Favorite song: sem contenção
Slipknot
4/5
Probably their easiest album to endure if you're not into metal. I can't think of any other reason why this album is on the list and not Iowa. This album is not their signature sound, not their breakthrough album and it doesn't have their biggest hits. It starts properly heavy, but fizzles out towards the end. It covers the full range from cheesy ballads to heavy rock to sepultura-like groove metal and carcass-like death metal. Style wise it's too inconsistent for me. Favorite song: this cold black
Thundercat
3/5
I've seen him live a couple of times when he played with Suicidal Tendencies. I didn't know his solo work. This album sounds completely different.
It's not about the songs, but about the atmosphere. It doesn't really sound like anything else. So bonus points for creativity. It's like Parliament meets Zappa meets Steely Dan. Weird combination. The singing is not very good. I hate the falsetto. He uses an annoying effect pedal on his bass a lot. That's what makes the album sound so different. Favorite song: where I'm going.
Emmylou Harris
3/5
It's not terrible, just uninteresting. Like a bland version of Fleetwood Mac. Favorite song: the pearl
N.W.A.
2/5
Important album, but it didn't age well. Favorite song: express yourself.
Led Zeppelin
4/5
Very good, but I don't like all of it. Too much folk influence. The singing is annoying at times. The good parts are great. Favorite song: immigrant song.
Dexys Midnight Runners
3/5
They have 3 records on the list. This is the only one that belongs here, if any. I'm sure they were a fun band to see live. The singing is not good enough for the record, but you could definitely get away with it in front of a room of drunk people. Songs were better than I expected after I heard their other 2 albums on the list. About them as a one hit wonder: they weren't. I knew 3 songs from this record before. Two of them were covers, but I knew this version. Favorite song: Come on Eileen.
Sly & The Family Stone
4/5
Great album. Sounds more essential to me than their other record on the list. Favorite song: everyday people.
Hugh Masekela
4/5
The problem with a lot of jazz is, if the musicians actually care if it sounds good, it's usually too smooth. This sounds good and isn't too smooth. Great record. Favorite song: part of a whole.
Le Tigre
3/5
This is probably fun at a summer festival. It's like post punk with 60s garage rock. Reminds me most of the B-52s. I like their excitement. They have some good ideas here and there, but they're too repetitive. The singing is pretty bad. Favorite song: hot topic.
Einstürzende Neubauten
3/5
Yesterday I gave an album 3 stars because it was too repetitive and the singing was bad. This album has that as well, but here it's obviously on purpose. I generally agree with the low rating of the lowest rated albums on this site. It's easy to understand the issues that people have with this album, but I don't hate it. It makes sense to me. Favorite song: Steh auf Berlin
Sonic Youth
4/5
Great, but it has some filler that makes it only 4 star. Favorite song: Cinderella's Big Score.
Black Flag
4/5
I grew up with this music. It was already old, but new to me. I haven't played it for years. It's harsher than I remembered. There's still new bands that try to sound like this. Favorite song: depression. They recorded more versions of this song before Henry Rollins became the singer. The other versions are better.
Germs
2/5
Yesterday I got Black Flag. They released the Nervous Breakdown EP before this. Much better.
This belongs in the bin with Windows 98 and asbestos. Important then, but you shouldn't use it anymore. Not a good introduction to the genre.
This is probably on the list because Pat Smear was also in Nirvana and Foo Fighters. Belinda Carlisle (go gos and solo) was also in the band at some point, but not on any records.
Favorite song: Lexicon Devil.
The Temptations
3/5
I like it, but it doesn't stick. I had to play it twice to pick a favorite song. Favorite song: don't let him take your love from me
Missy Elliott
3/5
It's good, but around halfway it couldn't keep my attention anymore. Favorite song: beep me 911
Living Colour
3/5
Great singer. They obviously knew what they were doing. I'm sure it sounds exactly the way they wanted. I don't hate any of the songs. However, they sit in that uncomfortable spot where it's not high enough energy to be high energy music and it's too high energy to be anything else. Favorite song: funny vibe.
The Libertines
3/5
Main claim to fame was that the singer dated Kate Moss, who was the top fashion model at the time. The music was nothing new. It has good songs and pretty bad songs. This style was trendy for a while with bands like the strokes and arctic monkeys, etc. The Libertines are not the worst of the bunch, but they don't feel essential to me. Favorite song: arbeit macht frei.
Laura Nyro
3/5
Not bad at all, but nothing about this record scream or even whispers essential. I don't understand why this is on the list. Favorite song: sweet blindness
Nico
3/5
First couple of songs I thought, great. The minimal background music gives it a certain timeless quality. But then it became very 60s psychedelic. Too 60s psychedelic. Boring. With an occasional good song thrown in here and there.
Favorite song: these days.
Thelonious Monk
4/5
It's good, but at times it sounds like they're trying to be different for the sake of being different. Favorite song: Ba-lue Bolivar Ba-lues-are
Randy Newman
3/5
It's very good, but not my taste. Favorite song: Dayton Ohio 1903
The Rolling Stones
3/5
The Rolling Stones have made a lot of great music over the years. Unfortunately they've made even more mediocre music. Most of the singles are great and most of the albums have a lot of filler. So does this album. I'd say more than half of it. Favorite song by a mile: sympathy for the devil.
David Bowie
3/5
It has some good parts. The songs are very long and don't keep my attention. Favorite song: station to station
Public Image Ltd.
2/5
Must have been quite something when it came out. Uncomfortable atmosphere. Completely intentional, probably. Very repetitive. I don't like it.
Sugar
3/5
I grew up with this music. I like it, but to be fair it doesn't belong in the book. Not unique enough, not catchy enough, too monotonous, not influential enough, not commercially successful enough. Husker Du was important. Sugar was just one of those bands, like Soul Asylum, Buffalo Tom, Goo Goo Dolls, etc. Favorite song: changes
4/5
The pitfall of prog is, to put so many ideas in a song that it becomes incoherent. This is not the worst album in that regard, but they haven't managed to avoid it entirely. A lot of prog albums sound constructed rather than composed. This still sounds kind of playful. I don't like the singer's voice. Fortunately he doesn't sing much. Favorite song: the solid time of change
The Human League
3/5
It doesn't get more 80s than this. A catchier more danceable version of Kraftwerk. The singing is like a bad version of Bryan Ferry and he's not that good himself. Favorite song: don't you want me.
The Smashing Pumpkins
4/5
Half of the songs are really really great, half go in one ear and out the other. I can't stand the singing. The great songs are great enough for 4 stars. Favorite song: disarm.
Tortoise
3/5
It's not bad at all, but I don't have the patience. It's slow instrumental soundtrack music for arthouse movies. Would have been better with the arthouse movie, but as I said, it's not bad at all. Favorite song: the taut and tame.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
4/5
Good, but I wasn't in the mood. Not good enough to get me in the mood. And it should have been 2 albums. It has 2 titles and it's too long. Favorite song: supernaturally
Tom Waits
3/5
I like his weirder records. This is too normal. Kind of boring.
Grant Lee Buffalo
2/5
This is almost 1 star bad.
Happy Mondays
2/5
Slightly annoying at times, but mainly in one ear and out the other. I don't really like any of the songs.
Beatles
4/5
Amazing, but it has Yellow Submarine, so it can't be 5 stars. Favorite song: Eleanor Rigby
Funkadelic
4/5
Not what I expected. With a name like that, you'd expect something more funky. This is more psychedelic with a touch of funk. Pleasant surprise. Favorite song: back in our minds
Eminem
4/5
He's creative with words, his flow is one of the best, the beats are some of Dr Dre's best. If only he had something interesting to say. But no. He likes to brag how he's an arrogant sexist homophobic drugs addict and that it's alright because he's from a dysfunctional family. Really? What a waste of talent.
PJ Harvey
2/5
There's 3 more PJ Harvey albums on the list. For me this is the last one and my least favorite one. If it was good enough, it would have been different enough to be on the list. But it's not. It sounds like she, as a grunge artist, is struggling to stay relevant in the changing musical climate, specifically the rise of indie folk around that time. I don't like the genre very much and this album doesn't seem to be one of the highlights to me.
Sarah Vaughan
3/5
It's not bad, just not something I enjoy. I didn't remember any of the songs after one full listen of the album.
The Clash
4/5
They were better songwriters than the Sex Pistols, but they weren't as tight and overwhelming. Nonetheless very successful and influential. Bands like Rancid wouldn't have been the same without this album. Favorite song: what's my name
4/5
I totally understand why this album is a classic. This is the Beatles at the peak of their creativity. However, I like some of their other albums better. Favorite song: she's leaving home.
The White Stripes
3/5
I like some of the songs, but they would have been a lot better with a better singer. Favorite song: instinct blues
Queen
4/5
You could make a Best Of Queen and it would be one of the best albums ever. A lot of variation. Some of it is among the greatest music ever, but not all of it is that great or even good. Favorite song: death on two legs.
Elton John
4/5
Good. No bad songs. Favorite song: Indian Summer.
Iron Maiden
3/5
I understand the importance of the album then. I don't understand the importance of the album now. It's not bad at all, but it's been done a lot better later. Favorite song: Iron Maiden.
Soul II Soul
2/5
They were very popular when I was in junior high. I didn't like them then. I still don't. I prefer songs with more than 2 chords. Favorite song: back to life
The Cars
3/5
It's alright, but it doesn't feel essential. Reminds me of Roxy Music at times. Favorite song: just what I needed.
Throwing Muses
4/5
Great. Sounds 5 years newer than it is. The Pixies and Nirvana must have heard this. Favorite song: solar dip.
The Who
4/5
Probably my favorite album of theirs. Some great songs. They're not all totally awesome, but there's no bad ones. The bass has a really nice feel to it. Favorite song: Baba O'Reily
Tangerine Dream
2/5
I know people who would love this, but I don't. I don't have the patience.
Kanye West
4/5
For hip hop this has a lot going on in the mid range. Great. Makes it more musical. Kanye is crazy, but he knows how to make music. Favorite song: power
Nirvana
5/5
I was 15 when this came out. Gamechanger. I bought because of the review in Thrasher magazine, even before Smells Like Teen Spirit blew up. The normies and the metalheads all agreed this was a great album. Still sounds fresh. Favorite song: Breed
Tito Puente
4/5
Great. There's a lot of bonus tracks. I usually skip those, but not on this album. Favorite song: Mi Chiquita Quiere Bembé
Brian Eno
3/5
He's one of the few artists who deserve to have multiple albums on the list, because they're all very different. I don't like his later work very much, but this is good. Favorite song: sombre reptiles
Brian Wilson
4/5
Best Beach Boys album, even if it's only 1 of the Beach Boys. Favorite song: Good Vibrations.
ABBA
3/5
Well made, but too sweet for me. I totally understand why they were so popular. Favorite song: tiger.
The Chemical Brothers
3/5
I understand why people like it, but I don't. It's not terrible, but it's not for me. Favorite song: alive alone
Jimmy Smith
3/5
I like it, but is this essential? Sounds like entry level jazz to me. Easy on the ear. There's more essential jazz albums that are not on the list IMHO. Favorite song: Messy Bessy.
Deep Purple
5/5
Sounds like the pro version of Led Zeppelin. Favorite song: all of them except smoke on the water, but even that makes sense in the context of this album.
Sinead O'Connor
3/5
Definitely not a dime a dozen. I usually don't like music like this, but there's a certain tension on this record that makes it more interesting. I don't like all songs. Favorite song: three babies
Curtis Mayfield
4/5
Very good. Almost 5 star. Favorite song: superfly
The Smashing Pumpkins
3/5
A lot of the songs are good, but towards the end they obviously ran out of inspiration. The album would have been better if it was at least an hour shorter. It has more variation than their other album on the list. More dynamic. The singing is not as annoying all of the time. Favorite song: bullet with butterfly wings.
Killing Joke
4/5
Sounds late 80s, like the Jesus Lizard, Big Black, Nomeansno, etc. But it's years older. I like it, but some songs are too monotonous. Favorite song: requiem
The Thrills
3/5
The name must be ironic. They sound rather bored. They sound retro, not fresh and new. However this style of music became big around 5-10 years later, so they were ahead of the curve. They probably influenced bands like Fleet Foxes. I remembered one song, so they probably belong on the list, even though I wouldn't have picked them myself. Favorite song: Your Love is like Las Vegas.
Roni Size
3/5
This was pretty significant when it was new. D'nb was the biggest underground scene in my hometown. This was one of the biggest names of the genre along with Goldy. It's for dancing, not for listening. It's all rhythm and sound effects. The drums are too fast and everything else is too slow. I prefer music with more going on in the mid range. And the album is way too long. Favorite song: Share the fall.
The Yardbirds
2/5
Yardbirds, the band great musicians were in before they were good. It's a mess. The singing is not very good. Guitars are at times, but not all the time. Most of the songs are not that great. Favorite song: lost women
Donald Fagen
2/5
Well made. Great attention to detail. Perfection is boring. In one ear and out the other. Steely Dan already has 4 albums on the list, which is already too much. This doesn't need to be there as well. Same issue I have as with Steely Dan is, I don't understand the purpose of this music. On what occasion would you want to play this? I can't think of any. Favorite song: new frontier.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
3/5
I don't mind this being on the list at all. Sounds good enough, but I don't remember any of the songs.
Pet Shop Boys
2/5
First song is "Being boring". They're experts.
They had quite a few hits. None of them are on this album. They always made dance music with serious undertones. This album is more on the serious side. They had songs like that on their previous albums. The songs on this album are OK. The arrangements sound cheap. The singer is not very good. I think they belong on the list, but this album doesn't.
Fairport Convention
4/5
Apparently this is a transitional album. Their next album is also on the list. I like the transition better than what it transitioned to. Or maybe I don't, but I was more in the mood. Favorite song: autopsy
Red Snapper
4/5
The other day I got Roni Size, the Drum 'n Bass DJ. Red Snapper was marketed as the live instruments version of that. I was somewhat involved in d'nb and thought it was too gimmicky, so I never paid any attention to it. It was not entirely the same scene, as Red Snapper were a live band instead of DJs. Turns out they're actually better. It's as repetitive, but somehow it sounds more musical. Favorite song: Alaska Street
Joni Mitchell
4/5
Great album, but does the book need 4 Joni Mitchell albums? I don't think so. Eventually, after Morrissey, Elvis Costello and Neil Young and some other records one or two have to move over for something they forgot to include or something newer. This album has some of her best songs, but also some filler. Favorite song: Carrey.
Joe Ely
2/5
I like the pedal steel, but that's the only thing I like about this record. It's not awful, but it's far from great. Current rating is 2.68. That's pretty accurate. Somewhere between 2 and 3. Closer to 2 for me. Favorite song: boxcars.
Def Leppard
3/5
It's not terrible, but it could have been a lot better with a better singer than this 3rd rate Robert Plant. Some songs are alright, some are cheesy. Favorite song: stagefright
The Who
3/5
Most of the songs are from albums already on the list. I like the studio versions better. Favorite song: I Can't Explain.
Fela Kuti
5/5
Awesome. Favorite song: observation is no crime.
Anita Baker
2/5
I don't like it at all. It doesn't sound like they mean it. Maybe she does, but the band doesn't. They know how to play, but they sound uninspired. Favorite song: sweet love.
Bob Dylan
2/5
It's not terrible, but if it had any other name on it than Bob Dylan, it wouldn't be on the list.
Lightning Bolt
4/5
This is definitely my style. I never heard them before. It sounds chaotic even though it's repetitive. The weirdness reminds me of Primus, who somehow didn't make it into the book. It doesn't sound very much like them. Favorite song: 2 towers.
The Psychedelic Furs
4/5
I got to know them around 1990, when they weren't very good anymore. It didn't make me want to check out their back catalogue. This is actually pretty good. It reminds me of late 80s skateboarding videos. Favorite song: into you like a train
The Electric Prunes
3/5
It's alright, but not great. Favorite song: get me to the world on time
Screaming Trees
3/5
Reminds me of Neil Young and the Cult. It's good, but not quite 4 star. It doesn't have any real hooks. It's too lazy for a heavy record and too heavy for a lazy record. Favorite song: witness
The Monkees
4/5
I think they're underrated. Not as good but more fun than the band they're obviously trying to rip off, the Beatles. Favorite song: forget that girl
Super Furry Animals
2/5
Overall not that great. Enough good songs for a good EP, but not enough for a good album. General feeling I got was they're 2nd rate Blur. They don't sound very special in any way. Favorite song: Frisbee
Slipknot
3/5
The metal snobs hated them because of the gimmicky masks. It's a great way to open doors. The music is good enough to keep them open. They were a nu-metal band at the time, but definitely on the heavy end of the range. If you expect something like Linkin Park or Limp Bizkit, that's not it. It has more in common with serious heavy bands like Fear Factory, Pantera and Sepultura with some other influences thrown in the mix and a DJ. I like their newer records better. Favorite song: wait and bleed.
Lauryn Hill
3/5
Way too long. The mix makes it boring. It's all drums and vocals. The drums are nothing special, the vocals start to sound the same after a couple of songs. It sounds very one dimensional. It's better than the Fugees though. Favorite song: I used to love him
N.E.R.D
4/5
All songs are nearly great, but not quite. Production is good. I can understand why people like it. Favorite song: breakout.
Lucinda Williams
3/5
It's not bad, just unexciting. It's not for me. Favorite song: can't let go.
Deerhunter
3/5
I can imagine people like it, but I don't.
The Police
4/5
Great. Completely different vibe than Regatta de Blanc. More jazz/fusion. The reason it’s not 5 star is, Sting is the singer. I don’t like his voice. Favorite song: wrapped around your finger
Simon & Garfunkel
4/5
I never heard the entire album before. I should have. It has Mrs. Robinson and Hazy Shade of Winter, two songs I knew before. They’re some of my favorite songs, but not even my favorites on the album. But it also has Old People talking, so it’s not 5 star. Favorite song: old friends.
Nitin Sawhney
3/5
A mixture of different EDM styles and world music. On some tracks it works very well, on some it doesn’t. Favorite song: tides.
X-Ray Spex
4/5
I like all the songs, but I don’t love them. Favorite song: identity
The Streets
2/5
This is not very good. He shouldn’t sing. The rapping is an acquired taste I haven’t acquired yet. The samples seem out of sync sometimes. But it’s different. Different for a reason (normal people wouldn’t think it’s good enough to be released), but I can imagine some people like it because it is. I only liked one song: not addicted
Sabu
4/5
Imagine how wild this must have been in 1957. It's too repetitive for an entire album, but I'm glad I heard it. Records like this make this challenge fun. Favorite song: Rhapsodia del Maravilloso
Roxy Music
2/5
This is the third record by Roxy Music that a got. There's 3 on the list. It's a transitional album towards the smoother style of their later work, which is not on the list because it's not very good. The album probably influenced bands like Pulp and maybe Duran Duran. I like the other albums, but I don't like this one very much. Favorite song: All I want is you.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
3/5
Sounds like Nick Cave. It's not bad, but he has too many albums on the list. Live he's very charismatic. The charisma isn't captured very well on his records. Too monotonous.
Laibach
4/5
I think it belongs on the list. It feels essential. I kind of like it, but not really. I have to be in the mood to enjoy this kind of music. It must have inspired bands like Ministry and Rammstein (who somehow are not on the list). Favorite song: geburt einer nation. 3.5 star rounded up because of the low average.
Madness
2/5
I thought they were a ska band. This isn't ska. Only some ska influences on the B-side. But seriously, there's only one Madness album on the list and it's most definitely the wrong one. It should have been One Step Beyond or Absolutely, not this one. This album only has Our House. The rest is not good.
White Denim
4/5
Great. Sounds retro without actually being retro. Singing could have been better, but it's fine. Favorite song: Burnished
The Doors
3/5
It's good. They have 3 albums on the list. This is the 3rd one I got. Like their other albums, it has some great songs and some not so great songs. I think 3 the Doors albums is too many. They're too similar. A Best Of would have been great instead, but that's against the rules of the book. Favorite song: Hyacinth House.
Underworld
3/5
I'm sure they made the exact album they tried to make. It's supposed to be entrancing. I can imagine it works perfectly when played loud in a dark club and you're drunk. It's just not what I'm looking for in music at all.
Manu Chao
4/5
It's great, but half an hour would have been better. Favorite song: Luna y Sol
Fela Kuti
4/5
Great, but too much drum solo. Favorite song: ye ye de smell
David Crosby
2/5
I played it and I didn't remember any of the songs. It's not bad, but it doesn't appeal to me at all.
Jane's Addiction
4/5
Very important band. Probably underrated in Europe. Both albums from their first run are on the list. I think only this one belongs. It has all the hits. The awful voice is buried in the mix better. The songs don't feel as long. It's older and just plain better. Favorite song: mountain song.
Eagles
2/5
They have 2 albums on the list. Hotel California, which is so perfect, it's boring and this album. This one rocks more. It's not bad, but it sounds outdated. Favorite song: earlybird
Fishbone
3/5
It's good. They should have been bigger. Must have been great live. Sounds very dated though. Favorite song: one day
3/5
It's great for 15 minutes, then I started to lose focus and it became random. John Zorn has made a lot of music in his career. Over 300 albums. And they're all very different. Most of them are easier to listen to than this album. Some of them are even worse. Favorite song: enfant
Guided By Voices
3/5
Songs are nice and short, but there's too many of them. I don't hate them. The singing could have been better, but it's fine. It doesn't seem essential to me. Favorite song: dumbcharger.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
4/5
Over the years he has made a lot of good music and a lot of filler. The filler on this album is not that bad. One of my all time favorite songs is on this album: I want you. That being said, he has 6 albums on the list. I don't think this needs to be there. It's not very different from his older, more successful, more influential records.
Jorge Ben Jor
4/5
Nice. Never heard of him before. Favorite song: cavaleiro do cavalo imaculado
Common
3/5
I like the general atmosphere of the album. I like the flow. But it's too long and nothing sticks.
Rocket From The Crypt
4/5
Great, but a couple of songs too long. It's more rock 'n roll than most punk bands of that time. They were great live, with glitter suits and sarcasm. Favorite song: ball lightning
Robert Wyatt
3/5
Much better than his other album on the list. I can imagine some people who like Radiohead and 70s psychedelic music also like this. It doesn't resonate with me, but it's not terrible.
Mj Cole
3/5
Good example of 2000 UK EDM. It starts off alright and becomes boring after a couple of minutes.
4/5
They were always in the shadows of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. They're better than the stones were at that time. Favorite song: brainwashed
The Kinks
3/5
The Kinks 2nd day in a row. Yesterday I got Arthur. I don't know if 2 days in a row is just too much, or this is album is not as good as Arthur. I think the latter. It has some good songs, not many great ones, and some songs are too cheesy for me. Favorite song: Waterloo Sunset.
Nirvana
2/5
I think this is way overrated. They're better with a wall of sound. Favorite song: all apologies.
Astor Piazzolla
3/5
Piazzolla is definitely someone who should be on the list. His creative peak was in the 60s and 70s so it's strange that this is the (only) album that made the list. Probably the only one they knew. Favorite song: la rayuela
Tears For Fears
4/5
Shout was the first record I ever bought. I don't like all the songs on the album, but they're all very well-crafted. Production is excellent. Favorite song by a mile: shout
Bauhaus
4/5
Alternative rock sounded like this for the next 5 years. Favorite song: the passion of lovers
Adele
4/5
This is the album that has been in the charts the longest ever in my country. 613 weeks and counting. That's almost 12 years. Over 100 weeks more than the runner up, Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms. It's good, but it has too many too similar piano ballads to be 5 star. Favorite song: rolling in the deep
Blondie
4/5
Catchy songs. It's been done better later by lots of bands, but Blondie had to do it first. Favorite song: I'm gonna love you too.
The Triffids
2/5
I believe they made the record they wanted to make. It's just not a record I want to hear. It's not technically bad, but it's boring. I'd swap this for INXS - Kick, also from Australia, also from 1987, more exciting, more successful, and somehow not on the list.
Rod Stewart
2/5
Is it bad? No. Did it have a lasting impact on popular music? I don't think so. Did I need to hear it? No. Favorite song: Mandolin Wind.
The Rolling Stones
3/5
Great opener, but it fails to deliver. The album has 4 really really great songs. The rest is not even mediocre. Favorite song: gimme shelter.
Songhoy Blues
3/5
They play 4 minute versions of 40 second songs. They have some nice riffs, but too repetitive. Favorite song: ai tchere bele
Dead Kennedys
5/5
Awesome. I already knew and loved this. Favorite song: holiday in cambodia
Doves
3/5
It's musical wallpaper. Good background music, but it doesn't keep my attention. And there's too much of it. Favorite song: Catch the sun.
Dr. Octagon
4/5
Never heard of it before. I like the flow and the selection of samples. Stands out from the gangster rap of that era. Good to see dr Dre was not the only creative person in hip hop in the 90s. like most hip hop it's too repetitive. This was probably very influential on the mumble rap of the myspace era. Favorite song: 3000
The Beta Band
3/5
I don't particularly like it. It's different enough to be on the list. Favorite song: liquid bird.
Ms. Dynamite
2/5
Sounds like a 90s Timbaland production, but it's newer and Timbaland wasn't involved. Very derivative. If this was American, it wouldn't have been in the book. That being said, it's not awful. I remembered 2 of the songs from back in the day. Favorite song: afraid to fly
Led Zeppelin
4/5
It has some genuinely great songs, but I don't like all of them. The songs are too long and some are not good from start till finish. I can't stand the singing for the most part. Production is not as good as Deep Purple's. 5 stars for how influential it was, 3 stars for how much I like it. Favorite song: stairway to heaven.
Mudhoney
2/5
It's better than their other album on the list. At least it sounds as if they mean it on this album. They did it before Nirvana, but it's really not good enough by today's standards. Favorite song: Touch me, I'm sick.
KISS
2/5
I'm sure it was great when it was new. It was very influential, the blueprint for 80s glam metal. Van Halen must have heard this and thought they could do better. And they did. Favorite song: shout it out loud
Public Enemy
3/5
Not sure this needs to be in the book. It has their 2 more classic albums already. It's not bad, so fine for now. Eventually this should be replaced by something newer or some omission. Favorite song: bring the noise
Syd Barrett
2/5
This is not good. Sounds like Lou Reed playing Kinks' songs. The Kinks are much better. Lou Reed is even worse.
Travis
2/5
Not bad, not great, not essential at all. It's not art, it's craft. Too safe. Unexciting. Not memorable at all. In one ear, out the other. I think it's really a 3 star album, but because it doesn't belong in the book at all, I give it 2. Favorite song: slideshow
The La's
3/5
Sounds like a catchier version of REM. Not bad, but is it essential? I don't think so. Favorite song: there she goes
4/5
It sounds very 80s and very European, so I understand not everybody likes it. I knew 3 of the songs before. I liked the album much better than I expected. Great intro, the songs are good, different enough, production/arrangment is peak Trevor Horn. The singer could have benefited from some singing lessons (breath control) and autotune, but it hadn't been invented yet. Favorite song: poison arrow
Eminem
4/5
I like it better than his other album on the list. It’s more playful. Favorite song: my name is
Orbital
3/5
Sounds like one long DJ set. Too long. Hard to tell where a song stops and a new one starts. It was obviously made for dancing, not for listening. It's very repetitive. Not very melodic. It probably sounds exactly as intended. Favorite song: impact.
Rahul Dev Burman
4/5
Great. It's all over the place. Favorite song: one two cha cha cha
Black Sabbath
3/5
I got this the day after Ozzy died. Still don't like it very much. He was a great show man, but not that good a singer. The music doesn't seem as important as their other two albums in the book. It's not a huge improvement over Paranoid. Newer bands like Kyuss, Corrosion of Conformity, Torche etc. have done this style a lot better. However, it's not terrible. Favorite song: under the sun.
Taylor Swift
2/5
It's OK for background music. On average it's better as an album than her other album in the book, but it doesn't have the stand out songs that 1989 has. All in one ear, out the other. Nothing memorable at all. Favorite song: long story short, but really none of them are really great.
The Divine Comedy
2/5
Could have been about 30 minutes shorter if you ask me.
It's well made by competent musicians, I just don't see how this can be in the book while Burt Bacharach and Henry Mancini aren't.
They tried too hard to make a record that nobody could possibly hate and that's why everybody hates it. Nothing really bad about it, beside the fact that it sounds insincere. Favorite song: beautiful day.
The Verve
2/5
2nd rate Oasis. Oasis is 3 star to me. I gave their other album on the list 2 stars. Must have been a low 2 stars. This is a medium 2 stars, because at least it has the only relevant song they ever made, Bitter Sweet Symphony, which is really only good because they picked a good sample.
Echo And The Bunnymen
3/5
I liked their other album Ocean Rain. This one suffers too much from harsh 80s production. It doesn't feel essential to me. Favorite song: clay.
Kendrick Lamar
4/5
He has good flow. The songs all have different vibes, but they do sound like a cohesive album. Favorite song: the art of peer pressure
David Bowie
3/5
I never liked Bowie's voice very much. Great how he reinvented himself again and again, how over the years he didn't limit himself to music, but also the story and the visual representation. But this album is not for me. Reminds me of Radiohead, but not as good.
Mike Oldfield
4/5
I usually don't like repetitive music with such a slow build up, but somehow this stays interesting. I don't know how he does it, but it works. pt.1 is better than pt.2.
Joan Baez
3/5
I don't think this is essential. At times the voice is a little annoying, but for the most part it's pretty good. Would have been better if it was shorter. Favorite song: donna donna
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
Sounds very much like Bruce Springsteen. He's a craftsman, not an artist. Not a bad song on the album, but it's all not very adventurous. Favorite song: Born to Run.
The Cure
4/5
Some great songs, some filler. The filler is alright. Favorite song: play for today
Ghostface Killah
3/5
It's good, but it's not really my style. And although the songs have different vibes, it's much too long. 3 stars, but almost 4.
The Rolling Stones
3/5
This is the 4th Rolling Stones album I got. It has by far the best filler, but it doesn't have a Gimme Shelter or Sympathy for the Devil for an extra star.
Green Day
4/5
I bought this when it was new. I still like it. They could have skipped the last song and the hidden track and I don't like When I Come Around very much, otherwise great album. Favorite song: Longview.
CHVRCHES
4/5
Pretty good 80s synth pop revival. Arguably better than most 80s synth pop. Like an indie version of Katy Perry or something. It's 48 minutes, but it seemed shorter. Favorite song: by the throat
King Crimson
3/5
Never heard it before. Some of my favorite bands were probably influenced by this. It's good, but I like the bands they influenced better. At least some of them. This sounds too 70s for me. Favorite song: larks' tongues in aspic pt.2
Billie Holiday
3/5
Definitely very good, but not something I would put on myself.
Ice Cube
3/5
It's only 2 years newer than his other album in the book, but it sounds a lot less outdated. Still sounds old (production), but the flow is so much better.
William Orbit
1/5
Boring low effort back ground music.
Gene Clark
3/5
Sounds alright, but I don't understand what's essential about it. Favorite song: Silver Raven
Beatles
4/5
It's 60 years old and it still sounds pretty good. None of the songs are bad. Everything on this album is 3 or 4 stars, except maybe the lyrics. Favorite song: can't buy me love
Herbie Hancock
4/5
Nice. Favorite song: watermelon man
Willie Colón & Rubén Blades
4/5
Great. More variation than I expected. The weather is exceptionally hot today. Perfect day for this album. Favorite song: Pedro Navaja
The White Stripes
4/5
They have 3 albums in the book. I think 3 White Stripes albums is too generous. They're not that different. I would only include Elephant, because it's their most popular album and it has their signature song. This is the oldest in the book and the 3rd one I got. I like this one best. It sounds the most sincere. It doesn't have any filler. Favorite song: fell in love with a girl.
Dagmar Krause
2/5
This collection of socialist songs was released and within a year the Berlin Wall was torn down. Coincidence? I'm not sure. It has modern opera vibes. I don't like modern opera at all. It's dissonant to make it more dramatic. But it's hard to listen to. Favorite song: Bankenlied.
Faust
4/5
I usually like short songs. Not repetitive drones like this. But it's surprisingly good. Favorite song: krautrock
Hüsker Dü
3/5
They were very influential before they made this album. Definitely the wrong album for the book. It should have been Zen Arcade or maybe New Day Rising. Not this one. It's too long and too samey. Production is paper thin. This was their last album because they obviously lost that spark that made them great before. Favorite song: charity, chastity, prudence, and hope
David Bowie
2/5
It's not bad, but if anybody else had made this exact same album instead of Bowie, it wouldn't be in the book. There must be more important music from 2013 that didn't make it. Favorite song: if you can see me.
David Bowie
4/5
I got 2 Bowies in a row. I'm not a big fan, but this album is good. Lots of people like his older albums better, but to me this is the first one that sounds professional. His voice blends in better, which is great, because I don't like his voice very much and it's slightly off a lot of the time. Favorite song: the Jean Genie
Fun Lovin' Criminals
3/5
Not bad, not good, not essential. I thought they were one hot wonders, but I knew a couple more songs. Favorite song: crime and punishment.
Genesis
4/5
Great. I was more familiar with their 80s pop sound. I like this better. Favorite song: the battle of Epping forest.
The Prodigy
4/5
This was not my scene at all. I was into guitars. But it's great. Very high energy. More aggressive than a lot of other big beat music. It has very little filler, but there is some. Almost 5 star. Favorite song: firestarter
k.d. lang
2/5
I like her voice. I don't understand the purpose of the music. Boring to me. Sounds pro though. Favorite song: constant craving.
Goldfrapp
2/5
Starts off alright and becomes boring after a few songs.
Fred Neil
3/5
He has a great voice, the music is alright, but too much of the same.
Gary Numan
4/5
Great. The singing is awkward, but it's perfect for the music. Favorite song: cars.
The Gun Club
2/5
I'm sure it's great if you were there when it was new. It's not terrible, but too long and it doesn't feel essential at all. Favorite song: she's like heroin to me
Buddy Holly & The Crickets
3/5
Starts with 2 great songs, then some filler, and ends with a couple of great songs. The filler is not too bad. It has more variety than the pure rock 'n roll artists like Little Richard or Jerry Lee Lewis. It's tame for rock 'n roll and wild for crooner music. I can imagine it hit the sweet spot for a lot of people. Favorite song: not fade away
John Coltrane
4/5
Good. Easier to listen to than some of his contemporary genre mates. Some catchy melodies at times.
Lupe Fiasco
3/5
It's good, but it doesn't sound essential to me. Favorite song: Pressure
Dion
2/5
Not terrible, but there's nothing particularly good about it either. Mediocre 60s impersonation from the 70s. No one needs to hear this before they die. Favorite song: in and out of the shadows
Kid Rock
2/5
Not as bad as I expected, but my expectations were extremely low. Not 1 star bad. Obviously not great. His flow is awkward like a lot of 80s rap. More varied than Rage Against the Machine. Lyrics are cringe. Favorite song: I got one for ya
Tracy Chapman
2/5
Some songs are good, most are very monotonous. I think it's more about the message, which is still relevant almost 30 years later. Favorite song: Mountains o' things
Richard Thompson
2/5
Some beautiful parts, but mainly boring
4/5
I heard it before once or twice at a friend's place. I remember I liked it, but it's better than I remember. Favorite song: Kick out the jams.
Funkadelic
5/5
Great. Except maybe the lyrics. That's not what it's about.
Muddy Waters
3/5
Good, but very much of the same thing. Very basic blues. Favorite song: tiger in your tank.
System Of A Down
5/5
Heavy. Dynamic. Manic. I like it. The only problem I have with this album is, it’s not Toxicity. That’s more creative and it has their biggest hits. I don’t have a favorite song. They’re all good.
Pet Shop Boys
3/5
I heard it before, but I didn't remember much of it. I remembered them as dance music. Most of this album isn't. It's quite dark in an awkward understated way. Favorite song: King's Cross.
Klaxons
3/5
I like it, but it's not essential. I remember one or two songs were played on the radio over here. The songs are alright. Production is tiring. Too compressed. Favorite song: totem on the timeline.
The Coral
4/5
I see a lot of hate in the comments. I don't understand it. Indy rock with a sixties movie soundtrack vibe. Great attention to detail. There's a lot going on in the background. The Arctic Monkeys must have heard this and failed miserably at sounding like it (and somehow still got way more popular). Favorite song: skeleton key
Simon & Garfunkel
5/5
Great. They have 3 albums in the book. This is the best. All hits, no misses. Favorite song: Cecilia
The Modern Lovers
1/5
Kind of proto punk in a bad way. It has the sloppiness and the bad singing, but not the energy. Some songs have a part that isn’t terrible, most don’t. I can imagine this album influenced bands like Television, the Replacements and maybe even the Pixies and the Strokes. Still don’t like it.
Led Zeppelin
3/5
If someone put this on, didn’t tell you who it was, and asked you to rate it, would this be a 4.12 (current rating)? No way. This is an important record in the development of rock music, but it’s not good at all by today’s standards. Not bad either, but definitely not over 4 stars. Favorite song: living loving maid
Ash
2/5
This definitely doesn’t belong on the list. They were obviously followers, not leaders. In their defense, they were very young when they recorded this and it doesn’t sound half bad, but for almost every song it’s obvious who they try to sound like. Yet somehow they got in the book and Therapy? didn’t. Favorite song: Kung Fu.
Happy Mondays
1/5
They must have been a very charismatic live band. They were one of the main underground bands of their time. Can’t be because of the music. Especially the singing is really bad. I don’t like anything about this record.
Rufus Wainwright
3/5
Could have been great if it wasn’t for the annoying singing. The man knows his classics. I heard Ravel and Bach. If only he put a tiny bit of effort into singing properly instead of the unsteady Radiohead wail.
Sheryl Crow
3/5
She only had 1 hit in my country, so I always thought of her as a one hit wonder. Turns out she has more than one good song. Good variety of influences. I read other reviews that said this album was formulaic. They either didn't listen to the entire album or don't know what they're talking about. The songs are quite different, but they sound like they belong together. That being said, I don't think I'll play this very often. Favorite song: all I wanna do
Holger Czukay
1/5
Is this a parody of Shaft? A very campy parody? 'cause that's what it sounds like. If it's serious, it's seriously bad. Some parts are completely out of sync. The funny accent is only funny if it's intended to be funny.
Kraftwerk
3/5
Not my taste, but I don't hate it. It sounds ahead of its time and not outdated yet.
The Pogues
4/5
I like it better than their other album on the list. Favorite song: wild cats of kilkenny
Ice T
3/5
Starts of sounding very outdated. It gets better later on, but not to the point that I like it. Ice-T has a more sinister vibe than most of his contemporaries. I think that's his main contribution to the genre and the reason he belongs in the book.
Faith No More
4/5
Eclectic mix of metal and various more pop genres. I think they did it better on their next album, but this was their breakthrough. Favorite song: woodpeckers from mars
Prefab Sprout
4/5
I remembered the band name, but none of the songs. I expected to hate it, but it's actually pretty good. Favorite song: horsin' around
George Michael
3/5
He has a very different taste in music than I have. It's not really bad. I just don't like it. Favorite song: monkey
Calexico
4/5
I know the band but not this record. I heard an older one and I saw them at a festival (good band). I don't like the purist version of Americana, but they're definitely not purists. They throw in enough different influences to keep it interesting for me. Good record for the book, because I think they should have been bigger than they are. Lots of people who would like them probably never heard of them. Favorite song: attack! el robot! attack!
My Bloody Valentine
4/5
They have 3 albums on the list. I think this is the only one that needs to be there. That gives you a good idea of what they do. Some songs are soundscapes, some have catchy riffs, but they're all a wall of sound. The singing is not very good, but fortunately it's hidden behind the guitars. It's like Sonic Youth playing Jesus and Mary Chain songs. Favorite song: only shallow
Devendra Banhart
3/5
Sounds very 2004. That annoying way of singing was very popular then. It's not the worst they could pick. To be fair this was slightly ahead of the curve. Some songs are alright. Favorite song: dogs they make up the dark
Echo And The Bunnymen
4/5
I like it. Not as depressing as their later work. Favorite song: crocodiles.
The Young Gods
3/5
Reminds me of Nine Inch Nails, Killing Joke and Rammstein. I don't hate it, I don't love it. Is it essential? I'm not sure. It does sound newer than 1989, but outdated by now. Are there any more important Swiss rock bands? I'm not sure either. Favorite song: rue de tempêtes
The Offspring
3/5
They played a small venue here in 1994 the night they got to number one on some chart and they booked an expensive hotel right away instead of sleeping at the venue as planned.
This was my scene. Nobody from the scene understood why the Offspring were the ones who made it big and not the good bands like NOFX, Bad Religion, Lagwagon, etc. Especially the singing is not up to par. Some songs are alright, but not quite Bad Religion or NOFX level. Favorite song: come out and play.
Teenage Fanclub
4/5
In the reviews I read a lot of people call this Britpop. It sounds too American for Britpop. It sounds more like Buffalo Tom, Lemonheads, Soul Asylum, Goo Goo Dolls, etc. to me. And Manic Street Preachers, but they're newer. Teenage Fanclub are pretty good at that style. Favorite song: star sign
Kanye West
3/5
The intermezzos/skits are probably funny only once, if at all. Some parts he tries to sing himself. Better leave it to other people. Over-all it's still pretty good, but his 2 newer albums in the book are much much better. I think this can be removed from future editions. Favorite song: get em high
ZZ Top
2/5
Generic blues rock. Didn't feel essential at all, but not terrible. Favorite song: precious and grace.
Neil Young
2/5
Neil Young proves once again that he's a good songwriter and a terrible singer. Favorite song: Lookout Joe
Dusty Springfield
4/5
Great cover album. Good selection of songs. Good production. Better recordings than the originals. Great voice. I'm sure Adele and Amy Winehouse must have heard this. But to be honest, 12 songs is enough. I didn't need any bonus tracks. I don't really have a favorite song. They're all good.
Jean-Michel Jarre
3/5
It progresses very slowly, but somehow there's tension that keeps it from getting boring. Favorite song: part 5.
3/5
It's alright, but not essential at all. Favorite song: nothin' to hide.
Neu!
3/5
It sounds newer than it is. Especially the parts with screaming. It sounds like the prototype of the heavier post-punk/wave that came a couple of years later. So I guess it's an important record. That being said, it does sound like a prototype and not the finished product.
Gillian Welch
3/5
It's not bad but, it already sounded old when it was new. This is not a next step in the development of music, not the start of a revival of old music and, while not bad at all, not good enough to be essential. Doesn't help that I don't like folk and country very much in general.
The Prodigy
5/5
High energy EDM. I like this better than their other album on the list, Fat of the land, which is generally considered to be their masterpiece. FOTL has some redundancy, this album doesn't. It has everything that makes FOTL good, and it doesn't have much of Keith Flint, which is a good thing to me. Favorite song: Poison.
AC/DC
2/5
They have 2 albums on the list. 1 would have been enough. They're basically the same. I don't like this album very much. It's a couple of good songs and a couple of bad ones. I can't stand the singing. Favorite song: Hell's Bells.
Malcolm McLaren
2/5
I can imagine it was fresh and fun when it was new. It's cheesy now. Favorite song: merengue
The Monks
5/5
This is number 1002 for me. 1001 was disappointing. This is awesome. I wouldn't have known about it without this challenge. It rocks and it has soul. Wild. Everything I like about music. Favorite song: I hate you.
Cypress Hill
2/5
Very short loops, production has too strong emphasis on drums and vocals, a funny voice that isn't funny. It's like listening to the same song over and over. And not even a good one.
Serge Gainsbourg
4/5
Wow. The lyrics are disgusting, but the music is great. Favorite song: melody.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
3/5
It's alright, but it's not him at his best. I don't think this belongs in the book. The difference between good and bad songs is not as big as on his older albums. The bad songs are better, the good songs are worse. Favorite song: man out of time
Don McLean
2/5
Very inoffensive and safe. His voice doesn't have much character. I don't like it very much. Some songs are alright. Favorite song: Vincent.
Ravi Shankar
2/5
This kind of music is very hit or miss. If it entrances you, it's great. If it doesn't, it's boring. It didn't entrance me.
Pavement
4/5
I never checked them out when they were new. It wasn't really my scene. I was a punk rocker. They were what we called alto. Definitely on the punk end of the alto range though. I would have loved them. Great.
Kate Bush
3/5
It's a great album, but she has 3 on the list, this is not the best one, it doesn't have any of her big hit songs, so I don't think this needs to be there.
George Jones
2/5
Low effort formulaic country music. He has a good voice though. Favorite song: she told me so.
Skepta
3/5
I generally prefer European hip hop to American. To me, non-native English speaker, British English sounds more musical than American English.
More specific for this album: I didn't hate it and although I think lots of albums are too long, this one isn't. Favorite song: that's not me.
Eurythmics
3/5
For synthpop the singing is remarkably good. Some songs are great, most are just alright. Favorite song: Sweet Dreams.
Kings of Leon
3/5
It's alright, but I don't understand why this is on the list. It's nothing new, it wasn't the start of a big revival, it wasn't influential, it doesn't have any of their big hits.
Elis Regina
3/5
Some of it is great, but not all of it. Favorite song: Saudade eterna
Ryan Adams
2/5
How come this douche has 2 albums on the list and Bryan Adams doesn't have any? It doesn't sound exceptional in any way to me. Favorite song: gonna make you love me
Morrissey
3/5
Fourth and final Morrissey record I got. This is his most rock 'n roll album. No really bad songs, but also not very memorable. I think 1 of his solo records in the book would have been enough. Favorite song: You're gonna need someone on your side.
The KLF
2/5
IIRC they were wild before this album. Kind of like the Prodigy. On this album they went commercial. I liked their older stuff better and it was probably more influential. I remember they played some award show together with Extreme Noise Terror, which was more my scene.
David Bowie
3/5
He has a lot of albums on the list. This one is good, but not my favorite. Favorite song: heroes.
Christine and the Queens
2/5
Revival of shit that sucked in the first place. It probably sounds the way she intended it, but I don't like it.
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
4/5
This is not as weird as his other album on the list. More in line with psychedelic garage rock of the time. I like his weird side better, but this is alright. Point deduction for the crap production. They could have at least tuned the guitars. Favorite song: electricity
Bob Dylan
3/5
Not as bad as I expected. He sings better than on some of his other records. The music is quite boring at times, but there's also some good songs. Favorite song: Corrina Corrina.
Stevie Wonder
4/5
Stevie Wonder is one of my favorite musicians. He has 4 albums on the list and they're all great. Many people call this his masterpiece, but it's my least favorite of the four. It has some of his best work, but also more filler than the other albums. Still solid 4 stars. Favorite song: another star
Joanna Newsom
3/5
It's different enough to be on the list, but I don't particularly like it. Like Bjork with a harp. Very long songs. Too long. Favorite song: Cosmia
Jimi Hendrix
4/5
It has some of his best work, but also sounds disjointed at times. Favorite song: she's so fine.
Aimee Mann
3/5
Not bad, not essential. Reminds me of Sheryl Crow, Heather Nova, etc. Not as successful, from the same time, not different enough.
Scott Walker
4/5
Great. Good voice, good atmosphere. I like it. Favorite song: hero of the war
Supergrass
4/5
More fun and faster than average brit pop. I like it, but I like their other album in the book better. I don't think they need 2. favorite song: sun hits the sky
The Damned
4/5
I saw them live once. Years later. It was underwhelming. Too tight for the kind of music they played. This album is sloppier and it works. Not the best OG punk band, but still good. Favorite song: machine gun etiquette
Violent Femmes
3/5
I'm not sure what to make of this. On one hand I think they were 10-15 years ahead of their time. On the other hand some of the songs are pretty bad, besides a handful of great ones. It does have a couple of great ones. Favorite song: add it up
The Flaming Lips
3/5
Reminds me of lots of other music. Beck comes to mind, Eels, the Beatles. But also newer music like Tame Impala. It's not bad, but I don't like it very much. Especially the singing is weak.
Soundgarden
4/5
Great, but too long. Favorite song: the day I tried to live
Youssou N'Dour
3/5
I like it. Repetitive but not boring. I'm not very familiar with the genre. With these exotic artists I always wonder if they really are the best or just the ones with the most friends in US/European music biz.
LTJ Bukem
2/5
My brother loves this. I don't really like it. D 'n B is an acquired taste. You have to know what to listen for to appreciate it. It's not about melody and lyrics at all, like most music in the book. It's made primarily for dancing. It has lots of subtleties in the rhythm. Like on the first track the accent shifts all the time. But most of the tracks are just repetitive, monotonous, and progressing too slowly for listening. And way too long. So I can't give it a very high rating. Favorite song: music
The Mars Volta
5/5
I was a big At the Drive-in fan. I was at the 2nd to last show before they split up. This is a logical next step. Everything I liked about ATDI, but more of it. It's very high energy and chaotic, but it still sounds like music, unlike some of their contemporaries (Orchid, Dillinger Escape Plan, etc). I don't like the newer Mars Volta albums very much though. This is their peak. Favorite song: inertiatic ESP closed-captioned
Cee Lo Green
3/5
Better than I expected. I don't like his voice very much. Songs and production are good. Enough variation. Favorite song: childz play
Korn
2/5
I've been into various styles of heavy music since the late 80s. I like some nu-metal, just not Korn. They're heavy, but not death metal heavy. I don't like their groove. I don't like the riffs. I especially don't like the voice. I saw them live and I hated it. Listening to this album again, I feel exactly the same. They were an important band for sure, and they're not bad enough for 1 star, but I don't like them.
Butthole Surfers
4/5
Great. Still influential today with bands like Metz, etc. But I totally understand it's not for everyone. Favorite song: Weber.
Kings of Leon
3/5
They get too much hate. This album is alright if you can stand the singing. Not quite the Black Keys or the White Stripes, but not nearly as bad as Creed or Nickelback. And while I enjoyed it, they don't need 3 albums on the list at all. Favorite song: Velvet snow
Solomon Burke
4/5
Good example of 60s soul music. Good versatile voice. I like most of the songs. Favorite song: you can't love 'em all.
Terence Trent D'Arby
3/5
If you can listen around the clinical 80s production, it's pretty good. It has 5 songs I remember from the radio. That's a lot. I'm not the biggest fan, but I don't hate it. Favorite song: sign your name.
The B-52's
5/5
Great. It sounds old and new at the same time. The singing is flat most of the time, but it makes perfect sense. Makes it more high energy. Favorite song: all of them.
Beastie Boys
4/5
This is their best album. Like a lot of 90s albums, it's too long. Despite the wide range of styles. And they're good at all of them. Favorite song: Sabotage
Jeru The Damaja
3/5
Yesterday I got the Beastie Boys. This is nowhere near as good. Too monotonous, but at least he's not yelling at me all the time.
Flamin' Groovies
3/5
Like the rolling stones, but the best songs are not as good as the Stones' and the worst songs not as bad.
Crosby, Stills & Nash
3/5
Side A sounds like a band trying to be more Simon and Garfunkel than S&G. They succeeded, but S&G themselves are the right amount of S&G. Side B is more psychedelic. It has some good ideas, but overall it sounds old rather than classic. Favorite song: Marrakesh Express.
T. Rex
2/5
I don't think they need more than 1 album on the list and not this one. It kind of sounds like Led Zeppelin without the annoying singing, but also without everything that makes them good. The rhythm section is not locked in. The singing is unsteady. That's the worst part. The singing. The songs are alright, but nothing special.
SAULT
4/5
Would have been a great 35 minute album if they had left off all the filler. Favorite song: monsters
Peter Frampton
3/5
It's not bad, especially for a live album. Well played, good recording, but it sounds outdated and it's way too long to keep my attention. Favorite song: Baby I love your Way
The Fall
4/5
3rd and final album I got by the Fall. It's my favorite out of the 3. It's harsh and it sounds like they mean it. I don't like all songs, but quite a few. Favorite song: spoilt victorian child
Soft Machine
2/5
I don't like it very much. Sounds like they wanted to make something original and didn't care if it sounded good.
Tori Amos
4/5
In my country she didn't get popular until her next album, so I was surprised to only see this one in the book. I like most of the songs. The good ones are really good. Favorite song: silent all these years
Can
3/5
It's repetitive but not boring. Except the last song. That's just way too long. Favorite song: Moonshake
Culture Club
2/5
A lot of 80s pop has worse singing but better songs. Favorite song: church of the poison mind
Stan Getz
3/5
The saxophone is great, but the singing feels monotonous. The complex chord voicings often sound similar, and combined with the consistent tempo and bossa-nova groove, it becomes too much of the same for me. Every song is great on its own, but as an album there just isn’t enough variation. Absolutely perfect for background music though. Favorite song: Só Danço Samba
Shuggie Otis
4/5
I'm near the end of this challenge. I knew most of the artists before, some only by name, but I never heard of Shuggie Otis. First impression: if Stevie Wonder made a yacht rock album. But it's better than that. The youtube music version has twice as many bonus tracks as original album tracks. That's too much. Favorite song: XL-30.
Tom Waits
4/5
Should have been shorter, but I like it.
Björk
2/5
4th Bjork album I got. I understand what people like about, but I hate it. It's definitely not run-off-the-mill. There's a lot of tension in the music, but there's no climax. I don't have the patience for this kind of music.
Frank Sinatra
3/5
Mr. Sinatra has a good voice, but his timbre is exactly the same across his full range. The singing sounds monotonous, even though it isn't. I don't hate any of the songs, I don't love any either. Favorite song: old devil moon
Aphex Twin
2/5
It has some good parts, but they are few and far between. Most of the album is just repetitive and boring.
OutKast
4/5
For hip hop it's very creative. Every song has a different vibe. It's fun to listen to. Favorite song: Bowtie
Metallica
4/5
I remember right before this came out VARA's Vuurwerk, the metal show on national radio in the Netherlands, broadcast the entire album. That's how big they already were before this album. They were already headlining in venues that were only slightly smaller than arenas. If you went into town, you were sure to meet some metalheads wearing Metallica T-shirts or patches. Still people say they sold out with this record. They didn't. It was a big risk to mellow out. They had a lot to lose.
About the album itself: Contrary to a lot of 90s albums, it's not too long. It doesn't have any filler. But it's not my favorite album of theirs. It's a good gateway album to metal. It's heavier than the usual music you hear on the radio, but not all that heavy compared to modern metal. The singing is aggressive, but not over the top aggressive. To be fair, the singing is the weakest part. The singer has a range of about 3 notes. Favorite song: My Friend of Misery
Iron Butterfly
2/5
This sounds like a budget version of Deep Purple. Not essential to me at all. The keys are pretty good, drums are OK, but overall it sounds amateurish. Judging by the reviews, people seem to love the title track. I don't understand why. 90% is the same riff (a good one) run into the ground with some mediocre improvisation on top of it. Not bad enough for 1 star though.
Beth Orton
2/5
OK background music. Doesn't sound special at all to me. I don't understand how this got in the book.
The Rolling Stones
3/5
Like most of their albums it has too much filler besides the couple of great songs. Favorite song: brown sugar
Kraftwerk
3/5
Pleasant as background music, but boring for close listening due to long songs and slow development. Favorite song: Morgenspaziergang.
Harry Nilsson
4/5
It's good. I like side A better than side B, but B is not bad either. Sometimes reminds me of Paul McCartney. Favorite song: Gotta get up
The Charlatans
2/5
A Charlatan is something like a fraud or an imposter. These guys are Oasis impersonators, but they're not as good. I don't even like Oasis. They're the most overrated band in music history. The Charlatans take some creative side steps that Oasis would never have, so that's in their favor. Favorite song: how can you leave us.
The Boo Radleys
3/5
I only knew their hit song Wake up Boo, which is a happy jangle pop tune, so I wasn't expecting this blend of shoegaze and brit pop. It's alright. Not essential at al, but pleasant to listen to. Should have been shorter. Favorite song: Barney (...and me)
Steely Dan
4/5
Their other albums on the list are so perfect it's boring. This sounds the most human. They have too many albums on the list, but this one definitely belongs on it. Especially Reelin' in the Years is a great song.
Madonna
2/5
It has a couple of OK singles, but as an album it's not very good. Favorite song: Cherish
Radiohead
3/5
Not their worst, not their best. Some of their records sound like they just want to be different and don't care what it sounds like. This sounds more natural. I didn't hate it, but it's not really for me. Favorite song: myxomatosis
Prince
3/5
When this record came out, everybody tried to sound like this for the next couple of years. Still you can hear this is definitely the master himself. It's not my taste but it's a landmark in 80s pop music. Favorite song: when doves cry
Bruce Springsteen
2/5
If the exact same album had any other name than Bruce Springsteen on it, this mediocre pop rock wouldn't even be considered for the list. Favorite song: Mary's place.
Lana Del Rey
3/5
I was told this is not her best album and after listening to it, I have no reason to doubt it. It's not awful. I understand some people love it. I just don't like it very much myself.
The Kinks
5/5
Very Beatles like. Very good. Favorite song: Rainy Day in June.
The Cult
2/5
They were better at goth. The singer is good, everything else is very generic hard rock. Motley Crue's Girls Girls Girls is from the same year and not on the list...
Lenny Kravitz
3/5
He's a drama queen, but it works. Could have had an extra star if it didn't have as much filler. Favorite song: I build this garden for us
Nina Simone
4/5
I usually think albums are too long. This one is too short. The general mood of the album is great, her vibrato is really something, but somehow the songs don't stick. Favorite song: Break down and let it all out.
Goldie
3/5
Very well constructed. There's always a repetitive part, but something new changes in the background or moves to the front and becomes the repetitive part before it gets boring and then the motif comes back later on. There's a lot going on in general, but it all fits together well. That being said, it should have been 2 albums. It's way too long. Disc 1 would have been 4 star. And it does get boring eventually. Favorite song: sea of tears
Big Star
2/5
They’ve got two albums on the list. Neither is terrible, but neither will change your life. I liked their other album better. This one sounds like Kinks B-sides. I don’t hate it. I like the Kinks. But this is far from essential.
Derek & The Dominos
3/5
This must be Clapton's best work. I don't like his solo records and this is better than Cream. It should have been 2 albums though. After 7 songs I checked how much longer it was. Turns out that's the end of disk one. Would have been perfect length. Favorite song: Layla.
Beyoncé
4/5
I expected to hate this, but I didn't. What I do hate is, that on youtube it's all videos with long intros. it takes the flow out of the album. Favorite song: blow.
Talking Heads
2/5
I don't understand how this got on the list. It doesn't belong here. This is album 1083 for me. The 4th Talking Heads album. That's too many. Two would have been very generous. Most albums on the list are better. There are lots of better albums that didn't even make the list. This is the worst one of their four entries. Like their other albums, it's very monotonous. It doesn't have any of their signature songs. What a waste of time. Not bad enough for 1 star though.
The Rolling Stones
3/5
This album mainly contains covers. That's a good thing. Not so many sub-par songs like on their own albums (besides obviously also a handful of absolutely great songs). It's more blues than most rock 'n roll and more rock 'n roll than most blues from that time. It must have been the sweet spot back in the day. It's OK, but no one NEEDS to hear this today.
Paul McCartney
2/5
This album sounds like a collection of demos or B-sides or whatever. It starts pretty bad, but it gets better. And worse again. And better again. Very inconsistent. It should not have gotten past QC. Favorite song: Junk
Def Leppard
3/5
It's like a dumbed down synth pop version of Van Halen. It has some good parts. The singer has bad technique. He has more power, but he doesn't use it. Sounds like a funny voice. Favorite song: Animal.
Alexander 'Skip' Spence
1/5
This is number 1087 for me, and it must be one of the five worst albums on the list. I can’t think of anything good to say about it. Maybe the backstory, but that doesn’t justify the record, and especially not its inclusion in the book. He should have been put back in prison for this album.
Belle & Sebastian
3/5
They have another album on the list. I gave it 2 stars. I don't remember what it sounded like. In my review I wrote I read that they had a better album on the list. This is it. Definitely better than 2 star. I don't like the way of singing very much, but I know lots people love it.
Bonnie Raitt
2/5
This is album 1089 for me. Last one of the challenge. It's not a very good one. This album would have benefited from a more traditional production. Her voice is not the issue. Some of the songs are potentially pretty good. It's not the worst case of tight '80s production, but it's bad enough to squeeze all the life out of the music. It doesn’t sound like a band that’s used to playing this style together, more like some random pros doing what they’re told. Especially the drums. Favorite song: cry on my shoulder