1035
Albums Rated
3.22
Average Rating
95%
Complete
54 albums remaining
Rating Distribution
Rating Timeline
Taste Profile
1950s
Favorite Decade
World
Favorite Genre
other
Top Origin
Wordsmith
Rater Style ?
232
5-Star Albums
158
1-Star Albums
Breakdown
By Genre
By Decade
By Origin
Albums
You Love More Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Wonderful Rainbow
Lightning Bolt
|
5 | 2.28 | +2.72 |
|
Trout Mask Replica
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
|
5 | 2.29 | +2.71 |
|
Now I Got Worry
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
|
5 | 2.52 | +2.48 |
|
GI
Germs
|
5 | 2.54 | +2.46 |
|
Welcome to the Afterfuture
Mike Ladd
|
5 | 2.56 | +2.44 |
|
Idlewild
Everything But The Girl
|
5 | 2.58 | +2.42 |
|
Kenza
Khaled
|
5 | 2.58 | +2.42 |
|
The United States Of America
The United States Of America
|
5 | 2.61 | +2.39 |
|
Space Ritual
Hawkwind
|
5 | 2.69 | +2.31 |
|
Yank Crime
Drive Like Jehu
|
5 | 2.7 | +2.3 |
You Love Less Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
A Night At The Opera
Queen
|
1 | 3.96 | -2.96 |
|
Who's Next
The Who
|
1 | 3.91 | -2.91 |
|
Siamese Dream
The Smashing Pumpkins
|
1 | 3.83 | -2.83 |
|
Bad
Michael Jackson
|
1 | 3.81 | -2.81 |
|
American Idiot
Green Day
|
1 | 3.76 | -2.76 |
|
Hot Fuss
The Killers
|
1 | 3.74 | -2.74 |
|
Appetite For Destruction
Guns N' Roses
|
1 | 3.74 | -2.74 |
|
Grace
Jeff Buckley
|
1 | 3.72 | -2.72 |
|
Moondance
Van Morrison
|
1 | 3.71 | -2.71 |
|
Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
The Smashing Pumpkins
|
1 | 3.68 | -2.68 |
Artists
Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Joni Mitchell | 4 | 5 |
| PJ Harvey | 4 | 5 |
| Miles Davis | 4 | 4.75 |
| Johnny Cash | 3 | 5 |
| Jimi Hendrix | 3 | 5 |
| Kate Bush | 3 | 5 |
| Radiohead | 6 | 4.33 |
| Bruce Springsteen | 5 | 4.4 |
| Led Zeppelin | 5 | 4.4 |
| Stevie Wonder | 4 | 4.5 |
| The Beach Boys | 3 | 4.67 |
| The Kinks | 3 | 4.67 |
| Prince | 3 | 4.67 |
| Nirvana | 3 | 4.67 |
| Beatles | 7 | 4.14 |
| Kendrick Lamar | 2 | 5 |
| Muddy Waters | 2 | 5 |
| Aretha Franklin | 2 | 5 |
| Dusty Springfield | 2 | 5 |
| Grateful Dead | 2 | 5 |
| Cocteau Twins | 2 | 5 |
| Sly & The Family Stone | 2 | 5 |
| Fleetwood Mac | 2 | 5 |
| A Tribe Called Quest | 2 | 5 |
| Funkadelic | 2 | 5 |
| Fela Kuti | 2 | 5 |
| Fiona Apple | 2 | 5 |
| Fairport Convention | 2 | 5 |
| Curtis Mayfield | 2 | 5 |
| Todd Rundgren | 2 | 5 |
| Emmylou Harris | 2 | 5 |
| Billy Bragg | 2 | 5 |
| Siouxsie And The Banshees | 2 | 5 |
| Iggy Pop | 2 | 5 |
| Hole | 2 | 5 |
| CHIC | 2 | 5 |
| Sonic Youth | 5 | 4.2 |
| Neil Young | 4 | 4.25 |
| The Stooges | 3 | 4.33 |
| Black Sabbath | 3 | 4.33 |
| Marvin Gaye | 3 | 4.33 |
| Bob Marley & The Wailers | 3 | 4.33 |
| Beastie Boys | 3 | 4.33 |
| Public Enemy | 3 | 4.33 |
| Beck | 3 | 4.33 |
Least Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Tom Waits | 5 | 1 |
| The Rolling Stones | 6 | 1.5 |
| U2 | 4 | 1.25 |
| The Who | 5 | 1.6 |
| Aerosmith | 3 | 1.33 |
| Kings of Leon | 3 | 1.33 |
| Kanye West | 3 | 1.33 |
| George Michael | 2 | 1 |
| The Prodigy | 2 | 1 |
| Pulp | 2 | 1 |
| Bee Gees | 2 | 1 |
| The Smashing Pumpkins | 2 | 1 |
| Eminem | 2 | 1 |
| Robert Wyatt | 2 | 1 |
| Rod Stewart | 2 | 1 |
| LCD Soundsystem | 2 | 1 |
| Rufus Wainwright | 2 | 1 |
| Orbital | 2 | 1 |
| Coldplay | 2 | 1 |
| The Chemical Brothers | 2 | 1 |
| Van Morrison | 3 | 1.67 |
| Queen | 3 | 1.67 |
| Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds | 5 | 2 |
| Ryan Adams | 2 | 1.5 |
| Def Leppard | 2 | 1.5 |
| Van Halen | 2 | 1.5 |
| Green Day | 2 | 1.5 |
| Rush | 2 | 1.5 |
| ZZ Top | 2 | 1.5 |
| Fatboy Slim | 2 | 1.5 |
| XTC | 2 | 1.5 |
| TV On The Radio | 2 | 1.5 |
| Scott Walker | 2 | 1.5 |
| Peter Gabriel | 3 | 2 |
| Deep Purple | 3 | 2 |
Controversial
| Artist | Ratings |
|---|---|
| Amy Winehouse | 2, 5 |
| Pere Ubu | 4, 1 |
| Motörhead | 1, 4 |
| Metallica | 3, 1, 5, 3 |
| Michael Jackson | 1, 4, 4 |
5-Star Albums (232)
View Album Wall
Popular Reviews
The Psychedelic Furs
3/5
pretty positive I'm gonna come out on the other end of this thing actually having less appreciation for new wave
15 likes
The Pogues
2/5
if i was a white middle class suburban dad desperate to formulate some kind of identity by staking a bizarre claim on irish heritage despite my family being in america for 150 years, i would probably love this!
15 likes
Flamin' Groovies
5/5
finally, an answer to the question: "what if the rolling stones were good?"
14 likes
TV On The Radio
2/5
i can appreciate the weirdness and there's some glimmers of stuff here i like, but overall i just find it really grating. they obviously have talent and are clearly pulling on some good reference points but the final product just doesn't work for me. the a cappella shit is just the final nail in the coffin (if i never hear Ambulance again, it'll be too soon) only by the strength of Wear You Out does this crawl up to a 2
9 likes
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
2/5
actually I'd have been quite okay dying not having heard nick cave's entire discography
8 likes
1-Star Albums (158)
All Ratings
Dire Straits
3/5
Justice
2/5
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
2/5
Yes
4/5
Adele
3/5
Elastica
5/5
Tom Waits
1/5
3/5
Magazine
3/5
Van Morrison
3/5
The Beach Boys
4/5
Bon Jovi
1/5
living on a prayer, the perfect song if you want a more grating and less poetic Springsteen song to play at a Christian fundamentalist wedding
The Stooges
4/5
The Smiths
3/5
Ryan Adams
2/5
Kendrick Lamar
5/5
Miles Davis
4/5
Patti Smith
4/5
The Darkness
1/5
The Beau Brummels
3/5
Metallica
3/5
Gene Clark
5/5
Morrissey
3/5
The Cardigans
4/5
Cypress Hill
3/5
Gorillaz
4/5
Orange Juice
3/5
Ray Charles
4/5
Amy Winehouse
2/5
Happy Mondays
2/5
Pink Floyd
4/5
5/5
Black Sabbath
4/5
Minor Threat
3/5
Marvin Gaye
5/5
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
3/5
The Mars Volta
1/5
Bad Brains
5/5
OutKast
4/5
Beatles
5/5
William Orbit
2/5
The Flaming Lips
3/5
Violent Femmes
1/5
John Lee Hooker
4/5
T. Rex
3/5
The Waterboys
3/5
Lynyrd Skynyrd
2/5
Goldfrapp
2/5
Stevie Wonder
5/5
Madonna
3/5
Scritti Politti
2/5
Dr. John
5/5
Muddy Waters
5/5
Jethro Tull
5/5
Nick Drake
2/5
2/5
Bob Marley & The Wailers
4/5
Wilco
4/5
White Denim
3/5
Dolly Parton
4/5
Tim Buckley
2/5
Peter Gabriel
1/5
The Doors
4/5
John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers
2/5
whoever told john mayall he could sing the blues was playing quite the prank, the only question is if the prank was on john or the listening public
Cornershop
4/5
Talking Heads
3/5
The Jesus And Mary Chain
4/5
Moby
2/5
1/5
Radiohead for theatre kids
Aretha Franklin
5/5
Manic Street Preachers
3/5
The Go-Betweens
3/5
Neil Young
5/5
Franz Ferdinand
1/5
Dexys Midnight Runners
4/5
Queen Latifah
4/5
Megadeth
4/5
Radiohead
4/5
808 State
1/5
Dusty Springfield
5/5
Joni Mitchell
5/5
Leftfield
2/5
Astor Piazzolla
4/5
Frank Sinatra
3/5
Duran Duran
2/5
Blood, Sweat & Tears
3/5
Ute Lemper
2/5
Steely Dan
3/5
fine music that just does absolutely nothing for me
Creedence Clearwater Revival
4/5
Leonard Cohen
2/5
Jerry Lee Lewis
2/5
Steely Dan
3/5
Hüsker Dü
2/5
Bruce Springsteen
5/5
Judas Priest
4/5
now these boys know how to rock
Ramones
3/5
Jeru The Damaja
4/5
King Crimson
4/5
Guided By Voices
2/5
Don McLean
2/5
Joni Mitchell
5/5
Beastie Boys
4/5
Gillian Welch
5/5
Adele
3/5
more backbone musically than 21, but otherwise just sort of "there"
GZA
5/5
Red Snapper
1/5
moves effortlessly between mind numbing and annoying. what an achievement!
4/5
Silver Jews
4/5
to quote John Hinckley Jr: "Fantastic songs! RIP David Berman."
Miles Davis
5/5
Peter Tosh
4/5
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
2/5
Talking Heads
3/5
Tim Buckley
4/5
The B-52's
3/5
The Who
2/5
Beastie Boys
5/5
The Everly Brothers
1/5
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
4/5
The Jam
4/5
Grateful Dead
5/5
Björk
2/5
wholeheartedly agree that it's significant enough to be on the list, also absolutely not my cup of tea. sorry bjork!
Echo And The Bunnymen
3/5
ABBA
4/5
The Electric Prunes
2/5
Steve Earle
3/5
R.E.M.
3/5
a lot to like here but i simply have never liked michael stipe's voice. sorry mike!
George Michael
1/5
make some cuts, get this down below 35 minutes, and you'll have a solid 2/5 album
The Jesus And Mary Chain
3/5
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
4/5
Iron Maiden
4/5
Steve Winwood
3/5
Cocteau Twins
5/5
The War On Drugs
4/5
Paul Simon
4/5
Bobby Womack
4/5
Pink Floyd
3/5
Harry Nilsson
3/5
The Prodigy
1/5
James Brown
4/5
The Rolling Stones
2/5
Deee-Lite
4/5
Def Leppard
2/5
Van Halen
2/5
Cat Stevens
5/5
Jefferson Airplane
4/5
Sly & The Family Stone
5/5
Steely Dan
4/5
Caetano Veloso
4/5
The Young Gods
4/5
Manu Chao
3/5
Green Day
2/5
billie joe's voice has always been nails on a chalkboard to me, but the music is well enough executed, saving it from a 1
Mudhoney
2/5
Green Day
1/5
Red Hot Chili Peppers
3/5
David Bowie
4/5
was never a huge Bowie fan in addition to thinking he was kind of a creep, so this never really had any emotional resonance for me as his "goodbye" or whatever but the actual music is objectively pretty good and interesting
Afrika Bambaataa
3/5
Minutemen
4/5
Little Richard
4/5
Johnny Cash
5/5
Kraftwerk
4/5
never really been one for electronic music but even i gotta give it up for the boys
Alanis Morissette
3/5
Talk Talk
2/5
Supergrass
3/5
k.d. lang
4/5
The xx
2/5
3/5
Pink Floyd
4/5
I'm sure seeing this live would be amazing but taken this way it just feels kind of overwrought and musical theatery. There's plenty of good here but when standard bearer for a Pink Floyd album is Dark Side of the Moon I can't give it better than a 4
Sonic Youth
4/5
David Bowie
5/5
Fleetwood Mac
5/5
Dire Straits
3/5
Pixies
4/5
Led Zeppelin
4/5
Julian Cope
3/5
The Rolling Stones
2/5
U2
1/5
Miles Davis
5/5
A Tribe Called Quest
5/5
Elvis Costello
4/5
Ray Charles
4/5
Paul Revere & The Raiders
3/5
Pink Floyd
5/5
Public Enemy
4/5
not the epitome, but still public enemy
The Only Ones
1/5
Fats Domino
4/5
Crosby, Stills & Nash
3/5
Taylor Swift
3/5
i just so happen to have been listening to taylor swift's discography for the first time, so i feel like I'm in a uniquely good position to speak on this album. as the wizened geniuses in the top reviews so bravely point out, taylor swift is a pop musician. hopefully by the time they finish this list they'll have slightly more open minds and maybe have lightened up like 10%. so of course while I'd love to disagree with them, this just isn't that good even as a taylor swift album. coming off the heels of lover and folklore, her two best albums up to this point, this is a huge downgrade. pretty bland, and mostly just feels like a poor imitation of folklore, but more national-y, which to me is not a good thing. it's too scientifically engineered by pop scientists to ever slip into bad, and it has its moments, but it's pretty much the definition of average, and thus, it gets a big ol' 3
Talking Heads
3/5
1001 talking heads albums to listen to before you die
Air
4/5
Jorge Ben Jor
5/5
4/5
Massive Attack
3/5
Wu-Tang Clan
5/5
stone cold classic
The Good, The Bad & The Queen
2/5
Bill Evans Trio
3/5
objectively good by nearly any measure but i just don't like piano so let's compromise on a 3
Arcade Fire
1/5
Suzanne Vega
4/5
Paul Simon
5/5
Beatles
5/5
kinda feel like a chump giving every Beatles album a 5 but sometimes you just gotta give it up for the boys
Elvis Presley
4/5
Dirty Projectors
1/5
Janelle Monáe
4/5
Funkadelic
5/5
one of my favorite albums of all time, words can hardly do it justice, or at least not my words
Le Tigre
3/5
i used to love this album, but now, I don't know. maybe it aged poorly or maybe my sensibilities have changed in a way to misalign me from it. still plenty of highlights but it verges on plain ol' annoying too much to me now
Isaac Hayes
4/5
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
3/5
Fela Kuti
5/5
Simon & Garfunkel
4/5
Songhoy Blues
5/5
Led Zeppelin
5/5
Deep Purple
2/5
on the one hand, pretty innovative and impressive for 1970. on the other hand, I'd pay good money to never hear ian gillan sing again
Teenage Fanclub
3/5
The Beach Boys
5/5
bit of a genuine classic innit
The Cure
4/5
Joni Mitchell
5/5
can't resist anything by joni Mitchell, the voice, the complexity of the music, the lyricism. she's got the goods
The Temptations
4/5
Pulp
1/5
leads off with a song that made me think this might be good, but no such luck. ranges from numbers for a musical I'd never want to see to songs that were somehow written with the hope they'd eventually be included in an awful indie movie from 2005. none of the instruments are played with any recognizable emotion, and cocker's voice is better suited to hosting a children's tv show. hard pass
Death In Vegas
1/5
FKA twigs
3/5
Marty Robbins
5/5
The Who
1/5
cannot bring myself to care
The Cramps
2/5
Neneh Cherry
4/5
Rush
1/5
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
3/5
Michael Jackson
1/5
production is very sterile and inhuman to me, the drum machines make me want to die, cheesy and not in a fun way. bad indeed
The Killers
1/5
one of the standard bearers of the dark age of mainstream music. squeaky clean and totally vacuous production, no subtlety whatsoever, any emotion feels purely artificial, and to top it off i simply just don't like Brandon flowers' voice and overblown, melodramatic delivery. i did like it in high school so revisiting it was kind of fun for that reason, but I definitely won't be listening of my own free will ever again
Blur
5/5
waffled a lot between 4 and 5 but at the end of the day Essex Dogs clinched it
Shuggie Otis
4/5
Jack White
1/5
this was coasting to a cool 2 until he said "noivus" in "I'm Shakin'." the atrocious vocals of "Hip (Eponymous) Poor Boy" are just the nail in the coffin
Little Simz
5/5
i somehow wasn't very consciously aware of little simz before listening to this, but that has been permanently corrected
4/5
Bauhaus
4/5
Beth Orton
5/5
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
3/5
Tangerine Dream
4/5
TLC
2/5
Fela Kuti
5/5
a bona fide classic from one of my all time favorites. joyful and powerful and what music should be
Elton John
3/5
Kid Rock
1/5
you almost have to appreciate a white guy bringing into reality the most debased, terrible version of what so many white people have imagined all rap music to be
Beach House
3/5
The White Stripes
3/5
always loved Ball and Biscuit, but the rest just doesn't do that much for me
The Residents
3/5
Queens of the Stone Age
2/5
I've only ever heard more recent stuff from queens of the stone age and never loved it, but compared to this, those albums at least have some unique and interesting artistic qualities even if they aren't for me. the best words to describe this are boring and generic
The Doors
4/5
Jurassic 5
5/5
Madness
4/5
Nico
3/5
Willie Nelson
4/5
fIREHOSE
3/5
James Taylor
2/5
just dreadfully boring
Janis Joplin
5/5
Dolly Parton
5/5
Fiona Apple
5/5
a combination of engrossing, forceful and endlessly inventive percussion, beautiful and heart wrenching lyricism, and a gorgeous, insanely expressive vocal performance. it didn't hit me quite right on my first listen when it came out, but from then on it's just grown on me more and more; on every listen it just opens up more and more.
The Prodigy
1/5
the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was getting two albums by the prodigy put onto this list
Booker T. & The MG's
4/5
Machito
5/5
Bee Gees
1/5
The TBI Beatles
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
4/5
The White Stripes
3/5
Sepultura
4/5
very pleasant surprise, the vocals are usually what make or break metal for me, and this has exactly the vocal style i typically dislike, so i immediately was a bit down on it but i tried to keep an open mind. good thing i did, because while i never really came around to the vocal performance, the blending of sounds and styles here is really something, and excellently performed. I don't know that I'll be listening over and over by any means but it's definitely interesting, and very enjoyable
Jeff Buckley
1/5
this? now this is that kinda stuff i do not like
Iron Maiden
5/5
Merle Haggard
4/5
Fleet Foxes
2/5
blandly pleasant music to play in a "cool" clothing store
The Go-Go's
5/5
Fairport Convention
5/5
Beatles
4/5
My Bloody Valentine
4/5
Bob Dylan
3/5
put this one down as pleasant surprise; like many I'm not usually one for Bob Dylan's voice, but i didn't mind it here and the song writing is pretty good as per usual. but a lot of it feels kind of samey to me, and i can only listen to so much harmonica
Stephen Stills
2/5
Morrissey
2/5
Eels
1/5
Neu!
4/5
R.E.M.
5/5
a-ha
1/5
Radiohead
5/5
Aerosmith
1/5
Beastie Boys
4/5
MGMT
1/5
probably tolerable if you, like many of these other reviewers, were 13 when it came out and listened to it a lot. i was 13 when it came out, but i did not
Alice In Chains
1/5
Brian Eno
4/5
Soft Machine
4/5
pretty enjoyable mix of jazz and prog, like it quite a bit, would have liked it more if Robert Wyatt had kept his trap shut on Moon in June
The Band
5/5
Richard Thompson
5/5
Beck
4/5
as someone who hates "Loser" and has allowed my knowledge of Beck to begin and end there, i was extremely skeptical, but let's be real: this shit goes
JAY Z
2/5
OutKast
4/5
John Cale
2/5
Sonic Youth
5/5
The Smashing Pumpkins
1/5
one of my biggest musical pet peeves is horrible dude vocalists who simply can't accept they have a voice for the newspaper and barrel right ahead into performing lead vocals. the actual music here is good, but Billy Corgan is one of the kings of this archetype, and his singing completely kills the album
Grateful Dead
5/5
Oasis
3/5
The Temptations
4/5
starts out so strong through the first three tracks, and then just kind of... keeps going
Laura Nyro
4/5
The Stranglers
3/5
5/5
Elbow
1/5
hopefully brexit will make it more difficult for the english to get their hands on musical instruments
Soul II Soul
2/5
DJ Shadow
4/5
not usually one for instrumental hip hop but this is obviously a beautiful example it. still, I don't think this would ever be a repeated active listen for me, but i can certainly appreciate it. midnight in a perfect world is a banger though
Various Artists
4/5
terrible man, fantastic Christmas album
Slayer
3/5
Love
4/5
The Black Keys
4/5
David Bowie
3/5
Talking Heads
4/5
okay: I'm finally convinced that everybody should in fact listen to 4 barely distinguishable talking heads albums before they die
Frank Zappa
4/5
ZZ Top
2/5
Buck Owens
3/5
Aerosmith
2/5
Sheryl Crow
4/5
Curtis Mayfield
5/5
The Icarus Line
3/5
Run-D.M.C.
5/5
Fatboy Slim
2/5
very likely the best version of this sort of thing, which is not saying much
Lauryn Hill
4/5
De La Soul
5/5
Sugar
3/5
Frank Ocean
3/5
Lenny Kravitz
2/5
XTC
2/5
Tracy Chapman
5/5
4/5
Paul Simon
3/5
Thin Lizzy
1/5
Radiohead
5/5
David Bowie
4/5
an amazing opening track, a fantastic closer, a pretty good beatles cover, and some other songs i don't quite remember
Fun Lovin' Criminals
3/5
Creedence Clearwater Revival
3/5
The Coral
3/5
Nick Drake
4/5
The Divine Comedy
2/5
Arcade Fire
4/5
Frankie Goes To Hollywood
4/5
very pleasant surprise! i think my big criticism would be directed at the length; personally i feel that there are very very few hour long albums that earn it, and there's a handful of songs here that could be dropped and they wouldn't be missed, but otherwise color me impressed
Al Green
4/5
Jane's Addiction
2/5
The Jam
2/5
what a coincidence, i was just thinking this list could use even more new wave albums!
The Zutons
2/5
really brings me back to mvp baseball 2005
Elliott Smith
3/5
Kings of Leon
1/5
never really gave these guys a fair shake. i miss those days
Dwight Yoakam
4/5
Thelonious Monk
4/5
The Incredible String Band
3/5
so insane that I can't help like it a little bit
Liz Phair
5/5
inject it into my veins
Marvin Gaye
4/5
Jimi Hendrix
5/5
probably my least favorite experience album (I don't think that's a hugely controversial opinion) but Jimi's worst is still better than many's best
The Smiths
3/5
10cc
2/5
i mean, it's not terrible, i guess
Public Enemy
4/5
Bruce Springsteen
2/5
i love Bruce, but the production here is just completely limp and lifeless, and it mostly ends up sounding like a bruce springsteen impression
The Monkees
1/5
i think 'Zilch' must qualify as some kind of crime against humanity
Screaming Trees
3/5
Bruce Springsteen
5/5
ADAM RAISED A CAIN
Gram Parsons
5/5
Todd Rundgren
5/5
Depeche Mode
4/5
Britney Spears
3/5
are some of the songs embarrassingly weird and bad? sure. do i still like it? of course
Astrud Gilberto
2/5
Lana Del Rey
2/5
lana is the modern standard bearer of what i often refer to, somewhar derisively, as "weepy music." like, it's fine, but it is extremely not for me, and i have a hard time imagining anybody not critically depressed wanting to listen to this front to back on any kind of regular basis
also tolkien should get a songwriting credit on "not all who wander are lost"
Bob Marley & The Wailers
4/5
Scissor Sisters
3/5
The Soft Boys
2/5
A Tribe Called Quest
5/5
do i even have to explain?
Bebel Gilberto
3/5
Leonard Cohen
3/5
My Bloody Valentine
4/5
Bob Dylan
5/5
the contrarian part of me always wants to not like bob dylan but there's really just no helping it
The Rolling Stones
1/5
really boggles the mind that people try to argue the stones are better than the Beatles. annoying, misogynist, repetitive. at least the beatles paired their misogyny with good music
Otis Redding
5/5
untouchable
Joan Armatrading
4/5
Throwing Muses
4/5
Stereolab
5/5
beautiful and mesmerizing. probably a 4 on a lot of days, but Cybele's Reverie and Emperor Tomato Ketchup, among other tracks, just hit me perfectly tonight
Donovan
3/5
absolutely serviceable
Bob Dylan
4/5
is it good? hey, sure, but when I'm getting this a few days after blood on the tracks i gotta make some kind of differentiation to indicate how great blood on the tracks is
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
1/5
Lambchop
4/5
Eminem
1/5
what is there to say that you can't read in the other reviews? as we all know, he's very technically proficient, and the production is fantastic, but the lyrical content is just abysmal. clearly, he's being intentionally outrageous and provocative and trying desperately to be funny, but it all falls flat, to put it mildly. this sort of peurile 90s outrage is just endlessly tiring. and to top it off, hey, he can't help it, but i just really dislike his voice
The KLF
3/5
not the most mindless house or big beat album I've been saddled with by this list, so there's that. I'll throw it a +1 for the KLF also being very bonkers and interesting
Bob Dylan
5/5
Nine Inch Nails
3/5
somehow my first time listening to nine inch nails; enjoyed it quite a bit, but probably will never seek it out on my own again
The Strokes
3/5
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
5/5
it's bad, it's good, it's aggressively not music as well as very musical. comes closer to 'art' than many many albums on the list. really there's nothing i can say that hasn't been said already, but i gotta slap a 5 on it just for the novelty, influence and vision (if you can call untreated schizophrenia vision). there really are many snatches of genuinely catchy and enjoyable music here, but i think only someone interested in developing some schizophrenia of their own would want to listen to this front to back on anything approaching a regular basis. as they say, fast and bulbous
Nitin Sawhney
3/5
Black Sabbath
4/5
Nick Drake
1/5
there is just something about Pink Moon and I that is fundamentally incompatible. i have never been able to come remotely close to wrapping my head around what the appeal is. it's just so dreary and boring to me, no matter how many shots I've given it over the years. i like bryter layter but this just drives me crazy
happy for everybody that loves and appreciates Nick Drake, but that will never be me
Randy Newman
3/5
Gotan Project
4/5
pretty funky tunes
The Clash
4/5
Norah Jones
4/5
The Rolling Stones
2/5
ZZ Top
1/5
Suicide
3/5
do i like it? not really. but it's definitely interesting, bracing, and quite obviously very ahead of its time. I can't really say i hated it, although i do hope I'm able to go the rest of my life never hearing "Girl" again
Simply Red
2/5
Kanye West
2/5
like probably many other white people my age, Kanye was a big entry point for me into rap, and was essentially the only hip hop i listened to for a good while (very embarrassed to have been a "everything but rap and country" kid in middle school). now, I've exposed myself to much more rap & hip hop and i just find my tastes have changed.
the actual quality of production is pretty unimpeachable but the style of it just does nothing for me. a lot of it is weirdly weightless and the sounds just don't wow me the way they did back in 2010. and of course many of the actual lyrics are eye rolling
how much of this is just a subconscious response to what Kanye has become? probably a lot, i dunno. i try to listen unbiased but there's just an inescapable level of slime over all of it now. i want to say my diminished view is honestly come by, but truly i can't say how much my opinion of the man is causing me to be less generous than i otherwise would be. but, hey, I'm not a professional critic, i can afford to be biased
The Band
4/5
PJ Harvey
5/5
beautifully realized and fulfilling piece of art; that being said I don't love what she's doing with her voice here as a big time Rid of Me fan, and there are some stretches that are definitely on the grating side. have to give it up and give it a 5 for the excellent realization of a vision, but this is not something I'd ever have going on repeat
Skepta
2/5
generally just quite tiresome. he's got a good flow and the beats are fine if not anything to write home about, but the lyrics are just completely lacking in any artfulness or subtlety. i tried to be on bored at first but it really just wears on you. the beats and music start to blend together, the lyrics just get lamer and stupider
Metallica
1/5
interminable and frankly just kind of lame. james hetfield's voice also just does not sound great in that weird way a lot of 90s and 2000s metal vocals sound that i can never quite describe. I'm sure this would have been cool to attend, but as a recording it is miserable and neverending
Laibach
4/5
now this is some genuinely interesting freak music. very dramatic, weird and eclectic, and laibach themselves and the NSK state are fascinating. can't imagine I'll be reaching for this over and over, but very happy to have been exposed to it
The Dave Brubeck Quartet
4/5
Blondie
5/5
listened to this album for the first time a little over a year ago and didn't particularly care for it. guess i grew a brain since then
can't think of a worse mega-successful band. musical styrofoam packing peanuts, absymally bad lyrics, somebody should remove Bono's vocal chords, may god have mercy on their souls
Echo And The Bunnymen
4/5
better than the last echo and the bunnymen album i got on here, which is frankly a vague memory (just the kind of impression you'd expect an "album you have to listen to before you die" to make!) a little more squirmy and sonically interesting than a lot of its ilk. it almost thrums and dare i say crackles at points!
however, the obvious and embarrassing bias towards British music (especially all the post-punk and new wave) is getting more than a little tiresome. it's really too bad that hardly anybody outside of the US and UK has made any music in the last 70 years. ah well
Lou Reed
3/5
MC Solaar
4/5
The Stooges
5/5
The Lemonheads
2/5
i feel like every song immediately exited my brain after listening, but overall it's pretty much fine. however, It's A Shame About Ray is one my least favorite songs of all time so that's an automatic deduction right there
Michael Jackson
4/5
some undeniable bangers (don't stop til you get enough, get on the floor) and some undeniable stinkers (she's out of my life, I can't help it)
The Hives
1/5
reheated and disposable. if art decorates space and music decorates time, this is auditory motel art
Brian Wilson
4/5
The Last Shadow Puppets
2/5
The Verve
3/5
when i finish this list, I'll look back on this album and think "which one was that?"
Emmylou Harris
5/5
Keith Jarrett
3/5
very impressive and deserves its spot on the list, but i personally am not a fan of hour long solo piano recordings, regardless of proficiency or significance
Gil Scott-Heron
5/5
Hanoi Rocks
2/5
after noticing some discrepancies with the lyrics, i dug around and learned that on spotify (as well as at least apple music according to another reviewer) tracks 4-7 are actually tracks 4-7 from their first album. can you just swing over to the debut and play the correct Mystery City songs there? no, that'd be too easy, Bangkok Shocks of course has the correct tracks 4-7.
this works for and against my initial impressions, as it means both the vile lyric "the sweet taste from the lips between your legs" (which sent me down this rabbit hole) and my favorite song (Cheyenne, mislabeled as Lick Summer Love) are both not actually on Mystery City. without this valley and peak, it's pretty unremarkable. more fun and less grating than the glam metal bands they'd influence, at least
Django Django
3/5
Robert Wyatt
1/5
usually I'm at least somewhat generous to stuff that tries to be "artsy" like this, but this just feels super forced and pretentious. there are a couple glimmers of enjoyable music but as everybody and their dog has pointed out, his voice is just unlistenably bad. is there supposed to be some point being made by the juxtaposition of the awful vocals and the passable-to-good music? possibly, but just because you do something bad on purpose doesn't make it magically not bad
David Ackles
1/5
pretty economical way to make 44 minutes feel like 90
The Kinks
4/5
first time really listening to the kinks, i was hoping i could say "more like The Stinks" but unfortunately it was good so i am unable to put "more like The Stinks" in this review
Missy Elliott
4/5
Billy Bragg
5/5
a voice i would usually find to be a turn off but oddly works for me, and the musical backing is by and large gorgeous. my political sympathies also make me inclined to like the bastard, and after all I'm always a sucker for this folk shit
Wire
5/5
often I'll just leave the review blank for 5 star albums where i have nothing to add that hasn't been said a million times already here and elsewhere, but sometimes i need to write something just to emphatically underline that sentiment. this is one of those times
3/5
Sparks
3/5
Wilco
4/5
ABBA
5/5
sure there are some songs I don't love (namely Two For The Price Of One which is terrible) but on the whole this is just very fun, very well made and actually fairly interesting pop music. Arrival is more fun, but this is the better album
The Avalanches
5/5
the light at the end of the tunnel that is 90s electronic music
Tito Puente
4/5
Buddy Holly & The Crickets
3/5
i mean i obviously appreciate how important this album is, and it has some real bangers, but it's just not something I'm gonna be listening to on a regular basis. at only 25 minutes it's short and sweet but there are still songs i just don't care about. 5/5 for deserving a spot on the list, but 3/5 in my heart
Pere Ubu
4/5
i really like this in theory but in practice i don't want to hear David Thomas's vocal performance ever again (can't believe he had time for this band on top of running Wendy's!) challenging in a way that doesn't feel forced or (excessively) pretentious. not something to throw on in the background for sure, but active listening is certainly rewarded here. again, i just wish there wasn't some unwritten rule about post punk vocals being insufferable 85% of the time
Les Rythmes Digitales
2/5
i went in expecting to really hate this, but instead i only mildly disliked it 👍🏻
Mercury Rev
1/5
somebody kill me!!!! soul crushingly lame I'm sure this was a thrilling release for people working at advertising firms!!!
TV On The Radio
2/5
i can appreciate the weirdness and there's some glimmers of stuff here i like, but overall i just find it really grating. they obviously have talent and are clearly pulling on some good reference points but the final product just doesn't work for me. the a cappella shit is just the final nail in the coffin (if i never hear Ambulance again, it'll be too soon) only by the strength of Wear You Out does this crawl up to a 2
Robert Wyatt
1/5
when i got shleep on here a couple weeks ago, i figured that Robert wyatt's voice must have changed as he aged, or he was doing a little late career experimentation or something. apparently, no, he's just been rocking with this god awful vocal style the whole damn time
Sufjan Stevens
4/5
never have been and probably never will be the right flavor of gay for sufjan stevens, but i can recognize that this is almost objectively good, even if it doesn't really do anything for me. a begrudging 4
Ramblin' Jack Elliott
3/5
i mean it's not gonna be in heavy rotation for me by any means, but I'm always gonna be a sucker for this sort of thing to a certain extent. also you can't not laugh when it's a guy named "Ramblin' ______" and half his songs are about bugs and cocaine
Yes
4/5
Chicago
3/5
basically didn't know any chicago past 25 or 6 to 4 (which is kinda lame but gotta admit is still a banger) this is pretty fun and well made, and the boys are technically good musicians, but it's a little too long and just kind of cheesy. overall: solid but not a hit for me
Rod Stewart
1/5
good thing no one was around when i listened to this because it meant no one heard when i blurted out "oh, shut the fuck up" when he started singing Amazing Grace
Santana
5/5
not an ounce of fat on this bad boy
Doves
3/5
kinda felt like it would never end. otherwise passable to good!
Tori Amos
4/5
Animal Collective
3/5
Ice Cube
5/5
there's definitely stuff here that didn't age, uh, gracefully, but there's a lot more that's still very relevant and sonically it's just so fuckin heavy and powerful
Beatles
3/5
great first try, boys! oh, this was their second album? well, nevertheless,
The Stone Roses
5/5
was i high in the bath tub while listening to this? sure, of course, so what?
Ryan Adams
1/5
TWO ryan Adams albums on this list??????
Talvin Singh
4/5
eclectic, engaging and funky; finally a good "electronic" album on the list (although I don't think that does it justice)
Run-D.M.C.
4/5
still gestating here but an amazing debut nevertheless
The La's
1/5
without this list, i would have in fact died never listening to this, and upon my arrival in hell would have been dutifully informed i had missed out on some classic British jangle pop. "thank god" i would have said
Belle & Sebastian
2/5
i could almost get behind this musically but it is just soooo saccharine and twee
Aphex Twin
2/5
The Police
3/5
The Pogues
2/5
if i was a white middle class suburban dad desperate to formulate some kind of identity by staking a bizarre claim on irish heritage despite my family being in america for 150 years, i would probably love this!
SZA
5/5
if i had any suspicions that many of this site's users were dull, pretentious men, then the reviews for this album certainly would have done nothing to confirm them! 👍🏻
Roni Size
2/5
i truly expected to absolutely hate this, and while I didn't, i did also go out of ny way to make sure i listened to the album as originally released (not the one disc version the spotify link here leads to) and good lord there is no album that can justify a 2 hour and 20 minute length, and certainly not when that album is entirely drum and bass. I'll toss it an extra star for not making me 100% bonkers which is an achievement, but if I'm grading this as an album listening experience than holy shit you will never ever catch me putting this on again
Incredible Bongo Band
3/5
by all rights, i should love this, but it just doesn't really do that much for me! hard to put my finger on it, but it's just missing some sort of oomph. feels kind of paint-by-numbersy, which is obviously an opinion i can only have with 50 years of hindsight of music no doubt influenced by it and having heard Apache sampled a million times, but i never claimed to have rational opinions. if somebody put it on i wouldn't complain but I'll probably never reach for it myself
Klaxons
1/5
i simply can't fathom why such an annoying and utterly forgettable album was removed in later editions of the book!
The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy
3/5
feels a lot more like poetry read over music than a lot of rap, unfortunately I'm not the biggest fan of poetry. musically it gets pretty repetitive but there are some nice moments, and i do appreciate the well expressed political sentiments (which i am of course biased towards) but sonically there's just not that much to write home about
Jeff Beck
3/5
Tom Waits
1/5
i want to go back in time and stop myself from ever learning about this website
Destiny's Child
1/5
I don't think this is really horrible or anything, and i do recognize the cultural significance of destiny's child, especially in hind sight as the jumping off point for Beyoncé, but this whole thing just feels extremely cynical and barely even like an album.
in terms of content and themes, there's absolutely no cohesion or consistency here-- to jump from Bootylicious right into Nasty Girl is some crazy whiplash, and then when you sprinkle in all the god stuff it doesn't feel like an album at all but just a mish mash of songs scientifically designed to hit as many segments of the population as possible. there's no overarching ideas and you really don't get the impression this is intended to be listened to as an actual album at all, you're just supposed to pick out your favorites and ditch the rest.
again, not awful, but it gets a 1 for the cynicism of it and for barely even qualifying as an album
Bad Company
1/5
uncle music (derogatory)
Crowded House
5/5
for some reason i feel like this maybe doesn't deserve 5 stars but damn it just hits idk
Pretenders
5/5
Dion
2/5
barf
John Grant
2/5
Slipknot
3/5
Grizzly Bear
1/5
perfect album, but only if you want to show someone why this era of music was so fucking lame
Throbbing Gristle
4/5
is it good? not really. will i be listening to it front to back all the time? definitely not. is it more interesting and engaging than 60% of the stuff on this list? absolutely. is Hamburger Lady cool as fuck and AB/7A a banger? you know it
Björk
2/5
i just don't like bjork! you can't make me!
Tom Waits
1/5
somebody please kill me before the next Tom waits album comes up
(this is definitely better than the other two I've had to listen to so far but i still hate it)
Ash
3/5
Funkadelic
5/5
of course it's 5 stars, please, it's funkadelic, i would allow George clinton to cut my head off, you are silly if you expected a different rating
Radiohead
4/5
Slipknot
2/5
System Of A Down
3/5
i have a nostalgic soft spot for nu metal but this is just kind of vaguely annoying to me
Jazmine Sullivan
4/5
short and sweet 🌺
Sigur Rós
3/5
put me to sleep (literally) but not in a bad way
Pantera
3/5
the platonic ideal of Average Metal
Fiona Apple
5/5
my least favorite fiona apple album and still absolutely fantastic
Siouxsie And The Banshees
5/5
Spiritualized
2/5
put me to sleep (figuratively) but in a bad way
Barry Adamson
2/5
there's that thing people say about film scores, that you hardly even take notice of the greatest ones when actually watching a film. in that sense, this certainly achieves its stated goal
Nightmares On Wax
1/5
i really appreciate the restraint they showed in keeping this to a brisk, mind numbing 75 minutes
Stan Getz
4/5
The Byrds
4/5
after 5 listens i finally perceive the truth: this is pretty good
Pulp
1/5
on different class there was some interesting stuff going on sonically in spite of Cocker's massively unlistenable voice. here, the music is boring and his voice still sounds like he's auditioning for the part of a carefree and lively tree on a nicktoons animated series
Primal Scream
2/5
i remember the first time i heard this a couple years ago, the names "Primal Scream" and "Screamadelica" led to me to believe i was about to experience some cool as fuck weirdo psychedelic punk music, and instead i just got some fairly psychedelic rock with a big heaping helping of grating house music. at least Loaded is a fucking banger
Dinosaur Jr.
3/5
Billy Bragg
5/5
Bill Callahan
4/5
beautiful music and i want to like bill callahan more, but he's just another case of a voice I don't like at all. he can't help that though, and he's brilliant when it comes to all the stuff he can
Janet Jackson
4/5
i dunno, it's pretty good, but i can't really stand the very very 80s pop sound on full display here. i can appreciate that she's touching on the subject matter she is (including the sample of the newscast about a shooting is a pretty legit move for an album this big and mainstream) but it doesn't really feel like she has anything specific or novel to say. I'm a broken record on this, but it's also too long, I'm now thoroughly convinced that CDs, digital formats, etc were all mistakes since at least when everything was on vinyl artists had to know how to exercise some restraint. it's good, but it has a lot of flaws that keep it from being a heavy rotation album for me
The Offspring
1/5
useful at least for defining the word "grating"
Beatles
4/5
never really been my fav Beatles album, although "got to get you into my life" is one of my fav songs by them. if this was the only beatles album on the list it'd skate by with a 5 probably but when there's so many, you gotta grade on a curve
LCD Soundsystem
1/5
sure, i had a horrible ex who loved LCD soundsystem and i always found them annoying, but I'd be willing to look past that if this dweeb could produce a pleasant or interesting sound with his voice
X-Ray Spex
5/5
Justin Timberlake
1/5
i do think big bad pop zeitgeisty albums deserve to be on this list; after all, it's just "albums you must hear before you die," not "the best albums of all time." influence and significance and reach have to carry a lot of weight too
that being said, this album is wholly unremarkable, there are others that would fill this niche/time period better, and I'm surprised this one ever made the list and equally unsurprised that it was removed from future editions. two thumbs way down JT
Dr. Dre
5/5
LCD Soundsystem
1/5
annoying voice and weightless music: truly emblematic of 2007!
Fever Ray
1/5
many other complaints but the disgusting sound of lips on the opening track are basically an automatic 1 on their own
Public Enemy
5/5
explosive, righteous, powerful, and just fucking cool as hell sonically. one of the best albums on the list flat out
Digital Underground
3/5
i appreciate the goofiness and tongue-in-cheekness of it all, but goddamn you cannot make your album this long when you have so little to say
The Young Rascals
2/5
Paul McCartney and Wings
5/5
Prince
5/5
i harp a lot about albums being too long, but here's an exceedingly rare example of an 80 minute album that actually earns its length
Slade
2/5
horrifically generic and boring glam rock, solidly in the category of "will be impossible to recall exactly how it sounded two months from now"
Stereo MC's
2/5
not offensively bad, but just kind of boring and very repetitive. a lot of what you hear here sounds like first drafts, both lyrically and musically. pass!
Super Furry Animals
2/5
Maxwell
3/5
a huge dork's idea of the kind of music you'd put on for sex
Led Zeppelin
4/5
perhaps this list's biggest problem is the number of repeats there are when there are still so many amazing and artists (especially from africa, Asia and latin America) that are totally unrepresented. this is a pretty good album, but when it's the fifth led zeppelin album on the list and (in my opinion) markedly not as good as the others, it feels like a waste of a spot that could have gone to a band like Amanaz or Yellow Magic Orchestra
The United States Of America
5/5
this feels so far ahead of its time. innovative sounds, cool riffs, leftist politics, sign me up
Jimi Hendrix
5/5
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
3/5
Metallica
5/5
Supergrass
5/5
as a self identified britpop disliker and somebody who didn't like their first album on this list all that much, i was pretty amazed at how good and eclectic this is. basically every song is good, while covering a lot of territory but still coming together in a pretty cohesive and tight package. definitely one of the most pleasant surprises for me on this list!
Thundercat
3/5
Solomon Burke
2/5
Metallica
3/5
starts out strong, gotta give it up for Enter Sandman, despite its overplayedness, then Sad But True is good and later on Wherever I May Roam kinda goes... besides those you're left with 45 minutes of forgettable to serviceable music
Malcolm McLaren
4/5
Eminem
1/5
exhausting
4/5
Ella Fitzgerald
3/5
on the one hand, it's self evidently really good. on the other hand, 3 hours of it is way way too much and i will die on the hill that this is not an 'album.' split the difference and call it a 3
1/5
me and my 8 awful smelling housemates recorded an album this summer. none of us had ever touched an instrument before and we all think we're the smartest person in the world. hope you enjoy it!
Ravi Shankar
4/5
enjoyable, interesting, impressive, and actually fits the definition of an album you "should listen to before you die." probably won't be throwing it on all the time but I'm richer for having heard it
The Magnetic Fields
1/5
i hated this immediately, but unfortunately, a twisted compulsion to give every album a fair shake and listen to them in full means i have subjected myself to a shockingly self indulgent 3 hours of twee nick cave demos
this is the worst album on the list so far by a wide margin. any jazz musician should be able to legally kill Stephin Merritt for Love Is Like Jazz. they would have played this at gitmo, but then they wouldn't have anybody left to torture after it killed everyone
The Rolling Stones
1/5
SAULT
4/5
Johnny Cash
5/5
just one black mark here: nick cave's abysmal and out of place performance on "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry," but Fiona Apple on "Bridge Over Troubled Water" more than cancels that out
The Verve
1/5
what do you think the odds are that Robert Dimery was a teenager/young adult during the new wave and britpop eras?
Dr. Octagon
4/5
kind of conflicting, the beats and production are so cool and ahead of their time, but the lyrics definitely leave quite a bit to be desired. they're just kind of lame, without that much interesting to say and one thing i can never stand in hip hop of any era is an over reliance on repetitious lyrics. I'm not all that bothered by the content-- he's playing a character, 90s hip hop had a lot of content like this, whatever-- but the character is the only thing there, he's not saying anything novel or interesting, he's just inhabiting a marginally interesting character. but if i just threw this on and paid no attention to the actual lyrics, then that's some good music
The Associates
2/5
Black Flag
4/5
Flamin' Groovies
5/5
finally, an answer to the question: "what if the rolling stones were good?"
Marilyn Manson
1/5
an evil creep with some admittedly catchy/hooky stuff here buried under a ton of mediocre shit, in addition to being way way too fucking long (do you really expect me to buy this as some kind of 'masterpiece,' marilyn?) and as always his shtick is just so performative and lame. considered in a vacuum it's probably actually a 2 but I'm feeling particularly ungenerous towards it
Kelela
5/5
I'm sure it's just a coincidence that every album by a black woman that hasn't been formally inducted into the """canon""" gets poor reviews on this site
The National
2/5
I've always found the national to be kind of dull, pretentious and certainly quite overrated. I don't think you could really call this "bad" but it's absolutely not for me
Everything But The Girl
3/5
Christina Aguilera
3/5
not bad, definitely overlong and it steps a little too much into perhaps my most hated genre, electroswing, but overall pretty enjoyable
Buffalo Springfield
3/5
probably neat when it came out but now it just makes me think "why am i not just listening to either the Beatles or CSNY?"
Dennis Wilson
4/5
honestly I wasn't expecting much but this is pretty cohesive and pleasant, with some pretty beautiful portions. plus who doesn't love a Manson family connection!
Bonnie Raitt
3/5
Skunk Anansie
5/5
i had never heard of Skunk Anansie but this was a super pleasant surprise: funky, hard edged or beautiful as needed, and just plain cool sonically, with an amazing voice from Skin. will absolutely be checking out more of their discography
Primal Scream
3/5
pretty nice to clean the house to
Elis Regina
4/5
Simon & Garfunkel
3/5
simon i love but once you get garfunkel in the mix? that's my time to catch a little shut eye
Culture Club
2/5
keep going, I'm sure the next forgettable new wave album is the one that I'll finally love (at least karma chameleon is good)
Tom Tom Club
5/5
cool weirdo shit
Butthole Surfers
3/5
some really cool riffs and hooky songs punctuated with extremely grating moments. bonus points for a band name I've always found to be eye rollingly annoying!
King Crimson
4/5
Weather Report
4/5
Jimi Hendrix
5/5
there will be a speaker in my tombstone that plays 1983 on repeat
Frank Sinatra
2/5
like all frank sinatra, tops out at "nice background music." I can't really say it's bad obviously but you will never catch me actively listening to frankie by choice. great example of a 3 but I'm feeling spiteful so minus 1 point for all the dumb guys who think frank Sinatra is the pinnacle of music
Grant Lee Buffalo
3/5
blandly pleasant
Q-Tip
5/5
it really blows my mind that Q-Tip doesn't come up more in conversations about the greatest rappers of all time, not to mention how talented he is as a producer. this is so funky and groovy & lyrically dense and cool, especially when you put it up against almost all of its contemporaries
Deerhunter
1/5
twee 2010s indie pop rock drivel
Echo And The Bunnymen
2/5
i feel like Sisyphus except instead of rolling a boulder up a hill it's listening to mediocre new wave albums
The Saints
3/5
Leonard Cohen
4/5
i still don't love his voice but I'll be damned if i don't pretty much love everything else here. after all, guys like me are mad for turtle meat
Count Basie & His Orchestra
5/5
Foo Fighters
1/5
The Thrills
1/5
it wouldn't be until Hey There Delilah that this level of cloying, twee irritation would be surpassed
Devendra Banhart
2/5
David Crosby
3/5
Electric Light Orchestra
5/5
I've been listening to ELO since i was a kid, and honestly, this is not nearly my favorite album of theirs. it's their big pop album with many of their huge hits, but i just think it's a lot less interesting than a lot of their other work. it's probably also the album that introduced me to the concept of an album being too long and having too much filler. i still love it, and comparing it to the rest of this list in general, it's gotta get a 5, but if Face the Music, Eldorado, ELO 2, etc etc were on here it'd be getting a 4 just in relation to those
The The
4/5
better than a lot of the new wave/post punk on this list, lots of interesting and varied sounds, but also a very good example of what i call 'post punk voice' (guy who mostly can't sing and instead puts on a flat affectation as if he's the second coming of ian curtis)
The Auteurs
1/5
there's nothing wrong with cribbing from your inspirations, lots of great art and especially music does it, but you do have to put something interesting or novel into the mix, or what's the point?
i liked Idiot Brother at least
Supertramp
3/5
Pere Ubu
1/5
i liked the modern dance but no thanks
Everything But The Girl
5/5
i dunno, by all rights i should probably dislike this, but I've always loved tracey Thorn's voice and for some reason the whole package just really hits. good thing I'm not a real critic because 'it just hits' probably wouldn't fly!
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
3/5
blandly pleasant!
Air
5/5
it's so against my brand to like this. french electronic duo? this is devastating. absolutely unfair that this is so groovy and ominous and thrumming
Raekwon
5/5
The Human League
2/5
I'm shocked that a hit 80s song that represents almost the entire modern legacy of a band comes from an otherwise completely forgettable and/or annoying album! probably the only time that's happened
Dagmar Krause
3/5
The Pogues
2/5
anybody who says Fairytale of New York is their favorite Christmas song should be treated with the same contempt as somebody who names Die Hard as their favorite Christmas movie
The Louvin Brothers
3/5
pretty good but not particularly noteworthy
The Blue Nile
3/5
New York Dolls
4/5
Mott The Hoople
2/5
there's something very funny about Bowie bringing a band back from the brink of death so that they can continue on as a two-bit imitation of him
Beck
5/5
The Allman Brothers Band
3/5
this is fine for what it is but for me personally i can't imagine a scenario where I'd put this on over a grateful dead set. simply a matter of taste, i think everyone only has room for one jam band in their life!
Shivkumar Sharma
4/5
kind of a blessing in disguise that Spotify only has the shitty version, because for someone like me who doesn't have a ton of exposure to straight ahead Indian music (despite its relatively outsized influence on music in the anglophone world) it actually helps you appreciate the real thing more when you first accidentally get exposed to the same music only executed much more poorly
The Velvet Underground
2/5
coming from someone that would usually say this as a compliment: this is just a whole bunch of noise, however.... she do be busy sucking on my ding dong 🤷🏻
Shack
1/5
i love music created only for licensing!
Ananda Shankar
4/5
kind of a novelty but also i listened to it back to back 3 times so it was doing something right
Public Image Ltd.
1/5
john lydon's shtick is as always very tiresome, but Fodderstompf deserves some recognition as perhaps the worst album closer of all time
UB40
3/5
Kanye West
1/5
nah, skipping this one. really, the only purpose of this project is to broaden my own horizons and i heard this back when it came out, i remember it, no reason to give him even the tiny useless amount of money from streaming it. it was fine back then. I'm sure it holds up fine, but I'll never be listening again of my own volition
Megadeth
4/5
Def Leppard
1/5
slick, gaudy and utterly vacuous
The Notorious B.I.G.
4/5
The White Stripes
2/5
i think i just missed the boat on the white stripes. if i had listened contemporaneously, I'd probably be able to appreciate it more or at least have some nostalgia, but coming to them fresh in the 2020s, having already listened to plenty of blues, 70s garage rock and proto punk, I don't hear anything from them i wouldn't rather get somewhere else. not bad but just doesn't do anything for me. minus 1 point for jack white's nasally voice that feels even more untempered than on later albums (and not in a good way)
The Stooges
4/5
i dig it but compared to their first two albums it feels a lot weaker. less raw emotion and vitriol in Iggy's voice, the groove i love so much in the first two is gone. still great and its influence is pretty clear to see though
John Prine
5/5
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
2/5
like every other elvis costello album this hits me absolutely nowhere, no real strong feelings about this, although i did find it to be about 15% more grating than his other albums
Syd Barrett
3/5
it's not very pretty or even particularly good but there is something affecting and tragic about the whole thing, both in the story behind its recording and musically. octopus does actually kind of slap though
The Who
3/5
actually ended up liking this much more than their later albums! sure, you could say it's a little derivative for the time but it's much more fun and wat less overwrought than tommy or who's next. you either die the good who or live long enough to see yourself become the bad who
Nirvana
4/5
it's definitely good but i don't know if it really warrants a spot on the list, i feel like this is one for a nirvana fan, not the general public. thinking of the list as a broad liberal arts education (which i feel is the basic premise) this feels sort of like an advanced chemistry class. like sure it's valuable, but it's something you pursue further as an individual, not something that should be part of the foundation
Ali Farka Touré
5/5
now this is my shit: i love desert blues, i love the guitar tone, i love how hypnotic and groovy and by turns lively and relaxing it is
Genesis
3/5
Steely Dan
3/5
the pinnacle of steely dan's career: recording Peg so that De La Soul could sample it in Eye Know
David Bowie
2/5
after years of cultivating a vaguely continental European vibe, bowie boldly declared "actually I'm just a german guy now"
Os Mutantes
4/5
Queen
2/5
killer queen is of course a banger. there were some other songs too, i think
PJ Harvey
5/5
Rufus Wainwright
1/5
utterly, painfully, unremarkable music paired with a voice that can be described as generically good but will never be hailed as unique or particularly interesting. I'll give rufus the benefit of the doubt that this was a labor of love and the result of his true artistic expression, which actually does make it somewhat impressive that it sounds like it was created exclusively in response to the feedback of focus groups
Adam & The Ants
1/5
this is what you'd write to be the in-universe music of the main character's band in a crappy 80s movie
Ali Farka Touré
4/5
Rush
2/5
Moby Grape
3/5
pretty good but left no real impression on me, and didn't seem particularly noteworthy or significant for the era. guess you had to be there!
R.E.M.
4/5
Eagles
1/5
it sucks
Girls Against Boys
4/5
having never heard of this band, their name and wikipedia excerpt (1993 indie rock) gave me the impression that i was about to listen to one of the 90's Most Licenceable Albums but thankfully those expectations were subverted. instead i got some pretty cool post hardcore with a little industrial mixed in for good measure. the vocals aren't my favorite but they're low enough in the mix for me to tune them out and enjoy that guitar tone
John Lennon
3/5
this prick'll crank out some decent tunes now and again
Van Morrison
1/5
I believe it was Shakespeare who once said "van BORRISON,,!!!!! bitch"
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
2/5
actually I'd have been quite okay dying not having heard nick cave's entire discography
Leonard Cohen
4/5
The Damned
2/5
Common
3/5
i think if i had been way into this at the time I'd probably love it, but as it stands it's just fine
Peter Frampton
1/5
Richard Becomes Asleep
Scott Walker
2/5
look I'm not saying this is totally without value and that scott walker lacks talent or skill, but i am saying that i found it boring and annoying
Waylon Jennings
5/5
yee haw
Pentangle
4/5
Motörhead
1/5
cannot fucking stand Lemmy's god awful voice and while I don't think lyrical content exactly constitutes a moral affront or anything, Jailbait (among others) does make me personally feel very skeeved out (which could possibly be forgivable if it was a banger (it isn't))
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
3/5
pretty pleasant one to just let wash over you, but doesn't really stick with me
k.d. lang
4/5
i prefer her more country stuff but Constant Craving is an absolute banger
Happy Mondays
2/5
Ride
4/5
George Jones
3/5
always a sucker for a little twang but i don't really feel anything else off of this that would compel me to return very often
The Mothers Of Invention
4/5
i like to have fun and listen to music 🙂
Bert Jansch
3/5
Bruce Springsteen
5/5
Korn
1/5
thank god this is 70 minutes, they just have so much to say!
Cocteau Twins
5/5
Portishead
5/5
Creepysexycool
Saint Etienne
3/5
notable for its unevenness at least, lots of catchy groovy moments but also many grating repetitive moments
Boards of Canada
1/5
perfectly replicates the feeling you get while waiting for the "skip" button to pop up on a youtube ad
3/5
1/5
bores me to tears when Bono's wailing isn't making me grind my teeth, which i guess does technically count as an emotional response, so fair play for that
Fairport Convention
5/5
forward thinking hobbit music
Sade
5/5
dan aykroyd saying sade.mp4
Queen
2/5
felt like listening to one 41 minute long queen song
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
3/5
totally serviceable and totally mystifying why it's on this list
Fugazi
5/5
ayyyy get ovah hea ya damn fugazi
The Dictators
3/5
Christina Aguilera
1/5
as somebody who loves pop music: wow 76 minutes of horribly produced early 2000s pop music 🥰
The Crusaders
3/5
this is basically the definition of 'blandly pleasant"
The Monks
4/5
these funky boys are just having fun
Beck
4/5
it is very funny that even when beck drops the eccentricity & sampling and does a more straightforward & stripped down singer songwritery album it still blows all the contemporary clowns who built their careers around that style out of the water
Miriam Makeba
5/5
The Psychedelic Furs
3/5
pretty positive I'm gonna come out on the other end of this thing actually having less appreciation for new wave
Sonic Youth
4/5
Kendrick Lamar
5/5
it's good
Madonna
3/5
maybe in another life I'm the right kind of gay to like madonna
50 Cent
1/5
this era of rap is just absolute garbage to me and this album is its poster boy. basically you've got 3 or 4 songs, some of which sound like they're using Casio keyboard beats, repeated over 54 minutes (thank god the last 4 songs were bonus tracks, which to me means i was under no obligation to subject myself to them)
Burning Spear
4/5
Guns N' Roses
1/5
i have a black denim guns n roses jacket i thrifted years ago with this huge embroidered design on the back. i love this jacket. so guns n roses brought at least one good thing into existence
Manic Street Preachers
2/5
saints row 1 alternative radio station ass music
Creedence Clearwater Revival
4/5
Frank Black
3/5
AC/DC
3/5
some killer lots of filler
The Black Crowes
1/5
careful, if you hear this band playing in a bar, it probably means that an ex-cop looking for his kidnapped wife is about to beat up you and all of your goon friends
The Clash
4/5
Radiohead
5/5
the later "a little too full of themselves" albums are good but this one hits the sweet spot for me
The Mothers Of Invention
4/5
I'm starting to think this Zappa guy makes music that isn't exactly normal🤔
Lucinda Williams
4/5
The Cure
3/5
i would like to like the cure but i simply do not
Faith No More
1/5
wow now i see where buckcherry gets it from
Alexander 'Skip' Spence
4/5
the problem with me is that i unfortunately like this kind of weirdo folk bullshit
The Sabres Of Paradise
1/5
I'm thankful for this list for showing me all the different flavors of annoying you can get from british electronic music
Arctic Monkeys
2/5
there's not really anything wrong with it but i just have no affinity or patience for all of the 2000s indie garage rock shit
Napalm Death
4/5
okay so i probably gave this an unfair advantage by listening to it at the gym
Stephen Stills
4/5
this is good but doesn't really feel very distinct from its contemporaries in any way that would make me a repeat visitor
M.I.A.
3/5
M.I.A.’s whole deal is basically objectively cool (sans recent developments) but sonically the music just annoys me
Iggy Pop
5/5
who knew that the Vorta in that one episode of Deep Space 9 had it in him
The Zombies
5/5
yah it's ok
Roxy Music
3/5
i actually really dig the music but dear lord someone needs to go back in time and tell bryan ferry to put a sock in it
Kate Bush
5/5
stranger things will never be able to ruin running up that hill for me (although the best song on the album is actually cloudbusting)
Mariah Carey
3/5
speaking as someone who loves pop, i think that even more so than other genres what you like is going to be heavily colored by the time you grew up in, and unfortunately i was 3 when this came out so i just hear it as some passable pop r&b
Jamiroquai
2/5
Listening Without Caring
Johnny Cash
5/5
i love to say that all live albums are bad except for the grateful dead but Folsom prison and san quentin are of course also exceptions to the rule
Living Colour
3/5
Ms. Dynamite
3/5
pretty nice but I won't be raving about it from any rooftops
The xx
2/5
a few notches above car commercial music
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
3/5
sadly changing the 114 to 0 on the "days without an elvis costello album" sign
2Pac
5/5
it's really funny to name drop de la soul in a song about the old school when even their oldest album was only 6 years old when this came out
Bonnie "Prince" Billy
2/5
American Music Club
2/5
not horrible but pretty unremarkable and just sort of irks me for some reason i can't quite put my finger on
Cream
3/5
KISS
1/5
i could shut my brain off and ignore how cynical and lacking in any kind of artistic sentiment kiss is if there was anything fun or enjoyable about the music, but as far as i can tell the music only exists to serve as an in-group signifier for America's most tragically boring simpletons (and to sell licensed merchandise of course)
Big Star
4/5
this alternates between some real bangers and some real snoozefests but interestingly for my typical preference i actually find the more down tempo songs to be the more interesting and ear catching ones
Eagles
3/5
i do have to begrudgingly give it up for take it easy, and the rest is more pleasant and country than the later eagles I'm more familiar with
T. Rex
4/5
Snoop Dogg
5/5
I don't even have to look at the reviews to know people are trotting out the same old complaints about the amount of sexual and violent content here, and frankly it's not my absolute favorite subject matter either, but if you're gonna use that to wholesale dismiss the amazing production and flow on display here then you really need to lighten up. plus it's funny how fixated he is on balls specifically
Radiohead
3/5
the title is very appropriate since it made me forget that i mostly like radiohead
Pavement
5/5
i cravement the pavement
Solange
5/5
gotta contact the owner of this site and let them know they fucked up by not putting the FUNK tag on this sucker
Venom
4/5
Buzzcocks
3/5
i like the music. do not like the voice that would be more at home announcing the names of clowns at the rodeo
Dinosaur Jr.
4/5
Travis
1/5
radiohead for morons
Beyoncé
3/5
Orbital
1/5
it always sucks to see jobs get outsourced overseas. spare a thought for the poor Pentagon officer who lost his job designing audio to be played as part of psychological warfare campaigns because these English lads were willing to do it cheaper.
Terence Trent D'Arby
2/5
you gotta love that 80s pop production where all the instrumentation sounds like it was recorded in an aluminum shack
John Lennon
3/5
honestly the title track kind of undeniably goes but thankfully for my own personal convictions and dislike of lennon the rest of the album ranges from fine to unremarkable to annoying. musically i do actually like How Do You Sleep, but even being also kind of a Paul hater, i find it just a little too crass as a response to the much more mild jabs on Ram
Khaled
5/5
for all i know, within the pantheon of raï, people feel the same way about Khaled as i do about U2 and coldplay, but in the context of this list, this album is like water and I'm a man dying of thirst
4/5
okay look a lot of it is very good but i did also involuntarily say "jesus Christ how long is this shit" somewhere near the end
Nirvana
5/5
if I've learned anything from this list it's that Nirvana is actually the only good grunge band
Coldplay
1/5
nowadays it's maybe a little cliche to hate coldplay but fortunately my hate will long outlast that trend
Elton John
2/5
some good catchy tunes, some annoying ones (cough Saturday night's alright for fighting cough) overall solid but it's a little too long, overwrought and theatrical for my tastes
Tears For Fears
5/5
the album that fooled a younger version of myself into thinking i liked new wave
Coldplay
1/5
Yellow is one of the worst songs of all time and i hope Chris martin is having a horrible day
Van Morrison
1/5
this is nothing music. can't be bothered to care, not even positive i spent the last 40 minutes actually listening to music. technically a 2 but spiritually a 1
Rod Stewart
1/5
unfortunately this was so bad it killed me and it was the last thing i ever heard. goodbye.
Emmylou Harris
5/5
on first blush I was not a fan, but listening more it did grow on me a lot. I don't like it as much as her earlier stuff, but there are a lot of cool melodies and inspirations being pulled in here, and her songwriting is fantastic. it does also sound a little of its time in some respects, which to me is not a compliment. this is another one where i think it may actually be a 4 but I'm feeling generous and well disposed towards it
Giant Sand
1/5
I'm starting to understand the real premise of the book's title, which is that some of these albums are intended to make you welcome death
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
2/5
The Specials
2/5
you know, i had a ska phase in my school days just like any awkward dork, but i could never really get into the specials or most of the second wave stuff, and now i see this is one ska related area that i can agree with my teen self on
Stevie Wonder
3/5
at the risk of echoing the prevailing sentiment: superstition is an all time banger and everything else here is absolutely fine
Garbage
5/5
i think if you replaced shirley Manson with a dude i would hate this so maybe I'm just a misandrist
Fred Neil
4/5
this is a good album elevated to a great album by Cynicrustpetefredjohn Raga
Prince
5/5
delicious, finally some good fucking food
Pixies
5/5
pixies are the ultimate "listened as a kid and wasn't into it but revisited as an adult and just went 'oh word'" band
Elvis Presley
1/5
i can dig later Elvis when he started leaning more into gospel and soul; this is just a boring slog
Hole
5/5
okay i love hole but i vehemently disagree about including a second hole album and picking this over pretty on the inside. still rules though
Aretha Franklin
5/5
really, what is there to say that hasn't already been said a million times and more eloquently?
The Who
1/5
at least if i ever get my hands on a time machine, knowledge of the time and place of this performance gives me the perfect opportunity to put a stop to the Who
Killing Joke
4/5
surprisingly enjoyable!
Serge Gainsbourg
4/5
musically i like it a lot actually but minus 1 point for whispery voice and unforgivable mouth noises
The Police
2/5
Mudhoney
4/5
pleasant surprise considering my preconceived notions about mudhoney. rough, raucous, hooky
Scott Walker
1/5
every album that's been removed from the book is from 1997 or later, usually removed in the next edition after its initial inclusion. somebody needs to work up the courage to go back and excise some of these boring, generic piles of bones cluttering up the early years of the book
Sarah Vaughan
5/5
probably the platonic ideal of a live album, really good recording quality but still captures some of the energy and charm. i dare you not to crack a smile when she acknowledges an on-stage mistake or speak-sings to the crowd mid-song!
Björk
3/5
björk is maybe the ultimate "basically objectively good but just not for me" artist
Faust
5/5
Ozomatli
4/5
it's got some classic 2005 weightless production and corniness, but i still enjoyed it thoroughly (although naturally i get my first latin album in like 300 days and it's still an LA band)
Ministry
4/5
some flashes of annoyance but overall much more enjoyable than i was expecting
Penguin Cafe Orchestra
3/5
The Smashing Pumpkins
1/5
i was hoping today to listen to an excruciating 2 hours of a man doing a parody of singing! you really gotta hand it to billy for being that rare combination of insufferable prick and talentless hack! at least if you drop the "mellon collie" bit the album would have an accurate name!
Joni Mitchell
5/5
Massive Attack
3/5
the integration of reggae sounds keeps this more interesting than a lot of its ilk and i am on the record as a fan of Mezzanine but overall it's kind of in one ear, out the other for me. not bad, but a little droney and, perhaps only to my untrained ear, a little monotonous.
side note just because it made me realize but: why does the book have two massive attack albums to this day, but gorillaz only had their self titled album make it in, and even that eventually got removed?
Daft Punk
4/5
I'm not usually a fan of electronic music, but i do enjoy daft punk for the most part (whether that's because they made a more palatable version of electronic music or because they're good enough to transcend that prejudice is up to the scholars). like the other reviews ironically note over and over and over, it can be a bit repetitive, but i think they're overstating it. there's plenty of lows here, but also more than enough highs
Circle Jerks
5/5
hmmm idk it's pretty good but it might be a little on the long side
Arrested Development
3/5
it's funny, because i actually follow arrested development's very good contemporary releases, but I've never really listened to their earlier stuff, and i now feel like that was probably the correct course of action; the very rare act that has actually gotten better in their later career, it seems. this is not bad but it's very very much of its time. at times it even dips into the kind of sound you always hear in parodies of old school hip hop. again, it's good, but you're better off going and giving For The FKN Love and Bullets In The Chamber a shot
Dusty Springfield
5/5
Milton Nascimento
4/5
Kate Bush
5/5
mischievous sexy clown music
Joe Ely
3/5
well, you can't accuse joe of false advertising with the album title
Mylo
1/5
absolutely dreadful, incessant and grating. the kind of music you put on to teach someone a lesson. mylo should have seen jail time for sunworshipper
The Undertones
2/5
pretty unremarkable and occasionally annoying
The Divine Comedy
2/5
A Mercifully Short Album About Love
Koffi Olomide
3/5
feels kind of weightless compared to other central african music I'm familiar with but it's pleasant enough
The Kinks
5/5
Basement Jaxx
1/5
I'm running out of ways to creatively express the strength of my disdain for this kind of mind numbing, irritating, insipid electronic slop, but that doesn't mean I'll stop trying!
3/5
kind of kept forgetting i was listening to this but when i would tune back in i was certainly not unhappy
Peter Gabriel
3/5
I'm not a Peter gabriel fan at all but Solsbury Hill, Down The Dolce Vita and Here Comes The Flood kind of go, whereas the rest of the album is middling to bad. very uneven, the phrase that keeps coming to mind, sensical or not, is "mud album"
Antony and the Johnsons
4/5
this comes in hot with a voice tailor made for me to hate, but the history it's drawing on, the whole aura around it, the arrangments and music, it all builds up together until i realize the voice is not really bothering me at all
Gang Starr
4/5
Hot Chip
1/5
dopey so-2010s-it-hurts lion king electronic junk. 2 stars but minus 1 for having the gall to talk shit on Zappa when they're making MGMT music for guys who spend all their time at concerts trying to talk to girls aged 18 and lower
The Pharcyde
5/5
Coldcut
2/5
on the one hand, this is infinitely less annoying and repetitive than its ilk; on the other hand, we may be looking at patient zero for electro swing, which is basically unforgivable
Red Hot Chili Peppers
2/5
blood sugar sex magik was a pleasant surprise, suffice to say this was much much more in line with my preconceived notions of rhcp's whole "deal"
LL Cool J
4/5
it's kind of crazy this is from 1990, you can hear a lot of what will come in the late 90s and early 2000s, which is generally my least favorite era of hip hop, but this is much more varied sonically and with a lot more of the humor and playfulness later mainstream rap lost and never quite regained. it is overly long though, especially considering there are some (in my opinion) obvious stinkers that break up the album flow and could have been cut with no loss whatsoever
Common
2/5
surprisingly bad! i knew I didn't like modern Common but I figured there must have been some good era of Common, that does not seem to be the case though. leads off with a weird down tempo jazzy interlude that's both aggravating to listen to and insultingly labeled as "a tribute to Fela" (big swing and a miss from Femi) and pretty much continues along those lines
Ian Dury
1/5
annoying, distasteful and not in a fun way, and a downright unlistenable singing voice. kind of amazed that this seems to be considered some great classic
Can
4/5
can is really cool and this is a very interesting album but I don't think i would call it "enjoyable," at the very least i definitely prefer the likes of ege bamyasi (which is not on this list) or tago mago (which thankfully is)
The Kinks
5/5
i just love the kinks now i guess
Van Halen
1/5
kind of baffling to call this an "album" you must hear considering the only things even arguably worth hearing here are the singles, which almost every english speaker (ie the primary audience for this book) has probably already heard. no one's gonna get anything out of these album tracks, and even the singles are big dumb meatballs that aren't remotely appealing to me after a first listen and at this point I've heard them all about 300,000 times. bonus points for the cover art being just laughably stupid
Small Faces
2/5
what a shame that this was their only concept album, they certainly had a very "interesting" take on the idea
Morrissey
3/5
is morrissey a gigantic prick? well, yes, but you have to forgive him for it because he also made a lot of really average music
Linkin Park
4/5
it's corny and kind of bad but also pretty fun (yes i listened to this a lot between the ages of 9 and 12 why do you ask)
Country Joe & The Fish
2/5
this is nothing to me
Nina Simone
5/5
Doves
2/5
i was pretty flabbergasted to see a second Doves album on the list; fortunately this one at least was deservedly ditched in a later edition
Ice Cube
3/5
pretty solid but he's definitely still finding his footing post NWA. a lot of the content also feels more objectionable than on the predator (although I'm probably fooling myself there, considering the "Hitler without an oven" lyric) i think this is a decent album that's significant enough to recommend to someone who's immersing themselves in hip hop given the political content and as kind of a herald of the slow transition away from rap crews and towards solo acts. but as an album everyone should listen to before they die? nah, just listen to the predator
Michael Jackson
4/5
the bangers you know and some fine songs you're perfectly okay not hearing
Traffic
4/5
Cyndi Lauper
5/5
i just had Van Halen's 1984 and I thought it completely failed the premise of this list: the only things on there that you could even potentially argue deserved to be heard before you die were the singles that almost every english speaker has probably already heard a billion times. this album is basically the complete opposite. yes, there are huge singles we've all heard over and over, but it turns out they come with a whole album of no skips! basically every song on here could have been a single for a lesser artist, which really highlights how good the big hits here are, for them to have risen to the top of this selection
Neil Young
4/5
AC/DC
2/5
objectively a really good execution of this sort of thing, unfortunately i despise this sort of thing
Mj Cole
1/5
1001 Interminably Long English Electronic Albums to Make You Wish You Were Dead
The Doors
2/5
this would definitely merit inclusion if the title of the book was "The Rise and Fall of The Doors." limp blues facsimiles with a jim morrison who sounds like he has an inordinate amount of phlegm stuck in his throat
R.E.M.
4/5
The Teardrop Explodes
2/5
totally generic and forgettable. it's certainly not bad and if i had gotten it anywhere in the first 100 albums it might have gotten a 3, but now, almost 800 in, I'm just absolutely sick of listening to all these totally milquetoast 80s and 90s english bands; on no planet is this an album everyone should hear before they die, there are plenty of better, more interesting and more influential albums of very similar stripes on this very list. we get it, Robert dimery, these were your formative years, maybe next time let some other people pick out a few albums
Peter Gabriel
2/5
this is the last peter gabriel album i have on this list, and let's just say that if i have my way it'll be the last i ever hear of peter gabriel
The Roots
4/5
this is overall pretty good, but i find it to be much more uneven and unfocused than Things Fall Apart, and i can't really fathom the rationale behind including this over that album
The Who
1/5
as a certified The Who hater, you know i love hearing them at their most grating and self indulgent
Pet Shop Boys
3/5
The Fall
3/5
there's a certain playfulness to this where it seems like they're just having fun, that makes it hard to get too upset at it. it's not exactly unlistenably bad, but well, i probably won't be listening to it again of my free will either
2/5
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
5/5
Pavement
4/5
Roxy Music
4/5
Randy Newman
3/5
no strong feelings about this one way or the other; in one ear and out the other
Marvin Gaye
4/5
this is quite good, but it's certainly on the long side, and I don't know that it ever rises above "quite good" relative to some of his other albums. I'd never be upset if someone put it on, but i won't be rushing to do so personally
Donald Fagen
2/5
thank god, i had just been thinking that the 4 steely dan albums on the list weren't enough representation for Donald fagen, but luckily they made sure to include this inoffensive and bland masterpiece. I'm sure the introduction to fagen's solo work is a big day for any steely dan fan, who can then amaze and astound all of their yawning friends with the bombshell that they aren't actually hearing "The Dan" but rather donald fagen all on his lonesome, with all of the verve and charisma that we've all come to expect from an expert steely dan fan
Nirvana
5/5
Jacques Brel
3/5
this was probably a very pleasant evening if you had been there in person, but as a recording it's just fine. I'm always happy when some non-English music comes up, and i had never heard of Jacques Brel, but looking into him more, i definitely agree with his significance and inclusion, especially given his relative low profile within the English speaking world-- to me, getting more ears on artists like this should be the point of the book. unfortunately, I'm just lukewarm on the actual music
David Bowie
3/5
bowie doing his best bowie impression
The Replacements
5/5
Calexico
1/5
"i wish this list had more music incorporating rhythms and sounds you don't hear in typical anglosphere pop music" the monkey's paw's finger curls
The Boo Radleys
3/5
Japan
1/5
it's actually quite amazing how many British new wave bands made albums that you have to hear before you die
Willie Colón & Rubén Blades
5/5
Goldie
1/5
this is some truly evil shit, the only two possible explanations for this album's existence or presence on this list is that it's either a test from god or a punishment of the devil's. either way it's settled thousands of years of spirited theological debate
Billie Holiday
4/5
The Rolling Stones
1/5
an epic, meandering journey through more faux-blues bullshit. it's beyond me how this so regularly ends up on lists of the greatest albums of all time. at times it did remind me of the grateful dead, only without any of the heart or playfulness
George Harrison
5/5
John Coltrane
5/5
this guy's pretty good at the sax
Led Zeppelin
5/5
we need more popular music about hobbits
Elvis Presley
2/5
in terms of cultural relevance or impact, i can't really argue with elvis's inclusion on this list but that doesn't mean i have to like him or his crappy rip off music
Elliott Smith
2/5
kind of a 90s indie pop inflected beatles sound. this is not a compliment
Black Sabbath
5/5
Madonna
3/5
fun enough, but a little flat for me personally. funk country and folk are claimed as influences and uh i don't know that Madonna's ever actually heard any of those genres
Hole
5/5
quite literally one of my favorite albums of all time, what is there to say that hasn't already been said a million times by people more knowledgeable and insightful than me? it rocks, it slaps, it goes, even if the insane misogynist conspiracy theory (you know the one) was true this album's existence would still go a long way towards canceling it out
Herbie Hancock
5/5
Miles Davis
5/5
Heaven 17
1/5
you have to admire the chutzpah necessary to be party to the founding of Human League, only to leave a few years later and start a worse version of Human League
The Adverts
2/5
somehow there's always more of this
N.W.A.
5/5
misogynist, homophobic, and much much more but unfortunately it's also very ahead of its time and exceedingly enjoyable throughout, one of the best hip hop albums of the 80s
Einstürzende Neubauten
3/5
bizarre and unique in a way that i can't help but find a little endearing, especially in the broader context of this list
Alice Cooper
3/5
cooler than i was expecting but not by much. the noodling on "Generation Landslide" is very fun at least
The Mamas & The Papas
4/5
Aerosmith
1/5
boring rock slop with one of the most aggravating singers to ever disgrace the microphone in Steven Tyler
Brian Eno
4/5
Led Zeppelin
4/5
i do really like led zeppelin but there is just no compelling reason for this to be 80 minutes long. there's a fantastic 50 minute album in here but instead it just sort of meanders and repeats itself
Arcade Fire
3/5
overwrought, overly theatrical and slightly pretentious. not awful but certainly not for me and definitely not the best arcade fire album
Cheap Trick
1/5
low quality recording and low energy performance, everything i look for in a live album
Kacey Musgraves
4/5
i was pretty into this album at release but had the distinct displeasure of working in retail at the time and had to hear High Horse about 5 million times, which really killed my enthusiasm or really any positive feeling towards the album. given some space (cowboy) though, I'm right back to thinking it pretty much slaps
Jean-Michel Jarre
2/5
outer space music (not complimentary)
The Modern Lovers
1/5
the TBI Doors
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
2/5
this isn't the worst of the otherwise barely distinguishable 300 Elvis Costello albums on this list, but it *is* the only one where he says the n-word!
The Beach Boys
5/5
knowing the story behind this album's production it feels like it may not be very authentically 'beach boys' (at least as that is generally understood, especially in terms of lyrical content) but as someone who isn't a huge fan of vocal harmonies and loves Student Demonstration Time I'm okay with that
also i don't know if the generator specifically gave me this because of Brian Wilson's death but RIP buddy
Brian Eno
3/5
first half is more lively and new wavey than i've heard brian eno before and i can't say i'm exactly a fan. not a bad album by any means but certainly not my favorite of his
Derek & The Dominos
4/5
pretty fun and engaging in moments but also pretty meandering and self indulgent in others
Joan Baez
5/5
Lupe Fiasco
5/5
well i *could* do without the Kanye shoutout
Amy Winehouse
5/5
Goldfrapp
4/5
Sister Sledge
5/5
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
2/5
this whole project would be much more exciting and enjoyable if there was a strict "1 album per artist" rule. I'm sorry for nick cave's loss and this isn't nearly the worst of his albums appearing on the list but i hate his voice, i hate his whole "deal," and i don't know what i possibly have to gain from listening to another 70 minutes of him
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
1/5
if i wanted to listen to a really unpleasant and annoying man go on and on about a gangbang I'd just redownload grindr
Badly Drawn Boy
1/5
interminable indie boy bullshit
Sonic Youth
4/5
Rage Against The Machine
5/5
Erykah Badu
3/5
first time really listening to erykah badu outside of her features on other artists' songs and honestly I'm a little disappointed. the music is a little too flat for my tastes, there's no ups and downs, just very chilled out and stable, both in terms of volume and energy. her voice is undeniably good but i feel like she's not doing anything too crazy with it, again she's keeping it at like a 4-6 the whole time when I'm wanting her to crank it up to 10 and pull it back to 1 as needed. not a bad album, just very much not to my tastes
Tom Waits
1/5
even if you somehow like this melodramatic, caterwauling doofus, i don't know what could possibly be gained from having FIVE of his godforsaken, unlistenable albums on the list. shouldn't the point here be to provide as broad and varied of a selection as possible? I'd argue there shouldn't be ANY repeats, even of the Beatles or david Bowie or whatever other artists have been canonized, but certainly not of this insufferable show-tunes-for-people-with-donnie-darko-tattoos garbage
i like no wave, i like experimental music and weird jazz and stuff, hell, I've given good reviews to captain beefheart and pere ubu and throbbing gristle on this very website! his voice makes me want to never listen to music again, i get and am thoroughly over his stupid fucking shtick, and i eagerly look forward to receiving his fifth album from the generator and finally being free of this unbearable pretentious idiot
Eurythmics
3/5
classic floaty 80s pop production that i frankly cannot stand. everything's tinny and shallow but otherwise it's fine
The Vines
1/5
oh no someone dropped Oasis and left it outside for a couple days 😞
Bob Marley & The Wailers
5/5
Big Black
5/5
Soft Cell
1/5
I've always hated these guys and their awful cover of tainted love. sure, it's maybe not as bad as Marilyn manson's version, but it's still a crime that this limp, lifeless garbage is more well known than Gloria Jones's amazing original, not to mention it's always corny, cowardly and just downright lame to change the pronouns/gendered nouns in a song you're covering
besides my personal axe grinding, it's just more weightless, grating, and ultimately forgettable, english synth pop new wave bullshit. yawn
Haircut 100
2/5
now where have i heard this before....
Hookworms
2/5
perfectly emblematic of the bland, shallow indie pop rock the 2010s were so good at producing. even if you haven't heard this album before, yes you have
Blue Cheer
2/5
i have no problem believing this was important and influential at the time, now it's just kind of limp and unremarkable
The The
3/5
marginally better than most of the new wave/post-punk pablum on this list
Germs
5/5
it rocks
absolutely deserves a spot on the list, being as notable as it is for its uhhh well, it's bluesy, and you see, um, ronnie lane does a bit of a bob Dylan thing with his voice on track 2?
TV On The Radio
1/5
desperate youth, bloodthirsty babes was interesting and weird but not my cup of tea, this is just some barely-more- interesting-than-average indie rock with some pretty consistently aggravating vocals
The Fall
3/5
more danceable talking heads?
The Triffids
1/5
the Smiths for people who hate music
Gang Of Four
4/5
The Isley Brothers
5/5
Bee Gees
1/5
the pee pees
Richard Hawley
1/5
what were they putting in the water in the 2000s that made all these dudes want to produce the most corny, lame and unimaginative music possible? music to watch paint dry to
Sonic Youth
4/5
yeah it's good but did we really need 5 sonic youth albums on here?
Sleater-Kinney
5/5
personal fav, absolute classic, 10/10 if you think this is like "being yelled at by your girlfriend" I'm sorry that you hate women
Slint
4/5
based on the cover and time period i was expecting something whiny, maybe smashing pumpkins-adjacent, so the general inventiveness and atypical rhythms and structure were a very pleasant surprise, although i can't help but think I'd enjoy it much more as a purely instrumental album
David Gray
3/5
i was aware of this album but didn't think i had ever heard any of it, but turns out i was wrong, I've heard several of these songs.... over store PA systems. which to me is a pretty good summary of the whole thing: pretty pleasant, some catchy stuff, and it's got pretty broad appeal, but the flip side of that is that it doesn't have any weird hard edges or big swings for me to latch on to. it's fine, but doesn't leave me with any really strong impression
Leonard Cohen
4/5
this era's leonard Cohen was extremely good at doing what he did, which was mostly writing sparsely instrumented, fairly languid folk songs. unfortunately, that's a style of music that just doesn't jibe with me. that being said, this is a very good, brisk album, and "a bunch of lonesome heroes" is about as close to a banger as you could hope for from early leonard Cohen
Neil Young
4/5
The Fall
2/5
6 years on from live at the witch trials they appear to have mostly abandoned the freewheeling air that was about the only they had going for them, while mark smith has committed to keeping his vocals solidly in the "forgettable to grating" range
1/5
wow! it's the combination of new wave and musical theater i always knew i never wanted!
Meat Puppets
5/5
countryfied desert rat Pavement (i know this pre-dates pavement bear with me)
David Holmes
1/5
yet another monotonous and teeth grinding 90s electronica album that its self indulgent artist decided simply had to be an hour long. what a waste of a very funny album title
Brian Eno
4/5
The Pretty Things
3/5
i can imagine how this hits if you're a huge fan of the beatles etc but as a begrudging respecter rather of the beatles, this feels like a needless detour. something to dig into for the real 60s psychedelic rock head, but not something that everyone should be listening to before they die (old man going does kind of rock though)
Björk
3/5
björk just not 4 me
Spacemen 3
4/5
David Bowie
4/5
it's good but at the end of the day it's kinda just more bowie, eh?
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
5/5
grunge from neil yunge
Barry Adamson
2/5
pretty tiresome
M.I.A.
4/5
still think (pre-covid) M.I.A. is very cool, still think her music has a lot of abrasive (and not in a way that appeals to me) and frankly annoying sounds
Jimmy is the first song here that i don't find grating and then you get a good 3 song run of that, Hussel and Mango Pickle, but following that it sort of meanders on its way to Paper Planes before fizzling out with Come Around. a fine album that's elevated by Paper Planes being a generational banger
Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart
4/5
I'd probably really like Jah Wobble's Invaders of the Heart if it had less Jah Wobble
Parliament
5/5
Tom Waits
1/5
i was more than prepared to leave this album with a simple "this is my last tom waits album on the list, rest in peace you dumb bitch" but i find i have to give this one its due: this isn't just *any* tom waits album, it's also an excruciating 73 minutes, takes his pretentious shtick to heights i was simply not prepared for, and finally manages to be vaguely racist with Tommy's put-on stereotypical "jazzman" voice. the other musicians are pretty good, especially the bass player who is putting in some serious overtime, so it's a damn shame that it's in service of this pig brained mother fucker
rest in peace you dumb bitch
Taylor Swift
3/5
this is probably her worst album but it's still too scientifically engineered to be enjoyable to call it "bad" per se. a 1/5 as a taylor album but perfectly acceptable in the grand scheme of things
Sex Pistols
3/5
undoubtedly influential but johnny rotten's nauseatingly english voice is like nails on a chalkboard, although it's fun imagining how much better the band could have been if malcolm mclaren hadn't bonked his head really hard the day he decided to recruit johnny
Todd Rundgren
5/5
a truly delightful weirdo
Suede
2/5
what if david bowie was born in 1973 and had zero sense of subtlety?
Holger Czukay
4/5
lots of funky and mind bending sounds and grooves, and the early use of sampling is both very cool and very modern sounding, regrettably Czukay took a look at stereotypical prog-rock vocals and said "these aren't annoying enough"
Fatboy Slim
1/5
sorry, Yellow Magic Orchestra, we know you were very influential in the field of electronic music and you made lots of good music, but we REALLY had to make room for our 300,000th album of English electronic drivel, and we just really strongly felt it was important we include a second Fatboy Slim album that most people haven't heard of and doesn't even seem to be particularly well regarded. it truly is regrettable that you aren't from a western country and didn't appear in NME when Robert Dimery was a teenager but we're sure you can make it into the next edition if you simply become English and get a lobotomy!
The Yardbirds
4/5
George Michael
1/5
oh boy! echoey vocals, cheesy synths, no bottom or weight to the sound at all, corny lyrics! all the beautiful sounds of the 80s, and they come complete with george michael's vacuous, bland voice! maybe I'm just not the right kind of gay to like this (I'm the kind with good taste)
Joanna Newsom
5/5
beautiful and inventive compositions and playing (especially the strings) a voice packed with emotion, some damn pathos! another album i had listened to in previous years and left unimpressed but revisiting it i agree wholeheartedly with all the praise it's received
D'Angelo
4/5
D'Angelo is indisputably very talented and this is basically objectively amazing, and his music has many of the pieces of something that should appeal to me, so every time i give him a shot i feel like i should like him more than i do
musically there is of course a lot to like, but the whole thing is just too consistently down tempo for my tastes, and this R&B vocal style has never been to my tastes in the slightest. and of course you get the strong feeling that the keyword he always has in mind is "sexy" which is simply not something i look for in music. a great album that i gotta give it up for, but not for me
Finley Quaye
3/5
this is totally fine but I'm kind of baffled by the idea that it's on the list, we get like 7 reggae albums, and we're gonna have one of them be this?
Sebadoh
4/5
i do like this sort of 90s indie noise rock bullshit but at the end of the day I'm having a hard time imagining picking this over one of many superior and comparable albums
Lloyd Cole And The Commotions
3/5
there's some twanginess here that appeals to me but at the end of the day it's still so much like many of the other mediocre new wave albums on the list and he's still doing new-wave-guy voice
Ray Price
5/5
[downtroddenly] yeehaw
The Dandy Warhols
4/5
Anthrax
5/5
gotta be one of my top ten favorite uncle/nephew bands
Rufus Wainwright
1/5
i "Want Two" of this guy's albums to be removed from this list
Tim Buckley
2/5
snoooooooze fest, give me sex funk tim buckley over this any day of the week
Prince
4/5
of course it's good but it just doesn't really hold up against purple rain or sign o the times so it's hard for me to accept that it deserves a spot on the list when so many deserving albums have been excluded
The Sonics
2/5
I'll concede the point about this being influential blah blah blah but at the end of the day i just don't find it enjoyable to listen to
Gene Clark
4/5
dig it but it can't even begin to compare to No Other (my first real revelation from this generator)
Aimee Mann
5/5
5/5
thom yorke jump scare
Big Brother & The Holding Company
4/5
love it in theory, in practice it's just never quite hit me right I suppose
Kings of Leon
1/5
uniquely insufferable, initially I would have been tempted to call it grocery store music but that's way too unkind to grocery store music. Caleb folowill's horrible, histrionic vocal performance at least lets the album substitute for ipecac. vocals aside, all the music is limp and uninspired, but the exact right blend of inoffensive and generic rock subgenres to guarantee success in the dire 2008 radio landscape while instantly vanishing from the minds of anyone who hears it. Use Somebody is a grating, saccharine slog only made worse by how overplayed it is, which is proof that we are in fact in hell. the absolutely superfluous and eyerolling fade in/out on Cold Desert is the final nail in the coffin for an album that's already been rightfully forgotten by the general public
Lou Reed
3/5
Motörhead
4/5
Siouxsie And The Banshees
5/5
David Bowie
3/5
a triumphant return at the time, and now an utterly unremarkable piece of Bowie's discography
Louis Prima
2/5
pleasant enough on its face, but its inclusion in the book is frankly insulting considering the complete omission of Louis Armstrong when Prima is more or less an Armstrong knockoff
Mike Ladd
5/5
this rocks, I've been hearing mike ladd feature on stuff for years but I've never listened to his actual albums. lots of cool/funky/weird beats, star trek references, what's not to love?
Tricky
3/5
easily one of the best albums of this stripe on the list; not for me but probably great if you're into this sort of thing
Stevie Wonder
5/5
Paul Weller
2/5
what if you took jimi hendrix, removed most of the talent and emotion, and stirred in a heaping helping of U2?
ah well, someone had to make music for moms in the 90s to half listen to while they drove their kids to school
Drive Like Jehu
5/5
this album rocks so hard, what a pleasant surprise to see it on the list
Hugh Masekela
5/5
amazing album from an amazing artist. i love Hugh masekela and south african jazz and it's a real delight to see him on the list. a beautiful, expressive album that i could listen to on repeat. if you liked this i encourage you to check out Pops Mohamed, Allen Kwela, Bheki Mseleku or really just any of the amazing reissues labels like Matsuli Music and As-Shams Records are putting out
Lorde
4/5
a solid little pop album that i do have some nostalgia for, but there are little breaks in it i dislike (i internally groan every time at the "still the louvre" or generally every time she drops the singing for a spoken line) and the sort of romanticization you get in songs like Writer in the Dark will never not be annoying to me, but overall very good
Sam Cooke
5/5
Pet Shop Boys
3/5
i respect pet shop boys but i cannot say that i like them
Belle & Sebastian
2/5
sicky sweet music for people who i love but would never give an aux cord to listen to while looking out of train windows
Deep Purple
2/5
Deep Sleep
Incubus
1/5
i can easily see the alternate reality where i have boatloads of nostalgia for this album, but in this reality, having never gone out of my way to listen to incubus, this is just a bucket of melodramatic, vaguely funk inflected nu metal slop that's about 20 minutes longer than it has any right to be. it is kind of fun in a cheesy 90s way but I'd never willingly listen to it again
Curtis Mayfield
5/5
Cee Lo Green
1/5
Cee-Lo Green... Is The Interminable & Forgettable Music Machine
Childz Play is astonishingly bad, i think George Clinton should have the legal right to kill Cee Lo for Glockappella, the rest of the songs are varying levels of forgettable to bad. Cee Lo's voice is annoying and weirdly badly engineered here, and the music isn't half-bad sometimes but is mostly the sort of glossy, overly bombastic and repetitive slop you typically get with 2000s mainstream hip hop. the idea that this had to be a soul crushing 65 minutes truly shocks the conscience
The Undertones
3/5
fun enough and utterly unremarkable
Femi Kuti
5/5
kind of like a slightly less lively version of peak fela, it's probably a little too derivative, but i like it a lot more than femi's later work and i love afrobeat soooo
Boston
2/5
loud, dumb, cheesy, self indulgent, and all the album tracks are just worse versions of the singles. but it doesn't outstay its welcome and those singles are fairly fun
Joy Division
4/5
[joke about the jokes about the album cover t-shirts]
Iron Butterfly
5/5
[AUTISM ANNOUNCEMENT] did you know that there's a unique edit of the title track that appears only in the climax of Manhunter (1986) and on its soundtrack?
Earth, Wind & Fire
3/5
i do like earth, wind & fire, but as I've gotten older and more into funk and soul, it's hard to not hear them as the more commercial and slick version of many of their contemporaries. it's fun, but there's just not a lot for me to latch on to, no crags or rough surfaces, to stretch an analogy. plus, i would say that this album doesn't even particularly stick out compared to other ew&f I'm familiar with. it's fine, but I'm not gonna get up in a lather about it
The Gun Club
3/5
if i was in a dive bar and this band was playing, I'd have the time of my life, but outside of that specific context I'll pass
Big Star
4/5
Sepultura
5/5
Wild Beasts
1/5
the idea that this nauseating indie pop bullshit with perhaps one of the worst vocal performances on the entire list could have ever been considered an album you have to hear before you die is laughable. truly shocking that it was removed after only one edition
The Bees
1/5
this band is made up of tulpas inadvertently formed by our collective unconscious and they are inflicting their psychological revenge on us for burdening them with the pain of existence.
The Specials
4/5
as an ex-ska kid who has spent many years in my friend circles presenting myself essentially as deprogrammed cult member, complete with sober expert analysis and regretful memories, it gives me no pleasure to report that this is still pretty good. I'm skanking and tears are streaming down my face.
Röyksopp
2/5
merely mind numbing rather than aggravating. wow!
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
5/5
some genuine cool freak shit, weird punk blues hip hop noise rock. reminded me in spaces a lot of Beck and the Beastie Boys (so no surprise to learn they've worked together). had never heard of them and based on the reviews here i was expecting something much more avant garde and experimental, but the music has a really good shape to it, lots of cool grooves and riffs
The Chemical Brothers
1/5
there's nothing left to say about this kind of dull vacuous electronic music so instead I'll give my review for The Taking of Deborah Logan (2014): not very good, a lot of the dialogue is very poorly written but there's some decent spooky images and you could probably do worse for a group horror movie watch but you could certainly do a lot better
Iggy Pop
5/5
you'd have to be a "The Idiot" to not like this one!
Hawkwind
5/5
far out
Elvis Costello
2/5
after 6 of his albums on the list, my main elvis Costello takeaway is simply surprise at how consistent his music is. this is not a compliment
Kings of Leon
2/5
this is about 10x more arresting than their later albums, but it's hard to imagine a lower bar. the whole garage rock revival scene does very little for me, and Caleb Followil's voice is awful as always, although he does put in a slightly more authentically emotive performance here compared to later albums. this album is probably only worth anything as a novelty: put it on to surprise people that don't know that once upon a time kings of leon was merely mediocre rather than awful
The Libertines
2/5
perfect, i was just thinking that the garage rock revival albums on this list could use a lousy singer with the worst accent on god's green earth (english)
CHIC
5/5
keep the nile rodgers coming
Sly & The Family Stone
5/5
(sly & the family) stone cold classic
Sisters Of Mercy
1/5
new order for guys with top hats, black nail polish and stripey Tim burton shirts
Fishbone
3/5
i think fishbone is pretty fun and I've always appreciated their blending of genres but there's a little too much hard rock in the mix here for my tastes; never thought I'd be listening to fishbone and wishing for a little 🤏 more ska
The Charlatans
1/5
if you've exhausted oasis's discography and also hate yourself, then boy do i have an album for you! thrice reheated britpop slop and just insulting that anybody could try to argue this is one of the 1001 most important albums ever
Mekons
4/5
this sucks ass but in a way that i fuck with
U2
2/5
musically it's slightly more engaging than U2's other albums but that's precious little consolation for putting up with Bono's caterwauling. still, i crown thee best U2 album (which is a bit like being the most complex and challenging dish on a cracker barrel menu)
Fleetwood Mac
5/5
KEN JENNINGS: fleetwood mac's semi-experimental art pop album that ends up being maybe their most cohesive album, in spite or perhaps because of its incoherence and variety– or, the name of an alien bounty hunter with a mysterious past
CONTESTANT: what is Tusk?
N.E.R.D
3/5
weird and eclectic and (unsurprisingly given the name) unashamedly dorky. probably not something I'll revisit on a regular basis but I'm happy to have heard it
Gary Numan
1/5
a really entertaining parody of new wave music-- the tinny vocals, the cliché synths, the complete de-emphasis of bass sounds, the stupid lyrics, gary really nailed it all in a way that's truly indicting of the genre. it's so close to the real thing that for a minute there i was worried it was genuine, but of course that would be ridiculous
Duke Ellington
5/5
banger tbh
Charles Mingus
5/5
MINGUS!
The 13th Floor Elevators
5/5
ominously groovy (the roky erickson promise)
Sinead O'Connor
5/5
horrible memory related to this album, i was at a thrift store and they had a CD copy for only a couple bucks but i opened the jewel case and someone had swiped the actual CD. devastating
John Martyn
2/5
Don't Want To Know: what a fucking banger
everything else: john don't sing with your mouth full, it's rude as hell
Baaba Maal
5/5
alternates between infectious and serene, super engaging listen, baaba maal rocks, stone cold classic
B.B. King
4/5
Ghostface Killah
5/5
probably wouldn't have been my choice for the solitary Ghostface album on the list but it's still top 3 ghostface of course. 10 stars
Tina Turner
2/5
this could have been a good album but it's just murdered by awful production. the cover of I Can't Stand the Rain is such a lifeless, pale imitation of the original, and is immediately followed by the frankly grating title track, killing any positive feelings i initially had towards it. there are some decent performances here, but the production is just dreadful and I don't even think tina turner herself is turning in a particularly good vocal performance. glimmers of greatness drowned under waves of mediocrity
Alice Cooper
2/5
I'm sure alice cooper has been having a hard time ever since the coyotes left phoenix, and me posting my review of his dork music won't help, but unfortunately this is dork music
Nas
5/5
ah, NY State of Mind, the crown jewel of the Saint's Row 2 soundtrack
Jimmy Smith
4/5
i'm back at the chicken shack. i'm back at the jazz club. i'm back at the combination chicken shack/jazz club
Dexys Midnight Runners
2/5
i know they eventually credited him but good lord the rip off of Warren Zevon is almost unbelievably egregious. everything else is just a listless reprise of Too-Rye-Ay
The Cars
2/5
crazy to learn all these songs come from the same album and even crazier that they're all songs I've always disliked
Lightning Bolt
5/5
lightning bolt's music makes me feel like a schizophrenic balrog who perceives the world in shades of red, artifacted like 20 year old jpegs, descending upon the city of Gondolin to hopefully have my cursed existence ended. 5 stars, who needs a guitarist anyway
The Chemical Brothers
1/5
thank GOD there are two chemical brothers albums on the list! after the first 50 minutes of psychic damage, you might not be totally convinced that these two contemptible numbskulls are one of the worst things to happen to anglosphere popular culture, so it was necessary to include another hour to help us appreciate just how soul crushing this garbage is
Tortoise
4/5
i recently had to look after a tortoise for about a week, she was kind of prickly, but very cool, steady and decisive. so basically Tortoise picked their name well
Carole King
5/5
ending it on a frankly pretty flat cover of Natural Woman is.... a strange choice to say the least, but everything before that is wall to wall bangers
Stan Getz
5/5
somebody get me a caipirinha
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
4/5
the Captain hasn't quite found his groove yet, which means this is almost inarguably more listenable than Trout Mask Replica. it's still abrasive and strange but it's not really complex or esoteric enough to be an object of fascination or as rewarding on repeat listens as TMR (to me, at least). it's definitely catchier and more, um, traditionally musical, but it's stuck in a weird middle ground where it's too off putting to be in constant rotation but not out there enough to merit me sitting down and focusing my attention on it
CHIC
5/5
it fucking rocks, we all know it, we all love Nile Rodgers, we've all heard the bass line from Good Times a million times in various forms and we're not sick of it because it's probably the best bass line of all time
Nanci Griffith
5/5
this shit fuckin rocks
My Bloody Valentine
3/5
i feel (maybe not 100% justifiedly) like the 2010s were littered with albums like this: critically acclaimed returns of legacy acts. and for the most part, they've all been quietly forgotten as the years stretch on. of course, audience's attentions just stray more quickly now with streaming, the sheer volume of music, etc, but you still hear people (deservedly) heap praise on Loveless and Isn't Anything, whereas m b v is just not usually held in the same regard (at least in my experience.) it's not a bad album by any means and of course I'm glad for all the fans that got more music from them, but it doesn't do too much for me (although new you is a banger)
Muddy Waters
5/5
Pet Shop Boys
4/5
pet shop boys has always been one of those bands that i think is good and interesting musically, that i should by all means like, but i just can't get past Neil Tennant's voice. it's not even awful, like many other male vocalists that have darkened this list, it just gets on my nerves in a way I can't quite put my finger on (too nasally? production problem?). but everything else is solid, so a regretful "not for me" and a recommendation to anybody else
The Flaming Lips
2/5
i think wayne coyne is a dumbass
2/5
there will always be some nu-metal nostalgia festering inside of me, and while that does extend to Limp Bizkit to a certain extent, that advantage can only go so far. Fred Durst has one of the worst voices of all time, this is unbearably long, and at the end of the day, it's just not that interesting. the kind of hybridization that nu-metal and rap-rock is built on and was much maligned for will always be interesting to me, but Limp Bizkit feels like much less than the sum of its parts. practically anybody could rattle off a neverending list of better rappers, better metal bands, better hard rock, better etc etc. I can't really imagine any reason to reach for them besides nostalgia. the main appeal at the time was the kind of vaguely apolitical, directionless rage and anti-establishment sentiment, the provocativeness of it all, but in retrospect it's easy to see how other bands of every era much more genuinely, meaningfully, powerfully and most importantly entertainingly communicate anti-establishment and anti-authority ideas. Fred Durst just comes off as a whiny, effete poser when compared to the likes of Rage or Public Enemy or NWA
to also briefly engage with the most common arguments in the favorable reviews here, despite my personal dislike, i do agree this deserves its spot on the list just for the cultural relevancy, how well it captured the contemporary zeitgeist. but the other thing that seems to come up is the classic bristly "you're a pussy if you don't like this" bullshit, and to ignore the obvious misogynist and nonsensical aspects, is just stupid on the face of it. this is radio friendly, super accessible rock with metal and hip hop elements where he says "fuck" a few more times than we were used to in 2000, if you think this is "abrasive" or "tough" or "confrontational" or whatever, you seriously need to broaden your horizons and listen to some Blood Incantation or Backxwash or something
Soundgarden
2/5
exhibit three million that the most important aspect of producing a good album is knowing when where and what fat to trim. the second most important is not having a sound that is evocative of a sweaty armpit
The Beta Band
2/5
according to wikipedia members of both Radiohead and Oasis praised the Beta Band, which makes sense to me given that this album feels like the midpoint between those bands (Steve Mason of the Beta Band's assertion that nothing sounded like this before or since is pretty comical) except much mellower, not really coming alive in any meaningful way until the closing track. i won't say this is awful or anything, but the vocal style is too mumbly and reserved, the sound is too thin, and it's generally just sleepier than i am typically interested in
The Flying Burrito Brothers
5/5
a great album that becomes fantastic with the almost unassailable run of My Uncle/Wheels/Juanita
Can
4/5
Anita Baker
3/5
i would probably love this if it had been made 10 years earlier or even 10 years later, but there's too much 80s stink on it. Anita's voice and performance is fantastic but that can only go so far when accompanied by this limp, weightless faux jazzy soft-rock. imagine if this had been made in the 70s with some real funk and jazz backing her up and some decent production; now that's an album. my main takeaway here is that there's perhaps an Anita Baker album out there for me but it ain't this one
Dead Kennedys
4/5
i certainly see the appeal, and i like to lynch landlords as much as the next guy, but musically there's other punk, etc that speaks to me more. inarguably correct inclusion for the list though of course
Neil Young
4/5
neil young never gets old
The Cult
1/5
thank god they brought in Rick Rubin, or else they never would have been able to land on their true sound: hard rock that sounds like it should be in a royalty free music library
The Byrds
3/5
the byrds are definitely a band i should like more than i do. i blame david crosby
Roxy Music
3/5
maybe the best Roxy Music album on the list but your worldview has to be narrow indeed to think that 3 out of the 1001 most important albums ever are by Roxy Music
Paul McCartney
3/5
very brave of Paul McCartney to do a Paul McCartney parody
Depeche Mode
3/5
is depeche mode one of the best new wave bands? almost certainly true. does that mean all that much to me? nope
Turbonegro
3/5
you can't really argue with the riffs and grooves here, especially for the time period (this is why i like non-American and British bands, they don't feel as beholden to the trends etc of the anglo world) but the juvenile lyrics definitely hold it back for me. and while i think the music is well executed, it's not exactly to my taste in the first place. glad i heard it though!
LTJ Bukem
1/5
i don't know if this is the worst album on the list, but it's probably pretty close to my worst experience. you'll spend a good chunk of time just tracking it down, and once you do, no sources can agree on the titles of the songs, the names of the artists, which is muddied even further by subsequent versions of the compilation over the years. and once you've finally less-than-legally acquired it, and settled for something resembling accurate track information, your reward is over 2 hours of the most monotonous, torturous electronic music that would be more at home at a CIA blacksite. and to cap it all off, as if there wasn't enough representation for this god awful kind of music on the list, this is, as previously mentioned, a fucking COMPILATION! it shouldn't even be eligible! this was a horrible waste of time in multiple dimensions, it makes me want to let a semi crush my head like a grape, and if i see LTJ Bukem on the street, i think i should be allowed to shoot him
Willie Nelson
5/5
Eric Clapton
1/5
all the English guys who insist on playing the blues are annoying and embarrassing, but i think clapton may be my least favorite. the weird racist vibes are much stronger with him (for easily verified reasons) and songs like I Can't Hold Out just make my fuckin skin crawl, this little twerp trying to do whatever the fuck he's doing with his voice. he's basically inarguably a good guitar player, but his whole deal inescapably gives me the creeps, i hate listening to his voice, and i think his guitar skills would be much better served in about a million other settings
Super Furry Animals
2/5
overlong and uninteresting, but at least it's Welsh rather than English
Kraftwerk
2/5
when I say I don't like most electronic music, kraftwerk is one of the bands I'm leaving space for with that "most," but this is pretty different from their stuff that i'm familiar with and like. i do still like this when it's a little more melodic but a lot of this feels very drone/ambient and while i can appreciate how innovative that was and how influential it has been, that's also flat out my least favorite kind of music. big ups to the boys and this isn't a bad album by any stretch of the imagination, and undoubtedly influential, but at the end of the day not for me
Meat Loaf
3/5
great perfomances and writing all around but a little too bombastic and theatrical for my taste, to put it mildly
Carpenters
5/5
Bob Dylan
3/5
i can only imagine how exciting it would have been to be a huge Bob Dylan fan and be suddenly treated to a good album in 1997, but as a casual Dylan fan who was 3 years old when it came out, it's just fine
Rocket From The Crypt
2/5
a lot of the stuff orbiting john reis and rftc is cool and i definitely respect him/them but that being said i do hate the vocal style here, and maybe it's just ex-ska kid PTSD but i truly hate this style of wind instrument playing: just kind of blaring and honking on that thing, very little artistry or variation in volume, tone etc. i love a band that can successfully incorporate any instruments besides guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, but i would not consider this a successful incorporation
Marianne Faithfull
5/5
heart wrenching and beautiful and just a pleasure to listen to, faithfull is so cool and, not to diminish or glorify her struggles, inspiring. hard to believe she ever even gave Mick Jagger the time of day
Kate Bush
5/5
kate Bush does it again with this one
Queen
1/5
i hate Bohemian Rhapsody so much
Abdullah Ibrahim
5/5
beautiful, thoughtful, political, what's not to like?
Beatles
3/5
i mean, it's fine
Drive-By Truckers
2/5
like more than a few dudes in athens, this is rambling, pretentious, pretty progressive, and a little too concerned with projecting a preconceived idea of "southernness." a pack of dudes I'd be happy to have rolling around my town being the local color, but i wouldn't want to hang out with too much, and somehow I'm always busy every night they have a gig
Simon & Garfunkel
5/5
amazing album, too bad johnny cash and fiona apple have slightly ruined the title track for me as their ascending finish to the phrase "bridge over troubled water" is about a million times more satisfying to my brain
Robbie Williams
1/5
more english pablum but at least robbie Williams's nasally voice is really grating
Brian Eno
2/5
three things: i think this is definitely important and influential enough to deserve a spot on the list, it's much more listenable to me than most ambient music, and i have a lot of respect for Brian eno. all that being said, miss me with this shit dawg
The Shamen
1/5
we get it Robert dimery, you did a lot of MDMA in the 90s
The Slits
4/5
for how wacky & dissonant this is, it feels like it's lacking in the urgency & energy that I'd want from an album of this type. a very interesting listen that's combining a lot of cool elements and sounds that I don't really see myself revisiting
Orbital
1/5
is this a fucking joke?
Deep Purple
2/5
some fancy guitar work, an incredibly irritating vocal performance, the herald of one of my least favorite eras and genres of music. hard pass
Dexys Midnight Runners
2/5
pretty annoying and wholly unnecessary when there are 2 better albums from them on the list (and any more than 1 is pretty unjustifiable to begin with!)
Blur
3/5
the only decent britpop band turns in another fine one
Bruce Springsteen
5/5
Deliver Me From Nowhere was a shitty movie because they didn't show the Snoopy binder that Bruce wrote Nebraska in
Jungle Brothers
4/5
some cool beats, some annoying ones; some awesome lyrics, some questionable ones. pretty uneven, by and large, but Good Newz Comin' is an absolute banger
PJ Harvey
5/5
personal favorite PJ harvey album, easy
Morrissey
2/5
Morissey, You Are The Hack that Should Have Given Up in the 80s
Fugees
5/5
The Style Council
3/5
interesting conglomeration of a bunch of different elements that make it a much more engaging and fun listen than most of the other 80s english albums on the list, but those elements don't really come together to make anything special. the jazz parts are pretty uninspired and very lacking compared to what you'd get from talented, dedicated jazz musicians, the soul is a pretty pale imitation, and the less said about the embarrassing rapping, the better. fun and weird, but not particularly good
Television
5/5
rips so hard, one of my favorite albums ever for sure
Stevie Wonder
5/5
wow this steven wonder guy's pretty good!
Kanye West
1/5
fuck off