Upbeat pop rock album using a wide variety of instruments. Very catchy songs make for an easy listen. Some are better than others but there’s no shockers. I liked Movin’ On, Scenes, Vienna, and She’s Always a Woman.
Some real highlights such as The Rover, In My Time of Dying, Ten Years Gone. Not a big fan of the funk-inspired Trampled Under Foot and Kashmir is a little overrated. Side 4 is also fairly weak.
Alternative soft rock album with a lot of the songs using repeating melodies to build up to a climax. Very solid throughout except for maybe Clocks which is overplayed and a little overrated. Even has the country sounding Green Eyes.
Very strange minimalist and atmospheric album with very repetitive guitar leads and new wave vocals, synths, and drum patterns. Not what I was expecting and also not the easiest listen. Not a big fan, I think you have to be in the right mood for this one.
Very understated folk and singer songwriter album with some strings and other elements to add a sometimes relaxing, sometimes haunting atmosphere. I honestly think this album is extremely overrated. His voice is just ok, and the songs just kind of meander along. I can see it being decent background music and people like the lyrics but it’s not for me.
Nostalgia bias but such a great punk album. Good energy, nice variety, incredibly catchy, and great unique vocals. Yeah there’s probably too many woahs but I love this album.
I can see the appeal if you’re into electronic music with a purely atmospheric purpose. The downtempo beats and ethereal vocals match with the restrained electronic elements to create a haunting and unique atmosphere but it’s definitely not for me.
A bit more interesting instrumentally than his debut but I still don’t get all the hype. I really dislike his vocals and it sounds like decent background music in a cafe or something. It has some ok moments but not for me.
Actually fairly enjoyable. The album is long but it has a lot of variety, with more traditional hip hop tracks, some with a little rock influence, some with r&b, and a lot of experimentation as well. I think the middle is the best; the backend is not that strong and the first songs suffer from poor hooks and aren’t as interesting.
Diverse and long pop album that I unfortunately did not enjoy at all. I appreciate the ambition but it’s very long and the vast majority of the songs are very average and not memorable at all. Her voice is ok, variety is ok, but not a fan.
Very weird punk rock album with strong jazz and a little funk influence. The bass is busy and dominant and the drumming is a also a focus. All the songs are extremely short but the album is very long, so there is a lot to uncover. Overall I wouldn’t say it’s great but definitely interesting.
I didn’t get this at all. Americana singer songwriter album with extremely monotone vocals that are almost talked instead of sung. The album is also very one note with very little variety. The lyrics are supposed to be poetic but I didn’t think they were anything to write home about.
Very mellow trip hop and atmospheric album with sometimes bizarre vocals and song structures that meander around and don’t go anywhere. I didn’t enjoy this at all, and I’m not sure this would even be good background music as it’s a little distracting.
Decent synthpop album with some catchy hooks and some more interesting moments (“Runaway”), especially for a pop and dance album. It’s not perfect or really my style but I enjoyed it for what it is.
Very unique singer songwriter and folk album with no real choruses, just free flowing lyrics and long run times. I think given more time with the record I will grow to like it more, but it is definitely an interesting listen.
Singer songwriter album with strange, very deep and almost spoken vocals with dark lyrics and sparse production. I wasn’t a fan at all however I like it slightly better than the similar sounding album from Bill Callahan.
Very good grunge album with great vocals and no real weak moments. It is a little long and some songs are weaker than others (I never liked Spoonman) but definitely one of the better grunge albums.
Very 80s rap with rock influences in some songs. Definitely a product of its time, but not quite as bad as you would think. Towards the end is quite a bit of filler and there are some weaker moments, but the highs are pretty good and it doesn’t overstay it’s welcome.
Surprisingly pretty enjoyable britpop album with fairly catchy songs and strong power pop influence. So a lot of power chords and guitar-driven songs, upbeat, harmonizing vocals, etc. Not as immediate as you would think though for a “catchy” album but still I enjoyed it.
Mambo Latin dance music with songs that all sound pretty similar and made to dance to. I can see this as being a very good example of the genre, it’s just not my thing at all.
Very weird electronic pop album with unique vocals I actually liked. I wasn’t a fan at all of most of the music behind the vocals though. Some songs were better than others and I can appreciate the talent but overall not something I’ll go back to.
Great rock album with some very strong moments such as I Want You and Something, and the ending medley is mostly great also. Nice variety on the album with some progressive and psychedelic elements, however just a couple weaker songs stop it from being perfect.
Great live album with plenty of energy and ramps up the heaviness just a little compared to the studio versions. It would be perfect if the live versions were more different but the arrangements are so similar it almost feels like just a compilation. Perfect song selection though.
Pretty enjoyable jazz record that doesn’t outstay it’s welcome and is a bit easier to listen to than a lot of his other records. The energy is fairly high and there’s a lot going on with the large variety of instruments. Much better than I thought.
This one wasn’t too bad. Rap with a little jazz influence but with fairly sparse production with unique lyrics. This is not a hooky album though, in fact that may be the worse part. I didn’t mind the production though.
Punky garage rock album that has a certain grit to it with the vocals and guitar tone especially. Starts off with a couple of classics before the momentum is ground to a halt with We Will Fall which is so long, plodding, and goes nowhere. Other than that the rest are not too bad while retaining the feel of the first two songs.
Really good country-influenced singer songwriter and folk rock album with mostly lowkey instrumentation with some exceptions such as Let’s Go Downtown. I really enjoyed the two country sounding tracks Roll Another Number and Albuquerque. There are no real weak tracks however I do think the album gets better as it goes along.
Very good soul album with some funk influences but really draws from a lot of genres. Despite being extremely long making it hard to listen to in one listen, there are no real weak tracks at all and there is enough variety. I really enjoyed this.
Very solid britpop album with only a few lower moments, mostly coming from the backend as it’s heavily front-loaded. The singles are great, especially the title track, and all songs are catchy and fun to listen to.
Really solid punk rock album with mostly shorter songs and plenty of energy. There is not a ton of variety except for the reggae sounding Police and Thieves but the strength and brevity of the songs makes this a non issue.
Pretty enjoyable rock album with jazz elements and other influences such as harder rock on Bodhisattva and steel guitar on Razor Boy and Pearl of the Quarter. The performances are all great, some of the songs have weaker moments though but overall very solid.
Solid britpop album that’s surprisingly hard-rocking and guitar heavy. It’s a nice album to listen to but I didn’t really hear anything special about it. I would listen to it again but it seemed too paint-by-numbers to be on this list.
Really strange new wave/art pop album with some disco influences that has some catchy moments but was a bit too strange and out there for me. It wasn’t as bad as I thought after the atrocious opening track but a really weird one, especially the vocals.
Shockingly bad punk blues album with ridiculous distorted vocals that sound like a bad Elvis impersonator at times, simple punk rock riffs mixed with some real experimental moments such as the last track if you can make it that far. One of the craziest albums I’ve heard and not in a good way.
Solid rap album that has generally great beats and uses great interplay between the rappers. I particularly like the stretch from A Day At the Races to What’s Golden. Other than that I think it’s just ok, some solid moments, some weaker.
Unique (to my ears) West African music that uses very simple and repetitive instrumentation that’s pleasant to listen to but doesn’t do much at all. The vocals are in his native tongue which makes this even harder to listen to. I think there’s some value here especially to native listeners but for me it was too out there to really be enjoyed.
I enjoyed this album in general, particularly the more spacey tracks. There are a few low points, especially the rockier Come Together and Electricity, however it generally gets better as it goes along. The album builds up to a nice atmosphere and the production works strongly in its favor.
I usually hate this kind of breathy vocal style that’s really popular these days but Lorde does a better job here than I thought. It’s a more straightforward pop album than I was expecting but still has some more unique moments. It won’t blow you away but was ok.
Definitely overrated pop album that does have some nice moments but also some generic weaker moments as well. She has a good voice but the lyrics are hit and miss. I definitely prefer her two previous albums.
Harmless 80s pop album that doesn’t belong on this list. The choruses are all really basic but catchy, the songs are all mostly upbeat. I like the more unique elements such as the harmonica on Karma Chameleon and the synthesizer on Miss Me Blind, but overall a pretty paint-by-numbers album.
Strange mix of Spanish (or I guess Brazilian) music and psychedelic rock ala The Beatles. It works a lot better than I thought it would. It’s a little inaccessible due to the experimentation with sound snippets and unconventional structure but at the same time it wasn’t a hard listen due to its more conventional psychedelic elements.
Folky pop album that really draws from a ton of influences. It’s quite unique in that sense and uses a wide variety of instruments behind fairly simple songs. I particularly like the opening track with its steel guitar which came as a surprise. The rest are solid if not spectacular, a fairly good album overall.
Ok blues rock album with great instrumentation, particularly the guitar playing which is the highlight. The songs themselves are pretty good I just did not like Joplin’s vocals at all. They’re very bluesy and incredibly raspy, they’re unique just not my thing. The production was strange too, it had a live feeling and a few of the songs were actually recorded live. I think this was less of a factor than the vocals though.
Very synth-heavy new wave and alternative dance album. It’s a little inconsistent in quality in my view; I really like some of the more atmospheric tracks such as the title track, however the some of the more upbeat ones where he’s talk-singing a little don’t have the same effect for me. The highlights are very good though and the low points aren’t terrible.
Straightforward 70s hard rock album. Detroit Rock City is the clear highlight, I like the guitar solos on that one. Other than that the songs are simple and catchy, however the vocals are goofy at times. God of Thunder is guilty of this, although the riff is memorable.
This is to me the definition of an average pop rock album. Weller’s vocals are fine but not great, the songs are generally just ok; some better moments but mostly just kind of exist in the background. The short instrumentals actually aren’t terrible but don’t do anything either. Album length is perhaps a little long but that’s not it’s main issue. It’s just a very average album and I don’t see how this is essential at all.
Great live blues album. I’m usually not much of a blues fan at all but B.B. King’s voice is awesome and the instrumentation is played really well; not just his guitar but all the various instruments from his band. The crowd interaction is great as well.
Slightly more variety than their first albums while retaining their shorter length and simpler structure, but not yet going more experimental or conceptual as with their later albums. I like this album a lot as a transition. There are a few weaker tracks and moments but it isn’t too long and is overall a very enjoyable listen.
Pretty good glam rock album. I don’t think it’s quite as good as most people believe but I think that has to do with the style of music I enjoy rather than the quality. Bang a Gong is obviously the most famous song but it doesn’t reflect the rest of the album. Most of the tracks feature more subdued vocals and are less immediate or poppy in general. The only outright bad track is the closing one, but other than that every song hits pretty well, just nothing outstanding in my opinion.
I enjoyed this one more than I thought. The big 3 songs stand out for sure, especially Killing Me Softly, but the album as a whole holds up pretty well too. The beats were solid and I liked the overall atmosphere. The rapping itself was generally good also.
This is definitely not the easiest album to listen to initially, mainly due to the crazy vocals. However once you get used to it it’s actually very rewarding. There’s a lot variety here with some ballads mixed with more experimental bluesy music. It isn’t as “out there” as you would think though, there’s catchiness there and it’s really not that experimental. The hardest thing is the vocals which are so weird for someone not used to them. Great album though.
I loved this album. If it weren’t for the slight letdowns on the 4th and 5th tracks this might be five stars. Very catchy and high energy new wave with great use of synthesizer. I was a bit worried it was a front-loaded album but it ends great as well.
This was not a good album at all. It was also fairly long which made it worse. The beats are not memorable at all (except for maybe People Everyday), and the rapping is just ok, nothing special but not bad (although corny at times). The worst part is simply the songs themselves; they are really not good. Kind of all over the place.
This definitely wasn’t for me. I’m not too well-versed in electronic music but I felt this was nice background music and not much else. Very minimalistic and repetitive, the songs don’t seem to evolve at all and some are way too long for how little they accomplish.
Early britpop album with strong glam rock influences but actually rocks pretty hard. There’s some slower ballady type songs to mix it up but the highlights are definitely the more uptempo ones. Surprisingly good, especially the lead guitar on songs like So Young and Pantomine Horse.
Starts off very well but falls off a little by the last few tracks. The production is by far the highlight of this album, it makes even the lesser tracks stand out a bit more. The lyrics are generally pretty bad though and extremely self-referential but again the beats are so good it makes up for it a little.
This was actually a really enjoyable album to listen to. Upbeat new wave/synthpop album that’s very 80s but also very catchy and memorable. There’s no real weak moments, some songs better than others but overall it was great. Hungry Like the Wolf is obviously the most well known but is actually not a highlight.
One of my favorite songs ever is the title track so I had high expectations. I think it mostly met them. I love the more traditional-sounding country songs of the time such as If I Lose My Mind and The Mystery of the Mystery. There are a couple of weaker songs at the end but overall a very good mostly traditional country album.
A bit of nostalgia for this one. I know the lyrics are cringy (especially since you can understand them unlike later death metal lyrics) and there are times such as tracks 2-4 where the music blends together and lacks a little variety. But the riffs and atmosphere are there, it’s relentless, and doesn’t overstay it’s welcome. You can clearly see the major influence this had on early death metal. My favorite part is the Postmortem/Raining Blood finale which is one of my favorite metal songs of all time, and Criminally Insane is underrated. Overall I can’t help but give this 5.
I knew this album was going to be good but it killed expectations. I love all the country instrumentation as there’s tons of steel, dobro, mandolin, fiddle, banjo. Her vocals are unique as well and remind me of one of my favorite singers Emmylou Harris with its more folky country sound. Very good, no bad tracks.
Very 80s pop rock album that’s just ok. I was worried at first as I really didn’t like the title track but it does get better after that pretty quickly with the next one. There’s not much to say; a decent amount of variety for what it is, catchy songs, not too bad.
Wasn’t a big fan of this one. Safe blues rock that goes on for too long (or at least feels like it does) and all blends together. The production and sound of the album did inspire a lot of bands mostly for worse but is ok here. Howlin for You is catchy but still not my thing.
I usually don’t listen to this style of music at all but it surprised me. It’s really funky soul music with great vocals and instrumentation. I wish there was a little more variety and it’s still doesn’t hold my attention as much as other genres but for what it is it’s very good.
Funky instrumental album that is mainly known for Apache which has been sampled a lot in hip hop. It was ok to listen to in the background and the focus on the bongos was different, but it had a lot of covers and wasn’t very interesting.
I definitely understand it’s influence on hip however this was not for me. Pretty much abandoning the rap rock that was on the last album (except for Looking Down the Barrel) and focusing solely on their rapping due to the sparser production; it was not for me. A lot of the lyrics seemed pretty cringy and their vocal style can grate after a while. It also felt overlong. I preferred their debut.
Not a bad synthpop album at all that has a couple of killer tracks like Can You Forgive Her and Yesterday. The album is front loaded and gets a little better right at the end but the late middle is fairly weak. The album also feels a little long which means cutting out of a couple of the weaker songs would’ve helped a lot. Still this was fun to listen to; it’s extremely uplifting, perhaps too much in some places.
I love this album and this style of music. It’s probably not my favorite Yes album but it’s close to perfect. There’s just a couple of moments here that seem a bit too unrelated to the overall song rather than progressing the track, therefore making it feel disjointed at times. But it’s a small issue and songs such as Roundabout and Heart of the Sunrise are so good.
It’s kind of hard to describe this album. I guess it’s really upbeat and noisy dance/punk/pop that is a little catchy at times but always full of energy. It’s not too long which is nice however it didn’t completely hold my attention. I also don’t see how this is essential listening.
This was a pretty decent singer-songwriter album with some alternative rock elements as well. The songs build nicely in particular the opening two tracks, however the album is very uneven in quality. Corpus Christi is forgettable and goes on too long, while the next track is completely left field with some grungy riff that lead into a generic 90s rock track. Overall not bad and he sings very well, but the album as a whole is uneven.
I actually really liked this album. It has a new wave sound but also sounds a lot like The Doors at times with the organ which is when they’re at their best. The opening track is my favorite for sure, but Goodbye Toulouse and Hanging Around are also good. Also the final medley has some strong moments. The only thing stopping this from being higher is I didn’t like Peaches or Ugly that much at all; the talk-singing style was not my thing and they were both kind of silly especially Peaches. But overall a real surprise
This was a pretty good singer-songwriter/pop album with some indie elements as well. It definitely grew on me as I was listening through, especially the vocals. The songs are a mixture of acoustic that are often shorter, and more fleshed out songs that often build to a climax. It felt a little long as well. I just think there’s something missing here; it definitely wasn’t world-beating and some of the songs, especially the acoustic ones, were a little weak.
I wasn’t a big fan of this one. It was pretty rocking and more upbeat than I thought it would be, but it was not memorable at all. There are some terrible songs here too such as If You Can See Me, and no real standout tracks. Again, the best songs on here are just ok and nothing special. I think if this wasn’t such a highly regarded artist this album would not even be close on this list.
This was a fantastic 70s rock album that doesn’t have any real weak songs despite its length. The opening track is probably my favorite, however it also contains other classics like Candle in the Wind and Saturday Night. The songs are all pretty high energy but there is some variety, but I was mostly surprised by the album’s consistency. Great album
This was an ok blues rock album that I think started off pretty string and lost my interest a little towards the end. The first few songs are a lot more guitar focused and a little less generic. The later songs aren’t terrible, just more bluesy and with less focus on the rock part which I liked intially.
Great progressive/jam rock album with some string jazz influences. All the songs especially the longer ones have a similar structure where a riff or idea is established, followed by an extended instrumental sequence, and then the intro riff again. It works great and despite the length of the songs it never lost my attention. I especially liked Willie the Pimp.
This was slightly better than I expected and enjoyed it a little more then the Klaxons album which has a similar sound. Take Me Out and The Dark of the Matinee are catchy and I didn’t mind the opening track, the rest is hit and miss. I’m not sure it’s essential but it’s high energy and not a bad listen.
Decent alternative rock album that is actually more post-punk than I expected. I really don’t like a lot of their later stuff but there were some decent songs on here such as New Years Day and Like a Song. The musicianship is solid and the lyrics play a large role but I feel there were more average songs than good ones.
Eclectic 60s rock album that goes through a lot of styles such as garage and folk but is mainly a psychedelic album kind of like an early Doors. It took a while to get used to the vocals and the songs are not always my favorite but it was a decent album. Revelation is also very long but was mostly enjoyable to listen too as long as you’re in the right mood.
Pretty by-the-numbers punky album with female vocals. Most of the songs are shorter and faster paced, however there is a little variety. I did like the more straightforward punk rock songs like Annie and Blue over the album’s singles, but this album was far from special.
As far as singer-songwriter albums go this is almost perfect. Folky sounding but stripped-down with basically just acoustic guitar and harmonica for instruments. The lyrics are the focal point and are generally pretty good albeit very political. Blowin in the Wind and A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall are classics and great songs, and like the sound of Masters of War. The only thing stopping a five star is some of the shorter songs being weaker.
Probably a little overrated but still a great pop rock album. They cover a lot of ground here including the experimental Revolution 9 and heavier Helter Skelter. There are also some absolute classics here such as While My Guitar Gently Weeps. The main problem is the sheer number of songs. Because the tracks are shorter there are 30 songs on here so it’s really hard to keep track. There’s also bound to be weaker songs which there certainly is. I get the filler is on purpose but it still doesn’t excuse their quality. Overall this was still a great album and worth seeking out the better songs here.
I liked this album a lot more than most people. It’s a lot different than their later material with very simple love songs and shorter lengths, but this reminded me of country songs from the 50s and 60s which I’ve listened to a lot and enjoy. It also contains some classics such as It Won’t Be Long and All My Loving, and I enjoyed Please Mister Postman. The only thing is a few songs don’t have the same immediacy and are very forgettable.
I was very surprised at how much I disliked this album. I didn’t mind a couple of songs especially towards the end of the album but some of the tracks I thought were so bad, in particular Housequake and Hot Thing (the lyrics “Hot Thaaaang, barely 21” really don’t do it for me). Production is very 80s and the lyrics are very hit or miss; sometimes ok (but a little on the nose) like on the title track or The Cross but mostly just horrendous like the aforementioned Hot Thing. This album was really not my thing, only not one star due to a couple of better tracks.
Although not quite as good as Yellow Brick Road in my opinion, it’s very close in quality. The piano is very prominent here and there are even some orchestral moments that are sometimes very prominent also. Tiny Dancer even features a steel guitar which I loved. I enjoyed the lyrics too with most of the songs having a storytelling element. There are just a couple of slightly weaker songs but I loved this album.
Very weird experimental art pop album with some electronic elements mixed in. Most of the songs are extremely simple and repetitive by design which leaves an almost hypnotic impression on the listener. The vocals are also often repeated in French and English and act as another instrument moreso than anything else. It was definitely an interesting album. I can’t say I enjoyed it a lot but there were some moments where I can see some (albeit very few) people would enjoy. It was just a bit too obscure for me.
This was a fairly standard soul album that I actually enjoyed listening to and has a solid selection of tracks. Run Away Child is more fleshed out and is a definite highlight. The vocals are also great. However there are a couple of weaker tracks such as the cover of Heard It Through the Grapevine but overall a pleasant surprise.
This is a hard album for me to rate. I can clearly see this being one of the best examples of its genre which is a kind of soul/jazz/pop album with a focus on the vocals and at times the lyrics. However this is definitely not my style at all and I only really liked the more interesting tracks such as Four Women (although the lyric at the end “Peaches” is kind of weird despite the great vocal) and the more atmospheric title track. I think critically this is a 3 or even 4 star but personally I can only give it 2.
I found this to be a fairly straightforward live blues album. His voice is great, the instrumentation is solid but not outstanding, and the crowd involvement is ok but nothing special. That also goes for this album in general; nothing special. It was a decent album to listen to but I don’t listen to much blues music and this live album wasn’t special enough for its inclusion in my opinion.
Piano-driven singer-songwriter/pop album with a focus on the lyrics. Most of the songs on here didn’t keep my interest; they plodded along and seemed to go on for longer than they did. Her voice is fairly soulful but nothing special. I can see why this is on here as it sold a bunch of copies and her songwriting skills are evident, but it sent me to sleep in a bad way. I did really like Will You Still Love Me though.
This was a hard album for me to rate. It’s incredibly bookended; Baba O’Reilly is iconic but slightly overplayed, Bargain is underrated and a great song, and Behind Blue Eyes and Won’t Get Fooled Again are absolute classics of the hard rock genre. Everything in between is just ok with some decent moments. But overall I can’t give this less than 4.
This was a nice easy album to listen to. It’s pop music with harmony vocals and a little rock and roll/surf rock influence. You can clearly see this kind of music influencing early Beatles albums. The choruses are catchy but simple, as is the instrumentation and lyrics. There’s not much wrong for an album of this style, there’s just not that much more to it.
