Step In The Arena
Gang StarrOk but didn't really do anything for me
Ok but didn't really do anything for me
I tried. I didn't last very long. Not for me.
It was fine. Not especially memorable.
Not my favourite Bowie album and the original is better than the remaster but still a solid 3.5 stars
Didn't hate it but a bit bland, repetitive, and forgettable. 2.5 stars. Why can't I give half star ratings?!?
Great album, shame about the noncing
I know nostalgia is making me overly generous but I'm sticking with it.
Didn't hate it but very forgettable and no desire to hear it again.
By listening to this, we have deprived an elevator somewhere of its music
Bland and forgettable
Boppity bop bop. Never listened to Sam Cooke before.
Some great tracks, some meh tracks, but musicals just aren't for me.
Some bangers. Some background music. Good, but not his best.
A couple of good songs. A lot of dross. Never understood the hype. Lou Reed was much better as a solo artist.
I heard this album WAY too many new as a young child and now hate every ABBA song. I tried to pretend I was listening to it for the first time, but I couldn't do it, didn't survive the first song.
Some great songs. Some awful ballads.
Some absolute bangers. A few weaker songs, but when it's good, it's REALLY good.
I wanted to like it more. I should get around to listening to the Cure more but I think they may stay as more of a "Greatest hits" band for me.
Meh
Musical tastes are a subjective thing. But this was objectively awful.
Musical tastes are a subjective thing. But this was objectively awful.
Bland
Listened to it twice; both times while working. Found it quite jarring. Think I need to listen to it when I can focus my full attention to it. Not sure if 3 stars is too much or not enough.
Another entry on the "great music, terrible person" list. Spotify's generated playlist was outstanding.
Thought I was going to like it from the first song. Lost its way and sounded like a budget Jethro Tull.
When it's good, it's very good (Selfish, Venom) but some filler, not as good overall as Sometimes I might be Introvert
Ok but didn't really do anything for me
A few bangers, a lot of filler, and a few songs that belong on the soundtrack of a dodgy 70s porno
Inoffensive but a bit bland and forgettable
Not for me
Two of the greatest songs of the 60s but the rest of the album didn't do much for me
Sounds like the less talented love child of the Foo Fighters and Buck 65
Some great songs, some filler. Dare I say it: I prefer covers of a lot of her songs to the originals
Not particularly memorable but happy, relaxing, vibes to have on in the background
Not really my thing but enjoyed it more than I expected.
Meh. Never understood the hype.
Good, not great
Relaxing to have on in the background but I wouldn't go out of my way to listen to it
Meh. Some good songs but mostly bland. With a lot of listening to catch up on, I got bored and gave up part way through.
Some good songs, some whiny, bland forgettable songs
If I never hear Bono's whiny bitch voice again, it'll still be too soon
Good, but too many slow ones. I prefer him when he's more upbeat.
Feel like it could go down or up with more listens but low 3 stars based on first listen
A few classics. A lot of dross.
Surprised me
Started well, lost its way a bit, but good background while I worked
Couple of good songs but mostly bland
Sounded like a cross between The Who and Status Quo... but not as good as either of them
Just not for me
Did not enjoy at all. Basic and boring. Listened to the end to see if my opinion would change. Wish I hadn't bothered.
Not his best. Bit depressing.
Didn't get into it. Bad day at work probably led to me not really giving it a chance.
Unsurprisingly, it sounds a bit dated now but was so far ahead of its time and still sounds good to me.
(only listened to the original version, not all of the nonsense repeats on Spotify)
Inoffensive but bland
Mostly good. Influential but very dated.
One of those artists that I've never got around to listening to. Enjoyable relaxing background music. Reminds me of a cross between Leonard Cohen and Willy Mason.
Very good. Not quite as good or as catchy as Daisies of the Galaxy but just enough to sneak into 5* territory.
Unashamedly cheesy and over the top and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Inoffensive but forgettable
Good in places. Some meh towards the end.
Meh. Forgettable.
Catchy feel good songs. Not groundbreaking, but I enjoy them.
Enjoyed the jazzier Basement Jaxx-esque songs. Could do with another listen to decide whether it deserves bumping up or down a star.
Coldplay's popularity is as great a mystery to me as U2's. That said, I made it to the end of this, so I must have disliked it less.
It's got a few great songs, a few meh songs, and a few rubbish songs. For me, Blur are a very good "greatest hits" band, but not a great "album" band, and this is not Blur's best album either. I never understood how the question was "Blur or Oasis" when the correct answer was clearly always Pulp.
Prefer Sonny Rollins as a solo artist, but still good
I really want to give it 5*s for Fiesta and Fairytale of New York, and for being such strong influence in the Celtic/folk punk world. But there's a bit too much filler. Any normal person would have come away with a serious brain injury after Shane and Spidey's performance of Fiesta when we saw them in Manchester. Just a standard Saturday night for those 2. Rest in Pieces, you crazy, crazy man.
Very good. But at the risk of angering every jazz fan ever, I think Cannonball Adderley was even better when leading his own band.
Much better than the last Frank offering.
Good in places. Meh in others.
It was fine to have on in the background as I worked. But it didn't really do much for me and no particular desire to listen to it again. Like most country.
Light hearted, catchy fun
Not their best
It was fine. Didn't really get into it though.
Tried to vote as if we have just had another Dexys album a few days ago. Added a star for Come on Eileen
It's not as good as London Calling for me, I think The Clash are at their best when mixing in more ska/reggae as well as the pure punk, with Police and Thieves and Hate and War being a sign of things to come. Not as polished musically as their subsequent albums but the energy and lyrics can't be beaten. One of the greatest punk albums.
Awful. Couldn't finish it.
Good to have on in the background but didn't blow me away
Some good songs, some ok songs. One extremely creepy song.
So so
It was fine. Generic 60s sound.
1950s Country music lullabies from...erm... Sheffield in 2005. The musical equivalent of a hug and a cup of cocoa in front of the fire on a cold winter's day.
Fine but forgettable
Eh. Bland, nowhere near as good as some other Beck albums.
Some good songs. A lot of whiny, bland songs. Not their best.
Better than The Scream. But I still thought I would enjoy Siouxsie And The Banshees more than I do.
I'd forgotten about this album. Hits the Guthrie vibe well. Wilco and Bragg complement each other nicely.
Some great songs, some ok songs. Overall, not as good as some of his other albums.
Some good songs. A lot of forgettable songs. Nowhere near as good as Funeral or Neon Bible.
Obviously includes some great songs. But also some that I don't enjoy/don't know as much. For me, I prefer the studio versions of many of the songs. The live versions didn't add anything.
Generic 60s
So very beige. Does nothing for me. Never understood the hype.
One banger. Mostly a bit slow and forgettable. Not his best.
A couple of good songs but mostly forgettable generic 80s sound.
Some absolute bangers (New York City Cops, Last Nite, Take It Or Leave It). Some tracks haven't aged as well. So much youthful energy and swagger that could not be replicated in their future albums. Very influential on the next decade of "indie" guitar music (Kings of Leon went on to become probably the most popular band in the world for a few years by basically changing their sound to copy the Strokes). 2001 teenaged me would have hit 5 stars without a second thought. 2023 me agonised for ages over whether it still deserves 5 stars. I have finally got off the fence and decided it still deserves 5 stars (just)
Fine. Some good tracks. Some generic 70s.
Eh. Some good songs, but I found myself bored and struggling to listen to the end. I think The Kinks are a greatest hits band for me, I don't need to listen to whole albums.
I enjoyed his debut album when it came out. Maybe my tastes have evolved since then, maybe hip-hop has moved on since then and I expect more, or maybe I'm no longer willing to separate the person from the music. Whatever the reason, I did not enjoy this. Well produced, but you can't polish a turd.
Didn't get into it at all
Some great songs but the album doesn't live up to the hype for me.
I tried. I didn't last very long. Not for me.
Some very good songs, some weaker songs that bring it down to 3 stars. Much better than the previous Kinks albums we've had on the list.
Enjoyed the classics. Didn't enjoy the generic country tracks
I want to like Elbow more than I do. Some good songs, but too many bland, forgettable songs that are almost good but just don't quite hit for me.
Good, but not one of Nina's best for me
I didn't know Fever Ray before. Enjoyed some of it. Should probably give them another listen.
One of my favourite albums of all time. Easily the best thing to come out of the britpop era.
Some good songs but the slow, depressing, whiny songs are not for me
Nowhere near the level of the Holy Bible or Generation Terrorists. It was the beginning of the post-Richie poppier sound but still with a few very Richie-esque tracks like Kevin Carter. RIP
Had forgotten this album (and Want 2) existed. Very relaxing, although I can imagine his voice being a bit marmitey to some.
Juuust crept into 4⭐
Good. I didn't get into it as much as Conspiracy of One, Americana and Ixnay on the Hombre. Maybe I need to listen to it more.
Fine but not particularly memorable
Enjoyed some of instrumentals. Didn't care for the vocals.
Fine but very generic. Like a Who album but without the bangers to carry it.
Classic. A couple of weaker tracks but Space Truckin, Highway Star, Smoke on the Water and Lazy are good enough to secure its 5* status for me
I've always felt I should like Pixies more than I do. They did a few bangers, but I find most of their songs boring and forgettable. People rave about them and I want to like them but they just don't do it for me.
Eh. Sounds like the filler tracks on a Blur album.
Enjoyed some of it. Seemed to lose its way a bit towards the end. They've made better albums.
I've slept on Skunk Anansie a bit, I knew I liked some of their famous songs but don't think I've listened to a full album of theirs before. Enjoyed it, I should explore them more.
Obviously a few great songs. But a lot of it is meh. Editing exists for a reason, this album did not need to be this long.
I quite liked some of the earlier tracks but overall, it was too out there for me. Couldn't tell if I would appreciate it more after more listens. Not sure I'm willing to give it the chance.
Weird. After listening to it 3 times, I'm still not sure if good weird or awful weird.
I never understood the hype. Takes me back to uni days where you were likely to hear most of this album played at every single bar or club that you went to on a night out. It's not bad, I just didn't need to hear it multiple times a day, every day for a year. 1 star deducted for how sick I am of it, even after 19 years.
A couple of great songs. The rest is a bit meh. Much better than the previous Pixies album we had
It was fine. Not especially memorable.
Good. Had a lot of his classics. I prefer Fulsom overall.
Forgettable
Already forgotten everything about this album
Boring, overproduced songs with a whiny voice. I don't understand the popularity of this style of R&B at all. I don't hate Stupid Rich Kids. It was the only song that I could tolerate listening to in its entirety.
It's fine as Christmas albums go... but there's far too many generic Christmas songs out there and I don't need to spend 1 month every year being bombarded with them. I don't listen to sickly sweet songs filled with sleigh bells the rest of the year... because it's not a good sound. The talking at the end was cringey and unnecessary. Waiting until January to listen to it probably didn't help.
Some top tier tracks, some mediocre.
Classic Dylan. Half of the album easily deserves 5 stars but some weaker songs dragged it down to 4.
Some great songs, some average
Good, not great
Very samey. I swear I heard the same track about 5 times.
I love the brooding, bluesy gospel sound of the first disc. It's Nick Cave so, of course, the lyrics are excellent. I hadn't listened to it as an album before, although I knew and liked some of the tracks already. I think it would have worked better for me as 2 separate albums, rather than a double album. The first album probably would have earned 5 stars from me. I think I may have appreciated the second album more as a standalone as well, rather than listening to it at the end of a long album.
I've never really listened to Sonic Youth, despite then being so influential for many post punk bands that I enjoy. Raw, discordant, and I really enjoyed it. Will make an effort to listen to some more Sonic Youth.
Fine but not really for me
Didn't get into it. I wasn't paying full attention, but I can't remember any of the songs. Not REM's best work for me.
Ok, but I thought I was going to enjoy it more than I did
A couple of great songs, but I struggle to remember anything about the rest the album
Classic Dylan
Some great songs, some that unsurprisingly sounded like Beatles filler tracks
Particularly wrong with it, I just didn't really get into it.
Quite enjoyed. For some reason, I've never really listened to Fats Domino as much as a lot of the other bands leaders of that era.
Ok as background but forgettable
I thought I was going to enjoy this more from the first track, which reminded me a bit of Laura Nyro and LaBelle. But that was as good as it got, the rest was all very forgettable.
Didn't need to listen to it too know it was 5 stars. But I still listened to it, at work, with my earphones on. And I was surprised to find that I didn't like it as much as I remembered. It was still good, but not AS GOOD as I remembered. It seemed a bit muted, and didn't evoke the same response that it used to. Definitely a 4 star listen, not 5 stars. Listened again at home at the correct volume and on decent speakers. Of course it's 5 stars. Outstanding from start to (almost) finish. The only weak song being Endless, Nameless which I have never enjoyed. TL;DR I was wrong, and my earphones are not good.
It was fine but not many memorable tracks. Think I was hoping for more given how much I've enjoyed some of their recent collaborations and remixes.
Disappointed in the lack of a zero star option. Not so much music as a series of unpleasant noises. I didn't find any of it challenging or interesting, just unpleasant and I hope I never hear it again. I tried to think of something positive to say. All I could come up with was that I didn't hate AB/7A. It wasn't good, but it wasn't painful to listen to.
Bit bland, not really for me
Bland
Other than Blister in the sun, it wasn't very memorable
Reminded me of Lee Scratch Perry. But not as good.
Not their best
I never got into the Hives as much as I thought I should. They do a few very good songs, but a lot of them are very samey to me.
Starts strong but fades in the second half
Clichéd but still a classic and I love it (while also loving Half Man Half Biscuit for mocking those who love it)
I'd forgotten how good this album is. I go back to Toxicity a lot more frequently than this. I should remember to go back to this more often.
Too long. Would have enjoyed it a lot more if half the tracks were cut from it.
So good
Good in places, with one great song
Fine as background music, but I wanted more from it. Just about scrapes a 3.
Fine in the background, but I wouldn't choose to listen to it
The least bad of all of the U2 offerings so far. I gave up on this one because I was bored, not because it felt like listening to fingers scraping down a blackboard. And I lasted more songs before giving up. Surely we're done with U2 albums now on this list, but if not: Who knows, maybe the next U2 album will creep up to a second star?
Quite enjoyed this