1022
Albums Rated
3.41
Average Rating
94%
Complete
67 albums remaining
Rating Distribution
Rating Timeline
Taste Profile
2020s
Favorite Decade
Samba
Favorite Genre
US
Top Origin
Perfectionist
Rater Style ?
35
5-Star Albums
2
1-Star Albums
Breakdown
By Genre
By Decade
By Origin
Albums
You Love More Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Yank Crime
Drive Like Jehu
|
5 | 2.7 | +2.3 |
|
Take Me Apart
Kelela
|
5 | 2.75 | +2.25 |
|
Kollaps
Einstürzende Neubauten
|
4 | 1.9 | +2.1 |
|
Bug
Dinosaur Jr.
|
5 | 2.92 | +2.08 |
|
The Dreaming
Kate Bush
|
5 | 2.96 | +2.04 |
|
Music From The Penguin Cafe
Penguin Cafe Orchestra
|
5 | 3.01 | +1.99 |
|
The Colour Of Spring
Talk Talk
|
5 | 3.07 | +1.93 |
|
Scum
Napalm Death
|
4 | 2.07 | +1.93 |
|
Hejira
Joni Mitchell
|
5 | 3.13 | +1.87 |
|
Machine Gun Etiquette
The Damned
|
5 | 3.15 | +1.85 |
You Love Less Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
A Hard Day's Night
Beatles
|
2 | 3.9 | -1.9 |
|
American Idiot
Green Day
|
2 | 3.77 | -1.77 |
|
Appetite For Destruction
Guns N' Roses
|
2 | 3.74 | -1.74 |
|
Tea for the Tillerman
Cat Stevens
|
2 | 3.69 | -1.69 |
|
...Baby One More Time
Britney Spears
|
1 | 2.67 | -1.67 |
|
Raising Hell
Run-D.M.C.
|
2 | 3.51 | -1.51 |
|
Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music
Ray Charles
|
2 | 3.49 | -1.49 |
|
The Marshall Mathers LP
Eminem
|
2 | 3.49 | -1.49 |
|
Rumours
Fleetwood Mac
|
3 | 4.46 | -1.46 |
|
Abbey Road
Beatles
|
3 | 4.46 | -1.46 |
Artists
Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| David Bowie | 9 | 4.22 |
| Kate Bush | 3 | 4.67 |
| The Cure | 3 | 4.67 |
| Miles Davis | 4 | 4.25 |
| Radiohead | 6 | 4 |
| Nick Drake | 3 | 4.33 |
| Pixies | 3 | 4.33 |
| Stevie Wonder | 3 | 4.33 |
| Yes | 3 | 4.33 |
| Joni Mitchell | 3 | 4.33 |
| Marvin Gaye | 3 | 4.33 |
| The Stooges | 3 | 4.33 |
| The Beach Boys | 3 | 4.33 |
| Sonic Youth | 5 | 4 |
5-Star Albums (35)
View Album Wall
Popular Reviews
The Residents
3/5
It's like if the Max Headroom hijacking incident was an album
6 likes
Gotan Project
4/5
It's like 70% of the time there's an artist I've never heard of in this book, the album is pretty forgettable. 20% of the time, it's just bad. And 10% of the time it's a cool discovery like the TPAB of electrotango. This was cool. 3.5/5
2 likes
2/5
Idk, I feel I should like this more than I do. There are some cool punchier tracks here, but there’s just too much aimless noise that makes the album feel bloated, and this brand of post-punk just really isn’t my thing. 2.5/5
2 likes
1-Star Albums (2)
All Ratings
Leonard Cohen
4/5
Leonard Cohen is a real songwriter’s songwriter, and I feel like a lot of his music requires a much more active listening than I’m often willing to give. Still, very pretty chamber folk with good melodies and the lyricism I did pick up on seems spot on. Like this one more than Songs of Love and Hate, I think.
Deep Purple
2/5
I'm not the biggest Deep Purple fan in the world, and I don't really care for a live album either, so...this wasn't really going to be for me. Granted, 3 of my favorite Deep songs are here--Child in Time, Lazy, and of course Smoke on the Water--but they're all so bloated with pointless, boring solos it just makes me think. Why am I listening to this when I could just listen to the original song. I don't think there's a single instance on this album where I think "wow this live performance is so much better than the original". It's just everything in excess, and none of it is particularly good.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
4/5
Good songwriting throughout, tracklist is a bit spotty. Some really great songs, some more boring, overall a cool album. 3.5/5
David Bowie
5/5
Definitely not my first time hearing this album, but it’s been a few years so I relistened. Extremely impressive, but made even more poignant by the time of its release. Lazarus is one of my favorite songs of all time. 4.5/5
Ray Charles
2/5
Uhh it's fine. Definitely sounds like early 60s traditional pop/country. Nothing wrong with it, but nothing I want to revisit really. 2.5/5
Muddy Waters
4/5
You won't catch me listening to classic blues music often, it's definitely not my thing. So I can't say I was excited to listen to this album, but like...it's good. I liked this a lot actually, every song is so catchy, so electrifying, so much energy. It's a really fun listen, even if I was a bit tired of it towards the end. Most I've ever enjoyed the blues. 3.5/5
2Pac
4/5
I don't think I've like every listened to Tupac before today somehow (except for like California Love). I liked this album, good classic 90s rap & g-funk with cool instrumentals, but there's just something about it that doesn't fully click for me for whatever reason. 3.5/5
Dizzee Rascal
4/5
I knew Dizzee Rascal by name only before the day, so I guess it was kinda cool discovery to learn that this record basically put grime on the map. And it’s a really cool record! The beats are insane throughout, and even though I did suffer some album fatigue towards the end, Dizzee’s performances are wild enough to keep it interesting. Very cool album.
The Stone Roses
3/5
Have actually had this one on my planning list for awhile, so glad it showed up here and I finally got to here it. It's...fine, pleasant. To be such a foundational baggy record, it sounds very different from what I know as baggy, has more of a throwback 60s psychedelic pop vibe. The singles are great, but a lot of the album tracks don't stick. Don't love it, but wouldn't mind hearing it again. 3.5/5
Grizzly Bear
3/5
Two Weeks is an absolute classic, and I know that Grizzly Bear are really well-regarded artists in the modern psychedelic folk field, so I was excited to listen to this one...I didn't love it though. It's very pleasant, has a nice and consistent sound to it and I'm sure very technically well-structured and all, but I just found a lot of these songs kinda...boring. Pretty, but I don't know if I'd come back to it.
Sonic Youth
4/5
I’m no expert in Sonic Youth (basically just know whatever songs they had in Guitar Hero/Rock Band), so I’m not sure if Goo is the best introduction to their music (since it seems to be like…their 5th best), but I do like it, it’s cool. I like the noisy grunge-punk energy. 3.5/5
The Allman Brothers Band
3/5
Like with the Deep Purple album, these jam-my live show albums just aren't my thing. I will say that I liked this one more than Made in Japan though, Whipping Post does go pretty hard (even at its 23 minute run-time), and there are a couple shorter offerings here I don't mind. 2.5/5
Nas
4/5
Illmatic is like THE 90s hip hop record. I'm glad I listened to it, it's good. I mean, it's not the best rap record I've heard or anything, and I imagine it would have hit harder if I was like there at the time. But it is good.
k.d. lang
4/5
Not the most exciting or innovative music, but a damn good album all the same. Great vocals and performances, and I like the slight 80s edge infused into the more traditional pop and country sound. Would easily come back to this one. 3.5/5
Manu Chao
3/5
Album has a nice, kinda lo-fi vibe to it that I like, but the tunes just aren’t that strong. Kinda dull. 2.5/5
Wild Beasts
3/5
Production is pretty interesting throughout, but I am not living for these vocals and a lot of the tunes are kinda aimless.
Buffalo Springfield
3/5
Pretty nice 60s folk rock record with a surprising amount of diversity. Just good for what it is. 3.5/5
John Cale
3/5
It’s fine, kinda nice. Not much to say about it. 3.5/5
Bad Company
2/5
Listening to this album made me 25 years older, 30 pounds heavier, and 100x more straight (but just so I can talk about how much I hate my ex-wife). 1.5/5
The Velvet Underground
4/5
Coldplay
3/5
3.5/5
Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart
2/5
Visions of You is a kinda cool song and the bass licks are cool throughout, but this is very dated and 90s in the worst way. Sounds like it would have been described as "world music".
Steely Dan
3/5
I've already listened to every Steel Dan album for some reason. Did relisten to this one and don't feel too different about it than I did a couple years ago, it's fine.
Eurythmics
3/5
I've never been a huge fan of the title track, but I did end up lightly enjoying the full album. Pretty decent new wave project. 3.5/5
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
I’ve already listened to this one and didn’t relisten. I wish I liked it more than I do, I think the music itself is a bit boring, but it is an interesting Springsteen release
Beatles
2/5
I get no joy out of being proverbially “that guy”, but. I just don’t like the Beatles much, especially their early stuff. 2.5/5
Wilco
3/5
Third time I’ve gotten a 6/10 I’ve already heard in the space of a week. Knowing what Wilco would be doing creatively later in their career does make this unreasonably long alt-country record feel a bit rudimentary, but it’s not bad.
Sister Sledge
4/5
It's good. Somehow every song on this album has the best bass performance ever.
The Who
3/5
I'm not a huge Who fan to begin with, so I wasn't too eager to listen to their debut album. But it was actually pretty decent, the pop rock cuts are pretty fiery, but when they dabble in like...r&b and soul sounds it's kinda cringe honestly. Still, not a bad record all around.
AC/DC
3/5
A few years ago I would have said that AC/DC is like my least favorite band, and while I still can't say I'm a huge fan, I at least respect the craft, and their Bon Scott era stuff is pretty solid. This album is pretty decent front to back, not my cup of tea, but the influence on douchey glam metal throughout the 80s is clear (and served a lot better here)
LCD Soundsystem
3/5
Considering LCD have at least 3 classic albums that seem universally loved and that I haven't heard, it feels a little lame for this to be their first LP I listen to in full. It's like, fine though.
Jorge Ben Jor
4/5
My only other experience with Jorge Ben is Mas Que Nada and Forca Bruta...I can't say as a whole that I like this project as much as either of those, but it's still a pretty fun, eclectic album.
Goldfrapp
4/5
Cool stuff. I've heard the name Goldfrapp before, but only knew Utopia. I assumed she was kinda just an early 2000s synthpop act, so I was surprised how chamber music influenced this was. Lots of this sounds like bond music and with some cool influences of 60s space pop. Really liked this.
Nick Drake
4/5
Can’t go wrong with Nick Drake
OutKast
3/5
It's just so damn long. It's a pretty good listen from front to back though, Outkast are good. The Love Below half lost me a bit but finished strong. I'm more interested in their classic 90s records than this one, but not a bad listen, it's just kinda...bloated.
GZA
4/5
Paul Simon
3/5
Singles are the highlights, album tracks are just okay, but the album as a whole does have a very distinct, cool sound. Cool bass tone throughout
The Doors
3/5
Love Riders on the Storm, Love Her Madly is good, don't really like anything else here. 2.5/5
Radiohead
4/5
Have already heard, maybe need a relisten but didn’t have time. It’s good and respectable, not my favorite Radiohead album. 3.5/5
Eels
4/5
Pretty good! Liked this more than I expected, solid mid-90s alt rock. 3.5/5
Milton Nascimento
4/5
Caetano Veloso
3/5
3.5/5
Pixies
5/5
Listened to this one a few weeks ago. So fun, diverse, and heavily 90s. Near 10/10 for me. 4.5/5
Hole
3/5
It’s fine
The Pharcyde
4/5
Really fun jazz rap record with wild vocal deliveries. I really liked this one.
Lucinda Williams
4/5
Doves
3/5
There's a couple pretty good songs here and there, but for the most part this is just like. The dictionary definition of indie rock without much personality.
2/5
Idk, I feel I should like this more than I do. There are some cool punchier tracks here, but there’s just too much aimless noise that makes the album feel bloated, and this brand of post-punk just really isn’t my thing. 2.5/5
Simple Minds
4/5
Have listened to previously, did not relisten. 3.5/5
Pulp
4/5
3.5/5
Sly & The Family Stone
4/5
Paul Weller
3/5
Lloyd Cole And The Commotions
3/5
3.5/5
Television
4/5
Supergrass
3/5
3.5/5
Duke Ellington
4/5
Listened to the original 5 track release, not the 1999 complete 2 hour performance. Pretty nice. 3.5/5
Ryan Adams
3/5
A couple decent songs here and there, mostly boring and dull. Being a Ryan Adams project bumps it down an extra point too. 2.5/5
The Rolling Stones
3/5
Pretty good, brief Rolling Stones record. Bookended by two of their best songs does make a lot of the tracklist pale in comparison a bit, but still nice country rock all the way through (Monkey Man is a cool song too). 3.5/5
Metallica
3/5
Even with my distaste for long albums AND live albums, this was no pretty good? You really get all the big Metallica hits here, and the symphonic arrangements are generally pretty cool and add to the songs. It does end up running a bit long for my liking anyway, but like. It's all good so I won't complain too much. Performances are good, and I'm sure this would have been an awesome show to be at. 3.5/5
Green Day
2/5
I'm not a Green Day fan, and there's not a single from this album that I have liked, but I listened to it anyway...it's not good. Overindulgent but completely uninteresting punkish rock opera with annoying vocals and songs that go on way too long. At it's best, it's okay (I don't mind Whatsername or Holiday), at it's work it's insufferable. 1.5/5
Prefab Sprout
4/5
Belle & Sebastian
4/5
The Flaming Lips
3/5
I feel like I should like this one more than I do, but it just really doesn't work for me. Something about the production. Despite the chamber pop aesthetics the instrumentals always sound kind of synthy and distant, and Wayne's voice sounds like it's coming from the next room over. Not to mention pretty much every song here is kind of meandering and boring.
This may be a bad take coming from just one listen, but that's listening to one album a day. 2.5/5
LCD Soundsystem
4/5
Astor Piazzolla
4/5
I do enjoy Astor Piazzolla for the most part, and this was a pretty cool project from him. I liked the jazzier elements that Gary Burton brings too. Felt a bit long though. 3.5/5
Foo Fighters
4/5
Cool debut album from Foo Fighters. I like the lo-fi, raw vibe to it, and the fact that this is basically a Dave Grohl solo project makes it more impressive. Really cool stuff. 3.5/5
Cat Stevens
2/5
Gene Clark
4/5
3.5/5
The Yardbirds
4/5
Weirder & a bit more fun than I expected, pretty cool 60s rock record. 3.5/5
Megadeth
3/5
3.5/5
Barry Adamson
2/5
Occasionally a cool or tense or tuneful moment, but mostly pretty boring. Couldn't really get into it. 2.5/5
Emmylou Harris
3/5
Earth, Wind & Fire
4/5
John Prine
4/5
Fun, quirky classic country project. 3.5/5
Ute Lemper
3/5
Pretty interesting project, a little excessive at times though. 3.5/5
Goldfrapp
3/5
Kinda pretty, mostly boring.
Sonic Youth
4/5
3.5/5
Bob Dylan
3/5
3.5/5
Daft Punk
3/5
Discovery is better, there are some cool tracks here, but a lot of the songs run too long and get a bit annoying.
The Rolling Stones
3/5
Nirvana
4/5
Femi Kuti
3/5
This album's pretty okay, the production and instrumentals are excellent throughout, really propelled by the rhythm section. Surprisingly diverse too, but a lot of the songs go on too long and are overly repetitive, and basically every vocal performance is identical across all tracks. Not a bad record, I think I could grow to like it more even with its flaws.
The War On Drugs
3/5
3.5/5
Steely Dan
3/5
Billie Holiday
3/5
The Vines
3/5
The only Vines songs I knew before listening to this were Get Free and Outtathaway, so I was expecting an album full of slightly more "alternative" Buckcherry-ish douchiness. But, it's better than that for sure. I didn't expect such a psychedelic pop influence, sure the influences from Beatles and Floyd are really clear, but well enough done. And the singer's clean vocals aren't so bad when he's not doing...that thing he does with his voice. Honestly, not a bad record, I was expecting worse.
3/5
Like, it's fine. I'm not sure if 50% of the songs here I've heard a million times in my life and never want to hear again makes the album as a whole feel more classic or more annoying, but overall it's just. A fine pop rock record. Morning Glory goes hard.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
3/5
Ananda Shankar
3/5
The Who
3/5
Pretty solid live album. 3.5/5
The Damned
5/5
Listened to this one a couple weeks ago--near perfect classic punk album. 4.5/5
Cyndi Lauper
3/5
Roxy Music
4/5
Elvis Presley
2/5
Elvis more like Smell-vis
Tom Tom Club
3/5
Genius of Love & Lorelei slay, everything else is more hit or mess, but album stays fun throughout. 3.5/5
Billy Bragg
3/5
Billy Bragg may have the most thoroughly Bri'ish voice I've heard, but I've always liked his stuff. Pretty good album, I think my favorite songs of his aren't on this one though. 3.5/5
The Band
3/5
it's fine
Jurassic 5
3/5
XTC
3/5
Idk I generally like XTC and was actually thinking about listening to this one a few days ago, but it just doesn't click with me. There are some pretty instrumental passages here and there, but largely I just found a lot of the music itself more boring than anything. 2.5/5
Liz Phair
3/5
3.5/5
Radiohead
4/5
3.5/5
The Who
4/5
Kind of a weird, fun Who record. I liked this one quite a bit, though the later half was a bit weaker than the first. 3.5/5
The Charlatans
3/5
Sounds like The Charlatans trying their best to be Oasis. I prefer their baggier earlier sounds to this, surprised that this album is considered "essential listening". But not bad, I don't guess.
Little Simz
4/5
Dr. Octagon
4/5
This album is really fun & wild, I really liked it.
Donovan
4/5
Pretty great little psychedelic/baroque pop album. I only knew the title track from this guy (and it's probably still the best one on the album), but a pretty solid listen all the way through. 3.5/5
The Beau Brummels
4/5
I literally don't think I've heard of The Beau Brummels ever before, but this was actually a pretty good little record. I like the mix of baroque and psychedelic aesthetics with classic country music, the songs are diverse and full of energy, and it's overall a pretty nice 60s record I'd come back to. 3.5/5
Duran Duran
4/5
3.5/5
Eminem
2/5
Eh, idk, I know this album still has fans today and I guess I can see why but just doesn't really do it for me. Maybe wrong place wrong time, I see where this would have been cool in 1999, but kinda cringe for me to listen to the first time today. There are some decent tracks here and there, but I just don't love Eminem's approach on this album, more annoying than anything. 2.5/5
Echo And The Bunnymen
3/5
Obviously The Killing Moon is an all-time great song, the other singles are okay too (but there are still better Echo songs), album tracks didn't leave an impact. Not bad overall, but I was expecting a bit more. 3.5/5
Buddy Holly & The Crickets
3/5
Surprisingly nice. I don't often find myself in the market for classic 50s rock & roll pop, but this is hard to dislike. Just very nice pop songs from front to back. Nothing special and the production and instrumentation are almost archaic, but the songs speak for themselves. I like it. 3.5/5
Japan
4/5
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
3/5
Armadillo is 5/5, album is 2.5/5
Thin Lizzy
4/5
I feel like I preface live albums with "I don't like live albums but..." so much at this point that I don't even know if I can even rightfully say I don't like live albums anymore. This is a great rock record, I didn't really know Thin Lizzy besides their big radio hits, I didn't realize how heavy they were for the 70s. Performances are great and show virtuosity without being too winding and annoying, songs are catchy and well structured, really good album all the way through.
Janelle Monáe
5/5
I wasn't expecting to like this one as much as I did, but damn this is good! Janelle shows so much versatility and creativity here, no 2 songs sound quite the same and there's not one dud in the track listing. Really good album. 4.5/5
Sugar
3/5
Fine early 90s power pop with good melodies. Think I'd rather listen to any Husker Du album though. 3.5/5
Missy Elliott
3/5
It's...fine. My favorite bits of this album are actually the spoken word bits, they're very insightful and Missy is a very captivating speaker. There's some cool tracks here and there like Pussycat and Slide, but a lot of this album I didn't really love.
The Kinks
3/5
3.5/5
My Bloody Valentine
3/5
As beloved as Loveless is, it's just never really clicked with me for whatever reason. It's fine.
Stevie Wonder
4/5
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
Pretty good for late era Springsteen. 3.5/5
The Pogues
3/5
Pretty cool sound on this album & great instrumentation throughout, really paved the way forward for Celtic punk, sounds much more modern than 1987 to me. Classic tracks like Fairytale of New York and Ships Are Sailing are standouts, but I did tire a bit of the album by the end. There's just not much variation in the sound, it's one very cool sound and a decent album, but it's a bit too long for as little as it ventures out of that one sound.
Taylor Swift
2/5
I recognize the significance of this album both in the realm of modern pop music and as a landmark of Taylor's career, and there are a few songs here I do like quite a bit (namely Style and Clean, Blank Space is good too when the mood is right), but those tracks aside this album is mostly boring or annoying. I can't STAND Shake It Off, the other singles are kinda weak, and the album tracks I've never heard of are...album tracks I've never heard of for a reason. I don't think I'll need to revisit this one. 2.5/5
Orbital
2/5
I'm kinda partial to ambient techno, but this didn't really do it for me. Samples were annoying and compositions just weren't that interesting, the longer songs towards the back end really dragged. Not my favorite. 2.5/5
The Killers
4/5
There are some pretty weak album tracks here (Midnight Show and On Top not among them), but they're more than made up for by the absolute classic singles. It's easy to see why Hot Fuss put the Killers on the map, and it still holds up to this day. 3.5/5
Michael Jackson
4/5
Kinda like Hot Fuss yesterday, this one is really carried by the singles. There are some pretty un-good album tracks here, but an album with Smooth Criminal, Bad, The Way You Make Me Feel, Dirty Diana, and Another Part of Me can't be...bad (except the album IS Bad, right?) 3.5/5
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
3/5
Ali Farka Touré
2/5
Idk, I kinda feel bad giving this one such a low score, it's a posthumous release from an icon in west African music and I respect that...but I just do not vibe with the music at all. Album has exactly one sound that it never deviates from, the song structures and instrumentation aren't interesting, and at an hour long it was really a slog to get through. Maybe some of his other albums would do me better, but I did not like this.
Rush
4/5
The Doors
4/5
This is pretty squarely a 3.5/5 for me. I have to round up or down here, but I think I could get away with a 3 or a 4 here, it's weird. I think I liked it more than thought it was okay though.
Korn
2/5
I have a lot of respect for Korn being a groundbreaking act that put nu metal on the map, along with having a super signature style and really talented performances across the board. But I just...cannot stand listening to Korn. They're not for me, there's like maybe 2 Korn songs I like enough to revisit. Granted, one of them, Got the Life, is on this album, but damn these album tracks just blow. Songs like All in the Family and Earache in My Eye are unlistenable, and even on the better songs I really can't stand Jonathan's vocals on this album. I have some respect to this project, but even that is limited when I just HATE some of the songs here.
Fela Kuti
4/5
Dion
2/5
This is up there with The Charlatans' Tellin' Stories as the #1 album that's made me say...idk, DID I need to hear this before I die? Collection of some of the dullest, drabbest soft rock the 70s could offer. I guess the most interesting thing about this album is that it's Dion by way of Phil Spector, but like. I can't say listening to Phil Spector is something I WANT to do.
Kendrick Lamar
4/5
I listened to this one a couple months ago...I liked it, but I like TPAB more. It took like 3 or 4 listens for TPAB to click all the way for me though, so could be same story here.
Bonnie Raitt
2/5
I've enjoyed some Bonnie Raitt stuff here and there and think she's a good artist, but the stuff from her commercial peak in the late 80s/early 90s is easily her most offputting. This album just reeks of the lamest sounds of the time period, and the songs aren't all that catchy or memorable. Didn't do much for me.
ZZ Top
3/5
ZZ Top are pretty consistently an act I enjoy more than I'd expect myself to. I wasn't particularly excited for this album, but it does actually sound pretty good, has a cool swagger to it and great guitar riffs. A few of the songs here are kinda duds which bring it down from a 3.5 for me, but overall, still pretty solid.
Kate Bush
5/5
No notes
Michael Jackson
4/5
Dead Kennedys
4/5
4.5/5
Mudhoney
3/5
Kinda grunge-y, kinda punky, kinda cool. Mudhoney were kind of ahead of the curve in a lot of ways, but their stuff has just never really clicked with me. A lot of the time this album just left me thinking "oh this sounds like Pixies/Nirvana but I'd rather be listening to Pixies/Nirvana". Some very cool drumming and surprising psychedelic passages, tunes just didn't stick.
Beatles
4/5
Even as someone who's not a fan of hour and a half long albums or the Beatles, this was actually like really good, easily the best Beatles record I've heard to date.
Suede
4/5
3.5/5
Paul Simon
4/5
Paul Simon's cool. 3.5/5
TV On The Radio
3/5
3.5/5
Bonnie "Prince" Billy
4/5
3.5/5
Meat Loaf
4/5
The Specials
3/5
Paul Revere & The Raiders
3/5
James Taylor
3/5
I feel like this album would be a lot lamer if Sweet Baby James didn't have such a nice voice. We have applied the Sweet Baby James.
Fatboy Slim
3/5
The Magnetic Fields
4/5
That sure was 69 songs. 3.5/5
Death In Vegas
2/5
I'm usually a fan of space-y trip hop but girl these compositions are boring af. 2.5/5
Guns N' Roses
2/5
Some cool instrumentals, interesting to hear such a funk/alt metal influence overall. But man Axl Rose is annoying. 2.5/5
Kanye West
4/5
I've never given Kanye much of a shot in the past, and unfortunately it's harder than ever too now. That said, this is a damn good album. 3.5/5
Radiohead
4/5
The Bends gets knocked for being on the simple side for Radiohead, but idc I've always liked this one a lot.
Spiritualized
4/5
Only tracks I knew going in were the title track and Come Together, neither of which I'm HUGE on, but this was a pleasant surprise overall. Really started coming together for me in the back half when they really ramp up the intensity. 3.5/5
Fleetwood Mac
3/5
Um it's fine. Like, The Chain, Dreams, Gold Dust Woman, all amazing 9/10 songs. You Make Loving Fun is decent, Don't Stop and Go Your Own Way are annoying to me, album tracks are mid to fine. Would be a 6/10 if the best songs here weren't so strong. 3.5/5
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
2/5
No disrespect to traditional folk music of any kind, I think this stuff is really cool. That said...I didn't really like this album all that much. It's basically just an a capella record, and the vocal harmonies are good, but there just isn't much of substance that I really gravitated to. 2.5/5
John Lennon
3/5
The Jam
4/5
3.5/5
The Smiths
3/5
Traffic
3/5
2.5/5
The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy
3/5
Given the quality of Michael Franti's current output, I will admit that this was better than expected. I think there are some cool beats here, but the way too on-the-nose lyricism and way too long songs do start to drag after awhile. 2.5/5
Talking Heads
3/5
It's pretty solid. Not full of Talking Heads classics (the only song from this album I was actually familiar with was Take Me to the River), but it's undeniable how cutting edge this stuff was for 1978. 3.5/5
The Triffids
3/5
This grew on me a lot in the second half. Kinda just sounded like discount U2 in the front half, but the elements of folk and chamber music did add some flavor to the later half. 3.5/5
G. Love & Special Sauce
2/5
I really hated this at first...it did grow on me a little bit once I adjusted to the vibe, but this blend of blues rock and early 90s white boy rap is just not good. Maybe still among the best stuff in G. Love's larger body of work though.
Sonic Youth
4/5
3.5/5
The Chemical Brothers
3/5
Really going hard on 90s breakbeat/alt-dance lately with the Fatboy Slim, Death in Vegas, and Chemical Brothers records in the last month. This is probably my favorite of the three though. 3.5/5
The Band
3/5
I like this one more than Music from Big Pink. Good selection of classic country rock jams. 3.5/5
Ash
4/5
Ash don't offer a super distinct musical identity on this album, but even so this is a good & cohesive collection of 90s alt rock tracks that aren't afraid to do something a little different. Would revisit. 3.5/5
The White Stripes
3/5
Supertramp
3/5
3.5/5
Dusty Springfield
4/5
Depeche Mode
4/5
Red Hot Chili Peppers
3/5
liked this more than i expected?
The Police
4/5
3.5/5. mother is a weird fucking song for the police
Country Joe & The Fish
3/5
something tells me this album might be from the 60s idk
Elliott Smith
3/5
Like, it's fine. Elliott Smith music is good enough, but it doesn't really excite me, his stuff has never really clicked with me as much as it has with so many.
The Darkness
3/5
The Darkness's whole gimmick has always been so tacky to me and I don't really care for their big hit, but this album was actually more likable than I expected. I think viewing it more as an product of its time than as an 80s throwback piece actually makes it more interesting and likable. The band has a good ear for hooks and the performances are good, even if the campy high pitch vocals do come across more annoying than anything at times. Still, like, it's not bad.
Dinosaur Jr.
4/5
Miles Davis
5/5
Can
3/5
I've definitely heard some Can songs over the years that I really liked, so I was kinda excited for this one. And they first half of the album or so is decent, but the half hour of random noise in the middle REALLY brings down my enjoyment of the project. I may revisit some of the better tracks, but I don't think I'll ever need to hear the full LP again. 2.5/5
Sepultura
3/5
90s groove metal is far from my favorite thing to listen to, so I was not excited to listen to this album and my expectations were not high. And I really disliked it for the first few tracks, but then there was a moment around Lookaway where it kinda clicked for me, and I really enjoyed the last half. There's a kind of epicness and importance to this album that I think is really cool, it's one of those metal projects that feels like a journey. The song compositions are consistently pretty cool and diverse, and the influence of traditional Brazilian folk music is really cool and well implemented. There are some moments on this album that are actually terrifying (namely on Lookaway and Endangered Species), and the whole thing feels so massive and hard-hitting. That's a lot of praise for an album I'm gonna end up giving a 3/5 here, but maybe if I relistened to it knowing what to expect, it would grow on me
Count Basie & His Orchestra
4/5
Fiona Apple
4/5
Frank Sinatra
3/5
Madonna
3/5
I guess I never realized that this was Madonna's like late 90s trip hop & downtempo project. I like it enough, but it does kinda feel a bit same-y throughout, I'd kinda expect it to connect with me more than it does. 3.5/5
Iggy Pop
4/5
3.5/5
Tangerine Dream
3/5
2.5/5
Beach House
2/5
i'm sorry, beach house are boring af. the musical palettes aren't interesting, the compositions aren't interesting, the song structures are bland and tedious. i don't get it.
The Beta Band
3/5
This is music, and I listened to it.
Prince
4/5
Bill Evans Trio
4/5
Billy Joel
4/5
Idk why I've always considered Billy Joel on the lame side, because I honestly cannot think of a song of his that I dislike. Was not super excited for this one going in, but I'm glad I listened to it, solid pop rock album all the way through. 3.5/5
The Cars
4/5
3.5/5
John Lennon
3/5
Aerosmith
2/5
Randy Newman
3/5
Al Green
4/5
3.5/5
Penguin Cafe Orchestra
5/5
Had never heard of this project before, but this album is absolutely magical. Beautiful, colorful, and whimsical chamber music that feels way ahead of its time. The kind of album I could listen to forever. 4.5/5
Talking Heads
4/5
Listened to this one for the first time like 2 days ago lol.
Radiohead
3/5
This is the only "good" Radiohead album I hadn't listened to (still haven't listened to King of Limbs or Pablo Honey). It's fine because Radiohead are like always of quality, but I think it's my least favorite album of theirs I've heard to date. 3.5/5
Louis Prima
3/5
The Cure
5/5
4.5/5
R.E.M.
3/5
Tears For Fears
4/5
3.5/5
Bob Marley & The Wailers
4/5
3.5/5
The Auteurs
3/5
3.5/5
Led Zeppelin
3/5
3.5/5
Animal Collective
3/5
3.5/5
Traffic
3/5
Tom Waits
3/5
3.5/5
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
4/5
3.5/5
OutKast
4/5
3.5/5
Def Leppard
3/5
3.5/5
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
3/5
idk, i like neil young, i feel i should like this one more than i actually do. very distinct sounding for 1969, but the vocals are shaky and production ramshackle even for neil young.
Parliament
4/5
3.5/5
Aerosmith
4/5
I'm not a big Aerosmith fan, but this is a pretty great album actually. Only a couple duds, most of the singles are some of my favorites by the band, and there's some great album tracks in there too. Honestly, would relisten. 3.5/5
The Cardigans
3/5
3.5/5
David Bowie
4/5
Soft Cell
4/5
4.5/5
ABBA
3/5
There's a pretty even balance of Abba classics and clunkers that aren't remembered for a reason, but even with its flaws it's a pretty fun album. 3.5/5
Sigur Rós
4/5
3.5/5
Neu!
3/5
3.5/5
Beatles
3/5
Elvis Costello
3/5
The Clash
4/5
Ravi Shankar
3/5
I like to listen to this guy talk about the musicality of classical Hindustani music. I think that was the most interesting part of the album, but the instrumentals are pretty cool too. 3.5/5
Sabu
3/5
This is fun. 3.5/5
Funkadelic
4/5
Booker T. & The MG's
3/5
Title track is an all-time classic, the rest is fine but didn't really impress.
Miles Davis
4/5
Sly & The Family Stone
4/5
Pixies
4/5
Britney Spears
1/5
I'm not a Britney hater, I quite like Britney. And the title track here is great, but the album itself is just nooooot. Some of the most boring teen pop ballads the 90s had to offer & lyrics that were very apparently written by dudes in their 40s for a 16 year old to sing. Just very offputting throughout.
Manic Street Preachers
4/5
The Smashing Pumpkins
4/5
The Zombies
4/5
3.5/5
Björk
4/5
4.5/5
Yes
4/5
Creedence Clearwater Revival
4/5
I actually liked this more than Cosmo's Factory. 3.5/5
Calexico
3/5
3.5/5
Supergrass
3/5
Beastie Boys
3/5
3.5/5
Finley Quaye
2/5
idk man i think the "must hear before you die" quality of these albums is very questionable from the 90s on. i knew sunday shining before listening to this album, but that's it. there's a couple decent songs here, but finley is just not a good singer. 2.5/5
Primal Scream
4/5
Tracy Chapman
3/5
3.5/5
Joy Division
4/5
3.5/5
3/5
3.5/5
The 13th Floor Elevators
4/5
Beck
3/5
Good singles in E-Pro, Girl, and Hell Yes, but the deeper cuts don't do much for me. I appreciate the consistent sound throughout and most of the songs start out pretty cool, but so much of this album is repetitive to a fault, I get tired of nearly every song here by the time it's half over.
D'Angelo
4/5
Motörhead
4/5
I wouldn't call myself a huge Motorhead fan, I like Ace of Spades, but like every other song of theirs kinda just sounds the same but less good (a bit reductive, I know). But I have to say, I actually quite liked this live album. Explosive, energetic performances really elevate a lot of these songs. 3.5/5
Queen
3/5
3.5/5
Fela Kuti
4/5
3.5/5
CHVRCHES
3/5
The Mother We Share may be my favorite Chvrches song, and the band is always of quality, but a lot of the album tracks here are a bit more throwaway (not Science/Visions though). It's good, but I prefer Every Open Eye. 7/10
Rufus Wainwright
3/5
Idk, I feel like I should like this more than I do. I like the dramatic, orchestral instrumentals and production, but it's kinda just too one note, pretty as it is. Every song sounds the same, and I'm sick of it halfway through.
Steely Dan
5/5
Far and away the best Steely Dan album, it's not even close. 4.5/5
Lou Reed
3/5
Lou Reed rock opera sounds cool in concept, but this just doesn't come together for me for whatever reason. 2.5/5
Bee Gees
3/5
The Byrds
4/5
3.5/5
Air
3/5
Feels like I should like this more than I do.
Elastica
3/5
The Slits
4/5
3.5/5
Franz Ferdinand
3/5
Take Me Out is like one of the best songs of the 2000s and I love This Fire too...but none of the album tracks here even come close to the singles.
LL Cool J
3/5
Method Man
3/5
Fairport Convention
4/5
Johnny Cash
5/5
classic country tracks, but it's really the energy of the live performance, johnny's charisma, and the context of the concert that really make it feel so much more than just a country album. 9/10
50 Cent
3/5
better than i expected, but the album does get repetitive after awhile. there are some cool tracks here, but listening to 50's one flow for over an hour makes this an album i wouldn't want to go back to. 2.5/5
My Bloody Valentine
3/5
last 2 tracks were kinda cool, i'm just not a big mbv fan.
The Who
3/5
Dirty Projectors
2/5
even as someone with i guess something of a pretentious taste in music (if you wanna call it that), this album makes me see why meatheads hated "hipsters" in the late 2000s/early 2010s. there's just something about this era of indie music. there are some cool ideas here i guess, but the more experimental moments border on parody. stillness is the move fucks though. 2.5/5
The Jesus And Mary Chain
3/5
have historically not been too hot on j+mc, but they've grown on me over the years. somehow i've now heard darklands and automatic but not psychocandy lol. anyway, this is nice and jangly and i kinda liked it. 3.5/5
Metallica
4/5
i mean, blackened and one are some of the greatest metal songs of all time, and the performances and riffs throughout the album are great too. but most of the songs just go on a bit too long. 3.5/5
Simon & Garfunkel
4/5
I'm not crazy about Bridge Over Troubled Water, so wasn't sure what to expect from this one--but I actually really like this one! Really good listen, and I like that it's less than half an hour long.
Jungle Brothers
4/5
3.5/5
Beck
4/5
3.5/5
Public Enemy
3/5
Bobby Womack
4/5
i had never heard of this one before (only know bobby womack from stylo), so wasn't sure what to expect. but this is an EXCELLENT soul album. really loved this front to back
Van Morrison
3/5
i'm not a fan of van, live albums, or albums with hour plus runtimes...so all things considered, i guess this was better than expected. 2.5/5
The Lemonheads
4/5
3.5/5
Michael Kiwanuka
4/5
3.5/5
Crosby, Stills & Nash
4/5
3.5/5
Crowded House
3/5
Willie Nelson
3/5
albums like these make me wish there were decimal ranks here, it's pretty squarely a 3.5 because sometimes it's really good and sometimes it's just ok. i'll give a 3 because it peaked early on (love the title track though). 3.5/5
Talk Talk
5/5
lowkey talk talk's best. 4.5/5
Khaled
3/5
This had a bit of a rocky start, but I ended up kind of liking it. Nothing amazing, but pretty catchy and listenable and easy to have on in the background.
George Michael
4/5
pretty good album, better than i expected. 3.5/5
Harry Nilsson
3/5
pleasant (except for coconut which is a headache), kinda boring
ABBA
3/5
3.5/5
Richard Thompson
3/5
Neil Young
4/5
Kelela
5/5
one of my all-time favorites
Sonic Youth
4/5
Beatles
4/5
Bob Dylan
4/5
Little Richard
3/5
Scott Walker
4/5
3.5/5
Various Artists
3/5
3.5/5
Aimee Mann
3/5
3.5/5
Queen
3/5
3.5/5
Muddy Waters
3/5
Miles Davis
4/5
Stephen Stills
3/5
2.5/5
The Clash
3/5
Nine Inch Nails
4/5
3.5/5
Belle & Sebastian
4/5
Everything But The Girl
3/5
I am a fan of EBTG, but they were doing much more interesting stuff in the 90s. This is *fine*, but never really grabbed me
3/5
3.5/5
Radiohead
5/5
4.5/5
Brian Eno
4/5
3.5/5
The Rolling Stones
4/5
Pink Floyd
3/5
3.5/5
The White Stripes
2/5
i'm not a huge fan of the white stripes even in the best of times, and this is far from the best of times for the white stripes
Eminem
2/5
better than slim shady lp cause it has stan on it which is an INCREDIBLE song. but yeah everything else is....
2.5/5
Radiohead
4/5
The Velvet Underground
4/5
3.5/5
Quicksilver Messenger Service
3/5
Kraftwerk
4/5
JAY Z
2/5
2.5/5
Coldplay
3/5
3.5/5
Boston
4/5
3.5/5
Lana Del Rey
4/5
Dr. Dre
3/5
The Only Ones
3/5
2.5/5
PJ Harvey
4/5
Beastie Boys
3/5
Gary Numan
4/5
Tim Buckley
4/5
I've heard Lorca and Starsailor and liked them enough, but this one actually really wowed me, so many standout moments & all the songs are great. 4.5/5
The Libertines
2/5
I've never been too hot on The Libertines. I think there's a lot of very reductive things you could say about the band (most of which I find generally true anyway), but like, the amount of critical hype they received in the early 2000s just never really lined up with their legacy or uh the quality of their music. It's The Strokes but drunker and more British. Doesn't suck entirely though. 5/10
Bruce Springsteen
4/5
R.E.M.
3/5
eh, about as good as document. fine, but a major step down from the murmur-life's rich pageant run.
The Zutons
2/5
I already had to listen to The Libertines a few days ago, please no more overhyped indie bands from 2004 that were just never that good to begin with. 5/10
4/5
Echo And The Bunnymen
4/5
I actually preferred this to Ocean Rain, surprisingly. Also this album cover rules
4/5
Elvis Costello
3/5
Why's this book so obsessed with Elvis C
Red Hot Chili Peppers
3/5
It's not uncommon for their to be an act with singles that I like a lot, but the albums don't hold up. RHCP are kinda the opposite of that I think? Both BSSM & this one were way better than I expected, given that I'm not a huge fan of the singles from either project. 3.5/5
Isaac Hayes
4/5
The The
4/5
3.5/5
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
4/5
i always knew that maps was the outlier from this album stylistically, but i didn't realize just how heavy and weird the yeah yeah yeahs got on this album. it's actually a pretty cool project, liked it more than i expected. 3.5/5
The Rolling Stones
4/5
3.5/5
Richard Hawley
3/5
Didn't expect the Longpigs guitarist to have a celebrated solo career, but this was pretty nice. Reminds me of the Blue Nile and Chris Isaak (but maybe not quite as good as either). 3.5/5
Bob Dylan
4/5
3.5/5
Lorde
3/5
3.5/5
Depeche Mode
3/5
The first 4 tracks are a great stretch of classic DM songs--Never Let Me Down, The Things You Said, Strangelove, Sacred is a near perfect run. But after that, this lost me a bit. With the exception of Behind the Wheel, the rest of the album is a SLOG to get through, I was sick of it by the end. I guess it kinda balances out to a 7/10, but a light 7.
Tito Puente
4/5
Nick Drake
4/5
Slipknot
2/5
2.5/5
Alanis Morissette
3/5
2 days in a row where I've heard the album before, but a long time ago before i was regularly listening to albums. But I wasn't a big enough fan of the album to relisten now (this one's closer to a strong 5 light 6 whereas Slipknot is more of a strong 4 light 5). Used to hate Alanis's music (and I still can't stand Ironic or You Learn), but I've come to appreciate this album a bit. I like You Oughta Know. 2.5/5
Kendrick Lamar
5/5
4.5/5
Adele
3/5
3.5/5
New York Dolls
3/5
Rufus Wainwright
3/5
I liked this a bit more than Want One, had a couple standout tracks at least. Still not an album I would see myself going back to listen to in full though.
AC/DC
3/5
Bob Dylan
3/5
The Mars Volta
4/5
Mike Ladd
3/5
This is kind of a weird inclusion for this book lol. I've literally never heard of Mike Ladd or Welcome to the Afterfuture before, I wonder how much cultural impact this album actually has had. I kinda liked it though.
Cocteau Twins
4/5
3.5/5
Jamiroquai
4/5
3.5/5
Stan Getz
4/5
3.5/5
Frank Zappa
4/5
3.5/5
Carole King
3/5
3.5/5
The Divine Comedy
2/5
Seems like it'd be up my alley, I kinda like when random 90s alt rock acts I've never heard of show up here. But idk it was kinda just annoying. 2.5/5
Talvin Singh
4/5
Idk wtf this is or why it's here, but it's pretty dope actually. 3.5/5
3/5
Public Enemy
4/5
Beatles
3/5
Jimmy Smith
3/5
Turbonegro
3/5
Shuggie Otis
4/5
Joni Mitchell
4/5
Rush
4/5
3.5/5
Suicide
4/5
4.5/5
Jazmine Sullivan
4/5
3.5/5
Nirvana
4/5
John Martyn
4/5
3.5/5
A Tribe Called Quest
3/5
didn't like this as much as i expected to
John Lee Hooker
2/5
no shade to jlh, but this is just not gooood. muddy waters was making much more interesting classic blues at the same time this came out. this is just dull & boring
David Bowie
4/5
KISS
2/5
i think kiss are pretty cool in how foundational they were to the "rock and roll image", and i think a lot of the songs on this album sound more modern than mid-70s. but like...i don't necessarily mean that in a good way. proto-butt rock. i like detroit rock city a lot, but everything else is just like "fine" hard rock, doesn't excite me. 2.5/5
Ghostface Killah
3/5
Solomon Burke
3/5
Led Zeppelin
3/5
having a hard time with this one cause i was really into zep in college, and ii has so many classics on it. and it's easy to see how they were so influential with this coming out in 1969...but idk, as a finished front to back project it makes me feel gross. i hate the lyricism, and while a song like a heartbreaker or whole lotta love is fine on its own, these songs form a nasty package all together. deep cuts aren't too good either. 2.5/5
Drive Like Jehu
5/5
4.5/5
George Jones
2/5
2.5/5
Björk
4/5
Julian Cope
2/5
interesting choice...i figured if a julian cope record were represented here it would be the one with world shut your mouth or charlotte anne on it. i've never been a big fan of his, but at least those singles are better than...east easy rider and beautiful love here. i can appreciate the ambition here, but outside of safesurfer i barely even liked most of the songs here. 2.5/5
Cornershop
2/5
it's kind of an album, doesn't really come together for me. reminds me of the talvin singh album from a month or so ago, except not as fully fleshed out a concept.
Neil Young
4/5
808 State
3/5
3.5/5
Led Zeppelin
4/5
i liked this a lot more than 2. led zeppelin are better singing about hobbits and the shire than robert plant getting his lemon squeezed. also, can't go wrong with stairway. 3.5/5
Judas Priest
3/5
Thelonious Monk
3/5
Madness
4/5
3.5/5
Sufjan Stevens
5/5
4.5/5
Cream
3/5
3.5/5
U2
4/5
Iron Maiden
4/5
3.5/5
Can
3/5
I'm at a level of music pretentiousness these days where I should LOVE can, but I'm sorry, I do not get it (except for Vitamin C). Like this more than Tago Mago cause it doesn't have 20 minutes of psychedelic noise in the middle of the album, but I just don't get it.
SAULT
3/5
Blur
3/5
Hole
4/5
3.5/5
The Mothers Of Invention
4/5
zappa is such a weirdo. i really liked this, was almost feeling a 9/10 at first, but the bit got a bit old towards the end (the last track is...trying). still very cool
Cheap Trick
3/5
The Flaming Lips
3/5
3.5/5
The Specials
3/5
2/5
I don't like long albums, I don't like live albums, and (all due respect) I'm not a particularly big fan of listening to Bob Dylan. I kept putting this one off, but I was hoping to like it honestly. But I was over it by the end of like track 3. 2.5/5
Gene Clark
3/5
Leonard Cohen
3/5
3.5/5
Slade
2/5
2.5/5
Black Sabbath
4/5
Portishead
4/5
4/5
3.5/5
Germs
3/5
R.E.M.
4/5
CHIC
4/5
3.5/5
Small Faces
3/5
Kinda cool ig, but I don't really get it
Malcolm McLaren
3/5
Feels like I should think this is more tacky and annoying than I actually do. It IS very tacky and annoying, but in a way that mostly works. Kinda had fun with this one.
A Tribe Called Quest
4/5
3.5/5
MGMT
3/5
Buzzcocks
4/5
Michael Jackson
4/5
Lightning Bolt
3/5
cool that a duo of just drums and bass can be so loud and noisy but like. this really isn't music i particularly want to listen to
The Gun Club
4/5
fun listen, but one of those albums that's like "ok i get it" like halfway through. 3.5/5
Herbie Hancock
4/5
Cee Lo Green
3/5
Cee-Lo hasn't exactly um maintained the best legacy in recent years, so I've been putting off listening to this hour plus album from him for awhile. It's...fine. There are a couple pretty fire tracks in there, but for the most part it's pretty run of the mill mid-2000s contemporary R&B and not very exciting.
Jane Weaver
4/5
interesting choice for an album i should hear before i die, especially when the selection from the 2010s is so limited. but that said, i did like this quite a bit
Burning Spear
4/5
Gang Of Four
4/5
3.5/5
Tim Buckley
4/5
3.5/5
Pearl Jam
4/5
3.5/5
Fred Neil
3/5
Ramones
4/5
Cowboy Junkies
3/5
Todd Rundgren
3/5
i think i like a wizard a true star a bit more, but this was still fun. pretty squarely a 3.5, could be a 3 or a 4 here. ran a bit long, so i'll give it the lower score. but it's a loving 3 star. 3.5/5
Fishbone
3/5
Fishbone are kind of a fun band. They were doing cool stuff in the 80s, and sometimes they sound like Mario Kart music, and I like that. This album was fine.
David Holmes
2/5
I love late 90s trip hop/breakbeat/techno, but this is honestly some of the most boring and uninspired stuff I've heard come out of the genre. Nothing exciting or notable this whole album honestly. 2.5/5
The Icarus Line
4/5
This is a real deep cut from the 1001 Albums book, but I guess this random ass band still has people listening to their album more than the myriad of other garage punk bands from 2004. This was pretty cool though, I'm glad I heard it. Yeah it sounds like The Vines or White Stripes at times, but there's also a darker edge to it that's pretty cool (that one track Meatmaker literally sounds like a Suicide song). I'd come back to this. 3.5/5
Simon & Garfunkel
3/5
Johnny Cash
4/5
Kraftwerk
4/5
Björk
3/5
I like Bjork, I love Stonemilker. Overall sound and vibe on this album is stunning. But as a front to back listen it's kind of exhausting and leaves something to be desired. Songs go on for so long and there's so little change in the style and sound that it really becomes a slog less than a third of the way through. Individual elements are pretty nice and it's a respectable project, but I don't think I need to hear it all the way through again. 7/10
Bee Gees
3/5
I guess it's a little fun that this book likes the Bee Gees pre-disco stuff so much that they have 2 full albums here. Unfortunately, I just don't think Bee Gees' approach to baroque pop is all that exciting. I liked this one more than Trafalgar though I guess.
Happy Mondays
2/5
I kinda like Kinky Afro from this band, but that's not on this album. Not really feeling this project. 2.5/5
Merle Haggard
4/5
3.5/5
Black Sabbath
4/5
Tori Amos
4/5
3.5/5
The Cult
2/5
2.5/5
White Denim
3/5
Liked this more than I expected, cool guitar grooves. 3.5/5
Einstürzende Neubauten
4/5
Lowest rated album on this website. And I kinda get it, but I had fun with it. Pretty cool most of the time, and the less good moments were kinda funny in a youtube poop way. So I was entertained. 3.5/5
Christina Aguilera
3/5
The Young Gods
2/5
I'm all for hearing random Swiss industrial metal albums from the late 80s before I die, but this fucking blows I'm sorry lol
Johnny Cash
3/5
3.5/5
Brian Wilson
4/5
Santana
3/5
Dolly Parton
3/5
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
2/5
uhhh i don't get it. i think it's funny when he says "a squid eating dough in a polyethylene bag is fast and bulbous got me" though. 2.5/5
Suede
4/5
3.5/5
Butthole Surfers
2/5
like, it's experimental, but i don't think in a very interesting, engaging, or listenable way. 2.5/5
Missy Elliott
4/5
3.5/5
Fever Ray
3/5
Got good in the second half. Wasn't really feeling it at first (I'm not crazy for The Knife or Fever Ray's vocals generally), but cool vibe & instrumentals ultimately made me like this one enough. 3.5/5
The Sugarcubes
4/5
3.5/5
George Michael
4/5
Pretty much nothing but massive pop hits on this album, but I actually really like the few deep cuts too. I'm not crazy for some of the actual pop classics here (namely Monkey and I Want Your Sex), but still a very cool, well-rounded record with a lot of heat to it. 3.5/5
Stereolab
4/5
Dots and Loops >. But still a nice vibe. 3.5/5
Boards of Canada
4/5
very cool, a bit long. 3.5/5
Screaming Trees
3/5
Marvin Gaye
5/5
Big Star
3/5
Songhoy Blues
4/5
pretty cool. 3.5/5
Elliott Smith
4/5
i like this so so so much more than either/or
The xx
3/5
I wasn't particularly crazy about singles like I Dare You or On Hold when they were new (and I'm still not a huge fan honestly), but the album tracks actually go a lot harder. Decent little indie pop album, I like it. But I never quite felt the hype around The xx. 3.5/5
The Temptations
3/5
The Temptations are cool & I'm always down for 60s soul music...unfortunately this album was kinda boring as hell. Nice enough for me to say I don't have a negative opinion, but didn't do anything to excite me.
Fiona Apple
3/5
I love Fiona Apple and I'm glad that she was able to score such a well-beloved album so late into her career, but I've just never cared for this album era of hers. I never liked the singles from it when they were new, so I never listened to the album, and I can't say that the overall vibe of the album has warmed up to me too much over the last few years. I like Heavy Balloon though.
Deep Purple
3/5
Moby Grape
3/5
The Divine Comedy
3/5
idk what about casanova didnt click with me, but i liked this one a lot more. 3.5/5
Arcade Fire
4/5
3.5/5
Serge Gainsbourg
4/5
Kinda fucks
Tina Turner
3/5
Spacemen 3
3/5
Leonard Cohen
4/5
3.5/5
Willie Nelson
3/5
Mylo
3/5
The Mamas & The Papas
3/5
3.5/5
Raekwon
4/5
Sleater-Kinney
4/5
Abdullah Ibrahim
3/5
3.5/5
TLC
3/5
3.5/5
Talking Heads
5/5
4.5/5
Ray Charles
3/5
It's pretty nice. I'll never go too crazy for Frankie Sinatra big band music of this sort, but this was a cute listen.
Tom Waits
3/5
2.5/5
Snoop Dogg
4/5
3.5/5
Gotan Project
4/5
It's like 70% of the time there's an artist I've never heard of in this book, the album is pretty forgettable. 20% of the time, it's just bad. And 10% of the time it's a cool discovery like the TPAB of electrotango. This was cool. 3.5/5
Slayer
3/5
3.5/5
Led Zeppelin
3/5
This shit must've been crazy in 1969. But for every Dazed and Confused or Babe I'm Gonna Leave You or Communication Breakdown, there's a lame, meandering blues rock track that doesn't do much for me at all.
David Ackles
4/5
I liked this one
Fleet Foxes
3/5
Van Morrison
3/5
It's pretty nice. I like the arrangements and instrumentation a lot, but I think a better vocalist than van would make the album a bit more likable as a whole.
Leonard Cohen
3/5
The Flying Burrito Brothers
3/5
Pentangle
3/5
this was cool, but not quite as cool as i had hoped. 3.5/5
Kacey Musgraves
2/5
I wasn't crazy for the singles from this album cycle when they were new, but now that I've listened to the full album...I REALLY don't get it. This is like the blandest, dullest, most boring album, I swear. I get pleasant "vibe music", I listen to that a lot. So Kacey going "dream pop" should work, but it doesn't help that it has the flattest production I've ever heard in my life, uninspired arrangements, and surprisingly weak vocals across the board. I do like Kacey, the singles from Same Trailer Different Park are so good, and I'm even partial to some of the songs from Deeper Well (and Justified from Star Crossed was good too). But I cannot wrap my head around what people see in this one, it's easily the most uninteresting thing she's ever released.
Jimi Hendrix
4/5
3.5/5
Joy Division
4/5
Buena Vista Social Club
4/5
3.5/5
Frank Sinatra
3/5
Ride
4/5
Def Leppard
2/5
2.5/5
Van Halen
3/5
2.5/5
The Young Rascals
3/5
The Verve
4/5
Not that I thought it would be bad, but I did enjoy this a lot more than I expected to. Very consistent. 3.5/5
Saint Etienne
4/5
3.5/5
The Dictators
2/5
They say not to judge a book by the cover, but I don't think there's a rule about not letting the worst album art I've seen in my life negatively affect my enjoyment of meatheaded proto-punk.
Joan Baez
4/5
Tricky
4/5
The Stooges
5/5
4.5/5
The Kinks
3/5
The Stooges
4/5
Kinda funny I got this one just 2 days after Fun House. I already knew I love Fun House (did a rare re-listen for it the other day anyway), but this one was a first listen for me. It's good, I like the slower more psychedelic tracks and I Wanna Be Your Dog may be the best Stooges song, but Fun House is an overall better listen.
(went ahead and listened to Raw Power today too, just to round out the trilogy. It's my least favorite of the 3, but still 7/10)
Air
2/5
Air is very much the kind of artist I should like, but idk I'm not too crazy for Moon Safari and I like this one even less. It's just kinda shallow sounding for ambient pop. But I do like Playground Love. 2.5/5
Elis Regina
4/5
This was great
fIREHOSE
3/5
I've always liked the songs I knew from Firehose (Sometimes, Time with You, For the Singer of REM), but I never figured they were big or influential enough to be considered essential listening lol. Decent piece of late 80s alt with cool basslines, but not very memorable.
Jean-Michel Jarre
3/5
Jerry Lee Lewis
3/5
More likable than I expected
Stevie Wonder
5/5
As, Another Star, Sir Duke all 10/10. 4.5/5
Carpenters
3/5
Brian Eno
4/5
3.5/5
Blur
3/5
Love Girls & Boys and To the End is pretty great, but idk I didn't really care for much else on this one. It's all fine, just nothing stood out to me. Kinda prefer Modern Life Is Rubbish.
Tim Buckley
3/5
Coming off Starsailor and Lorca, it's a bit underwhelming. But at least the last two tracks are pretty great.
Big Star
4/5
I like this a lot more than #1 Record. Holocaust is incredible. 7/10
Massive Attack
3/5
Highs are very high, but the deep cuts aren't at consistent. Mezzanine is much better. 3.5/5
Waylon Jennings
3/5
One of those old country albums that's nice but goes in one ear and out the other
The KLF
3/5
Kinda fun, but doesn't go quite all the way there for me. Is Chill Out on this list? I need to listen to that one.
Grateful Dead
3/5
That band sure is jamming.
Teenage Fanclub
3/5
3.5/5
SZA
4/5
Bad Brains
4/5
3.5/5
Slipknot
3/5
kinda like this more than the self titled, can i say that. honestly i think it's kinda weird that this is even on the list, it's probably the least essential of all their pre-2010s albums. but dead memories and snuff are here, so i won't complain (plus psychosocial and sulfur...pretty loaded album era for slipknot singles)
The Jam
3/5
Bob Dylan
2/5
Bob Dylan is in my top 5 most listened to artists of the year purely because of this project. I would imagine the amount of Bob Dylan albums here is meant to make me have more of an appreciation for his work. But with each subsequent Bob D album, I'm learning that I just don't like Bob D albums. Tedious, long winded 90s blues rock with bad vocals that makes me feels like I'm missing something. 5/10
Emmylou Harris
3/5
Beatles
3/5
It's alright. I'm just not a huge Beatles fan. 3.5/5
Joanna Newsom
4/5
Sex Pistols
3/5
Kinda better than I expected. 3.5/5
Kate Bush
4/5
Keith Jarrett
4/5
My husband was telling me about this album like 3 days before it showed up here, I had never even heard of it before, I kid you not.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
3/5
The iconic opening/closing duo + the album's status as "proto-grunge" had me excited for this one...but damn none of these album tracks are the tea for me.
The Smashing Pumpkins
4/5
Very cool album. I think I actually prefer it to Siamese Dream. To be such a massive double album, there's really no duds in the track list. It's like a strong 8 compared to Siamese Dreams strong 7/light 8.
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
4/5
New Stone Age, Souvenir, Maid of Orleans are all great. Everything else is fine to good. 3.5/5
Django Django
3/5
Albums I'm supposed to hear before I die and random flash in the pan 21st century indie bands, name a more iconic duo
John Martyn
4/5
I think I still like Solid Air a little more, but John Martyn really was a next level singer-songwriter. Some of the sounds on this album are insane for the 70s. Also, just noticed that he kinda sounds like Anohni. 3.5/5
Skunk Anansie
3/5
As big as this band was at their peak, it's kinda crazy how they've mostly fallen into obscurity since. Skin is such a unique figure in 90s alt rock. And as boundary pushing as she was, the music is...kinda just average 90s alt rock? Like, idk, there's just not very much memorable here at all, even though all the songs are of quality.
Klaxons
4/5
I was about to call this another "flash in the pan indie band album I should hear before I die" (which I guess is correct), but this one was actually pretty good. I remember this band used to be really hyped, and the album does deliver more than expected. Versatile and very consistent. Whatever happened to these guys. 3.5/5
Deee-Lite
3/5
Sinead O'Connor
4/5
I've never liked NC2U which turned me off this album for awhile, but it's lowkey better than The Lion and The Cobra (even if there's nothing on Troy's level here. Feel So Different and Black Boys on Mopeds come close though). 3.5/5
TV On The Radio
3/5
Not really feeling it
Q-Tip
4/5
Lowkey like this more than Low End Theory (am I allowed to say that)
ZZ Top
3/5
I didn't have high hopes for this, but it was better than expected. The problem is that the whole A-side is stellar, and then everything TV Dinners on is pretty mid. I'd pick it up used at the record store though. 3.5/5
Lupe Fiasco
4/5
Arcade Fire
3/5
3.5/5
Dusty Springfield
4/5
The Teardrop Explodes
4/5
Kinda just sounds like by the books 80s post-punk, but the hooks are there. Also, did not know that Julian Cope was in this band until now. 3.5/5
Fairport Convention
3/5
Who Knows Where the Time Goes is GOAT, but Liege and Lief is better overall. There's as many clunkers in the deep cuts as good songs. 3.5/5
Peter Gabriel
4/5
The Residents
3/5
It's like if the Max Headroom hijacking incident was an album
Christina Aguilera
4/5
Not that I had low expectations, but this was a surprisingly great pop album. Still not crazy for Beautiful though. 3.5/5
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
3/5
The Human League
3/5
Blondie
3/5
3.5/5
Astrud Gilberto
4/5
3.5/5
The Beach Boys
4/5
3.5/5
Don McLean
3/5
The Avalanches
4/5
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
3/5
Um I genuinely don't know what this is or why it's here, but it's kinda cool. Unfortunately there's also tracks like "Gang Bang" and "Giddy Up a Ding Dong" to counteract the better tracks. Still kinda liked it more than dislikes it though. 2.5/5
Wire
3/5
Idk, I love 154 and Chairs Missing, but Pink Flag just doesn't really stack up for me. It's kinda just a 70s punk album. I did relisten today to see if my opinion has changed since I listened to it a few years ago, but it really hasn't. It's fine
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
2/5
In general I tend to prefer punk blues more in concept than execution. This project is a bit...ambitious for the genre, but sometimes I think it's avant-garde to the point of being unlistenable. Not a ton of fun to sit through. But Wail is a cool song. 2.5/5
Siouxsie And The Banshees
4/5
3.5/5
Kid Rock
1/5
No thanks I'm good
(I have actually heard this before, so don't take that as me not listening to the album at all. It just sucks and I don't want to hear a song like Black Chick White Guy or Ode 2 the Old School ever again. Pretty reasonable I think. Why's this on the list?)
Elton John
4/5
King Crimson
4/5
Kinda better than ITCOTCK
Jimi Hendrix
4/5
3.5/5
David Bowie
4/5
4.5/5
George Harrison
3/5
3.5/5
Elton John
3/5
3.5/5
Orbital
3/5
3.5/5
Weather Report
4/5
Abandoned mail music (positive). 3.5/5
Neil Young
2/5
After the Gold Rush & Harvest aside, I don't usually enjoy Neil Young albums quite as much as I expect too....but damn this really missed the mark. Easily the least I've ever liked an album from him. 2.5/5
Amy Winehouse
3/5
DJ Shadow
4/5
Ray Price
3/5
Another old country album that's fine, but in one ear and out the other.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
3/5
3.5/5
The Who
2/5
Of all the Who albums I've listened to for this project, this is probably the one I was most excited for. But...it kinda sucks? Innovative for the time, but would be way more likable if the choruses weren't annoying af. Also, it's kind of interesting that a progressive rock opera like this would be more acoustic driven, but the production is just so flat. Did not enjoy this. 2.5/5
Silver Jews
3/5
Have never been quite as big a fan of Silver Jews as I'd expect myself to be
Sheryl Crow
2/5
Sheryl was kind of cooking on the self-titled and The Globe Sessions, but there's not much to this one. Never cared much for the singles, album tracks don't add much either. 2.5/5
4/5
This is great! One of those kind of obscure picks on this list that I'm very happy to have discovered.
Bert Jansch
3/5
3.5/5
Dire Straits
3/5
Sultans of Swing carries the full weight of this 6/10 (Down to the Waterline a bit too). If those two tracks weren't there it would be like a 4/10 or 5/10.
Eagles
3/5
it's ok i guess
Laura Nyro
4/5
Shivkumar Sharma
4/5
very pretty. crazy this is from the 60s, sounds like it could've come out this year
Grateful Dead
3/5
Thundercat
4/5
3.5/5
New Order
3/5
Idk, I never quite like New Order quite as much as I'd expect myself to. Shellshock is great though.
Dagmar Krause
2/5
Naur. 2.5/5
The Pogues
3/5
Don't really like it any more or less than If I Should Fall from Grace with God. 3.5/5
Adele
3/5
Like, it's fine. Except for Send My Love, I find most of these songs unobjectionable. I like Hello and a couple of the deep cuts, but the overall experience is just so unremarkable. 2.5/5
Jack White
3/5
Not Jack White's most interesting project, but it's ok.
Talking Heads
4/5
They really came out swinging on the debut. Just need to hear Speaking in Tongues and I'll have heard all the most significant Talking Heads albums
Hugh Masekela
3/5
Paul McCartney
3/5
Fun little pop rock album. 3.5/5
Youssou N'Dour
4/5
Pretty great actually. 3.5/5
Beth Orton
4/5
Cool to see this one here, I've always thought Beth Orton was kind of underrated (especially with how fire Stolen Car is). This was a really good singer-songwriter album. Not necessarily groundbreaking, but all the tunes are good and I just love Beth Orton as a vocalist
The Black Crowes
3/5
I don't necessarily dislike the Black Crowes, I think they're a pretty solid band. But this album just doesn't do much to excite me. The singles are weak compared to Southern Harmony, and there aren't enough gems in the deep cuts to make up for that. But like, it's fine. 2.5/5
Deep Purple
3/5
I like this more than In Rock and it has a lot of classic songs, but I think I'm just not a huge fan of Deep Purple (Child in Time aside).
Marvin Gaye
4/5
Well, it doesn't touch What's Going On. But it's still pretty good. The instrumentals and production are great, and I like pretty much all the songs. The problem for me is just how overwhelmingly & tangibly bitter the album is. Kinda brings down the whole album experience. 3.5/5
Spiritualized
3/5
It's fine. Doesn't excite me much.
David Bowie
5/5
4.5/5
Love
4/5
The Associates
3/5
2.5/5
Aretha Franklin
4/5
Super Furry Animals
3/5
Honestly, pretty dull. Warmed up to me by the end
Arcade Fire
3/5
Elvis Presley
3/5
Actually pretty enjoyable for an Elvis album. 3.5/5
The Blue Nile
4/5
Oh I didn't know The Blue Nile is here that's cool. Hats better be on this list. I like A Walk Across the Rooftops too--I own it on vinyl, and Tinseltown in the Rain is easily at least their third best song. But it's just not as perfect as Hats is.
Stan Getz
5/5
4.5/5
Scissor Sisters
4/5
I've always likes Take Your Mama, but I wasn't expecting the Scissor Sisters' debut to be so diverse, catchy, and fun! That Comfortably Numb cover is wild. 3.5/5
Jefferson Airplane
3/5
Since the best-known (and best) songs on this album are so classic, I was expecting the full album to be more Grace Slick heavy and uh better. But even if White Rabbit and Somebody to Love are pretty unmatched high points, this is still a pretty good psychedelic rock album all the way through. 3.5/5
My Bloody Valentine
4/5
Highkey better than Loveless
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
4/5
Pretty fun album. The title track is by far the best, but all the more electro-synth funk-old school hip hop tracks are cool. The Stevie Wonder ballads are pretty blehhh though. 3.5/5
Roni Size
3/5
One of those random ass mid-90s downtempo albums that I got excited for but turned out to be pretty boring. Not bad, but Talvin Singh and Suba outsold.
The Strokes
4/5
3.5/5
Pixies
4/5
A little better than Surfer Rosa, but Doolittle is still by far my fav from them.
Marilyn Manson
2/5
Not much of a Manson fan to begin with, but I think if I am going to like Manson it's his gothier stuff vs. the industrial stuff he broke through with. This is just so senselessly edgy. Tourniquet is good though. 2.5/5
Syd Barrett
3/5
I don't quite get it. 2.5/5
Chicago
3/5
Songs are usually longer than they need to be, but still cool. 3.5/5
Gang Starr
4/5
Moment of Truth is better, but still pretty great. 3.5/5
Todd Rundgren
4/5
3.5/5
Derek & The Dominos
3/5
2.5/5
Drive-By Truckers
3/5
Even at an hour and a half long, this didn't feel like it was TOO long an album to get through. It really does feel epic. The problem is, about half the songs are good and the other half are ehhh. Three Great Alabama Icons is incredible though.
Fatboy Slim
3/5
Fatboy Slim just does not do much that excites me. 2.5/5
PJ Harvey
3/5
Dinosaur Jr.
5/5
Love it. Biggest regret is only having You're Living All Over Me scored at 4/5 here instead of 5/5, it's become one of my favorite albums. 4.5/5
Incubus
3/5
Tom Waits
4/5
Os Mutantes
4/5
3.5/5
David Bowie
4/5
3.5/5
Manic Street Preachers
4/5
3.5/5
The Dandy Warhols
3/5
Pavement
3/5
Haircut 100
3/5
Pink Floyd
2/5
Idk, I went into this one expecting to like it, but I kinda just found it more pretentious and annoying than anything? 2.5/5
Erykah Badu
4/5
3.5/5
Suzanne Vega
4/5
4/5
3/5
3.5/5
Everything But The Girl
4/5
Bob Marley & The Wailers
4/5
Pretty squarely a 3.5/5. Neither a 3 or a 4 feels quite right. I guess I'm feeling a bit more positive today. 3.5/5
Jeru The Damaja
4/5
3.5/5
Travis
3/5
Deerhunter
3/5
The Sonics
4/5
3.5/5
Public Enemy
4/5
Goldie
4/5
Very good!
Lou Reed
3/5
Iggy Pop
4/5
3.5/5
X-Ray Spex
4/5
Underworld
4/5
System Of A Down
3/5
SOAD are kind of like Korn for me, in the sense that I recognize that they are very talented and were doing some very progressive and unique shit in the 90s. But I just don't want to listen to it usually. 3.5/5
Kanye West
3/5
Kanye West
3/5
Pet Shop Boys
3/5
3.5/5
Miles Davis
4/5
Peter Frampton
2/5
I just don't get why this is such an essential "live album". Frampton is such a boring vocalist, the performances aren't as "electric" as a really great live album is, just boring, bland, bloated 70s rock that goes on too long.
Eagles
4/5
Huh. Well, my expectations were low and I wasn't crazy for Hotel California. But this album is actually straight heat? Was not expecting that. 3.5/5
Echo And The Bunnymen
3/5
2.5/5
The Stooges
4/5
The Fall
3/5
3.5/5
Led Zeppelin
4/5
3.5/5
The Smiths
4/5
3.5/5
Genesis
4/5
3.5/5
Gillian Welch
4/5
3.5/5
Fugazi
3/5
I did not like this nearly as much as I expected to
Mercury Rev
4/5
3.5/5
Anita Baker
4/5
Kind of an unexpected selection, but very nice album. Maybe my mind is just melted from so much vaporwave, but I just love these cheesy 80s instrumentals. 7/10
Machito
3/5
3.5/5
Hawkwind
4/5
Took me about 3 days to get through this monster of a live album, but it's actually cool as hell (and I did not have high hopes)
Pulp
3/5
I'm just not crazy about Pulp
Morrissey
3/5
Kings of Leon
3/5
Was kind of expecting to hate this after the first few songs, but California Waiting on was actually a pretty decent run. Or maybe I just got into the flow of the album more at that point. I can respect what KoL are going for here, and it's cool to hear them being so experimental and weird in their earlier work. But I don't think I'll need to go back to this one. 2.5/5
Robert Wyatt
4/5
This one's been on my planning list for awhile, didn't know it was featured in this project so that's cool. It's an odd little record...very 70s prog but from 1997. I like it. 3.5/5
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
4/5
Neil Young album #6. I quite liked this one though. 3.5/5
The Velvet Underground
2/5
Sister Ray turns out to be pretty cool, but this album is just pretentious af. I like the self titled and +Nico enough, but I just do not get this one. 2.5/5
Coldcut
3/5
Kind of a weird pull, but I'm glad I listened to it. Even it is a mostly mixed bag, there are enough bangers and cool ideas to make it worthwhile. 6/10
M.I.A.
3/5
The Streets
2/5
I'm not British enough for this
Sam Cooke
4/5
Pink Floyd
5/5
4.5/5
Sparks
3/5
3.5/5
Randy Newman
3/5
Funkadelic
5/5
4.5/5
Arrested Development
3/5
More likable than expected tbh
Charles Mingus
5/5
3rd time this week I've grown a 4.5/5 album I've already heard
Dexys Midnight Runners
3/5
Skepta
3/5
Devendra Banhart
3/5
Kraftwerk
3/5
I like the other 2 albums I've heard from them more, but there's a certain charm to 70s ambient music.
Holger Czukay
2/5
Was about to say who is this guy and what is this album and why does it sound like that, and then I learned he was from Can and it all makes sense. Idk, this band's stuff just goes over my head. 2.5/5
Wilco
3/5
Summerteeth clears
Joan Armatrading
3/5
Morrissey
3/5
I just had Viva Hate like 3 weeks ago lol. I liked this one a bit more though, but not by much. It's a little more well rounded
Flamin' Groovies
3/5
Les Rythmes Digitales
3/5
What are we doing here Robert
Ms. Dynamite
3/5
Killing Joke
4/5
3.5/5
Van Morrison
3/5
3.5/5
Curtis Mayfield
4/5
3.5/5
Black Sabbath
4/5
The xx
3/5
Surprisingly, I kinda prefer I See You. 2 xx albums is far too much though tbh. Better have some solo Jamie here
The Rolling Stones
3/5
Faith No More
4/5
Cool album! 3.5/5
Ozomatli
2/5
No shade but...why...
The Mothers Of Invention
4/5
Laibach
4/5
Like, it's not a great album and I get why it has such a low score here specifically, but idk I'm kind of partial to these crusty 80s industrial albums (except L'eau Rouge, that one was bad). 3.5/5
Curtis Mayfield
5/5
Banger album. I like this one a lot more than Curtis. 4.5/5
N.W.A.
3/5
Kings of Leon
2/5
Not two Kings of Leon albums in like a month :\ Stylistically, I prefer what this album does to Youth and Young Manhood, but I just think the songs themselves are a lot weaker and more annoying
Mike Oldfield
3/5
Alexander 'Skip' Spence
3/5
Didn't really have high hopes for this one tbh, but it was pretty good! Sort of a weird and haunting country rock album, it's cool. 3.5/5
The Modern Lovers
4/5
3.5/5
Beastie Boys
4/5
Easily my favorite Beastie Boys album I've heard
Happy Mondays
3/5
Definitely more enjoyable than Bummed, but did we really need two Happy Mondays albums here to begin with
Culture Club
3/5
Mekons
3/5
Interesting pick, never heard of this band. I kind of like it
Nick Drake
5/5
Pink Floyd
3/5
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
4/5
3.5/5
The Saints
4/5
3.5/5
Cocteau Twins
4/5
Peter Gabriel
3/5
Massive Attack
4/5
The Cure
5/5
4.5/5
Sisters Of Mercy
3/5
3.5/5
Soul II Soul
4/5
Very cool
10cc
3/5
WORKINONIT
The B-52's
4/5
3.5/5
The Fall
2/5
2.5/5
Guided By Voices
4/5
3.5/5
Soundgarden
4/5
Prince
4/5
3.5/5
Robbie Williams
3/5
Weird pick, but surprisingly fun. Is Sing When You're Winning here at least?
Magazine
3/5
3.5/5
Run-D.M.C.
2/5
Run DMC are fun and hard to dislike, but this album was mostly a pretty annoying experience unfortunately. I probably prefer them in small doses (and even then, there are a few songs here I'd be fine not hearing again). 2.5/5
Maxwell
4/5
Tom Waits
3/5
3.5/5
Gram Parsons
3/5
Ramblin' Jack Elliott
3/5
3.5/5
Baaba Maal
3/5
Mudhoney
4/5
Like this one a lot more than Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge. 3.5/5
Mariah Carey
3/5
3.5/5
The The
2/5
Before getting into their early 80s stuff, I always thought The The were a tacky and forgotten late 80s new wave/funk band like Shriekback or The Escape Club. While Soul Mining is pretty good...this does solidify why I had that opinion to begin with.
Madonna
3/5
Blue Cheer
4/5
3.5/5
Grant Lee Buffalo
4/5
The Notorious B.I.G.
5/5
4.5/5
Pere Ubu
3/5
It's a 3.5/5, but that's because there are as many cool tracks that I really like as ones that I think are really annoying, so hard to judge if I'll give it a 3 or a 4. Leaning towards the former. 3.5/5
4/5
Morrissey
3/5
3 Morrissey albums in 3 months is just too much man ToT I think this was my favorite of the three though (but only a small margin separating them)
Peter Tosh
3/5
3.5/5
Stevie Wonder
4/5
3.5/5
The Isley Brothers
4/5
Banger
Alice Cooper
3/5
3.5/5
Sarah Vaughan
4/5
Isaac Hayes
4/5
One of the most 70s sounding pieces of music I've ever heard, and we love it for that. 3.5/5
Alice In Chains
4/5
Garbage
3/5
Garbage has never clicked for me for some reason I can't quite figure out
k.d. lang
3/5
MC Solaar
4/5
French hip hop always sounds cool. 3.5/5
The Black Keys
3/5
The Black Keys are basically washed up hacks these days, and I truly never need to hear their music again (well, Weight of Love can stay. But otherwise). So I was not excited for this one. But, I do have to say, while I don't *love* this record, I do GET it. It makes sense that this is the album that really made them go mainstream, and it's all-around a decent set of tunes that brought blues & soul to the indie aesthetics of the time in a unique way. The deep cuts are surprisingly consistent. Auerbach is just not my cup of tea.
Run-D.M.C.
3/5
Oasis
3/5
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
3/5
Is every Nick Cave album on this list??? 3.5/5
The Roots
3/5
Paul McCartney and Wings
3/5
3.5/5
Ice Cube
3/5
3.5/5
Meat Puppets
4/5
3.5/5
Ice T
3/5
Kinda funny that I got Ice Cube and Ice T pretty much right after each other. I liked them about equally, but in different ways. 3.5/5
Aerosmith
3/5
Definitely better than anything they released Pump on, but I'm just not an Aerosmith fan. Toys in the Attic clears.
Violent Femmes
4/5
Joe Ely
3/5
3.5/5
Super Furry Animals
3/5
They have 2 albums here?? I swear I have never heard anyone in real life talk about this band, and Rings Around the World was honestly one of the most boring, uninteresting albums on the list to this point. This one did have some flavor though, I kinda liked it but didn't love it.
5/5
4.5/5
Dolly Parton
4/5
Terence Trent D'Arby
2/5
Bruce Springsteen
4/5
Jeff Beck
3/5
Fleetwood Mac
4/5
The Prodigy
4/5
Incredible Bongo Band
3/5
3.5/5
Bebel Gilberto
4/5
3.5/5
The Jesus And Mary Chain
3/5
3.5/5
Adam & The Ants
3/5
While I recognize that Adam (and the) Ant(s) were a very groundbreaking, creative, and experimental act in the world of weirdo dance-punk, their fundamental flaw is being annoying as fuck. That said, I did enjoy this LP a bit more than expected.
Primal Scream
3/5
Björk
3/5
Genesis
4/5
The Adverts
4/5
I've literally never heard of them before, but this was pretty good. 7/10
Love
3/5
3.5/5
Hanoi Rocks
3/5
Green Day
3/5
Fun Lovin' Criminals
3/5
This is such a wtf pick and Scooby Snacks is so booger that I want this 2.5 to be more on the low side. But the truth is, it's an OK album with some decent jazzy beats and even a couple songs I like. It's worst sin is being boring. 2.5/5
Orange Juice
3/5
3.5/5
The Coral
3/5
Patti Smith
3/5
Aretha Franklin
4/5
Joni Mitchell
4/5
Yes
4/5
Fragile and Close to the Edge easily clear, but I still like it.
Badly Drawn Boy
3/5
Sometimes the intense early 2000s-ness of this publication really jumps out, I've never heard anyone talk about Badly Drawn Boy. I only know a couple of his songs and expected this to be boring, but it did actually have more variety and depth of sound than I expected, while simultaneously never "wowing" me. Disillusion is pretty great at least.
The Undertones
3/5
3.5/5
Simply Red
3/5
3/5
It's pretty cool, but literally gave me a headache. 3.5/5
Neneh Cherry
3/5
Mott The Hoople
4/5
Liked this a lot more than I expected. 3.5/5
John Grant
4/5
Literally never heard of this guy before. Interesting pick for the year 2010. But it is quite good, I'm glad I discovered it. 3.5/5
Nightmares On Wax
4/5
Pretty cool compared to how flat a lot of the downtempo on this list can be. Some of these songs do go on a bit long (and You Wish is an all-time banger they don't match on this project), but very much my vibe currently. 3.5/5
4/5
3.5/5
Frankie Goes To Hollywood
3/5
American Music Club
3/5
3.5/5
Napalm Death
4/5
3.5/5
Destiny's Child
3/5
2.5/5
Linkin Park
4/5
More enjoyable than expected? I had my federally mandated LP phase in high school, then had my anti-LP phase in college, and now I appreciate what they were doing on this album more than ever before. Some really cool deep cuts, fuzzy guitar riffs that make me nostalgic, and some influences from trip hop & downtempo that really make it flow. Honestly, would listen again. 3.5/5
3/5
Scott Walker
3/5
Hüsker Dü
4/5
Weird this is the only Husker Du album on the list... 3.5/5
The Beach Boys
5/5
RIP Brian Wilson. 4.5/5
Dwight Yoakam
3/5
Marvin Gaye
4/5
Fats Domino
3/5
Frank Black
4/5
Even better than his self titled, which I also love! Solo Frank Black is great
Buck Owens
3/5
3.5/5
The Style Council
4/5
Actually liked this one a little more than Our Favorite Shop. 3.5/5
The Thrills
3/5
Girls Against Boys
3/5
Jethro Tull
4/5
Lauryn Hill
4/5
Dire Straits
3/5
Just want to say that the more ambient, jammy album tracks actually go kind of hard, but I hate Money for Nothing so much it knocks the score as a whole down like half a point.
Living Colour
4/5
3.5/5
Gorillaz
3/5
Honestly, a little disappointing? As much as I love Demon Days and Plastic Island + the songs I already knew from the debut, a little surprised by just how inconsistent this is. It's got a good vibe throughout and is saved by its best moments, but there's a reason a lot of these deep cuts aren't very well remembered. 3.5/5
Pet Shop Boys
4/5
3.5/5
LTJ Bukem
4/5
Rahul Dev Burman
3/5
Ice Cube
4/5
Better than AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted. 3.5/5
Elbow
3/5
Elbow has some good songs, but on the bulk they're usually pretty uninteresting. One of those The National type bands that people seem to love not their just SO boring. 2.5/5
Norah Jones
4/5
3.5/5
The White Stripes
4/5
3.5/5
Jane's Addiction
4/5
3.5/5
Justin Timberlake
2/5
2.5/5
The Temptations
3/5
Bob Marley & The Wailers
4/5
The Verve
4/5
Actually pretty great. Didn't think I was much of a fan of this band, but both this one and Urban Hymns impressed me. 3.5/5
Baaba Maal
3/5
3.5/5
Ella Fitzgerald
3/5
On the fence on whether my 3.5 here counts more towards a 4 because it was pretty good, or more towards a 3 because it took the whole goddamn weekend to listen to. 3.5/5
Justice
4/5
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
3/5
3.5/5
Blood, Sweat & Tears
3/5
The Pretty Things
3/5
3.5/5
Basement Jaxx
4/5
Robert Wyatt
4/5
3.5/5
Beck
3/5
Pretenders
4/5
David Gray
3/5
Van Halen
4/5
3.5/5
The Smiths
4/5
The Rolling Stones
3/5
3.5/5
The Dave Brubeck Quartet
3/5
3.5/5
The Soft Boys
3/5
Alice Cooper
3/5
3.5/5
T. Rex
4/5
Dr. John
4/5
Really cool! 3.5/5
Big Black
4/5
Amy Winehouse
4/5
Is it so wrong to say that I think this blows Back to Black out of the water. 3.5/5
Frank Sinatra
3/5
3.5/5
The Louvin Brothers
3/5
Janis Joplin
4/5
James Brown
4/5
3.5/5
Hot Chip
4/5
Kind of a left field pick, but it's pretty good. 3.5/5
Steve Winwood
4/5
3.5/5
The Replacements
4/5
Classic album, own it on vinyl! Androgynous is lowkey one of the best songs of the whole 80s.
Bauhaus
4/5
Leftfield
3/5
Tortoise
4/5
TNT's a little better, but Tortoise are awesome regardless. Cool this is here.
Afrika Bambaataa
3/5
Common
3/5
3.5/5
The Afghan Whigs
3/5
3.5/5
William Orbit
3/5
3.5/5
Ian Dury
4/5
This was an roight noice li-ul owlbum, luv 3.5/5
Big Brother & The Holding Company
3/5
3.5/5
Pantera
3/5
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
3/5
2.5/5
Marianne Faithfull
4/5
The Cure
4/5
Nina Simone
4/5
The thing about this album is that I really want to give it a 9 because it has MULTIPLE 10/10 songs on it (and a few 9/10s), but then there's also a lot of 7/10s...so I guess 8 is the most round number I can give it.
Minor Threat
4/5
a-ha
3/5
Scoundrel Days is better. It's weird though, because I do love a lot of the songs here. It's just that the deep cuts are so unexceptional that it weights the album as a whole down for me. 3.5/5
Nico
3/5
Throbbing Gristle
3/5
Surprised this is here and 20 Jazz Funk Greats isn't. What a weird band. 7/10
Sade
4/5
Bon Jovi
2/5
De La Soul
4/5
Public Image Ltd.
4/5
Starts out super strong, but really fizzles out by the end. I think I like it a little more than Metal Box though. 3.5/5
The Psychedelic Furs
4/5
3.5/5
Slint
4/5
Shack
3/5
4/5
Held up better than I expected, honestly. 3.5/5
David Crosby
3/5
Rocket From The Crypt
4/5
Had absolutely no expectations for this one, so I'm surprised by how much I loved it. Excellent guitar leads, tasteful horns add some punch, always catchy choruses and great harmonies. Really good album.
Iron Butterfly
3/5
Gil Scott-Heron
4/5
Dennis Wilson
3/5
3.5/5
Black Flag
3/5
Kings of Leon
3/5
Donald Fagen
4/5
3.5/5
3/5
3.5/5
Frank Ocean
4/5
3.5/5
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
Dexys Midnight Runners
3/5
2.5/5
The Byrds
4/5
Can't really articulate why, but I actually really fuck with this. 3.5/5
U2
3/5
David Bowie
4/5
3.5/5
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
3/5
Queen
3/5
Pet Shop Boys
4/5
The Waterboys
4/5
3.5/5
Sonic Youth
4/5
The Shamen
3/5
Ali Farka Touré
3/5
Red Snapper
3/5
3.5/5
The Go-Betweens
4/5
Like Prefab but a little less exciting to me. Streets of Your Town is fire though. 3.5/5
Otis Redding
4/5
Tom Waits
2/5
The Beach Boys
4/5
So who was gonna tell me this was better than Pet Sounds?? 4.5/5
David Bowie
4/5
It's a good late era Bowie album. Would I consider it essential listening when he has 15 other albums here, including the much superior late era album Blackstar? Not really, but I'm glad I heard it. 3.5/5
The Last Shadow Puppets
4/5
I can't say this with 100% certainty that this is better than any Arctic Monkeys album because I haven't heard any of their albums in full, but I CAN say that on average I like this band more than Arctic Monkeys, and by a lot. This was a cool album.
The Doors
3/5
3.5/5
Giant Sand
2/5
Uhh I like slowcore and alt-country enough ig, but this was kinda boring as shit. 2.5/5
Roxy Music
4/5
3.5/5
Elvis Presley
3/5
The United States Of America
3/5
Stereo MC's
3/5
Connected + 11 other songs that sound identical to Connected but less good
Aphex Twin
5/5
4.5/5
Cypress Hill
3/5
2.5/5
Jacques Brel
4/5
This was pretty cool, he's a super emotive vocalist. I haven't heard much by this guy, but he seems he has a lot of projects more beloved than this one. I'll have to listen to some of his other stuff. 3.5/5
The La's
3/5
Kate Bush
5/5
4.5/5
FKA twigs
3/5
Taylor Swift
4/5
3.5/5
Arctic Monkeys
3/5
Solange
4/5
4.5/5
Miriam Makeba
4/5
3.5/5
PJ Harvey
3/5
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
3/5
There sure is a lot of Costello on this list, and most of the entries are albums I'm not particularly interested in (would be okay if I got Armed Forces or Imperial Bedroom). He's not my favorite artist
The National
2/5
2.5/5
Neil Young
3/5
3.5/5
Faust
4/5
Creedence Clearwater Revival
3/5
3.5/5
Barry Adamson
3/5
Better than Oedipus Schmoedipus I guess, but why is this guy here twice anyway
Willie Colón & Rubén Blades
4/5
3.5/5
Koffi Olomide
3/5
This is one of the weirdest picks on the list lol. This guy kinda seems like a khia, the 2.53 rating on RYM and 6-7 minute long songs scared me off a bit, but I did actually kind of like this. It's just pleasant.
B.B. King
4/5
3.5/5
Peter Gabriel
4/5
Dexys Midnight Runners
4/5
Third and final Dexys album that I'm listening to here (assuming they don't pull some REAL weird shit), and easily the best. This could've been the only one and it would've been totally fine. 3.5/5
Venom
4/5
Fucking rips. 4.5/5
Bill Callahan
4/5
3.5/5
Electric Light Orchestra
4/5
Christine and the Queens
3/5
3.5/5
Ryan Adams
3/5
Mj Cole
4/5
Bottom 20 of all time? We're haters here, I see! I really liked this. It's a strong 7. Gut says give it 3 stars, but I want to boost its global standing more (and it is quite good). 3.5/5
Pere Ubu
3/5
Honestly, kinda liked Dub Housing more. 3.5/5
Bob Dylan
3/5
3.5/5
Soft Machine
3/5
2.5/5
The Sabres Of Paradise
3/5
This isn't bad at all. Some of these early mid-90s techno projects have actually been boring as hell, so I didn't have high hopes for this one with it being so low-rated here. But I'd take it over like Roni Size & Reprazent or The Shamen any day. 3.5/5
Antony and the Johnsons
3/5
Moby
4/5
3.5/5
The Byrds
4/5
I think I quite like the Byrds actually? This was the second one of theirs in a row that surprised me, maybe I ought to revisit Younger Than Yesterday. 3.5/5
T. Rex
4/5
Paul Simon
3/5
3.5/5
The Fall
3/5
3.5/5
N.E.R.D
3/5
The Birthday Party
4/5
Sneaky way to get even more Nick Cave in here, I guess. Joke's on you though, I actually kinda liked this more than just about any of his solo albums that I've heard. Bottom 20 of all time here, and I can understand why, but this was a super cool album just for how wild it is. 3.5/5
Fugees
4/5
Jane's Addiction
3/5
Digital Underground
3/5
The Police
3/5
Nanci Griffith
4/5
Didn't have high hopes for this, but it's actually quite nice. 3.5/5
M.I.A.
3/5
Circle Jerks
3/5
Ministry
4/5
Rod Stewart
3/5
Beyoncé
4/5
Guess who's jealous of Adele...
3.5/5
The Incredible String Band
3/5
Idk I liked it. 3.5/5
Queen Latifah
3/5
Brian Eno
4/5
3.5/5
The Undertones
4/5
3.5/5
Brian Eno
4/5
Metallica
3/5
Doves
3/5
Better than The Last Broadcast, actually has a few terrier bangers. But mostly I do still fine this band a lot of mid. 3.5/5
The Bees
3/5
Not sure about the "need to hear" quality of this, but I'm glad that I did! One of those random weird picks that's actually quite nice. 3.5/5
Röyksopp
3/5
3.5/5
Lambchop
3/5
The Go-Go's
3/5
3.5/5
The Hives
3/5
Motörhead
3/5
Sepultura
4/5
3.5/5
Prince
3/5
Iron Maiden
4/5
3.5/5
Joni Mitchell
5/5
4.5/5
lame. 2.5/5
3/5
Leonard Cohen
3/5
3.5/5
The Beta Band
3/5
2.5/5
The Crusaders
4/5
The Good, The Bad & The Queen
3/5