Fantastic '90s style R&B singing contrasted with excellent musicianship rooted in more traditional forms of R&B and soul.
Rush, distilled into a radio-friendly format. I particularly enjoyed the interplay between Lifeson, Lee and Peart.
A great throwback to 50s music while previewing the rise of New Wave, it features fantastic lyrics and frenetic instruments.
Beautiful melodies and incredible production that the Beach Boys were known for from Pet Sounds.
A Night At The Opera is a musical tour de force. All the instruments are perfect. The musical production is turned up to 11 but it works. It truly is like attending an opera. Freddy's voice is something to behold.
Flipping marvellous.
The first fifteen minutes is them tuning up. It's important in the context of the pantheon of music but I think there was a reason everyone was tripping balls at their concerts.
I saw Coldplay on New Years Eve once. It was clear they didn't want to be there and, truthfully, nor did I. Not much has changed.
Very enjoyable and in many ways more accessible than the other progenitor of thrash, Metallica.
Look, it's a five. It was always going to be a five. Damn this album is just so good.
Wow, what a cool album. Tinges of punk power chords, that 1970s hard rock, 80s synths and new wave singing. Truly a confluence of styles.
Look, I love Jack White, everything he does, I think he, the Strokes and a few others were responsible for dragging us out of the butt rock of the early noughties. I listened to this album a lot, I'd jam along to Sixteen Saltines, the variety, humour and introspection of the lyrics and the breadth of styles shows why he's a legend. But this album is certainly not deserving of being in the pantheon of great albums. It doesn't present anything new, merely a re-packaging of the White Stripes and those albums present a much more distilled version of what he was trying to achieve.
I thought this was just going to be your average English new wave band. It's so much more: Politically charged lyrics, impressive musical chops and musicality and interesting. Recommended.
That was difficult to get through. I try to find the positives in most music but I really dislike the sort of anodyne smooth jazz on display here. Sorry, The Crusaders.
I'm not a fan of, and not knowledgeable enough, to have a decent opinion. That said, the previous album was Street Life by The Crusaders and anything is a masterpiece compared to that drol of an album.
I was the target demographic for this album. I was third year varsity. At this stage I was deep into the garage rock scene. The Killers were huge and The Kings of Leon were making their presence known. My mate had just come back from the UK and brought a copy of The Streets' A Grand Don't Come For Free. What I mean is I was primed for this album. Even so, when WPSIATWIN was just something else entirely. There was nobody making music that sounded like this, or at least that reached us at the southern end of Africa. It was a revelation. We could identify with the rabble-rousing, drinking and partying on display. As the Arctic Monkeys have matured so have I. I guess what I'm saying is this album is both a significant point in the cultural zeitgeist and a deep dive into nostalgia for me.
What an absolute banger of an album. The gritty, lower-class Brit Pop of Pulp (and Blur) is so good.
I did not expect to enjoy this. Generally I prefer the melody and harmonies of a song to the lyrics but the words just hit hard. It was truly beautiful. Coupled with the extremely subdued arrangements it was a haunting listen.
Good lord Morrissey is tiresome.
Jeez, this is just such an incredible album. Buckley's control of his voice, the musicianship, the 90s singer-songwriter vibe that's so much more. It feels like most 90s music with the familiar tropes like acoustic guitar supported by strings but at this same time is just unique.
In retrospect it's pretty laughable how highly punted these guys were. Not bad, just not particularly memorable.
Gotta love grandiose 70s rock operas with loads of piano.
I tried to listen to this with an open mind. I do agree, given the change in artistic direction and cultural impact it had, that this album deserves to be on this list. That said, the 80s synth music is anodyne and the lyrics milquetoast. Anodyne because others have done it much, much better and milquetoast because the change in artistic direction didn't extend to the lyrics. It's the same "boyfriend who didn't measure up to my expectations" schtick that made Taylor a meme in the first place. I'd give this one star if it wasn't so impactful on the cultural zeitgeist for some reason.
Finally some good fucking music.
Solomon Burke has an incredible voice. The guitar work is sublime. The horns and backing singers provide the perfect punctuation. Overall I loved the arrangements and production.
Is it technically good? Yes. Is it funny? I suppose so, but it is very edge-lord. Should it be required listening? No, it should be consigned to the rubbish bin of history. Even if he was joking the lyrics have not stood the test of time. I am not someone who believes we should censor the past because it provides a good idea of how far we've come but the gratuitous descriptions of murder, underage sex, violence and misogyny purely for shock value mean I wouldn't recommend this to anyone.
Not my kind of music but it's influence is undeniable, the roster of musicians is incredible and certainly Lamar is an amazing rapper who seems to stand head and shoulders above his peers.
Is that what the kids call "vibes"?
I don't know what I'm listening to, I don't know how they made these sounds. All I know is I like it.
Hierdie album is fokken wild, ouens. Vyf fokken sterre uit vyf ekse.
I was in my final year of primary school when this album dropped. It was EVERYWHERE. It was inescapable. It was a totally new sound, blending genres, subverting tropes. The "electronic" music I'd grown up on was Darude and Sash!. I had not had much exposure to hip hop. Maybe this album isn't quite as revolutionary as it initially seemed but I don't think it's impact can be over-stated. An extra star just for that.
Fucking hell Manchester must have been a bleak place in the 80s. Four stars because The Smiths are culturally important and Johnny Marr is cool.
Not high-brow but awesome for what it is.
Goodness that was tedious.
With the intro of the first song I was totally expecting to hate it. I mean, I enjoy outlaw country but this seemed like the progenitor of today's terrible bro-country. But man, once the singing started it was great. Funny, full of pathos, telling a relatable story. And of course the influence of mariachi music on Buenas Noches From a Lonely Room was a welcome surprise. So, so good.
Ugh. One extra star for how important it was (compare this to Coldplay) for better or worse (worse, it was for worse).
Not as bad as everyone says. It's anodyne but it's beautiful, the instrumentals arranged sparsely and beautifully. Jones has the opportunity to move into jazzier territory later in the album and it's probably where this album shines. Not ground-breaking but like your favourite worn-in clothes: really comforting.
Reading Wikipedia it said the Yeah Yeah Yeahs were roommates with Metric. That makes a lot of sense. They sound very similar to Metric, Florence and The Machine and The Kills, just not as interesting.
It was fine. I like Travis. They make nice music. Is it world-changing? No. Three stars.
*Face-melting guitar solo* Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me! Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me! Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me! Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me! Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me! Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me! Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me! Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me! Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me! Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me! Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me! Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me! Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me! Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me! Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me! Motherfucker!
43:19 album length, six songs. Sigh.
I'd only heard Valerie before this. It started off strongly but it seems like they ran out of ideas.
I was loving it until we got to "Hazy Shade of Winter" and was disappointed to see it was the second last song. Guess we'll start from the beginning again....
Started off strong but dragged on a bit.
Incredible album. Lou Reed was such a distinctive musician. Obviously "Walk on the Wild Side" is the big single but there are so many interesting songs on this album.
I don't really listen to lyrics, I've always preferred the tune over the lyrics. So this album definitely wasn't aimed at me. There are worse albums on this list but not many.
Pretty middle of the road.
This was great. Minus one star for it being made by Kanye.
I'm a sucker for songs that tell a story. Ackles' American Gothic paints a picture of an America that most of us can visualise but few know. One can see why Bernie Taupin decided to produce. The backing instruments themselves contribute a rich tapestry, placing us in Mid-West small town America. At times it drags and can be maudlin but it is certainly a stark reminder of what the singer-songwriter tradition can produce. Folk really sounded this original.
Often imitated, never surpassed. The favourite band of the kids who weren't cool but knew good music.
This album is a vibe.
I wouldn't even say I like Nirvana but this album is a five. It changed the course of music irrevocably. I'm inclined to remove a star because without grunge we'd never have gotten butt rock, but I'm not that petty.
That was fine.
That was a blast.
I was waiting for this to end.
Not my speed but it was fine.
That listened like one song. Not in a good way. I get that Ramones were incredibly important in punk rock but besides the classics it wasn't a great time.
If you didn't give this album five stars I'm not sure this whole music reviewing lark is for you.
Man, I hate jam bands.
It's great but it's not their best. That has to go to Avalon.
Ja, it was fine.
Surprisingly deep and depressing that we're still trying to deal with all this shit.
I was 9 when this album came out. All of our brothers had this album and we would listen to Bad Habit when our moms were at work. Good times. Does it belong on this list? I'm skeptical but it is much more enjoyable than those bands which lean more to the pop side of pop punk.
"White Rabbit" and "Somebody to Love" make this a four. You can leave the rest of them.
This was incredible. Stevie Wonder is the man.