I don't know how I could rate it anything else, this albums iconic. I had never listened to the entire thing before, so it was cool hearing the second half of the record. 1/1001
Very British and very 90s, but I liked it more than I thought I would. The chord progressions & lyrics held my attention.
Standout Tracks
- Common People
- Disco 2000
- Something Changed
- Underwear
2/1001
I haven't listened to much hip hop before, but this was really good. The music and lyrics were consistently great across the album. The theming tying the whole album together was also cool.
Standout Tracks
- To Zion
- Doo Wop (That Thing)
- Forgive Them Father
3/1001
Listened 5/20/23
Not really my thing, but it grew on me through the second half of the album.
Standout Tracks
- Murder Was The Case
- Ain't No Fun
- Doggy Dogg World
4/1001
Listened 05/21/22
Iconic - knew most songs going in, still great to listen to. Everything is a standout track.
5/1001
Listened 5/22/23
This album is slow, but the arrangements are insane. I think this will grow on me even more with more listening. Walk On By and Phoenix are so good!
Pretty good, but also older stuff. This might grow on me, I could see why it would've been popular in its day.
Standout Tracks
- Alexander's Ragtime Band
- Tell Me You'll Wait For Me
Most tracks didn't stick out for me, but it was pleasant throughout.
Standout Tracks
- Country Road
- Oh Susanna
- Sunny Skies
Listened 05/25/23
8/1001
ooo extricated list ooo
This album is... nice, but it all kind of blends together, nice for background but there are better singer-songwriters out there. Didn't need to be as long as it was.
9/1001
Listened 5/26/2023
This album's atmosphere is great, it's fun to listen to, but it's also not really something to listen to consciously, more something to have on in the background. It's really long and repetitive, so it kinda suits that. The sci-fi stuff makes it stand out.
Down Through the Night is the best track on this album, I also thought some of the spoken interludes were cool or at least funny. Some elements of the other longer songs are interesting.
Respectfully a 3/5
Listened 5/27/23
10/1001
Actually pretty nice throughout! Point off for "Dad-Rockiness" in some spots though. It was interesting to listen to a full Steely Dan album. I also found out that there is no guy called Steely Dan! Some tracks were just "nice", they didn't really stick out, but they were definitely better than other stuff.
Standout Tracks
- Dirty Work
- Kings
- Midnite Cruiser
Listened 5/28/23
11/1001
This album really wasn't my thing, but I've gotta give credit where credit's due. I don't really like the "modern-motown" sound, but they nailed it. Amy Winehouse is impressive.
Day later note - it's growing on me
Atmospheric, nice, but no standouts yet. Lots of potential to grow on me. I'd heard about it before without knowing, actually, so it was nice to learn what it was. Kinda reminds me of Peewee's Playhouse.
Interesting to listen to Fiona Apple, remembering the pandemic-era hype. She's definitely a singer songwriter. I think a lot of the lyrics were interesting or at least speaking to something true, but other sounded dorky. Everything in the second half is better overall, took my thoughts from a 2 to a hesitant 3.
Good, interesting to hear music from Senegal! Some of the "western" aspects date it though (but I kinda like them). It was pretty nice!
Standout Tracks 4, 7, 9, 10
Pretty "jam-y" (they named the band right), but the atmosphere was good. It seems like there's a lot to the lyrics.
I like the second single, but the tracks all kinda fade together.
Better than some of the other stuff I've listen for this, 3 but leaning towards 4. The organ was 70s-y (positive). I don't remember the exact tracks I liked, but the one with "freedom is having nothing less to lose" and "lord won't you..." stood out.
I'd put this somewhere near hawkwind, the sci-fi was cool or at least interesting and the music was nice, but nothing that stood out.
The first 20 minutes of this and the last 15 or so are really good! The middle I could take or leave, but I still really liked the album. The story makes it something else, and it's always great to get introduced to new instrumental music.
This was actually really good. The music was good, and the lyrics were interesting, or painted a picture, or resonated.
"And marriage is when we admit
Our parents were right"
"When the world falls apart some things stay in place"
"Our place in History is as
Clock watchers, old timers, window shoppers"
Standout Tracks
- Greetings to the New Brunette
- The Marriage
- Levi Stubb's Tears
- Wishing the Days Away
- The Passion
The album overall was great
Fun! Interesting to listen to the whole album. I was kinda surprised by just how synth pop -y it was. I like the music throughout though! While nothing really stood out, some of the titles or concepts were cool.
- Living a Boy's Adventure Tale
- Hunting High and Low
- The Blue Sky
- Love is Reason
This is even better on a relisten.
The Ska was fun! The rhythms had a lot to get into. Some tracks kinda dragged, but overall, this was nice. The best track is Dawning of a New Era.
I would've dismissed this as bland dad rock, but the guitar hooks are amazing!! Guiding Light and Marquee Moon are the best tracks.
Maybe could've been 3. I thought it was going to be better at the start but by the last few tracks I wanted the album to end. Aggressively mid dad rock. Witchy Woman and Nightingale were pretty good though.
Listened 6/11/23
Pretty good, but I'm not really used to country. I like the ballads.
Standout Tracks
- 2 Kool 2 Be 4 Gotten
- Drunken Angel
- Lake Charles
- I Lost It
- Metal Firecracker
Listened 6/12/23
Almost a 4, but some parts have really aged, otherwise, rock-y fun!
Standout Tracks
- I Don't Mind
- A Legal Matter
- Instant Party
Very calming, groove-y. There's a lot to the lyrics. The stuff was well done, but it felt a little slow to me.
BT:
1, 9, 12, 14
I don't get experimental jazz! : ) But this was nice to clean to after the end of the school year. The trumpet was great. The music felt like controlled chaos.
This is the guy who did Me and My Arrow!! Album was nice overall, bt 2 & 6.
This was definitely a Coldplay album. I liked it more than I thought I would though. Almost a 5, but nothing was really crazy, it all sorta flowed together.
BT:
Spies
We Never Change
Shiver
Only 1 star off bc I'm not super into metal (yet). This was really fun. The lyrics sounded kinda stupid sometimes, but other times they were so edgy they looped back or actually good. The instrumentals were still way better than any of that, consistently impressive. Track 7 is the best.
Didn't know about Olomide before, definitely do now. If nothing else, the vocals were really good. Cool to learn more about Congolese music, but this felt kinda long for what it was. Nice background party music though? I zoned out as it went on... Some elements stood out, but weren't really developed, parts on tracks 4 and 7.
(Listened 6/18/23, before "previous" album)
Nice, but no standout Tracks except for the single I already knew. 2nd side is the better one, but the first synchronicity track is also good.
BT
- Every Breath You Take
- King of Pain
- Murder By Numbers
This album was really heavy, but also really good. I don't really have the experience to really understand a lot of it, it'll be interesting to come back to when I'm older. The music and lyrics are both memorable, they create a gloomy and uncertain atmosphere together. The music gets better as the album goes on.
BT:
- Men of Good Fortune
- How Do You Think It Feels
- Oh Jim
- The Kids
- The Bed
It's crazy how much you can hear this albums influence on newer stuff. Sonic Youth was a name I recognized before but had never actually listened to. I've been reading a lot of Neil Gaiman's Sandman recently, this would make a good soundtrack.
BT
- Catholic Block
- Hot Wire My Heart
Solid album, it really cooks in some spots, but the album is longer than it probably needed to be, the tracks kinda fade together. Still, liked it more than I thought I would, almost a 4.
BT
- Manish Boy
- Bus Driver
This was pretty Dad rocky, and at first I thought it was repetitive, but the instrumentals and musicianship are insane! (And it's crazy they got away with these lyrics in the late 60s). The best track is The Lemon Song, but What is and What Never Should Be, Thank You, and Ramble On were all also pretty good.
Kate Bush's music is so distinct and atmospheric that even the worse tracks were still interesting. It's really something to see where she takes each song concept and music wise. Bush is always 5/5
BT
- This Woman's Work
- The Fog
- Never Be Mine
- Deeper Understanding
- the entire second side of the album & title track as honorable mentions
This was really good! It held my attention throughout, musically and lyrically, there's a lot to get into.
BT
- Mama's Always On Stage
- Mr. Wendel
- Fishin' 4 Religion
- Natural
- Tennessee
Literally short n' sweet, some interesting and hooks & lyrics/concepts.
BT
- Scarborough Fair
- Homeward Bound
- Flowers Never Bend With the Rainfall
- For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her
- A Poem on the Underground Wall
Right on the fence between 3 & 4 for this one. Gonna go with the benefit of the doubt though. The tracks would be kinda slow on their own, but the whole thing was really groovy, and the lyrics were sharp.
BT
- Cybele's Reverie
- Tomorrow is Already Here
- Motoroller Scalatron
- Slow Fast Hazel
With respect, this album is a 2, some of the other albums I've rated as 2s could've been 1s. The lyrics are nice enough, and the melodies are sweet enough, but everything sounds very similar.
BT
- A Bunch Of Lonesome Heroes
- The Old Revolution
This was actually really good. Pearl Jam was a lot darker than the impression I had of them. Every track was consistently good, it's an album you can listen to front to back.
BT
- Master/Slave
- Alive
- Black
- Jeremy
- Oceans
- Why Go
- Garden
Ah! This is even better than the Simon & Garfunkel stuff! Even on tracks that were sorta boring, there was some good hook that sorta redeemed the track, and most didn't even need this! The second side was noticably rougher though. Solid Album!
BT:
- Mother and Child Reunion
- Duncan
- Run That Body Down
- Everything Put Together Falls Apart
- Peace Like a River
I can see where a lot of metal came from this, but by itself it was just ok. I started losing attention during the second half of the album, the lyrics and music were kinda repetitive and the former were dumb (only sometimes in a fun way). Still, parts of tracks 4 and 5 were pretty good. I'd give this a 2.5.
In some ways, I liked this more than Future Days. The variety of music really showed off where the music could be taken, this is definitely my favorite experimental album so far (it's also the most pop-y). Each track has at least one interesting part. Persian Love is beautiful, the middle to end of Hollywood symphony is great, Oh Lord Give Us More Money is insane and Cool in the Pool is generally fun. Someday, I may get this kind of music.
Taylor freakin' Swift. Where to start? I feel like a lot of people find this album easier to bash because of the reputation (and demographic) of the artist's fanbase, while at the same time know that this isn't exactly groundbreaking stuff. I was like 7 when this came out, so I'm gonna score it the "nostalgia point". I see all this hype around Swift, and I think "maybe I'll like her, this sounds interesting", and then I'll pull up the album and the tracks are like "Bad Blood" [radio pop you hear at the dentist's]. 3/5, maybe 3.5/5
Jazz instrumental, but it flows along and is fun, I didn't find myself waiting for tracks to end despite their length. The guitar in Messy Bessie stood out, but the album overall is pretty good.
Better than I thought it would be, pretty good overall. I started to zone out over the second half of the album though, but the first half has some good stuff.
BT
- Goodbye Toulouse
- London Lady
- Princess of the Streets
Low 4/High 3
Cool to listen to a Pavement album, I've wanted to for a minute. The overall vibe was nice, some of the lyrics were cool, few standouts though.
BT
- Trigger Cut
- Loretta's Scars
- Here
- Perfume V
Dad rock-y, but cool to listen to, guitar is nice throughout. The best tracks are really good though, Waterline & Sultans of Swing.
4/5 because it's kinda long for a dance album and gets a little too "indie" in spots, but otherwise this is really cool. Insane how they had this sound back in 2000. Liked the overarching story.
BT
- Stay Another Season
- Close to You
- A Different Feeling
- Tonight May Have to Last Me All My Life
- Frontier Psychiatrist
- Little Journey
7/19/23
Some parts are kinda catchy, but this album is repetitive and kinda blockheaded. Less revolutionary and more retro for 1987, this felt like it came out earlier than it did.
BT
- Peace Dog
- Aphrodisiac Jacket
This album really makes you think, Fruit Tree is insane given the context of Drake's life. Solid for when it came out, you can really see how it influenced stuff like Kate Bush and The Cure.
BT
- River Man
- Time Has Told Me
- Saturday Sun
Turns out What's Going On and Let's Get It On are very different albums. This feels like the platonic ideal of R&B. Seriously still holds up.
BT
- What's Goin On
- What's Happening Brother
- Mercy Mercy Me
- Right On
- Inner City Blues
This was way better than I thought it was gonna be! It might be the angst, but I thought the lyrics were pretty good, and the music had some good hooks.
BT
- One Chord Wonders
- Bored Teenagers
- Safety In Numbers
- Great British Mistake
Ah! This was nice! Kinda aimless, but atmospheric.
BT
- Aht Uh Mi Hed
- Island Letter
This was really solid considering it's age, and even without that it's still good. Blows the high school jazz band versions I know out of the water.
BT
- Flight of the Foo Birds
- Teddy The Toad
- Whirlybird
Really good britpop, slower in the second half though. Lyrics make the songs feel like epics.
BT
- We Are The Pigs
- Heroine
- The Wild Ones
- The Power
- The Asphalt World
Solid 70s punk, might relisten eventually
BT
- Lost and Found
- Memories are Made of This
- New Center of the Universe
Billy Joel but like good Billy Joel. It's a solid listen if you ignore the datedness and the cheesiness. Consistent throughout.
BT
- Moving Out
- Vienna
- Scenes From an Italian Restaurant
- Only the Good Die Young
It feels like so much was shaped by this album that on its own it sounds a little like a wild collection of 70s music sounds, for better or worse. 3.5, rounded up.
BT
- Feel
- The Ballad of El Gordo
- The India Song
- St 100/6
Love it! Songs I knew before, songs I didn't. Nothing I didn't like though, and I want to listen to it again to get even more out of it.
BT
- One Way or Another
- Heart of Glass
- Sunday Girl
- 11:59
- Fade Away and Radiate
- Will Anything Happen
Little too beatles-y in some spots, but generally solid. Mixed feelings about the title track. Never expected any album here to immediately make me think "Naruto??", much less this one.
BT
- Jet
- Mrs. Vandebilt
- Mamunia
- Picasso's Last Words
Mixed feelings about this album - the lyrics feel like poetry, and the good tracks are good, but I can't get into the blues stuff. I'll give it a 5, it could definitely grow on me.
BT
- Like A Rolling Stone
- It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry
- Ballad of a Thin Man
- Queen Jane
- Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues
- Desolation Row
I like this more than the other dad rock on the list, but generally wouldn't listen to on my own. Best Tracks are the singles + Adam's Apple
This is so 90s alt angst-cheesy but so good for what it is
BT
- Privilege
- The Warmth
- Stellar
- Drive
- Pardon Me
I'm not totally into the Who's older-rock stuff, but I can respect how much they influenced later stuff. They're way better live, I liked this more than my generation - I finally "got" Substitute & Summertime Blues
Rough start, and kinda dad rock-y, but very chill & upbeat. The sound of the last track surprised me given when this came out. 4.5.
BT
- One World
- Big Muff
- Couldn't Love You More
- Sweet Certain Surprise
- Dancing
- Small Hours
Edgy in a good way
BT
- Dirge
- Death Threat
- Aisha
- Aladdin's Story
- Broken Little Sister
3.5, rounded up. Some tracks are slower and/or worse, but the ones that work really do. The concept is interesting, and I liked this more than the other "world" albums I've had before.
BT
- Broken Skin
- Letting Go
- Homelands
- Tides
- Nadia
- The Conference
- Nostalgia
- Broken Skin
4.5, rounded up. Kinda dull in a few spots, but overall good 90s indie/alt, I like the genre so it was nice to learn about another band. The lyrics have good prose. Guest List is so good.
BT
- Susan's House
- Not Ready Yet
- Guest List
- Your Lucky Day In Hell
- Manchild
This one feels insane, bit old but you can really see why it's here. Seriously creates an atmosphere.
BT
- She Called My Name
- The Gift
Sounds ahead of its time, I liked it. Only knew about it from the Simpsons scene before.
BT
- In a Gadda Da Vida
- Most Anything You Want
- Flowers and Beads
- Are You Happy
While the good tracks feel sorta overplayed, and this isn't my favorite Fleetwood Mac album (Tango in the Night), this is still incredible. First time I listened through the entire thing.
BT
- Dreams
- Never Going Back Again
- Don't Stop
- Go Your Own Way (if it wasn't in that damn drug commercial every single day when i was like 9)
- The Chain
- Gold Dust Woman
- Silver Springs
Mostly forgettable but had some nice spots, would've been better shorter. Sounds like it's from a movie you'd watch in freshman English.
BT
- Cause a Rockslide
- Disillusion
- Epitaph
That one reply about Disney Channel was right, but some of this was still fun. European stuff is always ... interesting
BT
- Rock Against Ass
- Zillion Dollar Sadist
- Prince of The Rodeo
- Are You Ready For The Darkness
A little too indie for me but I liked it more than other stuff, & PJ (to the extent of my knowledge) did this relatively early. A lot of the songs are about men (some are good, some are eh). The second half of the album is when it gets good.
BT
- Oh My Lover
- Plants and Rags
- Fountain
- Water
-
Longest album I've had so far, but good blues/country, though it isn't really my thing. The instrumental tracks and second half of the album were better. It's kinda jam-y background music.
BT
- In Memory of Elizabeth Reed
- Whipping Post
Another album that's really nice to have on in the background, I liked and 'got' this more than Bitches Brew, I should probably come back to both at some point. Davis's work is top tier trumpet & jazz, though sometimes it's easy to forget that his style of jazz was something new.
BT
- Blue In Green (the piano section is so good)
- All Blues
- Flamenco Sketches
My local college indie station kinda has a limited selection even though with their license they could play a lot more stuff. This was slightly above middle of the road, but feels like something I would get really interested in if it happened to play on that college station. Basement Scene is really good though, and the lyrics were cool.
BT
- Basement Scene
- Desire Lines
- Don't Cry
- Helicopter
So good musically, & fun lyrics. Easy to listen through the whole thing, especially with the instrumentals breaking it up.
BT
- Sure Shot
- Tough Guy
- Sabotage
- Get It Together
- Sabrosa
- The Update
- Futterman's Rule
- Flute Loop
- Ricky's Theme
- Do It
- Heart Attack Man
- Bodhisattva Vow
- Transitions
I liked this more than Led Zep II, which I had earlier - I think I'm starting to 'get' them. It sounds better when you listen to it outside, I think late summer was a good time to get this album.
BT
- Babe I'm Gonna Leave You
- Dazed and Confused
- Your Time is Gonna Come
- Black Mountain Side
- Communication Breakdown
Honestly, I kinda liked it for country-ish dad rock. The vocal harmonies were cool, & I liked the instrumental tracks.
BT
- Music is Love
- Tamalpais High
- What Are Their Names
- Song with No Words
Really didn't expect this sound from the title, but it was really good! It's sorta like REM, but way better. Cool lyrics sometimes. A fall-y album.
BT
- In My Mind
- What Gets Heard
- Understanding
- Liberty For Our Friend
- If'n
- Time With You
Reggae classic, and the first Marley album I've listened to, and has a message that's still relevant, but kinda falls off on the second half. 3.5
BT
- Concrete Jungle
- Stop That Train
- Midnight Ravers
My favorite instrumental stuff so far, really good 2000s/late 90s-y electronica. Docking a star b/c it could've been shorter, but this is great for what it is. 4.5 stars.
BT
- Keeping Pigs Together
- Some Kind of Kink
- Don't Go Nowhere
- The Rough and the Quick
- Bussing
- I Stole Your Car
- Alaska Street
- Belladonna
- They're Hanging Me Tonight
I wanted to like this, but outside of the Supermassive Black Hole, and some aspects of some tracks, I don't get Muse's style of music. I kinda really hate when I can hear the vocalist breathe. Maybe it'll get better someday though. 3.5 stars.
BT
- Supermassive Black Hole
- Map of the Problematique
- Invincible
- Assassin
- Exo-Politics
- Hoodoo
Interesting to hear earlier Elton John, and listen to a full album, since I only knew Tiny Dancer off this one. Overall, consistently good.
BT - honestly any of them except holiday inn....
I've only listened to Bowie's earlier stuff, so this surprised me, but I really liked it. The music makes you feel emotional.
BT
- Beauty and the Beast
- Joe the Lion <3
- Heroes <3
- Sons of the Silent Age <3
- Sense of Doubt
- The Secret Life of Arabia
I think this album is respectfully a 3, I think a lot of my past 4s could've been 3s, 3s 2s, & 2s 1s. I liked the synthpop, but it didn't knock me away. Maybe it'll grow on me? I'd listen to this over a lot of other stuff though.
BT
- Despair
- In Vogue
- Halloween
- Alien
- The Other Side of Life
First time listening to a full pink floyd album, and while I wouldn't listen to this for fun, this was interesting as a concept album, and the music sounds better to me as a part of a whole. Uncomfortable, long,depressing, and better for it. 4.5 rounded up.
BT
- In the Flesh?
- The Thin Ice
- One of My Turns
- Hey You
- Is Anybody Out There
- Vera
- Comfortably Numb
- Run Like Hell
This was cool, I tried to put more of my attention into it to understand jazz. There's this really good bit on the third track. I wouldn't usually listen to this, but the skill is still definitely there.
Pretty good, very 60s. Wouldn't really listen to it for fun but had some cool parts. Kind of reminds me of Scooby-Doo.
BT
- The Crystal Ship
- Alabama Song
- Light My Fire
- The End
Good, but outside of California Dreamin', which is a definite 5/5, mostly forgettable. This kinda made me realize how different popular music was back then.
BT
- California Dreamin'
- Go Where You Wanna Go
- Monday Monday
It all sounds the same but it isn't bad either. It's fun!
BT
- Fucking in Heaven
- Praise You
It took me a month to listen to this album. A lot of songs aren't that good. That being said, the ones that are distinct. It's a cool concept, even when you don't like a song half the interest is figuring out what's going on. There's these squelch-y synths on some tracks that kinda get me.
BT
- Sweet Lovin' Man
- If You Don't Cry
- You're My Only Home
- My Only Friend
- Papa Was a Rodeo
- Underwear
- It's a Crime
- Bitter Tears
- I Can't Touch You Anymore
Took me over a month to listen to and not the most accessible Prince album. 5 Stars for Little Red Corvette alone. It's also crazy how ahead of its time All the Critics Love U In New York sounds.
BT
- 1999
- Little Red Corvette
- Automatic
- Something in the Water
- Free
- Lady Cab Driver
- All the Critics Love U in New York
