1001 Albums Summary

Boogie On Reggae Woman is great. Awesome vibe, lovely fat synth sounds. You Haven't Done Nothin' is another high point, with a strong horn riff. Overall a good album, but not at the peaks of Innervisions

To Kingdom Come borderline unlistenable. By track 4 I'm trying to white knuckle my way through the rest of this. Sorry, couldn't do it. Bailed at track 7.

This is good, but it doesn't quite grab me in the same way London Calling does. A strong 3.

There are some fantastic songs on here, especially the ones where Christine McVie leads. The title song is excellent. Not as consistently hit-filled as Rumors, but still a five star album

I liked this more than I expected to; it was quite bluesy for the most part, and the drumming had a jazzy touch to it that I quite liked

Ok, so who cares if Flight Test is a rip off of Father and Son, it's still great. Standout track for me is "In the Morning of the Magicians". Great album thematically - it almost feels like different movements of one long song.

It's hard for me to be objective about this album, given how into it I was when was 14 years old. Admittedly much of it is self indulgent prog rock bollocks, but what magnificent bollocks! The guitar solo from Steve Hackett in Firth of Fifth is worth the price of admission alone.

I liked Mudhoney when i was in college, but haven't listened much since. To begin with, I felt this hadn't aged that well, but I admit it grew on me as I listened more. Decent proto-grunge. Cate will hate it! Note: listened to the 6 tracks on the original EP plus a few more. 2+ hours of this is too much in one session! Fave track probably "You Got It (Keep it Outta My Face)" This is a 3.5 for me but going to generously give it 4

This was released the day I was born! And it's my first major surprise of these reviews, because I'd never heard this album before (though I recognized two of the songs), and loved it way more than I would have expected. "Hope you're feeling better" is the only slightly weak spot.

Probably PJ Harvey's best album, along with "Let England Shake" (Maybe that one edges this out for me). This is an easy 5/5 for me; could listen to it on repeat. Best tracks: A Place Called Home, The Whores Hustle And The Hustlers Whore, We Float, but I don't think there's a weak track on it.

I bought this on vinyl when it first came out; no idea where it is now. Glad to see it finally on streaming services, even if they had to lose a few samples to allow it to happen. The skits have not aged as well as the music, but the music still earns its five stars.

Thank God I never have to listen to this again

Art Garfunkel's angelic voice in "Bridge Over Troubled Water". The horns in in "Keep The Customer Satisfied". The harmonies in "The Boxer". The choral sections in "Only Living Boy in New York". All five star moments, from an unimpeachable album.

Intruder is the birth of the "gated reverb" drum sound that was ubiquitous in the 80s. Kate Bush's backing vocals on "No Self Control" are brilliant. Best songs "I Don't Remember", "Games Without Frontiers", but the whole album is great (the next one, aka "Security" is even better IMO).

I listened to this a couple times in succession to make sure I wasn't missing something here. There's potential here that was later realised, but this album isn't special in the same way that "Back To Black" is. There are some solid tracks though; "Take The Box" is probably one of the best.

Not my cup of tea, although I recognize the significance of it (no Crickets, no Beatles).

Interesting to compare with Buddy Holly which we got yesterday from the same year. Despite the fact that many of the songs on both albums have similar structure (most are twelve bar blues), I find the Fats Domino ones much more listenable and engaging.

A refreshing change after two days of 50s music. This is proper punk, as it's meant to be. The bass solo in "Think Again" rocks.

I enjoyed this, it was a lot of fun. Best tracks; "Credit in the Straight World", "Rock Star"

A strong start with some classic songs ("It's Tricky" the best of them) but it tails off in the second half of the album. The flow seems pretty dated by modern standards.

When I was in school, there was a kid who got called "echo" because he had buck teeth (he was a "bunny man"). Anyway, Cutter is a solid song, as are a few others on this album. It does get a little samey though.

I liked some of the songwriting but the production did not seem great. Perhaps it was unfair to listen to this on a plane. I hear the obvious influence that Teenage Fanclub have got from this, but I have to say I like Teenage Fanclub far more.

I found this quite boring. I know it's proto punk, but it's really closer to the Rolling Stones than punk. I didn't find the songwriting very interesting.

Pretty dreadful stuff. I really dislike Fogerty's voice. Travelin' Band is a straight rip off of Good Golly Miss Molly. The version of Grapevine adds nothing to the Marvin Gaye version. Sorry Dude, I'd be relieved if my Credence tape was stolen (though I agree about the f'n Eagles, man)

I only knew 3 songs on this, but there were quite a few other winners. Apart from the obvious Killer Queen and Now I'm Here, I liked Brighton Rock and Misfire, which was really short, but good. A solid 4, maybe even a bit more.

"Psycho Killer" an obvious high point here. Don't Worry About The Government is also great. A solid album, but Talking Heads hadn't quite hit their stride yet.

What an opener; Seven Nation Army is sooo good. But immediately followed up by Black Math which also kicks ass. Love the understated guitar solo in "I Want to be the Boy". Amazing that twelve bar blues went from Fats Domino to "Ball and Biscuit". The Hardest Button to Button might be the best track on the album. Easiest 5 stars since PJ Harvey.

This was OK, but it wasn't particularly memorable. A few decent tracks (I liked "Under Wraps" especially); maybe it would grow on me.

Love this (and all other Stereolab - surprised Dots and Loops is not in this list). This still sounds completely fresh. So good! Listened to this about three times in the past day.

I don't quite like this as much as I remember liking it; it's actually kind of boring. End of the World is overplayed. The sax in it Fireplace is a decent change of pace. Lightnin' Hopkins is pretty bad, especially Stipes' vocals.

Ding dong ding dang indeed. Pros: Flea can play the Bass. Cons: Anthony Kiedis' awful voice and attempts at rap.

Chrissie Hynde's voice is great - just effortlessly cool. Tattooed Love Boys is a classic - I love the 7/4 (?) time signature giving it an unsettling vibe. Interesting to compare Private Life with the Grace Jones cover (I like both).

This is an object lesson into how to roll an R. 😂 at the end of Tango Funebre, where he goes mental.

This is not really my thing, 3 stars. But the gulf between this and the 2 I gave RHCP is quite large; this is way better. Good songs: Take the Power Back, Know Your Enemy

Highly variable album; too long by half, with several filler tracks that could easily be lost. On the better tracks, Dave Gilmour's guitar is excellent. But its so histrionic. Cleansed my palate afterwards with some Stereolab.

Can spot that Trevor Horn production a mile off; some tracks sound like Frankie Goes to Hollywood songs but with a different singer. There are a couple of decent songs here, but most of them are pretty bland. I quite like "All of my Heart"

What guitar playing! Sultans is the obvious standout track, but the rest is pretty good too. About as Dad Rock as Steely Dan, but then I am a Dad, so fair enough. Going to give this a four, but its on the upper end of 4.

Great stuff! No major hits on this album but its still consistently good. Favorite track: Sunrise. A strong 4.

This album was not what I was expecting at all. The first track, "Broken English" , was a great piece of New Wave synthpop that I really enjoyed. But most of the subsequent tracks seemed to be in different genres and were nowhere near as good, until "Why'd Ya Do It" at the end, which was great again. 3 stars, but they're almost entirely for the opening and closing tracks.

Had this on heavy rotation in the 2000s, but hadn't listened for quite a while. Still stands up as a top notch album. Probably Arcade Fire's best, the next couple of albums were great too, until Reflektor went downhill. Also, shame Win Butler turned out to be a creep.

Ugh, not my thing at all. Had to skip forward on many of the tracks. I'd rather punk stayed punk rather than staying into pop territory.

Tom Waits' voice is definitely an acquired taste. And he's only 30-odd when this was made. Was he born sounding like a veteran chain smoker? Several enjoyable songs on here - Jersey Girl the standout.

Top tracks: Headmaster Ritual, What She Said, That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore, Barbarism Begins at Home. Barbarism really showcases Andy Rourke's bass playing. Enjoyed this so much that I listened to The Queen is Dead immediately after, which is a better album. Does that mean this is only a 4, or is it a 5 for making me want to listen to more Smiths?

Fond memories of moshing in the student union. This holds up really well. First half of the album is hit after hit, but that doesn't mean the second half is bad. Head and shoulders above any of their grunge contemporaries.

I have not listened to this album before, and was only familiar with the two hits (Sympathy, Street Fighting Man). Of the lesser known songs, they range from Dear Doctor, which is pretty poor, to Stray Cat Blues, which I liked quite a lot. Jigsaw Puzzle is basically Sympathy for the Devil over again but less interesting. Overall, this is fine, but not something I'd choose to listen to.

Second Bunnymen album on this list, and about the same as the last. A couple of decent songs , but overall fairly boring.

I'd heard of the Slits, but never listened to this album. Turns out it was well worth listening to - fun post-punk. Strays slightly too close to reggae sometimes for my tastes, but not overly so. Highly enjoyable. Some great percussion too.

Cheesy Spinal Tap-like fare - but "what's wrong with being sexy?" as Nigel Tufnel would say. Actually quite fun, TBH, though it gets a bit samey after a while. Favorite song Shake a Leg. Giving this a 3, but its a strong 3.

So good I listened to this twice in a row beginning to end. "Good Times" probably my favorite track outside of Respect. Holds up really well, and Aretha's voice is just incredible.

Clapton's voice is not strong enough to take on material like this. Let It Grow is pretty boring (it improves in the instrumental section), and I Shot the Sheriff is overplayed. There were a few tracks I enjoyed more, but overall this is not my cup of tea.

I greatly enjoyed this. I suspect you have to be in the right mood for it, but I found myself to be in the right mood twice 12 hours apart. Repetitive and hypnotic, but I consider that to be a positive. A very strong 4/5.

Stereo mix is like from the early days of 3d movies where they'd put in pointy fingers etc. just to show off the technology. I was begging for a mono mix halfway through Monday Monday. This is really dated sounding - compare with Aretha from the same era, which sounds fresh. Do yourself a favor and go and listen to Aretha's version of Spanish Harlem (🔥) and compare it with this insipid version.

I really tried the give this a fair chance, but like other 60 psychedelic rock we've encountered, it's really not my thing. Better than the Mamas and the Papas, but not by a huge margin.

Just as dreadful as Music From Big Pink

Good stuff as usual from the White Stripes. Not quite as good overall as Elephant.

I feel a little conflicted about this album. It's great in parts, with some excellent songwriting. But the Casanova persona conceit is not as funny as Hannon thinks it is, and it hasn't aged particularly well. The song that works best is also the most sincere; Songs Of Love. I also found it all a bit much in one go; a few songs is about my limit for this.

I wasn't really a huge Tears For Fears fan back when this came out, but I really quite enjoyed it now - it has aged quite well. Best track; Head Over Heels.

I enjoyed this slice of post punk. I like the guitar tone - very trebly. Most enjoyable songs are "Damaged Goods" and "I Found That Essence Rare".

I think the thumpasorus has a bad case of gas. Pretty fun funk, a higher end 3/5 for me.

Ten years after this, Love Shack was ubiquitously annoying, but at this point, the B-52s were goofy, spiky, surfy, punky fun.

I'd always thought of this as Aimee Mann's least strong album, and it's true (IMO) that she has better ones (Lost In Space, Forgotten Arm might be the top of the list), but I enjoyed this a lot more than I remembered.

I liked this more in 2008 than I do now. It's got some good songs on it, but it's all a wee bit self awarely cottagecore.

I confess I winced when I saw the album cover here, and expected to hate it. But I was pleasantly surprised, and actually quite enjoyed this listen. Macbeth was a glam rock stomper, and Cale's exaggerated Welsh accent is amusing in Graham Greene.

Letting this wash over me like a wave of fuzzy distorted endorphins. Fantastic stuff. (Loveless is even better).

Maybe it was C's reaction but I expected this to be horrendous, and it was surprisingly good. Not anything I'd choose to listen to regularly, but not unpleasant. Liked New York Time, Muleskinner Blues, disliked Grey Goose.

Tonight Tonight might be a good song if someone else was singing, but I really dislike Billy Corgan's voice. 28 songs of this I am supposed to listen to! Does it really need to be over 2 hours long? I'll cut you a deal, Billy; half the songs. First 13 + 1979 seeing as that was a hit. This is a 3 musically. Taking a half point off for the unnecessary length, and half off for Corgan's god-awful voice.

I'm not saying this is bad - I totally get why some people love this. But it's not my thing. It just feels so bombastic all the time.

Can't stand her voice. This album contains possibly the worst version of Summertime I've ever heard. If you must make a fake live album, make the crowd sound consistent throughout the album. At some points it's a rowdy Fillmore crowd, at other times its a genteel dinner party. I spent half of Turtle Blues trying to figure out what they were discussing in the background.

Though not quite at the level of Bridge Over Troubled Water, this is still a five star album for me. America is beautifully melancholic, the bass in Punky's dilemma bounces along, and At The Zoo is sweetly silly.

Waterloo Sunset is great but the rest of the album is a little underwhelming, and I like The Jam's version of David Watts more.

I'm starting to think this site is run by Jack White, given the frequency we see his stuff at. Anyway, good stuff as usual from Mr. W. I particularly like the skittering guitar solo (duo?) in Weep Themselves to Sleep

This is decent enough but it really just feels like the same song over again at different tempos. Apart from the lyrics, could you tell the difference between Tutti Frutti and Ready Teddy?

Fight For Your Right is so much fun, from "Kick it" onwards. Several other great tracks on this, but the Beastie Boys would go on to better it by quite a bit.

I'd say "not my thing" but hardcore punk can absolutely be my thing if done well (see the five atara I gave Minor Threat). This didn't reach that level though and the 15 min runtime was mercifully short.

I have to say that listening to this while in a feverish daze was probably not entirely fair. Beyond the first two well known songs, it all just washed over me. The last song seemed to have lyrics written by ChatGPT

I feel a bit bad giving a legend like Muddy Waters three stars, and individually, the songs are great. It just all gets a bit samey for the duration of an entire album.

Title track is the standout. This album feels a lot more polished than Live Through This, and I'm not sure that's a good thing; I think I preferred the relative rawness of the predecessor. If that's a solid 4, this just misses it - high 3.

I couldn't listen to much of this. Got about three tracks in before abandoning. The Ennio Morricone opener got me hopeful, but once Metallica joined in it went downhill. I can't imagine listening to all 2+ hours of this.

This is practically blasphemy given the regard in which Hüsker Dü are held by middle aged white indie-loving guys like me, but I found this distinctly mediocre.

I expected to dislike this, knowing Soundgarden mainly from their radio hits, but it was actually a lot better than I expected. It's still not the kind of thing I'd go out of my way to listen to, but there are some decent tracks on here, especially the more upbeat ones. Liked: My Wave, Superunknown Didn't really like: Limo Wreck

I had never heard of this album or even the band. I enjoyed this quite a lot, though (though perhaps it's a little long, even if you stop after track 16, which is the end of the original studio version). I quite liked the singer's voice - it suited the music. Will give another listen at some point.

If Heartattack and Vine was a 4, this is a reasonably solid 5 for me; it elevates from "good" to "excellent". Standout tracks are the title track and Downtown Train, but the whole thing is pretty great.

How are there people giving this 2 or 3 stars? Maybe the Eno-heavy side 2 puts them off? Anyway, Sound & Vision alone would be enough to merit 5 stars, even if the rest of it (both sides) weren't also fantastic.

George Michael has a great voice, and there are some good songs, but the album as a while is a bit too ballad heavy for me, and is maybe a bit to "smooth".

I didn't like the stereo mix; this wasn't designed for listening to on headphones. I started off thinking Runaway Child didn't feel like it needed to be 9+ minutes long, but I think I came out the other side; by the end it felt like it earned its runtime. Also we've had enough covers of Heard It Through the Grapevine now that I'm going to start ranking them: The Slits The Temptations ... ... ... ... Creedence Clearwater Revival

Solid 4/5 album with a few 5/5 songs on it. Interesting to see how much of a magpie Elvis Costello is: "Two Little Hitlers" quotes "Rebel Rebel" and "Party Girl" quotes "You Never Give Me Your Money"

There are three great songs on this, but the rest is a bit filler-ish.

Not very exciting. Feels like a strong contender for "album you don't really need to listen to before you die"

I'd heard of Nick Drake but never actually listened to anything by him. What a pleasant surprise. I liked this album a lot; the arrangements were really nice. Particularly liked Three Hours, Cello Song. Edit: in a rare exception I'm coming back and editing the score for this from four to five; I've listened to it many times in the last three years, and my appreciation for it has only grown.

God Only Knows is every bit as good as its reputation. I also really like the two instrumentals. The least effective song on the album is Sloop John B, which feels like it belongs on an earlier Beach Boys album. Still, an easy 5 stars.

This is not as consistently good as LCD Soundsystem's earlier stuff (Sound of Silver is better) but it's still right up my street.

This was mostly good, but not great. A couple low points marred the album IMO; the marching bands of Parade and the kid's singing in You Didn't Have To Be So Nice. Also, I think some of these lose some of their charm when sung in English.

Really enjoyed this. It's relatively upbeat for Elliott Smith (though I also like the downbeat stuff), and I liked the arrangements.

Excellent stuff. Good enough to almost make you forget that Morrissey is an arsehole these days.

I liked this more than the 1960 Muddy Waters we got earlier. Some nice guitar playing (especially in "I cant be satisfied", and Muddy Waters voice sounds better with age. But it still isn't very varied, and I get my fill after a few songs.

Never heard of this guy before, but this is a fun and enjoyable album. I definitely see why he sued Rod Stewart; Do Ya Think I'm Sexy owes a big debt to Taj Mahal.

I liked this but not nearly as much as later, Berlin-era Bowie.

Good stuff, love the guitar tone. April skies is a classic.

Why is it that all it takes is a certain style of bass and some strings and it instantly sounds like Air? Moon Safari is one of my all time favorites, and although this isn't quite at that level, it's still pretty great.

Some of these songs were pretty good (I liked the vibe of Breathless) but the album was far longer than it needed to be, and the skits seemed unnecessary.

Never really been a Dylan fan, but I liked this more than I expected to. Don't Think Twice is good, as is Corinna Corinna.

Points for being the originator of ambient, but by its very ambient nature, it's not something you spend attention listening to. Four stars, but not necessarily on the same scale as non-ambient music.

This is too much Van Morrison for me in one sitting. I did like "Into the Mystic" though.

The singles are great, of course, but the rest is highly enjoyable too.

OMG I just realised that the Fall song "I am Damo Suzuki" (which I knew was about the Can singer) musically quotes this album's "Oh Yeah". For those not liking Aumgn; you have to push through it and surrender. Once you come out the other side, it's great. This album passes my "listened to it twice in a row" test, five stars from me.

Similar to Low, I liked the "different styles on each side" approach here. Favorite track other than the magnificent "Heroes" is "V-2 Schneider".

I've always been put off by Neil Young's whiny voice, but maybe I'm starting to come round, because I quite enjoyed this. Revolution Blues is pretty great, but Vampire Blues is a bit of a plodder.

I only knew Seven Seas of Rhye from this one, but most of this was pretty enjoyable. I liked Some Day One Day especially.

Pretentious bullshit.

Putting this in a list of 1001 must-listen albums seems somewhat ridiculous, like putting in Ocean Colour Scene or the Bloodhound Gang. It seemed fun at the time, but has not stood the test of time.

I didn't like this as much as On The Beach. Albuquerque was nice, though.

Tuneful and easy to listen to, but completely unmemorable, and far too long - I didn't need an hour plus of this. Answering Bell sounds like The Weight crossed with Van Morrison. Oh, and add another to the count of creeps encountered here. Judging on musical merit only, though some bias may have crept in.

One if my all time favorites, this is a very easy 5/5 for me, especially if you add Born Slippy to the end

This is a patchy album; some good stuff on it (mostly the Neil Young-led tracks) and some less good. "Good Time Boy" is probably my least favorite track. "Broken Arrow" doesn't quite work - too start-stop, and a little gimmicky with the crowd noises etc, but there's the core of a good song there.

Nah, couldn't finish this. Just dreadful.

Love the opening track. St. Elmo's Fire and I'll come Running have amazing guitar playing from Robert Fripp. The title track was the theme for Arena! For me, this was the perfect balance of ambient and actual songs - will go into my rotation.

Tombstone Blues feels like it ran its course after about 3 minutes, but was stretched out to 6; similarly Ballad Of A Thin Man & Desolation Row. I liked quite a few of the songs on here but it got a bit samey after a while.

Not my thing at all, but you'd have to be churlish not to admire its commitment. The fact that this is done with an entirely straight face elevates it above semi-parody like The Darkness.

Genesis' peak - PG left after this to do his own thing, and Genesis morphed into a different band. This is some serious prog, including a fanciful concept story about Rael, but musically it really works, and Gabriel' vocals are excellent - I really like the bit in the Raven where the vocal shifts from Gabriel to Phil Collins as it shifts character. Possibly one of my favorite albums of all time, though I appreciate that's colored by my teenage self's love for it.

Two track original, or four track rerelease? I went for four, and it was largely worth it, although I do think the first track was the strongest. His back up singers seem a little sharp sometimes. Maybe it's on purpose, who knows.

I liked this at the time, and it was definitely part of the zeitgeist, but it seems a bit bland in retrospect. It's let down by Fran Healy's slightly weak vocals. "Luv" is a bit of a dirge. But some of the songs are undeniably catchy. I actually think the hidden track at the end is probably the strongest on the album.

I liked this quite a lot - the two singles (Freddie's Dead, Superfly) were both enjoyable.

Pretty sure I have this on CD in the garage, but I haven't listened to it in ages. Its good some good songs on it but it's overlong, and continues in the direction Frank Black was taking the Pixies, into more "conventional" rock. Not nearly as good as the first couple of Pixies albums.

About as subtle as being hit in the face by a shovel, and half the songs are ripoffs of other songs (Cigarettes & Alcohol is even in the same key as Get It On), but it's undeniably fun.

I like the music more than the vocals. But overall, this is not really for me. Much as with RATM, I'm not saying this is bad, just not my thing.

A mixed bag - some songs I really liked (my favorite was the instrumental "You Have To Go Sideways" ), but others that sounded quote dated; even more dated than the 1980 release date would suggest (Queen Of Eyes, for example).

I fully expected to hate this, but it actually wasn't that bad. Not something I'd ordinarily choose to listen to, but bearable listening. Some good guitar, the vocals were a little annoying. A generous 3

Better overall than Casanova, in part because it's trying less hard to be wry/humorous. Its length also works in its favor. A high 3.

Good Times Bad times felt like it could have gone longer. Dazed and Confused is great when it all kicks off. I'd never listened to this album before, having really only heard the Zep "hits" and I enjoyed it quite a bit more than I expected to.

I was ready for this to be more fun than it turned out to be, as Get It On is a blast, but the rest seems a little ordinary. I find Bolan's vocal style a little annoying. I like the fuzzy guitar tones.

Like a demented British Steely Dan with a hint of early Queen. Wall Street Shuffle is the best track. Some songs have lyrics that seem a little racist to today's ears. I liked the instrumental parts/guitar solo of Baron Samedi. Stuck between a high 2 and a low 3, I'm going to be very generous and give it 3.

Appropriately for the date we got this, Halloween is one of the best songs on this album. Other highlights; Monitor, the instrumental intro of "Sin in My Heart". The drumming on the 12 inch mix of Spellbound, included as a bonus track, is quite something.

I could do without the Jaw Harp on EVERY BLOODY SONG. And is that a Swanee Whistle on "Tonight Will Be Fine" ? (If it's not, there's no excuse for how out of tune it is). I also think I prefer gravelly old Leonard Cohen to this younger version. But the songwriting is pretty great (check out kd lang's version of Bird On the Wire).

You know, even an album of lesser known Abba is pretty damn good. I wasn't sure about the Bjorn vocals on "Two for the Price of One", but when it hit the chorus it really worked. Judging by play count, this is the least popular track on the album, but I loved it. The bassline in "Should I Laugh or Cry" is amazing. The only song that lost my interest a bit was "An Angel..."

I'm familiar with all the singles off this album but I never listened to the whole album before. "Girl From Mars" is the obvious standout - a great track full of youthful exuberance. The rest of the album is not so exciting though, at least to my 2023 ears; I think I would have liked it more in 1996. It's also let down a bit by Tim Wheeler's weak vocals.

No thanks. Free Bird has its moments, but the rest is super boring.

Musical junk food; enjoyable but devoid of nutritional content.

Easter Theater wears its Beatles influences on its sleeve, and Harvest Festival sounds like it could be a Paul solo track. Still, I suppose its not startlingly original to say that XTC sound like the Beatles, and I rather enjoyed this set of songs. A high three, on the cusp of four.

This is maybe the fifth or sixth best Radiohead album (IMO), and it's still a pretty easy 5/5. Favorite track is maybe "There There", but there are plenty other contenders.

Admittedly, he has a good voice, but this music is very dull. None of these songs stood out to me as noteworthy in any way other than perhaps that dreadful last track.

Good to have something non-western here for a change. I rather enjoyed this - I can see why he's such a celebrated singer. A strong 3 from me, close to 4.

I liked the title track especially. This is better than I remember it from contemporary listening. I also liked the instrumental tracks quite a lot. Pretty nineties sounding, though.

I just don't get Bruce Springsteen. I feel like must be missing something. Maybe I'll have a damascene moment at some point and love his work.

London Calling is an amazing start to an album. Lots of other great songs too. Lost in the Supermarket is another strong one. Much more variation in this album than you might expect from (supposed) punk.

QOTSA never really clicked with me before, but I enjoyed this a lot; I guess I was in the mood for it today. Some great sounding guitar in here, and I actually think Homme's voice suits the music well.

These are undeniably super catchy songs, and the album is full of hits, but it's so cheesy. I can't bear it for too long. Going to listen to yesterday's album again to detox.

I had to skip "I come and stand at every door". The rest wasn't quite as bad, bit still not an enjoyable listen for me.

A strange one for me. I absolutely loved this album when it came out; had the CD and played it to death. But perhaps I played it too much or my tastes changed, because I went off it quite substantially, and I haven't listened to it in ages. A relisten puts me somewhere in the middle. I like it, but don't love it - a fairly strong three.

Add this to the pile of 60s psychedelic folk rock that I don't like. He is horrifically out of tune on "Ferris Wheel" . And you can't sing the word "foreboding" and put the stress on the last syllable (Guinevere).

I couldn't finish this album - 80 minutes of rambling jam band is way too much. Not for me.

Couldn't finish this either, making this the third one-starrer in a row. The singer's voice is dreadful. "Used" sounded like a bad Elvis Costello ripoff.

Soporific reggae, decent enough if you like this kind of thing, but not really my taste.

I enjoyed this - she has a great voice with an interesting tone, and the songs have aged quite well, and sound good in a contemporary context.

My God there's a lot of psychedelic rock from the late sixties on this list. Pretty bloody awful for the most part. A couple of bearable songs on there

Pleasant enough listening but ultimately mostly unmemorable stuff. Cherokee probably the best of the bunch. Didn't really like Black Queen.

This is an old favorite - I love this album. Great to have this turn up after so much sixties psychedelia

Just brilliant stuff. I love Q-Tip's voice; I find it highly mellifluous. Subsequent Tribe Called Quest albums were even better, but this is still a five-starrer.

Over and Over is good. Farmer John is pretty awful. But overall I liked this, despite it ticking several boxes that would normally predispose me not to. The guitar sound was really nice. Just edges into a four for me.

I like the individual songs in this but there's not enough variation to make it a great album. Paper Planes is a banger though.

It's undeniable that Adele has an incredible voice, and some of these songs are really strong, but it's not something I'd typically listen to. There are also a few "truck driver's gear shift" key changes here that I don't feel were necessary.

Never listened to anything by Robert Wyatt before, but I loved this! Heaps of Sheeps pulled me in immediately - can really feel the Brian Eno production here. The rest of the album was pretty amazing too - I think this might be my favorite "previously unknown to me" discovery since starting this project.

Not really my kind of music, though I appreciate it is good quality in its genre. And Dolly is a singer/songwriter legend. There were a few tracks here that stood out for me - especially The Way I See You / Here I Am.

I bought this on CD when it first came out and it seemed pretty groundbreaking stuff at the time - I guess the first exposure of drum n bass to mainstream culture. But I'm not sure it holds up that well in a modern context. It's fine, but it's a little samey, even if you restrict your listening to just the first disc of what is now a 5 hour deluxe release on streaming.

I liked this significantly more than the early era Cohen we got a few weeks ago. The songwriting is strong here, and although Cohen's voice is not necessary an easy listen, it suits the atmosphere of the music well. A pretty strong three.

I really can't stand "Without You". It's so schmaltzy and overblown. And Coconut seems a bit racist these days with the fake Jamaican accents. Overall I'd say that something about this album rubbed me the wrong way.

Not quite sure what I feel about this one yet; I think I need more time, and more listens for it to settle in first. I'm going to give it a 3, because I quite enjoyed it, but I think that could change by +/-1 in the future

Wow, I thought this was just fantastic - can't believe I've never listened to it before. Totally see why it's so acclaimed. The complex rhymes here must have been a revelation in 1994.

This was nice enough to listen to but it didn't really grab me in any way.

This album is brilliant and infuriating in equal measure. There are portions of it that are quite wonderful, but other bits that I find quite annoying. Giving this a three, but unlike most threes, it's not because it's "pleasant but unmemorable", but rather that that's the only way to average out the fact that this albums is both 5 and 1.

As other reviewers have noted, the level of vibrato here can be a bit tough going. But its not excessive on all songs, and the music is otherwise very good. A solid three.

This is the second album in a week where a white guy in the seventies puts on a dubious Jamaican accent. Oh dear. Other than Jamaican Jerk-Off (which is truly awful) and Roy Rogers (which is a bit weak), every other song on this is great. Elton certainly knew how to write them in the seventies. Favorite one I hadn't heard before was "All The Girls Love Alice". 4.5 stars (minus half for JJO), but rounding to 5.

I'd never heard of Callahan before this listen. He's got a soothing, pleasant baritone voice that fits the slightly dark tone of the music - like a more tuneful Leonard Cohen. I liked this quite a lot.

Excellent songwriting (though some of the chord progressions in "My Old Man" feel a little odd). "A Case Of You" is a wonderful song.

The musicianship on this album is incredible; the drumming is so tight, the bass locks into the groove. The keyboard solo 12 mins into Chameleon is excellent.

Solid stuff, especially the title track. I enjoyed listening to this. A pretty strong 3.

I'm not a huge fan of Geddy Lee's voice (though I don't hate it either), so the instrumental YYZ is the best track for me. Second best morse code rythymed song (after the theme tune to Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em).

Over 50 years old, but still sounds pretty fresh. The mix is pretty bad; I preferred the Bowie mix over the Iggy one, but neither are great. But the underlying material is solid, and there's some great guitar on the record.

I still prefer later Bowie over the glam rock era incarnation, but this is still very enjoyable. The piano, especially in the title track, is fantastic.

I quite like Rod Stewart's voice here; it quite suits the material. Some of the songs on this album are pretty good. It's quite bluesy for several. A high 3.

Visions Of You is a fairly boring song, but Sinead O'Connor's voice elevates it significantly. The rest is pretty terrible.

I like her voice (although there were a few Cilla-ish moments on one of the tracks). Son of a Preacher Man is the standout here - a classic. Everything else is good, but not super memorable.

I love the title track from this album; it's beautifully melancholic. Similarly "Train In The Distance". Not so keen on "When Numbers Get Serious", and who allowed "Cars Are Cars" onto the record? 3.5 (there are better Paul Simon albums) but rounding up to 4.

The excessive talking at the start of "This Is What She's Like" was irritating, but I like the song once it finally got going; its probably the highlight of the album. In general, this record has too much chit chat on it.

Oh shit, do I like Dylan now? First Neil Young, and now this? Anyway this is pretty good, perhaps my favorite of the three Dylan albums we've had so far.

I dislike this quite a lot. I especially don't like Jim Morrison's voice. It's not bad, or out of tune, just one that I find displeasing. Maybe the rest wouldn't be quite so bad without Morrison. Ok no, "The End" would be just as interminable.

I like this but I don't think its particularly memorable. By The Throat is the best song here - it sounds like Let's Eat Grandma (though this came first)

I'm not averse to a bit of prog, but this is pretty fucking dreadful.

Pretty good as Christmas albums go. Darlene Love is the star.

This all sounded pretty much the same after the first song. Good for what it is (and definitely better than modern pop-country), but not really my thing.

I thought this was pretty great - she could teach Fiona Apple a thing or two. Best tracks; Suspended in Gaffa, Night of the Swallow.

I find the singer's voice to be annoying. This is fairly unexciting stuff.

Another good one from Arcade Fire, though not quite as good as Funeral.

This is decent but longer than it needs to be. Body Count is interesting, but sounds pretty dated.

I'd only really known them for Lowrider. This was perfectly passable funk/soul. I liked City, Country, City

A New Years treat! I've listened to this album more times than I can count. I possibly love it even more than Doolittle. 35 years old, and still holds up.

Great title. Impressive how she manages to fit so many syllables into ni-i-i-i-ight. Good in its genre; not for me.

Another album of listenable but not exceptional Elvis Costello material. 20% Amnesia is a little annoying. Overall I could have done with a shorter playtime; an hour of Costello's voice is a little too much to bear.

Part Indie Rock, part Dreampop, part Shoegaze, part Madchester, part Triphop. Makes for a absorbing combination. I'd missed this (and Doves entirely) when it came out, but really glad to catch up with it now.

I feel like Bono is the weak link in the U2 chain for me; they don't sound so bad without him singing. The two hits off this are decent songs but everything else feels like filler. I especially disliked "Like A Song".

Good harmonies but every song sounded more or less the same. Listened to the original album but not the bonus tracks; couldn't take any more.

Pleasant enough to listen to, but utterly unmemorable.

I like this, and there are several decent songs on it, but the vocals are weaker than the music.

The title track is a classic, obviously, and I liked Do Your Thing, which just about earned its 19 minute runtime. But in between those there was a fair bit of filler.

About the same as the last Stills album we got. Some pretty good songs that I quite enjoyed, but also some that were extremely irritating, especially the violin heavy ones.

This is not what I expected from this band; I thought it would be like the Peter Cetera 80s ballads, but it was jazzier and funkier than that. However, it's a thin line between jazz and jam band, and this crosses it a few too many times. There's a good 45 minute album in here somewhere. Also, the freeform guitar track is fairly dreadful.

A solid Pixies album, but not up to the heights of Surfer Rosa or Doolittle. Still, there are some great tracks here; Velouria, Allison, Havalina etc.

I steeled myself for an unenjoyable listening experience here, but the first track wasn't too bad. Even the version of No Woman No Cry was bearable, at the faster tempo than the live one. But it got really samey pretty fast. I can only take two or three songs worth of this.

Only vaguely heard of this band before, and never listened to them. This was pretty good stuff, punky and fun.

The musicianship on this is excellent. Fantastic bass playing. I greatly enjoyed this album. The Parliament album we got recently was pretty good, but this was a notch above it.

I rather liked this - shoegaze-adjacent/trip-hop. Iggy Pop's vocal was good.

This is unbelievably bland. Listening to this was like having teeth pulled.

Bangers.

So many hits on this album! And the rest of the songs are pretty damn good too

This was a whole lot less "weird" than I expected it to be, given Beefheart's reputation. It turned out to be fairly run of the mill blues rock. I actually liked the more off-beat tracks best, like Abba Zaba. Maybe I'll love Trout Mask Replica once we get to it.

Offensively unremarkable.

This is a bit too bombastic for my liking. Jay Z is kinda boring. Eminem turns up on Renegade and instantly makes it more interesting.

This has all the elements of the kind of stuff I like, but for some reason doesn't quite do it for me; I'm not sure why. I wish they'd taken 12 of the most promising of these 28 songs and developed them further. As it stands it's a pretty mixed bag.

His timing is incredible. The audience participation in Sentimental Reasons made me smile, imagining how much fun it must have been to be in the audience here. Great sax, especially in Twistin' The Night Away. Amazing stuff.

This held up a whole lot better than I thought it would - OK, sure, Sean Ryder doesn't exactly have the best singing voice, but it works in context. Loose Fit has a great riff, Step on takes me right back to the nineties, and I enjoyed Harmony a lot.

Yet another CSNY release, to go along with the seemingly dozens that we've already had. More of the same stuff; not super exciting, but a couple of good songs on it. In this case they are "Almost Cut My Hair" and "Helpless".

The standouts here are My Generation (obviously), which is just phenomenally good, and The Ox. Everything else is decent mid sixties blues/rock. A high 3.

WTF is going on with "Diamonds in the Mine"? Avalanche is the best song on here, but maybe that's because I'm familiar with Aimee Mann's version (which I prefer). Still prefer his later stuff. Low 3.

This is good stuff. I like Chuck D's rhymes, and the samples are brilliantly put together. Welcome to the Terrordome and Who Stole the Soul were the standouts for me, but the whole thing was pretty enjoyable.

Distilled essence of 90s. Good stuff though - I enjoyed this back then, and it still holds up.

Technically extremely impressive, but overall this style of jazz doesn't really do it for me.

I bought this when it came out, loved it, and still do. I know people complain about Einar's voice "ruining" it, but for me it's an essential part of the Sugarcubes experience.

Dylan album #4 for us, this was generally pretty good, though I preferred the electric front half to the acoustic second half. Upper 3

This was a blast! A crazy mishmash of all kinds of musical styles, but done with such verve. A really fun listen.

This was pretty good - I liked the instrumentation. Close Behind and other mostly instrumental tracks were my favorite. A high 3.

Five stars for the generally excellent discs 1 & 2. Minus a star for the self indulgent disc 3. Loved "Art of Dying" - sounds like a James Bond theme song.

Another excellent album from Radiohead. Love Knives Out, Pyramid Song. Didn't realize till today that it's Humphrey Lyttelton's band on Life In a Glasshouse.

The least interesting band to come out of CBGB. Soo boring.

Ok, Mo' Onions is just (as the title implies) another version of Green Onions. Other than those two, the rest are a bit weaker. I don't think you can make good instrumental songs simply by taking a song with a vocal and playing the vocal line on an instrument; I think good instrumentals tend to be designed as instrumentals from the ground up.

Ok, I agree it's lyrically problematic (apparently Dionne Warwick took Snoop to task over this), but the beats are great. Could lose the skits though.

I genuinely love Ace Of Spades - a five star song. The other stuff on here was fun too, but not in the same league. A strong 3 overall.

This does nothing for me. There are a few decent songs on it, and the rest are unobjectionable, but it doesn't stir me in any way

Smooth bossanova; standout tracks are obviously Ipanema and Desafinado. Better than the Astrud Gilberto solo album we had, in large part due to the presence of Getz's sax.

It's incredible that so much talent could be concentrated in single person. Of the non-singles, I most enjoyed Computer Blue, but every song on here is a banger.

This is the kind of punk I like. Spirited energetic vocals, and the sax adds a lot of texture to it. Fun!

Papa Was a Rollin' Stone is such a vibe.

This was great but not quite as good as the other Funkadelic we got ("One Nation ..."). Personally I quite liked the last track with all the strange noises.

I liked this on the whole. Twisted is the weak link on the album. A fairly solid 3.

Another album that I'm probably too close to to be able to evaluate objectively; at one point this was my favorite Beatles album, but now I think I would rank it fourth. It's still an easy 5/5 though. I love George's solo on Fixing a Hole. Ringo's drumming on A Day In The Life is masterful.

Funny to get this the day after we got Sgt Pepper. That was a fairly easy 5*, this might even be better IMO. Consistently excellent stuff from Paul here.

I enjoyed the singles from this when they originally came out, but the album as a whole feels pretty empty and soulless.

Unbearable listening. I guess parody fascists make just as bad art as the real thing.

It's bean a Beatle-y kind if week, what with Sgt Pepper, Band on the Run, and now this. I love the guitar tone in Hold On. Well Well Well is another highlight. I like Mother a fair bit less. A low 4.

The audience certainly seemed to enjoy it! While I recognize the quality of this, it's not really my thing though.

I don't really like Method Man's delivery and the beats here were a little dull.

Never heard of this band or album before - somehow completely passed me by. I liked this a fair bit. I'm going to give it a strong 3, but intend to listen to it more, and suspect that with repeated listening it could end up as a fairly solid 4.

Somewhat forgettable stuff. Sounds well produced, but it doesn't evoke significant emotion in me.

Cave is unbearably out of tune at times. It's a shame, because i like other aspects of this album. Except the first song, which I really disliked - I almost gave up during it, but was ultimately was glad I didn't.

I definitely didn't need this to be a double album. I listened to about two thirds of it and had my fill. Band is undeniably very tight, the performance is good, but it doesn't really stir me.

I feel like I slightly overrated the last Mudhoney album we got in retrospect, so I was prepared to rate this lower to compensate. But I actually enjoyed it quite a lot, so I'm going to go with my gut and rate this one a 4 too.

I thought this was pretty great. Cash's voice is pretty compelling. I definitely prefer old Johnny Cash to the younger version.

This takes me back. I had this in heavy rotation during college years, but haven't listened to it in a long time. It holds up really well; still sounds quite fresh.

This is not for me. i don't like Sting's voice. The reggae tinged tunes are not good. Mother is an abomination so bad it made me laugh put loud.

There are some pretty solid tracks on here - the title track, Fuck Tha Police, Express Yourself. But I didn't like it quite as much as the Public Enemy album we got a while back.

I found this pretty boring. Not as good as most of the other hip hop we've had on this list.

This may well be the lowest 1 star rating I've awarded so far. Appalling stuff, of absolutely no merit whatsoever. Dimery must have been out of his mind to put this on the list.

Wikipedia claims this is progressive rock, but I know emo when I hear it. Couldn't bear to finish it.

Beautifully melancholic. Favorite song: "From The Morning".

Been a favorite for thirty years; still holds up. Easy 5 *

I enjoyed this, very chill listening. A solid 3.

Always up for a bit of Beck. I like the guitar tone on Black Tambourine. A strong 4.

The Stooges sound quite ahead of their time. Great stuff for the most part. I'm not sure how I felt about "We Will Fall"; I don't think it quite worked for me on today's listen, but I could see myself really getting into it on another day.

I love some Big Beat. This is not quite as good as Fatboy Slim's later offerings though. Standouts: Going Out Of My Head, Michael Jackson. A high 3, close to a 4.

I feel like Serj Tankian was a theater kid. Some of this (like CUBErt) reminded me of Dead Kennedys. Anyway, overall not my thing, though I see the general quality of it.

I like it but it's generally busier than I like jazz to be.

This is one of the worst album covers I've seen in a long time. The music isn't much better; couldn't make it all the way through.

Is it prog or is it jazz? Or maybe both. Either way, it's pretty great

This was a joyful breath of fresh air.

I love Sonic Youth. Favorite song on here is Tunic, but the whole album is very much my thing

People seem to have really taken against the singer's falsetto here, but I have no problem with it at all. I enjoyed this a fair bit, a pretty solid 4.

This is ok, I guess. I'm not super excited by it though

Not very different from the San Quentin one, so I guess I'll give it the same score.

Best songs here are Starpower and Expressway to Yr Skull (aka Madonna, Sean and Me). The whole album is good though. Giving it a 4, because there are SY albums I like more, but it's a pretty strong 4.

Not entirely sure I would call all of this music. However some of it wasn't quite as bad as I was expecting - the more ambient tracks were somewhat passable.

This was Oasis' peak - nothing subsequent to this was in the same class. Some genuine bangers here, even though they wear their influences on their sleeves (and some "influences" are straight lifts). Carried by Liam's charisma.

Old heavy metal is basically blues - see e.g. Maybe I'm a Leo on this album. Highway Star is pretty good on here, as are a few of the others. Smoke On The Water is probably the least effective of the bunch, maybe just because it's been so overplayed.

I disliked this quite a lot. I found it particularly frustrating because I kept hearing slivers of things that sounded like I might like them, but it would only be fleeting.

Up there with Bowie's best. Can definitely hear the krautrock influence here, but it's also quite funky. I particularly love Stay

Peter Hook's bass is amazing. This album is wonderful, in all its misery.

Workaday glam rock, competently executed, but nothing that stands out as overly memorable.

This was pretty decent punk/post punk. First two tracks are the best. But why not just include Veni Vidi Vicious on the list rather than a compilation? Strong 3.

I have this on CD. Haven't listened to it in some time, but it still holds up really well. I really like Venus As A Boy, but the whole album is good.

Hated it then, hate it now. Spinal Tap without the jokes.

I rather enjoyed this. A solid 3.

This didn't grab me as much as I remember Led Zep I doing. Not sure if that's because this album is less to my taste or because I'm in less of a Led Zep mood today. I liked "Tangerine".

Underture is nowhere near interesting enough to merit being 10 minutes long. Pinball Wizard is the only memorable song on this album and saves it from a lower score.

I remember listening to this on repeat on my first ever flight to the US on my discman. Been a firm favorite ever since. Only just edged out by Kid A IMO, but an absolute classic.

I love a bit of Madness, but let's face it - they are a singles band. I can't in all conscience give this more than a three. I would probably put their debut on the list before this.

I hate Morrison 's voice so much. Some of this might be bearable with a different vocalist. Riders on the Storm is a pretty good vibe, especially the instrumental bits and saves this album from a 1.

A couple of these songs are actually pretty decent - I liked Sweat Loaf and Graveyard pt 2, for example. Some if the others are fairly hard going though, like The O-men. This is a two, but it's on the upper end of it - I was quite tempted to score as a three.

I thought I only knew Birdland, but on listening I realized I've listened to this whole album before. I think only Birdland is really memorable though. Jaco Pastorius' bass playing is next level, but it doesn't translate into an engaging whole for me.

Two Joe Zawinul days in a row. This one much better than the last. Loved the repetitive groove of the first track especially.

I loved this album when it came out, listened to it a lot subsequently, but not recently. I wondered if it would still hold up, or if I'd find I no longer loved it. Happy to report it still sounds awesome - a very easy 5.

"Alright" is such exuberant fun. The rest of the album is pretty good too, but not at the same level.

I like a bit of shoegaze. This is solid but not as good as MBV or Slowdive. A high three.

This didn't grab me as much as Fulfillingness' First Finale, though Superstition is fantastic - if more of the album were like this, it would be an easy 5. "I Believe" is another highlight for me.

I think this album is underrated. Maybe I'm Amazed is a classic. Every Night is great, possibly the best on the album. Love the guitar tone in Momma Miss America. Swithering between 4 & 5, but I really enjoyed listening to this today, so I'm going with 5.

Twenty year old me wouldn't have been seen dead listening to Steely Dan. But there are some decent songs on here; the title track and Rikki especially. I didn't particularly like the Duke Ellington cover though.

This is the third Iggy/Stooges album we've had. This one much like the others; which is to say an enjoyable listen, feels ahead of its time.

Hazey Jane II sounds like a lost Belle & Sebastian song - you can see they were influenced by Nick Drake. Similar to the last two albums we got by Drake, this caused me to want to binge on his whole catalog immediately afterwards. Great stuff.

His voice sounds like the stereotypical voice that people do when taking the piss out of folk singers, with their finger in their ear. Some decent songs on this, but also some dire ones (e.g. Beggar Girl). Overall not really my thing.

Two Steely Dan's in a week! I liked this more than the last one (Pretzel Logic). The sitar solo in Do It Again is pretty great. A high 4.

This is good at doing what it intends to do, which is melodic pop punk. But it's not got the bite that I like in punk. Nice of them to let Kermit the Frog sing the last song.

Another Girl, Another Planet was familiar. Interesting that this shares both stylistic and lyrical similarities with Ash's later Girl From Mars. They sound a bit like Television at times, especially on "The Immortal Story". I quite like some of this, but only about half the tracks. Low 3.

I liked this. Would be interested in hearing more if their earlier stuff too. Particularly enjoyed Let Me Help. A strong 3

I like the instrumentals more than the vocals here. The individual songs are fairly good, but not good enough to merit a 64 minute runtime; I was ready to be done after half an hour.

Better than The Wall, mainly because its a more appropriate length. Again, the musicianship is excellent, but it's still a bit highly strung. A low 4.

This isn't what I expected from the band name. Some of the music is not bad, but the singer has a pretty poor voice.

I've complained in the past about overly long albums, but Illinois totally earns its running time. This is an easy five stars for me.

Best Beatles album or second best, pipped by Abbey Road? Either way, an amazing record. Incredible to think this was a mere three years after "Love Me Do". Tomorrow Never Knows is up there with the best songs the Beatles ever did (brilliant drums from Ringo), as is For No One. George also really starts to come into his own on this record too.

This was fairly good - the production was good, although sometimes it felt a little too smooth for my tastes

This seemed groundbreaking at the time (to me, anyway), but only Moving On Up. And Loaded stand out here; the rest seems kind of dull to today's ears.

This was very much my kind of thing. Great beats, interesting flow, good contrast between the voices. Break and High Fidelity were a couple of standouts.

I think I need more time with this album. I liked some of it a lot - Last Goodbye and Lover, ... For example. Other songs did less for me, and I'm afraid Hallelujah is so overplayed now that it loses all power. But I think it's plausible that if I listened to this multiple times I could grow to love it and maybe it would be a four or even five star album.

This underscores to me that I prefer later Bowie to the earlier stuff. Changes is great, but the rest is nowhere near the highs of Station to Station or Low.

Works best on the riff-heavy tracks like Supernaut. I quite liked most of this. Wasn't so sure about the slower tracks. A pretty strong 3

It was fine, I guess, but not especially memorable. I liked Murder Mystery the most

I'd seriously overlistened to this in the past and as a result had kind of gone off it - and haven't listened in quite a while as a result. Relistening now, its clear what a masterclass in songwriting the whole thing is. (But yes, Aretha's version of Natural Woman is the canonical one)

A four star album with a couple of five star songs on it. Feel Flows is fantastic, and Surf's Up might be my favorite Beach Boys song from their whole catalog; beautifully melancholic.

In general I wish there was a bit less US/British music on this list, and a bit more from other countries. But this album didn't do it for me.

A mixed bag. Some great stuff (WLL), and some some well executed but otherwise run of the mill blues (Lemon Song)

Greatly disliked this misogynistic claptrap

I had pretty low hopes for this given the terrible band name. It marginally exceeded them; some of this was ok despite the sophomoric lyrics. Some of it sounded a bit like the Hives.

Not my thing. Far too long.

Liked this quite a bit more than yesterday's Metallica. Not something I'd typically listen to, but I did quite enjoy it.

Nice voice and some great guitar playing. Some of it veered a bit too close to full on country for me, but I liked a good deal of it. A strong 3.

Always up for a bit of Krautrock. I liked side 2 more than side 1

A few great high points (Clint Eastwood, 19-2000) and a fair bit of filler. Plastic Beach is a stronger album IMO

Music that's not particularly to my taste, elevated by kd lang's incredible voice. I see that Ingenue is on this list too; when that comes around it'll earn an easy five stars. If I'd been given the option to choose a second kd lang album beyond Ingenue, I'd have chosen Hymns of the 49th Parallel, which I love.

I wouldn't go so far as to say I loved it, but I didn't hate it either. In fact I might listen to it again sometime. Actually, I think it merits a three.

I liked this a fair bit more than Document. Radio Free Europe is a good song. A few samey tracks though. A solidly high three.

Well, I guess this project has taught me that I like Dylan way more than I thought I did. After a rocky start (Rainy Day Women offends me in its obviousness), it quickly gets a lot better. Visions of Johanna a standout. Even when Bob is being very Bob, this is good stuff.

The title track sounds pretty modern. Some good music here, although the (affected?) cockney delivery is a bit grating, and I could have done without the Stanley Unwin bits. A bit overly English twee.

I liked a lot of this; especially the last track, a slowed down version of "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)". Disliked Space Cowboy a lot, but overall here more to like than not. A strong 3

This might be sacrilegious, but this doesn't do a whole lot for me. Sure, I can appreciate that it's _good_. But it's not my thing.

Sounds very much of its era. I prefer other electronic acts from that time (e.g. Chemical Brothers, Underworld). This is Ok, but not amazing.

I concur with the majority of other reviewers here. This is dreadful hippy shite. What is going on with those vocals on "Three is a Green Crown"?

Well, Frank can sing, no doubt about that. And there are some classic songs on here. But they all start to blend into one another a bit. I do like the rhyme "my indiscreet heart, how it longs for that sweetheart" though.

Better than Mellon Collie, but that may be largely because it's shorter. I quite like the music but I can't get past Corgan's voice.

Enjoyed this. Virginia Plain is a cracking song, I love Ferry's delivery in it. The rest of the album also pretty great (maybe except the last doo-wop track). How many Eno related albums have we had now? Everything that guy touches is gold.

My review of the previous Ryan Adams album we got still holds here ("Tuneful and easy to listen to, but completely unmemorable"); at least this one is a more reasonable length.

I liked this, though it's not a strong as Bookends (and neither are at the heights of Bridge Over Troubled Water). A Simple Desultory Philippic is pretty funny; a good Dylan parody.

Don't You Want Me is the only great song on here; the rest is fairly run of the mill 80s synth pop

I like MacKaye's vocals more than Picciotto's. This is fun stuff, though I think I enjoy Minor Threat a smidge more.

Awesomely funky stuff from Prince. There are several long songs on here - 7+ minutes, but none of them feel long. Hard to pick highlights, but Something In The Water is great, as is Lady Cab Driver. Delirious is the only track that didn't really work for me.

I quite like the music but I'm not too fond of Julian Cope's voice.

Music is bad and Marilyn Manson is a creep.

She's certainly got an impressive set of pipes on her. But other than her singing voice, I find the music a bit unmemorable.

Phil: Do any of you girls want a little bit more Irish in you? Me: Vomits in mouth a bit

Not good, but some of it not _quite_ as bad as I feared it might be. Still hippy shite though. Why is he whispering "LSD" during Bass Strings?

I think you have to be in a certain frame of mind to appreciate Tom Waits; I'm not sure I was totally there when I listened to this. Somewhere between "Heartattack" and "Rain Dogs" for me; Rain Dogs is still the standout Tom.Waits album. On this, "16 Shells" was one I enjoyed a lot

Super catchy, but feels a little dissatisfying, like processed food. The songs on this album (which like most double albums, is too long) tend to blend into one another; there's not a ton to differentiate them. However merits three stars at least for Mr Blue Sky.