Let me tell ya, when those opening notes of the title track kicked in to open the album, I was 17 again. What a deep and affecting dose of Indie nostalgia. Then the song ends with the final notes ringing out into the near-perfect Ready To Start. Gotta be one of the best 1-2 punches to kick off a record in the genre. Beautiful, affecting music. The rest of the record? Not so much. I like a track here or there but I associate Arcade Fire with the inconsistency very much on display here. What does a song like Deep Blue have to offer me that I don’t get from any other Indie band? Why would I listen to Sprawl II instead of like Passion Pit? There is of course also a little bit of a pall hanging over this group because of sexual misconduct allegations against Win Butler, but I’m not holding that against the rest of the group. What I will blame them for is creating a gigantic band which can so frequently produce a bland sound. It’s a shame the soaring highs seem to be met with such generic lows. Ultimately, an inconsistent and drawn out album. Top tracks: The Suburbs, Ready To Start, Modern Man, Suburban War, Month Of May, We Used To Wait

I have so so SO much to say about this album. I know my reviews usually go on for way too long, but this has been taking up my entire conscious mind since listening through yesterday. It’s a tremendous, gigantic, INSANE, undertaking and it deserves my undivided attention for better and for worse. First off, of course I’m very familiar with this album. I listened to it a bit back in the day while learning about Classic Rock history. This is a landmark in the history of storytelling in popular music and an undeniably admirable execution of an artistic vision. It’s the original Rock Opera! Even though I despise that term. Pinball Wizard is the huge hit everyone knows front-to-back (and an absolute banger) but I also found myself remembering a few other key parts in the catchy mystique of The Acid Queen and the repeated lyrics of “Tommy can you hear me?!” and “See me…feel me…etc” throughout the album. That’s about all I really carried into this from the past though. Musically it’s a mixed bag for me. I admired kicking things off with an Overture (I’d imagine at the time seeing that would make some snobs think of them as “real” musicians), and thought the classic Who-style rock arrangements were pretty fun. They branch out into kind of Folk-influenced passages here and there, and certainly have a little bit of a psychedelic break in the middle during the Underture (more on that later), but I don’t feel the actual musical arrangements do a whole lot to move the story along. A bright spot is the drumming of Keith Moon, who I think ABSOLUTELY steals the show on this album. The long instrumental breaks would not pack nearly the same punch without his versatility creating atmosphere at a frantic, driving pace. There’s a few goofy interludes, but for the most part it’s that Classic Rock sound that defines The Who. Overall at the very least interesting to listen to. Now, for the bulk of what I need to talk about. Lyrics! AKA The Plot. I like this came up so soon after Dark Side Of The Moon for us because they sort of represent a debate that has divided movie audiences for years that we can now extend to music: Theme VS Plot. Dark Side was a concept album but in a very abstract and thematic way. We weren’t listening to Dark Side saying “okay so he was breathing in the air and now he’s on the run, but look! Too much time went by! Now he’s at the great gig in the sky!” It was a “story” in the sense it tackled large universal experiences of life, but they were applied conceptually as opposed to locking in on the individual experience of it. Tommy is clearly MUCH different. We follow a boy who sees his father murder his mother’s lover, shut down his senses from the trauma, get abused, become a pinball god to cope, develop a following, get healed, and then get rejected by his own movement. There is a LOT of plot going on, lots of things we get told are happening, and a story we actually need to follow and understand. Soooo this story I summed up, it’s paced really weird. This is a 4 side album, and we need get past the 1st quarter of side 3 (AKA 9/16 of the way) before they finally stop with what I can only describe as torture porn of the protagonist. Seriously I didn’t remember it being that crazy. The MAJORITY of this record is Tommy being yelled at by his parents, physically abused by his cousin, drugged with psychedelics without his consent, being r*ped by the woman who drugged him, and getting molested by his uncle. In FACT, we go DIRECTLY from his uncle’s sexual abuse to the first mention of him being amazing at pinball with only an iconic guitar intro in between. That’s pretty wild and not something they mention when they play it on WZZO. It doesn’t really have much purpose to me except to be edgy. Again, this is a plot-heavy story, and in the plot after mentioning how good at pinball he is (again, sequenced in a way that seems like it’s BECAUSE he got molested) we spend a few songs with a doctor who ultimately leads him to a mirror which smashes, breaking Tommy from his state. Anyway, from there it’s his “downfall” so to speak where he ends up being rejected by his own movement because they don’t want to act like they can’t hear or see, and they don’t like that he wants them to be teetotalers. Also his pedo Uncle Ernie is in a position of leadership at the camp/compound they stay at? Yikes. Anyway, not a fan of the story obviously, but what makes me dislike it MORE is that Pete Townshend credits his inspiration for the story to the teachings of Meher Baba. I touched on this briefly in my Who’s Next review, but I don’t think anybody has ever benefitted less from a spiritual awakening than Pete. This is the same spiritual figure who inspired the song “Don’t Worry Be Happy”, and I don’t know how Pete became so jaded in his worldview while interpreting the same teachings that so many others interpreted as a direction to maintain positivity in everyday life. Besides all the abuse stuff, this shares a theme with some tracks on Who’s Next in that it depicts the failure of a movement/revolution, and seems to imply there’s no reason to bother with such things. This album is really a bummer lyrically, I really am baffled by how much of a grouch Pete seemed to be from such a young age. Anyway, I’ll cut things off there. I think that’s most of what I wanted to say. A few good songs, some good motifs, but really gets bogged down by the story. I truly have no idea what the intentions behind such a strange narrative are, but I did my best to interpret it and all it tells me is Pete Townshend was born a grouchy old English man and he is surprisingly negative for someone who at least at this point followed a “we are all one with god” mantra. I don’t understand how these lyrics reflect anything beyond someone who doesn’t see the point of life, and even though some of these songs rock pretty hard, I don’t see much of the point either. It’s all pain and disappointment. If I get the fucking Limp Bizkit album next I’m really going to bottom out.

Front to back, what an incredible accomplishment. Almost every single track hits. The whole record flows perfectly, it’s stacked top to bottom with great features and guest musicians building out the deep textured arrangements. Bits of Jazz, Funk, Soul, everything gets thrown in here to make a truly unique record. Still sounds fresh 8 years later, lives up to every bit of hype there has been about it. Side note: Certainly an album that I feel really defines what this project is all about. Anybody should give this a shot no matter how far out of their comfort zone or cultural experience this is. It truly feels like a privilege to experience such a complete artistic statement. Top tracks: King Kunta, These Walls, u, Alright, The Blacker The Berry, i

This album runs on “guy who loves the Beatles” energy, which doesn’t really grab me at all. It’s not like it’s BAD, it’s just pretty well-treaded territory and not particularly interesting or engaging to me. Usually an album like this is very lyrics-first but those weren’t even super interesting (except releasing a flurry of slurs towards the end). Def in the 2 star range, which for me is “not going to ever seek it out but I’m not going out of my way to turn it off if it’s playing somewhere”

Went into it expecting a solid 4, got won over even more by the lyricism and extra guitar work the whole way through. Is it possible REM has multiple 5-star albums?! I think this is one for sure and I know for a fact this isn’t my favorite record of theirs!

I know the back half is weak, but the front half is nothing short of euphoric. More than balances out the overall quality.

Absolute no-brainer, as close to perfect as an album can be.

Finally caught up! Great listen, surprised by the consistency, just could’ve used a bit of fat trimmed from the track list. STRONG 3, very close to a 4.

Had a good easy-listening sound, but ultimately not an engaging listen for me.

Lots of highs, just as many lows, sounds like a studio recording of frameworks to use for live jams. I’m sure those are fantastic, but lots of these tracks are inconsistent and just a vehicle for Jimi to showcase his guitar skills. Pretty clearly a 3 star pick for me.

This is THE best thing I’ve listened to in a long time! Wow, I’m blown away. This fucking rips. The slide guitar, the RIFFS, that ramp up at the end of Whiskey Woman, the title track, this is amazing stuff. Can’t believe I’ve never heard of them. This is going right in the regular rotation.

Went into it expecting a solid 4, got won over even more by the lyricism and extra guitar work the whole way through. Is it possible REM has multiple 5-star albums?! I think this is one for sure and I know for a fact this isn’t my favorite record of theirs!

First time listening to an album by her front to back, really enjoyed it. Falls off a little towards the end but still great.

This was a nice listen (I had to go to YouTube to get the whole record in a playlist), the vibes were great. Not normally a genre a listen to and probably not something I would revisit, but I definitely didn’t dislike it.

Vibes but not much else. Not enjoyable, won’t be revisiting.

Overall a very disappointing listen. A couple strong, unique tracks in the back half aren’t enough to save it. Fairly cookie-cutter 90s alt sounds and released far enough in the decade that they don’t get any points for innovating.

A few spectacular songs, a few decent songs, a few terrible songs. Perfectly in the middle albumwise.

For the most part, pretty typical early-century Indie fare. The few songs that stray from that formula (Intro, Crysralized, etc) still hit as hard as they did in my teens, but the rest is nothing spectacular. Was gonna give it 4 but bumped it down because of my nostalgia probably affecting my vibe.

This record encapsulates everything there is to love about Neil Young. I’ve found myself on this listen really appreciating the album cuts and the lyricism. Close to perfect in my book. Just a phenomenal combo of so many disparate genres, I love it.

This album runs on “guy who loves the Beatles” energy, which doesn’t really grab me at all. It’s not like it’s BAD, it’s just pretty well-treaded territory and not particularly interesting or engaging to me. Usually an album like this is very lyrics-first but those weren’t even super interesting (except releasing a flurry of slurs towards the end). Def in the 2 star range, which for me is “not going to ever seek it out but I’m not going out of my way to turn it off if it’s playing somewhere”

I actually listened through this twice just to make sure the emotion I felt on my 2am-drive-home-listen wasn’t just a fluke. I was particularly grasped by the realization that after reaching an early climax of chaos and atonal assault in Pt. II Resolution (which of course is only the appearance of chaos, each note is actually perfectly placed and deliberate) the performance begins to de-escalate and fall into more traditional and comforting arrangements. This really drives home the central theme of the record, the journey to finding meaning in life through a higher power. Each step of the way the sax leads act in a very human, lyrical manner. Coltrane shares feelings of confusion and sadness which soon give way to curiosity and understanding until, ultimately in Pt IV Psalm, transforming to gratitude and reverence. I was delighted to do some reading and find his intention was to create a “wordless poem” on Psalm where his spiritual work was played in the rhythm of speaking through his instrument instead of reading the words. Overall a fascinating record, brilliantly performed, and deeply meaningful. These curveballs so far outside my normal listening mixes are making this project a lot of fun and very rewarding.

Just about as perfect as folky indie can get. Great record, probably more to the side of being a 4.5 for me. Some great album cuts I never gave the proper credit to.

This is such a fascinating listening knowing what Radiohead will eventually become. There are hints of their later brilliance on this album, but it’s so WEIRD hearing things like Thom York annunciating in that stereotypical Britpop cadence on the title track. At the end of the day this is not the best Radiohead album, but it is an incredible alt/indie record for the mid 90s. Songs like High and Dry and Fake Plastic Trees are Pop songs, but they’re outstanding Pop songs. Great record with some tracks that probably could have been cut, just not fully realized.

Not very into it, very little of interest in the arrangements and so many songs just dragged long past the point they should.

Absolute snooze, classic rock revival from a time when the rest of the musical landscape was moving on to bigger and better things. There are worse things to be listening to, but it’s definitely not an engaging listen or one I would willfully revisit. WZZO-ass album.

Regretting giving the Black Crowes one star yesterday because THIS is a one star album. I had to tap out, repetitive and grating, fusions of uninspired takes of varying genres, saw this was applauded at the time for its progressive lyrics but now they just seem very juvenile and basic. Not a fan at all, it’s been a rough week for albums in this group.

This is really the quintessential Rush album for me because it equal parts showcases what there is to like about their sound and what gets kind of annoying about their sound. The sweeping epic opening title suite that makes up almost half the album is a perfect example, with dazzling instrumentals that vary in the amounts of interest they generate. The lyrics feel weird and don’t really do the job of tying together an interesting narrative, and then if you’re like me you’ll read up on the album and find Neil Peart credits his lyrical inspiration “to the genius of Ayn Rand” and check out completely. The back half of the album is better than I remember, with multiple solid album cuts (particularly Lessons and Something For Nothing) making a solid impression. Overall though, very hit and miss record. The central piece itself is very half-and-half, really trailing off and turning into a slog after the excellent Overture and Temples Of Syrinx sections. For me personally, an album to skip around on and not to consume in its entirety.

This was a very nice listen, certainly not my favorite Neil album but it’s one I haven’t heard before and quite a few songs really stuck with me on the first listen. Doing some reading this is a record that came from a pretty lonely and difficult place for him as he struggled with the onset of superstardom after his prior record, but it’s a feel that doesn’t resonate with me the same as some of his other work. Overall still a great record and enjoyable listen.

Similar to my listen of The Bends, it’s a lot of fun hearing the raw elements of the distinct sound of this great band prior to them really developing and merging with other influences. This album is much heavier on the art-rock genre stead of the deep New Wave of later releases. Some of the album cuts aren’t up to snuff with the quality of the rest of the album, but that’s because it’s a GREAT album! Songs like New Feeling, Pulled Up and Who Is It? are all time Talking Heads tracks and I feel like they’re very underrated. Yeah I can do without like First/Last Week but it’s not like tracks like that are BAD. Overall, great listen.

Masterpiece. All-timer, such an incredible record. In a genre so defined by its minimalism and DIY-ness, this album is nothing but deep, lush soundscapes layered with texture and sonic experimentation. I could go on and on about the godliness of the production, but Chuck and Flav are on a whole other level on this album. It’s an absolute masterclass in lyricism and rhythm, their voices often being used as another layer in the sonic collages that make up the album. Absolutely incredible. Every song rips, every step takes us further into the mind of Chuck and his angst, confusion, anger, frustration, desperate hope and optimism, every emotion he feels looking at the world matched perfectly by these instrumentals and spoken word samples. I could go on and on, I’m rambling. I should’ve just kept it to my first word: Masterpiece.

The good: The big tracks on this album are wildly ahead of their time, with the huge synth/organ lines and kind of prog-adjacent feel to them mixing in with the rockin’ sections. Really cool stuff when you contextualize it. The cuts are hit and miss (we love making fun of Bargain, and it’s not like I’ll ever listen to Going Mobile on my own), but overall cool stuff going on and it’s fun to listen to. The bad: This is a record which is really infected by how much Pete and Roger just…suck as people. They’re so lame. This is a band which made their name in the wave of youth rebellion with tracks like My Generation laying the foundation for proto-punk and the like. The two most enduring tracks that bookend the album (Baba and Won’t Get Fooled) are sardonic condemnations of the youth movements they were just a part of, saying these kids are wasting their time trying to change the world and declaring basically “we tried to change things, but nothing actually changed, so just shut up and go back to work like us”. These guys are 27 making this album and they’ve got the attitude of middle aged men already (helped by the fact that Roger has sang like an old man since he first came to prominence), and especially seeing this is a true sellout on their part just makes it such a bummer. Pete does so much talking about the spiritual journey and his shaman and it just led him to be an old grouch at a young age. All that having been said though, the album still rocks. There’s been so much derivativeness stemming from this sound over the years, but it still sounds fairly unique on its own. I can shut out the vapidness of their lyrics and appreciate the songs as they are structured, and it ends up being a solid listen.

I have a very fond memory of one of those “I Love The…” shows where they interviewed Scott Ian from Anthrax, and he was recounting when he at a very young age came into possession of this album. He proceeded to play it on his record player while sitting there staring at the album art while listening, and he was overcome by not just a deep admiration for the sound but also a genuine fear and unsettling feeling stemming from the sound/art combo. This record is the real deal, such an amazing sound especially for the time. It works so well because it happens so organically. Tony Iommi isn’t tuning down his guitar to sound br00tal, he tunes it down because he lost his fingertips in a factory accident and it’s difficult to press down on higher-tension strings with his prosthetics. Ozzy isn’t singing about Satan and the occult JUST to freak people out, but also because that’s what he happened to be studying and learning about while writing. The sound is sublime. It works so well because this record especially showcases their uniquely evil twists combining with the sound of their influences and contemporaries (Geezer Butler’s basslines sound like they could be from rockin’ bands ranging from Cream to Blue Cheer and Bill Ward almost has a classic rock n roll swing to his parts). Ozzy’s vocal parts show us why he’s a household name. It’s easy to forget that he wasn’t always a legacy act, but at one point was legit as hell (who else could so expertly sell lyrics like “My name is Lucifer please take my hand”) as he sings here in a lower, almost pained register than we know him for. The one drawback that keeps this from being a perfect record is that the feeling of “weird guy you kind of know is taking you to see spooky shit in the woods at night” that makes this record so great does kind of lead it to meander a little too far off the path. The closing song suite does lose the plot a bit and drag with repetition, and for me The Wizard doesn’t quite have the same substance the other tracks bring to the table. Otherwise though…incredible stuff. I love this record. If you don’t fuck with the ramp-up at the end of the opening title track, or the twists and turns of the first song suite culminating into N.I.B., then Metal may just not be for you.

I want to act like I’m too cool for The Beatles…but when I listened to this on my drive home last night, it hit the spot. I love how out there the arrangements are, the vocals are in a class of their own, and the flow from track-to-track is just supreme. I could do without the lull in the middle where we have to push through Mr. Kite and Within You Without You (I’m not crazy about either track) but the rest of it is incredible. Great stuff.

There were elements I liked and I was really giving with it for the first couple tracks, but ultimately it ended up feeling very same-y and one dimensional. I think that owes to the recording process. Reading up on it this record was recorded live around a single microphone, which is such a cool vibe but I feel hurts this album because of the lack of dynamic changes in the songs. Most of them are roughly the same tempo and style. Every track has every instrument and vocal at the same volume and position in the mix. It really drives what begins as a chill ambient vibe into the ground. I really did want to like this because of my initial impression of “this sounds kind of like the band that plays at the bar in Twin Peaks” and because of my fascination with the recording process , but it ultimately fell flat for me. That being said, I’d still take a track out of context now and again to get that chill vibe. I’d just probably prefer to listen to the original version of one of the many covers if given the choice.

FINALLY this algorithm starts bringing the Funk! I enjoy this record as a juxtaposition to Who’s Next as far as early applications of synths in popular music is concerned. While The Who used them as centerpieces to build a song around, Stevie uses them on this album to build ambiance and layers deep in the mix around more typical piano and organ parts. Great record, really impressed me from the perspective of someone who is really only familiar with Stevie’s big hits. His voice is just so smooth and effective, it’s very easy to listen to. I’m not the biggest fan of the slow jams (I recognize it as great songwriting, but with the exception of maybe Blame It On The Sun I gravitate towards the more upbeat side of his sound). Regardless, excellent record, very fun listen, certainly something I’m glad to have finally had the exposure to and an album I’ll be revisiting tracks from in the future.

I’d consider myself a fan of 80s pop, but man this was a slog to get through. I wasn’t ever in to Culture Club and this has absolutely confirmed that for me. Karma Chameleon is obviously a banger, Miss Me Blind is a great track, and I can even get down to Church Of The Poison Mind if I needed to, but besides that everything was so generic and boring. Probably closer to 2.5 stars when I factor in Boy George being a beautiful androgynous gay icon, but I still round down to 2 stars for the overall quality of music.

Glad I had the weekend to let this one bounce around and listen a few times! I’ve loved this album for a long time, but some of the kind of goofy/whimsical breaks and horn parts have always sat a little weird with me. After a couple listens (and a convincing argument from Allijah), I’ve gotta say, it’s grown on me. Lou Reed has a weird charm in his absolute sincerity, and this album is him as typical putting it all out in the open. Bowie’s production is a perfect match, and I fully believe this whole album is, in fact, great.

Well folks, looks like we’ve got another #clogger on our hands. This was a tough one for me. It truly sounded like I was listening to an album of royalty-free music for media usage. I acknowledge it was probably an influential compilation for British people to listen to and snap them out of the dark hold of 90s britpop, but it was just so boring and unengaging. Barely any evolution in the tracks, barely any variation in the backbeats and synth styles/tones, barely any interesting structure to differentiate one track from another. Totally snooze. I spent a good amount of time finding the right version of this album to listen to by the way. I ended up going to YouTube. The version of this album on Spotify and Apple Music is an entirely different release from years later with a different track list and featuring different artists, and yet the songs ALL still sound the same and are effectively interchangeable. Very disappointing, did not finish, will not revisit.

Kate Bush can really do no wrong in my eyes. This is a great album. Her unique melodies and unconventional harmonies, the diversity between the soft beauty of tracks like The Fog and the bombastic peaks of songs like Rocket’s Tail (tell me that didn’t get you pumped when it all came crashing down), down to the absolute proto-dreampop perfection of the closing track This Woman’s Work. She even works in classical European instrumentation on a few of the songs, which blends in seamlessly. This is a GREAT album, definitely hits a little bit of a valley towards the middle after a strong opening, but I feel it picks back up and absolutely crushed it.

Yeah you read that right, this is a 5 star album for me! I know that seems wild, but I truly every single song on this album brings something to the table. We all know the gigantic hit of a title track, and the Moody family members of the group are very familiar with Love Is A Stranger from years of mom’s mix cds in the car, but even songs like Jennifer or Somebody Told Me which sound like filler tracks at first end up building to a noisy satisfying conclusion. There are three big factors at play here: the production, the excellent songwriting, and Lennox’s incredible vocal performances. For the first point, if you didn’t listen to this through headphones, you did yourself a disservice. This was my first listen to the album as a whole and I was blown away by how the perfectly balanced and creative the mixing was. Synthesizers attack from every angle on the upbeat tracks while they fall into a lush ecosystem on the slower songs. The vocals rise and fall out of the mix as if they are another instrument fitting into their place with perfection. I appreciate this coming so soon after Culture Club because it really hammers home what the difference is between their generic sound va the Eurythmics’ unique tone. Second, I absolutely love the lyricism on this album. Moreso however, the synth lines stand out as unique and unmistakable. They have the darkness and grit of Dark Wave standards like Depeche Mode, but keep an airy lightness that transition smoothly into catchy choruses. It’s like everything great about the genre being put on full display. Third, not much I can say about Annie Lennox. If you hear her sing, you should get why she’s special. So yeah. 5 stars. Full disclosure I did rate the original release which ends with This City Never Sleeps (great closer by the way). I see there’s a 2005 rerelease with some bonus tracks but I’m not grading it on those (good thing too if the other bonus tracks match the quality of that Satellite Of Love cover).

I was very surprised by this one. I’ve never bothered to listen to Common and this was a great listen. It’s produced by Kanye and clearly not just in name only. It’s got his fingerprints all over the beats and production, and from a time when he was was on fire just ripping heaters. Cool stuff, fun and out of my usual sphere of knowledge.

This is one of my lifelong faves but an album I haven’t listened to in a while. I have to say, parts of it don’t hold up like I remember. Candidate is kind of a dud of a track to have in the first few tracks, and the closing track I Remember Nothing has a melancholy crawl that doesn’t quite have the emotional pull to keep it engaging. That having been said, this is still a phenomenal record. I could go on and on and on…but I just want to draw attention to one moment in particular. On Shadowplay, there is the moment where the guitar switches from the low rhythm power chords to the lead part interlude between verses. It’s in this moment that the guitar truly embodies the loneliness and isolation that permeates this album, just a soft quiet lead part that sounds like a human cry for attention. It’s great stuff that really brings the record to life. I know this is nowhere near the musicianship or quality of production that would come with the later New Order record after Ian Curtis passed away, but what this album does have is unflinching sincerity. Ian’s vocals sound like they come from an old broken man, and it’s easy to forget he’s a 22 year old man at this point! Watching live videos it’s clear they’re all still novice musicians (Bernard Sumner can barely play the guitar parts live at this point) but they still worked their ass off to hit out of their weight class and make a weird, unique thing. All and all, it’s a very emotional and strange piece of music history that for the most part really holds up. It’s dripping with atmosphere and genuine energy. Very good, I still love it, but it’s not the perfect album I remember it being. Maybe their other record is???

First of all, I hate myself for kind of liking this. I know it’s bad, it’s so bad. But it kind of hits the spot in a nostalgic way for me. The tracks that incorporate synth lines (Jump and I’ll Wait) are actually a pretty fun evolution of their classic Hair Metal sound, even though they lack quite a bit in the lyrics and vocals (yeah, DLR doesn’t do it for me). Hot For Teacher like actually fucking RIPS if you completely tune out the horrid disgusting lyrics, and Panama is kind of a banger too. The issue that really tears it down is the godawful album cuts. Girl Gone Bad? Drop Dead Legs?! Come on. Terrible tracks. I can’t get over how bad the lyrics and vocals on every single song are. I’ve actually talked myself down while re-listening to write this out. Bangin’ guitar lines aren’t enough to save the stomach-churning themes being passed off has having a fun time. Plus like the lows are SO much lower than the highs are high. I was leaning 3 but I’m more comfortable going 2.

This was ultimately fairly disappointing for me. When I was listening to the opening track The Wrong Way, I was getting pretty hyped. I thought it was really out there, cool and weird. Turns out the rest of the album was not like that at all and pretty much just sounded like Bloc Party. It’s fine as far as that era of indie rock goes, nothing particular offensive, just nothing super interesting. Ultimately I’ve got no issue with this album and probably won’t mind if it comes on in an indie mix in the future, just probably not something I’ll go looking for (except the opening track, that was super cool)

I quite enjoyed this! It’s not a record I’ve ever listened to and truthfully I’m not super familiar with Van Morrison beyond his big hits either. Great combo of folky vocals and lyrics along with deeper lush instrumentation and a jazzy feel. Really had an ethereal quality to it that got cemented further on my second listen. Several tracks overstayed their welcome a bit but all in all forgivable when listening to it as a whole. I probably won’t give more than half the tracks a listen on their own, but as a full piece I think this record is very effective.

Not for me. There were bits and pieces on some tracks that sounded pretty unique and inventive, but for the most part it was dreadful. I was leaning 2 but have to knock it down for the inclusion of a track called “Bonin’ In The Boneyard”

Loved this album, it just unfortunately suffers from the classic double album dilemma of having just a bit too much fat that could’ve been trimmed (Rainy Day Women opening up dragged a bit towards minute 4, the back half lost my attention a bit in spots) but overall there’s some incredible stuff in here! Who would’ve thought we’d get hit by some genuinely great Pop hooks in One Of Us Must Know or I Want You?! Overall I preferred Highway 61 but there’s a lot to love on here. I’ll just pick and choose my tracks in the future instead of tackling it as a whole.

This is a real rough one. I feel like I’d actually lean towards a 3 if it weren’t for the vocals. When I got to the song Friday Night I was fucking SHOCKED that he sounded great! Like he sounds exactly like Robert Smith. Why, if you have that great voice, are you singing in that weird falsetto for so much of the record? It’s not even a GOOD falsetto, there’s parts where it sounds breathy and he constantly just sings entire tracks in it and it just sounds bizarre. Not a fan, vocals (and lyrics, yeeesh) ruin what could otherwise be a pretty fun straightforward rock record.

Really came around on this after a second listen, special shout out to Mr. Spaceman and some wild chaotic guitar parts on Eight Miles High and their version of Hey Joe for really winning me over.

I mostly appreciated how much of the groundwork of many of my favorite genres was laid down on this record, but was generally pretty fine with this album. It had a great vibe but didn’t really grab me in the way I was hoping. Still a fun listen, this is a very strong 3 from me.

It’s no secret that there isn’t anything groundbreaking happening on this album. For an album that came from such a personal place, Adele’s lyrics are fairly straightforward and reminiscent of a million Pop songs we’ve heard before. The song structures are all pretty typical of a Blues-influenced Pop songwriting team cranking out power ballads, and the songs that break from the typical arrangements and structures (the opening two tracks) have been so ingrained in pop culture that they struggle to still doing fresh. Throw in a downtempo Cure cover towards the end and this thing was destined to be a megahit. So what redeeming factors does this album have? Pretty much the fact that this functions as the way a solo album typically should; As a showcase for the artist’s main strengths. In this case, it’s Adele’s vocal talents. Are those talents strong enough to elevate it past the less-than-stellar composition? Fucking YES they are! Seriously, is it just me? I forgot how incredible she is. It’s so engrossing. I mentioned not being impressed by the lyrics but she’s belting and selling the hell out of them for the whole record, it’s amazing. What an amazing talent and at such a relatively young age too. Points get taken off for the other stuff I mentioned, but she carries this album through sheer vocal force and I feel delivered a very impressive and engrossing listening experience despite not having the best foundations musically. Light 4.

This was a very pleasant surprise for me! I have never understood why Carlos Santana is a household name and this record finally got me to understand and appreciate how he made his legacy. What a great album. I only knew the hits beforehand (Black Magic Woman and Oye Como Va) and I was totally blown away by the quality beyond those tracks. Such great fusion from a time when Latin-influenced music was nowhere near where it is now in the mainstream. Mashing that up with the classic rock sound and elements of Jazz and Psychedelia is superb, I’ll be listening to this for a while. Special shoutouts to the Jazz groove on Incident at Neshabur, the jammy-ness of Se A Cabo, the tempo shifts on Mother’s Daughter, and Hope You’re Feeling Better for feeling like a long lost Deep Purple track.

I actually quite like Yes’ take on Prog-Rock, but this one is relatively inconsistent for me. We still have some great tracks in the opening Yours Is No Disgrace and the well-known All Good People, and although I feel it is a bit overrated in their catalogue Starship Troopers is still a great performance. Unfortunately for me, including a live guitar solo as track 2 (great work by Steve Howe but still a baffling choice) and closing with 2 mediocre tracks back-to-back spoil the fun. Still a wonderful example of creative musicianship, but I feel the next couple records in their discography really highlight the shortcomings of this one.

The saddest part of this is I LIKE Elvis Costello! But this was a rough one. There’s a few genuinely great tracks on here, but they’re sandwiched between such bloated and repetitive songwriting. I should’ve known from the start when this was advertised as his “masterpiece” that it would be overblown and pretentious. I struggled to even get through the whole thing.

As an avid fan of the first few Tallest Man On Earth records, this was like finding a musical missing link. I love the minimalist style and superb production (there’s nothing quite like hearing guitar from the 60s sounding so warm and full), and Bert’s voice and lyrics are full of spirit and passion. As a whole I feel there’s a bit of inconsistency on the album (it’s tough to employ a ton of variety with such a stripped-down setup) but I remain very happy for this to hit such a specific itch I wasn’t aware I was missing so much. This is a very strong 4, just short of a light 5.

Parts of this album (particularly lyrically) haven’t aged well, but for the most part this is an exceptionally great record. Fantastic guitar lines and tone, as well as full commitment by the vocalist. Ideas flow smoothly from track to track, and I feel it all comes to a very satisfying climax at the end with some fantastic instrumentals. Again, parts are certainly very of-the-time, but nothing dealbreaking. To me this feels in the spirit of when Emo and Grunge were melding together with bands like Sunny Day Real Estate, and that’s a sound that very much gels with me.

There is a beautiful place in this world for long-form Funk. Of course long epics like these tracks will start to drag a little at times but overall this is a great listen!

I’ve always liked Beck’s brand of Alt, and apparently so do a lot of other people because he’s pretty much the poster child for Alternative music that turned into mainstream Indie over time. This is a pretty typical Beck album from my perspective: A few great songs but as a whole nothing I’ll go crazy for.

Zappa has always been a difficult bridge for me to cross (except for a track here or there), and this is the first album of his I’ve actually listened through. I’m pleasantly surprised! Yeah it’s goofy as hell and my gripes tend to lie with when it gets too goofy, but when it stays musical I actually LOVE this! Lots of different subgenres and influences get brought in and played with, I really had no idea what to expect from track-to-track. Lots of very cool interpretations of early hard rock and early psychedelia. Points just get deducted for the occasional points (Wondering Why I’m Here, or It Can’t Happen Here for instance) that are a mere step above cartoon sound effects. I know the ending epic noise experiment will be polarizing, but I think it’s kind of cool even though it goes on way too long. Special shout outs: Hungry Freaks, Brain Police, Trouble Every Day, Help I’m A Rock

Feels like she was going for a more accessible take on Kate Bush’s sound (the vocal runs are a dead giveaway) but unfortunately isn’t up to snuff in songwriting quality or vocal performance. Certainly nothing I outright hated, but as a whole there wasn’t really any single track that grabbed me behind feeling like acceptable background music I wouldn’t get up to turn off.

The late-era cover album has become such a cliché for aging artists, and it’s always weird and awkward. Go look at Ozzy’s, it sucks. This record is truly about as perfect of an execution you can imagine for the concept. It’s not just Johnny Cash singing songs he likes or thinks are thematically viable, he OWNS these songs and makes them his own. The lyrics take on new meaning as Cash gives them not just his literal voice but works them into his musical voice as well. Even maybe the two biggest swings back-to-back (the genre mismatch of Personal Jesus and the impossible task of covering The Beatles) connect because of his complete commitment and sincerity. Obviously the best example is his redefining take on Hurt, but I feel each track really works. Desperado sounds better than it ever did with The Eagles. Great stuff. What doesn’t work for me? Probably his take on Danny Boy. Probably the general difficulty he has actually carrying a tune at the literal final months of his life. But I mean…still, incredible execution. Probably the best front-to-back album of covers I’ve listened to. I wouldn’t even say it feels like listening to a cover album. It sounds like a great Johnny Cash album, because that’s exactly what it is.

There’s some good white-guy-Blues in here but man…what a gauntlet to have to run. Such a bloated and ostentatious record. This certainly falls in the time period where Clapton wasn’t outwardly enough of an asshole to make him totally unlistenable, but the signs are certainly there. Trim this down a bit and you’ve got a solid album, but as it stands right now it’s rough.

Overall disappointing for something regarded as such a classic. There were some good and bad though. The good: I liked how minimalist it was for something so rooted in psychedelia. Generally bands will have tons of overdubs and layers to make things sound bigger. Here there were the distinct three-piece band parts with usually just two vocals over them (Clapton and Bruce), with just the occasional guitar lead tracked over it at parts. It was a nice change of pace from what I usually imagine in the genre. The instrumentation was great, and most of the back half REALLY rips after a pretty okay front half. Clapton is the legend in the band but Baker and Bruce in the rhythm section so some heavy lifting (especially Ginger Baker, such a unique tom-heavy driving style out of him). The bad: I just don’t fuck with Clapton as a vocalist. He really brings it down for me. Jack Bruce takes lead for most of the back half and knocks it out of the park. The only other reprieve we get are two songs with Baker on lead which are WAY worse. The other thing is the mixing which Mister Tunes mentioned in their review. It’s very quiet and underwhelming, even though there are some heavy backbeats getting churned out as I mentioned before. So yeah, overall glad I listened, but not what I expected nor what it should be capable of.

First of all, very funny that this is another Hip-Hop album with a “god is a woman?!” moment on it. That having been said, blown away by this listen. I wasn’t stoked about a 40-track album where I only knew 4 of them prior, but this is a real fun listen. Speakerboxxx is banger after banger with some great features (those Killer Mike tracks go hard), and The Love Below is an eclectic experimental trip that really shows why André 3000 had a blank check to do whatever for the next decade. I’m not a fan of most of the interludes, and of course every track isn’t a hit (The Love Below certainly being the more inconsistent half), but I can’t say the overall enjoyment was affected a ton by that for me. It still stands up for me as a weird, wild, wholly realized artistic expression. This is twice as long as Layla and that record had me tuning out and skipping around after a bit, while I was genuinely engaged the whole way through here. Great stuff.

Reminds me of like stuff they would play on Viva La Bam. Skater punk with lots of bad words to be cool. Certainly elements of things I like but not put together in a way I can get down with. Plus that band name is rough, very teenage-boy-pushing-boundaries. I know they’re like Norwegian but still. Honestly, was leaning 2 stars, but learning more about them and re-listening to Rendezvous With Anus, I talked myself down a bit.

Interesting listen, definitely split into two halves. One half is the typical Temptations sound you kind of expect from them (tracks 4-7) of ballads with those smooth vocals and safe instrumentals, but the other tracks (1-3 plus the closer written by album project alumni Isaac Hayes) have an uncharacteristic edge to them. Very interesting stuff, I love the clearly most famous centerpiece track Papa Was A Rolling Stone, and the other tracks with that edge. Other than that, I mean nothing that really blew me away but they’ve got a classic spectacular sound. Great record in my books.

Hate to say; I’ve become quite an Eno-head over the years. Very interesting record, the first half is that classic Bowie sound mixed with some more contemporary elements. The second half is real out there, ambient and experimental. I’m glad I had the weekend with this one because at first it didn’t really click but I got the picture after giving it another go. Certainly not my favorite Bowie record by any means but it is fascinating hearing him involved in such an experimental project and churning out a sound I would never have associated with him.

Yeah, this shit rips. I’ve heard this album so many times over the years and the individual tracks played over and over my whole life, and it still rips. I think what really makes it hold up as a timeless classic is the swagger and confidence exuding from every instrument and vocal performance. They sell the hell out of every track with a huge, heavy sound. Thinking of this being recorded at the same time as Abbey Road is a lot of fun because it really drives home how this record really began as counterculture but was SO GOOD it just turned into the mainstream. Anyway, I’ve got lots of thoughts, long story short is this isn’t just great for the time but actually holds up and still sounds cool as hell. Four funky white boys playing the Blues, and they made it sound great. Fun to revisit!

Pretty inoffensive, I enjoyed having it on but nothing particularly captivated me. Sounded very much like Peter Gabriel meets modern Indie, which is fine.

This was a nice listen, certainly not his best work but I’m never going to talk down about Paul’s particular brand of songwriting and bouncy Folk-ness. There are some pretty good peaks in the song quality here (Mother and Child, Armistice Day, Julio, etc) and while not everything meets that peak (not a huge fan of the Hobo suite towards the end) it’s still an enjoyable trip.

Pretty sweet stuff, reminded me of the darker side of bands like The Cure. Kind of funny, the more popular song (Party Fears Two) was boring to me but the album cuts were sick. Special shout outs to Bap De La Bap, Nude Spoons, and Club Country for really rocking my world. Some parts fell flat but overall this is a very strong 4 and enthusiastic recommendation.

Highly recommend a read of the Wiki if you haven’t checked it out. All time favorite of mine, fascinating record. Incredible sound, loose and groovy, I was so excited to see this come up. I could go on and on, but it’s a privilege to get to listen again.

It’s been a long time since I’ve listened through this record of really heard anything off it. Coming at it with fresh ears and putting aside any jaded preconceived notions about popularity or context, it really hits hard as a beautiful piece of art. Even the oft-referenced iconic album artwork pairs perfectly with the record and adds to the experience. Every song is great, and even the less-structured interlude pieces (Speak To Me and On The Run) are constructed so deliberately they fit into the narrative of the album. Waters’ lyrics walk us through life from beginning to end, while musically the band punctuates each track with soundscapes which tell as much of a story as the words themselves. This is an album that thematically describes the shared experiences each human has taken for granted as being a sort of mundane fact of reality, but pairing it alongside these sweeping arrangements and epic, ethereal climaxes really drives home how miraculous existence is. For me, the “secret” sauce in Pink Floyd is David Gilmour. Roger Waters takes lead vox on the closing Brain Damage/Eclipse suite which is undeniably fantastic, but this album really grabs me because of Gilmour’s versatility, both in his smooth vocals and incredibly mastery of the most pleasant guitar tones ever put to work. Long story short? Sometimes something is extremely popular because it is extremely good. This is a deeply moving, masterful piece. I’d be surprised if at any point in life I’m able to revisit this without beginning to well go by the time the soaring sax part on Us And Them comes in. Thank you, 1001 albums, for briefly freeing my irony-poisoned brain and helping me enjoy listening to popular music again.

This English electronica on this list hasn’t been doing this for me. There were a few occasional cool ideas on here but it was SO long and bloated, I couldn’t keep into it. The vast majority was boring and didn’t even really create any kind of vibe. I think the issue might be with me, because most of this formative Drum And Bass kind of stuff just isn’t doing it.

I came into this one kind of excited because I really liked this album in my early high school days (Gravity’s Rainbow was a staple of my “look how cool I am” playlists) but hadn’t revisited the album as a whole since around that time. Coming back to it now…it’s not a bad album by any means but it is certainly derivative and disappointing. The highlights are absolutely the driving drum beats and distorted, aggressive basslines. These undercurrents of the rhythm section give it a very fun dancepunk vibe through the record. This element of the sound was certainly unique to me back in the day, but now with the benefit of hindsight and broadening my tastes a bit, I see that it’s a pretty shameless rip of one their predecessors; NYC’s own The Rapture. This electro-adjacent dancey sound gets combined with some garage-rock/punk elements which were clearly lifted from Bloc Party and the Arctic Monkeys, absolutely all the rage at that point in England. Anything truly unique that can’t be chalked up to those influences seem to fall in line with the sound that would very quickly develop into the generic radio-Indie sound that was just around the corner at this point in time. So, why a 3 star rating? Because ultimately if you combine a bunch of stuff I like…I still kind of like it. It’s not the earth-shattering game-changing sound I remember from my youth, but it’s still a fun listen. A few stinkers mixed in but overall solid songs. I’ll end this review by urging anyone who was interested in the more dance-punk elements to check out both the albums Pieces Of The People We Love and (in particular for this album specifically) Echoes by The Rapture. It’s crazy to me and a clear example of the UK bias on this list that this Klaxons album could be included without acknowledging what I feel was a pretty influential run by an American band which paved the way and provided a template for this sound. The early 2000s moved very quickly and I think it’s important to remember how the timeline actually played out.

I have so so SO much to say about this album. I know my reviews usually go on for way too long, but this has been taking up my entire conscious mind since listening through yesterday. It’s a tremendous, gigantic, INSANE, undertaking and it deserves my undivided attention for better and for worse. First off, of course I’m very familiar with this album. I listened to it a bit back in the day while learning about Classic Rock history. This is a landmark in the history of storytelling in popular music and an undeniably admirable execution of an artistic vision. It’s the original Rock Opera! Even though I despise that term. Pinball Wizard is the huge hit everyone knows front-to-back (and an absolute banger) but I also found myself remembering a few other key parts in the catchy mystique of The Acid Queen and the repeated lyrics of “Tommy can you hear me?!” and “See me…feel me…etc” throughout the album. That’s about all I really carried into this from the past though. Musically it’s a mixed bag for me. I admired kicking things off with an Overture (I’d imagine at the time seeing that would make some snobs think of them as “real” musicians), and thought the classic Who-style rock arrangements were pretty fun. They branch out into kind of Folk-influenced passages here and there, and certainly have a little bit of a psychedelic break in the middle during the Underture (more on that later), but I don’t feel the actual musical arrangements do a whole lot to move the story along. A bright spot is the drumming of Keith Moon, who I think ABSOLUTELY steals the show on this album. The long instrumental breaks would not pack nearly the same punch without his versatility creating atmosphere at a frantic, driving pace. There’s a few goofy interludes, but for the most part it’s that Classic Rock sound that defines The Who. Overall at the very least interesting to listen to. Now, for the bulk of what I need to talk about. Lyrics! AKA The Plot. I like this came up so soon after Dark Side Of The Moon for us because they sort of represent a debate that has divided movie audiences for years that we can now extend to music: Theme VS Plot. Dark Side was a concept album but in a very abstract and thematic way. We weren’t listening to Dark Side saying “okay so he was breathing in the air and now he’s on the run, but look! Too much time went by! Now he’s at the great gig in the sky!” It was a “story” in the sense it tackled large universal experiences of life, but they were applied conceptually as opposed to locking in on the individual experience of it. Tommy is clearly MUCH different. We follow a boy who sees his father murder his mother’s lover, shut down his senses from the trauma, get abused, become a pinball god to cope, develop a following, get healed, and then get rejected by his own movement. There is a LOT of plot going on, lots of things we get told are happening, and a story we actually need to follow and understand. Soooo this story I summed up, it’s paced really weird. This is a 4 side album, and we need get past the 1st quarter of side 3 (AKA 9/16 of the way) before they finally stop with what I can only describe as torture porn of the protagonist. Seriously I didn’t remember it being that crazy. The MAJORITY of this record is Tommy being yelled at by his parents, physically abused by his cousin, drugged with psychedelics without his consent, being r*ped by the woman who drugged him, and getting molested by his uncle. In FACT, we go DIRECTLY from his uncle’s sexual abuse to the first mention of him being amazing at pinball with only an iconic guitar intro in between. That’s pretty wild and not something they mention when they play it on WZZO. It doesn’t really have much purpose to me except to be edgy. Again, this is a plot-heavy story, and in the plot after mentioning how good at pinball he is (again, sequenced in a way that seems like it’s BECAUSE he got molested) we spend a few songs with a doctor who ultimately leads him to a mirror which smashes, breaking Tommy from his state. Anyway, from there it’s his “downfall” so to speak where he ends up being rejected by his own movement because they don’t want to act like they can’t hear or see, and they don’t like that he wants them to be teetotalers. Also his pedo Uncle Ernie is in a position of leadership at the camp/compound they stay at? Yikes. Anyway, not a fan of the story obviously, but what makes me dislike it MORE is that Pete Townshend credits his inspiration for the story to the teachings of Meher Baba. I touched on this briefly in my Who’s Next review, but I don’t think anybody has ever benefitted less from a spiritual awakening than Pete. This is the same spiritual figure who inspired the song “Don’t Worry Be Happy”, and I don’t know how Pete became so jaded in his worldview while interpreting the same teachings that so many others interpreted as a direction to maintain positivity in everyday life. Besides all the abuse stuff, this shares a theme with some tracks on Who’s Next in that it depicts the failure of a movement/revolution, and seems to imply there’s no reason to bother with such things. This album is really a bummer lyrically, I really am baffled by how much of a grouch Pete seemed to be from such a young age. Anyway, I’ll cut things off there. I think that’s most of what I wanted to say. A few good songs, some good motifs, but really gets bogged down by the story. I truly have no idea what the intentions behind such a strange narrative are, but I did my best to interpret it and all it tells me is Pete Townshend was born a grouchy old English man and he is surprisingly negative for someone who at least at this point followed a “we are all one with god” mantra. I don’t understand how these lyrics reflect anything beyond someone who doesn’t see the point of life, and even though some of these songs rock pretty hard, I don’t see much of the point either. It’s all pain and disappointment. If I get the fucking Limp Bizkit album next I’m really going to bottom out.

Lyrically this hasn’t aged great overall. The big hits are some of the best Britpop has to offer. The album cuts were mostly misses for me although there were a couple great ones (Mis-Shapes really jumps out). Overall….fine? I’ll probably just pick the amazing tracks out instead of revisiting the record as a whole even though their sound of very pleasing for me.

All-timer. Such a great record. Kind of a fun version of a supergroup that I don’t really know a lot of off the top of my head. It’s great songwriters each taking turns using the other fantastic musicians as “tools” to craft their own songs. Lots of fun, will keep coming back for more.

A few of these albums are really going to expose my soft spot for Alternative Metal. Trent Reznor is easily the biggest name to come out of the New Wave to Industrial Metal pipeline but is far from the only one who made the jump. The sound of this record is very much a product of this combo, and one I’ve always enjoyed. The overpowering noise mixed with heavy percussion and walls of synths is so cool, I still get impressed by the arrangements. There are certainly some things working against the album. Reznor is clearly not the strongest vocalist, although I feel his tone fits the sound very well. There are a couple tracks where the noise is too overpowering and the structure of the song gets lost (The Becoming springs to mind), and as the album builds there are more distorted guitar lines worked in which unfortunately make an otherwise fresh and creative arrangement sound a bit dated. Besides those knocks, this really stands out as a great record to me. Surprisingly complex and sophisticated considering at the time Reznor seemed hell-bent on being controversial in fairly juvenile ways (just googled, he was younger than I am right now when this came out, he gets a pass). All in all, this rips, and this version of Hurt is genuinely a phenomenal closing track.

This is a five star album except for two tracks: The King Is In The Counting House (a baroque bit) and The Toonerville Trolley (unserious honky tonk music). Besides that, amazing stuff, can’t believe this album was never on my radar. From the opening track I was absolutely hooked, and Get Me To The World On Time has been on repeat all day. Kickass sound from this band.

1986 was a gigantic year for the genre of Heavy Metal, in particular Thrash. This album came out along with Master Of Puppets by Metallica and Peace Sells by Megadeth, two albums which I’m pretty positive are also on the list. Context helps here because Prog was beginning to become the norm in the genre, as those two albums would certainly show. An increase in recording quality and production value came alongside a more adventurous songwriting process and more experimentation. …and then there was Slayer. Although I would personally say I love the two aforementioned classics, this contemporary album from Slayer marks a serious line in the sand where they declare they are sticking to their roots. Sure they spent a lot more on the production of this compared to their earlier releases, but the composition and lyrical content is very similar to the aggression which put all these Thrash bands on the map in the first place. Although big names of the same genre, Reign In Blood has more in common with classic hardcore punk albums than it does with Metallica’s classic of the same year. While Metallica and Megadeth would influence the progressive and experimental Metal movements which would soon follow, Slayer laid the groundwork for what would soon turn into Death Metal and Speed Metal, which admittedly has become more my speed over time. What I should also mention is I believe this is the second appearance in our project of what I’m sure will be several of Rick Rubin (who also worked on Cash’s American IV) as a producer. Rick is great because he knows nothing about writing or playing music, but gives his production advice on what would “sound cool”. Guess what? This album sounds so fucking cool. That brings me to talking about the individual performances, which are great. It’s loose and chaotic, and the production only adds to the impact. Drum hits have the impact of machine guns, ripping through the mix at over 200bpm. Guitar riffs that practically drip with grit and grime form the base for nearly incomprehensible guitar solos to descend from the heavens and commence their attack. Meanwhile, Tom Araya delivers polarizing lyrics with the tone of a reluctant messenger, only breaking from his typical range to deliver alarmingly convincing screams of despair (most notably on Angel Of Death and Postmortem). Look, altogether, if this isn’t a 5 star Metal record I don’t know what is. It’s a runaway train from start to finish with no way off. It’s an uncompromising show of energy and aggression. It’s amazing.

This is very much a tale of two albums. First, we have 4 tracks (Leo, Pictures, Never Before, Lazy) which are some funky white boys playing the Blues. I’d this were the main facet of Deep Purple’s sound, I wouldn’t care for them. Execution is fine, I love the mix of distorted organ and guitar weaving together in these arrangements, but these songs don’t do much to make a lasting impact. BUT the other three tracks (Highway Star, Smoke On The Water, Space Truckin’) are the famous songs from this record for a reason. They RIP! They’ve got their own weird and at the time innovative style that I feel really holds up. Great stuff. So overall? I lean positive, this is a very strong 3.

I’ve got quite the soft spot for this album. I think it really holds up. I had a lot of fun relistening to it after so long. Every track hits for me. Great stuff.

Am I giving out too many 5s? Whatever, this deserves it. Top to bottom bangers. Incredible and ahead of its time.

Very fun and unique listen! Combines some danceable beats with early punk influences, very much a precursor to New Wave. Not everything hits (Ian’s vocals are usually very fun but fully miss the mark on a couple tracks) but overall I love the sound. Special shouts out to Wake Up And Make Love To Me, I’m Partial To Your Abracadabra, If I Was With A Woman, Blockheads, and Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll for being tracks I’ll be revisiting heavily.

I love the sound of this record (the pounding heavy drum beats, the deep bass, the haunting vocals) but the songs themselves weren’t that great? If better Cure songs were put out with this production style that would be my favorite record of theirs. Instead this is a decent enough listen.

First and foremost, this album’s rating was single-handedly saved by my realization that Red, White & Blue is a bonus track not included on the original release (thereby being excluded from my scoring). That song bites. Anyway, pretty great album. I find a bit of nostalgic comfort in the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal sound, and the execution here is superb. Great guitar tone, big riffs, I love the way the clean basslines are utilized in the rhythm sections, etc. The one real stinker for me is the song United which closes out side one, but aside from that even the songs that could have been lackluster for me (You Don’t Have To Be Old To Be Wise springs to mind, and Living After Midnight is admittedly super corny) at least end up sounding okay thanks to the great musical arrangements. Classic sound, great record. Top tracks: Rapid Fire, Breaking The Law, The Rage, Steeler

So I came into this thinking it’s not one of my favorite Bruce outings, but man does it hit a sweet spot for me right now. When Bruce’s songwriting hits for me, it REALLY hits. From the opening track Badlands (maybe my favorite song of his) I just was rocked to my core. Such evocative and vibrant lyricism on every song. I don’t think I’ll be revisiting a lot of the slower storytelling songs out of context of the record, but listening as a whole they flow and vibe very nicely. It certainly feels like a very complete and deliberate album experience. Side note, ridiculous that Because The Night was written for these sessions and Bruce is such a good songwriter he could give it to Patti Smith because he already had enough love songs. Anyway, final verdict? VERY strong 4, almost a 5 but I dock it a little because I didn’t really connect with some of the album cuts. Top tracks: Badlands, Adam Raised A Cain, Something In The Night, Candy’s Room, The Promised Land, Prove It All Night, Darkness On The Edge Of Town

Today I realized…George Michael just isn’t for me. Faith is by far the standout track, but otherwise the songs just aren’t that great? Not a fan of the Synth-Gospel vibe he’s got going. His voice is amazing and gets some points, but otherwise it just doesn’t do it for me.

Some good stuff but ultimately bad music made by bad people. I can’t really get over Dimebag’s guitar tone. Top tracks: Mouth For War, Fucking Hostile

Front to back, what an incredible accomplishment. Almost every single track hits. The whole record flows perfectly, it’s stacked top to bottom with great features and guest musicians building out the deep textured arrangements. Bits of Jazz, Funk, Soul, everything gets thrown in here to make a truly unique record. Still sounds fresh 8 years later, lives up to every bit of hype there has been about it. Side note: Certainly an album that I feel really defines what this project is all about. Anybody should give this a shot no matter how far out of their comfort zone or cultural experience this is. It truly feels like a privilege to experience such a complete artistic statement. Top tracks: King Kunta, These Walls, u, Alright, The Blacker The Berry, i

Remember that Common album where everyone in the group had that moment of listening and saying “Wait did Kanye produce this?!!” I feel like we’re going to be doing the same thing with Jack Antonoff. This is not a bad album by any means, there’s some great tracks and I generally like this phase of Pop music with the heavy 80s influence (not surprising if you know me at all), but big stretches of this record really fail to stand out. Lorde has such a distinct voice and standout personality in the 2010s pop scene, and it’s a bummer that so much of this album sounds like it could’ve been given to an array of other singers. Most of this could be me hating on the production and how similar it sounds to so many other contemporary pop records, but I left TRULY believing that any number of Antonoff regulars (T-Swift, Bridgers, Lana, etc) could have been given songs like Writer In The Dark or Hard Feelings/Loveless and churned out a very similar product. It’s a bummer too because my top tracks are songs I REALLY like, and maybe I don’t know Lorde very well but I feel like they’re songs where her unique style and lyricism really shine through a little more and really meld with the production to create a cool take on that modern-pop-meets-New-Wave sound. I will say I really don’t think I’m being difficult!!! I went back and listened to Pure Heroine after this to make sure I wasn’t just hating on Lorde and I think THAT record is a strong 4 borderline 5 star album. The harmonies are so unique and it feels like a record only she could have made. This album certainly has her lyrical aplomb but again, production and musical arrangements suck a lot of the personality out of it. It’s a shame too, reading up on this it seems like this was a very personal and difficult album for Lorde to make. The emotion shines through on some of it for me but the rest just gets lost in the sauce. Jack Antonoff is a criminal, it’s not Lorde’s fault. Top tracks: Green Light, Sober, The Louvre, Supercut, Perfect Places

Let me tell ya, when those opening notes of the title track kicked in to open the album, I was 17 again. What a deep and affecting dose of Indie nostalgia. Then the song ends with the final notes ringing out into the near-perfect Ready To Start. Gotta be one of the best 1-2 punches to kick off a record in the genre. Beautiful, affecting music. The rest of the record? Not so much. I like a track here or there but I associate Arcade Fire with the inconsistency very much on display here. What does a song like Deep Blue have to offer me that I don’t get from any other Indie band? Why would I listen to Sprawl II instead of like Passion Pit? There is of course also a little bit of a pall hanging over this group because of sexual misconduct allegations against Win Butler, but I’m not holding that against the rest of the group. What I will blame them for is creating a gigantic band which can so frequently produce a bland sound. It’s a shame the soaring highs seem to be met with such generic lows. Ultimately, an inconsistent and drawn out album. Top tracks: The Suburbs, Ready To Start, Modern Man, Suburban War, Month Of May, We Used To Wait

Not a good example of a fusion record. Mostly faded into background noise for me. Jah Wobble (real name John Wardle) seems like kind of a hack. A few songs got my attention and it’s not like it was actively unpleasant to have the record on, but certainly unengaging. Top tracks: Visions Of You, Rising Above Bedlam, Erzulie

Solid classic rockin’ Bluesy album. I was certainly struck by the similarity to the sound that would be sought by Beck’s old bandmate Jimmy Page in the self-titled debut of Led Zeppelin which would be released the following year (Truth even features a shared cover in You Shook Me and a track credited to Page). This record has a more polished version of that sound, which for me personally doesn’t necessarily make it better. Aside from that, I deduct points for Rod Stewart’s involvement but add them back in for Ronnie Wood being involved. It’s mostly covers and unique arrangements, but certainly rocks hard doing so. I’ve never been particularly impressed by Jeff Beck’s style, but I gotta give some credit here for creating a cool heavier sound and for doing it first. Top tracks: Shapes Of Things, Let Me Love You, Greensleves, I Ain’t Superstitious

First of all, somehow did not know the Fugees are an NJ group. Bonus points for representing the homeland! Great record, absolutely phenomenal lyrics, loved the arrangements, a couple songs that sounded a bit dated and typical 90s alt rap but overall fantastic. I think the big takeaway for me is Lauryn Hill is a god-tier musician and performer.

AC/DC really gets a rep for being a clear example of the sort of crunchy blues-influenced sex drugs and rock n roll classic rock sound, and this album is a pretty clear example of what that genre tends to sound like. This album is also the greatest possible execution of that sound. This band takes basic power chords and driving 4/4 rhythms and elevates them to truly unimaginable heights. The sound is gigantic, the charisma and confidence unparalleled, and every dimension of the music is delivered perfectly. Yeah, some tracks are worse than others. Get It Hot lacks the same intensity as the rest of the album but at worst it’s a fine classic rock song. Love Hungry Man is okay but rescued by some fun bass grooves. Night Prowler is a cool song but strangely bleak and sinister on an otherwise fun record. At the end of the day though, these would be good tracks on many other albums of the genre, and they are more than outweighed by the incredible rest of the record. Bon Scott’s death is one of the big “what ifs” in music history, because this is an album where he had really finally came into his own as a unique frontman with a bangin’ voice and cool attitude. Of course, the hedonistic nature on display here would ultimately lead to his demise, but what more fitting statement is there to go out on than “I’m on the highway to hell”. Corny I know, but pretty cool. Top tracks: Highway To Hell, Girls Got Rhythm, Walk All Over You, Touch Too Much, Shot Down In Flames, If You Want Blood

When this album came out, I was against its very existence. LCD Soundsystem had just had a very dramatic and pre-meditated dissolution accompanied by an epic farewell tour and all-time great concert film. To come back a few years later like nothing had ever happened felt like a betrayal and a cash grab. That having been said, I did quite like the album at the time, which served to piss me off even more. Now it’s time to revisit it several years after the fact, and I think it’s still a fun listen. It is definitely bloated and overblown, but I enjoy that this album does experiment with the band’s sound quite a bit. In fact, this time around I find myself gravitating more towards the atypical tracks. Songs like Other Voices, Tonite, and Emotional Haircut were among my faves when this record came out, but now they represent a dimension I don’t particularly enjoy. They sound like they were written in a session where the band sat down and said “let’s write some LCD Soundsystem songs”. They’re almost a parody of the classic sound in how they try to sum up all the major parts of the sound. All in all though, enjoyable. I wish it were trimmed down, and I wish it didn’t still make me feel betrayed. Certainly far from their best work. Top tracks: Oh Baby, I Used To, Change Yr Mind, How Do You Sleep?, American Dream, Pulse (v.1)

Really taken aback by how much I loved this. Had to give it a second listen to confirm, still rocked my socks off. I had some understanding of what Salsa music sounds like but this is so sweeping, epic, and FUN that I couldn’t stop smiling through it. Musicianship is on point, the songs are long and fully formed but never feel like they’re lugging along, and (once I looked at translations) it’s awesome lyrically considering the seemingly light and fun arrangements. This is a true masterpiece to me, and makes me wonder if this is a unicorn or if I’ve just fucked up not exploring Salsa my whole life. Top tracks: All of them. Not even being funny, I revisited every song, it’s all great. Maybe I’d skip around on Ojos a little bit? This shit rocked my world, just the right sound at the right time in my life.

Classic, this record is so energetic and wild. Love tracks like Ready Teddy where you can hear the piano keys getting hit as hard as possible. Great listen, gotta knock it a little just for being very samey for the whole album, but there’s no world where this isn’t a strong 4 to light 5.

Absolute classic, very funny to get this and Little Richard’s debut back to back. Interesting to listen to in that way because it really shows the nuanced differences between the different artists of classic rock n roll. I really found myself drawn to the prototypical guitar heroics Buddy shows off here, and some songs have a groove that just really sounds ahead of its time. All in all, preferred this a bit to Richard. I had Little Richard borderline 5 but leaning 4, and this teeters over to a light 5 for me.

I know this is the album everyone is saying “easy 5 stars”…but this is easily 5 stars. Fucking AMAZING front to back! This is the rare double album that I feel doesn’t drag at all, doesn’t have filler, doesn’t feel repetitive, it just bangs. It’s an all-time artist at the top of their game proving their mastery of their craft. This must have been a laborious record to compose. It’s so deep and intricate, but feels so smooth and effortless. The production is godly, the arrangements are lush and full, it’s truly beautiful. What an honor to be able to experience this record. It’s one of those albums that truly makes this list worthwhile. I truly feel my life is a tiny bit more complete having listened through this album in its entirety for the first time, and knowing I’ll be able to revisit it on demand from now on. I wanted to start doing my top tracks again on this one, but there are simply too many to list out. Beautiful record, 105 minutes well spent.

Man, this is a heater. Generally pretty sick. Not a huge fan of Sex Machine as the big epic jammy album centerpiece, some of the tracks are a bit dated and sort of cheesy (such as the opening track up till the drastic change), but still a great listen. Top tracks: I Want To Take You Higher, Somebody’s Watching You, Sing A Simple Song, Everyday People

This was pretty sick, I know the vocals aren’t all-timer performances or anything but he has such a distinct energy that gel very well with the arrangements, which I love. These are some great versions of these songs, the guitar work from Scotty Moore is absolutely amazing, really knocked my socks off. Trying to contextualize this in the time period really drives home how insane this would have made you if you heard this for the first time.

A pretty fun and smooth listen from a guy who clearly really loved The Beatles. A few tracks were on the dull side and more were short of impressive, but there was enough weird wacky stuff to really keep me engaged. Jump Into The Fire is for sure an all-timer and very much feels like the centerpiece of the record, such a sick track. Scorsese knows how to pick ‘em. Top tracks: Gotta Get Up, Coconut, Jump Into The Fire

The National are the poster child of this genre of Indie that thrives on simple arrangements that build to a crescendo that was engineered in a laboratory to make you feel like you’re feeling something. It’s perfectly inoffensive, but in a way that is difficult to care a whole lot about. Some nice stuff, but ultimately unremarkable to me. Top tracks: Terrible Love, Afraid Of Everyone, Bloodbuzz Ohio

Great album from the early days of the synth-goth movement. Shockingly excellent front half, but marred by a back half that was fairly inconsistent for me. Overall great listen though. Reminded me a lot of another great Liverpool band, Echo & The Bunnymen. Top tracks: Ha Ha I’m Drowning, Sleeping Gas, Second Head, Poppies, Books, When I Dream

Unfortunately, not for me. Having it on in the background as a chill presence in the room? All good. Actively listening? Unengaging for me. I may have a hard time separating records like this that helped originate these Americana sorts of sounds from the legions of hokey imitators that followed in the years after. Either way, I couldn’t really get into it. Certainly didn’t hate it, but it failed to capture my attention. Top tracks: The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down, Jemima Surrender, King Harvest

I feel bad but I couldn’t get into this at all. Like not even slightly. Maybe back when I was into stuff like Girl Talk I would’ve been able to appreciate the technical aspect of the sampling and everything like that, but trying a few times over the weekend I couldn’t get interested in it at all. I’m sorry, I really did give it a shot.

Immaculate vibes, incredible performances, organ chops on another level. Not sure this quite has the “will actively seek this out in the future” factor that other 5 star picks of mine have had, but if I’m setting the background for a cozy day in, this whole record is absolutely on the playlist.

Phenomenal record. Group member Chris wrote an article a while back about how We Got The Beat would be a smash if it were written exactly as-is this decade, and I feel this praise can be extended to the record as a whole. The energy and attitude is so clearly an influence on so many talented contemporary artists I love and respect. It shouldn’t go unmentioned how talented these women are as instrumentalists and performers. I feel the real standouts on the record though are Jane Wiedlin and Charlotte Coffey on guitar, not just for their electric performances but also their incredible songwriting which dominates this record. It’s truly a spectacle to behold. Top tracks: Our Lips Are Sealed, How Much More, Tonite, This Town, We Got The Beat, Skidmarks On My Heart

Blast from the past for me, I used to listen to this record a lot in my formative garage punk days. Listening now, I feel it really holds up. What a fun trip to go on while knowing how this band would turn into a sleekly-produced, dance-pop juggernaut like they do! This album is lo-fi, aggressive, and very genuine. There are a few misses in the front half, but the back half where you hear some big hits that really start to signal their signature sound is an absolute slam dunk. Oh also, Karen O is one of the supreme vocal talents to grace modern music. Top tracks: Rich, Date With The Night, Black Tongue, Pin, No No No, Maps, Y Control

A band that lept into stardom from performing a song Bowie wrote, striving to ride the Glam wave through its heyday. This record isn’t horrible by any means, but it’s not good and it’s relatively unremarkable. It sounds like reading the wiki page for Glam Rock. Top tracks: All The Way From Memphis, Honaloochie Boogie, Drivin’ Sister, I’m A Cadillac

Great stuff, can’t go wrong with having Chic as your backing band. Almost every track hits to some degree. Very strong 4, borderline 5. Top tracks: He’s The Greatest Dancer, Lost In Music, Thinking Of You, We Are Family, Easier To Love, One More Time

Among the pinnacles of the New Wave genre, this record blows me away. It is just so cool. The arrangements are next-level, every song has twists and turns that build and build. It’s really an amazing experience. Plus those lyrics…man, what a trip. I love it. Top tracks: Shout, Everybody Wants To Rule The World, Mothers Talk, Broken, Head Over Heels

Maybe the best Beatles? Every song is amazing. I love this record. I’d write more but this is a very hectic time for me. On a shitty day in a shitty week in a shitty time of year, relistening to this in full was a true bright spot.

To me, this is a replacement-level Paul Simon album. Smooth as hell, easy to listen to, but not particularly spectacular. Certainly don’t mind having it on though. Top tracks: Allergies, Hearts And Bones, Song About The Moon, Think Too Much (a)

Pretty much a perfect Christmas record. Listened to this on the way to my parents’ place for the holiday and it hit the spot. I almost got knocked down to 4 because of the weird Phil Spector spoken word thank you at the end, but ultimately this record is wholly redeemed.

Chicago’s brand of Broadway-esque Pop/Rock has never really rubbed me the right way, and not even the stronger influence of Prog on this album can win me over fully. I will say though, as a whole, I enjoyed this a lot more than my previous exposures to the group. Several solid tracks on here and the full-band sound really elevates a lot of them. I just can’t stomach when they really dive into the sort of whimsical on-stage storytelling voice like they do on Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?, which unfortunately is more often than not. Also, speaking as a guy who loves to jam, Free Form Guitar is truly an awful track. Top tracks: Introduction, Beginnings, I’m A Man, Liberation

Such a shame, this album would ordinarily be something I really gravitate (no pun intended) towards at a time in my life where I’m really into Hard Rock jams, but record really gets killed by dumb spoken-word interludes and aggravating synth swooshing. Some real great tracks, some real heavy hitters that I’ll have in my rotation out of context from the album, but as a whole this record is overblown and annoying. Top tracks: Born To Go, Down Through The Night, Orgone Accumulator, Brainstorm, Master Of The Universe, You Shouldn’t Do That

This record is very much an interlude in the sound of The Beach Boys, providing a halfway point between their higher-concept later sound and their surfy rock n roll early sound. Some real dumb songs in here too though. Overall not their best, but still a solid album with great harmonies and fun arrangements. Top tracks: Do You Wanna Dance?, Good To My Baby, Help Me Rhonda, Please Let Me Wonder, Kiss Me Baby

Really hit the spot, what an incredible record. By the time the opening track swelled to a climax I was totally on board. Also worth noting, absolute masterclass in songwriting talent from Paul Simon. Top tracks: Bridge Over Troubled Water, El Condor Pasa, Keep The Customer Satisfied, The Boxer, Baby Driver

Really feels like a bridge from the 90’s Britpop-influenced indie music to the modern indie sound. Not what I was expecting Elliott Smith to sound like, a very bright and full sound with generally powerful vocals. A few misses for me on the record, but I loved the songs I liked off it. Top tracks: Speed Trials, Alameda, Ballad Of Big Nothing, Rose Parade, Cupids Trick

Phenomenal record, had me grooving the whole time. Very much influenced by the sound of his father but elevated and updated with an incredibly heavy horn section and some great incorporations of synths/organs. Top tracks: Wonder Wonder, Survival, Frustrations, Nawa, No Shame, Live For Today

A pleasant listen with a couple outstanding tracks, but for the most part fairly okay. They have a smooth listenable sound but lack the consistency here to elevate it to being a “great” record. I’m more than a little disappointed too considering the title track is an all time favorite of mine. Top tracks: Rip It Up, A Million Pleading Faces, Flesh Of My Flesh, Hokoyo

This is a tale of 2 albums. Half #1 is one of the best 90s Metal albums full stop. Half #2 is barely listenable for me personally. I get what they were going for, but it has not aged particularly well. Plus the production all around is real rough and really kills the back half. Top tracks: N.W.O., Just One Fix, Hero, Jesus Built My Hotrod

Pretty close to a perfect record. I had so much I wanted to write, I listened to this several times over the weekend, but at the end of the day I just enjoyed the hell out of it. Even the tracks I wasn’t as into have incredible lyrics and a great sound. Yeah it came out a long time ago, but it transcends any kind of classic rock sound. Bruce’s music will forever be relevant for as long as Rock in any form is appreciated. Top tracks: Thunder Road, Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out, Night, Born To Run, She’s The One, Jungleland

My preconceived notion of this record was that it suffers from the classic double album issue of being bloated and inconsistent. I also had the recollection that it was a pretty poor summary of Led Zeppelin’s sound for being such a long album, and that the addition of keyboards mixed with a lot of long-form songwriting added up to a total snoozefest. Boy was I wrong. This is an absolute monster of an album. The special combo of Blues/Folk/Rock that Zep kicks into overdrive is on full display here. There is a bit of a departure from their signature sound on quite a few tracks thanks to JPJ’s keyboard parts, but they serve to add an entirely new dimension to the arrangements that blend seamlessly with Page’s guitar parts. Listening to Trampled Under Foot’s grooves or Kashmir’s epic build to a wall of horns blaring the melody is enough to make me forget that these additions would ultimately lead to In Through The Out Door (ugh). The tracks aren’t all perfect, but even the songs that don’t make my top have redeeming elements and aren’t a chore to listen to. Overall an absolutely sick piece, I’m so happy to have been proven wrong. Top tracks: The entire run of The Rover through In The Light, plus The Wonton Song, Black Country Woman, and Sick Again

This album throws a bit of everything at the wall but doesn’t really do anything particularly well. It has a pleasant sound from mixing together their influences (everything from New Wave to Ambient to Classic Rock) but ultimately doesn’t make much of a mark as a whole for me. I would normally put War On Drugs a step above most other newer Indie acts (gotta give props for the Philly rep and the fact they started with Kurt Vile in the group) but ultimately this is right in the midrange of sounding nice but not being essential.

I feel bad but this did not hit for me at all. Not even a little bit. Did my best to try to stir up some appreciation for the musicianship but it was just a dull, dull record released at a time when everything you could do in the genre of Swing had already been done. Love to see the NJ representation from the artist, but can’t get even a little bit into any of this record.

This is a record that gets equal parts helped and hurt by context. It is the unfiltered feelings of young men who feel that society has failed them, their families, their friends, their entire neighborhoods. The rage at the marginalization they face is what makes the best lyrics on this album hit hard even today as we realize that not a whole lot has changed. Of course, what hurts the album is also that this is the unfiltered feelings of angry young men. These guys love sex, drugs, and guns and they’re not afraid to tell you about it. Homophobia and sexism in the lyrics run rampant, which is not unusual given the context, but definitely makes it a little bit embarrassing to listen to in front of other people. I swear I’m not even one of those pearl-clutching people who would complain about these themes in Rap music, it’s just really dialed up on this record. Aside from that, I feel like the tracks aren’t particularly amazing outside of the hits. I think Ice Cube introduces himself to us about 6-7 times on the album. Eazy-E (RIP) makes it a little awkward to hear about all the unprotected sex he’s having knowing how he would someday perish. Dre’s production is great but certainly unpolished, you can see the seeds of what he would someday become. I think this lands right in the middle. Top tracks: Straight Outta Compton, Fuck Tha Police, Parental Discretion Iz Advised, Express Yourself, Something 2 Dance 2

Run DMC are such good friends they even finish each others’ sentences! This is a very fun listen. Certainly not one of the all-time best in the genre but absolutely solid. I was very impressed by how effective the sparse arrangements were. Outside of a few tracks, a lot of songs only had a drum part forming the beat (in stark contrast to something like Fear Of A Black Planet which had layers upon layers in the mix). They really embrace the Rock influence, with these simple but reverb-heavy drum parts sounding like they were lifted from stadium-filling Hair Metal tracks. So yeah, great fun. I ended up fairly surprised by how many tracks I had saved to relisten to by the end. Top tracks: It’s Tricky, Walk This Way, Hit It Run, Raising Hell, You Be Illin’

I love the top review that says this record is missing an ingredient because that’s exactly how I felt. Elements here are far ahead of their time, great sound that took the Glam movement that was growing and whipped it up into a Powerpop forerunner long before that was a thing…but it’s not quite there. The ideas aren’t fully realized yet, I can hear the influence it had on the famous example of R.E.M. but it’s lacking that next step to really grab me. Top tracks: In The Street, Thirteen, Don’t Lie To Me, When My Baby’s Beside Me

Ended up digging this a little more than I thought I would. Nothing particularly incredible, but it has a nice spin on the classic 90s alternative sound that happened to hit the spot for me. A lot of it is pretty standard fare, but the few tracks that more creatively worked in the diverse set of influences happened to really elevate the otherwise unimpressive album for me. Top tracks: The Shining Hour, Fuzzy, Soft Wolf Tread, America Snoring

Really blown away, such a groovy unique record that sounds like it could’ve come out decades after the actual 1968 release. The production is so crisp and clear it’s almost unbelievable. Thick horn barrages, driving piano beats, this album is sick. Did a bit of reading on Laura Nyro too and was astonished by the influence she holds on so many incredible artists. Listening to this it’s really no surprise, but I’m ashamed for not having known of her prior to this. At least I do now! Thank you album generator! Top tracks: Luckie, Lu, Sweet Blindness, Eli’s Comin’, Timer, Stoned Soul Picnic, Woman’s Blues, The Confession

Great sound, listened to this on a dark stormy day and it really hit the spot. Close to a 5 star pick, but doesn’t quite have the consistency to make it there while sticking to a similar sound throughout. Top tracks: Let’s Stay Together, So You’re Leaving, What Is This Feeling, It Ain’t No Fun To Me

Good listen, a bit too much of a good thing at times. I enjoyed the out-of-the-box walls of samples but it felt a bit overstimulating and busy at times. The good stuff was very good though. Also, points to the boys for knowing so much about Japanese baseball. Top tracks: Shake Your Rump, Egg Man, Looking Down The Barrel Of A Gun, Car Thief, Shadrach

This record fucked my whole week up. I listened to it back in the day and remembered it not hitting me the same way I enjoyed like Murmur or Out Of Time, so I came into this expecting a nice listen but nothing earth-shattering. Well, right now I’m pretty close to the age Stipe was at when they were writing this album, and it’s hitting me hard. The sound is gorgeous, and I’m vibing so hard with the lyrics even on the songs I’m not nuts about. This is a masterpiece, some of the most perfect and affecting arrangements I’ve heard on any record so far. Going into this I would’ve said I love REM, and now I’m walking away with an even deeper appreciation and connection to their beautiful music. Top tracks: It would actually be quicker for me to say what my bottom tracks are on this one. I chose not to add New Orleans Instrumental, Sweetness Follows, Star Me Kitten, or Find The River to my master playlist. Still great stuff though.

Rough around the edges, but a wildly inventive album for the time. New Wave was a fairly recent thing at the time, and Industrial music was far from developing into a genre, yet here Killing Joke took these ideas and mixed them with Punk and Metal to make a truly unique record. I’ve always liked this band and they were an early intro into quite a few of the genres being mashed together here for me. This would likely be a 5 if the album cuts were more fully realized and if the production was better suited for the inventive arrangements being presented. Top tracks: Wardance, Bloodsport, The Wait, Change

Very fun listen and pretty blown away by the consistency. Feels very ahead of its time for 1977, reminds me a bit of an evolution of what Sparks was doing and incorporating deeper synth layers to it. Very enjoyable experience! Top tracks: Sometimes, Goodbye Toulouse, London Lady, Hanging Around, Get A Grip On Yourself, Ugly, Down In The Sewer

Even when I was into Nu/Alt-Metal I couldn’t get into Linkin Park. Some sounds just don’t gel for me and now approaching with the hindsight of seeing their influence take hold I just can’t enjoy any component of this album.

Really great album, hurt a bit by legendarily poor production and some inconsistency, but great stuff. One of those albums where the album title is a perfect summation of the album sound. Top tracks: Search And Destroy, Gimmie Danger, Your Pretty Face Is Going To Hell, Raw Power, Death Trip

For better and for worse, an album that truly helped jump-start what I see as a typical Electronic sound of the 90s. Even at its most boring and repetitive, this was at least an interesting mix of sound to get into. I just unfortunately couldn’t quite vibe with the long clubby mixes that dominate the record, probably because I listened to it on the way to work where I couldn’t be under the influence of psychedelics. Nevertheless, it certainly isn’t terrible to listen to! Like I said, it at least has that soul/indie/electro fusion to sound interesting when the song structures themselves lose my interest. Top tracks: Movin’ On Up, Slip Inside This House, Loaded

Now this is OUT THERE! I can see why this is among the most polarizing records on the list. It’s an all-out assault on the senses and a complete deconstruction of a movement that wasn’t even fully realized at the time this was realized. So wild, so cool, so weird, I’m a big fan. I’d highly recommend the tracks Final Solution and Heart Of Darkness by this band which I was turned on to by group legend Mack years ago, they’re a bit more digestible and I think help place the angle this record is going for. Not 5 stars because decent chunks stray a little too far into chaos and become difficult to listen to, but overall a great piece. Top tracks: Navvy, On The Surface, Dub Housing, I, Will Wait, (Pa) Ubu Dance Party

You can really count on Robert Dimery, an English writer and editor who had previously worked for magazines such as Time Out and Vogue, to churn out some forgettable English Electronica on his list. Jokes aside, I came close to getting locked in on some of the weird stuff going on in the arrangements, but it was so bland and repetitive I couldn’t do it. I guess if I had grown up on this kind of stuff or had heard it contextualize at the time, I would be singing a different tune, but as it stands right now I can’t be bothered to push myself into forcing appreciation for this. Top track: Bubble And Slide II

So this may be the first non-compilation Kinks album I’ve listened to. Absolutely extraordinary. Victoria is an all-time album opener, lyrically it may be my favorite Rock album we’ve had yet, and in an age of concept albums reaching popularity this storyline is engaging and unobtrusive. Loved it! Top tracks: Victoria, Yes Sir No Sir, Brainwashed, Australia, Shangri-La, Mr. Churchill Says, Nothing To Say, Arthur

I truly believe that Nirvana is one of the most famous/highly-rated groups who aren’t overrated. I listened to this on the way home after a brutal few days of work on barely and sleep and was moved to tears at multiple points. I listened to a lot of this album back in the day but never connected to it, I just would superficially enjoy the songs at surface level. For a Grunge band (or maybe THE Grunge band considering their stature in the genre) Nirvana’s music stands out as being particularly introspective on Kurt’s part, and hearing his music stripped down in this context gives what feels like a much deeper understanding of him as a person. Even beyond the original songs, his unconventional choices for covers and the passion he puts into the vocals on them will easily send shivers down the spine. The original songs I like on here take on new meaning in this setting, and a few of them I feel even eclipse the studio versions. I know it’s not just me either, because listening to the crowd reactions was very telling. Something special was happening in that room. The little pops of recognition when a Nirvana hit would start were fun, and the there was silence and contemplation. When they would start a Meat Puppets song nobody knew (Oh Me really stands out), there was nothing until the end, where everyone loses their shit because it was so good. This performance took place a few months before he took his own life, and the album itself is a posthumous release. It’s such a shame, especially seeing how his bandmate Dave Grohl would go on to own popular rock music for years after Kurt’s death. The mind reels imagining the two of them teaming up for years and bringing out the best in each other. At any rate, this is a deeply emotional listen and does something that only music can do for me; Make me feel a connection to a man who died when I was an infant. Top tracks: Come As You Are, Jesus Doesn’t Want Me For A Sunbeam, The Man Who Sold The World, Dumb, Something In The Way, Oh Me, Lake Of Fire, Where Did You Sleep Last Night?

A lot of songs I liked…a lot of songs I didn’t like…there’s a lot of songs here. Generally great sound but an exhausting listen I had to come back to several times. Very samey throughout and it failed to keep my interest. I think if I listened through a shorter record by them it would be a 4-5. This is just a classic casualty of the double-album conundrum which I have a long-standing crusade against. That having been said…in a vacuum much of this is pretty great. I almost lean 4 just because I adore the production and so much of the proto-pop-punk at play here is so tight and fun. The slog unfortunately weighs me down. Top tracks: Charity Chastity Prudence and Hope, Back From Somewhere, Ice Cold Ice, She Floated Away, It’s Not Peculiar, Turn It Around, You Can Live At Home

There is a bit of irony to the random album selections at times on this list, and for me the irony today is that yesterday I dumped on the Hüsker Dü album for being too long and then today I’m given an album where the billed “complete” version is over two hours. I considered going for the original release but opted for the complete version instead. Figured I’d give it a go and if it was dragging I would flip over to the shorter version. Holy shit that wasn’t an issue at all. I was fully sucked in immediately. I bought like 2 pounds of shrimp for dinner and realized they weren’t deveined, so me and my novice knife skills had plenty of time to kill to let it all play out. At first I was just kind of vibing, it was a good performance by the backing band and I enjoyed the vamping of the emcee as the band was constantly shuffling around to prep between songs, but by the time Festival Junction starts hitting its peak I was barely paying attention to my work at hand. Chills down my spine. Incredible. They were locked in on this particular evening, and once the band hits that peak they just rip the rest of the way through. By the time Diminuendo In Blue is hitting those loud trumpet stings at the end overloading mics into the red, I was convinced this isn’t just a new favorite of mine from a genre I barely know, it may be among the finest live albums I’ve ever heard. I should also mention the crowd on this album. I have a vision in my head of a Jazz crowd being on the more silent and contemplative side, and I feel the beginning of this record had their reactions pretty in line with what I would expect. What I loved is they started getting more and more rowdy, I would assume in part due to the historical excellence occurring on stage in front of them. Reading up about it I see what I couldn’t on the album: The crowd was worked into a full blown frenzy due to dancing in the aisles escalating to what I imagine would be the closest thing to a mosh pit the 50’s had to offer. That energy fed the band who kept ramping it up harder and harder. Eventually, they tried to call it a night, and the crowd goes BALLISTIC, threatening to turn violent if they don’t hear more Jazz. So they get it. The show goes a bit longer than intended and ends with an incredible performance of Mood Indigo. I normally pick my top tracks, and I suppose I’ve stated them above, but truthfully this is a performance best experienced as a whole. The build to chaos is amazing to behold and the energy is unrivaled. What a pleasure to listen to. Once the original performance ended I was delighted to hear additional performances and some studio renditions were also on the album. What a shift, from yesterday feeling like I couldn’t pay attention for over an hour to today wishing there were more than 2 hours of music to enjoy.

A truly great and atmospheric record that just falls short of perfection in my eyes. I was actually fairly heartbroken to realize the 3 tracks I didn’t connect with on the record were the Martin Gore performances, seeing as I have such great respect for him as a songwriter. Dave Gahan’s vocals are just such a perfect match on the rest of the album that those songs lacked the pull and power I felt from the rest. Still excellent, highly recommended, it’s a dark emotional masterpiece. Editing to say I relistened, and I think the top tracks are good enough to push me to like a 4.5 that I’ll round up. Enjoy The Silence is an all-time great song in particular. Top tracks: World In My Eyes, Personal Jesus, Halo, Enjoy The Silence, Policy Of Truth, Clean

Turns out, this is a great album to listen to while shoveling the snow. It really takes you on a journey and is kind of weather-related towards the end? Absolutely delightful record. Of course, this falls victim to the classic double-album conundrum. Too much of a dip in quality in the middle. It’s a shame too, because the top tracks on this record are AMAZING! A few of the album cuts really impressed me too. Special shout out to the atmosphere of The Whale and the soothing harmonies of Wild West Hero. The arrangements are astonishingly great, combining synths and strings with our traditional rock instruments and operatic harmonies. Very complex writing, and ultimately very engaging. At the end of the day, I grew up listening to ELO and their sound is extremely comforting to me. If only they had gone back to the board and cut this down to a solid 46 minutes, this would be a 5 star album. Top tracks: Turn To Stone, Sweet Talkin’ Woman, Starlight, Steppin’ Out, Mr. Blue Sky, The Whale, Wild West Hero

In terms of Electronic music being recommended, this has been the best so far! I’m a fan of a few Chemical Brothers songs and generally like their sound. I appreciate that there is an effort to make songs that evolve and progress as opposed to the repetition I’ve been seeing in most of the selections on this list. Ultimately there are some misses that REALLY miss for me, but I did at least enjoy the listen as a whole. Special shout out to Block Rockin’ Beats being featured in a great sequence from Ken Burns’ Baseball where Ichiro is just dicking baseballs down. Top tracks: Block Rockin’ Beats, Dig Your Own Hole, Setting Sun, Where Do I Begin, The Private Psychedelic Reel

Wow, what a record. This really took me off guard. This is such a typical classic Country sound but just GUSHING with sincerity. Merle is such an astounding lyricist. I was on board from the beginning and really got taken on a journey through this album. Genuinely a huge pleasure to listen to, and I’m ashamed of all the so-called music fans on this site so quick to dismiss an artist speaking so bluntly and earnestly just because of the genre they happen to excel in. Top tracks: All Of Me Belongs To You, House Of Memories, Whatever Happened To Me, Someone Told My Story, If You Want To Be My Woman, Mary’s Mine, Skid Row

I had to tackle a long drive for work today, and I was a little apprehensive about this being my album for the day. I was feeling stressed and running on barely any sleep. Turns out Tom here is a wonderful passenger to have on a long trip. He reminds me kind of like an evil version of Randy Newman (except Downtown Train which sounds like evil Bruce Springsteen) and the variety on this record kept me locked in the whole way through. The rapid shifts between every genre making up the vague tapestry of Americana would be engaging on any album, but to have such a darkly strange take on each genre pushing through was a real treat. I will confess, I did first try to give it a go last night and got pretty turned off by the opening rasp of Singapore. I was considering skipping altogether because I couldn’t anticipate myself being able to give it a fair chance. I cannot tell you how wrong I was. There’s a few songs that don’t click, but as a whole this record knocked my socks off. Top tracks: I actually saved almost this whole record to my master playlist. It would be quicker to say what didn’t click. Bottom tracks: Cemetery Polka, Diamonds And Gold, Midtown, 9th & Hennepin, Union Square, Bride Of Rain Dog

I couldn’t get into this at all, like not even a little bit. Absolutely terrible lyrically in a way that is very 2edgy, the beats weren’t great, and I couldn’t handle the barrage of dumb skits. At the time I’m sure it was revolutionary hearing a funky white guy get down, but man this was embarrassing to listen to today. I can’t help but compare it to Straight Outta Compton which came out 11 years prior and was on this list for us a few weeks back. That record really felt like a glimpse into the minds of poorly adjusted young men who society had failed. On that record the performances and lyrics were written by men in their late teens and early 20s. This album Eminem was 27 when it came out! He isn’t a young adult struggling to find a place in the world at that point. He’s just an asshole.

Couldn’t dig this at all for the Bluesy bop stuff towards the beginning, came around for the jammy excursions later on, got lost again by that version of Whipping Post (a song I actually like a lot) which didn’t gel for me at all. Overall disappointing despite musicianship clearly being there. Just not a performance that comes together in an effective way for me. Top tracks: You Don’t Love Me, In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed

Unfortunately, not for me. Not an unpleasant listen but incredibly unremarkable. SZA has a lovely voice and the music is smooth and inoffensive, but the novel-sized list of songwriters and producers really is rarely a good sign. It was fine, but could’ve been made by any number of similar artists.

I feel like this album starts off strong with a 3-song suite that is about as interesting as radio Indie can get. After that…it trails off into mediocrity. Sounds like a lot of other music that brings much more to the table. Not much happening here someone like The Killers wouldn’t be able to give me. Top tracks: Closer, Crawl, Sex On Fire

My first instinct was to cringe when this came up, but I gotta say this album for the most part holds up well. Straightforward rock songs with some good instrumentals and fun structures. I kinda split this in half, half great and half not into it. For a debut it’s sick as hell, but I get turned off by some of the lyrics and vocal deliveries (Axl is hit and miss with me all the time but this album leans more towards the good) and by the story/delivery of Rocket Queen (skeeves me out) but overall it’s still good! Top tracks: Welcome To The Jungle, It’s So Easy, Nightrain, Paradise City, Think About You, Sweet Child O’ Mine

Fantastic album! Amy was such a unique talent in the Pop landscape at the time and this album does a great job showcasing what made her so special. Her vocals are so sincere and the vibe feels like it’s been soaked in bourbon, it’s so cool to hear a classic sound presented in a modern fashion without being too kitschy. I feel it starts to drag a bit in the back half and get a bit inconsistent (particularly the Remi-produced tracks) but still overall a strong outing that holds up over 15 years later. Top tracks: Rehab, You Know I’m No Good, Me and Mr Jones, Back To Black, Tears Dry On Their Own, He Can Only Hold Her

There is a singular core pleasure that can be derived from listening to a Queen album, and that is the intrigue of never knowing what is going to happen song-to-song. There’s a lot of discourse on here about the famously and contentiously silly I’m In Love With My Car, but I think it helps exemplify the chaos that is a Queen album’s tracklist. Is it any more wild and out of place than the vaudeville stylings of Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon coming out from Death On Two Legs? I feel like it helps that they fully commit to every single song. The silly tunes like the car song and the vaudeville-esque tracks (Seaside, Lazing, Good Company) all are approached with the same love and care and depth of production as the deep labors of love like Bohemian Rhapsody. One other thing worth shouting out about this album is the fact that is has such variety thanks to the contributions of each band member. Mercury takes the bulk of the credit with his amazing ability, but Brian May’s few songs (especially ‘39 and Sweet Lady) excel as well. Taylor has the car song, and the quiet bassist John Deacon hits it out of the park with You’re My Best Friend which is just such a sweet and eternally satisfying track. So yeah, love this album, I added everything to my master playlist save for Seaside Rendezvous (a lil too silly for me) and God Save The Queen (way too silly especially considering how genuinely sincere that performance is). A very diverse and interesting album. It never drags on thanks to the wide array of influences and the care put into each and every facet of the sound. Love it.

Definitely surprised by how much I enjoyed this! Funky beats, interesting and unique vocals, and a delicate balancing act between the aggressive lyrics and not-self-serious delivery. Really a master class that I wish had a little more consistency towards the end. Top tracks: How Could I Just Kill A Man, Hand On The Pump, Hole In The Head, Light Another, The Phuncky Feel One, Psycobetabuckdown

I’ve outgrown Aerosmith but this was still a surprisingly solid rockin album. Lots of the typical passable bluesy rock sound you’d expect from them (and get irritated by) but enough variation and wider influences to keep things interesting. Just not something I have the patience to listen to all in one go again. Top tracks: Young Lust, Janie’s Got A Gun, The Other Side, Hoodoo Voodoo Medicine Mane (I’m not proud of liking that last one)

This record is from towards the beginning of a stretch where the Stones were cranking out wildly excellent records. I feel like this is on the weaker side of what they were putting out though. I gel really well with the tracks that have heavier emphasis on piano and those bouncy tempos, but the more standard Blues-Rock approaches on this album failed to stand out to me. All in all that adds up to about a half-and-half record in terms of quality. I will say, I do appreciate that this listen made a lot click into place that never had for me before. When I was exploring the Stones on my own in my younger days I only ever gravitated towards their more straightforward Rock outings, so hearing Sympathy For The Devil and Street Fighting Man this time around and finally understanding what makes them so great when I had always written them off in the past was very rewarding for me. Top tracks: Sympathy For The Devil, Jigsaw Puzzle, Street Fighting Man, Stray Cat Blues, Salt Of The Earth

Incredibly consistent Pop album from a band I thought of as deeply unserious until now. Yeah I liked ABBA, but my assumption was they were a fun singles band. This is great stuff, the harmonies deliver on every song, every track is at least fine and the best songs are amazing. Top tracks: When I Kissed The Teacher, Dancing Queen, Dum Dum Diddle, Money Money Money, That’s Me, Why Did It Have To Be Me?, Fernando

Very interesting listen. I appreciated the very raw and uncut studio audio of Syd later in the album, but overall the quality of the songs are pretty rough throughout. That realization kind of brings down the fun of the album, because I get into the “why?” and have to concede it’s because Syd was someone who was likely neurodivergent in some manner, likely had some form of developing mental illness, and who was not treated for amy of it nor understood by anybody in his life. He got into psychedelic drugs which left him in a more unstable state mentally (since I’m sure for someone who was already losing their grip on reality in their everyday life the onslaught of mind altering chemicals didn’t help the world make sense) and according to stories seemed to be enabled, manipulated, and used by the people around him. So yeah, definitely a tough emotional trip to hear someone who society had completely failed trying to convey happy bouncy lovey dovey music. Interesting listen, but probably going to be difficult to revisit given the spiral it sent me down trying to analyze. Also, it seems like the weaker tracks for me were the ones the Pink Floyd members helped produce? Very strange. Top tracks: Terrapin, No Good Trying, No Man’s Land, Here I Go, Late Night

This album is a collection of songs recorded during the Kid A sessions, which is fairly obvious immediately from the production style. As a result it naturally draws comparisons to that masterpiece, and I feel it differs in two significant ways: First, the overall quality of songs. This is an album that suffers from a phenomenon we’ve seen quite a few times in this project where the first half is almost perfect and the second half is almost totally forgettable. Some of my favorite Radiohead songs are on this album, and as I was getting through I Might Be Wrong I was seriously mad at myself for the preconceived notions I had about this record — I thought *I* might be wrong having written it off all these years! Then Knives Out is just ok (in my opinion) and the rest of the record I didn’t care about until the closing track. Feels like this could’ve been an EP instead of putting out a full length release to capitalize on the success of Kid A. The second difference is that this doesn’t have the same care put into sequencing that other Radiohead records have. It doesn’t feel like an album so much as a collection of songs. It is painfully obvious that these are just the “best of the rest” as opposed to songs that were chosen specifically to ebb and flow with the others on the record. It is a largely disjointed and unfocused outing, normally something I don’t care a ton about but it does stand out as irregular in Radiohead’s discography. I have high standards for them because I love them so much! So overall? Pretty good. I’m going to spin that first half like crazy. Top tracks: Packt Like Sardines In A Crushd Tin Box, Pyramid Song, You And Whose Army?, I Might Be Wrong, Life In A Glasshouse

Really didn’t gel with this unfortunately. It’s not technically bad at all or anything, just unremarkable to me. Felt like a safe take on glam metal and hard rock with a lil funk thrown in that didn’t do much for me.

I love this album. It’s weird, eclectic, catchy, dissonant, it’s so many contrasting adjectives all at once made to work by an inspired confident performance by Beck. This sounds cool today, I can’t even imagine how nuts it was to hear this when it came out. Top tracks: Devils Haircut, Lord Only Knows, The New Pollution, Novacane, Jack-Ass, Where It’s At, Minus

This is damn near close to a perfect album. It’s such a unique combo of Dance, Pop, Rock, Surf, Punk, so many genres that collide into an effective mix. I think what really sets this album apart is the mind-blowing guitar work from Ricky Wilson. His death from AIDS in 1985 kept the band’s later work from featuring his talent, but his angular guitar sound defines this album and elevates it to being essential listening for anybody who thinks they know how a guitar is “supposed” to be played. Top tracks: All of them. Fucking thing rips.

Loved this listen, really took me by surprise. Marty’s got a smooth voice, instrumentation was real good, and the old west theme was tons of fun. A couple lesser quality tracks bring down the rating a bit, but still going to revisit. Top tracks: Big Iron, They’re Hanging Me Tonight, Utah Carol, The Master’s Call, Running Gun, The Hanging Tree

A tale as old as my experience with this list: Strong first half, underwhelming second half. Album would be a lot better if the lengthy songs were tighter and there weren’t so many synths interludes that barely added anything. Top tracks: Negative Space, Static Resistance, Ullswater

I listened to the original release, and am probably going to listen again to the expanded edition. Such an amazing performance, Cash sounds great and works the room like a pro. He’s funny as hell too which I didn’t know. Plus his backing band is outstanding, that guitar tone is awesome. Great performance.

Interesting listen, generally pleasant and easy to listen to, I’m afraid I just don’t really “get” it. There’s some interesting darker and heavier riffs mixed in there that don’t mesh well, a mix of naive innocent lyrics with the more explicitly sexual, it feels a bit like an effort to create something broadly popular while sneaking in some less marketable influences of the band. Not horrific, but it just confounded me . Top tracks: Your New Cuckoo, Been It, Never Recover, Step On Me

I can roll with Mudhoney a bit, but this was fairly unremarkable. A few good tracks, but overall a good example of baseline Grunge. It’s a genre that tends to be defined by its outlandishly great leaders when in reality a lot of what was coming out was middle of the road, such as this.

Punk rock for the Britpop crowd. Unfortunately not for me.

This is a very fun record! Far from perfect but much better than I had been lead to believe. Great example of incorporating new influences into a band’s own distinctive style.

As I’ve grown further into adulthood, I’ve found myself more and more frequently wanting to go back and kick the shit out of the younger version of myself. I was such an idiot about so many things, closed-minded and sheltered, irresponsible, etc. Far down the list in terms of severity, is a pre-existing notion that Steely Dan was lame/uncool to the point that I would tease my friend Matt about how he enjoyed listening to them (sorry Matt). Now with my big-boy-brain I can safely declare that Steely Dan is awesome. This record is a perfect example of their smooth production and unique songwriting. This was a blast to listen to all the way through. Twists and turns, thick piano lines mixing in with lush arrangement and vocals that complement the feel in the perfect way all combine for a fantastic experience. Love it. I have this on vinyl because years ago a coworker was liquidating some of his collection and I grabbed this because I thought it would be funny to have an album from the dad band with a pretzel on the cover, and I’m excited to give it an unironic spin later. Top tracks: Rikki Don’t Lose That Number, Night By Night, Barrytown, Parker’s Band, Pretzel Logic, With A Gun, Charlie Freak

I think you can safely argue this record is Metallica at their absolute peak. Cliff Burton is still here contributing, Hetfield’s voice has matured into a deeper powerful timbre (which would continue into their next record before I feel he began turning into a parody of himself), Hammett’s leads are melodic and unique as opposed to his earlier chaotic Slayer-style leads (which I love) or his later wah-heavy approach (which I detest), and Lars is cruising holding things down in the back with some of the best percussion production in their discography. While this marks the beginning of when their sound would start to evolve into a style which I feel has influenced some pretty rough subgenres (remember Trivium?) this album is pretty peak. Some of my favorite Metallica tracks are on here (shoutout Disposable Heroes) and even the less memorable second half of the album rips all the way through. Orion stands as Burton’s defining moment as a musician and for good reason. I think every song here is at least pretty solid. I don’t care for Damage Inc as a closer but it’s definitely not bad. Anyway, yeah, 5 stars. I haven’t listen to this album front to back since I was in my teens and I like it even more than I remember. What an accomplishment of an album.

I was on board with the opening track Buffalo Stance, but had a difficult time getting into the rest of the album. Some fun songs but nothing great. I guess you had to be there.

This is replacement-level New Wave. Serviceable, gets the job done, I’m sure if you had a gig in the 80s and your opener dropped you’d keep your audience content by having these folks step in, but evaluating it 40 years later this is nothing that hasn’t been done better by better groups.

The run Yes went on in the early 70s is absolutely unreal. The Yes Album, this, Close To The Edge, and I would also throw Tales From Topographic Oceans in there, is an incredible run of incredible records. Giving this a listen today really confirms Fragile as their masterpiece. Such an accessible easy listen for how complex of a record it is. Every member of the group is firing on all cylinders. The versatility of new keyboardist Rick Wakeman and guitar superhuman Steve Howe are the standouts for me, although Jon Anderson is also turning in a great vocal performance throughout which ties things together very effectively. This gets dogged on for the shorter solo tracks, but I feel save for Cans & Brahms and Five Percent For Nothing they work very well and stand on their own as enjoyable listens. In short, masterpiece? Probably. This rips, and I’d be hard pressed to find better bookends in Prog than opening with Roundabout and closing with Heart Of The Sunrise.

Truly dreadful, boring, uninspiring. Offensive in its mediocrity. Notable for its lack of notability.

Turns out all the songs Kanye produced on here are bangers. I hate how much of an appreciation I’m developing for him. Takeover is an absolute monster of a track. That being said…I can’t help but find Jay-Z a bit silly and hard to take in large doses. Still a fun record but far from perfect.

This album holds its place in history as the Beatles’ last stand of a more classic rock n roll sound before they begin to lean more into psychedelic influences and sonic experimentation. In that sense, this is some of the best execution of that sound possible. There’s a few unremarkable tracks but overall this is the peak of what 60s pop/rock could hope to achieve. Catchy, fun, effective from top to bottom.

Not quite Queen’s finest hour, but still pretty great. Goofy and dramatic, long epics mixed with short ballads, piano-heavy arrangements mixing with thick guitar showcases, overall a great listen despite a couple weak songs. Can’t help but enjoy the incredible harmonies they put together.

Certainly some nice sounds, but fairly unengaging. Very difficult to get into and stay invested in. Maybe good for some ambient background, but doesn’t stand on its own for me.

Surprised to say I thought this was a very solid record. Great first half, little dip in the back half, but absolutely fantastic finish. I had a hard time getting into the singles hearing them out of context throughout my life because of how disjointed they felt (I used to comment Band On The Run felt like three unrelated songs mashed together) but as a cohesive piece it just kind of made sense. Top tracks: Band On The Run, Jet, Mrs. Vandebilt, Ninteen Hundred And Eighty Five

Love love love. A wonderfully weird mix of noise and melody, a precursor to shoegaze and dreampop, a front to back ethereal beautiful assault on the senses. Very much up my alley.

I was never huge on all the samurai/Shaolin imagery but it all really clicked for me this time. Front to back the beats are incredible. This practically put me in a trance.

A mostly forgettable-but-solid outing immortalized by two all-time-great singles in Bowie’s catalogue bookending the record. Enjoy the sound, but lacking in substance. Young Americans and Fame are fantastic tracks though.