604
Albums Rated
3.45
Average Rating
55%
Complete
485 albums remaining
Rating Distribution
Rating Timeline
Taste Profile
1970s
Favorite Decade
Singer-songwriter
Favorite Genre
US
Top Origin
Wordsmith
Rater Style ?
80
5-Star Albums
11
1-Star Albums
Breakdown
By Genre
By Decade
By Origin
Albums
You Love More Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Apple Venus Volume 1
XTC
|
5 | 2.85 | +2.15 |
|
Shadowland
k.d. lang
|
5 | 2.87 | +2.13 |
|
This Nation’s Saving Grace
The Fall
|
5 | 2.89 | +2.11 |
|
The Gilded Palace Of Sin
The Flying Burrito Brothers
|
5 | 2.93 | +2.07 |
|
Future Days
Can
|
5 | 3 | +2 |
|
I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight
Richard Thompson
|
5 | 3.05 | +1.95 |
|
Country Life
Roxy Music
|
5 | 3.11 | +1.89 |
|
Dirty
Sonic Youth
|
5 | 3.11 | +1.89 |
|
Close To The Edge
Yes
|
5 | 3.19 | +1.81 |
|
Rain Dogs
Tom Waits
|
5 | 3.2 | +1.8 |
You Love Less Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
C'est Chic
CHIC
|
1 | 3.34 | -2.34 |
|
Homework
Daft Punk
|
1 | 3.29 | -2.29 |
|
Since I Left You
The Avalanches
|
1 | 3.28 | -2.28 |
|
Toys In The Attic
Aerosmith
|
1 | 3.26 | -2.26 |
|
Chris
Christine and the Queens
|
1 | 2.82 | -1.82 |
|
Appetite For Destruction
Guns N' Roses
|
2 | 3.74 | -1.74 |
|
Boston
Boston
|
2 | 3.71 | -1.71 |
|
Grace
Jeff Buckley
|
2 | 3.71 | -1.71 |
|
Justified
Justin Timberlake
|
1 | 2.68 | -1.68 |
|
Music
Madonna
|
1 | 2.68 | -1.68 |
Artists
Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Stevie Wonder | 3 | 5 |
| The Kinks | 3 | 4.67 |
| Nirvana | 3 | 4.67 |
| Joni Mitchell | 2 | 5 |
| Willie Nelson | 2 | 5 |
| Prince | 2 | 5 |
| Aretha Franklin | 2 | 5 |
| Black Sabbath | 2 | 5 |
| Van Morrison | 2 | 5 |
| Bob Dylan | 6 | 4.17 |
| Beatles | 5 | 4.2 |
| Yes | 3 | 4.33 |
| The Fall | 3 | 4.33 |
| David Bowie | 8 | 3.88 |
5-Star Albums (80)
View Album Wall
Popular Reviews
5/5
What can I say? A fantastic album. A blast from the past. Before relistening, I was expecting to give it 4 stars, but now I’m convinced.
2 likes
The Beach Boys
5/5
In my home, I have a little stand that says “NOW SPINNING” on it that you put the record cover on that’s currently in the record player. Coincidentally, this is the record that was already in the stand. Am I going to listen to this again even though I just did? Yes. Am I mad about it? No. Did I see Brian Wilson perform this entire album live? Yes.
I have a high school memory of listening to Sloop John B over and over again on my Walkman on the bus from a track meet.
1 likes
The Killers
3/5
Perhaps it’s just the dim aftermath of the events of yesterday that have left me with a disconnected inability to enjoy things, but the numbness I felt while listening to this gave me a pretty “meh” reaction to it. It’s fine.
1 likes
Joan Baez
4/5
I never gave Joan a fair chance, but I get it now. She’s great. This was a wonderful recording of old folks tunes. I like her voice and the arrangements.
1 likes
1-Star Albums (11)
All Ratings
The Velvet Underground
4/5
It’s been awhile since I’ve listened to this one. I was going in thinking I’d give it a three, but listened and was reminded why I always think so fondly of VU.
CHIC
1/5
I was between a one and a two on this one. It’s got some OK grooves. But when I’m pulling my hair out about how the album is still going with three songs left…
Bob Dylan
3/5
I overall like Bob Dylan and a couple of his albums are no doubt, 5 star favorites of mine. He can be hit or miss, though. This album is more hit than miss for me, but not one of my favorites of his.
The Rolling Stones
2/5
I like some of The Rolling Stones hits, but am overall not a fan, especially if Mic Jagger. This album was just covers of songs that the originals were better.
Green Day
3/5
Ah, yes. High school. Three stars.
Keith Jarrett
4/5
I had no idea what this wa and liked it a lot
The Waterboys
2/5
Boring.
Massive Attack
4/5
I didn’t know what this was and found it very enjoyable. Eat your heart out, DJ Shadow. I liked the sound, the beats, the vocals. This was great!
5/5
What can I say? A fantastic album. A blast from the past. Before relistening, I was expecting to give it 4 stars, but now I’m convinced.
Ray Charles
3/5
I own each of these volumes on vinyl. I think it’s technically two albums and this is just them “packaged” together. I enjoy these records and liked this relisten. Ray Charles is one of the all time greats, obviously, and his fantastic singing is especially on display here. I do prefer his more rock and roll piano driven recordings.
DJ Shadow
2/5
Some good beats and he’s obviously very skilled, but an out of this is too much and repetitive.
The Youngbloods
3/5
I really liked a couple of songs and would’ve given them 4 stars. I liked the rest of the album OK. I liked the opening track and the solo in it and the solo a few songs later with a similar guitar tone. A solid three.
Snoop Dogg
3/5
I found much of this album enjoyable. Snoop is clearly very skilled. This dragged on for me and got tiresome by the end, though.
Dusty Springfield
3/5
I had to listen to this off a playlist on YouTube. A solid 60s record of covers with a Supremes vibe. It felt like when they were putting together this list and we’re adding Dusty in Memphis, they thought they should add another album of hers and panicked.
4/5
I thought I gave U2 a fair chance in college and I did not like them. I haven’t actively listened to them since and was not excited when it came up today. I listened and really liked it! I’m surprised to say that I may need to give this band another shot.
Boston
2/5
I knew the hits off this and knew about the album. I wasn’t excited to listen. Mostly unremarkable/bad, but some cool guitar playing. Not my type of music, and by the end of it, I was ready for it to be over.
Stevie Wonder
5/5
I love Stevie Wonder and have several of his albums (including this one) on vinyl. Although I don’t have the same love for this as I do Songs in the Key of Life, this is among his masterpieces.
Megadeth
3/5
I’ve never been into heavy metal, but it’s something I’ve been wanting to explore. This was pretty good! I liked the guitar playing. 3
808 State
2/5
One of the reasons I was excited to do this project was to discover new music, including being exposed to genres I haven’t gotten into, or bands/albums I missed that do types of music I like. This certainly fits in the former. I really liked the first track and I’m a sucker for weird/interesting sounds in my music. However, this didn’t hold my attention and, at times, I felt like I was listening to the opening credits of Beverly Hills Cop, or the music you’d hear in the scene of a movie when they go to a club. Certainly well done, but it didn’t sell me on the genre.
The Doors
3/5
I’ve never liked Jim Morrison and his whole thing. I do not like his lyrics or his singing. I have always like Ray Manzarek and his organ stuff, though. This had some solid music on it.
Joni Mitchell
5/5
I love Joni Mitchell and have several of her albums (including this one) on vinyl. Although I don’t have the same love for this as I do Blue, this is among her masterpieces.
Hole
3/5
I, of course, have been aware of Hole and Courtney Love since the 90s, although I didn’t really ever get into them. I wanted to like this more, but I don’t think I like Courtney’s singing and it all sort of bled together for me.
Yes
4/5
Fuck yeah. I ate this shit right up. I don’t even care. I liked this a 4/5. I loved the bass.
Nine Inch Nails
3/5
I wanted to like this more than I did and certainly don’t begrudge people who love this music. I just don’t think it was overall my thing. It has a couple of well known songs that I enjoyed, and I appreciated it overall, but it was too long for me and I didn’t like Trent whispering and/or growling in my ear the entire time. 3/5 - I won’t be buying one of those t-shirts.
Harry Nilsson
5/5
This is a beloved album in my household and I was pumped that it came up today. I loved the relisten. You can definitely hear the Beatles in there, which isn’t surprising considering Harry’s association with them. When Moonbeam came up, I had to stop myself from humming along at work. Coconut always gets me too. I know it’s a silly song, but I love its sound and the way it slowly builds on top of itself. But I love all the songs. Just an all around fantastic album that always puts a smile on my face. Did I rabbit hole on Nilsson after this? Yes, I did, and I was glorious. Chef’s kiss.
Big Brother & The Holding Company
4/5
When I was in high school, I had a Janis Joplin greatest hits album. I enjoyed it until I convinced myself the only reason that I liked her was because I’m supposed to. Turns out that’s a shame, because I really liked this. The band was fantastic and the overall sound and energy was so fun.
Moby Grape
3/5
What’s purple and lives in the ocean?
An old college buddy of mine turned me on to this album. It’s been awhile since I’ve listened to it, mostly because I can’t find it on streaming. I found it on YouTube today and gave it a listen. I’m glad I did, because I quite liked the first half. The second half was not as good and drug this from a 4 to a 3. Reminds me of The Band, but not quite as good. 3/5, but I’ll still snap up that vinyl when I see it.
3/5
It was nice to get an album that was more recent and one I was not familiar with. Unfortunately, I don’t typically enjoy this type of music. I’m not sure what you would call it, but it’s a sound I most associate with Pet Shop Boys. It’s just not my thing. I did quite like Supermassive Black Hole, though.
Basement Jaxx
3/5
I liked this one better than the other electronica album. They made some great dance music and I can see the value in this. This seemed more melodic and fun to listen to. It was overly long, though.
Jorge Ben Jor
5/5
This was fire. The rhythms, the energy, the instrumentation. I loved it front to back. This is definitely something that Shea’s going to come home from work, walk in on me in the kitchen preparing dinner, and go “What the heck are you listening to?!” And I’m going to be like “Samba, baby!”
Alice In Chains
4/5
I’ve never really been into Alice In Chains, but I’m sure there are songs that I would recognize. I didn’t recognize any on this album, but quite liked it. I might have to explore their music a little more. 4
The Fall
4/5
I had not listened any The Fall, but this was right up my alley. I enjoyed it and already listened to another album of theres. I love this type of hard, punky, weird shit.
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
5/5
For the past year, my musical appetite has been mostly mellow acoustic-ish (I know there’s electric guitars and stuff used too) music, like CSN/Y, Joni, Cat Stevens, Gordon Lightfoot, Willie Nelson, etc. It’s just been my vibe. Lately, I’ve been wanting to break out of that trend and expanding into more types of music and that was a big incentive to do this project.
This is one of several CSN/Y and solo albums I have one vinyl. This is probably my favorite one, even though it doesn’t have Suite: Judy Blue Eyes on it, which I’m sure will pop up at some point, so more to come on that song later.
Anyway, yeah, I’m a big fan.
George Michael
4/5
George Michael’s resurgence since he passed away is well deserved, I think, not only because he’s obviously a very talented songwriter, musician, and performer, but because he wasn’t treated very fairly when he was alive. It’s a real shame, because the recent stories about him make him sound like a real decent guy.
Thanks to this project, I listened to this album when I never would have before, and I liked it a lot.
The Beach Boys
5/5
In my home, I have a little stand that says “NOW SPINNING” on it that you put the record cover on that’s currently in the record player. Coincidentally, this is the record that was already in the stand. Am I going to listen to this again even though I just did? Yes. Am I mad about it? No. Did I see Brian Wilson perform this entire album live? Yes.
I have a high school memory of listening to Sloop John B over and over again on my Walkman on the bus from a track meet.
Adele
3/5
Adele is one of those artists that a lot of people get enjoyment from and that’s great. She’s just never blown me away.
Abdullah Ibrahim
3/5
This caught me by surprise and I enjoyed it. It’s a really nice, easy jazz album that you can put on and listen to, or play in the background while you listen to something else.
Fiona Apple
4/5
I like Fiona Apple. My high school memories of her were how her album titles caused a societal eye roll, but since then I’ve familiarized myself with the actual music and enjoy it quite a bit. All this came to a climax when she released Fetch the Bolt Cutters and it became one of my all-time favorite albums. This one’s good too.
Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart
3/5
This was pretty good! I liked the bass playing and the overall vibe and sound. This is another album I had no idea about and would’ve never listened to until this project. If the second half of this album was as good as the first, it would’ve gotten a 4.
Stan Getz
4/5
More Brazilian music. More jazz. How much can be on this list?
All that being said, I really liked this and am giving it a begrudging 4.
Stevie Wonder
5/5
Maybe the best album of all time?
Jeff Buckley
2/5
Some pretty boring music and the third best version of that song from Shrek.
Underworld
3/5
I’ve done the math. We’re on track for 71.5 electronica albums, 0 country, and 0 blues.
When I complained to Mark about another electronica album, he agreed, but mentioned this one had more substance. I wanted to give this a 2 so hard, but he’s right. This deserves at least a 3.
Slade
3/5
I liked this alright. I don’t like those glam metal type vocals typically, and that opinion stood during this listen, but it didn’t grate on me too much. They had an otherwise really nice sound, but some of their instincts were not to my taste. For example, I was digging the Janis cover at the beginning with the bass, but then when they just had the drummer tapping on the high hat, I was like “Oh, come on.”
Overall, I’m not mad I listened and actually enjoyed most things about it, but it couldn’t get over a 3, because it was dragged down by those things I didn’t like.
Marvin Gaye
3/5
I do think Marvin’s talented, but I just never could get into this or What’s Going On? There’s just something about his sound that doesn’t catch me right. It all sounds the same to me.
Little Simz
4/5
I guess this answers which version of this list the website is using. I’m very pleased that we are going to get stuff this recent (presumably. I can’t wait for all the 2020 electronica albums we’re going to get this week).
This is exactly why I signed up for this project. I don’t listen to hip hip or rap, and I liked this a lot.
Haircut 100
3/5
Hi, we heard you like Talking Heads and we heard you like saxophones.
I just couldn’t get past the saxophone. Otherwise, I liked the bass playing especially and probably could have gotten more into this without the saxophone. 3
The Style Council
4/5
I thought I knew what to expect on these albums where I can’t tell the difference between the name of the band and the name of the album. Especially with the name of this, the cover, and the time period all compared to yesterday’s album, I was expecting more of the same. When the first track started, I knew I was wrong.
This was really nice to listen to and reminded me of old lounge music at times and then turned into weird rap music? Yes, please. I don’t know. It caught me right and I stand by my rating. Come at me, bro.
Laibach
4/5
This was great. I liked the singing and the guitar. I couldn’t understand what was being said, but it made me want to resist and revolt.
Pink Floyd
3/5
I’ve always liked Pink Floyd, but they’ve never been one of my favorites. And I’ve always been very impressed by David Gilmour. Boy is it fun to get blazed and watch lasers shoot at you while their music plays. Dark Side or The Wall might get 4s out of me, but this one has always been a little lackluster.
Coincidentally, on Sunday evening an 85 year old family friend brought a box of old records of his to family dinner for me to look at. It was mostly Dean Martin, Barbara Streisand, and Andy Williams. But a first pressing of this album was in there and made me go “Whoa!” as I pulled it out. As soon as I can figure out a fair price to give him for it (It’s looking like upwards of $80), I will be adding it to my collection.
The Band
5/5
The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down is problematic, but besides that The Band was fantastic and this album is a great example why. So good. I’ve listened to this album many, many times. I was planning on giving it a 4, but changed my mind after re-listening.
OutKast
5/5
I’ve always heard this album described as a masterpiece, and I’m not sure I can disagree. I knew a bunch of songs already, of course, but the ones I didn’t know are also really also blew me away.
Carole King
5/5
Another album I’ve listened to many times, this was a no-brainer 5 stars.
Ananda Shankar
3/5
I was a bit worried about this one, then read the review in this site and thought maybe I’m right to be. You know, the first few tracks were cool with the electric rhythm guitars and other arrangements. Then it just sort of coasted after that. Not a bad listen, but it didn’t blow me away.
Elbow
3/5
This was fine.
R.E.M.
4/5
I’ve always liked REM, but they’ve never been one of my favorites. I’ll throw on an album of theirs every once in a blue moon. This is always an enjoyable listen.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
5/5
I love me some Neil Young. This is sooo good.
Marvin Gaye
4/5
Maybe this just caught me in the right mood, but I liked this better than the last Marvin Gaye. I knew about this album’s history and legend. It’s one of those albums that’s in the “This person made this album bad on purpose to screw some over” pantheon.
In this case it’s his ex-wife, who would get the revenue from this album and also goes “…but Marvin Gaye couldn’t make a bad album even if he tried.” Turns out, there’s not a lot of truth to this. Marvin did try on this album and was disappointed at the response to it. I wonder if the legend has helped it gain more acclaim over time?
I don’t know. I liked it.
Tricky
4/5
This guy is from Massive Attack and I really liked the Massive Attack album we listened to. And I really liked this! This came out when I was 15 and I would’ve loved to have gotten into it when I was that age. But I enjoyed this listen.
Are the editors of this list British?
Cat Stevens
5/5
One of my favorites. My favorite Cat song is Peace Train, but this has a few of his hits on it. And they’re very good. So are the other songs.
Paul Simon
4/5
Historically, Paul Simon is my favorite band/musician. I know he’s had his controversies, including accusations of plagiarism, not excluding this album. There’s also a story about how he was going to produce the first album of a SNL band member as a favor to Lorne Michaels, that artist gave Paul a tape of African music and said “I’d like to do something with this.” and Paul went “Nope. This is mine now.” All that being said: this album exists.
I remember being in high school and buying Paul’s albums on CD based on the list of albums on the jacket of his CDs. I remember getting to Graceland, putting the CD in, hitting play, the opening accordion riff starting, and my head turning as I was like “WTF? Did my speaker break? Oh, wait…this is how it’s supposed to sound??” And then my mother immediately reminding me I needed to mow the lawn. I remember mowing the lawn thinking “I gotta hear the rest of this album!”
Anyway, I’m retrospect, if I were to tier Paul’s albums, I don’t think I’d put this one in the top tier. He’s got 4 or 5 better albums. It makes sense that this is on this list, though. I get it. It’s still a 4 and there’s some very good songs on here (Diamonds on the Souls of Her Shoes, Graceland) …and then there’s You Can Call Me Al.
Astrud Gilberto
2/5
This list loves electronica and samba.
I did not like her voice and the album sounded much the same to me. Of the samba albums we’ve listened to, this is my least favorite.
Lloyd Cole And The Commotions
3/5
This had a few 4 star songs for me, but not enough of them. Overall, this was a pleasant listen and I’m glad I heard it, but I don’t think I’ll be revisiting.
Sleater-Kinney
4/5
This album is so much rock ‘n’ roll fun.
Aerosmith
1/5
Walk This Way can’t fix this mess. This is just bad. Steven Tyler is not good. Joe Perry is decent. These songs are not good. I wanted to give this a 2, but the more I listened, the more I hated it.
David Bowie
5/5
I’d never listened to this one before, but I do like Bowie and frequently revisit Ziggy Stardust and Hunky Dory. I’m glad this list is branching out my Bowie listening, because I unsurprisingly enjoyed this very much. This album grew on me as I listened and went from a 4 to a 5 by the end.
The Isley Brothers
4/5
The Isley Brothers are good. This album is good. The album cover is good. I’ve been on a bit of a funk/soul kick lately and this album fits right in. The stand out for me was Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight, but I liked them all.
The Bees
4/5
Yeah! I dug it! Never heard of these folks before, but I might have to check out more of their stuff.
Penguin Cafe Orchestra
3/5
Pretty good. I don’t think this is something I’ll revisit often, but it’s the type of thing I’d buy the vinyl of and put on during a game night.
Jerry Lee Lewis
2/5
I was glad I got to listen to this and hear Jerry pound the same chord over and over again and then run his finger up and down the piano. It compelled me to Goggle “Was Jerry Lee Lewis a good piano player?” Apparently there’s some strong opinions. There were flashes of him showing better playing (Your Cheating Heart), but I was pretty underwhelmed. I was expecting to love this, and am glad I didn’t. Because he was a bad guy.
The Temptations
4/5
I’ve always been a fan of The Temptations and I really enjoyed this. There were a couple of clunkers, and that long version of Runaway Child, Running Wild wasn’t great. But overall? A 4.
The Jesus And Mary Chain
3/5
I hadn’t heard of this band, but they are apparently influential. I liked this alright.
The Psychedelic Furs
4/5
Nice. Very of its time, but it’s got a good sound. It hit me better than The Jesus and Mary Chain.
Tracy Chapman
4/5
When I was in high school, “Give Me One Reason” was everywhere, and I still like that song. This album was a bit before my time, but I knew Fast Car. But maybe I know a cover better?
Anyway, I enjoyed this album very much.
Johnny Cash
3/5
Finally a true country album.
This album is fine, but I feel like it’s only held in any regard because of the Folsom Prison album, which is far superior. But Johnny Cash is a legend for a reason. And we get A Boy Named Sue.
Carl Perkins is on this album and if you listen to the Legacy Version, you can hear a great version of Blue Suede Shoes.
Guns N' Roses
2/5
Hot take: Slash is a very good guitar player. Hotter take: this band needed a better front man and better songs.
Unlike the Aerosmith album, there was something that redeemed this. Slash pulled this album up to a 2 single handedly.
Daft Punk
1/5
I would like to thank this list for the respite we had on electronica albums we’ve listened to, and acknowledged that, yes, it is important we listen to more. So many more. Bring it on.
Dagmar Krause
2/5
I went to YouTube to listen to this. When it started, I liked the weirdness and the energy. By the end, I was very over it. I’m glad I listened to it, though, because I had never heard of it before.
Buena Vista Social Club
3/5
Nice. I, of course, knew about this, but I had never listened. It’s pleasant and fun to listen to, but too mellow for my taste. It could’ve used a few more energetic songs mixed in there.
Frank Zappa
4/5
I’ve heard the criticism before that Frank was better before he realized how good he was at guitar. He’s good at guitar!
I’ve always liked Frank and this sounds just like him. I’m luke warm on some (not all) of his lyrics and vocals, so that was actually a plus for me on this one.
Pink Floyd
4/5
A classic. I love much of this album, and it’s all the stuff I hear without having to listen to the entire album. Listening to the entire thing feels like a chore. That, and some of the sensibilities in this (I don’t know what that trend was with dystopian rock operas, but it sure feels like there were a LOT. I’m not sure this counts as dystopian? But my brain lumps this in with it). It feels a little hokey in places. The Wikipedia article says that critics thought this was overblown and pretentious. Yeah….I can’t disagree.
Overall, a great album, but it has its flaws.
The Strokes
3/5
I remember the hype when this came out and I remember liking this, but not being blown away. I hadn’t listened in maybe 20 years. It’s good, but all sounds the same to me and Julian refuses to do anything interesting vocally.
Can
4/5
I’m bracing myself for this after looking at some reviews. I’m wondering where it will fall on my spectrum between “interesting experimental noise music that I love” and “shitty music that’s just a bunch of noise” spectrum.
Track 1 - loved it -5 stars
Track 2 - also 5 stars - is this the best album I’ve ever heard?
Track 3 - maybe this isn’t the best album I’ve ever heard, but this looks like a 4 star song. I don’t like the vocal thing they are doing, which sounds like they were messing with tape speed? I did like the music, though, and liked the 2nd half when they stopped the tape thing. Wait - was the first half of this song the second half backwards? I Googled it. It is backwards, but different stuff. This is blowing my mind. FIVE STARS now. THIS IS THE BEST ALBUM I EVER HEARD.
TRACK 4, let’s go - chuga chuga chug. Dootle dootle do. Chuga chuga- 5 stars. What is happening to me? Am I transforming into a whole new person?
Track 5- …the hell? This isn’t what I fell in love with. Can, you’ve betrayed me.
Track 6- Better than the last one! But I still miss the first half of the album.
Track 7- better still.
This feels like two different albums to me, and maybe it would’ve been nice if they released it as such? The first album is now one of my favorite albums of all time. And I’ll listen to it again and again. If I get the vinyl, I don’t know if the other record will ever come out of the sleeve. It sounded like the music you’d hear at an art museum with one of those long movies playing on a loop with images of weird eyeballs and smashing rocks and then you wonder why they didn’t just use this space for more cool paintings.
Ultimately, my new true love of the first half is so pure, that nothing the second half did could have pulled my rating down past a 4 from the, like, 12 I would’ve given it.
So, no, I’m not a whole new person. And I didn’t actually hate the second half. I just…you know… it tainted it.
The Byrds
3/5
Pleasant enough, but ultimately pretty unremarkable and boring.
David Bowie
4/5
Very nice. A solid Bowie. I liked the first half with vocal more than the instrumental songs, but I enjoyed it all.
The Flaming Lips
4/5
This and Yoshimi are Flaming Lips at their peak and I sometimes regret I didn’t see them at 80/35.
Both of the albums sit solidly at a 4 for me and sometimes bump up to a 5. The first two songs on this are great. And of course, Waitin’ for Superman.
The Darkness
3/5
Not my thing. I’m not a fan of glam rock vocals, usually, and this wasn’t the exception. Nothing else about this made me overlook that, but this wasn’t bad.
Motörhead
4/5
This ripped.
Miles Davis
3/5
I thought this was cool to listen to, and I liked one person playing an instrument in one ear and a different person playing the same instrument in the other ear, and them playing off each other. I liked this album when it was more melodic, as opposed to not.
Bob Dylan
4/5
Not one of my favorite Dylan albums, but very good. It’s got some 5-star songs, but I hate Bob’s stream of consciousness/joke songs. This album is a bit uneven.
I recently saw the terrible musical The Girl From The North Country, and have been on a Dylan kick lately, because I wanted to remember that he’s actually good. I’ve enjoyed it and have listened to this album in the past couple of weeks, but I listened again.
Various Artists
3/5
Very well performed, nice Christmas tunes expertly produced by a monster. Minus one star for murder.
Parliament
4/5
I love Parliment.
Marvin Gaye
4/5
I like it and understand how great it is. It’s just too much non-melodic sing-talking for me.
Nick Drake
4/5
Nick Drake’s life story saddens me. This is a good album.
T. Rex
4/5
I got into this album in the early 2000s, but haven’t listened since. I very much enjoyed this relisten, but this album drops off in quality after Get It On. There are some overall flaws, and some of the lyrics are repetitive. But overall, a lot of fun and I loved the guitars.
5/5
I probably listen to this album two or three times a year. It’s no doubt five stars.
Robbie Williams
2/5
I liked the first few songs alright. The quality dropped off after that, and this just drug on. Not my cup of tea.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
3/5
I’ve always liked Elvis Costello, but am far from a completist regarding his discography. I think it’s because some of his music bores me. I had never heard this album before. I liked it, and there’s some strong songs here, but a lot of the album sums up my feelings about most of Elvis’ work: I like it, but a little boring.
There are exceptions regarding my engagement with his work, and I’m going to assume they’ll pop up on this list at some point.
LL Cool J
2/5
Ooooooof, LL. How do you feel about some of these lyrics looking back?
This wasn’t great. Even the inoffensive lines were …bad. This seemed pretty generic
Janis Joplin
4/5
You know. This is our second Janis showing in this list and I liked it a lot.
Soundgarden
3/5
RIP Chris.
When this album came up, I heard the sound of it in my head, and I have to admit that I wasn’t excited. Like Eddie Vedder, Chris Cornell is one of those singers you can imitate by just going “Hrrrraaa” from the back of your throat.
Listening to this album, I was spot on with the sound I heard in my head, but I was hoping to like it more than I thought I would. I didn’t. I thought I’d like it a 3, and I liked it a 3. Not bad. The entire band (including Chris) is very talented. It just didn’t hit for me.
Elliott Smith
4/5
I’ve dug into Elliott Smith’s music every once in awhile throughout the years, but I never latched on to it. I never made it to this album, and I really enjoyed it. I might have to go back through some of his earlier work.
The Black Keys
3/5
It’s easy to hate on The Black Keys. They often get compared unfavorably to The White Stripes. People say that they aren’t as interesting as The White Stripes and that this album is too long and repetitive. They also don’t like that singer’s singing. They also think there’s some cool sounding tracks with cool guitar player. They also give this a 3.
Baaba Maal
3/5
This was a nice listen, but a little long and boring.
Lynyrd Skynyrd
3/5
Leonard Sceonard can suck a bag of 14 poops. I once made a personal goal to never hear the song Sweet Home Alabama again. I’m very happy it’s not on this album, but am realizing that’ll probably be on one in the future.
That being said: that guy can play the heck out of a guitar. I like Tuesday’s Gone, Gimme Three Steps, and of course, Free Bird.
I generally felt 2 stars about the rest. I haaaaaaaate Simple Man.
The three tracks I liked, the guitar playing, and the fact that so much of this album was actually a kick ass solo from Free Bird, was actually enough to pull this up to a begrudging 3.
Talking Heads
4/5
Talking Heads have always been a favorite of mine. Since they rereleased Stop Making Sense and we went to see them, they’ve been top of mind in the house and I gifted a first pressing of that vinyl to Shea for Christmas.
Remain in Light hasn’t ever been my favorite of theirs and this is my first time listening to it in awhile. I was pleasantly surprised at my enjoyment of it!
GZA
3/5
I liked this OK and can see why GZA is held in such high regard. This just didn’t catch me in the way some other rap albums we’ve listened to have.
LCD Soundsystem
3/5
I used to think I didn’t like LCD Soundsystem and now I know I’m OK with LCD Soundsystem
The Auteurs
3/5
That’s a three from me, dawg.
ZZ Top
3/5
I can’t help but like La Grange. The rest of this album was pretty cool too, but it had peaks and valleys. Evens out to a sold three.
Songhoy Blues
4/5
Oh, nice. This wasn’t remotely on my radar, and I enjoyed it a lot. I couldn’t help compare it to Jorge Ben while listening. I loved the Jorge Ben, and this had a lot of the great things in it that I enjoyed about that. The instrumentation and the guitar tones were so sweet. This didn’t quite meet Jorge Ben standards for me, but I enjoyed it very much and it was nice that this project gave it to me, especially after the last week or so of things I’ve been listening to.
Elastica
3/5
Pretty good! This type of music is my jam. This album started and ended strong, but the middle drug my rating down a star.
Big Black
3/5
I would’ve given this four stars twenty years ago.
Björk
3/5
Some really beautiful music. Please don’t make me listen anymore.
Bruce Springsteen
4/5
I’ve never been more on the fence between a 4 and a 5. For the first time during this project, I relistened to the album. It was a 4, but I don’t think there’s a single song on here that is less than a 4 star song. There’s one or two 5 star songs, but not enough to pull the entire album up there.
I feel like I’m pretty well versed in Bruce and it wasn’t my first time hearing this album, but it’s been awhile.
Lauryn Hill
4/5
Really good and really long. I feel like, if you cut this album in half and just took the best half: 5 stars easy.
TV On The Radio
4/5
I’ve never really listened to TV on the Radio. It was weird. It hit me juuuuuust right.
Elliott Smith
4/5
Another solid showing from Eliot Smith.
Willie Nelson
5/5
Back in the aughts, I went to see Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson. I went in wanting to see Bob, I came out a Willie Nelson fan. His set was one of my favorite concerts I’d been to. He took me so pleasantly by surprise, as I had no interest in him to that point.
Anyway, I love Willie and I love this album.
The Smiths
4/5
What a good week from the list generator.
The Smiths is one of those bands that I feel like I should like, so every once in awhile, I’ll put on one of their albums. This time, I got it. A very enjoyable listen.
Franz Ferdinand
4/5
You ever get excited to see what today’s album is, pull it up, and then get really disappointed? That happened to me on this one.
Then, for the first time in a few years, I listened to this and remembered how great it is. I’m not sure why I was disappointed at first, because I’ve listened to this album quite a bit in my past. I think I lumped them in with The Killers in my brain. This was better.
Favorite tack: Michael - a million stars
Siouxsie And The Banshees
3/5
I wanted to like this more, but it was all pretty uninteresting. I enjoyed it at first, but by the end, I was over it. I don’t like the vocals, especially the yelps and growls. The rest of the music just didn’t seem to have the energy to fit that. Either did the rest of the singer’s performance. This got real close to getting a two.
Beatles
5/5
My favorite Beatles album, an easy five stars. The top rated on here for a reason, I don’t know what else to say.
John Coltrane
4/5
I think the drumming sold this for me. Or maybe the piano. Or the bass. Or, you know what. John Coltrane put together a really great ensemble and recorded a really cool album. I have a complicated relationship with jazz. Especially the Miles Davis/John Coltrane end of the spectrum. But this was really great.
Metallica
2/5
Holy fuck. It was ok, but over two hours long. I didn’t want to listen to this, I listened to it, it took all morning, it gets a 2.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
4/5
This started out five stars and dropped off in quality after the third song. The rest of the album was great too, though. I overall greatly enjoyed this.
Peter Gabriel
3/5
Solsbury Hill is a nice song. The rest of the album was pleasant enough, but a little too weird without being interesting. Also, too much echo in the vocals.
3/5
I liked it and there were some songs that were very good. This grated on me, though.
Red Hot Chili Peppers
4/5
I’ve never sat down and listened to this one, but turns out I’ve heard a lot of it anyway. You know…it was pretty good. The band played well together and did some cool arrangements. I think all the hits are 4 star songs. The rest was good, but not at that level. Although, not enough to drag it down.
Jurassic 5
5/5
Really, really great. Wow.
Foo Fighters
3/5
The most 3 album I ever heard in my life.
Maxwell
3/5
Now I know what they mean when they say music is smooth. This went down really easy. It was an hour of nothing, but I didn’t hate it.
Traffic
3/5
I wasn’t familiar with Traffic, and I dug their sound. There’s some four and five star songs on here. Cut out the fat, and you’ve got a four star album.
Sigur Rós
3/5
Is that an ALIEN? With an umbilical cord?! Blew my mind, man.
I liked this. It didn’t blow me away, but it was pleasant to listen to with earbuds while working.
Justice
3/5
I was so not looking forward to this, but it was one of the better electronicas we’ve heard so far. There’s some repetition, but you can tell that they put a lot of effort into coming up with cool riffs and sounds to put it together as a composition. I think they did a really nice job and I felt mostly like I was listening to an actual song or musical piece, rather than dunchicdunchicboboombom.
Solomon Burke
4/5
A great voice, a great album. This starts out with three 4 and 5 star songs, and then settles in to finish out with 3 and 4 star songs the rest of the way. A really nice listen.
Led Zeppelin
3/5
Hot take: Jimmy Page is a fantastic guitar player. I could listen to him play guitar all day.
Hotter take: Robert Plant grates on me at times and the band’s final product can, at times, leave me wanting. You know who Robert Plant reminds me of? Janis Joplin. This project sparked a new fondness for Janis in me. For Robert? Not yet, at least.
Don’t get me wrong, there’s some 5 star songs from them, including the one on this album that starts it out. But Jimmy carries this band.
The Flying Burrito Brothers
5/5
Coincidentally, the past few month, I’ve started dipping my toes in Gram Parson’s tragically smaller-than-it-should-be discography. I hadn’t listened to this one yet. I loved it.
I used to hear about The Flying Burrito Brothers and I think the name made me feel like they were a novelty country group more akin to Homer and Jethro. No shade on Homer and Jethro, as I have a particular fondness of especially Jethro from his association with Steve Goodman. But it prevented me from checking out the Burrito Bros. A shame, as I’ve been learning how good they were.
Sly & The Family Stone
5/5
Ooooo, shit. I’ve listened to this in the past few months, but this hit so good today. The tones, the arrangements, everything. So, so good.
Pixies
5/5
My favorite album from one of my all time favorite bands. This is one that I try to imagine it’s the first time I’m hearing it whenever I listen.
This band is greater than the sum of their parts. Every member is essential to what they made.
Fleetwood Mac
3/5
I’ve never really liked Fleetwood Mac, especially Stevie Nicks. However, because I am not the only one curating my growing vinyl collection, there are several of their albums included. I recently listened to Rumors on vinyl and begrudgingly loved it. So, I had mixed hopes about this one.
I liked it and admit that they ar ever talented. Good musicianship and well produced/made. Some of the songs didn’t hit for me, though, and it was overly long. All in all, I’m coming around on them, but I think this just isn’t one of my favorites of theirs.
Ali Farka Touré
3/5
Ry Cooder is always great and this had flashes of what I’ve liked so much about other World music we’ve heard in this list, but Thais didn’t grab me like the others. Still pretty good, though.
Morrissey
2/5
Boy, was I not excited to listened to this. It started out that I might actually at least be OK with it, and there were one or two or three songs I liked throughout. But, overall, what a mediocre album by an awful person.
Saint Etienne
3/5
Nice and easy to listen to. Cool in the background while I worked, but didn’t blow me away. If another album by this band came up on the list, I wouldn’t be mad.
Willie Nelson
5/5
I love, love, love this album. It’s my favorite from Willie and if I ever ranked my top 10 all time favorite albums, it’d at least be in consideration for the list. This is great to put on the record player while you’re doing things around the house, or playing board games, or, like today, in the morning easing into the day.
I love Willie’s singing and guitar. Especially the solos and the guitar tone on the solos. Willie is a national treasure.
Sex Pistols
3/5
I’ve tried in the past, and I tried again today. I just can’t get into it.
Ride
3/5
Noisy. Cool. I liked it OK, but not enough to seek out more.
The Sabres Of Paradise
3/5
Actually. I kind of liked it. Is this project indoctrinating me? I was expecting to hate it and was so not looking forward to listening. But I thought the sounds were really interesting and they did a cool job. At one point during my listen, I considered giving this a four.
Jefferson Airplane
3/5
Not sure what to say. I just might have been in a bad mood for this listen, but I feel like I just listened to an entire album because White Rabbit is on it.
The Cure
3/5
One or two four star songs, but an overall three of an album.
Little Richard
3/5
I can’t help but compare Little Richard to Jerry Lee Lewis, as they were both old, piano rockers. I know Richard is held in higher regard, and his influence on music has been vast. I like his music, but hearing it now, it doesn’t have the same oomph as it would have back then. I honestly think I prefer some music of other old R&B and rock acts. But I like this OK.
Jungle Brothers
3/5
This had some old school hip hop vibes. I enjoyed it, and it definitely had its peaks, but it didn’t blow me away.
Kings of Leon
3/5
Pretty OK
The Blue Nile
4/5
I had never heard of this band and legit looked up.if David Byrne somehow had a side project I inexplicably didn’t know about.
This is the shit I signed up for. I liked it a lot.
R.E.M.
4/5
One thing that I appreciate about this project is that it is making me realize how much I like REM.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
5/5
For some reason, I didn’t want to give this a five. Maybe because CCR is played out and I knew all the big songs on here already? And because there were songs on here I wasn’t as familiar with and I thought therefore they must not be very good?
Anyway. Dang. This is a five that caught me by surprise. The five star songs are five star songs. The others are also very good. The tones and the sound of this was fantastic and JF’s vocals are top notch.
4/5
You know Rory Gilmore is cool because she likes PJ Harvey, and the guy who teases Rory because he likes her is lame because he doesn’t even know who PJ Harvey is. Also, he was an asshole and should’ve just been nice to Rory whether or not Rory was “into” him.
Jethro Tull
3/5
I recently have a new setup for my record player and have really been enjoying listening to records and how good they sound. Since then, this is the first album to come up that I’ve had on vinyl, it being one of my father’s old records that doesn’t get any play from me. So, I threw it on the record player.
And I was a little disappointed.
3/5
For some reason, it feels like I’ve heard about this album in the past few months, but it was by someone else? At first I thought I it might that another band had an album called that, but it doesn’t look like it. I have to be conflating it with something.
Pretty uneven, but I kind of dug it. When it was just noise, not so much, but when they had a groove going and some lyrics…yeah! I can listen to that.
I agree with some of the other reviews on here. Despite my rating, I question as to why this was on the list at all?
Herbie Hancock
3/5
I hadn’t heard this before. I liked it and may give it another listen sometime.
The Smiths
3/5
Not as good as our last Smiths. Better than the last Morrisey. I think I’m good on both. How much more could possibly be on this list?
Talking Heads
4/5
Not their best album, but still a great album. There are several five star songs, several four star, and one or two three star. I don’t think the balance was enough to give this album a 5, and a lot of this all sounded the same, but I very much like it and I love Talking Heads! I recently saw Stop Making Sense during its theater run and it was glorious.
Shuggie Otis
3/5
A serviceable funk album. Didn’t blow me away.
The Afghan Whigs
2/5
Ooof. Like a lot of the reviews on here, this band has always been on my periphery, but I’ve never checked them out. It wasn’t what I was expecting. I was expecting a band that I’ve always thought I’d like if I checked them out. I got a whiney guy that didn’t sound fun.
Muddy Waters
4/5
Muddy was a legend and a pioneer. One of a small group of folks that, if they never existed, music would sound COMPLETELY different today. That he got the right group of people around him and turned out this gem in the 70s is extraordinary. I think he’s always worth a listen and this is great, but does not reach the same level he did as a younger man.
Eagles
3/5
Slick, easy listening. I sometimes think The Eagles unfairly get shit on. Sure, they’re not doing anything exciting or innovative, but they were one of the best at what they did do and made some songs that I like. Hotel California is played out, like a lot of their songs. I think they’re a 3 band that made a 3 album. If other people love it, that’s cool.
The Who
2/5
You knooooooooow……….not great. I was not excited when this came up, but figured I’d give it at least a three. But it didn’t earn it, and instead just had a bunch of weird, lamenting with bad rhymes.
Elvis Presley
4/5
I took a course on Elvis Presley in college. No kidding. I wrote a 30 page paper on Elvis’ relationship to John Lennon. For real! I got an A! Best research ever.
That being said, I’m something of an Elvisologist myself.
I do prefer early Elvis, his Sun Records stuff is fantastic. I like him most when he’s crooning. But, I think “Don’t” is my favorite of his, because of his vocal performance.
BUT we cannot overlook Late 60s Elvis! He did some good stuff during this time period, and this album has some good, and some iffy (Power of My Love is pretty rapey), songs. And, at times, that crooning came through. This is a solid album, and I give it a 4.
Björk
4/5
I’ve always been fascinated by Björk. I listen to an album of hers every now and again, but I wouldn’t consider myself an active fan. I dig her whole vibe, though. And I enjoyed this a lot. Very beautiful music. Another instance where I’m thankful this project made me listen to an album.
Count Basie & His Orchestra
3/5
I was excited for this one, but it left me wanting.
Björk
4/5
Another Björk, another 4
Lou Reed
3/5
While, I prefer Velvet Underground, I do like some Lou Reed solo stuff. This didn’t do it for me, but was pretty good.
Britney Spears
1/5
This is a big contrast to the types of albums we’ve listened to so far. I’m, of course, familiar with all the hits in this, as I was in high school when it came out.
I came in with an open mind, but once I got to Soda Pop, I knew: I do not like this. This is not surprising, but I also wouldn’t have been surprised to come out of it thinking “Actually, that’s a really good album!”
It feels a little mean to give this a 1, but the last half of this is so, so, so bad.
Skepta
3/5
This was fine. Not as good as some other British rap we’ve listened to for this project, and pretty indicative of the tastes/geographical location of the editor of this list.
The Prodigy
2/5
Out of 174 albums so far, this is the 15th electronica album! Last time I did the math, we were on track for 74 electronica albums. Now we are on track for 86.
I can assure the creators of this list: I do not need to hear a single. other. electronica album before I die. I get it. Please. I’m begging.
Sister Sledge
2/5
I didn’t love it. Too much disco, but there was some funky guitar. There were some three star songs on here, but too much of the rest grated on me. Also, I had to listen to We Are Family while not at a wedding reception.
Jane Weaver
3/5
I liked this. I had never heard of the artist before.
Bill Callahan
4/5
I hadn’t heard this before and really liked it.
Ice Cube
3/5
This was alright. It had Good Day on it. Also, it’s pretty frustrating to hear some music from so long ago and realize how little progress we’ve made as a society since then.
Michael Kiwanuka
4/5
Really great. I didn’t know this artist and enjoyed this a lot but didn’t quite reach five stars, but I’d listen to more of this guy.
Bob Dylan
5/5
I listen to this album every few months. It’s an all-time favorite of mine, and not even my favorite Dylan album. I just bought this on vinyl and it sounds greeeeeeat.
I will admit, sometimes this album feels like Bob bought a harmonica right before recording and was super excited about it. So much harmonica! Despite that, this is a masterpiece.
Funkadelic
4/5
This slapped.
The Kinks
5/5
The Kinks are uneven through their career. But this is great. It’s not my first time listening to this, and it won’t be my last
It is, however, the first time I’ve rated it. I bounced back and forth between a four and a five on it. During Animal Farm, I was thinking it’s a 4. By the end of the same song, I was back at a 5.
I think there overall sound of this album and the strength of the songs get it a five, despite there being a few three and four star songs.
Meat Puppets
4/5
I enjoyed this way more than I thought I would. It was great. I went back and forth about how I feel about the vocals, but I like them!
ABBA
2/5
Although, I inexplicably love Fernando, it couldn’t save te rest of this for me.
The White Stripes
4/5
Man, this band hit when I was in college. I loved them. And I still do.
Willie Colón & Rubén Blades
4/5
This was great.
Hookworms
3/5
This was fine. I’ve had a complicated relationship with electronica during this project, but I think I’ve found that I’m OK with actual songs with electronica backing (Bjork).
I didn’t hate this, but it had very little impact on me. So, little in fact that I was listening to this on my earbuds while cleaning the kitchen and almost asked Alexa to play something until I remembered I already was.
Fairport Convention
4/5
I had never heard of this band and really enjoyed this. I might check out more, although I know the singer leaves the band and tragically dies.
The Velvet Underground
5/5
What a great album. I used to not like the Nico tracks, but have come around on them since watching the VU doc.
Dire Straits
3/5
Sultans of Swing is a five star song. The rest? Pretty meh.
David Bowie
3/5
How many Bowie’s does this make for us? This generator seems as though it’s got certain genres or artists bunched up in it. Either that, or there are TONS of Bowie and Bjork and electronica and British hip hop in this. And hardly any Rolling Stones or Beatles.
Anyway. Pretty good, but not my favorite of his we’ve listened to. It feels like we all just sort of decided that Golden Years is a good song, even though it’s not great.
Nas
4/5
This was great, except for the typical 90s rap problematic lyrics.
Rod Stewart
3/5
I’ve always really liked Rod Stewart’s hits, but not enough to seek out his other stuff, or listen to him past what I hear on the radio.
This was fine, but Maggie Mae is the standout. The rest, at times, creeps towards the cringy/eye-rolly Rod Stewart that society (perhaps unfairly) sometimes chalks his music up to.
Sufjan Stevens
4/5
This is another one I heard the sound of in my head when it came up. It really takes me back. It’s great, but doesn’t quite get up to a 5, though.
The White Stripes
3/5
As a recovering White Stripes fan, I remember when this came out. And I remember being disappointed. It’s fine, and there’s one or two four star songs on here, but this is the start of Jack White’s decline. I didn’t like the next album much, either. I wouldn’t put this one on this list, but wouldn’t argue with putting any of their previous albums on there.
Norah Jones
3/5
This has a vibe that I would usually be into. But it’s boring. I don’t get why this was so huge. It’s fine, but I’d listen to Stardust over this any day of the week.
Richard Hawley
3/5
Another boring album, but this time one I hadn’t heard of by someone I haven’t heard of.
This was OK, but didn’t really do anything for me. It could be the type of thing that I end up loving after a few listens, but more likely is something I will never think about again after today.
The Rolling Stones
3/5
The Stones can be hit or miss for me and I never got the hype. The notion that they could be as good as The Beatles is ludicrous.
I liked this album alright, but for a lot of it, there was something off about it. The first and last songs are 5 star, though.
Adele
5/5
Holy fuck, this caught me by surprise. We had that other Adele album that was just OK, so when this came up, I expected it to be more of the same.
Then Rolling in the Deep came up, and I was like “Well, this is a fantastic song, but we all knew that. The rest of the album, surely, is just going to be meh.”
Boy, was I wrong. I got blindsided by an album that I did NOT want to give a 5 to, but I can’t do anything else. I loved it.
Nirvana
4/5
A nice mixture of four and five star songs. It hits some pretty high highs. I find myself revisiting Nevermind more often, but we’ll see where it compares to this one. I would’ve loved to see where Kurt’s music went after this.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
2/5
My least favorite part of Graceland. Ladysmith Black Mambazo are clearly very talented, but just not my thing.
This album displays the boring, whateverness I get from the group. I kept waiting for the music to kick in like Diamonds on the Souls of He Shoes. Instead, I want to skip the whole thing like I do for Homeless every time I listen to Graceland.
Ray Charles
3/5
This one displays Ray’s great talent and vocal ability. He really could do it all.
But what he did here was a little boring. I hope we get some of his rockers on this list.
Wilco
4/5
Yep. This is that album. Still really good. Still sounds like it was made when it was.
Prince
5/5
It’s 1999. By Prince.
Amy Winehouse
4/5
Really good and really sad. It’s a shame that she didn’t come out the other side of what she was going through.
This had a bunch of great music on it, but couldn’t quite get to a five for me, for whatever reason. She deserves all the accolades and recognition she got.
Stevie Wonder
5/5
Not every Stevie Wonder is five stars. However, he had an era in his career where he churned them out, and this is one of them. He’ll always be one of my favorites because of this output.
The War On Drugs
2/5
I liked the first song, I just didn’t need to listen to it for an hour. Turned out to be a loooooong, boring lump that all sounded the same.
The Byrds
4/5
I like country more than the average person. This was good.
Meat Loaf
4/5
This album never goes below a 4, and spends some time at 5, but I think it all comes out to a very solid four stars.
There’s not much to say about this that hasn’t been said so many times already. It’s great, and I’ve always loved Paradise By The Dashboard Light (I remember the first time I heard it.)
I passed on buying this vinyl recently, and listening now, I kind of regret it.
Elvis Presley
4/5
This displays how fantastic of a performer Elvis was. There’s some great songs and some not great songs, but, man, it’s fun to imagine that guy singing all sorts of different types of music. Can you imagine him fronting, like, Aerosmith?
Todd Rundgren
3/5
I texted Mark and told him it should be illegal to make me listen to 90 minutes of this.
I actually thought it was OK, but not great. Way too long. Why he didn’t just split this into two albums is beyond me.
The United States Of America
2/5
I had never heard of this and was excited to listen. I was disappointed. I’ve heard way better psychedelic music from the 60s. This reminded me of Velvet Underground and Jefferson Airplane, but worse.
Fela Kuti
4/5
This was great! It got noticeably better when Ginger Baker joined.
Deep Purple
2/5
Not great. They sounded like a generic, local hard rock band. Nothing particularly special about their lazy riffs, mediocre guitar playing, or weak vocals.
The Cure
4/5
I never got into The Cure, but I liked this a lot. I might have to check out more.
Curtis Mayfield
4/5
I love soul and funk music, especially 60s/70s era. This was very good, but Mr. Mayfield’s falsetto didn’t hit my ear right at times, so it couldn’t get up to a five.
David Bowie
3/5
I remember when this came out and Bowie died. A pretty interesting entry in the “This is my mortality album” genre, as nobody knew he was dying.
Along those lines, I’d like to impartially recommend Seven Psalms by Paul Simon. It’s a 30 minute song about how he’s scared to die. And it’s great.
Ms. Dynamite
4/5
I liked this quite a bit. It had some fun R&B and some interesting arrangements.
Jimi Hendrix
4/5
This was good. I started out at a 3, but I thought it ended very strong.
R.E.M.
4/5
I liked it a lot. I agree with REM that Stand is a dumb song. But it’s great. This had some Michael Stipe droning in that I don’t typically like, so it got drug down to a 4. All in all, I think REM was a fantastic band.
Arctic Monkeys
4/5
I had never given this band a chance, which is a shame, because I quite liked this.
Ramones
5/5
So fucking cool. These guys did this better than anyone.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
4/5
I’ve always liked this band. Dang, the generator kind of killed it while I was on vacation, huh? It’s been fun catching up.
The Black Crowes
2/5
This was pretty bad.
Pretenders
4/5
Some really cool songs. A few five star-ers. A very solid overall 4. I liked it a lot.
MC Solaar
3/5
This had cool tracks and samples. I enjoyed it a lot. I don’t know if being able to understand him would have hurt or helped, because I don’t know what he was saying.
N.W.A.
3/5
Yeeeeeeesh. Some of those lyrics didn’t age well.
Beach House
3/5
I liked this alright. Wouldn’t be mad if another of theirs came up.
Curtis Mayfield
5/5
Oh, yeah. That’s the shit. *chef’s kiss*
5/5
Very Kinsky, very good. I had never listened to this one before and I think I might have loved it.
CHVRCHES
3/5
This wasn’t bad at all. I enjoyed it, but caught myself tuning out by the end.
David Bowie
4/5
Jesus Christ, is Bowie’s entire discography on this list? We’re 250 in and this is, like, the 10th album of his to show up. I initially enjoyed it to the point that I started checking him out more independently. I don’t think he earned this type of representation over a lot of other musicians.
Anyway….this is a 4.
Metallica
3/5
Listen, I’m by no means a metal guy. And I can’t dispute that this should be on this list. Buuuuuut….. This was pretty meh for me, and at times, I found myself rolling my eyes at it. I’ve heard metal that I like much more.
Eminem
4/5
Eminem is so talented and this album is a masterpiece. He’s a fantastic song writer and performer. I still listen to his albums every once in a while.
That being said: I can’t get behind his whole “I’m just saying it. I don’t mean it or condone it” thing while pointing at the media and parents as the villains. A lot of his content is reprehensible. So that all drags this down a star.
Derek & The Dominos
2/5
This album has a bunch of under 3 star songs, maybe some three star songs, and Layla (which is a song I never really liked anyway). It sits pretty consistently at a 2, and that’s what I’m going to give it. And it’s so damn long.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
4/5
It’s been a long time since I’ve given Bob Marley a chance. I’ve only ever really gotten into one or two of his hits. I think that’s a shame, because I really enjoyed this all the way through. I know it’s not a hot take to say that, but there you go.
Happy Mondays
4/5
I had never heard of this band or album. I liked it quite a bit.
Solange
3/5
This had some powerful, well written messages. Musically, though, it was too same-y all the way through without being something I really enjoy listening to. A good album for sure, but perhaps just not for me.
Van Halen
3/5
It is what it is. No big surprises.
Metallica
4/5
I was very not excited for this and it turned out to be my favorite Metallica so far.
Leonard Cohen
3/5
Look, I like Leonard Cohen. But I feel like for a stretch there, he was a little too Leonard Cohen-y. And this isn’t even the best album during that stretch.
Einstürzende Neubauten
1/5
I like noise in my music, and I like some industrial, “experimental” noise rock. Kraftwerk. Can. This, though, was too far on the noise end of the spectrum. I guess all the noises count as music because there’s a steady pulse? This was unlistenable. Not for me.
Butthole Surfers
2/5
I saw my mom yesterday after listening to this and told her “Satan” and now I’m grounded and not allowed to listen to The Butthole Surfers anymore. I’m OK with that.
Beck
4/5
I like Beck and I liked this.
Fats Domino
3/5
Fats is good and Blueberry Hill is top notch, but the rest of this was pretty just OK.
Bob Dylan
5/5
My favorite Dylan album. I used to not like it, but it’s grown on me and now I love every song.
Lilly, Rosemary, and The Jack of Hearts? Banger.
Idiot Wind? Banger.
Tangled up in Blue? Simple Twist of Fate? Buckets of Rain? Banger. Banger. Banger.
I will admit, at times on this album, and on others, his attitude towards women in questionable. But you know what? FIVE STARS.
Beastie Boys
5/5
A lot of fun, a great album, absolutely deserving to be in this list.
These guys were so good. All the samples and production was done really well, and their personalities really come through.
James Taylor
3/5
This album has always just been OK for me. I’ve never been super into James Taylor. Acoustic or Acoustic/Electric folksy music is usually my thing, but this guy seems so docile. Reading other reviews, I think the “sappy” and “sugary” criticisms are fair and probably the biggest knock against it for me.
Don’t get me wrong, this is still a three, but if Cat Stevens did this album, it probably would’ve gotten a five.
Alanis Morissette
5/5
I’m very familiar with this album. This was my sister’s favorite back then, and it gets listened to in my household to this day. Usually just a song or two, but I’ve listened to it all the way through within the past couple years.
Its highs are VERY high. Its lows are …pretty high.
I came into this knowing I’d give it higher than a 3, but like “What’s The Story Morning Glory “ this listen reminded me:
Even though this “sounds like the 90s,” it’s a goddamn masterpiece.
Fatboy Slim
3/5
One of the better (maybe the best?) electronica albums we’ve heard so far. This was much more fun and interesting than previous ones, and I didn’t mind listening to this at all. He did a lot of cool effects, and beats, and variations. But, it was still too long and repetitive for me, and I’m sure that’s just personal taste and, ultimately, maybe this genre just isn’t overall for me.
Dexys Midnight Runners
3/5
I liked this less than I thought I would. I think it’s wrong to give us an entire album just because one song is in it, but here we are.
This album ranged from “I don’t really like this” to “This is OK” to “Oh, shit. Come on Eileen is a banger!”
Evens out to a three, but without the last song, it could’ve gotten a 2.
Traffic
3/5
I didn’t hate it, I didn’t love it. A nice, quick album with some decent vibes. I’m not mad I listened.
Ryan Adams
2/5
Eeeeeh. It had some OK songs, especially on the first half. But overall, I didn’t like this much. I can see where people like his music, but there’s just some quality about it that I’m not liking. Maybe it’s because he’s an abusive douchebag.
Bob Dylan
5/5
Oh, this was great. I had the day off, so I got high and listened to this and loved it. It didn’t used to be, but it’s now in the pantheon with Blonde on Blonde and Blood on the Tracks.
The Go-Go's
4/5
This one caught me by surprise. I liked it more than I thought. There were songs I didn’t know that were legit bops. I liked the instrumentation and the vocals. Overall, a fun listen.
Electric Light Orchestra
4/5
Pretty Beatles-y. Pretty good.
Aretha Franklin
5/5
I’ve always been a big Aretha fan.
This is an easy 5, and would probably come in the top 3 if I were to rank her albums. My favorite album of hers is “I Never Loved a Man…”
Thin Lizzy
3/5
This was OK. I didn’t like the vocalist much, but the band was pretty good. This was long, harmless, and fine.
Kanye West
4/5
I legit think Kanye is a creative genius. I disagree with just about everything about him as a person, though.
This album is very good, but I don’t think it’s his peak. I think some of the features in the middle and near the end drug it down for me.
Led Zeppelin
3/5
I have the same perspective as last time:
Jimmy Page is a fantastic guitar player
Robert Plant’s vocal aren’t my thing
It can sound pretty same-y and I don’t dig the sound enough to not care.
However, this album had much higher peaks for me. I freaking loved “You Shook Me.”
Terence Trent D'Arby
3/5
I had mixed feelings about this. I didn’t think the song writing was very strong, and his vocals weren’t great.
But, overall, this was fine and I didn’t dislike it enough to give it a 2.
3/5
[Liverpool 2005 - four men in tweed jackets sit around a table]
Man 1: So, what albums should go on this list?
Man 2: Well, first of all, every Blur album.
All: Ah, yes. Very British. Very British.
(They pour tea)
Public Enemy
4/5
This one caught me by surprise. I thought it was very good!
The Who
4/5
I’ve never been a big Who fan, but there’s been songs of there’s that I’ve really enjoyed. I really liked this album, though. The hits are great and the rest of it was decent too. I’m not sure it’s a 5 star, but it’s a solid four star.
Rush
3/5
This was alright. Never really been into Rush, but I won’t be mad when they inevitably come up again.
Joan Baez
4/5
I never gave Joan a fair chance, but I get it now. She’s great. This was a wonderful recording of old folks tunes. I like her voice and the arrangements.
The Triffids
2/5
There were one or two songs on this I liked, but the rest I really did not.
Dexys Midnight Runners
3/5
I was shocked that a second album by Dexys Midnight Runners was on this list. And yet PUSA isn’t?!
Anyway, I actually like this more than the last one, but not by much.
Funkadelic
5/5
I’d consider myself a fan of George Clinton and all of the projects he’s led. I’m pretty familiar with this album, having listened to it on several occasions, the last time being within the past year or so. It’s great!
I really enjoy the playing on this, especially the guitars. And I think this has a lot of really fun, interesting percussive sounds in it.
Jimi Hendrix
5/5
I was familiar with the big songs on this, but not the rest. I didn’t expect I’d give this a 5, but here we are. I’m not sure how I could not after hearing that.
Brian Wilson
3/5
I’ve done a deep dive or two on The Beach Boys, and I saw Brian Wilson live when he did his Pets Sounds tour. It was an OK concert.
I remember when this came out and all the hub bub. I have a good friend that was particularly interested in it.
I’ve heard different versions of several of these songs, as well as this album before. I think this is a solid album, but does not capture the magic Brian Wilson used to be capable of. Still, a nice enough listen.
Dolly Parton
5/5
Dolly’s gotten a lot of love in recent years, and she’s very likable and does a lot of good things.
She also works HARD and is a fantastic song writer and performer. This album puts that on display.
k.d. lang
4/5
I never really listened to KD Lang. I enjoyed this a lot.
Led Zeppelin
3/5
Hey, you know what, list? My opinion of this band is changing with the inexplicable volume of their albums you make me listen to. They all sound the same. What is this? 1001 artist whose complete discography you need to hear before you die?
John Lennon
3/5
This fucking guy. I know The Beatles wouldn’t have been half as good without him, but I like Paul’s contributions better. Also, every other Beatle released at least one solo album that was better than any of John’s solo stuff.
This album was OK. I never liked the title track.
Yes
4/5
Yes? More like FUCK YEAH.
Common
4/5
Pretty good! I’d never heard it, and I’m not mad at all.
Peter Gabriel
3/5
Nah. I didn’t need to hear this one before I die. I mean, it’s fine, but I wouldn’t be like “Awwww, man!” when, in the afterlife, I listen to every album I’ve never heard.
Fleetwood Mac
5/5
Fine. I’ve 180ed on this band in the past year or two. I used to not like them, but then the vinyl of this album entered our collection and I listened to it a few months ago and was like “Well, damn.”
I begrudgingly give this five stars. But on the LOWER end of the five star spectrum, don’t get me wrong. Fuck Fleetwood Mac.
The Pogues
2/5
I don’t like Irish punk bands with banjos and accordions. (I see you, Dropkick Murphys)
It all sounds the same to me and I don’t like how it sounds.
Also, I have been forced to see so many Dropkick concerts, that I’m done with it.
Billy Bragg
4/5
I liked this more than I thought I would, although I feel like these interpretations of the lyrics were a bit on the nose. How cool would it be to do something more rock ‘n’ roll, punk, or heavy metal with these lyrics?
Portishead
4/5
I didn’t expect to like this as much as I did. Admittedly, I know very little about Portishead, though. Not a 5, but a solid 4.
The Stooges
5/5
Hell yeah. I’ve never heard this but I can see why it’s on the list and why this band and Iggy are so well regarded.
Miles Davis
5/5
Damn. Maybe I was just in the right mood for this one, but I loved it. Fantastic.
David Bowie
3/5
I’ve heard a lot of Bowie in my time. Some awful, some fantastic. This falls somewhere between the two. I wonder if I’d give this another star if this list weren’t making me so sick of his music.
Scott Walker
4/5
This guy had some cool 50s/60s crooner vibes. I also heard some Glenn Campbell and some Harry Nilsson in there. I’m fond of all three of these things! This albums was really good!
John Lee Hooker
3/5
Boy, did I not like the opening track.
The rest of the album was run of the mill electric blues. Nothing remarkable. I know Hooker can get up to 4 and 5 stars, but he didn’t in this album. The rest of it was at a 3, though.
The Cardigans
5/5
I loved it. Even the Iron Man cover.
Johnny Cash
5/5
A classic for a reason. Folsom Prison Blues is five star, and there’s some other top notch songs on here. I’m not sure this quite gets to five star for me.
Joni Mitchell
5/5
I love Joni and this is my favorite of her albums. I know, not really that hot of a take. I remember back, just when I got out of college, I decided to check out this album, because I was unfamiliar with Joni’s music and always heard it was good. I was so blown away, I took it to my roommates and played it for them. One walked away after a couple songs, and the other called it “boring” and I shut it off. I couldn’t believe it. Anyway, I think this might be my third five star rating in a row, and this was the first one there was no debate in my head about it.
Leonard Cohen
4/5
Pretty Leonard Cohen-y.
The B-52's
4/5
The B-52s are so much more than Love Shack, and I’ve like them for awhile. I have this album on vinyl.
This isn’t all 4 and 5 star songs, it’s got some 3s on here.
And a couple fives: Planet Claire and, my favorite of their songs, of course, the legendary Rock Lobster. What a top notch song. If I went back, I might give some more songs 5?
Even a three star song like Dance This Mess Around ends so weird and wonderful, I can’t really NOT like it.
This is a solid four stars. Very weird, very rocking, very fun.
Muddy Waters
4/5
Another good one, another one I have on vinyl. I’ve already stated my love for Muddy in my last album review for him.
Tears For Fears
4/5
Pretty good! I liked it more than I thought I would.
Miles Davis
3/5
This was a nice enough listen, but different than the other stuff of his I’ve enjoyed more. I know he had different phases of his career and his musicianship evolved.
I didn’t hear anything special in this that would give it above a three, but I didn’t not like it.
Leonard Cohen
4/5
Dang! When this came up, I rolled my eyes and was not excited. We just listened to an album by Cohen and I gave that one a 4.
This album started out a five for me. His aged voice, I think, is where I was taken aback. I still stand by the first few songs being five stars. The rest of the album settled in to his Cohen-ness.
I get the myth behind this and Bowie’s Darkstar. Two old legends releasing an album about death and then immediately dying. This one is better.
Coldplay
2/5
Yeah, you know. I get why people make fun of this band, and I also can see why people like them. I’ve never really actively listened to them, but knew the hits.
Unsurprisingly, I didn’t like this. But, I don’t begrudge people that like/love Coldplay. Good for them! And I’m not going to hate on a band who puts out music that brings so many people joy.
Japan
3/5
This was fine. I didn’t not like it, I guess.
The Specials
4/5
When this came up, I immediately wrote it off as another unimpressive British band that the editor remembers fondly from their youth in the UK.
That might be true, but I actually quite liked it. It’s goofy and a bit hokey, but a lot of fun and I can’t deny I enjoyed listening to it more than a 3 album.
Jimmy Smith
4/5
This was great. I think the organ tone sold me on it. One I’ll definitely pick up if I see the vinyl for sale.
Ice T
4/5
I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. Waaaaaaaay too long, though.
Body Count was cool. The whole thing was cool. The track where he just talks about other rappers and how much he likes and respects them is an interesting contrast to today’s rap landscape.
Overall, I don’t think this being shorter would’ve helped it or the length hurt it. It’s just a solid four, and I’m surprised because we’ve gotten this era of rap album before and they haven’t been this good and I was not initially excited about it.
Also, he predicts that he will never win a Grammy and that Mandela will never win a Nobel prize. Both these things were wrong, and I think within in the next year or two. Did Ice use reverse psychology?
Richard Thompson
5/5
Oh, yeah. That’s the shit. I’ve heard it before. I’ll listen again. Linda shines through on this one.
Femi Kuti
4/5
A solid 4. A lot of fun beats and instrumentation going on. I could see me putting this on in the kitchen while I’m cooking.
Ella Fitzgerald
4/5
Some reviews on here complain about “Why does Ella Fitzgerald get a box set?” “Why is this so long?”
From what I can tell, these songs were recorded for this release, so I can accept it as being considered an album in the way we think about what an album is.
That being said, this is THREE HOURS and someone can’t be expected to listen to the entire thing in one sitting. But I did.
Ella is fantastic. These songs are great. The sound is good. But, I don’t think you can expect anything to maintain 5 stars for three hours. In the past, an album length alone has dragged some albums down a star. I think here the length causes there to be songs that took this down a peg.
That this album is so long and still gets a four from me says a lot. You could make one or two five star albums out of this by selecting the best tracks. The rest is still very good. She’s a legend for a reason. I’d love to have this in my vinyl collection just to listen to a random side of record every now and again.
Jimi Hendrix
3/5
This one didn’t hit me the same as his others we’ve listened to. Maybe I’ll rate it higher upon another listen.
Sheryl Crow
2/5
It wasn’t greeeeeat, and The Na-Na Song got this a 2.
This sounds like it’s time, and I like All I Wanna do (and her later hits), but this filler just did not do it for me.
Sam Cooke
4/5
Pretty good, and it would’ve been amazing to be there in person. Sam’s voice seems a little more rough than studio recordings, which I guess I prefer. But still a solid 4!
Tom Waits
5/5
It’s Rain Dogs. Rain Dogs? THE Rain Dogs?
Its’s weird and sometimes abrasive, and I’m sure I’m lucky that I first heard it as a young hipster 25 years ago. If I heard it for the first time now, would it be 5 stars? You know…. maybe so. It’s incredible.
A Tribe Called Quest
5/5
Historically, rap and hip hop has been a big gap in my musical consumption. This is a shame, because I know there’s a lot of worthwhile art in those genres.
I do consciously try to rectify that, including listening to albums by this group, as they are so well regarded.
I had not lost to this one yet. It’s fantastic! An easy 5.
The Who
3/5
Another live album where it would have been cool to be there.
I overall like The Who. I bet I could make a one or two hour playlist of their songs and have a blast listening to it. Some of their stuff, though, is not for me.
This was fine, but I didn’t need to hear it.
Bert Jansch
3/5
Sometimes I feel like if you’ve heard one not very well know folk artist from the London scene or the Greenwich Village scene in the 60s, you've heard them all.
D'Angelo
4/5
This might have just caught me in the right mood, but this was great.
The Prodigy
2/5
I thought we were done with electronica.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
3/5
I’ve always liked Tom Petty just fine and I agree there probably should be at least an album of his on here. But shouldn’t that album be Wildflowers? (I bet that’s on here too)
Listening to this album, I thought to myself. “Are there 1001 albums I’d rather listen to than this?”
That hard to actually answer, but this is a three album if I ever heard one.
George Harrison
5/5
Whelp, I just listened to this a couple weeks ago and even thought to myself, “You know if you listen to this it’s going to come up on that album generator real fast.”
I was right. I wouldn’t mind so much, if this weren’t so long. But I listened again.
I’ve heard of this album as the one that George made with all the songs John and Paul wouldn’t let him do. And isn’t it a shame? Look at all these great songs!
This is a great album. There is a sentiment that it’d be five stars if you trim the fat. There’s a lot of filler, but the filler is all REALLY good. The peaks of this are amazing. Before I listened to this the second time, I thought it’d be a four. But a second listen after a couple of weeks and I’m over here like, “I meeeeeaaaan….. it’s a 5!”
Lucinda Williams
4/5
As those of you reading this may be unsurprised to hear: I really liked this. It’s not my first listen, it won’t be my last.
The Killers
3/5
Perhaps it’s just the dim aftermath of the events of yesterday that have left me with a disconnected inability to enjoy things, but the numbness I felt while listening to this gave me a pretty “meh” reaction to it. It’s fine.
Pentangle
4/5
Bert Janch, you sneaky SOB. You did it. Here’s your four stars.
I was fully expecting this to be a three, but it had enough very good songs on it, and I liked the musicians enough.
Green Day
4/5
Whatever, list generator. No way this was random. Anyway…this album is really good.
Elvis Costello
5/5
This has always been a favorite of mine and this listen was great.
Robert Wyatt
4/5
This is the type of album that makes me happy about doing this project. I had never heard of this musician, want excited about it, and was pleasantly surprised.
Christine and the Queens
1/5
I did NOT need to hear that. I hated it.
Thelonious Monk
4/5
I loved Pannonica. The rest was pretty good too.
Nirvana
5/5
I’ve long stood by the opinion that there a lot of songs in here that are better than Smells Like Teen Spirit, including tracks 2 and 3. But, this is a no doubt five star album no matter how you rank the songs. Da doi.
Santana
3/5
This was fine. Pretty familiar, even the songs I hadn’t heard. Carlos is a good guitar player, but there’s always been something about Santana that I’ve been unexcited by. Maybe Supernatural ruined it for me.
Mike Oldfield
4/5
This guy recorded this when he was 19? Pretty impressive.
Led Zeppelin
3/5
Yo, album generator, Led Zeppelin is a 3 band for me. How many times do I have to tell you?
Can
5/5
Fucking Can! I, of course, was comparing this to Tago Mago. Tago Mago had the half that blew me away, and then the half that was very noisy and I did not like.
This didn’t have the second half to it, so I just compared it to the first half of Tago Mago. The first half of that album was 5+ stars. This wasn’t as good, but I still enjoyed it as good. As I listened, I was between 4 and 5 stars…but Moonshake and Bel Air got it the 5. I listened to this two times in a row.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
4/5
We appear to be entering the Elvis Costello phase of the generator.
This is very good, but does not have that same something that My Aim Is True has. I wonder if this album is suffering from us listening to them both so close together and my comparison between the two. Would this get a 5 if it were first? No way to tell. (Probably not)
The Cars
5/5
Oh, dang. I can’t remember the last time I listened to this entire thing. It starts out STRONG. The quality drops off a bit, but not enough to drag this down to a four for me.
What a nice surprise. I thought this would be a 3, maybe a 4.
Cocteau Twins
3/5
It was fine. I didn’t hate it, it just didn’t grab me.
Shivkumar Sharma
3/5
I’m glad that I read the reviews for this and figured out it’s not actually the album in streaming. I went to YouTube to listen. It was enjoyable, but I don’t think I’ll revisit.
Minutemen
4/5
It was indeed long. It was indeed fantastic. Several five star songs.
Elton John
3/5
I always thought that this was one of Elton’s least well regarded albums and his least personal favorite. But it’s got Tiny Dancer on it, so I guess it goes on the list. I was surprised to see this on here, and surprised it’s so highly rated.
That being said, this was fine. Tony Dancer and a bunch of unremarkable songs that were all threes.
Earth, Wind & Fire
3/5
I had high hopes for this, but it fell flat for me. I enjoy funk and soul a lot, but this was just OK funk and soul.
Björk
2/5
I can’t argue against more than one Bjork album being on here, but I am starting to suspect she is one of the artists that also has too many.
This was a chore.
PJ Harvey
4/5
Pretty good!
The Sugarcubes
4/5
I think that’s a project wrap on Bjork already. One thing I learned: I really like Bjork. Here’s to never listening to her again.
Beatles
4/5
There’s no denying that these guys were on a whole other level when making music. Some of the best musicians and songwriters of all time.
That doesn’t mean all their albums are five stars. I can’t argue with this being on the list, it’s just not my favorite of theirs.
Crosby, Stills & Nash
4/5
Suite Judy Blue Eyes is a 5+ Star song. I used to hate it, but now it’s a favorite. The rest of this album is very good, but too same-y for 5 stars. Deja Vu blows this overall album out of the water.
Nick Drake
4/5
I really want to pretend that I’m not impressed with Nick Drake and over it, but this was another one I can’t deny I liked.
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
I’m realizing the major flaw of this list is that it over represents well known artists. The fuck is this doing here?
Trying to figure out how to rationalize putting as many Bowie, Bruce Springsteen, and Elvis Costello albums as you can on here doesn’t seem like the way to go about making this list.
Anyway, I’m sure Bruce doesn’t have more than two or three 2 star albums and there’s no way this is one of them. So, here’s a 3 for it. Congratu-fucking-laciouns.
Isaac Hayes
3/5
I mean. I can see how it’s a cool movie soundtrack?
The Doors
3/5
I liked this more than I thought I would. I still think Jim Morrison is a pretentious, untalented nob that an otherwise good band let force them make not great music.
Black Sabbath
5/5
You can’t argue with the “first” heavy metal album being on this list. Especially such a good one. The next two albums of theirs are better, and I prefer Master of Reality. But this band was great. Did they have a three album run of five stars?!
Stephen Stills
3/5
Stephen Stills is a very talented songwriter and musician.
….but. He’s just not as good as when he made so much 5 star music with Buffalo Springfield and CSNY.
This album is pretty good-ish. It’s got some cool parts. I’ve heard it before and it’s in my vinyl collection. By the end, it had drug down from a 4 to a 3.5 for me. And if I’m going to give it a 4, it’s gotta earn it.
Leonard Cohen
3/5
We’ve got to be done with Cohen by now, right? It’s odd that so many artists are front loaded on this generator.
Burning Spear
3/5
It’s been awhile since I’ve had to listen to one on YouTube. I’m glad I listened to this.
I really liked the song Tradition and the album peaked for me right around there. I also like the horns throughout. It didn’t all add up to more than a 3, but that’s OK. I’d probably even snag this if I ever saw it in a record store. For the vibes.
The Rolling Stones
4/5
When The Stones are good, they’re very good. When they’re not …they aren’t.
Here, The Stones are good! I enjoyed this a lot. I’m sure we’ll get one or two 5 stars from them at some point?
I’m generally lukewarm on Mic Jagger, but I think Keith Richards is a great musician. “Mediocre frontman, fantastic musician” seems to be a theme for me: Zeppelin, Guns ‘n’ Roses, The Doors. But Mic is better than those guys.
Beatles
4/5
If this came out of the blue from a different band I had never heard of, it’s hard to tell what I’d give it. It’s really good. Would it be 5 stars in that context? It’s hard to be objective.
But, this suffers from the impossible task of being compared to The Beatles’ later work, which blows this album away. So, this is a 4 because it’s not as good as Abbey Road. Even though it might be as good or better than some albums I’ve already given 5 stars to.
Grateful Dead
5/5
My favorite Dead album, which isn’t exactly unique, I know.
I had the pleasure of seeing Dead & Company at The Sphere and it was a great experience.
The Fall
5/5
Yeah. This is really, really good. It’s one of this albums that started out with me liking and thinking “Ok, this is a 4 album.”
As it went up, it grew on me even more. I was initially not excited it was an hour, but now I’m OK with it.
Justin Timberlake
1/5
When I used to work retail, Cry Me a River would play on the PA. It was one of the few songs I could tolerate and I still think of it fondly. I enjoyed listening to it this time too.
I almost gave this album a 2 just for that song, but I disliked the other HOUR of music enough that that one good song couldn’t save it.
Eminem
4/5
The absolute way this guy dismissively negates any way his music would have any influence on kids or society, or that his words could be hurtful to women or LGBTQ people. Starting with an incense PSA so you could point to it and say “See? See?! YOU’RE the monsters!”
I mean. He gives the reason to not rape a girl as because she’s underage? Drugging her and doing it would be fine if she’s 18?
I also can see the side of: “This is art, like it or not. It portrays things you don’t like, but it’s still powerful and well done.”
Anyway…a conflicted 4 stars.
OutKast
4/5
Hey Ya is a masterpiece. I remember the first time I heard the song (on the radio in my mother’s van with her and my sister). I remember how huge it was. It was a topic of conversation for at least a couple of weeks while it was growing in popularity. I remember a friend of mine not knowing what it was, going out to his car to listen in a restaurant parking lot (ah, the good ol’ days), and liking it.
OutKast is a great group. Andre has always seemed like the most interesting one. With his flute playing? I listened to that album. It was pretty good.
I actually think, overall, Speakerboxxx is the stronger album here. Who knew! I was tempted to knock this down a star for being two hours long, but I think an overall 4 is fair. There’s some filler I could do without, but a ton of great stuff.
U2
4/5
I’m talking U2 to you!
This was another pretty good one from them. I knew the hits, but never thought I liked them. I now know that I really like at least a few of their albums. Thanks, list generator.
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
4/5
I really liked most of it! Ry Cooder can play guitar! Some of it was meh.
Sparks
4/5
An album I can’t argue with being in this list. A delight. It’s only been the past few years that I’ve heard Sparks. But they rock.
Neil Young
5/5
Neil released a bunch of 5 star music. Is this the best one?
Lou Reed
4/5
It’s a good album. Not perfect. Some of these lyrics don’t quite do it for me.
Talking Heads
3/5
You know… it’s never been my favorite. It’s got some good highlights, but not enough to blow me away.
When I look at the songs in this album, I ask myself how many of my very favorite Talking Heads songs are in this? Not that many.
Suede
3/5
This was fine. Not my typical thing, but I liked it OK.
Buck Owens
3/5
I am a sucker for some twang and had to talk myself out of giving this 4 stars. It’s good. I enjoyed it. It’s not the best country music from this era.
The Verve
2/5
Boy, did I really not want to listen to this. And I was right. I didn’t enjoy it.
Beatles
5/5
Way back, right out of college, I took a job in a call center. My supervisor constantly, for the couple of years I worked there, whistled Yellow Submarine. I asked her about it and she was like “Yeah, it just won’t leave my brain.”
What a wild job, and everyone that worked there are felons now and I’m so glad I left before I got arrested too. (I didn’t do anything illegal while there, but could see myself having been pressured into the shenanigans that happened after I left.)
Anyway, this album reminded me of that. Also, 5 stars.
Elis Regina
3/5
The way that this list has insisted on putting jazz samba on my radar is mind boggling. We really think it’s such an important genre that so many need to be on here? Was there a huge Brazilian music impact on the UK that I’m not aware of but is ingrained in their psyche?
Getting past having to listen to this on YouTube, not being sure it’s the right thing, and discovering this isn’t actually even an album… I liked this. It had some heights, but evens out to a solid 3.
The Crusaders
2/5
I’m genuinely confused as to why someone was insistent enough that I should listen to this that they put it on this list?
It struck me as just generic, regular smooth jazz. Reminds me of music I’d hear in an elevator or shopping mall. It’s just …fine.
I didn’t dislike this. I didn’t like this. It just is.
I feel bad giving this a 2, but the personal scale I’ve been using for these ratings is that a 3 is ‘I liked it at least a little.’
This didn’t earn that.
Kraftwerk
4/5
Pretty great. Is this our first Kraftwerk? I remember the first time I heard them. I was a pre-teen and in the backseat of the car. We were on a mountain road and could only get an AM station. Autobahn came on and I had never heard anything like it. It was so weird and exciting and I couldn’t believe I was the only one in the car paying attention. Then the DJ came on and declared: “That was Autobahn by Kraftwerk.”
I’ve had a soft spot in my heart for them ever since. Of course, Autobahn isn’t on this (I bet we hear it later), but this is so good too.
Cream
3/5
I’ve always liked Sunshine of Your Love, and I liked Blue Condition. The rest of the album was enjoyable enough, but nothing special.
Radiohead
4/5
Sometimes it feels like I’m the type of guy whose favorite band should be Radiohead. They’re not.
Queen Latifah
2/5
Considering the era of rap/hip hop and that I associate QL with Ice Tea and Ice Cube. And that this was an hour. I was not excited to listen. I was right.
Manu Chao
4/5
Not my favorite from Manu, but a really good one.
Gang Of Four
3/5
I liked it OK. Maybe it’s my comparing it to all the better British punk/post-punk music we’ve listened to so far that’s not getting it that 4.
Queen
3/5
I like Queen and think they have a lot of music that sets them apart from other more generic run of the mill glam rock bands. I didn’t hear a lot of it on this album, though.
Taylor Swift
4/5
I’ve tried to get into Taylor Swift in the past. I’ve listened to most of her albums and will put it on when comes out. I’m not sure I like her music?
But this has some great songs on it, and I have nothing against her or people who like her music. Giving this another listen, I’d say it is actually really good. The hit songs are hits for a reason. The other songs are also good, but the last few songs lose me.
Not a 5 album, and I still don’t think this music is my thing, but I can’t deny it good. The songs are well written, produced, and performed.
4/5
A really solid showing from an all time great.
Pixies
4/5
It’s got to be hard to try to keep up the quality of their previous two albums. And they didn’t. Still a really good album, though.
Despite my rating, this could not be on this list, I think. Surfer Rosa and Doolittle are a good enough representation, right? Two of the best albums of all time? Why push it. Maybe could have freed up a slot for the Presidents of the United States of America.
Air
4/5
Electronica is always my least favorite type of music to listen to for this project, and I’ve ranted about how many of them are on here and me being forced, yes, FORCED to listen. It mostly hasn’t been fun.
I think I’m finding myself enjoying some, though. The less repetitive, less EDM ones are good.
The first song on this gave me a lot of hope, because it had a nice grove and I enjoyed it. The second song was also very nice. From there, this was pretty cool! It had fun sounds and grooves, and I enjoyed it a lot.
Elton John
4/5
When I was younger, I was not an Elton John fan. I think Honky Cat was the only song of his I’d tolerate on the radio.
As I’ve progressed in age, I’ve told myself I should be more open to revisiting his music. Maybe I’d end up really liking him.
Since then, I’ve come around on a few of his songs, but haven’t dug into his discography, or anything.
Asking me to listen to 75 minutes of him was daunting. And I used to HATE Bennie and the Jets.
I’ve come around on that song, and liked the other hits.
I liked most of the filler. I originally wanted to give this a 3, but I think it earned a 4, honestly. Really solid stuff, with huge hits and above average filler.
Depeche Mode
3/5
Not my thing, but I didn’t hate it and get why so many people like it.
Morrissey
3/5
Ugh. Fine. Morrisey got a 3 out of me. You happy, list? He’s still a nob, though.
MGMT
5/5
Really, really good. I’d never listened to this. It’s awesome.
The Avalanches
1/5
This generator has been on thin ice with the past several albums in a row having “electronic” listed in the genres. Mostly, it’s been OK or even great.
Until today. My feelings for this type of music are getting stronger and every time I see “electronic” I am filled with dread. I really, really hate listening to 60 minutes of EDM through my earbuds sitting at a desk at work. Generator, I’m begging. Please let this be the last one.
The Zombies
4/5
Really good, really 60s. Not quite up to a 5 for me. Time of the Season is an all time great, though.
The Offspring
3/5
I didn’t hate this. It was pretty meh. I loved the 90s-ness of it. References to compact discs, hidden tracks, trying to sound like Nirvana, etc. A solid three, but nothing special for me. I’d categorize this as “a nice try.”
Missy Elliott
3/5
I was between a 3 and a 4 on this. It had some nice songs and moments, but was just a little too boring.
The Kinks
4/5
This was an interesting one. I like The Kinks and have given one or two albums five stars. This one didn’t quite reach that level, but it’s a solid 4. And while I gave it a 4, I question its need to be included on this list, especially with such a good Kinks representation already.
Big Star
4/5
I was between a four and a five on this, so it got a four. I’ve listened to it before and I think it’s really very good.
The Who
3/5
Nice. Jangly. Nothing special.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
5/5
I’ve never been super into Bob Marley. I, like everyone in the world, owned Legend on CD at one point in my life, but it didn’t get a ton of play.
Recently though, Redemption Song (not on this album, but my favorite of his so far) and Three Little Birds have been in my rotation when I need Alexa to play a song or two while I do dishes or something.
Anyway, I’m not sure I can’t not give this a 5. It’s really good top to bottom, and certainly my vibe. I’m NOT super into Bob Marley now, though.
Billy Joel
4/5
Like Bob Marley, I had a BJ greatest hits CD in high school.
I’d say I was a BJ fan when I first started developing my musical tastes, but that dropped off as I got older. I don’t begrudge the many, many people who get enjoyment from his music, though. He’s brought joy to a lot of people, and that has value. One of those people is Shea. She loves Billy Joel.
This was good. Billy Joel seemed to be able to craft a good pop song of no consequence or real substance. There’s just something about him that makes me think he’s trying so hard to make good music. I’m not sure why that’s a knock against him, but it is.
This gets a four for how good he was at what he did, and how much people like him. BJ is alright in my book.
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
5/5
Hey, I’m surprised too. This was great. The energy, the messages, everything. So good.
The Undertones
3/5
Watered down The Clash.
Blondie
5/5
Dang. Banger after banger. The songs I hadn’t heard before were bangers. The hits were obviously bangers. A great album.
Sly & The Family Stone
4/5
The Sly Stone doc comes out, I watch it, I listen to Sly and the Family Stone all weekend, I even think to myself while preparing dinner yesterday “Wouldn’t it be funny if we got a Sly album tomorrow?” And we did.
I do wonder if they pushed a Sly album to everyone that hadn’t listened to them all yet just because of the doc.
Some really good stuff on here. This is a group I always look for when I’m record shopping.
Arcade Fire
3/5
A little long and boring for me, but ok overall.
Tortoise
3/5
I liked this and would buy the vinyl if I saw it in a record store. It didn’t light my world on fire, but has a cool vibe. I had never heard it before.
Tito Puente
4/5
Pretty fun stuff. It had me bopping my head and tapping my foot while I had my earbuds in at work.
Beatles
3/5
Waaaaaait a minute. Is every Beatles record on this list? Because that’d be ridiculous.
Manic Street Preachers
4/5
I had never heard of this. It sounded like “Make an album that teenager Michael would’ve loved,” so I’m sad I missed it when I was a teenager. But I still really liked it, though an hour was a bit much for 44 year old Michael.
Drive-By Truckers
2/5
If you listed all 600 albums we had left and ask me to rank by my excitement to listen to them, this probably would’ve been in the bottom 50. Listening to all 90 minutes of this was a big ask. Usually these huge albums take me all morning to listen to, but an unrelated change in the household morning routine allowed me to get half of it listened to before I got to work.
I am not sure what to make of some of the messages in this. Genuinely. Musically, it was pretty good overall. A 2 feels like a safe rating. I liked it, I thought it was really long. I don’t think shortening it would’ve given it a higher rating.
Also, Lynyrd Skynrd might be one of my least favorite bands? And they didn’t change my mind.
Morrissey
2/5
Jesus. We done with this asshat yet?
Annnnnnnywaaaaay……I liked it alright. Here’s your 2.
The Allman Brothers Band
3/5
I won’t argue against this being some pretty basic blues rock, but sometimes I get an appetite for some good electric guitar solos, and this has some good electric guitar solos. However, there were a LOT of them, and for every instance of really good playing, there seemed to be a 1:1 of lackluster noodling. This can become tiresome when they jam for 20 minutes.
I’m not mad at all that I listened. This must have been a very fun series of concerts to go to. All in all, I think it evens out to a solid 3.
Roxy Music
5/5
I had never really given Roxy Music a shot. Maybe I should listen to more, because this was really great.
This sent me down a rabbit hole about Bryan Ferry and he doesn’t seem like the best guy. I loved the music, though. It’s hard to keep track of all this.
Venom
3/5
Speed metal is not my thing. This was pretty good though. I won’t revisit, but I can’t deny that those chaps know what they’re doing.
PJ Harvey
4/5
PJ is a 4 artist for me I like her music. This album is very good. Is she over represented on this list? Maybe, but this album isn’t one I’d cut.
Gil Scott-Heron
4/5
Whelp. H2Ogate Blues hit pretty hard. Isn’t it disheartening that it’s 50 years later and we’re in the exact. same. thing?
I listened to this at some point last year. I like it then, but liked it more now.
Aretha Franklin
5/5
One of my all time favorite albums from one of my all time favorite artists. An eaaaaaasy 5.
I don’t own this vinyl, and it pains me. I look for it every time I go record shopping.
The Mars Volta
4/5
I didn’t know what this was. After reading the description and some reviews, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but was excited to listen.
I dug it. I don’t know when or if I’ll ever relisten, but I liked listening today.
TLC
3/5
Some of this was great. I couldn’t help but think of Girls5Eva during a lot of it. They were/are very clearly very talented and Waterfalls is a masterpiece. Comes out to a solid 3 for me.
Manic Street Preachers
2/5
After the first couple of songs came on, I was like “Oh, ok. I’m not going to love this, but it’s fine. Probably a 3.”
Half an hour later, I realized that my earbuds were still in and it was still playing. Not a great sign. I listened to the last few songs more actively, despite the album apparently not deserving my attention. Are they just watered down Green Day?
Anyway, it was a pretty nothing of an album, and I can’t justify putting it in the same tier as other albums I’ve given threes to, even CrazySexyCool.
Iron Maiden
2/5
This was alright. I certainly can’t argue with it being on this list.
It had too much of the glam rock, falsetto, arena rock vocal element to it for my taste.
Near the end of this, when another song started and my reaction was “Really? It’s not over?” I knew I had to give it a 2.
Deep Purple
3/5
Hey, look. All my criticisms on all the very similar albums we’ve listened to still hold. But at least this had some more interesting songs and guitar playing on it. And the last few songs actually pulled this up to a 3.5 for me. But 3.5 is not 4.
I hope now we get something different tomorrow.
Let’s see…
Fairport Convention
4/5
Lovely. A good 4.
Merle Haggard
3/5
I never could get into Merle. He’s OK, but probably not even in my top 10 country musicians. I don’t know what it is. Anywho. This was fine.
Prince
5/5
What a legend. Gone too soon.
This was my favorite we’ve listened to in awhile. What a masterpiece.
Happy Mondays
3/5
This was alright. Maybe one or two four star songs. Not enough to get it over the hump.
Liz Phair
4/5
A classic. A nice listen, but doesn’t quite hit a five for me.
The Stone Roses
3/5
I never got into this band, but was cautiously optimistic. I liked it OK, but it didn’t make me regret having it listened to it yet.
Culture Club
2/5
Karma Chameleon is a good song. The rest, except for one or two others, I didn’t like. Probably a matter of personal taste, but this gets a 2 from me. I also question its inclusion on this lis for one song.
Deerhunter
4/5
I really liked it! I didn’t expect to, but it was good!
Alice Cooper
2/5
I saw Alice Cooper live once. It was a good time. Listening to this wasn’t.
Miriam Makeba
3/5
This was pleasant.
The Who
3/5
All the way through I Can See for Miles ( song I love) this was four stars. After that, the quality steeply dropped off.
T. Rex
5/5
Oooooo, yeah. This one hit me just right. Cool riffs, cool guitar tones. But more mellow than the other one? It hit this nice groove of glam/heavy rock but didn’t go too over the top for me
I think this might have made me a T-Rex fan.
Nirvana
5/5
What can I say? It’s fantastic.
Bon Jovi
2/5
I’m I liked this less than I thought I would. I thought I’d like the hits?
I guess I always considered Bon Jovi to be a notch above glam/metal arena rock. Boy, was I wrong. Thumbs down.
Grateful Dead
4/5
4. 5 if I were stoned.
As a guy that is a casual Dead fan and saw Dead & Company at The Sphere, I can confidently say that this was good.
Man, it must have been fun to be in this band. And fun to see them live. They could play and they could jam.
Sonic Youth
5/5
I will admit that this band has never been one that I listened to. This gap in my consumption is a bit shameful/surprising considering my fondness of this type of music from this era.
Anyway, thanks generator for having me listen. I loved it. Time to rabbit hole.
The Cure
3/5
This just wasn’t for me. I didn’t like the sound. I’ll give it a three, because I liked it fine.
Röyksopp
3/5
Nice. Cool vibes and pretty good music and beats. I was very worried this was just going to be an hour of boom-chick beat drops for da club. You know, the electronic music I don’t like actively listening to. But it wasn’t. It had more substance and even had some four star moments.
I’m not mad I listened. I probably won’t revisit, but who knows. I could see just chilling with this on in there living room.
Lupe Fiasco
4/5
I was not excited to listen to this. I had never heard of this guy. But I really liked it!
I will admit that I did not listen to the entire outro. Woof.
Arcade Fire
3/5
It was just perfectly fine.
Peter Frampton
2/5
Ho, boy. I’ve always genuinely liked the radio hits off of this, but not enough to sit down and listen to it. Despite my owning it on vinyl.
The rest of this was filler that ranged from acceptable to not great and all the way down to Jumpin’ Jack Flash.
The length of the rest and how bad this got at times, as well as when he said he was going to get “funky”’and then played a song that sounded exactly the same as the rest of them, gets this a 2.
Donovan
3/5
I have a particular fondness for Donovan. We have a handful of records of his. I recall one evening, Shea and I were playing cribbage and listening to records and I randomly threw on on. When it was done we both sort of went. “Should we just play another of his?”
Since then, he has been a favored musician in our home.
Sunshine Superman is one of my favorite his, and Season of the Witch is great. The rest is good, but doesn’t meet those levels. Realistically, this is a 3.
Bob Dylan
3/5
I’ve always thought of this, Modern Times, and Love & Theft to be something of a trilogy. This is my least favorite of the three. It’s just a bunch of rudimentary blues riffs.
Also, every song on those three albums is, like, six minutes long.
Joy Division
4/5
Nice. I never really got into Joy Division, but I liked it.
Morrissey
3/5
Our last Morrisey for this project. Great to get it over with less than half way though, but upsetting that they made use listen to this nob with such frequency up until now.
This was actually pretty good. A begrudging 3, but he’s still a huge douche.
Rocket From The Crypt
3/5
And PUSA isn’t on this list? Really?
This was fine. I’d never heard of them and I’m not surprised. Pretty run of the mill. I was between a 2 and 3 on this. I didn’t not like it, so I don’t think it deserves a 2.
The Mothers Of Invention
2/5
Frank, I love ya, but…
The 13th Floor Elevators
3/5
There’s some good stuff in here. I’ve listened to this band before at the recommendation of someone doing this project. I might have to check out some more of their stuff still.
Hawkwind
3/5
Maybe this could have benefited from a closer listen, but it was pretty just OK.
The Byrds
3/5
Some pretty run of the mill 60s folk/psychedelic rock.
Fela Kuti
4/5
Really cool. A lot of fun.
Suede
3/5
It had some nice moments, and some songs stood out more than others. It got a little boring and overly long, but I liked it fine.
5/5
Is Yes my new favorite band? No. Has this project made me a fan? Absolutely. They might be my new favorite band.
The Beta Band
4/5
I wasn’t familiar with this band and wasn’t particularly excited to listen to it.
I’m glad I did. It was a really nice listen! I’d listen to more.
The Charlatans
3/5
This was better than I thought it would be. It’s a 3.5, but I round down.
The Beta Band
3/5
Almost back to back in the Beta Band. I didn’t like this as much as the other one. It was still pretty good, but not a 4.
The Smashing Pumpkins
4/5
Pretty, pretty, pretty good. I remember when Smashing Pumpkins came through town a few months ago and I made no effort to see them. No regrets. As much as I like them and Green Day (Which is to say, I like them OK and they were big bands in my formative years), I don’t think I need to.
The Chemical Brothers
2/5
It’s been awhile, but this flavor of electronics shows up again. Could it be the last time? (This is a plea, not a speculation)
Dexys Midnight Runners
4/5
So, OK. I had to get past that this was the third Dexys Midnight Runners album this thing has made me listen to. But…
On the 2nd song, I thought “Hey! I really like this!” And is sort of sat in that arena the entire time. A surprising 4.
David Gray
2/5
Forgettable. Not my thing. I didn’t like it.
5/5
Whelp. I wasn’t excited to listen. It wasn’t on streaming. I had to find it on YouTube. And I fucking loved it.
The Gun Club
3/5
This is about what I expected. It had some four and five star elements, but some of the language used wasn’t…cool.
Taylor Swift
3/5
I’ve tried with T Swift. I really have. Gone and listened to her albums, to see what it’s all about. It never caught on with me, but I certainly don’t begrudge the many, many, many people who like her music. I also do like some of her bigger hits, particularly Blank Space and Shake It Off.
Around the time of folklore, I hit a wall and never listened to that, this, or Tortured Poets Society. Or midnights.
Does it feel like lately she come up with the idea for a ‘clever’ title and works backwards?
I’m genuinely confused as to why this is on here. If Red, 1989, Reputation, and maybe even folklore were on this list, I’d be OK with it. Other artists have had as much representation and aren’t nearly as well regarded as TSwift. Feels like she might deserve it?
But this one? Come on.
Method Man
4/5
Lots of 90s albums lately, huh? It’s getting a bit tiresome. This was good, though.
Coldplay
2/5
What a divisive band! These reviews are wild.
I’ll admit, all the Coldplay hate had prevented me from checking them out. Turns out I don’t really regret that. I know Yellow and The Scientist and would probably recognize more. And I’ve always thought those songs were fine.
I came into this with an open mind. I liked a few tracks. I didn’t like most of it.
I wouldn’t call myself a hater. I tend to think if people get joy out of music, there’s value in that. I’ll say this just wasn’t for me. Is it his falsetto that I don’t like? Is it what gets all the hate?
Also, my recent complaint of all the albums we’re getting lately being from the 90s has been heard. It’s an album from… 2000!
Bonnie "Prince" Billy
4/5
11 of our past 14. That’s how many albums eleven had that are either 90s, or early 2000s. Then, one from 85, one from 81. And evermore.
I really enjoyed Bonnie “Prince” Billy’s most recent album, so was excited to listen to this. I liked it a lot too.
Now, let’s see what decade the next album is from…
2/5
…goddammit.
I didn’t hate this as much as I thought I would. It was still pretty bad and I honestly don’t know why it was on this list.
The xx
3/5
Decent, but a bit boring.
The Clash
5/5
I’m not sure why it’s been so long since I’ve listened to this. It’s as fantastic as I remember. Zero skips. No notes. It won’t end up being my favorite from this project, but it’ll certainly be up there.
Simply Red
2/5
I like a couple songs, but this was overall not good or fun to listen to.
Fred Neil
3/5
I was between a 3 and a 4 on this. There were some very good songs. The 8 minute sitar jam got it the 3.
Dead Kennedys
4/5
I’m not super familiar with The Dead Kennedys. They’ve always been one of those bands that I’ve known about and known I’d really like them, but never go into. Maybe I didn’t first learn about them at young enough age?
This was fantastic.
Ash
3/5
I liked it. Never hear of them. It was a little long and I was ready for it to be over by the end. Chop 20 minutes off of this, and it would’ve gotten a 4.
John Grant
4/5
Holy shit. I just watched Aliens LAST NIGHT.
I liked the a lot. I’m not familiar with the artist at all, but would listen to more.
Steely Dan
3/5
I’m one of those guys that likes Steely Dan. All of their first 7 albums are great. Sometimes I’ll just listen to two or three in a row. And My Old School is one of my favorite songs.
That being said, I’m not sure I’d put this on the 1001. I’d put Aja and Can’t Buy a Thrill and maybe Pretzel Logic.
The rest of those seven albums range from pretty good to great, and I’d put this one somewhere in the middle.
The Pogues
3/5
As soon as it started, I rolled my eyes. I was very not excited to listen to it. I think it’s my vast overexposure to this type of music, mostly Dropkick Murphys. (A little backstory: my partner’s entire family LOVES Dropkick Murphys and I’ve been dragged to so many concerts, I refuse to go to more. It all sounds the same. Accordion, banjo, Irish accent, growly shout, finger point as you push the growl through your throat. Snarl. Every. Single. Song.) Unfortunately, The Pogues got lumped into my despise.
Despite my initial negative reflex, I listened hoping this would change my mind. I guess it sort of did. I was fully ready to give it a 2.
When we hit Sally MacLennane, and on through Dirty Old Town, it “won me over” and I decided that I like this just fine.
Haven’t we had a Pogues already? Surely this list does not need more Irish folk punk. I still hate this type of music.
George Michael
3/5
This has got a couple great songs on it. Faith. Father Figure. The rest is pretty good, but not my jam and very 80s.
Afrika Bambaataa
3/5
Pretty cool sounds. Pretty lame accusations.
Sugar
3/5
This was fine. I’ve never been into Bob Mould, but I’ve liked that new song of his on the radio.
The Beach Boys
3/5
RIP, Brian. You made some great music. Early Beach Boys always brings me back to my childhood and listening to this brought me back to a “beach party” my elementary school had in the gym with hotdogs and french fries in paper trays, beach towels, and The Beach Boys playing.
Slint
3/5
40 minutes of noise that didn’t hold my attention. This was almost something I would’ve liked. Maybe if I heard this in college, I would’ve loved it.
50 Cent
3/5
As I’ve been expanding my hip hop and rap consumption, I’ve avoided 50 Cent. I think I always associated him with club music.
I wasn’t excited to listen to this, and was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked it.
Overall, this was great, but I’m knocking it down a star for some of the awfully offensive stuff in there. Do better, 50.
Spiritualized
3/5
Not bad. Started strong. A bit boring, a bit long.
Paul Weller
4/5
I was very ready to complain about us getting our, what, 20th? hour long boring album from the 90s in a row.
But this was great!
Talking Heads
5/5
I love Talking Heads, and this is my favorite album of theirs.
Nanci Griffith
4/5
Never heard of her. Pretty good.
Slayer
2/5
I did not like this. It was so over the top, it felt like a parody.
Madonna
1/5
Wow. Bad.
Neu!
4/5
I was complaining to Ian a week or two ago that it’d been awhile before we were given an album I was excited to listen to.
I was excited to listen and liked it quite a bit.
Slipknot
3/5
Back to albums I wasn’t excited to listen to.
Actually, I kind of liked this. It was more melodic than I expected, and had some 4 star and even 5 star moments. Unfortunately, it drug out with screams that I didn’t like, so evened out to a 3.
Being from Des Moines, I’m never asked, “Do you know any of the Slipknot guys?”
No, but I helped one once when I worked retail. He was nice enough. He’s dead now.
Everything But The Girl
3/5
Fine.
Jazmine Sullivan
3/5
I remember this album. I listened to it when it came out. Once.
Upon another listen…it’s alright. It is well performed and fun to listen to. It’s overall not my thing, but I appreciate it for what it is.
Deee-Lite
2/5
I was between a 2 and a 3 on this. It started out strong. Had a good vibe, but wasn’t really something I’d chose to listen to. And, after some research, the lead singer seems like a cool person.
Ultimately, them making me listen to someone eat potato chips got it the 2.
CHIC
3/5
Wow. Right after Dee-Lite, huh?
I was shocked to find a second CHIC album popped up, as I really did not like the last one. So I was very not excited to listen.
Actually, this one was alright. Maybe my recent funk kick bled over to my appreciation? I don’t know. One thing that I did appreciate is they didn’t make me listen to someone eat potato chips.
The Adverts
3/5
Pretty run of the mill
Mekons
4/5
I’d never heard this. I liked it and it might need a relisten to truly appreciate it.
Van Morrison
5/5
I think Van Morrison had the second greatest 4 album run of all time, after Stevie Wonder.
But Stevie isn’t a POS now (right?!)
The Slits
4/5
The heck? I’m surprised to have not heard of them. It was interesting. I think I really liked it?
Primal Scream
3/5
This was alright! I was pretty not looking forward to it, but it had bits I really enjoyed, and bits I didn’t so much. I might give it a relisten sometime just to pick out my favorite songs from it.
The Fall
4/5
I guess I like The Fall. This was a lot of fun and fits the overall vibe the generator has been giving us lately.
Anyone else notice the overall quality of the albums we’ve been getting lately? Of our last 30 albums, the global review of 17 have been below 3.00. Of the remaining, only one has been above 3.30 (Fear of Music). The average global review of those 30 is 2.9943333
To put it into context, the average global review is 3.4.
I guess, some things to consider are we’re listening to 1001 albums, so a pocket of 30 like this doesn’t seem so note worthy in the grand scheme. But, when you’re in the thick of it, it can feel a little tiresome. Hopefully this means we’ll get a good run eventually.
Also, our group’s average rating of the 30 is 3.51, which is right around our average.
Brian Eno
3/5
It was alright. Not typically the type of stuff I like, but pretty cool.
Napalm Death
1/5
Well, my complaints about being fed so many low rated albums resulted in us getting the fourth lowest rated album in the generator. Sorry, folks.
Not a fan. I was between a 1 and 2 on this. The guitar playing is OK, but I think it’s just more distorted than impressive?
I was thinking about the other albums I’ve given 1s, and then, when I started considering not listening to the whole thing, I knew this one needed that rating too. I did, however, listen to it all.
Buzzcocks
3/5
Pretty run of the mill
The Magnetic Fields
4/5
Really good, and reminds me of college.
It’s hard to grade this one, since it’s so long. If I think about it, there’s probably a 5 star album in there, a 4 star, and a 3 star. As much as I want to give this a 5…it’s honestly an overall 4.
I listened to this in three chucks and loved it.
Country Joe & The Fish
3/5
This was alright. It had some nice stuff and some stuff I wasn’t as into.
M.I.A.
3/5
I’ve been having heavy M.I.A. confirmation bias this week. I felt like I was randomly hearing about her all week and then got this. Not sure what’s up with that.
I’m not sure why this is on this list, except that the editor is British and loves British rap.
It was fine. I didn’t not like it.
Malcolm McLaren
2/5
I almost got fooled by the three star moments on this one, but it’s not very good and I didn’t enjoy most of it, so it gets a 2.
Finley Quaye
3/5
It was fine.
Black Sabbath
5/5
I was going to give this a 5 all along. But RIP, Ozzy.
Fleet Foxes
3/5
Not bad. A little too echoey for me.
Paul Simon
5/5
Oooooo, I’ve been waiting for this one. Historically, I’ve been a very big Paul Simon fan. And this is my favorite solo album of his. And my second favorite album he’s penned (after Bridge Over Troubled Water).
I usually like Paul’s deeper cuts more than his hits, and this is no different.
Look, I love Mother and Child Reunion and Me & Julio. But Duncan is my favorite song here. And the rest of the songs are really great. Like, just meandering through Paul being a fantastic musician and kind of weird and sometimes goofy songwriter.
I love this album very much.
The The
3/5
Another OK one.
Pink Floyd
4/5
It’s a good album. I love the guitar playing. I have always been, and remain to be, lukewarm on the vocals.
I like a few of their albums better, but this is great and always fun to listen to.
Gillian Welch
3/5
You know, I’ve given Gillian Welch a shot in the past. She just doesn’t catch on with me. I’m not mad I listened to this again. It’s pleasant enough. But nothing that brings me back consistently.
Jamiroquai
2/5
I wasn’t feeling this. I never listened to Jamiroquai and thought it was a person before today. Now I know.
James Brown
4/5
I love me some James Brown. This was pretty great, and had a nice mix of four and five star songs, but doesn’t quite get to 5.
I prefer Sex Machine, and I don’t think it’s on this list for some reason.
The Residents
2/5
It’s been almost 20 years since I listened to this during my Residents phase that was mostly influenced by an old friend who has since passed away. Back then, this might’ve gotten a 4.
Despite the nostalgia, and some fun moments, this is pretty grating and I’m not mad it’s been so long since I listened. Will I ever listen again? Maybe not.
White Denim
3/5
I had never heard of this band. After reading the description and some reviews of this album and some other reviews of different albums, I was excited to check it out.
I wouldn’t say I’m disappointed, but I was hoping to enjoy it more. Still, I’m glad I was exposed to this.
Milton Nascimento
3/5
Fine. Pleasant. Nothing special.
Pantera
2/5
One thing this project has taught me is that I like metal about as much as I thought I did. I think it’s the vocals.
Oasis
4/5
I kind of love this album and kind of love Oasis. But not really. Ya know?
Suicide
3/5
Interesting. I’d never listened before. I’m not sure I will again, but I kind of liked it.
Guided By Voices
4/5
I liked this. 28 very short good songs.
Tom Tom Club
3/5
Ah, the part of Stop Making Sense where it’s time to go to the bathroom.
This had some OK songs on it, and I didn’t hate it. It can have a 3.
The Incredible String Band
2/5
I really wanted to like it, and it started out OK. But by the end, I was preeeeettttttyyyyy over it.
The National
3/5
Fine. Pretty good. Never got into them. Though I do remember one member of this group telling another that they WILL like The National.
Sonic Youth
4/5
I like the Sonic Youth.
The Mothers Of Invention
3/5
About halfway through, I thought that this was actually pretty interesting and fun to listen to. They were trying out different stuff, and hitting on different styles of music.
By the end, this was off the rails.
Evens out to a 3, I suppose.
Donald Fagen
3/5
You can definitely tell this album has one guy from Steely Dan in it and is missing the other guy.
SAULT
3/5
Pretty much what I expected.
Orange Juice
4/5
Actually, something about this hit me just right enough to give it a 4.
Violent Femmes
5/5
Yeah. I’ve loved this album for a long time. I’d put the first four track up against any other opening four tracks. The rest of the album is also so, so good.
This is an easy 5 stars for me and seeing them live is fun.
fIREHOSE
4/5
This was so very good. I’m going to go listen to more from them.
The Teardrop Explodes
2/5
Started out OK, but overstayed its welcome. Perhaps it just needed to be half an hour?
Waylon Jennings
4/5
Some nice country goodness. Any friend of Willie is a friend of mine.
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
It was fine. It had some four-ish songs. It maybe should have been only 30 minutes.
Hot Chip
4/5
I really liked it! I was expecting EDM, but it turned out to be the good kind of electronica music.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
2/5
I really wanted to like it, but it disappointed me.
Ray Price
3/5
Not bad. A lot of this type of 50s/early 60s country-ish music is stuff I like. I don’t think Ray Price is the best of the bunch, but it was a nice listen nonetheless.
Sepultura
3/5
I am really not a fan of this type of growling metal vocal.
But the rest of this band was fantastic and, musically, they ripped hard.
I enjoyed Ratamahatta and the throat singing stuff.
Like so many albums that I don’t inherently enjoy, I thought this was too long. The jam at the end was cool, but unnecessary.
If you took the best 30 - 40 minutes of this and made an album, it might’ve gotten a 4.
Louis Prima
4/5
This was a lot of fun. A great listen. Louis Prima was quite obviously a top notch performer.
Everything But The Girl
3/5
It was fine.
Wire
4/5
It feels like there was a lot of very similar British punk back in the day. Some of it is better than others and some of it is really great. I’m getting the sense that a lot of it just the same ol’ schlock.
I actually liked this one more than a lot of others. I’d listen again.
Devendra Banhart
3/5
Pleasant, but a little boring.
Simple Minds
3/5
I’m usually not a fan of this type of synth music. This wasn’t so bad, though.
New Order
3/5
Didn’t light my world on fire. Had some cool stuff.
Stephen Stills
3/5
I’m a Stills guy. I like him quite a bit. And moments on here were great. However, there’s a lot of filler, and overall, I’d rather listen to CSNY, or The Band.
Common
4/5
Pretty good!
The Cramps
4/5
Some of this was a little boring. A lot of it was fun, exciting, and surprising.
PJ Harvey
4/5
Really good!
Michael Jackson
4/5
This had some really good, classic songs. And some songs that aren’t quite as iconic, but a little better than “filler.” Feels like that’s the textbook definition of a 4.
Pet Shop Boys
3/5
Oh, yeah. It was alright. Never really into the Oet Shoo Boys, but they’re OK. I’m glad they make music people like.
Lightning Bolt
3/5
I hadn’t heard of these guys, and I kind of dug this. If I would’ve heard it when it came out, I would’ve loved it.
Iggy Pop
4/5
The Passenger is an A+ song. The rest of this was really good too.
Jeff Beck
3/5
Some cool guitar playing and tones. Otherwise, pretty run of the mill 60s white boy blues.
Nina Simone
3/5
A little gloomy, but decent.
The KLF
2/5
Meeeeeeeeeeeeh……
The Vines
4/5
I remember The Vines! I dug this.
The Lemonheads
3/5
I never really got into The Lemonheads. This was OK, but I’m not going to revisit. It’s in here, but PUSA isn’t?!
Heaven 17
3/5
Started out stronger than a three but ended pretty shit.
Van Morrison
5/5
This nob made some great albums in his day.
Belle & Sebastian
4/5
Really close to a 5, but didn’t quite get there by the end. Still a great album.
Led Zeppelin
3/5
Led Zeppelin gets another 3. Great moments of fantastic guitars drug down by grating vocals and overly long songs. 45 minutes too long.
Tim Buckley
3/5
A little long, boring, and it all sounded the same. Still, you can see this guy has chops.
The The
3/5
Lots of British 70s/80s new wave/punk/post punk on this list, huh? This was unremarkable.
Bee Gees
3/5
I went back and forth on this one.
Arcade Fire
2/5
You know, I wanted to be at least OK with it, but I just didn’t like it.
The Divine Comedy
4/5
I had no clue what this was and I liked it
Public Image Ltd.
2/5
I get why this is on the list. They’re some sort of weird, punk supergroup. And they suck.
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
3/5
We are now in the 400 album stretch of 70s/80s British punk/electronic/new wave music. This one was better than yesterday’s.
Soft Machine
3/5
I hated the first track. I liked the 2nd one a bit better and brought my anticipated rating up to a 2. I liked the third song even better and it was pulled up to a 3. And there it stayed.
Public Enemy
4/5
Pretty, pretty, pretty, good.
Machito
3/5
It didn’t knock my socks off, but it was pleasant enough.
The Chemical Brothers
2/5
Not my favorite electronica.
Frank Sinatra
4/5
I’ve always preferred Dean Martin, but Frank is also good.
Fatboy Slim
2/5
Moby
3/5
This was alright. Had some recognizable bits for some reason.
Better than the electric beat drop-y club electronica that wears on me. But I know the list will keep trying.
Nico
3/5
I didn’t mind it at all. I’m not it hint to relisten, though. I feel like, if I wanted to listen to this album, I would’ve already, you know? It’s a three from me, dawg.
Blood, Sweat & Tears
3/5
A few bangers and a lot of filler.
I’ve always liked Rod Stewart a little more than I’ve thought I should. This was pretty great.
Grizzly Bear
4/5
I Nevermind a little Grizzly Bear.
Queen
4/5
Legends. The Prophet’s Song is trash, though, and drug this done to a 4.
Kate Bush
4/5
Great. It’s Kate Bush. Have we had her on here before? If not, I’m sure she’ll pop back up.
The Louvin Brothers
3/5
Some really solid, old country music. It was 40 minutes of what sounded like the same song, though.
The Monkees
3/5
It had some really great songs, but also some pretty smelly crap.
k.d. lang
5/5
Yeah. I loved it. I was humming along and tapping my toes. A great, great album.
Brian Eno
3/5
I’m sorry. I just can’t get into Eno.
Destiny's Child
2/5
Oooof. A few ok songs, but I overall really did not like it.
Bill Evans Trio
3/5
I thought it was OK. It my favorite jazz we’ve heard.
Paul McCartney and Wings
5/5
Not the best Beatles solo album, but great. I just saw him live and it was the best concert I’ve ever been to.
De La Soul
3/5
It was fine
Love
4/5
I’m pretty sure this is our second Love album? Pretty good stuff
The Doors
3/5
I’ve never really been a Doors fan.
Motörhead
4/5
I remember being surprised by our last Motörhead album.
None the less, I was not excited this came up. I figured there was no way I needed to listen to a live Motörhead album before I die.
Again, I was wrong. This melted my face off.
Mott The Hoople
2/5
Yeesh. Started out strong, but the rest of this fell pretty flat.
SZA
3/5
Pretty run of the mill.
Ozomatli
3/5
David Bowie
4/5
Despite the rating, I am unconvinced that this belongs on this list. Bowie is the most represented artist in the list and, honestly nobody deserves 9 albums.
I could see giving Bowie 3 or 4 or even 5 albums. This album doesn’t make that cut. It’s great, but doesn’t live up to his all timers.
Kid Rock
1/5
Yeah, naw. I’m not even going to listen to this album or terrible person. Automatic 1 star.
Carpenters
3/5
Some OK songs. A good song or two. Some songs I did not like. I think this is overall fine. It’s pretty much as 3 of an album as I can think of.
Fugees
4/5
At times: amazing. Other times: meh.
I think this is an easy 5, if you trim 20 minutes. Unfortunately, those 20 minutes brought this down to a 4 for me.
Le Tigre
4/5
Really great, but some of the songs didn’t hit.
Doves
3/5
Meh. It was fine. The vocals didn’t do anything for me.
The Damned
3/5
Just another regulate, old British punk album that the editors feel like we needed to listen to another one of.
Linkin Park
2/5
I was struck with how sterile and filled with impotent, adolescent rage this is. I’m not saying that a band needs to use profanity to be good, but this gives this the sense of this being watered down “metal” for babies.
It’s otherwise fine, but never threatens to become actually good. I don’t think it deserves a 3. Doesn’t deserve a 1.
N.E.R.D
2/5
Meeeeeeeeeh. I liked a song or two, but it wore on me. I didn’t like it.
Jeru The Damaja
4/5
I had not heard of this, but I really liked it.
Garbage
4/5
Silver Jews
4/5
I never really got into Silver Jews, but I need to.
Living Colour
3/5
I almost gave this a 2, but I think it deserves a 3. It wasn’t bad, but I won’t be revisiting.