Pretty good. Really good? Idk. I’ve listened to this a million times and it’s obviously good but would never consider it one of my favorites
I honestly expected my opinion on this to be lower than it is and despite having heard it maybe 200 times in my life, it totally rips. The thing about this era of New York bands and the whole “bringing rock back” thing is that in reality between the YYYs, Strokes, LCD and whoever - they really just brought back good pop music.
I went into this record not expecting to like it based on not liking it when it came out, despite many of my friends loving it - but I didn’t find it as annoying as I expected, moreso just really half baked. I feel like there are two dozen records a year that come out with these influences that are just as good or better.
An easy perfect score. The arrangements, the delivery, the production for the time period, how punchy the horns are - it’s a very nearly perfect record (perfect for our purposes here). Most of the time when I see negative or less favorable reviews of this record, it’s about the naïveté of the lyrics and song choices considering where Frank was in his life and like…ok, fair, but with his proliferation during the time period, he should have had even MORE variety. The Capitol records are generally all stellar and this is essential - just a pure joy to listen through.
The production is incredible but this has a couple legit not very good songs that stop it from being a 5 star classic imo
I mean jeez, this might be up there with albums I’ve heard the most in my life and while it’s no longer probably my favorite Radiohead album full-stop the way that it was, it’s still almost endlessly singalong-able and features many of their best, most anthemic tracks. I still love it wholeheartedly.
I’ve loved Groove is in the Heart like my whole life, as any self respecting human has. I finally listened to this album a couple of years ago when the 90s dance renaissance really started to take place and I enjoyed it but felt it was too uneven to rank highly as an album. I’ve increased my feelings generally on the record with this listen, but not a ton! Still - wouldn’t mind it being on in the background but it’s not peak dance music albums or anything.
way back as a teen when I discovered nuggets and British psych and stuff this was an all timer in my head and probably even something I would post about on message boards but I’ve never really loved it compared to some other small faces stuff nor as much as other Faces records, and mostly that’s because I find the second side a complete miss.
The thing with both Dr. Dre albums is that their high points are as high as like any music can get over the last 100 years, but there is always a bunch of filler. Even if the unifying theme, production and repeat guests are mostly great, there is always TOO MUCH or TOO MANY that just don’t quite live up to the highs. Anyway, this is great and is an all time classic but it’s probably not even a top 200 rap record of all time for me.
Genuinely surprised this makes the list and I don’t remember it from when i used to browse this book back to front for years, but here we are: a record I’ve never listened to. I hate UB40 and always have. red red wine, to me, is one of the worst songs to ever become a hit. That all said - this was pretty passable reggae, captured the Jamaican music in the UK vibe well and has good production, but other than the opener, is pretty forgettable - my favorite tracks being the longer dub ones.
Have always had conflicted feelings on this band and record. In a way, I love it or the idea of it and TMV in general - though not so much in practice. The first half of this record I feel like I have memorized and super fond memories of, but the back half I really never remember, and that’s not so much that it’s appreciably weaker than the front, but that the album becomes a slog to get through. It’s fun and absurd and as long as you don’t look at the lyrics it can be pretty great at times, but I’ll always think I love it more than I actually do.
Someday I’m gonna torture myself and listen to all of Omar’s stuff.
It’s crazy that this is probably only the 3rd time I’ve listened to this record in full in the last 20 years and I still almost know all the words front to back. Being 13 in 99 with this coming out was wild.
That said, it doesn’t particularly hold up. The lyrics, of course, yikes, but even the music and the flow - while it is probably the best Eminem album, it’s a chore.
One of my favorite 80s pop albums since I was a teen and a girl put “Favourite Shirt” on a mix for me. It’s just a ton of fun, as much instrumental as not.
This is a very random inclusion in the 1001 list, considering how little African music is included and how Olomide fans generally feel about this. But whatever, it’s good, not great.
Would prefer any of the actual albums. Fun band, i ride with em, but the production on this is really bad.
I’m a Beatles lover. I don’t dislike any of their records and I really love the pre-Hard Day’s Night stuff and how fun it is. There are better British Invasion records or Merseybeat or whatever, but this is just a joyous 30 minutes.
It’s cool, I mean, SOAD is fun and creative and they were exhilarating when they came out. Generally, I’m not into the “alternative metal” thing and think it ages poorly, but this has a lot of good. Gets tired by the end, but it’s a pretty short record.
A pretty fun experiment if a bit dated as an experiment and a not so cohesive experience. I still think it’s a good record, especially given year.
Funny this came up when it did because I was literally thinking about how I hadn’t listened to it in a long long time and I used to listen to it more than like any cd. It’s a classic but I actually realize now there are some songs I don’t actually like. Still the high points and the overall production are just great.
This record should have been the soundtrack for Saint Denis in RDR2
lol this is so embarrassing. There are obviously some strong songs here but even tho Marilyn Manson is a huge piece of shit, I had been thinking of going through his records recently and this was laughably bad to me. Woof.
One of my most listened to albums ever and thus one of my favorites. I remember the first time I listened to this, I was disappointed it didn’t ROCK the way the album cover portrays, but I quickly learned to love it as one of the best pop records ever made. Easy 5 stars for me, something I can throw on anytime.
It’s not that I don’t get Adele, it’s that I don’t like her music. When she’s not boring, she’s irritating, when she’s neither, she’s sometimes ok.
I am decidedly NOT anti-Eagles like a lot of my peers and I often am a bit confounded on the absurd hate they receive. Well, not really, but I think it’s overblown. Is it weird they are like highest selling American rock band of all time? Sure but who cares. They have a ton of good singles and a couple of genuinely good albums. They also have a lot of shit and they’re assholes. Anyway, the debut is an album where half is quite good, half is pretty atrocious. It’s like a 2.5 rounded up to a 3 to me. Early on, especially, they are always better with their breezy/country tracks rather than trying to rock, and that’s basically the case here. Anyway, I love Desperado and One of these Nights, this is just ok.
Talk about a forgettable record. I remember downloading this when I saw it get a little bit of hype in real time and then laughing when I saw it in the first edition of this book. It’s fine for what it is, it’s just super uninteresting. It has some parts that rock and I think the more experimental noisy stuff is when it shines, but otherwise it’s like a hundred other bands of the era.
I like this album a lot and I like WAR a lot, though this isn’t my favorite of their records. It’s a funky jam, great to put on intensely or in the background.
I love Japan and David Sylvain or at least the idea of them. Everything is so stylized in a way that resonates with me. This record I always bring is going to be some revelatory and one of my favorite things ever and while the high points are certainly VERY high in my eyes, there is enough here that is JUST ok. It’s probably like a 3.5 on my own scale, but I’m gonna bump it up for “The Other Side of Life” alone
Despite it being pretty hard rocking and having a few all timer tracks, this has always been one of my least favorite Maiden releases. I still like it, but generally I like them MORE theatrical.
Just awesome production and such a smooth listen.
It’s hard to deny this album since so much of it is just tied to the 90s and growing up and the songs are sort of omnipresent but it also doesn’t really…hold up? I like it well enough I guess but I think the rockers and the vocal affectations are obnoxious at this point. Anyway, it’s fine and sometimes good!
Along with Life’s Rich Pageant, the best REM album imo. This is them at their poppy best, a near perfect blend of anthems with traces of their earlier sound. The production is rich. About as deep as a 90s pop rock album can get.
I cannot go above 2 because American Pie is the worst song of all time. I don’t mind the rest of it in a John Denver sort of way.
Fuck John Phillips but this is one of my favorite pop records of all time.
This record is undeniable and also I don’t know if I ever really need to hear it again.
Giant sand has all the makings of becoming one of my favorite bands, I need to spend more time with them.
The thing with this record is - it’s fucking amazing and also it’s way too long. There isn’t necessarily anything bad and I don’t know how I would edit it down but for the last 23 years I’ve known about this record, I’ve always been thought that. In some dimension, an edited version exists and it’s the best record of all time. In this dimension, it merely is great.
As easy as a 5 as there is
4.5, almost 5. This rocks and is so fun. I’ve heard it a handful of times before and for like 20 years Sparks has been a band that I know I love but hardly know - and I’m really really gonna have to fix that.
I like percussion! I like guitars! This record is ok!
The minimalism of this record has always sort of thrown me off, but upon this listen it was absolutely what I needed and wanted. It’s such an atmospheric record, so singular in its vision. Perfect October record.
I love this and it’s such an easy listen but it never gets to full on classic for me. One of those records I think a lot higher of before listening, but it’s still real good.
I genuinely love the sounds on this record, but as a complete listen it’s pretty uneven. Fun and I listen to it a lot though
A completely forgettable album like most of their era/genre but it’s better than most
Very close to a 5 but not quite. isleys might be the best band of all time though.
I love the idea of Lambchop a lot and when they come on in shuffle or something similar, they always strike a chord with me, but I am often left wanting when I listen to a whole album. I know this is their most praised but I actually think it stays a bit too one note until the end. Luckily that note is very cool and strikes a good vibe, but this will never be my fave band or probably even my fave in the more experimental side of the genre, but they’re cool overall.
It’s Coldplay….but it’s also really good. It’s really just like the best this sort of modern pop rock can get.
I genuinely think it’s cool that every Daft Punk record is different and yet still very “daft punk”. I’m a Discovery person, but this one has some highs - but overall it’s a lot of repetitive, near minimal stuff that doesn’t really do it for me. I like minimal/micro house/techno and a lot of the 70s synth stuff they are playing off here, but knowing where they’d go, a lot of it seems pretty half baked.
Probably the only things more fun than this Ramones album is a couple of other Ramones albums.
One of the few albums of the 1001 I’m not familiar with at all from a band I’ve only seen in writing. This was pretty cool. Nothing I’ll go back to a bunch but it was a fun rainy day listen
Not as bad as I figured considering how much I hate this band post their second record but also not good. And sometimes truly awful. Mostly it’s just boring, like the most soulless take on soulful rock ever.
This record came out when I was 14. It’s an obvious 5 star record.
Liked this more than I used to and i expected to like it less.
This was not good and has no place being on this list when Madonna has like 6 really good to great albums.
A stone cold achievement.
Starts off incredibly strong and showcases the energy, but even though it is short it loses a little bit of its shine by the end. Maybe too poppy when I want it to RIP
The Love Below ISNT a great album. It’s very uneven.
I love Gram Parsons and could listen to him as much as any musician ever, but it’s not a perfect album!
A NEAR perfect pop masterpiece. I prefer it to Thriller, probably - and if “She’s out of my life” was on here (I love it, it just is jarring), this would be absolutely perfect. Anyway, I have it at 4.5 but unlike some other 4.5’s, this gets rounded up.
OutKast’s third best album but fantastic and maybe their most fully realized sound.
A pop marvel. This is the quintessential/stereotypical ABBA sound - the one that got them mocked for decades and the one that allowed them to be reclaimed years later. Not giving in to the joy of this record is a fault of yours. So bright, so fun, let go.
Upon getting this album, an album I LOVE, I found a review and rating I did for it in 2010 that was middling. Times are weird and I’m much more gentle now. Anyway, it isn’t perfect, but it’s essential.
You know I’ve only ever listened to this once or twice in my life and always thought “well this isn’t Husker Du” but this go round it absolutely floored me.
One of my favorite albums ever,
One of the best album covers ever, one of the best closing stretches ever.
I know this is considered one of the peaks of George’s career and it really is a very good 70s country record but it lacks the punch of some of my favorites of his and is more a collection of really good songs than a full on album.
Maybe the best produced album of all time.
This is good like every Callahan/Smog release but I’ve always had a bit of a disconnect with it because it’s like too pretty for one of his albums - which is maybe why it’s so beloved?
Wrong bad brains album for this list.
Yeah I mean it’s great. I’m basing this on the original 10 track version which is so cool and hype but also pales compared to the more complete versions.
The second best Van Halen album and one of the most listenable albums ever.
One of the best live albums ever from sheer energy but it actually has a little bit of a lacking tracklist despite its short length.
This album gets better and better as time goes on. Visionary shit.
Suprised I went to high on this. Blew me away and listened to it 3 times. It’s not new to me, I remember going to the record store and buying the cd the day it came out and I’ve always liked it but not as much as my favorite Beach Boys records nor as much as the now 12-year old Smile Sessions. But this listen, my first in many years - and through lossless on Qobuz was truly eye opening. Yes, it’s an aged Brian, but it almost works better? It adds verses, it tightens the sketches, it sounds more like a fever dream (in a good way) with the extra strain on his voice. The sequencing is so smooth. Idk man, sometimes a record you are intimately familiar with just suddenly HITS DIFFERENT. Now I can’t imagine this not being one of my favorite records ever for the rest of my days.
I like Janis and the band but I can’t help but think (and always have) that this is one of the most overrated classic albums ever.
Maybe not even a top 20 Bowie album
I have always loved this. Would it be better without Johnny? Probably. But it’s still such an excellent case of groove
Yeah it rocks but it’s also so funny.
