Fuck yeah

Gets tiresome after a while.

Unbelievably strong start, drags a bit in the middle but closes strong.

Surprisingly varied in the back half. “Brass in Pocket” still slaps. Could do without “Private Life”.

Side 1 is flawless Side 2 is also great

Surprised at how few of these tracks had staying power. Also the skits are so corny. Totally missed it when I was a kid, but the Dee Barnes line seems legitimately shocking today — genuinely felt subversive as opposed to the bland shocking violence of other tracks.

Bursts out of the gate. Might have enough hits to get a five rating if the album were 35 minutes long, but the filler drags it down.

Holiday Inn was a great side two gem

The harms are immaculate, and it grooves in offensively throughout, but it needs more bops.

The first track so strong that the rest of the album struggles to measure up. Atom Dance and Quicksand are also good.

39 👍 The Prophet’s Song 👎

Classic Depeche Mode in that is sometimes awesome industrial/new wave stuff (Never Let Me Down Again) and sometimes way too goofy vampire rock (Little 15, Pimpf).

Pleasant as hell. Could put this on in the background while cooking or hosting a dinner party anytime.

The jams that rock are better than the jams that meander.

Hard to assess this in a future where is was so influential (feels like a dime a dozen movie montage backing track now but was probably very cool when it came out). It was pretty groovy though.

I prefer the uptempo stuff.

Holds up

Loved the first half and was sure it was on pace for five stars, but the meandering instrumentals of the second half weren’t my thing.

Pretty replacement level

Put this off all day, and when I got around to listening it was even worse than expected. I like a few of their lore melodic songs on Toxcitity but this album is wall-to-wall incoherence. Feels like self-parody. Wish I could give it zero stars.

Incredibly easy five stars. Almost no missteps (not a huge fan of Obviously Five Believers).

Side 2 GOATED

Doesn’t hold up as well as I’d hope. Still has some good tracks but there are too many maudlin middle ground tracks here.

I can see how this was influential, and it is groovy, but a bit too long and same-y for me.

A few nice moments (e.g., Open The Light) save this from getting only 1 star, but it is mostly a boring slog.

She really could sing.

Some decent jams, and no real bad songs. Still, it is interesting to see how much filler there is in the Queen catalog.

I don’t like this.

Surprisingly pleasant. I wouldn’t mind listening to this again, but wouldn’t actively put in on.

Stone cold classic

Some good tunes. Some mellow tunes. Some forgettable tunes.

Mildly funky/jazzy tunes. Few standouts.

I didn’t dislike any songs, but didn’t love any either.

When the album started with a nice Satie cover I thought “hey maybe my preconceived notions about this band were wrong” then Galway through that song they did a dramatic style shift to absolutely confirm my preconceived notions. Every good song is derailed by some dumb jam. Spinning Wheel does slap (even though it would be a lot better without the jam and the dumb flute (?) part).

This is my jam

Another Depeche Mode where I enjoy the hits but not the filler. I might go a star higher if Enjoy the Silence didn’t have the hidden track appended, which makes it much less playlist-friendly (and is bad in the flow of the album).

Got in a car accident while taking my extremely sick kid to the pediatrician while listening to this which may have cost it a star.

It’s insane that Dancing in the Dark might not be in the best half of songs on this album. Strong five stars.

Some classics (Psycho Killer, don’t worry about the government, new feeling) but there are a few stretches that get a bit same-y.

Lots of goofy stuff in here but the music is good throughout and it has Pinball Wizard.

The Wizard was a pleasant gem. The rest was fine as well — better when bluesy, like The Wizard, than when it was metal-y. I liked it less than their second album.

Has gotten better with age.

I give this one a big hell yeah.

Really drops off after suite Judy blue eyes.

It’s good! It’s funky!

Not sure if this is four stars or just three stars that hits better bc it is in my sweet spot.

Is P-Funk my favorite band?

The purest distillation of the 90s

Haunting and beautiful but it does get same-y.

The songs that slap, slap. But there is a lot of filler.

Up and down, many forgettable stretches (the cross)

A bit heavy handed, but interesting beats. The Dead Kennedys cover is neat. .

Good T. rex. Ballrooms of mars is great

Very good. A few high highs and no real lows.

This rips so hard.

The Beatles are underrated

Good harms, needs more bops.

Fun

Very interesting and enjoyable.

Classic

I miss this 90s flow

Jury is out on which way those guys'll go. They're a lot of fun, and James Taylor is one of the most proficient bass players in the UK at the moment, giving them a funky edge.

Chill vibes. Vocals a bit grating.

One of the best to ever do it operating at her peak. Opening tracks unassailable. Waking the witch is pretty wack.

Simply the best

Didn’t remember how great this is start to finish. No real weak spots (maybe “Motivator”, which is a less good version of Bang and Gong)

Inoffensive, but not particularly notable.

Has some nice moments (e.g., parts of I’ve Seen All Good People) but they are all ruined by overly long, complicated noodley songwriting.

I know it is cool to like ABBA now but besides some obvious skill at writing hooks, I just don’t find much to really latch onto.

It rocks but gets a bit longwinded at times.

Power pop beauties

With apologies to the people I follow on Twitter, this is just jazzy nothing music.

Meandering at time but has some undeniable bangers.

Fuck yeah

Punishingly boring

Up and down (what the hell was “cars are cars”), but the man can write some chunes.

More chillers than I remembered.

Much better than I expected

Music to build furniture to

One standout track (another girl another planet)

Greatly preferred the funky tracks to the sultry, soulful tracks.

Comes strong out of the gate. Then peters out a bit

Good stuff but I couldn’t get fully into it

A bit of a bore

Roadrunner and Girlfriend are all-time great songs. The rest of the album is similarly great but not as revelatory.

Definitely understand why it is here — emblematic of a scene/vibe that was very big (though I’d probably choose Merriweather Post Pavilion as the representative) — but as a person who was into that scene at the time I always felt this type of music was overrated. Looking back now it still feels overrated.

starts to drone in the last half but the first half really goes.

There is really nothing here.

Always disappointing when the first song in the record is the best one.

A few solid riffs, but otherwise nothing to care about.

it’s amazing how good the instrumental tracks in this album are

A few solid tunes, but it is long and the weirder stuff doesn’t work for me. The last song is so bad it leaves you on a sour note and makes it hard to accurately judge the album.

Wears out its welcome toward the end but enjoyable.

The beautiful songs are beautiful. I’ve never liked the murder mystery.

Gorgeous— everything is free is an all timer.

despite being over the top, it is good throughout.

Packed with classics

Has that great Husker Du song craft but wears out its welcome.

I found this very boring.

The uptempo songs sound like a great local bar band. The downtempo songs sound like a more boring Smiths.

Classic

All killer

With fresh ears it is interesting how much heavy lifting Parliament does for this album.

I like other Butthole Surfers albums, but this was unlistenable. I don’t know if it was important in the development of a noise/freakout scene, but even if it was I can’t see how it merits inclusion.

Groovy, funky, old school

Hard to assess something with so many ubiquitous, but similar, songs.

Rocks hard. Enjoyable throughout. Doesn’t feel essential.

Other bands have done this better.

The grooves on this album are surprisingly good but it is still an era of techno that I have little interest in

Likely the most formative album in my music listening career. Six stars.

This album tops out at enjoyable but inessential, and bottoms out at deeply embarrassing (“I Need You Tonight”, “I Got the Six”).

Solid Joni, but the very over the top jazzy stuff brings it down.

Surprisingly Christian? Some good funky jams too.

I enjoyed this quite a bit but likely wouldn’t put it in regular rotation.

Very replaceable. Like echo and the bunny men without any edge.

Probably my favorite album of all time. Six stars.

Feels incredibly dated.

Had high hopes after the first track but it really tailed off. It did make rememebr this all-time great tweet so that was nice: “uk rappers be like she suck on my willy it’s quite delightful if i catch you in west gloucestershire you’ll catch the rifle”

Meatloaf is so funny because he basically sings musical theater songs about fucking, but then the album art is like a panel from demon superhero comic.

Funky

Generic background music for a movie scene that takes place in a club. Don’t know why it is included on the list… maybe it invented that sound or something?

A bit too much freakout at times, but sister ray is a banger.

There were nice moments within songs but I didn’t like any songs start to finish.

Solidly enjoyable.

Alt country stuff is good. A bit too noisy for my liking at times.

Just a bit too polished for me, but some great tracks.

Smooth but complex. Enjoyable.

This seems like a joke record.

Shocked at how much I loved this.

Enjoyed it less as it went along, but still solid.

Still so funny to me that hip millennials have convinced themselves that Steely Dan is good.

Easy five stars. Great from open to close.

Boring

Paul McCartney can really write some catchy tunes. Unfortunately be it the lack of a solid collaborative band or the 70s influence, these just aren’t interesting.

So many great songs on here. There are a few that don’t grab me but still five stars overall.

This album doesn’t have enough songs about buildings or food.

Good and funky.

I can see how this is influential, but can’t imagine I’ll listen again.

Unlike the last album, his flow is undeniable here and it makes it more understandable that he became so huge. But the edginess sure is cringey.

Awesome uptempo afrobeat

Sounds like circus music a bit too often. But it has some bangers when it goes for more straightforward rock.

Cheesy eighties schmaltz. The first song sounded a bit cowpunky right at the end and I got excited it might improve, but that was the high point of the album.

I prefer their stuff that rocks a bit harder, but this has some nice songs.

First two tracks are amazing. It stays solid but never reaches those heights again.

Not for me.

Too thrashy. Needs more tunes.

Nice harms. Songs hold up pretty well.

Undeniably beautiful, but a bit too old fashioned and same-y for me.

Smooth grooves, nice flow, great beats, and at times, when Lauryn Hill is on vocals, transcendent. I do have to knock it down a star for the Chinese Restaurant skit.

Some cool moments but I found it much too anxiety inducing.

Excellent. Felt timeless. A few dull patches but no bad patches.

This really feels like something I should like based on my other tastes, but I found it grating. A few good moments (the end of caligari’s mirror, ubu dance party) but mostly a drag.

A few nice pop hits but too much electro

Takes me back.

Great opener and closer. Solid throughout.

A bit overwrought but I enjoyed moments.

Begrudgingly liked this. Some cracking tunes but I still find Morrissey’s voice and delivery grating. Ironically the best song on the album was antifacist.

Some nice poppy, punky jams in here. A bit bland at times but overall a nice listen.

Good U2 songs are great. Bad U2 songs sound like Sting. This is a pretty even mix of the two.

Some tracks are overly 60s sounding, but many of the tracks rock. Grace Slick is undeniable.

Started out pretty boring but improved as it went on.

I absolutely did not need to listen to two ZZ Top albums before dying.

A few bops but a lot of goofy overwrought tracks.

This fucking rips. I was shocked by Planet Caravan — didn’t know that was in their repertoire and I found it thoroughly enjoyable.

A bit overlong but has great moments throughout

Too long and boring, but I guess it functions ok as background music.

The music was great, but the vocals really took me out of it.

Some really great tracks. Overall pretty enjoyable.

Outside of the few enduring hits it is pretty middle of the road.

Glam-y, jam-y, rock goodness.

The music is nice but lyrically it is just far too goofy for my taste. I mean, “Your Dictionary” sounds like a joke song from Documentary Now or something.

A great Dylan. It drags at times but has two of the all time great songs in “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright” and “Girl From the North Country”.

Farty-synth era blue eyed soul is generally bad. This is no exception though a few tunes are catch enough to merit two stars.

Good stuff. Probably won’t revisit often.

I was intrigued by how poppy Charlotte the Harlot was. Enjoyable enough to listen to throughout but nothing I would revisit.

I like the music and songwriting but the vocals are a bit grating.

Pleasant but didn’t knock my socks off

Extremely my shit.

A below average White Stripes album is still a good album.

Some really syrupy stuff in here (Vincent is bad), but the more upbeat stuff is fun.

A couple of fun dancey tracks but overall too dull.

Big Night

Extremely good. Feels ahead of its time (and I guess it was, since the title track really blew up in the 90s).

strange kind of woman knocked this down from three stars to two.

Nice grooves and jams. Better without vocals.

Completely replaceable. Not offensive but very generic.

Stunning but outside of a few tracks I can’t imagine listening to it again.

The sampling alone would be worthy of five stars, and then of course the rhymes match that in complexity and quality.

I just don’t like the Smiths.

The operatic sections and finger-tapping bits are too overwrought. But there are a few parts that sound a bit like hail to the thief era Radiohead that are pretty good.

Vibe-y grooves that occasionally transcend the chill to be very enjoyable. I liked it but probably would only listen to a track or two at a time in the future.

Extremely enjoyable. Will definitely be in my rotation moving forward.

I liked the jazzy stuff a lot better than the trip hop stuff. Clearly shows promise but I’m not likely to revisit

Some insanely good funky jams. A few stretches that are too yahct-y.

Not my thing but listenable.

I liked this less as it got deeper into the album; it got a bit too ethereal. The early tracks were enjoyable.

I kept thinking “I should like this album” but I never did. It seems adjacent to some of my new wave favorites but it just didn’t grab me.

A few duds (Mountains of Things), but overall great. Kicks off with two masterpieces in “Fast Car” and “Talkin’ Bout a Revolution”

Occasionally uneven, but still has enough tracks that I love to carry it to four stars.

Got diagnosed with tuberculosis halfway through listening to this album, which knocked a full star off my rating.

Bad English music.

Pretty unlistenable for the most part.

Lots of great tracks and clearly an influential masterpiece, but I do find some stretches dull which holds it back from perfection.

Comes out of the gate with a string of great tracks but tails off into sameness

Some solid tunes, but a lot of tracks are too over the top.

Came out of the gates with a banger opening track. Never reached such highs again but was enjoyable throughout.

Better than I remembered, and I remembered it being great.

This has its moments (a quick one while he’s away) but I fundamentally don’t really think of The Who as a band I need to hear live recordings of.

A bit uneven but some incredible highs (Nightswimming).

Gets tiresome after a while.

Up and down but the title track is so strong that I have to give it four stars.

Grueling to listen to.

Still a master of song craft right up until the end of his life.

A few songs go on too long but overall it rocks.

One of my favorite voices of all time. I wish the songs were a bit stronger but I could see myself revisiting this from time to time.

The back half of this album goes unbelievably hard. Hard to believe you could top the first half of the album — but it does!

Some beautiful tracks and it takes me back to the good old days. But it does drag into same-ness

Beautiful tracks, catchy tracks, and a few corny tracks.

the songs are too long and similar to each other

Some nice lo-fi chillers and grocers especially “Liquid Bird” and “Simple”. A bit sleepy in the first half of the album.

Very fun but not likely to revisit in full. The first track will go into rotation.

A more boring animal collective. But it wasn’t unpleasant to listen to.

About two songs too long. But it does rock

Wall to wall greatness

I respect bjork and don’t think this is necessarily bad. But I won’t listen to it again.

Too many long, droning tracks. But “pictures of you” is an all-timer. “Lovesong” also rules.

Uneven first half. Spectacular second half.

Hammond organ goodness. Could listen to it forever.

More Hammond organ goodness.

Solidly enjoyable blues. Not something I’d revisit often because it didn’t have any standout track, but I’d gladly listen to it if it was on the stereo sometime.

Enjoyable but forgettable. The drum breakdown in (I Know) I’m Losing You brings it close to four stars but this feels solidly in the three star range

great at the top but falls off very badly in the second half. Some very bad ballads there.

I think I’ve underrated Lynyrd Skynyrd

Groovy but a bit boring

Solid blues

Another solid R.E.M. album that I enjoy but am not as thrilled by as I expected to be.

Little wing is amazing. The rest is merely good.

I do not need to listen to any more Steely Dan

A masterpiece. Dylan’s reputation as a master is fully earned.

Started off interesting but grew very grating toward the end.

Title track rocks. The rest of the tracks are good but the back half of the album is a bit uneven.

Possibly influential. Not for me.

Other than the opening and closing tracks, I found it very schmaltzy

To quote Jeff Lebowski “I fucking hate The Eagles, man!” Just a juiceless album. No edge. Striving for profundity but missing the mark (The Last Resort feels almost like a parody). Begrudgingly giving it two stars because the title track is iconic and listenable, but the rest is pure dreck.

Moody, catchy, just plain good.

A ripping good time.

Overstuffed but good

Catchy, propulsive, just plain enjoyable.

Much like the Beatles albums in this project, Dylan albums are as good as their reputations.

This sucks. Absolutely infuriating inclusion on this list. Bland garbage best forgotten.

Enjoyable listen but nothing jumped out and grabbed me.

Contenswr for my least favorite album on the list. Grating (vocals and music), boring, repetitive. Would give it zero stars.

Undeniable craft, but lacking the oomf of other Beatles records.

Too psychedelic for me, doesn’t seem as cool as it did when I was 16.

Super fun pop punk, with a surprising amount of range (at times sounds like weeper at times sounds like GBV).

This is like the output of an AI prompt: “write a meet me in the bathroom era album in the style of Alice In Chains”.

I feel like I should love this but it’s just ok. A bit too droning.

Truly one of the best ever. Just a start to finish masterpiece.

Enjoyable tunes. Had a fun time listening but not super memorable.

Solid throughout but nothing matches the opening highs of You’re Gonna Miss Me.

Arctic! Monkeys and the Disco. It’s fun but in no way essential.

The covers are interesting, but without video it gets a bit samey. Still enjoyable and you can feel how interesting it is in context.

I still think this album is somewhat overhyped, but I enjoyed it all lot more than I did when it first came it. It is a solid to great album experience, but a lack of transcendent moments holds it back, in my eyes, from achieving the exalted status it holds in the culture.

Take it Easy is fun. The rest of the album is dreck.

It is unclear exactly how much of this is meant to be a joke, but it was enjoyable and there were some real standout tunes sprinkled through it.

Easy listening music that is extremely hard to get through.

Hard to untangle this one from nostalgia, but the high notes on this album are so spectacular that I am end up forgiving some of the goofier moments.

Enjoyable, low-key, countryish, melancholy. Something I will return to.

A magnificent live album. Whipping Post rips.

Shockingly enjoyable opening and closing instrumental tracks. Unfortunately every song with vocals was very bad. Seems like you need to hear this album in order to remember why people rag on music from the 80s. I guess that is a useful exercise, because the disrespect for 80s music has always baffled me since the music that endured from that decade is some of the best. This stuff is some of the worst.

Pleasant and clearly a historical artifact, but not something I plan on listening to again.

Solid punk songs with just enough variety to keep it interesting.

A great listen.

Really interesting and propulsive while staying smooth and groovy throughout.

Has a cool defined sound and some great harmonica work. Probably won’t revisit it though.

Really enjoyed this. Distinctly British sounding folk music. Will definitely revisit this one.

As it went along it got less garage-y and I liked it a bit less as that happened. Still solid overall.

An experience that really requires listening to uninterrupted in one sitting. Has peaks and valleys but the overall experience is quite good. I do think it would be better without the middle track.

Veers into the overly-spooky freaky at points (voodoo dolly), but I mostly enjoyed the gloomy jangle of the tighter tracks (spellbound, into the light).

A great album. I really enjoyed the more stripped down tracks in the back half.

An album that gives you something new to connect with on each listen, but also challenging enough that I don’t listen to it often.

I just don’t click with the Fall even though I feel like I should. Every aspect of the songs speaks to me in some way, but I find listening to them unpleasant.

Over indexes on being vibe-y in the back half, but still a great album that reminds me of a specific time in my life.

This lives up to the title by going extremely hard. Listened to it twice back to back.

Enjoyed some of the more melodic stuff, but the spoken world wasn’t my favorite.

I listened to at least a minute each of these before skipping (which is more than most deserved). Only made it through three tracks all the way. Zero stars. Absolutely perfect fit for the first day after Trump was elected to his second term.

Really beautiful.

Rockin, but repetitive.

A phenomenon talent at the top of his game. Great from start to finish.

Reminds me that I like pretty folk Music. A few duds (Sad Lisa notably) hold it back from five stars.

I liked the Oasis-like songs better than the euro-techno songs. Unfortunately, there were more euro techno songs. Ultimately it was just kind of forgettable.

Decently catchy stuff. Nothing that I wanted to immediately turn off, but also nothing that made me want to put it on again.

The best Stones album in a walk.

Unbelievable that this is their debut. Such range and so many amazing tracks.

A nice album that is a bit uneven at times.

Heard it Through the Grapevine rips.

I much prefer the instrumental tracks.

A lot of great tracks but a decent amount of filler holds it back from a five star rating.

I liked listening to this but in the grand scheme of the Bowie discography it felt less than essential.

I liked listening to this but in the grand scheme of the Bowie discography it felt less than essential.

Goofy carnival bullshit. Roundabout is ok so I’ll bump it up to two stars.

Very hard to judge this independent from my history with it (formative album, one of my first concerts). Felt a tad bloated this run through so I’ll leave it at four.

Enjoyably vibey but surprisingly light on hooks.

Pleasant enough but quite boring. A perfect example is “Just A Gigolo” which has none of the humor or verve of the Louis Prima version. The one exception is the final song that seems like a self deprecating joke or maybe just a bad song.

Amazingly strong opening run of four songs — some of my favorite ever. Unfortunately the back half gets embarrassingly bad (“New York” “Grace). I have to give it 4 stars on the strength of the openers, but it is not an album I will revisit in full.

Enjoyed this more often than not, though it got a bit too wacky at times. Overall a solid listen, especially the uptempo pop work.

Feels like the output of a school assignment to write an album of rejected 80s James Bond themes in the style of Bjork. That said, it wasn’t a bad listen.

Like most Billy Joel, I find this overly schmaltzy. But there are a few solid tracks.

Beautiful songs with just enough variety. I could listen to Say Yes a thousands times and not tire of it.

Boring and same-y. No memorable hooks. I find the singers voice grating enough to downgrade it to one star (the music itself would get a two).

It grooves and has good enough variety to stay interesting throughout.

Not familiar with this one going in and found it solid throughout. I was blown away by Not Dark Yet which is good enough to lift this to four stars.

Expert debut with all the charge and verve they would later perfect on London Calling when they added a bit more variety and craft.

Damn that rocks.

Not bad. Just kind of there.