Obviously a milestone album for them. The lyrics are consistently impressive. Many songs are classics, some are strong and passionate, about a third are unmemorable.
Like the best PJ, it's the sound of danger lurking around the corner. Yet it's gorgeous. Simple soundscapes and infectious melodies abound, while the lyrics and vocal delivery keep the tension high.
Contender for their best album. A towering achievement. Perfect balance of song craft and sonic experimentation.
It's better than "Thriller." Fight me!
Originally thought to be aggressively non-commercial, "Low" today sounds like a satisfying, endlessly interesting rock album, which I think speaks to its influence over and foreshadowing of modern rock sounds and sensibilities.
Impassioned vocals against icy, droning disco grooves. It works on me. I don't know this band very well but found this album compelling.
If you're familiar with the hits, their debut is fascinating. More raw and angular than the sound they became more famous for. Will Sergeant is an underrated guitarist.
Syd-era Pink Floyd meets Tame Impala? Yeah, it works. Mostly.
Forgot how powerful this album is. Nothing else sounded quite like it when it came out. What they did after sounds tame by comparison.
Hot take: This album is pure, molten metal, to be sure, but it is theatrical! As in Broadway! Bruce Dickinson sounds like he could be singing Andrew Lloyd Weber. It's technical, it's precise, it has no groove or pocket of any kind -- Broadway! This is not a criticism, it's an epiphany.
Authentic Renaissance Faire energy! Fairport Convention have dwelled in my musical blind spot for decades, but no more. Rough-hewn and enchanting, highlighted by lithe and mystical vocals from Sandy Denny. It's fascinating to hear the music than influenced so many Led Zeppelin songs!
Just as East Coast hip hop was exploding with lyrical imagination and sonic innovation, "The Chronic" arrived as if on cue to send hip hop into a vulgar, willfully stupid tailspin. Dispensing with the cultural insight and authenticity of N.W.A., "The Chronic" is a lurid pageant of pointless cruelty and Parliament-aping soundscapes. Cheap thrills shift units in suburbia, so countless clones cashed in, leaving the rest of the '90s mired in toxically masculine gangster rap and nu metal. I don't merely dislike this album; I resent it.
Admirable for its abstract, challenging soundscapes. Not so much for its abstract, challenging melodies, which meander, unmoored from any foundation, refusing to resolve. The lyrics are unconventional, poetic, with perfectly timed stop-you-in-your-tracks lines.
Tepid country-laced blues rock. The Bob Marley cover is pointless. The ballads are the best songs. I don't think much of Clapton as a guitarist or as a person.
The songwriting is of similar caliber to Cole Porter, Bacharach, even approaching the theatricality of Sondheim. Catchy, coherent, but mercurial and unpredictable. Each song is a mini-opera. However, there's a histrionic quality to the arrangements and the vocals that's strident and abrasive to my ears. Still, it's no wonder she was admired by so many contemporaries and later superstars who cited her and this album as influential to them.
A unique and immersive expression of funk! My unpopular opinion is that this one's better than Funkadelic's "Maggot Brain." A perfect album from one of the best and most original bands of the '70s.
This is the best CCR album and one of the greatest, purest rock 'n' roll albums ever made. It's gritty, it's swampy, it's got kickass moments and poignant moments. A great, American band at the peak of their powers.
Sophisticated and well-produced, "Infected" bridges alternative sensibility with a big-budget '80s pop sound. Fans of Midnight Oil, Crowded House, and Tears for Fears would appreciate. Much better than their album.
"Free-form" is an understatement. It's thrilling but not exactly euphonious to hear virtuosos reacting to each other in real time with minimal structure. I understand that this is an early experiment in fusing rock and jazz. It's one to appreciate more than enjoy.
Classic '70s punk/pub rock from a Ireland. Scratches all the itches. Energetic, snotty, agitated, and hilarious. Better than a lot of similar bands of the era, if not quite Jam, Gen X, or Buzzcocks caliber.
Techno raga. Interesting melding of Indian percussion and electronic beats. Surprising melodies and textures.
It's easy to see why this was a commercial breakthrough for Herbie. As jazz goes, it doesn't get much more approachable or digestible than this. Deep grooves and quality playing.
I love Otis but don't love this album top to bottom. His cover of "My Girl" is unconvincing, and he messes up some of Smokey Robinson's ingenious lyrics! I also don't think the "Satisfaction" works. "Rock Me Baby" is blues, not soul! What happened to truth in advertising? At the top of the heap here are "I've Been Loving You Too Long" and "You Don't Miss Your Water," which are maximum Otis. I know this is considered a classic but I'd prefer a compilation that included half of this album, plus "Try a Little Tenderness" and some of the big, later hits.
Grotesque, primal, and laced with doom. Classic Waits!
Psychedelic, ambient noise rock. Simplistic one-note drones and reverb-soaked, blasé vocals. Competent shoegaze, but I am not moved.
Miles' first "electric" album is subtle, nuanced, and mesmerizing. Virtuosos creating and reacting to each other in real time. A fully immersive experience.
Ice Cube was the best rapper in N.W.A., and this album proves it. The lyrics are brutally honest, with emphasis on brutality, punctuated with brilliant observations and turns of phrase. What really sets off the album is the production by Public Enemy's Bomb Squad. The poet laureate of West Coast gangster rap paired with the Bomb Squad 's intense, clattering sample-scapes make for rich, rewarding, but not casual listening experience.
Druggy psychedelic folk. Moments of melodic and lyrical interest. Some lovely electric guitar work in spots. If there's misunderstood genius buried in here, it's buried deep.
What an odyssey! It's lofi and quirky throughout, but the variety in sounds, styles, and sentiments kept me on the edge of my seat through all 69 tracks. No aspect of love goes unaddressed.
I haven't fully understood the worship bestowed upon the Pixies by multiple generations, but I came closer to getting it after spending quality time with this album. It's weird, it's occasionally frightening, it's frequently gorgeous, and it consistently rocks hard.
Much better and more powerful than I remembered. This is an iconic '90s album but is timeless. It's clear with hindsight that the passion in the vocals, lyrics, and performances set Pearl Jam apart.
Talented band, and some enjoyable cheap thrills. At the time, this rap-rock hybrid by a live band probably seemed groundbreaking, but it sounds very dated today.
Once in a lifetime choice. Every track is genuinely moving. The emotional authenticity is almost embarrassing. A landmark album.
Repetitive and stressful. Fans of this kind of music swear there is nuance and skill to appreciate. This album verifies my suspicion that the emperor has no clothes.
Complex but approachable jazz. Little wonder it was a massive hit upon release. Still holds up. Nothing before or since sounds or satisfies quite like Paul Desmond's ethereal saxophone playing.
A landmark in rock. When Townshend's high-minded concepts and his sharpest songwriting chops were at their zenith.
Not exactly easy listening, but I was intrigued enough to keep listening. I think there's genuine inspiration in these noise-scapes! They're often catchy in ways that are surprising.
Lively, immersive, and thought-provoking.
The late '60s was a time when shackles of convention were tossed off and traditions examined critically. Free to infuse as much personality, humor, and imagination into their music as they wanted, The Who produce this incendiary, immersive concept album that showcases all of their greatest talents.
A blast! The energy level and humor of this music is off the charts. I can't imagine any music fan of any generation who wouldn't enjoy this. It's timeless, exceptionally executed party music. Wonderful!
Funky, cerebral, and atmospheric. So much more to this band than the hits. An exquisite, elevated pop album.
Tepid urban cowboy music.
I know that it's regarded as a creative landmark, but I just don't get the fawning. The songs range from great to fine, with one bona fide dog ("Sloop John B"), so the adulation is mostly about the the production and arrangements, which allegedly aimed to compete with The Beatles, but... really?...
Somehow manages to be angular and uncomfortable while incredibly soulful. For me, better than "Lodger" but a notch behind "Low."
Greatest live album of all time? That's what they say. And they're right.
Melodic and beautifully arranged. Put me in the mind of Nillsson! Surprising, since this seems 180-degrees from the Velvet Underground.
M.I.A. is odd-sounding and abrasive by design. It's a sound that's rooted in hip hop and world music but seemed to just drop out the sky, not directly reminiscent of anything that came before it. I find that if I give myself over to the clattering and chattering, I ultimately enjoy it a lot. Lyrical themes seem political and militant without being overtly so. This and her follow-up got so much hype when they came out, and years later they still sound ahead of their time.
I was obsessed with this in 1989. In 2023, I think all of the bona fide songs still sound timeless, but all the skits and interstitial stuff have lost their charm and seem like filler. They contribute to the album's personality, but it's too much.
Still sounds fresh and exciting. There's so much wonderful '60s pop influence in Blondie's sound, "Heart of Glass" notwithstanding. The album that made the world understand and appreciate this amazing band.
Strong debut, but their later albums are much better.
The weak spot between "Love" and "Sonic Temple." Rubin dried out their sound to the point of total dehydration. The cover of "Born to Be Wild" is the least inspired and flat-out worst cover of any song by anyone, ever. "Wild Flower" and "Li'l Devil" are bangers.